cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Digital governance and hotspot geoinformatics for monitoring, etiology, early warning, and management around the world

The five year NSF DGP project has been instrumental to conceptualize hotspot geoinformatics partnership among several interested cross-disciplinary scientists in academia, agencies, and private sector around the world. A declared need is around for statistical geoinformatics and software infrastructure for spatial and spatiotemporal hotspot detection and prioritization. Our efforts are driven by a wide variety of case studies of potential interest to government agencies involving critical society issues, such as public health, ecosystem health, sensor networks, robotic networks, social networks, video mining, homeland security, early warning, and disaster management.
Anomalous failure of configuration interaction—Singles (CIS) method in the computation of the electronic states of N,N′-bis(4′-aminophenyl)-1,4-quinonenediimine

Ab initio molecular orbital calculations on various redox forms of the title compound, an amine-capped trimer of aniline, have been used to characterize the electronic states responsible for the electronic spectra and observed redox chemistries. These data are important for understanding the electronic structure and application chemistry of aniline-based materials, including the oligomeric structures and polyaniline. Calculations using configuration interaction with single substitutions (CIS) are in poor agreement with experiment. Transition energies computed using Becke' s three-parameter hybrid functional compare well with those observed in the visible and ultraviolet spectra of multiple redox forms of the title compound. The high accuracy of these calculations and correspondence between states of the amine- capped trimer and polyaniline suggest that the electronic chromophore of polyaniline may be a small aniline oligomer. ©1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Quant Chem 75: 623–629, 1999
European Mobilities or Poverty Migration? Discourses on Roma in Germany

This article discusses the discursive framing of displacement and legitimacy for Roma migrants living in Germany to explore distinctions between “economic” and “forced” migration. Despite efforts towards their inclusion at the EU level, there has been an escalation in anti-Roma sentiment across Europe simultaneous with increased transnational mobility. Based on media analysis and ethnographic research spanning 2011 to 2013, the inconsistencies and ironies associated with distinctions between voluntary and forced migration – and the consequences of this distinction for experiences in a host country – are illustrated using three cases. These highlight the range of reactions to Roma as “poverty migrants” (with its a priori assumption about welfare needs) to “bogus” or illegitimate refugees, even when fleeing desperate circumstances. These framings, and the inconsistencies they inherently entail, highlight investment in European identity and citizenship as migrants are defined, categorized, and managed by states seeking to curtail population movements deemed problematic.
Two-Year Success Rate of Implant-Retained Mandibular Overdentures by Novice General Dentistry Residents

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the clinical success and patient satisfaction when dental implant–retained mandibular overdentures are placed and restored by novice general dentist...
Laser radar gets an update

What could be a major advance in laser imaging has been developed at Sandia Laboratories in the USA.
What's New in Topical Anesthesia

Advances in topical anesthesia have brought new products, new drug delivery systems, and new indications. Eutectic mixture of local anesthetics, LMX4, and Synera are available for skin anesthesia before minor skin-breaking procedures such as venipuncture and intravenous cannulation. Several systems to enhance drug delivery, shortening onset of skin anesthesia to 5 minutes or less, are commercially available. These include iontophoresis, pretreatment of skin with laser or ultrasound, and needle-free jet injection of local anesthetics. Protocols for placing topical anesthetics at triage also reduce negative impact on emergency department flow. Despite these advances, topical anesthetics are not routinely used in emergency departments for minor procedures. This article reviews available and upcoming topical anesthetic products, as well as adverse effects, and procedure and disease-specific uses of topical anesthesia.
Fundamentals of bioventing applied to fuel contaminated sites

Bioventing entails the use of soil vapor extraction (SVE) systems for the transport of oxygen to the subsurface, where indigenous organisms are stimulated to aerobically metabolize fuel components. Bioventing systems are designed and configured to optimize oxygen transfer and oxygen utilization efficiency, and are operated at much lower flow rates and with configurations much different than those of conventional SVE systems. Bioventing system applications and design are contrasted to those of conventional SVE systems, and the two key elements of bioventing system design evaluation, i.e., in situ microbial activity and air permeability determinations, are highlighted in this paper. The application of bioventing to vadose zone bioremediation was reviewed with particular emphasis on its advantages over aqueous based bioremediation systems in terms of its superior oxygen transfer efficiency. Finally, the application of bioventing and bioventing design concepts are illustrated through a case study of JP-4 jet fuel contaminated soil remediation at Hill AFB, Utah. 22 refs., 8 figs., 5 tabs.
Impacts of Market Location on Rural Poverty and Income Inequality in China

The article applies the von Thunen agricultural land-use theory to examine spatial relationships between market location and rural poverty and inequality. Three national market centers were determined: Beijing-Tianjin, Shanghai-Nanjing-Hangzhou, and Guangzhou-Shenzhen-Zhuhai. Regression results show that distance from market has a strong impact on rural per capita income. Between 1978 and 1990, provinces both near and far away from market had higher per capita rural income, while those in the middle had the lowest. From 1991 to 2002, rural income was highest in provinces near the market, but dropped first quickly and then gradually along with distance from market. Remote provinces experienced the slowest increase in and the lowest level of rural income. The impact of market distance increased from 1991 to 2002. By the 2000-2002 period, distance explains 82 percent of the variation in rural income. Globalization of the Chinese economy and development policy were believed to be among major causes.
Notch signaling regulates growth and differentiation in the mammalian lens.

