cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tactical Innovation and the Use of Child Solders in Civil Wars

Why do governments and rebel groups employ child soldiers in some internal armed conflicts but not in others? While previous studies have examined aspects of the causes and consequences of child soldier usage, to date there has never been a comprehensive empirical analysis that has examined their worldwide usage. In this study, we develop a theory that explains the use of child soldiers as a tactical military innovation that rebel groups have greater incentives and abilities to adopt as compared to governments. As we argue, however, governments’ incentives and ability to adopt child soldiers increase dramatically if rebels adopt the tactic. According to our theory, the decision to adopt child soldiers by governments and rebel groups will be primarily driven by tactical considerations rather than the socio-demographic factors typically highlighted in the literature. To test our theory, we collected global data on the usage of child soldiers by governments and rebel groups in 109 internal armed conflicts from 1987-2007. This new data shows that governments and rebels employed child soldiers in 45% of the internal armed conflicts that took place during this period, whereas governments were the only party to employ them in 10% of the cases and rebels were the only part to do so in 26% of the cases. Our analysis of these cases using binomial and multinomial estimation techniques reveal strong support for our tactically-driven explanation of child soldier usage, especially compared to the rival socio-demographic account. Our findings have salient implications for how this problem should be understood and the policy measures that may be effective in diminishing its occurrence.
Plasmid R6K DNA replication. III. Regulatory properties of the pi initiation protein.

Abstract The pir locus of R6K encodes a protein (π) that is essential for the initiation of R6K DNA replication. The promoter and coding sequences of this locus were separated and cloned into different plasmids. These various plasmid constructs were used to study the role of π both in regulating the initiation of R6K DNA replication and in regulating its own expression. The π protein was found to reduce levels of β-galactosidase expression from the lacZ gene fused to the pir promoter. In addition, a relatively small change in the cellular concentration of π is observed in response to a 20-fold increase in pir gene dosage. These findings suggest that the expression of the π protein is regulated autogeneously. By fusing the π coding sequences to the tryptophan and pBR322 promoters, the π concentration in vivo could be varied over a wide range. The copy number of an R6K origin plasmid remained essentially the same over a broad range of π concentration, indicating that, although the π protein is required for the initiation of R6K DNA replication, it does not regulate the frequency of this event.
The Role of Task Complexity, and Sources and Criteria of Evaluation in Motivating Task Performance

In the first four chapters of this text, work in each of four research traditions has been described: social loafing, goal setting, intrinsic motivation, and achievement goal theory. Each of these traditions incorporates the notion that the potential for evaluation affects task performance, and provides a theoretical rationale for these effects. I will describe a fifth tradition, social facilitation, which also incorporates the notion that evaluation affects performance, but I will do so in the context of a first attempt to integrate these areas.
Does sample size matter in qualitative research?: A review of qualitative interviews in IS research

This study examines 83 IS qualitative studies in leading IS journals for the following purposes: (a) identifying the extent to which IS qualitative studies employ best practices of justifying sample size; (b) identifying optimal ranges of interviews for various types of qualitative research; and (c) identifying the extent to which cultural factors (such as journal of publication, number of authors, world region) impact sample size of interviews. Little or no rigor for justifying sample size was shown for virtually all of the IS studies in this dataset. Furthermore, the number of interviews conducted for qualitative studies is correlated with cultural factors, implying the subjective nature of sample size in qualitative IS studies. Recommendations are provided for minimally acceptable practices of justifying sample size of interviews in qualitative IS studies.
Great Artery and Other Vascular Abnormalities

Echocardiography is the diagnostic modality of choice in the initial evaluation and serial assessment of most types of pediatric heart disease. The anomalies of a congenital nature that most often affect the great arteries and related vascular structures are frequently first suspected and identified by high-resolution imaging provided by transthoracic echocardiography. Technological advances made during the last several decades allow for complementary noninvasive imaging modalities to be applied when further characterization of these congenital cardiovascular malformations or variants is required. Transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) plays a limited diagnostic role in these anomalies but nonetheless provides major contributions in the care of affected patients. In the intraoperative setting, TEE is able to confirm the presence of selected abnormal vascular structure(s) or connection(s). More importantly, TEE facilitates the detailed evaluation of associated defects, provides for intraoperative monitoring, and allows for assessment of the surgical intervention(s). This chapter discusses the most frequently encountered great artery and vascular anomalies of a congenital nature, focusing on the applications of TEE in the evaluation of these lesions.
Three Experiments in Subaltern Intimacy

This paper centers the Marxist artistic experiments of anti-colonial activist and playwright, Rashid Jahan, for her phenomenological approaches to feminist decolonial practices in India. I argue that Jahan’s experiments in literature and theater provide a far more incisive mobilization of the “subaltern” consciousness than previously understood within postcolonial debates. This paper is thus a renewed engagement with articulations of the subaltern consciousness that were so central to the anti-colonial literatures of this era. I seek to challenge the field of postcolonial studies to shift a traditional focus on the discursive and ideological contours of colonial violence and power to account for how habits of mind are secured in the habituated responses of the body. Simultaneously, I seek to attend to a gap in affect studies by making available new modes of reading racialized affective forms through the historical materialities that produce its expressive forms.
Ex-Twit: Explainable Twitter Mining on Health Data.

