cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Legislative Capacity and Administrative Power Under Divided Polarization

It is commonly argued that party polarization leads to legislative gridlock, which in turn disables congressional oversight of agencies and thus erodes their constitutional legitimacy and democratic accountability. At the root of this argument is an empirical claim that higher levels of polarization materially reduce legislative productivity as measured by the number of laws passed or the number of issues on the legislative agenda addressed by those laws, both of which are negatively associated with party polarization. By focusing on the content of statutes passed rather than their number, this essay shows that in the era of party polarization and divided government Congress has actually (1) enacted an ever growing volume of significant regulatory policy (packaged into fewer laws), (2) increasingly employed implementation designs intended to limit bureaucratic and presidential power, and (3) legislated regulatory policy substance in greater detail (reducing bureaucratic discretion) when relying on litigation and courts as a supplement or alternative to bureaucracy, a design choice that occurs more frequently under party polarization combined with divided government. It thereby complicates, both empirically and normatively, the relationship between Congress and administrative power in the era of party polarization and divided government.
Plant community response to thinning and repeated fire in Sierra Nevada mixed-conifer forest understories

Abstract Fire suppression in the western United States has significantly altered forest composition and structure, resulting in a higher risk of stand-replacing fire, large-scale drought mortality, and bark beetle outbreaks. Mechanical thinning and prescribed fire are common treatments designed to reduce high-severity fire risk, but few studies have tracked long-term understory plant community response to these treatments with repeated fire application that emulates historic fire regimes. We evaluate changes in understory plant diversity and composition, as well as light availability, soil moisture, and litter depth over two decades following a factorial field experiment crossing thinning and two applications of prescribed fire at the Teakettle Experimental Forest (TEF) in the southern Sierra Nevada. We compare responses in experimental fuels treatments against those in nearby old-growth, mixed-conifer forests with restored low-severity fire regimes in Yosemite and Kings Canyon National Parks. We hypothesized that 1) understory plant richness, evenness, and beta diversity would increase with each burn event; 2) repeated fire after initial thinning would produce the highest understory plant diversity; 3) the second burn would reduce shrub cover, especially in the initially thinned treatments that demonstrated vigorous Ceanothus cordulatus growth after initial treatments; 4) the second burn would increase light availability and bare ground while reducing litter depth; and 5) treatments with initial thinning followed by multiple prescribed burns would show the greatest similarities to reference forests in diversity metrics, shrub cover, and environmental conditions. Although initially local (10 m2-scale) understory plant richness and diversity increased most following thinning combined with prescribed fire, this treatment did not generate understory conditions similar to those in nearby reference forests over the long term. Vigorous shrub growth resulted in low understory evenness and beta diversity over time, which a secondary burn treatment did not alter. Burning without thinning retained a more heterogeneous understory following initial treatment. Two years after the second burn treatment, this burning without thinning resulted in high understory richness and evenness similar to reference forest understories. Our results suggest management treatments may need to focus on creating heterogeneity in burn effects to limit shrub cover and foster more diverse understory communities.
A Therapeutic Jurisprudential Framework of Estate Planning

The psychological consequences of the law of succession largely have been overlooked. This oversight is confounding given that the estate planning and probate processes are emotionally charged and raise a number of psychological issues. Filling this analytical void, this article examines the estate planning process from a therapeutic jurisprudential perspective and makes two primary contributions to the study of the law of succession. First, the article identifies the psychological consequences of the estate planning process. Although the analysis suggests that certain aspects of preparing and implementing an estate plan can negatively affect one’s psychological wellbeing, the analysis also reveals that estate planning has positive psychological consequences, which contribute to the process’s overall therapeutic nature. Second, the article develops the therapeutic and antitherapeutic qualities of estate planning into a framework through which to analyze how reforms of the law of succession will affect the therapeutic potential of the estate planning process. Ultimately, this article encourages the continued use of the therapeutic jurisprudential framework in the estate planning context and seeks to inspire further therapeutic jurisprudential analysis throughout the law of succession.
Federalizing the Voting Rights Act

