cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Unilateral Single Vaginal Ectopic Ureter with Ipsilateral Hypoplastic Pelvic Kidney and Bicornuate Uterus

We report on 2 patients with a unilateral vaginal ectopic ureter associated with a single system, ipsilateral hypoplastic pelvic kidney and bicornuate uterus. Although there are many reports of concomitant urinary and reproductive system malformations, a review of the literature shows these unique associations in the same patient to be extremely rare. These findings provide further evidence of the intricate interaction between mesonephric (wolffian) and paramesonephric (mullerian) ducts in the development of the urogenital system. Embryological aspects as well as clinical presentation, diagnostic approach and treatment applicable to this group are discussed.
Coalescence of gold nanoparticles around the end of a carbon nanotube: A molecular-dynamics study

Abstract Coalescence of gold nanoparticles (Au NPs) around the end of a multi-walled carbon nanotube (MWCNT) and their interaction with the CNT at elevated temperatures may often be important processes during the fabrication of CNT-metal composite (e.g., through laser sintering). However, an atomic-scale fundamental study of such processes through molecular dynamics (MD) simulations has been rarely reported to the authors’ best knowledge. Such a study has been reported in this paper. First, MD-predicted NP melting points are compared with experiment-deduced results from the literature to at least partially test the modeling approach. Then the coalescence of 3-nm Au NPs around the end of a MWCNT and their interactions with the CNT are studied through MD simulations. The simulated period includes a 100-ps heating period (at the end of which the system is raised to a certain heating temperature) followed by another 500-ps period. Studies have been performed under different CNT diameters, and for different heating temperatures. Several interesting phenomena have been found under the studied conditions, such as: (i) a CNT with a sufficiently large diameter can draw some Au atoms into the tube, even though the heating temperature (600 K) is well below the melting point of the Au NPs. Such an interesting capillary effect of CNT below the metal NPs’ melting point has been rarely reported before to the authors’ best knowledge; (ii) Under a heating temperature of 800 K, at the end of the simulated period, lattice structures can still be observed in the merged Au nanocluster if no CNT is nearby; however, the Au atoms become mostly disordered if the NP coalescence takes place near the end of a CNT; and (iii) if significant entrance of Au atoms into the CNT occurs, the arrangement of most Au atoms inside the CNT also follows a multi-layer tube pattern.
Elementary Logic and Set Theory

• If x belongs to a class A, we write x ∈ A and read as “x is an element of A.” Otherwise, we write x ∉ A.
Hyperspectral Image Classification Using Support Vector Machines with an Efficient Principal Component Analysis Scheme

Support vector machines (SVM) together with principal component analysis (PCA) have been applied to hyperspectral image classification and mapping with great success. PCA has been proved to be an effective preprocessing tool for dimension reduction and/or feature extraction. After dimension reduction with PCA, the classification and mapping time can be dramatically reduced while retaining good accuracy. However, the computational cost of PCA preprocessing can be as high as that of SVM classification applied to the original unreduced data set. Researchers have studied different algorithms to cut the PCA preprocessing time, while some others totally ignored that cost. We propose a simple PCA preprocessing scheme which can reduce the computational complexity many folds and is particularly suitable for image data of large size. High classification accuracy can be achieved. A numerical example on an Earth Observing-1 (EO-1) Hyperion image is included to demonstrate the viability of this new procedure. In addition, this example clearly shows that the standard PCA preprocessing may require as much time as the SVM classification does.
Cervical cytology screening in teens.

Cytology screening has clearly made a significant impact on decreasing cervical cancer rates in industrialized countries. Unfortunately current screening practices have resulted in an explosion of referrals of adolescents and young women for colposcopy and treatment who most likely do not benefit from the cancer screening. The American Cancer Society recently published new guidelines for when to initiate cervical cytology screening in women. The new recommendation supports screening within 3 years of the onset of vaginal intercourse but no later than 21 years of age. Although these guidelines are in contrast to most other recommendations in the United States they are now more in line with cytology screening programs in Europe and other industrialized countries outside of the United States. The American Medical Association the US Preventive Services American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology and the National Cancer Institute recommend that screening is initiated with the onset of sexual activity or at 18 years of age whichever occurs first or if the sexual history is unreliable. In comparison most European nations recommend that cytology screening is initiated no earlier than at 24 years of age. (excerpt)
Current Challenges: Gender and New Forms of Political Activism

This presentation was delivered at the Fifth Transatlantic dialogue on gender issues supported by the Jean Jores Foundation and held at Boston University. The presentation tries to connect issues of religious activism to notions of citizenship. Its focus is the right of religious women to pray as equal citizens of their respective religions. The paper compares the struggle of religious women to be recognized as full citizens of their respective religions in Judaism and Islam, and explores these struggles as they unfold in France, the United States and Israel. The cases of the Women of the Wall in Israel, of the struggle of women to pray at the Grand Mosque de Paris and the campaign led by Professor Amina Wadud to integrate women in the Friday prayer under Islam in New York City are explored.
Increasing color density with decreasing toxicity of tetanus toxin in the Mueller medium.

