cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Disparities in Hepatitis B Vaccine Coverage by Race/Ethnicity: The National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2015-2016.

Hepatitis B virus (HBV) infection is the most common form of viral hepatitis and remains a global public health problem, even though the HBV vaccine is available. HBV leads to chronic liver disease, including cirrhosis, liver cancer, and death. This study aimed to identify disparities in HBV vaccine coverage with the serological test by race/ethnicity, adjusting for gender and age. In this study, 5735 adult participants were included, obtaining data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), 2015–2016. Proc survey frequency, bivariate- and multivariate logistic regression in the weighted sample were performed due to the complex survey design of NHANES. Data were analyzed using SAS, version 9.2.4. The overall prevalence of HBV vaccine coverage was only 23.3% (95% CI: 20.7%, 25.9%). In a multivariate logistic regression model, data showed that Mexican Americans (OR 0.57, 95% CI: 0.38, 0.86) and African Americans (OR 0.70, 95% CI 0.56, 0.84) had lower vaccine coverage compared to Whites. Females had (OR 1.55, 95% CI: 1.30, 1.85) higher vaccine coverage compared to men. Older age groups (30–49 years) (OR 0.41, 95% CI: 0.32, 0.52) and age group ≥ 50 years (OR 0.18, 95% CI 0.14, 0.23) had lower vaccine coverage compared to younger adults aged 18–29 years.
Predictors of success in hypoglossal nerve stimulator implantation for obstructive sleep apnea.

Abstract Objective Current guidelines for hypoglossal nerve stimulator (HGNS) implantation eligibility include drug-induced sleep endoscopy (DISE) findings and other patient characteristics but lead to highly variable rates of surgical success across institutions. Our objective was to determine whether additional factors seen on preoperative evaluation could be used as predictors of surgical success. Study design Retrospective chart review. Setting Single-institution academic tertiary care medical center. Subjects and Methods:This study included patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) who underwent HGNS implantation between 2015 and 2018. Surgical success was defined as a postoperative apnea-hypopnea index (AHI) of less than 20 events per hour and an AHI reduction of at least 50%. Preoperative polysomnogram (PSG) results, DISE findings, and physical parameters were compared between surgical successes and failures. Results A total of 68 patients were included in the analysis. The overall surgical success rate was 79.4% (54/68). Elevated preoperative AHI was associated with an increased likelihood of treatment failure, with an AHI of (36.9 ± 16.8) events/hour in the success group compared to (49.4 ± 19.6) events/hour in the failure group (P = 0.05). Patients observed to have partial lateral oropharyngeal collapse on DISE was more frequently associated with the treatment failure group than in the success group (P = 0.04). Conclusion Patients who underwent HGNS implantation overall had a very high treatment response rate at our institution. Factors that may predispose patients to surgical failure included the presence of lateral oropharyngeal collapse and a significantly elevated preoperative AHI. These should be considered when determining surgical candidacy for HGNS implantation.
Spillover and Crossover Effects: Mothers’ and Fathers’ Intimate Partner Violence, Parent-Child Aggression Risk, and Child Behavior Problems:

The high co-occurrence of intimate partner violence (IPV) and physical child abuse suggests that studying these forms of aggression simultaneously, bidirectionally, and longitudinally is critical. ...
Transcriptomics of Differential Ripening in 'd'Anjou' Pear (Pyrus communis L.).

Estimating maturity in pome fruits is a critical task that directs virtually all postharvest supply chain decisions. This is especially important for European pear (Pyrus communis) cultivars because losses due to spoilage and senescence must be minimized while ensuring proper ripening capacity is achieved (in part by satisfying a fruit chilling requirement). Reliable methods are lacking for accurate estimation of pear fruit maturity, and because ripening is maturity dependent it makes predicting ripening capacity a challenge. In this study of the European pear cultivar 'd'Anjou', we sorted fruit at harvest based upon on-tree fruit position to build contrasts of maturity. Our sorting scheme showed clear contrasts of maturity between canopy positions, yet there was substantial overlap in the distribution of values for the index of absorbance difference (I AD ), a non-destructive spectroscopic measurement that has been used as a proxy for pome fruit maturity. This presented an opportunity to explore a contrast of maturity that was more subtle than I AD could differentiate, and thus guided our subsequent transcriptome analysis of tissue samples taken at harvest and during storage. Using a novel approach that tests for condition-specific differences of co-expressed genes, we discovered genes with a phased character that mirrored our sorting scheme. The expression patterns of these genes are associated with fruit quality and ripening differences across the experiment. Functional profiles of these co-expressed genes are concordant with previous findings, and also offer new clues, and thus hypotheses, about genes involved in pear fruit quality, maturity, and ripening. This work may lead to new tools for enhanced postharvest management based on activity of gene co-expression modules, rather than individual genes. Further, our results indicate that modules may have utility within specific windows of time during postharvest management of 'd'Anjou' pear.
Renal organogenesis in the lymph node microenvironment

