cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dimensional Errors of Fixtures, Locating and Measurement Datum Features in the Stream of Variation Modeling in Machining

Machining processes are usually multi-station processes involving a large number of operations and several locating datum changes. Machining errors are thus introduced, transformed and accumulated as the workpiece is being machined. This paper introduces procedures for expressing the influence of errors in fixtures, locating datum features and measurement datum features on dimensional errors in machining. These procedures are essential in the derivation of the Stream of Variation model of dimensional machining errors using the CAD/CAPP parameters of the machining process. The linear state space form of the Stream of Variation model allows for advanced control theory achievements to be employed in formal solutions to problems in multi-station machining. Modeling procedures presented in this paper were experimentally verified in machining of an automotive cylinder head.
Structural and mechanistic relationships between nucleic acid polymerases

A superfamily of nucleic acid polymerases that includes the pol l and pol α classes of DNA-directed DNA polymerases, mitochondrial and phage DNA-directed RNA polymerases, and most RNA-directed polymerases may be defined on the basis of the occurrence of conserved sequence motifs and tertiary structure similarities between HIV-1 reverse transcriptase, DNA polymerase l and T7 RNA polymerase. Although sequence or structural similarities do not yet justify inclusion of the multi-subunit DNA-directed RNA polymerases in this superfamily, mechanistic similarities suggest a deep relationship between these and the simpler T7-like RNA polymerases.
The Career Locus of Control Scale for Adolescents: Further Evidence of Validity in the United States:

This study examined the construct validity of the Career Locus of Control Scale (CLCS) among diverse urban youth within the United States (N = 308). Confirmatory factor analyses verified two of the three models as acceptable fits. Two new models were also explored. Model 5 (Internality, Luck, and Non-Control), which was one of the new models, was the most useful explanation of the data. Abstract and concrete educational attitudes correlated with the CLCS subscales in a manner consistent with expectations. No significant differences in the CLCS subscales were found as a function of race; male students had significantly higher levels of concrete attitudes and scored significantly higher on Powerful Others than female students. Age was not related to Internality, abstract attitudes, or concrete attitudes but was significantly associated with Luck and Non-Control.
The Practical Politics of Knowing: State Environmental Knowledge and Local Political Economy*

Abstract: Study of local environmental knowledge has led to a general critique of state epistemology, positing a controlling, official knowledge that crushes competing accounts of nature. Skeptical of that claim, in this paper I assess the differences between state and local knowledge empirically, using a case study of the Kumbhalgarh Wildlife Sanctuary in Rajasthan, India, to explore the way knowledge varies across class, caste, gender, and affiliation within the state forest bureaucracy. The results show that state versus local knowing is not the most meaningful division in epistemology, and that it is the daily struggle over resources in local political economy that gives rise to contending accounts of nature and environmental change. The conclusions further point to knowledge alliances between state and local actors that render certain claims powerful and so determine natural resource management policy and direct landscape change.
Productivity, drought tolerance and pest status of hybrid Populus: tree improvement and silvicultural implications

Abstract Sixteen hybrid poplars, Populus spp., were evaluated during the first 3 years and in year 6 of plantation growth. Significant clonal differences were found in survival, growth, and susceptibility to pests. Drought tolerance varied among clones. Branch and secondary stem biomass, and biomass density were important factors in tree weight. Impacts of the fungal pathogen, Septoria musiva , and herbivory by the cottonwood leaf beetle, Chrysomela scripta , and the meadow mouse, Microtus pennsylvanicus , varied greatly among clones. Five clones, NM6, DTAC2, NC5377, NC11396 and NC11004, exhibited high rates of survival, productivity, and canker disease resistance. Clones NM6 and DTAC2 were highly and moderately resistant, respectively, to meadow mouse herbivory. Clone NC11396 was moderately resistant to the cottonwood leaf beetle. All other clones were susceptible to these pests. These results are discussed in regard to tree evaluation and improvement strategies, and multiple pest complexes.
Global Bollywood: Travels of Hindi song and dance

edited by Sangita Gopal and Sujata Moorti, Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 2008, 352 pp., US$75 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-816-4578-7 ;, US$25 (paperback), ISBN 978-0-816-4579-4 Students of po...
Structural basis for receptor recognition by New World hemorrhagic fever arenaviruses

New World hemorrhagic fever arenaviruses are rodent-borne agents that cause severe human disease. The GP1 subunit of the surface glycoprotein mediates cell attachment through transferrin receptor 1 (TfR1). We report the structure of Machupo virus (MACV) GP1 bound with human TfR1. Atomic details of the GP1-TfR1 interface clarify the importance of TfR1 residues implicated in New World arenavirus host specificity. Analysis of sequence variation among New World arenavirus GP1s and their host-species receptors, in light of the molecular structure, indicates determinants of viral zoonotic transmission. Infectivities of pseudoviruses in cells expressing mutated TfR1 confirm that contacts at the tip of the TfR1 apical domain determine the capacity of human TfR1 to mediate infection by particular New World arenaviruses. We propose that New World arenaviruses that are pathogenic to humans fortuitously acquired affinity for human TfR1 during adaptation to TfR1 of their natural hosts.
MECHANISM OF POLYMER-BASED SEPARATIONS. III. METAL ION LOADING CAPACITIES OF REACTIVE POLYMERS WITH SPECIFIC RECOGNITION MECHANISMS

