cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mixed methods in geriatrics and gerontology research

Mixed methods research is defined as the collection, analysis, and integration of both quantitative data (e.g., outcome of a randomized trial, such as decrease in depression score) and qualitative data (e.g., observations or interviews about the experience of persons with depression) to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a research problem than might be obtained through quantitative or qualitative approaches alone. Because mixed methods research designs place high value on the stories behind the numbers– both in exploratory designs where the experiences and insights of the community under study inform the quantitative investigation, and in explanatory designs where they illuminate the quantitative data– mixed methods are especially appropriate in studying the problems of older adults and caregivers. The goal of this chapter is to introduce the concept of mixed methods as an approach for research in Geriatrics and Gerontology. We will discuss (1) why an investigator might consider using mixed methods; (2) basic and complex mixed methods designs; (3) examples of mixed methods projects, drawing upon our own research; and, (4) challenges in carrying out mixed methods research.
Benchmarks and Blinders: How Canadian Women Utilize the Nutrition Facts Table

Purpose: To better understand how consumers use the Nutrition Facts Table (NFT) in their everyday shopping decisions and food consumption habits.Methods: Thirteen Canadian females were interviewed about how they use the NFT in their food choices.Results: Different elements of the front of the package served different purposes. Health claims and health checks drew attention to the product, but were not highly trusted. Ingredient lists were used to find “real food.” NFTs were considered important with each participant reporting an individualized strategy for using the NFT characterized by the application of benchmarks and blinders. The term “blinders” reflected only seeing and using one specific nutrient by assessing whether or not it exceeded a certain “benchmark” established by the participant. Therefore, the level of one specific nutrient determined the healthfulness of the product and the subsequent purchase/consumption decision.Conclusions: Findings suggest that NFTs should be redesigned. Some ideas fo...
Integration in the Infant

From conception onwards, the acquisition of new structures and new capabilities is constantly changing the infant into new, different organisms. The way in which new functions are introduced or appear in the organism is “Integration”. To this problem, Andre-Thomas has here applied his lively inquiring mind, looking at the motor and visual aspects and the contributions of conditioning and the affection between infant and mother.
Grating Alignment for the Water Recovery X-Ray Rocket (WRXR)

High-resolution, high-throughput soft X-ray spectroscopy using reflection gratings has the potential to unlock answers to many of the questions about the high-energy Universe. To enable missions to...
Analysis of tongue trajectory variation for /r/ in older children and adults

Kinematic studies of tongue articulator movement have found that older children and adolescents have smaller articulator displacements and greater movement variability compared to adults. However, many of these kinematic studies have used simple, early-developing phonemes as stimuli for comparison across talker groups. The American English rhotic /r/ is the latest to be acquired in children, possibly due to the complexity of the pharyngeal and oral constriction pattern required to produce the sound. In this study, we use automated processing of midsagittal ultrasound images to track trajectories of tongue blade, dorsum, and root during /r/ production in older children and adults. Our preliminary results suggest that the trajectories of tongue parts are different for adults and children, with children producing tongue part movements with greater relative amplitude and variability. We explore the possible developmental reasons for this outcome through the lens of dynamic principles of stability and change.
Variation and repeatability of home range in a forest-dwelling terrestrial turtle: implications for prescribed fire in forest management

Animal movements and use of space are in part determined by interactions between individual attributes such as sex and body size and extrinsic environmental factors such as the seasonal availability, quality and spatial configuration of resource patches in the landscape. Fire is a common and widespread disturbance process that has the potential to affect animal movements through modifications to the environment. Using radiotelemetry, we examined the contribution of these factors to variation in movements and home range over a 5-year period in a forest-dwelling terrestrial turtle, Terrapene carolina, at fire-maintained and unburned habitats in the southeastern United States. Female turtles had annual home-range sizes twice as large as males and moved longer distances per day during the nesting season (June and July), but males exhibited greater spatial fidelity from year to year. Turtles at the unburned site had home-range sizes twice as large as those at the fire-maintained site, and home-range size also decreased with increasing frequency and extent of fire, but this latter effect was strongest in females. Home-range behavior was highly repeatable within individuals of both sexes over time. This is the first evidence that fire influences the spatial ecology and movements of turtles, most likely through fire's impact on the spatial configuration, availability and quality of critical resources. That individuals behaved consistently through time, but differently from one another according to both intrinsic individual attributes and extrinsic environmental factors provides strong evidence of consistent inter- and intra-population variation in space use and movement behaviors in T. carolina. Such intra-specific behavioral variation suggests applying caution when extrapolating results to other sites across the geographic range of a species for use in conservation and management.
Management of a Periodontal Patient With Dermatomyositis: A Case Report.

