cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Perceptions of economic globalization, emerging influence, and international organizations in India

Abstract This article presents an exploratory study—based on the emerging economy context of India—which examines the relationships among citizens’ perceptions of economic globalization, their country's “emerging influence”, other key nations, and large international organizations. Demographic and socioeconomic factors influenced respondents’ perceptions of economic globalization and emerging influence. Perceptions of economic globalization influenced emerging influence. Perceptions of international organizations were influenced by views of emerging influence, key nations, and economic globalization. Perceptions of key nations were influenced by views of emerging influence and international organizations. The findings are relevant for extended engagement in global public relations and public diplomacy.
Mechanics and Ecological Role of Swimming Behavior in the Caddisfly Larvae Triaenodes tardus

Caddisfly larvae are typically restricted to benthic microhabitats due to the presence of mobile tubular cases constructed out of mineral or organic material. Members of one family (Leptoceridae) use setae on extended metathoracic legs to swim. We describe the swimming behavior of a North American caddisfly, Triaenodes tardus, and experimentally evaluate two hypotheses proposed to explain this behavior. Triaenodes swam 1.47 cm/s, while carrying almost twice their mass in the case material. The larvae employ a stereotypic sequence of motions that likely reduce resistance during the upstroke and increases forward momentum during the downstroke. When placed on substrates of different sizes, larvae swam more on fine sediments but did not elevate off the sediment. After larvae were provided with living or artificial vegetation, the number of swimming bouts decreased compared to a pre-treatment observation period. These results indicate swimming likely does not function to facilitate movement off fine sediments, but rather, helps larvae locate and move between aquatic macrophytes which are the primary habitat of this, and other, swimming species.
Light scattering from ordered and disordered stage-1 cesium graphite

The Raman spectra of C/sub 8/Cs are studied at temperatures spanning the Cs melting transition at 608 K. The spectral features and their temperature dependence are incompatible with the zone-folding model of the lattice vibrations. From an analysis of the scattered-photon frequency dependence of the Stokes--anti-Stokes ratio and the temperature dependence of the Stokes intensity it is shown that for ..omega..<600 cm/sup -1/ the spectral continuum characteristic of C/sub 8/Cs arises from single phonon excitations and is not electronic in origin.
Cutting and Machining Energetic Materials with a Femtosecond Laser

A femtosecond (fs) laser has been used as a tool for solving many problems involving access, machining, disassembly, inspection and avoidance of undesirable hazardous waste streams in systems containing energetic materials. Because of the unique properties of the interaction of ultrashort laser pulses with matter, the femtosecond laser can be used to safely cut these energetic materials in a precise manner without creating an unacceptable waste stream. Many types of secondary high explosives (HE) and propellants have been cut with the laser for a variety of applications ranging from disassembly of aging conventional weapons (demilitarization), inspection of energetic components of aging systems to creating unique shapes of HE for purposes of initiation and detonation physics studies. Hundreds of samples of energetic materials have been cut with the fs laser without ignition and, in most cases, without changing the surface morphology of the cut surfaces. The laser has also been useful in cutting nonenergetic components in close proximity to energetic materials.
“Where is home?” Here and there: transnational experiences of home among Canadian migrants in the United States

Using structured telephone interviews this research focuses on how Canadian migrants living in the United States experience and describe home. We argue that the globalisation of peoples’ lives, transnationalism and the concomitant creation of transnational social spaces have greatly affected the meaning of home for migrants. The understandings of home that result reflect the reality of living in social worlds that span two countries and the development of decentred multiple attachments and feelings of belonging in more than one place. In response to these circumstances Canadian migrants experience home as multi-dimensional, pluri-local, and characterized by regular movement across the U.S.–Canada border. When asked specifically about feeling at home upon re-entry to the U.S. many respondents answered yes. However, many interviewees qualified their answers by describing home in different ways and associating different aspects of their lives with each country. Canada as home was most often described in terms of family, while home in the U.S. was associated with work. Respondents also differentiated between feeling at home once they reached their residence as opposed to feeling unwelcome at the U.S. border.
Prevalence and prognosis of patients with atrial fibrillation in Japan: a prospective cohort of Shinken Database 2004.

