cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Scalable synthesis of palladium nanoparticle catalysts by atomic layer deposition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) was used to produce Pd/Al2O3 catalysts using sequential exposures of Pd(II) hexafluoroacetylacetonate and formalin at 200 °C in a fluidized bed reactor. The ALD-prepared Pd/alumina catalysts were characterized by various methods including hydrogen chemisorption, XPS, and TEM, and compared with a commercially available 1 wt% Pd/alumina catalyst, which was also characterized. The content of Pd on alumina support and the size of Pd nanoparticles can be controlled by the number of ALD-coating cycles and the dose time of the Pd precursor. One layer of organic component from the Pd precursor remained on the Pd particle surface. The ALD 0.9 wt% Pd/alumina had greater active metal surface area and percent metal dispersion than the commercial 1 wt% Pd/alumina catalyst. The ALD and commercial catalysts were subjected to catalytic testing to determine their relative activities for glucose oxidation to gluconic acid in aqueous solution. The ALD 0.9 wt% Pd/alumina catalyst had comparable activity as compared to the commercial 1 wt% Pd catalyst. No noticeable amount of Pd leaching was observed for the ALD-prepared catalysts during the vigorously stirred reaction.
Sensitivity of glaciation to initial snow cover, CO2, snow albedo, and oceanic roughness in the NCAR CCM

We present results from numerical experiments made with a GCM, the NCAR CCM1, that were designed to estimate the annual balance between snow-fall accumulation and ablation for geographically important land regions for a variety of conditions. We also attempt to assess the reliability of these results by investigating model sensitivity to changes in prescribed physical parameters. Experiments were run with an initial imposition of 1 m of (midwinter) snowcover over all northern hemisphere land points. Over Alaska, western Canada, Siberia, and the Tibetan Plateau the model tended to retain this snow cover through the summer and in some cases increase its depth as well. We define these regions as “glaciation sensitive” and note some correspondence between them and source regions for the Pleistocene ice sheets. An experiment with greatly reduced CO2 (100 ppm) showed a tendency towards “spontaneous” glaciation, i.e., the model remained snow-covered throughout the summer over the same geographic regions noted above. With 200 ppm CO2 (roughly equal to values at the last glacial maximum), snow cover over these regions did not quite survive the summer on a consistent basis. Combining 200 ppm CO2 and 1 m of initial northern hemisphere snow cover yielded glaciation-sensitive conditions, agreeing remarkably well with locations undergoing glaciation during the Pleistocene. To assess the reliability of these results, we have determined minimal model uncertainty by varying two of the empirical coefficients in the model within physically plausible ranges. In one case surface roughness of all ocean gridpoints was reduced by an order of magnitude, leading to local 10% reductions in precipitation (snowfall), a change hard to distinguish from inherent model variability. In the other case, the fraction of a land grid square assumed to be occupied by snow cover for albedo purposes was varied from one-half to unity. Large changes occurred in the degree of summer melting, and in some cases the sign of the net balance changed as fractional snow cover was changed. We conclude that the model may be able to reveal regions sensitive to glaciation, but that it cannot yield a reliable quantitative computation of the magnitude of the net snow accumulation that can be implicitly or explicitly integrated through time.
Evaluating the feasibility of local cooperative consolidations: a case study

Agricultural cooperatives have undergone significant consolidation in recent years. Identifying firms with a potential to improve performance via merging requires an examination of financial performance of those firms relative to firms of similar and larger sizes. This study develops a set of financial performance measures relative to firm size to identify cooperatives with the greatest potential to improve performance from merging. The suggested approach is applied in a case study for two pilot groups of Kansas cooperatives slated as merger candidates. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons. Inc.
The Effects of Human Resource Management Systems on Economic Performance: An International Comparison of U.S. and Japanese Plants

This study uses personally collected data from 41 steel production lines to assess the effects of Japanese and U.S. human resource management (HRM) practices on worker productivity. The Japanese production lines employ a common system of HRM practices including: problem-solving teams, extensive orientation, training throughout employees' careers, extensive information sharing, rotation across jobs, employment security, and profit sharing. A majority of U.S. plants now have one or two features of this system of HRM practices, but only a minority have a comprehensive system of innovative work practices that parallels the full system of practices found among the Japanese manufacturers. We find that the Japanese lines are significantly more productive than the U.S. lines. However, U.S. manufacturers that have adopted a full system of innovative HRM practices patterned after the Japanese system achieve levels of productivity and quality equal to the performance of the Japanese manufacturers. This study's evidence helps reconcile conflicting views about the effectiveness of adopting Japanese-style worker involvement schemes in the United States. United States manufacturers that have adopted a definition of employee participation that extends only to problem-solving teams or information sharing do not see large improvements in productivity. However, U.S. manufacturers that adopt a broader definition of participation that mimics the full Japanese HRM system see substantial performance gains.
Biorthogonal spline type wavelets

