cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Caring for the ethical ideal: Nel Noddings on moral education

Nel Noddings is arguably one of the premier philosophers of moral education in the English‐speaking world today. Although she is outside the mainstream theory, research, and practice traditions of cognitive‐developmentalism (the Kohlberg legacy) and of character education (which is in public ascendancy), her body of work is unrivalled for originality of insight, comprehensiveness and coherence. Whilst Carol Gilligan's In a different voice (1982) introduced the ethic of caring into academic and public discourse, it is Noddings ‘who has done most to outline a specific feminist position on moral education’ (McClellan, 1999, p. 104), and whose influence extends to educational practice. This essay explicates Noddings's vision in sufficient depth to make the foregoing claims credible. Thematic focus is given to her attention to the ethical self or ethical ideal. The paper also examines Noddings's perspective on character education and the need to incorporate a morality of evil into any serious educational philo...
The Effects of Ethnicity, SES, and Crime Status on Juror Decision Making: A Cross-Cultural Examination of Euopean American and Mexican American Mock Jurors

In two studies, a defendant's ethnicity, socioeconomic status (SES), and crime status were varied for effects on verdict decisions, sentencing recommendations, culpability assignments, and trait assessments. In Study 1, European Americans (N = 221) provided a low SES Mexican American defendant with more guilt verdicts, a lengthier sentence, and higher culpability ratings, compared to a high SES Mexican American or a European American defendant, regardless of crime status. Higher negative trait ratings occurred for a low SES Mexican American who committed a low status crime. In Study 2, Mexican Americans (N = 136) showed no differences for guilt verdicts, recommended sentence, or culpability assignment. These findings demonstrate that European American bias toward Mexican Americans may operate in all phases of the legal process, and future research should address specific contexts where bias applies.
Oxygen-18 study of the atmospheric-aquatic linkage in adirondack watersheds

Twelve monthly measurements were made of the δ18O of the water and of the dissolved sulfates in inlet streams and in outlet streams of lakes in three watersheds in the Adirondack Park region of New York. The average \({\delta ^{18}}{O_{{H_2}O}}\) of the surface waters was significantly lower than the typical range of seasonally varying \({\delta ^{18}}{O_{{H_2}O}}\) in precipitation water, whereas the \({\delta ^{18}}{O_{SO{{_4^2}^ - }}}\) of the surface waters (sreams and laks) of the three watersheds was in the typical range of seasonally varying \({\delta ^{18}}{O_{SO{{_4^2}^ - }}}\) in precipitation watater. Two possible causes for the apparent alteration of δ18O of the sulfates during percolation of the water through various strata in the ground link between the atmosphere and the watershed lakes are: (1) bacterial redox cycling, in which the sulfate is reduced, allowing isotopic equilibration between the HSO 3 - ion and associated water, and then catalytically reoxidized to sulfate; and (2) ion exchange, in which the soil strata, containing chemically fixed sulfates, behave as a “column” that is not in sulfate-ion equilibrium with sulfates in the atmospheric recharge water.
Discussion on “Sequential Design and Estimation in Heteroscedastic Nonparametric Regression” by Sam Efromovich

Abstract Professor Efromovich has obtained powerful results and interpreted them with great insight. His work opens up numerous possibilities for further research, some of which are briefly considered here.
Effects of temperature and salinity on gill Na+-K+ ATPase activity in the pupfish, Cyprinodon salinus

Abstract 1. 1. Pupfish (Cyprinodon salinus) were acclimated to salinities equivalent to fresh-water, 1 2 seawater, seawater and 1 1 2 sea-water at each of three temperatures; 15°, 25° and 30°C. 2. 2. The specific activity of Na+-K+ ATPase in gill homogenates from these animals was lowest in 1 2 SW at each temperature and rose significantly in fresh-water- and sea-water-acclimated fish. 3. 3. The specific activity of Na+-K+ ATPase in both the fresh-water- and sea-water-acclimated fish increased significantly with decreasing acclimation temperature.
Suppression of crossbridge motions of isolated thick myofilaments in ATP-free medium by thiourea.

Thiourea is known to suppress the contractile response of Mytilus anterior byssus retractor muscle and toad sartorious muscle following electrical or chemical stimulation without abolishing of the electrical responses. In addition, it blocks the shortening of glycerinated sartorious muscle induced by Ca 2+ . With dynamic laser light scattering method we found that thiourea suppresses the increase of the average linewidth of the photoelectron count autocorrelation function, Г¯, of isolated thick filaments of Limulus striated muscle induced by depletion of ATP. The results obtained suggest that thiourea prevents the cross-bridges from moving away from the thick myofilament backbones which will, in turn, prohibit the crossbridges from interacting with the thin myofilaments.
Relativistic rocket: Dream and reality

The dream of interstellar flights persists since the first pioneers in astronautics and has never died. Many concepts of thruster capable to propel a rocket to the stars have been proposed and the most suitable among them are thought to be photon propulsion and propulsion by the products of proton–antiproton annihilation in magnetic nozzle. This article addresses both concepts allowing for cross-section of annihilation among other issues in order to show their vulnerability and to indicate the problems. The concept of relativistic matter propulsion is substantiated and discussed. The latter is argued to be the most straightforward way to build-up a relativistic rocket firstly because it is based on the existing technology of ion generators and accelerators and secondly because it can be stepped up in efflux power starting from interplanetary spacecrafts powered by nuclear reactors to interstellar starships powered by annihilation reactors. The problems imposed by thermodynamics and heat disposal are accentuated.
Multivariate structural statistics in natural history.

