cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
One Hundred Years of the Gender Gap in Examination Results at the University of Oxford

This paper uses a newly discovered data set on examination results by gender from 1913 to 1986 to show that the gender gap in examinations at the University of Oxford has existed for over a century...
The Colonizing Realities of Neoliberal Capitalism

This article addresses the proliferation of neoliberal capitalism in the United States as a dominant social imaginary that has colonized the psyches of many U.S. citizens. The notion of “colonization” is used as a heuristic device in combination with a pastoral interpretive lens to depict and understand the psychosocial dynamics resulting from the hegemonic realities of neoliberal capitalism. More particularly, it is argued that neoliberal capitalism, as the dominant social imaginary, (1) undermines and corrupts Christian (and humanist) myths, narratives, and rituals that maintain and enrich social and communal life, shared relational faith, and interpersonal care; (2) establishes a superior-inferior value system, rooted in the commodification of everyday life, that introduces an ontological falsehood in individuals’ psyches and relationships; (3) leads to a corresponding internalization of foreignness; and (4) narrows the public and political space of appearances.
A Parsimonious Version of the Personal Involvement Inventory

Zaichkowsky’s (1985) personal involvement inventory (PII) is scrutinized both conceptually and empirically. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses of consumer response data are utilized to test the underlying structure of PII. A 7-item subscale is excerpted from PII on a priori grounds, and is shown to have greater internal consistency than the 20-item PII. And validation against selected external criteria shows that the 7-item parsimonious scale does as well as the 20-item original PII.
Design and Development of nEMoS, an All-in-One, Low-Cost, Web-Connected and 3D-Printed Device for Environmental Analysis

The Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) refers to the quality of the environment in relation to the health and well-being of the occupants. It is a holistic concept, which considers several categories, each related to a specific environmental parameter. This article describes a low-cost and open-source hardware architecture able to detect the indoor variables necessary for the IEQ calculation as an alternative to the traditional hardware used for this purpose. The system consists of some sensors and an Arduino board. One of the key strengths of Arduino is the possibility it affords of loading the script into the board’s memory and letting it run without interfacing with computers, thus granting complete independence, portability and accuracy. Recent works have demonstrated that the cost of scientific equipment can be reduced by applying open-source principles to their design using a combination of the Arduino platform and a 3D printer. The evolution of the 3D printer has provided a new means of open design capable of accelerating self-directed development. The proposed nano Environmental Monitoring System (nEMoS) instrument is shown to have good reliability and it provides the foundation for a more critical approach to the use of professional sensors as well as for conceiving new scenarios and potential applications.
Revisits and postoperative hemorrhage after adult tonsillectomy

Objectives/Hypothesis Determine revisits and reasons for revisits after adult tonsillectomy. Study Design Cross-sectional analysis of multistate ambulatory surgery and hospital databases. Methods Ambulatory adult tonsillectomies performed as the sole procedure were extracted from the State Ambulatory Surgery databases for New York, Florida, Iowa, and California for 2010. Cases were linked to the State Emergency Department databases and the State Inpatient databases for visit encounters occurring 0 to 14 days after tonsillectomy. The number of revisits (including readmissions) was determined as well as the reason for revisit categorized as post-tonsillectomy bleeding, acute pain, or fever/dehydration. The overall rate of occurrence of and intervention rate for post-tonsillectomy bleeding was determined. Results A total of 7,748 adult tonsillectomies were examined (mean age, 29.2 years; 64.4% female). Overall, 11.6% of patients had a revisit after tonsillectomy (9.6% revisited the ambulatory surgery center, 78.8% the emergency department, and 11.6% to inpatient admission). The primary diagnoses at the first revisit were bleeding (41.3%), acute pain (22.1%), and fever/dehydration (13.2%). Overall, 2.1% of patients incurred a second revisit after adult tonsillectomy (10.7% of these to inpatient admission). Among all tonsillectomies, 4.8% of adult tonsillectomies presented with a bleeding diagnosis at a first revisit. Overall, 2.2% underwent a procedure to control bleeding at a first revisit. Conclusions The current data quantify at a multistate level revisits, revisit diagnoses, and procedural rates for post-tonsillectomy bleeding in the adult population. Interventions to offset revisits for acute pain and fever/dehydration should be explored to decrease adult tonsillectomy morbidity. Level of Evidence 2b. Laryngoscope, 124:1554–1556, 2014
The Future of Enterprise Regulation: Corporate Social Accountabililty and Human Freedom

