cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tuning redox and spin state properties of Fe(II) N-heterocyclic complexes via electronic/steric influence on metal–ligand binding

Abstract A series of complexes with the general formula [Fe(L)2]2+, where L represents the tridentating 6-(N-3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl)2,2′-bipyridine (L4); 6-(N-pyrazolyl-1-ylmethyl)-2,2′-bipyridine (L5); and 6-(N-3,5-dimethylpyrazolyl-1-ylmethyl)-2,2′-bipyridine (L6), were prepared and characterized. The room temperature solution magnetic susceptibility and redox properties of these compounds were investigated as a function of stepwise variation in the ligand structure. The Fe(III/II) couple was characterized by way of cyclic voltammetry using aprotic solvent conditions (acetonitrile) where each complex was observed to have reversible behavior. NMR methodology was used for measuring the magnetic susceptibilities where both [Fe(L4)2]2+ and Fe(L5)2]2+ exhibited diamagnetic low spin behavior; however, [Fe(L6)2]2+ measured a μeff of 4.1 Bohr-magnetons indicating spin equilibrium predominantly in the high spin state.
Calpain Cleavage of Brain Glutamic Acid Decarboxylase 65 Is Pathological and Impairs GABA Neurotransmission

Previously, we have shown that the GABA synthesizing enzyme, L-glutamic acid decarboxylase 65 (GAD65) is cleaved to form its truncated form (tGAD65) which is 2–3 times more active than the full length form (fGAD65). The enzyme responsible for cleavage was later identified as calpain. Calpain is known to cleave its substrates either under a transient physiological stimulus or upon a sustained pathological insult. However, the precise role of calpain cleavage of fGAD65 is poorly understood. In this communication, we examined the cleavage of fGAD65 under diverse pathological conditions including rats under ischemia/reperfusion insult as well as rat brain synaptosomes and primary neuronal cultures subjected to excessive stimulation with high concentration of KCl. We have shown that the formation of tGAD65 progressively increases with increasing stimulus concentration both in rat brain synaptosomes and primary rat embryo cultures. More importantly, direct cleavage of synaptic vesicle - associated fGAD65 by calpain was demonstrated and the resulting tGAD65 bearing the active site of the enzyme was detached from the synaptic vesicles. Vesicular GABA transport of the newly synthesized GABA was found to be reduced in calpain treated SVs. Furthermore, we also observed that the levels of tGAD65 in the focal cerebral ischemic rat brain tissue increased corresponding to the elevation of local glutamate as indicated by microdialysis. Moreover, the levels of tGAD65 was also proportional to the degree of cell death when the primary neuronal cultures were exposed to high KCl. Based on these observations, we conclude that calpain-mediated cleavage of fGAD65 is pathological, presumably due to decrease in the activity of synaptic vesicle - associated fGAD65 resulting in a decrease in the GABA synthesis - packaging coupling process leading to reduced GABA neurotransmission.
Evaluating the species energy relationship with the newest measures of ecosystem energy: NDVI versus MODIS primary production

Ecosystem energy has been shown to be a strong correlate with biological diversity at continental scales. Early efforts to characterize this association used the normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) to represent ecosystem energy. While this spectral vegetation index covaries with measures of ecosystem energy such as net primary production, the covariation is known to degrade in areas of very low vegetation or in areas of dense forest. Two of the new vegetation products from the MODIS sensor, derived by integrating spectral reflectance, climate data, and land cover, are thought to better approximate primary productivity than NDVI. In this study, we determine if the new MODIS derived measures of primary production, gross primary productivity (GPP) and net primary productivity (NPP) better explain variation in bird richness than historically used NDVI. Moreover, we evaluate if the two productivity measures covary more strongly with bird diversity in those vegetation conditions where limitations of NDVI are well recognized. Biodiversity was represented as native landbird species richness derived from the North American Breeding Bird Survey. Analyses included correlation analyses among predictor variables, and univariate regression analyses between each predictor variable and bird species richness. Analyses were done at two levels: for all BBS routes across natural landscapes in North America; and for routes in 10 vegetation classes stratified by vegetated cover along a gradient from bare ground to herbaceous cover to tree cover. We found that NDVI, GPP and NPP were highly correlated and explained similar variation in bird species richness when analyzed for all samples across North America. However, when samples were stratified by vegetated cover, strength of correlation between NDVI and both productivity measures was low for samples with bare ground and for dense forest. The NDVI also explained substantially less variation in bird species richness than the primary production in areas with more bare ground and in areas of dense forest. We conclude that MODIS productivity measures have higher utility in studies of the relationship of species richness and productivity and that MODIS GPP and NPP improve on NDVI, especially for studies with large variation in vegetated cover and density.
Stochastic theory of vibrational energy transfer in collinear atom-diatom collisions: the role of non-markovian effects

