cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Crafting a Public Image: An Empirical Study of the Ethics of Ghostwriting

Ghostwriting is viewed by some as a necessary element for crafting an effective public image. Defenders of ghostwriting see no ethical dilemma in the practice because the audience knows the “speechgiver” is not necessarily the “speechwriter.” Alernatively, those regarding ghostwriting as unethical view the practice as deceitful. This group argues that the audience does not recognize the employment of a speechwriter and thus a speechgiver relies on the words of another to fortify personal ethos. This article examines several positions regarding the ethics of ghostwriting and discusses an empirical study testing three major positions found in ghostwriting literature. Findings from the study indicate that respondents do recognize the use of speechwriters by certain individuals in certain circumstances.
Intracellular aggregation of polypeptides with expanded polyglutamine domain is stimulated by stress-activated kinase MEKK1.

Abnormal proteins, which escape chaperone-mediated refolding or proteasome-dependent degradation, aggregate and form inclusion bodies (IBs). In several neurodegenerative diseases, such IBs can be formed by proteins with expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) domains (e.g., huntingtin). This work studies the regulation of intracellular IB formation using an NH2-terminal fragment of huntingtin with expanded polyQ domain. We demonstrate that the active form of MEKK1, a protein kinase that regulates several stress-activated signaling cascades, stimulates formation of the IBs. This function of MEKK1 requires kinase activity, as the kinase-dead mutant of MEKK1 cannot stimulate this process. Exposure of cells to UV irradiation or cisplatin, both of which activate MEKK1, also augmented the formation of IBs. The polyQ-containing huntingtin fragment exists in cells in two distinct forms: (a) in a discrete soluble complex, and (b) in association with insoluble fraction. MEKK1 strongly stimulated recruitment of polyQ polypeptides into the particulate fraction. Notably, a large portion of the active form of MEKK1 was associated with the insoluble fraction, concentrating in discrete sites, and polyQ-containing IBs always colocalized with them. We suggest that MEKK1 is involved in a process of IB nucleation. MEKK1 also stimulated formation of IBs with two abnormal polypeptides lacking the polyQ domain, indicating that this kinase has a general effect on protein aggregation.
Incubation period and immune function: a comparative field study among coexisting birds

Developmental periods are integral components of life history strategies that can have important fitness consequences and vary enormously among organisms. However, the selection pressures and mechanisms causing variation in length of developmental periods are poorly understood. Particularly puzzling are prolonged developmental periods, because their selective advantage is unclear. Here we tested the hypotheses that immune function is stronger in species that are attacked at a higher rate by parasites and that prolonged embryonic development allows the development of this stronger immune system. Through a comparative field study among 12 coexisting passerine bird species, we show that species with higher blood parasite prevalence mounted stronger cellular immune responses than species with lower prevalence. These results provide support for the hypothesis that species facing greater selection pressure from parasites invest more in immune function. However, species with longer incubation periods mounted weaker cellular immune responses than species with shorter periods. Therefore, cellular immune responses do not support the hypothesis that longer development time enhances immunocompentence. Future studies should assess other components of the immune system and test alternative causes of variation in incubation periods among bird species.
STUDIES IN AGGLUTINATION : I. THE AGGLUTINATION OF STREPTOCOCCI.

1. The spontaneous agglutination of streptococci has been studied. 2. This spontaneous agglutination would seem to be caused by the presence of a bacterial cohesive force higher than that usually found when bacteria are suspended in salt solutions of the concentration commonly employed as electrolyte in specific agglutination reactions. 3. Many granular autoagglutinating strains of streptococcus may be made diffuse by growth at room temperature (17–23°C.) and then lose their tendency to agglutinate spontaneously. 4. All factors that reduce cohesive force or that make the repelling force relatively greater than the cohesive force make for stable suspensions. 5. Methods for management of the specific agglutination of refractory autoagglutinating strains of streptococci have been presented.
Experimental test of autosuspension

The concept of autosuspension implies that if, in a flow transporting suspended sediment down a slope, the sediment adds more energy to the flow than it extracts, the concentration can rise to an indefinitely high level. This was tested in a small closed duct, with variable slope, connecting two free-surface reservoirs. The sediment-carrying flow could be recirculated continuously from the downstream end of the duct to the upstream end. For each of five sediment sizes ranging from 14 μm to 96 μm, two flows at the same discharge were run, one with zero slope and one with a slope chosen so that autosuspension should have been in effect. Something is wrong with the autosuspension criterion: in each set of runs, equilibrium suspended-sediment concentrations were virtually identical in the two cases. Analysis of the term in the autosuspension criterion expressing work done by the flow to suspend sediment shows that this quantity is much smaller than is assumed in autosuspension, and so the criterion should have been even more strongly oversatisfied in our tests. Although both the energy-expenditure form and energy-contribution form in the criterion have a physical reality, comparison of the two has no relevance to the equilibrium state of the flow; autosuspension is based on an irrelevant system of energy bookkeeping. Suspension must be viewed as limited by factors involving alterations in turbulence structure leading to changes both in boundary resistance and in the ability of the flow to entrain and suspend sediment.
Amino Acids as Ice Nucleators

