cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The New White Flight?: The Effects of Political Appeals to Latinos on White Democrats

One explanation for the post-1965 shift in the vote choice of White Americans posits that it was driven by a shift in the racial imagery of the two major parties. The growing role of Latinos in the Democratic Party has brought new changes in the racial groups associated with the parties. In this paper, I explore whether the increasing attention to Latinos in Democratic Party politics is having an effect similar to that which followed African-Americans political repositioning 50 years ago, and decreasing support for the Party among White Democrats. Drawing on three survey experiments, from two elections, I demonstrate that as White Democrats learn about Democratic outreach to Latinos, they become less supportive of Democrats. This pattern, I find, is driven by the effects that such information has on the racial prototypes associated with each party. All together, these findings point to a new phase of racial realignment in the American political system.
The Continuity Hypothesis

The idea that everyday good and bad moods might differ from clinically significant depression and mania only in terms of degree rather than kind suggests that these states are on continua such that intensification of normal processes can produce disorder. This view, sometimes referred to as the continuity hypothesis (e.g., see Beck, 1967; Blatt et al., 1976; Coyne, 1986; Depue et al., 1981; Eastwood et al., 1985; Gotlib, 1984), is a controversial one that has tended to divide clinicians and researchers into two camps. Opposed to the continuity hypothesis are those who take a biomedical orientation toward affective disorder, regarding it as a disease traceable to abnormal neurophysiological and biochemical processes (e.g., Whybrow & Mendels, 1969; Siever & Davis, 1985). In support of the hypothesis, one finds an uneasy alliance of behaviorally, cognitively, and psychoanalytically oriented psychologists and psychiatrists who believe that psychological processes and vulnerabilities are sufficient to explain clinically significant depression. At stake are the implications of the continuity hypothesis: that we can learn more about the nature of affective disorder through “analog” research, that is, by studying the moods of “normal” individuals, and that psychological therapies can be effective remedies, especially to the extent that they are based on evidence about ways to successfully eliminate everyday bad moods.
On the mechanisms of hydrogen attack

A highly sensitive dilatometer was designed for the use of studying the rate of hydrogen attack on carbon steels, measured by the swelling rate, for specimens exposed to various hydrogen pressures and temperatures. The size and distribution of cavities were determined after exposures using standard metallographic techniques. An analytical cavity-growth model which semiquantitatively describes the observed dependence of swelling rate on hydrogen pressure and temperature has been developed. Ferrovac 1020 specimens were exposed to hydrogen pressure of 900 psi at 475/sup 0/C until the substance attained a volume change (..delta..V/V) between 10/sup -3/ and 10/sup -2/. An incubation time, arbitrarily defined as the time required to attain a ..delta..V/V = 10/sup -4/ (usually 40h), and a set of swelling rates were obtained from measured versus time curves. Transverse and longitudinal sections of samples cooled in circulating helium were polished mechanically or electrolytically and examined in either unetched or etched condition by optical or scanning-electron microscopy. The measurements of the rate of hydrogen attack and the methane cavity growth model prove that expansion by creep and surface-reaction rates for methane formation are the primary processes which determine the rate of attack after incubation. A complete quantitative description requires additional study.
Venous Function, Dysfunction and Venous Insufficiency

Although the function of the leg veins might seem to be the passive transport of blood from the foot to the heart, the venous system is far more hemodynamically active than the arterial system. In addition to transporting blood back to the heart, the veins are responsible for the regulation of body temperature, balancing cardiac output and as a reservoir for blood. In fact as much as two-thirds of the body’s total blood volume may be in the venous system at any one time.
Unify and Present: Using Monroe's Motivated Sequence to Teach Team Presentation Skills.

Courses: Public speaking, business and professional communication, group communicationObjectives: This activity will introduce Monroe's Motivated Sequence as a way to organize persuasive arguments;...
α-MoO3 as a Conductive 2D Oxide: Tunable n-Type Electrical Transport via Oxygen Vacancy and Fluorine Doping

Layered transition metal oxides remain a relatively unexplored front in the study of two-dimensional (2D) van der Waals materials, providing opportunities to further advance semiconductor physics a...
Shorelands Protection in Oregon

Oregon’s coast is over 300 miles long and includes the mouth of the Columbia River. That area of scenic, resource-laden and scientifically and ecologically importance has been the focus of planning and regulatory interest to the State of Oregon even before Congress passed the Coastal Zone Management Act in 1972. The Oregon Legislature established a commission to report on planning and regulation at the coast and, under Oregon’s celebrated planning legislation, SB 100, this interest led to the adoption in 1975 of four binding coastal policies (called Goals). The coastal area is less well off than the more populated Willamette River Valley, a difference exacerbated by the loss of many of the resource-oriented employment sources in timber and fishing. As a result, that area lacks the funds to undertake detailed planning. Nevertheless, the State has invested funds for planning and regulating the Oregon Coast and has maintained a credible program to accommodate growth and development, but also preserved the resources and natural beauty of that area. The paper recounts the history of the coastal shorelands program from 1971 to the present, along with some particularly difficult challenges to the program: 1. Getting the science right at the local level; 2. Meeting the property rights challenges (various initiatives and attempts to armor development); and 3. Keeping the faith, and interest, of multiple interest groups. The paper concludes with lessons learned from this project and their transferability in the United States and elsewhere.
Determining Number of Speakers from Single Microphone Speech Signals by Multi-Label Convolutional Neural Network