The role of non-markovian effects in the stochastic treatment of vibrational-translational energy transfer in collinear atom-diatom collisions is examined. A comparison of transition probabilities using both markovian and non-markovian types of master equations, as well as exact time dependent quantum mechanics, is made for various values of the system parameters m and α. We find that for certain ranges of the system parameters, the deviations between markovian and non-markovian theories are substantial. Only in the perturbation theory limit and in the limit of low m/α2 values and high enough initial translational energies such that an impulsive approximation for translational motion is accurate are the markovian and non-markovian results similar. An analysis of the collision dynamics indicates that the markovian and non-markovian probabilities agree with each other and with the exact probabilities when action-angle correlations are weak while none of these theories agree (except by accident) when such ef...
Response of Tifway 2 bermudagrass to fresh or composted broiler litter containing boric acid‐treated paper bedding

Abstract Recycled paper treated with boric acid (BA) is gaining acceptance as bedding in broiler production houses. Applying this litter, or compost made from this litter, to turf raises an issue of boron (B) toxicity. There is also the question of nitrogen (N) availability from composts made from borated paper and broiler manure. The objective of this study was to determine if broiler house litter containing recycled BA‐treated paper poses a toxicity hazard to bermudagrass turf (Cynodon dactylon L. pers x C. Transvaalensis, Burtt‐Davis) when applied at agronomic N rates. The effects of five N sources at rates equivalent to 224, 448, and 896 kg N/ha in a factorial arrangement plus an unfertilized control and a high nitrogen‐phosphorus‐potassium (NPK) treatment with B at 22 kg B/ha on bermudagrass were determined in pot culture during the summer of 1992. The five NPKB sources were (M1) compost made from broiler manure, BA‐treated paper and yard refuse; (M2) fresh broiler manure with BA paper bedding; (M3) ...
Exit mechanisms of the intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia.

Background The obligately intracellular bacterium Ehrlichia chaffeensis that resides in mononuclear phagocytes is the causative agent of human monocytotropic ehrlichiosis. Ehrlichia muris and Ixodes ovatus Ehrlichia (IOE) are agents of mouse models of ehrlichiosis. The mechanism by which Ehrlichia are transported from an infected host cell to a non-infected cell has not been demonstrated. Methodology/Principal Findings Using fluorescence microscopy and transmission and scanning electron microscopy, we demonstrated that Ehrlichia was transported through the filopodia of macrophages during early stages of infection. If host cells were not present in the vicinity of an Ehrlichia-infected cell, the leading edge of the filopodium formed a fan-shaped structure filled with the pathogen. Formation of filopodia in the host macrophages was inhibited by cytochalasin D and ehrlichial transport were prevented due to the absence of filopodia formation. At late stages of infection the host cell membrane was ruptured, and the bacteria were released. Conclusions/Significance Ehrlichia are transported through the host cell filopodium during initial stages of infection, but are released by host cell membrane rupture during later stages of infection.
Multipartite pure-state entanglement

We show that pure states of multipartite quantum systems are multiseparable (i.e., give separable density matrices on tracing any party) if and only if they have a generalized Schmidt decomposition. Implications of this result for the quantification of multipartite pure-state entanglement are discussed. Further, as an application of the techniques used here, we show that any purification of a bipartite-bound entangled state having a positive partial transpose is tri-inseparable, i.e., has none of its three bipartite partial traces separable.
Integrated Market‐Immersion Approach To Teaching New Product Development In Technologically‐Oriented Teams

This article presents a market immersion methodology for teaching NPD in technologically-oriented teams. This methodology was developed during the early 1990s at the Lally School of Management and Technology of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Since then, it has been successfully utilized to train in excess of one hundred MBA-level student teams. The NPD course is taught by a 5-member cross-functional team of faculty with backgrounds in marketing, manufacturing operations, and accounting. The course is modeled on Cooper's stage gate process, and the course is designed to provide a combination of classroom and apprenticeship experiences. The 6-credit, year-long course requires students to work in self-directed teams of approximately 5 to 6 members. Each student team chooses its own industry or technology domain in which to concentrate its efforts, and students undertake intensive market and field research in order to assess any existing market opportunities. Once a specific target market and market need have been identified, students are then required to design a product and an organization to meet that need. In specific, students must produce a detailed marketing, manufacturing, operations, advertising, distribution, and financial plan that can bring their product to market. During the process, students create multiple potential product designs, build mock-ups of their products, and field test the mock-ups. At every phase of the course, the teams are continuously immersed in real customer markets. As a result, teams must struggle to incorporate new market information and learning into their project in a consistent and holistic manner. The following article presents the curriculum content and tools, lessons learned, and student reactions to this original pedagogical approach to teaching NPD. Due to the length of the course, particular attention is paid to the teaming issues that naturally arise when teams work together on long-run projects. © 2002 Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.
Memory activation in healthy nonagenarians

