cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SEX DIFFERENCES IN WRITTEN LANGUAGE AMONG ELEMENTARY PUPILS: A SEVEN-YEAR LONGITUDINAL STUDY '

Summary.-This seven-year longitudinal study compared the development in written language skills of 41 boys and 38 girls from kindergarten through Grade 6. Advantages often attributed to girls were not found. Present results tend to refute the traditional view that girls are linguistically superior to boys and confirm the more recent view that neither sex has an advantage over the other in written language skills in the elementary school. From a number of studies has come the popular belief that girls at the elementary level develop more rapidly and do better in virtually all verbal skills and abhties than boys, especially written language skills. The widely recognized female advantage is generally regarded as continuing through the elementary years, although perhaps to a lesser extent at the middle-grade levels and beyond. Belief in the verbal superiority of girls dates from as early as 1910, when Bonser found that girls' scores on certain language tests were superior to boys'. In 1922, Jespersen observed that "little girls, on the average, learn to talk earlier and more quickly than boys; they outstrip them in talking correctly; their punctuation is not spoilt by their bad habits and awkwardnesses so often found in boys" (p. 146). When McCarthy (21) summarized the literature on sex differences in language, one most consistent finding observed "in one investigation after another, each being conducted by a different experimenter, employing different techniques . . . " was a slight difference in favor of girls in nearly all aspects of language studied. McCarthy pointed especially to the superiority of girls in pronunciation, mean length of sentences, vocabulary, comprehensibility of responses at an early age, and verbosity. Maccoby's highly regarded 1966 review of the literature on sex differences led her to suggest that throughout the school years girls do better than boys on tests of grammar, spelling, and word fluency. In fact, she said that through the preschool and early school years, girls exceed boys in most aspects of verbal performance. Over the last two decades, however, female superiority in verbal development has been increasingly questioned. For example, Feingold (10) recently said that cognitive sex lfferences are disappearing and that between 1960 and 1983 such differences have "declined precipitously ."
Southern regionalism and historic preservation in Charleston, South Carolina, 1920–1940

Abstract Historic preservation and regionalism are two self-conscious twentieth-century approaches to shaping places. Both flowered in the period 1920 to 1940. They have common roots in concerns about modern culture's changes to an inherited American landscape. The first historic district zoning in the United States was established in Charleston, South Carolina in 1931. The immediate reason for its creation was the invasion of antebellum residential neighborhoods by “modernistic” gasoline stations. The regionalism of the time provided a supportive context for Charleston's reaction against these manifestations of modernity. Regionalists championed older ways of life and landscapes that distinguished various sections of the United States. In the South, several strains of regionalist thought developed during the 1920s and 1930s, from the liberalism of the Chapel Hill social scientists to the reactionary conservatism of the Agrarians. Landscape preservationists in Charleston shared ideas with both of these groups of regionalists, and with others, and had some direct contact with them. Preservation in Charleston was a way of coping with perceived negative aspects of modern urban industrial society.
Detecting Point Pattern of Multiple Line Segments Using Hough Transformation

Surface defects in manufacturing often exhibit particular spatial patterns. These patterns contain valuable information about the manufacturing process and can help to identify potential root causes. In this paper, we present a new method to detect the point patterns that consist of multiple line segments. The basic idea is that by using the Hough transformation, we convert the point pattern detection problem into a simple point matching problem. Compared with the existing point pattern matching methods, the proposed method does not require training data and is relatively easy to implement and compute. The details of the detection algorithm are presented and the parameter selection and performance evaluation of this method are investigated. Case studies are presented to validate the effectiveness of this method.
What's philosophically interesting about engineering ethics?

What makes a subject philosophically interesting is hard-to-resolve confusion about fundamental concepts. Engineering ethics suffers from at least three such fundamental confusions. First, there is confusion about what the “ethics” in engineering ethics is (ordinary morality, philosophical ethics, special standards, or something else?) Second, there is confusion about what the profession of engineering is (a function, discipline, occupation, kind of organization, or something else?) Third, there is confusion about what the discipline of engineering is. These fundamental confusions in engineering ethics connect with philosophically interesting work in moral theory, political philosophy, and philosophy of science. Work in these areas may help with the philosophical problems of engineering ethics. But, equally important, work in engineering ethics may help with the philosophical problems in these others fields.
Complications of cesarean delivery in the massively obese parturient.