The Notch signal transduction pathway regulates the decision to proliferate versus differentiate. Although there are a myriad of mouse models for the Notch pathway, surprisingly little is known about how these genes regulate early eye development, particularly in the anterior lens. We employed both gain-of-function and loss-of-function approaches to determine the role of Notch signaling in lens development. Here we analyzed mice containing conditional deletion of the Notch effector Rbpj or overexpression of the activated Notch1 intracellular domain during lens formation. We demonstrate distinct functions for Notch signaling in progenitor cell growth, fiber cell differentiation and maintenance of the transition zone. In particular, Notch signaling controls the timing of primary fiber cell differentiation and is essential for secondary fiber cell differentiation. Either gain or loss of Notch signaling leads to formation of a dysgenic lens, which in loss-of-function mice undergoes a profound postnatal degeneration. Our data suggest both Cyclin D1 and Cyclin D2, and the p27Kip1 cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor act downstream of Notch signaling, and define multiple critical functions for this pathway during lens development.
A modified indophenol-xylene extraction method for the determination of ascorbic acid in soybeans

The indophenol-xylene extraction method used to estimate ascorbic acid was modified to eliminate appreciable sulfhydryl interference encountered when extracts of soybeans are assayed for this vitamin. The sulfhydryl interference was eliminated by means ofp-chloromercuribenzoic acid (p-CMB). This reagent did not affect the indophenol color nor did it interfere in the estimation of true ascorbic acid. The ascorbic acid values for soybeans germinated up to four days, as determined by the modifiedmethod, were 15% to 54% lower than the values obtained by the standard procedure (15), in which sulfhydryl groups are not masked. Ungerminated soybeans assayed by the modified method contained no ascorbic acid. The vitamin appeared shortly after the start of germination and increased rapidly to 470 p.p.m. in four days. The ascorbic acid found was predominantly, if not all, in the reduced form. The ascorbic acid content of freshly harvested Kanrich green soybeans as determined by the modified method was 20–25% lower than that obtained by the nomal method. Present data indicate possible sulfhydryl interference in ascorbic acid values previously reported in soybean germination studies that employed indophenol methods of assay. Paper chromatography was used to establish the presence of ascorbic acid and sulfhydryl groups in acid extracts of the germinated soybeans.
Double injection in semiconductors heavily doped with deep two-level traps

Abstract Double injection is discussed for semiconductors heavily doped with deep recombination centers which act both as acceptors and donors. The current-voltage characteristics are derived using a generalization of the method due to Lampert for long structures in which diffusion can be neglected. Thermal emission from the traps and trapped space-charge effects are included. The resulting j - V curve shows in order of increasing current the following general features: an Ohmic regime, a low injection square law related to thermal emission, a negative resistance regime, a high injection square law, and finally a space-charge-limited cube law. A complete computer solution for the case of gold-doped silicon is given. Simple power laws for the various regimes, derived using the quasineutrality approximation, are found to agree well with the numerical solution. An expression is obtained for the voltage at the threshold of the negative resistance, and the effects of field dependent mobility are discussed quantitatively. Experimental results are presented for long (∼100 μm) gold-doped (∼10 16 cm −3 ) silicon p - i - n structures. The devices are fabricated from high purity n -type silicon, and large area alloy junctions are used. Pulsed I – V measurements at room temperature show an Ohmic regime, a square-law regime, and a negative resistance regime. These data are found to agree quantitatively with the theoretical calculations up to and including the onset of the negative resistance. In particular a strong temperature dependence is observed in the low injection square-law regime, which is different from that found in the Ohmic regime. This difference is explained in terms of the level structure of the gold impurity. The current for voltages above the onset of the negative resistance is approximately two orders of magnitude below the theoretical predictions. This indicates that filamentary conduction is probably occurring.
Interest rates and risk premia in the stock market and in the foreign exchange market

Abstract This paper documents common empirical regularities in the foreign exchange market and in the US stock market. We find that increases in interest rates are associated with predictable increases in the volatility of returns in both markets, and that expected returns both in the stock market and in the foreign exchange market are negatively correlated with nominal interest rates. We show that not taking into account the time variation of second moments may seriously affect tests of asset pricing models. Using a numerical example based on the static capital asset pricing model, we are able to produce fluctuations in risk premia similar to those observed empirically. Finally we show that the overidentifying restrictions of the latent variable capital asset pricing model are not rejected when beats are assumed to be correlated with nominal interest rates.
Beyond the Racial Census The Political Salience of Ethnolinguistic Cleavages in South Africa

