cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Long-term exposure to ambient air pollution, APOE-ε4 status, and cognitive decline in a cohort of older adults in northern Manhattan

Abstract Background There is mounting evidence that long-term exposure to air pollution is related to accelerated cognitive decline in aging populations. Factors that influence individual susceptibility remain largely unknown, but may involve the apolipoprotein E genotype E4 (APOE-e4) allele. Objectives We assessed whether the association between long-term exposure to ambient air pollution and cognitive decline differed by APOE-e4 status and cognitive risk factors. Methods The Washington Heights Inwood Community Aging Project (WHICAP) is a prospective study of aging and dementia. Neuropsychological testing and medical examinations occur every 18–24 months. We used mixed-effects models to evaluate whether the association between markers of ambient air pollution (nitrogen dioxide [NO2]), fine [PM2.5], and coarse [PM10] particulate matter) and the rate of decline in global and domain-specific cognition differed across strata defined by APOE-e4 genotypes and cognitive risk factors, adjusting for sociodemographic factors and temporal trends. Results Among 4821 participants with an average of 6 years follow-up, higher concentrations of ambient air pollution were associated with more rapid cognitive decline. This association was more pronounced among APOE-e4 carriers (p Conclusions These results add to the body of evidence on the adverse impact of ambient air pollution on cognitive aging and brain health and provide new insights into the genetic and behavioral factors that may impact individual susceptibility.
The Critical Role of Window Design in Rear-Emitter Solar Cells

This work highlights the critical role of window design on short circuit carrier collection in rear-emitter GaAs 0.75 P 0.25 solar cells. If the window design is not carefully considered, surface depletion caused by Fermi level pinning at the window/air interface can extend into regions of active collection resulting in a large increase in effective AlInP/GaAsP interface recombination velocity. This has been experimentally shown to result in a current loss of 7.8 mA/cm2 in AM1.5G integrated IQE. Calculations of the surface depletion depth as a function of doping and the surface Fermi pinning level provides insight into the fundamental limits of window thickness. If the density of defect states at the AlInP surface can be reduced, restrictions on the necessary window doping/thickness can be relaxed due to a reduction in the surface pinning level.
A History of Women in American Anesthesiology

Women came slowly to medicine and anesthesia. The first modern woman physician, Elizabeth Blackwell, received her degree in 1849. The University of Zurich Medical School enrolled women in 1867. To increase their opportunities, American women founded 17 medical schools and 7 hospitals in the 19th century, but the move to scientific medicine prompted by the Flexner Report caused closure of all but one after 1910. Men avoided anesthesia because it offered minimal pay and status in the 19th century, but that presented an opening for women such as Herb in Chicago and Botsford in San Francisco at the turn of the century. In 1916, women constituted 19% of the American Association of Anesthetists (AAA) membership, but only 3.6% of physicians were women.
COVID-19 and the Early-Career Physician-Scientist. Fostering Resilience beyond the Pandemic

The coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic has created significant stressors for the academic and scientific community, with unique challenges for early-career physician-scientists. The pandemic-related disruptions have significantly affected research productivity, access to mentoring, professional development and networking opportunities, funding, and personal wellness. This is especially true for pulmonary and critical care medicine faculty because of the burden of specialized clinical care responsibilities that the COVID-19 pandemic has demanded. Departmental, institutional, and national leadership should foster open dialogue to identify and mitigate these challenges to promote ongoing career development of early-career physician-scientists. Implementation of thoughtful interventions to address these challenges will provide essential support for junior faculty and help retain a generation of physician-scientists.
Mask and Ye Shall Receive

A physician engages in a social media debate regarding mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic and searches for truth and virtue, primarily charity. While wearing masks is commonplace and vital d...
Marker selection and genomic prediction of economically important traits using imputed high-density genotypes for 5 breeds of dairy cattle.

