cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Autonomy Within Subservient Careers

While there is much literature on autonomy and the conditions for its attainment, there is less on how those conditions reflect on agents’ ordinary careers. Most people’s careers involve a great deal of subservient activity that would prevent the kind of control over agents’ actions that autonomy would seem to require. Yet, it would seem strange to deny autonomy to every agent who regularly follows orders at work—to do so would make autonomy a futile ideal. Most contemporary autonomy accounts provide purely theoretical analysis without reference to any practical goal that autonomy could serve. These accounts are likely to resolve this issue in one direction: either almost entirely including or excluding subservient workers from autonomy. Either solution would fail to distinguish agents who sufficiently control their lives, in spite of limited subservience, according to their own standards, from agents for whom subservience precludes a fulfilling life. I suggest the solution lies in a return to goal-oriented autonomy accounts, which can use the goal to distinguish when subservience overwhelms autonomy from when subservience and autonomy can coexist. I present an account that anchors autonomy in the happiness that it provides for agents who sufficiently control their lives as determined by their more important prudential standards. On this account, agents in subservient careers can be autonomous if they determine how to make their careers consistent with their happiness.
Computer-Mediated-Communications, Learning Style, and Visualizing Online Educational Conversations.

THIS DESCRIPTIVE PILOT STUDY employed the Grascha-Riechmann Student Learning Style Scale (GRSLSS) to examine student communication and interactions in an online educational discussion that occurred for fourteen days. Discussion activity exhibited conversational turns and messages appeared as conversation rather than expository. Individuals scoring high on the Independent scale of the GRSLSS tended to send and exchange more messages and were more likely to state and justify their agreement with other discussants. Those scoring high on the Avoidant scale were less likely to offer to take actions or to give suggestions about how to proceed during discussions. Student with high Collaborative scores were more likely to engage in scaffolding and to offer to take action on the issue being discussed.
Factors Predicting the Choice of an Online versus a Traditional Course.

Universities sometimes offer students the choice of an online course as an alternative to the traditional classroom. We employed the theory of planned behavior (Azjen, 1991) to examine an individual's intention to enroll in an online experimental psychology class versus a traditional class. General attitudes and subjective norms significantly predicted students' reported enrollment intentions. We discuss suggestions for increasing interest in online courses.
The Effects of Deregulation on State Government Personnel Administration

Using a cross-sectional design, this research examines the effects ofpersonnel deregulation on several measures of state government personnel administration In particular, the article examines personnel deregulation's relationship to the economy (measured by per capita wages) and efficiency (measured by the percentage of state spending devoted to state salaries and wages) of the states' personnel function, and to the states' use of discretion over the personnel function (measured as the percentage of part-time employees in a state's workforce) Findings suggest no direct relationship between personnel deregulation and the economy or efficiency of state personnel administration There does appear to be a significant relationship, however, between personnel deregulation and the utilization of discretion states with higher levels of personnel deregulation have significantly higher percentages of part-time employees Findings also suggest the utility of traditional theories (i e , political, economic, and contex...
Technical Note: The Potential of Municipal Yard Waste to be Denitrification Bioreactor Fill

The use of denitrification bioreactors to mitigate nitrate in agricultural drainage has recently gained much interest in the Midwestern United States and in similarly drained agricultural regions. However, as the number of bioreactor installations has increased, questions have been raised about the supply and consistency of denitrification carbon source material. In selecting such material, there is an important balance between optimal media properties (e.g., hydraulic properties, chemical composition), practicality, and material cost. The use of free material such as municipal yard waste may help minimize the cost of this voluntary water quality improvement strategy in the Midwestern United States, but may not provide other sufficient media properties. To investigate this, pilot-scale bioreactors were used to compare hardwood chips with free, chipped municipal yard waste in terms of nitrate removal potential and changes in the media. Sampling of bioreactor influent and effluent over a range of retention times showed the yard waste had higher removal efficiencies at a given retention time and higher removal rates than the woodchips. However, buried carbon media bags revealed the yard waste lost weight to a greater extent and more consistently than the woodchips meaning the woodchips had a half-life over two times greater than the yard waste. This, combined with the low carbon-to-nitrogen ratio of the yard waste, indicated yard waste material is not ideal for bioreactor installations that are intended to be low maintenance for at least ten years.
Proprioception among Intellectually Typical and Differentially Diagnosed Educable Mentally Retarded Boys

The purpose of this study was to determine differences on selected non-tactile proprioceptive tasks among intellectually typical boys and educable mentally retarded boys who were diagnosed as non-b...
Stomach and colon cancer mortality among Puerto Ricans in New York City and Puerto Rico