Let @f be an orthonormal scaling function with approximation degree p - 1, and let B"nbe the B-spline of order n. Then, spline type scaling functions defined by @?"n = @? * B"n (n = 1, 2, ...) possess higher approximation order, p + n - 1, and compact support. The corresponding biorthogonal wavelet functions are also constructed. This technique is extended to the case of biorthogonal scaling function system. As an application of the method supplied in this paper, one can easily construct a sequence of pairs of biorthogonal spline type scaling functions from one pair of biorthogonal scaling functions or an orthonormal scaling function. In particular, if both the method and the lifting scheme of Sweldens (see [1]) are applied, then all pairs of biorthogonal spline type scaling functions shown in references [2] and [3] can be constructed from the Haar scaling function.
Selecting the better binomial population under a budget constraint

Abstract The problem of optimal non-sequential allocation of observations for the selection of the better binomial population is considered in the case of fixed sampling costs and budget. With the appropriate choice of selection rule it is shown that a 70% reduction in the probability of incorrect selection is possible by using an unequal rather than equal allocation. Simple formulae are given for the appropriate selection rule and unequal allocation in large samples.
Haitians, Magic, and Money: Raza and Society in the Haitian-Dominican Borderlands, 1900 to 1937

Sitting on the banks of the shallow riverine waters separating the northern border towns of Dajabon of the Dominican Republic and Ouanaminthe of Haiti, one can see children wade, market women wash, and people pass from one nation to another. They are apparently impervious to the official meaning of this river as a national boundary that rigidly separates these two contiguous Caribbean island nations. Just as the water flows, so do people, goods, and merchandise between the two countries, even as the Dominican border guards stationed on a small mound above the river watch. The ironies of history lie here, as well as the poetics of its remembrance. This river is called El Masacre, a name which recalls the 1937 Haitian massacre, when the water is said to have run scarlet red from the blood of thousands of Haitians killed by machetes there by soldiers under the direction of the Dominican dictator, Rafael M. Trujillo (1930–61).
Professor Clark's Economics

Professor Clark's commanding position, 147–150.—Harmless misinformation as to primitive man, 151–154.—Significance of the accumulated experience of mankind overlooked, 155–157.—The classical school and Clark are alike hedonistic, utilitarian, taxonomic, 158–160.—His doctrine as to capital and capital-goods, 161–167.—Natural distribution, final productivity, and effective utility, 168–172.—The supposition of consumer's surplus vitiates that of reward according to productivity, 173–176.—Consistently, monopolists also must be admitted to get rewards based on effective utility and so on "natural" law, 177–183.—The legislation proposed by Clark as to monopoly not related to his theoretic principles, 183–185.—How far any surplus of utiHty over disutility can be consistently reasoned out, 186–189.—Consumer's surplus and producer's surplus vanish on close examination, 190–193.—Conclusion, 194–195.
Ribosomal protein pool of Escherichia coli.

Abstract Escherichia coli B cells, which were grown in a heavy medium ( 15 NH 4 Cl and 2 H 2 O) and then transferred to a light medium ( 14 NH 4 Cl and 1 H 2 O), contained an expanded pool of ribosomal proteins. The expansion was attributable to the partial breakdown of ribosomes formed in the heavy medium due to the density-transfer and the subsequent reutilization of the released intact ribosomal proteins for the synthesis of new ribosomes. Ribosomes were prepared from E. coli cells which were subjected to the density-transfer from a heavy medium to a light medium. Newly-formed light ribosomal cores were separated from pre-existing heavy ribosomal cores by CsCl equilibrium centrifugation. It was found that newly-formed light ribosomes contained radioactive proteins labeled only during growth in the heavy medium. These proteins were shown to be ribosomal and heavy, respectively, by acrylamide-gel electrophoresis and RbCl equilibrium centrifugation. The extent of incorporation of pulse-labeled proteins into ribosomes during a chase and also the extent of incorporation of newly-formed ribosomal RNA into ribosomes after the inhibition of protein synthesis by chloramphenicol were used to estimate the size of the soluble ribosomal protein pool. Normal cells contained a pool of about 10 % of the total ribosomal proteins. After density-transfer the size of the pool is expanded to approx. 20–25 % of the total ribosomal proteins. These results provided evidence that E. coli B cells can reutilize pre-existing ribosomal proteins for the synthesis of new ribosomes.
An Application of Numerical Integration Techniclues to Statistical Toleraucing

In order to set statistical component tolerances their effect must be determined. Methods available to determine the probability distribution of the response of the system often suffer from defects, e.g., inadequate error anslysis, necessity for sophisticated mathematical and statistical techniques. We develop a quadrature formula for obtaining the moments of the response by the application and adaptation of multidimensional numerical integration procedures. Our primary concern is the special, but most important case in which the component values come from normal distributions. Evaluations of the response are required for 1) all components at their mean values, 2) all except one at their mean values, and 3) all except two; the off-mean values are prescribed. 2n 2 + 1 evaluations are required for an n component system. A numerical example is given. Generally, if a high-low tolerance analysis is possible then quadrature can be used instead and to much greater advantage. Thus, good engineering is a prerequis...
Measuring uncertainty without a norm

