cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reactivity studies of a pseudo three-coordinate vanadium(II) complex: Synthesis of terminal oxo and sulfido complexes of vanadium(IV) and S-S and Se-Se reductive bond cleavage reactions

Terminal oxo and sulfido complexes in the form of (nacnac)V E(Ntol 2 ) (nacnac = [ArNC(CH 3 )] 2 CH − , Ar = 2,6-(CHMe 2 ) 2 C 6 H 3 , Ntol 2 = − N(C 6 H 4 -4-Me), E = O ( 1 ), S ( 2 )) were isolated from treatment of the masked three-coordinate vanadium(II) complex, (nacnac)V(Ntol 2 ), with C 5 H 5 NO and S 8 , respectively. Both vanadium(IV) species, 1 and 2 , have been characterized by room temperature X-band EPR spectroscopic studies, and in the case of complex 1 , a single crystal molecular structure confirmed the presence of a terminal oxo moiety. Moreover, reaction of (nacnac)V(Ntol 2 ) with diphenyl–disulfide and diphenyl–diselenide results in the reductive cleavage of these compounds to produce the vanadium(III) complexes (nacnac)V(XPh)(Ntol 2 ) (X = S, ( 3 ), Se ( 4 )). A molecular structure of the phenylsulfide complex, 3 , confirmed formation of the d 2 complex resulting from reductive cleavage of the S–S bond.
Isotropic Stress Measurements in Permalloy Films

Isotropic stress measurements in Permalloy films have been carried out as a function of thickness, rate of deposition, and substrate temperature. The measurements were made by clamping one end of a substrate consisting of a thin strip of glass or mica and observing the deflection of the free end during deposition. Results indicate that the stress is independent of thickness in the range 100–2000 A. However, depending upon the values of the other deposition parameters, one may observe either tensile, compressive, or zero stress.
REESTRUTURAÇÃO, REESCALONAMENTO E A QUESTÃO URBANA

Traducao do texto "Restructuring, rescaling and the urban question", de Neil Brenner. No contexto dos debates recentes sobre escala e teoria socioespacial, esse texto explora alguns dos limites e possibilidades das interpretacoes escalares dos padroes de reestruturacao urbana e regional relacionados ao pos-fordismo e ao periodo referente ao inicio do seculo XXI. Inicio assinalando algumas das premissas escalares que embasaram debates sobre a questao urbana nos anos 1970 e 1980. Eu entao sugiro que, desde os anos 1990, a questao urbana tem sido repensada conceitualmente em termos reflexivamente escalares, no contexto de debates sobre a reestruturacao urbana e regional mundial. A problematica da escala geografica – sua organizacao espacial, sua producao social, sua contestacao politica e reconfiguracao historica – foi, portanto, inserida no âmago da questao urbana. As secoes seguintes destacam a utilidade da perspectiva escalar para pensar as transformacoes urbanas contemporâneas, mas salientam a dificuldade persistente de definir seu conteudo analitico distintivo. Confronto esse problema oferecendo uma serie de proposicoes gerais com o proposito de especificar os parâmetros conceituais determinados das questoes de escala e, por implicacao, dos processos de reescalonamento. A teorizacao proposta envolve um estreitamento conceitual das questoes de escala: os conceitos de escala nao devem ser confundidos com aqueles de espaco, lugar, territorio ou redes. Consequentemente, as geografias cambiantes e polimorficas da reestruturacao urbana nao podem e nao devem ser conceituadas inteiramente em termos escalares. Eu argumento, porem, que os conceitos escalares permanecem ferramentas essenciais para decifrar algumas das dimensoes mais importantes das transformacoes urbanas contemporâneas.
Simulation ofin situ uraninite leaching-part III: The effects of solution concentration

The effects of variations in the concentrations of leaching reagents have been stimulated for in situ leaching of UO{sub 2} by H{sub 2}O{sub 2}-(NH{sub 4}){sub 2}CO{sub 3}-NH{sub 4}HCO{sub 3}. The model used in the simulations incorporates rate laws for the mineral reactions, equilibrium reactions among the solution species, and a mixing cell representation of solution flow. Of the component concentrations, the major factor affecting the rate of uraninite dissolution is the oxidant concentration. High peroxide concentrations lead to more rapid reaction with an early maximum in the U(VI) concentration. If lower oxidant concentrations are used, the reaction is under mixed kinetic and mass transfer control and the U(VI) concentration is lower but approximately constant for an extended period. Because they increase the concentration of the HCO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} anion, high ammonium carbonate and ammonium bicarbonate concentrations also result in some enhancement in the rate of U leaching; the reaction is known to be half-order in both HCO{sub 3}{sup {minus}} and H{sub 2}O{sub 2}. A 10:1 ratio of (NH{sub 4}){sub 2}CO{sub 3} to NH{sub 4}HCO{sub 3} concentrations were found to result in a nearly constant pH during most of the leaching process. Calcite-containing gangue causes an immediate pH increase from aboutmore » 8.9 to 9.4. The rate of the calcite reaction, calcite saturation index, and porosity are all independent of the lixiviant concentrations. Detailed calculations of solution speciation are necessary to predict the concentrations of individual species from those of components.« less
Using economic analysis to evaluate the potential of multimodality therapy for elderly patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer.

