cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of Activated Carbon and Various Other Nanoparticle Fillers on PTFE Wear

It has long been known that a breadth of materials in microscale filler form reduce wear of polytetrafluoroethylene nominally by a couple orders of magnitude through prevention of large plate-like debris delamination. Though hypothesized that this wear reduction mechanism should halt as particle size is reduced to the nanoscale, alumina fillers not only maintained their wear reducing capability at the microscale but improved when employed as nanoparticles. In a survey of other nanofiller materials it is found that improved performance at the nanoscale is special not only to this alumina but also to its alpha phase, as most other materials and phases of alumina at best maintained microcomposite levels of wear resistance, more often losing some and in several cases fully returning to prohibitively high wear rates of unfilled polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE). However, activated carbon emerged as exceptional, providing levels of wear resistance as a nanofiller well beyond that of typical microcomposites and eve...
A new age constraint for the Early Triassic Alcova Limestone (Chugwater Group), Wyoming

Abstract The Alcova Limestone is a widely exposed but poorly studied Triassic unit found throughout Wyoming. Although it is used as a regional lithostratigraphic marker bed, the age of the limestone is not well constrained and contention regarding its depositional nature (marine vs. non-marine saline lake) has not been adequately resolved, although the marine hypothesis is more widely accepted. Currently, its age is based on the occurrence of a single basal pistosaurid, Corosaurus alcovensis . We provide the first 87 Sr/ 86 Sr analysis of the Alcova Limestone. The data strongly support a marine origin for this unit. Furthermore, the data provide an age range, based on their placement on the marine strontium curve, that limits the deposition of the Alcova Limestone to the latest Olenekian to earliest Anisian (Early Triassic–Middle Triassic boundary). This placement is consistent with the timing of the Spathian regression recorded in other transitional marine to non-marine strata of the western USA.
Surface tension-controlled three-dimensional water molds: theory and applications

This paper presents a lab-on-a-chip development method that applies the Young–Laplace equation to design the geometries of a patterned water droplet, and then using the droplet as a mold to fabricate three-dimensional polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) channels. We demonstrate the method by designing and fabricating an on-chip funnel. We then subsequently trap beads of graded diameter in the tapered section of the funnel to make on-chip filters of controllable pore size. After packing the funnel with beads, the cutoff pore size of the fabricated filter agrees closely with our estimate. This approach provides a straightforward, low-cost, yet powerful way to design and fabricate microfluidic devices with 3D features.
Chemoembolization of Liver Tumor in a Rabbit Model: Assessment of Tumor Cell Death with Diffusion-Weighted MR Imaging and Histologic Analysis

PURPOSE To assess the efficacy of chemoembolization of liver tumors by determining the fraction of viable tumor cells remaining after treatment with use of diffusion magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and histologic analysis. MATERIALS AND METHODS VX2 tumor was grown in the livers of 12 rabbits. Animals were divided into a chemoembolization group and an untreated group. Conventional, perfusion, and diffusion MR imaging was performed on all rabbits. Histopathologic analysis of explanted livers was performed to document tumor cell death and measure Bcl-2 levels (inhibitor of apoptosis). RESULTS Diffusion-weighted MR imaging delineated zones of tumor cell death as regions of lower signal intensity in both groups. Apparent diffusion coefficients were significantly greater in the area of tumor necrosis than in the area of viable tumor. Histologic analysis demonstrated a significantly lower percentage of viable cells in the treated group ( CONCLUSIONS Chemoembolization causes extensive tumor cell destruction. Diffusion MR imaging can detect tumor cell death and can be used to assess the efficacy of chemoembolization. Bcl-2 was expressed in the treated group, suggesting an apoptotic pathway of cell death.
Physical content of electron-charge-density distributions in A15 compounds

The starting point of the present article is a careful analysis of the physical meaning of the three deformation electron-charge-density maps for V/sub 3/Si, V/sub 3/Ge, and Cr/sub 3/Si (previously presented by J.-L. Staudenmann et al., Phys. Rev. B 24, 6446 (1981)). Based on the significant differences exhibited in these maps, it was shown that one can organize all the Debye temperatures at 0 K from specific-heat measurements into five collections which were called Debye classes. The findings here presented are not limited to A15 alloys alone, but rather can be applied to any other family of compounds that satisfies the free-atom superposition principle and the small-amplitude vibration hypothesis. It is shown that deformation electron charge densities depend only weakly upon structure and that they are mainly related to physical properties. Furthermore, the use of deformation electron-charge density as a criterion in setting the starting point for the three main Debye classes is justified a posteriori. We point out that when one takes into account the consequences of the dielectric function, the static or bonding electron charge density can only be extracted with great difficulty from any experimental data. This certainly complicates any comparison between experimental and computed electron chargemore » densities. It is shown that the deformation and total electron charge densities are the only well-defined inverse fourier transforms. If the vibration amplitude of the valence-electron orbitals are non-negligible, the valence-electron charge density, in contrast to the deformation and total electron charge densities, has no simple interpretation.« less
Do Residents Want Automated External Defibrillators in Their Retirement Home

