cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unambiguous nuclear magnetic resonance assignments for swainsonine, an indolizidine alkaloid with α-mannosidase inhibitory activity

The proton and carbon-13 nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectra of swainsonine, (1S,2R,8R,8R,8aR)-1,2,8-trihydroxyoctahydroindolizine, isolated from the seeds of Astragalus oxyphysus A. Gray, have been reassigned through the use of two-dimensional NMR techniques. Unambiguous NMR spectral data have also been determined for swainsonine 1,2,8-triacetate.
Meal patterns and macronutrient intake after peripheral and PVN injections of the α2-receptor antagonist idazoxan

Abstract Studies with idazoxan (IDA), a specific α 2 -noradrenergic receptor antagonist, demonstrate effects on feeding behavior opposite to those observed with norepinephrine in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) and peripheral injection of the α 2 agonist clonidine. Administration of IDA, both intraperitoneally (IP) and into the PVN at the onset of the nocturnal feeding cycle, caused a dose-related, selective suppression of carbohydrate intake 90 min after injection. To characterize further the impact of this antagonist on macronutrient intake, we examined in IDA-injected animals the macrostructure of feeding using computer-assisted analyses of meal patterns. Both IP and PVN administration of IDA produced a selective suppression of carbohydrate intake, primarily during the first meal of the feeding cycle. This effect occurred through significant reductions in meal size, diet composition, feeding time, and feeding rate for this nutrient. Idazoxan administration into the PVN continued to decrease carbohydrate intake in the next two meals and reduced the satiating impact of this nutrient. In contrast to this immediate change in carbohydrate intake, PVN IDA reduced protein intake after a latency of 4 h, although fat intake was suppressed only after a latency of 7 h. An increase in total meal number and a decrease in the average meal size across the 12-h dark cycle were seen after PVN IDA administration. These results, showing effects of peripheral and PVN-injected IDA on carbohydrate intake, suggest a possible physiological role of endogenous PVN α 2 -noradrenergic receptors in modulating natural patterns of carbohydrate feeding at the onset of the dark period.
Drosophila Single-minded Represses Gene Transcription by Activating the Expression of Repressive Factors

The Drosophila single-minded gene controls CNS midline cell development by both activating midline gene expression and repressing lateral CNS gene expression in the midline cells. The mechanism by which Single-minded represses transcription was examined using the ventral nervous system defective gene as a target gene. Transgenic-lacZ analysis of constructs containing fragments of the ventral nervous system defective regulatory region identified sequences required for lateral CNS transcription and midline repression. Elimination of Single-minded:Tango binding sites within the ventral nervous system defective gene did not affect midline repression. Mutants of Single-minded that removed the DNA binding and transcriptional activation regions abolished ventral nervous system defective repression, as well as transcriptional activation of other genes. The replacement of the Single-minded transcriptional activation region with a heterologous VP16 transcriptional activation region restored the ability of Single-minded to both activate and repress transcription. These results indicate that Single-minded indirectly represses transcription by activating the expression of repressive factors. Single-minded provides a model system for how regulatory proteins that act only as transcriptional activators can control lineage-specific transcription in both positive and negative modes.
MATCHING, MAXIMIZING, AND HILL-CLIMBING

In simple situations, animals consistently choose the better of two alternatives. On concurrent variable-interval variable-interval and variable-interval variable-ratio schedules, they approximately match aggregate choice and reinforcement ratios. The matching law attempts to explain the latter result but does not address the former. Hill-climbing rules such as momentary maximizing can account for both. We show that momentary maximizing constrains molar choice to approximate matching; that molar choice covaries with pigeons' momentary-maximizing estimate; and that the "generalized matching law" follows from almost any hill-climbing rule.
The Great Meteor of 1941 June 28

This is a report of observations by 4 scientists who witnessed the flight of a great meteor as they were returning from the Eighth (Flagstaff, Arizona) Meeting of the Society for Research on Meteorites, on 1941 June 28. Interesting data were recorded by these observers, who were more than 200 miles from the vanishing point of the meteor, and these observations of its appearance are compared with those of individuals who observed the same phenomenon from near-by points.
THE EFFECT OF DEUTERIUM ON THE LUMINESCENCE DECAY TIMES OF SOLVATED RARE EARTH CHLORIDES

Abstract The decay times of the luminescence obtained from crystals of TbCl 3 and EuCl 3 solvated with H 2 O and D 2 O have been measured. It was found that the lifetimes of the metal ions solvated with D 2 O were substantially longer than the lifetimes of the ions solvated with H 2 O. The significant increase in the observed mean decay times is attributed to a decrease in radiationless deactivation of the excited states of the rare earth ions brought about by the substitution of D 2 O for H 2 O in the crystal lattices.
Polymorphism, Structure, and Chromism in Poly(di-n-octylsilane) and Poly(di-n-decylsilane)

