cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Environment, Entrepreneurship, and Innovation: Systems Efficiency Strategies for Industrial and Commercial Facilities

Many managers are unaware of the strategic advantages and cost savings possible through systems analysis as applied to material, energy, and water use in building design and operation. This technical note provides whole-systems strategies for improving resource efficiency in industrial and commercial buildings. Green building, sustainability, environmental concerns, and resource efficiency are among the topics covered. The note explains systems thinking and integrated, multidisciplinary methods that can stimulate innovation in both the equipment (technical) systems that make up facilities and the human (organizational) systems involved in the design-build-operate process. Identifying and using key leverage points and systemic synergies can dramatically increase the performance of buildings and the groups of people who make and run them. In practice, these approaches have saved money, reduced environmental impacts, improved worker health and productivity, attracted new employees, greatly decreased operating costs, and, in some cases, even decreased capital costs while adding little or nothing to initial costs.
Habitat change in insular grasslands: Woody encroachment alters the population dynamics of a rare ecotonal plant

Abstract Inferring habitat requirements of rare plants can be challenging when the few remaining populations occur in sites with divergent successional states. In island-like rock outcrop systems within forest landscapes, edaphic conditions are assumed to modulate successional patterns, but changes to disturbance regimes in the landscape matrix could alter ecotone microenvironments over time. We used demographic surveys and controlled experiments with a dispersal-limited and endangered ecotonal plant, Astragalus bibullatus, to test the hypothesis that woody encroachment from the forest matrix threatens rare plants in globally imperiled limestone cedar glades. Tree canopy cover was more important than edaphic conditions or ground-layer structure for explaining variation in demographic structure. As tree canopy cover increased, stem densities, flowering, and seed production declined. Over three-years, per plant inflorescence production, fruit production, and fruit set were markedly greater in open microhabitats than in edge or closed microhabitats. In contrast, seedling densities peaked in edge and closed microhabitats. Seedling recruitment and seed production were spatially decoupled across a canopy cover gradient, suggesting that shaded sites historically had lower tree canopy cover. Shade reduced growth rates and biomass of seedlings and adults under non-limiting moisture conditions. Although A. bibullatus can persist in degraded ecotones using multiple demographic strategies, growth, flowering and seed production depend on open microhabitats. Our results demonstrate that woody encroachment effects in temperate grasslands extend to island-like rock outcrop systems with unique edaphic conditions. Conservation and recovery programs with rare ecotonal plants should integrate restoration of historical disturbance regimes in the landscape matrix.
Observation of Micellar Formation in the Cavity of Porous Silica Glass

The small angle neutron scattering intensity distribution from the empty pores of the silica glass Vycor can be satisfactorily interpreted using a simplified late stage spinodal decomposition model, due to Cahn’, if one allows for a distribution of wave numbers in the material’s density function. The result confirms that the porosity of the glass is 28% and gives the mean wave number of the density wave to be k0 = 0.0285 A-−1 with a dispersion, δk / k0, of about 0.29. Small angle neutron scattering measurements of the anionic surfactant SDS in the Vycor pores indicate that when the surfactant is introduced into the pores at 80 × CMC in bulk solution, the surfactant forms micelles with the same average micelle separation distance as in the bulk solution, but the distribution of micelle separations is much greater in the glass pores.
Police Organization and Policing Environment: Case Study of a Disjuncture

Abstract This article focuses on the problem of organization-environment interfaces in police work. Reporting on data collected in a case study of one American city, it describes and juxtaposes the patterns of services delivered by police in the different neighborhoods of the city with la) social and economic variations across neighborhoods, (b) attitudes of residents of the neighborhoods toward crime, personal security and the police, (c) police officer preferences for patrol assignments and (d) the formal organizational structure of the local police agency. It finds that police service-delivery varies little across neighborhoods, in conformity with the structure of the agency but in disjuncture with the differentiation characteristic of the neighborhoods, the citizens' attitudes and the police officers' preferences. Concluding note is then taken of the implications of these findings for future research.
Systematics of testudacarine torrent mites (Acari, Hydrachnidia, Torrenticolidae) with descriptions of 13 new species from North America

Thirteen new species of North American Testudacarus (Torrenticolidae: Testudacarinae) are described: Testudacarus deceptivus O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus hitchensi O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus harrisi O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus dennetti O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus dawkinsi O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus radwellae O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus kirkwoodae O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus hyporhynchus O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus smithi O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus rollerae O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus elongatus O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., Testudacarus rectangulatus O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n., and Testudacarus oblongatus O’Neill & Dowling, sp. n. Testudacarus vulgaris Habeeb, 1954 is resurrected from synonymy with Testudacarus minimus and redescribed. Debsacarus (Habeeb, 1961), Testudacarus americanus Marshall, 1943, and Testudacarus minimus Marshall, 1943 are redescribed. All redescriptions are from original types. Species delimination was accomplished through examination of morphology, biogeography, and molecular phylogenetics of the barcoding region of COI. Other species are addressed and a key to world species is presented. For Testudacarinae, this represents the first published: 1) descriptions from multiple specimens (i.e. intraspecific variation); 2) colored photographs; 3) explicit illustrations and discussion of sexual dimorphism within the subfamily; 4) genetic data. A comprehensive testudacarine reference list is also included.
Safety, Virtue, Scepticism: Remarks On Sosa