ABSTRACT Marker sets used in US dairy genomic predictions were previously expanded by including high-density (HD) or sequence markers with the largest effects for Holstein breed only. Other non-Holstein breeds lacked enough HD genotyped animals to be used as a reference population at that time, and thus were not included in the genomic prediction. Recently, numbers of non-Holstein breeds genotyped using HD panels reached an acceptable level for imputation and marker selection, allowing HD genomic prediction and HD marker selection for Holstein plus 4 other breeds. Genotypes for 351,461 Holsteins, 347,570 Jerseys, 42,346 Brown Swiss, 9,364 Ayrshires (including Red dairy cattle), and 4,599 Guernseys were imputed to the HD marker list that included 643,059 SNP. The separate HD reference populations included Illumina BovineHD (San Diego, CA) genotypes for 4,012 Holsteins, 407 Jerseys, 181 Brown Swiss, 527 Ayrshires, and 147 Guernseys. The 643,059 variants included the HD SNP and all 79,254 (80K) genetic markers and QTL used in routine national genomic evaluations. Before imputation, approximately 91 to 97% of genotypes were unknown for each breed; after imputation, 1.1% of Holstein, 3.2% of Jersey, 6.7% of Brown Swiss, 4.8% of Ayrshire, and 4.2% of Guernsey alleles remained unknown due to lower density haplotypes that had no matching HD haplotype. The higher remaining missing rates in non-Holstein breeds are mainly due to fewer HD genotyped animals in the imputation reference populations. Allele effects for up to 39 traits were estimated separately within each breed using phenotypic reference populations that included up to 6,157 Jersey males and 110,130 Jersey females. Correlations of HD with 80K genomic predictions for young animals averaged 0.986, 0.989, 0.985, 0.992, and 0.978 for Jersey, Ayrshire, Brown Swiss, Guernsey, and Holstein breeds, respectively. Correlations were highest for yield traits (about 0.991) and lowest for foot angle and rear legs–side view (0.981and 0.982, respectively). Some HD effects were more than twice as large as the largest 80K SNP effect, and HD markers had larger effects than nearby 80K markers for many breed-trait combinations. Previous studies selected and included markers with large effects for Holstein traits; the newly selected HD markers should also improve non-Holstein and crossbred genomic predictions and were added to official US genomic predictions in April 2020.
IL-31 and IL-31 receptor expression in acute experimental canine atopic dermatitis skin lesions.

Background To optimise the interleukin (IL)-31-blocking therapy in atopic dermatitis (AD), an understanding of the chronology in the expression of IL-31 and its receptor (IL-31RA) is needed. Hypothesis/objectives (i) To assess the chronological expression of IL-31 in canine AD skin lesions, (ii) to compare it with serum IL-31 levels and macroscopic skin lesion scores, and (iii) to determine the identity of IL-31- and IL-31RA-positive cells. Animals Four atopic dogs sensitised to house dust mites. Methods and materials Skin and blood samples were obtained 0 h, 24 h, 48 and 96 h after allergen provocation. IL-31 and IL-31RA single-staining immunofluorescence (IF), as well as IL-31/CD3, IL-31/CD4 and IL-31RA/β3-tubulin double-staining IF were performed. The IL-31-positive cells were counted subjectively. Results The peak IL-31 expression for three of four dogs occurred 24 h or 48 h postchallenge; it started to decrease at 96 h. There was no significant correlation between the IL-31 expression scores and the serum IL-31 concentrations or the macroscopic skin lesion scores (P = 0.35 and P = 0.36, respectively). The majority of IL-31-positive cells were positive for CD3 (range 91-100%) and CD4 (range 63-100%), indicating that they were helper T (Th) cells. Unexpectedly, sebaceous glands were strongly immunolabelled with IL-31; the extinction of this positivity after immunoabsorption with IL-31 further supported the validity of this immunostaining. The IL-31RA was visualised on keratinocytes and a small proportion of dermal nerves. Conclusions and clinical importance The early and transient production of IL-31 by Th cells supports the concept of using IL-31 inhibiting strategies as a proactive therapy to prevent flares of AD skin lesions.
Riddles in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoid osteoma in child foot: A concisive study

Abstract Background Osteoid osteoma in child foot is very unusual. We investigate its polymorphism and difficulties in approach. Methods We retrospectively studied 12 children (7 girls, 5 boys) treated in our department from February 1995 until February 2010. Mean age was 12 years (range 8–16 years) and average follow up time 5 years (3–8 years). The lesion affected mostly the talus (8 cases), calcaneus in 3 and once the fourth metatarsal. En bloc excision of lesion was the surgical method of choice. Results Children's symptoms lasted average 2 years (14 months to even 4 years). Nocturnal pain and relief with NSAIDs occurred only in half cases. Atypical symptoms were hip referring pain, tenosynovitis of foot extensors and achilles' tendon atrophy. Complete cure and no recurrencies were noted. Conclusions Diversity of symptoms and delay in diagnosis still remain troublesome and the absolute modality of treatment for child foot osteoid osteomas urges further investigation. Minimally invasive surgical techniques have recently emerged but orthopaedic surgeons must not forget that open excision remains the most safe and documented method for pediatric foot osteoid osteomas.
Some features of the Patterson transformation for point-group sets of points

This paper draws attention to the application of the Patterson transformation to the development of the self-images of the regular polygons in a plane. The self-image of the polygon is derived by squaring the sum of the letters representing the vertices. Each resulting two-letter product is treated as a beginning and the end of a vector. In the square matrix of these doublets there aren 2 terms. The main diagonal hasn doublets of the forma i a i which corresponds to the origin of the self-image. Then 2-n remaining terms are pairs of doubletsa i a j anda j a i ; these give the matrix and its Patterson self-image centrosymmetrical properties. The regular plane polygons fall into two categories:n even andn odd. Polygons withn even have self-images of themselves with certain vertices and edges in common. The self-images of the polygons withn odd are always composed of corners and edges which note are distinct.
Neural and psychophysical analysis of object and face recognition

