cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Certificate of need regulation in the nursing home industry: Has it outlived its usefulness?

The primary goals of the National Health Planning and Resources Development Act (P.L. 93-641) of 1974 were to (1) contain health care costs and (2) increase the accessibility and quality of health services. Certificate of need (CON) regulation and construction moratoria in the nursing home industry are an attempt to constrain health care costs by limiting the supply of nursing home beds. This type of regulation imposes a supply side constraint that creates a potential barrier to entry and in the presence of excess demand may cause a shortage of nursing home beds for those residents covered by Medicaid.Even though the Federal CON requirement lapsed in 1986, forty-two States and the District of Columbia continue to have a CON, a construction moratorium, or both for nursing home facilities. Yet maintaining these regulations comes with a cost. This paper investigates if differences exist in the quality of care and the access to care between nursing homes in those States without CON and/or construction moratorium and those States that still have such policies. Using data for the years 1991 through 2003 for all freestanding Medicaid-/Medicare-certified nursing home facilities in the United States and employing state and facility fixed effects models we find that Medicaid-eligible residents in those states without CON and/or construction moratorium policies have more access to a nursing home bed than those individuals in states with these policies. With respect to quality of care the results are mixed depending on the measure of quality that is employed. With the risk of becoming a nursing home resident at the age of 65 at 44 percent and at the age of 85 at 53 percent (Spillman and Lubitz 2002) coupled with the aging of the current population, the areas of quality of care and access to care remain important policy issues in the nursing home industry.
Primary afferent tachykinins are required to experience moderate to intense pain

The excitatory neurotransmitter glutamate coexists with the peptide known as substance P in primary afferents that respond to painful stimulation1. Because blockers of glutamate receptors reliably reduce pain behaviour2,3,4, it is assumed that ‘pain’ messages are mediated by glutamate action on dorsal horn neurons. The contribution of substance P, however, is still unclear. We have now disrupted the mouse preprotachykinin A gene (PPT-A), which encodes substance P and a related tachykinin, neurokinin A (ref. 5). We find that although the behavioural response to mildly painful stimuli is intact in these mice, the response to moderate to intense pain is significantly reduced. Neurogenic inflammation, which results from peripheral release of substance P and neurokinin A (ref. 6), is almost absent in the mutant mice. We conclude that the release of tachykinins from primary afferent pain-sensing receptors (nociceptors) is required to produce moderate to intense pain.
Links between ranking and total ordering for fuzzy integers

In this paper, first, we point out that fuzzy integers are not special cases of fuzzy numbers. Then, we define the concept of fuzzy integers, develop the methods for establishing rankings and total orderings on sets of fuzzy integers, and discuss the interrelationships between rankings and total orderings.
Politics, Parliament, and the Penalty of the Lash: The Significance of the End of Flogging in 1886

The Brazilian penalty of the lash was reformed (1886) by a cabinet and parliament opposed to abolition. While the penalty’s abuse had been exploited by Abolitionists attempting the cabinet’s fall, the cabinet unexpectedly supported its reform. This apparent contradiction has not been satisfactorily addressed; this article attempts to do so. It will demonstrate that the cabinet’s support was a cabinet tactic designed to vindicate the cabinet’s policies and strength. Nonetheless, the revocation of the state’s role in flogging delegitimizing flogging on plantations, too, despite the cabinet’s expectations. Indeed, the reform impacted plantation destabilization, which helped lead to the cabinet’s fall and the 1888 law abolishing slavery. This complex series of events illustrates the Abolitionist struggle’s interweave between parliament, the movement, and slave agency.
Right ventricular assist device results in worse post-transplant survival

Background To our knowledge, how the need for a right ventricular assist device (RVAD) with a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) affects outcomes after orthotopic heart transplantation has not been studied in a multi-institutional database. Methods The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS) database was queried for all adult orthotopic heart transplantations from the period 2005–2012. Patients requiring a RVAD + LVAD as a bridge to transplant were compared with patients requiring a LVAD only and patients requiring no ventricular assist device (VAD). Results During the study period, 16,955 orthotopic heart transplantations were performed. Of these, 13,209 (77.9%) patients did not require a VAD, 3,270 (19.3%) required a LVAD only, and 457 (2.7%) required a RVAD + LVAD. The RVAD + LVAD group had the longest length of stay (25.7 days) compared with the no VAD group (20.8 days) and the LVAD-only group (21.1 days) ( p p = 0.04). Other variables associated with mortality included donor age, pulsatile flow LVAD as a bridge to transplant, prolonged ischemic time, worsening renal function, black race, history of diabetes in recipient, class II panel-reactive antibody >10%, sex mismatch, and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation or mechanical ventilation as a bridge to transplant. Conclusions The requirement of a RVAD in addition to a LVAD before orthotopic heart transplantation is associated with worse post-transplant outcomes and increased mortality.
Evolving Active Region Loops Observed with the Transition Region and Coronal explorer. II. Time-dependent Hydrodynamic Simulations

