cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Some Further Comments on Cultural Relativism1

DURING the past five years, the implications of cultural relativism have been considered at length in at least two books by philosophers and two by anthropologists; some of its specific points have been analyzed in papers by psychologists, economists, and semanticists; it has been the subject of one of the Huxley Lectures of the Royal Anthropological Institute; it has received formal discussion by the Eastern Division of the American Philosophical Association and by the Humanities Panel of Oberlin College. This is not the place to analyze the reasons for this interest, since to do so would take more time than is available here and would necessitate moving far beyond the terms of reference of this paper. It is enough, for the moment, to recognize that an important factor in its development is the increasingly felt need to expand the base of formal philosophical thought so as to include the entire range of human culture, rather than to continue its focus on the GraecoRoman tradition which, from the point of view of the total cultural inventory of mankind, has limited its resources and its findings. One is tempted, also, to assess these responses to relativism in terms of ethnopsychology and cultural dynamics. Like the analysis of anthropological reactions I made a few years ago (Herskovits 1951), this could be drawn in terms of "tough-minded" and "tender-minded" orientations. Because whether we consider the metaphysical and axiological implications of relativism, or its relation to perception, cognition, and motivation as manifest in ethical systems, many of these analyses are to be thought of as representing honest but tortuous attempts to surmount deeply inculcated, even subliminal, ethnocentrisms. They represent, in terms of a far-reaching reexamination of preexisting commitments, a very real struggle between the intellectual and emotional components in attitudes long accepted and convictions long held. One manifestation of this conflict is found in the attempts that are made to separate the fact of relativism and its philosophical implications. Thus Schmidt (1955:782), in his critique, says, "I wish to assert now and reaffirm later that I think the fact of cultural relativism is a well established empirical truth. ...." Or Hartung, insisting that a "sharp distinction must be maintained" between cultural variation and cultural relativity-though just where these two have been confused is not stated-explains that "cultural variation refers simply to the differences.. . in the cultural patterns serving the same or similar ends.... The form and degree of this variation are almost endless, and need no further documentation here" (1954:120). In this context, certain satisfactions seem to be gained from pointing out that relativism is nothing new. Schmidt, for example, ends the sentence just quoted by adding "... although I can't resist remarking that it was known by the Sophists of the fifth century
Order and magnitude share a common representation in parietal cortex

The role of the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) in the representation of numerical magnitude is well established. Recently, there has also been speculation that the IPS is involved in the representation of ordinal information as well. These claims, however, overlook the fact that all neuroimaging paradigms in which participants make judgments about either magnitude and/or order result in a behavioral distance effect (i.e., the comparison is easier when the stimuli span a greater distance). This leaves open two possibilities: It may be that activation of the IPS is due to the mechanism that yields distance effects, or it may be that the IPS is involved in the representation of information about both magnitude and order. The current study used fMRI to compare a magnitude task in which participants show distance effects to an order-judgment task that yields reverse-distance effects. The results reveal activation of the IPS for both the magnitude and order tasks that is based on participants' strategies as opposed to the actual distance between the numbers. This leads to the conclusion that the IPS represents a mental number line, and that accessing this line can lead to distance effects when participants compare magnitudes and to reverse-distance effects when participants check for order.
Freeform fabrication of Ti3SiC2 powder-based structures: Part II: Characterization and microstructure evaluation

Abstract Characterization of mechanical, morphological and structural properties of compressive strength, Vickers micro-hardness, damage tolerance, thermal shock, and microstructure evaluation of Ti 3 SiC 2 structures fabricated by the three-stage process of three-dimensional printing, cold isostatic pressurizing and sintering are presented. Experimental data show a linear deformation to failure behavior of the Ti 3 SiC 2 specimens, and comparable properties of compressive strength, hardness, damage tolerance and thermal shock of the three-stage fabricated Ti 3 SiC 2 structures to the reported data of Ti 3 SiC 2 bulk. Results of mechanical characterization of Ti 3 SiC 2 samples also reveal a process-induced anisotropy in compressive strength, damage tolerance and thermal shock properties.
Effect of response effort on the reward value of distinctively flavored food pellets.

This study was designed to test whether distinctively flavored food pellets, used as rewards for lever-pressing by rats, would acquire different reward values as a function of the differential effo...
Clearance and friction-induced dynamics of chain CVT drives

A continuously variable transmission (CVT) is an emerging automotive transmission technology that offers a continuum of gear ratios between desired limits. A chain CVT is a friction-limited drive as its performance and torque capacity rely significantly on the friction characteristic of the contact patch between the chain and the pulley. Moreover, such a CVT is susceptible to clearance formation due to assembly defects or extensive continual operation of the system, which further degrades its performance and leads to early wear and failure of the system. The present research focuses on developing models to understand the influence of clearance and different friction characteristics on the dynamic performance of a chain CVT drive. A detailed planar multibody model of a chain CVT is developed in order to accurately capture the dynamics characterized by the discrete structure of the chain, which causes polygonal excitations in the system. A suitable model for clearance between the chain links is embedded into this multibody model of the chain CVT. Friction between the chain link and the pulley sheaves is modeled using different mathematical models which account for different loading scenarios. The mathematical models, the computational scheme, and the results corresponding to different loading scenarios are discussed. The results discuss the influence of friction characteristics and clearance parameters on the dynamic performance, the axial force requirements, and the torque transmitting capacity of a chain CVT drive.
Cadmium ions and cadmium sulphide particles in γ-titanium dihydrogen phosphate. Synthesis, thermal behaviour and X-ray characterization

