cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of the USPSTF Grade D Recommendation against Screening for Prostate Cancer on Incident Prostate Cancer Diagnoses in the United States.

Purpose: In October 2011 the USPSTF (U.S. Preventive Services Task Force) issued a draft guideline discouraging prostate specific antigen based screening for prostate cancer (grade D recommendation). We evaluated the effect of the USPSTF guideline on the number and distribution of new prostate cancer diagnoses in the United States.Materials and Methods: We identified incident cancers diagnosed between January 2010 and December 2012 in NCDB (National Cancer Database). We performed an interrupted time series to evaluate the trend of new prostate cancers diagnosed each month before and after the draft guideline with colon cancer as a comparator.Results: Incident monthly prostate cancer diagnoses decreased by –1,363 cases (12.2%, p <0.01) in the month after the USPSTF draft guideline and continued to decrease by 164 cases per month relative to baseline (–1.8%, p <0.01). In contrast monthly colon cancer diagnoses remained stable. Diagnoses of low, intermediate and high risk prostate cancers decreased significa...
Applications of modern optimal control theory to environmental control of confined spaces and life support systems: Part—5 optimality and sensitivity analysis☆

Abstract The sensitivities of a cabin with temperature control which has been considered in the first four parts of this series are examined. These include the sensitivities to (1) parameter variation, (2) change in dimensions of mathematical models and (3) change in constraints on state variables are examined. The system is not sensitive to the variation of the parameter (the recycle ratio of air) when the magnitude of the variation is small. The effect, however, is noticeable when the variation is large. The effect of the change of the parameter (the ratio of the time constants of the system proper to that of the heat exchanger) is very small. The effect of variation of the parameter (the volume fraction of the first pool in the two CST's-in-series model) on the optimal conditions is substantial. There is a small but not negligible effect of the dimensional change in the system equations, which is caused by neglecting the time constant of the heat exchanger. The complexity of the model describing the system component has a definite effect on the predicted performance of the system. The effect is apparent for the particular models considered here, which are the one CST model and the two CST's-in-series-model.
Implementation and Use of Annotations in HOL

Abstract The use of formal methods implies a significant leap to be made, both by a human verifier who creates a proof, and by anyone wishing to understand it, when proofs and specifications are expressed in the language of a typical theorem-proving system. This results from the fact that inferences in these systems are made by choosing from a limited set of small logical steps that do not bear an obvious relationship to the way humans derive and understand proofs. We have developed a system of annotations that can be used to incorporate informal semantic information, concerning the domain being reasoned about, into a formal proof environment, in such a way as to guide proof development and provide proof explanation. These annotations can be used, for example, to transfer a designer's intuitions about why a design is correct to the theorem-proving system that will prove that fact, or to record the steps of the proof in the style of a journal-level proof.
Nucleic Acid Therapeutics: State of the Art and Future Prospects

AS WE APPROACH the new millennium, a quick glance backwards reveals that truly astounding progress has been made in the identification of genes responsible for cell growth, development, and neoplastic transformation. With this knowledge has come a natural desire to “translate” this information
Fat metabolism in higher plants. XLI. Properties of potato acetyl coenzyme A synthetase.

Abstract Potato acetyl coenzyme A synthetase was isolated and partially purified. This enzyme existed in multiple forms. Five acetyl coenzyme A synthetase activity peaks were obtained from DEAE-cellulose column chromatography. However, their molecular sizes were very similar as judged from Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. An apparent molecular weight of 59,500 was estimated from gel-filtration experiments. These multiple acetyl coenzyme A synthetases were similar in their substrate specificity, pH optimum, and response to AMP inhibition. In the presence of AMP, the ATP saturation curve was sigmoidal; however, in the absence of AMP, the ATP saturation curve was hyperbolic. The major form of the potato acetyl CoA synthetases followed Iso Bi Uni Uni Bi Ping Pong mechanism based on initial velocity and product inhibition studies. This mechanism is similar to that of the yeast enzyme (1).
Variability in responses to nutrients and trace elements, and transmission of stressor effects through an estuarine food web

Marine bivalve molluscs such as the blue mussel (Mytilus edulis) and the soft shell clam (Mya arenaria) have been used as sentinel organisms of contaminant bioavailability and the biological consequences of contaminant exposure. Biological responses that may contribute to the impairment of reproductive and developmental processes include responses that can be categorized as interfering with bioenergetic processes such as feeding and nutrient allocation; biosynthetic processes, such as the synthesis of energy stores; and morphogenic processes, such as those involved in structural development. Case studies within New Bedford and Boston Harbors (Massachusetts) are used to examine the relationship between contaminant uptake and effects on the reproductive cycle and bioenergetics of mussels and soft shell clams. The results observed illustrate that disruption in bioenergetics in bivalve molluscs exposed to chemical contaminants can result in loss of reproductive output and increased susceptibility to disease. Differences in the extent of reproductive impairment may be linked specifically to energetic strategies of individual species.
McLuhan’s Grammatical Theology