Background Prognosis of Japanese patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) should be determined in a prospective cohort study. Methods and Results A prospective cohort of The Shinken Database 2004 comprised details on all the new patients who visited The Cardiovascular Institute Hospital in 2004 (n=2,412), which included 286 AF patients (11.8%, 205 males, 64.1±12.3 years, 165 paroxysmal). In this Japanese cohort of AF patients, the prevalence of congestive heart failure (CHF) was low compared with that in Westerners. Total mortality and cardiovascular morbidity of these patients were also quite low, 1.7% and 11.2% at 1 year, respectively. However, patients with CHF exhibited higher mortality (7.3%), and hospitalization for CHF increased the rate to 22.6%. There was no significant difference in mortality between paroxysmal and persistent AF. Multiple Cox-hazard regression analysis identified hospitalization at initial visit and lack of anticoagulation as independent predictors for mortality, and existence of CHF as the only independent predictor for cardiovascular morbidity. Conclusions The present study identified the mortality (1.7%) and morbidity (11.2%) of Japanese AF patients during 1 year after initial visit. Hospitalization for CHF and lack of anticoagulation were independent predictors for mortality, suggesting important roles of co-morbidities of Japanese AF patients. (Circ J 2008; 72: 914 - 920)
Likelihood-Based Approach to Multidisciplinary Analysis Under Uncertainty

This paper proposes a new methodology for uncertainty quantification in systems that require multidisciplinary iterative analysis between two or more coupled component models. This methodology is based on computing the probability of satisfying the interdisciplinary compatibility equations, conditioned on specific values of the coupling (or feedback) variables, and this information is used to estimate the probability distributions of the coupling variables. The estimation of the coupling variables is analogous to likelihood-based parameter estimation in statistics and thus leads to the proposed likelihood approach for multidisciplinary analysis (LAMDA). Using the distributions of the feedback variables, the coupling can be removed in any one direction without loss of generality, while still preserving the mathematical relationship between the coupling variables. The calculation of the probability distributions of the coupling variables is theoretically exact and does not require a fully coupled system analysis. The proposed method is illustrated using a mathematical example and an aerospace system application—a fire detection satellite.
Influence of solvent on the supramolecular architectures in molecular gels

Elucidating the molecular structures, responsible for promoting self-assembly of low-molecular weight organogelators (LMOG) into supramolecular fibers, has been an extensive area of study. Although this has been a fruitful endeavor, this study illustrates that the chemical nature of the solvent and solvent–gelator interactions are equally important. The nanostructure, microstructure and supramolecular structures, of 12HSA molecules gels, are all influenced by the chemical nature of the solvent, which correlate to the hydrogen-bonding Hansen solubility parameter (∂h). Depending on the solvent employed, the polymorphic form, arrangement of the carboxylic acid dimers, domain size, fiber morphology, microstructure, thermal properties and visual appearance of the gel all differ. Solvents that have δh 4.4 MPa1/2.
Low-temperature magnetic behavior of multidomain titanomagnetites: TM0, TM16, and TM35

[1] An unpredicted effect of the Verwey transition in magnetite is that a field-cooled (FC) remanent magnetization can be less intense than a zero-field cooled (ZFC) isothermal remanence. The effect, only documented in a handful of multidomain (MD) samples, is thought to be unique to MD material. Data for new MD samples all show an elevation of ZFC over FC remanences. Current theory suggests that the FC easy axis bias alone produces the effect. We measured hysteresis loops after three cooling pretreatments; the results are inconsistent with the aforementioned theory. They are, however, consistent with a previous hypothesis which cites the absence of transformational twins in FC samples as an important factor. Our initial low-temperature domain observations in FC and ZFC magnetite further support this theory. We also present data for MD titanomagnetites (x = 0.16, 0.35). These samples also show elevated ZFC remanences below a critical temperature (Tcrit). The titanomagnetites' frequency dependence of susceptibility around Tcrit, the suppression of the amplitude dependence of susceptibility below Tcrit, and Mossbauer data suggest that the change in magnetic anisotropy at Tcrit is related to a suppression of B site electron hopping at low temperature, at least on the timescale of the magnetic measurements. Given our remanence data, field cooling must affect the orientation of the new low-temperature magnetic easy axis. We appeal to the same process as we did for magnetite to explain the elevation of ZFC moments, noting that the exact nature of the transition across Tcrit is not completely understood.
Regulation of initiation and polymer molecular weightof cis-1,4-polyisoprene synthesized in vitro by particlesisolated from Parthenium argentatum (Gray)

