cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Inhibition of hydrolysis of esters in solution by formation of complexes. II. Stabilization of procaine with caffeine

A study of the tetracaine hydrochloride-caffeine system has shown that the hydro-lytic rate of the ester component is reduced in the presence of the xanthine in a manner similar to that of the benzocaine-caffeine and the procaine hydrochloride-caffeine systems. Evidence seems to indicate however, that the stoichiometry of the complexing reaction is different from the previous cases. The data obtained are best rationalized on the basis that tetracaine ion forms two types of complexes in solution, the first consisting of two caffeine molecules to one tetracaine ion and the second of two tetracaine ions to one caffeine molecule. According to the present findings, addition of one-half per cent caffeine to a similar concentration of tetracaine hydro-chloride in water, for example, reduces the hydrolytic rate by thirty-five per cent. In the presence of two per cent caffeine, the rate of hydrolysis is only one-third that of the caffeine-free solution.
Application of Multidimensional Change-in-Ratio Methods Using Program USER

Change-in-ratio (CIR) methods estimate population abundance based on changes in the composition of populations before and after interventions, such as hunter harvest. Change-in-ratio methods offer a cost-effective and efficient alternative to population analysis because the data can be obtained easily. Despite a long history of use and several quantitative advancements, computational requirements have limited the interest and opportunity to use more informative and precise CIR methods. In this paper we illustrate the application of multi-dimensional CIR methods to estimate abundance using program USER (User Specified Estimation Routine), which constructs likelihood models based on multinomial or product multinomial sampling distributions. We discuss multi-class and sequential CIR methods and illustrate how Program USER can be used to calculate maximum likelihood estimates. Our hope is that statistical software such as Program USER promotes awareness and interest in using CIR methods for demographic assessments of wild populations. However, it is important to carefully consider the assumptions of CIR techniques prior to implementation.
Harold Washington and the Politics of Race in Chicago

A quarter of a century later, in another political confrontation highly charged by white racism, the overwhelming majority of Chicago's black population rejected its domination by the corrupt Democratic Party Machine and elected Harold Washington mayor of the city. Washington's reform administration was immediately confronted with a $121 million long-term deficit left by defeated Democratic Mayor Jane Byrne, as well as gross bureaucratic inefficiency and corruption. But most striking to the new mayor was the petty vindictiveness of the old regime. On the first morning in the mayor's office, Washington discovered that virtually all crucial administrative files had vanished. Other
Vectographic Computer-Generated Optical Elements

A new class of computer designed optical element is introduced. These thin, light weight elements are neither diffractive nor refractive. Achromatic elements such as optical vortices lenses, and highly chromatic elements are possible.
Design and Optimization of Power System Database in Management System of Distribution Network

Management system of distribution network is an integrated system which can deal with mass data information in power system.However,the traditional data processing methods cannot meet requirements,so it have to by means of advanced database technology.The "variable impedance branches" model based on the ordinary blade model is introduced,build corresponding ER model(Entity-Relationship model)for the distribution network,according to the ER model,new construction method and optimization method and design corresponding hierarchical model are proposed for distribution network database.
Pharmacodynamic study of Houttuynia Thermosensitive Gel Eyedrop

Objective:To study the pharmacodynamic effect of Houttuynia Thermosensitive Gel Eyedrop(HTGE) on the rabbits eyes with bacterial infections.Methods:To infect rabbits eyes with 3 control bacteria,then these rabbits were treated by HTGE,Houttuynia Eyedrop(HED) and Ofloxacin Eyedrop(OED) .The pharmacodynamic evaluation included eredication(clearance) rates and cure rates after treated.Results:The bacterial eredication(clearance) rates and cure rates were 91.5% and 93.2% for HTSG(2 times/d) ,74.6% and 83.1% for HED(5 times/d) ,91.5% and 86.4% for OED(5 times/d) respectively.Compared with OED,HTGE had no significant difference(P0.05) ;compared with HED,HTGE had significant difference(P0.05) .Conclusion:The efficacy of HTGE is good for the bacterial infection rabbits eyes,and HTGE can be used for the clinical treatment.
Considerations in Behavior Management of the Pediatric Dental Patient: Helping Children Cope with Dental Treatment

Pediatric dentists use their knowledge of psychologic development and current theories of behavior modification to direct children in coping with the anxieties present at any dental visit. Only if these psychologic techniques are inadequate will conscious sedation, restraints, or general anesthesia be used to control children’s behavior during dental treatment. This article emphasizes how dentists help children cope with dental treatment.
Surgery using local anesthesia in the elderly.