Free market capitalism is understood by most Americans as instrumental to the American dream, providing ordinary people with the economic means for their pursuit of happiness. The benefits of free enterprise, however, accrue increasingly to a small fraction of already wealthy high income earners, corporate shareholders, and business interests with a long, consistent, and well documented history of antagonism towards the interests of consumers, workers, society, and the natural environment. Emerging models of geopolitics, the economy, and the corporation suggest that this elitist, anti-regulatory posture of business is fast becoming obsolete as the value of human capital gains currency in the knowledge-driven, creative economy of the market state. The emergence of the market state can be viewed as a movement of economic democracy in which people expect accountability from business and free enterprise as a platform of opportunity for achieving their goals and realizing their dreams. This paper examines the future of enterprise regulation from the moral perspective of social accountability, arguing that the era of global market states constitutes a new social charter in which business performs as a platform of freedom and opportunity for all. In this arrangement, legal and regulatory mechanisms structure business to reintegrate economic and social goals and capitalize human freedom. The measure of global business and market effectiveness is not just capital generation, but human flourishing. Imaginative business leaders will see this new era of capitalism as an opportunity for collaborative value-creating partnerships among diverse stakeholders in realizing the dream of human flourishing for America and the world.
Cry, Laugh, or Fight: The Impact of the Advertising Image and Disease Target Match on Consumers’ Evaluations of Cancer Advertising

Cancer detection and treatment is now a huge part of the health care system, and many cancer charities and organizations advertise heavily in various media. However, from pink ribbons to yellow wristbands, marketing spending and imagery are vastly different between diseases that primarily affect men and those that primarily affect women. Yet, the ways in which consumers react to specific marketing images when used in cancer-related advertising, and the importance of the congruence between the disease and the ad image have been under-researched. This paper explores these research questions in two studies and finds significant differences in ad evaluations by image and gender of the disease target.
Fracture of Thin Film Structures With Creeping Underlayer

Fracture in small structures has been studied intensely in recent years, motivated by diverse applications such as interconnects in mircoprocessors, resonant structures in microelectromehanical systems, thermal barrier coatings in gasturbine engines, and multilayers in medical implants. The applications typically require that materials with extremely different properties be integrated in small dimensions. The structural complexity, as well as the small feature sizes, can lead to unusual phenomena. For example, it is discovered that cracks can grow in brittle films under cyclic temperatures, driven by ratcheting plastic deformation in a metal underlayer. We will revisit this phenomenon toward the end of this paper.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
Dilute magnetic bulk GaN semiconductor and nanostructures

Ga1–xMnxN and Ga1–xFexN thin films and nanostructures were grown by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. High resolution X-ray diffraction studies demonstrate that the material is high quality single phase similar in quality and lattice parameter to unalloyed GaN. The as-grown epitaxial films exhibit ferromagnetic hysteresis at room temperature as measured by SQUID magnetometry; the strength of the observed volume magnetization is almost an order stronger in similarly grown Mn-doped samples relative to Fe-doped samples. Raman spectroscopy revealed no significant strain introduced by the transition metal incorporation and a low free carrier concentration, and the most prominent additional mode in Mn-doped GaN is attributed to vacancy-related local vibrational modes of the GaN host lattice. A novel growth method has been developed to produce GaN-based nanostructures using a two-step process (GaN deposition followed by an activation step) at low growth temperatures (<850 °C) and V-III ratios (<30). GaMnN nanostructures were grown by introducing Mn to GaN flows under optimal conditions for the formation of nanostructure without the need of an activation step. Manganese icorporation has the tangential benefit that Mn acts as an anti-surfactant, and promotes the low-temperature nucleation of these nanostructures. In addition, experiments have been conducted in which Fe was incorporated into GaN nanostructures at 800 °C, and room temperature ferromagnetic behavior of GaFeN nanostructures was observed. Atomic force microscopy measurements revealed that Fe, like Mn, affected the surface morphology of the nanostructures by reducing the nanostructure size. These nanostructures showed a systematic variation in coercive field and saturation magnetization with Fe incorporation. (© 2007 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Structure-hardness relation for high-temperature SO2-dealkalized float glass

Abstract Changes in the surface mechanical properties of float glass that had been heat treated in atmospheres containing SO2 gas were measured. An analysis combining dynamic microhardness and structure investigations indicates that a relation exists between the hardness and surface structure. This relation is used in establishing an understanding of the microhardness variations and the corresponding surface mechanical properties. The treatment parameters, temperature, time and treatment atmosphere conditions, are shown to have an effect on these properties. Their extent is suggested to depend on the formation of a thermal expansion coefficient difference between a dealkalized surface and the interior dealkalization properties and structure alterations. The changes in the mechanical properties are described which connect these effects. The structure-hardness relation of the air side differs from the tin side of float glass.
Model studies of ethylene epoxidation catalyzed by the Ag(110) surface

