cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Collocation with Non-Gaussian Correlated Parameters via a New Quadrature Rule

This paper generalizes stochastic collocation methods to handle correlated non-Gaussian random parameters. The key challenge is to perform a multivariate numerical integration in a correlated parameter space when computing the coefficient of each basis function via a projection step. We propose an optimization model and a block coordinate descent solver to compute the required quadrature samples. Our method is verified with a CMOS ring oscillator and an optical ring resonator, showing $3000\times$ speedup over Monte Carlo.
Multi-scale energy systems engineering for optimal natural gas utilization

Abstract Due to advances in hydraulic fracturing and horizontal drilling, the abundance of inexpensive natural gas has revolutionized the energy industry. As the world population increases, natural gas will play a prominent role in satisfying new energy demands and transitioning society toward cleaner and more sustainable energy. Natural gas is a flexible energy resource that can be utilized for electric power generation, heating, transportation fuel, and synthesizing commodity chemicals. Given the numerous alternatives, a methodology for analyzing and optimizing natural gas utilization is necessary to construct efficient, reliable, affordable, and environmentally conscious natural gas systems. Multi-scale energy systems engineering is a holistic approach that considers the impact different spatial and temporal scales have toward the design and optimization of an overall energy system. Accurately capturing atomic, molecular, unit, process, and supply chain characteristics and their interactions are all important toward the optimal energy system design. We showcase the applicability of the multi-scale energy systems engineering for optimizing natural gas systems such as novel conversion technologies, integrated processing plants, and supply chain networks. Without considering the effects of different scales in a systematic integrated way, we risk converging on suboptimal energy systems.
Tipping policy effects on customer satisfaction: An informative failure to replicate

Abstract Analysis of online reviews indicates that Royal Caribbean’s abandonment of tipping on March 1, 2013 had no reliable effect on its customers’ ratings of either the overall cruise experience or the cruise service/staff. This finding stands in opposition to previous studies which reported that customer satisfaction and service ratings fell after organizations abandoned voluntary tipping policies in contexts where tipping is normative. Since tipping is no longer common in the cruise industry, the failure to replicate suggests that earlier effects were probably caused by people’s subjective preference for the tipping policies they were used to in those contexts rather than by tipping’s actual effects on service delivery.
Swedish Competition Authority's Proposed Market Study of Digital Platforms, Comment of the Global Antitrust Institute, Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University

This comment is submitted by the Global Antitrust Institute (GAI) at the Antonin Scalia Law School, George Mason University to the Swedish Competition Authority regarding its proposed market study of digital platforms. The GAI Competition Advocacy Program provides a wide range of recommendations to facilitate adoption of economically sound competition policies.
Influence of Post-harvest Circulatory Rinse on Tenderness and Objective Color of Cow Striploin Steaks

ObjectivesWhole muscle cuts from cows are often less tender than cuts from young fed beef due to increased collagen cross-linking associated with animal age. The injection of a rinse solution through the carotid artery following exsanguination has been shown to improve tenderness. The objective of this study was to compare the effect of a post-harvest rinse of an isotonic solution through the circulatory system on tenderness of steaks from cows.Materials and MethodsCows (n = 28) were randomly assigned to carcass treatments. The carcass treatments consisted of non-rinsed control (n = 14) and a rinsed (n = 14) treatment, where a chilled isotonic solution (MPSC, Inc., St. Paul, MN) was rinsed through the carotid artery and veins following exsanguination. The isotonic solution consisted of water, glucose, maltose and phosphates. Both control and rinsed treatments were electrically stimulated. At 2 d postmortem, strip loins were removed from one side of each carcass. Strip loins were fabricated into 2.54 cm steaks at 3 d postmortem and objective color measurements (L*, a* and b*) were recorded on a single steak after a 30-min bloom period. Steaks were vacuum packaged and aged at 4°C for 7, 14, and 21 d. Following aging, steaks were frozen (–20°C) for future analysis. Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) was used to measure tenderness. Frozen steaks were thawed at 4°C for 24 h before cooking. Internal temperature was monitored on all steaks using a digital thermometer that was placed in the center of each steak. Steaks were cooked on an electric clamshell grill to an internal temperature of 71°C. Peak cook temperature was recorded for each steak. Following cooking, steaks were cooled at 4°C and allowed to equilibrate to room temperature (20°C). Six cores (1.27 cm) were removed from each steak and sheared perpendicular to the muscle fiber orientation. The peak force was recorded for each core and the average calculated for each steak. Data were analyzed using the MIXED procedure of SAS (SAS Inst. Inc., Cary, NC). Shear force data were analyzed as a repeated measure with time and treatment as fixed variables. Color data were analyzed as a completely randomized design using treatment as the fixed variable. Statistical significance was considered at an α of P 0.05) from those aged 7 or 21 d. Objective color was not impacted by rinse treatment (P > 0.05).ConclusionThese data suggest that the application of a post-harvest rinse with an isotonic solution through the circulatory system improves the tenderness of cow steaks but does not influence objective color.
Corporate Board Practices in the S&P 500 and Russell 3000: 2019 Edition

