cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Integrating Portfolios into the L2 Arabic Classroom

This is an action research study that reports on using student portfolios in a second language (L2) Arabic class. The goal of this study was to examine the validity of using portfolios as an L2assessment procedure and to ascertain the effectiveness of portfolios as an L2 learning tool. In this class, portfolios replaced weekly quizzes, which counted for 30% of the final grade. Portfolios were also used to supplement the course textbook, namely Al-Kitaab (Brustad, Al-Batal, & Al-Tonsi, 1995).Data sources for the study included traditional tests grades, oral interview grades, portfolio grades, a sixteen-item survey, and students’ reflections at the end of the course. The findings indicate that there is a strong correlation between portfolio grades, on one hand, and written tests and oral interviews grades on the other hand. It was also found that students perceived using portfolios as an effective L2 learning tool.
Purification of DNA Sequencing Products with a Model Compound in a High-Throughput Microfluidic Format, the ACAPELLA-5K

The development of a procedure based on streptavidin magnetic beads for purification of sequencing reaction products in microfluidic glass capillary channels is presented. Recovery of the DNA, up to 80%, was achieved using big dye terminator reagents in 2 µl reaction volume.
Aortic Replacement in Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection for Metastatic Germ Cell Cancer

ABSTRACT Seven hundred and ten patients underwent postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (RPLND) from 1965 to 1992. Ten cases, all with bulky disease, required aortic replacement either postoperatively (n=3) or during RPLND (n=7). The principal risk factor for aortic rupture after RPLND was an extended subadventitial aortic dissection made necessary by tumour fixation. Also, duodenal enterotomy or extensive violation of the bowel serosa was a further risk for aortoenteric fistula. Prospective aortic grafting may be indicated in the presence of these risk factors. In our four elective cases, there were no further vascular or bowel complications. Omental interposition further protects against fistula formation. Although rarely indicated except under most extenuating circumstances, exposure requirements of RPLND permit aortic grafting as arelatively straightforward procedure which is feasible and well tolerated in this small subset of patients.
Ion association with tetra- n -alkylammonium cations stabilizes higher-oxidation-state neptunium dioxocations

Extended-coordination sphere interactions between dissolved metals and other ions, including electrolyte cations, are not known to perturb the electrochemical behavior of metal cations in water. Herein, we report the stabilization of higher-oxidation-state Np dioxocations in aqueous chloride solutions by hydrophobic tetra-n-alkylammonium (TAA+) cations—an effect not exerted by fully hydrated Li+ cations under similar conditions. Experimental and molecular dynamics simulation results indicate that TAA+ cations not only drive enhanced coordination of anionic Cl– ligands to NpV/VI but also associate with the resulting Np complexes via non-covalent interactions, which together decrease the electrode potential of the NpVI/NpV couple by up to 220 mV (ΔΔG = −22.2 kJ mol−1). Understanding the solvation-dependent interplay between electrolyte cations and metal–oxo species opens an avenue for controlling the formation and redox properties of metal complexes in solution. It also provides valuable mechanistic insights into actinide separation processes that widely use quaternary ammonium cations as extractants or in room temperature ionic liquids. The electrochemical behaviour of redox-active metal cations foremost depends on the metal centre’s inner-sphere coordination environment. Here the authors show that electrolyte cations unexpectedly stabilize higher-oxidation-state neptunium dioxocations in water through extended-coordination sphere interactions.
Phenotypic evolution shaped by current enzyme function in the bioluminescent courtship signals of sea fireflies

Mating behaviours are diverse and noteworthy, especially within species radiations where they may contribute to speciation. Studying how differences in mating behaviours arise between species can h...
Human Rights Protections in the Post-9/11 World

In the years following the terrorist attacks of 9/11, as the United States and other nations prosecuted a global war on terror, the human rights community expressed fear that a post-9/11 world might abandon or at least seriously weaken its protection of human rights. Among those fears was that the changed environment or political pressures might influence international institutions to weaken human rights standards in the name of promoting security or in acquiescing to a war-time anti-terrorism paradigm. This article attempts to assess whether, in the decade following 9/11, those fears were realized. It examines the response to terrorism and efforts to combat it by the following institutions: The European Court of Human Rights; the enforcement bodies of the Organization of American States; and various institutions of the United Nations. Have these institutions weakened human rights standards in response to the war on terror? Have they, for example, allowed for broader limitations of rights in the face of national claims that those limitations were needed to preserve national security? Have they broadened the circumstances under which nations may — for reasons of national security — derogate from human rights obligations? Have they given nations greater deference regarding the length or conditions of detention for individuals suspected of terrorism? Have they approved more widespread or invasive government monitoring of electronic communications as part of their counter-terrorism efforts?The Article concludes that the answer to each of these questions is “no.” To the contrary, these human rights institutions have served as strong voices calling for full human rights protections in the face of the war on terror, sometimes in the face of nations seeking changes in the interpretation of human rights standards.
Electrically Reconfigurable Nonvolatile Metasurface Using Optical Phase Change Materials

We report what we believe to be the first electrically reconfigurable metasurface based on chalcogenide phase change materials. Multi-cycle reversible switching was realized using on-chip micro-heaters. Quasi-continuous resonance tuning over half an octave were demonstrated. ©2019 The Author(s)
Reducing Hospitalizations: Institution of Outpatient Infusional EPOCH-Based Chemotherapy at a Safety Net Hospital.