This article presents both the surgical and local anesthetic techniques that can be used in the elderly. It also encourages the greater use of outpatient surgery.
Low Drive Voltage, 40GHz LiNbO3 Modulators

Low drive voltage, broadband modulators, with low optical insertion losses, are required for communications and signal processing applications.
α- and β-Adrenergic Control of Large Coronary Arteries in Conscious Calves

Large and small coronary arteries are subject to control by α- and β-adrenergic mechanisms. However, controversy exists as to the distribution and physiological effects of α- and β-adrenergic receptor subtypes in large coronary arteries. Studies in our laboratory have addressed these questions in conscious calves, chronically instrumented to measure large coronary artery diameter and coronary blood flow. Additionally, adrenergic receptor subtype distribution was determined using ligand binding assays in membrane preparations isolated from large coronary arteries of calves. Physiological results demonstrate, in contrast to the results of most previous studies, that both α1- and α2-adrenergic receptors elicit constriction of the large coronary artery. Studies with ganglionic blockade indicate that the constriction was unaltered by autonomic reflexes or presynaptic release of neurotransmitters. Selective β-adrenergic receptor activation demonstrated that both β1- and β2-adrenergic receptors elicit dilation of large coronary arteries, and that the vasodilation was direct, i.e., it was not mediated by increases in coronary blood flow. Biochemical characterization of adrenergic subtype density indicated the presence of both α1 - and α2-, as well as β1 - and β2-adrenergic receptor subtypes. Thus, both biochemical and physiological data support the concept that large coronary arteries are regulated by both α1 - and α2-, as well as β1 - and β2-adrenergic receptor subtypes.
Histology of Platelet-Plasma Clots from Normal Subjects and Patients with Abnormal Coagulation

Microscopic study of platelet-plasma clots has demonstrated certain structural defects in clots from patients with diseases manifest by abnormal coagulation. Abnormally formed clots were found from patients with polycythemia vera, macroglobulinemia, Christmas disease, AC-globulin deficiency and fibrinolytic syndrome. Some of the problems imposed by the method are discussed.
Police and Mediation: Natural, Unimaginable or Both

Police interventions that are universally recognizable as using mediation have very deep roots in law enforcement. By chance or by choice, police have historically played a role in getting in the middle of disputing parties. They are either called to a scene or come upon it as part of their routine work and find themselves having to assume the intermediary role. Depending on the larger culture in which they are situated, organizational structure within which they operate, and police officers’ own ability to intervene, the police officers have served as mediators. Such intervention has often been undertaken as a natural part of policing with officers intervening intuitively by using their own people and communication skills. As mediation has gained popularity and acceptance, however, police departments around the world are beginning to look more carefully at how officers are trained and how mediation fits into policing. In addition to police officers mediating on the scene, there are other ways in which they can use mediation. For example, they can refer cases to mediation programs or participate in mediation sessions themselves. While policing and mediation may coexist nicely and mediation is an important tool for police, the use of this process in policing has been questioned. Given officers’ ability to use force, authority to take action, and need for public accountability, mediation by police officers in the police context clashes with many of the accepted mediation principles. As a result, critics cannot imagine police officers mediating. Drawing largely from policing in the United States, this chapter examines the use of mediation in the police context, perhaps one of the most complex and controversial settings where mediation occurs, and discusses how police use of mediation can be both natural and unimaginable worldwide.
Wavelength-Selective Sequential Polymer Network Formation Controlled with a Two-Color Responsive Initiation System

We report a wavelength-selective polymerization process controlled by visible/UV light, whereby a base is generated for anion-mediated thiol–Michael polymerization reaction upon exposure at one wavelength (400–500 nm), while radicals are subsequently generated for a second stage radical polymerization at a second, independent wavelength (365 nm). Dual wavelength, light controlled sequential polymerization not only provides a relatively soft intermediate polymer that facilitates optimum processing and modification under visible light exposure but also enables a highly cross-linked, rigid final material after the UV-induced second stage radical polymerization. A photobase generator, NPPOC-TMG, and a photo-radical initiator, Irgacure 2959, were selected as the appropriate initiator pair for sequential thiol–Michael polymerization and acrylate homopolymerization. FT-IR and rheological tests were utilized to monitor the dual cure photopolymerization process, and mechanical performance of the polymer was charac...
Chemical and charge transfer studies on interfaces of a conjugated polymer and ITO

Conjugated oligomers and polymers are very attractive for potential future plastic electronic and opto-electronic device applications such as plastic photo detectors and solar cells, thermoelectric devices, field effect transistors, and light emitting diodes. Understanding and optimizing charge transport between an active polymer layer and conductive substrate is critical to the optimization of polymer based electronic and opto-electronic devices. This study focused on the design, synthesis, self-assembly, and electron transfers and transports of a phosphonic acid end-functionalized polyphenylenevinylene (PPV) that was covalently attached and self-assembled onto an Indium Tin Oxide (ITO) substrate. This study demonstrated how atomic force microscopy (AFM) can be an effective characterization technique in conjunction with conventional electron transfer methods, including cyclic voltammetry (CV), towards determining electron transfer rates in polymer and polymer/conductor interface systems. This study found that the electron transfer rates of covalently attached and self-assembled films were much faster than the spin coated films. The knowledge from this study can be very useful for designing potential polymer based electronic and opto-electronic thin film devices.
Fatigue Analyses of Riveted Lap-Splice Joints in a Narrow-Body Aircraft

