cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Directed acyclic graphs: An under-utilized tool for child maltreatment research.

Abstract Background Child maltreatment research involves modeling complex relationships between multiple interrelated variables. Directed acyclic graphs (DAGs) are one tool child maltreatment researchers can use to think through relationships among the variables operative in a causal research question and to make decisions about the optimal analytic strategy to minimize potential sources of bias. Objective The purpose of this paper is to highlight the utility of DAGs for child maltreatment research and to provide a practical resource to facilitate and support the use of DAGs in child maltreatment research. Results We first provide an overview of DAG terminology and concepts relevant to child maltreatment research. We describe DAG construction and define specific types of variables within the context of DAGs including confounders, mediators, and colliders, detailing the manner in which each type of variable can be used to inform study design and analysis. We then describe four specific scenarios in which DAGs may yield valuable insights for child maltreatment research: (1) identifying covariates to include in multivariable models to adjust for confounding; (2) identifying unintended effects of adjusting for a mediator; (3) identifying unintended effects of adjusting for multiple types of maltreatment; and (4) identifying potential selection bias in data specific to children involved in the child welfare system. Conclusions Overall, DAGs have the potential to help strengthen and advance the child maltreatment research and practice agenda by increasing transparency about assumptions, illuminating potential sources of bias, and enhancing the interpretability of results for translation to evidence-based practice.
Morphlour: Personalized Flour-based Morphing Food Induced by Dehydration or Hydration Method

In this paper, we explore personalized morphing food that enhances traditional food with new HCI capabilities, rather than replacing the chef and authentic ingredients (e.g. flour) with an autonomous machine and heterogeneous mixtures (e.g. gel). Thus, we contribute a unique transformation mechanism of kneaded and sheeted flour-based dough, with an integrated design strategy for morphing food during two general cooking methods: dehydration (e.g. baking) or hydration (e.g. water boiling). We also enrich the design space of morphing food by demonstrating several applications. We end by discussing hybrid cooking between human and a design tool that we developed to ensure accuracy while preserving customizability for morphing food.
Atrial Fibrillation and Heart Failure With Preserved Ejection Fraction in Patients With Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease

The most common causes of chronic liver disease in the developed world-nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH)-are the hepatic manifestations of an insulin-resistant state that is linked to visceral adiposity and systemic inflammation. NAFLD and NASH lead to an expansion of epicardial adipose tissue and the release of proinflammatory adipocytokines that cause microcirculatory dysfunction and fibrosis of the adjoining myocardium, resulting in atrial fibrillation as well as heart failure with a preserved ejection fraction (HFpEF). Inflammatory changes in the left atrium lead to electroanatomical remodeling; thus, NAFLD and NASH markedly increase the risk of atrial fibrillation. Simultaneously, patients with NAFLD or NASH commonly show diastolic dysfunction or latent HFpEF. Interventions include 1) weight loss by caloric restriction, bariatric surgery, or intensive exercise, and 2) drugs that ameliorate fat-mediated inflammation in both the liver and heart (eg, statins, metformin, sodium-glucose cotransporter 2 inhibitors, glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists, and pioglitazone). Patients with NAFLD or NASH commonly have an inflammation-related atrial and ventricular myopathy, which may contribute to symptoms and long-term outcomes.
Allograft Nerve Repair Reduces Postoperative Neuropathic Pain Following Nerve Biopsy

Background New or worsened neuropathic pain is common following nerve biopsy and significantly impacts quality of life. Objective To examine the impact of allograft nerve repair on the likelihood of postoperative worsened neuropathic pain following nerve biopsy. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed comparing standard nerve biopsy to nerve biopsy with allograft repair. Consecutive patients (N = 51) who underwent whole nerve biopsy between August 1, 2017, and August 1, 2019, by a single surgeon were evaluated for inclusion. The primary outcome was significant worsening of visual analog scale (VAS) score in the nerve distribution 6-mo postbiopsy. Secondary outcomes included significant worsening of VAS in the nerve distribution 3-wk postbiopsy and significant change in Zung Self-Rating Depression Scale 6-mo postbiopsy. Results In a multivariate model, allograft nerve repair significantly reduced the likelihood of increased neuropathic pain at 6-mo postbiopsy (odds ratio 0.02, P = .03). Worsened neuropathic pain occurred in 28% of the standard nerve biopsy cohort compared to 4% of the allograft nerve repair cohort. In a multivariate model, an increase in neuropathic pain was strongly associated with an increased likelihood of self-reported depression (odds ratio 57.4, P = .01). Conclusion Allograft nerve repair significantly reduces the likelihood of postbiopsy worsened neuropathic pain compared to standard techniques. Neuropathic pain significantly impacts quality of life after nerve biopsy, and this is the first technique to demonstrate a significant reduction in neuropathic pain while maintaining the ability to harvest an adequate nerve specimen.
High-Resolution Observations of the North Pacific Transition Layer from a Lagrangian Float