Abstract Stomach cancer mortality rates for Puerto Rican migrants to New York City were lower than those for Puerto Ricans in Puerto Rico and higher than for other whites in New York City for the time periods 1958–1962, 1963–1967 and 1968–1971. It is estimated that they were midway between the rates for native-born whites in New York and those for nonmigrant Puerto Ricans. Colon cancer mortality rates for Puerto Rican migrants to New York were about the same as those in Puerto Rico in the 1960 period; in 1965, male rates for migrants rose nearly 90 per cent and remained at that rate in 1970. Female migrant rates rose slightly from 1960 to 1970, while in Puerto Rico rates for colon cancer for both sexes remained about the same. Colon cancer rates for other whites in New York were in all three time periods two to three times higher than those for Puerto Rican migrants. The greater relative change in stomach cancer mortality compared to colon cancer for Puerto Rican migrants is different from the change reported for migrants to the United States from European or Oriental countries. The Puerto Rican data suggest that stomach cancer rather than colon cancer is more responsive to recent environmental exposure. The recency of migration of Puerto Ricans and the small numbers of deaths from these cancers may, however, account for these contradictory findings.
Soil selenium uptake and root system development in plant taxa differing in Se-accumulating capability

Summary • Phytoremediation of Se-contaminated soils and sediments may be more feasible if accumulating taxa are identified that can extract the more refractory forms of Se. • In a glasshouse study, the capacity of six plant genotypes to take up labile and nonlabile soil Se was evaluated by amending five high-Se soils (2–21 mg kg−1 total Se) with carrier-free 75Se, and cropping them with Astragalus bisulcatus, Astragalus canadensis, Brassica juncea, Sporobolus airoides, and two ecotypes of Stanleya pinnata. • The biologically labile pool of soil Se (L-value) was computed from the isotopic signature of the harvested shoots, and ranged from 2 to 37% of the total soil Se. The chemically labile pool (E-value) was determined via extraction in 0.1 m KCl, and ranged from 4 to 73% of total soil Se. None of the plants tested yielded L-values that were consistently greater than the E-values, suggesting that all plants, including Se hyperaccumulators, access the same labile pools of Se. • Root-growth experiments in rhizoboxes using Se-enriched soil were also performed. Although our observations were not as striking as those made for the Zn(Cd)-accumulator Thlaspi caerulescens, the tendency for roots of some Se-accumulators to proliferate in soil where Se is present deserves further investigation.
Improved tools for the Brainbow toolbox

In the transgenic multicolor labeling strategy called ‘Brainbow’, Cre-loxP recombination is used to create a stochastic choice of expression among fluorescent proteins, resulting in the indelible marking of mouse neurons with multiple distinct colors. This method has been adapted to non-neuronal cells in mice and to neurons in fish and flies, but its full potential has yet to be realized in the mouse brain. Here we present several lines of mice that overcome limitations of the initial lines, and we report an adaptation of the method for use in adeno-associated viral vectors. We also provide technical advice about how best to image Brainbow-expressing tissue.
The Organizational Impact of Profit Sharing

Few studies have evaluated the organizational impact of profit sharing. What research has been done suggests that profit sharers experience greater financial success, higher levels of productivity, and more positive employee attitudes. However, several methodological weaknesses of the studies seriously limit understanding of the full benefits and limitations of profit sharing. A model of profit sharing is presented to foster improved research.
Neurotransmitter receptor plasticity in aging

Neurotransmitter receptor plasticity is an important part of the compensatory processes by which the central nervous system adapts to pathological insult, long-term exposure to drugs or neuronal loss with advanced age. Receptor plasticity can be manifest as changes in the number of receptors (i.e., up- or down-regulation), changes in expression of mRNA for discrete receptor proteins, or alterations in receptor coupling to signal transduction systems. Evidence exists for impaired plasticity of neurons in the aged brain, which results in decreased ability to adjust to changes in their environment. However, such data are highly dependent on the neurotransmitter examined, the stimulus for receptor regulation and the animal model chosen for study. For example, senescent rats show an age-related impairment of muscarinic receptor up- or down-regulation after long-term exposure to cholinergic drugs. Thus, young rats exposed to chronic (three weeks) intracerebroventricular infusions of methylatropine or oxotremorine exhibit compensatory changes in the density of muscarinic receptors in frontal cortex and hypothalamus. In contrast, 3H-QNB binding is unaltered in the same brain regions of identically treated senescent rats. Similar observations of impaired muscarinic receptor plasticity in senescent animals have been confirmed by other investigators. Age-related differences in coupling of brain muscarinic receptors to G-proteins and in muscarinic receptor-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis have also been reported. Interestingly, neuropeptides such as neurotensin, cholecystokinin and VIP can potentiate carbachol-stimulated phosphoinositide hydrolysis in frontal cortex of both young and aged rats. This adds another level at which cholinergic neurotransmission may be modulated in senescent animals. Potential age-related differences in the effects of chronic drug treatments or experimental brain lesions on muscarinic receptor coupling to second messenger systems or on expression of mRNA for particular muscarinic receptors are currently unknown. Hence, it is possible that senescent animals may show additional deficiencies in plasticity of muscarinic receptor mediated signal transduction or expression of muscarinic receptors subtypes.
Heat transfer effects in nano-aluminum combustion at high temperatures