Abstract The selective oxidation of ethylene to ethylene epoxide (C 2 H 4 + 1 2 O 2 → C 2 H 4 O) over Ag is the simplest prototype for the entire class of kinetically-controlled, selective catalytic reactions. We have studied the mechanism of this reaction on a well-characterized Ag(110) surface by combining high-pressure kinetic measurements with ultrahigh vacuum surface analysis in a single apparatus. In a typical experiment, the surface cleanliness and order are established by AES and LEED; the sample is transferred into a microreactor where a steady-state reaction rate is established; and the sample is rapidly (17–45 s) transferred back into UHV for surface characterization (AES, LEED, XPS, TDS). In this way we ware able to develop a method for quantitatively measuring the coverage of atomically adsorbed oxygen (θO) under steady-state reaction conditions. The oxygen adatoms are shown by LEED to exist in p(2 × 1) islands of local coverage θO = 0.5. The effects of temperature and reactant pressures upon the rate and selectivity over Ag(110) agree perfectly with results on high-surface-area supported Ag catalysts, although the specific activity (per Ag surface atom) is some 100-fold higher on Ag(110). At constant temperature and ethylene pressure, the rate of ethylene epoxidation varies linearly with θO while the rate of the side reaction leading to CO2 shows a sharp break in slope near θO = 0.02. This and our other data are interpreted by a mechanism involving molecularly adsorbed oxygen and adsorbed ethylene in a common rate-determining step for both ethylene epoxide and CO2 formation. Another pathway for CO2 production via atomically adsorbed oxygen and carbon predominates at very low or very high θO. Oxygen adatoms are necessary in ethylene epoxide formation only for creating special ethylene adsorption sites (Agδ+). We were unable to produce observable amounts of ethylene epoxide by reacting ethylene gas with oxygen adatoms alone.
Amino acids variations in Amyloid-β peptides, mitochondrial dysfunction, and new therapies for Alzheimer’s disease

Soluble oligomers and/or aggregates of Amyloid-β (Aβ) are viewed by many as the principal cause for neurodegeneration in Alzheimer’s disease (AD). However, the mechanism by which Aβ and its aggregates cause neurodegeneration is not clear. The toxicity of Aβ has been attributed to its hydrophobicity. However, many specific mitochondrial cytopathologies e.g., loss of complex IV, loss of iron homeostasis, or oxidative damage cannot be explained by Aβ’s hydrophobicity. In order to understand the role of Aβ in these cytopathologies we hypothesized that Aβ impairs specific metabolic pathways. We focused on heme metabolism because it links iron, mitochondria, and Aβ. We generated experimental evidence showing that Aβ alters heme metabolism in neuronal cells. Furthermore, we demonstrated that Aβ binds to and depletes intracellular regulatory heme (forming an Aβ-heme complex), which provides a strong molecular connection between Aβ and heme metabolism. We showed that heme depletion leads to key cytopathologies identical to those seen in AD including loss of iron homeostasis and loss of mitochondrial complex IV. Aβ-heme exhibits a peroxidase-like catalytic activity, which catalytically accelerates oxidative damage. Interestingly, the amino acids sequence of rodent Aβ (roAβ) and human Aβ (huAβ) is identical except for three amino acids within the hydrophilic region, which is also the heme-binding motif that we identified. We found that huAβ, unlike roAβ, binds heme tightly and forms a peroxidase. Although, roAβ and huAβ equally form fibrils and aggregates, rodents do not develop AD-like neuropathology. These findings led us to propose a new mechanism for mitochondrial dysfunction and huAβ’s neurotoxicity. This mechanism prompted the development of methylene blue (MB), which increased heme synthesis, complex IV, and mitochondrial function. Thus, MB may delay the onset and progression of AD and serve as a lead to develop novel drugs to treat AD.
Macrophyte presence is an indicator of enhanced denitrification and nitrification in sediments of a temperate restored agricultural stream

Stream macrophytes are often removed with their sediments to deepen stream channels, stabilize channel banks, or provide habitat for target species. These sediments may support enhanced nitrogen processing. To evaluate sediment nitrogen processing, identify seasonal patterns, and assess sediment processes relative to stream load, we measured denitrification and nitrification rates in a restored third- to fourth-order agricultural stream, Black Earth Creek, Wisconsin, and estimated processing over a 10 km reach. Our results show that sediments with submerged and emergent macrophytes (e.g., Potomageton spp. and Phalaris arudinacea) support greater denitrification rates than bare sediments (1.12 μmol N g−1 h−1 vs. 0.29). Sediments with macrophytes were not carbon limited and organic matter fraction was weakly correlated to denitrification. The highest denitrification potential occurred in macrophyte beds (5.19 μmol N g−1 h−1). Nitrification rates were greater in emergent beds than bare sediments (1.07 μg N ml−1day−1 vs. 0.35) with the greatest nitrification rates during the summer. Total denitrification removal in sediments with macrophytes was equivalent to 43% of the nitrate stream load (463.7 kg N day−1) during spring and nitrification in sediments with macrophytes was equivalent to 247% of summer ammonium load (3.5 kg N day−1). Although the in-channel connectivity to nitrogen rich water was limited, actual stream nitrogen loads could increase with removal of macrophytes. Macrophyte beds and supporting fringing wetted areas are important if nitrogen management is a concern for riparian stream restoration efforts.
Estonia caught between East and West: EU conditionality, Russia's activism and minority integration