A crucial region of the ocean surface boundary layer (OSBL) is the strongly-sheared and -stratified transition layer (TL) separating the mixed layer from the upper pycnocline, where a diverse range of waves and instabilities are possible. Previous work suggests that these different waves and instabilities will lead to different OSBL behaviours. Therefore, understanding which physical processes occur is key for modelling the TL. Here we present observations of the TL from a Lagrangian float deployed for 73 days near Ocean Weather Station Papa (50°N, 145°W) during Fall 2018. The float followed the vertical motion of the TL, continuously measuring profiles across it using an ADCP, temperature chain and salinity sensors. The temperature chain made depth/time images of TL structures with a resolution of 6cm and 3 seconds. These showed the frequent occurrence of very sharp interfaces, dominated by temperature jumps of O(1)°C over 6cm or less. Temperature inversions were typically small (≲10cm), frequent, and strongly-stratified; very few large overturns were observed. The corresponding velocity profiles varied over larger length scales than the temperature profiles. These structures are consistent with Holmboe-like scouring behaviour rather than Kelvin-Helmholtz-type overturning. Their net effect, estimated via a Thorpe-scale analysis, suggests that these frequent small temperature inversions can account for the observed mixed layer deepening and entrainment flux. Corresponding estimates of dissipation, diffusivity, and heat fluxes also agree with previous TL studies, suggesting that the TL dynamics is dominated by these nearly continuous 10cm-scale mixing structures, rather than by less frequent larger overturns.
The Lim-O: An exercise in market failure and vertical integration

Vertical integration and more generally, corporate-level strategy, are rather difficult for students to grasp, being such abstract concepts. This exercise provides a way for participants to experie...
Performance and Development of a Thin Stock Market

We estimate historical stock returns for Swedish listed companies in a newly constructed data set of daily stock prices. Stock returns exhibit all familiar characteristics. There is little trading in the past, and we examine the effects on return measurement from missing data. Stock selection and the replacement of missing transaction prices through search back procedures or limit orders make little difference to a value-weighted stock price index, while ignoring the price effects of capital operations makes a big difference. We also study stock market development. The growth of the public sector depresses the stock market, and the process of globalization revitalizes it. Banks play an important role in the early development of the stock market. The evolution of stock ownership implies that stock ownership is a normal good.
Laser Refrigeration of Sodium Yttrium Fluoride Nanoparticles in a Vacuum Optical Tweezer

Laser refrigeration of rare-earth doped optically levitated nanoparticles allows for cooling of 42 K. Cooling is calibrated using a cryostat. Cooling efficiency decreases at pressures below 5 mbar as thermal contact with gas molecules decreases.
'Hanging by A Thread': A D’var Torah on Parshat Lech Lecha

Readers of the Book of Genesis have come to take for granted that the primordial history of the Jews begins with a single pair of founders – Abraham and Sarah – and then passes through a very narrow line of successions – to Isaac and Rebekah and then Jacob and his wives – before it finally spreads out to an entire family that eventually becomes the large nation that leaves Egypt in the second founding story told in the Book of Exodus. Less clear, though, is why this should be. One Midrashic tradition, after all, claims – not implausibly in the light of the history of religious movements – that Abraham and Sarah gathered converts from the very start. And even if the narrative must focus on genealogical inheritance, why wait until the fourth generation before an entire cohort of siblings can share a single familial and then national identity? This talk suggests several possible explanations. The first is social and arguably feminist. The second is theological. The third is existential. Abraham and Sarah and a select few of their immediate descendants were for a time the only Jews on Earth, and the future of the whole enterprise hung by a thread. There is surely a lesson in this, and even an experiential imperative.
Businesses and Disasters: Vulnerability, Impacts, and Recovery

As units of analysis in disaster research, businesses have only recently begun to be studied. Far more research has been conducted on public sector organizations such as local emergency management agencies, public safety agencies, and other governmental organizations. Researchers studying the economic impacts of disasters have tended to focus on units of analysis that are larger than individual firms and enterprises, such as community and regional economies. Until fairly recently, very little was known regarding such topics as business vulnerability, loss-reduction measures adopted by businesses, disaster impacts on businesses, and business recovery. Systematic research was lacking despite the singular importance of businesses for society. Private businesses provide a vast array of goods and services that literally make life possible in our complex global economy. A recent governmental report on the U.S. critical infrastructure points out that “[t]he lion’s share of our critical infrastructures and key assets are owned and operated by the private sector” (White House, 2003, p. 32)1. Businesses are the foundation of local, regional, and national economies; when businesses are affected by disasters, that disruption produces not only direct business losses, but also indirect losses and economic ripple effects. Destruction of and damage to businesses, along with disaster-related closures, result in the loss of jobs, negatively affecting incomes and creating even greater challenges for households, neighborhoods, and communities as they attempt to recover from disasters. After disasters, business owners face a host of challenges, including how to finance business recovery, and often how to cope simultaneously with damage to both business and residential property. Disasters can produce both psychological distress and additional debt burdens for business owners. At the community level, business destruction and damage can result in lost tax revenues for communities and can undermine the viability of business and commercial districts.
SU-F-303-17: Real Time Dose Calculation of MRI Guided Co-60 Radiotherapy Treatments On Free Breathing Patients, Using a Motion Model and Fast Monte Carlo Dose Calculation

