cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HIV Testing Behavior and Associated Characteristics Among U.S. Adults, 1993 and 1994

In this study we examined the prevalence of HIV testing and the factors that influence testing among U.S. adults. Data were obtained from the 1993 and 1994 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-specific, population-based, random telephone survey that collects health behavior information monthly from U.S. adults aged 18 years or older. AIDS-related questions were asked of adults under 65. Using weighted data and aggregating across states, we examined prevalence estimates and relationships among sociodemographic factors, perceived general health status, having health insurance, perceived risk for HIV infection, and having been tested voluntarily for HIV Among all respondents, 13.8% in 1993 and 18.5% in 1994 were tested voluntarily. Adults who were younger, Black, or female, had lower levels of income, resided in the West, had no health insurance, had poorer perceived general health, and were at greater perceived risk for HIV infection were significantly more likely to be voluntarily tested for HIV. Our prevalence estimates were similar to other national estimates. HIV testing also appears to have become more common. Factors found in our study that significantly influenced testing were similar to findings from other HIV studies. The results are encouraging as they indicate that those at greater risk for HIV are more likely to be tested. However, a substantial proportion of adults who perceived themselves to be at high or medium risk for HIV have not been tested. Efforts to encourage testing for these individuals should be continued.
Socratism as a Vocation

This paper discusses the rhetorical problems teachers face in presenting Socratic activity to students, and it then argues that parallel problems arise in presenting liberal education to many academic colleagues. Given the nature of philosophy and the nature of expertise in today’s academy, most academics will not understand, and perhaps be hostile to, philosophy, and philosophers may sometimes seem to them both arrogant and ignorant. The contemporary academy, dominated by assumptions Weber articulates in “Science as a Vocation,” does not make room for philosophical activity and practitioners of philosophy in the classroom (in various departments) must adopt rhetorically appropriate postures in order to create safe spaces for Socratic activity.
Cobalt N-Heterocyclic Phosphenium Complexes Stabilized by a Chelating Framework: Synthesis and Redox Properties.

Two cobalt complexes containing coordinated N-heterocyclic phosphenium (NHP+) ligands are synthesized using a bidentate NHP+/phosphine chelating ligand, [PP]+. Treatment of Na[Co(CO)4] with the chlorophosphine precursor [PP]Cl (1) affords [PP]Co(CO)2 (2), which features a planar geometry at the NHP+ phosphorus center and a short Co–P distance [1.9922(4) A] indicative of a Co═P double bond. The more electron-rich complex [PP]Co(PMe3)2 (3), which is synthesized in a one-pot reduction procedure with 1, CoCl2, PMe3, and KC8, has an even shorter Co–P bond [1.9455(6) A] owing to stronger metal-to-phosphorus back-donation. The redox properties of 2 and 3 were explored using cyclic voltammetry, and oxidation of 3 was achieved to afford [[PP]Co(PMe3)2]+ (4). The electron paramagnetic resonance spectrum of complex 4 features hyperfine coupling to both 59Co and 31P, suggesting strong delocalization of the unpaired electron density in this complex. Density functional theory calculations are used to further explore th...
Chapter 15 – Damage in metal matrix composites using the generalized cells model

Publisher Summary In this chapter, damage is incorporated in the generalized cells model (GCM), and applied to metal–matrix composites. The GCM is the generalization of the method of cells by taking any number of subcells, and considering the rate-dependent relations of the subcell for modeling the multiphase composite materials. The GCM is able to provide an accurate representation of the actual microstructure. This chapter uses the local incremental damage model to account for damage in each subcell separately. The resulting micromechanical analysis establishes elasto-plastic constitutive equations that govern the overall behavior of the damaged composite. The elasto-plastic constitutive model is first derived in the undamaged configuration for each constituent of the metal–matrix composite. The plasticity model used in the chapter is based on the existence of a yield surface and flow rule. Examples are solved numerically to explore the physical interpretation of the proposed theory for a unit cell composite element.
Cornhole: A Widely-Accessible AI Robotics Task

In this paper we present the game of cornhole as a compelling, accessible, and adaptable AI robotics task. Cornhole is a fun and social game with simple rules, but involves strategy and physical training for humans to play competitively; thus, developing a robot that can play at the level of even the average human player presents a multitude of opportunities for curricular integration at a variety of levels. We characterize the AI tasks involved with the game, and present results and resources gained from preliminary offerings.
Cenozoic Muricidae of the Western Atlantic Region Part III- Chicoreus (Phyllonotus)

There are 18 species of the muricine subgenus Phyllonotus recognized in the Cenozoic of the western Atlantic region; three of these species are extant. The earliest known species here referred to Phyllonotus is from the lower Oligocene Red Bluff Clay of Mississippi. The group is believed to have been derived from a Hexaplex ancestor because of similarities of protoconch type in the earlier fossil species and of coloration in the Recent species. Phyllonotus is thought to have given rise to the subgenera Chicorenus s.s. and Siratus. An endemic western Atlantic form, Phyllonotus migrated through the Isthmian passage, probably in the Miocene time, and evolved into the four species presently known from the eastern Pacific. The subgenus is and has always been confined to the New World. All 18 western Atlantic Cenozoic species are treated systematically, including one new species Chicoreus (Phyllonotus) leonensis E. H. Vokes, from the Choctawhatchee Formation of northern Florida.
The Challenge Course Experience Questionnaire: A Facilitator’s Assessment Tool:

Challenge course programs influence a variety of psychological, social, and educational outcomes. Yet, many challenges exist when measuring challenge course outcomes like logistical constraints and...
Broken lives: Fights, fractures, and motor vehicle accidents among heroin users entering detoxification.

