cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is French defence policy becoming more Atlanticist

AbstractFrance is one of the most prominent European military powers and a strong proponent of an independent European military capability. Yet, France’s actions since 2009 suggest that it may be prioritizing the transatlantic relationship over the development of the European Union’s Common Security and Defence Policy. Does this signal a fundamental Atlanticist shift in the way that France envisions its future defence and security, or does it simply signal a temporary re-evaluation of French Europeanist security ambitions? Our analysis attempts to answer whether there is presently an Atlanticist shift evident in French foreign policy, and whether any such shift is rooted in a desire to preserve French influence through international institutions such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This paper combines elite interviews with content analysis of French media comparing the current time with the mid-1990s to determine whether there is a shift in how defence and security issues are discussed and, if ...
A Dialogue System for Ensuring Safe Rehabilitation

Dialogue Systems DS are intelligent user interfaces, able to provide intuitive and natural interaction with their users, through a variety of modalities. We present, here, a DS whose purpose is to ensure that patients are consistently and correctly performing rehabilitative exercises, in a tele-rehabilitation scenario. More specifically, our DS operates in collaboration with a remote rehabilitation system, where users suffering from injuries, degenerative disorders and others, perform exercises at home under the remote supervision of a therapist. The DS interacts with the users and makes sure that they perform their prescribed exercises correctly and according to the specified, by the therapist, protocol. To this end, various sensors are utilized, such as Microsoft's Kinect, the Wi-Patch and others.
CD11c+ dendritic cells are required for IL-33-mediated expansion of ST2+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells in vivo (P1075)

IL-33 is an IL-1 cytokine that signals via ST2, which is expressed on T cells and myeloid cells. Although IL-33 promotes Th2 responses, its administration potently expands CD4+Foxp3+ regulatory T cells (Treg). We examined if IL-33 expands murine Treg directly or indirectly through its impact on CD11c+ DC. The ability of IL-33 to facilitate CD3/CD28-stimulated proliferation of wild-type (WT) or ST2-/- Treg was compared to IL-2. The impact of IL-33 on the capacity of DC to expand Treg was defined in vitro on bone marrow (BM)-generated DC from WT or ST2-/- mice and in vivo using CD11c-DTR BM chimeras administered diphtheria toxin (DT) to deplete CD11c+ cells during IL-33 treatment. The capacity of IL-33-expanded Treg from Foxp3-RFP reporter mice to suppress effector T cells was assessed. We found that IL-33 directly expands Treg in vitro, including an ST2+ subset absent from IL-2-treated cultures. IL-33-exposed DC generate ST2+ Treg from naive T cells, and is dependent on ST2 expressed by DC. IL-33 failed to expand Treg in vivo, especially ST2+ Treg, in the absence of CD11c+ cells. In conclusion, IL-33 promotes the expansion of suppressive Foxp3+ Treg, including an ST2+ subset in vitro and in vivo. This results from IL-33 activity directly on Treg, but more significantly, indirectly through its impact on CD11c+ cells. These findings have important implications for further characterization of ST2+ Treg and the development of novel therapeutics aimed at promoting immune tolerance.
Mentoring Women STEM Faculty

Academies, government agencies, industries, and research clearinghouses have asserted that “mentoring” is a critical strategy in the progression of organizational success. With success come obligations, responsibilities, commitments, and vision on the part of academic administrators, inter/intra departmental chairs/heads, colleagues, mentors, and proteges.
Model checking large network protocol implementations

Network protocols must work. The effects of protocol specification or implementation errors range from reduced performance, to security breaches, to bringing down entire networks. However, network protocols are difficult to test due to the exponential size of the state space they define. Ideally, a protocol implementation must be validated against all possible events (packet arrivals, packet losses, timeouts, etc.) in all possible protocol states. Conventional means of testing can explore only a minute fraction of these possible combinations. This paper focuses on how to effectively find errors in large network protocol implementations using model checking, a formal verification technique. Model checking involves a systematic exploration of the possible states of a system, and is well-suited to finding intricate errors lurking deep in exponential state spaces. Its primary limitation has been the effort needed to use it on software. The primary contribution of this paper are novel techniques that allow us to model check complex, real-world, well-tested protocol implementations with reasonable effort. We have implemented these techniques in CMC, a C model checker [30] and applied the result to the Linux TCP/IP implementation, finding four errors in the protocol implementation.
Nigrospora sphaerica products from the flowering dogwood exhibit antitumorigenic effects via the translational regulator, pS6 ribosomal protein

