cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Investigation of the Possible Differential Radiolysis of Amino Acid Optical Isomers by 14C Betas

A recent report by Garay presents evidence that, in alkaline solution, 90Sr β particles and/or their associated bremsstrahlung (γ -rays) cause a more rapid radiolysis of D-tyrosine than of L-tyrosine (1). The differential effect on the tyrosines was sought, but not found, in acidic solutions. The possible existence of this differential radiolysis was not tested on the crystalline tyrosine enantiomers.
Sediment Yield Variations as a Function of Incised Channel Evolution

Part of the high sediment load in the Yellow River is the result of gully erosion in the Loess Plateau, and part of the high sediment load in the Colorado River is the result of incised-channel (arroyo) development in the 19th century. Therefore, processes contributing sediment loads to both rivers may be similar. Field investigations in southwestern (Arizona, New Mexico) and southeastern (Mississippi, Tennessee) United States show that incised channels follow an evolutionary development that strongly influences sediment production through time. When the channels incise, sediment loads are initially high, but they decrease as the channels evolve to a new condition of relative stability. Experimental studies of incised channels and rejuvenated drainage basins also show this type of sediment yield change with time. Therefore, it is reasonable to expect a natural decrease of sediment loads through time in rivers that derive much of their sediment load from incised channels. Land managers and river engineers should be aware of this natural sequence of events and plan for it.
Building Websites with HTML5 to Work with Mobile Phones

Mobile phones are broken into three categories: call-only phones, feature phones, and Smartphones. Mobile web development for Smartphones is very similar to desktop website development. The differences are how you use and interface with the device. Some top-level differences to consider are screen size, changing portrait/landscape views, high-quality resolution, input devices, and HTML5 support. Today, Google and Apple dominate browser use for Smartphones, both using WebKit as a foundation. HTML5 encompasses a set of technologies used for mobile web design, and presentation of content on web pages is controlled using CSS3.
Understanding the Role of Alcohol, Anxiety, and Trait Mindfulness in the Perpetration of Physical and Sexual Dating Violence in Emerging Adults:

This study examines alcohol consumption, anxiety, trait mindfulness, and physical and sexual dating violence aggression (PDV and SDV) among 735 emerging adults (18-25 years) in an urban emergency department. Of the total sample, 27.2% perpetrated PDV and 16.5% perpetrated SDV. Alcohol was positively associated with PDV/SDV. Anxiety was positively associated with PDV. Mindfulness was negatively associated with PDV/SDV. Interaction analyses revealed women had lower PDV with higher nonjudgment facet of mindfulness. Higher act aware was associated with lower PDV regardless of high versus low alcohol. Findings indicate different contributing factors among perpetrators of PDV/SDV; some factors may be attenuated by mindfulness.
Radiologic predictors of immune checkpoint inhibitor response in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma

Abstract Radiologic predictors of response to immune checkpoint blockade (ICPi) in advanced head and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) patients could help guide patient selection and management. We analyzed a large institutional cohort of 100 consecutive HNSCC patients treated with ICPi to investigate associations between molecular and radiologic phenotype and assess radiologic predictors of response and survival. Of particular interest was the impact of increased total tumor burden (TB), calculated as the sum of the largest diameter of all measurable lesions according to RECIST 1.1, and early radiologic indicators of response versus progression. Within our cohort, 42% of patients had HPV+ associated disease, 64% had persistent/recurrent head and neck lesions, and 77% had distant metastases. Median TB was 5.4 cm. HPV+ disease and increased total mutational burden were associated with distant disease in the absence of locoregional disease (p Forty patients (40%) demonstrated clinical benefit to ICPi, and the median overall survival (OS) on PD-1 therapy was 4.5 months. A lower tumor burden at baseline was associated with clinical benefit (p = 0.03) and improved OS (p
The therapeutic alliance in cognitive-behavioral therapy for school-aged children with autism and clinical anxiety.

Little is known about the alliance between therapists and children with autism spectrum disorder who are receiving psychological therapies in outpatient treatment settings. This study examined the ...
Race: Ethnicity and Urban Planning

This article discusses how urban planning has affected different racial and ethnic groups, and in turn how race and ethnicity affect the work of urban planning. The article summarizes some of the concerns with previous planning efforts in minority communities, but it argues that social justice is important for both individuals and institutions and remains an important consideration for urban planning as a field. Short discussions of the subfields of land use regulation and of housing, only two of many possible urban planning specializations, offer examples of the interaction of race, ethnicity, and urban planning.
Preparing Medical Students to Be Physician Leaders: A Leadership Training Program for Students Designed and Led by Students.