Parthenium argentatum is a prime candidate for development as a new crop for theproduction of natural rubber (cis-1,4-polyisoprene). The rubber obtained from P. argentatum iscomparable in molecular weight (and quality) to that obtained from Hevea brasiliensis (Mr ca.106 Da), which is currently the sole commercial source of natural rubber. Most of the 2500rubber-producing plant species known make much lower molecular weight rubber, although theregulation of polymer molecular weight is not understood. In the experiments reported here,we investigated the regulation of rubber biosynthesis and polymer molecular weight usingpurified, enzymatically-active rubber particles isolated from P. argentatum, under variousconcentrations of the allylic diphosphate (allylic-PP) rubber molecule initiators farnesyldiphosphate (FPP, a 15-carbon molecule), or geranyl diphosphate (GPP, a 10-carbon molecule)and the elongation substrate isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP). Our results show that the rates ofboth rubber molecule initiation and polymerization, and the final polymer molecular weight,were greatly affected by the concentration of initiator and IPP. Increasing allylic-PP initiatorconcentrations caused an increase in the amount of rubber synthesized and the number ofmolecules initiated but a decrease in the mean polymer molecular weight; increasing IPPconcentrations increased the amount of rubber and the mean polymer molecular weight. Atidentical substrate concentrations of IPP and allylic-PP, GPP initiated about one third of therubber polymers initiated by FPP but incorporated about two thirds the amount of IPP, comparedto FPP. Consequently, while the amount of rubber synthesized in the presence of GPP was lessthan with FPP, the rubber polymers synthesized with GPP initiator were, on average, about twicethe molecular weight of those with FPP.
The late Meteoric Shower

WE have had here, and I presume you also have had in England, quite a fine display of shooting stars from the fragments or companions of Biela's comet.
Diamond multichip modules

Diamond's thermal, mechanical, chemical, electrical, and optical properties are ideally suited to the requirements of multichip modules. Gigahertz clock rates and increased device density are facilitated using diamond as a base material and as a hermetic passivation layer. Three- dimensional architectures with optical communications would allow high speed communications for advanced designs in computers and rugged electronics. This paper provides an overview of potential applications and advantages of diamond multichip modules.© (1991) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Noonan syndrome: Speech and language characteristics

Abstract The speech and language of Noonan syndrome children have not been well described in the literature. This case study includes medical, social, and developmental histories, a phonological analysis, a semantic, syntactic, and pragmatic analysis of spontaneous oral language, an assessment of motor and integrative skills, an audiological assessment, and a description of voice characteristics and oral structures. A brief review of the characteristics of Noonan syndrome will be provided.
Multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock calculations of the oscillator strength for the 2s2p /sup 1/P/sup 0/. -->. 2p/sup 2/,2snd /sup 1/D (n = 3--6) transitions in beryllium

The multiconfiguration Hartree-Fock method has been applied successfully to the calculation of oscillator strength for the transitions 2s2p /sup 1/P/sup 0/..-->..2p/sup 2/,2snd /sup 1/D (n = 3--6) in beryllium. The effects of electron correlation, which are very important for these calculations, have been taken into account accurately through the configuration-interaction procedure. The length and velocity results of the oscillator strength as well as the calculated and experimental transition energies are in excellent agreement. The present results compare well with experiment and other available theoretical data.
Trimethylamine and organic matter additions reverse substrate limitation effects on the δ13C values of methane produced in hypersaline microbial mats

Methane production has been observed in a number of hypersaline environments, and it is generally thought that this methane is produced through the use of noncompetitive substrates, such as the methylamines, dimethylsulfide and methanol. Stable isotope measurements of the produced methane have also suggested that the methanogens are operating under conditions of substrate limitation. Here, substrate limitation in gypsum-hosted endoevaporite and soft-mat hypersaline environments was investigated by the addition of trimethylamine, a noncompetitive substrate for methanogenesis, and dried microbial mat, a source of natural organic matter. The δ13C values of the methane produced after amendments were compared to those in unamended control vials. At all hypersaline sites investigated, the δ13C values of the methane produced in the amended vials were statistically lower (by 10 to 71‰) than the unamended controls, supporting the hypothesis of substrate limitation at these sites. When substrates were added to the incubation vials, the methanogens within the vials fractionated carbon isotopes to a greater degree, resulting in the production of more 13C-depleted methane. Trimethylamine-amended samples produced lower methane δ13C values than the mat-amended samples. This difference in the δ13C values between the two types of amendments could be due to differences in isotope fractionation associated with the dominant methane production pathway (or substrate used) within the vials, with trimethylamine being the main substrate used in the trimethylamine-amended vials. It is hypothesized that increased natural organic matter in the mat-amended vials would increase fermentation rates, leading to higher H2 concentrations and increased CO2/H2 methanogenesis.
The chemosensory bases of host discrimination in a parasitic mite

Behavioral observations, preference tests, and physiological studies show thatProctolaelaps nauphoetae, an ectoparasitic mite, bases its choice of host on chemical information. Behavioral observations characterized searching patterns used to detect chemical cues. Preference tests showed that mites are attracted by three kinds of chemical cues: general cues — feces and detritus, apposite cues — cockroach expectorants, and a host-specific cue. This last cue, nauphoetamine, was isolated by gel filtration and high voltage paper electrophoresis. Preliminary analysis shows that it is a macromolecular amine (mw = 1,500–6,500) and may be a glycosaminoglycan. Electrophysiological experiments showed that nauphoetamine is detected by contact chemoreceptors located on the tarsi of the first pair of legs; these records are the first reported for a mite. The process of host discrimination is discussed in terms of a general model first proposed for hymenopteran parasites.
Analysis of orthotropic composite cylinders

