cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
MARYANN OVERSTREET , Whales, candlelight, and stuff like that: General extenders in English discourse . (Oxford Studies in Sociolinguistics) Oxford & New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. xii + 171. Hb. $39.95.

Characterizing the discourse functions of linguistic expressions is surely one of the most difficult tasks in linguistic analysis. The starting point for any study of discourse functions is the examination of naturally occurring data; the limiting factor is the lack of well-developed theoretical frameworks for understanding language use. Still, a good descriptive study has lasting value, and empirical claims invite further analysis. Overstreet's study of the “general extenders” or something , and everything , and other members of this class makes a solid contribution on both fronts.
Calcium-Dependent Synthesis of Prostacyclin in ATP-Stimulated Venous Endothelial Cells

Prostacyclin is a powerful vasodilator that is released from vascular endothelial cells. Previous studies in our laboratory have indicated that arachidonic acid metabolites from venous endothelium play an important role in the dilation of adjacent arterioles during muscle stimulation. Furthermore, recent studies have suggested that ATP released from red blood cells during hypoxia stimulates dilation of arterioles. We tested the hypothesis that an ATP-induced increase in intracellular Ca2+ in venous endothelium promotes prostacyclin synthesis. Small branches of femoral veins were isolated from male golden hamsters, placed in a 1 mL bath, and cannulated for perfusion with 3-( N -morpholino) propanesulfonic acid (MOPS)-buffered physiological salt solution at 37°C. Prostacyclin synthesis was determined by enzyme immunoassay of bath solution. Perfusion of veins with ATP increased prostacyclin synthesis from 50±5 to 627±46 pg/mL (n=49). ATP-induced prostacyclin synthesis was inhibited by removal of extracellular Ca2+, chelation of intracellular Ca2+ with 1,2-bis(2-aminophenoxy)ethane-N,N,N′,N′-tetraacetic acid (BAPTA) (10 μmol/L for 10 minutes), and preincubation with cytosolic phospholipase A2 (PLA2) inhibitors, AACOCF3, and bromoenol lactone. Changes in intracellular Ca2+ in cultured human venous endothelial cells were assessed by fura-2 spectrofluorometry. ATP induced a transient Ca2+ peak within seconds, and the subsequent Ca2+ plateau was abolished by removal of extracellular Ca2+. An increase in prostacyclin synthesis was detected in these cells 2 minutes after application of ATP. These findings suggest that the ATP-induced increase in intracellular Ca2+ stimulates prostacyclin synthesis in venous endothelial cells.
Transition to Postsecondary Education: A Call for Evidence-Based Practice.

Transition policy and programs have primarily focused on preparing students with disabilities for employment. Public policy over the last three decades has gradually broadened to include increasing...
Notions of Invariance for Abstraction Principles

The logical status of abstraction principles, and especially Hume’s Principle, has been long debated, but the best currently availeble tool for explicating a notion’s logical character ‐ permutation invariance ‐ has not received a lot of attention in this debate. This paper aims to fill this gap. After characterizing abstraction principles as particular mappings from the subsets of a domain into that domain and exploring some of their properties, the paper introduces several distinct notions of permutation invariance for such principles, assessing the philosophical significance of each.
Analyzing the transient response of a nonlinear servosystem by the phase-plane method

IT IS COMMON practice in college servomechanism laboratories to build a simple ?linear? servomechanism system from which the student can determine the frequency and transient response. This simple system is generally composed of an error detector, electronic amplifier, and 2-phase servomotor as illustrated in Fig. 1. The student is immediately disturbed to discover that both the frequency and transient responses depend on the magnitude of the input signal. This is, of course, contrary to linear theory. The only conclusion that can be reached is that the apparently linear system just is not linear due to the characteristics of the 2-phase motor. In a previous publication it was shown why the Mp and resonant frequency of the frequency response characteristics varied with the magnitude of the input signal.1 It is the purpose of this paper to show how the nonlinear characteristics of the 2-phase motor influences the transient response of the system. This analysis is best carried out by means of the phase-plane method.
Synthesis of pH‐sensitive surfactants by the terpolymerization of methacrylic acid, methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate, and lauryl methacrylate: Initiator effect and reactivity ratio study

For the development of pH-sensitive surfactants to be used in water-in-oil fermentation, the free-radical terpolymerization of methacrylic acid (MAA), methoxy poly(ethylene glycol) methacrylate (MPEGMA), and lauryl methacrylate (LMA), at a molar ratio of 1.0:0.04:0.76, was studied with two initiators, azobisisobutyronitrile (AIBN) and hydrogen peroxide, at different concentrations. The polymer synthesized with 0.45% AIBN as the initiator was the most promising, giving similar conversions of all three monomers throughout the 10-h polymerization. The subsequent study on AIBN-initiated systems indicated that MPEGMA caused an increase-then-decrease profile of the MAA conversion with a plateau around an ethylene glycol/MAA ratio of 1–2. This observation was fairly consistent with the well-known type II template polymerization of poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG)–MAA systems. The reactivity ratios obtained in this study suggested that the polymer synthesized with AIBN as the initiator had a structure of alternating blocks of MAA and LMA, with isolated PEG grafts. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 42: 2950–2959, 2004
Stacking fault probability determinations in HCP Ti−Al alloys

