cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
TailTimer: an open-source device for automating the rodent tail immersion assay

The tail immersion assay is a widely used method for measuring acute thermal pain in a way which is quantifiable and reproducible. It is non-invasive and measures response to a stimulus that may be encountered by an animal in its natural environment. However, tail withdrawal latency data are usually collected manually, and precise temperatures of the water at the time of measurement are most often not recorded. These two factors can reduce the reproducibility of tail immersion assay data. We designed a device, TailTimer, which uses the Raspberry Pi single-board computer and a temperature sensor, to automatically record both tail withdrawal latency and water temperature. The device has a radio frequency identification (RFID) system that can record the ID of animals. Our software recognizes several specific RFID keys as user interface commands, which allows TailTimer to be operated via RFID fobs. We also programmed the device to only allow tests to be conducted when the water is within {+/-} 0.25 {degrees}C of the target temperature. Data recorded using the TailTimer device showed a linear relationship between tail withdrawal latency and water temperature when tested between 47 - 50 {degrees}C. We also observed a profound effect of water mixing speed on tail withdrawal latency. Our data further revealed significant strain and sex differences, valorizing TailTimer in its ability to detect genetically-determined variations in thermal pain sensitivity. Significance StatementQuantification of tail withdrawal latency in response to thermal pain has essentially remained the same since the method was first introduced decades ago and relies on manual recording of water temperature and tail withdrawal latency. Such manual methods engender relatively substantial variability and are potential contributors to some of the discrepancies present among relevant research. The open source TailTimer device we report here is simple and inexpensive to manufacture. The RFID-based user interface is ergonomic, especially in animal facilities where space is limited and gloves are mandatory. We anticipate that the increased reproducibility of tail withdrawal latency provided by TailTimer will augment its utility in nociception and addiction research.
Dental service utilization and immigrant family structure.

OBJECTIVES To determine the patterns and time trends of dental services received and access to dental care among immigrant and US-born children living in the United States. METHODS We analyzed the nationally representative Medical Expenditure Survey data for 2007-2015. Survey weighted mean and frequency were calculated for all the years and for each year for the complete cohort and for the four subgroups of children categorized based on the child's and parents' birthplace (United States or Foreign). These groups were compared to detect differences in dental service received. RESULTS Overall 34,482 children aged <18 years were included in the analysis representing the weighted sample size of 564,255,643. Utilization of preventive dental services increased from 37.2 percent in 2007 to 44.4 percent in 2015 overall (P < 0.0001), with similar trend seen within all subgroups. Immigrant children compared to US-born children had higher numbers of surgical and restorative procedures (17 versus 16 per 100-person years, P = 0.03), fewer had at least one preventive dental visit in a year (32.8 percent versus 43.0 percent, P < 0.0001) and were less likely be unable to access dental care (3.0 percent versus 1.7 percent, P = 0.005). Fewer children had delayed access to dental care in recent years (2.0 percent in 2007 to 1.5 percent in 2015) and the decline was consistent in all the subgroups. CONCLUSION Stratification into the different subgroups allowed for improved understanding of dental procedure utilization and dental services utilization in all subgroups increased over time. Immigrant children had lower utilization of preventive procedures and higher utilization of surgical and restorative procedures.
Pre-sedation Assessment

In this chapter we will present the essentials of pre-sedation screening and risk stratification, discuss fasting guidelines, and review the most commonly encountered scenarios and comorbidities that impact sedation management and outcomes.
Approximating the Spectral Gap of the P\'olya-Gamma Gibbs Sampler

The self-adjoint, positive Markov operator defined by the Polya-Gamma Gibbs sampler (under a proper normal prior) is shown to be trace-class, which implies that all non-zero elements of its spectrum are eigenvalues. Consequently, the spectral gap is $1-\lambda_*$, where $\lambda_* \in [0,1)$ is the second largest eigenvalue. A method of constructing an asymptotically valid confidence interval for an upper bound on $\lambda_*$ is developed by adapting the classical Monte Carlo technique of Qin et al. (2019) to the Polya-Gamma Gibbs sampler. The results are illustrated using the German credit data. It is also shown that, in general, uniform ergodicity does not imply the trace-class property, nor does the trace-class property imply uniform ergodicity.
Association of baseline neutrophil-to-eosinophil ratio (NER) and neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) with response to combination immunotherapy (IO) with ipilimumab plus nivolumab (ipi/nivo) in patients with metastatic renal cell carcinoma (mRCC).