Abstract Recent measurements of nano-aluminum combustion in which burning time and peak particle temperature are measured simultaneously have suggested that heat transfer models currently used for burning nanoparticles may significantly overestimate heat losses during combustion. By applying conventional non-continuum heat transfer correlations to burning nano-aluminum particles, the observed peak temperatures, which greatly exceed the ambient temperature, should only be observable if the burning time were very short, of the order of 1 μs, whereas the observed burning time is two orders of magnitude larger. These observations can be reconciled if the energy accommodation coefficient for these conditions is of the order of 0.005, which is the value suggested by Altman, instead of approximately unity, which is the common assumption. Experimental data obtained in the heterogeneous shock tube under a wide array of conditions are compared with basic heat transfer models, and the agreement of both peak temperature values and emission intensity traces for low energy accommodation coefficients supports the hypothesis of Altman and co-workers.
SPILL RESPONSE MANAGEMENT AND THE MORRIS J. BERMAN SPILL: THE FOSC'S PERSPECTIVE1

ABSTRACT The grounding of the tank barge Morris J. Berman triggered a massive response effort. Fifteen U.S. Government and Commonwealth of Puerto Rico agencies and more than 30 contractors joined forces to clean up the spill. An ICS-style unified command system was successfully, if not perfectly, implemented in this incident. The response organization evolved as the operational situation changed, and the flexibility of the ICS approach was crucial to this ability to adapt. The decision-making process used in this response also ensured that timely and correct decisions were reached with the views of all involved entities, government and nongovernment, fully considered. However, the lack of coordinated planning and dialogue among various sectors of the response community before the incident continues to hamper the collective ability of responders to come together quickly and effectively in emergency situations. It is time for the response community to develop a consensus standard that provides at least the ...
Derivatives of the Evans function and (modified) Fredholm determinants for first order systems

odinger operators. 2000 Mathematics Subject Classification Primary 35J10, 45P05; Secondary 35P05, 47B10. The Evans function is a Wronskian type determinant used to detect point spectrum of differential operators obtained by linearizing PDEs about special solutions such as traveling waves, etc. This work is a sequel to the paper “Derivatives of (modified) Fredholm determinants and stability of standing and traveling waves”, published by F. Gesztesy, K. Zumbrun and the second author in J. Math. Pures Appl. 90, 160‐200 (2008), where the Evans and Jost functions for the Schr¨ odinger equations have been considered. In the current work, we study the Evans function for the general case of linear ODE systems, and choose it to agree with the modified Fredholm determinant of the respective Birman-Schwinger type integral operator. The Evans function is thus the determinant of the matrix composed of the so-called generalized Jost solutions. These are the solutions of the homogeneous perturbed differential equation which are asymptotic to some reference solutions of the unperturbed equation. One of the main results of the current paper is a formula for the derivative of the Evans function for the first order systems. Its proof uses a matrix composed of the newly introduced modified Jost solutions. These are the solutions of an inhomogeneous perturbed differential equation with the inhomogeneous term constructed by means of the above-mentioned generalized Jost solutions. Copyright line will be provided by the publisher
Newborn Primary Care Visit Patterns Identify Mothers with Postpartum Depressive Symptoms |[bull]| 535

Background. We previously reported results of a prospective cohort study showing that women whose infants have emergency department visits or frequent problem-oriented primary care visits (PPCV) in the first 3 weeks of life are significantly more likely to exhibit depressive symptoms at 8 weeks postpartum. Objective. To validate our previous findings using a nationally representative sample, specifically testing whether women whose neonates have frequent PPCV have increased risk of postpartum depressive symptoms. Methods. Design. Secondary analysis of the 1988 National Maternal and Infant Health Survey (NMIHS), an interview survey of a nationally representative sample of women who had live births in 1988, conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics. Subjects. NMIHS women who had full term, live singleton births. Measures. Independent measure was >1 PPCV. Depressive symptoms were assessed by the Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression scale (CES-D). The dependent variable was CES-D≥16 (women with incomplete responses to the CES-D were excluded). Covariates were maternal age, race, Hispanic ethnicity, parity, educational level, income, and payor status. Analysis. Weighted percentages were calculated for univariate analyses. Multivariate analyses were adjusted for design effects using SUDAAN. Results. There were 6779 women in the sample. 7.1% of babies had >1 PPCV and 13.2% had >1 well child visit (WCV) in the first month postpartum. 23.1% of mothers had depressive symptoms. Before and after adjustment for covariates, women whose infants had>1 PPCV within the first month of life were more likely to be depressed(Adj OR 2.04, 95%CI 1.45-2.94, p 1 WCV within the first month were no more likely have depressive symptoms (Adj OR 1.11, 95%CI 0.83-1.49, p=0.47). Conclusion. Women whose infants have frequent PPCV, but not WCV, are more likely to exhibit depressive sympoms. Whether depression is the basis or the result of these infant outpatient visit patterns, the risk groups identified need close monitoring. Referral of mothers by pediatric health providers recognizing these patterns may facilitate early diagnosis and treatment of postpartum depression, thereby improving oucomes for women and their families.
Adolescent suicide prevention: Gender differences in students' perceptions of the acceptability and intrusiveness of school-based screening programs