PURPOSE:EPOCH (etoposide, prednisone, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, and doxorubicin) -based chemotherapy is traditionally administered inpatient because of its complex 96-hour protocol and number ...
Cohomology of Congruence Subgroups of SU (2, 1) p and Hodge Cycles on Some Special Complex Hyperbolic Surfaces

Let G be a semisimple algebraic group over a number field F and set G ∞ = ∏ v∈S ∞ Gv, where S∞ is the set of archimedean places of F. As is well-known, the cohomology of a cocompact lattice Γ ⊂ G ∞ is expressed in terms of the decomposition $${L^2}\left( {\Gamma \backslash {G_\infty }} \right) \simeq \hat \oplus m(\pi ,\Gamma )\pi $$
Resilience of Water Distribution Systems during Real-Time Operations under Limited Water and/or Energy Availability Conditions

AbstractA methodology for determining system operation resilience is presented for the real-time operation of water distribution systems (WDS) under critical conditions of limited water or electric...
“Half the Truth is Often a Great Lie”: Deep Fakes, Open Source Information, and International Criminal Law

The video opens with a man—now known to be Commander Al-Werfalli of the elite Libyan Special Forces team al Saiqa—throwing a quick glance over his shoulder as a black SUV rolls off camera. Cradling a gun, he saunters towards three men kneeling on a sidewalk, hands bound behind their backs, faces turned toward the wall. He raises the gun in his left hand. Without pausing, he walks methodically down the row, a bullet punctuating every other step. The men slump forward as they fall. Werfalli's first hint of emotion is visible only when he unloads multiple bullets into the final body.
Burning rate and flame structure of cocrystals of CL-20 and a polycrystalline composite crystal of HMX/AP

Abstract The synthesis and development of novel energetic materials is a costly, challenging process. Rather than synthesizing new materials, cocrystallization provides the potential opportunity to achieve improved properties of existing energetic materials. This work examined the effects of cocrystallization on the deflagration of a 2:1 molar cocrystal of CL-20 and HMX as well as a 1:1 molar cocrystal of CL-20 and TNT. A hydrogen peroxide (HP) solvate of CL-20 as well as a polycrystalline composite of HMX and ammonium perchlorate (AP) were also studied. A physical mixture of each material was also tested for comparison. The burning rate of each material was measured as a function of pressure. Flame structure during self-deflagration was examined using planar laser-induced fluorescence (PLIF) of CN and OH. The burning rate of the HMX/CL-20 cocrystal and the CL-20/HP solvate closely matched that of CL-20, but the burning rate of the TNT/CL-20 cocrystal was between the burning rate of its coformers. All HMX/AP materials had a higher burning rate than either HMX or AP individually and the burning rate of a physical mixture was found to be a function of particle size. The differences in the burning rate of the physical mixtures and composite crystal of HMX/AP can be explained by changes in the flame structure observed using PLIF. Burning rates and flame structure of the cocrystals were found to closely match those of their respective physical mixtures when smaller particle sizes were used (approx. less than 100 µm). The results obtained demonstrate that the deflagration behavior of the coformers is not indicative of the deflagration behavior of the resulting physical mixture or cocrystal. However, changes in the resulting flame structure greatly affect the burning rate.
Outcomes of Heart Transplantation in Cardiac Amyloidosis Patients: A Single Center Experience.

Abstract Background Indications for heart transplantation are expanding to include amyloid light chain (AL) and transthyretin-related (TTR) amyloidosis. Previously, AL amyloid had been a contraindication to heart transplantation given inferior outcomes. These patients typically have biventricular failure requiring mechanical circulatory support (MCS). We report the outcomes of patients with end-stage cardiac amyloidosis who underwent cardiac transplantation, including some who were bridged to transplantation with a durable biventricular MCS Methods The records for patients with cardiac amyloidosis who underwent cardiac transplant between 2010 and 2018 were reviewed. Primary endpoint was post-transplant 1-year survival. Secondary endpoints included 1-year freedom from cardiac allograft vasculopathy (as defined by stenosis ≥ 30% by angiography), nonfatal major adverse cardiac events (myocardial infarction, new congestive heart failure, percutaneous coronary intervention, implantable cardioverter defibrillator/pacemaker implant, stroke), and any rejection. Results A total of 46 patients received heart transplantation with a diagnosis of either AL or TTR amyloidosis. Of these, 7 patients were bridged to transplantation with a durable biventricular MCS device (6 AL, 1 TTR) and 39 patients were transplanted without MCS bridging. The MCS group consisted of 5 total artificial hearts and 2 biventricular assist devices. The 1-year survival was 91% for the entire cohort, 83% for those with AL amyloidosis, 94% for those with TTR amyloidosis, and 86% for those who received MCS bridging. Conclusions Cardiac transplantation can be safely performed in selected amyloidosis patients with reasonable short-term outcomes. Those bridged to transplantation with biventricular MCS appear to have short-term outcomes similar to those transplanted without MCS. Larger numbers and longer observation are required to confirm these findings.
Mitrocystitid functional morphology, evolution and their relationships with other primitive echinoderm classes