4563Background: Previous reports have shown that the baseline neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR) is associated with prognosis in patients with mRCC. However, NLR has not been shown to reliably pr...
Bittersweet solidarity: Cuba, Sugar and the Soviet bloc

This paper traces the complex sugar trade between Cuba and the East European Socialist states (the German Democratic Republic, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Bulgaria, and Hungary) from the Cuban revolution in 1959 until the dissolution of the Council for Mutual Economic Assistance (CMEA) in 1991. To Cuba, selling its sugar to the Socialist states at above-world market prices was an expression of East European states’socialist solidarity. To the bloc states, it was a form of economic aid to Cuba. This formulation not only went against the preferred form of exchange within the CMEA, namely cooperation based on mutual interest but also incensed the Cubans who felt the revolution was entitled to the support of all Socialist states from Berlin to Moscow. Amid this complicated relationship, the reforms of Mikhail Gorbachev posed a serious challenge to Cuba, which was unprepared to face the free market. The result was a loss of foreign markets and a severe domestic crisis known as the Special Period. This work seeks to provide a new reading of the ebb and flow between Cuba and its Socialist trading partners, relying on the views expressed in the candid reports of the East European diplomats and experts, who were involved in the day-to-day managing of their respective states’ economic relations with the Caribbean nation. It is based on original research in foreign ministry, party, and security services archives of the East European states. It also utilizes primary material originating from the Cuban foreign ministry.
The 33 MW TFTR neutral beams

The TFTR (Tokamak Fusion Test Reactor) neutral beam injection system (NBIS) has performed injection experiments on TFTR since 1984. During the 1990 run period the NBIS exceeded previous levels, reaching a record 48 MJ (24 MW for 2 s) of neutral injected energy and, at a later date, a record neutral power of 33 MW, which produced a record plasma neutron source rate. The operation of the NBIS resulting in this performance, the equipment changes and operational improvements from the 1989 operating experience which contributed to achieving this result, and the techniques used to analyze the effects of these changes are discussed. >
Image classification with minimal supervision

With growing collections of images and video, it is imperative to have automated techniques for extracting information from visual data. A primary task that lies at the heart of information extraction is image classification, which refers to classifying images or parts of them as belonging to certain categories. Accurate and reliable image classification has diverse applications—web image and video search, content based image retrieval, medical image analysis, autonomous robotics, gesture-based human computer interfaces, etc. However, considering the large image variability and typically high-dimensional representations, training predictive models requires substantial amounts of annotated data, often provided through human supervision—supplying such data is expensive and tedious. This training bottleneck is the motivation for development of robust algorithms that can build powerful predictive models with little training or supervision. In this thesis, we propose new algorithms for learning with data, particularly focusing on active learning. Instead of passively accepting training data, the basic idea in active learning is to select the most informative data samples for the human to annotate. This can lead to extremely efficient allocation of resources, and results in predictive models that require far fewer training samples compared to the passive setting. We first propose an active sample selection criterion for training large multi-class classifiers with hundreds of categories. The criterion is easy to compute, and extends traditional two-class active learning to the multi-class setting. We then generalize the approach to handle only binary (yes / no) type feedback while still performing classification in the multi-class domain. The proposed modality provides substantial interactive simplicity, and makes it easy to distribute the training process across many users. Active learning has been studied from two different perspectives: selective sampling from a pool, and query synthesis; both perspectives offer different tradeoffs. We propose a formulation that combines both approaches while leveraging their individual strengths resulting in a scalable and efficient multi-class active learning scheme. Experimental results show efficient training of classification systems with a pool of a few million images on a single computer. Active learning is intimately related to a large body of previous work on experiment design and optimal sensing—we discuss the similarities and key differences between the two. A new greedy batch-mode sample selection algorithm is proposed that shows substantial benefits over random batch selection, when iterative querying cannot be applied. We finally discuss two applications of active selection: i) active learning of compact hash codes for fast image search and classification, and ii) incremental learning of a classifier in a resource-constrained environment to handle changing scene conditions. Throughout the thesis, we focus on thorough experimental validation on a variety of image datasets to analyze strengths and weaknesses of the proposed methods.
A Review of “Faith & the Presidency: From George Washington to George W. Bush”

Over the past several decades, scholars have rediscovered the role religion plays in American politics. While considerable attention has been given to how religion may shape the political attitudes...
Chapter 1 The Introspection Illusion

Abstract Introspection involves looking inward into conscious thoughts, feelings, motives, and intentions. Modern social psychological research has raised questions about the value and reliability of information gained via introspection. This chapter concerns people's heavy weighting of introspective information for making self‐assessments. It also concerns a few principles associated with that weighting—that is, that it does not extend to how people treat others' introspections, that it can lead people to disregard information conveyed by their own (but not others') behavior, and that it is rooted not only in people's unique access to their introspections but also in the unique value they place on them. Over‐valuing of personal introspections occurs in a variety of domains, including judgment and decision making, personal relationships, and stereotyping and prejudice. An understanding of it sheds light on theoretical concerns involving the actor–observer bias, self‐enhancement, temporal distance effects, and the perception of free will. People's unique valuing of their introspections likely has deep roots, but this “introspection illusion” also causes problems. It can foster conflict, discrimination, lapses in ethics, and barriers to self‐knowledge and social intimacy. Understanding its sources and effects may help alleviate some of those problems.
Gastric outlet obstruction resulting from peptic ulcer disease requiring surgical intervention is infrequently associated with Helicobacter pylori infection

