cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An automated analysis workflow for optimization of force-field parameters using neutron scattering data

Large-scale simulations and data analysis are often required to explain neutron scattering experiments to establish a connection between the fundamental physics at the nanoscale and data probed by neutrons. However, to perform simulations at experimental conditions it is critical to use correct force-field (FF) parameters which are unfortunately not available for most complex experimental systems. In this work, we have developed a workflow optimization technique to provide optimized FF parameters by comparing molecular dynamics (MD) to neutron scattering data. We describe the workflow in detail by using an example system consisting of tRNA and hydrophilic nanodiamonds in a deuterated water (D2O) environment. Quasi-elastic neutron scattering (QENS) data show a faster motion of the tRNA in the presence of nanodiamond than without the ND. To compare the QENS and MD results quantitatively, a proper choice of FF parameters is necessary. We use an efficient workflow to optimize the FF parameters between the hydrophilic nanodiamond and water by comparing to the QENS data. Our results show that we can obtain accurate FF parameters by using this technique. The workflow can be generalized to other types of neutron data for FF optimization, such as vibrational spectroscopy and spin echo.
A mixed-methods study of coping and depression in adolescent girls with polycystic ovary syndrome.

ABSTRACTBackground and purpose:Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a complex metabolic disorder associated with clinical manifestations that could be psychologically distressing to adolescent girls considering the concern of body image during the developmental stage of adolescence. Poor psychologica
Insight into Natural History of Congenital Vitiligo: A Case Report of a 23-Year-Old with Stable Congenital Vitiligo.

Vitiligo is a disorder of skin pigmentation. It affects approximately 1% of the world’s population. Vitiligo occurs equally between the sexes with no racial predilections. The majority of cases are acquired and arise between the second and third decades of life. Acquired vitiligo has an unpredictable clinical course. Congenital vitiligo is rare with few reported cases. Due to the rarity of congenital vitiligo, little is known about the clinical course. For patients with acquired or congenital vitiligo, the psychosocial burden can have a profound impact on quality of life. The unknown course of congenital vitiligo can exacerbate the feelings of distress and embarrassment. We report of a case of congenital vitiligo that has been stable for 23 years. The patient had no associated autoimmune disease. The pathogenesis of congenital vitiligo is unknown. This case may be useful to assist clinicians caring for newborns with congenital vitiligo in reassuring parents.
The Hidden Costs to Oﬀshoring: Exploring the Mediating Eﬀects of Social Responsibility and Employee Layoﬀs

Offshoring has become a routine practice, leading scholars to investigate the consequences of this multidimensional phenomenon. This study seeks to further investigate the relationship between offshoring and financial performance, along with the mediating roles of employee layoffs and corporate social responsibility (CSR) concerns on this relationship. Our empirical study of 204 US firms shows that firms that offshore have significantly higher financial performance than those that do not offshore. Furthermore we find the offshoring firms lay off more employees and face greater CSR concerns. The results suggest that managers must consider both the positive and the negative consequences of offshoring.
Investigation on the planform and kinematic optimization of bio-inspired nano air vehicles for hovering applications

Wing shape and kinematics of flapping wing nano air vehicles are two important factors in their design process. These factors require an optimal design in terms of decreasing the needed aerodynamic power. Since, insects are regarded as the best natural flier in hovering flight, seven of their wings are considered in order to determine the best wing shape for hovering applications. Because of the difference in the original bio-inspired shape of these wings, two scenarios are studied, namely, considering the same wingspan and same wing surface. Using the quasi-steady approximation to model the aerodynamic loads and a basic gradient approach to optimize the kinematics of the wing, the optimum Euler angles, required aerodynamic power, and hence the best wing shape for each scenario are analytically determined. The results show that the wing shape and surface strongly impact the aerodynamic characteristics and performances of the chosen wing shapes. It is demonstrated that the twisted parasite wing shape is a good candidate to minimize the required aerodynamic power during hovering. The strategy used in this analysis can be used to evaluate the performance of any realistic wing shape design and could provide a guideline for selecting the best wing shape and kinematics for flapping wing nano air vehicles with hovering capabilities.
Whole Mounts for Light Microscopy

To prepare whole mounts, thereby enabling one to study large areas of hydra in a single microscopic field in which spatial relationships are preserved between cells, and also to preserve experimental animals for future microscopic analyses.
Dual-source photon counting detector CT with a tin filter: A phantom study on iodine quantification performance