Purpose The administration of a continuing care retirement community (CCRC), while weighing practical and ethical questions surrounding installation of automated external defibrillators (AEDs), wanted to consider resident opinions. No databased studies on this subject were found. Design and Methods After an information session about AEDs, CCRC residents were surveyed concerning their opinions on AED installation, their beliefs and concerns regarding AEDs, their advance directive status, and their demographic characteristics. Correlations were sought between choices about AED installation and beliefs, advance directives, and demographics. Results Seventy-eight percent of 107 eligible residents participated. Twenty-seven percent wanted AEDs installed, 37% were not sure, 23% were opposed, and 11% did not answer this question. Univariate analysis showed that women, the widowed or single, and those with a college degree were more likely to oppose AEDs. In the best logistic regression (LR) model the hope that “AED use could be life saving” and the fears that “AED use might lead to a very poor quality of life” and that “AEDs might be misused” were more important than any demographic variables and only education remained in the model. Those opposing AEDs supplied powerful written comments to support their choice. Conclusions There is no consensus and great indecision about AED installation among the residents of this CCRC. The subjects were somewhat older and more affluent than the typical retirement home population, pointing to the need for replicating the investigation with a larger and more diverse study population. However, these findings suggest that AED installation in a retirement home would be premature without engaging the entire community in discussions and education in a process considerate of the wishes of all residents, which are likely to be quite diverse.
Managed Care Managing Breast Cancer: DCIS as the Paradigm (The Fox Is Guarding the Chickencoop!)

Abstract: The managed care revolution has produced monumental changes in the health care system in the past few years. Using durtal carcinoma in situ of the breast (DCIS) as the example, we examined the influence of managed care programs on the care of women with breast cancer in general, and DCIS in particular. We reviewed the relationship between price and quality of care as value purchasing is considered by third party payers and the patients. Methods of measuring the quality of care delivered by managed care providers were described. The shortcomings were emphasized. Standardization of care was defined and criticized. Implications for the future care of women with DCIS were discussed. The shortcomings of current managed care systems and for these women were outlined; these include the pressures of standardization, difficulties in assessment of what constitutes “ideal” care, and the effects of current systems of monitoring performance and quality. The current managed care scenario is affecting an increasingly large segment of society. Under the guise of efficiency, HMOs have restricted access to providers, stifled innovation, and promulgated standardization of care. Because assessment of quality in health care is so difficult, it becomes all but impossible to examine both halves of the value equation, quality as well as price. Holding quality constant, value is increased only by lowering price. Quality, not quality control, should be the goal of insurance programs; until measurements of quality can be made accurately, current managed care systems cannot be judged effectively and compared with one another.
Some properties of chemically vapor deposited films of AlxOyNz on silicon

Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) studies of films prepared in the AlN-Al2O3 pseudobinary system by chemical vapor deposition (as described in a companion paper entitled, “Chemical Vapor Deposition of AlxOyNz Films”) indicates that four different phases can be obtained by altering the NH3/CO2 gas ratio and preparation temperature. Films prepared at 900°C yield three polycrystalline phases and an amorphous composition. From zero to 25 at. percent O an AlN phase is observed. Amorphous material is observed from 25 to 47 at. percent O. From 47 to 59 at. percent O an AlxOyNz spinel is observed. At 60 at. percent O (pure Al2O3) an alumina phase is observed (KI phase). For 770°C films the AlN phase is observed from zero to 8 at. percent 0; from 8 to 23 at. percent O the zeta-alumina phase is seen; and at 60 at. percent O the KI alumina phase is again observed. For both the 770 and 900°C films, the grain size of the AlN phase was found to decrease with increasing oxygen content.
Rise and Fall of the Ohio and Erie Canal

AbstractTransportation networks often go through life cycles as they develop, become mature, and on occasion fade away and are supplanted by newer transportation modes. The state of Ohio’s first transportation network was based on canals. The life cycle of the Ohio and Erie Canal and the early economic development of Ohio were closely linked. The rise and fall of Ohio’s canal system offer valuable lessons about the political and economic difficulties of embarking on vast infrastructure projects, as well as the benefits of doing so. Considerable engineering challenges had to be overcome to build the canal system. The canal system also required considerable maintenance and upkeep, and those costs played a large part in the system’s eventual demise. The growth of the state economy and the rise of some of the largest cities in Ohio were direct results of the canal system. Although the canals were superseded by the railroads, in a sense they made the railroads possible. This paper reviews the engineering, econ...
Fat Talks, Liver and Muscle Listen

Fat metabolism and glucose homeostasis are processes that are highly interconnected. Cao et al. (2008) now take this concept a step further by identifying a fatty acid metabolite generated in adipose tissue that regulates insulin sensitivity in liver and muscle.
Inhibition of sperm transport and fertilization in superovulating ewes.