Ernest Sosa has made and continues to make major contributions to a wide variety of topics in epistemology. In this paper I discuss some of his core ideas about the nature of knowledge and scepticism. I start with a discussion of and objections against the safety account of knowledge—a view he has championed and further developed over the years. I continue with some questions concerning the role of the concept of an epistemic virtue for our understanding of knowledge. Safety and virtue hang very closely together for Sosa. All this easily leads to some thoughts on epistemic scepticism and on Sosa’s stance on this.
Analysis of 220 kV bus voltage failure in Jixian substation

Through fault analysis of all operated breakers tripping at the same time in Jixian 220 kV substation, it is confirmed that the false operation of the breaker failure protection was caused by interferences on DC power system because of earthing or mixing with AC system. The fault was simulated in the laboratory, and the false operation recurence of the breaker failure protection confirmed the causes and reminded people to pay a attention to renewing protection devices and security of control circuits.
Individualized remediation during fellowship training

The Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education requires medical training programs to monitor, track, and formally document a fellow's performance. If deficiencies are found, programs are expected to prepare and implement an effective plan of action for improvement and to ensure that graduates acquire the personal and professional attributes of an independent physician. We revised our evaluation policy and instituted a remediation protocol in 2008. Since that time, 130 pediatric anesthesia fellows have graduated. Seven fellows (5%) underwent departmental formal consultation for deficient behavior or poor performance. Of these 7 fellows, 4 underwent an individualized remediation program (IRP). A formal performance review and written contract, with specifically identified problems and general themes, recommendations for time-based successful behaviors, and clearly identified consequences for unsuccessful behaviors, was initiated for each fellow undergoing an IRP. All fellows who participated in this program completed their subspecialty training in pediatric anesthesia, and all eligible fellows have successfully achieved their subspecialty board certification. Our approach has the advantage of multimodality, time-based daily evaluations, and group discussions in the context of a Clinical Competency Committee. Utilization of an IRP as a metric for progress has features similar to effective cognitive behavioral therapy contracts and has ensured that our graduates are held to clearly delineated and specified skills and behaviors that allow them to work independently in the field of pediatric anesthesiology.
Power and the Changing Nature of International Relations

A global political economy did not begin to emerge until Portuguese navigators first rounded the vast African continent and sailed to South and Southeast Asia over 500 years ago. Competing European powers soon sent out their own trade and war ships to the world’s far ends in search of riches and Christian converts. In 1522 the fifteen surviving members of the Magellan expedition sailed into Cadiz, becoming the first human beings to circumnavigate the world, thus symbolically globalizing Europe’s geopolitical and geoeconomic struggles, and knitting the first tentative strand in an increasingly dense global political economic web that today binds every state and virtually every human being to all others.
Minimally Invasive Treatment of Spine Trauma

The role for minimally invasive surgery (MIS) continues to expand in the management of spinal pathology. In the setting of trauma, operative techniques that can minimize morbidity without compromising clinical efficacy have significant value. MIS techniques are associated with decreased intraoperative blood loss, operative time, and morbidity, while providing patients with comparable outcomes when compared with conventional open procedures. MIS interventions further enable earlier mobilization, decreased hospital stay, decreased pain, and an earlier return to baseline function when compared with traditional techniques. This article reviews patient selection and select MIS techniques for those who have suffered traumatic spinal injury.
Initial Experience With Real-Time Continuous Physical Activity Monitoring in Patients Undergoing Spine Surgery.

Study Design:Multicenter prospective pilot study.Objective:To evaluate if continuous physical activity monitoring by a personal electronic 3-dimensional accelerometer device is feasible and can provide objective data that correlates with patient-reported outcomes following spine surgery.Summary of B
The CCH Vision Stimulation Program for Infants with Low Vision: Preliminary Results:

This article describes a study of the Columbus Children's Hospital (CCH) vision stimulation program involving the stimulation of 15 visually impaired infants and comparisons with 14 visually impair...
A comprehensive Caenorhabditis elegans N-glycan shotgun array