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration and Delta Air Lines had teamed to conduct a destructive evaluation of a retired narrow-body passenger aircraft that had nearly 60,000 flights. Some of the program objectives were to characterize the state of damage at riveted lap-joint fastener holes in the fuselage of an aircraft at the design service goal; and to develop or verify analysis methods that can correlate and predict the state of cracking at any point in time.
Raising Urban Land: Historical Perspectives on Adaptation

The biophysical environment of coastal Louisiana has never been static since the last Ice Age, and since their arrival humans have continually adapted to changing conditions. This chapter reviews the historical adaptations to the floodprone site where New Orleans is situated, including a plan to raise the land level of portions of the city. In particular, it compares two successful examples of land raising in Chicago and Galveston to the project proposed in this volume to raise segments of New Orleans’ land surface. It contrasts the underlying rationale for land raising efforts and the social, legal, and economic circumstances of these analogs as a basis for considering the potential viability of the ambitious plan for New Orleans.
The Student Oral Language Observation Matrix: A Psychometric Study with Preschoolers.

The Student Oral Language Observation Matrix (SOLOM) is an assessment of oral language skills. The aim of this study was to examine psychometric properties of the SOLOM for preschoolers through (a)...
LAND COVER, RAINFALL AND LAND-SURFACE ALBEDO IN WEST AFRICA

Land surface albedo is an important variable in General Circulation Models (GCMs). When land cover is modified through anthropogenic land use, changes in land-surface albedo may produce atmospheric subsidence and reduction of rainfall. In this study we examined albedo time series and their relationships with rainfall, land cover, and population in West Africa. This particular region was selected because it has become a focal point in debates over biophysical impacts of desertification and deforestation. Our analyses revealed that albedo and rainfall were related only modestly at short time scales (monthly and annual) and that mean annual albedo values remained relatively stable from 1982–1989 over a widerange of climatic and vegetation zones in West Africa. The relationship between long-term mean rainfall and mean albedo was strong and curvilinear(r2 = 0.802). The same was true for the relationship betweenpercent tree cover and mean albedo (r2 = 0.659). These results suggest that long-term climate patterns, which control vegetation type and canopy structure, have greater influence on albedo than short-term fluctuations in rainfall. Our results reinforce other recent studies based on satellite data that have questioned the extent and pervasiveness of desertification in West Africa.
A Numerical Algorithm for Indifference Pricing in Incomplete Markets

This paper proposes a numerical algorithm to compute the indifference price and risk monitoring strategies of a contingent claim in incomplete markets with exponential preferences. Using the duality between the exponential optimal investment problem and the minimal relative entropy problem, we recast the option writer's optimal investment problem as a minimax problem and derive the complete procedure of finding the solution numerically. The Lagrange multiplier process emerges from the iterative minimax optimization procedure and is shown to be connected to the delta of the indifference price. We present the numerical results of the algorithm with two representative examples, one with the nontraded assets and the other with the stochastic volatility model. The results show that the algorithm computes not only the indifference price but also the indifference delta very efficiently.
Characterizing the Li-Solid-Electrolyte Interface Dynamics as a Function of Stack Pressure and Current Density

Summary The replacement of conventional liquid electrolytes with solid electrolytes has the potential to safely enable energy-dense Li-metal anodes. Because of the challenges surrounding solid-solid interfaces, it is crucial to better understand the Li-metal-solid-electrolyte interface. This work utilizes stack pressure to correlate mechanics with the electrochemical behavior of Li-electrolyte cells during galvanostatic cycling. Symmetric cells are constructed using Li7La3Zr2O12 and tested using AC and DC techniques under dynamic stack pressure conditions. It is demonstrated that significant polarization occurs during galvanostatic cycling at a current-dependent “critical stack pressure.” Using reference electrodes, this effect is isolated to the Li stripping electrode. This suggests that at low pressures, the Li stripping rate exceeds the rate at which mechanical deformation replenishes the interface, inducing the formation of voids and ultimately increasing resistance. This analysis not only motivates the need for further understanding of the Li-metal-solid-electrolyte interface but also provides guidelines for the future design of all-solid-state batteries.
Response to: ‘Association between proton pump inhibitors therapy and fracture risk in patients with rheumatoid arthritis’ by Lai et al

We appreciate Lai et al 1 for sharing their data and emphasising the lack of association between proton pump inhibitor (PPI) use and fracture risk in a different patient population. We agree that the adverse association found with PPI use and fracture in the previous studies has not been repeated in many other well-designed studies. Our study has tested this association for …
The Effect of Live Theatre on Business Ethics

