cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metal Cluster Active Sites in Proteines

Binuclear and multimetal cluster centers are found in a wide variety of enzymes involved in electron transfer and small molecule activation. It is important to define the contributions of interactions between the metal ions in an active site to its structure and function. Attention is focussed on the coupled binuclear copper sites which occur in hemocyanin (reversible O2 binding), tyrosinase (O2 activation and hydroxylation) and laccase (O2 reduction to water). Excited state spectral studies on active site derivatives are used to define exogenous ligand bridging between the two coppers in the active sites of hemocyanin and tyrosinase. A chemical and spectroscopic comparison of the coupled site in hemocyanin to the binuclear center (T3) in laccase indicates that the sites are similar with respect to an endogenous bridge responsible for antiferromagnetic coupling but differ in that exogenous ligands bind to only one copper at the T3 site. In addition to the T3 coupled binuclear copper site, laccase contains two other coppers, the Type 1 and Type 2 centers. X-ray absorption edge spectral studies of the 1s→4p transition at 8984 eV are used to demonstrate that in the absence of the T2 copper the T3 site is reduced and will not react with O2. The role of the T2 and T3 coppers in exogenous ligand binding has been probed through low temperature MCD which allows a correlation between the excited state and ground state spectral features. Through these low temperature MCD studies it is demonstrated that one azide produces charge transfer intensity to both the paramagnetic T2 and the antiferromagnetic T3 center defining a new trinuclear copper active site which appears to be important in the irreversible multi-electron reduction of dioxygen to water.
Application of Monte Carlo to Proton Beam Radiation Therapy

As with photon and electron radiotherapy, the future of dose calculation for hadron beams will be based upon Monte Carlo algorithms. Benchmark calculations of the LAHET Monte Carlo code with respect to measured in-phantom dose distributions show that the proton physics modules in LAHET accurately reproduce measured results. Since MCNP-X incorporates the proton and high energy neutron physics modules from LAHET, similar agreement with MCNP-X is expected. In addition to beam-line simulations, MCNP-X has the ability to input the lattice geometry required for simulating patient treatments based on CT data sets. The ability of MCNP-X to perform patient dose calculation simulations for proton radiotherapy was demonstrated by simulating a two-beam prostate treatment plan. While MCNP-X is fully capable to perform patient-planning calculations, currently, it is too time consuming to be used for routine patient planning.
Spectral signatures of solids and liquids on different substrates: the need for accurate optical constants

Other than water, pure bulk liquids and solids are rarely encountered in the environment, but more commonly exist as layers on various substrates, e.g. concrete, metals, glass, etc. Unlike gas-phase transmission spectra, condensed-phase reflectance spectra depend not only on absorption, but also on the material’s refraction and reflection at interfaces. Providing reference spectra to account for the plethora of morphological conditions (e.g. substrate, layer thickness, particle or droplet size) that may be encountered under different scenarios is a daunting challenge. An alternative approach is to derive the complex optical constants, n and k, which can be used to model the optical phenomena in media and at interfaces, minimizing the need for a vast number of laboratory measurements. The current status of obtaining such optical constants for both solids and liquids is briefly summarized.
TECHNOLOGY USE AMONG OLDER ADULTS IN RURAL AREAS

Relative to urban areas, rural areas in the United States contain a disproportionate number of older adults (65+ years old). Older residents of rural communities are at risk for social isolation, caregiver burden, and lack of access to healthcare and other resources. Modern technology could help address these issues, but studies of technology use among rural seniors are sparse. The current study explored patterns of technology use among 131 adults residing in rural counties across six states (Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, North Dakota, Oklahoma, and Texas). A majority of the sample was female (73%), with an average age of 76.3 years (range 65–100). Participants completed a telephone survey with questions about demographics, health, social support, and technology. A total of 103 participants (78.6%) stated that they used current technology, including cell phones, texting, email, social media, and video chat, to communicate with adult children, grandchildren, siblings, and friends. Conversely, 28 participants (21.3%) did not use such technology. Logistic regression analyses showed that the likelihood of using technology was significantly associated with being married, younger age, lower depressive symptoms, better self-rated health, and better quality of social support. Of participants who used technology, the average time spent was 6.15 hours per week (SD=6.45), and most felt that it increased their sense of social support (61.1%). These findings suggest that technology may benefit older adults in rural areas, yet a sizeable minority of these seniors do not use technology. Implications for future research and interventions are discussed.
Accuracy of Detection and Grading of Diabetic Retinopathy and Diabetic Macular Edema Using Teleretinal Screening.

