cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
From Schoolyard to Workplace: The Impact of Bullying on Sales and Business Employees' Machiavellianism, Job Satisfaction, and Perceived Importance of an Ethical Issue

Bullying can precipitate many negative outcomes at work, but previous research does not adequately address how such misbehavior affects employee dispositions and attitudes; how these characteristics impact ethical decision making is also underexplored. Given these research gaps, the purpose of this study is to assess (1) the impact of bullying on Machiavellianism and job satisfaction, and (2) the influences of Machiavellianism and job satisfaction on perceived ethical issue importance, a measure of ethical decision making. Three hundred eighty-four sales and business employees working for different firms operating in the United States answered a self-report questionnaire. The findings showed that, after accounting for social desirability bias, workplace bullying was positively associated with Machiavellianism and negatively associated with job satisfaction. Machiavellianism was negatively related to the perceived importance of an ethical issue embedded in a vignette highlighting Machiavellianism and latent bullying behaviors. In addition, job satisfaction was positively related to ethical issue importance. Finally, both Machiavellianism and job satisfaction mediated the relationship between bullying experiences and importance of an ethical issue, as evidenced by their significant indirect effects. HR professionals should minimize bullying and Machiavellianism to reduce the corrosive effect on the ethical environment and enhance work attitudes and ethical decisions.
Stability of equilibria in quantitative genetic models based on modified-gradient systems

Motivated by questions in biology, we investigate the stability of equilibria of the dynamical system [Formula: see text] which arise as critical points of f, under the assumption that [Formula: see text] is positive semi-definite. It is shown that the condition [Formula: see text], where [Formula: see text] is the smallest eigenvalue of [Formula: see text], plays a key role in guaranteeing uniform asymptotic stability and in providing information on the basis of attraction of those equilibria.
Pothole Detection and Classification Using 3D Technology and Watershed Method

AbstractPotholes are one of the roadway distresses that negatively impact roadway safety. With emerging sensing technology, three-dimensional (3D) pavement data, derived using 3D laser technology, ...
Compton echoes from nearby Gamma-Ray Bursts

The recent discovery of gravitational waves from GW170817, associated with a short Gamma-Ray Burst (GRB) at a distance of $40$Mpc, has demonstrated that short GRBs can occur locally and at a reasonable rate. Furthermore, gravitational waves enable us to detect close by GRBs, even when we are observing at latitudes far from the jet's axis. We consider here Compton echoes, the scattered light from the prompt and afterglow emission. Compton echoes, an as yet undetected counterpart of GRBs, peak in X-rays and maintain a roughly constant flux for hundreds to thousands of years after the burst. Though too faint to be detected in typical cosmological GRBs, a fraction of close by bursts with a sufficiently large energy output in X-rays, and for which the surrounding medium is sufficiently dense, may indeed be observed in this way. The detection of a Compton echo could provide unique insight into the burst properties and the environment's density structure. In particular, it could potentially determine whether or not there was a successful jet that broke through the compact binary merger ejecta. We discuss here the properties and expectations from Compton echoes and suggest methods for detectability.
Letters From Peplau.

BACKGROUND: Dr. Hildegard Peplau, considered to be our first modern Nurse theorist and the Mother of Psychiatric Nursing, was a prolific writer, engaging in correspondence with colleagues and students who sought her professional and theoretical expertise. Through these letters, she influenced psychiatric nursing while maintaining a broad international network of professional colleagues. OBJECTIVES: An analysis of letters, written between 1990 and 1998, provides insights into Peplau’s last decade of professional life and a model of how to support the next generation of nurse scholars. DESIGN: Using content analysis, 24 letters received between 1990 and 1998 were read, reread, and coded. Recurring themes were identified. RESULTS: Three themes were identified. These include Peplau, the Person: Living a Life of Professional Balance; Lighting a Spark: Investing in the Next Generation; and Work in the Vineyards of Nursing: Maintaining a Life of Scholarship. The letters depict Peplau’s keen intellect, her wide p...
Using the CDC's Worksite Health ScoreCard as a Framework to Examine Worksite Health Promotion and Physical Activity.

INTRODUCTION Worksite health promotion programs are emerging as an effective approach for addressing the adult obesity epidemic and improving the overall health of employees. METHODS We conducted a scoping review to identify articles that described a physical activity component (eg, promoted increased physical or reduced sitting time) of a worksite health promotion intervention. Our search specified full-length articles published in English from January 2000 through July 2015. We used the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Worksite Health ScoreCard, a validated tool, as a framework to summarize information on organizational supports strategies (18 questions) and physical activity strategies (9 questions) implemented by worksite health promotion programs. We also determined whether or not the included studies reported significant (P < .05) improvements in physical activity. RESULTS We identified 18 worksite health promotion programs; 11 produced significant improvements in physical activity. Incentives, health risk assessments, health promotion committees, leadership support, marketing, and subsidies or discounts for use of exercise facilities were the most effective organizational supports strategies cited, and physical activity seminars, classes, and workshops were the most effective physical activity strategies cited. CONCLUSION The use of the Health ScoreCard allowed for a practical interpretation of our findings, which can inform next steps for the field. Future research should explore the relationships between components of worksite health promotion programs and their outcomes to further develop best practices that can improve worker health and promote physical activity.
Computing health programming problem two: computing peak blood alcohol levels.