ABSTRACT The metal ion selectivity series displayed by a reactive polymer, the phosphinic acid ion exchange/redox resin, was determined from equinormal solutions of 1 milliequivalent metal ion per milliequivalent of polymer ligand sites and compared to results from trace ion solutions. It was found that intervention by the recognition mechanism (i.e., reduction) with Hg(II) and Ag(I) ions from pH 2 aqueous solutions led to high resin loading capacities. Thus, the phosphinic resin/Hg(II) interaction displayed a log D of 3.88, compared to 3.80 from a 10-4 N solution, indicating that the recognition mechanism obviated any influence of a loading effect. The loading effect was apparent in Fe(III) complexatign wherein a log D of 4.94 was found from a 10-4 N solution and 0.40 from the equinormal solution. The solution acidity was also an important determinant of selectivity: the series was Fe > Hg > Mn > Ag from 4N HNO3 and Hg > Ag > Mn > Fe from 0.01N HN03. The performance of the phosphinic acid resin was contr...
Formation of fretting fatigue cracks in 7075-T7351 aluminum alloy

Abstract Fretted regions in 7075-T7351 aluminum alloy test specimens subjected to cyclic fatigue loading have been examined by scanning electron microscopy. Fatigue cracks generally formed at or near the boundaries of the fretted regions, often in patches of surface markings having a ripple or chevron-like appearance.
Rat supraspinatus muscle atrophy after tendon detachment

Rotator cuff tears are one of the most common tendon disorders found in the healthy population. Tendon tears not only affect the biomechanical properties of the tendon, but can also lead to debilitation of the muscles attached to the damaged tendons. The changes that occur in the muscle after tendon detachment are not well understood. A rat rotator cuff model was utilized to determine the time course of changes that occur in the supraspinatus muscle after tendon detachment. It was hypothesized that the lack of load on the supraspinatus muscle would cause a significant decrease in muscle mass and a conversion of muscle fiber properties toward those of fast fiber types. Tendons were detached at the insertion on the humerus without repair. Muscle mass, morphology and fiber properties were measured at one, two, four, eight, and 16 weeks after detachment. Tendon detachment resulted in a rapid loss of muscle mass, an increase in the proportion of fast muscle fibers, and an increase in the fibrotic content of the muscle bed, concomitant with the appearance of adhesions of the tendon to surrounding surfaces. At 16 weeks post-detachment, muscle mass and the fiber properties in the deep muscle layers returned to normal levels. However, the fiber shifts observed in the superficial layers persisted throughout the experiment. These results suggest that load returned to the muscle via adhesions to surrounding surfaces, which may be sufficient to reverse changes in muscle mass.
A linear two-state model with complex dynamics

Abstract We study the dynamics of a stochastic two-state model in which all forces are linear. While conceptually simple, we show that the behavior of this system is surprisingly complex. The moments of the system undergo a series of bifurcations as either the overall fluctuation rate or the ratio between the two transition rates is varied. The system displays the very counterintuitive behavior in which all its spatial moments diverge in time, and yet the mean time to escape from a region that includes the origin is infinite. Finally, the system displays resonant activation in a particularly transparent way.
Fluorescence Determination of Nitric Oxide Production in Stimulated and Activated Platelets

Nitric oxide (NO) is quantitatively determined in platelets prior to, and after, stimulation with adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or activation with adenosine diphosphate (ADP). Platelets obtained from the whole blood of rabbits were loaded with the fluorescence probe diaminodifluorofluorescein diacetate (DAF-FM DA), and the subsequent NO production was measured as a fluorescent benzotriazole. Experiments were performed to determine the effect of probe concentration and probe incubation time in the platelets prior to measurement of the fluorescence. This information, combined with the method of multiple standard additions, was then employed to determine the moles of intracellular NO in the platelets (2.7 ± 0.3) × 10-16 mol of NO/platelet and the basal level of extracellular NO in the platelet sample (9.9 ± 2.2) × 10-18 mol of NO/platelet. Moreover, this method was used to quantitatively determine the amount of NO released from platelets whose NO production was stimulated with ATP (a nitric oxide synthase sti...
Characterization of the 2:1 complex between the class I MHC-related Fc receptor and its Fc ligand in solution.

