cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Equilibrium and diffusion of methanol and water in a nafion 117 membrane

The uptake concentrations of methanol and water in a Nafion membrane are measured as a function of methanol mol fraction from a liquid methanol-water mixture. The results are fitted by a thermodynamically consistent equation, derived from an expression of the Gibbs energy. The uptake of pure methanol and pure water from the vapor phase is measured as a function of vapor pressure. A discontinuity, known in the literature as Schroeder's paradox, between membrane uptakes of pure methanol and pure water from the liquid and vapor phases is noted. Regions of unconditional instability are enveloped by spinodal loci for the ternary mixture in the membrane when equilibrated with liquid mixtures. The effective diffusion coefficient is measured at 60°C for diffusion from a vapor into a saturated Nafion membrane. The effective diffusion coefficients are found to be on the order of 10 -11 m 2 /s, which is comparable to other measurements made for diffusion of a vapor through the membrane.
Rapid Effects of Aldosterone and Spironolactone in the Isolated Working Rat Heart

Chronic administration of aldosterone promotes myocardial fibrosis in rats. The Randomized Aldactone Evaluation Study reported that the aldosterone antagonist spironolactone improved outcome in patients with congestive heart failure, suggesting a deleterious effect of aldosterone in the heart. Aldosterone has been shown to have rapid nongenomic effects in different tissues including the heart. However, the hemodynamic actions of aldosterone and spironolactone are not well characterized. In this study, we examined the hemodynamic effects of aldosterone and its receptor antagonist, spironolactone, in the isolated rat heart by use of the Langendorff-Neely technique. Perfusion with 10 nmol/L aldosterone increased contractility by 45% within 2 to 4 minutes (P<0.01). Similar to the aldosterone effect, 10 nmol/L spironolactone increased contractility by 41% (P<0.01). Furthermore, 100-fold molar excess of spironolactone did not block the aldosterone effect. Perfusion of aldosterone plus spironolactone resulted in the highest increase in contractility 106% (P<0.01). The threshold response for aldosterone occurred within physiological concentrations (0.5 to 1 nmol/L), and maximal contractility was achieved with 10 nmol/L aldosterone. For spironolactone, the threshold and maximal contractile responses occurred at concentrations readily achieved with clinical dosing, 0.1 to 0.5 nmol/L and 1.0 nmol/L, respectively. These data demonstrate that aldosterone and spironolactone have rapid, positive inotropic actions on the myocardium. Moreover, addition of spironolactone to aldosterone increased contractility beyond the maximal responses elicited by each agent when perfused alone, thus suggesting different pathways of action. Furthermore, the intrinsic inotropic effects of spironolactone might be relevant to the apparent beneficial effect this compound has in patients with congestive heart failure.
Efficient discovery of unusual patterns in time series

The problem of finding a specified pattern in a time series database (i.e., query by content) has received much attention and is now a relatively mature field. In contrast, the important problem of enumerating all surprising or interesting patterns has received far less attention. This problem requires a meaningful definition of "surprise", and an efficient search technique. All previous attempts at finding surprising patterns in time series use a very limited notion of surprise, and/or do not scale to massive datasets. To overcome these limitations we propose a novel technique that defines a pattern surprising if the frequency of its occurrence differs substantially from that expected by chance, given some previously seen data. This notion has the advantage of not requiring the user to explicitly define what is a surprising pattern, which may be hard, or perhaps impossible, to elicit from a domain expert. Instead, the user gives the algorithm a collection of previously observed "normal" data. Our algorithm uses a suffix tree to efficiently encode the frequency of all observed patterns and allows a Markov model to predict the expected frequency of previously unobserved patterns. Once the suffix tree has been constructed, a measure of surprise for all the patterns in a new database can be determined in time and space linear in the size of the database. We demonstrate the utility of our approach with an extensive experimental evaluation.
Human Cockayne syndrome B protein reciprocally communicates with mitochondrial proteins and promotes transcriptional elongation

Cockayne syndrome (CS) is a rare human disorder characterized by pathologies of premature aging, neurological abnormalities, sensorineural hearing loss and cachectic dwarfism. With recent data identifying CS proteins as physical components of mitochondria, we sought to identify protein partners and roles for Cockayne syndrome group B (CSB) protein in this organelle. CSB was found to physically interact with and modulate the DNA-binding activity of the major mitochondrial nucleoid, DNA replication and transcription protein TFAM. Components of the mitochondrial transcription apparatus (mitochondrial RNA polymerase, transcription factor 2B and TFAM) all functionally interacted with CSB and stimulated its double-stranded DNA-dependent adenosine triphosphatase activity. Moreover, we found that patient-derived CSB-deficient cells exhibited a defect in efficient mitochondrial transcript production and that CSB specifically promoted elongation by the mitochondrial RNA polymerase in vitro. These observations provide strong evidence for the importance of CSB in maintaining mitochondrial function and argue that the pathologies associated with CS are in part, a direct result of the roles that CSB plays in mitochondria.
Low‐dose remifentanil infusion does not impair natural killer cell function in healthy volunteers

