cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Changes in Air Force Fitness Measurements Pre- and Post-Childbirth

ABSTRACTU.S. Air Force (USAF) personnel are required to take periodic fitness assessments with minimum requirements to earn satisfactory performance evaluations. Active duty women are exempt from fitness testing during pregnancy and until 6 months postpartum. Although there is evidence that many women do not achieve prepregnancy fitness levels by 6 months postpartum, no published studies were found that evaluated changes in fitness measurements and assessment pass rates in active duty USAF women after childbirth. The purpose of this study was to compare USAF fitness assessment component measurements and overall pass rates at 6 months postpartum to prepregnancy measurements. A paired t-test analysis of fitness component measurements of 107 active duty women showed significantly larger abdominal circumferences, fewer push-up repetitions, and longer run times at 6 months postpartum when compared to prepregnancy assessments. No significant difference was found in sit-up measurements. Secondly, there was a sig...
Prognostic significance of unexplained elevated amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein.

Objective To compare the prognostic values of unexplained elevated amniotic fluid alpha-fetoprotein (AF AFP ≥22.0 multiples of the median [MoM]) and unexplained elevated maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein (MSAFP ≥22.5 MoM). Methods: We accessed a data base containing the results of MSAFP screening tests, genetic amniocenteses, and pregnancy outcome data on all women undergoing secondtrimester generic amniocentesis from October 1988 through August 1994. After excluding all patients whose elevated AFP levels had any identifiable cause (positive AF acerylcholinesterase, AF blood contamination, fetal malformation or aneuploidy, multiple gestation, etc), 5743 cases were analyzed. Relative risks (RR) for selected pregnancy complications were determined. Results Elevated MSAFP, with any AF AFP, was associated with fetal growth restriction (RR 2.5, 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.4–4.4), stillbirth (RR 3.5, 95% CI 1.4–8.3), preeclampsia (RR 2.8, 95% CI 1.1–7.0), and preterm delivery (RR 2.8, 95% CI 2.3–3.4). Elevated AF AFP, with any MSAFP, was associated with preeclampsia (RR 4.4, 95% CI 2.0–10.0) and preterm delivery (RR 1.7, 95% CI 1.3–2.4). Elevation of both AF AFP and MSAFP was associated with preterm delivery (RR 4.0, 95% CI 2.8–5.7). When elevated AF AFP was found in association with a normal MSAFP, the RR to develop preeclampsia was 4.6 (95% CI 1.9–11.2). Conclusion Maternal serum alpha-fetoprotein is a better predictor of late pregnancy complications than AF AFP. However, unexplained elevated AF AFP appears to be especially predictive of preeclampsia.
Using Swirl Dies To Spin Solid and Hollow Fibers

A swirl die was used to produce both solid and hollow fibers from polypropylene. In a swirl die, the molten polymer stream is attenuated and directed (swirled) by a concentric ring of air jets. In our experiments, the ring contained six air jets. The effects of air flow rate, polymer flow rate, air temperature, and polymer temperature were examined. The fiber diameter, swirl pattern diameter, and swirl frequency were measured. To spin hollow fibers, a lumen fluid (nitrogen) was injected into the polymer as the polymer exited the spinning die. The effects of fiber hollowness on the die operation and resulting swirled fiber were determined. A significant finding is that spinning hollow fibers (versus solid fibers) allows production of fibers with larger diameters and higher swirl frequencies. The results of these two improvements are that, for adhesive bonding processes, the bond strength is increased and the line speed can be increased.
Assessing individual social capital capacity: The development and validation of a network accessibility scale

Any organization that is able to promote the importance of increased levels of social capital and individuals who can leverage and use the resources that exist within the network may experience higher levels of performance. This study sought to add to our knowledge about individuals' accessing social resources for the purpose of accomplishing goals. An instrument was developed using factor analysis and yielded a seven-factor construct: information gathering, initiating contact, network spanning, confidence, assertiveness, flexibility, and communication preference. The study concludes with suggestions for further development of the instrument, as well as practical applications for practitioners.
Nucleation of Phase Separation in 3He–4He Mixtures

We report here preliminary results of experiments designed to study nucleation of phase separation in metastable thermodynamic states of liquid 3He-4He mixtures under a wide range of conditions. In addition to making some interesting qualitative observations we have been able to measure apparent lifetimes of metastable states in six solutions with mole fractions of 3He in the range 0.22 ≤x ≤0.611. In a closed container each of these solutions could be supercooled below the temperature at which it would normally phase separate (T ps) until a temperature interval less than 200µ°K wide was reached in which the apparent lifetime of the metastable state decreased more than a factor of 25 to less than 10 sec. This temperature interval occurs at much smaller supercoolings than that predicted by a classical model of homogeneous nucleation. Nevertheless, the abruptness of the decrease in lifetimes suggests the onset of some definite, temperature-dependent nucleation process. We speculate that this process is an inhomogeneous one, such as nucleation by negative ions. Our work was stimulated by two earlier experiments1,2 in which dilute solutions of liquid 3He in 4He were observed to remain in metastable states for times on the order of hours. Both of these earlier experiments were designed to study other phenomena, thus it happened that metastability was observed only below 0.1°K in solutions only slightly more concentrated than the maximum solubility of 3He in 4He at zero temperature (x ≈ 0.065).
Unsymmetrical β-diketones, monothio-β-diketones and their nickel(II) and cobalt(III) complexes

