cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-Rate Solid-Liquid Separation Coupled With Nitrogen and Phosphorus Treatment of Swine Manure: Effect on Water Quality

This study determined the water quality improvements in swine lagoons by an innovative swine manure treatment system operating at full-scale during five pig production cycles. The system performed high-rate solid-liquid separation, biological ammonia treatment and phosphorus treatment. Based on performance results obtained, it was determined that the treatment system met the technical environmental performance criteria for swine waste management systems in new or expanding operations in North Carolina. The system substantially reduced odor by 99.9%; pathogens by 99.99%, nutrients (phosphorus and nitrogen) by > 90%, and heavy metals by 99%. As the treated effluent and/or rainwater renovated the liquid in the anaerobic lagoons, they became aerobic (Eh > 300 millivolts). By the end of the second year, the NH4-N concentration in the lagoons liquid was reduced from the initial 370-485 mg L-1 to lower than 15. After conversion, the sludge accumulation in the former lagoons was halted. This was a significant outcome because one converted lagoon served twice the number of animals than before implementation of the innovative manure treatment system, which is similar to a situation of herd expansion. These findings overall showed that cleaner alternative technologies can have significant positive impacts on water quality in intensive swine production.
The Minimum Data Set Agitated and Reactive Behavior Scale: Measuring Behaviors in Nursing Home Residents With Dementia.

Abstract Objectives Interventions aimed at managing agitated and aggressive behaviors in dementia without the use of antipsychotics are currently being tested in nursing homes (NHs). Researchers and clinicians require a measure that can capture the severity of residents’ behaviors. We test the internal consistency and construct validity of the Agitated and Reactive Behavior Scale (ARBS), a measure created using data from mandatory NH assessments. Design Cross-sectional. Setting and Participants The 2016 national sample of 15,326 Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services-certified NHs. The analytic sample included 489,854 new admissions and 765,367 long-stay residents (at least 90 days in NH). All participants have a dementia diagnosis. Methods Minimum Data Set (MDS), version 3.0. The ARBS is a composite measure of (1) physical behavioral symptoms directed at other people; (2) verbal behavioral symptoms directed at other people; (3) other behavioral symptoms not directed at other people; and (4) rejection of care. Variables used to establish construct validity included degree of cognitive impairment, use of medications for managing agitation and aggression, and co-occurring conditions associated with agitated and aggressive behaviors (eg, schizophrenia, depression, or delirium). Results This report has 3 important findings: (1) the ARBS score has borderline-adequate internal consistency (α = .64-.71) in the national population NH residents with dementia; (2) only 18% of new admissions and 21% of long-stay residents with dementia evidence any agitated or aggressive behaviors in the last week, as rated in the MDS assessment; and (3) the ARBS demonstrates good construct validity; it increases with cognitive impairment, treatment with relevant medications, and co-occurring psychiatric conditions and symptoms. Discussion Nationally available MDS data may significantly underestimate the prevalence of agitated and aggressive behaviors among NH residents with dementia. Conclusions and Implications Researchers conducting pragmatic trials of non-pharmaceutical interventions to manage behaviors in NH residents with dementia should consider the likely underdetection of these behaviors in the available MDS data.
The Role of Single-Nucleotide Polymorphisms in Pituitary Adenomas Tumorigenesis

Pituitary adenomas (PAs) are among the most common intracranial neoplasms, but despite their histologically benign nature, these tumors sometimes grow large enough to cause symptoms of mass effect such as vision loss, headaches, or hypopituitarism. When they get this large, surgery will unfortunately not be curative and, other than prolactinomas, medical options are limited, and radiation has variable efficacy in controlling growth. Understanding the genetic perturbations, such as single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs), that promote the formation or growth of functional and nonfunctional PAs is important because such genetic insights could improve the diagnosis and subsequent classification of PAs as well as unlock potential therapeutic targets outside contemporary standard of care. While there have been great strides in the research of SNPs as drivers of PA formation and maintenance, a comprehensive discussion of these genetic mutations has not been undertaken. In the present article, and with the goal of providing scientists and clinicians a central review, we sought to summarize the current literature on SNPs and their relationship to PA formation. Across multiple tumor types, such as nonfunctioning PAs, prolactinomas, corticotroph adenomas, somatotroph adenomas, thyrotropic adenomas, and gonadotroph adenomas, SNPs in cell surface receptors implicated in proliferation can be appreciated. Polymorphisms found in tumor suppressors and cell cycle regulators have also been identified, such as p53 SNPs in nonfunctioning PAs or cyclin D1 in prolactinomas. While the translational relevance of SNPs in the formation of PAs is still in the early stages, the use of wide-scale genomic analysis to identify patients at risk for developing PAs could yield therapeutic benefit in the future.
La (a)temporalidad de los microrrelatos.