The utility of diverse species of endophytic fungi as a viable source for drug agents with clinical applicability for the treatment of human diseases continues to expand. In this study we examined secondary metabolites of Nigrospora sphaerica isolated from the flowering dogwood, Cornus florida L . , for their anticancer properties on lung cancer and glioblastoma. Molecular identification of N. sphaerica was determined using ITS-rDNA sequence. The expression of translational pathway proteins were examined after exposure to various crude extract concentrations (2µg/ml, 4µg/ml, 8µg/ml) using immunoblotting procedures, while tumor cell migration analysis was performed using boyden chamber assays. Crude N. sphaerica extracts exhibited antiproliferative and antimigratory effects on solid tumors as determined by cell proliferation and cell migration assays, respectively. The antitumorigenic effects of N. sphaerica were as a consequence of negatively regulating the PI3K/Akt/mTOR translational control signaling pathway, a canonical mechanistic axis that contributes to the maintenance and progression of several human cancers. To our knowledge this is the first evidence that demonstrates N. sphaerica from C. florida inhibits tumor cell migration, and thus disease recurrence a major factor in the therapeutic resistance of cancers to chemotherapeutic agents.
Evaluation of nonlethal electrical barriers for crop protection against rodent damage

Three methods are described for evaluating the efficacy of nonlethal electrical barriers in reducing damage to growing rice by Philippine rice-field rats (Rattus rattus mindanensis). First, a laboratory observation methodwas used to observe ana count individual rat behavior as the animals attempted to traverse different barrier configurations to get to food. Second, a semifield-test method was used with small groups of rats in 9-mf 2 enclosures where small areas containing food were fenced off by nonlethally charged barriers; the rat activity and feeding were monitored over 42 days. This method of evaluation allowed for social interactions that could either enhance or detract from the effectiveness of the barriers. Third, two small-scale field trials were undertaken in Philippine rice plantings to confirm the effectiveness of this damage control method. The first trial compared rat activity and damage in unprotected plots with that in plots protected by nonlethal electrical barriers. The second trial compared rat activity and damage in plots protected by lethal versus nonlethal electrical barriers. This field test method was found to be the most useful of the three, since direct measurements of crop damage reduction could be made. The prototype nonlethal barrier developed with these test methods was found to have several advantages over lethal barriers now in use, including safety, lower labor costs, and a longer battery life of the fence chargers.
Interest, Interest, Whose Interest Is at Risk? Risk Governance, Issues Management, and the Fully Functioning Society

Starting in the post-Civil War era, the United States moved steadily toward an industrialized mass production, mass consumption society. As corporations grew in size and enjoyed virtually unlimited risk self-governance, critics of such processes and practices battled to define what risk levels are safe and how fair any level of safety is. That battle continues today as a contest over each society’s willingness and ability to engage in the quality of risk governance sufficient to control risks in the public interest. This dialectic pits the self-interest of individual organizations against the aggregate risk management structures, processes, and co-created meaning of society: The rationale of society is the collective management of risk through effective, ethical control and societal efficacy. This chapter features that dialectic as it argues that risk management and communication is not only a technical and strategic challenge but also a cultural one whereby various voices of power discourse are engaged to abate and correct the locus and application of control. That dynamic includes the ability of organizations to benefit from risk management by shifting the cost of the risk onto key publics, whether other organizations, government or the general or specific publics. Starting in the 1970s in the US, the disciplines of risk management and communication, as well as issues management, matured to address the balances between the interests of risk generators, arbiters and risk bearers. This chapter uses that foundation along with the theory of deliberative democracy to reason that risk governance requires joined and collaborative discourse to wisely understand, fairly distribute, and ethically benefit from risk-reward relationships which ultimately make society more fully functioning through appropriate balances of control and efficacy. To that end, the chapter features concepts such as legitimacy, control, and efficacy as foundational to the rationale of authority necessary for effective and ethical risk governance.
Orbital Angular Momentum Uniform Circular Antenna Array Design and Optimization-Based Array Factor

In this paper, the uniform circular array (UCA) factor formulation is used in cylindrical coordinates, to express the electric field of antennas arrayed for generating orbital angular momentum (OAM). Using MATLAB, the OAM UCA factor can be optimized for the number of elements and radius of the array. Results are verified using ANSYS HFSS for an 8-element microstrip patch UCA at 73 GHz. The phase distribution, radiation peak and sidelobe levels are predicted with the code which gives a fast way to design arrays and study tradeoffs without having to run lengthy electromagnetic simulations.
Mouse Models of Yersiniosis

Yersiniosis is common foodborne gastrointestinal disease caused by the enteric pathogens Yersinia enterocolitica and Yersinia pseudotuberculosis. The mouse model of oral infection serves as a useful tool to study enteropathogenic Yersinia infection in mammals. The following protocol describes two distinct oral infection methods: the commonly used oral gavage method in which the bacterial inoculum is instilled directly into the mouse stomach using a feeding needle, and an alternative method in which mice are fed bread soaked with Yersinia culture.
Laminar Boundary-Layer Separation and Near-Wake Flow for a Smooth Blunt Body at Supersonic and Hypersonic Speeds