Introduction Leadership is an area of education and training that is critical to the development of medical providers as health care professionals, yet few medical school curricula offer formal tra...
A latent profile analysis of undergraduates’ achievement motivations and metacognitive behaviors, and their relations to achievement in science

Achievement motivation theories propose that student motivation is composed of multiple factors. Models of self-regulated learning adopt this assumption and further articulate that multiple metacognitive processes—planning, monitoring learning, and self-evaluation—are essential to guide progress toward a learning goal. Learners’ motivations are theorized to influence these metacognitive processes, which in turn influence learning outcomes. Latent profile analyses (LPA) enable a person-centered approach and capture multiple dimensions of motivation as they co-occur when learners engage in a task. This study documents the emergent motivation profiles of 1326 undergraduate biology students comprising efficacy beliefs, achievement goals, and perceptions of the value and costs of an anatomy and physiology course. Traces obtained from the learning management system provide data on students’ use of tools designed to support metacognitive processes including planning, monitoring learning, and self-evaluation. Latent profiles document the emergence of motivation, and metacognition profiles and a 3-step process reveals how student demographics predict motivation profile membership, and how the motivation profiles are related to metacognition profiles. Four motivation profiles (High Cost, Moderately Motivated, High Goals and Values, Mastery-Driven) and 3 metacognitive learning profiles (Infrequent Metacognitive Processing; Planning and Self-Evaluation; Monitoring via Self-Assessment) emerged. Demographic information was found to predict motivation profile membership. Members of Mastery-Driven and High Cost groups were less likely to use tools that support metacognitive processing. Learners in High Goals and Values and Mastery-Driven groups outperformed those in other groups, and learners in Planning and Self-evaluation and Monitoring performance outperformed those with little metacognitive activity. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2020 APA, all rights reserved)
Foundations of Superintendent Trustworthiness: Perspectives of Elementary School Principals:

In this article, we draw on the literature on trust to examine how elementary school principals make sense of superintendent trustworthiness. We examine trust in the context of the principal–superi...
Psychological Issues in Postoperative Pain

Summary Psychological issues that impact on postoperative pain are beginning to receive theoretical and research attention. Psychological factors are likely to contribute significantly to the wide range of individual variation in response to standard surgical interventions. Pain is a private, internal experience; its presence can only be inferred by observations of patient behaviors, both verbal and nonverbal. Postoperative pain is a unique category of acute pain and, as such, requires an approach that considers the psychological factors relevant to the surgical and immediate postsurgical experience. Nociception, or detection of tissue damage, does not explain the extent of pain complaints in different patients, and in the same patient at different times. Psychological factors that intervene between nociception (surgical lesion) and pain behaviors (requests for narcotics, nonverbal expressions of pain, pain ratings) can be generally summarized as those that have to do with learning (prior and present) and those that have to do with the amount of suffering the individual is experiencing. Suffering includes all the negative emotions associated with the pain itself, the hospital experience, resultant fear and anxiety, and the patient’s appraisal of the “meaning” of the surgery and subsequent pain. Awareness of these issues can prevent well-meaning, but potentially damaging medical procedures and escalating drug doses that can actually contribute to, rather than diminish, the patient’s suffering.
Differentiating Pathways between Ethnic-Racial Identity and Critical Consciousness

Critical consciousness is one way in which minoritized youth can resist oppression and move towards sociopolitical change, but little is known about how it evolves alongside developmentally-relevant assets such as ethnic-racial identity. Among 367 ethnically-racially diverse youth (Mage = 15.85, 68.9% female, 85% U.S-born), links between multiple identity constructs (oppressed minority identity, centrality, public regard) and critical consciousness (reflection, motivation, action) were examined using structural equation modeling. Oppressed minority ideology and centrality were associated with more reflection, more motivation, but less critical action. In contrast, public regard was associated with less reflection, less motivation, but more action. The results suggest that different identity processes should be cultivated to help promote these largely independent dimensions of critical consciousness. Further implications of the findings and ideas for future research are discussed.
Antisynthetase Syndrome

Autoantibodies to eight of the aminoacyl-transfer RNA synthetases—the most well-recognized of which is anti-histidyl (Jo-1)—have all been implicated in the pathogenesis of antisynthetase syndrome (AS). AS is characterized by varying degrees of interstitial lung disease, myositis, arthropathy, fever, Raynaud’s phenomenon, and mechanic’s hands, and the morbidity and mortality of the disease are usually linked to the pulmonary findings. The value of a lung biopsy in AS cannot be overemphasized, as it serves to describe the underlying etiology of the interstitial lung disease, guide therapy, and estimate prognosis. Muscle disease shares many clinical features of polymyositis, yet histologically, the inflammatory involvement resembles that of dermatomyositis. Because inflammatory arthritis mimics rheumatoid arthritis, AS should be considered in atypical cases. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of acute therapy, although treatment often requires immunosuppressant medications such as cyclophosphamide, azathioprine, mycophenolate mofetil, cyclosporine, tacrolimus, or rituximab.
Effects of ventilation modalities on near-infrared spectroscopy in surgically corrected CDH infants ☆