Background. Mu opioid agonists suppress natural killer (NK) cell activity in animal models. Studies in human volunteers, however, have yielded conflicting results, with morphine suppressing and fentanyl increasing NK cell activity. This study evaluated the effect of a constant 8-h infusion of remifentanil on NK cell number and function in human volunteers. Methods. After IRB approval and informed consent was obtained, 10 healthy volunteers underwent an 11 pm to 7 am infusion of saline, and at least 1 week later an infusion of 0.02–0.04 μg kg−1 min−1 remifentanil. Blood was collected at 7 am for measurement of NK cell cytotoxicity using a 51Cr release assay and measurement of NK cell number using fluorescent flow cytometry. Results. Median and range of the total NK cell cytoxicity (KU ml−1) was 745.0 (498.3–1483.6) on the control morning and 818.6 (238.5–1454.5) on the morning following the remifentanil infusion. Neither the number of NK cells ml−1 (2.5×105 (1.4×105–4.2×105) vs 2.7×105 (1.1×105–4.4×105)) nor the cytotoxicity per 1000 NK cells (KU 1000 NK cells−1) (3.0 (1.8–5.2) vs 2.9 (0.9–6.7)) changed between the control and remifentanil conditions. Conclusions. An 8-h infusion of remifentanil did not affect NK cell activity in normal volunteers. This result differs from previous findings of morphine-induced NK cell activity suppression and fentanyl-induced NK cell activity enhancement in normal volunteers.
Personalized Location Area Design with Genetic Algorithm for Future PCS Networks

In personal communication services (PCS) networks, mobile terminals (MT) are communicating frequently using variety of services. The increasing demands for diverse services dictate a high-quality framework for location management. To accomplish this objective, it is necessary to track MTs roving in the system within the time limit to deliver the services in timely manner. The expected reduction of the cell sizes due to transmission power concerns and for better frequency reuse in future PCS networks, and increasing speeds of MTs on the other hand, would cause a considerable signaling in the always updating (AU) strategy adopted in current PCS networks. Personalized location area (PLA) is an efficient way to reduce the location management cost by considering both the movement behavior of the individual users in the networks system and the system parameters. However, the PLA design problem is found to be NP-complete with high computation complexity. In this paper, we try to solve the problem by using the genetic algorithm (GA). Simulation results show that the location management cost of the designed PLAs by GA is significantly lower than that of the AU mechanism.
Female fitness declines with increasing female density but not male harassment in the western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis

Sexual conflict occurs when individuals of one sex express traits that reduce the fitness of individuals of the other sex. In many poeciliid fish, males harass females for copulations, which is thought to reduce female fitness by lowering foraging efficiency and increasing predation risk, energetic expenditure and the likelihood of disease transmission. Mating may also be costly for males, who often engage in aggressive interactions with other males in addition to expending energy pursuing females. We examined the effects of three operational sex ratios on male behaviour, female fitness and male body condition in the western mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis, during a 10-week experiment. Despite a significant reduction in male harassment, female growth and reproductive success decreased as the proportion of females increased. Results suggest that increases in female density had a strong, negative effect on female fitness, overwhelming any potential costs of male harassment. Aggressive behaviour between males increased and male copulation rate decreased as the proportion of males increased, suggesting that operational sex ratio influences the number of copulations that a male attempts by altering the frequency of agonistic interactions with other males and the number of females available to mate. We did not detect a difference in male body condition between treatments. Sources of female density dependence and consequences of variation in operational sex ratio on male fitness are discussed.
Mutation of traP in Staphylococcus aureus Has No Impact on Expression of agr or Biofilm Formation

To investigate the regulatory role of traP (target of RNAIII-activating peptide) in Staphylococcus aureus, we generated traP mutations in the clinical isolates UAMS-1 and USA300. In neither case did mutation of traP affect expression of the accessory gene regulator (agr) or the ability to form a biofilm. We were also unable to confirm that mutation of traP in the prototype 8325-4 laboratory strain RN6390 results in reduced expression of agr, reduced hemolytic activity, or an altered capacity to form a biofilm.
Detection of Cd(II) using antibody-modified microcantilever sensors.

Abstract This work demonstrated the feasibility of detecting divalent Cd(II) ions using antibody-modified microcantilever (MCL) sensors. Different surface modification methods were compared and multilayer approach was found superior than others for MCL surface modifications for antibody-based Cd(II) sensor development. When the Cd(II)–EDTA complex sample is injected into the fluid cell where the MCL is held, the MCL bends upon the recognition of the Cd(II) complex by the antibody on the surface of the MCL. Control experiments showed that complex that does not contain Cd(II) did not cause any bending of the MCL. The detection limit of the sensor was approximately 10 −9 M. The reaction rate analysis indicated that Langmuir adsorption model is appropriate to describe the absorption of Cd(II)–EDTA–BSA on the antibody-covered MCL surface.
Mobilization by demonstration: using traces to re-author existing web sites

