cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Influence of Sea Power on the Punic Wars

European history, and likewise, that of Western Civilization, is inextricably bound in Greco-Roman tradition. This is primarily due to two series of events. First is the Greco-Persian War, appropriately titled "The Battle for the West" by historian Ernle Bradford, in which the Greek victory over King Xerxes of the Persians firmly established the place of Greece in the history of the Occident. The second was the Punic Wars, a series of three wars fought between Rome and Carthage which saw the emergence and permanence of Roman tradition in Western Civilization. This discussion will focus on the least-appreciated aspect of the conflict between Rome and Carthage, the influence of sea power on an essentially land-based war, the Second Punic War. Despite this, we will discuss the First Punic War, as its result is a key factor in influencing the outcome of the Second Punic War. To briefly introduce the historical context, the First Punic War was a series of naval battles fought for the control of Sicily from 264-241 B.C. The Second Punic War, on the other hand, was essentially a series of campaigns on land, from 218-201 B.C., with little overt significance of naval matters. The Third Punic War was a uneven match fought between 149-146 B.C. that saw the ultimate destruction of Carthage.Given the fact that the Second Punic War was a land-based war fought primarily in Spain and the Italian peninsula, it might seem peculiar to suggest that sea power was a primary, if not the decisive factor in determining the outcome of the war. As Boris Rankov notes,"[t]he war at sea has to a certain extent been seen as a sideshow," and thus it is not surprising to see little historical attention paid to the influence of sea power in this second engagement between Rome and Carthage from 218-201 B.C. Likewise, the military geniuses Hannibal and Scipio Africanus and the historic land battles in which their armies fought overshadow the significance of the decisive role of sea power. This paper will seek to explain how the outcome of the First Punic War, which resulted in decisive Roman sea power, played an important role in the Second Punic War. Roman command of the seas thus gave it an important tool in terms of a "competitive advantage" against Carthage. The concept of competitive advantage, as an analytic tool used as a means of understanding the war's outcome, will be briefly discussed. Furthermore, this paper will then seek to demonstrate that Rome's survival was due to the exploitation of this competitive advantage. Finally, it will conclude that Roman sea power was in fact the decisive factor in rendering the outcome of the Second Punic War.
A new measure of sexual isolation.

In recent years, a good deal of experimental work has been done on the detection and measurement of sexual isolation. One of the most common types of experiment, largely used for Drosophila, is to place a number of males of strain 1 with n1i, females of strain 1 (homogamic females) and nl,2 females of strain 2 (heterogamic females). After a period of time the females are dissected, and xi,,, the number of homogamic females inseminated, and Xl, 2, the number of heterogamic females inseminated, are observed. The measure of isolation usually used is the isolation index, devised by Donald Charles and introduced by Stalker (1942). If we let p1l1=xll/nl,l and Pl, 2 = Xl, 2/nl,2 be the relative frequencies of insemination, then the isolation index is
Evidence for two forms of fluoride-treated sodium- and potassium-dependent adenosine triphosphatase.

The (Na + + K + )-dependent ATPase (EC 3.6.1.3) from rat kidney microsomal fraction was inactivated by 5 mM Mg ++ and 10 mM F - after incubation for about 1 hr at pH 8.5, but lower pH values or the presence of 30 mM KCl enhanced the enzyme activity. The inhibited enzyme was not appreciably reactivated by repeated washing of the particles with 0.1 M Tris buffer, pH 7.4, at 0°, or by incubation with buffer at 37°. Regeneration rates measured in the presence of Na + rose with increasing concentrations of this cation and were greatly enhanced by the inclusion of 15 mM Tris-ATP in the incubation medium. Preparations which had been inactivated by F - in the presence of 30 mM K + or had been temporarily exposed to K + after prior inactivation recovered activity at about twice the rate of inhibited particles that had never been exposed to K + . Thus, after 10 min at 37° in 30 mM Na + and 15 mM Tris-ATP, particles originally inhibited in the presence of 30 mM K + regained 54% of the activity of controls, and preparations inhibited by NaF alone regained 22%. When 30 mM K + was added to the solution of 30 mM Na + and 15 mM ATP in which regeneration was attempted, no reactivation of the enzyme occurred. The data suggest that K + converts the inactivated enzyme to a K + complex that resists reactivation, and that this reaction is associated with a change in conformation of the enzyme. After this change in conformation, the enzyme-potassium complex would appear to have a dissociation constant of the order of 2 x 10 -4 M. The affinity for potassium is thus sufficiently low so that washing of the particulate enzyme would be expected to remove this cation. The enzyme is then left in a form that regenerates rapidly with Na + and ATP.
Race Relations Cycle

The race relations cycle, devised by the American sociologist Robert E. Park (1864–1944), is a model of social change that was intended to shed light upon the consequences of the arrival of European immigrants to the United States and of the movement of African American migrants from the rural South to cities in the North during the first part of the twentieth century. The model suggested that integration is the outcome of relationships between groups, and in particular of their subjective attitudes toward each other after their initial contact, in the spheres of politics, social structure, and culture. Assimilation is the final phase of the race relations cycle. Keywords: Chicago School; immigration; migration; race
Supercooling Points of Murgantia histrionica (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae) and Field Mortality in the Mid-Atlantic United States Following Lethal Low Temperatures

