cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the Role of Concepts in Learning and Instructional Design

The field of instructional design has traditionally treated concepts as discrete learning outcomes. Theoretically, learning concepts requires correctly isolating and applying attributes of specific objects into their correct categories. Similarity views of concept learning are unable to account for all of the rules governing concept formation, patterns of concepts, and concepts-in-use. Probabilistic-prototype and exemplar views have accommodated some of the inherent fuzziness of concepts. Concepts can only be fully understood as processes of conceptual change, the reorganization of conceptual frameworks. Although very little research has focused on assessing conceptual change, the theories of conceptual change recommend assessing patterns of concepts and concepts-in-use. Descriptions of pertinent assessment methods are presented.
The Mars project: PDF in XML

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is a page-oriented, graphically rich document format based on PostScript semantics. It is the file format underlying the Adobe® Acrobat® viewers and is used throughout the publishing industry for final form documents and document interchange. Beyond document layout, PDF provides enhanced capabilities, which include logical structure, forms, 3D, movies and a number of other rich features.Developers and system integrators face challenges manipulating PDF and its data. They are looking for solutions that allow them to more easily create and operate on documents, as well as to integrate with modern XML-based document processing workflows.The Mars document format is based on the fundamental structures of PDF, but uses an XML syntax to represent the document. Mars uses XML to represent the underlying data structures of PDF, as well as incorporating additional industry standards such as SVG, PNG, JPG, JPG2000 and OpenType. Mars combines all of these components into a ZIP-based document container.The use of open standards in Mars means that Mars documents can be used with a large range of off-the-shelf tools and that a larger population of developers will be very familiar with its underlying technology. Using these standards, publishers gain access to all of the richness of PDF, but can now tightly integrate Mars into their document workflows.
Electrokinetic Injection for Stacking Neutral Analytes in Capillary and Microchip Electrophoresis

An on-column mechanism for electrokinetically injecting long sample plugs with simultaneous stacking of neutral analytes in capillary electrokinetic chromatography is presented. On-column stacking methods allow for the direct injection of long sample plugs into the capillary, with narrowing of the analyte peak width to allow for an increase in the detected signal. Low-pressure injections (approximately 50 mbar) are commonly used to introduce sample plugs containing neutral analytes. We demonstrate that injection can be accomplished by applying an electric field from the sample vial directly into the capillary, with neutral analytes injected by electroosmotic flow at up to 1 order of magnitude faster than the corresponding pressure injections. Since stacking occurs simultaneously with electrokinetic injection, stacking is initiated at the capillary inlet, resulting in an increased length of capillary remaining for separation. Reproducibility obtained for peak height and peak area with electroosmotic flow injection is comparable to that obtained with the pressure injection mode, while reproducibility of analysis time is markedly improved. Electrokinetic stacking of neutral analytes utilizing electroosmotic flow is demonstrated with discontinuous (high conductivity, high mobility) as well as continuous (equal conductivity, equal mobility) sample electrolytes. Injecting neutral analytes by electroosmotic flow affords a 10-fold or greater decrease in analysis times when capillaries of 50-microm i.d. or smaller are used. This stacking method should be exportable to dynamic pH junction stacking and electrokinetic chromatography with capillary arrays. Equations describing this electrokinetic injection mode are introduced and stacking of a neutral analyte on a microchip by electrokinetic injection using a simple cross-T channel configuration is demonstrated.
Serum protein binding of vitamin D3.

Abstract The protein binding of radioactively labeled vitamin D3 added to serum in vitro or present in dog serum after intravenous injection was studied with a variety of methods. Serum protein-bound vitamin D3 could not be extracted well by organic solvents and was precipitated with proteins by trichloroacetic acid. At serum levels of 2 μg/100 ml, about 40% of the vitamin D3 activity was floated with lipoproteins in the preparative ultracentrifuge after NaBr addition. The relative proportion associated with lipoprotein was increased if the vitamin D3 concentration was increased, or if serum density was raised by dilution with aqueous salt solutions. In control experiments albumin was shown capable of binding vitamin D3. In vivo, the labeled vitamin D3 was also bound mostly to proteins sedimenting in the ultracentrifuge. Separation of labeled substances in serum and red blood cells on gradient elution alumina columns or Fluoropak 80 columns revealed the formation in vivo of several compounds with greater polarity than the injected vitamin D3.
The Prophet Muhammad reincarnated and his son, Jesus: re-centering Islam among the Layenne of Senegal

Abstract This article explores how the Layenne of Senegal have employed the historical geography of the Cap Vert peninsula as an archive to effectively re-center the Islamic world away from Arabia to the coast of West Africa. Annual pilgrimages to Layenne religious sites and shrines that serve as lieux de memoire provide ‘foyers’ on which contemporary collective and individual identities are contemplated with regard to Layenne perceptions of the past. The Layenne historical imagination is tied to the geographic space that constitutes Cap Vert in a symbiotic relationship by which history gives meaning to place and vice versa. While the rituals practiced at the Layenne places of memory revolve around the hagiography of their founder, Seydina Limamou Laye, who claimed to be the Mahdi and the reincarnation of the Prophet Muhammad, the Layenne have also appropriated sites and symbols associated with French colonization and a post-colonial Senegal into a vibrant and fluid conception of modernity that is simultaneously indigenous and global.
Nature and severity of the glomerular response to nephron reduction is strain-dependent in mice.