This paper presents a multi-label convolutional neural network approach to determine the number of speakers when using a single microphone which is more challenging than when using multiple microphones. Spectrograms of windowed noisy speech signals for 1talker, 2talkers and 3+talkers are used as inputs to a multi-label convolutional neural network. The architecture of the developed multi-label convolutional neural network is discussed and it is shown that this network with median filtering can achieve an overall accuracy of about 81% for the noisy speech dataset examined.
Near-eye light-field display with polarization multiplexing

We report a polarization-multiplexed additive light field display for near-eye applications. A polarization-sensitive Pancharatnam-Berry phase lens is implemented to generate two focal depths simultaneously. Then, a spatial polarization modulator is utilized to control the polarization state of each pixel and direct the two images to designated focal planes. Based on this design, an additive light field display system is constructed. The vergence-accommodation conflict is suppressed successfully without increasing space and time complexities.
Modeling of spunbond formation process of polymer nonwovens

Abstract Spunbond process used in nonwoven manufacturing employs the system which combines fiber-forming and bonding together. A high molecular weight polymer, e.g., PP (polypropylene), can be used as a raw material resulting in fibers of 15–35 μm in diameter formed by the spunbond process. The present work aims at simulations of the spunbond process before the bonding stage with a goal of predicting the resulting nonwoven laydown and its three-dimensional architecture, and potentially in future, the corresponding laydown properties. The quasi-one-dimensional equations of fiber dynamics are used as a key element of the multi-fiber modeling. The air flow field is comprised of a section with one-dimensional flow used for stretching and a subsequent section with three-dimensional axisymmetric flow used for fiber deposition. The fiber motion in air flux shaped by the surrounding attenuator is simulated accounting for polymer melt quenching and solidification. The laydown properties, such as the 3-D structure of the web, mass distribution, elevation distribution and fabric cross-sectional structure, are also predicted using post-processing of the numerical results.
Disparities in Breastfeeding Among Military Veterans

Background:Although breastfeeding is a major public health priority and provides numerous benefits, women veterans encounter many barriers to initiating and sustaining breastfeeding. Women veterans...
Measurement of Pectoralis Minor Muscle Length in Women Diagnosed With Breast Cancer: Reliability, Validity, and Clinical Application.

Background Decreased pectoralis minor muscle length is common after primary breast cancer treatment and can result in an abnormal position of the scapula. This position can contribute to shoulder pain and pathomechanics and can lead to problems such as impingement syndrome, rotator cuff tears, and frozen shoulder. Currently, there are limited reliable methods for measuring pectoralis minor length. Objective The objective of this study was to examine the reliability and validity of measuring pectoralis minor length in women diagnosed with breast cancer. Design This was a cross-sectional reliability and validity study. Methods Bilateral pectoralis minor length (in centimeters) was assessed using a palpation meter in women (N = 29) diagnosed with breast cancer by 2 licensed physical therapists who were masked to the measures. Bilateral pectoralis minor length was also measured using a motion capture system to assess validity. Results Intratester reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient, ICC [3,k] = 0.971; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.939-0.986; standard error of measurement [SEM] = 0.16 cm) and intertester reliability (ICC[3,k] = 0.915; 95% CI = 0.81-0.962; SEM = 0.31 cm) were excellent for the palpation meter on the affected side and the unaffected side (intratester reliability: ICC[3,k] = 0.951; 95% CI = 0.897-0.977; SEM = 0.19 cm; intertester reliability: ICC[3,k] = 0.945; 95% CI = 0.877-0.975; SEM = 0.22 cm). Significant correlations were found between the motion capture system and the palpation meter on the affected side (r = 0.87) and the unaffected side (r = 0.81). Bland-Altman plots between the palpation meter and the motion capture system demonstrated that all the measures fell within the limits of agreement. Limitations This study encountered possible errors with the accuracy of the motion capture system tracking because of the proximity of the markers and inherent volumetric restrictions. Conclusions The palpation meter is a reliable, valid, easily administered, and cost-effective tool for assessing pectoralis minor length in women with breast cancer.
Edge Mining on IoT Devices Using Anomaly Detection

