cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Time dependent signatures: Moisture content interpretation in well logging applications with a D-T neutron generator

Abstract Measurements were collected at the Kansas State University Material Interrogation (KSUMI) facility to investigate whether a machine neutron source can effectively replace chemical neutron and photon sources in well logging applications. A large test chamber was constructed and filled in respective tests with the following: water, saline, dry sand, wet sand, nearly dry limestone, and wet limestone. The filled test chamber acted as an underground environment and the water acted as a surrogate for hydrocarbons. The KSUMI data acquisition system features options for spectroscopic and time dependent studies of neutrons and neutron-induced photons. The ability to correlate energies to their time of detection opened an avenue for interpretation of the test chamber characteristics by the isotopic time signatures. The results showed that a hydrogen time signature has a strong relationship with the moisture content. The results also indicated that the material density and absorber content have effects on the hydrogen time signatures, which consequently affect the moisture content interpretation of the test chamber.
Neural structure of a sensory decoder for motor control

ABSTRACT We seek to understand the neural mechanisms that perform sensory decoding for motor behavior, advancing the field by designing decoders based on neural circuits. A simple experiment produced a surprising result that shapes our approach. Changing the size of a target for smooth pursuit eye movements changes the relationship between the variance and mean of the evoked behavior in a way that contradicts the regime of “signal-dependent noise” and defies traditional decoding approaches. A theoretical analysis leads us to conclude that sensory decoding circuits for pursuit include multiple parallel pathways and multiple sources of variation. Behavioral and neural responses with biomimetic statistics emerge from a biologically-motivated circuit model with noise in the pathway that is dedicated to flexibly adjusting the strength of visual-motor transmission. Flexible adjustment of transmission strength applies much more broadly to issues in sensory-motor control such as Bayesian integration and control strategies to optimize motor behavior.
A Single-Cycle MLP Classifier Using Analog MRAM-based Neurons and Synapses.

In this paper, spin-orbit torque (SOT) magnetoresistive random-access memory (MRAM) devices are leveraged to realize sigmoidal neurons and binarized synapses for a single-cycle analog in-memory computing (IMC) architecture. First, an analog SOT-MRAM-based neuron bitcell is proposed which achieves a 12x reduction in power-area-product compared to the previous most power- and area-efficient analog sigmoidal neuron design. Next, proposed neuron and synapse bit cells are used within memory subarrays to form an analog IMC-based multilayer perceptron (MLP) architecture for the MNIST pattern recognition application. The architecture-level results exhibit that our analog IMC architecture achieves at least two and four orders of magnitude performance improvement compared to a mixed-signal analog/digital IMC architecture and a digital GPU implementation, respectively while realizing a comparable classification accuracy.
A systems approach to the sustainability–peace nexus

This paper uses a systems approach to model the coherence and linkages between peace and sustainability. These two interconnected dynamic states emerge from the interaction of multiple systems and subsystems and unfold in a landscape of specific context and scale. There is no such thing as a one-size-fits-all unified and optimized static state of peace, the same way as there are no individual united and optimized stationary states of sustainability or sustainability–peace coherence. Each has “to be read as a plural.” Studies have shown that these states are difficult to conceptualize for different scales and contexts, let alone quantity. The paper first reviews several definitions of sustainability and peace, and explores their linkages at the community scale. Guidelines for a systems approach to address sustainability, peace, and their nexus are suggested. A generic system dynamics model is proposed as an aid to capture, albeit with a high level of abstraction, the complex dynamics between sustainability and peace.
The Impact of Incarceration on Food Insecurity among Households with Children

This study seeks to determine the role that parental incarceration plays on the probability of food insecurity among families with children and very low food security of children using micro-level data from the Fragile Families and Child Well Being Study (FFCWS). The data set contains the 18-question food security module which allows us to explore the link between incarceration and food insecurity and very low food security among children, families, and adults. The incidence of very low food security in our data is somewhat higher than the national average, but the incidence of other levels of food security is similar to national aggregates. Since there is likely reverse causality in the relationship between parental incarceration and food insecurity, we employ a variety of program evaluation techniques to identify the causal relationship between food insecurity and parental incarceration. We employ imputation techniques to account for non-response among the food security variables and independent variables. Our ordinary least squares results suggest that having at least one parent that has ever been incarcerated has a small positive effect (1 to 4 percentage points) on the probability of very low food security among children, adults and households with children, but the results are not significant in various specification. Food insecurity for adults and households with children (a less dire level of food insecurity than very low food security) is affected by parental incarceration under most specifications with magnitudes of impact from 4 to 15 percentage points. This research provides some evidence that incarceration adversely affects children and families in terms of food insecurity. Policies to mitigate the impact could be addressed through the court system whereby children are provided with court-sanctioned support to address food needs.
Creating an optimal motivational team climate to help collegiate athletes thrive during the covid-19 pandemic