Unsymmetrically substituted β-diketones, RCOCH2COR′ (R and R′ = aryl) have been synthesized and used to prepare their monothio-β-diketone derivatives. Because of the similar basicities of the carbonyl oxygen due to the electronic effects of the R and R′ groups, a mixture of the monothio-β-diketones, RCSCH2COR′ and R′CSCH2-COR, is formed. Several of the monothio-β-diketones have been used to prepare their corresponding NiII and CoII complexes. Mass spectral and 13C-n.m.r. data are used to confirm the formation of isomers of the monothio-β-diketonate ligands and their metal complexes.
Phytofiltration of hazardous metal ions by alfalfa: a study of calcium and magnesium interferences

Abstract Previous batch laboratory experiments performed to determine the potential ability of seven different varieties of Medicago sativa (Alfalfa, African variety) revealed that the shoots tissue-derived population was able to efficiently bind copper(II) and nickel(II) from aqueous solutions. Batch laboratory interference studies were performed with various calcium and magnesium concentrations (0.1 mM–1 M) in order to ascertain the effects of these ions on the heavy metal binding ability of African alfalfa shoots. Results from these studies have shown that calcium and magnesium did not seriously reduce the binding of copper(II), lead(II), to African alfalfa shoot tissues. However, high concentrations of calcium and magnesium, to some extent, reduced chromium(III), cadmium(II), nickel(II), and zinc(II) binding to African shoot tissues. In addition, all these experiments were repeated maintaining constant ionic strength, and similar results were obtained. Interference studies were also conducted in order to determine the effects of hard cations under flow conditions with silica immobilized African alfalfa shoots. Column experiments under flow conditions produced similar results than batch laboratory experiments. The information obtained from these studies will be useful for an innovative method to remove and recover heavy metal ions from contaminated waters.
MPEG-7 video automatic labeling system

In this demo, we show a novel end-to-end video automatic labeling system, which accepts MPEG-1 sequence inputs and generates MPEG-7 XML metadata files. Detections are based on the prior established anchor models. This system has two parts: model training process and labeling process. They are comprised of seven modules: Shot Segmentation, Region Segmentation, Annotation, Feature Extraction, Model Learning, Classification, and XML Rendering.
Dietary protein and energy modifications to maximize compensatory growth of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus)

A feeding trial was conducted to evaluate influences of dietary protein and energy modifications as well as indispensable amino acid supplementation on channel catfish growth and body composition during compensatory growth. Four diets were formulated to contain 32% or 37% crude protein and were maintained isocaloric at an estimated digestible energy (DE) level of 3.0 or 3.6 kcal/g; a fifth diet was formulated to be equal to the diet containing 32% crude protein and 3.0 kcal DE/g but with the addition of an indispensable amino acid supplement at 5% of diet. Each of the five experimental diets was fed to channel catfish initially weighing 17 g for 6 weeks using either satiate feeding (control) or not feeding for 3 days then feeding to apparent satiation for the next 11 days in three cycles. Weight gain of channel catfish was significantly (P < 0.05) affected by dietary treatment with a dietary energy level of 3.6 kcal DE/g enhancing weight gain. Cumulative weight gain also was increased in fish fed diets containing 37% crude protein compared to those fed diets containing 32% protein or the diet supplemented with amino acids. Compensatory growth was observed in response to the restricted feeding regime. Feed consumption was affected by dietary protein level and feeding regime. Fish fed diets containing amino acid supplementation and 37% protein reduced cumulative feed consumption compared to fish fed the diets with 32% protein. Fish on the restricted feeding regime had reduced feed consumption compared to satiate fed fish. Feed efficiency was improved in fish fed the high-energy diets and those fed the diet with 37% protein. Fish on the restricted feeding regime also had improved cumulative feed efficiency compared to fish fed daily to apparent satiation. Hepatosomatic index at the end of the experiment was altered by feeding regime, while intraperitoneal fat ratio was elevated by feeding higher dietary energy. Composition of liver and muscle was only slightly altered by dietary treatment. Therefore, the restricted feeding regime was capable of inducing elevated growth rates during refeeding but the dietary manipulations did not augment growth rates.
Earth Albedo Input to Flat Plates

Determination of the solar radiation, reflected by the earth, which is incident on a spinning flat plate
Circular discs containing eigenvalues of normal matrices