The neonatal Fc receptor (FcRn) facilitates the transfer of maternal immunoglobulin G (IgG) to offspring and prolongs the half-life of serum IgG. FcRn binds IgG in acidic intracellular vesicles and releases IgG upon exposure to the basic pH of the bloodstream. The crystal structure of an FcRn/Fc complex revealed FcRn dimers bridged by homodimeric Fc molecules to create an oligomeric array with two receptors per Fc [Burmeister et al. (1994) Nature 372, 379−383], consistent with the 2:1 FcRn:Fc stoichiometry observed in solution [Huber et al. (1993) J. Mol. Biol. 230, 1077−1083; Sanchez et al. (1999) Biochemistry 38, 9471−9476]. Two distinct 2:1 FcRn/Fc complexes were present in the cocrystal structure: a complex containing an FcRn dimer interacting with an Fc and a complex in which single FcRn molecules are bound to both sides of the Fc homodimer. To determine which of the two possible 2:1 FcRn/Fc complexes exists in solution, we generated recombinant Fc molecules with zero, one, and two FcRn binding sites and studied their interactions with a soluble form of rat FcRn. The wild-type Fc with two FcRn binding sites binds two FcRn molecules under all assay conditions, and the nonbinding Fc with no FcRn binding sites shows no specific binding. The heterodimeric Fc with one FcRn binding site binds one FcRn molecule, suggesting that the 2:1 FcRn/wild-type Fc complex formed in solution consists of single FcRn molecules binding to both sides of Fc rather than an FcRn dimer binding to a single site on Fc.
One-dimensional conductance in silicon mosfet's

Abstract A review is given of experiments on the conductance of 1D MOSFET's. The types of samples studied, the phenomena observed and our theoretical understanding of these phenomena are discussed. Particular attention is given to the strong localization regime and the structure in the conductance as a function of gate voltage.
Surface induced mixed state of a superconducting film

Presented in this paper is a theoretical analysis of a planar surface induced mixed state for a superconducting film in parallel applied field. An analytical solution of the internal magnetic field is obtained based on Saint-James and de Gennes' order parameter in a film. An expression of Gibbs free energy per unit volume without restriction of a geometry is derived from non-linear Ginzburg-Landau (GL) equation in terms of a renormalized GL parameter and a modified geometric factor. Based on the Gibbs free energy, a phase diagram of distinguishing a first and second order phase transition for a type I superconducting film is calculated. The numerical results for exact solutions of spatial variation of order parameter, current density and internal magnetic field in the film geometry in parallel applied field case are presented. Near the upper critical field, the first entry of an applied field in the film exhibits a laminar structure.
Asymptotic Hamiltonian dynamics: the Toda lattice, the three-wave interaction and the non-holonomic Chaplygin sleigh

Abstract In this paper we discuss asymptotic stability in energy-preserving systems which have an almost Poisson structure. In particular we consider a class of Poisson systems which includes the Toda lattice. In standard Hamiltonian systems one of course does not expect asymptotic stability. The key here is the structure of the phase space of the Poisson or almost Poisson systems and the nature of the equilibria. Our systems are in some sense generalizations of the integrable Toda lattice system but are not integrable in general. As a particular example we point out an interesting connection between three mechanical two degree-of-freedom systems that exhibit asymptotic stability. Two of them are classical Hamiltonian systems while the third is a non-holonomic system. Non-holonomic systems are generally energy-preserving but not Hamiltonian, but the system analyzed here turns out to have a phase space which is the union of Hamiltonian ones. We also discuss various higher-dimensional examples.
Radiochemical assay for renin utilizing a synthetic insoluble substrate.

In order to provide a convenient in vitro assay for renin activity, a radiolabeled renin substrate analog, N-acetyl-Asn-Arg-Val-Tyr-Ile-His-Pro-Phe-His-[3H]-Leu-Leu-Val-Tyr-Ser-Gly-Lys-Pro-OH, was prepared by solid-phase synthesis. The substrate peptide was bound covalently to agarose through the ϵ-amino group of its lysine residue. Incubation of this insoluble complex with partially purified hog renin resulted in the release of biologically active tritiated peptide into the soluble phase of the incubation mixture, at a rate proportional to the quantity of renin added. The optimum pH for cleavage was 6.5. The apparent Km of the substrate was 1 × 10−4M, and the Vmax was 83 pmoles tritiated peptide released/min/mg renin preparation added. The minimum amount of renin detectable by the assay was 2 μg, a quantity that would be expected to generate 1.0 pmole angiotensin per minute from the natural plasma substrate. Chymotrypsin, trypsin, papain, and pseudorenin, were also effective in cleaving labeled peptides from the insoluble substrate, but leucine aminopeptidase did not appear to release soluble radioactivity. The assay, as described, is useful for the measurement of large numbers of renin samples because of the speed and ease with which it may be performed. It is not yet sufficiently sensitive nor specific to measure the low levels of renin found in plasma.
A differential microstrip antenna array for mm-wave power combining

A differential microstrip antenna is designed and fabricated for spatial power combining at 45 GHz. A 2×16 antenna array is implemented on a PCB which has been integrated with Si transmitter chips. The simulation results for the reference design and process variations have been presented.
Iliac Arterial Thrombosis After Inguinal Hernia Repair