The study documents corporate governance trends and developments at 2,854 companies registered with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that filed their proxy statement in the January 1 to November 1, 2018 period and, as of January 2018, were included in the Russell 3000 Index. Data are based on disclosure included by companies in proxy statements and other periodic SEC reports as well as on other organizational and policy documents (charters, bylaws, board committee charters, and corporate governance principles) accessible through the EDGAR database and the investor relations section of corporate websites. For comparative purposes, data are compared with the S&P 500 index and segmented by 11 business sectors under the Global Industry Classification Standard (GICS), five annual revenue groups, and three asset value groups.
Development of smart irrigation systems based on real-time soil moisture data in a greenhouse: Proof of concept

Abstract A reasonable estimation of crop water uptake depth (WUD) provides vital prerequisites for determining scientific irrigation scheduling. However, real-time acquisition of crop WUD to guide irrigation has not been reported. In the current study, a smart irrigation system based on real-time soil moisture data was developed, in which the dynamic crop WUD was estimated using the spatiotemporal characteristics of soil moisture distributions. Subsequently, the data of crop WUD were acquired using a central irrigation controller to achieve a precise irrigation depth at each irrigation event. A drip irrigation experiment for tomato (Lycopersicum esculentum) planting was conducted in a greenhouse in northern China. Wireless soil moisture sensors were installed to collect real-time soil moisture data from a 0–100 cm soil profile. Soil moisture exhibited a ladder trend for 0–60 cm and a stable trend for 60–100 cm. A regression equation (WUDi = −0.0119d2 + 1.9387d - 6.5795, R2 = 0.89) quantifying the dynamic depth of crop water uptake was successfully obtained based on the characteristics of soil moisture distribution, and a water-saving scheme (i.e., irrigation to real-time crop WUD) was determined to guide every irrigation event via a remote automatic irrigation system. Tomato evapotranspiration (ET) calculated using soil moisture data was consistent with that calculated using indoor meteorological data, confirming the reliability of real-time soil moisture data for estimating the tomato WUD. The tomato irrigation water use efficiency (IWUE) of the established system reached 41.23 kg/m3, which was an evident improvement compared with that obtained using a traditional irrigation scheme (31.58 kg/m3). In addition, the IWUE of tomato in the established system was almost approached that of the previously published results. The findings of this study highlight the importance of reasonable water-saving irrigation scheduling and provide insights into the development of an efficient and automatic irrigation system.
Legal and Regulatory Aspects of Implant Performance and Failure

The present and future influences of products liability litigation and federal regulation in reducing risks stemming from the use of surgical implants are analyzed by focusing on the determination of the sources or causesof implant failure in addition to the mechanisms of failture. Where risk levels can be shown to be currently low, monitoring sources of failure rather than regulating by standards or premarket approval is recommended. Current trends in products liability litigation and federal regulation are reviewed and shown to reveal a tendency toward requiring a more open disclosure of source-of-failure information and also a tendency toward the development of performance standards for informational, as well as level-setting, purposes. A seriated trial format is proposed for use in products liability cases involving medical devices, both to increase the quality of litigation and to eliminate nonmeritorious negligence per se actions as well. The use of litigation results and field-failure experience in developing performance tests for hip nails is presented and shown to be useful in providing information to surgeons and in stimulating device improvements.
Peer Support for Substance Use Disorders

The clinical approach to treating substance use disorders (SUD) is often complemented by the use of nonclinical, mutual aid services (e.g., 12-Step programs). Currently these represent the primary institutions for treating SUD. While beneficial for some, this approach does not reflect the numerous pathways to recovery. Moreover, there are significant unmet needs in the current approach to treatment. Many people requiring treatment do not have access, and many of those who obtain treatment do not achieve long-standing remission. Some models of recovery are incorporating the use of peers who provide support in the form of shared, lived experience. While peers are already a salient component to mutual aid work, this initiative involves using peers in structured roles to help deliver and enhance clinical care and facilitate connection to the numerous resources – in addition to mutual aid – that can help establish an environment where long-standing recovery can flourish. Research into the use of these peer-based recovery support services is promising, though it should be said that this area of study is in its infancy and requires more attention before concluding the best practice for utilizing peers. This chapter focuses on exploring the use of peer support as an exciting option that has the potential to target existing gaps in both formal and informal treatment models. It summarizes what is known about the positive impacts of peer support on alcohol and other drug-related disorders and proposes that peer services could meaningfully impact the future of addiction treatment by improving access to treatment, enhancing engagement to treatment, and promoting the framework for long-standing success.
Incident Dementia, Glycated Hemoglobin (HbA1c) Levels, and Potentially Preventable Hospitalizations in People Aged 65 and Older With Diabetes.