Purpose: To demonstrate real-time dose calculation of free-breathing MRI guided Co−60 treatments, using a motion model and Monte-Carlo dose calculation to accurately account for the interplay between irregular breathing motion and an IMRT delivery. Methods: ViewRay Co-60 dose distributions were optimized on ITVs contoured from free-breathing CT images of lung cancer patients. Each treatment plan was separated into 0.25s segments, accounting for the MLC positions and beam angles at each time point. A voxel-specific motion model derived from multiple fast-helical free-breathing CTs and deformable registration was calculated for each patient. 3D images for every 0.25s of a simulated treatment were generated in real time, here using a bellows signal as a surrogate to accurately account for breathing irregularities. Monte-Carlo dose calculation was performed every 0.25s of the treatment, with the number of histories in each calculation scaled to give an overall 1% statistical uncertainty. Each dose calculation was deformed back to the reference image using the motion model and accumulated. The static and real-time dose calculations were compared. Results: Image generation was performed in real time at 4 frames per second (GPU). Monte-Carlo dose calculation was performed at approximately 1frame per second (CPU), giving a total calculation time of approximately 30 minutes per treatment. Results show both cold- and hot-spots in and around the ITV, and increased dose to contralateral lung as the tumor moves in and out of the beam during treatment. Conclusion: An accurate motion model combined with a fast Monte-Carlo dose calculation allows almost real-time dose calculation of a free-breathing treatment. When combined with sagittal 2D-cine-mode MRI during treatment to update the motion model in real time, this will allow the true delivered dose of a treatment to be calculated, providing a useful tool for adaptive planning and assessing the effectiveness of gated treatments.
A Proposed Neurological Interpretation of Language Evolution

Since the very beginning of the aphasia history it has been well established that there are two major aphasic syndromes (Wernicke's-type and Broca's-type aphasia); each one of them is related to the disturbance at a specific linguistic level (lexical/semantic and grammatical) and associated with a particular brain damage localization (temporal and frontal-subcortical). It is proposed that three stages in language evolution could be distinguished: (a) primitive communication systems similar to those observed in other animals, including nonhuman primates; (b) initial communication systems using sound combinations (lexicon) but without relationships among the elements (grammar); and (c) advanced communication systems including word-combinations (grammar). It is proposed that grammar probably originated from the internal representation of actions, resulting in the creation of verbs; this is an ability that depends on the so-called Broca's area and related brain networks. It is suggested that grammar is the basic ability for the development of so-called metacognitive executive functions. It is concluded that while the lexical/semantic language system (vocabulary) probably appeared during human evolution long before the contemporary man (Homo sapiens sapiens), the grammatical language historically represents a recent acquisition and is correlated with the development of complex cognition (metacognitive executive functions).
Correlated Equilibrium, Public Signaling and Absorbing Games

An absorbing game is a repeated game where some of the action combinations are absorbing, in the sense that whenever they are played, there is a positive probability that the game terminates, and the players receive some terminal payoff at every future stage. We prove that every n-player absorbing game admits a correlated equilibrium. In other words, for every epsilon>0 there exits a probability distribution p (epsilon subscript) over the space of pure strategy profiles such that if a pure strategy profile is chosen according to p (epsilon subscript) and each player is informed of his pure strategy, no player can profit more than epsilon in any sufficiently long game by deviating from the recommended strategy.
Immune Thrombocytopenia in Lymphoproliferative Diseases

We have studied the thrombocytopenia of lymphoproliferative disorders using a measurement of membrane-bound IgG by an antiglobulin consumption assay. Nine patients with chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) and thrombocytopenia had increased membrane-bound IgG. Two patients with non-Hodgkins lymphoma and 1 patient with Hodgkins disease also had thrombocytopenia and increased membrane-bound IgG. Five of the patients with CLL had positive direct antiglobulin (Coombs) tests on red cells; of these, 3 patients had hemolytic anemia. In eight of the 9 patients with CLL, thrombocytopenia, and increased platelet-bound-IgG, the platelet count increased with the administration of prednisone or an alkylating agent, with splenectomy, or with a combination of these.
Credit Default Swaps and Moral Hazard in Bank Lending

We analyze whether introducing Credit Default Swaps (CDSs) on a borrower's debt leads to lender moral hazard around covenant violations, wherein lending banks can terminate or accelerate the loan. Using a regression discontinuity design, we show that CDS firms, including those with agency problems, do not decrease their investment after covenant violations. However, they pay a higher loan spread, perform poorly, but do not go bankrupt at a higher rate when compared with non-CDS firms that violate covenants. These results are magnified when lenders have weaker incentives to monitor and suggest that introducing CDSs misaligns incentives between lenders and borrowers.
Risky Business: Willingness to Pay for Disaster Preparedness

A primary government responsibility is ensuring citizen safety and security. Individuals share responsibility for their own protection, but research shows they are typically under-prepared. Despite a growing literature, broad gaps remain in our understanding of people's preparedness choices. This paper focuses on two empirical objectives: understanding people's assessments of the risks they face and their preparedness to meet them, and examining the extent to which people are willing to pay to improve community-level preparedness and individual household preparedness. These objectives are grounded in descriptive analysis of people's perceptions of risk and preparedness. The analysis draws on two original national random surveys of household decision-makers. The findings yield insight into people's support for preparedness and potential response to incentive programs that can inform more effective program designs.
Genes encoding high-molecular-weight adhesion proteins of nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae are part of gene clusters.