In Presidential Control of Elections, Professor Lisa Marshall Manheim masterfully canvasses how “a president can affect the rules of elections that purport to hold him accountable” and thereby “undermine the democratic will and delegitimize the executive branch.” Bringing together insights from administrative law and election law, she categorizes how presidents exercise control over elections: priority setting through executive agencies, encouraging gridlock in independent agencies, and idiosyncratic exercise of their narrow grants of unilateral authority. Manheim’s principal concern is an executive influencing elections to entrench themselves and their allies in power. Her prognosis for the future is steely-eyed, and she recognizes that presidential control over elections is likely to not only persist but to also expand in the coming years. Rather than fight against the inevitability of presidential control, she advocates a checks and balances solution that achieves “meaningful counterbalance by empowering entities outside the executive branch.” In short, Manheim channels Madison in arguing that “ambition” should “counteract ambition.” In this Response, I agree with Manheim’s superb descriptive account of the problem and her powerful normative critique from an administrative law perspective. I therefore highlight Manheim’s contributions and expand on them in two ways. First, I argue that Manheim has problematized a central premise of election law: the federal government is an ally in the fight to protect minority voting rights. Manheim examines the recent past, paying particular attention to the George W. Bush, Obama, and Trump Administrations. Although Manheim is the first to identify the worrying trend of presidential control of elections, it is an old phenomenon. By shining a spotlight on the problem of presidential control of elections today, Manheim encourages a reassessment of the more distant past, when the president was usually—but not always—a friend rather than foe of minority voting rights. Second, I propose a solution to the emerging federal threat: amending Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act (“VRA”) to apply to the federal government. This statutory revision would give plaintiffs a powerful tool to combat racial discrimination in voting committed by the federal government. This solution would also avoid the administrative law proxy fights that arose during the Trump Administration, where plaintiffs challenged policies because of their discriminatory effect on minority voters but framed their arguments as violations of the Administrative Procedure Act (“APA”).
Aggregate accounting research and development expenditures and the prediction of real gross domestic product

Abstract The role of accounting information for public policy making has received increased attention in recent years. Konchitchki and Patatoukas, 2014a , Konchitchki and Patatoukas, 2014b demonstrate that growth in aggregate accounting earnings can predict future growth in nominal and real Gross Domestic Product (GDP). We extend the micro to macro literature by decomposing earnings into the R&D and pre-R&D components. Using the Almon (1965) finite distributed lag model, we find that both components can predict future real GDP growth with different lead-lag structures. Importantly, this decomposition significantly increases the explanatory power of the predictive model using accounting information. Aggregate accounting R&D can predict real GDP through the personal consumption, business investment, and net export channels of GDP. Our study extends prior research on the forecasting usefulness of accounting information at the aggregate level and has practical implications for macro forecasting and for public policy making regarding innovative activities of publicly listed firms.
Reason and History

The latest swing of the pendulum has taken philosophy from excessive confidence in our rational powers to an equally excessive mood of relativism. Many contemporary philosophic movements have in common the conviction that our rational categories are contingent products of history, and that all truths are therefore relativized by their historical horizons. Often referred to as “post-modernist,” these movements are in fact the logical outcome of the specifically modern tendency to construe reason as a purely adaptive mechanism. Husserl clearly discerned the irrationalism underlying the two most powerful theses of modernity, naturalism and historicism. His critique of these reductive theses is closely linked with his project of restoring confidence in cognitive intuition.
Advanced X-Ray Astrophysics Facility Thermal Control

A conceptual active/passive thermal control system design is presented for the Advanced X-ray Astrophysics Facility (AXAF), where the design variables considered in system optimization were vehicle orientation for environmental extremes, thermal coating properties, and insulation materials. Because power and weight are at a premium, the design was limited to one power module, resulting in a thermal control limit of 441 W of regulated power. The present study has determined that all thermal control objectives for AXAF's instruments can be met by the design considered. The thermal resistance schematics employed in this conceptual study are presented, together with simulated performance characteristics.
The Earth’s Crust

The part of the earth on which we live is the weathered crust of the lithosphere, the surface of our planet. Beneath the lithosphere are the mantle and the core of the earth. The crust is the exposed surface of the lithosphere that has been modified in various ways by climate and by the vegetation that forms a cover where the climate is favorable to the growth of plants. According to the climate we find regions of tundra, prairies, semitropical and tropical forests, and deserts. About 70% of the lithosphere is covered by water, but the remaining 30% is dry land in which we are interested. The part of the earth that we see is the uppermost surface of the dry land; it is a layer of material of variable thickness that has been produced from the hard lithosphere by a combination of chemical and physical processes acting on it with different intensity at low temperatures (up to about 30° C) for varying lengths of time. The results of these chemical and physical changes are known as weathering. The expression of the changes caused by weathering vary with the kind of rock, the kind of climate, and the time that the local conditions have prevailed. Generally the effects of weathering are shown by the presence of altered rocks and minerals, saprolites (rotten rocks), and soils.
Chromospheres of Coronal Stars

We summarize the main results obtained from the analysis of ultraviolet emission line profiles of coronal late-type stars observed with the Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) on the Hubble Space Telescope. the excellent GHRS spectra provide new information on magnetohydrodynamic phenomena in the chromospheres and transition regions of these stars. One exciting new result is the discovery of broad components in the transition region lines of active stars that we believe provide evidence for microflare heating in these stars.
Community Property After Hisquierdo v. Hisquierdo

This Comment will briefly discuss California's community property system, and the standards traditionally required by the Supreme Court for federal pre-emption of state property law. It will also examine the Supreme Court's interpretation of the Railroad Retirement Act which led the Court to conclude that the Supremacy Clause of the United States Constitution demanded federal pre-emption in this case. It will discuss the Hisquierdo test for federal pre-emption, which the Supreme Court has since used to override state community property systems. Finally, it will evaluate whether the case was correctly decided.
Virtualconnection: opportunistic networking for web on demand

