cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
PERCEPTION OF CONTRAST IN KOREAN LOANWORD ADAPTATION

Abstract. A number of modifications affect the sound structure of foreign words as they are bor-rowed into Korean. We consider specifically the adaptation of word-final stops, liquids, and voiceless as well as voiced coronal sibilants. The particular manifestation of these is shown to corre-late with the place they hold in the syllable structure of the recipient language rather than, as might seem to be the case, with either contrastive categories of the source language or allophonic qualities of the recipient. This discussion thus contributes to the continuing debate over the awareness that listeners may have of phonetic properties that are contrastive in the source language but redundant in the recipient (and hence presumably below the threshold of categorical perception), as well as vice versa, and it offers a unified view of the factors which appear to be at play in the phonological pro-cessing of both native words and loanwords. At base is a simple yet comprehensive principle of phonological perception: Phonetic representations are interpreted according to the salient perceptual categories of the listener's native language.
First-, second-, and third-order achromatic bend systems for free-electron laser applications

The authors evaluated and compared several achromatic bend systems for the application of transporting a spent electron beam exiting the wiggler of a free-electron laser (FEL). For high-power, efficient FELs, the design of a postwiggler electron-beam transport system is challenging because of the large double-peaked momentum distribution caused by the laser. The optics systems had to be able to handle electron-beam power arbitrarily distributed between the two momentum peaks. This system included not only the achromatic bend but also the final transport that involved a beam distribution or rastering system targetting a beamstop. The salient features of 11 achromatic bend systems and the characteristics by which to choose one system over another are discussed. >
Treatment of forehead/glabellar rhytide complex with combination botulinum toxin a and hyaluronic acid versus botulinum toxin a injection alone: a split-face, rater-blinded, randomized control trial

SummaryBackground Forehead and glabella rhytides are treated mostly with neurotoxins, although some practitioners prefer the concurrent use of fillers. It has been suggested that combination treatments can result in a better overall improvement. Aims To compare the safety and effectiveness of treatment of forehead and glabellar lines with botulinum toxin A alone versus botulinum toxin A and filler. Methods Split-face, randomized control trial. Twenty subjects with forehead/glabellar rhytide complex (static and dynamic creases) enrolled. Subjects were randomized and injected with botulinum toxin alone on one side of the forehead/glabella and hyaluronic acid filler followed by botulinum toxin on the other side. Blinded ratings were obtained to assess the effectiveness of treatment for static and dynamic rhytides, respectively, at 2-week, 6-week, 3-month, and 6-month follow-up visits. Subjects performed a self-evaluation at the end of the study. Adverse events were recorded. Results Ratings of both treatments showed comparable efficacy, with 100% of subjects experiencing improvement from baseline regardless of treatment type at weeks 2, 6, and 12. Combination treatment produced longer-lasting results in dynamic forehead wrinkles, and greater static and dynamic wrinkle reduction in the glabella at week 24. Subject self-evaluations showed that both treatments were effective, with a nominal preference for combination treatment. Conclusions Glabella and forehead lines can be effectively and safely reduced with neurotoxin alone as well as neurotoxin in combination with fillers. Combination treatment may provide a slightly better cumulative benefit and also increase the persistence of effect.
Resilience research and policy/practice discourse in health, social, behavioral, and environmental sciences over the last ten years.

Background: Resilience research has gained increased scientific interest and political currency over the last ten years. Objective: To set this volume in the wider context of scholarly debate conducted in previous special theme issue and/or special section publications of refereed journals on resilience and related concepts (1998-2008). Method: Peer reviewed journals of health, social, behavioral, and environmental sciences were searched systematically for articles on resilience and/or related themes published as a set. Non-English language publications were included, while those involving nonhuman subjects were excluded. Results: A total of fifteen journal special issues and/or special sections (including a debate and a roundtable discussion) on resilience and/or related themes were retrieved and examined with the aim of teasing out salient points of direct relevance to African social policy and health care systems. Viewed chronologically, this series of public discussions and debates charts a progressive paradigm shift from the pathogenic perspectives on risk and vulnerability to a clear turn of attention to health-centered approaches to building resilience to disasters and preventing vulnerability to disease, social dysfunction, human and environmental resource depletion. Conclusion: Resilience is a dynamic and multi-dimensional process of adaptation to adverse and/or turbulent changes in human, institutional, and ecological systems across scales, and thus requires a composite, multi-faceted Resilience Index (RI), in order to be meaningfully gauged. Collaborative links between interdisciplinary research institutions, policy makers and practitioners involved in promoting sustainable social and health care systems are called for, particularly in Africa. African Health Sciences Vol. 8 Special Edition 2008: pp. S5-S13
The Effect of Controlled Soil Sulfur Concentration on Growth and Survival of Litopenaeus vannamei