Background The lives of persons who use illicit substances are filled with physical adversities and negative outcomes.
Fedorovism in Early Post-Soviet Russia: The Collapse of the Meta-imperial Project

ABSTRACTNikolai Fedorov, the obscure librarian in late tsarist Russia, had created a grand theory. According to it, the humanities should be united under the aegis of the Tsar to engage in the complete mastery over nature, spreading all over the universe and the resurrection of the dead. This totalitarian and messianic aspect of fedorovism could be well incorporated into totalitarian messianism, the belief in the omnipotence of science and exploration of space – all the key elements of Soviet ideology. Consequently, the regime became ‘Fedorovian’ without cognizing it. While Gorbachev’s reforms made it possible for many Soviet intellectuals to be acquainted with Fedorov, the collapse of the regime and the country had led to profound implications for these Soviet intellectuals’ perception of Fedorov’s teachings and related theories. For some, it led to embracing the peculiar cocktail of mysticism and the occult. For others, the end of the USSR implied that Fedorov’s dream – humanity’s mastery over nature – ...
Allosterism within δ Opioid-κ Opioid Receptor Heteromers in Peripheral Sensory Neurons: Regulation of κ Opioid Agonist Efficacy.

There is abundant evidence for formation of G protein coupled receptor heteromers in heterologous expression systems, however, little is known of the function of heteromers in native systems. Heteromers of delta and kappa opioid receptors (DOR-KOR heteromers) have been identified in native systems. We previously reported that activation of DOR-KOR heteromers expressed by rat pain-sensing neurons (nociceptors) produces robust, peripherally-mediated antinociception. Moreover, DOR agonist potency and efficacy is regulated by KOR antagonists via allosteric interactions within the DOR-KOR heteromer in a ligand-dependent manner. Here we assessed the reciprocal regulation of KOR agonist function by DOR antagonists in adult rat nociceptors in culture and in a behavioral assay of nociception. Naltrindole enhanced the potency of the KOR agonist ICI-199441 (10-20 fold), but did not alter responses to U50488. By contrast, the potency of U50488 was enhanced (20 fold) by 7-benzylidenenaltrexone. The efficacy of 69-guanidinonaltrindole (69-GNTI) to inhibit nociceptors was blocked by siRNA knock-down of DOR or KOR. Replacing 69-GNTI occupancy of DOR with either naltrindole or 7-benzylidenenaltrexone abolished 69-GNTI efficacy. Further, peptides derived from DOR transmembrane segment 1, fused to the cell membrane penetrating HIV transactivator of transcription peptide, also blocked 69-GNTI-mediated responses ex vivo and in vivo, suggesting that 69-GNTI efficacy in nociceptors is due to its positive allosteric regulation of KOR via occupancy of DOR in a DOR-KOR heteromer. Together, these results provide evidence for the existence of functional DOR-KOR heteromers in rat peripheral sensory neurons and that reciprocal, ligand-dependent, allosteric interactions occur between the DOR and KOR protomers.
Ozone assisted cool flame combustion of sub-millimeter sized n-alkane droplets at atmospheric and higher pressure

Abstract Cool flame combustion of individual and isolated sub-millimeter sized n -heptane ( n -C 7 H 16 ) and n -decane ( n -C 10 H 22 ) droplets are computationally investigated for atmospheric and higher operating pressure (25 atm) conditions with varying levels of ozone (O 3 ) mole fractions in the surroundings. A sphero-symmetric, one-dimensional, transient, droplet combustion model is utilized, employing reduced versions of detailed chemical kinetic models for the fuel species and an appended ozone reaction subset. Comprehensive parametric computations show that the regime of the cool flame burning mode and the transition from cool to hot flames are sensitive to the changes of O 3 loading, pressure, diluent variation, the strength of initiation source, and the influence of fuel vapor pressure at the ambient condition. For both fuels and over a range of O 3 concentrations in the ambient, sustained cool flame burning can be directly produced, even for sub-millimeter sized droplets. Over some range of O 3 concentrations, operating pressure, and drop diameter, a self-sustaining, continuous cool flame burn can be produced without incurring a hot flame transition. For sufficiently high O 3 concentrations, combustion initiation is always followed by a hot flame transition. Fuel volatility is also shown to be important for initiation and transition to cool flame and hot flame initiation. For fuels having a flash point lower than the ambient temperature (e.g. n- heptane), atomic O radicals formed by O 3 decomposition react with the partially premixed, flammable gas phase near the droplet surface, leading to OH radicals, water production, and heat that auto-thermally accelerates the combustion initiation process. For fuels with flashpoints higher than the ambient temperature (e.g. n -decane), the reaction progress is limited by the local fuel vapor concentration and the necessity to heat the droplet surface to sufficiently high temperatures to produce locally flammable conditions. As a result, the initial transient for establishing either cool flame or hot flame transition is significantly longer for high flash point fuels. The transition of locally partially premixed reaction to diffusive burning conditions is more evident for high flash point conditions.
Pyrite Chemistry: The Key for Abatement of Acid Mine Drainage