While many authors have theorized about the ability of the humanities to enhance business ethics education, scant empirical work exists to support this speculation. We therefore conduct a study to measure the impact of a live theatre performance on ethical reasoning. We asked students to analyze an ethically-laden historical disaster scenario both before and after attending a performance featuring related narrative themes. Our hypothesis is that attending a live performance would cause students to take a more ethical view of an industrial disaster case study. Results show support for the notion that live theatre may impact individuals’ ethical decision-making as applied to a representative business case. Specifically, we found a significant difference in what parties students hold responsible, what actions students think should have been taken, and how cultural norms affect students’ perceptions of ethical obligations. We therefore suggest that live theatre may be a novel pedagogical tool in business ethics education.
Assessing the Impact of Social Needs and Social Determinants of Health on Health Care Utilization: Using Patient- and Community-Level Data.

As the US health care system moves to expand access to and quality of medical care, the importance of addressing patient-level social needs and community-level social determinants of health (SDOH) ...
The Vantage Point of a Victim

Victims of bullying are identified as children and adolescents who emerge as disproportionate targets of peer aggression. This chapter delineates the behaviors that typically constitute peer victimization and identifies common attributes, correlates, and features of victimized youths. The authors then explore the roles of gender, age, and ethnic/cultural contexts on shaping the experience of peer victimization among youths. The chapter concludes by describing some potential longer-term implications of victimization including challenges in the areas of psychosocial adjustment, academic functioning, and self-harm. Finally, areas for further inquiry are explored.
Seascape Configuration Influences the Community Structure of Marsh Nekton

Around the globe, salt marsh ecosystems are rapidly changing, leading to alterations in both the amount, and configuration of marsh habitats. Sea level rise is a key driver of salt marsh change and is decreasing marsh habitat cover while increasing fragmentation. Such changes in seascape structure are expected to alter the ecological communities associated with marsh habitats. The influence of seascape structure on marsh nekton community structure is not well characterized, especially in coastal areas of the Gulf of Mexico, such as Louisiana (USA). Louisiana is losing marsh habitat at an unprecedented rate, and the resulting habitat loss and fragmentation provides a unique study system to investigate how marsh seascape structure impacts the nekton community. In this study, seascape structure was characterized at the 1- and 5-km scale at sampling points across several coastal basins to test marsh seascape structure effects on nekton community characteristics. Nekton communities were sampled using seine nets across coastal Louisiana in 2007. Total nekton community structure was found to be spatially driven. Both nekton species richness and nekton abundance were influenced by the shape of marsh patches and proportion of landscape marsh measured at either scale. While species richness differed only between some of the basins, each basin was found to have a statistically distinct community structure. Marsh shape influenced brown and white shrimp size. However, the response direction was found to be species specific, with brown shrimp size increasing in marshes with more complex shape while white shrimp size decreased. This study demonstrates that both environmental drivers and seascape structure play important roles in structuring marsh nekton communities, and that these responses can be species-specific. In order to project complex interactions between coastal land loss and their communities, a holistic framework of community structure, environmental drivers, and seascape characteristics is recommended.
Latino/a farmworkers' concerns about safety and health in the Pennsylvania mushroom industry.

OBJECTIVES The purposes of this study were to analyze Latino/a immigrant mushroom workers' perceptions of how the workplace environment shapes occupational safety and health, examine whether and how those perceptions differ by gender, and identify future areas for research on occupational safety and health in the mushroom industry. METHODS Researchers conducted structured interviews with 15 women and 45 men on 6 Pennsylvania mushroom farms to obtain their descriptions and perspectives of safety and health risk factors in their workplaces. RESULTS Approximately one-third of respondents had suffered an injury at work, and nearly half felt there are workplace factors that affect their health and safety. The study found that Latino/a mushroom farmworkers perceive risks are posed by the indoor infrastructure of mushroom production houses, including poorly maintained wooden walkways and cool indoor temperatures, and by the organization of mushroom production work, including the application of chemicals including pesticides, physical demands of the job, use of small knives, contact with compost, and the piece rate payment system. Workers commonly discussed back pain and believed it was associated with the organization of work. Women in the sample were more likely to be concerned about slips and falls than men and less likely to be concerned about aches and pains. CONCLUSION Mushroom farm infrastructure and the specific demands of the jobs pose occupational safety and health risks to Latino/a farmworkers that merit further study to develop adequate public health interventions. Future research should obtain gender-disaggregated objective reports of injury, aches and pains, and discomfort and test for relationships between these reports and the indoor infrastructure and conditions of mushroom production work.
Measuring Global Alcohol Health Literacy: A Narrative Review.