ABSTRACT This article offers one more assessment of the work of Marshall McLuhan, using his recently published dissertation on the trivium as a window for reading his later, more media-focused works. Seeing McLuhan as a grammatical theologian casts fresh light on several well-known themes in his thought: his encyclopedic method with its surrealist juxtapositions, his insistence on medium specificity, his trouble with mathematics, his love of conceptual incommensurabilities, and, above all, his suppression of dialectic as a mode of thought and argument. In terms of the trivium, McLuhan was a grammarian in his intellectual commitments and a rhetorician in his practical performances, but he was never a dialectician. RESUME Cet article offre une evaluation de plus de l’oeuvre de Marshall McLuhan, utilisant sa these recemment publiee sur le trivium (grammaire, rhetorique, dialectique) pour interpreter ses travaux ulterieurs davantage axes sur les medias. En le percevant comme un theologien grammatical, on envisage sous un autre angle plusieurs themes bien connus de sa pensee : sa methode encyclopedique avec ses juxtapositions surrealistes, son insistance sur les particularites de chaque media, ses difficultes avec les mathematiques, son amour pour les incommensurabilites conceptuelles et, surtout, sa suppression de la dialectique comme mode de pensee et d’argumentation. Par rapport au trivium, McLuhan etait un grammairien dans ses engagements intellectuels et un rhetoricien dans ses jeux d’interprete, mais il n’etait aucunement dialecticien.
Pressure anisotropy in global magnetospheric simulations: Coupling with ring current models

[1] We have recently extended the global magnetohydrodynamic (MHD) model BATS-R-US to account for pressure anisotropy. Since the inner magnetosphere dynamics cannot be fully described even by anisotropic MHD, we coupled our anisotropic MHD model with two inner magnetospheric models: the Rice Convection Model (RCM) and the Comprehensive Ring Current Model (CRCM). The coupled models provide better representations of the near-Earth plasma, especially during geomagnetic storms. In this paper, we present the two-way coupling algorithms with both ring current models. The major difference between these two couplings is that the RCM assumes isotropic and constant pressures along closed field lines, while the CRCM resolves pitch angle anisotropy. For model validation, we report global magnetosphere simulations performed by the coupled models. The simulation results are compared to the results given by the coupled isotropic MHD and ring current models. We find that in the global MHD simulations coupled with ring current models, pressure anisotropy results in a thinner magnetosheath, a shorter tail, a much smaller Earthward plasma jet from the tail reconnection site, and is also important in controlling the magnetic field configuration. The comparisons with satellite data for the magnetospheric event simulations show improvements on reproducing the measured tail magnetic field and inner magnetospheric flow velocity when including pressure anisotropy in the ring current model coupled global MHD model.
Clinical course of kidney transplant patients with acute rejection and BK virus replication following Campath therapy

: Background: Kidney transplant recipients with active BK virus (BKV) replication are generally treated with reduction in immunosuppression to allow a successful immune response against the virus. Methods: We inadvertently administered Campath to two patients with BKV viruria, and one patient with BKV nephropathy, since allograft biopsies showed severe tubulitis or intimal arteritis, and results of PCR and in situ hybridization were not available at the time of therapeutic intervention. Results: Increased viral replication was observed, but not uniformly in all cases, and follow-up biopsies showed nephropathy in one additional case. Extra-renal dissemination did not occur. With subsequent reduction of immunosuppression or antiviral therapy, it was still possible to obtain clearance of viremia in all cases. Serum creatinine fell transiently after Campath in one patient; however, at one yr post-treatment all had increased levels over baseline. One graft was lost to persistent acute rejection that led to interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy. Conclusion: These cases suggest that Campath treatment does not (i) irreversibly deplete cells believed to be important in mounting an immune response against BKV, or (ii) preclude subsequent eradication of viral DNA from the blood.
Apparent selection of enzyme alleles in laboratory populations of Drosophila.

ABSTRACT Twelve laboratory populations of recently collected Drosophila willistoni were begun with different frequencies of alleles at three enzyme loci, six populations at 25° and six at 19°. Periodic sampling of the populations allowed monitoring of the frequency changes in allozymes over time.—At Lap-5 (a locus coding for leucine amino peptidase), three alleles converged to the same frequencies in all populations at both temperatures. The apparent equilibrium frequency of the major allele was about.75; this is different from the frequency (.57) found in the natural population from which the experimental populations were begun. Allele frequency changes at the esterase-5 locus ( Est-5 ) were slower but consistent in all cages. It is difficult to determine if an equilibrium has been reached. However, the frequency of the rare allele in all cages is about the same as in wild populations, 5%. Alleles at both Lap-5 and Est-5 are non-randomly associated with inversions in the chromosomes onto which they map. Because of these associations, it is impossible to unambiguously attribute the change in allele frequencies to selection at the loci being observed.—After one year, no significant gene frequency changes were detected at Est-7 , the third locus studied.
Hearing the Noise: Economic Sanctions Theory and Anomalous Evidence