Vascular complications after inguinal hernia repair have been well documented. To our knowledge, all previously reported cases have been due to direct injury or compression of the vessels during the repair. We present the first case of thrombosis of the left common iliac artery after inguinal herniorrhaphy that was not due to direct injury or compression of the artery. Special coagulation testing revealed that the patient was a heterozygous carrier of the factor V R506Q (Leiden) mutation. This mutation is the most common cause of familial thrombophilia (hypercoagulable disorder) and is a known risk factor for venous thromboembolism. However, the association of this mutation with arterial thrombosis is less certain. Patients with thrombosis of the iliofemoral artery or vein after inguinal herniorrhaphy should be considered for special coagulation testing because of potentially important differences in anticoagulant treatment of the affected patient and for genetic counseling of potentially affected family members.
Effects of Lyric Analysis Interventions on Treatment Motivation in Patients on a Detoxification Unit: A Randomized Effectiveness Study

Background: T reatment motivation is a key component in the early rehabilitative stages for people with substance use disorders. To date, no music therapy researcher has studied how lyric analysis interventions might affect motivation in a randomized controlled design. Objectives: The primar y purpose of this study was to determine the effect of lyric analysis interventions on treatment motivation in patients on a detoxification unit using a single-session wait-list control design. A secondary purpose was to determine if there were between-group differences concerning two contrasting songs used for the lyric analyses. Methods: Participants (N = 104) were cluster randomized to a group lyric analysis condition or a wait-list control condition. Participants received either a “Hurt” or a “How to Save a Life” lyric analysis treatment. The Texas Christian University Treatment Motivation Scale—Client Evaluation of Self at Intake (CESI) (Simpson, 2008[2005]) was used to measure aspects of treatment motivation: problem recognition, desire for help, treatment readiness, pressures for treatment, and total motivation. Results: Results indicated significant between-group differ ences in measures of problem recognition, desire for help, treatment readiness, and total motivation, with experimental participants having higher treatment motivation means than control participants. There was no difference between the two lyric analysis interventions. Conclusions: Although the song used for lyric analysis inter ventions did not affect outcome, a single group-based music therapy lyric analysis session can be an effective psychosocial treatment intervention to enhance treatment motivation in patients on a detoxification unit. Limitations, implications for clinical practice, and suggestions for future research are provided.
Perceived vulnerability and its psycholocial context.

Abstract Predictions were made relating perceived vulnerability to health problems—and particularly to dental problems—to traumatic experiences, self-concept and health motivation. Questionnaire data collected from three samples of school children ranging in age from 8 to 17 revealed that perceived vulnerability was related to trauma but more closely and inversely related to self-concept. No consistent relationship to health motivation was observed, arguing for more careful distinction between these concepts. Results confirm conceiving of perceived vulnerability as an anxiety-like state. The implications of the findings for health programs are discussed.
The Role of the Blood-Brain Barrier Transporter PTS-1 in Regulating Concentrations of Methionine Enkephalin in Blood and Brain

Previous studies have suggested that peptide transport system (PTS)-1, a saturable efflux system from brain to blood, regulates the concentration in the brain of methionine enkephalin (Met-Enk), an opiate peptide related to the drinking of ethanol in mice. We determined the relationship of PTS-1 to concentrations of immunoreactive Met-Enk in plasma and whole brain in eight randomly selected strains of mice. An active PTS-1 system could be demonstrated in five of the eight strains. In those five strains, faster efflux rates due to PTS-1 correlated with higher concentrations of Met-Enk in brain and plasma. These concentrations of Met-Enk in brain and plasma were positively correlated in the five strains in which PTS-1 was demonstrable and were inversely correlated in the three strains in which PTS-1 was not demonstrable. The results are consistent with previous observations indicating that the chronic level of brain Met-Enk can set the level of activity of PTS-1 and that, once set, PTS-1 can play a major role in determining the concentrations of Met-Enk in brain and blood.
Characterization of juvenile hormone hydrolysis in early larval development of Trichoplusia ni

Extensive juvenile hormone (JH) hydrolysis was detected and characterized in whole-body homogenates of larvae and tissues of Trichoplusia ni during periods of early larval development. The capacity to hydrolyze JH that exists in homogenates of penultimate-instar larvae is far in excess of the measured hormone levels. The major initial metabolites of JH found in diluted homogenates of early-instar larvae and larval tissues were JH acid and JH diol as shown by thin-layer chromatography and microchemical derivatization. Experiments using subcellular fractionation or immunoprecipitation and inhibition studies showed the two hydrolytic activities to be roughly equivalent but located in different subcellular compartments. JH epoxide hydrolase activity was present in the large particle and microsomal fractions, whereas most JH esterase activity was present in the cytosol. Subsequent studies concentrated on JH esterolysis. A titer of JH esterase activity throughout larval development showed this enzyme to be present continuously inside tissues, with periodic manifestations in the hemolymph during each larval molt. Partial purification by affinity chromatography and analysis with sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, Western blotting, and isoelectric focusing showed JH esterase from earlyinstar larvae to be indistinguishable from the enzyme from the last instar. Application of JH II or a juvenoid, Ro 10-3108, during any time of early larval development caused no apparent abnormalities, suggesting that the action of JH esterase is not involved with elimination of JH during this period. However, application of a JH esterase inhibitor during a critical period of the third to fourth larval molt caused failure of ecdysis, suggesting that JH acid or at least some esterase or protease may be a factor required for the molt.
Studies in arginine metabolism by schistosomes Arginine depletion in mammals and snails infected with S. mansoni or S. hematobium