Objective The objective of the study was to determine predictors of cesarean delivery morbidity associated with massive obesity. Study Design This was an institutional review board–approved retrospective study of massively obese women (body mass index, ≥50 kg/m2) undergoing cesarean delivery. Bivariable and multivariable analyses were used to assess the strength of association between wound complication and various predictors. Results Fifty-eight of 194 patients (30%) had a wound complication. Most (90%) were wound disruptions, and 86% were diagnosed after hospital discharge (median postoperative day, 8.5; interquartile range, 6–12). Subcutaneous drains and smoking, but not labor or ruptured membranes, were independently associated with wound complication after controlling for various confounders. Vertical abdominal incisions were associated with increased operative time, blood loss, and vertical hysterotomy. Conclusion Women with a body mass index ≥50 kg/m2 have a much greater risk for cesarean wound complications than previously reported. Avoidance of subcutaneous drains and increased use of transverse abdominal wall incisions should be considered in massively obese parturients to reduce operative morbidity.
Ethanol Inhibits Single‐Unit Responses in the Nucleus Accumbens Evoked by Stimulation of the Basolateral Nucleus of the Amygdala

We studied the actions of intoxicating doses of ethanol on excitatory inputs from the basolateral nucleus of the amygdala, a major afferent system projecting to the nucleus accumbens (NAcc). In view of the hypothesized role of opioid receptors on the effects of ethanol on NAcc physiology, we also explored whether naloxone modulates ethanol-induced suppression of NAcc excitability in halothane anesthetized and freely moving unanesthetized rats. Intraperitoneal administration of ethanol (1.2-1.4 g/kg) markedly suppressed a subgroup of amygdala-activated NAcc neurons. The ethanol-induced reduction in amygdala-activated NAcc neurons was not reversed by naloxone (5.0 mg/kg, intraperitoneally). Moreover, naloxone had no effect on the suppressive effects of ethanol on NAcc spontaneous activity in either halothane-anesthetized or unanesthetized freely moving preparations. These findings suggest that opiate mechanisms either are not participating or are not solely responsible for the inhibitory effects of acute intoxicating doses of ethanol on NAcc physiology.
Composite n-MOSFET for submicrometre circuits

This Letter proposes a new composite n-MOS device to replace conventional n-channel devices in submicrometre amplifier circuits whenever a large drain-source voltage is encountered. The composite device improves the lifetime of a simple amplifier by eight orders of magnitude. Increasing the device channel length to reduce the effects of hot electron degradation has also been investigated as an alternative in contrast to the composite device, but is demonstrated to be an inferior design choice.
Media, networks, and content

The more distant a person is from technology, the greater that person deems it to be the engine of social action. The lay press and our own relatives constantly ask us at the MIT Media Laboratory whether the Internet will converge with television, and how television will become interactive. They tacitly assume that technology will drive applications instead of the other way around. The populace at large and the popular press seem to live in fear that we will forcibly yank away their remote controls and replace them with mice and joysticks, that we will transform the living room from a place of relaxation to a field of Doom, and that we will do so merely by inventing it. Adoption and alteration are not options.
The Role and Impact of Primary Aggressor Laws and Policies

The move to arrest, in particular mandatory arrest, has not come without criticism. Of particular concern has been the observed increase in the percentage of those arrested who are women. In this article, the authors examine the reasons for the enactment of primary aggressor laws and present an overview of those laws. They use a sample of intimate partner intimidation and assault cases reported to the police in calendar year 2000 in 25 jurisdictions in four states (Connecticut, Idaho, Tennessee, and Virginia) to examine the relationship between dual arrest rates and the existence of a primary aggressor statute.
Supercomputers in Europe

There are now over thirty supercomputers in use in Europe. In this short communication, we consider their distribution both by geographical location and by the principal activity of each site. The latter leads naturally to an estimate of the amount of supercomputer usage in the major areas of scientific research.
Biomarkers in Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor: Should We Equate Blood-Based Pharmacodynamics with Tumor Biology and Clinical Outcomes?

The article by Norden-Zfoni et al. ([1][1]) provides evidence that administration of sunitinib, a multitargeted kinase inhibitor, to patients with advanced gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST) correlates with alterations of cellular and plasma biomarkers. The objective of this study was 2-fold: ( a
In‐situ cure monitoring of diamine cured epoxy by fiberoptic fluorimetry using extrinsic reactive fluorophore

This paper describes the application of a molecular sensor for in-situ monitoring of epoxy-diamine cure via remote sensing fiberoptic probes. A custom-built, fiberoptic fluorimeter allows on-line recording of fluorescence spectra directly from the cure environment. Cure reactions in epoxy-diamine network, such as diglycidyl ether of bisphenol A-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DGEBA-DDS) or diglycidyl ether of butanediol-diaminodiphenyl sulfone (DGEB-DDS), have been monitored by a reactive molecular sensor, diamino azobenzene (DAA). DAA exhibits sensitive changes in UV-visible and fluorescence spectra due to the conversion of its primary amine groups to secondary and tertiary amine groups. Fluorescence intensities are correlated with extent of reaction in epoxy network and processing parameters, such as cure temperatures and time. The use of an internal reference dye for normalization of fluorescence intensities is necessary for the quantitative correlation of spectral signals with the network structure. Variables affecting the fluorescence intensity such as excitation volume, probe location, excitation intensity fluctuation, temperature, and background intensities from optical fiber can be calibrated by normalizing the signal intensities against the internal reference. Sulforhodamine 101 was found to be a satisfactory reference dye which provides stable, readable signals over temperatures up to 200°C.
Conative control of the contingent negative variation

Abstract Experiments are described in which experimenter-subjects were able to control the amplitude of the contingent negative variation “at will”. It is urged that any investigations of the psychological correlates of the CNV which make use of “trained observers” should be interpreted with this possible source of bias in mind, and replicated, where feasible, using unbiased, naive subjects.
Chronic pain patient-spouse behavioral interactions predict patient disability.