Objective: Studies assessing awareness and knowledge of alcohol-attributable causes of death and disease have been conducted across the globe to develop and evaluate public information campaigns to...
Digital printing of selective and reversible ion optodes on fabrics: toward smart clothes for epidermal chemical sensing

While wearable chemical sensors often rely on electrochemical techniques, optical chemical sensors coupled with a smartphone or a miniaturized camera represent an attractive approach to the monitoring of sweat composition. In this paper, we modify real sports fabrics such as polyester–spandex fabrics with rational combinations of sensing chemicals including a pH indicator, an ion exchanger, and an ionophore via one-step inkjet printing. Highly selective and fully reversible pH optodes as well as Na+- and K+-selective optodes are obtained only when the most hydrophobic sensing chemicals are used (e.g., sodium ionophore VIII vs. sodium ionophore VI). These sensors exhibit large color-based responses that can be readily identified by naked eye or analyzed via an iPhone app. Their dynamic ranges well cover the physiological sweat concentrations of the analytes. Compared to most other sensors created on garments, our fabric-based optodes are cost-effective, mass-reproducible by the digital printing technology currently used in the textile industry, and do not significantly compromise the essential properties of fabrics such as flexibility, stretchability, wickability, and breathability.
A Constitutive Representation of Inhomogeneous Polymeric Systems

Highly crosslinked network polymers appear to be inhomogeneous in both crosslink density and local orientations in their microstructure. To obtain some understanding of these systems a constitutive representation of such inhomogeneous polymeric systems is presented. The state of stress is calculated in terms of the contributions resulted in from deformations of microstructural systems. The approach is kept fairly general to maintain its validity for a wide variety of somewhat similar systems. The mathematical model used is composed of a large number of star-shaped basic units which are simple enough to reduce the complexity of the problem. However, attempts are made particularly to bring out the inhomogeneous nature of the crosslink density as well as the local orientations in the individual microstructural units. In order to assure a proper distribution for all the units in the network system,the strain energy is optimized through the use of variational principles with respect to basic quantities in any deformational processes. A simple constrained condition is introduced in the variational process to guide the mode of deformation of the network system. In the case that the network system deforms elastically, all quantities introduced in the analysis are properly interpreted.
Facets of Security

The force that drives fundamental changes in security is change in the use of information technology. To show how the environment impinges on security requirements and the selection of security mechanisms we compare familiar closed systems and emerging open systems. We illustrate how specific features of a given communications network influence security design and security analysis, and examine whether the new challenges we are facing in security should be described as issues of trust. Recommendations on directions in security research conclude the paper, with the development of suitable conceptual frameworks as a main objective.
The Economic and Political Factors Affecting the U.S. Sugar Subsidy Program

Sugar growers continue to benefit from favorable economic conditions provided by the U.S. government. Yet empirical data reveal a decrease in the aggregate support for sugar legislation in recent years. In 1978, there were 9,187 full or part owners of sugar cane and sugar beet farms, compared to 7,799 farms in 1987. The level of sugar subsidy allocated to the farmers, however, has increased and even favored certain sugar growers disproportionately over others. Such empirical findings suggests that politics, as much as economics, affect the level of sugar subsidy. This paper examines why an increasingly smaller number of sugar farmers receive a steadily larger government subsidy. This article is available in Res Publica Journal of Undergraduate Research: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/respublica/vol1/iss1/10
Horse Race Betting and the Stock Market

I hypothesize that the stock market and the market for horse race betting move in the same direction. When the economy is strong and the stock market is having a positive year, the market for horse race betting will show an increase in total amount wagered. This paper will focus on equities markets compared to the market for horse race betting. This article is available in The Park Place Economist: http://digitalcommons.iwu.edu/parkplace/vol11/iss1/17
Magnetic force microscopy study of Zr 2 Co 11 -based nanocrystalline materials: effect of Mo addition

The addition of Molybdenum was used to modify the nanostructure and enhance coercivity of rare-earth-free Zr2Co11-based nanocrystalline permanent magnets. The effect of Mo addition on magnetic domain structures of melt spun nanocrystalline Zr16Co84-xMox (x = 0, 0.5, 1, 1.5, and 2.0) ribbons has been investigated. It was found that magnetic properties and local domain structures are strongly influenced by Mo doping. The coercivity of the samples increases with the increase in Mo content (x ≤ 1.5). The maximumenergy product (BH)max increases with increasing x from 0.5 MGOe for x = 0 to a maximum value of 4.2 MGOe for x = 1.5. The smallest domain size with a relatively short magnetic correlation length of 128 nm and largest root-mean-square phase shift Φrms value of 0.66° are observed for the x = 1.5. The optimal Mo addition promotes magnetic domain structure refinement and thus leads to a significant increase in coercivity and energy product in this sample.
Oscillatory dependence of current-driven magnetic domain wall motion on current pulse length