This article takes a subjective approach to studying norm compliance in order to determine how EU conditionality and Russia's activism have affected elite attitudes toward minority policies, majority–minority relations, and language use in Estonian society in the post-accession period. The results of a Q method study and semi-structured interviews with integration elites in spring 2008 reveal four distinct viewpoints. The study casts doubt upon the success of EU conditionality in Estonia by demonstrating that European minority rights norms remain contested and have not been internalized by a substantial portion of elites. In addition, the study points to an important role for Russia's activism in the development of a more inclusive society. Russia's activism actually works against minority integration by reinforcing pre-existing domestic norms that are not compatible with European minority rights standards and by aggravating tensions over history and language, which frustrate integration efforts. This art...
Steady-State Stability in Transmission Systems Calculation by Means of Equivalent Circuits or Circle Diagrams

The maximum load on a proposed transmission system must be within the steady-state power limit of the system for stability of operation. Two methods of calculating steady-state stability are given in detail and illustrated by examples. (1) The given transmission system is replaced by a simple equivalent system; then the steady-state power limit of this equivalent system is determined graphically. (2) By means of a circle diagram the system is tested for stability with the maximum proposed load on the system. All formulas from published references necessary for the calculations are included and all calculations are given in full so that similar studies can readily be made by an engineer who has not previously made a study of the subject of stability.
Development of an expert system for preliminary risk assessment of existing concrete dams

The paper presents an expert system to assist in the field inspection of existing concrete dams within the context of a preliminary risk assessment. The paper describes the engineering knowledge and reasoning required to conduct a deterministic field evaluation of the structural stability of the dam. The symptoms and failure modes identified by the expert system along with the required knowledge and procedures are organized in a structured knowledge tree. The instantiation of the frames and firing of the rules for each consultation traces part of the inference tree contained in the structured knowledge tree. Interaction between nearly decomposable problems are executed with metaknowledge procedures, shared rule groups, and active values. Examples are provided.
Stimulation of cell growth and proliferation in NIH-3T3 cells by onion and garlic oils.

Onion and garlic oil were seen to shorten the cell-doubling time and stimulate the growth and proliferation of NIHY-3T3 cells. FNollowing treatment with either onion or garlic oil, an increase in the growth rate and almost a 2-fold increase in cell number over the control was observed within a 24-hour period. Phorbol myristate acetate when given simultaneously with either oil appeared to nullify both effects. FNollowing exposure to low doses (< 10 µm/ml) of either oil, an increase in cell survival, not seen with the oil control tricaprylin, was observed following a 5-day exposure period. At higher concentrations cell survival decreased proportionately in all cases. The appearance of multinucleated cells, which increased with dose and time, was also observed following treatment with both garlic and onion oil.
Embedded processors based on Spin Wave Functions (SPWFs)

Spin Wave Functions (SPWFs) realize computation with spin waves, offering several benefits and new features over CMOS. SPWF technology potentially opens up new directions for designing microprocessors with increased capabilities over current implementations. Towards this end, as a preliminary work an 8-bit embedded processor is explored here using SPWFs and evaluated in terms of its power, area and performance using analytical estimates. A CMOS 8-bit processor implemented in an equivalent technology node is synthesized with CAD tools for comparison. Estimates show that the SPWF processor can have up to 40x lower power and 27× smaller area, thus showing great potential for realizing game-changing microprocessors in future.
Visual masking effects on duration, size, and form discrimination

In duration, size, and form discrimination tasks, a visual noise mask was presented at variable delays after stimulus offset in order to interrupt processing and control the extent of processing time. Previous work (Thomas & Cantor, 1975) had suggested that both perceived duration and perceived nontemporal “information” might be expected to increase as processing time was extended. As predicted, accuracy in the discrimination of size of circles and form of non-sense figures was found to vary directly with stimulus duration (20, 50 msec) and mask delay interval (0, 30, 70, 110 msec). Differences in perceived duration between filled (forms or circles) and unfilled (blank) intervals were found to increase monotonically with increases in the mask delay interval, when non-sense forms, but not circles, were presented. Two hypotheses of visual masking (“integration” and “interruption”) are discussed. Within the context of the “integration” hypothesis, a model is proposed which predicts processing time as a function of stimulus duration, mask delay interval, and the interval between onset of the mask and termination of processing.
Calcium channel blockade attenuates angiotensin II-Induced drinking in rats

Abstract Lateral ventricular administration of angiotensin II (ANGII) produces potent dipsogenic effects in water-sated rats. ANG II seems to require functional voltage-gated calcium channels on neurons throughout circumventricular brain sites to exert its effects. Although there are at least three types of calcium channels, only L-type calcium channel-blocking drugs have been reported to decrease drinking. (4-(4-Benzofurazanyl)-l-4-dihydro-2,6-dimethyl-3,5-pyridine-dicarboxylic acid methyl 1-methyl-ethyl ester) [PN 200-110; isradipine (ISR)], a selective L-type calcium channel blocker, has been shown to attenuate significantly the intake of sweetened water in water-sated rats following either peripheral or ICV administration, but ISR does not affect plain-water intake in water-deprived rats. The present experiment was designed to determine whether ISR would attenuate ANG II-induced drinking that is not either motivated by palatability or dependent on deprivation. Rats, each fitted with chronic indwelling ventricular cannulae, were pretreated with ISR (0.3, 3.0, and 30 μg/rat; ICV). ANG II (40 ng/rat; ICV) was administered 10 min later and rats were allowed free access to water for 15 min. Injections of ANG II plus saline and ANG II plus the ISR vehicle (dimethyl sulfoxide) did not attenuate ANG II-induced polydipsia, whereas ANG II+ISR (0.3 and 3.0 μg) attenuated ANG II-induced drinking to 62 and 22% of control, respectively. Results with the 30-μg dose were not different from the 3.0 dose. In conclusion, our findings support the hypothesis that ANG II-induced polydipsia is mediated, at least in part, by calcium voltage-dependent channels as the pretreatment with ISR effectively blocked ANG II-induced drinking.
THE IMMATURE RAT UTERUS IN THE ASSAY OF ESTROGENIC SUBSTANCES, AND A COMPARISON OF ESTRADIOL, ESTRONE AND ESTRIOL12¹²

