cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Titanium–vanadium oxide nanocomposite thin films: Synthesis, characterization and antibacterial activity

Abstract A sol–gel based deposition method was successfully developed to produce a series of crack-free, spatially homogeneous undoped/silver doped titania–vanadia oxide nanocomposite thin films. Thin films were characterized using Glancing Incidence X-ray Diffraction (GIXRD), X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS), and Ultraviolet Visible Spectroscopy (UV–Vis). It was determined via both XRD and XPS that when calcined at 450 °C the nanocomposite crystallinity was a function of sol composition. Additionally, it was determined via GIXRD that upon silver doping, silver was incorporated into the vanadia structure or present in silver oxide form in crystalline films. A red shift within the UV–Vis spectra was observed with an increase of vanadia concentration from 0 to 100% respectively. Antibacterial analysis conducted on Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus epidermidis demonstrated that films exposed to light showed greater antibacterial properties.
An artificial siderophore for the detection of iron(III)

An artificial siderophore in the form of a squaraine dye (1) has been synthesized. The bidentate ligand chelates to Fe(III) between the deprotonated hydroxyl group on the ortho position of the ring adjacent to the carbonyl group of the cyclobutadiene ring. The optical response is due to a subtle geometry change of 1 on chelation to Fe(III). This artificial siderophore forms a 2 ∶ 1 ligand ∶ metal complex, as indicated by a sigmoidal isotherm (Ka = 107 M−1). The optical response on the addition of Fe(III) is observed at low concentrations in comparison to other metal salts. The X-ray crystal structure and calculated structures of dye (1) are also included, and will be discussed.
Signal-to-noise ratio analysis of all-fiber common-path optical coherence tomography

We present theoretical analysis and experimental verification of the signal to noise ratio (SNR) of a common-path interferometer-based optical coherence tomography (OCT) system. Based on fully integrated all-fiber implementation of a common-path time-domain OCT system, we derived the SNR of the system including the effect of beat noise, which turns out to be twice as large as the excess noise term. We verified the theoretical SNR through a series of experiments, utilizing both controlled phantom and biological samples such as a rat brain with tumor and a frog retina. The results showed that the source power and the reference reflectivity can be easily controlled to optimize the SNR of OCT imaging. We have also analyzed the effect of the fiber delays and the offset in the fiber autocorrelator of the common-path OCT system on the overall SNR.
Choosing among alternatives for tracing conceptual change

Abstract This study was designed to determine which of three measures would provide the most useful and economical information on changes over time in prospective teachers' conceptions of “effective teaching”. Subjects were 70 elementary and secondary education students in the second and fourth years of a 5-year teacher education program. Cognitive measures were: concept maps of effective teaching, computerized repertory grid interviews on characteristics of good teachers, and observations and critiques of a videotaped teaching episode. Concept maps proved to be the most productive measure, showing both meaningful qualitative changes and statistically significant quantitative changes over time in prospective teachers' conceptions.
Cell-mediated immunity and pregnancy

T he survival of the fetal allograft is a remarkable phenomenon. The fetus contains a complement of paternal antigens, up to half of which are likely to be “foreign” to the mother. Mothers will reject grafts from their children. Yet, these same children were carried for nine months as “fetal allografts” and managed to escape rejection. Understanding of this phenomenon is incomplete but may be approached through brief analysis of the immunologic mechanisms of graft rejection and regulation of these immune mechanisms.
Subduction Zone Backarcs, Mobile Belts, and Orogenic Heat: COMMENT

Figure 1. Cross section of U.S. Pacific Northwest at ~478N from Roy et al. (1972, their Figure 18), modified with color added. Solid dots represent surface heat flow and circles represent reduced heat flow. PMZ–partial melt zone (low velocity zone). Crust is green, mantle lithosphere is blue, and asthenosphere is red. Heat flow lines in color represent pattern as presently understood (Blackwell and Richards, 2004). David D. Blackwell Dept. of Geological Sciences, Southern Methodist University, Dallas, Texas 75275–0395, USA, blackwel@smu.edu
Integral representation for the Glauber scattering amplitude for direct Coulomb ionization by charged particles

An integral representation is developed for the scattering amplitude for ionization by charged particles in the Glauber approximation. Unlike previous results based on a series expansion in the momentum of the ejected electron, ${\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}}_{e}$, the present results are rigorously convergent for all physical values of ${\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{\mathrm{k}}}_{e}$. Results calculated by this method agree with earlier results for ionization of atomic hydrogen by electron impact using Pad\'e approximants to approximately sum the series. Total cross sections for the ionization of atomic hydrogen by proton impact are presented and compared to experimental data. This technique is applicable to the ionization of neutral atoms whose participating electron is represented by a hydrogenic wave function, and the remaining electrons are ignored.
Theoretical, Information Processing, and Situational Factors Affecting Attribution Theory Models of Organizational Behavior