This article emphasizes the importance of studying the temporality of the micro-story, since this genre and time share a tight connection. Based on the concepts of diachrony and synchrony, Nogueira posits a viable model of study. In conformity with its diachronic direction, the micro-story encompasses —through intertextuality— the evolution of this genre. As for its synchronic direction, the micro-story embodies the instant as its privileged temporality because it overlaps with its precarious state, and astounding changes of our everyday life.
The Political Economy of Environmental Degradation and Climate Disaster in Southeast Asia

Forwarding an ecological dimension to the Murdoch school of political economy, this chapter examines environmental degradation, biodiversity loss, and climate change as inseparable parts of the political economy of Southeast Asian development. The chapter first reviews regional environmental indicators of biodiversity loss, air pollution, water degradation, deforestation, and climate change. It then explains this degradation as an intrinsic part of capitalist development in the region, driven by manufacturing, urbanisation, pollution, and increased resource-based production and exports. Finally, the chapter examines several examples of environmental governance efforts that have failed because they do not address the underlying mode of accumulation and fundamental social conflicts. The status quo direction of the region, the chapter concludes, is disastrous ecologically and socially.
Aerosol impaction-driven assembly produces evenly dispersed nanoparticle coating on polymeric water treatment membranes

Nano-enabled water treatment membranes are finding new applications and commercial opportunities, but the commonly used methods for embedding or coating the membranes with nanoparticles have limitations. There is an increasing need for controllable and high-throughput methods for applying nanoparticles uniformly across membrane surfaces in ways that preserve their unique nano-properties while assuring stable attachment. We demonstrate proof-of-concept for the use of aerosol impaction-driven assembly (AIDA) to coat polymeric water treatment membranes. AIDA is a dry-coating technique that has been demonstrated on other substrates. It involves using a pressure differential to accelerate aerosolized (premade or in situ-formed) nanoparticles onto a moving sample. The nanoparticles stick by chemical bonding or van der Waals interactions. To provide a proof-of-concept and comparison with other techniques, PVDF membranes with 0.1 μm pore size were coated with functionalized 50-nm-diameter silver and gold nanoparticles using AIDA, spray-coating, and in situ synthesis, and then were characterized. The AIDA coating method produces controllable (i.e., proportional to deposition time) loadings of evenly dispersed, non-agglomerated nanoparticles on the membrane. The method is relatively agnostic to nanoparticle type. The loading efficiency varies with the surface functionality of the nanoparticles, but not their elemental composition. The method has no substantial effect on water flux and produces stable coatings with low nanoparticle release. The AIDA nanoparticle coating method is shown to have inherent flexibility, controllability, and other major advantages (i.e., dispersion, stability) in the quality of the coatings produced.
A Soft Ionic Sensor for Simultaneous Pressure and Strain Measurements

Soft ionic sensing represents a promising technology to develop low-cost, biocompatible sensors that can be used to provide exteroception and interoception capabilities to soft robotic devices, or in wearable applications to measure joint motion and forces on the body. In this paper, we present the design, fabrication, and testing of an ionic soft sensor based on a NaC1 solution that can measure pressure and strain independently. The proposed system uses a singular output to simultaneously measure strain and pressure via the modification of the input signal frequency and amplitude, effectively decoupling the detection of forces along different axes and allowing the user to track these inputs in real-time.
Mechanics-Based Model for Rapid Prediction of Low-Velocity Impact Damage in Composite Laminates

A mechanics-based modeling approach is developed to rapidly predict damage in polymer matrix composites resulting from a low-velocity impact event. The approach is incorporated into a computer code...
MAPS IN HISTORY: Pioneer halftone printing in USA

Representation of three-dimensional terrain on a two-dimensional paper always was a challenge for the mapmaker. Indicating elevations by simple side view hill profiles, so-called ‘mole humps’, are ...
Zero-range effective field theory for resonant wino dark matter. Part I. Framework

The most dramatic “Sommerfeld enhancements” of neutral-wino-pair annihilation occur when the wino mass is near a critical value where there is a zero-energy S-wave resonance at the neutral-wino-pair threshold. Near such a critical mass, low-energy winos can be described by a zero-range effective field theory in which the winos interact nonperturbatively through a contact interaction. The effective field theory is controlled by a renormalization-group fixed point at which the neutral and charged winos are degenerate in mass and their scattering length is infinite. The parameters of the zero-range effective field theory can be determined by matching wino-wino scattering amplitudes calculated by solving the Schrodinger equation for winos interacting through a potential due to the exchange of weak gauge bosons. If the wino mass is larger than the critical value, the resonance is a wino-pair bound state. The power of the zero-range effective field theory is illustrated by calculating the rate for formation of the bound state in the collision of two neutral winos through the emission of two soft photons.
Measurement of the three-axis vibration, temperature, and relative humidity profiles of commercial transport trailers for pigs

