cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Persistence of several volatile aromatic and halogenated hydrocarbons in a low organic carbon calcareous soil

Abstract Incubation of soil samples with volatile organic solvents at part-per-thousand (PPT) concentrations leads to the formation of a residual firmly bound fraction that resists evaporation. The concentration of this firmly bound fraction increases with temperature and solvent concentration. Formation of the firmly bound fraction is not greatly effected by the water concentration in the soil. The dynamic head space concentration method (purge and trap) is inadequate for recovery of this firmly bound material.
An analysis of tree mortality in southern California using high spatial resolution remotely sensed spectral radiances: a climatic change scenario

Abstract The value of remotely sensed data for ecological monitoring and modeling studies that address landscape changes due to climatic change is widely recognized. However, these data can be collected at a variety of spatial resolutions which was significant implications in terms of the information that can be derived from the data. Most readily available remotely sensed data tend to have ground resolutions substantially greater than the size of individual plants so pixels may contain a mixture of vegetation types, background cover, illumination intensity and shadow. These mixtures make it difficult to evaluate fine-scale vegetation dynamics. This paper examines the potential utility of high spatial resolution remotely sensed data for assessing vegetation condition within a climatic change context. The drought in southern California that started in 1987 and the associated increase in tree mortality due to bark beetle infestations, provided the climatic change scenario for the study. A possible consequence of anthropogenically induced climatic change is the occurrence of more intense and prolonged droughts in some regions leading to greater mortality rates for susceptible vegetation species. Studies of present-day patterns and processes of vegetation mortality associated with droughts may help to identify future consequences of hypothesized climatic changes. High spatial resolution (0.5 m) reflected spectral radiances were collected over the Cuyamaca State Park in southern California and related to levels of bark beetle infestations that increased during the drought years. The results from this demonstration project indicated that high spatial resolution remotely sensed data allow investigators to isolate individual plants from the scene background and are likely to provide valuable information for assessing vegetation condition. The characteristics of the reflected spectral radiances and their geostatistical properties may be potential indicators of differences in vegetation condition. These data are also likely to be valuable for determining biophysical quantities required in models of ecosystem function and for monitoring key species that may be particularly sensitive to climatic change (indicator species).
MyLibrary: the library's response to the campus portal

Purpose – In August 2004, the Library Collections and Systems team at Lehigh University released MyLibrary @ Lehigh within the campus portal to the university community. The purpose of this article is to explain how what began as an integration strategy of the library's electronic resources into one complete stand‐alone application became the library's response to the fast‐growing campus portal.Design/methodology/approach – Explains how MyLibrary@Lehigh was developed and implemented.Findings – It became evident during its development and integration stages that MyLibrary@Lehigh would greatly enhance the success and usage of the campus portal. As a repository of all of the library's electronic resources, MyLibrary@Lehigh has become the one‐stop shop for the library within the campus‐wide, one‐stop shop of the campus portal.Originality/value – MyLibrary has become a clear choice as an open‐source solution.
Chemokines in myocardial ischemia.

Chemokine expression is markedly upregulated in healing myocardial infarcts and may play an important role in regulating leukocyte infiltration and activity and in modulating infarct angiogenesis as well as fibrous tissue deposition. The CC chemokine monocyte chemoattractant protein-1/CCL2 has important effects in infarct healing. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 −/− mice exhibit reduced macrophage infiltration and activation, suppressed cytokine synthesis, delayed phagocytotic removal of dead cardiomyocytes, diminished myofibroblast accumulation, and decreased ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction. Monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 may also play an important role in the development of interstitial fibrosis in ischemic noninfarctive cardiomyopathy. CXC chemokines are also induced in healing infarcts. Interleukin-8/CXCL8 may mediate neutrophil recruitment and activation and may promote neovessel formation, whereas induction of the angiostatic and antifibrotic chemokine interferon- γ -inducible protein-10/CXCL10 may serve to prevent premature wound angiogenesis and fibrous tissue deposition in the infarct, until the injured myocardium has been cleared from dead cells and debris and a fibrin-rich provisional matrix is formed. Understanding of the role of chemokines in myocardial ischemia may result in novel strategies in the treatment of patients with ischemic heart disease.
Development of an immune system.