Introduction Dermatomyositis is an uncommon inflammatory disease marked by muscle and joint weakness with skin rash. Dermatomyositis affects adults and children, with higher prevalence for females aged 40 to 60 years. Most common oral lesions include mucosal edema, erythema, and telangiectasia. Case presentation A 51-year-old white female with an unremarkable medical history presented for periodontal evaluation in 2010. She reported a 6-month history of gingival inflammation and skin irritation on her hands and a rash on the center of her chest and forehead. Other complaints included fatigue, hot flashes, decreased appetite, and weight loss. Periodontal examination revealed generalized acute marginal erythema, with localized slight incipient bone loss. Oral hygiene was deemed good to fair. Oral hygiene instructions were reviewed and a prescription for chlorhexidine gluconate was given. The patient was then referred to an allergist and dermatologist where a diagnosis of dermatomyositis was made. After the initial diagnosis, localized scaling and root planing was performed using local anesthetic. The patient was managed medically using prednisone, mycophenolate mofetil, and methotrexate and a 3-month periodontal maintenance recall interval. The patient remained stable over an 8-year period. Conclusions Dermatomyositis is an uncommon inflammatory disease that requires medical and dental teams for proper diagnosis and management. Although the condition is chronic in nature with no definitive cure, signs, and symptoms can be managed with steroids and immunosuppressants to delay progression of the disease and improve quality of life for the patient.
Patterns of Parental Adherence and the Association to Child and Parenting Outcomes Following a Multicomponent School-Home Intervention for Youth With ADHD.

Abstract The goal of the present study was to evaluate the role of parent adherence in the Collaborative Life Skills (CLS) program, a multicomponent school-home intervention, for predicting child and parenting outcomes. A sample of 129 children (63% male; M age = 8.22, SD = 1.10; grades 2–5) with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and their parents participated in CLS, which included 10 weekly behavioral parent training group sessions. Each week, parents provided information on their CLS skill use between sessions (at home) as part of the intervention. Outcome measures included parent and teacher ratings of child behavior and parenting at post-intervention and 6 months follow-up. Growth mixture models examining weekly parent skill use trajectories throughout the intervention significantly predicted parent- and teacher-reported outcomes including parent-rated child behavior, teacher-rated academic competence, and positive parenting behaviors. Fifty-two percent of parents displayed moderate skill use throughout the intervention, whereas the remaining parents had either low (20%) or high (28%) initial levels of use but demonstrated high skill utilization by the middle of the intervention. Results highlight the importance of examining individual differences in parents between session strategy use for behavioral parent training interventions targeting child and parenting outcomes.
Comparison of resting metabolic rate prediction equations in college-aged adults.

Prediction equations have been considered an accurate method for estimating resting metabolic rate (RMR) across multiple populations, but their accuracy for college-aged individuals not on an athle...
Caught in Limbo: Mapping Social Spaces for First-Generation Students in Graduate School:

The share of college students who are first-generation has grown rapidly in recent decades. Less attention has been paid to the educational experiences of graduate students. This article asks: How ...
Clinical Implications of Tacrolimus Time in Therapeutic Range and Intrapatient Variability in Urban Renal Transplant Recipients Undergoing Early Corticosteroid Withdrawal.

The longevity of renal transplantation (RT) rests on the delicate balance of adequate immunosuppression to minimize immunologic allograft insult through rejection and donor-specific antibody (DSA) formation, as well as excess immunosuppression potentially leading to toxicities such as malignancy and infection.1 Tacrolimus, a calcineurin inhibitor, is the mainstay of immunosuppression following RT. It is classified as a narrow therapeutic index medication, displaying wide interpatient variability and intrapatient variability (IPV) and requiring frequent therapeutic drug monitoring of trough levels.2-5 Therefore, it is critical to maintain therapeutic levels to preserve allograft function. In addition to assessing adequate trough levels, tacrolimus IPV is another important consideration for allograft longevity.5 Increased tacrolimus IPV, as measured by coefficient of variation (CV%) or SD, is associated with deleterious outcomes in RT recipients, including increased allograft fibrosis, rejection, development of DSA, and decreased allograft survival.5-14 Several studies assessing time in therapeutic range (TTR) with tacrolimus have demonstrated that patients with lower TTR values have been associated with de novo DSA (dnDSA) development and inferior allograft outcomes.15-17 However, many of these aforementioned studies were in the setting of triple immunosuppression therapy with immediate-release tacrolimus, antimetabolite, and long-term corticosteroid therapy. Patients on early corticosteroid withdrawal (ECSWD) protocol rely solely on tacrolimus and mycophenolate for maintenance immunosuppression, with mycophenolate doses being generally standardized and tacrolimus trough levels being titrated on the basis of targeted trough concentrations. Theoretically, the importance of tacrolimus TTR may be more critical within this population, as clinical efficacy in the prevention of rejection and DSA could depend more heavily on these tacrolimus concentrations and TTR compared with prior studies in the setting of triple immunosuppression. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to evaluate the impact of tacrolimus TTR and IPV on renal allograft outcomes in the setting of an ECSWD protocol.
Investigating Agreement between Snake Sheds and Skin Swabs in Detection of Ophidiomyces ophidiicola