X-ray powder diffraction line profile studies have been made from hcp Ti−Al alloys. A Fourier analysis of the profiles has been used to separate the total broadening into that caused by domain size, mean-square (ms) microstrains, and stacking faults. The stacking fault probability and the ms microstrains of the Ti−Al alloys decrease with increasing aluminum content, whereas the domain size remains relatively constant. This change in stacking fault probability is used to explain the corresponding changes in dislocation structures.
Measuring surface forces to explore surface chemistry : mica, sapphire and silica

In this paper measurements of the forces acting between two solid surfaces separated by a thin liquid film are discussed. By investigating these forces in a range of different liquids and solutions, it is possible to acquire an understanding of the surface properties of the solid material. The surface of mica has been studied extensively in this way, and the results obtained are reviewed to illustrate how the surface force measurements can give surface chemical information. Recent measurements on two other materials, sapphire and silica, which are of greater practical interest are also discussed.
The Early history of Phenomenological Psychological Research in America

This article on the early history of phenomenological psychological research in the academic context in America focuses on the four approaches of the following respective psychologists: 1) Donald Snygg, Arthur W. Combs, and Anne C. Richards and Fred Richards; 2) Robert B. MacLeod; 3) Adrian L. van Kaam; and 4) Amedeo P. Giorgi. It begins by first addressing the "context" for this early history namely, the European origin of philosophical phenomenology and the connection of it with the psychology of its times in Europe, and then the American background for the development of a sensibility for phenomenology and an eventual connection of phenomenology with psychology. Each of the four positions was examined in terms of basic approach to the study of human experience and behavior. That is, examination was directed toward whether the respective position was under the aegis of psychology as a human science or as a natural science. Also examined were the research postures and the methodologies of the four positions in terms of their respective degrees of reflecting either the human science or the natural science approach, and in terms of their approximation to a phenomenological psychology. It was found that syncretism characterized the approaches of the first three positions, and that there was either an absence of phenomenological psychological method in the psychologies of those positions or, in the case of MacLeod, an undeveloped and non-worked-out method. Only the work of Amedeo Giorgi presented 1) a human science approach that was radical and not compromised by natural science syncretions, and 2) an articulated phenomenological psychological method based on Husserl's concept of intentionality and on mediation of Merleau-Ponty's philosophical phenomenological method.
Multiple Factors Determine the Selection of the Ectodomain Cleavage Site of Human Cell Surface Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor†

Human cell surface macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1256, M-CSFα) is converted to a soluble growth factor by a regulated proteolytic cleavage process at amino acid residues 157−159. We hav...
Effect of Target Size on Spatial and Temporal Characteristics of a Pointing Movement in Man

The effects of constraints related to movement accuracy on the spatial and temporal characteristics of pointing movements of the arm to a target were investigated. It was found that movement time increased, even at slow speeds, when target size decreased. Spatial variability of the trajectory of the index finger was also reduced, but only in proximity to the target, when higher accuracy was demanded while variability of motion at the wrist showed little change. The effect of varying the angular orientation of the target on the trajectories of the wrist and finger was also investigated. The data support the hypothesis that motion at the shoulder and elbow joints, which is closely linked, is determined primarily by target position while motion at the wrist joint, which is only loosely coupled to the motion at the more proximal joints, is related principally to the angular orientation of the target in space. The data also suggest that wrist motion is controlled separately from motion at the more proximal joints.
The deformation and fracture behavior of the scintillating crystal cadmium tungstate

Cadmium tungstate single crystals are excellent scintillators and have vast potential as γ- and x-ray detectors. However, they are brittle and as a result, are difficult to manufacture. An understanding of deformation and fracture behavior is necessary in order to improve the ability to fabricate these crystals. Thus, this paper explores the deformation and fracture behavior of CdWO4 single crystals using nano-and microindentation techniques.
Ground-based observation of high-altitude, high-temperature emission in the O2 atmospheric band nightglow

[1] O2(b1Σg+ − X3Σg−) atmospheric band emission, when viewed from the ground outside the auroral zone, is considered to originate in the 90–100 km altitude region, from O-atom recombination. However, the v = 0,1 levels of the b1Σg+ state can also be generated through an energy transfer process, when O(1D) collides with O2. In the absence of specific altitude information, as in ground-based measurements, the two sources can still be distinguished because of different characteristic temperatures. We have analyzed sky spectra from the Keck I and II telescopes on Mauna Kea, contrasting solar minimum and maximum conditions and variations with time of night. Utilizing the O2(b-X) 1-1 band, we find that in averaged solar minimum conditions, ∼75% of the emission comes from an altitude corresponding to 200 K, while ∼25% has a temperature near 700 K and therefore originates at high altitude. The fraction of high-temperature emission is often considerably greater early in the evening. At solar maximum, the high altitude component can be dramatically enhanced in the early evening; emission in the 1-1 band reaches intensitities of 100–150 R, with a rotational temperature near 1000 K. We also observe high-J b-X 0-0 band lines penetrating the Fraunhofer A-band region, the normal absorption becoming emission. Emission intensites deduced from such observations indicate that the ionospheric 0-0 band is at least as intense as the 1-1 band, as expected.
Identification of Risk-Related Haplotypes with the Use of Multiple SNPs from Nuclear Families