Our understanding of economic sanctions has progressed significantly over the past three decades. Sanctions scholars have done a remarkable job at using empirical anomalies to guide theoretical developments and then using these to guide the next iteration of data collection and empirical testing. Here, I argue that mounting empirical evidence suggests it is time to develop a new theoretical perspective. I identify a number of empirical results, some unpublished, that are hard to reconcile with existing theory, and I argue that there is enough consistency in these results to suggest which way to turn.
A Probable Case of Acute Childhood Leukemia: Skeletal Involvement, Differential Diagnosis, and the Bioarchaeology of Cancer in South America

Cancer involves a complex spectrum of disease conditions. However, cancer has received relatively limited attention in paleopathology and bioarchaeology as it is infrequently encountered in the skeletal record, and its differential diagnosis in dry bone remains challenging. Of all neoplastic disorders, one of the most infrequently described forms in ancient skeletons is leukemia, or the myeloproliferative neoplasms of the reticuloendothelial system affecting bone marrow and blood. This case study describes and interprets a suite of lytic and proliferative lesions in the skeletal remains of an Early/Middle Colonial-era child (ca. A.D. 1533–1620) excavated at the ruins of Eten, southwestern Lambayeque Valley Complex (north coast of Peru). A secondary burial contained the incomplete postcranial remains of a 5–6 year-old child whose bones were characterized by abnormal porous loci in the right clavicle, scapulae, long bones of the upper limb, ribs, and thoracic and lumbar vertebrae. Additionally, fine areas of new bone formation were present on the clavicle and ribs. Multiple pathological conditions were evaluated in a differential diagnosis, including taphonomic changes and various bone resorbing and forming disorders. The lesions are most consistent with acute childhood leukemia and represent the first of its kind described in Andean South America. The identification of this condition helps focus research questions involving the bioarchaeology of cancer in the Andes, especially regarding the significance of neoplastic disorders in relation to the broader reconstruction of past human health in Peru. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Evaporative cooling of continuously drawn glass fibers by water sprays

Abstract This paper examines the effect of the water sprays commonly used to cool freshly drawn glass fibers. A model has been developed using a Karman–Pohlhausen treatment of the velocity and thermal boundary layers and accounting for the evaporation of an entrained water spray. Solutions of the model equations have been calculated, and the effect of changing various process parameters is studied. Variations in Sauter mean diameter, spray density, and spray placement along the fiber are considered, as well as the effect of fiber diameter and drawing speed. Fiber temperature profiles for different values of the process variables are presented.
Isolation and characterization of a dideoxyguanosine triphosphate-resistant mutant of human immunodeficiency virus reverse transcriptase.

Abstract The appearance of drug-resistant strains of viral pathogens is a major difficulty confounding current efforts to block viral infections. The identification and analysis of mutations responsible for drug resistance can provide important clues helpful in understanding the mechanisms of resistance and in the eventual development of better therapies. We have used a direct screening method to scan libraries of mutagenized genes encoding the reverse transcriptase of human immunodeficiency virus type 1, and have recovered a variant enzyme that is resistant to the chain-terminator inhibitor 2',3'-dideoxyguanosine triphosphate. The single substitution mutation in this variant conferred broad crossresistance to a variety of other antiviral compounds currently in clinical trials. Virus carrying the mutation was fully infectious in cultured human lymphocytes. The replication of the mutant virus was highly resistant to phosphonoformic acid but did not show increased resistance to the prodrug dideoxyguanosine.
Kinematic structure of convective-scale elements in the rainbands of Hurricanes Katrina and Rita (2005)

[1] Airborne Doppler radar data collected during the Hurricane Rainband and Intensity Change Experiment (RAINEX) show the convective-scale air motions embedded in the principal rainbands of hurricanes Katrina and Rita. These embedded convective cells have overturning updrafts and low-level downdrafts (originating at 2–4 km) that enter the rainband on its radially outward side and cross over each other within the rainband as well as a strong downdraft emanating from upper levels (6+ km) on the radially inward side. These vertical motion structures repeat from one convective cell to another along each rainband. The resulting net vertical mass transport is upward in the upwind portion of the band and greatest in the middle sector of the principal rainband, where the updraft motions contribute generally to an increase of potential vorticity below the 3–4 km level. Because the convective cells in the middle sector are systematically located radially just inside the secondary horizontal wind maximum (SHWM), the local increase in vorticity implied by the convective mass transport is manifest locally as an increase in the strength of the SHWM at midlevels (� 4 km). The overturning updrafts of the convective cells tilt, stretch, and vertically transport vorticity such that the convergence of the vertical flux of vorticity strengthens the vorticity anomaly associated with the SHWM. This process could strengthen the SHWM by several meters per second per hour, and may explain how high wave number convective-scale features can influence a low wave number feature such as the principal rainband, and subsequently influence the primary vortex.
The Effects of Personality and Acculturation on the Adjustment of North American Sojourners in Taiwan.

