cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High power, CW, UHF klystrons for storage ring applications

The klystrons to be described in this paper operate at a fixed frequency of 358.54 MHz. They are designed for 125 kW CW with an efficiency in excess of 50 percent. Four cavities are used resulting in a gain of approximately 50 dB. Design values of operating voltage and microper-veance are 41 kV and 0.7, respectively. The klystrons are required to be stable when working into any accelerator VSWR up to 2∶1 and at any phase angle. This requires the versatile and rugged output system to be described. An operating efficiency of 57 percent is reported and the highest output power is 160 kW CW at 42.5 kV.
The sea worms: A case of arrested development

Etude de la cure psychanalytique d'une femme dont le developpement psychosexuel se serait fixe au stade preœdipien. L'auteur analyse les phenomenes de transfert-contretransfert
Psychological Origins of Adolescent Political Attitudes Self-Esteem, Political Salience, and Political Involvement

The purpose of this paper is to examine the influence that psychological predisposi tions have on political attitudes. In particular, the study focuses on the linkage between self-esteem and the political attitudes of adolescents. It is hypothesized that adolescents' self-esteem should influence their awareness and comprehension of political stimuli, their level of political cynicism and political efficacy, and their mode of participation in the political process. It is also hypothesized that these relationships will be substantially stronger among those adolescents for whom politics is salient than among those who have little interest in political affairs. The empirical findings are generally congruent with these theoretical expectations. It is concluded that self-esteem has a significant, independent influence on the political attitudes of those adolescents who perceive politics to be a salient aspect of their life-space.
Effects of dietary thyroid hormones on the red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus)

Four separate 8-week feeding trials were conducted to assess the effects of supplementing semipurified diets with either triiodothyronine (T3) or thyroxine (T4) at 0, 2, 10, and 50 mg/kg on growth and body composition of juvenile red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus) held in artificial brackish water (6‰) and artificial seawater (32‰). At both levels of salinity, increasing doses of T3 resulted in fish with reduced weight gain, feed efficiency, condition factor (weight × 100/length3), and muscle ratio (muscle weight × 100/body weight), as well as a lighter body color. Significant (p < 0.05) effects of T3 on the proximate composition of whole body, liver, and muscle were variable, generally reflecting decreased lipid and protein storage in liver and muscle, respectively. The two highest doses of T3 given to seawater adapted fish increased survival. Dietary T4 supplementation had no distinctive effects on appearance, growth or proximate body composition. These results indicate that whereas T3 may function to regulate protein and lipid metabolism in red drum, dietary supplementation with T3 leads to a hyperthyroidism-induced catabolic state. The elevated endogenous thyroid hormone levels found in fish fed optimal diets may thus adequately supply tissue needs during juvenile growth.
Prophylactic Granulocyte Colony-Stimulating Factor Allows Escalation of Chemotherapeutic Dose Intensity in Advanced Epithelial Ovarian Cancer

Abstract Background: In an effort to discover an effective regimen for use in Phase III evaluation of the efficacy of dose intensification in advanced ovarian cancer, we performed a Phase II trial of dose intensified cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF). Methods: Thirty patients with primary, FIGO Stage 3 or 4, epithelial ovarian cancer underwent intensified cytoreduction followed by cisplatin 105 mg/m 2 , etoposide 300 mg/m 2 and ifosfamide/mesna 3 g/m 2 , q 28 days × 6 cycles with G-CSF 5 μg/kg q day for 7 days. The dose of etoposide and ifosfamide was escalated 20% in cohorts of three patients. Results: Intensified cytoreductive surgery was successful in resecting all gross tumor in 24 patients (80%). At the original dose of cisplatin, etoposide, and ifosfamide without G-CSF, 55% of cycles resulted in neutropenia and 38% in thrombocytopenia (dose intensity=0.8). With the addition of G-CSF, neutropenia developed in 5% of cycles and thrombocytopenia in 38%. At a 20% escalation of etoposide and ifosfamide, neutropenia developed in 17% of cycles and thrombocytopenia in 50% (dose intensity=1.2). At a 40% escalation of etoposide and ifosfamide, neutropenia developed in 33% of cycles and thrombocytopenia in 83%, which was dose limiting. The remaining 18 patients were treated at a 20% escalation and neutropenia developed in 14% of cycles and thrombocytopenia in 36%. CA125 response was 73%. At a 4.1-year median follow-up, median progression-free survival was 2.6 years and median survival was 3.0 years. Conclusion: In 30 women with primary advanced ovarian cancer, G-CSF allowed a 50% dose escalation of etoposide and ifosfamide from 0.8 to 1.2 dose intensity. The maximum tolerated dose of this regimen is cisplatin 105 mg/m 2 , etoposide 360 mg/m 2 , and ifosfamide 3.6 g/m 2 with G-CSF.
Mössbauer study of magnetic ordering and superconductivity in YBa2(Cu1−xFex)3O7

We have made superconducting samples of the Y−Ba−Cu−O system with Fe substituted for the Cu. The percentage of Fe substituted varied from 2 to 100. The samples have been verified by x-ray diffraction to be single-phase 1–2–3 compounds. The 6% Fe substitution reduces Tc from 94 K to 80 K. The room temperature Mossbauer spectrum shows two pairs of doublets, indicating there are two distinct Cu sites in the sample. The most surprising result is that magnetic ordering of the Fe coexists with superconductivity of the material at 4.2 K.
Upregulation of chemokine expression in the retinal vasculature in ischemia-reperfusion injury.