The harlequin bug, Murgantia histrionica (Hahn), is a serious pest of brassicaceous vegetables in southern North America. While this insect is limited in its northern range of North America, presumably by severe cold winter temperatures, specific information on its cold hardiness remains unknown. We determined the supercooling points (SCPs) for Maryland and Virginia adult populations and found no significant difference among these populations. SCPs were similar for adults ( X - = −10.35 °C; σ X = 2.54) and early and late instar ( X - = −11.00 °C; σ X = 4.92) and between adult males and females. However, SCPs for first instars ( X - = −21.56 °C; σ X = 1.47) and eggs ( X - = −23.24 °C; σ X = 1.00) were significantly lower. We also evaluated field survival of overwintering harlequin bug adults during extreme cold episodes of January 2014 and January 2015, which produced widespread air temperatures lower than −15 °C and subfreezing soil temperatures in the Mid-Atlantic Region. After the 48-h episode in 2014, bug mortality in exposed field sites averaged 88%, compared to <5% mortality of bugs sheltered in an unheated greenhouse (recorded minimum temperature 4.4 °C). After the 2015 episode, ∼80% of adults that were established in the field the previous November and then sheltered in an unheated garage during the episode, died, in contrast to 96% mortality in exposed field sites. Our results provide new information on M. histrionica overwintering biology, and thermal limitations to its distribution, which leads to improved predictive capabilities to forecast pest severity.
FT-IR Analysis of Polyurethane Foams with the Use of Mid-Infrared Fibers

Infrared fibers have found tremendous applications in the study of many systems. In this paper, mid-IR/FT-IR spectrometry was used to study the reaction kinetics of polyurethane foams. Polyurethane foams were produced with two different silicone surfactants, BF-2370 and B-8404. Data were collected for two hours on an FTS-60A/896 Bio-Rad Spectrometer. The temperature was monitored during the foam production. Infrared spectra at every 50 temperature drop were curve-fitted by use of Galactic GRAMS/386™ software. Based on the curve-fit results, percentages of free, monodentate and bidentate urea, and free and hydrogen-bonded urethane formed during the foam formation were determined. Relative reaction rates for the formation of urea and urethane were also calculated. For the BF-2370 surfactant foam, the initial rate of urethane formation was much greater than the urea formation. The rate of urea formation increased with time and was greater than urethane formation when it reached a steady state. Different results were obtained with the B-8404 foam, where both rates were in a steady state during the polymer formation. These results gave a better understanding of structural changes that occur with temperature in the formation of polyurethane formations.
Advanced and intelligent RF front end technology

This paper discusses the recent developments by the author's group in the field of RF front-end technology. This includes standalone RF front-end components such as a self-heterodyne mixer as well as more functional front-end circuitry such as digital and analog beamformers.
Subcycle fatigue crack growth mechanism investigation for aluminum alloys and steel (special session on the digital twin)

An experimental investigation of the subcycle fatigue crack growth mechanisms at different scales is proposed in this paper for aluminum alloy and steel using in-situ mechanical testing and imaging analysis. At lower resolution, digital images are taken with optical microscopy at the micrometer scale. Digital image correlation is used to get the strain distribution in front of the crack tip to analyze the plastic deformation behavior. At higher resolution, images are taken with scanning electron microscopy at the nanometer scale. Automatic image tracking is used to obtain detailed crack tip deformation and crack growth. The epxrimental study is performed for two types of metallic materials, i.e., aluminum 7075-T6 and ANSI 4340 steel. Crack closure is observed in allumnium materials, but not in steels. Their plastic zone variation shows very different behavior under constant amplitude loadings. The underlying mechanism is discussed. Finally, the potential application of the proposed investigation method to other materials and to other types of mechanical damage is discussed.
Surface deformation induced by magmatic processes at Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala revealed by InSAR

Abstract Pacaya Volcano, Guatemala is a continuously active, basaltic volcano with an unstable western flank. Despite continuous activity since 1961, a lack of high temporal resolution geodetic surveying has prevented detailed modeling of Pacaya's underlying magmatic plumbing system. A new, temporally dense dataset of Interferometric Synthetic Aperture Radar (InSAR) RADARSAT-2 images, spanning December 2012 to March 2014, show magmatic deformation before and during major eruptions in January and March 2014. Inversion of InSAR surface displacements using simple analytical forward models suggest that three magma bodies are responsible for the observed deformation: (1) a ~ 4 km deep spherical reservoir located northwest of the summit, (2) a ~ 0.4 km deep spherical source located directly west of the summit, and (3) a shallow dike below the summit. Periods of heightened volcanic activity are instigated by magma pulses at depth, resulting in rapid inflation of the edifice. We observe an intrusion cycle at Pacaya that consists of deflation of one or both magma reservoirs followed by dike intrusion. Intrusion volumes are proportional to reservoir volume loss and do not always result in an eruption. Periods of increased activity culminate with larger dike-fed eruptions. Large eruptions are followed by inter-eruptive periods marked by a decrease in crater explosions and a lack of detected deformation. Co-eruptive flank motion appears to have initiated a new stage of volcanic rifting at Pacaya defined by repeated NW-SE oriented dike intrusions. This creates a positive feedback relationship whereby magmatic forcing from eruptive dike intrusions induce flank motion.
Folding Nature Back Upon Itself: Aristotle and the Rebirth of Physis