Abstract The shortage of organs for kidney transplantation has created an urgent need to find alternative treatment options. Recently, the combination of organoid cell culture technology with methodologies to fabricate three-dimensional scaffolds emerged as a promising approach to improve the function of several organs, including the kidney. An alternative approach is to urge organoids to mature into functional tissues by directly implanting them into a supportive niche in the host. Our unique approach takes advantage of the lymph node as a surrogate niche for functional kidney organogenesis. In the lymph node, primary mouse and human embryonic kidney fragments were nurtured and functionally matured. The lymph node also supported the engraftment and differentiation of organoid cultures derived from both mouse nephron progenitors and human-induced pluripotent stem cells that had been directed toward kidney fates. What makes the lymph node such a supportive site is its vascular-stromal network, which likely conveys specific cues to the developing transplanted tissue whether it be kidney or any other tissue. Further studies will be necessary to demonstrate the therapeutic efficacy of this approach. In this chapter, I will briefly discuss current strategies and challenges for the engineering of a functional kidney, and discuss our strategy exploiting the lymph node microenvironment.
Learning Privilege: Lessons of Power and Identity in Affluent Schooling

How can teachers bridge the gap between their commitments to social justice and their day to day practice? This is the question author Adam Howard asked as he began teaching at an elite private school and the question that led him to conduct a six-year study on affluent schooling. Unfamiliar with the educational landscape of privilege and abundance, he began exploring the burning questions he had as a teacher on the lessons affluent students are taught in schooling about their place in the world, their relationships with others, and who they are. Grounded in an extensive ethnographic account, Learning Privilege examines the concept of privilege itself and the cultural and social processes in schooling that reinforce and regenerate privilege. Howard explores what educators, students and families at elite schools value most in education and how these values guide ways of knowing and doing that both create high standards for their educational programs and reinforce privilege as a collective identity. This book illustrates the ways that affluent students construct their own privilege,not, fundamentally, as what they have, but, rather, as who they are.
The Western Range Revisited: Removing Livestock from Public Lands to Conserve Native Biodiversity

Livestock grazing is the most widespread commercial use of federal public lands. The image of a herd grazing on Bureau of Land Management or U.S. Forest Service lands is so traditional that many view this use as central to the history and culture of the West. Yet the grazing program costs far more to administer than it generates in revenues, and grazing affects all other uses of public lands, causing potentially irreversible damage to native wildlife and vegetation. The Western Range Revisited proposes a landscape-level strategy for conserving native biological diversity on federal rangelands, a strategy based chiefly on removing livestock from large tracts of arid BLM lands in ten western states: Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming. Drawing from range ecology, conservation biology, law, and economics, Debra L. Donahue examines the history of federal grazing policy and the current debate on federal multiple-use, sustained-yield policies and changing priorities for our public lands. Donahue, a lawyer and wildlife biologist, uses existing laws and regulations, historical documents, economic statistics, and current scientific thinking to make a strong case for a land-management strategy that has been, until now, "unthinkable." A groundbreaking interdisciplinary work, The Western Range Revisited demonstrates that conserving biodiversity by eliminating or reducing livestock grazing makes economic sense, is ecologically expedient, and can be achieved under current law.
How practice matters: a relational view of knowledge sharing

This paper addresses the issue of knowledge sharing practices in complex organizations. The authors propose that a refined understanding of the relational thinking underpinning practice theories is required if we want to further our comprehension of knowledge sharing and distinguish existing approaches. Knowledge sharing, we argue, is defined by the specific differences and dependencies in practices existing within or across communities. Changes in those differences and dependencies leads to the formation of new knowledge. Specifying the differences, dependencies and changes provides the first analytical step in understanding knowledge sharing as it takes shape in and across communities of practice. The authors apply this relational perspective to probe the discrepancies and complementarities among three seminal approaches to knowing within and across communities of practice.
The monetarist versus the neo-Keynesian views on inflation

Abstract This empirical inquiry investigates the relative merits of the monetarist and the neo-Keynesian hypotheses regarding the behavior of inflation in the Italian economy over the 1955–1983 period. Based on testing three alternative dynamic models that have been proposed in the literature, the empirical results support the monetarist proposition that unemployment has an insignificant impact upon inflation, a finding that is at odds with the neo-Keynesian hypothesis. Indeed, consistent with the monetarist hypothesis, the results suggest that the rate of monetary expansion is a prime determinant of the rate of inflation and its acceleration in Italy.
Analysis of Helicopter Rotor Blade Stall Flutter

A study of rotor blade aeroelastic stability is carried out, using an analytic model of a two-dimensional airfoil undergoing dynamic stall and an elastomechanical representation including flapping, flapwise bending, and torsional degrees of freedom. Results for a hovering rotor demonstrate that the models are capable of reproducing both classical and stall flutter. The minimum rotor speed for the occurrence of stall flutter in hover is found to be determined from coupling between torsion and flapping. Instabilities analogous to both classical and stall flutter are found to occur in forward flight. However, the large stall-related torsional oscillations which commonly limit aircraft forward speed appear to be the response to rapid changes in aerodynamic moment which accompany stall and unstall, rather than the result of an aeroelastic instability.
Alumina Calcination in the Fluid-Flash Calciner