Purpose: Development of new and expensive drugs with activity against pancreatic cancer has made economic considerations more relevant to treatment decision-making for advanced disease. Economic modeling can be used to explore the potential of such novel therapies and to inform clinical trial design. Methods and Materials: We developed a Markov model to evaluate the cost-effectiveness of radiation plus fluorouracil (RT-FU) relative to no treatment in elderly patients with locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC) and to determine the economic potential of radiation plus gemcitabine (RT-GEM), a novel regimen for this disease. We used the SEER-Medicare database to estimate effectiveness and costs supplemented by data from the literature where necessary. Results: Relative to no treatment, RT-FU was associated with a cost-effectiveness ratio (ICER) of $68,724/QALY in the base case analysis. Compared with RT-FU, the ICER for RT-GEM was below $100,000/QALY when the risk of dying with the new regimen was 1,000 subjects would be necessary to demonstrate this level of efficacy in a randomized trial. The ICER of RT-GEM was most sensitive to utility values, and, at lower efficacy levels, to costs of gemcitabine and treatment-related toxicity. Conclusions: In elderly patients with LAPC, RT-FU is a cost-effective alternative to no treatment. The novel regimen of RT-GEM is likely to be cost-effective at any clinically meaningful benefit, but quality-of-life issues, drug acquisition, and toxicity-related costs may be relevant, especially at lower efficacy levels.
Bench-scale studies of reactor-based treatment of fuel-contaminated soils

Abstract Biological treatment of hazardous wastes in groundwater and soils has recently assumed great importance. In particular, biotreatment of wastes from accidental spills or underground storage tank leaks has generated interest in bioremediation as a natural, economical mechanism for site decontamination. Because of drawbacks related to batch systems, and the successful use of continuous flow treatment of wastewater for several decades, it was felt that continuous treatment of such soils would be a feasible alternative treatment technique. To this end, bench-scale bioreactor treatability studies were conducted. This study used contaminated soil made in the laboratory using No. 2 diesel fuel and sand. Contamination levels studied were from 1335 to 6675 mg (TPH) as derived from No. 2 fuel oil per kg sand. Variation in mean cell age was obtained between reactors, with sufficient nutrients and oxygen made available to ensure the fuel oil organics were the only limit to microbial growth. A theoretical biokinetic model was formulated based on Monod's theory of limiting substrate and continuous cultures. Biokinetic constants and removal efficiencies were evaluated. The off-gases CO 2 and volatile hydrocarbons were monitored to allow mass balance analysis of the process. The solids retention times for evaluating final TPH concentration of 100 mg/kg were also calculated. The results of this investigation showed that continuous bioreactor treatment is a viable option in the treatment of diesel-contaminated sandy soils. Removal efficiencies of up to 91% were attained at a loading of 1335 mg TPH/kg wet sand, operated at a biological solid retention time (BSRT) of 60 days. Experiments also showed that TPH desorption and volatilization were not rate-limiting in the overall removal process. Sand-to-moisture ratios in excess of 3:1 were also shown to retard TPH removal rates very little. However, biokinetic constants were found to vary over a range of values. This was particularly true at varying diesel loading levels. Nevertheless, significant removal efficiency (up to 86%) was noted at the highest loading level tested, 6675 mg TPH/kg wet sand.
Lymphovascular invasion in clear cell renal cell carcinoma--association with disease-free and cancer-specific survival

Abstract Objectives The objective is to evaluate the effect of lymphovascular invasion (LVI) on disease-free survival (DFS) and cancer-specific survival (CSS) in patients with clinically localized clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC). Methods Patients with ccRCC who were treated surgically in 1997 to 2010 were identified. Retrospective chart review was performed to identify clinical outcomes. Independent pathologic re-review was performed by a single pathologist to confirm LVI status. Pathologic features were correlated with clinical outcomes using Kaplan-Meier and Cox regression analyses. Results Four hundred and nineteen patients with nonmetastatic ccRCC comprised the study cohort. Three hundred and thirty-three of these patients had an organ-confined (pT1-2, N any, and M0) disease. LVI was present in 14.3% of all nonmetastatic patients. In all patients with nonmetastatic ccRCC, presence of LVI was correlated with significantly shorter DFS ( P P = 0.001) on Kaplan-Meier analysis. In cases of organ-confined, nonmetastatic ccRCC, presence of LVI was a significant predictor of DFS (hazard ratio = 4.0, P = 0.026) and CSS (hazard ratio = 12.7, P = 0.01) on multivariate analysis. Patients with organ-confined RCC who were LVI positive had similar DFS ( P = 0.957) and CSS ( P = 0.799) to patients with locally advanced tumors (pT3-pT4, N any, and M0) on Kaplan-Meier analysis. Conclusions The presence of LVI is an independent predictor of both DFS and CSS in organ-confined, nonmetastatic ccRCC. LVI positivity in patients with otherwise pathologically organ-confined ccRCC confers oncologic outcomes similar to those of patients with locally advanced disease. If confirmed by others, future revisions to the tumor-node-metastasis staging system may incorporate LVI status into the prognostic algorithm of patients with RCC.
Uncertainty in energy planning: Estimating the health impacts of air pollution from fossil fuel electricity generation