The objective of this study was to collect and interpret three-axis acceleration, temperature, and relative humidity data from six locations within commercial transport trailers shipping market-weight pigs. Transport was observed in Kansas (n = 15) and North Carolina (n = 20). Prior to loading, three-axis accelerometers were affixed to six locations on the trailers: top fore (TF), top center (TC), top aft (TA), bottom fore (BF), bottom center (BC), and bottom aft (BA) compartments. Data were post-processed to calculate root-mean-square (RMS) accelerations and vibration dose values (VDV) in the vertical direction and the horizontal plane. These values were compared with exposure action values (EAV) and exposure limit values (ELV), vibration levels deemed uncomfortable and potentially dangerous to humans. Additionally, RMS and VDV were compared among the trailer compartments. The vertical RMS accelerations for all compartments exceeded the EAV for loads measured in Kansas, and for the majority of the compartments measured in North Carolina. Many compartments, specifically the BA compartment from all trips, exceeded the vertical ELV. Regardless of where the data were collected, fewer compartments exceeded the EAV in the horizontal orientation. Only BA compartments exceeded the ELV in the horizontal orientation. There were Area × Level interactions for vertical and horizontal RMS and VDV (P 0.13). The BF compartment had a greater (P = 0.02) vertical VDV value than the TC location, but did not differ from the other locations (P > 0.16). All other locations did not differ in vertical VDV (P > 0.12). The BF compartment had greater horizontal RMS than the TC and TA compartments (P 0.12). All other compartments did not differ in horizontal RMS (P > 0.34). All compartments, aside from the BA compartment, did not differ in horizontal VDV (P > 0.19). Vibration analyses indicated the BA compartment had the greatest vertical and horizontal vibrations and a large percentage of the compartments exceed the EAV and ELV, which indicated pigs may have experienced uncomfortable trips that could cause discomfort or fatigue.
An Unbiased Approach to Identifying Changes in the Gene Expression Profile of Sensory Neurons in Painful Diabetic Neuropathy

Painful diabetic neuropathy (PDN) is an intractable and debilitating disease characterized by neuropathic pain and small-fiber degeneration. Given the prevalence of the disease, there is a dire need to identify new targets for the development of disease-modifying therapeutics for PDN. In patients with PDN, dorsal root ganglion (DRG) nociceptors become hyperexcitable and eventually degenerate, but the molecular mechanism underlying the phenomenon is unknown. We aim to identify the gene expression profile of the DRG neurons in PDN pathology to facilitate the discovery of novel druggable targets. Using a well-established mouse model of PDN, mice were either fed a regular diet (RD) or a high-fat diet (HFD) for 10 weeks. We used a single-cell RNA (scRNA-seq) sequencing approach to capture the changes in the DRG in an unbiased fashion. As expected, analysis of the scRNA-seq identified both neuronal and non-neuronal clusters and several differentially expressed genes. Interestingly, we saw two closely related non-peptidergic clusters expressing a Mas-related G protein-coupled receptor (Mrgprd). While there were no differences in the expression of Mrgprd in one of the clusters (NP1 Type1), there seemed to be a significant increase in the expression of Mrgprd in a cluster we refer to as the NP1 Type2. To determine the functional relevance of the overexpression of Mrgprd, we used in vivo 2-photon calcium imaging with Nav1.8 Cre-GCaMP6 animals fed an RD or HFD and examined whether administration of β-alanine (a known agonist of Mrgprd) in the hind paw would directly activate Mrgprd positive DRG neurons. We observed an increase in the number, as well as an increase in the magnitude of response in the HFD indicating the hyperexcitability of neurons expressing Mrgprd. Taken together, our data highlights an important role of the Mrgprd receptor in the generation and maintenance of hyperexcitability in a mouse model of PDN. NS104295-01.
2,4-D and dicamba removal from the surface of plastic mulch using overhead irrigation: analytical analysis and cucurbit bioassay crop response

Glyphosate and paraquat are effective preplant burndown herbicide options for multicrop vegetable production that uses plastic mulch, but problematic weeds such as wild radish, cutleaf evening primrose, annual morningglory, or horseweed may not be adequately controlled with these herbicides alone. The herbicides 2,4-D and dicamba could help control these troublesome weeds prior to planting if they can be removed from plastic mulch and thus avoid crop damage. Treatments included 2,4-D (1,065 and 2,130 g ae ha−1) and dicamba (560 and 1,120 g ae ha−1) applied broadcast over plastic mulch a day before transplanting. Just before transplanting, treatments received either 0.76 cm of water via overhead irrigation or no irrigation. Plastic mulch samples were collected at application and planting to determine herbicide presence using analytical techniques, and cantaloupe and zucchini squash were subsequently transplanted on the plastic beds. Analytical ultra-high performance liquid chromatography revealed that 88% to 99% of the initial herbicide concentration was present at crop planting when irrigation was not implemented. At most, a 1/50 rate of dicamba and a 1/500 rate of 2,4-D was present at planting when overhead irrigation was applied prior to transplanting. Maximum cantaloupe and squash injury from 2,4-D with irrigation was 10% and did not influence plant growth, biomass, or yield. For dicamba with overhead irrigation, cantaloupe injury was 35%, vine lengths were reduced by 24%, and maturity was delayed, whereas squash injury ranged from 9% to 12%, with no influence on growth or yield. Without irrigation to wash herbicides from the mulch prior to planting, 60% to 100% injury of both crops occurred with both herbicides. Zucchini squash was more tolerant to dicamba than cantaloupe. Results demonstrated that 2,4-D can be adequately removed from the surface of plastic mulch with irrigation, whereas a single irrigation event was not sufficient to remove dicamba.
Improving the Quality of Children's Mental Health Care with Progress Measures: A Mixed-Methods Study of PCIT Therapist Attitudes.

