cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Value‐Added Career Services: Creating College/University‐Wide Systems

This chapter addresses a range of core programs that career centers can lead in contributing to an institution-wide seamless system of career services.
The solvent extraction of Am(VI) using centrifugal contactors

An engineering-scale centrifugal contactor test bed was built at Idaho National Laboratory to perform solvent extraction testing for the partitioning of hexavalent americium. The raffinate simulant feed was spiked with 243Am and 139Ce and treated with sodium bismuthate to oxidize americium to Am(VI), filtered and contacted with 1 M DAAP/dodecane using centrifugal contactors. Extraction efficiency comparable to batch contacts was obtained, indicating for the first time that Am(VI) can be maintained under process conditions. Contrary to expectations, stripping was not as effective as expected. However, this result may actually be advantageous to process design, since a scrub step, previously thought to be impossible due to rapid Am(VI) reduction, may now be considered for future flowsheet tests.
Oxygen Reduction Reaction Electrocatalytic Activity of SAD-Pt/GLAD-Cr Nanorods

Nanorod arrays of chromium (Cr) were grown on glassy carbon (GC) electrodes by a dc magnetron sputtering glancing angle deposition (GLAD) technique. The Cr nanorods were used as low-cost, high surface area, metallic supports for a conformal layer of Pt thin film catalyst, as a potential low-loading electrocatalyst for the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) in polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells. A dc magnetron sputtering small angle deposition (SAD) technique was utilized for a conformal coating of Pt on Cr nanorods. The ORR activity of SAD-Pt/GLAD-Cr electrodes was investigated using cyclic voltammetry (CV) and rotating-disk electrode (RDE) techniques in a 0.1 M HClO4 solution at room temperature. A reference sample consisting of GLAD Cr nanorods coated with a Pt thin film deposited at normal incidence (θ = 0o) was prepared and compared with the SAD-Pt/GLAD-Cr nanorods. Compared to GLAD Cr nanorods coated with Pt thin film at θ = 0o, the SAD-Pt/GLAD-Cr nanorod electrode exhibited higher ECSA and area-specific and mass-specific ORR activity. These results indicate that the growth of catalyst layer on the base-metal nanorods by the SAD technique provides a more conformal and possibly a nanostructured coating, significantly enhancing the catalyst utilization.
Serotonin function in schizophrenia: Effects of meta- chlorophenylpiperazine in schizophrenia patients and healthy subjects

This study examined serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5HT) receptor responsivity in 22 chronic schizophrenic patients and 17 healthy control subjects. The 5HT agonist meta-chlorophenylpiperazine (MCPP) was used as a probe of serotonergic function. MCPP (0.35 mg/kg) or placebo was administered orally after a 3-week drug-free period in a randomized double-blind design. Hormonal (adrenocorticotropic hormone and prolactin), temperature, and behavioral responses and MCPP blood levels were assessed for 210 minutes after administration of the capsules. The schizophrenic patients had blunted temperature responses compared with those of the healthy control subjects: MCPP raised body temperature in the control subjects, but not in the patients. Behavioral responses also differed in the two groups: MCPP increased the total Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS) score in the control subjects and tended to decrease it in the patients. In patients, MCPP decreased the BPRS psychosis subscore. Hormonal responses did not differ significantly in the two groups. These findings suggest that further exploration of 5HT function in schizophrenia is warranted.
Word valence, attention, and hemispheric activity in depressed, remitted, and nondepressed controls.

Clinically depressed (n = 20), previously depressed (n = 28), and nondepressed control (n = 27) individuals, classified according to a structured clinical diagnostic interview, participated in a study employing a modified prior entry (Titchener, 1908) procedure to investigate interrelationships among word (adjective) valence, visual attention, and cerebral hemispheric activity. Overall, positive words were selected more quickly when presented to the right, versus left, visual field (RVF, LVF); the opposite pattern was observed for negative words. While there was no significant group × Valence × Visual Field interaction, planned comparisons revealed that the aforementioned Valence × Visual Field interaction was significant only for the nondepressed control group. Although the remitted group exhibited an overall pattern similar to the control group, the depressed group evinced a pattern in the opposite direction for positive words (i.e., quicker in the LVF than the RVF).
Trust and the accumulation of physical and human capital

Abstract Recent empirical work has shown that trust plays an important role in economic development. In this paper, we delve deeper into the mechanism behind that relationship. Specifically, we investigate the effect of trust on human and physical capital while controlling for the fact that the two types of capital are simultaneously determined. In a sample of 50 countries from 1976 to 2005, we show that trust has a positive and significant effect on human capital and a non-linear effect on physical capital. Increasing trust in a low-trust country has a greater impact on the accumulation of physical capital than an identical increase in trust in a high-trust country. We go on to investigate the interaction between institutions and trust and find that institutional reform is less effective at promoting investment in countries with high levels of trust.
Statistical multistep direct reaction.

A difficulty in the derivation of the cross section for statistical multistep direct reactions is resolved.
Experience with proactive interference diminishes its effects: mechanisms of change.