Abstract Suicidal behavior is a significant problem among adolescents in the United States. Three types of school-based suicide prevention programs have been proposed to address this problem including curriculum programs, staff in-service training, and school-wide screening. The relative acceptability of these three programs among older adolescents was examined. The sample included 662 freshmen (496 females, 161 males) enrolled in a large private university. Respondents rated the degree to which they considered adolescent suicide to be a significant problem, and the acceptability, intrusiveness, and time demands of the three suicide prevention programs. A majority (85.9%) of the sample agreed that adolescent suicide was a significant problem. Significant gender differences were observed in relation to the acceptability ratings of the school-based suicide programs. Female participants rated the curriculum-based program and staff in-service training as more acceptable than male participants. In addition, female participants rated the curriculum-based program as significantly less intrusive and less time demanding than male participants. Implications of these findings for implementation of suicide prevention programs and for future research are discussed.
Design of a hybrid prefix adder for nonuniform input arrival times

This paper examines the design of a hybrid prefix adder under the condition of non-uniform input signal arrival. This is encountered in the final adder for fast parallel multipliers, which use column compression reduction. The prefix graph scheme efficiently accommodates the non-uniform arrival times. Rules are presented for designing hybrid prefix adders under such conditions. This rule produces adders which are faster and less complex than previous work.
Nationalism, the Black Legend, and the Revised Spanish Tragedy

AbstractThe repeated revival, adaptation, and publication of Thomas Kyd's Spanish Tragedy mirrors the Spanish fashion characteristic of the English Renaissance, even as the play's multiple versions embody the Anglo‐Hispanic anxieties observable in the theaters as elsewhere in the early modern (or “precursor”) public sphere. The texts that collectively comprise The Spanish Tragedy respond to England's ongoing Spanish troubles by changing the terms of Kyd's argument. Whereas Kyd's “original,” in print by 1592, declines to participate in the outpouring of Hispanophobic sentiment characteristic of the moment in order to discover the “ethos of empire,” later redactions—including the 1602 edition, which features the famous “painter scene” sometimes ascribed to Ben Jonson, and the First Part of Hieronimo, printed in 1605 but probably related to the “Spanish Comedy” mentioned by Philip Henslowe in the early 1590s—shift the focus of the play, emphasizing Spain's ethnic difference. Incorporating the essentializing ...
Development of a thin section device for space exploration: Overview and system performance estimates

Abstract In this paper we present a conceptual design of a spaceborne instrument for the in situ production of rock thin sections on planetary surfaces. The in situ Automated Rock Thin Section Instrument (IS-ARTS) conceptual design demonstrates that the in situ production of thin sections on a planetary body is a plausible new instrument capability for future planetary exploration. Thin section analysis would reduce much ambiguity in the geological history of a sampled site that is present with instruments currently flown. The technical challenge of producing a thin section device compatible with the spacecraft environment is formidable and has been thought too technically difficult to be practical. Terrestrial thin section preparation requires a skilled petrographist, several preparation instruments that individually exceed typical spacecraft mass and power limits, and consumable materials that are not easily compatible with spaceflight. In two companion papers we present research and development work used to constrain the capabilities of IS-ARTS in the technical space compatible with the spacecraft environment. For the design configuration shown we conclude that a device can be constructed that is capable of 50 sample preparations over a 2 year lifespan with mass, power, and volume constraints compatible with current landed Mars mission configurations. The technical requirements of IS-ARTS (mass, power and number of samples produced) depend strongly on the sample mechanical properties, sample processing rate, the sample size and number of samples to be produced.
Christian and Jewish perceptions of 1096: A case study of trier

Divergent perceptions and evaluations of events, personalities, and movements are a commonplace of human existence. Such divergence is enlivening, provocative, irritating, and sometimes infuriating to those caught up in the moment; for the historian, such divergence is intriguing, stimulating, and almost always enlightening. For medievalists, there are not all that many opportunities to see the selfsame event, personality, or movement from diverse perspectives. Such opportunities are therefore to be prized.1 The First Crusade constituted a remarkable innovation for both aggressors and victims. As such, it attracted and continues to attract considerable interest. The dominant medieval reaction to the First Crusade was western-Christian admiration for the warriors who set forth in 1095 on an armed pilgrimage to Jerusalem and achieved in 1099 a stunning military victory, seen as above all a triumph of the spirit.2 Not surprisingly, the striking western-Christian achievement had its victims, and Jews, eastern Christians, and Muslims looked upon the venture from a radically different perspective.3 Occasionally, we possess alternative versions of the selfsame crusading event, and these provide valuable opportunities to probe divergence of perspective among the various groupings that made up the fabric of medieval society.4 Opportunities for such probing with respect to the sanguinary attacks on western-European Jewish communities in the year 1096 are rare. Although considerable Jewish reportage of these assaults and the unusual Jewish responses they elicited has come down to us, this violence attracted little attention among the Christian majority.5 The three eyewitness accounts of the First Crusade the anonymous Gesta Francorum, Fulcher of Chartres' Historia Hierosolymitana, and Raymond of Aguilers' Historia Francorum contain no information whatsoever on the 1096 attacks, simply because the Christian forces with which
Sleep Problems Across Development: A Pathway to Adolescent Risk Taking Through Working Memory