The observation was made that tetanus toxin produced in the Mueller medium became visibly darker while undergoing detoxification in the incubator. It was then considered of interest to determine whether this increase in color intensity could be correlated with detoxification. This paper deals with such a correlation. The work of Agner (1950) on diphtheria toxin reveals the possibility of some related mechanism involved with detoxification and color increase although the color could be produced separately. He demonstrated that myeloperoxidase in the presence of purified diphtheria toxin would produce a reddish brown color and detoxification of the toxin when a co-factor and dilute hydrogen peroxide were dialyzed into the bag. The color could not be removed from the toxin by dialysis. If, however, the color were produced in the absence of the toxin by the combinations of myeloperoxidase plus the co-factor in the presence of dilute hydrogen peroxide and the enzyme system then allowed to enter the bag with the toxin, the toxin would not be detoxified and the color could be removed by dialysis. The tetanus toxin was harvested from a 6-day growth of the Harvard strain of Clostridium tetani on the most recent Mueller formula (Mueller, 1951). Detoxification of the sterile,formalinized toxin was accomplished in most cases by incubating at 35 C for 14 days. Samples were removed nearly every day for density determinations on the Junior Coleman Spectrophotometer set at 500 millimicrons. The criterion for complete detoxification was the absence of tetanus symptoms in a 300 to 400 gram guinea pig for 21 days after injection of 10 ml of the material. The minimum lethal dose of the partially detoxified material was determined in guinea pigs, using death times as measurement of toxicity according to a previous method (Ipsen, 1941). Nine lots of toxin were detoxified. During detoxification at 35 C, they showed a gradual and definite rise in color density of the toxin accompanied by a steady decline in the toxicity. Eight of these lots showed complete detoxification in the density range of 0.250 to 0.300, while the ninth lot was not fully toxoided until it reached a density of between 0.300 and 0.328. In all cases the toxins were completely detoxified in a period of time varying from a minimum of 5 to a maximum of 10 days. The single lot showing a reading greater than 0.300 at the time of complete detoxification was detoxified in 8 days. This might indicate that the length of the period of incubation was not the sole factor which determined the depth of color at the earliest sign that complete detoxification had occurred. Figure 1 illustrates graphically the comparative rise in density, decrease in toxicity, and M.L.D. values at different stages for a representative lot. In order to compare the density changes during a slower rate of detoxification, a lot of toxin was detoxified by maintenance at room temperature for 68 days. Frequent samples for density readings and for progress in detoxification revealed a reduced rate of
Measurement of Radiation Properties of Solid Materials

ABSTRACT The study of thermal radiation and its interaction with matter comprises a very broad field because it includes a wide range of the electromagnetic spectrum and requires a variety of experimental techniques for its measurement. A review of the various instruments and techniques used at the Heat Transfer Laboratory of the University of Minnesota for the measurement of the solar reflectivity and total normal and angular (hemispherical) emissivities of solids are described in this paper with special emphasis placed on the range of applicability of each instrument. A selected group of thermal radiation property values obtained with this instrumentation is presented for the following types of materials: (1) metallic solids and thin films, (2) porous materials, (3) selective surfaces, (4) cloth, and (5) animal integument.
Glassy Phenomena and Precursors in the Lattice Dynamics

Broad classes of functional materials exhibit glass-like phenomena originating with the frustration of a soft phonon driven phase transition, including relaxor ferroelectrics and shape memory strain glasses. While the soft phonon mechanism is mostly understood, how this mechanism becomes frustrated in the presence of disorder remains intensely debated. A common structural feature of the frustrated state is nanoscale regions of local ferroic displacements that form well above the ordering temperature; these are called polar nanoregions (PNRs) in relaxor ferroelectrics and ferroelastic nanodomains (FND) in the strain glasses. The existence of these small regions provides a basis to explain glass-like slow relaxation phenomena, which can manifest in the lattice dynamics as phonon over damping. However, this does not explain why the long-range order becomes localized into PNRs or FNDs, or why this happens specifically at the nanoscale. Recent scattering experiments and theories suggest an exciting new way to think about these problems in terms of the physics of lattice vibrations in chemically disordered crystals. More generally, probing the lattice dynamics of these systems sheds new light on the microscopic origin of the nanoregions, glassy behavior, and enhanced functional properties.
CHAPTER 21 – Transcript Subtraction Methods