College athletes’ lives have been upended due to the sudden impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. In spring 2020, athletes lost their competition seasons, face-to-face contact with their coaches and tea...
A reference genome sequence resource for the sugar beet root rot pathogen Aphanomyces cochlioides

Aphanomyces cochlioides, the causal agent of damping-off and root rot of sugar beet (Beta vulgaris L.), is a soil-dwelling oomycete responsible for yield losses in all major sugar beet growing regions. Currently, genomic resources for A. cochlioides are limited. Here we report a de novo genome assembly using a combination of long-read MinION (Oxford Nanopore Technologies) and short-read Illumina sequence data for A. cochlioides isolate 103-1, from Breckenridge, MN. The assembled genome was 76.3 Mb, with a contig N50 of 2.6 Mb. The reference assembly was annotated and was composed of 32.1% repetitive elements and 20,274 gene models. This high-quality genome assembly of A. cochlioides will be a valuable resource for understanding genetic variation, virulence factors, and comparative genomics of this important sugar beet pathogen.
MO-DE-204-06

A great deal of progress has been made in iterative/statistical image reconstruction for x-ray CT, and major vendors have products available for their systems. These image reconstruction algorithms are nonlinear, and therefore present challenges related to image quality evaluation. For example, pixel noise standard deviation is likely not to correlate to perceived image quality and spatial resolution is likely to be contrast dependent. The purpose of this symposium is to inform medical physicists on these challenges and what methods are available for judging image quality and improvements. Following this background, speakers will describe the methods that are available on various commercial systems. The symposium consists of: Kyle Myers: “Evaluation of Nonlinear Reconstruction Methods Karl Stierstorfer: “Advanced Reconstruction Methods on Siemens CT Systems” Jiang Hsieh: “Advanced Reconstruction Methods on GE CT Systems” Wenli Wang: “Advanced Reconstruction Methods on Toshiba CT Systems” Sandra Halliburton: “Advanced Reconstruction Methods on Philips CT Systems” Panel Discussion Learning Objectives: 1. Challenges and methods for evaluating image quality in nonlinear systems 2. Understand the advanced reconstruction methods available on commercial systems 3. Understand the benefits provided by the advanced reconstruction techniques Research support: Philips Healthcare and GE Healthcare
Ultrasound‐Guided Localization of Difficult‐to‐Access Refill Port of the Intrathecal Pump Reservoir

Introduction. Ultrasound guidance is being increasingly utilized in many chronic pain interventions. This is a report of the use of ultrasound imaging for accessing an intrathecal pump. Case Report. A 56-year-old patient with a programmable implanted intrathecal drug delivery system for chronic non-malignant pain needed a pump refill of sufentanil. Attempts to access the refill port using the manufacturer supplied template were difficult because of the presence of a seroma. Using ultrasound guidance, the seroma, reservoir, and the refill port were visualized and the pump was successfully accessed. This imaging-guided refill technique is fully described in this article. As the patient continued to have a collection of fluid during his following visit, the collection was aspirated under ultrasound guidance. The specimen revealed a proteinaceous collection with minimal quantities of sufentanil. Conclusion. This is a successful demonstration of ultrasound guidance to facilitate access to a difficult-to-access refill port of a pump reservoir secondary to the formation of a seroma.
Time Series Analysis from a Statistical Viewpoint

Time series analysis is an enormous field of study in mathematical statistics, econometrics, engineering signal processing, and other fields. This paper gives a brief and incomplete outline of some important themes in this literature that may be helpful in the investigation of variable astronomical phenomena. Autoregressive (ARMA) models can be highly effective for aperiodic but correlated time series as seen in accretion disk systems, active galactic nuclei, and gamma-ray bursts. State space representations, or Kalman filtering, provide a powerful mathematical environment for study of nonstationary, nonlinear, quasi-periodic, unevenly spaced, and Poisson time series in astronomy.
Activity enhances dopaminergic long-duration response in Parkinson disease.

Objective: We tested the hypothesis that dopamine-dependent motor learning mechanism underlies the long-duration response to levodopa in Parkinson disease (PD) based on our studies in a mouse model. By data-mining the motor task performance in dominant and nondominant hands of the subjects in a double-blind randomized trial of levodopa therapy, the effects of activity and dopamine therapy were examined. Methods: We data-mined the Earlier versus Later Levodopa Therapy in Parkinson9s Disease (ELLDOPA) study published in 2005 and performed statistical analysis comparing the effects of levodopa and dominance of handedness over 42 weeks. Results: The mean change in finger-tapping counts from baseline before the initiation of therapy to predose at 9 weeks and 40 weeks increased more in the dominant compared to nondominant hand in levodopa-treated subjects in a dose-dependent fashion. There was no significant difference in dominant vs nondominant hands in the placebo group. The short-duration response assessed by the difference of postdose performance compared to predose performance at the same visit did not show any significant difference between dominant vs nondominant hands. Conclusions: Active use of the dominant hand and dopamine replacement therapy produces synergistic effect on long-lasting motor task performance during “off” medication state. Such effect was confined to dopamine-responsive symptoms and not seen in dopamine-resistant symptoms such as gait and balance. We propose that long-lasting motor learning facilitated by activity and dopamine is a form of disease modification that is often seen in trials of medications that have symptomatic effects.
Of Dominoes and Firewalls: The Domestic, Regional, and Global Politics of International Diffusion