Layered compounds with CdS particles supported on the ion-exchanger, γ-titanium dihydrogen phosphate, were prepared by the stepwise reaction of the ion-exchanger and cadmium solution, followed by reaction with H2S gas. The CdS content on the ion-exchanger is dependent on the timeframe of the H2S gas flow. The materials obtained were layered, as shown by the X-ray measurements that exhibit both precursor and CdS diffraction peaks. The thermal treatment of the material obtained gives evidence of its stability (≤ 320°C) before the CdS decomposition, which occurs in a single step.
Image enhancement of polarized images using wavelet orthogonality and biorthogonality

Polarization in optical waveguides is always an aspect of optical loss and consequently impacts device performance. Wavelet image processing allows a means to detect optical signals buried under noise. Orthogonality is an essential element in wavelet bases. Wavelet transforms are orthogonal. They can also be biorthogonal. Wavelet image processing will be applied to laser beam propagation in lithium niobate and nonlinear polymer waveguides to achieve detection of signals below noise and a better understanding of polarization as an aspect of device performance.
Age-dependent alterations in beta-adrenergic responsiveness of rat detrusor smooth muscle.

AbstractThe relaxant effects of norepinephrine (NE, 10 sup -7 to 10 sup -4 M.) and isoproterenol (ISO, 10 sup -9 to 10 sup -4 M.) on maximal KCl-induced tonic contractions and the relaxant effects of ISO on contractions induced by electrical field stimulation (EFS) were measured in detrusor muscle strips obtained from 22-25 day, 90-95 day and 22-month-old male Fischer 344 rats. The maximum relaxant response to NE and ISO on KCl-induced tonic contractions decreased significantly with increasing age. The ED50 values for ISO, but not NE, increased with age. The maximum relaxant response to ISO on EFS-induced contractions also was reduced significantly in the old bladders.The relaxation effects of forskolin (10 sup -6 to 3 X 10 sup -5 M.), dibutyryl cyclic AMP (DBcAMP, 10 sup -4 to 3 X 10 sup -3 M.) and cholera toxin (10 microgram/ml.) were examined on maximal KCl-induced contractions of the muscle strips obtained from the three age groups. The relaxant responses to forskolin decreased significantly with incr...
Manufacturing lead times, system utilization rates and lead-time-related demand

Abstract This paper presents a model to study manufacturing lead time planning problems for make-to-order manufacturing systems facing two types of costomer demand. One type of demand is manufacturing lead-time-sensitive, and higher prices prevail for short lead times; the other type of demand is lead-time-insensitive. The objective is to maximize the expected profit. The form of the optimal policies in terms of manufacturing lead times and customer order-acceptance rates is characterized for the general model developed. It is shown that the optimal policy has the effect of both providing short manufacturing lead times and increasing system utilization rates, while the expected profit is maximized. The specific optimal policies are developed for an application of the general model to a make-to-order manufacturing system modeled as a queueing system.
Simultaneous mapping of transcript ends at single-nucleotide resolution and identification of widespread promoter-associated non-coding RNA governed by TATA elements

Understanding the relationships between regulatory factor binding, chromatin structure, cis-regulatory elements and RNA-regulation mechanisms relies on accurate information about transcription start sites (TSS) and polyadenylation sites (PAS). Although several approaches have identified transcript ends in yeast, limitations of resolution and coverage have remained, and definitive identification of TSS and PAS with single-nucleotide resolution has not yet been achieved. We developed SMORE-seq (simultaneous mapping of RNA ends by sequencing) and used it to simultaneously identify the strongest TSS for 5207 (90%) genes and PAS for 5277 (91%) genes. The new transcript annotations identified by SMORE-seq showed improved distance relationships with TATA-like regulatory elements, nucleosome positions and active RNA polymerase. We found 150 genes whose TSS were downstream of the annotated start codon, and additional analysis of evolutionary conservation and ribosome footprinting suggests that these protein-coding sequences are likely to be mis-annotated. SMORE-seq detected short non-coding RNAs transcribed divergently from more than a thousand promoters in wild-type cells under normal conditions. These divergent non-coding RNAs were less evident at promoters containing canonical TATA boxes, suggesting a model where transcription initiation at promoters by RNAPII is bidirectional, with TATA elements serving to constrain the directionality of initiation.
958. Sleeping Beauty-Mediated Gene Therapy for Colorectal Cancer

