cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
School-Based Exercise to Lower Blood Pressure in High-Risk African American Girls: Project Design and Baseline Findings

Abstract Adolescents with blood pressures in the upper range of normal are at increased risk for hypertension and cardiovascular disease (CVD); African American youth are at highest risk. Cardiovascular fitness training programs in schools might reduce the incidence of CVD. Project Heart is an experiment to evaluate the efficacy of school-based aerobic exercise in lowering blood pressure in a high-risk, urban, and largely African-American sample of adolescent girls. This article describes methods found to be effective for: (1) identifying and recruiting 99 high-risk girls from a screening population of 616 girls entering ninth grade in a large urban high school, (2) measuring fitness in girls who are significantly less fit and more obese than their peers, and (3) assessing the impact of fitness training on blood pressure. A submaximal, multistage step test for fitness assessment in high-risk adolescent girls is presented, together with data on baseline heart rate and blood pressure responses to the test. ...
Survival of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in Apple Cider and Orange Juice as Affected by Ozone and Treatment Temperature

Inactivation of Escherichia coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in apple cider and orange juice treated with ozone was evaluated. A five-strain mixture of E. coli O157:H7 or a five-serovar mixture of Salmonella was inoculated (7 log CFU/ml) into apple cider and orange juice. Ozone (0.9 g/h) was pumped into juices maintained at 4 degrees C, ambient temperature (approximately 20 degrees C), and 50 degrees C for up to 240 min, depending on organism, juice, and treatment temperature. Samples were withdrawn, diluted in 0.1% peptone water, and surface plated onto recovery media. Recovery of E. coli O157:H7 was compared on tryptic soy agar (TSA), sorbitol MacConkey agar, hemorrhagic coli agar, and modified eosin methylene blue agar; recovery of Salmonella was compared on TSA, bismuth sulfite agar, and xylose lysine tergitol 4 (XLT4) agar. After treatment at 50 degrees C, E. coli O157:H7 populations were undetectable (limit of 1.0 log CFU/ml; a minimum 6.0-log CFU/ml reduction) after 45 min in apple cider and 75 min in orange juice. At 50 degrees C, Salmonella was reduced by 4.8 log CFU/ml (apple cider) and was undetectable in orange juice after 15 min. E. coli O157:H7 at 4 degrees C was reduced by 4.8 log CFU/ml in apple cider and by 5.4 log CFU/ml in orange juice. Salmonella was reduced by 4.5 log CFU/ml (apple cider) and 4.2 log CFU/ml (orange juice) at 4 degrees C. Treatment at ambient temperature resulted in population reductions of less than 5.0 log CFU/ml. Recovery of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella on selective media was substantially lower than recovery on TSA, indicating development of sublethal injury. Ozone treatment of apple cider and orange juice at 4 degrees C or in combination with mild heating (50 degrees C) may provide an alternative to thermal pasteurization for reduction of E. coli O157:H7 and Salmonella in apple cider and orange juice.
Power System Transients

The sections in this article are 1 Transient and Dynamic Stability Enhancement 2 August 10, 1996 WSCC System Outage
Takings Law Made Hard

The novel opinion of Ninth Circuit Judge Jay Bybee in Guggenheim v. City of Goleta could threaten the tortured jurisprudence that has protected regulatory takings and other property rights infringements from Fifth Amendment challenges. This article describes that jurisprudence, explains the economic and legal thinking underlying Judge Bybee’s opinion, and identifies a number of technical deficiencies with his opinion. The Supreme Court will likely take up an appeal of Judge Bybee’s opinion; hopefully it will use that opportunity to correct the Court’s many errors that have eroded property rights.
Counterstreaming solar wind halo electron events on open field lines

Counterstreaming solar wind halo electron events have been identified as a common 1 AU signature of coronal mass ejection events, and have generally been interpreted as indicative of closed magnetic field topologies, i.e., magnetic loops or flux ropes rooted at both ends in the Sun, or detached plasmoids. In this paper we examine the possibility that these events may instead occur preferentially on open field lines, and that counterstreaming results from reflection or injection behind interplanetary shocks or from mirroring from regions of compressed magnetic field farther out in the heliosphere. We conclude that neither of these suggested sources of counterstreaming electron beams is viable and that the best interpretation of observed counterstreaming electron events in the solar wind remains that of passage of closed field structures.
REDUCTIVE ORTHO AND META DECHLORINATION OF A POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYL CONGENER BY ANAEROBIC MICROORGANISMS

We used gas chromatography-mass spectrometry to study the metabolic fate of 2,3,5,6-tetrachlorobiphenyl (2356-CB) (350 μM) incubated with unacclimated methanogenic pond sediment. The 2356-CB was dechlorinated to 25-CB (21%), 26-CB (63%), and 236-CB (16%) in 37 weeks. This is the first experimental demonstration of ortho dechlorination of a polychlorinated biphenyl by anaerobic microorganisms.
QT and Dispersion of Ventricular Repolarization: The Greatest Fallacy in Electrocardiography in the 1990s