Pyrite oxidation produces extremely acidic drainages (as low as pH 2) enriched with Fe, Mn, Al, SO4, and often heavy metals such as Pb, Hg, Cd, etc. (Table 10.1). Pyrite oxidation takes place when the mineral is exposed to air and water. The process is complex because it involves chemical, biological, and electrochemical reactions, and varies with environmental conditions. Factors such as pH, pO2, specific surface and morphology of pyrite, presence or absence of bacteria and/or clay minerals, as well as hydrological factors determine the rate of oxidation. There is, therefore, no single rate law to describe kinetics of pyrite oxidation for all cases (Evangelou 1995b; Evangelou and Zhang 1995).
A Re-Reading of Heidegger’s “Phenomenology and Theology”

This close reading of Heidegger’s “Phenomenology and Theology” is motivated by critical questions concerning his basic statements about the presence and absence of certain relations between faith and philosophy.
Introduction to the First Edition

Topologists study three types of manifolds—topological or continuous (TOP), piecewise linear (PL), differentiable (DIFF)—and the relation-ships among them. A basic problem is to ascertain when a topological manifold admits a PL structure and, if it does, whether there is also a compatible smooth structure. By the early 1950’s it was known that every topological manifold of dimension less than or equal to three admits a unique smooth structure. In 1968 Kirby and Siebenmann determined that for a topological manifold M of dimension at least five, there is a single obstruction α(M) ∈ H4(M;ℤ2) to the existence of a PL structure. There are further discrete obstructions to lifting from PL to DIFF; these have coefficients in groups of homotopy spheres. Fortunately, a simplification in dimension four absolves us from having to consider the piecewise linear category again: Every PL 4-manifold carries a unique compatible differentiable structure. Now the Kirby-Siebenmann obstruction α(M), which lives on the 4-skeleton of an n-manifold M, relates in special cases to a result of Rohlin dating back to 1952. Rohlin’s Theorem states that the signature of a smooth spin 4-manifold is divisible by 16. The arithmetic of quadratic forms shows that the signature of a topological “spin” (= almost parallelizable) 4-manifold M is divisible by 8, and α(M) ∈2 = 8ℤ/16ℤ is the signature mod 16. If M is not spinable, the Kirby-Siebenmann invariant is an extra piece of information not related to the intersection form.
Experimental and Theoretical Study on the Robustification of Acoustic Emission Inspection with Recurrent Neural Networks

This paper presents a summary of an experimental and theoretical study conducted to improve the performance of Acoustic Emission (AE) based structural health monitoring. Two broadband AE sensors are attached to a test specimen and a series of artificial test signals were generated using multiple pencil-lead breaks. The geometry of the test specimen is such that; one of the AE sensors always receives a direct wave and the second sensor receives reflection (or echo) of the same direct wave received at the first sensor. Time series data of the direct and reflected waves, recorded at a rate of 5 MHz, are used to train a multi-layer recurrent neural network (RNN) in a supervised setting. The inherent patterns learned from the training data are used to classify received acoustic emission waveforms into reflection and direct waves. Preliminary results show that the proposed technique, at least in a similar setting and material, improves the performance of AE based health monitoring.
Justice for guinea pigs

Innovative medical treatments have an inescapable resemblance to medical experiments. They may prove to be of no help to those on whom they are performed but of great help to subsequent patients. T...
El poder y lo sagrado: intereses políticos y religiosos en la canonización de Vicente Ferrer

This article explores some of the political and religious considerations in the canonization of St. Vincent Ferrer through a close and sometimes against the grain reading of canonization materials, letters, and early hagiography. The most aggressive promoters of Vincent’s canonization were the Montfort dukes of Brittany, where the saint is buried, and who used their association with the holy friar to assert sacred legitimacy for their dynasty, which had come to power as the result of a bloody civil war and which adopted a quasi-royal image along the lines of the French monarchy. In Vincent’s native Aragon, the situation was more complicated. The friar had helped bring the Trastamara dynasty to power there in 1412, but Vincent’s role in announcing the crown of Aragon’s 1416 withdrawal of obedience from the Aragonese pope Benedict XIII would diminish his symbolic value in his homeland. Only after Alfonso V’s conquest of the kingdom of Naples did the Trastamaras begin to push in earnest for the opening of a canonization process as part of a strategy to show divine favor for the new Aragonese regime in Naples. Promoters of Vincent’s canonization acknowledged that they had overcome various “impediments”—presumably, rumors of a heresy conviction, as well as concerns about Vincent’s preaching on Antichrist and his actions vis-a-vis the Great Schism and the Council of Constance. In response, champions of the new saint subtly recast the friar as a gifted preacher whose apocalyptic sermons moved crowds to penitence and whose strenuous efforts brought unity to a divided church.
Leaving Your Car with Strangers: Informal Car Parkers and Improbable Trust in Mexico City:

