cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimization of PCB Layout for 1-MHz High Step-Up/Down LLC Resonant Converters

Nowadays, high power density is one of main pursuits for power converters. High switching frequency can greatly reduce the size of passive components. With the availability of wide bandgap devices, the converters have opportunities to operate at megahertz switching frequency with higher efficiency and power density. However, unlike the conventional kilohertz switching, parasitic inductances induced from the printed circuit board (PCB) could significantly affect the circuit operation under megahertz switching. In particularly, the parasitic effects will be enlarged for high step-up or step-down isolated converters, since the parasitic inductances are square times the turns ratio of the transformer when reflecting from low voltage side to high voltage side. This paper takes LLC converter as an example to discuss the optimization of PCB layout to reduce the parasitic effects with finite element method. In the experiments, a couple of 1-MHz 38V/380V 300-W LLC resonant converters are built and compared to verify the design optimization.
Nonlinear Waves in Rods

Rods are simple structures that are often regarded as one-dimensional continua, but because of finite transverse dimensions, propagating waves are subject to dispersion, which may mask other effects. A one-dimensional continuum theory with one internal, scalar variable can be used to model a solid rod with longitudinal waves. In this paper the material is assumed to be homogeneous, isotropic, and hyperelastic. First, the linear theory is reviewed to exhibit clearly the multiple wave hierarchy that exists in a rod. Next, expansion and scaling techniques are used in the fully nonlinear case to examine the main pulse. Finally, steady nonlinear waves are examined and both solitary waves and periodic waves are found to exist. Results are compared to the simple wave solutions available from the most elementary one-dimensional nonlinear theory for rods.
Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

Non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI) is a prevalent and concerning behavior among adolescents and young adults that usually begins in early adolescence. The purpose of this chapter is to provide an overview of the behavior, its inclusion in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, and factors related to the development of NSSI. As such, we review research on biological and genetic factors, as well as research on individual, family, social, and community risk and protective factors, that may influence risk for engaging in NSSI. Finally, we review evidence-based intervention and prevention programs for NSSI and present best practices for clinicians working with adolescents who engage in the behavior.
An Analysis of Factors that Affect Struggling Readers' Achievement during a Technology-Enhanced STEM Astronomy Curriculum

This article reports the findings of a study examining independent variables that contributed to the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) achievement of students with reading difficulties who participated in a technology-enhanced astronomy curriculum. The curriculum incorporated key elements of the Universal Design for Learning (UDL) theoretical framework. Participants (N = 1153) included middle school students from 64 inclusive science classrooms. A two-level hierarchical linear model was developed to determine the contribution of student- and teacher/classroom-level factors to the prediction of posttest and problem-solving scores. Results reveal differences across schools in the effect of being in a lower reading ability group on performance on the posttest and problem-solving measures, with some students performing at a level commensurate with their proficient reading peers. Factors associated with differential performance are identified. Implications of these findings are discussed...
Dendrimers in drug delivery and the role of “critical nanoscale design parameters” (CNDPs)

Abstract Dendrimers are now categorized as the fourth major architectural class of polymers after linear, cross-linked and branched architectural types. Dendrimers are a new addition into the novel drug delivery systems such as liposomes, micelles, nanoparticles. The role of dendrimers as a drug delivery system has been proven in last 15 years and now research is focused in understanding its structure control using “critical nanoscale design parameters” (CNDPs). These CNDPs include; (1) size, (2) shape, (3) surface chemistry, (4) flexibility/rigidity, (5) architecture and (6) elemental composition.
The Relationship between Strategy and Conflict Management: A Japanese Perspective

This study extends the work of Japanese management researchers by examining the relationship between new product development strategy and conflict management, using the Miles and Snow (1978) typology. The authors surveyed 240 R&D and 236 marketing managers in hightechnology Japanese firms across multiple industries and found that, contrary to anecdotal evidence frequently cited by the popular press, Japanese firms demonstrate heterogeneity between R&D and marketing managers in new product strategy and conflict management.
CEO fixed effects and inside debt compensation

Abstract This study examines the contribution of CEO unobserved heterogeneity to CEO inside debt compensation. Using a three-way fixed effects model, we find that CEO fixed effects explain a majority of the variation in inside debt. The CEO inside debt compensation explained by CEO fixed effects is also positively associated with firm performance, while the distance from the predicted optimal inside debt is unrelated to firm performance. Further, firms appear to adjust inside debt toward their predicted optimums by minimizing year-over-year deviations. Collectively, our findings indicate that inside debt results from optimal-contracting and help align the interests of CEOs with those of debtholders.
Analytical formulation of a high-power Yb-doped double-cladding fiber laser

A detailed formalism to achieve an analytical solution of a lossy high power Yb-doped silica fiber laser is introduced. The solutions for the lossless fiber laser is initially attained in detail. Next, the solution for the lossy fiber laser is obtained based on the lossless fiber laser solution. To examine the solutions for both the lossless and lossy fiber laser, two sets of values are compared with the exact numerical solutions, and the results are in a good agreement. Furthermore, steps and procedures for achieving the final solutions are explained clearly and precisely.
Constructing STEM Mentorship Pathways to Empower Students in Low-Socioeconomic Communities

