cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Bioassay of Mercury Vapor Arising from a Phenyl Mercury Compound.

Mercury vapor has been detected quantitatively by a bioassay in connection with a study on the liberation of mercury vapor from paint films containing phenyl mercury compounds. This assay depends upon the ability of small quantities of mercury vapor to prevent foliar abscission of bean plants in vitro. Although chemical methods exist for detecting mercury vapor, these methods were found unsuitable in the present problem. Thus palladium chloride paper darkened when confined with paint films containing no mercury or with portions of living plants. Selenium sulfide paper was likewise not sufficiently selective and was less sensitive than palladium chloride paper to mercury vapor. Detection of mercury vapor through its absorption of ultraviolet radiation of wavelength 2537 A is the basis of a vapor detector manufactured by the General Electric Co. Although this instrument is sensitive, it is not generally available in laboratories. The bean assay is presented here because it requires no special equipment, is simple, rapid and inexpensive, is quantitative in the range from 0.06 to 0.9 mg mercury per m/sup 3/ of air, and is selective for mercury vapor in the presence of materials which interfere with other standard spot tests for mercury referred to above.
Tyrosine and Tryptophan Influence on Tonic Immobility in the Chicken

The serotonergic and catecholaminergic systems have been shown to affect both tonic immobility and food intake in the domestic fowl. Tryptophan, the amino acid precursor of serotonin, has been demonstrated to influence tonic immobility and food intake when injected intraperitoneally. Tyrosine, amino acid precursor of the catecholamines, is also known to affect food intake when administered orally. In two experiments, tryptophan and tyrosine were intubated intragastrically into male chickens at levels known to affect food intake, and their effect on tonic immobility was measured. Tryptophan and tyrosine delivered intragastrically had no effect on either duration or susceptibility of tonic immobility. These data suggest that changes in appetite observed as a result of orally administered tyrosine and tryptophan were not due to a general inhibition or stimulation of the central nervous system.
Generalized quasi-geometric discounting

Abstract This paper derives the ‘generalized Euler equation’ for an agent with multi-period deviations from geometric discounting. The functional equation that describes optimal consumption-savings decisions involves manipulation of future selves and indirect manipulation of more distant selves through intervening selves.
INITIAL-BOUNDARY-VALUE PROBLEMS FOR QUASILINEAR DEGENERATE HYPERBOLIC EQUATIONS WITH DAMPING. NEUMANN PROBLEM

We study the behavior of the total mass of the solution of Neumann problem for a broad class of degenerate parabolic equations with damping in spaces with noncompact boundary. New critical indices for the investigated problem are determined.
Why is the thermalization of excited electrons in semiconductor nanoparticles so rapid? Studies on CdSe nanoparticles

Quantum confinement of electronic motion in semiconductor nanoparticles leads to quantization of its band continua of the bulk. The relaxation between the resulting quantized levels by electron phonon coupling was expected, but not found, to be slow due to the small phonon frequencies (phonon bottleneck). Studying the electronic relaxation from the band gap and a higher excited state in CdSe dots and rods under different perturbations suggest the importance of coupling the excited electron to the surface. The surface species act as an efficient heat bath or as electron trapping sites in the linear or nonlinear (Auger) relaxation processes.
The magnetic fields of Mercury, Venus and Mars

Just as clearly as Mariner 10 established that Mercury has an intrinsic magnetic field, the Pioneer Venus orbiter has established that Venus has no significant intrinsic field. This is perhaps the opposite of what might be expected. Mercury, a small planet, might be expected to cool rapidly and its internal dynamo to cease, while Venus, which is almost as large as the earth, should not have lost much heat. On the contrary the source of energy of the Mercury dynamo appears to be extant whereas that of Venus appears to be extinct. The existence of a Martian magnetic field is controversial. No unambiguous signature of a Martian magnetic field has been reported. If the field on the nightside of Mars is of planetary rather than solar origin the Russian Mars spacecraft observations indicate the Martian dipole lies near the planetary equator rather than its pole.
Personality Classification of Discrete Pupil Behaviors.

Abstract A solution is demonstrated for the chronic research problem of summarizing teachers' discrete observations of pupil behaviors. A complex classification system conceptualized by Leary & Coffey (L-C) was used to combine a possible maximum of 72 teacher nominations per child in a fifth grade sample ( N = 468) from eight socio-ethnically diverse schools. Classification into one of four categories ws possible for 224 pupils. Opposing types, compared on each of 17 criterion measures (GPA, intelligence, achievement, sociometric choice, and self-report instruments), supported the L-C model's viability for such data summarization and for developmental comparison.
Liberal and Conservative Political Stereotypes in Terms of Belief Response Hierarchies