In the mid 40’s, Alcoa turned to fluidized solids techniques as a means of improving the efficiency of the alumina calcining process. This paper traces calciner development from the first pilot operation in 1946 through the first plant fluid-bed unit in 1952, the early “fluid-flash” calciner designs in 1960, the first 300 ton/day fluid-flash calciner at Alcoa’s Bauxite, Arkansas plant in 1963, the 600 ton/day calciners installed in Suriname and Australia in 1965 and 1966, up to the 1500 ton/day Mark III calciners now operating in Jamaica, Australia and the United States. These Mark III fluid-flash calciners have provided a 30 to 40 percent fuel saving in addition to major savings in capital investment and maintenance costs.
Nickel Comes Full Cycle

Polyolefins such as polyethylene and polypropylene form the basis of many of the plastics used in daily life today. The industrial process uses Ziegler catalysts, early transition metal compounds that allow low-cost manufacture of high-quality polyethylene and polypropylene polymers. However, these catalysts have limitations. For example, they do not tolerate polar functional groups on the olefins. Younkin et al . (page [460][1]) have developed a nickel-based catalyst which overcomes this limitation, enabling the fabrication of new polymers with polar functionality. It is anticipated that this may lead to new plastics with desirable properties such as biodegradability and water-solubility. [1]: http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/short/287/5452/460
A Sharp Ratio Inequality for Optimal Stopping When Only Record Times are Observed

Abstract Let X 1,…, X n be independent, identically distributed random variables that are nonnegative and integrable, with known continuous distribution. These random variables are observed sequentially, and the goal is to maximize the expected X value at which one stops. Let V n denote the optimal expected return of a player who can observe at time j only whether X j is a relative record (j = 1,…, n), and W n that of a player who observes at time j the actual value of X j . It is shown that V n > a n W n , where , and this inequality is sharp.
Equilibrium and Kinetics Studies of Reactions of Manganese Acetate, Cobalt Acetate, and Bromide Salts in Acetic Acid Solutions

The oxidation of hydrogen bromide and alkali metal bromide salts to bromine in acetic acid by cobalt(III) acetate has been studied. The oxidation is inhibited by Mn(OAc)2 and Co(OAc)2, which lower the bromide concentration through complexation. Stability constants for CoIIBrn were redetermined in acetic acid containing 0.1% water as a function of temperature. This amount of water lowers the stability constant values as compared to glacial acetic acid. MnIIBrn complexes were identified by UV−visible spectroscopy, and the stability constants for MnIIBrn were determined by electrochemical methods. The kinetics of HBr oxidation shows that there is a new pathway in the presence of MIIBrn. Analysis of the concentration dependences shows that CoBr2 and MnBr2 are the principal and perhaps sole forms of the divalent metals that react with Co(III) and Mn(III). The interpretation of these data is in terms of this step (M, N = Mn or Co): M(OAc)3 + NIIBr2 + HOAc → M(OAc)2 + NIIIBr2OAc. The second-order rate constants...
Impaired glucose tolerance is associated with postganglionic sudomotor impairment

We compared quantitative sudomotor axon-reflex test responses in persons with normal and impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Responses were significantly impaired in those with IGT, which may be indicative of early distal small fiber neuropathy.
Exposure‐epidemiology: Novel approaches

Abstract The proliferation of potentially toxic agents in the environment has caused suspicion that cancer, heart, lung, and other diseases will be produced. Epidemiologists seek associations between such agents and diseases with prevention in mind. Efficient use of established techniques of study and innovative new ones will be necessary for prevention to be achieved before obvious morbidity and mortality have taken place.
Regeneration and Recovery of Hydriodic Acid after Reduction of Polyols to Fuels1

Polyols such as sorbitol, now directly available from biomass carbohydrates, are reduced by hydriodic acid (HI) to hydrocarbon fuels (80%) with some alkyl halide (20%) according to a new process (eq 1). Incipient iodine (I2) is reduced and returned to hydriodic acid (HI) in situ by the simultaneous use of either phosphorous acid (H3PO3) or hypophosphorous acid (H3PO2) rather than elemental red phosphorus. The acid mixture can be reused many times. Eventually, HI must be recovered from the ever-increasing amount of phosphoric acid and water in the mixture. The recovery process consists of two to three distillation steps but for safety reasons combines an initial air oxidation of any excess H3PO3 to H3PO4. 31P NMR conveniently monitors phosphorus moieties. Less than a mmol/L of HI remains in the final phosphoric acid pot residue. This coupled redox combination of reducing acids may allow other industrial uses of otherwise expensive HI at the lesser expense of H3PO3 or H3PO2, either of which also provide the...
The 57 Fe magnetic hyperfine field in Au-Fe alloys (evidence favoring the two Fe-environment model of Au-Fe alloys)

The results of our analysis strongly support our two Fe environment hypothesis. The critical concentration at about 12 at.% suggests that the dependence of H(0,x) on x undergoes a fundamental change at this concentration. Furthermore, the so-called critical concentration at about 17 at.% apparently has little to do with any fundamental alloy property. Rather, it reflects the 12 at.% critical composition when properties are analyzed in terms of the average rather than the local Fe concentration. The two Fe environments appear to have differing configurations.
Influence of root exposure concentration on the fate of nitrobenzene in soybean.