Abstract Costs of external effects such as health impacts of energy production are not reflected in market prices and as a result are often not taken into account during strategic energy planning. Computationally efficient, reduced-form models that estimate the health impact of air pollution from fossil fuel fired electricity generation can reduce the time and resources needed to analyze policy alternatives. Such models are currently being used for preliminary screening, retrospective studies, as well as in comprehensive multi-pollutant economy-wide approaches. One challenge faced by energy planners concerned with lowering emissions, particularly those using integrated multi-model frameworks for analysis, lies in the trade-off between the uncertainty associated with reduced-form air quality models and the need for sophisticated photochemical modeling that can be prohibitively time and resource intensive.
Emotional Contagion Effects on Product Attitudes

Two experiments examine the existence of, and explanation for, emotional contagion effects on product attitudes. In the first experiment, emotional contagion occurred among “receivers” who “caught” a happy emotion from “senders” whom the receivers liked. The relationship between the emotion experienced by senders and receivers was found to be mediated by receivers mimicking smiling on the part of senders. Exposing receivers to happy senders they liked also resulted in receivers having a positive attitudinal bias toward a product. The happiness experienced by receivers via contagion was found to mediate the effects of sender emotion and receiver liking of the sender on receiver product attitudes. The second experiment replicated the first while demonstrating that observation of the facial expressions of senders by receivers, thus allowing mimicking of smiling, was a necessary condition for emotional contagion to occur. The relevance of emotional contagion for understanding consumer behavior across various ...
Sleep-Disordered Breathing in Michigan: A Practice Pattern Survey

Objectives: This survey sought to determine whether self-professed sleep specialists in the State of Michigan show practice variations in the diagnosis and management of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB), and whether such variations occur between pulmonologists and neurologists. Methods: Questionnaires on practice volume and patterns during the prior 12 months were mailed to physician members of the Michigan Sleep Disorders Association (n = 119); 67 were completed and returned. Results: Respondents reported that they personally saw a median of 8 new patients each week for suspected SDB; estimates were that 86% of these patients were eventually confirmed to have SDB. Most patients (82%) had laboratory-based polysomnography after an initial clinic evaluation, and most (69%) of those treated for SDB received continuous positive airway pressure. However, practice patterns differed substantially among respondents, even when the analysis was limited to the 42 who reported board certification by the American Board of Sleep Medicine. For example, among all surveyed practices the likelihood that suspected SDB would be evaluated with a split-night diagnostic and treatment polysomnogram varied from 0 to 90%. The likelihood of SDB treatment with bilevel positive airway pressure varied from 0 to 50%, with automatically titrating devices from 0 to 100%, with surgery from 0 to 100% (0 to 50% among certified practitioners), and with oral appliances from 0 to 20%. The practice patterns of pulmonologists and neurologists did not differ significantly. Conclusion: Approaches to SDB vary widely in Michigan, though not according to clinician background in pulmonary medicine or neurology. A patient’s experience, in both assessment and treatment, could differ substantially based on which clinician is consulted.
Interindividual Differences in the Protein Binding of Sulfonamides: The Effect of Disease and Drugs 1,2

: The variation in the plasma protein binding of sulfonamides in healthy adults was minimal. Additional evidence for consistency in binding came from a literature survey in which it was found that the plasma protein binding of several sulfonamides in man and laboratory animals was remarkably similar as reported by investigators from different countries. Some hospitalized patients, however, do show a binding deficiency which may be due to an interaction between drugs, disease and altered plasma proteins. Several drugs were found to compete with the sulfonamide for the same binding sites on the protein (albumin) molecule. The plasma protein binding of a sulfonamide in six anephric patients was studied before and after haemodialysis. As expected all showed a deficiency in binding. Unexpectedly, however, the binding was less in the post-dialysis plasma sample in three patients. In some patients there appeared to be a qualitative and a quantitative change in the binding sites on the protein. More definitive studies are needed with plasma protein fractions from healthy and ill subjects in the presence and absence of drugs. This may lead to a better understanding of the side effects to some drugs and could result in the development of useful displacing agents.
SU‐E‐T‐147: Commissioning a Commercial HDR Brachytherapy Multi‐Channel Vaginal Cylinder for Clinical Use Without the Use of Radiographic Film

