cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Learning to make smart choices in the context of risk: The roles of internal affective feedback and life events.

Abstract Autonomic arousal may facilitate beneficial decision-making when the link between choices and outcomes is uncertain. However, it is unknown whether greater risk-specific autonomic arousal is linearly associated with faster learning to avoid risky decisions. Furthermore, although the influence of stress on decision-making is well documented, it is unknown whether recent life stress might moderate the relationship between this internal affective feedback and decision-making. We report two studies using the Iowa Gambling Task with diverse community samples. Each study demonstrated a linear relationship between the level of autonomic arousal prior to risky decision-making and the rate of learning to avoid risk. Additionally, participants' recent life events conditionally moderated this association. Specifically, the relationship between risk-specific arousal and advantageous learning was strongest for participants who experienced relatively more positive and fewer negative life events in the previous four months. These findings suggest that autonomic arousal may generally inform decision-making, but less so when life circumstances are relatively poor.
Social Production and Artificial Intelligence

Artificial Intelligence (AI) is the latest General-Purpose Technology, inducing disruption to processes of economic and social production. This collection focuses attention on AI induced disruption to social production processes including contributions that note such in the Global South and the BRICs—Brazil, Russia, India, and China. Scrutiny of social production is long a part of political economy studies, being traced to the tradition of economic interpretation of history and society. Contemporary international political economy is partly built on the economic interpretation of history tradition affording sufficient analytical depth and breadth for this collection. A working definition of AI is provided before an overview of contributions to this collection.
Evolutionary relationships in Afro-Malagasy Schefflera (Araliaceae) based on nuclear and plastid markers

EVOLUTIONARY RELATIONSHIPS IN AFRO-MALAGASY SCHEFFLERA (ARALIACEAE) BASED ON NUCLEAR AND PLASTID MARKERS By Morgan Robert Gostel, M.S. Biology A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010. Thesis Director: Dr. Gregory M. Plunkett, Affiliate Research Professor, Department of Biology and Director, Cullman Program for Molecular Systematics, The New York Botanical Garden Thesis Co-Director: Dr. Rodney J. Dyer, Associate Professor, Department of Biology The genus Schefflera is the largest in Araliaceae, with approximately 900 species. Recent studies have shown that Schefflera is polyphyletic and represents no fewer than five distinct clades, each corresponding to a specific geographic region including Asia, continental Africa and Madagascar, Melanesia, the Neotropics, and a small clade distributed throughout several islands in the insular Pacific Ocean. The Afro-Malagasy clade contains nearly 50 species distributed throughout tropical, sub-Saharan Africa, Madagascar, the Comoros, and the Seychelles islands. Previous studies have suggested that this group is monophyletic, identifying two smaller subclades within Afro-Malagasy Schefflera corresponding roughly to informal groups identified as “Meiopanax” and “Sciodaphyllum” on the basis of morphology. Using sequence data from nuclear rDNA spacers and plastid markers derived from 32 of the 48 currently circumscribed species of Afro-Malagasy Schefflera, this study tested the monophyly of Afro-Malagasy Schefflera and of each of its two proposed subclades. Trees based on this molecular data were used to examine patterns of morphological evolution and biogeography among species in the clade. Results support the monophyly of Afro-Malagasy Schefflera and both subclades, which correspond closely to “Meiopanax” and “Sciodaphyllum” which are herein referred to as Neocussonia and Astropanax, respectively. Additional interspecific relationships were examined, which provides evidence for hybridization among several species. Schefflera myriantha, the most widely distributed species of Afro-Malagasy Schefflera, is paraphyletic with respect to two other species, S. humblotiana and S. monophylla. Many morphological features historically used to distinguish species of Afro-Malagasy Schefflera appear to be evolutionarily labile, with a history of gains and losses (e.g., reduction in leaflet number, which occurs independently in both subclades). Biogeographic analyses suggest an African ancestry for the entire Afro-Malagasy Schefflera clade, and for both subclades, with two independent divergence events to Madagascar.
Safer urethral catheters: how study of catheter balloon pressure and force can guide design

What's known on the subject? and What does the study add? The urethal catheter is a ubiquitous device that has not been modified or improved for safety in the last 20 years, although it can be associated with significant patient harm. This study utilizes force and pressure measurements of the urethral catheter in order to aid in future safety modifications. OBJECTIVES • To better define urethral catheter balloon pressures and extraction forces during traumatic placement and removal of urethral catheters. • To help guide design for safer urethral catheters. MATERIALS AND METHODS • Measurements of balloon pressure were made upon filling within the urethra vs the bladder. • Extraction forces were measured upon removal of a catheter with a filled balloon from the bladder. • Models for the bladder and urethra included an ex vivo model (funnel, ‘bladder’, attached to a 30 F tube, ‘urethra’) and fresh human male cadavers. • The mean (sem) balloon pressures and extraction forces were calculated. RESULTS • In the ex vivo model, the mean (sem) pressures upon filling the balloon with 10 mL were on average three-times higher within the ex vivo‘urethra’ (177 [6] kPa) vs ‘bladder’ (59 [2] kPa) across multiple catheter types. • In the human cadaver, the mean balloon pressure was 1.9-times higher within the urethra (139 [11] kPa) vs bladder (68 [4] kPa). • Balloon pressure increased non-linearly during intraurethral filling of both models, resulting in either balloon rupture (silicone catheters) or ‘ballooning’ of the neck of the balloon filling port (latex catheters). • Removal of a filled balloon per the ex vivo model ‘urethra’ and cadaveric urethra, similarly required increasing force with greater balloon fill volumes (e.g. 9.34 [0.44] N for 5 mL vs 41.37 [8.01] N for 10 mL balloon volume). CONCLUSIONS • Iatrogenic complications from improper urethral catheter use is common. • Catheter balloon pressures and manual extraction forces associated with urethral injury are significantly greater than those found with normal use. • The differences in pressure and force may be incorporated into a safer urethral catheter design, which may significantly reduce iatrogenic urethral injury associated with catheterization.
The Absorption of Hydrogen on Low Pressure Hydride Materials