With continuous monitoring and sensing, millions of Internet of Things sensors all over the world generate tremendous amounts of data every minute. As a result, recent studies start to raise the question as whether to send all the sensing data directly to the cloud (i.e., direct transmission), or to preprocess such data at the network edge and only send necessary data to the cloud (i.e., preprocessing at the edge). Anomaly detection is particularly useful as an edge mining technique to reduce the transmission overhead in such a context when the frequently monitored activities contain only a sparse set of anomalies. This paper analyzes the potential overhead-savings of machine learning based anomaly detection models on the edge in three different IoT scenarios. Our experimental results prove that by choosing the appropriate anomaly detection models, we are able to effectively reduce the total amount of transmission energy as well as minimize required cloud storage. We prove that Random Forest, Multilayer Perceptron, and Discriminant Analysis models can viably save time and energy on the edge device during data transmission. K-Nearest Neighbors, although reliable in terms of prediction accuracy, demands exorbitant overhead and results in net time and energy loss on the edge device. In addition to presenting our model results for the different IoT scenarios, we provide guidelines for potential model selections through analysis of involved tradeoffs such as training overhead, prediction overhead, and classification accuracy.
Poverty and Covid-19: Rates of Incidence and Deaths in the United States During the First 10 Weeks of the Pandemic

The Covid-19 pandemic in the winter and spring of 2020 represents a major challenge to the world health care system that has not been seen perhaps since the influenza pandemic in 1918. The virus has spread across the world, claiming lives on all continents with the exception of Antarctica. Since its arrival in the United States, attention has been paid to how Covid-19 cases and deaths have been distributed across varying socioeconomic and ethnic groups. The goal of this study was to examine this issue during the early weeks of the pandemic, with the hope of shedding some light on how the number of cases and the number of deaths were, or were not related to poverty. Results of this study revealed that during the early weeks of the pandemic more disadvantaged counties in the United States had a larger number of confirmed Covid-19 cases, but that over time this trend changed so that by the beginning of April, 2020 more affluent counties had more confirmed cases of the virus. The number of deaths due to Covid-19 were associated with poorer and more urban counties. Discussion of these results focuses on the possibility that testing for the virus was less available in more disadvantaged counties later in the pandemic than was the case earlier, as the result of an overall lack of adequate testing resources across the nation.
Hospital screening for obstructive sleep apnea in patients admitted to a rural, tertiary care academic hospital with heart failure

Rural communities represent a vulnerable population that would significantly benefit from hospital-based OSA screening given these areas tend to have significant health-care disparities and poor he...
Transperineal Versus Transrectal Targeted Biopsy With Use of Electromagnetically-tracked MR/US Fusion Guidance Platform for the Detection of Clinically Significant Prostate Cancer.

Objective To compare transperineal (TP-TBx) and transrectal (TR-TBx) targeted prostate biopsy in a prospective non randomized single surgeon series of MR/US fusion-guided targeted biopsy performed using an electromagnetic tracking platform (NCT04026763). Materials and Methods In this single-institution prospective study, 168 patients who underwent transperineal systematic 12-core biopsy and TP-TBx with electromagnetic tracking (UroNav, Invivo, Gainesville, FL) were compared to 211 patients who underwent a similar procedure by a transrectal approach. Univariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess if biopsy technique impacted all cancer detection rates or clinically significant (Gleason score >3+4) cancer detection rates. Results Patients who underwent TP-TBx were older (68 vs 65 y, P = .014), with a slightly higher rate of PI-RADSv2.0 score (39% vs 28%, P = .039) and higher lesion volume on mpMRI (0.54 vs 0.41 cc, P = .039). The rates of CS disease detection by TP-TBx and TR-TBx were 59% and 54%, respectively. In a multivariate analysis adjusting for PSA, previous biopsy status, prostate volume, PI-RADS score, lesion volume, and lesion location, there was no statistically significant difference in likelihood to detect any PCa (OR, 0.98; 95% CI, 0.56-1.71; P = .940) or CS PCa (OR, 0.94, 95% CI, 0.58-1.51; P = .791). Conclusion Transperineal targeted biopsy with electromagnetic-tracking is comparable to the transrectal fusion-guided approach in the detection of any PCa and csPCa cancer.
While quarantined: An online parent education and training model for families of children with autism in China.

Abstract Purpose In the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak, already limited services and resources for families of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in China became even more scarce. This qualitative case study highlights one online parent education and training (PET) program developed during the pandemic to offer home-intervention strategies to parents of children with ASD in mainland China. This exploratory study sought to examine the emic perspectives of the trainers and parents who participated in the 12-week intensive training program while considering the cultural context in China and the transnational, remote nature of the program. Methods The primary data focused on the experiences of the trainers and parents within PET program’s structure and strategies, which were adapted from the Training of Trainers model, and were collected from semi-structured, in-depth individual and focus group interviews conducted virtually with trainers (n = 4). Supplemental data sources included training session materials and feedback forms collected from parents (n = 294) at the midpoint and end of the program. After the collected data were sorted and condensed, a thematic analysis was performed using the data analysis spiral to further organize and code the data, and the codes were finally collapsed into themes. Findings Three overarching themes were identified: (1) training as modeling with resources, (2) dilemmas in cultural contexts and expectations, and (3) cultivating parent support networks. Conclusion The online PET program became a hub of support networks and learning spaces for parents of children with ASD in different regions in China during the pandemic. Through the interactive virtual training sessions, parents were supported by continuous feedback on their home intervention and coached to cultivate support networks among themselves despite tensions arising from cultural differences and to implement effective intervention strategies that were individualized and authenticated to their specific familial needs.
The infant gut microbiota at 12 months of age is associated with human milk exposure but not with maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index or infant BMI-for-age z-scores.