The terms subtraction and subtraction hybridization refer to a global identification of up- and/or down-regulated sequences, as opposed to looking at specific transcripts to determine whether or not there is any modulation of expression. Subtraction hybridization methods also differ dramatically from both antibody-mediated immunopurification of specific polysomes and generic polysome purification. Nucleic acid-based subtraction is attractive because the end point of the assay is a population of sequences partly or entirely responsible for a change in the cellular phenotype. The result of physical subtraction of commonly expressed sequences is a population of differentially expressed molecules suitable for cloning, restriction mapping, sequencing, and expression studies. Most of the newer methods for the identification of differentially expressed genes are polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based approaches. Particularly, the method of nucleic acid subtraction coupled with suppression PCR has become a favored method for the isolation of differentially expressed messenger RNAs (mRNAs). This approach has the advantage of being a PCR-based assay, and the unique design of the nucleic adapters needed to support this assay is the key to the system. The mechanics of the assay favor a normalization of differential expressed sequences, which means, by the end of the assay all of the differentially expressed sequences are present in the ‘pool’ at similar concentrations, regardless of their abundance level in the original biological material.
Identification of permethrin and etofenprox cross‐tolerance in Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Acari: Ixodidae)

Background The brown dog tick, Rhipicephalus sanguineus sensu lato (Latreille; Acari: Ixodidae), is a peridomestic ectoparasite of dogs and occasionally humans. In some populations, lack of integrated pest management practices and overuse of pesticides has resulted in high levels of resistance to multiple active ingredients. In this study, we established the etofenprox discriminating concentration (DC) and three additional screening concentrations to evaluate resistance status. Using mortality results, cross-resistance was investigated in brown dog tick populations from five geographically disparate regions, including Asia, Africa, Europe, North America, and the Caribbean, following exposure to the DC for both etofenprox and permethrin separately. Subsequently, using both larval packet tests and molecular methods, etofenprox resistance was investigated. Results The etofenprox DC was set at 0.51%, which allows for the rapid screening of peridomestic brown dog tick populations for resistance to this active ingredient. Cross-tolerance to two sodium channel-inhibiting pesticides, permethrin and etofenprox, was observed in one population. Conclusion Our study has provided a single etofenprox concentration that can be used in larval packet tests to determine resistance status in collected peridomestic brown dog ticks, which is particularly important when a single to a few engorged adult ticks are provided for evaluation. Although metabolic resistance is presumed to be the primary resistance mechanism, a sodium channel mutation also confers tolerance to etofenprox at the DC. © 2019 Society of Chemical Industry.
Effect of Hertzian impact damping on hypoid gear dynamic response

This study presents an enhanced gear mesh model that considers effect of Hertzian impact damping on dynamic response of meshing hypoid gear pairs. First, a non-linear damping function based on coefficient of restitution is applied to a two degrees of freedom (DOF) hypoid gear model that considers just torsional coordinate to study its sensitivity to the change in damping coefficient. Then, two types of impact damping function including non-viscous and viscous damping model are introduced, which have more detailed expressions and realistic physical meanings. The differences between these two types of damping models are studied and compared.
“First Things First”: Maslow's Hierarchy as a Framework for Rebt in Promoting Disability Adjustment During Rehabilitation

Maslow's theory of hierarchical human needs can be integrated into a framework for identifying the psychological priorities of those faced with severe disablement and hospitalization. Within this framework can be identified a variety of behavioral and rational emotive interventions which can be tailored to the most logical sources of the key emotional discomforts in each category of Maslow's hierarchy. Interventions discussed range from those with a greater emphasis on educating and changing the staff-environment responsiveness regarding the patient's more basic and “prepotent” priorities, to an increasing focus on treating the patient's irrational belief system, as priorities at higher levels are addressed.
Anatomy of the palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve: A review

The palmar cutaneous branch of the median nerve (PCBm) supplies afferent innervation to the volar aspect of the hand. It consistently originates from the radial side of the median nerve, travels in relation to the tendons of the palmaris longus and flexor carpi radialis muscles, and courses superficially through fascial planes to reach the surface of the palm. Because it is at risk of injury in numerous operations, this review serves to provide a summary of anatomical findings regarding the PCBm across various studies to aid orthopedists and other clinicians in anticipating the location of the nerve during surgical procedures.
What you don't know can help you in school assignment

Abstract No strategy-proof mechanism Pareto dominates the student-proposing Deferred Acceptance mechanism (hereafter DA). However, it is unknown if a mechanism can Pareto dominate DA in equilibrium. We demonstrate a surprising result: a market designer can do better by learning less about students' preferences when making a school assignment. Specifically, we demonstrate that running DA but limiting students to only two applications always has an equilibrium (in weakly undominated, pure strategies) that Pareto dominates DA. We also show that no mechanism that Pareto improves DA with respect to submitted preferences actually Pareto improves DA in equilibrium. Therefore, such a mechanism may not improve DA in practice.
Atypical chronic myeloid leukemia achieving good response with azacitidine

