cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The origins of ethics: Deontic modality

Most psychoanalytic writers have followed developmental psychologists such as Piaget and Kohlberg in viewing the acquisition of morality as requiring language skills and, consequently, originating after infancy. Even psychoanalytic theorists who emphasize the mother–infant dyad (such as Winnicott) and those whose focus is the therapeutic relationship (for example, Mitchell, Aron) hypothesize infancy as but a preparatory phase. By contrast, I claim that ethics originates in the deontic (versus epistemic) features of adult–infant communications. Specifically, the desiderative and instrumental functions of adult–infant messages (Laplanche) establish the rights and obligations of relationships. The early origins of ethics suggest why confusions and uncertainties are inevitable in adult relationships, accompanied more often by feelings of shame than guilt. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
ON FINDING AN INITIAL SOLUTION FOR THE DUAL SIMPLEX ALGORITHM

Torrance [4] has proposed a “new” approach to finding an initial solution of a linear programming problem for use in conjunction with the dual simplex algorithm. The purpose of this note is to comment on two aspects of that paper. Firstly, Torrance's method is not new at all, but was proposed in 1958 by Wagner. Secondly, the method can be implemented much more efficiently than Torrance suggests.
A perspective on research aimed at understanding the systems nature of neural controllers

Summary form only given, as follows. In biological systems, motor control as well as other information processing tasks are carried out by networks of neural processors. Over the years, researchers have attained considerable understanding of the use of stochastic algorithmic approaches toward the control of physiological systems. In distinction to that, the authors aim at understanding how neural networks themselves do adaptively and incrementally learn to implement effective control action. They place their work in perspective relative to the adaptive stochastic control approach on one hand and to the completely heuristic reward/punish approaches on the other. Related work of the same nature is also discussed. Emphasis is on understanding the research issues and the approach, but illustrative results are also presented. >
Application of a Weighted-Averaging Method for Determining Paleosalinity: A Tool for Restoration of South Florida’s Estuaries

A molluscan analogue dataset is presented in conjunction with a weighted-averaging technique as a tool for estimating past salinity patterns in south Florida’s estuaries and developing targets for restoration based on these reconstructions. The method, here referred to as cumulative weighted percent (CWP), was tested using modern surficial samples collected in Florida Bay from sites located near fixed water monitoring stations that record salinity. The results were calibrated using species weighting factors derived from examining species occurrence patterns. A comparison of the resulting calibrated species-weighted CWP (SW-CWP) to the observed salinity at the water monitoring stations averaged over a 3-year time period indicates, on average, the SW-CWP comes within less than two salinity units of estimating the observed salinity. The SW-CWP reconstructions were conducted on a core from near the mouth of Taylor Slough to illustrate the application of the method.
CD28 ligation induces rapid tyrosine phosphorylation of the linker molecule LAT in the absence of Syk and ZAP-70 tyrosine phosphorylation

CD28 is a T cell surface molecule that is important for T cell activation. CD28-triggered T cell stimulation involves protein tyrosine phosphorylation, a process that is critical for CD28 function. Recently, a linker molecule has been identified as LAT (Linker for Activation of T cells). Studies involving LAT mutants and reconstitution experiments strongly implicate LAT in playing a critical role in T cell activation. We show in the present report that CD28 ligation induces tyrosine phosphorylation of LAT. CD28-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of LAT was rapid, as it was apparent within 1 min of CD28 ligation, reached a peak by 5 min, and declined thereafter. Previous studies implicated the protein tyrosine kinases ZAP-70 and Syk in the TCR-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of LAT. Here, tyrosine phosphorylation of Syk and ZAP-70 was detected after TCR but not after CD28 ligation. Thus, CD28 ligation appears to induce tyrosine phosphorylation of LAT by mechanisms that are independent of ZAP-70 and Syk. The concurrent ligation of CD28 and TCR increased tyrosine phosphorylation of LAT. These results implicate LAT in CD28 signal transduction pathways and in the co-stimulatory process in T cells.
Properties and Reactions of Organosilanes and Organogermanes Containing the Potentially Bidentate (X(CH2)n)2N‐Group

Compounds in the series R3SiN[(CH2)nX]2 (R = (CH3)2H, (CH3)2Cl, and CH3ClH), R2Si[N((CH2)nX)2]2 (R = (CH3)2, C6H5H, and C6H5Cl), R3GeN(CH2X)2 (R = (CH3)2Cl and (C6H5)2Cl), and Cl2Sn[N((CH2)3X)2]2, for X = N(CH3)2, n = 3; and OCH3, n = 2, have been prepared and characterized by 1H, 13C and 29Si NMR spectroscopy, and by elemental analyses. For all the compounds studied, the terminal N(CH3)2 and OCH3 groups appear not to coordinate to the central atom. The product C6H5Si{N[(CH2)2OCH3]2}2B[3,5‐(CF3)2C6H3]4, obtained from a reaction between C6H5HSi{N[(CH2)2OCH3]2}2 and (C6H5)3CB[3,5‐(CF3)2C6H3]4, should contain a silylium ion, but because of the suspected presence of a small quantity of silyl radical, has thus far eluded definitive characterization.
Inherent limitations of bitmap discretization in quantitative microstructural analysis