Semicrystalline films and powders of poly(di-n-octylsilane) and poly(di-n-decylsilane) have been investigated using in situ quenching studies by X-ray scattering and UV−vis absorption in combination with detailed model calculations. These polymers displayed a surprisingly rich array of monotropic and enantiotropic structures during thermal cycling. Poly(di-n-decylsilane) was observed to have no less than five distinct ordered forms (crystalline or semicrystalline) which varied in their respective chain structure, packing, and optical properties. Of these only one appeared to be thermodynamically stable. One of the metastable polymorphic structures exhibited an unprecedented tripling of the basic unit cell structure. Poly(di-n-octylsilane) samples also exhibited up to five distinct structural forms at temperatures below that of a 25 °C transition to the thermotropic mesophase. Three of these were clearly ordered while the other two are mesophases with features suggestive of a less ordered state. Suggested ...
Status effects and environmental externalities

Abstract This paper examines a static, competitive economy where the production of a consumption good generates pollution that adversely affects human welfare. Preferences are defined over consumption, leisure, pollution, and economic status. Each person's status increases with her own consumption, but decreases with the average consumption of society. The achievement of a Pareto efficient resource allocation requires a consumption tax to offset the incentive to overconsume in the pursuit of enhanced status. In contrast with standard prescriptions, the efficient pollution tax generally exceeds the sum of individuals' marginal willingness to pay for pollution abatement. These findings remain unaltered when preferences are modified to incorporate altruistic concern for others' well-being. Altruism, however, suggests a potential role for government intervention to achieve a desirable (i.e., Pareto efficient) distribution of welfare between individuals.
ASSESSING ASSERTIVENESS IN WORK SETTINGS: A DISCRIMINATION MEASURE

Summary.-Discriminating assertive, nonassertive, and aggressive behaviors is assumed to precede behaving with appropriate assertiveness in conflict situations. This paper describes the development of a measure of ssch discrimination for conflict situations in work settings. The 36-item inventory presented here was derived from a pool of 60 items administered to 201 rniddle-management personnel who had undergone training in assertiveness. The instrument is offered for use by trainers and researchers. In training programs for assertiveness, the assumption is made that trainees must be able to discriminate between assertive, nonassertive, and aggressive behaviors before they can behave with appropriate assertiveness in conflict situations (Lange & Jakubowski, 1976). The measure presented here, The Interpersonal Conflict Response Inventory, can be used in training programs (Warehime, 1980) to assess how accurately individuals classify responses to conflict situations into categories of assertive, nonassertive, and aggressive behaviors. It can be used to assess knowledge of these concepts prior to training and concept acquisition with training. Also, this scale can be used in research where a measure of this sort is required. The three styles of response assessed by this instrument are briefly described here but are more extensively described elsewhere (Lange & Jakubowski, 1976). An expressive (assertive) response to a conflict situation is standing up for one's rights and offering information about oneself to others while respecting the needs and rights of others. A nonassertive (nonexpressive) response is permitting others to get their way and dominate while not respecting one's own needs and rights. An a~gressive response is getting what one wants without respecting the needs and rights of others. The present authors have found that, with description and demonstration, most people can be taught to identify these styles of response. A set of 60 items depicting conflict situations was constructed for the development of the measure presented here. Each item included a description of a particular conflict situation and a response made to that conflict. These items were either modeled after or modified versions of discrimination items provided by Lange and Jakubowski (1976, pp. 41-52). While the Lange and Jakubowski items depicted a wide variety of interpersonal conflicts, all items constructed for this current set refer to work-related situations of interpersonal conflict only.
Decomposition Pathway of Ammonia Borane on the Surface of Nano-BN

Ammonia borane (AB) is under significant investigation as a possible hydrogen storage material. While chemical additives have been shown to lower the temperature for hydrogen release from ammonia borane, many provide additional complications in the regeneration cycle. Mechanically alloyed hexagonal boron nitride (nano-BN) has been shown to facilitate the release of hydrogen from AB at lower temperature, with minimal induction time and less exothermicity, and inert nano-BN may be easily removed during any regeneration of the spent AB. The samples were prepared by mechanically alloying AB with nano-BN. Raman spectroscopy indicates that the AB/nano-BN samples are physical mixtures of AB and h-BN. The release of hydrogen from AB/nano-BN mixtures as well as the decomposition products was characterized by 11B magic angle spinning (MAS) solid state NMR spectroscopy, TGA/DSC/MS with 15N-labeled AB, and solution 11B NMR spectroscopy. The 11B MAS solid state NMR spectrum shows that diammoniate of diborane (DADB) is...
Barriers to employment among unemployed drug users: age predicts severity.

