cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
P1.001 Developing the City Emergency-health Response Capability (CERC) Tool

Background There is no validated tool to identify gaps in emergency response systems of urban cities in low-and-middle income countries (LMIC). The objective is to develop a tool that (1) identifies the essential components of an urban emergency response system, (2) outlines methods for identifying gaps among components, (3) recommends best practices for addressing these gaps, and (4) recommends improvement strategies to policy makers. Methods A systematic review of literature was conducted to identify existing tools, scoring systems and urban emergency response indices. Then, in-depth interviews (IDIs), and focus group discussions (FGDs) were held with key stakeholders to identify essential response components. This was followed by a modified Delphi process with 25 emergency response experts, to score each component on a scale of 1 to 4 (1 being least critical and 4 being most critical). The highest ranked components were included in the City Emergency-health Response Capability (CERC) tool. Results The literature review yielded 20 articles defining components to an emergency response system. Then 25 IDIs and12 FGDs independently identified further components, which were subsequently ranked in the Delphi process. The highest ranked components were categorized into 5 domains: service delivery, safety and security, human resource, command and control, policy and procedures. The final CERC tool will use a set of scored questions and observations about these components in implementation. Conclusion CERC aims to objectively identify gaps in LMIC urban emergency response systems. Using this tool, city officials can identify areas for improvement and resource allocation to increase their disaster-readiness
Soil organic carbon cycling in response to simulated soil moisture variation under field conditions.

The combination of extended dry periods and high intensity rainfall, common in the southeastern US, leads to greater variability in soil moisture and consequently increases uncertainty to microbial processes pertinent to soil carbon (C) mineralization. However, field-based findings on soil moisture sensitivity to soil C cycling are very limited. Therefore, a field experiment was conducted in 2018 and 2019 on a soybean (Glycine max L.) cropland in the southeastern US with three soil moisture treatments: drought (simulated using rainout-shelter from June to October in each year), rainfed (natural precipitation), and irrigated (irrigation and precipitation). Soil respiration was measured weekly from May to November in both years. Soil samples were collected multiple times each year from 0–5, 5–15, and 15–30 cm depths to determine microbial biomass C (MBC), extractable organic C (EOC), hydrolytic enzyme activities, and fungal abundance. The cumulative respiration under drought compared to other treatments was lower by 32% to 33% in 2018 and 38% to 45% in 2019. Increased MBC, EOC, and fungal abundance were observed under drought than other treatments. Specific enzyme activity indicated fewer metabolically active microbes under drought treatment compared to rainfed and irrigated treatments. Also, maintenance of enzyme pool was observed under drought condition. These results provide critical insights on microbial metabolism in response to soil moisture variation and how that influences different pools of soil C under field conditions.
Urology Practice Acquisitions by Private Equity Firms from 2011–2021

AbstractIntroduction:Private equity firms have recently acquired several large urology practices in the United States. As little is known about these acquisitions, we sought to characterize trends ...
Management of congenital dysfibrinogenemia in pregnancy: A challenging patient case

Afibrinogenemia and congenital dysfibrinogenemia (CD) are rare conditions with limited information available for appropriate management. Previous case reports have demonstrated the safe and efficacious use of fibrinogen replacement therapy (FRT) as a therapeutic approach to prevent hemorrhage and fetal loss in pregnant women with CD. In this case report, we present a 28-year-old pregnant woman who sought testing for CD given her family history. She denied any current or previous bleeding symptoms. Laboratory testing confirmed the diagnosis of CD. She was treated with FRT and prophylactic anticoagulation starting in her third trimester. She had preterm labor that prompted an urgent cesarean section with FRT support. This case adds to the sparse literature about fibrinogen disorders in pregnancy, and highlights the benefits, safety, and tolerability of FRT and prophylactic anticoagulation in pregnant women with CD. Finally, it emphasizes the importance of a multidisciplinary team approach for an uneventful delivery.
Nonunion of proximal humerus fractures

Abstract Nonunion of proximal humerus fractures is rare but presents unique challenges. This chapter will discuss the incidence, risk factors, radiographic findings, treatment options, and sequelae of proximal humerus nonunions in the setting of nonoperatively and operatively treated proximal humerus fractures.
Targeting of Polytopic Proteins to the Plasma Membrane

Most proteins in plant cells are synthesized on cytoplasmic ribosomes and later get transported to their proper place of action. For proteins that function in the endomembrane system, at the plasma membrane, or outside the cell, translation occurs at the endoplasmic reticulum, and the resulting
The State and International Relations

The state is central to the study of international relations and will remain so into the foreseeable future. State policy is the most common object of analysis. States decide to go to war. Correspondingly, states are a common unit of analysis in theories of international relations. This essay first reviews the rationales behind state-centric theories of international relations. The second section examines criticisms and probes the limits of state-centric theories. The third part identifies within state-centric theory three areas of promising research.
Noise Reduction Technique Through Bandwidth Switching for Switched-Capacitor Amplifier