Ophidiomycosis, an infectious disease of snakes caused by the fungus Ophidiomyces ophidiicola, is known to cause skin lesions and, in some cases, deeper infections, and even death. It has been documented in captive snakes worldwide and in free-ranging snakes in the United States and Europe. Diagnostic limitations have impeded characterization of the epidemiology of this disease and subsequent efforts to improve clinical care and conservation outcomes. The purpose of this research was to evaluate the efficacy of qPCR of snake sheds as a noninvasive diagnostic tool for the detection of O. ophidiicola, compared to swabs prior to and following the shed. We tested shed pieces from grossly observed skin lesions or mid body sections if disease was not obvious, and matched skin swabs from 68 animals using a qPCR assay specific for O. ophidiicola. There was nearly complete agreement between the qPCR results of sheds and swabs (Cohen's kappa = 0.97) and sheds were 100% sensitive and 97% specific for apparent ophidiomycosis, with a 97% negative predictive value and a 100% positive predictive value. Our results indicate that qPCR of snake sheds is a reliable detection method for the presence of O. ophidiicola, as this technique has high agreement with peri-ecdysis skin swabbing. Although this technique can be used for noninvasive pathogen detection in captive individuals with known histories, results from snake sheds from free-ranging animals with no knowledge of associated clinical signs should be interpreted with caution and additional surveillance is necessary in these cases.
Herbivory and Soil Water Availability Induce Changes in Arbuscular Mycorrhizal Fungal Abundance and Composition

We tested the prediction that abundance and composition of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) in Ipomopsis aggregata roots and soils are influenced by ungulate herbivory and drought conditions by examining the effects in a field setting over two years. We used a multi-metric approach to quantify AMF root colonization, AMF reproduction, and AMF community composition in roots and soils. We incorporated complimentary community characterization assays by morphologically identifying spores from trap cultures and the use of terminal restriction fragment length polymorphism (T-RFLP) fingerprinting. Herbivory caused a twofold increase in spore production, an increase in AMF taxa diversity in roots, and a shift in AMF species composition in rhizosphere soils. The impact of herbivory was dependent on water availability, which differed in the two contrasting years. This study demonstrates that both soil water availability and herbivory shape arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi communities. The changes to mycorrhizal communities may help in understanding mycorrhizal function in changing climates.
The Discourse of Technological Innovation: A New Domain for Accountability

We argue that the discourse of technological innovation is a rhetorical space that demands accountability. We examine how the discourse can potentially marginalize users’ experiences and perpetuate assumptions about the role of technology to solve problems. We analyze three technological innovations reported in the mainstream press and the way the promotion of these innovations demonstrates a “grand” narrative of innovation discourse. These technologies are: Edison, a device to analyze human blood using a few drops; SignAloud, a glove to transliterate American Sign Language; and AlterEgo, a wearable device that allows people to communicate without vocalizing. We demonstrate how the grand narrative is characterized by four discursive patterns. The impact of the narrative, we argue, leads to an essentializing of users and their needs and the totalizing of the effects of the technology, which work to uphold technological paternalism. We end with a call to action and suggest ways to introduce accountability practices in the classroom and in journalistic and media coverage of technological innovation.
Nanotribology and the NSF

Nanotribology has been an active field of research for well over a decade. In evolved in response to the search for better understanding of some of the many elusive tribological phenomena, such as friction and solid lubrication. It evolved rapidly, in constant step with the development of new instrument capabilities, which enabled closer and closer observation of surface features and events. Nanotribology also became an important development tool for hard disk technology and MEMS. The National Science Foundation has supported a modest amount of basic research in this area for a number of years. A small sampling of projects funded during the past decade is briefly outlined to give a flavor of the program.
A Stagecast retrospective

Summary form only given. Allen Cypher has been invited to present a retrospective of Stagecast Creator - a visual programming environment for children. Creator enables children to create their own interactive simulations and video games by demonstrating what the characters should do. In addition to being a creativity tool, Creator also teaches children the fundamental concepts behind programming, without burdening them with the syntax and vocabulary of a textual programming language. An important part of the Stagecast Creator project is the built-in tutorial, and Allen will discuss the creation and testing of the tutorial. Researchers who tested Creator in classrooms found significant conceptual problems, and their research led to improvements in the language and tutorial. Stagecast Creator started out as KidSim - a research project by Allen Cypher and David Canfield Smith in Apple's Advanced Technology Group in the early '90s. A version called Cocoa was released by Apple, and Creator finally came out as a product from Stagecast Software, Inc. in 1998. Stagecast Creator is being used today in a variety of schools across the U.S., the U.K., and other countries, and it is popular in computer summer camps. This talk will include an assessment of the successes and shortcomings of Creator from the perspective of a decade of use. Allen will also discuss and compare Creator with other important visual programming environments for children, such as Agentsheets and ToonTalk. For those of you who attended VL'97, this presentation will offer a chance to recall the "1997 Visual Programming Challenge", where several visual languages competed to control robotic toy cars.
Application of microinjection techniques to plant nutrition