(1984). Computing Health Programming Problem Two: Computing Peak Blood Alcohol Levels. Health Education: Vol. 15, No. 5, pp. 23-68.
Well-being in dementia: a cross-sectional dyadic study of the impact of multiple dimensions of strain on persons living with dementia and their family care partners.

Background and Purpose:The impact of dementia-related stressors and strains have been examined for their potential to threaten the well-being of either the person with dementia or the family care partner, but rarely have studies considered the dyadic nature of well-being in dementia. The purpose of this study was to examine the dyadic effects of multiple dimensions of strain on the well-being of dementia care dyads.Methods:Using multilevel modeling to account for the inter-relatedness of individual well-being within dementia care dyads, we examined cross-sectional responses collected from 42 dyads comprised of a hospitalized patient diagnosed with a primary progressive dementia (PWD) and their family care partner (CP). Both PWDs and CPs self-reported on their own well-being using measures of quality of life (QOL-Alzheimer’s Disease scale) and depressive symptoms (Center for Epidemiological Studies Depression Scale).Results:In adjusted models, the PWD’s well-being (higher QOL and lower depressive symptoms) was associated with significantly less strain in the dyad’s relationship. The CP’s well-being was associated with significantly less care-related strain and (for QOL scale) less relationship strain.Conclusions:Understanding the impact of dementia on the well-being of PWDs or CPs may require an assessment of both members of the dementia care dyad in order to gain a complete picture of how dementia-related stressors and strains impact individual well-being. These results underscore the need to assess and manage dementia-related strain as a multi-dimensional construct that may include strain related to the progression of the disease, strain from providing care, and strain on the dyad’s relationship quality.
Application of three-dimensional printing for pre-operative planning in hip preservation surgery

Three-dimensional printing is a valuable modality with broad clinical applications. Hip preservation surgery outcomes are dependent on correction of morphological abnormalities that may be optimally visualized with three-dimensional models. To assess the efficacy of three-dimensional models for patient and trainee education and to determine its benefits during pre-operative planning in hip preservation surgery. Sixteen patients with hip pathology were selected. Computed tomography was utilized to generate three-dimensional models. Customized Likert-style questionnaires were given to 10 hip preservation surgeons, 11 orthopedic surgery residents and 10 patients. All residents strongly agreed or agreed that the three-dimensional hip models helped them to understand patients' pathology. All but one patient agreed that the models assisted in their understanding of the treatment plan. Surgeons concurred that although they do not routinely order three-dimensional models, their use would improve trainee and patient education, especially when treating atypical osseous pathomorphologies. Three-dimensional models are tools that can help surgeon, trainee and patient understanding and participation in treatment of complex hip disorders. Patients and trainees agree that the prototypes enhanced their educational experience, as the surgeon can directly demonstrate complex morphological abnormalities. Trainees can therefore gain a better understanding of hip pathologies and treatment. As patients better understand their hip disorder, they can more fully participate in shared treatment decision-making. Level of evidence Level IV, Retrospective Case Series.
Anomalous hysteresis and current fluctuations in cyclic voltammograms at microelectrodes due to Ag leaching from Ag/AgCl reference electrodes

Abstract We observe anomalous cyclic voltammograms (CVs) measured with microelectrodes immersed in a Fe(CN) 6 3−/4− redox buffer, which exhibit pronounced hysteresis, current fluctuations, a current level that increases with successive scans, and current suppression at positive potentials in the anodic scan. CV measurements were conducted on electrodes of different sizes under different scan conditions with durations of up to 20 h. By combining these measurements with chemical and surface analysis techniques like Auger Electron Spectroscopy (AES) and Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), the observed phenomena were traced to Ag-based leaching from commercial Ag/AgCl reference electrodes. These results indicate that redox interactions at the working electrode can seriously affect CV scans of microelectrodes, and suggest that caution is needed in using Ag/AgCl reference electrodes in electrochemical experiments with small-area working electrodes.
Electracy: The Internet as Fifth Estate

This account of an experimental approach to apparatus invention is offered as an introduction to apparatus study in general (grammatology), and electracy as the digital apparatus in particular. The approach is that of the Florida Research Ensemble (FRE), working through the EmerAgency, a virtual consultancy developed to translate Arts & Letters pedagogy into institutional consulting. The term 'electracy' (modeled on 'literacy,' a portmanteau of 'electricity' and Derrida's 'trace') was adopted to clarify that digital technologies are not reducible to a 'media literacy,' but include, besides technological innovations, inventions in the dimensions of institution formation and related skill sets, and identity behaviors individual and collective (ethics and politics). Current members of the FRE include Gregory Ulmer (University of Florida), John Craig Freeman (Emerson College), Barbara Jo Revelle (University of Florida), Jack Stenner (University of Florida), Jan Holmevik (Clemson University).
The robustness of reciprocity: Experimental evidence that each form of reciprocity is robust to the presence of other forms of reciprocity.