Nephron reduction is an important factor in the development of glomerulosclerosis. In a study of the oligosyndactyly (Os) mutation that causes a congenital 50% reduction in nephron number, we previously found that ROP Os/+ mice developed glomerulosclerosis whereas C57B1/6J Os/+ mice did not. We concluded that the predisposition to glomerulosclerosis depended largely on the genetic background, the ROP being sclerosis-prone whereas the C57 strain was sclerosis-resistant. In the current experiments we asked whether the intensity of the sclerotic response to nephron reduction in the ROP strain was related to the time at which it occurred, ie, a pre- or post-natal event. We also determined whether the absence of lesions in C57 Os/+ mice was caused by a higher threshold for the induction of a sclerotic response in C57 mice. We further examined the relationship between glomerular hypertrophy and sclerosis. C57 +/+, C57 Os/+, ROP +/+, and ROP Os/+ mice were uninephrectomized (NX) at age 10 weeks and followed for 8 weeks. We found no sclerotic changes in NX C57 +/+ and C57 Os/+ mice, despite a 75% reduction in nephron number in the latter. In contrast, both NX ROP +/+ and NX ROP Os/+ mice had glomerulosclerosis, which was more severe in the NX ROP Os/+ mice. Examination of extracellular matrix synthesis and degradation at the mRNA level revealed that synthesis exceeded degradation in ROP Os/+ mice. The lesions in NX ROP +/+ were less severe than in sham-operated ROP/Os mice, suggesting that the timing of nephron reduction affected the amplitude of the sclerotic response in this strain. Following NX, an increase in glomerular volume was found in C57 +/+, ROP +/+, and ROP Os/+ mice. However, NX did not lead to a further increase in glomerular volume in C57 Os/+ mice. We make three conclusions: 1) sclerosis was more severe in the ROP strain when nephron reduction occurred in utero ; 2) the absence of glomerulosclerosis in C57 mice was not related to a higher threshold for a sclerosis response in this strain; and 3) whereas glomerular size continued to increase as nephron number decreased in ROP mice, it reached a plateau in C57 mice.
Temporal trends of solar EUV and UV full-disk fluxes

Several progressions in the temporal characteristics of full-disk solar UV and EUV fluxes have been identified that raise many questions about the solar physics involved. The collective effect of numerous enhancements smaller than scaled plages contribute significantly to the solar cycle variations, especially for emissions from the cooler portions of the corona and the chromosphere. Active-region remnants are suggested to have a strong role even in solar-rotation induced variations late in an episode of major activity. Although cool coronal EUV emissions are long lasting, the persistence of the solar-rotation induced variations is even greater at photospheric UV wavelengths. Gyroresonance and possibly nonthermal radio emission at centimeter wavelengths are suggested to be particularly important during the first solar rotation of an episode of major activity.
Alternating bowel pattern: what do people mean?

Summary Background With the introduction of new therapies, the subgrouping of patients based on bowel pattern has become important. However, the appropriate definition of an alternating bowel pattern remains unclear. Aim To determine if specific symptoms are reported by people with an alternating bowel pattern. Methods Using the Rochester Epidemiology Project, a series of population-based surveys were undertaken in which valid self-report gastrointestinal symptom questionnaires were mailed to 4029 randomly selected members of the community. One question asked was ‘How would you describe your usual bowel pattern in the last year'? Results 3022 subjects (74%) provided questionnaire data and 2718 were eligible for this analysis, the mean age was 57 years, with a range of 20–98 years (median = 61). Of these, 9.2%, 2.5% and 7.6% reported their usual bowel pattern as being constipated, diarrhoea, or alternating respectively. At least 50% of those reporting alternating bowel pattern reported incomplete evacuation (63%), urgency (57%), straining (55%) and loose stool (50%). The proportion of alternators reporting each individual symptom was between that of diarrhoea and constipation except for mucus and incomplete evacuation; however, no symptom was unique to alternators. Conclusion People who self-report an alternating bowel pattern appear to represent a blend of constipation and diarrhoea symptoms, rather than a distinct subgroup.
Scalable Bulk Data Transfer in Wide Area Networks

Bulk data transfer in wide area networks (WAN) requires scalable and high network bandwidth. In this paper, we identify a number of the scalability limitations that affect the full utilization of peak theoretical network bandwidth. In addition, we study and classify different offered approaches to overcome some of the identified limitations and increase network bandwidth among Grid components in WAN. With these limitations in mind, we study and evaluate the scalability and flexibility of a UDP-based multiple-network-interface socket (MuniSocket) model in WAN. The MuniSocket model is a middleware layer between the distributed applications and the multiple networks and system resources available. MuniSocket utilizes existing system resources, network interface cards, and network links to provide a scalable, reliable and high bandwidth network solution for data-intensive distributed applications, thus eliminating most of the identified limitations.
Use of the Fieller–Hinkley Distribution of the Ratio of Random Variables in Testing for Noninferiority