Background: Drug users in treatment or exiting treatment face many barriers to employment when entering the job market, such as low levels of education and technical skills, and low levels of interpersonal skills. As a result of these and other barriers, employment rates in these groups are generally low. Objective: This article examines the existence and possible predictors of specific barriers to employment related to interpersonal and technical skills in a sample of participants enrolled in a therapeutic workplace intervention for substance abuse. Methods: In Study I (N = 77), we characterized and examined predictors of participant scores on a staff-rated scale of interpersonal skills (Work Behavior Inventory). In Study II (N = 29), we examined whether participants had lower levels of computer knowledge than job seekers in the general population, and investigated possible predictors of computer knowledge in the sample. Results: In general, participants in Study I displayed low levels of interpersonal s...
The Substance of Things Hoped For: Do State Faith-Based and Community Partnership Offices and Liaisons Help Grassroots Organizations Get Federal Funding?

In response to The White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives (FBCI, later renamed the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, FBNP), many states either created an FBCI office within state government or established a state liaison to the federal program through a nonprofit organization. While the offices have multiple stated goals, the acquisition of federal funding for community organizations within their respective states is a fairly consistent, and critical, goal for most of these offices. Using a multivariate regression model and a survey of state liaison offices, this mixed methods study finds that there is no difference between states with liaisons and states without with respect to federal funding for community organizations in their states and identifies barriers to their successful achievement of funding objectives. A survey of state FBNP offices detailing budgets, staffing, and reporting structures, among other things, indicates that a lack of unrestricted funds, lack of adequate staffing, and decreasing political salience are contributing factors.
Ethical issues in psychopharmacology

The marketing of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors in the psychopharmacological industry presents a serious moral problem for the corporate model of medicine. In this paper I examine ethical issues relating to the efficacy and safety of these drugs. Pharmaceutical companies have a moral obligation to disclose all information in their possession bearing on the true risks and benefits of their drugs. Only then can patients make fully informed decisions about their treatment.
Creating Video Vignettes to Enhance Urban Design Learning

Most classroom instruction related to urban geography and design relies heavily on static photographic images that highlight form, but don't necessarily engage the idea of function. Because of the relative ease of digital video editing and the portability of high-definition digital video cameras, using instructor-collected video in the classroom is less-demanding than in the past. This paper highlights how short video vignettes can better elucidate urban concepts and explains best practices in crafting educational objectives and professional video products.
Theoretical study of phosphorous δ -doped silicon for quantum computing

We present microscopic model calculations of phosphorous $\ensuremath{\delta}$-doped silicon. Using the planar Wannier orbitals [Y. C. Chang and G. Li, Comput. Phys. Commun. 95, 158 (1996)] obtained based on the pseudopotential method, we calculate the electronic structures of a large slab (1000 ML) self-consistently (for doping electrons), taking into account both the long-range Coulomb potential in the direction perpendicular to the doping plane and the short-range interaction due to the $1∕4$ monolayer (ML) phosphor $\ensuremath{\delta}$ doping. Our results show that the Fermi level after doping is about $100\phantom{\rule{0.3em}{0ex}}\mathrm{meV}$ below silicon conduction band minimum (CBM). We also find that the short-range interaction due to P dopants only has a minor influence on the Fermi level.
A pharmacologic study of mellaril, 2-methylmercapto-10-[2-(N-methyl-2-piperidyl)-ethyl]-phenothiazine hydrochloride

Abstract The pharmacologic properties of a new phenothiazine drug, Mellaril, 2-methylmercapto-10-[2-(N-methyl-2-piperidyl)-ethyl]-phenothiazine hydrochloride, have been described. It has been shown that the drug produced a dose-dependent hypotension which was at least partially peripherally mediated. There was no significant effect on respiration until exitus. Electrocardiographic changes indicated that cardiac anoxia was produced. The compound has adrenergic blocking, slight antihistaminic, very weak atropine-like activity, but no ganglionic blocking activity. The drug produced hypothermia, potentiated hexobarbital sleeping time, and prevented epinephrine death in mice.
Overexpression of myotonic dystrophy kinase in BC3H1 cells induces the skeletal muscle phenotype.

Myotonic muscular dystrophy is an autosomal dominant defect that produces muscle wasting, myotonia, and cardiac conduction abnormalities. The myotonic dystrophy locus codes for a putative serine-threonine protein kinase of unknown function. We report that overexpression of human myotonic dystrophy protein kinase induces the expression of skeletal muscle-specific genes in undifferentiated BC3H1 muscle cells. BC3H1 clones expressing myotonic dystrophy kinase appear equivalent to differentiated cells with respect to expression of myogenin, retinoblastoma tumor supressor gene, M creatine kinase, β-tropomyosin, and vimentin. In addition, differential display analysis demonstrates that the pattern of gene expression exhibited by myotonic dystrophy kinase-expressing cells is essentially identical to that of differentiated BC3H1 muscle cells. These observations suggest that myotonic dystrophy kinase may function in the myogenic pathway.
Low temperature water–gas shift: Characterization and testing of binary mixed oxides of ceria and zirconia promoted with Pt