To promote a STEM career pipeline, a mentor outreach program was created within a K-12 charter school network, with a pilot year focusing on eighth and ninth-grade students. Utilizing a small cohor...
Forty Years of Youth Ministry

The following article targets two goals in two parts. The first part of the article describes the relationship between the Christian Education Journal’s first twenty years and youth ministry resear...
Regulating Relationships between Competing Broadcasters

In response to mounting economic challenges in the media industry, some broadcasters have begun entering into agreements whereby one station agrees to sell advertising, produce programming, or take over certain other functions, of another station in the same market. Though such arrangements, often called local marketing or time brokerage agreements, are not particularly new in the broadcasting field, they have been used with increasing frequency in recent years. The Federal Communications Commission has implemented rules and policies that ensure such agreements are used in a manner consistent with the public interest. Because these agreements involve cooperation among competitors, they also raise antitrust questions, yet antitrust enforcers have been relatively quiet about the practice. Despite the laissez-faire approach to regulating cooperative agreements, these agreements, and the relationship between competitors that they create, look suspiciously similar to agreements that were once common in the newspaper industry, and which were condemned under the antitrust laws. This article examines the form and function of cooperative agreements among broadcasters and explores the reasons why such agreements are attractive business propositions for those who enter them; it then describes the regulatory context in which these agreements exist, from both a communications and antitrust law perspective. The article closes with a look back at the antitrust enforcement action brought against joint operating agreements and the subsequent passage of the Newspaper Preservation Act, and sets forth some suggestions for future regulatory treatment of cooperative agreements. In brief, this article concludes that while cooperative agreements likely offer many procompetitive benefits, both the FCC and antitrust enforcers should take a more active, cooperative role in reviewing and monitoring agreements between competing broadcasters and consider the potentially adverse effects of such arrangements across each potentially affected market, including the market for audience share, the market for advertisers, the market for carriage, and the marketplace of ideas.
Identifying early-phase clinical trial (EP-CT) participants at risk for poor outcomes.

301Background: EP-CTs investigate novel treatment options, with recent advances in personalized therapy leading to increased response rates, decreased toxicity, and improved survival. Identifying E...
Development of Anaglyph 3D Functionality for Cost-Effective Virtual Reality Anatomical Education

Virtual reality (VR) is rapidly becoming more widely available and accessible as a technology due to the affordability of cheap computing power. This has made it possible for virtual reality systems to capture audiences in industry and education, as well as for personal use. Currently, a major limitation of VR headsets is that the user’s vision is completely occluded, making it difficult for them to interact with others. While this can be solved by having a VR headset and VR capable computer for each user, this becomes much more expensive and, often, an unrealistic solution. This becomes even more problematic in an educational setting since it is difficult for the given instructor and large groups of students to have a shared learning experience. Here, we have developed anaglyph 3D functionalities into our Visible Heart® Laboratories’ anatomical virtual reality platform. These functionalities augment what is viewed by the virtual reality user with a custom anaglyph shader which in turn projects it to an external display. This allows a multitude of users to wear anaglyph “red/blue 3D glasses” and view the same anatomies the VR instructor is viewing in VR, while preserving the important 3D anatomical spatial relationships.
Justifying Moral Claims in a Pluralistic Society

Moral disagreement is to be expected in modern, pluralistic societies. Rational and reasonable persons can and do disagree about the appropriate solutions to various moral problems. Though each party to a moral disagreement may derive moral answers to moral problems in a morally justifiable fashion, different persons will not necessarily arrive at similar moral conclusions. This results from the combination of the under-determination of morality by reason and the related fact of rational moral pluralism . So, when persons who disagree encounter one another in a situation in which they must determine the right thing to do, they may not agree upon the appropriate solution, even when all parties actually desire to reach a solution.
Human TRPC6 expressed in HEK 293 cells forms non-selective cation channels with limited Ca2+ permeability