Abstract We previously reported the cloning and sequencing of genes designated hmw1 and hmw2 from a prototype nontypeable Haemophilus influenzae strain. The genes encode proteins which are related to filamentous hemagglutinin of Bordetella pertussis and promote attachment of the nontypeable H. influenzae strain to human epithelial cells (J. W. St. Geme III, S. Falkow, and S. J. Barenkamp, Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 90:2875-2879, 1993). Subcloning studies suggested that correct processing of these high-molecular-weight proteins required the products of additional downstream genes. In the present study we analyzed the 3'-flanking regions of the hmw1A and hmw2A structural genes and found that both genes are flanked by two additional downstream open reading frames (ORFs), designated B and C, respectively. The B ORFs are 1,635 bp long. Their derived amino acid sequences are 99% identical and demonstrate similarity to the derived amino acid sequences of two genes that encode proteins required for secretion and activation of hemolysins of Proteus mirabilis and Serratia marcescens. The C ORFs are 1,950 bp long, and their derived amino acid sequences are 96% identical. In Escherichia coli transformants, interruption of the hmw1C or both the hmw1B and hmw1C genes resulted in defective processing of the hmw1A structural gene product and loss of the ability of the transformants to adhere to human epithelial cells. The precise interactions of the proteins encoded by these gene clusters are yet to be defined, but their elucidation may further our understanding of the biology of nontypeable H. influenzae bacteria and the interaction of these organisms with the human host.
Multiculturalism and Economic Education

As economic educators part of our role is to communicate the importance of providing every student with a basic understanding of the principles of economics because economic fundamentals help students to develop the knowledge and skills they need to become productive citizens. However, despite the importance of understanding economics many students sly a way from the discipline because of the difficulty of the subject matter. Thus effectively communicating economic information to students is critically important and as demographic conditions continue to dramatically shift in the United States helping students to grasp economic concepts is becoming more of a challenge. Given a rapidly changing demographic environment this article provides economic educators with a series of recommendations for responding to the multicultural needs of their students. "Cultural values and beliefs are at the center of students' responses to teachers' strategies and of students' own attempts to engage in and influence interactions in the classroom" (Rothstein-Fisch & Trumbull, 2008, p. xiii). Recognizing the importance of multiculturalism and incorporating effective teaching methodologies in the classroom is a vital component of the learning process and in the final analysis, student achievement is what education should be all about.
Real-time, single-particle measurements of oligomers in aged ambient aerosol particles.

Unique high mass negative ions in the −200 to −400 mass/charge range with repetitive spacings of 12, 14, and 16 units, representative of oligomeric species, have been detected in single ambient submicrometer aerosol particles using real-time single-particle mass spectrometry during the Study of Organic Aerosols field campaign conducted in Riverside, CA (SOAR) in August and November 2005. These oligomer-containing particles represented 33−40% of the total detected particles and contained other indicators of aging including oxidized organic carbon, amine, nitrate, and sulfate ion markers. Overall, the highest mass oligomeric patterns were observed in small acidic 140−200 nm particles in the summer. Also during the summer, increased oligomer intensities were observed when the particles were heated with a thermodenuder. We hypothesize that heat removed semivolatile species, thereby increasing particle acidity, while concentrating the oligomeric precursors and accelerating oligomer formation. Differences in ol...
Language Isn’t for People: On Applying Theoretical Linguistics to Practical Problems:

This article presents evidence that many of the assumptions which underlie a great deal of work in the mainstream of modern linguistics are unsound and that the work itself is at best of only indirect value to educators, psychologists, and others who are interested in the various problems connected with language behavior. It is suggested that the efforts of most linguists who are working in the Chomsky paradigm do not yield nor are likely to yield psychologically appealing results. Linguists have tended to be too concerned with internal validity at the expense of external validity. The first section of this paper, on competence and performance, attempts to show how this imbalance leads to basic problems in an attempt to characterize sentence comprehension and results in an account which appears to ignore the fact that language is for people. The following section, on the distinction between grammaticality and acceptability, advances arguments that even the internal validity is suspect by suggesting that generative grammars cannot avoid generating grammatical sentences that could not conceivably be acceptable while at the same time failing to generate acceptable sentences which are ungrammatical. The grammars not only fail on Chomsky's original notion of adequacy but also, it
In vitro replication and transcription of the segmented double-stranded RNA bacteriophage φ6

