cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Four-Meter Gait Speed: Normative Values and Reliability Determined for Adults Participating in the NIH Toolbox Study.

Abstract Objectives To establish reference values and determine test-retest reliability for usual and maximal 4-meter gait speed. Design Cross-sectional observational study. Setting Offices in 10 geographically dispersed cities in the United States. Participants Men and women (N=1320), aged 18 to 85 years, enrolled in the National Institutes of Health Toolbox norming study. Intervention Not applicable. Main Outcome Measures Specifically used were data from men and women who were timed over 4 meters (after a static start) while walking at their usual and maximum speeds. Norms for usual and maximum gait speed were derived using data from 1320 participants. Test-retest reliability for 164 participants was described using paired t tests, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs), and minimal detectable changes (MDCs). Results Mean usual speed was 1.12 meters per second, whereas mean maximum speed was 1.61 meters per second. As a general linear model showed 4-meter gait speed to differ significantly according to gait condition (speed), sex, and age group; estimates of normal were calculated accordingly. The usual speed of 80- to 85-year-old women was lowest at 0.95 meters per second; the maximum speed of 18- to 29-year-old men was highest at 1.85 meters per second. Test-retest measures did not differ significantly, but the ICCs were only fair and the MDCs were high. Conclusions Normative reference values provided herein may be helpful in interpreting measurements of 4-meter gait speed obtained from adult men and women. The limited reliability of the gait speed measurements, however, limits their usefulness in making judgments regarding change.
Endolegomena: From Ostension to Quantification

In this second lecture, Quine provides a further rational reconstruction of human progress from sensory stimulation to our current scientific theory. This project consists in his further speculations concerning how we have acquired cognitive language. Here, Quine talks of observation sentences and explains how he thinks they can be learned by ostension. This leads him to further speculate concerning how we could master standing sentences, predication and the use of relative clauses. At this stage the language learner has acquired a grammar that is equivalent to first order predicate calculus, which Quine famously advocates as the canonical framework for the language of science. He elaborates on the nature of objective reference, emphasizing that this appears with the predication of general terms since only then are things separated from the terms that name them.
The transplantation of endothelial cells

The need for viable endothelial cells on the lumenal surface of vascular implants (e.g. coronary artery bypass grafts, saphenous vein grafts, polymeric grafts) has been realized only with the understanding of the complex physiology of these cells. The development and first clinical experiences with polymeric vascular grafts provided the initial evidence of the importance a functional endothelium on the lumenal surface of blood vessels. These synthetic blood vessel performed adequately in large diameter positions (e.g. abdominal aortic replacements) however as the diameter of the synthetic grafts needed became smaller long term function was compromised. The best evidence for the need of luminal endothelial cells is derived from the use of synthetic grafts with diameters less then 6 mm. These grafts exhibit extremely poor, clinically unacceptable, long term patency due predominantly to the formation of blood clots resulting in lost patency.
Isolated photons at hadron colliders at O(ααS2) (II): Spin-dependent case

The cross section for inclusive prompt photon production with polarized hadron beams is calculated at order ααs2 using the phase-space slicing or analytic/Monte Carlo method. Isolation cuts are placed on the photon and the results are compared to a previous fully analytic calculation. Numerical results for the isolated cross section are presented for pp → γ + X at RHIC centre-of-mass energies with plausible isolation parameters using the most modern polarized parton densities evolved in next-to-leading order QCD. The perturbative stability of the asymmetries and scale dependence of the results are briefly discussed.
The chemistry of mixed 1516 main group clusters

This review describes the chemistry of anionic mixed 1516 clusters and their coordination chemistry with transition metals. The focus is on the heavier elements such as sulfides and selenides of phosphorus, arsenic and antimony. A brief introduction with a historical perspective is followed by the chemistry of soluble anionic clusters, including preparative methods and structural characteristics. Solids containing recognizable anionic fragments (Zintl phases) are also described. Bonding is mentioned briefly. Transition metal complexes of these clusters are discussed in some detail and structures and bonding are highlighted. Neglected areas and future prospects are mentioned.
Oral administration of α-ketoglutarate enhances nitric oxide synthesis by endothelial cells and whole-body insulin sensitivity in diet-induced obese rats:

Obesity is a risk factor for many chronic diseases, including hypertension, type-2 diabetes, and cancer. Interestingly, concentrations of branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) in plasma are commonly a...
Plasma-Driven Reactive Species Production and Transport in a 2-D Discharge Cell

A 2-D cell was employed to study the plasma–liquid interface. Chemical probes were used to compare the chemical reactivity induced by both air and argon plasma discharges in bubbles. Methyl orange and potassium iodide-starch solutions were used to visualize the propagation of acidic and oxidative fronts into the bulk liquid beyond the interface. Acidic and oxidative fronts were observed for both air and argon plasmas, indicating that charge exchange and electron impact processes at the interface are crucial to plasma-induced reactivity in liquids. Absorption spectrophotometry of indigo trisulfonate was performed to measure the transport of oxidative species, primarily aqueous ozone, and hydroxyl radicals, from plasma to the liquid region. Chemical reactivity at the interface can be transported far into the bulk liquid region due to plasma-induced fluid flow.
Patients with musculoskeletal dysplasia undergoing total joint arthroplasty are at increased risk of surgical site Infection