To gain a full understanding of the complex processes that underlie plant nutrition requires the elucidation of the genetic, molecular, biochemical, biophysical, physiological and environmental factors that interact, at the cellular, organ and whole plant levels, to allow this sessile organism to optimize the allocation and utilization of available resources. The application of microinjection methods, in conjunction with molecular tools, established a powerful experimental approach to elucidate the processes underlying plant growth and development. Besides providing insight into the molecular nature of many of the membrane transport systems that function in nutrient acquisition and transport, this approach revealed the presence of a unique plasmodesmal macromolecular trafficking system that operates at the cellular/tissue and whole-plant level. This information processing network it discussed in terms of its role in allowing plants to regulate physiological activities at a supracellular level. Future studies aimed at identifying additional genes associated with this plasmodesmal macromolecular trafficking system will advance our understanding of the function and evolution of this novel plant communication system.
Cashing-in on Risk Claims: On the For-profit Inversion of Signifiers for ''Global Warming'' 1

International environmental groups and a few Western governments have invested considerable resources in the social marketing of risk claims about global warming and climate change. These claims appear in novel forms of public service adverts that combine images and text in dramatic narratives of warning, natural disaster and moral responsibility. Although a few narratives mention government's regulatory role in mitigation, most speak to individuals’ personal culpability and assign responsibility for remedial actions (such as energy conservation) to them, rather than to industrial sources. These campaigns appear to be working. Opinion polls show public awareness increasing and some willingness to adopt recommended measures. The more compelling consequence, however, has been the commercial appropriation of this discourse, and its ironic reprise to promote greater consumption, the opposite of its sponsors’ original intent. The purpose of this paper is threefold: first, to analyze selected exemplars of the s...
Glucocorticoid-dependent maturation of viral proteins in mouse lymphoma cells: isolation of defective and hormone-independent cell variants.

Maturation of mouse mammary tumor virus proteins is dependent on glucocorticoid hormones in W7MG1, a stably infected mouse T-lymphosarcoma cell line derived from WEH17. We used an immunological procedure to select variant cell lines with altered levels of viral glycoproteins on the cell surface. One variant, W7M329a, expressed lower-than-normal levels of the major viral glycoprotein, gp52 env ,on the cell surface before and after exposure to hormone. Two other variants, W7M302b and W7M326.4, expressed elevated levels of gp52 env on the cell surface even in the absence of hormone. Analysis of the levels and/or rates of synthesis of viral RNA and glycoproteins before and after hormone treatment indicated that the variant phenotypes resulted from changes in posttranslational steps of viral gene expression. The hormone-independent maturation of MMTV proteins is a novel variant phenotype that has not previously been reported.
Enter the working forest: Discourse analysis in the Northern Forest

Abstract In 1988, four states in the northeastern USA commissioned a study to address land use changes in the Northern Forest, 26 million acres of temperate and boreal forest extending from Maine to eastern New York State. Against a backdrop of economic destabilization and concerns regarding social and ecological implications of a real estate boom, the sustained deliberative dialogue catalyzed by this study has come to rely heavily on the ambiguous concept of “working forest.” To clarify political and environmental dynamics in the region, we analyzed how people respond to and seek to capitalize on the interpretive flexibility of the term working forest. We combine an analysis of socio-political discourses of working forest based on a structured literature review with an assessment of local peoples’ definitions of working forest based on a survey conducted in a pair of contrasting New York State communities. The first study site represents an amenity-oriented community (i.e. a place where the forest supports a service economy including recreation and tourism) and the other study site represents a timber-dependent community. By linking data from community-level analysis to data derived from a general analysis of forest politics, we seek to develop a more robust perspective. By comparing discourses across differently structured communities, we investigate how local forest politics are mediated by local economic development processes. Our study empirically illustrates contested and geographically uneven processes of social construction of environment and rural development in a region confronting pressures of globalization. Results indicate that timber harvesting is a heavily privileged management objective, as a logic of ‘the forest that pays is the forest that stays’ dominates. Environmental politics in the region, and perhaps more generally, increasingly conforms to a form of pragmatism in which economic opportunities structure conservation planning and investment.
STUDIES ON THE ESTIMATION OF DEOXYRIBONUCLEIC ACID AND RIBONUCLEIC ACID IN RAT BRAIN