To The Editor: The recent, most thoughtful editorial authored by Coumel et al,1 commenting on the article by Zabel et al,2 is likely to create a great deal of interest and perhaps also some controversy. The arguments presented challenge the prevailing interpretation of the meaning of QT dispersion. As the authors point …
On error exponents for a dimension-matched vector MAC with additive noise

We analyze a class of vector multiple access channels with additive noise, where the sum of the dimensions of the transmitted signals matches that of the received signal. We first focus on the case without power constraints, using point process techniques. We derive the capacity region in the Poltyrev sense, a representation of the error probabilities for each subset of transmitters based on Palm theory, and random coding exponents for each type of error event in the case without power constraints, focusing on the case of independent and identically distributed Gaussian noise, with arbitrary positive definite covariance matrix at each time. This also leads to random coding error exponents in the traditional power-constrained case, where the power constraint at each transmitter is defined by an arbitrary positive definite matrix at each time.
Electron Microscopic Observations of Early Amyloidosis in Human Liver

Summary Electron microscopic observations are reported in a case of hepatic amyloidosis in a patient with multiple myeloma. The early nature of the disease process was supported by essentially normal liver function tests and by light microscopy of the liver biopsy specimens. Electron microscopic studies confirmed the fine fibrillar nature of the amyloid substance and showed that, in this case, the deposits were confined to the spaces of Disse.
Growth factors in development: the role of TGF-β related polypeptide signalling molecules in embryogenesis

Embryonic induction, the process by which signals from one cell population influence the fate of another, plays an essential role in the development of all organisms so far studied. In many cases, the signalling molecules belong to large families of highly conserved proteins, originally identified as mammalian growth factors. The largest known family is related to Transforming Growth Factor-beta (TGF-beta) and currently consists of at least 24 different members. Genetic studies in Drosophila on the TGF-beta related gene, decapentaplegic (dpp), reveal the existence of conserved mechanisms regulating both the expression of the protein during development and the way in which it interacts with other signalling molecules to generate pattern within embryonic tissues. Comparative studies on another TGF-beta related gene, known as Bone Morphogenetic Protein-4 (BMP-4), in Xenopus and mouse point to a conserved role in specifying posteroventral mesoderm during gastrulation. Analysis of other polypeptide signalling molecules during gastrulation suggests that their interaction in the generation of the overall body plan has also been conserved during vertebrate evolution.
A Method of Analysis of Natural Circulation Boiling Systems

The analysis presented has been developed for use in designing natural circulation boiling water nuclear reactors. Preliminary experimental information is given on density of steam water mixtures, ...
Apparent overconsolidation of mudstones in the Kumano Basin of southwest Japan: Implications for fluid pressure and fluid flow within a forearc setting

[1] The Kumano Basin is located in the Nankai Trough subduction zone of southwest Japan. During the past 1.6 million years, approximately 800 meters of sandy turbidites and hemipelagic mud were deposited near the distal edge of the forearc basin, at Site C0002 of the Integrated Ocean Drilling Program. Constant-rate-of-strain consolidation tests yield estimates of in situ permeability that range from 2.6 × 10−17 m2 to 2.5 × 10−18 m2; overconsolidation ratios range from 1.7 to 2.6, and values of the compression index range from 0.39 to 0.78. Several processes contributed to the apparent overconsolidation. Strata dip toward land, and pore fluids probably migrate up-dip and vent along a bathymetric notch near the seaward edge of the basin. Efficient lateral drainage through sandy turbidites has kept pore pressures within interbeds of mudstone at (or close to) hydrostatic. In addition, alteration of dispersed volcanic glass, precipitation of authigenic clay minerals, and collapse of random grain fabric has probably strengthened the bonding among grains. Cementation is particularly likely within the lower basin (unit III), where values of porosity remain anomalously high. If fluid overpressures (and underconsolidation) exist anywhere within the basin, the most likely loci are where sandy turbidites terminate against impermeable mudstones along landward-dipping on-lap surfaces. Those types of on-lap geometries, in addition to structural closures, might provide promising targets for oil/gas accumulation in other forearc basins, particularly where petroleum source rocks have been buried to the optimal depths of catagenesis.
Ion Channel Phosphorylopathy: a Link between Genomic Variation and Human Disease

Voltage-gated ion channels (VGIC) regulate many important physiological events, including muscle contraction, brain function, and secretion. Mutations that inhibit or up-regulate VGIC activities can dramatically interfere with the normal function of several organs, leading to unpredictable failure and therefore poor quality of life or even death. Many genomic variations that change amino acids in cytoplasmic domains of ion channels have been found to be associated with several diseases, including cardiac arrhythmias and neurodegeneration. However, a mechanism linking these mutations to ion channel malfunction has not been clearly established and in some cases is totally unknown. This concept article gives an overview on a possible mechanism by which disease-associated mutations in cytoplasmic domains of ion channels can affect channel activity by creating or disrupting phosphorylation sites for specific kinases. We call these events “ion channel phosphorylopathies”. Understanding ion channel phosphorylopathies offers the opportunity to find a mechanism linking genomic variations to human disease and is crucial to the process of designing an effective pharmacological strategy.
Effects of Soil Insecticides and Absorbents on Plant Sugars and Resulting Effect on Mite Nutrition