Abstract Background: Gastric outlet obstruction (GOO) secondary to peptic ulcer disease requiring therapeutic intervention remains a common problem. The incidence of Helicobacter pylori infection in this cohort has not been well defined. Pneumatic dilatation (PD) has been proposed as first-line therapy before surgical intervention. If H pylori infection in patients with GOO is infrequent, PD may not offer permanent control without the need for longterm antacid therapy. Study Design: The purpose of this study was to examine the incidence of H pylori infection and surgical outcomes in patients undergoing resection for GOO. The records of all patients having resection (vagotomy and antrectomy) for benign disease from 1993 to 1998 for GOO at the University of Tennessee affiliated hospitals were reviewed retrospectively. Smoking history, NSAID use, weight loss, previous ulcer treatment, previous treatment for H pylori , and previous attempts at PD were among the factors examined. H pylori infection was documented by Steiner stain from either preoperative biopsy or, in most patients, final surgical specimens. Surgical complications and patient satisfaction were ascertained from inpatient records, postoperative clinical notes, and, where possible, followup telephone surveys. Results: Twenty-four patients underwent surgical resection during the study period. There were 16 men and 8 women, with a mean age of 61 years (range 40 to 87 years). Weight loss was documented in 58% and averaged 27 lb. Five of 24 patients had previous attempts at PD, 3 of whom were H pylori negative. All five had further weight loss after these failed attempts. Of the 24 patients reviewed, only 8 (33%) were H pylori positive. There were no procedure-related deaths. Longterm clinical followup was possible in 16 of 24 patients, and all but one demonstrated dramatic clinical improvement by Visick score. Conclusions: We conclude the following: 1) In this cohort, H pylori infection was present in a minority; 2) previous attempts at PD were unsuccessful, which may be related to the H pylori –negative status of the patients; 3) mortality related to the operation was zero; and 4) patient satisfaction was positive by the Visick scale. Patients with H pylori –negative GOO resulting from peptic ulcer disease should be strongly considered for an early, definitive, acid-reducing surgical procedure. (J Am Coll Surg 2000;191:32-37. © 2000 by the American College of Surgeons)
An Apparent Periodicity in the Gallex, Homestake and Kamiokande Neutrino Data

In order to explore a recent proposal that the solar core may contain a component that varies periodically with a period in the range 21.0 - 22.4 days, due either to rotation or to some form of oscillation, we have examined the time series formed from measurements of the solar neutrino flux by means of the GALLEX, Homestake and Kamiokande experiments. Direct Fourier transform analysis of the Homestake data shows that the most prominent peak in the entire spectrum (examined down to 5 days period) is found at a frequency of approximately 17.2 y-1 corresponding to a period of approximately 21.3 days. According to the "shuffle test," the probability of finding this large a peak in the prescribed search band is about 0.03%, if it is assumed that there is no correlation between count rate and time. The GALLEX and Kamiokande data are examined in a way that searches for similarity in the shapes of the two spectra in sliding windows in frequency. We find that the "spectral correlation measure" peaks at 17.2 y-1, and the shuffle test indicates that the probability of finding this large a peak at a specified frequency is 2%, if it is again assumed that for each time series there is no correlation between count rate and time. The combined significance estimate is of order 1 part in 105 that the results are due to chance, on the assumption that there is no real structure to the count-rate time series.
SIMULATION AND OPTIMIZATION OF ASSEMBLY PROCESSES INVOLVING FLEXIBLE PARTS

A method is described for the simulation and optimization of assembly processes involving flexible parts. The method, which can be applied to a wide range of assembly problems, combines traditional elastostatic structural analysis with techniques used to evaluate statistics of system with stochastic parameters. Results from an illustrative sample problem demonstrate the potential of this method in controlling the dimensional variation of the finished product.
Politics and popular song: youth, authority, and popular music in East Africa

In 2003, the Tanzanian rapper AY released the song "Binadamu" (Human) [CD track1]. Recorded in Uganda, mixed in Tanzania, with a video filmed in Somalia and Uganda, the song reached top ten lists at radio stations in every country in east Africa. The song discussed the fate of someone who had become ostracized by his friends and family after falling on hard times. It was a socially significant song, demonstrating forms of marginalization that occur in contemporary cities where people are consumed by cosmopolitan fantasies. Along with several other songs released in the early 2000s, "Binadamu" garnered AY the nickname "Mzee wa Commercial", which literally translated as the "Elder of Commercial [Music]". The word 'mzee (elder), used by Tanzanian youth to signify their desire for social power within society, was a means of self-actualizing the status and prestige associated with elders in African societies. As a result of the connotation to AY's nickname, he became a highly respected person in releasing socially and commercially successful songs that could be heard throughout eastern Africa. His music had the potential to influence others, thereby embodying the role of the elder, while also being popular and commercially successful. The elder status of his nickname should not, however, be confused with his actual age. Born on July 5, 1982, AY was 21 when "Binadamu" first became a hit.
Instructional Design and Facilitation Approaches that Promote Critical Thinking in Asynchronous Online Discussions: A Review of the Literature

