cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
'No-contact' interventions for unhealthy college drinking:efficacy of alternatives to person-delivered intervention approaches.

SUMMARY Despite the development of brief efficacious interventions, they are not reaching a large proportion of college students who continue to drink in a manner that puts them at risk for harm. Recent efforts have attempted to address this issue through the development of brief alcohol interventions that may be more broadly disseminated to college students. Researchers have adapted a variety of approaches to print and computer-based modalities that do not require direct real-time contact with an interventionist. The goal of this paper is to review the empirical evidence for the utility of these brief alcohol interventions that are delivered without direct real-time contact. A systematic review of this research suggests that “no-contact” interventions are feasible and may have efficacy. Further research is needed to understand the duration of these effects, mechanisms of change, moderators of outcome, and how to enhance the effectiveness of these approaches.
RELATIONSHIP OF THE ADAPTIVE BEHAVIOR INVENTORY FOR CHILDREN AND INTELLIGENCE

An issue in the literature relative to the System of Multi-cultural Pluralistic Assessment (SOMPA) has been the independence of the Adaptive Behavior Inventory for Children and the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-Revised (WISC-R) (1, 2. 4). The inventory is purported to measure a child's nonacademic behavior and ability to function in everyday life situations (3). Measured by a parental interview are the child's performance within the family, peer community, nonacademic school activities; activities for independent functioning and social performance from the perspeeive of the home. The WISC-R scores are evaluated in the SOMPA model as a measure of school functioning, i.e., school achievement, and not as an over-all aptirude. Oakland (4) reported a .28 correlation between the inventory and WISC-R Full Scale IQ which is higher than correlations reported by Mercer and Lewis (3). Oakland (4) indicated, ". . . the ABIC does not correlate highly with intelligence or achievement" (p. 65). Oakland's findings are consistent with the view of Mercer and Lewis that the inventory is conceptually independent of achievement and intelligence and that there is minimal redundancy among measures (3). The intent of the present investigation was to study the relationship of scores on the inventory and the WISC-R Full Scale. Twenty-two male and 15 female clients of a Developmental Evaluation Center were tested. There were 11 black and 26 white children; their ages ranged from 62 mo. to 137 mo.; M age = 91 mo. and SD = 24 mo. The WISC-R wa administered by the clinic's psychological staff and scores on the Adaptive Behavior Inventory were obtained through parental interviews by a trained case worker. A Pearson correlation computed for the group for the two measures was significant (r = .50, p < .05). Mean scores for the group for the WISC-R Full Scale and inventory were 83 (SD = 16.3) and 37.9 (SD = 12.9), respectively. The correlations for the six sub-scales of the Ada~tive Behavior Inventow and the WISC-R Full Scale were: family, .46; community, .41; peer relations, .43; nonacademic school roles, 33; earner/ consumer, .45; and self-maintenance, .53. Such data do not support the notion of little relationship between the Adaptive Behavior Inventory and WISC-R Full Scale. The possible utility of the SOMPA model requires careful and repeated documentation of the assumptions. The present research is exploratory and heuristic; generalizations to other samples should be cautious. The contrast of these results with those of Oakland (4) and Mercer and Lewis (3) and the increasing use of the model for assessment of children require further examination of the relation between the two measures.
An electrodynamics-based model for ion diffusion in microbial polysaccharides

An electrodynamics-based model was formulated for simulation of ion diffusion in microbial polysaccharides. The fixed charges and electrostatic double layers that may associate with microbial polysaccharides and their effects on ion diffusion were explicitly built into the model. The model extends a common multicomponent ion diffusion formulation that is based on irreversible thermodynamics under a zero ionic charge flux condition, which is only applicable to the regions without fixed charges and electrostatic double layers. An efficient numerical procedure was presented to solve the differential equations in the model. The model well described key features of experimental observations of ion diffusion in negatively charged microbial polysaccharides including accelerated diffusive transport of cations, exclusion of anions, and increased rate of cation transport with increasing negative charge density. The simulated diffusive fluxes of cations and anions were consistent with a cation exchange diffusion concept in negatively charged polysaccharides at the interface of plant roots and soils; and the developed model allows to mathematically study such diffusion phenomena. An illustrative example was also provided to simulate dynamic behavior of ionic current during ion diffusion within a charged bacterial cell wall polysaccharide and the effects of the ionic current on the compression or expansion of the bacterial electrostatic double layer at the interface of the cell wall and bulk solution.
Southern Bougainville 1

Abstract The Greater Buin Plain of southern Bougainville provides a complex picture of similarities and diversity. From northwest to southeast, a clearly marked range in emphasis from maternal to paternal ties and descent is paralleled by a shift in the bases of the status hierarchy, from kinship and age (northwest) to greater stress on renown and a system of inherited class‐status. These are considered in relation to differences in leadership. Defining ‘political’ broadly on the criterion of a group's.’ corporate title(s) ‘ to the territory it normally occupies, the paper suggests that, in addition to cumulative change, all of these factors can be seen in terms of cyclical change between two sharply contrasting types of political unit.
Introduction to the Symposium