A number of behavioral phenomena distinguish the recognition of faces and objects, even when members of the set of objects are highly similar. Because faces have the same parts in approximately the same relations, individuation of faces typically requires specification of the metric variation in a holistic and integral representation of the facial surface. The direct mapping of a hypercolumn-like pattern of activation onto a representation layer that preserves relative spatial filter values in a 2D coordinate space, as proposed by C. von der Malsburg and his associates (Lades et al, 1993; Wiskott, et al., 1997), may account for many of the phenomena associated with face recognition. An additional refinement, in which each column of filters (termed “a jet”) is centered on a particular facial feature (or fiducial point), allows selectivity of the input into the holistic representation to avoid incorporation of occluding or nearby surfaces. The initial hypercolumn representation also characterizes the first stage of object perception, but the image variation for objects at a given location in a 2D coordinate space may be too great to yield sufficient predictability directly from the output of spatial kernels. Consequently, objects can be represented by a structural description specifying qualitative (typically, nonaccidental) characterizations of an object’s parts, the attributes of the parts, and the relations among the parts, largely based on orientation and depth discontinuities (e.g., Hummel & Biederman, 1992). A series of experiments on the name priming or physical matching of complementary images (in the Fourier domain) of objects and faces (See Kalocsai & Biederman, this volume) documents that whereas face recognition is strongly dependent on the original spatial filter values, object recognition evidences strong invariance to these values, even when distinguishing among objects that are as similar as faces.
Grand Challenges and Great Opportunities in Science, Technology, and Public Policy

Gilbert Ommen, AAAS President, explains how identification of "grand challenges" in science and at the intersection of science and society can accelerate progress for the good of the planet.
The Mutability of 18 Mev Electrons Applied to Drosophila Spermatozoa.

Sperm in inseminated females were either untreated or treated with 600, 1500, or 3750 rads of 18 Mev electrons and different types of mutation involving the paternal chromosomes were detected among the offspring. Partial or complete sex chromosonie loss increased slightly, but significantly, faster than linearly with dose; II--III reciprocal translocations increased approximately as the 3/2 power of the dose; and sex-linked recessive lethal mutations increased approximately linearly with dose. The shipes of all three curves are in good agreement with previous x-ray results. (auth)
Can balance training affect the ankle joint stiffness in subjects with unilateral chronic ankle instability

Background: Lateral ankle sprain is one of the most frequent sports-related injuries, accounting for up to 60% of all athletic injuries. The development of repetitive ankle sprains and persistent residual symptoms such as repeated episodes of ankle giving way, pain, weakness, loss of function, and feeling of ankle instability after injury has been termed chronic ankle instability (CAI). The signs and symptoms of initial injury often resolve with time but mechanical joint laxity may last longer leading to residual symptoms. Balance training has been shown to be effective in preventing ankle sprain recurrences in subjects with CAI but the biomechanical and/or neurophysiological pathways underlying the clinical outcomes are still unknown. Balance training is routinely used in clinical practice for sprained ankles, however to our knowledge, only one study has examined the effects of balance training intervention on flexibility characteristics of the ankle joint in patients with CAI. Purpose: This study was conducted to determine if a 4week balance training intervention can alter the mechanical characteristics in ankles with CAI. Methods: Twenty-two recreationally active subjects with unilateral CAI were randomized to either a control (n= 11, 35.1± 9.3 years) or intervention (n= 11, 33.5± 6.6 years) group. Subjects in the intervention group were trained on the affected limb with static and dynamic components using a Biodex balance stability system for 4-weeks. The ankle joint stiffness and neutral zone in inversion and eversion directions on the involved and uninvolved limbs was measured at baseline and post-intervention using a dynamometer. Results:Atbaseline, themeanvalues of the inversion stiffness (0.69± 0.37Nm/degree) in the involved ankle was significantly lower (p< 0.011, 95% CI [0.563, 0.544]) than that of uninvolved contralateral ankle (0.99± 0.41Nm/degree). With the available sample size, the eversion stiffness, inversion neutral zone, and eversion neutral zone were not found to be significantly different between the involved and uninvolved contralateral ankles. The 4-week balance training intervention failed to show any significant effect on the passive ankle stiffness and neutral zones in inversion and eversion. Conclusion(s): Decreased inversion stiffness in the involved chronic unstable ankle was found that of uninvolved contralateral ankle. The 4-week balance training program intervention was ineffective in altering the mechanical characteristics of ankles with CAI. Implications:Traditionally, taping and bracing have been used to improve stability and prevent recurrent ankle injury in patients with CAI. However, the beneficial effects of ankle taping have been attributed to enhanced proprioception and mechanical restriction, but there is no indication of restoring ligamentous stability. Further research with additional stiffness measures along with functional tests, larger sample size, and progressive balance training exercises is needed to identify if the mechanical characteristics of chronic unstable ankles can be altered.
On bit-serial multiplication and dual bases in GF(2/sup m/)

