cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Continuum Electrostatics Approaches to Calculating pKas and Ems in Proteins

Proteins change their charge state through protonation and redox reactions as well as through binding charged ligands. The free energy of these reactions is dominated by solvation and electrostatic energies and modulated by protein conformational relaxation in response to the ionization state changes. Although computational methods for calculating these interactions can provide very powerful tools for predicting protein charge states, they include several critical approximations of which users should be aware. This chapter discusses the strengths, weaknesses, and approximations of popular computational methods for predicting charge states and understanding the underlying electrostatic interactions. The goal of this chapter is to inform users about applications and potential caveats of these methods as well as outline directions for future theoretical and computational research.
Design and Implementation of Control System in Haptic Device for Dental Training System

The forward-drive and back-drive performance of a haptic device directly influence the fidelity of a human-machine interaction system.The design of control system is an important aspect in insuring these performances as the same as the design of mechanical device.A control design approach was outlined which could control the haptic device effectively in the experiments of virtual wall and virtual tooth probing simulation.Firstly,according to the system requirement,the control structure and implementation scheme was determined by careful analysis and comparing.The matching and capability was focused between motor and amplifier.Some detailed specifications for selecting motor were proposed.Secondly,the control software and device driver for windows were developed.Finally,the drive performance of this system was validated by the results of virtual wall experiment and virtual tooth probing.
Predominance Area Diagram for Gas-Solid Reduction Reactions of Iron Oxides

According to thermodynamic analyses of the iron oxides reduction reactions,a calculation model for the predominance area diagram was established.Simultaneously,taking the most recognized thermodynamic data of related substances as the parameters of the model,the predominance area diagram for gas-solid reduction reactions of iron oxides was reconstructed on the basis of the model calculation results.' Three-curve-intersection' and ' three-line-parallel'principles for the predominance area diagram were presented and theoretically certified.Obviously,the new predominance area diagram can meet this thermodynamic constraint conditions,and the results of thermodynamic theoretical analyses proved the validity of the proposed model.The new predominance area diagram showed that the triple point of iron oxides was 576℃ for the reduction with either CO or H_2,and the corresponding reduction potential were50.70%,75.83%,respectively.Additionally,the reducibility transition temperature of CO and H_2was 819℃.
Intraoperative radiation therapy for colon and rectal cancers: a clinical review

Although there have been significant advances in the adjuvant therapy of colorectal cancer, results for patients have historically been poor when complete resection is unlikely or not possible. Similarly, locally recurrent colorectal cancer patients often experience significant tumor related morbidity and disease control and long term survival have historically been poor with standard therapies. Intraoperative radiation therapy (IORT) has been proposed as a possible tool for dose escalation in patients with locally advanced colorectal cancer. For patients with locally advanced primary or recurrent colon cancer, the absence of prospective controlled trials limits the ability to draw definitive conclusions in completely resected patients. In subtotally resected patients, the available evidence is consistent with marked improvements in disease control and survival compared to historical controls. For patients with locally advanced primary or recurrent rectal cancer, a relatively large body of evidence suggests improved disease control and survival, especially in subtotally resected patients, with the addition of IORT to moderate dose external beam radiation (EBRT) and chemotherapy. The most important prognostic factor in nearly all series is the completeness of surgical resection. Many previously irradiated patients may be carefully re-treated with radiation and IORT in addition to chemotherapy resulting in long term survival in more than 25% of patients. Peripheral nerve is dose limiting for IORT and patients receiving 15 Gy or more are at higher risk. IORT is a useful tool when dose escalation beyond EBRT tolerance limits is required for acceptable local control in patients with locally advanced primary or recurrent colorectal cancer. Previously irradiated patients should not be excluded from treatment consideration.
Mesenteric lipoma simulating an ovarian teratoma

Abstract We present a case of a four-year-old patient who presents with chronic episodic umbilical pain. CT revealed an abdominal mass considered to be ovarian in origin. The real etiology of the patient's pain was found after laparoscopic surgery and pathological analysis, which confirmed the mass to be a mesenteric lipoma. Retrospective coronal reconstruction of the CT demonstrated a mesenteric vessel supplying the lesion. Mesenteric lipoma, although rare in children, should be considered in the differential diagnosis for a fatty pelvic mass.
Cash Management for the Small and Medium Sized Business

This paper reviews the importance of cash management for the small and medium sized business. Until recent changes in the banking laws and money markets, practical cash account management was econo...
Efficient PMSM-Inverter-Based Drive for Vehicular Transportation Systems

This paper proposes a controller to minimize the overall drive system's losses and the key inverter and motor losses by mapping machine's speed and torque demands to an optimal state current and switching frequency. The objective function takes into account copper and core losses of the machine along with conduction and switching losses of the inverter. The effect of the inverter harmonics on the voltage and current waveforms is modeled and shows that while higher switching frequency increases inverter loss, it decreases the machine's loss. The inverter switching frequency varies with the speed and load torque. The voltage and current limitation are used as the constraint. The effects of the current, voltage, and switching frequency are shown on the losses of the machine and the inverter. The result of optimization for each pair of speed and load torque is the corresponding $dq$ axes current and switching frequency. A control system is implemented based on the optimization scheme to verify the optimization process. The effectiveness of the control system is verified experimentally.
Discussions and Notes