Traub, Wasilkowski, and Woźniakowski have shown how uncertainty can be defined and analyzed without a norm or metric. Their theory is based on two natural and non-restrictive axioms. We show that these axioms induce a family of pseudometrics, and that balls of radiusɛ are (roughly) theɛ-approximations to the solution. In addition, we show that afamily of pseudometrics is necessary, even for the problem of computingx such that |f(x)| ≤ɛ, wheref is a real function.
Diffusional motion of redox centers in carbonate electrolytes

Ferrocene (Fc) and N-(ferrocenylmethyl)-N,N-dimethyl-N-ethylammonium bistrifluoromethyl-sulfonimide (Fc1N112-TFSI) were dissolved in carbonate solvents and self-diffusion coefficients (D) of solutes and solvents were measured by (1)H and (19)F pulsed field gradient nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. The organic solvents were propylene carbonate (PC), ethyl methyl carbonate (EMC), and a ternary mixture that also includes ethylene carbonate (EC). Results from NMR studies over the temperature range of 0-50 °C and for various concentrations (0.25-1.7 M) of Fc1N112-TFSI are compared to values of D simulated with classical molecular dynamics (MD). The measured self-diffusion coefficients gradually decreased as the Fc1N112-TFSI concentration increased in all solvents. Since TFSI(-) has fluoromethyl groups (CF3), D(TFSI) could be measured separately and the values found are larger than those for D(Fc1N112) in all samples measured. The EC, PC, and EMC have the same D in the neat solvent mixture and when Fc is dissolved in EC/PC/EMC at a concentration of 0.2 M, probably due to the interactions between common carbonyl structures within EC, PC, and EMC. A difference in D (D(PC) < D(EC) < D(EMC)), and both a higher E(a) for translational motion and higher effective viscosity for PC in the mixture containing Fc1N112-TFSI reflect the interaction between PC and Fc1N112(+), which is a relatively stronger interaction than that between Fc1N112(+) and other solvent species. In the EC/PC/EMC solution that is saturated with Fc1N112-TFSI, we find that D(PC) = D(EC) = D(EMC) and Fc1N112(+) and all components of the EC/PC/EMC solution have the same E(a) for translational motion, while the ratio D(EC/PC/EMC)/D(Fc1N112) is approximately 3. These results reflect the lack of available free volume for independent diffusion in the saturated solution. The Fc1N112(+) transference numbers lie around 0.4 and increase slightly as the temperature is increased in the PC and EMC solvents. The trends observed for D from simulations are in good agreement with experimental results and provide molecular level understanding of the solvation structure of Fc1N112-TFSI dissolved in EC/PC/EMC.
Water-accelerated organic transformations

Rather than quenching all reactive intermediates and arresting the reaction, the addition of catalytic or stoichiometric (1–10 equiv.) quantities of H2O to organic and organometallic processes can lead to surprisingly beneficial effects on reaction rate, product yield, and regio-, diastereo- and enantioselectivity. A most intriguing aspect of H2O-promoted transformations is the role that this strong Lewis-base can play in providing a source for more highly Lewis-acidic species. This scenario is most likely operative when H2O is added to reaction mixtures containing alanes, but organozinc reagents or organocuprates also seem to be transformed accordingly. In addition, the oxide or hydroxide ligand on the metal presents a source for chelation interactions that change aggregation states of organometallics and can provide anchimeric assistance. In many cases, water has been found to be an effective hydrolyzing agent leading to secondary products that serve as catalysts or promoters. In some cases, it has been shown that water provides a quenching agent capable of driving chemical equilibria towards the desired products.
Experimental investigation of contamination and adhesion failure of Type II aircraft ground de-icing fluids

A detailed study of the failure modes of Type II aircraft ground deicing fluids exposed to natural precipitation conditions was conducted and focused on determining if the fluid layer, contaminated by precipitation, adheres to the testing surface. The shear force required to clear naturally accumulated precipitation off a surface treated with Type II deicing fluid was measured. Four shear tests were carried out during two different snow events. Video recordings provided close-up views of the contamination process and the shear process, and allowed a rough estimate of the adhesion. The observations indicate the existence of two distinct failure modes. The failure modes appeared to be related to the way the precipitation elements interacted with the fluid layer. A higher precipitation rate was observed to result in an abridged failure mode, where the contamination was separated from the test surface by a fluid layer. A lower precipitation rate led to penetration of the fluid layer by the contamination and generally higher adhesion. The research also indicated that surface contamination normally preceded adhesion. (Author)
Teratological Chloroplast Structures in Euglena gracilis Permanently Bleached by Exogenous Physical and Chemical Agents