Abstract Background Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a noninvasive technique for monitoring tissue oxygenation and perfusion. The aim of this study was to evaluate cerebral and splanchnic NIRS changes in CDH operated infants enrolled into the VICI trial and therefore randomized for ventilatory modalities. Materials and methods CDH newborns enrolled into the VICI trial (Netherlands Trial Register, NTR 1310) were randomized at birth for high-frequency oscillatory ventilation (HFOV) or conventional mechanical ventilation (CMV) according to the trial. Cerebral oxygenation (rSO 2 C) and splanchnic oxygenation (rSO 2 S) were obtained by NIRS (INVOS 5100; Somanetics, Troy, MI) before and after surgery. Variations in rSO 2 C and rSO 2 S were evaluated. Mann–Whitney test and one-way ANOVA were used as appropriate. p Results Thirteen VICI trial patients underwent surgical repair between March 2011 and December 2012, and were enrolled in the study. Seven patients were assigned to HFOV and six to CMV group respectively. During surgery, a significant reduction in rSO 2 C (p=0.0001) and rSO 2 S (p=0.005) were observed. HFOV patients experienced prolonged reduction in rSO 2 C value (p=0.003) while rSO 2 S did not vary between HFOV and CMV (p=0.94). Conclusions Surgical CDH repair was associated with decrease of cerebral and splanchnic oxygenation, regardless of ventilation. Patients ventilated by HFOV need a longer time interval to recovery normal rSO 2 C values, than those ventilated by CMV. This may be owing to a different impact of HFOV on patients' hemodynamic status with a higher impairment on total venous return and its negative consequences on cardiac output.
Learning, Moment-by-Moment and Over the Long Term

The development of moment-by-moment learning graphs (MBMLGs), which plot predictions about the probability that a student learned a skill at a specific time, has already helped to improve our understanding of how student performance during the learning process relates to robust learning [1]. In this study, we extend this work to study year-end learning outcomes and to account for differences in learning on original questions and within knowledge-construction scaffolds. We discuss which quantitative features of moment-by-moment learning in these two contexts are predictive of the longer-term outcomes, and conclude with potential implications for instruction.
Effective Kα x‐ray excitation rates for plasma impurity measurements

Metal impurity concentrations are measured by the pulse‐height‐analyzer (PHA) diagnostic from Kα x‐ray peak intensities by use of an averaged excitation rate 〈σv〉. Low‐Z impurity concentrations are inferred from the continuum enhancement (relative to a pure plasma) minus the enhancement due to metals. Since the PHA does not resolve lines from different charge states, 〈σv〉 is a weighted sum of rates; coronal equilibrium is usually assumed. The 〈σv〉 used earlier omitted the intercombination and forbidden lines from the dominant heliumlike state. The result was an overestimate of metals and an underestimate of low‐Z impurities in cases where metals were significant. Improved values of 〈σv〉 using recent calculations for H‐, He‐, and Li‐like Fe range from 10% to 50% larger than the earlier rates and yield metal concentrations in better agreement with those from vacuum ultraviolet (VUV) spectroscopy.
Comparison of the electrophysiology and morphology of layers III and II neurons of the rat medial entorhinal cortex in vitro

The basic membrane characteristics of neurons in layers II and III of the medial entorhinal cortex (MEA) were recorded using the intracellular current clamp technique in in vitro slices of the rat brain. Two types of cells were distinguished according to the presence of a time-dependent inward rectification (SAG current) with hyperpolarizing current pulses. The cells in which this inward rectification was not observed (No-SAG cells) had a larger input resistance, a more negative resting membrane potential and a more depolarized firing threshold. They more often displayed a strongly adapting firing pattern, and their action potentials had a slower decay rate and lacked a depolarizing afterpotential, compared with the SAG cells. SAG cells typically had a prominent rebound depolarization at the end of a hyperpolarizing current and membrane potential oscillations (7 Hz) upon subthreshold depolarizations. Cs+ blocked the time-dependent inward rectification. The rebound depolarization persisted, even in the presence of tetrodotoxin. Biocytin labelling showed that layer III consisted mainly of pyramidal-shaped cells. Most layer III cells were of the No-SAG type. All cells in layer II, stellate and pyramidal cells, were classified as SAG cells. We conclude that the cells in MEA layers II and III display different electroresponsiveness, but that this appears to be more related to the layer where they are located than to a specific morphology. As layer III consisted mainly of cells of the No-SAG type, we suggest that layer III cells are less excitable than the SAG type layer II cells.
Seminal fluid findings in men with nonbacterial prostatitis and prostatodynia.