Abstract In Experiment 1, all ewes were treated with follicle stimulating hormone (FSH-P) to induce superovulation. Ewes came into natural estrus or were treated with prostaglandin F 2 α (PGF 2 α) or 6-methyl-17-acetoxyprogesterone (MAP) to regulate the time of estrus. The ewes were mated during estrus and necropsied 3 h after mating. Regulation of estrus with either compound reduced the number of sperm recovered from the cervix, uterus, and oviducts and increased the proportions of sperm recovered from the cervix and uterine body that were immotile, dead, or had disrupted membranes. In Experiment 2, all ewes were in natural estrus. They either ovulated naturally or were superovulated, and ewes in each group were necropsied at 3 or 23 h after mating. Superovulation reduced the number of sperm in oviducts, uterus, and anterior segments of the cervix at both time intervals and increased the proportions of sperm that were immotile, dead, or had disrupted membranes. In Experiment 3, of 3×2 design, ewes were in either natural estrus or estrus regulated with PGF 2 α or with MAP; they ovulated naturally or were superovulated. Ewes were necropsied 3 d after mating and ova were examined. Both regulation of estrus and superovulation reduced the proportion of ova that were fertilized and reduced the number of accessory sperm attached to fertilized ova.
Benzimidazoisoquinolines: a new class of rapidly metabolized aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) ligands that induce AhR-dependent Tregs and prevent murine graft-versus-host disease

The aryl hydrocarbon receptor (AhR) is a ligand-activated transcription factor that plays multiple roles in regulation of immune and inflammatory responses. The ability of certain AhR ligands to induce regulatory T cells (Tregs) has generated interest in developing AhR ligands for therapeutic treatment of immune-mediated diseases. To this end, we designed a screen for novel Treg-inducing compounds based on our understanding of the mechanisms of Treg induction by the well-characterized immunosuppressive AhR ligand, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD). We screened a ChemBridge small molecule library and identified 10-chloro-7H-benzimidazo[2,1-a]benzo[de]Iso-quinolin-7-one (10-Cl-BBQ) as a potent AhR ligand that was rapidly metabolized and not cytotoxic to proliferating T cells. Like TCDD,10-Cl-BBQ altered donor CD4(+) T cell differentiation during the early stages of a graft versus host (GVH) response resulting in expression of high levels of CD25, CTLA-4 and ICOS, as well as several genes associated with Treg function. The Treg phenotype required AhR expression in the donor CD4(+) T cells. Foxp3 was not expressed in the AhR-induced Tregs implicating AhR as an independent transcription factor for Treg induction. Structure-activity studies showed that unsubstituted BBQ as well as 4, 11-dichloro-BBQ were capable of inducing AhR-Tregs. Other substitutions reduced activation of AhR. Daily treatment with 10-Cl-BBQ during the GVH response prevented development of GVH disease in an AhR-dependent manner with no overt toxicity. Together, our data provide strong support for development of select BBQs that activate the AhR to induce Tregs for treatment of immune-mediated diseases.
Statewide variation in the treatment of patients hospitalized with spleen injury.

Design and Settings: Retrospective cohort analyses using the Death and Illness History Database for the state of Washington, which provides a cross-linked record of an individual’s sequential hospitalizations. Counties were defined as metropolitan, urban, or rural on the basis of population density. Patients: A total of 1905 patients (1927 hospitalizations) with an International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification, discharge diagnosis code of 865. Main Outcome Measures: Physician management decisions (perform a celiotomy or repair the spleen) were stratified by geographic region. Results: Throughout the state, there was substantial variability in the treatment of spleen-injured patients. Factors associated with higher odds of splenectomy included older age, overall severity of injury, treatment in rural hospitals, and treatment in the earlier years of study. While the frequency of splenic salvage increased over time, hospital length of stay, rehospitalization, and 30-day mortality did not increase. Conclusions: Injury to the spleen is a common problem for which management decisions vary by geographic region, indicating that a single management protocol does not universally apply. To evaluate appropriateness of care by process measures, such as splenic injury management, will require that decision makers grant some latitude in management variability based on factors such as practice setting.
Human Immunodeficiency Virus Type 1 Can Establish Latent Infection in Resting CD4+ T Cells in the Absence of Activating Stimuli

Resting CD4(+) T cells are the best-defined reservoir of latent human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, but how the reservoir is formed is unclear. Understanding how the reservoir of latently infected cells forms is critical because it is a major barrier to curing HIV infection. The system described here may provide an in vitro model of latent HIV-1 infection in resting CD4(+) T cells. We demonstrated that HIV-1 integrates into the genomes of in vitro-inoculated resting CD4(+) T cells that have not received activating stimuli and have not entered cell cycle stage G(1b). A percentage of the resting CD4(+) T cells that contain integrated DNA produce virus upon stimulation, i.e., are latently infected. Our results show that latent HIV-1 infection occurs in unstimulated resting CD4(+) T cells and suggest a new route for HIV-1 reservoir formation.
Abstract C190: BMS‐777607, a potent small molecule c‐MET inhibitor, inhibits prostate cancer progression in vitro