Social networks such as Facebook and Secondlife are popular. Wireless devices abound from affluent countries to developing countries. Social networks need wide area Internet support. Wireless interfaces offer ad hoc networking capability, without the need for infrastructure support. Web on Demand (WoD) aims to bridge the gap between ad hoc social networks (people in close proximity with shared interests) and ad hoc networking. A key requirement for WoD is transparent connection management. This paper makes three contributions: First, an abstraction called VirtualConnection for transparent connection creation and migration, with socket-like API; second, an implementation on iPAQs (Windows Mobile) as a user level library, and proof of efficacy of using this abstraction for realizing WoD; third, evaluations to establish the performance of this abstraction. In particular, we show the performance degradation due to virtualizing the connection is negligible.
Metabolism of steroids in fluorosis

Abstract Forty-five male patients suffering from chronic fluorine poisoning and fifteen normal men were investigated. The urinary excretion of oestrone, oestradiol-17β, oestriol and 16-epioestriol was studied. The results revealed a high content of oestrogens in urine. This is explained by a metabolic disorder in the liver.
Studies on phosphomannose isomerase. II. Characterization as a zinc metalloenzyme.

Abstract Phosphomannose isomerase isolated from brewers' yeast was found to be inhibited in a time-dependent process by 8-hydroxyquinoline, ethylenediaminetetraacetate, o-phenanthroline, α,α-dipyridyl, cysteine, and dithiothreitol. The effectiveness of these agents in bringing about inhibition paralleled their ability to bind zinc, and the inhibition could be prevented by blocking the coordination sites of the metal-binding agents. An instantaneous reversal of inhibition occurred upon the addition of metals to the EDTA-inhibited enzyme, and the extent of reversal or prevention of inhibition was proportional to the ability of the added metals to form a complex with EDTA. Metal analyses, performed by atomic absorption spectrophotometry, yielded a metal content of 1 g atom of zinc per mole of enzyme (molecular weight, 45,000). Other metals were found to be either absent or present only in stoichiometrically insignificant concentrations. From inhibition data and metal analyses before and after inhibition, it is concluded that EDTA forms the inactive apoenzyme by removal of zinc from the active metalloenzyme.
Identifying and Addressing Barriers to Insulin Acceptance and Adherence in Patients With Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus

Progressive hyperglycemia is a characteristic of type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) that poses a challenge to maintaining optimal glycemic control. Achieving glycemic control early in the course of disease can minimize or prevent serious complications. Most patients with T2DM eventually require insulin replacement therapy to attain and preserve satisfactory glucose control. For decades, the use of insulin to address the primary defect of T2DM has been a cornerstone of diabetes therapy. Insulin is indicated for patients with T2DM presenting with clinically significant hyperglycemia, and it is mandatory for patients exhibiting signs of catabolism. Insulin should be considered for patients in whom hyperglycemia persists despite attempts to control the condition through diet and exercise modifications and the use of noninsulin therapies. Many physicians delay initiation of insulin until absolutely necessary, sometimes overestimating patient concerns about its use. Modern insulin analogs, treatment regimens, and delivery devices make insulin more user friendly, and physicians can promote patient acceptance of insulin by reviewing the benefits of controlled glycated hemoglobin levels and addressing patient concerns.
Recursive implementation of the DCT-IV and DST-IV

We present recursive implementation for the computation of the discrete cosine transform (DCT-IV) and discrete sine transform (DST-IV). We also present a recursive structure that can be used to simultaneously compute the DCT-IV and DST-IV. We use the Clenshaw's recurrence formula (CRF) to obtain recursive structures for the DCT-IV and DST-IV. All these structures are easily amenable to VLSI implementation using modular structures.
Are Self-Ratings of Functional Difficulties Objective or Subjective?

In this study, we compared objective neuropsychological data using the Meyers Neuropsychological Battery (MNB; Meyers & Rohling, 2004) and self-report measures of emotional distress using the Symptom Checklist 90-Revised (SCL-90-R; Derogatis, 1994) with self-ratings of functional difficulties as measured by the Patient Competency Rating Scale (PCRS; Prigatano, 1986). The results showed a high correlation between the PCRS and scales on the SCL-90-R (r = .65), whereas correlation with the overall test battery mean of the MNB was quite small (r = .18). Our results indicate that self-report of cognitive difficulties is more related to current emotional distress than to objective measures. Therefore, any diagnostic considerations that rely on self-report need to be tempered by considerations of current emotional status. This has implications for diagnoses such as posttraumatic stress disorder and other diagnoses that rely on self-report as a source of diagnostic information.
Nutrient Requirements of Growing Chicks