There is considerable confusion about the effects of prostatitis syndromes on male reproductive physiology. Therefore, we correlated findings on seminal fluid and expressed prostatic secretions from 100 men attending a special prostatitis clinic. These men had symptoms of prostatitis but no evidence of urethritis, acute or chronic bacterial prostatitis, or significant urological abnormalities. All subjects were evaluated following a standardized protocol, including lower urinary tract localization studies, expressed prostatic secretion analyses, and seminal fluid analyses with Bryan-Leishman staining. Seminal fluid findings were compared in men with inflammation (> or = 10(6) leukocytes/ml) in their expressed prostatic secretions, i.e., nonbacterial prostatitis, and men without inflammation in prostatic secretions, i.e., prostatodynia. Of 23 men with inflammation (> or = 10(6) leukocytes/ml) in their seminal fluid, 6 (26%) had nonbacterial prostatitis (mean leukocyte concentration 8.6 +/- 9.4 x 10(6)/ml of semen) and 17 (74%) had prostatodynia (mean leukocyte concentration 6.2 +/- 7.0 x 10(6)/ml, not significant). Of 77 men who did not have seminal inflammation, 15 (19%) had nonbacterial prostatitis (mean leukocyte concentration 0.1 +/- 0.2 x 10(6)/ml) and 62 (81%) had prostatodynia (mean leukocyte concentration 0.1 +/- 0.2 x 10(6)/ml, not significant). Men with nonbacterial prostatitis had lower values for several parameters associated with sperm motility, especially the proportion of motile sperm (45% compared with 60% for men with prostatodynia, P = 0.08) and sperm subjective speed score (median 3 compared to 4 for men with prostatodynia, P = 0.03). In summary, a minority of men had seminal inflammation, even among men with nonbacterial prostatitis. There was poor correlation between inflammation in the prostatic secretions and in the semen. Nonbacterial prostatitis, but not seminal inflammation, was associated with reduced sperm motility. Our findings highlight technical issues and the importance of investigating different sites and samples, including the urethra, expressed prostatic secretions, and seminal fluid.
Capturing and Restoring the Context of Everyday Work: A Case Study at a Law Office

Real-world activity is complex and increasingly involves use of multiple computer applications and communication devices over extended periods of time. To understand activity at the level of detail required to provide natural and comprehensive support for it necessitates appreciating both its richness and dynamically changing context. In this article, we (1) summarize field work in which we recorded the desktop activities of workers in a law office, (2) analyze interview data in detail to show the effects of context reinstatement when viewing video summaries of past desktop activity. We conclude by discussing the implications of our results for the design of software tools to assist work in office settings.
Surprising diversity and distribution of spliced leader RNAs in flatworms

Trans-splicing generates the mature 5' ends of certain mRNAs through the addition of a small spliced leader (SL) exon to pre-mRNAs. To search for novel flatworm spliced leaders, degenerate oligonucleotides and 5' RACE [corrected was used to isolate and characterize the 5' terminal sequences of enolase mRNAs in diverse flatworms. Several new spliced leaders and their SL RNA genes were identified, characterized, and compared. All parasitic trematodes examined trans-splice enolase. A primitive polyclad turbellarian, Stylochus zebra, also contains a trans-spliced enolase mRNA. The S. zebra SL is the longest SL yet identified, 51 nucleotides. Comparison of flatworm SLs indicates that they vary significantly in sequence and length. This suggests that neither spliced leader exon sequence nor size is likely to be essential for trans-splicing in flatworms. Flatworm SL RNAs have unusual Sm binding sites with characteristics distinct from other known flatworm snRNA Sm binding sites. Predicted flatworm SL RNA secondary structures show variation exhibiting 2-4 stem loops. Although limited in sequence similarity, phylogenetically conserved regions within the diverse flatworm SL RNAs suggest that they are likely to be derived from a common ancestor and provide information on potentially important SL RNA elements. The identification of a SL in a primitive flatworm suggests that trans-splicing may have been an ancestral feature in the phylum. Representative species of other early and more recent clades within the phylum, however, do not trans-splice enolase, nor do they or representatives of several other flatworm groups, have an SL RNA with a phylogenetically conserved region identified in the current study.
Piezo-modulated spectroscopic investigation of N and N-N Pairs in GaP

We have investigated the effects of uniaxial compression along [001], [111] and [110] on the modulated-transmission spectra of an exciton bound to an isolated N as well as to N-N pairs. Our results show that the observed stress-induced splittings are associated with the valence band splitting, suggest that internal-strain effects may be significant for N and N-N pairs, and that the N-N pair interaction in weak.
Can Reorganizing K-8 Education Improve Academic Performance? The Impact of Grade Span on Student Achievement

Although rearranging school organizational features is a perennially popular method of school reform, no consensus exists regarding the best organizational structure for educating students. Instead, there is wide variation in school organization across the United States and even within school districts. This paper examines how student performance in eighth grade is shaped by the grade span configuration. Exploiting the variation in New York City, we estimate the impact of several distinct grade span configurations, controlling for school and student characteristics including third grade performance. We find that students in schools with longer grade spans (K-8 schools particularly) outperform students in schools with shorter grade spans. Thus, creating more K-8 schools and minimizing structural articulations in the K-8 years may improve student performance.
ELECTRON ACCELERATION IN IMPULSIVE SOLAR FLARES

The effect of Coulomb losses on the stochastic acceleration of high energy electrons in solar flares is investigated. Including Coulomb losses makes the acceleration less efficient at low energies, the resulting particle spectra show a steepening below an energy Ec, typically 1 – 3 MeV, where the loss rate equals the acceleration rate. It is shown that electrons can efficiently be accelerated to high energies even if they are injected at energies E < Ec. The solutions successfully explain the observed steepening of interplanetary electron spectra below ≈ 3 MeV following impulsive solar flares taking place at low coronal heights. It is concluded that simultaneous second-order Fermi acceleration and Coulomb losses operating in closed flare loops are a likely mechanism for second-step acceleration in impulsive solar flares.
Effect of sample handling and storage time on the stability of total CO2 in equine plasma