Overexpression of c‐MET is highly associated with prostate cancer progression and therapy resistance. BMS‐777607 is a selective and potent c‐MET inhibitor that was advanced to clinical evaluation. Herein we report the effects of BMS‐777607 in androgen‐independent prostate cancer cells (PC‐3, DU145). When assessed using an MTT assay, BMS‐777607 treatment was found to inhibit cell growth in the absence of hepatocyte growth factor (HGF), with an IC50 >5.0 uM for both cell lines. In a wound‐healing assay, BMS‐777607 suppressed PC‐3 and HGF‐induced DU145 cell motility in a dose‐dependent fashion (IC50 values of 3.0 and 0.5 uM, respectively). Moreover, BMS‐777607 efficiently blocked HGF‐triggered DU145 cell scattering in a cell scatter assay; with 40% inhibition at 0.2 uM. Using a Matrigel‐based Transwell assay, BMS‐777607 also inhibited PC‐3 cell invasion in a dose‐dependent manner, with 60% inhibition occurring at 1 uM. Western blot analysis demonstrated that BMS‐777607 blocked c‐MET autophosphorylation, and downregulated multiple downstream kinases involved in c‐MET signaling pathway, including Src, Fak and Akt. These data indicate that BMS‐777607 inhibited prostate cancer progression in vitro including proliferation, motility, scattering and invasion. Furthermore, the finding of more potent effects on cell migration and invasion than cell proliferation suggests that this small molecule c‐MET inhibitor could have utility as an anti‐metastatic agent for the treatment of advanced prostate cancer. Citation Information: Mol Cancer Ther 2009;8(12 Suppl):C190.
Book Review: Alternative Medicine by Rafael Campo, Duke University Press: Durham, 2014

After reading through Alternative Medicine a second time, petalling the pages with scribbled on post-it notes, I walked through my own hospital, hoping Campo’s ability to see that which is all around us with a simultaneously laser-like and prismatic poet’s eye, would osmotically enhance not only my sensibilities but also my ability to translate those perceptions into words. Alas, after several prosaic encounters with people seeking directions through the hospital complex, I wound up in the California sun sitting in the memorial rose garden with nary a fresh thought about the sweet scent of the abundant first blooms of spring. My admiration and envy of Campo’s talent thus mounted and leapfrogged to dizzying heights. There is a tribe of physicians with extensive medical careers who also lay claim to a full life in the literary arts. Anton Chekhov, William Carlos Williams, Irving Yalom, Dannie Abse and Perri Klass (who holds dual professorships in journalism and pediatrics) aremembers. Sterling poets such as John Stone also belong to this club though some might say it is difficult to extricate his best writing from his impressive medical career. Various physician-writers do not sustain decades of work inmedicine; examples areMikhail Bulgakov and Sir Arthur ConanDoyle, both of whom quit medicine at about age thirty, give or take. Where any given physician-author lies on the spectrum and why woefully few women are included in many of the listings of this tribe are questions for debate. But from my perspective, Campo successfully engages with and navigates through both worlds:medicine and creativewriting. Campo,who teaches poetry in nonmedical settings including the MFA program at Lesley College, has held artist residencies at universities such as Stanford, attracting as much attention from the arts and humanities academy as from the medical enclave. Alternative Medicine is Campo’s sixth collection of poetry and his eighth book (he is an essayist as well). Each of its three sections is named for a poem: “Havana,” “Alternative Medicine” and “Plonk.” The book builds on Campo’s themes of love, his Hispanic and, in particular, Cuban heritage, doctoring, HIV, the socially marginalized, familial ties, poetry/ poetics and gay life. Although he concentrates some themes—for example, the middle section largely coalesces around medically related poems—others, like life’s weavings, web themselves across poems and sections. I focus on a few delights from each section. J Med Humanit (2014) 35:451–453 DOI 10.1007/s10912-014-9292-6
Integrated Surface Micromachining: A Mechanical Engineering Window Into Nanotechnology

This paper examines the engineering challenges created by integrated surface micromachining, which is the combination of MEMS and electronics on the same silicon substrate. It then goes on to explore the future trends in this area from both the technical challenges as well as an applications and business perspective. The low level signals that are detectable and processed make dimensional changes in the nanometer range a common aspect of this technology. The mechanical engineer is faced with structures that have millimeter dimensions with deflections from 10 nanometers to subnanometer ranges. It is therefore possible to sense acceleration, magnetic forces, and acoustic energy as well as steer light in a fully intergrated system on a chip. The applications from a technical perspective seem endless however the need to develop both a process and a product make the time to market a significant consideration. The paper concludes by highlighting promising areas such as communications, displays, and sensing, for future development from both a technical and business perspective.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Role of hypertension in atherosclerosis and cardiovascular disease.