Abstract A series of Pt promoted ceria–zirconia mixed oxides was prepared, characterized, and tested for the low temperature water–gas shift reaction. An enhancement in the water–gas shift rate was observed by doping zirconium atoms into ceria to form a binary oxide for Pt promoted catalysts. By characterization using TPR and XANES, doping zirconia to ceria decreased the temperature for the surface reduction step. However, the total number of bridging OH group defect sites decreased, as Zr remained to a great extent in the Zr 4+ oxidation state. This was confirmed by CO adsorption, whereby the density of total surface formates was found to decline with increased Zr concentrations. However, the formate forward turnover rate in steam was increased by zirconia addition, and was found to be higher than either Pt/ceria or Pt/zirconia alone. Both the overall rate of the formate decomposition and the water–gas shift rate, as measured by the CO conversion, passed through a maximum with increasing Zr content. Two types of formates were observed, those associated with a ceria-rich surface phase, and those associated with a zirconia-rich surface phase. The relative amounts of the two formates correlated with the Zr/Ce atomic ratios obtained by XPS. EXAFS results provided direct evidence that a solid solution was present in the mixed oxide, as a distinct peak in the Fourier transform magnitude corresponding to the Zr–Ce interaction was observed, increasing with increasing Ce/Zr ratio. The sensitivity to added carbon dioxide in the feed of the undoped and a Zr doped catalyst was also explored.
New approach to disturbances in the plasma sodium concentration

Hyponatremia and hypernatremia are among the most common electrolyte disorders. Since the plasma sodium level is determined by the ratio between the total quantity of effective solutes (primarily sodium and potassium salts) and the total body water, abnormalities in the plasma sodium level must be produced by a change in one or more of these parameters. In most patients, alterations in body water are of primary importance because the plasma sodium level is normally regulated by changing water intake and water excretion. Measurement of free water excretion has traditionally been calculated by using a formula that includes the urine osmolality. However, urea is a major urinary solute but does not contribute to regulation of the plasma sodium level, since it is an ineffective osmole. As a result, urinary solute excretion is best expressed as 2 X UNa+K. Making this important correction allows solute and water intake and excretion to be compared, thereby leading to a better understanding of both the development and correction of disturbances in the plasma sodium level.
Tetanus toxin inhibits neurotensin-induced mobilization of cytosolic protein kinase C activity in NG-108 cells

Abstract There is considerable literature on the pathogenesis of tetanus toxin poisoning; however, the mechanism of action and intracellular substrate of this toxin have not been defined. It was demonstrated that the NG-108 neuroblastoma × glioma cell line is a suitable model in which to study the mechanism of tetanus toxin action, from binding of the toxin to inhibition of transmitter release. Further, it has been shown that tetanus toxin pretreatment attenuates the ability of phorbol myristate acetate to mobilize cytosolic protein kinase C (PKC) in this cell line. In the present study a 4-hr tetanus toxin pretreatment (10−10–10−13 M) completely inhibited the mobilization of cytosolic PKC induced by a 30-min exposure to 10 μM neurotensin. Pretreatment with 10−10 M tetanus toxin for periods as short as 1 hr was sufficient to attenuate the ability of neurotensin to mobilize cytosolic PKC; however, a 30-min pretreatment had no significant effect. At a concentration of 10−11 M, it was necessary to pretreat the cells for greater than 1 hr to significantly attenuate neurotensin-mobilized PKC activity. The exact role that PKC plays in the secretory process is not yet known; however, these findings suggest that the effect of tetanus toxin on neurotransmitter release is accompanied by an alteration in PKC metabolism in differentiated NG-108 cells.
An intravenous toxicity study of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin, a useful drug solubilizer, in rats and monkeys

Abstract The subacute and subchronic intravenous (i.v.) toxicity of 2-hydroxypropyl-β-cyclodextrin (HPCD) was examined in Sprague-Dawley rats and cynomolgus monkeys. After either 14 or 90 days of alternate day dosing with either saline or 200 mg/kg HPCD, no toxicologically meaningful differences were observed in the following parameters: body weight, body weight gain, food consumption, hematology, clinical chemistry, organ weights, organ to brain weight ratio, organ to body weight ratio and macroscopic and microscopic histopathology. Subsequent to these studies, an acute high-dose study was performed in cynomolgus monkeys which indicated that a single i.v. dose of HPCD as high as 10 g/kg was not lethal.
Direct-to-Consumer Advertising of Psychotropic Medication and Prescription Authority for Psychologists

The debate regarding prescription authority for psychologists has made salient the probable impact of pharmaceutical marketing on psychologists’ prescribing practices. However, the potential impact of direct-to-consumer advertising (DTCA) of prescription medications on prescribing habits has not been adequately addressed with the psychological literature. When prescription authority is granted, practicing psychologists and trainees need to be aware of the potential impact that DTCA could have on them as both consumers and patient care providers. The current review provides a brief history of direct-toconsumer pharmaceutical marketing and then focuses in on issues relevant to the advertisement of psychotropic medication. The impact that DTCA could have on psychologists is explored, both in practical and theoretical realms.
Synchronization and desynchronization in pulse coupled relaxation oscillators