.— In a microcosm study, sodium sulfate was mixed with a controlled composition soil to yield sulfur concentrations of 100 to 3,000 mg/kg and the mixture was inundated to a depth of 35 cm with 18-ppt salinity water. One juvenile Litopenaeus vannamei with initial weight averaging 0.3 g was placed in each soil-water microcosm and fed for 96 d. Dissolved oxygen concentration was maintained at approximately 70% air saturation. Calculated interstitial hydrogen sulfide concentration 0.5 cm below the soil-water interface increased with time, reaching maximum values ranging from 57 to 113 mg/L. Interstitial sulfide concentrations 0.5 cm below the soil-water interface increased as a function of soil S. Average weight gain of shrimp ranged from 7.4 to 8.7 g across treatment groups. Differences in shrimp weight gain and survival among treatments were not significant. A higher dissolved oxygen demand due to sulfide oxidation implies greater risk of shrimp mortality if the soil-water boundary is disturbed. Further, this study suggests that shrimp growth is not adversely affected by high soil sulfide concentration provided the sediment surface remains oxidized and that dissolved oxygen concentration in the overlying water is maintained at 70% saturation.
Fuzzy temporal reasoning model for event correlation in network management

Fault management is used to detect, isolate, and repair problems in communication networks. Alarms are considered an external manifestation of faults occurring inside the managed network. These faults may affect the network's hardware and software components. Alarm correlation identifies the relationships between reported alarms to produce a new, smaller list of alarms. This allows operators to quickly and more accurately to identify the root cause of problems and resolve them faster. Temporal reasoning, reasoning about time, plays a critical role in monitoring network alarms. In this paper, a fuzzy-logic model is proposed for finding the temporal relation between events for correlation purposes. A fuzzy-inference rule base is used to integrate fuzzy membership functions to determine the "best" temporal relation between events. The proposed model is compared to the traditional crisp temporal reasoning.
Remote delivery of hydroxyl radicals via secondary chemistry of a nonthermal plasma effluent

Electron paramagnetic resonance spectroscopy is used to observe hydroxyl radicals produced by an atmospheric pressure nonthermal plasma device at distances greater than 1 m from the discharge. The plasma device is an indirect treatment setup with closed loop airflow and hydrogen peroxide additives that is effective in deactivating bacteria on time scales of seconds. The generation of the detected hydroxyl radicals is shown to occur in secondary chemical processes near the point of delivery of the plasma treated air stream. The production of hydroxyl radicals is correlated with humidity of the air stream and ability to lyse bacterial membranes. The overall mechanisms of bacteria inactivation are found to be a combinatorial effect of effluent species. The results indicate the feasibility of selective plasma induced free radical delivery for biomedical applications even in the case of short-lived species like the hydroxyl radical.
Effects of environmental factors on capture rates of insectivorous bats, 1971-2005

Understanding how environmental factors affect activity, number, and spatial distribution of bats in an area is necessary for interpreting capture rates and assessing abundance. Over a 34-year period, we examined the relationship between amounts of precipitation and activity of bats along a canyon floor in the San Mateo Mountains of New Mexico in the southwestern United States. For 1 night during each of 19 summers, we used identical sampling techniques to monitor this assemblage of insectivorous bats. Years included droughts with minimal surface water and wet years with abundant surface water in the canyon. Marked differences in available drinking water resulted in striking differences in yearly captures of bats, with a 30.8-fold difference between the fewest and most captures (6 versus 185 adults). Capture rates increased with less precipitation before sampling. In the 3-decadal period, precipitation accounted for 66% of the variation in capture rates, providing support that bats concentrate around accessible water to drink when surface water is scarce. Captures also were influenced by relative humidity on nights of sampling. From 1971 to 2005, we detected no change in species composition in this bat assemblage of 8 species, and after accounting for effects of precipitation, we detected no declines in population size for the 2 most common species, the long-eared myotis (Myotis evotis) and long-legged myotis (M. volans). Our study demonstrates the importance of long-term data sets to help elucidate patterns of variability in capture data and highlights the importance of how yearly variation in climate affects the behavior and ecology of bats.
Dietary Health Does Affect Histological Age Assessment: An Evaluation of the Stout and Paine (1992) Age Estimation Equation Using Secondary Osteons from the Rib*

An age at death estimation equation that uses rib histological variables presented by Stout and Paine was used to evaluate a skeletal population of individuals with a known age at death and cause of death from either malnutrition or the niacin deficiency disease pellagra. The sample was comprised of 26 autopsied black South Africans. Histological analysis of mounted thin sections involved the microscopic measurement of cortical area and a count of the number of intact and fragmentary secondary osteons for the entire cross-section of the rib. Rib osteon population density values were then calculated for each case. It was found that this equation under-aged individuals on average by 29.2 years. Overall, secondary osteon size and Haversian canals tended to be larger than expected, while cortical bone area was less when compared with a control population. The implications of these findings are critical given that many of the skeletal remains examined by forensic anthropologists come from marginalized backgrounds, including malnutrition. This research suggests that measurements based on healthy cases may not be useful in an analysis of individuals with poor diet and health. It is argued that new standards for histological age assessment methods need to be created that account for variation in the health status of individuals examined by forensic anthropologists.
Effects of the Nature of Excitation on the Response of a Mistuned Bladed Disk Assembly

In this paper, responses of a mistuned bladed disk assembly are examined and compared for three types of excitations: uncorrelated narrow band random excitations, correlated narrow band random excitations and sinusoidal excitations with unknown (time-invariant and random) amplitudes. Analytical techniques are also developed to compute the statistics of responses for these types of excitations. Effects of correlations of narrow band excitations are investigated in details. It has been found that the response statistics for correlated narrow band random excitations can be viewed in terms of the concepts related to the response to a deterministic engine order excitation.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Influence of MC3T3-E1 preosteoblast culture on the corrosion of a T6-treated AZ91 alloy.