Abstract Based on behavioral theory, it has been hypothesized that spouse solicitous responses to the pain behaviors of chronic pain patients may contribute to the maintenance of pain behaviors and disability. Self-report data support this hypothesis, but direct observational measures have not been used to study this association. In this study, 50 chronic pain patients and their spouses were videotaped while engaging in common household activities, and patient pain behaviors and spouse solicitous behaviors were coded from the tapes. Spouse solicitous responses to non-verbal pain behaviors were significant predictors of physical disability in the more depressed patients, and were significant predictors of rate of non-verbal pain behavior in patients who reported greater pain. Spouse sulicitous responses did not predict psychosocial dysfunction or total self-reported pain behaviors. The results support behavioral theory and indicate the need for further study of the association between spouse solicitousness and patient pain behaviors/disability.
Organometallics for non-linear optics: Metal-pyridine and bipyridine complexes

Abstract Metal-pyridine and bipyridine complexes have been observed to generate second-harmonic radiation when exposed to the 1.06 μm output of a Nd-YAG laser. The structure of one of these compounds [(CF 3 SO 3 Re(2,2'-bipyridine)(CO) 3 ] has been determined.
Variational methods in problems of control and programming

Abstract It is shown how a fairly general control problem, or programming problem, with constraints can be reduced to a special type of classical Bolza problem in the calculus of variations. Necessary conditions from the Bolza problem are translated into necessary conditions for optimal control. It is seen from these conditions that Pontryagin's Maximum Principle is a translation of the usual Weierstrass condition, and is applicable to a wider class of problems than that considered by Pontryagin. The differentiability and continuity properties of the value of the control are established under reasonable hypotheses on the synthesis, and it is shown that the value satisfies the Hamilton-Jacobi equation. As a corollary we obtain a rigorous proof of a functional equation of Bellman that is valid for a much wider class of problems than heretofore. A sufficiency theorem for the synthesis of control is also given.
Cultivating the Therapeutic Moment From Planning to Receptivity in Therapeutic Practice

A popular model of psychotherapy as a rational, linear, and instrumental treatment that can be mastered and planned by the therapist is critiqued as an idealized fantasy. This model, which often underpins cognitive behavioral therapy and a medical approach to therapy, is contrasted with an alternative model based on attentiveness to the therapeutic process defined as an emergent and unpredictable thirdness between therapist and client. Three principles of a process-oriented therapy are described and illustrated through case vignettes. Each of these principles is shown to contradict the assumptions of a rational/planning approach to therapy and therefore to undermine the rational endeavor to “plan” treatment. A process-oriented model of therapy is argued to be a more ethical choice due to the fact that it avoids the moralism and authoritarianism of the rational/planning approach to therapy and has a more radical therapeutic aim that circumvents conventional definitions of what good outcome is or should be.
A blinded, randomized, placebo-controlled trial of percutaneous laser myocardial revascularization to improve angina symptoms in patients with severe coronary disease.

OBJECTIVES This study was a randomized, patient- and evaluator-blinded, placebo-controlled trial in patients treated using percutaneous myocardial laser revascularization. BACKGROUND Previous studies using similar therapies have been confounded by placebo bias. METHODS A total of 298 patients with severe angina were randomly assigned to receive low-dose or high-dose myocardial laser channels or no laser channels, blinded as a sham procedure. The primary end point was the change in exercise duration from baseline examination to six months. RESULTS The incidence of 30-day death, stroke, myocardial infarction, coronary revascularization, or left ventricular perforation occurred in two patients in the placebo, eight patients in the low-dose, and four patients in the high-dose groups (p = 0.12); 30-day myocardial infarction incidence was higher in patients receiving either low-dose or high-dose laser (nine patients) compared with placebo (no patients, p = 0.03). At six months, there were no differences in the change in exercise duration between those receiving a sham (28.0 s, n = 100), low-dose laser (33.2 s, n = 98), or high-dose laser (28.0 s, n = 98, p = 0.94) procedure. There were also no differences in the proportion of patients improving to better than Canadian Cardiovascular Society class III angina symptoms at six months. The follow-up visual summed stress single-photon-emission computed tomography scores were not significantly different from baseline in any group and were no different between groups. The modest improvement in angina symptoms assessed by the Seattle Angina Questionnaire also was not statistically different among the arms. CONCLUSIONS Treatment with percutaneous myocardial laser revascularization provides no benefit beyond that of a similar sham procedure in patients blinded to their treatment status.
Digital spectra of nonuniformly sampled signals. II. Digital look-up tunable sinusoidal oscillators