THE USE of the weight of the immature uterus in the assay of gonadotropic substances has been established by Levin and Tyndale (I) employing mice, and by Heller, Lauson and Sevringhaus (2) using rats. Studies on the mechanism of the uterine reaction led the present authors to investigate the possibility of a similar assay for estrogens. Aportion of this study has been briefly reported previously (3). It is the purpose of thispaper to discuss in detail the method of assay and the tests made of its utility. Female albino rats of the Sprague-Dawley strain, 22 to 23 days old and 34 to 39 gm. inweight, were used in all the experiments. Aqueous solutions of crystalline estradiol, estrone and estriol3 were injected subcutaneously twice daily for 3 days. One'half cc. was given at each injection. On the morning of the fourth day
MUCIN AND PROTEOGLYCAN FUNCTIONS IN EMBRYO IMPLANTATION

Embryo implantation is a complex series of events that involves changes in pattern of expression of embryonic as well as uterine cell surface components. In the case of the embryo, these changes are driven by the developmental program. In the case of the uterus, these changes are triggered by both maternal hormonal influences as well as embryo-derived factors. Aspects of the implantation process vary among species; however, interaction between the external surface of the embryonic trophectoderm and the apical surface of the lumenal uterine epithelium is a common event. Progress is being made in defining the molecular players in these cell surface interactions. Large-molecular-weight mucin glycoproteins such as MUC1 are present at the apical surface of the uterine epithelium under most conditions. Under most circumstances, these mucins appear to protect the mucosal surface from infection and the action of degradative enzymes. These mucins are antiadhesive and also appear to represent a barrier to embryo attachment. Consistent with this model, reduction of mucin expression is observed in uterine lumenal epithelia in many species. Nonetheless, mucin expression persists in the human uterus during the proposed receptive phase. It is possible that mucin loss is localized to implantation sites in humans. Alternatively, mucins may function differently within the context of human implantation than in other species. Studies primarily performed in mice indicate that heparan sulfate proteoglycans, in particular, perlecan, appears on the exterior trophectodermal surface coincident with the acquisition of attachment competence. Various in vitro studies indicate that heparan sulfate proteoglycans support embryo attachment activity that may represent an early event in embryo-uterine interaction. Uterine epithelia cells express several complementary heparan sulfate-binding proteins that may participate in these attachment processes. Use of molecular genetic approaches in mouse models, as well as careful studies of the expression and function of these molecules in the context of implantation in various species are beginning to shed light on the key molecular events of implantation.
Extending RBS analysis to very fragile, nanometer-thick foils

We have applied Rutherford backscattering (RBS) to the analysis of very thin and very fragile, free-standing foils. These foils consisted of a thin metal or other layer encapsulated inside thin layers of a polycarbonate-like polymer. Thicknesses of the middle layers were ∼10 nm of Fe, ∼2 nm of Au and ∼7 nm of Ni with ∼12 nm of NaF. The encapsulating, polymer layers each had a thickness of about 75 nm. Application of appropriate sample mounting and RBS techniques has led to spectra with essentially no background. We determined the amounts and depth distributions of all elements with atomic numbers Z⩾6. Very low current densities (∼2 nA/mm2) of 2.3 MeV He+ ions were used to minimize heating by the beam and yet obtain useful statistics in a reasonable time. To monitor any changes in the foils during analysis, spectra were obtained in a sequence of low-fluence bombardments. After each bombardment the beam was interrupted, and the data was examined and stored. This procedure permitted us to monitor the data for any significant changes in the foil and allowed cooling of the target during the beam-off interval.
Awareness of Chronic Kidney Disease Among Patients and Providers

Earlier recognition of chronic kidney disease (CKD) could slow progression, prevent complications, and reduce cardiovascular-related outcomes. However, current estimates of CKD awareness indicate that both patient- and provider-level awareness remain unacceptably low. Many of the factors that are possibly associated with CKD awareness, which could help guide implementation of awareness efforts, have yet to be fully examined. Also, little is known regarding whether increased patient or provider awareness improves clinical outcomes, or whether there are possible negative consequences of awareness for CKD patients. Further research is necessary to continue to design and refine awareness campaigns aimed at both patients and providers, but there is an immediate need for dissemination of basic CKD information, given both the high prevalence of CKD and its risk factors and the low estimated awareness of CKD.
Ca2+ depletion from the photosynthetic water-oxidizing complex reveals photooxidation of a protein residue.