Purpose To evaluate chemokine expression at various retinal sites after ischemia-reperfusion injury, using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) analysis of selected tissue obtained by laser capture microdissection. Methods Retinal ischemia was produced in Lewis rats by increasing intraocular pressure for 75 minutes. At 3, 6, 12, and 24 hours after reperfusion, RT-PCR was used to measure the levels of monocyte chemoattractant protein (MCP)-1, macrophage inflammatory protein (MIP)-1alpha, MIP-1beta, interleukin (IL)-8, and interferon-gamma-inducible 10-kDa protein (IP-10) mRNA expression in the ganglion cell layer (GCL), inner nuclear layer (INL), outer nuclear layer (ONL), and retinal vessels, after laser capture microdissection of these retinal layers. These chemokines were further localized by immunohistochemical methods, using antibodies specific to MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha. Leukocyte infiltration into the retina was detected with immunostaining for leukocyte common antigen. Results Ischemia-reperfusion induced expression of MCP-1, MIP-1alpha, and MIP-1beta mRNA in the retinal vessels 3 hours after reperfusion. Six hours after reperfusion, expression of these chemokines and IL-8 mRNA was seen in the GCL and INL. Twelve hours after reperfusion, IP-10 mRNA expression was seen in the GCL and INL. Immunoreactive MCP-1 and MIP-1alpha were detected in the GCL, INL, and the retinal vessels 24 hours after reperfusion. No chemokine mRNA expression or immunoreactivity was detected in the ONL at any time. Leukocyte infiltration was noted at 12 hours, increasing markedly 24 hours after reperfusion. Conclusions Ischemia-reperfusion retinal injury results in generation of highly chemotactic agents, initially in the retinal vasculature, then in the other inner retinal layers. Such differential chemokine expression may play a role in leukocyte recruitment and selective leukocyte infiltration in the inner retina, leading to retinal damage primarily localized to the ganglion cells and other inner neuronal structures.
Cognitive deficits associated with blood lead concentrations <10 microg/dL in US children and adolescents.

Objective. Lead is a confirmed neurotoxicant, but the lowest blood lead concentration associated with deficits in cognitive functioning anc academic achievement is poorly definec. The purpose of the present study was to examine the relationship of relatively low blood lead concentrations-especially concentrations <10 micrograms per deciliter (μg/dL) with performance on tests of cognitive function ng in a representative sample of US children and adolescents, Methods. The authors used data from the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III), conducted from 1988 to 1994, to assess the relationship between blood lead concentration and performance on tests of arithmetic skills, reading skil s. nonverbal reasoning, and short-term memory among 4,853 children ages 6-16 years. Results. The geometric mean blood lead concentration for child en in the study sample was 1.9 μg/dL: 172 (2.1%) had blood lead concentrations ≥10 μg/dL. After adjustment for gender, race/ethn city, poverty, region of the country, parent or caregiver's educational level, parent or caregiver's marital status parent, serum ferritin level, and serum cotinine leve, the data showed an inverse relationship between blood lead concentration and scores on four measures of cognitive functioning. For every! μg/dL increase in blooc lead concentration, there was a 0.7-point decrement in mean arithmetic scores, an approximately I-point decrement n mean reading scores, a 0.1-point decrement in mean scores on a measure of nonverbal reasoring, and a 0.5-point decrement in mean scores on a measure of short-term memory, An inverse relationship between blood lead concentration and arithmetic and reading scores was observed for children with blood lead concentrations lower than 5.0 μg/dL Conclusion. Deficits n cognitive and academic skills associated with lead exposure occur at blood lead concentrations lower than 5 μg/dL.
The moderator variable approach to behavioral predictability: Some of the variables some of the time

Abstract There has been widespread acceptance of the usage of moderator variables to improve the predictability of social behavior from attitudes and traits. However, relatively little is known about the psychometric properties of the specific moderator variables which have been used and the interrelationships between them. The present study investigated these issues. It was found that at least two of the more commonly used moderator variables may be psychometrically weak. A factor analysis disclosed that the five most widely used moderator variables form three orthogonal factors: social communication skills, other-directedness, and inner-directedness. These findings raise some questions about the utility of some of the measures which have been used and the advisability of using single scales to classify a person as predictable or unpredictable.
Nitrogen availability and nitrification during succession: Primary, secondary, and old-field seres

Suggestions that nutrient cycles become more strongly regulated and that nitrification is progressively inhibited in the course of ecological succession have stimulated numerous field measurements. Results of these are inconsistent; in some cases nitrogen turnover and nitrification decrease during succession, while in others both increase substantially.
A new interfacial polymerization method for forming metal/ conductive polymer Schottky barriers