Purpose: To develop a set of procedures that utilize radiochromic film, a conventional kV simulator, and commonly‐available, vendor‐supplied QA devices to commission an HDR brachytherapy multi‐channel vaginal cylinder (MCVC) for clinical use. Methods: A series of images were acquired utilizing a combination of radiochromic film, planar kV imaging, and device immobilization. Using this information, relative coordinates used for source localization were registered absolutely with respect to MCVC and afterloader coordinate systems. With this knowledge, a method for MCVC channel identification and treatment planning was developed. Absolute dosimetry of resulting plans was verified utilizing radiochromic film measurements in water. Results: Vendor‐supplied index lengths of 1293 and 1500 mm were confirmed for the peripheral and central MCVC channels, respectively. For treatment planning purposes, the distance from the distal tip of each peripheral MCVC channel was verified to be consistent for each supplied cylinder diameter: 25, 30, and 35 mm. Additionally, a method that exploits physical characteristics of the applicator has been developed to facilitate precise and reproducible dwell position localization and catheter identification. Preliminary analysis of measured and planned dose delivered to planes parallel to the long‐axis of the cylinder show agreement within 7% in water for a variety of cylinder diameters and loadings. Conclusion: A method has been developed to commission a commonly available MCVC for clinical use without the use of radiographic film.
Prospects of molecular photoacoustic imaging at 1064 nm wavelength

An analysis of the photoacoustic (PA) signal from murine tissue in vivo revealed several benefits of contrast-enhanced PA imaging at a wavelength of 1064nm. Of all the wavelengths tested in a range from 710 to 1064nm, the background PA signal from tissue in vivo was lowest and more homogeneous at 1064nm. For blood-laden tissue, the background PA signal was up to 70% less at 1064nm. Furthermore, when plasmonic nanoparticles, such as silver nanoplates, were introduced in vivo as contrast agents, the contrast in PA images at 1064nm increased 38% compared to 750nm. Therefore, contrast-enhanced PA imaging at 1064nm is advantageous because of the low and homogeneous signal from native tissue, enabling high contrast in PA imaging when exogenous, molecularly targeted agents are employed.
Endogenous Dopaminergic Dysfunction: A Novel Form of Human Growth Hormone Deficiency and Short Stature

The purpose of this study was to determine if combined therapy with dopaminergic drugs (DA), i.e. L-dopa or bomocriptine, and exogenous human GH (hGH) could increase growth velocity in hypopituitary children. Twelve prepubertal hypopituitary children (eight boys and four girls; bone age, 1.5–9.5 yr), divided into two groups, each received hGH alone, DA alone, and DA and hGH. Group I (n = 6) received L-dopa (15 mg/kg, orally) at 6-h-intervals during DA and combined DA and hGH therapy. Group II (n = 6) received bromocriptine (1.25 mg, orally) every 12 h during DA and combined DA and hGH therapy. Both groups were given hGH (0.1 IU/kg) three times per week during hGH and combined hGH and respective DA treatment. The study included three 6-month treatment periods of DA, hGH, and combined DA and hGH therapy. The mean growth rates (centimeters per 6 months, ±SD) before treatment and during the three study periods for group I were 1.7 ± 0.2, 3.3 ± 0.8, 3.4 ± 0.4, and 3.9 ± 0.7, respectively. Group II results were...
Kinetic performance of narrow-bore columns on a micro-system for high performance liquid chromatography.

Abstract The kinetic performance of 0.5 mm × 50 mm columns packed with 2.7 μm Halo-C 18 core–shell particles and 3 μm EP-120-C 18 fully porous particles fitted on an Eksigent LC-Express Ultra μ HPLC system were measured. The instrument contribution to band broadening was obtained by directly connecting the injection valve and the detector cell with a short, narrow PEEKSIL tube. The connections between the column and the connecting tubes, the column endfittings and its frits contribute to band spreading and are responsible for a significant rear peak tailing, even for retained compounds, resulting in a significant loss of efficiency. Our results show that the μ HPLC system could outperform the current VHPLC systems using 2.1 mm I.D. columns packed with 1.7 μm particles if it were using 0.5 mm I.D. columns packed with 1 μm particles, if it could operate at a few kbar pressure drop, and if the sum of the contributions of the instrument, column endfittings and the column frits to band dispersion were three times smaller than it is at present.
Anabolic-androgenic steroid use and other adolescent problem behaviors: Rethinking the male athlete assumption

Based on a national sample of over 16,000 public and private high school students (the 1997 Youth Risk Behavior Survey), we used logistic regression analysis to examine relationships among anabolicandrogenic steroid use and other problem behaviors for female and male athletes and nonathletes. After controlling for age, race/ethnicity, parental educational attainment, urbanicity, and recent exercise, users had significantly greater odds of engaging in other illicit drug, alcohol, and tobacco use, fighting, suicide attempts, sexual risk taking, vehicular risk taking, and pathogenic weight loss behavior, suggesting that steroid use is part of Jessor's problem behavior syndrome for adolescents. Despite the stereotypical images of the male athlete user, both nonathlete and female users also faced elevated risks of multiple drug use and other health-compromising behavior. Thus this study rejects the view of steroid use as merely a logical extension of the male athletic cultural imperative.
The Prevalence of Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis in US Coal Miners