Photon counting detectors (PCD) can provide spectral information to enable iodine quantification through multi-energy imaging but performance is limited by current PCD technology. The purpose of this work is to evaluate iodine quantification in a phantom study using dual-source PCD-CT (DS-PCD-CT), and compare to single-source (SS)-PCD-CT and traditional DS energy integrating detector (EID)-based dual-energy CT. A multi-energy CT phantom with iodine inserts (0 to 15 mg ml-1 concentration) was imaged on a research SS-PCD-CT scanner (CTDIvol = 18 mGy). A DS-PCD-CT was emulated by acquiring two sequential scans (CTDIvol = 9 mGy each) using tube potentials: 140 kVp/80 kVp, 140 kVp/100 kVp and 140 kVp/120 kVp. For each kVp, 1 or 2 energy bins were reconstructed to achieve either dual-energy or quadruple energy CT. In addition to these energy combinations, a Sn filter was used for the high tube potential (140 kVp) of each kVp pair. For comparison, the same phantom was also scanned on a commercially available DS-EID-CT with matched radiation dose (CTDIvol = 18 mGy). Material decomposition was performed in image space using a standard least-squares based approach to generate iodine and water-specific images. The root-mean-square-error (RMSE) measured over each insert from the iodine image was used to determine iodine accuracy. The iodine RMSE from SS-PCD (140 kVp with 2 energy bins) was 2.72 mg ml-1. The use of a DS configuration with 1 energy bin per kVp (140 kVp/80 kVp) resulted in a RMSE of 2.29 mg ml-1. Two energy bins per kVp further reduced iodine RMSE to 1.83 mg ml-1. The addition of a Sn filter to the latter quadruple energy mode reduced RMSE to 1.48 mg ml-1. RMSE for DS-PCD-CT (2 energy bins per kVp) decreased by 1.3% (Sn140 kVp/80 kVp) and 15% (Sn140 kVp/100 kVp) as compared to DS-EID-CT. DS-PCD-CT with a Sn filter improved iodine quantification as compared to both SS-PCD-CT and DS-EID-CT.
Processing thin, dense, transparent Ce:Y3Al5O12 films from flame made nanopowders for white light applications

Abstract Flame made metal oxide nanopowders enable processing of dense, transparent thin ( 1600 °C. At 20–50 μm, the reported films are also much thinner than previously reported for the same materials normally produced by solid state reactions of micron size powders. Spectrofluorometric measurements of the dense transparent films exhibit excitation spectra centered around 450 nm and broad emission spectra in the 470–750 nm range with two peaks centered at 537 and 570 nm, confirming their applicability as a phosphor for white light emitting diodes.
The Effects of Alignment of Educational Expectations and Occupational Aspirations on Labor Market Outcomes: Evidence from NLSY79

Using data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth of 1979, this article examines the relationship between adolescents‘ educational and occupational expectations, and how they correspond to ...
Programmable Electrofluidics for Ionic Liquid Based Neuromorphic Platform

Due to the limit in computing power arising from the Von Neumann bottleneck, computational devices are being developed that mimic neuro-biological processing in the brain by correlating the device characteristics with the synaptic weight of neurons. This platform combines ionic liquid gating and electrowetting for programmable placement/connectivity of the ionic liquid. In this platform, both short-term potentiation (STP) and long-term potentiation (LTP) are realized via electrostatic and electrochemical doping of the amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (aIGZO), respectively, and pulsed bias measurements are demonstrated for lower power considerations. While compatible with resistive elements, we demonstrate a platform based on transitive amorphous indium gallium zinc oxide (aIGZO) pixel elements. Using a lithium based ionic liquid, we demonstrate both potentiation (decrease in device resistance) and depression (increase in device resistance), and propose a 2D platform array that would enable a much higher pixel count via Active Matrix electrowetting.
Hepatic Forkhead Box Protein A3 Regulates ApoA-I (Apolipoprotein A-I) Expression, Cholesterol Efflux, and Atherogenesis

Objective: To determine the role of hepatic FOXA3 (forkhead box A3) in lipid metabolism and atherosclerosis. Approach and Results: Hepatic FOXA3 expression was reduced in diabetic or high fat diet-...
Dynamic gene expression changes in response to micronutrient, macronutrient, and multiple stress exposures in soybean

Preserving crop yield is critical for US soybean production and the global economy. Crop species have been selected for increased yield for thousands of years with individual lines selected for improved performance in unique environments, constraints not experienced by model species such as Arabidopsis. This selection likely resulted in novel stress adaptations, unique to crop species. Given that iron deficiency is a perennial problem in the soybean growing regions of the USA and phosphate deficiency looms as a limitation to global agricultural production, nutrient stress studies in crop species are critically important. In this study, we directly compared whole-genome expression responses of leaves and roots to iron (Fe) and phosphate (Pi) deficiency, representing a micronutrient and macronutrient, respectively. Conducting experiments side by side, we observed soybean responds to both nutrient deficiencies within 24 h. While soybean responds largely to -Fe deficiency, it responds strongly to Pi resupply. Though the timing of the responses was different, both nutrient stress signals used the same molecular pathways. Our study is the first to demonstrate the speed and diversity of the soybean stress response to multiple nutrient deficiencies. We also designed the study to examine gene expression changes in response to multiple stress events. We identified 865 and 3375 genes that either altered their direction of expression after a second stress exposure or were only differentially expressed after a second stress event. Understanding the molecular underpinnings of these responses in crop species could have major implications for improving stress tolerance and preserving yield.
Spatiotemporal clustering of in-hospital Clostridioides difficile infection.