SUMMARY A method for the estimation of DNA and RNA in rat brain is described. The principal modifications of preexisting methods involve initial lipid extraction with chloroformmethanol and continuous stirring during alkaline hydrolysis of RNA and acid extraction of DNA. Comparison of ultraviolet-absorptive methods, phosphate determination, and orcinol reaction for RNA, shows a greater degree of correspondence than has previously been reported for brain tissue. Also, a relatively high degree of reproducibility for each of the methods used is obtained with a two-wavelength ultraviolet method. In addition to chemical separation of DNA and RNA components suitable for isotopic studies, an intact lipid fraction is obtained without acid or heating steps. Intracranial injection of [aH]thymidine into young rats resulted in incorporation of as much as IO% of the injected dose into DNA in 2 h. The DNA per cell nucleus obtained from brain homogenates was found to be 6. 4 • lO -12 g. On this basis, there are 5.5" IOS cells in the brain of a young adult rat.
A New Energy-Based Uniaxial Fatigue Life Prediction Method for a Gas Turbine Engine Material

A new energy-based fatigue life prediction framework for calculation of axial and bending fatigue life at various stress ratios has been developed. The purpose of the life prediction framework is to account for materials used in gas turbine engines, such as Titanium 6Al-4V, which experience an endurance stress limit as the number of cycles increase towards infinity. The work conducted to develop this energy-based framework consist of the following entities: (1) A new life prediction criterion for axial and bending fatigue at various stress ratios for Aluminum 6061-T6, (2) use of the previously developed improved uniaxial energy-based method to acquire fatigue life prior to endurance limit behavior [1], (3) and the incorporation of a statistical energy-based fatigue life calculation scheme to the uniaxial life criterion (the first entity of the framework), which is capable of constructing prediction intervals based on a specified percent confidence level. The exactitude of this work was verified by comparison between theoretical approximations and experimental results from recently acquired Al 606-T6 and Ti 6Al-4V data. The comparison shows very good agreement, thus validating the capability of the framework to produce accurate fatigue life predictions.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
The flank margin model for dissolution cave development in carbonate platforms

The Bahama Islands contain many abandoned dissolution caves at elevations between two and seven metres above current sea level. The development of dissolution caves in tropical carbonate islands is dependent on the position and nature of the freshwater lens. Lens position is controlled by sea level, which in stable carbonate platforms like the Bahamas is a function of glacioeustatic sea level still stands. Caves in the Bahamas that are currently subaerial must have developed during past higher sea levels. During the Late Quaternary, sea levels higher than present have been relatively short-lived, and that limits the amount of time that a freshwater lens could be situated at the elevation required for the cave formation. The Bahama Islands are low-lying landforms where only aeolian ridges extend to elevations higher than six metres above current sea level. Past high sea level events greatly reduced the exposed land area of the Bahama Islands, thus also limiting both the catchment for and size of freshwater lenses. Caves must be younger than the rock in which they are developed; most subaerial Bahamian caves are found in limestones that are less than 150000 years old. Development of large dissolution caves under these limitations of time and lens size requires a powerful dissolutional mechanism. The mixing of discharging freshwater with tide-pulsed incoming marine water under the flanks of emergent dune ridges may have produced the conditions necessary. Bahamian caves formed by this process are phreatic chambers with complex interconnections and blind tubes. Their presence demonstrates that significant dissolution can occur rapidly as a result of the mixing of fresh and marine waters beneath small carbonate islands.
WE‐D‐L100F‐03: Direct and Indirect Magnetic Resonance Visualization of Tissue Architecture and Function: From Micro to Nanostructure

“Form follows function” is one of the most fundamental principles underlying evolution of all organisms. Thus the desire to visualize tissue architecture has been a key driver behind all forms of microscopy starting with the magnifying lens, and leading to optical and, eventually, electron microscopy. During the past two decades methods have emerged that allow nondestructive imaging of the internal 3D structure of tissues by micro magnetic resonance (μ‐MRI) and computed tomography (μ‐CT) at resolutions of 5–50μm. MRI's unique sensitivity to biologic processes such as the interaction of water with biomolecules makes it particularly attractive as an investigational tool in biomedicine. However, the practically achievable resolution is determined by signal‐to‐noise and ultimately, diffusion, and in vivo by our ability to correct for physiologic motion. Though below the resolution limit of k‐space μ‐MRI, indirect detection techniques such as q‐space imaging, which exploit restricted diffusion, can be shown to provide quantitative information at sub‐μm resolution in some instances. This lecture intends to provide an overview of the methodology and to discuss various applications ranging from quantifying the architectural and mechanical changes of trabecular bone architecture in response to intervention in humans, to measurement of axon diameters in the mouse spinal cord by q‐space MRI using 50T/m home‐built gradients.
Detection of Undiagnosed HIV Among State Prison Entrants