For this study, hydrogen getter materials (Zircaloy-4 and pure zirconium) that have a high affinity for hydrogen (and low overpressure) have been investigated to determine the hydrogen equilibrium pressure on Zircaloy-4 and pure zirconium. These materials, as with most getter materials, offered significant challenges to overcome given the low hydrogen equilibrium pressure for the temperature range of interest. Hydrogen-zirconium data exists for pure zirconium at 500 C and the corresponding hydrogen overpressure is roughly 0.01 torr. This manuscript presents the results of the equilibrium pressures for the absorption and desorption of hydrogen on zirconium materials at temperatures ranging from 400 C to 600 C. The equilibrium pressures in this temperature region range from 150 mtorr at 600 C to less than 0.1 mtorr at 400 C. It has been shown that the Zircaloy-4 and zirconium samples are extremely prone to surface oxidation prior to and during heating. This oxidation precludes the hydrogen uptake, and therefore samples must be heated under a minimum vacuum of 5 x 10{sup -6} torr. In addition, the Zircaloy-4 samples should be heated at a sufficiently low rate to maintain the system pressure below 0.5 mtorr since an increase in pressure above 0.5 mtorr could possiblymore » hinder the H{sub 2} absorption kinetics due to surface contamination. The results of this study and the details of the testing protocol will be discussed.« less
Autonomous Mapping and Navigation Through Utilization of Edge-Based Optical Flow and Time-to-Collision

This paper proposes a cost-effective approach to map and navigate an area with only the means of a single, low-resolution camera on a “smart robot,” avoiding the cost and unreliability of radar/sonar systems. Implementation is divided into three main parts: object detection, autonomous movement, and mapping by spiraling inwards and using A* Pathfinding algorithm. Object detection is obtained by editing Horn–Schunck’s optical flow algorithm to track pixel brightness factors to subsequent frames, producing outward vectors. These vectors are then focused on the objects using Sobel edge detection. Autonomous movement is achieved by finding the focus of expansion from those vectors and calculating time to collisions, which are then used to maneuver. Algorithms are programmed in MATLAB and JAVA, and implemented with LEGO Mindstorm NXT 2.0 robot for real-time testing with a low-resolution video camera. Through numerous trials and diversity of the situations, validity of results is ensured to autonomously navigate and map a room using solely optical inputs.
A weak interaction model for the axial difference-frequency field of symmetric and asymmetric parametric acoustic transmitting arrays

Abstract In this paper a Gaussian beam approximation is used to represent the primary wave excitation of square, line, and rectangular radiators which are operating simultaneously at two different frequencies and are of weak finite amplitude (i.e., below the shock threshold), forming parametric arrays in a fluid medium. As the resulting field integrals in a plane transverse to the direction of propagation can be integrated analytically, simple closed-form solutions for the difference-frequency field along the parametric array axis are thus obtained. These solutions are shown to be in excellent agreement with experiment throughout the near and far field regions of the array, thus furthering the practical goal of calibration via measurements made in the vicinity of the radiator.
Theory of excitons, charged excitons, exciton fine-structure and entangled excitons in self-assembled semiconductor quantum dots

Abstract We show how the atomistic pseudopotential many-body theory of InGaAs/GaAs addresses some important effects, including (i) the fine-structure splittings (originating from interband spin exchange), (ii) the optical spectra of charged quantum dots and (iii) the degree of entanglement in a quantum dot molecule.
Families, Illness, And Disability: An Integrative Treatment Model

* Foreword Donald A. Bloch * Introduction: In Search of a Family Psychosocial Map The Experience Of Illness And Disability * The Psychosocial Typology of Illness * The Time Phases of Illness The Family System Response * Overview of Family Dynamics with Chronic Disorders * Multigenerational Experiences with Illness, Loss, and Crisis * Chronic Disorders and the Life Cycle * Family Health and Illness Belief Systems * Anticipatory Loss in Physical Illness Assessment and Treatment Guidelines * Treatment Issues with Families * In Sickness and in Health: Helping Couples Master the Challenges * Personal and Larger System Interface Issues for Clinicians
Human chorionic gonadotropin-secreting large cell carcinoma of the lung detected during follow-up of a patient previously treated for gestational trophoblastic disease