Progress measures are an evidence-based technique for improving the quality of mental health care, however, clinicians rarely incorporate them into treatment. Research into how measure type impacts clinician preference has been recommended to help improve measure implementation. Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) is an assessment-driven treatment that serves as an ideal intervention through which to investigate measure preferences given its routine use of two types of assessments, a behavioral observation (the Dyadic Parent–Child Interaction Coding System) and a parent-report measure (the Eyberg Child Behavior Inventory). This study investigated PCIT therapist attitudes towards progress measures used within PCIT and children’s mental health treatment generally. A mixed-method (QUAN + QUAL) study design examined PCIT therapist attitudes towards two types of progress measures and measures used in two contexts (PCIT and general practice). Multi-level modeling of a survey distributed to 324 PCIT therapists identified predictors of therapist attitudes towards measures, while qualitative interviews with 23 therapists expanded and clarified the rationale for differing perceptions. PCIT therapists reported more positive attitudes towards a behavioral observation measure, the DPICS, than a parent-report measure, the ECBI, and towards measures used in PCIT than in general practice. Clinician race/ethnicity was significantly related to measure-specific attitudes. Qualitative interviews highlighted how perceptions of measure reliability, type of data offered, ease of use, utility in guiding sessions and motivating clients, and embeddedness in treatment protocol impact therapist preferences. Efforts to implement progress monitoring should consider preferences for particular types of measures, as well as how therapists are trained to embed measures in treatment.
Greater loss of face and family honor values are associated with greater positive expectancies and substance abuse among Middle Eastern/Northern African U.S. college students.

Traditional cultural orientation is protective against substance use for Asian Americans and Latinos. However, little empirical research has examined traditional cultural values and substance use a...
M1 dynamics share similar inputs for initiating and correcting movement

Motor cortex is integral to generating voluntary movement commands. However, as a dynamical system, it is unclear how motor cortical movement commands are informed by either new or sensory-driven corrective instructions. Here, we examine population activity in the primary motor cortex of macaques during a continuous, sequential arm movement task in which the movement instruction is updated several times over the course of a trial. We use Latent Factor Analysis via Dynamical Systems (LFADS) to decompose population activity into a portion explainable via dynamics, and a stream of inferred inputs required to instruct that dynamical system. The time series of inferred inputs had several surprising properties. First, input timing was more strongly locked to target appearance than to movement onset, suggesting that variable reaction times may be a function of how inputs interact with ongoing dynamics rather than variability in instruction timing. Second, inferred inputs were tuned nearly identically for both initial and corrective movements, suggesting a commonality in the structure of inputs across visually-instructed and corrective movements that was previously obscured by the complexity of the dynamical system that is M1.
Safety and Ethical Considerations in Discharging Patients to Suboptimal Living Situations.

In comprehensive discharge planning, rehabilitation physicians may find it helpful to assess social and environmental factors using the four models of the patient-physician relationship.
Structure and Formation of Telomeres in Holotrichous Ciliates

Publisher Summary The chapter presents a discussion of the structure and formation of telomeres in holotrichous ciliates. Telomeres are the ends of linear eukaryotic chromosomes. All known DNA polymerases require a primer (either DNA or RNA) bearing a 3 ' -hydroxyl group to initiate DNA synthesis. The chapter discusses ciliated protozoa as systems for studying telomeres, macronuclear DNA molecules in holotrichous ciliates, and functioning of tetrahymena telomeres in yeast, and so on. Ciliated protozoa have been uniquely useful for studying telomeres, largely because of the structure of their macronuclear genomes. Each single-celled organism contains two types of nuclei: the diploid, germline micronucleus and the polygenomic somatic macronucleus, which is the site of gene expression and which divides amitotically in vegetative growth. In the developing macronucleus, micronuclear chromosomal DNA becomes rearranged as the result of at least two kinds of processes: DNA recombinations or rejoinings, which juxtapose previously separated DNA segments, and DNA fragmentation. The formation of the telomeres of macronuclear DNA is at least superficially similar to processes in which new telomeres are formed as a regular part of development in certain ascarid worms. Many observations on telomeres in both tetrahymena and other eukaryotes argue that there is a mechanism that adds telomeric repeats to preexisting telomeric repeated sequences at the ends of linear DNAs in the course of their replication.
Formal verification of pentium ® 4 components with symbolic simulation and inductive invariants

We describe a practical methodology for large-scale formal verification of control-intensive industrial circuits. It combines symbolic simulation with human-generated inductive invariants, and a proof tool for verifying implications between constraint lists. The approach has emerged from extensive experiences in the formal verification of key parts of the Intel IA-32 Pentium ® 4 microprocessor designs. We discuss it the context of two case studies: Pentium 4 register renaming mechanism and BUS recycle logic.
Endothelial Cell Response to Hemoglobin Based Oxygen Carriers. Is the Attenuation of Pathological Reactions Possible

There is no doubt that in order to design an effective free hemoglobin (Hb)-based oxygen carrier, a full understanding of the mechanism of Hb toxicity is required. The current knowledge of Hb’s overall toxicity however, is very limited. Hb is such an intriguing molecule that even after many decades of researching its physical, biochemical, physiological and pathological profile, many aspects of its intrinsic toxicity are yet to be uncovered
CONTINUOUS METHOD OF SUSPENSION BRIDGE ANALYSIS

