cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Technology in Typically Fluent Speakers and Persons who Stutter☆

Near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) is a biomedical optical imaging technique that is used to measure real-time functional brain activity. NIRS uses non-invasive infrared light to measure oxy-, de-oxy, and total hemoglobin concentration at the surface of the cerebral cortex. Hemoglobin concentration is monitored through the use of light scattering and tissue absorption. NIRS is advantageous over other techniques (e.g., EEG, MRI, PET etc.) because it does not utilize harmful radiation or an extrinsic contrast agent. It is also portable and is a low cost technology to administer. NIRS can also be used with infants, young children, and adults. Since its discovery, NIRS has been used to study Alzheimer's disease, verbal fluency, language processing, epilepsy, frontal lateralization in speech tasks, cerebral hemodynamics, visual stimulation, odor stimulation, chronic schizophrenia, and other conditions. We have used NIRS to measure hemoglobin changes in typically fluent speakers (TFS) and persons who stutter (PWS). Our NIRS device has 16 sources and 24 detectors to measure haemoglobin concentration changes during speech and non-speech tasks for TFS and PWS. Our participants ranged in age from 10 to young adulthood. Measurements were taken during three conditions: Speakers were asked to read out loud, to engage in spontaneous speech, and to sit for a rest period. The purpose of this study was to determine whether there were haemoglobin concentration changes in TFS and PWS while they engaged in speech and non-speech tasks. Initial results indicate that speech tasks caused hemoglobin concentration changes. A more in-depth analysis of our technology and pilot data will be presented.
Localization Strategies for Global E-Business: Optimizing international websites

Introduction The optimization of international websites is the direct result of the proper management and implementation of the web globalization value chain. The required people, processes, capabilities, documents, and technologies must be managed in a way to allow the four primary activities of the web globalization value chain (see Chapter 7) to be undertaken in a collaborative and effective manner. A well-optimized international website is one that achieves the following: international sites and pages are easy to find and navigate; the site is easy to understand and loads quickly; the site has a desirable user experience and flow; Unicode is enabled to depict various languages seamlessly; the site is locale-sensitive and culturally customized; the site is well internationalized, allowing for adjustments to the user interface for language and locale requirements; the site is well tested, in order to enhance its navigation, content, and functional quality; the site achieves content synchronization, currency (i.e., it is up to date), and relevancy across multilingual websites for various countries; the turnaround for deploying multilingual content is fast; and multilingual search engine optimization is enabled by proper global content management.
Mutual spatio-temporal collapse of femtosecond pulses

Summary form only given. The nonlinear optical process of self-focusing is a result of the intensity-dependent refractive index. If the power of the beam is sufficiently large, the lensing effect induced on the beam due to its radial intensity profile dominates diffraction, and the beam undergoes collapse, which is a practice is eventually halted by higher-order nonlinear processes such as plasma formation. When ultrashort-pulsed lasers are used instead of continuous-wave lasers, temporal effects such as dispersion, self-steepening, and space-time focusing must be accounted for in the high-intensity regime of the collapsing beam. The consequence of these processes under conditions in which the pulse undergoes spatio-temporal collapse is the occurrence of extreme spectral broadening known as super-continuum generation (SCG). We present results that demonstrate that two beams can interact and induce mutual spatio-temporal collapse even though neither beam will undergo collapse by itself. In addition, the beams become radially symmetric which we believe is evidence of the onset of the formation of Townes spatial solitons as the pulses undergo strong self-focusing. In the case in which the two beams overlap temporally, we see that the beam diameters are smaller due to mutual self-focusing and that the two beams attract each other. At this point, we also observe the occurrence of SCG in both beams indicating the mutually-induced collapse of each pulse.
Atheromatose der Aorta und Atherosklerose der kleineren Arterien

Die Arteriosklerose tritt in drei Hauptformen auf: als Atheromatose der Aorta und vieler groser Arterien, als harmlose Mediasklerose und als Arteriosklerose der kleinen Arteriolen bei der Hypertonie (S. 216).
Preparation of tritium‐labelled meta‐aminolevamisole of high specific radioactivity by catalytic dehalogenation

We describe the synthesis of tritiated meta-aminolevamisole (MAL) of high specific radioactivity. Unlabelled MAL was iodinated with iodine monochloride in aqueous hydrochloric acid. The major reaction product, L[-]2,3,5,6-tetrahydro-6-(5-amino-2-iodophenyl)imidazo [2,1-b]thiazole, was catalytically dehalogenated with carrier-free tritium gas in methanolic potassium hydroxide over 10% palladium-carbon. After extraction and chromatography, a radioactive species ([3 H]-MAL) was identified with the same chromatographic mobility as unlabelled MAL, [3 H]-MAL possesses the same high biological activity in contracting nematode muscle as authentic unlabelled MAL, co-chromatographs with unlabelled MAL in three different TLC systems and is about 90% radiochemically pure. By bioassay and competitive inhibition studies, the specific radioactivity of [3 H]-MAL appears greater than 15 Ci/mmole and is probably close to 29 Ci/mmole. [3 H]-MAL was shown to be useful for detecting a high affinity, saturable binding activity in extracts of the nematode Caenorhabditis elegans.
Influence of frequency and prestrain on the mechanical efficiency of dielectric electroactive polymer actuators