The effects of DDT and various absorbent materials as soil additives on the composition of Black Valentine beans and Clark soybeans and on the Tetranychus telarius (L.) populations developing thereon were investigated in the greenhouse. Treatments included DDT only at 800 or 1,600 pounds per acre and DDT at both levels in combination with six levels of the absorbent material as well as an untreated check. Mite development was measured by counting the progeny developing over a period of 8 days from five young adult female mites introduced to a detached leaf disk, each disk being one of four replicates. Dry weight of foliage was calculated and foliage was analyzed for total and reducing sugar, total nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Analyses for correlation coefficient ( r ) were made on populations with the results of the foliage analyses. In Black Valentine beans DDT added to the soil at both 800 and 1,600 pounds per acre increased total and reducing sugars, nitrogen and T. telarius populations over the untreated check, while decreasing phosphorus, potassium, and dry weight of foliage. Addition of Hydrodarco B, Aqua Nuchar A, and Nuchar C-115-A generally restored the chemical components of the beans and also the mite populations to the levels of the untreated check. Mite populations were thus correlated positively with reducing sugar and nitrogen, in some cases total sugar, and negatively with per cent phosphorus, potassium, and dry weight of foliage. Peat moss, calcium hydroxide, and Fisher activated charcoal pellets did not function effectively as absorbents; Norit-A and Mallinckrodt activated charcoal alleviated the phytotoxic effects of DDT but did not influence mite populations consistently. Clark soybeans were not as sensitive to DDT as Black Valentine beans. The percentages of reducing and total sugar were elevated much less and lower concentrations of absorbent were required to reduce these values to the original levels. Hydrodarco B was the only absorbent to affect the chemical composition and mite populations as consistently as in Black Valentine beans although similar trends were noted with Aqua Nuchar A and Nuchar C-115-A. These studies demonstrated that at least one organic constituent of the plant, reducing sugar, has been markedly influenced in the plant by the addition of high levels of DDT to the soil. Also it has been shown that these plant sugars can be related to the development of a plant feeding mite such as T. telarius .
Transient Thermal Load Effects on Coatings Bonded to Cylindrical Substrates and Containing Circumferential Cracks

The effect of a transient thermal load on a coating which is bonded to a cylindrical substrate is analyzed using fracture mechanics by considering the presence of a circumferential edge crack normal to the inner boundary of the coating. The solution is obtained using the finite element method and is compared to the exact solution of the problem. The analysis is then used to show that smaller heat transfer rates at the boundary result in smaller stress intensity factors. For three different materials combinations, including two ceramic coatings on metal, the nondimensional stress intensity factor has a similar magnitude for short crack lengths, but varies appreciably as the crack length becomes longer. It is also determined that inner coatings result in smaller or comparable stress intensity factors than thicker ones.
EUG, een tijdbom?

Zoals het woord extra uteriene graviditeit (EUG) of een buitenbaarmoederlijke zwangerschap al zegt, is dit een ‘jonge zwangerschap’ die niet in de baarmoeder is ingenesteld maar erbuiten (ectopisch). Helaas leidt het in bijna alle gevallen niet tot het geboren worden van een kind.
Temporal relationship between insulin-like growth factor-I and platelet-derived growth factor-BB expression in the rat aorta allograft in the early phase following transplantation.

T HE pathogenesis of coronary allograft arteriosclerosis following cardiac transplantation, a major cause of death or rctransplantation, is poorly understood. The alloimmune response appears to upregulate scvcral of the growth factors responsible for myointimal hyperplasia.’ WC found that insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) is a crucial growth factor in the development of transplant arteriosclerosis in the chronic phase following transplantation.’ Hcrc we investigate the time course of IGF-I and platelet-derived growth factor-BB (PDGF-BB) expression in the vascular wall of allografts in the early phase following transplantation.
Optimization of an ultrafiltration-diafiltration process using dynamic programming

Abstract The process optimization of a multistage continuous ultrafiltration-dialfiltration system for the separation of lignosulfonates from spent pulping liquor was performed using dynamic programming. The optimal number of stages in series as well as the optimal interstage solute concentrations and amounts of diafiltration water to be added to each stage were determined. Dynamics programming reduced computation time to about one-third that required for a nonlinear overall optimization method (a Complex Search). Dynamic programming also gave slightly better predictions for the optimum conditions when the number of stages in the process increased.
Public R&D, Private R&D, and U.S. Agricultural Productivity Growth: Dynamic and Long-Run Relationships

If accelerated productivity growth is to be an effective policy response for reducing greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, the appropriate means for raising productivity needs to be addressed. Previous research has shown a close correlation between investments in public agricultural research and total factor productivity (TFP) growth in agriculture (Huffman and Evenson 2006; Alston et al. 2010; Wang et al. 2012, among the most recent, comprehensive studies). Largely neglected from this framework, however, has been the role of the private sector. Private sector spending on agricultural research and development (R&D) has grown more rapidly than public agricultural R&D and is now greater than that of the public sector (Fuglie et al. 2011). While it is widely perceived that both public and private R&D make significant contributions to agricultural productivity growth, private R&D (because of data limitations) has rarely been included in empirical models of agricultural TFP growth. (This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Persistent and recurrent pheochromocytoma: the role of surgery.