A GENERAL FORMULATION OF A DEFLECTION THEORY IS PRESENTED WHICH IS BASED ON A CONTINUOUS MATHEMATICAL MODEL. THE PROBLEM IS TREATED AS A NONLINEAR BOUNDARY-VALUE PROBLEM FOR ORDINARY DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS. BECAUSE OF ITS NONLINEAR CHARACTER, THE NEWTON-RAPHSON PROCEDURE IS APPLIED IN A FUNCTION SPACE. EACH LINEAR SOLUTION WITHIN THE NEWTON- RAPHSON SOLUTION IS A LINEAR BOUNDARY-VALUE PROBLEM WHICH IS SOLVED AS SETS OF LINEAR INITIAL-VALUE PROBLEMS. SERIOUS NUMERICAL DIFFICULTIES ARE ENCOUNTERED IN SOLVING THESE INITIAL-VALUE PROBLEMS, AS WELL AS THE METHODS EMPLOYED IN OVERCOMING THESE DIFFICULTIES. THE METHOD PRESENTED DIFFERS SUBSTANTIALLY FROM THE CLASSICAL CONTINUOUS DEFLECTION THEORY IN THAT HORIZONTAL CABLE DISPLACEMENTS ARE ADMITTED, WHICH ELIMINATES THE NEED FOR ANY EXPLICIT 'CABLE CONDITION' OF COMPATIBILITY. IN ADDITION, NONLINEAR TERMS IN THE CABLE EQUATIONS OF EQUILIBRIUM ARE FULLY TAKEN INTO ACCOUNT. EXAMPLE PROBLEMS ARE PRESENTED AND THE RESULTS ARE COMPARED WITH THE RESULTS OF A DISCRETE FORMULATION BY THE WRITERS. CONCLUSIONS ARE DRAWN CONCERNING THE EFFECT OF HANGER ELONGATIONS. /ASCE/
A SODIUM AND POTASSIUM-STIMULATED ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATASE FROM CARDIAC TISSUES. IV. LOCALIZATION AND FURTHER STUDIES OF A BASIC PROTEIN INHIBITORY FACTOR.

Abstract A crude factor has been separated from heart muscle and other tissues which preferentially inhibits one site of a microsomal ATPase system. The evidence suggests that the factor is a histone or a histone-like compound which may be present in the nucleus of the cell. Differences in sensitivity of microsomal ATPases from brain and from heart to the factor are described and discussed in terms of isolation procedure and function. A number of highly purified histone fractions derived chiefly from calf thymus closely mimic the inhibitory effects of the crude factors. Both the factors as well as the purified histones modify the action of ouabain on the microsomal ATPases.
Pavlov, Ivan Petrovich (1849–1936)

Ivan Petrovich Pavlov is recognized as one of the most renowned of Russian scientists. He was born in 1849 in a small Russian village and attended the local ecclesiastical schools. However, he was heavily influenced by Darwin, as well as the famous Russian physiologist Sechenov and entered St. Petersburg State University to study physiology. He received a medical diploma in 1879 and successfully defended his doctoral dissertation in 1883. Pavlov later became the Chair of the Physiology Department at the Military Medical Academy and Head of the Department of Physiology in the Institute of Experimental Medicine. He received the Nobel Prize in 1905 for his work on the nervous control of the digestive system by its autonomic input. Early in the twentieth century Pavlov's work changed to the study of conditioned reflexes, using salivation as the conditioned response. Pavlov was able to demonstrate in an objective manner through the development of a salivary fistula that salivation could be elicited not only by food but also by neutral stimuli that came to be associated with feeding. The use of these conditioned reflex techniques has come to be one of the major methods used in studying brain-behavior relationships in modern psychology.
Positivism and Predisposition: The Forgotten Foundations of the Entrapment Doctrine

For the past eighty years, the entrapment doctrine has provided a legal defense for those facing federal prosecution, but only for those defendants lacking criminal “predisposition” prior to the government’s inducement. The peculiar contours of this doctrine have generated significant/academic debate, yet this scholarship has failed to explain why the entrapment doctrine developed as it did in the first instance. This Article addresses this gap by examining competing views on criminality and punishment in America during the doctrine’s emergence, highlighting the significant (though largely forgotten) impact of positivist criminology on the early twentieth-century legal imagination. Though positivism has long since been discredited as a criminological school, positivist theory helped shape the entrapment doctrine, and this intellectual context helps explain several features of the modern defense that have puzzled legal scholars. Unraveling these forgotten theoretical underpinnings thus provides a novel historical perspective on the modern doctrine’s formation, but it also offers a path forward for entrapment law today.
Parochialism as a Result of Cognitive Biases