(1945). Discussions and Notes. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 52, No. 4, pp. 207-211.
Factor tariffs and income

ABSTRACTThis article examines a tariff on an imported factor of production in a small, open economy with two domestic factors. Suppose the imported factor is intensive in export production, and labor in import competing production. The factor tariff would reduce export production and trade, but raise the wage. The flexibility afforded by the three factors raises the possibility that import spending might fall more than the decrease in output. That is, the factor tariff could raise income. Inelastic demand for the imported factor and a high labor share of income favor increased income.
Molecular Physiology of a Novel Cgmp-Gated Potassium Channel

The importance of K channels in excitable cells and their role in transepithelial K transport is well recognized [1-5]. More recently, it has been appreciated that several types of K channels play a crucial role in the regulation of vascular smooth muscle contraction (Figure 1) and therefore peripheral vascular resistance and blood pressure [6 7].
Susceptibility Weighted Imaging and MR Angiography

Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA) has undergone tremendous development since its inception (Nayler et al., J Comput Assist Tomogr 10:715–722, 1986; Nishimura et al., IEEE Trans Med Imaging 5:140–151, 1986; Haacke and Lenz, AJR Am J Roentgenol 148:1251–1258, 1987). To image the vessels in the brain at high fields clinically, there is no longer the need to use contrast agents thanks to the increased signal-to-noise at 3 T and the rapid scanning that is possible. Conventional time-of-flight (Potchen et al., Magnetic Resonance Angiography: Concepts and Applications, St. Louis: Mosby:xiv, 650, 1993) with or without magnetization transfer contrast (MTC) can give excellent coverage with high-resolution images. Similarly, susceptibility weighted imaging (SWI) can be used to create venographic images of vessels as small as 200–300 μm (Reichenbach, Radiology 204:272–277, 1997; Haacke et al., Magn Reson Med 52(3):612–618, 2004). In this chapter, we discuss the potential to image both arteries and veins in an SWI single or multiecho time-of-flight (TOF)-like sequence.
Risk factors for postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia.

BACKGROUND Hypocalcemia is a common sequela of thyroidectomy; however, its causative factors have not been completely delineated. METHODS A prospective study of 60 patients who underwent unilateral (n = 15) or bilateral (n = 45) thyroidectomy between 1990 and 1993 was completed to determine the incidence and risk factors for hypocalcemia. Free thyroxine, thyrotropin, and alkaline phosphatase levels were obtained before operation in all patients, together with preoperative and postoperative ionized calcium, parathyroid hormone (PTH), calcitonin, and 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 levels. All patients were examined for age, gender, extent of thyroidectomy, initial versus reoperative neck surgery, weight and pathologic characteristics of resected thyroid tissue, substernal thyroid extension, and parathyroid resection and autotransplantation. RESULTS Hypocalcemia, defined by an ionized calcium level less than 4.5 mg/dl, occurred in 28 patients (47%), including nine (15%) symptomatic patients who required vitamin D and/or calcium for 2 to 6 weeks. In no patient did permanent hypoparathyroidism develop. With a multivariate logistic regression analysis, factors that were predictive of postoperative hypocalcemia included an elevated free thyroxine level (p = 0.003), cancer (p = 0.010), and substernal extension (p = 0.046). CONCLUSIONS Postoperative decline in parathyroid hormone was not an independent risk factor for hypocalcemia, indicating that other factors besides parathyroid injury, ischemia, or removal are involved in the pathogenesis of postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia. An elevated free thyroxine level, substernal thyroid disease, and carcinoma are risk factors for postthyroidectomy hypocalcemia, and their presence should warrant routine postoperative calcium measurement. In the absence of these risk factors, routine postoperative measurement of serum calcium is unnecessary.
Memory Protection on FPGAs

This chapter describes a memory access policy language (Huffmire et al., Proceedings of the European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS), Hamburg, Germany, September 2006), based on formal regular languages, and demonstrates how this language can express classical security policies, including isolation, controlled sharing, and Chinese wall. This chapter also describes a policy compiler (Huffmire et al., Proceedings of the European Symposium on Research in Computer Security (ESORICS), Hamburg, Germany, September 2006) that translates an access policy expressed in this language into a synthesizeable hardware module.
Counselors in the Managed Care Era: The Efficacy of the Data-Based Problem Solver Model

It has become increasingly important in the managed care era for counselors to be accountable for the services they provide. This study utilized the Data-Based Problem Solver Model as a guide for c...
A propensity score matched analysis of the effects of African American race on the characteristics of regions of interests detected by magnetic resonance imaging of the prostate