Problematic sleep can be detrimental to the development of important cognitive functions, such as working memory, and may have the potential for negative behavioral consequences, such as risk-taking. In this way, sleep problems may be particularly harmful for youth-whose cognitive abilities are still developing and who are more susceptible to risky behavior. Using data from a large, national, longitudinal study, continuity and change in sleep problems were examined from 2 to 15 years of age and associated with deficits in working memory at age 15 and risk taking behaviors at age 18. Participants (N = 1,364 children; 48.3% female) were assessed for sleep problems (parent-report), working memory (behavioral task), and risk taking behavior (youth self-report). The sample was predominantly White (80.4%); additional races represented in the sample included Black/African American (12.9%), Asian/Pacific Islander (1.6%), American Indian/Eskimo/Aleut (.4%), and Other (4.7%). The findings suggest that sleep problems are likely to cascade across development, with sleep problems demonstrating continuity from infancy to early childhood, early childhood to middle childhood, and middle childhood to adolescence. Although sleep problems in infancy, early childhood, and middle childhood were not directly related to adolescent working memory, sleep problems during adolescence were associated with poorer adolescent working memory. In turn, these deficits in working memory were related to greater risk taking in late adolescence. In summary, the present results suggest that sleep problems in earlier periods are indicative of risk for sleep problems later in development, but that sleep problems in adolescence contribute uniquely to deficits in working memory that, in turn, lead to risky behavior during late adolescence.
A new analysis for solar cell efficiency: Rigorous electromagnetic approach

Current methods for the evaluation of solar cell efficiency cannot be applied to extremely thin cells where phenomena from the realm of near-field optics prevail. We use the fluctuation dissipation theorem to calculate the rate of power removal from a semiconductor/metal system. This establishes for the first time, to our knowledge, a rigorous electromagnetic basis for solar cell efficiency analysis. We demonstrate our approach by calculating the efficiency of a Si solar cell with an Au back reflector.
Olfactory dysfunction: a sequela of pediatric blunt head trauma.

Summary Objective To evaluate olfactory function in children with blunt head trauma. Methods Eligible subjects were consecutive children presenting at San Diego Children's Hospital Emergency Department or Trauma Service with blunt head trauma. Thirty-seven head injured children mean age 10.11 ± 2.74 were evaluated; 36 healthy age and gender matched community children, mean age 10.08 ± 2.99, served as controls. The medical record was reviewed for clinical measures related to head injury (HI). All children underwent olfactory assessment with the San Diego Children's Odor Identification Test (SDOIT). Olfactory event-related potentials were recorded on a subset of head injured and control children. Results Three of 37 head injured children had olfactory dysfunction. The head injured hyposmics had signs of more severe head injury represented by lower Glasgow Coma Scores (GCS), 10.33 ± 5.51, when compared to their normosmic counterparts with mean GCS of 14.06 ± 2.82. When stratifying the head injured children by clinical measures, lower Glasgow Coma Score, and abnormalities on head CT scan were associated with poorer olfactory performance. Conclusion Children with blunt head injury may suffer post-traumatic olfactory impairment. More severe head injuries are more likely to produce olfactory deficits. In cases of significant head injury, cranial nerve I evaluation is imperative.
Isolation of mammalian cell mutants that are X-ray sensitive, impaired in DNA double-strand break repair and defective for V(D)J recombination

The Chinese hamster lung V79-4 cell line was infected with a Moloney murine leukemia retrovirus and the infected cells were subsequently screened for mutants that were sensitive to X-rays using a toothpicking/96-well replica plating technique. Four independent mutants that were sensitive to X-irradiation (sxi-1 to sxi-4) were isolated from 9000 retrovirally infected colonies. A pulse-field gel electrophoresis (PFGE) assay demonstrated that all of the sxi mutants were impaired in DNA double-strand break (DSB) repair, thus providing a molecular explanation for the observed X-ray sensitivity. Interestingly, additional PFGE experiments demonstrated that for any given X-ray dose all of the mutants incurred more DNA DSBs than the parental V79-4 cell line indicating there may be some inherent fragility to sxi chromosomes. Cross-sensitivity to other DNA-damaging agents including bleomycin, mitomycin C and methyl methanesulfonate indicated that sxi-2, sxi-3 and sxi-4 appear to be specifically hypersensitive to genotoxic agents that cause DNA DSBs, whereas sxi-1 appeared to be hypersensitive to multiple types of DNA lesions. Lastly, in preliminary experiments all of the sxi mutants demonstrated an inability to carry out V(D)J recombination, a somatic DNA rearrangement process required for the assembly of lymphoid antigen receptor genes. Thus, the sxi cell lines have interesting phenotypes which should make them valuable tools for unraveling the mechanism(s) of DNA DSB repair and recombination in mammalian cells.
Bacterial Communities in the Rhizosphere of Biofuel Crops Grown on Marginal Lands as Evaluated by 16S rRNA Gene Pyrosequences