Abstract A patient is presented whose large cell carcinoma of the lung was detected by an elevated β subunit human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) titer 2 years after undergoing chemotherapy and remission for metastatic trophoblastic disease. The secretion of HCG was low (3.48 to 14.18 mIu/ml) and intermittent. Roentgenologic appearance of the lesion occurred 4 months after secretion of HCG was detected. HCG-producing tumors of nontrophoblastic origin should be considered when low titers are detected after complete remission of trophoblastic disease.
Situating end-of-life decision making in a hybrid ethical frame

Good communication in EOL (end-of-life) discussions is described at a general level in the literature, but there are few studies of EOL discussions at the level of interaction, with data drawn from the actual talk between physicians and families. In this article I present a discourse analysis of EOL discussions from an American ICU (intensive care unit) where the decision to withdraw life support is situated in a hybrid ethical frame co-constructed as the final phase of the EOL discussion. In Mishler's (1984) terms, the final phase of the EOL discussion merges the voice of medicine and the voice of the lifeworld, with both physicians and families initiating, developing, and repeating particular topics that encompass not only the logistics of death but also the ethics of the end-of-life decision. Physicians index their ethical accountability in terms of medical futility, and families express their accountability in terms of an ethics of consciousness. The hybrid ethical frame that is co-constructed ultimately centers upon consensus that the 'right' decision has been made from both ethical perspectives.
Triple fluorescence in aminosalicylates. Modulation of normal, proton-transfer, and twisted intramolecular charge-transfer (TICT) fluorescence by physical and chemical perturbations

Abstract Three competitive fluorescence emissions are shown to be observable from a common initial excited singlet state in a prototype aminosalicylate molecule: 2-hydroxy-4-dimethylaminobenzoic acid methyl ester. The fluorescences are assigned as the normal fluorescence S1 (π, π*)→S0, the twisted intramolecular charge-transfer or TICT-state fluorescence S1″(TICT)→S0, and the intramolecular proton-transfer fluorescence S1′(PT)→S0. Chemical substitution and solvent polarity perturbations are used to corroborate the assignments.
Bioavailability of Phosphorus from Various Phosphates Based on Body Weight and Toe Ash Measurements

Abstract Two experiments involving 1,152 turkeys were conducted to determine the relative bioavailability of phosphorus of eight phosphates from commercial and experimental sources. The basal diet, composed of 52% dehulled soybean meal and 41% ground yellow corn, contained 1.48% calcium and .44% total phosphorus. Phosphorus from the eight sources was added to the basal diet at levels of .09, .18, or .27% to form 24 diets with a constant calcium content. Each diet was fed to one pen of eight males and eight females from 1 to 4 wk of age in the first experiment and to two pens (one of each sex) of 16 poults/pen from 0 to 4 wk of age in the second experiment. Measurements of percentage ash of the middle toe pooled from all poults within a pen and of average body weight at 4 wk of age provided similar relative phosphorus availability values. With the phosphorus in monocalcium phosphate as the standard set at 100%, phosphorus from two sources of dicalcium phosphate and one source of defluorinated phosphate were found not significantly different in bioavailability (95, 105, and 103%, respectively). Phosphorus in curacao phosphate was only 55% available and in the three experimental defluorinated phosphates, phosphorus was 81, 70, and 87% available. Significant differences in bioavailability between two samples greater than 13 and 18% were found when using toe ash and body weight measurement, respectively.
Proc, Dr. Sam, Uncle Henry, and The “Little Green Book” (W. Proctor Harvey, MD; Samuel A. Levine, MD; Henry A. Christian, MD)

During his house staff training before World War II, Dr. W. Proctor Harvey encountered Dr. Samuel A. Levine at the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston. Following military service, Harvey returned to Boston and became Levine's first cardiology fellow. The book Clinical Auscultation of the Heart--the Little Green Book by Levine and Harvey in 1949 combined Levine's clinical wisdom with Harvey's objective phonocardiographic methods and brought an important objective dimension to the art of cardiac auscultation. Both Levine and Harvey shared experiences and friendship with Henry Christian, the first Physician-in-Chief when the new Brigham Hospital Opened in 1913. Christian, appointed Dean of the Harvard Medical School in 1908 at the age of 32, was referred to as the "Boy Dean." He held the Hersey Chair of Theory and Practice of Physic from 1908 until 1939, was one of the founding group of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and a major force in academic medicine. Levine served as intern to Christian and then joined the Brigham medical staff in 1915. Proctor Harvey followed Henry Christian's path from their mutual hometown of Lyunchburg, VA to the Peter Bent Brigham Hospital. A series of illuminating and respectful professional interactions--initially between Christian and Levine, between Levine and Harvey in the early 1940s, and between Harvey and Christian in the 1950s--provide the background for the genesis of the Little Green Book and a remarkable example of academic heritage.
Noncanonical roles of the immune system in eliciting oncogene addiction.