Background To determine whether incident dementia and HbA1c levels are associated with increased rates of potentially preventable hospitalizations (PPH) in persons with diabetes. Methods 565 adults age 65+ ever treated for diabetes were from ACT study. PPH were from principal discharge diagnoses and included diabetes PPH (dPPH), respiratory PPH (rPPH), urinovolemic PPH (uPPH), cardiovascular, and other PPH. Poisson generalized estimating equations estimated rate ratios (RR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) for the associations between dementia or HbA1c measures and rate of PPH. Results 562 individuals contributed 3602 dementia-free years, and 132 individuals contributed 511 dementia follow-up years. 128 (23%) dementia-free individuals had 210 PPH admissions and a crude rate of 58 per 1000 person-years while 55 (42%) individuals with dementia had 93 PPH admissions, a rate of 182 per 1000 person-years. The adjusted RR (95% CI) comparing rates between dementia and dementia-free groups were 2.27 (1.60, 3.21) for overall PPH; 5.90 (2.70, 12.88) for dPPH; 5.17 (2.49, 10.73) for uPPH, and 2.01 (1.06, 3.83) for rPPH. Compared with HbA1c of 7-8% and adjusted for dementia, the RR (95% CI) for overall PPH was 1.43 (1.00, 2.06) for >8% and 1.18 (0.85, 1.65) for 8% and Conclusion Incident dementia is associated with higher rates of PPH among people with diabetes, especially PPHs due to diabetes, UTI, and dehydration. Potential evidence suggested that HbA1c levels of >8% vs. lower levels are associated with higher rates of overall, UTI and dehydration-related PPHs.
Investigation of sedimentary records of Hurricane Irma in sinkholes, Big Pine Key, Florida:

Few paleotempestological studies have focused on coastal sinkholes, a common feature in Florida, which can receive and preserve storm overwash sediments. The major goal of this research is to impro...
The complete mitochondrial genome of the chocolate chip sea cucumber Isostichopus badionotus (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea)

The chocolate chip sea cucumber, Isostichopus badionotus (Selenka 1867), is an ecologically and biomedically important species. In this study, we report the complete mitogenome sequence of the sea cucumber, I. badionotus (Echinodermata: Holothuroidea). The mitochondrial genome consisted of 16,319 bp, with 13 protein-coding genes, 22 tRNA genes, and 2 rRNA genes. The total nucleotide composition consisted of 31.61% A, 29.20% T, 23.48% C, 15.71% G, with a high A + T content of 60.81%. Phylogenetic analysis using the complete mitochondrial genome of I. badionotus is helpful in studying the evolution of beneficial adaptations to aid in bioremediation and biomedical research and development.
The potential of the private sector in combating water scarcity: The economics

Abstract Water scarcity is increasing across the globe. We discuss how the private sector and private investment can assist in the fight against water scarcity, especially in advanced and middle-income economies. We first lay out from an economic perspective why local, regional, and national governments have traditionally played an outsized role in providing water security. We next describe a whole set of possible roles for the private sector, ranging from a fully privatized water sector to more limited public–private partnerships (PPPs), corporate social responsibility (CSR), and impact investment that may take place independent of the public sector. The theoretical and empirical underpinnings of an argument for greater private involvement emerge from reassessing the traditional view of the water sector as a natural monopoly with increasing returns to scale, as well as from contract theory that emphasizes how carefully written contracts imply control but do not require public ownership at all times. Rising water scarcity and water infrastructures badly in need of an upgrade in many places point to public institutions and societies not meeting the social and environmental challenge, which opens the door for private initiatives in the form of corporate social responsibility and impact investing.
Skin Cancer Incidence in Organ Transplant Recipients Referred for Benign Skin Conditions.

Background Solid organ transplant recipients (SOTRs) are at ∼100-fold increased risk for developing skin cancers compared with the general population, with increased morbidity and mortality. These patients are closely followed by dermatology; however, it is unclear how referral reasons from nondermatologic providers affect care in these patients. Objective This study examines the reason SOTRs are referred to dermatologic care by nondermatologic providers as a potential predictor of nonmelanoma skin cancer (NMSC) outcomes. Materials and methods A retrospective case-control study was conducted with the records of 353 adult SOTRs referred to a specialized transplant dermatology clinic within an academic tertiary care center between 2007 and mid-2012. Results Eighty-one patients were diagnosed with 491 total premalignant and malignant skin lesions. A considerable proportion of patients diagnosed with NMSC were referred for benign skin conditions such as rash or acne. Conclusion These results indicate that some SOTRs referred to dermatology for benign skin disorders are incidentally diagnosed with cutaneous malignancies; this is concerning given that referrals for benign skin conditions may delay appropriate care for cutaneous malignancies and preventative care. Better risk stratification, improved interdisciplinary collaboration, and prompt referrals for dermatologic care are needed in the care of SOTRs.
Directors’ and officers’ legal liability insurance and audit pricing