We address the noninferiority assessment problem defined in terms of the ratio of population means in a parallel group design analysis of variance setting. The sample ratio as a point estimate of the corresponding population ratio has been considered. It has been shown that the Fieller-Hinkley distribution of the ratio of two correlated normally distributed random variables readily provide a technique for constructing confidence intervals comparable to the bootstrap percentile and Fieller's confidence intervals. A finite parameter space based level alpha test of an inferiority hypothesis formulated in terms of a fixed margin has been derived. We illustrate our approach using the forced vital capacity (FVC) data. We claim that it is easy to construct and straight forward to interpret our bootstrap equivalent confidence intervals that are used to assess noninferiority. We discuss appropriate methods for calculation of sample sizes.
Dobutamine Stress Tele-Echocardiography for Evaluation of Emergency Department Patients With Chest Pain

Abstract Objectives. The practicality and accuracy of dobutamine stress tele-echocardiography (DSTE) were assessed in patients presenting to the emergency department with chest pain. Background. Many patients evaluated for chest pain in the emergency department (ED) are admitted to the hospital needlessly because of the difficulty in differentiating noncardiac chest pain from myocardial ischemia. Methods. One hundred sixty-three patients with no evidence of myocardial infarction on initial blood studies or the electrocardiogram who were recommended for hospital admission to rule out myocardial infarction or myocardial ischemia were enrolled in this four-phase study. Rest echocardiography was performed in the ED, and the images were transmitted to a cardiologist for interpretation. If the results were normal, DSTE was then administered by a trained nurse. In the first three phases, all patients were admitted for observation regardless of the results of DSTE. In the fourth phase, those having normal DSTE results were able to be released. Results. The test was completed within an average of 5.4 h of presentation to the ED. The sensitivity and specificity of DSTE versus clinical and cardiac catheterization findings were 89.5% and 88.9%, respectively, with a negative predictive value for DSTE of 98.5%. Patients experienced frequent mild side effects (54.7%), but few (6.3%) caused the test to be discontinued prematurely. In phase 4 of the study, 72% of those slated for hospital admission because of cardiac risk factors and chest pain suggesting myocardial ischemia were discharged after normal DSTE results. Conclusions. The use of DSTE in the evaluation of patients presenting with chest pain may improve screening for those who can be safely released from the ED.
The Atmospheres of Extrasolar Super-Earths

Extrasolar super-Earths (1-10 M⊕) are likely to exist with a wide range of atmospheres. While a number of these planets have already been discovered through radial velocities and microlensing, it will be the discovery of the first transiting super-Earths that will open the door to a variety of follow-up observations aimed at characterizing their atmospheres. Super-Earths may fill a large range of parameter space in terms of their atmospheric composition and mass. Specifically, some of these planets may have high enough surface gravities to be able to retain large hydrogen-rich atmosphseres, while others will have lost most of their hydrogen to space over the planet's lifetime, leaving behind an atmosphere more closely resembling that of Earth or Venus. The resulting composition of the super-Earth atmosphere will therefore depend strongly on factors such as atmospheric escape history, outgassing history, and the level of stellar irradiation that it receives. Here we present theoretical models of super-Earth emission and transmission spectra for a variety of possible outcomes of super-Earth atmospheric composition ranging from hydrogen-rich to hydrogen-poor. We focus on how observations can be used to differentiate between the various scenarios and constrain atmospheric composition.
The Measure of Time: Rising and Falling in Victorian Meters

In the Victorian period, metrical experiments and prosodical treatises proliferated to impressive proportions and stirred intricate controversies in poetics. In a necessary resurgence of scholarly interest in this body of work, some recent critics of Victorian meter privilege an account of it that favors either accentualism, organicism, and the body, or temporal measurement, the abstract, and the purely mental. Victorian poets and prosodists, however, did not divide along these poles but aimed to connect them within their own work. Focusing in part on blank verse, I argue that their attempt to unite the organic and the abstract in concepts of meter articulated ideals of English national identity and served as a means for the expression of social and cultural ideals. I explore how poets and prosodists connect their concepts of metrical time to the experience of the passage of time, both as a sense of progress and one of nostalgia.
State Certification for School Nurses

State-specific credentialing of school nurses is generally equivalent to state teacher certification and is regulated by state departments of education. This certification establishes statewide employment standards for school nurses, as opposed to competency-based professional certification. Although more than half of all states currently have some type of credentialing for school nurses, it takes many different forms. The advantages of certification are pronounced but are surpassed by the barriers to its establishment. Considerations in establishing certification are presented along with analysis of the various forms of certification that exist in states that have school nurse certification.
Risky Business: Observations on the Nature of Death in Hazardous Sports

The little existing research on risky sports tends to concentrate on the demographic and psychological characteristics of individuals who participate in high-risk sports such as scuba diving, parac...
Mechanical Stimulation of Tissue Repair in the Hydraulic Bone Chamber