Summary Reasons for performing study: The stability of total CO2 concentration (ctCO2) in plasma is influenced by storage temperature and handling during sample processing. Conflicting information exists regarding the stability of ctCO2 in equine plasma over time, and the effect of centrifugation on the measured value for plasma ctCO2 is unclear. Objectives: To determine plasma ctCO2 stability over 5 days when equine blood is collected into Vacutainer tubes, centrifuged within 30 min of collection, and stored at 4°C; and to determine whether a delay in centrifugation increases the rate at which plasma ctCO2 decreases over time. Methods: Blood was collected from 6 adult horses into 3 ml plastic Vacutainer tubes and randomly assigned to be centrifuged immediately, or after, storage. Plasma ctCO2 was measured in triplicate at 0, 24, 48, 72 and 96 h after collection using a NOVA-4 analyser. Data were analysed using multivariable linear regression, with P<0.05 being defined as significant. Results: Plasma ctCO2 decreased linearly over time during storage at 4°C. The measured value for ctCO2 decreased at a faster rate (-0.28 mmol/l/day; P<0.0001) when centrifugation was delayed, compared with immediate centrifugation (-0.10 mmol/l/day). There was a significant effect of sequence of sample analysis on the ctCO2 value when measured in triplicate: the second and third measurements were 0.31 and 0.41 mmol/l lower than the first measurement, respectively. Conclusions: Blood samples collected from horses into Vacutainer tubes should be centrifuged immediately after collection and analysed as soon as possible to ensure accurate values for plasma ctCO2. Potential relevance: Failure to centrifuge, or excessive delay in measuring ctCO2 after centrifugation, produces values significantly lower than the true value.
Spontaneous tumor lysis syndrome in a patient with cholangiocarcinoma

Tumor lysis syndrome (TLS) is a potentially deadly complication of tumors or their treatment. This syndrome consists of a constellation of laboratory parameters such as hyperuricemia, hyperkalemia, hyperphosphatemia, and hypocalcemia and clinical complications such as seizures, acute renal insult, cardiac dysrhythmias and death. TLS is especially common in patients with hematological malignancies with rapid cellular turnover rates such as acute lymphocytic leukemia and Burkitt lymphoma, but is very rare in patients with solid tumors. However, it is essential to keep in mind that solid tumors can also lead to TLS. We present a case of a 66-year-old African American male with metastatic cholangiocarcinoma complicated by the development of spontaneous TLS. TLS has never been reported in a patient with cholangiocarcinoma.
Inhibition of ultraviolet light-induced oxidative events in the skin and internal organs of hairless mice by isoflavone genistein.

Abstract We have previously demonstrated that soybean isoflavone genistein inhibits ultraviolet-B (UVB)-induced skin tumorigenesis in hairless mice. In the present study, we further investigated the possible mechanism(s) of action whereby genistein inhibits photocarcinogenesis with focuses on UVB-induced oxidative events, including hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) production, lipid peroxidation (as represented by malondialdehyde, MDA), and 8-hydroxy-2′-deoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) formation in vivo. We demonstrated that subacute exposure to UVB substantially increased the level of H 2 O 2 , lipid peroxides, and 8-OHdG in skin of hairless mice. In addition, chronic exposure to low-dose UVB (0.9–1.2 kJ/m 2 for 20 weeks) substantially increased the levels of 8-OHdG not only in the epidermis, but also in the internal organs such as liver, brain, and spleen of mice with exception of kidney. However, genistein did not affect the level of UVB-induced pyrimidine dimmers in the same UVB exposed mouse skin, indicating selective inhibition of oxidative DNA damage by genistein. Induction of H 2 O 2 was independent of UVB fluences whereas the levels of MDA and 8-OHdG were induced in an UVB fluence-dependent manner. The results suggest that H 2 O 2 be generated as an acute cutaneous response to UVB irradiation, while MDA and 8-OHdG are accumulated with increasing UVB exposure and more closely related to chronic effects of UVB radiation. Pre-treatment of animals with 10 μmol of genistein 1 h prior to UVB exposure significantly inhibited UVB-induced H 2 O 2 and MDA in skin and 8-OHdG in epidermis as well as internal organs. Suppression of 8-OHdG formation by genistein has been corroborated in purified DNA irradiated with UVA and B. In summary, our results suggest that UVB irradiation elicit a series of oxidative events, which can be substantially inhibited by isoflavonoid genistein through either direct quenching of reactive oxygen species or indirect antiinflammatory effects. Thus, the antioxidative properties of genistein may explain for the mechanisms of anti-photocarcinogenic action of genistein.
A means-end analysis of brand persuasion through advertising