I discuss several forms of bias, or fallacious thinking, that lead to parochialism, that is, a willingness to sacrifice self-interest for in-group members while neglecting or underweighing negative effects on outsiders, so that an out-group could lose more than the in-group gains from the sacrifice. In the self-interest illusion, people fallaciously think that their contribution to their group comes back to benefit them and make their sacrifice worthwhile. This illusion is larger when an outgroup is affected, and it is specific to group benefits; it is unrelated to the desire to hurt another group out of sheer competition. A second bias is the tendency to de-personalize the individuals involved and think about the groups. This is reduced when people make analogous decisions about individuals. I suggest that approval voting -- at least when both groups vote -- can lead people to take the out-group into account. Omission bias, the preference for harming others through omissions rather than actions, is greater for out-group members. Parochialism can be moralized: people think of it as absolute and objectively moral, they are willing to impose it moralistically on others, and they consider the support of the in-group to be their duty as citizens. I conclude with suggestions for reducing the harmful effects of parochialism.
Current measurements of the gravitational «Constant» as a function of the mass separation

A number of works has now been completed in an effort to check on my earlier work showing a variation of the gravitational constant with mass separation. The precise null experiment of Speroet al. turns out to be ambiguous because vacuum polarization processes probably cannot be observed in a null experiment. To date all of the experiments which measureG(R) directly as a function ofR have had large errors, but almost all of those data tend to support my result.
Eosinophil Major Basic Protein Stimulates Neutrophil Superoxide Production by a Class IA Phosphoinositide 3-Kinase and Protein Kinase C-ζ-Dependent Pathway

Eosinophil major basic protein (MBP) is an effective stimulus for neutrophil superoxide (O 2 − ) production, degranulation, and IL-8 production. In this study we evaluated the participation of phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) and PI3K-associated signaling events in neutrophil activation by MBP. Inhibition of PI3K activity blocked MBP-stimulated O 2 − production, but not degranulation or IL-8 production. Measurement of Akt phosphorylation at Ser 473 and Thr 308 confirmed that MBP stimulated PI3K activity and also demonstrated indirectly activation of phosphoinositide-dependent kinase-1 by MBP. Genistein and the Src kinase family inhibitor, 4-amino-5-(4-methyphenyl)-7-( t -butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine, inhibited MBP-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt. 4-Amino-5-(4-methyphenyl)-7-( t -butyl)pyrazolo[3,4-d]pyrimidine also inhibited MBP-stimulated O 2 − production. MBP stimulated phosphorylation and translocation of the p85 subunit of class I A PI3K, but not translocation of the p110γ subunit of class I B PI3K, to the neutrophil membrane. Inhibition of protein kinase Cζ (PKCζ) inhibited MBP-stimulated O 2 − production. Measurement of phosphorylated PKCζ (Thr 410 ) and PKCδ (Thr 505 ) confirmed that PKCζ, but not PKCδ, is activated in MBP-stimulated neutrophils. The time courses for phosphorylation and translocation of the p85 subunit of class I A PI3K, activation of Akt, and activation of PKCζ were similar. Moreover, inhibition of PI3K activity inhibited MBP-induced activation of PKCζ. We conclude that MBP stimulates a Src kinase-dependent activation of class I A PI3K and, in turn, activation of PKCζ in neutrophils, which contributes to the activation of NADPH oxidase and the resultant O 2 − production in response to MBP stimulation.
Channel estimation and intrapage equalization for digital volume holographic data storage

A volume holographic data storage system is modeled as a digital communication system. We present two different models for the digital holographic channel. Bit Error Rate results obtained from linear equalization using these two channel models are presented.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
MANIC content delivery in a mobile application

The University of Massachusetts Amherst RIPPLES group has developed and deployed classroom content creation/capture and delivery systems in the Multimedia Asynchronous Networked Individualized Courseware (MANIC) family for over a decade. The latest of these content delivery systems, iMANIC, is an application for the iPhone/iTouch. The iMANIC mobile platform makes the large variety of data in our complete catalog of courses, seminars, and lectures more accessible to the handheld device-wielding students of today. iMANIC flexibly delivers content from many different methods of content capture/creation, including content captured in fully instrumented classrooms, partially instrumented classroom, captured by handheld camcorders, and uploaded from earlier handcrafted multimedia and slide deck lecture presentations. The RIPPLES Group is transitioning content to the iMANIC iPhone/iTouch mobile application, and adapting the interface to the smaller screen size and other limitations of the device. We have plans to support other mobile devices in the future. Retrospective studies compared iMANIC with earlier MANIC delivery modes and evaluated iMANIC for automatically generating indexed presentations that include videos and simple PDF slide presentations.
Stretching strategic thinking

Purpose – This author reminds us that strategic thinking is a critical part of every manager's job. Because strategy implies competing and outwitting competitors, so it follows that strategic thinking is the process of finding alternative ways of competing and providing customer value.Design/methodology/approach – Describes how to systematically conduct the search for appropriate alternative strategies. Suggests that this “strategic thinking” should be a continuous process rather than only an annual strategic‐planning process. Explains why coming up with the “right” strategy for a company that might increase stakeholder value, make it a stronger competitor, or find a competitive arena it can dominate can be done only through strategic thinking.Findings – Whether a company has one person, a group, or everyone doing strategic thinking, the important things are that it is being done continuously and that the opportunities, alternative strategies, or different business models are periodically shared with othe...
Lack of developmental improvement on a face memory task during adolescence in autism

