cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Docosahexaenoic acid supplementation fully restores fertility and spermatogenesis in male delta-6 desaturase-null mice

Delta-6 desaturase-null mice (−/−) are unable to synthesize highly unsaturated fatty acids (HUFAs): arachidonic acid (AA), docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), and n6-docosapentaenoic acid (DPAn6). The −/− males exhibit infertility and arrest of spermatogenesis at late spermiogenesis. To determine which HUFA is essential for spermiogenesis, a diet supplemented with either 0.2% (w/w) AA or DHA was fed to wild-type (+/+) and −/− males at weaning until 16 weeks of age (n = 3–5). A breeding success rate of DHA-supplemented −/− was comparable to +/+. DHA-fed −/− showed normal sperm counts and spermiogenesis. Dietary AA was less effective in restoring fertility, sperm count, and spermiogenesis than DHA. Testis fatty acid analysis showed restored DHA in DHA-fed −/−, but DPAn6 remained depleted. In AA-fed −/−, AA was restored at the +/+ level, and 22:4n6, an AA elongated product, accumulated in testis. Cholesta-3,5-diene was present in testis of +/+ and DHA-fed −/−, whereas it diminished in −/− and AA-fed −/−, suggesting impaired sterol metabolism in these groups. Expression of spermiogenesis marker genes was largely normal in all groups. In conclusion, DHA was capable of restoring all observed impairment in male reproduction, whereas 22:4n6 formed from dietary AA may act as an inferior substitute for DHA.
Imaging sulfur mustard lesions in human epidermal tissues and keratinocytes by confocal and multiphoton microscopy

Topical exposure to sulfur mustard (HD), a known theat agent, produces persistent and debilitating cutaneous blisters. The blisters occur at the dermal-epidermal junction following a dose-dependent latent period of 8-24 h, however, the primary lesions causing vesication remain uncertain. Immunofluorescent images reveal that a 5-min exposure to 400 (mu) M HD disrupts molecules that are also disrupted by epidermolysis bullosa-type blistering diseases of the skin. Using keratinocyte cultures and fluorochomes conjugated to two different keratin-14 (K14) antibodies (clones CKB1 and LL002), results have shown a statistically significant (p<0.1) 1-h decrease of 29.2% in expression of the CKB1 epitope, a nearly complete loss of CKB1 expression within 2 h, and progressive cytoskeletal (K14) collapse without loss in expression of the LL002 epitope. With human epidermal tissues, multi-photon images of (alpha) 6 integrin and laminin 5 showed disruptive changes in the cell-surface organization and integrity of these adhesion molecules. At 1 H postexposure, analyses showed a statistically significant (p<0.1) decrease of 27.3% in (alpha) 6 integrin emissions, and a 32% decrease in laminin 5 volume. Multi-photon imaging indicates that molecules essential for epidermal-dermal attachment are early targets in the alkylating events leading to HD-induced vesication.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Evolution and foreign influence in ancient law

Today the study of comparative legal history is largely neglected, where not completely avoided. The reasons are understandable. Scholars are aware, to a greater degree than in the past, of the many pitfalls into which this science-if science it be-is prone to fall.1 It is fully realised that linguistic facility is essential to a scholarly approach to any text, and that laws may not be taken in isolation from their mother systems, but must be considered according to the functions they serve as parts of an infinitely larger total legal complex.2 Furthermore, modern scholarship is confronted by many new discoveries presented by the archaeologist's spade,3 by new papyri,4 and manuscripts5 which must inevitably result in reconsideration of textual problems which had hitherto appeared settled. These are some of the factors which have caused legal historians to turn their attention away from comprehensive theories of legal development, such as those proposed by Maine,6 Diamond,7 and Seagle,8 and towards
Structure and dynamics of copoly(oxyethylene‐oxypropylene‐oxyethylene) in o‐xylene/water mixtures

Abstract: The structure and dynamics of supramolecules of a triblock copolymer, copoly(oxyethylene-oxypropylene-oxyethylene), also known as PLURONIC L64: PEO13PPO30PEO13, in o-xylene/water mixtures were studied by means of dynamic light scattering, small-angle X-ray scattering and NMR. At low copolymer concentrations, micelles coexisted with unimers and the micellar size increased with increasing amount of water in the mixture. Large aggregates were formed at higher copolymer concentrations. The size and the amount of the large aggregates increased with increasing amount of water in the mixtures, and increasing copolymer concentration. The solubilized water can be classified into free-water(forming hydrogen bond with water) and bound-water(forming hydrogen bond with EO units). The environment of EO units changed with the amount of solubilized water. The conformation of the copolymer remained essentially the same before and after micellization and did not change with the amount of solubilized water.
Decreased feeding associated with acute hypoxia in rats.