Examination of nearly 500 specimens of Mitrocystites mitra, and Mitrocystella incipiens from the Lower Ordovician of Bohemia housed in the Barrande and Hanus collections of the National Museum, Prague, Czech Republic and new material from the Horǎk Museum, Rokycany, has yielded a wealth of new morphological data. Peripores and lateripores in M.mitra are surrounded by fine-mesh stereom clearly indicating they are sutural pores in origin. Internal tubular structures associated with these pores are probably gonadal in function; not eyes (pores) and nervous system as viewed in Jefferies’ ‘concept Calcichordata’. Both M.mitra and M. incipiens have a unique fully plated cloaca associate with the digit-like anal valvular plates. Mitrocystella incipiens, in some specimens, retains vestigial lateripores and the newly discovered aulacophore is longer than the theca. Within the Mitrocystitidae we can observe the possession and loss of basic echinoderm structures i.e. external hydropore and sutural pores. In addition, stereom construction of the plates, sutural pore systems, and well developed anal valves are thecal characters shared with the Blastozoa.
Frame It Again: New Tools for Rational Decision-Making

Framing effects are everywhere. An estate tax looks very different to a death tax. Gun safety seems to be one thing and gun control another. Yet, the consensus from decision theorists, finance professionals, psychologists, and economists is that frame-dependence is completely irrational. This book challenges that view. Some of the toughest decisions we face are just clashes between different frames. It is perfectly rational to value the same thing differently in two different frames, even when the decision-maker knows that these are really two sides of the same coin. Frame It Again sheds new light on the structure of moral predicaments, the nature of self-control, and the rationality of co-operation. Framing is a powerful tool for redirecting public discussions about some of the most polarizing contemporary issues, such as gun control, abortion, and climate change. Learn effective problem-solving and decision-making to get the better of difficult dilemmas.
Reexamining Racial Price Differentials in Housing Markets

The key to identifying racial price differentials in housing markets is to test whether minority and non-minority buyers pay similar prices for comparable housing. The heterogeneous nature of the residential housing market and racial sorting of buyers into neighborhoods violates the comparability assumption. Previous studies attempt to address these concerns using a repeat-sales approach that controls for time-invariant attributes of the house and neighborhood. We provide evidence that the repeat-sales estimates reported in the extant literature suffer from an omitted variable bias traceable to time-varying attributes of the house. After controlling for the time-varying attributes using two distinct approaches, we find that minority and non-minority buyers pay a similar price for comparable housing.
Two new species of Tingidae (Hemiptera: Heteroptera) from Panama

Two new species of Tingidae are described from Panama: Acanthotingis deltoides sp. nov. and Stephanitis joceliae sp. nov. Descriptions and diagnosis for both Acanthotingis Monte and Stephanitis Stal are provided, and a key is given for the separation of the two known species of Acanthotingis. This is the first record of both genera from Panama. A checklist of all Neotropical species of both genera is presented.
OVERT: An Algorithm for Safety Verification of Neural Network Control Policies for Nonlinear Systems.

Deep learning methods can be used to produce control policies, but certifying their safety is challenging. The resulting networks are nonlinear and often very large. In response to this challenge, we present OVERT: a sound algorithm for safety verification of nonlinear discrete-time closed loop dynamical systems with neural network control policies. The novelty of OVERT lies in combining ideas from the classical formal methods literature with ideas from the newer neural network verification literature. The central concept of OVERT is to abstract nonlinear functions with a set of optimally tight piecewise linear bounds. Such piecewise linear bounds are designed for seamless integration into ReLU neural network verification tools. OVERT can be used to prove bounded-time safety properties by either computing reachable sets or solving feasibility queries directly. We demonstrate various examples of safety verification for several classical benchmark examples. OVERT compares favorably to existing methods both in computation time and in tightness of the reachable set.
The Deprofessionalization of Legal Teaching and Scholarship