Abstract Quantitative microstructural analysis is an essential element of modern materials science. This is achieved through measurements of different attributes of bitmap digital images of microstructure. In view of the discrete nature of bitmap images, such measurements have an inherent error, which is a strong function of the image resolution. A systematic study of the effect of resolution on the measurement errors is presented in this report. The analysis was performed on virtual bitmap images of both straight lines having various orientations and circles of varying resolution. It is observed that some measured quantities are better in estimating the object or feature attributes than the others. For example, the measurement error is minimum if the length of a straight line is estimated by measuring the maximum feret length in the image. It is also seen that the measurement error with increasing resolution asymptotically decreases to a constant value, which is not necessarily zero in all the cases studied. Particularly, the measurement of perimeter asymptotically reaches a finite quantity of approximately 5.5% instead of approaching zero as in the case of other measurements. Inspired by this result, an analytical expression has been derived to express the error in the perimeter measurement as a function of resolution. This equation is specific to the two image analysis systems used in this work and provides a general framework which is applicable to any arbitrary isotropic 2-dimensional image. It is demonstrated that the error in the perimeter measurement is an overestimate, which asymptotically decreases with increasing resolution to a value of 8 2 − 1 π − 1 (∼ 5.5%) which is very close to the measured value observed in virtual images. This implies that all perimeter measurements by image analysis are always an overestimate of the real value, and this error could be reduced by correcting the measured value by this amount.
Bayes Neutral Zone Classifiers With Applications to Nonparametric Unsupervised Settings

Neutral zone classifiers allow for a region of neutrality when there is inadequate information to assign a predicted class with suitable confidence. A neutral zone classifier is defined by classification regions that trade off the cost of an incorrect classification against the cost of remaining neutral. In this paper, we derive a Bayes neutral zone classifier and demonstrate that it outperforms previous neutral zone classifiers with respect to the expected cost of misclassifications and also with respect to computational complexity. We apply the neutral zone classifier to a microbial community profiling application in which no training data are available, thereby illustrating how it can be extended to unsupervised settings. This article has supplementary material online.
Compression–compression fatigue of open cell aluminum foams: macro-/micro- mechanisms and the effects of heat treatment

This paper presents the results of an experimental study of the fatigue mechanisms of Duocel® open cell aluminum foams and the effects of heat treatment on foam fatigue behaviour. The macro-/micro-mechanisms of fatigue were studied for the foams in the as-fabricated (F), annealed (O) and T6-strengthened (T6) conditions. The effects of annealing and T6-strengthening on the stress–strain behavior and plastic collapse strengths of foams were introduced before presenting the results of compression–compression fatigue experiments. The formation of localized deformation bands were investigated using an in-situ digital camera. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed clear evidence of the surface crack nucleation in the individual struts, prior to the abrupt strain jumps. Fractographic analysis of the failed struts also revealed fatigue striations and surface crack nucleation mechanisms in the struts. Finally, a simple compression–compression fatigue mechanism is proposed to link the observed macro- and micro-scale fatigue mechanisms in open cell aluminum foams.
Cholesterol distribution, not total levels, correlate with altered amyloid precursor protein processing in statin-treated mice.

There are now a number of studies that suggest that cholesterol might regulate the processing of the amyloid precursor protein to form the neurotoxic peptide Aβ. This research has opened the possibility that cholesterol-lowering drugs might be efficacious as anti-Aβ drugs for use in Alzheimer's disease. The use of HMG-CoA reductase inhibitors (commonly called statins) in vitro and in vivo has proven them to be Aβ-lowering agents, however, the mechanism of action of these drugs is not yet known. One possible mechanism is that they reduce Aβ levels indirectly by reducing cholesterol in the central nervous system (CNS). In this study, we administered three different statins (simvastatin, lovastatin, and atorvastatin) to nontransgenic mice. We found that all three compounds had similar effects on Aβ, reducing both Aβ40 and Aβ42. The statins decreased β-cleaved C-terminal fragment (CTF) although having no effect on α-CTF levels. However, the drugs did not have a similar effect on cholesterol in the CNS. Only lovastatin significantly reduced total cholesterol in isolated plasma membranes. As cholesterol is not distributed evenly in the plasma membrane, we examined bilary distribution of cholesterol and found that all three statins caused CNS cholesterol to translocate from the cytofacial leaflet to the exofacial leaflet. This data suggests that cholesterol distribution and not total cholesterol levels may be important to Aβ production in the CNS.
Domains of Pit-1 required for transcriptional synergy with GATA-2 on the TSHβ gene