Abstract Some multivariate statistics usually used for structural purposes are inappropriate for this. The total variance and derived parameters, some new, measure multivariate variation. The two major properties of correlation must be generalized differently: the total correlation for joint dependence and the tightness . The term coregression refers to the trend of two mutually dependent variables. A generalization of information theory permits estimation of the redundance produced by correlations among many continuous variables. A new parameter, the modality , expresses the non-uniformity of a set of metric points. A suitable distance among populations can be determined in the general bivariate case and, approximately, in most realistic multivariate cases.
A comparison of the microcirculation in the rat spinotrapezius and diaphragm muscles

Of all skeletal muscles examined in the rat, the spinotrapezius (S) and diaphragm (D) have the closest fiber-type composition. However, their oxidative capacities differ by two- to threefold. We have developed an intravital microscopy preparation to study diaphragm microcirculationin vivo.Using this preparation and the standard spinotrapezius model first described by S. D. Gray (1973,Microvasc. Res.5, 395–400), we tested the hypothesis that pronounced microcirculatory differences would exist between these two muscles as a function of their disparate oxidative capacities. The lineal density of all capillaries in the spinotrapezius was 33.6 ± 1.5 compared to 65.1 ± 3.3 capillaries/mm in the diaphragm (P< 0.001). In the diaphragm compared with the spinotrapezius muscle, a significantly (P< 0.05) greater proportion of capillary countercurrent flow (D, 29 ± 6% vs 8 ± 6%) existed. Within both muscles, there was a similar proportion of capillaries supporting red blood cell (RBC) flow (S, 89 ± 7% vs D, 92 ± 2%). However, the diaphragm supported significantly (P< 0.001) greater intracapillary RBC velocities (D, 302 ± 11 vs S, 226 ± 9 μm/s) and fluxes (D, 33.4 ± 1.1 vs S, 19.2 ± 2.1 cells/s) compared with the spinotrapezius. Capillary “tube” hematocrit was greater (P= 0.01) in the diaphragm (0.32 ± 0.02) than in the spinotrapezius (0.22 ± 0.03) muscle. These data demonstrate that microcirculatory flow characteristics in resting muscle can be regulated independent of muscle fiber-type composition and may be related to muscle oxidative capacity.
Sudden and cardiac death rates in hemodialysis patients.

Sudden and cardiac death rates in hemodialysis patients. Background Sudden and cardiac death (including death from congestive heart failure, myocardial infarction, and sudden death) are common occurrences in hemodialysis patients. The intermittent nature of hemodialysis may lead to an uneven distribution of sudden and cardiac death throughout the week. The purpose of this study was to assess the septadian rhythm of sudden and cardiac death in hemodialysis patients. Methods Data from the United States Renal Data System (USRDS) were obtained to examine the day of death for United States hemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients from 1977 through 1997. The days of death were also determined for patients in the Case Mix Adequacy Study of the USRDS. Results There was an even distribution of sudden and cardiac deaths for patients on peritoneal dialysis, and hemodialysis patients dying of noncardiac deaths also had an even distribution. For all hemodialysis patients, Monday and Tuesday were the most common days of sudden and cardiac death. For patients in the Case Mix Adequacy Study designated as Monday, Wednesday, and Friday dialysis patients, 20.8% of sudden deaths occurred on Monday compared with the 14.3% expected ( P = 0.002). Similarly, 20.2% of cardiac deaths occurred on Monday compared with the 14.3% expected ( P = 0.0005). Similar trends were found on Tuesday for Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday dialysis patients. Conclusions The intermittent nature of hemodialysis may contribute to an increased sudden and cardiac death rate on Monday and Tuesday for patients enrolled in the USRDS.
The Dean of Education: A Study of Selected Role Norms:

This study was undertaken to provide preliminary information, gathered from individuals representative of selected higher education groups, concerning the selected role norms of deans of education.
Energy Use in Rural India

An old saying has it, "slavery will persist until the loom weaves itself." All ancient civilizations, no matter how enlightened or creative, rested on slavery and on grinding human labor, because human and animal muscle power were the principal forms of energy available for mechanical work. The discovery of ways to use less expensive sources of energy than human muscles made it possible for men to be free. The men and women of rural India are tied to poverty and misery because they use too little energy and use it inefficiently, and nearly all they use is secured by their own physical efforts. A transformation of rural Indian society could be brought about by increasing the quantity and improving the technology of energy use.
Disparate effects of colchicine on thyroxine-induced cardiac hypertrophy and adrenoceptor changes.