The Great Recession, Euro contagion, Middle East upheavals, nuclear proliferation, and expansion of rights, among others, highlight the centrality of diffusion to international studies. This Presidential Address outlines building blocks for a shared conceptualization of diffusion that is attentive to the initial stimulus ; the medium through which information about the stimuli may/may not travel to other destinations; the political agents un/affected by the stimulus’ positive or negative externalities, who aid or block the stimulus’ journey to other destinations; and outcomes that enable discrimination among grades of diffusion and resulting equilibria. Various issue areas illustrate how initial stimuli may/may not change preferences, transform identities, trigger emotions, alter strategic choices, and affect outcomes. I advance three related considerations. First, to avoid selection bias, understanding what does not diffuse (the “Vegas counterfactual”) should be as central as what does. Concepts such as firewalls and sedimentation are essential for gauging a medium's relative immunity/vulnerability to diffusion. Second, weaving domestic, regional, and global considerations into a single analytical framework reduces omitted variable bias and enables systematic cross-regional comparisons. Third, these building blocks imbue the study of diffusion with political dynamics—entailing strategic interaction, contingency, incomplete information, and unintended effects—that defy determinism, automaticity, or teleology. Similar causal mechanisms may yield different outcomes under different domestic, regional, and global conditions. And different mechanisms may yield similar outcomes under comparable circumstances. I highlight the challenges inherent in assessing the outcomes of diffusion given competing empirical findings, epistemologies, and normative readings of what does/does not and should/should not diffuse, and outline an agenda for future research.
Laboratory diagnosis of invasive candidiasis.

Severe infections due to Candida species have become more frequent during the past two decades because of the increasing numbers of immunosuppressed patients being treated in our hospitals. Distinguishing colonization from invasive disease requires knowledge of the pathogenetic mechanisms leading to invasion. To assist the clinician in therapeutic decisions, clinical microbiologists should identify to species Candida organisms isolated from immunosuppressed patients. Quantitative or semiquantitative cultures of urine, burn tissues, intravascular catheter tips, and bronchoalveolar lavage specimens may provide useful information. Immunofluorescent staining of certain specimens can enhance diagnostic yield. The lysis-centrifugation blood culture technique offers some advantages over traditional broth techniques in detecting Candida fungemia. Antibody testing is of limited diagnostic value in highly immunosuppressed patients. Developing simple and reliable tests for detecting antigens or metabolites of Candida spp. in the sera of infected patients has proven difficult. Methods for typing Candida albicans are evolving. Typing should prove useful for studying the epidemiology of candidiasis in hospitalized patients. Images
The dependence of internal brown spot development upon calcium fertility in potato tubers

To determine calcium fertility and high temperature effects on internal brown spot development in potato, cv. Russet Burbank plants were fertilised with Hoagland's nutrient solution with or without calcium. Prevalence and severity of internal brown spot were greatest in tubers receiving no calcium fertilisation during growth. Internal brown spot was evident as early as tuber initiation. A high growth medium temperature (32°C) at tuber maturity with a lack of calcium increased internal brown spot incidence and severity. No tubers subjected to the high temperature and fertilised with calcium developed internal brown spot. Peel calcium concentration of tubers receiving no calcium fertilisation was lower (0.5–0.8 g/kg) than tubers receiving calcium (1.2–1.9 g/kg). Medullary tissue calcium concentration was similar under both calcium regimes. Calcium availability during early tuber growth was an influential factor in internal brown spot development, however high temperature effects may not be discounted in exacerbating the disorder.
Handbook of Structural Equation Modeling

Edited by Rick H. Hoyle. New York, NY: Guilford, 2012, 740 pp. $125.00 (hardcover). In this welcome addition to the personal libraries of quantitative and applied researchers alike, Rick Hoyle brin...
Schizophrenia and the Brain

Schizophrenia is a devastating disease of unknown cause. Its protean symptoms range from a pervasive blunting of affect, thought, and socialization, to florid hallucinations and delusions. Its characteristic onset during adolescence and young adulthood interferes with the most productive period of life and results in prolonged suffering. Even with the most up-to-date management, about half the patients have chronic deterioration, and the rest a more episodic course. The worldwide prevalence is approximately 1 percent. In the United States alone, the cost to society runs from $10 to $20 billion yearly.1 There have been two major advances in this field recently. . . .
Experimental determination of the bonding of column 3 and 5 elements on GaAs