Abstract Background As obesity rates continue to rise, it is increasingly important to understand factors that can influence body weight and growth, especially from an early age. The infant gut microbiota has broad effects on a variety of bodily processes, but its relation to infant growth is not yet fully characterized. Since the infant gut microbiota is closely related to breastfeeding practices and maternal health, understanding the relationship between these factors and infant growth may provide insight into the origins of childhood obesity. Objectives Identify the relationship between human milk exposure, maternal pre-pregnancy body mass index (BMI), the infant gut microbiota, and 12-month-old BMI-for-age z-scores (12M BAZ) to identify key factors that shape infant growth. Methods Two Michigan cohorts (ARCHGUT and BABYGUT) comprised of a total of 33 mother-infant dyads provided infant fecal samples at 12M. After DNA extraction, amplification, and sequencing of the V4 16S rRNA region using Illumina MiSeq v2 Chemistry, gut bacterial diversity metrics were analyzed in relation to human milk exposure, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI, and infant growth parameters. Results Recent human milk exposure was inversely related to maternal pre-pregnancy BMI and most strongly associated with infant gut bacterial community membership and individual gut microbiota richness differences. Maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was not associated with the infant gut microbiota after adjusting for human milk exposure. However, maternal pre-pregnancy BMI was the only factor significantly associated with 12M BAZ. Conclusions Human milk exposure is one of the central influences on the infant gut microbiota at 12M of age. However, the lack of association between the infant gut microbiota and 12M-old infant BAZ suggests that genetic, physiological, dietary, and other environmental factors may play a more direct role than the gut microbiota in determining infant BAZ at 12M.
End-User Development: Empowering Stakeholders with Artificial Intelligence, Meta-Design, and Cultures of Participation

End-User Development (EUD) represents the objective to empower all stakeholders (designers, users, workers, learners, teachers) to actively participate and to make their voices heard in personally meaningful problems. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is currently being considered world-wide as a “deus ex machina”—despite lacking a generally accepted definition, it is credited with miraculous abilities to solve all problems.
Adolescent Social Phobia in Clinical Services

The normal course of adolescence presents many developmental challenges at the biological, psychological, and interpersonal level (Steinberg 2004; Levpuscek 2006). The onset of puberty, increasing complexity of peer relationships and increased expectations at home, school, and often work, can make successful transition through adolescence complex even for the most well-adjusted teen. Social anxiety disorder (SAD) in adolescence exacerbates these challenges exponentially. As such, study of SAD during this developmental stage is of particular importance, given that SAD frequently onsets during adolescence and disrupts functioning and quality of life throughout the life span (Brown et al. J Abnorm Psychol 110:49–58, 2001; Burstein et al. J Am Acad Child Adoles Psychiatry 50:870–880, 2011; Rosellini et al. J Psychopathol Behav Assess 35:356–365, 2013). This chapter provides an overview of the ways in which adolescence provides fertile ground for the development and exacerbation of SAD, focusing on the particular challenges unique to this developmental stage at the biological, cognitive, behavioral, and interpersonal level. Next, we review the ways in which empirically supported treatments and interventions have been tailored to meet those challenges in this age group. The chapter also addresses how recent sociocultural changes and contemporary research have increased awareness of how these challenges can extend and develop during emerging adulthood. Finally, we discuss new frontiers in empirically supported treatments to engage the challenges accompanying this newly recognized developmental stage transition.
A pharmacological protein kinase D inhibitor ameliorates experimental arthritis. (THER6P.850)

While the factors that initiate and perpetuate inflammation in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) are not well understood, it is thought that RA may be initiated in part by signaling through Toll-like receptors (TLRs). Disruption of the TLR signaling pathway may provide an opportunity to halt the RA process in the earliest stages of development. We previously found that protein kinase D1 (PKD1) is essential for proinflammatory responses mediated by MyD88-dependent TLRs. Here, we investigated whether PKD1 is involved in exaggerated proinflammatory responses seen in RA patients, and in the development of experimental arthritis. PKD1 was constitutively hyperactivated in synoviocytes of RA patients, and was rapidly activated in synoviocytes of normal donors and RA patients in response to TLR/IL-1R ligands. Silencing PKD1 expression in RA synoviocytes resulted in substantial inhibition of both spontaneous and TLR/IL-1R-mediated expression of cytokines/chemokines. Suppression of PKD1 expression also resulted in inhibition of TLR/IL-1R-mediated cytokine production in IL-1R antagonist-deficient (IL-1rn-/-) macrophages. In addition, daily treatment with a PKD inhibitor substantially reduced the incidence and severity of spontaneously occurring inflammatory arthritis in IL-1rn-/- mice, and collagen-induced arthritis in humanized HLA-DR1 mice. This implies that PKD1 might be one of the key regulatory factors that modulate proinflammatory responses in RA, and can be a therapeutic target for RA.
The role of intermolecular interactions in fabricating hardened electro-optic materials