Abstract Directors’ and officers’ (D&O) legal liability insurance is commonly provided to corporate executives and directors. Prior literature suggests managers are more willing to engage in opportunistic behaviors when their personal assets are more protected from litigation risk. Therefore, information about D&O policy details is potentially useful in assessing potential managerial opportunism. However, many countries, including the U.S., do not require firms to disclose this information. We provide evidence on whether mandatory D&O disclosures are likely to provide information about managerial opportunism that is incremental to that provided by other sources of information using a sample of Canadian firms, who are required to make D&O disclosures. We examine the association between excess D&O coverage limits and audit fees since auditors have extensive private information about the likelihood of managerial opportunism and strong incentives to incorporate this information into their audit fees. We find a positive association between excess D&O coverage limits and audit fees after controlling for numerous other audit fee determinants, including other proxies for managerial opportunism such as discretionary accruals and corporate governance variables. Additional analyses suggest auditors are more sensitive to potential managerial opportunism when managers are more likely to act on their opportunistic incentives. We also find a positive association between excess D&O coverage limits and the likelihood of future shareholder litigation. Our findings suggest that D&O insurance disclosures convey incremental information to shareholders and other capital market participants. As such, they suggest a beneficial role for mandatory D&O disclosures.
“Why Does the Way of the Wicked Prosper?”: Teaching the Holocaust in the Land of Jim Crow

The process of confronting a difficult past is the educational imperative of the humanities and social sciences in the new century. English historian Arnold Toynbee once said that, if he had grown up in the South in the 1890s, he would know that “history has happened here”. Southern Americans still feel that way, and it colours how they see world events. Many of the ideas associated with the human rights movement had their origins after World War II in reconsiderations of American slavery and the effort to understand the Holocaust. This essay follows the researcher’s journey from Brooklyn, New York, in the late 1940s, to the deep South in the 1960s and 1970s, and in recent years to eastern Europe, in search of historical memory and the tools of reconciliation.
Gender, Labor and Progressive Coalitions Working the Vote: Grass Roots Mobilizations for Registration & Early Voting in the 2008 Election

Women’s movement organizations were central to the increased voter turnout in the 2008 United States elections. Based on fieldwork in Washington, D.C., we analyze the GOTV (Get Out the Vote) strategies of gendered interests in the 2008 election. Our work adds to the literature on social movements and political action, the strengths and weaknesses of coalitions, the official, overt and formal as well as from within efforts to incorporate gendered interests and agendas into political parties and institutions.
First-principles-driven control of the rotational transform profile in high performance discharges in the DIII-D tokamak

In this work, a first-principles-driven, control-oriented, nonlinear, partial-differential-equation model of the poloidal flux profile evolution is utilized to design a feedback control algorithm to regulate the rotational transform profile in the DIII-D tokamak. The control goal is to regulate the rotational transform profile, which is related to the poloidal flux profile, around a particular target profile. A singular value decomposition of the nominal plasma model at steady state is carried out to decouple the system and identify the most relevant control channels. A mixed sensitivity H∞ control design problem is formulated to synthesize a stabilizing feedback controller to minimize the reference tracking error with minimal control energy. Simulations based on the first-principles-driven model show that the H∞ controller is capable of regulating the system around the target i profile in the presence of disturbances. When compared to a previously designed data-driven model-based controller, the proposed first-principles-driven model-based controller shows potential for improving the control performance.
Studies on in vitro availability, degradation, and thermal properties of naltrexone-loaded biodegradable microspheres

Purpose: Following the report that continuous exposure of naltrexone (NTX) to drug-dependent pregnant women is safe and effective, the work was designed to develop NTX-loaded controlled delivery systems capable of making NTX available from 1 month to 4 months or greater by a single parenteral administration. Such drug-delivery systems will be useful in alleviating problems such as fetal alcohol syndrome in pregnant women and other problems associated with alcoholism.Methods: These studies were designed to investigate in vitro drug availability and microsphere degradation (investigated by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) peak areas of water-soluble fragments released into incubation medium, changes in molecular weight with degradation time, and changes in the glass transition temperature with degradation time) of NTX-loaded poly(d,l-lactide-co-glycolide) (PDLLAGA) microspheres.Results: Data showed that in vitro drug availability and degradation were affected by the initial molecular weight of the copoly...
Osipov: The ‘Russian Lanchester’

Abstract In 1915, practically contemporaneously with lanchester, M. Osipov published a remarkable series of articles in the Tzarist Russian Journal Military Collection . These articles contain a complete analysis of what in the West has conventionally been called Lanchester's square law. A new translation of Osipov's work has recently been completed, which will make it easier for Western military analysts to appreciate its merits.
PRODUCTION FLOW CONTROL FOR A MANUFACTURING SYSTEM WITH FLEXIBLE ROUTINGS