Rats obtained less food than normal on a cyclic-ratio schedule during brief, 1-hr exposure to either moderate hypobaric hypoxia (BP=435 Torr, PO2≈91 Torr) or to hypoxic hypoxia (BP=750 Torr, PO2≈90 Torr), but not during hypobaric exposure with 36.5% oxygen (BP=435 Torr, PO2≈159 Torr). The depressed rate of feeding associated with hypoxia was nevertheless well regulated. Interpreted in terms of a regulatory model, these results suggest that hypoxia suppresses eating because it degrades the taste of food, not because it impairs feeding regulation or general activity.
Possible signature of charged Higgs particles in high energy e+e− annihilation

Abstract Possible indications of the existence of charged Higgs scalar particles are discussed in an SU(2)×U(1) model. Four-K and six-K final states at high energy e + e − annihilation are suggested for the signature of the existence of the charged scalar particle.
beta-Strand Flipping and Slipping Triggered by Turn Replacement Reveal the Opportunistic Nature of beta-Strand Pairing

We investigated how the register between adjacent β-strands is specified using a series of mutants of the single-layer β-sheet (SLB) in Borrelia OspA. The single-layer architecture of this system eliminates structural restraints imposed by a hydrophobic core, enabling us to address this question. A critical turn (turn 9/10) in the SLB was replaced with a segment with an intentional structural mismatch. Its crystal structure revealed a one-residue insertion into the central β-strand (strand 9) of the SLB. This insertion triggered a surprisingly large-scale structural rearrangement: (i) the central strand (strand 9) was shifted by one residue, causing the strand to flip with respect to the adjacent β-strands and thus completely disrupting the native side-chain contacts; (ii) the three-residue turn located on the opposite end of the β-strand (turn 8/9) was pushed into its preceding β-strand (strand 8); (iii) the register between strands 8 and 9 was shifted by three residues. Replacing the original sequence ...
Postoperative neuropathies after major pelvic surgery

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To estimate the incidence, etiology, and outcome of neuropathies after major gynecologic surgery and to recommend management and prevention strategies for these complications. METHODS: The medical records of women who suffered neuropathy after major pelvic surgery between July 1995 and June 2001 were reviewed. Mechanism of injury, treatment, and outcome were determined from the patient charts. RESULTS: Twenty-three of 1210 patients undergoing major pelvic surgery during the defined period suffered a postoperative neuropathy for an incidence of 1.9%. Neurologic injury involved the obturator (n = 9), ilioinguinal/iliohypogastric (n = 5), genitofemoral (n = 4), femoral (n = 3), and lumbosacral nerve plexus (n = 2) in these women. Etiologies were a result of direct surgical trauma, stretch injury, suture entrapment, or were retractor related. All patients with motor deficits were treated with physiotherapy, and pharmacologic or surgical management was used in women with sensory deficits or pain. Seventy-three percent of the women experienced full recovery; the only patients with persistent symptoms were those with unrepaired nerve transection or injury to the lumbosacral plexus. Both time to diagnosis and time to resolution varied widely. CONCLUSION: Neuropathies are infrequently associated with major pelvic surgery. We observed a 73% complete recovery rate, and time to resolution varied depending on the severity of injury. Physical therapy plays a valuable role in managing these patients, but some may require surgery for relief of their symptoms.
Acceleration of polarized protons to multi-GeV energies and experiments with polarized protons from 2–6 GeV/c

Acceleration of polarized protons. Experiments with polarized protons. Proton-proton total cross-section. Two and three spin proton elastic scattering measurements. Polarization measurements in nucleon-nucleon elastic scattering. Inelastic interactions. Inclusive lambda production. Coherent polarized proton4He interactions. Parity tests.
Structure of Amorphous Silicon and Silicon Hydrides

Neutron scattering measurements have been made on pure, hydrogenated, and deuterated samples of amorphous silicon ($a$-Si) in the wave-vector range 0.007-8.75 ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$. Small-angle data indicate structures in the samples of average radius of gyration as large as 270 \AA{}. Large-angle data show that for the concentrations we have measured (14%), the structure of $a$-Si is not altered by the incorporation of large amounts of H or D. The silicon-hydrogen and silicon-deuterium partial structure factors have also been obtained.
TonB-dependent transporter FhuA in planar lipid bilayers: partial exit of its plug from the barrel.

TonB-dependent transporters (TBDTs), which transport iron-chelating siderophores and vitamin B12 across the outer membrane of Gram-negative bacteria, share a conserved architecture of a 22-stranded β-barrel with an amino-terminal plug domain occluding the barrel. We previously reported that we could induce TBDTs to reversibly open in planar lipid bilayers via the use of urea and that these channels were responsive to physiological concentrations of ligands. Here we report that in the presence of urea, trypsin can cleave the amino-terminal 67 residues of the plug of the TonB-dependent transporter FhuA, as assessed by gel shift and mass spectrometry assays. On the bilayer, trypsin treatment in the presence of urea resulted in the induced conductance no longer being reversed upon removal of urea, suggesting that urea opens intact FhuA channels by pulling the plug at least partly out of the barrel and that removal of the urea then allows reinsertion of the plug into the barrel. When expressed separately, the ...
MANY-ELECTRON EFFECTS ON DYNAMIC PROCESSES IN DENSE MATTER