Today's web pages provide many useful features, but unfortunately nearly all are designed first and foremost for the desktop form factor. At the same time, the number of mobile devices with different form factors and unique input and output facilities is growing substantially. The Highlight re-authoring environment addresses these problems by allowing users to start with existing sites they already use and create mobile versions that are customized to their tasks and mobile devices. This "re-authoring" is performed through a combination of demonstrating desired interactions with an existing web site and directly specifying content to be included on mobile pages. The system has been tested successfully with a variety of existing sites. A study showed that novice users were able to use the system to create useful mobile applications for sites of their own choosing.
Role of surfactant on the proteolysis of aqueous bovine serum albumin

Nonionic and ionic surfactants diminish the initial rate of proteolysis of aqueous bovine serum albumin (BSA) by subtilisin Carlsberg. Surfactants studied include: nonionic tetraethylene glycol monododecyl ether (C12E4); anionic sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS), anionic sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS), and cationic dodecyltrimethylamonium bromide (DTAB). Kinetic data are obtained using fluorescence emission. Special attention is given to enzyme kinetic specificity determined by fitting initial-rate data to the Michaelis-Menten model. All surfactants reduce the rate of proteolysis, most strongly at concentrations near and above the critical micelle concentration (CMC). Circular dichroism (CD), tryptophan/tyrosine fluorescence spectra, and tryptophan fluorescence thermograms indicate that BSA partially unfolds at ionic surfactant concentrations near and above the CMC. Changes in BSA conformation are less apparent at ionic surfactant concentrations below the CMC and for the nonionic surfactant C12E4. Subtilisin Carlsberg activity against the polypeptide, succinyl-Ala-Ala-Pro-Phe-p-nitroanilide, decreased due to enzyme-surfactant interaction. At the concentrations and time frames studied, there was no enzyme autolysis. Importantly, aqueous proteolysis rates are significantly reduced at high surfactant concentrations where protein-micellar-surfactant aggregates occur. To explain the negative effect of surfactant on subtilisin Carlsberg proteolytic activity against BSA, we propose that micelle/protein complexes hinder enzyme access.
Influence of metal–ligand ratio on benzimidazole based luminescent lanthanide complexes: 3-D network structures and chloride anion binding

Reaction of LnCl3·6H2O with the benzimidazole based ligand 2-(1H-benzoimidazol-2-yl)-4-bromo-6-methoxy-phenol (HL) in EtOH or MeOH under reflux gave dinuclear complexes of formula [Ln2(HL)2Cl6(solv)4] (solv = EtOH or MeOH) with a ligand : metal ratio = 1 : 1 (Ln = Tb(1); Er(2); Gd(3); Yb(4)). A ligand : metal ratio of 2 : 1 under similar conditions gave the mononuclear complexes [Eu(HL)2Cl3(MeOH)] (5) and [Ln(HL)2(H2O)4]·3Cl (Ln = Er(6); Yb(7)). A ligand : metal stoichiometry of 4 : 1 gave complexes [Ln(HL)4H2O]·3Cl (Ln = Nd(8); Gd (9); Eu(10)). The compounds have been structurally characterized by single crystal X-ray diffraction studies and their photophysical properties investigated.
Integrable Flows for Starlike Curves in Centroaffine Space

We construct integrable hierarchies of flows for curves in centroaffine R 3 through a natural pre-symplectic structure on the space of closed unparametrized starlike curves. We show that the induced evolution equations for the differential invariants are closely connected with the Boussinesq hierarchy, and prove that the restricted hierarchy of flows on curves that project to conics in RP 2 induces the Kaup{Kuperschmidt hierarchy at the curvature level.
Similar Economic Histories, Different Industrial Structures: Transatlantic Contrasts in the Evolution of Professional Sports Leagues

Industries that have different structures in Europe than in America can teach useful lessons about industrial evolution. Despite similar initial histories, European professional sports leagues adopted team promotion and relegation, which facilitates much easier entry than is possible in North America, where leagues themselves create new franchises to sell to investors. By contrasting the histories of the English Football League and the National Baseball League, we show that their structures arose from differences in geographic compactness, the entertainment level of games, and territorial monopolies. As the evolution becomes more understandable, the persistence of the intercontinental difference becomes more problematic.
Visual flicker in depression: response criteria, confidence ratings and response times

Differences in response criterion and sensory sensitivity to visual flicker among major depressive patients, dysthymic patients, and normal controls were investigated. Also, signal detection confidence ratings and response times were compared. The results indicated that major depressive patients responded more conservatively (i.e. were less willing to respond ‘flicker’) than either of the other groups. The groups did not differ significantly on a criterion free measure of flicker sensitivity. The major conclusions are: (1) previously reported visual flicker differences between depressed patients and normal controls were probably due to the more conservative response criterion of the patients and not to flicker sensitivity differences between groups; and (2) confidence ratings and response times yield similar conclusions with respect to visual flicker sensitivity and response criterion. Therefore, interpretations concerning a sensory or perceptual deficit in depression must take into account the differences in response criterion between depressed patients and normal controls.
Eddy–Zonal Flow Feedback in the Northern Hemisphere Winter