TRPC6 is thought to be a Ca(2+)-permeable cation channel activated following stimulation of G-protein-coupled membrane receptors linked to phospholipase C (PLC). TRPC6 current is also activated by exogenous application of 1-oleoyl-acetyl-sn-glycerol (OAG) or by inhibiting 1,2-diacylglycerol (DAG) lipase activity using RHC80267. In the present study, both OAG and RHC80267 increased whole-cell TRPC6 current in cells from a human embryonic kidney cell line (HEK 293) stably expressing TRPC6, but neither compound increased cytosolic free Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)) when the cells were bathed in high-K(+) buffer to hold the membrane potential near 0 mV. These results suggested that TRPC6 channels have limited Ca(2+) permeability relative to monovalent cation permeability and/or that Ca(2+) influx via TRPC6 is greatly attenuated by depolarization. To evaluate Ca(2+) permeability, TRPC6 currents were examined in extracellular buffer in which Ca(2+) was varied from 0.02 to 20 mm. The results were consistent with a pore-permeation model in which Ca(2+) acts primarily as a blocking ion and contributes only a small percentage ( approximately 4%) to whole-cell currents in the presence of extracellular Na(+). Measurement of single-cell fura-2 fluorescence during perforated-patch recording of TRPC6 currents showed that OAG increased [Ca(2+)](i) 50-100 nm when the membrane potential was clamped at between -50 and -80 mV, but had little or no effect if the membrane potential was left uncontrolled. These results suggest that in cells exhibiting a high input resistance, the primary effect of activating TRPC6 will be membrane depolarization. However, in cells able to maintain a hyperpolarized potential (e.g. cells with a large inwardly rectifying or Ca(2+)-activated K(+) current), activation of TRPC6 will lead to a sustained increase in [Ca(2+)](i). Thus, the contribution of TRPC6 current to both the kinetics and magnitude of the Ca(2+) response will be cell specific and dependent upon the complement of other channel types.
Pediatric bypasses for aneurysms and skull base tumors: short- and long-term outcomes.

Object Cerebral bypass is a useful microsurgical technique for the treatment of unclippable aneurysms and invasive skull base tumors. The authors present the largest reported series of cerebrovascular bypasses in the pediatric population. They describe the short- and long-term clinical and radiographic outcomes of extracranial-intracranial and local bypasses performed for complex cerebral aneurysms and recurrent, invasive, and malignant skull base tumors in pediatric patients. Methods A consecutive series of 17 pediatric patients who underwent revascularization were analyzed retrospectively for indications, graft patency, and neurological outcomes. Results The mean age was 12 years (median 11 years, range 4–17 years), and there were 7 boys (41%) and 10 girls (59%). A total of 18 bypasses were performed in 17 patients and included 10 aneurysm cases (55.5%) and 8 tumor cases (45%). Of these 18 bypasses, there were 11 (61.1%) extracranial-intracranial bypasses (10 saphenous vein grafts [90%] and 1 radial art...
Physical activity in patients with COPD: the role of pulmonary rehabilitation

As is the case for healthy adults, regular physical activity is important for patients with COPD. Individuals with COPD are often very sedentary, and those who are more physically inactive have a greater risk for hospitalization and mortality, even after controlling for cigarette consumption and severity of airflow limitation. Therefore, it makes sense to promote physical activity in these patients. There is a strong evidence base that pulmonary rehabilitation increases exercise tolerance in COPD. Although the number of studies is limited and results not uniform, it appears that pulmonary rehabilitation also increase physical activity levels in COPD. The improvement in activity in this setting, however, probably does not simply reflect the increased capacity to exercise. Pulmonary rehabilitation is more than just exercise training, and the educational component which stresses increased activity is probably equally important in this regard. The interplay between exercise capacity and performance can perhaps be conceptualized using the Leidy model of functional status, as depicted in figure 2. Pulmonary rehabilitation exercise training undoubtedly increases exercise capacity, as evidenced by increased walk test distances or increased time on treadmill endurance tests. However, this will not necessarily increase exercise performance in daily activities, as given by the horizontal bar. Patients who have assumed a sedentary lifestyle over years or decades might not readily change their behaviors. However, if patients can be instructed to get up and do things, this newly-achieved increased exercise capacity might be translated into more daily activities.
In vivo selection of lymphocyte-tropic and macrophage-tropic variants of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus during persistent infection.

Abstract This study demonstrates cell-specific selection of viral variants during persistent lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection in its natural host. We have analyzed viral isolates obtained from CD4+ T cells and macrophages of congenitally infected carrier mice and found that three types of variants are present in individual carrier mice: (i) macrophage-tropic, (ii) lymphotropic, and (iii) amphotropic. The majority of the isolates were amphotropic and exhibited enhanced growth in both lymphocytes and macrophages. However, some of the lymphocyte-derived isolates grew well in lymphocytes but poorly in macrophages, and a macrophage-derived isolate replicated well in macrophages but not in lymphocytes. In striking contrast, the original wild-type (wt) Armstrong strain of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus that was used to initiate the chronic infection and from which the variants are derived grew poorly in both lymphocytes and macrophages. These three types of variants also differed from the parental virus in their ability to establish a chronic infection in immunocompetent hosts. Adult mice infected with the wt Armstrong strain cleared the infection within 2 weeks, whereas adult mice infected with the variants harbored virus for several months. These results suggest that the ability of the variants to persist in adult mice is due to enhanced replication in macrophages and/or lymphocytes. This conclusion is further strengthened by the finding that the variants and the parental wt virus grew equally well in mouse fibroblasts and that the observed growth differences were specific for cells of the immune system.
The Role of Value Orientations and Experience on Attitudes Toward a Well-Liked Threatened Reptile

Eastern box turtles (Terrepene carolina carolina) are often negatively impacted by anthropogenic activities, such as mortality caused by vehicles or agricultural equipment. However, studies investi...
Integrated figure of merit of public sector research evaluation