Abstract Composite materials are being used to solve an ever-increasing variety of engineering problems. One application is to use a filament-wound fiber composite to strengthen cylindrical structures. Research continues today in an attempt to utilize these composite structures in various areas. Depending on lay-up and cure cycle, large localized stresses can be generated during processing which could cause defects such as longitudinal wrinkles, layer separation, and micro-cracking. Tools for understanding the thermo-mechanical behavior need to be available to both the design and manufacturing engineer. This paper describes techniques for calculating the elastic stresses and strains that would be encountered as a result of manufacture and utilization as well as some of the associated problems. Certain assumptions are suggested about the material behavior of the resin during cure. Numerical results are obtained for several cases that show the effects of these assumptions and their relationship to processing defects. The residual stress state due to processing is predicted. The influences of temperature gradient and fiber architecture on the stress fields are examined.
Fracture mechanics approach for flip chip BGA design

Die cracking and interfacial delamination are of major failure modes in IC packages. To these crack-related problems, design approaches based on traditional strength theories, are inadequate and insufficient. To achieve a more reliable and robust design, a fracture mechanics approach is needed. In this paper, fracture mechanics is applied to flip chip BGA design, assumed that the major potential failure mode is cracking of die from its backside. Fracture mechanics is integrated with the finite element analysis (FEA) and design of virtual experiments to analyze the effects of location and length of a die crack, and the effects of some key material properties and package dimensions on flip chip BGA reliability in terms of die cracking. The stress intensity factor and the strain energy release rate, are used as the design indices. The FEA is used as a numerical tool to calculate the fracture parameters. And the virtual DOE is employed to determine contributions of each design parameters to die cracking and their acceptable design windows. The investigation consists of three parts. The first is relations of length and location of a die crack with the fracture parameters. The relations are established through sweeping along crack length for a crack located in the center of die backside, and along the die backside surface. The critical crack length is determined. The second is the virtual DOE based on fracture mechanics. Several key material properties and cracking are calculated. From it, some generic design guidelines are made. The third part compares the virtual DOE design results between using the maximum normal stress (MNS) theory and using the fracture mechanics approach. The comparison gives a clear picture of the applicable range of the MNS theory. It is concluded that design optimization be a must in order to achieve a robust package design. Substrate and die thicknesses are the two most significant factors to die cracking of flip chip BGA. Increasing substrate thickness and reducing die thickness are the most effective measures to design a package with high resistance to die cracking. The fracture mechanics approach will produce more accurate design result than the MNS theory.
Cédric Blanpain: ISSCR's Outstanding Young Investigator for 2012

Cedric Blanpain from the Interdisciplinary Research Institute, Universite libre de Bruxelles earned the 2012 ISSCR-University of Pittsburgh Outstanding Young Investigator Award for his exceptional achievements as an early-career stem cell researcher.
Evaluating child welfare training in public agencies: status and prospects.

Abstract Although staff training in public child welfare agencies is thought to be a critical component of effective practice, little is known about the delivery and effectiveness of training interventions. Few evaluations are published in the literature and it is uncertain how much evaluation activity is being conducted and utilized. This study collected data from 48 public child welfare agencies in the United States regarding the conduct of training evaluation and the utilization of training data. The data are discussed within the context of planning the next steps for public agencies’ efforts in training evaluation.
General purpose schedulers for database systems

A family of simple models for database systems is defined, where a system is composed of a scheduler, a data manager and several user transactions. The basic correctness criterion for such systems is taken to be consistency preservation. The central notion of the paper is that of a general purpose scheduler, a database system scheduler that is blind to the semantics of transactions and integrity assertions. Consistency preservation of a database system is shown to be precisely equivalent to a restriction on the output of a general purpose scheduler GPS, called weak serializability. That is, any database system using GPS will preserve consistency iff the output of GPS is always weakly serializable. This establishes a tight connection between database system correctness and scheduler behavior. Also, aspects of restart facilities and predeclared data accesses are discussed. Finally, several examples of schedulers correct with respect to weak serializability are presented.
Teaching problem solving skills to teachers-in-training: An analogue experimental analysis of three methods

This analogue study sought to determine the relative effectiveness of different instructional methods for teaching problem solving skills to teachers-in-training. Three instructional conditions (didactic, didactic + modeling, and didactic + modeling with rehearsal/feedback) and a control condition were compared on measures of problem identification and problem analysis. Results indicated that the didactic + modeling and didactic + modeling with rehearsal/feedback conditions were superior to didactic training in teaching problem-solving skills. Discussed are possible explanations for differences between the instructional conditions, the implications of these findings, limitations of this study, and directions for further teacher-training research in problem solving.
The Pursuit of High Quality Accounting Standards