Here we present a Caenorhabditis elegans N-glycan shotgun array. This nematode serves as a model organism for many areas of biology including but not limited to tissue development, host-pathogen interactions, innate immunity, and genetics. Caenorhabditis elegans N-glycans contain structural motifs that are also found in other nematodes as well as trematodes and lepidopteran species. Glycan binding toxins that interact with C. elegans glycoconjugates also do so with some agriculturally relevant species, such as Haemonchus contortus, Ascaris suum, Oesophagostomum dentatum and Trichoplusia ni. This situation implies that protein-carbohydrate interactions seen with C. elegans glycans may also occur in other species with related glycan structures. Therefore, this array may be useful to study these relationships in other nematodes as well as trematode and insect species. The array contains 134 distinct glycomers spanning a wide range of C. elegans N-glycans including the subclasses high mannose, pauci mannose, high fucose, mammalian-like complex and phosphorylcholine substituted forms. The glycans presented on the array have been characterized by two-dimensional separation, ion trap mass spectrometry, and lectin affinity. High fucose glycans were well represented and contain many novel core structures found in C. elegans as well as other species. This array should serve as an investigative platform for carbohydrate binding proteins that interact with N-glycans of C. elegans and over a range of organisms that contain glycan motifs conserved with this nematode.
Repetitive Imaging following Minimally Invasive Repair of Pectus Excavatum Is Unnecessary.

Introduction The objective of this study was to evaluate the necessity of repeat imaging after an initial chest radiograph (CXR) following minimally invasive repair of pectus excavatum (MIRPE). Materials and Methods A retrospective review was performed on patients who underwent MIRPE from January 2012 to July 2016 at two academic children's hospitals. Data collected included demographics, severity of pectus defect (Haller index [HI]), utilization of CXRs, outpatient follow-up, and clinical outcomes. Results A total of 360 patients (171 at Hospital 1 and 189 at Hospital 2) underwent MIRPE. Median age was 15.6 years and 84% were males. The median HI was 4.0. Median postoperative hospital length of stay was 4.2 days and median time to bar removal was 34 months. There was significant variation in postoperative imaging between the hospitals, including frequency of immediate postoperative CXR, total number of CXRs during hospitalization, and number of postoperative outpatient CXRs prior to bar removal. However, there was no significant difference in outcomes between the hospitals, including postoperative pneumothorax, postoperative chest tube placement, and complications. Conclusion These data suggest that increased repetitive imaging after an initial postoperative CXR does not affect clinical outcomes and may not be necessary after MIRPE.
Impact of intensity modulated radiation therapy on survival in anal cancer.

Background: This study was designed to investigate the impact of intensity modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) on overall survival (OS) in patients treated with chemoradiation (CRT) for anal cancer (AC). Methods: We performed a case-control, propensity score (PS) matched analysis of the National Cancer Data Base (NCDB) of patients diagnosed with non-metastatic AC from 2004 to 2013. Only patients receiving concurrent CRT were included. Patients were stratified into two groups based on the RT technique: IMRT vs . non-IMRT. Multivariate analysis (MVA) and Kaplan-Meier (KM) plots for OS were obtained for the matched and unmatched groups. Results: A total of 8,108 patients diagnosed between 2004 and 2013 were eligible for the study, of which 3,307 (40.8%) and 4,801 (59.2%) were in the IMRT and non-IMRT groups, respectively. Median follow-up for all patients was 54.4 months. After PS matching, MVA for OS showed that IMRT was associated with improved OS compared to non-IMRT (HR 0.83, 95% CI: 0.74–0.94; P=0.002). Adjusted KM analysis showed that the 5-year OS for patients treated with IMRT was 74.6% vs . 70.5% (P=0.0022). Conclusions: To our knowledge, this is the largest study to date that evaluates the impact of IMRT on OS for patients with AC. Our investigation shows that IMRT based concurrent CRT for non-metastatic AC is associated with improved survival when compared to similar patients treated with non-IMRT based therapy. In the absence of randomized evidence, our analysis might provide additional support for increasing the use of IMRT for patients with AC receiving concurrent CRT.
Manipulating Reaction Rates of Metal-Oxide Heterogeneous Catalysts via Semiconductor Heterojunctions

Heterojunctions of metal oxide semiconductors enable the manipulation of surface chemistry for heterogeneous catalysts or sensors without introducing dopants and their attendant complications. If o...
Economic and Environmental Impacts of Agrobiotechnology: An Introduction

Radical scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs can profoundly affect economic growth and social welfare (Romer, 1990). When radical discoveries link together and reinforce each other, they create a platform for continuing innovation with the potential to affect multiple sectors of the economy or give rise to new ones, causing far-reaching structural, social, and economic changes (Freeman & Perez, 1988).
CyGaMEs: A Full-Service Instructional Design Model Harnessing Game-Based Technologies for Learning and Assessment

CyGaMEs harnesses the power of game-based technologies for enhanced learning and embedded assessment. CyGaMEs is a principled and formal approach to instructional game design, assessment, and formative evaluation through applied analogical reasoning, learning science, entertainment game, and instructional design theories. CyGaMEs makes learning more intuitive by creating game-based environments that are analogs of targeted learning domains. Players construct viable intuitions (prior knowledge). Experimental research using CyGaMEs’ Selene, an instructional game targeting lunar geology, supports the approach.
Leveraging foodways for health and justice