OBJECTIVE To determine whether Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) exhibits spatiotemporal interaction and clustering. DESIGN Retrospective observational study. SETTING The University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. PATIENTS This study included 1,963 CDI cases, January 2005 through December 2011. METHODS We extracted location and time information for each case and ran the Knox, Mantel, and mean and maximum component size tests for time thresholds (T = 7, 14, and 21 days) and distance thresholds (D = 2, 3, 4, and 5 units; 1 unit = 5-6 m). All tests were implemented using Monte Carlo simulations, and random CDI cases were constructed by randomly permuting times of CDI cases 20,000 times. As a counterfactual, we repeated all tests on 790 aspiration pneumonia cases because aspiration pneumonia is a complication without environmental factors. RESULTS Results from the Knox test and mean component size test rejected the null hypothesis of no spatiotemporal interaction (P < .0001), for all values of T and D. Results from the Mantel test also rejected the hypothesis of no spatiotemporal interaction (P < .0003). The same tests showed no such effects for aspiration pneumonia. Our results from the maximum component size tests showed similar trends, but they were not consistently significant, possibly because CDI outbreaks attributable to the environment were relatively small. CONCLUSION Our results clearly show spatiotemporal interaction and clustering among CDI cases and none whatsoever for aspiration pneumonia cases. These results strongly suggest that environmental factors play a role in the onset of some CDI cases. However, our results are not inconsistent with the possibility that many genetically unrelated CDI cases occurred during the study period.
High Durability Molded Lens Connector for SMFs

We have achieved IL of 50dB in molded lens connector for single-mode fibers and confirmed its excellent durability, the maximum IL change is 0.06dB without cleaning during mating 250 times.
The Phonetic Structure of Errors in the Perception of Fluent Speech

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the focal errors and presents the general observations concerning the implications of the data. The limitations of uncontrolled sampling from naturalistic observation are well known. Yet it is believed that these data are valuable because they provide information about language comprehension in the most natural of situations—ordinary conversation. The classification scheme, primarily based on traditional phonetic categories, is well suited for characterizing the data. The phonetic categories might be interpreted in terms of either acoustic parameters or a system of distinctive features. However, it is interpreted that the phonetic categories provide an appropriate system for dealing with speech errors. Furthermore, although the belief is not tested, the impression is that the errors tend to be made along dimensions of phonetic similarity. The perceptual errors of children and of adults are very similar. For the most part, therefore, perceptual strategies of children should be relatively similar to those of adults. There are two possible exceptions to this generalization. Children make few errors that involve compensating for phonological reductions—errors that lead to perceived, though not produced consonants predictable from English phonology.
Volunteer potato interference and removal timing in sugar beet

Field studies were conducted from 2005 to 2009 in Idaho and Oregon to 1) evaluate the competitive effect of volunteer potato on sugar beet yield (volunteer potato competition experiment), and 2) determine the optimum timing of volunteer potato removal from glyphosate-tolerant sugar beet fields using glyphosate (volunteer potato removal timing experiment). The volunteer potato competition experiment consisted of eight potato densities, including the untreated check: 0, 6,741, 10,092, 13,455, 16,818, 20,184, 26,910, and 40,365 tubers ha−1. The volunteer potato removal experiment consisted of 10 removal timings (including the untreated check) ranging from the 10-cm rosette stage to mid-tuber bulking. There was a linear decrease in sugar beet root and sucrose yield as volunteer potato density increased (P < 0.001) such that with every volunteer potato tuber per square meter, sugar beet root yield decreased by 15% and sucrose yield decreased by 14%. At the highest volunteer potato density (40,365 tubers ha−1), sugar beet root yield was 29,600 kg ha−1 (compared to 73,600 kg ha−1 for the untreated), representing a 60% reduction in sugar beet root yield. In the removal timing study, a one-time application of glyphosate at the 10-cm rosette, hooking, and tuber initiation stages provided 74% to 98% reduction in volunteer potato tuber biomass. Delaying volunteer potato removal beyond the tuber initiation stage reduced sugar beet root and sucrose yield (12% to 20%), resulting in an economic loss of 161 per hectare. The best potato removal timing that optimizes the trade-off between improved control and potential for sugar beet yield reductions is before or at the tuber initiation stage.
Pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale

An ever-expanding body of information has provided new insights into the pathophysiologic mechanisms contributing to pulmonary hypertensive disease. The pulmonary endothelial cell has been shown to have a central role in both the maintenance of normal vascular tone and in the pathogenesis of small vessel changes. The relationship between endothelium-derived mediators such as nitric oxide, prostacyclin, and endothelin-1 is likely to be important in the development of abnormal vasomotor tone and structure in the pulmonary vascular bed. Stimulated by this evolving understanding of pulmonary vascular physiology, recent literature abounds with references to novel therapeutic strategies in the care of patients who have both primary and secondary forms of pulmonary hypertension. Advances in surgical technologies have also expanded the therapeutic options for selected groups of pulmonary hypertensive patients. This article highlights recent developments in the understanding of pulmonary vascular pathophysiology and examines strategies for evaluation and treatment of pulmonary hypertension and cor pulmonale.
Health States Indexes