SYNOPSIS. Euglena gracilis strain Z rendered permanently apochlorotic by several chemical and physical agents contains bodies similar in size to normal plastids. Some of these bodies contain lamella-like structures; others contain crista-like structures. The lamella- and crista-like structures are made up of 2 electron-dense layers separated by an electron-lucent layer. These structures are compared to normal lamellae and it is suggested that apochlorotic cells contain lamellae that lack the thicker, inner electron-dense layer, or more likely, that the apochlorotic condition prevents two discs from fusing to produce the thicker inner electron-dense layer which contains the photosynthetic pigments.
GLUCOCORTICOID REPLACEMENT, BUT NOT CORTICOTROPIN-RELEASING HORMONE DEFICIENCY, PREVENTS ADRENALECTOMY-INDUCED ANOREXIA IN MICE

There is considerable evidence that CRH can suppress food intake. As hypothalamic CRH, a main site of CRH expression, is also negatively regulated by glucocorticoids, it is unclear whether anorexia and weight loss in adrenal insufficiency are attributable to elevated CRH or to decreased glucocorticoid levels. To distinguish these possibilities, we have measured food intake and body weight in wild-type and CRH-deficient mice after sham adrenalectomy (Sham ADX) or adrenalectomy (ADX) with and without corticosterone (B) replacement. CRH deficiency neither increased basal food intake and body weight nor attenuated decreases in food intake after ADX or Sham ADX. B replacement producing plasma levels above the circadian peak completely blocked ADX-induced decreases in feeding and body weight in all mice and frequently stimulated food intake in CRH-deficient mice. Plasma levels of insulin and leptin, two other hormones involved in appetite regulation, did not differ between genotypes; however, the relationship between food intake and circulating leptin was significantly less negative at B doses that preserved appetite. B replacement levels slightly below circadian peak concentrations did not prevent hypophagia after ADX. We conclude that factors other than or in addition to CRH are more important in mediating appetite responses to adrenalectomy.
Regrowth of the seagrass Thalassia testudinum into propeller scars

Abstract Regrowth of turtle grass, Thalassia testudinum Banks ex Konig, into existing propeller scars and artificial cuts was studied in a mangal estuary located in Tampa Bay, Florida. Sediments from scars and cuts and adjacent grass beds were not significantly different in relation to particle size distribution and levels of calcium carbonate. Significantly lower concentrations of total organic matter and extractable ammonium but not phosphate were detected in scars. Increases in ammonium levels coincided with the expansion of T. testudinum into a propeller scar. Seagrass blade morphology and productivity did not significantly differ in short shoots growing along the edges of scars or cuts relative to those in adjacent seagrass beds. Rhizome architectural studies revealed that apical meristems were few in number (19 to 38% of rhizomes) and randomly orientated in undisturbed grass beds (31 to 53% oriented toward center). In contrast, a greater percentage of apical meristems (78 to 88%) along the edges and in scars or cuts were directed towards the center. Full regrowth required an average of 3.5 to 4.1 years in existing propeller scars and could take up to 7.6 years in artificial cuts. The lack of changes in shoot productivity and limited production of rhizome meristems in T. testudinum result in slow regrowth in propeller cuts. The management implication is that turtle grass meadows will show long-term damage from propeller scars if not protected.
Forecasting one's own preference

Abstract This paper compares two methods of making preference judgments based on multi-attribute inputs: (i) an intuitive global evaluation of each input in its totality, (ii) a separate evaluation of each input attribute weighted intuitively to form a linear composite. When judges in psychological, medical and business settings have been asked to make predictive judgments on the basis of multi-attribute input, method (ii) has proved to be superior — with unerring consistency. People are quite poor at making intuitive global judgments based on psychologically incomparable attributes and much poorer than they believe themselves to be. Nevertheless, for various illusiory reasons (e.g., biased feedback, overestimation of the predictability inherent in the situation), people prefer method (i). A preference judgment can be conceptualized as a predictive judgment of one's future ‘state of mind.’ Thus, the research findings strongly suggest that when making preference judgments method (ii) is superior, but will remain less popular than method (i).
Aging is Associated with Greater Nuclear NFκB, Reduced IκBα and Increased Expression of Proinflammatory Cytokines in Vascular Endothelial Cells of Healthy Humans

The vascular endothelium may develop a pro-inflammatory profile with aging, but evidence is limited in humans. Expression of inflammatory proteins was determined in vascular endothelial cells (EC) obtained from peripheral veins of 24 young (23±1 years, mean±SE) and 36 older (63±1) healthy men and women using quantitative immunofluorescence. The older subjects had lower vascular endothelium-dependent dilation (forearm blood flow responses to acetylcholine, P<0.05), and higher plasma concentrations of C-reactive protein, interleukin-6 (IL-6) and oxidized low-density lipoprotein (all P<0.05), but not tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α). Total (O: 0.52±0.04 vs Y: 0.33±0.05 NFκB /HUVEC intensity P<0.05) and nuclear (O: 0.59±0.04 vs Y: 0.41±0.04) expression of nuclear factor κ B p65 (NFκB), a proinflammatory gene transcription factor, was greater in EC from the older subjects (P<0.05). EC expression of the inhibitor (of nuclear translocation) of NFκB (IκBα) was lower in the older subjects (O: 0.16±0.02 vs Y: 0.24±0.03; P<0.05), whereas IκB kinase was not different. EC expression of the proinflammatory proteins IL-6 (O: 0.42±0.06 vs Y: 0.29±0.03, P<0.05), TNF-α (O: 0.52±0.06 vs Y: 0.33±0.05, P<0.05) and monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) (O: 0.59±0.06 vs Y: 0.38±0.02, P<0.05) was greater in the older subjects, whereas cyclooxygenase 2 and the receptor for advanced glycation endproducts did not differ. These findings indicate that impaired function with aging in healthy adults is associated with the development of a proinflammatory phenotype in the vascular endothelium that could be caused in part by reduced IκB-mediated activation of NFκB.
Auger line shape changes in epitaxial (111)Pd/(111)Cu films