Purpose To determine the accuracy of a county teleretinal screening program of detecting referable diabetic retinopathy (DR) and treatable diabetic macular edema (DME), as well as to evaluate patient compliance with clinic follow-up after referral from teleretinal screening. Design Retrospective observational study. Participants Patients in the Harris Health System (HHS, Houston, TX) older than 18 years of age who underwent teleretinal screening between July 2014 and July 2016. Methods Teleretinal imaging (TRI) consisting of single-field 45-degree nonmydriatic color fundus photography with referral thresholds of severe nonproliferative DR, proliferative DR, and significant DME. Teleretinal imaging results for all referred subjects were obtained and cross-referenced with dilated fundus examination findings with regard to DR severity and the presence of DME. Follow-up status was also noted. Subjects underwent OCT if deemed necessary by the examining specialist. Agreement between TRI and dilated fundus examination (DFE) findings was determined by calculating the Cohen κ coefficient. Main Outcome Measures The primary outcome measure is agreement between TRI results and DFE findings with regard to DR severity and the presence of DME. The secondary outcome measure is compliance with follow-up. Results Of 1767 patients who were screened and referred for clinical examination, 935 (52.9%) attended their clinic appointment. Overall agreement between DFE and TRI was moderate (weighted κ 0.45) in terms of DR severity. There was agreement within one DR severity level in 86.2% of patients. The positive predictive value for detecting referable disease was 71.3%. Of patients referred for DME, 30.4% were deemed to have treatable DME. Conclusions The HHS teleretinal screening program demonstrates a high level of accuracy in the detection and classification of referable DR, but a lesser degree of accuracy in the detection of treatable DME. Only slightly more than half of participants were compliant with follow-up after a TRI referral. This large-scale study provides insight into the utility of teleretinal screening in a county health care system.
Noncommercial US Funders' Policies on Trial Registration, Access to Summary Results, and Individual Patient Data Availability.

Importance Incomplete information about existing research is an underlying cause of research waste. National and international initiatives and requirements have been launched to address this issue. Objectives To characterize current clinical trial transparency policies among the largest noncommercial US funders and examine whether the policies are concordant with international funders. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective review of public information used methods developed for documenting funder policies internationally; 2 researchers searched each funder’s website and Google between May and November 2018 to locate trial transparency policies for 10 top US funders. Key informants at each funding organization were contacted by email and given 3 or more weeks to review and confirm or correct the findings. Nonresponders were contacted 2 or more additional times. Descriptive statistics were calculated to summarize the findings. The study was conducted using publicly available policy information with findings confirmed by funder representatives where possible. Participants included top 10 noncommercial US health research funders with the highest reported investment in health research (2013 dollars) who fund clinical trials. Data analysis was conducted from November 6, 2018, to November 23, 2018. Exposures Availability of policies addressing each of the 3 key trial transparency domains as specified by the World Health Organization in 2017. Main Outcomes and Measures Independent assessment by 2 investigators of availability (yes or no) of a policy addressing registration for trials, sharing of summary results, and individual participant data sharing activities; requirements (yes, no, or supportive statement) of these policies in terms of completeness, timeliness, public access, and provision of additional technical or financial support to meet data sharing requirements; description (yes or no) of internal monitoring for policy adherence. Results All 10 funders acknowledged the outreach. One funder who indicated that less than 1% of their research funding goes to clinical trials was removed. Six (67%) of the remaining 9 top US funders have a publicly available written policy for all 3 major trial transparency domains. The most comprehensive trial transparency practice among US funders addresses summary results sharing as follows: 8 of 9 US funders (89%) have a policy, 5 of 9 US funders (56%) require reporting of summary results within 1 year, and 6 of 9 US funders (67%) monitor compliance with their summary results sharing policy. For clinical trial registration, 7 of 9 US funders (78%) have a policy and 5 of 9 US funders (56%) require registration and monitor trial registration to measure adherence to the policy. Conclusions and Relevance In this study, overall the proportion of US funders with policies and practices to support trial transparency in this sample was similar or compared favorably with the larger international sample of noncommercial funders recently reported.
RAGs usurp cellular factors for both breaking and repairing.

There is clear evidence that the recombination-activating gene (RAG) complex functions best in vitro with help from the high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) DNA-bending protein. In this issue of Blood, Thwaites et al show unequivocally that HMGB1 is similarly required for RAG cleavage in vivo.1
Atypical Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome Presenting as Acute Heart Failure-A Rare Presentation: Diagnosis Supported by Skin Biopsy.