A hydraulically activated bone chamber model was utilized to investigate cellular and microstructural mechanisms of mechanical adaptation during bone repair. Woven trabecular bone and fibrotic granulation tissue filled the initially empty chambers by 8 weeks postimplantation into canine tibial and femoral metaphyses. Without mechanical stimulation, active bone remodeling to lamellar trabecular bone and reconstitution of marrow elements were observed between 8 and 24 weeks. In subsequent loading studies, the hydraulic mechanism was activated on one randomly chosen side of 10 dogs following 8 weeks of undisturbed bone repair. The loading treatment applied an intermittent compressive force (18 N, 1.0 Hz, 1800 cycles/day) for durations of a few days up to 12 weeks. Stereological analysis of three-dimensional microcomputed tomography images revealed an increase in trabecular plate thickness and connectivity associated with the loaded repair tissue microstructure relative to unloaded contralateral controls. These microstructural alterations corresponded to an over 600% increase in the apparent modulus of the loaded bone tissue. A significant increase in the percentage of trabecular surfaces lined by osteoblasts immunopositive for type I procollagen after a few days of loading provided further evidence for mechanical stimulation of bone matrix synthesis. The local principal tissue strains associated with these adaptive changes were estimated to range from approximately -2000 to +3000 mustrain using digital image-based finite element methods. This study demonstrates the sensitivity of bone tissue and cells to a controlled in vivo mechanical stimulus and identifies microstructural mechanisms of mechanical adaptation during bone repair. The hydraulic bone chamber is introduced as an efficient experimental model to study the effects of mechanical and biological factors on bone repair and regeneration.
A model for economic comparison of swine insemination programs.

Abstract Optimal artificial insemination schedules are those that result in a high farrowing rate and litter size, while minimizing costs of semen and labor by avoiding unnecessary inseminations. A simulation model programmed in a commercial spreadsheet was developed to permit comparison of alternative schedules. Farrowing rate and litter size for a particular schedule were dependent on the timing of insemination relative to the time of ovulation. Economic return was calculated by multiplying the number of pigs born per bred sow by $33.00 and subtracting the cost of producing a litter of pigs and raising them to weaning ($222.88 per sow plus $2.44 per pig bom) and the cost of detection of estrus and breeding. Seven insemination schedules combined with once versus twice per day detection of estrus were simulated in 500 herds of 100 sows each. Inseminations were simulated to occur on schedules of: 1) 0, 12, 24 and 36 h; 2) 12, 24 and 36 h; 3) 0 and 24 h; 4) 12 and 36 h; 5) 12 h; 6) 24 h; and 7) 36 h after first detection of estrus. Schedule 1 was predicted to yield the highest farrowing rate and litter size. Economic return was highest for Schedule 2 with twice per day detection of estrus followed closely by Schedule 1 with once per day detection of estrus at $14.90 and $13.75 per bred sow, respectively. High performance was dependent on insuring that inseminations occurred at an optimum time in as great a proportion of sows as possible.
I. The Impeachment of the Earl of Clarendon

Few Lord Chancellors have defended the laws of England with greater steadfastness than Edward Hyde, first Earl of Clarendon. Yet the House of Commons impeached him in 1667 for attempting to subvert those laws. Standing guardian over the English constitution, he was accused of plotting its ruin. Less guilty than Francis Bacon, he suffered a harsher fate. More innocent than Lord Keeper Finch, he endured the same painful banishment from the England he loved. On 11 November 1667 the House of Commons impeached him for high treason, and though they were unable to prove their accusation, they forced him, by the violence of their prosecution, to flee to France. It was his personal tragedy to suffer disgrace, calumny, and banishment though guilty of no crime.
Lp(a) lipoprotein: Relationship to sinking pre-β lipoprotein, hyperlipoproteinemia, and apolipoprotein B

To assess the relationship between the Lp(a) and the "sinking pre-beta" (d smaller than 1.006) lipoprotein, the concentration of Lp(a) was quantified by radial immunodiffusion and the presence or absence of sinking pre-beta was assessed by agarose electrophoresis in overnight fasting plasma samples from 485 adults, comprised of 320 with normal lipid levels, 48 with type IIa, 40 with type IIb, and 77 with type IV lipoprotein phenotypes. The median Lp(a) level was 7.6 mg/100 ml, 89% (433 of 485) having detectable Lp(a) levels. Twenty-two per cent (107 of 485) had detectable pre-beta lipoprotein in the d greater than 1.006 plasma fraction (sinking pre-beta). Of the sinking pre-beta positive plasma samples, 96% (102 and 107) exceeded the median Lp(a) level, and sinking pre-beta was detected in all 44 samples with an Lp(a) concentration exceeding 40 mg/100 ml. The relationship of Lp(a) and sinking pre-beta to lipoprotein phenotype was assessed. Compared to the normolipidemic group, the type IIa group had higher Lp(a) percentile values (p smaller than 0.02), whereas the IIb and type IV groups had significantly lower Lp(a) values than the normolipidemic group. Ninety-two per cent (296 of 320) of the normolipidemic subjects had detectable levels of Lp(a) and 22% (70 of 320) had detectable sinking pre-beta lipoprotein. Ninety-four per cent (45 of 48) of the type IIa plasmas had detectable Lp(a) levels and 27% (13 of 48) had sinking pre-beta lipoproteins. Contrasted with the IIa group, only 80% (32 of 40) of the IIb plasmas had detectable Lp(a) levels and 18% (7 of 40) had sinking pre-beta lipoprotein. In the type IV plasmas 78% (60 of 77) had detectable Lp(a) and 22% (17 of 77) had sinking pre-beta lipoprotein. Lp(a) or log Lp(a) levels were not correlated with apolipoprotein B levels (n = 485, r = 0.002 or 0.037, respectively). Furthermore, Lp(a) levels remained essentially constant in three subjects whose aprptein B levels were altered in response to pharmacological and/or dietary manipulation. A fourth subject had a 50% increase in Lp(a) but this change did not correlate with apoprotein B changes. Thus, these findings suggest that Lp(a) is metabolically independnet of low density lipoprotein even though it shares the same structural protein, apoprotein B.
Engineering ZnSe-GaAs band offsets