Abstract Previous studies showed that Pit-1 functionally cooperates with GATA-2 to stimulate transcription of the TSHβ gene. Pit-1 and GATA-2 are uniquely coexpressed in pituitary thyrotropes and activate transcription by binding to a composite promoter element. To define the domains of Pit-1 important for functional cooperativity with GATA-2, we cotransfected a set of Pit-1 deletions with an mTSHβ-luciferase reporter. Plasmids were titrated to express equivalent amounts of protein. A mutant containing a deletion of the hinge region between the POU and homeodomains retained the ability to fully synergize with GATA-2. In contrast, mutants containing deletions of amino acids 2–80 or 72–125 demonstrated 56 or 34% of the synergy found with the full-length protein, suggesting that these regions contributed to cooperativity. Mutants with deletions of the POU-specific or homeodomain further reduced the effect signifying the requirement for DNA binding. GST interaction studies demonstrated that only the homeodomain of Pit-1 interacted with GATA-2. Finally, several mutations between the Pit-1 and GATA-2 sites on the TSHβ promoter reduced binding for each factor and greatly reduced ternary complex formation. Thus multiple domains of Pit-1 are required for full synergy with GATA-2 and sequences between the two binding sites contribute to co-occupancy with both factors on the proximal TSHβ promoter.
Numerical simulation of the He II/He I phase transition in superconducting magnets

Abstract In this paper we simulate a special type of Stefan problem in large-scale superconducting magnet systems in which superfluid helium (He II) is used as the coolant for the system. Liquid helium in a narrow channel called a “cable-in-conduit” conductor (CICC) is used to remove the heat load from the conductors. Liquid helium exhibits a phase change transition to normal helium (He I) when its temperature rises above the lambda point (2.716 K under saturated vapor pressure). A simple one-dimensional model is described to analyze this special He II/He I Stefan problem. A moving mesh technique is used to solve this model to improve the numerical efficiency compared with front-tracking methods. The results illustrate the simplicity and efficiency of this model.
A new sensitive assay for the measurement of hydroperoxides

The enzyme glutathione (GSH) peroxidase can be used to measure hydroperoxides quantitatively, easily, and specifically. A timed reaction of GSH peroxidase, coupled with the oxidation of NADPH by GSH reductase, allows a direct spectrophotometric measurement of hydroperoxide. Addition of catalase prior to the addition of GSH peroxidase permits the distinction between hydrogen peroxide and organic hydroperoxides. The solvents that can be used with the assay include methanol, ethanol, water, and aqueous solutions of detergents such as Brij 35, Triton X-100, and cetyl trimethyl ammonium bromide. The utility of the method is demonstrated by the measurement of hydrogen peroxide and organic hydroperoxides formed upon ozonolysis of an unsaturated fatty acid.
Strategy and Choice in the 1982 Congressional Elections

Common to both political folk wisdom and political science is the idea that the mid-term congressional election is a referendum on the performance of the current administration. The more popular a president and the more successful his policies, the better his party does at the midterm. The president's party almost invariably loses some congressional seats in off-year elections (since the Civil War the president's party has added House seats only once—in 1934—though it occasionally picks up Senate seats). But the extent of its losses varies widely (from one to 56 House seats in postwar midterms), depending, so the theory goes, on how the electorate rates the administration's performance. The 1982 congressional elections will, in this view, be a referendum on President Reagan's administration and in particular on his economic policies, which have been the focus of political attention since inauguration day. If this is true, then economic conditions prevalent through the spring of 1982 (a potentially devastating combination of deep recession, high unemployment, and high interest rates) and Reagan's shaky support in the polls (less than 50 percent approving his performance in all Gallup surveys during the first four months of 1982), portend a Republican disaster of major proportions in the fall. Remarkably, almost no one is seriously predicting anything of the kind. And it may indeed be a mistake to bet on enormous Republican losses—partly, we will argue, because they are not widely anticipated.
PARGYLINE HYDROCHLORIDE AS AN ANTIHYPERTENSIVE AGENT WITH AND WITHOUT A THIAZIDE.

H ORWITZ and Sjoerdsma,’ who first demonstrated the clinical antihypertensive properties of pargyline hydrochloride, pointed out that monoamine oxidase inhibitors previously studied were lacking in antihypertensive potency or were too toxic for clinical use. They found that pargyline hydrochloride had a potent antihypertensive action and a sufficiently low incidence of serious side effects to warrant extensive clinical trial. Similar observations have been reported by Ford2and others3 Pargyline hydrochloride (N-benzyl-N-methyl2-propynylamine hydrochloride) is an “irreversible” monoamine oxidase inhibitor.4*5 Its action presumably resides in a -CH=CHbond (Fig. 1) rather than in a hydrazine (-NH-
Design of surfaces for liquid crystal-based bioanalytical assays.