The effect of frequency and bidirectional static prestrain on the results of dynamic mechanical measurements of loss tangent for acrylic elastomer films is investigated. These prestrained elastomer films are used in electroactive polymer actuators, sometimes referred to as artificial muscles, where the loss tangent determines the mechanical efficiency of the actuator. It is found that mechanical efficiency of the actuator increases with increased bidirectional prestrain, and decreases with increased frequency.
Concentration-response and temperature-related susceptibility of the forest tent caterpillar (Lepidoptera: Lasiocampidae) to the entomopathogenic fungus Furia gastropachae (Zygomycetes: Entomophthorales)

Abstract Furia gastropachae (Raciborski) Filotas, Hajek & Humber is an important but little studied fungal pathogen of the forest tent caterpillar, Malacosoma disstria Hubner, a hardwood forest pest. As a means of assessing its potential as a biological control agent, a bioassay methodology was developed to estimate virulence of two isolates of F. gastropachae (ARSEF 5544 and 5545 from NY and MD, USA, respectively) and to investigate the effect of temperature on fungal virulence and activity. To assess virulence, fourth instar M. disstria larvae were exposed to conidial showers, with duration of exposure varied to produce different concentrations. Resulting LC 50 estimates were low for both isolates (0.5 ± 0.4 and 36.5 ± 16.9 conidia/mm 2 for the NY and MD isolate, respectively), though the NY isolate was more virulent. Both isolates had a relatively rapid rate of kill (ca. 5 days). To study the effect of temperature on fungal activity, M. disstria larvae were exposed to a single concentration of the NY or MD isolates, and then incubated at 10, 15, 20, 25, or 30 °C. Both isolates caused mycoses at all temperatures, however, percent infection by the NY isolate was maximized at cooler temperatures (⩽20 °C). Percent infection by the more southerly MD isolate also tended to decline with increasing temperature, however a significant difference was observed only between 15 and 30 °C. Results suggest that F. gastropachae is well adapted to the early spring temperatures in which its host is most likely to be active. The virulence of this fungus suggests that it may be a good candidate for biological control of the forest tent caterpillar.
Synthesis of symmetrical RC and RL lattice networks with maximum gain and minimum number of elements

New methods of synthesizing symmetrical lattice networks using resistors and capacitors, or resistors and inductors, are presented in the paper. The methods permit the synthesis of any transfer function that is a ratio of output voltage or current, to input voltage or current, as long as the transfer function satisfies the conditions of physical realizability of transfer functions with RC or RL networks. The load impedance can also be specified as long as it is realizable with an RC or RL network. A transfer function is synthesized by synthesizing an equivalent open-circuit voltage transfer function that is derived from the desired transfer function and load impedance. The resulting network is then modified, and the desired transfer function with the given load is obtained. Two root-loci plots are used in the synthesis procedures, as well as in a proof that any open-circuit voltage transfer function satisfying the conditions of physical realizability of RC transfer functions can be synthesized using the prescribed method. The network, resulting from the synthesis of an open-circuit voltage transfer function, has maximum gain and a minimum number of elements, if desired.
Slow Relaxation in Polymeric Glasses by Two-Dimensional NMR

A variety of relaxation and recovery experiments on polymeric glasses indicate a complex response in either the time or frequency domain1. The behavior is far from that seen in simple liquids where relaxation can be characterized in terms of exponential decay and a single time constant or rate. A variety of more complicated mathematical functions have been employed in an attempt to match the observed relaxation behavior of polymeric glassesl. One of the more successful mathematical forms is the stretched exponential correlation2 function which can be used to characterize experimental observations obtained from mechanical, dielectric, thermodynamic and spectroscopic investigations3.
Political Performance, Electoral Rules and the Rhetorical Strategies of the Communist Successor Parties in Post Communist Eastern European Politics

Although there has been a growing interest in recent years in analyzing the content of party manifestos in post communist politics, most of the literature does not investigate the connection between electoral institutions and the electoral appeals made by parties. This paper conducts rhetorical analyses of the party programs of 11 communist successor parties in an effort to assess the relationship between electoral institutions and electoral appeals.
A Survey of the Applications and Limitations of Various Types of Detectors in Radiation Energy Measurement

This paper provides a collection of data relevant to the use of various types of semiconductor detector in nuclear spectroscopy and gives examples of the use of detectors in specific experimental applications. Basic data on absorption of various kinds of radiation in germanium and silicon are given, and these are related to the characteristics of different types of semiconductor detectors. A brief outline of the optimization procedure for the detector-amplifier system to obtain good energy resolution follows. Included in a brief review of applications of detectors are examples in the fields of a-particle spectrometry, high-energy particle reactions, and low-temperature nuclear alignment studies.
Distinguishing Differential Testlet Functioning From Differential Bundle Functioning Using the Multilevel Measurement Model