The existence of certain types of dual bases in finite fields GF(2/sup m/) is discussed. These special types of dual bases are needed for efficient implementation of (generalized) bit-serial multiplication in GF(2/sup m/). In particular, the question of choosing a polynomial basis of GF(2/sup m/), for example (1, alpha , alpha /sup 2/, alpha /sup 3/, . . ., alpha /sup m-1/), such that the change of basis matrix from the dual basis to a scalar multiple of the original basis has as few '1' entries as possible, is studied. It was previously shown by M. Wang and I. F. Blake (1990) that the optimal situation occurs when the minimal polynomial of alpha is an irreducible trinomial of degree m; then, an appropriate scalar multiple, beta , yields a change of basis matrix that is a permutation matrix. A construction is presented that often yields bases where the change of basis matrix has low weight, in the case where no irreducible trinomial of degree m exists. A simple formula can be used to compute beta and the weight of the change of basis matrix, given the minimal polynomial of alpha . >
Isis: Patient Data Visualization and Surgical Planning in an Interactive Virtual Environment

As medical scanning technology continues to accommodate the need for higher quality medical imaging, there is a continuing need for additional research in efficient ways of extracting crucial information from these vast amounts of data. The visualization software, Isis, has been developed to view and manipulate digital medical images in an immersive environment for surgical planning. Isis is designed to display any DICOM/PACS compatible three-dimensional image data for visualization and interaction in an immersive environment. Pseudo-coloring can be applied in real time, with multiple interactive clipping planes to slice into the volume for an interior view, and the windowing feature controls the tissue density ranges to display. Features such as virtual trocars placement, tumor inspection, and an endoscopic view provides surgeons with essential tools for surgical planning. A wireless gamepad controller and an intuitive menu interface allow the user to interact with the software. By wearing a pair of stereo glasses, the surgeon is immersed within the model, providing a sense of realism as if the surgeon is “inside” the patient.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Non-Linear response of a long, discontinuous fiber/melt system in elongational flows

The authors investigated the transient elongational behavior of a highly-aligned 600% volume fraction long, discontinuous fiber filled poly-ether-ketone-ketone melt with a computer-controlled extensional rheometer at 370°C. Prior experiments at controlled strain rate and stress produced τE + (t, $$\dot \varepsilon$$ ) and $$\dot \varepsilon$$ − (t, τE) similar to a shear dominated flow of a non-linear viscoelastic fluid. Stress relaxation following steady extension showed nonlinear effects in the change in stress decay rate with increasing strain rate. Continuous relaxation spectra showed a shift in the spectral peak to smaller values of λ with increasing strain rate. The Giesekus nonlinear constitutive relation modeled the elongation and stress relaxation with shearing rate at the fiber surface set by a strain rate magnification factor. Suitable for elongation, the model produced insufficient shift in the stress relaxation spectrum to account for the large change in stress decay rate exhibited in the experiments.
Nanoparticles for retinal gene therapy.

Ocular gene therapy is becoming a well-established field. Viral gene therapies for the treatment of Leber’s congentinal amaurosis (LCA) are in clinical trials, and many other gene therapy approaches are being rapidly developed for application to diverse ophthalmic pathologies. Of late, development of non-viral gene therapies has been an area of intense focus and one technology, polymer-compacted DNA nanoparticles, is especially promising. However, development of pharmaceutically and clinically viable therapeutics depends not only on having an effective and safe vector but also on a practical treatment strategy. Inherited retinal pathologies are caused by mutations in over 220 genes, some of which contain over 200 individual disease-causing mutations, which are individually very rare. This review will focus on both the progress and future of nanoparticles and also on what will be required to make them relevant ocular pharmaceutics.
Kinematic analysis of 7-DOF manipulators

This article presents a kinematic analysis of seven-degree-of-freedom serial link spatial manipulators with revolute joints. To uniquely determine the joint angles for a given end-effector position and orientation, the redundancy is parameterized by a scalar variable that defines the angle between the arm plane and a reference plane. The forward kinematic mappings from joint space to end-effector coordinates and arm angle and the augmented Jacobian matrix that gives end-effector and arm angle rates as functions of joint rates are presented. Conditions under which the augmented Jacobian becomes singular are also given and are shown to correspond to the arm being either at a kinematically singular configuration or at a nonsingular configuration for which the arm angle ceases to parameterize the redundancy.
Analysis of the elastic scattering of 14.5 MeV deutrons on isotopes between 54Fe and 124Sn

Abstract The differential cross sections for the elastic scattering of 14.5 MeV deuterons on 15 isotopes of eight elements between 54 Fe and 124 Sn have been measured. The angular distributions have been analysed in terms of the optical model, and satisfactory fits have been obtained in all cases by varying the depth of the real well and the three parameters which determine the imaginary well. The increase in the depth of the real well with Z and A is in rough agreement with theoretical expectation. The strength of the imaginary potential is related to the rigidity of the nuclear core.
Treatment of generalized bullous pemphigoid with oral tetracycline