Abstract This study examines the explanation of brand persuasion through communicating means-end levels on information (attributes, consequences and values) in commercials. It is argued that consumers perceive the personal relevance and desirability of product attributes in terms of their association with personal consequences of product usage. Similarly, the relevance and desirability of personal consequences are derived from their association with a consumer's personal values. It is predicted and supported that the strength of association between means-end information communicated by an ad will contribute to the explanation of brand persuasion. Support is also obtained for the prediction that the effect on brand persuasion of communicating means-end associations will be stronger for those who are not loyal users of the brand, since those persons have more to learn about the personal relevance and desirability of the means-end information provided by the associations betwwen levels.
Upper critical fields of some amorphous superconducting zirconium-base alloys

Abstract Superconducting upper critical fields H c2 ( T ) have been measured for some “early-late”, amorphous, transition metal (TM) alloys T e (1 − x ) T l ( x ), where T e = Zr and T l = Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, Pd. Contrary to recent work on non- T e T l amorphous TM alloys, we find reasonably good agreement of H c2 ( T ) with standard dirty-limit type-II theory and no evidence in H c2 ( T ) for precursor electron localization.
Roberto Francisco Prádez. Spain's first deaf teacher of the deaf.

This article examines developments surrounding the establishment of the school for the deaf in Madrid in the 19th century and the role played by Roberto Pradez, Spain's first deaf teacher of the deaf, during the school's first three decades of existence. Although he has been neglected historically, Pradez is a founding father of deaf education, a heroic figure who contributed crucially to the establishment and operation of Spain's first state-sponsored school. This study underscores the need to reexamine the historical record to recover Spanish deaf history.
Competitive anion transport in desalting of mixtures of organic acids by batch electrodialysis

Desalting and separation of binary and quaternary acid mixtures via batch electrodialysis are investigated in this article. A monoselective cation exchange membrane and either a non-selective or a monoselective anion exchange membrane are employed in the electrodialysis stack. The effects of current density and composition of the initial feed of the electrodialysis stack (employing a non-selective anion exchange membrane) on its performance are studied in experiments involving mixtures of acetic and succinic acids. The effect of the type of the anion exchange membrane on the process performance is examined in desalting experiments involving a mixture of acetic, formic, lactic, and succinic acids. The trends observed in the experiments are interpreted in terms of species-specific parameters (such as molar concentration, charge on ionic species, molecular weight, degree of ionization, and ionic equivalent conductivity) and characteristics of anion exchange membrane used.
URDB: a universal reversible debugger based on decomposing debugging histories

Reversible debuggers have existed since the early 1970s. A novel approach, URDB, is introduced based on checkpoint/re-execute. It adds reversibility to a debugger, while still placing the end user within the familiar environment of their preferred debugger. The URDB software layer currently includes modes that understand the syntax for four debuggers: GDB for C/C++/Java/Fortran, Python (pdb), MATLAB, and Perl (perl -d). It does so by adding a thin URDB software layer on top of the DMTCP checkpoint-restart package. URDB passes native debugging commands between the end user and the underlying debugging session. URDB models the four common debugging primitives that form the basis for most debuggers: step, next, continue, break. For example, given a debugging history of the form [step, next, step], URDB's reverse-step produces a new history, [step, next]. Further, subtle algorithms are described for reverse-xxx. For example, reverse-step operates correctly when the last instruction of the history is next or continue.URDB calls DMTCP to create a checkpoint during a de-bugging session, and then replays the history from there. An essential novelty of this work is the extension of DMTCP to be the first checkpointing package capable of checkpointing a GDB sesssion to disk (through checkpointing the Linux ptrace system call). This was a significant barrier to earlier attempts toward checkpoint/re-execute for GDB. Support for the GDB debugger is important to any reversible debugger claiming universality. Experimental results are described for GDB, MATLAB, Python (pdb), and Perl.
A comparison of group and individual induction of hypnosis with self-scoring and observer-scoring.

Abstract Forty-five volunteer Ss were hypnotized in small groups of 4, 5, or 6 and were subsequently hypnotized in individual sessions. In both sessions observer- and self-scores were recorded for all suggestions of the Harvard Group Scale adaptation of the Stanford Hypnotic Susceptibility Scale. The correlation between observer- and self-scores was .83 for the group session and .89 for the individual session. Hypnotic susceptibility in the group session was very similar to susceptibility in the individual session; mean observer-scores were 6.80 and 6.67 on a 12 point scale. Group self-scores were found to predict quite accurately objective hypnotist scores of the subsequent individual session, 93 per cent of the cases being within 3 points of each other. The correlation was .74. A second sample of 34 non-volunteer male Ss were hypnotized individually following Form A of the Stanford scale. Observer- and self-scores correlated .81. Thus self-scoring was found to be remarkably successful, and the results o...
Role of surgery for otitis media in the era of resistant bacteria