Prosocial behavior is paradoxical because it often entails a cost to one’s own welfare to benefit others. Theoretical models suggest that prosociality is driven by several forms of reciprocity. Although we know a great deal about how each of these forms operates in isolation, they are rarely isolated in the real world. Rather, the topological features of human social networks are such that people are often confronted with multiple types of reciprocity simultaneously. Does our current understanding of human prosociality break down if we account for the fact that the various forms of reciprocity tend to co-occur in nature? Results of a large experiment show that each basis of human reciprocity is remarkably robust to the presence of other bases. This lends strong support to existing models of prosociality and puts theory and research on firmer ground in explaining the high levels of prosociality observed in human social networks.
Persistent URLs and Citations Offered for Digital Objects by Digital Libraries

As libraries, archives, and museums make unique digital collections openly available via digital library platforms, they expose these resources to users who may wish to cite them. Often several URLs are available for a single digital object, depending on which route a user took to find it, but the chosen citation URL should be the one most likely to persist over time. Catalyzed by recent digital collections migration initiatives at Indiana University Libraries, this study investigates the prevalence of persistent URLs for digital objects at peer institutions and examines the ways their platforms instruct users to cite them. This study reviewed institutional websites from the Digital Library Federation’s (DLF) published list of 195 members and identified representative digital objects from unique digital collections navigable from each institution’s main web page in order to determine persistent URL formats and citation options. Findings indicate an equal split between offering and not offering discernible persistent URLs with four major methods used: Handle, DOI, ARK, and PURL. Significant variation in labeling persistent URLs and inclusion in item-specific citations uncovered areas where the user experience could be improved for more reliable citation of these unique resources.
Offer Acceptance Patterns for Liver Donors Aged 70 and Older.

Despite a documented survival benefit, older liver donor (OLD, age ≥70) graft offers are frequently declined, with utilization worsening over the last decade. To understand how offer acceptance varies by center, we studied 1113 eventually transplanted OLD grafts from 2009 to 2017 using Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR) data and random-intercept multilevel logistic regression. To understand how center-level acceptance of OLD graft offers might be associated with waitlist and posttransplant outcomes, we studied all adult, actively listed, liver-only candidates and recipients during the study period using Poisson regression (transplant rate), competing risks regression (waitlist mortality), and Cox regression (posttransplant mortality). Among 117 centers, OLD offer acceptance ranged from 0 (23 centers) to 95 acceptances, with a median odds ratio of 2.88. Thus, a candidate may be three times as likely to receive an OLD graft simply by listing at a different center. Centers in the highest quartile (Q4) of OLD acceptance (accepted 39% of OLD offers) accepted more nationally shared organs (Q4 versus Q1: 14.1% versus 0.0%, P < 0.001) and had higher annual liver transplant volume (Q4 versus Q1: 80 versus 21, P < 0.001). After adjustment, nationally shared OLD offers (adjusted odds ratio [aOR]: 0.16, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.13-0.20) and offers to centers with higher median Model for End-Stage Liver Disease (MELD) at transplant (aOR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.62-0.87) were less likely to be accepted. OLD offers to centers with higher annual transplant volume were more likely to be accepted (aOR: 1.21, 95% CI: 1.14-1.30). Additionally, candidates listed at centers within the highest quartile of OLD graft offer acceptance had higher deceased donor liver transplantation (DDLT) rates (adjusted incidence rate ratio: 1.45, 95% CI: 1.41-1.50), lower waitlist mortality (adjusted subhazard ratio: 0.76, 95% CI: 0.72-0.76), and similar posttransplant survival (adjusted hazard ratio: 0.93, 95% CI: 0.86-1.01) when compared with those listed at centers in the lowest quartile of OLD graft offer acceptance. The wide variation in OLD offer acceptance supports the need for optimizing the organ offer process and efficiently directing OLD offers to centers more likely to use them.
Impact of liberal intraoperative allogeneic blood transfusion on postoperative morbidity and mortality in major thoracic and lumbar posterior spine instrumentation surgeries.