The problem of measurement, and in particular of quantitative assessment of the health of a designated population or of the health care rendered by a health care system, health program, or individual provider, is fundamental to the application of operations research to health care systems. There are two primary aspects to this problem. First, a measure or index must accurately and reliably evaluate the impact of the system under consideration upon the health of the population. When used as a static measure of health, such as in quality assessment or clinical decision making, this is sufficient. However, for health planning in the broadest sense, it must also be designed. so that it can be manipulated in the model.
Preliminary Design of a Low-cost Greenhouse with Open Source Control Systems☆

Abstract Food security remains a global challenge, particularly in low-income countries. In Sub-Saharan Africa, one in four are undernourished, and the region has the highest prevalence of hunger in the world. Innovations in low cost greenhouse design have the potential to contribute to increased food security, particularly in areas where global climate change is creating additional variability in local weather patterns. This paper describes the preliminary design of a greenhouse that uses open source control systems. This design takes advantage of the decreasing cost and size of sensors to automate systems that have the potential to increase the efficiency and yield of greenhouses.
A Latent Class Model of Earnings Attributes

While the term "earnings quality" has been overused, rarely defined, and largely misunderstood, there is general agreement that users of financial statements react to their content, and that the accuracy and credibility of that content matters to them. To differentiate among financial reports, many papers rely on the association between one specific earnings attribute (such as accruals variability) and some observable outcome (auditor choice, for example). A notable exception, Francis, LaFond, Olsson and Schipper (2004) examine the relation between the cost of capital and several earnings attributes, including both accounting-based characteristics and market-based attributes. Whether each of these attributes provides incremental information for users of financial data beyond the others has not yet been established. We draw upon Dechow and Dichev (2002), Francis et al. (2004), and Khan and Watts (2007) to identify potentially informative reporting dimensions or earnings attributes. We use a latent class analysis to show empirically that our measures for Accrual Variability, Persistence, Smoothness, Predictability, and Conservatism all have significant incremental value in differentiating among firms. The best across-firm latent class model also allows us to identify and study six categories of firms that differ significantly in terms of these five distinct measures. We summarize how these groups of firms differ in terms of both the attributes themselves and various innate firm characteristics. We also show how this new classification of firms is related to a principal component analysis, and we seek the best within-group model for each attribute in terms of innate firm characteristics. We find that two primary principal components provide useful and complementary summaries of the primary dimensions of the attributes examined.
Spectroscopic and theoretical studies of the low-lying states of BaO+

The BaO+ cation is of interest from the perspectives of electronic structure and the potential for cooling to ultra-cold temperatures. Spectroscopic data for the ion have been obtained using a two-color photoionization technique. The ionization energy for BaO was found to be 6.8123(3) eV. The ground state of BaO+ was identified as X2Σ+, and both vibrational and rotational constants were determined. Vibrationally resolved spectra were recorded for A2Π, the first electronically excited state. These data yielded the term energy, vibrational frequency, and the spin-orbit interaction constant. Relativistic electronic structure calculations were carried out using multi-reference configuration interaction (MRCI), coupled cluster and density functional theory methods. Transition moments for the pure vibrational and A2Π-X2Σ+ transitions were predicted using the MRCI method.
A new source of CP violation

Searches for new sources of CP violation are a staple of high-energy physics; a recent result presents an effect that could be a sign of new physics beyond the standard model.
Excited Lambda Q baryons in the large Nc limit.

The spectrum of excited ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{\mathit{Q}}$-type heavy baryons is considered in the large ${\mathit{N}}_{\mathit{c}}$ limit. The universal form factors for ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{\mathit{b}}$ semileptonic decay to excited charmed baryons are calculated in the large ${\mathit{N}}_{\mathit{c}}$ limit. We find that the Bjorken sum rule (for the slope of the Isgur-Wise function) and Voloshin sum rule (for the mass of the light degrees of freedom) are saturated by the first doublet of excited ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Lambda}}}_{\mathit{Q}}$ states.
Advanced study cases for numerical analysis

A course on Numerical Methods typically covers introductory topics in numerical analysis for students of engineering, science, mathematics, and computer science who have completed elementary calculus, linear algebra and matrix theory. The course is usually limited to exploring basic algorithms for solving traditional simple problems in sciences and engineering [1]. As a result, the students have become inadequately prepared to construct and explore more sophisticated algorithms of modern technological challenges. To reduce this gap, the author has offered a series of study cases, which provide concrete examples of the ways numerical methods lead to solutions of some scientific problems. The similar approach was promoted in [2].
Emotional Intelligence: Implications for Personal, Social, Academic, and Workplace Success