The variability of the zonal-mean zonal wind in the Northern Hemisphere winter (December‐March) is studied using EOF analysis and momentum budget diagnostics of NCEP‐NCAR reanalysis data (1976‐2001). The leading EOF of the zonal-mean zonal wind is well separated from the remaining EOFs and represents the north‐south movement of the midlatitude westerlies. Analysis of the momentum budget shows that a positive feedback between the zonal-mean wind anomalies and the eddy momentum fluxes selects the leading EOF of midlatitude variability. Like the Southern Hemisphere, the baroclinic eddies reinforce the zonal wind anomalies while external Rossby waves damp the wind anomalies. In the Northern Hemisphere, the quasi-stationary eddies also reinforce the zonal wind anomalies, but the baroclinic eddies are most important for the positive eddy‐zonal flow feedback. The observations support the following feedback mechanisms. 1) Above-normal baroclinic wave activity is generated in the region of enhanced westerlies. This leads to wave propagation out of the westerlies that is associated with reinforcing eddy momentum fluxes. 2) The westerly jet is a waveguide for external Rossby waves that tend to propagate into the jet and remove momentum from it. 3) The quasi-stationary waves respond to a refractive index anomaly in the high latitudes below the tropopause. During the high (low) index this anomaly is negative (positive) leading to an acceleration (deceleration) of the zonal wind in the high latitudes.
A Model for Testing Recombinogenic Sequences in the Mouse Germline

Homologous recombination is a conserved process of genetic exchange generated by homologous pairing of nucleotides. Species diversity and gene evolution are dependent on the outcomes of recombination during germ cell development, yet systems to study mammalian germline recombination, especially those with applications to human genetics, are not well developed. We report on a transgenic mouse system designed to study recombination within test sequences in the male germline utilizing an intron-interrupted lacZ reporter gene. beta-galactosidase positive sperm are detected and quantitated by flow cytometry using fluorogenic substrates. Examination of recombination within a 1.7 kb repeat of test sequences derived from the human glycophorin breakpoint cluster region detects approximately 0.04-0.09% fluorescent sperm. Confirmation that these sperm result from recombination in the germline comes from histochemical staining of testicular cells, examination of spliced mRNA, and PCR analysis of sorted sperm populations. The system is readily adaptable to studies of other sequences reported to have elevated levels of recombination, including those implicated in human genetic disease. Investigations of the molecular basis for genomic instability at specific chromosomal locations may yield important insights into mechanisms of chromosomal loss and rearrangements.
The Future of Health Economic Modeling: Have We Gone Too Far or Not Far Enough?

This is a summary of the presentation given by A. Mark Fendrick at the ISPOR 10th Annual International Meeting Second Plenary Session, May 17, 2005, Washington, DC, USA. Dr Fendrick is Professor at the Department of Internal Medicine and Health Management & Policy, University of Michigan Medical Center, Ann Arbor, MI, USA. This presentation immediately followed the presentation, Bringing Health Economic Modeling to the 21st Century, by David Eddy.
A simple thank you.

WHEN YOU RECEIVE a thank you note or a letter of praise, someone has taken a few moments to remind you of your gift, your contribution, or your value. If a verbal acknowledgment of your skills or interventions is made, the same message is shared: Thank you for what you did, for how you made a difference, for caring. Do you graciously accept the praise or do you think, ‘‘I’m just doing my job’’ or ‘‘It was nothing special’’? Do you dismiss the thank you and indicate that it was somehow not deserved? If this is the case, the message is diminished and the person extending thanks is less appreciated in the response. It may cause the other person to be less willing to share kind ormotivational thoughts again.What a shame!
Emotional and Persuasive Perception of Fonts

The aim of this study was to explore the latent affective and persuasive meaning attributed to text when appearing in two commonly used fonts. Two satirical readings were selected from the New York Times. These readings (one addressing government issues, the other education policy) were each printed in Times New Roman and Arial fonts of the same size and presented in randomized order to 102 university students, who ranked the readings on a number of adjective descriptors. Analysis showed that satirical readings in Times New Roman were perceived as more funny and angry than those in Arial, the combination of emotional perception which is congruent with the definition of satire. This apparent interaction of font type with emotional qualities of text has implications for marketing, advertising, and the persuasive literature.
Radical copolymerization of 2‐ethylacrylic acid and methacrylic acid

Copolymers of 2-ethylacrylic acid (EAA) and methacrylic acid (MAA) were prepared in bulk and in N,N-dimethylformamide (DMF). Although precipitation of the copolymers was observed in bulk, the reaction mixtures remained apparently homogeneous in DMF. Best-fit terminal-model reactivity ratios were determined by a nonlinear least squares technique to be r_(MAA) = 1.14 and r_(EAA) = 0.23 in bulk, and r_(MAA) = 1.91 and r_(EAA) = 0.09 in 50% DMF solution. Examination of ^(13)C-NMR spectra provided convincing evidence for the formation of statistical copolymers. Copolymerizations richer in MAA provided copolymers of higher molecular weights.
Analysis and synthesis of asynchronous, asymptotically reliable, asymptotically controllable serial production lines