Short-term (5 days) administration of L-thyroxine (0.1 mg/kg i.p. daily) to adult Sprague-Dawley rats induces a modest degree of cardiac hypertrophy (22% increase in heart weight/body weight ratios) and directionally opposite changes in cardiac adrenoceptors (24% increase in beta-adrenoceptors and 20% decline in alpha 1-adrenoceptors). Pretreatment with colchicine did not affect the ability of L-thyroxine to induce cardiac hypertrophy but prevented its effects on both beta- and alpha 1-adrenoceptors. These results suggest a selective involvement of microtubules in the action of thyroid hormones on the expression of cardiac adrenoceptor genes.
Summer synoptic‐scale waves over West Africa observed by TRMM

[1] A 5-year daily rainfall dataset (3B42) from TRMM is used to investigate the activity and properties of westward-propagating synoptic-scale waves [i.e., African easterly waves (AEW)] over tropical West Africa. Evident wave signals appearing in wavenumber-frequency space show their modulations on the surface rainfall pattern during the boreal summer. Interannual variability exists in both their intensity and spectral properties, i.e., dominant frequency and wavenumber ranges. These variabilities can be ascribed in part to year-to-year variations of their embedded large-scale environment, especially the mid-tropospheric African easterly jet (AEJ). Generally, a stronger (weaker) AEJ indicates more (less) instability energy, yielding a stronger (weaker) wave activity season. Both seasonal mean rainfall and AEWs were weak in 2001 but not in 1999. Consequently, there may exist a nonlinear relationship between the AEJ, AEWs and mean rainfall. To fully understand interannual variability of synoptic-scale waves over tropical West Africa, including the variability in the waves' preferred frequencies and wavenumbers, it is necessary to examine possible intra-seasonal variations in both wave activity and large-scale fields, in addition to their structure, propagation, and associated convection.
Prevalence and risk factors of intimate partner violence in eighteen U.S. states/territories, 2005.

Background Intimate partner violence (IPV) has been shown to have serious health consequences for both women and men, including poor general health, depressive symptoms, substance use, and elevated rates of chronic disease. Aside from crime surveys, there have been no large-scale IPV prevalence studies since the 1996 National Violence Against Women Survey. The lack of regular, ongoing surveillance, using uniform definitions and survey methods across states has hindered efforts to track IPV. In addition, the lack of state-specific data has hampered efforts at designing and evaluating localized IPV prevention programs. Methods In 2005, over 70,000 respondents were administered the first-ever IPV module within the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS). The BRFSS is a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention–sponsored annual random-digit-dialed telephone survey, providing surveillance of health behaviors and health risks among the non-institutionalized adult population of the United States and several U.S. territories. Results Approximately 1 in 4 women and 1 in 7 men reported some form of lifetime IPV victimization. Women evidenced significantly higher lifetime and 12-month IPV prevalence, and were more likely to report IPV-related injury than men. IPV prevalence also varied by state of residence, race/ethnicity, age, income, and education. Conclusions State-level data can assist state health officials and policy planners to better understand how many people have experienced IPV in their state. Such information provides a foundation on which to build prevention efforts directed toward this pervasive public health problem.
The watched pot does boil: A case of the wrong control group

The question posed was whether or not the attention to a forthcoming event (expectancy) changes the subjective passage of time as compared with a standard control condition in which the passage of time is covertly monitored. Each of 36 subjects served under six experimental conditions, involving either expectancy or control intervals and three different objective durations. The data showed no significant effect of expectancy, per se. An interpretation of the watched pot phenomenon was offered.
The Illusive Gold Standard in Genetic Ancestry Testing

Genetic ancestry testing is being applied in areas as diverse as forensics, genealogical research, immigration control, and biomedical research ( 1 – 3 ). Use of ancestry as a potential risk factor for disease is entrenched in clinical decision-making ( 4 ), so it is not surprising that techniques to determine genetic ancestry are increasingly deployed to identify genetic variants associated with disease and drug response ( 5 ). Recently, direct-to-consumer (DTC) personal genomics companies have used ancestry information to calculate individual risk profiles for a range of diseases and traits.
On the existence of optimal processes in non-stationary environments

We consider an aggregative model of intertemporal allocation under uncertainty, in which the utility and production functions are allowed to be time dependent, the random shocks occurring in each period are entirely arbitrary, and the production functions are permitted to be non-concave. In this framework, we provide a theorem on the existence of infinite-horizon optimal processes. In the course of establishing this result, we obtain the existence of optimal policy functions and we show that they are monotone in the stock levels.
Seed Supply and Revegetation Dynamics at Restored Tidal Marshes, Napa River, California