Since most machine learning models provide no explanations for the predictions, their predictions are obscure for the human. The ability to explain a model's prediction has become a necessity in many applications including Twitter mining. In this work, we propose a method called Explainable Twitter Mining (Ex-Twit) combining Topic Modeling and Local Interpretable Model-agnostic Explanation (LIME) to predict the topic and explain the model predictions. We demonstrate the effectiveness of Ex-Twit on Twitter health-related data.
Using New Methodsin Conventional Breeding of Maize (Zea Mays L.)

Genetic manipulation may not replace any conventional method in crop breeding programs, it can be an important adjunct to them. Plant regeneration via tissue culture is becoming increasingly more common in monocots such as corn (Zea mays L.). In vitro culturability and regeneration ability of corn decreased as homozigosity increased, which suggested that these two attributes were controlled primarily by dominant gene action. Pollen (gametophytic) selection for resistance to aflatoxin in corn can greatly facilitate recurrent selection and screening of germplasm for resistance at a much less cost and shorter time than field testing. Integration of in vivo and in vitro techniques in maize breeding program has been developed to obtain desirable agronomie attributes, speed up the breeding process and enhance the genes responsible for them. The efficiency of anther and tissue cultures in most cereals such as maize and wheat have reached the stage where it can be used in breeding programs to some extent and many new cultivars produced by genetic manipulation have now reached the market.
Rescuing a Low Spinal

A 33-year-old woman, G2P1 at 39 weeks gestation, is having an elective repeat cesarean delivery. The resident places a single-shot spinal anesthetic at the L4-5 interspace (L-1) and very slowly and carefully (L-2) injects 1.6 mL of heavy 0.75% bupivacaine, combined with 100 mcg of preservative-free morphine and 25 mcg of fentanyl.
On Tight Convergence Rates of Without-replacement SGD

For solving finite-sum optimization problems, SGD without replacement sampling is empirically shown to outperform SGD. Denoting by $n$ the number of components in the cost and $K$ the number of epochs of the algorithm , several recent works have shown convergence rates of without-replacement SGD that have better dependency on $n$ and $K$ than the baseline rate of $O(1/(nK))$ for SGD. However, there are two main limitations shared among those works: the rates have extra poly-logarithmic factors on $nK$, and denoting by $\kappa$ the condition number of the problem, the rates hold after $\kappa^c\log(nK)$ epochs for some $c>0$. In this work, we overcome these limitations by analyzing step sizes that vary across epochs.
Producing Physicians for Rural Kansas: The Early Success of the University of Kansas School of Medicine-Salina Regional Medical Campus

Abstract Physician workforce shortages in rural areas are well-documented problems. The University of Kansas School of Medicine (KUSM) established the Salina regional medical campus (RMC) in response to the need to train more physicians interested in primary care in rural Kansas. Since its founding in 2011, thirty-eight students have completed their training on the Salina RMC and received their M.D. Twenty-eight graduates (74%) matched in primary care residencies; eighteen (44%) in family medicine. Eleven of the first sixteen graduates have finished residency and entered practice; nine are in Kansas, and seven of those are in rural Kansas. The Salina RMC has had early success in producing primary care physicians to serve rural Kansas. The author has no conflict of interest to report.
Using Social Media as a Platform for Increasing Knowledge of Lung Cancer Screening in High-Risk Patients.

Background Uptake in lung cancer screening for high-risk patients remains low. Eligible patients may not know that this preventive service is available and covered by insurance. Objectives The objective of this study was to explore using social media to educate patients about lung cancer screening and assess motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with health-care providers after viewing the educational program. Methods Subjects ages 55 to 77 who were current smokers or former smokers who quit in the past 15 years with a more than 30-pack-year smoking history were recruited via a Facebook advertisement. Subjects completed a demographic survey and the Lung Cancer Screening-12 (LCS-12) knowledge measure tool, watched a YouTube video about lung cancer screening, and completed the LCS-12 tool (post-test). Subjects rated their level of motivation to discuss lung cancer screening with their health-care provider. Results This study used a pre-experimental, one-group pre-test and post-test design. Scores from the pre- and post-test were analyzed using the paired t-test. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze subject self-reporting of motivation to discuss screening with their provider. The mean knowledge score of participants (n = 31) significantly increased from 5.26 to 8.19 after viewing the video (t = -5.956, p < .001). The mean motivational level (1-5) was 3.52, with a mode of 5. Conclusions A lack of knowledge regarding lung cancer screening may negatively impact the health of high-risk patients. This study suggests that social media can be used to increase knowledge of lung cancer screening. These findings demonstrate that the use of social media has a role in improving access to health information.
Freeform optics for dynamic illumination