Synchronous serial production lines are advantageous from the production rate point of view whereas asynchronous ones ensure a higher quality. Both, however, are usually run in a balanced mode where the cycle times of all machines are identical. It is shown that asynchronous lines being run in an appropriate unbalanced mode, could have a production rate close to that of the synchronous lines. Analysis and synthesis methods are presented for a certain class of asynchronous lines and synthesis methods are presented for a certain class of asynchronous lines consisting of the so-called asymptotically reliable, asymptotically controllable machines. The results are applied to a case study of a paint shop operation in a modern automobile assembly plant, and an 11% improvement in the average production rate, predicted theoretically and observed practically, is reported. >
Inter-Rater Reliability and Intra-Rater Reliability of Assessing the 2-Minute Push-Up Test

The purpose of this study was to assess inter-rater reliability and intra-rater reliability of the 2-minute, 90° push-up test as utilized in the Army Physical Fitness Test. Analysis of rater assessment reliability included both total score agreement and agreement across individual push-up repetitions. This study utilized 8 Raters who assessed 15 different videotaped push-up performances over 4 iterations separated by a minimum of 1 week. The 15 push-up participants were videotaped during the semiannual Army Physical Fitness Test. Each Rater randomly viewed the 15 push-up and verbally responded with a "yes" or "no" to each push-up repetition. The data generated were analyzed using the Pearson product-moment correlation as well as the kappa, modified kappa and the intra-class correlation coefficient (3,1). An attribute agreement analysis was conducted to determine the percent of inter-rater and intra-rater agreement across individual push-ups.The results indicated that Raters varied a great deal in assessing push-ups. Over the 4 trials of 15 participants, the overall scores of the Raters varied between 3.0 and 35.7 push-ups. Post hoc comparisons found that there was significant increase in the grand mean of push-ups from trials 1-3 to trial 4 (p < 0.05). Also, there was a significant difference among raters over the 4 trials (p < 0.05). Pearson correlation coefficients for inter-rater and intra-rater reliability identified inter-rater reliability coefficients were between 0.10 and 0.97. Intra-rater coefficients were between 0.48 and 0.99. Intra-rater agreement for individual push-up repetitions ranged from 41.8% to 84.8%. The results indicated that the raters failed to assess the same push-up repetition with the same score (below 70% agreement) as well as failed to agree when viewed between raters (29%). Interestingly, as previously mentioned, scores on trial 4 increased significantly which might have been caused by rater drift or that the Raters did not maintain the push-up standard over the trials. It does appear that the final push-up scores received by each participant was a close approximation of actual performance (within 65%) but when assessing physical performance for retention in the Army, a more reliable test might be considered.
Effects of Kernel Vitreousness and Protein Level on Protein Molecular Weight Distribution, Milling Quality, and Breadmaking Quality in Hard Red Spring Wheat

Dark, hard, and vitreous kernel content is an important grading characteristic for hard red spring (HRS) wheat in the United States. This research investigated the associations of kernel vitreousness (KV) and protein content (PC) levels with protein molecular weight distribution (MWD), milling quality, and breadmaking quality characteristics of HRS wheat. The U.S. regional crop quality survey samples from three consecutive growing years were combined into three composite samples with different levels of wheat PC and then further segregated into separate samples with three different levels of KV. Analysis of variance showed that KV level had significant (P < 0.001) effect on variation in test weight, break flour yield, and damaged starch content. Among protein MWD parameters analyzed by size-exclusion HPLC, the high-molecular-weight polymeric proteins in the SDS-unextractable fraction had significant (P < 0.01) association with KV. Regression analysis indicated that addition of KV to the PC level improved ...
John Hancock: New Soundings on an Old Barrel

I B HISTORY has not been kind to the reputation of John Hancock. In contrast to other Founding Fathers, whose public and private papers have been thoroughly edited and annotated, Hancock's papers remain largely unpublished. Nor has any historian thus far produced on behalf of Hancock a definitive scholarly biography like those that now document the activities of other Revolutionary leaders. The man in the street identifies his name only with a "signature" or "insurance company." Most American historians associate Hancock with a catch phrase, "empty barrel." Such a phrase would echo the title of the article, "Portrait of an Empty Barrel," that appeared in Harper's Magazine in September 1930, authored by the noted historian, James Truslow Adams, whose biography of Hancock was published two years later in the Dictionary of American Biography. This highly unflattering interpretation has become part of the profession's conventional wisdom and has certainly influenced Hancock's more recent biographers. James Truslow Adams began his essay in Harper's, a piece unencumbered by footnotes but lightly sprinkled with documentation within the text, by noting that President John Adams had once remarked that the life of Hancock would never be written. From the vantage point of 1930, James Truslow Adams could find no reason to modify this observation. James Truslow Adams professed that, at first glance, he was mystified by this lack of scholarly concern for Hancock, whose life, he maintained, had enough drama to encourage professional historians to write engrossing biographies.' The conventional account of Hancock's
The Effect of Applied Magnetic Field on Arc Spin Rate in High Pressure Arc Heaters