Minimally, an immune response is an induced cellular and/or humoral defense mechanism specific for the challenging agent. The system is a cognitive one inasmuch as a second stimulus with the same antigen can specifically induce either an enhanced response (memory) or diminished response (tolerance). The cells responsible for the initial antigen-specific recognition in higher vertebrates are clonally restricted T and B lymphocytes. Accessory cells are necessary for the processing and presentation of antigen, and physiologic mediators (cytokines) are essential for proliferation, interaction, and regulation of the system. Although it now appears that the recombination mechanisms essential for the anticipatory immune response occurred late in the deuterostome stream leading to vertebrates, molecules required for cell adhesion and regulation are widely spread in phylogeny. Their emergence must have preceded the divergence between ancestral protostomes and deuterostomes. Genetic mechanisms underlying the generation of diversity in the light and heavy chains of antibodies of mammals may be quite distinct in primitive vertebrates, particularly elasmobranchs, the ancestors of which diverged from those of mammals more than 400 million years ago. Despite this, clonal selection of antigen receptors of lymphocytes is most probably universal within the vertebrates. There is no need to force induced recognition in protostomes (e.g. insects) or lower deuterostomes (e.g. echinoderms) into mammalian models of immunity.
The Juxtamembrane, Cytosolic Region of the Epidermal Growth Factor Receptor Is Involved in Association with α-Subunit of Gs

Previously, we have demonstrated that epidermal growth factor (EGF) can stimulate adenylyl cyclase activity via activation of Gs in the heart. Moreover, we have recently shown that Gsα is phosphorylated by the EGF receptor protein tyrosine kinase and that the juxtamembrane region of the EGF receptor can stimulate Gs directly. Therefore, employing isolated cardiac membranes, the two-hybrid assay, and in vitro association studies with purified EGF receptor and Gsα we have investigated Gsα complex formation with the EGF receptor and elucidated the region in the receptor involved in this interaction. In isolated cardiac membranes, immunoprecipitation of EGF receptor was accompanied by co-immunoprecipitation of Gsα. In the yeast two-hybrid assay, the cytosolic domain of the EGF receptor and the N-terminal 64 amino acids of this region (Met644-Trp707) associated with Gsα. However, interactions of these regions of the EGF receptor with constitutively active Gsα were diminished in the two-hybrid assay. Employing purified proteins, our studies demonstrate that the EGF receptor, directly and stoichiometrically, associates with Gsα (1 mol of Gsα/mol of EGF receptor). This association was not altered in the presence or absence of ATP and therefore, was independent of tyrosine phosphorylation of either of the proteins. Peptides corresponding to the juxtamembrane region of the receptor decreased association of the EGF receptor with Gsα. However, neither the C-terminally truncated EGF receptor (Δ1022-1186) nor a peptide corresponding to residues 985-996 of the receptor altered association with Gsα, thus indicating the selectivity of the G protein interaction with the juxtamembrane region. Interestingly, peptides corresponding to N and C termini of Gsα did not alter the association of Gsα with the EGF receptor. Consistent with the findings from the two-hybrid assay where constitutively active Gsα poorly associated with the EGF receptor, in vitro experiments with purified proteins also demonstrated that activation of Gsα by guanosine 5′-3-O-(thio)triphosphate decreased the association of G protein with the EGF receptor. Thus we conclude that the juxtamembrane region of the EGF receptor, directly and stoichiometrically, associates with Gsα and that upon activation of Gsα this association is decreased.
Association analysis of the protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 1B (PPP1R1B) gene with nicotine dependence in European- and African-American smokers.

The protein phosphatase 1 regulatory subunit 1B gene (PPP1R1B; also known as dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein; DARPP32) is a target for the actions of dopamine. Because the mesolimbic dopaminergic system is implicated in the reinforcing effects of many drugs, including nicotine, PPP1R1B is considered a plausible candidate for involvement in the development of vulnerability to nicotine dependence (ND). Further, this gene is located within a region on chromosome 17 that demonstrated "suggestive linkage" to ND in our previous genome-wide scan. In the present study, we analyzed six single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) within PPP1R1B for association with three ND measures: smoking quantity (SQ), the heaviness of smoking index (HSI), and the Fagerstrom Test for ND (FTND) score. Our sample consisted of 602 nuclear families of African-American (AA) or European-American (EA) origin. No significant associations were found for single SNPs after correction for multiple testing. However, haplotype analysis indicated that in the EA sample, the C-T-G-C haplotype formed by rs2271309-rs907094-rs3764352-rs3817160 with a frequency of 32.0% was significantly associated with SQ (Z = 2.50; P = 0.01), even after Bonferroni correction. No significant associations with haplotypes were found in the AA sample. In summary, our findings provide the first evidence for the potential involvement of PPP1R1B in the etiology of ND and further investigation is thus warranted.
Tourism and the changing photographic image of the great lakes Indians

Abstract Photography has been an indispensable component of tourism in Western cultures. Whether taken by tourists or by commercial photographers, pictures constitute an important window through which tourist ideology can be analyzed. Drawing on a sample of over 600 post cards issued between 1900 and 1970, this study traces the emergence and widespread adoption of Plains Indian imagery in pictures of Great Lakes Indians. The analysis focuses on some of the ways in which photography and tourism have articulated in reinforcing as well as advancing a stereotyped image of the Indian in the western Great Lakes.
Parameter identification analysis of muscle dynamics