This file surveys recent contributions to auction theory and explores the implications they contain for future research in the field.
Empirical Bayes Estimation in Finite Population Sampling

Abstract Empirical Bayes methods are becoming increasingly popular in statistics. Robbins (1955) introduced the method in the context of nonparametric estimation of a completely unspecified prior distribution. Subsequently, the method has been explored very successfully in a series of articles by Efron and Morris (1973, 1975, 1977) in a parametric framework. In the Efron—Morris setup, a family of parametric distributions is used as possible priors, but only when one or more of the parameters of the family of prior distributions is estimated from the data. Morris (1983) listed a number of areas where empirical Bayes methods are used. One of the main features of empirical Bayes analysis is to borrow strength from the ensemble—that is, use information from similar sources in constructing estimators and predictors in addition to the most directly available source of information. There are some situations in finite population sampling where such methods might be suitable. For instance, in many repetitive surve...
Dihydrotestosterone promotes fighting behavior of female mice

Abstract Female mice injected once with dihydrotestosterone (DHT) or testosterone propionate (TP) on the day of birth fought sooner following the commencement of chronic exposure to testosterone in adult life than did animals administered only the oil vehicle at birth. Also, adult nonperinatally androgenized females fought in response to chronic exposure to DHT or TP. It appears that DHT shares with TP the ability both to sensitize the perinatal CNS to testosterone and to activate fighting behavior in the adult.
A Numerical Study of Low-Reynolds-Number Separation Bubbles

The present study uses two dimensional numerical simulations to study unsteady low-Reynolds-number separation bubbles. The numerical study is in two parts: (1) a two dimensional time-accurate Navier-Stokes solver is used to simulate flows over the APEX airfoil, and (2) a numerical procedure is developed for localized simulations of transitional separation bubbles. The 2-D computations of flow over the APEX airfoil show that the flow is unsteady with periodic vortex shedding. A linear stability analysis of the separated flow shows that the vortex shedding is caused due to the instability of the separated flow. For transonic flows over the APEX airfoil the vortex shedding is additionally influenced by the presence of shocks. The flowfield has two characteristic time scales, one corresponding to the vortex shedding and another corresponding to the movement of the shocks. The two dimensional (2-D) airfoil simulations also showed the presence of nonlinear effects in the separated region. To better understand the characteristics of separation bubbles a numerical procedure has been developed for localized separation bubble calculations. This procedure is used to perform computations for a flat plate separation bubble test case. The separation bubble is induced by specifying a velocity gradient in the freestream. The growth of disturbances in the separation bubble is analyzed by introducing disturbances upstream of the separation bubble.
A Genital Hair Tourniquet in a 9-Year-Old Girl

The hair tourniquet is a well-described phenomenon. Typically, a hair or filament becomes tightly wrapped around an appendage, thereby causing swelling, pain, and, in extreme cases, necrosis. Affected areas include fingers, toes, and the genitalia. A case of a 9-year-old girl with a clitoral hair tourniquet is described, and a review of the literature of genital tourniquets in females is presented, with a discussion about potential etiology. The hair-thread tourniquet syndrome is a disease in which a hair or filament becomes wrapped around an end-perfusion appendage, thereby limiting adequate venous and lymphatic drainage of that tissue. This results in hyperemia, swelling and pain. If uncorrected, edema and interstitial pressures may increase to prevent adequate vascular supply, and the affected area can progress to necrosis. We are classically taught that this syndrome primarily affects the fingers, toes, and infantile penis and is an important consideration in the differential diagnosis of the colicky infant. The author presents a case of a prepubescent girl with a genital hair tourniquet.
On-chip circuit for measuring multi-GHz clock signal waveforms

An on-chip circuit to measure full analog waveforms of internal signals is described. It can measure signals up to a repetition rate of at least 7 GHz, a bandwidth of at least 12 GHz, with accuracy required to detect subtle differences in signals, and it can measure overshoot above the rail voltage. It has been demonstrated on an experimental clock grid with optional resonant operation.
Effect of lateral heat losses on the stability of thermal displacement fronts in porous media

Previous studies have shown that heat transport by horizontal conduction in thermal displacement processes in porous media has a stabilizing effect on condensation fronts. This paper expands the stability analysis by also including the description of heat transfer lateral heat losses by conjungate (vertical) conduction. A marginal stability condition is derived in terms of a parameter Λ representing the relative magnitude of heat transfer by conjugate conduction. It is shown that lateral heat losses ask a significant stabilizing effect on the front. This effect should be important in thermal oil recovery processes such as steam injection and in-situ combustion.
Immobilized Proanthocyanidins for the Capture of Bacterial Lipopolysaccharides