Family-based association studies offer robustness to population stratification and can provide insight into maternally mediated and parent-of-origin effects. Usually, such studies investigate multiple markers covering a gene or chromosomal region of interest. We propose a simple and general method to test the association of a disease trait with multiple, possibly linked SNP markers and, subsequently, to nominate a set of “risk-haplotype-tagging alleles.” Our test, the max_Z2 test, uses only the genotypes of affected individuals and their parents without requiring the user to either know or assign haplotypes and their phases. It also accommodates sporadically missing SNP data. In the spirit of the pedigree disequilibrium test, our procedure requires only a vector of differences with expected value 0 under the null hypothesis. To enhance power against a range of alternatives when genotype data are complete, we also consider a method for combining multiple tests; here, we combine max_Z2 and Hotelling’s T2. To facilitate discovery of risk-related haplotypes, we develop a simple procedure for nominating risk-haplotype-tagging alleles. Our procedures can also be used to study maternally mediated genetic effects and to explore imprinting. We compare the statistical power of several competing testing procedures through simulation studies of case-parents triads, whose diplotypes are simulated on the basis of draws from the HapMap-based known haplotypes of four genes. In our simulations, the max_Z2 test and the max_TDT (transmission/disequilibrium test) proposed by McIntyre et al. perform almost identically, but max_Z2, unlike max_TDT, extends directly to the investigation of maternal effects. As an illustration, we reanalyze data from a previously reported orofacial cleft study, to now investigate both fetal and maternal effects of the IRF6 gene.
Lithium and Cesium Ion-Pair Acidities of Dibenzyl Ketone. Aggregation of Lithium and Cesium Ion Pairs of the Enolate Ion and Dianion(1)(,).

Spectral study of the cesium and lithium enolates of dibenzyl ketone (DBK) showed that both salts exist as contact ion pairs in THF solutions. The spectral data for the dicesium salt of DBK indicate that it exists as triple ions in which both cations are in contact with the dianion. The dilithium salt of DBK forms triple ions of two types in THF: in one, both cations are in contact with the DBK dianion, in the other, one of the lithium cations is solvent-separated. Evidence for dimerization of the ion pairs was obtained for both lithium and cesium enolates of DBK from UV-vis spectral (blue shift of the absorbance band at higher concentrations) and acidity (the decrease of pK at higher concentrations) studies. The dimerization constant for the cesium enolate of DBK obtained from the acidity data (3.5 × 103 M-1) is considered to be more accurate than that from the spectral analysis (1.7 × 103 M-1). The lithium enolate is much less dimerized than its cesium counterpart with a dimerization constant from acid...
Limb pterygium syndromes: A review and report of eleven patients

Conditions with limb pterygia and congenital contractures were reviewed as part of a study of over 350 infants with arthrogryposis. Emphasis was placed on inheritance and variability of distinct pterygium conditions. Eleven patients with limb pterygia were recognized in our study and are described here. Seven of the 350 patients with congenital contractures had the autosomal recessively inherited multiple pterygium syndrome (Patients 1-7). Three of the seven are sibs, a fourth was born to consanguineous parents, and three were chance isolated cases. These seven had multiple joint webs, unusual finger contractures, syndactyly, rocker bottom feet, ptosis, antimongoloid slant of palpebral fissures, epicanthal folds, highly arched palate, scoliosis, and short stature. There is intrafamilial variability. Three patients from one family had a lethal multiple pterygium syndrome. Two were monozygotic twins. They had webbing and contractures of the elbows, knees, neck, and fingers, calcaneovalgus deformity of the feet, and an unusual facial appearance: hypertelorism, flat nose, antimongoloid slant of palpebral fissures, apparently low-set ears. One had a cleft palate. Internal malformations included: bilateral pulmonary hypoplasia, small heart, absence of the appendix, and attenuation of the ascending and transverse colon. One sporadic case of lethal popliteal pterygium with facial clefts was studied. Multiple anomalies included: ankyloblepharon filiforme adnatum, upslanting palpebral fissures, hypoplasia of nasal cartilages, frenula, clefts into the oropharynx lateral to the mouth, apparently low-set ears with slit-like canals, large popliteal pterygia, syndactyly with fusion of all digits in hands and feet, and hypoplastic labia.
Numerical solution of urban residential land-use models

Abstract Many recent papers have made drastic simplifications in urban residential land-use models, presumably for analytic tractability. In this one, numerical solutions to models embodying varying assumptions of substantive importance are obtained. These solutions are compared with estimated characteristics of 1950 residential population density functions. The comparisons suggest that a CES production function for housing with an elasticity of substitution of land for structures of 0.75 agrees more closely with observed 1950 characteristics than does the Cobb-Douglas function so commonly used for analytic simplicity. Assuming a constant marginal transport cost for commuters at all distances from the Central Business District (CBD), however, yields results agreeing somewhat better with 1950 characteristics used for comparison than does the more complicated model embodying congestion in commuter transport.
A novel method for the study of optical properties of surfaces

Abstract A new technique, photothermal displacement spectroscopy, for probing the optical properties of surfaces is presented. Optical spectra are obtained directly, and surface and bulk contributions are easily and unambiguously differentiated. The technique is well suited for in situ ultra-high vacuum experiments.
Critical evaluation of the use of hydroethidine as a measure of superoxide anion radical.