Abstract We have recently described a new interfacial polymerization method for forming thin films of electronically conductive polymers. In this method, the pores in a microporous support membrane are filled with an oxidative polymerization reagent (e.g. Fe 3+ ) and this membrane-confined solution is exposed to a vapor phase containing a monomer which can be oxidatively polymerized to yield a conductive polymer. This procedure causes a thin, defect-free film of the conductive polymer to grow across the surface of the microporous support membrane. This interfacial polymerization method creates the possibility of coating thin conductive polymer films onto any desired material. This would be accomplished by first coating the surface of the microporous support membrane with a thin film of the desired material and then conducting interfacial polymerization at this modified membrane surface. We demonstrate this concept in this paper by conducting interfacial polymerization of polypyrrole onto aluminum to form Al/polypyrrole Schottky barriers. These Schottky barriers showed better rectification than previous metal/polypyrrole Schottky barriers described in the literature. We have also used this new interfacial polymerization procedure to form ohmic gold/polypyrrole junctions.
A note on viscoelastic materials that can age

Abstract Materials can stress relax for a variety of reasons, for example stress relaxation in classical viscoelastic bodies and that due to aging or damage. Here, within the context of a specific model we show that the stress relaxation that is characteristic of viscoelasticity is distinctly different from that of aging.
Direct Radiative Effect of Mineral Dust on the Development of African Easterly Waves in Late Summer, 2003–07

Episodic events of both Saharan dust outbreaks and African Easterly Waves (AEWs) are observed to move westward over the eastern tropical Atlantic Ocean. The relationship between the warm, dry, and dusty Saharan Air Layer (SAL) on the nearby storms has been the subject of considerable debate. In this study, the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model is used to investigate the radiative effect of dust on the development of AEWs during August and September, the months of maximum tropical cyclone activity, in years 2003-2007. The simulations show that dust radiative forcing enhances the convective instability of the environment. As a result, most AEWs intensify in the presence of a dust layer. The Lorenz energy cycle analysis reveals that the dust radiative forcing enhances the condensational heating, which elevates the zonal and eddy available potential energy. In turn, available potential energy is effectively converted to eddy kinetic energy, in which local convective overturning plays the primary role. The magnitude of the intensification effect depends on the initial environmental conditions, including moisture, baroclinity, and the depth of the boundary layer. We conclude that dust radiative forcing, albeit small, serves as a catalyst to promote local convection that facilitates AEW development.
Cobalt(II) halide complexes of 2,2′-dithiodipyridine and 4,4′-dithiodipyridine

Abstract The use of 2,2′-dithiopyridine (2,2′-DTDP) and 4,4′-dithiopyridine (4,4′-DTDP) as complexing agents is reported for the first time. The complexes CoCl2(2,2′-DTDP), CoBr2(2,2′-DTDP), and CoCl2 (4,4′-DTDP)2, CoBr2(4,4′-DTDP)2 were prepared, visible and infrared spectra determined, and magnetic moments measured.
Window Sizing Procedures based on Vertical Illuminance and Degree of Discomfort Glare in Buildings Interiors

Abstract This study outlines a simplified mathematical approach to determine window dimensions for a given room based on two lighting quality indicators, namely, discomfort glare and vertical illuminance. The former represents visual comfort and is expressed in terms of daylight glare index (DGI). The latter reflects on the aspect of receiving sufficient light exposure to maintain optimal health and psychological wellbeing. It is represented by vertical illuminance at the eye level. The result offers a formula that puts forward a simple relationship between the window width, the window height and a specific (desired) depth of a given point in the space. A generic design scenario is used to illustrate the current method. The examined daylighting design criteria are of DGI=20 and Ev= 2500 lux. In conclusion, this paper proposes the glare criterion as additional to existing national window sizing procedures based on critical illuminance levels (or minimum daylight factor on the working plane corresponding to...
A Privacy Issues Scale for Social Workers

Summary The development, rationale, and evaluation of a privacy issues scale are described. The scale contains 15 items designed to assess one's opinions on five topic areas (subscales) of privacy: value of privacy, communication and legality, personal privacy preferences, confidentiality of records, and information. Each of the five subscales contains three items which are scored on a five-point Likert-type scale. The scale was administered to 43 male and female graduate social work students to test for the internal consistency of each subscale, and high alpha coefficients were obtained for each subscale. The subscales were not correlated with one another which suggests their independence. To test for temporal stability, the scale was administered twice to 19 of the students. High correlation coefficients were produced between time 1 and time 2 for each of the items. Thus, a short, internally consistent and stable scale was developed to measure five specific privacy issues.
Abstract B56: A phase I trial of the combination of dasatinib and lapatinib