Abstract The nutritional disorder of which leg weakness is the most outstanding symptom is familiar to all poultry nutrition investigators. We now recognize in the common “leg weakness” a disorder fundamentally similar to rickets in other animals as shown by changes in the blood and bone composition of affected birds. Rickets is a bone disease due to faulty calcium and phosphorus assimilation, the absorption of these very essential elements being influenced by the calcium and phosphorus content of the ration, by the vitamin content of the ration, or by the action of certain rays in the spectrum, these rays being designated as the ultraviolet. Using the rat as the experimental animal, McCollum, Simmonds, Shipley and Park1 have shown the ratio between calcium and phosphorus in the diet is of greater significance in the prevention of rickets than are the absolute amounts of these elements. It is not to be hoped that . . .
Estimating Yield Gaps With Limited Data: An Application to United States Wheat

The objective of this research is to estimate and analyze the gap between in‐trial yield potential, on‐farm yield potential, and actual on‐farm wheat yields. Yield gaps are quantified by measuring how varietal mean yields have changed over time, due to productivity increases generated by public and private wheat breeding programs. Variety performance trial data for Kansas winter wheat are used to summarize the evolution of wheat yields over the time period 1985 to 2011. A measure of yield potential is compared to actual on‐farm yields to derive implications for wheat industry stakeholders. Persistent and expanding yield gaps between potential yield and actual on‐farm yield are measured and analyzed. Producers’ variety adoption decisions explain a relatively small portion of this gap, and producers have become more effective at identifying and adopting yield‐enhancing varieties over time. The largest portion of these gaps was explained by on‐farm production decisions.
Lumbar lateral motor column development in triploid Xenopus laevis.

The effects of increasing ploidy on the development of the lumbar lateral motor column (L-LMC) in Xenopus laevis were investigated in order to determine how early events contribute to producing the significant difference in the average number of motoneurons present in diploid and triploid animals after cell death (Sperry: J. Comp. Neurol. 277:499–508, '88). From naturally occurring diploid and experimentally produced triploid siblings at two stages prior to significant amounts of neuronal cell death, at one stage during the peak period of cell death, and at one stage after cell death, the L-LMC motoneurons were counted and nuclear cross-sectional areas were measured. At stages before and after cell death, the average nuclear crosssectional areas of motoneurons and of other cells that were also measured were greater in the triploids, while the average number of motoneurons and motoneuron density (the mean number of cells per section) were less. Average body size and average motor column length in diploid and triploid animals were equal at each of the stages. The general characteristics of L-LMC development that have been widely noted in diploids, an increase in cell size accompanied by a decrease in cell number, were also observed in the triploid animals. However, not only were these general features present in the triploids, but the increase in average motoneuron size and the decrease in average motoneuron number in diploids and triploids were roughly equal when scaled to the general differences in nuclear size or to the difference in the average number of motoneurons present prior to cell death. There was no evidence that the triploid condition affected the magnitude of the cell death process. Overall, the findings suggest that the processes underlying L-LMC development in experimentally produced triploids may not be different from those in naturally occurring diploids. The smaller average numbers of motoneurons after cell death in the triploids may be related to some feature of the triploid condition that affects the number of motoneurons present before cell death rather than to a feature of the triploid animals, such as peripheral size, that is thought to affect the motoneuron cell death process itself. The relationship of these findings to the general issue of how the size of the L-LMC motoneuron population in triploids, as well as in diploids, might be regulated is discussed.
Solvent and isomer effects on the imidization of pyromellitic dianhydride-oxydianiline-based poly(amic ethyl ester)s

Abstract The imidization behaviour of the isomeric poly(amic ethyl ester) (PAE) precursor molecules of the polyimide pyromellitic dianhydride—oxydianiline was followed using forward recoil spectrometry. The degree of imidization after 1 h at various temperatures was found to depend strongly on the spin-casting solvent. Films cast from dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) showed an imide fraction, f , which was independent of depth and of isomeric precursor (i.e. whether the precursor was para -PAE, meta -PAE or a random mixture of meta and para (mixed-PAE).) In films spun cast from N -methylpyrrolidone (NMP), however, f s for the para - and mixed-PAE were larger than that for the meta -PAE. In addition the f s for the para -PAE and mixed-PAE were found to be greater for films cast from NMP than from DMSO for any given thermal treatment. For the meta -PAE, f was independent of the casting solvent. Over an imidization temperature range of 180–280°C f was found to vary with depth, being lower than the bulk value over the first 3000 A from the film surface. These observations appear to be related to a retention of the NMP with f being larger where NMP is retained.
Cholecystokinin and its receptors in vertebrates and invertebrates