Cancer is highly complex. The magnitude of this complexity makes it highly surprising that even the brief suppression of an oncogene can sometimes result in rapid and sustained tumor regression, illustrating that cancers can be ‘oncogene addicted’ [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 ]. The essential implication is that oncogenes may not only fuel the initiation of tumorigenesis, but in some cases must be excessively activated to maintain a neoplastic state [ 11 ]. Oncogene suppression acutely restores normal physiological programs that effectively overrides secondary genetic events and a cancer collapses [ 12 , 13 ]. Oncogene addiction is the description of the dramatic and sustained regression of some cancers upon the specific inactivation of a single oncogene [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14•• , 15 , 16•• ], that can occur through tumor intrinsic [ 1 , 2 , 4 , 12 ], but also host immune mechanisms [ 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 , 22•• , 23•• ]. Notably, oncogene inactivation elicits a host immune response that involves specific immune effectors and cytokines that facilitate a remodeling of the tumor microenvironment including the shut down of angiogenesis and the induction of cellular senescence of tumor cells [ 16•• ]. Hence, immune effectors are not only critically involved in tumor prevention, initiation [ 17 , 18 , 19 ], and progression [ 20 ], but also appear to be essential to tumor regression upon oncogene inactivation [ 21 , 22•• , 23•• ]. Understanding how the inactivation of an oncogene elicits a systemic signal in the host that prompts a deconstruction of a tumor could have important implications. The combination of oncogene-targeted therapy together with immunomodulatory therapy may be ideal for the development of both robust tumor intrinsic and immunological responses, effectively leading to sustained tumor regression.
Activity and stability of iron-containing pillared clay catalysts for wet air oxidation of phenol

Abstract Catalytic wet air oxidation of an aqueous phenol solution over Fe–Al pillared catalyst was conducted in a stirred tank and packed bed reactor. Semi-batch experiments in the stirred tank reactor were designed to investigate the effects of temperature, air pressure, initial phenol concentration, catalyst loading, and catalyst size on the conversion of total organic carbon. The catalyst exhibited an important activity in degrading total organic carbon at mild conditions. Its internal mass transfer resistance was assessed over different catalyst sizes via a chosen criterion. Packed bed runs were conducted under selected temperature and pressure (170 °C, 3.2 MPa) over a long duration (240 h). Various characterization methods were employed for fresh and aged pillared clay catalysts. Occurrence of catalyst deactivation by carbonaceous deposits during the packed bed operation was observed through scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and elemental analysis. Insignificant metal leaching was observed because trace amounts of metal elements were detected in the hot acidic liquid solution.
Maximum Energy of Semi-infinite Magnetic Field Configurations

This article addresses the conjecture by Aly J. J. (1984, ApJ, 283) that the maximum-energy state of magnetic field configurations that have a given flux distribution on a given surface is the open-field configuration. It is shown that the existence of a maximum-energy configuration depends upon the topology of the source surface: for a multiply connected surface there is no maximum-energy state. However, the magnetic energy is known to be bounded above for a wide class of simply connected surfaces, and it is shown that in this case there must be a field configuration that has maximum energy
Further additions to the bibliography of Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913)

Abstract ABSTRACT: Twenty-one previously unrecorded published writings by the English naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace (1823–1913) are noticed. The writings vary greatly in date, size and importance, and include items pertaining both to Wallace's natural history as well as social and political interests.
Oral toxicity of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl (MMT) in rats

Abstract Rats were given a single oral dose of MMT diluted in Wesson Oil. Eight groups of animals were used and the dosages varied from 15 to 150 mg/kg body weight. Necropsies were performed and tissues were taken for histopathological and Mn determinations from animals dying during the study and from a selected number of animals euthanatized at the end of the study. The LD 50 14 was 58 mg MMT/kg body weight. Histopathological changes were found in the lungs, liver and kidney. The severity of the changes was related to the dose. Concentrations of Mn in selected tissues were elevated in animals dying from exposure. At 14 days post ingestion, the Mn concentrations had fallen to approximately normal values.
The Relationship Between School Engagement and Delinquency in Late Childhood and Early Adolescence

Engagement in school is crucial for academic success and school completion. Surprisingly little research has focused on the relationship between student engagement and delinquency. This study examines whether engagement predicts subsequent school and general misconduct among 4,890 inner-city Chicago elementary school students (mean age: 11 years and 4 months; 43.3% boys; 66.5% black; 28.8% Latino). To improve upon prior research in this area, we distinguish three types of engagement (emotional, behavioral, and cognitive), examine whether the relationship between engagement and misconduct is bidirectional (misconduct also impairs engagement), and control for possible common causes of low engagement and misconduct, including peer and family relationships and relatively stable indicators of risk-proneness. Emotional and behavioral engagement predict decreases in school and general delinquency. However, cognitive engagement is associated with increases in these outcomes. School and general delinquency predict decreased engagement only in the cognitive domain. Suggestions for future research and implications for policy are discussed.
Dynamical Emergence and Computation: An Introduction

The article provides information on the diachronic or dynamical emergence and computation. It states that one approach to this phenomena takes an unpredictable in an analytical way from the equations of the system. It also notes that genetic algorithms establishes the link between the concept of computer simulations and emergence.
An overview of sleepiness and accidents.