Abstract The influence of exposure concentration on the physical and chemical fate of nitrobenzene was studied by providing 0.02, 0.2, 2.0 and 100 μg/ml to roots of intact soybean plants. The results of this study illustrate how plants may govern the physical and chemical fate of environmental pollutants, and emphasize the importance of plants as a vector for foodchain contamination even when biomagnification does not occur.
Is Teaching Negotiation Too Easy, Too Hard, or Both?

Teaching negotiation is easy because teachers and students find the topic fun, interesting, and relevant, which makes most negotiation courses well received. At the same time, teachers may underestimate the challenges in getting their students to think and behave differently in negotiation, which can make it difficult to teach it well. The author examines three teaching challenges in particular: dealing with ethical issues, addressing power imbalances (including those implicated by gender and racial differences), and putting theory into practice in the form of real-world behavior change. This piece is an adaptation of the keynote address that the author delivered on November 14, 2005 at the PON-IRENE conference, New Trends in Negotiation Teaching: Toward a Transatlantic Network, in Cergy, France.
Molecular forces in antibody maturation

Analysis of x-ray crystal structures has clarified the nature of antibody-antigen interactions, and the conformational basis of specificity and affinity, but does not provide a clear picture of the dynamics of antigen recognition. In particular, we know that primary antibodies can bind a wider variety of ligands than their secondary counterparts---which are tuned for high specificity and affinity. Crystal structures show that in the absence of antigen the secondary antibody adopts a structure preformed for binding, but that the primary antibody does not. Our calculations show that the unligated state of the primary antibody has a well-defined structure, fluctuating no more widely than that of the secondary antibody, and undergoes a discrete structural rearrangement in response to ligand.
A Method for Establishing the Handedness of Biological Macromolecules

When biological macromolecules are imaged in the transmission electron microscope (TEM), their inherent handedness is lost because the three-dimensional (3D) structure is projected onto a two-dimensional (2D) plane, and identical 2D projections can be made from either 3D enantiomer. Nevertheless, tilt experiments in the TEM can be used to determine handedness. These experiments have been performed successfully on negatively stained specimens. More recently, the method was applied to unstained, frozen-hydrated specimens imaged by means of cryoelectron microscopy (cryoTEM) methods. Tilt experiments involve recording two micrographs of the same particles at different tilt angles, computing enantiomeric reconstructions from particle images in one micrograph, predicting orientations of corresponding particles in the second micrograph, and comparing model projections with particle images in the second micrograph. In principle, this procedure can be used to determine the handedness of any biological macromolecule imaged by cryoTEM, provided the enantiomeric reconstructions are distinguishable.
Functional Characterization of a Receptor for Vasoactive‐Intestinal‐Peptide‐Related Peptides in Cultured Dermal Melanophores from Xenopus laevis

A receptor for vasoactive-intestinal-peptide (VIP)-related peptides was functionally characterized in a cell line derived from Xenopus melanophores using a recently described microtiter-plate-based bioassay. Activation of the melanophore VIP receptor by VIP or the peptides pituitary-adenylate-cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP 38), PACAP 27, and helodermin stimulated intracellular 3'-5' cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) accumulation and pigment dispersion in the cells. Helodermin, with an EC50 (concentration of peptide inducing half-maximal melanosome dispersion) of 46.5 pM, was the most potent activator of pigment dispersion, followed by PACAP 38 > VIP > PACAP 27. A similar order of potencies was observed for the peptides to induce cAMP accumulation. The responses to VIP agonists were selectively inhibited by the VIP antagonists PACAP-(6-27) and (N-Ac-Tyr(1)-D-Phe2)-growth-hormone-releasing factor[GRF](1-29)-NH2. Taken together, the results suggest that the melanophores express a VIP receptor that shares certain characteristics of, but also differs significantly from, other previously identified VIP receptors.
A spherical model of the clark electrode