Until recently, the product of chromophore dipole moment, β, and molecular first hyperpolarizability, p, divided by chromophore molecular weight was considered to be an appropriate chromophore figure of merit. Substantial progress has been made designing and synthesizing chromophores characterized by large μβ values. If such high pp chromophores could be translated to hardened acentric polymer lattices with the same efficiency achieved for disperse red (azobenzene) chromophores then optical nonlinearities in excess of 50 pm/V could be expected. Although high μβ chromophores have been available for several years, such macroscopic optical nonlinearities have only beat recently realized. We demonstrated that the problem of translating microscopic to macroscopic optical nonlinearity can be traced to the attenuation of electric field polinginduced order by chromophore-chromophore electrostatic interactions. Such interactions are frequently treated within the approximations of London theory. We extend theoretical analysis to take into account the size and shapes of chromophores; such theory permits essentially quantitative prediction of variation of electro-optic coefficient with chromophore loading. Theory also suggests structural modification of chromophores to improve the maximum realizable optical nonlinearity as a function of chromophore loading and theoretical predictions have been experimentally realized in a number of cases leading to doubling and tripling of previously realized maximum electro-optic coefficient values. Chromophore-chromophore electrostatic interactions also contribute to aggregation and phase-separation which result in unacceptably high values of optical loss. Such interactions can also inhibit lattice hardening (e.g., thermosetting) reactions. A systematic analysis of such effects is presented.
An Adaptive Shared Control System for an Intelligent Mobility Aid for the Elderly

The control system for a personal aid for mobility and health monitoring (PAMM) for the elderly is presented. PAMM is intended to assist the elderly living independently or in senior assisted living facilities. It provides physical support and guidance, as well as monitoring basic vital signs for users that may have both limited physical and cognitive capabilities. This paper presents the design of a bi-level control system for PAMM. The first level is an admittance-based mobility controller that provides a natural and intuitive human machine interface. The second level is an adaptive shared controller that allocates control between the user and the computer based on metrics of the user's performance. Field trials at an eldercare facility show the effectiveness of the design.
Quantum Rate Theory: A Path Integral Centroid Perspective

The dynamics of many important processes that take place in condensed phase hosts can be described in terms of rate kinetics, with well-defined rate constants. The calculation of such rate constants from first principles has presented theoretical chemistry with an ongoing challenge. Nonequilibrium statistical mechanics provides a framework within which one can derive explicit expressions for those rate constants, via either linear response theory or Fermi’s golden rule. In both cases, one finds that the rate constants are given in terms of equilibrium correlation functions [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]. Those correlation functions can be evaluated with relative ease from classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations, even for complex anharmonic many-body systems such as molecular liquids and biopolymers. However, classical mechanics is not valid in the case of many important processes, such as electron and proton transfer and vibrational relaxation. In those cases, one needs to compute the quantummechanical correlation functions. A numerically exact calculation of the latter lies far beyond the reach of currently available computer resources, due to the exponential scaling of the computational effort with the number of degrees of freedom [7, 8]. The challenge therefore lies in finding ways to compute quantum mechanical rate constants which are based on either bypassing the explicit simulation of the quantum dynamics (e.g., transition state theory (TST)), or by using reliable and computationally feasible approximate techniques for computing quantitatively accurate quantum mechanical correlation functions.
Food and Drug Administration (FDA)'s impact on laboratory performance: FDA's perspective.

The Division of Clinical Laboratory Devices is responsible for the premarket review of in vitro diagnostic devices (laboratory tests). We currently process >1000 diverse applications per year. New versions of old devices are handled as premarket notifications, so-called 510(k) submissions. The review objective is to establish that the new product is "substantially equivalent" to its predicate. Fundamentally new devices are handled as premarket applications. The review objective is to establish de novo that the product is ?safe and effective.? A central regulatory issue over the past several years has been the development of a standardized model for scientific review. The Food and Drug Administration contributes to the quality of in vitro diagnostic devices by providing oversight and objective review, by setting thresholds for product safety and effectiveness, and by ensuring that organized data and appropriate labeling is present in support of a device's intended use.
Applications of gene therapy to the CNS

Gene therapy is a new method with potential for treating a broad range of acquired and inherited neurologic diseases, where the causative gene defect or deletion has been identified. In addition to gene replacement the application of gene products that reduce cellular dysfunction or death represent new therapeutic options. Gene transfer techniques to express novel proteins using different viral vectors in vitro and in vivo, as well as animal models and human trials will be reviewed in this article. We will focus on a new lentiviral vector as a recent gene transfer method and degenerative disorders of the CNS, and their related model systems.
Enhanced tunable magnetoresistance properties over a wide temperature range in epitaxial (La0.7Sr0.3MnO3)1−x:(CeO2)x nanocomposites