At supersonic and hypersonic speeds, the location of the boundary-layer separation point on the surface of a smooth, hlunt body is not fixed a priori, but is determined by the pressure rise communicated upstream through the subcritical base flow. By utilizing the integral or moment method of Reeves and Lees, the separation-interaction region is joined smoothly to the near-wake interaction region passing through a "throat" downstream of the rear stagnation point. One interesting feature of this problem is that the viscous flow over the blunt body overexpands and goes supercritical. This flow is joined to the near-wake by means of a supercritical-subcritical "jump" upstream of separation, and the jump location is determined by the matching conditions. Downstream of the jump, the viscous flow separates in response to the pressure rise, and forms a constant-pressure mixing region leading into the near-wake. As an illustrative example, the method is applied to an adiabatic circular cylinder at MO, = 6, and the results are compared with the experimental measurements of Dew ey and McCarthy. This method can be extended to nonadiabatic bodies, and to slender bodies with smooth bases, provided that the radius of curvature is large compared to the boundarylayer thickness.
Identifying and responding to trial implementation challenges during multisite clinical trials.

Abstract Introduction The National Drug Abuse Treatment Clinical Trials Network (CTN) was initiated by the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) in 2000 with the aim of improving substance use treatment and reducing the time between the discovery of effective treatments and their implementation into clinical practice. While initial trials were conducted almost exclusively in specialty addiction treatment settings, the CTN began evolving strategically in 2010 to conduct research in general medical settings, including healthcare systems, primary care settings, emergency departments, and pharmacies, to broaden impact. The advantages of a research network like the CTN is not only the collective content expertise that investigators contribute to the network, but the collective experience gained by conducting studies in the network and then applying those lessons to future studies. Objective To summarize trial implementation challenges encountered, and the process by which solutions were identified and implemented, within one of the last early-phase CTN Stage II behavioral intervention studies conducted in a specialty addiction treatment setting. Method and results We describe the implementation of the CTN-0037 STimulant Reduction Intervention using Dosed Exercise (STRIDE) trial. Issues encountered during study implementation are categorized into four major areas, described in terms useful to future study teams: 1) study team infrastructure challenges, 2) participant- and site- level challenges, 3) intervention-related challenges, and 4) longitudinal study design challenges. Potential consequences of identified problems and the solutions developed to manage these problems are discussed within the context of these four areas. We propose how to extend these implementation lessons and apply them in other healthcare settings to expand the CTN. Conclusions Effective study management allows for flexible, collaborative solutions to expected and unexpected obstacles to study success. Implementation strategies derived from the first 15 to 20 years of CTN studies are a result of working with providers and participants, and the ongoing collaboration among CTN investigators and network staff. Timely identification and response to problems during study implementation are critical to the success of a trial, regardless of its design. We believe a collaborative approach to identifying and responding to study implementation challenges will increase the likelihood of successful adoption of relevant, efficacious interventions. As the CTN continues to expand, the wealth of successful trial implementation strategies developed during the first 20 years of the CTN need to be applied and adapted to studies in broader network settings, and considered in conjunction with more formalized implementation science processes that are currently available.
Opposed flow flame spread over thermally thick solid fuels: buoyant flow suppression, stretch rate theory, and the regressive burning regime

Abstract The Michigan State University Narrow Channel Apparatus (MSU-NCA) was used to investigate opposed flow flame spread over samples of thermally thick Polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA). Three different fuel thicknesses were tested for mean airflow velocities 8-58 cm/s. The sample thicknesses were 6.6 mm, 12.1 mm and 24.5 mm, respectively. The measured flame position versus time determined the spread rate. Flame spread rates ranged between 0.02 - 0.07 mm/s depending on fuel thickness and mean opposed flow. Complete sample burnout occurred for the 6.6 mm and 12.1 mm samples at the critical flow velocity of 30 cm/s ± 5 cm/s and higher. The flame spread results appeared to be independent of flow velocities for this range (>30 cm/s): this plateau regime is identified as the regressive burning regime. The 24.5 mm thick samples never completely burned through, but they entered the regressive burning regime at 41.4 cm/s flow velocity. The nature of surface regression and its influence on the spread mechanism in this regime at high flow velocities was discussed for completely burned through samples (6.6 mm and 12.1 mm) and partially burned through samples (24.5 mm). For 12.1 mm thick samples, the flame spread results were compared with the same material (PMMA) and similar thickness (12.7 mm) results from the 1981 Fernandez-Pello et al. study. Their tests used a wind tunnel having a different length and cross-section than the MSU-NCA. The comparison was favorable when employing the stretch rate theory of flame spread incorporating the appropriate numerically computed stretch rate. Since buoyancy was an important factor in the 1981 study, when the buoyant stretch was also included, excellent agreement was obtained between the Fernandez-Pello et al. data and the current NCA data. The results demonstrated the effectiveness of the stretch rate theory for markedly different experimental configurations.
Development of a Multidimensional, Multigroup Measure of Self-Care for Inpatient Rehabilitation