SUMMARY This paper reviews the association between neurobiologically-based sleepiness/fatigue and human-error related accidents. It concludes that fatigue contributes to human error and accidents in technology-rich, industrialized societies in terms of human, environmental and economic impacts. The cultural utilization of time as expressed in 24-h work operations, combined with the widespread use of automation, will continue to escalate in the next century, further increasing the risks of fatigue-related accidents, as more people conduct vigilance-based activities at times other than the traditional daytime work hours. Fatigue management and prevention of fatigue-related catastrophes need to become a sustained priority for government, industries, labour, and the public. Scientific data are urgently needed on the most likely areas in which sleepiness-related performance failures contribute to accidents, and on the effectiveness of a wide range of potentially useful countermeasures.
Growing and Evolving Vibrationally Actuated Soft Robots

Designing soft robots is difficult, time-consuming, and non-intuitive. Soft robot design faces two main challenges: structure and control. This research uses generative encodings to grow structures and a vibrational mechanism to control locomotion. In this paper, we demonstrate the ability to successfully evolve soft robots that can move when vibrated. Soft bodies are grown through a grammatical process and simulated in the Bullet physics engine. We also briefly outline a method of evolving scalable solutions that we are currently investigating. It should be capable of generating soft robots of various sizes that can move when vibrated.
Deficit or creativity: Cesare Lombroso, Robert Hertz, and the meanings of left-handedness

In the first decade of the twentieth century two influential researchers attempted to explain the origin and impact of left-handedness in human history. The first, the Turin physician Cesare Lombroso, often referred to as the father of modern criminology, was nearing the end of his long distinguished career. Lombroso tied left-handedness to criminality, insanity, and feeble mindedness. According to Lombroso, these groups shared biological regressions to primitive mentalities that could not be reversed by education or training. The second, French sociologist Robert Hertz, was at the beginning of a career cut short by his death in combat during the First World War. Hertz challenged Lombroso's claims, insisting that the predominance of right-handedness, whatever its biological substrate, was ultimately a cultural artefact driven by a primitive human urge to make sense of the world by dividing it into binary oppositions in which the right was viewed as sacred and the left as profane. Ending discrimination aga...
MAINTENANCE OF BLOOD 17-HYDROXYCORTICOSTEROIDS FOLLOWING ASCORBIC ACID TREATMENT

IT HAS been demonstrated that the eosinopenic and lymphopenic actions of exogenous and endogenous adrenal cortical hormones are prolonged by ascorbic acid treatment (Bacchus et al., 1952). Those data were interpreted as indicating that ascorbic acid in some manner maintains the circulating levels of these hormones. It was observed, also, that simultaneous ascorbic acid treatment to adrenalectomized female rats receiving cortisone prevented the usual rise in the urinary 17-ketosteroids, and permitted a significant increase in the corticosteroid excretion (Bacchus, Altszuler, and Heiffer, 1952a; Bacchus and Heiffer, 1953). These data were also supported by in vitro studies which indicated that ascorbic acid depresses the metabolism of cortical hormones by liver slices (Bacchus, 1953 a, b). This paper reports data on the effect of simultaneous ascorbic acid treatment on the circulating levels of 17-hydroxycorticosteroids in adrenadectomized rats injected with cortisone acetate. Data on the circulating leukoc...
1,25-dihydroxyvitamin d regulates tubulin expression in chick intestine#

As in many other cell types, autoregulation of tubulin synthesis is evident in the intestinal epithelium of normal (vitamin D-replete) chicks: Suppression of protein (tubulin) synthesis by cycloheximide administration in vivo resulted within 30 min in a two-fold increase in RNA hybridizing with an α-tubulin probe. Vitamin D status revealed an additional regulatory component. α-Tubulin mRNA was elevated in vitamin D-deficient (−D) chicks and those treated with 1,25(OH)2D3 for 1–10 h prior to sacrifice, but declined precipitously 15–20 h after hormone, and in normal birds. These results suggested hormonally increased tubulin levels which in turn suppressed cellular a-tubulin mRNA. Analyses of total tubulin levels by [3h]-colchicine binding revealed low levels of the protein(s) in −D chicks, increased levels at 1–15 h after 1,25(OH)2D3, and maximum binding at 20 h after hormone and in normal birds.
DNase inhibition by the adenovirus DNA-binding protein exhibits specificity for the enzyme but not for the secondary structure of the DNA.