Abstract Following an introduction to the chemistry of the GaAs(110) surface, an experimental determination of the interfacial bond character between column 3 or column 5 elements and GaAs(110) is presented. The column 5-GaAs(110) bonds are directional (covalent) in character, while the column 3-GaAs(110) bonds are non-directional and apparently non-local in nature. Implications of these results for crystal growth are given. It is concluded that in 3–5 crystal growth, the column 5 atoms are expected to initiate the epitaxial alignment of a growing layer with the crystalline substrate.
Corporate Governance and Asset Sales: The Effect of Internal and External Control Mechanisms

We investigate firms that sell assets to determine whether corporate governance mechanisms are effective at controlling agency problems. Our evidence shows that these firms have lower managerial ownership and are more likely to make unrelated acquisitions, suggesting weak internal controls. Analysis of insider trading activity shows that, on average, net buying increases before the asset sale and shareholders benefit more when this occurs. Results suggest that how managers reach a given level of ownership provides more information about incentive alignment than just the level of ownership. Our results also highlight the dynamic nature of corporate restructuring as firms acquire and then sell assets.
The Federal Deficit and the National Debt

Using historical data from the Office of Management and Budget, the Congressional Budget Office, and the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, the author argues that that the current method of expressing the federal deficit and/or debt as a percentage of GDP obscures the danger posed by potentially higher interest rates. While the debt and deficit may still be at manageable levels, the situation could deteriorate much quicker than we might imagine, substantially raising the government's opportunity cost of servicing the national debt and diminishing the economic well being of American business and consumers.
Soft-Landing of Peptides onto Self-Assembled Monolayer Surfaces

Mass-selected peptide ions produced by electrospray ionization were deposited as ions by soft-landing (SL) onto fluorinated and hydrogenated self-assembled monolayer (FSAM and HSAM) surfaces using a Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometer (FT-ICR MS) specially designed for studying collisions of large ions with surfaces. Analysis of modified surfaces was performed in situ by combining 2 keV Cs+ secondary ion mass spectrometry with FT-ICR detection of the sputtered ions (FT-ICR-SIMS). Similar SIMS spectra obtained following SL at different collision energies indicate that peptide fragmentation occurred in the analysis step (SIMS) rather than during ion deposition. The effect of the surface on SL was studied by comparing the efficiencies of SL on gold, FSAM, HSAM, and COOH-terminated SAM surfaces. It was found that FSAM surfaces are more efficient in retaining ions than their HSAM analogues, consistent with their larger polarizability. The efficiency of soft-landing of different peptides...
Determining and reducing the overhead losses in an ASIC-type environment

With the reduce cycle times required to produce customized chips to the end user, the inherent overhead time that is involved with running small lots or even send ahead wafers need to be minimized and optimized to provide reasonable levels of raw throughput. By understanding the process, from the completion of one lot to the start of the next, measurements and actions can be undertaken to outline improvements in the process.
Heterosis and reciprocal-cross effects in tetraploid switchgrass.

Switchgrass (L.) is a candidate for cellulosic bioenergy feedstock development in many parts of North America. Because production costs are generally considered too high for economic and sustainable production of switchgrass biomass, breeding for increased biomass yield is a viable and desirable research objective. The objective of this study was to estimate heterosis and reciprocal-cross effects in three types of switchgrass crosses: upland × upland (U×U), lowland × lowland (L×L), and upland × lowland (L×U) hybrids. A total of 62 hybrids and two parental populations were evaluated for 2 yr at two Wisconsin locations. Mid-parent heterosis for biomass yield was observed in only four L×L hybrids and no L×U hybrids, suggesting that it is not a universal phenomenon between upland and lowland ecotypes. Reciprocal effects were more important than heterosis effects, as most hybrids were similar in performance to their maternal parent population. Flowering time was a strong driver of biomass yield, accounting for 67% of the variation among hybrids in biomass yield and increasing biomass yield by 0.47 Mg ha for each day delay in flowering time.
Reproductive Management of Dairy Cows in High Milk-Producing Herds

Abstract Challenges limiting reproductive efficiency of high milk-producing cows include interrelationships among body condition, dry matter intake, transition from the dry period to lactation, onset of normal estrous cycles, detection of estrus, and embryonic survival. Attention is required to details associated with diet formulation; feed bunk management; cow comfort in free stalls, holding pen, and milking parlor during extremes of temperature and humidity; proper hoof care; milking management and mastitis prevention; control of ovulation and estrus; and early nonpregnancy diagnosis. Intensive management of transition cows should involve monitoring key metabolic markers using hand-held devices. This should allow early detection of illnesses that can be followed by proven interventions to alleviate their residual effects. Body condition should be monitored more closely to reduce dry cow and transition problems and prevent prolonged anestrus by maximizing early postpartum dry matter intakes. Cow comfort should be monitored more closely to minimize standing time for milking, maximize standing time for estrus and feed intake, and maximize resting time for rumination and more efficient milk synthesis. Estrus may be detected using automated techniques such as pedometry, rump-mounted pressure-sensitive radio-telemetric devices, and in-line parlor tests for milk progesterone or estrogen. More highly fertile heifers may be impregnated using sexed semen, sexed embryos, or clones to provide more replacement heifers because of declining fertility of lactating cows. Strategies to impregnate high-producing cows will require more ovulation control before first and subsequent services without detection of estrus. Because of high rates of embryonic death, more pregnancies may be achieved by using sexed or cloned embryos. Many reproductive technologies used today, including programmed breeding, will be refined and incorporated into the management of cows on fewer dairy farms with more cows per farm. Despite trends for longer lactations associated with bST and lesser pregnancy rates, renewed lactations following parturition will continue to be essential for herd longevity of cows.
HIV-1 expression protects macrophages and microglia from apoptotic death