Src transduces activated HER tyrosine kinase and phosphorylates HER to further increase its activity. Src also is involved in osteoclast differentiation. We hypothesized that combining a HER tyrosine kinase inhibitor with a Src inhibitor would result in increased therapeutic activity. To address this hypothesis we performed a phase I trial of D and L to: 1)determine the maximally tolerated dose (MTD) of D combined with L; 2)describe the toxicities associated with this combination; 3)assess the pharmacokinetic (PK) interaction of L and D; 4) assess the effect of the L and D combination on circulating tumor cells (CTC) and on osteoclast precursor activation; 5)study the association of toxicity and/or tumor response with PK, and/or pharmacodynamic parameters; and 6)describe the responses of this combination. Eligibility criteria included ≥ 18 years of age, incurable solid tumors not amenable to other therapies, ANC ≥ 1500/ L, PLT ≥ 100,000/ L, total bilirubin ≤ ULN, AST ≤ 3 × ULN or AST ≤5 × ULN if liver involvement, creatinine ≤ 1.5 × ULN, Hgb ≥ 9.0 g/dL, K+ and Mg++ WNL, life expectancy ≥ 12 weeks, ejection fraction > 50%, ECOG PS 0–2, and able to swallow pills whole. In addition to standard phase I exclusion criteria patients could not have received erlotinib, sunitinib, sorafenib, gefitinib, imatinib ≤ 4 weeks prior to registration. Each agent was administered once daily on a 28 day schedule. At the MTD patients were treated with D day 1, and day 9–28 and L day 2–28 to assess PK interaction. Dose levels (mg) were #1 D 70, L 1000, #2 D 100, L 1000, #3 D 140, L 1000. 12 patients were entered on the dose escalation portion of the trial and 15 were entered at the MTD. 5 patients entered at the MTD are too early to be fully evaluable. Characteristics of evaluable patients were: median age, 63; 46% female; PS 0 (64%) 1 (27%), 1 (9%); ≥ 3 prior chemotherapies (59%). DLT was seen in 2 patients at # 3 (1 patient, grade 3 hypermagnesemia, 1, grade 3 rash) and 1 patient at # 2 (grade 3 dyspnea). The MTD was determined to be # 2. No grade 4 or 5 events have been observed in this study. 6 patients had stable disease in the dose escalation cohort. 1 (RCC) was stable disease for 6 cycles, 2 (colorectal) were stable for 5 cycles, 1 (esophagus) was stable for 3 cycles, and 2 (GIST & leiomyosarcoma) were stable for 2 cycles. Analysis of drug levels, CTCs and circulating osteoclast precursors is ongoing. There was a consistent increase in the percentage of CD11b (monocyte/macrophage/osteoclast lineage marker) positive cells in circulation as treatment progressed. However, the late osteoclast lineage marker c‐Fms was not similarly increased, suggesting that the elevated CD11b reflects an inflammatory response and not activation of osteoclastogenesis. D and L is a tolerable combination at nearly full doses of each drug. Funded by a grant from Glaxo Smith Kline and Bristol Myers Squibb. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):B56.
A simplified model for the coupled transport of metal ions through hollow-fiber supported liquid membranes

Abstract This paper describes a simplified model for the carrier-facilitated transport of metal ions through hollow-fiber supported liquid membranes, HFSLM. The model leads to approximate and simple equations describing the concentration variations expected when an aqueous feed solution is flowing through the lumens of a HFSLM module. The equations incorporate simple and independently measurable parameters and apply to two situations: (a) a once-through mode, i.e., the feed solution passes only once through the module, and (b) a recycling mode, i.e., the feed solution is continuously recirculated through the module. The equations have been tested by measuring the transport of Cu2+ ions through microporous polypropylene hollow fibers containing a 0.3 F solution of bis(2-ethylhexyl)phosphoric acid in n-dodecane. HFSLM modules containing a variable number of fibers, fibers of different lengths and operated at different linear flow velocities have been used.
POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION AND MORAL DEVELOPMENT

the post-World War II era, as the use of behavioralistic theories and methodologies became widespread within the discipline of political science, political socialization was regarded as a promising area for research. Because it brought to political science techniques and theories from other social science disciplines, political socialization seemed to hold the key to a firmer understanding of the political motivations and actions of citizens and leaders. Researchers explored the origins of feelings about political authority, the acquisition of political information and partisan motivations, and the differences in political attitudes that derive from membership in particular social classes.1 Easton developed a typology of citizens' dispositions toward government, regime, and political community, and Easton and Dennis designed a specifically political (rather than psychological) theory to account for the persistence of political systems.2 In a well-known study, Hess and Torney theoretically delineated the phases leading to political involvement.3 They set forth four models of political socialization, discussed the distinctive mix of variables associated with each, and described the importance and usefulness of each for understanding different phenomena in the process of political socialization. These early works provided rich data and theoretical insights. Unfortunately, they generally tended to enumerate concepts at different levels of abstraction, making no claim for completeness.4 Although the possibilities for cross-cultural research were promising and some interesting comparative work was undertaken,5 the majority of studies were 1 Fred I. Greenstein, Children and Politics (New Haven: Yale University Press,
The Pursuit of Hopefulness: Operationalizing Hope in Entertainment Media Narratives