Abstract High resolution synchrotron radiation photoemission studies of ZnSe-GaAs(110) heterojunctions prepared in situ on atomically clean substrates by low temperature molecular beam epitaxy were conducted using 80–130 eV photons. In addition, the effect of ultrathin Ge interface layers on the band offsets was examined by monitoring the energy separation of the Ga 2p and Zn 2p core levels at the interface with conventional X-ray photoemission spectroscopy. The results indicate that the natural (unmodified) valence band offset for ZnSe-GaAs(110) grown at low temperature is 1.10±0.05 eV, and that the fabrication of a Ge overlayer on GaAs prior to ZnSe deposition yields a decrease in the ZnSe-GaAs valence band offset. The offset decreases monotonically with Ge coverage in the 0.3–4 monolayers range and saturates for Ge thicknesses of 4–6 monolayers. The minimum measured valence band offset that we were able to achieve at the engineered interface is 0.93 ± 0.07 eV.
Effects of a hot climate on the performance of first lactation Holstein cows grouped by coat color.

Dairy Herd Improvement data from 432 Holstein cows were analyzed to determine if coat color was a significant source of variation in the performance of first lactation cows in a hot climate. One of three coat color scores was subjectively assigned to first lactation Holstein cows. White coat color was less than 40% black (15% of the cows), mixed coat color was 40 to 60% black (42% of the cows), and black coat color was greater than 60% black (43% of the cows). Coat color by season of freshening interaction was not an important source of variation for any of the production traits studied; but cows were cooled during the first 130 d of lactation, perhaps removing any advantage white cows may have had during the summer months. The interaction between coat color and season of freshening was significant for days open and services per conception. White cows freshening in February and March required fewer services per conception and had fewer open days than the mixed and black cows. The heritability estimate of coat color was .22 using a paternal half-sib analysis. Additional studies, with more white cows represented, would be useful to elucidate the effects of coat color on production in a hot climate.
Importance of Low-Level Jets to Climate: A Review.

Abstract Low-level jets (LLJs) occur frequently in many parts of the world. These low-level wind speed maxima are important for both the horizontal and vertical fluxes of temperature and moisture and have been found to be associated with the development and evolution of deep convection. Since deep convective activity produces a significant amount of upper-level cloudiness and is responsible for a large fraction of the warm season rainfall in the United States, the relationship between LLJs and deep convection suggests that LLJs are important contributors to regional climate. Results from a number of past studies are reviewed, and the potential for data from the Atmospheric Radiation Measurement program to augment our understanding of low-level jets is discussed.
Infant Visual Expectation in Relation to Feature Learning

Abstract Five-month-old infants were administered a modified version of Haith, Hazan, and Goodman's (1988) visual expectation paradigm. Infants were presented with 60 trials of a left-left-right or right-right-left alternating sequence of moving graphic stimuli. An immobile and unchanging visual feature (i.e., a ⋁ or a ∀) appeared at random locations on each of the graphics. Infants then received a series of six test trials in which a novel pair of identical moving stimuli was simultaneously presented to the left and right of visual center. The “familiar” feature (e.g., ⋁) appeared on one member of the pair and the “novel” feature (e.g., ∀) appeared on the other member of the pair. Results indicated that infants who engaged in more anticipatory looking during the 60 familiarization trials attended more to the graphic containing the novel feature during test trials. Results suggest that 5-month-old infants who are better at learning spatiotemporal patterns are also better at learning the contents of brief and changing graphic displays. It is suggested that the relation between anticipatory looking and novelty preference is explained by cognitive as well as attention-regulatory factors.
ABO and Rh(D) phenotype frequencies of different racial/ ethnic groups in the United States