Abstract Objectives To evaluate the effects of African American (AA) race on the number, location, Prostate Imaging Reporting and Data System (PI-RADS) score, cancer detection rate, and cancer upgrade rate of the regions of interest (ROI) discovered on mltiparametric magnetic resonance imaging (mp-MRI) of the prostate. Methods We performed an institutional retrospective study of 592 patients who received a prostate mp-MRI. Number of ROI (1–4), their location, and PI-RADS score v2 were evaluated in a matched cohort of Caucasian and AA males. Propensity score matching was performed using the variables of age, prostate specific antigen (PSA) level, and prostate volume. Comparisons utilized chi-square tests and P Results One hundred and twenty three AA patients were matched with an equal number of Caucasian men of similar characteristics. The AA population's median age was 63 years (57.3–69.3), median PSA 6.6 (4.6–12.1), and median prostate volume 55 ml (33–90.8). The Caucasian population's median age was 66.3 years (60.9–71.1), median PSA 5.4 (3.8–8), and median prostate volume 52.5 ml (33.2–83). The number of ROI was 2 or more in 24% of AA men and 12% of Caucasian men (P = 0.035), and 3 or more in 10% of AA and 2% of Caucasian men (P = 0.034). There was no significant difference in location, PI-RADS scores, cancer detection rate, and cancer upgrade rate of the ROI between the 2 groups. Conclusions AA patients, as compared to Caucasian counterparts, have a higher number of ROI detected on prostate mp-MRI.
Second Thoughts and the Epistemological Enterprise

What happens when we have second thoughts about the epistemic standing of our beliefs, when we stop to check on beliefs which we have already formed or hypotheses which we have under consideration? In the essays collected in this volume, Hilary Kornblith considers this and other questions about self-knowledge and the nature of human reason. The essays draw extensively on work in social psychology to illuminate traditional epistemological issues: in contrast with traditional Cartesian approaches to these issues, Kornblith engages with empirically motivated skeptical problems, and shows how they may be constructively addressed in practical and theoretical terms. As well as bringing together ten previously published essays, the volume contains two entirely new pieces that engage with ideas of self and rational nature. Kornblith's approach lays the foundations for further development in epistemology that will benefit from advances in our understanding of human psychology.
RPTPα phosphatase activity is allosterically regulated by the membrane-distal catalytic domain.

Receptor-type protein tyrosine phosphatase α (RPTPα) is an important positive regulator of SRC kinase activation and a known promoter of cancer growth, fibrosis, and arthritis. The domain structure of RPTPs comprises an extracellular region, a transmembrane helix, and two tandem intracellular catalytic domains referred to as D1 and D2. The D2 domain of RPTPs is believed to mostly play a regulatory function; however, no regulatory model has been established for RPTPα-D2 or other RPTP-D2 domains. Here, we solved the 1.8 A resolution crystal structure of the cytoplasmic region of RPTPα, encompassing D1 and D2, trapped in a conformation that revealed a possible mechanism through which D2 can allosterically inhibit D1 activity. Using a D2-truncation RPTPα variant and mutational analysis of the D1/D2 interfaces, we show that D2 inhibits RPTPα phosphatase activity and identified a 405PFTP408 motif in D1 that mediates the inhibitory effect of D2. Expression of the gain-of-function F406A/T407A RPTPα variant in HEK293T cells enhanced SRC activation, supporting the relevance of our proposed D2-mediated regulation mechanism in cell signaling. There is emerging interest in the development of allosteric inhibitors of RPTPs but a scarcity of validated allosteric sites for RPTPs. The results of our study not only shed light on the regulatory role of RPTP-D2 domains, but also provide a potentially useful tool for the discovery of chemical probes targeting RPTPα and other RPTPs.
Lipid profile dysregulation predicts alcohol withdrawal symptom severity in individuals with alcohol use disorder.

Abstract Alcohol withdrawal syndrome (AWS) is a serious medical condition of high variability in alcohol use disorder (AUD) after drinking cessation. Identification of clinical biomarkers capable of detecting severe AWS is needed. While alcohol consumption and withdrawal are linked with lipid profile dysregulation, the relationship between lipid levels (high-density lipoprotein cholesterol [HDL-C], low-density lipoprotein cholesterol [LDL-C], and triglycerides) and AWS is unknown. Therefore, this study investigated whether HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides conferred risk for moderate-to-severe AWS symptoms in treatment-seeking individuals (n = 732) admitted to the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism (NIAAA) alcohol treatment program. Lipid levels were measured upon admission, and the Clinical Institute Withdrawal Assessment of Alcohol Scale, Revised (CIWA-Ar) assessed AWS severity for generating a three-level AWS typology (none-to-mild, moderate, and severe). Multivariable multinomial logistic regression examined whether lipid levels were associated with risk for moderate-to-severe AWS. We found significant predictive relationships between AWS and HDL-C, LDL-C, and triglycerides. While extremely high HDL-C (≥100 mg/dL) conferred the highest odds for moderate (4.405, 95% CI, 2.572–7.546, p
KHOVID: Interoperable Privacy Preserving Digital Contact Tracing.