In three experiments, we examined the mechanisms by which prior experience with proactive interference (PI) diminished its effects. Cued recall tasks conforming to an A–B, A–D paradigm were used to induce PI effects. Experiment 1 showed that reduced PI was not due to a reduction in attention to the source of PI. Experiment 2 revealed that participants’ awareness of PI effects on memory performance increased with experience, resulting in a shift in encoding processes. Experiment 3 demonstrated that changes in encoding provided additional support for recollection that further enhanced participants’ ability to constrain their retrieval processing to the appropriate source of information at the time of test. These results can be interpreted as showing that experience with PI enhances awareness of its effects and allows individuals to adjust their learning and retrieval strategies to compensate for such effects.
An Algorithm to Determine the Reliability of a Complex System

The method most often suggested for determining the reliability of a system is to construct a reliability network, enumerate from the network all mutually exclusive working states of the system, calculate the probability of occurrence of each working state, and sum these probabilities. For a complex system this is not a practical method for there is a very large number of working states. Esary and Proschan suggest a lower bound approximation to reliability that requires the enumeration of a much smaller set of system states. These states are called minimal cuts. An algorithm is presented to determine the set of minimal cuts and thus calculate a lower bound to system reliability. The algorithm is intended for digital-computer implementation and computational times are provided.
Processing and high temperature properties of refractory alloy single crystals

Abstract Creep behavior of molybdenum-based alloy single crystals at an elevated temperature (∼0.6Tm) was examined in this study. Grain boundary sliding is absent in solution strengthened single crystalline alloys, resulting in significantly reduced creep rates compared to their polycrystalline counterparts. Hafnium (Hf) exhibits better strengthening effects in molybdenum (Mo) relative to niobium (Nb), as a result of the larger solute–solvent atomic size misfit in Mo–Hf compared to than in Mo–Nb. Dislocation climb and viscous drag are two competing processes during creep. The dominant creep mechanism depends on solute type, concentration and temperature. Results from this study confirm that the creep behavior in solution strengthened Mo single crystals corresponds to the class II alloys, as defined by Sherby and Burke. In addition, the creep response of these single crystals was found to be governed by the average nearest distance between the strengthening solute atoms in the lattice. Creep data show that the activation energy for creep contains two contributions: the normal diffusion energy and an additional solute-related energy which is proportional to the product (ne*c1/3) where n is the stress exponent, e* is the atomic misfit factor and c is the atomic solute concentration. Results also indicate that for Mo–Nb, there is a transition from class II to class I behavior at an Nb concentration of about three atomic percent.
Comparison of (triphenylphosphine)ruthenium complexes containing the 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine (trpy) and 4,4′,4′′-tri- t -butyl-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine (trpy * ) ligands

Abstract A comparison of (triphenylphosphine)ruthenium(II) complexes containing the 2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine (trpy) and 4,4′,4′′-tri-t-butyl-2,2′:6′,2′′-terpyridine (trpy*) ligands was conducted. Electronic spectra and electrochemical data readily differentiated the trans- and cis-[RuCl2(trpy or trpy*)(PPh3)] complexes. 1H, 13C and 31P NMR assignments were made for each of the isomers as well as the trans-[RuCl(trpy*)(PPh3)2](PF6) complex. Notably, the 31P chemical shift differences between the trans- and cis-[RuCl2(trpy*)(PPh3)] complexes were not dramatic and the 1H NMR spectra were found to be the best way for determining the position of the triphenylphosphine ligand relative to the terpyridyl ligand. X-ray crystal structure analyses confirmed the structures of the cis-[RuCl2(trpy*)(PPh3)] and trans-[RuCl(trpy*)(PPh3)2]PF6 complexes. Similar π-stacking interactions occurred between the phenyl rings and the trpy* ligand in both complexes.
Trichlorosilane Chemisorption on Surface-Modified Poly(tetrafluoroethylene)

Modification of poly(tetrafluoroethylene) (PTFE) by trichlorosilane chemisorption to hydroxyl-modified (PTFE-OH) and silicate-modified (PTFE/SiO 2 ) PTFE is reported. PTFE/SiO 2 was prepared by exposure of PTFE-OH to SiCl 4 vapor. XPS and contact angle analyses were consistent with the chemical composition of PTFE-OH and PTFE/SiO 2 . Chemisorption of trichlorosilanes from solution produced layers on PTFE-OH and PTFE/SiO 2 . The FTIR absorption intensity for these layers was consistent with monolayer formation. Monolayers with Br, CF3, CH3, CD3, and CH=CH 2 terminal groups were prepared. Relative to deuterated hexadecyltrichlorosilane (DHTS) monolayers on PTFE-OH, higher contact angles were observed for DHTS monolayers on PTFE/SiO 2 under a greater variety of deposition conditions. Reflectance FTIR indicated that the monolayers formed on PTFE-OH and PTFE/SiO 2 exhibited crystalline-like order consistent with a well-ordered monolayer. Thermal annealing of the DHTS monolayers for several days at 125 °C did not produce any significant changes in water contact angles.
Drought-induced accumulation of nitrate in grain sorghum