Abstract A spherical model that relates the sensitivity (S) of a Clark electrode to cathode radius (a), to electrolyte layer permeability (Pc) and thickness (ωc), and to membrane permeability (Pm) and thickness (ωm) has been developed. This model was used to correlate two different data sets, one obtained from polypropylene-covered (Pm=1.7×10−11cm3 O2/cm.s.Torr) and the other obtained from Teflon-covered (Pm=6.0×10−11 cm3 O2/cm.s.Torr) Clark electrodes. The two data sets spanned a range of cathode radii from 10 to 677.5 μm and a range of membrane thickness from 6.35 to 76.2 μm. The spherical model fits the experimental sensitivity values with average relative errors of 13.3 and 23.9% for the polypropylene and Teflon data sets respectively; individual errors were randomly distributed over the range of membrane thicknesses, membrane permeabilities and cathode radii. The final regressed values of the free parameters (Pc/Pm and ωc) were found to be 69.22 and 27.7 μm, respectively, for the polypropylene data, and 6.13 and 154.6 μm, respectively, for the Teflon data. Although the Pc/Pm values are consistent with reported values in the literature, ωc values are larger than expected. For purposes of comparison, a one-dimensional planar model and a pseudo-two-dimensional model were also used to correlate the data sets. The planar model was incapable of fitting sensitivity values corresponding to small cathode radii, and the pseudo-two-dimensional model was incapable of fitting sensitivity values for the Clark electrodes covered with the more permeable (Teflon) membrane. Final regressed values of the two free parameters (Pc/Pm and ωc) were generally unrealistic for these two models.
Factorization of a two-loop four-point superstring amplitude.

The behavior of the two-loop four-point graviton amplitude is investigated in the type-II superstring theory, where the genus-two Riemann surface degenerates into two tori. The amplitude turns out to be finite in this limit and it is shown explicitly to the lowest order of the pinching parameter that it produces the product of two one-loop amplitudes, as is expected from the factorization property.
Kinetics of rapid high-temperature reactions : Titanium-nitrogen system

We have developed a computer-assisted electrothermography method to determine the intrinsic kinetics of reactions under conditions similar to those realized during combustion synthesis of materials. In this method, metal wires are heated in a reactive gas atmosphere in a controlled manner by passing electric current, and when time-dependence characteristics of electric power applied to the wire are measured, the reaction kinetics can be extracted. To illustrate the technique, it is applied to investigate the kinetics and other features associated with the reaction of titanium with nitrogen at 1 atm of pressure. The temperature range 1400−2300 K and heating rates 104−105 K/s are studied. It is shown that at temperatures below the melting point of titanium, the reaction follows a parabolic rate law, corresponding to a sharp-interface model with nitrogen diffusion through the developing titanium nitride layer as the rate-controlling step. The obtained activation energy value (230 kJ/mol) is in good agreement...
Stress-induced analgesia: prediction of posttraumatic stress symptoms in battered versus nonbattered women.

Abstract Background: Chronic and inescapable trauma is implicated in the stress-induced analgesia (SIA) response. Methods: A sample of 27 chronically battered women was compared with 28 trauma-exposed nonbattered women on their SIA response at 1 month postindex assault. Results: For the battered women sample, the SIA response at 1 month postindex assault was found to significantly predict an increase in posttraumatic stress disorder-related hyperarousal at 3 months postindex assault. Furthermore, the battered women showed a significant increase in depression symptoms from 1 to 3 months postindex assault compared with the nonbattered women, who showed a significant decrease. Conclusions: The findings suggest that the chronic and inescapable nature of trauma exposure in the battered women might account for an SIA response that is qualitatively different from that seen in the nonbattered women. It is suggested that the mechanism underlying the SIA response in battered women might be opioid mediated and that it might be responsible for the significant prediction of physiologic hyperarousal. Furthermore, this hyperarousal might moderate the relationship between the SIA response and depression.
Bridging relational database history and the web: the XML approach

The preservation of digital artifacts represents an unanswered challenge for the modern information society: XML and its query languages provide an effective environment to address this challenge because of their ability to support temporal information and queries, and make it easy to publish database history to the Web. In this paper, we focus on the problem of preserving, publishing, and querying efficiently the history of a relational database. Past research on temporal databases revealed the difficulty of achieving satisfactory solutions using flat relational tables and SQL. Here we show that the problem can be solved using (a) XML to support temporally grouped representations of the database history, and (b) XQuery to express powerful temporal queries on such representations. Furthermore, the approach is quite general and it can be used to preserve and query the history of multi-version XML documents. Then we turn to the problem of efficient implementation, and we investigate alternative approaches, including (i) XML DBMS, (ii) shredding XML into relational tables and using SQL/XML on these tables, (iii) SQL:2003 nested tables, and iv) OR-DBMS extended with XML support. These experiments suggest that a combination of temporal XML views and physical relational tables provides the best approach for managing temporal database information.
Heat transfer in three-phase fluidization and bubble-columns with high gas holdups