Abstract The authors' recent studies on phenols and benzoic adds suggest that the ability of solid organic compounds to nucleate freezing of supercooled water may be predicted, at least in a limited number of cases, from purely thermodynamic considerations. A report that pure, optically active amino acids nucleate freezing at temperatures different from their inactive forms suggests that a quantitative study of the differences might be revealing. It was found that differences in nucleation temperature were related in a linear manner to differences in heat of solution of active and racemic forms. Tyrosine is an exception to the above behavior. It is suggested that nucleation on one of the forms may occur at the phenolic group.
Continent women have better urethral neuromuscular function than those with stress incontinence.

Introduction and hypothesis The objective of this study is to describe urethral neuromuscular function using concentric needle electromyography (EMG) in stress incontinent (SUI) and asymptomatic women.
Existence of slip and stick periodic motions in a non-smooth dynamical system

Abstract The paper studies the existence of slip and stick periodic solutions to a second order equation with a discontinuous right-hand side, x ″ = - 2 dx ′ - cx + A cos Ω t - F f sgn ( x ′ - V ) for x ′ ≠ V , 0 for x ′ = V .
Reducing cognitive–motor declines associated with bilateral subthalamic deep brain stimulation through computational modelling in a parkinson's disease patient

Bilateral subthalamic (STN) deep brain stimulation (DBS) provides symptom relief for the majority of well-screened advanced Parkinson's disease (PD) patients.1 However, we have recently shown that bilateral STN DBS may result in significant declines in cognitive–motor performance of PD patients.2 The spread of current to non-motor areas of the STN may be responsible for cognitive and cognitive–motor declines. While guidelines exist on stimulation parameter settings that are typically effective, it is not practical to evaluate each of the thousands of stimulation parameter combinations possible. Therefore, the therapeutic benefit achieved with DBS is dependent on the intuitive skill and experience of the programming clinician. To assist the programming process, we developed Windows-based software tools that enable 3D visualisation of the volume of tissue activated (VTA) by DBS.3 The goal of this study was to compare two methods of DBS programming, the typical clinical method and our computational approach, on cognitive–motor performance in an advanced PD patient. A 58-year-old right-handed male with an 8-year history of PD underwent simultaneous bilateral STN-DBS 14 months prior to study participation. His stimulation parameters were optimised by traditional clinical methods and were stable for the 6 months prior to study participation. This patient did not have any history of cognitive deficits or postoperative changes in cognitive function based on neuropsychological testing. Blinded UPDRS-III evaluations were performed Off DBS and On DBS using previously determined clinical DBS parameters while the patient was off antiparkinsonian medication for 12 h. Under these conditions, the patient demonstrated a 45% reduction (improvement) in the UPDRS III with DBS on when compared with off. Cognitive–motor performance was quantified using a dual-task paradigm.2 …
Total Daily Activity is Associated With Cognition in Older Persons

Objectives The authors tested the hypothesis that total daily physical activity is related to the level of cognition in older persons. Design Cross-sectional study. Setting Retirement communities across the Chicago metropolitan area. Participants Five hundred twenty-one older persons without dementia. Measurements Participants underwent structured evaluation of cognition and objective measures of total daily physical activity were collected using actigraphy. Results In a linear regression model adjusted for age, sex, and education, total daily activity was associated with a global measure of cognition. By contrast, self-report physical activity was not associated with cognition. Further analyses showed that total daily activity was related to all five cognitive subscales. Conclusions Objective measures of total daily physical activity were associated with a broad range of cognitive abilities in older persons. These findings support the link between physical activity and cognition in the elderly.
Distinct Mechanisms for K+ Efflux, Intoxication, and Hemolysis by Bordetella pertussis AC Toxin

Adenylate cyclase (AC) toxin fromBordetella pertussis delivers its catalytic domain to the interior of target cells where it converts host ATP to cAMP in a process referred to as intoxication. This toxin also hemolyzes sheep erythrocytes by a mechanism presumed to include pore formation and osmotic lysis. Intoxication and hemolysis appear at strikingly different toxin concentrations and evolve over different time scales, suggesting that different molecular processes may be involved. The present study was designed to test the hypothesis that intoxication and hemolysis occur by distinct mechanisms. Although the hemolytic activity of AC toxin has a lag of >1 h, intoxication starts immediately. Because of this difference, we sought a surrogate or precursor lesion that leads to hemolysis, and potassium efflux has been observed from erythrocytes treated with other pore-forming toxins. AC toxin elicits an increase in K+efflux from sheep erythrocytes and Jurkat cells, a human T-cell leukemia line, that begins within minutes of toxin addition. The toxin concentration dependence along with the analysis of the time course suggest that toxin monomers are sufficient to elicit release of K+ and to deliver the catalytic domain to the cell interior. Hemolysis, on the other hand, is a highly cooperative event that likely requires a subsequent oligomerization of these individual units. Although induction of K+ efflux shares some structural and environmental requirements with both intoxication and hemolysis, it can occur under conditions in which intoxication is reduced or prevented. The data presented here suggest that the transmembrane pathway by which K+ is released is separate and distinct from the structure required for intoxication but may be related to, or a precursor of, that which is ultimately responsible for hemolysis.
Emergency management information systems: Could decision makers be supported in choosing display formats?