The global industrial food system is increasingly recognised as a source of poor health that deepens social and economic inequity. Health advocates, policy makers, and food activists strive to impr...
Trans-horizon propagation techniques for examining disturbances in stratified tropospheric layers

This paper discusses the merits of using measurement techniques, in trans-horizon propagation experiments, which obtain various types of information simultaneously - such as, information on angle of arrival, transmission delay, Doppler spectrum, etc. It points out examples where such techniques have been used to a limited degree. It emphasizes the importance of extending this type of approach in the application of trans-horizon measurements to the study of specific formations on layers: waves and instabilities.
A combination of Interferon Stimulated Genes is more effective than IFNα and IFNβ in reducing HIV-1 replication in human cervicovaginal tissues

Enhancing antiviral responses while controlling immune cell activation is an attractive strategy to reduce HIV-1 replication in the cervicovaginal mucosae, a primary site of heterosexual transmission. Interferon alpha and beta (IFN/{beta}) signaling up-regulates expression of inflammatory factors and Interferon-Stimulated Genes (ISGs). The simultaneous induction of both IFNs by pathogen-bound molecular pattern recognition receptors and the paucity of data on the anti-HIV-1 efficacy of a combination of these antiviral factors or their downstream targets in human experimental models taking into account mucosal and submucosal cell populations, motivated us to determine whether combined IFN/{beta} or ISGs could decrease HIV-1 replication in cervicovaginal tissues.nnIFN/{beta} reduced HIV-1 p24 release. This reduction was associated with upregulation of expression of a subset of ISGs, the type I IFN receptor and interferon regulatory factor seven. IFN/{beta} also enhanced immune cell activation. In contrast, when added directly to CV tissues, a combination of ISGs was more effective than IFN/{beta} in reducing HIV-1 p24 release. The ISG combination demonstrated early kinetics and a more robust reduction in HIV-1 p24 release. Opposite to IFN/{beta}, the combination of ISGs did not induce immune cell activation.nnIFN/{beta}-induced ISGs provide novel mucosal therapeutic targets with a greater capacity to reduce HIV-1 compared to IFN/{beta}, without inducing immune cell activation.
The Invention of Authentic Italian Food: Narratives, Rhetoric, and Media

The status of Italian food has soared in terms of cultural and social prestige through shifting representations in public discourse and media, as well as changing performances of Italian identities both abroad and in Italy. Narratives and rhetoric devices in communication forms as diverse as advertising, marketing, memoirs, magazines, film, and TV shows have played a central role in constructing contemporary ideas about Italian food. Ideas about tradition and authenticity have been crucial in the success and to a certain extent the idealization of Italian food. Tradition and authenticity have become strategic elements in generating popularity and commercial success insofar as they are not reserved to insiders only but, thanks to other core values attributed to Italian foodways—conviviality and generosity—they are also made available and accessible to outsiders, and as such are relatively easy to package and commodify.
“It Makes Me Step Back a Little…Check Myself”: Parental Identity and Mandated Participation among Parents Involved with the Child Welfare System

The child welfare system (CWS) is designed to protect children from maltreatment. One avenue through which the CWS aims to do so is by mandating participation in parenting interventions. There are notable challenges associated with mandated services, however, and participant drop out is a key concern. Researchers have examined factors associated with retention, and participants’ beliefs about parenting and their parental identity may be linked with intervention engagement. Although theory and research on parental identity is growing, little of this work is specific to parents involved with the CWS. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to examine parental identity in the context of CWS involvement and mandated services. The study involved analysis of existing qualitative data collected through interviews with 35 parents who participated in a parenting intervention. Interviews were analyzed using a thematic approach guided by open, axial and selective coding principles. Findings identified that parental identity is influenced by CWS and mandated intervention participation through three main themes: (1) Loss of Parental Control Over Parent-Child Interactions, (2) Internal Shifts in Parental Beliefs and Emotions, and parental reflections on the (3) Transmission of Core Values. Each theme represented experiences of identity disruption alongside positive shifts in parental identity, such as enhanced beliefs about self and parental responsibilities. Further, parents described re-evaluating themselves in their role and expressed shifts in thought patterns and perceptions. Results challenge professionals to consider the CWS context as integral to parental identity and encourage researchers to examine parental identity as a mechanism of change.
The coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor: virological and biological beauty