Attributional theories used to explain organizational behavior are overly restrictive. Attributional processes may vary with the type of attributional question addressed and with the level of information processing consistent with situational or motivational factors. Several attributional principles are organized into a typology involving type of attributional question and level of information processing. Boundary conditions affecting the use of particular principles are identified and the importance of differences among attributional processes are discussed.
Violence as Honorable? Racial and Ethnic Differences in Attitudes Toward Violence

Criminologists have suggested that Latinos differ from Southern Whites in their views of violence. A sample of 1,429 Texans indicated whether they agreed that violence deserves a violent response, whether violence is necessary to prevent future violence, and whether people have a right to kill in defense of self or family. Controlling for other factors, Latinos and African Americans were more likely than non-Hispanic Whites to disagree about the need for violence in preventing future harm and the right to self-defense. Less-acculturated Latinos, indicated by whether they took the survey in Spanish, were the least supportive of violence. Despite having roots in a so-called “culture of honor,” Latino immigrants, as well as those who are U.S. citizens, have distinct views on violence.
Ionization of Rydberg Atoms by Circularly Polarized Microwave Fields

In circularly polarized microwave fields of frequencies in the vicinity of 10 GHz ionization of Na Rydberg atoms occurs at a field E=1/16n4, up to principal quantum number n=50. This field is equal to the classical field for ionization and the static field required to ionize a Na atom. On the other hand, this field is far below the linearly polarized 10 GHz field required to ionize Na atoms, E=1/3n5. If the problem is transformed to a frame rotating with the microwave field, the field becomes a static field. In this case it is straightforward to calculate the ionization field classically. However, it is far lower than the experimentally observed field, a discrepancy which may be due to an angular momentum barrier.
A Review of: “Lipina, S. J., & Colombo, J. A. (2009). Poverty and Brain Development During Childhood: An Approach From Cognitive Psychology and Neuroscience.”

In their book, Poverty and Brain Development During Childhood, Lipina and Colombo remind us of the seriousness of worldwide poverty and its detrimental effects on brain development, cognitive abili...
A big world inside small-world networks.

Real networks, including biological networks, are known to have the small-world property, characterized by a small “diameter”, which is defined as the average minimal path length between all pairs of nodes in a network. Because random networks also have short diameters, one may predict that the diameter of a real network should be even shorter than its random expectation, because having shorter diameters potentially increases the network efficiency such as minimizing transition times between metabolic states in the context of metabolic networks. Contrary to this expectation, we here report that the observed diameter is greater than the random expectation in every real network examined, including biological, social, technological, and linguistic networks. Simulations show that a modest enlargement of the diameter beyond its expectation allows a substantial increase of the network modularity, which is present in all real networks examined. Hence, short diameters appear to be sacrificed for high modularities, suggesting a tradeoff between network efficiency and advantages offered by modularity (e.g., multi-functionality, robustness, and/or evolvability).
Terrestrial, Interplanetary and Universal Expansion

A REMARKABLY close agreement between the rate of increase of the Earth's radius1 and that of the universe, according to Hubble's law2, was recently pointed out by MacDougall et al.3.
The multi-domain boundary contour method for interface and dissimilar material problems

Abstract A variant of the boundary element method, called the boundary contour method (BCM), offers a further reduction in dimensionality. Consequently, boundary contour analysis of 2-D problems does not require any numerical integration at all. The method is thus very computationally effective and accurate as shown in previous related studies. This paper presents a further development of the BCM for multi-domain analysis in 2-D elasticity (multi-domain boundary contour method or MBCM), with potential applications to interface and dissimilar material problems, such as those involving composite materials and bimaterial interface cracks. The primary contribution of this paper is an introduction of a multi-domain technique capable of dealing with a general type of displacement and traction compatibility conditions on the interface(s), including those that arise from structures in which the materials are press-fitted together, and from thermoelasticity in dissimilar materials. Some numerical tests conducted within this work suggest that the proposed multi-domain technique is simple, robust and accurate for bimaterial stress analysis, and also able to provide highly accurate results of both the stress intensity factors K 1 and K 2 for bimaterial interface crack problems.
Peroxidative stress in diabetic blood vessels. Reversal by pancreatic islet transplantation.

Diabetic complications are believed to arise, in part, through an increase in oxidative stress. We characterized antioxidant status in vascular tissue in untreated diabetic rats and in diabetic rats rendered euglycemic by pancreatic islet transplantation. Three key endogenous antioxidant enzymes (e.g., superoxide dismutase, catalase, and glutathione peroxidase) were measured. Sprague-Dawley rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes were killed after 8 weeks of untreated hyperglycemia and compared with age-matched controls. Eight weeks of untreated diabetes resulted in a significant increase of tissue catalase in aorta, iliac artery, and femoral artery as compared with controls. No significant changes in either superoxide dismutase or glutathione peroxidase were observed in aorta, iliac artery, or femoral artery of diabetic animals. This increase in catalase in diabetic vascular tissue suggests increased oxidative stress due to chronic exposure to H2O2 in vivo. To assess the impact of islet transplantation on oxidative stress in vascular tissue, inbred Lewis strain rats were rendered diabetic with streptozotocin. After 8 weeks of untreated diabetes, rats received an intraportal islet isograft and were monitored for 4 subsequent weeks of euglycemia. Islet transplantation improved weight gain and normalized blood glucose and total glycosylated hemoglobin. While catalase was significantly increased in aorta and iliac artery at 8 and 12 weeks of diabetes, vascular catalase was restored to normal by islet transplantation. These data suggest that islet transplantation is an effective treatment strategy to minimize increased oxidative stress in diabetic vasculature.
Fast algorithms for generalized displacement structures and lossless systems