Large scale calculations quantum mechanical calculations of dynamic processes in dense helium suggest that quasi-molecular effects may play an important role in determining the transport properties of dense plasma.
Thalamic connections of the insula in the rhesus monkey and comments on the paralimbic connectivity of the medial pulvinar nucleus

Thalamic connections of the insula in the rhesus monkey were studied with axonal transport methods. Tritiated amino acid injections limited to the insula revealed autoradiographic label in the principal and parvicellular components of the ventroposterior medial nucleus, the ventroposterior inferior nucleus, the oral and medial pulvinar nuclei, the nucleus reuniens, the parvicellular and magnocellular components of the medial dorsal nucleus, the centromedian-parafasicularis nuclei, and the reticular nucleus. In additional animals, tritiated amino acids and horseradish perioxidase injections were made within different regions of the insula. Although the injection sites in these additional cases may have included minor extensions into claustrum and adjacent structures, several tentative conclusions emerged with respect to the antero-posterior gradient in insulothalamic connectivity. The anterior insula appears to have a more extensive relationship with the ventroposterior medial complex, the medial dorsal nucleus, the centromedian-parafasicularis nuclei and with some midline nuclei. In contrast, the posterior insula is more extensively connected with the ventroposterior inferior nucleus, the oral and medial pulvinar nuclei, and the suprageniculate nucleus. The patterns of insulothalamic connections support conclusions derived from observations on the cortical connectivity of the primate insular cortex indicating that the anterior insula is related to olfactory, gustatory, and viscero-autonomic behavior, whereas the posterior insula is related to auditory-somesthetic-skeletomotor function (Mesulam and Mufson, '82b). The medial pulvinar nucleus has extensive connections with many paralimbic cortical regions including the insula as well as with high order polymodal association cortex. These findings suggest that the medial pulvinar may provide a region for the convergence of multisensory association input with limbic information.
Service Learning in Germany: A Four-Week Summer Teaching Program in Saxony-Anhalt.

This article describes a four-week service learning abroad program. Students from a U.S. university assist and teach in elementary school English classes for one month in Saxony-Anhalt, Germany while living with their German partner teachers. The program description and students' feedback illustrate that this program provides students with the opportunity to improve their cultural and language competence through immersion in the German culture away from their American peers. Students report feeling engaged in the lives of their host families and schools and gain new understandings of the German culture through the perspectives they encounter during their month of volunteering.
Comparative in vitro activity of the new oral cephalosporin BMY-28100.

Using a broth microdilution method, the in vitro activity of BMY-28100 against 365 clinical strains of commonly isolated bacteria was determined. BMY-28100 showed good activity against streptococci, methicillin-susceptible staphylococci,Salmonella spp.,Shigella spp., and beta-lactamase producing Branhamella catorrhalis and Haemophilus influenzae.Against susceptible strains of these organisms, BMY-28100 showed activity comparable to that of penicillin G, ampicillin, co-trimoxazole, erythromycin, cefaclor, doxycycline and amoxicillin/potassium clavulanate. BMY-28100 had moderate activity against Arizona hinshawii and poor activity against Campylobacter jejuni and Yersinia enterocolitica.
Simultaneous Determination of Propranolol Enantiomers in Plasma by High-Performance Liquid Chromatography with FIuorescence Detection

A simple, rapid, and sensitive assay for the simultaneous quantification of the (−)- and (+)-propranolol in human and dog plasma is described using a reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) system with fluorescence detection. The method involves extraction of propranolol enantiomers from plasma into 1% 1-butanol in n-hexane at basic pH, followed by evaporation of the organic phase and the formation of diastereomeric derivatives with the chiral reagent (−)-menthyl chloroformate. (+)-Flecainide is used as the internal standard. The limiting concentration of each enantiomer that can be detected is 1 ng/mL plasma. In six normal human volunteers, who received a single oral dose of 80 mg of racemic propranolol, the plasma levels of the (−)-enantiomer were always higher than those of the (+)-enantiomer with a mean (−):(+) ratio of 1.38. The half-lives of both the enantiomers were similar (3.5 ± 0.3 h). In six normal male mongrel dogs given a single intraportal dose of 40 mg of racemic propranolol, the plasma levels of the (−)-enantiomerwere always lower than those of the (+)-enantiomer with a mean (−):(+) ratio of 0.48. The half-life of the (−)-enantiomer (73.3 ± 16.2 min) was shorter than that of the (+)-enantiomer (87.1 ± 18.1 min).
Self-administration of an enkephalin analog by rhesus monkey.