Abstract We have studied the synchronization of an array of three globally pulse coupled relaxation oscillators. We vary the firing rate on one of the oscillators and see how this affects the synchronization of the oscillators for different coupling symmetrics. We find that certain types of coupling make the array more responsive to parameter changes but still robust against noise.
Overcoming the Limitations of Current Online Laboratory Systems Using Game-Based Virtual Environments

Current online laboratory systems based on either remotely operated hardware or pure software simulations are often criticized for lacking experimental setup experience and for being limited to the data collection and result analysis aspects of traditional hands-on laboratories. One possible solution for overcoming these shortcomings is to use a multi-player computer game engine for implementing interactive laboratory environments. Taking advantage of game technology, the students are enabled to simultaneously interact with laboratory equipment in the virtual laboratory and to communicate with each other through voice or chat. In particular, assembling the experimental equipment before using it in some experimental procedure can become part of the laboratory exercise. In this article, a virtual gear design laboratory environment for a junior-level undergraduate mechanical engineering course on mechanisms and machine dynamics is presented. This virtual laboratory environment implemented using a multiplayer computer game engine provides the students with the flexibility to perform various experiments related to the concepts of the fundamental law of gearing and to planetary motion of gears. In this environment, the students can work in teams to interactively select and cooperatively assemble gear train components piece by piece into a more complex experimental apparatus. This article describes the assembly logic that is used to combine individual components into experimental setups as part of the experimental procedure in student laboratories. Furthermore, the game environment can be equipped with functionality for monitoring the students’ progress and learning outcomes, thus enabling skill-based assessment.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
LOW DIETARY IODINE INTAKE AND THE FUNCTIONAL ACTIVITY OF THE RAT THYROID.

SummaryThe effects of low dietary iodine intake on the functional activity of the thyroid were studied in young female albino rats. The low iodine diet contained 0.05 ppm iodine, with casein as the primary protein source. Feeding this diet to 30-day-old rats for periods of up to 3 months increased the thyroid hormone secretion rate (TSR). The FBI was within the normal range but thyroid size was slightly increased as compared to the corresponding control rats of the same age fed Purina Lab Chow. On the low iodine diet, the percentage uptake of thyroidal-133I was greatly increased, and the biological half-life of thyroidal-131I was significantly reduced, indicating a faster turnover of thyroidal-iodine (hormones). The DNA content of the thyroids indicated hyperplasia and hypertrophy suggesting stimulation of the gland. It was concluded that under these experimental conditions the rat thyroid has the capacity to increase its activity to compensate for any moderate low dietary iodine for at least 3 months by ...
IRAS constraints on the sizes of Pluto and Charon

Thermal emission models indicate that Charon contributes a significant amount of the infrared radiation detected by IRAS during the observation of mutual eclipse events. The IRAS observations also show that the most probable diameters for Pluto and Charon are 2200 and 1300 (+ or - 150) km. These results are consistent with there being some atmosphere on Pluto.
Heuristics for negotiation schedules in multi-plan optimization

In cooperating systems such as grids [4] and collaborative streaming analysis [2], autonomous sites can establish "agreements" to arrange access to remote resources for a period of time [1]. The determination of which resources to reserve to accomplish a task need not be known a priori, because there exist multiple plans for accomplishing the same task and they may require access to different resources [3]. While these plans can be functionally equivalent, they may have different performance/cost tradeoffs and may use a variety of resources, both local and belonging to other sites. The negotiation schedule, i.e., the order in which remote resources are negotiated, determines how quickly one plan can be selected and deployed; it also decides the utility for running the plan. This paper studies the problem of optimizing negotiation schedules in cooperative systems with multiple plans. We first provide a voting-based heuristic that reduces the complexity O(n!) of the exhaustive search to O(mnq). We also present a weight-based heuristic that further reduces the complexity to O(mn). Experimental results show that, on average, 1) the voting-based approach achieved 6% higher utility than the weight-based approach but the voting-based approach has a much higher computation cost than the weight-based approach, 2) the two proposed approaches achieved almost 50% higher utility than a randomized approach; and 3) the average utility produced by the two proposed approaches are within almost 90% of that of the optimal results with reasonable plan sizes.
Optimal bidding in spot instance market

Amazon introduced Spot Instance Market to utilize the idle resources of Amazon Elastic Compute Cloud (EC2) more efficiently. The price of a spot instance changes dynamically according to the current supply and demand for cloud resources. Users can bid for a spot instance and the job request will be granted if the current spot price falls below the bid, whereas the job will be terminated if the spot price exceeds the bid. In this paper, we investigate the problem of designing a bidding strategy from a cloud service broker's perspective, where the cloud service broker accepts job requests from cloud users, and leverages the opportunistic yet less expensive spot instances for computation in order to maximize its own profit. In this context, we propose a profit aware dynamic bidding (PADB) algorithm, which observes the current spot price and selects the bid adaptively to maximize the time average profit of the cloud service broker. We show that our bidding strategy achieves a near-optimal solution, i.e., (1−∈) of the optimal solution to the profit maximization problem, where ∈ can be arbitrarily small. The proposed dynamic bidding algorithm is self-adaptive and requires no a priori statistical knowledge on the distribution of random job sizes from cloud users.
The joint council on thoracic surgery education coronary artery assessment tool has high interrater reliability