Abstract 1. 1. Schistosoma mansoni and S. hematobium infections appear to exert a deleterious effect on arginine levels in the sera of some mammalian host and in hemolymph and protein hydrolyzates of some snail vectors. 2. 2. In several lots of heavily infected mice, serum arginine levels were shown to approach zero. The depression of arginine was related to the severity of exposure to cercariae and to the duration of parasitism. Considerable increases in concentration of proline, alanine, ornithine and ammonia accompany the loss in arginine. 3. 3. Surveys of limited numbers of infected Macaca and Cercopithecus monkeys, as well as Tanzanian baboons, have not demonstrated a striking relationship between parasite burden and changes in amino acids concentration. 4. 4. The predilection for certain amino acids may be dictated by the adaptation from invertebrate to vertebrate host which this parasite is forced to accomplish.
If You Ask a Physicist from Any Country: A Tribute to Yacov Il’ich Frenkel

Frenkel was a brilliant Russian physicist who made fundamental contributions to the theory of liquid, the theory of metal, the drop theory, defects in crystals, and excitons, among many other subjects in physics, astronomy, and the material sciences. In geophysics, he was the first to predict the existence of the “second-type wave” in liquid saturated porous media. This article is a brief biography and reviews his scientific accomplishments.
Sensitization of TNF-induced cytotoxicity in lung cancer cells by concurrent suppression of the NF-κB and Akt pathways

Abstract Blockage of either nuclear factor-κB (NF-κB) or Akt sensitizes cancer cells to TNF-induced apoptosis. In this study, we investigated the undetermined effect of concurrent blockage of these two survival pathways on TNF-induced cytotoxicity in lung cancer cells. The results show that Akt contributes to TNF-induced NF-κB activation in lung cancer cells through regulating phosphorylation of the p65/RelA subunit of NF-κB. Although individually blocking IKK or Akt partially suppressed TNF-induced NF-κB activation, concurrent suppression of these pathways completely inhibited TNF-induced NF-κB activation and downstream anti-apoptotic gene expression, and synergistically potentiated TNF-induced cytotoxicity. Moreover, suppression of Akt inhibited the Akt-mediated anti-apoptotic pathway through dephosphorylation of BAD. These results indicate that concurrent suppression of NF-κB and Akt synergistically sensitizes TNF-induced cytotoxicity through blockage of distinct survival pathways downstream of NF-κB and Akt, which may be applied in lung cancer therapy.
Community imagery and the built environment

This article explores the relationship between the collective representations and rhetoric that residents use to make sense of their communities and changes in the built environment. I draw on data from a case study of land-use discourse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, to explore the ways in which imagery shapes the rhetoric available for land-use debate and how this, in turn, affects changes in zoning. Of particular importance in this process are heritage narratives. These broad renditions of a community's history are a form of constitutive rhetoric. When successful, they create an audience to whom subsequent appeals can be made, and they set boundaries on the content and direction of public discourse. The analysis suggests that communication and rhetorical processes are central to ecological change and that to dismiss these phenomena in favor of macrostructural forces is to miss a significant aspect of the human dimensions of local change and of the processes through which places are stratified.
Investment decisions in the wireless industry applying real options

The wireless industry is one of the most capital intensive high-technology industries. This paper applies real options techniques to estimate investments under uncertainty in two new ventures: (a) deferral of the expansion from 2.5G to 3G networks; and (b) expansion of a 2.5G network using Wi-Fi as an alternative technology. The cases are examined and analyzed both qualitatively and quantitatively, using realistic assumptions and parameters. Investment cost, number of subscribers, pricing of services, and risk are at the core of investment decision processing. In both cases, sensitivity analysis of the value of the (real) option considering the above key parameters was conducted, to extrapolate useful findings that should be taken into consideration by the decision makers in wireless companies.
Vertical transport of steroid alcohols and ketones measured in a sediment trap experiment in the equatorial Atlantic Ocean

Abstract The vertical flux and free steroid alcohol (sterol) and ketone composition of particulate material was determined using sediment traps deployed at 389, 988, 3755 and 5068 m at a station in the equatorial North Atlantic, PARFLUX E. Cholest-5-en-3β-ol (cholesterol) was found to be the dominant sterol in all the traps. This compound had a maximum flux at 988 m, accounting for more than 90% of the sterols at this depth. Inputs from mesopelagic Zooplankton populations living in or migrating to depths between the 389 and 988 m traps appear to be responsible for this distribution. The deeper two traps exhibited an increased flux of phytosterols relative to cholesterol, probably due to (a) the incorporation of labile phytoplankton remains in fecal pellets and rapid transport into the deep sea and (b) differential dissolution of heterogeneous large particles. A maximum of 5–22% of the sterols produced in the euphotic zone were present in the 389 m trap. This value drops to less than 1% for the 5068 m trap, 200 m above the sediment surface. In general steroid ketone fluxes gradually decreased with depth. Δ4-Stenones were found in greater abundance than their saturated counterparts. Cholest-4-en-3-one was the major steroid ketone detected in all the traps. A five-fold increase with depth in the cholest-4-en-3-one to cholesterol ratio is most likely due to microbial oxidation of sterols to steroid ketones, or higher Δ4-stenone inputs relative to sterols from organisms.
Does Palliative Care Improve Quality? A Survey of Bereaved Family Members