The National lnstitute of Occupational Safety and Health of the US public Health Service recently completed the first round of a large field study to determine the prevalence of coal workers, pneumoconiosis in working US coal miners. Between October 1969 and July 1971 a total of 9,076 miners from 29 bituminous and 2 anthracite mines were examined. An overall prevalence of nearly 30% was found. However, progressive massive fibrosis occurred in only 2.5% of the sample. when the data were broken down according to the geographic region in which the mine is situated, marked regional differences in prevalence were apparent. Thus, while 45% of the Eastern Pennsylvania anthracite miners had simple pneumoconiosis and a further 14% had progressive massive fibrosis, the comparable figures for bituminous miners in Colorado were 4.6% and 0%. No obvious cause for these disparities in prevalence was apparent.
cAMP Inhibits Cell Migration by Interfering with Rac-induced Lamellipodium Formation

Cell migration is critical for animal development and physiological as well as pathological responses. One important step during cell migration is the formation of lamellipodia at the leading edge of migrating cells. Here we report that the second messenger cAMP inhibits the migration of mouse embryonic fibroblast cells and mouse breast tumor cells. cAMP acts downstream of the small GTPase Rac and interferes with the formation of lamellipodia. Moreover, cAMP decreases the phosphorylation of the myosin light chain at the leading edge of cells and increases the phosphorylation of the vasodilator-stimulated phosphoprotein. Together with our previous report of a positive role of another second messenger, cGMP, in lamellipodium formation, our data indicate that cAMP and cGMP play opposite roles in modulating lamellipodium formation.
Interferon-γ accelerates immune proliferation via its effect on monocyte HLA-DR expression

The effect of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) on antigen-induced and autologous proliferative responses has been investigated. The enhanced proliferative response, which resulted in the presence of IFN-gamma, was found to be the consequence of the increased density of HLA-DR induced on the accessory cells. The enhanced proliferation was at least partly due to a shift in the proliferation time course. The response to tetanus toxoid peaked 1-2 days earlier when IFN-gamma-treated monocytes acted as accessory cells than when untreated monocytes presented the antigen. Modulation of the level of DR by preincubation of the monocytes with anti-DR antibody with and without IFN-gamma demonstrated that both autologous and antigen-driven proliferation was influenced in proportion to the level of DR expressed at the time of stimulation. These experiments point to the importance of IFN-gamma in inducing an accelerated immune response via its effect on the density of DR expression on the accessory cell.
Age, gender, socioeconomic status, race/ethnicity, temperament, and actual social and cognitive competence as factors contributing to preservice teachers’ perceptions of preschool children's social and cognitive competence

Abstract The perceptions of 28 preservice early childhood teachers about the social and cognitive competence of 68 preschool children were examined. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed gender, age, and family socioeconomic stalus biases in preservice teachers’ perceptions of children's social and cognitive competence. Qualitative data from focus group discussions with preservice teachers also supported these findings. In addition, children's actual social and cognitive competence, while not the most significant, also uniquely and significantly contributed to preservice teachers’ perceptions of children's social and cognitive competence. This may indicate that preservice teachers are likely struggling with their biases as they involve themselves in their teacher preparation experiences, focused on developing more accurate views of children's social and cognitive competence. Both race/ethnicity and temperament contributions were not found, possibility due to the limited sample used.
Biophysical properties of the aorta in patients with Marfan syndrome and related connective tissue disorders: evaluation with MRI and computational fluid dynamics modeling

Objective The purpose of this study was to evaluate the biophysical properties of the aorta in patients with Marfan Syndrome or Loeys-Dietz Syndrome using MRI and computational fluid dynamics (CFD) modeling. Background Patients with Marfan Syndrome and related disorders have abnormal wall properties throughout the thoracic aorta including low distensibility in areas that eventually dilate. CFD modeling based on MRI data can be used to quantify distensibility and indices such as velocity and wall shear stress (WSS) throughout the cardiac cycle and for the entire thoracic aorta. We sought to use cardiac MRI and CFD modeling to evaluate the distensibility and indices of WSS in the aorta of patients with Marfan Syndrome and related disorders compared to age- and gender-matched controls. Methods Patients with Marfan Syndrome or a related disorder and no history of surgery who underwent a recent MRI were identified (n=6; 5 Marfan, 1 Loeys-Dietz). After measuring blood pressure, aortic wall dimensions and distensibility were calculated off-line by two independent observers at 3 locations: ascending aorta (AAo), thoracic descending aorta (DAoT), and descending aorta at the level of the diaphragm (DAoD). CFD simulations were performed using a stabilized finite element solver and incorporated downstream vascular resistance and compliance CFD models to quantify time-averaged WSS (TAWSS) and oscillatory shear index (OSI) throughout the aorta. Results
In situ fabrication of porous-carbon-supported α-MnO2 nanorods at room temperature: application for rechargeable Li–O2 batteries