Background Barriers to incorporation of simulation in cardiothoracic surgery training include lack of standardized, validated objective assessment tools. Our aim was to measure interrater reliability and internal consistency reliability of a coronary anastomosis assessment tool created by the Joint Council on Thoracic Surgery Education. Methods Ten attending surgeons from different cardiothoracic residency programs evaluated nine video recordings of 5 individuals (1 medical student, 1 resident, 1 fellow, 2 attendings) performing coronary anastomoses on two simulation models, including synthetic graft task station (low fidelity) and porcine explant (high fidelity), as well as in the operative setting. All raters, blinded to operator identity, scored 13 assessment items on a 1 to 5 (low to high) scale. Each performance also received an overall pass/fail determination. Interrater reliability and internal consistency were assessed as intraclass correlation coefficients and Cronbach's α, respectively. Results Both interrater reliability and internal consistency were high for all three models (intraclass correlation coefficients = 0.98, 0.99, and 0.94, and Cronbach's α = 0.99, 0.98, and 0.97 for low fidelity, high fidelity, and operative setting, respectively). Interrater reliability for overall pass/fail determination using κ were 0.54, 0.86, 0.15 for low fidelity, high fidelity, and operative setting, respectively. Conclusions Even without instruction on the assessment tool, experienced surgeons achieved high interrater reliability. Future resident training and evaluation may benefit from utilization of this tool for formative feedback in the simulated and operative environments. However, summative assessment in the operative setting will require further standardization and anchoring.
Light-Load Efficiency Optimization Method

A method of maintaining high power-conversion efficiency across the entire load range and its circuit implementations are described. The proposed method substantially increases the conversion efficiency at light loads by minimizing switching and driving losses of semiconductor switches, as well as core losses of magnetic components. These losses are minimized by periodically turning off and on the power converter and by controlling the converter so that when the converter is on it operates at the power level that exhibits the maximum efficiency. The performance of the proposed method was evaluated on a 500-W, 400-V/12-V dc/dc converter and a 1-kW ac/dc boost PFC front end.
Deformation efFects in the compound nucleus decay using the spin-alignment method

Alpha-particle energy spectra and angular distributions with respect to the estimated spin direction of residual nuclei have been measured in heavy-ion fusion reactions. The spin direction was determined for each event by measuring the {gamma}-ray angular correlation patterns using the Spin Spectrometer. Measurements were made for the compound nuclear systems {sup 110}Sn{sup *}(94 MeV), {sup 114}Sn{sup *}(80 MeV), {sup 138}Nd{sup *}(82 MeV), {sup 164}Yb{sup *}(67 MeV), and {sup 170}Yb{sup *}(135 MeV) at the indicated excitation energies as a function of the alpha-particle energy and {gamma}-ray multiplicity. The anisotropy coefficients below the evaporation Coulomb barrier show distinct differences from {sup 110}Sn{sup *} to {sup 170}Yb{sup *}. These results and the shapes of the alpha-particle spectra are compared with statistical model calculations that incorporate deformation effects in the optical model transmission coefficients. The Sn{sup *} data can be explained without invoking deformation effects other than the ones included in the experimental yrast lines. However, for the heavier Yb{sup *} systems, a considerable spin-dependent deformation in the {alpha}-emission barriers is required. For these systems the {alpha} emission below the barrier is a sensitive probe for deformation that samples a broad range of excitation energies in the decay sequence.
Sexual behaviour of the Black Mountain dusky salamander (Desmognathus welteri), and the evolutionary history of courtship in the Desmognathinae

Plethodontid salamanders of the North American subfamily Desmognathinae offer excellent opportunities for an integrative understanding of the form, functions and phylogeny of sexual behaviour patterns. The first description of courtship in the Black Mountain dusky salamander Desmognathus welteri is presented. Once oriented toward their partners, males produce multiple tactile, visual and chemical stimuli that probably function to stimulate, or ‘persuade’, females to mate. Persuasion is accomplished by behaviour patterns that include head rubbing, butterfly, pulling and snapping, and perhaps nudging and tail undulation. Sperm transfer is indirect by a spermatophore that is deposited on the substrate during a sequence of behaviour patterns involving both sexes known as tail-straddling walk. Fine-scale synchronization and orientation of partners at this time is crucial for successful insemination. The evolutionary histories of eight sexual behaviour patterns for 19 taxa of desmognathine salamanders are then reconstructed. Our phyloethological analyses suggest that the courtship of desmognathines consists of a mosaic of ancestral (plesiomorphic) and derived (apomorphic) behavioural traits. The greatest variation among taxa involves behaviour patterns that are exhibited early in sexual encounters as, or shortly after, males orient toward females. Behaviour patterns that occur at closer range and most obviously are persuasive in function show less variation among taxa, and those that lead to sperm transfer (tail-straddling walk) are invariant. While our phyloethological analyses reveal aspects of the evolutionary history of behavioural form in the Desmognathinae, further work is needed before thorough analyses of behavioural functions can be conducted.
Characterization of bidentate phosphoryl compounds on soil particulates using SIMS