The stereotypes associated with liberals and conservatives were determined in a sample of 100 college students using an adjective checklist based on an open-ended pilot study. Stereotypes were expressed as a hierarchy of difference scores between the adjectives as beliefs concerning liberals and conservatives. The hierarchical stereotypes were reliable and constant between groups of Ss differing in political orientation and demographic characteristics. This demonstrated that a stereotype generated from an adjective checklist could be meaningfully represented as a hierarchy of belief responses and that it was not merely an artifact of group measurement. It was also demonstrated that the statement of a stereotype as a hierarchy of belief responses was independent of the valient or countervalient nature of the component beliefs.
Legal complexity and lawyers' benefit from litigation

This paper examines the interest of lawyers as a group in the level of legal complexity, assuming that lawyers prefer the level of legal complexity that maximizes their total income. I focus on aspects of the law that are the same across all cases in a particular legal field, such as the rule determining whether the defendant is liable or guilty, the rules of procedure, and the scope of damages. The main result of the paper is that lawyers representing both plaintiffs and defendants prefer an intermediate level of legal complexity in a wide range of circumstances. Their preferences are determined by a tradeoff between the increase in income from legal fees when the law becomes more complex versus the drop in income because the amount of litigation falls-either because fewer legal cases are filed or because more cases are settled rather than tried in court or both. The level of legal complexity preferred by lawyers is shown to vary across legal fields depending on such factors as the size of a typical case and whether punitive damages are an important consideration. I also consider whether and when plaintiffs’ and defendants’ lawyers’ interests in the level of legal complexity are identical. The paper proceeds as follows. In section 2, I consider how legal complexity affects plaintiffs’ and defendants’ predictions of the outcome of legal cases. In section 3, a model determining lawyers’ preferred level of legal complexity is presented in a simplified setting, where all legal cases in a particular field are assumed to be identical and the number of legal cases is fixed. In section 4, the model is extended to consider heterogeneous legal cases and variable demand for legal services. The result of both models is that lawyers prefer an intermediate level of legal complexity under a quite general set of assumptions, although the exact tradeoff in the two models differs. The last section contains some speculations on two topics: the socially preferred level
Immersion cooling of an array of heated elements by convective boiling of a subcooled binary liquid mixture

Boiling data and the critical heat flux conditions are reported for both channel flow and jet impingement flow using varying concentrations of R11 in R-113. An array of ten flush-mounted heated elements on one wall of a vertical passage were cooled by subcooled boiling. Data indicate that for this binary system the addition of R-1 1 to R-113 does not produce a significant change in critical heat flux. For channel flow boiling, the data indicate that addition of a small amount of a less volatile component slightly increases the critical heat flux, whereas addition of a small amount of more volatile component decreases it. The critical heat flux data were also found to agree well with critical heat flux correlations for pure fluids if the mole-weighted mean properties of the mixture were used to compute the critical heat flux from the pure fluid correlation. The significance of the findings of this study with regard to the use of binary mixtures of dielectric fluids for immersion cooling of electronic components is also discussed in this paper.
Cochlodinium polykrikoides blooms and clonal isolates from the northwest Atlantic coast cause rapid mortality in larvae of multiple bivalve species

Globally, many commercial bivalve populations have declined in recent decades. In addition to overharvesting and habitat loss, the increasing frequency and intensity of harmful algal blooms (HABs) are likely to contribute to bivalve losses, particularly in cases where blooms negatively impact larval stages. This paper reports on the lethal effects of clonal cultures and blooms of Cochlodinium polykrikoides from the US Atlantic coast on the larvae of three species of commercially and ecologically valuable bivalves: the Eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica), the bay scallop (Argopecten irradians), and the Northern quahog (hard clam; Mercenaria mercenaria). Both cultures and blooms of C. polykrikoides were highly toxic to all three species of bivalve larvae causing 80–100% mortality during 24- to 72-h exposures at concentrations of 1–2 × 103 cells ml−1. Toxicity was dependent on cell densities, growth stage of C. polykrikoides (i.e. cultures in exponential stage growth were more toxic than later stages), exposure time of larvae to cells (i.e. longer exposure caused higher mortality), the age of larvae (i.e. younger larvae were more sensitive), and the relative abundance of C. polykrikoides (i.e. the presence of other microalgae decreased toxicity). Free radical-scavenging enzymes (peroxidase and catalase) and the removal of C. polykrikoides cells (i.e. culture filtrate) significantly increased larval survival suggesting toxicity is maximized by contact with live cells and may involve labile toxins bound by these compounds including e.g. reactive oxygen species. The toxicity of C. polykrikoides to bivalve larvae was generally more severe than other HAB species (e.g. Karenia brevis, Karlodinium veneficum, Alexandrium tamarense, Prorocentrum minimum). Since the bivalves in this study spawn in the months when C. polykrikoides blooms on the east coast of North America, these results suggest that these blooms may have detrimental effects on efforts to restore these already diminished populations.
Creep cavity observation using liquid metal embrittlement