Hope is associated with benefits for psychological and physical wellbeing; consequently, efforts to increase or sustain hopeful feelings are increasingly incorporated into wellness interventions. Although entertainment media provide a wealth of emotionally evocative content, little systematic attention has been given to discrete positive emotions and no investigations to date have identified narratives that generate hope. To address this gap, this research explores underdog narratives, or those depicting characters struggling to meet a goal despite unfavorable odds, as a means to evoke hope, as well as the effect of this emotional experience on subsequent goal-directed motivation. Participants (N = 248) were randomly assigned to one of three media conditions—underdog narrative, comedy, nature scenes—or a no-media control group. Those in the media groups viewed one 5-minute video clip a day for five consecutive days. Consistent with hypotheses, those in the underdog condition felt more hopeful and reported...
Amine-functionalized boron nitride nanotubes

The surface of boron nitride nanotubes (BNNTs) has been functionalized with amine groups via ammonia plasma irradiation. The functionalized tubes were characterized by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy and electron energy loss spectroscopy. Amine-functionalized BNNTs were found to be highly dispersible in chloroform, and are predicted to form the basis of a new class of chemically reactive nanostructures.
Chapter 12 Methods and Applications of Flow Systems for Analysis and Sorting of Mammalian Cells1

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the methods and applications of flow systems for analysis and sorting of mammalian cells. Flow systems offer several advantages when compared with the various static systems which analyze cells on slides. In most flow instruments, each cell is exposed to the light beam for only a few microseconds; thus, problems with fluorescence decay are minimized. The successful application of flow systems for rapid, single-cell analysis is critically dependent upon preparative techniques which maintain the cells in a monodispersed state during fixation, staining, and measurement. In instances where fluorescent staining techniques are employed, the quality and specificity of cellular staining must also be evaluated to ascertain the reliability of analytical results. Automated analytical systems that are designed to perform rapid and precise measurement of individual cells cannot be totally relied upon to distinguish fluorescent cellular debris or cell clumps from properly stained single cells. Therefore, sample preparation involving both the disaggregation of tissue into single-cell entities and cell staining plays an extremely important role in flow-system methodology.
Under-Frequency Load Shedding: Towards a smarter smart house with a consumer level controller

Under-Frequency Load Shedding (UFLS) can increase power system reliability by preventing total system collapse during emergency operating situations when load exceeds generation. UFLS is required by The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) for large consumers and has been implemented by utilities across the country. When the frequency drops to some predefined set points, feeder breakers are opened to shed loads in favor of maintaining generation/load balance. With increasing pressure to improve system reliability through more sophisticated controls and SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) equipments, electric utilities are encouraged to apply more localized frequency sensing and load shedding schemes on the distribution system. This research work aims at studying the effects of voluntary load shedding for different load shedding scenarios using the simulation package PSS/E. In addition, a consumer- based load shedding controller is proposed, designed and developed.
The importance of prepass code scheduling for superscalar and superpipelined processors

Superscalar and superpipelined processors utilize parallelism to achieve peak performance that can be several times higher than that of conventional scalar processors. In order for this potential to be translated into the speedup of real program, the compiler must be able to schedule instructions so that the parallel hardware is effectively utilized. Previous work has shown that prepass code scheduling helps to produce a better schedule for scientific programs, but the importance of prescheduling has never been demonstrated for control-intensive non-numeric programs. These programs are significantly different from the scientific programs because they contain frequent branches. The compiler must do global scheduling in order to find enough independent instructions. In this paper, the code optimizer and scheduler of the IMPACT-I C compiler is described. Within this framework, we study the importance of prepass code scheduling for a set of production C programs. It is shown that, in contrast to the results previously obtained for scientific programs, prescheduling is not important for compiling control-intensive programs to the current generation of superscalar and superpipelined processors. However, if some of the current restrictions on upward code motion can be removed in future architectures, prescheduling would substantially improve the execution time of this class of programs on both superscalar and superpipelined processors. >
Revision of Heuchera Section Rhodoheuchera Subsections Hemsleyanae and Rosendahliae Subsectio Nova (Saxifragaceae)

A revision of a closely allied and poorly studied group of Mexican Heuchera species is presented. This work has necessitated several taxonomic and nomenclatural actions, namely: the recognition of the name H. longipetala as referring to the Mexican plant usually known as H. hemsleyana; the reduction of the latter to synonymy; the description of two new species, H. rosendahlii and H. wellsiae, having such divergent morphology as to warrant a new subsection, subsection Rosendahliae; the transfer of H. mexicana to subsect. Hemsleyanae; the description of a new variety for H. mexicana (H. mexicana var. potosiensis) and for H. longipetala (H. longipetala var. nudicaulis); the reduction of H. orizabensis to a variety of H. longipetala (H. longipetala var. orizabensis) and of H. amoena to a synonym of H. mexicana; and the lectotypification of the names H. orizabensis and H. hemsleyana. Provided are descriptions, notes on habitat and phenology, range maps, line drawings, and full specimen citations for all taxa treated, as well as a taxonomic key for all known species of Heuchera in Mexico, new chromosome counts for two taxa, and a morphological cladistic analysis of section Rhodoheuchera.
Compressional and shear wave velocities of Fe2SiO4 spinel at high pressure and high temperature