The coxsackievirus and adenovirus receptor (CAR) is an essential multifunctional cellular protein that is only beginning to be understood. CAR serves as a receptor for many adenoviruses, human group B coxsackieviruses, swine vesicular disease virus, and possibly other viruses. While named for its function as a viral receptor, CAR is also involved in cell adhesion, immune cell activation, synaptic transmission, and signaling. Knockout mouse models were first to identify some of these biological functions; however, tissue-specific model systems have shed light on the complexity of different CAR isoforms and their specific activities. Many of these functions are mediated by the large number of interacting proteins described so far, and several new putative interactions have recently been discovered. As antiviral and gene therapy strategies that target CAR continue to emerge, future work poised to understand the biological implications of manipulating CAR in vivo is critical.
Condensation of pericentrin proteins in human cells illuminates phase separation in centrosome assembly

Mitotic centrosomes are complex membraneless organelles that guide the formation of mitotic spindles to ensure faithful cell division. They are formed by timely expansion of the pericentriolar material (PCM) around the centrioles at the onset of mitosis. How PCM proteins are recruited and held together without a lipid membrane remains elusive. Here we found that endogenously expressed pericentrin (PCNT), a conserved PCM scaffold protein, condenses into liquid-like granules during early mitosis in cultured human cells. Furthermore, the N-terminal segment of PCNT, enriched with conserved coiled-coils and low-complexity regions (LCRs), undergoes phase separation. These PCNT 9condensates9 selectively recruit PCM components and nucleate microtubules in cells. We propose that coiled-coils and LCRs, two prevalent sequence features in the centrosomal proteome, are preserved under evolutionary pressure to drive phase separation, a process that bestows upon the centrosome a distinct material property critical for its assembly and functions.
A Slicing Obstruction from the 10/8+4 Theorem

Using the 10/8+4 theorem of Hopkins, Lin, Shi, and Xu, we derive a smooth slicing obstruction for knots in the three-sphere using a spin 4-manifold whose boundary is 0–surgery on a knot. This improves upon the slicing obstruction bound by Vafaee and Donald that relies on Furuta’s 10/8 theorem. We give an example where our obstruction is able to detect the smooth non-sliceness of a knot by using a spin 4-manifold for which the Donald-Vafaee slice obstruction fails.
Transition-Age Medicaid Coverage for Adolescents With Autism and Adolescents With Intellectual Disability

Although the majority of adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) rely on healthcare coverage through Medicaid during their transition into adulthood, little is known about their continuing eligibility. This study used Medicaid Analytic Extract (MAX) data to examine Medicaid coverage in a national sample using a cohort of adolescents with ASD (n ¼4,179) and a like-aged cohort with intellectual disability (ID, n¼21,844) over 5 years using survival analysis and Cox regression models. More than 1 in 4 adolescents with ASD lost coverage and fewer than half subsequently regained it. They were more likely to disenroll than adolescents with ID. Similarities in overall patterns among the 2 groups suggest that the experience of adolescents with ASD was characteristic of more general aspects of behavioral health coverage and indicate the need for programmatic reforms.
Return from Wilderness: Three Pains

After a sustained backpacking trip into the wilderness, the juxtaposition of return to contemporary society can feel particularly jarring. With a close look at what may initially feel like a rather...
Impact of annealing and V:III ratio on properties of MBE grown wide-bandgap AlGaInP materials and solar cells

The growth and properties of wide bandgap (Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/)/sub 0.51/In/sub 0.49/P layers and solar cells grown by solid source molecular beam epitaxy were examined to correlate the impact of growth conditions and in-situ annealing on photovoltaic performance. A P/sub 2/:III flux ratio of 12 was found to optimize the optical qualities of Ga/sub 0.51/In/sub 0.49/P epilayers. Ga/sub 0.51/In/sub 0.49/P solar cells were grown and subjected to different in-situ annealing conditions. The effect of annealing on material quality and device performance was characterized through deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and photoluminescence (PL), which revealed a trend in non-radiative recombination. The results suggest that removal of a deep level near E/sub C/ - 0.78 eV in the n-type base is responsible for the observed improvement in current collection seen after anneal. After refinement of the Ga/sub 0.51/In/sub 0.49/P growth, wider bandgap material was investigated for future use in a high temperature/high intensity solar cell. A range of (Al/sub x/Ga/sub 1-x/)/sub 0.51/In/sub 0.49/P materials, with direct bandgaps from 2.09 eV to 2.26 eV have been successfully demonstrated using digital alloying and conventional bulk growth.
Regulation of Ion Channels by Membrane Lipids

The major membrane lipid regulators of ion channel function include cholesterol, one of the main lipid components of the plasma membranes, phosphoinositides, a group of regulatory phospholipids that constitute a minor component of the membrane lipids but are known to play key roles in regulation of multiple proteins and sphingolipids, particularly sphingosine-1-phosphate, a signaling biolipid that is generated from ceramide and is known to regulate multiple cellular functions. Furthermore, specific effects of all the lipid modulators are highly heterogeneous varying significantly between different types of ion channels, as well as between different cell types. In terms of the mechanisms, three general mechanisms have been shown to underlie lipid regulation of ion channels: specific lipid-protein interactions, changes in the physical properties of the membrane, and facilitating the association of the channel proteins with other regulatory proteins within multiproteins signaling complexes termed membrane rafts. In this article, we present comprehensive analysis of the roles of several lipid modulators, including cholesterol, bile acids, phosphoinositides, and sphingolipids on ion channel function.
Cyclooxygenase expression is not required for release of arachidonic acid from cells by some nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and cancer preventive agents.