The Sleeping Beauty (SB) transposon system combines the advantages of non-viral plasmid based gene transfer with an integrative ability, thus leading to long term expression of the transgene. Our goal is to use the SB transposon system to deliver antiangiogenic and immunostimulatory genes, and to test their antitumor effectiveness in an animal model of colorectal cancer metastases to the liver.
Thermopower and Nernst effect in graphene in a magnetic field

We report measurements of the thermopower $S$ and Nernst signal ${S}_{yx}$ in graphene in a magnetic field $H$. Both quantities show strong quantum oscillations vs the gate voltage ${V}_{g}$. Our measurements for Landau levels of index $n\ensuremath{\ne}0$ are in quantitative agreement with the edge-current model of Girvin and Jonson (GJ). The inferred off-diagonal thermoelectric conductivity ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{xy}$ is consistent in magnitude with GJ's prediction. At the Dirac point $(n=0)$, however, the width of the peak in ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{xy}$ is very narrow. We discuss the physical meaning of the peak width and the puzzle raised by ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}_{xy}$ for states at the Dirac point.
Wartime Lies and Other Testimonies: Jewish-Christian Relations in Buczacz, 1939-1944

This article analyzes events in the East Galician town of Buczacz during World War II on the basis of wartime and postwar accounts by the Jewish, Ukrainian, and Polish inhabitants of the town. The article argues that such testimonies should be treated as historical documents and that they are valuable in reconstructing the events of genocide and communal massacre during the German occupation of Eastern Europe both because they provide different insights into these events from those available in official documentation and because they “save” from oblivion events that cannot be found at all in other documents.
Selection of industrial operators The one-hole test

SUMMARY The one-bole test was developed to provide a situation in which unlike that in the Purdue peghoard and similar teste, the reach, grasp, move and position elements were consistent and their rate of improvement measurable. Results support the hypothesis tlmt measurements of rate of learning or of performance after 600 cycles of practice have a higher concurrent and predictive validity of production output than measurements of initial performance on the test. The one-hole test has a mean predictive validity of 0-75 (N = 228) between test scores and rate of learning in the training school; and a mean concurrent validity of 0-66 [N = 307) between test scores and mean production performance of experienced operators. Norms (N = 1422), reliabilities (W=158) and correlation of the one-hole test scores with anthropometric measurements, personality, intelligence, age and other manual dexterity tests are discussed.
On variability, Simpson's paradox, and the relation between recognition and recall: Reply to Tulving and Flexser.

Tulving and Flexser's (1992) defense of the Tulving-Wiseman law rests on the partitioning of data points into 2 sets, which they call constrained and unconstrained. This dichotomy depends crucially on the implicit assumption that within-condition variance is 0. Simulations are done to show the effects of variability on the maximum contingency that can be displayed by an average 2 x 2 table. The results help explain the form of the regularity known as the Tulving-Wiseman law, as well as the conditions under which exceptions are found. This analysis reinforces the conclusion that the law is an artifact and serves as a reminder of the dangers posed by variability and Simpson's paradox when contingency analyses are done.
Isothiocyanates. A new class of uncouplers.

Abstract This paper describes the uncoupling effect of three isothiocyanates: p -bromophenylisothiocyanate, 4,4′-diisothiocyanatebiphenyl and β-naphtylmethylisothiocyanate on the respiration of Ehrlich-Lettre cells and isolated mitochondria. The isothiocyanates are similar to other uncouplers (such as 2,4-dinitrophenol and carbonyl cyanide p -trifluoromethoxyphenylhydrazone) in that they: 1. stimulate respiration of state 4 mitochondria; 2. stimulate mitochondrial ATPase activity; 3. release the inhibition of mitochondrial respiration by oligomycin and 4. inhibit both mitochondrial respiration and mitochondrial ATPase activity at higher molar concentrations. The uncoupling activity of these isothiocyanates correlates well with their biological activity. Maximal activation of a latent mitochondrial ATPase activity of rat liver mitochondria in the presence of p -bromophenylisothiocyanate was found at a concentration of 15 μM. The investigated isothiocyanates differ significantly in their solubility in organic solvents and their chemical reactivity. We assume that the greater the partition coefficient in a series of isothiocyanates grouped according to the increasing value of log P (partition coefficient for the system octanol/water, 25 °C), the greater will be their uncoupling activity, but only up to a certain degree. Any further increase of log P will be marked by a decrease of this activity.
Agenda Setting and Priming Effects Based on Information Presentation: Revisiting Accessibility as a Mechanism Explaining Agenda Setting and Priming

In three experiments, this investigation evaluated the sufficiency of construct accessibility in explaining individual-level agenda setting and priming outcomes. Participants were exposed to an issue presented within a story from a respected news source (e.g., New York Times), a story from an unknown individual's blog, a story from a respected non-news organization (e.g., National Geographic), a crossword puzzle from a respected news source, or a crossword puzzle from an online game website. Story and crossword content was constant across the different sources. Participants responded either to a measure of implicit priming or to the traditional agenda setting question asking what the most important issue in the nation is. Priming effects were robust across presentation context, indicating a successful increase in temporary accessibility. Agenda setting effects were strongest when information came from news than from non-news sources, regardless of whether the issue was presented within a story or crosswor...
sirolimus eluting stents