The prognosis of atypical chronic myeloid leukemia (aCML) patients is poor, but some patients with a suitable donor can be treated with allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT). However, many of these patients cannot be treated with HSCT due to their age. The effectiveness of decitabine was recently indicated in case reports; however, the effectiveness of azacitidine (AZA) has not yet been reported. We report the case of a aCML patient successfully treated with AZA. A 66-year-old man with no remarkable medical history was admitted to our hospital because of leukocytosis. We diagnosed his disease as aCML and administered hydroxyurea (HU) and AZA. After four courses of AZA, his blood cell values improved, and he no longer needed transfusions and was able to stop HU. He continued receiving AZA without any severe complications. This is the first report that AZA is effective for the treatment of aCML.
Basic Acid–Base Chemistry and Physiology

As discussed in Chap. 1, the acid–base physiology deals with the maintenance of normal hydrogen ion concentration ([H+]) and pH in body fluids and is precisely regulated by an interplay between body buffers, lungs, and kidneys. In everyday life, the blood pH is under constant threat by endogenous acid and base loads. If not removed, these loads can cause severe disturbances in blood pH and thus impair cellular function. However, three important regulatory systems prevent changes in pH and thus maintain blood pH in the normal range. These protective systems, as stated, are buffers, lungs, and kidneys.
Tip- and Plasmon-Enhanced Infrared Nanoscopy for Ultrasensitive Molecular Characterizations

We propose a method for ultrasensitive infrared (IR) vibrational spectroscopy of molecules with nanoscale footprints by combining the tip enhancement of a scattering-type scanning near-field optical microscope (s-SNOM) and the plasmon enhancement of breathing-mode (BM) plasmon resonances of graphene nanodisks (GNDs). To demonstrate this, we develop a quantitative model that is capable of computing accurately the s-SNOM signals of nanoscale samples. With our modeling, we show that the s-SNOM tip can effectively excite gate-tunable BM plasmonic resonances in GNDs with strong field enhancement and sensitive dependence on the size of GND. Moreover, we demonstrate that the intense electric field of tip-excited plasmonic BMs can strongly enhance the IR vibrational modes of molecules. As a result, IR vibrational signatures of individual molecular particles with sizes down to 1--2 nm are readily observable by s-SNOM. Our study sheds light on future ultrasensitive IR biosensing that takes advantage of both the tip and plasmon enhancement.
Mediastinal lymphadenopathy, class-switched auto-antibodies and myocardial immune-complexes during heart failure in rodents and humans

Mediastinal lymphadenopathy and auto-antibodies are clinical phenomena during ischemic heart failure pointing to an autoimmune response against the heart. T and B cells have been convincingly demonstrated to be activated after myocardial infarction, a prerequisite for the generation of mature auto-antibodies. Yet, little is known about the immunoglobulin isotype repertoire thus pathological potential of anti-heart auto-antibodies during heart failure. We obtained human myocardial tissue from ischemic heart failure patients and induced experimental MI in rats. We found that anti-heart autoimmunity persists during heart failure. Rat mediastinal lymph nodes are enlarged and contain active secondary follicles with mature isotype-switched IgG2a B cells. Mature IgG2a auto-antibodies specific for cardiac antigens are present in rat heart failure serum, and IgG and complement C3 deposits are evident in heart failure tissue of both rats and human patients. Previously established myocardial inflammation, and the herein provided proof of B cell maturation in lymph nodes and myocardial deposition of mature auto-antibodies, provide all the hallmark signs of an established autoimmune response in chronic heart failure.
Multi-characteristic Subject Selection from Biased Datasets.

Subject selection plays a critical role in experimental studies, especially ones with human subjects. Anecdotal evidence suggests that many such studies, done at or near university campus settings suffer from selection bias, i.e., the too-many-college-kids-as-subjects problem. Unfortunately, traditional sampling techniques, when applied over biased data, will typically return biased results. In this paper, we tackle the problem of multi-characteristic subject selection from biased datasets. We present a constrained optimization-based method that finds the best possible sampling fractions for the different population subgroups, based on the desired sampling fractions provided by the researcher running the subject selection.We perform an extensive experimental study, using a variety of real datasets. Our results show that our proposed method outperforms the baselines for all problem variations by up to 90%.
Does Economic Education Make a Difference in Congress? How Economists Vote on Trade

The general population has been shown to have at best a rudimentary knowledge of economics, while the making of economic policy is in the hands of those with a similar lack of understanding as shown in surveys of the political parities (Fuller, Alston, and Vaughan 1995; and Geide-Stevenson 2007). The question is whether those with an economic background, an economics undergraduate degree, vote in a more informed fashion, or if they play politics like everyone else. This study examines this influence of background and finds that over the 109th and 110th Congresses and nine separate trade votes, those Members of Congress who majored in economics are statistically more likely to vote in favor of free trade legislation than any other college major group. This is tested using a logit model and the result is robust.
Immunization status of children in Nepal and associated factors, 2016