As more North Americans sojourn abroad in the emerging global marketplace, it is important to understand the factors related to successful cross-cultural adjustment. This study explores how personality factors and acculturation influence the cross-cultural adjustment process of North Americans sojourning in Taiwan. The results reveal that greater psychological adjustment to life in Taiwan was related to less neuroticism, greater agreeableness, greater conscientiousness, and being more acculturated to Taiwanese culture. More successful sociocultural adjustment was associated with being male, being more extraverted, and being more acculturated to Taiwanese culture. The results suggest the importance of distinguishing between psychological and sociocultural cross-cultural adjustment processes, as well as viewing acculturation as a multidimensional construct.
Using polymer adhesive compositions in design of slider bearings

A description is given of polymer composite self-lubricating EFLONG and EFLAST materials developed at Pacific State University and designed for operation in slider-bearing designs. The results of comparative studies of strength are presented for adhesive compositions of sleeves made from these composite materials with metallic holders.
LASER ISOTOPE SEPARATION

Separation processes for isotopes based on irradiation of a molecule with a laser tuned to a frequency matching a vibrational state of a particular isotope of the molecule are described. Separation of U isotopes is mentioned briefly. A CO/sub 2/ laser and a filtered uv flashlamp have been used for the separation of B isotopes using a two-photon dissociation of BCl/sub 3/. Processes using a single infrared laser for the enrichment of both B and Cl isotopes in BCl/sub 3/ and S isotopes in SF/sub 6/ are described. Enrichments ranging from 500 to 3300 percent were reported. The main disadvantage of such laser separation systems is the large amount of energy that they consume. (BLM)
Factors affecting chemical and biological reduction of hexavalent chromium in soil

Hexavalent chromium [Cr(VI)] is a common environmental pollutant that is mobile in soils and is a known mutagen The trivalent form [Cr(III)] has no known mutagenic properties and is highly insoluble and immobile above pH 5 5 Reduction to the trivalent state thus represents an effective mechanism for detoxification and immobilization of Cr(VI) in soil/water systems In this study, we conducted experiments to examine various parameters involving aerobic reduction of Cr(VI) in a field soil We found that organic matter content, bioactivity, and oxygen status were important factors Under optimum conditions, the soil reduced 96% of added Cr(VI) under aerobic, field moist conditions The pH of the system was shown to have little effect Both biological and nonbiological processes were influential, and, of 20 chromate resistant bacterial cultures isolated from soils, 9 were found to actively reduce Cr(VI) to Cr(III) in liquid media Our study suggests that organic amended soils can readily reduce Cr(VI) and could promote excellent removal efficiency either as a primary treatment technique, or in conjunction with bioreactor type wastewater treatment systems
Resistance to environmental stresses by Vibrio vulnificus in the viable but nonculturable state

Vibrio vulnificus is responsible for 95% of all seafood-associated fatalities in the United States. When water temperatures drop below c . 13 °C, the cells enter into the viable but nonculturable (VBNC) state wherein they are unable to grow on routine media but retain viability and the ability to return to the culturable state. The aim of this study was to determine whether V. vulnificus cells in the VBNC state are protected against a variety of potentially lethal challenges (heat, oxidative, osmotic, pH, ethanol, antibiotic and heavy metal) and to examine genetic regulators that might underlie such protection. The data presented here indicate that VBNC cells of this pathogen are protected against a wide variety of stresses and retain the ability to return to the culturable state. Surprisingly, we found no significant difference in the expression of relA and spoT between VBNC and logarithmic cells, nor any significant difference in the expression of rpoS in the case of the clinical (C) genotype of this pathogen. However, expression of relA was significantly different in VBNC cells of the environmental (E) genotype compared with logarithmic cells. This might account for findings indicating an enhanced ability for E-genotype cells to withstand environmental changes better than C-genotype cells.
Subitaneous and diapause eggs of Labidocera aestiva Wheeler (Copepoda : Calanoida): Differences in fall velocity and density

Abstract The sinking rate and density of subitaneous and diapause eggs of the calanoid copepod, Labidocera aestiva Wheeler, were determined in the laboratory using a settling chamber and density gradient centrifugation. The average fall velocities of subitaneous and diapause eggs were, respectively, 0.0463 and 0.0610 cm/s. Based upon Stokes' equation the values for fall velocity correspond to densities ranging from 1.081–1.133 g/cm 3 for subitaneous eggs and 1.101–1.181 g/cm 3 for diapause eggs. The range of density values determined by density gradient centrifugation were comparable. The significance of the results with regard to the distribution of subitaneous and diapause eggs on the sea bottom and the underlying biological basis of the density difference is discussed.
The Development and Implementation of the Concept of Consumer Education