Abstract 1. 1. To study grain boundary cavitation during creep, especially at early stages of cavity growth, new techniques are required. 2. 2. A potential technique which, given the general susceptibility of most metals to LME attack, may be applicable to most metals involves (a) the preparation of a given microstructure, (b) exposing this material under load to liquid metal, (c) after cleaning away the LME agent, examining the intergranular fracture surface in the SEM. 3. 3. An fcc solid-solution alloy, Ni-4 W, was chosen for study. Two liquid metals, lead and thallium, were found to be very strong embrittling agents for this alloy, and, perhaps other nickle-base alloys. 4. 4. This alloy was cavitated during creep deformation, then exposed to liquid lead, allowing the grain boundary cavities to be examined, indicating promise as a quantitative technique to study the creep cavitation process. 5. 5. Cavitation was found to be heterogeneous, with cavity concentration decreasing away from the specimen surface. This is consistent with an environmental, impurity-induced enhancement of cavity nucleation and/or growth near the surface.
Creep behavior of an AZ91 magnesium alloy reinforced with alumina fibers

Creep tests were conducted at elevated temperatures on an AZ91 alloy reinforced with 20 vol pct Al2O3 fibers. When the creep data are interpreted by incorporating a threshold stress into the analysis, it is shown that the true stress exponent, n, is ∼3 at the lower stress levels and increases to >3 at the higher stresses. The true activation energy for creep is close to the value anticipated for interdiffusion of aluminum in magnesium. This behavior is interpreted in terms of a viscous glide process with n =3 and a breakaway of the dislocations from their solute atom atmospheres at the higher stress levels. The threshold stresses in this composite appear to arise from an attractive interaction between mobile dislocations in the matrix alloy and Mg17Al12 precipitates. The experimental results reveal several important similarities between the creep behavior of this magnesium-based composite and the well-documented creep properties of aluminum-based composites.
Isovolemic hemodilution increases retinal tissue oxygen tension

•Background: Therapeutic isovolemic hemodilution has been reported to improve blood flow and oxygen delivery. Few reliable measurements have been made, however, showing the effect of hemodilution on tissue oxygen tension.
Risk for suicide and risk for violence: a case for separating the current violence diagnoses

PURPOSE: To identify accurate descriptive terms for risk for violence and risk for suicide and to provide operational definitions for these terms METHODS: The Delphi technique, with two rounds, was used to differentiate the operational definitions that represent risk for suicide from those that represent risk for violence. The expert panel consisted of 23 healthcare professionals with a minimum of a master's degree. In addition to the expert panel, a control group (N = 11) participated to assess content validity. FINDINGS: Thirty-six definitions were agreed upon for suicide, 39 for violence. CONCLUSIONS: These definitions represent the basic distinctions between the two behavioral manifestations. Language: en
The fallacy of uniqueness: Social consensus perceptions of anxiety disorder patients and community residents

Abstract The present study examined whether persons with stigmatizing conditions believe that their negative attributes are rarer than is actually the case (absolute uniqueness); or rarer than do persons without the condition (relative uniqueness). Persons diagnosed as either panic disorder, social phobia, or agoraphobia were asked to estimate the percentage of same-sex adults who share their psychological problem. The patients' consensus estimates were compared to estimates made by community residents and to epidemiologic norms. Relative to the actual prevalence of these disorders, patients overestimated the percentage of others with the same condition. However, patients tended to make lower estimates than did community residents for two of the three disorders (social phobia and panic disorder). The results provide evidence that patients exhibit a uniqueness effect in relative terms but not in absolute terms. This relative uniqueness effect represents an important exception to the false consensus phenomenon.
Metabolism of 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione by human placental microsomes. enzyme properties and kinetic parameters in the formation of estrogens and 17β-hydroxy-1,4-androstadien-3-one

Abstract In this investigation the metabolism of 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione by human placental microsomes was evaluated. The experiments were conducted with the substrate [3H]-1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione, which was synthesized using a tritium-hydrogen keto-enol exchange technique. [4-14C]-l,4-Androstadiene-3, 17-dione and [4-14C]-17β-hydroxy-1,4-androstadien-3-one also were synthesized and used, together with [14C]-estrone and [14C]-estradiol-17β, as internal recovery standards for quantification. The radiolabeled metabolites identified from incubation mixtures with placental microsomes were estrone, estradiol-17β and 17β-hydroxy-1,4-androstadien-3-one; two other metabolites, one less polar than the substrate and the other more polar than estradiol-17β, were observed but not investigated further. The enzymatic conversions required either NADPH or NADH as cofactor and there was no apparent tritium loss in the transformation of substrate to products. The rates of formation of metabolites were linear with time for at least 30 min and with the amount of microsomal protein up to 15 mg. Tbe apparent pH optimum for placental microsomal estrogen synthetase was 7.5, and the apparent optimum pH for the 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase ranged from pH6.0 to pH7.4. The apparent optimal temperature for the estrogen synthetase activity was 37°C and for 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase it ranged from 37°C to 58°C. The apparent Km of estrogen synthetase for 1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione was 1.3μM, and the apparent Km of 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase for 1,4-androstadiene-3, 17-dione was 24 μM. The apparent Km of estrogen synthetase for NADPH and NADH were 0.24 mM and 1.0mM, respectively; the apparent Km of placental microsomal 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase for NADH was 0.5 mM and that for NADPH was 0.67 mM. Androstenedione was found to be a competitive inhibitor of [3H]-1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione aromatization (Ki) = 0.75 μM androstenedione) and of 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreduction (Ki) = 17μM androstenedione). Fifty per cent inhibition of estrogen synthetase and of 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase activities were obtained with an androstenedione concentration of 80 μM. The specific activity of NADPH-dependent cytochrome c reductase of placental microsomes was 22 nmol × mg−1 protein × min−1. The dependency of placental microsomal [3H]-1,4-androstadiene-3,17-dione aromatization on cytochrome P-450 and upon NADPH-dependent cytochrome c reductase was demonstrated using both anti-human and anti-porcine hepatic microsomal NADPH-dependent cytochrome c (P-450) reductase antibodies. The estrogen synthetase and NADPH-dependent cytochrome c reductase activities were inhibited greatly by the microsomal specific antibodies, whereas non-immune γ-globulin had little effect on enzyme activity. The 17β-hydroxysteroid oxidoreductase activity was affected only slightly by these antibodies.
How small stresses affect 351-nm damage onset in fused silica