Abstract The fluorogenic oxidation of hydroethidine (HE) to ethidium (E+) has been used as a measure of O2−. Evaluation of this method confirms that O2−, but not O2 or H2O2, rapidly oxidizes HE to E+. However the ratio of E+ produced per O2− introduced decreased as the flux of O2− was increased. This suggested that HE can catalyze the dismutation of O2− and this was affirmed. HE was oxidized to a red product, distinct from E+ by ferricytochrome c and a similar oxidation may occur within Escherichia coli. HE inhibited the growth and killed a SOD-null strain to a greater extent than the SOD-replete parental strain and these effects were much diminished under anaerobic conditions. This indicated that E+ was responsible for the toxicity of HE and indeed E+ was seen to be toxic under both aerobic and anaerobic conditions. In view of the data presented HE can be recommended as a qualitative but not as a quantitative measure of O2−.
The Interstitial Cystitis Data Base Study : Concepts and preliminary baseline descriptive statistics

Abstract Objectives To describe the design, patient population, and data and specimen collection aspects of the Interstitial Cystitis Data Base (ICDB) Study and to provide preliminary descriptive statistics and inferential results from an interim analysis. Methods All 424 study participants successfully enrolled in the ICDB Study prior to December 31, 1995, were selected for an interim analysis and were classified into 1 of 3 symptom severity subgroups. Statistical tests for associations among these symptom severity subgroups and a broad range of baseline characteristics were conducted using Mantel-Haenszel procedures to adjust for variation among clinical centers. Results ICDB Study patients are predominantly female (91.5%), white (91.0%), with an average age at enrollment of 44.3 years. Nearly 45% of these patients underwent a cystoscopy at baseline screening, among whom there was an overall prevalence of 10.5% for Hunner's patch and 90% for glomerulations. Urodynamic evaluation for the entire 424 patients demonstrated that volumes at first sensation and at maximal capacity were inversely associated with symptom severity subgroups. A broad range of symptoms were analyzed, indicating that nearly 40% of patients reported urinating 15 times or more during awake hours, and more than 20% reported voiding at least 4 times per night. Almost half (47.9%) reported constant urgency and 23.6% reported having severe pain. Patients in the severe symptom subgroup reported greater limitations in selected quality-of-life indicators than those with less severe symptoms. Conclusions This interim analysis of the ICDB Study data was compared to previous epidemiologic studies of IC and provides an essential foundation for further analytic investigations of baseline associations and longitudinal trends.
Interleukin-1β Regulation of Inducible Nitric Oxide Synthase and Cyclooxygenase-2 Involves the p42/44 and p38 MAPK Signaling Pathways in Cardiac Myocytes

The genes encoding inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) and cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2, also known as prostaglandin-endoperoxide synthase-2) are induced in many types of cells in response to proinflammatory cytokines. We have previously shown that interleukin-1beta (IL) stimulates iNOS and COX-2 mRNA in cardiac myocytes. Because IL has been shown to activate mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) signaling pathways in many different cells, we tested whether the p42/44 and p38 MAPK pathways were involved in IL stimulation of iNOS and COX-2, using a specific inhibitor of p42/44 activation, PD98059 (PD), and the p38 inhibitor SB205380 (SB). Nitrites were measured using the Griess reagent, prostaglandin PGE2 by an enzyme immunoassay, iNOS and COX-2 protein by Western blot analysis, and iNOS mRNA by Northern blot analysis. Tested separately, the p38 kinase and MAPK inhibitors partially reduced IL stimulation of nitrite, iNOS protein, and iNOS mRNA; used together, they completely abolished the effect of IL. SB and PD inhibited IL-stimulated COX-2 protein by 60% and 80%, respectively, and IL-stimulated COX-2 protein was totally prevented by the combination of inhibitors. PGE2 production was inhibited more than 99% by either drug alone, suggesting a posttranslational effect on enzyme activity. To test whether this posttranslational effect involved the cytosolic phospholipase A2 (cPLA2) isoform, Western blots were probed for cPLA2 protein. Results indicated that IL stimulated cPLA2 activity and synthesis, which was inhibited by SB but not PD. These data indicate that (1) IL induction of iNOS synthesis depends on both the p42/44 and p38 signaling pathways, acting primarily at the level of transcriptional regulation; and (2) IL regulation of COX-2 synthesis involves the p42/44 and p38 signaling pathways, with an additional level of regulation occurring posttranslationally, perhaps at the level of activation of the cPLA2 isoform, which may be involved in intracellular signaling, as well as regulation of arachidonic acid release for COX-2 activity.
Dark- and light-induced changes in coupling between horizontal cells in mammalian retina.