An essay is presented which focuses on the need for accounting standard-setters to have accounting expertise, feedback, and political independence so that they are able to produce high-quality standards. The author says that financial reporting regulators need to experiment with their policy tools to gain more knowledge of their social and economic consequences.
Garbage collection: Java application servers' Achilles heel

Java application servers are gaining popularity as a way for businesses to conduct day-to-day operations. While strong emphasis has been placed on how to obtain peak performance, only a few research efforts have focused on these servers' ability to sustain top performance in spite of the ever-changing demands from users. As a preliminary study, we conducted an experiment to observe the throughput degradation behavior of a widely-used Java application server running a standardized benchmark and found that throughput performance degrades ungracefully. Thus, the goal of this work is three-fold: (i) to identify the primary factors that cause poor throughput degradation, (ii) to investigate how these factors affect throughput degradation, and (iii) to observe how changes in algorithms and policies governing these factors affect throughput degradation.
Multiple excitation correction to the coulomb excitation of even spherical nuclei

Abstract A way to obtain the sign of the static quadrupole moment Q2 of the first 2+ state in even spherical nuclei, by considering simultaneously Coulomb excitation and (p,p') processes, is described.
Weighing the Universe with the Cosmic Microwave Background

Variations in Ω, the total density of the Universe, leave an imprint on the power spectrum of temperature fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background (CMB). We evaluate the precision with which Ω can be determined by a CMB map as a function of sky coverage, pixel noise, and beam size. Assuming only that the primordial density perturbations were adiabatic and with no prior information on the values of any other cosmological parameters, a full-sky CMB map at 0.5° angular resolution and a noise level of 15 μK per pixel can determine Ω with a standard error of 5%. If all other cosmological parameters are fixed, Ω can be measured to better than 1%.
Metrology system for the Terrestrial Planet Finder Coronagraph

The Terrestrial Planet Finder (TPF) employs an aggressive coronagraph designed to obtain better than 1e-10 contrast inside the third Airy ring. Minute changes in low-order aberration content scatter significant light at this position. One implication is the requirement to control low-order aberrations induced by motion of the secondary mirror relative to the primary mirror; sub-nanometer relative positional stability is required. We propose a 6-beam laser truss to monitor the relative positions of the two mirrors. The truss is based on laser metrology developed for the Space Interferometry Mission.
Middle Silurian continental movement estimated from phytoplankton-facies transgression

Abstract The paleolongitudinal shift of the boundaries of the Domasia -palynofacies during the Wenlockian was about 170 km along a cross-section in North America and about 90 km in West Europe. This shift probably fixes (1) the direction of drift of the reassembled Atlantic continents during the Wenlockian asN45°W± 10°to20°; and (2) the rest of continental drift as 2+ cm per year.
Petrology of Jeffersonville Limestone (Middle Devonian) of Southeastern Indiana: ABSTRACT

Thin-section, polished-surface, and X-ray analyses of 500 samples collected from the Jeffersonville Limestone at 14 localities in southeastern Indiana have permitted detailed correlation of carbonate facies. The Jeffersonville can be subdivided into 5 zones, each with its characteristic fauna and carbonate rock types. These zones overlap one another successively from south to north. 1. The lowest, or coralline zone, contains 3 distinct carbonate rock types, including (ascending) grain-supported biomicrite, biosparite, and biomicrudite. The lower biomicrite and biosparite units contain many branching corals, large colonial corals, and mound-like stromatoporoids. These fossils are found both in situ and overturned but generally are not fragmented. The upper biomicrudite contains a profusion of solitary corals and branching coral fragments. These strata are believed to have accumulated as a coral bank which was ripped occasionally by storm activity. 2. The Amphipora zone comprises biosparrudite in the lower part and biomicrudite in the upper part. Fragments of Amphipora and mat-like stromatoporoids are abundant. This zone reflects a shallowing of the water over the bank and may have resulted from upward growth of the coralline zone into a zone of greater wave activity. In Bartholomew County these strata swell to form a stromatoporoid bank with associated pelsparites and biopelsparites. 3. The Brevispirifer gregarius zone is characterized by mud-supported biomicrite containing Brevispirifer gregarius and charophyte oogonia. Corals and stromatoporoids are smaller and fewer. In Jennnings County, the position of these biomicrites is occupied by laminated and mud-cracked dolomites. These strata were deposited in water that was shallow enough to sustain the sessile algae and periodically expose the laminated beds. 4. The fenestrate bryozoan-brachiopod zone is composed of grain-supported biomicrite which intertongues northward in Jennings County with laminated dolomite beds. This zone contains fenestrate bryozoan fragments, small corals, and a diverse brachiopod fauna. Although shallow waters persisted toward the north, more normal marine conditions were re-established south of Jennings County. 5. The Paraspirifer acuminatus zone consists mainly of grain-supported biomicrite that contains Paraspirifer acuminatus, fenestrate bryozoans, small corals, and abundant echinoderm debris. This widespread zone overlaps the laminated beds toward the north and reflects deepening of the waters over the entire area and return to more normal marine conditions. End_of_Article - Last_Page 275------------
Effects of a Personal Trainer and Financial Incentives on Exercise Adherence in Overweight Women in a Behavioral Weight Loss Program