Otitis media is currently the most common diagnosis made by clinicians, and its prevalence has an impact on managed health care. With the emergence of bacterial pathogens resistant to many antimicrobial agents, an urgent need exists to reassess the indications for surgical management of this more prevalent disease. In an effort to determine the causative bacterial etiology of acute otitis media, which may be resistant to commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents, tympanocentesis is indicated today more than ever, especially when patients fail to improve or worsen while receiving antibiotics (i.e. treatment failures). In an effort to reduce the use of antimicrobial agents, prophylactic administration of these drugs for prevention of recurrent otitis media should only be prescribed on an individualized basis, with myringotomy and tympanostomy tube insertion being a more reasonable alternative. Adenoidectomy should be also considered when moderate to severe nasal obstruction is present or when repeat tympanostomy tube placement is needed. Likewise when chronic otitis media with effusion is unresponsive to a trial of antimicrobial therapy, tympanostomy tube insertion, adenoidectomy or both procedures should be considered, as opposed to re-treating with a variety of antibiotics. The role of these surgical procedures has become more important today in this era of antibioticresistant bacteria. Also in our cost-conscious environment, it is uncertain which method of management is more expensive, surgery or prolonged medical management.
The Characteristics and Operation Parameters of a Thermionic Emission Detector, Selective and Sensitive to Phosphorus

The thermionic emission detector, a newcomer in the line of gas liquid Chromatograph detectors, is rapidly proving to be a valuable tool for the specific detection of organophosphorus compounds. The greatest impact is presently in the pesticide field. At best, the detector is still plagued with some operational difficulties and detection inadequacies, leaving considerable room for its improvement. In addition, a complete theoretical description of the flame reaction mechanism is also still lacking. It is hoped that most, if not all of these difficulties can be overcome in the future as new research ideas are successfully applied. This paper is written to help the analyst, unfamiliar with the operations of a thermionic detector to avoid possible difficulties in its operation, as well as to stimulate new ideas to improve existing systems. For these reasons a literature review will be included.
A multi‐step model for the origin of E3 (enstatite) chondrites

— It appears that the mineralogy and chemical properties of type 3 enstatite chondrites could have been established by fractionation processes (removal of a refractory component, and depletion of water) in the solar nebula, and by equilibration with nebular gas at low-to-intermediate temperatures (approximately 700–950 K). We describe a model for the origin of type 3 enstatite chondrites that for the first time can simultaneously account for the mineral abundances, bulk-chemistry, and phase compositions of these chondrites by the operation of plausible processes in the solar nebula. This model, which assumes a representative nebular gas pressure of 10−5 bar, entails three steps: (1) initial removal of 56% of the equilibrium condensed phases in a system of solar composition at 1270 K; (2) an average loss of 80–85% water vapor in the remaining gas; and (3) two different closure temperatures for the condensed phases. The first step involves a “refractory element fractionation” and is needed to account for the overall major element composition of enstatite chondrites, assuming an initial system with a solar composition. The second step, water-vapor depletion, is needed to stabilize Si-bearing metal, oldhamite, and niningerite, which are characteristic minerals of the enstatite chondrites. Variations in closure temperatures are suggested by the way in which the bulk chemistry and mineral assemblages of predicted condensates change with temperature, and how these parameters correlate with the observations of enstatite chondrites. In general, most phases in type 3 enstatite chondrites appear to have ceased equilibrating with nebular gas at approximately 900–950 K, except for Fe-metal, which continued to partially react with nebular gas to temperatures as low as ∼700 K.
Blood dendritic cells and DC-poietins in systemic lupus erythematosus

Dendritic cells (DCs) control immunity and tolerance. Hence, we surmised that systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), a systemic autoimmune disease with autoreactive T and B cells, might be due to alterations in DC homeostasis. Taken together, our results demonstrate profound alterations of DCs and DC-poietins homeostasis in SLE. Elevated levels of interferon-alpha (IFN) in serum of SLE patients coexist with decreased numbers of cells producing IFN-alpha, i.e., plasmacytoid dendritic cells (PDCs). Decreased numbers of circulating DCs correlate with increased levels of soluble tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptors, thus suggesting the potential role of TNF pathway in the observed DC alterations. Finally, increased FMS-like tyrosine kinase 3-ligand (FLT3-L) and its correlation with soluble TNF receptors suggest a physiologic response to compensate low DC numbers. Although IFN-alpha remains at the center of immunologic aberrations in SLE, it remains to be determined whether increased shedding of soluble TNF receptors could also be ascribed to IFN-alpha.
Frequency of asymmetric intraocular pressure fluctuations among patients with and without glaucoma.