Abstract Epitaxial Pd films ranging in thickness from a few tenths of a monolayer up to many monolayers were formed on (111)Cu substrate films at room temperature under UHV conditions. The growth of these Pd films was monitored in situ by Auger electron spectroscopy. The line profiles of the Cu MMM (61 eV) and Pd MVV (329 eV) AES doublets varied significantly with the amount of Pd deposited. A new measure of the AES doublet line profile, called the R-factor, was defined. A graph Rpd versus Pd film thickness shows a sharp decline with increasing thickness. Superimposed on the major trend is a cyclical variation. A corresponding periodicity in Rcu was observed for the Cu MMM (61 eV) AES doublet. The results suggest that the R-factor provides a direct measure of changes in the electronic structures of the overgrowth and substrate films as the former thickens by a layer-growth mechanism.
Surface Charge Dependent Nanoparticle Disruption and Deposition of Lipid Bilayer Assemblies

Electrostatic interaction plays a leading role in nanoparticle interactions with membrane architectures and can lead to effects such as nanoparticle binding and membrane disruption. In this work, the effects of nanoparticles (NPs) interacting with mixed lipid systems were investigated, indicating an ability to tune both NP binding to membranes and membrane disruption. Lipid membrane assemblies (LBAs) were created using a combination of charged, neutral, and gel-phase lipids. Depending on the lipid composition, nanostructured networks could be observed using in situ atomic force microscopy representing an asymmetrical distribution of lipids that rendered varying effects on NP interaction and membrane disruption that were domain-specific. LBA charge could be localized to fluidic domains that were selectively disrupted when interacting with negatively charged Au nanoparticles or quantum dots. Disruption was observed to be related to the charge density of the membrane, with a maximum amount of disruption occu...
Models for Nonheme Iron Intermediates: Structural Basis for Tuning the Spin States of Fe(TPA) Complexes

Our efforts to model the oxygen activation chemistry of nonheme iron enzymes have yielded transient intermediates with novel properties. These properties can be dramatically affected by the introduction of a 6-methyl substituent on the pendant pyridines of the tetradentate ligand TPA (TPA = tris(2-pyridylmethyl)amine). A series of Fe(TPA) complexes has thus been synthesized and characterized to provide the structural basis for these dramatic effects. The following complexes have been obtained: [Fe(L)(CH3CN)2](ClO4)2 (1, L = TPA; 2, L = 6-MeTPA; 3, L = 6-Me2TPA; 4, L = 6-Me3TPA) and [Fe(L)(acac)](ClO4)2 (5, L = TPA; 6, L = 5-Me3TPA; 7, L = 6-MeTPA). As indicated by 1H NMR and/or EPR, 1, 5, and 6 with no 6-methyl substituent are low spin, while complexes 2, 3, 4, and 7 with at least one 6-methyl substituent are all high spin, with higher redox potentials than their low-spin counterparts. The ligands with 6-methyl substituents thus favor a metal center with a larger ionic radius, i.e., FeII over FeIII and h...
Does the revised International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics staging system for endometrial cancer lead to increased discrimination in patient outcomes

BACKGROUND: Recent changes were made to the International Federation of Gynecology and Obstetrics (FIGO) staging system for endometrial cancer. The objective of this study was to compare survival outcomes for patients who were staged according to the 1988 FIGO staging system versus the 2009 FIGO staging system. METHODS: Data were obtained from the Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results Program for the years 1998 to 2006. Patients who had a diagnosis of adenocarcinoma of the uterus with complete staging information were included. Patients were staged according to the 1988 and 2009 FIGO staging systems, and Kaplan-Meier estimates were derived for cause-specific survival (CSS). Univariate and multivariate analyses using Cox proportional hazards models were used to identify the factors associated with survival. RESULTS: In total, 47,284 patients were included. The median follow-up was 37 months. The 5-year CSS rates for patients who had 2009 FIGO stage IA and IB disease were 96.6% and 89.9%, respectively (P < .0001). After accounting for age, grade, and race, this survival difference remained significant (hazard ratio [HR], 1.97; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.74-2.24; P < .0001). Patients who had 1988 FIGO stage IIA disease had a 5-year CSS rate similar to that of patients who had 1988 FIGO stage IC disease (88.6% vs 89.9%, respectively; P = .09). Patients who had positive pelvic washings had a 5-year CSS rate similar to that of patients who had stage IIIA disease according to the 2009 FIGO system (74.2% vs 72.1%, respectively; P = .37). The 5-year CSS rate for patients who had stage IIIC1 disease was significantly improved compared with that for patients who had stage IIIC2 disease (68.2% vs 57.3%, respectively; P < .0001). In the multivariate model, the survival difference remained (HR, 1.49; 95% CI, 1.26-1.76; P < .0001). CONCLUSIONS: The 2009 staging system for endometrial cancer produced better discrimination in CSS outcomes compared with the 1988 system. Cancer 2011;. © 2011 American Cancer Society.
Photoperiod and androgens act independently to induce spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus neuromuscular plasticity in the Siberian hamster, Phodopus sungorus.