Abstract Background Nepal has made substantial improvements in childhood immunization uptake. However, vaccination levels are still below the country-specific Sustainable Development Goal target of 94.8% coverage by 2025 for children aged 12–23 months who received all immunizations recommended in the national immunization schedule by their first birthday. A better understanding of the predictors of full immunization can inform successful programmatic interventions to improve coverage while also guiding resource allocation to ensure all children are fully vaccinated. This study estimates childhood immunization coverage in Nepal and characterizes the association between immunization status and various sociodemographic predictors. Methods Data from the 2016 Nepal Demographic and Health Survey were used to examine the immunization status of children aged 12–23 months. Immunization status was categorized as fully immunized (receiving all recommended doses), under-immunized (receiving at least one, but not all, recommended doses), and un-immunized (not receiving any doses of any vaccine). Associations between full and under-immunization and potential sociodemographic predictors were assessed using logistic regression. Results Among 976 children, 78.2% were fully immunized, 21% were under-immunized, and 0.8% were un-immunized. Retention of an immunization card was significantly associated with full immunization status. Mothers who had completed a formal education above secondary school and mothers who were working at time of interview had increased odds of full immunization. Birthing in an institutional setting was also associated with higher odds of full immunization. Conclusions Overall, immunization coverage in Nepal is relatively high, although it varies by dose and sociodemographic factors. Almost 25% of Nepalese children were not fully immunized, leaving them at increased risk for vaccine-preventable disease related morbidity and mortality. Nepal must continue focused efforts to reach every child and minimize the equity gap; programs may focus on advocating for the use of immunization cards, education and empowerment for girls, and delivery in institutional settings.
Lunar Problems in Soil Engineering

In the relatively near future unmanned, and perhaps manned spacecraft will make soft landings on the moon, and ultimately on some of the other planets. Because our knowledge of the intimate small-scale properties of the lunar surface is almost nonexistent, it is desireable to devise surface models and materials in line with current information for the purpose of designing test experiments and forecasting possible future problem areas. This paper considers briefly the state of knowledge of the lunar surface from an engineering viewpoint and outlines a variety of plausible soil or rock profiles to shallow depths. The engineering properties of the soil and rock materials are defined arbitrarily in terms of an idealized mechanical behavior. An attempt is made to establish ranges of material behavior in terms of quantitative properties, and the classes of soil engineering problems that might arise with respect to operations on the lunar surface are examined. Finally, consideration is given to suitable simple experiments that may be conducted from spacecraft on the surface for the purpose of measuring the quantitative properties.
Persistent Müllerian Duct Syndrome in Male Identical Twins

Male pseudohermaphroditism, characterized by the persistence of Mullerian duct structures with otherwise normal differentiation, is a rare disorder that appears to be caused by an abnormality in the activity of Mullerian inhibiting factor.1 Patients with this syndrome are phenotypically normal males who usually present with inguinal hernia and cryptorchidism. This condition has also been called hernia uteri inguinalis, persistent Mullerian duct syndrome, and male internal pseudohermaphroditism. It has recently been suggested that hysterectomy may not be indicated in most of these patients because of possible injury to the vas deferens.2 The condition appears to be genetic, since familial incidence occurs. Brook et al.3 reported four affected pairs of brothers in unrelated families.
Yield stress determination by the Massachusetts institute of technology miniaturized disk bend test

Considerable effort is currently being expended to develop mechanical property tests for various miniature specimens. Bend tests of thin 3-mm-dam disks (standard transmission electron microscopy specimens) have been used by various workers. In this paper a miniaturized disk bend test (MDBT) using a 3-mm-dam x 0.25-mm-thick disk is described and recent progress in extracting uniaxial yield stress values from bend test data is discussed. The method is based on the existence of an initial linear region in the load/deflection curve generated by the bend test. A strong relationship between the load at deviation from linearity and the uniaxial yield stress is found. By simulating observed load/deflection curves using a finite element stress/strain analysis, yield stresses can be calculated from MDBT data. Results using our approach to MDBT for a range of materials are presented, and good agreement with uniaxial tensile test data is shown.
Helping young weight controllers develop healthy obsessions: preliminary test of the Healthy Obsession Model.