This article explores the case of informal car parkers in Mexico City, to whom drivers regularly entrust the keys to their vehicles. In contrast to literature on social trust that expects instituti...
Effectiveness of Paraffin and Sustained Stretch in Treatment of Shoulder Contractures Following a Burn Injury

Abstract Objective To examine if range of motion of the shoulder treated with paraffin will be better than that of the shoulder treated with sustained stretch alone. Design Pilot randomized controlled trial. Setting Regional burn center. Participants Patients (N=23) who sustained a burn injury, with a shoulder active abduction and/or flexion in the +70° to +150° degree range, who were 14 years or older, were receiving follow-up physical therapy after discharge from hospital, and provided a signed consent to participate. Interventions Group A received sustained stretch and paraffin, and group B received sustained stretch only. Both groups had 6 sessions of treatment over 2 weeks. Main Outcome Measures Active range of motion (AROM) and active-assisted range of motion (AAROM) for shoulder flexion (SF) and shoulder abduction (SA) were measured before and after each treatment session. Results For pretreatment measurements, only the results for SF AAROM had significant time effects. For posttreatment measurements, SF AROM and SF AAROM had significant effects for time. Session 1 was significantly lower than sessions 2, 3, 4, and 6 for both measures, and additionally, session 1 was significantly lower than session 5 for SF AAROM. For SA AROM, a group-by-time interaction effect was significant, with scores for the paraffin group relatively stable across sessions, and the nonparaffin group had peaks at sessions 3 and 6. There were no significant effects for (1) within-session changes to examine improvement during a session or (2) presession scores across the 6 sessions showing maintenance of motion. Total change from the first session presession measurement to the sixth session postsession measurement for the 2 treatment groups were nonsignificantly different. Conclusions As shown in this study, sustained stretching with paraffin may be a valuable adjunct to range of motion intervention for the shoulder after burn injury.
Expression and immunogenicity of the recombinant protein omp25 of Brucella melitensis strain

To express omp25 gene of Brucella in E.coli Rosetta and detect the immunogenicity of the recombinant protein,the target fragment of omp25 gene was amplified by PCR from the B.melitensis M306 strain and was cloned into expression vector PET-32a.After transforming into competent E.coli Rosetta and inducing by IPTG,the recombinant protein was expressed.As detected by SDS-PAGE and western-blot,this recombinant protein has immunogenicity.It was confirmed DNA sequencing and restriction enzymes cleavage that the recombinant plasmid PET-32a/omp25 was constructed successfully.Furthermore,the result of SDS-PAGE and western-blot assay showed that PET-32a/omp25 was expressed successfully in E.coli Rosetta and the recombinant protein could react with B.melitensis positive serum.This study provides a good foundation for the diagnosis of brucellosis and the preparation of new types of vaccines of Brucella.
Tonal coarticulation in Mandarin

An acoustic analysis of all possible combinations of the four citation tones and the reduced tone on /pa pa pa/ trisyllabic sequences showed several characteristics of tonal coarticulation in Mandarin. Tonal coarticulatory effects are like segmental coarticulation in being assimilatory in nature. Moreover, coarticulation affects the whole syllable: not only are the onset and offset values of a tone affected, but so are the overall tonal heights. Tonal coarticulation is also bidirectional. However, unlike in segmental coarticulation, the bidirectional effects are symmetric: anticipatory and carryover are similar. Tonal coarticulation is manifested in terms of changes in F0 height, but not in the direction of F0 movement. It is also restricted to contiguous tones.
Open Dialog: SciELO’s Approach to Open Access Publishing

For over 20 years, Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO) has been engaged in an ambitious program of open access journal publishing. In Brazil and 15 other countries, society journals and o...
Aerothermodynamic Analysis of Stardust Sample Return Capsule with Coupled Radiation and Ablation

An aerothermodynamic analysis of the forebody aeroshell of the Stardust Sample Return Capsule is carried out by using the axisymmetric viscous shock-layer equations with and without fully coupled radiation and ablation. Formulation of the viscous shock-layer equations with shoulder radius as the length scale and implementation of the Vigneron pressure condition allow resolution of the flowfield over the shoulder. With a predominantly supersonic outflow over the shoulder, a globally iterated solution or viscous shock-layer equations can be obtained. The stagnation-point results are obtained along a specified trajectory, whereas detailed calculations along the body are provided at the peak-heating point. The equilibrium calculations with ablation injection are the focus of the present study because of the lack of a general chemical nonequilibrium analysis that accounts for both surface and flowfield effect. The equilibrium calculations also provide a simple way to conserve surface (and flowfield) elemental composition for the current small ablation injection rates, where the surface elemental composition is a mixture of freestream and ablator elements. Therefore, the coupled laminar and turbulent flow solutions with radiation and ablation are obtained by using the equilibrium flow chemistry, whereas a nonequilibrium chemistry model is used for solutions without ablation and turbulence. Various computed results are compared with those obtained by the other researchers.
An embedded 3D fracture modeling approach for simulating fracture-dominated fluid flow and heat transfer in geothermal reservoirs