Retinal horizontal cells exhibit large receptive fields derived from their extensive electrical coupling by means of gap junctions. The conductance of these gap junctions seems to be regulated by dopamine acting through a cAMP-mediated cascade. There is now abundant evidence that extracellular dopamine levels vary with changes in ambient light intensity, suggesting that changes in the dark/light adaptational state of the retina can modulate coupling between horizontal cells. We studied this question in the mammalian retina by determining the effects of ambient light levels, in the form of changing background light intensity, on the coupling profiles of A- and B-type horizontal cells in the rabbit. Changes in coupling were assessed by measurements of the space constants of the syncytium formed by horizontal cells and the intercellular spread of the biotinylated tracer Neurobiotin. Our results indicate that dark-adapted horizontal cells show relatively weak coupling. However, presentation of background lights as dim as one-quarter log unit above rod threshold resulted in increases in both the averaged extent of tracer coupling and space constants of A- and B-type horizontal cells. Coupling expanded further as background light intensities were increased by 1–1.5 log units, after which additional light adaptation brought about an uncoupling of cells. Coupling reached its minimum at light intensities about 3 log units above rod threshold, after which, with further light adaptation, it stabilized at levels close to those seen in dark-adapted retinas. Our results indicate that electrical coupling between mammalian horizontal cells is modulated dramatically by changes in the adaptational state of the retina: coupling is maximized under dim ambient light conditions and diminishes as the retina is dark or light adapted from this level. J. Comp. Neurol. 405:75–87, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Lifetime- and Color-Tailored Fluorophores in the Micro- to Millisecond Time Regime

We report the development of compound dyes which have tunable emission wavelengths, from 520 to 680 nm, and simultaneously tunable excited-state lifetimes, ranging from 50 to 500 μs. Future work is expected to extend these ranges yet further. The compound dyes are made of a lanthanide donor with a millisecond lifetime, which transfers energy to an acceptor with nanosecond lifetime, the latter made from an organic fluorophore. By varying the distance between the two, energy transfer from donor to acceptor results in a variable donor lifetime and emission, primarily from the acceptor. Emission color of the complex is therefore determined by choice of acceptor, and the lifetime decay of acceptor emission following an excitation pulse is determined by the donor's lifetime, which feeds the acceptor's delayed emission. By utilizing both the time-domain and wavelength-domain, these probes have the potential for quadratically increasing the number of detectable probes on a single sample.
Effect of Some Genetic and Maternal Environmental Variations on Birth Weight and Gestation Length in Holstein Cattle

Summary Records on 536 gestations from 258 Holstein cows representing six different sire lines were studied by standard partial regression and analysis of variance. Birth weight and gestation length were analyzed for possible effects of sire line, inbreeding and sex of calf, and weight, inbreeding, parity, and uterine horn pregnant in the dam. The average inbreeding of inbred dams was 24.7% and of inbred calves, 24.9%. Inbreeding of the dam had insignificant effects both on birth weight and on gestation length. The standard partial regression of birth weight on inbreeding of calf was negative and statistically significant. Inbreeding of the calf, however, had no significant effect on gestation length. Both birth weight and gestation length increased with the parity order of the dam, but the effect was significant only in the case of birth weight. Weight of dam had a positive effect (P
Residues in the first transmembrane domain of the Caenorhabditis elegans GABAA receptor confer sensitivity to the neurosteroid pregnenolone sulfate

1 The GABAA receptor is a target of endogenous and synthetic neurosteroids. Little is known about the residues required for neurosteroid action on GABAA receptors. We have investigated pregnenolone sulfate (PS) inhibition of the Caenorhabditis elegans UNC-49 GABA receptor, a close homolog of the mammalian GABAA receptor. 2 The UNC-49 locus encodes two GABA receptor subunits, UNC-49B and UNC-49C. UNC-49C is sensitive to PS but UNC-49B is not sensitive. By analyzing chimeric receptors and receptors containing site-directed mutations, we identified two regions required for PS inhibition. 3 Four residues in the first transmembrane domain are required for the majority of the sensitivity to PS, but a charged extracellular residue at the end of the M2 helix also plays a role. Strikingly, mutation of one additional M1 residue reverses the effect of PS from an inhibitor to an enhancer of receptor function. 4 Mutating the M1 domain had little effect on sensitivity to the inhibitor picrotoxin, suggesting that these residues may mediate neurosteroid action specifically, and not allosteric regulation in general.
Using Wi-Fi for cost-effective broadband wireless access in rural and remote areas