Proanthocyanidins (PACs) are an abundant class of compounds found in a variety of plant materials. Here we demonstrate the application of these materials as capture molecules for the removal of bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) from solution. PACs from whole cranberries, grape juice, black tea, and cranberry juice were purified and immobilized onto thiol-activated Sepharose beads. This material was used in pull-down type assays for the capture of LPS. The binding of LPS by PACs has been shown to compete with that of polymyxin B which is known to bind the lipid A component of LPS. Assays conducted in the presence of lipid A verified that at least some component of the LPS binding activity of the PACs is via the lipid A moiety. Molar comparison of polymyxin B to proanthocyanidins indicated that the Sepharose immobilized PACs have a binding affinity for LPS similar to that of polymyxin B.
Lake-sediment record of late Holocene hurricane activities from coastal Alabama

Coastal lake sediments contain a stratigraphically and chronologically distinct record of major hurricane strikes during late Holocene time. Frederic—a category 3 hurricane that struck the Alabama coast on the Gulf of Mexico in 1979—left a distinct sand layer in the nearshore sediments of Lake Shelby as a result of storm-tide overwash of beaches and dunes. Sediment cores taken from the center of Lake Shelby contain multiple sand layers, suggesting that major hurricanes of category 4 or 5 intensity directly struck the Alabama coast at ca. 3.2-3.0, 2.6, 2.2, 1.4, and 0.8 ka ( 14 C yr), with an average recurrence interval of ∼600 yr. The Alabama coast is likely to be struck by a category 4 or 5 hurricane within the next century.
Alternate Direct-Drive Option for Electric Propulsion

The goal of this research is to power a 1.5-kW Hall thruster with a power source based on chemical double layer capacitor technology and to access performance characteristics of this power/propulsion system. The thruster was operatedinalong-pulsemodewithdecayingpowerinputandexhibitedsimilarperformancecharacteristicstobeing operatedundersteady-stateconditions.Overthetestedpowerrangeof450–1750W,thethrustergeneratedthrustof 30–100 mN at an efficiency of 30–55% and a specific impulse of 900–1950 s. These results formed the basis for a mission analysis considering extremes with regard to shading and atmospheric density. A near-Earth orbiting spacecraft served as an analysis platform to compare the mission performance of direct-drive electric propulsion options and a state-of-the-art hydrazine monopropellant system. Regardless of orbit conditions, electric propulsion options outperformed the conventional chemical system in terms of wet mass decrease (41–59%) and net mass increase (14–47%), while capacitor-powered electric propulsion options substantially reduced the onboard power requirement (66–91%).
Analytical solutions for sequentially coupled one-dimensional reactive transport problems – Part I: Mathematical derivations

Multi-species reactive transport equations coupled through sorption and sequential first-order reactions are commonly used to model sites contaminated with radioactive wastes, chlorinated solvents and nitrogenous species. Although researchers have been attempting to solve various forms of these reactive transport equations for over 50 years, a general closed-form analytical solution to this problem is not available in the published literature. In Part I of this two-part article, we derive a closed-form analytical solution to this problem for spatially-varying initial conditions. The proposed solution procedure employs a combination of Laplace and linear transform methods to uncouple and solve the system of partial differential equations. Two distinct solutions are derived for Dirichlet and Cauchy boundary conditions each with Bateman-type source terms. We organize and present the final solutions in a common format that represents the solutions to both boundary conditions. In addition, we provide the mathematical concepts for deriving the solution within a generic framework that can be used for solving similar transport problems.
The nutritive properties of monoglycerides

1. Monostearin, monolinolein, and lard as compared in the rations studied were found to be practically equal for the growth of rats.
Regulation of Zn2+ uptake and versicolorin A synthesis in a mutant strain ofAspergillus parasiticus

Abstract Supplementation of cultures ofAspergillus parasiticus with Zn2+ stimulates the synthesis of versicolorin A only if the supplemental Zn2+ is present between 20 and 30 h postinoculation, during early vegetative growth. Cultures which are grown with minimal Zn2+ avidly internalize Zn2+ which is added late in the growth phase or in early stationary phase. A 15-min exposure to 10 μM Zn2+ during the responsive period, 20–30 h postinoculation, prevents this later uptake of Zn2+. The Zn2+ content of the mycelia at the end of the responsive period, 30 h postinoculation, in some way determines subsequent metabolism of the organism. Versicolorin synthesis, which begins about 50 h postinoculation, is directly proportional to the Zn2+ content of the mycelia at 30 h. The uptake of Zn2+, measured late in the growth phase or in early stationary phase, is inversely proportional to the Zn2+ content of the mycelia at 30 h.
Environmental enrichment enhances sensitization to GBR 12935-induced activity and decreases dopamine transporter function in the medial prefrontal cortex