A substantial proportion of individuals infected with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in the United States enter a correctional facility annually.1,2 Therefore, incarceration presents an opportunity for HIV detection. Even though many states have adopted policies of mass HIV screening of inmates,2–4 the extent to which HIV testing on prison entry detects new infections is unclear. We examined HIV prevalence among inmates entering a state prison system and the proportion known to state public health authorities as having previously tested HIV seropositive.
Feeding of marine planktonic copepods on mixed phytoplankton

The feeding of juveniles and adults of the copepods Eucalanus pileatus, Temora stylifera and T. turbinata fed a mixture of the phytoplankton Skeletonema costatum, Leptocylindrus danicus and Rhizosolenia alata f. indica was studied at 20°C. E. pileatus nauplii, copepodids and adult females ingest similar percentages of the 3 algae in terms of carbon. Temora juveniles younger than CII ingest mainly S. costatum; at more advanced developmental stages, the ingestion rate on S. costatum remains constant whereas feeding on L. danicus and R. alata f. indica increases with increasing body weight. Feeding on high concentrations of large particles reduces the grazing pressure on small particles, thus favoring zooplankton which require small-sized food.
A High-Temperature Reducing Jet Reactor for Flame-Based Metal Nanoparticle Production

We present a new flame-based aerosol reactor configuration that combines thermal decomposition and hydrogen reduction to produce metal nanoparticles. This approach uses a fuel-rich hydrogen flame as a source of low-cost energy to initiate particle synthesis, but separates the flame chemistry from the particle formation chemistry. Hot combustion products pass through a nozzle to produce a high-temperature reducing jet. A liquid precursor solution is rapidly atomized, evaporated, and decomposed by the expanding jet, initiating particle formation. In particular, here we have produced carbon-coated copper nanoparticles from an aqueous copper formate precursor solution and characterized them by aerosol mobility distribution measurements, electron microscopy, and x-ray diffraction. Copper serves here as a prototype for non-oxide materials that are generally difficult to produce in flame-based reactors. This work demonstrates that such materials can be produced in substantial quantities with particle diameters b...
Slow-wave activity in the ventral tegmental area of Tsai related to barbiturate anesthesia.

Abstract Rhythmic 6 to 8 per second high-voltage activity has been observed in a restricted region of the mesencephalon under barbiturate anesthesia. This region is situated ventral to the red nucleus and encompasses the ventral tegmental area of Tsai. This phenomenon is not seen in conscious animals, in normal sleep, or under nonbarbiturate sedation, and bears no apparent relationship to cortical spindling. Stimulation of the rostromedial portion of the globus pallidus blocks or disrupts the rhythmic activity. Evoked responses in the same tegmental area are seen following stimulation of the thalamic ventralis anterior nucleus and the immediately subadjacent dorsal hypothalamus. Repetitive stimulation of ventralis anterior at 3 to 8 per second drives the tegmental rhythm at the stimulus frequency. These observations suggest a relationship between the globus pallidus, ventralis anterior, and the ventral tegmental area of Tsai.
Effect of temperature cycling on the activity and productivity of immobilized beta-galactosidase in a thermally reversible hydrogel bead reactor.

The enzyme β-galactosidase has been immobilized within thermally reversible hydrogel beads that exhibit LCST (lower critical solution temperature) behavior. The hydrogel beads containing the immobilized enzymes swell and expand below the LCST and deswell and shrink above the LCST. This behavior is reversible. The enzyme was physically entrapped in a crosslinked hydrogel of a copolymer of N-isopropylacrylamide (NIPAAm) and acrylamide (AAm), and formed as beads in an inverse suspension polymerization. The beads were placed in a packed bed column reactor which was operated in a continuous, single pass mode, either isothermally at 30 or 35°C, or with temperature cycling between 30 and 35°C. The thermal cycling significantly enhanced overall reactor enzyme activity relative to isothermal operation at either the higher or lower temperature. It is postulated that mass transfer rates within the hydrogel beads are greatly enhanced by the movement of water in and out of the beads during the expansion or collapse of the polymer chain network as temperature is cycled.
Transient Nucleation: Computer Simulation vs Theoretical Inference†

A new procedure is introduced to determine the three principal parameters that characterize homogeneous nucleation, namely the “reduced moment,” the time lag, and the steady-state rate. This information can be derived, in principle, by monitoring the spontaneous freezing occurring in molecular dynamics simulations of supercooled liquids. The new procedure has been applied to the set of 2500 nucleation events acquired in a prior investigation of the freezing of 2500 independent large molecular clusters of SeF6. In this procedure the times of the first appearance of nuclei containing n molecules is determined for each cluster, considering values of n ranging from small to very large. This procedure avoids the mixing together of a large distribution of nuclear sizes that resulted from our previous algorithm based on the times of onset of nucleation. Such a superposition of sizes appears to have seriously inflated the derived reduced moment parameter characterizing transient nucleation, thereby favoring the 1...
Biology, Life History, and Control of Conotrachelus schoofi (Coleoptera: Curculionidae) on Pecans