Careful attention to social demographics can be valuable in understanding how patterns of interethnic competition vary between countries, but social demographics can also vary across different levels of social aggregation within the same polity. It may be improper to draw conclusions about the political importance of a particular cleavage based on data from only one level of social aggregation. In South Africa, race is considered to be the primary cleavage around which political competition is organized; intraracial ethnolinguistic cleavages are often dismissed as unimportant, especially at the national level. By focusing the analysis on the local level, this article demonstrates that ethnolinguistic identities are in fact broadly salient in South Africa. These subracial identities appear to influence aggregate political outcomes and individual vote choices. The article thereby offers substantive lessons for students of South African politics and methodological lessons for students of ethnic politics more...
Biology of Microplitis kewleyi (Hymenoptera: Braconidae): a parasite of Agrotis ipsilon (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) larvae

Microplitis kewleyi Muesebeck is a gregarious internal parasite of larvae of the black cutworm Agrotis ipsilon (Hufnagel). Studies of the biology of the parasite revealed that there was an inverse relationship between host instar and parasite preference. Duration of development from egg to pupa ranged from 18 days at 27°C to 68.7 days at 16°C. Development from egg to pupa took 13.5–21.6 days when fourth and first instar host larvae, respectively, were parasitized. A larger number of parasites emerged from hosts parasitized in the fourth instar (22.4) than the first instar (11.5). Parasite pupation occurred when the host was in the fifth/sixth instar, depending on the instar parasitized. Thirty‐nine per cent of host larvae exposed as first instars to parasites died before parasite emergence. This decreased to 0% for host larvae exposed as fourth instars. The sex ratio was 1:1.2 (M:F). Thirty‐seven per cent of hosts exposed diurnally were stung, compared to 24% exposed nocturnally. Mean daily progeny was hi...
All Letters Are Not Equal: Subgraphemic Texture in Orthographic Working Memory

A central issue in the study of reading and spelling has been to understand how the consistency or frequency of letter-sound relationships affects written language processing. We present, for the first time, evidence that the sound-spelling frequency of subgraphemic elements of words (letters within digraphs) contributes to the accuracy with which these letters are produced in spelling. We report findings from 2 studies that demonstrate that letters within digraphs display differential susceptibility to error under conditions of disruption to orthographic working memory (O-WM). In the 1st, O-WM was disrupted as a result of neurological damage; in the 2nd, O-WM disruption was produced in neurologically intact, skilled spellers under dual task conditions with a shadowing task carried out during spelling. In both studies, segments with low versus high levels of sound-letter convergence, a measure of the frequency of sublexical mappings, were more vulnerable to disruption even when factors such as letter position, consonant-vowel context, and phoneme-to-grapheme mapping probability of the digraphs were controlled. These results contribute to our understanding of the internal texture of orthographic representations, providing evidence that individual letters differ in their activation strength and, as a result, in their susceptibility to error.
The structure of the multi-instanton gas

Abstract We parametrize the q -instanton solutions of an SU(2) gauge theory in terms of the positions of 2 q constituent particles or “instanton quarks”. Explicit computations of lowest order quantum fluctuations about the q = 1 and q = 2 solutions show that the short-distance interaction between instanton quark pairs is logarithmic. Extending these interactions to arbitrary q , we describe the multi-instanton gas as a plasma of instanton quarks.
Investigations of the Accuracy of a Separable Approximation to Local Potentials

We apply the unitary pole approximation (UPA) to a number of spin-dependent local potentials and use the separable potentials obtained to calculate the three-nucleon binding energy and scattering lengths. Excellent agreement is found between the binding energies obtained with the separable potentials and those calculated by Malfliet and Tjon using the local potentials. Simple analytic approximations are given for the UPA form factors, and comparisons are made between the local and the UPA two-body phase shifts.
Effect of Diclofop and Linuron on Rye Grass (Lolium multiflorum), Control in Triticale (X Triticosecale), Wheat (Triticum aestivum), and Rye (Secale cereale)

Annual rye grass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) is a serious and wide spread problem in cereal crops. A field experiment with a promising herbicide diclofop [(±)-2-[4-(2,4-dichlorophenoxy)phenoxy] propanoic acid] at 0.56, 0.84 and 1.12 kg ai/ha, in comparison to commonly used linuron [N'-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-N-methoxy-N-methylurea] at 0.84, 1.12 and 1.41 kg ai/ha was conducted to control rye grass (Lolium multiflorum Lam.) in triticale (X Triticosecale Wittmack), wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) and rye (Secale cereale L.). The herbicides were applied as soil-incorporated, preemergence and post-emergence. Results showed that diclofop is less phytotoxic than Linuron and the postemergence application of these herbicides was more phytotoxic on all cereal crops. Diclofop applied at 1.12 kg/ha, gave almost 100 percent rye grass control and produced 45 and 115 kg/ha higher grain yields in pre- and postemergence methods, respectively, as compared to the soil-incorporated method.
A study of landing shock in jumping for women

It is not safe for anyone—especially a man—to draw any conclusions from such a study: but we shall rush in where ladies seem to fear to tread and draw some tentative conclusions.
Spatio-spectral dynamics and spontaneous ultrafast optical switching in VCSEL arrays.