For Part I see ibid., vol.37, no.2, June 1988. The author presents theories and applications of a digital spectrum analysis technique for a class of nonuniformly sampled signals. The structure of the harmonic components present in a digitally synthesized sine wave is analyzed using a table look-up method. The digital table look-up method offers several desirable features, such as high-frequency stability and precision control of both the frequency and the phase of the generated sine wave. However, undesirable spurious harmonic components are generated when one tries to tune to different frequencies by manipulating the memory-addressing mechanism rather than loading a new waveform sample into the waveform memory, which is generally time-consuming and sometimes infeasible. The frequencies, amplitudes, and phrases of all the spurious harmonic components are derived in closed form. >
Test of intron predictions reveals novel splice sites, alternatively spliced mRNAs and new introns in meiotically regulated genes of yeast

Correct identification of all introns is necessary to discern the protein-coding potential of a eukaryotic genome. The existence of most of the spliceosomal introns predicted in the genome of Saccharomyces cerevisiae remains unsupported by molecular evidence. We tested the intron predictions for 87 introns predicted to be present in non-ribosomal protein genes, more than a third of all known or suspected introns in the yeast genome. Evidence supporting 61 of these predictions was obtained, 20 predicted intron sequences were not spliced and six predictions identified an intron-containing region but failed to specify the correct splice sites, yielding a successful prediction rate of <80%. Alternative splicing has not been previously described for this organism, and we identified two genes (YKL186C/MTR2 and YML034W) which encode alternatively spliced mRNAs; YKL186C/MTR2 produces at least five different spliced mRNAs. One gene (YGR225W/SPO70) has an intron whose removal is activated during meiosis under control of the MER1 gene. We found eight new introns, suggesting that numerous introns still remain to be discovered. The results show that correct prediction of introns remains a significant barrier to understanding the structure, function and coding capacity of eukaryotic genomes, even in a supposedly simple system like yeast.
A two-level distributed multiple hypothesis decision system

A two-level distributed decision system consisting of a number of local decision makers (LDMs) connected to a global decision maker (GDM) is considered. The LDMs share a common M-hypothesis testing problem, have their own observations independent of each other, and employ likelihood ratios for their decision making. Each LDM transmits its inference to the GDM where the final decision is derived. The local inferences consist of the ranking of the candidate hypotheses and a degree of confidence based on likelihood ratios. Using a maximum distance criterion, the optimum confidence-based subpartitioning of local decision space is studied. It is shown that the presented system can greatly outperform one in which LDM provides a single-hypothesis hard decision and can perform nearly as well as the optimum centralized system. >
Brain Activation during Sentence Comprehension among Good and Poor Readers

This study sought to increase current understanding of the neuropsychological basis of poor reading ability by using fMRI to examine brain activation during a visual sentence comprehension task among good and poor readers in the third (n 5 32) and fifth (n 5 35) grades. Reading ability, age, and the combination of both factors made unique contributions to cortical activation. The main finding was of parietotemporal underactivation (less activation than controls) among poor readers at the 2 grade levels. A positive linear relationship (spanning both the poor and good readers) was found between reading ability and activation in the left posterior middle temporal and postcentral gyri and in the right inferior parietal lobule such that activation increased with reading ability. Different developmental trajectories characterized good and poor readers in the left angular gyrus: activation increased with age among good readers, a change that failed to occur among poor readers. The parietotemporal cortex is discussed in terms of its role in reading acquisition, with the left angular gyrus playing a key role. It is proposed that the functioning of the cortical network underlying reading is dependent on a combination of interacting factors, including physiological maturation, neural integrity, skill level, and the nature of the task.
A Functional Link Network With Ordered Basis Functions

A procedure is presented for selecting and ordering the polynomial basis functions in the functional link net (FLN). This procedure, based upon a modified Gram Schmidt orthonormalization, eliminates linearly dependent and less useful basis functions at an early stage, reducing the possibility of combinatorial explosion. The number of passes through the training data is minimized through the use of correlations. A one-pass method is used for validation and network sizing. Function approximation and learning examples are presented. Results for the ordered FLN are compared with those for the FLN, group method of data handling, and multi-layer perceptron.
The Logic of Historical Explanation in the Social Sciences

Historical explanations seek to identify the causes of outcomes in particular cases. Although social scientists commonly develop historical explanations, they lack criteria for distinguishing different types of causes and for evaluating the relative importance of alternative causes of the same outcome. This article first provides an inventory of the five types of causes that are normally used in historical explanations: (1) necessary but not sufficient, (2) sufficient but not necessary, (3) necessary and sufficient, (4) INUS, and (5) SUIN causes. It then introduces a new method—sequence elaboration—for evaluating the relative importance of causes. Sequence elaboration assesses the importance of causes through consideration of their position within a sequence and through consideration of the types of causes that make up the sequence as a whole. Throughout the article, methodological points are illustrated with substantive examples from the field of international and comparative studies.
Interpersonal forgiveness, trust, and the investment model of commitment