This study extends the multilevel measurement model to handle testlet-based dependencies. A flexible two-level testlet response model (the MMMT-2 model) for dichotomous items is introduced that per...
Driven reconnection in the earth's magnetotail

In the standard reconnection model, a low flow speed leads to steady reconnection at a distant-tail x-line, but a high flow speed leads to the formation of a near-earth x-line and the onset of an auroral substorm. This paper discusses recent work which suggests that a pile-up of magnetic flux in the earth's magnetotail will occur whenever reconnection is strongly driven by the solar wind and that the near-earth x-line might result from a flux pile-up at the distant-tail x-line.
Enhancing the effectiveness of self-administered videotape parent training for families with conduct-problem children

Parents of 43 conduct-problem children, aged 3-8 years, were randomly assigned to one of two treatments: an individually self-administered video-tape modeling treatment (IVM) and IVM treatment plus therapist consultation (IVMC). Randomization also included a waiting-list control group (CON). Compared with the control group, both treatment groups of mothers reported significantly fewer child behavior problems, reduced stress levels, and less use of spanking. Home visit data indicated that both treatment groups exhibited significant behavioral changes. There were relatively few differences between the two treatment conditions. However, the IVMC children were significantly less deviant than the IVM children, suggesting that the IVMC (with therapist consultation) treatment was superior to self-administered treatment with no therapist involvement. The added benefits of therapist involvement are discussed.
Distinguishing characteristics of temporary pond habitat of endangered northeastern bulrush,Scirpus ancistrochaetus

Habitat characteristics of wetlands that contain the federally endangered sedge,Scirpus ancistrochaetus, were investigated in a one-point-in-time field survey. Sixteen adjacent seasonal ponds, four of which supported populations ofS. ancistrochaetus. were sampled for 26 habitat variables. Using only five of these variables, we were able to separate ponds with and withoutS. ancistrochaetus in a linear discriminant analysis. These five variables are wetland area, percent cover of overlying forest canopy, soil percent organic matter, soil exchangeable [Na], and water [H−]. Ponds containingS. ancistrochaetus had higher soil organic matter content, highet soil [Na], greater area, lower water [H+], and lower percent forest canopy cover compared to ponds that did not support this species. This information can be used toward understanding factors that control the distribution of this species and also toward evaluating possible habitat for reintro-duction of this endangered species.
Taxation, inflation, and the terms of trade

Abstract The interaction between changes in the rate of inflation and tax systems can have potential terms of trade effects. An open-economy macroeconomic model is presented in which such effects are analyzed. The asset menu consists of money, corporate capital whose nominal income is subject to taxation, and consumer durables whose return is tax exempt. This may be contrasted with the conventional menu of money and capital and/or bonds. Durables are imported. An increase in the rate of inflation then implies that the terms of trade of the country in question deteriorates in the long run.
Futility and the Care of Surgical Patients: Ethical Dilemmas

Futility has been a contentious topic in medicine for several decades. Surgery in critical or end-of-life situations often raises difficult questions about futility. In this article, we discuss the definition of futility, methods for resolving futility disputes, and some ways to reframe the futility debate to a more fruitful discussion about the goals of care, better communication between surgeon and patient/surrogate, and palliative surgical care. Many definitions of futile therapy have been discussed. The most controversial of these is “qualitative futility” which describes a situation in which the treatment provided is likely to result in an unacceptable quality of life. This is an area of continued controversy because it has been impossible to identify universally held beliefs about acceptable quality of life. Many authors have described methods for resolving futility disputes, including community standards and legalistic multi-step due process protocols. Others, however, have abandoned the concept of futility altogether as an unhelpful term. Reframing the issue of futility as one of inadequate physician–patient communication, these authors have advocated for methods of improving communication and strengthening the patient–physician relationship. Finally, we discuss the utilization of consultants who may be of use in resolving futility disputes: ethics committees, palliative care specialists, pastoral care teams, and dedicated patient advocates. Involving these specialists in a futility conflict can help improve communication and provide invaluable assistance in arriving at the appropriate treatment decision.
Mipam’s Middle Way Through Yogācāra and Prāsaṅgika