With the recent upsurge of emphasis in consumer education at the State and Federal government levels, consumer educators need to review the historical roots of the current movement to develop a broader perspective for planning future directions in consumer education. It is also necessary to understand the two orientations (buymanship and life goals) towards consumer education course content. Finally, a review of previous research into factors that influence the level of consumer economic competency is required.
Disposition of timolol and inulin in the rabbit eye following corneal versus non-corneal absorption

Abstract This study describes an investigation of the corneal versus non-corneal penetration routes of topically applied drugs in the eye. The time course of ocular distribution and disposition of topically applied timolol and inulin following corneal and non-corneal absorption was investigated. It was shown that non-corneal absorption may contribute significantly to drug penetration into intraocular tissues. Such ‘productive’ non-corneal drug penetration involves drug permeation across the conjunctiva and the underlying sclera. Drug absorbed by this route essentially bypassed the anterior chamber and distributed primarily in the uveal tract and vitreous humor. Non-corneal absorption may be important for drugs that are poorly absorbed across the cornea. This was demonstrated using inulin as a model of a large molecular weight compound with poor corneal permeability. Overall, 40% of the absorbed amount of inulin in the eye, and even larger proportions in selected ocular tissues could be attributed to non-corneal penetration. These studies suggest that anterior chamber levels may not be an appropriate measure of the ocular bioavailability for all drug delivery systems. The primary factor limiting the extent of non-corneal penetration of drugs into the eye appears to be the concurrent systemic loss of drug via the ocular vasculature.
Review of Evidence for a Novel Model of Cocaine-Induced Cardiovascular Toxicity

Cocaine is known to produce life-threatening cardiovascular complications in some but not all individuals. This review considers the premise that an appropriate animal model for cocaine-induced cardiotoxicity should be characterized by varying sensitivity in the population to the deleterious effects of cocaine. We have studied such a model in which physiological, biochemical, and pathological sensitivity to cocaine varies in rats. Our studies have identified a subset of rats that respond to cocaine with a decrease in cardiac output and a substantial increase in systemic vascular resistance (named vascular responders). In contrast, another group, designated mixed responders, is characterized by a smaller increase in systemic vascular resistance and a small increase in cardiac output. We reported that vascular responders are more likely to develop hypertension and cardiomyopathies with repeated cocaine administration. Under chloralose anesthesia, vascular responders have more profound pressor responses to cocaine and an initial brief spike in renal sympathetic nerve activity not usually noted in mixed responders. Vascular responders have higher resting and cocaine-induced dopamine turnover in the striatum. In addition, vascular responders have higher alpha-adrenergic vasoconstrictor tone, whereas mixed responders have higher adrenergic cardiac tone. The difference in cardiac output and systemic vascular resistance responses to cocaine in these two subsets of the population can be prevented by L-type calcium channel, muscarinic, or alpha-adrenergic blockade. Similar hemodynamic response variability is noted with other psychoactive agents and with acute stress, suggesting that the response patterns are not unique to cocaine. We propose that individual hemodynamic response variability is dependent on differences in CNS responsiveness and correlated with the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
Latina Re-Visionings of Participatory Health Promotion Practice: Cultural and Ecosystemic Perspectives Linking Personal and Social Change

This article presents Latina re-visionings of ecosystemic and participatory health promotion practice linking personal and social change in gender, culture, and politics of shared development. The authors, a Cuban-American clinical psychologist and a Chicana/Italian-American PhD student, apply transnational and multiracial frameworks informing strengths-based, collaborative practice connecting women's lived experiences of struggle and striving with resources promoting wellness and equity. We describe how massive workplace raids in New Bedford, MA required re-examining sociopolitical implications of our practice, expanding collaborations with Community-Based Organizations while making connections between politics of every day life, culturally meaningful gender justice, and practice of social change.
A 62-Year-Old Male Heart Transplant Recipient With Progressive Hypoxia

a From the Division of Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA b Division of Infectious Disease, Department of Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA c Department of Pathology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA d Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA e Department of Critical Care Medicine, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh PA
Commentary on statistical issues underlying the evaluation of a social policy change on motor vehicle accident involvement