In an effort to extend a portion of the mutual cyclical growth model of relationships (Wieselquist, Rusbult, Foster, & Agnew, 1999), the present research examined the prediction that being forgiven by a partner may bolster one’s trust in the partner. Results of a correlational survey study of individuals in dating relationships provided support for the hypotheses that: perception of a partner’s forgiveness predicts trust in the partner; trust predicts relationship satisfaction and (perhaps) investments in the relationship; and satisfaction, quality of alternatives, and investment size predict commitment to the relationship. Furthermore, comparison of alternative structural equation models suggests that trust, satisfaction, and investments mediate the association between a partner’s forgiveness and commitment. Several lines of future research are discussed.
The Chemical Form of Selenium Influences 3,2′-Dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl-DNA Adduct Formation in Rat Colon

There is increasing evidence that selenium can protect against tumorigenesis or preneoplastic lesion development induced by chemical carcinogens. This study examined whether selenite, selenate or selenomethionine would be protective against 3, 2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (DMABP)-DNA adduct formation in the liver and colon of rats and sought to delineate the mechanism for the protective effects of the different chemical forms of selenium against aberrant crypt formation, a preneoplastic lesion for colon cancer. After injection of DMABP, two DNA adducts were identified in the liver and colon of rats. Supplementation with either 0.1 or 2.0 mg selenium/kg diet as either selenite or selenate but not selenomethionine resulted in significantly fewer (53-70%; P < 0.05) N-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-(deoxyguanosin-8-yl)-3, 2'-dimethyl-4-aminobiphenyl (C8-DMABP)-DNA adducts in the colon but not the liver than in rats fed a selenium-deficient diet. Rats supplemented with selenomethionine had greater (P < 0.05) plasma and liver selenium concentrations and glutathione peroxidase activity than those supplemented with selenite or selenate; however, they also had more DMABP-DNA adducts. The protective effect of selenite and selenate against DMABP-DNA adduct formation apparently is not a result of alterations in plasma or liver selenium concentrations or altered glutathione peroxidase or glutathione transferase activities but may be related to differences in the metabolism of the different forms of selenium.
Dynamic interpolation on Riemannian manifolds: an application to interferometric imaging

In this paper we derive necessary conditions for minimizing the cost function for a trajectory that evolves on a Riemannian manifold and satisfies a second order differential equation together with some interpolation, smoothness and motion constraints. The cost function we consider in this paper is a weighted sum of the norm squared of the acceleration and the norm squared of the velocity and is motivated by space-based interferometric imaging applications. In our current work, we define the dynamic interpolation problem, derive necessary conditions for an optimal solution and point out an interesting connection between the dynamic interpolation problem and imaging applications, which is the main contribution of this paper.
Recent Results from Fermilab E557 and E672 Experiments

Recent results from two Fermilab experiments, E557 and E672 are reviewed. The E557 experiment is studying production of jets in pN collisions at c.m. energies 27 and 39 GeV. The A α dependence for jet production is well parametrized by an Aa behavior with α = 1.0 − 1.2. The beam jet fragmentation is broader than expected, strongly depends on the event configuration at 90° and does not show a leading proton signal at high ET. The E672 experiment is aimed at studying hadronic final states produced in association with high mass dimuons. It has started to take data during the Fall 1987 run. We discuss the experimental setup, trigger rates and expected physics results on the hadroproduction of chi states and beauty.
Tidal Distortion and Disruption of Earth-Crossing Asteroids

Abstract We present results of numerical simulations that show that Earth's tidal forces can both distort and disrupt Earth-crossing asteroids that have weak “rubble-pile” structures. Building on previous studies, we consider more realistic asteroid shapes and trajectories, test a variety of spin rates and axis orientations, and employ a dissipation algorithm to treat more accurately collisions between the particles that make up the model asteroid. We explore a large parameter space, including the asteroid's periapse q , encounter velocity with the Earth v ∞ , spin period P , initial spin axis orientation, and body orientation at periapse. We parameterize the simulation outcomes by the amount of mass stripped from the asteroid during a flyby. Our most severe disruptions result in fragment trains similar in character to the “string of pearls” created when Comet D/Shoemaker–Levy 9 was disrupted near Jupiter in 1992. Less catastrophic disruptions cause material to be stripped off in more isotropic fashion, leaving a central remnant with a characteristic distorted shape. Some ejecta can enter into stable orbits around the remnant, creating a binary or multiple system. Even when no mass is lost tidal forces and torques can modify the asteroid's shape and spin. Our results show that mass loss is enhanced for small values of q , v ∞ , and P , and depends to a certain extent on the body's initial spin orientation (for example, retrograde rotation reduces mass loss). An elongated asteroid was found to be far easier to disrupt than a spherical one, though the orientation of the ellipsoid at periapse can noticeably change the outcome. The size and orbital distribution of the ejecta are discussed, along with the applications of this technique towards an understanding of doublet craters, crater chains, and asteroids with peculiar shapes and spins.
Philip John Crosskey Dark (1918–2008)