Abstract We derive an efficient recursive procedure for the triangular factorization of strongly regular matrices with generalized displacement structure that includes, as special cases, a variety of previously studied classes such as Toeplitz-like and Hankel-like matrices. The derivation is based on combining a simple Gaussian elimination procedure with displacement structure, and leads to a transmission-like interpretation in terms of two cascades of first-order sections. We further derive state-space realizations for each section and for the entire cascades, and show that these realizations satisfy a generalized embedding result and a generalized notion of J -losslessness. The cascades turn out to have intrinsic blocking properties, which can be shown to be equivalent to interpolation constrains.
Purification of a pregnenolone-binding protein in the soluble fraction of the guinea-pig adrenal cortex: differentiation from pregnenolone sulfotransferase.

Abstract A pregnenolone-binding protein has been purified from the 235,000 g soluble fraction of the guinea-pig adrenal cortex. The binding protein had an apparent molecular weight of 34,000 when analyzed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Since the functional status of the pregnenolone-binding protein is not known, a search for instrinsic catalytic activity was made. Because the binding protein is known to be a soluble protein consideration of a soluble enzyme activity was made which led to an investigation of the enzyme 3B-steroid sulfotransferase. Pregnenolone sulfotransferase activity, however, which was present in the soluble fraction, was found to be distinguishable from the pregnenolone-binding protein. Although the physicochemical distinction between these two factors was consistently noted with numerous experiments, it is speculated that there may exist a specific functional interaction between them. It was particularly interesting that both factors were concentrated in the inner cortical zone.
Time of Day, Outcome, and Response to Thrombolytic Therapy: The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator Stroke Trial Experience

Objective Circadian pattern for the onset of acute ischemic stroke has been described; however, data assessing an association between thrombolytic therapy efficacy and circadian rhythm are limited. We assessed the relationship between the time of stroke onset and neurologic outcomes after thrombolytic therapy for acute ischemic stroke in the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) Recombinant Tissue Plasminogen Activator (rt-PA) Stroke Trial. Methods We conducted exploratory, post hoc analysis of 624 patients in the NINDS rt-PA Stroke Trial. Variables assessed included presenting time of day (4- and 6-hour time blocks), outcome variables, stroke subtypes, treatment assignment, and biological markers. Outcome variables included 3-month mortality, clinical outcome at 3 months, intracranial hemorrhage (ICH), computed tomography lesion volume at 3 months, and deterioration at 24 hours. Results The distribution of patients in the time blocks was balanced between the rt-PA and placebo groups. There was not a clear circadian variation in the stroke onset time. There were no associations detected between stroke onset time and clinical outcome, computed tomography lesion volume, and asymptomatic hemorrhage. Patients treated with rt-PA whose stroke onset was between 0401 and 0800 hours had less symptomatic ICH, whereas those who received rt-PA between 0000 and 0400 hours had a 43% incidence of symptomatic ICH. Patients in the placebo group who had stroke onset between 1801 and 2400 hours had lower chances for neurologic deterioration. Patients who had a stroke between 0001 and 0400 hours had the highest fibrinogen concentrations. Conclusions We did not find a circadian pattern to time of day of stroke onset in the patients included in the NINDS rt-PA Stroke Trial. The effect of rt-PA treatment on favorable outcome was independent of time of day of stroke onset. Patients who received rt-PA between 4 and 8 am were less likely to develop symptomatic ICH.
Electron spin resonance in Y bRh2Si2: local-moment, unlike-spin and quasiparticle descriptions

Electron spin resonance (ESR) in the Kondo lattice compound Y bRh2Si2 has stimulated discussion as to whether the low-field resonance outside the Fermi liquid regime in this material is more appropriately characterized as a local-moment phenomenon or one that requires a Landau quasiparticle interpretation. In earlier work, we outlined a collective mode approach to the ESR that involves only the local 4f moments. In this paper, we extend the collective mode approach to a situation where there are two subsystems of unlike spins: the pseudospins of the ground multiplet of the Yb ions and the spins of the itinerant conduction electrons. We assume a weakly anisotropic exchange interaction between the two subsystems. With suitable approximations our expression for the g-factor also reproduces that found in recent unlike-spin quasiparticle calculations. It is pointed out that the success of the local-moment approach in describing the resonance is due to the fact that the susceptibility of the Yb subsystem dominates that of the conduction electrons with the consequence that the relative shift in the resonance frequency predicted by the unlike-spin models (and absent in the local-moment models) is ≪ 1. The connection with theoretical studies of a two-component model with like spins is also discussed.
A Geometric Interpretation of Inferences Based on Ranks in the Linear Model