Abstract In this paper, we describe an efficient modeling approach, named embedded discrete fracture method (EDFM), for incorporating arbitrary 3D, discrete fractures, such as hydraulic fractures or faults, into modeling fracture-dominated fluid flow and heat transfer in fractured geothermal reservoirs. This technique allows 3D discrete fractures to be discretized independently from surrounding rock volume and inserted explicitly into a primary fracture/matrix grid, generated without including 3D discrete fractures in prior. An effective computational algorithm is developed to discretize these 3D discrete fractures and construct local connections between 3D fractures and fracture/matrix grid blocks representing the surrounding rock volume. The constructed gridding information on 3D fractures is then added to the primary grid. This embedded fracture modeling approach can be directly implemented into a developed geothermal reservoir simulator via the integral finite difference (IFD) method or with TOUGH2 technology. This embedded fracture modeling approach is very promising and computationally efficient to handle realistic 3D discrete fractures with complicated geometries, connections, and spatial distributions. Compared with other fracture modeling approaches, it avoids cumbersome 3D unstructured, local refining procedures, and increases computational efficiency by simplifying Jacobian matrix size and sparsity, while maintaining enough accuracy. Several numeral simulations are presented to demonstrate the utility and robustness of the proposed technique. Our numerical experiments show that this approach captures all the key patterns about fluid flow and heat transfer dominated by fractures in these cases. Thus, this approach is readily available to the simulation of fractured geothermal reservoirs with both artificial and natural fractures.
Alexander Bickel and the Demise of Legal Process Jurisprudence

This article provides an intellectual history of the displacement of Legal Process theory as the predominant jurisprudential approach in American law. The Legal Process approach to law embedded a strict norm of principled adjudication within a larger pragmatic theory of law. Alexander Bickel understood that the Legal Process theory of adjudication clashed with its commitment to pragmatic governance. The country, Bickel believed, could tolerate only so much principled decisionmaking — “No good society can be unprincipled, and no viable society can be principle-ridden.” Bickel convinced himself that the judiciary could promote pragmatic governance while maintaining its own integrity as an institution of principle through the implementation of various justiciability and abstention doctrines, the so-called “passive virtues.” Prudent invocation of the passive virtues, Bickel argued, would keep the core judicial function — rendering decisions on the merits — free from merely expedient considerations while granting the political branches the space and time they need to work out pragmatic compromises. But once Bickel starkly drew out the tension between principled decisionmaking and pragmatic governance, the Legal Process consensus began to fracture. Why allow for unprincipled judicial decisionmaking with respect to certain justiciability and abstention questions, but not in other areas of doctrine? As Gerald Gunther put it, Bickel was effectively advocating “100% principle, 80% of the time.” Bickel’s passive virtues solution found no favor among his Legal Process peers and drew even greater criticism from Warren Court-defending legal liberals. Bickel’s penetrating insights into the tensions between principled decisionmaking and pragmatic governance had exposed an always latent divide in Legal Process thought, one Bickel himself could not successfully reconcile. After Bickel, normative jurisprudence has become ever more polarized between consequentialist-pragmatic approaches on the one hand and principled-rationalist approaches on the other.
Teaching NeuroImages: Retinopathy in spinocerebellar ataxia type 3

A 17-year-old African Brazilian woman presented with a 1-year history of progressive ataxia, dysarthria, and decreased visual acuity. Family history was remarkable for multiple relatives with similar motor symptoms but no visual complaints. Examination showed upward gaze palsy, dysarthria, ataxia, and increased tone and reflexes. Fundoscopic examination and subsequent optical coherence tomography revealed bilateral atrophic maculopathy (figures 1 and 2). Genetic testing confirmed the diagnosis of spinocerebellar ataxia type 3 (SCA3) by revealing abnormal CAG repeats in the ATXN3 gene—the pathologic allele had 68 repeats and the normal allele 14 repeats.
Star formation in galaxies as traced by the Spitzer Space Telescope

The Spitzer Space Telescope returned infrared images and spectra with unprecedented sensitivity and resolution, enabling the characterization of the dust-enshrouded star formation of and within galaxies. This has yielded indicators of total star formation, used as unbiased tracers of the stellar production across cosmic times.
Marginal Cell Lymphoma Presenting as a Primary Submandibular Tumor.

Primary lymphomas of the salivary glands are rare tumors seen in the head and neck. We report the case of a 52-year-old woman with an extranodal marginal cell lymphoma of her submandibular gland, whose primary presenting symptom was a slow swelling of her neck. Fine-needle aspiration of the mass was performed, followed by CT imaging studies, and both tests showed inconclusive results. The tumor was excised and the patient has been monitored with no recurrence to date. This case adds to the diverse differential diagnoses of primary tumors in the head and neck, as early consideration, identification, and management of this etiology is essential for the clinician to ensure the best patient outcomes.
Homefront: Black Veterans and Black Voters in the Civil Rights Era

While the role of World War II veterans in the civil rights movement has been well documented, debate about the causal effect of military service remains. Combining detailed information on World War II enlistments and Civil Rights Commission data on voter registration, we present the first causal estimates of the role of Black veterans in high-risk political participation in the US South. Each Black enlistee increased Black voter registration by more than two additional Black registrants after the Voting Rights Act of 1965. We find similar effects on the presence of Black rights groups and, in response, White nationalist organizations.
Biofiction: An Introduction