Microbes are key components of the soil environment and are important contributors to the sustainability of agricultural systems, which is especially significant for biofuel crops growing on marginal lands. We studied bacterial communities in the rhizosphere of five biofuel crops cultivated in four locations in Michigan to determine which factors were correlated to changes in the structure of those communities. Three of these sites were marginal lands in that two were not suitable for conventional agriculture and one was regulated as a brownfield due to prior industrial pollution. Bacterial community composition and structure were assessed by 454 sequencing of the 16S rRNA gene. A total of 387,111 sequences were used for multivariate statistical analysis and to test for correlation between community structure and environmental variables such as plant species, soil attributes, and location. The most abundant bacterial phyla found in the rhizosphere of all crops were Acidobacteria, Proteobacteria, Actinobacteria, and Verrucomicrobia. Bacterial communities grouped by location rather than by crop and their structures were correlated to soil attributes, principally pH, organic matter, and nutrients. The effect of plant species was low but significant, and interactions between locations, plant species, and soil attributes account for most of the explained variation in the structure of bacterial communities, showing a complex relationship between bacterial populations and their environment. Bacterial diversity was higher in the agricultural sites compared to adjacent forest sites, indicating that the cultivation of those biofuel crops increased the rRNA diversity.
The accuracy of elevated concentrations of endotoxin in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid for the rapid diagnosis of gram-negative pneumonia.

The purpose of this study was to determine the accuracy of elevated concentrations of endotoxin in bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid for the diagnosis of gram-negative pneumonia. Sixty-three hospitalized adults underwent 71 evaluations with BAL using quantitative cultures for suspected lung infection. A cutoff value of > 5 EU/ml for the concentration of endotoxin in BAL fluid yielded the best operating characteristics for the diagnosis of gram-negative pneumonia (sensitivity, 100%; specificity, 75.0%; area under receiver operating characteristic [ROC] curve, 0.88). Good diagnostic agreement was found between elevated concentrations of endotoxin in BAL fluid and microbiologically confirmed gram-negative pneumonia (kappa statistic, 0.64; concordance 83.1%). Gram stain examination of BAL fluid for the presence of gram-negative bacteria yielded inferior operating characteristics (sensitivity, 63.2%; specificity, 75.0%; area under ROC curve, 0.69). Poor diagnostic agreement was observed between BAL fluid Gram...
The state of water in biological systems as studied by proton and deuterium relaxation

Abstract Careful experiments on the measurement of the intensity of the deuterium NMR signal for 2 H 2 O in muscle and in its distillate were performed, and they showed that all 2 H 2 O in muscles is “NMR visible.” The spin-lattice relaxation time ( T 1 ) of the water protons in the muscle and liver of mice and in egg white has been studied at six frequencies ranging from 4.5 to 6.0 MHz over the temperature range of +37 to −70°C. T 1 values of deuterons in 2 H 2 O of gastrocnemius muscle and liver of mice have been measured at three frequencies (4.5, 9.21 and 15.35 MHz) over the temperature range of +37 to −20°C. Calculations on T 1 for both proton and deuteron have been made and compared with the experimental data. It is suggested that the reduction of the T 1 values compared to pure water and the frequency dependence of T 1 are due to water molecules in the hydration layer of the macromolecules, and that the bulk of water molecules in the biological tissues and egg white undergoes relaxation like ordinary liquid water.
Velocity-fluctuation noise in semiconductor layers and in MESFET channels under hot-electron conditions

The power spectral density of velocity-fluctuation noise in a semiconductor layer, or in the channel of a MESFET device, in the presence of a biasing electric field creating hot-eletron conditions, is calculated from the nonlinear dc current-voltage characteristic of the semiconductor existing under those conditions, by the use of Gupta's nonlinear thermal noise theorem. The calculated results are shown to agree with measured noise temperatures for a variety of devices, at microwave frequencies and at moderately high electric fields. An empirical result relating the excess noise temperature in GaAs to the electric field is proposed.
Differential Expression of Tissue Factor Protein in Directional Atherectomy Specimens From Patients With Stable and Unstable Coronary Syndromes