Abstract Four different approaches, based on ranks, to testing hypotheses are unified through the geometry of the linear model. The various tests are identified with different but algebraically equivalent forms of the classical F test. Small sample differences are investigated via a Monte Carlo study using both rank and signed rank tests.
Conflict adaptation effects in the absence of executive control

According to the 'conflict-monitoring' model, a leading theory of cognitive control1,2,3,4, information-processing conflict registered in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) triggers the prefrontal cortex to reduce conflict susceptibility. Here we show that the existing empirical support for an online modulation of susceptibility to conflict through immediately preceding conflict, the 'conflict-adaptation effect'1,5, needs to be reevaluated. In a human cognitive control task, we found that it was not the stimulus-independent level of conflict that was responsible for the conflict-adaptation effect but rather an episodic memory phenomenon: stimulus-specific priming6.
Nucleic acid patterns in rat liver following hypophysectomy and growth hormone administration.

THE administration of purified pituitary growth hormone to either hypophysectomized or intact rats results in nitrogen retention and increased protein synthesis. However, the mechanisms involved are unknown. Recently, several investigators have described high concentrations of ribosenucleic acid (RNA) in cells actively engaged in protein synthesis (Brachet, 1950; Caspersson, 1950; Davidson, 1950) and increases of this nucleic acid in cells which have an accelerated rate of protein synthesis. This constitutes circumstantial evidence that the concentration of RNA in cells may be related to their protein anabolic activity. That growth hormone may exert its protein anabolic effect by a mechanism involving nucleic acid metabolism is suggested by at least two recent studies. Geschwind et al. (1950) have shown that hypophysectomy results in a lowering of the RNA concentration of rat liver, and that growth hormone treatment of hypophysectomized rats restores the liver RNA concentration to normal. Further, Kalter ...
Minimal universal two-qubit controlled- NOT -based circuits

We give quantum circuits that simulate an arbitrary two-qubit unitary operator up to a global phase. For several quantum gate libraries we prove that gate counts are optimal in the worst and average cases. Our lower and upper bounds compare favorably to previously published results. Temporary storage is not used because it tends to be expensive in physical implementations. For each gate library, the best gate counts can be achieved by a single universal circuit. To compute the gate parameters in universal circuits, we use only closed-form algebraic expressions, and in particular do not rely on matrix exponentials. Our algorithm has been coded in $\mathrm{C}++$.
Quark-hadron duality and nucleon valence structure

Abstract A newly-obtained data sample of inclusive electron-nucleon scattering from deuterium and hydrogen targets at Jefferson Lab has been analyzed for precision tests of quark-hadron duality. In all cases, duality appears to be a non-trivial dynamic property of the nucleon structure function. Assuming duality, the proton magnetic form factor is extracted from the inelastic data alone, and found to be in good agreement with the world's data. Higher twist contributions are found to be small on average, even down to Q 2 ∥ 0.5 GeV 2 . The investigation yields a scaling curve from duality arguments which resembles deep-inelastic neutrino-nucleus scattering data, indicating a potential sensitivity to valence and valence-like structure.
Gelation Characteristics and Encapsulation of Stromal Cells in Star Acrylate-Functionalized Poly(ethylene glycol-co-lactide) Macromonomers

In this work, a novel star 4-arm poly(ethylene glycol-co-lactide) acrylate macromonomer (SPELA) is synthesized, and the effect of macromonomer concentration and architecture on modulus, swelling ratio and sol fraction is investigated. The results show that the storage modulus of the hydrogel had an increasing trend with polymer concentration. Changing the polymer architecture from linear to 4-arm increased the storage modulus by 2.2-fold. The water content depended on the hydrophilic segment density as well as the extent of crosslinking and showed a decreasing trend with macromonomer concentration. The sol fractions of the SPELA hydrogels changed from 13% to 5% when concentration increased from 10% to 25%. The star SPELA hydrogel with high modulus, fast gelation time, and low sol fraction is potential useful as a degradable carrier in cell-based therapies. Results show that the SPELA hydrogel supports viability and osteogenic differentiation of the encapsulated bone marrow stromal cells.
Comparison of two benzodiazepines for anaesthesia induction: midazolam and diazepam.