Abstract Rats raised in an enriched condition (EC) during development display increased hyperactivity to the effect of acute amphetamine compared to rats raised in an impoverished condition (IC). The present study determined whether environmental enrichment differentially alters the effects of GBR 12935 administration, a selective dopamine transporter (DAT) inhibitor. Acutely, EC rats showed a greater, dose-dependent GBR 12935-induced increase in activity compared to IC rats; however, basal activity for EC rats was lower than for IC rats. After repeated GBR 12935, only EC rats exhibited behavioral sensitization. Kinetic analysis of DAT function in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) revealed that the maximal velocity of [ 3 H ]dopamine ([ 3 H ]DA) uptake in EC rats was less than in IC rats (4.9±0.6 and 7.7±0.6 pmol/min/mg, respectively), but not in striatum or nucleus accumbens. Furthermore, GBR 12935-induced inhibition of DAT function, [ 3 H ]GBR 12935 binding density and DA content in mPFC, striatum and nucleus accumbens were not different between EC and IC rats. However, dihydroxyphenylacetic acid content in mPFC was lower in EC than IC rats, whereas no differences were found in striatum and nucleus accumbens. These results suggest that EC-induced changes in activity may be due to decreased DAT function and decreased DA metabolism in the mPFC.
Electrospray Ionization Tandem Mass Spectrometry for Structural Elucidation of Protonated Brevetoxins in Red Tide Algae

Brevetoxins, the toxic components of “red tide” algae, all share one of two robust polycyclic ether backbone structures, but they are distinguished by differing side-chain substituents. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry analyses of brevetoxins have shown that the polyether structure invariably has a very high affinity for sodium cations that results in the production of abundant (M + Na)+ ions even when sodium cations are only present as impurities. Because the ionic charge tends to remain localized on the sodium atom and because at least two bonds must be broken in order to produce polycyclic backbone fragmentation, it is extremely difficult to obtain abundant product ions (other than Na+ ) from (M + Na) + brevetoxin precursor ions in low-energy collision-induced dissociation (CID) MS/MS experiments. This report establishes that acid additives (oxalic acid, trifluoroacetic acid, and particularly hydrochloric acid) in aqueous methanol solutions can promote high yields of protonated brevetoxin molecules (MH+ ions) for Btx-1, -2, and -9 brevetoxins. Most importantly, unlike their (M + Na)+ counterparts, MH + precursor ions offer readily detectable product ions in CID MS/MS experiments, even under lowenergy collisions. This direct structural characterization approach has provided decomposition information from brevetoxins that was previously inaccessible, including the identification of diagnostic product ions for “type A” brevetoxins (m/z 611) and “type B” brevetoxins (m/z 779, 473, 179) and characteristic ions for Btx-1 (m/z 221, 139), Btx-2 (m/z 153), and Btx-9 (m/z 157, 85). Precursor ion scans and constant neutral loss scans are proposed to enable screening of individual type A or type B brevetoxins present in naturally occurring mixtures.
New forestry studies in Austria

At the University of Agriculture and Applied Life Science in Vienna forestry education is available to educate and train students for all spheres of forestry. The six‐term bachelor‐degree study includes 132 semester‐hours liability courses and 15 semester‐hours free elective courses. All the subjects for the degree are presented. When completing the study, students will get degree of a Bachelor of Technical Sciences (Bakk. techn.). For the master degree (Diplom‐Ingenieur), students should obtain 54 semester‐hours to choose from one among three modules, 2 semester‐hours diploma thesis seminar, and 7 semester‐hours subjects as free elective courses. Subjects are presented for three suggested modules, that is, forest‐ecosystem analysis, forest‐resource management, and management and politics module.
Low-Power Circuits and Energy Harvesting for Structural Health Monitoring of Bridges

In this paper, we present a self-powered wireless sensor system for structural health monitoring of highway bridges. The system consists of an energy harvesting material, power conditioning circuitry, a sensor, an analog-to-digital converter, and a wireless transmitter. The energy harvesting material is a recently discovered NiMnCoIn magnetic shape memory alloy (MSMA), which converts mechanical vibrations first into a magnetization change and then, with assistance from a pick-up coil, into an alternating current (ac) output. The ac output of the MSMA is converted to a direct current (dc) voltage for powering a sensor and circuitry. Measurement results from a self-powered rectifier (SPR) and a six-bit successive approximation register analog-to-digital converter (SAR ADC) are presented, and implementation considerations are presented for the sensor and wireless transmitter. The SPR produces dc output voltages larger than 700 mV for loads larger than 100 kΩ with peak input amplitudes >;400 mVpk. A four-stage rectifier-multiplier is also implemented utilizing the proposed SPR as the first stage. The implemented SAR ADC is functional with a 0.9-V dc supply voltage (Vdd) and achieves an improved performance with a Vdd of 1.8 V, where the SAR ADC achieves a measured integral nonlinearity and differential nonlinearity of +1.2/-1.9 least significant bit and +1.3/-0.99 LSB, respectively. The SPR and SAR ADC are fabricated in a standard 0.5-μm CMOS process. The proposed sensor system can be fully optimized due to co-design capabilities. The lack of batteries makes this system ideal for deployment in bridge monitoring systems.
Factors Influencing the Systemic Insecticidal Action of Substituted Phenyl Dimethyl Phosphates