The conventional switched-capacitor amplifier faces design tradeoffs between settling accuracy and noise, in that high settling accuracy demands wide bandwidth but at the sacrifice of noise performance. In fact settling accuracy and noise exhibit different time dependence, which can be exploited to optimize the overall performance. Settling accuracy is determined by average bandwidth in the whole amplification phase, whereas the output noise of interest is determined by the bandwidth near the end of the phase. The proposed amplifier divides the amplification phase into two sub-phases. The first sub-phase starts with high bandwidth and high slew rate to approach the final value quickly. In the second sub-phase, the bandwidth can be significantly reduced, achieving the target settling accuracy but with much lower noise. This division allows the settling accuracy, noise, slew rate, and DC gain to be designed independently. A test chip is fabricated in a 65 nm CMOS process and operates at 90 MS/s. Measurements demonstrate that the proposed amplifier achieves 45% noise power reduction in the amplification phase along with improved linearity and lower power consumption, when compared with the conventional amplifier.
Parallel Algorithms for Collaborative Filtering

Collaborative filtering has been widely used to predict the interests of a user. Given a users past activities, collaborative filtering predicts the users future preferences. This talk presents techniques and discoveries of our recent parallelization effort on collaborative filtering algorithms. In particular, parallel association mining and parallel latent Dirichlet allocation will be presented and their pros and cons analyzed. Some counter-intuitive results will also be presented to stimulate future parallel optimization research.
Insulin-Like Growth Factor-I Blocks Bcl-2 Interacting Mediator of Cell Death (Bim) Induction and Intrinsic Death Signaling in Cerebellar Granule Neurons

Cerebellar granule neurons depend on insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) for their survival. However, the mechanism underlying the neuroprotective effects of IGF-I is presently unclear. Here we show that IGF-I protects granule neurons by suppressing key elements of the intrinsic (mitochondrial) death pathway. IGF-I blocked activation of the executioner caspase-3 and the intrinsic initiator caspase-9 in primary cerebellar granule neurons deprived of serum and depolarizing potassium. IGF-I inhibited cytochrome c release from mitochondria and prevented its redistribution to neuronal processes. The effects of IGF-I on cytochrome c release were not mediated by blockade of the mitochondrial permeability transition pore, because IGF-I failed to inhibit mitochondrial swelling or depolarization. In contrast, IGF-I blocked induction of the BH3-only Bcl-2 family member, Bim (Bcl-2 interacting mediator of cell death), a mediator of Bax-dependent cytochrome c release. The suppression of Bim expression by IGF-I did not involve inhibition of the c-Jun transcription factor. Instead, IGF-I prevented activation of the forkhead family member, FKHRL1, another transcriptional regulator of Bim. Finally, adenoviral-mediated expression of dominant-negative AKT activated FKHRL1 and induced expression of Bim. These data suggest that IGF-I signaling via AKT promotes survival of cerebellar granule neurons by blocking the FKHRL1-dependent transcription of Bim, a principal effector of the intrinsic death-signaling cascade.
A systems approach to quality in elementary schools: A theoretical and empirical analysis

An open social systems model is used to frame and test a series of hypotheses. The socioeconomic status of the environment and four internal system elements (structure, individual, culture, politics) of the school are used to explain two sets of school outcomes: student achievement and teachers' assessments of overall school effectiveness. A typical sample of 145 elementary schools in Ohio is used to test the relationships. The model and results are useful in understanding how this set of key variables as a whole defines quality elementary schools.
Definition of the Slopes and the Finite Element Absolute Nodal Coordinate Formulation

In the finite element literature, beams and platesare not treated as isoparametric elements becausethe displacement gradients at the nodes are used todescribe infinitesimal rotations. Such alinearization of the slopes leads to incorrect rigidbody equations of motion when the beams and platesrotate as rigid bodies. A simple and efficient absolute nodal coordinate formulation, in which noinfinitesimal or finite rotations are used as nodalcoordinates, can be systematically developed andefficiently used in many large deformationapplications as well as in the analysis of curvedstructures. This formulation leads to a constantmass matrix, and as a consequence, an efficientprocedure can be used for solving for the nodalaccelerations. In the absolute nodal coordinateformulation, the displacement gradients at the nodesare determined in the undeformed referenceconfiguration using simple rigid body kinematics.The problems that arise from the linearization ofthe slopes and the use of the finite rotations asnodal coordinates are discussed in this paper.
Continental isotopic indicators of climate studied

Our knowledge of past climatic variations has greatly expanded during the last 30 years by the addition of new analytical methods that evaluate the stable isotopic composition of planktonic and benthic foraminifera. As this isotopic record of climate change is restricted to marine sediments, the information obtained from these studies has been naturally biased toward variations in oceanic climate. There are, however, numerous potential continental isotopic indicators of climate (CIIC), which have not been widely utilized either to evaluate past or to predict future climate change. Examples of such indicators are the hydrogen and oxygen isotopic ratios of cellulose, ice cores, and clays; the oxygen and carbon isotopic compositions of carbonates from cements, altered whole rock, calcretes, cave deposits, land-dwelling organisms, and authigenic lake sediments; and the oxygen isotopic composition of phosphorites.
Leveraging Social-Network Infrastructure to Improve Peer-to-Peer Overlay Performance: Results from Orkut