Microscopic simulations on the basis of semiconductor Maxwell-Bloch equations show that in the short-time spatio-temporal dynamics of large aspect vertical cavity surface emitting lasers (VC-SEL) and coupled VCSEL-arrays microscopic and macroscopic effects are intrinsically coupled. The combination of microscopic spatial and spectral dynamics of the carrier distribution functions and the nonlinear polarization of the active semiconductor medium reveal spatio-spectral hole-burning effects as the origin of ultra-fast mode-switching effects. In coupled VCSEL-arrays the simulations predict the emergence of spontaneous ultra-fast spatial switching.
Sex differences in the perpetrator-victim relationship among emergency department patients presenting with nonfatal firearm-related injuries.

Abstract Study objective I examine whether female and male emergency department (ED) patients are equally likely to have been nonfatally shot or struck with a gun by someone they know versus by a stranger. Methods This case-control study examined patient records from US hospital EDs from 1993 to 1999. The records of patients aged 15 years or older who presented with nonfatal firearm-related injuries were accessed from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System. Patients were classified according to 2 firearm-related injury types (penetrating or nonpenetrating [eg, struck with gun] trauma) and 5 perpetrator types (injury inflicted by spouse or ex-spouse, other relative, friend or acquaintance, self, or stranger). Results Compared with male patients, female patients were 3.6 times (95% confidence interval [CI] 2.5 to 5.3) more likely to have been shot and 3.9 times (95% CI 1.6 to 9.4) more likely to have been struck with a gun wielded by a spouse or ex-spouse than by a stranger. Conversely, women were considerably less likely than men to have been struck with a gun or shot by another relative, to have been struck with a gun by a friend or acquaintance, or to have a gunshot injury that was self-inflicted. Conclusion The cause of firearm-related injuries varies by sex. Before releasing firearm-injury victims from the ED, health care providers should consider 2 important factors: (1) the patient's relationship to the perpetrator, and (2) the availability and previous use of firearms in the victim's home. This information may be helpful in formulating posttreatment plans to enhance the victim's safety.
Parvalbumin neurons in the entorhinal cortex of subjects diagnosed with bipolar disorder or schizophrenia.

Background Growing evidence indicates that the entorhinal cortex (ECx) might be affected in schizophrenia (SZ) and bipolar disorder (BD). To test whether distinct interneuronal subpopulations might be altered, numbers of parvalbumin-immunoreactive (PVB-IR) neurons were measured in the ECx of BD and SZ subjects. These neurons play a pivotal role within ECx intrinsic circuits.
INVESTMENT EXPERIENCE WITH LESS POPULAR COMMON STOCKS

(CAVEAT EMPTOR-The editors feel that the article following, by Dr. Scott Bauman of the University of Toledo, is a valuable contribution. We discussed with the author the possibility that the eight years reviewed do not represent a complete investment cycle without the experience of 1962-63. By mutual agreement it was decided not to delay publication until the additional data became available and could be processed. If there is sufficient interest among the members of the Federation, Dr. Bauman will prepare a sequel for later presentation in the Financial Analysts Journal.)
Computer science education in the 21st century

To draw students to CS, we must first look to create a curriculum that reflects the exciting opportunities and challenges of IT today versus the 1970s. Future students and faculty would greatly benefit from a reinvigorated CS curriculum.
Airborne net-centric multi-INT sensor control, display, fusion, and exploitation systems

The NRL Optical Sciences Division has initiated a multi-year effort to develop and demonstrate an airborne net-centric suite of multi-intelligence (multi-INT) sensors and exploitation systems for real-time target detection and targeting product dissemination. The goal of this Net-centric Multi-Intelligence Fusion Targeting Initiative (NCMIFTI) is to develop an airborne real-time intelligence gathering and targeting system that can be used to detect concealed, camouflaged, and mobile targets. The multi-INT sensor suite will include high-resolution visible/infrared (EO/IR) dual-band cameras, hyperspectral imaging (HSI) sensors in the visible-to-near infrared, short-wave and long-wave infrared (VNIR/SWIR/LWIR) bands, Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), electronics intelligence sensors (ELINT), and off-board networked sensors. Other sensors are also being considered for inclusion in the suite to address unique target detection needs. Integrating a suite of multi-INT sensors on a single platform should optimize real-time fusion of the on-board sensor streams, thereby improving the detection probability and reducing the false alarms that occur in reconnaissance systems that use single-sensor types on separate platforms, or that use independent target detection algorithms on multiple sensors. In addition to the integration and fusion of the multi-INT sensors, the effort is establishing an open-systems net-centric architecture that will provide a modular “plug and play” capability for additional sensors and system components and provide distributed connectivity to multiple sites for remote system control and exploitation.
Binary pulsar constraints on the parametrized post-Einsteinian framework