To investigate the impact of intraoperative blood transfusion on outcomes in patients who had major thoracic and lumber posterior spine instrumentation surgery. Retrospective study included patients who underwent major spine surgery between 2013 and 2017. Patients’ demographics, surgical charts, anesthesia charts, discharge charts and follow-up outpatient charts were reviewed. Data collection included: age, gender, BMI, Charlson Co-morbidity Index (CCI) scores, American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA) scores, amount of estimated blood loss [% estimated blood volume (%EBV)], amount of blood transfused during surgery and post-surgery before discharge, number of fusion levels, pre- and postoperative hemoglobin (Hb) levels, and length of hospital stay. Also collected in-hospital postoperative complications (cardiovascular, pulmonary, infections and deaths). Patients’ postoperative intubation status data documented. Reviewed follow-up charts to document any complications. Sample size = 289; No transfusion = 92; transfusion = 197. Transfused patients were significantly older, p < 0.001, higher average BMIs (p < 0.001); ASA scores (p < 0.001); CCI scores (p < 0.001), mean postoperative Hb level (p = 0.004), average intraoperative %EBV loss (p < 0.001), longer hospital stays (p = 0.003). Non-transfusion cohort had significantly higher proportion of patients (p < 0.001) extubated immediately after surgery. Seventeen patients had at least one in-hospital complication, p = 0.05. Complications were not significant among groups. Intraoperative blood transfusions and high volume intraoperative allogeneic blood transfusions did not increase risk for in-hospital complications or surgical site infections. Delayed extubations noticed in patients who received higher volumes of intraoperative allogeneic blood transfusions. High-volume intraoperative blood transfusions increased length of hospital stays. High post-hospital surgical infections associated with high volume intraoperative blood transfusions. Results should be interpreted cautiously due to small sample size.
Control of Channel Bed Morphology in Large-Scale River Networks using a Genetic Algorithm

Alluvial channels undergo continuous morphological changes caused by relationships between entrained sediment, variable flows and movable boundaries. Excess changes that occur through sediment degradation and deposition, however, tend to threaten the stability of bridges, hydraulic control structures and underground utilities. These changes also reduce conveyance capacity of a channel and diminish reservoir benefits associated with hydropower generation, flood control, and water supply. This article outlines the development of an optimal control methodology for minimizing sediment aggradation and degradation, thus controlling channel bed morphology, in large-scale multi-reservoir river systems. The sedimentation control problem is solved by coupling the U.S. Army Corps of Engineer's HEC-6 sediment transport simulation model with an immune genetic algorithm. The simulation model is used to implicitly solve governing hydraulic and sediment constraints, while the genetic algorithm is used to solve the overall control problem. The method is demonstrated first through application to a hypothetical river network from the literature, for which a comparison between the genetic algorithm and alternative optimization technique is made. A second application to an existing hydraulic network illustrates the practical utility of the methodology as a decision-making tool for sedimentation control.
Translocation of prespawn adult Kootenai River white sturgeon

Summary During 2003 and 2004, 25 mature Kootenai River white sturgeon Acipenser transmontanus were dual tagged with sonic and radio transmitters, and translocated upstream approximately 50 km from their current spawning site which is comprised of silt and sand and with low egg survival. The release site was higher gradient and cobble and gravel substrate (canyon reach). The purpose of this study was to join mature white sturgeon with a more suitable incubation and rearing habitat and determine if translocation had legitimacy as a management measure. Residence times in the study varied among years and release groups and movement patterns were difficult to discern. In 2003, all males moved downstream out of the canyon reach within 2 days of release. Of the three females released in 2003, one remained in the canyon reach for 13 days while the other two moved downstream within 4 days. However, five eggs were collected on one substrate mat in the canyon reach in 2003 near river kilometer 261.6, although the eggs were too early in their developmental stage to verify fertilization. In 2004, adults were released in two different time frames, an early and late period. Only one female was part of the early release group in 2004, but three of the remaining six males from this group stayed in the canyon reach for over 3 weeks, the longest of any group. Combining years, males stayed in the canyon reach longer than females; white sturgeon released early in the spawning season stayed in the canyon reach longer. The release of white sturgeon in groups or in areas where other white sturgeon were residing may increase the residency in the study reach. It is feasible to move mature white sturgeon into the more suitable spawning habitats, however, the population level benefits are difficult to determine from this research, and should be weighed against other management and recovery actions.
Renal Cystic Disease

Renal cystic disease is a heterogeneous entity, including developmental (simple and complex cysts, localized cystic diseases, extraparenchymal sinus cysts, medullary sponge kidney, and multicystic dysplastic kidney), acquired (acquired cystic kidney disease), and heritable (autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease, autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease, tuberous sclerosis complex, von Hippel–Lindau disease) disorders. Various imaging modalities are used for the diagnosis and clinical evaluation of renal cystic diseases. While ultrasound is more commonly used as a screening modality, CT and MR imaging are more widely used in clinical settings for characterizing renal cystic lesions, assessing cysts complications, and differentiating benign from malignant cystic lesions. The diagnosis of a specific renal cystic disease can be made by a review of the patient’s clinical history in conjunction with radiographic findings. Key imaging features useful for the diagnosis of renal cystic disease include the location, distribution, size, and composition of renal cysts as well as other coexisting noncystic renal lesions and characteristic extrarenal findings.
MECHANISMS OF QUINOLONE RESISTANCE