Tidal marsh restoration largely depends on natural seed rain to revegetate restored sites, but often little is known about the abundance and composition of the seed rain, or how it is influenced by individual species' dispersal or recruitment limitations. We monitored vegetation, seed rain, seed bank, and physical conditions at three restored and one reference tidal marsh to evaluate the seed rain's ability to revegetate restored sites, and the relative role of seed dispersal in revegetation patterns. The vegetation at the reference site is significantly more species-rich than the restored sites, while the composition of their seed rain is similar. Species absent from the vegetation at restored sites are missing from the seed rain at all sites, suggesting that these species are dispersal limited. This does not preclude recruitment limitations for these species, however, as several key physical conditions differ between restored sites and the reference site, which experiences less time inundated and higher summer soil salinity. Although a large amount of the seed rain is washed out of the marsh before becoming incorporated into the seed bank, total seed input is high at restored sites, suggesting that the natural seed supply is adequate to fully revegetate restored marshes, although with lower species richness than reference sites. The strongest influences on a species abundance in the seed rain are its frequency in the vegetation and seed production, suggesting that fecund species that colonize a site early will continue to dominate the seed rain and vegetation development in restored sites.
Empirical Validations of a Multidimensional Model for Assessing Sexual Orientation

ABSTRACT The purpose of this study was to validate Chung and Katayama's (1996) multidimensional model for assessing sexual orientation. Participants included five independent samples: (1) 32 Asian American gay men; (2) 201 lesbian, gay, and bisexual persons; (3) 149 lesbian and bisexual women; (4) 103 lesbian and bisexual women; and (5) 207 lesbian and bisexual women. Respondents completed a demographic questionnaire and items assessing sexual identity and sexual orientation. Results supported the validity of the multidimensional model. Across all samples, affective and physical attractions were moderately to highly correlated, whereas attractions to men and women were relatively independent. Practical and research implications are discussed.
Sympathectomy for causalgia: experience with military injuries.

Background: Causalgia is a rare disease in civilian practice, and most reports regarding causalgia in the literature are from major extended wars. To increase awareness of this syndrome, our wartime experience with this disease is presented. Methods: The charts of patients with causalgia referred to two university hospitals for treatment from 1985 to 1989 were retrospectively studied. Characteristics of the cause, clinical manifestations, and the response to therapy were evaluated. Results: Among 1,564 patients with peripheral nerve injuries, there were 54 cases (3.4%) of causalgia. All of the patients, except five, were injured in battle by high-velocity bullets or missiles. Upper extremities were involved in 28 patients (52%) and lower extremities in 26 patients (48%). The most common presenting symptoms were as follows: burning pain, 100%; wet extremity, 100%; cold extremity, 93%; sensitivity to cold, 89%; paresthesia, 78%; and color changes in the extremities, 55%. In 48 patients (89%), pain was relieved by sympathetic block (3 patients had permanent cure). Six patients had no response to the blocks (11%). Of 45 patients who had temporary relief, all underwent sympathectomy. All of these patients had complete relief of symptoms in the immediate postoperative period and for follow-up from 1 to 6 years. Conclusion: Causalgia is essentially a war casualty disease. The condition is associated with burning pain, hyperesthesia, and symptoms of sympathetic overactivity. Sympathectomy is effective and the treatment of choice, particularly for patients who respond temporarily to sympathetic blocks.
Outbreak of sterile peritonitis among continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis patients

Outbreak of sterile peritonitis among continuous cycling peritoneal dialysis patients. Background Approximately 30,000 patients receive peritoneal dialysis in the United States. In August 1996, several dialysis centers from different states reported sterile peritonitis among CCPD patients using sterile peritoneal dialysis solution (PDS) from a single manufacturer. The manufacturer recalled 53 lots of PDS that had passed established industry guidelines and Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved quality control tests [including endotoxin levels 1 cfu/ml. Methods At one outpatient dialysis center, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP), we conducted a retrospective cohort study of all CCPD patients treated during July 15 to August 30, 1996. A case-patient was defined as any HUP patient with culture-negative peritoneal fluid with a white blood cell count >100/mm 3 , cloudy peritoneal fluid, and/or abdominal pain. PDS and tubing were cultured for bacteria and assayed for endotoxin. Results Overall, 14 of 28 patients had sterile peritonitis. The only risk factor identified was exposure to ≥1 lot of recalled PDS (14 of 22 vs. 0/6, P = 0.02); the more recalled lots received, the higher the attack rate ( P = 0.0001). Five of 47 PDS bags had detectable endotoxin; recalled lots were more likely to have measurable endotoxin than nonrecalled lots (5/19 vs. 0/17, P = 0.05). When case-patients resumed CCPD using PDS from non-recalled lots, no further cases were reported. Conclusions Our results suggest that this outbreak was caused by intrinsic PDS contamination with endotoxin. Pre-sterilization colony counts may be an important quality control indicator for CCPD fluids in conjunction with endotoxin levels.
Laser photocoagulation stops diabetic retinopathy by controlling lactic acid formation