This study investigated the corrosion of artificially aged T6 heat-treated Mg-9%Al-1%Zn (AZ91) for biomedical applications. Corrosion tests and surface analysis were completed both with and without a monolayer of mouse preosteoblast MC3T3-E1 cells cultured on the sample. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) and inductively coupled plasma mass spectroscopy (ICPMS) were used to explore the corrosion processes after either 3 or 21 days of AZ91 incubation in cell culture medium (CCM). The EIS showed both the inner layer resistance (Rin) and outer layer resistance (Rout) were lower for samples without cells cultured on the surface at 3 days (Rin = 2.64 e4 Ω/cm2, Rout = 140 Ω/cm2) compared to 21 days (Rin = 3.60 e4 Ω/cm2, Rout = 287 Ω/cm2) due to precipitation of magnesium and calcium phosphates over time. Samples with preosteoblasts cultured on the surface had a slower initial corrosion (3 day, Rin = 1.88 e5 Ω/cm2, Rout = 1060 Ω/cm2) which was observed to increase over time (21 day, Rin = 2.99 e4 Ω/cm2, Rout = 287 Ω/cm2). Changes in the corrosion processes were thought to be related to changes in the coverage provided by the cell layer. Our results reveal that the presence of cells and biological processes are able to significantly influence the corrosion rate of AZ91.
Responses of Respiration to Increases in Carbon Dioxide Concentration and Temperature in Three Soybean Cultivars

The purpose of this experiment was to determine how respiration of soybeans may respond to potential increases in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration and growth temperature. Three cultivars of soybeans (Glycine max L. Merr.), from maturity groups 00, IV, and VIII, were grown at 370, 555 and 740 cm$ m’$ carbon dioxide concentrations at 20}15, 25}20, and 31}26 ∞C day}night temperatures. Rates of carbon dioxide eux in the dark were measured for whole plants several times during exponential growth. These measurements were made at the night temperature and the carbon dioxide concentration at which the plants were grown. For the lowest and highest temperature treatments, the short term response of respiration rate to measurement at the three growth carbon dioxide concentrations was also determined. Elemental analysis of the tissue was used to estimate the growth conversion eciency. This was combined with the observed relative growth rates to estimate growth respiration. Maintenance respiration was estimated as the dierence between growth respiration and total respiration. Respiration rates were generally sensitive to short term changes in the measurement carbon dioxide concentration for plants grown at the lowest, but not the highest carbon dioxide concentration. At all temperatures, growth at elevated carbon dioxide concentrations decreased total respiration measured at the growth concentration, with no significant dierences among cultivars. Total respiration increased very little with increasing growth temperature, despite an increase in relative growth rate. Growth respiration was not aected by carbon dioxide treatment at any temperature, but increased with temperature because of the increase in relative growth rate. Values calculated for maintenance respiration decreased with increasing carbon dioxide concentration and also decreased with increasing temperature. Calculated values of maintenance respiration were sometimes zero or negative at the warmer temperatures. This suggests that respiration rates measured in the dark may not have reflected average 24-h rates of energy use. The results indicate that increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration may reduce respiration in soybeans, and respiration may be insensitive to climate warming. # 1996 Annals of Botany Company
An experimental investigation of solid propellant erosive burning inan acceleration field

A technique was developed to ascertain the magnitude of combined erosive and acceleration induced burning rate increases of aluminized composite solid propellants as a function of acceleration. The results indicate that a propellant exhibits a decreased erosion sensitivity when subjected to an acceleration field which is directed normal and either into or out of the propellant burning surface.
LOCALIZATION OF ERYTHROCYTE MEMBRANE SULFHYDRYL GROUPS ESSENTIAL FOR GLUCOSE TRANSPORT.

The reactions of three organic mercurial compounds, chlormerodrin, parachloromercuribenzoate (PCMB), and parachloromercuribenzenesulfonate (PCMBS) with intact red blood cells, hemolyzed red cells, hemoglobin solutions, and hemoglobin-free ghosts have been characterized. Both PCMB and PCMBS react with only 2 to 3 sulfhydryl groups per mole of hemoglobin in solution, whereas chlormerodrin reacts with 6 to 7. In hemoglobin-free ghosts, however, all three reagents react with a similar number of sulfhydryl groups, approximately 4 x 10-17 moles per cell, or about 25 per cent of the total stromal sulfhydryl groups, which react with inorganic mercuric chloride. In the intact cell the membrane imposes a diffusion barrier; chlormerodrin and PCMB penetrate slowly, whereas PCMBS does not. Kinetic studies of chlormerodrin binding to intact cells reveal that the majority of stromal sulfhydryl groups is located inside the diffusion barrier, with only 1 to 1.5 per cent (or 1 to 1,400,000 sites per cell) located outside of this barrier. Reaction of PCMBS with intact cells is limited to this small fraction on the outer membrane surface. All three reagents are capable of inhibiting glucose transport in the red cell. With chlormerodrin and PCMBS it was demonstrated that the inhibition results from interactions with the sulfhydryl groups located on the outer surface of the membrane.
The Role of Zinc Lozenges in Treatment of the Common Cold