BACKGROUND: Commonly quoted ABO/Rh(D) frequencies in the US are usually from relatively small studies with racial or ethnic categories often judged by name or appearance. STUDY DESIGN AND METHODS: A 10-year demo-graphic database that contained racial or ethnic and ABO/Rh(D) phenotype data on 3.1 million allogeneic and autologous donors giving blood at five blood centers in the US was used to compute ABO and Rh(D) phenotypes in various racial/ethnic groups. The racial or ethnic category was designated by the donor. RESULTS: The highest percentage of Group O was found in Hispanic (56.5%), North American Indian (54.6%), and black non-Hispanic (50.2%) donors. Hispanic and black non-Hispanic donors had a much lower percentage (7.3 and 7.1%, respectively) of Rh– compared to white non-Hispanic donors (17.3%). Group O Rh– and Group B Rh– were found more commonly (8.0 and 1.8%, respectively) in white non-Hispanic donors than in Hispanic (3.9 and 0.7%), black non-Hispanic (3.6 and 1.3%), and Asian (0.7 and 0.4%) donors. CONCLUSIONS: These data confirmed that the highest percentages of ORh+, BRh+/ABRh+, and Rh– are present in Hispanic, Asian, and white non-Hispanic donors, respectively. These are the largest and most accurate data of ABO/Rh(D) phenotype frequencies for the major racial/ethnic donor groups in the US.
Mono- and diprotonation of dihydropyrene, 2,7-di-tert-butyl-dihydropyrene, and their conversion to pyrenium ions; Influence of the radical cation and its potential utility in NMR assignments of the arenium ions of readily oxidizable PAHs

Parent dihydropyrene 1 and 2,7-di-tert-butyldihydropyrene 3 are monoprotonated with FSO3H/SO2CIF to give their persistent monoarenium ions 1H + and 3H + by the attack of proton at C-3 (peri to the ethano-bridge not at C-1 as previously suggested). Dihydropyrene 3 is diprotonated in FSO3H.SbF5 1∶1 “Magic Acid”R/SO2CIF to give the symmetrical dication 3H 2 +2, similar diprotonation of 1 with “Magic Acid”/SO2CIF or with FSO3H.SbF5 (4∶1)/SO2CIF gave the diprotonated species 1H 2 +2 in a mixture. NMR characteristics of the mono- and dications are discussed.
A Network Flow Computation for Project Cost Curves

A network flow method is outlined for solving the linear programming problem of computing the least cost curve for a project composed of many individual jobs, where it is assumed that certain jobs must be finished before others can be started. Each job has an associated crash completion time and normal completion time, and the cost of doing the job varies linearly between these extreme times. Given that the entire project must be completed in a prescribed time interval, it is desired to find job times that minimize the total project cost. The~method solves this problem for all feasible time intervals.
THE EVOLUTION OF THE MOON.

The thermal evolution of the moon as it can be defined by the available data and theoretical calculations is discussed. A wide assortment of geological, geochemical and geophysical data constrain both the present-day temperatures and the thermal history of the lunar interior. On the basis of these data, the moon is characterized as a differentiated body with a crust, a 1000-km-thick solid mantle (lithosphere) and an interior region (core) which may be partially molten. The presence of a crust indicates extensive melting and differentiation early in the lunar history. The ages of lunar samples define the chronology of igneous activity on the lunar surface. This covers a time span of about 1.5 billion years, from the origin to about 3.16 billion years ago. Most theoretical models require extensive melting early in the lunar history, and the outward differentiation of radioactive heat sources.
Structural Equilibrium of DNA Represented with Different Force Fields

We have recently indicated preliminary evidence of different equilibrium average structures with the CHARMM and AMBER force fields in explicit solvent molecular dynamics simulations on the DNA duplex d(C5T5) . d(A5G5) (Feig, M. and B.M. Pettitt, 1997, Experiment vs. Force Fields: DNA conformation from molecular dynamics simulations. J. Phys. Chem. B. (101:7361-7363). This paper presents a detailed comparison of DNA structure and dynamics for both force fields from extended simulation times of 10 ns each. Average structures display an A-DNA base geometry with the CHARMM force field and a base geometry that is intermediate between A- and B-DNA with the AMBER force field. The backbone assumes B form on both strands with the AMBER force field, while the CHARMM force field produces heterogeneous structures with the purine strand in A form and the pyrimidine strand in dynamical equilibrium between A and B conformations. The results compare well with experimental data for the cytosine/guanine part but fail to fully reproduce an overall B conformation in the thymine/adenine tract expected from crystallographic data, particularly with the CHARMM force field. Fluctuations between A and B conformations are observed on the nanosecond time scale in both simulations, particularly with the AMBER force field. Different dynamical behavior during the first 4 ns indicates that convergence times of several nanoseconds are necessary to fully establish a dynamical equilibrium in all structural quantities on the time scale of the simulations presented here.
Recent developments in anticancer nitric oxide donors

Nitric oxide (NO), a ‘magic’ free radical gas molecule, has been shown to be involved in numerous physiological and pathophysiological processes. Previously, together with its diverse functions, NO has been implicated in the relaxation of vascular smooth muscle, inhibition of platelet aggregation, neurotransmission and immune regulation. Although the Janus-faced actions of NO are still not entirely known, the anticancer activity of NO has received worldwide recognition. Today, O2-aryl diazeniumdiolate (i.e., JS-K) and NO non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NO-NSAIDs; i.e., NO-aspirin) are promising antitumoural agents. The selective delivery of NO to cancers by NO donors has already shown great potential in anticancer therapy. This article focuses on the recent progress on anticancer NO donors that have been claimed in papers and patents from 2002 to present.
Heat Inactivation of the Relaxing Site of Actomyosin: Prevention and Reversal with Dithiothreitol