(...) During the summer drought of 1988, NO 3 concentrations in Funks G-522 DR grain sorghum receiving 0 to 150 lb N/acre as NH 4 NO 3 were measured over five harvests (cutting height 6-in. above the soil surface), which simulated salvage of a grain crop for animal feed. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of N fertilization rate on NO 3 and dry matter accumulations as well as total N uptake of grain sorghum. Sorghum was seeded 26 April on a Bowie fine sandy loam soil (fine-loamy, siliceous, thermic Plinthic Paleudults). (...)
The systematic position of the Miocene grebe Thiornis sociata Navás

Abstract Evidence is presented to show that dimensions and proportions which may vary with size are not valid characters for determining the generic placement of grebe species; that there is no valid reason for placing Thiornis sociata in the genus Podiceps; that if this species belongs in any Recent genus it is best placed in Tachybaptus, and that it is best retained in Thiornis pending further study.
Structural comparison of deoxyribonucleic acid-dependent ribonucleic acid polymerases I and II from the slime mold Physarum polycephalum.

Abstract RNA Polymerases I and II have been purified to homogeneity from the slime mold Physarum polycephalum . When subjected to ultracentrifugation in separate sucrose gradients, or together, the two enzymes migrate with S values estimated at 14.5 S. Polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis under denaturing conditions reveals that the two enzymes have distinct but similar subunit structures. The probable subunit structure of polymerase II is as follows: 175,000 1 ; 140,000 1 ; 24,000 2 ; 17,000 1 .
Beyond the Screen: Game-Based Learning as Nexus of Identification

Drawing on data from a 3-year ethnographic research study of CivWorld, a game-based learning community for youth, this article argues for an ecological view of identity and learning with games rather than a model focused predominantly on in-game roles. This analysis investigates an 8-year-old participant in the community named Salim as he moves toward game-play mastery over a 6-month period. It employs ethnographic discourse analysis and positioning analysis to examine the Salim’s social action as a “nexus of identification” in which mediated social practices and larger cultural-historical forms enter into dialogue at varying time scales.
Determinants of Cattle Feeding Cost-of-Gain Variability

Volatility and seasonality of feed grain prices and cattle performance contribute to variability of steer feeding cost-of-gain. This study was conducted to determine the relative impacts of feed grain prices and cattle performance on cattle feeding cost-of-gain. Closeout data on 7292 pens of steers placed on feed from January 1980 through May 1991 in two western Kansas feedyards were investigated. Three different placement weight categories were studied on a pen basis. Regression analysis was used to determine the relative impact of corn (Zea mays L.) price, feed conversion, and average daily gain on cost-of-gain variability. Coefficients of separate determination were calculated to allocate the total explained cost-of-gain variability attributable to each of the three components [...]
An improved single-column model representation of ocean mixing associated with summertime leads: Results from a SHEBA case study

[1] Ice/ocean mixed layer model simulations are run for a SHEBA field project case study from 5 July–8 August 1998. Observations indicate that during this time, calm winds occurred and coincided with a rapid warming and freshening of the surface of a lead near the SHEBA camp. A subsequent storm mixed down this warm, fresh water. Single-column model simulations of this event are performed to isolate properties of the ocean system which must be accounted for to improve the representation of mixing in summertime leads. A traditional method of simulating the ice/ocean system in which a single ocean mixed layer calculation is forced with fluxes aggregated over the ice and open water portions of the domain is compared with simulations in which separate mixed layer calculations are done for the lead and under-ice ocean systems. It is found that not only are multiple ocean mixed layer calculations needed to improve the simulations but the surface of the lead must be realistically embedded within the ice cover. When stable conditions occur, the lead surface remains isolated from the under-ice system. Using this method considerably improves simulated lead vertical temperature and salinity profiles, allowing the lead surface to freshen to 20 ppt and reach temperatures greater than 1.4°C above freezing. This modifies the ice mass budgets, increasing lateral melt rates, open water formation, and the amount of absorbed solar radiation. This has implications for the accurate simulation of climate change and variability due to its effects on the albedo feedback mechanism.
Local Microbiologies of Tuberculosis: Insights from the Republic of Georgia

The perspective of local microbiologies brings attributes of microbes squarely into the anthropological purview, underscoring dialectics of biology and culture in which infectious diseases--and knowledge and practices about them--are produced. In this article I provide an anthropological perspective of expert discourses about tuberculosis at a tuberculosis reference laboratory in Tbilisi, Georgia. A latent-active dichotomy prevails in contemporary global health responses to tuberculosis. Based on ethnographic research about everyday laboratory-based diagnostic work, I question the stability of this dichotomy and unsettle biological and cultural reductionism. In so doing, I highlight the theoretical and methodological contributions that anthropological engagements with science, technology, and medicine bring to studies of global health.
From Brain to Mind Event-Related Potential Evidence for Sentence Comprehension Processes

An explicit goal of cognitive neuroscience is to bridge the gap between brain and mind. However, arguments in the philosophy of psychology for a level of cognitive theory independent of the neuronal implementation raise questions about the relevance of the details of nervous system activity to theories of cognitive processing. After sketching these concerns, an interdisciplinary approach to cognitive theories of language is outlined, and some recent results from event-related brain potential studies of human sentence comprehension are reviewed. These empirical studies show how neurophysiological evidence can be used to test moderately fine-grained hypotheses about the mental representations and algorithms involved in human sentence comprehension. These results about what and how the brain is computing demonstrate an evidential relation between neurophysiological data and theories of higher cognitive function. This evidential relation illustrates one way to bridge the gap between brain and mind, even in th...
Transition costs: Estimation, sensitivities, and recovery