Although a large number of Internet users now enjoy high-speed access, there are still vast geographic regions where broadband services are either prohibitively expensive or simply unavailable at any price. networks paper examines the alternatives for using 2.4 GHz 802.11b (Wi-Fi) technology to provide fixed broadband access in areas where DSL and cable-based service are frequently not available. We explore the economics of offering wireless broadband service in rural areas consisting of towns, smaller remote communities as well as widely scattered users. We model a network, based on realistic demographics, equipment and operations costs, service revenues, customer demand and usage, and to calculate the life-cycle economics in terms of capital investment and profitability. We compare the cost-benefits of using the conventional Wi-Fi technology, as is typically used in metro areas today, with a novel and promising approach based on dynamically steerable beam-forming antennas to increase the coverage and capacity. Our results show that cost-effective, affordable high-speed wireless Internet access can be provided in rural and remote areas.
Biochemical Characterization of IMP-30, a Metallo-β-Lactamase with Enhanced Activity toward Ceftazidime

IMP-type enzymes constitute a clinically important family of metallo-β-lactamases that has grown dramatically in the past decade to its current 45 known members. Here, we report the biochemical characterization of IMP-30 in comparison to IMP-1, from which it deviates by a single E59K mutation. Kinetics, MIC assays, docking, and molecular dynamics simulations support a scenario in which Lys59 interacts with the ceftazidime R1 group, resulting in increased water access and enhanced turnover and MIC of ceftazidime.
Design and demonstration of a 3.6kV–120V/10KVA solid state transformer for smart grid application

Solid state transformer (SST) has been regarded as one of the most emerging technologies for traction system and smart grid application. This paper presents the system design and performance demonstration of a high voltage SST lab prototype, which works as the active grid interface in the smart grid architecture. Specifically, the designs of the key components of the system, including both power stage and controller platform, are presented. In addition, the integration issues of SST with DC microgrid are highlighted. Lastly, tests under different scenarios are conducted to verify the following advanced features of the presented SST technology: (1) VAR compensation; (2) Voltage regulation; (3) Source voltage sag operation; (4) Microgrid integration.
The Electoral Base of Political Machines A Deviant Case Analysis

Unlike most cities which supported political machines, Memphis, Tennessee, lacked a large population of deprived ethnic voters. The success of the Crump machine in such an environment suggests that factors other than ethnicity per se account for electoral support of machines. With aggregate social and electoral data for Memphis, this study tests four alternate explanations of machine support. The results of regression analysis indicate that the Crump machine knitted together a coalition of blacks and white ethnics. These groups shared a status as outsiders in the dominant culture of the city, and such social estrangement, more so than other factors, probably accounts for their distinctive political behavior.
A Theoretical Look at the Gender Balance of Power in the American Couple

Despite the very rich theoretical literature on marital power, recent empirical investigations on this subject have, in general, relied on disappointing measures of power. The empirically testable model developed in this article is an application of Blumberg's general theory of gender stratification to the contemporary American heterosexual couple. In the model, we concur with prior studies that identify economic power as the key variable in the power balance within a marital relationship. Our conceptualization of economic power, however, attempts to reflect the extremely complex nature of marital power. Thus we offer the notion of “overall economic power” and then suggest that there are a number of “discount factors” operating at both the macro and micro levels that affect the power balance, resulting in what we term “net economic power.” The fully elaborated model is dynamic, taking into account birth cohort differences, stable versus transitional relationships, and cross-class differences.
High specific capacitance conducting polymer supercapacitor electrodes based on poly(tris(thiophenylphenyl)amine)

Supercapacitors have emerged as attractive energy storage devices for systems requiring rapid charge-discharge cycles and high power densities. Progress in conducting polymer research for this application has shown tremendous promise due to the polymers' tendency to form highly porous films and exhibit reversible redox activity. In this Communication, we present a new triarylamine-thiophene hybrid conducting polymer for charge storage, poly(tris(4-(thiophen-2-yl)phenyl)amine) (pTTPA), which can be electrochemically deposited into highly porous films or templated nanotubular structures. pTTPA represents the first dendritic polymeric material incorporated in supercapacitor electrodes yielding a remarkably high peak capacitance of 950 ± 49 F/g in 100 mM tetrabutylammonium tetrafluoroborate in acetonitrile. Our versatile platform design opens the door to new synthetic opportunities for electrical energy storage polymers.
Fusing horizons: Standpoint hermeneutics and invitational rhetoric

Abstract This essay emends Foss, Foss, and Griffin's invitational rhetoric to strenghten its philosophical undergirdings and release it from unfounded criticism. Standpoint hermeneutical rhetoric is the framework offered to position the theory more solidly in the canon. Three strategic moves include discovering and revising its epistemological stance to reflect Lorraine Code's concepts of knowing others and second personhood; connecting Gadamer's philosophical hermeneutics to rhetoric; and using Gadamer's emphasis on position and historicity to develop the connection to feminist standpoint theory. Conclusions point toward the implications of invitational rhetoric as dialogue linked to practical application in public communication and pedagogy.
The joint government-industry workshop on progress towards non-animal alternatives to the draize test: observations and recommendations