Macrophages and microglia are the predominant cells infected with HIV-1 in the brain, yet the effects of productive HIV infection on the fate of these cells are poorly understood. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that HIV-1 expression influences cell death in infected macrophages and microglial cells. We detected apoptosis by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase-mediated dUTP nick end labelling (TUNEL) in the cerebral white matter of control and HIV encephalitis (HIVE) brains, and quantitatively analysed apoptotic cells with respect to their location (vessel-associated vs. parenchymal), CD68 expression, and HIV-1 p24 expression. There were more vessel-associated, but not more parenchymal, TUNEL+ cells in HIVE cases as compared to controls. Vessel-associated TUNEL+ cells were primarily endothelial cells (von Willebrand factor+) or macrophages (CD68+). TUNEL+/CD68+ cells were present in both control and HIVE cases in similar frequencies (2.1 +/- 0.7% vs. 1.9 +/- 0.7% of total CD68+ populations, respectively). In HIVE, TUNEL+/p24+ cells were 0.4 +/- 0.2% of the total p24+ cell population, which was lower than the frequency of TUNEL+/CD68+ cells (1.9 +/- 0.7%) in the total CD68+ macrophage population. These results suggest that HIV-1-infected macrophages and microglia are resistant to apoptosis, and may contribute to the formation of a central nervous system viral reservoir.
Characterization of Pseudomonas aeruginosa growth on O-acylcarnitines and identification of a short-chain acylcarnitine hydrolase.

ABSTRACT To survive in various environments, from host tissue to soil, opportunistic bacterial pathogens must be metabolically flexible and able to use a variety of nutrient sources. We are interested in Pseudomonas aeruginosa9s catabolism of quaternary amine compounds that are prevalent in association with eukaryotes. Carnitine and acylcarnitines are abundant in animal tissues, particularly skeletal muscle, and are used to shuttle fatty acids in and out of the mitochondria, where they undergo β-oxidation. We previously identified the genes required for carnitine catabolism as the first four genes in the carnitine operon (caiX-cdhCAB; PA5388 to PA5385). However, the last gene in the operon, PA5384, was not required for carnitine catabolism. We were interested in determining the function of PA5384. Bioinformatic analyses along with the genomic location of PA5384 led us to hypothesize a role for PA5384 in acylcarnitine catabolism. Here, we have characterized PA5384 as an l-enantiomer-specific short-chain acylcarnitine hydrolase that is required for growth and hydrolysis of acetyl- and butyrylcarnitine to carnitine and the respective short-chain fatty acid. The liberated carnitine and its downstream catabolic product, glycine betaine, are subsequently available to function as osmoprotectants in hyperosmotic environments and induce transcription of the virulence factor phospholipase C, plcH. Furthermore, we confirmed that acylcarnitines with 2- to 16-carbon chain lengths, except for octanoylcarnitine (8 carbons), can be utilized by P. aeruginosa as sole carbon and nitrogen sources. These findings expand our knowledge of short-chain acylcarnitine catabolism and also point to remaining questions related to acylcarnitine transport and hydrolysis of medium- and long-chain acylcarnitines.
DC Motor Drive Speed Regulation: Using a Repetitive Control Application in a Flatbed Scanner

This article presented an application of the repetitive control to DC motor drive speed regulation of flatbed scanners. Cost-reduction actions during the product development phase determined the use of a cheaper DC motor assembly for the scanner drive, which showed a high level of cogging torque. A discrete-time repetitive controller was designed based on the plug-in concept to attenuate the periodic component of the speed error. A robustness criterion was developed to ensure the closed-loop stability against model uncertainties.
Behaviour of steel frames under fire conditions

A state-of-the-art review of the behaviour of steel frame structures in fire is presented. Results from different studies indicate that the behaviour of a complete structure is different from that of a single structural member under fire conditions from the point of view of fire resistance. Earlier studies also show that analysis and design of steel structures against fire based on their overall behaviour could lead to a reduction or the elimination of applied fire protection to certain structural members. The effects of continuity, restraint conditions, and load ratio on the fire resistance of frame structures are discussed. The beneficial aspects derived from considering overall structural rather than single-member behaviour in fire are illustrated through the analysis on two one-bay, one-storey, unprotected steel portal frames, a column, and a beam. Also comparison is made between the performance of a beam with different end restraints in fire. Results from the analyses indicate that the fire resistanc...
Measurement of urinary methoxyphenols and their use for biological monitoring of wood smoke exposure.