Many different types of proliferative retinopathy induced by various types of initial disorders have a common pathology in their mid and terminal stages. Thus, proper therapy is devoted toward elimination of the initial cause as well as alleviation of the proliferative processes. Vasodilatation, which is an initial symptom of diabetes, is itself destructive to the retinal capillary bed and appears to be a constant feature in all stages of diabetic retinopathy. In the mid and late stages, the vasodilatation seems very dependent upon capillary dropout, whereas the initial vasodilatation may derive from quite different causes. The efficacy of photocoagulation as a therapy for all stages seems to derive from decreasing the metabolism in the photoreceptor layer sufficiently to result in vasoconstriction of the retinal vessels. A model is proposed to show how diabetes, by altering the metabolism in the photoreceptor layer to produce excess lactic acid, causes the initial vasodilatation. The lactic acid also induces free radical (superoxide) formation; both act together to destroy the retinal capillary bed followed by vasoproliferation. Photocoagulation, thus, is even more appropriate for this particular syndrome than previously had been thought, as it not only reduces potentially destructive vasodilatation but also removes the metabolic cause of the free radical induced destruction of the capillary endothelium which is the initial step in capillary drop-out. A review of the present data indicates that the best type of pan- retinal photocoagulation is a very light type affecting the photoreceptors only with a minimal amount of damage to other parts of retina and the vessels in the choroid. The possible use of photochemical types of destruction of the photoreceptor as a therapeutic modality is attractive, but it is certainly too speculative to use until more detailed investigations have been completed. However, the basic therapeutic approach of choice may be to prevent the initial vascular involvement by preventing lactic acid buildup (or keeping the tissue pH normal) or by blocking the generation of superoxide with Allopurinol or similar medication.
The glass transition from the fluid side

Abstract Recent work on the glass transition from the liquid side is reviewed. Particular emphasis is placed on the so-called mode coupling theory.
568. Ex Vivo Mesenchymal Stem Cell Therapy with rAAV2 Encoding BMP-2 Enhances Bone Regeneration in Ovariectomized Mouse Model

Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) represent an ideal source for ex- vivo therapy for treatment of genetic, age-related, and segmental bone defects to increase bone mass. Recent studies have demonstrated that pluripotent MSC can home to the bone marrow and participate in new bone formation, raising the possibility that MSC-based therapies may be developed for effective intervention of bone loss. The pluripotent property of MSC necessitates selection of lineage- specific cells or restricted expression of therapeutic genes into committed progenitors with specific phenotypes for regulated gene therapy. An ideal approach to utilize them is by ex vivo gene therapy for osteopenia by modulating the MSC to function as a continuous source for providing progeny osteoblasts by retaining the capacity of self-renewal and direct the differentiated early progenitors towards osteoblast lineage, which would enhance new bone formation. Our earlier studies indicated efficient transduction of MSC by rAAV2. In the present study, we determined the efficacy of MSC transduced by rAAV-bone morphogenetic protein-2 (BMP-2) to repopulate and enhance bone density in a mouse model of osteoporosis. Low- passage MSC were transduced ex vivo with rAAV2 encoding BMP-2 under the transcriptional control of collagen type 1a promoter. Following rAAV transduction, the cells were maintained in culture for 10 days without induction of differentiation by maintaining the culture with FGF2. Approximately 107 MSC were then injected to ovariectomized female C57BL/6 mice intravenously. Prior to the injections, the cells were transfected with a plasmid encoding murine a4 integrin for bone-specific homing. Groups of mice also received rAAV2-GFP transduced MSC ectopically expressing |[alpha]|4 integrin or unmodified MSC. Dual Energy X-ray absorptiometry (DEXA) analysis was performed on all the animals prior to MSC injection and periodically after the treatments. Results indicated that the group of mice transplanted with MSC expressing BMP-2 showed statistically significant (p<0.035) increase in the bone mineral density (BMD) values compared to the rAAV2-GFP transduced MSC or unmodified MSC transplanted groups. Cohorts of mice from each group were sacrificed after 5 weeks and 10 weeks for bone histomorphometry, osteoclast/osteoblast ratio and the identification of engrafted MSC. Histomorphometric analysis using trichrome stain also confirmed the DEXA data where more osteoblasts and less osteoclasts were seen in the trabecular and growth plate area ofthe bone in BMP-2 treated group compared to controls. The long term effects of this ex vivo therapy on BMD will be discussed.
Sex differences in electrophysiological indices of conflict monitoring

The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in cognitive control as measured by the stimulus-locked N2 component of the event-related potential (ERP). High-density ERPs were obtained from 114 healthy individuals (60 females, 54 males) who completed a modified Eriksen Flanker Task. Behavioral measures (i.e., error rates, reaction times) and N2 amplitudes were analyzed. On the flanker task, females responded significantly slower and committed more errors than males. For N2 amplitude, there was a significant main effect of congruency, with increased amplitude to incongruent trials. Importantly, sexes differed as a function of congruency, with males showing significantly larger incongruent N2 amplitudes than females. Sex differences in N2 amplitude remained in a subgroup of participants that did not differ for behavioral, demographic, and affective variables. No sex differences were shown for electrophysiological or behavioral indices of conflict adaptation. Results indicate sex differences in brain activation associated with conflict monitoring. Findings may be explained by two contradictory possibilities: (1) females more effectively monitor conflict as indicated by less neural activation than males for similar behavioral performance in a matched subsample, or, (2) females less effectively monitor conflict than males.
The anti‐secession law, framing, and political change in Taiwan