This paper presents an innovative technique for designing high-strength optical glasses in which slow crack growth is arrested and the laser-induced damage threshold is significantly higher. The technique consists simply of applying compressive stresses in the surfaces of a glass. An increase of up to 70 percent in fused-silica exit-surface as well as front-surface threshold has been obtained.
An adaptive approach to resource allocation

Abstract Resource allocation tasks require the decision maker to allocate a limited resource (e.g., budget or staff) to competing activities (e.g., commodities or jobs) in order to maximize an explicit objective (e.g., utility or productivity). In contrast to past research that has compared optimal to observed performance, the present study investigated how individuals learn to improve their resource allocation policies from outcome feedback. A total of 64 subjects received 50 training trials under one of four conditions produced by a 2 × 2 factorial design. One factor was the form of the unknown objective function—it had either a single global maximum, or it had a local maximum below the global maximum. The second factor was a manipulation of prior information —subjects were either told the maximum possible objective function value (but not its location), or this information was withheld. Several measures of learning were analyzed including (a) the cumulative proportion of subjects reaching a criterion as a function of training, (b) the path of the resource allocation policies selected across trials, (c) the magnitude of change in allocations as a function of training, and (d) the probability distribution of search directions selected following success and failure. A learning principle called hill-climbing was useful for interpreting the results.
Phylogenetic analysis of a frog virus 3-like ranavirus found at a site with recurrent mortality and morbidity events in southeastern Ontario, Canada: partial major capsid protein sequence alone is not sufficient for fine-scale differentiation.

Ranaviruses are emerging patho- gens of amphibians. We examined the phylo- genetic relationship of ranaviruses from infect- ed Lithobates sylvaticus tadpoles 2001-2004 from Oliver Pond, Ontario, Canada. The isolates sequenced are primarily frog virus 3- like, but because of sequence convergence, finer-scale analysis based on the major capsid protein was uninformative. Ranaviruses are emerging pathogens in amphibian populations on a global scale (Miller et al., 2011). They are large double- stranded DNA viruses of the family Irido- viridae (Chinchar, 2002). Ranaviruses have been associated with many mortality and morbidity events in North America since the 1990s (Green et al. 2002; Gray et al., 2009). In southeastern Ontario, Canada, ranavirus-associated morbidity and mortal- ity events began in 1999 at Oliver Pond on the grounds of the James Oliver Ecological Research Station near Peterborough (44u319N, 78u329W; Greer et al., 2005). These events primarily affected the wood frog (Lithobates sylvaticus) tadpoles, with mortality rates approaching 100% in the first years of the outbreaks (Greer et al., 2005). Infections were continually detected in wood frog tadpoles until 2005, when research at that location ceased (Charbon-
Alkylated DNA: Buoyant density changes and modes of decomposition

Abstract 1. 1. Alkylation of DNA with nitrogen mustard ( N -methyl-bis(2-chloroethyl)-amine·HCl) causes a reduction in buoyant density. The magnitude of the effect depends on the amount of 14 C-labeled nitrogen mustard bound and is independent of the DNA base composition. 2. 2. The relative hypodensities in CsCl, CsCl-LiCl (2:1 mole ratio), and Cs 2 SO 4 were measured. A method for the analysis of this type of data is proposed. It was concluded that the buoyant density reduction is mainly due to a large increase in hydration, the extent of which was estimated. 3. 3. The increased hydration may be due to the presence of an ammonium ion on the bound nitrogen mustard moiety. The effect of pH on the hypodensity of nitrogen mustard reacted DNA supported this supposition. 4. 4. When nitrogen mustard reacted DNA is heated, the hypodensity is gradually lost concomitantly with a loss of bound 14 C-labeled nitrogen mustard. In addition, the DNA breaks down to lower molecular weight fragments. The two modes of decomposition have different pH-dependences. The results, nevertheless, did not exclude a hypothetical two step decomposition process involving elimination of alkylguanine followed by strand scission.
Winged scapula as the presenting symptom of Chiari I malformation and syringomyelia.