Little is known about brain function in the oldest old, although this is the fastest growing segment of the population in developed countries and is of paramount importance in public health considerations. In this study, we investigated the cerebral response to a memory task in healthy subjects over age 90 compared with healthy younger elderly. We studied 29 healthy elderly subjects, 12 over age 90 and 17 between age 70 and 80. All subjects were cognitively intact, as verified by a neuropsychological battery, and performed a nonverbal memory task while undergoing a functional MRI (fMRI). Activation results were analyzed by a random-effects ANCOVA using SPM5. The task resulted in activation of similar areas of the posterior temporal, parietal, and posterior frontal cortexes, but the activation was more robust in the younger subjects, especially in the right hippocampus, and parietal and temporal cortices. This finding remained after controlling for education, cognition, task performance or cerebral atrophy. The phenomenon of relatively maintained performance, despite significant brain atrophy and lower activation is consistent with the cognitive reserve theory and may be specific to subjects with extremely successful aging. Further investigation of brain activation patterns in the oldest old is warranted.
Polystyrene in cyclopentane: Dilute solution properties from the upper critical to the lower critical solution temperature

Dilute solutions of polystyrene in cyclopentane are studied with four narrow-distribution polymer fractions ranging in molecular weight from 1.6 × 105 to 1.8 × 106. Light scattering (total intensity) and viscosity measurements cover a temperature range spanning both “theta” temperatures: the limiting upper critical solution temperature (19.6°C) and the limiting lower critical temperature (154.5°C). Within experimental uncertainty, chain dimensions are the same at the two theta temperatures. Correlations among second virial coefficients, mean-square molecular radii of gyration, and intrinsic viscosities, are analyzed. Temperature and molecular-weight dependences are correlated satisfactorily in terms of the excluded-volume parameter z that is central to the “two-parameter” theories of dilute solution behavior. The data can also be correlated in the framework of the newer renormalization theories.
DECOMPOSITIONS OF FINITE-TO-ONE FACTOR MAPS

We examine the question of when a finite-to-one factor map θ: ∑A →S, from a shift of finite type onto a sofic shift, can be decomposed as a left closing map (onto a shift of finite type) followed by a right closing map (or vice versa). We give a finite procedure for deciding this question. In general, we show that there are finitely many such decompositions, up to conjugacy. If the degree of θ is one, then there is at most one such decomposition.
Epidemiology, Risk Factors and Treatments for Antibiotic-Associated Diarrhea

Antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) is a common complication of antibiotics and recent findings on the epidemiology, etiologies and treatment strategies are reviewed. Rates of AAD vary from 5 to 39% depending upon the specific type of antibiotic. The severity of AAD may include uncomplicated diarrhea, colitis or pseudomembranous colitis. The pathogenesis of AAD may be mediated through the disruption of the normal flora and overgrowth of pathogens or through metabolic imbalances. The impact of AAD is reflected by increased hospital stays, higher medical costs and increased rates of comorbidity. The key to decreasing these consequences is prompt diagnosis followed by effective treatment and institution of control measures.
Student voluntarism in transition.

The university student volunteer as a social change agent is in a period of transition. There is no returning to the idealism and activism of the 1960s if this and future generations of students continue to see self-preservation and individual advancement as their only viable option here in America. In view of the changing nature of today's students, the conventional definitions of volunteers, such as Shultz's (1972) altruist, average, and pseudo-volunteer, must be reconsidered. Does the acceptance of minimal pay or demand for academic credit preclude one's being a true altruist? Further, is altruism a necessary or sufficient condition of voluntarism? While we must attempt to answer these questions, the purpose here was to suggest viable first steps in reviving and enhancing student voluntarism. Some of the most salient points are: (1) Student volunteers provide critically needed services to the community, (2) Students are increasingly demanding tangible personal and educational gains for services through voluntarism, (3) Faculty support is vital to student voluntarism and they should be encouraged to actively design their classes to integrate classroom theory and practice through volunteering, and (4) The community agencies served should be active participants in the faculty, student, agency triad, and not merely passive recipients of services. The future of student voluntarism must be viewed in the larger context of changes occurring in the society-at-large, such as cynicism, mistrust of authority figures and leaders, and a move away from altruism and toward symbiosis and/or individualism. There is widespread disillusionment with "band-aid" approaches to solving enormous social problems, i.e., trying to help the few while some of society's most fundamental structures guarantee the perpetuation of poverty, crime, and general anomie. The rekindling of the ideology of cooperative altruism will take ingenuity and tireless effort. Meanwhile, if community psychology and related disciplines are to continue to utilize student volunteers, programs must be oriented toward new trends in student and faculty values and interests, and evolving community needs.
Anomalous migration of central nervous tissue to transplanted autonomic ganglia.