Intravenous injections of a synthetic enkephalin analog, FK-33-824 were found to maintain operant responding under second-order schedule control (FR 4 [VR 16:S]) in five, morphine-dependent rhesus monkeys. All monkeys self-administered enkephalin in amounts equivalent to morphine at comparable doses per injection. Each of five doses of enkephalin (0.5, 0.25, 0.125, 0.05 and 0.01 mg/kg/inj) were substituted for morphine during 10 consecutive sessions over a 56 hr period. No monkey developed opiate withdrawal signs during enkephalin substitution except at the lowest enkephalin dose (0.01 mg/kg/inj). Although the number of enkephalin injections self-administered increased as the dose per injection progressively decreased, there was a significant linear decrease (p<0.05) in mg/kg/enkephalin per session at doses of 0.25 mg/kg/inj and below. Reductions in morphine dose per injection, over a range of 0.5 to 0.125 mg/kg/inj produced comparable increases in number of injections per session, but no significant changes in morphine intake. The number of food pellets earned on a second order FR 4 (VR 16:S) schedule decreased during enkephalin substitution. These decreases were significant at the highest doses of enkephalin (0.5 to 0.125 mg/kg/inj). These data attest to the reinforcing characteristics of an enkephalin analog in rhesus monkey and suggest that natural polypeptides may contribute to the reinforcing properties of opiate drugs.
Observations on the Vertical Polarization and Energy Flux of Near-Inertial Waves

Abstract Vertical profiles of horizontal ocean currents are used to study the vertical structure and temporal behavior of internal waves in the ocean, particularly those near the local inertial frequency. The polarization, or direction in which the horizontal velocity vector of an internal wave rotates with depth, is an important feature of the vertical structure, since it provides information on the direction and magnitude of the vertical wave energy flux. Analysis of a time series of profiles at one location over smooth topography shows that the observed wave polarization and phase propagation in the vertical are consistent, at least within the limits of the observational technique that was employed, with the linear dispersion relation for internal waves. The fact that the waves are polarized in the clockwise sense with increasing pressure shows that they have a net downward energy flux. A spectral decomposition of the profiles into clockwise and anti-clockwise components provides an estimate of 0.2–0.4...
Introduction to the Special Issue: Examining the Relationship Between Trauma and Addiction

Trauma and trauma-related disorders as well as substance misuse and substance use disorders are often integral to the problems and issues that social workers contend with in their practice. Further...
Snowshoe Hare Population Response to Artificial High Densities

Demographic response of snowshoe hare ( Lepus americanus ) populations to artificial high densities was studied during summer and autumn near Rochester, Alberta. Experimental populations were established by transplanting hares onto islands in lakes in May and June. High-density populations on Dapp Island (15.4 hectares) in 1970 and Birch Island (3.6 hectares) in 1971 were adversely affected by food shortages. Rates of pregnancy and adult survival rates in these high-density populations did not differ from unmanipulated natural populations near Rochester, but juvenile survival was markedly lower. In 1972, a fence was constructed across Birch Island to separate two introduced high-density populations. One was supplementally fed commercial rabbit pellets ad libitum and the other was forced to subsist on an insufficient quantity of native vegetation. Again, survival among adults was comparable in the fed and unfed high-density island populations and unmanipulated populations at lower densities. Pregnancy rates were lower and no young were found in the unfed island population. In comparisons with low-density Rochester populations, no adverse demographic responses such as reduced pregnancy or higher juvenile mortality was recorded in the fed high-density population. The high disappearance rate of juveniles from all high-density populations with limited food appeared to have been directly linked to food scarcity which affected young more severely than adults. We could find no evidence that either parasitic or viral diseases, or social stresses, as indexed by incidence of scarring and adrenal weights, were acting as direct mortality factors in the food-limited high-density experimental populations.
Improved signal and reduced noise in neural recordings from close-spaced electrode arrays using independent component analysis as a preprocessor

Noise can greatly complicate the isolation of individual cell action potential waveforms for the sake of electrophysiological analysis. For an experiment involving recording in the thalamus/subthalamus areas of a rat brain, a hybrid hardware/software method was utilized to improve the signal-to-noise quality of the recorded signal on each recording channel. The procedure uses closely spaced recording electrode arrays and independent component analysis (ICA) to fortify the signal energy of a single spike by combining input from several channels, and concurrently to reduce the noise on each channel by isolating common mode components such as artifacts, slow waves, and correlated distant spike activation. In the next step, a wavelet denoising-based signal-to-noise assessment is used to quantify the improvement in data quality for each data record. The data presented here demonstrate that this method, which can be applied off-line as a preprocessor to other time domain or transform domain spike sorting methods, is consistently effective at improving data quality and facilitating subsequent detection and classification of neurons.
Speech perception results in children with cochlear implants: Contributing factors

Speech perception test results were obtained from a group of 40 pediatric cochlear implant users. Half of the children participated in oral-only habilitation programs, which included both traditional oral and auditory-verbal approaches, and half participated in programs that used a combination of oral and manual communication referred to as total communication (TC). Analysis of the scores showed that children enrolled in oral-only habilitation programs scored significantly higher on the speech perception measures than did children who were enrolled in total communication based programs. These results were inconsistent with those of other reports, which suggested that communication methods had little effect on implant outcomes. To further examine the reasons for the differences in performance, we analyzed 7 additional factors, including length of implant use, age at surgery, device type, socioeconomic status, bilingualism, school setting, and participation in private therapy, which may affect implant performance. Multiple-regression analysis again showed communication mode to be the factor most highly correlated with speech perception abilities among this group of children.
Stratigraphic profiling in the Antarctic dry valleys