“Folding Nature Back Upon Itself: Aristotle and the Rebirth of Physis,” confronts us with nature’s receding presence and proposes to think through a rebirth of physis. Following Aristotle’s concept of physis, this paper locates two axes along which such a rethinking of physis can take place. The first axis is vertical, and turns around the fundamental tension that each natural being faces in seeking to overcome its own matter in order to reach transcendence. The second axis is horizontal, and follows Aristotle’s ideas that physis cannot unfold unless aided, stimulated, nurtured and enforced by external factors such as one’s environment, food, art, technology, and politics. This paper argues that vertical transcendence needs to be rethought to accommodate earthy, individual natural flourishing. Horizontal transcendence (e.g. rethinking the collaboration between different species and the collaboration between art and nature) may allow physis the kind of vertical transcendence that leads to its rebirth. This has important implications for both restoration projects and de-extinction projects: we need to acknowledge the role of human design for restoration and conservation projects, and envision humans no longer as external and superior to eco-systems, but as part of them. Only within newly conceptualized social-ecological systems can such a new vision of physis take flight.
Order- alpha s calculation of hadronic W-W+ production.

An order-${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\alpha}}}_{\mathit{s}}$ calculation of ${\mathit{pp}}^{(\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}})}$\ensuremath{\rightarrow}${\mathit{W}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$${\mathit{W}}^{+}$+X is presented. Results are given for the total cross section and differential distributions for Fermilab Tevatron, CERN LHC, and Superconducting SuperCollider energies. The calculation utilizes a combination of analytic and Monte Carlo integration methods which makes it easy to calculate a variety of observables and to impose experimental cuts.
Neonatology in Europe. Training, accreditation, and research.

Abstract Objective and design :In order to assess training, accreditation, and scientific status of neonatology in the European countries, a structured questionnaire on availability, duration, and accreditation of neonatology training programs was mailed to the pediatric and neonatal societies. A medline search was performed on the item `infant, newborn' and the data were related to the population number, total fertility, and infant mortality. Results : In most European countries, two year training programs in neonatology exist in addition to 4 or 5 years pediatric training. Numbers of certified neonatologists ranged from 2 to 10 per million inhabitants. An inverse correlation of infant mortality and medline entry rate was found ( R s −0.91, P Conclusions : Conforming training and accreditation in Europe may help to compensate delays in infant mortality and scientific productivity and would facilitate subspecialist mobility.
The Current Focus of Heart Failure Clinical Trials.

Abstract Background Heart failure (HF) is a major global health problem. Clinical trials test efficacy, effectiveness, and safety of novel and emerging therapies in HF. We sought to determine the salient features of ongoing interventional clinical trials in HF. Methods and Results We accessed the ClinicalTrials.gov registry of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the International Clinical Trials Registry Platform of the World Health Organization on January 1, 2017, and extracted pertinent information on current HF clinical trials for systematic review. Of 794 HF trials that met our inclusion criteria, almost one-half (49.1%) evaluated clinical end points and one-third (32.8%) examined imaging end points as primary outcomes. One-fourth (24.8%) were industry sponsored and one-third (35.6%) were university sponsored. The NIH and other United States federal agencies funded only 14 trials (1.8% of all trials; 10.7% of trials in the US). Among 536 HF trials with specified left ventricular ejection fraction status, 434 (81.0%) focused on HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) and only 102 (19.0%) trials targeted HF with preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Conclusions Ongoing HF trials are predominantly sponsored by nongovernmental funding agencies. Although HFpEF occurs as commonly as HFrEF in the community, the number of clinical trials targeting HFpEF is substantially lower compared with HFrEF.
C-Terminal sequencing of peptide hormones using carboxypeptidase Y and SELDI-TOF mass spectrometry

Selling SELDI Peptide identification and analysis are important elements of proteomics research. Precursor peptide hormones often differ at the carboxyl terminus to allow for altered enzymatic regu...
The Generation and Early Development of Spatial Inferences

When you turn away from your desk, how is it that you inevitably know the shortest direction to turn back to face it? When you enter your dark house at night, how are you able to point through walls (or floors) in the direction of your bathroom? When you habitually walk north from your office to the library and southeast from your office to the computer center, how do you find your way directly from the library to the computer center? These three questions concern how people solve one class of spatial problem, namely how they infer novel routes (or directions or distances) to a place from their experiences traveling other routes. The type of spatial problem is commonplace, solved whenever people invent shortcuts, detours or other variations to customary routes. This chapter is about the early development of spatial inferences such as these that are generated while way-finding.
Rumination and mood disorders