Atypical hemolytic uremic syndrome (aHUS) is a rare disorder of uncontrolled complement activation that manifests classically as anemia, thrombocytopenia, and renal failure, although extrarenal man...
Multi-layered Learning for Information Extraction from Adverse Drug Event Narratives

Recognizing named entities in Adverse Drug Reactions narratives is a crucial step towards extracting valuable patient information from unstructured text and transforming the information into an easily processable structured format. This motivates using advanced data analytics to support data-driven pharmacovigilance. Yet existing biomedical named entity recognition (NER) tools are limited in their ability to identify certain entity types from these domain-specific narratives, resulting in poor accuracy. To address this shortcoming, we propose our novel methodology called Tiered Ensemble Learning System with Diversity (TELS-D), an ensemble approach that integrates a rich variety of named entity recognizers to procure the final result. There are two specific challenges faced by biomedical NER: the classes are imbalanced and the lack of a single best performing method. The first challenge is addressed through a balanced, under-sampled bagging strategy that depends on the imbalance level to overcome this highly skewed data problem. To address the second challenge, we design an ensemble of heterogeneous entity recognizers that leverages a novel ensemble combiner. Our experimental results demonstrate that for biomedical text datasets: (i) a balanced learning environment combined with an ensemble of heterogeneous classifiers consistently improves the performance over individual base learners and (ii) stacking-based ensemble combiner methods outperform simple majority voting based solutions by 0.3 in F1-score.
A Survey of Black Churches’ Responses to Domestic Violence

A high level of church involvement among African Americans suggests the potential of the Black church in addressing domestic violence. However, very little research has examined this topic. The current study is an exploratory study of how aware African American churches are of victims in their congregation and how they respond to them. The survey was conducted with a convenience sample (N=112) of church pastors and lay leaders, ¾ of whom were senior or associate/assistant pastors, from 9 cities and various denominations. The results showed that these churches may underestimate the number of members who are victims, infrequently address domestic violence from the pulpit, and sometimes provided interventions that are potentially harmful, i.e. couples’ counseling and/or lack of safety risk assessment. Respondents thought that their church’s response to domestic violence could be improved with more training for clergy and more knowledge of domestic violence resources. This paper provides recommendations for Christian Social Workers working with Black churches around issues of domestic violence.
Action Research—An International Comparison of Country-Specific Work Methods in Germany and China

The road to success of international projects is not always smooth. What could be the stumbling blocks in international transactions? How to ensure a better coordination and cooperation between the parent company and its branches abroad? Which factors have to be taken into account when stimulating international team spirit? In 2018, a comparative study of the office work culture was conducted in Germany and China. The key topic of this research project was the identification of culture-related and therefore self-evident ways of each country, in other words, the people’s guidelines when handling transactions. All participants in this study came from industry sectors that cooperate on an international level. The focus of this survey is on country-specific work concepts and behaviour patterns in both countries during everyday business. The field study documents business practices, cultural traits and the personal perceptions of the staff in both offices. The results obtained will help to pave the way to a perfect global teamwork.
Deviations from normal bedtimes are associated with short-term increases in resting heart rate

Despite proper sleep hygiene being critical to our health, guidelines for improving sleep habits often focus on only a single component, namely, sleep duration. Recent works, however, have brought to light the importance of another aspect of sleep: bedtime regularity, given its ties to cognitive and metabolic health outcomes. To further our understanding of this often-neglected component of sleep, the objective of this work was to investigate the association between bedtime regularity and resting heart rate (RHR): an important biomarker for cardiovascular health. Utilizing Fitbit Charge HRs to measure bedtimes, sleep and RHR, 255,736 nights of data were collected from a cohort of 557 college students. We observed that going to bed even 30 minutes later than one’s normal bedtime was associated with a significantly higher RHR throughout sleep (Coeff +0.18; 95% CI: +0.11, +0.26 bpm), persisting into the following day and converging with one’s normal RHR in the early evening. Bedtimes of at least 1 hour earlier were also associated with significantly higher RHRs throughout sleep; however, they converged with one’s normal rate by the end of the sleep session, not extending into the following day. These observations stress the importance of maintaining proper sleep habits, beyond sleep duration, as high variability in bedtimes may be detrimental to one’s cardiovascular health.
Neuronal Organization of the Embryonic Fore- and Midbrain in Wildtype and Mutant Mice

The first signs of spatial organization appear very early in the developing neural tube. The primary sign of regionalization is the formation of morphological subdivisions termed neuromeres, which have been recognized by embryologists for over 100 years as a series of bulges in the neural tube, separated by interneuromeric constrictions (reviewed in Vaage, 1969; Puelles et al, 1987). The spatial organization and temporal appearance of neuromeres are evolutionarily conserved features of vertebrate embryos.
Integration of life cycle assessment into planning and project delivery for pavements in the USA