Summary The Healthy Obsession Model posits that successful weight controllers must develop a preoccupation with the planning and execution of target behaviours, including eating on programme, consistent activity and self-monitoring. When barriers emerge, committed weight controllers are expected to feel distressed (e.g. anxious or frustrated), which should motivate them to reinstate these behaviours. This study investigated the effects on moods of sudden withdrawal of self-monitoring among obese adolescents within an immersion treatment programme. Fifty-five (55% female) adolescents participated in a weight loss camp and received four weekly cognitive-behaviour therapy sessions focused on maximizing commitment to programme behaviours. During the fourth week, campers and staff completed daily mood ratings using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule. After 3 d of ratings, campers' self-monitoring journals were removed without warning for 1 d. As expected, journal removal resulted in decreased positive affect for the campers, according to staff ratings. Also in accord with hypotheses, campers who demonstrated heightened commitment to the programme based on higher levels of activity and more writing in their journals reacted more negatively to the withdrawal of the opportunity to self-monitor. Mood ratings by campers did not show the effects hypothesized by the Healthy Obsession Model. These results provide preliminary support for the Healthy Obsession Model by showing some of the anticipated negative reactions to the removal of access to self-monitoring, especially among those who demonstrated strong commitments to the process.
Multiresolution image segmentation

In this paper we present a new algorithm for segmentation of noisy or textured images using a multiresolution Bayesian approach. Our algorithm is different from previously proposed multiresolution segmentation techniques in that we use a multiresolution Gaussian autoregressive (AR) model for the pyramid representation of the observed image. Our algorithm also approximates the "maximization of the posterior marginals" (MPM) estimate of the pixel class labels at each resolution, from coarsest to finest, unlike previously proposed techniques, which have been based on MAP estimation. Experimental results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the new algorithm.
The mitigating effect of strategic behavior on the net benefits of a direct load control program

Abstract Demand response is an important tool for utilities to manage load during peak periods. While the effects of demand response programs on peak load reductions are well studied and intuitive, assessments typically fail to recognize the potential for off-peak behavioral responses that may mitigate the total benefits of the program. Using smart meter consumption data on residential air conditioning units enrolled in a direct load control program, this paper examines the changes in consumption prior to and after curtailment events. The results suggest substantial increases in off-peak consumption, which reduce energy, monetary, and environmental benefits of the program by over 40%.
A COMPARISON OF THE LABELED AFFECTIVE MAGNITUDE SCALE AND THE 9‐POINT HEDONIC SCALE AND EXAMINATION OF CATEGORICAL BEHAVIOR

Two experiments compared the performance of the 9-point hedonic scale with the labeled affective magnitude (LAM) scale for food acceptability ratings of a well-liked food (potato chips). Both scales performed well in discriminating products. Both scales uncovered a strong relationship between usage patterns and acceptance ratings. Both scales found a significant product by user group interaction effect that showed a consistent pattern of the type of chip consumed versus acceptance ratings. The 9-point scale showed somewhat higher reliability as measured by the correlation of scores for a duplicate product. “Categorical” usage of the LAM scale, defined as making ratings within ±1–2 mm of a word phrase (depending upon the line length, approximately 1% of scale range), was observed here as seen previously. Use of a physically longer line (200 mm versus 116 mm) decreased the frequency of such categorical ratings. These results showed no strong advantage to either scaling method. The categorical use of the LAM scale may depend in part upon the physical appearance of the scale. PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS Different scales have been used for examining acceptability of foods. Using scales with high discriminative power, good reliability and some predictive value for correlating with food habits is a goal of sensory evaluation. Better scales may help show differences among new consumer products and avoid type II error (missing a difference, and/or not identifying a business risk or an opportunity).
High-risk health and credit behavior among 18- to 25-year-old college students.

The number of students accumulating credit card debt—and the amount of debt itself—on college campuses is increasing. If high-risk credit and health behavior are associated, health behavior interventions might apply to high-risk credit behavior. Objective: The authors' purpose was to examine these possible associations. Participants and Methods: They used a retrospective design with existing data from a sample of 45,213 US college students and several ordinal regression models, which corresponded with high priority college health issues. Results: Students with high-risk credit behavior were more likely to have driven after drinking, used amphetamines in the previous 30 days, felt functionally impaired by depression in the previous 12 months, had a higher body mass index (BMI), or had a lower grade-point average (GPA). They were less likely to have participated in vigorous physical activity, used condoms for oral or vaginal sex in the prior 30 days, or used marijuana. The findings support the notion that h...
Observations on the Mechanism of Uterine Bleeding

An intelligent therapeutic approach to the problem of menometrorrhagia will result only when the mechanism of uterine bleeding is fully understood. The artificial induction of pseudomenstrual bleeding in the castrated human female clarifies many controversial points. The data on the case to be reported has been charted in figure 1. case report Z.M.D., a white female, 28 years of age, presented hep self at the Endocrine clinic of the University Hospital during the latter part of 1939 complaining of severe menopausal symptoms. One year previously she had been submitted to laparotomy and both fallopian tubes and ovaries were removed because of tubo-ovarian abscesses. From Nov. 14 to 16, 1939, a 48-hour urine specimen was obtained and the urine was found to contain an insufficient amount of estrogen for assay. The vaginal smear revealed a castrate or 1, + reaction. A curettage was performed on Nov. 16, 1939 and no endometrium could be obtained.
Airways and air pollution in childhood: state of the art.