Abstract We give an inclusion theorem for the eigenvalues of a normal matrix using discs similar to the Gerschgorin discs. This theorem is used to obtain bounds on the eigenvalues of Jordan products, and a variant of Kantorovich's inequality for normal matrices.
Scanning two-photon microscopy with upconverting lanthanide nanoparticles via Richardson-Lucy deconvolution

The use of upconverting lanthanide nanoparticles in fast-scanning microscopy is hindered by a long luminescence decay time, which greatly blurs images acquired in a nondescanned mode. We demonstrate herein an image processing method based on Richardson-Lucy deconvolution that mitigates the detrimental effects of their luminescence lifetime. This technique generates images with lateral resolution on par with the system's perfor- mance, ∼1.2 μm, while maintaining an axial resolution of 5 μm or better at a scan rate comparable with traditional two-photon microscopy. Remarkably, this can be accomplished with near infrared excitation power densities of 850 W∕cm 2 , several orders of magnitude below those used in two-photon imaging with molecular fluorophores. By way of illustration, we introduce the use of lipids to coat and functionalize these nanoparticles, rendering them water dispersible and readily conjugated to biologically relevant ligands, in this case epidermal growth factor recep- tor antibody. This deconvolution technique combined with the functionalized nanoparticles will enable three- dimensional functional tissue imaging at exceptionally low excitation power densities. © 2012 Society of Photo-Optical
The Relationship Context: Its Effects on Low‐Income Women’s Desire for a Baby

Little is known about the influence of relationship characteristics on a woman’s desire for a baby with her partner. This study addresses that gap, using data from a study of 1,114 low-income women in the southeast who were in a relationship. Controlling for sociodemographic factors, women who were in more established relationships, who had not had a previous child with their partner, or who had higher expectations of their partner were generally more likely to want a baby with him. In investigating women’s childbearing desires, it is important to consider not only individual characteristics but also women’s relationship characteristics.
Extracting the basal extracellular dopamine concentrations from the evoked responses: Re-analysis of the dopamine kinetics

Fast-scan cyclic voltammetry in conjunction with carbon fiber microelectrode has been used to study dopamine (DA) release and uptake mechanisms in rat brains because of the smaller size of the electrode and the subsecond resolution. Current voltammetry data were analyzed by a DA kinetic model assuming a zero baseline, which is in conflict with existing microdialysis findings and a recent claim of the striatal extracellular DA concentration at micromolar levels. This work applied a new analysis approach based on a modified DA kinetic model to analyze the kinetics of electrically evoked DA overflow in the caudate-putamen of anesthetized rats. The DA uptake parameters were fitted from the electrical stimulation phase, and subsequently used to calculate theoretical DA uptake rates. Comparison of the theoretical uptake rates with experimental clearance rates allows for the study of the tonic DA release process following electrical stimulations. Analyses of DA voltammetry data suggest that the locally averaged basal level of extracellular DA in the rat striatum might be confined between 95 and 220 nM. The disparate time scales in the clearance kinetics of endogenous and exogenous DA were investigated. Long-distance diffusion could only partially explain the slow clearance time course of exogenous DA. Model simulations and parameter analyses on evoked DA responses indicate that suppression of the nonevoked DA release process immediately following electrical stimulation cannot completely account for the rapid clearance of the electrically evoked DA. Inconsistency in the measured uptake strengths in the literature studying endogenous and exogenous DA remains to be investigated in the future.
The effects of circumferential pressure on the soleus muscle F-wave in healthy subjects☆

Abstract Circumferential pressure (CP) was shown to decrease muscle activity in subjects without neuromuscular disorders and in individuals with spinal cord injury and cerebrovascular accidents. The mechanism for this decrease is unknown although it is hypothesized to be spinal in origin. The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect CP has on the soleus F-wave. Results will help determine the mechanism CP uses to effect motoneuron reflex excitability. Thirty-seven healthy volunteers participated. A 16cm air-splint was placed around the calf and during the pressure phase of the experiment it was inflated to 40–45mm Hg. F-waves were evoked by supra maximally stimulating (20%>Mmax) the tibial nerve with a 0.1ms pulse at 0.2Hz using a bipolar surface electrode on the skin of the popliteal fossa. Fifty F-waves were recorded before (baseline), during, and 3) after CP was applied. F-waves were then identified and mean latency, persistence, and mean F/Mmax amplitude ratios were measured and calculated. Friedman Repeated Measures on Ranks tests were conducted on each of the three parameters ( p ⩽0.05). No statistically significant difference was found for any of the F-wave parameters evaluated. These results were contrary to previous CP studies that observed a significant decrease in muscle activity. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.
Phase-shifting effect of triazolam on the hamster's circadian rhythm of activity is not mediated by a change in body temperature.