The editors have asked me to comment on Judge Edwards' doublebarreled blast at legal education and the practice of law.l This I am happy to do. It is an important article, stating with refreshing bluntness concerns that are widely felt but have never I think been so forcefully, so arrestingly expressed. Nevertheless I have deep disagreements with it. Judge Edwards' thesis is easily summarized. Law schools should train ethical practitioners and produce scholarship that is useful to lawyers and judges. Law firms should practice law ethically. Neither is doing either any more. Especially but not only at the elite law schools, faculty, especially young faculty, is increasingly disdainful about the practice of law (including the judging of cases) and about the forms of legal scholarship that assist in that practice. The faculty is not interested in training ethical or any practitioners, or in professionally relevant scholarship. All it is interested in is theories about law theories drawn from other fields such as economics and philosophy. "[W]e see 'law professors' hired from graduate schools, wholly lacking in legal experience or training, who use the law school as a bully pulpit from which to pour scorn upon the legal profession."2 As for law firms, they increasingly are interested in making money rather than in maintaining high ethical standards, and they are actually abetted in this unlovely endeavor by the law schools' growing indifference to instilling students with those standards. As for the scholarship that the new-fashioned law school faculty members are producing (as opposed to the kind of scholarship that they are not but should be producing), it probably has little value. Law professors are unlikely to be able to do economics or philosophy or literary theory or whatever as well as people who are trained in and work full time in those disciplines. There is an obvious but perhaps superficial paradox to the article. It is not an article about legal doctrine, although as a judge and former
Medications Discovery: Importance of Assessment of Drug Self Administration Dose-Effect Curves

There are several procedures for assessment of abuse liability/ potential in laboratory animals. Among them is an intravenous (IV) drug self-administration procedure that is the gold standard.
Broadband Characterization of Representative Circuit-To-Circuit Interconnections

This paper reviews the major class of chip-to-chip interconnections used in high-performance computers and communication systems. The critical electrical characteristics are highlighted and the most beneficial type of measurement techniques are exemplified for cables, printed-circuit-boards, ceramic, thin-film, and on-chip wiring.
Predictors of hearing preservation after stereotactic radiosurgery for acoustic neuroma.

Object Many patients with acoustic neuromas (ANs) have hearing function at diagnosis and desire to maintain it. To date, radiosurgical techniques have been focused on conformal irradiation of the tumor mass, with less attention to inner ear structures for which there was scant radiobiological information. The authors of this study evaluated tumor control and hearing preservation as they relate to tumor volume, imaging characteristics, and nerve and cochlear radiation dose following stereotactic radiosurgery (SRS) using the Gamma Knife. Methods Seventy-seven patients with ANs had serviceable hearing (Gardner-Robertson [GR] Class I or II) and underwent SRS between 2004 and 2007. This interval reflected more recent measurements of inner ear dosimetry during the authors' 21-year experience. The median patient age was 52 years (range 22–82 years). No patient had undergone any prior treatment for the ANs. The median tumor volume was 0.75 cm3 (range 0.07–7.7 cm3), and the median radiation dose to the tumor margi...
On construction of persistent instructors and simulated classrooms

This paper addresses construction of simulated classrooms and instructor replicas. It discusses the barriers to building systems with the capability to replicate the human instructor in simulated learning environments. The paper also presents a confluence of technological advancements and open standards that are primed to facilitate the implementation of the capabilities required for the delivery of individualized instruction in simulated classrooms. The goal of the research being presented is to develop tools and applications that can be used to implement learning environments consisting of technology-based persistent instructors, learning objects, and simulated classrooms where learners can benefit from group learning activities.
Performance and Mechanical Standards

This chapter discusses the performance of gas turbines, and the mechanical standards used for them. The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) performance test codes are written to ensure that tests are conducted in a manner that guarantees that all turbines are tested under the same set of rules and conditions to ensure that the test results can be compared in a judicious manner. The mechanical standards and codes have been written by both the ASME and American Petroleum Institute (API). The ASME PTC 46 1996 code is written to establish the overall plant performance. Power plants that produce secondary energy output, such as cogeneration facilities, are included within the scope of this code. The PTC 46 has been designed to determine the performance of the entire heat cycle as an integrated system. The PTC 19.1 1988 code specifies procedures for the evaluation of uncertainties in individual test measurements, arising from both random errors and systematic errors, and for the propagation of random and systematic uncertainties into the uncertainty of a test result. The object of the ASME PTC 22 1997 code is to detail the test to determine the power output and thermal efficiency of the gas turbine while operating at the test conditions, and correcting these test results to standard or specified operating and control conditions. The tests of gas turbines with water or steam injection for emission control and/or power augmentation are also included. The tests can be applied to gas turbines in combined cycle power plants or with other heat recovery systems.
Opportunity, Honor, and Action in the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising of 19431

Macrolevel theories of social movement emergence posit that political opportunity “opens the door” for collective action. This article uses the case of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising to show that collective action need not always require opportunity. Warsaw Jews’ armed resistance was a response not to opportunity but to a lack thereof. Equally important was a strong sense of honor among the ghetto fighters: the hopelessness of their situation helped construct a motivational frame that equated resistance with honor and made collective resistance possible. This case therefore illustrates how framing processes can mediate structural conditions to produce collective action in the absence of opportunity. It also points to the need for additional research on protest and resistance in nondemocratic settings.
Drosophila Lipin interacts with insulin and TOR signaling pathways in the control of growth and lipid metabolism