Abstract Objective To develop and evaluate a measure of clinician-observed and patient-performed self-care function for use during inpatient rehabilitation. Design Retrospective analysis of self-care assessments collected by therapists using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) followed by multidimensional item response theory (MIRT). Setting Freestanding inpatient rehabilitation hospital in the Midwestern United States. Participants Inpatients (N=7719) with stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, neurologic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Interventions Not applicable Main Outcome Measures A total of 19 clinician-selected self-care measures including the FIM and patient-performed, clinician-rated measures of balance, upper extremity function, strength, changing body position, and swallowing. Clinicians completed assessments on admission and at least 1 interim assessment. Results CFA was completed for 3 patient groups defined by their highest level of balance (sitting, standing, walking). We reduced the number of items by 47.5% while maintaining acceptable internal consistency; unidimensionality within each item set required development of testlets. A recursive analysis defined a self-care measure with sensitivity (Cohen dmax−min =1.13; Cohen dlast−first.=0.91) greater than the FIM self-care items (dmax−min.=0.94; dlast−first .=0.83). The CFA models provided good to acceptable fit (root mean square error of approximations 0.03-0.06). Most patients with admission FIM self-care ratings of total assistance (88%, 297 of 338) made improvements on the MIRT self-care measure that were undetected by the FIM; the FIM detected no change for 26% of these patients (78 of 297). The remaining 74% (219 of 297) improved on the MIRT-based measure an average of 14 days earlier than was detected by the FIM. Conclusions This MIRT self-care measure possesses measurement properties that are superior to the FIM, particularly for patients near its floor or ceiling. Methods assure accommodation for multidimensionality and high levels of sensitivity. This self-care measure has the potential to improve monitoring of self-care and manage therapy effectively during inpatient rehabilitation.
Phylogenetic relationships and revised classification of the true bug infraorder Dipsocoromorpha (Insecta: Hemiptera: Heteroptera).

Currently comprising only about 430 species, Dipsocoromorpha or minute litter bugs are one of the small infraorders of Heteroptera. They are classified into five morphologically distinct families--Ceratocombidae, Dipsocoridae, Hypsipterygidae, Schizopteridae and Stemmocryptidae--but relationships among and within these families are poorly understood owing to the lack of phylogenetic studies. A phylogenetic hypothesis based on combined molecular and morphological data is important to both evaluate and revise the higher-level classification and to explore the evolutionary history of morphological features including elytriform (or beetle-like) forewings, that seem to have evolved multiple times in this group, jumping devices, and the highly modified and diverse male genitalia. We here use a dataset combining Sanger-derived (~4500 bp; 108 taxa) and Illumina-generated (~7500 bp; 24 taxa) sequence data with a morphological matrix (159 characters) and taxon sampling that comprises all currently recognized family-, subfamily- and tribal-level taxa and comprehensive genus-level sampling to investigate phylogenetic relationships within litter bugs. Our results support the monophyly of Dipsocoromorpha, Schizopteridae and Dipsocoridae, whereas Ceratocombidae and the schizopterine subfamily "Ogeriinae" are polyphyletic and paraphyletic, respectively. A new classification is proposed that recognizes six families, including Trichotonannidae, stat.n., and two subfamilies each within the two larger families Ceratocombidae and Schizopteridae. Ancestral state reconstructions outline the complex evolutionary history of many morphological characters, including 15 independent origins of elytriform forewings, and at least five shifts in the degree of genitalic asymmetry.
Electrochemical evidence for in situ microbial activity at the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO), South Dakota, USA.

The subsurface is Earth's largest reservoir of biomass. Micro-organisms are the dominant lifeforms in this habitat, but the nature of their in situ activities remains largely unresolved. At the Deep Mine Microbial Observatory (DeMMO) located in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota (USA), we performed in situ electrochemical incubations designed to assess the potential for deep groundwater microbial communities to utilize extracellular electron transfer to support microbial respiration. DeMMO 4 was chosen for its stable geochemistry and microbial community. Graphite and indium tin oxide electrodes poised at -200 mV versus SHE were incubated along with open circuit controls and various minerals in a parallel flow reactor that split access to fluids across different treatments. From the patterns of net current over time (fluctuating between anodic and cathodic currents over the course of a few days to weeks) and the catalytic features measured using periodic cyclic voltammetry, evidence of both oxidative and reductive microbe-electrode interactions was observed. The predominant catalytic activity ranged from -210 to -120 mV. The observed temporal variability in electrochemical activity was unexpected given the documented stability in major geochemical parameters. This suggests that the accessed fluids are more heterogeneous in electrochemically active microbial populations than previously predicted from the stable community composition. As previously reported, the fracture fluid and surface-attached microbial communities at SURF differed significantly. However, only minimal differences in community composition were observed between poised potential electrodes, open circuit electrodes, and mineral incubations. These data support that in this environment the ability to attach to surfaces is a stronger driver of microbial community structure than the type or reactivity of the surface. We demonstrate that insight into specific activities can be gained from electrochemical methods, specifically chronoamperometry coupled with routine cyclic voltammetry, which provide a sensitive approach to evaluate microbial activities in situ.
Motor cortical inactivation reduces the gain of kinematic primitives in mice performing a hold-still center-out reach task