Abstract A paremeter identification scheme was applied to the study of the dynamic properties of resting (nonstimulated) striated muscle. This method makes it possible to study muscle dynamics by performing simple experiments and provides an analytical method for evaluating nonlinearities. This approach revealed the presence of a “tension feedback” component in resting muscle. In addition, certain dynamic characteristics of striated muscles were correlated with their structure.
A contact algorithm for smoothed particle hydrodynamics

Abstract This paper describes the development and testing of a contact algorithm for Smoothed Particle Hydrodynamics (SPH). The treatment of contact boundary conditions in SPH has not been adequately addressed, and the development of the normalised smoothing function approach has highlighted the need for correct treatment of boundary conditions. A particle to particle contact algorithm was developed for 2D. The penalty formulation was used to enforce the contact condition, and several equations for the penalty force calculation were considered. The contact algorithm was tested for 1- and 2D problems for the velocity range between 0.2 and 4.0 km/s to determine the best penalty force equation and the best approach for applying the contact force. The tests showed that the zero-energy mode problem in the SPH method had to be addressed, as contact excited a zero-energy mode that caused non-physical motion of particles. The test results were compared to the DYNA3D results for the same problems.
Monitoring Rural-Urban Drug Trends: An Analysis of Drug Arrest Statistics 1976–1980

Recent research on urban drug use indicates that the alarming upward trend identified during the late 1960s and early 1970s is stabilizing. However, there is disagreement concerning whether the same pattern holds for rural populations. Early research reported low rates of drug use in nonmetropolitan areas. More recent research findings indicate that drug use in rural areas is much higher than originally thought. This discrepancy results, in part, from our inability to effectively monitor drug use in high-risk groups over time. One effective way of monitoring drug use trends is through the examination of drug arrest statistics by means of time series techniques. This analysis of urban drug arrests confirms that use is leveling off in such areas. No increase was found tor the rural population over the 5-year period. however. Rather than finding a difference, it was found that rural-urban drug trends are quite similar.
Quantitative methods: producing quantitative methods narratives:

Recent writings in human geography have claimed that practice of quantitativemethods in the field is retreating as accounts of knowledge move away from metanar-ratives to more discursive practices where sociocultural meanings are seen to beparamount for understanding geographic phenomena. Practitioners of quantitativemethods (QM) in geography have been criticized for their emphasis on generalizationand simplification rather than social construction of reality, their use of semiotics andrepresentation without recognition to positionality and authority, and their use of math-ematical or statistical language that obfuscates rather than clarifies (Curry, 1991; Binnie,1997; Doel, 2001). Rather paradoxically, just as quantitative geography is coming underincreased fire, other disciplines have begun quantifying geographic phenomena, andstepping up their production and use of quantitative methods in areas where somegeographers have abdicated in favor of more qualitative approaches. In sociology, forexample, mapping crimes has led to the ‘discovery’ of spatial statistics and encouragedthe rise of research in ‘geocriminology’ (Vann and Garson, 2001; Meier andBrantingham, 1999; Morenoff et. al. 2001). The new economic geography, in particular,has seen much quantitative analysis in geographic phenomena by economists. Thislatter point has also been observed by Lam (2003) in her recent analysis of NationalScience Foundation’s Geography and Regional Science research proposals.The criticism of QM as the operative methodology of human geography rests largelyon the repudiation of modernism and thereby scientism as the central metaphysicalbasis of knowledge production. Geographic locations present a ‘unique’ configurationof geographic reality whereas the modernist metaphysic leans towards the equilibriumof locations and synchronic spaces. Such unique-universal dialectics, according tocritics, are not easily resolved by modernism as much of the credo of modernism drawsfrom logical positivism’s precepts of prediction, objectivity, determinism, causality andlaws.
A comparison of the effectiveness of graphic symbol and manual sign training with profoundly retarded children

Using a random-block design, 52 profoundly retarded nonverbal children were matched on relevant variables and randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups or a no-treatment group. In Phase One, two groups were trained in either the Premack or NON-SLIP graphic systems. Children in the Premack group learned an average of 2.3 symbols; no child in the NON-SLIP group reached the symbol stage. In Phase Two, these two groups and a third group were taught manual signs from an American Sign Language lexicon. There were significant differences in IQ and language age from pre- to posttest, and children in the two groups exposed to both graphic symbols and signs learned significantly more signs than graphic symbols. Signing appears to be a demonstrably superior intervention for profoundly retarded nonverbal populations.
The Integrated Inertial Navigation System AN/ASN‐132