This article presents an overview of the ability model of emotional intelligence and includes a discussion about how and why the concept became useful in both educational and workplace settings. We review the four underlying emotional abilities comprising emotional intelligence and the assessment tools that that have been developed to measure the construct. A primary goal is to provide a review of the research describing the correlates of emotional intelligence. We describe what is known about how emotionally intelligent people function both intra- and interpersonally and in both academic and workplace settings. The facts point in one direction: The job offer you have in hand is perfect – great salary, ideal location, and tremendous growth opportunities. Yet, there is something that makes you feel uneasy about resigning from your current position and moving on. What will you do? Ignore the feeling and choose what appears to be the logical path, or go with your gut and risk disappointing your family? Or, might you consider both your thoughts and feelings about the job in order to make the decision? Solving problems and making wise decisions using both thoughts and feelings or logic and intuition is a part of what we refer to as emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997; Salovey & Mayer, 1990). Linking emotions and intelligence was relatively novel when first introduced in a theoretical model about twenty years ago (Salovey & Mayer, 1990; but see Gardner, 1983 ⁄ 1993). Among the many questions posed by both researchers and laypersons alike were: Is emotional intelligence an innate, nonmalleable mental ability? Can it be acquired with instruction and training? Is it a new intelligence or just the repackaging of existing constructs? How can it be measured reliably and validly? What does the existence of an emotional intelligence mean in everyday life? In what ways does emotional intelligence affect mental health, relationships, daily decisions, and academic and workplace performance? In this article, we provide an overview of the theory of emotional intelligence, including a brief discussion about how and why the concept has been used in both educational and workplace settings. Because the field is now replete with articles, books, and training manuals on the topic – and because the definitions, claims, and measures of emotional intelligence have become extremely diverse – we also clarify definitional and measurement issues. A final goal is to provide an up-to-date review of the research describing what the lives of emotionally intelligent people ‘look like’ personally, socially, academically, and in the workplace.
Highly efficient room-temperature tunnel spin injector using CoFe/MgO(001)

Semiconductor spintronics is a promising technology in which the spin states of electrons are utilized as an additional degree of freedom for device operation. One of its prerequisites is the ability to inject spin-polarized electrons into semiconductors. An overview is presented of recent progress in spin injection using an injector based on a crystalline CoFe/MgO(001) tunnel structure. The spin polarization of the electrons that were injected into a GaAs quantum-well light-emitting diode was inferred from electroluminescence polarization from the quantum well. Spin polarizations of 57% at 100 K and 47% at room temperature were obtained. The spin polarization was found to exhibit a strong dependence on bias and temperature, which can be explained on the basis of spin relaxation within the GaAs.
The Oklahoma Eagle: A study of black press survival

Black press survival is considered in the example of the Oklahoma Eagle. The success of the paper is traced to factors including a quality product, good staffers, advertising success, sound community relations and related factors.
Dynamics of the eye and head during an element of visual speech.

Abstract Measurements were made of the dynamics of the eye and head during an ‘element’ of visual search, defined as the coordinated sequence of movements beginning with the signal to refixate and ending with target discrimination and response. Independent variables wore target angle, 20 to 100 degrees, certainty in target location, target brightness, target information content, and alcohol stress. Dependent performance measures included reaction times of the eye and head, number of eye movements, maximum head velocity, time to acquire target, and response time, as well as qualitative descriptions of the movement patterns.
MHC Class I TCR Engineered Anti-Tumor CD4 T Cells: Implications For Cancer Immunotherapy

T cell immunity is critical for a protective immune response against cancers. Traditionally, this function has been ascribed to CD8 T lymphocytes with cytotoxic activity, which are restricted by MHC class I molecules. The lack of direct cytolytic effector function on part of CD4 T cells, which are MHC class II restricted, coupled with the MHC class II negative nature of most human cancers have been the main reasons for CD8 centered cancer immunotherapy approaches, so far. However, recent findings showing that CD4 T cells play an essential role towards the generation of a productive CD8 response and that the CD4 T cells can also play a direct role in anti-tumor immunity have resulted in growing enthusiasm towards engaging CD4 T cells in cancer immunotherapy. We here discuss the current approaches used for immune based cancer therapy, role of natural MHC class II-restricted CD4 T cells in tumor immunity, factors limiting the engagement of natural CD4 T cells in cancer immunotherapy protocols alongside CD8 T cells, and recent advances in TCR engineering approach to address these limitations. We will also discuss the significance of the MHC class I directed anti-tumor CD4 T cells in tumor immunity.
Treatment of superior labrum anterior posterior lesions: a literature review.