Recent studies have indicated that cholecystokinin (CCK) peptides have a long evolutionary history. However, whereas all vertebrates examined have been shown to contain CCK-like peptides, this has not been possible to demonstrate for all invertebrate groups. Immunostaining studies indicate that CCK peptides originate only in neurons in groups below the level of the protochordates. It seems likely that CCK gastrointestinal endocrine cells evolved first at the level of the protochordates, possibly from sensory gut neurons similar to those seen in the invertebrates. Immunochemical and biological studies of a few invertebrate CCK-like peptides suggest that those molecules are substantially different in structure from vertebrate CCKs. Gastrin appears to have evolved from CCK at the level of the appearance of amniotes in vertebrate phylogeny. In mammals, central and peripheral CCK receptors differ in specificity for CCK- and gastrin-like peptides. Comparative studies reveal that this is true for birds as well, but reptiles, amphibia, and fish brain and pancreas CCK receptors exhibit nearly identical specificity patterns. This suggests that the lower vertebrate CCK receptor is ancestral to the distinct brain and pancreas CCK receptors seen in birds and mammals.
Polyethylene glycol modification of filgrastim results in decreased renal clearance of the protein in rats

This report provides the evidence that pegfilgrastim, which is produced by covalently binding a 20-kDa polyethylene glycol molecule to filgrastim, has decreased renal clearance compared with the native protein, filgrastim. After intravenous administration, the area under the plasma concentration versus time curve values for pegfilgrastim were significantly higher than those for filgrastim, indicating that the clearance was slower for pegfilgrastim. The concentration-time profiles of pegfilgrastim were similar between sham-operated and bilateral nephrectomized rats, suggesting that the kidney had an insignificant role in the elimination of pegfilgrastim. In contrast, bilateral nephrectomy resulted in decreased clearance of filgrastim by 60–75%. These data are consistent with the current knowledge that pegylation of proteins decreases the renal clearance of these conjugated proteins. © 2004 Wiley-Liss, Inc. and the American Pharmacists Association J Pharm Sci 93:1367–1373, 2004
The Inelastic Scattering of 15-Mev Neutrons by Lead, Iron, and Aluminum

A tritium-zirconium target bombarded by 1.0-Mev deuterons from the Rockefeller electrostatic generator was used as a source of high energy (\ensuremath{\sim}15-Mev) neutrons. This source was surrounded by lead, iron, and aluminum scatterers with dimensions of approximately one mean free path for inelastic scattering. The resulting neutron spectra were measured by means of proton recoils in photographic emulsions. An exposure without scatterer permitted an evaluation of the upper limit for the neutron background. The spectra indicate that most of the neutrons are inelastically scattered to energies below 3 Mev in the case of the lead and iron scatterers and to below 5 Mev with the aluminum scatterer. The data can be represented by a curve of the form (const $E{e}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{E}{T}}$) as predicted by the Weisskopf statistical theory. The values obtained for the nuclear temperatures, $T$, are 0.7, 0.6, and 1.1 Mev for lead, iron, and aluminum, respectively. The fact that the measured temperatures for iron and lead are approximately the same supports the hypothesis that lead nuclei have a closed shell structure and therefore have properties similar to much lighter nuclei.
Stabilizing non-foster-based tuning circuits for electrically small antennas

Although non-Foster circuits are very attractive for microwave and antenna applications because they are not restricted by the gain-bandwidth product, stability is a major issue with these circuits. This paper presents a systematic way to stabilize the widely used non-Foster circuit (NFC) topology originally introduced by Linvill [1]. As a case study, a NFC tuned electrically small antenna (ESA) is considered. The stability analysis approach is based on frequency domain method. The circuit is stabilized with conventional control techniques (CCTs).
Protein supplementation of broad beans with sesame.

Abstract Feeding experiments with weanling rats indicated that the protein of broad beans (Vicia faba var. major) and sesame (Sesamum indicum) are mutually supplementary. A standard diet in which 75% of the protein was provided by broad beans and 25% by sesame had a protein efficiency ratio (PER) of 2·36 compared to a casein PER adjusted to 2·50. A similar diet in which broad beans and sesame contributed equal amounts of protein had a PER of 2·41. The PER of broad beans was 0·99 and that of sesame 1·55.
Lifetimes of Metal Nanowires with Broken Axial Symmetry

We present a theoretical approach for understanding the stability of simple metal nanowires, in particular, monovalent metals such as the alkalis and noble metals. Their cross sections are of order 1 nm, so that small perturbations from external (usually thermal) noise can cause large geometrical deformations. The nanowire lifetime is defined as the time required for making a transition into a state with a different cross-sectional geometry. This can be a simple overall change in radius, or a change in the cross-section shape, or both. We develop a stochastic field theoretical model to describe this noise-induced transition process in which the initial and final states correspond to locally stable states on a potential surface derived by solving the Schr\"odinger equation for the electronic structure of the nanowire numerically. The numerical string method is implemented to determine the optimal transition path governing the lifetime. Using these results, we tabulate the lifetimes of sodium and gold nanowires for several different initial geometries.
Prevalence, serotype diversity, and antimicrobial resistance of Salmonella in imported shipments of spice offered for entry to the United States, FY2007–FY2009