AbstractThe Joint Government-Industry Workshop provided a forum to discuss some of the issues involved in regulatory acceptance of alternative testing methodologies. Several observations can be made: (1) government and industry have reached a consensus on the concept of validation by chemical catagory, i.e., following appropriate validation, sets of alternative tests can be accepted for the safety evaluation of specific classis of chemicals, (2) minimum sets of alternative tests potentially can be used in tier testing schemes, (3) for validation studies in the near future, the Draize eye test database will have to be used for evaluation of alternative tests-hopefully quantitative human data will be available in the future, (4) from a regulatory point of view, it is important to identify the mechanistic relationships between in vitro test systems and in vivo pathological responses, and (5) there is a need to standardize criteria for toxic classifications of chemicals by regulatory agencies worldwide. Based...
Adaptive CORDIC: Using Parallel Angle Recoding to Accelerate Rotations

The CORDIC algorithm is used in the evaluation of a wide variety of elementary functions. It is a simple and elegant method, but it suffers from long latency. The Angle Recoding method is able to reduce the number of iterations by more than 50 percent, but its implementation in hardware requires a large increase in cycle time, to accommodate its complex angle selection function. This restricts its use to those cases where the angle of rotation is fixed and known in advance, so that the angle selection can be performed offline. This paper presents a simpler implementation of the angle selection scheme that does not require an increase in cycle time, thus allowing the Angle Recoding method to be used dynamically for arbitrary angles. The method also has the advantage that all the angle constants are found in parallel, in a single step, by testing only the initial rotation angle, without having to perform successive CORDIC iterations. This dynamic Angle Recoding method can be formulated to use ?sections,? to limit the number of range comparators needed, to a reasonable value. There is an increase in the number of adaptive CORDIC iterations needed, but this problem can be mitigated by using a buffer in conjunction with the method of sections.
New Readout Electronics for 3-D Position Sensitive CdZnTe/HgI $_2$ Detector Arrays

The 4th-generation readout system based on VAS_UM/TAT4 ASICs for 3-D position sensitive CdZnTe/HgI2 detector arrays has been developed and tested. Each VAS_UM/TAT4 chip is a 129-channel self-triggered monolithic Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC). One 3-D position-sensitive detector module consists of one CdZnTe or HgI2 gamma-ray spectrometer, and one VAS_UM/TAT4 ASIC mounted on a 2.2 cmtimes2.2 cm front-end board. Each detector has an array of 11 by 11 pixel anodes fabricated on the anode surface with an area up to 2 cmtimes2 cm. The detector and the front-end board are connected by three pairs of 42-pin connectors for easy assembly and component replacement. Up to nine detector modules can be plugged into a single motherboard to form a 3 by 3 detector array. The VAS_UM/TAT4 chip can read out both the amplitude of induced charge on each electrode and the electron drift time needed for reconstructing energy deposition and three-dimensional coordinates of each radiation interaction. Three different sets of VAS_UM/TAT4 chips with different dynamic ranges and shaping times were fabricated for gamma-ray spectroscopy in CdZnTe and HgI2. These are the first ASIC readout systems that allow multiple 3-D position sensitive CdZnTe/HgI2 detector modules to be tiled together, to achieve a detection volume greater than 50 cm 3 on a single detector plane. Multiple planes of detector arrays can be operated together to achieve more than 100 cm3 detection volume on a single system. In this paper, the VAS_UM/TAT4 ASIC systems are described and their test results are reported
The projection of the cervical disc and uncinate process on the posterior aspect of the cervical spine

BACKGROUND Surgical techniques of foraminotomy for decompression of the cervical nerve have been well described in the literature. Excessive resection of the facet joint and laminae may decrease segmental stability and increase scar formation. How much bony resection is adequate to remove a soft or hard disc herniation is not known. No studies regarding this subject are available. METHODS Thirty-nine adult dry bone spines from C3 to C7 were used and four measurements on each vertebra were taken in this study. The first three measurements included the vertical distances between the superior borders of the lamina and the vertebral body measured at the midline of the laminae, the middle of the lamina, and the lamina-facet junction, respectively. The fourth was the horizontal distance between the medial most border of the superior facet and the tip of the uncinate process. RESULTS No significant differences between male and female specimens were found in any measurements in this study. The mean vertical distances from the superior border of the lamina inferior to the superior border of the vertebral body measured at the three points for all levels were approximately 1-3 mm, although the standard deviations for those were relatively high. The tip of the uncinate process was located from 2 mm at C3 to 1 mm at C6 medial to the medial most border of the superior facet, and then changed to be located 1 mm lateral to the medial most border of the superior facet. CONCLUSIONS This study suggests that a semicircular laminotomy placed on the inferior aspect of the lamina above may be adequate for a lateral soft disc herniation because the inferior border of the disc is higher than the superior border of the inferior lamina, whereas a traditional foraminotomy is needed for a hard disc pathology.
The impact of mental health and traumatic life experiences on antiretroviral treatment outcomes for people living with HIV/AIDS