In Tibet, the negative dialectics of Madhyamaka are typically identified with Candrakīrti’s interpretation of Nāgārjuna, and systematic epistemology is associated with Dharmakīrti. These two figures are also held to be authoritative commentators on a univocal doctrine of Buddhism. Despite Candrakīrti’s explicit criticism of Buddhist epistemologists in his Prasannapadā, Buddhists in Tibet have integrated the theories of Candrakīrti and Dharmakīrti in unique ways. Within this integration, there is a tension between the epistemological system-building on the one hand, and “deconstructive” negative dialectics on the other. The integration of an epistemological system within Madhyamaka is an important part of Mipam’s (’ju mi pham rgya mtsho, 1846–1912) philosophical edifice, and is an important part of understanding the place of Yogācāra in his tradition. This paper explores the way that Mipam preserves a meaningful Svātantrika-Prāsaṅgika distinction while claiming both Yogācāra and Prāsaṅgika as legitimate expressions of Madhyamaka. Mipam represents Prāsaṅgika-Madhyamaka as a discourse that emphasizes what transcends conceptuality. As such, he portrays Prāsaṅgika as a radical discourse of denial. Since the mind cannot conceive the “content” of nonconceptual meditative equipoise, Prāsaṅgika, as the representative discourse of meditative equipoise, negates any formulation of that state. In contrast, he positions Yogācāra as a discourse that situates the nonconceptual within a systematic (conceptual) structure. Rather than a discourse that re-presents the nonconceptual by enacting it (like Prāsaṅgika), the discourse of Yogācāra represents the nonconceptual within an overarching system, a system (unlike Prāsaṅgika) that distinguishes between the conceptual and the nonconceptual.
Informing automatic generation of remote control interfaces with human designs

Embedded processors are making it possible for common appliances, such as cable boxes, micorwaves, and fax machines, to provide even more fuctionality. Unfortunately, as these appliances become more complex, their interfaces are also becoming harder to use. At the same time, more people are carrying hand-held computerized devices that can communicate. We envision a future in which people will use their handhelds to communicate with and control common appliances in their environment. This work describes the design of a specification language and the construction of an automatic interface generator, using lessons learned from analyzing manually created interfaces.
Patient selection in congenital pyriform aperture stenosis repair - 14 year experience and systematic review of literature.

Abstract Purpose Congenital nasal pyriform aperture stenosis (CNPAS) is a rare cause of respiratory distress in neonates that may necessitate early surgical intervention. Restenosis and granulation are postoperative concerns that may prompt a return to the operating room. Reoperation places children at increased risk of perioperative complications and prolonged hospital stays. We are presenting a review of our institutional experience of 16 patients treated for CNPAS over a 14 year period and a systematic review with pooled data analysis to determine the effect of craniofacial and neurologic anomalies on surgical success. Methods Retrospective chart review of all cases of CNPAS treated at our tertiary children's hospital between 1999 and 2013. Systematic review of English language literature was conducted adhering to the PRISMA statement to determine the effect of neurologic anomalies and craniofacial dysmorphism (CFD) on surgical failure for CNPAS treatment. Univariate and exact multiple logistic regression were used for analysis of an individual patient data analysis. Results 10 patients had surgery and 6 were treated medically. Average pyriform apertures were 5.71 ± 1.72 mm for the surgical group and 4.83 ± 1.26 mm for the medical group ( p = 0.38). 31% had neurological impairments. 31% had craniofacial dysmorphisms (CFD). 2 patients developed restenosis and 1 required tracheotomy. Both of these patients had other CFDs. Literature review captured 63 surgical patients and 9 failures in 6 series of CNPAS. 4.6% of patients without CFD and 36.8% of patients with CFD required surgical revision ( p = 0.023, OR13.8). Conclusion When repairing CNPAS, co-morbidities must be considered. Impaired respiration, central neurologic deficits and extensive craniofacial anomalies may require additional surgeries or an alternative approach.
Reactivity estimates for aromatic compounds. Part 2. Uncertainty in incremental reactivities

Incremental reactivity estimates for aromatic compounds have been considered highly uncertain due to gaps in understanding the reaction mechanism for their atmospheric oxidation. In this study, uncertainties in the parameters of the SAPRC-97 chemical mechanism, including uncertainties in aromatic mechanism parameters estimated by fitting chamber data, are propagated through incremental reactivity calculations using Monte Carlo analysis with Latin hypercube sampling. For 34 volatile organic compounds, absolute incremental reactivity estimates calculated with the SAPRC-97 mechanism are generally higher, but with lower associated uncertainties, than those calculated previously with the SAPRC-90 mechanism. The uncertainty levels found for the maximum incremental reactivities (MIRs) of the aromatic compounds range from 27 to 32% (1σ relative to the mean) and are similar to those for VOCs with relatively well-established mechanisms. The uncertainly levels for the maximum ozone incremental reactivities (MOIRs) and equal benefit incremental reactivities (EBIRs) of the aromatics range from 38 to 75% and 30 to 520%, respectively. Uncertainties in relative MIRs, MOIRs and EBIRs for the aromatic compounds range from 13 to 24%, 21 to 62% and 21 to 360%, respectively. The chamber-derived aromatics oxidation parameters strongly influence the uncertainties in the incremental reactivities of most of the VOCs studied.
Lexical differentiation in language production and comprehension