Vertically aligned nanocomposite (VAN) (La0.7Sr0.3MnO3)1−x:(CeO2)x (LSMO:CeO2) thin films have been grown on SrTiO3 (001) substrates by pulsed laser deposition. Tunable magnetoresistance properties as well as microstructures are demonstrated in these VAN films by modulating the film composition (x = 0, 0.3, 0.4, 0.45, 0.5, and 0.55). The sample of x = 0.3 shows a large low-field magnetoresistance (LFMR) in a high temperature range, i.e., over 10% at the range of 280 K to 320 K under 1 T and with a peak value of ∼13.5% at 310 K. In addition, a vast enhancement of LFMR in a low temperature range of 20–150 K with peak of ≈34.3% at 45 K for 1 T could be achieved with x = 0.5. The enhanced LFMR properties can be attributed to both the phase boundary induced spin fluctuation and the magnetic tunneling effect through vertical ferromagnetic/insulator/ferromagnetic structures. The observed enhanced LFMR performance, especially at high temperatures, as well as its simple growth method, offers a great potential for ...
Harmonic scalpel in the treatment of Zenker's diverticulum.

Objectives/Hypothesis: To describe the transoral treatment of Zenker's diverticulum with a harmonic scalpel and review the initial outcomes of patients treated with this technique. Study Design and Methods: Retrospective study of 25 patients with symptomatic Zenker's diverticula who were treated endoscopically with the harmonic scalpel (Ethicon Endo-Surgery, Inc, Cincinnati, OH). Electronic medical records were reviewed. Extracted data included outpatient clinic notes, operative reports, hospital summaries, and follow-up visits. Results: All identified patients (N = 25) were treated successfully and safely with the harmonic scalpel. All patients were observed overnight, and 21 (84%) were dismissed the day after surgery. One patient with a history of cardiac disease had a non–ST-elevation myocardial infarction, one patient had aspiration pneumonia, and two patients had chest pain (both stayed for complete evaluations with negative findings). One patient had subcutaneous emphysema. No patients had hemorrhage, infection, mediastinitis, or death in the postoperative period. The average length of follow-up was 10.3 months. One patient had a recurrent diverticulum that was treated with an open surgical technique. Conclusions: Various treatment options are available for Zenker's diverticulum. There has been a trend toward less invasive techniques, and the harmonic scalpel is one useful treatment option. This review demonstrates that the harmonic scalpel is a safe and effective alternative. Longer follow-up time is needed to assess long-term success and incidence of recurrence with this new technique. Laryngoscope, 2009
STIMULUS COMPOUNDING AND THE ATTAINMENT OF CONJUNCTIVE AND DISJUNCTIVE CONCEPTS

Summary.-Stimulus patterning was found to have a differential effect on the ease with which human Ss anained conjunctive and disjunctive concepts. Twenry-four undergraduate Ss were given eight disjunctive training problems and tested on a choice problem for which both conjunctive and disjunctive solutions were possible. On the test problem, more conjunctive solutions were offered when the stimulus dimensions were contained in a single geometric stimulus. More disjunctive solutions were offered when the dimensions were spatially separated on each instance. The former instances were assumed to allow for more stimulus patterning than the latter. It was concluded that stimulus panerning imposes a limiting condition on the efficacy of disjunctive-concept training, when tested by transfer on a choice problem for which a conjunctive solution is also possible. A previous article (Wells, 1963) reported that human Ss can learn to attain disjunctive concepts more efficiently by attaining a series of such concepts. Such training increases the proportion of Ss who choose a disjunctive concept (e.g., "posicive instances contain either red or stripes") when a conji~nctive solution (e.g., "positive instances contain large circles") is also available. The present study was designed to explore a possible limitation on the generality of chis effect. In the case of a disjunctive concepc with two positive values, one or both positive values must appear in every posicive instance. Neither can appear in a negative instance. In the conji~nccive concept, on the other hand, both positive values must appear in every positive instance. But either may appear separately in some negative instances. S, presented with an array of instances described by a disjunctive concept, must isolate two positive values either (or both) of which indicates a positive instance. A conjunctive array, on the other hand, demands that S distinguish between the joint occurrence of two values and the separate occurrence of either value. From the above considerations of the two kinds of concepts, several predictions would reasonably follow. If the joint occurrence of the two posicive values formed a pattern which was easily distinguished from the separate occurrence of either value, the attainment of a conjunctive concepc might be facilitated. But such patterning should have relatively less effect on the difficulty of attaining disjunctive concepts. The presence of a high degree of patterning, then, should facilitate sol~~tion of a conjunctive concept relative to a disjunctive concept. As a corollary, patterning should serve to limit the extent to which training on disjunctive concepts would transfer to a choice problem for which
Compaction of porous silica : A photophysical study

Abstract Photophysical studies, utilizing pyrene, are used to investigate the compaction of porous silica. Conventional studies show that the volume of this material is markedly reduced (4×) on compression to 1 G Pa. The nature of the processes giving rise to this volume change vary with the logarithm of the applied pressure. Organic molecules in particular pyrene, indicate that the surface of the silica wrinkles and provides new adsorption sites that screen the adsorbate from other molecules such a O 2 , NH 3 , and CCl 4 . At high pressures a portion of the adsorbate is completely trapped in silica, if loaded onto the material prior to compaction. Adsorbates with weak bonds, e.g., bromopyrene are chemically altered on compaction in silica. The data amplify earlier studies on the uncompacted system, and confirm the heterogeneous environment of SiO 2 at the sites where organic molecules are adsorbed.
Fetal glucose utilization using maternal plasma glucose and scintillation values.