Abstract This chapter reviews the literature on depressive rumination, or repetitive thinking about the nature, causes, and consequences of depressive symptoms. After describing the development of this construct and the associated response styles theory, I review the empirical evidence linking depressive rumination to maintained or exacerbated sad mood and depressive symptoms. I then explore empirical evidence for the proposed mechanisms of depressive rumination: negative thinking, impaired problem-solving, behavioral avoidance, and poor social support. After an examination of the nascent field of rumination and bipolar disorder, I explore research on gender differences in depressive rumination. The chapter ends with a discussion of moderators of depressive rumination and a proposed theory that integrates the rumination literature with other known predictors of depression.
Characteristics of the Most Productive U.S. Sociology Faculty and Departments: Institution Type, Gender, and Journal Concentration

Using data for a sample of 2,132 individuals, we examine the characteristics of the sociology faculty and departments that ranked highest on any of four measures of publishing productivity over the...
Deformations of the Lie–Poisson sphere of a compact semisimple Lie algebra

A compact semisimple Lie algebra . This is the first explicit computation of a Poisson moduli space in dimension greater or equal than three around a degenerate (i.e. not symplectic) Poisson structure.
High-intensity ultrasound catheter ablation achieves deep mid-myocardial lesions in vivo

Background Radiofrequency ablation of epicardial and mid-myocardial ventricular arrhythmias is limited by lesion depth. Objective The purpose of this study was to generate deep mid-interventricular septal (IVS) lesions using high-intensity ultrasound (US) from an endocardial catheter-based approach. Methods Irrigated US catheters (12 F) were fabricated with 3 × 5 mm transducers of 5.0, 6.5, and 8.0 MHz frequencies and compared in an ex vivo perfused myocardial ablation model. In vivo septal ablation in swine (n = 12) was performed via femoral venous access to the right ventricle. Lesions were characterized by echocardiography, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging, and electroanatomic voltage mapping pre- and post-ablation, and at 30 days. Four animals were euthanized immediately post-ablation to compare acute and chronic lesion histology and gross pathology. Results In ex vivo models, maximal lesion depth and volume was achieved by 6.5 MHz catheters, which were used in vivo. Lesion depth by gross pathology was similar post-ablation (10.8 mm; 95% confidence interval [CI] 9.9–12.4 mm) and at 30 days (11.2 mm; 95% CI 10.6–12.4 mm) (P = .56). Lesion volume decreased post-ablation to 30 days (from 255 [95% CI 198–440] to 162 [95% CI 133–234] mm3; P = .05), yet transmurality increased from 58% (95% CI 50%–76%) to 81% (95% CI 74%–93%), attributable to a reduction in IVS thickness (from 16.0 ± 1.7 to 10.6 ± 2.4 mm; P = .007). Magnetic resonance imaging confirmed dense septal ablation by delayed enhancement, with increased T1 time post-ablation and at 30 days and increased T2 time only post-ablation. Voltage mapping of both sides of IVS demonstrated reduced unipolar (but not bipolar) voltage along the IVS. Conclusion High-intensity US catheter ablation may be an effective treatment of mid-myocardial or epicardial ventricular arrhythmias from an endocardial approach.
Nocturnal Panic Disorder: Afraid to Sleep!

This chapter presents a typical case scenario of an adult patient with nocturnal panic disorder (NPD), which is a distinct subgroup of panic disorder. After an illustrative case report, we will explain the typical clinical characteristics of NPD and delineate it from diurnal panic disorder and other common sleep disorders, such as night terrors, sleep-associated seizures, and sleep apnea. We will finish by discussing the current treatment of NPD, which includes the use of cognitive behavioral therapy.
Splanchnic occlusive disease predicts for spinal cord injury after open descending thoracic and thoracoabdominal aneurysm repair.

Abstract Objective – To discern the impact of splanchnic occlusive disease (SOD: renal, superior mesenteric and/or celiac axis arteries) on spinal cord injury (SCI: paraparesis or paraplegia) and major adverse events (MAE) after descending thoracic (DTA) and thoraco-abdominal (TAAA) aneurysm open repair. Methods – Patients who underwent DTA/TAAA repair at our institution were dichotomized according to presence of SOD, which was investigated as predictor of our primary (SCI) and secondary (operative mortality, myocardial infarction, stroke, need for tracheostomy, de-novo dialysis, MAE, and survival) endpoints. Risk-adjustment employed both propensity-score matching and multivariable logistic regression. Results – During the period 07/1997-10/2019, DTA/TAAA repair was performed in 888 patients, out of which 19 were excluded from our analysis for missing values. SOD was absent in 712 patients, and present in 157 patients. Patients with SOD presented higher incidence of pre-operative renal impairment [61 (38.9%) vs 175 (24.6%), p Propensity-score matching led to 144 pairs, in which SOD was significantly associated to SCI [10 (6.9%) vs 2 (1.4%), p 0.03] and MAE [47 (32.6%) vs 26 (15%), p Conclusions – SOD is a significant predictor of SCI in patients undergoing open DTA/TAAA repair. The investigation of measures to prolong neuronal ischemia tolerance (e.g. hypothermia) is warranted in such patients.
Clinical Profiles of Black and White Children Referred for Autism Diagnosis.