Abstract Introduction Musculoskeletal dysplasias (MSD) are inherited conditions of abnormal cartilage and bone development and remodeling which include, amongst others, multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (MED), spondyloepiphyseal dysplasia (SED), achondroplasia, and hypochondroplasia. The aim of this study was to compare patient characteristics and in-hospital complications between MSD and non-MSD patients undergoing total joint arthroplasty (TJA). Hypothesis MSD patients undergoing TJA are at increased risk of in-hospital post-operative complications and mortality compared to non-MSD patients. Materials and methods The Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) from the years 2005 to 2014 was used for this retrospective cohort study. International Classification of Diseases, Clinical Modifications (ICD-9-CM) procedure codes identified primary total knee arthroplasty (TKA) and total hip arthroplasty (THA) procedures and were used to separate MSD and non-MSD patients. Patients with trauma or malignancy as primary diagnoses, non-elective procedures, revision procedures, and concurrent bilateral surgeries were excluded. Patients were compared using linear regression or multivariate logistic regression analysis to control for confounders. All statistical analyses were performed taking into account the NIS sampling scheme and associated sampling weights. Results A total of 1,255 patients comprised the MSD group and 8,027,181 patients the non-MSD group. MSD patients were younger than non-MSD patients (50.9 vs. 65.8 years, p Discussion MSD patients undergoing TJA were younger with less co-morbidity compared to non-MSD patients, and had no significant difference in overall perioperative medical and surgical complication rates. However, they are at increased risk for surgical site infection and perioperative hemorrhage possibly due to the anatomical complexity encountered. Level of Evidence III, Retrospective Cohort.
Internal Capital Markets and Patenting in Emerging Growth Firms

Despite the overwhelming theoretical intuition in support of the arguments that internally generated capital should be an important determinant of corporate innovation, very little empirical evidence of this association has been established. In this paper we show that internal capital markets have a positive and significant relationship with patenting of emerging firms. However, for mature firms, the relationship between internal finance and patenting is negative but not significant. Our empirical analysis is grounded on the theoretical modeling of granting a patent as the maturity date of an American real call option, with internal capital and R&D expenses serving to shorten the maturity of the growth option and to speed up innovation.
Single-Cell Genomics: Best Practices and New Insights

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-Seq) offers great new opportunities for increasing our understanding of complex biological processes.In particular, development of an accurate Human Cell Atlas is largely dependent on the rapidly advancing technologies and molecular chemistries employed in scRNA-Seq. These advances have already allowed an increase in throughput for scRNA-Seq from 96 to 80,000 cells on a single instrument run by capturing cells within nano-liter droplets.In addition, use of oligonucleotide labeled antibodies in combination with scRNA-Seq techniques (e.g. CITE-Seq, Total-Seq, REAP-Seq) allows for multiplexing and to pair transcriptome information with cell surface protein expression to enhance the value of these data as well as to allow for novel insights into the complex biology.Use of such barcoded antibodies approached has immense value in understanding complex tissues and developmental processes, such as lung and hematopoietic development, as well as understanding the intricate composition of cancer tissue at the cellular level to help inform treatment strategies.Here we present some initial findings on best practices for use of barcoded antibodies with 10X Genomics technology and provided some data on the added value that can be extracted by using cell surface protein markers to help gain insights into complex tissue organization.
A one-to-many traffic-oriented mm-wave wireless network-in-package interconnection architecture for multichip computing systems

Abstract High Performance Computing (HPC) platforms like blade servers consist of multiple processor chips, which may be multicore CPUs, GPUs, memory modules and other subsystems. In such memory and computation intensive systems one-to-many traffic patterns originate from cache coherency, system-level synchronization mechanisms and other control signals. However, small portions of such traffic can introduce huge local and global congestion, which significantly reduce overall performance and cause energy bottleneck unless low latency transmission is ensured by a one-to-many traffic-aware interconnection architecture. Therefore, these high performance and memory intensive multichip systems require efficient support for one-to-may traffic. Traditional metal-based Network-on-Chip (NoC) interconnection architecture is mostly designed for unicast traffic and therefore not suitable for such one-to-many traffic as it provides high-latency, power-hungry multi-hop paths. To address this issue, we propose the design of a one-to-many traffic-aware Wireless Network-in-Package (WiNiP) architecture by integrating a novel asymmetric wireless interconnection topology, a novel hybrid two-state Medium Access Control (MAC) and flow control. The proposed asymmetric topology, MAC and flow control collaborate with each other to form a low latency, one-to-many traffic-aware WiNiP interconnection architecture and increase system bandwidth with lower energy consumption. Through cycle-accurate simulator we show that the proposed topology reduces average packet latency by 47.92 % and outperforms other interconnection architectures for on and off-chip data transfer for synthetic as well as application-specific traffic patterns.
Tissue Oxygenation Changes in Response to Radiation Therapy in Breast Cancer Subjects Using Near-Infrared Optical Imaging

Tissue oxygenation changes in response to radiation therapy in breast cancer subjects, with decreased oxygen saturation due to onset of radiation dermatitis, as observed via near-infrared optical imaging studies.
A novel normalization and differential abundance test framework for microbiome data.