Ultrasonic interferometric measurements on polycrystalline Fe2SiO4 spinel were conducted simultaneously with synchrotron X-ray diffraction and X-ray imaging up to 6.5 GPa, 1073 K. The compressional and shear wave velocity data and the volume data were fitted to the third-order finite strain equations to derive the bulk and shear modulus and their pressure and temperature derivatives. The fitting results are as follows: Ks0 = 204.5(7) GPa, = 73.6(3) GPa ,K � = 4.3(3), G � = 1.2(1), (∂Ks /∂T )p = −0.027(2) GPa/K, and (∂G/∂T )p =− 0.017(1) GPa/K. Comparison of our current results with previous data on (Mg,Fe)2SiO4 spinel with different compositions suggests that the bulk modulus (Ks ) increases slightly with increasing iron content, while the shear modulus (G), in contrast, shows a dramatic decrease. However, the pressure and temperature derivatives of Ks and G remain nearly constant from Mg2SiO4 to Fe2SiO4 spinel with average values of 4.2–4.4, 1.2–1.3, −0.024 GPa/K, and −0.016 GPa/K for K � s , G � , (∂Ks /∂T )p, and (∂G/∂T )p, respectively. The proposed version of equations to describe the effects of iron on the elastic moduli of ringwoodite are: Ks = 184.7 + 18.0XFe, and G = 118.7 − 41. 5X Fe.
A model to determine staff levels, cost, and productivity of hospital units

A methodology is presented with examples of the productivity, the staffing required, the resultant productivity, and costs that can be obtained for hospital units that are subject to random work demands such as laboratory, radiology, physical therapy, and nuclear medicine. The methodology assumes that the hospital has a labor productivity system that produces the RVUs or earned hours of work accomplished daily by shift. Factors considered are the distribution of the capabilities of the work force, the fatigue and delay allowances of the work standards, the quality of the work standards, the maximum amount of overtime that people will be asked to work, staffing policies such as constant or different staffing levels for each day of the week, and worker selection processes. Predicted results are compared with present practice, which indicates that substantial cost reductions can occur with the use of the methodology.
How Much Should Medicare Pay For Drugs

Discussions of the Medicare drug benefit have focused more on what beneficiaries will pay than what pharmaceutical manufacturers will receive. A key choice is the degree to which Medicare must beco...
Gluten-Free Diet: The Medical and Nutrition Management of Celiac Disease

Celiac disease (CD) is a chronic disease causing inflammation of the proximal small intestine that occurs in genetically predisposed individuals when they eat gluten, which is the storage protein in wheat, barley, and rye. The disease injury usually resolves when gluten is excluded from the diet. Although the injury will heal, the reaction to gluten is permanent and will recur with the reintroduction of gluten. The condition is surprisingly common, affecting as many as 1% of white populations. The consequences of the disease are predominantly those of malnutrition due to maldigestion and malabsorption, such as diarrhea, weight loss, and anemia. Symptoms caused by inflammation of the small intestine are also common. CD, although it is common and its pathology is well understood, frequently goes undiagnosed, probably because of the nonspecific or vague nature of many of the symptoms that occur. The cornerstone of treatment for CD is elimination of gluten from the diet. In most patients diagnosed with CD, a strict gluten-free diet (GFD) alone should result in complete symptomatic and histologic resolution of the disease and reduce risk of complications. Noncompliance with diet is the leading cause of failure to respond in patients with CD. For these reasons, thorough assessment and counseling at the time of diagnosis and ongoing care are crucial. In this article, we address briefly what is known about the pathogenesis and diagnosis of CD and address its treatment in detail.
On the Assignment of Punishment: The Impact of General-Societal Threat and the Moderating Role of Severity

This article reports experiments assessing how general threats to social order and severity of a crime can influence punitiveness. Results consistently showed that when participants feel that the social order is threatened, they behave more punitively toward a crime perpetrator, but only when severity associated with a crime was relatively moderate. Evidence is presented to suggest that people can correct—at least to a degree—for the “biasing” influence of these inductions. Finally, threats to social order appear to increase punitiveness by arousing a retributive desire to see individuals pay for what they have done, as opposed to a purely utilitarian desire to deter future wrongdoing. The authors suggest that individuals sometimes act as intuitive prosecutors when ascribing punishment to an individual transgressor based on their perception of general societal control efficacy.
Exploiting off-chip memory access modes in high-level synthesis

Memory-intensive behaviors often contain large arrays that are synthesized into off-chip memories. With the increasing gap between on-chip and off-chip memory access delays, it is imperative to exploit the efficient access mode features of modern-day memories (e.g., page-mode DRAMs) in order to alleviate the memory bandwidth bottleneck. Our work addresses this issue by: (a) modeling realistic off-chip memory access modes for High-Level Synthesis (HLS), (b) presenting algorithms to infer applicability of HLS with these memory access modes, and (c) transforming input behavior to provide further memory access optimizations during HLS. We demonstrate the utility of our approach using a suite of memory-intensive benchmarks with a realistic DRAM library module. Experimental results show a significant performance improvement (more than 40\%) as a result of our optimization techniques.
Passing and the State in Junot Díaz's "Drown"