Background: Although bullous pemphigoid (BP) is a benign self-limited disease, the mainstay of treatment remains systemic steroids, often in combination with immunosuppressive agents. This therapy has considerable potential toxicity, particularly in elderly patients with preexisting problems. Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the efficacy of oral tetracycline as firstchoice therapy in patients with BP. Methods: Every patient newly diagnosed with generalized BP was treated with oral tetracycline and a midpotency topical steroid. Results: In all five patients, blister formation was stopped and reepithelialization completed within 1 to 3 weeks. There was no relapse or toxicity noted; follow-up ranged from 16 to 24 months. Conclusion: Oral tetracycline was found to be rapidly efficacious in all patients and devoid of toxicity.
Strike-slip fault system in Amargosa Valley and Yucca Mountain, Nevada

Abstract The Amargosa Desert fault system, part of a 250-km-long system of dextral strike-slip faults east of the Death Valley region, is a throughgoing, long-lived, NW-striking, dextral strike-slip shear system that lies beneath Crater Flat and Yucca Mountain. Evidence for the fault system includes gravity, seismic, structural, stratigraphic, and paleomagnetic data, the distribution of springs and basaltic volcanic centers, and patterns of late Quaternary surface faulting. Where the Amargosa Desert fault system passes beneath Miocene ash-flow tuffs of the Southwestern Nevada Volcanic Field, we infer that the fault system changes into a series of detachments near the basement/cover contact and is expressed as a system of rotational normal faults in the ash-flow tuffs. Displaced geologic features indicate that total dextral displacement on the Amargosa Desert fault system exceeds 30 km. Vertical-axis rotations in ash-flow tuffs suggest that about 25 km of dextral displacement may have occurred since about 12.75 Ma. This fault system has important implications for the proposed high-level nuclear waste repository at Yucca Mountain, since it has experienced Quaternary and possibly Holocene displacements. Both normal faults and basaltic volcanic cones near the proposed repository may be controlled by the evolution of this regional strike-slip fault system.
Diagnostics for magnetically confined high-temperature plasmas

During the last 20 years, magnetically confined laboratory plasmas of steadily increasing temperatures and densities have been obtained, most notably in tokamak configurations, and now approach the conditions necessary to sustain a fusion reaction. Even more important to the goal of understanding the physics of such systems, remarkable advances in plasma diagnostics, the techniques for determining the properties of such plasmas, have accompanied these developments. More parameters can be determined with greater accuracy and finer spatial and temporal resolution. The magnetic configuration, the primary local thermodynamic quantities (density, temperature, and drift velocity), and other necessary quantities can now be measured with sufficient accuracy to determine particle and energy fluxes within the plasma and to characterize the basic transport processes. These plasmas are far from thermodynamic equilibrium. This deviation manifests itself in a variety of instabilities on several spatial and temporal scales, many of which are aptly described as turbulence. Many aspects of the turbulence can also be characterized. This article reviews the current state of diagnostics from an epistemological perspective: the capabilities and limitations for measuring each important physical quantity are presented.
Mary Tighe, Thomas Moore, and the Publication of Selena

This essay takes a close look at the impact Mary Tighe’s friendship with Thomas Moore had on her publishing history, both during her lifetime and after her death. Tighe’s letters and journals indicate that the negative reviews of Moore’s Epistles, Odes and Other Poems (1806) strengthened her commitment to coterie circulation and her resistance to moving any of her manuscripts into print beyond the limited private edition of Psyche; or, the Legend of Love (1805), including a twovolume collection of her poems, ‘Verses Transcribed for H.T.’ (1805) and her novel Selena (c. 1803). After Tighe’s death her family posthumously published Psyche, with Other Poems (1811) with Longman as a monument to her excellence. Although Longman sought to publish Selena in 1818, Moore advised Longman against the novel’s publication, which did not occur until 2012. The novel’s sharp caricature of Moore as the hapless Edwin Stanmore may have played a role in his reluctance to advocate publication; so may his desire to preserve an idealized image of Tighe that is undermined by the novel’s violence.
Time together, time apart: An analysis of wives' solitary time and shared time with spouses

The time spouses spend together in household work activities, leisure activities, and in eating are analyzed and compared with the time spent alone by wives in these same activities. The purpose of the analysis is to distinguish between two hypotheses: (a) that the time spent by spouses together in the same activity is charged with extra meaning when compared with the time spent by the wife alone in the same activity; and (b) that the time spent by spouses together in the same activity is a perfect substitute for time spent alone in the same activity by the wife. Multivariate probit, OLS and Tobit analyses are conducted with data taken from the 1977–78 NE-113 Time-Use Data for Louisiana, New York, Utah, and Wisconsin. Statistical tests confirm the hypothesis that shared times in the three activities studied are charged with extra meaning when compared with wives' solitary time in the same activities. Solitary times spent by the wife in the three activities are negatively related with family income. Solitary time spent by wives in household work activities and in leisure activities are positively related to husband's price of time. Spouses' shared times in these activities rise and wives' solitary times fall on weekends.
Intrauterine monitor telephone system