Black children with autism are diagnosed at an older age. Whether or not late detection is paralleled by differing clinical presentation is not known. We evaluated symptom profiles of 245 Black and 488 sex- and age-matched White non-Hispanic participants (82.8% male; mean age: 4.2 years) referred for ASD diagnosis. Both groups showed similar overall levels of autistic symptoms. Black children had significantly but slightly lower scores on cognitive tests and on the Vineland communication domain than White children. Groups were comparable on internalizing and externalizing co-occurring problems. Given the largely similar clinical profiles, clinical differences in initial presentation may not be a primary reason for Black/White disparities in diagnostic and services use. Limitations of a cross-sectional referred sample are acknowledged.
Two-Stage Optimization Strategy for Solving the VVO Problem Considering High Penetration of Plug-In Electric Vehicles to Unbalanced Distribution Networks

This article proposes a two-stage optimization strategy for solving the voltage-var optimization (VVO) problem considering stochastic penetration of plug-in electric vehicles (PEVs) to unbalanced, three-phase power distribution networks (PDN). The optimization strategy considers the prospect of forced active power curtailment at a minimized level, bidirectional PEVs activities. It also includes simple tap operations of shunt capacitor banks, online tap changing transformers, and voltage regulators to achieve optimal economic gain while satisfying the VVO operational constraints. The first stage aims for the optimal decomposition of the PDN into well-defined, cross-checked smaller partitions via a proposed community-based detection particle swarm optimization algorithm. The second stage incorporates a mixed-integer linear programming formulation to solve the VVO problem per partition level. This is done considering the nonlinearity and nonconvexity of the electrical system via applied approximation. This reduces the complexity and computational burdens that usually arise in solving the problem on a larger scale. The proposed two-stage strategy was tested on the modified IEEE 123 bus system with various case scenarios. Economical operation of the PDN is achieved during peak demand hours while maintaining a safe operation within the VVO problem.
N-Terminomics Strategies for Protease Substrates Profiling

Proteases play a central role in various biochemical pathways catalyzing and regulating key biological events. Proteases catalyze an irreversible post-translational modification called proteolysis by hydrolyzing peptide bonds in proteins. Given the destructive potential of proteolysis, protease activity is tightly regulated. Dysregulation of protease activity has been reported in numerous disease conditions, including cancers, neurodegenerative diseases, inflammatory conditions, cardiovascular diseases, and viral infections. The proteolytic profile of a cell, tissue, or organ is governed by protease activation, activity, and substrate specificity. Thus, identifying protease substrates and proteolytic events under physiological conditions can provide crucial information about how the change in protease regulation can alter the cellular proteolytic landscape. In recent years, mass spectrometry-based techniques called N-terminomics have become instrumental in identifying protease substrates from complex biological mixtures. N-terminomics employs the labeling and enrichment of native and neo-N-termini peptides, generated upon proteolysis followed by mass spectrometry analysis allowing protease substrate profiling directly from biological samples. In this review, we provide a brief overview of N-terminomics techniques, focusing on their strengths, weaknesses, limitations, and providing specific examples where they were successfully employed to identify protease substrates in vivo and under physiological conditions. In addition, we explore the current trends in the protease field and the potential for future developments.
Malignant Gliomas: Role of E2F1 Transcription Factor

E2F1 is a transcription factor regulated by the Rb pathway. Its role in the G1/S transition and S-phase entry in the cell cycle has been extensively reported. E2F1 regulates the biosynthetic activity of nucleotides, the activation of replication, the progression through M-phase of the cell cycle, and the regulation of genes related with chromosomal stability. In addition to the E2F1 crucial involvement in the cell cycle progression, E2F1 participates in both p53-dependent and independent apoptotic pathways. Our group has previously published the presence of high expression of E2F1 in malignant gliomas and the correlation of levels of expression with prognostic factor. Moreover, we reported the direct implication of E2F1 in tumorigenicity using transgenic animal models. Recent results from The Cancer Genome Atlas Research Network confirms the presence in human glioblastomas of the genetic alterations in the Rb tumor suppressor pathway, supporting previous reports describing high E2F1 activity in gliomas. In this chapter, we describe methodology to examine the presence of high expression and activity of E2F1, and a practical approach to examine the targeting of this major transcription factor.
Predictors of Life Satisfaction among Urban Iranian Women: An Exploratory Analysis

This paper explores life satisfaction among married and unmarried Iranian women in urban areas. Data is analyzed from a sample of 335 women of which 61% are married and 39% are unmarried (i.e., single, divorced, or widows). Data is collected through the use of self-reported questionnaires administered during 1992 and 1994. A series of path analysis and cross tabulations suggest that for married women life satisfaction is directly linked to their satisfaction with marriage, employment, and their leisure experiences. There is an inverse relationship between satisfaction and the women's activity, however. For unmarried women, satisfaction is affected by their leisure experiences and educational level. The study suggests that any effort to reduce or increase the educational, employment, or leisure activities of women will directly affect women's general satisfaction and therefore affect Iranian society as a whole.
Cyclic polysilanes : IX. The reaction of cyclopermethylpolysilanes and α ω-dichloropermethylpolysilanes with chlorine