Objective: Treatment of superior labrum anterior posterior (SLAP) lesions continues to be controversial, but with the development of suture anchors, it has become acceptable to repair these lesions arthroscopically. The aim of this study was to review recent trends in the evaluation and treatment of SLAP lesions, with particular emphasis on comparing the results of biceps tenodesis and SLAP repair. Methods: All English language publications from the PubMed, Cochrane, and SCOPUS databases between 1928 and 2012 on biceps tendon, SLAP lesions, and biceps surgery were reviewed. Literature was reviewed in table form because of the lack of Level 1 studies. Results: Surgical repair can have complications and may not return overhead athletes to their previous level of activity. Biceps tenodesis has become the preferred primary procedure in non-athletic individuals because of the high failure rate of SLAP repair. In patients with continuing symptoms after SLAP lesion repair, biceps tenodesis offers a more predictable operation than a second repair attempt. Conclusion: Biceps tenodesis may present a viable treatment option for SLAP repair or for failed SLAP repair in some patients.
Ultrasound analysis of the vertebral artery during non-thrust cervical translatoric spinal manipulation

Objective: Cervical translatoric spinal manipulation (TSM) techniques have been suggested as a safer alternative to cervical thrust rotatory techniques. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of three C5–C6 non-thrust TSM techniques on vertebral artery (VA) lumen diameter (LD) and two blood flow velocity parameters. The two-tailed research hypothesis was that the TSM techniques would result in a significant change (increase or decrease) in blood flow velocity and arterial LD at the C5–C6 intertransverse portion of the VA. Methods: In a sample of 30 subjects representative of a clinical population, color-coded duplex Doppler diagnostic ultrasound imaging was used to collect data on LD, peak systolic velocity (PSV), and end diastolic velocity with the cervical spine positioned in neutral and in three different manipulation positions. Pair-wise mean differences between measurements at baseline (neutral position) and in all three manipulation positions were analyzed using two-tailed paired t-tests with alpha set at 0.05. Results: Of the 18 paired comparisons, there were four statistically significant differences between measurements in the neutral position and a manipulation position, three concerning LD and one PSV. Discussion: The three significant differences in LD ranged from 4.6 to 3.2% and were not associated with changes in blood flow velocity. The one significant change in PSV was only 6.6 cm/s. A value that still greatly exceeded the end diastolic velocity. No subject experienced symptoms associated with VA compromise. This study has provided evidence for the safety of the three lower cervical non-thrust TSM techniques on the current population studied. Further study is required on thrust versus non-thrust TSM techniques and on levels other than C5–C6.
On the Exact Variance of Products

Abstract A simple exact formula for the variance of the product of two random variables, say, x and y, is given as a function of the means and central product-moments of x and y. The usual approximate variance formula for xy is compared with this exact formula; e.g., we note, in the special case where x and y are independent, that the “variance” computed by the approximate formula is less than the exact variance, and that the accuracy of the approximation depends on the sum of the reciprocals of the squared coefficients of variation of x and y. The case where x and y need not be independent is also studied, and exact variance formulas are presented for several different “product estimates.” (The usefulness of exact formulas becomes apparent when the variances of these estimates are compared.) When x and y are independent, simple unbiased estimates of these exact variances are suggested; in the more general case, consistent estimates are presented.
Transport, magnetic, thermodynamic and optical properties in Ti-doped Sr2RuO4

We report on electrical resistivity, magnetic susceptibility, and magnetization on heat-capacity and optical experiments in single crystals of Sr 2 Ru 1 - x Ti x O 4 . Samples with x = 0.1 and 0.2 reveal purely semiconductingresistivity behavior along c and the charge transport is close to localization within the ab plane. A strong anisotropy in the magnetic susceptibility appears at temperatures below 100 K. Moreover magnetic ordering in the c direction with a moment of order 0.01 μ B /f.u. occurs at low temperatures. On doping the low-temperature linear term of the heat capacity becomes significantly reduced and probably is dominated by spin fluctuations. Finally, the optical conductivity reveals the anisotropic character of the dc resistance, with the in-plane conductance roughly following a Drude-type behavior and an insulating response along c.
Apoptosome Structure, Assembly, and Procaspase Activation

Apaf-1-like molecules assemble into a ring-like platform known as the apoptosome. This cell death platform then activates procaspases in the intrinsic cell death pathway. In this review, crystal structures of Apaf-1 monomers and CED-4 dimers have been combined with apoptosome structures to provide insights into the assembly of cell death platforms in humans, nematodes, and flies. In humans, the caspase recognition domains (CARDs) of procaspase-9 and Apaf-1 interact with each other to form a CARD-CARD disk, which interacts with the platform to create an asymmetric proteolysis machine. The disk tethers multiple pc-9 catalytic domains to the platform to raise their local concentration, and this leads to zymogen activation. These findings have now set the stage for further studies of this critical activation process on the apoptosome.
A typology of motor vehicle consumers using motives for leasing versus financing

Previous consumer research suggests that individuals who finance high-cost items tend to differ from those who lease the same items. Some differences are economic, such as income and wealth, while other dissimilarities involve non-economic issues such as personal preferences. We employ non-hierarchical cluster analysis to create consumer segments of motor vehicle lessees and financers based on motives for leasing versus financing and demographics. Five segments were uncovered. Lessees predominate in two categories: budget gourmets and automotive hedonists. Another two categories, utility seekers and basic transportation seekers, are mainly comprised of financers. The final group, mature luxury seekers, consists of a roughly equal mix of lessees and financers. Differences between the segments are addressed here, along with a discussion of findings and implications. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Recruitment of African Americans with chronic renal insufficiency into a multicenter clinical trial: the african american study of kidney disease and hypertension.