With the increasing use of quinolones for the treatment of gram-positive bacterial infections, an understanding of the mechanisms of quinolone resistance in gram-positive bacteria is of considerable importance. This chapter summarizes the current understanding of established mechanisms of resistance to this class of antimicrobial agents in gram-positive bacteria. There are important differences between gram-positive and gram negative bacteria both in target enzyme sensitivity and in the means by which efflux resistance mechanisms operate that are of clinical and fundamental importance. Quinolones interact with both of the two type 2 topoisomerases in eubacteria, DNA gyrase and topoisomerase IV, which are essential for bacterial DNA replication. Quinolone-resistant clinical and laboratory strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae have been shown to have reduced accumulation of quinolones that is reversible with reserpine, suggesting the involvement of an efflux system(s) in quinolone resistance. Quinolone-resistant clinical isolates of viridans streptococci have been shown to have an efflux phenotype defined as lower MICs of quinolones in the presence of reserpine. DNA from such strains of S. mitis and S. oralis was able to transform S. pneumoniae to efflux phenotype in the laboratory. Overexpression of norA and genes for topoisomerases from plasmids are known, however, to have toxic effects on the cell that may limit the fitness of resistant bacteria containing them. Thus, at present quinolone resistance in gram-positive bacteria is attributable exclusively to chromosomal mutations that affect quinolone targets or quinolone permeation to these targets.
Cold-Sensitive Mutant of Salmonella typhimurium Defective in Nucleosidediphosphokinase

A cold-sensitive mutant of Salmonella typhimurium defective in nucleosidediphosphokinase (ATP:nucleosidediphosphate phosphotransferase, EC 2.7.4.6) has been isolated and characterized. The mutant contains only 2% of the enzyme activity found in the parent, and the heat lability of this activity is 10 times that from the parent at 33 C. Mutant extracts lack the ability to convert any of 11 nucleoside diphosphates tested to the corresponding nucleoside triphosphates, but the nucleosidemonophosphatase activities are normal. Although the nucleoside triphosphate pools of the mutant are depressed significantly at the restrictive temperature (20 C), they are slightly elevated at the permissive temperature (37 C). The levels of guanosine pentaphosphate and guanosine tetraphosphate are dramatically increased. Two representative enzymes of pyrimidine de novo synthesis, aspartic transcarbamylase and dihydroorotate dehydrogenase, are fully repressed at both 37 and 20 C. Intracellular pools of uridine diphosphate are depressed at both permissive and restrictive temperature.
The 'Center of Life' Policy: Institutionalizing Statelessness in East Jerusalem

Since 1995 Israel has revoked the permanent residency rights of more than ten thousand Palestinian East Jerusalemites – nearly 0.5 percent of the entire Palestinian population of East Jerusalem – on the allegation that their “center of life” is no longer in Jerusalem. The arbitrary standard on which this policy is based exceeds the bounds of Israel’s written law and violates international law. The actual reality in Jerusalem – a result of the “center of life” policy – is the institutionalization of statelessness and forced displacement of Palestinian East Jerusalemites.
β-Galactosidase of Streptococcus lactis

Citti, J. E. (Oregon State University, Corvallis), W. E. Sandine, and P. R. Elliker. β-Galactosidase of Streptococcus lactis. J. Bacteriol. 89:937–942. 1965.—Synthesis of β-galactosidase by several strains of Streptococcus lactis was induced by lactose. The rate of hydrolysis of o-nitrophenyl-β-d-galactopyranoside was used to measure enzyme activity. The enzyme of all but one strain was unstable when whole cells were sonic-treated or treated with toluene; the enzyme of one strain of S. lactis was stable to these treatments, which resulted in at least a fivefold increase in activity over that found in whole cells. The optimal assay conditions for toluene-treated cells of this strain involved incubation at 37 C in pH 7.0 sodium phosphate buffer. Lactose was the most effective inducer of enzyme synthesis. Methyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside, isopropyl-β-d-thiogalactopyranoside, and galactose were also inducers of the enzyme, but were not as effective as lactose. Melibiose, maltose, and calcium lactobionate were poor inducers of enzyme synthesis. Exogenously supplied glucose repressed enzyme synthesis. The means of control of induced β-galactosidase synthesis in S. lactis was similar to that in Escherichia coli.
Bounds on the viscosity coefficient of continental lithosphere from removal of mantle lithosphere beneath the Altiplano and Eastern Cordillera

[1] The rapid rise of the central Andean plateau between ∼10 and 6.8 Ma implies that mantle lithosphere, including eclogitized lower crust, was removed from beneath the region in that time interval; we infer from that removal that the average viscosity coefficient of mantle lithosphere was quite low when removal occurred. Using scaling laws for the growth of perturbations to the thickness of a dense layer over an inviscid substratum (Rayleigh-Taylor instability), we place bounds on the average viscosity coefficient for central Andean lithosphere. When compared with laboratory measurements of flow laws for olivine and eclogite, the allowed range of viscosity coefficients yields bounds on the temperature of ∼500–800°C at the Moho beneath this region and suggests that mean stresses across mantle lithosphere during continental deformation are less than ∼50 MPa. This range of temperature is comparable with, if a slightly lower than, we might expect for lithosphere approximately doubled in thickness and not yet equilibrated with the doubled crustal radioactivity. The mean deviatoric stress is comparable to that associated with stresses that drive plates and hence shows that lithospheric material is not too strong to prevent removal of its mantle part.
Neighborhood characteristics and the location of HUD-subsidized housing in shrinking cities: an analysis to inform anchor-based urban revitalization strategies