Abstract The reaction of Si 6 Me 12 and Si 5 Me 10 with chlorine gives 1,6-Cl 2 Si 6 Me 12 and i,5-Cl 2 Si 5 Me 10 , respectively, and these compounds are in turned cleaved by chlorine to give smaller α, ω-dichloropolysilanes. The terminal SiSi bond in these linear chlorosilanes appears to be relatively unreactive towards chlorine, with chlorination occurring instead at the interior SiSi bond positions in the chain. With larger amounts of chlorine, the methyl group in 1,2-Cl 2 Si 2 Me 4 can also be chlorinated. The relative reactivities toward chlorine were found to be: Si 5 Me 10 ⋙Si 6 Me 12 >1,6⩾ 1,⩾ 1,4⪢ 1,3⪢ 1,2.
The epidemiological association of altitude with chronic kidney disease: Evidence of protective effect.

Erythropoietin (EPO) exerts multiple positive functions, including possible slowing the progression of renal disease. It significantly attenuates interstitial fibrosis and reduces apoptotic cell death.1 As apoptotic cell death is a major contributor to chronic kidney disease (CKD) progression,2 it is plausible that, by reducing cell death, EPO might lead to slowing of the progression of CKD. Randomized studies in humans have shown that administration of EPO leads to slowing of CKD progression, and improves cumulative renal survival rate;3 a retrospective study has demonstrated that EPO administration is associated with significant delay in the need for dialysis.4 Furthermore, there is a well-defined relationship between altitude and EPO, which increases in response to low O2 at high altitudes. After 12 h of exposure to 2200 m, there is a significant increase (72%) of EPO above baseline.5 According to a study of 16 participants before and after 4 h of exposure to normobaric hypoxia during a 3-week altitude training (2100–2300 m), there is a wide inter-individual variability in erythropoietic response to altitude (10–185%).6 We hypothesize that residence at high altitude reduces the risk of CKD. The study consists of two objectives. Our first objective was to estimate the association between altitude of residence and estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). Our second objective was to quantify the association between altitude and prevalence of end-stage renal disease (ESRD).
Probabilistic Evaluation of Penetration Resistances

In the installation of an offshore gravity platform, proper anchoring of a skirt system into the seabed is important. The penetration of the skirt system is generally achieved by built-in ballasting system. Because of (1)inherent spatial randomness in soil resistance; (2)uncertainty in the exact location of the installed platform; (3)insufficient cone penetration test (CPT) values over platform base; and (4)calibration error in predicting skirt penetration resistance from CPT values, the average penetration resistance and the resultant unbalanced moment (in maintaining a horizontal platform position) at each depth of penetration cannot be predicted accurately. A probabilistic model is formulated which will predict the statistics of the penetration resistance and unbalanced moment for a given platform and site condition at any depth of skirt penetration. Such information will help in the design of the capacity of the ballast system. The probabilistic model is also extended to cover the case of sloping seabed.
Crowds and Politics in North Africa: Tunisia, Algeria and Libya

Introduction: Looking at Crowds 1 Theorizing the Crowd 2 Tunisia: the Roots of Social Collectivity 3 Algeria: The Country of a Million Martyrs 4 Libya: The Paradox of the Political Crowd and the "State of the Masses"
Content-Addressable Read/Write Memories for Image Analysis

Two common problems in image analysis are described—the region-labeling problem and the clustering problem. Both are shown to be instances of a search-and-rename problem which can be solved in parallel by a system architecture inherently suitable for VLSI implementation.
Involvement of a tyrosine residue in the activity of bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease A.

Abstract The possible role of tyrosine residues in the catalytic function of bovine pancreatic deoxyribonuclease A (DNase) has been investigated. Nitration of the DNase with tetranitromethane resulted in a highly selective modification involving a single tyrosine side chain. However, a significant side reaction was observed throughout the course of the nitration; side products consisting of covalently cross-linked polymers of DNase were formed, and more than 50% of the enzyme was polymerized at reagent concentrations as low as 5-fold those of DNase. The monomeric fraction was isolated by gel filtration on Sephadex G-100, and the loss of enzymatic activity was shown to parallel the formation of a single 3-nitrotyrosine residue per enzyme molecule. Peptides containing 3-nitrotyrosine were isolated from tryptic and chymotryptic digests of the nitrated DNase. Compositions and yields of these peptides indicated that nitration had occurred at a single primary site on the enzyme. Acetylation of the available tyrosine side chains in native DNase with N-acetylimidazole caused a total loss of activity against calf thymus DNA as substrate. Seven to eight of the 16 tyrosine residues in DNase were acetylated. Activity could be rapidly restored by the action of hydroxylamine; consequently an irreversible structural rearrangement had not occurred as a result of the acetylation. Spectrophotometric titration of native DNase indicated that between eight and nine tyrosine side chains were ionized in the pH range from 7 to 11, in good agreement with the results obtained by acetylation. A specific Ca2+-binding site on DNase was destroyed by the nitration of a single tyrosine residue. Ca2+ was no longer able to stabilize the nitrated enzyme against thermal denaturation, chymotryptic digestion, or mercaptoethanol reduction of an essential disulfide linkage. A comparison of the optical rotatory behavior of the native and nitrated DNase clearly indicated that, unlike the native enzyme, nitrated DNase did not undergo a conformational rearrangement upon addition of Ca2+. These results suggest that the substrate site and the specific Ca2+-binding site are interdependent and probably in close proximity on the enzyme molecule. The essential histidine residue in DNase was shown to undergo the same Cu2+-facilitated alkylation at the nitrogen-3 position in the inactive, nitrated enzyme as has been reported for native DNase. Also, the Ca2+-mediated refolding of mercaptoethanol-reduced nitrotyrosyl-DNase was similar to that exhibited by the native enzyme in that both disulfide bonds were rapidly re-formed in the absence of excess reducing agent. These results further indicate that a major conformational change was not induced by the specific nitration reaction and points to the existence of a second Ca2+-binding site on the enzyme, a site which is unaffected by nitration.
Oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate for premedication in paediatric outpatients