This essay presents Junot Diaz’s 1996 short story “Drown” as an important discussion of passing that not only spans racial and sexual identities but also tracks state strategies for managing racial and sexual difference. “Drown” describes a post-Fordist overlap between long-standing, ghettoizing state racism and the later, apparently orthogonal state strategy of closeting and homophobia analyzed by Margot Canaday in The Straight State: Sexuality and Citizenship in Twentieth-Century America (2009). While teachers, the police, and the Army are still glaringly white in this story’s 1990s Dominican immigrant neighborhood, state goods such as higher education and military service have now become the benefits of a “sexual citizenship” (Canaday 256) that premises individuals’ access to modern state benefits and resources on heterosexuality and that defines suspected homosexuals as “anticitizen[s]” (9), beyond the state’s care or concern. The coincidence of these two systems of exclusion means, of course, a doubled burden for the story’s nameless narrator, a ghettoized young Dominican American man with some queer sexual experience. However, it also demonstrates the state’s appropriation of passing for its own biopolitical ends. Passing-for-white was an interstitial tactic of African American resistance to state-sponsored racism, but in the homophobic “straight state,” passing-for-straight becomes the normal condition of full citizenship for everyone. Moreover, for racial minorities, the imperative to pass for straight reinforces existing spatial and geographic forms of institutional racism. “Drown” responds to “sexual citizenship” with a “move to guard the margin” (Spivak 132), marking and maintaining a gap between state and self, discourse and speech. The narrator’s calculated silences preserve ethical possibilities that the state cannot enact, predict, or regulate. I begin here with a prologue recounting Canaday’s major claims, her use of the term passing, and the potential I see for expanding her analysis beyond its original, white-normative conditions of existence. I go on to close-read “Drown,” explicating its narrator’s (self-aware) collaboration with state strategies of racist ghettoization and homophobic exclusion, and then explore theoretical means for imagining an end to such collaboration. Finally, I discuss implications, based on Diaz’s and my analyses, for a more general project of reading race and sexuality together.
Management of asymptomatic Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome

Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome (WPW) is a frequently encountered electrocardiographic abnormality and an important diagnostic and therapeutic issue for cardiac specialists. Estimates of WPW prevalence in the general population are contingent on the likelihood of asymptomatic patients having an electrocardiogram (ECG) performed, and range from 0.1–0.2%. WPW consists of pre-excitation of the QRS (the delta wave) caused by eccentric activation of the ventricular myocardium via an accessory atrioventricular (AV) connection (accessory pathway, historically called the bundle of Kent) (fig 1). In addition to ventricular pre-excitation observed in sinus rhythm, the electrophysiological consequences of this connection include the paroxysmal occurrence of atrioventricular reciprocating tachycardia (SVT) and, at considerably lower frequency, the occurrence of rapidly conducted atrial fibrillation, which may result in ventricular fibrillation and death. Figure 1 Wolff–Parkinson–White syndrome with pronounced pre-excitation. Accessory pathways (APs) by definition traverse the AV groove, and are identified in all anatomical quadrants of the tricuspid and mitral annuli. Although WPW is prevalent, pathological demonstration is rare as this myocardial feature is microscopic and rarely systematically sought in postmortem study. Although APs are typically congenital, many well substantiated reports indicate that the clinical aspects of WPW may sometimes be acquired de novo, typically in patients who have undergone cardiac surgical procedures. An increased prevalence of WPW is noted among patients with Ebstein’s anomaly, in whom APs are typically anatomically associated with the abnormal tricuspid valve, and often multiple. Among symptomatic patients, clinical presentation is typically with palpitations or a sustained episode of SVT. A bimodal age distribution is observed: a substantial number of patients present in the first month of life (in some cases, prenatally), and a secondary, more diffuse peak through the school age years. Prenatal and infantile presentation of SVT is often associated with signs of congestive heart failure, perhaps due in part to the relatively prolonged interval …
Control law design for haptic interfaces to virtual reality

The goal of control law design for haptic displays is to provide a safe and stable user interface while maximizing the operator's sense of kinesthetic immersion in a virtual environment. This paper outlines a control design approach which stabilizes a haptic interface when coupled to a broad class of human operators and virtual environments. Two-port absolute stability criteria are used to develop explicit control law design bounds for two different haptic display implementations: the impedance display and admittance display. The strengths and weaknesses of each approach are illustrated through numerical and experimental results for a three degree-of-freedom device. The example highlights the ability of the proposed design procedure to handle some of the more difficult problems in control law synthesis for haptics, including structural flexibility and noncollocation of sensors and actuators.
Measurement of Young's Modulus and Poisson's Ratio of Free-Standing Ag/Cu Multilayered Thin Films