We study the dynamic routing problem for a flexible manufacturing system consisting of two unreliable machines and a finite buffer. One product-type is produced which requires two operations in sequence. The demand rate is assumed to be constant. Each machine is capable of performing both operations. The objective is to trace the demand while keeping the work-in-process low and the cycle-time short. An optimal control formulation is established for the dynamic routing problem. A production flow control algorithm is developed based on a combination of mathematical modeling and heuristics. The control policy is simulated and a comparison with the numerical optimal solution shows that it performs well for the instances under consideration.
Simple Techniques to Improve Teacher-Made Instructional Materials for Use by Pupils With Disabilities

Although pupils with disabilities are spending more time within the general education classroom, teachers have shown variable levels of willingness and interest in modifying their instruction to meet the needs of these pupils. Studies have indicated that simple modifications are the most likely to be implemented. This study surveyed resource teachers to determine how frequently paper and teacher-made paper instructional materials were being used in general education classrooms, and how those materials might be modified to enhance the likelihood of successful access by all students, including those with disabilities.
Serotonin Transporter mRNA in Rat Brain Is Regulated by Classical Antidepressants

In this study, we have investigated the effect of classical antidepressant on 5-HTt gene expression in rat brain by in situ hybridization histochemistry, a procedure that allows to quantify specific mRNA molecules in their neuroanatomical context
MAGELLAN: a cognitive map-based model of human wayfinding.

In an unfamiliar environment, searching for and navigating to a target requires that spatial information be acquired, stored, processed, and retrieved. In a study encompassing all of these processes, participants acted as taxicab drivers who learned to pick up and deliver passengers in a series of small virtual towns. We used data from these experiments to refine and validate MAGELLAN, a cognitive map-based model of spatial learning and wayfinding. MAGELLAN accounts for the shapes of participants’ spatial learning curves, which measure their experience-based improvement in navigational efficiency in unfamiliar environments. The model also predicts the ease (or difficulty) with which different environments are learned and, within a given environment, which landmarks will be easy (or difficult) to localize from memory. Using just two free parameters, MAGELLAN provides a useful account of how participants’ cognitive maps evolve over time with experience, and how participants use the information stored in their cognitive maps to navigate and explore efficiently.
Temperature influence on bacterial populations in three aquatic systems

Abstract Effects of temperature changes on bacterial populations in three aquatic systems were studied in the Thermal Effects Laboratory of the USAEC's Savannah River Laboratory. At monthly intervals for 12 months, total plate counts and diversity of heterotrophic, mesophilic bacteria were determined from a natural stream, two artificial streams, and two outdoor ponds. Water for artificial systems was drawn from the natural stream. Effects of changes in ambient temperature were analyzed in natural and artificial streams and in an unheated pond. A second pond was heated above natural stream temperature. Temperature elevation resulted in increased total plate counts in each system. Bacterial diversity increased in all systems during the initial 3–4°C increase in temperature. However, a reduction in diversity occurred when temperature was maintained 4–10°C above the initial ambient temperature. Changes were observed in both nutritional types and genera.
Strangers and Professionals: Positioning Discourse in ESL Teachers’ Work

English Language Learners (ELLs) usually spend most of the school day with regular classroom teachers. The ability of English-as-a-second-language (ESL) teachers to help these students, then, depends in part on their ability to influence how the classroom teachers think of ELL students and ESL itself. One way ESL teachers do this is through “positioning discourses”—discursive practices that connect the children in certain ways to neighborhood reputations, political imagery, policy priorities, and professional responsibilities. This paper examines how ESL teachers in two contrasting school systems produce different kinds of positioning discourses in responding to different contextual constraints and pressures. Drawing on interview data, we show how teachers in an urban setting use elements of neighborhood reputation to position their students, while teachers in a more affluent suburb use discourses of expertise and professional knowledge to reshape the way ESL is understood. Our goals are to explicate how these discourses are produced and used.
Identification of Auger Electrons in GaAs

Auger electrons resulting from across-the-gap recombination are believed to have been identified by their velocity distribution which does not depend on the energy of the exciting photons.
Vegetation Surfaces: A Platform for Pollutant/Parasite Interactions

Above-ground surfaces of higher plants are the site of deposition of a variety of airborne biological materials and atmospheric pollutants. These biological materials (pollen, fungal spores, bacterial cells, waste from insect feeding) and the pollutants (as aerosols, gases, or dissolved in rain) may interact to influence the host plant, the pathogen, or the host/pathogen association. The conditions of the plant’s surface environments can affect the behavior of a pathogen and alter the chemical characteristics of throughfall or stemflow originating at those surfaces. Host-pathogen interactions represent a sensitive indicator of plant stress, since the changes in balance between host and parasite may reveal a subtle abiotic stress long before the response would be detectable in the healthy plant alone. The impact of wet and dry deposition of pollutant materials on the plant surface alone, and on potentially pathogenic organisms, is necessary in order to fully interpret many plant:parasite interactions. This paper discusses examples of pollutant-parasite interactions at the leaf surface to illustrate the role that pollutants can play in the relationship of susceptible host and virulent pathogen.
Origin of the CO Stretch Mode Splitting in the Formic Acid Dimer