Asynchronous online discussions (AODs) are often used to promote critical thinking in online courses; however, recent research suggests that levels of critical thinking in discussions remain low. Furthermore, there is a lack of consensus in the literature about the definition of critical thinking and many of the existing studies focus on one specific cognitive construct. Therefore, it is unknown which instructional approaches have the strongest empirical support for promoting critical thinking across multiple cognitive constructs. The purpose of this article is to present a review of the literature related to instructional design and facilitation approaches that promote critical thinking in AODs across multiple cognitive constructs (cognitive domain, cognitive presence, knowledge construction, and perspective-taking). Design approaches, such as providing scaffolding and using a debate-based instructional approach, and facilitation approaches, such as using Socratic questioning and allowing students to lead discussions, are effective for promoting critical thinking. Additional research should be conducted to confirm the efficacy of case-based, problem-based, project-based, and role play instructional approaches and to reach a consensus on the definition of critical thinking as well as how critical thinking should be demonstrated and accurately assessed in AODs.
Optimal distortion parameter for the GPT public-key cryptosystem

The Gabidulin-Paramonov-Trejtakov (GPT) public-key cryptosystems, based on Gabidulin codes, seem to have some advantages over McEliece's public-key cryptosystems using Goppa codes. In this paper we define the optimal distortion parameter for the GPT cryptosystem to be the distortion parameter that maximizes the workload of the best (structural or decoding) attack. The work factors achieved by the GPT cryptosystem using the optimal distortion parameter thus give the guaranteed level of security against any attack. We also show that under reasonable assumptions, the optimal distortion parameter always exists and is unique. Furthermore, we propose an algorithm that computes the optimal distortion parameter with low complexity
Immunization of mice with YscF provides protection from Yersinia pestis infections.

Background Yersinia pestis, the causative agent of plague, is a pathogen with a tremendous ability to cause harm and panic in populations. Due to the severity of plague and its potential for use as a bioweapon, better preventatives and therapeutics for plague are desirable. Subunit vaccines directed against the F1 capsular antigen and the V antigen (also known as LcrV) of Y. pestis are under development. However, these new vaccine formulations have some possible limitations. The F1 antigen is not required for full virulence of Y. pestis and LcrV has a demonstrated immunosuppressive effect. These limitations could damper the ability of F1/LcrV based vaccines to protect against F1-minus Y. pestis strains and could lead to a high rate of undesired side effects in vaccinated populations. For these reasons, the use of other antigens in a plague vaccine formulation may be advantageous.
The California Disability Survey: Design and Execution of a Computer-Assisted Telephone Study

This article discusses the study objectives and survey methods associated with the California Disability Survey (CDS), a large-scale telephone study of the California household population. The CDS ...
Transluminal coronary angioplasty: Comparison of brachial and femoral artery methods

The brachial and femoral artery methods for (percutaneous) transluminal coronary angioplasty are compared. We attempted 901 angioplasties with 539 (59.8%) via the brachial and 362 (40.2%) via the femoral artery. The stenosis was crossed in 670 attempts (74%); in 410 (76%) via the brachial, and in 260 (72%) via the femoral artery. Successful angioplasty was achieved in 607 attempts (67%): in 370 (69%) via the brachial, and in 237 (65%) via the femoral artery. There was no difference between the techniques in crossing the stenosis or achieving a primary success. The left anterior descending artery stenosis was statistically more likely to be crossed than a stenosis in the right (p less than 0.001), circumflex (p less than 0.05), left main coronary artery (p less than 0.05), or saphenous vein graft (p less than 0.05); the left anterior descending artery stenosis was more likely (p less than 0.05) to be successfully dilated if the lesion were crossed (410 of 445 cases, 92%) than a right coronary stenosis (117 of 136 cases, 80%). The brachial and femoral artery methods are comparable techniques. Interventional angiographers performing coronary angioplasty should utilize the angiographic approach with which they are most familiar.
Learning disabilities, gender, sources of efficacy, self-efficacy beliefs, and academic achievement in high school students.

Abstract This study examined the impact of gender, learning disability (LD) status, and sources of efficacy on self-efficacy beliefs and academic achievement in the concept of Bandura's self-efficacy theory. Two hundred and seventy-eight high school students participated in the study. Structural equation modeling was used. The results revealed that LD status had indirect influence on self-efficacy via the source variable; gender did not have direct or indirect influences on self-efficacy; sources of efficacy had direct impact on self-efficacy, which in turn affected academic performance. The structural model fit the data well and explained 55% of the variance in academic achievement.
SU-E-T-530: Correlating Dose-Volume Histogram Results with Overlapping Volume of Organ-At-Risk and Planning Target Volume for Prostate IMRT