Ro 21-3981 is a newly synthesized water soluble benzodiazepine derivative. Its pharmacological properties are similar to diazepam. This investigation was designed to establish the effective induction dosage of Ro 21-3981 and to compare it with diazepam for induction of anaesthesia. The ED50 for Ro 21-3981 induction is 0.15 mg/kg and ED100 is 0.2 mg/kg. Ro 21-3981 is one and one-half times as potent as diazepam (0.3 rng/kg) and more rapid in action. There is significantly less pain on injection with Ro 21-3981 as compared to diazepam. Cardiovascular stability and apnoea were observed with both drugs. Ro 21-3981 is a promising anaesthetic induction drug that merits further human study.
Animal models of sepsis and shock : A review and lessons learned

Over the past decade, the biotechnology/pharmaceutical industry has been diligently working on the development of immunomodulatory agents for the treatment of shock and sepsis, and the literature is rife with descriptions of novel and innovative molecules that promise to become the panacea for these conditions. Unfortunately, despite promising preclinical evidence, dozens of these new agents have failed to demonstrate clinical efficacy in controlled, randomized clinical trials, abandoning the bedside physician to the traditional armamentarium of drugs and therapeutics for the treatment of patients with these complex, progressive, and life-threatening conditions. The reasons for this quandary are controversial, complex, and multifactorial. This review focuses on the concept that the preclinical trials of many of these agents were conducted using models of sepsis and shock that do not adequately reflect the clinical realities of these conditions. As a result, it is not surprising that clinical trials of agents based on clinically flawed models failed to demonstrate clinical efficacy. The lack of clinical insight during preclinical development of these agents has contributed to the current impasse of the development of safe, efficacious, and potentially lifesaving agents for the treatment of shock and sepsis. Thus, the goal of this review article is to review the advantages and disadvantages of commonly used sepsis and shock models in light of lessons learned from these clinical trials.
Environmental Litigation in China: A Study in Political Ambivalence. By Rachel E. Stern. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013. 300 pp. $99 cloth.

Environmental Litigation in China: A Study in Political Ambivalence. By Rachel E. Stern. Cambridge and New York: Cambridge Univ. Press, 2013. 300 pp. $99 cloth.Why would anyone read a book on environmental litigation in China? The obvious answer seems to be China's increasingly serious environmental problems, from polluted air in cities to contaminated water and soil in the countryside. But Stern's book Environmental Litigation in China: A Study in Political Ambivalence goes far beyond documenting a few major pollution cases. Using environmental litigation as an empirical case, the book provides an excellent panoramic overview of both China's legal system and its political, social, and international contexts. With an elegant organizational structure and a smooth writing style, the author paints a multilayered and colorful picture of how law works in a highly ambivalent political environment.The concept of political ambivalence offers both a theoretical lens and an empirical background for the study on environmental litigation. Political ambivalence "reflects state incoherence and the reality that political signals are as likely a mishmash as a 'harmonious mesh' " (p. 100), but it is different from arbitrariness and ambiguity because it is neither solely discretionary nor calculatedly vague. In China's political system, local agents, such as lower court judges, often receive ambivalent signals from above. Consequently, the judicial decisions of Chinese judges vary in two dimensions: legal formalism and individual autonomy. To what extent they strictly adhere to written law and to what extent they have autonomy beyond political influence determine the outcomes of environmental lawsuits in China. Legal innovation is most likely to occur when judges enjoy both a higher degree of individual autonomy and a balance between legalism and rough justice (p. 128). This is an analytical framework on judicial decisionmaking in one-party states that can be generalized beyond China and environmental law.Political ambivalence also affects the work of those Chinese lawyers who do public interest cases, regularly or occasionally. For these activist lawyers, environmental litigation falls into a gray area between highly sensitive cases (e.g., defending for Falun Gong practitioners) and mundane civil or criminal cases. As the author comments, "The environment is a flexible cause, broad enough to encompass concerns about inequality and an overbearing government as well as pollution and nature conservation" (p. 156). The environmental activism of lawyers is facilitated by the financial support and capacity building effort of international nongovernmental organizations such as the American Bar Association or the Ford Foundation. …
Coherent and Incoherent Thermal Transport in Nanomeshes

Coherent thermal transport in nanopatterned structures is a topic of considerable interest, but whether it occurs in certain structures remains unclear due to a poor understanding of which phonons conduct heat. Here, we perform fully three-dimensional, frequency-dependent simulations of thermal transport in nanomeshes by solving the Boltzmann transport equation with an efficient Monte Carlo method. From the spectral information in our simulations, we show that thermal transport in nanostructures that can be created with available lithographic techniques is dominated by incoherent boundary scattering at room temperature. Our result provides important insights into the conditions required for coherent thermal transport to occur in artificial structures.
Therapy with parenteral pamidronate prevents thyroid hormone-induced bone turnover in humans