An approach for evaluation of research is described that integrates output indicators of four stages downstream the innovation process: immediate, intermediate, pre- ultimate and ultimate outputs. Indexes of leading output indicators are constructed. The indexes are integrated cumulatively to form an overall index of key output indicators, which is the integrated figure of merit (IFM). Data for the indicators are obtained from records and key informants, and the indicators are grouped by normalized weights. The paper also discusses the limitations and the methodological, conceptual and political/organizational issues of such an approach to research evaluation.
Fluid-Holding Time Parameter and Fluid Holding Capability of Polymeric Materials

The fluid holding capability of polymeric materials was semiquantitatively characterized with a new parameter called the fluid holding time (FHT). FHT measures the time it takes a continuous film to recede down the side of a Wilhelmy plate, which varies on different surfaces with the same degree of wettability. Both pure water and an artificial tear fluid (i.e., protein/salt solution) were used to systematically wet uncoated and plasma polymer coated polymeric plates. The FHT was calculated from Wilhelmy force loop plots in the event that a continuous water or aqueous film adhered to a polymeric surface. Such events are easily verified by consecutive wetting. Dynamic Wilhelmy force measurement is probably the most sensitive technique for monitoring wettability and surface configuration change, two important phenomenological factors that affect the FHT. The FHT measured by the Wilhelmy balance method can be effectively used to compare the liquid holding capabilities of different surfaces. The value of the ...
The Rhetoric of Decision Science, or Herbert A. Simon Says

Rhetoric, Aristotle tells us, has to do with "things about which we deliberate but for which we have no systematic rules." In more contemporary language, rhetoric concerns uncertainty. Over the centuries, we have become less certain than Aristotle was about many things, and what we call the "new rhetoric" reflects the extension of uncertainty to matters other than Athenian civic affairs-beyond ethics and politics to philosophy, science, the academic disciplines in general. What is central to both the old, Aristotelian rhetoric and this new, extended rhetoric is the function of deliberation, which is made possible and useful by uncertainty; rhetoric offers a theory of choice in human affairs. As the domain of rhetoric has been extended, though, so has the influence of social science, which has developed an analogue to rhetoric in "decision science," a theory of choice with sources in economic theory. Decision science formalizes the elements of complex decision problems so that a set of logical axioms can be used to analyze and compare alternatives, one of which will, it is presumed, emerge as a correct, even obvious, choice. The analysis yields a quantified "utility function," which represents the expected utility of each alternative; the quantities for a set of alternatives can be used to rank a decision maker's preferences for the alternatives. In various forms, these methods are widely used and accepted in industrial and governmental decision making such as operations research, cost-benefit analysis, risk assessment, and the like. Comparing these two approaches to choice under uncertainty, that of traditional deliberative rhetoric and that of decision science, should help
Carbon–Mercury Bond Breakage in Milk, Cerebrum, Liver, and Kidney of Rats Fed Methyl Mercuric Chloride

SummaryA double-label technique was used to determine the carbon–mercury bond breakages in milk and milk fractions, cerebrum, liver and kidneys of rats one day after force-feeding double-labeled methyl mercuric chloride. Breakages of the carbon–mercury bond occurred mainly in the fat and casein fractions and not in the whey of milk. In the cerebrum, liver and kidney, the breakages of the bond were respectively 6.2%, 6.2%, and 8.0%. The 14C and 203Hg concentrations (percent of dose/g) were high in fat and casein fractions and low in whey fraction of milk.The 14C radioactivities in milk were distributed 46.2% in fat, 32.3% in casein and 21.5% in whey. For 203Hg radioactivities in milk, distribution was 55.1% in whey, 41.0% in casein and 3.9% in fat. Of the three organs studied, the kidney contained the highest percent of dose/gram tissue whereas the cerebrum contained the lowest.
Characterization of hepatic growth hormone binding sites in two fish species, Gillichthys mirabilis (Teleostei) and Acipenser transmontanus (Chondrostei).

To obtain information on the presence of growth hormone (GH) receptors in liver of nonmammalian vertebrates the specific binding of 125I-bovine growth hormone (bGH) to liver membranes of seven species representing the major groups was studied by radioreceptor assay. A substantial degree of specific binding was detected with sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus) liver membranes and a much lower amount was detected on hepatic membranes of Gillichthys mirabilis. No significant specific binding was detected on liver membranes of pigeon, turtle, bullfrog, tilapia, or leopard shark. Gillichthys and sturgeon liver membranes were further characterized and compared with hepatic membranes from male rabbits. The sturgeon and Gillichthys membranes showed binding that was dependent upon time, temperature, pH, and membrane concentration. Scatchard analysis of the binding of 125I-bGH to sturgeon and rabbit membranes revealed both high and low affinity binding sites. The high affinity sites had KA values of 3.1 × 1011 and 1.0 × 1011M−1, and capacities of 12 and 50 fmol/mg protein, respectively. Membranes from Gillichthys liver contained only a single class of binding sites with a KA of 6.7 × 109M−1 and a binding capacity of 49 fmol/mg. Hormonal specificity of the sturgeon and Gillichthys hepatic binding sites was studied using methionyl-human GH (met-hGH), ovine prolactin (oPRL), and a crude preparation of sturgeon (st)GH. The met-hGH and stGH inhibited the binding of 125I-bGH to sturgeon liver membranes while only met-hGH displaced labeled bGH from Gillichthys liver membranes. One μg of oPRL did not significantly inhibit 125I-bGH binding in either membrane assay. Based on these studies, sturgeon hepatic GH receptors seem to be more like those of nonprimate mammals than those of teleosts. Our results, in conjunction with the data of J. N. Fryer (Gen. Comp. Endocrinol.39, 123–130 (1979)), indicate that considerable evolutionary divergence has occurred among teleost hepatic GH receptors. Thus, vertebrate GH receptors seem to have undergone at least as much evolution as has the hormone itself.
A TARCH examination of the return volatility–volume relationship in electricity futures