When fragments of adult superior cervical ganglion (SCG) were transplanted to the undamaged surface of the cerebellum of 6–14-day-old rats, a series of remarkable changes ensued that were apparent during the postoperative periods of three weeks to two years: external granule cells were either arrested at the brain surface in the form of ectopic laminae, or migrated anomalously out of the brain to invade the SCG graft. Not only were granule cells so affected, but other interneurons, such as basket and stellate cells as well. The associated neuropil itself became displaced. Thus, mossy fibre boutons formed synaptic glomeruli with dendrites of arrested granule cells at the cerebellar surface. Reactive astrocytes, forming either thin parallel sheets or thick processes, and packed with filaments, mingled closely with the arrested neurons; typical Bergmann glia were not observed. Extensive bridges from the cerebellum to the SCG contained not only synaptically mature interneurons but also rows of parallel fibres, mossy fibres forming mini-glomeruli with solitary granule cells, and reactive astroglia. Portions of the Purkinje arbor extended into the tissue bridges and received synapses on elongate spines from co-migrating parallel fibres. Astroglial cells received synapse-like contacts on their somata and processes. Similar CG grafts induced tissue bridges, predominantly astroglial, to arise from the area postrema or dorsal medulla and enter the graft. Control transplantations tested the specificity of these cellular reactions. Other tissue grafts included muscle, salivary gland and normal or pre-degenerated sciatic nerve. Only direct allografts of sciatic nerve appeared to cause displacement of scattered granule cells. Non-biological grafts such as dacron, silicone and polystyrene, while causing mechanical deformation and inflammation, did not alter normal granule cell migration. The anomalously migrating neurons and neuropil, which seem to have by-passed certain patterns of cellular development, may respond positively to some diffusible tropic substances. The further determination of certain influences that may elicit these unique tissue-tissue interactions, suggested in the framework of this study to be components of neural regeneration or degeneration, could elucidate some aspects of neuronal interactions.
Avoiding infrainguinal bypass wound complications in patients with chronic renal insufficiency: the role of the anatomic plane.

Objective: To study the factors leading to wound problems in patients with chronic renal insufficiency (CRI) with emphasis on subcutaneous vs. deep placement of grafts. Methods: The outcomes of patients undergoing an infrainguinal bypass with preoperative CRI (serum creatinine ≥ 2.0 mg/dl) were reviewed. Surgical site infection (SSI) was classified as superficial or deep according to the Centres for Disease Control standards. Results: Forty-two patients underwent a total of 47 infrainguinal bypasses for ischaemic rest pain or tissue loss. The graft location was partially or predominantly subcutaneous in 21 limbs (Group I) and 26 grafts were positioned in the anatomic or subfascial planes (Group II). In Group I, seven early ( 6 weeks postoperative) SSI's were found (9/21, 43%). In three of these patients the graft was exposed and two required removal. In contrast, only two early and one intermediate SSI's (3/26, 12%) were noted in Group II (p = 0.02). A logistic regression analysis, with twelve possible covariables to wound healing, confirmed the subcutaneous location to be the only controllable factor significantly predicting SSI (relative risk = 11.6, p = 0.01). Conclusions: The infrainguinal bypass in patients with CRI is associated with a high incidence of wound complications. In our retrospective series, the presence of a vascular conduit in the subcutaneous plane was connected with a higher rate of SSI. Despite the growing trend toward the use of the in situ bypass, CRI may represent a circumstance where deeply placed grafts should be used preferentially.
Origin of the endoplasmic reticulum.

To propose a mechanism of origin of the endoplasmic reticulum based on a study of yeast cytology may seem presumptuous because there is no field in which so many different opinions prevail. The variety of opinions have arisen because yeasts, like all acellular (single-celled) organisms, manifest a maximal diversity of internal organization, and a limited number of these manifestations are considered by different individuals to be typical, and because yeast cytology has engaged the interest of those who are primarily interested in yeast and only secondarily interested in cytology. But the fact that almost the entire internal organization of a small (5µ) structure may be revealed by as few as 20 serial sections, while thousands of comparable sections (each much larger) would be required to trace the internal organization of the more familiar liver cell, makes the smaller yeast cell a more useful object in respect to tracing the relationship of the reticulum to the nucleus.
Event structure in photon plus two-jet final states

Abstract Direct photons can be used as a probe of the hard scattering mechanism in high- p T multi-jet states. For final states containing a photon and two jets, three classes of events can be distinguished according to whether the photon has the highest, second highest, or lowest energy as compared to the two jets. By comparing Dalitz plot structures as well as angular distributions for each of these different types of events, it is possible to distinguish the contributions from specific classes of Feynman graphs. In particular, it is possible to isolate a sample of events which is dominated by the bremsstrahlung production mechanism.
Misconceptions about health and disease prevention behaviors of rural Appalachian Americans

Background Appalachia is one of the unhealthiest regions in the United States due to poor disease prevention behaviors.
Modeling of the induced refractive index kinetics in photo-thermo-refractive glass