Abstract This paper presents the results of three experiments that explore the breadth of the relevant discourse context in language production and comprehension. Previous evidence from language production suggests the relevant context is quite broad, based on findings that speakers differentiate new discourse referents from similar referents discussed in past contexts ( Van Der Wege, 2009 ). Experiment 1 replicated and extended this “lexical differentiation” effect by demonstrating that speakers used two different mechanisms, modification, and the use of subordinate level nouns, to differentiate current from past referents. In Experiments 2 and 3, we examined whether addressees expect speakers to differentiate. The results of these experiments did not support the hypothesis that listeners expect differentiation, for either lexically differentiated modified expressions (Experiment 2), nor for subordinate level nouns (Experiment 3). Taken together, the present findings suggest that the breadth of relevant discourse context differs across language production and comprehension. Speakers show more sensitivity to things they have said before, possibly due to better knowledge of the relevant context. In contrast, listeners have the task of inferring what the speaker believes is the relevant context; this inferential process may be more error-prone.
On the determinacy problem for measures

We study the general moment problem for measures on the real line, with polynomials replaced by more general spaces of entire functions. As a particular case, we describe measures that are uniquely determined by a restriction of their Fourier transform to a finite interval. We apply our results to prove an extension of a theorem by Eremenko and Novikov on the frequency of oscillations of measures with a spectral gap (high-pass signals) near infinity.
Pregnancy Risk Among Older Youth Transitioning Out Of Foster Care.

Abstract Youth served in the foster care system have higher rates of pregnancy than general population youth; yet we have little information about risk and protective factors to target in order to prevent early pregnancy in this population. We assessed early pregnancy risk and protective factors known for general population adolescents for their relevance to youth in the foster care system. Using data from a longitudinal study of 325 older youth from the foster care system, we examined bivariate and multivariate relationships between these factors and pregnancy between ages 17 and 19 using logistic regression. Models examined the risk for early parenting separately by gender. The pregnancy rate increased by 300% between ages 17 and 19. At 19, 55% of females had been pregnant, while 23% of males had fathered a child. Although this study assessed multiple known factors, few were significant for this high risk group. Females who were not sexually active at age 17 were less likely to become pregnant, but those who reported using birth control were as likely to become pregnant as those who did not. Also, females with a history of arrest were more likely to have a pregnancy between 17 and 19. Males who left the foster care system before their 19th birthday were more likely to make someone pregnant. Youth from the foster care system are at exceptional risk of early pregnancy, regardless of their maltreatment history, religiosity, school connectedness, or academic achievement, particularly in the years between 17 and 19. This high risk group needs pregnancy prevention interventions and access to effective birth control.
Framework for EUR Correlation to Seismic Attributes in the Barnett Shale, TX

Summary: Neural Networks application can be useful in solving geophysical classification problems. Seismic attribute analysis is a great tool to enhance and isolate features related to seismic acquisition, processing and geology. Methods that recombine two or more primary attributes can be used to improve a complete and unique isolation of a target feature in the seismic data. Among other methods, Neural Networks are one of the most efficient to recombine multiple input attributes and achieve a high quality extraction of a target feature or rock property from seismic data. Moreover, attributes in peak production of wells can vary according to completion technologies, thickness of the perforation interval and time in which the well was drilled, so there must be some relation between the seismic attributes data and the data obtained of a certain suit of wells. The aim of this study is to propose a framework for using supervised Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) in order predict suitable production target zones in the Barnett Shale using Lamda-rho, Mu-Rho and AVAz attributes as input data.
Large-Scale Dynamics of the Convection Zone and Tachocline

The past few decades have seen dramatic progress in our understanding of solar interior dynamics, prompted by the relatively new science of helioseismology and increasingly sophisticated numerical models. As the ultimate driver of solar variability and space weather, global-scale convective motions are of particular interest from a practical as well as a theoretical perspective. Turbulent convection under the influence of rotation and stratification redistributes momentum and energy, generating differential rotation, meridional circulation, and magnetic fields through hydromagnetic dynamo processes. In the solar tachocline near the base of the convection zone, strong angular velocity shear further amplifies fields which subsequently rise to the surface to form active regions. Penetrative convection, instabilities, stratified turbulence, and waves all add to the dynamical richness of the tachocline region and pose particular modeling challenges. In this article we review observational, theoretical, and computational investigations of global-scale dynamics in the solar interior. Particular emphasis is placed on high-resolution global simulations of solar convection, highlighting what we have learned from them and how they may be improved.
An electrophoretic and chemical fractionation study of sera from rats immunized against the nematode Nippostrongylus muris.