Pheochromocytoma is a rare malignancy. The opportunity to gain experience with persistent and recurrent pheochromocytoma is extremely limited. We have, therefore, reviewed our experience with 8 patients with persistent and recurrent pheochromocytoma treated during the last 6 years. In patients with multiple endocrine neoplasia, the recurrent or persistent adrenal tumor is usually situated in the contralateral adrenal, whereas in other patients the tumor is usually situated in an ectopic position or is due to recognized or unrecognized malignant disease.
Prostaglandin E2-induced lordosis in estrogen-primed female hamsters: relationship to progesterone action.

Abstract Intraperitoneal injection of 10, 50, 100 or 250 μg of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) resulted in a dose-dependent facilitation of lordosis in ovariectomized female hamsters given estradiol-17β in silastic capsules 72 hr earlier. The ability of progesterone to facilitate lordosis in the absence of PGE2 mediation was investigated by injecting ovariectomized, estrogen-primed females with indomethacin, a prostaglandin synthesis inhibitor, at 1.5 hr before and after progesterone administration. Conversely, the ability of PGE2 to facilitate receptivity independently of progesterone mediation was examined by injecting 100 μg or 250 μg PGE2 to estrogen-primed, ovariectomized-adrenalectomized females. Because indomethacin did not interfere with progesterone-induced lordosis, and because PGE2-induced lordosis was not abolished by adrenalectomy, it was concluded that induction of lordosis by progesterone and PGE2 are mutually independent processes. A final study investigated the ability of PGE2 to facilitate lordosis during the period of progesterone-induced inhibition of receptivity. When compared to PGE2-treated controls, the administration of 200 μg progesterone 24 hr prior to 100 μg PGE2 injection significantly reduced the proportion of ovariectomized estrogen-primed females who exhibited lordosis. These results are consistent with the view that progesterone inhibits lordosis via some general mechanism such as interference with the estrogen priming process.
The Baker Who Pretended to Be King of Portugal. By Ruth MacKay. (Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 2012. Pp. xii, 300. $29.00.)

Over the last two decades, Ruth MacKay has been one of the most perceptive and insightful historians working on early modern Spain. Her previous books have examined aspects of Spain's social and po...
Determination of arsenic in geological materials by electrothermal atomic-absorption spectrometry after hydride generation

Abstract Rock and soil samples are decomposed with HClO 4 —HNO 3 ; after further treatment, arsine is generated and absorbed in a dilute silver nitrate solution. Aliquots of this solution are injected into a carbon rod atomizer. Down to 1 ppm As in samples can be determined and there are no significant interferences, even from chromium in soils. Good results were obtained for geochemical reference samples.
Quantitative analysis of streaks in reflection high-energy electron diffraction: GaAs and AlAs deposited on GaAs(001).

Reflection high-energy electron diffraction (RHEED) has long been considered a qualitative tool for assessing the roughness of a surface and for determining whether thin films are deposited epitaxially. Though this technique is known to be exceedingly surface sensitive, no quantitative statements could be made. In this paper we report measurements of the specular diffraction beam from near-singular GaAs(001) surfaces with submonolayer deposits of GaAs and AlAs. By fitting the shapes of these beams to a kinematic calculation, exact to within the column approximation, we determine the coverages of the surfaces and estimate the average island size in the overlayer. The results show the sensitivity of RHEED to the details of the island or step distribution on the surface. By comparing the AlAs and GaAs profiles it is apparent that Al is much less mobile on the (001) surface than is Ga. Finally we report the observation of surface roughening during the 2 x 4 to c(4 x 4) GaAs(001) phase transition.
Anatomical evidence for convergence of olfactory, gustatory, and visceral afferent pathways in mouse cerebral cortex