During a pandemic, contact tracing is an essential tool to drive down the infection rate within a population. To accelerate the laborious manual contact tracing process, digital contact tracing (DCT) tools can track contact events transparently and privately by using the sensing and signaling capabilities of the ubiquitous cell phone. However, an effective DCT must not only preserve user privacy but also augment the existing manual contact tracing process. Indeed, not every member of a population may own a cell phone or have a DCT app installed and enabled. We present KHOVID to fulfill the combined goal of manual contact-tracing interoperability and DCT user privacy. At KHOVID's core is a privacy-friendly mechanism to encode user trajectories using geolocation data. Manual contact tracing data can be integrated through the same geolocation format. The accuracy of the geolocation data from DCT is improved using Bluetooth proximity detection, and we propose a novel method to encode Bluetooth ephemeral IDs. This contribution describes the detailed design of KHOVID; presents a prototype implementation including an app and server software; and presents a validation based on simulation and field experiments. We also compare the strengths of KHOVID with other, earlier proposals of DCT.
IRTF observations of S complex and other asteroids: Implications for surface compositions, the presence of clinopyroxenes, and their relationship to meteorites

Abstract– We have obtained near-infrared spectra for near-Earth asteroids (NEA) and Main Belt asteroids by using NASA’s Infrared Telescope Facility. Most of the S complex classes of the Tholen-Bus-DeMeo scheme and the S(I)–S(VII) classes are represented. To help interpret the results, we examined visible/near-IR spectra for ordinary chondrites. The unequilibrated ordinary chondrites (UOC) spectra contain a 2.3 μm feature which is absent in the spectra of the equilibrated ordinary chondrites (EOC). On the basis of literature data and new spectra low-Ca clinopyroxenes, we suggest that the 2.3 μm in UOC is due to the presence of low-Ca clinopyroxene in the UOC which is absent in EOC. While this difference can be seen in the raw spectra, we confirmed this observation using a modified Gaussian model (MGM) for spectral analysis. Both the UOC and the EOC plot in the S(IV) field of the band area ratio plot for asteroids. We suggest that many or most S(IV) asteroids have material resembling UOC on their surfaces. An internally heated ordinary chondrite parent object would have EOC material at depth and UOC material on the surface. Cosmic ray exposure ages, and K-Ar ages for L chondrites, indicate that most EOC came from relatively few objects; however, the age distributions for UOC are unlike those of EOC. We suggest that while EOC come from the interiors of a limited number of S(IV) asteroids, the UOC come from the surfaces of a large number of S(IV) asteroids.
Chapter 7 Recent Results on Hydrodynamic Limits

Abstract Hydrodynamic limits study the relation between the fluid and kinetic descriptions of a transport phenomenon. In different area of physics and engineering, kinetic models have been developed and studied to shed some light on phenomenon far from thermodynamical equilibrium. Those models are far more accurate. However, they are still numerically too much costly, and the fluid descriptions cannot be completely avoided. It is then crucial to describe precisely the relation between these two kind of models, especially close to discontinuities, where the difference between the models are expected to be the deepest. We present in this chapter a general theory of hydrodynamic limits based on the so-called relative entropy method. We give general conditions ensuring that a given conservation law (or balance law) can be obtained as hydrodynamic limit from a given kinetic equation. Several examples in gas dynamics are provided. Relative entropy methods are known to provide asymptotic limits until the first time of appearance of singularities. We give first hints how to apply it beyond certain kind of singularities.
On Ideas as Actors: How Ideas about Yellow Fever Causality Shaped Public Health Policy Responses in 19th-Century Galveston

This article uses debates regarding yellow fever causality among leading healers in 19th-century Galveston, Texas, U.S., as a means of exploring the extent to which ideas are social actors. That is, the analysis demonstrates that ideas about yellow fever causality shaped contemporaneous public health policy responses to yellow fever outbreaks in 19th-century Galveston. The article contributes to the growing literature documenting that contagionist and anticontagionist views were often assimilated, and also supports the historiography showing that the predisposing/exciting causes dichotomy is a more robust intellectual framework for understanding 19th-century attributions of disease causality.
Microstructure and Leaching Behavior of Polymer Composites for Encapsulating Toxic Solid Wastes

This work presents a water-based process for the manufacture of a polymeric waste form for the encapsulation of soluble toxic salts. The process is based on the elaboration of an aqueous emulsion in which polymeric precursors are mixed with the waste. Upon drying and curing, the emulsion inverts to form a waste form with mechanical integrity that stabilizes the toxic salt. The final polymer matrix is a mixture of an epoxy resin and poly(styrene butadiene) (PSB). Sodium nitrate was used as a model salt waste. The microstructure and composition of the samples were examined using scanning electron microscopy, osmium tetroxide staining, and salt extraction. The results show that the epoxy resin is dispersed in a continuous PSB phase, and the encapsulated salt is distributed throughout the matrix. Leaching tests were carried out by exposing sections of the waste forms to large volumes of well-stirred water. The measured time dependence of the leaching process is described quantitatively by a model based on the...
Characterization of the Role of the Human Granulocyte-Macrophage Colony-Stimulating Factor Receptor α Subunit in the Activation of JAK2 and STAT5