A new intermediate in the water-oxidizing reaction has been observed in spinach photosystem II (PSII) membranes that are depleted of Ca2+ from the site which is conformationally coupled to the manganese cluster comprising the water-oxidizing complex (WOC). It gives rise to a recently identified EPR signal (symmetric line shape with width 163 +/- 5 G, g = 2.004 +/- 0.005), which forms in samples inhibited either by depletion of Ca2+ [Boussac, A., Zimmerman, J.-L., & 28, 8984-8989; Sivaraja, M., Tso, J., & Dismukes, G.C. (1989) Biochemistry 28 9459-9464] or by substitution of Cl- by F- (Baumgarten, Philo, and Dismukes, submitted for publication). Further characterization of this EPR signal has revealed the following: (1) it forms independently of the local structure of the PSII acceptors; (2) it arises from photooxidation of a PSII species that donates an electron to Tyr-Z+ or to the Mn cluster in competition with an exogenous donor (DPC); (3) the Curie temperature dependence of the intensity suggests an isolated doublet ground state, attributable to a spin S = 1/2 radical; (4) the electron spin orientation relaxes 1000-fold more rapidly than typical for a free radical, exhibiting a strong temperature dependence of P1/2 (half-saturation power approximately T3.4) and a broad inhomogeneous line width; (5) it yields an undetectable change in the magnetic susceptibility upon formation by a laser flash; (6) it disappears in parallel with release of Mn during reduction with NH2OH, indicating that it forms only in the presence of the modified Mn cluster. (ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Quantum-dot active regions for extended-wavelength-range GaAs-based light-emitting devices

This paper describes crystal growth techniques for achieving good electroluminescence efficiency and narrow linewidth from a GaAs-based light emitting device emitting at 1.3 micrometers . The long wavelength emission is achieved using a quantum dot active region grown by sub-monolayer In, Ga and As. Low threshold lasing at a shorter wavelength of 1.15 micrometers is achieved in a GaAs-based oxide-confined vertical- cavity laser using alternating single monolayer growth of InAs/GaAs QDs.
A Unified Quantum Theory of Mechanics and Thermodynamics. Part I. Postulates

A unified axiomatic theory that embraces both mechanics and thermodynamics is presented in three parts. It is based on four postulates; three are taken from quantum mechanics, and the fourth is the new disclosure of the existence of quantum states that are stable (Part I). For nonequilibrium and equilibrium states, the theory provides general original results, such as the relation between irreducible density operators and the maximum work that can be extracted adiabatically (Part IIa). For stable equilibrium states, it shows for the first time that the canonical and grand canonical distributions are the only stable distributions (Part IIb). The theory discloses the incompleteness of the equation of motion of quantum mechanics not only for irreversible processes but, more significantly, for reversible processes (Part IIb). It establishes the operational meaning of an irreducible density operator and irreducible dispersions associated with any state, and reveals the relationship between such dispersions and the second law (Part III).
Seasonal variations of live moisture content and ignitability in shrubs of the Mediterranean Basin

The objectives of the present study were (i) to describe the seasonal pattern of ignition delay (ID time) and moisture content of live fine fuel (LFMC) for eight common shrub species of the Western Mediterranean Basin, and (ii) to evaluate the relationships between LFMC and ignitability. The experiment was carried out in a shrubland area located in Sardinia, Italy. LFMC and time to ignition or ID time values were determined monthly or twice a month throughout the year. Ignitability was determined by laboratory tests. Meteorological data were also collected from a weather station located in the study area. Significant linear regression equations of ID time v. LFMC were found for most of the species, with R2 values ranging from 67 to 94%. In general, very low values of ID time were observed when LFMC ranged from 70 to 100%. In addition, two groups of species were identified, depending on seasonal changes of both LFMC and ID time (or ignitability): (i) species with LFMC not greater than 100% and high ignitability values all throughout the year, and (ii) species with large seasonal variability of LFMC and ignitability values that were low in winter and high in summer. Significant differences in ignitability among species were also observed.
Identification of Dh/+ and Dh/Dh embryos through close linkage of Dh and peptidase-3.