Abstract In vitro conditions that support viral-specific replication and transcription have been developed from Pseudomonas phaseolicola cells infected with the segmented double-stranded RNA bacteriophage φ6. Transcription activity, previously shown to occur by semiconservative strand displacement, labeled (+) strands of all three genome segments and produced all three corresponding genome length messenger RNAs. Replication activity for each of the three double-stranded RNA segments is observed. Our criteria for replication were formation of genomic length double-stranded RNA products and at least (-) strand synthesis activity. Mn 2+ and Sarkosyl together selectively inhibited transcription. Analysis of replication alone suggested that replication templates are the viral (+) messenger RNAs.
Conformational Heterogeneity at Position U37 of an All-RNA Hairpin Ribozyme with Implications for Metal Binding and the Catalytic Structure of the S-Turn.

The hairpin ribozyme is an RNA enzyme that performs site-specific phosphodiester bond cleavage between nucleotides A−1 and G+1 within its cognate substrate. Previous functional studies revealed that the minimal hairpin ribozyme exhibited “gain-of-function” cleavage properties resulting from U39C or U39 to propyl linker (C3) modifications. Furthermore, each “mutant” displayed different magnesium-dependence in its activity. To investigate the molecular basis for these gain-of-function variants, crystal structures of minimal, junctionless hairpin ribozymes were solved in native (U39), and mutant U39C and U39(C3) forms. The results revealed an overall molecular architecture comprising two docked internal loop domains folded into a wishbone shape, whose tertiary interface forms a sequestered active site. All three minimal hairpin ribozymes bound Co(NH3)63+ at G21/A40, the E-loop/S-turn boundary. The native structure also showed that U37 of the S-turn adopts both sequestered and exposed conformations that diffe...
Preventing high school maladjustment: Effectiveness of professional and cross-age behavioral group counseling

The effectiveness of behavioral group counseling in preventing and remediating maladjustment of ninth grade students was studied in a public high school. Behavioral group counseling was provided to ninth graders by experienced school counselors and by twelfth grade students. Results suggested that behavioral group counseling may be a cost-effective approach. When compared to a group of ninth graders who received the school's routine counseling services, students receiving group counseling improved their school attendance and grade point average, while reducing their number of disciplinary referrals and referrals for special education. These results reflected no differences between groups receiving counseling from professionals and from older students, and were maintained during a 10-week follow-up period. Qualitative data also are provided reflecting judgments of teachers, counselors, and vice-principal that the behavioral group counseling intervention was a socially worthwhile and practical approach.
Bis(μ-oxo) Dicopper(III) Species of the Simplest Peralkylated Diamine: Enhanced Reactivity toward Exogenous Substrates

N,N,N′,N′-tetramethylethylenediamine (TMED), the simplest and most extensively used peralkylated diamine ligand, is conspicuously absent from those known to form a bis(μ-oxo)dicopper(III) (O) species, [(TMED)2Cu(III)2(μ2-O)2]2+, upon oxygenation of its Cu(I) complex. Presented here is the characterization of this O species and its reactivity toward exogenous substrates. Its formation is complicated both by the instability of the [(TMED)Cu(I)]1+ precursor and by competitive formation of a presumed mixed-valent trinuclear [(TMED)3Cu(III)Cu(II)2(μ3-O)2]3+ (T) species. Under most reaction conditions, the T species dominates, yet, the O species can be formed preferentially (>80%) upon oxygenation of acetone solutions, if the copper concentration is low (<2 mM) and [(TMED)Cu(I)]1+ is prepared immediately before use. The experimental data of this simplest O species provide a benchmark by which to evaluate density functional theory (DFT) computational methods for geometry optimization and spectroscopic prediction...
In Memoriam: Jules Aarons

Recounts the life and career of Dr. Jules Aarons, a pioneer on using satellites to study Earth's ionosphere beginning with the launch of Sputnik. Dr. Jules passed away on November 21, 2008, in Newton, Massachusetts, at the age of 87.
Nondipole effects in soft X-ray photoemission

Abstract Although breakdowns in the dipole approximation in the soft-X-ray photon-energy range (hν keV ) were first observed 30 years ago and have been studied theoretically for many years, their significance at low energies remained generally unappreciated until very recently, when advances in gas-phase-photoemission experiments using synchrotron radiation (SR) began to highlight numerous examples of significant nondipole effects at photon energies as low as tens of eV. This progress report, presented from an experimental perspective, includes a brief history, a description of recent advances, and a look to the future.
Ion Exchange Functional Nanofibers