The high-affinity human granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) receptor (GMR) consists of an alpha (GMRalpha) and a common beta (betac) subunit. The intracellular domain of betac has been extensively characterized and has been shown to be critical for the activation of both the JAK/STAT and MAP kinase pathways. The function of the intracellular domain of GMRalpha, however, is not as well characterized. To determine the role of this domain in GMR signaling, an extensive structure-function analysis was performed. Truncation mutants alpha362, alpha371, and alpha375 were generated, as well as the site-directed mutants alphaVQVQ and alphaVVVV. Although alpha375beta, alphaVQNQbeta, and alphaVVVVbeta stimulated proliferation in response to human GM-CSF, the truncation mutants alpha362beta and alpha371beta were incapable of transducing a proliferative signal. In addition, both alpha371 and alphaVVVV were expressed at markedly reduced levels, indicating the importance of residues 372 to 374 for proper protein expression. More importantly, we show that GMRalpha plays a direct role in the activation of the JAK/STAT pathway, and electrophoretic mobility shift assays (EMSA) indicate that both GMRalpha and betac play a role in determining the STAT5 DNA binding complex activated by the GMR. Thus, the intracellular domain of the human GMRalpha is important for activation of the JAK/STAT pathway and protein stabilization.
Tissue-Specific Recognition of Mouse CD1 Molecules

Although there is evidence that some members of the CD1 gene family may present particular types of foreign Ags, such as mycobacterial lipid Ags or synthetic hydrophobic peptides, to alphabeta T cells, most CD1 isotypes share the unusual property of being recognized by a high frequency of naturally autoreactive alphabeta T cells. In the case of mouse CD1.1 and its human counterpart CD1d, a significant fraction of the autoreactive T cells express semi-invariant TCRs. CD1.1-specific T cells have a restricted tissue distribution and very promptly secrete a large panel of potent cytokines, including IL-4 and IFN-gamma, upon primary activation through their TCR, suggesting that they might regulate some immune responses in these tissues. We show here that their autorecognition of mouse CD1.1 is highly dependent upon the cell type in which CD1.1 is expressed. For example, some of these T cells only respond to CD1.1 expressed by splenic dendritic cells, some respond preferentially to cortical thymocytes, and others respond to splenic B cells. Tissue specificity of CD1.1 recognition is also observed with various cell lines transfected with CD1.1 cDNA. These results show that different CD1.1 self Ags are expressed in different tissues and can be specifically recognized by autoreactive T cells. They suggest that CD1.1 may be naturally associated with a variety of self ligands that overlap only partially in different cell types.
Cell biology: More than skin deep

In studying how stem cells make and maintain tissues, nearly every chapter of a cell biology textbook is of interest. The field even allows us to venture where no chapters have yet been written. In studying this basic problem, we are continually bombarded by nature’s surprises and challenges.
Laparascopic Capsulotomy to Treat Autoinflation of Inflatable Penile Prostheses

ABSTRACT Introduction Inflatable penile prosthetic implants are a reliable treatment for erectile dysfunction. Mechanical failures now are the most common reason for revision of this type of device, and autoinflation is a common cause for device revision. There are currently no published surgical treatments for this malfunction. Aim To describe a simple outpatient surgical revision for an automatically inflating device using laparascopic dissection. Main Outcome Measures Complete deflation of penile prosthesis on follow‐up visit, intraoperative and postsurgical complications, and length of procedure. Methods We performed a retrospective review of patients treated for inflatable penile prosthesis autoinflation with laparascopic capsulotomy to release constricting connective tissue rind surrounding the device reservoir at a single institution. We collected information about etiology of impotence, surgical procedures relating to implant and revision of prosthetic devices, and follow‐up evaluations. Results Four patients underwent laparascopic capsulotomy to treat autoinflation. Mean operative time was 45 minutes, and no adverse surgical or perioperative outcomes occurred. All four patients had deflated corporal cylinders at the time of follow‐up evaluation. Conclusions Laparascopic capsulotomy is an easy and reliable method of treating inflatable penile prosthesis autoinflation that can be performed in the outpatient setting. Abbosh PH, Thom MR, and Bullock A. Laparascopic capsulotomy to treat autoinflation of inflatable penile prostheses. J Sex Med 12;9:1212–1215.
Measurement of material anisotropy by dual-probe laser interferometer