Several decades ago computers used devices called magnetic bubble memories, in which information was stored in small magnetized areas defined by domain walls. The domain walls, where the magnetization changes its direction, were moved by magnetic fields. This otherwise attractive technology had problems with reliability and scaling and gradually fell out of favour. Today an entirely new way of moving domain walls, using short pulses of electrical current, could make bubble memory devices feasible at the nanoscale. Thomas et al. use this technique to move domain walls in ferromagnetic wires on very short timescales, by applying nanosecond-long pulses. They also observe an intriguing 'boomerang' effect, where the domain walls are driven out of their confining potential, in the opposite direction to the current pulse. Experiments show that domain walls in ferromagnetic wires can be moved on very short timescales, by applying nanosecond-long pulses, and also detail a so-called 'boomerang' effect, where the domain walls are driven out of their confining potential, in the opposite direction of the current pulse. Magnetic domain walls, in which the magnetization direction varies continuously from one direction to another, have long been objects of considerable interest1. New concepts for devices based on such domain walls are made possible by the direct manipulation of the walls using spin-polarized electrical current2,3 through the phenomenon of spin momentum transfer4,5. Most experiments to date have considered the current-driven motion of domain walls under quasi-static conditions6,7,8,9,10,11,12, whereas for technological applications, the walls must be moved on much shorter timescales. Here we show that the motion of domain walls under nanosecond-long current pulses is surprisingly sensitive to the pulse length. In particular, we find that the probability of dislodging a domain wall, confined to a pinning site in a permalloy nanowire, oscillates with the length of the current pulse, with a period of just a few nanoseconds. Using an analytical model13,14,15,16,17 and micromagnetic simulations, we show that this behaviour is connected to a current-induced oscillatory motion of the domain wall. The period is determined by the wall's mass18 and the slope of the confining potential. When the current is turned off during phases of the domain wall motion when it has enough momentum, the domain wall is driven out of the confining potential in the opposite direction to the flow of spin angular momentum. This dynamic amplification effect could be exploited in magnetic nanodevices based on domain wall motion.
Evolution of Tetrahymena ribozyme mutants with increased structural stability

Determining how large RNA molecules stabilize their tertiary structures is critical for understanding how they perform their biological functions. Here we use in vitro selection to identify active variants of the Tetrahymena ribozyme with increased stability. The mutant pool converged to a single family that shared nine mutations; an RNArepresenting the consensus sequence was structurally more stable by 10.5 °C and catalytically active at elevated temperatures. Remarkably, of the nine altered sites, most are already known to be involved in tertiary interactions, and the stabilizing mutations primarily improve the packing interactions in the molecular interior. The wild type ribozyme and the selected mutants provide pairs of mesophilic and thermophilic homologs for studying the origin of their thermal stability.
Macrohomogeneity condition in dynamics of micropolar media

We determine the macrohomogeneity (Hill-Mandel type) condition in the dynamic response of inhomogeneous micropolar (Cosserat) materials. The setting calls for small deformation gradients and curvatures, but without restrictions on the constitutive behavior and without any requirements of spatial periodicity. The condition gives admissible boundary loadings, along with extra terms representing kinetic energy contributions of both classical type and micropolar type. The said loadings involve various combinations of average stresses and strains, along with couple-stresses and curvature-torsion tensors. If applied to a specific microstructure in a computational mechanics approach, these boundary loadings will allow one to determine scale-dependent homogenization toward a representative volume element (RVE) of an equivalent homogeneous micropolar medium in either elastic or inelastic settings. By restricting the continuum model to an inhomogeneous Cauchy continuum and/or a quasi-static setting, the macrohomogeneity condition simplifies to conventional versions.
The chemical jungle: today's beef industry.

In the absence of effective federal regulation, the meat industry uses hundreds of animal feed additives, including antibiotics, tranquilizers, pesticides, animal drugs, artificial flavors, industrial wastes, and growth-promoting hormones, with little or no concern about the carcinogenic and other toxic effects of dietary residues of these additives. Illustratively, after decades of misleading assurances of the safety of diethylstilbestrol (DES) and its use as a growth-promoting animal-feed additive, the United States finally banned its use in 1979 some 40 years after it was first shown to be carcinogenic. The meat industry then promptly switched to other carcinogenic additives, particularly the natural sex hormones estradiol, progesterone, and testosterone, which are implanted in the ears of more than 90 percent of commercially raised feedlot cattle. Unlike the synthetic DES, residues of which can be monitored and use of which was conditional on a seven-day preslaughter withdrawal period, residues of natural hormones are not detectable, since they cannot be practically differentiated from the same hormones produced by the body. The relationship between recently increasing cancer rates and the lifetime exposure of the U.S. population to dietary residues of these and other unlabeled carcinogenic feed additives is a matter of critical public health concern.
Puroindolines are associated with decreased polar lipid breakdown during wheat seed development