Recent information technologies make it possible to include sophisticated three-dimensional display formats in emergency management information systems (EMIS), decision-support systems that facilitate decision making in crisis situations. However, if decision makers are to improve their decisional performance, they must correctly identify appropriate situations for using these formats. We conduct two experiments and find that, as prior research has suggested, decision makers do not choose the most appropriate display format, but their performance improves when given prospective decisional guidance. We discuss implications of these findings for EMIS design, for the training of emergency management professionals, and for future research on display formats and decisional guidance.
Comparison of changes in serum androgen binding protein with germinal epithelial damage and infertility induced by di-n-pentyl phthalate.

Abstract Androgen binding protein (ABP), produced by Sertoli cells and released into seminiferous tubules and blood, was measured in the serum of di- n -pentyl phthalate (DPP)-treated rats as a potential index of germinal epithelial damage. A single oral dose of DPP (0, 0.25, 1.0, or 2.0 g/kg body wt in corn oil) was given to four groups of 110 Fischer 344 rats; 10 rats per group were killed weekly for 10 weeks. Effects of treatment on serum ABP were then compared with effects on other reproductive endpoints. Treatment did not produce any significant effect on body weight or weights of liver, kidney, prostate, and seminal vesicles. In high-dose rats, serum ABP values more than doubled 2 days after injection, remained significantly elevated for 3 weeks, then fell and remained significantly below control values from Week 4 through Week 10. Accordingly, 95% of the rats in this group showed >50% of the seminiferous tubules degenerated, decreased epididymal sperm density, reduced testicular and epididymal weights, and up to 97% morphologically abnormal sperm. In medium-dose rats, serum ABP increased up to 48% during the first week, returned to control values by Week 2, and remained at control levels thereafter. Of these rats, 20% showed 20–50% degenerated tubules, decreased sperm density, reduced testicular and epididymal weights (which were not always statistically significant), and up to 23% abnormal sperm morphology. In low-dose rats, serum ABP levels were similar to those of controls, and the other parameters, except sperm density, also remained unchanged. To examine the effects of DPP on fertility, a second group of rats was exposed in an identical manner [gavaged once with DPP in corn oil (0, 0.25, 1.0, and 2.0 g/kg body wt)], then mated to untreated females at 3, 6, and 10 weeks postexposure. DPP at 2 (but not 1.0 or 0.25) g/kg caused a significant reduction in pregnancies and live pups and a significant increase in preimplantation loss. Histopathology of the testis in the first experiment suggested a very slow recovery. Therefore, controls and high-dose rats in the mating trial were killed 14, 18, and 30 weeks after dosing and the germinal epithelium was evaluated histologically. All high-dose animals showed testicular lesions typical of phthalate ester exposure and the epithelium did not recover within 30 weeks. These results indicate that serum ABP levels changed rapidly after a single dose of DPP and also that DPP caused adverse effects on male reproductive function. Serum ABP may be useful as a peripheral marker of severe Sertoli cell toxicity.
Ivacaftor improves appearance of sinus disease on computerised tomography in cystic fibrosis patients with G551D mutation

Background Most patients with Cystic fibrosis (CF) have chronic sinus disease which may require multiple sinus surgeries and antibiotic courses. Ivacaftor can improve lung function, lower sweat chloride levels and improve weight by targeting the primary defect, a faulty gene and its protein product, cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR) in patients with the G551D mutation. Its role in improving sinus disease has not been evaluated. Objective The objective of this study was to evaluate efficacy of ivacaftor in improving CF related sinus disease. Design Observational study. Participants Twelve patients with cystic fibrosis and a G551D-CFTR mutation. Methods Twelve patients with a G551D-CFTR mutation were monitored for at least one year before and after starting ivacaftor. Outcome Measures Sinus disease progression was monitored by comparing computed tomography (CT) of sinuses before and at one year on therapy. Hospital admissions, pulmonary exacerbations, weight, BMI and lung function were also compared. Results Median age was 17 years (range 10–44). Weight, BMI, FEV1 significantly increased and sweat chloride significantly decreased by six months on ivacaftor therapy. CT of the sinuses in all patients improved. Seven patients had severe sinus disease, improved to moderate in three and mild in remaining four. Four patients had moderate disease which improved to mild in all. One patient had normal sinus CT before and after the therapy. Conclusions Patients with CF and G551D mutation, within 6 months of starting ivacaftor had significant improvements in weight, BMI and mean % FEV1. Significant lessening of underlying sinus disease measured by CT scan was noted, suggesting a disease modifying effect.
Early Intervention and AAC: What a Difference 30 Years Makes