Abstract A urinary assay for methoxyphenols was developed for the biological monitoring of wood smoke exposure. Methoxyphenols in 10-ml samples of urine were extracted after acid hydrolysis using XAD in a solid-phase extraction cartridge. The methoxyphenols were eluted with ethyl acetate and then analyzed by gas chromatography/mass spectrometry. Specific chemicals quantified were guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, 4-ethylguaiacol, 4-propylguaiacol, syringol, 4-methylsyringol, 4-ethylsyringol, vanillin, eugenol, and syringaldehyde. Recoveries ranged from 60 to 90%, with coefficients of variation of ≤20%. Background levels of the compounds were measured in 21 nonsmoking adults. Guaiacol, 4-methylguaiacol, eugenol, and vanillin were detected in all subjects. An experimental feeding of a commercial wood smoke flavoring demonstrated that methoxyphenols were rapidly and efficiently eliminated in urine. Preliminary field studies demonstrated that urinary excretion rates of some methoxyphenols increased after inhalation exposure to wood smoke.
Enzyme production by obligate intestinal anaerobic bacteria isolated from oscars (Astronotus ocellatus), angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) and southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma)

The important role of the normal anaerobic intestinal flora has been elucidated in man and some domesticated animals; however, the presence of intestinal anaerobes, let alone their importance, in lower vertebrates is largely unknown. The purpose of this research was to isolate and to identify the obligate anaerobic intestinal flora of the freshwater angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare), oscars (Astronotus ocellatus) and the marine southern flounder (Paralichthys lethostigma). Anaerobic intestinal flora were successfully isolated and cultivated in a Bactron II anaerobe chamber; however, many of these isolates could not be identified using available biochemical databases and may represent new undescribed taxa. The types of obligate anaerobes isolated differed among the fish, for example, only the genus Clostridium was recovered from southern flounder, while both Clostridium and Gram negative genera including Fusobacterium, Bacteroides and Porphorymonas were recovered from oscars and angelfish. Isolates were tested for the presence of constitutive enzymes using the APIZYM system. Anaerobic bacteria isolated from the gastrointestinal tracts demonstrated enzyme activities of acid and alkaline phosphatases, C4 and C8 esterases, C14 lipases, arylamidases and glycosidases. Enzyme activity differed with isolates. Generally, Gram negative genera demonstrated enzymes for the breakdown of carbohydrates, while Clostridium demonstrated enzymes for the breakdown of proteins. All genera produced phosphatases possibly used for absorption of nutrients.
Effects of sucrose esters on isothermal crystallization and rheological behavior of blends of milk-fat fraction sunflower oil

Fil: Puppo, Maria Cecilia. Provincia de Buenos Aires. Gobernacion. Comision de Investigaciones Cientificas. Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Criotecnologia de Alimentos. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Cientificas y Tecnicas. Centro Cientifico Tecnologico Conicet - La Plata. Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Criotecnologia de Alimentos. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas. Centro de Investigacion y Desarrollo en Criotecnologia de Alimentos; Argentina
Attitudes, myths, and realities: Helping family and professional caregivers cope with sexuality in the Alzheimer's patient

Alzheimer's is an afliction of more than the individual. Even as the individual's incapacitation grows, associated caregivers, usually the spouse, also experience tremendous lifestyle changes. Intimacy is a frequent casualty amidst feelings of sadness, anger, confusion, depression, grief and loss. This paper examines how knowledge about the course of the disease enhances tolerance and empathy, mediating some of the situation's negatives with regard to the changing physical and psychological relationship. It more specifically looks at discrepencies between the acceptability of sexual behaviors in homes versus in residential facilities.
Ongoing Clinical Trials Evaluating the Cardiovascular Safety and Efficacy of Therapeutic Approaches to Diabetes Mellitus

Research has substantiated that patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus are at increased risk for cardiovascular (CV) disease. It is well established that aggressive management of metabolic risk factors is critical to reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with diabetes. A number of clinical trials are currently focusing on evaluating the safety and efficacy of therapeutic approaches to diabetes. These trials will provide additional information on the role of aggressive management of glucose in patients with diabetes and CV risk. This article provides a summary of these ongoing trials, and discusses the impact of glycemic control and strategies to promote CV risk reduction in patients with diabetes.
332: Cesarean delivery during the second stage of labor: Is timing associated with perinatal outcomes?