Abstract Purpose To describe the frequency and magnitude of asymmetric fluctuations of intraocular pressure (IOP) between fellow eyes of glaucoma patients and normal subjects. Design Observational case series. Participants Forty-two subjects without glaucoma and 38 glaucoma patients. Methods By means of retrospective chart review, bilateral IOP measurements were examined over time for subjects without glaucoma and for glaucoma patients whose drug regimens remained unchanged during the period included in the study (at least five readings over at least 1 year). Asymmetric IOP fluctuations of at least 3 mmHg and representing at least a 15% change from baseline were identified. Main outcome measure Occurrence of spontaneous asymmetric IOP fluctuations. Results Twenty-one of 42 subjects without glaucoma exhibited an asymmetric IOP fluctuation between two consecutive visits compared with 24 of 38 glaucoma patients (50% vs. 63.2%, respectively, P = 0.24). Compared with normal subjects, asymmetric IOP fluctuations were observed in 13 of 16 glaucoma patients with prior symmetrical bilateral ocular surgery (50% vs. 81.2%, respectively, P = 0.031), and 11 of 22 ocular surgery-naive glaucoma patients (50% vs. 50%, respectively, P = 1.0). No differences in the magnitudes of the asymmetric IOP fluctuations were noted between groups. Overall, asymmetric IOP fluctuations were observed in 13.7% of follow-up visits among normal subjects versus 16.3% of follow-up visits among glaucoma patients ( P = 0.4). Conclusions Spontaneous asymmetric fluctuations of intraocular pressure between fellow eyes occur commonly in normal subjects and glaucoma patients. The frequency and magnitude of observed spontaneous asymmetric IOP fluctuations between consecutive clinical visits in glaucoma patients are sufficiently large to potentially confound the interpretation of monocular therapeutic drug trials.
Direction-of-arrival interferometer array design using genetic algorithm with fuzzy logic

Design of interferometer arrays for radio frequency direction of arrival estimation involves optimizing conflicting requirements. For example, high resolution conflicts with low cost. Lower level requirements also invoke lower level design issues such as ambiguity in direction of arrival angle. A more efficient array design process is described here, which uses a genetic algorithm with a growing genome and fuzzy logic scoring. Extensive simulation software is also needed. Simulation starts with randomized small array configurations. These are then evaluated against the fitness functions with results scored using fuzzy logic. The best-fit of the population are combined to produce the next generation. A mutation function introduces slight randomness in some genomes. Finally, if the overall population scores well the size of the genome is increased until final genome size is consistent with the desired array resolution requirement. The genetic algorithm design process described here produced a number of array designs. The results indicate discrete stages or steps in the optimization and an interesting trade-off of lower resolution for greater accuracy.
Factors Affecting Median Cable Barrier Crash Frequency: New Insights

This study evaluated the impact of roadway cross-sectional and geometric features, traffic characteristics, and median cable barrier placement to the frequency of median-related crashes through statistical modeling using multiyear data. A unique aspect of the model specification was the inclusion of median cable barrier placement data, horizontal curve data, and differential elevation of opposite travel lanes. Negative binomial model was used in linearizing and quantifying these factors with respect to median crossover crash frequency. The variables that were found to significantly influence the frequency of median crashes include the number of lanes, differential elevation, and cable barrier offset from the inside shoulder. Increasing traffic volume was found to increase the frequency of median barrier crashes as well as the presence of curves on a median barrier section was found to increase the frequency of crashes. Higher differential elevation between opposite travel lanes was also found to increase ...
On the nature of crack propagation and arrest in a damaging material

Abstract In an effort to bridge the gap between damage and fracture mechanics, an investigation of fracture in a damaging material is conducted. The analysis of the double-cantileverbeam specimen reveals the role that damage plays in crack extension. Because damage appears explicitly in the constitutive relation, the condition for failure follows naturally from the analysis. There is no need to appeal to the dominance of a singular field and to invoke a fracture criterion based upon a critical value of the strength of this field. To the extent that a microstructural dimension may be considered a material parameter, the critical value of the stress-intensity factor ( K cr ) retains its significance as a reasonably geometry-independent fracture-toughness parameter. Moreover, K cr is found to first order to be proportional to the square root of the total irrecoverable work done on the material element at the crack tip. Finally, the characteristics of rapid crack propagation and arrest in a damaging material are investigated. Several interesting aspects of fracture of a damaging material are revealed. These results are compared with those based upon conventional fracture models.
The effects of hard and soft occlusal splints on nocturnal bruxism

An investigative study of the effects of hard and soft occlusal splints on nighttime bruxism is presented. Occlusal splints are commonly used for the treatment of nocturnal bruxism. This study investigated the effects of hard and soft occlusal splints on nighttime muscle activity. The nocturnal muscle activity of ten participants was recorded while wearing a hard and then a soft occlusal splint. The hard occlusal splint significantly reduced muscle activity in eight of the ten participants. The soft occlusal splint significantly reduced muscle activity in only one participant while causing a statistically significant increase in muscle activity in five of the ten participants.
A far-infrared/submillimeter kilometer-baseline interferometer in space

Abstract Through the continuing development of improved detectors and detector arrays, far-infrared/submillimeter astronomical space missions have had enormous successes in recent years. Despite these advances, the diffraction-limited angular resolving power has remained virtually constant. The advent of telescopes with apertures of several meters, will improve the situation, but will still leave image resolution many orders of magnitude poorer than in most other spectral ranges. After making the scientific case for high spatial resolution imaging in this spectral range, and the use of interferometry as the most immediate way of producing results, we review the use of far-infrared/submillimeter interferometers to provide insight on the formation of the first stars.