Abstract Treatment with the short-acting benzodiazepine, triazolam (Tz), 6 h before activity onset (CT 6) induces large phase advances in the circadian rhythm of locomotor activity in golden hamsters free-running in constant lighting conditions. These phase shifts are associated with acute increases in locomotor activity. The acute increases in activity appear to be necessary for induction of phase shifts in the activity rhythm by Tz, since suppression of this activity by restraining the animal blocks the phase shifts normally induced by Tz.Furthermore, other stimuli which induce an acute increase in locomotor activity phase shift the circadian clock in a similar manner as does Tz. Since increased locomotor activity is associated with a rise in body temperature in mammals, and changes in temperature have been associated with changes in circadian rhythms, this study was designed to determine whether the phase-shifting effect of Tz on the circadian clock could be mediated by the change in body temperature resulting from the induced acute increase in locomotor activity. Hamsters free-running in constant light (LL) were implanted with Mini-Mitter biotelemetry devices and either injected with Tz at CT 6, injected with Tz at CT 6 and restrained for the next 6 h, or restrained for 6 h beginning at CT 6. Treatment with Tz resulted in large phase advances in the activity rhythm, while the other two treatments did not induce phase advances. Mean body temperature increased over control levels for all 3 groups during most of the 6 h following the beginning of treatment, and there were no significant differences in body temperature changes between any pairs of groups. These results indicate that the phase shifts in the circadian rhythm of activity induced by Tz are not mediated by the resulting increase in body temperature, since: (1) restraint alone from CT 6 to CT 12 induces an increase in body temperature but does not induce phase shifts in the activity rhythm; and (2) restraint blocks Tz-induced phase shifts but not the increase in body temperature.
Fluid trapping in postmortem guinea pig lungs

To examine severe bronchoconstriction obstructing airways in the fluid-filled postmortem guinea pig lung, lungs were infused and deflated with isotonic solution following exsanguination. Guinea pigs were classified into 2 groups: young and mature, and each group was further classified into 2 subgroups: those receiving saline (Ca2+-free) and Tyrode’s (Ca2+-containing) solutions. Each subgroup consisted of 7–8 animals. No significant change in total lung capacity from the baseline (prior to exsanguination) air value was observed in any subgroup within the experimental period of 60 min. However, both deflation volume (DV) and inflation volume (IV) decreased gradually with time; these decreases were larger in the saline-filled lungs than those of lungs infused with Tyrode’s solution at 20–30 min. In the Tyrode’s solution-filled lungs, larger decreases in DV and IV were found in the mature animals than in the young animals at 15–20 min. Trapped fluid volume (VT) increased gradually with time and reached mean values ranging from 9.1 to 11.5 times the baseline value at 60 min. No significant difference in VT between subgroups was observed. At any given time in all animals, the increase in VT was always equal to or larger than the decrease in DV or IV. Fluid cuffing around vessels and airways was demonstrated in the saline, but not in the air-filled lung. The data suggest that severe bronchoconstriction obstructing airways did not occur in postmortem fluid-filled guinea pig lungs. Dilution of mediators may be responsible for eliminating postmortem severe airway spasm and swelling of interstitium may induce the temporal increase in trapped volume in the fluid-filled lung.
Experimental and theoretical studies of charge transfer and hydride transfer in the reactions of OD+ and C2H4

We present a crossed beam and density functional theory (DFT) study of the dynamics of charge transfer and hydride transfer in collisions of OD + with C2H4 at relative collision energies between 19.3 and 102 kJ mol −1 (0.20–1.06 eV). Charge transfer to form C2H4 + is a direct process occurring through large impact parameters. A comparison of the internal energy distributions of reaction products with the photoelectron spectrum of C2H4 is consistent with a Franck–Condon picture for long distance electron transfer. Charge transfer with H/D rearrangement to form C2H3D + + OH does not occur, unlike the related system D2O + +C 2H4, in which comparable amounts of C2H4 + and C2H3D + are observed. This difference is accounted for by the significantly smaller proton affinity of OH relative to H 2O. Reactive processes are initiated by the formation of a protonated oxirane triplet diradical, which undergoes intersystem crossing to the singlet manifold. Formation of C 2H3 + + HOD, nominally a hydride transfer reaction, is shown to occur at the lowest collision energy through transient singlet intermediates in which the timescale for rate-limiting hydrogen atom migration corresponds to a significant fraction of a rotational period. Formation of hydride transfer products is sufficiently exothermic ( � H= −489 kJ mol −1 ) that a fraction of the C2H3 + products may be formed above the dissociation threshold to C2H2 + . Increasing collision energy results in enhanced yields of C 2H2 + relative to C2H3 + , consistent with unimolecular decay of the most highly excited C2H3 + products. However, the very small translational energy releases at all collision energies also require significant vibrational excitation in the HOD products; the most probable internal excitation in HOD is approximately 60 kJ mol −1 at all collision energies.
Dynamic Analysis of a Valve Spring With a Coulomb-Friction Damper