Purpose: Meeting the dose constrains of organs-at-risk (OAR) in an inversely planned IMRT case may not be sufficient for judging it as an optimal treatment plan. The purpose of this study is to investigate whether the percentage of overlapping volume (POV) between the OAR and planning target volume (PTV) over the original organ volume can be used as an additional indicator for evaluating the quality of an IMRT treatment plan. Methods: In the study, we selected 31 prostate cancer patients, previously treated with IMRT utilizing volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) technique. The overlapping volumes were contoured based on the initial treatment plans using boolean operation in Eclipse treatment planning system (Varian Medical System). For each patient, a prescription dose of 79.2 Gy (1.8 Gy /fraction) was given to the PTV, which has a 10 mm margin (6 mm posterior) outside the prostate. All 31 clinical prostate treatments were planned to deliver at least 95% prescribed dose to the PTV. The dose-volume histograms (DVHs) of bladder and rectum were calculated and analyzed. The POV between bladder and PTV (POVb) and the POV between rectum and PTV (POVr) were acquired and the correlation between POVs and the selected dose-volume parameters were then analyzed for each OAR. Results: The correlation between POVb and D15%, D25%, D35% and D50% for bladder was found to be very good in general (R2=0.71-0.79 in a linear fit). Whereas for rectum the correlation between POVr and D15%, D25%, D35% and D50% was highly correlated at D15%, then showed a trend to become weaker towards D50% (R2=0.10-0.65 in a linear fit). Conclusion: A correlation exists between DVH parameters and POV of OAR in the optimized clinical prostate plans. Hence, DVH results versus POV can be used as an additional reference for evaluating a prostate cancer IMRT treatment plan.
Design of a single electrode voltage clamp

Abstract The detailed schematic diagrams and construction techniques are presented for a single microelectrode voltage clamp. The device is used to study the membrane processes of small cells not able to be penetrated with the traditional two microelectrode system. The technique utilizes the same microelectrode alternately for current injection and membrane potential sampling on a time-sharing basis controlled by electronic switching circuitry. Current is injected in pulses and the membrane potential is sampled after an individual current pulse discharges from the microelectrode capacitance to the true membrane potential. The device can either measure the voltage response to an injected current waveform (current injection mode) or the membrane currents generated during a controlled change in membrane potential (voltage clamp mode). In voltage clamp mode, the membrane potential reaches steady-state within 2 msec (maximum time) in response to a 40 mV step command. The single electrode voltage clamp is potentially very important to the investigation of slow current processes within electrically excitable cells too small to be previously studied with traditional voltage clamp technology.
Global climate model and coupled regional climate model simulations over the eastern United States: GENESIS and RegCM2 simulations

A Limited Area Model (LAM)_is driven at the boundaries by the GENESIS Global Climate Model (GCM) that uses observed sea surface temperatures (SSTs) during December 1979 through June 1980. During this period, observations show that the eastern United States experienced dry conditions in winter, in the spring the Northern Plains experienced drought. Two coupled GCM/LAM sensitivity experiments are undertaken, aimed at attempting to predict these observations while also examining the effects of domain size on the model results. The simulated winter and spring seasons of 1980 from the GENESIS GCM and coupled regional climate are compared to the ECMWF analyses. Our results show significant differences in the large-scale circulation fields (500-mb geopotential heights and 200-mb zonal winds) of GENESIS when compared to observations. The GCM captures the pattern of precipitation but it overestimates precipitation amounts. The coupled simulation which uses a small domain covering the eastern United States (US) and adjacent Atlantic Ocean also overestimates precipitation. However, considerable improvement in precipitation amounts and distribution occur when a continental sized domain is used. The domain captures wetter conditions in the western US during the winter of 1980 and the drier conditions over the Northern Plains during the spring of 1980. Even with the improvements in the simulated precipitation, the boundary conditions from GENESIS produce similar climate statistics in the continental scale regional climate simulations which differ significantly from the ECMWF analyses.
Tertiary δ18O record and glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations

Previous interpretation of the Tertiary δ 18 O record of plaiiktic and benthic foraminifers has emphasized comparison to the modern ocean, assumed an ice-free world prior to middle Miocene time, and thereby calculated surprisingly cool temperatures for the tropical sea surface. We propose an alternative interpretation, which compares Tertiary data to average late Pleistocene, assumes constant tropical sea-surface temperature, and thereby estimates global ice volume. This approach suggests that Earth has had a significant ice budget (and therefore glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations) at least since Eocene and perhaps even throughout much of Cretaceous time.
Hardware/Software Vectorization for Closeness Centrality on Multi-/Many-Core Architectures

Centrality metrics have shown to be highly correlated with the importance and loads of the nodes in a network. Given the scale of today's social networks, it is essential to use efficient algorithms and high performance computing techniques for their fast computation. In this work, we exploit hardware and software vectorization in combination with finegrain parallelization to compute the closeness centrality values. The proposed vectorization approach enables us to do concurrent breadth-first search operations and significantly increases the performance. We provide a comparison of different vectorization schemes and experimentally evaluate our contributions with respect to the existing parallel CPU-based solutions on cutting-edge hardware. Our implementations achieve to be 11 times faster than the state-of-the-art implementation for a graph with 234 million edges. The proposed techniques are beneficial to show how the vectorization can be efficiently utilized to execute other graph kernels that require multiple traversals over a large-scale network on cutting-edge architectures.
Molecular dynamics simulations and structural comparisons of amorphous poly(ethylene oxide) and poly(ethylenimine) models