Background Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) have been shown to be effective in inhibiting colorectal cancer. Cyclooxygenase activity is thought to mediate, in part, this cancer preventive effect. From observations made when cells that express cyclooxygenase activity were treated with NSAIDs and known cancer preventive agents, I have postulated that arachidonic acid (AA) release is associated with cancer prevention. In this study, the effects of NSAIDs on two cells that do not express cycloxygenase activity are detailed.
Reassignment of the “Forbidden” character in the Ã1B3u-X̃1Ag transitions of pyrazine-d0, 15N and d4☆

Abstract Contours of bands polarized in the plane of the pyrazine (1,4-diazine) molecule are analyzed in greater detail than before (J. Mol. Spectrosc. 11, 257 (1963); 21, 66 (1966)). Largely on the basis of simulations of the pyrazine-15N and d4 bands, it is concluded that the vibronic transition moment lies not along the line of the nitrogen atoms but perpendicular to that line. The reassignment requires the vibration responsible for the bands to be ν10a and the electronic transition(s) which loans intensity to be 1B2u. It is confirmed from the derived changes of inertial constants that the two nitrogen atoms lie closer together in the ecited state than in the ground state.
Origin of Negative and Dispersive Features in Resonance Femtosecond Stimulated Raman Spectroscopy

Negative anti-Stokes femtosecond stimulated Raman features seen off-resonance and dynamic dispersive lineshapes seen on resonance are experimentally characterized and explained by multiple four-wave mixing processes that contribute to the total signal. Hot luminescence terms which cause dispersive lineshapes are separated from positive resonance Raman features on the Stokes side by varying the time delay between pulses
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 envelope glycoprotein regions important for association with the gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein.

Abstract Insertion of four amino acids into various locations within the amino-terminal halves of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 gp120 or gp41 envelope glycoprotein disrupts the noncovalent association of these two envelope subunits (M. Kowalski, J. Potz, L. Basiripour, T. Dorfman, W. C. Goh, E. Terwilliger, A. Dayton, C. Rosen, W. A. Haseltine, and J. Sodroski, Science 237:1351-1355, 1987). To localize the determinants on the gp120 envelope glycoprotein important for subunit association, amino acids conserved among primate immunodeficiency viruses were changed. Substitution mutations affecting either of two highly conserved regions located at the amino (residues 36 to 45) and carboxyl (residues 491 to 501) ends of the mature gp120 molecule resulted in nearly complete dissociation of the envelope glycoprotein subunits. Partial dissociation phenotypes were observed for some changes affecting residues in the third and fourth conserved gp120 regions. These results suggest that hydrophobic regions at both ends of the gp120 glycoprotein contribute to noncovalent association with the gp41 transmembrane glycoprotein.
Improving quality in flexible manufacturing systems: A bottleneck transition approach

In this paper, a Markov chain model is introduced to study product quality in flexible manufacturing systems with batch productions. Using this model, we introduce good and defective states as the cycles where good quality and defective parts are produced, respectively. Then the product quality is a function of the transition probabilities characterizing the changes among good and defective states. To improve product quality, identifying the transition that has the largest impact on quality is important, and such transition is referred to as the quality bottleneck transition (BN-t). Analytical expressions to quantify the sensitivity of quality with respect to transition probabilities are derived, and indicators to identify the BN-t based on the data collected on the factory floor are developed. Through extensive numerical experiments, it is shown that such indicators have high accuracy in identifying the correct bottlenecks and can be used as an effective tool for quality improvement effort. Finally, a case study at an automotive paint shop is presented to illustrate the applicability of the method.
Fractional calculus and bilateral expansions of incomplete beta and elliptic functions

Some bilateral series expansions for the elliptic functions of the first and second kind, their product, incomplete beta, and certain elementary functions have been obtained in terms of hypergeometric functions using fractional calculus.
Stability of external circular fixation: a multi-variable biomechanical analysis.