Lithium–O2 cells can be considered the “holy grail” of lithium batteries because they offer much superior theoretical energy density to conventional lithium-ion systems. In this study, porous carbon-supported MnO2 nanorods synthesized at room temperature were explored as an electrocatalyst for rechargeable Li–O2 cells. Both high-energy X-ray diffraction and X-ray absorption fine-structure analyses showed that the prepared MnO2 exhibited a tetragonal crystal structure (α-MnO2), which has proved to be one of the most efficient catalysts to facilitate the charging of the Li–O2 cell. Under the current synthetic approach, α-MnO2 was uniformly distributed onto the surface of a carbon support, without disrupting the porous structure at the surface of the carbon cathode. As a result, the as-prepared catalysts demonstrated good electrochemical behavior, with a capacity of ∼1400 mA h g−1 (carbon + electrocatalyst) under a current density of 100 mA g−1 (carbon + electrocatalyst) during the initial discharge. The charge potential was significantly reduced, to 3.5–3.7 V, compared with most of the reported data, which are above 4.0 V. The mechanism of the capacity fade with cycling was also investigated by analyzing the cathode at different states of discharge–charge by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy.
Correspondence, Partial Matching And Image Understanding

Establishing a correspondence between a stored model and an object in the world is a valuable process. This relationship can be performed in a "global" manner -- employing correlation techniques -- or in a "piecewise" manner -- where component matching is used. In this paper we describe the merits of establishing a piecewise correspondence between a stored model, which is a complete, viewpoint independent description, and the viewpoint dependent description that is obtained from sensing an object in the world. Piecewise correspondence is the matching of object components to model components in a unique manner. In general there will exist object components for which there are no stored model components, and model components for which there are no visible object components. This matching problem can be expressed as a Double subgraph isomorphism, where we search for the maximal subset that is common to both the model graph and the object graph and thus determine a partial match. The determination of a piecewise correspondence makes certain Image understanding tasks possible since it is known which object components are missing. Their location and type may then be hypothesized by the image understanding system. For features missing due to image processing limitations, the location of the feature in the image is determined, and the image is reexamined in an expectation-driven manner with more sensitive thresholds. If the feature is missing due to occlusion, then the sensor is repositioned so that the hypothesis can be tested from a new viewpoint. Sensor repositioning is computed first in the model-centered framework and then transformed via the established correspondence to the object-centered framework. Sensor repositioning may also serve to disambiguate object matching when a poor initial view is given. The ability to advise feature extraction routines to reprocess a section of an image, or to redirect the sensor view for hypothesis verification and disambiguation are all steps toward Image understanding. These capabilities are driven by the establishment of a piecewise correspondence between a viewed scene and a stored model. Presented in this paper is a computer vision system which performs these tasks and which will soon be incorporated into a full robotic system.© (1987) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Estimating the prevalence and career longevity of prostitute women

Reliable empiric estimates of the prevalence and career longevity of prostitute women in the United States are not currently available. We analyze data from our continuous observation of such women in Colorado Springs, during nearly two decades, starting in 1970. Of the 1,022 prostitute women observed, 52.5% are classified as evanescent, 12.1% as short‐term, and 35.3% as long‐term residents. Comparison with police prostitution records suggests that our cohort represents about four‐fifths of “true” prevalence. The density of full‐time equivalent prostitutes (FTEPs) appears to be about 23 per 100,000 population. By extension to the nation, we estimate that an average of about 84,000 women, or about 59,000 FTEPs, worked as prostitutes in the United States annually during the 1980s. Our data suggest that prostitute women remain in prostitution for only a short time (about 4 or 5 years for long‐term prostitutes).
Necesidades y Problemas: Immigrant Latina Vernaculars of Belonging, Coalition, and Citizenship in San Francisco, California

On an unusually fogless Saturday morning in the late spring of 1996, a van loaded with seven women and small children circled a busy block in San Francisco’s Chinatown, failing to find a coveted on-street parking spot. The neighborhood was bustling already at 9 a.m. with Chinese American families arriving from outer city districts and suburbs for their weekly grocery shopping or extended family visits. The van finally double-parked in front of the enormous concrete cube of a 1970s-era public housing complex. The passengers alighted and the sound of their Spanish conversations soon joined the English and Cantonese already heard at high volume on the street. Arriving late after a cross-town trip from the Latino Mission District, the women moved quickly inside the complex to the housing project’s community meeting room, dropping their children in an older multipurpose room where childcare was provided. More than a dozen other women were already there, sitting around a U-shaped table with headphones on, trying hard to help volunteer interpreters figure out how to broadcast Cantonese and Spanish translations to the appropriate participants. The sponsoring community organizations’ staff welcomed everyone and asked the late arrivals to introduce themselves to the group.
Regulation of Connexin Channels by pH DIRECT ACTION OF THE PROTONATED FORM OF TAURINE AND OTHER AMINOSULFONATES