Photo-thermo-refractive (PTR) glass is a photosensitive multi-component silicate glass that exhibits refractive index change after successive UV-exposure and thermal treatment. The refractive index change was demonstrated to be associated with the precipitation of NaF nano-crystals in the glass matrix. This paper presents a systematic study of the dependence of the refractive index change on dosage of UV-exposure and thermal treatment duration and temperature in already UV-exposed and nucleated samples. It is shown using Avrami plots that the refractive index change in PTR glass is determined by a diffusion-controlled growth of particles from pre-existing nuclei while all coefficients have exponential dependence on temperature (Boltzmann law). The developed model, which includes both photo-chemistry and crystallization processes, allow describing the refractive index change dependence on dosage for a wide range of thermal treatment duration and temperature and an accuracy better than 10%.
RGS6, but Not RGS4, Is the Dominant Regulator of G Protein Signaling (RGS) Modulator of the Parasympathetic Regulation of Mouse Heart Rate

Parasympathetic activity decreases heart rate (HR) by inhibiting pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node (SAN). Dysregulation of parasympathetic influence has been linked to sinus node dysfunction and arrhythmia. RGS (regulator of G protein signaling) proteins are negative modulators of the parasympathetic regulation of HR and the prototypical M2 muscarinic receptor (M2R)-dependent signaling pathway in the SAN that involves the muscarinic-gated atrial K+ channel IKACh. Both RGS4 and RGS6-Gβ5 have been implicated in these processes. Here, we used Rgs4−/−, Rgs6−/−, and Rgs4−/−:Rgs6−/− mice to compare the relative influence of RGS4 and RGS6 on parasympathetic regulation of HR and M2R-IKACh-dependent signaling in the SAN. In retrogradely perfused hearts, ablation of RGS6, but not RGS4, correlated with decreased resting HR, increased heart rate variability, and enhanced sensitivity to the negative chronotropic effects of the muscarinic agonist carbachol. Similarly, loss of RGS6, but not RGS4, correlated with enhanced sensitivity of the M2R-IKACh signaling pathway in SAN cells to carbachol and a significant slowing of M2R-IKACh deactivation rate. Surprisingly, concurrent genetic ablation of RGS4 partially rescued some deficits observed in Rgs6−/− mice. These findings, together with those from an acute pharmacologic approach in SAN cells from Rgs6−/− and Gβ5−/− mice, suggest that the partial rescue of phenotypes in Rgs4−/−:Rgs6−/− mice is attributable to another R7 RGS protein whose influence on M2R-IKACh signaling is masked by RGS4. Thus, RGS6-Gβ5, but not RGS4, is the primary RGS modulator of parasympathetic HR regulation and SAN M2R-IKACh signaling in mice.
Microstructure quantification procedures in liquid-phase sintered materials

Abstract The quantification of sintered microstructures is an inherent part of powder metallurgy. Often a means to explain the effects of process variations with respect to sintered properties is needed. Quantification of grain size in the microstructure is an essential part of that effort. If satisfactory models exist, then the effort might be simple. Along those lines, three-dimensional grain size distributions can be obtained from two-dimensional grain section distributions by using a new forward transformation method. The technique is applied to sintered microstructures to verify the procedure, but the method is not limited to a particular material. A computer simulation program is developed. The initial three-dimensional grain size distributions are obtained from a backward method. The method can handle grains with different shapes, dihedral angles, and contact numbers. Both the Weibull and normal distribution functions are used to process the data. The results show that dihedral angle and contact number greatly affect the grain size distribution causing the three-dimensional grain size distribution to become narrower at high solid volume fractions.
Neural network based self-tuning control of a switched reluctance motor drive to maximize torque per ampere

Online self-tuning control is essential as optimize the performance of a switched reluctance motor (SRM) drive in the presence of parameter variations. This paper introduces an advanced adaptive neural network (NN) based control scheme to maximize torque per ampere in the low speed region. The proposed control technique utilizes a heuristic search method to find the change in the optimal excitation instances in case of parameter variations. Based on the results of this heuristic search, the NN employs incremental learning to adapt its network weights. Computer simulations are performed to verify the applicability of the proposed algorithm. Experimental results are provided to demonstrate the working of the self-tuning controller.
On the A.C. electrical conductivity of a Lorentz gas

Often one is interested in the electrical conductivity of a plasma for frequencies of the applied electric field comparable to or greater than the effective collision frequency. For the purpose of obtaining an order of magnitude estimate of the conductivity a Lorentz gas model with a Fokker–Planck collision term is used. For this simple model a formula for the a.c. electrical conductivity for two limiting cases is derived in closed form. The first term of the expression for the conductivity in the case where w/k is very large agrees with that obtained by Bernstein & Trehan (1960) for the spatially homogeneous case, while the effect of the spatial gradients is indicated in the higher order terms. In the case where w and k are both equal to zero the expression for the d.c. electrical conductivity of Spitzer (1962) is recovered.
Perceived vulnerability and HIV testing among youth in Cape Town, South Africa