Biofiction: An Introduction provides readers with the history, origins, evolution, and legitimization of biofiction, suggesting potential lines of inquiry, exploring criticisms of the literary form, and modeling the process of analyzing and interpreting individual texts. Written for undergraduate and graduate students, this volume combines comprehensive coverage of the core foundations of biofiction with contemporary and lively debates within the subject. The volume aims to confront and illuminate the following questions: • When did biofiction come into being? • What forces gave birth to it? • How does it uniquely function and signify? • Why has it become such a dominant aesthetic form in recent years? This introduction will give readers a framework for evaluating specific biofictions from writers as varied as Friedrich Nietzsche, George Moore, Zora Neale Hurston, William Styron, Angela Carter, Joyce Carol Oates, and Colm Toibin, thus enabling readers to assess the value and impact of individual works on the culture at large. Spanning nineteenth-century origins to contemporary debates and adaptations, this book not only equips the reader with a firm grounding in the fundamentals of biofiction but also provides a valuable guide to the uncanny power of the biographical novel to transform cultural attitudes, perspectives, and beliefs.
Role of L-arginine uptake mechanisms in renal blood flow responses to angiotensin II in rats.

Aim: To examine whether reduced renal arginine transport increases the responsiveness of the renal circulation to angiotensin II in salt sensitivity, renal perfusion responses to angiotensin II were examined in the presence of l-arginine transport inhibitor, l-lysine and subsequent l-arginine in Sprague Dawley (SD) and Dahl salt-sensitive (Dahl S) rats. Methods: Laser Doppler probes and a transonic flow probe were used to measure regional renal perfusion and total renal perfusion respectively. Renal perfusion responses to intravenous (i.v.) angiotensin II were sequentially examined under control conditions and during i.v. infusion of l-lysine, l-arginine or nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, NG-nitro-l-arginine. Results: Angiotensin II (10 and 100 ng kg−1 min−1, i.v.) reduced total renal (−10 ± 3 and −36 ± 5%) and cortical (−10 ± 2 and −28 ± 4%) but not medullary perfusion in SD rats. In these rats l-lysine enhanced the renal perfusion response (P = 0.003), whereas subsequent l-arginine reversed this effect (P = 0.04). Angiotensin II reduced total renal, cortical and medullary perfusion in Dahl S rats. In Dahl S rats fed high salt, l-lysine did not affect renal perfusion responses to angiotensin II, but subsequent l-arginine blunted the renal blood flow response (P = 0.01) and increased the medullary perfusion during angiotensin II infusion (P = 0.006). Conclusion: Intact renal l-arginine transport attenuates the vasoconstrictor effects of circulating angiotensin II in the renal cortex in SD rats. l-arginine also plays an important role in protecting the renal medullary circulation from the ischemic effects of angiotensin II in Dahl S rats.
Brey, Wallace S.: The First 40 Years Should Be the Hardest

The sections in this article are 1 My Introduction to NMR 2 NMR Spectrometers in the University of Florida Department of Chemistry 3 Some Contributions from the Florida Laboratory 4 The Journal of Magnetic Resonance 5 Dedication 6 Biographical Sketch
Protoplanetary disks and planet formation around brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars

Brown dwarfs and very low-mass stars are very common in the Galaxy, yet we know little about the planetary systems they may host. Here we review observational evidence emerging from comparative studies of disks around brown dwarfs and sun-like stars. These studies show that very young brown dwarfs and very low mass stars have disks as frequently as sun-like stars do, arguing for the same formation processes. There are indications, but no conclusive evidence yet, for a longer disk lifetime around the lowest-mass stars and brown dwarfs. At the same time, evidence for faster dust processing and more strongly reduced disk scale heights is found, demonstrating that the first steps of planet formation also take place around brown dwarfs. With increasingly sensitive infrared instruments a new window is opening on gas-phase chemistry in these disks and the first surveys indicate a different gas-phase chemistry and, perhaps, a suppressed nitrogen chemistry. Sub-millimeter surveys reveal disk masses of a few Jupiter mass, which core accretion models show is enough to form few Earth-mass and smaller planets, but not gas giant planets. (© 2013 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
Mobile device-level data modeling through high utilization mobile applications

In this paper, we present a mobile-device level approach to estimating the network data (traffic) that is generated over time. While efforts oftentime utilize complex approaches, our model captures the main characteristics in the time and data domains of a high utilization application class as Hidden Markov Model while modeling the remaining applications' characteristics in form of a simple background process. We find that our approach is capable of matching the average amounts of data behavior of the source dataset (with a reduction in overall variability of the simulated produced traffic as drawback) and is thus suitable for high level capacity evaluations.
Synthesis of Bis(η6-alkylbenzene)molybdenum by Arene Metathesis