Motivation Microbial communities have been proved to have close relationship with many diseases. The identification of differentially abundant microbial species is clinically meaningful for finding disease-related pathogenic or probiotic bacteria. However, certain characteristics of microbiome data have hurdled the accuracy and effectiveness of differential abundance analysis. The abundances or counts of microbiome species are usually on different scales and exhibit zero-inflation and over-dispersion. Normalization is a crucial step before the differential abundance test. However, existing normalization methods typically try to adjust counts on different scales to a common scale by constructing size factors with the assumption that count distributions across samples are equivalent up to a certain percentile. These methods often yield undesirable results when differentially abundant species are of low to medium abundance level. For differential abundance analysis, existing methods often use a single distribution to model the dispersion of species which lacks flexibility to catch a single species' distinctiveness. These methods tend to detect a lot of false positives and often lack of power when the effect size is small. Results We develop a novel framework for differential abundance analysis on sparse high-dimensional marker gene microbiome data. Our methodology relies on a novel network-based normalization technique and a two-stage zero-inflated mixture count regression model (RioNorm2). Our normalization method aims to find a group of relatively invariant microbiome species across samples and conditions in order to construct the size factor. Another contribution of the paper is that our testing approach can take under-sampling and over-dispersion into consideration by separating microbiome species into two groups and model them separately. Through comprehensive simulation studies, the performance of our method is consistently powerful and robust across different settings with different sample size, library size and effect size. We also demonstrate the effectiveness of our novel framework using a published dataset of metastatic melanoma and find biological insights from the results. Availability and implementation The R package 'RioNorm2' can be installed from Github athttps://github.com/yuanjing-ma/RioNorm2. Supplementary information Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
You're Wigging Me Out!: Is Personalization of Telepresence Robots Strictly Positive?

With their ability to embody users in physically distant spaces, telepresence robots have gained popularity in environments including hospitals, schools, and offices. However, with platforms lacking in individuation and social presence, users often personalize telepresence robots with clothing and accessories to increase their recognizability and sense of embodiment. Toward understanding personalization preferences, as well as perceptions of personalized platforms, we conducted a series of five studies that investigate patterns in personalization of a telepresence robot and evaluate the impacts of common personalizations along five dimensions (robot uniqueness, humanness, pleasantness/unpleasantness, and people's willingness to interact with it). Finding a strong preference for the use of clothing and headwear in Studies 1-2 (N=52), we systematically manipulated a robot's appearance using these items and evaluated the qualitative and quantitative impacts on observer perceptions in Studies 3-4 (N=160). Observing that personalization increased perceptions of uniqueness and humanness, but also decreased positive responding, we then investigated the associations between personalization preferences and perceptions via a fifth study (N=100). Across the five studies, tensions emerged between operators' interest in using wigs and interlocutors' dislike of wigs. This result highlights a need to consider both operator and interlocutor perspectives when personalizing telepresence robots.
Financial Burden of Revision Hip and Knee Arthroplasty at an Orthopedic Specialty Hospital: Higher Costs and Unequal Reimbursements.

Abstract Background As demand for primary total joint arthroplasty (TJA) continues to grow, a proportionate increase in revision TJA (rTJA) is expected. It is essential to understand costs and reimbursement of rTJA as our country moves to bundled payment models. We aimed (1) to characterize implant and total hospital costs, (2) assess reimbursement, and (3) determine revenue for rTJA in comparison with primary TJA. Methods The average implant and total hospital cost of all primary and rTJA procedures by diagnosis-related group (DRG) was calculated using time-driven activity-based costing at an orthopedic hospital from 2018 to 2020. Average reimbursement and payer type were assessed by DRG. Revenue was calculated by deducting average time-driven activity-based costing total costs from reimbursement. Results 13,946 arthroplasties were included in the study. Implant cost comprised 55.8% of total hospital costs for rTJA DRG 468, compared with 43.6% of total hospital costs for primary TJA DRG 470. Total hospital costs for DRG 468 were 61.1% more than DRG 470. Reimbursement for rTJA was 1.23x more than primary TJA. Private payers paid 23.2% more than Medicare for rTJA. Margin for DRG 468 was 1.5% less than primary DRG 470. Conclusion rTJA requires more hospital resources and costs than primaries, yet hospital reimbursement may be inadequate with the additional expenditures necessary to provide optimal care. If hospitals cannot perform revision services under the current reimbursement model, patient access may be limited. Implant costs are a major contributor to overall rTJA cost. Strategies are needed to reduce revision implant costs to improve value of care. Level of Evidence Level III, economic and decision analysis.
Does fire always accelerate shrub expansion in Arctic tundra? Examining a novel grass-dominated successional trajectory on the Seward Peninsula