We have synthesized a series of ion exchange functionalized fibers (IXF) from polystyrene (PS) and polyacrylonitrile (PAN). To obtain strong-acid cation exchange fibers, polystyrene was sulfonated using specific sulfonation protocols. Micron sized fibers (average diameter of 100 m) were then produced from the functionalized polystyrene using a single-screw extruder equipped with a 30 hole spinneret with orifice diameter of 0.5 mm with a precise screw speed of 5 rpm, pump speed of 15 rpm, and with a feed rate of 2.4 cc/min. The extruder zone temperature was kept at 250 – 270 °C. Fiber was drawn at 120 degree with a draw ratio of 2. Electrospinning of functionalized polystyrene was also carried out to produce ultrafine functionalized fibers of 100 nm in average diameter. We have also electrospun polystyrene and polyisoprene blended nanofibers to increase the strength of the resulting blend nanofibers compared to pure PS nanofibers. To synthesize weak-acid cation exchange fibers polyacrylonitrile (PAN) was electrospun and the nanofibers obtained were alkaline hydrolyzed with 2 N NaOH for 20 minutes at room temperature to convert nitrile bonds to carboxylate. Cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the microfibers and nanofibers was determined. Sulfonated PS microfibers show high CEC of 4.0 meq/gm compared to that of nanofibers with 2.5 meq/gm. CEC of blended nanofibers of PS and polyisoprene was 2.0 meq/gm. In case of PAN fibers, nanosized electrospun fibers were found to show a CEC of 1.5 meq/gm. Weak-base anion exchange fiber synthesis was undertaken using appropriate protocol and its CEC was measured. For all IXF synthesized, fiber diameter was measured using SEM, degree of functionalization was qualitatively determined using FTIR and ion exchange capacity was computed after mass balance on a binary exchange system after equilibrium.
Formation of protoplasts from mycobacteria by mycobacteriophage.

SummaryVarious mycobacterial cells were converted to protoplasts by treatment with a mycobacteriophage concentrate. The technic involved production of sufficient adapted phage by growth either in the 607 or H37Ra strains of tubercle bacilli. Further concentration was necessary in order to obtain a sufficiently high phage bacteria ratio. This was accomplished by lyophilization. The significance of the reported findings is discussed.
Binary Morphology and Local Statistics Applied to Iris Segmentation for Recognition

One of the first steps in iris recognition is isolating (or segmenting) the iris from an image of the subject's eye area. This paper investigates new approaches for locating the pupil (inner) and limbic (outer) boundaries of the iris, namely a binary morphology and "center of mass" technique for the pupil boundary, and a local statistics approach for the limbic boundary. The methodology and results are presented using images from the University of Bath iris database.
Congenital Fibrovascular Pupillary Membranes: Clinical and Histopathologic Findings

Purpose To report the clinical and histopathologic findings associated with congenital fibrovascular pupillary membranes. Design Case series. Participants Seven infants were included, 6 with a unilateral congenital pupillary membrane and 1 with classic persistent fetal vasculature (PFV). Methods Patients underwent a membranectomy, pupilloplasty, or lensectomy. Histopathologic examination was performed on the excised membranes. Main Outcome Measures Visual acuity and pupil size. Results Four of the 6 patients with a unilateral congenital pupillary membrane had 1 or more recurrences after a membranectomy and pupilloplasty. The most recent pupil size ranged from 2 to 5 mm in the affected eye. When last tested, the vision in the affected eye was excellent in 4 of the 6 patients. The 2 patients without recurrences of the pupillary membranes underwent multiple iris sphincterotomies at the time of the initial surgery. Histopathologic examination of 2 primary pupillary membranes showed fibrovascular tissue that did not stain for neuron-specific enolase. Smooth muscle actin was only present in vascular walls. In contrast, histopathology of a recurrent pupillary membrane revealed collagenized fibrovascular tissue that was immunoreactive for smooth muscle actin. Finally, histopathology of the retrolenticular membrane excised from an infant with classic PFV was similar to the latter aside from hypercellularity. Conclusions Congenital fibrovascular pupillary membranes in infants are likely a variant of PFV that may recur if incompletely excised. The risk of these membranes recurring may be reduced by excising as much as the membrane as possible and enlarging the pupil with iris sphincterotomies. A lensectomy should be avoided if possible. Financial Disclosure(s) The author(s) have no proprietary or commercial interest in any materials discussed in this article.
Neural substrates for photic control of elasmobranch sexual development and behavior

Brain regions where photic stimuli and reproductive systems may interact in controlling both sexual development and reproductive behavior are considered in detail. Retinal input to the preoptic area and photic stimulation of pineal neural and endocrine systems appear to be major pathways for synchronization of reproductive development with environmental conditions. Both systems most likely influence gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) production and release and the feedback control of these processes via steroid-concentrating cells. In adult elasmo-branchs, perceptions of visual stimuli are potentially important in certain aspects of mating, e.g., mate recognition and analysis of courtship displays, and the neural substrates for the perceptions are most likely conditioned by the hormonal status of the animal. Breeding fish may thus have visual mechanisms affected by synaptic input from GnRH and steroid-concentrating neurons. The central nucleus of the telencephalon (CN) provides high-level visual integration in elasmobranchs. Preoptic, terminal nerve, and perhaps midbrain reticular areas are suggested origins for hormone-related CN afferents. The optic tectum contains GnRH-immunoreactive fibers in a variety of species. Thus, GnRH modulation of visual function probably occurs at this level. Visual centers of the midbrain tegmentum are near both GnRH-immunoreactive and sex-steroid-concentrating neurons. Sensory-hormonal integrative activity within the tegmental units could provide outputs for modulation of activity in both higher visual (e.g., the CN) and lower sex-related sensorimotor systems (e.g., spinal clasper control pathways) through ascending and descending pathways, respectively.
Flux chamber measurements of anomalous CO2 emission from the flanks of Mammoth Mountain, California