We constrain the parameterized post-Einsteinian framework with binary pulsar observations of orbital period decay due to gravitational wave emission. This framework proposes to enhance the amplitude and phase of gravitational waveform templates through post-Einsteinian parameters to search for generic deviations from general relativity in gravitational wave data. Such enhancements interpolate between general relativity and alternative theory predictions, but their magnitude must be such as to satisfy all current experiments and observations. The data that currently constrains the parameterized post-Einsteinian framework the most is the orbital period decay of binary pulsars. We use such observations to bound the magnitude of post-Einsteinian parameters, which will be critical when gravitational waves are detected and this framework is implemented.
Law enforcement robot technology assessment

Battelle was tasked by the National Institute of Justice to both assess the state-of-the-art in bomb disposal robot technologiesand to identify research and development needs. A well-documented market-driven approach was taken to define the bombdisposal technician needs along with the shortcomings of existing systems. This paper will summarize the findings of thatreport.One-on-one interviews, focus group discussions, and written questionnaires were used to fully assess the strengths andweaknesses of existing robot vehicles and subsystems as they relate to the tasks performed during normal bomb disposaloperations. Best commercial practices were used to perform the robot technology market assessment. A summary of themarket assessment methods and references to their sources will be presented. It was found, as a result of this study, that nobomb disposal robot manufacturers had performed a market assessment to the level of detail performed during this effort.Nine key performance and cost attributes were identified as a result of this study. The relative importance of the variousattributes will be presented along with the user's sensitivity to variance in these attributes. The findings serve as the basis onwhich engineering and design trade-offs can be made during a robot development effort.An extensive evaluation of existing robotic platform performance shortfalls was conducted and will be presented. Theshortfalls have been analyzed with respect to the mission performed today and also looking to the future threat environment(5-10 years).The summary of findings from this report should be of interest to people pursuing the development of new technologies forlaw enforcement robot applications.Keywords: Robot, vehicle, market survey, technology assessment
Chapter 8 Receptors for 5-hydroxytryptamine

Publisher Summary 5-Hydroxytryptamine (5-HT, serotonin) is an indolealkylamine that is found in multiple tissues of vertebrates and invertebrates. This chapter reviews the biochemistry, pharmacology, and physiology of 5-HT receptors. Each receptor subtype has a unique distribution. 5-HT IA receptors are located most densely in the limbic system, 5-HT IB in the striatum, 5-HT IC in the choroid plexus, 5-HT 2 in the neocortex, and 5-HT 3 in the area postrema. A consistently observed effect of 5-HT IA activation has been the modulation of adenylate cyclase activity. Both increases in basal cyclase and the inhibition of forskolin-stimulated cyclase activity have been reported. These discrepancies may have resulted from tissues that had more than one type of closely related 5-HT receptor. This problem has been surmounted by using mammalian cell lines that have no 5-HT receptors and transfecting them with the 5-HT IA gene.
The choice of Hercules: Henry IV as hero

In February 1610, the English charge d'affaires reported that Henry IV of France, having decided to go to war in the Spanish Netherlands, had lately been measured for a new suit of armour, and had also displayed in his chamber a table or tableau, ‘wherein is paynted a man fleeing from Venus and the image of gaming, and following Hercules after two other images, of hope and fortune, with these verses: I go to the temple of virtue, hope and fortune precede me; farewell damned pleasure.’ This piece of visual propaganda encoded a variant of the Choice of Hercules, which appealed to the king's lifelong self-construct as heroic warrior. We trace the complex history of his heroic self-fashioning, showing how Henry IV after 1598 compensated for the absence of war through the hunt, gambling, and sexual domination. The dissonance between what Henry IV perceived himself to be and what he feared by 1610 he had become makes it easier to understand what drove him to his appointment in the rue de la Ferronerie.
Design by natural selection

There is an old philosophical argument based upon the assumption that a good design presupposes an intelligent agency. If we encounter efficient machines, we must assume an intelligent planner. In the nineteenth century, biologists discounted this assumption. Suppose, they argued, structural changes do occur in living organisms by chance only. Nevertheless, the changes which register will be mostly in a given direction, since those less efficiently designed will not survive. In this way, highly efficient and extraordinarily complicated designs will “evolve” without any intelligent planning simply because (1) the capacity to survive is a “scoring” mechanism and (2) in a long interval of time there will be many generations.
Digital video clips for improved pedagogy and illustration of scientific research — with illustrative video clips on atomic spectrometry