Two doses (10–15 μg · kg−1, Group I, and 15–20 μg · kg−1, Group II) of oral transmucosal fentanyl citrate (OTFC) plus a placebo (Group III) were evaluated for premedication in 105 healthy children, aged 2 to 13 yr, undergoing short (< 1 hr) operations in the hospital shortstay unit. The study was randomized and doubleblinded and 91 of the 105 children also received droperidol, 25 μg · kg−1 IV, after induction of anaeshesia with halothane and N2O in oxygen. Both doses of OTFC produced significantly greater sedation (first present at 20 min) and anxiolysis (first present in Group I at 40 min) than the placebo. Recovery times were similar in the three groups and analgesic requirements in the recovery room were significantly lower in Group I than Group III. Both OTFC groups took longer to tolerate oral fluids in the postoperative discharge unit than the placebo group and this caused patients in Group I to have a delayed discharge from the hospital compared to Group III. Preoperative pruritus occurred significantly more frequently in Groups I and II (58 and 76 per cent, respectively) than Group III (23 per cent). Although the incidences of nausea and vomiting tended to be slightly higher in the OTFC groups in the preoperative holding and postoperative discharge units, the differences among the groups were not statistically significant. Likewise droperidol did not reduce the incidence of postoperative nausea or vomiting. The data indicate that OTFC may be a safe and effective premedicant in paediatric patients having short operations but delays discharge from the hospital (by 30–50 min) by delaying the time patients tolerate fluids early after operation.
The nondeviant nature of deviant phonological systems.

Abstract Few studies of children with defective speech or deviant phonologies have gone beyond the level of phonetic representation in limited environments. The Lorentz (1976) study of Joe, a 4.5-yr-old child with a phonological disorder, is exceptional inasmuch as underlying phonemic representations and phonological rules are posited in addition to the surface phonetic representations. However, his analysis crucially depends on morphosyntactic information that cannot be independently justified. A reanalysis of Joe's data within Kahn's (1976) syllable-based model of generative phonology reveals that the child's phonological rules are syllabically conditioned exclusively. In particular, the application of certain rules is found to depend on whether or not an internal syllable boundary is present within a polysyllabic word. In the course of the reanalysis, issues concerning naturalness of individual phonological rules, ordering relations between pairs of rules, feature systems, the phonological representation of double-articulated consonants, and the role of the syllable as an element in phonological descriptions are discussed. Paradoxically, Joe's phonological system is found to be “normal,” as measured in terms of the above-mentioned linguistic parameters, yet his speech output is “abnormal,” as measured against the adult norm.
Electroosmotic Flow in “Click” Surface Modified Microfluidic Channels

A rapid, facile, and modular surface modification scheme for the covalent attachment of pre-formed polymer moieties to self-assembled monolayers via ‘click’ chemistry within glass microfluidic channels (3 cm long, 110 μm wide and 15 μm deep) is described. The effect that different moieties have on the electroosmotic flow (EOF) within the microchannels is evaluated. The application of linear polymers such as poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) generates hydrophilic surfaces that reduce the analyte-wall interactions, thereby increasing separation efficiency and improving resolution, especially in bio-separations. Dendritic polymers such as poly(amido amine) (PAMAM) on channel walls can provide high-surface area structures with tunable surface charge depending on the generation of the dendrimer coating. Modified surfaces are characterized by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), Fourier Transform Infrared-Attenuated Total Reflection spectroscopy (FTIR-ATR), and contact angle measurements. EOF measurements in modified and unmodified channels provide information about wall-analyte interactions. A PAMAM dendrimer coated channel presents an amine terminated surface with a positive charge in contrast to a negatively charged bare-glass surface. Use of surface coatings can lead to an increase of the EOF by 15% as is the case for an azide terminated surface or reverse the direction of EOF as is the case for the PAMAM coatings by changing the surface charge polarity.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
SU‐GG‐T‐212: Verification of IMRT Plans for SRT with 2D Detector Array