The US Army has a requirement for a highly accurate inertial/TACAN hybrid navigation system. This paper describes the navigation system architecture developed to meet this requirement, the specific hardware selected and the development status. At the beginning of the Integrated Inertial Navigation System (IINS) development program it was anticipated that significant technological advances would take place in its life cycle. In addition, mission requirements were expected to change as the system evolved. Particular attention was therefore given to the IINS system architecture, specifically the partitioning of hardware and software functions as well as the means of data transmittal between the subsystem elements. The paper describes in detail the design trade-offs made as well as hardware selections. The system is configured using several different manufacturers' equipment making the data interface and its configuration control of great importance. The above considerations lead to the conclusion that the appropriate data bus interface standard would be MIL-STD-1553. This interface standard not only facilitates configuration control during system development, but will allow rapid integration with future aircraft systems that will use it as a primary means of data transmittal. The paper describes in detail the signal interface between the subsystem element, onboard mission equipment and flight instruments. The most significant change anticipated in the course of the IINS life cycle is the substitution of Global Positioning System User Equipment for the external update function currently provided by TACAN. Another area where technology insertion may be deemed appropriate is the substitution of a strapdown inertial navigation unit (INU) employing ring laser gyros (RLG) for the currently employed conventional gimballed INU. The INU employed in the IINS is built to a form, fit and function specification, which will allow substitution of a RLG INU when such a unit is qualified and in production. The system hardware and software is structured so that these changes can be accomplished with a minimum of effort. The paper also describes the federated processing structure which allows this flexibility with particular attention to the inertial/TACAN update algorithm and data bus control functions. The paper concludes with a brief summary of the development status of the IINS, currently in full scale engineering development.
Novel Quasi-Passive Knee Orthosis with Hybrid Joint Mechanism

Loss of personal mobility is a large and growing issue that can be caused by a variety of medical problems. Knee pain, muscle weakness, and their associated conditions are among the most common causes of impaired walking. Currently, conventional solutions include simple braces, canes, and medication. In more extreme cases, surgery is also routine. We propose a design for a novel quasi-passive orthotic knee brace which combines a smart support system employing magnetorheological (MR) fluid with a passive load reduction system. To work in concert with the walking motion of the knee, we have designed a four-bar linkage in conjunction with a compliant mechanism. The resulting orthotic knee brace will alleviate common symptoms related to knee pain and restore lost mobility, most notably in cases of osteoarthritis.
Random phase approximation for compressible polymer blends

Abstract The random phase approximation is summarized for compressible polymer blend mixtures in the homogeneous phase region. Similarities with the polymer reference site interaction model are described. The effect of compressibility is also discussed in terms of ‘free volume’ by introducing an extra component to represent ‘small voids’. Variation of the effective Flory-Huggins interaction parameter with composition is found to agree with results obtained using the lattice cluster theory.
The effect of pulse to pulse variation on ultrashort pulsewidth measurements

Abstract An alternate interpretation is presented for the exponential shapes of the second harmonic autocorrelation functions obtained from synchronously pumped mode locked dye laser systems. The shape is reinterpreted as being due to a weighted average of pulses of varying widths and smoothly varying pulse shapes in time. Such pulse width measurements in the past have averaged over a large number of pulses. Several pulse shapes and pulse width distributions are examined all leading to exponential shaped autocorrelation functions. This interpretation implies that the currently determined pulsewidths are shorter, possibly many times shorter than the actual average pulsewidths. A method for selectively descriminating the shortest pulses from the train to increase the time resolution of current laser systems is presented.
Orthogonal decompositions of multivariate statistical dependence measures

We describe two multivariate statistical dependence measures which can be orthogonally decomposed to separate the effects of pairwise, triplewise, and higher order interactions between the random variables. These decompositions provide a convenient method of analyzing statistical dependencies between large groups of random variables, within which smaller "sub-groups" may exhibit dependencies separately from the rest of the variables. The first dependence measure is a generalization of Pearson's /spl phi//sup 2/, and we decompose it using an orthonormal series expansion of joint probability density functions. The second measure is based on the Kullback-Leibler distance, and we decompose it using information geometry. Applications of these techniques include analysis of neural population recordings and multimodal sensor fusion. We discuss in detail the simple example of three jointly defined binary random variables.
Mu Opioids and Their Receptors: Evolution of a Concept

Opiates are among the oldest medications available to manage a number of medical problems. Although pain is the current focus, early use initially focused upon the treatment of dysentery. Opium contains high concentrations of both morphine and codeine, along with thebaine, which is used in the synthesis of a number of semisynthetic opioid analgesics. Thus, it is not surprising that new agents were initially based upon the morphine scaffold. The concept of multiple opioid receptors was first suggested almost 50 years ago (Martin, 1967), opening the possibility of new classes of drugs, but the morphine-like agents have remained the mainstay in the medical management of pain. Termed mu, our understanding of these morphine-like agents and their receptors has undergone an evolution in thinking over the past 35 years. Early pharmacological studies identified three major classes of receptors, helped by the discovery of endogenous opioid peptides and receptor subtypes—primarily through the synthesis of novel agents. These chemical biologic approaches were then eclipsed by the molecular biology revolution, which now reveals a complexity of the morphine-like agents and their receptors that had not been previously appreciated.
MLRS: A Lunar/Artificial Satellite Laser Ranging Facility at the McDonald Observatory