Surface-induced ordering of liquid crystals (LCs) offers the basis of a label-free analytical technique for the detection of surface-bound biomolecules. The orientation-dependent energy of interaction of a LC with a surface (anchoring energy of LC), in particular, is both sensitive to the presence of surface-bound molecules and easily quantified. Herein, we report a study that analyzes a simple model of twisted nematic LC systems and thereby identifies surfaces with LC anchoring energies in the range of 0.5 μJ/m2 to 2.0 μJ/m2 to be optimal for use with LC-based analytical methods. Guided by these predictions, we demonstrate that analytic surfaces possessing anchoring energies within this range can be fabricated with a high level of precision (< 0.1 μJ/m2) through formation of monolayers of organothiols (with ω-functional groups corresponding to oligoethyleneglycols and amines) on gold films deposited by physical vapor deposition at oblique angles of incidence. Finally, by using the human epidermal growth ...
The neuropsychology of aging: Qualitative analysis of visual reproductions.

Luria's clinical neuropsychological approach and analysis of frontal lobe syndromes are applied to the study of aging. Brain damage produces both functional deficits and positive signs. The functional deficits seen in association with the aging process resemble those of patients with frontal system pathology. In the present study, performance of normal aging subjects is examined qualitatively for the positive signs associated with damage to frontal structures, namely perseveration and segmentation. Significant positive correlation is found between increasing prevalence of these frontal features and increasing age. Significant sex differences are also found, with males exhibiting more of these frontal features than females.
Planning structural inspection and maintenance policies via dynamic programming and Markov processes. Part II: POMDP implementation

Abstract The overall objective of this two part study is to highlight the advanced attributes, capabilities and use of stochastic control techniques, and especially Partially Observable Markov Decision Processes (POMDPs), that can address the conundrum of planning optimum inspection/monitoring and maintenance policies based on stochastic models and uncertain structural data in real time. In this second part of the study a distinct, advanced, infinite horizon POMDP formulation with 332 states is cast and solved, related to a corroding reinforced concrete structure and its minimum life-cycle cost. The formation and solution of the problem modernize and extend relevant approaches and motivate the use of POMDP methods in challenging practical applications. Apart from uncertain observations the presented framework can also support uncertain action outcomes, non-periodic inspections and choice availability of inspection/monitoring types and intervals, as well as maintenance actions and action times. It is thus no surprise that the estimated optimum policy consists of a complex combination of a variety of actions, which cannot be achieved by any other method. To be able to solve the problem we resort to a point-based value iteration solver and we evaluate its performance and solution quality for this type of applications. Simpler approximate solvers based on MDPs are also used and compared and the important notions of observation gathering actions and the value of information are briefly discussed.
Oral and postoral determinants of food reward

Tasty high-fat and high-sugar foods induce overeating and obesity in animals. To separate the roles of oral and postoral factors in food preference and consumption, recent studies have used an "electronic esophagus" preparation. With this system, when an animal drinks a flavored solution, it controls the infusion of nutrients directly into its stomach through an implanted catheter. Improving the palatability of the flavored solution increases solution intake, infused nutrient intake, and weight gain. Changing the composition of the infused nutrient (e.g., fat-carbohydrate ratio) can also alter energy intake when flavor cues are held constant. In addition, animals learn to associate flavor cues with the postoral effects of nutrients, which can significantly increase flavor preference and acceptance. In some but not all cases, conditioned preferences are associated with increased hedonic evaluation of the nutrient-paired flavor. Flavor preference conditioning by nutrients can occur in chow-sated animals and is not dependent upon an energy-depleted state. Thus, food reward is determined by oral and postoral stimuli and may override the homeostatic regulation of energy balance.
Calculation on ionizing H-atom-H-atom collisions

Born approximation for ionization cross sections of H-atom H-atom collision with ground state and excited state factors
Micro Electro Discharge Milling of Freeform Micro-Features With High Aspect Ratio

Micro Electrical Discharge Machining (μEDM) technology is widely used to process conductive materials, regardless to their hardness and strength, and realize micro-sized feature components for industrial application. μEDM proves to be a very competitive fabrication technology since micro-sized features within 1 μm of accuracy and with high surface quality (<0.1 μm Ra) can be attained. When High Aspect Ratio (HAR) micro-features are machined via μEDM milling, the main problem is to identify the technological parameters and settings mainly affecting the process performance. In the present study the influence of the adjustment factor and flushing conditions are investigated and discussed for the machining of HAR cavities with different Fill Factor (FF). Material Removal Rate (MRR) and Tool Wear Ratio (TWR) are evaluated when deep cavities having variable square sections are machined on Ni-Cr-Mo steel workpiece. All tests are performed using a state of the art micro-EDM milling machine, with a Tungsten Carbide electrode tool and a dielectric oil for flushing. The experimental results presented here highlight different trends in the machining performance in dependence of AR and FF. In particular, MRR exhibits a decreasing trend where the curve slopes are strictly related to the FF and the initial adjustment factor. On the contrary, TWR, for higher FF, displays two distinct trends characterized by opposite slopes in each curve. Finally a nozzle for micro-injection with varying Aspect Ratio and Fill Factor is machined and presented as demonstrator.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
In vivo and in vitro Studies of Adaptor-clathrin Interaction