A novel dual-probe laser interferometer, which has the advantage that it measures the surface displacements of the same surface wave at two locations, has been used to measure the speeds of surface waves and pseudo-surface waves on a silicon single crystal. Two configurations have been investigated. When the distance between the two points of detection is large relative to the length of the acoustic wave, the two signals detected by the probes are separated in the time domain. Hence the signal travel time can be found by the autocorrelation method. When the distance between the two points of detection is short relative to the acoustic wave, a composite signal is obtained consisting of two overlapping signals. Then the power cepstrum method is employed to extract the signal travel time between the probe points. The speeds for both types of surface waves are shown as functions of direction relative to the [001] crystal axis. The results have been compared with theoretical calculations and line-focus acoustic microscopy measurements.
What do they know?: An assessment of undergraduate library skills

Abstract This article, which examines variables affecting scores on a test of library skills, finds that the frequency with which students receive assignments requiring library research is the best predictor of a score. The unevenness is students' research skills has implications for bibliographic instruction.
Binding of phosphorothioate oligonucleotides to zwitterionic liposomes.

Abstract Although double-stranded DNA (dsDNA) has been shown to bind to zwitterionic lipids, it has been reported that this association is stronger for disordered (Lα) phase lipids than for well-ordered (Lβ) lipids. In this work, the interaction of single-strand phosphorothioate oligonucleotides (ONs) with unilamellar liposomes of saturated and unsaturated zwitterionic phosphocholines (PCs) and phosphoroethylamine (PE) was investigated. It is shown that the association of phosphorothioate ONs to diacyl glycerophosphocholines is strong, but only for Lβ phase or otherwise ordered bilayers. There is no measurable affinity for PE lipids. The apparent affinity of three different phosphorothioate ONs for Lβ phase 1,2-dipalmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) has been measured and the dissociation constants were on the order of 10−7 M. Purine-rich ON sequences had stronger binding to DPPC liposomes than did pyrimidine-rich sequences, but there were other sequence-dependent factors. This exceptionally high affinity could be an important consideration in ON uptake, delivery, and biodistribution.
The equilibrium melting temperature of cis-polyisoprene

Abstract The equilibrium melting temperature T°m of cis-polyisoprene (Hevea natural rubber) has been determined to be 35.5°C at atmospheric pressure. The optical ‘turbidimetric’ technique developed to obtain the melting data, discussed in this paper, utilized unpolarized light and was free of complications (presumably involving melt strain) encountered with polarized light techniques, but was found to be consistent with that and other techniques. The effect of variables such as heating rate and crystallization time were considered. Two independent methods of extrapolation of the Tm data to evaluate T°m produced values in the range T°m = 35.5° ± 0.3°C. The fold surface free energy σe was also estimated, by two independent methods, to be 0.024 J m−2.
The Conflict of Nationalisms in South Africa

Can the paths of African nationalism be shaped by white communities? And, if so, in what direction might African nationalism be led? These are questions which puzzle white governments in all parts of Africa. Though African nationalism may be recognized as having its own inner dynamics, and to be an inevitable growth, no matter how hostile the Western powers and white settlers may be to it, yet tJiere is an assumption underlying the policies of most governments in Africa that the particular paths which African nationalism will follow can be shaped by the kinds of alternatives which the white communities offer to it.
Effect of hydrogen on fracture and inert-environment sustained load cracking resistance of α- β titanium alloys

The fracture toughness and resistance to inert-environment sustained load crack propagation of α-β titanium alloys are usually reduced by increased hydrogen contents. The range of hydrogen contents over which either fracture toughness or threshold stress intensity for sustained load cracking was observed to decrease with hydrogen content is small (0 to 50 ppm) for Ti-6 Al-4 V, but further increases in hydrogen content can cause an increase in cracking rates. Sustained load crack propagation is characterized by a mixture of microvoid coalescence with cleavage, usually on a plane 12 to 15 deg from {0001} of the hep α phase with some {000l} cleavage. Cleavage apparently initiates ahead of the main crack front within a grains, usually near apparent α-β interfaces. Atmospheric moisture is inert with respect to sustained load cracking, that is, it does not cause stress corrosion cracking. Sustained load cracking was demonstrated in Ti-8 Al-1 Mo-1 V, Ti-6 Al-6 V-2 Sn, and several grades of Ti-6 Al-4 V.
Transfer, mixing and associated chemical and mechanical processes during the sliding of ductile materials