The McDonald Laser Ranging Station (MLRS) is a dualpurpose nstallation designed to obtain observations from both artificial satellite and lunar. targets. It was originally constructed to replace lunar activity on the McDonald 2.7-m telescope and, at the same time, establish artificial satellite ranging capabilities at the Observatory. The system is designed around a 0.76-m telescope assembly and uses a very narrow 532-nm wavelength laser pulse. The MLRS is presently operational near Fort Davis, Texas, in support of the NASA Crustal Dynamics Project.
A Hybrid Reconfiguration Algorithm for Fast Continuous Query Processing

With increasing hardware capabilities and network capacity, applications operating on streams of data are becoming more prevalent in the computing industry. Used in areas from security such as packet-sniffing intrusion detection software packages to the financial world attempting to model the stock market to map out future trends, algorithms for processing these unbounded streams are growing in necessity. Traditional database management systems fall short, as they are limited to bounded data. Therefore, stream management systems are required, as well as algorithms to efficiently process these data streams. Furthermore, these algorithms must be agile, adaptive and suitable for a wide range of operating conditions. In this paper, we design a hybrid algorithm to find optimized join trees for continuous stream queries. Our experimental results show that this hybrid algorithm can generate more efficient join trees than its components under a wide range of varied conditions.
Effects of three keyboard designs on wrist and forearm postures and typing task performance

The main objective of this study was to investigate postures of both wrists and the right forearm, associated with use of three different computer keyboards. The investigated keyboards were (1) a traditional keyboard, (2) the Microsoft natural keyboard, and (3) an experimental keyboard. Typing with the experimental keyboard appears to improve left wrist and right forearm postures by reducing left wrist extension angles and right forearm pronation angles, However, non-sagittal plane left wrist posture, as well as sagittal and non-sagittal right wrist posture did not appear to be affected. It was also noted that left wrist postures were in low or moderate injury risk zones for substantially greater percentages of the trial durations with the experimental keyboard, than with either of the other keyboards. Typing speed and accuracy were reduced with the experimental keyboard; however, it was suspected that lack of familiarity with the experimental keyboard was associated with the poorer performance.
Drug Metabolism Considerations in Patients With Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive process lead- ing to end stage renal disease and either dialysis or transplan- tation. Patients with CKD often have numerous comorbid conditions such as diabetes, hypertension, and acid-base and electrolyte disorders that can lead to alterations in ho- meostasis. Changes in drug disposition including hepatic metabolism via phase 1 (ie, cytochrome P-450 enzymes) and phase 2 (ie, conjugation) pathways have been reported. Biotransformation of drugs and endogenous substances within the kidney itself may also be compromised in the pres- ence of CKD. Reduced hepatic and renal clearance leads to systemic accumulation of the parent drug as well as active and toxic metabolites. Characterization of specific hepatic cytochrome (CYP) enzyme pathways in patients with CKD is an area of current research and will lead to an understanding of phenotypic and genotypic expression patterns of several key drug-metabolizing enzymes. The evolving knowledge of CYP enzymes and the alterations that can occur in CKD should allow clinicians to predict adverse consequences of drug therapy and thus prevent these events from occurring. The pharmacy practitioner can also provide important pharmacotherapy interventions in this special patient popu- lation, including dose individualization, therapeutic drug monitoring, and evaluation of therapeutic outcomes.
Baseline Choroidal Thickness as a Predictor for Response to Anti–Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor Therapy in Diabetic Macular Edema

Purpose To determine the association between baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness and short-term response to intravitreal anti–vascular endothelial growth factor (anti-VEGF) therapy in diabetic macular edema (DME). Design Retrospective, consecutive case series. Methods Fifty-three eyes from 42 patients diagnosed with treatment-naive DME were treated with 3 monthly intravitreal injections of ranibizumab or bevacizumab. Serial enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography scans were used to measure subfoveal choroidal thickness and central macular thickness (CMT). Anatomic response (CMT decrease ≥50 μm) and functional response (best-corrected visual acuity gain ≥1 line) were assessed at 3 months follow-up using univariate and multivariate analyses. Results After 3 monthly anti-VEGF treatments, subfoveal choroidal thickness decreased significantly (225 μm at baseline, 201 μm at 3 months, P P = .03). Similarly, the functional responder group (28 eyes) tended to have a greater baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness (239 ± 12 μm) than the nonresponder group (25 eyes, 211 ± 16 μm, P = .08). Multivariate analyses revealed that a greater baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness was associated with a better anatomic (odds ratio = 1.12 for every 10 μm increase, P = .03) and functional response (odds ratio = 8.45 for >200 μm vs ≤200 μm, P = .008). Conclusion Baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness may help predict which patients with DME will respond more favorably in the short term to intravitreal anti-VEGF pharmacotherapy. In this study, eyes with a thicker baseline subfoveal choroidal thickness had better short-term anatomic and functional responses.
Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells: Basics and the Application in Disease Model and Regenerative Medicine