Observations with the Transition Region and Coronal Explorer (TRACE) have revealed a new class of active region loops. These loops have relatively flat filter ratios, suggesting approximately constant temperatures near 1 MK along much of the loop length. The observed apex intensities are also higher than static, uniformly heated loop models predict. These loops appear to persist for much longer than a characteristic cooling time. Recent analysis has indicated that these loops first appear in the hotter Fe XV 284 A or Fe XII 195 A filters before they appear in the Fe IX/Fe X 171 A filter. The delay between the appearance of the loops in the different filters suggests that the loops are impulsively heated and are cooling when they are imaged with TRACE. In this paper we present time-dependent hydrodynamic modeling of an evolving active region loop observed with TRACE. We find that by modeling the loop as a set of small-scale, impulsively heated filaments we can generally reproduce the spatial and temporal properties of the observed loop. These results suggest that both dynamics and filamentation are crucial to understanding the observed properties of active region loops observed with TRACE.
Regulation of potassium levels by Müller cells in the vertebrate retina.

The membrane properties of Muller ceils, the principal glial cells of the vertebrate retina, have been characterized in a series of physiological experiments on freshly dissociated cells. In species lacking a retinal circulation (tiger salamander, rabbit, guinea pig), the end-foot of the Muller cell has a much higher K+ conductance than do other cell regions. In species with retinal circulation (mouse, cat, owl monkey) the K+ conductance of the end-foot is greater than the conductance of the proximal process of the cell. In these species, however, the K+ conductance of the soma and distal process is equal to, or greater than, the end-foot conductance. Muller cells also possess four voltage-dependent ion channels, including an inward rectifying K+ channel. These membrane specializations may aid in the regulation of extracellular K+ levels by Muller cells in the retina. High end-foot conductance shunts excess K+ out through the end-foot, where it diffuses into the vitreous humor. In vascularized retinae, ex...
A secondary isotope effect in the lipoxygenase reaction.

Abstract Fatty acids containing a prochiral tritium label have often been used in the study of enzymatic reactions which involve an obligatory step of hydrogen abstraction. In the lipoxygenase reaction, the primary isotope effect associated with this approach is detected as an isotopic enrichment of the substrate. Herein we characterize a previously unrecognized secondary isotope effect Which changes the specific activity of both the substrate and product. The 12-lipoxygenase of human platelets removes the 10- l s hydrogen of arachidonic acid in the formation of 12-hydroperoxyeicosatetraenoic acid. We studied the specific activity changes associated with conversion of the enantiomerically labeled [10- d R - 3 H]arachidonic acid to 12-[10- 3 H]hydroxyeicosatetraenoic acid in aspirin-treated platelets. [3- 14 C]Arachidonic acid served as internal standard. The most pronounced change in 3 H/ 14 C ratio in the early stages of reaction was a 15–20% deficiency of tritium in the product. Later, the remaining arachidonate showed a marked increase in 3 H/ 14 C ratio. The changes in specific activity closely matched those predicted for a secondary isotope effect. Comparison of these data with the theoretical equations for a secondary isotope effect indicated the 10- d R - 3 H substrate reacted at about 84% of the rate of unlabeled molecules. Interestingly, this secondary isotope effect is similar in magnitude to the secondary isotope effect in autoxidation reactions, a finding compatible with a basic similarity in reaction mechanisms in enzymatic and non-enzymatic oxygenation of lipids.
Effects of IGF-I on renal function in end-stage chronic renal failure.

Effects of IGF-I on renal function in end-stage chronic renal failure. To determine whether insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I) affects kidney function in patients with end-stage chronic renal failure, we administered recombinant human IGF-I (rhIGF-I) (100 µg/kg body wt subcu-taneously twice daily) to nine individuals with baseline inulin clearances below 21 ml/min/1.73m 2 . Four patients were treated for four days (short-term treatment) and five for periods between 13 and 27 days (long-term treatment). Administration of rhIGF-I increased inulin clearance, p-aminohippurate (PAH) clearance and the percent tubular reabsorption of filtered phosphate, and decreased plasma creatinine, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and plasma phosphate during short-term administration. Kidney volume was unchanged in patients receiving the growth factor. rhIGF-I did not cause weight gain, proteinuria or hypoglycemia. Inulin clearance was not increased significantly above baseline after 13 or 20 days of IGF-I administration. PAH clearance remained elevated after 13 days, but not after 20 days of IGF-I. Levels of total circulating IGF-I were elevated above basal levels during the entire course of long-term IGF-I administration. In contrast, levels of circulating IGF binding protein 3 (IGFBP3) declined over time. Side effects related to IGF-I forced discontinuation of its use in two of five patients undergoing long-term treatment, and side-effects possibly related to IGF-I prompted discontinuation of its use in two others. We conclude that rhIGF-I can enhance glomerular filtration rate and renal plasma flow when administered short-term to humans with end-stage chronic renal renal failure. Further studies will be required to define its efficacy and usefulness long-term.
Preferencing, Internalization of Order Flow, and Tacit Collusion: Evidence from Experiments