Over the last century in the circumpolar north, notable terrestrial ecosystem changes include shrub expansion and an intensifying wildfire regime. Shrub invasion into tundra may be further accelera...
Single-shot quantitative phase imaging with polarization differential interference contrast

We present single-shot quantitative phase imaging with polarization differential interference contrast (PDIC) for a differential interference contrast microscope which records the unfiltered Stokes vector of the differential interference pattern with a polarization camera. PDIC enables high spatial resolution phase imaging in real-time, applicable to either absorptive or transparent samples and integrates simply with epi-fluorescence imaging. An algorithm with total variation regularization is further introduced to solve the quantitative phase map from the partial derivative along one single axis, improving the accuracy and the image quality from the Fourier transform solution. After quantifying the accuracy of PDIC phase imaging with numerical simulations and phantom measurements, we demonstrate the biomedical applications by imaging the quantitative phase of both stained and unstained histological tissue sections and visualizing the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe's cytokinesis.
Isospin Equilibration in Reactions of 40Ca, 40Ar with 58Fe, 58Ni At E/A = 33, 45 MeV

In the field of heavy-ion reactions there is much discussion occurring about the nature of dissassembly of excited nuclear matter e.g.[1]. At one extreme the system is modeled as a simultaneous break up. While at the other extreme the system is portrayed as disassembling through a series of virtualy independent binary breakups. Additionally there are discussion of spinodal decompositions, expanision — either before or after breakup, and liquid gas phase transitions[2]. Many of the above decay models only treat the disassembly of nuclear matter — decoupled from any effects of how the system was formed. In all of these discussions of disassembly we must be careful that the fragmentation timescale does not become so short that the underlying assumption of statistical equilibrium independent of entrance channel is violated.
19F NMR studies of fluorinated sugars binding to the glucose and galactose receptor

Publisher Summary Fluorodeoxy sugars have been utilized to examine enzyme specificities and mechanisms of glycogen phosphorylase and phosphoglucomutase, and measurement of the binding capacity of a series of fluorodeoxy sugars with individual substitutions for each hydroxyl provides insight into the role of each hydroxyl in the carbohydrate-protein complex. This chapter describes methods that illustrate how NMR can be used to investigate the role of each hydroxyl in the carbohydrate/protein complex and how to determine anomeric specificity in binding of sugars to large molecular weight proteins. 19 F NMR is a powerful technique due to several unique features of the fluorine nucleus, and this nucleus is a unique probe for environmental changes in proteins. Fluorinated sugars bound to receptor exhibit a downfield shift in the 19 F NMR spectrum; these shifts correspond to a deshielding of the fluorine nucleus upon sequestering of the sugar in the binding pocket of the receptor and can reflect desolvation and/or closer van der Waals interactions of the sugar upon binding. The chapter discusses the utility of 19 F NMR for characterizing the nature of carbohydrate/protein interactions, and the well defined spectra illustrate the beauty of the NMR methods to provide valuable information about exchange rates, anomeric preferences, and effect of temperature on binding events in these large protein systems.
Noumenal Causality Reconsidered: Affection, Agency, and Meaning in Kant

The lead question of Kant's first Critique, indeed his whole Critical Philosophy is ‘How is Metaphysics as a Science Possible?’ Neo-Kantian and recent Anglophone interpretations of Kant's epistemology have concentrated on the ‘Transcendental Analytic’ of the first Critique, and have taken Kant's positive and legitimate sense of metaphysics to concern the necessary conditions of our knowledge of mathematics, natural science, and of course, our common sense knowledge of a spatio-temporal world of objects and events. However, in the ‘Canon of Pure Reason’ in the first Critique Kant indicates quite clearly that, although two of the leading sub-questions of metaphysics — ‘What should I so?’ and ‘What may I hope?’ — cannot be answered on theoretical grounds, they may be answered on practical grounds (A804-05=B832-33). Those practical grounds are elaborated and supplemented (mainly) in the latter two Critiques and the Religion. In each case, however, a definite and positive answer to a metaphysical question involves giving ‘objective reality’ to a concept, e.g., the concepts of freedom or immortality. ‘Objective reality’ involves possible reference to an object, where ‘possible reference’ involves more than merely describing a logical possibility.
Excuse and justification in the law of fair use: commodification and market perspectives

This full article was revised for publication in the 50th Anniversary Issue of the Journal of the Copyright Society.
Adding microencapsulated pear ester to insecticides for control of Cydia pomonella (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) in apple.