The CO2 fluxes involved in the mass mortality of large stands of timber on the flanks of Mammoth Mountain in California's Sierra Nevada were measured and spatial and temporal inhomogeneities observed. Our estimate of the integrated flux over the total area of tree-kill is on the order of 400 t day−1. Small scale spatial variability most likely reflects varying degrees of shallow bedrock fracture and soil compaction. Temporal variability suggests a fast response to subsurface conditions such as seismically induced crack propagation, degassing of intruded magma, or changing groundwater/soil moisture conditions.
Gender, Internet and computer attitudes and experiences

Abstract It is widely assumed that participation by females on the Internet is hampered by their attitudes towards computers, which in turn is reflective of their attitudes towards new technology. Research generally supports that females have less overall experience with computers and are more likely than males to have negative attitudes towards computers. Although limited, research on Internet experiences and attitudes has found parallel gender differences, with females reporting lower levels of experience and more negative attitudes. This paper explores whether Internet and computer experiences, skills and attitudes are related, using evidence from two studies of incoming college students, in 1989/90 and 1997. There were significant gender differences in many computer experiences and attitudes of incoming students in 1989/90. Males were more experienced with computers, more likely to have taken high school courses requiring computer use, and reported higher skill levels in applications such as programming, games and graphics than females. By 1997, incoming students were more experienced with using a computer than the earlier students. However, gender differences in computer experience and skill levels had diminished in some areas. The 1997 survey also assessed Internet experiences, skills, competence and comfort. Students had more exposure to computers than to the Internet. Males were more experienced and reported higher skill levels with the Internet than females, with the exception of e-mail. The overall competency and comfort level for students in 1997 was significantly higher for computers than for the Internet; 19% of the students did not feel competent and/or comfortable with the computer compared to 36% with the Internet, with females reporting higher levels of incompetence and discomfort for both. Competence and comfort levels with the Internet and computers were highly intercorrelated, and both predicted Internet skills and experiences.
Projections of the suprachiasmatic nuclei, subparaventricular zone and retrochiasmatic area in the golden hamster.

Abstract The patterns of projections from the hamster suprachiasmatic nucleus, retrochiasmatic area and subparaventricular hypothalamic zone were examined using anterograde tracing with the plant lectin, Phaseolus vulgaris leucoagglutinin. Suprachiasmatic nucleus efferents comprise four major fiber groups: (i) an anterior projection to the ventral lateral septum, the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis and anterior paraventricular thalmus. (ii) a periventricular hypothalamic projection extending from the preoptic region to the premammillary area. (iii) a lateral thalamic projection to the intergeniculate leaflet and ventral lateral geniculate. (iv) a posterior projection to the posterior paraventricular thalamus, precommissural nucleus and olivary pretectal nucleus. The retrochiasmatic area showed a similar projection pattern with several major exceptions. There are projections to endopiriform cortex, fundus striati, ventral pallidum, horizontal limb of the nucleus of the diagonal band and three separate routes to the amygdala. There are also projections laterally with fibers of the supraoptic commissures, which enter the superior thalamic radiation and innervate the caudal dorsomedial thalamic nuclei. Other fibers traveling with the commissures terminate in the ventral zona incerta. The subparaventricular zone projects to most targets of the suprachiasmatic nucleus, but not to the intergeniculate leaflet. There is a substantial input to both the subparaventricular zone and retrochiasmatic area from the suprachiasmatic nucleus, but little apparent reciprocity. There is extensive overlap of suprachiasmatic nuclei and retrochiasmatic efferents, and between retrochiasmatic and known medial amygdaloid efferents. The anatomical information is discussed in the context of circadian rhythm regulation, photoperiodism and chemosensory pathways controlling male hamster reproductive behavior.
Imaging in orbital trauma

Orbital trauma is one of the most common reasons for ophthalmology specialty consultation in the emergency department setting. We survey the literature from 1990 to present to describe the role of computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and their associated angiography in some of the most commonly encountered orbital trauma conditions. CT orbit can often detect certain types of foreign bodies, lens dislocation, ruptured globe, choroidal or retinal detachments, or cavernous sinus thrombosis and thus complement a bedside ophthalmic exam that can sometimes be limited in the setting of trauma. CT remains the workhorse for acute orbital trauma owing to its rapidity and ability to delineate bony abnormalities; however MRI remains an important modality in special circumstances such as soft tissue assessment or with organic foreign bodies.
Reporting Unethical Research Behavior