Motor sequences are constructed from primitives, hypothesized building blocks of movement, but mechanisms of primitive generation remain unclear. Using automated homecage training and a novel forelimb sensor, we trained freely-moving mice to initiate forelimb sequences with clearly resolved submillimeter-scale micromovements followed by millimeter-scale reaches to learned spatial targets. Hundreds of thousands of trajectories were decomposed into millions of kinematic primitives, while closed-loop photoinhibition was used to test roles of motor cortical areas. Inactivation of contralateral motor cortex reduced primitive peak speed but, surprisingly, did not substantially affect primitive direction, initiation, termination, or complexity, resulting in isomorphic, spatially contracted trajectories that undershot targets. Our findings demonstrate separable loss of a single kinematic parameter, speed, and identify conditions where loss of cortical drive reduces the gain of motor primitives but does not affect their generation, timing or direction. The combination of high precision forelimb sensing with automated training and neural manipulation provides a system for studying how motor sequences are constructed from elemental building blocks.
Allergic Conjunctivitis: An Update

Conjunctivitis is a frequent disease of the eye with the typical clinical sign being the "red eye" and comprises a very heterogeneous group with different causes. In general, infectious conjunctivitis must be strictly differentiated from non-infectious conjunctivitis. Allergic conjunctivitis is a subtype of non-infectious conjunctivitis and imposes as an acute, intermittent or chronic, inflammation which is most frequently caused by airborne allergens. The leading clinical sign is chemosis, and patients typically complain about itching. Allergic conjunctivitis is often a reaction to topical and systemic drugs or cosmetics as well as animal hairs from cats and/or dogs. Allergic conjunctivitis is sub-classified into the following forms: seasonal allergic conjunctivitis (also termed: hay fever conjunctivitis), atopic conjunctivitis, vernal conjunctivitis, upper limbal (kerato-) conjunctivitis, and conjunctivitis associated with various oculomucocutaneous syndromes. In each form, there are distinctive features in: clinical appearance, generating agent(s), as well as treatment as listed here.
Differences in COVID-19 screening, diagnosis, and hospitalization rates among US pregnant women with and without a substance use disorder.

Objective Pregnant women are at increased risk for severe morbidity and mortality due to respiratory infections like SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) during pregnancy1. Those with substance use disorders (SUD) may be especially vulnerable due to high rates of smoked tobacco, cannabis and methamphetamine use which adversely affect pulmonary function.2 However, little is known about differential effects of COVID-19 on pregnant women with and without SUD. Study Design This was a retrospective cohort study of commercially insured pregnant women ages 15-44 using national administrative healthcare data from Optum’s deidentified Clinformatics® Data Mart Database version 8.1 (2007-2020). Women with a delivery hospitalization between January 1, 2020-August 19, 2020 continuously enrolled in insurance for ≥8 weeks during pregnancy and 6 weeks postpartum were included. SUD was defined using ICD-10 diagnoses for ≥ 1 SUD during pregnancy including alcohol, amphetamine, cannabis, cocaine, opioid or other substance use disorder.3 COVID-19 screening and diagnosis were defined using ICD-10 coding and reporting guidelines published by the CDC.4, 5 We used T-tests, Fisher’s exact tests, and quantile regression (percentiles) to examine statistical differences. This study was exempt by the University of Pittsburgh IRB because deidentified healthcare data were used. Results Among 65,009 pregnancies, 2,616 (4.0%) had ≥1 SUD diagnosis. Almost half of the pregnant women in the cohort were non-Hispanic White (48%) and most lived in the South (41%) or the Midwest (28%) region of the United States (Table). Pregnant women with an SUD diagnosis were significantly more likely to be younger (30±6 vs 32±5; p Conclusion In this national cohort, pregnant women with a SUD had a higher COVID-19 diagnosis rate than those without a SUD, despite lower screening rates. Among those with a COVID-19 diagnosis, pregnant women with a SUD had a significantly higher rate of COVID-19 related hospitalizations and longer median length of stay than those without a SUD. Efforts to improve COVID-19 screening rates and decrease morbidity associated with COVID-19 diagnosis among pregnant women with SUDs may be warranted.
Dynamic hypertext synthesis for information retrieval