Case report We report a 19-year-old girl with a 4-month history of an inability to fully elevate her upper extremity past the horizontal position. Physical examination revealed a winged scapula. MRI was demonstrative of a Chiari I malformation with a small cervical syrinx eccentrically placed to the same side as the dysfunctional extremity.
SAXS anti-peaks reveal the length-scales of dual positive–negative and polar–apolar ordering in room-temperature ionic liquids

Structural patterns that have the same spatial periodicity but a phase offset give rise to peaks and anti-peaks (negative-going peaks) at the same q value in the SAXS structure function S(q). As an example, in ionic liquids we often find charge alternation, and at the distance where one finds a density enhancement of charges of the same type one also finds a depletion of charges of opposite sign. Another such situation arises with polar–apolar densities. At distances where there is enhancement of same-type (polar–polar or apolar–apolar) densities there is also a depletion of opposite-type (polar–apolar) density. This gives rise to prepeaks and what we call same spatial periodicity anti-prepeaks.
Toxicity of nonylphenol, nonylphenol monoethoxylate, and nonylphenol diethoxylate and mixtures of these compounds to Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow) and Ceriodaphnia dubia.

Three phenolic compounds were evaluated for their toxicity to the freshwater species Pimephales promelas (fathead minnow) and Ceriodaphnia dubia. Acute toxicity tests using nonylphenol (NP), nonylphenol monoethoxylate (NP1EO), and nonylphenol diethoxylate (NP2EO) were conducted using the single chemicals and as binary and tertiary mixtures. These compounds frequently coexist in surface waters as the result of discharges from wastewater treatment plants that are inefficient at removing nonylphenolic compounds. The mean lethal concentrations (LC50s) for NP, NP1EO, and NP2EO to the fathead minnow were 136, 218, and 323 µg/L, respectively. The LC50s of NP, NP1EO, and NP2EO to C. dubia were 92.4, 328, and 716 µg/L, respectively. The degree of toxic interactions was evaluated by converting mixture LC50 estimates to toxic units (TUs). When exposed to fathead minnows, the binary mixtures of NP plus NP1EO and NP plus NP2EO produced 0.87 and 0.70 TUs, respectively. The tertiary mixture for the same species produced a TU of 0.86. When exposed to C. dubia, the binary mixtures of NP plus NP1EO and NP plus NP2EO produced 0.48 and 1.12 TUs, respectively, whereas the tertiary mixture gave a TU of 0.90. This research suggests that the compounds are additive or synergistic when present in mixtures.
Data base of aqueous solubility for organic non-electrolytes

Abstract An aqueous solubility data base for organic non-electrolytes is being compiled from scientific articles. These articles are objectively evaluated. The data are entered and checked both electronically and manually for missing information and errors. The data base gives the solubility data in moles per liter, grams per liter and in the author's original units. Whenever possible a recommended solubility value is given for the 20–40°C temperature range. Presently the data base consists of over 10 000 solubility values for over 4000 different compounds.
SB and SU distributions fitted by percentiles a general criterion

A criterion is given to choose between Johnson's SB and SU when four perceniiles are used. Also the algorithms provided make it possible to use the percentiles corresponding to the data provided, thus avoiding the intricacies of interpolation.
Making a place in the metropolis: locational attainment in cities and suburbs.

What accounts for the differences in the kinds of communities within the metropolis in which members of different racial and ethnic groups live? Do socioeconomic advancement and acculturation provide greater integration with whites or access to more desirable locations for minority-group members? Are these effects the same for Asians or Hispanics as for blacks? Does suburbanization offer a step toward greater equality in the housing market, or do minorities find greater discrimination in the suburban housing market? Data from 1980 for five large metropolitan regions are used to estimate "locational-attainment models, " which evaluate the effects of group members’ individual attributes on two measures of the character of their living environment: the socioeconomic standing (median household income) and racial composition (proportion non-Hispanic white) of the census tract where they reside. Separate models predict these outcomes for whites, blacks, Hispanics, and Asians. Net of the effects of individuals’ background characteristics, whites live in census tracts with the highest average proportion of white residents and the highest median household income. They are followed by Asians and Hispanics, and-at substantially lower levels-blacks. Large overall differences exist between city and suburban locations; yet the gap between whites and others is consistently lower in the suburbs than in the cities of these five metropolitan regions.
Relationship of oxygen consumption to body temperature in the restrained rat.