Bubble column and three-phase fluidized bed reactors have wide applications in biotechnological and petroleum processes (Deckwer, 1985; Fan, 1989). In such biotechnological processes as fermentation and waste water treatment, small bubbles of oxygen and/or nitrogen are introduced in the column to enhance oxygen transfer and to ensure the stability of immobilized cell particles. In addition, tiny bubbles are produced during the biological process due to the production of surface active compounds. The presence of these small bubbles causes an increase in the gas holdup of the system. High gas holdups are also characteristics of industrial processes such as coal liquefaction and hydrotreating of residual oils. Good understanding of the transport properties of three-phase fluidized beds with high gas holdups is essential to the design, control and optimum operations of the commercial reactors employed in the above-mentioned processes. Heat-transfer studies in three-phase fluidized beds have been reviewed recently by Kim and Laurent (1991). Past studies focused primarily on the measurements of time-averaged heat transfer from the column wall to bed (Chiu and Ziegler 1983; Muroyama et al., 1986) or on immersed heating objects to bed (Baker et al., 1978; Kato et al., 1984) in aqueous systems. Recently, Kumar et al. (1992)more » provided a mechanistic understanding of the heat transfer in bubbly-liquid and liquid-solid systems. The purpose of this work is to investigate the heat transfer in a three-phase fluidized bed under high gas holdup conditions. The associated hydrodynamic behavior of the system is also studied.« less
The Effect of Prenatal Alcohol Exposure on Umbilical Cord Length in Fetal Rats

Umbilical cord length is reported to be a good indicator of fetal movement. This study was designed to examine the effects of chronic alcohol exposure on umbilical cord length in fetal rats. Exposure to alcohol during prenatal development was associated with shortened umbilical cord length, relative to controls. This finding was not a function of body weight differences alone and provides evidence that fetal movements may be decreased as a consequence of maternal alcohol consumption. The possible role of suppressed fetal movements in some of alcohol's teratogenic actions is also discussed.
Urea and Thiourea Inclusion Complexes of Conjugated Polyenes: Polarized Fluorescence Excitation and Resonance Raman Studies

Abstract Urea and thiourea inclusion complexes have been prepared containing conjugated polyene chromophores. Dialkylpolyenes with n-alkane tails form complexes with urea; carotenoids and diphenylpolyenes form complexes with thiourea. In some cases the chromophoric groups are diluted by incorporation of saturated hydrocarbons into the inclusion complexes. The resulting crystals are highly dichroic with their maximum absorption along the crystallographic hexagonal c-axis. Polarized fluorescence excitation studies (of the urea n-alkylpolyene complexes) and polarized single crystal resonance Raman studies (of the thiourea carotenoid and diphenylpolyene complexes) have been performed and are interpreted in terms of the orientation of the transition dipole of these polyenes with respect to the molecular axis.
Breakthroughs in Photonics 2014: Spatiotemporal Focusing: Advances and Applications

Exploiting the characteristics of spatially chirped ultrafast pulses has been an increasingly active area of research. In this paper, we review the developments in the past year of the microscopy, materials processing, and micromachining fields, where the spatiotemporal structure of these beams is important. We also summarize progress in theoretical and experimental work to better control and characterize spatially chirped beams.
An investigation of the wear track on DLC (a-C:H) film by time-of-flight secondary ion mass spectroscopy

Abstract Tribological behaviors of diamond-like carbon (DLC) on steel under ambient air without lubricant were investigated. DLC (a-C:H) film was prepared on a cemented carbide substrate by radio frequency (r.f.) plasma assisted chemical vapor deposition (PACVD) using a methane (CH 4 ) precursor. The hydrogen content in DLC film was approximately 35 at.%. Pin-on-disk experiments were conducted on DLC-coated disk at the sliding velocity of 52 mm/s under 10 N loading using a steel ball (AISI 52100, 6 mm in diameter) as the pin material. After the evaluation of friction coefficient and wear resistance, the transferred layer and wear debris on the wear track of DLC film were investigated using Time-of-Flight Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (TOF-SIMS). The data of TOF-SIMS show the existence of hydrocarbon macromolecules (C n H m ) inside the wear track. This result suggests there is a formation of some kind of lubricant materials containing polymer (macromolecule of hydrocarbon), which is generated by the polymerization of DLC film during the tribo-test, contributing thus, to the low friction performance of DLC film.
EXPECTATIONS OF HOUSE-PRICE CHANGES

Expectations of the future are of great importance for many economic theories. While expected values of economic variables are typically unobservable, expectations of house-price changes can be inferred from data on the space-rental value of dwellings and its other determinants. This paper first discusses the behavior of expected changes in house prices so estimated. The formation of these expectations is then examined. The hypothesis of adaptive expectations is found to explain the data quite well. The rational expectations hypothesis, however, does very poorly.
Introduction, distribution, and removal of 7-methylguanine in different liver chromatin fractions of young and old mice.