OBJECTIVETo summarize and critique the medical literature on the use of zinc lozenges for treatment of the common cold.DATA SOURCESMEDLINE searches (January 1966–June 1997) identified human clinical trials on the use of zinc lozenges for the treatment of the common cold. Bibliographies were also reviewed for relevant articles.STUDY SELECTIONDouble-blind, placebo-controlled trials of zinc lozenges in adults for the treatment of the common cold, with the clinical end points of reduction in duration and/or severity of cold symptoms.DATA EXTRACTIONAll double-blind, placebo-controlled, human clinical trials on the use of zinc lozenges for the treatment of the common cold were included.DATA SYNTHESIS:The use of zinc lozenges in the treatment of the common cold has been suggested to reduce the duration and severity of cold symptoms. Of eight double-blind, placebo-controlled trials, four found zinc lozenges to be effective, while the other four reported no difference between zinc and placebo therapy. Potential re...
Allgemeine Richtlinien für die Wahl und Berechnung der Hauptabmessungen des Triebwerkes

Bei der Neugestaltung einer schnellaufenden Kolbenkraftmaschine, fur welche z.B. die Nutzleistung und die Drehzahl als Ausgangswerte vorgeschrieben werden, ist eine Reihe von Gesichtspunkten zu beachten, deren wichtigste im folgenden kurz zusammengefast werden.
Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: the spade of hearts.

A 42-year-old policeman with no prior medical problems presented with a several-month history of intermittent palpitations without syncope. His electrocardiogram showed sinus rhythm with prominent precordial T-wave inversions. Echocardiography was suboptimal due to poor acoustic windows. Cardiac–magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated the classic spade-shaped left-ventricular cavity of apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Figure 1 and supplementary video). Apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy predominantly involving the left ventricular apex. 1 It is most common in Japan but also seen in western populations. Apical thrombus, left-ventricular non-compaction and endomyocardial fibrosis may create a similar echocardiographic appearance, which can be distinguished from apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy using cardiac–magnetic resonance imaging. 2,3 Patients are typically male and present in middle age with symptoms of palpitations, chest pain or dyspnea. Although autosomal-dominant inheritance has been reported in a few families, the condition is usually sporadic. 4 The electrocardiogram typically shows pronounced precordial T-wave inversions. Sudden cardiac death from ventricular arrhythmia has been described, and prophylactic defibrillator implantation is occasionally performed. However, the prognosis is generally more benign than other types of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. 5
Structural characterization and lifetime stability of Mo/Y extreme-ultraviolet multilayer mirrors

We have observed a dramatic dependence of the extreme ultraviolet (EUV) reflectivity of Mo/Y multilayers on the oxygen content of yttrium. This is explained as being due to a change in the microstructure and an increase in roughness of the yttrium layers and not just to an increase in absorption owing to the amount of oxygen within the yttrium layers. We found that the best reflectivity of 38.4% was achieved with an oxygen content of 25%, which was reduced to 32.6% and 29.6% for multilayers manufactured from oxygen-free yttrium and 39%-oxygen yttrium, respectively. These results highlight the importance of including experimentally determined optical constants as well as interface roughness in multilayer calculations. In addition, the lifetime stability of Mo/Y multilayers with different capping layers was monitored for 1 year. The molybdenum- and palladium-capped samples exhibited low surface roughness and ∼4% relative reflectivity loss in 1 year. The relative reflectivity loss of the yttrium-capped sample (yttrium with 39% oxygen) was ∼8%. However, the reflectivity loss in all three capping layers occurred within the first 100 days after the deposition, and the reflectivity remained stable afterward.
Adjustable sutures: an update.

Purpose of reviewThis review discusses outcomes and recent advances in the use of adjustable sutures in strabismus surgery for children and adults.Recent findingsSeveral large studies have compared the success rates of strabismus surgery with adjustable sutures versus nonadjustable sutures by the sa
Diagnostic monitoring of photoresist ashing