Beijing's Anti‐Secession Law (ASL) was promulgated in March 2005. Influenced by the December 2004 Legislative Yuan elections in Taiwan, Beijing's 2005 comments suggested the ASL was intended to increase peaceful interaction, not confrontation. Temporary, cooperative discussions early in 2005 between the People First Party (PFP) and President Chen Shui‐bian (DPP) are analysed as well as trips to the mainland by KMT leaders and the subsequent China visit by PFP leaders. The impact of all these events on the May 2005 National Assembly elections and the December local elections in the Republic of China on Taiwan (ROCT) is discussed. An evolving, more peaceful and interactive status quo has reduced the likelihood of military force becoming an option. Gradual refraining of cross‐Strait relations occurred in 2005. Still to be determined is whedier Taiwan will benefit from the changing status quo to the degree Beijing believes the PRC will benefit.
Collaborative Network Capacity

AbstractThis article argues that collaborative network success is a function of having the necessary social, knowledge, and financial capital, and the capacity to manage that capital through collaborative governance and knowledge management. This theory is examined through a comparative case study of two early childhood/school readiness networks. The evidence suggests that both collaborative governance and knowledge management enable collaborative networks to use their resources wisely and that organizational commitment to the network, the role of data collection and sharing, and the challenges of information technology all bear further investigation as important components of collaborative network capacity.
The National Animal Health Monitoring System: fulfilling a commitment

The food-animal industries, those associated with them, and those attempting to serve their needs have long been aware of the need for valid information on the occurrences, distributions, trends, and economic losses of animal diseases. Although the literature is filled with examples of individual workers and groups who have extolled the virtues and benefits of such information, there has been general disagreement about the methodology and the appropriate roles of those generating data. This has led to inaction and has undermined the development of an activity acknowledged as essential by so many. A Historical Survey of Animal Disease Morbidity and Mortality Reporting was published by The National Academy of Sciences' National Research Council in 1966 (Poppensieck and Budd, 1966). This report reviewed previous activities relating to animal disease reporting in the U.S.A. The report recognized that "dependable statistics on morbidity and mortality of animals is a fundamental principle of successful disease prevention and control." Credit was given to past efforts (including experimental state programs and foreign programs), but the committee preparing the report recommended that a national system should be implemented to define animal disease problems accurately through effective morbidity and mortality reporting. In addition, the group recommends that a central agency should be established to coordinate and implement this effort.
The use of chemical restraint in helicopter transport.

Abstract Introduction: Helicopter transport of the combative patient is a major safety hazard facing air medical teams. Although physical restraints alone are helpful, the addition of chemical restraint (CR) often is necessary to control these patients while in flight. Methods: A survey was conducted to determine the current practices of using nonparalyzing CR in air medical transport programs nationwide. The survey consisted of 24 questions on the use of CR during transport. Each U.S. program belonging to the Association of Air Medical Services was contacted by telephone, and a flight nurse or paramedic provided answers based on personal experience and statistics compiled by his or her individual program. Results: Of the 100 programs responding, benzodiazepines were used most commonly to control agitation with 51% using midazolam. Patients with a head injury required CR more frequently than any other condition (73%). Crews flying larger aircraft reported less need for CR. A physician order was required by only 30% of the programs, but delays infrequently endangered the patient (2%). Only 7% of the responding programs had a patient whose condition deteriorated because of CR. Conclusion: CR is necessary in air medical transport. Most programs use short-acting benzodiazepines. Crews in smaller aircraft use CR more frequently, and head injury is the most common condition requiring such restraint.
On the zero-energy moments of the distribution of fast atoms and cascades

The slowing down of neutrons in capture-free hydrogen is not only a classic problem in transport theory but is a paradigm for several problems in the interaction of energetic ions with matter. Here we are concerned primarily with the distribution of stopped particles. We describe a novel expansion for the transport equation which which gives extremely accurate results for the moments of the distribution and which proves an earlier conjecture made by E.M. Baroody. We discuss additional applications of the expansion, which appears to be an improved “straight-ahead” approximation.
A stopped-flow investigation of calcium ion binding by ethylene glycol bis(β-aminoethyl ether)-N,N′-tetraacetic acid

The kinetics of calcium ion complexation by ethylene glycol bis(beta-aminoethyl ether)-N,N'-tetraacetic acid (EGTA) were investigated using the stopped-flow technique. This study was performed within the pH range 5.8 to 8.4. The reaction was found to be first order in EGTA and complex order in calcium, with an observed second-order rate constant (pH 7, T = 25 degrees C, ionic strength = 0.1 M) of about 1.5 X 10(6) M-1 s-1. The rate constant was independent of hydrogen ion concentration between pH 5.8 and 7.3; above pH 7.3 it increased in magnitude with increasing pH, and was 2.0 X 10(8) M-1 s-1 at pH 8.4. The rate constant at 16 and 38 degrees C (pH 6.8) was found to be 0.9 and 7 X 10(6) M-1 s-1, respectively. These data imply that calcium ion buffering by EGTA will require times on the order of milliseconds when EGTA is present in millimolar concentrations.
Westward Thrusts the Pioneer Zone in Venezuela: A Half Century of Economic Development Along the Llanos-Andes Border