Palliative care is the interdisciplinary specialty that aims to relieve suffering and improve the quality of care for patients with serious illness and their families. Although palliative care programs are becoming increasingly prevalent in U.S. hospitals, the impact of hospital palliative care consultation programs on the quality of care received by family members is not well understood. We conducted prospective quantitative telephonic interviews of family members of patients who died at Mount Sinai Medical Center between April and December 2005 using the validated "After-Death Bereaved Family Member Interview," to assess quality of medical care at the end of life. Multivariable techniques were used to compare family satisfaction of palliative care patients vs. usual care patients controlling for age, race (white vs. nonwhite), diagnosis (cancer vs. noncancer), socioeconomic status (Medicaid vs. non-Medicaid), and functional status (number of dependent activities of daily living). One hundred ninety eligible subjects were contacted and successful interviews were completed with 149 (78.4%) family members (54 palliative care and 95 usual care patients). Palliative care showed benefit, with 65% of palliative care patients' family members reporting that their emotional or spiritual needs were met, as compared to 35% of usual care patients' family members (P=0.004). Sixty-seven percent of palliative care patients' family members reported confidence in one or more self-efficacy domains, as compared to 44% of usual care patients' family members (P=0.03). Our study shows that palliative care consultation is associated with improved satisfaction, with attention to family and enhanced self-efficacy. Palliative care offers a unique approach by integrating the needs of the family into the care of the patient.
On Becoming a Psychiatrist: 1934-1942

My interest in psychiatry began when I was a first-year medical student at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wis, in 1928. The lecturer in anatomy, Walter Zeit, who later became a friend and mentor, drew my attention to the distinction between the functional and the anatomic distribution of pain, anesthesia, and paralysis in the extremities of patients with hysterical disorders, in contrast to those with cerebral vascular lesions and those with peripheral nerve and nervecord injuries. This led me to read several case histories of hysterical patients. Later, as a clinical student and intern, I had full opportunity to become acquainted with acutely and chronically ill psychiatric patients as I became responsible for their care on admission to the emergency and detention floors of a large county hospital. I also became familiar with the gamut of traditional neurotic symptomatology seen in patients throughout the hospital and in the outpatient clinics. In
Prenatal factors associated with the development of eczema in the first year of life

Prenatal factors have been implicated in childhood eczema, but the relationship between maternal cytokine production during pregnancy and infant eczema is unknown. Non-selected women in their third trimester were enrolled in the Tucson Infant Immune Study. Data from three sources were used to define MD-eczema: parent-completed illness questionnaires at age 2, 3, 4, 6 and 9 months regarding physician-seen eczema, parent-completed questionnaires at 12 months regarding physician-diagnosed eczema, and medical record reviews. Blood samples were taken from mothers during their third trimester and from the umbilical cord at birth. Maternal peripheral blood mononuclear cells and cord blood mononuclear cells were stimulated with ConA/PMA, and supernatants were assayed for IFN-gamma and IL-4, -5, -10, and -13. Of 364 children, 28% were seen by a physician for eczema by 1 yr of age. After adjustment for potential confounders using logistic regression, the odds for development of eczema in infancy were significantly higher when mothers had active eczema in pregnancy (OR, 2.46, CI 1.0-5.8, p <0.042) and when mothers were in the highest tertile of serum IgE production (OR 2.28, CI 1.2-4.4, p <0.013). Colds in the third trimester were associated with lower odds of eczema (OR 0.32, CI 0.16-0.63, p <0.001). Our findings from this cohort study suggest that in utero factors, including maternal IgE, colds, and eczema, may influence the risk of infant eczema.
Andrew C Leon