Lipin proteins have key functions in lipid metabolism, acting as both phosphatidate phosphatases (PAPs) and nuclear regulators of gene expression. We show that the insulin and TORC1 pathways independently control functions of Drosophila Lipin (dLipin). Reduced signaling through the insulin receptor strongly enhanced defects caused by dLipin deficiency in fat body development, whereas reduced signaling through TORC1 led to translocation of dLipin into the nucleus. Reduced expression of dLipin resulted in decreased signaling through the insulin-receptor-controlled PI3K-Akt pathway and increased hemolymph sugar levels. Consistent with this, downregulation of dLipin in fat body cell clones caused a strong growth defect. The PAP but not the nuclear activity of dLipin was required for normal insulin pathway activity. Reduction of other enzymes of the glycerol-3 phosphate pathway affected insulin pathway activity in a similar manner, suggesting an effect that is mediated by one or more metabolites associated with the pathway. Taken together, our data show that dLipin is subject to intricate control by the insulin and TORC1 pathways, and that the cellular status of dLipin impacts how fat body cells respond to signals relayed through the PI3K-Akt pathway.
Laboratory Assays for ADAMTS13

Thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is a rare and potentially fatal thrombotic microangiopathy. It is characterized by the pentad of thrombocytopenia, microangiopathic hemolytic anemia, fever, neurological symptoms, and renal impairment. The disorder may be congenital (Upshaw–Schulman syndrome), but most cases result from an acquired idiopathic autoimmune condition. The pathogenesis of thrombotic thrombocytopenic purpura is attributed to deficiency of the protease ADAMTS13 (a disintegrin and metalloproteinase with thrombospondin type 1 motif 13). ADAMTS13 is responsible for cleavage of high-molecular-weight multimers of von Willebrand factor. Failure to cleave high-molecular-weight multimers leads to unregulated platelet adhesion, aggregation, and microvascular thrombi, leading to the symptoms. ADAMTS13 is significantly reduced in most patients (<5–10 % of normal). Accurate and timely diagnosis is essential for proper and prompt intervention. Assays that contribute to diagnosis focus on demonstration of low ADAMTS13 activity and detection of ADAMTS13 autoantibodies. Patients with congenital deficiency respond to plasma infusion therapy, while patients with idiopathic disease require therapeutic plasma exchange and/or immunosuppression to achieve remission. This chapter details laboratory assays used to evaluate ADAMTS13.
Monoligated Pd(0)-catalyzed intramolecular ortho- and para-arylation of phenols for the synthesis of aporphine alkaloids. Synthesis of (−)-lirinine

An intramolecular palladium(0)-mediated ortho-arylation of phenols applied to the synthesis of various substituted aporphines is reported. Most significantly, the efficiency of the transformation was enhanced by the use of monoligated Pd(0) complexes. This methodology was extended to para-arylation of phenols and employed in the synthesis of the aporphine alkaloid (−)-lirinine.
Histories of analytic political philosophy

This paper sets out an agenda for the study of the history of analytic and post-analytic political philosophy. It builds on a growing literature on the history of analytic philosophy to make three main suggestions. First, analytic philosophy arose as part of a wider shift from the developmental historicism of the nineteenth century to more modernist modes of knowledge. Second, analytic philosophy included a wide range of approaches to moral and political issues, many of which reflected distinctive concepts of analysis, logic, and science. Third, analytic philosophy only became widespread when the work of Quine and Wittgenstein moved it in a more post-analytic direction. Crucially, the move toward post-analytic philosophy inspired people to rediscover and reinvent other traditions, including liberal humanism, democratic republicanism, virtue ethics, and historicism. The resulting history provides a fluid and diverse understanding of arguably the most powerful philosophical movement of the twentieth century.
THIRD-YEAR HIGH SCHOOL MATHEMATICS CURRICULUM: EFFECTS OF CONTENT ORGANIZATION AND CURRICULUM IMPLEMENTATION

We examined the effect of curriculum organization in US high schools where students could freely choose to study mathematics from textbooks that employed one of two types of content organization, an integrated approach or a (traditional) subject-specific approach. The study involved 2,242 high school students, enrolled in either Course 3 or Algebra 2, in 10 schools in 5 geographically dispersed states. Taking account of curriculum implementation and students’ prior mathematics learning, we analyzed two end-of-year outcome measures: a test of common objectives and a standardized achievement test. Our hierarchical linear models with three levels showed that students in the integrated curriculum scored significantly higher than those in the subject-specific curriculum on the common objectives test. In both outcome measures, gender and prior achievement were significant student-level predictors. In the standardized achievement test, ethnicity was a moderating factor. At the teacher-level, in addition to curriculum type, teachers’ orientation and free and reduced lunch eligibility were significant moderating factors. Opportunity to learn, implementation fidelity, teacher experience, and professional development were not significant predictors.
Mediastinal tumors and cysts in the pediatric population