Wafer-by-wafer statistical quality control (SQC) has been implemented on a single-wafer remote microwave plasma photoresist asher. SQC for ashing is made more difficult because the prior processes, e.g. ion implantation affect the properties of the resist material, and consequently the ashing behavior. The system presented comprehends the variety of incoming wafer states from a complex process flow. On-line SQC charts track photoresist clear time on a run-by-run basis using optical emission spectroscopy. The data is corrected for a modeled 'first-wafer' effect whereby the clear time for a wafer decreases as the delay time between ashing wafer increases. The data is standardized using an expected time and variance for each process flow level to allow all results to be presented in single individuals and moving-range Shewhart charts. Standard SQC rules are applied automatically within each process flow level to test fo unnatural variation in the data. Observed abnormal behavior is due mainly to changes in the incoming material for a specific process flow level, not deviations in the ashing process. When a shift in incoming wafer state is detected, the expected response is updated to reflect the change. The equipment has processed wafers in a demonstration laboratory from a dozen process flow levels. >
Direct Observation of Calcium Oxalate Monohydrate Precipitation at Phospholipid Monolayers with Brewster Angle Microscopy

The precipitation of calcium oxalate monohydrate (COM) at phospholipid monolayers has been observed in-situ by Brewster angle microscopy (BAM). A monolayer of 1,2-dipalmitoylsn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) compressed to a LC state over a calcium oxalate subphase shows the growth of COM as very bright spots. The identity of COM was confirmed in a transferred film by scanning electron microscopy. BAM can also be used to determine where COM precipitates when the monolayer has two phases at equilibrium. Monolayers of DPPC and 1,2-dipalmitoyl- sn -glycero-3-[phospho-rac-(1-glycerol)] (DPPG) crystallize COM at phase boundaries. In addition, phase separated binary phospholipid mixtures of DPPC and 1,2-dimiristoyl- sn -glycero-3-phosphocholine (DMPC) have been prepared and monitored by BAM. The crystal growth in this case is confined to domains of DPPC due to its ability to form a liquid condensed phase.
Decentralized Authoritarianism in China: Explaining Cadre Rank

The success or failure of a career depends upon character and capability; it has nothing to do with the desirability of the post assigned. Huang Liuhong ([1694] 1984: 76) The decentralization of personnel policy raises several theoretical and empirical issues for our understanding of the evolution of the Chinese political system. Pessimists have good reasons to expect failure: Local management of cadres requires myriad principals to monitor and reward an even greater number of agents posted in thousands of local government and Party organizations. Even if we assume that localities comply with central directives most of the time, the sheer number of bureaucratic layers severely reduces the likelihood that a central directive will be implemented at the lowest level. With China's five levels of administration, the odds are higher than 50% (namely, a coin toss) if all local agents comply 88% of the time! This harsh mathematical proposition conforms to the often-heard saying that “the sky is high and the Emperor is far away,” as cadres sometimes put it when discussing the gap between Beijing's expectations and the more prosaic realities of their localities. But what if the emperor has good ears, a few carrots, and uses a stick from time to time? We already know that JES respondents believe that cadre policy has been carried out in a fashion that is broadly consistent with the central government's stated objectives.
NEIGHBORHOODS OF STRATA IN MANIFOLD STRATIFIED SPACES

Strata in manifold stratified spaces are shown to have neighborhoods that are teardrops of manifold stratified approximate fibrations (under dimension and compactness assumptions). This is the best possible version of the tubular neighborhood theorem for strata in the topological setting. Applications are given to replacement of singularities, to the structure of neighborhoods of points in manifold stratified spaces, and to spaces of manifold stratified approximate fibrations.
Conceptual Information Retrieval System Based on Automatically Constructed Semantic Word Network

This chapter describes a method to dynamically generate a semantic word network which can properly reflect the semantic status. A conceptual information retrieval system based on the method is also described. The method started with the determination of keywords in a textbase. Keywords can then be clustered using analysis methods. For each cluster of keywords, the hierarchical and sibling interrelationships then are statistically inferred, so that the semantic word network can be dynamically established. The method can be formed as a module in concept information retrieval (IR) system. The query expansion function can be implemented with the module, so that the recall and precision of query result can be improved.
Ionization of excited atoms by intense single-cycle THz pulses.

We have employed intense, single-cycle THz pulses to explore strong-field ionization of low-lying Na Rydberg states in the low-frequency limit. At the largest fields used, $F\ensuremath{\simeq}430\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{kV}/\mathrm{cm}$, electrons with energies up to 60 eV are created. The field ionization threshold is greater than expected for adiabatic ``over-the-barrier'' ionization and is found to scale as ${n}^{\ensuremath{-}3}$. In addition, for a given field amplitude, higher energy electrons are produced during the ionization of the most tightly bound states. These observations can be attributed to the suppression of scattering from the nonhydrogenic ion core, the long times required for Rydberg electrons to escape over the barrier in the field-dressed Coulomb potential, and the failure, in the single-cycle limit, of the standard prediction for electron energy transfer in an oscillating field. The latter, in particular, holds important implications for future strong-field experiments involving the interaction of ground-state atoms and molecules with true single-cycle laser fields.
The role of placental carbonyl-reducing enzymes in biotransformation of bupropion and 4-methylnitrozamino-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK)