This article provides an overview of early intervention and AAC over the 30-year period since the founding of the journal Augmentative and Alternative Communication in 1985. It discusses the global context for early intervention and addresses issues pertaining to young children from birth to 6 years of age. It provides a narrative review and synthesis of the evidence base in AAC and early intervention. Finally, it provides implications for practice and future research directions.
The Transcription Factor T-bet Regulates Parasitemia and Promotes Pathogenesis during Plasmodium berghei ANKA Murine Malaria

The pathogenesis of experimental cerebral malaria (ECM) is an immunologic process, mediated in part by Th1 CD4(+) T cells. However, the role of the Th1 CD4(+) T cell differentiation program on the ability to control parasitemia and susceptibility to ECM disease during blood stage malaria has never been assessed directly. Using the Plasmodium berghei ANKA murine model of ECM and mice deficient for the transcription factor T-bet (the master regulator of Th1 cells) on the susceptible C57BL/6 background, we demonstrate that although T-bet plays a role in the regulation of parasite burden, it also promotes the pathogenesis of ECM. T-bet-deficient (Tbx21(-/-)) mice had higher parasitemia than wild type controls did during the ECM phase of disease (17.7 ± 3.1% versus 10.9 ± 1.5%). In addition, although 100% (10/10) of wild type mice developed ECM by day 9 after infection, only 30% (3/10) of Tbx21(-/-) mice succumbed to disease during the cerebral phase of infection. Resistance to ECM in Tbx21(-/-) mice was associated with diminished numbers of IFN-γ-producing CD4(+) T cells in the spleen and a lower accumulation of CD4(+) and CD8(+) T cells in the brain. An augmented Th2 immune response characterized by enhanced production of activated GATA-3(+) CD4(+) T cells and elevated levels of the eotaxin, MCP-1, and G-CSF cytokines was observed in the absence of T-bet. Our results suggest that in virulent malarias, immune modulation or therapy resulting in an early shift toward a Th2 response may help to ameliorate the most severe consequences of malaria immunopathogenesis and the prospect of host survival.
Isotropic diffusion weighting in radial fast spin-echo magnetic resonance imaging.

Radial fast spin-echo (radial-FSE) methods enable multishot diffusion-weighted MRI (DWMRI) to be carried out without significant artifacts due to motion and/or susceptibility and can be used to generate DWMRI images with high spatial resolution. In this work, a novel method that allows isotropic diffusion weighting to be obtained in a single radial k-space data set is presented. This is accomplished by altering the direction of diffusion weighting gradients between groups of TR periods, which yield sets of radial lines that possess diffusion weighting sensitive to motion in different directions. By altering the diffusion weighting directions and controlling the view ordering appropriately within the sequence, an effectively isotropic diffusion-weighted image can be obtained within one radial-FSE scan. The order in which radial lines are acquired can also be controlled to yield data sets without significant artifacts due to motion, T2 decay, and/or diffusion anisotropy. Magn Reson Med 53:1347–1354, 2005. © 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Implications of structural genomics target selection strategies: Pfam5000, whole genome, and random approaches

Structural genomics is an international effort to determine the three-dimensional shapes of all important biological macromolecules, with a primary focus on proteins. Target proteins should be selected according to a strategy that is medically and biologically relevant, of good value, and tractable. As an option to consider, we present the "Pfam5000" strategy, which involves selecting the 5000 most important families from the Pfam database as sources for targets. We compare the Pfam5000 strategy to several other proposed strategies that would require similar numbers of targets. These strategies include complete solution of several small to moderately sized bacterial proteomes, partial coverage of the human proteome, and random selection of approximately 5000 targets from sequenced genomes. We measure the impact that successful implementation of these strategies would have upon structural interpretation of the proteins in Swiss-Prot, TrEMBL, and 131 complete proteomes (including 10 of eukaryotes) from the Proteome Analysis database at the European Bioinformatics Institute (EBI). Solving the structures of proteins from the 5000 largest Pfam families would allow accurate fold assignment for approximately 68% of all prokaryotic proteins (covering 59% of residues) and 61% of eukaryotic proteins (40% of residues). More fine-grained coverage that would allow accurate modeling of these proteins would require an order of magnitude more targets. The Pfam5000 strategy may be modified in several ways, for example, to focus on larger families, bacterial sequences, or eukaryotic sequences; as long as secondary consideration is given to large families within Pfam, coverage results vary only slightly. In contrast, focusing structural genomics on a single tractable genome would have only a limited impact in structural knowledge of other proteomes: A significant fraction (about 30-40% of the proteins and 40-60% of the residues) of each proteome is classified in small families, which may have little overlap with other species of interest. Random selection of targets from one or more genomes is similar to the Pfam5000 strategy in that proteins from larger families are more likely to be chosen, but substantial effort would be spent on small families.
Employment of Gerontological Counseling Graduates: A Follow-Up Study