Biology and life history of Conotrachelus schoofi Papp on pecans is given. Adults appeared in early April and deposited eggs in shoots from early April to the end of May. Instars were found from 18 April to 28 May. Most fifth instars entered the soil from 18 May to 8 June. Pupae were found from 19 May to 23 June. Teneral adults emerged from the last week of May until the last week of June. Females laid ca. 12 eggs each. Feeding and oviposition damage of larvae is described and compared with those of the closely related species C. aratus Germar. The most abundant parasites found in eggs and larvae were Anaphea sp. poss. conotracheli (Girault) and Nealiolus rufus Riley, respectively. Lindane and endosulfan provided good control of C. schoofi for 7 days.
Preparation of superhard BxCy fibers by microvortex-flow hyperbaric laser chemical vapor deposition

Abstract A novel class of freestanding B x C y fibers was prepared by hyperbaric-pressure laser chemical vapor deposition. Utilizing mixtures of diborane and helium with hydrocarbons, such as methane, ethene, and pentane, B x C y -alloy fibers were prepared at axial rates of up to 12.2 μm/s. Regions of kinetically-limited and transport-limited growth were identified, and the activation energy for deposition from B 2 H 6 + C 5 H 20 + He mixtures (at relative concentrations of 1:25:10) was found to be 197 ± 27 kJ/mol, while the rate constant was approximately 1810 μm/s. Compositions ranged from B 0.4 C 0.6 to B 0.03 C 0.97 depending on the gas mixture and laser powers employed; axial and radial fiber compositions/microstructure were explored using Auger spectroscopy and electron microscopy. Glassy B x C y fibers with Vickers hardnesses of 42–45 GPa were grown at laser powers below 150 mW. The growth kinetics of pure boron fibers was also investigated from BCl 3 + H 2 , BF 3 + H 2 , and B 2 H 6 + H 2 gas mixtures, producing fine-grained α-boron and large single-crystals of β-boron. Micro-scale vortices in the gas flow emanating from the reaction zone were observed using particle image velocimetry; such vortices enhance axial fiber growth rates through rapid gas mixing. Arrays of fibers were also grown in-parallel using diffractive optical elements.
Amphibious behavior of Alligator mississippiensis: roles of a circadian rhythm and light

Juvenile American alligators in outdoor pens moved out of and into the water at sunrise and sunset, respectively. When the natural light cycle was extended with artificial illumination, these movements gradually shifted into phase with the altered light cycles; therefore, the amphibious behavior was modulated by a circadian rhythm cued by light. Movement between land and water was characterized by a decrease in body temperature, which suggests that it is was not simply a proximate heat-seeking response. After the movements had been in phase with the altered light cycles for a time, they spontaneously shifted back into phase with the natural light cycl. A changing response to light is viewed as an adaptation to seasonal changes in heat availability.
TEM and simulation studies of Ti3N ordered superstructure formed in intensified plasma assisted nitrided Ti–6Al–4V alloy

Abstract We have used transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and image simulation techniques to systematically investigate the surface microstructures evolved in Ti–6Al–4V alloy after nitriding by intensified plasma assisted processing (IPAP). Cross-sectional TEM and X-ray energy-dispersive spectroscopy studies demonstrated that the surface layer in the IPAP-treated Ti–6Al–4V has a N composition of approximately 25 at.%. By using electron diffraction analysis, the nitride layer was found to be composed of an ordered superstructure Ti 3 N (ϑ-phase) that can be identified as a trigonal structure with a space group of P3 and lattice parameters a =6.04 A and c =4.82 A (hexagonal setting). The 3( d )-( 1 2 0 0) and 3( d )- 1 3 1 6 1 2 positions in the unit cell are occupied by metallic (Ti, Al, V) atoms, whereas the 1( a )- 0 0 0 and 1( c )- 1 3 2 3 1 2 positions are occupied by N atoms. The N content at the surface layer gradually decreases with depth, producing a composition gradient structure. This composition gradient layer is accomplished by gradually reducing the amount of Ti 3 N phase and increasing that of the α-Ti structure.
Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation did not help low income Hispanic women in Texas meet the dietary guidelines.