In patients with hypertensive nephrosclerosis, the African American Study of Kidney Disease and Hypertension (AASK) demonstrated the superiority of angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitor therapy in blunting progression of renal disease compared with a β blocker and a dihydropyridine calcium channel blocker. In addition, the study found that a blood pressure treatment strategy that resulted in an achieved blood pressure of 128/78 mm Hg (low blood pressure goal) was no more effective in slowing the progression of renal disease than a strategy that resulted in a blood pressure of 141/85 mm Hg (usual blood pressure goal). AASK, which enrolled only African Americans with mild to moderate chronic renal insufficiency, also provided an opportunity to evaluate recruitment methods in minority populations. Eighty-three percent of patients were recruited through screening in clinical practice. To randomize 635 patients, 558,295 charts were reviewed (approximately 879 charts per randomized patient). More than half of the randomized patients (n=635 or 58%) were found by chart review. Sixty percent of women with creatinine levels considered within the normal range had at least mild chronic renal insufficiency. Screening in clinical practice was the most effective strategy to recruit participants with mild to moderate chronic renal insufficiency and hypertension into the clinical trial. This technique may also be an effective approach in trials of other essentially asymptomatic conditions.
Radiation therapy control of nine patients with malignant thymoma

Malignant thymoma is a relatively rare condition and a review of the literature reveals approximately 100 reported cases. Only a small percentage of these have been treated with megavoltage radiation therapy; therefore, it is difficult to find the necessary information to establish a proper time-dose relationship for treatment. This report deals with the radiation therapy and survival data concerning nine patients treated for malignant thymoma during a ten year period at the Medical University of South Carolina. Megavoltage irradiation in the dose range of 3500-4800 rads was employed in all patients. All gross tumor was completely resected in only three patients, two had a biopsy only, and the remaining four had subtotal resections. Local tumor control has been 100% with the average follow-up being 5.5 years and a minimum of 30 months. Three patients are dead; one from intercurrent disease, one from myasthenia gravis, and one from radiation injury to the spinal cord. One patient is alive with metastatic disease controlled by chemotherapy. The technique of radiation therapy is outlined, as well as suggested treatment policy.
Age- and race-specific reference ranges for prostate-specific antigen from a large community-based study.

Objectives To analyze the relationship of age and race to prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels among participants in a community-based study.
The youth coping responses inventory: development and initial validation

This study aimed to develop a comprehensive and representative measure of youths' dispositional coping. A sample of 450 youth, aged 10 to 16 years old, were recruited from public and private schools. The majority of the sample consisted of African American and Caucasian youth. After initial item generation, pilot testing, and item elimination, exploratory factor analyses resulted in a 44-item coping measure with a 3-factor solution (Diversion, Ameliorative Coping, and Destructive Coping). Internal consistency analyses indicated strong reliabilities (all coefficient alphas above .85) for the three scales and the composite score across races. Preliminary validity data confirmed that Diversion is the most adaptive coping factor and Destructive Coping the most maladaptive. These preliminary results indicate that the Youth Coping Responses Inventory presents a promising new measure of youths' coping.
A new species of astragalus (Leguminosae) from northwestern New Mexico and adjacent Arizona

Astragalus chuskanus Barneby & Spellenberg, a new species of ser. Humistratae, is described, figured, discussed, and inserted into current monographic keys to the genus.
Issues in the Evaluation of an Online Prevention Exercise

ABSTRACT The rapid growth of computer and Internet technologies and their acceptance as a viable medium for human services delivery has opened up new possibilities for providing effective prevention programming. This article reviews some of the major online prevention websites and evaluations of their effectiveness. In addition, it reports the struggle to evaluate an interactive multimedia anger management exercise that is part of a teen substance abuse prevention website. The evaluation provided some support that a 30-minute exposure to a web-guided prevention exercise could increase teens' prevention knowledge and that completing the online exercise as supplemental homework reinforces the classroom experience. However, positive changes in other measures of behavior change were not supported. The study pointed to many issues that occur when developing and evaluating online interventions in real-world environments. This background section presents the advantages of online prevention, a brief overview of p...
Effects of work and retirement within long-term marital relationships

Long-term marriages of 21 retired working class couples were examined for the post-retirement effects on the marriage's social integration, happiness, involvement and satisfaction. Evidence suggests that marital patterns evolving in response to the work situation result in different types of relationships for dual paycheck and traditional couples. While both groups were happy, satisfied and involved in home, family and their own dyadic relationship, dual paycheck couples had more egalitarian and cooperative relationships. Their increased happiness, satisfaction and involvement are indicative of the benefits of their former dual employment.
Allergic contact sensitization to iron.