A low-cost custom-designed data system using a standard switched telephone line is used to transmit intrauterine physiologic data obtained during human labor.
Radial limits and radial growth of cauchy-stieltjes transforms

This paper studies the radial limit and me radial growth of functions defined by where μ is a complex-valued Borel measure. The results depend on local properties of the measure μ. Various nontangential limits associated with f are shown to hold off exceptional sets whose s -capacity is zero.
Bilirubin conformational enantiomer selection in sodium deoxycholate chiral micelles

Intramolecularly hydrogen-bonded, bichromophoric tetrapyrrole pigments, bilirubin-IXα and mesobilirubin-XIIIα, adopt either of two enantiomeric conformations which are in dynamic equilibrium in solution. InpH 8 aqueous sodium deoxycholate solutions, chiral micelles preferentially select one conformational enantiomer, and the solutions exhibit a bisignate circular dichroism Cotton effect in the vicinity of the bilirubin long wavelength electronic transition. Exciton coupling theory indicates a predominance of the left-handed (or negative) chirality bilirubin conformational enantiomer.
A model for allocating resources during hospital evacuations

All hospitals must have an evacuation plan to ensure the safety of patients and prevent the loss of life. However, risk managers typically have not been able to quantify how resource availability, the cost of acquiring those resources, and evacuation completion time are related. This paper proposes a deterministic optimization approach for identifying the staffing and vehicle transport requirements, as well as the scheduling of these requirements, within a pre-specified evacuation time period while minimizing cost. Moreover, we provide these managers with a modeling framework that can indicate if their current resource set is inadequate to evacuate the patient population within the specified time period. We suggest a tailored solution approach that relaxes certain complicating integer constraints in an effort to find feasible, quality solutions. Using this optimization-based heuristic, we then evaluate the hospital evacuation problem, providing insights into the period-by-period requirements of nurses and vehicles, as well as how resource restrictions would affect the evacuation. Finally, we provide a comparison of minimizing cost against minimizing evacuation completion time, where we have a budget restriction in the latter case.
Nucleation of membrane adhesions.

Recent experimental and theoretical studies of biomimetic membrane adhesions [Bruinsma et al., Phys. Rev. E 61, 4253 (2000); Boulbitch et al., Biophys. J. 81, 2743 (2001)] suggested that adhesion mediated by receptor interactions is due to the interplay between membrane undulations and a double-well adhesion potential, and should be a first-order transition. We study the nucleation of membrane adhesion by finding the minimum-energy path on the free energy surface constructed from the bending free energy of the membrane and the double-well adhesion potential. We find a nucleation free energy barrier around 20kBT for adhesion of flexible membranes, which corresponds to fast nucleation kinetics with a time scale of the order of seconds. For cell membranes with a larger bending rigidity due to the actin network, the nucleation barrier is higher and may require active processes such as the reorganization of the cortex network to overcome this barrier. Our scaling analysis suggests that the geometry of the membrane shapes of the adhesion contact is controlled by the adhesion length that is determined by the membrane rigidity, the barrier height, and the length scale of the double-well potential, while the energetics of adhesion is determined by the depths of the adhesion potential. These results are verified by numerical calculations.
The emotional counting stroop paradigm: a functional magnetic resonance imaging probe of the anterior cingulate affective division

Abstract Background: The emotional counting Stroop (ecStroop) functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) activation paradigm was designed to recruit the anterior cingulate affective division (ACad). Methods: Nine normal, healthy male and female subjects (mean age 24.2 years) reported via button press the number of neutral and negative words that appeared on a screen while reaction time and fMRI data were acquired. Results: We observed a) greater ACad activation for negative versus neutral words during initial presentation blocks; b) lower overall ACad signal intensity during task performance (i.e., both negative and neutral words) compared to the baseline fixation condition; and c) no reaction time increase to negative versus neutral words. Conclusions: In a companion study of a cognitive version of the counting Stroop (Bush et al 1998) , these same 9 subjects a) activated the more dorsal anterior cingulate cognitive division; b) also showed the overall decrease in ACad signal intensity; and c) demonstrated a reliable reaction time effect. Taken together, these data offer a within-group spatial dissociation of AC function based upon information content (i.e., cognitive vs. emotional) and/or presence of behavioral interference. We propose that the ecStroop will be a useful fMRI probe of ACad function in anxiety disorders.
The Relationship Between Raters' Prior Language Study and the Evaluation of Foreign Language Speech Samples