Hypertext navigation alone is insufficient for efficient Information Retrieval (IR). Previous attempts to combine IR techniques with hypertext have been confined to the pre-authored structure of a document. In this paper we extend computer-science methods to synthesize a tailor-made hypertext document in response to each user's query. The synthesis technique can also be used to automatically create a pre-authored hypertext document according to an author's specifications. >
Later Life Legal Planning

In response to client needs, elder law has expanded and is gradually redefining itself into “later life planning.” While some still identify elder law with helping clients pay for long-term care, specifically in the United States by qualifying for Medicaid, the reality is that the practice of elder law is a rich mosaic of legal planning that is continually evolving to better meet clients’ legal, financial and social needs and concerns. While ten years ago, Medicaid planning to pay for long-term care was the focus of the practice of many, if not most, American elder law attorneys, that is no longer the case. Certainly Medicaid planning remains a core element in any elder law practice, but it is only one of many aspects of the practice that includes guardianship and mental capacity issues, long-term care planning, basic estate planning, drafting trusts, advising trustees, acting as trustees, creating special needs trusts, and advising clients as to their rights vis-a-vis assisted living facilities, nursing homes, and continuing care retirement communities. Elder law is even expanding into financial planning and “life care” planning that assist the client to address their financial and care needs of what for many is likely to be a very long life. Though elder law attorneys have clients of all ages, because of the vicissitudes of aging, the very old have a particular need for legal assistance. The reality is that growing old, particularly growing very old, presents a host of legal problems. Consequently, for elder law attorneys, the very old, those age 80 or older, are becoming the foci of their practice.
Epilogue: Different Perspectives on Individual-Based Generalizations in Psychology

The role of the individual subject in scientific psychology has always been a controversial issue in psychology. Throughout the aim of the present volume was to analyze some of the theoretical and methodological sides of that issue, and to bring together psychologists from different fields who have attempted to work out research techniques that are based on individual subjects. The contributors to this book emphasized different aspects of the role of the individual subject, and suggested various ways of constructing basic knowledge in our discipline on the basis of individual subjects’ data. These ways ranged from an emphasis on the integration of idiographic and nomothetic research approaches (Walsch-burger, Grossmann) to the separation of the two approaches, depending on whether the given field is aimed at explanation of the generalized (individual) system, or a population of such systems (chapters by Cairns, Valsiner, Thorngate). Furthermore, the contributors expressed widely different opinions on the role of statistical methodologies in the study of individual subjects—ranging from the innovative use of traditional methods (Walschburger, Thoman, and Rogoff & Gauvain) to the need for devising novel methodology (Dywan & Segalowitz and Mace & Kratochwill), and further to the need for preserving the integrity of the psychological phenomena, whatever methods are being used (Cairns, Ginsburg, Valsiner). Going beyond ordinary single-case statistical methodology, Thorn-gate and Carroll outlined a strategy for comparison of hypotheses that can be applied to individual subjects. Grossmann and Franck outlined the historical side of the issue of inference from individual subjects. The issue that is of concern to the contributors to the present volume has been in the center of attention of psychologists and philosophers in the past. It has been discussed; psychologists have fought over it to prove their claim for the scientific nature of their points of view (e.g., Allport, 1940, 1946; Holt, 1962; Skaggs, 1945, and others, discussed in Chapters 1 and 2 in this volume)—and after a while the whole issue was abandoned as a topic, until another generation of psychologists picked it up again. Such episodic interest in the role of the individual subject in psychology illustrates how psychologists’ social environment guides scientists in their efforts to explain psychological phenomena (Buss, 1978; Flanagan, 1981; Gergen, 1973, 1982). Unfortunately, the issue itself has remained unsolved, and much dispute around it has facilitated selective forgetting of what had been actually said by our predecessors (see Grossmann’s chapter for details).
Exploratory evaluation of ceramics for automobile thermal reactors

An exploratory evaluation of ceramics for automobile thermal reactors was conducted. Potential ceramic materials were evaluated in several reactor designs using both engine dynamometer and vehicle road tests. Silicon carbide contained in a corrugated metal support structure exhibited the best performance lasting over 800 hours in engine dynamometer tests and over 15,000 miles (24,200 km) of vehicle road tests. Reactors containing glass-ceramic components did not perform as well as silicon carbide. But the glass-ceramics still offer good potential for reactor use. The results of this study are considered to be a reasonable demonstration of the potential use of ceramics in thermal reactors.
Teacher Rights in a Changing Society

ing rapidly. Most new "rights" have appeared in the last twenty years, generally reaching beyond existing statute law as promulgated by state and federal legislation. Generally, in this same period, courts have reached beyond their power to interpret statute law, and quite on their own they have made new and significant law. They have activated the classic statement of Oliver Wendall Holmes: "The law is what the courts say it is." The central thrust of these new legal "rights" remains in the benchmark case of Griswold vs. Connecticut, and its language is that of Justice Douglas and his enunciation of a "penumbra of rights" based on the Fourteenth Amendment.
Reconstitution of the Third Site of Oxidative Phosphorylation