Potent antiretroviral therapy (ART) has transformed HIV from a death sentence to a chronic illness. Accordingly, the goal of HIV care has shifted from delaying death to achieving optimal health outcomes through ART treatment. ART treatment success hinges on medication adherence. Extensive research has demonstrated that the primary barriers to ART adherence include mental illness, especially depression and substance abuse, as well as histories of traumatic experiences such as childhood sexual and physical abuse. These psychosocial factors are highly prevalent in people living with HIV/AIDS (PLWHA) and predict poor ART adherence, increased sexual risk behaviours, ART treatment failure, HIV disease progression and higher mortality rates. The efficacy of standard mental health interventions, such as antidepressant treatment and psychotherapy, has been well-defined, and a small but growing body of research demonstrates the potential for such interventions to improve ART adherence and reduce sexual risk behaviours. Despite this evidence, mental disorders in PLWHA frequently go undiagnosed and untreated. Challenges to the provision of mental healthcare for PLWHA in HIV clinical settings include time and resource constraints, lack of expertise in psychiatric diagnosis and treatment, and lack of available mental health referral services. Future research should prioritize the evaluation of mental health interventions that are cost-effective and feasible for widespread integration into HIV clinical care; the impact of such interventions on ART adherence and clinical outcomes; and interventions to identify individuals with histories of traumatic experiences and to elucidate the mechanisms through which such histories pose barriers to effective HIV treatment.
Turbulent Base Heating on a Slender Re-Entry Vehicle

T purpose of this Note is to report on some turbulent base heating measurements obtained from flight tests of a very slender re-entry vehicle. This unique data is limited in scope since the measurements were obtained primarily as diagnostic information. Data accuracy is estimated to be ±10%. A single copper slug calorimeter was used to obtain base heating rates on each of seven flights of nearly identical vehicle configurations, but on two different re-entry trajectories. Vehicle characteristics include a half-cone angle of 4.5°, nose bluntness ratio = 0.035 (graphite nose tip), and either a phenolic silica or phenolic carbon heatshield on the seven foot long flat-based vehicles. Re-entry performance was generally nominal for the two typical ballistic re-entry trajectories given in Table 1 . The calorimeter copper slug used a copper-constantan thermocouple bead soldered to the backface of the slug on all flights except the first. No correction was made for temperature gradients in the slug. The reliable calibration limit is 555°F. Data above this limit are not included. On the first flight, a resistance thermometer gage was bonded to the slug backface. This vehicle was the only one with the base heating measurement at a relative base radial station, RlRb = 0.66. All other flight measurements were made at R/Rb = 0.22. Due to the lower heating rates on flight one, data were obtained to impact. Data reduction was performed only for altitudes of 100,000 ft and below, relating primarily to the turbulent flow regime. Smoothing of raw temperature data was performed manually, and the resultant temperatures fit to a second order polynominal to obtain temperature-time slope information, dT/dt. Base heating rates were computed from CpMdT
Relaciones y pluralismo

En la segunda mitad de este trabajo presentamos un "Breve discurso acerca del Pluralismo." Su proposito consiste en resaltar las categorias de relacion y multiplicidad frente a los conceptos opuestos de termino y unidad. Dicho enfasis sencillamente reconoce algo que ha venido sucediendo en diversas disciplinas durante algun tiempo, un intento que hoy es especialmente urgente, dado que hay muchos desarrollos notables en las ciencias que no podemos comprender adecuadamente -o incluso aceptar- sin efectuar cambios en nuestras categorias basicas. La primera mitad proporciona un marco apropiado. Se examina la intersubjetividad, mostrando de que forma Edmund Husserl lucha entre dos enfoques en conflicto: la realidad de las relaciones humanas y la posicion estrictamente subjetiva. Citamos unos pocos fragmentos de sus borradores postumos para dejar que el ilustre autor hable por si mismo y para mostrar lo inciertas que eran sus ideas sobre el tema. Husserl emplea en repetidas ocasiones el termino "monada". Unas pocas citas de la Monadologia de Leibniz explicaran la razon de ello.
Genetic ascertainment with heterogeneous risk.

Analysis of the bias of ascertainment is reformulated to deal with more general patterns commonly encountered in practice. The goal is to provide a unifying theory that will both replace the traditional, rather piecemeal, treatment of the problem and free it from certain restrictive assumptions. A compact algebraic method is furnished for analyzing the properties of the distributions by means of the probability generating function (PGF). The scope of the generalization is illustrated by applying it to the various classical patterns of bias of ascertainment. It is extended to other patterns in which the conditions of ascertainment, though more plausible, are also logically more complicated. It also accommodates cases hitherto inadequately dealt with, such as where the segregation ratios are heterogeneous (for example because of age-dependence); and cases where the ascertainment function is of arbitrary form and denies us such valuable, but demanding, assumptions as independence. Not only is the result unifying, but it leads to usable results in specific applications such as diseases that depend on age or birth order. While the commonest applications are in human genetics, there are many other issues (such as the use of batteries of tests) in which it is equally important.
Collaborative extensions for the UpLib system

The UpLib personal digital library system is specifically designed for secure use by a single individual. However, collaborative operation of multiple UpLib repositories is still possible. This paper describes two mechanisms that have been added to UpLib to facilitate community building around individual document collections.