Environmental impacts are typically considered in transportation decisions through planning and environmental review processes. Recent state-level legislation in the USA institutes requirements to track environmental performance of construction materials in bidding on public projects. To support this new initiative, this study aims to identify specific life cycle assessment (LCA) frameworks that can effectively impact the decisions on every level in the planning and project delivery process and evaluate the implementation readiness level. The objective of this study was pursued through literature review and discussions facilitated at a workshop with representatives of six State Departments of Transportation (DOTs). Through the dialog with stakeholders, the details of the current planning and project delivery process were identified. After the participants were provided with background on LCA, LCA methodology, the most suitable to impact decisions at every decision-making level, was investigated considering key decisions (Why?), type of the analysis (How?), available data (What?), and the involved decision-makers (Who?) pertinent to each phase. The potential to develop tools to inform the decisions, the readiness level, and obstacles to LCA implementation was evaluated subsequently by authors and informed by a literature review. A consequential LCA was identified as the effective method to inform long-range planning. Attributional LCAs for a network and project level were regarded as suitable in programming and project development, respectively. Environmental product declatations (EPDs) were found applicable in bidding, while the construction phase was found best suited for data collection that can feed back into the upstream decision-making phases. The lack of a feedback loop between the quantified environmental impacts and the decision-making was identified as a major obstacle by stakeholders. A lack of clarity on progress toward environmental goals was specified as another hindrance. The development of tools and systems for communication and data transfer among the key stakeholders is expected to facilitate LCA use, close a feedback loop, and provide for progress tracking. The relatively high readiness level of LCA implementation was identified in the pavement design phase (parallel to life cycle cost analysis (LCCA)) and in the construction phase (as-built environmental impact tracking and data collection). Initiating data collection in these two phases can provide an impetus for improving environmental performance and meaningfully inform other decision-making phases. Additionally, the importance of education and cross-collaboration is recognized by all stakeholders.
What Surgeons Want: Access to Online Surgical Education and Peer-to-Peer Counseling-A Qualitative Study.

Study Design:Mixed methods study including quantitative data analysis and qualitative analysis of semi-structured interviews.Objectives:Utilizing information and communication technology can facili...
Low-Dose Aspirin Beneficial for the Prevention of Preterm Birth in Nulliparous Patients with Singleton Pregnancy.

The routine use of low-dose aspirin, 81 mg daily, starting as early as six weeks' gestational age provided a statistically significant absolute risk reduction (nearly 2 percentage points) in the incidence of preterm birth among nulliparous patients with singleton gestation in resource-poor countries.
A rare case of Hidradenoma of the lower lip.

Abstract Hidradenoma are rare benign tumors with eccrine or apocrine differentiation that most often presents as a small, firm, solitary dermal nodule. At times, hidradenoma shows striking cytologic and histologic similarity to other neoplasms, including its malignant counterpart, hidradenocarcinoma. We present the first reported case of benign hidradenoma of the lower lip. The case illustrates important diagnostic features of hidradenoma and discusses the current understanding of its malignant potential and the appropriate management of such lesions.
Family automated voice reorientation (FAVoR) intervention for mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit: Study protocol for a randomized controlled trial.

Delirium in the intensive care unit (ICU) affects up to 80% of critically ill, mechanically ventilated (MV) adults. Delirium is associated with substantial negative outcomes, including increased hospital complications and long-term effects on cognition and health status in ICU survivors. The purpose of this randomized controlled trial is to test the effectiveness of a Family Automated Voice Reorientation (FAVoR) intervention on delirium among critically ill MV patients. The FAVoR intervention uses scripted audio messages, which are recorded by the patient's family and played at hourly intervals during daytime hours. This ongoing orientation to the ICU environment through recorded messages in a voice familiar to the patient may enable the patient to more accurately interpret the environment and thus reduce risk of delirium. The study's primary aim is to test the effect of the FAVoR intervention on delirium in critically ill MV adults in the ICU. The secondary aims are to explore: (1) if the effect of FAVoR on delirium is mediated by sleep, (2) if selected biobehavioral factors moderate the effects of FAVoR on delirium, and (3) the effects of FAVoR on short-term and long-term outcomes, including cognition and health status. Subjects (n = 178) are randomly assigned to the intervention or control group within 48 h of initial ICU admission and intubation. The intervention group receives FAVoR over a 5-day period, while the control group receives usual care. Delirium-free days, sleep and activity, cognition, patient-reported health status and sleep quality, and data regarding iatrogenic/environmental and biobehavioral factors are collected.
How does exposure to overnutrition in utero lead to childhood adiposity? Testing the insulin hypersecretion hypothesis in the EPOCH cohort