This paper examines preferencing arrangements and tacit collusion in laboratory asset markets. In the experiments, dealers may internalize by matching the best quote or by passing orders to the dealer posting the best quote. Although some markets were highly competitive, several markets reached a collusive equilibrium with wide spreads and near complete intemalization of order flow. The paper further examines the role of market transparency and passed order flow on quote-setting behavior and suggests that these affect the mechanism leading to tacitly collusive equilibria.
High strength low carbon sheet steel by thermomechanical treatment: l. Strengthening mechanisms

Considerable attention has been focused recently on the development of higher strength automobile stampings. Traditionally increasing the strength of a stamping has been accomplished by utilizing a higher strength material with its attendant problems in springback, die wear and press loads. An alternative approach to high strength stampings based on thermomechanical (TMT) processing of a low carbon steel is described. With this approach, the contributions to strength due to work hardening during stamping and age hardening after stamping are incorporated into the overall processing scheme. The TMT process consists of heating a low carbon steel to the two phase(α + γ) region and quenching to produce a dispersion of martensite in a ferrite matrix. A second, low temperature heat treatment is then employed to improve the total elongation to acceptable levels. The processed steel is then stamped and subsequently aged at either ambient or elevated temperature to develop final strength. The relative contributions of the individual operations of the TMT process to final strength are discussed and the required heat treatment parameters are evaluated in terms of the operative strengthening mechanisms.
Low oxygen tension stimulates collagen synthesis and COL1A1 transcription through the action of TGF-beta1.

Recent findings point to low oxygen tension (hypoxia) as an important mechanism for the expression of several eukaryotic genes. We have previously shown that hypoxia (2% O2), when compared to standard oxygen tension (20% O2), upregulates the mRNA levels of the human alpha1(I) (COL1A1) procollagen gene and transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) in human dermal fibroblasts. In this report, we determined the effect of hypoxia on collagen synthesis and transcription. Exposure of human dermal fibroblasts to hypoxia for 24-72 h led to a threefold, dose-dependent increase in collagenous protein (P < 0.0001; r = 0.9794) and to enhanced type I procollagen deposition, as shown by direct immunofluorescence. Transient transfections with a series of luciferase- and CAT-promoter constructs of the human COL1A1 gene (spanning from -2.5 kb to +113 bp) showed that hypoxia increases the transcriptional activity of constructs having 5' endpoints between -804 bp and -107 bp, with loss of stimulation at -84 bp. Maximal increase in promoter activity in hypoxia was observed between -190 and -174 bp of the proximal promoter, once a cKrox repressor site (-199 to -224 bp) was deleted. Upregulation of COL1A1 mRNA levels in hypoxia was blocked by a TGF-beta1 anti-sense oligonucleotide, and failed to occur in fibroblasts from TGF-beta1 knock-out mice. Co-transfection and overexpression with a Smad7 construct abrogated the increase in COL1A1 promoter activity observed in hypoxia. Upregulated transcriptional activity of the TGF-beta1 promoter in hypoxia was found to be maximal between -453 and -175 bp from the transcriptional start site. Since hypoxia is a critical feature of the early phases of wound repair, we conclude that it may act as a potent physiologic stimulus for collagen synthesis. TGF-beta1 appears to be a critical component of this response.
Application of fuzzy measures and interval computation to financial portfolio selection

As many data-driven fields, finance is rich in problems requiring high computational power and intelligent systems techniques. In particular, the problem of selecting an optimal financial portfolio can be conveniently represented as a constrained optimization problem or a decision-making problem. The aim of this paper is to show how to express the optimal portfolio selection problem from a decision-theoretic perspective and show how to address this problem using fuzzy measures and fuzzy integrals. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Effects of Different Stationary Phases and Surfactant or Cyclodextrin Spray Reagents on the Fluorescence Densitometry of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Dansylated Amino Acids

Abstract The detectable luminescence of twelve dansy1 amino acids and four polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH's) spotted on five common TLC stationary phases was evaluated. The detectable luminescence varied appreciable for compounds associated with different stationary phases. The use of surfactant and cyclodextrin spray reagents caused luminescence enhancements on some stationary phases but not others. The reagents did not affect all compounds to the same degree indicating that qualitative information could be obtained in some cases. The largest luminescence increase for a compound spotted on silica gel was for pyrene (i.e., 47-fold) sprayed with sodium cholate. The degree to which the plates were dried also affected the luminescence intensity. Possible reasons for the observed effects are discussed.
Reading the Spanish past: Library fantasies in Carlos Ruiz Zafón's La sombra del viento

Carlos Ruiz Zafon's recent blockbuster, La sombra del viento (2002), forms part of a long tradition of Spanish-language books about books, beginning with Cervantes and culminating in the modern per...
Annotation: THE ANAEMIA OF CHRONIC DISORDERS

Although the anaemia associated with chronic disorders is one of the most frequently encountered forms of anaemia, particularly in hospital patients, it has not received the distinction which it deserves, in part, perhaps, because of the lack of an appropriate name. The term ‘simple chronic anaemia’ is most inappropriate because the pathogenesis of the anaemia involves the delicate control mechanisms of erythropoiesis and these are not simple. The title ‘anaemia of chronic infections’ is much too restrictive, for the anaemia occurs in patients with cancer, lymphoma, rheumatoid arthritis, collagen vascular diseases, fractures, severe tissue injury and many other disorders. ‘Anaemia of chronic disorders’, though a less restrictive title, is unsatisfactory because many other types of anaemia occur in these disorders, such as blood loss, overt haemolytic anaemia of various types, reactions to drugs, myelophthisic anaemia, and the anaemia of renal failure. Furthermore, the name gives no hint as to the diagnostic features or pathogenesis of the anaemia. A more descriptive, but somewhat more cumbersome, title might be ‘sideropenic anaemia with reticuloendothelial siderosis.’
Selecting among the multinomial losers