1. 1. Electrophoretic and salt fractionation determinations on normal and nematode immune rat sera were performed. 2. 2. Utilizing bovine albumin as a standard, a new modification for determining total serum protein of rat serum by the biuret reaction was developed. 3. 3. A new modification for fractionating rat sera into albumin and globulin, utilizing sodium sulfite at a final concentration of 22.80% (w/v), was devised. 4. 4. The lung weight when converted to percent of total body weight was found to increase in the infected animal as compared with that of the control, and these increases were paralleled by serum changes. This lung involvement is considered as the traumatic center which produces, at least for the most part, the observed serum changes. 5. 5. Living larvae, saline extracts of living larvae, and ground larvae were used as antigens and exposed to immune sera. Antigen-antibody combination, as indicated by the removal of a serum fraction, was not observed. 6. 6. Rats were injected with increasing numbers of N. muris larvae at 2-week intervals. Serum determinations were made on various days between the injections. The following serum changes were noted in the infected animals when compared with uninfected littermates: 6.1. (a) The total protein was increased as the number of larvae above 1,000 injected was increased. 6.2. (b) The beta and total globulin increased as the number of larvae injected increased, and diminished when the number of larvae injected was reduced, or when the larval injections were stopped. 6.3. (c) In 5 of 6 intervals between injections, the beta globulin of the infected animals was slightly higher in 2 weeks than one week after each injection. The beta globulin increase was noted in hyper-immune serum analyzed in veronal buffer at pH 8.6 and phosphate buffer at pH 7.4. This minimized any anomalous effects that might occur at a particular pH or with a particular buffer. 6.4. (d) When rats were injected with 1,000, 2,000, 5,000, 10,000, 20,000, and 50,000 larvae at 2-week intervals, the most striking changes occurred 7 days after the 50,000 larval injection. 6.5. (e) The gamma globulin showed no significant increase or decrease. 6.6. (f) Serum from rats, which had received injections of the supernatant of the larval suspension, was essentially normal. This indicated that the material in the inoculum other than the larvae did not cause the observed serum protein changes. These serum changes are interpreted as responses of the host to injury or trauma by migrating larvae although, the possible existence of an antibody cannot be ruled out. Since rats were bled only once during the course of the experiments, serum depletion changes were not a factor.
The CEO of Self: Herman Cain, Black Conservatism and the Achievement Ideology

In his autobiography This Is Herman Cain, conservative business executive and former Republican presidential hopeful Herman Cain attributes his success to the hard work ethic and perseverance instilled in him by his father. Cain asserts that possessing a positive mindset or as he states becoming the “CEO of Self” played a major role in his ability to transcend the various hurdles he faced as a young African-American male growing up in the Deep South during the civil rights era. Cain’s line of thinking fits within the paradigm of the American achievement ideology, but I argue that Cain’s idealized construction of an American society where racism’s impact on the opportunity chances of African-Americans is minimal ultimately allows for the maintenance of an American social structure where “whiteness” reigns supreme.
A hierarchical goal-programming approach to reverse resource allocation in institutions of higher learning

As universities react to severe financial pressures, there is a danger that too much emphasis will be placed on ‘balancing the budget’ at the expense of the academic goals of the institution. Therefore, the overall objective of this paper is to design and implement a model for reducing the operating budgets of the academic units of a university, while reflecting the diverse goals of the academic community. It recognizes that faculty, department chairmen and deans should share the responsibility of ‘reverse’ resource allocations or budget reductions. The model utilizes a goal-programming approach to reflect the multiple-phased model to allow for some degree of decentralization of decision making. The model is applied to a small private university. The solution to the model reveals the distribution of budget reductions among the schools and within the departments. A survey of potential users reveals a definite preference for the model results over the actual budget procedure.
Insurer pricing and consumer welfare: evidence from Medigap

This article examines the welfare impact of imperfect competition in the Medicare supplement insurance (Medigap) market. Two firms control nearly three fourths of the Medigap market, and premiums exceed claims by over 25%. I find that a low price elasticity and consumers' brand preferences lead firms to engage in substantial marketing and price above cost. Therefore, the strategic behavior of insurers facing relatively inelastic demand is critical in explaining poor market performance. I also find that insurers do not capture all of the rents in this market; rents also accrue to actors who perform marketing functions, including agents and brokers.
Measuring Gas-Phase Chlorine Atom Concentrations: Rate Constants for Cl + HN3, CF3I, and C2F5I

A convenient method is reported for the measurement of gas-phase Cl atom concentrations in the 1011−1013 atoms cm-3 range in a flow reactor. The titration reaction with vinyl bromide is used to measure the absolute Cl atom concentration, and the relative Cl atom concentration is monitored by the HCl(v) infrared emission intensity produced by the reaction of Cl atoms with hydrogen sulfide. A microwave discharge through dilute flows of Cl2, CCl4, CFCl3, and CF2Cl2 in Ar were characterized as sources of Cl atoms in the flow reactor. The elementary rate constants for reaction of Cl atoms with HN3, CF3I, and C2F5I were measured as (1.1 ± 0.3) × 10-12, (5.1 ± 1.5) × 10-13, and (3.9 ± 0.8) × 10-12 cm3 molecule-1 s-1, respectively, at 300 K. These rate constants were obtained after adjustment of the apparent rate constants for secondary reactions.
A wavelet filtering scheme for noise and vibration reduction in high-frequency signal injection-based sensorless control of PMSM at low speed