Our aim was to explore metabolic pathways linking overnutrition in utero to development of adiposity in normal-weight children. We included 312 normal-weight youth exposed or unexposed to overnutrition in utero (maternal BMI ≥25 kg/m2 or gestational diabetes). Fasting insulin, glucose and body composition were measured at age ~10 years (baseline) and ~16 years (follow-up). We examined associations of overnutrition in utero with baseline fasting insulin, followed by associations of baseline fasting insulin with adiposity (BMI z score [BMIZ], subcutaneous adipose tissue [SAT], visceral adipose tissue [VAT]), insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and fasting glucose during follow-up. >All participants were normal weight at baseline (BMIZ −0.32 ± 0.88), with no difference in BMIZ for exposed vs unexposed youth (p = 0.14). Of the study population, 47.8% were female sex and 47.4% were of white ethnicity. Overnutrition in utero corresponded with 14% higher baseline fasting insulin (geometric mean ratio 1.14 [95% CI 1.01, 1.29]), even after controlling for VAT/SAT ratio. Higher baseline fasting insulin corresponded with higher BMIZ (0.41 [95% CI 0.26, 0.55]), SAT (13.9 [95% CI 2.4, 25.4] mm2), VAT (2.0 [95% CI 0.1, 3.8] mm2), HOMA-IR (0.87 [95% CI 0.68, 1.07]) and fasting glucose (0.23 [95% CI 0.09, 0.38] SD). Overnutrition in utero may result in hyperinsulinaemia during childhood, preceding development of adiposity. However, our study started at age 10 years, so earlier metabolic changes in response to overnutrition were not taken into account. Longitudinal studies in normal-weight youth starting earlier in life, and with repeated measurements of body weight, fat distribution, insulin sensitivity, beta cell function and blood glucose levels, are needed to clarify the sequence of metabolic changes linking early-life exposures to adiposity and dysglycaemia.
Flood and Wind Risk Perception on Evacuation Decisions During Hurricane Ivan

Flood and wind are the major risk factors that can influence people’s evacuation behavior during a hurricane event. This paper explores the differences in hazard-specific risk perceptions (flood risk vs. wind risk) in respondent’s evacuation decision. Both risk perception and evacuation behaviors reflect complex behavioral dynamics which can be shaped by a host of factors. We analyze more than eight hundred randomly selected household responses from the states of Alabama, Louisiana, and Mississippi following Hurricane Ivan. The survey data was geocoded which allowed us to build a geo-spatial database that was integrated to the household survey data. The geo-spatial variables such as distance from shoreline, distance from evacuation route and tract, wind and rain exposure during hurricane Ivan, elevation of house from mean sea level are location specific variables that help us to gain a better understanding of flood risk perception (FRP) and wind risk perception (WRP) and their role in explaining evacuation behavior. Based on two sets of Bivariate Probit (BP) models, the empirical analyses suggest that FRP positively affects evacuation decision while the WRP negatively affects evacuation decision.
Patient-reported outcomes to assess symptoms in patients with metastatic breast cancer: Pilot implementation project

177Background: Use of patient-reported outcomes (PRO) to evaluate symptoms improves clinical outcomes. Best practices for implementing PROs into routine care may vary according to clinical scenario...
Transurethral Hyperthermia for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Preliminary Clinical Results

AbstractA total of 21 patients with biopsy proved benign prostatic hyperplasia underwent treatment on a pilot protocol involving intracavitary transurethral radiating microwave (630 or 915MHz.) antenna hyperthermia. Acute and subacute toxicity was mild and consisted primarily of bladder spasm (26% of the patients), hematuria (23%) and dysuria (9%), none of which significantly limited the achievement of desired temperatures during the treatment sessions. No chronic treatment-related morbidity or mortality was observed. Detailed thermal mapping, performed along the course of the prostatic urethra, recorded temperatures of 43C or more at greater than 75% of the loci. Highly significant increases in urine flow rate, decrease in post-void residual urine capacity and decrease in frequency of nocturia were observed. A marginally significant decrease in prostate volume was noted and, with a median followup of 12.5 months, only 3 patients have required subsequent prostatic resection. Transurethral hyperthermia rep...
Modification of Transparent Conducting Oxide (TCO) Electrodes through Silanization and Chemisorption of Small Molecules

The sections in this article are Introduction The Metal Oxide Electrode and Modification Schemes Commonly Encountered TCO Electrodes Variability in TCO Electrodes Factors that Control the Surface Composition of the TCO Electrode Chemical Modification of TCO Surfaces Using Silane Chemistries Introduction to Silane Modification Examples of Silane Modification Silane Modification of Electrodes for Use in Devices Modification of TCO Surfaces through Chemisorption of Small Molecules Modification using Small Molecules Containing Carboxylic Acid Functionality Modification Using Phosphonic Acids and Other Chemisorbing Functionalities Conclusions Acknowledgments
Constructing rapid transformation: sustaining high performance and a new view of organization change

The focus of this issue of the IJTD on organization development reinforces the importance of a continuing exploration of change. This is even more significant when considering that change is not only unavoidable but is also occurring with greater speed. Models of planned change may no longer be sufficient to address the needs of today's organizations. Through an exploration of what supports and sustains high performance in health-care organizations, the researcher made an unanticipated discovery. In following a process of generative theory development, a new perspective of how to engage and lead change in organizations emerged. Taking a constructionist view of change and focusing on an appreciative perspective of releasing energy in inquiry has led to the researcher proposing a model of rapid transformation. The model suggests an opportunity to change the way in which change itself is led. It offers an alternative view in which declaration through discourse, generation through inquiry and action through engagement lead to an upward spiral of opportunity. It is this opportunity for continuous and transformational change in organizations in which rapid transformation becomes possible.
Metaphorical Character of Moral Cognition: A Comparative and Decompositional Analysis