The requirements of an electrostatic model of the intermonomer interactions needed to reproduce the CO stretch mode splitting, Δν(CO), in the formic acid dimer have been reexamined in the light of their also being consistent with intermonomer Coulomb and van der Waals energies. The experimental value of Δν(CO) has been reevaluated and is determined to be 71 cm-1. A complete cubic and quartic ab initio anharmonicity correction is found to be 9 cm-1. The remaining harmonic component of Δν(CO) can only be reconciled with the ab initio intermonomer Coulomb energy and the nonnegligible van der Waals energy if atomic dipoles are added to the charges and the charge fluxes of the electrostatic model.
Japan–Africa relations

Japan–Africa relations, by Tukumbi Lumumba-Kasongo, New York, Palgrave Macmillan, 2010, xv + 277 pp., $99.94 (hb), ISBN: 978-0-230-61932-6 A product of several visits to Japan, Tukumbi Lumumba-Kaso...
LITHIUM DISTRIBUTION IN RED BLOOD CELLS AND PLASMA: NMR STUDIES OF RAT BLOOD

Abstract To understand the interaction of lithium (Li + ) with a coadministered drug in both the blood and the brain, we have treated rats with either Li + alone or Li + and a codrug. In this paper we address the important problem of quantitation of intra and extracellular Li + ion contents in blood by the 7 Li-NMR technique and the use of a shift reagent (SR). Although Li + can be studied by atomic absorption techniques, these techniques involve tedious separation of intra- and extracellular components prior to chemical analysis. Magnetic resonance studies on rat blood, in the dose range of 0.5 to 10 meq/kg, indicate that the intracellular red blood cell Li + predominates in the lower dose range of 0.5–1.0 meq/kg. As the lithium dose increases, a significantly larger amount of Li + accumulates in the extracellular volume. Our studies on a number of animals at various doses of LiCl indicate that 7 Li-NMR of blood samples provide a reliable, noninvasive quantification of red blood cell and plasma Li + concentrations. The NMR method was further used to study the effect of coadministered drugs such as thioridazine on the intra- and extracellular Li + concentration of RBCs.
Computing the genus of the 2-amalgamations of graphs

The above authors [2] and S. Stahl [3] have shown that if a graphG is the 2-amalgamation of subgraphsG1 andG2 (namely ifG=G1∪G2 andG1∩G2={x, y}, two distinct points) then the orientable genus ofG,γ(G), is given byγ(G)=γ(G1)+γ(G2)+e, wheree=0,1 or −1. In this paper we sharpen that result by giving a means by whiche may be computed exactly. This result is then used to give two irreducible graphs for each orientable surface.
Impact of group goals, task component complexity, effort, and planning on group performance

This study tested a model asserting that goal difficulty and task component complexity influence group performance by affecting the effort exerted by group members, the amount and quality of their planning, and the timing of their planning(preplanning versus in-process planning). Hypotheses derived from this model were tested in a 2×2 experimental design. Fifty-six groups of 4 students each worked for 15 min building Tinkertoy structures. Results showed that group-goal difficulty influenced group performance through effort; task component complexity influenced performance through the amount of planning performed by group members and the level of effort invested in their work; and the quality of the group's planning process also influenced group performance
Regulation of the fatty acid composition of the membrane phospholipids of Escherichia coli.

Abstract An increase in the dosage of the fabA gene, which codes for the enzyme β-hydroxydecanoyl thioesterase, causes an increase in the unsaturated fatty acyl content of the phospholipids. This increase is small in cells growing at a constant temperature. However, if cells grown at 37 or 42° are shifted to 15°, the rate of unsaturated fatty acyl moiety synthesis approaches twice the rate of a normal strain. These results indicate that the ratio of unsaturated to saturated fatty acyl groups in phospholipids is partially determined by the levels of at least this fatty acid biosynthetic enzyme.
Computation of radar cross section of jet engine inlets

The finite element-boundary integral (FE-BI) method was used to calculate the radar cross section (RCS) of jet engine inlet geometries. Comparisons of numerical results with measurements are shown to demonstrate the capability of the method. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 33: 322–325, 2002; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.10309
The White Bed of Desire in A. S. Byatt's Possession