The dynamic behavior of a distributed parameter valve spring with Coulomb damping has been modeled. Such a spring is described by a nonlinear, nonhomogeneous wave equation. This equation is solved using an explicit finite difference scheme. Some sample results are presented. The results of the finite difference scheme are compared with the results of an analytical solution for zero damping. The two compare very well. The spring is also modeled using an equivalent viscous damping coefficient. The results of this analysis are compared with those of the Coulomb damping analysis.
Suppression factors for vector-meson-dominance couplings implied by duality

Abstract It is noted that recent experiments on φ decays indicate a suppression of the radiative decay by about a factor of 3 less than the vector-meson-dominance model predictions. FESR's on pion compton scattering amplitudes with identical t -channels but different direct channel resonances are shown to relate radiative decays of A 2 and ω. This again leads to a suppression factor of 3 to 4 for the A 2 radiative decay relative to the VMD prediction.
A work progress forecasting algorithm for a job shop manufacturing facility

Abstract The research described in this paper has addressed itself to the development of on algorithm to forecast potential job costs and throughput times in a job shop. The algorithm utilizes historically repetitive relationships between cumulative job costs find time which are defined as cost curves. The algorithm was developed and evaluated using actual historical data from a large job shop production facility. Evaluation tests showed the cost forecast mechanism to be an effective early predictor of actual total job costs. The throughput time forecast mechanism was found to be less effective as an early predictor, but valuable as an early warning indicator of potential scheduling problems and irregularities.
Supporting virtual memory in GPGPU without supporting precise exceptions

Supporting precise exceptions has been one of the essential components of designing modern out-of-order processors. It allows handling exception routines, including virtual memory support and also supports debugging features. However, GPGPU, one of the recent popular scientific computing platforms, does not support precise exceptions. Here, in this paper, we argue that supporting precise exceptions is not essential for GPGPUs and we propose an alternate solution to provide virtual memory support without supporting precise exceptions.
Identification of differentially expressed spatial clusters using humoral response microarray data

The protein microarray is a powerful chip-based technology for profiling hundreds of proteins simultaneously and is being increasingly used. To study humoral response in pancreatic cancers, scientists have developed a two-dimensional liquid separation technique and built a two-dimensional protein microarray. However, identifying regions of differential expression on the protein microarray requires the use of appropriate statistical methods to assess the large amounts of data generated. A permutation-based test is proposed that incorporates spatial information of the two-dimensional antibody microarray. By borrowing strength from neighboring differentially expressed spots, the procedure is able to detect differentially expressed regions with high power while controlling the familywise type I error at 0.05 in simulation studies. The proposed methodology is also applied to a real microarray dataset.
Emulating a space-based router

In a satellite network, a centralized payload router peers with hundreds, to potentially thousands of terminals that serve as gateways for highly mobile user networks. These terminals and user networks generate significant amounts of control plane traffic when exchanging routing information that must be processed by the payload. Many factors influence this control traffic load, including neighbor count, route table size, routing policies, and user network mobility. Although these elements may seem manageable individually, their collective effect can significantly impact the router's performance. Routing protocols currently used by the Internet were not designed for satellite networks, and the consequences of using them in these environments have not been studied in depth. The mobility patterns and link intermittence characteristics of a satellite-based network not only make well known network problems such as “black holing traffic” and “route flapping” worse, but also create a whole new set of issues, such as mobile route churn. In order to study some of these issues, we have developed a space networking testbed (SNTB) to stress a representative payload router with realistic events and conditions. SNTB is an experimental local-area network (LAN) consisting of PC nodes, commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) routers, and traffic generators/analyzers that are automatically configured by a Web-based software tool, Emulab. Using real instances of current Internet routing protocols to generate representative control-plane traffic, emulation studies were conducted for space-based networks with both static and dynamic connectivity to measure the CPU load, memory utilization, and bandwidth usage at the payload router. Three representative payload routers (software-based, Cisco 7604, and Juniper M7i) were tested, and results show that payload router performance is a function of the ground network it is peering with (i.e., neighbor count, route table size, number of routing advertisements, and mobility), as well as the CPU, memory limitations, and operating system of the router itself. 12
Language skills in children with velocardiofacial syndrome (deletion 22q11.2)

Abstract Objective: To further define the language profile of children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) and explore the influence of parental origin of the deletion on language. Study design: Children and adolescents with VCFS (n = 27) were group-matched for sex, age, and IQ with 27 children and adolescents with idiopathic developmental delay. Fifty-four typically developing control subjects were also included in the analyses investigating word association abilities. Results: Children with VCFS had significantly lower receptive than expressive language skills, a unique finding when compared with IQ-matched control subjects. However, no significant differences in word association were detected. Children with a deletion of paternal origin score significantly higher on receptive language when compared with children with a deletion of maternal origin. Conclusions: The Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-III results suggest that children with VCFS show more severe deficits in receptive than expressive language abilities. Language skills of children with VCFS could be influenced by parental origin of the deletion and thus related to neuroanatomic alterations at the deletion site. (J Pediatr 2002;140:753-8)
Impacts of permafrost degradation on arctic river biogeochemistry.