Andy C Leon was a mensch. One of the highest praises that can be given in Yiddish is to call someone a mensch. Literally, the word simply means ‘human being'. Figuratively, the word has deep harmonics and resonances; a mensch is someone who is a real human being, someone of great character, someone with integrity, decency and goodness, someone who knows right from wrong and chooses right, someone who is responsible with dignity and fortitude, and someone to admire and aspire to be like. Andy was a mensch. Andy gave without reservation and without expectation of anything in return. He gave for the pleasure and satisfaction of giving. He spent years training new investigators and was generous with his time and wise advice. His intellectual powers were impressive. Yet, when he helped young investigators, who were struggling to design a study or interpret statistics, he would gently correct them, never criticizing or humiliating them. He would say, ‘Well, I have a slightly different take on that and you may want to consider approaching the problem this way'. As a colleague, Andy was the best. He was open, collaborative, inventive, and innovative. He loved the give and take, and was delighted when he helped find a solution to a problem. He was a lover of jazz and this spilled over to his work, able to improvise with deep knowledge when no clear solution was available. He adapted a metric, ‘intent to attend', that allowed an analysis of the assumption of ignorable attrition for mixed models. When faced with the problem of what to do with a hybrid comparative effectiveness trial, he figured out that if, on top of randomization to the study treatments, participants could receive other treatments needed for their treatment, then any differences in clinical outcomes between the study treatments would be blunted. He determined that it would make sense to have, in addition to the symptom outcomes, a co-primary outcome measure that would quantify the need for additional treatments. He called these ‘Necessary Clinical Adjustments' or NCAs (the average number of changes in medications per unit of time). In this way, if treatment A and treatment B had similar outcomes, but treatment A required no NCAs and treatment B required 100 NCAs, then A was the winner. Andy was a good friend. We shared music, laughs, and railed against injustice and narrow mindedness together. He was intolerant of intolerance. I will miss his good company and wise counsel. The world is a better place because he was here.
Uniqueness in Inverse Problems for Elastic Media with Residual Stress

Abstract We consider dynamic inverse problems for bounded, three-dimensional elastic media with residual stress. In fact, we consider more general (nonclassical) linear hyperelastic media with the property that wave propagation occurs along the geodesics of Riemannian metrics. We show that the travel times of wave propagation through the object, together with entry and exit locations and directions, are determined by the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map in the absence of caustics and when the characteristic cones do not intersect. It follows by a boundary rigidity result of Lassas et al. (Lassas, M., Sharafutdinov, V., Uhlmann, G. ([2003]). Semiglobal boundary rigidity for Riemannian metrics. Math. Ann. 325(4):767–793.) that, under certain conditions, the geometry of the wave paths through the medium is determined up to the pullback by diffeomorphisms that fix the boundary. We also prove that the Dirichlet-to-Neumann map determines the six independent parameters at the boundary that describe the material properti...
Comment on Gropper's Review of THE GYPSIES

The review begins by inferring that because Cl6bert is not a professional anthropologist the validity and quality of his book must be immediately questioned. A book must always be judged by its merits, whatever the professional status of the author. In addition, while Gropper recognizes that C16bert has carefully synthesized his data,which he collected by reading, observing, and interviewing, she does not feel that his rigorous methodology compensates for his lack of reference to material in English and to American data. However, she admits that should she attempt a similar endeavor there would be a dearth of Slavic and Semitic
Thermodynamics of ion association. Part XXIII. Copper, zinc, and cadmium complexes of some dipeptides

Calorimetric and potentiometric studies have been made at 25°C of the formation of zinc and cadmium complexes of diglycine and of the copper complexes of glycylsarcosine, glycineamide, glycylproline, glycyl-l-alanine, α-alanylglycine, and glycyl-γ-aminobutyric acid. In addition, a potentiometric investigation has been made of the formation of copperl-alanyl-l-alanine complexes. The data have been used to calculate ΔG, ΔH, and ΔS values for all the equilibria involved and, in the case of copper, these data strongly support a common structure for all the mono complexes at lower pH in which the copper is bound to the terminal—NH2 and the oxygen of the peptide group. At higher pH, thermodynamic functions have been determined for the dissociation of the peptide hydrogen atom which is labilized by the copper atom.
Performance Evaluation of a Thermally Integrated Fuel Cell System in the Presence of Uncertainties

In this work, we focus on robustness analysis of an integrated fuel cell and fuel reforming (FCFR) system, which relies on a feedback controller to mitigate hydrogen starvation and temperature overshoot during load transitions. The fuel reformer is used to process natural gas into a hydrogen rich flow to be utilized in a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEM-FC). The feedback controller uses the catalytic burner (CB) and the catalytic partial oxidizer (CPOX) temperatures as measurements and adjusts the air and fuel actuator commands to assure fast load following and high steady state efficiency. Several uncertainty sources which can potentially lead to closed loop performance deterioration are considered, including CPOX clogging, hydrodesulphurizer (HDS) clogging, fuel uncertainty and CB parameter uncertainty. Steady state and transient performance are analyzed for the different uncertainty scenarios, for both open and closed loop operation (i.e., with and without feedback control). The robustness of load following and CPOX temperature regulation of the closed loop system (feedforward and feedback controlled) is established, while the open loop system (feedforward controlled) is shown to be vulnerable to all sources of uncertainties considered.
Interviewing behaviors in police investigators: a field study of a current US sample

Abstract Considerable research shows that scientifically based interviewing techniques (e.g. the Cognitive Interview) increase the quality and quantity of witness recall compared to typical police interviewing guidelines. In an effort to improve witness evidence, the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) recommended guidelines for conducting witness interviews that follow empirical research (Technical Working Group: Eyewitness Evidence, 1999). These guidelines were distributed to all police departments in the USA in 1999, along with a trainer's manual. The present study is the first to examine whether US police investigators adhere to these nationally published guidelines when interviewing witnesses and victims of crime. A sample of audiotaped real-world witness interviews from 26 South Florida investigators was analyzed. Results indicated that investigators rarely engage in recommended ‘positive’ interviewing techniques (e.g. rapport building or context reinstatement) while using many ‘negative’ techniques...
IBM wireless RF LAN design and architecture