Flavor perception requires the neural integration of olfactory, gustatory and, possibly, visceral afferent information. Presently, it is not known where, or how this integration takes place in the brain. Neuroanatomical data presented here suggest that pathways subserving these sensory modalities converge in mouse insular cortex after surprisingly few synaptic relays. Orthograde transport of wheat germ agglutinin conjugated to horseradish peroxidase (WGA-HRP) was used to label main olfactory bulb (MOB) efferents. A projection into layer I of insular cortex was present in every case. Bulb transections were made to provoke anterograde degeneration and EM analysis confirmed that the olfactory projection to insular cortex was a terminal pathway. WGA-HRP injections in the MOB-recipient zone of insular cortex resulted in ortho and retrograde labeling of ascending and descending gustatory-visceral afferent pathways. It is concluded that in the mouse, there is a remarkably direct convergence of olfactory and gustatory-visceral sensory pathways in insular cortex. Together with the descending connections from insular cortex to the amygdala and to brainstem autonomic structures, it is possible that the cortical integration of olfactory and gustatory-visceral information could modulate mechanisms involved in food selection and autonomic reactions relating to the chemical senses. Basic mechanisms subserving flavor perception might be usefully modelled in mouse insular cortex.
Simultaneous layout, process, and model optimization within an integrated design-for-yield environment

Trends in the design feature shrinking that outrun the progress in the lithography technologies require critical efforts in the layout, process, and model development. Printing a layout is no longer a problem only for the lithographers; it has penetrated into the layout stage as well. Layout patterns are getting more aggressive, raising serious printability concerns. This requires very accurate models to analyze the manufacturability issues. This also often requires simultaneous analysis and optimization of both layout and the process. Most advanced layout patterns are extremely hard to manufacture and consequently run into the risk of re-spins. Therefore, an early pre-tapeout analysis and troubleshooting of various layout, process, and RET issues has become a very important task. Our paper gives examples of how these and other related issues can be addressed using a commercially available Design-for-Yield integrated environment.
SAGE: A tool for exploration of remote sensing data relating Greenland's ice sheet and glaciers

There are many are impediments inhibiting the science community's use of Earth science data. One of the lessons learned from NASA's EOSDIS program is that one size does not fit all [1] and that systems attempting to satisfy the needs of all users end up satisfying none. What users desire is to obtain data they want, in the format they want it in, when they need it. While completely fulfilling this need may not yet be fully possible, it is certainly possible to produce data in a few of the ways most useful to large segments of the user community. We have attempted address this problem by creating an application that helps with discovery and real-time analysis of highly heterogeneous data sets. This application is designed to meet Greenland-specific science needs by allowing the comparison of data and simplifying data access and delivery through the use of modular Web Services including a map server portal to the data. Visualization and analysis processes allow the user to explore the available data through the use of overlays, time series, and plots; and with user-specified aggregation, averaging, and sampling intervals. A workflow manager sequences the processes needed to fulfill user requests. The Application is known as SAGE, Services for Analysis of the Greenland Environment.
Language of the Gun: Youth Crime and Public Policy by Bernard Harcourt

Language of the Gun: Youth Crime and Public Policy. By Bernard Harcourt. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2006. Pp. 264. $55.00 cloth; $25.00 paper. Reviewed by Michael Massoglia, Pennsylvania State University Harcourt undertakes an ambitious examination of the meaning of guns through a series of interviews with youth detained in a juvenile correctional facility-the Catalina Mountain School in Arizona. The book is divided into three distinct parts. The first section focuses on the youth interviews, the second deals with methodological considerations in interpreting the language from the interviews, and in the final section, Harcourt deals with the public policy implications of his work. Immediately apparent is the methodological care Harcourt uses in both constructing the sample for interviews and carrying out the interviews. This care produces interviews rich with information on the meaning of guns. In some respects, the interviews confirm accounts found in other places. For instance, Harcourt finds that youth associate guns with protection and self-defense. In other cases, the meaning youth attach to guns is less expected and perhaps even contradictory. Even among those who use guns, some youth attach negative meanings such as "dislike." Along similar lines, while one dominant meaning youth attach to guns is "power," a number of youth see the use of guns as a sign of weakness-as those who need guns are too weak to engage in traditional forms of fighting using fists or bats. These differing views help illuminate the complexity in the meaning of guns. To decipher and bring together these differing meanings, Harcourt uses correspondence analysis to identify three primary clusters of meanings-action/protection, commodity/dislike, and recreation/respect. What is perhaps most clear and striking from the interview data is the remarkable attraction that the youth have to guns. Harcourt does a masterful job of conveying the seduction of guns and the fascination these youth have with guns. The clusters are informative-even if daunting for policy makers hoping to minimize the number of guns on the street-as they show the wide range of reasons youth are drawn to guns. Readers will find this section of the book a fascinating inquiry into the appeal of guns for delinquent youth. Harcourt's discussion of the policy implications of this work is equally informative. In framing the policy debates, Harcourt identifies and discusses six major explanations of crime from the fields of sociology, law, and economics, each with different policy implications. Readers will find this discussion succinct and enlightening. Harcourt demonstrates a clear grasp of these competing explanations and their relevance for public policy. Perhaps most intriguing, Harcourt traces each perspective back to its key assumptions-from the "moral poverty" embedded in theories of human nature to the rational calculations underlying economic theories of crime. …
Factors Underlying the Psychological and Behavioral Characteristics of Office of Strategic Services Candidates: The Assessment of Men Data Revisited