Scientists, as professionals, have a responsibility to self-regulate. However, whistleblowing is rare. We investigated scientists' infrequent disclosure of unethical behavior by studying their responses to scenarios describing unethical research acts and compared their responses to those of research administrators. A cross-sectional survey was administered to National Science Foundation-funded principal investigators and their institutions' representatives (IRs) to the Office of Research Integrity. Both scientists and IRs proposed to respond to nearly all research behaviors that they rated as unethical. Scientists more often proposed responses limited to the research team (58% vs. 25% of cases, p < .001) whereas IRs more often proposed to inform an administrator or dean, journal editor, funding agency, professional society, or reporter. The prior behavior and academic rank of the scenario protagonist were associated with responses, but consequences of the unethical behavior were not. Scientists appear to perceive that they uphold their responsibility to respond to unethical behavior by disclosures within the research team, whereas administrators propose to report to externally accountable individuals, raising the question of whether scientists' behavior constitutes professional self-regulation or cover up.
Optogenetic Stimulation of Locus Ceruleus Neurons Augments Inhibitory Transmission to Parasympathetic Cardiac Vagal Neurons via Activation of Brainstem α1 and β1 Receptors

Locus ceruleus (LC) noradrenergic neurons are critical in generating alertness. In addition to inducing cortical arousal, the LC also orchestrates changes in accompanying autonomic system function that compliments increased attention, such as during stress, excitation, and/or exposure to averse or novel stimuli. Although the association between arousal and increased heart rate is well accepted, the neurobiological link between the LC and parasympathetic neurons that control heart rate has not been identified. In this study, we test directly whether activation of noradrenergic neurons in the LC influences brainstem parasympathetic cardiac vagal neurons (CVNs). CVNs were identified in transgenic mice that express channel-rhodopsin-2 (ChR2) in LC tyrosine hydroxylase neurons. Photoactivation evoked a rapid depolarization, increased firing, and excitatory inward currents in ChR2-expressing neurons in the LC. Photostimulation of LC neurons did not alter excitatory currents, but increased inhibitory neurotransmission to CVNs. Optogenetic activation of LC neurons increased the frequency of isolated glycinergic IPSCs by 27 ± 8% (p = 0.003, n = 26) and augmented GABAergic IPSCs in CVNs by 21 ± 5% (p = 0.001, n = 26). Inhibiting α1, but not α2, receptors blocked the evoked responses. Inhibiting β1 receptors prevented the increase in glycinergic, but not GABAergic, IPSCs in CVNs. This study demonstrates LC noradrenergic neurons inhibit the brainstem CVNs that generate parasympathetic activity to the heart. This inhibition of CVNs would increase heart rate and risks associated with tachycardia. The receptors activated within this pathway, α1 and/or β1 receptors, are targets for clinically prescribed antagonists that promote slower, cardioprotective heart rates during heightened vigilant states.
Making sense of two-sided altruism

Abstract Recursive dependence of altruistic utility on the utility of both children and parents is analyzed. Given reasonable restrictions on the extent of altruism, it is shown that in the static steady state of a simple overlapping generations model there will be some interval around the Golden Rule in which the economy responds to marginal changes just as would a Diamond economy. Dynamic inefficiency cannot be ruled out even in the presence of two-sided altruism. When per-capita income and consumption are growing at a constant rate, the gift motive can insure dynamic efficiency for some parameter values.
Preferential Attachment Random Graphs with General Weight Function

Start with graph G 0 ≡ {V 1, V 2} with one edge connecting the two vertices V 1, V 2. Now create a new vertex V 3 and attach it (i.e., add an edge) to V 1 or V 2 with equal probability. Set G 1 ≡ {V 1, V 2, V 3}. Let G n ≡ {V 1, V 2, . . . , V n+2} be the graph after n steps, n ≥ 0. For each i, 1 ≤ i ≤ n+2, let d n (i) be the number of vertices in G n to which V i is connected. Now create a new vertex V n+3 and attach it to V i in G n with probability proportional to w(d n (i)), 1 ≤ i ≤ n+2, where w(·) is a function from N ≡ {1, 2, 3, . . .} to (0,∞). In this paper, some results on behavior of the degree sequence {d n (i)} n≥1,i≥1 and the empirical distribution are derived. Our results indicate that the much discussed power-law growth of d n (i) and power law decay of hold essentially only when the weight function w(·) is asymptotically linear. For example, if w(x) = cx 2 then for i ≥ 1, lim n d n (i) exists and is finite with probability (w.p.) 1 and , and if w(x) = cx p, 1/2 < p < 1 then for i ≥ 1, d n ...
Fractography Used to Identify Defective 0° Graphite/Epoxy Specimens

Test results on composite materials are frequently plagued by a few inexplicably low or otherwise anomalous results. Even though the researcher may suspect that there was some type of undetected flaw, scientific honesty dictates that, without further evidence, the data remain in the statistical results. This problem is particularly common for 0° and 90° unidirectional laminates, where the statistical deviations introduced by these “anomalies” may overwhelm any changes introduced by the variables of actual interest.