Abstract The adenovirus-specific DNA-binding protein (DBP) has been shown to inhibit the hydrolysis of single-stranded DNA by a DNase isolated from KB cells, (Nass, K., and Frenkel, G.D. (1980). J. Virol. 35, 314–319). The specificity of the inhibition has now been investigated. The DBP inhibits the hydrolysis of single-stranded DNA by several different DNases (DNase II, KB DNase, S1 nuclease) under a variety of reaction conditions, but it has no effect on DNase I-catalyzed hydrolysis of single-stranded DNA. The DBP also inhibits the rate of hydrolysis of double-stranded DNA by KB DNase and DNase II, but has no effect on DNase I-catalyzed hydrolysis of this substrate. The DBP also inhibits the dephosphorylation of 5′-phosphoryl-terminated DNA by bacterial alkaline phosphatase but stimulates the phosphorylation of 5′-hydroxyl-terminated DNA by polynucleotide kinase.
Effect of Vertical Mini-Fins on External Condensation Heat Transfer

The purpose of this research is to experimentally study how vertical mini-fins affect the overall heat transfer on a solid surface under external condensation conditions. Filmwise condensation is a major factor when designing steam condensers for thermoelectric power plants. These plants currently account for 40% of freshwater withdrawal and 3% of freshwater usage in the United States. Filmwise condensation averages five times lower heat transfer coefficients than those present in dropwise condensation. Due to the elevated nucleation rates in thermoelectric power plant condensers, filmwise condensation is the dominant condensation regime. The film thickness is directly proportional to the condenser’s overall thermal resistance on a surface under filmwise condensation. This research investigates the potential of mini-fins to mitigate the onset and effect of filmwise condensation, thus reducing thermal resistance and maximizing heat transfer. The overall heat transfer is determined by measuring the temperature gradient across aluminum test sections. The experimental setup was designed to control the cooling load, pressure, and steam quality in order to measure the temperature gradient under steady state conditions. By comparing the overall heat transfer of surfaces with different mini-fins, the optimal surface geometries can be found. Preliminary results show that mini-fins can improve the overall heat transfer ratios. Future work will introduce other mini-fin shapes, as well as focus on investigating the most efficient heat fluxes for each mini-fin.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Pregnancy Acceptance, Parenting Stress, and Toddler Attachment in Low-Income Black Families

Questionnaire items tapping feelings about pregnancy were administered to 173 young low-income primiparous Black mothers who either were pregnant or had delivered within the past year. A factor analysis indicated that 11 items together measured mothers acceptance of the pregnancies that resulted in the births of their first children. Links to mothers later parenting stress warmth and their toddlers attachment security were explored. Pregnancy acceptance was a negative predictor of one aspect of maternal parenting stress (distress resulting from feelings that parenting is burdensome) and a positive predictor of toddler attachment security. It did not however predict another aspect of parenting stress (feelings that interactions with children are not enjoyable) or maternal warmth. (authors)
Effect of range of spread of CD4 count and RNA level on the efficacy of HIV treatments

Background We used 32,297 HIV/AIDS patients’ records obtained from different Midwest clinics (and published in our web portal http://hivdatamining.com) to study the effect of CD4 count and RNA level fluctuation on patients’ response to HIV regimens. We had two aims: 1. to investigate if controlling the range of spread of RNA level is more important than controlling the rate of spread of CD4 count. 2. To investigate if there is enough evidence that there exist RNA and CD4 correlation distribution that lead to better therapeutic responses.
Role of wave–mean flow interaction in sun–climate connections: Historical overview and some new interpretations and results

Abstract Quasi-decadal variations in solar irradiance – termed the 11-year solar cycle (SC) – have been linked to variations in a variety of atmospheric circulation features, including the polar vortex, the Brewer–Dobson circulation, and the quasi-biennial oscillation. These features share an underlying commonality: they are all rooted in wave–mean flow interaction. The purpose of this paper is to provide a historical overview of the connection between the SC and wave–mean flow interaction and to propose a more complete theoretical framework for solar modulated wave–mean flow interaction that includes both zonal-mean and zonally asymmetric ozone as intermediaries for communicating variations in solar spectral irradiance to the climate system. We solve a quasi-geostrophic model using the WKB formalism to highlight the physics connecting the SC to planetary wave-drag. Numerical results show the importance of the zonally asymmetric ozone field in mediating the effects of solar variability to the wave-driven circulation in the middle atmosphere.
Capacity payments in imperfect electricity markets: Need and design ☆

Abstract This paper argues that a variety of imperfections in wholesale “energy-only” electricity markets lead to generators earning net revenues that are inadequate to support investment in a least cost portfolio of generating capacity and to satisfy consumer preferences for reliability. Theoretical and numerical examples are used to illustrate the sources of this “missing money” problem. Improvements in “energy-only” wholesale electricity markets, especially those that improve pricing when capacity is fully utilized, can reduce the magnitude of the missing money problem. However, these improvements are unlikely to fully ameliorate it. Forward capacity obligations and associated auction mechanisms to determine capacity prices are necessary to restore appropriate wholesale market prices and associated investment incentives to support the optimal portfolio of generating investments. The deficiencies of the original capacity payment mechanisms adopted in the US are discussed and the necessary improvements identified.
Nutrient limitation in the lower Housatonic River estuary