Abstract This commentary addresses the statistical issues which are involved in assessing whether a causal interpretation can be given to an association between a change in social policy such as lowering the legal age for drinking alcohol and a change in the nature of accident involvement frequency for a particular sub-population of drivers like 18–20 year olds. In this regard, two methodological concerns are emphasized. The first is the resolution of a possible paradox in the nature of an association in the sense that individuals with a greater tendency to accident involvement may also have a greater tendency to alcohol usage so that their alcohol related accident involvement is coincidental rather than causal. For this setting, alcohol would be an “after the fact” correlate with accident involvement as opposed to a possible cause. Similarly, the second concern is the role of population exposure as an explanation for the change in alcohol related accident frequency for a particular age group. Since availability naturally increases the size of the population at risk for such accidents, the corresponding accident frequency may similarly increase even though the corresponding accident rates may have remained unchanged or perhaps even decreased. For these reasons, although associations with change in social policy are definitely of general interest, their interpretation in a causal sense should be viewed with substantial caution until the implications of competing explanations are reconciled. This assertion, however, does not mean that such associations are not useful for policy purposes, but rather that they lack sufficiently targeted statistical validity to be the primary basis for such change. In other words, if there is a strong rationale on economic, political, or social grounds for a policy change, then data presenting meaningful associations which are compatible with it can often play an important supportive role for it.
An experimental study of γ-ray attenuation in polyethylene—Lead shields☆

Abstract The shielding efficiency of lead and of polyethylene—lead combinations was studied with Co60 radiations. Four types of shields of equal surface density were used: (i) lead alone, (ii) polyethylene followed by lead, (iii) lead followed by polyethylene, (iv) lamination of polyethylene and lead. Pulse-height spectra of the radiations transmitted through these shields were taken and converted into their respective photon spectra by the inverse matrix technique. From the photon spectra, dose rates in air were calculated. It was found that lamination of polyethylene and lead gave the best shield. Energy deposition ratios in NaI(Tl) obtained directly from the pulse-height spectra agreed with the dose rates in air obtained from the photon spectra.
Age Preferences in Dating Advertisements by Homosexuals and Heterosexuals: From Sociobiological to Sociological Explanations

Current sociobiological thought suggests that significant components of mate selection are based on indicators that correlate with the ability to produce and support offspring. Theorists have suggested that men tend to be attracted to and marry younger women, while women tend to be attracted to and marry older men. This behavior is referred to as age hypergamy. I complicate this picture by using gay men as a population in which to explore alternative components of mate selection as reflected in our behavior. Analyses of 120 dating advertisements from gay men and heterosexual men and women indicated that there exists a good measure of hypergamic age preference that is comparable to the heterosexual population and that relates to subjects’ gender presentation. Data suggest that the biological-reproductive theory of age hypergamy is incomplete and support a cultural reproduction model of gender role behavior and preference in both heterosexuals and homosexuals.
The Synthesis of Isoindolo[2, 1-a]indoles via Both Radical and Organopalladium Strategies

Abstract The synthesis of compounds 5 and 8 from haloarylindoles via both radical and palladium-mediated routes is described. In each case the palladium-based procedure afforded better yields.
Productivity and turnover in PCPs: the role of staff participation in decision-making.

Background: Efforts to redesign primary care practices are beginning to address how decisions are made in the practice setting. This study contributes to these efforts by examining associations between staff participation in decision-making, productivity, and turnover in primary care practices. The study is informed by organizational theories of participation that emphasize cognitive and affective influences on employee output and behavior. Methods: This research used data collected from primary care practices involved in a national initiative sponsored by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Cross-sectional survey data on organizational structures and attributes among 49 practices were analyzed. Regression analysis was used to examine associations among practice productivity, staff participation in decision-making, and formal structures such as staff meetings. Associations between staff turnover and participative decision-making were also examined. Results: Staff participation in decisions regarding quality improvement, practice change, and clinical operations was positively associated with practice productivity, whereas formal structures such as staff meetings were not. In addition, higher levels of participation in decision-making were associated with reduced turnover among nonclinicians and administrative staff. Conclusion: Examination of organizational features is increasingly recognized as a key to improving primary care performance. Study findings suggest that one important strategy may be implementation of a participative model emphasizing greater staff involvement in practice decisions. This may enhance information-sharing, work satisfaction, and commitment to organizational decisions, all of which can lead to beneficial outcomes such as increased productivity and stability in primary care practices.
Enhancing collaborative project-based learning using participatory design approach

In this work-in-progress paper, an innovative curriculum design process using participatory design strategy is presented. The principle of participatory design is to involve the end users (which are the students in our case) in every stage of the design process. Guided by the theory of situated learning, the faculty and student co-designers re-examined the Collaborative Project-based Learning (CPBL) model based on the evidence collected to identify effective pedagogical components to address the learning needs of under-represented minority students. In the course redesign process, the faculty and students worked together to improve the pedagogical methods based on cognitive apprenticeship and its four building blocks including content, method, sequence, and sociology. The redesigned course is currently being offered in Spring 2014, where both qualitative and quantitative data are collected to evaluate the effectiveness of the course redesign. We expect to share both the course re-design process and what we learn from the implementation of the redesigned course with the broad engineering education community during the conference.
Interlibrary Loan and the MnSCU/PAL Libraries