The sirolimus-eluting stent (SES) Cypher was the first commercially available drug-eluting stent. The use of this stent has resulted in significantly lower rates of restenosis and lesion revascularization compared to bare metal stents and balloon angioplasty. In this review, angiographic and clinical outcomes in patients treated with SES are compared to those treated with bare metal stents and other drug-eluting stents. Furthermore, efficacy and safety outcomes of SES in complex lesions (left main stenosis, bifurcation lesions, chronic total occlusions, long lesions and small vessels) and high risk populations (diabetes and acute myocardial infarction) are presented.
Sequential changes of thymocyte surface antigens with presence or absence of graft-vs-host reaction following allogeneic bone marrow transplantation

Abstract Lethally irradiated AKR mice were reconstituted with C57BL/6 bone marrow cells. Though the allogeneic marrow transplantation protected AKR recipients from acute irradiation deaths, the mice given unmanipulated marrow developed severe GVHR disease, and 80% died within 50 days. The thymus and spleen from the recipient mice, following recovery of body weight between the 10th and 20th days, gradually involuted and became miniscule after Day 30. Thymocytes from recipients were found to be entirely of donor cell type by Day 15. Thereafter, however, as the graft versus host reaction (GVHR) developed, changes in sensitivity of the thymocytes to four different alloantisera directed toward donor histocompatibility antigens (H-2b, Thy 1.2, Lyt 1.2, and Lyt 2.2) were observed and these changes were associated with changes in antigen expression or quantity of Thy 1 antigens on the thymocytes. A different pattern of changes was observed in antigen expression on thymocytes in mice given B6 marrow cells that had been pretreated with anti-Thy 1 serum which prevented initiation of graft-vs-host disease and in the mice which received marrow not so treated and which regularly led to graft-vs-host disease. By contrast, the amount of H-2 antigen on the thymocytes from chimeras with or without GVHR was elevated equally. The mechanisms of these changes are discussed.
Long range dipole-dipole interactions between Rb atoms probed by wavepackets and parametric four wave mixing

Dipole-dipole interactions between Rb atoms at internuclear distances 100-1000 Aring are probed at noncryogenic conditions, based on femtosecond laser parametric four wave mixing and wavepacket modulation. Theoretical analysis of the novel results is offered.
New-generation diabetes management: glucose sensor-augmented insulin pump therapy

Diabetes is one of the most common chronic disorders with an increasing incidence worldwide. Technologic advances in the field of diabetes have provided new tools for clinicians to manage this challenging disease. For example, the development of continuous subcutaneous insulin infusion systems have allowed for refinement in the delivery of insulin, while continuous glucose monitors provide patients and clinicians with a better understanding of the minute to minute glucose variability, leading to the titration of insulin delivery based on this variability when applicable. Merging of these devices has resulted in sensor-augmented insulin pump therapy, which became a major building block upon which the artificial pancreas (closed-loop systems) can be developed. This article summarizes the evolution of sensor-augmented insulin pump therapy until present day and its future applications in new-generation diabetes management.
Trajectory tracking of cart-pendulum dynamics using multiple time-delayed feedback

A trajectory tracking problem is investigated for a linear time-invariant (LTI) underactuated dynamics using a fixed control law. Differently from the traditional treatment, a possible occurrence of multiple time delays in the feedback control is also considered. It is known that such time-delayed LTI systems may exhibit multiple stable operating zones (pockets) in the space of the delays. The tasks that are undertaken here are the determination of these pockets analytically, the utilisation of them for stabilisation and relevant experimental validation. The practical objective of the study is to accomplish a successful trajectory tracking for an underactuated mechanical system, cart-and-pendulum dynamics, under the presence of multiple and independent time delays. First, the authors model the system as accurately as possible, and select a desirable fixed control law for the non-delayed feedback structure. The authors then investigate the stability map corresponding to this fixed control strategy when unpreventable delays occur in the feedback. This is done using a recent methodology, which is called the cluster treatment of characteristic roots (CTCR). The authors also experimentally verify the analytical findings of CTCR and deploy a counterintuitive control strategy called the 'delay scheduling' based on the knowledge obtained from CTCR. If there is an unavoidable delay composition which renders unstable behaviour, the 'delay scheduling' suggests increasing the delays further in order to recover stability, even for underactuated systems.
A software debugger interface for an 8051 hardware model