In the Siberian hamster, Phodopus sungorus, short-day photoperiods induce the winter phenotype, which in males includes a decrease in the production of androgens and changes in physiology to inhibit reproduction. Motoneurones of the spinal nucleus of the bulbocavernosus (SNB) and their target muscles, the bulbocavernosus and the levator ani, a neuromuscular system involved in male copulation, also display seasonal plasticity in P. sungorus. It is not known whether the plasticity seen in the SNB system of gonadally intact hamsters is due to the effects of photoperiod per se, or to the photoperiod-induced changes in androgen production. To answer this question, we castrated adult male hamsters from long days and then implanted them with capsules containing either testosterone or blanks. Half of the hamsters from each hormone condition were moved into short photoperiod (8:16 h light/dark cycle) while the rest were maintained under long-day conditions (15:9 h light/dark cycle). After 15 weeks, many measures of the SNB system, such as somata size and weight of target muscles, responded only to androgen, not to photoperiod. However, there were effects of photoperiod on the neuromuscular junctions (NMJs) that were independent of androgen status. For example, the number of synaptic zones per NMJ and the area of the NMJs were significantly increased by short days and/or testosterone treatment. The two factors exerted an additive, rather than an interactive, effect on these measures. Another striated muscle, the extensor digitorum longus, which is present in both sexes and plays no specialized role in reproduction, displayed neither an effect of androgen nor of photoperiod on fibre size or NMJ structure. These results suggest that, in addition to androgenic effects on SNB plasticity, there is also an androgenindependent effect of photoperiod on the SNB neuromuscular system.
Adaptive grid-design methods for finite delement analysis

This paper is concerned with an introduction of a concept of adaptive grid design for finite element analysis by combining numerical grid-generation methods and adaptive finite element methods. Development of a finite model is considered as a design problem similar to structural optimization problems.
Discussion Strategies and Learning Science Principles.

Post-Sputnik science curricula stress the importance of teaching science as scientists might practice it. This has been vividly illustrated in the laboratory-oriented curricula generated in the past ten years. Even more important has been the emphasis on applying learning theories to their construction. The American Association for the Advancement of Science has implemented the ideas of Robert Gagne in order to develop Science—A Process Approach. Jean Piaget's theory of intellectual development has been integrated into the Science Curriculum Improvement Study. It has been the investigator's observation that many teachers who use the newer science curricula fail to utilize to the fullest the methods implicit in a development theory; consequently, the objectives which include the products as well as the processes of science may not be achieved. This paper will report on an investigation of two types of postlaboratory discussion strategies and their effects on sixth grade children's learning of some science principles. The effects these discussion strategies had on the learning of four science processes are reported elsewhere.
Normalized Texture Motifs and Their Application to Statistical Object Modeling

A fundamental challenge in applying texture features to statistical object modeling is recognizing differently oriented spatial patterns. Rows of moored boats in remote sensed images of harbors should be consistently labeled regardless of the orientation of the harbors, or of the boats within the harbors. This is not straightforward to do, however, when using anisotropic texture features to characterize the spatial patterns. We here propose an elegant solution, termed normalized texture motifs, that uses a parametric statistical model to characterize the patterns regardless of their orientation. The models are learned in an unsupervised fashion from arbitrarily orientated training samples. The proposed approach is general enough to be used with a large category of orientation-selective texture features.
Estimation of arbitrary impulsive interference in the complex state space systems

By applying the Bayesian law to the complex state (impulsive interference) and measurement (data) equations of the stochastic system, the a posteriori density of the state is obtained in closed-form for the given data and computed recursively for arbitrary i.i.d. state noise and any discrete-type measurement noise (multi-level complex signal). Using the L/sup 2/-norm performance criterion, the corresponding interference estimator is obtained. As an example, a highly impulsive state process driven by noise with symmetric /spl alpha/-stable distribution (0</spl alpha//spl les/2) is estimated and then removed from the measurement data.
Children As Victims of Homicide: Making Claims, Formulating Categories, and Constructing Social-Problems