A major endocytic pathway initiates with the formation of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCVs) that transport cargo from the cell surface to endosomes. CCVs are distinguished by a polyhedral lattice of clathrin that coats the vesicle membrane and serves as a mechanical scaffold. Clathrin coats are assembled during vesicle formation from individual clathrin triskelia , the soluble form of clathrin composed of three heavy and three light chain subunits. Because the triskelion does not have the ability to bind to the membrane directly, clathrin-binding adaptors are critical to link the forming clathrin lattice to the membrane through association with lipids and/or membrane proteins. Adaptors also package transmembrane protein cargo, such as receptors, and can interact with each other and with other components of the CCV formation machinery. Over twenty clathrin adaptors have been described, several are involved in clathrin mediated endocytosis and others localize to the trans Golgi network or endosomes. With the exception of HIP1R (yeast Sla2p), all known clathrin adaptors bind to the N-terminal -propeller domain of the clathrin heavy chain. Clathrin adaptors are modular proteins consisting of folded domains connected by unstructured flexible linkers. Within these linker regions, short binding motifs mediate interactions with the clathrin N-terminal domain or other components of the vesicle formation machinery. Two distinct clathrin-binding motifs have been defined: the clathrin-box and the W-box. The consensus clathrin-box sequence was originally defined as L[L/I][D/E/N][L/F][D/E] but variants have been subsequently discovered. The W-box conforms to the sequence PWxxW (where x is any residue). Sla1p (Synthetic Lethal with Actin binding protein-1) was originally identified as an actin associated protein and is necessary for normal actin cytoskeleton structure and dynamics at endocytic sites in yeast cells. Sla1p also binds the NPFxD endocytic sorting signal and is critical for endocytosis of cargo bearing the NPFxD signal. More recently, Sla1p was demonstrated to bind clathrin through a motif similar to the clathrin box, LLDLQ, termed a variant clathrin-box (vCB), and to function as an endocytic clathrin adaptor. In addition, Sla1p has become a widely used marker for the endocytic coat in live cell fluorescence microscopy studies. Here we use Sla1p as a model to describe approaches for adaptor-clathrin interaction studies. We focus on live cell fluorescence microscopy, GST-pull down, and co-immunoprecipitation methods.
Impediments to Adherence to Post Myocardial Infarction Medications

Non-adherence to evidence-based medications is a major public health problem. Less than 50 % of patients with coronary artery disease adhere to their prescribed therapies and this has important implications for morbidity, mortality, and health care spending. Like most complex behaviors, medication non-adherence is not solely the result of poor patient choices. Rather, there are myriad potential contributors attributable to patients, health care providers, and, more broadly, the health care system. Interventions including patient education and behavioral modification, improving patient-physician communication, and eliminating copayments for preventive pharmacotherapy have all been studied. Clinicians play a critical role in helping improve adherence and assessment of adherence must become a standard component of each clinical encounter. Ultimately, given the various etiologies that contribute to non-adherence, achieving meaningful gains will undoubtedly require payors, providers, and policymakers to develop, rigorously evaluate, and systematically deploy strategies that address key patient, clinician, and health system factors.
Higgs boson Mass in GMSB with Messenger–Matter mixing

Abstract A Higgs-like particle with mass of order 125 GeV has been observed by both ATLAS and CMS experiments. This Higgs mass causes sparticle masses in the several to multi-TeV range in the simple version of minimal GMSB models. We consider the effects of messenger–matter mixing on the lightest CP–even Higgs boson mass in gauge–mediated supersymmetry breaking models. We find with such mixings a 125 GeV Higgs boson can be naturally obtained even with a sub–TeV SUSY spectrum, and when the gravitino has a cosmologically preferred sub–keV mass. In addition, when these models are embedded into a grand unification framework with a U ( 1 ) flavor symmetry they explain the fermion mass hierarchy and generate naturally large neutrino mixing angles accompanied with small quark mixing angles. While SUSY mediated flavor changing processes are sufficiently suppressed in such an embedding, it can resolve the apparent discrepancy in the CP asymmetry parameters sin 2 β and ϵ K , and it predicts an observable μ → e γ decay rate.
Thermally grown TiO2 nanowires to improve cell growth and proliferation on titanium based materials

Abstract Titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) nanowires (NWs) grown by thermal oxidation were investigated as a means of improving cell adhesion and proliferation of human osteosarcoma (HOS) cells on Ti 6 wt% Al–4 wt% V (Ti64) substrates. The TiO 2 NWs were grown on thermally spray coated Ti64 by a simple oxidation process. HOS cell proliferation was observed on bare Ti64 and both nanostructured and non-nanostructured TiO 2 surfaces by fluorescence microscopy and laser scanning cytometry (LSC). The alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity of the HOS cells was also monitored at regular intervals. The NW coated samples showed increased cell adhesion and proliferation compared to the non-nanostructured TiO 2 and Ti64 samples. This investigation has demonstrated the feasibility of using a simple oxidation process to produce NWs as a means of coating Ti64 based devices to increase cell adhesion and proliferation.
Simple model for surface-enhanced Raman scattering from tilted silver nanorod array substrates