Correlations between ambient pollutants and health effects, such as observed in SIDS, may in reality be to a larger extent the result of indoor sources. These distinctions between indoor and outdoor sources, while important, do not detract from the overall conclusion that pollution affects the airway in children directly and indirectly. Much still needs to be learned about the permanence of these effects, the mechanism by which the effect is mediated, and the conditions under which some of these effects are maximal. Two approaches seem particularly suited to shed further light on these issues. First, identification of biological markers for exposure to pollutants will yield both more accurate measures of exposure to pollutants and information about health consequences [58]. Second, newer modeling techniques promise to predict health outcomes under a variety of environmental conditions. Shumway et al., for instance, describe a promising model predicting an increase in mortality due to ambient pollutants in the Los Angeles Basin with higher levels under extremes of temperature, especially during cold spells [59]. Time series and factor analyses may further our knowledge as well [60]. In the near future, large cohort studies should begin to reveal the cumulative effects of air pollution on the respiratory system, especially in relation to active smoking. Finally, studies on Black children are virtually unavailable. Given their high risk for respiratory illnesses, such studies are sorely needed.
Effects of probe shape change on flow phenomena during Jovian entry

The effects of probe shape change on the flow phenomena around a Jovian entry body is investigated. The initial body shapes considered are: 45-degree sphere cone, 35-degree hyperboloid, and 45-degree ellipsoid. The radiating shock-layer flow is assumed to be axisymmetric, inviscid, and in chemical and local thermodynamic equilibrium. The radiative transfer is calculated with an existing nongray radiation model that accounts for molecular band, atomic line, and continuum transitions. The results indicate that the shock-standoff distance, shock temperature and density, wall pressure distribution and radiative heating to the body are influenced significantly because of the probe shape change. The effect of shape change on radiative heating of the afterbody was considerably larger for the sphere cone and ellipsoid than for the hyperboloid. For the peak heating conditions, the net radiative heating to the body was found to be highest for the ellipsoid
Methyl-Bridged Transition Metal Complexes (M = Cr−Fe) Supported by Bulky Terphenyl Ligands

The synthesis and characterization of a series of divalent terphenyl transition metal methyl complexes {ArM(μ-Me)}2 (M = Cr (1), Ar = C6H-2,6-(C6H2-2,4,6-iPr3)2-3,5-iPr2, abbreviated as 3,5-iPr2-Ar...
Densities of States in Cu-Rich Ni-Cu Alloys by the Coherent-Potential Approximation: Comparisons with Rigid-Band and Virtual-Crystal Approximation

It is shown that the coherent-potential approximation is capable of explaining the densities of states of Cu-rich Ni-Cu alloys as obtained from recent photoemission experiments. The coherent-potential approximation predicts the formation of a separate Ni $d$ band for these alloys, this being consistent with the qualitative picture of Friedel-Anderson virtual bound states. This picture cannot be obtained from either the rigid-band model or the virtual-crystal approximation.
The relation between contract duration and inflation uncertainty: Further evidence

Only a few papers have examined the relationship between inflation uncertainty and contract duration, and the results are mixed. Here the usual specification is modified by using a relative measure of uncertainty, including a dummy to test Danziger's (1988) conclusion that higher uncertainty about real factors increases contract duration, and including squared uncertainty to test Harris and Holmstrom's (1987) claim of a U-shaped relationship. For the entire sample there is a robust negative relation between contract duration and inflation uncertainty. However, even with the above modifications there is little evidence of any relation in two-digit SIC samples.
Gelatinase Activity and the Occurrence of Cerebral Aneurysms