Philip J. C. Dark, Professor Emeritus of Anthropology at Southern Illinois University (Carbondale), died on April 4, 2008, in St. Mawes, Cornwall, England. He was a leading authority on tribal arts, particularly of Benin and the Pacific. Philip Dark was born on May 15, 1918, in London, where he grew up. His father was a high-level civil servant who had won prestigious awards both for his Latin and
Microstructure, indentation and work hardening of Cu/Ag multilayers

Instrumented indentation and tensile tests were performed on free standing Cu/Ag multilayer thin films with layer thicknesses in the range 0.85–900 nm. The effect of layer thickness can be described by a Hall–Petch relationship. The work-hardening rate in the tensile test depends on layer thickness, which indicates that the interfaces create storage sites for dislocations and follows an inverse power law.
Coccidioides Niches and Habitat Parameters in the Southwestern United States A Matter of Scale

To determine habitat attributes and processes suitable for the growth of Coccidioides, soils were collected from sites in Arizona, California, and Utah where Coccidioides is known to have been present. Humans or animals or both have been infected by Coccidioides at all of the sites. Soil variables considered in the upper 20 cm of the soil profile included pH, electrical conductivity, salinity, selected anions, texture, mineralogy, vegetation types and density, and the overall geomorphologic and ecological settings. Thermometers were buried to determine the temperature range in the upper part of the soil where Coccidioides is often found. With the exception of temperature regimes and soil textures, it is striking that none of the other variables or group of variables that might be definitive are indicative of the presence of Coccidioides. Vegetation ranges from sparse to relatively thick cover in lower Sonoran deserts, Chaparral-upper Sonoran brush and grasslands, and Mediterranean savannas and forested foothills. No particular grass, shrub, or forb is definitive. Material classified as very fine sand and silt is abundant in all of the Coccidioides-bearing soils and may be their most common shared feature. Clays are not abundant (less than 10%). All of the examined soil locations are noteworthy as generally 50% of the individuals who were exposed to the dust or were excavating dirt at the sites were infected. Coccidioides has persisted in the soil at a site in Dinosaur National Monument, Utah for 37 years and at a Tucson, Arizona site for 41 years.
hp‐Generalized FEM and crack surface representation for non‐planar 3‐D cracks

A high-order generalized finite element method (GFEM) for non-planar three-dimensional crack surfaces is presented. Discontinuous p-hierarchical enrichment functions are applied to strongly graded tetrahedral meshes automatically created around crack fronts. The GFEM is able to model a crack arbitrarily located within a finite element (FE) mesh and thus the proposed method allows fully automated fracture analysis using an existing FE discretization without cracks. We also propose a crack surface representation that is independent of the underlying GFEM discretization and controlled only by the physics of the problem. The representation preserves continuity of the crack surface while being able to represent non-planar, non-smooth, crack surfaces inside of elements of any size. The proposed representation also provides support for the implementation of accurate, robust, and computationally efficient numerical integration of the weak form over elements cut by the crack surface. Numerical simulations using the proposed GFEM show high convergence rates of extracted stress intensity factors along non-planar curved crack fronts and the robustness of the method. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The learning and study strategies of college students with ADHD

This study compared learning and study strategies of students with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) to two groups: college students with learning disabilities (LD) and college students without disabilities. In addition, strengths and weaknesses within the ADHD group were examined on the Learning and Study Strategies Inventory, 2nd edition (LASSI; C.E. Weinstein & D.R. Palmer, 2002). The LASSI was also evaluated as a predictive measure for academic achievement for college students with ADHD compared to other students. Results indicate that several important differences may exist in the learning and study strategies of students with ADHD versus students with LD and students without disabilities. However, the LASSI may not be a useful tool for predicting academic achievement for college students with ADHD. Interventions for working with students with ADHD are given. © 2007 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
SRC-1 Null Mice Exhibit Moderate Motor Dysfunction and Delayed Development of Cerebellar Purkinje Cells