p32-radiotracers of 2,4,5-trichlorophenyl dimethyl phosphate (A), 4-methythiophenyl dimethyl phosphate (B), and 4-nitrophenyl dimethyl phosphate (C) were used to study the systemic insecticidal activity of these compounds in cotton plants following application to the stem or as a 5% granule to the soil about the roots. Although all 3 compounds are effective contact insecticides, neither A nor C was appreciably active as a systemic insecticide find only traces of the intact insecticides could be found in the leaves up to 32 days after treatment. However B is an active systemic insecticide and this observation was in agreement with the findings of the radiotracer investigations which showed relatively large amounts of B or its toxic oxidation products in leaves and squares. It was concluded that B was more soluble in the lipoid cuticle of the cotton plant and that its oxidation in the plant environment to the more toxic sulfoxide and sulfone derivatives provided the necessary “delay factor” so that it was translocated in lethal amounts.
An Optical Disk Jukebox Mass Memory System

An optical disk "jukebox" mass memory system is being developed which will provide automatic access to any data in a store of 1013 bits within five seconds. This system contains a library of 128 optical disks with mechanisms for retrieving any disk, loading it onto a turntable, and recording or playing digital data at a rate of 50 Mb/s. The optical disks are housed in protective cartridges to facilitate handling by both the operating personnel and automatic disk handling mechanisms. Cartridges are moved from the store to a load station by a precision, belt-driven X-Y transport mechanism. The load station then mounts the disks onto a precision turntable where they are spun up to speed while still housed within their protective cartridges. Next, data is recorded or played back on these disks using focused laser beams. Finally, the disk is stopped and returned to its storage location so that the system can handle a new request. The disk handling mechanisms were designed to minimize mechanical shock and vibration while providing a rapid, smooth operation. A special centering hub design for the turntable minimizes disk eccentricities during multiple load/unload cycles and allows easy inter-changeability from machine to machine. This paper will describe the system, subsystem, and mechanism designs that were used in developing an engineering model of this jukebox concept. Test results from this engineering model will also be presented in this paper.
Modelling the scale effect of granular media for strength and bearing capacity

This paper investigates a method of analysis for the scale effect on shear strength of sands – a fundamental problem of considerable importance to soil mechanics. The phenomena of scale effect for direct shear box tests and footing bearing capacity tests are briefly described and the available analytical methods are discussed. First, the couple-stress theory is reviewed and its extension to a Drucker–Prager type is illustrated. Subsequently, material constants are discussed. Attention is then focused on the internal length of sand, which is shown to be the key parameter for scale effect for granular soil. Then, the predicted results are compared with experimental results on two sands. The main observations of the comparison for the scale effect are sketched and its limitations are discussed.
CT enterography for Crohn’s disease: optimal technique and imaging issues

CT enterography (CTE) is a common examination for patients with Crohn’s disease. In order to achieve high quality, diagnostic images, proper technique is required. The purpose of this treatise is to review the processes and techniques that can optimize CTE for patients with suspected or known Crohn’s disease. We will review the following: (1) how to start a CT enterography program; (2) workflow issues, including patient and ordering physician education and preparation; (3) oral contrast media options and administration regimens; (4) intravenous contrast media injection for uniphasic and multiphasic studies; (5) CTE radiation dose reduction strategies and the use of iterative reconstruction in lower dose examinations; (6) image reconstruction and interpretation; (7) imaging Crohn’s patients in the acute or emergency department setting; (8) limitations of CTE as well as alternatives such as MRE or barium fluoroscopic examinations; and (9) dictation templates and a common nomenclature for reporting findings of CTE in Crohn’s disease. Many of the issues discussed are summarized in the Abdominal Radiology Society Consensus MDCT Enterography Acquisition Protocol for Crohn’s Disease
Enhanced growth capacity of neonatal pulmonary artery smooth muscle cells in vitro: Dependence on cell size, time from birth, insulin-like growth factor I, and auto-activation of protein Kinase C

Based on the unique susceptibility of the neonatal pulmonary circulation to hypoxia-induced structural alteration in vivo, we hypothesized that pulmonary artery (PA) smooth muscle cells (SMC) from the neonate would demonstrate enhanced growth capacity in vitro compared to adult cells. To test this hypothesis, matched neonatal and adult bovine SMC were tested for differences in size, serum-stimulated proliferation, susceptibility to senescence, resistance to serum withdrawal, autocrine growth capacity, and responsiveness to a locally important growth factor (insulin-like growth factor I; IGF-I) and an activator of protein kinase C (PKC) (phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate; PMA). Neonatal PA SMC were smaller, grew faster, reached a higher plateau density, and were less susceptible to senescence. They were more resistant to serum withdrawal, had spontaneous autocrine growth capacity, and were more responsive to IGF-I, PMA, and the combination. Acquisition of increased growth factor responsiveness occurred between d5 and d14 after birth. Increased neonatal growth to IGF-I was associated with reduced IGF-I binding activity, implicating a post-receptor mechanism in enhanced responsiveness. Increased membrane-bound PKC catalytic activity was found in serum-deprived neonatal SMC. This basal increase was equal to that stimulated by 1 nM PMA in adult SMC, a pretreatment that caused these cells to become as responsive to IGF-I as untreated neonatal ones. We conclude that neonatal bovine PA SMC have marked enhancement of growth capacity in vitro, the acquisition of which is dependent on time from birth and is associated with auto-activation of PKC, These increased growth properties detected in vitro may contribute to the striking hyperplasia of neonatal PA SMC found in vivo following hypoxic exposure. © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Forum: Maintenance and rehabilitation of water resources and environment related infrastructures