Abstract This article is an electronic publication in Spectrochimica Acta Electronica (SAE), a section of Spectrochimica Acta Part B (SAB). The hardcopy text is accompanied by an electronic archive, stored on the CD-ROM accompanying this issue. The archive contains video clips. The main article discusses the scientific aspects of the subject and explains the purpose of the video files. Short, 15–30 s, digital video clips are easily controllable at the computer keyboard, which gives a speaker the ability to show fine details through the use of slow motion. Also, they are easily accessed from the computer hard drive for rapid extemporaneous presentation. In addition, they are easily transferred to the Internet for dissemination. From a pedagogical point of view, the act of making a video clip by a student allows for development of powers of observation, while the availability of the technology to make digital video clips gives a teacher the flexibility to demonstrate scientific concepts that would otherwise have to be done as ‘live’ demonstrations, with all the likely attendant misadventures. Our experience with digital video clips has been through their use in computer-based presentations by undergraduate and graduate students in analytical chemistry classes, and by high school and middle school teachers and their students in a variety of science and non-science classes. In physics teaching laboratories, we have used the hardware to capture digital video clips of dynamic processes, such as projectiles and pendulums, for later mathematical analysis.
High-Temperature High-Power Operation of a 100 A SiC DMOSFET Module

The development of Silicon-Carbide (SiC) power electronic devices having high operating temperatures, high breakdown voltages and low losses has been widely researched over the past few decades. While devices such as the SiC junction barrier Schottky (JBS) rectifier are becoming available in the commercial marketplace, the SiC DMOSFET is less mature. Although continued research on material processing and device-level structures is necessary for optimization, new high performance 50 A SiC DMOSFETs have been fabricated. These MOSFETs have been identified as candidates to replace Si IGBTs in high-current high-temperature power modules for large hybrid electric vehicle propulsion systems. This paper reports on the performance of a 100 A SiC module comprised of two 50 A DMOSFETs. Experimental results are presented for the module in a DC-DC boost converter operated with external 75 A SiC JBS diodes at 17 kW output while using 90 °C liquid coolant.
Informed consent procedures: an experimental test using a virtual character in a dialog systems training application

Researchers are generally trained to administer informed consent by studying approved guidelines, but still can fail to satisfactorily answer questions from potential participants. An application using a virtual character allowed novice participants to practice administering informed consent. This character was designed to behave as a potential participant for a study and asked many of the questions research participants typically ask, such as queries about the study itself, the sponsor, timing, selection procedures, confidentiality, voluntariness, benefits and risks, and contact information. The user responded to the character's queries as if speaking with a true potential research participant. The application was effective even after only brief usage. In a laboratory experiment, novice participants who practiced with the virtual character were later more effective in conducting informed consent interviews with a human interviewee than those who were trained only with written materials. Thus, simulated learning-by-doing improved informed consent skills. Implications for related health dialog applications are discussed.
Palladium plating: A lead free finish for IC leadframes

Concern has grown recently over the amount of lead (Pb) used in electronic products and manufacturing environments. In response, the electronics industry has begun investigating alternatives to traditional tin/lead (Sn/Pb) solders. Several consortia are working to determine the feasibility of Pb-free solder alloys. In 1989 Texas Instruments introduced a revolutionary new leadframe finish to the semiconductor industry. This technology consists of a copper base metal leadframe plated with nickel and palladium. The palladium acts as an oxidation barrier for the nickel which is the soldered surface. This palladium finished leadframe has replaced conventional Sn/Pb coating for greater than 99% of TI's logic and linear devices. No Pb is used in the manufacture of the leadframe or in the assembly of the IC. Devices with TI's palladium lead finish have been identified as a primary test vehicle for Pb-free solders. Components with TI's Pd finish have no Sn/Pb on their surface to influence test results of Pb-free solders. Traditional Sn/Pb plated or dipped components can influence test results when evaluating Pb-free solders. When viable, Pb-free solders are identified and available, the next issue will be to remove Pb from the IC component. TI has more than 8 billion palladium plated devices in the field. TI's Ni/Pd plating technology is a Pb-free alternative for IC manufacturers and users who desire to use Pb-free processes.
Using feasible regions to design and optimize reactive distillation columns with ideal VLE

The design and optimization of reactive distillation columns using feasibility analysis is addressed. Based on the feasible regions identified in previous work, we present two examples to illustrate the benefits of having feasibility information when locating design alternatives for systems with ideal vapor-liquid equilibrium. The examples include a reactive column for the metathesis of 2-pentene and a multifeed reactive column with a constant volatility mixture. In the first example, we use the feasible regions to initialize an optimization-based design strategy. For the second example, we characterize the feasible regions to determine feasible placement strategies for side streams and reactive stages. The design insights gained from feasibility analysis are highlighted for each example.
Physician Advice to Adolescents About Drinking and Other Health Behaviors