Abstract The pro-competitive, deregulatory forces sweeping the electricity industry could cost electric-utility shareholders $100–200 billion in transition costs. These potential losses reflect the difference between regulated prices for electricity generation and the prices that might occur in a fully competitive power market. This paper discusses alternative ways to calculate transition costs, focusing on differences between aggregate (top-down) vs. disaggregate (bottom-up) methods to calculate these losses. The paper also discusses the relative importance of different factors that determine transition-cost amounts and the strategies that utilities and their regulators can use to address these potential losses.
Restrictions on the zeros of a polynomial as a consequence of conditions on the coefficients of even powers and odd powers of the variable

The classical Enestrom-Kakeya Theorem states that if p(z)=Σv=0navzv is a polynomial satisfying 0 ≤ a0 ≤ a1 ≤ ... ≤ an, then all of the zeros of p(z) lie in the region |z| ≤ 1 in the complex plane. Many generalizations of the Enestrom-Kakeya theorem exist which put various conditions on the coefficients of the polynomial (such as monotonicity of the moduli of the coefficients). We will introduce several results which put conditions on the coefficients of even powers of z and on the coefficients of odd powers of z. As a consequence, our results will be applicable to some polynomials to which these related results are not applicable.
Optimal Consumption Policies for Power-Constrained Flexible Loads Under Dynamic Pricing

This paper analyzes the response of an individual consumer with a flexible demand for electricity to exogenous and stochastic electricity prices. The contributions of this paper are twofold. First, we propose a comprehensive model for which the optimal policy can be explicitly computed. The proposed consumer model features a time varying bound on power consumption, the presence of a nondeferrable load profile, the presence of a load profile that can be deferred up to a deadline, and the possibility of curtailment. Second, we describe the algorithm that, via explicit backward iterations of the Bellman equation, returns the optimal response of such consumer in a very general energy market scenario featuring a correlated/nonstationary price process and multiple energy procurement sources.
Does the early frog catch the worm? Disentangling potential drivers of a parasite age-intensity relationship in tadpoles

The manner in which parasite intensity and aggregation varies with host age can provide insights into parasite dynamics and help identify potential means of controlling infections in humans and wildlife. A significant challenge is to distinguish among competing mechanistic hypotheses for the relationship between age and parasite intensity or aggregation. Because different mechanisms can generate similar relationships, testing among competing hypotheses can be difficult, particularly in wildlife hosts, and often requires a combination of experimental and model fitting approaches. We used field data, experiments, and model fitting to distinguish among ten plausible drivers of a curvilinear age-intensity relationship and increasing aggregation with host age for echinostome trematode infections of green frogs. We found little support for most of these proposed drivers but did find that the parsimonious explanation for the observed age-intensity relationship was seasonal exposure to echinostomes. The parsimonious explanation for the aggregated distribution of parasites in this host population was heterogeneity in exposure. A predictive model incorporating seasonal exposure indicated that tadpoles hatching early or late in the breeding season should have lower trematode burdens at metamorphosis, particularly with simulated warmer climates. Application of this multi-pronged approach (field surveys, lab experiments, and modeling) to additional parasite-host systems could lead to discovery of general patterns in the drivers of parasite age-intensity and age-distribution relationships.
Structural basis for the enantiospecificities of R‐ and S‐specific phenoxypropionate/α‐ketoglutarate dioxygenases

(R)- and (S)-dichlorprop/α-ketoglutarate dioxygenases (RdpA and SdpA) catalyze the oxidative cleavage of 2-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)propanoic acid (dichlorprop) and 2-(4-chloro-2-methyl-phenoxy)propanoic acid (mecoprop) to form pyruvate plus the corresponding phenol concurrent with the conversion of α-ketoglutarate (αKG) to succinate plus CO2. RdpA and SdpA are strictly enantiospecific, converting only the (R) or the (S) enantiomer, respectively. Homology models were generated for both enzymes on the basis of the structure of the related enzyme TauD (PDB code 1OS7). Docking was used to predict the orientation of the appropriate mecoprop enantiomer in each protein, and the predictions were tested by characterizing the activities of site-directed variants of the enzymes. Mutant proteins that changed at residues predicted to interact with (R)- or (S)-mecoprop exhibited significantly reduced activity, often accompanied by increased Km values, consistent with roles for these residues in substrate binding. Four of the designed SdpA variants were (slightly) active with (R)-mecoprop. The results of the kinetic investigations are consistent with the identification of key interactions in the structural models and demonstrate that enantiospecificity is coordinated by the interactions of a number of residues in RdpA and SdpA. Most significantly, residues Phe171 in RdpA and Glu69 in SdpA apparently act by hindering the binding of the wrong enantiomer more than the correct one, as judged by the observed decreases in Km when these side chains are replaced by Ala.
Optimization of laser-damage resistance of evaporated hafnia films at 351nm