We have obtained the first ground-penetrating radar profiles of permafrost in the Dry Valleys of Antarctica. The area has long been thought of as a possible analog for Martian conditions. We interpret deltaic glacio-fluvial outwash, the disposition of lodgement till, and eroded out-wash previously thought to be terminal moraine from 100- and 400-MHz profiles at selected sites in McKelvey, central Wright, and lower Taylor Valleys, respectively. The relative permittivity appears to range between about 4 - 5.5 , which is consistent with the dense silty and sandy gravel, mineralogy and low ice content. Maximum depth of stratigraphy profiled was about 30 m. Weak interface reflectivity may limit interpretation of maximum penetration because absorption should be low, and scarce diffractions at depth imply weak scattering at 100 MHz. Future GPR systems in the Dry Valleys and on Mars should use colinear antennas to accommodate the rocky surfaces, and lower frequencies to search for deeper reflectors such as bedrock.
Anharmonicity in Noble Metals: Some Thermal Properties

The room-temperature Gr\"uneisen parameters of copper, silver, and gold have been calculated within the quasiharmonic approximation, using the anisotropic-continuum model and values of the third-order elastic constants recently determined. The agreement between the calculated and the experimental values is good for copper and silver, but only fair (12%) for gold. Expressions for the temperature dependences of the three second-order elastic constants have been derived using the continuum model. These depend upon the second-, third-, and fourth-order elastic constants. The fourth-order elastic constants of copper, silver, and gold have been computed using these expressions, and it was found that they are positive in sign and of the order of ${10}^{14}$ dyn/${\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$ in magnitude. Only the closed-shell repulsive interaction between nearest-neighbor ions was taken into account in computing the fourth-order constants. Previous work has indicated that this might be a good approximation for noble metals. The two parameters in the Born-Mayer potential expressing the repulsive interaction were evaluated, and reasonable values were obtained for copper and silver. Anomalous results for gold indicate that contributions to the higher order elastic constants from other than ion-core repulsion cannot be ignored in that metal.
Rapid solvation of a nonpolar solute measured by ultrafast transient holeburning

Abstract Holeburning spectra from 1 ps to 1.2 ns have been measured for dimethyl- s -tetrazine dissolved in glycerol triacetate. Clean excitation of the well-separated 0–0 vibronic transition insures that only solvent dynamics contribute to the hole broadening. The majority of the interaction relaxes in less than a picosecond, with a second process relaxing in ≈ 2 ps. This solvation process is much faster than the 700 ps dielectric solvation of a highly polar solute in the same solvent, as measured by time-resolved Stokes shifts.
Biventricular non-compaction with predominant right ventricular involvement, reduced left ventricular systolic and diastolic function, and pulmonary hypertension in a Hispanic male.

Patient: Male, 22 Final Diagnosis: Cardiomyopathy Symptoms: Shortness of breath • dispnoea • chest discomfort Medication: — Clinical Procedure: Echocardiogram • cardiac MRI Specialty: Cardiology Objective: Challenging differential diagnosis Background: Non-compaction cardiomyopathy (NCM) is a rare congenital cardiomyopathy characterized by increased trabeculation in one or more segments of the ventricle. The left ventricle is most commonly affected. However, biventricular involvement or right ventricle predominance has also been described. Clinical features of NCM are non-specific and can range from being asymptomatic to symptoms of congestive heart failure, arrhythmia, and systemic thromboembolism. Case Report: 22-year-old Hispanic male presented with two month history of chest discomfort. Laboratory workup revealed an elevated brain-natriuretic-peptide of 1768 pg/ml. ECG and chest x-ray was nonspecific. Transthoracic echocardiogram revealed prominent trabeculae and spongiform appearance of the left ventricle (LV) with an ejection-fraction of 15–20%; 5 of 9 segments of the LV were trabeculated with deep intertrabecular recesses also involving the right ventricle (RV) with demonstrated blood flow in these recesses on color-doppler. The biventricular spongiform appearance was morphologically suggestive for NCM with involvement of the RV. Confirmatory cardiac MRI was performed, demonstrating excessive trabeculation of the left-ventricular apex and mid-ventricular segments. Hypertrabecularion was exhibited at the apical and lateral wall of the RV. Cardiac catheterization showed an intact cardiac vessel system. The patient was discharged on heart failure treatment and was placed on the heart transplantation list. Conclusions: NCM is a unique disorder resulting in serious and severe complications. The majority of the reported cases describe the involvement of the left ventricle. However, the right ventricle should be taken into careful consideration. The early diagnosis may help to increase the event-free survival.
Grounds for Optimism

Katz observes that research “should be part of the creative and policy process, and that the competitive system of broadcasting requires that it be part of that process.”
Boundary layers in crystal growth -Facts and fancy