Background Tissue factor (TF) is a cell membrane–associated protein that catalyzes the rate-limiting step of the extrinsic coagulation pathway, which is the major source of thrombin production in vivo. To explore the potential role that TF may play in ischemic coronary syndromes, directional coronary atherectomy specimens were tested for the presence of TF protein using immunohistochemical techniques. Methods and Results Frozen sections from atherectomy specimens in 61 patients were examined for TF expression using an IgG murine monoclonal antibody against human TF. Patients were classified according to their admission diagnosis as having either an unstable or a stable coronary syndrome. An unstable coronary syndrome was defined as either angina pectoris occurring at rest or post–myocardial infarction (<1 week) angina. Stable coronary syndromes included patients with stable, progressive, and new-onset (<6 weeks) angina without rest pain. TF was detected in 15 (43%) of 35 patients with unstable coronary syndromes versus only 3 (12%) of 26 patients with stable coronary syndromes (odds ratio, 5.7; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 24.3; P =.018). Within the subgroup of patients with unstable coronary syndromes, TF was detected in 14 (60%) of 25 patients with de novo lesions versus only 1 (10%) of 10 patients with a restenosis lesion ( P <.02). An additional 8 patients with stable coronary syndromes due to a restenosis lesion were also negative for TF. Therefore, the overall incidence of TF expression was only 6% (1 of 18) in restenosis lesions compared with 33% (14 of 43) in de novo lesions ( P <.03). Conclusions This study provides the first description of TF protein expression in human coronary artery lesions in vivo. Tissue factor was readily detected in de novo lesions in patients with unstable coronary syndromes, suggesting a role for TF in the pathogenesis of this disease process. Conversely, TF was rarely detected in patients with restenosis lesions even if the resulting clinical presentation was an unstable coronary syndrome. These results may have implications for the management of patients with unstable angina from de novo lesions and patients with ischemic symptoms from a restenosis lesion.
Fire ant myrmecophiles: feeding relationships ofMartinezia dutertrei andEuparia castanea (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) with their host ants,Solenopsis spp. (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Feeding relationships of adultEuparia castanea Serville andMartinezia dutertrei Chalumeau with their ant hosts were studied in the laboratory using the radioactive tracer32P.Euparia castanea was tested withSolenopsis geminata (F.),Martinezia dutertrei Chalumeau was tested withS. invicta Buren,S. richteri Forel, andS. geminata. Unlabeled beetles were exposed to various radioisotope labeled conditions for 24 hr and then checked for acquired radioactivity. In whole colony tests, both species of beetles acquired radioactivity.M. dutertrei obtained food from live ants, butE. castanea did not. Both species of beetles ate ant larvae.E. castanea also obtained food from ant larvae by strigilation. Neither species of beetle fed on ant feces or other secretions on the substrate. Both species of beetles obtained food by strigilation from fresh and decomposed worker ant cadavers.M. dutertrei also ate both kinds of ant cadavers. Both species of beetles also ate dead house flies, indicative of scavenging or feeding on ant booty.Martinezia dutertrei showed no preference for any particular ant species. Ants did not obtain food by trophallaxis or glandular secretion from either species of beetle.
Comparison of a particle filter and other state estimation methods for prognostics of lithium-ion batteries

Abstract A particle filter (PF) is shown to be more accurate than non-linear least squares (NLLS) and an unscented Kalman filter (UKF) for predicting the remaining useful life (RUL) and time until end of discharge voltage (EODV) of a Lithium-ion battery. The three algorithms, i.e. PF, UKF, and NLLS track four states with correct initial estimates of the states and 5% variation on the initial state estimates. The four states are data-driven, equivalent circuit properties or Lithium concentrations and electroactive surface areas depending on the model. The more accurate prediction performance of PF over NLLS and UKF is reported for three Lithium-ion battery models: a data-driven empirical model, an equivalent circuit model, and a physics-based single particle model.
Sleep-disordered breathing in healthy and spousally bereaved elderly: a one-year follow-up study.

Abstract This study examined the progression of sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) over 1 year in two samples of elderly subjects: 45 healthy controls (20 men; 25 women mean age 74.8 years) and 27 recently spousally bereaved elders (9 men; 18 women, mean age 69.7 years). Although controls and bereaved subjects did not differ in the proportions with SDB, both groups showed a rise in the proportion of subjects with apnea hypopnea index ≥ 5 and ≥ 10 at 1-year follow-up and a small but statistically significant worsening in average maximum desaturation. The severity of SDB did not correlate with medical burden or with other clinical variables, such as severity of depressive symptoms. In summary, SDB increased longitudinally in both samples. This finding may have health implications for the aging population although at this time the implications are unclear.
A review of alkali-silica reaction and expansion mechanisms 1. Alkalies in cements and in concrete pore solutions