BACKGROUND: This report assessed the proportion of US 10th graders (average age, 16) who saw a physician in the past year and were asked and given advice about their drinking. We hypothesized that advice would vary by whether students were asked about drinking and their drinking, bingeing, and drunkenness frequency. METHODS: A nationally representative sample of 10th graders in 2010 ( N = 2519) were asked their past 30-day frequency of drinking, bingeing, and intoxication and whether, during their last medical examination, their drinking was explored and they received advice about alcohol’s risks and reducing or stopping. RESULTS: In the past month, 36% reported drinking, 28% reported bingeing, and 23% reported drunkenness (11%, 5%, and 7%, respectively, 6 or more times). In the past year, 82% saw a doctor. Of that group, 54% were asked about drinking, 40% were advised about related harms, and 17% were advised to reduce or stop. Proportions seeing a doctor and asked about drinking were similar across drinking patterns. Respondents asked about drinking were more often advised to reduce or stop. Frequent drinkers, bingers, and those drunk were more often advised to reduce or stop. Nonetheless, only 25% of them received that advice from physicians. In comparison, 36% of frequent smokers, 27% of frequent marijuana users, and 42% of frequent other drug users were advised to reduce or quit those behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Efforts are warranted to increase the proportion of physicians who follow professional guidelines to screen and counsel adolescents about unhealthy alcohol use and other behaviors that pose health risks.
The breakup of immiscible fluids in turbulent flows

The breakup of immiscible fluid particles in a prototypical turbulent flow has been investigated. Dispersed fluids of varying density, viscosity and interfacial tension with water were injected continuously on the centreline in the fully developed region of a turbulent water jet. Digital image-processing techniques were used to track the particle size distributions as the initial globules of the dispersed fluid were broken into smaller particles and convected downstream in the jet. Particle breakup frequencies were calculated from the evolution of the measured particle size distributions using a simplified version of the Boltzmann equation. The results of these calculations indicate that the breakup frequency of fluid particles at low Weber numbers scales with the passage frequency of the large-scale turbulent features of the flow, approximated as is the interfacial tension between the dispersed fluid and water. These results are analogous to the breakup mechanisms observed by several investigators in low-Reynolds-number flows; however, they contradict the classical theory for turbulent particle breakup, which suggests that fragmentation results from isolated interactions with turbulent velocity fluctuations over distances comparable to or smaller than the undeformed dispersed particle diameter.
Pediatric Xylose Absorption Test: Measurements in Blood Preferable to Measurements in Urine

Data from 129 pediatric patients given oral xylose tolerance tests were reviewed and statistically analyzed to determine if blood concentrations are a more acceptable diagnostic tool than urinary excretion. After oral administration of D-(+)-xylose, blood xylose concentrations were measured at 0.5, 1, 2, 3, and 4 h, and a 5-h urine sample was analyzed. Urinary xylose excretion was more variable than blood concentration. The best criterion of celiac disease through blood sampling is a failure of blood xylose to increase during the first hour of the test. An age difference was observed but appears to be critical only if the patient is less than six months old: the lower limits of normal as determined at 0.5, 1, and 2 h are 10, 15, and 15 mg/100 ml, respectively, for patients less than six months old; and 15, 20, and 20 mg/100 ml, respectively, for older patients.
Spatial Patterns of Aflatoxin Levels in Relation to Ear-Feeding Insect Damage in Pre-Harvest Corn

Key impediments to increased corn yield and quality in the southeastern US coastal plain region are damage by ear-feeding insects and aflatoxin contamination caused by infection of Aspergillus flavus. Key ear-feeding insects are corn earworm, Helicoverpa zea, fall armyworm, Spodoptera frugiperda, maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais, and brown stink bug, Euschistus servus. In 2006 and 2007, aflatoxin contamination and insect damage were sampled before harvest in three 0.4-hectare corn fields using a grid sampling method. The feeding damage by each of ear/kernel-feeding insects (i.e., corn earworm/fall armyworm damage on the silk/cob, and discoloration of corn kernels by stink bugs), and maize weevil population were assessed at each grid point with five ears. The spatial distribution pattern of aflatoxin contamination was also assessed using the corn samples collected at each sampling point. Aflatoxin level was correlated to the number of maize weevils and stink bug-discolored kernels, but not closely correlated to either husk coverage or corn earworm damage. Contour maps of the maize weevil populations, stink bug-damaged kernels, and aflatoxin levels exhibited an aggregated distribution pattern with a strong edge effect on all three parameters. The separation of silk- and cob-feeding insects from kernel-feeding insects, as well as chewing (i.e., the corn earworm and maize weevil) and piercing-sucking insects (i.e., the stink bugs) and their damage in relation to aflatoxin accumulation is economically important. Both theoretic and applied ramifications of this study were discussed by proposing a hypothesis on the underlying mechanisms of the aggregated distribution patterns and strong edge effect of insect damage and aflatoxin contamination, and by discussing possible management tactics for aflatoxin reduction by proper management of kernel-feeding insects. Future directions on basic and applied research related to aflatoxin contamination are also discussed.
In Vivo Targeting of Antigens to Maturing Dendritic Cells via the DEC-205 Receptor Improves T Cell Vaccination