A systematic study was undertaken to improve the laser-damage resistance of multilayer high-reflector coatings for use at 351 nm on the OMEGA EP Laser System. A series of hafnium dioxide monolayer films deposited by electron-beam evaporation with varying deposition rates and oxygen backfill pressures were studied using transmission electron microscopy (TEM), x-ray diffraction (XRD), and refractive index modeling. These exhibit microstructural changes for sufficiently slow deposition rates and high oxygen backfill pressures, resulting in an absence of crystalline inclusions and a lower refractive index. Hafnia monolayers exhibited laser-damage resistance as high as 12 J/cm 2 at 351 nm with a 0.5-ns pulse. This process was utilized in the fabrication of reduced electric-field-type multilayer high-reflector coatings. Measured laser-damage thresholds as high as 16.63 J/cm 2 were achieved under identical test conditions, an exceptional improvement relative to historical damage thresholds of the order of 3 to 5 J/cm 2 .
Hepato‐pancreato‐biliary fat: the good, the bad and the ugly

Obesity has become epidemic in the United States, in Europe, and in many urban areas in the developing world. The globalization of certain ‘fast foods’ and ‘soft drinks’ may, in part, be contributing to this epidemic. Diets high in saturated fatty acids and trans fats as well as drinks that have high fructose corn syrup levels may be particularly harmful. Recent research suggests that fat is a dynamic endocrine organ and that visceral fat is associated with the metabolic syndrome. Central obesity leads to organ steatosis and altered serum adipokines including reduced adiponectin and markedly elevated leptin. This abnormal adipokine milieu results in increased tissue infiltration of monocytes and macrophages which produce proinflammatory cytokines that alter organ function. Over many years, the combination of steatosis and local inflammation leads to fibrosis and eventually to cancer. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) is a precursor for nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH). NAFLD and NASH (1) lead to cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma, (2) increase the risk of liver resection, and (3) compromise the outcome of liver transplantation. Similarly, in the pancreas nonalcoholic fatty pancreas disease (NAFPD) may lead to nonalcoholic steatopancreatitis (NASP). NAFPD and NASP may (1) promote the development of chronic pancreatitis and pancreatic cancer, (2) exacerbate the severity of acute pancreatitis, and (3) increase the risk of pancreatic surgery. In the gallbladder nonalcoholic fatty gallbladder disease (NAFGBD, cholecystosteatosis) may lead to steatocholecystitis. Cholecystosteatosis may be an explanation for (1) the increased incidence of chronic acalculous cholecystitis and (2) the increased number of cholecystectomies.
Copper clusters built on bulky amidinate ligands: spin delocalization via superexchange rather than direct metal–metal bonding

Entry into a new class of tetra- and dicopper clusters was assisted by a fine steric tuning of bulky amidinate ligands that provide spin-delocalizing superexchange pathways in class III mixed-valence clusters, the properties of which are best understood without invoking metal–metal bonding.
Factors predictive of immobilization complications in pediatric polytrauma.

Objectives: To determine in a cohort of children with polytrauma which variables are predictive of the development of complications related to immobilization. Design: A retrospective study of children with polytrauma and at least one major musculoskeletal injury. A stepwise forward logistic regression analysis was used to determine variables predictive of complications related to immobilization. Participants: Ninety-three children with polytrauma were studied; motor vehicle incidents accounted for 80 percent of the injuries. The average age was 8.0 ± 4.1 years. There were 152 fractures in the ninety-three children. The average Modified Injury Severity Scale (MISS) was 24.5 ± 13.6. There were thirty-five complications in twenty-two children, and four children died. Results: Two variables were predictive of complications related to immobilization: age and MISS score. Complications related to immobilization were positively associated with being older than seven years of age (p = 0.027; odds ratio = 9.5; 95 percent confidence interval 1.4, 64.9) and having a MISS score greater than forty (p = 0.005; OR = 14.1; 95 percent confidence interval 2.2, 89.1). Timing of surgery showed a trend (p = 0.097) but did not reach statistical significance. Conclusions: Complications of immobilization in children with polytrauma are associated with age greater than seven years and a MISS score greater than forty. Further study is needed to evaluate the effect of early fracture stabilization. Timing of osteosynthesis showed a trend but did not reach statistical significance in this study.
The parallel market as a policy instrument in collapsing exchange rate regimes

Abstract The objective of this paper is to bring evidence on the role of the parallel market as an additional temporary policy instrument in developing countries with balance of payments problems. The extent of rationing of foreign currency at the official exchange rate is measured through a time-varying parameter. The temporary nature of the parallel market is shown by calculating a one-step ahead probability of collapse as in Blanco and Garber (1986) . These issues are tested using data on Haiti, a country in the Caribbean which has been suffered balance of payments problems since the 1980s.
Dune-dammed paleovalleys of the Nebraska Sand Hills: Intrinsic versus climatic controls on the accumulation of lake and marsh sediments