The distribution and elimination of 7-methylguanine (m7Gua) from different liver DNA chromatin fractions has been studied after treating young and old mice with N-methyl-N-nitrosourea (MNU). Guanine methylation kinetics was first studied in total liver DNA following intraperitoneal injections of 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg MNU does. MNU-induced DNA alkylation, as measured by m7Gua levels, was dose-dependent in liver tissues of young (9-11 month) and old mice (28-29 month). However, liver DNA in old mice incurred approximately 50% more damage than young mice for weight-normalized doses of MNU. The kinetics of adduct removal from total DNA was biphasic. A more rapid phase of m7Gua removal was observed during the first 24 h to 48 h following MNU administration; thereafter, the remaining m7Gua adducts were hydrolyzed much more slowly. Similar amounts of m7Gua were removed by 24 h at both the 25 mg/kg and 50 mg/kg MNU doses for a single age-group, but old liver tissue removed significantly more m7Gua than young liver tissue during this initial phase. Following a single injection of carcinogen (50 mg/kg), liver nuclei were isolated and chromatin was sheared by limited Micrococcal nuclease digestion. Chromatin was separated into nuclease-soluble, low-salt, high-salt and nuclear matrix fractions. All four fractions of young liver chromatin were methylated to the same degree. In contrast, there were differences in m7Gua levels between old liver chromatin fractions. DNA in the nuclease-sensitive fraction was most heavily alkylated, whereas nuclear matrix sequences were modified the least. Removal of m7Gua occurred at relatively uniform rates in all chromatin fractions regardless of age, indicating that m7Gua was not preferentially repaired in different nuclease-susceptible regions of chromatin. These results suggest that the N-methylpurine-DNA glycosylase responsible for eliminating m7Gua from the mammalian genome is not deficient in senescent liver tissue. However, there may be age-related changes in chromatin composition or structure that make some genomic sequences more accessible to alkylating agents in liver tissue of older animals.
Performance models for large scale multiagent systems: using distributed POMDP building blocks

Given a large group of cooperative agents, selecting the right coordination or conflict resolution strategy can have a significant impact on their performance (e.g., speed of convergence). While performance models of such coordination or conflict resolution strategies could aid in selecting the right strategy for a given domain, such models remain largely uninvestigated in the multiagent literature. This paper takes a step towards applying the recently emerging distributed POMDP (partially observable Markov decision process) frameworks, such as MTDP (Markov team decision process), in service of creating such performance models. To address issues of scale-up, we use small-scale models, called building blocks that represent the local interaction among a small group of agents. We discuss several ways to combine building blocks for performance prediction of a larger-scale multiagent system.We present our approach in the context of DCSPs (distributed constraint satisfaction problems), where we first show that there is a large bank of conflict resolution strategies and no strategy dominates all others across different domains. By modeling and combining building blocks, we are able to predict the performance of five different DCSP strategies for four different domain settings, for a large-scale multiagent system. Our approach thus points the way to new tools for strategy analysis and performance modeling in multiagent systems in general.
Prior Residence Effects in Shelter Defense in Adult Signal Crayfish (Pacifastacus Leniusculus (Dana)): Results in Same- and Mixed-Sex Dyads

In a variety of taxa, the initial resident in a spatial area enjoys a dominance advantage over a subsequent intruder. In decapod crustaceans this "prior residence effect" has been demonstrated in lobsters, prawns, and crabs. However, there is scant evidence for the effect in crayfish. In the present series of experiments, individual signal crayfish (Pacifastacus leniusculus) were introduced into one side of divided aquaria, which contained a shelter. Another crayfish was put into the opposite side. Twenty-four hours later the divider was removed. In same-sex encounters 76% of female residents retained shelter possession, as did approximately 70% of male residents, both sexes demonstrating a significant territorial prior residence effect. In mixed-sex encounters, female residents retained shelter possession against male intruders in 80% of them. However, male residents retained shelter occupancy in only 33% of the encounters with female intruders. These findings demonstrate the existence of a prior resident effect in P. leniusculus. The contest advantage of females over males is consistent with previous research showing female dominance over males in social dominance hierarchies in this species.
Balancing Household Needs: The Non-food Needs of Food Pantry Clients and Their Implications for Program Planning

In 2009, over 33 million different people used food pantries to supplement their basic food needs. Food pantries are increasingly called upon to provide non-food items. What is unknown is how going without basic household products affects families. This exploratory study aimed to identify personal household products food pantry clients are most likely to find essential for basic living, the consequences for going without, and strategies to procure basic products. Twenty-five food pantry clients were interviewed. Three classes of products were identified: survival, keep the household together, and “make do” products. Consequences of going without basic products include stress, personal degradation, and engaging in illegal activities. Program recommendations include distribution planning and incorporating an awareness of different family coping strategies.
32 channel, 25 GHz InP integrated pulse shaper with SOA amplitude control

Over the past few decades optical pulse shaping has become an integral part of numerous photonic systems, impacting applications from optical communications to RF-photonic filtering [1]. In a parallel line, driven primarily by the need for broadband mass transmission of information, the technology behind photonic integration on the InP platform has continued to advance at a remarkable rate [2]. Leveraging these new fabrication methods researchers have developed an ever-increasing on-chip photonic tool set, which in turn is fueling a push for the migration of photonic solutions from bulk devices to a more marketable and scalable integrated platform. One of the most powerful tools one can envision is a fully functioning integrated pulse shaper. Particularly attractive is a shaper capable of working in the ‘line-by-line’ regime where it has arbitrary amplitude and phase control over individual lines of an optical frequency comb. In this regime, user-defined complex spectral shapes and arbitrary temporal waveforms can be synthesized on demand, thereby facilitating applications like optical- and RF- arbitrary waveform generation [3], agile RF-photonic filtering [4], and coherent communications. In this contribution we present a 32 channel InP Arrayed Waveguide Grating Pulse Shaper (AWGPS) exhibiting line-by-line amplitude control at 25 GHz channel spacing.
Whither the Arab Spring? 1989 or 1848?