Forty adult Sprague-Dawley rats were divided into four groups: 10 control and 10 restrained animals at room temperature and 10 control and 10 restrained animals at . Continuous recordings were made...
Barrier layers for high-temperature superconductors on elemental and compound semiconductors

Thin films of Y-Ba-Cu-O have been deposited on barrier layers of SrTiO3 and ZrO2 by laser ablation or RF planar magnetron sputter deposition. The barrier layers are required to prevent interactions of the deposited superconducator with the underlying semiconductor and at the same time enhance the texture in the superconductor to increase the critical current density. The ability of various processing steps to enhance these properties and simultaneously allow scale-up to coat larger areas successfully are discussed.© (1990) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Twelve years' experience with irradiation as the primary treatment for breast cancer.

Abstract Ninety patients received comprehensive, high-dose, supervoltage teletherapy as the primary treatment for carcinoma of the breast, following a biopsy or a segmental resection. The tumor doses delivered to the breast ranged between 5600 and 7000 rod in six to mine weeks; the draining lymph nodes received tumor doses of 5000 to 7000 rod in six to eight weeks. In five cases, Iridium-192 implants were employed to boost the radiation dose to the breast, and in seven instances a “toilette” mastectomy was performed for residual cancer. Satisfactory local control and cosmetic results were achieved in 86 patients. The patients were followed for 2 1 2 to 12 1 2 years. The local control rates were: Stage I, 100%; Stage II, 95%; Stage III, 100%; Stage IV (M-0), 89%; Stage IV (M-1), 100%. The overall disease-free survival figures were. Stage I, 85%; Stage II, 48%; Stage III, 50%; and Stage IV (M-0), 29%. We feel that this approach to the initial management of breast cancer is a practical, useful, and successful substitute for mastectomy when medical or surgical contraindications exist, or when the patient refuses a mastectomy.
Visual indexes, preconceptual objects, and situated vision.

Abstract This paper argues that a theory of situated vision, suited for the dual purposes of object recognition and the control of action, will have to provide something more than a system that constructs a conceptual representation from visual stimuli: it will also need to provide a special kind of direct (preconceptual, unmediated) connection between elements of a visual representation and certain elements in the world. Like natural language demonstratives (such as ‘this’ or ‘that’) this direct connection allows entities to be referred to without being categorized or conceptualized. Several reasons are given for why we need such a preconceptual mechanism which individuates and keeps track of several individual objects in the world. One is that early vision must pick out and compute the relation among several individual objects while ignoring their properties. Another is that incrementally computing and updating representations of a dynamic scene requires keeping track of token individuals despite changes in their properties or locations. It is then noted that a mechanism meeting these requirements has already been proposed in order to account for a number of disparate empirical phenomena, including subitizing, search-subset selection and multiple object tracking (Pylyshyn et al., Canadian Journal of Experimental Psychology 48(2) (1994) 260). This mechanism, called a visual index or FINST, is briefly discussed and it is argued that viewing it as performing a demonstrative or preconceptual reference function has far-reaching implications not only for a theory of situated vision, but also for suggesting a new way to look at why the primitive individuation of visual objects, or proto-objects, is so central in computing visual representations. Indexing visual objects is also, according to this view, the primary means for grounding visual concepts and is a potentially fruitful way to look at the problem of visual integration across time and across saccades, as well as to explain how infants' numerical capacity might arise.
An histological study of the effect of ultrasound on growth of Vicia faba roots

Ultrasound (2 MHz) at intensities of 8, 12 and 20 W/cm 2 induced immediately rupture of the cortical cell walls in the elongation zone of the primary root. At the low intensity individual or small clusters of necrotic nuclei in collapsing cells were observed at 12 hr post-sonication; root integrity appeared to be maintained. At the high intensity, cell rupture, loss of turgor, and loss of internal organization were observed. It is postulated that the effects of ultrasound are mediated by mechanical factors.
Phoenix public library—special needs center

During the 1980s' Decade of the Disabled, legislation, advocacy activities, and special programs stimulated increased awareness of the rights of people with disabilities for better access to education, employment, housing, and information. In response to the growing need for easier access to information found in a public library, staff at the Phoenix Public Library designed a library Special Needs Center to make the services and resources of the library totally accessible. The following policy and mission statements illustrate this effort.
Managing change in an information systems development organization: understanding developer transitions from a structured to an object-oriented development environment 1

Object-oriented systems development has attracted great interest in the information systems (IS) field because of a belief that using object-oriented development (OD) makes it easier to develop and maintain software plus achieve software reuse. However, the transition from structured to OD may be especially challenging for IS developers. In fact, some argue that structured development (SD) knowledge may interfere with the ability to learn OD approaches because of a form of proactive interference. To understand how knowledge of SD concepts influences the ability to gain OD knowledge, we assessed a team of IS developers' understanding of structured and object-oriented concepts at the beginning of their first OD project and repeated our assessment 1 year later. Developers increased their understanding of some object-oriented concepts, but these changes were associated with increases in understanding of one of the SD concepts. Further, at the beginning and end of the project, developers' mental models were highly consistent with one another and that of an OD expert with regard to most OD concepts. It appears that the formal training that developers received allowed them to attain a good understanding of most object-oriented concepts. These findings challenge the idea that structured developers must 'unlearn' SD to adopt OD approaches. Future research may wish to examine the different types of software development knowledge to ascertain
Niveau spectral sequences on singular schemes and failure of generalized Gersten conjecture