Over the next century, near-surface permafrost across the circumpolar Arctic is expected to degrade significantly, particularly for land areas south of 70°N. This is likely to cause widespread impacts on arctic hydrology, ecology, and trace gas emissions. Here, we present a review of recent studies investigating linkages between permafrost dynamics and river biogeochemistry in the Arctic, including consideration of likely impacts that warming-induced changes in permafrost may be having (or will have in the future) on the delivery of organic matter, inorganic nutrients, and major ions to the Arctic Ocean. These interacting processes can be highly complex and undoubtedly exhibit spatial and temporal variabilities associated with current permafrost conditions, sensitivity to permafrost thaw, mode of permafrost degradation (overall permafrost thaw, active layer deepening, and/or thermokarst processes), and environmental characteristics of watersheds (e.g. land cover, soil type, and topography). One of the most profound consequences of permafrost thaw projected for the future is that the arctic terrestrial freshwater system is likely to experience a transition from a surface water-dominated system to a groundwater-dominated system. Along with many other cascading impacts from this transition, mineral-rich groundwater may become an important contributor to streamflow, in addition to the currently dominant contribution from mineral-poor surface water. Most studies observe or predict an increase in major ion, phosphate, and silicate export with this shift towards greater groundwater contributions. However, we see conflicting accounts of whether the delivery of inorganic nitrogen and organic matter will increase or decrease with warming and permafrost thaw. It is important to note that uncertainties in the predictions of the total flux of biogeochemical constituents are tightly linked to future uncertainties in discharge of rivers. Nonetheless, it is clear that over the next century there will be important shifts in the river transport of organic matter, inorganic nutrients, and major ions, which may in turn have critical implications for primary production and carbon cycling on arctic shelves and in the Arctic Ocean basin interior. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Correlates of Vocational Success in Refugee Work Adaptation1

Past research on Indochinese refugees has shown that status inconsistency (loss of socioeconomic status from their last job in Indochina to their most recent job in the United States) has a strong negative effect on acculturation. This study examines refugee adaptation to working in America and the effect of status inconsistency on work performance. After three years in the U.S., there was great improvement in job performance. We had predicted that greater status inconsistency would be associated with poorer vocational performance. The status inconsistency effect was found for those refugees who previously held high-prestige positions in their homeland, but only during the time before they had spent 3 years in America. Previous high-prestige refugees who had lived in the U.S. for less than three years did not stay on their jobs as long as former low-prestige refugees. After three years, however, the former high-prestige refugees outlasted the former low-prestige refugees.
Performance of Low-bandwidth, Semi-active Damping Concepts for Suspension Control

Abstract Active damping has been shown to offer increased suspension performance in terms of vehicle isolation, suspension packaging, and road-tire contact force. It can even approximate the performance of full state feedback control without requiring the difficult measurement of tire deflection. Many semi-active damping strategies have been introduced to approximate the response of active damping with the modulation of passive damping parameters. These strategies have typically required a relatively high bandwidth for actuator response. This paper investigates the simulation performance and “frequency response” of two concepts in low-bandwidth semi-active suspension control, one that sets a damping force directly and another that sets the damping resistance. The electronically controlled bandwidth of these actuators is approximately an order of magnitude less than other semi-active devices; high frequency control is handled mechanically. A quarter-car model is studied with the controlled damping replacin...
Endoscopic biliary sphincterotomy is not required for transpapillary SEMS placement for biliary obstruction.

Background Endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography with biliary self-expanding metal stent placement is the preferred method of providing biliary drainage for pancreaticobiliary malignancies. Some endoscopists routinely perform biliary sphincterotomy to facilitate biliary stent placement and potentially minimize pancreatitis with transpapillary self-expanding metal stent placement.
Octadentate catecholamide ligands for Pu(IV) based on linear or preorganized molecular backbones

Nine new octadentate ligands based on cyclic, spermine (3,4,3-LI), desferrioxamine (DFO), or H-shaped tetrakisamine (penten) molecular backbones were prepared containing catecholamide (CAM), carboxycatecholamide (CAM(C)), or terephthalamide (TAM) chelating units. Mice were injected intravenously with 239Pu(i.v.) citrate, treated with 30 mumol kg-1 of a ligand by intraperitoneal injection at 1 h or by gastric intubation at 3 min, and Pu retention in tissues and Pu transfer to excreta were measured at 24 h. Given by injection, three soluble ligands composed of MeTAM (3,4,3-LIMeTAM, DFO-MeTAM, H(2,2)-MeTAM) reduced Pu retention in the body to 27-28% of control compared with 32 and 37% of control obtained in mice similarly treated with 3,4,3-LICAM(C) or CaNa3-DTPA, respectively. The MeTAM ligands reduced Pu retention in the skeleton as much as an equimolar amount of CaNa3-DTPA, while Pu retention in the liver (on average, 16% of control) was significantly less than was obtained with CaNa3-DTPA (35% of control). Given orally, H(2,2)-MeTAM reduced Pu retention in the whole body to 58% of control compared with reductions to 62 and 94% of control achieved with 3,4,3-LICAM(C) or CaNa3-DTPA, respectively. Penten is both partially preorganized for metal binding and spatially suitable for encapsulation of actinide(IV), and ligands with the penten backbone are easier and less costly to prepare than those based on spermine or DFO. The biological results confirmed that penten is a suitable as well as practical structural backbone for new octadentate ligands. In agreement with the great stability of the ferric complex with MeTAM, as determined in vitro, the small, simple, soluble penten-based octadentate ligand, H(2,2)-MeTAM, was shown to be, overall, the most effective catecholamide ligand for enhancing Pu excretion. Either combined in H(2,2)-MeTAM or separately, the penten backbone and the MeTAM chelating unit are potentially useful additions to the set of backbones and binding units of multidentate ligands identified as effective for in vivo chelation of the actinides.
Base specificity in the binding of benzo[a]pyrene diol epoxide to simian virus 40 DNA.