Four electricity futures markets on NYMEX between 1996 and 1999 are examined using a TARCH model. The evidence suggests traders had an asymmetric reaction to new information. Evidence also is found for a correlation between futures returns and trading volume in two markets (COB and PV).
Rapid GPS positioning of a gravity survey in the South Georgia Basin, Georgia, using the two occupation rapid static ambiguity function technique

An exploration GPS/gravity survey in south Georgia demonstrated that production mode “rapid static” (pseudo-static or ambiity function) GPS positioning could economically and expeditiously provide location control to within 2Oun in elevation for commemial type geophysical surveys in an area of relatively thick vegetation and variable satellite visibility. The survey was carried out with two dual frequency codeless receivers with maximum 1Okm baselines and 0.6km station spacing. Each station was observed for S-6 minutes twice during each session and a total of 460 gravity stations were observed. Dally production was 36 to 46 pc&tioned gravity stations within a 6-S hour window per day. The data was processed with OMNI post processing software of the National Geodetic Survey (NGS). Approximately 66% of the stations converged to a solution quickly within 1.6m of an initial triple difference approximation. 26% of the stations requirad extended processing times The rest of the stations produced poor ambiity functions. Tied locally to NGS WGSS4 values the average relative differences between benchmarks and GEOID90 corrected GPS positions was 2Ocm.
The mortality of delirium: an underappreciated problem?

Abstract The author reviewed 116 charts of medical-surgical inpatients evaluated by a university hospital psychiatric consultation service. Five of 15 consultation patients with delirium died within three months after the consultation, whereas only one of 43 depressed patients died. Neither consultees nor psychiatric consultants usually considered patient prognosis, according to chart notations. Mortality associated with delirium may be underappreciated in the assessment of delirious patients.
A dual-etalon imaging Fabry-Perot interferometer for observing tropospheric ozone: airborne instrument design

Space-based observation of tropospheric trace species has been identified as a high-priority atmospheric science goal. In particular, global and regional measurements of lower atmosphere ozone concentrations are critical to both enhancing scientific understanding and to expanding capabilities for pollution monitoring. The interferometer addressed here will be a spatially imaging, spectrally tunable airborne sensor focused on making such important tropospheric ozone measurements, and is designed to be a risk-reduction and proof-of-concept test-bed for developing the corresponding orbiting instrument also based upon a dual etalon Fabry-Perot interferometer. We present herein details of the airborne instrument design and development process, including parameter specifications for the interferometer and other enabling subsystems, as well as plans for integration, test, and characterization in the laboratory.
Peanut by-products fed to cattle.

Peanut (Arachis hypogaea L.) production is well adapted to the temperate climate and sandy soils of the Southeastern United States, extending into Central Texas, Eastern New Mexico, and Eastern Oklahoma. High-quality peanuts are consumed domestically as salted shelled nuts, and in a myriad of processed foods and candies. Currently, there is a growing demand for large Virginia-type peanuts marketed as ‘‘beer nuts’’ in pubs and bars in the British Isles. Peanuts have been grown for more than a century in the Southeastern United States, providing a valuable cash crop for farmers. Before World War II, peanuts were grown for hay and nut production on many farms in the southeast. Of the 336,000 ha of peanuts grown in Georgia in 1939, 83,000 ha (24.7%) were grown for hogging-off (consumption by swine in the fields) [1], and hay was recovered from 75% of the peanut acreage after nut harvest and fed to cattle. Although peanut harvest has become mechanized in the United States and other countries, and the swine industry has changed drastically with vertical integration of hog operations, probably less than 3% of acreage is grown for swine production, although residue hay production is still significant in the Southeastern United States. In 2000, U.S. peanut production was 3.25 billion lb harvested from 1.336 million acres, with average yield of 2444 lb/acre and an estimated value of $835 million (Georgia Agricultural Statistics Service, Athens, GA). Georgia produced 38% of the peanuts harvested in the United States in 2000, at 1.328 billion pounds, the net worth of the crop in Georgia was $2 billion (Georgia Commodity Comm. for Peanuts, Tifton, GA). Peanut production was higher in 2001 than in 2000, with 3.44 billion lb of actual farmer stock, and 4.26 billion lb in commercial storage [2], because of timely rainfall during 2001. In 2002, major changes to the Peanut Quota System are being initiated, and future peanut prices paid to producers are expected to decline sharply over the next 5 years. Price depressions along with expected increased importation Vet Clin Food Anim 18 (2002) 295–315
Electrode Erosion Observed in Electrohydraulic Discharges Used in Pulsed Sheet Metal Forming