Since the advent of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells at 2006, a flood of researches have been performed to study the application of iPS-based approaches in generating various types of disease models, personalized regenerative medicine by gene therapy and tissue engineering. In this chapter, we first reviewed the comparisons between the iPS cells and the normal embryonic stem (ES) cells, followed by providing examples to highlight the advantages of using iPS cells for disease models and disease-specific and patient-specific gene repair and cell-replacement therapy. Last, using auditory organ cochlea as an example, we discussed the current status and challenges in using iPS-based approaches for regenerating auditory hair cells.
Dimensional Behavior of Thin-Film Dielectric Polymers in the Temperature Range 4.2 To 300 K

The thermal contraction characteristics of ten commercially available polymeric films considered for superconducting power transmission cable use were evaluated from 4.2 to 300 K. In any candidate tape dielectric/insulator, three parameters are essential in determining a material’s potential applicability. These include the percentage contraction in cooling to 4.2 K, the percentage strain capability at low temperatures, and the dielectric loss behavior. This study has considered the contraction behavior and the degree of anisotropy present in each candidate film. Measurements were made in the long axis of the tape and in the direction of the tape width. No measurements were made through the tape thickness. A tabular summary of tape source, thickness, and tradename appears in Table I.
The Flexible Response of Rural Migrant Workers in Financial Crisis

From the long period of life course,migrant workers will change their jobs with age until they return home to be farmers.It means that in a certain time there are "out flow" and "in flow" of labor force in rural community because of the age stratification.And the middle-aged migrant workers will return home ahead of the schedule in economic recession,while in economic expansion,some of them will look for work again in the city.What s more,in the time recycle unit of year,villagers in different ages formed a dynamic division of labor through the land mobility system.As a result,an elastic employment pattern has been established in rural community which can thus possess certain flexibility in economic fluctuation.A further analysis indicate that,the contemporary rural land system known as "unified management combined with independent management is the premise of the above-mentioned elastic coping mechanism.
The Intersection of Environment and the Genome in Posttraumatic Stress Disorder.

issue of JAMA Psychiatry, present the largest effort to date in identifying genetic correlates of PTSD. Their work represents the first genome-wide association study (GWAS) from the large Army Study to Assess Risk and Resilience in Servicemembers (Army STARRS) collaborative team. Because the genetic components underlying differential risk and resilience in the aftermath of trauma have only recently been appreciated, these findings point in exciting new directions to important biological targets for advancing understanding and potentially intervention in the aftermath of trauma.
Understanding Our Urban Environment Better: Using Archival Research and Digital Photography in the Classroom

This pedagogical project focuses on urban environmental issues, encouraging students to explore historical events that inform contemporary environmental challenges through archival research, digital photography, and critical analysis. By examining social, economic, political, and cultural dimensions, students better understand the complex interdisciplinary nature of environmental issues and gain valuable field experience that bolsters engagement and facilitates action. Building on intellectual and reform traditions that recognize a link between narrative and action, this experiential education project encourages students to explore, define, and understand historic and contemporary environmental challenges in an urban context.
Introduction: Perspectives on the Withdrawal from World Power

For over two decades after the Second World War, Britain maintained a great chain of fueling stations, air-bases, and military outposts stretching eastward from the Suez Canal through the Indian Ocean and on to Hong Kong in the Far East. Commonly termed the east of Suez role, this chain was considered vital for the nation’s material welfare and an essential underpinning of the country’s greatness. By the late 1960s British policymakers had decided to abandon this role and all that it symbolized to the British. In hindsight, the reasons they did so seem transparent. The country’s relative economic and military capabilities eroded throughout the twentieth century and, hence, withdrawal can be interpreted as part of the linear progression of British decline. Given changes in the international political environment and Britain’s dwindling international influence, the contraction of British power appears natural and perhaps even unavoidable. Yet, rarely is the intersection between historical inevitability and a critical policy decision so clear-cut. Numerous policy options remained open to decision-makers at this time, and the decision to retrench would remain controversial for many years afterward. Britain’s withdrawal from east of Suez commitments is thus a more complex tale than is commonly appreciated. This book analyzes the domestic and international factors that intertwined to convince British policymakers to take this decision and, in the process, dramatically influence the future of British foreign policy.
The Talking Cure: Wittgenstein on Language as Bewitchment & Clarity