Electric arc-heated facilities typically use an applied magnetic field to cause the arc attachment point to rotate about the electrode surface, thereby preventing the rapid burnthrough of the electrode surface. In this work the effect of the applied magnetic field on the spin rate of the arc is studied. First, the anode spin rate for a series of runs of the High Enthalpy Ablation Testing (HEAT) H3 arc heater was measured by installing a high-speed camera looking through a viewing port at the upstream end of the heater and then measuring the spin rate using visual observations of the arc foot location between subsequent frames. Then, the magnetic field applied by the spin coil wrapped around the anode was calculated for the given coil configuration and current using the Biot-Savart Law. The spin rate as a function of the applied electromagnetic force on the arc foot was then determined. Finally, the drag coefficient of the arc column was estimated. The results indicated that the arc column diameter decreases by about a factor of three as the chamber pressure increases from 20 to 60 atm.
Beyond Markov–Kakutani

In the last chapter we extended the Markov–Kakutani Theorem—originally proved only for commuting families of continuous affine maps—to “solvable” families of such maps. We used our enhanced theorem to show that every solvable group is amenable and that Haar measure exists for every topological group that is both solvable and compact. By contrast, we’ve seen (Chap. 11) that the group\(\mathcal{R}\) of origin-centric rotations of\(\mathbb{R}^{3}\) is paradoxical, hence not amenable, and therefore not solvable. Now\(\mathcal{R}\) is naturally isomorphic to the group\(\mathrm{SO(3)}\) of 3 × 3 orthogonal real matrices with determinant 1 (Appendix D), a group easily seen to be compact. Thus not every compact group is amenable.
Eliminating Excessive and Disparate School Discipline: A Review of Research and Policy Reform

Losen and Smith-Evans Haynes review the status and consequences of school discipline and how overly punitive practices have a negative and disparate impact. The authors describe policy efforts to curb excessive disciplinary exclusion that would help all students and decrease the harm to students of color and those with disabilities. Some of these harms have serious consequences in the long term, such as the impact on students’ opportunities for civic engagement and educational attainment and the high economic burden to society of prioritizing punishment given the higher associated risks for dropping out and juvenile justice involvement. Losen and Smith-Evans Haynes trace important recent policy reforms in school discipline at the federal, state, and district level, and recommend further reforms for more equitable disciplinary systems.
A comparison of five surveys that identify individuals at risk for airflow obstruction and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Abstract Background The predictive characteristics of different screening surveys for the recognition of individuals at risk for airflow obstruction (AFO) have not been evaluated simultaneously in the same population. Purpose To compare five AFO/COPD screening questionnaires. Methods 383 individuals completed the Veterans Airflow Obstruction Screening Questionnaire, Personal Level Screener for COPD (VAFOSQ), the 11-Q COPD Screening Questionnaire (11-Q), the COPD Population Screener (COPD-PS) and the Lung Function Questionnaire (LFQ) and performed spirometry. AFO was defined as forced expiratory volume in one second divided by the forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC) Results 376 participants completed at least two of the questionnaires and performed technically acceptable spirometry. AFO was present in 102 (27.1%) and 150 (39.9%) based on LLN and FR, respectively. The number of individuals positively selected by the VAFOSQ was 227, PLS 128, 11-Q 236, COPD-PS 217, and LFQ 328. The area under the ROC curves for the questionnaires was between 0.60 and 0.66 (LLN) and 0.58 and 0.66 (FR). Conclusions Although these screening surveys have acceptable and similar predictive ability for the identification of AFO, their published thresholds lead to substantially different classification rates. The choice of an appropriate threshold for the identification of individuals with possible AFO/COPD should consider the underlying prevalence of AFO/COPD in the target population and the relative costs of misclassifying affected and unaffected cases. Clinical Trial Registration None. Primary Source of Funding Veterans Health Administration.
Abstract 139: Angina Frequency, Quality of Life and Functional Status in Patients with Stable Ischemic Heart Disease: Data from the Heart and Soul Study