Background The possibility of improving the efficacy of various insecticides for codling moth, Cydia pomonella (L.), by the addition of a microencapsulated formulation of pear ester, ethyl (2E, 4Z)-2,4-decadienoate (PE-MEC, 5% AI), was evaluated in field trials in apple from 2005 to 2009. Results The addition of PE-MEC ( Conclusion The addition of PE-MEC can improve the effectiveness of some insecticides for codling moth in apple. Insecticides active via dermal toxicity are more strongly improved by the addition of PE-MEC. Season-long use of PE-MEC can also augment the effectiveness of mating disruption. Adding PE-MEC to variable integrated management programs for C. pomonella should be further investigated.
The Freedom of Information Act Post-9/11: Balancing the Public's Right to Know, Critical Infrastructure Protection, and Homeland Security

Introduction 263 I. The Freedom of Information Act’s History and Mechanics ...266 II. The Department of Justice and FOIA Implementation 269 A. Background 269 B. The Expansion of Disclosure Under the Clinton Administration 271 C. The Erosion of FOIA Under the Bush Administration ....272 III. The Homeland Security Act of 2002 274 A. The Origins of a Department of Homeland Security.......274 B. A New FOIA Exemption Under the Critical Infrastructure Information Act of 2002 277 1. Critical infrastructure protection 281 2. The likelihood of cyber attacks 282
Urinary C-Type Natriuretic Peptide: A New Heart Failure Biomarker

Objectives This study was conducted to determine whether urinary excretion of C-type natriuretic peptide (CNP) is elevated in acute decompensated heart failure (ADHF) and whether elevated levels predict adverse outcomes. Background Urinary CNP has been detected in patients with heart failure, but its clinical significance and prognostic utility, compared to established kidney injury biomarkers, in ADHF is unknown. Methods We measured 24-h urinary excretion and concurrent plasma concentrations of CNP22, CNP53, and NT-CNP53 in 58 ADHF patients and 20 healthy control subjects. Urinary kidney injury molecule (KIM)-1 and neutrophil gelatinase–associated lipocalin (NGAL) and plasma N-terminal pro-B type natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were also measured. Mortality and all-cause rehospitalization/death were assessed over a follow-up of 1.5 ± 0.9 years. Results ADHF patients had higher urinary excretion of all 3 CNP molecular forms than did controls. Plasma CNP22 and CNP53 were elevated in ADHF but showed limited correlation with urinary excretion, suggesting that mainly renal-derived CNP appears in urine. Plasma NT-proBNP and urinary KIM-1 were also elevated in ADHF (p l 0.0001); urinary NGAL was similar to that in controls. At 6 months, event-free survival values in ADHF patients were 86% for mortality and 59% for all-cause rehospitalization/death. On Cox regression analysis, urinary NT-CNP53 was the only predictor of mortality (hazard ratio: 1.7; 95% confidence interval: 1.1 to 2.4; p = 0.01) and all-cause rehospitalization/death (hazard ratio: 1.8; 95% confidence interval: 1.3 to 2.4; p = 0.0004), even after adjustment. Integrated discrimination analysis suggested that urinary NT-CNP53 combined with plasma NT-proBNP improved the prediction of adverse outcomes. Conclusions The findings from this study support the clinical utility of urinary CNP molecular forms. In ADHF, urinary NT-CNP53 correlated with prognosis, better predicted outcomes than did urinary NGAL and KIM-1, and improved the prognostic value of plasma NT-proBNP.
Business History, Entrepreneurial History, and Business Administration

The Economic History Association is an interdisciplinary organization of widely varying interests. The Association has several times considered the relationships between Economic Theory and Economic History, but it has paid little attention to that between the applied field of Business Administration and Economic History. It is appropriate to do so now because significant special interests have arisen within and around Economic History in recent years which have been of particular interest to students of Business Administration. I refer to the studies in Business History, Entrepreneurial History, Economic Development, and Innovation. Like Economic History, Business Administration is interdisciplinary, at least in part, and relies considerably, though at the applied level, on the same fundamental social sciences that interest economic historians. Also we have seen an outpouring of histories of individual enterprises, as American business, once more proud of its accomplishments and increasingly conscious of the value of public relations, has sat for its portrait. At the same time, in the field of Business Administration there has been a growing recognition of the importance of the long-range view in appraising administration, and of the use of the social sciences to improve its quality. It therefore is time to attempt some integration of these strands of thought.
Do Labyrinthine Legal Limits on Leverage Lessen the Likelihood of Losses?: An Analytical Framework

A common theme in the regulation of financial institutions and transactions is leverage constraints. Although such constraints are implemented in various ways — from minimum net capital rules to margin requirements to credit limits — the basic motivation is the same: to limit the potential losses of certain counterparties. However, the emergence of dynamic trading strategies, derivative securities, and other financial innovations poses new challenges to these constraints. We propose a simple analytical framework for specifying leverage constraints that addresses this challenge by explicitly linking the likelihood of financial loss to the behavior of the financial entity under supervision and prevailing market conditions. An immediate implication of this framework is that not all leverage is created equal, and any fixed numerical limit can lead to dramatically different loss probabilities over time and across assets and investment styles. This framework can also be used to investigate the macroprudential policy implications of microprudential regulations through the general-equilibrium impact of leverage constraints on market parameters such as volatility and tail probabilities.
Precision Doubly Differential Cross Section Measurements

Ion Energy Loss Spectrometry has been applied to the measurement of cross sections differential in both scattering angle and ion energy loss. Differential cross sections obtained for excitation of the n=2 level of atomic hydrogen by various ions provides unexpectedly good agreement with the available theories.
Freezing and thawing as a means of dissociating antigen bound to immobilized antibody.