. Observations in the Llanos-Andes border area of Venezuela were summarized by the writer in the Geographical Review in 1932 and again in 1956. After further held investigations in 1982, he chronicles some of the changes that have taken place during the last quarter century, collates observations made over the last halt century, and places this major physiographic boundary zone in a broader national context. Several coactive factors are in large measure responsible for the rapid thrust westward of the pioneer zone along the Llanos-Andes border: highway construction has proceeded apace, public education and health services have been introduced, and large government credits and subsidies have been made available to farmers and ranchers with large holdings. Many colonists have been provided with titles to small holdings on frontier land. New technologies are being introduced in agriculture and animal husbandry as well as in mining and industry. From this position of strength, the country should gradually be able to supply the domestic demand for staple foodstuffs.
Views of community-dwelling, old-old people on barriers and aids to nutritional health.

Purpose: To examine barriers and aids to maintaining the nutritional health of community-dwelling old-old residents from their perspectives. Design: Cross-sectional exploratory study completed in March 2002 of old-old people living independently in one county in the Midwestern United States (US). Methods: Sixty-eight in-home interviews were conducted with community-dwelling people aged 80 or older. Content analysis was done to examine answers to two open-ended questions about barriers and helps to nutritional health. Findings: These old-old people believed they were doing well nutritionally despite reduced independence and physical limitations. They were positive about their lives and creative in problem solving to remain independent. Social connectedness was the major factor for maintaining independence into old age. The leading barrier to maintaining nutritional health was health problems. Those with more barriers were more likely to be depressed. Conclusions: Knowledge of aids and barriers to nutritional health, from a personal perspective, gives an understanding of the issues and concerns of old-old people.
Investigating effects of between- and within-host variability on Escherichia coli O157 shedding pattern and transmission

Abstract Healthy cattle and their environment are the reservoir for the human pathogen Escherichia coli O157. In E. coli O157 epidemiology, supershedders have been loosely defined as cattle that shed high concentrations of E. coli O157 (≥10 4 colony-forming cells (CFU)/g of feces) at a single (or multiple) cross-section in time. Due to the variability in the pathogen shedding level among animals (between-host variability), as well as fluctuations in the level shed by a single animal (within-host variability), it is difficult to interpret fecal bacteria distributions, as well as to parse the relative contribution of between- and within-host variability to the observed shedding patterns at the pen level. We developed an agent-based model that integrates individual animal data on temporal fecal shedding dynamics with pen-level E. coli O157 transmission to study how the temporal (and aggregation) patterns of E. coli O157 shedding loads and prevalence arise at the pen level. We demonstrated that even without between-host variability, the prevalence of animals with concentration of E. coli O157 in feces that exceeds 10 4 CFU/g is similar to that observed in cross-sectional field data. Both within-host and between-host variability can generate supershedders.
Computational and performance aspects of static decentralized controllers

This paper presents a computational approach to the problem of determining the optimal constant feedback gain matrices for a particular decentralized controller structure. The technique presented utilizes an extension of the concept of ?-coupling, which has been used successfully for large-scale centralized structures. The results reported herein represent a refinement of the authors' previous work in developing decentralized controllers, into an algorithmic format. The effectiveness of this technique is discussed, and guidelines for its use are given. The algorithm is also applied to determine the optimal feedback gains for a two-area power system, and the performance of the resulting controller is compared to that of other types of decentralized controllers having the same structure.
The theory of polymer adsorption during polymerization reactions

Abstract Exact values are obtained for the grand canonical partition function of model chains absorbed at a surface. On a six-choice simple cubic lattice, chains are generated as function of the activity of chain bonds. The molecular weight distribution of adsorbed chains and of solution chains in equilibrium with them is obtained. It is shown that the average molecular weight of adsorbed chains is higher than that of solution chains. The difference is the more pronounced the flatter the chain is when adsorbed at the surface. When the activity of chain bond; increases the surface coverage increases, more segments occur in loops extending into the solution, and the average molecular weight of solution chains approaches that of adsorbed chains. The segment density in loops as function of distance from the surface is shown to be exponential, in agreement with previous results. If polymer adsorption is high and the concentration in solution is small, the number of segments in tails is amall. The dimensions of the adsorbed polymer chain are smaller than those in solution of the same molecular weight. It is suggested that if polymer adsorption during polycondensation reactions with bond interchanges is measured, the bothersome tirne effects, invariably observed, might be eliminated. In this manner a valid comparison between theoretical and experimental results might become feasible.
CMS Use of a Data Federation

CMS is in the process of deploying an Xrootd based infrastructure to facilitate a global data federation. The services of the federation are available to export data from half the physical capacity and the majority of sites are configured to read data over the federation as a back-up. CMS began with a relatively modest set of use-cases for recovery of failed local file opens, debugging and visualization. CMS is finding that the data federation can be used to support small scale analysis and load balancing. Looking forward we see potential in using the federation to provide more flexibility in the location workflows are executed as the difference between local access and wide area access are diminished by optimization and improved networking. In this presentation we discuss the application development work and the facility deployment work, the use-cases currently in production, and the potential for the technology moving forward.
Basement ventilation needed to lower indoor radon to acceptable levels.