Twenty-five counselor education departments offering specializations in gerontological counseling were asked to survey their graduates who had completed course work or a specialization in aging. Implications are presented concerning employment opportunities for counseling graduates wanting to work with older people.
Toward magnetically-coupled reconfigurable modular robots

This paper presents the design of a robotic module that is the building block for a magnetically-coupled reconfigurable robot network. The developed module has on-board computation, IR communication and integrated power. The development of this modular network and the associated reconfiguration methodology is motivated by the premise that magnetic latching is much more plausible than physical latching as scale decreases to the micro and nano levels.
Renal handling of sodium chloride and its control in birds

Avian kidneys show features of both mammalian and non-mammalian kidneys, possessing cortical reptilian-type (RT) and medullary mammalian-type (MT) nephrons, blood supplies from renal arterial and renal portal systems, and a primitive macula densa. To determine how these morphological characteristics contribute to unique renal functions, we examined first a possible functional link between the renal tubules and the preglomerular vasculature and, second, the function of the loop of Henle of the MT nephrons. Infusion of 5% NaCl (2.0 ml/kg/h) into the renal portal system of the pullet Gallus domesticus caused diuresis and natriuresis in the infused side, whereas infusion of the same dose into the systemic circulation showed no effect. Infusion of 10% NaCl at a higher flow rate into either the renal portal or systemic routes caused hypernaturemia and a prolonged antidiuresis, presumably due to a release of arginine vasotocin. Plasma renin activity (PRA) decreased during renal portal infusion of hypertonic saline, suggesting that increases in intratubular or peritubular NaCl levels may suppress PRA. The thick limb of the loop of Henle (TLH) isolated from the MT nephron of the quail Coturnix coturnix revealed a lumen-positive, furosemide-sensitive transepithelial voltage (Vt) that requires the presence of both Na and Cl. Net water flux (Jv) was nearly zero when the TLH was perfused and bathed with isosmotic solution. Net water flux increased only slightly and osmotic water permeability (Lp) was low when the osmotic gradient was imposed. Vasotocin altered neither Vt, Jv, nor Lp. Chloride efflux was higher than Cl influx, and net Cl absorption was comparable to that of the TLH of the mammalian kidney.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Prostaglandin E2 regulates amyloid precursor protein expression via the EP2 receptor in cultured rat microglia.

Abstract We investigated the effects of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on amyloid precursor protein (APP) expression in cultured rat microglia. PGE2 treatment significantly increased the expression of APP holoprotein and was associated with an elevation in cyclic AMP (cAMP). Direct activation of adenylate cyclase with forskolin also increased APP expression. Co-treatment of microglia with PGE2 and the PKA inhibitor H-89 suppressed the overexpression of APP caused by PGE2 alone. The prostaglandin EP2 receptor is known to be positively coupled to cAMP production. Stimulation of the EP2 receptor with butaprost increased APP holoprotein, whereas co-incubation of the cells with PGE2 and the EP2 receptor antagonist AH-6809 blocked the effect of PGE2 on APP expression. These data suggest that PGE2 is able to regulate the expression of APP, and that this effect may be mediated by the EP2 receptor and the cAMP signaling cascade.
Endothelial keratoplasty: redefining the surgical therapy of endothelial dysfunction

Deep lamellar endothelial keratoplasty (DLEK) and Descemet’s stripping EK (DSEK) are rapidly replacing penetrating keratoplasty (PKP) in cases where endothelial dysfunction is the main reason for intervention. DLEK and DSEK offer many benefits over standard PKP. The endothelial layer of the host cornea is removed through a small scleral–limbal incision and, through the same wound, a lamellar endothelial donor graft is inserted into the anterior chamber and attached to the endothelial surface of the host cornea without the use of any sutures. The surgical wound is more stable, with less corneal topographic alteration than one made in PKP. In addition, patients who have undergone DLEK or DSEK have a more rapid visual recovery and a simpler postoperative course than those who have undergone PKP.
Effect of induced gate noise at zero drain bias in field-effect transistors

According to classical theories, a MOS transistor with zero source-to-drain voltage behaves like a passive resistor exhibiting channel thermal noise and the effect of induced gate noise vanishes. Here, we show that the effect of induced gate noise persists as conductance fluctuations even under these "equilibrium" conditions without disturbing the Nyquist relationship governing the channel thermal noise.
A Fully Cooperative and Distributed Medium Access Control Protocol for Large TDMA/TDD-Based Wireless Mesh Networks