Abstract Effects of the freezing and thawing in the presence of chloride ions on sub-unit interactions of a number of enzymes is well known. Adopting the same principle of dissociation, we have investigated the effects of freezing and thawing on placental alkaline phosphatase bound to its homologous antiserum previously polymerized by ethyl chloroformate. The presence in this mixture of 0·9% sodium chloride was found to dissociate the antigen-antibody complexes effectively without damaing the antiserum polymer. Of the other halides, bromide at 0·1 M concentrations also dissociated the bound antigen, but to a lesser extent than chloride. Fluoride and iodide were found ineffective. Early immune serum released the bound antigen to a greater extent than hyperimmune serum when subjected to freezing and thawing in the presence of chloride. Using this method, placental alkaline phosphatase was purified 90-fold in one step from a crude butanol extract of the placenta. Evidence for biochemical purity of the enzyme is also presented.
Experimental study of NiFe and CoFe throughmask electrodeposition of high aspect ratio features

The electrodeposition of NiFe and CoFe onto rotating disk electrodes and into high aspect ratio features in 300 μm-thick photoresist was studied using electrolytes previously considered in the literature. The through-thickness uniformity of the plated features was characterized with reference to the rotating disk electrode results. Current efficiencies for various deposition conditions were also characterized. The composition of NiFe was more sensitive to mixing than CoFe on a rotating disk electrode. This sensitivity was reflected in the higher nonuniformity in general of the plated high aspect ratio NiFe features; a feature with an aspect ratio of three showed decreasing Fe content towards the feature bottom, with the Fe content at the bottom less than half that at the top. CoFe showed only slightly decreasing Fe content for the same aspect ratios. The composition of both alloys near the feature opening (where more mixing occurs) was consistent with that of deposits obtained from rotating disk electrodes at high rotation rates.
Myeloid Proliferations Associated with Down Syndrome.

A subset of Down syndrome (DS) (trisomy 21) neonates is born with a unique erythromegakaryocytic myeloproliferative disorder that spontaneously resolves over the first few months of life (DS-transient abnormal myelopoiesis (DS-TAM); previously called DS-transient myeloproliferative disorder (DS-TMD) and DS-transient leukemia (DS-TL)). These infants are at high risk for developing subsequent acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (myeloid leukemia associated with Down syndrome (ML-DS); previously called DS-acute megakaryoblastic leukemia (DS-AMKL)). The molecular basis for DS-TAM/ML-DS remained mysterious for a long period of time. However, new genetic insights have been gained over the past 12 years that have begun to decipher the pathophysiology of this unusual disorder.
Interaction of intense ultra-short laser pulses with dielectrics

The interaction of intense ultra-short laser pulses with dielectrics is studied theoretically using a one-dimensional simulation model. The curl Maxwell's equations are solved coupled to the electron continuity, momentum and energy equations. What is new and innovative in our approach is the application of the 'forest fire' method to describe the optical field ionization. The cumulative action of the applied laser field and holes in the dielectric, created during ionization events, enhances the optical field ionization rate by orders of magnitude speeding up the electron avalanche development in the early times of the ionization dynamics. For peak laser intensity of about 1017 W m−2 (1013 W cm−2) the 'forest fire' model plays a major role in the ionization dynamics and increases the electron density by two orders of magnitude. The underlying mechanisms leading to electron avalanche in dielectrics are investigated for peak laser intensities between 1016 and 3 × 1018 W m−2 and laser pulse durations between 10 fs and 1 ps. It was established that the dominant process for electron multiplication depends only on the laser fluence: for F 4 kJ m−2 (F > 0.4 J cm−2) the collisional ionization is the dominant ionization mechanism. Since for laser pulse duration exceeding 20 fs the threshold for dielectric damage of SiO2 is at least Fthr > 15 kJ m−2 (Fthr > 1.5 J cm−2) (Lenzner et al 1998 Phys. Rev. Lett. 80 4076), the primary cause for dielectric damage is an electron avalanche due to collisional ionization.
A two-way influence between business strategy and project management

Abstract This article recognizes the strategic importance of project management (PM) in the corporate world through an exploration of PM/business strategy alignment. Using a case-study methodology, we extensively examined eight case studies covering nine projects in seven organizations. As a result, an empirically based theoretical framework was developed to address the configuration of PM as influenced by the business strategy (and vice versa). We found that business strategy realizes its influence on PM via the competitive attributes of the business strategy (time-to-market, quality, cost). These competitive attributes are used deliberately to determine the configuration and emphasis placed on different PM elements (e.g., strategy, organization, process, tools, metrics, culture). At the same time, PM is expected to impact the adaptation of business strategy if the operating conditions of a project detect significant threats from environmental changes (e.g., a market shift).
Fast and frequent: Investigating box office revenues of motion picture sequels