Application-level peer-to-peer (P2P) network overlays are an emerging paradigm that facilitates decentralization and flexibility in the scalable deployment of applications such as group communication, content delivery, and data sharing. However the construction of the overlay graph topology optimized for low latency, low link and node stress and lookup performance is still an open problem. We present a design of an overlay constructed on top of a social network and show that it gives a sizable improvement in lookups, average round-trip delay and scalability as opposed to other overlay topologies. We build our overlay on top of the topology of a popular real-world social network namely Orkut. We show Orkuts suitability for our purposes by evaluating the clustering behavior of its graph structure and the socializing pattern of its members.
Here or There? How Configuration of Transnational Teams Impacts Social Capital

The many challenges of distributed communication and the many challenges of intercultural collaboration have been researched and discussed at length in the literature. What is lacking is a combined approach that looks at both issues of distance and diversity in collaboration. We conducted research in a large, multinational technology company to better understand team configurational factors in transnational work. In this case study, we found that the development of social capital is impacted by whether a person is in their home context or transplanted and their expectations based on that context. This has implications for the development of intellectual capital in the team. We highlight factors in the creation of social capital as well as some mechanisms that may mitigate cultural difference. In addition to bringing into focus the challenges that arise in various configurations, this study contributes to the transnational literature by highlighting the importance of local context in diverse collaborations.
Social support as road map and vehicle : An analysis of data from focus group interviews with a group of African American women

As part of a larger study of the impact of a social support intervention on pregnancy outcome for lower-income African American women, 6 African American women (a medical social worker, a physician's assistant, 2 community outreach workers, a lactation consultant, and a health project representative) participated in focus group discussions concerning the unique social support needs of lower-income African American women during pregnancy. Transcripts of focus group interviews were analyzed using qualitative content analysis. Emergent themes included strengths of African American communities, deficiencies in social support for many lower-income African American women, the meaning of pregnancy for African American women, the ability of many pregnant women to "make it" without visible means of support, young women's locations "inside" and "outside" of "mainstream" life, and the importance of social support as a mechanism for guiding and transporting "lost souls" back into the mainstream.
Cost as an independent variable (CAIV): front-end approaches to achieve reduction in total ownership cost

Abstract : During the latter half of the 1980s and throughout much of the 1990s, budget constraints were increasingly tight, resulting in Defense budget reductions. In an attempt to squeeze every penny from required resources, DoD leadership emphasized the necessity of controlling the cost of new warfighting systems -- not only the cost of development and production, but also the cost of sustainment. In 1995, Dr. Paul Kaminski, the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (USDA&T), introduced the term "cost as in independent variable" (CAIV), in recognition that resources were tight and that weapon system costs -- life cycle costs -- would have to be managed and controlled through tradeoffs that occur during the developmental process. Decisive change did not result immediately, however, a group of pilot programs were identified within each Service that would provide lessons for Reduction in Total Ownership Cost (R-TOC). Furthermore, a relevant series of OSD and CJCS regulatory changes were published in 2003 and 2004, which were intended to Support CAIV and contribute to R-TOC. This research effort seeks answers to the following questions: Has the DoD put into place policy and implemented guidance to support CAIV as a practice in the acquisition of the DoD's warfighting systems? Has the DoD established the necessary processes and tools to monitor and control CAIV? Has DoD leadership exhibited the will and determination to control Total Ownership Costs of its warfighting systems? In the meantime, has the focus on CAIV and R-TOC somehow changed? Using data available from a variety of DoD sources and interviews with DoD personnel participants, this paper highlights changes in policy, process, and practice aimed at reducing system life cycle costs. The paper will point out new or remaining obstacles to the application of CAIV and R-TOC during Concept Refinement, Technology Development, associated JROC reviews, and Acquisition Milestones A & B.
Mechanism design for sensor fusion: tactical networks as a foil for ultra large scale systems

Economic mechanisms, such as markets and auctions, offer a design language and mathematical concepts that might prove to be effective in addressing human incentives as first-class elements in the design of ultra large-scale systems. To study this possibility at realistic but controllable scale, we developed an emulation of a combat system tactical data network, and developed a variant of the Vickrey-Clarke-Groves mechanism to allocate network bandwidth for radar sensor fusion. The overall conclusion of the study is that economic mechanisms are a feasible and interesting alternative to traditional systems approaches to resource allocation in systems that are highly dynamic, and that involve many actors engaged in varying activities, and having varying and possibly competing, goals.
Using Historical Simulation to Compare the Accuracy of Nine Alternative Methods of Estimating the Present Value of Future Lost Earnings