Abstract Poly(ethylene oxide) (or PEO, ( CH 2 CH 2 O ) n ) and poly(ethylenimine) (PEI, ( CH 2 CH 2 NH ) n ) have been suggested as host polymers for solid polymer electrolytes in high energy-density batteries. Four repeat-unit models for amorphous PEO and PEI (CH 3 X (CH 2 CH 2 X ) 4 CH 3 , X =O in PEO-4 and NH in PEI-4) were studied by molecular dynamics (MD) simulations at 300 K. Analysis of average chain dimensions indicates that PEI-4 adopts a more compact structure than PEO-4. The characteristic ratios of 4.9±0.1 for PEO-4 and 3.1±0.1 for PEI-4 are consistent with experiment and with theoretical predictions. Dihedral angles along the C X C C atom sequence favor the trans (T) conformation while the X C C X sequence favors the gauche (G) conformation for both models. The TGT conformation along the C X C C X C sequence is found to have the largest population, 59±3% in PEO-4 and 66±2% in PEI-4. The TTT conformation becomes much less populous in PEI-4 (1.6±0.4%) than in PEO-4 (20±2%) while the TGG conformation has a larger population in PEI-4 (24±2%) than in PEO-4 (6±2%). Radial distribution function analysis reveals that intra-chain H-bonds exist between two adjacent NH groups of PEI-4 chains. All intra-chain H-bonds are found to be nonlinear and longer than typical H-bonds. These results are consistent with an ab initio study of a methyl capped monomer of PEI, dimethylethylenediamine. Inter-chain H-bonds are also found in the amorphous state of PEI-4 and appear to be more like typical linear H-bonds. Only 5.6% PEO-4 and 8.2% PEI-4 chains are found to be in the helical form and an insignificantly amount of PEI-4 is found in double-stranded helices in amorphous PEI-4.
An annotated bibliography on microprogramming II: early 1972 - early 1973

This bibliography contains an annotated list of publications (excluding patents) related to microprogramming. Our objective was to prepare a supplement to existing, generally available bibliographies such as those previously published in the SIGMICRO Newsletter ("An Annotated Bibliography on Microprogramming I, Late 1969-Early 1972" by L.H. Jones et al and the Mitre Bibliography by J.A. Clapp et al) and the bibliographies in Husson, S.S., "Microprogramming: Principles and Practices," Prentice-Hall, Englewood Cliffs (1970). We have attempted to identify papers which have appeared in earlier versions by giving references to entries in "An Annotated Bibliography on Microprogramming I" abbreviated simply as I.
Multiple smatterings of insight: 10 years of interaction with Craig Bohren

Craig Bohren has enhanced science education in many ways, including email mentoring of non-scientists and scientists, informal science books, and science textbooks. I had numerous interactions with Bohren over a ten year period, and he influenced my own informal-science-education efforts, which include educational modules, science education posters, and curriculum reviews.
Relation of Parkinson's disease subtypes to visual activities of daily living

Visual perceptual problems are common in Parkinson's disease (PD) and often affect activities of daily living (ADLs). PD patients with non-tremor symptoms at disease onset (i.e., rigidity, bradykinesia, gait disturbance or postural instability) have more diffuse neurobiological abnormalities and report worse non-motor symptoms and functional changes than patients whose initial symptom is tremor, but the relation of motor symptom subtype to perceptual deficits remains unstudied. We assessed visual ADLs with the Visual Activities Questionnaire in 25 non-demented patients with PD, 13 with tremor as the initial symptom and 12 with an initial symptom other than tremor, as well as in 23 healthy control participants (NC). As expected, the non-tremor patients, but not the tremor patients, reported more impairment in visual ADLs than the NC group, including in light/dark adaptation, acuity/spatial vision, depth perception, peripheral vision and visual processing speed. Non-tremor patients were significantly worse than tremor patients overall and on light/dark adaptation and depth perception. Environmental enhancements especially targeted to patients with the non-tremor PD subtype may help to ameliorate their functional disability.
Ultrasound studies of U2Zn17 and UCu5

We present here resonant ultrasound spectroscopy measurements of the elastic moduli and attenuation for U2Zn17 and UCu5 through the respective TN's of 9.7 and 15 K. For single-crystal U2Zn17, the data are the first modulus measurements for this material, and exhibit a very large softening of the sound velocity and an anomalous increase in attenuation below TN, while no precursors at all are observed above. Polycrystalline UCu5, in contrast, exhibits weak softening above TN, and a weak stiffening below.
Rapid, high-purity, lanthanide separations using HPLC