A VHDL model of the 8051 microcontroller is a key component for a course in hardware-software codesign, in its second year of development at University of Missouri-Rolla. Our paper discusses a software-centric user interface developed for this model using Tcl/Tk. preliminary experience with using the debugger in an undergraduate laboratory is discussed.
Cell-Cycle Perturbations Suppress the Slow-Growth Defect of spt10Δ Mutants in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Spt10 is a putative acetyltransferase of Saccharomyces cerevisiae that directly activates the transcription of histone genes. Deletion of SPT10 causes a severe slow growth phenotype, showing that Spt10 is critical for normal cell division. To gain insight into the function of Spt10, we identified mutations that impair or improve the growth of spt10 null (spt10Δ) mutants. Mutations that cause lethality in combination with spt10Δ include particular components of the SAGA complex as well as asf1Δ and hir1Δ. Partial suppressors of the spt10Δ growth defect include mutations that perturb cell-cycle progression through the G1/S transition, S phase, and G2/M. Consistent with these results, slowing of cell-cycle progression by treatment with hydroxyurea or growth on medium containing glycerol as the carbon source also partially suppresses the spt10Δ slow-growth defect. In addition, mutations that impair the Lsm1-7−Pat1 complex, which regulates decapping of polyadenylated mRNAs, also partially suppress the spt10Δ growth defect. Interestingly, suppression of the spt10Δ growth defect is not accompanied by a restoration of normal histone mRNA levels. These findings suggest that Spt10 has multiple roles during cell division.
Polytopic ligand directed self-assembly—polymetallic [n×n] grids versus non-grid oligomers

This critical review surveys factors involved in the convergent self-assembly of square [n×n] (n = 2–5) polymetallic grids, using ligands with encoded coordination information appropriate to the metal ion’s coordination algorithm. While entropic factors drive these reactions, other effects, including metal ion CFSE, ligand conformational character, electrostatic factors etc., can lead preferentially to non-grid oligomers. It will be of interest to the general supramolecular community, particularly coordination chemists attempting to create predetermined architectures, with applications oriented molecular based properties (86 references).
Studying PubMed usages in the field for complex problem solving: Implications for tool design

Many recent studies on MEDLINE-based information seeking have shed light on scientists’ behaviors and associated tool innovations that may improve efficiency and effectiveness. Few, if any, studies, however, examine scientists’ problem-solving uses of PubMed in actual contexts of work and corresponding needs for better tool support. Addressing this gap, we conducted a field study of novice scientists (14 upper-level undergraduate majors in molecular biology) as they engaged in a problem-solving activity with PubMed in a laboratory setting. Findings reveal many common stages and patterns of information seeking across users as well as variations, especially variations in cognitive search styles. Based on these findings, we suggest tool improvements that both confirm and qualify many results found in other recent studies. Our findings highlight the need to use results from context-rich studies to inform decisions in tool design about when to offer improved features to users.
Analysis of a Two-Hop Centralized Packet Radio Network--Part II: Carrier Sense Multiple Access

We continue in this paper our study of two-hop centralized packet radio networks in view of understanding the behavior of these systems. Traffic originates at terminals, is destined to a central station, and requires for its transport the relaying of packets by store-and-forward repeaters. We consider here that all devices employ the nonpersistent carrier sense multiple-access mode. System capacity and through-put-delay tradeoffs are derived and compared to those obtained for slotted ALOHA in Part I [l].
Transforming Growth Factor β1 Suppresses Genomic Instability Independent of a G1 Arrest, p53, and Rb

Alterations in expression of or responsiveness to transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) are frequently found in human and animal epithelial cancers and are though to be important for loss of growth control in the neoplastic cell. We show here that keratinocyte cell lines from mice with a targeted deletion of the TGF-beta 1 gene have significantly increased frequencies of gene amplification in response to the drug N-phosphonoacetyl-L-aspartate (PALA) compared to TGF-beta 1-expressing control keratinocyte cell lines. In contrast to the control lines, the PALA-mediated G1 arrest did not occur in the TGF-beta 1 null keratinocytes despite the presence of wild-type p53 in both genotypes. Exogenous TGF-beta 1 suppresses gene amplification in the null keratinocytes at concentrations that do not cause a G1 growth arrest and in human tumor cell lines that are insensitive to TGF-beta 1-mediated growth inhibition. The pathway of TGF-beta 1 suppression is independent of the p53 and Rb genes, but requires an intact TGF-beta type II receptor. These studies reveal a novel TGF-beta-mediated pathway regulating genomic stability and suggest that defects in TGF-beta signaling may have profound effects on tumor progression independent of cell proliferation.
Factors Affecting Chicken Bleed Out—A Review

Evaluations of slaughter methods as the criteria for increased blood loss are somewhat difficult to make considering the variation from one experiment to another. For example, Kotula and Helbacka (...
Exploring Java software vocabulary: A search and mining perspective

We conduct a large-scale analysis of Java source code vocabulary for 12,151 open source projects from Source-Forge and Apache, a corpus substantially larger than considered previously. Simple statistical analysis demonstrates robust power-law behavior for word count distributions across multiple program entities. We then identify salient vocabulary trends for classes, interfaces, methods, and fields. Our results provide low-level insight into the vocabulary space governing Java software development, with direct application to program comprehension and software search. Supplementary material may be found at: http://sourcerer.ics.uci.edu/suite2009/suite.html.
Differential power processing architecture for increased energy production and reliability of photovoltaic systems