Pediatric mediastinal tumors and cysts are rare disorders that share many similarities with adults, yet which have important differences unique to the child. Posterior mediastinal tumors are relatively more common in children than in adults and are also more likely to be malignant in children. CT imaging facilitates the diagnostic evaluation of mediastinal masses in children. Airway compression is always a concern with large mediastinal tumors in children given their relative softer and smaller airway.
Pressure-volume-temperature behavior and heterogeneous equilibria of the non-quenchable body-centered tetragonal polymorph of metallic tin †

Abstract Forty molar volume determinations for the high-pressure phase of metallic tin, Sn(bct), measured by energy-dispersive X-ray diffraction in a heated diamond-anvil pressure cell, form the basis for the first experimentally-determined P-V-T equation of state for any non-quenchable phase. The resulting isochores for Sn(bct) are concave towards the pressure axis; their slope varies from approx. 120 deg GPa −1 at the Sn(β)-Sn(melt) triple point at 308°C and 2.9 GPa, to approx. 290 deg GPa −1 at the room temperature Sn(β)-Sn(bct) transition at 9.4 GPa. Used in conjunction with the P-V-T data for Sn(β) from Cavaleri et al. , J. Phys. Chem. Solids 49 , 945 (1988) [1], these Sn(bct) volume measurements reveal that Δ V for the Sn(β)-Sn(bct) reaction remains essentially constant at approx. −0.135 J MPa −1 mol −1 whereas Δ S increases from +2.15 J deg −1 mol −1 at room temperature to +7.15J deg −1 mol −1 at the triple point. The molar volume and entropy of Sn(melt) at the triple point were determined to be 16.113 J MPa −1 mol −1 and 81.91J deg −1 mol −1 , respectively, indicating that ΔS along the Sn(β) melt curve remains very nearly constant whereas Δ V decreases by approx. 31% from room pressure to the triple point.
Distortion and Band-Width Characteristics of Pulse Modulation

Various types of pulse amplitude and pulse time modulated waves have been analyzed by a novel method to determine their exact frequency spectra. Using these results the inherent distortion produced when the audio signal is recovered with a low-pass filter is calculated. The minimum allowable ratio of pulse repetition frequency to maximum audio frequency is expressed in terms of the distortion and the percentage modulation. The form of the result is shown to be common to all types of pulse time modulation. The effects of pulse width, pulse shape, and percentage modulation on the required bandwidth are also discussed.
Concretizing the concept of social stress

The concept of social stress, as adapted from Selye's work on biology, is insufficient to explain psychological functioning. To be useful, social stress must include enduring social practices characteristic of particular social systems that violate socially generated as well as biological needs. Some of these stressful events are gender role, poverty, and societal practices such as extreme competition, individualism, and materialism.
Dopamine cell loss in the periaqueductal gray in multiple system atrophy and Lewy body dementia.

Background: Experimental studies indicate that dopaminergic neurons in the ventral periaqueductal gray matter (PAG) are involved in maintenance of wakefulness. Excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS) is a common manifestation of multiple system atrophy (MSA) and dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) but involvement of these neurons has not yet been explored. Methods: We sought to determine whether there is loss of dopaminergic neurons in the ventral PAG in MSA and DLB. We studied the midbrain obtained at autopsy from 12 patients (9 male, 3 female, age 61 ± 3) with neuropathologically confirmed MSA, 12 patients (11 male, 1 female, age 79 ± 4) with diagnosis of DLB and limbic or neocortical Lewy body disease, and 12 controls (7 male, 5 female, ages 67 ± 4). Fifty-micron sections were immunostained for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) or α-synuclein and costained with thionin. Cell counts were performed every 400 μm throughout the ventral PAG using stereologic techniques. Results: Compared to the total estimated cell numbers in controls (21,488 ± 8,324 cells), there was marked loss of TH neurons in the ventral PAG in both MSA (11,727 ± 5,984; p p Conclusions: There is loss of putative wake-active ventral periaqueductal gray matter dopaminergic neurons in both multiple system atrophy and dementia with Lewy bodies, which may contribute to excessive daytime sleepiness in these conditions.
An optogenetic gene expression system with rapid activation and deactivation kinetics

Optogenetic gene expression systems can control transcription with spatial and temporal detail unequaled with traditional inducible promoter systems. However, current eukaryotic light-gated transcription systems are limited by toxicity, dynamic range or slow activation and deactivation. Here we present an optogenetic gene expression system that addresses these shortcomings and demonstrate its broad utility. Our approach uses an engineered version of EL222, a bacterial light-oxygen-voltage protein that binds DNA when illuminated with blue light. The system has a large (>100-fold) dynamic range of protein expression, rapid activation (<10 s) and deactivation kinetics (<50 s) and a highly linear response to light. With this system, we achieve light-gated transcription in several mammalian cell lines and intact zebrafish embryos with minimal basal gene activation and toxicity. Our approach provides a powerful new tool for optogenetic control of gene expression in space and time.
Use of 87Sr/86Sr and delta11B to identify slag-affected sediment in southern Lake Michigan.