Abstract To estimate the present value of future lost earnings, forensic economists must employ some method to determine the interest rate and the earnings growth rate, or the net discount rate derived from them, to use in that estimation. Historical simulation can be used to determine how accurate any such method would have been had it been used in the past. In this paper, historical simulation is used to compare the accuracy of nine different methods of choosing the net discount rate to estimate present value for numerous 30-, 20- and 10-year loss periods. These methods include historical averages, current rates, recent rates, total offset, and a number of methods that combine historical averages with current or recent rates. While no one method is obviously superior in all cases, the results do provide some support for blending historical averages with current or recent rates.
Phenomena and representation

L'A. rejette la position phenomenologique qui affirme l'existence de proprietes internes nous indiquant le monde externe, auquel appartiennent les phenomenes, selon la conception lisible de la perception que l'A. se propose de refuter, en s'appuyant sur la these de Berkeley selon laquelle les phenomenes et les objets exterieurs n'ont pas les memes proprietes, et sur la position adverbialiste ne reconnaissant de proprietes qu'aux objets exterieurs
Inhibition of casein hydrolysate induction and insulin induction of hepatic tyrosine transaminase in the rat

Abstract The induction of hepatic tyrosine transaminase by enzymatic casein hydrolysate was inhibited when SKF 525-A, chlorpromazine, imipramine, or promethazine was injected simultaneously with casein hydrolysate. The induction of the enzyme by insulin was inhibited by the simultaneous injection of SKF 525-A, chlorpromazine, or imipramine. No inhibition of induction by casein hydrolysate or insulin was observed when SKF 525-A or centrally acting drugs were injected two hours after the inducing agent. The action of SKF 525-A and the centrally acting drugs on the induction of tyrosine transaminase by casein hydrolysate and insulin was shown to be similar to that of actinomycin D.
Analysis of ENU-induced mutations at the Adh locus in Drosophila melanogaster.

Abstract N -Ethyl- N -nitrosourea (ENU) was used to induce mutations in the Drosophila melanogaster, alcohol dehydrogenase (Adh) gene. Flies were treated with ENU and mated to homozygous intragenic Adh null mutants; Adh null mutations were selected by exposure of the F 1 generation to 1-penten-3-ol. Fourteen Adh null mutations were recovered which included 11 from spermatozoa, 2 from oocytes and 1 from a premeiotic spermatocyte. 2 mutations from spermatozoa and 1 of the mutations from oocytes were multilocus deficiencies which included the Adh locus as determined by complementation tests. The remaining 11 intragenic Adh null mutations were sequenced using the Sanger dideoxy method. One Adh null mutation induced in an oocyte was an AT to TA transversion and the mutation induced in a premeiotic spermatocyte was a GC to AT transition, both of which resulted in a single amino acid substitution. The 11 null mutations induced in spermatozoa were a data set in which both the dose of ENU and the treated germ-cell stage were held constant; therefore, only these 11 mutations were used to calculate the mutation frequency and compare the mutations at the Adh locus with those recovered in other studies. The dose of ENU induced a sex-linked recessive lethal frequency approximately 300 times that of the spontaneous frequency; therefore, these mutations were assumed to have been induced by ENU. 2 of the 11 mutations induced in spermatozoa were multilocus deficiencies and 9 were intragenic mutations. 7 of the 9 intragenic mutations were GC to AT transitions which resulted in 5 single amino acid substitutions, 1 premature translation termination codon, and 1 splice site mutation. 2 of the 9 intragenic mutations induced in spermatozoa were transversions; a GC to TA transversion produced a single amino acid substitution, and an AT to TA transversion produced a premature stop codon. The results show that although ENU produces primarily GC to AT transitions, it also produces transversions and large multilocus deficiencies. Finally, conservation of the amino acid sequence of D. melanogaster alcohol dehydrogenase (DADH) in natural populations and potential loss of enzymatic activity as a result of a single nucleotide change make Adh a suitable locus for analyzing mutations.
Design and performance of an 8 cm thick intrinsic germanium detector telescope

Abstract A detector telescope consisting of eight 1 cm thick intrinsic Ge diodes is described. The diodes have thin dead layer Li junctions (∼15 ωm ) and are mounted in interchangeable holders. Designs of the holders and the mounting assembly are presented. The major problem in using stopping detectors at medium energies is the tail of low pulse height events produced by nuclear reactions and scattering out. A technique for rejecting these events is described and the results obtained with deuterons from p-d elastic scattering of 800 MeV protons are presented. Analysis of the nuclear reaction tail for 120, 220, and 250 MeV deutrons yields an average total reaction cross section for deuterons on Ge of σ R = (1490±130) mb.
Protein Tubule Immobilization on Self-Assembled Monolayers on Au Substrates

Avidin-coated peptide tubules, protein tubules, were anchored onto biotin-incorporated self-assembled monolayers (SAMs) on Au substrates and assembled as bridges between the SAMs. The patterned biotin-SAM/Au substrates were placed in a citric acid solution (pH 6) with the protein tubules. After 12 h, the avidin tubules were immobilized on the biotin-SAMs and some of the tubules bridged the patterned biotin-SAMs. No avidin tubules were found to attach onto the glass region between the biotin-SAM/Au substrates. This result shows that the protein tubules have potential to serve as connecting wires for microelectronics.
Changes in diaphragmatic EMG spectra during hyperpneic loads.