Background: Angina is a common symptom among patients with ischemic heart disease (IHD), but its long-term effects on quality of life and functional limitation have not been quantified. We sought to evaluate the longitudinal association of angina frequency with quality of life and functional limitation in patients with IHD. Methods: We enrolled 1023 outpatients with stable IHD in a prospective cohort study between 2000 and 2002. Participants completed the Seattle Angina Questionnaire (SAQ) at baseline and annually for five years. The longitudinal associations of SAQ angina frequency with overall quality of life (fair or poor vs. excellent, very good, or good), SAQ quality of life score, SAQ physical limitation score, and New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class (III or IV vs. I or II) were estimated using mixed effects regression models with adjustment for clinical risk factors. Results: At baseline, 633 participants (62%) reported no angina, 279 (27%) reported monthly angina, and 111 (11%) reported daily or weekly angina. At baseline, participants with daily or weekly angina were more likely than those without angina to report fair or poor overall quality of life (46% vs. 18%, P<.001) and NYHA class III or IV symptoms (58% vs. 13%, P<0.001). During five years of follow-up, participants with daily or weekly angina had worse mean SAQ Quality of Life scores (51.7 vs. 89.2, P<.001) and SAQ Physical Limitation scores (62.4 vs. 84.9, P<.001) than participants without angina. After adjusting for age, sex, race, smoking, hypertension, history of heart failure, physical inactivity, depressive symptoms, and medication use, daily or weekly angina remained associated with worse mean SAQ Quality of Life scores (54.7 vs. 88.7, P<.001) and Physical Limitation scores (66.8 vs. 85.0, P<.001). In adjusted analyses, participants with daily or weekly angina had higher odds of reporting fair or poor quality of life (OR 1.78, 95%CI 1.18, 2.69, P<.001) and higher odds of reporting NYHA class III or IV symptoms (OR 6.17, 95%CI 4.34, 8.77, P<.001) during the follow-up period. Conclusions: Angina frequency was associated with longitudinal measures of quality of life and functional limitations in outpatients with IHD.
Addressing the Impact of E-Development in the Knowledge Economy and Society: Outputs, Outcomes, and Impacts

The analysis here is mainly concerned with e-Development applications that facilitate private sector development. The analysis will hinge on the main quantitative and qualitative data on ICT applications available from various sources, ranging from private sector to public sector in both developed and developing countries. The public sector’s role as a facilitator in the promotion and adoption of information technologies is very important. While the private sector maintains the pivotal role in innovation and technology adoption, the public sector has the responsibility of designing and implementing reforms that create an environment conducive to economic growth. e-Development is a valuable tool to foster the interaction between the public and the private sector. Businesses are suppliers to, partners and customers of, and occasionally competitors with the government. A framework to monitor and evaluate e-Development will include a set of indicators which can be used to assess the benefits of implementing e-development projects. While a cost-benefit analysis is not the main focus of this study, the evaluation of e-Development hinges on comparing the costs and benefits of technology-based applications with traditional means of interaction. Both direct and indirect costs should be considered, where direct costs are represented by the resources needed by both the provider and user in implementing and using e-Development programs and systems. Technology brings unprecedented potential to make interactions between the public and the private sector easier, more efficient, and more transparent. Hence, these indicators become part of the evaluation to determine whether and how e-Development can support World Bank interventions in client countries and test the operational sustainability of e-Development-facilitated interventions.
Health Disparities in the Appropriate Management of Cryptorchidism.

Objective To assess regional practices in management of cryptorchidism with regard to timely fixation by the current recommended age of 18 months. Study design A retrospective study was performed. Charts of all patients who underwent surgical correction for cryptorchidism by a pediatric general surgeon or urologist within a tertiary pediatric hospital in an urban setting were systematically reviewed. Results We identified 1209 patients with cryptorchidism. The median age of surgical correction was 3.7 years (IQR: 1.4, 7.7); only 27% of patients had surgical correction before 18 months of age. Forty-six percent of our patients were white, 40% were African American, and 8% were Hispanic. African American and Hispanic patients were less likely to undergo timely repair (P = .01), as were those with public or no insurance (P < .0001). A majority (72%) of patients had no diagnostic imaging prior to surgery. A majority of patients had palpable testes at operation (85%) and underwent inguinal orchiopexy (76%); 82% were operated on by a pediatric urologist. Only 35 patients (3%) experienced a complication; those repaired late were significantly less likely to develop a complication (P = .03). There were no differences in age at time of surgery by surgeon type. Conclusions A majority of our patients were not referred for surgical intervention in a timely manner, which may reflect poor access to care in our region. Public and self-pay insurance status was associated with delayed repair. Education of community physicians and families could be potentially beneficial.
Overtraining and Reversal Discrimination Learning in Rats

In a series of three experiments, the effect of overtraining on the reversal discrimination learning of rats was studied. Experiment 1 also investigated the effects of type of task and number of irrelevant dimensions, while type of task and reward magnitude were varied in Experiment 2, and number of original training trials and reward magnitude in Experiment 3. In the first two experiments, 100 overtraining trials were found to interfere with reversal learning, although not significantly in Experiment 1. Increasing the number of irrelevant dimensions retarded reversal learning as did small rewards and more difficult original discriminations. In Experiment 3, 200 overtraining trials were found to facilitate reversal learning, the magnitude of the effect falling just short of the .05 level of significance. In addition, reward magnitude and number of training trials were found to interact in a manner predicted by the incentive model of Theios and Blosser.
Association of serum albumin levels with kidney function decline and incident chronic kidney disease in elders.