ABSTRACT The combination of an efficient automated ILL system, a group of cooperative libraries, a state-wide telecommunications network and document delivery system helps the MnSCU/PALS libraries cope with the growing demands and decreasing budgets of ILL services.
Modeling of Finite-span Ram Wings Moving Above Water at Finite Froude Numbers

Power-augmented ram wings can be used for very fast transportation of heavy cargo over water and relatively flat solid surfaces. This article describes a coupled aerohydrodynamic model for a ram wing in steady forward motion. Effects of a finite wingspan and finite Froude numbers are accounted for by the extreme ground effect theory for airflow and a linearized potential flow theory for water. Representative results showing the influence of several variable parameters of the vehicle geometry and operational regimes are demonstrated for a selected ram-wing configuration. The developed method can be applied for modeling of airborne lifting surfaces operating in the strong ground effect on a variety of fast marine craft.
Zelmanov's prime theorem for quadratic Jordan algebras

E. I. Zelmanov has recently shown that any prime linear Jordan algebra without nil ideals (but no finiteness conditions imposed) is either a homomorphic image of a special algebra or is a form of the 27-dimensional exceptional algebra. In particular, all division algebras and all simple unital algebras are either derived from associative algebras or are 27.dimensional over their centers. This effectively ends the search for infinite-dimensional exceptional algebras. In the present paper, Zelmanov’s result is extended to quadratic Jordan algebras. Jordan algebras were invented in the 1930s in the search for an exceptional algebraic setting for quantum mechnics: an algebraic system which behaved like the usual algebra of quantum mechanical observables (hermitian operators on Hilbert space), but was exceptional in the sense that its structure was not determined behind the scenes by some unobservable associative algebra. In their pioneering paper of 1933, [ 91 Jordan, von Neumann, and Wigner classified the finite-dimensional formally real linear Jordan algebras, and A. A. Albert showed [ 11 that the only simple algebra in the list which was exceptional was a certain 27.dimensional algebra of 3 X 3 hermitian matrices with entries from an gdimensional Cayley algebra. All subsequent investigations of exceptional Jordan algebras led back to this same Albert algebra. The next breakthrough in the structure of Jordan algebras was N. Jacobson’s 1965 introduction [6 J of inner ideals and the resultant quadratilication of the theory (in terms of the quadratic product xyx instead of the linear product xy + .vx). The final breakthrough was the astounding 1979 result of a young Russian mathematician, E. I. Zelmanov, that the only simple exceptional linear Jordan are Albert algebras. Thus the search for an infinite-dimensional setting for exceptional quantum mechanics is doomed to failure: the only simple exceptional structure allotted to mortals is the 27-dimensional Albert algebra. This came as a complete surprise to Western researchers (who hoped the free Jordan algebra might lead to an 291 002 I-8693/82/060297-30$02.00/0
Voluntary environmental initiatives and sustainable industry

Voluntary environmental initiatives are private or public efforts to improve corporate environmental performance beyond existing legal requirements. Voluntary initiatives have become an important element in the mix of public policies and corporate strategies for managing industrial impacts on the environment, but considerable uncertainty exists concerning the effectiveness, efficiency and fairness of voluntary programs relative to other policy instruments. This paper considers the potential role for voluntary initiatives in the transition toward more sustainable industrial systems, in light of these criteria. Several pervasive problems have hindered evaluation of their environmental effectiveness so far including poorly specified objectives, inadequate data on results and poorly specified baselines for comparison. Economic models indicate that in different circumstances, voluntary approaches may increase or decrease economic efficiency. However, these conditions remain poorly understood. Little if any analysis so far has focused on the intergenerational and intragenerational equity of voluntary approaches. Evaluations of negotiated agreements indicate that they often reduce the ability of outside parties to observe both the process and the outcomes of a policy relative to regulations. These considerations suggest that while voluntary initiatives can help us move toward more sustainable industrial systems, considerable advances in the design and analysis of voluntary initiatives will be required to harness their full potential. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. and ERP Environment
Microbeam RBS on flat panel displays

The authors have demonstrated the utility of microbeam - Rutherford Back Scattering ({mu} RBS) in spatially resolved studies of operational plasma effects on the interior surfaces of plasma flat panel displays manufactured by Photonics Imaging. The experiments were performed at the Sandia Nuclear microprobe using a 2.8 MeV He beam with an average beam spot size of less than 8{mu}m. The interior surface of the top panes of the flat panels is composed of approximately 800 nm of MgO on top of a 2000nm thick PbO layer. {mu}-RBS of sample panels operated under varying conditions measured changes in the surface MgO film thickness due to plasma erosion and redeposition as accurately as {+-}1.5 nm. The high accuracy in the MgO thickness measurement was achieved by inferring the MgO thickness from the shift of the Pb front edge in the RBS spectrum. An estimate for the thickness accuracy as a function of the acquired statistics is presented. The surface of the flat panels` bottom panes is also comprised of MgO on top of PbO. However, troughs {approximately}100 {mu}m wide by 10{mu}m deep were partially filled with phosphor and cover the entire width of the surface. This leaves only 100pm long sections of MgO within the trough exposed. Using {mu}-RBS, the authors were able to analyze the surface composition of these regions.
Stereoselective Bimolecular Phenoxy Radical Coupling by an Auxiliary (Dirigent) Protein Without an Active Center