Abstract This paper is based on a presentation designed to stimulate discussion among participants in an international symposium held at Hyderabad, India, 14–16 December 1998. The program focused on the genesis and role of transfer and mechanical mixing in the wear of materials. It is convenient to divide the changes arising from sliding contacts into two broad categories, the first in which the average chemical composition is unchanged and the second in which the chemical composition is modified by interactions with the counterface material and the environment. These are not completely independent. In fact, plastic deformation and changes in structure during early stages of sliding may be precursors to processes such as transfer and mechanical mixing in which the chemical composition of near-surface material is modified, together with further changes in structure, and further deformation of the tribo-chemically modified material. Also, one part of a wearing surface may have a given combination of chemical composition and structure, while a nearby one may have another. Advances in understanding sliding behavior have been greatly aided by the recent availability of improved techniques for structural, chemical and mechanical characterization of materials. There is now abundant evidence for large plastic strains, allowed by the imposed compressive and shear stresses, even in materials which are considered to be brittle in simple tensile tests. Thus, sliding encourages ductility adjacent to the sliding interface. The energy dissipated during continuing plastic deformation can account for the values of friction coefficients typically measured during the unlubricated sliding of ductile materials. To improve our understanding of sliding wear processes, it is helpful to monitor changes in structure and chemical composition of sliding test specimens and wear debris, using very short to very long sliding times and using both in situ and post-test techniques. Such work has suggested that sliding wear commonly involves development of a deformation substructure which is susceptible to shear instabilities, leading to transfer, chemical reactions, mechanical mixing and fracture. The processes are similar to those which occur in the early stages of the commercial process known as mechanical alloying. Evidence for such processes has accumulated over many years and is now more than sufficient to justify major efforts to incorporate transfer and mixing in quantitative wear models. Questions designed to stimulate such efforts are included in this paper.
Yearly variations of rain-rate statistics at Wallops Island and their impact on modeled slant path attenuation distributions

Rain gauge measurements at Wallops Island, VA over a five-year period have been reduced and cumulative rain-date distributions have been determined for yearly, successively combined years, and overall average cases. Yearly variations of the predicted slant path attenuation statistics for two International Radio Consultative Committee (CCIR) models (referred to as modified method I and method II) and the global model at 28.56 GHz were calculated using the yearly measured rain rates at Wallops Island. This frequency was selected as it coincided with the beacon frequency of the COMSTAR geostationary satellite which was also simultaneously monitored at Wallops Island for a period of three years enabling a comparison with the measured rain-fade statistics. The year to year variations of the predicted fades as well as the percent deviations relative to the five-year average case were examined.
Voucher Specimens for SARS-Linked Bats

We read with interest the report “bats are natural reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses” by W. Li et al. (28 Oct. 2005, p. [676][1]). These authors and others ([1][2]) have identified bats in three genera as reservoirs of SARS-like coronaviruses (SL-CoVs), raising the possibility that SARS-CoVs
Adolescent Twins and Emotional Distress: The Interrelated Influence of Nonshared Environment and Social Structure

This study examined the power of nonshared environment to differentiate the development of adolescent monozygotic twins, and the extent to which this power varied across social structural contexts (e.g., ethnicity, socioeconomic status). Estimation of difference score models on 289 same-sex monozygotic twin pairs from the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent Health revealed that differences in maternal closeness, teacher bonding, and religious participation differentiated monozygotic twins on emotional distress, with the more distressed twin typically lower on all three. Family income was the strongest structural moderator of these relations, with parental autonomy granting more important in higher income families and religious participation more important in lower income families. Finally, in some groups, one monozygotic twin's emotional distress was also associated with the other twin's familial and extrafamilial relationships. The results of this study demonstrate that interpersonal contexts can shape monozygotic twins' individual experiences within the structure of the larger society.
Issues in implementing ERP: A case study

Abstract Information technology/systems play a major role in improving the competitiveness of organizations. There are numerous enterprise information software packages available in the market. One of them is enterprise resource planning (ERP). ERP can provide significant improvements in efficiency across a company, but only when implemented correctly. Otherwise, an ERP system could be a curse and drag the whole enterprise into spiraling inefficiency. Planning for ERP systems and their implementations requires an integrated approach to meet the requirements of various functional areas. With a brief overview of ERP implementations, this paper describes some experiences of an ERP implementation in a water corporation. The case study reveals some of the intricacies during the planning and implementation stages that may occur in any company in any part of the world. Suggestions are offered in resolving the issues of implementing ERP.
Socioeconomic Differences among Blacks in America: Over Time Trends

Compared to Hispanic and Asian immigrants, black immigrants in the United States have been considerably less researched, and until very recently, black African immigrants remained a relatively understudied group. Using data from three waves of the US Census (1980, 1990, and 2000), we assess differences in earnings (and related measures of socioeconomic status) among male and female African Americans and black immigrants from Africa and the Caribbean. Results of the analysis suggest a sizeable earnings advantage for immigrants. Controlling for a host of human capital variables, however, reduced the gap between the earnings of African immigrants and native-born blacks, although the difference still remained statistically significant. No such attenuation was found for immigrants from the Caribbean. The results also indicate that for females only, the immigrant advantage has grown over time. Moreover, the findings show that additional years of work experience in the USA or in foreign countries correspond to a rather sizable increase in hourly earnings for both males and females, but, for males, this effect has grown weaker over time. Finally, men earned more than women, both overall and within comparison groups with the gap remaining relatively stable over time.
Beautiful balloon: The digital divide and the charisma of new media in India

Against the view that the millennium brought only unrealistic hype around the socially transformative potentials of the Internet, I argue for skepticism vis-a-vis the “realistic” stance that is now employed to evaluate the success of development-oriented applications of the Internet in India. Focusing on the heyday of ICT4D (information and communication technologies for development) projects, I move beyond the stalemate of hype versus debunking to suggest, instead, that although the discourse of development helped to legitimize the Internet as an “appropriate technology,” its emphasis on functional solutions also helped to obscure the Internet's more ambiguous emergent potentials.
Epitaxial-strain-induced multiferroicity in SrMnO3 from first principles.