Abstract Clinical, experimental and pathologic studies strongly indicate that hypertension is a major factor in coronary heart disease, sudden death, stroke, congestive heart failure and renal insufficiency. The deleterious effect of the elevated blood pressure on the cardiovascular system appears to be due mainly to the mechanical stress placed on the heart and blood vessels. Humoral factors and vasoactive hormones such as angiotensin, catecholamines and prostaglandins may play a role in the pathogenesis of hypertensive cardiovascular disease but this role has not yet been defined and is probably secondary. Hypertension, and the resulting increase in tangential tension on the myocardial and arterial walls, leads to the development of hypertensive heart disease and congestive heart failure as well as hypertensive vascular disease that affects not only the kidneys but also the heart and brain. Hypertensive vascular disease involves both large and small arteries as well as arterioles and is characterized by fibromuscular thickening of the intima and media with luminal narrowing of the small arteries and arterioles. The physical stress of hypertension on the arterial wall also results in the aggravation and acceleration of atherosclerosis, particularly of the coronary and cerebral vessels. Moreover, hypertension appears to increase the susceptibility of the small and large arteries to atherosclerosis. Thus the patient with hypertension is a candidate for both hypertensive and atherosclerotic vascular disease of the coronary and cerebral vessels leading to occlusive disease of both the large and small arteries and resulting in myocardial infarction and stroke. Other major complications of hypertensive vascular disease include rupture and thrombotic occlusion of blood vessels, especially in the brain. Disease of the arterial media, which begins in childhood with the deposition of calcium in the vessels, may be an important cause of arterial hypertension. This form of hypertension may manifest itself in adults as arteriosclerotic hypertension and lead to cardiovascular complications very similar to those of essential hypertension. The relation of arteriosclerotic hypertension to nutritional factors, including dietary salt intake, deserves study.
Suicide and Suicide Prevention: Greek versus Biblical Perspectives:

This article compares suicide in Greek tragedy and the Hebrew Bible. It concentrates not simply on expressed attitudes but on the actual life situations portrayed in the two sets of narratives prom...
Reflections on Rocky

This paper applies an approach that the author calls Subjective Personal Introspection (SPI) to the self-reflective examination, inward-looking understanding, and impressionistic evocation of his own consumption experiences as the keeper of a kitten named Rocky Raccoon. Three-dimensional photographs in the form of stereo pairs provide corroborative evidence for the interpretations suggested. In this reflexive, anecdotal, narrative account, Rocky the Cat emerges as a focal point in the author's experiential consumption.
Vibration Response of Functionally Graded Rotating Disk With a Circumferential Crack

In this study, the vibration characteristics of a functionally graded rotating hollow disk with the circumferential surface crack are investigated. In order to simplify the problem, the circumferential crack of the rotating hollow disk is modeled as circumferential step indentation. The Galerkin Method is used to obtain the radial and hoop stresses for disks with clamped edge at the inner radius. Finite Difference scheme is adopted to solve the partial differential equation of motion of the rotating hollow disk to obtain the mode shapes and the Campbell Diagram. The first critical speed, which is one of the important parameters limiting the performance of the rotating disk, was obtained from the Campbell Diagram. The results show that the crack will reduce the stiffness and the critical speed of the rotating disk. Critical speed increases with decreasing the distance from inner radius to the crack and decreases with increasing crack depth. Furthermore, considering the functionally graded disk, the distribution of elastic modulus does not change significantly the effects of circumferential cracks on the vibration characteristics of the rotating.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Perioperative outcomes and risk factors in gastric surgery for morbid obesity: A 9-year experience

Objective Surgical treatment of severe obesity is the most rapidly growing specialty area of surgery. The rapid expansion of bariatric surgery has raised questions and concerns regarding possible increased surgical mortality and morbidity rates in both academic and community settings. The purpose of this study was to evaluate postoperative outcomes and risk factors for bariatric gastric surgery for severe obesity. Methods A community experience of 1009 consecutive patients who underwent open surgical treatment of morbid obesity during a 9-year period was reviewed from a prospective database. The series included 858 primary gastric bypass operations and 151 revision operations. Perioperative outcomes, late complications, and weight loss results were recorded. Morbidity and mortality rates were analyzed according to patient age, body mass index (BMI), and gender. Results The mortality rate in the series was 0.6%, and the morbidity rate was 20%. The major complication rate was 6.6%. There were no deaths in the 151 revision patients. The gastrointestinal leak rate was 0.8%, and the thromboembolism rate was 1%. Statistical analysis indicates that BMI is a risk factor for surgical complications. Conclusion Open gastric surgery for morbid obesity can be carried out in the community setting with low mortality and morbidity rates. BMI is a proven surgical risk factor.
Algorithms for subpixel registration