Conventional energy conversion architectures in photovoltaic (PV) systems are often forced to trade off conversion efficiency and power production. This paper introduces a power processing architecture that enables each PV element to operate at its maximum power point (MPP) while only processing a small fraction of the total power produced. This is accomplished by providing only the mismatch in the MPP current of a set of series-connected PV elements. The differential power processing architecture increases overall conversion efficiency and overcomes the challenges of unmatched MPPs (due to partial shading, damage, manufacturing tolerances, etc.). Local control of the differential converters enables distributed protection and monitoring. The reliability analysis included in this paper shows significantly increased overall system reliability. Simulation and experimental results are included to demonstrate the benefits of this approach.
The Effect of a Managing Diversity Policy on Organizational Attractiveness

An experimental design was employed to assess the impact of a managing diversity policy on participants' ratings of organizational attractiveness. Four hundred forty-eight upper level undergraduate management students were randomly assigned to either a g diversity or a control condition. Subjects were asked to read one of two forms of a recruitment brochure describing a fictitious company and then to rate the attractiveness of the company. As hypothesized, participants in the managing diversity condition rated the organization significantly more positively than did those in the control condition. There were also significant main effects for race and gender that accounted for more variance in the ratings of organizational attractiveness than did the managing diversity manipulation. Non-Whites and women had higher mean organizational attractiveness ratings than Whites and men, respectively. Managerial implications of the findings and future research directions are discussed.
Low-Temperature Monolithic Encapsulation Using Porous-Alumina Shell Anodized on Chip

A thin-film encapsulation process, featuring low-temperature steps, hermetic sealing (preliminary), and RF-compatible shell, is reported. Uniquely attractive as compared with the existing MEMS packaging approaches is its capability to monolithically package metal microstructures inside a microcavity on chip in one continuous surface-micromachining process. The key for this process is a technique to fabricate a large freestanding porous membrane on chip by postdeposition anodization of thin-film aluminum at room temperature. The porous-alumina membrane allows for the diffusion of gas or liquid etchants through the nanopores to etch away the sacrificial material underneath, freeing the movable microstructures encapsulated inside the cavity. To seal the package, a thin film is deposited over the alumina shell whose nanoscale pores of a high aspect ratio (> 30) do not allow any detectable penetration of the sealing material. The low-temperature (<300degC) encapsulation process produced a low-pressure seal (8 torr), monitored by a Pirani pressure gauge that also represents an encapsulated freestanding metal microstructure in the cavity. The thin-film package demonstrated a considerably low RF insertion loss of less than 0.1 dB up to 40 GHz.
Risk Relevance of Fair Value Gains and Losses, and the Impact of Disclosure and Corporate Governance

This study uses variance decomposition analysis to examine the variance contribution of fair value gains and losses (FVGL) relative to net income (NI) in driving security returns for a sample of 180 US commercial banks for the period 2001-2005. I document that FVGL are significant in explaining the volatility of unexpected returns and that the relative importance of FVGL to NI is an increasing function of disclosure and corporate governance. While the effect of disclosure is direct, the effect of corporate governance is indirect and comes via disclosures. Further, I classify disclosures by type of risk and find that the relative variance contribution of FVGL increases with the level of disclosure related to interest rate risk, credit risk and derivatives risk for banks that are exposed to these risks. Overall, the results suggest that FVGL are risk relevant; and that disclosure and corporate governance aid investors in evaluating the risk revelation attributes of fair value estimates.
Social Security and SSI as safety nets for the elderly poor.

Abstract Partial privatization of Social Security is being considered as an integral part of the future Social Security program for American retirees. Because privatization creates uncertainty about the amount of retirement income that future retirees may expect to receive, the issue of a safety net is critical. This article presents the findings from an empirical study that investigated the degree to which the current Social Security and Supplemental Security Income (SSI) programs provide a safety net, separately and in combination, to the elderly poor. The major findings were that the Social Security program not only increases the income statuses of both posttransfer and pretransfer poor elderly people considerably, but that the program also significantly equalizes the distribution of income among them. In addition, the SSI program supplements the Social Security program in establishing an even greater safety net, especially for posttransfer poor elderly people. On the other hand, Social Security benefi...
The promise and pitfalls of systematic conservation planning.