We construct a new local-global spectral sequence for Thomason's non-connective K-theory, generalizing the Quillen spectral sequence to possi bly non-regular schemes. Our spectral sequence starts at the Ei-page where it displays Gersten-type complexes. It agrees with Thomason's hypercohomol ogy spectral sequence exactly when these Gersten-type complexes are locally exact, a condition which fails for general singular schemes, as we indicate. Our main result is the following application of abstract triangular geometry [2]. Theorem 1. Let X be a (topologically) noetherian scheme of finite Krull dimen sion. Then there exists a spectral sequence whose first page is (1) E`q= p K-p-q(Ox,x on {x}) for p,q E 2, xEX(P) converging toward Kn (X) for n E 2, "along n = p + q "; that is, the indexing in the spectral sequence is such that dr : EPq _ EP+r q-,r+l for r > 1. Here, K*(X on Y) stands for Thomason's non-connective (or "Bass") K-theory of those perfect complexes of Ox-modules which are acyclic on X -Y; see [12, ?6]. Note the presence of negative K-groups, a crucial fact throughout the paper. Negative K-theory roots back to work of Bass and of Karoubi, independently. For X regular, this coniveau spectral sequence is due to Quillen [10, Thm. 5.4], who also used devissage to replace the local terms K. (Ox,x on {x}) by K-groups of residue fields, K, (i'(x)). Although Theorem 1 can also be proved by starting with (10.3.6) in Thomason [12, proof of Thm. 10.3], the conceptual proof given here relies on deep geometric facts and easily transposes to other theories; see Remark 3. Im portant progress appeared even before [12], e.g. in Levine [8] or Weibel [15, 16, 17], but always under restrictions on the singularities. The above theorem seems to pro vide the most general coniveau spectral sequence one could wish for. Our proof is a direct application of two recent results: first, Schlichting's localization long exact sequence involving negative K-groups (see [11]), and second, the author's decom position in local terms of the idempotent completion of the successive quotients of the coniveau filtration of Dperf(X); see [2] or (7) below. These two recent papers, Received by the editors September 17, 2007, and, in revised form, January 9, 2008. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification. Primary 19E08, 19D35, 18E30.
Quantitative Reasoning in Environmental Science: A Learning Progression.

The ability of middle and high school students to reason quantitatively within the context of environmental science was investigated. A quantitative reasoning (QR) learning progression was created with three progress variables: quantification act, quantitative interpretation, and quantitative modeling. An iterative research design was used as it is the standard method for the development of learning progressions. The learning progression was informed by interviews of 39 middle and high school students from 5 schools in the Western USA using QR assessments. To inform the lower anchor, intermediate levels, and upper anchor of achievement for the QR learning progression, an extensive review of the literature on QR was conducted. A learning progression framework was then hypothesized. To confirm the framework, three QR assessments within the context of environmental literacy were constructed. The interviews were conducted using these QR assessments. The results indicated that students do not actively engage i...
On the importance of including recovery in phenomenological theories of plastic flow in metals

Abstract The phenomenological theory of plastic deformation recently proposed by Hart( 1 ) is criticized on the grounds that it does not include static recovery and therefore should not be applied at high temperature. In addition Hart's suggestion that a steady state deformation regime does not exist is questioned. It is pointed out that the evidence for no steady state cited by Hart was obtained for copper at room temperature where static recovery is not expected to occur. Also, it is suggested that his interpretation of delayed creep effects in terms of anelasticity is not consistent with direct structural observations. The results of constant stress interrupted creep tests, carried out on randomly oriented polycrystalline copper, cube textured copper and aluminum single crystals are reported. In these tests the sample is unloaded and annealed at the test temperature after it has reached steady state. Subsequently the sample is reloaded and the test is allowed to continue. Transients in strain rate which occur upon unloading and reloading indicate that recovery has occurred. The transient features of these tests cannot be explained as anelastic effects. These experimental results lead us to conclude that Hart's equation of state does not apply at temperatures where static recovery occurs.
Evoked potentials elicited by brief vernier offsets: estimating vernier thresholds and properties of the neural substrate.