During World War II, the Office of Strategic Services (OSS), the forerunner of the Central Intelligence Agency, sought the assistance of clinical psychologists and psychiatrists to establish an assessment program for evaluating candidates for the OSS. The assessment team developed a novel and rigorous program to evaluate OSS candidates. It is described in Assessment of Men: Selection of Personnel for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS Assessment Staff, 1948). This study examines the sole remaining multivariate data matrix that includes all final ratings for a group of candidates (n = 133) assessed near the end of the assessment program. It applies the modern statistical methods of both exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis to this rich and highly unique data set. An exploratory factor analysis solution suggested 3 factors underlie the OSS assessment staff ratings. Confirmatory factor analysis results of multiple plausible substantive models reveal that a 3-factor model provides the best fit to t...
The Evolution of Family Complexity from the Perspective of Nonmarital Children

We document the incidence and evolution of family complexity from the perspective of children. Following a cohort of firstborn children whose mothers were not married at the time of their birth, we consider family structure changes over the first 10 years of the child’s life—considering both full and half-siblings who are coresidential or who live in another household. We rely on detailed longitudinal administrative data from Wisconsin that include information on the timing of subsequent births to the mother and father, and detailed information on earnings, child support, and welfare. We find that 60% of firstborn children of unmarried mothers have at least one half-sibling by age 10. Our results highlight the importance of having fertility information for both fathers and mothers: estimates of the proportion of children with half-siblings would be qualitatively lower if we had fertility information on only one parent. Complex family structures are more likely for children of parents who are younger or who have low earnings and for those in larger urban areas. Children who have half-siblings on their mother’s side are also more likely to have half-siblings on their father’s side, and vice versa, contributing to very complex family structures—and potential child support arrangements—for some children.
Use of merocyanine (MC540) in quantifying lipid domains and packing in phospholipid vesicles and tumor cells

Abstract The fluorescent probe merocyanine (MC540) reports qualitatively on several membrane events. Here we demonstrate that MC540 fluorescence can quantity the degree of coexisting liquid-crystalline and gel states in mixed monotectic phosphatidylcholine (PC) bilayers. The probe exhibits disparate fluorescence wavelength maximas and intensities when incorporated into liquid-crystalline and gel state membranes. The fluorescence measurements parallel partitioning of the EPR spin probe TEMPO between the aqueous environment and the membrane fluid phase. While both techniques can accurately assess the phase transition of synthetic PCs, only MC540 can distinguish between liquid-crystalline phases of different composition. MC540 fluorescence for single-component PC bilayers correlates quantitatively with estimates of the area/molecule determined from surface area/pressure isotherms of lipid monolayers, whereas partitioning of TEMPO fails to assess the relative degree of lipid packing in various fluid state membranes. Additionally, MC540 fluorescence characterizes the interaction of cholesterol with membranes made from condensable (18:0, 18:1-PC) and non-condensable (18:0,22:6-PC) lipids. Finally MC540 distinguishes tumor cell membranes differing only in the amount of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA). Thus we conclude that MC540 can be used quantitatively to study phospholipid packing and membrane phases with lipid vesicles and to sense subtle differences in the arrangement of phospholipids in biological membranes.
Vulnerability of the day: concrete demonstrations for software engineering undergraduates

Software security is a tough reality that affects the many facets of our modern, digital world. The pressure to produce secure software is felt particularly strongly by software engineers. Today's software engineering students will need to deal with software security in their profession. However, these students will also not be security experts, rather, they need to balance security concerns with the myriad of other draws of their attention, such as reliability, performance, and delivering the product on-time and on-budget. At the Department of Software Engineering at the Rochester Institute of Technology, we developed a course called Engineering Secure Software, designed for applying security principles to each stage of the software development lifecycle. As a part of this course, we developed a component called Vulnerability of the Day, which is a set of selected example software vulnerabilities. We selected these vulnerabilities to be simple, demonstrable, and relevant so that the vulnerability could be demonstrated in the first 10 minutes of each class session. For each vulnerability demonstration, we provide historical examples, realistic scenarios, and mitigations. With student reaction being overwhelmingly positive, we have created an open source project for our Vulnerabilities of the Day, and have defined guiding principles for developing and contributing effective examples.
Characterizing radar emissions using a robust countermeasure receiver

The author presents a high-sensitivity signal processing approach for detecting and estimating the angle of arrival (AOA), frequency and pulse repetition frequency (PRF) of multiple radar emitters using broadband interferometers. Two time series are generated using information embedded in the sampled cross correlation of the signals obtained from three antenna elements (i.e. two base legs). The phase and amplitude of a complex Fourier transform of these two time series with respect to the sampling clock are used to estimate the AOA and PRF of pulsed emitters. >
Effects of a glucocorticoid receptor agonist, dexamethasone, on fathead minnow reproduction, growth, and development