Systematic conservation planning continues to grow as a discipline, revealing both promise and pitfalls for conservation. The article by Kark et al. (1) in this issue of PNAS illustrates this promise, making a clear case for international coordination during conservation. However, it remains unclear how much faith conservationists should have in the utility of large-scale centralized planning exercises or the protected area strategy on which they are based.
The equivalence between the wave propagation method and Bolotin's method in the asymptotic estimation of eigenfrequencies of a rectangular plate

Abstract The Kirchhoff thin plate equation is an important mathematical model in structural dynamics. Because this partial differential equation has order four, analysis of vibration eigenfrequencies is much more complicated than that of a vibrating membrane, whose governing PDE has order two. As a matter of fact, for the simplest rectangular geometry the plate boundary value problems do not even allow the separation of the two space variables, thus one must resort to alternative approaches. Bolotin's method, published in 1961, offers such an asymptotic alternative. More recently, the three authors generalized Keller-Rubinow's wave method to the thin plate equation, constituting a different approach. In this paper, we establish that for various combinations of boundary conditions (clamped, hinged, roller-supported and free), after some conversion the wave method and Bolotin's method yield an identical set of transcendental equations for asymptotic values of the eigenfrequencies of a rectangular plate, thus confirming the equivalence of these two methods.
Dense semiconductor-insulator nanocomposites for navy thermoelectric applications

This work is directed at the fabrication and optical characterization of anisotropic semiconductor composites with improved thermoelectric properties. Specifically, the quest is to dramatically improve the thermoelectric figure-of-merit, ZT, with an emphasis on the effects of "nanoconfinement", and on the crystallographic properties which provide an increase in the electrical-to-thermal conductivity ratio. Current work entails the fabrication of force-oriented nanostructural confinement of Bismuth (Bi) and Bismuth Telluride (Bi/sub 2/Te/sub 3/).
Spectral Lines [When the Past is Not a Preview]

Much time is spent on debating how best to approach the history of engineers and engineering. The stakes are high: Those who define the story of the past inevitably influence the present and the future. Yet telling the story of bygone engineers is difficult because the answer to the above question often says more about who gives the quiz than who takes it.
Stress and Strain

In the first three chapters, we have given a fairly simple description of a solid from the atomic point of view, where we explicitly brought out the connection between the individual atoms, their interactions, and the resulting properties of the solid as a whole. In this chapter, we begin a discussion of the formal theory for the continuum solid; we have already introduced the important concepts of stress and strain, and the elastic moduli that connect them. Here we describe these concepts, and the mathematical theory used to handle them, in more detail.
A Speculative Asset Pricing Model of Financial Instability

I develop a dynamic equilibrium model that incorporates incorrect beliefs about crash risk and use it to explain the available empirical evidence on financial booms and busts. In the model, if a long period of time goes by without a crash, some investors' perceived crash risk falls below the true crash risk, inducing them to take on excessive leverage. Following a drop in fundamentals, these investors de-lever substantially, both because of their high pre-crash leverage and because they now believe future crashes to be more likely. Together, these two channels generate a crash in the risky asset price that is much larger than the drop in fundamentals. The lower perceived crash risk after years with no crashes also means that the average excess return on the risky asset is low at precisely the moment when any crash that occurs would be especially large in size; moreover, it means that, in the event of a crash, some investors may default and banks may sustain large unexpected losses. Finally, the model shows how pre-crash warning signs can generate financial fragility. By reducing investors' optimism, warning signs also increase investors' uncertainty about their beliefs and thereby make them more likely to overreact to future bad news.
Unusual Presentation of Unilateral Isolated Probable Lyme Optic Neuritis

Optic neuritis (ON) is one of the most common manifestations of central nervous system involvement caused by various etiologies. Lyme ON is an exceedingly rare ocular manifestation of Lyme disease (LD) and only a few cases have been published in the literature. Lyme ON is very rare but should be included in the differential diagnosis in unexplained cases, particularly in Lyme endemic areas. Careful and detailed examination and investigation are warranted to make the diagnosis. We report this case to increase awareness of clinicians to include Lyme disease in differential diagnosis of ON for unexplained cases of ON. Herein we present a unique case with a unilateral ON caused by LD along with pre- and posttreatment findings and literature review.
Automated muscle biopsy examiner and reporter (amber-system)

The introduction of the routine histochemical examination of muscle biopsy material with fibre typing and subsequent histoquantitation has led to a great increase in the time required for the processing of a biopsy, the manual measurement of individual fibre size and the correlation of data taking approximately 1½ h per biopsy. To increase efficiency we have used a Hewlett-Packard (H-P) 9815A Bench Top Calculator, coupled with a H-P 9864A Digitiser and H-P 9871A Printer and the average biopsy can now be quantitated in approximately 30 min. The individual muscle fibres are measured using the Digitiser, the Calculator/Printer then gives a virtually instantaneous collation of the data by printing out: (1) a table grouping the fibres by size (in microns) and fibre type; (2) a histogram (indicating normal values for age); and (3) the mean, standard deviation, variability coefficient, atrophy and hypertrophy factors.
Ballistic-Electron-Emission Microscopy (BEEM) Studies of GaInP/GaAs Heterostructures