Abstract Current concern with alkali silica reactions is due to rising alkali contents of cements, changed concrete technology, and necessity of employing marginal aggregates in many areas, as well as to new reports of field damage coming to light. A brief overall view of the physicochemical basis for alkali-silica reactions is given. The reaction is primarily one of hydroxide ions rather than of alkali cations; nevertheless the latter are of critical importance. Alkalies in cement are found primarily as alkali sulfates or as solid solution substituents in calcium aluminate or in belite. The rates at which these reach the pore solution phase are discussed, and data indicating that concentrations as high as 0.7 molar may be attained in a month or so and maintained indefinitely are discussed. The relationship between alkali cation concentration and hydroxide ion concentrations are explored, and after a few days of hydration published data indicate that the two are substantially equivalent. Thus reacting pore solutions may have hydroxyl ion concentrations of the order of 0.7 molar, more than 15 times that of pure saturated calcium hydroxide solutions.
Adjunctive and long-acting nanoformulated antiretroviral therapies for HIV-associated neurocognitive disorders

Purpose of reviewWe are pleased to review current and future strategies being developed to modulate neuroinflammation while reducing residual viral burden in the central nervous system. This has been realized by targeted long-acting antiretroviral nano and adjunctive therapies being developed for HI
Oscillations of nonlinear functional differential equations generated by retarded actions I

For nonlinear functional differential equations of the typey″−f(t, y(t), y(g(t)))=0, the sufficient conditions are given onf andg under which every bounded solution of (*) is oscillatory. This oscillatory behavior is generated by delay and vanishes when delay vanishes. Furthermore, solutions of such equations are also classified with respect to their behavior ast→∞ and to their oscillatory nature. Our work includes the earlier works as special cases.
Analysis of a Nd: YAG laser crystal by X-ray fluorescence, scanning electron microscopy and neutron activation analysis

X-ray fluorescence, using the fundamental parameters method for matrix correction, is used routinely for quantitative analysis in our group. The accuracy of this method has been demonstrated with a Nd:YAG (Nd:Y3Al5O12) laser crystal. The neodymium concentration was determined relatively to the yttrium concentration by X-ray fluorescence using241Am for excitation. The yttrium-aluminum ratio was confirmed by scanning electron microscopy (SEM-EDX). Although there was a 10% discrepancy for yttrium due to the uncertainty in the neutron capture cross-section, the fluorescence results for aluminum and neodymium were in very good agreement with neutron activation analysis (NAA) results. Based on this agreement, the Nd:YAG sample will be used in future NAA calibration measurements.
Surface-Tethered pH-Responsive Hydrogel Thin Films as Size-Selective Layers on Nanoporous Asymmetric Membranes

The fabrication of prototype composite membranes consisting of permeable, size-selective hydrogel thin films on porous alumina membrane supports is described. Smooth hydrogel films with sub-100 nm thicknesses lacking micrometer-sized pinholes were readily synthesized using initiated chemical vapor deposition (iCVD). iCVD was a convenient technique for membrane applications as it enabled control over the coating conformality by modulating surface concentrations of the polymer precursors and film thickness through in situ monitoring of the deposition process. Scanning electron microscopy confirmed that the deposited film bridged the pore openings of the alumina supports, and little pore infiltration occurred. Membrane permeability was controlled through variation of the thickness and composition of the iCVD poly[maleic anhydride-co-dimethylacrylamide-co-di(ethylene glycol) di(vinyl ether)] (PMaDD) film. The combination of swelling and stability was achieved for a film composition of 76% N,N-dimethyl acrylam...
Effect of Temperature on Henry's Constant in Simple Mixtures

Abstract The molecular theory of dense fluids is progressing rapidly and its extension to mixtures is well underway. The purpose of this note is to call attention to a possibly serious difficulty in comparing experimental Henry's constants with those calculated from theory. The difficulty arises because whereas theorists choose temperature and density as independent variables, experimental equilibrium measurements on mixtures are often made along the saturation line where (at fixed composition) temperature and density are not both independent variables. Unless Henry's constants are defined with care, the effect of temperature on Henry's constants calculated from molecular theory may be qualitatively different from that observed.
L 2 -gain optimization for robust bipedal walking on unknown terrain

In this paper we seek to quantify and explicitly optimize the robustness of a control system for a robot walking on terrain with uncertain geometry. Geometric perturbations to the terrain enter the equations of motion through a relocation of the hybrid event “guards” which trigger an impact event; these perturbations can have a large effect on the stability of the robot and do not fit into the traditional robust control analysis and design methodologies without additional machinery. We attempt to provide that machinery here. In particular, we quantify the robustness of the system to terrain perturbations by defining an L2 gain from terrain perturbations to deviations from the nominal limit cycle. We show that the solution to a periodic dissipation inequality provides a sufficient upper bound on this gain for a linear approximation of the dynamics around the limit cycle, and we formulate a semidefinite programming problem to compute the L2 gain for the system with a fixed linear controller. We then use either binary search or an iterative optimization method to construct a linear robust controller and to minimize the L2 gain. The simulation results on canonical robots suggest that the L2 gain is closely correlated to the actual number of steps traversed on the rough terrain, and our controller can improve the robot's robustness to terrain disturbances.