In this paper, we present results of electrode durability testing and electrode design in a pulsed electrohydraulic discharge environment. Pulsed electrohydraulic forming (EHF) is an electrodynamic process based upon high-voltage discharge of capacitors between two electrodes positioned in a fluid-filled chamber. EHF enables a more uniform distribution of strains, widens the formability window, and reduces elastic springback in the final part when compared to traditional sheet metal stamping. This extended formability allows the fabrication of panels of alternative high strength alloys that are otherwise difficult to make conventionally. It was found that, of the materials tested, steel electrodes not only survived the stresses encountered in the EHF chamber but also had lower erosion rates compared to molybdenum. Erosion rates were found to be constant for low carbon steel at 3.7 mm3/discharge, and they were high enough that the initial tip geometry was rapidly worn away and a more geometrically and thus electrically stable tip geometry had to be selected. Entrained air in the system had little influence on erosion rates but numerical modeling suggests that the erosion process takes place during the very initial stages of the pulse. Lastly, it was determined that the electrodes discussed in this paper can survive 2000 pulses.
Classification of lower extremity movement patterns based on visual assessment: reliability and correlation with 2-dimensional video analysis.

Context: Abnormal movement patterns have been implicated in lower extremity injury. Reliable, valid, and easily implemented assessment methods are needed to examine existing musculoskeletal disorde...
Characterization of Patient Mutations in Human Persulfide Dioxygenase (ETHE1) Involved in H2S Catabolism

Hydrogen sulfide (H2S) is a recently described endogenously produced gaseous signaling molecule that influences various cellular processes in the central nervous system, cardiovascular system, and gastrointestinal tract. The biogenesis of H2S involves the cytoplasmic transsulfuration enzymes, cystathionine β-synthase and γ-cystathionase, whereas its catabolism occurs in the mitochondrion and couples to the energy-yielding electron transfer chain. Low steady-state levels of H2S appear to be controlled primarily by efficient oxygen-dependent catabolism via sulfide quinone oxidoreductase, persulfide dioxygenase (ETHE1), rhodanese, and sulfite oxidase. Mutations in the persulfide dioxgenase, i.e. ETHE1, result in ethylmalonic encephalopathy, an inborn error of metabolism. In this study, we report the biochemical characterization and kinetic properties of human persulfide dioxygenase and describe the biochemical penalties associated with two patient mutations, T152I and D196N. Steady-state kinetic analysis reveals that the T152I mutation results in a 3-fold lower activity, which is correlated with a 3-fold lower iron content compared with the wild-type enzyme. The D196N mutation results in a 2-fold higher Km for the substrate, glutathione persulfide.
Employee participation and contemporary labor law in the US

Employee participation has commonly been seen, in US conditions, as in potential conflict with the maintenance and development of collective bargaining. Since labor law seeks to protect the collective bargaining rights of employees, an important current debate is concerned with to what extent, if at all, the law needs to be changed to encourage employee participation schemes without weakening this protection.
Relation of Registration with Yield and Termination of First Lactation in Dairy Goats

First lactation records of 9941 Alpine, 2383 LaMancha, 11,203 Nubian, 3714 Saanen, and 4649 Toggenburg dairy goat does were obtained from the USDA to evaluate relation of registration (purebred, American, or grade) with lactation yield traits (mature equivalent milk and fat yields) and with reason for termination of lactation (normal, sold for dairy, or culled). Does were grouped by age at first kidding (11 through 16 mo or 21 through 26 mo) and by calendar year (1976 through 1978, 1979 through 1981, or 1982 through 1984). Data were analyzed within breed and year group for yield traits and within breed for reason of termination. Registration and age at first kidding accounted for little variation in mature equivalent milk and fat yields or in reason for termination.
Nonlinear dynamics near the stability margin in rotating pipe flow

The nonlinear evolution of marginally unstable wave packets in rotating pipe flow is studied. These flows depend on two control parameters, which may be taken to be the axial Reynolds number R and a Rossby number, q. Marginal stability is realized on a curve in the (R, q)-plane, and the entire marginal stability boundary is explored. As the flow passes through any point on the marginal stability curve, it undergoes a supercritical Hopf bifurcation and the steady base flow is replaced by a traveling wave. The envelope of the wave system is governed by a complex Ginzburg-Landau equation. The Ginzburg-Landau equation admits Stokes waves, which correspond to standing modulations of the linear traveling wavetrain, as well as traveling wave modulations of the linear wavetrain. Bands of wavenumbers are identified in which the nonlinear modulated waves are subject to a sideband instability.
Adsorption Geometry of Anthracene and 4-Bromobiphenyl on TiO2(110) Surfaces