Bisphosphonates have been shown to decrease bone turnover in a variety of high turnover states. We postulated that pamidronate (APD), a bisphosphonate, could prevent the increased bone turnover caused by thyroid hormone excess. Twenty-two male subjects were randomized to receive either placebo (group 1) or APD (30 mg, iv, daily for 2 days; group 2). Subsequently, all subjects received T3 (50 micrograms, twice daily, for 8 days). Biochemical indices of bone turnover were measured in blood and urine at baseline, after treatment with APD/placebo, and after treatment with T3. The urinary calcium/creatinine ratio (Uca/cr) fell significantly after treatment with APD, but not after treatment with placebo (group 1, 0.131 +/- 0.021; group 2, 0.040 +/- 0.013 mmol Ca/mmol Cr; P < 0.002). After treatment with T3, Uca/cr rose significantly in group 1, but not in group 2 (group 1, 0.275 +/- 0.042; group 2, 0.065 +/- 0.025 mmol Ca/mmol Cr; P < 0.05). Thus, APD prevented the rise in Uca/cr caused by treatment with T3. Si...
ADVISOR: A computer-aided material handling equipment selection system

This paper develops and describes a systematic computer-assisted methodology for the selection of material handling equipment (MHE). A microcomputer based system called ADVISOR models the material handling equipment selection process and employs information on 77 of the most common equipment types used in material transport, positioning, unit formation, and storage. The system identifies the appropriate equipment type for an application in two stages. At the primary stage, potential equipment types are identified through the use of physical requirements of the material handling activities specified by users. Eligible equipment are ranked according to their normalized accumulated rating and placed in a candidate equipment list. After this, a second stage involving an economic analysis for each eligible equipment is performed. The evaluation criteria provided by ADVISOR include present worth (PW).equivalent uniform annual cost (EUAC), return on investment (ROI), and payback period(PP) methods. Through ADVIS...
Near linear time 5/3-approximation algorithms for two-level power assignment problems

We investigate the problem of assigning power levels to nodes of an ad hoc network to minimize total power while preserving connectivity. We consider a simplified version of this problem by requiring bidirected input graphs (ie if an arc uv exists, then the arc vu exists and has the same cost) and that all arcs have cost 0 or 1. This corresponds to a network where each transmitter can operate at high and low power. There are two versions of this problem, a symmetric variant which seeks a connected spanning subgraph and includes an edge in the subgraph if both endpoints have power at least the edge cost, and an asymmetric variant which seeks a strongly connected spanning subgraph and includes an arc in the subgraph if the source endpoint has power at least the arc cost. Both of these have been shown to be NP-Complete. We present 5/3-approximation algorithms for each of these that run in O(mα(n)) where α(n) is the inverse Ackermann function.
An investigation of methods for injecting emissions from boreal wildfires using WRF-Chem during ARCTAS

Abstract. The Weather Research and Forecasting Model (WRF) is considered a "next generation" mesoscale meteorology model. The inclusion of a chemistry module (WRF-Chem) allows transport simulations of chemical and aerosol species such as those observed during NASA's Arctic Research of the Composition of the Troposphere from Aircraft and Satellites (ARCTAS) in 2008. The ARCTAS summer deployment phase during June and July coincided with large boreal wildfires in Saskatchewan and Eastern Russia. One of the most important aspects of simulating wildfire plume transport is the height at which emissions are injected. WRF-Chem contains an integrated one-dimensional plume rise model to determine the appropriate injection layer. The plume rise model accounts for thermal buoyancy associated with fires and local atmospheric stability. This paper describes a case study of a 10 day period during the Spring phase of ARCTAS. It compares results from the plume model against those of two more traditional injection methods: Injecting within the planetary boundary layer, and in a layer 3–5 km above ground level. Fire locations are satellite derived from the GOES Wildfire Automated Biomass Burning Algorithm (WF_ABBA) and the MODIS thermal hotspot detection. Two methods for preprocessing these fire data are compared: The prep_chem_sources method included with WRF-Chem, and the Naval Research Laboratory's Fire Locating and Monitoring of Burning Emissions (FLAMBE). Results from the simulations are compared with satellite-derived products from the AIRS, MISR and CALIOP sensors. When FLAMBE provides input to the 1-D plume rise model, the resulting injection heights exhibit the best agreement with satellite-observed injection heights. The FLAMBE-derived heights are more realistic than those utilizing prep_chem_sources. Conversely, when the planetary boundary layer or the 3–5 km a.g.l. layer were filled with emissions, the resulting injection heights exhibit less agreement with observed plume heights. Results indicate that differences in injection heights produce different transport pathways. These differences are especially pronounced in area of strong vertical wind shear and when the integration period is long.
A new electromagnetic exposure metric: high frequency voltage transients associated with increased cancer incidence in teachers in a California school.