Although many remedial measures have been proposed for excessive indoor /sup 222/Rn concentrations, their general effectiveness in given situations is not well established, in part because of the number and complexity of the factors that influence indoor /sup 222/Rn. The strategy considered here is the use of basement ventilation to control upstairs indoor radioactivity. A simple two-compartment model is described and used to derive ventilation rates that are needed to lower radon concentrations to specific levels. Previously published indoor radon measurements are used to derive the parameters needed for the calculations. The results of the two-compartment model differ typically by a factor of two from the simpler, more often used one-compartment approximation.
Strongly Correlated Electron Phenomena in f-Electron Materials

A series of experiments on strongly correlated electron phenomena in f-electron materials, performed during the past three and one half decades, are briefly reviewed. The phenomena considered include the Kondo effect in superconductors, demagnetization of rare earth ions in metals, valence fluctuations of rare earth ions in metals, heavy fermion superconductors, and non-Fermi liquid behavior in f-electron systems. Recent experiments on heavy fermion behavior and unconventional superconductivity in the filled skutterudite compound PrOs 4 Sb 12 are also discussed. The fundamental interactions responsible for the Kondo effect play a prominent role in the physics of strongly correlated electron phenomena in f-electron materials.
Digital computer plug-in units and associated equipment

A line of small plug-in units for digital computer systems is described. The unit plugs into a standard 32-contact receptacle; 15 units of these are contained in a subrack assembly. The subrack has self-contained power wiring and a switch for marginal checking. Logical connections are made on a panel by patch cords and miniature spring-loaded connectors.
Atmospheric organic nitrogen deposition explored at workshop

Atmospheric organic nitrogen (AON) is an important nitrogen component with significant deposition in many natural waters. The range and quality of the data are varied, but deposited organic nitrogen (DON) is ubiquitous globally, both in extent and magnitude. The Environmental Protection Agency's Chesapeake Bay Program (CBP) sponsored a workshop last year to determine what is known about organic nitrogen in atmospheric deposition and to establish research priorities needed to obtain an adequate database for coastal waters such as Chesapeake Bay Working groups at the meeting concluded that AON represents a poorly quantified array of broadly reactive natural and pollutant species; that because of compromises in collection, preservation, and analysis, wet deposition of total organic nitrogen is inadequately quantified and dry deposition is not quantified at all; and that because of a lack of data on bioactive species, the effect of AON and DON on ecosystems is largely unknown.
The effect of stimulus size on the measured threshold values in automated perimetry.

Abstract Patients with severely depressed visual fields as determined by automated static perimetry are often tested with larger test stimuli in order to obtain meaningful data. “Normal” threshold values are known and included in some perimeters' data analysis programs for stimulus III, but not for larger stimuli. Using a user-defined program on the Octopus 201 perimeter to determine mean retinal sensitivity, a study was conducted in 17 normal subjects to determine the effect of stimulus size on measured threshold. With stimulus III, the mean retinal sensitivity within the central 30° was 28.4 ± 2.3 dB; it was 31.9 ± 2.3 dB for stimulus IV, and measured 36.00 ± 2.5 dB with stimulus V. The differences between the values are statistically significant (P
OM Forum---Some Lessons on Operations Management Model Implementation Drawn from the RAND Fire Project

This article examines the contributions and historical context of the fire project that was undertaken in the early 1970s by the New York City--RAND Institute on behalf of the New York City Fire Department. We identify a number of technical and nontechnical factors that contributed to the high impact of this operations modeling effort. We hypothesize that these factors, though derived from the experiences in a particular public sector engagement, are applicable to other large-scale operations modeling efforts. This invited contribution is based on the author's inaugural Manufacturing and Service Operations Management (MSOM) Distinguished Fellows address that was given at the June 2011 MSOM conference at the University of Michigan.
A bibliography of metal-insulator-semiconductor studies

A bibliography of more than 550 papers in the field of metal-insulator-semiconductor theory and technology provides a catalog of the published work so that investigators can more easily relate their work to that reported by others. In most of the papers, the insulator layer discussed is SiO 2 or silicon nitride, and the semiconductor is silicon. The information has been arranged according to the following major classifications: MOS transistor behavior physics preparation of oxide layers techniques for evaluating insulator layers related information from the field of glass technology device fabrication technology radiation effects alternative materials.