How to maintain and rehabilitate a public facility has been a major responsibility of the agency in charge. Policies and procedures are normally documented in most of the agency's handbooks and manuals. It is not the intent of this forum to discuss those details for specific project or agency. Instead, some general thoughts and observations are shared here with the readers.
Fast Analytic Placement using Minimum Cost Flow

Many current integrated circuits designs, such as those released for the ISPD2005 (Nam et al., 2005) placement contest, are extremely large and can contain a great deal of white space. These new placement problems are challenging; analytic placers perform well, but can suffer from high run times. In this paper, we present a new placement tool called Vaastu. Our approach combines continuous and discrete optimization techniques. We utilize network flows, which incorporate the more realistic half-perimeter wire length objective, to facilitate module spreading in conjunction with a log-sum-exponential function based analytic approach. Our approach obtains wire length results that are competitive with the best known results, but with much lower run times.
Reliability of spatiotemporal gait outcome measures in Huntington's disease.

Gait impairments are very important in Huntington's disease (HD), because loss of independence in gait is an important predictor of nursing home placement. Given this importance, it is imperative to test reliable and sensitive outcome measures that can be tested easily in various clinical environments. Here, we examined the test–retest reliability of gait outcome measures using the GAITRite instrumented carpet. We tested 12 subjects with HD and 12 age-matched controls in two separate sessions. At each session, subjects walked across the GAITRite carpet at a comfortable speed. We used the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) and coefficient of variation (CoV) to measure test–retest reliability. Reliability was very high for all outcome measures (velocity, cycle time, stride length, cadence, and base of support), as seen by high ICC scores (0.86 to 0.95) and low CoV scores (0.042–0.102). In addition, the performance across the two subject groups was very different, indicating that the GAITRite is sensitive enough to distinguish between populations. Given that the GAITRite is a relatively inexpensive and portable piece of equipment, it can be used in a wide variety of clinical settings and clinical trials. Our data on high test–retest reliability and sensitivity extends the utility of the GAITRite to the HD population. © 2005 Movement Disorder Society
Factors affecting calculation of nutritional induces for foliage‐fed insects: an experimental approach

To determine how nutritional indices for insects fed leaves are affected by the experimental conditions and the physiology of the plant material, we used larvae of the buckmoth, Hemileuca lucina Hy. Ed. (Saturniidae) and their hostplant Spiraea latifolia Ait. Bork (Rosaceae). Under experimental conditions identical to those used to determine larval nutritional indices, we found that the age of leaves (new versus mature) significantly affected their metabolism and water loss, but simulated herbivory did not directly affect leaf metabolism. Over a 6-day test, nitrogen concentration showed an initial increase followed by a gradual decline, and was higher in new leaves compared to mature leaves. New leaves increased in protein concentration and then gradually returned to the initial level, whereas mature leaves changed little over the 6-day test. These changes in percent nitrogen and protein may largely reflect the disproportional changes in non-nitrogenous materials. Solitary and grouped larvae had similar growth rates on new leaves, but they differed on mature leaves. Deliberate manipulation of larvae during the course of an experiment significantly reduced relative growth rates by increasing duration of the stadium rather than by decreasing biomass gained. Two methods of estimating larval gut contents at mid-stadium were compared: weight of frass produced and weight of digestive tract and contents. After the end of the 4-day test period used to determine nutritional indices, the digestive tracts with food accounted for 10.8% of the larval dry weight. Larval frass produced in 24 h after the end of the test period comprised 9.3% of the larval dry weight. Correction factors for plant metabolism changed nutritional indices by 1 to 8%, while those for larval gut contents altered indices by 2 to 15%.
The Art of Practicing with Evidence

This article reviews the definition of evidence-based practice and promotes an expansive view of the kinds of evidence available to the practitioner. It suggests that art and science are intertwined in practice, and describes the process of balancing and incorporating evidence derived from multiple sources, including the findings of research, the cumulative experience and wisdom of the practitioner, and the values and preferences of clients.
Dietary selenium protection of methylmercury intoxication of Japanese quail

Selenium, as sodium selenite, added at 5 ppm to purified diets of Japanese quail protected against methylmercury intoxication. Selenium fed simultaneously with methylmercury to quail for 9 weeks gave complete protection. However, feeding selenium with methylmercury for 4 weeks, followed by a diet containing only methylmercury, delayed the onset of methylmercury intoxication for 1–2 weeks as compared to quail not pretreated with selenium. On diets which contained 20 ppm of methylmercury but no selenium, over 90% mortality was observed for young quail within 2 weeks, and mature quail within 4 weeks. Methylmercury residues in liver, kidney, and brain are higher in male than female quail. High methylmercury content of these organs, or in produced eggs, does not indicate that birds will show evidence of methylmercury toxicosis.
Direct synthesis of the beta-l-rhamnopyranosides.