Background: Bupropion (BUP) has a potential to be an effective pharmacotherapy for smoking cessation during pregnancy. Smoking during pregnancy stimulates placental carbonyl reductases that catalyze the biotransformation of BUP. 4-methylnitrosamino-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanone (NNK) is a potent carcinogen of cigarette smoke. Carbonyl reduction of NNK into 4-methylnitrosamino-1-(3-pyridyl)-1-butanol (NNAL) constitutes a major step in NNK detoxification. Thus, placentas of pregnant smokers on BUP therapy can become a site of drug-drug interaction. Therefore, we investigated the effect of continuous exposure to BUP and cigarette smoke on the activity of placental carbonyl reductases in the formation of NNAL from NNK. Methods: The reductive metabolism of NNK was determined using microsomal and cytosolic subcellular fractions of placentas obtained from non-smoking women treated with BUP for depression, and women not exposed to BUP: non-smokers (control) and smokers. The effect of BUP and its metabolites on the reductive metabolism of NNK was investigated using subcellular fractions of control placentas. Results: The formation of NNAL from NNK by placental cytosolic fractions of heavy smokers (≥20 cigarettes per day) was lower than that of control (12.1±3.5 nmol.mgP-1 vs 16.5±6.0 nmol.mgP-1, P<0.05). While exposure to BUP did not affect the activity of placental carbonyl reductases, the formation of NNAL in the placental cytosolic fraction was decreased only in the presence of high concentrations of BUP metabolites. Conclusion: Smoking during pregnancy decrease the detoxifying capacity of soluble carbonyl reductases towards NNK. Given the experimental conditions, exposure to BUP and its metabolites should not impede the reductive metabolism of NNK by placenta in vivo.
Promoting Student Engagement in MOOCs

MOOCs offer valuable learning experiences to students from all around the world. In addition to providing filmed lectures, readings, and problem sets, many MOOCs allow students to ask and answer questions about course materials with each other through interactive user forums. However, in current MOOCs, only 3 to 5 percent of those students interact in the user forum (Breslow 2013, Rose et al. 2014) and more than 90 percent of students stop attending the course altogether (Jordan 2014). According to prior studies, this low level of social engagement in MOOCs may lead to student attrition and low performance (Ren et al. 2007). Hence, a natural question that arises then is, how can we promote interaction among students in MOOC discussion forums in order to reduce students' attrition and raise their performance? In this paper, we conduct a field experiment on the edX platform to identify factors that promote student engagement in MOOC discussion forums. Researchers have discovered that the number of people interacting in one online location (e.g. group, community or virtual classroom size) is a key characteristic mediating user engagement (Butler et. al 2014), and most prior works have shown that users in a smaller size group participate more per person. However, contrary to prior research, our results show that the students in larger size cohorts interact more per person and that this greater interaction in turn increases student retention and performance.
Texts of the Text: Citations in Gravity's Rainbow

Gravity's Rainbow is full· of the explicit, precise mention of other written texts. Some of these are real, like Rilke's Duino Elegies. Many more of them are fictional, ranging from Neil Nosepicker's Book of 50,000 Insults (83), through Tales of the Schwarzkommando, collected by Steve Edelman (315). to the article "Regions of Indeterminacy in Albatross Anatomy," by one Natasha Raum, from the Proceedings of the International Society of Confessors to an Enthusiasm for Albatross Nosology (712). Why are these citations so numerous? What difference, if any, does it make to an understanding of Gravity's Rainbow that some of these texts are real and some not? And finally, what does the examination of these texts reveal about the idea Gravity's Rainbow proposes for itself as its own true Text?
Electron Lenses for Beam-Beam Compensation

We begin this Chapter on the practical applications of the electron lenses for the beam-beam compensation (BBC) with experimental studies and successful experimental demonstration of the compensation long-range beam-beam effects by the electron lenses in the Tevatron collider. The head-on compensation studies in the Tevatron and successful employment of the Gaussian electron lenses for significant improvement of the RHIC luminosity are to follow. Finally, we discuss practical aspects of the beam-beam compensation with electron lenses in the LHC.
Interaction of circulating radiolabelled IgG antibody and fed protein antigen in the rat

We tested the effect of fed protein antigen on circulating IgG antibody in rats passively supplied with a limited dose of antibody. Rats were given 1.0 g BSA or buffer by gavage and were injected i.v. with trace amounts of 125I-rat anti-BSA antibodies plus 35 ug ‘cold’ anti-BSA antibodies. Rats were exsanguinated under anesthesia and perfused with buffer 1 or 18–22 h after feeding. Radioactivity in serum and liver was measured. At 1 h, there was less radioactivity in serum of BSA-fed compared to control animals (p less than 0.05); this difference was greater at 18–22 h (p less than 0.001). At 1 h, the content of radioactivity in the liver was greater in BSA-fed than control rats (p less than 0.005); there was no significant difference at 18–22 h. On A5m gel permeation of serum obtained at 1 h from BSA-fed rats, radioactivity was detected in fractions expected to contain high and intermediate molecular size immune complexes; serum obtained from BSA-fed rats at 18–22 h contained no such fractions. Based on a comparison with the decrease in concentration of labeled antibody resulting from i.v. injection of BSA, BSA-fed rats appeared to have taken up 16.7 to 23.1 ug BSA of the 1.0 gram dose administered. These experiments confirm that immunoreactive protein is taken up from the gut into the circulation of fed animals, that considerable uptake occurs during the first hour but persists thereafter, and that IgG antibody-fed antigen complexes forming early after ingestion are suitable for clearance by the liver.
Transportation Investment Decision Making for Medium to Large Transportation Networks