First-principles calculations reveal a large spin-phonon coupling in cubic ${\mathrm{SrMnO}}_{3}$, with ferromagnetic ordering producing a polar instability. Through combination of this coupling with the strain-polarization coupling characteristic of perovskites, the bulk antiferromagnetic-paraelectric ground state is driven to a previously unreported multiferroic ferroelectric-ferromagnetic state by increasing epitaxial strain. This state has a computed ${P}_{s}g54\text{ }\text{ }\ensuremath{\mu}\mathrm{C}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ and magnetic ${T}_{c}g92\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{K}$. Large mixed magnetic-electric-elastic responses are predicted in the vicinity of the phase boundaries.
Beyond the Medical Model: A reconsideration of 'feeblemindedness', citizenship, and eugenic restrictions

The rise of eugenic restrictions in early twentieth century America reshaped the relationship between intellectual disability, citizenship, and the exercise of rights. To explain the rise of rights restrictions, scholarship has largely turned to the medicalisation of 'feeblemindedness', while overlooking mainstream concepts within citizenship studies. By drawing upon an institutional and relational approach to citizenship, I argue that factors including the dominant legal narratives and infrastructure, as well as the broader relational context can be used to enhance our understanding of the development of eugenic restrictions. More broadly, an institutional and relational approach to citizenship can provide a theoretical framework by which to meaningfully include people with intellectual disabilities within citizenship studies, while recognising their unique historical experiences.
Effects of neonatal estrogen on hypothalamic deoxyribonucleases and DNA in the female rat.

Abstract Administration of a pharmacologic dose of 17β-estradiol benzoate to neonatal female rats during the sexually critical period of brain differentiation affected neither the activities nor developmental patterns of hypothalamic acid and alkaline deoxyribonucleases through 35 days of age. However, hypothalamic DNA content was significantly decreased in the treated rats at age 2 days. These data suggest that the transient steroid-induced decrease in DNA is neither mediated by acid nor alkaline deoxyribonucleases.
GaN quantum dots: nanophotonics and nanophononics

ABSTRACT Self-assembled GaN quantum dots are characterized using Raman techniques. The electrical and optical properties of these GaN quantum dots are modeled in light of optoelectronic applications. Strain-induced changes in the phononic properties of these nanostructures are modeled and the strain-induced frequency shifts are compared with Raman measurements. Acoustic phonons in colloidal GaN quantum dots are modeled using a quantized elastic continuum model. Shifts observed in the Raman signatures for different excitation wavelengths provide evidence the Raman signatures of GaN quantum dots are observed. Keywords: Gallium nitride, aluminum arsenide, quantum dots, Raman scattering, wetting layer, strain-induce frequency shift, confinement-induced frequency shift, interface optical phonon, confined optical phonons, acoustic breathing mode phonons, acoustic torsional model phonons 1. INTRODUCTION Self-assembled GaN quantum dots grown on AlN are fabricated and characterized using Raman techniques. Raman spectra reveal frequency shifts from the frequencies expects of bulk samples. To understand the origin of these frequency shifts, the effects of phonon confinement and strain on the phonon frequencies are considered. The dimensions of both the quantum dots and the thicknesses of the wetting layers are considered in order to understanding the observed frequency shifts; strain-induced changes in the phononic properties of these nanostructures are modeled and the strain-induced frequency shifts are compared with Raman measurements. Shifts observed in the Raman signatures for different excitation wavelengths provide evidence the Raman signatures of GaN quantum dots are observed. Acoustic phonons in colloidal GaN quantum dots are modeled using a quantized elastic continuum model. The frequencies of both breathing and torsional modes are determined for a variety of materials used to encase the colloidal GaN quantum dots.
Abandonment, Infanticide, and Filicide: An Overview of Inhumanity to Children

Violence to children has always existed and is one of the most intractable aspects of human behavior. Man has no aversion to child abandonment, infanticide, and filicide; nor has man hesitated to injure, cripple, strangle, smother, beat, overlay, burn, starve, drown, expose, enslave, poison, bury alive, bomb, and gas defenseless children, or to expose them to gene-altering Agent Orange, the deep, body-burning and deforming white phosphorus and napalm, and the horrible effects of atomic bombs. 2-8 This unending story through all the stages and structures of society from the primitive times to the 20th century, the motivations and forms of inhumanity to children, and some remedial measures are discussed herein. Primitive man possessed little knowledge or skills and suffered severe handicaps in the struggle for subsistence. He lived as a nomadic hunter-gatherer, searching for food everywhere; and when children became an encumbrance to his essential migratory habits, they were abandoned to