Protonated aminosulfonate compounds directly inhibit connexin channel activity. This was demonstrated by pH-dependent connexin channel activity in Good's pH buffers (MES (4-morpholineethanesulfonic acid)), HEPES, and TAPS (3-({[2-hydroxy-1, 1-bis(hydroxymethyl)ethyl]amino]-1-propanesulfonic acid)) that have an aminosulfonate moiety in common and by the absence of pH-dependent channel activity in pH buffers without an aminosulfonate moiety (maleate, Tris, and bicarbonate). The pH-activity relation was shifted according to the pKa of each aminosulfonate pH buffer. At constant pH, increased aminosulfonate concentration inhibited channel activity. Taurine, a ubiquitous cytoplasmic aminosulfonic acid, had the same effect at physiological concentrations. These data raise the possibility that effects on connexin channel activity previously attributed to protonation of connexin may be mediated instead by protonation of cytoplasmic regulators, such as taurine. Modulation by aminosulfonates is specific for heteromeric connexin channels containing connexin-26; it does not occur significantly for homomeric connexin-32 channels. The identification of taurine as a cytoplasmic compound that directly interacts with and modulates connexin channel activity is likely to facilitate understanding of cellular modulation of connexin channels and lead to the development of reagents for use in structure-function studies of connexin protein.
Kafka and the Rabbis: Re-reading "The Judgment" in Light of Rabbinic Law

This article focuses on the judgment in Franz Kafka’s “The Judgment.” It reevaluates the father’s sentence, “I now condemn you to death by drowning!” from a religious-legal perspective. To approach Kafka’s text from this perspective challenges traditional interpretations of this narrative, which tend to not question the validity of the father’s judgment at all. By highlighting the various transgressions of halakhah, i.e. rabbinic law, by Georg as well as his father, this essay shows that it is in fact not Georg, but his father who is guilty and therefore needs to be punished. It shows how the father transgresses halakhah on several occasions and that his sentence over the son is illegitimate. Additionally, by pointing out the connection of Kafka’s narrative to rabbinic law, this essay highlights its midrashic, i.e. commentary character and relates it to the biblical story of Jacob and Esau in the Book of Genesis.
Soil Water Potential: Effects on Soybean Looper Feedin on Soybean Leaves

Defoliation by soybean looper, Pseudoplusia includens (Walker), often is uniformly high over portions of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr] fields but is uniformly low, or progressive more slowly, over other portions of the same fields. Through the use of insect bioassays the effect of soil water potential (SWP) and two soil types were investigated to determine if they are factors associated with observed soybean looper defoliation patterns. Tests were conducted using excised leaves from greenhouse-grown plants and laboratory-reared insects
Finite‐element models of viscoelasticity and diffusion in adhesively bonded joints

The paper contains a description of the finite-element model based on Schapery's non-linear viscoelastic constitutive equation for the adhesive, a non-linear generalized Fickean diffusion model and an updated Lagrangian formulation of a two-dimensional stress state, to analyse adhesively bonded joints. The finite-element analysis program, called NOVA, is used to analyse a number of adhesive joints, and the results are compared with existing experimental results and analytical solutions.
Parallel evaluation of the determinant and of the inverse of a matrix

Abstract We decrease (from(n2.876) to o(n2.851)) the current record bound on the number of processors required in O(log2n) step parallel arithmetic algorithms over rationals for the exact evaluation of the inverse and all coefficients of the characteristic polynomial of an n × n rational, real, or complex matrix A. For an integer input matrix A, the evaluation involves only d-bit numbers where either d = O(log p) if the computation is modulo a prime p or d = O(n log ‖A‖) in the general case; the Boolean cost of computing det A is further decreased in a randomized parallel algorithm.
Being Shy at School

In our commentary on “Bashful boys and coy girls: A review of gender differences in childhood shyness” by Doey et al. (2013) we provide an analysis of limitations to the study of shyness in children as well as future avenues of research that may be fruitful for better understanding implications of shyness in school. Our focus is primarily on shyness in the classroom context, but we first discuss persistent difficulties in the measurement of shyness in childhood. Like Doey et al., our commentary reflects research in samples from the United States and Canada, unless otherwise noted. We then delve into potential school-related moderators of relations between shyness and children’s academic and social success, such as language skills and self-regulation, which are also associated with gender. To extend work summarized in Doey et al. (2013) regarding gender differences in teachers’ perceptions of shy students, we report on a new analysis of a longitudinal data set to examine gender as a moderator between children’s shyness in preschool and teacher-child relationships in early elementary grades. We conclude with a brief description of research on classroom support as a buffer for shy boys and girls.
Diagnostic error: Untapped potential for improving patient safety?

How many diagnostic errors occur? How often do errors cause harm, and how serious is that harm? Do we understand the major causes of diagnostic errors? Really, we don't know how to answer these questions! This article seeks to define a challenge facing all healthcare risk managers, whose usual methods of identifying and analyzing errors have not, and cannot, supply this missing information. What should risk managers do about diagnostic error? Our medical literature acknowledges the existence of a problem, but offers few practical solutions. This article will review some promising theories from the literature regarding how to identify and remediate diagnostic errors, and identify some tools and resources available to risk managers.
Functional properties of extruded foam composites of starch acetate and corn cob fiber