Potential Arab democratic transitions will face more substantial obstacles than Eastern Europe did in 1989. Those obstacles include the intense securitisation of the Middle East, the absence of agreed upon models for future polities and economies, the residual power of authoritarian systems, and the limited capacities of newly emerging political and civil societies. Even the poster children of the Arab Spring, Tunisia and Egypt, are not well equipped to imitate the success of Eastern European countries. The Arab Spring of 2011 may thus be more akin to the 1848 failed revolutions than to the democratic transitions set in motion by the crumbling of the Soviet Union in 1989.
Direct seeding of guayule as influenced by polyacrylamide soil conditioner, bed shape and seed cover.

Abstract Guayule ( Parthenium argentatum Gray) is a semi-desert shrub native to the Trans-Pecos Region of southwest Texas and northcentral Mexico and is a potential domestic source of natural rubber for the United States and Mexico. Domestic rubber production from guayule is dependent in part upon reduction of production costs. Stand establishment through transplantation of nursery grown seedlings is one of the major production costs and development of successful direct seeding practices would reduce these costs substantially. The objective of this study was to evaluate several techniques to improve guayule stand establishment through direct seeding in a furrow irrigated field study. The effects of several combinations of seedbed shape (flat and furrowed), seed covering mulches (sand and vermiculite), and application rates of polyacrylamide (PAM) soil conditioner (0, 44.8, 67.3, and 89.7 kg/ha in 1987 and 0, 10, 20, 30, and 40 kg/ha in 1988) on stand establishment and survivability of direct seeded guayule at Las Cruces, NM, in 1987 and 1988 on a Brazito very fine sandy loam (mixed, thermic Typic Torripsamments) were evaluated. Final stands were improved by 16.3% in 1987 and 19.3% in 1988 by planting into a furrow formed in the center of a shaped bed. A sand covering improved stands in 1987 only as compared to a vermiculite mulch. The PAM soil conditioner increased final stand count by as much as 112% at rates of up to 44.8 kg/ha when applied dry. The furrowed bed and the PAM soil conditioner appear to be effective for improving direct seeding of guayule under furrow irrigation but additional studies are needed on other soil types and using other methods of irrigation.
Cost-related medication nonadherence and cost-saving strategies used by elderly Medicare cancer survivors

This study was conducted to compare cost-related medication nonadherence among elderly Medicare enrollees with and without cancer and to describe the strategies cancer survivors used to offset the costs of medications. Using the 2005 Medicare Current Beneficiary Survey and Medicare claims, we compared self-reported cost-related medication nonadherence (CRN), spending less on basic needs to afford medicines, and cost reduction strategies among elderly beneficiaries with and without cancer. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression models were used to characterize and compare these populations. In a nationally representative sample of 9,818 non-institutionalized elderly Medicare enrollees, 1,392 (14%) were classified as cancer survivors based on Medicare claims. Cancer survivors were older, more highly educated, more likely to be male and non-Hispanic, and more likely to have multiple comorbidities, poorer health status, and employer-paid medication coverage. While 10% of cancer survivors and 11% without cancer reported CRN, about 6% and 9% (p = 0.004) of those with and without cancer, respectively, reported spending less on basic needs to offset the costs of medications. Cancer survivors who reported CRN (n = 143) had lower income (62.2% versus 48.6%, p = 0.11) and were more likely to be African-American (13.0% versus 6.4%, p = 0.033) and have non-employer-based medication insurance (p = 0.002) compared to those who did not report CRN. In adjusted analyses, CRN among the two groups was similar, but with some subgroup differences noted by gender and cancer type. Use of cost reduction strategies was mostly similar among cancer survivors and those without cancer. Cost-related medication nonadherence medication is common among elderly Medicare beneficiaries, but appears to be similar among those with and without cancer.
Post-transplant Management of Hepatitis B: Can We Dispense with Hepatitis B Immunoglobulin?

Prior to the availability of effective post-transplant immunoprophylaxis, outcomes following liver transplant for hepatitis B-related liver disease were very poor as a result of high rates of graft reinfection and accelerated graft failure. With the advent of hepatitis B immune globulin and nucleos(t)ide analogue therapies, reinfection rates and transplant outcomes have dramatically improved. Although current immunoprophylaxis treatments are highly effective in preventing reinfection, they are very costly and cumbersome to administer. The goal of evolving strategies is to minimize the dose and duration of hepatitis B immune globulin treatment without a loss in efficacy. As the number of effective, direct acting antiviral therapies has increased over the past several years, the possibility of hepatitis B immune globulin-free regimens now exists. Limited, but encouraging, data exist to support hepatitis B immune globulin-minimizing regimens. Research is needed involving novel hepatitis B immune globulin-free strategies.