Abstract High-purity chromatographic methods for separating five pairs of neighboring lanthanide elements (Tm/Er, Gd/Eu, Eu/Sm, Sm/Pm, and Pm/Nd) have been developed for the purpose of producing radioactive targets for neutron capture experiments. The methods employ high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) with CS-3 Dionex cation exchange columns that were optimized for each set of elements to obtain the greatest peak separation as a function of the concentration and pH of the alpha-hydroxyisobuturic acid (α-HIB) eluent. Our results indicate a minimum separation resolution (SR) of 2.8 was obtained between each pair of neighboring lanthanides and an overall average SR of around 4.0 within 15 min time. These results represent a significant enhancement over previous chromatographic methods using other technologies (i.e., reverse-phase resins) as well as those based upon similar instrumentation. We attribute our success here to two factors: (1) optimizing the eluent to effect the greatest separation between individual pairs of lanthanides, and (2) altering pH as well as concentration of the eluent for each specified lanthanide pair. Implications of these results to rapid, high-purity lanthanide group separations for general analytical purposes as well as for specialized applications in the area of nuclear attribution (NA) are discussed.
Concentrating Photovoltaic Systems Using Micro-Optics

Molded plastic micro-optics with 100X solar gain are described. A ±40 acceptance cone is allowed so the lens arrays can be mounted on one-axis heliostats and give achromatic, stationary images on photo-voltaic cells.
Bureaucratic Rituals in Health Care Delivery

Following Roberts (1964), D’Andrade (1981; 1989; 1995), and Hutchins (1995), cultures and communities therein can be viewed as socially distributed cognition and socially organized knowledge systems (Schutz, 1962). The paper focuses on Western medical practices we will call bureaucratic ‘rituals’ that rely on folk knowledge and evolving, socially organized conceptual systems and technical activities we call ‘science’ and ‘technology’. All information processing involves expanding and compressing or limiting the processing capacity of individuals and collectivities. Cultural myths or beliefs about the origin of illness and possible cures persist despite what Max Weber (1968) called the rationalization of society. Bureaucratic rituals take on a life of their own and can create extensive technological domains of limited intelligibility for patients. It is, however, the patient, at least initially, who is the key source of information for triggering loosely coupled networks of oral and written or electronic communication and miscommunication. Patients’ ability to understand medical information can be hampered if they have anxiety-producing doubts about the care they receive, or fear that they may possess a serious or terminal illness (Crawford, 2005).
Electron-ion equilibrium and shock precursors in the northeast limb of the Cygnus Loop

We present an observational study using high-resolution echelle spectroscopy of collisionless shocks in the Cygnus Loop supernova remnant. Measured Hα line profiles constrain pre-shock heating processes, shock speeds, and electron-ion equilibration (T{sub e} /T{sub i} ). The shocks produce faint Hα emission line profiles, which are characterized by narrow and broad components. The narrow component is representative of the pre-shock conditions, while the broad component is produced after charge transfer between neutrals entering the shock and protons in the post-shock gas, thus reflecting the properties of the post-shock gas. We observe a diffuse Hα region extending about 2.'5 ahead of the shock with line width ∼29 km s{sup –1}, while the Hα profile of the shock itself consists of broader than expected narrow (36 km s{sup –1}) and broad (250 km s{sup –1}) components. The observed diffuse emission arises in a photoionization precursor heated to about 18,000 K by He I and He II emission from the shock, with additional narrow component broadening originating from a thin cosmic-ray precursor. Broad to narrow component intensity ratios of ∼1.0 imply full electron-ion temperature equilibration T{sub e} ≅ T{sub i} in the post-shock region. Broad component line widths indicate shock velocities of about more » 400 km s{sup –1}. Combining the shock velocities with proper motions suggests that the distance to the Cygnus Loop is ∼890 pc, significantly greater than the generally accepted upper limit of 637 pc. « less
Perceptions of Power in Client/Worker Relationships

Recent literature on empowerment-oriented social work practice raises intriguing questions about the nature of power in client/worker relationships. This qualitative study explores client and worker perceptions of power in their relationships with each other. Individual and focus group interviews were conducted in residential settings serving men and women with histories of homelessness and psychiatric hospitalization. Staff and residents' experiences with helping relationships were probed, with particular attention to characteristics of mutuality, equality, and power. Client and worker preferences were conceptualized as ranging from partnership-oriented relationships to mentorship-oriented relationships. The author draws on empowerment and feminist theory in analyzing the study' simplications for social work practice. The question is posed as to whether social work practice can fully realize the goals of shared power, mutuality, and collaboration associated with feminist and empowerment- oriented practic...
Low-temperature diffusion of hydrogen in PdFe solutions