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are associated with abnormalities in face memory, which evidence suggests has a protracted development through adolescence. The development of face memory in people with and without ASD, from 9 to 29 years old, was examined using the Cambridge Face Memory Test (CFMT). Results indicate that the developmental improvement evident from adolescence to adulthood typically was not apparent in individuals with ASD. While children and adolescents with ASD performed similarly to typically developing individuals comparable in age and IQ, adults with ASD displayed limitations on the CFMT. The pattern of performance was constant across conditions despite differences in the timing of the presentation and delay. This atypical development in ASD is consistent with the view that the processing of complex visual stimuli continues to develop through adolescence, along with the function and structure of the temporal lobes, but that this process is disrupted in ASD. This result underscores the importance of characterizing adolescent development for understanding ASD, and suggests additional opportunities for intervention.
The Pierce Acoustic Interferometer as AN Instrument for the Determination of Velocity and Absorption.

Sputtered quartz crystals of known natural frequency were used as sources of high frequency sound in a Pierce acoustic interferometer. The interfering sound waves react on the crystal driver in such a way as to change periodically the plate current, ${I}_{p}$, when the mirror is displaced a half wave-length or more. The galvanometerdeflection, mirror-displacement curves show that multiple reflections take place at the movable mirror and at the crystal surface. The general agreement of these curves and those which represent the resultant pressure amplitude in the gas at the crystal surface as ordinates and the mirror displacement as abscissa shows that the changes in galvanometer deflection are a direct function of the changes in pressure amplitude. Check runs made with a torsion vane detector indicate that this function expresses a proportionality between the deflection change and the square of the change in the pressure amplitude, provided the latter change remains small.Observed facts indicating a variation of wave velocity with intensity are: 1st, the asymmetry of the deflection peaks; 2nd, the change in the type of this asymmetry with increasing mirror displacement; 3rd, non uniform spacing of deflection maxima; 4th, sudden changes in the logarithmic decrement of the ${I}_{p}$-maxima. The precision in the value of the wave velocity is diminished considerably by this velocity variation.Measurements are made on air and C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ at frequencies ranging from ${3(10)}^{5}$ to ${14(10)}^{5}$ cycles per sec. The apparent velocity obtained from the average spacing of ${I}_{p}$-maxima is slightly higher than the commonly accepted value for audible frequencies.The absorption by air and by C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ increases with frequency through this range, C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ being nearly opaque at ${14(10)}^{5}$ vps. Lebedew's constant, $A$, has a value of 0.00037 for air at 20\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}C. The observed value obtained with the interferometer at ${12(10)}^{5}$ vps. was 0.00039 which agrees well with a torsion vane determination. At the lower frequencies the observed value is higher, partly because of the multiple reflections. The torsion vane arrangement used with C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ and with the highest frequency in air was not suitable for the lower frequencies in air. The observed value of $A$ for C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ was 0.0073 at ${12(10)}^{5}$ and 0.012 at ${3(10)}^{5}$ vps. A careful torsion vane determination at ${6.555(10)}^{5}$ gave 0.0096. Abello's data at ${6.12(10)}^{5}$ extrapolated to 100 percent C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$ give 0.0063. The humidity has a marked effect on the absorption in C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$.
The Asymmetric Thick Disk: A Star-Count and Kinematic Analysis. I. The Star Counts

We report a statistically significant asymmetry in the distribution of thick-disk and possibly inner halo stars interior to the solar orbit 1–2.5 kpc from the Sun. We have compared the star counts in the 120 POSS I fields, 40 each above and below the Galactic plane in quadrant I with the 40 complementary fields above the plane in quadrant IV. We find a spatially extended region in quadrant I with a significant excess, 20% to 25%, in the numbers of blue- and intermediate-colored stars. While the region of the asymmetric distribution is somewhat irregular in shape, it is also fairly uniform, stretching over several hundred square degrees on the sky. It is therefore a major substructure in the Galaxy due to more than small-scale clumpiness in the thick disk or inner halo. In this first paper, we describe the observations and our star-count and statistical analysis. We also discuss three possible explanations for the asymmetry: the fossil remnant of a merger, a triaxial thick disk or halo, and interaction of the thick-disk/inner halo stars with the bar in the disk.
Imaging coagulation reactions in vivo.

Significant gaps remain in the understanding of how blood cells and the vasculature differentially support coagulation enzyme complex function leading to regulated thrombus formation in vivo. While studies employing knock-out or transgenic mice have proved useful many of these scientific gaps partly result from the lack of molecular approaches and analytic tools with appropriate sensitivity for incisive conclusions. Over the past decade, studies employing state of the art videomicroscopy to image hemostasis in vivo following laser injury to the mouse cremaster arteriole have begun to bridge these gaps and provide remarkable insight into the early events of the hemostatic process. Many of these new insights have started to question some of the long-standing concepts that were driven by in vitro approaches. This review provides an overview of this technology, describes insights that have been made using it, and discuses limitations and future directions.
Perceptions of male and female comic strip characters using the Adjective Generation Technique (AGT)