A medium access control (MAC) protocol is developed for time division multiple access (TDMA) and time division duplex (TDD)-based large wireless mesh networks (WMNs) with infrastructure support. Utilizing control time slots, the protocol operates in a fully cooperative and distributed manner: mesh routers cooperate to negotiate resource allocation, and the messages are exchanged only among one-hop neighbors. Data time slots are dynamically distributed among mesh routers adapting to the varying network conditions. A large high-fidelity and time-driven simulator is created which implements realistic radio propagation models and interference as well as capturing the stochastic network behavior due to random traffic arrivals and queueing. A novel parallel processing technique is employed to reduce the long runtimes. Through simulations, protocol performance is determined for different resource allocation schemes including data time slot selection policies and routing strategies. Results show that the effects of different resource allocation schemes on the network performance greatly vary under wide- ranging congestion levels.
Computation of Maximum RMS Current and Peak Voltage on Transmission Lines under Nonsinusoidal Conditions

This paper presents two numerical methods for computing the maximum overall rms current, and an algorithm to find the maximum peak of the total voltage on a transmission line under nonsinusoidal conditions. The only prerequisite is that the measured or calculated values of the individual harmonic voltages and line currents at one end of the line are assumed to be known. The proposed methods guarantee convergence to the global maxima of the rms current and peak voltage. The numerical algorithms are demonstrated by an example.
Correlation of annealing with chemical stability in lyophilized pharmaceutical glasses

Abstract This research constitutes a thorough study of the relationship between the chemical stability, aging state and global molecular motion on the one hand, and microscopic local mobility in multi‐component systems on the other hand. The objective of the present work was to determine whether annealing a glass below T g affects its chemical stability and determine if the rate of chemical degradation couples with global relaxation times determined using calorimetery, and/or with T 1 and T 1rho relaxation times measured using ssNMR. Model compounds chosen for this research were lyophilized aspartame/sucrose and aspartame/trehalose (1:10 w/w) formulations. The chemical degradation was assessed at various temperatures using high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to determine the impact of annealing on chemical stability. The rate constant for chemical degradation was estimated using stretched time kinetics. The results support the hypothesis that thermal history affects the molecular mobility required for structural relaxation and such effect is critical for chemical stability, that is, a stabilization effect upon annealing is observed. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 97:5240–5251, 2008
An Ethical Approach to Peeking at Data

When data analyses produce encouraging but nonsignificant results, researchers often respond by collecting more data. This may transform a disappointing dataset into a publishable study, but it does so at the cost of increasing the Type I error rate. How big of a problem is this, and what can we do about it? To answer the first question, we estimate the Type I error inflation based on the initial sample size, the number of participants used to augment the dataset, the critical value for determining significance (typically .05), and the maximum p value within the initial sample such that the dataset would be augmented. With one round of augmentation, Type I error inflation maximizes at .0975 with typical values from .0564 to .0883. To answer the second question, we review methods of adjusting the critical value to allow augmentation while maintaining p < .05, but we note that such methods must be applied a priori. For the common occurrence of post-hoc dataset augmentation, we develop a new statistic, paugmented , that represents the magnitude of the resulting Type I error inflation. We argue that the disclosure of post-hoc dataset augmentation via paugmented elevates such augmentation from a questionable research practice to an ethical research decision.
Return Dynamics in Bosnia1 and Croatia: A Comparative Analysis

More than ten years after the end of the conflicts in Bosnia and Croatia this paper examines the process of return of the displaced to their homes offering a comparison of factors affecting the process in the two countries. The first section sketches the nature and modality of obstruction to minority return in places of origin describing some of the ways in which politicized obstruction has interacted with other conditions in return locations. The second section looks at the impact on the return process of conditions in places of refuge examining how particular circumstances of their displacement have differently affected questions of mobilization and representation among displaced communities. In particular some observations are made about the relationships between the displaced communities and the authorities in the various places of refuge and about the effect that these relationships have had on the approach taken to the question of return by the different communities. In the final section a comparison is made of the nature of international intervention to support minority returns in the two countries arguing that considerably more resources attention and diplomatic pressure were focused on the question of minority return to Bosnia than to Croatia. Some possible explanations for this include the burden on third countries of large numbers of Bosnian refugees the perceived peace-building imperative behind minority returns in Bosnia and the attempt to redress the highly visible failures of the international community in preventing ethnic cleansing there. These factors are absent in the Croatian context and it is argued that the corresponding lack of attention to minority return there demonstrates an inconsistency behind the moral claim made by international actors in upholding the right to return. The paper concludes by commenting on the effect of the combination of these factors on individual displaced persons and refugees and on the parallels that can be drawn with other situations of forced migration specifically Kosovo (Republic of Serbia). Current opportunities to redress some of the inconsistencies in approach and outstanding obstacles to return are highlighted. (authors)
An Analysis of the Incidence of Special Class Placement: the Masses Are Burgeoning