Dynamic illumination can improve functionality for multiple application areas, including lighting, AR/VR, automotive, medicine, and security. Some applications require a uniform illumination pattern of continuously variable divergence or size for improved functionality. Such dynamic functionality has previously been achieved, for example, by longitudinally moving a source relative to a curved reflector, which can result poor uniformity, or through zoom configurations in which the longitudinal distances between lenses in the system are dynamically adjusted. Advances in high precision manufacturing methods such as diamond machining have facilitated the practical implementation of freeform optical components, enabling new design approaches and concepts for illumination systems. In this paper, we explore the use of arrays of transmissive pairs of freeform surfaces to enable efficient and uniform dynamic illumination in a compact package. This work builds on the Alvarez lens concept, in which a pair of transmissive XY-polynomial freeform surfaces generates variable optical power through lateral relative shifts. Design approaches and simulation results are presented.
Counseling patients with COVID-19: An experience at dedicated COVID-19 hospital

COVID-19 pandemic is generating considerable stress in the population. Uncertain prognosis, looming severe shortages of resources for testing and treatment, imposition of unfamiliar public health measures (infringing on personal freedoms), large and growing financial losses, and conflicting messages from authorities are few of the major stressors due to COVID-19. The effect due to COVID varies from individual to individual. Healthcare providers are more vulnerable as there is increased risk of exposure to coronavirus, concern about infecting and caring for loved ones, shortages of personal protective equipment, and longer working hours. Yashwantrao Chavan Memorial Hospital started functioning as Dedicated COVID-19 hospital since April 2020. Psychiatric services were also active and were delivered by means of telepsychiatry outpatient services, consultation-liaison psychiatry for COVID-19 patients, group counseling, supportive counseling, and psychosocial counseling center for relatives. Our experience is briefly described
EFFECT OF UNIT WEIGHT AND SLOPE ON EROSION

Laboratory tests were performed on a fine grained soil to determine the effect of unit weight and slope on erosion and runoff. The tests were conducted on slopes of 1:1, 2:1 and 3:1 using unit weights of 80, 85, 90 and 95 lb per cu ft and a simulated rainfall intensity of 6 in. per hr. After collecting the runoff water and solid particles, the weight of solids eroded and the volume of runoff water were determined. The results and analyses of this study indicate that the slope and unit weight have definite effects on the erosion of unprotected slopes. These indications are: (1) On the flattest slope, the specimens compacted to the lowest unit weight experience the highest rate of erosion; (2) on the steepest slope, the specimens compacted to the highest unit weight experience the highest rate of erosion; and (3) for a given unit weight, there is a unique slope from which the maximum amount of erosion will occur.
Origin of termite eusociality: trophallaxis integrates the social, nutritional, and microbial environments

Numerous cladistic analyses have converged: termites are a monophyletic clade embedded within the paraphyletic cockroaches, and sister group to the biparental, wood-feeding cockroach Cryptocercus. The latter is, therefore, an appropriate model for testing assumptions regarding early termite evolution. 2. The ground plan of the termite ancestor is reviewed based on shared characters of ecology, life history, and behaviour in Cryptocercus and incipient termite colonies, and includes two levels of dependence: a reliance of all individuals on gut microbiota, and dependence of early instars on parental care. Both these conditions co-evolved with parent-to-offspring proctodeal trophallaxis. 3. The termite ancestor lived in a single log serving as food and nest. This 'one-piece' nesting ecology prioritises nitrogen conservation and strongly influences interacting social, nutritional, and microbial environments. Each of these environments individually and in combination profoundly affect cockroach development. 4. Proctodeal trophallaxis integrates the social, nutritional, and microbial environ- ments. A change in trophallactic behaviour, from parental to alloparental, can, therefore, shift developmental trajectories, ultimately adding a third level of dependence. The death of gut protists during the host molting period and consequent interdependence of family members shifted the hierarchical level at which selection acted; fixation of eusociality quickly followed. 5. The basic nesting ecology did not change when termites evolved eusociality, the change occurred in the allocation and use of existing resources within the social group, driven by nitrogen scarcity, mediated by trophallaxis, and made possible by a strongly lineage-specific set of life history characteristics.
A solution to the non-Abelian duality problem

Abstract Dualities uniquely excel at resolving non-perturbative aspects of complex phase diagrams of interacting, Landau or topologically ordered, systems. However, traditional duality transformations fail for systems like the Heisenberg model and non-Abelian gauge theories. The bond-algebraic theory of quantum and classical dualities provides a solution to this long-standing conundrum, the so-called non-Abelian duality problem, by embedding traditional dualities into a more general transformation scheme that always preserves locality in any number of dimensions. Remarkably, it turns out to be unimportant whether a modelʼs group of symmetries is Abelian or non-Abelian. The capability of the bond-algebraic approach to handle finite and infinite systems with arbitrary boundary conditions has recently led to the discovery of holographic symmetries, relating topological order, edge states, and generalized order parameters. We discuss the interplay between these distinguished boundary symmetries and our solution to the non-Abelian duality problem. To illustrate our technique we present, among others, novel dualities for the SU ( 2 ) principal chiral field and both U ( 1 ) and SU ( 2 ) generalizations of the planar quantum compass model of orbital ordering.
Wage Dynamics and Racial and Ethnic Occupational Segregation Among Less-Educated Men in Metropolitan Labor Markets