Abstract Objective. To determine how the manipulation of the parameters of fixation and components of the circular external frame could improve and maintain optimal stability of bone fragments. Design. We performed a multi-parametric biomechanical analysis of the extrinsic parameters effecting bone fragment stabilization. Results of testing are presented as a percent change in stiffness due to the manipulation of frame components and their interaction with other fixation parameters. Background. Although there have been investigations of the biomechanical characteristics of circular external fixation, they have been limited to either individual frame components or full frame comparisons. Therefore, these studies did not provide a comprehensive understanding of how the manipulation of circular fixator components influences bone fragment stability. Methods. Mechanical testing was performed in three phases examining the effect of numerous components including ring diameter, wire angle, ring separation, etc. on axial, torsional and bending stiffness. Results. For phase I (single ring) and phase II (double-ring block), ring diameter was the most significant factor affecting axial and torsional stiffness, while wire angle, ring separation, and their interaction had the most influence on bending stiffness. Phase III (two double-ring blocks) showed that ring positioning with respect to the osteotomy site had the most affect on bending and torsional stiffness while axial stiffness was non-linear and dependent upon the applied load. Conclusions. The stability of bone fragments within a circular external fixator is affected by manipulation of the parameters of fixation or individual components of the frame. The contribution of each component to overall bone fragment stability is dependent upon the mode of loading. The changes in overall stability of bone fragments are dependent not only on the individual frame components but also upon their interaction with other parameters of fixation.
Clinical spectrum of succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase deficiency

Succinic semialdehyde dehydrogenase (SSADH) deficiency is a rare autosomal recessive disorder affecting CNS gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) degradation. SSADH, in conjunction with GABA transaminase, converts GABA to succinate. In the absence of SSADH, GABA is converted to 4-OH-butyrate. The presence of 4-OH-butyrate, a highly volatile compound, may be undetected on routine organic acid analysis. Urine organic acid testing was modified at the authors' institution in 1999 to screen for the excretion of 4-OH-butyrate by selective ion monitoring gas chromatography-mass spectrometry in addition to total ion chromatography. Since then, five patients with 4-hydroxybutyric aciduria have been identified. The authors add the clinical, neuroimaging, and EEG findings from a new cohort of patients to 51 patients reported in the literature with clinical details. Ages ranged from 1 to 21 years at diagnosis. Clinical findings include mild-moderate mental retardation, disproportionate language dysfunction, hypotonia, hyporeflexia, autistic behaviors, seizures, and hallucinations. Brain MRI performed in five patients at the authors' institution revealed symmetric increased T2 signal in the globus pallidi. SSADH deficiency is an under-recognized, potentially manageable neurometabolic disorder. Urine organic acid analysis should include a sensitive method for the detection of 4-hydroxybutyrate and should be obtained from patients with mental retardation or neuropsychiatric disturbance of unknown etiology.
A NEW X-RAY VIEW OF THE SUPERNOVA REMNANT G272.2-3.2 AND ITS ENVIRONMENT

We present an analysis of Chandra X-Ray Observatory data detailing a Galactic supernova remnant, G272.2–3.2. A clear shell of emission is resolved as a series of filaments and knots around the entire rim of the remnant. Spectral analysis of these features show that they are consistent with shock heating of interstellar material in a clumpy medium. We contrast these X-ray images with 22 μm Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (WISE) data to verify this interaction. Spatially separated from the shell we see a central diffuse region dominated by harder, hotter emission. Spatial spectroscopy shows a clear enhancement of metals consistent with a Type Ia explosion, namely S, Si, and Fe. We find no clear evidence for a compact object or pulsar wind nebula and argue for a Type Ia origin. Consideration of the ionization timescales suggest an age of 11,000 yr for G272.2–3.2.
Feminist Empiricism as a Method for Inquiry in Nursing

Feminist empiricism may provide a valuable approach for the acquisition, evaluation, and integration of biological knowledge in nursing epistemologies. This article discusses feminist empiricism as a method for inquiry in nursing. Proponents of feminist empiricism strive to work within the current political, social, and scientific structures while acknowledging that all three of these structures must change if less distorted epistemologies are to emerge. Hypertension in women is used to illustrate how feminist empiricism could be used to modify the traditional scientific approach. The argument is made that the androcentricism of the traditional scientific approach must be changed in order to include the problematics of women. Moreover, women must have a central role in determining the problematics of both health and illness in women. A philosophical stance embracing holism cannot deny biological phenomena or preclude research on these phenomena. Theorists and scientists in nursing have a unique opportunity to reconceptualize biological phenomena, from a holistic perspective, in the development of epistemologies for nursing. An argument for the use of basic research as a quantitative methodology, from a feminist perspective, is made. The appropriateness, for nursing, of basic research methodologies to generate knowledge about biological processes, which are within nursing's scientific domain, are discussed.
TLC1: Template RNA component of Saccharomyces cerevisiae telomerase

Telomeres, the natural ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes, are essential for chromosome stability. Because of the nature of DNA replication, telomeres require a specialized mechanism to ensure their complete duplication. Telomeres are also capable of silencing the transcription of genes that are located near them. In order to identify genes in the budding yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae that are important for telomere function, a screen was conducted for genes that, when expressed in high amounts, would suppress telomeric silencing. This screen lead to the identification of the gene TLC1 (telomerase component 1). TLC1 encodes the template RNA of telomerase, a ribonucleoprotein required for telomere replication in a variety of organisms. The discovery of TLC1 confirms the existence of telomerase in S. cerevisiae and may facilitate both the analysis of this enzyme and an understanding of telomere structure and function.
Patterns of Succession and Continuity in Family‐Owned Businesses: Study of an Ethnic Community