In a multinomial setting with a fixed number k of cells. the problem of screening out cells to find the "best" cell, i.e., the one with the smallest cell probability, or looking for a (small) subset of cells containing the best cell is revisited. An inverse sampling procedure is used, unlike past work on this problem ([l], [2], [3], and [4]). Finding the cell with the smallest cell probability is clearly more difficult than finding the one with the argest cell probability. The proposed procedure takes one observation at a time (as usual) and igns a zero to all those (and only those) k - 1 cells into which the observation does not fall Sampling continues sequentially and stops as soon as any one cell has accumulated r zeros. For any given integer c (with 0 ≤ c < r), we put into the selected subset (SS) all those cells with at least r - c zeros and assert that this selected subset contains the best cell. It is important to note that for the slippage configuration (SC) we can attain any specified lower bound...
The Fanconi Anemia Complementation Group A Protein Contains a Peroxidase Domain

Computational analysis of the Fanconi anemia (FA) complementation group A protein suggests that it contains a peroxidase domain. FA proteins may be part of a general mechanism that protects cells from oxidative damage.
A comparative analysis of neuroblastic and substrate-adherent human neuroblastoma cell lines

Abstract In human neuroblastoma cell cultures, two phenotypes with differing biological properties have been described: neuroblastic (N) and substrate-adherent (Schwannian or S). In nude mice, N cells are rapidly growing, clonigenic in soft agar, and tumorigenic, whereas S cells are not. The difference in malignant properties between these two cell types and their ability to interconvert in vitro may have clinical relevance. In an attempt to identify genes that may be important in the phenotypic differences and the interconversion, the authors analyzed five representative N and three S cell lines for differential expression of six genes relevant to uncontrolled growth. β 2 -microglobulin was the only gene measured that showed differential expression between the N and S cell lines. This finding supports the theory that β 2 -microglobulin and class I MHC expression are markers for differentiation as well as the use of β 2 -microglobulin as a differentiation marker in neuroblastoma. The data also suggest that a disregulation of the β 2 -microglobulin gene may be partly responsible for the tumorigenicity of the N phenotype.
Effect of the endogenous κ opioid agonist dynorphin A(1–17) on cocaine-evoked increases in striatal dopamine levels and cocaine-induced place preference in C57BL/6J mice

Rationale Effects of synthetic kappa opioid receptor agonists on cocaine-induced reward have been studied extensively in rats but relatively few studies have used the endogenous kappa agonist dynorphin A(1–17).
Teaching self-treatment of cold symptoms to an anoxic brain injured adult

Traumatic brain injury can result in behavioral and physical deficits that require intensive post-acute residential rehabilitation. Behaviors targeted by such programs include basic self-care and living skills. We examined the efficacy of a behavioral training strategy to teach appropriate medical treatment of four different groups of simulated cold symptoms to an anoxic brain injured adult. The strategy included instructor prompting and feedback in the use of written task analyses and picture cues as self-administered prompts. Subsequent to baseline, the participant used written generic task analyses combined with picture cues and then, if necessary, written specific task analyses combined with picture cues to prompt appropriate self-treatment of the four types of colds. Written individualized task analyses, tailored to participant errors, were used to fade specific task analysis prompts and transfer stimulus control to the discriminative stimuli present in the picture cues. A multiple baseline design across responses showed that skill acquisition did not occur after generic task analysis training, but did so after specific task analysis training. The participant responded to all four types of colds for three consecutive trials at 100% correct under baseline conditions. Follow-up results indicated that transfer of stimulus control to the cold symptoms simulated by the picture cues alone did not maintain over time. Correct responding was retrained using generic and, if necessary, individualized task analysis training conditions.
Adaptive fuzzy logic control of discrete-time dynamical systems

The objective of this paper is to achieve tracking control of a class of unknown nonlinear dynamical systems using a discrete-time fuzzy logic controller (FLC). Designing a discrete-time FLC is significant because almost all FLCs are implemented on digital computers. We present a repeatable design algorithm and a stability proof for an adaptive fuzzy logic controller that uses basis vectors based on the fuzzy system, unlike most standard adaptive control approaches which use basis vectors depending on the unknown plant (e.g. a tediously computed ''regression matrix''). An @e-modification sort of approach to adapt the fuzzy system parameters was selected. With mild assumptions on the class of discrete-time nonlinear systems, this adaptive fuzzy logic controller guarantees uniform ultimate boundedness of the closed-loop signals and that the controller achieves tracking. In fact, the fuzzy system designed is a model-free universal fuzzy controller that works for a more general class of nonlinear systems. Some new passivity properties of fuzzy logic systems are introduced.
Hydrogenation effects in R2Fe14Si2 (R = Y, Nd, Dy and Er) offstoichiometric compounds