The hypothesis tested was that measurement of fetal plasma values for glucose and scintillation counts results in statistically the same calculated integrals and consequent values for cerebral glucose utilization as would be obtained if the maternal plasma values were used alone with the quantitative 2-[14C]deoxyglucose technique of Sokoloff et al. In 4 pregnant rabbits anesthetized with ketamine, a single bolus of 2-[14C]deoxyglucose was injected i.v. Fourteen periodic blood samples were taken from the adult rabbit and a single fetal placental unit simultaneously. The plasma integrals of the Sokoloff equation were calculated and compared statistically. The results demonstrate that there is no statistical difference between the maternal and fetal plasma integrals and therefore the fetal plasma values do not need to be measured for accurate measurements of fetal cerebral glucose utilization to be made using the 2-[14C]deoxyglucose technique of Sokoloff.
The ultrastructure of the medial preoptic area of the rat

The neuronal and glial cell bodies and the neuropil of the medial preoptic area of the rat hypothalamus were studied under the electron microscope. Two different types of neurons are identified on the basis of electron density. These two types differed in a number of ultrastructural features. Three types of nerve terminals based on vesicle morphology are also described, as well as the general structure of the axons, dendrites and synapses in the neuropil. The structure of oligodendrocytes and astrocytes is also discussed.
Hippocampal Representational Organization and Spatial Context

The hippocampus appears to undergo continual representa- tional reorganization as animals navigate their environments. This reorga- nization is postulated to be reflected spatially in terms of changes in the ensemble of place cells activated, as well as changes in place field specificity and reliability for cells recorded in both hilar/CA3 and CA1 regions. The specific contribution of the hilar/CA3 region is suggested to be to compare the expected spatial context with that currently being experienced, then relay discrepancies to CA1. The properties of CA1 place fields in part reflect the spatial comparisons made in the hilar/CA3 area. In addition, CA1 organizes the input received from the hilar/CA3 place cells according to different temporal algorithms that are unique to different tasks. In this way, hippocampus helps to distinguish temporally one spatial context from another, thereby contributing to episodic memories. Hippo- campus 1999;9:444-451. r 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Laser ablation of Y2O3 in an oxygen atmosphere

Abstract A Y2O3 pressed powder target was ablated by pulses from a XeCl excimer laser, operating at 308 nm, 150 mJ/pulse, ≈ 15 ns/pulse and 20 Hz. Emission spectra from Y* and YO* were recorded as a function of ambient oxygen pressure in the range 10−5−4×10−10 Torr, at a peak laser fluence of ≈ 4 J/cm2. A kinetic model is developed to describe the results, and the application to production of laser-deposited high-temperature superconductor thin films is discussed.
Expression of a translationally fused TAP-tagged plasma membrane proton pump in Arabidopsis thaliana.

The Arabidopsis thaliana plasma membrane proton ATPase genes, AHA1 and AHA2, are the two most highly expressed isoforms of an 11 gene family and are collectively essential for embryo development. We report the translational fusion of a tandem affinity-purification tag to the 5′ end of the AHA1 open reading frame in a genomic clone. Stable expression of TAP-tagged AHA1 in Arabidopsis rescues the embryonic lethal phenotype of endogenous double aha1/aha2 knockdowns. Western blots of SDS-PAGE and Blue Native gels show enrichment of AHA1 in plasma membrane fractions and indicate a hexameric quaternary structure. TAP-tagged AHA1 rescue lines exhibited reduced vertical root growth. Analysis of the plasma membrane and soluble proteomes identified several plasma membrane-localized proteins with alterred abundance in TAP-tagged AHA1 rescue lines compared to wild type. Using affinity-purification mass spectrometry, we uniquely identified two additional AHA isoforms, AHA9 and AHA11, which copurified with TAP-tagged AHA1. In conclusion, we have generated transgenic Arabidopsis lines in which a TAP-tagged AHA1 transgene has complemented all essential endogenous AHA1 and AHA2 functions and have shown that these plants can be used to purify AHA1 protein and to identify in planta interacting proteins by mass spectrometry.
Ares V: Enabling unprecedented payloads for Space in the 21st century