Hormones and nuclear receptors (NRs) play important roles in brain development and function. The recently identified steroid receptor coactivator (SRC) family contains three homologous members that can enhance transcriptional activities of NRs and certain non-NR transcription factors. To study the role of SRC-1 in brain development and function, we examined the spatial and temporal expression patterns of SRC-1 and characterized the phenotypes of brain development and function in SRC-1 knock-out (SRC-1(-)/-) mice. In the adult mouse brain, SRC-1 is highly expressed in the olfactory bulb, hippocampus, piriform cortex, amygdala, hypothalamus, cerebellum, and brainstem. Multiple behavioral tests revealed that SRC-1(-)/- mice exhibit normal hippocampal function but moderate motor dysfunction. The behavior phenotypes correlate with the spatial distribution of the SRC family members. In most brain structures where SRC-1 is expressed, SRC-2 is expressed at lower levels; however, SRC-3 mRNA is detectable only in the hippocampus. In the adult cerebellum, Purkinje cells (PCs) preferentially express SRC-1 over SRC-2, but SRC-2 mRNA is slightly elevated in the SRC-1(-)/- PCs. During embryonic development, SRC-1 is expressed in the cerebellar primordium. SRC-2 is expressed in PCs after postnatal day (P) 10. Time course analysis revealed that the precursors of SRC-1(-)/- PCs were generated approximately 2 d later than wild-type precursor cells. A further delay in SRC-1(-)/- PC maturation was detected at the neonatal stage. The morphology and number of SRC-1(-)/- PCs were equivalent to wild type by P10; this timing correlated with the early expression of SRC-2 in the SRC-1(-)/- PCs. These results demonstrate that the relative levels of SRC expression are region specific, and the degree of overlapping expression may influence their functional redundancy. Disruption of SRC-1 specifically delays the PC development and maturation in early stages and results in moderate motor dysfunction in adulthood.
Electric field dependence of GaAs Schottky barriers

The bias dependence of the photoelectric barrier energy of n-GaAs-Al diodes has been measured. The devices were fabricated by cleavage of the GaAs in an evaporating stream of metal in a vacuum of 10^(−8) torr. The barrier energies at various bias levels were determined by extrapolation of the photoresponse vs. photon energy plots. The electric field dependence of the photoresponse was also measured at constant photon energy. The calculated change in barrier energy from the latter method was then compared with the changes in extrapolated values of barrier energy. A small systematic disagreement was observed and attributed to the effects of collection efficiency in the GaAs. The field dependence of Schottky barriers on 5×10^(16) GaAs was found to be in good agreement with that expected from the exponential charge distribution associated with the surface states which determine the barrier energy.
Memory for goals: an activation-based model

Goal-directed cognition is often discussed in terms of specialized memory structures like the “goal stack.” The goal-activation model presented here analyzes goal-directed cognition in terms of the general memory constructs of activation and associative priming. The model embodies three predictive constraints: (1) the interference level, which arises from residual memory for old goals; (1) the strengthening constraint, which makes predictions about time to encode a new goal; and (3) the priming constraint, which makes predictions about the role of cues in retrieving pending goals. These constraints are formulated algebraically and tested through simulation of latency and error data from the Tower of Hanoi, a means-ends puzzle that depends heavily on suspension and resumption of goals. Implications of the model for understanding intention superiority, postcompletion error, and effects of task interruption are discussed. © 2002 Cognitive Science Society, Inc. All rights reserved.
Regulation of fas ligand expression by vascular endothelial growth factor in endometrial stromal cells in vitro

When Fas ligand (FasL) interacts with the Fas receptor, it induces apoptosis through autocrine and/or paracrine signalling. Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is a potent mitogenic cytokine. VEGF plays a role during remodelling of the endometrium following menstruation. We hypothesized that, by regulating FasL expression, VEGF may play a role in endometrial stromal cell survival by decreasing autocrine apoptotic signalling. We aimed to determine the expression of FasL in cultured endometrial stromal cells and its modulation by VEGF. VEGF induced a decrease in both FasL-positive cell number and FasL intensity as determined by immunocytochemistry and western blot respectively (P < 0.05). These effects of VEGF were observed in a concentration-dependent manner (10‐42%; P < 0.05). Anti-VEGF neutralizing antibody alone resulted in an increase in the FasL expression. When combined with VEGF, anti-VEGF reversed the VEGF-induced decrease in FasL level up to 100% (P < 0.05). In addition, western blot analysis showed that FasL expression in endometrial stromal cells demonstrated a cyclic change every 12 h during 48 h of incubation. These results suggest that down-regulation of FasL by VEGF may affect endometrial stromal cell survival in an autocrine or paracrine manner. The decrease in FasL level may be due to a stimulation of its degradation. Our results show that FasL in endometrial stromal cells in culture has a cyclic expression model, suggesting that there may be a regulation at the translation level.
Estimation of low-latitude paleoclimates using fossil angiosperm leaves: examples from the Miocene Tugen Hills, Kenya

Abstract In the last decade, several statistical models have been proposed to quantify the relationships among leaf morphological characters and climate parameters. The models, based on modern plants and climate from varying geographic areas, and derived using varied statistical analyses, were intended for paleoclimatic reconstruction based on the morphological characters of fossil leaves. The goal of the research presented here is to evaluate these and newly constructed models in order to estimate past climate in tropical Africa from fossil leaves. Models found to estimate current climate most accurately using modern African leaf assemblages are used to estimate past climate from fossil leaves at three middle and late Miocene paleobotanical sites in the Tugen Hills, Kenya. Regression models derived from predictor data having a majority of sites from higher than 25°N-S latitude consistently overestimate mean annual precipitation at modern African sites by an average of 990 mm. A pronounced cold season, as...
Cordia Harrington: The Rise of the Bun Lady