Abstract Samples of R2Fe14Si2 (R = Y, Nd, Dy and Er) solid solutions were prepared by arc melting and exposed to hydrogenation. Characterization of hydrogenation effects was done using X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Mossbauer spectroscopy. Rietveld refining of the XRD spectra showed that both lattice parameters a and c increased after hydrogenation, with the exception of Er2Fe14Si2, for which they decreased slightly. The values of the magnetic hyperfine fields corresponding to the four inequivalent lattice sites were found to increase after hydrogenation in all offstoichiometric compounds investigated. Changes in the relative site occupancies were observed. Our study is the first to evidence hydrogenation effects on the hyperfine magnetic fields in intermetallics.
Toward a Socialism for the Future, in the Wake of the Demise of the Socialism of the Past

In this paper I seek to explore what kind of socialist system can best make good on the socialist commitment to equity, democracy and solidarity - in the wake of the failure of the political-economic systems of the USSR and Eastern Europe. I identify and explore two alternative models of socialism - market socialism and participatory socialism - and conclude by endorsing a form of democratic, self-managed market socialism.
Social Competence of Preschoolers with Disabilities

The purpose of this study was to compare the social skills of three groups of preschoolers: those with learning disabilities (LD), mild mental retardation (MMR), and normal achievement (NA). A total of 98 four- and five-year-old children participated in the study: 27 identified as LD, 22 identified as MMR, and 49 identified as NA. Each child identified as LD and MMR was matched on age, sex, and ethnicity with a NA child. The students' social skills were rated by their teachers using the Adaptive Social Behavior Inventory (Hogan, Scott, & Bauer, 1992). The results indicated significant group differences on the express, comply, and prosocial (combination of express and comply) factors, but not on the disrupt factor. Post hoc analyses indicated that whereas the students with MMR were perceived by their teachers as demonstrating fewer express and comply skills than students in the LD or NA groups, there was little difference between the perceptions of the teachers of the students identified as LD and the teac...
Heart and lung disease in engineered mice.

Technological miniaturization combined with the power of molecular genetics makes the mouse a model animal for understanding human cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases.
Task Control and Cognitive Abilities of Self and Spouse in Collaboration in Middle-Aged and Older Couples

Collaborative problem solving may be used by older couples to optimize cognitive functioning, with some suggestion that older couples exhibit greater collaborative expertise. The study explored age differences in 2 aspects of collaborative expertise: spouses' knowledge of their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities and the ability to fit task control to these cognitive abilities. The participants were 300 middle-aged and older couples who completed a hypothetical errand task. The interactions were coded for control asserted by husbands and wives. Fluid intelligence was assessed, and spouses rated their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities. The results revealed no age differences in couple expertise, either in the ability to predict their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities or in the ability to fit task control to abilities. However, gender differences were found. Women fit task control to their own and their spouse's cognitive abilities; men only fit task control to their spouse's cognitive abilities. For women only, the fit between control and abilities was associated with better performance. The results indicate no age differences in couple expertise but point to gender as a factor in optimal collaboration.
Understanding our link to the Great Apes—the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences awarded to Jane Goodall

Abstract Jane Goodall is the recipient of the 2003 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Life Sciences for her long-term scientific studies of chimpanzee behavior. Not only were her studies the first of their kind, her meticulous behavioral recordings led to major changes in our understanding of the social links that exist between ourselves and our closest living relative, the chimpanzee. In discussing the importance of Dr. Goodall's work, Stephen Jay Gould (the late Alexander Agassiz Professor of Zoology at Harvard University) said ... “Science gains enormous power in replications of observations, but Homo sapiens is a single species and we can never know, by studying ourselves alone, whether important aspects of our behaviors and mental capacities reflect an ancestral evolutionary heritage (transmogrified through our uniquely evolved intelligence and its social correlates), or new features evolved or socially acquired only by our lineage. Chimpanzees are the best natural experiment we will ever have for exploring this central question, for chimps are our closest genealogical cousins and therefore hold more of our common evolutionary heritage than any other species can. Chimpanzees are not so much the shadow of man as our mirror, only slightly blurred by the mists of time”.
The process of responding to personality items: Inconsistent responses to repeated presentation of identical items

Summary-A promising approach to understanding the processes involved when subjects respond to personality items is provided by the investigation of the causes of inconsistent responses when subjects answer the same item on two occasions. Among these causes are the properties of the item. Previous item research focused almost exclusively on properties which are not highly specific to the item, such as - . endorsement rate (ER) and social desirability-scale value (SDSV). Although past studies found that items with ‘extreme’ SDSVs and/or ERs elicit fewer inconsistencies, these studies ignored more item-specific properties such as item content and item ambiguity. The present study demonstrates that contrary iesults regarding consistency may be obtained when more item-specific properties are taken into consideration. These results are interpreted as evidence that certain kinds of item content can increase the indecision and conflict that characterize some subjects’ response processes.
Investigation of the Crystalline Orientations and Substrates Dependence on Mechanical Properties of PZT Thin Films by Nanoindentation