Abstract The characteristics of the neural generator producing an evoked potential in response to the brief presentation of a vernier offset was investigated in three experiments. In the first study, averaged evoked potentials (EPs) recorded in response to a single vernier offset stimulus consisting of a horizontal line which changed from colinearity to noncolinearity for 100 msec every 1.5 sec were compared to responses elicited by other vernier configurations consisting of: (1) stimuli with multiple offsets; (2) stimuli presented in different orientations; (3) targets with different offset features; and (4) with the simple displacement of a colinear line. The results showed that a single vernier offset elicited a robust response if the offset was located in the central zone (1°) of the target. Other features of the target configuration were unimportant. Displacement of a colinear line over the same range without an offset evoked little, if any, response. In the second study, EPs were recorded in response to a single offset target which varied in magnitude from 21 to 82 sec of visual angle on different trials. The latency and amplitude of the EP response varied systematically with the amplitude of the vernier offset. Plots of EP amplitude against log of the offset magnitude were linear over the range of offsets employed. Straight lines fitted to the data and extrapolated to zero amplitude provided estimates of vernier threshold. These estimates agreed closely with psychophysical measures taken with the same targets and confirm the initial observations by Levi et al . (1983). In the third experiment, irrelevant contours were added to the vernier target in various spatial and temporal configurations. The addition of stationary, contiguous contours to the vernier target reduced the amplitude of the EP response when the contours were within 4–8 min of the offset, producing progressively less EP attenuation with increasing distance from the offset. However, brief presentation of the irrelevant contour (e.g. a single line passing through the offset) with an onset asynchrony relative to the vernier offset stimulus appropriate to assure simultaneity of the line-elicited EP and the offset-elicited EP yielded an enhanced response, i.e. to two responses added algebraically. The long latency of the offset evoked response and the summation results of the EPs generated by an offset and by a briefly presented linear contour suggests independence of the neural generators producing the response to these two targets.
Genetic regulation of sex pheromone production and response : Interaction of sympatric pheromonal types of European corn borer,Ostrinia nubilalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae).

The sex pheromone communication system of the European corn borer moth varies intraspecifically. Analyses of pheromonal extracts of wild females, collected in a region where the types (each producing a different isomeric proportion ofZ- andE-11-tetradecenyl acetate) are sympatric, showed that theZ pheromone-production allele frequency was ca. 4 times greater than theE allele. The paucity ofE production and response alleles in the population indicates that moths inheriting those alleles concomitantly inherit some undefined disadvantage. The types interbreed, but the frequency of heterozygous pheromone-production types among wild females was less than predicted by Hardy-Weinberg equilibrium and was evidence of positive assortative mating. Rates of male captures in field traps baited with females of the three pheromonal types also evidenced assortative mating in the population. Progeny tests with males captured in the traps provided circumstantial evidence that pheromone response and production functions in the species are regulated by separate genetic loci and that the loci are not always complementary; i.e., a male can carry an allele coding for production of one pheromonal isomer ratio but can be genetically predisposed to respond to another.
The parental perspective regarding the contralateral inguinal region in a child with a known unilateral inguinal hernia

Abstract Purpose The management of the contralateral region in a child with a known inguinal hernia has been debated by surgeons for more than 50 years. However, the perspective of the child's parents has not been sought, and this study was designed to evaluate parental views on this topic. Methods After IRB approval, all patients less than 10 years of age with a unilateral inguinal hernia seen by the senior surgeon were studied prospectively from November 2001 through February 2003. A study sheet was given to the parents about the nature of an inguinal hernia, the incidence of 20% to 40% of a contralateral patent processus vaginalis (CPPV), and the possible surgical options (perform repair of the unilateral inguinal hernia only, repair the unilateral inguinal hernia with contralateral exploration and repair if indicated, or unilateral inguinal hernia repair with laparoscopy through the ipsilateral hernia sac and repair of a CPPV if discovered). The parents of the last 113 patients requesting contralateral inspection were asked their motives (convenience or anesthesia concerns) regarding their decision. Results One hundred sixty-seven patients comprise the study group. Twelve parents chose unilateral repair alone, 13 chose bilateral incisions with contralateral repair if a CPPV was found, and 142 chose unilateral hernia repair with laparoscopic contralateral inspection followed by repair if needed. Regarding their motives, 90 of the last 113 parents requesting contralateral inspection indicated that convenience was the primary motive. Surprisingly, only 21 exhibited concerns about their child undergoing a second anesthesia. Conclusions When presented options regarding management of a unilateral inguinal hernia, parents preferred laparoscopic inspection and repair of the contralateral region, if needed, more for convenience than for concerns about a second procedure and anesthesia.
Dual‐velocity continuously moving table acquisition for contrast‐enhanced peripheral magnetic resonance angiography

Acquisition of MR angiographic data of the peripheral vasculature during continuous table motion offers certain advantages over fixed station approaches, such as the elimination of wasted time moving between stations and the ability to form a seamless image of the extended field of view. However, it has recently been demonstrated that there is an approximate twofold reduction in contrast bolus velocity as it moves from the thighs to the calves. This can potentially cause a mismatch of the moving table with the contrast peak, resulting in the table outpacing the contrast bolus distally. In this work we describe a modification to the continuous table motion technique allowing two table velocities: a high (ca. 3.6 cm/sec) velocity from the abdomen to the thighs and a low (ca. 1.6 cm/sec) velocity distally. Implications of the nonconstant velocity on k-space sampling are described, and it is shown that lateral resolution is improved for the low-velocity region. Correction for table deceleration during the transition time between high and low velocities is demonstrated. Contrast-enhanced studies in 15 volunteers are free of table-motion-related artifact and suggest improved depiction of the contrast bolus distally.