The prevention and treatment of prevalent infectious diseases and tumors should benefit from improvements in the induction of antigen-specific T cell immunity. To assess the potential of antigen targeting to dendritic cells to improve immunity, we incorporated ovalbumin protein into a monoclonal antibody to the DEC-205 receptor, an endocytic receptor that is abundant on these cells in lymphoid tissues. Simultaneously, we injected agonistic α-CD40 antibody to mature the dendritic cells. We found that a single low dose of antibody-conjugated ovalbumin initiated immunity from the naive CD4+ and CD8+ T cell repertoire. Unexpectedly, the αDEC-205 antigen conjugates, given s.c., targeted to dendritic cells systemically and for long periods, and ovalbumin peptide was presented on MHC class I for 2 weeks. This was associated with stronger CD8+ T cell–mediated immunity relative to other forms of antigen delivery, even when the latter was given at a thousand times higher doses. In parallel, the mice showed enhanced resistance to an established rapidly growing tumor and to viral infection at a mucosal site. By better harnessing the immunizing functions of maturing dendritic cells, antibody-mediated antigen targeting via the DEC-205 receptor increases the efficiency of vaccination for T cell immunity, including systemic and mucosal resistance in disease models.
Clinical features of patients with immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL) with vascular-limited deposition in the kidney

In the kidney, immunoglobulin light chain amyloidosis (AL) can be deposited in vascular-limited AL (V-AL) or diffuse (D-AL) pattern. These patterns are associated with different clinical presentations. A nested case study was performed to describe these differences. V-AL was defined by the vascular-limited deposits. Cases were matched for age, sex and date of renal biopsy. There were 12 cases of V-AL (mean age 61 ± 11 years) and 24 cases of D-AL. Median follow-up was 26 months for V-AL and 38 months for D-AL, P = 0.14. Lambda was more common in D-AL (83.3%) than V-AL (50%, P = 0.04). Cardiac function was similar between the two groups. V-AL patients presented with lower renal function (serum creatinine = 2.1 versus 1.3 mg/dL, P = 0.02; estimated glomerular filtration rate 31 versus 59 mL/min/1.73m(2), P = 0.01 and creatinine clearance 38.5 versus 64 mL/min/1.73m(2), P = 0.02, respectively). Proteinuria was low grade in V-AL [0.4 (0.09-0.98) g/day] compared to nephrotic range in D-AL patients [8.0 (0.2-22) g/day, P < 0.001]. Stem cell transplantation was performed on 62.5% of the D-AL but on only 25% of the V-AL, P = 0.08. Median survival was longer in patients with D-AL (77.2 months) versus V-AL (40.6 months, log-rank P = 0.02). Our study found that V-AL patients presented with more severe renal insufficiency and less proteinuria than D-AL. There was a preference for λ light chain in the D-AL that was not noted in the V-AL. Patients with D-AL in this study had a longer median survival but most of them were stem cell transplantation candidates.
“Just in time” decision making for ICU care after carotid endarterectomy

Background Many patients undergoing carotid endarterectomy (CE) do not require active intensive care unit (ICU) care (AIC). Until recently, all patients spent 24 hours postoperatively in an ICU, but many of these patients were simply monitored and did not need unique ICU services. Methods To aid in developing a selective policy for ICU admission following CE, we reviewed preoperative risk factors, recovery room course, and total hospital stay of 126 patients for 2 years when postoperative ICU admission was routine. Preoperative assessment included presence or absence of cardiac disease, hypertension, severe respiratory disease, diabetes, arrhythmia, renal failure, and a Goldman cardiac risk score. The operative, recovery room, and ward records were reviewed for conditions requiring AIC. Requirement for AIC was defined as need for infusion of vasoactive, bronchodilator, or antiarrhythmic medication beyond the recovery room period. In addition, treatment for coronary ischemia or MI, need for active diuresis, perioperative neurological event, or requirement for mechanical ventilation were indications for AIC. Results There were 132 CEs in 126 patients; 37% required AIC as defined above. When patients who required AIC were compared with patients not requiring AIC, the only significant difference was the number of risk factors per patient. Goldman cardiac risk class I patients were at less risk for cardiac morbidity than the combined Class II and III patients. Conclusions In an individual patient, preoperative risk assessment does not aid in predicting the need for AIC following CE. Selection of patients for ICU admission following CE can be accurately determined by a short period of recovery room observation.