Purpose: To evaluate the use of 2D detector array for verification of intensity modulated radiotherapy(IMRT) fields for stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) treatments. Method and Materials: We evaluated ten SRT plans with field sizes ranging from 3 cm to 6 cm with MapCHECK device that is routinely used for IMRT plan verification. We calculated the percent of passing points (PPP) for the distance to agreement (DTA) for absolute dose between measured and planned isodose lines above 10% using the MapCHECK software. We selected a value of 3 mm for DTA and 3% dose difference criteria for comparison. Dose sampling by MapCHECK detector array is limited for small field sizes due to detector geometry with 0.7 cm spatial resolution diagonally. To increase the number of points for more accurate evaluation, we repeated the measurement four times by shifting the array 0.5 cm in orthogonal directions. We then compare the combined measurement for each plan. We also measured the relative dose fluence using Kodak EDR2 films. We performed the γ analysis both for 3%, 3 mm and 2%, 2 mm criteria. The OmniPro‐I'mRT software was used for film comparison with treatment plans. There was no direct comparison between film results and MapCHECK measurements.Results: The average PPP for merged shifted fields is 98.7%, while for single plan delivery is 98.5%. Slightly lower PPP was shown for a 3 cm field size plan with high dose gradient. For each individual plan, the variation between shifted measurements could rise as high as 8% for smaller fields. The average PPPs for film and MapCHECK compared to planned dose are 98.7% vs. 100% for γ analysis with 3%, 3 mm criteria and 92.2% vs. 97.7% for γ with 2%, 2 mm, correspondingly. Conclusion: MapCHECK is an appropriate clinical tool for verification of IMRT plans for SRT.
Weighing neutrinos with microwave background and galaxy data

Abstract Cosmological constraints on neutrino masses are improving rapidly. We compute the joint constraints on 11 cosmological parameters from the latest cosmic microwave background and large scale structure data, and find that at 95% confidence, the total (cold + hot) dark matter density is h 2 ω dm = 0.20 −.10 +.12 . As much as 38% of this dark matter is allowed to be hot (due to neutrinos). Indeed, the data favors a non-zero neutrino fraction, but not at a statistically significant level.
Purine Overproduction in Man Associated with Increased Phosphoribosylpyrophosphate Synthetase Activity

In hemolyzates from red cells of two brothers with purine overproduction and gout, activity of phosphoribosylpyrophosphate synthetase is more than twofold greater than that measured in normal or other gouty individuals. The increased enzyme activity, which is also demonstrable in fibroblasts of the one patient tested, is associated with increased production of 5-phosphoribosyl-1-pyrophosphate by intact cells, an indication that the enzyme abnormality is the basis for the purine overproduction. This genetic abnormality is an example of an increased enzyme activity producing a disease state.
Tsunami prediction using the reciprocal property of green's functions

Previously reported (Loomis, 1974) was the scheme of composing a tsunami by convoluting the source function with a family of previously calculated responses to unit impulse functions, which had been specified as initial conditions at points in the source region. A new application of an old idea makes this scheme considerably more useful. Namely, that the Green's function for the linear, oceanwide hydrodynamic equation is reciprocal in its space coordinates. The response at A due to a unit impulse at B is exactly the same as the response at B due to a unit impulse at A. This means that for a prediction at point A it is necessary only to put a unit impulse at A time‐step the resulting disturbance throughout the ocean, and record the time history of the water level at each grid point in the ocean. This generates all of the Green's functions needed for any source area for a future tsunami prediction scheme at point A. These prerecorded functions are the Green's functions, and are available for simulating any ...
Open Source and the Moral Field of Computing

ABSTRACT The concept of “open source” has spread in usage from the world of computing to virtually every domain imaginable: from government and publishing, to academic research, health care, and the military. The usage, appeal, potential, and pitfalls of this concept are improved by an understanding of the context in which it emerged: computing in the second half of the 20th century. In particular, the concept emerged out of a long-running political and moral discourse about rights and obligations between programmers and computer users. This article presents a framework for understanding the moral culture of the computing field today that draws on contemporary research in the fields of cultural and economic sociology, situates current open source communities and moral controversies in open source software within this framework, and suggests some lessons for bringing “open source” into other domains.
The sites of superoxide anion generation in higher plant mitochondria.

Abstract A variety of higher plant mitochondria and submitochondrial particles with varying degrees of cyanide insensitivity have been examined for their possible Superoxide anion generating capacity. It was found that neither the cytochrome oxidase nor the alternative oxidase pathways produced significant quantities of Superoxide anions. All preparations examined generated Superoxide anions to a small extent with NADH as respiratory substrate, but almost negligibly with succinate as respiratory substrate. A component of the NADH-supported activity was insensitive to cyanide, antimycin A, and salicylhydroxamic acid. Hence most of this activity is attributed to direct reduction of oxygen by the flavoprotein NADH dehydrogenases. The remainder may be caused by oxygen reduction in the ubiquinone-cytochrome b region of the chain. In some plant mitochondria and submitochondrial particles, a contaminating tyrosinase activity, which can catalyze the oxidation of epinephrine by molecular oxygen, causes a very large interference in Superoxide anion determinations. Methods of distinguishing and measuring these various activities are discussed.