The close linkage between the genes Dominant hemimelia (Dh) and peptidase-3 (Pep-3) has been determined in 65 informative matings with the recombination freqency of 3.8%. Progeny testing showed that non-penetrance does occur in Dh/+ adults. The presence of the “slow” and “fast” variants of Pep-3 can be determined in homogenates of kidney tissue as well as in a portion of the day 10 and 11 embryos. In a litter of embryos born to an informative mating, those which are Dh/Dh, Dh/+, and +/+ can be distinguished by the presence of the Pep-3 allele known to be in coupling with the Dh gene. This technique makes it possible to identify and to study the limb malformations and other phenotypic effects of Dh during their development and before the limb deformity is visible.
Relationship between Duration of HIV Disease and Diagnostic History

The duration of being infected with HIV, i.e., chronicity, is a unique factor that can affect coping and psychological outcomes. In a secondary data analysis, 50 HIV-positive adults between 30 and 57 years were administered the Centers for Epidemiological Studies-Depression scale, the UCLA Loneliness Scale-Revised, and the HIV Stigma Scale, along with questions about their diagnostic history. Analysis indicated that those diagnosed longer with HIV reported ruminating less on the events leading up to their diagnosis (r=-.36), reported less trauma by their diagnosis initially (r=-.31), and reported fewer depressive symptoms (r=-.30). Implications for addressing chronicity in research are posited.
Dispersion-corrected energy barriers for silylene addition to white phosphorus, a density functional investigation into substituent effects

A density functional investigation into differently substituted silylenes with respect to the first step in the addition to white phosphorus is presented. The investigations include dispersion corrections in the density functional treatment. They become sizable for the transition state geometries for the silylenes as they become increasingly substituted by bulky groups. Hence, dispersion corrections are essential for a quantum chemical treatment of real molecules using density functional theory. The different singlet–triplet energy separations of differently substituted silylenes were also investigated and compared with calculated activation barriers for the first step in the addition reaction.
Effects of Levodopa on Systolic Preejection Period, Blood Pressure, and Heart Rate during Acute and Chronic Treatment of Parkinson's Disease

The effect of levodopa on the externally recorded preejection period (PEP), blood pressure, and heart rate was evaluated in patients with Parkinson's disease during the first 2 weeks of therapy and after 3 months of continuous therapy. During the same time periods, the response of these parameters to graded intravenous doses of dopamine and epinephrine was determined. During the first 2 weeks, levodopa (1.0 and 1.5 g) produced a dose-related shortening of the PEP which was maximal at the time of the 30 or 60-min recordings and remained significant (P < 0.05) for 90 min following the 1.0-g dose and for 120 min after the 1.5-g dose. The drug had no effect on heart rate and reduced arterial blood pressure minimally. Propranolol (10 mg by mouth) prevented the shortening of PEP produced by levodopa. After 3 months of therapy, levodopa (1.5 g) failed to shorten the PEP significantly. However, the effect of dopamine and epinephrine on PEP was not significantly different from that obtained during the first 2 week...
Sintering Crystalline Solids. II. Experimental Test of Diffusion Models in Powder Compacts

During sintering in alumina powder compacts, the density has been found to increase linearly with the logarithm of time, and the grain size increases with the one-third power of time. Incorporation of the time dependence of grain size increase into late-stage bulk diffusion sintering models (from Part I )[R. L. Coble, J. Appl. Phys., 32, 787 (1961)] leads to corrected models by which a semilogarithmic behavior is predicted. The presence of density gradients in normally fabricated pellets makes impossible the deduction of whether theoretical density will be achieved from the early stages of the course of densification. Diffusion coefficients calculated from the intermediate and later stages of sintering bear order-of-magnitude agreement with those calculated from the initial-stage sintering measurements in alumina. All diffusion coefficients from sintering data are higher than Kingery’s measured diffusion coefficients for oxygen. It is hypothesized that the sintering process must then be controlled by bulk diffusion of aluminum ions while the oxygen transport takes place along the grain boundaries. In controlling the sinterability of alumina to theoretical density, it appears that magnesia does not ‘inhibit’ discontinuous grain growth, but instead increases the sintering rate such that discontinuous growth nuclei do not have time to form.
Leadership in action.

The turbulence in the health care industry over the past 10–15 years has generated a considerable amount of dissatisfaction, apprehension, and anger. It has become increasingly difficult for many academic medical centers to carry out their unique social missions of providing expensive tertiary and quaternary care, delivering medical services to the uninsured, conducting research, teaching, and innovating. The “new order,” one governed by laissez faire economics and free market competition, places heavy emphasis on financial metrics, particularly the bottom line. Managed care is really managed cost. The doctor-patient relationship, once honored as a covenant based on trust, is for many today a commercial transaction governed by contract law and by the marketplace. The conviction that illness is a significant human condition and that physicians mitigate suffering seems to have withered. The American playwright Howard Sackler once said, “To intervene, even briefly, between our fellow creatures and their suffering or death, is our most authentic answer to the question of our humanity.” Sadly, the commercialization of medicine has encouraged an external orientation, one that often contributes to the lack of meaning and purpose permeating the workplace today [1]. The noble profession of medicine, once considered a vocation or calling, has for many become a grind if not a chore. I see evidence of this every day. If we can agree that academic medical centers have gotten off track, with some having even lost sight of
The Center for Human Appearance: A multi-specialty concept