Summary [ 14 C]Simian virus 40 (SV40) DNA was reacted with [ 3 H]7 β ,8 α -dihydroxy-9 α ,10 α -epoxy-7,8,9,10-tetrahydrobenzo[ a ]pyrene to give 0.60 adducts per genome. The modified DNA was digested to completion with Hind III restriction endonuclease and the 6 fragments isolated by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Hydrocarbon binding to the fragments was proportional to their guanine—cytosine (G-C) content, reflecting selective reaction of the hydrocarbon with deoxyguanosine residues. No sites unusually susceptible to alkylation were detected.
HREM study of structure of supported Pt catalysts

The surface structure and morphology of Pt catalysts supported on various oxides were studied by HREM profile imaging. An unstable Ti oxide overlayer and a stable crystalline monolayer on TiO2 supported Pt particles were observed after HTR at 923K. The overlayers could explain the SMSI in Pt/TiO2.
Robust earthquake location using M-estimates

Abstract In the 1930's, Jeffreys recognized that large errors among the arrival times used to locate an earthquake can move the least-squares estimate of the epicenter far from the true epicenter. This has often been remedied by using M-estimates of epicentral location that iteratively weight each equation of condition by a function of its residual size. Six estimators, least absolute value, least squares, bisquare, Huber, Jeffreys, and sine, are compared for robustness when applied to the earthquake location problem. Although M-estimates are more robust than least squares, they are sensitive to the initial location estimate, the scale of the residuals, and the geometry of the recording network. A detailed study of one earthquake located by both least squares and the bisquare method is reported. This shows that when using least squares, error at one station can inflate the residuals at other stations so that a true outlier may be hidden. Also, error at influential stations can go completely unnoticed by either method.
Determination of the direction of surface velocity gradients in three-dimensional boundary layers

An instrumental method is proposed to measure the direction of surface velocity gradients in three-dimensional boundary layers. It utilizes electrochemical techniques developed in this laboratory.
New technique for microscopic vasovasostomy.

Recently there has been an explosion of literature on the many techniques of vasectomy reversals. There are proponents and opponents of microscopic versus nonmicroscopic techniques of vasectomy reversals. There are those who prefer 1-layer closure to 2-layer closures. And then again there are those who advocate stented procedures as opposed to the nonstented ones. From a technical point of view what matters is approximation and alignment of the mucosal edges with minimum possible tension on the anastomosis using the fewest possible stitches in the least amount of time. We present a technique in microscopic vasovasostomy which utilizes 4 sutures (approximately 90 degrees apart) incorporating both the muscular and mucosal layers. The 1st 9-0 monofilament nylon suture is placed on the posterior wall and tied. The loop that is taken before exiting out the opposite end of the vas helps near-perfect approximation of the mucosa and removes tension off the anastomosis. After this posterior stitch 3 other sutures are placed in the 3 other quadrants. None of these is tied until all 3 have been placed. (full text)
Development of Polyclonal Antibodies for the Detection of Styrene Oxide Modified Proteins

Styrene is widely used as one of the most important industrial materials for the production of synthetic rubbers, plastic, insulation, fiberglass, and automobile parts. Inhaled styrene has been reported to produce respiratory toxicity in humans and animals. Styrene oxide, a reactive metabolite of styrene formed via cytochrome P450 enzymes, has been reported to form covalent bonds with proteins, such as albumin and hemoglobin. Among all of the amino acids, cysteine is the most reactive amino acid to be modified by electrophilic species. The purpose of this study is to develop polyclonal antibodies for the detection of styrene oxide cysteinyl protein adducts. Two immunogens were designed, synthesized, and used to induce polyclonal antibodies in rabbits. Immune responses were observed from the raised antibodies by antiserum dilution tests. Competitive ELISA demonstrated that the resulting antibodies specifically recognized the styrene oxide-derived N-acetylcysteine adduct. Western blot results showed that the antibodies recognize styrene oxide-modified albumin. The binding was found to depend on the amount of protein adducts blotted and hapten loading in protein adducts. No cross reaction was observed from the native protein. Competitive Western blots further indicated that these antibodies specifically recognized styrene oxide cysteinyl-protein adducts. Immunoblots revealed the presence of several bands at a molecular weight ranging from 50 to 80 kDa in rat nasal mucosa treated with styrene. In conclusion, we successfully raised polyclonal antibodies to detect styrene oxide-derived protein/cysteine adducts.
Synthesis of the conjugation ready, downstream disaccharide fragment of the O-PS of Vibrio cholerae O:139