The presence of organic compounds as surface contaminants on particles can provide valuable data about the particles environment, but identification can be analytically challenging. This is true particularly for compounds that have the potential for strong surface binding, such as compounds capable of multidentate attachment. Direct analysis using time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectrometry was evaluated for characterization of soil particles contaminated with low concentrations of two bidentate organophosphoryl compounds, diphenyl-N,N-di-n-butylcarbamoylmethylphosphine oxide and tetraphenylmethylene diphosphine dioxide. Molecular ions were formed by cationization with H+ and alkali elements Na+ and K+ that are indigenous to the particle surface chemistry. Spectra generated from a contaminated calcareous soil were dominated by K+-containing ions, whereas spectra from a sandy loam had more abundant Na+-species. Cation-bound dimers were also formed which favored incorporation of K+, and a unique aluminosilicate-phosphoryl conjugate cation was also formed when the diphosphoryl ligand was present on the surface. The phosphoryl ligands also underwent fragmentation reactions, the course of which varied depending on the cation that was bound. Minimum detectable surface concentrations were evaluated and were in the 0.04–0.2 monolayer range, depending on the compound and soil particle matrix they was bound to. The ion signature was detected on soil particle surfaces for time periods exceeding six months, suggesting that the characterization approach could be used for environmental exposure history at times well beyond initial exposure. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Feminine in the Foundations of Organizational Psychology

This article examines how early work in the field of organizational psychology manifested the archetypal feminine, despite the lack of a feminist consciousness among notable theorists. It begins with an explanation of Jung's theory of the collective unconscious and the role of archetypes in the human psyche and then presents a hypothesis about how individual, social, and archetypal forces might have contributed to the expression of the feminine in the works of Eric Trist and William F. Whyte, who are chosen as exemplars of this phenomenon. The article concludes with a discussion of the legacy of their work-in particular, the field's amnesia about its roots and the use of the archetypal feminine in understanding gender roles.
Designing Large-Area, High-Efficiency, Single-Defect-Mode Vertically-Emitting Annular Bragg Lasers

By a comprehensive coupled-mode approach, we pinpoint a flaw in the previous design guidelines of vertically-emitting annular Bragg lasers and suggest new design guidelines with numerical demonstration of large-area, high-efficiency, single-defect mode lasing.
An allograft inflammatory factor 1 (AIF1) single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) is associated with anticentromere antibody positive systemic sclerosis

Objective To identify genetic associations between allograft inflammatory factor 1 (AIF1) and systemic sclerosis (SSc), or its subsets, using a single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in a replicate case-control study. Methods The frequencies of alleles and genotypes of an SNP, rs2269475, for the AIF1 gene were examined in two large independent cohorts of SSc patients (n = 1015 total), and compared with two groups of normal controls (n = 893 total). Both cases and controls were stratified by ethnicity (Caucasian, African American and Hispanic) and by autoantibody status [anti-centromere antibodies (ACA) and anti-topoisomerase I antibody (ATA)]. Results The minor T allele and CT/TT genotype frequencies of the AIF1 SNP were not observed more frequently in SSc patients of the three ethnic groups (individually or combined) when compared with controls. On the other hand, T and CT/TT frequencies were significantly increased in ACA-positive Caucasian SSc patients, and all ACA-positive SSc patients (the three ethnic groups combined), when compared with ACA-negative SSc patients and with normal controls, with odds ratios of approximately 1.5. Conclusion The data demonstrate a genetic association between AIF1 and the ACA-positive subset of SSc. This polymorphism is a non-synonymous substitution and therefore likely to represent an important functional change in AIF1. Since vascular pathology is a prominent feature in ACA-positive SSc patients, the observed association with a vasculotrophic inflammatory gene is biologically plausible and warrants further research.
Evaluation of ultrafiltration membranes with biological macromolecules.