The regio- and stereospecificity of bimolecular phenoxy radical coupling reactions, of especial importance in lignin and lignan biosynthesis, are clearly controlled in some manner in vivo; yet in vitro coupling by oxidases, such as laccases, only produce racemic products. In other words, laccases, peroxidases, and comparable oxidases are unable to control regio- or stereospecificity by themselves and thus some other agent must exist. A 78-kilodalton protein has been isolated that, in the presence of an oxidase or one electron oxidant, effects stereoselective bimolecular phenoxy radical coupling in vitro. Itself lacking a catalytically active (oxidative) center, its mechanism of action is presumed to involve capture of E-coniferyl alcohol-derived free-radical intermediates, with consequent stereoselective coupling to give (+)-pinoresinol.
Staging Systems of Lung Cancer

The staging of lung cancer involves assessment of the anatomic extent of disease based on the best available data. Such a definition of neoplastic burden facilitates the systematic analysis and meaningful communication of diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic information. Clinical staging involves the best estimate of extent of disease before performance of surgical resection or biopsy procedures (or both). Surgical-pathologic staging is based on the histopathologic analysis of resected specimens, including determining the extent of local and regional disease. During the past 50 years, two major classification schemes for staging of lung cancer have evolved—one for non-small-cell lung cancers (the TNM system, indicating the status of primary tumor [T], regional lymph node [N], and metastatic [M] involvement) and the other for small-cell carcinoma of the lung (based on limited versus extensive disease). In this report, we review the evolution of the current staging systems used for primary lung cancer and their prognostic implications.
Topical content in Mozart's keyboard sonatas

I shall consider here the role of topical content in the rhetoric of Classic music, using Mozart's keyboard sonatas by way of illustration. The term 'topic' here signifies a subject to be incorporated in a discourse. A topic can be a style, a type, a figure, a process or a plan of action. Topics can be intra-musical-elements of the language of music-or extra-musical taken from other media of expression. The connection between these two aspects of topical content has a long history. Music, in its relationship to the temporal artspoetry, drama and choreography-has been something of a chameleon, if not an actual parasite. Throughout its history Western music has repeatedly been taken up by the language and theatrical arts as a means of intensification, to elevate and sustain the effect of the word or gesture. But as music joins with word or gesture it gradually incorporates its own syntax, its idiomatic elaborations to the point that the word or gesture is absorbed into the play of musical rhetoric, especially in extensions and elaborations. The actual presence of the 'host' (that is, the word or gesture) disappears, but its configuration remains in the contour and the form of the music-a process comparable to the shape that is given to the finished jewel in the lost wax process. This back-and-forth process, in which music is borrowed and then takes over, finally to be simplified once again when it becomes too elaborate, has taken place a number of times-in plainsong, in medieval polyphony, in the Renaissance motet and madrigal, and in Italian opera of the 18th and 19th centuries. These processes bespeak apt connections between music and other media of expression, both in syntactic ways and in the sense of what is being communicated. The influences work in both directions-from the image, gesture or idea to musical syntax and vice versa. That is, musical syntax can enhance the word or gesture; on the other hand, the suggestion or the implication of the image, word or gesture can give colour and enriched content to musical syntax. The syntactical make-up of Classic music lends itself aptly to the interplay of musical processes and topical references. In the Classic style, the precise trim of cadential formulas, rhythmic groupings, clear articulations, transparent textures and orderly key schemes allow a composer to etch sharply with figures that are neatly and closely spaced, to spin out a rhetoric that is essentially comic and witty in its underlying tone. This attitude is embodied particularly in the rapid shifts of topic, of affective stance, that are so often heard in late 18thcentury music. Wilhelm Fischer characterized Classic music as incorporating contrast on the smallest scale.' A biting comment on an aria of Paisiello in 1778 is addressed to the prevailing Italian penchant for mixing topics. The writer, Goudar, says:
Reduced-order H(infinity) compensator design for an aircraft control problem

A recently introduced method for designing //<» compensators based on minimal-order observers is considered for an aircraft control problem. The purpose of this paper is to bridge the gap between theory and application by presenting a practical utilization of a new design approach. Manual flight control systems for the lateral axis of a fighter aircraft are developed using both full-order and reduced-order compensators, and the results are compared. It is demonstrated that this method can be used to directly design reduced-order compensators that result in a system satisfying a closed-loop //« bound.