Adsorption of anthracene and 4-bromobiphenyl on a TiO2 rutile(110) surface has been studied under ultrahigh vacuum conditions with scanning tunneling microscopy (STM) and thermal programmed desorption (TPD). Multilayer and single-layer desorption peaks were observed at 270 and 360 K for anthracene and at 260 and 360 K for bromobiphenyl, respectively. STM images taken at room temperature show that both molecules form periodic patterns on the TiO2 surface with individual molecules aligned along the 5-coordinated Ti atom row of the substrate. Individual molecules of the organic adsorbates are mobile on the surface in the [001] direction parallel to the atomic rows. The observed lateral alignment of the molecules suggests attractive interactions in the case of anthracene and repulsive in the case of bromobiphenyl.
Changes in brain electrical activity following vaginal stimulation in estrous and anestrous cats

Abstract Changes in the electrical activity of the cerebral cortex and hypothalamus in response to vaginal probing were studied in behaviorally estrous and anestrous cats. Low frequency spikes or slow waves occurred following fifteen of 121 vaginal probes in twenty cats. Eleven of these fifteen responses were in behaviorally anestrous animals. In thirteen animals, seven of which were behaviorally estrous, high amplitude spindle activity appeared in the EEG following vaginal probing. There was no relation between cortical or hypothalamic electrical activity and the behavioral or hormonal status of the animals. Spikes or slow waves in the hypothalamus were also produced by non-specific stimuli such as tail pinch, particularly in animals in which pulmonary ventilation was manipulated to alter end-tidal CO 2 .
Marital Concurrency and HIV Risk in 16 African Countries

Research has identified sexual concurrency as a potential underlying driver of high HIV infection levels in sub-Saharan Africa, though few studies have explicitly examined the contribution of marital concurrency. Utilizing a multi-level model of Demographic and Health Surveys with HIV-biomarkers for sixteen African countries, this study assessed the relationship between an individual’s HIV serostatus and rates of formal and informal marital concurrency (% polygamous unions, % extramarital partner past year) among married men and women. Mutually exclusive regional-level variables were constructed and modeled to test the contextual risk posed by living in a region with higher levels of formal and informal marital concurrency controlling for individual sexual partnerships and other covariates. Compared with regions where monogamous unions were more prevalent, the odds of having HIV were higher among individuals living in regions with more informal marital concurrency, but lower in regions with more polygamy, even accounting for individual-level sexual behavior. These results can help inform prevention policy and practice in sub-Saharan Africa.
Quantitative methods, economics, and or models

Training in quantitative methods is seen as essential for policy analysts, public administrators, and public managers if they are to make cogent and informed data-based arguments. If our objective is to help students and future practitioners identify credible evidence, to make sense of that evidence, link it to their substantive knowledge, and thereby develop a defensible case for action, then this paper argues that our current approach to teaching methods is inappropriate. We need to take into consideration the learning styles and needs of our students in designing the delivery and content of our courses. Our current emphasis on teaching techniques needs to be replaced by an emphasis on teaching about the concepts underlying these tools and techniques. © 2008 by the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management.
Axons Added to the Regenerated Visual Pathway of Goldfish Establish a Normal Fiber Topography Along the Age-Axis

Throughout a goldfish's life, new generations of ganglion cells are added on the retinal margin and their axons extend centrally to occupy predictable positions in the retinotectal pathway, adjacent to their predecessors and subjacent to the pia. The stacking of successive generations of axons defines the age-axis of the pathway. This study examined whether an ordered array of predecessor axons is a prerequisite for the patterned growth of new axons. One optic nerve was crushed intraorbitally and the fish was injected with 3H-thymidine to label the proliferating cells on the retinal margin. The ring of 3H-thymidine-labeled cells separated retina that was present at the time of nerve crush (inside the ring) from new retina added afterward (outside). After a period of 14-16 months postcrush, both tectal lobes received two punctate applications of horseradish peroxidase (HRP), one in the central and the other in peripheral tectum, to retrogradely label contralateral retinal ganglion cell bodies and their axons. The pattern of HRP labeling from the control tectum confirmed earlier work: axons on the central tectum had somata in the central retina, and axons on the peripheral tectum had somata in the peripheral retina. The labeled cells and axons were both in predictable patterns. The somata that were backfilled from applications to the center of the experimental tectum lay inside the radioactive ring and had therefore regenerated their axons. The patterns of their labeled axons in the optic pathway and of their somata in the retina were typical of the regenerated condition as described in earlier studies. The somata backfilled from the periphery of the experimental tectum were outside the radioactive ring and had been added after the optic nerve crush. The patterns of their labeled axons and somata were comparable to the normal pattern. These observations indicate that new axons do not depend on an ordered array of predecessors to reestablish normal order along the age-axis of the pathway. Ordinarily, the cross section of the retinotectal pathway of goldfish is ordered such that axons from old ganglion cells near the optic disk lie at one side of the cross section, and young axons from the peripheral retina lie on the other, thus defining the age-axis of the pathway (Scholes, '79; Easter et al., '81; Bunt, '82; Springer and Mednick, '85, '86; Bernhardt and Easter, '86; Fraley and Sharma, '86). The position of a ganglion cell soma can be described by its distance from the optic disk-its "r" value. The magnitude of r is inversely related to the age of the ganglion cell. Axons are also ordered according to sectoral origin (i.e., the
On the mechanism of steroid fluorescence in sulfuric acid. Part I. The formation of trienones