Abstract A complex was reconstituted with hydrophobic proteins from bovine heart mitochondrial membranes, cytochrome c, cytochrome oxidase, phospholipids, and coupling factors. These vesicular structures catalyzed oxidative phosphorylation with reduced N-methylphenazinium methyl sulfate as substrate.
Heterofermentative Carbohydrate Metabolism of Lactose-Impaired Mutants of Streptococcus lactis

Two mutants of Streptococcus lactis ATCC 11454 have been isolated which possess an impaired lactose-fermenting capacity; galactose utilization is also affected, but to a lesser extent. Although the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas pathway is the major, if not the sole, pathway of carbohydrate metabolism in the three strains, the fermentation end products of the mutants are dramatically different from the typical homolactic pattern of the wild type. Under conditions of low oxygen tension and growth-limiting lactose concentrations, mutant strain T-1 produces largely formic acid, acetic acid (2:1), and ethanol rather than lactic acid. Aerated cultures produce acetic acid, CO(2) (1:1), acetyl-methylcarbinol, and diacetyl. When the mutants use galactose as an energy source, lactic acid is the major end product, but significant heterofermentative activity is observed. The aberrations responsible for the mutant phenotypes reside in the proteins which catalyze the transport and hydrolysis of galactosides. It is hypothesized that the impaired transport system of the mutants reduces the intracellular pool of glycolytic intermediates below that of the wild type. Since fructose-1, 6-diphosphate is an activator of lactic dehydrogenase in S. lactis, lactic acid production is reduced, and pathways leading to the formation of other products are expressed.
The future of research on electroreception and electrocommunication

Beyond continuation of currently active areas, some less studied ones are selected for predictions of marked advance. (1) Most discoveries will be in cellular components and molecular mechanisms for different classes of receptor or central pathways. (2) More major taxa, possibly birds, reptiles or invertebrates, will be found to have electroreceptive species representing independent evolutionary 'inventions'. (3) Electric organs with weak and episodic electric discharges will be found in new taxa; first, among siluriforms. (4) New examples are to be expected, such as lampreys, where synchronized muscle action potentials sum to voltages in the range of weakly electric fish. Some of these will look like intermediates in the evolution of electric organs. (5) Ethological significance will be found for a variety of known physiological features; e.g. uranoscopids, skates and weakly electric catfish with episodic electric discharges; electroreceptive ability of animals such as lampreys, chimaeras, lungfish, sturgeons, paddlefish and salamanders with Lorenzinian-type ampullae; gymnotiform and mormyrid detection of the capacitative component of impedance. (6) The organization of some higher functions in the cerebellum and forebrain will gradually come to light.
Simultaneity bias in mortgage lending: A test of simultaneous equations models on bank-specific data

Abstract This study uses simultaneous equations models and single-equation models to test for simultaneity bias in mortgage refinance data compiled by a regional bank. The purpose of the study is to assess the claim that single-equation models of the lending decision produce biased and inconsistent parameter estimates of endogenous mortgage terms. Bank-specific data are analyzed to avoid bias resulting from uncontrolled policy, training, or underwriting differences across banks. Importantly, the data contain all variables the regional bank identified as important factors in explaining its loan disposition results. After controlling for applicants' debt, income, credit history, and requested loan term, I find that the race coefficient in single-equation models is biased upward, while the loan-to-value ratio coefficient is biased downward, although both biases are insignificant. Overall, the results suggest that simultaneous equations models are preferable to single-equation models in tests for discrimination, and can be used to determine the extent of race coefficient and loan-to-value ratio coefficient bias in single-equation models.
Structures of Tris(donor)‐Tris(acceptor)‐Substituted Benzenes, 1. Steric, Polar and Hydrogen‐Bonding Effects in Triaminotrinitrobenzenes

The X-ray analyses of three 1,3,5-tris(alkylamino)-2,4,6-trinitrobenzenes (alkyl = iPr, neopentyl, tBu; 1d – f) show their benzene rings to be highly distorted towards boat (1d iPrNH2) and twist-boat (1e,f) forms. The patterns found for intramolecular donor-acceptor interaction and hydrogen bonding depend on the conformation of the benzene core: boat structures have the “stern” amino group strongly donating to the “bow” nitro group in the para position and two stronger hydrogen bonds between the substituents on the “side” of the boat, whereas twist-boat structures have two amino groups strongly interacting with the nitro group in their common ortho position to which there are also two strong hydrogen bonds. 1d – f undergo conformational exchange on the 13C-NMR time scale at room temperature. Cooling to 220 K allows detection of all carbon signals and shows C1 symmetry to be present. AM1 calculations reproduce the distortions of 1d – f. Computations on several 2,4,6-tridonor-substituted 1,3,5-trinitrobenzenes indicate that the pronounced deviations from planarity in 1a – f originate largely from electronic effects.
A sparse multiresolution technique for fast capacitance computation