In this paper, we investigated the effects of the substrates and crystalline orientations on the mechanical properties of Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 thin films. The PZT thin films were deposited by sol-gel method on platinized silicon substrates with different types of layer materials such as silicon nitride and silicon oxide. The crystalline orientations of PZT thin films were controlled by combined parameters of a chelating agent and pyrolysis temperature. A nanoindentation CSM (continuous stiffness measurement) technique was employed to characterize the mechanical properties of those PZT thin films. It was observed that (001/100)-oriented films show a higher Young’s modulus compared to films with mixed orientations of (110) and (111), indicating a clear dependence on film orientation. The influence of substrates on the mechanical properties of PZT thin films was also characterized. Finally, no significant influence of the film thickness was found on the mechanical properties of films thicker than 200 nm.
Cost excessive paths in cloud based services

The pay-as-you-go economic model of cloud computing leads naturally to an earn-as-you-go profit model for many cloud based services. These applications can benefit from low level analyses for cost optimization and verification. Testing cloud applications to ensure they meet monetary cost objectives has not been well explored in the current literature. We present a static analysis approach for determining which control flow paths in cloud applications can exceed a cost threshold. We build on tools used in Worst Case Execution Time analysis that provide a tight bound on processing time, and we implement provisions for adding bandwidth, storage, and service costs. Our approach determines the magnitude of cost excess for nodes in an application's call graph so that cloud developers can better understand where to focus their efforts to lower costs (or deem some excesses acceptable based on business case analysis).
Effects of animacy on processing relative clauses in older and younger adults.

Sentences with object relative clauses are more difficult to process than sentences with subject relative clauses, but the processing penalty associated with object relatives is greater when the se...
Carcinogenic activity and the spectra of aromatic hydrocarbons

Analysis of spectroscopic data for a large number of aromatic hydrocarbons reveals a single correlation between molecular energy levels and carcinogenic activity. This activity reaches its maximum when the difference between the lowest excited singlet term (1LL) and the lowest triplet (3LL) level is one electron volt. This is consistent with the process suggested by Kautsky: Under conditions when this resonance match is most exact, and efficient energy transfer is expected, carcinogenic activity appears. Graphical representation of carcinogenic activity as a function of the (1LL–3LL) interval reveals a Gaussian shaped distribution with its maximum at the resonance energy for the oxygen ∞, transition. Four groups of important chemical carcinogens all undergo an initial common metabolic transformation, namely aromatic hydroxylation, which requires an activation and the participation of molecular oxygen. The evidence presented here suggests that the activation event may be the generation of electronically excited oxygen molecules.
A Brownian dynamics simulation of aerosol deposition onto spherical collectors

The inclusion of Brownian motion in aerosol deposition studies has often been treated separately from deposition due to other causes (e.g., inertial and electrical forces). A unified approach based on the full solution to the so-called ordinary Langevin equation of motion is presented to study particle deposition on a single spherical collector. The “Brownian dynamics” method given here is useful when the inertial, external, and particle-particle interaction forces are comparable to the diffusive, or Brownian, force. Several example calculations are considered for both the clean, or steady-state, deposition efficiencies, as well as for the unsteady-state efficiencies (particle-particle deposition problem). In particular, for the steady-state behavior, the classic Levich-Lighthill solution to the problem of convective-diffusion to a freely falling sphere has been reproduced. Additionally, an approximate analytical solution for the combined case of inertial and diffusional deposition, recently given by J. Fernandez de la Mora and D. E. Rosner [J. Fluid Mech. 125, 379 (1982)], has been verified and the so-called principle of superposition for the combined case of inertial and electrostatic deposition has been criticized. For the unsteady-state problem, the charge neutralization of an initially uniform charged collecting sphere by the deposition of oppositely charged Brownian particles has been examined. This latter study represents a generalization of the previously proposed “aerosol dynamics” method (M. H. Peters, R. K. Jalan, and D. Gupta, Chem. Eng. Sci., in press) which now includes the Brownian motion of the aerosol particles.
On the Possibility of Supertasks in General Relativity

Malament-Hogarth spacetimes are the sort of models within general relativity that seem to allow for the possibility of supertasks. There are various ways in which these spacetimes might be considered physically problematic. Here, we examine these criticisms and investigate the prospect of escaping them.
Rigorous magnetic susceptibility for a magnetic breakdown model

Abstract The exact diamagnetic susceptibility is calculated as a function of the magnetic field for a magnetic breakdown model which has been previously presented. The susceptibility is obtained by numerically evaluating the appropriate derivative of the Helmholtz free energy using the exact eigenvalues of the model Hamiltonian. The susceptibility calculated by this method includes the contributions from both the zero-field diamagnetism and the de Haas-van Alphen effect. The periodicities in the susceptibility are related to the semiclassical electron orbits corresponding to this model: for low magnetic fields the periods are determined by two closed orbits, one within the other; for high fields a single period is observed corresponding to the broken down case of two identical intersecting elliptical orbits. The behavior in the transition region is compatible with the expression for the breakdown probability derived by several authors. An approximate calculation of the oscillatory part of the diamagnetism is also carried out using the semiclassical method of Falicov and Stachowiak. When the influence of the energy gap on the orbit geometry is taken into account, their method yields results which are in good agreement with the exact susceptibility. Evaluation of the steady diamagnetism for the model using the expression for the susceptibility derived by Wannier and Upadhyaya yields results which are in agreement with the numerical calculations and, in addition, exhibits anomalous features of the zerofield diamagnetism in the neighborhood of critical points of the Fermi surface.
Bitumen molecular maturity parameters in the Ikpikpuk well, Alaskan North Slope