Background In 2003 the teachers at La Quinta, California middle school complained that they had more cancers than would be expected. A consultant for the school district denied that there was a problem. Objectives To investigate the cancer incidence in the teachers, and its cause. Method We conducted a retrospective study of cancer incidence in the teachers' cohort in relationship to the school's electrical environment. Results Sixteen school teachers in a cohort of 137 teachers hired in 1988 through 2005 were diagnosed with 18 cancers. The observed to expected (O/E) risk ratio for all cancers was 2.78 (P = 0.000098), while the O/E risk ratio for malignant melanoma was 9.8 (P = 0.0008). Thyroid cancer had a risk ratio of 13.3 (P = 0.0098), and uterine cancer had a risk ratio of 9.2 (P = 0.019). Sixty Hertz magnetic fields showed no association with cancer incidence. A new exposure metric, high frequency voltage transients, did show a positive correlation to cancer incidence. A cohort cancer incidence analysis of the teacher population showed a positive trend (P = 7.1 × 10−10) of increasing cancer risk with increasing cumulative exposure to high frequency voltage transients on the classroom's electrical wiring measured with a Graham/Stetzer (G/S) meter. The attributable risk of cancer associated with this exposure was 64%. A single year of employment at this school increased a teacher's cancer risk by 21%. Conclusion The cancer incidence in the teachers at this school is unusually high and is strongly associated with high frequency voltage transients, which may be a universal carcinogen, similar to ionizing radiation. Am. J. Ind. Med. 51:579–586, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The blizzard of 1996: a pediatric emergency department

Objective. To determine the effect of the blizzard of 1996 on the utilization of a pediatric emergency department (ED). Methods. The study consisted of a retrospective analysis of ED visits prior to, during, and after the storm using a computerized ED log, ED medical records, and Surface Weather Observations. The setting was a suburban academic pediatric center in the mid-Atlantic region. Participants included all patients who visited the ED during the 36-hour storm period, the 72 hours before the storm, and the 72 hours after the storm. Number of visits, age, mode of arrival, triage acuity level, admission rate, and the ten most common discharge diagnoses for each time period were gleaned from medical records. Results. The ED census rose 35% above baseline during the 24 hours before the storm. During the 36-hour storm period, the census dropped to 15% of the census prior to the storm. Mode of arrival, age, triage acuity level, admission rate, and the ten most common discharge diagnoses for children seen ...
Similar hormonal responses to concentric and eccentric muscle actions using relative loading

Conventional resistance exercise is performed using sequential concentric (CON) and eccentric (ECC) contractions, utilizing the same muscle load. Thus, relative to maximal CON and ECC resistance, the ECC contraction is loaded to a lesser degree. We have recently shown that at the same absolute load, CON contractions are associated with greater growth hormone (GH) but similar total testosterone (TT) and free testosterone (FT) responses compared with ECC contractions and attributed the larger GH response to greater relative CON loading. In the present study, we have examined the same endocrine parameters to six different upper and lower body exercises using relative loading rather than absolute loading, hypothesizing that GH responses would be similar for CON and ECC actions, but TT and FT responses would be greater after ECC contractions. Seven young men with recreational weight training experience completed an ECC and CON muscle contraction trial on two different occasions in a counterbalanced fashion. The exercises consisted of four sets of 10 repetitions of lat pull-down, leg press, bench press, leg extension, military press, and leg curl exercises at 65% of an ECC or CON 1-RM with 90 s between sets and exercises. CON and ECC actions were performed at the same speed. ECC 1-RMs were considered to be 120% of the CON 1-RM for the same exercise. Blood samples were collected before, immediately after, and 15 min after the exercise. GH significantly increased across both trials but was not different between the two trials. Total testosterone was not significantly altered in response to either trial; however, free testosterone concentrations increased in response to both ECC and CON trials. Data suggest that CON and ECC muscle contractions produce similar GH, T, and free testosterone responses with the same relative loading.
Wiener’s Insight into Communication

Briefly describes the impact that Wiener’s work had on language and communication. He believed that a message was “a sequence of measurable events distributed in time” – a signal that could only be interpreted by a receiver who was in possession of the particular code. This went against the traditional beliefs of semantics that meaning travelled in a communication channel. Bemoans the fact that Wiener’s insights on this subject did not become established but hopes one day that they might.
Knowledge stocks by distance to frontier: Linking low education inequality to high growth in developing countries

Abstract A growth model that endogenizes human capital formation helps to explain why high initial inequality is harmful for subsequent growth in developing countries. Sectors ranging from most to least skill-intensive interact for the creation and diffusion of technologies. The model explores exogenous high initial education inequality in developing countries with sectors that are or are not linked by positive knowledge spillovers. Endogenous diffusion is inadequate for self-financing of human capital and economic growth when there are not adequate inter-sector linkages. Empirical evidence shows that initial education inequality slows subsequent economic growth.
Sustainability analysis: Viability concepts to consider transient and asymptotical dynamics in socio-ecological tourism-based systems

With the increasing pressure on natural resources, the sustainability study of socio-ecological systems has become a crucial scientific issue. In this paper we emphasize that transient behaviors have to be taken into account in sustainability analysis. We illustrate their impact with a model of tourism development from the literature, where the sustainability study is based on asymptotic properties. In order to evaluate relevant space and time characteristics of transient dynamics, we propose to use the concepts and tools of the mathematical viability theory. We also extend this analysis to controlled dynamical systems, which are particularly appropriate to model socio-ecological systems when management issues are at stake.
Benefit-of-the-doubt approaches for calculating a composite measure of quality