Although running water is the dominant geomorphic agent on Earth, eolian processes can gain ascendancy in regions where the climate is arid, vegetation is sparse, and abundant sand is available for transport. With climate change, the boundaries between fluvial-dominated and eolian-dominated areas may shift. Although there have been few reports in the North American literature of river systems blocked by dune sand, our work in the Nebraska Sand Hills provides evidence of multiple episodes of such blockage events. During prolonged arid intervals in latest Pleistocene and middle Holocene time, eolian dune sand blocked two large valley systems in western Nebraska. These blockages raised the water table of the High Plains aquifer as much as 25 m over an area of 7000 km2 and created over one thousand lakes. Wetlands far removed from the discharge points of the buried paleovalley system are strongly alkaline (exceeding 250 000 mg/L total dissolved solids [TDS]). Relatively fresh (280 mg/L TDS), flow-through lakes are present at the distal end of the system where the gradient of the water table is steep and the cross section of the buried valley is large. Anomalously thick marsh and lake sediments accumulated in deep paleovalleys upstream of dune dams near the southern margin of the Sand Hills. Our cores and radiocarbon dates from Blue and Crescent Lakes reveal their histories to be quite distinct from adjacent Swan Lake; these differences are best explained by multiple blockage events. Our work explains why lakes are most abundant in the driest part of the Sand Hills. It also provides another line of evidence for major dune activity in the Sand Hills region during Holocene time and shows that factors other than regional climate, specifically location, height, and hydraulic conductivity of dune dams, can control the rise and fall of the ground-water table and the chemistry of lakes.
Cyclic indentation in aluminum

Cyclic indentation was used to evaluate the dynamic deformation of aluminum. Under the load-controlled cyclic indentation, the indenter continuously penetrated into the material and reached a steady state at which the penetration speed (per cycle) was a constant. The amplitude of the cyclic indentation depth was basically controlled by the amplitude of the cyclic indentation load, independent of the mean indentation load and the indentation frequency. The steady state penetration speed decreased with increasing the amplitude of the cyclic indentation load due to the increase in the size of plastic zone. It also decreased with the increase in the mean indentation load due to local strain hardening, while it increased with the increase of the indentation frequency.
Implementation of Gas Chromatography and Microscale Distillation into the General Chemistry Laboratory Curriculum as Vehicles for Examining Intermolecular Forces.

As part of an NSF-funded Course Curriculum and Laboratory Improvement (CCLI) project that seeks, in part, to increase student exposure to scientific instrumentation, a gas chromatography experiment has been integrated into the second-semester general chemistry laboratory curriculum. The experiment uses affordable, commercially available equipment and materials. It also parallels the corresponding lecture topics, reinforcing the concept of intermolecular forces (and exposing the structural basis of these forces) through the drawing of Lewis structures, microscale distillation, and gas chromatography. Group presentations end the laboratory session, exposing all students to the entirety of analytical data obtained by their peers. Students respond favorably to the exercise, citing use of the gas chromatograph as interesting and the group presentations as highly beneficial to their understanding of the material.
Coding potential of UL/b' from the initial source of rhesus cytomegalovirus Strain 68-1.

Abstract Rhesus cytomegalovirus (RhCMV) 68-1 is the prototypic strain of RhCMV that has been used for pathogenesis and vaccine development. We determined the complete sequence of the RhCMV 68-1 UL/b′ region directly from the original urine from which RhCMV 68-1 was isolated in 1968, and compared it to other RhCMVs. The laboratory passaged RhCMV 68-1 has inversions, deletions, and stop codons in UL/b′ that are absent in the original isolate and other low passage RhCMV isolates. Fourteen of the 17 open reading frames (ORFs) in 68-1 UL/b′ in the original isolate share >95% amino acid identity with low passage RhCMV. The original isolate retains 6 ORFs that encode α-chemokine-like proteins, including RhUL146 and RhUL146b that share only 92% and 81% amino acid identity, respectively, with a contemporary low passage RhCMV isolate. Identification of the original RhCMV 68-1 UL/b′ sequence is important for using RhCMV 68-1 in pathogenesis and vaccine studies.
An acentric parallel interpenetrated dual-ligand zinc coordination polymer from an in situ terminal-to-internal alkene rearrangement

The coordination polymer [Zn(mesaconate)(dpa)]n (1, dpa = 4,4′-dipyridylamine) has been prepared from the hydrothermal treatment of zinc chloride, dpa, and itaconic acid. An in situ terminal alkene to internal alkene isomerization occurred during self-assembly, unprecedented in coordination polymer chemistry. Single-crystal X-ray diffraction revealed that 1 crystallizes in the acentric space group Aba2, and features a parallel doubly interpenetrated (4,4)-rectangular layer morphology. Interlayer hydrogen bonding mediated by the dpa ligand results in a doubly interpenetrated (3,5)-connected supramolecular lattice with a novel (426)(426583) topology. Compound 1 undergoes blue-light emission upon exposure to ultraviolet radiation.
Design considerations for low band gap a-Sige:H alloy solar cells

Abstract The best low band gap (E g = 1.3 eV) a-Sige:alloy grown to date still have relatively poor electronic transport compared to that of unalloyed amorphous silicon. The poor electron transport is found to be at least partially due to poor electron mobility. Solar cell design is used to mitigate the performance loss. Thin a-Sige:H solar cells with Q.E. over 40% at 800nm and over 10% at 900nm have been prepared.
Improved Estimation of Survival Functions in the New-Better-Than-Used Class