This paper presents an analysis of four algorithms which are able to register images with subpixel accuracy; these are correlation interpolation, intensity interpolation, differential method, and phase correlation. The subpixel registration problem is described in detail and the resampling process for subpixel registration is analyzed theoretically. It is shown that the main factors affecting registration accuracy are the interpolation function, sampling frequency, number of bits per pixel, and frequency content of the image. An iterative version of the intensity interpolation algorithm, which achieves maximum computational efficiency, is also presented. Analyses, computer simulations, and experiments for measuring displacements of objects using their speckle images have shown that this algorithm is faster than a direct intensity interpolation algorithm by a factor of more than ten thousand. Using bilinear interpolation and representing pixels by 8-bit samples, a 0.01 to 0.05 pixel registration accuracy can be achieved.
Administering Quantitative Instruments with Qualitative Interviews: A Mixed Research Approach

The authors demonstrate how collecting quantitative data via psychometrically sound quantitative instruments during the qualitative interview process enhances interpretations by helping researchers better contextualize qualitative findings, specifically through qualitative dominant crossover mixed analyses. They provide an example of this strategy, whereby a baseline was established using a quantitative scale and normative data to help interpret qualitative interviews, resulting in what they call a mixed methods interview. Philosophical and practical implications are discussed.
Modulation of the Interparticle Spacing and Optical Behavior of Nanoparticle Ensembles Using a Single Protein Spacer

Proteins provide versatile mediators for assembling nanoparticles into organized composites. Here, we demonstrate that a single protein spacer (lysozyme) can be used to direct the self-assembly of gold mixed monolayer protected clusters into controlled ensembles with varied functional response. This efficient self-assembly process provides nanocomposites featuring tunable interparticle spacings, as determined through small angle X-ray scattering, varied sample morphology, as observed by transmission electron microscopy, and modular collective optical behavior, as examined through UV−visible spectroscopic measurements.
ARGOS testbed: study of multidisciplinary challenges of future spaceborne interferometric arrays

Future spaceborne interferometric arrays must meet stringent optical performance and tolerance requirements while exhibiting modu- larity and acceptable manufacture and integration cost levels. The Mas- sachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Adaptive Reconnaissance Golay-3 Optical Satellite (ARGOS) is a wide-angle Fizeau interferometer spacecraft testbed designed to address these research challenges. De- signing a space-based stellar interferometer, which requires tight toler- ances on pointing and alignment for its apertures, presents unique mul- tidisciplinary challenges in the areas of structural dynamics, controls, and multiaperture phasing active optics. In meeting these challenges, emphasis is placed on modularity in spacecraft subsystems and optics as a means of enabling expandability and upgradeability. A rigorous theory of beam-combining errors for sparse optical arrays is derived and flown down to the design of various subsystems. A detailed elaboration on the optics system and control system is presented based on the per- formance requirements and beam-combining error tolerances. The space environment is simulated by floating ARGOS on a frictionless air- bearing that enables it to track both fast and slow moving targets. © 2004
Resonance of Fofonoff's Mode in a Rotated Basin

Abstract Fofonoff solutions to the inviscid barotropic potential vorticity equation are found for the steady, free flow in a basin rotated at an arbitrary angle to a latitude circle. These solutions am used to study the inertial recirculation of the subtropical gyre, which is forced by anomalously low values of potential vorticity within the separated Gulf Stream. It is found, depending on the sense of rotation of the northern boundary relative to latitude circles, that closed potential vorticity contours can exist that allow a large-amplitude inertial response, a resonance of the Fofonoff gyre. A barotropic ocean model is used to confirm thew ideas, in which flow is forced both by potential vorticity anomalies prescribed at the boundaries, and also a field of Ekman pumping, which spins up an anticyclonic gyre. It is shown that the recirculation is sensitive to both the orientation and extension of the inertial jet along the northern boundary.
Evidence for Gondwanan vicariance in an ancient clade of gecko lizards

Aim Geckos (Reptilia: Squamata), due to their great age and global distribution, are excellent candidates to test hypotheses of Gondwanan vicariance against post-Gondwanan dispersal. Our aims are: to generate a phylogeny of the sphaerodactyl geckos and their closest relatives; evaluate previous phylogenetic hypotheses of the sphaerodactyl geckos with regard to the other major gecko lineages; and to use divergence date estimates to inform a biogeographical scenario regarding Gondwanan relationships and assess the roles of vicariance and dispersal in shaping the current distributions of the New World sphaerodactyl geckos and their closest Old World relatives. Location Africa, Asia, Europe, South America, Atlantic Ocean. Methods We used parsimony and partitioned Bayesian methods to analyse data from five nuclear genes to generate a phylogeny for the New World sphaerodactyl geckos and their close Old World relatives. We used dispersal-vicariance analysis to determine ancestral area relationships among clades, and divergence times were estimated from the phylogeny using nonparametric rate smoothing. Results We recovered a monophyletic group containing the New World sphaerodactyl genera, Coleodactylus, Gonatodes, Lepidoblepharis, Pseudogonatodes and Sphaerodactylus, and the Old World Gekkotan genera Aristelliger, Euleptes, Quedenfeldtia, Pristurus, Saurodactylus and Teratoscincus. The dispersal-vicariance analysis indicated that the ancestral area for this clade was North Africa and surrounding regions. The divergence between the New World spaherodactyl geckos and their closest Old World relative was estimated to have occurred c. 96 Myr BP. Main conclusions Here we provide the first molecular genetic phylogenetic hypothesis of the New World sphaerodactyl geckos and their closest Old World relatives. A combination of divergence date estimates and dispersal-vicariance analysis informed a biogeographical scenario indicating that the split between the sphaerodactyl geckos and their African relatives coincided with the Africa/South America split and the opening of the Atlantic Ocean. We resurrect the family name Sphaerodactylidae to represent the expanded sphaerodactyl clade.
The relationship between students' learning strategies and the change in their misunderstandings during a high school chemistry course