We assess whether occupational segregation in metropolitan labor markets is associated with the wages of, and contributes to racial/ethnic wage disparities among, less-educated men. To measure occupational segregation in metropolitan low wage markets, we create a segregation index measuring segregation between white, black, and Latino male high school-only educated workers and high school dropouts in 95 metropolitan labor markets utilizing a unique dataset of the structural characteristics of the ninety-five largest US metropolitan labor markets. We use regression, fixed effects, and generalized least squares estimation techniques to test whether this index is associated with wages and racial wage inequality among these men. The analyses reveal that in metropolitan labor markets characterized by more racial and ethnic segmentation in the low wage market, wages are lower among black and Latino men in particular, and racial-ethnic wage disparities among similarly less-educated white, black, and Latino men are higher.
Deprotection and cleavage of peptides bound to Merrifield resin by stable dimethyl ether–poly(hydrogen fluoride) (DMEPHF) complex. a new and convenient reagent for peptide chemistry

The newly developed stable DMEPHF (1/15) complex was found to be a highly effective reagent for the cleavage of peptides from Merrifield resins; ease of handling and its simple, complete removal from the reaction mixture make the reagent system a very useful HF equivalent for applications in solid-phase peptide synthesis.
The effect of soya flour and flaxseed as a partial replacement for bread flour in yeast bread

Summary The aim of the study was to incorporate and determine the effect of combining flaxseed meal (15%) and soya flour (5% and 10%) and monitoring the effect of the two ingredients on product quality in yeast bread while at the same time to evaluate the effect of soya flour in preventing the development of lipid rancidity in the stored soya/flax bread. Bread volume decreased (P 0.05) in moisture in the flax and soya/flax breads. Darker crusts (P < 0.05) were developed in the control and soya/flax breads, while a darker (P < 0.05) crumb was found in flax and soya/flax breads. A 10% substitution level of soya flour did not have a significant effect on inhibiting lipid rancidity, but a lower peroxide value was produced in the bread. A 10% level of soya flour substitution also produced bread with lower quality sensory scores.
Induction of DNA Fragmentation After 10 to 120 Minutes of Focal Cerebral Ischemia in Rats

Background and Purpose The induction of neuronal necrosis has been studied after various durations of transient middle cerebral artery (MCA) occlusion in the rat. The objective of the present study was to measure the numbers and anatomic distribution of cells exhibiting apoptotic bodies as an indication of DNA fragmentation and apoptotic cell death as a function of duration of transient MCA occlusion in the rat. Methods The MCA of male Wistar rats (n=24) was occluded for 10, 20, 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes (n=4 per group) with the use of an intraluminal monofilament, and reperfusion was instituted for 48 hours. DNA fragmentation was measured in paraffin sections with the use of a terminal deoxynucleotidyl- transferase (TdT)-mediated dUTP-biotin nick end-labeling (TUNEL) method. Adjacent sections were stained with hematoxylin and eosin for analysis of ischemic cell damage, and immunohistochemical double staining methods were used for cell identification. Sham-operated rats (n=4) and normal rats not subjected to any surgical procedure (n=4) were used as controls for apoptosis detection. Results Within 5-μm-thick coronal sections, DNA fragmentation was present in 0 to 3 apoptotic cells in each hemisphere of normal, sham-operated rats as well as in the contralateral hemisphere of ischemic rats. After 10 to 20 minutes of MCA occlusion, apoptotic cells exhibiting DNA fragmentation (10 to 20) increased in the regions of selective neuronal necrosis in the preoptic area and in the striatum. After 30 to 60 minutes of ischemia, scattered apoptotic cells (30 to 60) exhibited DNA fragmentation and expanded into areas of selective neuronal necrosis in the cortex. After 90 to 120 minutes of occlusion, groups of apoptotic cells (70 to 200, >95% neurons) were primarily localized to the inner boundary zone of the infarct. Conclusions A range of mild to severe ischemia-reperfusion stimuli induce internucleosomal DNA cleavage. The presence and anatomic location of apoptotic cells exhibiting DNA fragmentation after transient cerebral occlusion indicate that apoptosis accompanies neuronal necrosis.
Complex period-1 motions of a periodically forced Duffing oscillator with a time-delay feedback