Exercise is important for long-term weight loss, but few studies have examined ways to improve exercise adherence in overweight subjects participating in a behavioral weight loss program. This paper presents two studies, one conducted at the University of Pittsburgh and one at the University of Minnesota, that sought to improve exercise adherence by exerting more direct control over the environmental antecedents and consequences controlling exercise. Study 1 investigated the use of a personal trainer who called participants regularly and met them at their home or office at scheduled times for a walk. Study 2 investigated the effect of a lottery incentive for exercise adherence. In both studies, the effect of these manipulations was examined in the context of a 24-week standard behavioral weight control program with three supervised exercise sessions per week. Neither intervention achieved statistically significant improvements in exercise adherence compared to control conditions, perhaps due in part to the limited statistical power of the studies. Future studies should focus on better understanding the barriers to exercise and designing behavioral interventions that address these barriers.
Excess capacity and the probability of entry An application to the US titanium industry

Abstract Excess capacity has been a characteristic of the metals industries for the past twenty years. This phenomenon may either be inherent to the industries or the result of direct actions taken by firms operating within oligopolistic industries. The purpose of this paper is to construct and empirically test a model designed to determine the impact, if any, of expected excess capacity on the probability of firm entry into the US titanium metal industry. Using vector autoregressive estimation techniques along with logit models, results are generated which indicate that expected levels of excess capacity served as an effective barrier to entry.
Source Provenance of Andesite Artefacts Using Non-Destructive XRF Analysis

X-ray fluorescence spectrometry is a common technique in determining the elemental composition of lithic materials. With the exception of glassy volcanic rocks like obsidian, most rock types are prepared for analysis by conversion of specimens to powder or glass in order to reduce the effects of irregular surface topography and internal inhomogeneity. Concern for artefact conservation necessitates a less destructive preparation technique, which has not been widely investigated except with respect to obsidian artefacts. A series of analyses of andesitic and dacitic rocks explore the degree of influence of surface topography and inhomogeneity to determine if less destructive procedures can distinguish effectively between different geological sources. Focusing primarily on major elements, results suggest that source discrimination can be achieved using data produced by any of the three sample preparation procedures investigated: quantitative chemical data from glass beads; semi-quantitative chemical data from polished rock billets; or X-ray intensity ratios from unmodified flakes or polished billets.
What is measured when we identify alcoholics by means of blood tests

Positive results have been reported on discriminating between alcoholic and nonalcoholic patients by means of multivariate analysis of blood chemistry. If such tests simply measure accumulated results of excessive drinking, the measured effect would increase with years of severe drinking. Data from records of 460 alcoholics, however, found little or no relationship. The authors suggest the possibility that the blood chemistry results may measure a constitutional vulnerability to alcoholism.
Gateway-compatible vectors for high-throughput gene functional analysis in switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) and other monocot species

Summary Switchgrass (Panicum virgatum L.) is a C4 perennial grass and has been identified as a potential bioenergy crop for cellulosic ethanol because of its rapid growth rate, nutrient use efficiency and widespread distribution throughout North America. The improvement of bioenergy feedstocks is needed to make cellulosic ethanol economically feasible, and genetic engineering of switchgrass is a promising approach towards this goal. A crucial component of creating transgenic switchgrass is having the capability of transforming the explants with DNA sequences of interest using vector constructs. However, there are limited options with the monocot plant vectors currently available. With this in mind, a versatile set of Gateway- compatible destination vectors (termed pANIC) was constructed to be used in monocot plants for transgenic crop improvement. The pANIC vectors can be used for transgene overexpres- sion or RNAi-mediated gene suppression. The pANIC vector set includes vectors that can be utilized for particle bombardment or Agrobacterium-mediated transformation. All the vectors contain (i) a Gateway cassette for overexpression or silencing of the target sequence, (ii) a plant selection cassette and (iii) a visual reporter cassette. The pANIC vector set was function- ally validated in switchgrass and rice and allows for high-throughput screening of sequences of interest in other monocot species as well.
An efficient algorithm for automatic generation of manipulator dynamic equations