Abstract The British novelist A. S. Byatt frequently writes about art and color theory in her fiction. In Still Life (1985) Byatt intentionally saturates her text with musings on art and color; bordering on the didactic, she devotes long passages to Van Gogh's chromatics and individual characters' theories on art. With The Matisse Stories (1996) her discussion moves into the theory of complementary colors in the story “Art Work,” through the painter Robin Dennison. Painting for Robin is “a series of problems, really, inexhaustible problems, of light and color, you know” (70). In the 1990 Booker Prize-winning novel Possession: A Romance, however, Byatt theorizes on art and chromatics more indirectly; in fact, she leaves the chromatic spectrum almost entirely, spinning a tale, a text(ile) woven in an achromatic hue: white. I contend that the achromatic color white functions as a trope of desire and imbricates the pairs of lovers and the reader in a longing that can be fulfilled only through reading the whit...
Update on Gestational Diabetes

As the rate of obesity increases in adolescent and adult women in the United States, practitioners of obstetrics see higher rates of gestational diabetes. Recent clinical studies suggest that women with gestational diabetes have impaired pancreatic beta-cell function and reduced beta-cell adaptation resulting in insufficient insulin secretion to maintain normal glycemia. Despite recent evidence that even mild hyperglycemia is associated with adverse pregnancy outcomes, controversies still exist in screening, management, and treatment of gestational diabetes. Initial studies regarding glyburide for treatment of gestational diabetes are promising. Overall, only about half of the women with gestational diabetes are screened in the postpartum period, an ideal time for education and intervention, to decrease incidence of glucose intolerance and progression to type 2 diabetes.
Fuzzy Lattice Neurocomputing Using Weighted Cosine Similarity Measure

In this work, we investigate the effects of changing the underlying inclusion measure used by fuzzy lattice neurocomputing (FLN) classifiers to the cosine similarity measures. We also show that by weighing the contribution of each attribute found in the data set, we can provide additional improvements over simply using an inclusion/similarity measure. Furthermore, we show via experiments using differential evolution and weighted cosine similar measures that the proposed techniques imply significant improvements.
Analytical simulation as a support tool in the decision process “wheels or tracks”

Abstract In the development of a weapon system, the maximization of demands concerning features like fire power, armor and mobility often leads to incompatibilities within the overall systems, to an imbalanced design and excessively high cost. The consequence is a decrease in mission availability. Therefore, system analysis utilizing simulation techniques is being used more and more in the early stages of the development process. This paper describes the application of such simulation techniques to practical cases. First, the development of a system is described by which to select wheeled or tracked running gears for combat vehicles considering the compatibility of fire power, armor, mobility and cost. Secondly, the possible upper weight ranges for wheeled combat vehicles are discussed, using analytical modeling of vehicle mobility as a basis. The methods used in these cases can also be applied to non-military problems.
On the variability of equatorial F-region vertical plasma drifts

Abstract We use incoherent scatter radar measurements from the Jicamarca Observatory to study the variability of equatorial F-region vertical plasma drifts. The daytime average upward drifts do not vary much with solar activity, but the evening upward and the nighttime downward drifts increase from solar minimum to solar maximum. Our data indicate that the quiet-time variability of the Jicamarca vertical drifts is local time, seasonal, and solar cycle dependent. This variability is largest in the dawn–noon sector and during March equinox solar minimum periods, when the midday average upward drift velocity from consecutive magnetically quiet days can often change by more than 10 m / s . The day-to-day variability of the vertical drifts decreases in the afternoon sector and with the increase of solar activity for all seasons. There are several possible processes responsible for the quiet-time plasma drift variability.
Knudsen Flow and the Thermomechanical Effect in a Fermi Liquid.

We show that conventional kinetic theory, based on Fermi liquid theory, disagrees with the recent measurements by Greenwood et al. of the thermomechanical effect in normal liquid3He. The theory predicts that, in the Knudsen or long-free-path regime, dP/dT across a porous plug should be 1/3 of the entropy per unit volume ps. Experimentally, the ratio decreases from ∼4 to ∼1 between 2 mK and 20 mK. The theoretical result does not depend on whether the quasiparticles exchange energy with the walls or whether the scattering is partly specular. We consider possible reasons for the discrepancy between theory and experiment. One alternative approach, which treats the3He in the porous plug as a mesoscopic system, gives the same result as conventional kinetic theory. The relation between the thermomechanical effect in3He and thermoelectricity in metals is also discussed.
Vertebral compression fractures in pediatric patients with Crohn's disease

Osteoporosis is known to be a significant complication of Crohn's disease in adult patients. The association of osteoporosis and the development of vertebral compression fractures is well delineated. This case report describes 5 pediatric patients with Crohn's disease in whom vertebral compression fractures associated with a marked reduction in bone density developed. As in adults, the association of osteoporosis and Crohn's disease in pediatric patients is multifactorial, including corticosteroid use, calcium and vitamin D homeostasis, malnutrition, alteration in sex hormones, and site of disease. At the time of diagnosis of the vertebral fractures, the patients' ages ranged from 10.6 to 16.8 years, they had persistent and severe back pain, and 3 of 5 patients had a decrease in height. They were taking 13.7-41.6 mg/day of corticosteroid, and all 5 patients had terminal ileal involvement. Bone mineral density measured by dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry was well below 2SD from the mean in all patients (z-score, -2.31 to -5.11). Because of the high morbidity and mortality associated with fractures that result from low bone mineral density, medical care of all pediatric patients with Crohn's disease should include an evaluation of bone mineral density.
Modulation of Ryanodine Receptors and the CA2+ ATPase of Sarcoplasmic Reticulum by Antiepileptic Agents