In this paper, complex period-1 motions in a periodically forced Duffing oscillator with a time-delay feedback are investigated, and the symmetric and asymmetric, complex period-1 motions exist in lower excitation frequency. The analytical solutions of complex period-1 motions in such a Duffing oscillator are obtained through the finite Fourier series, and the corresponding stability and bifurcations of complex period-1 motions are discussed by eigenvalue analysis. The frequency–amplitude characteristics of complex period-1 motions in the periodically forced Duffing oscillator with a time-delay feedback are discussed. Complex period-1 motions generated numerically and analytically are illustrated. As excitation frequency is close to zero, the complex period-1 motions need almost infinite harmonic terms in the Fourier series to express the analytical solutions. From this study, the initial time-delay in the time-delayed, nonlinear systems should be uniquely determined to achieve a specific periodic motion.
Spin-transfer-torque-driven domin-wall dynamics in Permalloy nanowires

Pulse-current-driven domain-wall (DW) dynamics in Permalloy nanowires are studied using high-temporal-resolution magneto-optical techniques. The time-resolved measurements reveal prompt displacements proportional to current density above a well-defined threshold and yield values of DW velocity and spin-flip efficiency that are a factor of 10 higher than those determined in prior experiments. A stochastic variation in the wall displacements associated with termination of the current pulse is observed. The experimental results suggest the presence of both adiabatic and nonadiabatic spin-transfer-torque mechanisms, but do not appear to be fully explained by existing theoretical models.
Getting to the core of atherosclerosis.

For years, researchers have debated whether the enzyme lipoprotein-associated phospholipase A2 (Lp-PLA2), produced by inflammatory cells, is a 'good guy' or 'bad guy' in atherosclerosis. Work in pigs provides strong support for the view that Lp-PLA2 promotes the formation of atherosclerotic lesions and dangerous, unstable atherosclerotic plaques (pages 1059–1066).
Representing Logical and Semantic Structure of Knowledge Acquired from Discourse.

Abstract A network model of logical and semantic structures from which speakers or writers generate linguistic messages at the discourse level is presented. While linguistic structures were considered in developing the model, the semantic and logical networks are defined without reference to linguistic structures and thus may be used to represent knowledge structures acquired from both linguistic and nonlinguistic sources. A second problem addressed is that of determining what logical and semantic information is acquired when a text is understood. To assess acquired knowledge, a procedure is presented for coding a subject's verbal reconstruction of knowledge acquired from a presented text (or other input) against the logical and semantic structure from which the text (or other input) was derived. The procedures are illustrated using data obtained from children who were asked to “retell” simple narrative stories.
Attachment from Infancy to Early Adulthood in a High-Risk Sample: Continuity, Discontinuity, and Their Correlates

This study explores the stability of attachment security and representations from infancy to early adulthood in a sample chosen originally for poverty and high risk for poor developmental outcomes. Participants for this study were 57 young adults who are part of an ongoing prospective study of development and adaptation in a high-risk sample. Attachment was assessed during infancy by using the Ainsworth Strange Situation (Ainsworth & Wittig) and at age 19 by using the Berkeley Adult Attachment Interview (George, Kaplan, & Main). Possible correlates of continuity and discontinuity in attachment were drawn from assessments of the participants and their mothers over the course of the study. Results provided no evidence for significant continuity between infant and adult attachment in this sample, with many participants transitioning to insecurity. The evidence, however, indicated that there might be lawful discontinuity. Analyses of correlates of continuity and discontinuity in attachment classification from infancy to adulthood indicated that the continuous and discontinuous groups were differentiated on the basis of child maltreatment, maternal depression, and family functioning in early adolescence. These results provide evidence that although attachment has been found to be stable over time in other samples, attachment representations are vulnerable to difficult and chaotic life experiences.
Cyclooxygenase‐2 Inhibitors Decrease Interleukin‐1β–Stimulated Prostaglandin E2 and IL‐6 Production by Human Gingival Fibroblasts

Background: Previous work showed that normal and aggressive periodontitis (AgP) gingival fibroblasts produce the boneresorbing cytokine IL-6. PGE2 is important in regulating IL-6 production. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs inhibit PG synthesis via COX-1 and/or COX-2 isoenzymes and may inhibit periodontal destruction. COX-2 is induced after cellular activation (i.e., by inflammatory cytokines such as IL-1β). Little is known about IL-1β-stimulated AgP fibroblast IL-6 and PGE2 production and their regulation by COX inhibitors. The objective of this study was to determine the effects of COX-2 inhibitors on amounts of PGE2 and IL-6 made by IL-1β-stimulated gingival fibroblasts. Methods: Gingival fibroblasts (2.5 × 104) from healthy or severe periodontitis patients were cultured in serum-free medium, with or without IL-1β (10–11M) for 24 hours, with or without the COX-1/2 inhibitor indomethacin or the selective COX-2 inhibitors NS-398, celecoxib, or rofecoxib. PGE2 and IL-6 in culture supernatants were de...
Using rule induction for knowledge acquisition: An expert systems approach to evaluating material errors and irregularities