One of the challenges for transportation decision makers is to identify capacity expansion in the network under the constraint of budget such that various objectives of the decision maker [such as total system travel time is minimized, social welfare (consumer surplus) is maximized, or total system emission is minimized], while accounting for the route choice behavior of users. Such type of investment decision making in the context of network design problems can be solved using optimization techniques. This type of optimization problem is particularly difficult to solve since two hierarchical decision making entities are involved (decision makers and road users). These two players have different objectives. The road users select routes such that their individual travel costs are minimized while the decision makers’ optimally seek to select capacity expansion projects in the network in such a way that planning objectives are achieved. The objective of this paper is to propose numerical methods and application algorithms such that optimal investment decisions are made in moderate and large transportation networks. The problem is formulated as a bi-level network design problem in which upper level determines the optimal capacity expansions of links and the lower level consist of the traditional Wardrop’s user equilibrium. The upper level provides a trial capacity expansion vector with additional network capacities. The lower level considers new link capacities for user equilibrium. The output from the lower level is a vector of link flows which is transferred to the upper level. This process is iterated using kth best algorithm till convergence. The upper level problem is solved using PSWARM algorithm and the solution for the lower level is obtained using an efficient static traffic assignment algorithm. Adequacy of the model is examined by first conducting numerical experiments using small networks from the literature and then using moderate to large scale networks. Results of numerical experiments indicates that proposed methodology from this study can be efficiently used for real-world applications in practice for transportation infrastructure capacity expansion decision making.
Psychologic Dependence Defined in Terms of Individual and Social Risk

For over forty years a few of the perennial drug dependence activists, some here today, have been playing the “definitions” game. As Halbach has pointed out, some advance appears to have been made in facilitating communication between scientists. Possibly the most significant is the initiation of the dependence concept to replace the nonspecific terms “habituation” and “addiction”. But few of these concepts ever reach the public in assimilable form or permit even the knowledgeable reader to gain perspective about psychoactive drugs and their hazards.
Neurobiology of addiction: A neurocircuitry analysis.

Summary Drug addiction represents a dramatic dysregulation of motivational circuits that is caused by a combination of exaggerated incentive salience and habit formation, reward deficits and stress surfeits, and compromised executive function in three stages. The rewarding effects of drugs of abuse, development of incentive salience, and development of drug-seeking habits in the binge/intoxication stage involve changes in dopamine and opioid peptides in the basal ganglia. The increases in negative emotional states and dysphoric and stress-like responses in the withdrawal/negative affect stage involve decreases in the function of the dopamine component of the reward system and recruitment of brain stress neurotransmitters, such as corticotropin-releasing factor and dynorphin, in the neurocircuitry of the extended amygdala. The craving and deficits in executive function in the so-called preoccupation/anticipation stage involve the dysregulation of key afferent projections from the prefrontal cortex and insula, including glutamate, to the basal ganglia and extended amygdala. Molecular genetic studies have identified transduction and transcription factors that act in neurocircuitry associated with the development and maintenance of addiction that might mediate initial vulnerability, maintenance, and relapse associated with addiction.
Physics and Dynamics of Clouds and Precipitation: Hydrodynamics of cloud and precipitation particles

In the previous chapters, we have discussed the basic thermodynamics of cloud and precipitation particles and how they are initiated by nucleation, but we have not discussed their motion. None of these particles are truly stationary in the cloud – they are heavier than air so that they are always falling relative to the air. If a cloud appears to be floating in the air without apparent motion, it is only because the updraft in the cloud supports the fall of the cloud particles and gives us the illusion that the cloud is not moving vertically. The motion of cloud and precipitation particles has great impact on the behavior of the cloud system. It influences how fast vapor can be accumulated on these particles, how fast these particles evaporate when they fall, how they collide and coalesce with each other and aerosol particles, and how they break up when acted on by sufficient force. All these processes ultimately determine how fast a cloud will develop or dissipate and how much precipitation will be produced by the cloud. The motion of a cloud or precipitation particle in a viscous medium – the air – causes a flow field around the particle. The study of the flow fields around such particles belongs to the discipline of hydrodynamics, which is the main subject of this chapter.
Temperature and bias voltage studies of a large area position sensitive Avalanche Photodiode