Background Previous studies in HIV-infected individuals have demonstrated serum albumin to be strongly associated with kidney function decline, independent of urine albumin and inflammatory markers. Lower serum albumin concentrations may be an under-appreciated risk factor for kidney function decline in elders. Methods We performed a cohort analysis in the Health Aging and Body Composition Study, a cohort of well-functioning, bi-racial, community-dwelling elders between the age of 70 and 79 years. We examined the associations of serum albumin concentration with longitudinal kidney function decline by estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Outcomes included linear eGFR decline, rapid kidney function decline defined as >30% decrease in eGFR, defined as a final eGFR 60 mL/min/1.73 m2 at baseline. Cystatin C-based eGFR was calculated at baseline, Year 3 and Year 10. Results Mean age was 74 years, and mean eGFR was 73 mL/min/1.73 m2 at baseline. The mean rate of eGFR change was 1.81 mL/min/1.73 m2 per year. After multivariate adjustment, lower serum albumin concentrations were strongly and independently associated with kidney function decline (-0.11 mL/min/1.73 m2 per year for each standard deviation decrease serum albumin; -0.01 to - 0.20) with no attenuation after adjustment for urine albumin and inflammatory markers (-0.12, -0.03 to - 0.22). When divided into quartiles, serum albumin levels ≤3.80 g/dL were associated with increased odds of rapid kidney function decline (odds ratio 1.59; 1.12-2.26) and increased risk of incident chronic kidney disease (incident rate ratio 1.29; 1.03-1.62) relative to levels >4.21g/dL. Urine albumin to creatinine ratio (ACR) was also significantly and independently associated with kidney function decline (-0.08 mL/min/1.73 m2 per year for urine ACR >30 mg/g; -0.82 to - 0.13). Conclusions Lower serum albumin levels are strongly and independently associated with kidney function decline in elders, independent of clinical risk factors, urine albumin and measured inflammatory markers.
The Unreasonable Effectiveness of Software Analytics

In theory, software analytics shouldn’t work because software project behavior shouldn’t be predictable. However, it does. Why?
Can Indirect Approaches Represent Risk Behavior Adequately

In order to answer the question posed as the title to this chapter, one must have a clear picture of the relevant risk issues and the questions that need to be asked and hopefully answered. This set of economic issues involving risk in agriculture is quite broad, but we take as a typical and no doubt an easier one the supply and income response to policy changes such as the 1996 Farm Bill or policies that mitigate production uncertainty (Lin et al. 2000, Holt 1999, Goodwin and Vandeveer 2000, Ramaswami 1993). Inherent in any formal econometric indirect approach is considerable structure. Conventionally, agricultural economists have focused on static expected utility of wealth models of choice (Anderson, Dillon, and Hardaker 1977). This is not to say that behavioral anomalies (relative to expected utility maximization) are not considered important, but at this juncture, alternatives to expected utility seem to be viewed as having insufficient net benefit in most agricultural applications. Expected utility models are relatively easy to interpret and convenient to apply, yet still present many significant challenges, as will be apparent below. Further, intertemporal models of choice also are central to many if not most agricultural questions (e.g., Saha, Innes, and Pope 1993, Taylor 1984). Yet these considerations magnify the difficulties of coherently applying economic theory, and are not discussed here. In this chapter, we focus on the application of static indirect expected utility including mean-variance and conditional moment methods to agricultural risk problems. We use simple calculus tools and production uncertainty to illustrate the benefits and costs of applying risk responsive models to behavior.1
Neuropsychological Assessment and Intervention with African Americans

Attempts to address the impact of race and ethnicity on human behavior have increased in recent years. Race has been traditionally classified through genetically determined systems such as blood type or physical characteristics such as skin color (Kato, 1996). In its original definition developed to classify plants and animals, race was defined as an “inbreeding, geographically isolated population that differs in distinguishable physical traits from other members of the species” (Zuckerman, 1990). Social scientists attempted to take this definition and adapt it to the racial classification of human beings. The racial classification of human beings is generally fraught with problems, however, primarily due to a lack of empirically derived procedures to determine biologically distinct differences between different races. Ethnicity has been defined in several ways including national origin (i.e., Japanese American) and language (Hispanic American). Using this classification says little about the possible similarities between individuals within an ethnic classification. As with race, ethnicity has also been used to refer to distinguishing physical characteristics between groups of people. This has led to the tendency to use race and ethnicity interchangeably, further increasing the confusion. These differences in definition tend to decrease the ability to compare research findings across studies and have led to either a tendency to avoid using racial or ethnic categories altogether or to superficial use of the classification. As opposed to a more narrow biological classification, ethnicity has been more recently viewed as a “sociocultural” construction determined by the rules of the culture (Kato, 1996). A sociocultural definition of ethnicity focuses more on the values, customs, and rules that the members of an ethnic group share. Sociocultural definitions of ethnicity also recognize that a group of pepople may share the experience of being a minority (i.e., similar treatment at the hands of the majority society due to physical characteristics). This chapter will utilize black and African American interchangeably to refer to Americans who share common ancestral descent from people indigenous to sub-Saharan Africa (Jackson & Sellers, 1996). This definition relates to the socio-cultural aspects of being black or African American.