Abstract Objective Low-income Hispanic women are at greater risk for dietary deficiencies and obesity. We assessed the association between Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation and dietary intake among 661 Hispanic women aged 26–44 years living in Texas. Methods Cross-sectional data was collected using standard methods. Analysis of variance and logistic regression examined the influence of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on diet after adjusting for household characteristics, body mass index, and food security status. Results Most women did not meet recommended dietary guidelines. Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants consumed higher amounts of total sugars, sweets–desserts, and sugar-sweetened beverages than Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program nonparticipants. High sodium intakes and low dairy consumption were observed in both groups. Only 27% of low-income eligible women received Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program benefits. Discussion Low-income Hispanic women participating in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program reported less healthful dietary patterns than nonparticipants. This may contribute to the increased obesity prevalence and related comorbidities observed in this population. Conclusion Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program should play an important role in enhancing the overall dietary quality of low-income households. Policy initiatives such as limiting the purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages and education to enable women to reduce consumption of high sodium processed foods deserve consideration as means to improve the dietary quality of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participants. Effective measures are needed to increase Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program participation rates among Hispanics.
Metal nanoslit lenses with polarization-selective design

We present comprehensive studies on thin diffraction lenses made of arrays of subwavelength, parallel nanoslits in a gold film. Such a nanoslit lens can operate either as a conventional convex or concave lens. The lenses can be designed to focus linearly polarized light with polarization either perpendicular (TM-lens) or parallel to the slits (TE-lens), while the orthogonal polarization diverges when passing through the lens. The designs of each lens are initially built on the dispersion relations for wave propagation through a parallel-plate waveguide. Both TM- and TE-lenses were realized experimentally, and full-wave numerical simulations fully support the experimental results.
Value-based metadata quality assessment

This article proposes a method that allows a value-based assessment of metadata quality and construction of a baseline quality model. The method is illustrated on a large-scale, aggregated collection of simple Dublin core metadata records. An analysis of the collection suggests that metadata providers and end users may have different value structures for the same metadata. To promote better use of the metadata collection, value models for metadata in the collection should be made transparent to end users and end users should be allowed to participate in content creation and quality control processes.
Origin of Planetary Atmospheres

The near absence of noble gases on earth, other than those of radioactive origin, indicates that the earth was formed by the accumulation of planetesimals; this process systematically excluded all constituents that did not enter into the solid phase. The atmosphere and the ocean with many of its dissolved salts have arisen from gases emitted from the earth's interior, a process that continues today. The oxygen in the earth's atmosphere plus a greater quantity that has been removed from the atmosphere to oxidize geologic materials, has arisen mainly from a small excess of photosynthesis over decay of organic material. The atmospheres of Mars and Venus have probably arisen in a manner similar to the atmosphere on earth, by emission from the planetary interiors. However, they have not received any oxygen from photosynthesis and so are nearly oxygen free. Mars has very little water in its atmosphere, and this can be explained by its lower than freezing average surface temperature. Venus also has very little water, and this requires an ad hoc explanation; one possibility is that Venus was formed from much drier planetesimals than was the earth. Mercury and the moon are virtually without atmospheres. Although some gases may be emitted from their interiors, they are presumably rapidly lost by escape. Whatever atmosphere they possess is probably due to the neutralized solar wind that impinges upon them. The outer planets retained volatiles, including hydrogen and helium, to a much greater extent than did the terrestrial planets.
Holomorphy angles and sectional curvature in Hermitian elliptic planes over fields and tensor product of fields

Holomorphy angles and sectional curvature in Hermitian elliptic planes over field C of complex numbers, skew field H of quaternions, and alter- native skew field O of octonions are considered, and analogues of holomorphy angles in planes over tensor products of these fields and sectional curvature in these planes are found.
Laser beam combining for high-power, high-radiance sources

Beam combining of laser arrays with high efficiency and good beam quality for power and radiance (brightness) scaling is a long-standing problem in laser technology. Recently, significant progress has been made using wavelength (spectral) techniques and coherent (phased array) techniques, which has led to the demonstration of beam combining of a large semiconductor diode laser array (100 array elements) with near-diffraction-limited output (M/sup 2//spl sim/1.3) at significant power (35 W). This paper provides an overview of progress in beam combining and highlights some of the tradeoffs among beam-combining techniques.
Transfer of tuberculin immunity from mother to infant.

Previous investigators (1–3) have suggested that tuberculin immunity may be transferred from the mother to the infant via human milk, but other investigators (4–5) have found transplacental transfer of immunity. The purpose of our study was to examine transfer of tuberculin immunity by studying newborn lymphocyte blastogenesis induced by PPD antigen at 1–5 days of age, 4–6 weeks of age and 3 months of age. We also examined lymphokine production by neonatal lymphocytes as another index of tuberculin immunity. For this purpose we studied PPD-induced monocyte chemotactic factor production by lymphocytes from infants 4–6 weeks of age. In an attempt to define the mechanism of transfer of immunity, we studied male infants of tuberculin positive breast-feeding mothers at 4–6 weeks of age and examined the sex chromosomes of lymphocytes dividing in response to PPD-stimulation. This sex determination would identify blastogenic lymphocytes as either of maternal or newborn origin.