Abstract The term “boundary layer” has become a catch-all expression in discussions of interfacial transport phenomena in crystal growth. It is shown that during the solidification or crystallization of many materials from their melt or solutions, gradients in velocity or concentration, even when locally steep at the respective interface, do not necessarily possess the features of a fluid dynamically well defined boundary layer. In crystal growth from vapors, on the other hand, such gradients often extend essentially over the whole bulk nutrient, i.e. spatial changes are gradual and no narrow layers are formed. Consequently, predictions of crystal growth transport phenomena based on boundary layer models cannot be expected to be accurate. In order for this review to benefit an interdisciplinary readership, the presentation is mostly phenomenological. For further studies of this complex topic, more rigorous and specialized treatments are referenced.
Real-time observation of cathodic cleaning during variable-polarity gas tungsten arc welding of aluminium alloy

Online observation is expected to provide a better understanding of the cathodic cleaning of oxides from the molten pool during variable-polarity gas tungsten arc welding (VP GTAW) of aluminium alloys. In this paper, a machine-vision system with appropriate illumi- nation and filtering is used to monitor in real time the effect of different process parameters on the cleaning of oxides from the molten pool during VP GTAW of Al 6061. Based on the observations, the process conditions under which a clean molten pool can be achieved are determined. In addition, the control of the welding process to maintain the consistency of cathodic cleaning is discussed. The results showed that in order to have an oxide-free molten pool, the solid surface in front of the molten pool should be cleaned from oxides by the electric arc. The choice of process parameters to satisfy this condition has been discussed. It was found that the percentage of direct current electrode positive (DCEP) polarity in the cycle of current has the highest impact on the cathodic cleaning, with the arc current having less influence, and the welding speed showing the least effect. Furthermore, in order to keep the consistency of oxide cleaning, process parameters should be set or controlled to maintain the cleaned zone larger than the molten pool.
Approach to blind image deconvolution by multiscale subband decomposition and independent component analysis

A single-frame multichannel blind image deconvolution technique has been formulated recently as a blind source separation problem solved by independent component analysis (ICA). The attractive feature of this approach is that neither origin nor size of the spatially invariant blurring kernel has to be known. To enhance the statistical independence among the hidden variables, we employ multiscale analysis implemented by wavelet packets and use mutual information to locate a subband with the least dependent components, where the basis matrix is learned by means of standard ICA. We show that the proposed algorithm is capable of performing blind deconvolution of nonstationary signals that are not independent and identically distributed processes. The image poses these properties. The algorithm is tested on experimental data and compared with state-of-the-art single-frame blind image deconvolution algorithms. Our good experimental results demonstrate the viability of the proposed concept.
Intermediate Sanctions: A Comparative Analysis of the Probability and Severity of Recidivism

Social scientists have a longstanding concern with the relationship between criminal sanctions and offenders’future behavior. This paper uses data from a sample of 528 adult felony offenders to compare the relative probability of rearrest, the severity of rearrest, and the likelihood of probation revocation for offenders with a sentence of incarceration, work release, house arrest, and traditional probation—or a combination of these sentences. Consistent with previous research, prior record, gender, offense type, and education were significantly related to the probability and severity of rearrest. Furthermore, no matter which other sanction it was paired with, house arrest was associated with reduced chances of rearrest and lower rearrest severity. The influence of one of these sanction combinations was gender-specific: incarceration followed by house arrest was associated with reduced odds of rearrest for women but not for men. However, house arrest was associated with the considerably increased likelihood of probation revocation. In addition, these effects remain after controlling for potential selection bias stemming from the sentencing decision. This paper concludes by discussing the theoretical and correctional implications of these findings and directions for future research.
Effect of Foliar Applied Simazine and Ammonium Nitrate on the Elemental Content of Cowpea Seeds

The elemental concentration of K, Na, P, Ca, Fe, Mg, Cu, Zn, and Mn was determined in seeds of three cultivars of cowpeas [Vigna unguiculata (L.) Walp.] treated with 0, 2000, and 4000 ppm simazine as a foliar spray and side dressed with 0, 30, and 60 kg/ha ammonium nitrate fertilizer. The element Ca was increased by the simazine treatment in‘Pinkeye Purple Hull’and Mn was increased by the ammonium nitrate fertilizer treatment in‘Mississippi Silver’. Significant fertilizer by simazine interactions were found with the remaining elements. Similar treatment responses in the elemental concentration were found among the three cultivars. The percentage recommended dietary allowances based on the individual elemental concentrations that a 100s raw edible portion of cowpeas would supply were not significantly affected by the treatments.
Solid-phase extraction of cytokinins from aqueous solutions with C18 cartridges and their use in a rapid purification procedure