ASSOCIATED WITH PERINATAL OUTCOMES? Y. KATHERINE BIANCO, YVONNE CHENG, BRIAN SHAFFER, DEIRDRE LYELL, AARON CAUGHEY, University of California, San Francisco, Obstetrics, Gynecology and Reproductive Sciences, San Francisco, California, Stanford University, Stanford, California OBJECTIVE: To compare perinatal outcomes of women who had cesarean delivery during different time intervals of second stage. STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study of women with term, singleton pregnancies without a prior cesarean who had a cesarean delivery during the second stage of labor. Maternal outcomes of women who had cesarean during 1-2 hour were compared to those who had cesarean at 2 hours. Similar comparisons were made for 3 and 4 hour thresholds. Maternal outcomes were examined using chi-square test, and potential confounders were controlled for using multivariable logistic regression analysis. Stratification by parity was also performed. RESULTS: Results: There were 1,066 women who had cesarean delivery beyond the first hour of second stage. Compared to cesarean performed during 1-2 hour of second stage, risk of postpartum hemorrhage, chorioamnionitis, endomyometritis, and operating time 90 minutes were not different for women who had cesarean 2, 3, or 4 hours of second stage. (Table). There was also no difference in outcomes when the study cohort was stratified by parity. CONCLUSION: In women who underwent cesarean delivery beyond the first hour of second stage, maternal outcomes did not differ relative to timing of surgery. These findings may be useful in counseling women during the second stage of labor
Influence of initial particle density on the reaction mode of porous carbon particles

In combustion of porous carbon particles, the relation between particle density and diameter: σσ0 = (dd0)α; was obtained in an earlier analysis [1]. This present work extends that earlier analysis to show with experimental support that (1) the power index, α, varies with the initial char density, σ0, according to α = α0(1 − σ0σs), where σs is the He density, and (2) that the limit value of α at zero density, α0, is inversely proportional to the square root of the velocity constant of the reaction. Available experimental data values for α0 yielded an effective value of activation energy, E, of 23 kcal/mol, and 46 kcal/mol after correction for Zone II behavior in agreement with earlier analysis of the same data by a different method [4]. For values of α, supporting the linear decline of α with σ0, the experimental data base was a set of 37 values obtained from 15 literature sources. The set showed a surprisingly small range in α values, from 0 to 7, and with most in the range 1–3, in spite of the different methods of experiment, char types, origins, particle sizes, and reaction temperatures. This suggests that, while Zone II reaction may be common, the depth of penetration of the reaction in Zone II combustion may be quite shallow. It also supports the conclusion that intrinsic reactivity from different char sources may be very similar and that differences in combustion rate may be determined less by chemical reactivity differences and more by physical access to the surface and interior of the particle, with access to the interior largely determined by initial char density, σ0, at the start of char combustion.
Changes in electrical and microstructural properties of microcrystalline cellulose as function of carbonization temperature

Abstract AC and DC electrical measurements were made to better understand the thermal conversion of microcrystalline cellulose to carbon. This study identifies five regions of electrical conductivity that can be directly correlated to the chemical decomposition and microstructural evolution of cellulose during carbonization. In Region I (250–350 °C), a decrease in overall AC conductivity occurs due to the loss of the polar oxygen-containing functional groups from cellulose molecules. In Region II (400–500 °C), the AC conductivity starts to increase with heat treatment temperature due to the formation and growth of conducting carbon clusters. In Region III (550–600 °C), a further increase of AC conductivity with increasing heat treatment temperature is observed. In addition, the AC conductivity demonstrates a non-linear frequency dependency due to electron hopping, interfacial polarization, and onset of a percolation threshold. In Region IV (610–1000 °C), a frequency independent conductivity (DC conductivity) is observed and continues to increase with heat treatment due to the growth and further percolation of carbon clusters. Finally in Region V (1200–2000 °C), the DC conductivity reaches a plateau with increasing heat treatment temperature as the system reaches a fully percolated state.
Injuries among children in home and out-of-home care.

As the number of children receiving care in out-of-home settings increases in the United States, the risk of injury in such settings has become the subject of intense research. OBJECTIVES: This study examined the relative safety of out-of-home care compared with care in a child's own home. METHODS: This community based prospective cohort study of 656 families in three adjacent counties in the Piedmont region of North Carolina characterizes the patterns and rates of injuries among children less than 5 years of age in three child care settings, home care (HC), center based care (CBC), and other out-of-home care (OOHC). Information about minor and severe injuries was obtained from parents using monthly telephone interviews over a one year period. Statistical modeling designed to handle unbalanced data with correlated observations was used as the primary tool for analysis. RESULTS: Rate of minor injuries was highest in CBC, followed by HC, and then OOHC. However, these differences for OOHC may have been due to reporting biases and errors in rate estimates. There were no significant differences in severe injury rates among the three settings. CONCLUSIONS: The risk of serious injury among children under 5 in CBC is not different from that of children in HC or OOHC despite the fact that the risk of minor injury is higher.
The Stressful Life Events Schedule for children and adolescents: development and validation