This paper examines ways in which patriarchal/familistic cultural systems condition responses to the kinds of social and economic changes that challenge family-owned businesses. Using a case study of an ethnic enclave in the southeastern United States, the paper looks at intergenerational succession, paying particular attention to how small firms manage to transfer control within the family. Key to successful transfer is the presence of trust and the utilization of social capital as well as the ability of successive generations to acquire skills that enable them to identify new market niches. The manuscript also discusses how firms manage conflict between old and new ideas, develop informal mechanisms for incorporating new ideas, and maintain the flexibility necessary for market survival.
Event-Driven Coverage and Rate Allocation for Providing Miss-Ratio Assurances in Wireless Sensor Networks

Wireless sensor networks are often densely deployed to prolong their lifetime by rotating the subset of nodes that are put on duty. This paper addresses the following two problems: Given the required miss-ratios for multiple events, (i) which subset of nodes should be put on duty for each event to assure its event miss-ratio?, and (ii) how should those on-duty nodes encode their data with minimum overhead of source coding and maximum energy saving? We propose CORA protocol which activates sensor nodes and assigns their rates jointly based on dynamically changing probability of event occurrences. The on-duty sensor nodes are assigned different rates based on whether they are located at hot spots or not. Those sensor nodes that are located at the hot spots are made active dynamically by CORA in such a way that proportional fairness is achieved in providing their miss-ratio guarantees. Simulation results show that CORA meets event miss-ratio assurances fairly and achieves high source coding gain with negligible overhead of correlation information maintenance.
Traffic Inference in Anonymous MANETs

The open wireless medium in a mobile ad-hoc network (MANET) enables malicious traffic analysis to dynamically infer the network traffic pattern in hostile environments. The disclosure of the traffic pattern and its changes is often devastating in a mission-critical MANET. A number of anonymous routing protocols have been recently proposed as an effective countermeasure against traffic analysis in MANETs. In this paper, we propose a novel traffic inference algorithm, called TIA, which enables a passive global adversary to accurately infer the traffic pattern in an anonymous MANET without compromising any node. As the first work of its kind, TIA works on existing on-demand anonymous MANET routing protocols. Detailed simulations show that TIA can infer the traffic pattern with an accuracy as high as 95\%. Our results in this paper highlight the necessity for cross-layer designs to defend a MANET against traffic analysis.
The horse-collar aurora: A frequent pattern of the aurora in quiet times

The frequent appearance of the 'horse-collar aurora' pattern in quiet-time DE 1 images is reported, presenting a two-hour image sequence that displays the basic features and shows that it sometimes evolves toward the theta configuration. There is some evidence for interplanetary magnetic field B(y) influence on the temporal development of the pattern. A preliminary statistical analysis finds the pattern appearing in one-third or more of the image sequences recorded during quiet times.
A CMOS-MEMS nano-Newton force sensor for biomedical applications

This paper reports the design and microfabrication of a CMOS-MEMS capacitive force sensor capable of nano-Newton out-of-plane force measurement. Sidewall and fringe capacitance formed by the multiple CMOS metal layers were utilized and fully differential sensing was enabled by common-centroid wiring of the sensing capacitors. Single-crystal silicon (SCS) is incorporated in the entire sensing element for robust structures and reliable sensor deployment in force measurement. A sensitivity of 0.02 fF/nN in a measurable force range 2 pN to 1 mN is predicted. The minimum detection force is 2.8 pN. The CMOS-MEMS force sensor features easy post-CMOS microfabrication in which directional SiO 2 reactive ion etching (RIE) and silicon deep reactive ion etching (DRIE) are employed.
An overview of the ion-beam analysis laboratory at White Oak

Abstract The Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) at White Oak is completing a major upgrading of its positive-ion accelerator facilities dedicated to the study of ion-atom collisions and ion-beam analysis of materials. At the heart of the facility is a new National Electrostatics Corporation 3 MV tandem accelerator which replaced a 2.5 MV Van de Graaff. There are two ion sources available which will enable the accelerator to produce an ion from nearly any element in the periodic table. Mass-energy control is defined by a 90 ° analyzing magnet. A downstream switching magnet allows for the establishment of five separate beam lines. Currently three beam lines are in operation: an RBS and PIXE analysis system, an NRA analysis system, and an experimental line for measuring the stopping powers of ions in gases. In addition to numerous PCs for data manipulation, a VAX computer system is being upgraded to perform computer-controlled acquisition and analysis of spectral data. Details on the upgrade will be presented as well as recent results of ion-beam analysis.