A technique for rapidly computing the capacitances of two-dimensional conducting structures is presented in this article. The method relies on a sparse multiresolution representation of the interactions between subsections of the conductors. This decomposition is used to substantially reduce the computational complexity of matrix-vector products required in the iterative solution of the method-of-movements system. It is shown that this technique leads to large CPU-time savings over those required by a standard iterative solver, and preserves high accuracy. Moreover, in contrast to the popular fast-multipole technique, the proposed method is not Green's-function specific; it can be used in conjunction with different static Green's functions representing varied configurations, including perfect electric conductors and stratified dielectric layers. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Effectiveness of hands-on instruction of electronic resources

Abstract This research focuses on the effectiveness of using hands-on instruction in a multiple-workstation instruction laboratory. Four sections of second semester Freshman English classes, creating a sample size of 81 students, were divided according to instruction method and were tested on retention after the session. Students receiving guided hands-on instruction retained more information than those experiencing a lecture/demonstration method. There were no differences related to gender. The results of this study reinforce current views on the effectiveness of active learning and lend support for the continued development of multiple-workstation classrooms.
10Be/7Be tracer of atmospheric transport and stratosphere‐troposphere exchange

[1] The 10Be/7Be ratio is a sensitive tracer of atmospheric transport and stratosphere-troposphere exchange (STE). Data from five NASA aircraft field missions (PEM: West A and B, Tropics A; SONEX; and SUCCESS) have been assembled to produce the largest data set of 10Be, 7Be, and their ratio collected to date (>300 samples). Ratios near 0.60 are indicative of tropospheric air with little stratospheric influence, while higher ratios are found in stratospheric air. Samples from the lower stratosphere were all collected within 2.5 km of the tropopause and had ratios >1.27. Of these lower stratosphere samples only 16% had ratios in excess of 3.0, suggesting that higher ratio air resides away from the tropopause. Seasonality observed in the 10Be/7Be ratios results from the downwelling of air with elevated ratios from higher in the stratosphere in the spring and summer (midlatitudes) and from the decay of 7Be during descent in the winter polar vortex (high latitudes). Our results illustrate the complexity of STE and some of the mechanisms through which it occurs, including tropopause folding, mixing associated with subtropical jets, and the effect of synoptic systems such as hurricanes and northeasters. The 10Be/7Be ratio provides important information beyond that which can be derived from studies that rely on chemical mixing ratios alone.
1H, 13C, and 15N NMR assignments of the Pyrococcus abyssi DNA polymerase II intein

Protein splicing is a precise post-translational process mediated by inteins. Inteins are intervening proteins that cleave themselves from a precursor protein while joining the flanking sequences. Here we report the 15N, 13C, and 1H chemical shift assignments of the intein from DNA polymerase II of Pyrococcus abyssi (Pab PolII intein), which has been recombinantly overexpressed and isotopically labeled. The NMR assignments of Pab PolII intein are essential for solution structure determination and protein dynamics study.
Optical methods for probing mitochondrial function in brain slices.

Brain slice preparations have become useful tools for studying multiple facets of normal brain function and for investigations of brain pathophysiology. Recently, a variety of neurological disorders have been linked to dysfunction of brain mitochondria. In this report we discuss optical methods for probing mitochondrial function in brain slices. Absorption spectrophotometric and spectrofluorometric techniques are described for measuring changes in the redox activity of mitochondrial cytochromes and the primary respiratory chain substrate nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH), respectively. A spectrofluorometric method is described also for measuring changes in mitochondrial membrane potential using the potential-sensitive fluorescent indicator JC-1. These methods used together have proven to be useful for studying dysfunction of mitochondria following in vitro ischemia in hippocampal slices, and might also be valuable for investigations of mitochondrial involvement in other neurological disorders.
Separation of lignocellulosic hydrolyzate components using ceramic microfilters.

Abstract Among the biorefinery processes based on wood resources that are under current development, hemicellulose extraction using aqueous media is one of the prominent ones. The hemicelluloses in wood extracts need to be separated from inhibitory compounds. We examined the separation of sugar maple (Acer saccharum) wood extracts by ceramic microfilters of two different pore sizes: 0.2 μm and 0.01 μm as a function of membrane fouling. This was the first separation step intended to prepare the permeate for subsequent nanofiltration where components will be separated. Cross-flow permeation fluxes were determined for different trans-membrane pressures and cross-flow velocities. Large declines in the permeate fluxes were observed, indicating extensive fouling. The kinetics of the flux decay appears to indicate pore blocking and the development of external fouling layers as the cause. Colloidal and particulate materials were separated from the extracts with turbidity reductions of 94 to close to 100% in most ...