In this article, we consider the problem of nonparametric estimation of life distributions that satisfy the New-Better-Than-Used (NBU) property. Focus is on estimators that possess the NBU property. We propose several possible estimators and compare their properties with the properties of two previously known estimators. We conclude that two of the estimators introduced in this article perform better than the previously known estimators—especially if the sample sizes are not large.
X-radiation from high power klystrons

Abstract Radiation formulas are developed for high power klystrons. The paper deals with energy distributions of: 1. (a)|impacting electrons in the collector, 2. (b)|photons produced by bremsstrahlung, 3. (c)|photons penetrating the shielding, 4. (d)|photons crossing the output wave guide, and 5. (e)|the electron background in equilibrium with the photon distribution. Suggestions are made to improve the shielding in view of reducing adverse effects of X-rays crossing the output wave guide.
Structure of branched DNA molecules: gel retardation and atomic force microscopy studies

DNA heteroduplexes as models for slipped strand DNA have been analyzed by polyacrylamide gel migration and atomic force microscopy (AFM). All heteroduplexes containing one hairpin or loop have reduced electrophoretic mobilities compared with that expected for their molecular weights. The retarded gel mobility correlates with the formation of a sharp kink detected by AFM. Increasing the hairpin length from 7 bp to 50 bp results in a monotonous decrease in gel mobility of heteroduplexes. This secondary retardation effect appears to depend only on the hairpin size since the AFM data show no dependence of the kink angle on the hairpin length. Heteroduplex isomers with a loop or hairpin in opposite strands migrate with distinct mobilities. Analysis of gel migration of heteroduplexes with altered hairpin orientations as well as of truncated heteroduplexes indicates that the difference in mobility is due to an inherent curvature in one of the long arms. This is confirmed by the end-to-end distance measurements from AFM images. In addition, significant variation of the end-to-end distances is consistent with a dynamic structure of heteroduplexes at the three-way junction. Double heteroduplexes containing one hairpin in each of the complementary strands also separate in a gel as two isomers. Their appearance in AFM showed a complicated pattern of flat representations of the three-dimensional structure and may indicate a certain degree of interaction between complementary parts of the hairpins that are several helical turns apart.
Audio-motor reflexes in lower lip motor units having different recruitment thresholds.

Abstract Subjects maintained constant firing rates in single motor units of the orbicularis oris inferior muscle while auditory clicks were delivered. Audio-motor reflex magnitudes were extracted from poststimulus-time histograms on each motor unit, and these magnitudes were analyzed in relation to motor unit recruitment threshold. Data on 103 motor units in 3 subjects indicated that the magnitudes of the low threshold units differed from the moderate and high threshold units.
LEED-AES study of the temperature dependent oxidation of the cobalt (0001) surface

Abstract Exposure to oxygen of a high defect density Co(0001) surface at or above room temperature but below ∼700°C shows an initial temperature independent chemisorption phase followed by temperature dependent absorption of oxygen into the bulk. CoO is formed at the surface only below about 150°C since the oxygen concentration required for CoO formation is not achieved at the surface below that temperature under current exposure conditions due to the rapid diffusion of oxygen into the bulk cobalt. Exposure above ∼700°C results in no distinct chemisorbed phase and direct diffusion of oxygen into the bulk.
Mesoscopic fluctuations of the ultrasound attenuation.

We compute the fluctuations of the longitudinal sound attenuation rate in mesoscopic metal samples in order to examine the effects of screening in mesoscopic systems. For longitudinal sound attenuation, it is essential to include the screening of the electron-phonon interaction by the electrons. After including both the effects of the fluctuations of the stress tensor and the electron screening, we are able to show that the fluctuations in the longitudinal sound attenuation are of the same order as those of the transverse sound attenuation, where screening is not important. In the limit where the dephasing length is large compared to a side L of the sample cube, the ratio of the fluctuations to the average sound attenuation rate is of order 4\ensuremath{\pi}(${\mathit{v}}_{\mathit{F}}$${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}\mathit{p}\mathit{h}\mathit{i}}$)(${\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{F}}$L${)}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}2}$, where ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\tau}}}_{\mathit{c}\mathit{p}\mathit{h}\mathit{i}}$ is the dephasing lifetime and ${\mathit{v}}_{\mathit{F}}$ and ${\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{F}}$ are the Fermi velocity and wave vector, respectively.
Weighted-Inversion Statistics and Their Symmetry Groups

A statistic w on Sn is a weighted-inversion (w-i) statistic if there exist weights wi, j such that w(?)=?i?j]wi, j for each ??Sn. Two well-known examples are the major index and inversion count statistics. These two statistics share the same distribution over Sn, and many bijections Sn?Sn have been described to prove this. These bijections thus have the property that they map a certain w-i statistic to another. This paper presents the results of our search for bijections ?: Sn?Sn with an even stronger property: given any w-i statistic w, the statistic w?? is also a w-i statistic. Such a set of bijections forms a group, which we call the core group of Sn. We exhibit a subgroup of the core group of Sn which is isomorphic to the dihedral group Dn+1. We extend these ideas to other sets of objects, including subsets of Sn and sets of permutations of a multiset. As examples, we develop a family of subsets of Sn which has a core group isomorphic to a Weyl group of order 2n·n!, and we show that the set of permutations of the multiset {0k, 1n?k} has a core group containing Sk×Sn?k as a subgroup. We demonstrate that the core group of a set A is the group of permutations of the rows of a certain matrix H (depending only on the inversion patterns of the objects in A) which preserve the column space of H. This allows us to compute the core group with no knowledge of the actual w-i statistics involved.
Tetracyclic Antidepressant Causing Altered Biodistribution of MIBG