The development and psychometric properties of the Stressful Life Events Schedule (SLES), an interview instrument to assess stressors in children and adolescents, are described. Children ( 12 years) with psychopathology (n=30) and non-psychiatric controls (n=30) were interviewed with the SLES about the occurrence of stressful life events during the prior year. To examine concurrent validity of the SLES, all subjects also completed the self-report Life Events Checklist (LEC) and half the sample completed the Life Events and Difficulties Schedule (LEDS). To examine informant validity, the parent/guardian also reported on stressful life events occurring to their child during the year prior to interview. Test-retest reliability of the SLES was examined by re-assessing all children approximately one week after the initial interview. Subjects rated subjectively how stressful an event was on a 4-point scale. Additionally, panel ratings of objective stress and behavior-dependence/independence were made on 4-point scales. The SLES was found to have substantial inter-rater consensus reliability for objective threat (kappa=0.67) and almost perfect reliability for event behavior-dependence/independence (kappa=0.84). Similarly, the test-retest reliability of the SLES was also found to be substantial at the level of specific event comparisons (kappa=0.68). The SLES discriminated between children with and without psychopathology on all measures of stressful life events. Total stressful life events assessed with the SLES concurred well with those assessed by the LEC (ICC=0.83) and the LEDS (kappa=0.77) although, as expected, examination of specific events showed much smaller overlap between the SLES and the LEC (kappa=0.26). Child-parent agreement for the occurrence of severe events was substantial (kappa=0.73) but tended to be only moderate when all events were examined (kappa=0.48). The results of this study indicate that the SLES has good psychometric properties. The SLES is a useful, cost-effective tool for assessing stressful life events in children and adolescents.
Langmuir probe study of the charged particle characteristics in an analytical radio frequency-glow discharge. Roles of discharge conditions and sample conductivity

Abstract The application of a tuned Langmuir probe to the measurement of the charged particle characteristics of electron number density, ion number density, electron energy distribution function, average electron energy and electron temperature, in an analytical radio frequency (r.f.)-glow discharge is described. Studies focus on the roles of discharge operating conditions and plasma sampling position for conductive (copper) and nonconductive (Macor) samples. Based on the data obtained here, apparent differences in plasma characteristics between conductive and nonconductive samples can be reasonably explained. For example, the sputtering of conductive samples results in plasmas with obviously higher electron and ion number densities than the sputtering of nonconductive samples (e.g. n i = 1.8 × 10 10 cm −3 and n e = 1.5 × 10 9 cm −3 for copper, and n i = 8 × 10 9 cm −3 and n e = 5 × 10 8 cm −3 for Macor under the conditions of argon pressure = 4 Torr, r.f. power = 30 W and sampling distance = 4.5 mm). Conversely, nonconductive samples yield electrons with higher energies (average electron energies of 15 and 7.5 eV and temperatures of 6.5 and 3.5 eV respectively for the Macor and copper samples). Lower d.c. bias potentials for the case of sputtering nonconductive samples yield reduced sputtering rates and charged particle densities, though the electrons in the latter case have higher energies and thus improved excitation capabilities. The differences between r.f.- and d.c.-glow discharge optical emission spectra are also discussed relative to reported electron energy characteristics. Studies such as these will lay the ground-work for extensive evaluation of inter-matrix type standardization for r.f.-glow discharge atomic emission spectrometry.
A Computational Study of Turbulent Flow and Heat Transfer Through RC/D =3.357 U-Bend Cooling Passage of Gas Turbine Blade

It has been a common practice that serpentine cooling passages are used in gas turbine blade to enhance the cooling performance. Insufficient cooled blades are subject to oxidation, to cause creep rupture, and even to cause melting of the material. To control and improve temperature of blade, we have to have a better understanding of flow behavior and heat transfer inside strongly curved U-bends. The interactions between secondary flows and separation lead to very complex flow patterns. To accurately simulate these flows and heat transfer, both refined turbulence models and higher-order numerical schemes are indispensable for turbine designers to improve the cooling performance. Previous studies have shown that the flow and heat transfer features through curved bends, even with moderate curvature, cannot be accurately simulated. It is the conventional belief and practice that the usage of a proper turbulence model and a reliable numerical method for achieving accurate computations. The three-dimensional turbulent flows and heat transfer inside a sharp U-bend are numerically studied by using a non-linear low-Reynolds number (low-Re) k-ω model in which the cubic terms are included to represent the effects of extra strain-rates such as streamline curvature and three-dimensionality on both turbulence normal and shear stresses. The finite volume difference method incorporated with the higher-order bounded interpolation scheme has been employed in the present study. For the purpose of comparison, the predictions with the linear low-Reynolds number k-ω model were also performed. The success of the present prediction indicates that the model can be applied to the flow and heat transfer through a coolant passage in an actual gas turbine blade.Copyright © 2007 by ASME