The importance of perceived vulnerability to risk-reducing behaviors including HIV testing is fairly established especially among youth in sub-Saharan Africa. Yet the majority of studies that examined this important relationship used cross-sectional data that inherently assume that perceived vulnerability does not change. While these studies have been useful the assumption of perceived vulnerability as time invariant is a major flaw and has largely limited the practical usefulness of this variable in AIDS prevention and programing. Using longitudinal data and applying random-effects logit models this study makes a major contribution to scholarship by examining if changes in perceived vulnerability associate with a change to test for HIV among 857 young people in Cape Town South Africa. Results show that female youth who changed their risk perceptions were more likely to also change to test for HIV but the effects were completely attenuated after controlling for theoretically relevant variables. No significant relationships were observed for males. Also females who were virgins at wave 2 but had sex between waves were significantly more likely to have changed to test for HIV. Of most importance was that sexual behavior eliminated the effects of change in risk perceptions suggesting that a change in perception may have occurred as a result of changes in sexual behavior. AIDS prevention programs must pay particular attention to helping youth become aware of their vulnerability to HIV risks especially as these have implications for risk-reducing behaviors especially for females who are burdened.
Validity and Coverage of Estimates of Relative Accuracy

Abstract PURPOSE: Studies comparing test accuracy often restrict the confirmation procedure to subjects classified as positive by either test. Relative sensitivity (RSN) and relative false-positive rate (RFP) are two estimable comparative measures of accuracy. This article evaluates the influence of sample size, disease prevalence, and test accuracy on the validity of point estimates of RSN and RFP, and on the coverage of their confidence intervals (CI). METHODS: For each combination of sample size, disease prevalence, test accuracy, and interdependence between tests 1,000 samples were generated using computer simulations. The percent bias in the RSN and RFP estimates was measured by comparing the means of the 1,000 values computed in each simulation (log-transformed) with their theoretical values. Coverage of the estimated CI was measured by computing the proportion that actually included the theoretical values. Application of these methods was illustrated with data from a study comparing mammography and physical examination in screening for breast cancer. RESULTS: RSN estimates were valid if the true number of diseased cases exceeded 30, and RFP estimates were valid if the number of nondiseased subjects exceeded 200. When the numbers of diseased and nondiseased subjects exceeded 150 each, the 95% CI of RSN and RFP provided adequate coverage of the parameters (95 ± 2%). CONCLUSION: Sample size is the most important variable for the validity and coverage of RSN and RFP estimates. For small samples, validity and coverage of RSN and RFP also depend on the accuracy of each test and on the degree of interdependence between the tests.
Predictors of the Police Use of Force The Application of a Continuum Perspective in Phoenix

There is a volume of research that has analyzed the police use of force— particularly the use of deadly force. Past research has been limited by em ploying only a dichotomous measurement of force. This paper explores predictors of the police use of force in Phoenix by analyzing 1,220 arrests. In addition, the paper employs the concept of a continuum of force. Lo gistic regression results show the strongest predictors of police use of force are length of time on the force, suspect race, chemical impairment, at tempt to flee and possession of a weapon. Relevant literature and research implications are discussed.
17O NMR spectroscopy: Study of intramolecular hydrogen bonding in phenols and salicylaldehydes

Natural abundance 17O NMR data for fifteen 2- and 4-substituted phenols, ten 3-and 5-substituted 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes and eight 3-substituted benzaldehydes, recorded at 75°C in acetonitrile are reported. The chemical shift change due to intramolecular hydrogen bonding for the phenolic oxygen was found to be 10–14 ppm shielding. In acetonitrile, the 17O NMR chemical shift for phenol signals was insensitive to added water up to water concentrations of 0.5 mole fraction. The 17O NMR chemical shifts of the 4-substituted phenols gave an excellent correlation (r = 0.990) with anisole 17O NMR data; the data also correlated moderately well with σ− (r = 0.974). The chemical shifts of the 3-substituted benzaldehydes were correlated with σ+ values (r = 0.991). A plot of the carbonyl chemical shift data for the substituted 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes versus the carbonyl data for 3-substituted benzaldehydes gave a slope of 0.87 and with r = 0.960. The plot of the 4-substituted phenol data with that for OH of the corresponding 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes gave a slope of 1.04 with r = 0.996. Proton to oxygen coupling for the phenolic group of several of the intramolecular hydrogen bonded systems was observed directly [J(OH) = 58–92 Hz]. MM2 and MOPAC calculations predict that the hydrogen bond distances and angles for the substituted 2-hydroxybenzaldehydes and the partial atomic charges for the carbonyl groups (AMI) were essentially constant. After corrections for electronic effects the chemical shift changes due to hydrogen bonding for the donor (ΔδHBD) and acceptor (ΔδHBA) of the carbonyl–phenol intramolecular bonding system were 5–12 and 30 ± 2 ppm, respectively. The ΔδHBA value was between those for keto and ester acceptors consistent with the relative basicity of the aldehyde group. The ΔδHBD value was substantially larger than those for phenolic donors to keto and ester groups.
Making secure TCP connections resistant to server failures