We have previously reported that the benzothiazepines CGP-37157 and K201, inhibit the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca2+-stimulated ATPase (SERCA) and activate ryanodine receptors (RyR). Both compounds were reported to have cardioprotective and/or neuroprotective action during ischemic processes. Our goal is to determine if SERCA and RyRs are also common targets of other agents that prevent cell death during ischemia. Consequently, we studied agents used as “anticonvusivants” or “anti-seizure drugs” that have also been associated with neuronal survival during ischemic processes. To test the effects of these agents on RyR activity were measured Ca2+ leak from SR microsomes, [3H] ryanodine binding of SR microsomes or activity of RyRs reconstituted into planar lipid bilayers. Most of the tested agents (including Valproate, Carbamazepine, Ethosuximide, Rufinamide) had no significant effects on RyR-mediated Ca2+ leak or RyR activitity. Others, such as Sipatrigine and Pimozide, displayed inhibitory action only at high doses. In the presence of ruthenium red, some agents (Sipatrigine, Carbamazepine, Pimozide) decreased the rate of SR Ca2+ loading which indicates inhibitory action on SERCA activity. The effects of these drugs on loading correlated with a decrease in ATPase activity of SERCA-enriched cardiac and skeletal SR fractions. In summary, about a third of the anticonvulsivants utilized as therapeutic agents or as pharmacological tools have an inhibitory action on SERCA. In contrast, they show very little effect on RyRs. Therefore, there seems to be a good correlation between the observed neuroprotective effects of some anti-seizure drugs and the inhibition of SERCA. The results suggest that depletion of Ca2+ stores resulting from SERCA inhibition, although deleterious in the long-term, may help cellular survival during acute pathological processes, such as ischemia, where there is ATP depletion and metabolic stress (Supported by AHA-MWA 12180038).
Wave propagation through a Newtonian fluid contained within a thick-walled. Viscoelastic tube: The influence of wall compressibility

Abstract A previously developed model of wave propagation in a thick-walled incompressible tube is extended to include wall compressibility. The motion of the fluid is assumed to be described by the linearized form of the Navier-Stokes equations. The motion of the wall is described by the equations of classical elasticity theory. The frequency variation of the modulus of rigidity is described by a three parameter relaxation-type model. The Poisson ratio is assumed to be a real parameter. The solutions of the equations of motion are restricted to axisymmetric, long waves. Boundary conditions are used describing the continuity of stress and velocity components in the fluid and the tube. From these boundary conditions, a set of six simultaneous equations in six unknown constants has been obtained. This set of equations has been solved numerically using a digital computer and the propagation constant and hydraulic fluid impedance determined as a function of frequency and system parameters. For constant values of the modulus of rigidity, a decrease in the Poisson ratio causes an increase in the hydraulic fluid impedance, the fluid resistance and the fluid inductance. A decrease in the Poisson ratio decreases the phase velocity of the two roots of the frequency equation. A decrease in the Poisson ratio decreases the transmission per wavelength of the first root but increases that of the second root. The effect of wall compressibility on propagation characteristics is as important as that of the wall viscoelasticity, but the influence of the former on fluid impedance is much greater than that of the latter.
Recurrent basosquamous cell carcinoma of the vulva

Abstract Background. Basosquamous cell carcinoma (BSC) of the vulva is a rare entity with interesting prognostic and therapeutic implications. Currently, there is no definitive treatment due to its low incidence. Case. A case of recurrent BSC of the vulva treated with unilateral radical vulvectomy and unilateral lymph node dissection is reported. Conclusion. BSC is a rare disorder of the vulva. The metastatic potential of this tumor is not fully understood, but likely is intermediate between squamous cell carcinoma and basal cell carcinoma. Local recurrence is common and close follow-up is warranted.
Statistical Analysis of Genetic Counseling Impacts A Multi-Method Approach to Retrospective Date

A double-pronged statistical approach to retrospective data is used to test and develop hypotheses about some impacts of genetic counseling. Both log-linear and discriminant analyses suggest that education and burden centered explanations of postcounseling pregnancies should be modified in favor of a hypothesis based on an interaction of past reproductive experiences and parental desire for children. Log-linear and best subsets regression analyses converge on risk level and socioeconomic status as the key factors accounting for variance in couples' feelings about genetic counseling. Risk level is found to have a questionable effect on postcounseling reproductive behavior while providing the primary impact of all variables explaining couples' feelings about genetic counseling.