Abstract There has been a significant increase in the magnitude of material errors discovered in financial statements during the 1980s. Auditors, financial analysts, and regulators have shown considerable interest in evaluating and predicting these material errors. This paper describes the development and validation of a prototype expert system, ERRORXPERT, which evaluates material errors and potential fraud. This prototype system is designed to assist auditors at the planning stage in the design of subsequent substantive tests, when material errors and irregularities in the financial statements are probable. A commercial machine learning program was used for rule induction. A set of training examples comprising error and non-error firms was used to generate rules and a separate holdout sample was used to validate the expert system results. The performance of the expert system was also compared to that of a multiple discriminant analysis model using the same data. The results demonstrate that the expert system, ERRORXPERT, outperforms the discriminant model and is a powerful evaluation tool to classify firms into error and non-error categories. The size of the sample used in this study somewhat limits the generalizability of the specific rules.
Dynamical Processes of Block Evolution

The dynamical processes associated with block evolution are investigated by analyzing a GCM run, forced with perpetual January conditions. The core of the analysis lies on the temporal evolution of the blocks and on vorticity budget terms obtained from appropriate compositing procedures on a 350-mb model output. The results from the budget analysis are examined with barotropic model experiments, which allow the investigation of the influence of an individual dynamical process on block evolution. Results are presented for two composite blocks, one close to the Atlantic storm track and the other farther downstream. Although these two blocks are found to develop differently, they share the following characteristics. During the decay linear processes dominate, and the high- and low-frequency eddy fluxes contribute equally toward prolonging the lifetime of the blocks by 2 to 3 days. While the time average of the budget yields results that are consistent with previous diagnostic studies, it is shown that such an approach exaggerates the role played by high-frequency eddies. The barotropic model experiments show that the nonlinear self-interaction of the composite block anomaly plays a minimal role in the block evolution. It is the remaining part of the composite low-frequency eddy flux that contributes significantly toward the block evolution, indicating that case-to-case variability of the individual blocking events can be substantial, and that the nonlinearity of a slowly moving, nonsteady component of the flow plays an important role for the individual blocking events. The model experiments also demonstrate that the effect of divergence is crucial for correctly reproducing the structure of the blocking high. The implications of these results, as they apply to some of the prominent blocking theories, are also discussed.
Performance Implications of Incorporating Natural Environmental Issues into the Strategic Planning Process: An Empirical Assessment

This paper explores the ability of firms to integrate a critical strategic issue, the natural environment, into the strategic planning process within the natural resource-based perspective. Using survey data collected from a wide variety of firms and industries based in the United States, we empirically examined the antecedents and effects of integrating the natural environment into the formal planning process. These data were analysed using structural equation modelling with the LISREL technique. Overall, our data provided strong support for the hypothesized relationships. Specifically, we found that the level of integration of environmental management concerns in the strategic planning process was positively related to financial and environmental performance. Furthermore, we found that the greater the functional coverage and the more resources provided to environmental issues, the greater the integration of environmental issues in the planning process. These results suggest that concern for environmental issues may yield competitive advantages in the marketplace as the natural resource-based perspective suggests
Effects of female reproductive tract secretions on rabbit sperm. I. Release of hyaluronidase in vitro.

SummaryThe release of hyaluronidase by rabbit sperm was measured during in vitro incubation, in: (a) distilled water, (b) Tyrode's solution, and (c) rabbit uterine fluid. There was no apparent release of hyaluroni-dase in fluid obtained from the uterus of an estrus rabbit and collected prior to HCG-induced ovulation. In fluid obtained after HCG-induced ovulation, increases in hyaluronidase activity occurred, indicating hyaluronidase release by the sperm. The peak of maximum hyaluronidase activity was related to the timing of the fluid collection. In contrast, no discernible peak of hyaluroni-dase activity occurred when sperm were incubated in Tyrode's solution or in distilled water. Postovulatory uterine fluid appears to actively promote the release of hyaluronidase from sperm.
The dynamics of elderly population redistribution: The California example

Abstract This article examines a relatively unexplored aspect of the geographic patterning of America's older population: the trends and processes of elderly redistribution at the state scale. A methodology was developed using readily available census and public health data to re-create the dynamics of recent elderly shifts within the state of California. Noteworthy features of the redistribution pattern include the consistent loss of elderly share size by heavily urbanized counties, the consistent gain of share size by suburban counties, and a recent shift in gains to northern counties rather than southern counties. Examination of components of change in each county indicates that both aging-in-place of near-elderly age cohorts and migration have contributed to the redistribution of elderly population within California, but with locationally discrete patterns. Overall, migration was more important numerically.
HOW PROFESSORS OF OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT VIEW SERVICE OPERATIONS

This study empirically tests assumptions that underlie operations management (OM) scholars' belief that service operations should be managed differently. Respondents were self-classified into manufacturing and service types. There is a significant statistical difference between the views held by each group with regard to statements such as “service Om should be taught as a separate course” and “service operations should be managed differently from manufacturing.” There was general consensus on the service research agenda with the exception of three research areas: time standards, technology, and productivity. The survey also revealed that customer influence has the greatest impact on service Om strategies and decisions.
Artificial neural network predictions of lengths of stay on a post-coronary care unit