This article focuses on the manner in which affordable housing fits into anchor-based strategies for urban revitalization. It involves quantitative analysis of the location of existing HUD-subsidized housing in relation to neighborhood characteristics. The goal of the article is twofold. First, we examine the degree to which neighborhood characteristics associated with neighborhoods of opportunity correlate with the location of HUD-subsidized housing in shrinking cities. Second, we make recommendations for more equitable approaches to anchor-based urban revitalization. Our analysis uses a unique database developed to measure neighborhood characteristics in shrinking US cities. Our findings suggest that the location of affordable housing is not correlated with proximity to institutional and neighborhood amenities, where anchor-based revitalization is targeted. As a result, we make recommendations to link future affordable housing siting to anchor-based strategies for inner-city revitalization.
Detection of metal contamination in wild asparagus near a waste disposal site.

Estimating contaminant distributions in environmental media is necesary to evaluate human and ecological hazards. Because of uncertainties in release histories and transport, traditional sampling and statistical techniques applicable to the experimental sciences may not be suitable for exploratory studies at hazardous waste sites. An approach that relies on cluster analysis of principal components (PCA) was used to identify contaminated wild asparagus (Asparagus officinalis) growing in the vicinity of waste disposal sites along the Columbia River at the U.S. Department of Energy's Hanford Site in southeast Washington state. Metals in soil samples taken from the sites contained elevated levels of Ag, Al, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Hg, Ni, Pb, Sb, Zn, and V. Samples of asparagus tissue were collected from the river near the waste site, from Hanford old fields abandoned 52 years ago, and from commercial fields in the neighboring communities. Dried tissues were analyzed for metals content by ICP-mass spectrometry, furnace AA, and cold vapor AA. Tissue concentrations of elements varied over 5 orders of magnitude, from K at 46 900 ppm to As and Ag at maximum concentrations below 1 ppm. PCA produced four components that accounted for 66.2% of the metals variance. Subsequent cluster analysis using Ward's minimum variance separated the data into Columbia River and old-field groups, with the River group further divided into three clusters: plants primarily upriver from the waste sites, plants primarily downriver, and plants growing in or near the waste sites. The clustering showed that the more soluble components of the discharges (Ba and Ca) showed a pattern of distribution in the asparagus plants consistent with the ground water flow pattern, in that these elements were found far downriver of the disposal sites themselves. In contrast, the less mobile elements Al, Cd, Cr, Fe, Mn, Tl, and Zn were elevated only near the most-recently used waste disposal area. Asparagus from agricultural fields, including fields abandoned 50 years ago, contained higher concentrations of Fe, Cu, Pb, K, and Ni than did the wild riverine plants.
Efficacy of spacefilling heuristics in Euclidean combinatorial optimization

This note sharpens and generalizes an inequality of Platzman and Bartholdi on the ratio of the cost of the path provided by the spacefilling heuristic to the cost of the optimal path through n points in R^d.
Infinite Parameter Estimates in Logistic Regression, with Application to Approximate Conditional Inference

This paper discusses recovery of information regarding logistic regression parameters in cases when maximum likelihood estimates of some parameters are infinite. An algorithm for detecting such cases and characterizing the divergence of the parameter estimates is presented. A method for fitting the remaining parameters is also presented. All of these methods rely only on sufficient statistics rather than less aggregated quantities, as required for inference according to the method of Kolassa & Tanner (1994). These results are applied to approximate conditional inference via saddlepoint methods. Specifically, the double saddlepoint method of Skovgaard (1987) is adapted to the case when the solution to the saddlepoint equations exists as a point at infinity.
Carbon-supported tetragonal MnOOH catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction in alkaline media

Abstract Carbon-supported MnOOH catalyst was prepared by reducing KMnO 4 with carbon Black Pearls 2000. TEM and XRD characterization results show that nanosized tetragonal MnOOH crystals formed in the specimen when the MnOOH content ranged from 9 wt.% to 36 wt.%. The oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) activity of the catalyst with different amounts of MnOOH content in alkaline media was investigated using a rotating disc electrode (RDE) and a rotating ring-disc electrode (RRDE). The number of electrons involved in the ORR increased from 3.2 to 3.9 with the increase of the MnOOH content from 9 wt.% to 36 wt.% in the catalyst. The kinetic current increased to 0.0184 A cm −2 when the MnOOH content was increased to 72 wt.%. However, both the number of electrons and the kinetic current decreased when the MnOOH content was increased from 72 wt.% to 90 wt.%. The MnOOH/C catalyst with optimized MnOOH content and suitable loading in the cathode is promising for applications in alkaline fuel cells.
Intramolecular Dehydrogenation of Alkyl Groups at Niobium Aryloxide Centers: Bonding and Reactivity of the Ensuing Niobacyclopropane Ring