Changes in electromyographic (EMG) activity of the diaphragm were examined in human subjects during different levels of voluntary hyperpnea. Diaphragmatic EMG was recorded using both surface and esophageal electrodes. The power spectra density (PSD) of the EMG signal was calculated and characterized by the high frequency to low frequency (H/L) ratio and by the centroid frequency (Fc). During high levels of voluntary hyperpnea, a significant decrease in both the H/L ratio and Fc occurred, which was similar in diaphragmatic EMG recorded by either surface or esophageal electrodes. This similarity in EMG spectral changes suggested that when diaphragmatic EMG was recorded using surface electrodes, there was only minimal contamination from the activity of other chest wall muscles. Changes in EMG Fc were detected during levels of hyperpnea which could be readily sustained. Thus, diaphragmatic EMG spectral changes were not characteristic of imminent ventilatory failure (i.e., an inability to sustain a target level of ventilation). In contrast, significant changes in EMG H/L ratio were observed only during hyperpneic loads which could not be sustained. This difference in sensitivity between the Fc and H/L ratio was due to the increased variability of H/L ratio and suggests that the H/L ratio may fail to detect small but significant shifts in EMG spectra. The relationship between the rate of decrease in EMG Fc and the level of hyperpnea was not statistically significant. We conclude that diaphragmatic EMG spectral changes do occur during hyperpneic loads, but we question the specificity of using diaphragmatic EMG spectral changes in predicting ventilatory failure.
A model of temperature stratification for correction of leveling refraction

Refraction causes leveled height differences to be too small. It is usually considered to be the largest known systematic error in leveling measurements, amounting to as much as a cm/km. In 1937, long before refraction was widely accepted as a significant error source, T.J. Kukkamaki developed a correction which is proportional to the temperature difference, Δ t, between heights of 0.5 and 2.5m. Δ t was to be measured, requiring extra effort and equipment. Few countries adopted the correction, but it is now realized that the correction is necessary, especially in the middle and lower latitudes. Removing refraction bias from old leveling measurements requires a temperature stratification model. The model described here is based on historical records of solar radiation, sky cover, precipitation, and ground albedo from many locations in the conterminous United States. The average difference between the predicted Δ t and observed Δ t is −0.12, +0.14, and −0,22 K for data sets from Maryland, California, and Arizona respectively. This modeling method can be adopted by any country with records of solar radiation. The model is an important asset to leveling computations because it provides a means of eliminating extreme refraction bias in the absolute heights and makes profiles of relative vertical movements more reliable. An economic advantage is realized by eliminating the need to observe vertical temperature profiles during most leveling surveys.
Elevation of Alkaline Phosphatase Activity in the Intestine of the Chick Embryo by Actinomycin D

DURING the development of the mouse, alkaline phosphatase activity in the duodenum rises sharply before birth, falls back slightly, and then increases twenty-fold or more between 15 and 20 days1. This second rise is accelerated rather than retarded by inhibitors of RNA and protein synthesis2,3. Injection of actinomycin D, an inhibitor of DNA-dependent RNA synthesis4, into 9-day-old mice more than doubles their phosphatase activity within a 54 h period3, and the enhanced activity shows the normal increased preference for phenylphosphate over beta-glycerophosphate. Because these effects were obtained at a period of development when a considerable amount of phosphatase activity is already present, we thought it would be interesting to investigate the effect of actinomycin at a time when phosphatase activity first appears.
Radiology of acute subtemporal subdural hematomas

Abstract Four cases of acute subtemporal hematoma are presented. The diagnostic appearance of this lesion on axial and coronal computed tomographic (CT) scans and at angiography is described.
A New Classification of the Paedogenic Gall Midges Formerly Assigned to the Subfamily Heteropezinae (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Recognition of the subfamily Heteropezinae is not justifiable, as the genera that have been included may be reassigned to tribes in both the Lestremiinae and the Cecidomyiinae. In the proposed new classification nine tribes are recognized in the Lestremiinae and all are characterized, as is the tribe Leptosynini of the Cecidomyiinae. The following tribes either are new or represent a new status: Moehniini, for Moehnia (type M . erema , California); Heteropezini ( = Heteropezinae Schiner, =Heteropezidae Enderlein, = Oligarcinae Enderlein), for Heteropeza Winnertz and Heteropezina (type H . cathistes , Florida); Acoenoniini, for Acoenonia Pritchard; Miastorini (= Miastorinae Enderlein), for Miastor Meinert ( = Peromiastor Kieffer, n. syn.); and Leptosynini (= Leptosyninae Enderlein), for Leptosyna Winnertz, Frirenia Kieffer, Brittenia Edwards, and Barnesina (type B . hylecoites , California; also included, B . quercivora (Felt) ( Leptosyna q . Felt, = Leptosyna americana Felt, n. syn.) ). Other new synonymy: Heteropeza pygmaea Winnertz ( = Oligarces noveboracensis Felt) and Miastor metraloas Meinert (= M. hospes Winnertz, = M. subterraneus Karsch, = M. americana Felt, =M. hastatus Kieffer, = M. similis Kieffer, = Peromiastor dryobins Kieffer).
Stratospheric Aluminum Oxide