The purposes of this study are as follows: (a) to investigate the relationship between high school students' learning approaches, prior knowledge and attitudes toward chemistry, and their performance on a misunderstandings test; and (b) to describe and analyze the differences between the responses of students with different learning approaches on the same test. Forty-nine suburban high school students enrolled in two sections of New York State Regents Chemistry classes participated in the study. The students' performance on a misunderstandings pretest and the students' learning approach both accounted for a statistically significant proportion of the variance on their performance on the misunderstandings posttest. Additionally, the results showed that the relatively meaningful learners performed significantly better than the relatively rote learners on the misunderstandings posttest.
Requirements for the photoligation of Mn2+ in PS II membranes and the expression of water‐oxidizing activity of the polynuclear Mn‐catalyst

Ligation of Mn2+ into the polynuclear Mn-catalyst of water oxidation was shown using PS II membranes depleted of their Mn and the 17, 23 and 33 kDa extrinsic proteins. This process specifically required light and Ca2+ concentrations of 50 mM. Evidence was obtained indicating Mn2+/Ca2+ competition for Ca2+ and Mn2+ binding sites essential for the photoligation of Mn. Photoligation of Mn did not result in an increase of water oxidation capacity; however, water oxidation capacity was expressed following dark reconstitution minimally with the 33 kDa protein. The results represent the first observation of photoactivation of water oxidation in a system that excludes simple light-driven Mn2+ transport across membrane(s).
An Exploratory Study to Identify the Site Selection Factors for U.S. Franchise Restaurants

Abstract The purpose of this study was to identify site selection factors under six categories that are most pertinent for the successful operation of U.S. franchise restaurants. The results highlight the most important site selection factors, which can be used as a guide by franchisors as well as franchisees. The selected six site selection categories as narrowed down in this study included general location, position of site, demographics, traffic information, competition, and cost consideration. The Delphi technique identified 56 site selection factors under these six categories, which were ultimately predicted as necessary for the success or failure of franchise restaurants.
Design of MILC Lattice QCD Application for GPU Clusters

We present an implementation of the improved staggered quark action lattice QCD computation designed for execution on a GPU cluster. The parallelization strategy is based on dividing the space-time lattice along the time dimension and distributing the sub-lattices among the GPU cluster nodes. We provide a mixed-precision floating-point GPU implementation of the multi-mass conjugate gradient solver. Our single GPU implementation of the conjugate gradient solver achieves a 9x performance improvement over the highly optimized code executed on a state-of-the-art eight-core CPU node. The overall application executes almost six times faster on a GPU-enabled cluster vs. a conventional multi-core cluster. The developed code is currently used for running production QCD calculations with electromagnetic corrections.
Moving Forward in Advanced Bladder Cancer

strated an increased number of metastases compared with HER-2/ neu–negative patients (two v one; P .014), a greater probability of having two or more metastatic sites (51%v 31%;P .051), and a trend toward more liver and bone metastases. Perhaps, then, the group treated in the TPCG trial represents a cohort of patients with an especially poor prognosis. Previously, Bajorin et al 8 reported that Karnofsky performance status less than 80% and the presence of visceral sites of metastases (liver, lung, or bone) had independent poor prognostic significance for patients with advanced urothelial cancer treated with cisplatin-based chemotherapy. Patients with zero, one, and two risk factors had median survivals of 33, 13.4, and 9.3 months, respectively (P .0001). An important message of the Bajorin study is that advanced bladder cancer trials should report the proportion of patients with zero, one, and two risk factors to allow more meaningful interpretation of the results. Does the choice of the platinum analog matter in bladder cancer? From the toxicity point of view, carboplatin certainly offers some advantages, especially in a group of patients in which a significant proportion may present with impaired renal function. Small randomized phase II trials comparing regimens that differ mainly in the choice of the platinum compound favor the cisplatin arms. 9,10 Phase II trials of carboplatin plus either gemcitabine or paclitaxel doublets generally result in median survivals consistently less than those seen with the M-VAC and GC regimens. Although the evidence is indirect, cisplatin is probably the better agent. The effectiveness of the carboplatin-containing PCG triplet may be accounted for by the addition of a third cytotoxic agent. Certainly,
Solubility of copper in a sulfur-free mafic melt