Methods are presented to increase resiliency to server failures by migrating long running, secure TCP-based connections to backup servers, thus mitigating damage from servers disabled by attacks or accidental failures. The failover mechanism described is completely transparent to the client. Using these techniques, simple, practical systems can be built that can be retrofitted into the existing infrastructure, i.e. without requiring changes either to the TCP/IP protocol, or to the client system. The end result is a drop-in method of adding significant robustness to secure network connections such as those using the secure shell protocol (SSH). As there is a large installed universe of TCP-based user agent software, it will be some time before widespread adoption takes place of other approaches designed to withstand these kind of service failures; our methods provide an immediate way to enhance reliability, and thus resistance to attack, without having to wait for clients to upgrade software at their end. The practical viability of our approach is demonstrated by providing details of a system we have built that satisfies these requirements.
Digital signal processing in continuous time: a possibility for avoiding aliasing and reducing quantization error

The operation of digital signal processors in continuous time is discussed. It is shown that the main advantages of digital arithmetic can be maintained in such operations, while aliasing of the signal and the quantization error is avoided altogether. Continuous-time operation makes possible a smaller number of bits for a given signal-to-quantization error ratio. Simulation results are presented.
Rubber-Thermoplastic Compositions. Part V. Selecting Polymers for Thermoplastic Vulcanizates

Abstract Based on a few characteristics of the pure rubber and plastic components, rubber-plastic combinations can be selected, with a high probability of success, to give thermoplastic vulcanizates (by dynamic vulcanization) of good mechanical integrity and elastic recovery. The characteristics used in the selection are estimated surface energies, crystallinity of the hard phase (plastic) material and the critical chain length, of the rubber molecules, for entanglement. The best compositions are prepared when the surface energies of the rubber and plastic material are matched, when the entanglement molecular length of the rubber is low (high entanglement density) and when the plastic material is crystalline. Of course, it is required that neither the plastic, nor the rubber decompose in the presence of the other at temperatures required for melt mixing. Also, a curing system is required, appropriate for the rubber under the conditions of melt-mixing.
Neuromuscular stochastic optimal control of a tendon driven index finger model

Our long-term goal is to find control principles to control robotic hands with dexterity and robustness comparable to that of the human hand. Here we explore a control strategy capable of accommodating the nonlinearities, high dimensionality and endogenous noise intrinsic to complex, tendon-driven biomechanical structures. We present the first stochastic optimal feedback controller (i.e., an iterative Linear Quadratic Gaussian controller) applied to a tendon-driven simulated robotic index finger model. In our model we take into account both the tendon network driving of the index finger, and we consider first-order muscle dynamics. Our feedback controller shows robustness against noise and perturbation of the dynamics. Moreover, it can also successfully overcome the nonlinearities intrinsic to the mechanics of the finger for large postural changes, and the need for non-negative control signals. Our simulations provide, for the first time, the complete time history of tendon tensions, lengths and velocities for the tasks of tapping with nonzero terminal velocities required for dynamic manipulation. We find that the optimal control of realistic tendon-driven systems fundamentally stretches current methods to their limits. To find a successful control strategy, the algorithm must overcome several critical challenges inherent to the control of tendon-driven fingers systems in which all uni-directional control commands can actuate all joints (either directly or through dynamic coupling). Therefore, all elements of the solution are interwoven including the tuning of the cost function, the dynamics of the plant, and the initial guesses for state and control trajectories.
Differential Responses of Postmetamorphic Amphibians to Cattle Grazing in Wetlands

Global amphibian declines have been linked to various anthropogenic land uses. Recent studies have documented negative impacts of cropland agriculture and deforestation on amphibians; however, few have examined potential impacts of cattle grazing in wetlands on resident amphibians. Therefore, we measured differences in number of captures and body size of postmetamorphic amphibians, egg mass abundance, and shoreline vegetation structure and composition between 4 wetlands with direct cattle access and 4 wetlands from which cattle were excluded on the Cumberland Plateau in Tennessee, USA. We captured amphibians at wetlands from March to August 2005 and 2006 using pitfall traps. Number of green frog (Rana clamitans) metamorphs captured at nonaccess wetlands was 2.5 times and 9.8 times greater than at wetlands with cattle access in 2005 and 2006, respectively. However, number of American toads (Bufo americanus) captured was 68 times and 76 times greater at cattle-access wetlands in 2005 and 2006, respectively. In general, metamorph body size was negatively correlated with species-specific capture rate. We detected no differences in egg mass abundance between cattle land-use types. Height, percent horizontal cover, and percent vertical cover of shoreline vegetation were 74%, 25%, and 84% greater, respectively, in nonaccess wetlands in 2005; vegetation trends were similar in 2006. Our results suggest that cattle impact amphibian populations but effects vary by species. Differences in postmetamorphic capture rate may be related to less emergent vegetation at cattle-access wetlands. Although body size differed between land uses for metamorphs, these trends probably were short-lived, because we did not detect differences in juvenile and adult body size between land uses for most species. Based on our findings, we suggest that fencing cattle from wetlands may be a prudent conservation strategy for some amphibian species (e.g., ranids), whereas other species (e.g., bufonids) may benefit from controlled grazing.
Psychiatric Simulation on a Budget