Balloons and U-2 aircraft were used to collect micrometer-sized strato-spheric aerosols. It was discovered that for the past 6 years at least, aluminum oxide spheres have been the major stratospheric particulate in the size range 3 to 8 micrometers. The most probable source of the spheres is the exhaust from solid-fuel rockets.
Gulf War Nurses Personal Accounts of 14 Americans, 1990–1991 and 2003–2010

In Gulf War Nurses, editor Patricia Rushton shares the stories of American nurses who served in a variety of locations throughout the Persian Gulf and in other countries during the conflicts in the...
High density optical interconnects for High Performance Computing

High Performance Computing systems with > 105 optical links are deployed today. Chip-scale optical transceivers for next generation systems can simultaneously achieve high bandwidth and high density while minimizing power and cost.
Nonlinear programming extensions to rational function approximations of unsteady aerodynamics

This paper deals with approximating unsteady generalized aerodynamic forces in the equations of motion of a flexible aircraft. Two methods of formulating these approximations are extended to include both the same flexibility in constraining them and the same methodology in optimizing nonlinear parameters as another currently used 'extended least-squares' method. Optimal selection of 'nonlinear' parameters is made in each of the three methods by use of the same nonlinear (nongradient) optimizer. The objective of the nonlinear optimization is to obtain rational approximations to the unsteady aerodynamics whose state-space realization is of lower order than that required when no optimization of the nonlinear terms is performed. The free 'linear' parameters are determined using least-squares matrix techniques on a Lagrange multiplier formulation of an objective function which incorporates selected linear equality constraints. State-space mathematical models resulting from the different approaches are described, and results are presented which show comparative evaluations from application of each of the extended methods to a numerical example. The results obtained for the example problem show a significant (up to 63 percent) reduction in the number of differential equations used to represent the unsteady aerodynamic forces in linear time-invariant equations of motion as compared to a conventional method in which nonlinear terms are not optimized.
Occurrence of glass transitions in long-chain phosphatidylcholine mesophases.

Several phosphatidylcholine (PC) species were studied by differential scanning calorimetry at different levels of hydration. A glass transition was observed in both lamellar gel and nonlamellar pha...
Onychectomy and its alternatives in the feline patient

Onychectomy and its alternatives are often sought by owners to provide permanent alleviation of scratching behaviors in cats. These alternatives include behavioral modification, nail caps, and deep digital flexor tendonectomy. Although surgical options are commonly performed, they are controversial and have potential complications. Our role as veterinarians is to educate clients to allow them to make the best decision for themselves and their pets. The purpose of this article is to provide an objective review of the positive and negative aspects of onychectomy, describe and discuss alternatives to onychectomy, and review the specific surgical techniques.
Routine staining of drill core to determine carbonate mineralogy and distinguish carbonate alteration textures

Carbonate staining has long been utilized with thin sections. Similar techniques are also extremely useful for distinguishing the mineralogy and texture of different carbonate minerals in drill cores. The simplest method for routine staining of whole drill core utilizes a dilute hydrochloric acid solution containing both alizarin red S and potassium ferricyanide. This solution is painted on to the drill core to allow for the rapid identification of calcite, ferroan calcite, ferroan dolomite (ankerite), and rhodochrosite. Production-scale staining of whole drill core rapidly provides a wealth of information on carbonate mineralogy and textural relationships in a number of deposit types. Examples from the Irish Zn-Pb district, the McArthur River Zn-Pb-Ag district, the Ruby Creek Cu-Co deposit, and the Kansanshi copper deposit are presented to illustrate the type of information that can be gained through use of this inexpensive and rapid technique.
Morphology and function of the tongue and hyoid apparatus in Varanus (varanidae, lacertilia)

The morphology and function of the tongue and hyoid apparatus in Varanus were examined by anatomical and experimental techniques. Morphological features unique to Varanus include a highly protrusible tongue that has lost a roughened dorsal surface, an exceptionally strong and mobile hyobranchial apparatus, a well-defined joint between the ceratohyal and anterior process, and a series of distinct muscles inserting at the anterior hyobranchial region. Varanus is also unusual among lizards in a number of feeding behaviors; it ingests prey entirely by inertial feeding, as the tongue does not participate in food transport. Further specializations include an increased reliance on hyobranchial movements in drinking and pharyngeal packing and compression. The long, narrow tongue is most likely related to the mechanics of tongue protrusion; the increased amount, strength, and complexity of hyobranchial movement is related to the fact that the hyobranchium in Varanus replaces the tongue in many functions. Previous hypotheses for the origin of these adaptations are discussed, and the difficulties of attributing these specializations to any specific scenario of adaptation or constraint are emphasized.
CD81 Regulates Neuron-Induced Astrocyte Cell-Cycle Exit