Eleven cytokinins-including bases, ribosides, glucosides, and ribotides-were tested for their retention on C18 cartridges that were washed with 40 mL of water or a dilute acid at pH 3. Cytokinins were then eluted with methanol and analyzed by high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). All pure cytokinin were well retained when the cartridge was washed with water, but Z and (diH)Z were less well retained at pH 3. The ribotides required 80% methanol for elution. Cotton leaf tissue (500 mg dry wt) was spiked with cytokinins, extracted with 80% methanol, and the extract bulk purified with hexane, insoluble polyvinylpyrrolidone, and minicolumns (strong anion exchange, amino, and C18 cartridges). Ribotides, added to leaf tissue, could not be recovered as ribotides; it was necessary to hydrolyze and purify them as ribosides. The cytokinins were separated and analyzed by HPLC on strong cation exchange and C18 columns. Recoveries through the entire procedure averaged 70%.
Modelling park 'n ride and kiss 'n ride as submodal choices

The logit modeling methodology is applied to include transit access mode choices in conjunction with the automobile vs. transit travel choice decision. The practical problems that arise when the choice set expands beyond two alternatives are identified and addressed. In particular, the complexities that must be resolved in order to use ULOGIT or a similar program include the definition of independent choices (the Independence of Irrelevant Alternatives Property (IIA)), a sequential binary or multinomial logit model (MNL) structure, specification and testing of variables, and the potential for transferring the model to new areas for transportation planning purposes. It was found that the available options cannot be reduced to a single modeling strategy. However, the analysis showed certain concepts which can reduce the uncertainties in related applications of the logit model. It was determined that as many independent choices as possible should be hypothesized and tested for inclusion in the model, but the IIA must be carefully considered because it limits the number of choices that can be represented. Although binary calibration techniques are conceptually appealing, the large number of calibrations for studies involving more than three alternatives suggests that the MNL approach is most practical. Application of the MNL model requires that not only must variables be selected that best explain choice, but they must also be placed in the disutility function of the specific mode or modes to which they are most unique. Finally, it was shown that if choice sets and homogeneous market segments are properly defined, the models can be transferred among different urban areas even though the urban areas exhibit different aggregate characteristics. All observations lead to the general conclusion that the logit modeling methodology can now best be advanced with implementation experience.
Recruiting, Retention, and Race in the Military

Abstract In the United States (U.S.) military, race and/or ethnicity serve as identifiable factors in recruitment, promotion, and retention patterns. African Americans are overrepresented especially in the Army and within the enlisted corps relative to their proportion within the civilian population. And while Hispanics constitute the fastest growing segment of the workforce as well as in society, they are underrepresented in the military. This study confirms the disparity of underrepresented minorities within the officer corps. It explored the recruiting and retention challenges with certain groups, the role of race and/or ethnicity, and what the U.S. military can do to attract underrepresented groups to its officer corps. As part of the discourse, the author also draws from similar experiences of militaries within the international community.
Novel power grid reduction method based on L1 regularization

Model order reduction exploiting the spectral properties of the admittance matrix, known as the graph Laplacian, to control the approximation accuracy is a promising new class of approaches to power grid analysis. In this paper we introduce a method that allows a dramatic increase in the resulting graph sparsity and can handle large dense input graphs. The method is based on the observation that the information about the realistic ranges of port currents can be used to significantly improve the resulting graph sparsity. In practice, port currents cannot vary unboundedly and the estimates of peak currents are often available early in the design cycle. However, the existing methods including the sampling-based spectral sparsification approach [11] cannot utilize this information. We propose a novel framework of graph Sparsification by L1 regularization on Laplacians (SparseLL) to exploit the available range information to achieve a higher degree of sparsity and better approximation quality. By formulating the power grid reduction as a sparsity-inducing optimization problem, we leverage the recent progress in stochastic approximation and develop a stochastic gradient descent algorithm as an efficient solution. Using established benchmarks for experiments, we demonstrate that SparseLL can achieve an up to 10X edge sparsity improvement compared to the spectral sparsification approach assuming the full range of currents, with an up to 10X accuracy improvement. The running time of our algorithm also scales quite favorably due to the low complexity and fast convergence, which leads us to believe that our algorithm is highly suitable for large-scale dense problems.
What Is Business And Industrial Marketing

There is no single, clear, specific definition of business or industrial marketing. Existing definitions are inconsistent and there has been a claim that there is no difference between industrial marketing and consumer marketing. It seems appropriate for the inaugural issue of a journal on business and industrial marketing to examine this problem and to attempt to clear up the confusion.
Mars base technology program overview

In this paper, we present an overview of the current technology portfolio for Mars Base Technology Program. Brief descriptions of the awarded technologies and the high-priority areas in both NRAs are provided to show the current focus of MTP. We also present the approach that MTP uses to evaluate technology maturity for each of the technology tasks.
Integration of Sequential Process Adjustment and Process Monitoring Techniques

Detecting abnormal disturbances and correcting them through adjustment are essential functions of quality control. This paper discusses a general sequential adjustment procedure based on stochastic approximation techniques and combines it with a control chart for detection. It is assumed that step-like shifts of unknown size occur in the process mean at unknown points of time. The performance of the proposed methods depends on the sensitivity of the control chart to detect shifts in the process mean, on the accuracy of the initial estimate of the shift size, and on the number of sequential adjustments that are made. It is shown that sequential adjustments are superior to single adjustment strategies for almost all types of process shifts and magnitudes considered. A CUSUM (cumulative sum) chart used in conjunction with our sequential adjustment approach can improve the average squared deviations, the performance index considered herein, more than any other combined scheme unless the shift size is very large. The proposed integrated approach is compared with always applying a standard integral or exponentially weighted moving average controller with no monitoring component. Combining control charts and sequential adjustments is recommended for monitoring and adjusting a process when random shocks occur infrequently in time. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The Association of Transcatheter Aortic Valve Replacement Availability and Hospital Aortic Valve Replacement Volume and Mortality in the United States