Standard approaches for determining weights when calculating a composite measure of health care quality from individual quality indicators (QIs) include equal weighting, opportunity-based weights, and judgment-based weights. Benefit-of-the-doubt approaches have not been used in the health services area, though one has been used to calculate composite measures for profiling countries. Underlying these approaches is the assumption that relative performance on a set of indicators is, at least to some extent, a revealed preference by the organizational unit about the relative importance of the indicators. A benefit-of-the-doubt approach recognizes these revealed preferences by assigning higher weights to indicators on which performance is better and lower weights to indicators on which performance is poorer. We consider two benefit-of-the-doubt approaches. The first uses simple linear programming (LP) models; the second uses data envelopment analysis (DEA), the way in which the benefit-of-the-doubt approach has been previously implemented. In both cases, constraints are added to limit weight adjustments to some percentage of policy-determined baseline weights. Using both standard and benefit-of-the-doubt approaches, composite scores are calculated from data on five QIs from 32 Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) nursing homes. We examine the tradeoff between the level of allowable weight adjustment and impact on facility rankings. If weights are constrained to be within 75% of baseline weights, all approaches identify pretty much the same high performing facilities. Weights from benefit-of-the-doubt approaches, because they are able to reflect local preferences and conditions, should be attractive to facilities and, in a collaborative environment, to policy makers.
The American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals: a critical appraisal

Data from the American Hospital Association’s Annual Survey of Hospitals, which are used to produce the AHA Guide, Hospital Statistics, and other data products, are widely used by hospital administrators, academic researchers, and healthcare marketers. Although they are widely used, many who use data from the survey are unaware of their limitations and problems. Such problems include: inaccuracies and inconsistencies in reporting; low response rates to certain data items; biases in reporting; and a lack of publicly available technical documentation concerning the statistical methodology of the survey, particularly its estimation and imputation procedures for missing data. Failure to be sophisticated consumers of data products can misdirect the outcome of important planning and marketing efforts.
The relation between light absorption and luminescence in laser cooling of two-dimensional semiconductor systems

In efforts underway to achieve laser cooling of semiconductors, an electron-hole population is generated in the sample and maintained in a steady state. The analysis of light absorption by and luminescence from this population is basic to the understanding of feasibility and efficiency issues of the cooling process. It is commonly understood that, when this electron-hole plasma is in quasi-thermal equilibrium (equilibrium at a fixed density), the KMS (Kubo-Martin-Schwinger) relation holds between its luminescence and absorption spectra: their ratio is proportional to the Bose distribution function characterized by the temperature and chemical potential of the plasma. The proportionality factor, which affects the total luminescence rate, may generally depend on the dimensionality and geometry of the system. In this Contribution, as a preliminary step to extend our theoretical analysis of semiconductor cooling to quantum well systems, we discuss the application of the KMS relation to their spectra. In particular, we derive and discuss the geometrical proportionality factor in the KMS relation for quantum wells and compare it to its counterpart for bulk semiconductors.
The Alleged New Vitamin in Milk for Poultry

Abstract We were interested in the recent report by Norris, Heuser and Wilgus1 on the occurrence of a peculiar type of paralysis in poultry involving the legs and feet, the cause of which has been attributed by them to the lack of some hitherto unrecognized factor occurring in milk, vitamin in nature. In 1925 we had begun a series of experiments on the effect of varying calcium-phosphorus ratios on the growth and skeleton development of the chick. Three series of experiments were started using Barred Rock chicks, each group receiving the Wisconsin Baby Chick ration as such or somewhat modified in respect to its calcium-phosphorus content, but each series receiving no or different sources of vitamin D. One series was kept out-of-doors in sunlight; another series started at the same time was kept in the attic of our laboratory but given 10 minutes’ daily irradiation with the emanations from a quartz . . .
Multiple Window and Cluster Size Scan Procedures

Researchers apply scan statistics to test for unusually large clusters of events within a time window of specified length w, or alternatively an unusually small window w that contains a specified number of events. In some cases, the researcher is interested in testing for a range of specified window lengths, or a set of several specified number of events k (cluster sizes). In this paper, we derive accurate approximations for the joint distributions of scan statistics for a range of values of w, or of k, that can be used to set an experiment-wide level of significance that takes into account the multiple comparisons involved. We use these methods to compare different ways of choosing the window sizes for the different cluster sizes. One special case is a multiple comparison procedure based on a generalized likelihood ratio test (GLRT) for a range of window sizes. We compare the power of the GLRT with another method for allocating the window sizes. We find that the GLRT is sensitive for very small window sizes at the expense of moderate and larger window sizes. We illustrate these results on two examples, one involving clustering of translocation breakpoints in DNA, and the other involving disease clusters.
EFFECT OF GROUP PRESSURE ON MEMORY.

(1968). Effect of Group Pressure on Memory. The Journal of Psychology: Vol. 69, No. 1, pp. 19-32.