Abstract Astrocytes respond to contact with neurons by cell-cycle arrest and complex process formation. In our effort to discover the molecular mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon we have identified a known tetraspanin, CD81, as a critical component of astrocyte responses to neuronal differentiation signals. Here we show that CD81 is expressed on the surface of the astrocyte and that its expression level can be modulated by contact with neurons. Further, using three separate antibodies, 2F7, Eat1, and Eat2, which recognize unique epitopes in the extracellular domains of the CD81 protein, we show that there is a unique domain, recognized by Eat1, that is required for astrocyte cell-cycle withdrawal in response to neurons. This is likely due to conformational changes in the CD81 molecule, as inclusion of 2F7 actually augments neuron-induced astrocyte growth arrest. The critical nature of CD81 in normal astrocyte–neuron biology was confirmed by using mice in which CD81 had been deleted by homologous recombination. Astrocytes null at the CD81 locus were blind to the proliferative arrest encoded on the neuronal cell surface. Taken together, these data strongly suggest that CD81 is a critical regulator of neuron-induced astrocytic differentiation.
Dimensional phase transition in small Yukawa clusters.

We investigate the one- to two-dimensional zigzag transition in clusters consisting of a small number of particles interacting through a Yukawa (Debye) potential and confined in a two-dimensional biharmonic potential well. Dusty (complex) plasma clusters with $n\ensuremath{\le}19$ monodisperse particles are characterized experimentally for two different confining wells. The well anisotropy is accurately measured, and the Debye shielding parameter is determined from the longitudinal breathing frequency. Debye shielding is shown to be important. A model for this system is used to predict equilibrium particle configurations. The experiment and model exhibit excellent agreement. The critical value of $n$ for the zigzag transition is found to be less than that predicted for an unshielded Coulomb interaction. The zigzag transition is shown to behave as a continuous phase transition from a one-dimensional to a two-dimensional state, where the state variables are the number of particles, the well anisotropy and the Debye shielding parameter. A universal critical exponent for the zigzag transition is identified for transitions caused by varying the Debye shielding parameter.
Tris complexes of ruthenium(II) with 2-(2-pyridyl)-1,8-naphthyridine and 5,6-dihydrodipyrido-[2,3-b:3',2'-j]-1,10-phenanthroline. Syntheses, spectroscopic and electrochemical characterization

Abstract Ruthenium(II) complexes with empirical formula [Ru(pynapy)3](PF6)2 and [Ru(dinapy)3](PF6)2 where pynapy is 2-(2-pyridyl)-1,8-naphthyridine and dinapy is 5,6-dihydrodipyrido-[2,3-b:3′,2′-j]-1,10-phenanthroline have been prepared. Room temperature electronic absorption spectra, emission spectra and lifetimes at 77 K along with cyclic voltammetric data for these complexes are reported and compared with those for Ru(bpy)32+.
Assessment of binary and ternary blends of metakaolin and Class C fly ash for alkali-silica reaction mitigation in concrete

Abstract The potential for binary and ternary blends of metakaolin, with two differing particle size distributions, and Class C fly ash to mitigate alkali-silica reactions (ASR) with a highly reactive fine aggregate were evaluated using accelerated mortar bar test (AMBT) and concrete prism test (CPT) methods. Binary blends of metakaolin or Class C fly ash reduced expansion by 55–90% and 25–37% compared to the control, respectively. When incorporating metakaolin with a lower mean particle size, binary blends showed a greater reduction in expansion compared with Class C fly ash. Ternary blends of metakaolin and Class C fly ash resulted in a marginally higher expansion than binary blends incorporating the same amount of metakaolin. Correlation between AMBT and CPT results was good at high levels of expansion but poor for those compositions producing expansions near the acceptable limits corresponding to increased addition rates of metakaolin and/or Class C fly ash.
Logics of Transdermal Controlled Drug Administration

(1983). Logics of Transdermal Controlled Drug Administration. Drug Development and Industrial Pharmacy: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 497-520.
Elders' preferences for life-prolonging treatment and their proxies' substituted judgment: influence of the elders' current health.

Objectives: People in poor health tend to view life-prolonging treatments (e.g., tube feeding) as more acceptable than do healthier people. Do proxies’ substituted judgments reveal a similar tendency, showing greater acceptance when the elder is in worse health? Method: In a cross-sectional telephone-based survey of 202 elderly individuals and their proxies, preferences for 4 life-prolonging treatments in 7 health prospects were examined in relation to the elder’s current health status, operationalized as number of deficits in activities of daily living. Results: Stronger preferences for life-prolonging treatments in worse-health prospects were expressed by both elders and proxies when the elders’ current health was relatively poor. The interaction effect was at least as pronounced for proxies’ substituted judgment as for elders’ own preferences. Discussion: Findings provide important insight into proxy decision making and have particular implications for proxy decision making on behalf of elders with dem...
Adenosine 5′-monophosphate, an internal regulatory agent, is a potent chemoattractant for a marine shrimp