Summary form only given. This paper presents a technique for noise and vibration reduction in low-speed sensorless control algorithm of surface mounted permanent magnet synchronous machines (SM-PMSM). The signal processing involved in high-frequency-based sensorless control algorithms has a significant effect on the vibration and noise accompanying such algorithms. Therefore, a wavelet filtering approach is proposed. This wavelet filter is capable of extracting the position information even at low values of injection voltage amplitude where conventional filters fail to extract the information. This leads to a reduction in the machine's noise and vibration. Furthermore, an optimization using hardware-in-the-loop method based on genetic algorithms was implemented in real time to obtain the optimum value of the injected voltages amplitude and frequency causing the least possible vibration with acceptable position estimation accuracy. Consequently, a significant reduction in vibration and noise was achieved. The proposed techniques were implemented on a 2-hp SM-PMSM motor both experimentally and through simulations. Comparisons between numerical and test results confirm the validity of the proposed techniques.
IMMUNOFLUORESCENT DETECTION OF PROLIFERATING HUMAN ANTIBODY-FORMING CELLS.

DIFFUSION chamber cultivation studies with human lymph-node tissues have shown a high proliferative activity of the immune cell population immediately before and during antibody production as indicated by the incorporation of tritiated thymidine in vitro1. It became of interest, therefore, to determine the proliferative capacity of the antibody-containing cells as compared with the cells in the same population which were not forming antibody. This was done by using both in vitro and in vivo exposure of the cultivated cells to tritiated thymidine and subsequent staining of the cells for antibody by immunofluorescence followed by autoradiography.
Exchange transfusion in neonatal myasthenia

TRANSIENT NEONATAL MYASTHENIA OCCURS in 10 to 15% of infants of myas then ic mothers . The illness is character ized by hypotonia , feeding difficulties, and facial weakness, which usually resolve in four to six weeks. Many infants require in te rmi t ten t ant ichol ines terase medication to assure adequa te oral nutr i t ion, bu t f l ank respiratory fai lure is rare. W h e n a severely affected, respiratorbound in fan t failed to respond to ant ichol ines terase medicat ion, exchange t ransfusion produced a significant improvemen t in strength.
Theoretical and experimental aerodynamics of the sailwing

The sailwing is a unique type of semiflexible foldable wing. A brief description of its construction, basic properties, and some past research, is used to introduce an analytical and experimental study of its aerodynamic characteristics. Emphasis is placed on an approximate structural analysis which treats the nonlinear behavior of the sail deflection. Twodimensional flexible airfoil theory and Prandtl lifting-line theory are used to establish the aerodynamic loading. The results allow prediction of the induced tensions, the nonlinear life curve, induced drag, and aeroelastic divergence of the sail chordwise deflection mode. Selected experimental results are presented for comparison with the theory, along with a brief discussion of the implications of the study regarding flight vehicle applications of the sailwing.
Biomarker records of late Neogene changes in northeast African vegetation

Open savannah grasslands (dominated by C4 plants) became a significant component of northeast African vegetation during the late Neogene. We present molecule-specific carbon isotopic mea- surements of terrestrial plant biomarkers preserved in marine sed- iments off northeast Africa that allow reconstruction of orbital- scale vegetation changes in short time windows over the past 9.4 m.y. The biomarker data show large-amplitude vegetation vari- ability as early as 3.8 Ma, with the greatest C4 expansion occurring after 3.4 Ma. We sampled orbital-scale oscillations of up to 5‰, almost as large as the observed late Neogene range of 7‰, sug- gesting that large and repeated oscillations between more open and more closed landscapes were an important aspect of northeast Af- rican vegetation change during the past 4 m.y.
Lessons learned from fires and explosions involving air pollution control systems

Six case studies of fires or explosions involving air pollution control (APC) systems are reviewed in this paper. These case studies have been generalized from actual accident investigations performed by the authors. The case studies cover the APC technologies of thermal oxidation, catalytic oxidation, gas scrubbers, adsorption, and condensation. Each of the technologies was used to control emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs). The accidents encompass a broad range of industries, ignition sources, and circumstances. The causal factors for these accidents are compared with applicable safety guidelines and standards to show how safeguards could have prevented or mitigated these accidents. The common theme that emerges from these accident investigations is that APC systems should not be specified and installed strictly by intuition or experience, but rather through careful engineering design. The key findings of this study are: Characterize the waste stream to be treated. Conduct a process hazard analysis for each APC system, with particular emphasis on fire and explosion hazards. Design the APC system using good engineering practices. Operate the APC system within its design specifications. Periodically verify that the APC system performance satisfies its technical and regulatory objectives. Perform maintenance activities in accordance with manufacturer's recommendations. Each of the accidents was the direct result of the omission of one or more of these basic tenets. © 2005 American Institute of Chemical Engineers Process Saf Prog, 2005
Adolescent use of illicit drugs other than marijuana: how important is social bonding and for which ethnic groups?