This case could be taught in courses on entrepreneurship and marketing. It follows a born entrepreneur and former successful McDonald's franchisee, who, guided by the motto No Is Not an Option, grows her business into world's fastest automated bakery. In order to attract and retain a skilled workforce, her company provided the best benefits the company could buy and paid for the training its staff needed to succeed on the job, which, coupled with a policy to promote from within, increased employee loyalty. By 2008, she is ready to take the next step and "build bakeries around the world for McDonald's".
SIRT1 is a Useful Biomarker for High-Grade Dysplasia and Carcinoma in Barrett’s Esophagus

The diagnosis of epithelial dysplasia and subsequent grading of the dysplasia in Barrett's esophagus (BE) are clinically significant for the patient's follow-up and management. However, histologic diagnosis for these lesions often proves challenging for general practicing pathologists and even GI pathologists. Certain biomarkers, such as p53 and racemase, have shown some value in diagnosing these lesions. We previously showed that SIRT1, the mammalian homologue of silent mating type information regulator 2 in budding yeasts, was over-expressed in colonic adenomas. The goal of this study was to investigate the value of SIRT1 in BE-related dysplasia. Twenty BE cases without epithelial dysplasia, 11 with low-grade dysplasia, 4 with high-grade dysplasia, and 8 invasive carcinomas were included in this study. Twenty-nine of 31 cases with no epithelial dysplasia or low-grade dysplasia showed weak nuclear staining at the base of the crypts, but the surface epithelium was negative in all cases. Ten of twelve cases with high-grade dysplasia or carcinomas had 2-3+ diffuse nuclear staining including the surface epithelium. Using 2+ surface nuclear staining as the cutoff, BE with high-grade dysplasia and carcinoma had significantly higher SIRT1 expression than BE with no dysplasia or low-grade dysplasia (p=0.0001). Therefore, SIRT1 appears to be a very promising biomarker in the diagnosis of BE with high-grade dysplasia and carcinoma. This is the first report using SIRT1 as an adjunctive marker on evaluation of BE-related dysplasia, but large-scale and prospective studies are needed to confirm and validate our findings.
Exceptionally Long-Lived Luminescence from [Cu(I)(isocyanide)2(phen)]+ Complexes in Nanoporous Crystals Enables Remarkable Oxygen Gas Sensing

We report crystalline mixed-ligand copper complexes with phenanthroline and isocyanides with almost millesecond emission lifetimes that are efficient dioxygen sensors. The oxygen sensitivity of the prototype ([Cu(CN-xylyl)2(dmp)]tfpb, dmp = 2,9-dimethyl-1,10-phenanthroline; CN-xylyl = 2,6-dimethylphenylisocyanide; tfpb = tetrakis(bis-3,5-trifluoromethylphenylborate) is 38 times better than that of [Ru(phen)3]tfpb2 (phen = 1,10-phenanthroline).
A Harmonious Duet Music and Children's Literature

Children's literature is a natural complement to music education. This article suggests four major ways that trade books can support learning in music classes. It will give specific examples of literature that focuses on music and musicians, literature that supports general academic goals through music, literature that helps students understand music concepts, and literature that provides scaffolding for composition. The reader is not only provided with rationale for including literary examples in music instruction but is also given designs for planning lessons.
Early Stages of Growth of BaTiO3 Thin-Films

Barium titanate (BaTiO3) is of interest for use in a number of thin-film applications in electronic and optoelectronic devices. For these devices the formation of epitactic films of the correct stoichiometry and phase is essential. The substrate is important during the early stages of growth in the establishment of epitaxy, factors such as lattice mismatch, surface preparation and crystallographic orientation can all affect film nucleation and growth. In this study thin-films of BaTiO3 have been formed using the pulsed-laser ablation technique. The early stages of film growth have been studied directly using transmission electron microscopy by examination of very thin films deposited onto specially prepared electron-transparent thin-foil substrates.
TANF Policy: Past, Present, and Future Directions

The purpose of this article is to offer a brief and concise history of relevant public welfare policies for a discussion of the effects of public welfare reform, and how it impacts families in ways not comprehensively understood. Social scientists' concerns about the potential for the families to be thrust into an "extreme poverty" status due to the forced workforce participation requirement and expiration of time limited benefits is discussed. A second concern regarding a "one size fits all" approach to work requirements for TANF recipients being unrealistic and insensitive is also discussed. The authors recommend a comprehensive multi-system analysis to determine the impact of welfare reform. There is also a recommendation that the workforce requirements should correlate to an assessment score based on the ability of welfare recipients to function in identified areas. Implications of maintaining a welfare reform policy status quo are identified.