Special education is growing at an accelerating rate. Over 4 million students are receiving special services; the federal cost for assistance to states in selected aspects of that education is approaching a billion dollars. For this article, the incidence figures in a sample of school districts were calculated. During the 1977-78, 1978-79, and 1979-80 school years, 4 to 5% of the students were referred and evaluated; 3% were placed in special education programs. Wide variation was evident in the data supplied by individual school districts (some reporting placement incidence as high as 21% of their school population). The results are viewed as evidence of a need for proactive thinking in special education with regard to a reasonable rate of growth relative to the likelihood of reduced financial support.
SPICE Model of SiC JFETs for Circuit Simulations

This paper presents SPICE model for one kind of high voltage transistors-1200 V, 5A SiC JFET. Temperature dependent characterization of the device has been done up to 200 degC. Switching behavior has also been studied at 600 V, 5 A level. Based on both static and dynamic characterizations, this paper focuses on SPICE modeling work of such a device for circuit simulations. The model parameters have been extracted from experimental plots. Simulations are then used to verify the developed compact model. Reasonably good agreement has been obtained between the model and experimental results
Cultural Dissonance in the Italian Alps

Through the Eastern Alps runs one of the great cultural frontiers of Europe, the zone of contact between the cultural sphere of the Mediterranean and the transalpine cultures to the north. This frontier has shifted back and forth over time, as have the boundaries of language and of various dominant political units. One of the present foci of culture contact in a zone of dispute and discord is the present-day Italian region of Alto Adige or Tiroler Etschland (still called the South Tirol by unreconstructed defenders of the traditional unity of the Tyrol) and the Trentino. Unified in the first part of the 13th century under the Counts of the Tyrol, the region passed into the hands of the Habsburgs in 1363, where it remained until 1918 but for a brief interlude during the Napoleonic period. The Napoleonic occupation divided the region, yielding to Bavaria the largely German-speaking province of Bozen (Bolzano), together with the North Tyrol, while grouping the Romancespeaking portions with Italy. This division became the prototype of later efforts to divorce the Romance Tyrol from the German Tyrol, a division effected again in the provincial separation between Province Bozen and Province Trento after the entire region was yielded by Austria to Italy at the end of World War I. Except for a brief period near the end of World War II (1943 to 1945), when both provinces were grouped as Operationszone Alpenvorland with Gau Tyrol of the Greater German Reich, the region has remained politically part of Italy. It remains also, however, an area of conflict in which Italian political hegemony and cultural influence has been combatted by the German-speaking population, impelled by a desire for greater autonomy or complete separation from the Italian state.
Giants in dermatology

These are some brief observations about "giants in dermatology" whom I have known. Today, most people would immediately think of Marion Sulzberger, but since so much is being written about him at this time, I will purposely pass him by. As a matter of fact, this era in dermatology may welI become known as B .S., before Sulzberger, and A.S., after Sulzberger. I am not unmindful of people like Donald Pillsbury, Jay Schamberg, Fred Weidman, Herman Beerman, Harold Cole, Howard Fox, Fred Wise, George MacKee, Anthony Cipollaro, Francis Senear, William Pusey, Oliver Ormsby, Stephan Rothr man, Henry Michelson, Robert Kierland, R. L. Sutton, Sr., Dudley C. Smith, Earl Osborne, Rudolph Baer, Nelson Paul Anderson, Walter Shelley, Clarence Livingood, and other deserving dermatologists who may now be considered giants, or potential giants, in dermatology by many. However, I shall pick three people: Udo Wile, who trained John Stokes, who trained Paul O'Leary. My comments will be basically factual with a few side remarks. These three men, who although they were in their early thirties, demonstrated unusual, intellect and the ability to develop a patient care program, a training program for dermatology, and a modest but progressive investigative program. These three graduate areas from the outset have been outstanding training and investigative programs as demonstrated by their trainees who have influenced and enhanced dermatology in this country and throughout the world,
Classical Stereological Measures

This chapter reviews the most commonly used stereological measurements. More detailed discussions and derivations may be found in the collection of traditional texts in the field (Saltykov, 1958; DeHoff and Rhines, 1968; Underwood, 1970; Weibel, 1978; Kurzydlowski and Ralph, 1995; Howard and Reed, 1998). Each section of the chapter focuses on a manual stereological measurement. In each case, the procedure is illustrated with a microstructure and a superimposed grid.
Tender Offers, Acquisitions, and Subsequent Performance in Manufacturing Firms

The article analyzes the long-term financial performance trends of firms engaged in tender offers.The author presents a comparison of the results of firms engaged in tender offers with those obtain...
Lag-Phase Sporogenesis in Blastocladiella Emersonii: Induced Formation of Unispored Plantlets