Synthetic glucocorticoids are pharmaceutical compounds prescribed in human and veterinary medicine as anti-inflammatory agents and have the potential to contaminate natural watersheds via inputs from wastewater treatment facilities and confined animal-feeding operations. Despite this, few studies have examined the effects of this class of chemicals on aquatic vertebrates. To generate data to assess potential risk to the aquatic environment, we used fathead minnow 21-d reproduction and 29-d embryo–larvae assays to determine reproductive toxicity and early-life-stage effects of dexamethasone. Exposure to 500 µg dexamethasone/L in the 21-d test caused reductions in fathead minnow fecundity and female plasma estradiol concentrations and increased the occurrence of abnormally hatched fry. Female fish exposed to 500 µg dexamethasone/L also displayed a significant increase in plasma vitellogenin protein levels, possibly because of decreased spawning. A decrease in vitellogenin messenger ribonucleic acid (mRNA) expression in liver tissue from females exposed to the high dexamethasone concentration lends support to this hypothesis. Histological results indicate that a 29-d embryo–larval exposure to 500 µg dexamethasone/L caused a significant increase in deformed gill opercula. Fry exposed to 500 µg dexamethasone/L for 29 d also exhibited a significant reduction in weight and length compared with control fry. Taken together, these results indicate that nonlethal concentrations of a model glucocorticoid receptor agonist can impair fish reproduction, growth, and development. Environ. Toxicol. Chem. 2012;31:611–622. © 2011 SETAC
TAXONOMY OF SCHEDULING SYSTEMS AS A BASIS FOR THE STUDY OF STRATEGIC BEHAVIOR

Strategic behavior is frequently characterized by the need to decide among several courses of action, each of which may lead to a desired goal, subject to time constraints. Often strategic behavior can be regarded as a series of answers to the question, "In what sequence should I perform the set of actions required, and when should I start and stop each of them?" Scheduling theory, which is usually used to determine the sequencing of operations in such settings as transportation and manufacturing, provides normative answers to such a question. The authors introduce the concepts and terminology of scheduling theory and show how these can be identified with aspects of human operator behavior. Scheduling theory can provide a systematic conceptual framework for planning research on behavior in complex human-machine settings, both in and beyond laboratory contexts. It can be used to discover optimal or satisficing strategies and to provide norms against which to measure the quality of strategic decision making and performance in complex systems. The use of scheduling theory is one example of the many well-developed quantitative models available in operations research that are applicable to the analysis of behavior, well beyond the discrete trials paradigm that often characterizes human factors laboratory research.
Characterization of Low-Barrier Hydrogen Bonds. 6. Cavity Polarity Effects on the Formic Acid−Formate Anion Model System. An ab Initio and DFT Investigation

High-level ab initio molecular orbital and density functional theory calculations incorporating cavity polarity effects via the use of self-consistent reaction field (SCIPCM) simulations reveal that the short, strong hydrogen bond formed between a formic acid molecule and a formate anion is significantly, but nowhere near completely, weakened by the presence of an extremely polar cavity. These results suggest that even if an enzyme active site were to present an environment as polar as aqueous water, the formation of a low-barrier, or short-strong, hydrogen bond would still be some 8 kcal/mol more favorable than the corresponding neutral, traditional, weak hydrogen bondlike the one formed between two formic acid molecules. The short, strong hydrogen bond formed between a formic acid and a formate anion is clearly much more sensitive to the effects of its environment than is a typical weak traditional hydrogen bond. However, even in the most polar of cavities, the calculated hydrogen bond energy for formic...
When to Return to Play After an Ankle Sprain

An ankle sprain may not seem like a big deal, but returning to play without proper rehabilitation will increase your chances of injuring your ankle again-maybe even more seriously. Taking the time to fully recover will actually put you back in the game faster. The checklist on the other side of this page will take the guesswork out of knowing when you are ready to return to play safely.
Eruptive history and geochronology of the Mount Baker volcanic field, Washington

Mount Baker, a steaming, ice-mantled, andesitic stratovolcano, is the most conspicuous component of a multivent Quaternary volcanic field active almost continuously since 1.3 Ma. More than 70 packages of lava flows and ∼110 dikes have been mapped, ∼500 samples chemically analyzed, and ∼80 K-Ar and 40Ar/39Ar ages determined. Principal components are (1) the ignimbrite-filled Kulshan caldera (1.15 Ma) and its precaldera and postcaldera rhyodacite lavas and dikes (1.29–0.99 Ma); (2) ∼60 intracaldera, hydrothermally altered, andesite-dacite dikes and pods—remnants of a substantial early-postcaldera volcanic center (1.1–0.6 Ma); (3) unaltered intracaldera andesite lavas and dikes, including those capping Ptarmigan and Lasiocarpa Ridges and Table Mountain (0.5–0.2 Ma); (4) the long-lived Chowder Ridge focus (1.29–0.1 Ma)—an andesite to rhyodacite eruptive complex now glacially reduced to ∼50 dikes and remnants of ∼10 lava flows; (5) Black Buttes stratocone, basaltic to dacitic, and several contemporaneous peripheral volcanoes (0.5–0.2 Ma); and (6) Mount Baker stratocone and contemporaneous peripheral volcanoes (0.1 Ma to Holocene). Glacial ice has influenced eruptions and amplified erosion throughout the lifetime of the volcanic field. Although more than half the material erupted has been eroded, liberal and conservative volume estimates for 77 increments of known age yield cumulative curves of volume erupted vs. time that indicate eruption rates in the range 0.17–0.43 km3/k.y. for major episodes and long-term background rates of 0.02–0.07 km3/k.y. Andesite and rhyodacite each make up nearly half of the 161 ± 56 km3 of products erupted, whereas basalt and dacite represent only a few cubic kilometers, each representing 1%–3% the total. During the past 4 m.y., the principal magmatic focus has migrated stepwise 25 km southwestward, from the edge of the Chilliwack batholith to present-day Mount Baker.
Standoff handheld real-time early warning detector (SHREWD)