A modified Greenler's model is proposed to interpret surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS) for molecules adsorbed onto a tilted and aligned Ag nanorod array substrate. This model only considers molecules absorbed on the side walls of the nanorods and the Raman incident and collection configurations. It reveals that when the incident angle increases to an optimal angle, the SERS intensity reaches a maximum. With the increase in the nanorod tilting angles, the maximum SERS intensity almost does not change, but the optimal incident angle increases linearly. The underlayer thin film also plays an important role for SERS enhancement. In addition, the SERS intensity is closely related to the polarization of the excitation light. When the incident angle is smaller than $15\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}$, $s$ polarization excites stronger Raman signals; at other incident angles, $p$-polarization excitation contributes more Raman intensity. Those theoretical predictions are qualitatively consistent with our experimental observations.
Sutureless Epicardial Pacemaker Lead: A Satisfactory Preliminary Experience

The first pacemaker systems used the epicardial electrode. The transvenous endocardial electrode rapidly supplanted the epicardial electrode since it could be positioned with less morbidity and mortality and was associated with a lower incidence of wire breakage. The long term complication rate of the transvenous electrode has not been inconsequential. The sutureless epicardial electrode combines the greater reliability of the epicardial of the endocardial lead system. We have used this electrode in 33 patients. The electrode was positioned using the subxiphoid approach and local anesthesia in most patients. There have been few complications and none that resulted in long term morbidity. There have been no deaths related either to the operative approach or to the pacing system. There has been no instance of lead failure during the follow-up period.
QIAamp MinElute Virus kit effectively extracts viral nucleic acids from cerebrospinal fluids and nasopharyngeal swabs

Abstract Background Nucleic acid preparation from a variety of clinical specimens requires efficient target recovery and amplification inhibitor removal and is critical for successful molecular diagnosis. The QIAamp MinElute Virus kit (Qiagen Inc., Valencia, CA) was compared to the two existing methods currently used in our laboratory, IsoQuick (Orca Research Inc., Bothell, WA) for DNA extraction and RNAzol B (Leedo Laboratories Inc., Houston, TX) for RNA extraction, of viral nucleic acids. Study design A total of 150 clinical specimens, including cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and nasopharyngeal swabs (NPS), were used to determine the extraction efficiency of the MinElute compared to the other two methods. Nucleic acid recovery, hands-on time, turn-around-time and cost were compared across all kits. Results There was complete concordance between the MinElute and IsoQuick/RNAzol kits when herpes simplex virus (HSV), Epstein–Barr virus (EBV), varicella-zoster virus (VZV), influenza A virus or enteroviruses were detected using a colorimetric microtiter plate PCR system. The kits were equivalent in their ability to detect either DNA or RNA with superior ability to recover a high quality and quantity of RNA. With the potential to process larger specimen volumes, the MinElute kit can significantly shorten processing time from 2 h to 50–55 min. Conclusions Although relatively high test kit costs were noted, the MinElute kit provides another rapid and user-friendly specimen processing tool in the diagnostic molecular microbiology laboratory.
Thermal Conductance of Biporous Evaporator Wicks in Thin Film Evaporation and Boiling Regimes

We present detailed data on the performance of microstructured geometries for use in the evaporator section of a vapor chamber heat pipe. The central innovation of the geometries is their hierarchical structure, involving the use of large microchannels in order to reduce liquid flow drag while fabricating microscale pin fin arrays whose small pores increase capillary suction. The overall conductance in such a geometry is dependent on the extent of thin liquid film (thickness ∼few microns), which is manipulated by increasing the surface area-to-volume ratio through the use of microstructuring. Experiments were conducted for a heater area of 1cm2 , with the wick in a vertical orientation. Results are presented for fixed microchannel widths of 30–60 microns, with pin fin diameters ranging from 4 to 32 microns, and pin fin array widths of 150 to 300 microns. The competing effects of increase in surface area due to microstructuring, and the suppression of evaporation due to reduction in pore scale are explored. In the evaporative regime, conductances of the order of 6 W/cm2 -K are attained at heat fluxes of up to 140 W/cm2 , until the capillary limit is reached and the wick dries out.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
SYNTHESIS AND CHARACTERIZATION OF AN ARYLCOBALT-CORRIN

Abstract Prolonged reaction of cob(I)inamide with methyl- p -bromobenzoate in methanol produces, in low yield, an organocobinamide which appears to be the methyl ester of p -carboxyphenylcobinamide. In aqueous base this compound undergoes slow hydrolysis to another organocobinamide assigned as the conjugate base of p -carboxyphenylcobinamide.
The promise of molecular epidemiology for quantitative risk assessment.