This paper describes the medium access control (MAC) protocol and the network integration of the IBM Wireless Radio Frequency (RF) Local Area Network (LAN) product. The MAC protocol is an adaptive, hybrid scheme relying on reservation-based and contention-based methods. It provides sustained high performances, both for light and heavy traffic conditions. Some control services of the wireless channel are also described: security, data compression, and interference management. The network integration is achieved by relying on the industry standards Open Driver Interface (ODI™) and Network Driver Interface Specification (NDIS). Wireless connectivity can either provide an extension of an existing cabled network or result in a stand-alone wireless network.
Mass spectrometry: Tracking molecular mobility

By studying non-covalent assemblies in the gas phase, it is possible to examine the mobility of the components within a single complex — rather than between different complexes — using hydrogen/deuterium exchange reactions.
Predictors of blood pressure and hypertension in Tecumseh, Michigan

Correlates of present blood pressure status are analyzed in 576 subjects (271 males, average age 32 years) in Tecumseh, Michigan. In addition to the current values, anthropometric and blood pressure data are available when the subjects were, on average, 6.9 and 22.2 years of age. Data on 351 fathers and 368 mothers when they were, on average, 32 years old are also available.Moderate, but significant correlations were found between present and past blood pressure and between past weight or skinfold thickness and the present blood pressure. These correlations were much weaker for childhood values than for values at age 22. When multiple regression techniques were used with blood pressure values at age 22 and parental values as independent variables, 40% of the present systolic blood pressure variance could be explained.Prediction of present hypertension status (blood pressure > 140 and/or 90 mm Hg) was evaluated by discriminant analysis. Three variables (weight at age 22, systolic blood pressure at age 22, ...
Nutrition of captive cheetahs: food composition and blood parameters

Diet and nutrition of cheetahs was evaluated through survey, in conjunction with chemical analysis of feed and plasma samples, as part of a multidisciplinary effort to investigate underlying causes of low reproductive success in North American captive cheetah populations. Cheetahs consumed an average of 1.32 ± 0.4 kg of food daily, containing approximately 1,800 kcal, and maintained an average body mass of 36.7 ± 1.0 kg (n = 34). A commercially prepared horsemeat-based mixture comprised the dietary staple in 10 of 13 zoos responding to the survey, with additional whole or carcass portions offered 1--2 days per week to maintain variety and provide periodontal stimulation. Seven of 13 respondents fasted animals 1 day/week; five maintained no fast days. The primary meat product (n = 14 samples) contained: 58% crude protein, 28% crude fat, 7% total ash, 52 Iu/kg vitamin E, 9.7 Iu/g vitamin A, and 2,200 mg/kg taurine (dry basis). Mineral content of the same food item was: 1.9% Ca, 10.0 mg/kg Cu, 645.2 mg/kg Fe, 0.08% Mg, 22.6 mg/kg Mn, 1.3% P, 0.4% Na, and 127.8 mg/kg Zn. Nutrient levels, except vitamin E (and possibly Mg), met or exceeded recommendations established for domestic felids. Plasma α-tocopherol, retinol, and taurine (18.1, 1.82, 128.4 μmol/L, respectively) concentrations were similar to normals for domestic felids, as were mean plasma mineral levels (n = 81; in mEq/L: 5.64 (Ca), 0.03 (Cu), 0.03 (Fe), 2.0 (Mg), 166.0 (Na), 12.3 (P), and 0.026 (Zn)). No gross physiological or dietary nutrient imbalances were evident from this survey. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Lithographic Tradeoffs Between Different Assist Feature OPC Design Strategies

In recent years many of the problems associated with the use of assist features have been partially or completely resolved. Such issues include mask manufacturing and inspection, software maturity, and the so-called forbidden pitch problem. Still, the lithographer is faced with numerous choices in developing production worthy assist feature designs. This paper will examine some of the choices, and the tradeoffs associated with each. In particular the choice between simple 1D scatter bar designs and various 2D designs will be explored to determine the tradeoffs with lithographic performance. A DRC (Design Rule Check)-driven technique has been developed to highlight potential shortcomings of each individual design strategy. The lithographic impact of these shortcomings has been confirmed with on-Silicon process data.
The standardisation of near infrared instruments using master selection and Wiener filter methods

In this report, two aspects of near infrared standardisation (calibration transfer) were studied: the selection of the master instrument and the standardisation algorithm. Their impact on the accuracy of barley protein measurements was evaluated using 285 fixed-filter Foss Grainspec instruments. Optical linear regression, Wiener filter and no standardisation were compared. The statistically-based master selection procedure had a significant impact on the spectral and calibration transfer when all standardisation techniques were applied. Spectral centralisation improved the accuracy of prediction, particularly when a poorer master was used.