An algorithm generating the dynamic equations of the manipulator in a symbolic form is presented. The proposed algorithm is based on a modified Lagrange-Christoffel formulation of robot dynamics. A PC-based program, ARDEG, implements the algorithm and automatically generates the equations of motion for open-chain manipulators in a symbolic form. Various types of manipulators are investigated to evaluate the efficiency of the program. In a 3-DOF PUMA robot, the ARDEG-generated algorithm reduces the computational load of a general Newton-Euler recursive algorithm by 80% and that of a recursive algorithm generated by the computer program ARM by more than 22%. >
A balance for use in target evaporation chambers

Abstract A torque motor balance for measuring the amount of target material evaporated onto a substrate inside a deposition chamber is described. The readout is analog and is accurate to within 3%.
Free-carrier-induced third-order optical nonlinearities in semiconductors

We have studied a variety of dissipative, free-carrier-induced optical nonlinearities in semiconductors with CO2 lasers and observed third-order nonlinear susceptibilities as large as 2 × 10−3 esu with picosecond recovery times. These fast nonlinear processes are capable of inducing huge perturbations in the dielectric function because they do not saturate at high intensities, as slower processes do. At laser intensities above a few tens of kilowatts per square centimeter, fast nonlinear processes dominate over the slower processes, which are stronger at low intensities. The large nonlinearities that we report can operate at room temperature. They are nonresonant, requiring no exact matching of the material parameters to the light frequency, and are insensitive to ambient-temperature changes. Hence they offer considerable versatility for design and stability in operation.
Retransmission-aware queuing and routing for video streaming in wireless mesh networks

The dynamic and shared nature of wireless medium imposes an adverse barrier to supporting QoS for video streaming applications in wireless networks. In this paper, we investigate a case study of video streaming in a wireless mesh network to obtain important observations on the factors which impact video quality in multihop wireless mesh networks. Based on our analysis of the case study, we propose the solutions for enhancing video streaming experience in wireless mesh networks from a cross-layer perspective which leverage the information across network (routing) layer and link (MAC) layer. The MAC layer retransmission count is exploited to guide the interface queue management for video packets. In addition, this retransmission count is also used as a metric to construct a retransmission-aware QoS routing scheme for video streams. In our approach, the upper layers are aware of the dynamic network status via retransmission count, so timely QoS decision can be made to enhance video quality effectively. Simulation results demonstrate the proposed solutions improve video streaming quality significantly compared with the existing schemes.
Dopamine Agonist Therapy in Low-Response Children Following Traumatic Brain Injury:

The objective of this study was to determine whether a dopamine agonist could improve mental status among children in a low-response state following traumatic brain injury. In an 8-week, prospective, double-blind, randomized trial, 10 children and adolescents ages 8 to 21 years (X = 16.7 years) with traumatic brain injury sustained at least 1 month previously and remaining in a low-response state (Rancho Los Amigos Scale level pound 3) received pramipexole or amantadine. Medication dosage was increased over 4 weeks, weaned over 2 weeks, and then discontinued. At baseline and weekly during the study, subjects were evaluated with the Coma Near Coma Scale, Western NeuroSensory Stimulation Profile, and Disability Rating Scale. Scores improved significantly from baseline to the medication phase on the Coma Near Coma Scale, Western NeuroSensory Stimulation Profile, and Disability Rating Scale (P < .005). The weekly rate of change was significantly better for all three measures on medication than off medication (P < .05). Rancho Los Amigos Scale levels improved significantly on medication as well (P < .05). There was no difference in efficacy between amantadine and pramipexole. No unexpected or significant side effects were observed with either drug. This clinical trial supports the benefit of two dopamine agonists in the restoration of functional arousal, awareness, and communication. These drugs can be helpful in accelerating eligibility for acute rehabilitation among children and adolescents who have sustained significant brain injuries.
Reliable computation of binary parameters in activity coefficient models for liquid-liquid equilibrium