Abstract The wheat Hardness (Ha) locus consists of Puroindoline a (Pina) and Puroindoline b (Pinb) and controls whether wheat is soft or hard textured. PINA and PINB act cooperatively to create grain softness and are associated with increased polar lipids at seed maturity. Here we examined developing seeds varying in PINA or PINB content to identify when polar lipid differences occur. One population carried Wild Type (WT) PINA while varying for the presence of PINB, while the other population carried a WT PINB and segregated for PINA. For the PINB segregating population, polar lipids were maximal on a per mg dry weight basis at 7–14 days after anthesis (DAA) while for PINA segregating population, total polar lipids were maximal at 7–21 DAA. The most abundant polar lipids at maturity were mono- and di- galactosyldiglyceride. No individual polar lipid species were specific to PINA or PINB. The effect of both PINA and PINB increased throughout seed development with greater decreases in the most abundant polar lipids in genotypes lacking either PINA or PINB. The results indicate that PINA and PINB act cooperatively to prevent polar lipid breakdown during seed maturation and that this process is central to the development of grain softness.
Kinetics of potassium movement in normal cortex

Artificial CSF containing 12mEq/1 of potassium (4 times normal concentration) was perfused over the surface of normal neocortex in 10 locally or barbiturate anesthetized cats. Extracellular potassium concentrations ([K+]OS) were measured as a function of time to 8 h and of depth to 3 mm. Analysis of the [K+]O versus depth and [K+]O versus time profiles showed that the distribution of extracellular potassium could be modelled by a process of diffusion with diffusion coefficient = 1.03 +/- 0.16 sq.mm/h, and a surface barrier to diffusion with magnitude given by a barrier constant 0.8 +/- 0.2 mm-1, and with a small correction for active uptake into cells and blood vessels. The profiles obtained differ considerably from those which could be predicted from kinetic properties of potassium in aqueous solution.
Selection of repeated sequences of homologous and heterologous DNA during invitro transcription by maize RNA polymerase

Abstract RNA synthesized in vitro by maize RNA polymerase II arises in part from repeated DNA sequences, since significant hybridization to the parent DNA occurs with low concentrations of RNA and DNA. Over three times as much “repeated sequence” RNA is transcribed from maize as from calf thymus DNA.
Electron capture decay of181W: L subshell fluorescence and Coster-Kronig yields in Ta

The TaL x-ray spectrum from the 140 d electron capture decay of181W was studied with high resolution semiconductor detectors and fast coincidence techniques. Measurement ofL x-ray-K x-ray andL x-ray—γ-ray coincidence rates yielded the followingL shell fluorescence and Coster-Kronig yields and radiative decay branching ratios: ω2=0.250±0.013, ω3=0.228±0.013 (corrected for angular correlation effects),f23=0.180±0.007,v1=O.218±0.016,s3=0.205+-0.010,s2=0.215+-0.010,f13+f12f23=0.36+-0.02, and ω1+f12ω2=0.14±0.02, from which upper limits were obtained off13<0.36 and ω1<0.14.
The disunity of Pavlovian and instrumental values

A central theme of the unified framework for addiction advanced by Redish et al. is that there exists a common value or incentive process controlling Pavlovian and instrumental conditioning. Here we briefly review evidence from a variety of sources demonstrating that these incentive processes are in fact independent. Clearly the influence of Pavlovian predictors and goal values on choice offer distinct potential targets for pathologies of decision-making.
Polarization modulation time-domain terahertz polarimetry

A polarization modulation time-domain THz polarimetry technique with a precision of 0.02° (350 μrad) will be presented, along with ongoing applications to interesting material systems such as topological insulators and quantum magnets.
The sublime and consumer behavior: Consumption as defense against the infinite

Given the loss of traditional structures, people now face the sublime, defined as feeling of imminent and frightening contact with the boundless and unpredictable. Using convergent qualitative sources, this article suggests that certain consumption strategies can provide some feeling of protection formerly offered by traditional social structures. The article then explores the possibility that more consumption may be sacred than secular, perhaps more than acknowledged previously. Everything goes past like a river and the changing tastes and the various shapes of men make the whole game uncertain and delusive. Where do I find fixed points in nature, which cannot be moved by man, and where I can indicate the markers by the shore to which we ought to adhere? [A handwritten note by Kant in his copy of Observations on the Feeling of the Beautiful and Sublime, noted in Schillp (1938).]
Neurology Should Not Become a Consulting Specialty