This study investigated whether raters' second language (L2) background and the first language (L1) of test takers taking the TOEFL iBT® Speaking test were related through scoring. After an initial 4-hour training period, a group of 107 raters (mostly of learners of Chinese, Korean, and Spanish), listened to a selection of 432 speech samples that 72 test takers (native speakers of Chinese, Korean, and Spanish) produced. We analyzed the rating data using a multifaceted Rasch measurement approach to uncover potential biases in the rating process. In addition, 26 of the raters participated in stimulated recall sessions, during which they watched videos of themselves rating. Using the video as a prompt, we asked them to discuss and explain their rating processes at the time of rating. The results from our bias interaction analyses revealed that matches between the raters' L2 and the test takers' L1 resulted in some of the raters assigning ratings that were significantly higher than expected. As a whole, raters with Spanish as an L2 were significantly more lenient toward test takers who had Spanish as an L1, and raters with Chinese as an L2 were significantly more lenient toward test takers who had Chinese as an L1. Analyses of the qualitative data, assisted by the program QSR NVivo 8, revealed information concerning the raters' awareness of their biases.
Accuracy and precision of the topological mapping procedure for estimating within-tree populations of bark beetles

The accuracy and precision of the topological mapping procedure for estimating within-tree populations of bark beetles was investigated for a variety of different sampling conditions. Simulation techniques were used to define the mean and standard deviation of proportional errors encountered in estimation under different sampling intensities. The number of samples collected at a particular height and the vertical spacing between heights were varied. Information presented should aid in developing sampling plans for studies of bark beetle populations and will permit the reexamination and/or recovery of historical data sets on bark beetle populations.
A Short Unobtrusive Hypnotic Induction for Assessing Hypnotizability: II. Clinical Case Reports

Three clinical cases illustrating the use of a brief hypnotic-assessment procedure (HAP) utilizing the Phenomenology of Consciousness Inventory (PCI) (Pekala, 1982, 1991c) are presented. The PCI-HAP consists of a 20-minute induction procedure, a short debriefing interview, and completion of the PCI by the client after the session. The procedure allows for the assessment of a client's hypnotizability level in a manner that is relatively unobtrusive and that generates phenomenological data to begin to help tailor a hypnotic intervention to the client. The use of the PCI-HAP for the three cases reviewed suggests that it can provide useful information about a client's hypnotizability level that I find helpful in treating the client in a private-practice setting.
The myth of the myth of martyrdom.

Lankford asserts that suicide terrorism is attributable to suicidality. We argue in this commentary that this assertion is not well supported theoretically or empirically. In addition, we suggest that failure to acknowledge religious beliefs as motivationally causal for suicide terrorism may place innocent people at risk of murder in the service of political correctness and multiculturalism. Language: en
The Politics of Symbols, Semantics, and Sentiments in the Weimar Republic

Contests over the term politics, over the boundaries that distinguished politics from non-politics, were one of the distinguishing features of the Weimar Republic. Not only did the disciplines of history, philosophy, law, sociology, and pedagogy each define this boundary in different terms, but participants in the debate also distinguished between ideal and real politics, politics at the level of state, and the dissemination of politics through society and citizenry. The fact that Weimar began with a revolution, the abdication of the Kaiser, and military defeat meant an eruption of politicization in 1918–19, whereby political organs of state and civil society sought in unprecedented fashion to draw Germans into parties and parliaments, associations, and activist societies. “The German people would still consist of ninety percent unpolitical people, if Social Democracy had not become a political school for the people,” Otto Braun claimed in Vorwarts in 1925. Politics and politicization generated not only political acts—votes, strikes, and vocal demonstrations—but also cultural milieus of Socialists and Communists, Catholics and liberal Democrats, nationalists, and eventually Nazis. In Weimar Germany there was little room for the “unpolitical” citizen of the prewar era, held up as a model in a famous tract of 1918 by Thomas Mann.
Fractional calculus model of articular cartilage based on experimental stress-relaxation

Articular cartilage is a unique substance that protects joints from damage and wear. Many decades of research have led to detailed biphasic and triphasic models for the intricate structure and behavior of cartilage. However, the models contain many assumptions on boundary conditions, permeability, viscosity, model size, loading, etc., that complicate the description of cartilage. For impact studies or biomimetic applications, cartilage can be studied phenomenologically to reduce modeling complexity. This work reports experimental results on the stress-relaxation of equine articular cartilage in unconfined loading. The response is described by a fractional calculus viscoelastic model, which gives storage and loss moduli as functions of frequency, rendering multiple advantages: (1) the fractional calculus model is robust, meaning that fewer constants are needed to accurately capture a wide spectrum of viscoelastic behavior compared to other viscoelastic models (e.g., Prony series), (2) in the special case where the fractional derivative is 1/2, it is shown that there is a straightforward time-domain representation, (3) the eigenvalue problem is simplified in subsequent dynamic studies, and (4) cartilage stress-relaxation can be described with as few as three constants, giving an advantage for large-scale dynamic studies that account for joint motion or impact. Moreover, the resulting storage and loss moduli can quantify healthy, damaged, or cultured cartilage, as well as artificial joints. The proposed characterization is suited for high-level analysis of multiphase materials, where the separate contribution of each phase is not desired. Potential uses of this analysis include biomimetic dampers and bearings, or artificial joints where the effective stiffness and damping are fundamental parameters.
Thermal Flowmeters: The Effect of Axial Conduction