This article studies the moral metaphor system focusing on a subsystem consisting of five pairs of MORAL and IMMORAL metaphors whose source concepts represent some contrastive categories in our visual experience: WHITE and BLACK, LIGHT and DARK, CLEAR and MURKY, CLEAN and DIRTY, PURE and IMPURE. The study examines whether these moral metaphors are manifested in Chinese and English, looking for linguistic evidence in both languages. It is found that the studied moral metaphors are applicable in both languages at varying degrees. This finding suggests that these metaphors may range from being widespread to being universal. The study then further analyzes them regarding whether they are primary or complex metaphors and whether they are equal in status, applying a decompositional approach to metaphor analysis. The result suggests that the moral metaphors under study are complex rather than primary metaphors, and that they are actually not equal in status, some depending on others in meaning making in our mora...
An extended Wichura theorem, definitions of Donsker class, and weighted empirical distributions

Let (X, α, P) be a probability space, x(1),x(2), ... coordinates for the countable product of copies of X, and ℱ ⊂ ℒ2 (X, α, P). Let vn be the normalized empirical measure n−1/2(δx(1)+...+δx(n)-nP). Let l∞(ℱ) be the set of all bounded real functions G on ℱ with norm ‖G‖ℱ := supfeℱ ¦G(f)¦. Let μ(f) := efdμ for any measure μ. We are interested in central limit theorems where vn converges in law for ‖·‖ℱ. The limit is a Gaussian process Gp with mean 0 and covariance $$EG_P (f)G_P (g) = P(fg) - P(f)P(g): = (f,g)_{P,O} ,$$ f,g e ℱ. Say ℱ is GPBUC if GP can be chosen to have each sample function bounded and uniformly continuous for (.,.)P,0. Say the central limit theorem holds for ℱ if ℱ is GPBUC and we have convergence of upper integrals limn→∞ ∝*H(vn)dpn = EH(GP) for every bounded continuous real function H on l∞(ℱ). (Thus, as noted by J. Hoffmann-Jorgensen, convergence "in law" does not require definition of laws.) In Sec. 4 an extended Wichura’s theorem is proved: given such convergence in law, there exist almost surely convergent realizations. Sec. 5 shows that the new definition of central limit theorem holding is equivalent to the previous definition of "functional Donsker class." Secs. 6–7 treat the case where ℱ={M1h≥M: 0<M<∞} for a random variable h. This case reduces to the study of weighted empirical distribution functions. Conditions for the central limit theorem are collected and made precise.
Analytical methods for a national study of chemical residues in fish. II: Pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls

Abstract Analytical methods and a quality assurance plan have been developed to determine the concentration of a select group of bioaccumulatable chemicals in fish tissue. The analytes include PCBs and 21 pesticides and industrial chemicals. The methodology has been used to conduct a survey of chemical contaminants in fish from nearly 400 major watersheds in the United States. The methodology consists of the preparation of a single extract via soxhlet extraction, gel permeation and silica gel chromatography and quantification by HRGC/LRMS. The minimum level of detection for most analytes is near 1 ng/g. Rigorous quality assurance/quality control criteria have been developed to assure the generation of high quality data.
Electro-optic Sensor Of Thz Imaging And Spectroscopy

During the last several years time-domain THz spectroscopy has been applied on far-infrared characterization in many frontier research fields. We discuss the advantages and limitations of using free-space electro-optic sampling for the coherent detection of 2D spatially distributed phase and amplitude information of freely propagating terahertz beams with subpicosecond temporal resolution.
Changes in Post Traumatic Stress Symptoms Among Women in Substance Use Disorder Treatment: The Mediating Role of Bodily Dissociation and Emotion Regulation

Individuals in substance use disorder (SUD) treatment have shown high levels of difficulty with emotion regulation, as well as a high prevalence of reported trauma and symptoms of post-traumatic stress (PTS). Dissociation from the body is a common clinical experience among women with a history of sexual trauma. Research has shown promising effects of mind-body approaches in SUD treatment, as well as the importance of emotional regulation in conceptual models of psychopathology. The current study examines the mediating role of bodily dissociation and emotion regulation on PTS symptoms in a sample of women enrolled in substance use disorder treatment. Results indicate that bodily dissociation and emotion regulation had significant direct effects on PTS symptoms from baseline to a 6-month follow-up, and that bodily dissociation also may indirectly operate to reduce PTS symptoms through its effect on emotion regulation difficulties. These results suggest the importance of addressing bodily dissociation and emotion regulation difficulties in women's substance use disorder treatment.
Design alternatives for organizing information systems activities