The solubility of Cu in S-free mafic melts has been measured at a series of ƒO2 values and temperatures of 1245 and 1300°C. At constant temperature Cu solubility increases from 0.04 wt% at log ƒO2 = −11.9 to 1.10 wt% at log ƒO2 = −7.4. Copper solubilities were in excess of 8 wt% in two runs controlled at very high ƒO2 conditions of 10−1.4 and 10−22 Partitioning of Cu between metal and glass shows a strong ƒO2 dependence, with DCumetgl ranging from 90 at log ƒO2 = −7.4 to 2190 at log ƒO2 = −11.9. Slopes of Cu solubility and DCumet/gl vs. log ƒO2 suggest that Cu dissolves predominantly in the +1 valence state. Copper solubility decreases with increasing temperature at constant ƒO2, similar to experimental results for Ni, Co, and Mo (Dingwell et al., 1994; Holzheid et al., 1994). The data are consistent with Cu dissolution as an oxide (represented by CuO0.5) and suggest that changes in ƒO2 (Fe2+Fe3+ variations and Cu1+ complexation with Fe3+) may have large effects on the distribution of Cu between silicate and sulfide magmas. Results also suggest that the extraction of oxide-bonded Cu in mafic magmas by externally derived S may be an important mechanism in the generation of Cu-rich sulfide ores.
Driving locus of control and driving behaviors: Inducing change through driver training

Abstract Locus of control perceptions have been used to predict driving safety as a stable, dispositional variable. Based on social learning theory, this study tested whether a defensive driving training program coupled with observer feedback could influence domain-specific locus of control beliefs regarding controllability of accidents and therefore impact driving behaviors. Over a 5-week period, 112 individuals’ driving locus of control and driving behaviors were assessed two times, before and after a defensive driving training program and observer feedback. Drivers experienced significant changes in their driving locus of control perceptions. Specifically, drivers reported significantly lower externality and higher internality after training as compared to before training. The changes in driving locus of control predicted an increase in safe driving behaviors. In addition, pretraining motivation to learn predicted a decrease in externality, whereas pretraining self-efficacy predicted the increase in internality. The results indicate that driving locus of control can be influenced by training and observer feedback, and the changes in driving locus of control can predict change in driving behaviors. Findings of the study point to the potential for organizations to enhance driving safety by influencing drivers’ locus of control perceptions.
A note on 3-state systems

D.M. Malon (ibid., vol. 38, p.275-6, Aug. 1989) points out a pitfall of certain reliability problems pertaining to systems of three-state devices. The inference to be drawn from his observation is that special care should be used in describing such systems and in specifying exactly what constitutes success and failure. The present authors (ibid., vol.37, p.388-94, Oct. 1988) have modeled systems that can be represented by a network with designated source and sink; the reliability problem they treated is described by the following two system failures: (1) the system fails (short) if there is a path of short-failed components joining the source and the sink; (2) the system fails (open) if every path joining the source and sink includes an open-failed component. The systems they modeled are therefore somewhat more general then the array structures treated by B.W. Jenney and D.J. Sherwin (ibid., vol.R-35, p.532-8, Dec. 1986). But since the two failure-modes are mutually exclusive, the pitfall that Malon describes does not affect the former. Jenney and Sherwin's difficulties do not arise because of the generality of the systems; rather, they appear in some of the more general reliability measures (such as j-out-of-m requirements) used on the sp-arrays and ps-arrays. >
Chemotactic response of wild-type and aggregation-defective mutants of Polysphondylium violaceum

Abstract The aggregation-specific chemoattractant for Polysphondylium violaceum is N-propionyl-γ-L-glutamyl-L-ornithine-δ-lactam ethyl ester, or glorin. Wild-type amoebae allowed to develop in liquid culture acquire increased ability to respond to glorin shortly after starvation, i.e., just prior to the time they become aggregation competent. Similarly, as development proceeds, the amoebae show decreased sensitivity to folic acid, but they show almost no response to cyclic AMP at any time during their development in liquid culture. The optimum concentrations for the chemotactic response are 10-8 M for glorin and 10-5–10-6 M for folic acid. A class of aggregation-defective mutants, aggA, will not aggregate in the absence of an excreted pheromone, D factor. During development in liquid culture in the presence or absence of D factor, these aggA mutants show a chemotactic response similar to that of wild-type amoebae to folic acid and glorin. However, D factor does enhance the chemotactic response of aggA mutants to glorin. In the absence of D factor, mutant amoebae will form fruiting bodies if exposed to a chemotactic gradient of either folic acid or glorin. Under these conditions, the mutant amoebae circumvent the requirement for D factor in order to develop.