Objective: To create and validate a model that predicts length of hospital unit stay. Design: Ex post facto. Seventy-four independent admission variables in 15 general categories were utilized to predict possible stays of 1 to 20 days. Setting: Laboratory. Sample: Records of patients discharged from a post-coronary care unit in early 1993. Results: An artificial neural network was trained on 629 records and tested on an additional 127 records of patients. The absolute disparity between the actual lengths of stays in the test records and the predictions of the network averaged 1.4 days per record, and the actual length of stay was predicted within 1 day 72% of the time. Conclusions: The artificial neural network demonstrated the capacity to utilize common patient admission characteristics to predict lengths of stay. This technology shows promise in aiding timely initiation of treatment and effective resource planning and cost control.
Epidemiology and outcomes of pediatric traumatic brain injury

Traumatic brain injury is a leading cause of death and disability in the pediatric age group. Causes of injury vary with child developmental age, with more inflicted injuries in infants, fall-related
Inner inverses and inner annihilators in rings

Abstract For any ring element α ∈ R , we study the group of inner annihilators IAnn ( α ) = { p ∈ R : α p α = 0 } and the set I ( α ) of inner inverses of α. For any Jacobson pair α = 1 − a b and β = 1 − b a , the groups A = IAnn ( α ) and B = IAnn ( β ) are shown to be equipotent, and A ⊕ C is shown to be group isomorphic to B ⊕ C where C = Ann l ( α ) ⊕ Ann r ( α ) . In the case where α is (von Neumann) regular, we show further that A ≅ B as groups. For any Jacobson pair { α , β } , a “new Jacobson map” Φ : I ( α ) → I ( β ) is constructed that is a semigroup homomorphism with respect to the von Neumann product, and preserves units, reflexive inverses and commuting inner inverses. In particular, for any abelian ring R, Φ is a semigroup isomorphism between I ( α ) and I ( β ) . As a byproduct of our methods, we also show that a ring R satisfies internal cancellation iff every Jacobson pair of regular elements are equivalent over R. In particular, the latter property holds for many rings, including semilocal rings, unit-regular rings, strongly π-regular rings, and finite von Neumann algebras.
Dual-spacecraft observation of large-scale magnetic flux ropes in the Martian ionosphere

[1] We here report the first dual-spacecraft detection of planetary flux ropes in the ionosphere of Mars. The Mars Advanced Radar for Subsurface and Ionosphere Sounding (MARSIS), on board Mars Express, can measure the magnetic field magnitude near the spacecraft. Typically, these measurements track the known crustal magnetic field strength very well; however, occasionally, MARSIS detects transient, intense magnetic fields that deviate significantly from the known crustal fields. Two such magnetic field enhancements occur in near-coincidence with flux rope detections by the Mars Global Surveyor Magnetometer and Electron Reflectometer, which provides vector magnetic field measurements, allowing us to clearly identify the enhancements as flux ropes. The flux ropes detected are quasi-stable for at least a half hour, have peak magnetic field strengths of ∼50 and 90 nT, and are ∼650–700 km in diameter. Both occur downstream of the region of strong crustal fields. In addition, MARSIS has detected 13 other magnetic enhancements over a 5 year period, which we infer to be flux ropes. These structures have peak field strengths up to 130 nT and measured horizontal dimensions of several hundred to over a thousand kilometers. They are clustered around the intense crustal fields in the southern hemisphere of Mars. The large spatial scale of these flux ropes distinguishes them from small-scale flux ropes, with diameters of tens of kilometers, that have been seen in the ionospheres of Venus and Mars. These large-scale flux ropes are believed to be caused by solar wind stretching and shearing of the Martian crustal fields.
Using statistics to make expert systems “user-acquainted”

The user-acquainted feature collects user-specific data regarding the types of advice that have been sought over time and uses this historical information to update the probabilities to affect the firing of its rules and the ordering of the recommendations of the expert system. These updates are done on auser-specific basis so that the expert can more closely emulate a true expert by providing more informed advice. One example of a place where evidence suggests that such a feature would be useful is in the area of debugging of computer programs, especially in support of novice programmers who tend, as individuals, to commit similar classes of errors over time, but who, as a group, commit very different types of errors. We conjecture that the user-acquainted feature, which can keep track of the tendencies of the users and take them into account in the evaluation of diagnostics, will be more effectiveand efficient in determining the fault. In this paper, we discuss the statistical analyses necessary to implement this feature in an expert system for debugging errors in SAS.
AKT and CDK5/p35 Mediate Brain-derived Neurotrophic Factor Induction of DARPP-32 in Medium Size Spiny Neurons in Vitro