In the long run, molecular epidemiological techniques (1) can provide important insights for understanding a wide variety of important issues in current risk assessment and (2) are applicable across a broad spectrum of adverse effects in addition to carcinogenesis. Unfortunately, current risk assessment practices make very little use of the kind of detailed mechanistic information that molecular epidemiology can provide. Eventually, there is reason to hope that the availability of mechanistic insights provided in part by molecular epidemiology can produce some of the “essential tension” required to reform paradigms for the formulation of quantitative risk assessment models in general.
A population-based epidemiologic study of emergency department visits for anaphylaxis in Florida

Background Previous population-based analyses of emergency department (ED) visits for anaphylaxis have been limited to small populations in limited geographic areas and focused on children or have included patients who had allergic conditions other than anaphylaxis. Objective We sought to describe the epidemiology and risk factors among patients with anaphylaxis presenting to Florida EDs. Methods Two thousand seven hundred fifty-one patients with anaphylaxis were identified for 2005-2006 within ED records by using the International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision, Clinical Modification (ICD-9-CM), and a validated ICD-9-CM–based algorithm. Age- and sex-specific rates were calculated. Regression analyses were used to determine relative risks for anaphylaxis caused by various triggers (food, venom, and medication) and risk factors (age, sex, race, and ethnicity). Results The highest observed rates were among the youngest male subjects (8.2/100,000 Floridians aged 0-4 years) and among adult female subjects (15-54 years) grouped in 10-year age categories (9.9-10.9/100,000 Floridians). Male and black subjects were 20% and 25%, respectively, more likely to have a food trigger than female and white subjects. White, male, and older subjects were more likely to have an anaphylaxis-related ED visit caused by insect stings. Venom-induced anaphylaxis was more likely in August through October. Children were less likely than those older than 70 years (referent) to have medication-induced anaphylaxis ( P Conclusion This is the only ED-based population study in a US lower-latitude state. The overall rate is considerably lower than other US ED-based population studies. The rates of anaphylaxis by age group differed by sex. Male and black subjects were more likely to have a food trigger.
Composition of milk of the sea otter (Enhydra lutris)

Abstract 1. 1. Milk specimens from 5 wild and 2 captive sea otters, Enhydra lutris , were analyzed for pH, gross composition and calcium, phosphate and citrate. Osmolality of two samples was determined. 2. 2. The pH is lower and osmolality higher than in milks of other species examined. 3. 3. Milks of wild sea otters have the high fat, low lactose composition characteristic of other marine mammals such as pinnipeds and cetaceans. 4. 4. The samples from captive animals differed markedly in composition from those of the wild animals. 5. 5. The fatty acid composition of Enhydra milk fat is characterized by high contents of palmitic, oleic long chain polyunsaturated acids. 6. 6. Enhydra caseins and whey proteins each consist of several protein entities.
Characterization by Monoclonal Antibodies of the Cytotoxic Effector Cells in Human Peripheral Blood Mononuclear Cells Reactive against Anchorage-Dependent Tumour Cell Lines

The effector cells for spontaneous cytotoxicity against anchorage-dependent human or mouse tumour cell lines in a 72-h iododeoxyuridine-release assay by normal human peripheral blood cells (PBMNC) or monocyte-enriched fractions were analysed by the use of monoclonal antibodies. PBMNC or adherent or elutriated monocyte-enriched populations of PBMNC were depleted of monoclonal antibody-reactive cells by complement-dependent lysis or separated into monoclonal-antibody-positive or -negative subsets by an indirect rosetting technique followed by Ficoll-Hypaque density gradient separation. The experimental data indicated that in both PBMNC and monocyte-enriched populations, an appreciable proportion of the effector cells with cytolytic activity against adherent human or mouse tumour target cells were positive with B73.1.1 (an antibody with a high degree of selectivity for natural killer (NK) cells), B43.4.1 (or OKM1), and with OKT11a (an antibody recognizing the receptors for sheep erythrocytes), and had the morphology of large granular cells, which have previously been shown to mediate NK activity. These effector cells were mostly negative for BRL.1, BRL.2, B52.1.1, B44.1.1, B13.4.1 and DR antigens, unlike classical monocytes. Some cells which are cytotoxic for the adherent mouse, SV-40-transformed kidney tumour line, TU-5, may bear B52.1.1 or other monocyte-like antigens. Taken together, these results indicate that, in monocyte-enriched populations, both NK cells and monocytes have cytotoxic effector activity against various human and mouse adherent target cell lines.
The Savings and Loan Debacle of the 1980s: White-Collar Crime or Risky Business?*

This paper examines the role of white-collar crime in the savings and loan crisis. Noting economists' assertions that crime was only a minor ingredient in the crisis, we compare the explanatory power of this “minimal fraud” model to that of its “material fraud” alternative. Bringing together evidence from every major study of thrifts in the 1980s, we argue that only the material fraud hypothesis can make sense of these data. This study demonstrates the utility of deductive reasoning in distinguishing between white-collar crime and ordinary business transactions, thereby potentially contributing to prosecutorial efforts, and helping resolve long-standing methodological dilemmas confronting white-collar criminologists.
Nonmonotonic temperature dependence of the flexibility of bacteriophage fd