One of the most serious threats to freshwater and marine ecosystems is high rates of anthropogenic nutrient loading, particularly nitrogen (N) and phophorus (P). One of the major freshwater sources of nutrients to Long Island Sound (LIS) is the Housatonic River (HR). Current management plans that call for reducing N inputs without reducing P inputs may change the N: P ratio in the water column and the pattern of algal nutrient limitation and species composition in the tidal portion of the river. To assess the current pattern of algal nutrient limitation in the HR estuary, nutrient bioassays were conducted in spring, summer, and fall at 5 sites throughout the tidal portion and adjacent LIS. Diatoms were a dominant taxon at all sites throughout the sampling period. Other seasonally important taxa include cyanobacteria, cryptophytes, and euglenoids. Phytoplankton in LIS were always strongly N limited and were co-limited by P in spring. During low flow (summer), phytoplankton in the lower HR estuary were N limited. Phytoplankton in the middle reaches showed no evidence of N or P limitation and were likely limited by other factors. In spring, phytoplankton in the upper HR estuary were P limited. Periods of N or P limitation were better correlated with periods of lower concentrations of nitrate or phosphate than with differences in N: P ratio. These results suggest that decreases in N concentration could increase the prevalence of N limitation throughout the estuary that in turn may reduce phytoplankton biomass and alter species composition of the phytoplankton.
errors in wind run estimates from rotational anemometers

Abstract It is common practice to compute wind run and mean wind by counting the total number of anemometer rotations in a measured time. The practice assumes that each turn of the rotor signifies the passage of a fixed run of wind. or that the anemometer's performance is expressed by S = bR, where S is wind speed in meters per second, b is a coefficient with units of meters per revolution, and R is the turning rate in revolutions per second. Tests in NCAR's wind tunnel show that, although true helicoid anemometers obey the equation S = bR, all other types of rotational anemometers obey the equation S = a + bR. The significance of errors due to this oversight is discussed.
Ethanol Increases K+ Conductance in Human T‐Cells

Ethanol increased the open probability of a K channel in cultured human T-cells. Single-channel currents were studied using the patch-clamp technique in cell-attached configuration. Ethanol increased the number of simultaneously active channels and subsequent current maxima at concentrations of 35 and 50 mM from control levels of 3.2 to 4.6 pA and 8.4 pA, respectively. Current responses were elicited by a 80 mV hyperpolarizing pulse following adjustment to the same resting potential. The channel was K-selective as determined by the reversal potentials under different Na-K gradients. When the pipette contained 155 mM K, single-channel currents had a slope conductance of 28 pS and a reversal potential of -4.3 mV. Baseline current levels often shifted in a negative direction during the application of ethanol, indicating a hyperpolarization of the membrane potential and an increase in channel activity.
Divergent patterns of immediate early gene expression in response to thyroid-stimulating hormone and insulin-like growth factor I in Wistar rat thyrocytes.

The rapid and transient induction of immediate early gene expression accompanies growth factor stimulation. TSH and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) are important regulators of the thyroid follicular cell and stimulate both proliferation and differentiation. The signaling pathways induced by TSH and IGF-I are at least partially distinct. TSH uses cAMP as a second messenger, whereas the IGF-I receptor possesses protein tyrosine kinase activity. Although both agents stimulate DNA synthesis and proliferation in Wistar rat thyroid cells, they induce dramatically different patterns of immediate early gene expression. IGF-I stimulates the expression of c-fos, c-jun, junB, and egr1. In contrast, TSH stimulates c-fos and junB but not egr1 expression. TSH inhibits basal levels of c-jun expression in quiescent cells and represses serum and IGF-I-stimulated c-jun, c-fos, and egr1 expression. Consistent with these results, TSH represses serum- and phorbol ester-stimulated AP-1 activity. Although TSH and IGF-I ind...
Mother-child relationships of mothers living apart from their children

Mothers' perceptions of mother-child relationships when mothers lived with or apart from their children were examined. Interviews and questionnaires were employed with 16 custody mothers and 17 noncustody mothers. Relationships of custody mothers with the children were more positive and less hostile and mothers felt they had gained in the parental role. Noncustody mothers reported more negative, hostile, and nonexistent relationships with their children. Noncustody mothers had less contact with sons than daughters and overall less contact with children than was reported for noncustody fathers. The results were discussed in terms of a complicated set of agendas on the parts of mothers, fathers, and children, all of which were thought to contribute to the more negative noncustody mother-child relationships. Further research is needed to assess the perceptions of all family members in these complex situations.
The effect of high obesity on outcomes of treatment for lumbar spinal conditions: subgroup analysis of the spine patient outcomes research trial