Historically, neurology developed as a consulting specialty. Until the 1940s and early 1950s, there was very little that could be done for most of the major neurologic diseases beyond making a diagnosis and providing a prognosis. Whether the neurologist was dealing with meningitis, a degenerative disease, stroke, poliomyelitis, or multiple sclerosis, treatment was limited. A general physician could provide analgesics for headache or anticonvulsants for epilepsy about as well as a neurologist. While there were treatments for some neurologic disorders, few were effective and specialized knowledge for administration was rarely required. A humorous definition of a neurologist current in the 1950s was "a specialist in the differential diagnosis of incurable disease." The prevailing mode of operation was what Labe Scheinberg has characterized as "diagnose, adios." In the first half of this century, research on neurologic disorders was limited to a few major centers and was done largely by neurosurgeons and
Quantum dots in life sciences: applications, benefits, and safety issues

Luminescent semiconductor quantum dots (QDs) possess several unique optical and spectroscopic properties including high quantum yields, broad absorption spectra coupled to narrow symmetric, size-tunable emissions allowing large achievable Stokes shifts, and exceptional resistance to photo- and chemical degradation. These properties make QDs unique enabling materials for the development of the next generation of highly efficient biosensors for health security applications, particularly within the context of living and fixed cells. Paramount in this developmental process is addressing the biocompatibility of the QD materials. We are developing robust and facile delivery schemes for the selective intracellular delivery of QD-based nanoassemblies. These schemes are based upon the self-assembly and subsequent cellular uptake of QD-peptide and QD-polymer bioconjugates. Cellular delivery experiments utilizing both delivery schemes will be presented. The advantages and disadvantages of each approach will be discussed, including the intracellular fate and stability of the QD-nanoassemblies.
Lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate as a functional additive for lithium-ion batteries

Lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate was investigated as a functional additive for non-aqueous electrolytes for lithium-ion batteries. It was found that the addition of small amount of lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate to the LiFP6-based electrolyte can significantly improve both the capacity retention and the power retention of lithium-ion cells. Unlike other additives, lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate only slightly increased the interfacial impedance of the cells, resulting in good initial power capability. Therefore, lithium difluoro(oxalato)borate is a promising additive for high-performance lithium-ion batteries for power applications, such as hybrid electrical vehicles.
Registered Traveler Program: The Financial Value of Registering the Good Guys

This paper discusses how a Registered Traveler (RT) program can simultaneously enhance aviation security and passenger convenience. The authors point out some of the potential weaknesses in the program from both security and civil liberty perspectives. The RT program is a public–private partnership between the Transportation Security Agency (TSA) and the private sector. As in any partnership between private enterprise and the public sector, there are issues that must be monitored, managed, and resolved. It is noted that financial distress of an RT service provider will place increased pressure on TSA resources. Resources allocated by the public and private sectors and natural tensions that exist between companies investing capital with expectations of earning a market rate of return and an agency of the Department of Homeland Security (TSA) with one of its responsibilities being to assure the safety and security of air travel, are reviewed.
Optical modulators and beam steering based on electrically tunable plasmonic material

Surface plasmon based photonic (or plasmonic) circuits merge electronics and photonics at the nanoscale, creating the ability to combine the superior technical advantages of photonics and electronics on the same chip. Recent work has demonstrated their remarkable applications in subwavelength optics, data storage and transmission, light harvesting and generation, and microscopy, as well as bioapplications. Plasmonics has become one of the most intensive research subjects in recent years, and much effort has been made to develop novel and efficient waveguiding structures and plasmonic materials. We will first review some major progress in subwavelength plasmonic waveguides and plasmonic materials. Then, focusing on the applications of a class of promising alternative plasmonic materials, transparent conducting oxides, we will introduce some of our up-to-date study, especially on electro-absorption modulators and beam steering.
New graphics as computerized displays for human information processing

A comparative study of various graphic and tabular representations of financial and accounting statistics in an interactive decision setting is presented. Controls are placed on demographic variables, cognitive style, abilities, and math and computer anxiety. Bar graphics are found to be a faster but more accurate form of man-machine communication that tabular presentation of information in credit rating and industry classification decisions. Star graphics take more time on the part of the user but improve the ability to make decisions which involve ranking alternatives. Persons whose cognitive style is more directed toward thinking than feeling have significantly better success in utilizing new graphic forms. It is argues that all new graphics should be tested for speed and efficacy for different types of information display and for people with different cognitive styles and computer backgrounds before they are incorporated into outputs for computerised decision-support systems. >
A mechanism to limit platelet aggregation in vivo.

INTRAVASCULAR injection of adenosine diphosphate (ADP) in several species including man1 and rabbit2 induces platelet clumping with concomitant fall in circulating platelet count. It is well established that following vascular injury white thrombi form at the site of insult3. The first stage in white thrombus formation is the adhesion of platelets to the endothelium followed by the development of a platelet aggregate by the cohesion of discrete platelets. The forces binding the aggregate appear strong; but, if the thrombus is not stabilized by the deposition of fibrin, then a process of platelet dispersal commences. Platelets which have dispersed from aggregates have been shown to retain their propensity for ADP-induced cohesion.