The niobium dichloride [Nb(OC6H3Pri2-2,6)3Cl2] (OC6H3Pri2-2,6 = 2,6-diisopropylphenoxide) undergoes reduction (2 Na per Nb)) in tetrahydrofuran (thf) solvent to produce the dark green complex [Nb(OC6H3Pri-η2-CMeCH2)(OC6H3Pri2-2,6)2(thf)] (1). The solid-state structure of 1 shows the α-methylvinyl group to be strongly η2-bound to the niobium metal center. The dehydrogenation of the ortho-isopropyl group of an aryloxide group to generate 1 is argued to proceed via CH bond activation within a d2-Nb(III) aryloxide followed by β-hydrogen abstraction/elimination of H2. The thf ligand in 1 can be substituted by pyridine (py) and ButNC to yield the adducts [Nb(OC6H3Pri-η2-CMeCH2)(OC6H3Pri2-2,6)2(L)2] (L = py, 2; L = ButNC, 3). The solid-state structure of 3 shows both isocyanide ligands to be terminally bound with no interaction with the η2-olefin fragment. The spectroscopic properties of these three adducts give insight into the degree of π-back-bonding between the metal and the chelated olefin fragment. The met...
Fixed points of C2 maps

Abstract S.N. Chow and J.A. Yorke have proposed in abstract terms an algorithm for computing fixed points of C2 maps that is globally convergent with probability one. A numerical implementation of that algorithm is presented here, where careful attention has been paid to computational efficiency, accuracy, and robustness. Convergence proofs for the numerical algorithm require differential geometry, and are given elsewhere. FORTRAN subroutines are given and explained in detail, and some typical numerical results are presented. It is shown how to modify the subroutines to compute zeros and handle some large sparse problems.
Online feedback-based estimation of dynamic page service time

We present a framework for estimating the service time of a dynamic HTTP request by using the service times of past requests to the same URL. Our framework tags incoming requests with a timestamp. As the request is processed, server state relevant to the estimation mechanism, such as the number of threads servicing incoming requests, is stored with each request. When a request is handled, it is timestamped again, allowing us to calculate its service time. This service time is added to the history table and used in the computation of future estimates. The estimators we evaluated do not produce accurate predictions when server resources change, leaving room for further work in estimator design.
The Cultural and Community-Level Acceptance of Antiretroviral Therapy (ART) Among Traditional Healers in Eastern Cape, South Africa

The HIV/AIDS epidemic has profoundly impacted South Africa’s healthcare system, greatly hampering its ability to scale-up the provision of antiretroviral therapy (ART). While one way to provide comprehensive care and prevention in sub-Saharan African countries has been through collaboration with traditional healers, long-term support specifically for ART has been low within this population. An exploratory, qualitative research project was conducted among 25 self-identified traditional healers between June and August of 2006 in the Lukhanji District of South Africa. By obtaining the opinions of traditional healers currently interested in biomedical approaches to HIV/AIDS care and prevention, this formative investigation identified a range of motivational factors that were believed to promote a deeper acceptance of and support for ART. These factors included cultural consistencies between traditional and biomedical medicine, education, as well as legal and financial incentives to collaborate. Through an incorporation of these factors into future HIV/AIDS treatment programs, South Africa and other sub-Saharan countries may dramatically strengthen their ability to provide ART in resource-poor settings.
Efficacy of the ‘intrapulmonary-artery septation’ surgical approach for Fontan candidates with unilateral pulmonary arterial hypoplasia

Objectives The bilaterally unbalanced development of pulmonary arteries (PAs), as a result of unilateral pulmonary arterial hypoplasia (PAhypo) makes patients either ineligible for the Fontan operation or candidates for the one-lung Fontan operation. In the present study, we examined the efficacy of intrapulmonary-artery septation (IPAS), a technique we reported in 2007 in which a septation is constructed within the central PA, in patients with unilateral PAhypo. Methods Sixteen patients with unilateral PAhypo and an affected PA index of ≤60 mm(2)/m(2), including non-confluent PA (NCPA), underwent IPAS between January 2000 and March 2012; patients with pulmonary venous obstruction were excluded from this study. We compared the affected PA index values before and after IPAS and after the Fontan operation as well as the bilateral pulmonary blood flow ratio using pulmonary scintigraphy. The post-Fontan operation values of central venous pressure (CVP), pulmonary vascular resistance (PVR), ventricular end-diastolic pressure (VEDP), cardiac index (CI) and arterial oxygen saturation (SaO2) at the most recent cardiac catheterization, as well as the pre-IPAS and post-Fontan New York Heart Association (NYHA) classification levels were examined. Results One patient died after IPAS (survival rate, 93.8%). Thirteen (86.7%) of the surviving 15 patients underwent the Fontan operation. The mean PA indexes were 25.5 ± 18.9 mm(2)/m(2) before IPAS and 67.9 ± 34.2 mm(2)/m(2) after IPAS (P = 0.003); the mean PA index was 71.1 ± 50.0 mm(2)/m(2) after the Fontan operation. Restenosis did not occur after the Fontan operation, and the PA diameters were maintained. The mean affected/unaffected lung blood flow ratio was 0.89 ± 0.67. The most recent cardiac catheterization after the Fontan operation indicated the following values: CVP, 11.7 ± 1.8 mmHg; PVR, 1.3 ± 0.4 U m(2); EDP, 5.7 ± 2.0 mmHg; CI, 3.1 ± 0.5 l/min/m(2) and SaO2, 94.9 ± 2.0%. The mean pre-IPAS and post-Fontan NYHA levels were 2.3 ± 0.6 and 1.2 ± 0.4, respectively (P = 0.0002). Conclusions With IPAS, the affected PA diameters increased significantly, and were maintained after the Fontan operation, and continuity of the native PAs was achieved. IPAS is very effective for patients suffering from otherwise intractable diseases.
Correlations between meteorological parameters and prostate cancer.