Slag is a ubiquitous byproduct of the iron-smelting industry and influences geochemistry and water quality in adjacent geologic units, ground and surface water. Despite extensive slag deposition al...
Fabrication process techniques for switched-capacitor filter circuits

Several different capacitor structures that are integratable to a production NMOS or N well CMOS process are described and discussed. The methods of fabrication for each major category of capacitor structure are presented along with some additional variations to each type of structure which will improve the quality of that capacitor structure. The pros and cons of each major type of structure are discussed with respect to device performance and ease of integration into the process. The properties of the capacitor dielectrics are discussed and data presented for oxide growth on polysilicon, breakdown voltage, leakage, and dissipation factor. The information presented is useful in providing a rational basis for switched capacitor filter design.
Nucleophile Assisting Leaving Groups: A Strategy for Aliphatic 18F-Fluorination

A series of arylsulfonate nucleophile assisting leaving groups (NALGs) were prepared in which the metal chelating unit is attached to the aryl ring via an ether linker. These NALGs exhibited significant rate enhancements in halogenation reactions using metal halides. Studies with a NALG containing a macrocyclic ether unit suggest that rate enhancements of these nucleophilic halogenation reactions are facilitated by stabilization of charge in the transition state rather than through strong precomplexation with metal cation. In several cases, a primary substrate containing one of the new leaving groups rivaled or surpassed the reactivity of triflates when exposed to nucleophile but was otherwise highly stable and isolable. These and previously disclosed chelating leaving groups were used in 18F-fluorination reactions using no-carrier-added [18F]fluoride ion (t1/2 = 109.7 min, β+ = 97%) in CH3CN. Under microwave irradiation and without the assistance of a cryptand, such as K2.2.2, primary substrates with sel...
Accommodation of Islamic Religious Practices and Democracy in the Post-Communist Muslim Republics

The literature on state accommodation of Muslim religious practices has focused on the regional context of Western Europe and North America. In this project, I identify and compare state policies toward Islamic religious practices using a sample of 22 former communist Muslim republics of Eurasia. For this purpose, I construct an original dataset collected from a variety of sources. Employing the number of mosques functioning in each post-communist Muslim republic as the measure of state accommodation of religious practices I find that among all factors the level of democracy is the single most important variable in explaining variation in accommodation of Islamic religious practices. To further demonstrate significance of these results I trace the process of democratic influence on state accommodation of religious policies examining in-depth the case of Tatars both in the pre-communist Imperial and revolutionary Russia and the contemporary republic of Tatarstan.
A social history of dying

A social history of dying. By ALLAN KELLEHEAR, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2007, 310pp., £15.99, paperback (ISBN 139780521694292). From sudden death in the Stone Age to lingering decline...
Modeling Concentrations of Air Toxics near Intersections and Freeways in Florida

AbstractThis paper reports on the results of dispersion modeling of mobile source air toxics (MSATs) near seven intersections and seven freeway segments in the state of Florida. Different modeling approaches were used, all with the focus on a hot-spot analysis to obtain the worst-case (highest) 1-h concentration. To accomplish the worst-case modeling, the CAL3QHC model was modified to handle inputs of several individual MSATs and to predict the concentrations of these MSATs around roadways. Real-world data (traffic volumes and site geometry) were gathered, meteorological input data were selected, and mobile source emission factors (EFs) were obtained from the U.S. EPA’s mobile-source emissions model, MOVES2010a. Based on a literature search of short-term effects, maximum acceptable concentrations (MACs) for a 1-h averaging time were proposed for comparison with the modeled results. Results from this study indicate that for all of the intersections and freeway segments, the worst-case 1-h modeled concentra...
Leukapheresis in rheumatoid arthritis association of clinical improvement with reversal of anergy

In order to study the clinical and immunologic effects of a brief course of leukapheresis, 14 patients with clinically similar rheumatoid arthritis were segregated into 2 subgroups. Group A (7 patients) had subnormal lymphocyte tritiated thymidine incorporation to soluble antigens. After a brief course of leukapheresis, 6 of these 7 patients demonstrated substantial clinical improvement associated with significantly enhanced lymphocyte tritiated thymidine incorporation to soluble antigens. In contrast, none of the 7 patients in group B (normal immune functions) demonstrated similar changes in articular indices or lymphocyte proliferation. Thus, clinical improvement induced in a subset of rheumatoid arthritis patients appears to reflect modulation of function, and not simply immunosuppression.
Computerized tracking and follow-up techniques in longitudinal research with drug users