Background and Purpose Cerebral aneurysms are associated with decreased arterial collagen content; however, whether this deficiency results from impaired collagen synthesis or enhanced collagen degradation is unknown. This study tested the hypothesis that enhanced collagen degradation, not impaired collagen synthesis, is associated with the occurrence of cerebral aneurysms. Methods Cultured skin fibroblasts and serum samples were studied in patients with angiographic evidence of aneurysm (n=31) and control subjects (n=14). Transcription of the type III collagen gene was assessed with the use of Northern blots prepared from RNA harvested from confluent cultured fibroblasts. Translation of type III collagen was assessed by Western blot analysis of proteins produced by cultured skin fibroblasts. Collagen metabolism was assessed by radioimmunoassay for type I (PICP) and type III (PIIINP) procollagen peptides in conditioned tissue culture media and serum. We assessed collagen degradation in serum and conditioned tissue culture media by evaluating gelatinase activity using quantitative zymography. Results Type III collagen synthesis was the same in aneurysm and control patients. Neither the molecular weight nor the relative amount of type III collagen mRNA differed between aneurysm and control patient fibroblasts. Western blot analysis revealed no difference in the relative amount or molecular weight of procollagen III synthesized by aneurysm and control cells. Aneurysm patients had a threefold increase in native serum gelatinase activity compared with control subjects ( P =.004). This increase occurred along with serum evidence of increased collagen metabolism. Serum levels of PICP ( P =.03) and PIIINP ( P =.02) were decreased in aneurysm patients. Elevated serum gelatinase activity and altered collagen metabolism could not be explained by enhanced secretion of gelatinase by cultured fibroblasts or altered net collagen synthesis by fibroblasts. High serum gelatinase activity was more common in men than in women ( P =.04). Conclusions These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that accelerated enzymatic degradation of collagens and other structural proteins compromises the mechanical integrity of the cerebral vessel wall and leads to conditions that favor aneurysm formation.
Evaluation of Carbocyanine-Labeled Erythrocytes for Microvascular Measurements

Red blood cells labeled with the carbocyanine dyes, 1,1'-dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-tetramethylindocarbocyanine perchlorate (DiI) and 3,3'-dioctadecyloxacarbocyanine perchlorate (DiO), were evaluated for use in making microvascular measurements in rat small intestine and spinotrapezius muscle. We determined the minimum concentration of each dye which produced near maximal fluorescent intensity and labeled cell fraction. These dyes, which have excitation and emission spectra similar to fluorescein and rhodamine derivatives, have a number of advantages over the isothiocyanates: (1) the labeling procedure is quicker, easier, and less expensive; (2) the labeled cell fraction and the fluorescent intensity of DiI and DiO cells are stable for long periods of time in the rat circulation; and (3) DiI-labeled cells are brighter and transmit light through overlying erythrocytes better than rhodamine X isothiocyanate. However, in vitro and in vivo evaluations illustrate the potential limiting effects of vessel diameter and cell velocity on the accuracy of microvascular measurements made using this technique. In the small intestine and spinotrapezius muscle preparations, measurements of labeled cell flux were readily reproducible and could be partly automated with image analysis only in capillaries and small venules. Counting labeled cells in larger vessels by human observation or with automation was not reproducible, presumably due to absorption and dispersion of the fluorescent signal by overlying erythrocytes and smearing of the cell image at high cell velocities.
RATIONING DISCRETIONARY ECONOMIC RESOURCES: A MULTIOBJECTIVE APPROACH

Prior research involving capital rationing has focused on capital budgeting issues: given a limited resource pool, which major long-lived fixed assets should be acquired? However, capital rationing can be extended to include not only new fixed-asset purchases but also expenditures for any other discretionary activity such as advertising, research and development, or maintenance. In this broader situation, measuring the contributions of certain discretionary activities to a single objective (e.g., maximize profits) or to multiple objectives often is hindered by a lack of reliable revenue estimates. This problem severely hampers the usefulness of traditional mathematical programming approaches to capital rationing. In this paper, we modify the usual multiobjective capital rationing procedures by treating each discretionary activity as an objective in itself. In this manner, we can mitigate the difficulties associated with revenue measurement problems and allow a decision maker systematically to explore the various trade-offs between competing discretionary investments.
Quantum cascade laser absorption sensor for carbon monoxide in high-pressure gases using wavelength modulation spectroscopy

A tunable quantum cascade laser sensor, based on wavelength modulation absorption spectroscopy near 4.8 μm, was developed to measure CO concentration in harsh, high-pressure combustion gases. The sensor employs a normalized second harmonic detection technique (WMS−2f/1f) at a modulation frequency of 50 kHz. Wavelength selection at 2059.91 cm−1 targets the P(20) transition within the fundamental vibrational band of CO, chosen for absorption strength and relative isolation from infrared water and carbon dioxide absorption. The CO spectral model is defined by the Voigt line-shape function, and key line-strength and line-broadening spectroscopic parameters were taken from the literature or measured. Sensitivity analysis identified the CO-N2 collisional broadening coefficient as most critical for uncertainty mitigation in hydrocarbon/air combustion exhaust measurements, and this parameter was experimentally derived over a range of combustion temperatures (1100–2600 K) produced in a shock tube. Accuracy of the wavelength-modulation-spectroscopy-based sensor, using the refined spectral model, was validated at pressures greater than 40 atm in nonreactive shock-heated gas mixtures. The laser was then free-space coupled to an indium-fluoride single-mode fiber for remote light delivery. The fiber-coupled sensor was demonstrated on an ethylene/air pulse detonation combustor, providing time-resolved (∼20 kHz), in situ measurements of CO concentration in a harsh flow field.