STUDY DESIGN Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial subgroup analysis. OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effect of high obesity on management of lumbar spinal stenosis, degenerative spondylolisthesis (DS), and intervertebral disc herniation (IDH). SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Prior Spine Patient Outcomes Research Trial analyses compared nonobese and obese patients. This study compares nonobese patients (body mass index<30 kg/m) with those with class I obesity (body mass index=30-35 kg/m) and class II/III high obesity (body mass index≥35 kg/m). METHODS For spinal stenosis, 250 of 634 nonobese patients, 104 of 167 obese patients, and 59 of 94 highly obese patients underwent surgery. For DS, 233 of 376 nonobese patients, 90 of 129 obese patients, and 66 of 96 highly obese patients underwent surgery. For IDH, 542 of 854 nonobese patients, 151 of 207 obese patients, and 94 of 129 highly obese patients underwent surgery. Outcomes included Short Form-36, Oswestry Disability Index, stenosis/sciatica bothersomeness index, low back pain bothersomeness index, operative events, complications, and reoperations. Operative and nonoperative outcomes were compared by change from baseline at each follow-up interval using a mixed effects longitudinal regression model. An as-treated analysis was performed because of crossover between surgical and nonoperative groups. RESULTS Highly obese patients had increased comorbidities. Baseline Short Form-36 physical function scores were lowest for highly obese patients. For spinal stenosis, surgical treatment effect and difference in operative events among groups were not significantly different.For DS, greatest treatment effect for the highly obese group was found in most primary outcome measures, and is attributable to the significantly poorer nonoperative outcomes. Operative times and wound infection rates were greatest for highly obese patients.For IDH, highly obese patients experienced less improvement postoperatively compared with obese and nonobese patients. However, nonoperative treatment for highly obese patients was even worse, resulting in greater treatment effect in almost all measures. Operative time was greatest for highly obese patients. Blood loss and length of stay was greater for both obese cohorts. CONCLUSION Highly obese patients with DS experienced longer operative times and increased infection. Operative time was greatest for highly obese patients with IDH. DS and IDH saw greater surgical treatment effect for highly obese patients due to poor outcomes of nonsurgical management. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 3.
Comments, with reply, on 'A noninvasive architecture to monitor real-time distributed systems', by J. Tsai et al

The commenter maintains that the above-titled article (see ibid., vol.23, no.3, p.22-3, 1990) on unobtrusive real-time system monitoring fails to demonstrate much appreciation for the software side and as a result provides a somewhat misleading view of the state of the art in real-time system monitoring. He states that the article fails to mention that modern real-time application software written in a high-level programming language rarely conforms to the static structure assumed by the monitor. The authors reply that their article clearly states that the principal objective is to develop a hardware-based noninvasive real-time monitoring system to ensure minimal interference in the execution of a target real-time distributed computing system. They point out that the monitor does not assume that the application software has to be a static structure and present an argument in support of this claim. >
Is maternal plasma DNA testing impacting serum-based screening for aneuploidy in the United States?

We sought to determine whether tests for fetal aneuploidy based on next-generation sequencing of cell-free DNA in maternal circulation have had an impact on routine serum-based screening in the general pregnant population. We compared results from laboratory surveys in 2011 and 2014 that reported types of prenatal serum screening tests and numbers of tests performed. Testing records from two prenatal serum screening laboratories examined temporal trends in the proportion of screened women 35 years of age and older from 2008 (or 2009) to 2014. The 82 laboratory survey results available for comparison showed that 1.7 million women were screened in 2014, a 5% increase over 2011. In the two screening laboratories, the proportion of screened women age 35 and older increased for several years but then experienced reductions of 8 and 18% by mid-2014 when compared with the highest rates observed. As of 2014, maternal plasma DNA testing appears to have had only a minor impact on serum screening rates in the United States. Ongoing surveillance has the potential to determine if, and when, DNA testing begins to replace serum testing as a primary screen for Down syndrome in the United States. Genet Med 17 11, 897–900.
A Virtual Nation: Greater Britain and the Imperial Legacy of the American Revolution

ANYONE SEEKING TO WRITE BRITISH HISTORY as something more than the combined histories of England, Scotland, Ireland, and Wales must begin by accepting a paradox. It is certainly possible to speak of a collective "British" experience, one that at various points over the last three hundred years has encompassed all of the British Isles, together with large stretches of Africa, Asia, Australia, New Zealand, and the Americas. But to paraphrase the Scottish nationalist Tom Nairn, Britain's modern history has been a history of fragmentation.1 Not only has the empire on which the sun never set largely vanished, but, for the better part of the last century, the United Kingdom itself has been beset by the centrifugal impulses of Celtic separatism. While none of this has prevented the "new British history" from attracting growing numbers of practitioners, Britain's "limits and divisions" remain no less conspicuous today than they were a quarter-century ago, when J. G. A. Pocock first noted their extraordinary persistence in his influential series of articles.2 For an essay on Britain and the American Revolution, this might sound like a rather self-evident point with which to begin. Despite the loss of the thirteen colonies, however, British historians have generally chosen to depict the eighteenth
Categorization of Forms of Dress

Similarities in the criteria for collective response patterns were examined, based upon the way respondents categorized ensembles of apparel. Ensembles of daywear, a basic category offemale dress, were selected to vary in a number of dimensions. The purpose was to determine how 52 female respondents, similar in age and occupation, would group apparel in four categorization tasks. Responses were examined to determine which dimensions were used within the daywear category at the subordinate level. Dominant criteria used by respondents in forming categories at this level were the character of the silhouette and internal shape, thepart-to-whole relation, and associated meanings. Responses indicated that the categorizing task was based more upon the form dimensions than on individual preferences.
Teaching Students to Attain Annual Transition Goals Using the Take Action Goal Attainment Lessons.

This study used the Take Action goal attainment lesson package and assistive technology to teach nine high school students with mild to moderate disabilities to attain annual transition goals. The ...