The construction of a social problem involves two interrelated processes: making claims about a particular condition and typifying the problematic behavior in terms of related people or conditions. This paper examines the operation of these two processes in relation to homicide where the victims are children (child homicide). Both claims‐making and typification have been unfocused. Popular and academic research as well as organizational attention to child homicide have been minimal. These efforts have also been hampered by difficulties among social control agencies in defining, identifying, and reacting to child homicide. There are three reasons for this: child homicide perpetrators are often parents and guardians, there are varying patterns of homicide associated with the developmental stages of the victims, and, most important, aspects and examples of the issues have been captured by proponents of other social problems.
Effects of Infectious Virus Dose and Bloodmeal Delivery Method on Susceptibility of Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus to Chikungunya Virus

Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) is an arbovirus (genus Alphavirus, family Togaviridae) that has recently caused disease outbreaks in the Indian Ocean basin and southern Europe. These outbreaks could be associated with a possible shift in primary vector from Aedes aegypti to Ae. albopictus. To evaluate vector competence differences in possible CHIKV vectors, we evaluated the dose-dependant susceptibility of Florida strains of Ae. albopictus and Ae. aegypti for infection with a La Reunion island strain of CHIKV. Pledget and water-jacketed membrane feeding systems were also evaluated. We show that both Aedes spp. were susceptible to the highest CHIKV doses, whereas only Ae. albopictus developed disseminated infections after exposure to the two lowest doses. Infection rates for both mosquito species were significantly affected by the bloodmeal delivery method used. This information is important in assessing risk of an outbreak of imported CHIKV in the United States, in determining differences in vectorial capacity of these two vector species, and in evaluating arbovirus delivery methods in the laboratory.
ON THE TRAIL OF LIVING MODIFIED ORGANISMS: Environmentalism within and against Neoliberal Order

Environmental governance regimes concerned with the management of biological life have encouraged not only new forms of expertise, but also political activism and struggle. One such regime, the international Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (Biosafety Protocol), a subagreement of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), seeks to monitor the potential risks of releasing living modified organisms, such as transgenic seeds, into the environment. Drawing on market-oriented visions of environmental conservation and risk management, the Biosafety Protocol is closely tied to the development of new bioeconomies and the ascent of neoliberal principles globally. NGOs and environmentalists have played prominent roles in the Biosafety Protocol by occupying spaces designated for civil society participation, raising the question of how activists both disrupt and sustain the neoliberal logics embedded in new regimes of environmental governance. I explore this question through ethnographic research in Costa Rica among activists, biosafety officials, and private biosafety auditors, where activists have engaged biosafety as part of a campaign against transgenic seeds. Working with limited resources and a genuine concern to manage the risks of agricultural biotechnology, officials draw on strategies that position both the market and civil society as key mechanisms of biosafety monitoring. Despite opposing transgenics and the concept of biosafety, activists participate in the government biosafety commission as civil society representatives and informally monitor local fields. Officials have labeled activists “biovigilantes,” viewing them as parallel to private biosafety auditors who subsidize the lack of state capacity in biosafety. Recent research on civil society and governance suggests that discourses of participation have depoliticizing impacts, encouraging specific forms of self-conduct that reinforce a dominant order of things. Illustrating how activists occupy and negotiate civil society and biosafety expertise, I argue by contrast that their engagement with biosafety is uneven and contradictory, revealing an unsettled struggle, rather than some prevailing governmental logic.
Air agitation and pachuca tanks

An expression for the energy transferred from air bubbling through the contents of a tank is developed as a function of the fluid depth in the tank, the specific gravity of the tank contents, the vapor pressure of the solution, atmospheric pressure, and the volume of air used. The variation of the energy transfer with height from the bottom of the tank is also developed. It is shown that a portion of the energy transferred is used up in small-scale turbulence and eddy effects, and the remainder is available for generation of a circulation pattern in the contents of the tank. The information developed is used to determine the pulp circulation pattern in pachuca tanks of various design. The functions fulfilled by pachuca tanks are discussed, and the considerations affecting a choice of tank described.
A Fourier spectrum-based approach to represent decision trees for mining data streams in mobile environments

We present a novel Fourier analysis-based approach to combine, transmit, and visualize decision trees in a mobile environment. Fourier representation of a decision tree has several interesting properties that are particularly useful for mining data streams from small mobile computing devices connected through limited-bandwidth wireless networks. We present algorithms to compute the Fourier spectrum of a decision tree and outlines a technique to construct a decision tree from its Fourier spectrum. It offers a framework to aggregate decision trees in their Fourier representations. It also describes the MobiMine, a mobile data stream mining system, that uses the developed techniques for mining stock-market data from handheld devices.
Social reinforcement effects on Block Design performance by brain-damaged children of normal intelligence.