1. The nucleotide adenosine 5′-monophosphate (AMP) is a potent chemoattractant for the marine shrimp,Palaemonetes pugio. Behavioral bioassays of AMP in the concentration range of 0.1 to 1000 μmol/l show that the dose-response curve is biphasic with the maximum response occurring at about 10 μmol/l. 2. AMP is much more potent than ADP. ATP and adenosine are inactive as attractants. 3. Bioassays of 28 substances structurally related to AMP show that the integrity of both the adenosine and the ribose phosphate moieties are required for maximal activity. However, the integrity of the ribose phosphate is of special importance since most of the substances having changes in this moiety are completely inactive as attractants. 4. The response to AMP is antagonized by theophylline and adenosine. 5. The behavioral results suggest that the shrimp possesses external chemoreceptors with marked similarities to the R-type, or P1-type, purine receptors that are present internally in vertebrate tissues. 6. Comparisons are made of the structure-activity relationships of nucleotides stimulating behavioral responses in the shrimp and other lower organisms. Possible evolutionary relationships between external chemoreceptors in lower organisms and internal receptors for neurotransmitters and modulators are noted.
Immunologic responsiveness of young AKR mice to iodoacetate and to iodoacetate-treated tumor cells.

The effect of the sulfhydryl inhibitor iodoacetate and of iodoacetate-treated thymocytes from leukemic AKR mice (ITC) on the humoral immune response of preleukemic AKR mice (8 or 12 weeks old) to sheep erythrocytes (SRBC) was assessed. Six days after a single injection of iodoacetate or ITC (viable or nonviable), mice were administered SRBC, and their spleens and thymuses assayed for total number of plaque-forming cells (PFC) four days later. Histopathologic studies also were performed on samplings of mice from all test and control groups. Significant increases in total numbers of splenic PFC were noted in mice given either iodoacetate or viable ITC. Histopathologic examination of the spleens of AKR mice from these two groups revealed large numbers of mature lymphoid cells in the red pulp areas. The IgG response was absent in mice administered ITC (viable or nonviable).
Survivin localization during endomitosis of high ploidy mouse megakaryocytes

To the editor: During polyploidization the megakaryocyte (MK) undergoes endomitosis, which involves skipping late anaphase and cytokinesis.[1][1],[2][2] As a regulator of anaphase and cytokinesis, our laboratory implicated survivin in this process due to the absence of survivin protein in
Analysis of a Wave Front Parallel WEC Prototype

Nowadays, clean renewable energy extraction solutions are becoming a crucial practice in society. Many different sources are being developed including ocean energy and in specific, ocean waves. In deep water conditions, ocean waves can become very power dense, continuous, and forecastable. Wave height, velocity, and frequency are all variable wave characteristics making it challenging to capture wave power economically. The RTI F2 is a promising wave energy conversion device that is currently under research. Its method of power capture is a buoyant vessel oriented normal to oncoming waves. This paper discusses known control methods implemented on the RTI F2, the experimental setup used for control of the device, and wave tank testing done at the University of New Hampshire's Chase Laboratory. Experimental data was obtained across various wave conditions, plate angles, vessel weights, and control strategies. The results of these tests are presented in the subject matter.
Synergistic observations of Io’s atmosphere in 2010 from HST-COS in the mid-ultraviolet and IRTF-TEXES in the mid-infrared

Abstract We report on mid-UV spectroscopy of Io’s SO2 atmosphere from the Cosmic Origins Spectrograph (COS) on the Hubble Space Telescope (HST), and compare to contemporaneous ground-based mid-infrared spectroscopy of the atmosphere. Our motivation is to evaluate the consistency of atmospheric parameters derived by different observational techniques, and in particular to verify the atmospheric densities and longitudinal distribution derived from the disk-integrated mid-IR observations, which depend on assumptions about the atmospheric temperature and distribution. Six disk-integrated COS observations, evenly spaced over all Io longitudes, were taken in October of 2010. Spectra were obtained using the G225M grating, with wavelengths ranging from 2100 A to 2340 A. At these wavelengths, the SO2 absorption signature of Io’s atmosphere is seen in reflected sunlight. The spectra were fitted using a latitude-dependent atmospheric spatial distribution constrained by earlier disk-resolved observations, with SO2 column density, temperature, and SO abundance as variables. Equatorial SO2 column densities of between 0.26 and 1.28 × 1017 cm−2 were derived, depending on Io’s central longitude. We compare these results with disk-averaged 19 μm mid-IR spectroscopy in thermal emission from the NASA Infrared Telescope Faculty, taken at multiple central longitudes only four months prior to the mid-UV observations. The derived SO2 column abundances from the ultraviolet and mid-IR observations agree to within the uncertainties at comparable longitudes, confirming our earlier mid-IR derived abundances. In addition, both show the large longitudinal variations of atmospheric density seen previously in the mid-IR and Lyman-α observations, but never before mapped systematically in the mid-UV. Best-fit UV-derived atmospheric temperatures, constrained by UV band shape, were up to 200 K, higher than the