The need for a national heavy lift capability to support science, exploration, national security, and commerce has been highlighted by numerous technical and programmatic studies since the Apollo Program ended in the early 1970s.12 Now the Ares V cargo launch vehicle (CaLV) promises to restore and improve on the Saturn capability, providing unprecedented capability, not only for larger, heavier payloads, but also as a means of reducing risk in payload design, and increase project sustainability through design and operations efficiencies. The Ares V is part of NASA's Constellation Program, which seeks to provide an architecture to support the International Space Station, replace the current Space Transportation System, and expand human exploration beyond low Earth orbit (LEO). While Ares V is at an early point in its development, it benefits from significant progress on Ares I crew launch vehicle. In addition, Ares V physical design and operational concept have progressed through hundreds of iterations, largely through internal NASA analysis. NASA has reached out to potential users of a heavy-lift capability to begin a dialog that will improve vehicle/payload interactions. This paper provides an overview of the Ares V mission, development, design trades, current configuration, and implications for payload development.
Donor chimerism and gene correction with low dose irradiation and retroviral-mediated gene transfer (Rmgt) In murine x-linked chronic granulomatous disease (X-cgd)

Abstract Our laboratory has reported the correction of neutrophil NADPH oxidase function by RMGT in murine X-CGD. Few studies, however, have employed nonmyeloablative conditioning with RMGT. We have evaluated the effect of radiation dose on donor chimerism using a congenic C57B1/6, B6.SJL mouse model. At six months post-transplant, blood cells from recipients given 20 × 10 6 fresh marrow cells and 160 or 300 cGy conditioning were 50.8 ± 14% and 82.8 ± 5.4% donor in origin, respectively. This chimerism has been stable for up to 12 months. The long-term repopulating ability (LTRA) of irradiated marrow was determined using the competitive repopulation assay. Marrow from mice given 160 or 300 cGy competed 22% or 7% as well as fresh competitor cells, respectively. We next mock-transduced marrow cells on a non-virus producing packaging cell line to examine the effects of the 5 day in vitro transduction process. Mock-transduced cells completely repopulated the marrow of lethally irradiated hosts, but recipients given 160 cGy and 20 × 10 6 mock-transduced cells showed 18.8 ± 6.1% donor chimerism at six months, compared to 50.8 ± 14% for fresh marrow. Finally, X-CGD marrow cells were transduced with MSCV-m91neo, and 20 × 10 6 transduced cells were transplanted into 160 cGy X-CGD recipients. At 4 months post-transplant, we detected 6.6 ± 5.9% corrected neutrophils by NBT assay; 1100 cGy recipients given 2 × 10 6 transduced cells had 54.2 ± 6.8% NBT positive neutrophils. These results show that low dose irradiation decreases host marrow LTRA, that ex vivo culture of donor cells for RGMT impairs subsequent engraftment, and that low numbers of gene-corrected cells can be detected following RMGT and nonmyeloablative conditioning.
In-plane flexure-based clamp

Abstract This paper presents the design of a simple flexure-based clamp that may be used in experimental set-ups to hold cylindrical and flat components in the plane of a mounting plate. While it is easy to clamp cylindrical components normal to the plane of a mounting plate, effective in-plane clamp designs are relatively less common due to practical fabrication challenges. The proposed design provides a well-distributed clamping force while avoiding localized stress concentration, and is simple to fabricate using standard machining processes. Additionally, it allows adjustability in the axial position of the component being held prior to clamping, and also provides self-aligning and self-correcting capabilities. Several examples where this clamp design has been successfully employed are presented. A simple model is developed to provide physical and analytical insight into the relation between the clamp's geometric dimensions and performance. These results are validated via finite elements analysis. Several alternate in-plane clamp designs are also proposed.
Imidazoline I1 receptor-induced activation of phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C elicits mitogen-activated protein kinase phosphorylation in PC12 cells

Abstract In the present study, we tested the hypothesis that the activation of imidazoline I 1 -receptor, which is coupled to phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C, results in downstream activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase (p42 mapk and p44 mapk isoforms) in PC12 cells. PC12 cells pretreated with nerve growth factor (50 ng/ml, 48 h) to initiate neuronal differentiation were incubated with [methyl- 3 H]choline and [ 3 H]myristate. Activation of imidazoline I 1 receptor by rilmenidine (10 μM) caused time-dependent increases in diacylglycerol accumulation and phosphocholine release. The Western blotting analysis showed that rilmenidine (10 μM) produced a time-dependent activation of p42 mapk and p44 mapk that reached its maximum at 15 min and returned to control levels after 30 min. This finding was confirmed by immunofluorescence labeling of activated mitogen-activated protein kinase in the same model system. Efaroxan (imidazoline I 1 -receptor antagonist) or tricyclodecan-9-yl-xanthogenate (D609, phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C inhibitor) attenuated the phosphorylation of p42 mapk and p44 mapk induced by rilmenidine. Nerve growth factor-induced phosphorylation of both mitogen-activated protein kinase isoforms was not affected by D609. These results support the hypothesis that the activation of the imidazoline I 1 receptor coupled phosphatidylcholine-specific phospholipase C results in the downstream activation of mitogen-activated protein kinase.