We present the case of a 61-year-old man who underwent I-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) scintigraphy based on clinical suspicion of pheochromocytoma. The study was nondiagnostic secondary to diffuse muscle uptake. On review of his medications, the patient was found to be taking mirtazapine, a tetracyclic antidepressant (Remeron). We hypothesize that the MIBG biodistribution was altered by mirtazapine-mediated blockade of the presynaptic alpha-2 receptor. To our knowledge, tetracyclic antidepressants have not been previously reported to cause altered biodistribution on I-123 MIBG scans.
Construct identification and measure development for investigating pharmacist-patient relationships.

Abstract To investigate older adults’ perceptions of pharmacist–patient relationships, we identified meaningful constructs, developed measures to use in this domain, and explored associations between pairs of constructs. Data were collected via mailed survey to a systematic random sample of 500 non-institutionalized adults in the United States, aged 65 years and older, taking at least one prescription medication. The useable response rate was 66.5% (330/496). Older adults’ perceptions that the pharmacist is participating in the relationship and the relationship is patient-centered had the strongest association with perceived pharmacist–patient relationship quality. Older adults’ perceptions of relationship quality had a stronger association with medication-related outcome expectations and self-efficacy for medication management, as compared to older adults’ perceptions of pharmacist participative behavior/patient-centeredness, patient participative behavior and pharmacist–patient interpersonal communication. Older adults’ perceptions of medication-related knowledge were moderately associated with self-efficacy for medication management perceptions. These findings have important pharmacy practice implications.
Characterizing the microarchitectural side effects of operating system calls

We measure the collateral effect on microarchitectural state of system calls using a validated, cycle-accurate simulator. Our results demonstrate that, in some cases, the disruption on user-mode performance is significant. This disruption varies by the operating system and even the kernel version in use.
Thymic stromal lymphopoietin and OX40 ligand pathway in the initiation of dendritic cell-mediated allergic inflammation

It was demonstrated 5 years ago that thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP), a IL-7-like cytokine produced by epithelial cells, could strongly activate human myeloid dendritic cells to induce an inflammatory T(H)2 response characterized by high TNF-alpha and little IL-10 production, distinct from the regulatory T(H)2 responses characterized by low TNF-alpha and high IL-10 production. TSLP was found highly expressed by keratinocytes of skin lesions of atopic dermatitis and associated with dendritic cell activation in situ. This suggests for the first time that TSLP represents a master switch of allergic inflammation at the epithelial cell and dendritic cell interface. During the last several years, the evidence for the association of TSLP with human asthma was revealed. The direct link between TSLP expression with the pathogenesis of atopic dermatitis and asthma in vivo was demonstrated. In addition, OX40 ligand was found to be the TSLP-induced molecule on dendritic cells that triggers inflammatory T(H)2 differentiation in the absence of IL-12. TSLP was also demonstrated to direct the innate phase of allergic immune responses through activating mast cells. Therefore, TSLP and OX40 ligand may represent important targets for intervention of the initiation of allergic inflammatory responses.
Projections from the rhomboid nucleus of the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis: implications for cerebral hemisphere regulation of ingestive behaviors.

The basic organization of an exceptionally complex pattern of axonal projections from one distinct cell group of the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis, the rhomboid nucleus (BSTrh), was analyzed with the PHAL anterograde tract-tracing method in rats. Brain areas that receive a strong to moderate input from the BSTrh fall into nine general categories: central autonomic control network (central amygdalar nucleus, descending hypothalamic paraventricular nucleus, parasubthalamic nucleus and dorsal lateral hypothalamic area, ventrolateral periaqueductal gray, lateral parabrachial nucleus and caudal nucleus of the solitary tract, dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus nerve, and salivatory nuclei), gustatory system (rostral nucleus of the solitary tract and medial parabrachial nucleus), neuroendocrine system (periventricular and paraventricular hypothalamic nuclei, hypothalamic visceromotor pattern generator network), orofaciopharyngeal motor control (rostral tip of the dorsal nucleus ambiguus, parvicellular reticular nucleus, retrorubral area, and lateral mesencephalic reticular nucleus), respiratory control (lateral nucleus of the solitary tract), locomotor or exploratory behavior control and reward prediction (nucleus accumbens, substantia innominata, and ventral tegmental area), ingestive behavior control (descending paraventricular nucleus and dorsal lateral hypothalamic area), thalamocortical feedback loops (medial-midline-intralaminar thalamus), and behavioral state control (dorsal raphe and locus coeruleus). Its pattern of axonal projections and its position in the basal telencephalon suggest that the BSTrh is part of a striatopallidal differentiation involved in modulating the expression of ingestive behaviors, although it may have other functions as well.