John M. Heaton’s The Talking Cure: Wittgenstein on Language as Bewitchment & Clarity follows a number of other publications by the author on Wittgenstein and psychoanalysis, including The Talking Cure: Wittgenstein’s Therapeutic Method for Psychotherapy (2010). His latest book continues a project that attempts to inject a measure of clarity into the discourse on psychotherapeutic praxis by moving away from schematic approaches that rely upon “picture-driven theorising which takes ‘the mind’ to refer to some sort of substance with an innate structure” (p. xii).
Inspection of Concrete Bridge Decks With Asphalt Overlays — a Comparison of Nondestructive Evaluation Methods

Cost effective bridge deck rehabilitation makes it necessary to locate the areas in need of repair to accurately estimate the quantity of deteriorated concrete. Since the bituminous overlay prevents visual identification of these areas, nondestructive testing and evaluation techniques are essential [1]. Conventional nondestructive testing techniques, such as sounding by hammer and chain drag, do not fare well on asphalt covered decks, primarily due to the inefficient coupling of energy between the asphalt overlay and the concrete. They are usually effective only after the asphalt overlay has been removed [2]. Destructive testing methods such as core samples are effective when a large number of random samples are obtained, which is both costly and unnecessarily damaging to the bridge deck. Recently, nondestructive testing and evaluation techniques, such as impact-echo [3–9], ground penetrating radar [10–17], and infrared thermography [18–23], have shown promise for the noninvasive evaluation of the damage accumulation in concrete bridge decks overlaid with asphalt concrete wearing surfaces. Each nondestructive evaluation method has its own current advantages and limitations which are presented and discussed in this study.
Design and Control of Recycle Processes in Ternary Systems with Consecutive Reactions

Abstract This paper explores some of the challenging problems associated with the dynamics and control of recycle systems. The process considered consists of a reactor in which consecutive reactions A → B →C occur to produce a desired product B and less valuable product C. The reactor effluent is fed to a separations section consisting of two distillation columns with recycle of the unreacted component A from one of the columns back to the reactor. Because the production of undesirable component C must be kept low, the optimum design is a small reactor with a high concentration of component A and a large recycle. A large recycle means high energy and capital costs. But the improved yield of component B justifies a large recycle stream. Changes in fresh feed flow rate are shown to have the most dramatic effect on the system when a conventional control system is used. Increasing fresh feed by 5% can lead to 100% increases in the flow rate of the recycle stream. A variable-volume control strategy is proposed to eliminate this “snowball” effect (the large amplification of disturbances in the recycle flow rate). A generic rule for liquid recycle systems is proposed: one flow rate somewhere in the recycle loop should be flow controlled.
A Numerical Study of Indoor Contaminant Mixing

Indoor air quality depends on the concentration and distribution of airborne contaminants. Often these are not uniform throughout the environment because the inlet air may not mix completely with the room air to dilute contaminants, which can be the result of poor room design or nonequilibrium conditions. The structure of the airflow and the extent of contaminant mixing depends on the location of flow and contaminant sources and sinks, as well as on the geometric barriers in the room. This paper describes a three-dimensional numerical simulation of the transport and dispersion of a passive, airborne contaminant in which the Navier-Stokes and concentration equations are solved under transient conditions for a rectangular enclosure with a single ventilation inlet and outlet. This investigation focuses on the effects of flow obstructions and ventilation rates on contaminant mixing.
On Simulation of Strain Localization Using Microplasicity Constitutive Models

The common perception that a regularization method such as strain gradient or micropolar enhancement must be able to produce mesh objective solutions is evaluated within the framework of micropolar plasticity for granular soils. It is shown while this perception holds for micropolar enhancement of classical elastoplasticity constitutive models in which the stress state remains within an elastic domain for a large part of reverse loading. However, micropolar plasticity models that are able to accurately model the reverse loading accounting for large volume change of the soil during reverse loading do not appear to follow the same rule.
Brainstem-cortical functional connectivity for speech is differentially challenged by noise and reverberation

Abstract Everyday speech perception is challenged by external acoustic interferences that hinder verbal communication. Here, we directly compared how different levels of the auditory system (brainstem vs. cortex) code speech and how their neural representations are affected by two acoustic stressors: noise and reverberation. We recorded multichannel (64 ch) brainstem frequency-following responses (FFRs) and cortical event-related potentials (ERPs) simultaneously in normal hearing individuals to speech sounds presented in mild and moderate levels of noise and reverb. We matched signal-to-noise and direct-to-reverberant ratios to equate the severity between classes of interference. Electrode recordings were parsed into source waveforms to assess the relative contribution of region-specific brain areas [i.e., brainstem (BS), primary auditory cortex (A1), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG)]. Results showed that reverberation was less detrimental to (and in some cases facilitated) the neural encoding of speech compared to additive noise. Inter-regional correlations revealed associations between BS and A1 responses, suggesting subcortical speech representations influence higher auditory-cortical areas. Functional connectivity analyses further showed that directed signaling toward A1 in both feedforward cortico-collicular (BS→A1) and feedback cortico-cortical (IFG→A1) pathways were strong predictors of degraded speech perception and differentiated “good” vs. “poor” perceivers. Our findings demonstrate a functional interplay within the brain's speech network that depends on the form and severity of acoustic interference. We infer that in addition to the quality of neural representations within individual brain regions, listeners' success at the “cocktail party” is modulated based on how information is transferred among subcortical and cortical hubs of the auditory-linguistic network.
Review: Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet edited by Anna Tsing, Heather Swanson, Elaine Gan and Nils Bubandt and Unreal Objects by Kate O’Riordan