At the time of its founding in 1988, The Edwin and Fannie Gray Hall Center for Human Appearance at the University of Pennsylvania was the first such center in a major academic setting dedicated to the multispecialty serious study of problems of appearance. The concept was for five key specialties, originally, and now six, with primary interests in appearance, to meet regularly to present ideas and problems, and to approach the study and treatment of appearance in a comprehensive, scholarly, and multidisciplinary manner. The group has been cohesive, which has depended on frequent and regular personal interactions, as well as an adequate and supportive financial structure. With these factors in place, and a dedication to making it work, there have been publications, new ideas, and teamwork that has made it possible for competing specialties to effectively function together.
Curcumin Inhibits ACTH- and Angiotensin II-Stimulated Cortisol Secretion and Cav3.2 Current

Adrenocorticotropic hormone and angiotensin II stimulate cortisol secretion from bovine adrenal zona fasciculata cells by the activation of adenylate cyclase and phospholipase C-coupled receptors. Curcumin (1- 20 muM), a compound found in the spice turmeric, inhibited cortisol secretion stimulated by ACTH, AngII, and 8CPT-cAMP. Curcumin also suppressed ACTH-stimulated increases in mRNAs coding for steroid acute regulatory protein and CYP11a1 steroid hydroxylase. In whole cell patch clamp recordings from AZF cells, curcumin at slightly higher concentrations also inhibited Ca(v)3.2 current. These results identify curcumin as an effective inhibitor of ACTH- and AngII-stimulated cortisol secretion. The inhibition of Ca(v)3.2 current by curcumin may contribute to its suppression of secretion.
The Spinal Tap

Excerpt To the editor: Marton and Gean (1) have presented an excellent review of the use of the spinal tap. They state that many believe the spinal tap is associated with the complication of headac...
Interfaces between transparent media that allow total reflection or total refraction of parallel-polarized light at the same angle of incidence

Abstract Planar interfaces between transparent media, with ratio of refractive indices ν = [2/(√5−1)]1/2≐ 1.272, have the unique characteristic of either totally reflecting or totally refracting a monochromatic parallel-polarized plane electromagnetic wave at the same angle of incidence, φ = arccos (1/ν2) ≐ 51.827°, depending upon whether incidence is from the denser or rarer medium, respectively. As applications of this interesting property, we propose a 90° beam deflector, a division-of-wavefront two-prism beam splitter, and a simple means to change the direction of orthogonally traveling waves into oppositely propagating waves that appear to emanate from the same source.
A semiparametric estimate of treatment effects with censored data.

Summary. A semiparametric estimate of an average regression effect with right-censored failure time data has recently been proposed under the Cox-type model where the regression effect β(t) is allowed to vary with time. In this article, we derive a simple algebraic relationship between this average regression effect and a measurement of group differences in K-sample transformation models when the random error belongs to the Gp family of Harrington and Fleming (1982, Biometrika69, 553–566), the latter being equivalent to the conditional regression effect in a gamma frailty model. The models considered here are suitable for the attenuating hazard ratios that often arise in practice. The results reveal an interesting connection among the above three classes of models as alternatives to the proportional hazards assumption and add to our understanding of the behavior of the partial likelihood estimate under nonproportional hazards. The algebraic relationship provides a simple estimator under the transformation model. We develop a variance estimator based on the empirical influence function that is much easier to compute than the previously suggested resampling methods. When there is truncation in the right tail of the failure times, we propose a method of bias correction to improve the coverage properties of the confidence intervals. The estimate, its estimated variance, and the bias correction term can all be calculated with minor modifications to standard software for proportional hazards regression.
Relationships between Beer, Wine, and Spirits Consumption and Suicide Rates in U.S. States from 1977 to 1988

Relationships between alcohol consumption and suicide rates were examined through an ecological study. Data on total apparent per capita alcohol consumption, as well as beer, wine, and spirits consumption, from 1977 to 1988 in each of the fifty U.S. states and District of Columbia were compared with suicide rates. It was found that total alcohol consumption was weakly but significantly related to suicide rate by univariate analysis (r = 0.16, p < 0.01). Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.30, 0.12, and −0.01 for correlation of suicide rate with beer, wine, and spirits consumption, respectively. Over the twelve years, the magnitude of associations between total alcohol consumption and suicide varied with correlation coefficients of 0.29, 0.23, 0.09, and 0.11 for four three-year periods, 1977–79, 1980–82, 1983–85, and 1986–88, respectively. The association between beer consumption and suicide persisted over the whole period with correlation coefficients of 0.35, 0.31, 0.26, and 0.30, while that between ...
Harry Potter and the sorcerer's scope: latent scope biases in explanatory reasoning

What makes a good explanation? We examine the function of latent scope, i.e., the number of unobserved phenomena that an explanation can account for. We show that individuals prefer narrow latent scope explanations—those that account for fewer unobserved effects—to broader explanations. In Experiments 1a–d, participants found narrow latent scope explanations to be both more satisfying and more likely. In Experiment 2 we directly manipulated base rate information and again found a preference for narrow latent scope explanations. Participants in Experiment 3 evaluated more natural explanations of unexpected observations, and again displayed a bias for narrow latent scope explanations. We conclude by considering what this novel bias tells us about how humans evaluate explanations and engage in causal reasoning.