The direct formation of β-l-rhamnopyranosides by means of thioglycoside donors protected with a 2-O-sulfonate ester and, ideally, a 4-O-benzoyl ester, is reported. Activation is achieved with the combination of 1-benzenesulfinyl piperidine and triflic anhydride in the presence of 2,4,6-tri-tert-butylpyrimidine. Selectivities vary from moderate to good, and the sulfonyl group is easily removed post-glycosylation with sodium amalgam in 2-propanol.
Capacity region of degraded broadcast channels with feedback

Abstract A degraded two-component discrete memoryless broadcast channel (DMBC) is said to be strongly degraded if the output of the noisier component channel is physically obtained by passing the output of the better component channel through a third discrete memoryless channel. We show that the addition of noiseless feedback links from the receivers to the transmitter does not increase the capacity region of strongly degraded two-component DMBCs.
Effects of sodium butyrate on growth, differentiation, and apoptosis in head and neck squamous carcinoma cell lines.

Background Biologic agents that reverse early changes in the aerodigestive tract mucosa have potential treatment applications for patients with field cancerization of the upper aerodigestive tract. Sodium butyrate (BA) is a normal dietary constituent that induces differentiation and inhibits growth in several malignant cell types in vitro, but its effect on head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) has not been evaluated. Methods Using five HNSCC cell lines, the effects of BA on cell proliferation and apoptosis were examined by colorimetric and fluorescence-labeling methods, and the expression of differentiation markers and apoptosis-related proteins were analyzed using Western and Northern blotting, flow cytometry, and cell cycle analysis. Results BA-induced growth inhibition and apoptosis in HNSCC cells at millimolar concentrations. Apoptosis induction did not depend on the p53 status of the cell lines or on expression of members of the Bcl-2/Bax family. Conclusions These results demonstrate that butyrate has activity against HNSCC in vitro and may have clinical applications for management of HNSCC patients. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Head Neck 22: 247–256, 2000.
Stimuli of thirst in donkeys (Equus asinus).

Abstract A study of the stimuli of thirst was conducted on six feral donkeys. Donkeys were found to be stimulated to drink by overnight water deprivation, by the diuretiv furosemide, and by hypertonic saline infusion, all in the absence of heat stress or work. Donkeys compensate accurately for the fluid deficit caused by overnight water deprivation. After 19 hr without water, they drank 8.8±2.4 (mean±SE) liters within 60 min. Their undeprived overnight intake was 8.4±1.5 liters. However, latency was longer and water intake was less than that of ponies with the same changes in blood parameters, suggesting that donkeys have a higher thirst threshold than ponies. Further, plasma volume fell less in donkeys, but osmotic changes were similar to those reported in ponies exposed to the same deprivation. Donkeys infused with 250 ml of 15% NaCl drank 0.7±0.6 liters of water within 45 min, and osmolality increased from 287 to 297 mosmol/kg water; they drank no water in the same time period when infused with 250 ml 0.9% NaCl (p
Dynamic electrostatic confinement in an rf-sustained tandem mirror

Electrostatic ion confinement is demonstrated in an rf-sustained tandem mirror and shown to have a dynamic nature. Measurements of plasma potential and ion end loss on particular flux tubes show that confinement can be enhanced by a factor of 3 over direct-flow loss rates. The axial confining potential can vary with radial position and time resulting in changes in ion confinement with abrupt reductions in central-cell plasma density when axial potential confinement is reduced.
3-D-TCAD-Based Parasitic Capacitance Extraction for Emerging Multigate Devices and Circuits

In recent years, the multigate field-effect transistor (FET) has emerged as the most viable contender for technology scaling down to the sub-10-nm nodes. The nonplanar nature of multigate devices, along with rapidly shrinking front-end-of-line (FEOL) and back-end-of-line (BEOL) features, has compounded the problem of parasitics extraction in future technology nodes. In this paper, for the first time, we address the above problem through a holistic 3-D-technology CAD (3-D-TCAD) flow for the extraction of FEOL/(FEOL+BEOL) capacitances in generic multigate circuit layouts, using a transport analysis-based approach. We investigate device-level parasitic capacitances in 3-D-process-simulated bulk and silicon-on-insulator FinFETs, and uncover capacitance scaling trends for candidate single/multifin multigate FETs along the 22-nm/14-nm/10-nm technology nodes. Leveraging automated structure synthesis algorithms, we synthesize 3-D multigate 6T SRAM structures using the process-simulated devices, and examine the effects of fin pitch, gate pitch, and fin count on circuit-level parasitics. Thereafter, we show that traditional segregated FEOL/BEOL modeling approaches fail to provide accurate estimates, by back-annotating 3-D-TCAD-extracted capacitances into mixed-mode write simulations of a 6T FinFET SRAM bitcell. Finally, using FinFET NAND2 logic gate delay simulations, we establish the fact that capturing parasitics accurately is as important as modeling device transport accurately, and that performance/dynamic behavior in multigate circuits is highly sensitive to both factors.
H2O2-induced endothelial NO production contributes to vascular cell apoptosis and increased permeability in rat venules.