The linker-equipped disaccharide, 8-amino-3,6-dioxaoctyl 2,6-dideoxy-2-acetamido-3-O-β-d-galactopyranosyluronate-β-d-glucopyranoside (10), was synthesized in eight steps from acetobromogalactose and ethyl 4,6-O-benzylidene-2-deoxy-2-trichloroacetamido-1-thio-β-d-glucopyranoside. The hydroxyl group present at C-4II in the last intermediate, 8-azido-3,6-dioxaoctyl 4-O-benzyl-6-bromo-2,6-dideoxy-2-trichloroacetamido-3-O-(benzyl 2,3-di-O-benzyl-β-d-galactopyranosyluronate)-β-d-glucopyranoside (9), is positioned to allow further build-up of the molecule and, eventually, construction of the complete hexasaccharide. Global deprotection (9→10) was done in one step by catalytic hydrogenolysis over palladium-on-charcoal.
Conjugated polymer-based photonic nanostructures

Conjugated polymer materials are at the forefront of many next-generation organic optoelectronic technologies including organic light-emitting diodes, photovoltaics and lasers. The photophysical properties of these materials can be controlled and optimized through the formation of nanoscale-confined geometries such as nanoparticles, aggregates, nanofibers, or thin films. In this review, we discuss the photonic characteristics of conjugated polymer-based nanostructured materials and devices with a focus on how excitons and photons can be manipulated and managed though confinement of polymer chains and through interactions with inorganic nanostructures. We include case studies from the literature on how internal molecular morphology can be controlled in conjugated polymer thin-film optoelectronics, nanowires and nanofibers and, in turn, how internal morphology affects the photonic properties of these structures. Extrinsic approaches to controlling or modifying the photonic properties of conjugated polymer materials and devices through the addition of inorganic photonic nanostructures are also discussed.
““Beyond This World of Transiency and Impermanence””: Japanese Americans, Dharma Bums, and the Making of American Buddhism during the Early Cold War Years

This article examines the growing interest in Buddhism in the United States during the Cold War, analyzing discussions and debates around the authenticity of various Buddhist teachings and practices that emerged in an interracial Buddhist study group and its related publications. Japanese American Buddhists had developed a modified form of Jōōdo Shinshūū devotional practice as a strategy for building ethnic community and countering racialization as religious and racial Others. The authenticity of these practices was challenged by European and European American scholars and artists, especially the Beats, who drew upon Orientalist representations of Buddhism as ancient, exotic, and mysterious. In response, Japanese American Buddhists crafted their own definition of ““tradition”” by drawing from institutional and devotional developments dating back to fourteenth-century Japan as well as more recent Japanese American history. The article contextualizes these debates within the broader discussion of cultural pluralism and race relations during the Cold War.
Accuracy, scope, and flexibility of models

Traditionally, models are compared on the basis of their accuracy, their scope, and their simplicity. Simplicity is often represented by parameter counts; the fewer the parameters, the simpler the model. Arguments are presented here suggesting that simplicity has little place in discussions of modeling; instead, the concept of flexibility should be substituted. When comparing two models one should be wary of the possibility of their differential flexibility. Several methods for assessing relative flexibility are possible, as represented in this special issue of the Journal of Mathematical Psychology. Here, the method of cross-validation is applied in the comparison of two models, a linear integration model (LIM) and the fuzzy-logical model of perception (FLMP), in the fitting of 44 data sets concerning the perception of layout seen among three panels with the presence or absence of four sources of information for depth. Prior to cross-validation the two models performed about equally well; after cross-validation LIM was statistically superior to FLMP, but the overall pattern of fits remained nearly the same for both models.
GOING TO THE DOCTOR: A DEVELOPMENTAL STUDY OF STRESS AND COPING

Summary Children's emotional responses and coping behavior were observed during pediatric examinations. Facial expressions of emotion were coded every 30 sec. Behavior records were coded according to the APPROACH system; from these, proportions of three categories of coping behavior (Information, Comfort and Autonomy) were calculated. Results showed the effect of age (6–12 months; 18–36 months; 42–60 months) and time period (before, during or after the examination) on children's levels of negative emotion. Use of specific coping categories at each time period varied with age. The data also suggested some contingent relationships between facial emotions and coping categories.