We are constructing a 1 mm3 resolution, high sensitivity PET detector system with depth of interaction capability. The detectors are built from modules comprising LSO crystal arrays coupled to Position Sensitive Avalanche Photodiodes (PSAPDs). The entire system will have 4,608 densely packed dual LSO-PSAPD modules. The performance of the large area (1×1 cm2) PSAPDs in our system depends on bias voltage and temperature. Coincidence data was obtained by placing a 22Na source between an LSO crystal coupled to a PMT and an LSO-PSAPD module. The bias voltage was varied between 1695 and 1780 V. The energy resolution remains constant around 14.1 ± 0.01 % (Standard Error - SE) FWHM at 511 keV between 1710 and 1780 V, and decreases by about 5% when the applied voltage is between 1695 and 1710 V for a specific sample. Crystal identification capability stays constant over the observed range. Optimal coincidence time resolution of 2.63 ± 0.02 ns (SE) FWHM was observed around 1740 V at room temperature. Coincidence time resolution decreases by about 10 % for a 20 V change. The gain increases by a factor of 2 for every 35 Volt increase and can be described by two exponentials. The point where those two exponentials intersect corresponds to the beginning of the avalanche breakdown. The module's temperature was varied using a thermoelectric cooler coupled to a heatsink. In general, decreasing the temperature of a PSAPD improves performance. The coincidence time resolution improved from 5.88 ± 0.05 ns (SE) FWHM at 39°C to 1.96 ± 0.03 ns (SE) at 5 oC. 511 keV energy resolution improved from 14.43 ± 0.01 % (SE) at 39°C to 11.82 ± 0.01 % 5°C. PSAPD gain increases by 25 % every 4.5°C increase. The rate of gain increase is even larger (10 % per degree) at the lowest temperatures. Most of the observed behavior is attributed to the PSAPD, since the light output of LSO varies only slightly with increasing temperature. In summary, we present the performance variation of a large area PSAPD as a function of temperature and bias voltage. These parameters are of extreme importance in densely packed systems needed for state-of-the art PET design.
Has the recast made a difference? An examination of the content of European Works Council agreements

The 2009 recast of the European Works Council (EWC) directive introduced substantial revisions to provisions on training, reporting back to employees and trade union involvement, together with amendments to the definitions of information, consultation and transnational competence. We use data from almost 1100 EWC agreements to evaluate its effect. We find a combination of direct effects from the recast and a general learning effect in the negotiation and renegotiation of EWC agreements. Which is dominant, depends on the issue under examination. The impact of the law tends to accelerate the development of EWCs as an institution in process.
Abstract 124: Sam68 Impedes the Recovery of Arterial Injury by Augmenting Inflammatory Response

Background: The role of Src-associated in mitosis 68 kDa (Sam68) in cardiovascular biology has not been studied. A recent report suggests that Sam68 suppresses TNF-α-induced NF-κB activation. Since NF-κB plays a critical role in vascular inflammation and injury via generation of inflammatory cytokines and recruitment of inflammatory cells, we sought to dissect the mechanism by which Sam68 regulates NF-κB signaling and its functional significance during vascular injury. Methods & Results: The endothelial denudation injury was induced in the carotid arteries of Sam68-/- and WT mice. Sam68-/- mice displayed an accelerated re-endothelialization and attenuated neointima hyperplasia, which was associated with a reduced number of macrophages and lowered expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines (i.e., TNF-α, IL-1β and IL-6) in the injured vessels. Importantly, the ameliorated vascular remodeling was recapitulated in WT mice after transplantation of bone marrow (BM) from Sam68-/- mice, suggesting beneficial role was attributed largely to BM-derived inflammatory cells. In cultured Raw264.7 macrophages, knockdown of Sam68 resulted in a significant reduction in the TNF-α-induced expression of TNF-α, IL-1β, and IL-6 and in the level of nuclear phospho-p65, indicating an attenuated NF-κB activation. These results were confirmed in peritoneal macrophages and macrophages differentiated from BM mononuclear cells of Sam68-/- and WT mice. To identify molecular mechanisms, Raw264.7 cells were treated with TNF-α and Vehicle, followed by Sam68 co-immunoprecipitation and mass-spec identification of Sam68-interacting proteins. Specifically, TNF-α treatment results in altered interactions of Sam68 with Filamin A (FLNA), a cytoskeleton protein known to be involved in NF-κB activation. Loss- and gain-of-function of Sam68 and FLNA suggest their mutual dependence in NF-κB activation and pro-inflammatory cytokine expression, and Sam68 is required for TRAF2-FLNA interaction. Conclusions: Our results for the first time suggest that Sam68 promotes pro-inflammatory response in injured arteries and impedes recovery, and this effect is attributed, in part, to the exaggerated NF-κB activity via Sam68-FLNA interaction and consequent TRAF2 stabilization.
The multi-output translog production cost function: the case of law enforcement agencies

In this paper we study the relationship between costs, input prices and activity levels in medium sized American police departments. Our focus is on determining the functional structure of law enforcement production technology in agencies of this size.
Peritonitis and Abdominal Free Air Due to Intraperitoneal Bladder Perforation Associated With Indwelling Urethral Catheter Drainage

Perforation of the bladder related to long-term indwelling Foley catheter drainage is a rare and serious complication. We report 2 cases of bladder perforation leading to generalized peritonitis and free intraperitoneal air. These cases re-emphasize the importance of considering bladder perforation in the differential diagnosis of the acute abdomen and of performing a complete abdominal exploration when the site of perforation is not easily detectable.