Abstract Simulation is becoming more commonly used in nursing education, but high-fidelity manikins have limitations for portraying psychiatric patients. The costs of standardized patients can be prohibitive, and the availability of drama students to act as patients may be limited as well. This article describes an innovative, cost-effective method using course faculty as simulated patients in a psychiatric nursing clinical course.
Trafficking of some old world primate TRIM5α proteins through the nucleus

TRIM5α and TRIMCyp are cytoplasmic proteins that bind incoming retroviral capsids and mediate early blocks to viral infection. TRIM5 proteins form cytoplasmic bodies, which are highly dynamic structures. So far, TRIM5 proteins have been found only in the cytoplasm of cells. Interestingly, other proteins from the TRIM family localize to the nucleus. Therefore, we tested the possibility that TRIM5 proteins traffic to the nucleus and the impact of this trafficking on retroviral restriction. Here we report that the TRIM5α proteins of two Old World primates, humans and rhesus monkeys, are transported into the nucleus and are shuttled back to the cytoplasm by a leptomycin B-sensitive mechanism. In leptomycin B-treated cells, these TRIM5α proteins formed nuclear bodies that also contained TRIM19 (PML). Deletion of the amino terminus, including the linker 1 (L1) region, resulted in TRIM5α proteins that accumulated in nuclear bodies. Leptomycin B treatment of TRIM5α-expressing target cells only minimally affected the restriction of retrovirus infection. We discovered the ability of human and rhesus TRIM5α to shuttle into and out of the nucleus. This novel trafficking ability of TRIM5α proteins could be important for an as-yet-unknown function of TRIM5α.
Classification of breast lesions with multimodality computer-aided diagnosis: observer study results on an independent clinical data set.

Purpose: To evaluate a computer-aided diagnosis multimodality intelligent workstation as an aid to radiologists in the interpretation of mammograms and breast sonograms. Materials and Methods: An institutional review board approved the protocol for an observer study with signed consent, as well as the retrospective use of the mammograms, sonograms, and clinical data with waiver of consent. The HIPAA-compliant observer study was conducted with five breast radiologists and five breast imaging fellows, all of whom gave confidence ratings and patient management decisions, both without and with the computer aid, for 97 lesions that were unknown to both the observers and the computer. The performance of each observer without and with the computer aid was quantified by using four performance measures: area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (Az) value, partial Az value, sensitivity, and specificity. The statistical significance of the differences in the performance measures without and with the co...
Biotechnology for Chemical Production: Challenges and Opportunities

Biotechnology offers a new sustainable approach to manufacturing chemicals, enabling the replacement of petroleum-based raw materials with renewable biobased feedstocks, thereby reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, toxic byproducts, and the safety risks associated with traditional petrochemical processing. Development of such bioprocesses is enabled by recent advances in genomics, molecular biology, and systems biology, and will continue to accelerate as access to these tools becomes faster and cheaper.
Stanford’s Unconceived Alternatives from the Perspective of Epistemic Obligations

Kyle Stanford’s reformulation of the problem of underdetermination has the potential to highlight the epistemic obligations of scientists. Stanford, however, presents the phenomenon of unconceived alternatives as a problem for realists, despite critics’ insistence that we have contextual explanations for scientists’ failure to conceive of their successors’ theories. I propose that responsibilist epistemology and the concept of “role oughts,” as discussed by Lorraine Code and Richard Feldman, can pacify Stanford’s critics and reveal broader relevance of the “new induction.” The possibility of unconceived alternatives pushes us to question our contemporary expectation for scientists to reason outside of their historical moment.
Toward a computational approach for natural language description of emotions

This is a precis of the author's dissertation proposal about natural language description of emotions. The proposal seeks to explain how humans describe emotions using natural language. The focus of the proposal is on words and phrases that refer to emotions, rather than the more general phenomena of emotional language. The main problem is that if descriptions of emotions refer to abstract concepts that are local to a particular human (or agent), then how do these concepts vary from person to person and how can shared meaning be established between people. The thesis of the proposal is that natural language emotion descriptions refer to theoretical objects, which provide a logical framework for dealing with this phenomenon in scientific experiments and engineering solutions. An experiment, Emotion Twenty Questions (EMO20Q), was devised to study the social natural language behavior of humans, who must use descriptions of emotions to play the familiar game of twenty questions when the unknown word is an emotion. The idea of a theory based on natural language propositions is developed and used to formalize the knowledge of a sign-using organism. Based on this pilot data, it was seen that approximately 25% of the emotion descriptions referred to emotions as objects with dimensional attributes. This motivated the author to use interval type-2 fuzzy sets as a computational model for the meaning of this dimensional subset of emotion descriptions. This model introduces a definition of a variable that ranges over emotions and allows for both inter- and intra- subject variability. A second set of experiments used interval surveys and translation tasks to assess this model. Finally, the use of spectral graph theory is proposed to represent emotional knowledge that has been acquired from the EMO20Q game.