Although elevated levels of H2O2 have been implicated to play important roles in the pathogenesis of various cardiovascular diseases, the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. This study aims to examine the effect of H2O2 on endothelial nitric oxide (NO) production in intact venules, and elucidate the role and mechanisms of NO in H2O2-induced increases in microvessel permeability. Experiments were conducted on individually perfused rat mesenteric venules. Microvessel permeability was determined by measuring hydraulic conductivity (Lp), and endothelial [Ca2+]i was measured on fura-2-loaded vessels. Perfusion of H2O2 (10 μM) caused a delayed and progressively increased endothelial [Ca2+]i and Lp, a pattern different from inflammatory mediator-induced immediate and transient response. Under the same experimental conditions, measuring endothelial NO via DAF-2 and the spatial detection of cell apoptosis by fluorescent markers revealed that H2O2 induced two phases of NO production followed by caspase activation, intracellular Ca2+ accumulation, and vascular cell apoptosis. The initial NO production was correlated with increased endothelial NO synthase (eNOS) Ser1177 phosphorylation in the absence of elevated endothelial [Ca2+]i, whereas the second phase of NO depended on increased [Ca2+]i and was associated with Thr495 dephosphorylation without increased Ser1177 phosphorylation. Inhibition of NOS prevented H2O2-induced caspase activation, cell apoptosis, and increases in endothelial [Ca2+]i and Lp. Our results indicate that H2O2 at micromolar concentration is able to induce a large magnitude of NO in intact venules, causing caspase activation-mediated endothelial Ca2+ accumulation, cell apoptosis, and increases in permeability. The mechanisms revealed from intact microvessels may contribute to the pathogenesis of oxidant-related cardiovascular diseases.
Joseph Campbell's “Old Woman” and Ben Sirah's Wisdom

(1998). Joseph Campbell's “Old Woman” and Ben Sirah's Wisdom. ANQ: A Quarterly Journal of Short Articles, Notes and Reviews: Vol. 11, No. 1, pp. 23-24.
Exchange reamed nailing for aseptic nonunion of the tibia

Background: Exchange reamed nailing of the tibia is a common procedure in the treatment of an aseptic tibial nonunion. However, reports in the literature supporting this technique are limited. Methods: Forty patients with a tibial nonunion after initial unreamed intramedullary nailing were retrospectively assessed after an exchange reamed nailing. The main outcome measurements included radiographic and clinical union as well as time from exchange reamed nailing to union. Results: Thirty-eight patients achieved union of their fracture (95%). The average time from exchange nailing to union was 29 ± 21 weeks. Complications included one deep vein thrombosis (2.5%) and two hardware failures (5%). Conclusion: Exchange reamed nailing for nonunions of the tibia results in a high union rate and is associated with a low complication rate. This technique is recommended as a standard procedure for aseptic tibial nonunions after initial unreamed intramedullary nailing.
A characterization of norm compactness in the Bochner space Lp(G;B) for an arbitrary locally compact group G

Abstract In this paper, we generalize a result of N. Dinculeanu which characterizes norm compactness in the Bochner space L p ( G ; B ) in terms of an approximate identity and translation operators, where G is a locally compact abelian group and B is a Banach space. Our characterization includes the case where G is nonabelian, and we weaken the hypotheses on the approximate identity used, providing new results even for the case B = C and G = R n .
Sonography of postpartum ovarian vein thrombophlebitis.

Purpose We report the gray-scale, color, and power Doppler findings in 3 cases of postpartum ovarian vein thrombophlebitis (PPOVT), an uncommon but potentially lethal disorder. Methods A retrospective review of medical records revealed 3 patients with PPOVT who had pelvic sonography performed during the disease course. Results The sonographic findings of PPOVT included a tubular, hypoechoic mass identified anterior to the psoas muscle in all cases. Perivenous phlegmon formation resulted in hydronephrosis and obstructive periureteritis in 1 case. Inferior vena cava involvement was detected in 2 cases. Decreases in the sizes of the thrombus and the phlegmon were seen on post-treatment studies. Conclusions The long course of the thrombosed ovarian vein and the presence of inferior vena cava thrombus are sonographic signs helpful in distinguishing PPOVT from other inflammatory conditions. Sonography cannot be proposed as a primary tool in the diagnosis of PPOVT because it successfully diagnosed only 1 of our 3 cases. However, sonography may be useful in monitoring the response to anticoagulant therapy. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Clin Ultrasound26:143–149, 1998.