We present two experiments that probe the temperature dependence of the flexibility of the filamentous virus fd by examining aspects of the liquid crystalline nature of fd suspensions. The first measurement is of the temperature variation of the coexisting fd concentrations at the isotropic-cholesteric phase transition. The second measurement is of the magnetic field induced birefringence or Cotton-Mouton constant in the isotropic phase as a function of temperature. We compare these measurements with the theoretical treatment of Onsager, Khokhlov-Semenov, and Chen and conclude that the flexibility of fd varies nonmonotonically with temperature and has a minimum in persistence length at 35°C. © 1996 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Use of Focus Groups for Minority Engineering Program Assessment

To increase the attraction and retention of minority engineering students, many higher-education institutions have implemented programs to help address academic and social pressures these students face. A key question for administrators of such programs is their actual impact on the targeted students. Since these programs seek to improve retention rates by positively improving students' experience with their institutional environment, it becomes crucial to assess students' perceptions of their college experience. The purpose of this paper is to demonstrate how focus groups can be used for educational program assessment, in particular minority engineering programs. An evaluative study of minority engineering programs at a state university is used to illustrate this methodology. In this paper, we describe how the study was designed and conducted, the resources required, the types of results obtained from the study, and the follow-up strategies.
Euler's Polyhedron Formula

where V , E, and F are, respectively, the number of vertices, edges, and faces of p. The formula was first stated in print by Euler in 1758 [11]. The proof given here is based on Poincare’s linear algebraic proof, stated in [17] (with a corrected proof in [18]), as adapted by Imre Lakatos in the latter’s Proofs and Refutations [15]. As is well known, Euler’s formula is not true for all polyhedra. The condition on polyhedra considered here is that of being a homology sphere, which says that the cycles (chains whose boundary is zero) are exactly the bounding chains (chains that are the boundary of a chain of one higher dimension). The present proof actually goes beyond the three-dimensional version of the polyhedral formula given by Lakatos; it is dimension-free, in the sense that it gives a formula in which the dimension of the polyhedron is a parameter. The classical Euler relation V − E + F = 2 is corresponds to the case where the dimension of the polyhedron is 3. The main theorem, expressed in the language of the present article, is
Development of physical-based demand response-enabled residential load models

In order to support the growing interest in demand response (DR) modeling and analysis, there is a need for physical-based residential load models. The objective of this paper is to present the development of such load models at the appliance level. These include conventional controllable loads, i.e., space cooling/space heating, water heater, clothes dryer and electric vehicle. Validation of the appliance-level load models is carried out by comparing the models' output with the real electricity consumption data for the associated appliances. The appliance-level load models are aggregated to generate load profiles for a distribution circuit, which are validated against the load profiles of an actual distribution circuit. The DR-sensitive load models can be used to study changes in electricity consumption both at the household and the distribution circuit levels, given a set of customer behaviors and/or signals from a utility.
Sexual Opinion Survey: An Exploratory Factor Analysis with Helping Professionals

Counselors and marriage and family therapists work with individuals, couples, and families on issues related to sexuality. However, clinicians may be underserving their clients by not having adequate training and preparation to work with clients with these presenting issues. One mitigating factor in the treatment of sexual problems is therapists’ comfort with discussing issues of sexuality. Therefore, researchers performed an exploratory factor analysis on the Sexual Opinion Survey with a sample of registered and licensed counselors and marriage and family therapists in the state of Florida (N = 813). The data analyses resulted in a five-factor, 21-item assessment that explained 58.71% of the variance. The researchers present how the SOS can be used as a tool in sexual education.
Filtering atmost1 on pairs of set variables

Many combinatorial problems, such as bin packing, set covering, and combinatorial design, can be conveniently expressed using set variables and constraints over these variables [3]. In constraint programming such problems can be modeled directly in their natural form by means of set variables. This offers a great potential in exploiting the structure captured by set variables during the solution process, for example to break problem symmetry or to improve domain filtering.
Public opinion and the tax evasion trial of Reverend Moon

This paper presents the results of a survey of a random sample of 1,000 people taken from the Southern Judicial District of New York to measure the amount of knowledge about and bias toward the Reverend Moon prior to his trial on tax evasion charges. The survey was completed as part of the pretrial preparation by Reverend Moon, and was used to support his motion for a bench trial, instead of having the case tried before a jury. The survey revealed very high levels of knowledge about the Church and Reverend Moon, as well as a strong negative bias toward both. Implications of these results and the outcome of the actual trial for the jury system and for religion and religionists is discussed.
A Method for Cannulating the Main Pancreatic Duct of Chickens: The Continuous Collection of Avian Pancreatic Juice,

Abstract A surgical technique has been developed for cannulating the main pancreatic duct of 14-week old chickens. A silastic cannula is fixed into the main pancreatic duct and the free end of the cannula is brought out through an abdominal wall stab wound and connected to a PE 90 collecting tube. The collecting tube is then connected to a collecting vial held in a thermos bottle of ice when the cannulated chicken is placed in the restraining cage. No particular post-operative care was found to be required. Pancreatic secretions were successfully collected on a 24 hour basis for as long as three months after cannulation. No chickens lost weight and most gained weight during the experiment. Successful pancreatic duct cannulations was accomplished in 90 to 95% of the surgeries.