A number of recent articles have concluded that changes must occur in the manner information systems activities are organized. This article discusses the evolving nature of information systems activities, introduces a variety of alternative designs for organizing these activities, and presents some prototypal designs. Then, the implications to information systems managers of movement toward these new organizational forms are discussed. The article concludes with a discussion of some of the critical tasks to be undertaken by information systems managers and researches in order that this transition toward and end user domination of many information systems activities can be successfully negotiated.
The Influence of Environmentalism on Attitudes Toward Local Agriculture and Urban Expansion

This article uses the New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) to examine attitudes toward local agriculture and land use issues in Santa Barbara County (SBC), California. To do so, we use data collected for the Central Coast Survey in 2010. Although our study has a narrow geographic scope, it has broad implications. Our results suggest that people with stronger pro-environment views support agriculture, and prefer it over urban expansion, but are also critical of agriculture's negative environmental effects. In addition, we find no significant differences between the traditionally pro-agriculture north and the traditionally pro-environment south SBC residents on key policy issues, which suggests that broad political divisions do not dictate attitudes toward rural–environment conflicts.
Drain engineering in AlInAs/GaInAs HEMTs for high f/sub /spl tau// and f/sub max/

We propose a novel lateral bandgap engineering technique to improve electron transport in the channel of an AlInAs/GaInAs HEMT. Electrons are launched at the source with higher velocity by a launcher (higher bandgap AlInAs source) and collected at the drain by a heterojunction collector (lower bandgap InAs drain). The resulting device, a Lateral Bandgap Engineered HEMT (LBE-HEMT), is analyzed using DAMOCLES, a 2-D Ensemble Monte Carlo and Poisson Simulator. Electron velocity profiles in the GaInAs channel are generated using DAMOCLES. Effect of band gap engineering on the electron velocity and its variation with drain bias is discussed. It is observed that the ensemble velocity of electrons in the channel is increased and velocity degradation at high drain biases (which are required to achieve a high f/sub max/) is minimized. Thus the f/sub /spl tau//, f/sub max/ tradeoff in conventional FETs can be alleviated using lateral bandgap engineering.
Changes in body weight, body composition and resting metabolic rate (RMR) in first-year university freshmen students

Objectives: The purpose of the present study was to document any changes that might occur in body weight, body composition, RMR, and dietary intake in newly enrolled college freshmen.Methods: Body weight, RMR by ventilated O2 consumption, body composition by bioelectrical impedance and dietary intakes were recorded in 27 first-year college freshmen during their initial 16-week semester.Results: Mean body weight increased significantly with time (3.0 lbs; p < 0.001); 16 subjects (59%) gained ≥ 3.0 lbs, while 6 subjects (22%) gained ≥ 6 lbs. Percent fat mass significantly increased (p < 0.001), while lean body mass decreased (p < 0.001). Changes in RMR failed to reach statistical significance; however, there was a significant correlation between changes in weight and RMR (r = 0.45; p < 0.02). Mean reported calorie intake did not differ significantly between the beginning (1905 ± 664 kcal) and end (1960 ± 687 kcal) of the study. However, the differences (≈55 kcal) are in the range necessary to support the me...
JOINING CITY HALL

California's Proposition 13 and Proposition 2½ in Massachusetts were warning signs to libraries that a new era of competition for public funds had begun. Since then, fiscal support of public libraries has been steadily declining; even the strength of urban libraries, which have generally gained the greatest support in the past, is being sapped by the major problem facing their host cities—an eroding tax base as first people and then businesses leave for the suburbs.
Empirical investigations of a reconceptualized personal space

Personal space has usually been defined as an area around a person’s body that is regarded as personal and private. It is assumed to contract or expand with changing circumstances. It was suggested that this view of personal space has led to (or perhaps derived from) an exclusive concern for negative, defensive reactions to the proximity of others. An alternative conceptualization of personal space was proposed that defines personal space as that area around a person’s body in which the presence of others evokes affective reactions (not necessarily negative). The results of three experiments generally support the alternative view of personal space.
Growth in temperament and parenting as predictors of adjustment during children's transition to adolescence.

The author examined relations among demographic risk (income, maternal education, single-parent status), growth in temperament (fear, irritability, effortful control), and parenting (rejection, inconsistent discipline) across 3 years and the prediction of children’s adjustment problems in a community sample (N = 190; ages 8–12 years at Time 1). Family income was related to higher initial levels of fear, irritability, rejection, and inconsistency and lower effortful control but was not related to changes in these variables. Higher initial rejection predicted increases in child fear and irritability. Higher initial fear predicted decreases in rejection and inconsistency. Higher initial irritability predicted increases in inconsistency, and higher initial effortful control predicted decreases in rejection. When growth of parenting and temperament were considered simultaneously, increases in effortful control and decreases in fear and irritability predicted lower Time 3 internalizing and externalizing problems. Increases in rejection and inconsistent discipline predicted higher Time 3 externalizing, although sometimes the effect appeared to be indirect through temperament. The findings suggest that temperament and parenting predict changes in each other and predict adjustment during the transition to adolescence.
Variation in preleptotene chromosome contraction among three cultivars of Lilium longiflorum