Abstract In response to increased concerns about spice safety, the U.S. FDA initiated research to characterize the prevalence of Salmonella in imported spices. Shipments of imported spices offered for entry to the United Sates were sampled during the fiscal years 2007–2009. The mean shipment prevalence for Salmonella was 0.066 (95% CI 0.057–0.076). A wide diversity of Salmonella serotypes was isolated from spices; no single serotype constituted more than 7% of the isolates. A small percentage of spice shipments were contaminated with antimicrobial-resistant Salmonella strains (8.3%). Trends in shipment prevalence for Salmonella associated with spice properties, extent of processing, and export country, were examined. A larger proportion of shipments of spices derived from fruit/seeds or leaves of plants were contaminated than those derived from the bark/flower of spice plants. Salmonella prevalence was larger for shipments of ground/cracked capsicum and coriander than for shipments of their whole spice counterparts. No difference in prevalence was observed between shipments of spice blends and non-blended spices. Some shipments reported to have been subjected to a pathogen reduction treatment prior to being offered for U.S. entry were found contaminated. Statistical differences in Salmonella shipment prevalence were also identified on the basis of export country.
Histocompatability Antigens and Immunoglobulin G Insulin Antibodies in Mexican-American Insulin- Dependent Diabetic Patients

To determine the association of histocompatability antigens (HLA) with insulin-dependent diabetes (IDD) in Mexican-Americans, we determined HLA-A, -B, and -C specificities in 112 unrelated patients and 332 controls, and HLA-DR specificities in 85 patients and 209 controls. We also studied immunoglobulin G (IgG) insulin antibody formation in 56 Mexican-Americans with IDD, and the relationship between antibody formation and HLA-DR antigens. IDD patients have a significant increase in HLA-DR4 compared to the control population (chi 2 = 14.75; corrected P less than 0.0001). HLA-DR2 was not detected in any patient with IDD. A significant association between HLA-Aw30 and HLA-B18 was found in IDD patients (chi 2 = 9.39; P less than 0.05) as compared to controls. IgG insulin antibody formation was significantly increased in HLA-DR3- and -DR4-negative patients compared to that in patients positive for both antigens (P less than 0.05). These findings support previous observations in caucasians and black Americans indicating that HLA-DR specificities are associated with IDD and may play a role in determining its mode of inheritance, and perhaps its pathogenesis, independent of ethnic differences. HLA-DR immune-associated antigens are also of importance in determining IgG insulin antibody formation.
Fishing Out a Sensor for Anti-inflammatory Oils

The ω-3 fatty acids have anti-inflammatory and antidiabetic effects in humans. Now, Oh et al. (2010) demonstrate that the G protein-coupled receptor GPR120 is a receptor for ω-3 fatty acids on macrophages and fat cells. Activation of GPR120 by ω-3 fatty acids inhibits multiple inflammation cascades in macrophages and reverses insulin resistance in obese mice.
An objective method to evaluate rationing of pediatric intensive care beds

Rationing of pediatric intensive care beds occurs when the severity of illness of patients admitted to and discharged from the PICU is inversely proportional to the number of available PICU beds. Bed rationing may also increase the proportion of patients using unique PICU therapies, thereby increasing efficiency. Consecutive PICU admissions (n=283) were evaluated for three months for descriptive data, daily severity of illness, and daily care modalities. PICU and hospital censuses were also recorded. The mean PICU occupancy was 75% (range 37.5%–100%), the hospital occupancy was 79% (range 60%–96%) and the daily PICU efficiency was 78% (range 50%–100%). The PICU census was greater than 90% on 13% of the study days. Neither PICU nor hospital census was associated with the severity of illness of patients admitted to or discharged from the PICU. Severity of illness for patients admitted when only one bed was available or discharged when there were no available beds was not higher than at other times. Therefore, we did not find evidence of rationing of pediatric intensive care by using quantitative methods. As health care funding becomes more limited, quantitative analyses such as this study differentiating the need for more PICU beds from the need for better PICU bed utilization will be beneficial.
Schottky barrier heights on p-type diamond and silicon carbide (6h)

The Schottky barrier heights for Au, Al, and Ba on diamond are reported. The variation of the barrier energy with metals is found to be small. A previously incorrect report of S for SiC is corrected.
Staff development: The league model

This paper has four foci. First, it presents a model designed to identify factors to be taken into account in effecting educational improvement within the context of schooling. Second, it describes a strategy for change based on elements of this model. Third, the paper discusses aspects of staff development inherent in this strategy. Finally, in a concluding section, it presents some ideas for further development of the strategy and some attendant problems.
Ammonia, octanoate and a mercaptan depress regeneration of normal rat liver after partial hepatectomy