Abstract With increasing concerns about environmental protection and garbage handling, natural renewable materials such as starch, cellulose and other natural fibers become more and more popular in packaging materials manufacturing. In this study, physical and mechanical properties of extruded foam composites, prepared from starch acetate and cellulose/corn cob, were evaluated. A split-plot experimental design was used to compare selected functional properties of foams produced from starch acetate blended with ground corncobs, compared to blending with cellulose, and with different ethanol contents. Extrusions were conducted in a twin-screw extruder with 160 °C barrel temperature and 225 rpm screw speed. Physical properties of extrudates were measured including radial expansion ratio, unit density, bulk density, and water absorption index. Mechanical properties including unit spring index, bulk spring index, and compression strength were measured. Scanning electron microscopy was used to compare the macromolecular structures of the two types of starch acetate blends. Blending with corncobs significantly hindered radial expansion of starch acetate foams, whereas cellulose did not affect expansion significantly. Higher compression strength was obtained with higher corncob content. Although ethanol penetration assisted in the formation of a starch acetate–fiber matrix, corncob blends produced inferior linkages and cell development in the foams than foams produced with cellulose blends.
Response of Colorado potato beetles,Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), to volatile components of tansy,Tanacetum vulgare.

The responses of Colorado potato beetle,Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), to volatile components of tansy,Tanacetum vulgare L., were investigated in order to establish a chemical basis for observed reduction in beetle populations when potatoes,Solanum tuberosum L., were interplanted with tansy. Colorado potato beetles exhibited avoidance behavior to tansy oil, volatiles from intact tansy plants, a “hydrocarbon fraction” of tansy oil, obtained by fractionation on alumina, and five of the 13 known components of tansy oil that were tested. One constituent of tansy oil, α-pinene, attracted beetles.
A remark on time evolution and spectral concentration

Irreversibility is studied from the point of view of a time-dependent partitioning technique, based on retarded and advanced evolution operators. Application to the Stark effect in the hydrogen atom showed that correct numerical results for the real part of the resonance, that is, the complex pole of the Green's function, could be obtained. (GHT)
Biological Cells as Storage Devices

Hard drive storage has been made cheaper, faster and larger. Disk storage technology in general has seen incredible advances including reduction in size, an increase in real density, and an increase in internal data rates, but the future of hard disk technology is uncertain. Biological cells are amazing machines. Cells store DNA, the information that is used to create life, and manufacture proteins. This paper proposes using a biological cell as a computer storage device much like a hard drive stores user data today.
Emergency management through sensors of enterprise systems

Emergency responses must utilize all information sources available to the emergency operations centers. University campuses are overflowing with information sources due to their infrastructure of information technology (IT). While serving a student body of thousands and sometimes 10s of thousands, every operation in a university involves an IT enterprise system. While enterprise systems store and operate on vast amounts of data about the “happenings around campus”, they are still disparate data systems with no integrated view. Furthermore, most systems operate on and store same information about campus and people while using various data models appropriate to their operational needs. In this paper, we propose an industry standard that can enable treatment of data sources as enterprise sensors in an emergency sensor network towards an integrated emergency management portal. The standard is IF-MAP (interface for metadata access point). IF-MAP is a technology suite with a thin client to enable a publish/subscribe communications paradigm that can integrate disparate data sources for a facilitation of data exchange in speeding emergency decision processes. We have implemented integration of sensor data feeds from the card access system, video feeds, and general facilities information at the University of Houston.
Decision support and negotiation research: A researcher's perspective

The intellectual interchange between methodologists interested in supporting negotiation practice and negotiation researchers who have been developing conceptual frameworks of the process and outcome must be enlivened. Taking the perspective of a researcher concerned with understanding and explaining the process of negotiation, the author highlights several key theoretical concepts that DSS developers should consider in designing techniques for practitioners which will introduce dynamic and creative aspects and provide a firm theoretical underpinning for their DSS approaches.
Clinical Outcomes of Enjoying Sexualization Among Lesbian Women

The Enjoyment of Sexualization Scale (ESS) was given to 150 lesbians in addition to measures of self-objectification, negative eating attitudes, and depression. The ESS was found to have acceptable levels of internal consistency reliability with a lesbian sample. Scores on the ESS were lower in this sample than in previously reported research with heterosexual women. Enjoying sexualization was found to moderate the relationship between body shame and both depressive symptomatology and negative eating attitudes. In contrast to findings from a heterosexual sample, lesbians who enjoyed sexualization had smaller relationships between these negative clinical outcomes and body shame than lesbians who did not. For lesbians, enjoying sexualization may serve a protective function against the negative effects of self-objectification. Findings are discussed in terms of body image and perceptions of ideal beauty among lesbians.
Tight frame 6-band symmetric wavelets with limited redundancy

We consider the design of 6-channel tight frame symmetric wavelet with scaling factor M = 4. The lowpass filter is designed using either Grobner bases or truncated Taylor series methods. The bandpass and highpass filters are then designed using Grobner bases. The resulting filters have linear phase, smooth limit functions, and reduced redundancy. It was possible to obtain filterbanks with K0 (zeros at z = 1 and z = ±j for the lowpass filter) up to 5 and Kmin (zeros at z = 1 for bandpass/highpass filters) of 1 or greater. The proposed filterbanks generate five wavelets and a scaling function with the underlying filters related as follows: H5-i(z) = Hi(-z), i = 0... 5.© (2011) COPYRIGHT Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE). Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.