An analysis of a thermal flowmeter is presented incorporating the normally neglected effect of axial conduction along the tube. It is assumed that heat flow from the tube to the fluid is proportional to the temperature difference between the tube wall and the bulk temperature of the fluid. The solution is given in analytical form, and a numerical example is included.
Renovascular Hypertension in Blacks

To define the clinical characteristics of renovascular hypertension (RVH) and determine the clinical usefulness of captopril stimulated peripheral renin and postcaptopril renography in blacks at risk for RVH, 79 clinically selected hypertensive blacks were evaluated. Unstimulated (U-PRA), captopril stimulated (S-PRA) peripheral renin, and postcaptopril renography (PC-RENO) were obtained. All subjects underwent conventional renal arteriography. Renal artery stenosis (RAS) was present in 14 of 79 (18%) patients. Renovascular hypertension (RVH) was found in 7 of 79 (9%) patients. S-PRA had a sensitivity and specificity of 38% and 86% respectively to detect RAS; and a sensitivity and a specificity of 17% and 85% respectively to detect RVH. PC-RENO had a sensitivity and a specificity of 64% and 58% respectively to detect RAS; and a sensitivity and a specificity of 67% and 58% respectively to detect RVH. This study suggests that RAS occurs in 18% of clinically selected hypertensive blacks. RVH was present in 9% of this population. Captopril stimulated peripheral renin and postcaptopril renography are not useful as screening tools for the diagnosis of renovascular disease in blacks. Blacks at high risk should be evaluated with angiography.
Contamination of clinical specimens with MLV-encoding nucleic acids: implications for XMRV and other candidate human retroviruses

Efforts to assess the prevalence of xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRV) in patients with prostate cancer and chronic fatigue syndrome have relied heavily on PCR-based testing of clinical samples and have yielded widely divergent findings. This week in Retrovirology, reports from four independent research groups illustrate the extreme care needed to exclude DNA or RNA contamination in PCR analyses of XMRV. In addition, phylogenetic evidence suggesting that previously-published XMRV sequences originated from a commonly-used prostate carcinoma cell line (22Rv1) is presented. These findings raise important questions regarding the provenance of XMRV and its potential connection to human disease.
Improving service delivery performance in the United Kingdom: Organization theory perspectives on central intervention strategies

Abstract A noteworthy example of public sector performance management was launched by the UK's Labour government in 1997. Starting in 1998, departments established a central capacity to deal with “public service agreements” negotiated with Treasury and the performance of frontline units in its domain. In 2001 the Prime Minister's Delivery Unit (PMDU) was established to work on prime ministerial priorities involving 21 targets in four departments. This paper examines the role of central government in contributing to performance improvement where actual performance is delivered by dispersed subunits. It seeks to identify techniques the central government uses for performance management, and asks whether these techniques appear likely to have positive effects on performance. It develops a framework using concepts from organization theory and uses it to evaluate the activities and effectiveness of the PMDU in influencing frontline service delivery.
Association of host antigens with a parainfluenza virus.

Abstract The DA strain of parainfluenza-2 virus was shown by conventional inhibition techniques to possess human blood group B activity when grown in cultures of rhesus monkey kidney which normally possess the B antigen. When grown in culture systems in which no B antigen was detected prior to infection, no B antigenic activity was found associated with the virus. The B antigen of rhesus kidney grown virus remained associated with the virus after purification techniques including differential centrifugation, genetron treatment, barium sulfate and aluminum phosphate precipitation, erythrocyte adsorption and elution, and density gradient centrifugation.
Raman and photoluminescence analysis of stress state and impurity distribution in diamond thin films

Photoluminescence (PL) and Raman spectroscopy were employed to investigate the nature and sources of stress and the type and distribution of impurities and defects in thin diamond films grown on silicon substrates. The types of impurities and defects which were detected in the diamond films are the nitrogen, silicon, and the sp2‐type bonding of the graphitic phase. Our Raman analyses indicate that the diamond films exhibit a net compressive stress. After compensating for the thermal interfacial stress and for the stress due to grain boundaries it was found that the residual internal stress is compressive in nature. From Raman line‐shape analysis it was determined that the internal stress is due to the various impurities and defects present in the film. Moreover, the stress magnitude exhibits a strong correlation with the graphitic phase implying that the sp2 bonding produces a dominant compressive stress field. The PL analytical line‐shape investigation of the nitrogen band at 2.154 eV indicates that the ...
Measuring research performance in the humanities

The article starts from the specific difficulties of applying quantitative analysis to the humanities and the general resistance to such analysis in the Federal Republic of Germany. It gives a survey of the attempts to apply bibliometric methods in English Studies, the only subject investigated so far. The highly individual nature of research in the humanities is stressed and differences in subfields are illustrated. There is little influence of departmental size or age on the publication behaviour of individuals. More studies of citation behaviour are needed for a reliable evaluation of the impact of research in the humanities.