Book Reviews: Arts of Living on a Damaged Planet edited by Anna Tsing, Heather Swanson, Elaine Gan and Nils Bubandt and Unreal Objects by Kate O’Riordan
Mapping Reaction Pathways from Crystallographic Data

To appreciate biochemical processes at the molecular level, it is necessary to have a basic understanding of the stereochemical course of reactions. Though much data have been accumulated on a variety of reaction mechanisms from kinetic studies, the detailed course of the structural transformations that take place during a reaction has eluded the experimentalist. At present, experimental techniques are not capable of directly measuring the geometrical changes that occur during a reaction, apart from characterizing the products, reactants, and stable intermediates. Quantum-mechanical calculations, which are of value in deriving such information for very simple reactions, are beset with numerous practical difficulties when complex organic systems are to be treated.
The Deposition Parameters of CdSe/ZnSe Layers and the Photovoltaic Properties of CdSe Thin Film Solar Cells

Solid state thin film CdSe solar cells based on differently deposited CdSe films have been investigated by dark capacitance measurements, I–V analysis, electron microscopy and rontgendiffractometry. The elucidated energy diagramm shows encouraging barrier heights of 0.9 – 1 V and build-in voltages of 0.65 – 0.8 V. Deposition conditions causing crystallographic disorder and low open circuit voltages and efficiencies are identified. At first the deposition parameters will be optimized. Later on the doping of both CdSe and ZnSe has to be investigated.
Comparisons among Tuli-, Brahman-, and Angus-sired heifers: intake, digesta kinetics, and grazing behavior.

As part of an evaluation of Tuli crossbred cattle, forage intake, digesta kinetics, and grazing behavior were estimated in two Texas en- vironments. In humid east Texas, Tuli × Brahman heifers were compared with purebred Angus and Brahman and Angus × Brahman heifers. Fecal output, forage intake, compartmental mass, and compartmen- tal residence time did not differ among breeds. Angus and Brahman heifers had different ( P < .02) gastroin- testinal residence times (51.1 ± 1.56 vs 43.1 ± 1.56 h, respectively), but values for the purebreds did not differ from those for Tuli × Brahman or Angus × Brahman heifers. Angus heifers had shorter ( P < .05) 24-h grazing times (398 ± 15.4 min/d) and fewer ( P < .05) grazing periods ( 7 ± .4) than Tuli × Brahman (552 ± 16.8 min/d and 10 ± .4), Angus × Brahman (507 ± 18.4 min/d and 9 ± .5), and Brahman (560 ± 16.8 min/d and 9 ± .4, respectively) heifers. In semiarid southwest Texas, Tuli × Angus heifers were compared with purebred Angus and Brahman and Brahman × Angus heifers. Fecal output and forage intake were similar in Tuli × Angus and Brahman × Angus heifers (14.2 ± .69 and 14.9 ± .91 g fecal DM/ (d·kg BW) and 24.5 ± 1.33 and 25.6 ± 1.75 g/d of forage DMI, respectively) but higher ( P < .05) than those of purebred Brahman heifers (12.2 ± .64 and 20.3 ± 1.23 g/(d·kg BW) of fecal DM and forage DMI, respective- ly). Grazing times did not differ among breeds. We conclude that Tuli-sired heifers are likely to be as productive as Brahman crossbred heifers in Texas, based on the similarities in intake, digesta dynamics, and grazing behavior.
Fortunata’s Long Shadow: The Restoration as Televisual Heritage in Acacias 38 and El Secreto de Puente Viejo

In this chapter, David George proposes a reading of costume dramas Acacias 38 (2015–) and El secreto de Puente Viejo (2015–) as “heritage revival” in the sense that both bring the past back to life in a format that substitutes surface spectacle for historical understanding. Key to understanding the possible significance of the late Restoration for contemporary audiences, he argues, is a consideration of how Acacias and Puente Viejo revivify the period as televisual heritage. His “close-reading” of storytelling and historical references reveals how these daily serials appeal to collective memories of depictions of the period created for television during the Transition and Post-Transition (1975–1992), considered to be the golden age of quality television in Spain.