Four injections of subcoma doses of ammonium acetate, octanoic acid or dimethyl disulfide during the first 24 hr after two-lobe hepatectomy in normal rats markedly depressed DNA synthesis as reflected by liver thymidine kinase activity or the incorporation of tritiated thymidine into hepatic DNA. Recovery from the depressant effects of the three toxins took 16 to 28 hr. Similar doses of the same toxins injected hourly for 3 or 5 hr after the two-lobe hepatectomy had similar depressant effects on the early peak of ornithine decarboxylase activity measured at 4 or 6 hr. Recovery occurred within 3 hr perhaps because of the very short half-life of ornithine decarboxylase and its rapid regeneration time. These observations may have implications for the lack of regeneration observed in many patients with fulminant hepatic failure who have accumulated sufficient ammonia, methanethiol and fatty acids over periods of days or weeks to become encephalopathic.
Evaluation of an Instrument for Assessing Behavioral Change in Sedentary Women

Purpose: To construct and evaluate a psychometric instrument for the assessment of behavioral change as a means for gaining insight into the development of more effective programs for promoting physical activity in women. Design: A 16-item questionnaire was created and was administered three times (0, 6, and 12 months) to 181, 90, and 82 women, respectively, to determine the validity and reliability of the instrument. Participants were women 30–60 years of age, literate in English, and sedentary. Methods: The data were analyzed using factor analysis to determine the most appropriate model for evaluating three theoretical constructs: (a) goal setting, (b) restructuring plans, and (c) relapse prevention and maintenance. Results: A 3-factor model was shown to be appropriate; the instrument adequately distinguished the constructs goal setting and relapse prevention and maintenance, but did less well with the concept of restructuring plans, indicating that this concept may not be a separate entity. Conclusions: This study showed that this new instrument to evaluate behavioral change has important empirical applications. Each subscale can be used independently, depending on the needs of the investigator. This instrument will be useful for public health programs promoting physical activity in a sedentary population.
Analysis and mitigation of vulnerabilities in short-range wireless communications for industrial control systems

Abstract Industrial radios deployed in critical infrastructure provide a potential vector for attackers to penetrate control systems used in the food and agriculture, chemical, critical manufacturing, dams, energy, defense industrial base, government facilities, nuclear reactors, materials and waste, transportation and water sectors. Industrial radios offer convenience and flexibility in deployment while presenting cyber security challenges that wired communications do not. This paper presents a survey of literature related to wireless communications cyber security. The paper focuses on vulnerabilities and mitigations related to multiple industrial radio technologies deployed in control systems including IEEE 802.15.4, WirelessHART, ZigBee, Bluetooth, and IEEE 802.11. This paper also discusses how industrial radio vulnerabilities may be used as vectors for simple and complex attacks on control systems found in critical infrastructure. Finally, this paper provides a set of recommendations for securing wireless networks used in control systems.
DNA-Templated Fabrication of 1D Parallel and 2D Crossed Metallic Nanowire Arrays

This paper reports a simple method for the fabrication of ordered nanostructures composed of metallic nanowires. Molecular combing was used to stretch and align linear λ-DNA molecules into parallel or crossed patterns. Subsequent metallization of DNA through electroless palladium deposition yielded 1D parallel or 2D crossed metallic nanowire arrays. This method has potential use in building interconnects between nanosized building blocks toward nanodevice construction.
Bougienage therapy for constrictive esophagitis.

Review of the long-term results of treatment of 68 patients with constrictive esophagitis suggests that the patients fall into three groups. One group usually responded well to metal bougienage. A second smaller group, treated with soft bougienage, yielded less satisfactory results. A third "mild" group usually required little or no instrumentation. A classification of patients with constrictive esophagitis in terms of the severity of the process is suggested for patients undergoing either conservative or surgical therapy in order to compare the results of therapy.
Classification of infrasound events using hermite polynomial preprocessing and radial basis function neural networks

A method of infrasonic signal classification using hermite polynomials for signal preprocessing is presented. Infrasound is a low frequency acoustic phenomenon typically in the frequency range 0.01 Hz to 10 Hz. Data collected from infrasound sensors are preprocessed using a hermite orthogonal basis inner product approach. The hermite preprocessed signals result in feature vectors that are used as input to a parallel bank of radial basis function neural networks (RBFNN) for classification. The spread and threshold values for each of the RBFNN are then optimized. Robustness of this classification method is tested by introducing unknown events outside the training set and counting errors. The hermite preprocessing method is shown to have superior performance compared to a standard cepstral preprocessing method.
Determination of total phosphorus in lake sediments

Several methods are in use to measure total phosphorus in lake sediments making cross-study comparisons tenuous, and may lead to potential errors in calculating other phosphorus fractions. Four methods in common use in the limnological literature were compared using sediments spanning a range of organic content from 2 to 35% C. No significant differences were found in within-lake comparisons, although a method using persulfate oxidation was highly variable, and this variability was correlated with organic content suggesting inconsistent oxidation. The other methods (combustion, acid digestion with HClO4, H2SO4 + H2O2) gave uniformly small variances.
The importance of water in pork production