A lightweight, compact sensor breadboard demonstrator is being developed that will be capable of detecting chemical agents in the 8 - 12 micrometers band by DIAL for ranges on the order of 4 km. Engineering analysis shows that the overall sensor size and weight would be approximately 1 cu. ft. and 35 lbs., respectively. The sensor is composed of a 12.5 cm diameter, off-axis paraboloid receive telescope and a 300 Hz repetition rate solid-state laser transmitter. The transmitter is based on a diode-pumped, 1.06 micrometers laser with an output energy of 20 mJ and two cascaded OPO stages that shift the laser wavelength to the far IR bands. The first stage OPO is configured in an arrangement that shifts the laser output to beyond 2 micrometers . The second stage OPO completes the shift to the 8 - 12 micrometers band, giving an overall 1.06 (mu) $m yields 8 - 12 micrometers conversion efficiency of 2% and a sensor output power of 0.1 W.
In vitro conjugation of ethanolamine with fatty acids by rat liver subcellular fractions

Previous studies from our laboratory have shown the enzymic formation of fatty acid (FA) conjugates of xenobiotic alcohols and amines. In the present study, the formation of FA conjugates of a bifunctional compound, ethanolamine was investigated by incubating [1-14C]oleic acid (1 mM) with ethanolamine (25 mM) at 37 degrees C in the presence of various rat liver subcellular fractions. The resultant product (or products) was separated by thin-layer chromatography (TLC) and the radioactivity corresponding to the relative flow of fatty acid amide was determined. Under similar conditions, formation of ethanolamides of palmitic, stearic, linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids were also examined. The formation of ethanolamine conjugate with oleic acid was found to be 16.3 nmol/h/mg protein as compared to 6.7, 6.2, 8.1, 8.3, and 7.6 nmol/h/mg protein for palmitic, stearic, linoleic, linolenic, and arachidonic acids, respectively. The formation of oleoyl ethanolamide was found to be 18.9, 40.1, 65.9, and 0.3 nmol/h/mg protein in postnuclear, mitochondrial, microsomal, and cytosolic fractions, respectively. Mass spectrometric and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data of the TLC-purified product confirm the formation of oleoyl ethanolamide, and amidation appeared to be a preferred reaction over esterification. The results of this study suggest that the enzyme responsible for the amidation of fatty acids resides mainly in the microsomal fraction of the liver, and that oleic acid is a better substrate than other fatty acids used in the present study.
Phase coherence in two-dimensional type-II superconductors.

We show that in two-dimensional type-II superconductors, the vortex liquid-solid transition is not accompanied by a simultaneous divergence of the phase correlation length. Even in the ``vortex-solid'' phase, despite a finite shear modulus and quasi-long-range density correlations, the phase coherence remains short ranged, with a correlation length of order one magnetic length. We also find that, in the solid phase, there is no ``Bose condensation,'' in the sense that any particular Abrikosov lattice state has zero statistical weight in the thermodynamic limit. The vortex-solid phase in two dimensions is therefore best described as a Cooper-pair charge-density wave with no superconducting phase order.
Comparison of zeolite-modified electrodes with a graphite electrode : postulated enhancement of electroactivity through stabilization of intermediates

Abstract Cyclic voltammetry and rotating-disk experiments were conducted on hydroquinone, resorcinol, ethanol, methanol and hydrazine for the purpose of comparing the electroactivity of zeolite-modified electrodes with that of a graphite electrode. The modified electrodes were manufactured in the same way as the graphite electrode but with slightly less than 45% of the graphite replaced with zeolites. Zeolite-modified electrodes exhibited an activity substantially larger than that of the graphite electrode in experiments on hydroquinone and resorcinol. Similar activities were observed among the three electrodes in each of the experiments conducted on the other organics. Explanations for the increases in electroactivity are presented in terms of the properties of zeolites and the mechanism for the oxidation of hydroquinone. It is postulated that the increased activities observed at the zeolite-modified electrodes are a consequence of their ability to accept molecules possessing a particular orientation and the ability of the electrically insulated cages of zeolites to stabilize otherwise short-lived intermediates.