Strain measurement by laser diffraction was used in tensile testing of free-standing Ag/Cu multilayered thin films with repeat lengths between 3 nm and 3 µm. The mean value, for all the films, of the Young modulus was 83.1±1.2 GPa, and of the Poisson ratio was 0.377±0.015. No variation with bilayer repeat length, and hence no “supermodulus” effect, was observed.
Does ultrasound training boost Year 1 medical student competence and confidence when learning abdominal examination

Objectives Learning to perform physical examination of the abdomen is a challenge for medical students. Medical educators need to find engaging, effective tools to help students acquire competence and confidence in abdominal examination techniques. This study evaluates the added value of ultrasound training when Year 1 medical students learn abdominal examination. Methods The study used a randomised trial with a wait-list control condition. Year 1 medical students were randomised into 2 groups: those who were given immediate ultrasound training, and those for whom ultrasound training was delayed while they received standard instruction on abdominal examination. Standardised patients (SPs) used a clinical skills assessment (CSA) checklist to assess student abdominal examination competence on 2 occasions − CSA-1 and CSA-2 − separated by 8 weeks. Students also estimated SP liver size for comparison with gold-standard ultrasound measurements. Students completed skills confidence surveys. Results Proficiency in abdominal examination technique acquired from traditional instruction boosted with ultrasound training showed no advantage at CSA-1. However, at CSA-2 the delayed ultrasound training group showed significant improvement. Students uniformly underestimated SP liver sizes and the estimates were not affected by ultrasound training. Student confidence in both groups improved from baseline to CSA-1 and CSA-2. Conclusions Ultrasound training as an adjunct to traditional means of teaching abdominal examination improves students' physical examination technique after students have acquired skills with basic examination manoeuvres.
Mental Health Professionals' Perspectives on Sex Offender Registry Web Sites:

In an attempt to reduce the occurrence of childhood sexual abuse, some state governments have passed legislation allowing the public access to sex offender registries. One of the ways this access is granted is through the world wide web (web). There is, however, limited research on the impact this type of community notification has on actual rates of child sexual abuse. This study investigates the opinions of 133 mental health professionals who work with sex offenders regarding the implications of public sex offender registry web sites. Over 80% of the participants in this study do not believe that sex offender registry sites will affect the number of children who are sexually abused each year. Seventy percent of the respondents also believe that a listing of sex offenders on the web will create a false sense of security for parents, and over 60% of the respondents believe that sex offenders who are listed on these sites will become targets of vigilantism in their community. Implications for future research are provided.
Processing Persuasive Arguments: 2. Discounting of Truth and Relevance as a Function of Agreement and Manipulated Activation Asymmetry

Abstract Previous research has demonstrated greater attention toward arguments with which one disagrees, increased recall and recognition for arguments with which one disagrees, and greater persuasibility during relative right than during relative left hemisphere activation of right-handers. Two experiments were performed to test whether these effects extend to the acceptance or rejection of persuasive arguments. Each experiment used induction of lateral orientation of attention as the means to selectively activate regions of the brain in normal subjects. Experiment 1 showed significantly greater discounting of arguments with which one disagrees during left- rather than during right-hemisphere activation, as measured by ratings of truth. Experiment 2 showed a similar significant agreement by lateral activation effect, but for ratings of relevance of the arguments. Both experiments supported the previously published research on cerebral asymmetries in the processing of persuasive arguments.
Massive Bilateral Chylothoraces Complicating Mediastinal Granulomatous Disease

Mediastinal granulomatous disease with resulting fibrosis is known to cause several serious complications, including pulmonary artery occlusion, bronchial stenosis, superior vena cava syndrome, and constrictive pericarditis. This process is typically the result of an excessive fibrogenic response to the antigen of the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. We present a case of a 20-year-old man who had massive bilateral chylothoraxes develop as a complication of mediastinal granulomatous disease. Aggressive surgical therapy was necessary to treat this potentially life-threatening condition with an excellent result.
Health Spending In OECD Countries: Obtaining Value Per Dollar

In 2005 the United States spent $6,401 per capita on health care-more than double the per capita spending in the median Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) country. Between 1970 and 2005, the United States had the largest increase (8.3 percent) in the percentage of gross domestic product (GDP) devoted to health care among all OECD countries. Despite having the third-highest level of spending from public sources, public insurance covered only 26.2 percent of the U.S. population in 2005. The United States was equally likely to be in the top and bottom halves for sixteen quality measures compiled by the OECD.
Directed Evolution of Streptavidin Variants Using In Vitro Compartmentalization

Summary We have developed and implemented an in vitro compartmentalization (IVC) selection scheme for the identification of streptavidin (SA) variants with altered specificities for the biotin analog desthiobiotin. Wild-type SA and selected variants bind desthiobiotin with similar affinities (∼10 −13 M), but the variants have off rates almost 50 times slower and a half-life for dissociation of 24 hr at 25°C. The utility of streptavidin variants with altered specificities and kinetic properties was shown by constructing protein microarrays that could be used to differentially organize and immobilize DNAs bearing these ligands. The methods we have developed should prove to be generally useful for generating a variety of novel SA reagents and for evolving other extremely high-affinity protein:ligand couples.