Bis(η6-arene)molybdenum complexes with alkyl substituents are readily synthesized by metathesis of the arene ligands of bis(η6-benzene)molybdenum, thereby circumventing a fundamental limitation of the conventional Fischer−Hafner syntheses (Friedel−Crafts conditions) and obviating the need to employ metal-vapor synthetic methods to prepare such compounds.
Activation of Blood Coagulation Factor X by Arginine-specific Cysteine Proteinases (Gingipain-Rs) from Porphyromonas gingivalis *

The effect of two arginine-specific cysteine proteinases (gingipain Rs) from Porphyromonas gingivalis, a causative bacterium of adult periodontitis, on human blood coagulation was investigated. Activated partial thromboplastin time and prothrombin time were shortened by these proteinases, with a 95-kDa gingipain R containing adhesin domains being 5-fold more efficient in comparison to a 50-kDa gingipain R containing the catalytic domain alone. The 50-kDa enzyme reduced each coagulation time in several plasmas deficient in various coagulation factors, while it was ineffective in factor X-deficient plasma unless reconstituted with this protein. Each proteinase activated factor X in a dose- and time-dependent manner, with Michaelis constants (K m) being found to be lower than the normal plasma factor X concentration, strongly suggesting that factor X activation by gingipain Rs, especially the 95-kDa form which is strongly activated by phospholipids, could occur in plasma. This is the first report of factor X activation by bacterial proteinases and indicates that the gingipain Rs could be responsible for the production of thrombin and, indirectly, with the generation of prostaglandins, interleukin-1, etc., which have been found to be associated with the development of periodontitis induced by P. gingivalis infections. Furthermore, the data support the hypothesis that induction of blood coagulation by bacterial proteinases may be a causative agent in the pathogenesis of disseminated intravascular coagulation in sepsis.
Powering Fuel Cells with CO via Aqueous Polyoxometalates and Gold Catalysts

Electricity was produced by catalytic oxidation of carbon monoxide (CO) by using gold catalysts at room temperature. The observed rates are faster than conventional processes operating at 500 kelvin or higher for the conversion of CO with water to produce hydrogen and carbon dioxide through the water-gas shift (WGS). By eliminating the WGS reaction, we remove the need to transport and vaporize liquid water in the production of energy for portable applications. This process can use CO-containing gas streams from the catalytic reforming of hydrocarbons to produce an aqueous solution of reduced polyoxometalate compounds that can be used to generate power. The reduced polyoxometalate can be reoxidized in fuel cells that contain simple carbon anodes.
Reversion of virus-transformed cell lines: hyperploidy accompanies retention of viral genes.

An increase in chromosome number accompanies reversion of subtetraploid mouse cell lines from malignant transformed phenotype to growth-controlled normal phenotype. When growth control is once again lost, the chromosome number drops back to the subtetraploid mode.
FUNCTIONAL EXPRESSION OF FAS (CD95) PROTEIN IN AUTOIMMUNE LPR MICE

Abstract Fas (CD95) has been shown in multiple systems to play a critical role in deletion of autoreactive lymphocytes by transducing cell death signals. The role of Fas in clonal deletion may best be exemplified in autoimmune lpr mice, in which a defect in the lpr gene leads to persistence of autoreactive clones in the periphery. Since negative selection in the lpr thymus appears not to be ablated, it has been suggested that Fas is not essential to thymic negative selection. A recent study has shown that lpr thymocytes express low levels of Fas protein. However, it is not determined whether this low level of Fas could transduce the death signal. This is a critical issue for the hypothesis that lpr thymocyte negative selection does not involve a Fas–death pathway. Here, we demonstrate that thymocytes, but not peripheral lymphocytes, from 2- to 4-week-old C3H.MRL- lpr mice are killed by Fas-dependent cytotoxicity at levels commensurate with the low levels of Fas expression. The level of lpr thymocyte killing is approximately 20% of that observed in wildtype controls. Both Fas staining and Th1 cytotoxicity are specifically blocked by a recombinant Fas–hIgG fusion protein. Thymocyte subset analyses indicate that Fas is expressed primarily on CD4 + /CD8 + lpr thymocytes and that CD4 + /CD8 + lpr thymocytes are the primary targets for Th1 effector cytotoxicity. The data suggest that the lpr mutation is functionally “leaky” and that the demonstration of normal negative selection in lpr thymocytes should not be taken as evidence that Fas is not involved in clonal deletion in the thymus.
Rapid sensing of underutilized, wideband spectrum using the Random Demodulator

Efficient spectrum sensing is an important problem given the large and increasing demand for wireless spectrum and the need to protect incumbent users. We can more efficiently use large swaths of underutilized spectrum by designing spectrum sensors that can quickly, and power-efficiently, find and opportunistically communicate over unused (or underutilized) pieces of spectrum, such as television bands. In this paper, we concentrate on a particular sensing architecture, the Random Demodulator (RD), and look at two aspects of the problem. First, we offer fundamental limits on how efficiently any algorithm can perform the sensing operation with the RD. Second, we analyze a very simple, low-complexity algorithm called one-step thresholding that has been shown to work near-optimally for certain measurement classes in a low SNR setting or when the non-zero input coefficients are nearly equal. We rigorously establish that the RD architecture is well-suited for near-optimal recovery of the locations of the non-zero frequency coefficients in similar settings using one-step thresholding and perform numerical experiments to offer some confirmation of our results.
Solar radiation at seedling sites below partial canopies