Abstract A case is reported of allergic contact dermatitis due to iron in a toolmaker. This is only the second case of iron contact allergy published in the literature. The possible reasons for the rarity of contact allergy due to iron are considered, among them the development of tolerance due to exposure to iron-containing compounds during fetal life.
Fermions and bosons in a unified framework. III. Mathematical structures and physical questions

By examining the implications of the usual physical assumptions for gauge theories we are led to a number of interesting structures which can be formulated in terms of moving frames. The first problem we consider is Faddeev's fiber bundle procedure for removal of gauge degeneracies from quantum fields. We show how the theory of moving frames can be related to the theory of fiber bundles. In the fiber bundle extra displacements and extra components of the gauge fields are included. These precisely remove the gauge degeneracies. In order to formulate this problem in the language of fiber bundles, we begin with a section detailing the algebra of forms in four dimensions and their associated operations (exterior differentiation, Hodge duality and the natural Hilbert product of forms). We then show how to form the action for the SO(3) fiber bundle. This opens the general question (implicitly answered by this example) of how to quantize in a fiber bundle. Next we examine the question of choice of local symmetry structure. First we consider a space whose local "rotations" do not form a group. By generalizing the structure equations for manifolds, we can study such a space. Second, in general relativity it is assumed that at any point one can choose an orthonormal basis and a vanishing connection. This corresponds to giving the zeroth, first, and second coefficient of a Taylor's expansion of the coordinate system. But manifolds flatter than those of general relativity do exist for which the structure is carried in the higher coefficients. We show how to give an action principle for them. Third, algebras more general than Lie algebras are possible local symmetries, e.g., superalgebras, the octonian algebra, and others violating the Jacobi relation. An action is given for a one-parameter family of quasi-Lie algebras which reduces to that of u(1) + su(2) in the zero limit of the parameter. Fourth, simple examples of actions for gauged superalgebras are given which do not include the full complexity of general relativity. Fifth, an easy derivation of the supergravity action is made; then generalized to a supergravity Weinberg-Salam-type model.
High-efficiency GaAsSb/GaAlAsSb double-heterostructure hemispherical infrared emitting diodes

The material and device technology was developed for the fabrication of high-efficiency hemispherically shaped emitters consisting of a GaAsSb/GaAlAsSb double heterostructure grown on a GaAs substrate. The highest performance emitter had a radiant power out-put of 54 mW and an external quantum efficiency of 27 percent at 150-mA dc forward diode current for room-temperature operation. The peak emission wavelengths were typically 930 to 940 nm and the spectral bandwidths were 40 nm. The high efficiencies were achieved by simultaneously minimizing the two principal limitations of conventional emitters: absorption of the generated radiation before emission from the device, and total internal reflection at the semiconductor-air interface due to the mismatch of refractive indices.
The Problem of Test Latency in Machine Diagnosis

The impact of delayed sensor alarm data upon a diagnostic inference engine appears not to be well appreciated. In this paper, we illustrate the effect of sensor latency, and we propose an inference approach to obviate it.
Probing carrier lifetimes at dislocations in epitaxial CdTe

Dark line defects arising from dislocations in epitaxial CdTe films are known to strongly limit the overall performance of optoelectronic devices. However, their effect on carrier diffusion length and lifetime in the material immediately surrounding dislocations is not well quantified. We apply a photoluminescence imaging technique to directly measure these parameters in a CdTe/MgCdTe double heterostructure. Radiative recombination is reduced by up to 85% within 5 µm of the dislocation. Additionally, the carrier diffusion length and lifetime decrease by ~50 and ~80%, respectively.
Experimental and theoretical explanation for the orientation dependence gate-induced drain leakage in scaled MOSFETs

In this work we provide a compelling experimental and theoretical explanation for the low GIDL currents that occur due to band to band (b2b) tunneling in MOSFETs with [100] (45o rotated) channel direction compared to [110] oriented devices. In measurements on bulk Si wafers, we clearly show a factor of ~3x decrease in tunneling current for (001) wafers compared to (011) or (111) wafers supporting the GIDL observations. Rigorous calculations of complex band structure for the three directions reveal that the light hole band dominates the tunneling action integral, supporting our measurements and accounting for the GIDL data.
"BlueGene/L Hardware as a Springboard to Future Products"

This paper presents time-domain simulations and VNA hardware characterization of the high-speed torus interface for the Bluegene/L supercomputer. A general system overview is included, as well as considerations for the system power distribution.
Plant pathology: Reverend Berkeley's devil

The potato famine of 1845–1846 had a devastating effect on Ireland. DNA analysis of herbarium specimens has allowed identification of the strain of plant pathogen responsible.