Mature striatal medium size spiny neurons express the dopamine and cyclic AMP-regulated phosphoprotein, 32 kDa (DARPP-32), but little is known about the mechanisms regulating its levels or the specification of fully differentiated neuronal subtypes. Cell extrinsic molecules that increase DARPP-32 mRNA and/or protein levels include brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), retinoic acid, and estrogen. DARPP-32 induction by BDNF in vitro requires phosphatidylinositide 3-kinase (PI3K), but inhibition of phosphorylation of protein kinase B/Akt does not entirely abolish expression of DARPP-32. Moreover, the requirement for Akt has not been established. Using pharmacologic inhibitors of PI3K, Akt, and cyclin-dependent kinase 5 (cdk5) and constitutively active and dominant negative PI3K, Akt, cdk5, and p35 viruses in cultured striatal neurons, we measured BDNF-induced levels of DARPP-32 protein and/or mRNA. We demonstrated that both the PI3K/Akt/mammalian target of rapamycin and the cdk5/p35 signal transduction pathways contribute to the induction of DARPP-32 protein levels by BDNF and that the effects are on both the transcriptional and translational levels. It also appears that PI3K is upstream of cdk5/p35, and its activation can lead to an increase in p35 protein levels. These data support the presence of multiple signal transduction pathways mediating expression of DARPP-32 in vitro, including a novel, important pathway via by which PI3K regulates the contribution of cdk5/p35.
Perturbative Design of Illumination Systems

Using the principles behind perturbation theory allows designs based on realistic inputs to be iteratively designed, optimized and/or toleranced. A reflective system will be used to illustrate the technique.
Neutron investigation of the dynamical properties of the mercury-chain compound Hg/sub 3delta/ AsF/sub 6/

We present in this paper the results of a detailed neutron scattering investigation at various temperatures of the dynamical properties of the linear-mercury-chain compound ${\mathrm{Hg}}_{3\ensuremath{-}\ensuremath{\delta}} \mathrm{As}{\mathrm{F}}_{6}$. The main emphasis has been put on the nature of the response function of the Hg chains at higher temperatures ($T\ensuremath{\gtrsim}150$ K). The results are analyzed and discussed in terms of new theoretical results obtained by Emery and Axe, and it is found that the behavior of the Hg chains in this temperature region is one-dimensional liquidlike, in accordance with theoretical predictions. Below ${T}_{c}=120$ K where three-dimensional long-range order is established among the Hg ions, the transverse phononlike excitations in the Hg chains with displacement along the chain develop a small (\ensuremath{\sim} 0.1 meV) energy gap at finite wave vector. This feature makes it straightforward to demonstrate the absence of elastic scattering in the sheets of scattering from the Hg chains. We have measured at room temperature acoustic As${\mathrm{F}}_{6}$ sublattice phonons in the $\ensuremath{\Delta}(\ensuremath{\zeta}00)$ and the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}(00\ensuremath{\zeta})$ directions. The observed dispersion slope of the transverse branch along $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ polarized along $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ is about 25% smaller than that of the transverse branch along $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ polarized along $\ensuremath{\Delta}$, in apparent disagreement with elasticity theory which predicts both modes to be governed by ${C}_{44}$. We show that this behavior can be qualitatively explained by the anisotropic coupling between Hg chains and the host lattice, leading to a much smaller elastic regime in the $\ensuremath{\Lambda}$ direction than in the $\ensuremath{\Delta}$ direction.
Serotoninergic mechanisms and obesity

Abstract Brain serotonin appears to be an excellent target for designing drugs to treat obesity. The prototype drug dexfenfluramine accelerates the onset of satiety and suppresses “carbohydrate craving,” the tendency to consume large quantities of snacks rich in carbohydrates and fats but not proteins. The drug works by blocking serotonin’s reuptake into presynaptic terminals; its metabolite norfenfluramine also releases serotonin into synapses and activates certain postsynaptic serotonin receptors. Dopaminergic drugs such as amphetamine and phentermine suppress the appetite but apparently lack macronutrient specificity. The special importance of serotoninergic neurons in feeding behavior derives in part from the fact that eating per se affects the production and release of serotonin. This is because dietary carbohydrates, acting via insulin—which lowers plasma concentrations of the large neutral amino acids (LNAA)—increase the uptake of tryptophan in the brain; this in turn increases the substrate saturation of tryptophan hydroxylase, the key enzyme that converts this amino acid to serotonin. Paradoxically, dietary proteins—which, unlike carbohydrates or fats, do contain tryptophan—decrease tryptophan’s uptake in the brain (because they cause disproportionately great increases in blood levels of the other LNAA, which compete with tryptophan for brain uptake), and thus fail to increase brain tryptophan or serotonin levels. Brain serotonin also is critically involved in controling mood, and many patients learn that they can improve their mood by eating carbohydrate-rich, protein-poor foods, particularly as snacks. This carbohydrate craving transiently ameliorates their depressive symptoms, but predisposes to weight gain, a phenomenon readily observed in people with seasonal affective disorder syndrome, premenstrual syndrome, or nicotine withdrawal.