Abstract Several bitumen molecular maturity parameters: alkylnaphthalene ratios—MNR, ENR, DNR; methylphenanthrene indices—MPI 1 , MPI 2 , DPI; n -C 17 /pristane; pristane/phytane; C 15+ alkane distributions and GC-MS analyses of triterpanes, steranes, diasteranes, triaromatic steroids, and monoaromatic steroids for samples of the Ikpikpuk well, Alaskan North Slope, are reported. The molecular maturity parameters are compared and contrasted with previous data for lower molecular weight C 1 -C 7 hydrocarbons, production index, vitrinite reflectance, and thermal alteration index. Bitumen maturation indices, C 15+ alkane distributions, and distributions of steranes, diasteranes, triterpanes, triaromatic and monoaromatic steroids agree with kerogen maturation indices in the Kingak section of Ikpikpuk well. Bitumen maturation indices and distributions of steranes, diasteranes, triterpanes, triaromatic and monoaromatic steroids diverge from vitrinite maturation profiles for the Shublik section of Ikpikpuk indicating either a major influence of changes in kerogen type or the presence of residues of expulsion/migration in the Shublik. The data are consistent with the Shublik being a source and/or conduit of migration of oil.
Epidermal growth factor receptor and tyrosine phosphorylation of estrogen receptor

Activation of estrogen receptor-α (ERα) by growth factors in the absence of estrogen is a well-documented phenomenon. To study further this process of ligand-independent receptor activation, COS-7 cells without ER were transfected with both ER and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR). In the absence of estrogen, epidermal growth factor (EGF) stimulated rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of ER in transfected COS-7 cells. Similarly, in MCF-7 breast cancer cells that have natural expression of ER and EGFR, EGF promoted acute phosphorylation of serine and tyrosine residues in ER, and a direct interaction between ER and EGFR after treatment with EGF was found. In confirmation of a direct interaction between ER and EGFR, activation of affinity-purified EGFR tyrosine kinase in vitro stimulated the phosphorylation of recombinant ER. The cross-communication between EGFR and ER appears to promote significant stimulation of cell proliferation and a reduction in the apoptotic loss of those cells that express both receptor signaling pathways. However, COS-7 cells transfected with both ER and EGFR show minimal stimulation of classical estrogen response element (ERE)-dependent transcriptional activity after stimulation by EGF ligand. This suggests that the proliferative and antiapoptotic activity of EGF-induced ER activation may be dissociated from ERE-dependent transcriptional activity of the ER.
MUTATIONS IN THE CARBOXYL TERMINUS OF THE AGOUTI PROTEIN DECREASE AGOUTI INHIBITION OF LIGAND BINDING TO THE MELANOCORTIN RECEPTORS

Several mutations that cause ectopic expression of the agouti gene result in obesity, hyperinsulinemia, and yellow coat color. A candidate pathway for agouti induced obesity and hyperinsulinemia is through altered signaling by melanocortin receptors, as agouti normally regulates coat coloration through antagonism of melanocortin receptor 1. Furthermore, melanocortin peptides mediate functions including steroidogenesis, lipolysis, and thermoregulation. We report apparent inhibition dissociation constants for mouse and human agouti protein inhibition of ligand binding to the melanocortin receptors, to determine which of these receptors might be involved in agouti induced diabetes. The similarity in the apparent K(I) values for agouti inhibition of ligand binding to the brain melanocortin receptors 3 and 4 (mouse: K(I) app = 190 +/- 74 and 54 +/- 18 nM; human: K(I) app = 140 +/- 56 and 70 +/- 18 nM, respectively) suggests that the MC3-R is a potential candidate for a receptor mediating the effects of agouti protein overexpression. Agouti residues important for melanocortin receptor inhibition were identified through the analysis of deletion constructs and site-specific variants. Val83 is important for inhibition of binding to MC1-R (K(I) app for Val83Ala agouti increased 13-fold relative to wild-type protein). Arg85, Pro86, and Pro89 are important for selective inhibition of binding between MC1-R and MC3-R and MC4-R as their apparent K(I) values are essentially unchanged at MC1-R, while they have increased 6-10-fold relative to wild-type protein at MC3-R and MC4-R.
Supersymmetric probes in a rotating 5D attractor

Abstract Supersymmetric zero-brane and one-brane probes in the squashed AdS 2 × S 3 near-horizon geometry of the BMPV black hole are studied. Supersymmetric zero-brane probes stabilized by orbital angular momentum on the S 3 are found and shown to saturate a BPS bound. We also find supersymmetric one-brane probes which have momentum and winding around a U ( 1 ) L × U ( 1 ) R torus in the S 3 and in some cases are static.
Lactate and Hyperventilation Substantially Attenuate Vagal Tone in Normal Volunteers: A Possible Mechanism of Panic Provocation?