Abstract This paper conceptualizes film sequels as brand extensions of a hedonic product and tests (1) how their box office revenues compare to that of their parent films, and (2) if the time interval between the sequel and the parent, and the number of intervening sequels, affect the revenues earned by the sequels at the box office. Using a random sample of 167 films released between 1991 and 1993, we find that sequels do not match the box office revenues of the parent films. However, they do better than their contemporaneous non-sequels, more so when they are released sooner (rather than later) after their parents, and when more (rather than fewer) intervening sequels come before them. Like other extensions of hedonic products, sequels exhibit satiation to the extent that their weekly box office collections fall faster over time relative to contemporaneous non-sequels. Managerial implications of the results are discussed.
Federal Controlled Substances Act: Dispensing Requirements, Electronic Prescriptions, and Fraudulent Prescriptions

Director, Drug Information Group and Prior Authorization Services, Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacy Practice, University of Illinois at Chicago College of Pharmacy, Chicago, Illinois In this fi nal column of a 4-part series on key components of the Federal Controlled Substances Act, dispensing requirements, electronic controlled substances prescriptions, and fraudulent controlled substances prescriptions will be discussed. Similar to other medications, prescription labels for controlled substances are required to contain all of the following elements prior to dispensing to the patient1:
The Relevancy of Information Systems Research: The Practitioner's View

Recently, the subject of research relevancy has received a great deal of attention in the IS academic press. Several leading academic journals, such as MIS Quarterly, Information Systems Research, and Information Resources Management Journal have devoted special issues and/or articles to this topic. Typically, these articles have been opinion pieces from leading IS academics i.e., Benbasat, Zmud, Robey, Lee, etc. and have not included significant input from practitioners within the IS area. This chapter tries to capture the IS practitioners' perspective on research relevance through a survey sent to 400 IS practitioners. The results indicate that IS practitioners 1 do not know where academic research is published; 2 find academic research dated; 3 find academic research difficult to read; and/or 4 find the recommendations included in academic research to be of little value.
School accountability and the black-white test score gap.

Abstract Since at least the 1960s, researchers have closely examined the respective roles of families, neighborhoods, and schools in producing the black–white achievement gap. Although many researchers minimize the ability of schools to eliminate achievement gaps, the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) increased pressure on schools to do so by 2014. In this study, we examine the effects of NCLB’s subgroup-specific accountability pressure on changes in black–white math and reading test score gaps using a school-level panel dataset on all North Carolina public elementary and middle schools between 2001 and 2009. Using difference-in-difference models with school fixed effects, we find that accountability pressure reduces black–white achievement gaps by raising mean black achievement without harming mean white achievement. We find no differential effects of accountability pressure based on the racial composition of schools, but schools with more affluent populations are the most successful at reducing the black–white math achievement gap. Thus, our findings suggest that school-based interventions have the potential to close test score gaps, but differences in school composition and resources play a significant role in the ability of schools to reduce racial inequality.
Controlled selective fluorination with N-fluoropyridinium salt system

Abstract Controlled selective fluorination should be of great importance in preparing desired fluoroorganic molecules. We have developed N - fluoropyridinium salts as power and structure-variable fluorinating agents. In these studies, we found that counteranion part of the N -fluoropyridinium salts functions considerably in selective fluorination. This talk will discuss about the synthesis of a series of counteranion-bound N -fluoropyridinium salts and controlled selective fluorination with them.
Dying in the U.S.A.

Resume Chaque societe a ses facons etablies de traiter la mort … aide aux endeuilles, sort fait au cadavre, dispersion de la propriete, remplacement dans les fonctions naguere assumees par le defunt … Notre societe n'y fait pas exception. Un souci nouveau s'est toutefois fait jour ces dernieres annees et c'est le comportement devant le deces proprement dit. Meme si nous resolvons un des principaux problemes du passe, la mort prematuree, nous sommes confrontes avec des aspects nouveaux. Ceux-ci sont la prolongation de la vie par notre technologie nouvelle, le droit de l'homme a accelerer le processus de sa propre mort, le droit a s'affranchir de la douleur au prix d'un abregement de la vie, l'isolement et la solitude de ceux qui meurent dans nos etablissements hospitaliers et le traitement impersonnel des proches qui s'appliquent a alleger les derniers jours de ceux qu'ils aiment.
Racial Differences in Returns to Educational Investment in the South

The paper calculates rates of return to educational invest- ment in the South and highlights differences in returns according to race and sex. The results of this investigation are compared with the results of earlier studies, and it appears that there has been a relative increase in the returns to Black education in the South. For most education levels, Blacks still earn lower returns than Whites, but the recent narrowing of earnings rates suggests that southern Blacks have made significant progress in their drive for equality of opportunity. BASED ON DATA from the 1950 and 1960 censuses, there have been several studies concerned with racial differences in the returns to education; such studies have concluded that returns to White males were substantially higher than returns to Nonwhite males. (Hanoch, Lassiter, Becker, Hines et al.) Little attention has been paid to female returns to educa- tion, but it has been suggested that White returns were lower than those of Nonwhites. (Hines et al.) In this paper, I am concerned with dif- ferences by race and sex in the internal rate of return on educational in-
Slide Sets: Development and Selection for Use in Teaching Adults.