A method was perfected for inducing single-spore formation in uninucleate lag-phase germlings of Blastocladiella emersonii. Whether one or more spores was produced was related to the age of the germlings, the number of nuclei present prior to induction, and their apparent position in the mitotic cycle. Amino acids and peptone-yeast extract reversed induction of sporogenesis more effectively than glucose. Changes in cell morphology, polysaccharide, protein, nucleic acids, and dry weight during induction in uninucleate lag-phase germlings were similar to those known to occur in multinucleate log-phase ordinary colorless plants. The viability and general morphology of zoospores produced by lagand logphase plants resembled one another closely.
The pop culture expressed in K24: Shakespeare in chaos

AbstractK24, first staged in 2005, was built around a story of an ensemble rehearsing Romeo and Juliet. Based on the American TV drama formula, K24 was performed in six episodes, each of which lasted one hour and at the end of which kept the audience in suspense. By using references to Japanese Internet culture and former Taiwanese Shakespearean adaptations, this production appropriated, mimicked, and deconstructed Shakespeare’s text as well as popular culture. The wave of popularizing and localizing Shakespeare began in Taiwan in the 1990s to celebrate the newly claimed freedom and artistic expression of cultural diversity. K24 employed this postmodernist tradition to parody Shakespeare. The Chinese pronunciation of this play title was punned to sound similar to the English word, chaos. The chaos (K24) responded to the consequence of democratization, paying tribute to the interaction of Shakespeare and Taiwan over the past two decades. It also demonstrated the ways in which Shakespeare was negotiated to ...
Predisaster integration of community emergency response teams.

Objective: The Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) program has been increasingly used within local emergency management systems since the United States’ Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) adopted and began promoting the program in 1993. The objective of this study was to explore the integration of CERT programs within local emergency management systems predisaster. Design: Qualitative, semi-structured telephone interviews were used to collect data from a purposive sample of CERT program coordinators. Setting: Telephone interviews were conducted with CERT program coordinators in FEMA Region VII (Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, and Nebraska). Subjects, participants: Twenty-five local county emergency managers participated in this study. Results: This study found that the integration of CERTs varied significantly. The extent to which most teams were integrated allowed them to be placed along an integration continuum and classified as one of three types including Least Integrated, Somewhat Integrated, and Highly Integrated. Other team characteristics seemed to covary with the team integration. A phenomenon of team Piggy Backing—where the integration of the team was no longer relevant—was also found. Conclusions: This study concludes by making a key recommendation that could benefit any CERT—add a module to the CERT training curriculum designed to integrate the individuals associated with the CERT program within their local emergency management system.
Poor but Happy? Income, Happiness, and Experienced and Expected Meaning in Life

Three studies demonstrate that income is positively associated with meaning in life (MIL) and that this relationship is moderated by positive affect (PA). Moreover, people’s forecasts about these a...
Synthesis and investigation of novel benzimidazole derivatives as antifungal agents

The rise and emergence of resistance to antifungal drugs by diverse pathogenic fungal strains have resulted in an increase in demand for new antifungal agents. Various heterocyclic scaffolds with different mechanisms of action against fungi have been investigated in the past. Herein, we report the synthesis and antifungal activities of 18 alkylated mono-, bis-, and trisbenzimidazole derivatives, their toxicities against mammalian cells, as well as their ability to induce reactive oxygen species (ROS) in yeast cells. Many of our bisbenzimidazole compounds exhibited moderate to excellent antifungal activities against all tested fungal strains, with MIC values ranging from 15.6 to 0.975μg/mL. The fungal activity profiles of our bisbenzimidazoles were found to be dependent on alkyl chain length. Our most potent compounds were found to display equal or superior antifungal activity when compared to the currently used agents amphotericin B, fluconazole, itraconazole, posaconazole, and voriconazole against many of the strains tested.
Team Organization and Monitoring Performance

Monitoring performance of individuals and two-man teams was examined. Two conditions of team organization were tested: Division of labor and redundancy. The task consisted of detecting critical signals randomly presented–spacially and sequentially–on one of four 1-in. (2.54-cm) circular milk-glass display windows. Response times were recorded in 0.1 second intervals. Team performance was found to be superior to individual performance. The average detection times for the two team conditions were not significantly different. Long detection times were observed under the division of labor team organization but not under the redundancy team organization. Consequently, redundancy was considered to be the more effective team organization for the monitoring task used in this study. The data suggest that the team members in a redundancy organization should work in the presence of each other and not in separated work compartments.
Using a multi-term project to teach object oriented programming and design

Software development is hard and teaching software development is almost as hard. Among the many difficulties that software developers have is that they must deal with long lived systems. Such systems are of necessity handed off from one development team to another, and another, and another, ad infinitum. Each new developer or development team must learn the existing system to the point where they can successfully take over its maintenance. Among the difficulties that we teachers of software developers face is the need to simulate this activity in the classroom, thus to better prepare our students for the work they will do. The paper describes an approach for doing this, and gives practical advice as to how to do it successfully, based on a course taught by the author: Object Oriented Programming and Design.