• Many aspects of panic attacks, eg, palpitations, tremor, sweating, and an emotional sense of "fear," have been theorized to arise from sympathetic nervous system activation. However, most studies have not demonstrated clearly increased levels of catecholamines during an attack, which is contrary to this hypothesis. To explore another possible cause for the physiological changes known to occur during a panic attack, we assessed parasympathetic nervous system activity by measuring vagal tone during treatments known to produce panic symptoms: sodium lactate administration and hyperventilation. Our findings showed a marked reduction in vagal tone during both procedures. We postulate that withdrawal of parasympathetic activity may explain some of the physiological changes occurring in panic attacks and be contributing to the origin of panic.
Aflatoxin Accumulation in BT and Non-BT Maize Testcrosses

The accumulation of aflatoxin, produced by the fungus Aspergillus flavus in maize, is a chronic problem in the southeastern United States. Its presence in grain greatly reduces its value and marketability. Aflatoxin accumulation is frequently associated with high temperatures, drought, and insect damage. Ten maize germplasm lines, some selected for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation, were crossed to transgenic (transformed with genes from Bacillus thuringiensis Berliner (BT) and expressing the Cry1Ab protein) and non-transgenic versions of LH287. Testcrosses were evaluated for ear damage from insect feeding and aflatoxin accumulation. Ear damage caused by insect feeding and aflatoxin accumulation was significantly less in BT than non-BT testcrosses. The germplasm line × BT/non-BT interaction was not significant. Three lines selected for resistance to aflatoxin accumulation (Mp313E, Mp717, Mp04:97) exhibited the lowest levels of aflatoxin whether crossed to the BT or non-BT versions of LH287. Neither the...
Current-transport properties of atomic-layer-deposited ultrathin Al2O3 on GaAs

Abstract We report detailed current-transport studies of ultrathin Al 2 O 3 dielectrics on GaAs grown by atomic layer deposition (ALD) as a function of film thickness, ambient temperature and electric field. The leakage current in ultrathin Al 2 O 3 on GaAs is comparable to or even lower than that of the state-of-the-art SiO 2 on Si, not counting on high dielectric constant for Al 2 O 3 . By measuring leakage current at a wide range of temperatures from 133 K to 475 K, we are able to identify the electron transport mechanism and measure the thermal-activation energy of the ultrathin oxide films. This thermal-activation energy is proposed as a parameter to generally characterize the quality of ultrathin dielectrics on semiconductors.
Hydride formation and decomposition in electrolytically charged metastable austenitic stainless steels

An investigation of phase transformations in hydrogen-charged metastable austenitic stainless steels was carried out. Solution-annealed, high-purity, ultralow-carbon Fel8Crl2Ni (305) and laboratory-heat Fel8Cr9Ni (304) stainless steels were examined. The steels were cathodically charged with hydrogen at 1, 10, and 100 mA/cm2, at room temperature for 5 minutes to 32 hours, in an lN H2SO4 solution with 0.25 g/L of NaAsO2 added as a hydrogen recombination poison. Changes in microstructure and hydrogen damage that resulted from charging and subsequent room-temperature aging were studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). Hydrides from hydrogen charging (hep e* in 305 SS and fcc γ* and hcp e* in 304 SS) were observed. The evidence suggests the following mechanisms for hydride formation during charging: (1)γ → e → e* hydride and (2) γ → γ* hydride. These hydrides were found to be unstable and decomposed during room-temperature aging in air by the following suggested mechanisms: (1)e* hydride (hcp) → expanded e (hcp) phase →α′ (bcc) phase and (2) γ* hydride →γ phase. The transformation from e* toα′, however, was incomplete, and a substantial fraction of e was retained. A kinetics model for hydride decomposition and the accompanying phase transformation during aging is proposed.
Epigenetic Modifications Induced by Blimp-1 Regulate CD8(+) T Cell Memory Progression during Acute Virus Infection

The transcription factor Blimp-1 regulates the overall accumulation of virus-specific CD8⁺ T cells during acute viral infections. We found that increased proliferation and survival of Blimp-1-deficient CD8⁺ T cells resulted from sustained expression of CD25 and CD27 and persistent cytokine responsiveness. Silencing of Il2ra and Cd27 reduced the Blimp-1-deficient CD8⁺ T cell response. Genome-wide chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP) sequencing analysis identified Il2ra and Cd27 as direct targets of Blimp-1. At the peak of the antiviral response, but not earlier, Blimp-1 recruited the histone-modifying enzymes G9a and HDAC2 to the Il2ra and Cd27 loci, thereby repressing expression of these genes. In the absence of Blimp-1, Il2ra and Cd27 exhibited enhanced histone H3 acetylation and reduced histone H3K9 trimethylation. These data elucidate a central mechanism by which Blimp-1 acts as an epigenetic regulator and enhances the numbers of short-lived effector cells while suppressing the development of memory-precursor CD8⁺ T cells.