Abstract A method based on interval analysis is presented for determining parameter values from mutual solubility data in two-parameter activity coefficient models for liquid–liquid equilibrium. The method is mathematically and computationally guaranteed to locate all sets of parameter values corresponding to stable phase equilibria. The technique is demonstrated with examples using the NRTL and electrolyte-NRTL (eNRTL) models. In two of the NRTL examples, results are found that contradict previous work. In the eNRTL examples, binary systems of an ionic liquid and an alcohol are considered. This appears to be the first time that a method for parameter estimation in the eNRTL model from binary LLE data (mutual solubility) has been presented.
Amino acid accumulation in sink and source tissues of Coleus blumei Benth. during salinity stress

of much research. The ability of plants to cope with salinity stress is an important determinant of crop distriThe purpose of this study was to analyse the accumu- bution and productivity in many areas, so it is important lation of amino acid in source and sink tissues of to understand the mechanisms that confer tolerance to variegated Coleus blumei Benth. leaves during an saline environments. Productivity in saline environments extended exposure to salinity stress. The imposed is aVected by both water availability and excess salts. stress resulted in a reduction in shoot height and leaf Biochemical studies have shown that plants under salinity size, as well as a reduction in total protein and nitrogen stress accumulate a number of metabolites, which are content in both the sink and source tissues. At the termed compatible solutes because they do not interfere same time, accumulation of low molecular weight with biochemical reactions (see reviews by Bohnert et al., nitrogen-containing compounds in Coleus leaves was 1995; Rabe, 1990). These metabolites include carboobserved, which peaked within the first 10 d of expo- hydrates, such as mannitol, sucrose and raYnose oligosure to salinity, and then declined, but remained saccharides, and nitrogen-containing compounds, such as slightly elevated for the remainder of the study. A amino acids and polyamines. number of amino acids were found to accumulate in The function of compatible solute accumulation is often both the sink and source tissues, including arginine, associated with osmotic adjustment, by lowering the water asparagine, and serine. A larger proportion of asparag- potential to improve the uptake of water against the ine and less arginine was observed in the sink tissue external gradient, but a number of other roles for these than the source tissue of the salinity-stressed plants. compounds have been hypothesized in recent literature This difference may reflect the mobility of these com- ( Vernon et al., 1993; Rabe and Lovatt, 1984; SmirnoV pounds in the phloem. No proline was found to accu- and Cumbes, 1989). Possible roles include: serving as a mulate in either the source or sink tissue during the readily available energy source or as a nitrogen source exposure to salinity. From the pulse‐chase labelling of during limited growth and photosynthesis, detoxification stressed Coleus leaves it can deduced that some of of excess ammonia under periods of stress, and stabilizathe observed accumulation of amino acids and amides tion of enzymes and/or membranes. The eVects of stress observed is due to de novo synthesis and not simply on plant nitrogen metabolism has been frequently studied, the result of protein degradation. with increases in protein degradation, inhibition of protein synthesis and the accumulation and/or depletion of pro
Compiling complex database transition triggers

This paper presents a language for specifying database updates, queries and rule triggers, and describes how triggers can be compiled into an efficient mechanism. The rule language allows specification of both state and transition constraints as special cases, but is more general than either. The implementation we describe compiles rules and updates independently of each other. Thus rules can be added or deleted without recompiling any update program and vice versa.
Ideen I in Italy and Enzo Paci and the Milan School

The first part of this chapter provides a brief sketch of the publishing history of Ideen I in Italy. The most infl uential philosopher in the publishing history of Husserl’s work in Italy was Enzo Paci, professor at the State University of Milan. Like his teacher Antonio Banfi (who first brought Husserl’s work to Italy), he is considered one of the founders of the so-called Milan School. The second part of the chapter considers Paci’s transcendental philosophy, and in particular his original interpretation of the Husserlian epochē. Paci gives an existential interpretation of the epochē, conceived as an act “required by life itself.” It recognizes four elements in Paci’s version of the epochē: first, the epochē is a denial of abstract mundane data; second, it allows a poetic intuition of the cosmic form of experience; third, it determines the assumption of responsibility toward the world; and fourth, it is the first and essential political action.
Flagellar Development in the Protozoan Peranema trichophorum

Changes in flagellar length during the developmental events of flagellar replication and flagellar regeneration were investigated in single cells of the colorless euglenid flagellate Peranema trichophorum at known stages in the life cycle. The leading flagellum could be cut off at any desired length with a tungsten knife operated by a micromanipulator, and the regeneration process recorded photographically. In the regeneration of a flagellum by a postdivision cell, there is a short lag period followed by an elongation with a deceleratory rate. The relationship between elongation rate and flagellar length holds true regardless of the initial stump length. The elongation rates at given lengths are greater in predivision cells than in postdivision cells. At cell division, the parental leading flagellum rapidly shortens at a constant rate and disappears, while simultaneously two new leading flagella elongate at a deceleratory rate. Elongation continues at slower rates throughout interphase. The elongation kinetics of the flagellum during the normal cell cycle, and the kinetics of regeneration at different cell ages have been satisfactorily accounted for by a mathematical model. Shortening and elongation were compared and the relationship between them was discussed in light of the finding that shortening interrupted regeneration in some predivision cells. It was concluded that at least part of the control exerted over flagellar length changes resides in the flagellum itself. The lag period remained the same under a variety of experimental conditions, suggesting that it is a “wound healing response”.