Adenosine triphosphate and magnesium (MgATP) inhibit contraction by binding to a specific relaxing site on natural actomyosin gel. This inhibitory control site is distinct from the active sites where MgATP causes contraction.In high concentrations of MgATP, calcium triggers contraction by releasing the protein from substrate inhibition, allowing the contractile reactions to occur. Heating the protein for 5 minutes at 43°C selectively inactivates the relaxing site. After this treatment, actomyosin with MgATP contracts as well without calcium as with it. That this effect of heat is prevented and reversed by dithiothreitol (an agent that reduces disulfide bonds) indicates that the structure of the relaxing site depends on certain labile sulfhydryl groups, which may be those of tropomyosin. When these are oxidized to disulfide bonds, the site loses its activity; when the disulfide bonds are reduced, the site regains its activity.
Adenosine 3',5'-Monophosphate in Pancreatic Islets: Glucose-Induced Insulin Release

Glucose-induced release of insulin from perifused rat islets is associated with elevated islet adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate. If values for adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate are compared to insulin release during theophylline or glucose stimulation and theophylline plus glucose stimulation, it suggests a minor role for adenosine 3',5'-monophosphate in directly stimulating insulin release but a prominent role in modulating glucose-induced release of insulin.
Multi-layered hinterland classification of Indian ports of containerized cargoes using GIS visualization and decision tree analysis

In this study, we develop a multi-layered hinterland classification of major Indian ports for containerized shipments using a novel approach that integrates geographic information system visualizations and data mining methods. Strong export-oriented business sectors and growing industrial diversity have been prompting developing economies like India to move towards the containerization of maritime transport. We recognize the dearth of systematic research on Indian ports’ hinterlands and therefore seek to understand how the hinterland of container shipping markets in India has evolved in recent years, within the context of ongoing privatization and modernization efforts in this sector. Using disaggregate shipping data of exports from India to the United States, we conduct origin-destination analysis to describe the patterns of container traffic flows from major Indian ports. Furthermore, we develop a decision tree model of hinterland structure and overlap that explains the nature of inter-port competition from three dimensions: space, commodity types and shipment values. This article also attempts to assess the competition posed by private ports like Mundra and Pipavav on major Government ports, for which data have largely been unavailable. The results demonstrate the utility of this data mining method in conceptualizing the port hinterland as a dynamic spatial object and in unravelling multidimensional relationships.
Pressure variation of the elastic constants of NaCl

Abstract The adiabatic elastic constants C11, C12, and C44 have been evaluated as a function of pressure in a modified Einstein model. The evaluation is based on a two-body central potential of the form A1R−8 + A2R−6 ± A3R−1 and the normal-mode frequencies of two ions in each unit cell allowed to oscillate in a static potential field of all the rest of ions assumed to be at rest in their mean positions. The result is assessed in comparison with the experimental data and the Monte Carlo simulation result.
Flexible Metal Binding of the Metallo-β-lactamase Domain: Glyoxalase II Incorporates Iron, Manganese, and Zinc in Vivo†

Glyoxalase II belongs to the metallo-β-lactamase superfamily of proteins, possessing the characteristic dinuclear active site. Within this protein family, glyoxalase II from Arabidopsis thaliana is the first member to be isolated with significant amounts of iron, manganese, and zinc when being recombinantly produced in Escherichia coli. Enzyme preparations with different ratios of these three metals all yield kcat/KM values in the range of 1.5−1.9 s-1 μM-1 with the substrate S-d-lactoylglutathione. X-ray absorption spectroscopy reveals binding of all three metals to the dinuclear active site with 5−6-fold coordination consisting of 2.5 ± 0.5 histidine and 2.5 ± 0.5 oxygen ligands. This model does not distinguish site-specific or distributed binding. The metal−metal distance is determined to be 3.18 ± 0.06 A. Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy gives evidence for several different types of dimetal sites, including spin-coupled Fe(III)Fe(II), Fe(III)Zn(II), and Mn(II)Mn(II) centers. The metal−ligan...
Lorentz covariant formulation for the laws of physics – particle and elastic body dynamics

An equation representing a law of physics is said to be Lorentz covariant if it can be written in terms of Lorentz covariant quantities. The key property of Lorentz covariant equations is that if they hold in one inertial frame, then they hold in any inertial frame. This condition is a requirement according to the principle of relativity, that is, all non-gravitational laws must make the same predictions for identical experiments taking place at the same space-time event in two different inertial frames of reference. We divided the presentation into three main sections: introduction for a simple case, the analysis of complex motion under electromagnetic Lorentz force in particle accelerators and we end with a covariant formulation for the Hooke law.
Slab-derived fluids and quartz-vein formation in an accretionary prism, Otago Schist, New Zealand