Steroids are known to undergo color and fluorescence reactions in concentrated sulfuric acid. The fluorescence was correlated in many cases to the development of an uv absorption at 460–490 nm, generated by steroidal 4-en-3-ones and 4,6-dien-3-ones. The potassium salt of a 4,6-dien-3-one, namely aldadienic acid ( 2 ), was selected as a model compound because of its strong fluorescence and uv maximum at 484 nm in H 2 SO 4 . The fluorescent product could be isolated in a 77% yield, to which the structure of a 17β-methyl-18-nor-4,6,8(14)-trien-3-one ( 3 ) was assigned. The rate limiting step was the formation of a C-17 carbonium ion, which was stabilized by migration of the C-18 methyl to C-17 and by proton abstraction from C-14. The generated double bond in 13–14 shifted to the conjugated 8–14 position. 6-Dehydro-17α-methyl-testosterone ( 6 ) followed the same reaction to the trienone 7 . The reaction can be applied to steroidal 17α-alkyl-17β-hydroxy-4,6-dien-3-ones and to 17α-alkyl-17β-hydroxy-4-en-3-ones with substituents in C-6,7, which introduce a double bond upon acid treatment ( e.g. OH).
Agonistic aids and kinship in a group of pigtail macaques

1. An analysis of aiding behavior in a group of 49 pigtail macaques (Macaca nemestrina) demonstrated that these animals were very selective in the performance of these aids. 2. Not only did these monkeys discriminate between relatives and nonrelatives, but they also chose to aid relatives of a closer degree of relatedness more often than relatives more distantly related. 3. Kinship, however, was not the only factor that affected the performance and receipt of aids, for age and sex were also relevant. Although females were more active than males in performing acts of aid, neither sex received significantly more aids. While older animals performed more aids than younger animals, younger animals received significantly more aids than did older animals.
A comparison of the accuracy of several hip center location prediction methods

The purpose of this study was to estimate the accuracy with which this rotational method could estimate hip center location in a series of live subjects, and compare that to the accurary that could be obtained by the methods of Andriacchi's group and Tylkowski's group in the same subjects
Differential Hormonal Regulation and Function of Progesterone Receptor Isoforms in Normal Adult Mouse Mammary Gland

In normal mouse mammary gland, the mitogenic action of progesterone (P) is mediated by two P receptor (PR) isoforms, PRA and PRB. PRA is predominantly expressed in the adult virgin, and PRB is predominantly expressed during pregnancy. To investigate hormonal regulation of PR isoform expression and isoform-specific functions in vivo, adult ovariectomized BALB/c mice were treated for 3, 5, or 10 d with estrogen (E), P, or estrogen plus progesterone (E+P). Using an immunohistochemical approach with isoform-specific antibodies, we investigated hormonal regulation of PRA and PRB and their functional roles in proliferation and morphogenesis. Significant E-induced proliferation was only observed after 5 d at the distal tips of ducts; there was no sidebranching or alveologenesis. P induced proliferation that resulted in sidebranching and alveologenesis, but E+P treatment produced more proliferation sooner and more extensive sidebranching and alveologenesis. PRA levels were increased by E and decreased by P. Increased PRB levels were induced by treatment with P or E+P and coincided with the formation of alveoli. PRA was the predominant PR isoform expressed during sidebranching, and colocalization of PRA with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine revealed that proliferation of PRA-positive and -negative cells was responsible for P-induced sidebranching. PRB was the predominant PR isoform expressed during alveologenesis, and colocalization of PRB with 5-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine showed that both PRB-positive and -negative cells proliferated during alveolar expansion. These results demonstrate different hormonal regulation of PRA and PRB levels in vivo and suggest that P can induce proliferation through either PRA or PRB via direct and paracrine mechanisms.
Economics and Human Rights: A Non‐conversation

Abstract Advocates or analysts of human rights and mainstream economists can find it difficult to communicate, let alone to arrive at agreement—when they communicate at all. Why is their dialogue non‐existent or vexed? This paper identifies three deep‐seated conceptual reasons. An improved dialogue can lead to better conceptual foundations in both disciplines and enable them better to guide action.
Synthesis of barite, celestite and barium-strontium sulfate solid solution crystals

Abstract Crystals of synthetic barite (BaSO4), celestite (SrSO4), and their solid solutions were recrystallized from brine by thermal cycling. Electron probe microanalyses show that the solid solutions are homogeneous within detection limits. The molar composition of solid solution crystals approximates the ideal value based on the ratio of equilibrium constants for barium and strontium sulfates.