Preleptotene chromosome contraction was observed in several clones of Lilium longiflorum cultivars ‘Ace’, ‘Nellie White’ and ‘Croft’. The degree of chromosome contraction was variable, among microsporocytes of single anthers, buds of individual plants, and clones of single cultivars. It is suggested that one of the sequence of genetically controlled events that determine the orderly development of meiosis provides for the temporary inhibition of mitotic coiling, thus allowing the development of leptotene; and if this gene action is delayed or out of sequence, a period of mitotic-like chromosome contraction precedes leptotene. These cultivars appear to share an inherited predisposition for such an irregularity in sequence of gene action. Differences between clones may be attributed to differences in other genes affecting these earliest stages of meiosis. There is some evidence of external environmental influence upon this genetic predisposition for preleptotene chromosome contraction, that is, there appears to be an inverse correlation between degree of preleptotene contraction and temperature. The degree of chromosome contraction may also be influenced by different metabolic conditions affecting microsporocytes developing sequentially in the anther. Experiments are presently underway to determine whether the degree of preleptotene chromosome contraction is related to chiasma frequency.
Web Crippling Behavior of Floor Joist/Rim Members in Built Assemblies

This paper presents the results of a pilot study of the web crippling performance of two common exterior load-bearing wall conditions (rim joist and rim track with a framing joist) in light framed cold-formed (light-gauge) steel construction. The intent of the study was to develop some preliminary data on the web crippling performance of built assemblies. The test results show that the ultimate strength for the two web crippling conditions considered may be greater than the sum of the individual strengths of the components (based on current American Iron and Steel Institute Specification equations). Further, on the basis of the configurations tested, it appears that the measured higher strengths may be due to a beneficial distribution of load at the corners of a track section. The tests also showed that although the measured strengths may be high, the associated cross-sectional deformations tend to be relatively large. For gravity load design, this deformation may be treated as a serviceability limit stat...
REVIEW: Efficacy and mechanisms of action of statins in the treatment of diabetic dyslipidemia.

Context: The Adult Treatment Panel III recommends 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase inhibitors, or statins, as first-line lipid-altering therapy for all adult patients with diabetes mellitus. This is based on the well-characterized efficacy and safety profiles of this class of agents as well as several clinical trials demonstrating that statin treatment reduces the risk of cardiovascular events. Evidence Acquisition: This review provides an overview of the effectiveness and mechanisms of action of statins in patients with diabetes mellitus using small efficacy trials and large clinical outcomes trials as well as studies of the effects of statins on apolipoprotein B (apoB) metabolism. Evidence Synthesis: The major findings presented are a review of mechanistic studies of selected subjects with diabetes mellitus and dyslipidemia and a compilation of results from large-scale clinical trials of patients with diabetes. Conclusions: Statins are highly efficacious as low-density lipoprotein cholest...
The solution structure of liquid-crystal polymers with small liquid-crystal thermoset maleimides and nadimides

The solution structure of the deuterated liquid-crystal polyamide polymer (LCP) poly(p-phenylene-2-nitroterephtludamide), alone and mixed with small, rodlike, amide, liquid-crystal molecules (LCT) inN-methyl-2-pyrroliditione (NMP), is studied using small-angle neutron scattering. Measurements were made as a function of LCP concentration using different LCTs mixed at 20 and 40 wt % relative to LCP. Our motivation for studying this system comes from a need to connect SOIm6Om structure with film morphology in processing these materials for high-performance molecular composites. Our analysis shows that the LCP in NMP forms large domain-like structures. The presence of LCT breaks LIP the LCP domains into smaller structures. some of which are filamentous LCP-LCT aggregates. This result suggests that the simple entropic description of the solution behavior of mixtures of long and short rods is no adequate in describing systems of this type.
Vibrational spectra of ReOF4

Abstract The infrared spectra of thin film samples of ReOF 4 were recorded from 4000–4040 cm −1 , and the data are compared with infrared spectra (4000–4400 cm −1 ) of ReOF 4 isolated in an argon matrix. Raman spectra of ReOF 4 in HF solutions were obtained and are correlated with the infrared spectra. The vibrational data favor a C 4 v molecular geometry for monomeric ReOF 4 .
Synthesis and application of a chain-terminating dinucleotide mRNA cap analog

[structure: see text] We describe the synthesis of a chain-terminating mRNA cap dinucleotide and its use in the in vitro transcription of homogeneously capped RNA. Computer modeling strongly indicates that RNA capped with the new compound will be a substrate for cap-dependent translation.