Eighteen ultrafiltration membranes ranging in molecular weight cutoff ratings from 500 to 300,000 were tested with water, 0.5M NaCl solution, and, in some cases, with macromolecules and urea in a 3-in. stirred filter cell. Approximately half of the membranes showed a significant decrease in filtration rate during the first 24-hr period. The steady-state rates were less than the manufacturers' rating for about two thirds of the membranes, the discrepancy being greater for the membranes with high molecular weight cutoffs. The filtration rates were linearly dependent on applied pressure over the range at least as great as 15 to 55 psig. The rate decreased as the concentration of macromolecules such as transfer ribonucleic acid (tRNA) increased; the rate for a concentration of 3 mg tRNA/per ml was one-fourth of that observed when no tRNA was present. Some increase in rate (∼33 to 50%) was obtained by increasing the stirring speed from 100 rpm to 1000 rpm. The membranes were effective for desalting and concentration of macromolecules but not for separation of large molecules from each other, such as tRNA from bovine serum albumin. Easily denatured molecules such as catalase were not deactivated by filtration at 4°C.
Behavioral mechanisms of collective nest-site choice by the ant Temnothorax curvispinosus

This paper examines the individual behavior underlying collective choice among nest sites by the ant Temnothorax (formerly Leptothorax) curvispinosus. Colonies can actively compare options, rejecting a mediocre site when it is paired with a good one, but accepting the same mediocre design if it is instead paired with a worse site. This ability emerges from the behavior of an active minority of workers who organize emigrations. When one of these finds a promising site, she recruits nest mates to it, but only after a delay that varies inversely with site quality. Ants first recruit fellow active ants via slow tandem runs, but eventually switch to speedier transports of the colony’s passive majority. Later transports grow faster still, as ants improve their speed with experience. An ant’s choice of recruitment type is governed by a quorum rule, such that her likelihood of starting to transport increases with the population of the new site. The size of the quorum depends on experience, with ants demanding a larger population to launch immediately into transport than they do to switch to transport after first leading a few tandem runs. Perception of quorum attainment requires direct contact between ants. The ants’ behavior qualitatively matches that of T. albipennis, where models have shown that decentralized choice of the best site depends on quality-dependent recruitment delays, amplified by a quorum rule for initiating transport. Parameter estimates for an agent-based model show significant quantitative differences between the species, and suggest that T. albipennis may place relatively greater emphasis on emigration speed.
Cosimulation for verification of digital control implementation

As digital control finds its way into applications, tools for verification of hardware implementation becomes attractive as it will save time and reduce cost in the development phase. This paper presents a method to cosimulation a plant model on a computer with algorithms running on actual hardware. A simulation platform is developed to support cosimulation of processes' model and actual digital control hardware, with modeling of analog/digital signal interfaces. The effects of discrete sampling times, calculation delays caused by the processor can be accurately analyzed. Source code for the final application can be developed and verify with the "virtual plant" in the cosimulation environment prior to testing with real power stage prototype. The propose approach is valuable to a digital controller whose instruction-set-simulator is not available. To demonstrate the approach, cosimulation results of a simplified maximum power point tracker for solar power system is presented.
Comparison of Pain Assessment Instruments in Cognitively Intact and Cognitively Impaired Nursing Home Residents

This study was conducted to determine which pain severity and location instruments were most useful in the nursing home setting. Pain severity and location were assessed monthly for 1 year in 37 participants enrolled in a restorative rehabilitation program. Pain location was determined by the residents' indications on a diagram, a doll, and their body. Pain severity was determined by resident response to verbal, visual analog, faces, and word scales. Cognitively impaired residents had greater difficulty using all instruments. The McGill Word Scale was used most to determine pain severity. Pointing to themselves most frequently determined pain location among residents. New strategies are needed for pain assessment in the elderly, especially the cognitively impaired elderly, and a combination of instruments to assess pain in the latter group may be necessary.
A Three Dimensional Iterative Panel Method for Bio-Inspired Multi-Body Wings

The continuing growth of Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) use in reconnaissance and surveillance has led to an increased demand for novel flight systems that improve vehicle flight capabilities in cluttered and turbulent environments. Bio-inspired wings with feather-like flaps have been proposed to enable bird-scale UAVs to fly robustly in such environments. This paper presents the development of a three-dimensional iterative constant strength doublet Adaptive Panel Method (APM) for calculating the flight characteristics of a multi-body wing operating in any of its possible configurations. A three-dimensional wake relaxation algorithm is incorporated into the model, which enables accurate wake shapes and down-stream roll-up for each flap configuration to be derived. Wake modeling is shown to improve the accuracy of the pressure distributions induced by the wake-body interactions. The flight coefficients calculated using this method are validated by experimental values obtained from a low speed suction wind tunnel operating at a Reynolds number of 300,000. Finally, it is shown that the APM aids in determining accurate surface loads for the preliminary design process of multi-body wings.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Determinants of Political Science Faculty Salaries at the University of California

Combining salary data for permanent non-emeritus faculty at seven departments of political science within the University of California system with lifetime citation counts and other individual-level data from the Masuoka, Grofman, and Feld (2007a) study of faculty at Ph.D.-granting political science departments in the United States, I analyze determinants of faculty salaries. For the full data set the main finding are that (1) base salaries of UC political science faculty are slightly more strongly correlated to citation rates (annualized or total lifetime citations) as a measure of research visibility than they are to seniority measured by years since receipt of the Ph.D.; and (2) that gender differences and subfield differences in salary essentially vanish once I take into account both year of Ph.D. and research visibility (as measured by annualized citation counts), while gender inequities would appear to exist if I did not control for both variables.