Ballistic-electron-emission microscopy (BEEM) has been used to study band-offsets in n- and p-type GaInP/GaAs heterostructures. We determine room temperature offsets of 30 meV and 350 meV in the conduction and valence bands, respectively, for thin GaInP layers grown by metal-organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) at 610°C. Low temperature (77 K) measurements also indicate at least 90% of the band discontinuity lies in the valence band for these ordered GaInP samples.
The Maximal Cover Location Model with Hedging Siting Facilities under Uncertainty, a Lead Poisoning Screening Network for the Dominican Republic

The maximal covering location problem (MCLP) model and the large number of applications and modifications that have emanated from it have been extensively used to site facility networks in a wide variety of applications. In this article, we formulate and apply an extension of MCLP, the Maximal Covering Location Problem with Hedging (MCLPH), to address the problem of siting facilities when the demand for service from those facilities is uncertain. The MCLPH model treats the maximal cover of different potential demand populations in the system as different objectives for the MCLP, with some lexicographic ordering of objectives related to the degree of uncertainty about the sizes and spatial pattern of those demands. We apply the MCLPH model to the problem of designing a medical network of screening facilities for people who may have been exposed to lead contamination in the Dominican Republic (DR). In the DR, there are three suspected sources of lead contamination, waterborne lead from runoff as a result of...
Effectiveness and Cost of Bidirectional Text Messaging for Adolescent Vaccines and Well Care

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the effectiveness and cost of bidirectional short messaging service in increasing rates of vaccination and well child care (WCC) among adolescents. METHODS: We included all adolescents needing a recommended adolescent vaccine ( n = 4587) whose parents had a cell-phone number in 5 private and 2 safety-net pediatric practices. Adolescents were randomized to intervention ( n = 2228) or control ( n = 2359). Parents in the intervention group received up to 3 personalized short messaging services with response options 1 (clinic will call to schedule), 2 (parent will call clinic), or STOP (no further short messaging service). Primary outcomes included completion of all needed services, WCC only, all needed vaccinations, any vaccination, and missed opportunity for vaccination. RESULTS: Intervention patients were more likely to complete all needed services (risk ratio [RR] 1.31, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.12–1.53), all needed vaccinations (RR 1.29, 95% CI 1.12–1.50), and any vaccination (RR 1.36, 95% CI 1.20–1.54). Seventy-five percent of control patients had a missed opportunity versus 69% of intervention ( P = .002). There was not a significant difference for WCC visits. Responding that the clinic should call to schedule (“1”) was associated with the highest effect size for completion of all needed services (RR 1.89, 95% CI 1.41–2.54). Net cost ranged from $855 to $3394 per practice. CONCLUSIONS: Bidirectional short messaging service to parents was effective at improving rates for all adolescent vaccinations and for all needed services, especially among parents who responded they desired a call from the practice.
Advocating for additional aspects of quality

Across the set of articles in this Special Issue, various authors describe methodology and methodological decisions, illustrate analyses, and share emerging findings from The Evolution of the Disco...
Counteracting H3K4 methylation modulators Set1 and Jhd2 co-regulate chromatin dynamics and gene transcription

Histone H3K4 methylation is connected to gene transcription from yeast to humans, but its mechanistic roles in transcription and chromatin dynamics remain poorly understood. We investigated the functions for Set1 and Jhd2, the sole H3K4 methyltransferase and H3K4 demethylase, respectively, in S. cerevisiae. Here, we show that Set1 and Jhd2 predominantly co-regulate genome-wide transcription. We find combined activities of Set1 and Jhd2 via H3K4 methylation contribute to positive or negative transcriptional regulation. Providing mechanistic insights, our data reveal that Set1 and Jhd2 together control nucleosomal turnover and occupancy during transcriptional co-regulation. Moreover, we find a genome-wide co-regulation of chromatin structure by Set1 and Jhd2 at different groups of transcriptionally active or inactive genes and at different regions within yeast genes. Overall, our study puts forth a model wherein combined actions of Set1 and Jhd2 via modulating H3K4 methylation-demethylation together control chromatin dynamics during various facets of transcriptional regulation.
Roger Vitrac (1899–1952)

Victor, or The Children Take Charge (Victor, ou Les Enfants au Pouvoir, 1928), a three-act ‘bourgeois drama’ by Roger Vitrac, aims its slings and arrows at the staid middle class: those people who never sound out the possible consequences of their acts, who do not probe into their ‘sacrosanct’ lives; their narcissistic, materialistic, egotistical ways. Adultery, incest, scatology, patriotism, insanity, death, religion, and poetic prowess are all themes for the playwright’s acid pen, to be whipped into dramatic form.
Early-onset stroke, polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), and livedo racemosa

Key teaching points •DADA2 is an autosomal recessive syndrome characterized by recurrent fever, early-onset stroke, livedo racemosa, PAN, and hepatosplenomegaly. •Preliminary experience suggests anti–TNF-α therapy may prevent further CVA, improve cutaneous PAN, and improve hepatobiliary function, but further study is needed. •Early identification and confirmation of mutations in the CECR1 gene can potentially decrease morbidity from this disease by guiding selection of appropriate therapy early in the course of disease.