We predicted Grade 12 use of illicit drugs other than marijuana (“hard” drugs) from characteristics at Grade 10, examining the protective value of social bonds and testing whether certain social bonds have greater importance for some racial/ethnic groups. We also explored the association of previous substance use with later “hard” drug use when social bonds and a broad range of other personal and environmental variables are statistically controlled. Bonds with family were inversely related to any use of illicit drugs other than marijuana; various forms of prior use were positively related to both any and frequent use. However, variables other than social bonds and prior use were equal or stronger predictors of both outcomes. Some differences were obtained across racial groups: African-Americans were less likely to use illicit drugs other than marijuana, Mexican-Americans were more affected by family factors than were other groups, and Asian-Americans were more affected by school failure. Implications for ...
Sensorimotor-related discharge of simultaneously recorded, single neurons in the dorsal raphe nucleus of the awake, unrestrained rat

Multi-channel, multi-neuron recording procedures were used to monitor simultaneously the spike train activity of single neurons (n=7-16 cells/animal) in the dorsal raphe (DR) nucleus of the awake, freely moving rat. Putative serotonergic and non-serotonergic neurons were distinguished from one another on the basis of established criteria, i.e. waveform shape and duration, firing pattern and firing frequency. As a group, presumed serotonergic neurons exhibited low tonic discharge rates, depressed firing after serotonin (5HT)-1a agonist administration, and, except for the transition from sleep to waking, a general insensitivity to specific sensory or motor events. By contrast, non-serotonergic cells in midline and lateral wing sub-regions of the nucleus displayed responses to a variety of sensorimotor events including locomotion, grooming, head movement, chewing, auditory stimuli, and whisker movement (both passive and active). However, within this latter group, the sensorimotor response repertoire of individual cells was not uniform. Likewise, non-5HT cells with diverse response profiles were identified in both medial and lateral sub-regions of the nucleus. Cells categorized as non-serotonergic also had varied responses to 5HT1a agonist administration. These results emphasize the diverse input/output relationships of individual DR neurons and underscore the need for a more comprehensive analysis of such properties under waking conditions in order to obtain a better understanding of the role of the DR nucleus in brain function.
Spontaneous quantum Hall effect via a thermally induced quadratic Fermi point.

Gapless electronic systems containing topologically nontrivial Fermi points are sources of various topological insulators. Whereas, most of these special band-crossing points are built in the electronic structure of the noninteracting lattice models, we show that a quadratic Fermi point characterized by a nonzero winding number emerges with a collinear triple-$\mathbf{Q}$ spin-density-wave state that arises from a perfectly nested but topologically trivial Fermi surface. We obtain a universal low-energy Hamiltonian for the quadratic Fermi point and show that such collinear orderings are unstable against the onset of scalar spin chirality that opens a gap and induces a spontaneous quantum Hall insulator as the temperature tends to zero.
Tris Buffer Attenuates Acetylcholine Responses in Aplysia Neurons

The commonly used buffering agent tris(hydroxymethyl)methylamine (tris) antagonizes the action of iontophoretically applied acetylcholine on neurons of Aplysia californica. Concentrations of 5 to 10 millimolar tris markedly reduced both excitatory and inhibitory responses.
Estimation of aerodynamics for slender bodies alone and with liftingsurfaces at alpha's from 0 deg to 90 deg.

Expressions are derived, according to a method developed by the author (1972), for bodies in which the cross-sectional shape (but not necessarily the area) is constant along the longitudinal axis. For the more general case of a body alone or with lifting surfaces where the cross-sectional shape varies along the length, a similar procedure is suggested. The specific case for an elliptic cone with a triangular wing is considered, and formulas for winged elliptic cross sections are developed. For the limited test conditions shown, the agreement between computed and experimental results is very good.
Exact expansions of arbitrary tensor functions F(A) and their derivatives

A general method is presented for determining the exact expansions of a tensor function F(A), where A is a second order tensor in n-dimensional Euclidean space, and F(A) is defined by the power series. It is shown that F(A) can be obtained by differentiating a scalar function of the eigenvalues of A. Using this method, closed-form, singularity-free expressions of arbitrary tensor functions and their first derivatives are deduced in two- and three-dimensional cases.
A Gene Expression Signature Predicts Recurrence-free Survival and Overall Survival for High-risk Surgical-pathologic Head and Neck Squamous Cell Carcinomas following Post-operative Radiotherapy

Purpose/Objective(s): Although image-guided radiotherapy (IGRT) has been proposed as a means of potentially reducing planning target volume (PTV) margins, there is limited data on how to best utilize this technology to accomplish this for head and neck cancer patients. The aim of this study was to determine the optimal PTV margins required for patients treated by IMRT for head and neck cancer using commonly employed IGRT strategies.