Abstract Solar radiation plays a key role in the response of understory vegetation beneath partial canopies. Canopy effects were studied on daily and seasonal time scales, and effects on specific understory sites such as transplanted seedling locations were assessed. Hemispherical photographs of three partial canopies at 15 point locations were used to analyze overstory effects on sun and shade events and to assess the variability in radiation loads beneath canopies. The photographs showed no significant seasonal trends in shading but effects of canopy density were noted. This finding supports the contention that analyses of canopy influences based on short wave radiation measurements at one time will be applicable at other times. Analysis of daily solar radiation totals below shelterwood canopies were found to conform to Beer's Law when stand basal area was used as the independent variable. The daily patterns in short-wave radiation exhibit large variability in intensity, with full shade (diffuse solar radiation) values of about 8% of full sunlight. Although the duration of full sunlight events was not affected by canopy density, the duration of shading events was. In addition, the percentage of time that short-wave radiation falls in arbitrarily defined classes of high and low radiation is affected by canopy density.
Parallel, self-organizing, hierarchical neural networks with forward-backward training

A forward-backward training algorithm for parallel, self-organizing hierarchical neural networks (PSHNNs) is described. Using linear algebra, it is shown that the forward-backward training of ann-stage PSHNN until convergence is equivalent to the pseudo-inverse solution for a single, total network designed in the least-squares sense with the total input vector consisting of the actual input vector and its additional nonlinear transformations. These results are also valid when a single long input vector is partitioned into smaller length vectors. A number of advantages achieved are: small modules for easy and fast learning, parallel implementation of small modules during testing, faster convergence rate, better numerical error-reduction, and suitability for learning input nonlinear transformations by other neural networks. The backpropagation (BP) algorithm is proposed for learning input nonlinearitics. Better performance in terms of deeper minimum of the error function and faster convergence rate is achieved when a single BP network is replaced by a PSHNN of equal complexity in which each stage is a BP network of smaller complexity than the single BP network.
Sol-gel-Derived $\hbox{Al}_{2}\hbox{O}_{3}{-} \hbox{SiO}_{2}$ Composite Coating for Electrical Insulation in HTS Magnet Technology

Electrically insulating Al2O3-SiO2 thin coatings have been deposited on long-length 316 stainless steel (SS) tape using a reel-to-reel continuous solgel dip coating process for cowinding insulation into YBCO pancake coils, a high-temperature superconductor magnet technology. Coatings with a thickness of ~ 5 μm are achieved after just two dips with a tape withdrawal speed of ~ 8 mm/s (0.5 m/min) and a calcination at 700 °C. The coatings are measured to have a room-temperature breakdown voltage of ~ 200 V, corresponding to a dc dielectric strength of about 40 MV/m. Consequently, this process has low cost and high throughput and produces a thin electrical insulation with excellent thermal, dielectric, and mechanical properties. A new technique has been developed in the coating process to mitigate Al2O3 particulate aggregation and coating buildup along the edges of the SS tape.
Hypnosis, hypnotic suggestibility, memory, and involvement in films

Our research extends studies that have examined the relation between hypnotic suggestibility and experiential involvement and the role of an hypnotic induction in enhancing experiential involvement (e.g., absorption) in engaging tasks. Researchers have reported increased involvement in reading (Baum & Lynn, 1981) and music-listening (Snodgrass & Lynn, 1989) tasks during hypnosis. We predicted a similar effect for film viewing: greater experiential involvement in an emotional (The Champ) versus a non-emotional (Scenes of Toronto) film. We tested 121 participants who completed measures of absorption and trait dissociation and the Harvard Group Scale of Hypnotic Susceptibility and then viewed the two films after either an hypnotic induction or a non-hypnotic task (i.e., anagrams). Experiential involvement varied as a function of hypnotic suggestibility and film clip. Highly suggestible participants reported more state depersonalization than less suggestible participants, and depersonalization was associated with negative affect; however, we observed no significant correlation between hypnotic suggestibility and trait dissociation. Although hypnosis had no effect on memory commission or omission errors, contrary to the hypothesis that hypnosis facilitates absorption in emotionally engaging tasks, the emotional film was associated with more commission and omission errors compared with the non-emotional film.
Potential allelopathic influence of certain pasture weeds

Abstract Laboratory and growth chamber research was conducted to determine the potential allelopathy of tissue harvested from certain weeds commonly found in pastures. Results of bioassays indicated that the weeds dogfennel and mayweed chamomile are potentially allelopathic to alfalfa and Italian ryegrass seedlings. Leaf-tissue extracts from the two weed species reduced seedling growth more than stem and root extracts. In most experiments alfalfa seedlings were influenced more than Italian ryegrass seedlings and seedling growth was influenced more than seed germination. Leaf tissue from the weed species mixed into potting soil at a concentration as low as 0.25% (w/w) significantly reduced alfalfa and Italian ryegrass plant development and foliage production. Extract and tissue concentration used in this research were estimated to be similar to concentrations expected to occur within the pasture ecosystem and below concentrations that would result in hypertonicity in the bioassays.