A fexible, versatile teaching tool, slide sets can be an effective and creative part of teaching with attention to a few basic principles.
A high frequency optical trap for atoms using Hermite-Gaussian beams

We present an experimental method to create a single high frequency optical trap for atoms based on an elongated Hermite-Gaussian TEM01 mode beam. This trap results in confinement strength similar to that which may be obtained in an optical lattice. We discuss an optical setup to produce the trapping beam and then detail a method to load a Bose-Einstein Condensate (BEC) into a TEM01 trap. Using this method, we have succeeded in producing individual highly confined lower dimensional condensates.
Numerical simulation of combustion in fire plumes

Combustion in buoyancy-driven fire plumes is assumed to be diffusion controlled and described by a mixture fraction variable. Experimental data for a 10-cm methanol pool fire was compared to numerical results obtained by assuming the plume was axially symmetric. No turbulence model was used. The influence of imposing axial symmetry independent of the approximations made in the combustion model was tested by comparing simulated and experimental helium plumes. Simulated helium plume results agreed well with the experimental data at sufficiently small heights where most combustion occurs. At larger heights, predictions from the helium simulations were increasingly in error within a volume surrounding the centerline. Prediction error in the pool fire simulations behaved largely in a similar manner, with some error present due to inadequacies in the mixture-fraction-based combustion model. Overall, within the limitations of an axially-symmetric calculation, the behavior of flame flickering and the time-averaged temperature field were reasonably well predicted.
FACE facility engineering performance in 1989

This chapter summarizes FACE facility engineering performance during the 1987-1989 operating period. There are two general areas of system control. The first is reliability of subsystems and components. The second is maintenance of temporal and spatial control of the CO{sub 2} concentration within the experimental plot. Data from 1987, 1988, and 1989 are presented to illustrate spatial variability in CO{sub 2} within the FACE array. The first section addresses system reliability, that is, failures of hardware components or subsystems resulting in inability of the facility to function as designed. This is distinct from CO{sub 2} control performance, defined as the ability to hold a preset concentration level when all hardware is functioning. 3 refs., 20 figs., 12 tabs.
Identification of heat‐transfer processes during soil cooling, freezing, and thaw in central alaska

Hourly time series of temperature and a surrogate measure of the soil water ionic (solute) concentration were obtained in the upper 50 cm of soil from two adjacent sites in central Alaska from August 1991 to May 1992. One site is located in a ground water seepage zone and is characterized by seasonal freezing of the upper soil. The other site is located over a body of permafrost. The time series, used simultaneously, display a unique signature diagnostic of the operative conductive and non-conductive heat-transfer process. During soil cooling in autumn, internal distillation (concurrent evaporation, vertical transport, and condensation of water vapour in soil column) moderates heat transfer in the active layer. A [zero curtain] develops in winter and persists for three months; maintenance of this isothermal layer is associated with water advection and internal distillation within the unfrozen zone. Conductive heat transfer is not possible in the isothermal layer during this period but dominates during late winter following soil freezing and closure of the zero curtain. Warming of the active layer in spring occurs nearly instantaneously and results from infiltration of snow cover meltwater and downward vapour migration. In contrast, water saturation of pore space at the seepage site inhibits vertical migration of vapour and water. Des series de mesures horaires de temperature et aussi de la concentration ionique de l'eau du sol ont ete enregistrees d'aoǔt 1991 a mai 1992 dans les 50 cm superieurs du sol de deux sites proches l'un de l'autre au centre de l'Alaska. Un site d'observation est localise en un endroit ou suinte de l'eau du sol et est caracterise par un gel saisonnier du sol superieur. Un autre site est au dessus d'un ǐlot de pergelisol. Les observations recueillies simultanement dans les deux endroits montrent une seule signature diagnostique d'un processus actif de transfert de chaleur par conduction ou autrement. Pendant le refroidissement du sol en automne, une distillation interne (comprenant une evaporation, un transfert vertical et la condensation de la vapeur d'eau) a pour effet de moderer la transfert de chaleur dans la couche active. Une periode zero se developpe en hiver et persiste pendant 3 mois; la conservation de cette couche isotherme est associee avec l'appel d'eau et une distillation d'eau depuis la zone non gelee. Un transfert de chaleur par conduction n'est pas possible pendant cette periode dans le couche isotherme mais domine plus tard en hiver apres le gel complet du sol et la disparition de la zone zero.