Thorough follow-up and tracking procedures are critical when working with hard-to-reach populations such as drug users. Attrition in research can affect internal and external validity; therefore it is particularly important to use unique and creative tracking strategies in conducting longitudinal studies. Computerized follow-up procedures that were used to re-locate injection drug users (IDUs) and crack cocaine users after a 4–13 year period are described. Data are from a follow-up study conducted from 1999 to 2003, which re-located subjects who were initially recruited for NIDA’s Cooperative Agreement, which took place from 1990 to 1995 in Denver, Colorado. Trackers used traditional approaches as well as computerized means to locate subjects despite scant locator information. Important lessons can be learned about the use of electronic means for locating hidden populations for health sciences research.
The reasons for turnover of information systems personnel

Abstract The study examines the effects of the individual characteristics, job type, role stressors, boundary spanning activities, career outcomes, and job characteristics on the turnover propensity of 464 information systems personnel. Results show that age, organizational level, organizational tenure, job tenure, and number of years in the computer field are negatively correlated with the intention to leave the organization. Education was found to be positively correlated with turnover intentions, and while project leaders are more likely to leave the organization, IS managers are less likely. Results also show that both role stressors (role ambiguity and role conflict) and boundary spanning activities are positively correlated with turnover intentions, and that job involvement, career plateau, promotability, salary, organizational commitment, job satisfaction, satisfaction with progress, promotion, pay, status, and projects are negatively correlated while career opportunity is positively correlated with turnover intentions. Finally, all job characteristics are negatively correlated with turnover intentions. Implications of the results for practice and research are offered.
Structural and electronic properties of neutral and charged silicalike clusters

The electronic and structural properties of neutral and charged ${\mathrm{Si}}_{n}{\mathrm{O}}_{n}$ clusters, with $n=3$, 4, and 5, and related clusters, are examined using the higher-order finite-difference pseudopotential method. The ground-state structures for these clusters are determined via a simulated annealing procedure. The photoemission spectra for negatively charged clusters ${\mathrm{Si}}_{n}{\mathrm{O}}_{n}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ are simulated at finite temperatures using quantum forces coupled with Langevin dynamics. The simulated spectra are in good agreement with measured spectra. In contrast to previously predicted structures, we find the lowest-energy structures for ${\mathrm{Si}}_{4}{\mathrm{O}}_{4}$ and ${\mathrm{Si}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{5}$ correspond to nonplanar rings.
Fundamental mechanisms of the growth and decay of the PNA teleconnection pattern

This investigation performs diagnostic analyses on NCEP/NCAR re-analysis data, and also does forced, nonlinear, barotropic model calculations to examine the dynamical mechanisms associated with the growth and decay of the Pacific/North American teleconnection pattern (PNA). The diagnostic calculations include projection and composite analyses of each term in the stream-function-tendency equation. The results of the diagnostic analyses and model calculations reveal a PNA life cycle that is complete within approximately 2 weeks and is dominated by linear processes. The growth of the two upstream PNA anomaly centres is found to be by barotropic conversion from the zonally asymmetric climatological flow, and the two downstream PNA anomaly centres by linear dispersion. The PNA anomaly growth eventually ceases because of changes in the spatial structure of the anomaly. An analysis of the role of Ekman pumping is performed with a very simple model. The results, although qualitative, suggest that the decay of the PNA may be through Ekman pumping. An examination of the role of transient eddy vorticity fluxes indicates that they play an important role during some stages of the PNA life cycle. Lastly, the model calculations also reveal a crucial role played by the divergence term in maintaining the PNA anomaly in a quasi-fixed position. Copyright © 2002 Royal Meteorological Society.
Seawater-basalt interaction at 200°C and 500 bars: Implications for origin of sea-floor heavy-metal deposits and regulation of seawater chemistry

Seawater reacted with basalt at 200°C and 500 bars for 4752 hours changed chemically from an original slightly basic Na-Mg-SO4-Cl solution to slightly acid dominantly Na-Ca-Cl solution. Mg and SO4 decreased to near the limit of detection, and SiO2 rose to near-saturation with amorphous silica. Ca dropped initially because of anhydrite precipitation, then rose to twice its initial value. K rose quickly to a steady level. Acidity at room conditions changed from the original pH of 7.9 to 3.9 at 72 hours, but subsequently increased to about 4.9. Fe and Mn passed through a maximum of 35 ppm at 1000 hours and steadily dropped thereafter to about 5 ppm. Low but significant levels of Ni and Cu entered the solution. The major solid products were anhydrite and montmorillonite. A small amount of glass decomposed during the experiment. Conclusions based on the seawater-basalt reaction are: aqueous composition and alteration minerals were similar to those in the Iceland geothermal fields; sufficient heavy metals were solubilized to account for the deep-sea heavy-metal deposits; and the reaction provides a capacity for an adequate sink for Mg and SO4, as well as potential source of H+ needed for the geochemical balance of the oceans.