Regional quartz-vein formation and the fluxes, flow paths, and sources of metamorphic fluids were investigated in the Mesozoic accretionary prism of New Zealand by using a new chemical mass-balance analysis of outcrops. Samples were collected at meter or submeter intervals along outcrop-length traverses and combined to obtain average chemical compositions of whole outcrops. Mass-balance analysis used Zr as an immobile reference frame and as a monitor of sedimentary sorting processes. SiO2-Zr systematics produced by sedimentary processes differ greatly from those caused by metasomatic mass transfer of silica, allowing evaluation of vein-formation mechanisms. Relatively undeformed metasedimentary outcrops of low metamorphic grade (mostly prehnite-pumpellyite facies) are nearly unveined and characterized by sedimentary compositional trends. More deformed outcrops of higher metamorphic grade (mostly greenschist facies) contain 10–30 vol% quartz veins. These outcrops underwent mass addition of externally derived silica into quartz veins, accompanied by addition of Na and removal of K and W. Average silica additions suggest a time-integrated fluid flux of ∼104–105 \batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(m^{3}_{(fluid)}\) \end{document}/\batchmode \documentclass[fleqn,10pt,legalpaper]{article} \usepackage{amssymb} \usepackage{amsfonts} \usepackage{amsmath} \pagestyle{empty} \begin{document} \(m^{2}_{(rock)}\) \end{document} for fluids ascending through the prism. Dehydration of spilitized oceanic crust subducting beneath the prism is the most probable source for this large fluid flux and could also have caused the Na-K metasomatism. The W removed from deep levels of the prism may have been deposited in focused, retrograde Au-W-quartz veins at shallow levels by ascending fluids. Transfer of SiO2 from subducting slabs into accretionary prisms is a plausible mechanism for long-term bulk silica enrichment of the continents beyond that possible by magmatic differentiation.
Action, experience, behaviour and technology: why it’s just not the same?

As I (re)read Jensen and Schnack’s ‘Action competence approach in environmental education’ and Payne’s ‘The technics of environmental education’ I was reminded of a Thanksgiving Dinner a few years ...
Influence of pregnancy and lactation on serum and breast fluid estrogen levels: implications for breast cancer risk.

We investigated estrogen (estrone and estradiof) levels in serum and in nipple aspirates of breast fluid in relation to reproductive and menopausal characteristics in 104 normal women. In general, breast fluid and serum estrogen levels were not correlated and breast fluid estrogen levels were approximately 5 to 45 times higher than serum levels. Serum estrogen levels were lower in post-menopausal than in premenopausal women. In contrast, breast fluid estrogen levels were approximately the same in pre- and post-menopausal women. Breast fluid estrogen mean levels were lower in premenopausal parous women than in nulligravidous or nulliparous women whereas serum estrogen levels did not differ in these 3 groups. Breast fluid estrogen levels were positively correlated with months since last birth or since last breastfeeding. Estrogen levels were low in nipple aspirates of breast milk but gradually increased in breast fluid of non-lactating women over a period of several years after cessation of lactation. Serum estrogen levels did not increase with months since last breast-feeding. We were unable to evaluate the postpartum effect of pregnancy without lactation due to the small numbers of these subjects. The high concentrations of estrogen in breast fluid and the absence of a relationship to serum estrogen levels may explain why prior serum studies have I failed to link variations in serum estrogens with breast cancer risk. The prolonged low levels of breast fluid estrogens following full-term birth and lactation may, in part, provide a mechanism by which parity reduces breast cancer risk.
Convective cooling and optimal placement of electronic components with variable ambient temperature I: the linear model

Abstract A mathematical model for the evolution of the component and air temperatures in a board of electronic devices is considered. The board consists of a grid with thermally active devices which generate heat that is conducted to their neighbors and to the edges of the board, as well as exchanged with a forced convective flow of cool air. The model consists of two coupled, discrete systems of equations: one for the temperatures of the devices and the other for the associated air temperatures. In our version of the model, the cooling term, i.e., the heat exchange between the board and the air, is linear. Existence and uniqueness of solutions is proved for our model, as well as convergence to the steady-state solution. The model is used, in conjunction with the annealing algorithm, to find the optimal placement of electronic devices on a board in such a way as to decrease an objective function of the temperature of the system, with applications to the reliability of such boards.
The effect of sample matrix on electron density, electron temperature and gas temperature in the argon inductively coupled plasma examined by Thomson and Rayleigh scattering

Abstract Spatially-resolved electron temperature ( T e ), electron number density ( n e ) and gas-kinetic temperature ( T g ) maps of the inductively coupled plasma (ICP) have been obtained for two central-gas flow rates, four heights above the load coil (ALC) and in the presence and absence of interferants with a wide range of first ionization potentials. The radial profiles demonstrate how the directly measured fundamental parameters n e T e and T g can be significantly enhanced and/or depressed with added interferent, depending upon plasma operating conditions and observation region. In general, the magnitude of n e , and T e change is found to be an inverse function of interferent ionization potential; furthermore, n e enhancements in the central channel might be the result of electron redistribution from high to low electron density regions rather than from ionization of the matrix. The large measured increases in n e cannot be attributed solely to matrix ionization, especially when measurement uncertainties and the probable over-estimation in calculated n e , enhancements are taken into account. Changes in n e and T e have been correlated with axial Ca atom and ion emission profiles. A brief review of the mechanisms most likely involved in interelement matrix interferences is given within the context of the present study. This article is an electronic publication in Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (SAE), the electronic section of Spectrochimica Acta Part B (SAB). The hardcopy text is accompanied by a disk for the Macintosh computer with data files stored in ASCII format. The main article discusses the scientific aspects of the subject and gives an interpretation of the results contained in the data files.