• The unique chemical structure of water makes it well suited to fulfi lling a diversity of essential roles in the body. • Defi ning the water requirement of the pig is particularly challenging because intake can be affected by a number of metabolic, physiological, and behavioral factors and because ad libitum intake is not always a refl ection of need. • The quality of drinking water can be a serious problem in regions known to possess aquifers containing problematic ions such as sulfates, iron, manganese, or nitrates. • Both the cost and the availability of water will almost certainly become a bigger issue in many regions of the world in the coming future.
Motion-Based Energy Harvesting Devices for Railroad Applications

As the story goes, a wise railroad man once declared: Power is the king! Although he was referring to the motive power that we need to move freight, the same could be said about the availability of electrical power on railcars. This is mainly due to the fact that the onboard applications of many smart devices that can add to the efficiency of rail operation are hindered by the lack of availability of electrical power. In this paper, innovative solutions to provide a distributed source of electrical power for railroad onboard applications are presented. In a suspension of a railcar, mechanical energy is dissipated in dampers or wedges and, therefore, wasted in heat. Meant to be placed inside the coil springs of the suspension, the proposed vibration-based electromechanical systems are designed to harvest part of that wasted energy and turn it into useful electrical power. The energy produced is then conditioned and stored in commonly available batteries. The possibility of realizing the mechanical-to-electrical power conversion without any prior transformation of the mechanical input is first investigated. This aims to avoid inherent losses induced in such processes. The prototypes use an arrangement of magnets that moves linearly with the suspension inside one or several coils. The variable magnetic field thus created generates a voltage. The prototypes prove that it is possible to use a translational generator to provide enough power for recharging batteries under conditions commonly experienced in railcar operation. The second generation of prototypes investigates the idea of transforming the input translation from the suspension into rotation and then using a rotary generator. The advantage of developing such a concept is the possibility of including a gearbox to increase the generator speed of rotation. Maintaining high shaft speed is the key to harvest more power and reach higher efficiencies. The output power is improved even more by adding a mechanism that rotates the generator shaft in the same direction independently of how the suspension is moving (jounce or rebound). Both designs prove they can recharge batteries under commonly experienced conditions. But although the linear generator shows some limitations in terms of power (up to a few watts RMS), the rotary generator design demonstrates significantly higher efficiency and greater output power (40Watts RMS with a sine wave input of ±0.75in at 1Hz). The amount of generated power can be augmented by increasing the amplitude and/or the frequency of the input, customizing the generator, and bringing new improvements to the mechanical part of the system.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
The Synthesis of Some Alkylcarbamic Acid Esters which Possess Pharmacological Activity

Five dialkylaminoalkyl esters of piperidine-1-carboxylic acid have been prepared to evaluate the effect of varying the length of the alkyl groups on the pharmacological activity. The compounds were prepared by the interaction of piperidine-1-carbonyl chloride and the sodium salt of the appropriate alcohol. Preliminary pharmacological testing has shown the compounds to be active as local anesthetics, central nervous system depressants, antihistaminics, and antispasmodics. The expected increase in activity, as the alkyl groups were increased in length, was not obtained.
Association of Activating KIR Copy Number Variation of NK Cells with Containment of SIV Replication in Rhesus Monkeys

While the contribution of CD8+ cytotoxic T lymphocytes to early containment of HIV-1 spread is well established, a role for NK cells in controlling HIV-1 replication during primary infection has been uncertain. The highly polymorphic family of KIR molecules expressed on NK cells can inhibit or activate these effector cells and might therefore modulate their activity against HIV-1-infected cells. In the present study, we investigated copy number variation in KIR3DH loci encoding the only activating KIR receptor family in rhesus monkeys and its effect on simian immunodeficiency virus (SIV) replication during primary infection in rhesus monkeys. We observed an association between copy numbers of KIR3DH genes and control of SIV replication in Mamu-A*01– rhesus monkeys that express restrictive TRIM5 alleles. These findings provide further evidence for an association between NK cells and the early containment of SIV replication, and underscore the potential importance of activating KIRs in stimulating NK cell responses to control SIV spread.
Mechanical Properties of Sputter‐Deposited Titanium‐Silicon‐Carbon Films

The effect of SiC additions on the mechanical properties of TiC films was investigated. Ti-Si-C films with varying SiC content were deposited using dual-cathode radio-frequency magnetron sputtering. The nanoindentation hardness of these films increased with SiC content to a maximum of 20-22 GPa for films in the range of 15-30 at.% SiC. The elastic modulus was also measured, and the hardness to modulus ratio (H/E) increased with SiC content, indicating that hardness increases were due to microstructural effects. The residual stress was measured in several films, but was low in magnitude, indicating that hardness measurements were not influenced by residual stress. TEM examination of several films revealed that the SiC additions altered the film microstructure in a manner that could account for the observed hardness increases.