Adjective descriptions of daily newspaper comic strip characters resulted in an unexpected pattern of equivalent or greater favorability for female characters than for male characters, depending upon primary or secondary familiarity. Exceptions to the pattern were Lucy Van Pelt and Mammy Yocum, nontraditional female characters who showed low favorability and femininity. Comic strips included Nancy, Peanuts, L'il Abner, Blondie, and Beetle Bailey, with Wonder Woman and Superman studied independently. The Adjective Generation Technique (AGT) allowed freely generated adjective descriptions to be quantified. Discussion integrated recent sex-role research findings (52 references). Attitudes may be changing in positive directions; however, sex-role biases continue to operate, perhaps in underground ways that will become more difficult to measure, identify, and evaluate empirically.
Effect of Exhaust Gas Temperature Limits on the Peak Power Performance of a Turbocharged Gasoline Engine

Peak power of an engine is typically constrained by the maximum obtainable airflow. This constraint could arise directly from the airflow limitation imposed by the throttle restriction (typical for a naturally aspirated engine), or indirectly from other factors, such as various temperature limits for component protection. In this work, we evaluate the airflow limit for a turbocharged gasoline engine as dictated by the constraints on the turbine inlet temperature. Increasing the limit on the turbine inlet temperature requires the exhaust manifolds and turbine to be made out of more expensive materials that withstand higher temperatures. This expense is justifiable if operating with higher turbine inlet temperature allows noticeably higher power output, and not merely increases the allowable airflow. Experimental data show that under some conditions the increase in airflow does not increase the peak power. The effects of increasing airflow on the peak power and turbine inlet temperatures are systematically analyzed through individual accounting for the different losses affecting the engine torque. The breakdown analysis presented in this work indicates combustion phasing as a major contributing factor to whether increasing the flange temperature limit would increase the peak power.
The half-wave triplet pulse sequence for determination of longitudinal relaxation rates of single line spectra

Abstract A modified pulse triplet sequence has been developed for the measurement of longitudinal relaxation rates, 1/ T 1 . The analysis of this “half-wave” triplet method takes account of transverse relaxation occurring during the triplet, so that the approximation employed in previous use of the triplet sequence, viz., that the interval τ between component pulses of the triplet be much less than the interval δ t -2τ between successive triplets, is no longer required. Values of 1/ T 1 derived from triplet measurements and a Carr-Purcell spin echo measurement of 1/ T 2 on test samples of aqueous polymethacrylate and copper sulfate are in good agreement with values of 1/ T 1 obtained from conventional Carr-Purcell 180°- t -90° measurements. The half-wave triplet sequence would be useful for those cases where a single line is present in the spectrum: two repetitions of the triplet sequence to obtain n points on a magnetization recovery curve and a determination of T 2 are required for the determination of 1/ T 1 n this method, compared to at least n repetitions (for n points) in the Carr-Purcell 180°- t -90° method.
Activities of aldo-keto reductase 1 enzymes on two inhaled corticosteroids: implications for the pharmacological effects of inhaled corticosteroids.

Abstract Inhaled corticosteroids (ICS) are a mainstay anti-inflammatory therapy for the management of asthma. ICS are synthetic glucocorticoids that are structurally similar to the natural active human glucocorticoid cortisol. Steroid transforming enzymes of the aldo-keto reductase (AKR) family, namely AKR1D1 (5β-steroid reductase) and AKR1C1–4 (ketosteroid reductases) are implicated in the systemic metabolism of cortisol in liver. In this study, the activities of these AKR1 enzymes on cortisol and two ICS compounds budesonide (BUD) and flunisolide (FLU) were investigated. It was found that the catalytic efficiency of AKR1D1 for the reduction of the double bond in cortisol was 4- and 10-fold higher than the catalytic efficiencies of AKR1D1 with FLU and BUD, respectively. This suggests that compared to cortisol, for which the 5β-reduction is a major metabolic pathway, a lower degree of systemic (hepatic) metabolism of BUD and FLU via AKR1D1 takes place. In addition, BUD potently inhibited AKR1D1 and AKR1C4, the key steroid metabolizing enzymes in liver, which may disrupt endogenous steroid hormone metabolism and thus contribute to BUD-induced systemic effects. Activities of AKR1C1–3 on cortisol and the two ICS compounds (targeting the 20-keto group) suggest these enzymes may be involved in the local (lung) metabolism of these glucocorticoids.
The effects of delayed auditory feedback and masking on the fundamental frequency of stutterers and nonstutterers.

This investigation determined if fluency of the reader or type of auditory feedback changed characteristics of fundamental frequency or duration in oral reading by stutterers or nonstutterers. Ming...
Diasporic Postcolonialism and Its Antinomies

This essay calls into question a certain viewpoint that has become widespread in postcolonial cultural theory with respect to the representation of phenomena grouped loosely under the rubric of dia...
Minimax linear empirical bayes estimation of the binomial parameter

The minimax linear Empirical Bayes estimators for a binomial parameter are obtained, assuming some information about the moments of the prior. The form of these estimates is used to propose a criterion which may be helpful in determining whether Empirical Bayes estimation is Indicated for a given problem.