Summry.-12 male and 6 female cerebral palsied children of normal general intelligence (IQ range 80 to 127), ranging in age from 64 to 14-5, were equated for IQ and WISC Block Design pretest performance accuracy and speed and served in experimental and control groups (ns = 9). Control Ss repeated the test under standardized conditions while experimental Ss received praise for each correct block placement on retesting. Experimental Ss decreased significantly (p < .05), while control Ss increased slightly, in performance accuracy from pretest to posttest. Control Ss exceeded experimental Ss significantly (p < .05) in posttest but not pretest accuracy. Both groups showed nonsignificant increases in speed on the posttest. A study by Bergan, McManis, and Melchert ( 1971) demonstrated that both accuracy and speed of WISC Block Design performance by children of normal intelligence without brain damage could be affected by social reinforcement. Both boys and girls performed more accurately on a retest under social reinforcement than on a pretest under standard conditions, although the amount of gain did not significantly exceed that shown by control Ss repeating the test under standard conditions. Boys showed significant decreases in time required on successfully completed designs under social reinforcement but not under the control condition, while girls showed nonsignificant time increases under both the social reinforcement and control conditions. A subsequent study by Roth and McManis (1972) examined the effects of social reinforcement on the WAIS Block Design performance of intellectually retarded adults who were either clearly diagnosed as brain damaged or showed no indications of brain damage. This study showed a significant interaction (p < .01) for accuracy among the two tests (pretest vs posttest), the two creaunents (social reinforcement vs control), and the two diagnostic categories (brain-damaged vs nondamaged). This significant interaction resulted from differential changes in accuracy between pretest and posttest in opposite directions by the reinforced Ss of the two diagnostic types. In the nondamaged group, the reinforced Ss showed a significant (p < .05) increase in accuracy means from pretest to posttest while the control Ss did not change significantly between tests. In the brain-damaged group, the reinforced Ss displayed a significant (p < .05) decrease in accuracy means from pretest to posttest while the control Ss did not change significantly between tests. Performance speed showed differential changes from pretest to posttest by the brain-damaged and nondamaged Ss under
The Declining Significance of Race in Federal Civil Rights Law: The Social Structure of Employment Discrimination Claims

We examine changes in the nature and rate of complaints filed with the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) in the past 35 years. The EEOC’s role has shifted over this period from ensuring job access for racial minorities to providing diverse protections for a much broader class of incumbent workers. We first describe trends in discrimination complaints, most notably the shift from racial discrimination to other bases of discrimination, and develop a conceptual model of choice among socially structured alternatives to account for them. We then test the model with a time series analysis of changes in the complaint rate among different worker groups to evaluate the relative importance of legal, political, and socioeconomic determinants of civil rights complaints. Net of changes in the political climate, benefit compensation, inequality, and education levels, we find that legal changes and group-specific unemployment rates are the strongest and most consistent determinants of the rate of race, sex, and total discrimination complaints. Our results suggest that people will bear the costs of filing a complaint when legal options are relatively attractive and when employment options on the external labor market are unattractive. This paper uses civil rights complaints to the federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) as the setting to explore several broader issues in the sociology of law and the sociology of work. We first present some descriptive data showing how civil rights claims have been extended to new groups of claimants. Although antidiscrimination protections such as Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act were initially intended to enhance the employment prospects of African-American males (Blankenship 1993) 1 they are currently invoked by diverse worker groups (Donohue and Siegelman 1991; Rutherglen 1995). Today, as men over 40, disabled workers, and others have successfully raised discrimination claims, more than three-fourths of the US labor force enjoys protected “minority group” status. As Smith (1993, p. 79) notes, African Americans are now a “minority within the protected minority class, which itself represents the majority.” Changes in discrimination complaints reveal what workers expect (and do not expect) from their employers as well as their willingness to mobilize their legal rights. Such changes also reflect, in part, the perceived legitimacy of grievances made by different groups of workers. After outlining trends in civil rights complaints since 1967, we develop a conceptual model to explain the
Perceptions of menthol cigarette use among U.S. adults and adult smokers: findings from the 2009 HealthStyles survey.

Introduction: Perceptions of menthol cigarette use may have implications for smoking initiation and cessation. This study explores harm and health perceptions of menthol cigarette use among a national sample of U.S. adults and current smokers. Methods: We examined data from the 2009 HealthStyles survey (n = 4,556), an annual mail survey of adults ≥18 years of age that collects information on attitudes and behaviors, including smoking. Frequencies and weighted percentages were calculated by sex, race/ethnicity, age, education level, household income, and smoking status. Unadjusted odds ratios (OR) were used to compare perceptions of menthol cigarette use between demographic groups. Results: Close to half of adults (45.8%) believed that menthol cigarettes are just as harmful as nonmenthol cigarettes, and 40.9% of adults did not know whether menthol cigarettes are more or less harmful than nonmenthol cigarettes. Few adults (0.6%), including smokers, perceived menthol cigarettes to be less harmful than non menthol cigarettes. Blacks (OR = 3.22, 95% CI= 1.80-5.76) were more likely to believe that menthol cigarettes have health benefits when compared with Whites. Almost half of current smokers believed menthol cigarettes are equally addictive as nonmenthol cigarettes and 74.9% believed menthol and nonmenthol cigarettes are equally hard to quit. Conclusions: Findings suggest directions for targeted public health messages for menthol cigarette use. Future research is needed among a nationally representative sample to capture more subtle differences in perceptions among menthol and non menthol smokers.