In a series of recent papers, Yamakawa and Maeta have measured the diffusivity of H-isotopes in Pd and Pd solid solutions containing up to 5 At.% of a substitutional (U) solute (Ag, Fe, Ni) at {approximately} 50 K. In the initial work, the electrical resistivity of H-charged Pd single crystals was followed during isothermal and isochronal annealing. The migration activation enthalpy Q was found to be essentially independent of H-content in the range {theta}{sub i} = 0.08--0.78 ({theta}{sub i} = atom ratio of H/metal) and Q = 10.3 kJ/mol (0.106 eV). This finding is parallel to the results of Davis et al. who measured the diffusivity of H in Pd and Pd-Ag by proton magnetic resonance in the range 200--400 K and found that Q remained constant in the range {theta}{sub i} = 0---0.7. The latest in the series of reports of Yamakawa and Maeta concerns the Pd-Ni-H system. In this work, it was found that the H-diffusion activation enthalpy in the solid solution, Q{sub a}, increased with increasing Ni-content {theta}{sub u} ({theta}{sub u} is the atom fraction of substitutional solute) up to {theta}{sub u} = 0.05 and the data were virtually identical with the previous findings for the Pd-Fe-Hmore » system. The 50 K data for the Pd-Fe-H solution are in qualitative accord with the data for temperatures greater than 300 K in the sense that Q{sub a} increases as {theta}{sub u} increases (trapping). However, the Pd-Ni-H data of Yamakawa and Maeta are in apparent disagreement with the data for T > 300 K of Yoshihara and McLellan and Buchold et al. These data indicate only a slight increase in Q{sub a}, even up to {theta}{sub u} = 0.15.« less
Monolithically integrated III-Sb based laser diodes grown on miscut Si substrates

We report the formation and growth characteristics of an interfacial misfit (IMF) array between AlSb and Si and their application to III-Sb based quantum well (QW) light-emitting devices including edge-emitting laser diodes and vertical-cavity surface emitting lasers (VCSELs) monolithically grown on a Si (001) substrate. A III-Sb epi-structure is grown monolithically on the Si substrate via a thin (=50 nm) AlSb nucleation layer. A 13% lattice mismatch between AlSb and Si is accommodated by using the IMF array. We demonstrate monolithic VCSELs grown on Si(001) substrates operating under room-temperature with optically-pumped conditions. A 3-mm pump spot size results in peak threshold excitation density of I th = 0.1 mJ/cm 2 and a multimode lasing spectrum peak at 1.62 μm. Moreover, broad-area edge-emitters consisting of GaSb/AlGaSb QWs are demonstrated under pulsed conditions at 77K with a threshold current density of ≅2 kA/cm 2 and a maximum peak output power of =20 mW for a 1 mm-long device. A use of 5° miscut Si substrates enables both IMF formation and suppression of an anti-phase domain, resulting in a drastic suppression of dislocation density over the III-Sb epi-layer and realization of electrically-injected laser diodes operating at 77 K. The current-voltage (I-V) characteristics indicate a diode turn-on of 0.7 V, which is consistent with a theoretical built-in potential of the laser diode. This device is characterized by a 9.1 Q forward resistance and a leakage current density of 0.7 A/cm 2 at -5 V and 46.9 A/cm 2 at -15 V. This IMF technique will enable the realization of III-Sb based electrically-injected VCSELs operating at the fiber-optic communication wavelength monolithically grown on a Si platform.
Towards a full analytic treatment of the Hall–Petch behavior in multilayers: putting the pieces together

Abstract A full analytic treatment of the Hall–Petch-like size-effect in multilayers must account for anomalous stress-concentration, dislocation source characteristics, and a variable dislocation pinning stress. From scaling arguments, the criteria for such an equation are described, and an approximate analytic formula is suggested that meets these criteria.
A population-based study of US women's preferred versus usual sources of reproductive health care.

Objective We characterized US women's preferred and usual sources of reproductive health care. Study Design Data were drawn from the Women's Health Care Experiences and Preferences Study, an Internet survey of 1078 women aged 18–55 years randomly sampled from a national probability panel. We described and compared women's preferred and usual sources of care (women's health specialists including obstetricians-gynecologists and family-planning clinics, primary care, other) for Papanicolaou/pelvic examination, contraception, and sexually transmitted infection (STI) services using χ 2 , logistic regression, and kappa statistics. Results Among women reporting health service utilization (n = 984, 92% overall; 77% Papanicolaou/pelvic; 33% contraception; 8% STI), women's health specialists were the most used sources of care for Papanicolaou/pelvic (68%), contraception (74%), and STI (75%) services. Women's health specialists were also the most preferred care sources for Papanicolaou/pelvic (68%), contraception (49%), and STI (35%) services, whereas the remainder of women preferred primary care/other sources or not to get care. Differences in preferred and usual care sources were noted across sociodemographic groups, including insurance status and income level ( P P P P Conclusion Women's preferences for and use of women's health specialists for reproductive health care has implications for efforts to define the role of obstetricians-gynecologists and family planning clinics in current health systems.
Thromboembolic sequelae to indwelling silastic cannulas in sheep arteries.

In sheep, chronic arterial cannulation with Silastic has led to thrombus formation and to intimal fibroplasia of a type not previously reported. Concurrent infection resulted in septic embolization to the brains and eyes on the same side as the cannulated vessels. The histopathology is described in detail.
A method of computing periods of cyclic phenomena

Use of an analysis of Expected Mean Square Deviation to search for periodicities in an observational data sample is described. The statistic for testing the null hypothesis of non-periodicity is derived from a partitioning of the total sum of squared deviations from the mean.