Background There exists a north-south pattern to the distribution of prostate cancer in the U.S., with the north having higher rates than the south. The current hypothesis for the spatial pattern of this disease is low vitamin D levels in individuals living at northerly latitudes; however, this explanation only partially explains the spatial distribution in the incidence of this cancer. Using a U.S. county-level ecological study design, we provide evidence that other meteorological parameters further explain the variation in prostate cancer across the U.S.
Calcium and T lymphocyte activation.

A prolonged (at least 2-4 hr) elevation of [Ca2+]i accompanies early T cell activation by TCR/CD3-specific ligands. Ca2+ is generally thought to be an essential second messenger for early activation, but the precise molecular events contingent upon the Ca2+ signal remain to be determined. The Ca2+ signal can be separated into an early transient peak due to InsP3-released Ca2+ from intracellular stores, and a sustained plateau due to altered transmembrane Ca2+ flux. Patch clamp studies have identified an InsP3-activated, Ca2+ permeable channel in the plasma membrane of T lymphocytes that may be responsible for the sustained elevation of [Ca2+]i during continuous TCR/CD3 occupancy. The Ca2+ signal can be further resolved at the level of the single cell into a series of repetitive oscillations between peak and trough levels with a period of 16-20 s. The oscillations may be part of a frequency-encoded signaling system. Several nonlinear internal feedback controls may contribute to the periodic nature of the Ca2+ signal: PKC-mediated phosphorylation of the CD3 gamma subunit, which is a feedback inhibitor of TCR/CD3 function; amplification of Ca2+ release from endoplasmic reticulum by a highly cooperative step in the opening of Ca2+ channels by InsP3, and Ca2+-dependent feedback enhancement of PLC function; autoregulatory negative feedback on Ca2+ influx by Ca2+, both by a direct effect on the plasma membrane Ca2+ channel and by induction of membrane hyperpolarization secondary to Ca2+-activated K+ efflux. In addition, several other internal feedback controls on TCR/CD3 function, by CD4-induced tyrosine-specific phosphorylation of the CD3 zeta subunit, or on the Ca2+ signal, by extracellular Cl- or by GM1 gangliosides, are also postulated. The question of whether a G protein couples TCR/CD3 to PI hydrolysis and to Ca2+ mobilization is unresolved, although some indirect evidence for the involvement of GTP binding proteins in T cell activation has recently been obtained with cholera toxin. There is also preliminary evidence that TCR/CD3 may structurally conform to G protein coupled receptors, i.e., having a core structure of seven alpha helical transmembrane spanning segments, a ligand recognition site, loci for regulatory phosphorylation, and a putative nucleotide binding site.
Eddy Amplitudes and Fluxes in a Homogeneous Model of Fully Developed Baroclinic Instability

Abstract A horizontally homogeneous two-layer quasigeostrophic model with imposed environmental vertical shear is used to study eddy energies and fluxes in the regime in which an inverse barotropic energy cascade excites eddies of much larger scale than the deformation radius. It is shown that the eddy potential vorticity flux, “thickness” flux, and the extraction of energy from the background flow are dominated by the largest eddies excited by the cascade, and not by deformation-scale eddies. The role of the latter is a catalytic one of transferring the baroclinic energy cascading downscale into the barotropic mode, thereby energizing the inverse cascade. Based on this picture, scaling arguments are developed for the eddy energy level and potential vorticity flux in statistical equilibrium. The potential vorticity flux can be thought of as generated by a diffusivity of magnitude Ukd/k20, where U is the difference between the mean currents in the two layers, kd is the inverse of the deformation radius, an...
Hierarchical Control of Polymer Composite Nano- and Micro-Structure with Lithography

We have developed a novel composite film fabrication process that utilizes the soft lithographic approach, Particle Replication in Nonwetting Templates (PRINT). This process was found to be a very viable approach to the fabrication of well-structured, multifunctional polymer composite thin films. Particle aggregation was completely eliminated as discretely molded particles with specific shape, size and composition were maintained in well-defined arrays determined by the silicon master template. Both all-organic and polymer-ceramic composites have been generated using this technique with particle inclusions ranging in size from 200 nm to 20 μm. The composition of the composite was well-controlled with both cross-linked and thermoplastic polymeric continuous phases, as well as particle compositions ranging from cross-linked polymeric resins to the inorganic oxide, barium titanate.