Background Whether the introduction of transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR) has affected hospitals' surgical aortic valve replacement (SAVR) and overall aortic valve replacement (AVR) case volumes and outcomes in the United States is unknown. Methods We utilized data from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons (STS) adult cardiac surgery database and the STS/American College of Cardiology (ACC) transcatheter valve therapies registry to examine SAVR and TAVR procedures. Temporal trends in total case volume (SAVR plus TAVR), and observed and risk-adjusted in-hospital mortality rates were assessed among low-risk cases (STS predicted risk of operative mortality 8%). A contemporary control was provided by non-TAVR centers. Results From 2008 to 2013, the total annual volume of AVR among 246 TAVR-performing hospitals increased from 19,578 to 33,004, with a 22% growth in SAVR volumes; non-TAVR hospital (n = 555) increases were more modest (16,563 to 19,134; 16% growth). Expanded volumes at TAVR hospitals included increased SAVR use in low- and intermediate-risk cases, and TAVR use in high-risk cases. In parallel, in-hospital mortality for all AVR procedures at TAVR sites declined from 3.4% to 2.9% (observed to expected [O:E] ratio 0.75 to 0.58, p p p = 0.08). Conclusions Since the introduction of TAVR, the total volume of AVR procedures, including higher overall use of SAVR, at TAVR sites has significantly increased in the United States. Overall, in-hospital survival of patients undergoing treatment for aortic valve stenosis continues to improve.
Sins of the Fathers: The Holocaust and the Leisure Travel Decision Among American Jews

Understanding the ethnicity and how it affects the tourism decision process is important for a better understanding of key demographic segments of travelers. This research explores the effects of past ethnic conflict on the tourism decision process for leisure travel. Specifically, this study looks at the Holocaust and the propensity for Americans of Jewish descent to choose Germany as a leisure destination. Evidence appeared to indicate that those travelers who had family members involved in the Holocaust were less likely to travel to Germany on leisure than those who did not, but that American Jews in general were no less likely to travel to Germany on leisure than non-Jews.
Ultrasonography in Hemodynamically Unstable Abdominal Trauma Patients

Background A previous study has suggested that emergency laparotomy should be performed in all patients with ultrasound abnormalities plus hemodynamic instability. In this study, we retrospectively reviewed data for patients with blunt abdominal trauma and unstable hemodynamics to determine whether emergency laparotomy is necessary. Materials and Methods We collected data from blunt abdominal trauma patients with hemodynamic instability treated at Chang-Gung Memorial Hospital between January and December 1998. All patients received essential resuscitation treatment and underwent emergency ultrasonographic survey by a senior resident or attending physician. Further management was decided from clinical manifestations and further survey, including enhanced abdominal computed tomography, diagnostic peritoneal lavage, and direct laparotomy. Final diagnosis was made from clinical follow-up data, enhanced computed tomography and surgical findings. Results Free peritoneal fluid was detected in 11 of the 12 patients (92%). The other patient had a lacerated spleen. Lacerations of the liver were diagnosed in three patients and lacerations of the spleen in three. One patient each had a ruptured spleen and ruptured urinary bladder. Seven patients underwent immediate laparotomy and five patients received conservative therapy. All patients survived. Conclusion Emergency ultrasonography is an efficient and safe tool to evaluate patients with suspected blunt abdominal trauma and hemodynamic instability. It is the first choice in blunt abdominal trauma.
Multi-voxel pattern analysis of noun and verb differences in ventral temporal cortex

Recent evidence suggests a probabilistic relationship exists between the phonological/orthographic form of a word and its lexical-syntactic category (specifically nouns vs. verbs) such that syntactic prediction may elicit form-based estimates in sensory cortex. We tested this hypothesis by conducting multi-voxel pattern analysis (MVPA) of fMRI data from early visual cortex (EVC), left ventral temporal (VT) cortex, and a subregion of the latter - the left mid fusiform gyrus (mid FG), sometimes called the "visual word form area." Crucially, we examined only those volumes sampled when subjects were predicting, but not viewing, nouns and verbs. This allowed us to investigate prediction effects in visual areas without any bottom-up orthographic input. We found that voxels in VT and mid FG, but not in EVC, were able to classify noun-predictive trials vs. verb-predictive trials in sentence contexts, suggesting that sentence-level predictions are sufficient to generate word form-based estimates in visual areas.
Selection of spacecraft optical coatings for temperature control

Computer optimization of spacecraft optical coatings for temperature control, using finite element analysis and matrix inversion