cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A comparative study of ethical attitudes among MIS students and professionals

This paper discusses attitudes toward ethical issues in information systems. Approximately 120 subjects were drawn from two populations: full-time undergraduate business students and full-time MIS employees who were also part-time students studying for a masters in MIS. Both groups were enrolled in an MIS course at the time of the study.The subjects read twenty information systems-based scenarios and classified the 31 behaviors described in them as Unacceptable, Questionable, or Acceptable. The results were compared to each other, as well as to the results of prior studies using the same instrument. The replication of earlier work with somewhat different subject groups provides the foundation for the present study. The prior studies showed South African students to be more "ethically lenient" than corresponding American students.The hypothesis that the MIS professionals would demonstrate a greater sensitivity to MIS ethical issues than either the undergraduate business or information systems majors is supported. Although earlier researchers have used undergraduates as substitutes for information systems personnel in many ethics studies, these two population groups do, in fact, differ.
Cutaneous granulomas in children with combined immunodeficiency

Noninfectious cutaneous granulomas, particularly in an acral distribution, may be an early sign of mixed cellular and humoral immunodeficiency. Special stains of skin biopsy sections and cultures for bacteria, acid-fast bacilli, and fungi are important in eliminating the possibility of underlying pathogens. In three children with combined immunodeficiency and cutaneous granulomas, the administration of moderate- to high-dose systemic corticosteroids was the most effective therapy. However, careful consideration should be given before administering systemic corticosteroids to an immunocompromised patient.
Low-temperature deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon (a-Si:H) : control of polyhydride incorporation and its effects on thin film properties

It is shown how remote plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition (remote PECVD) and reactive magnetron sputtering (RMS) can be adopted to limit the relative fraction of polyhydride bonding groups for low substrate temperature depositions (Ts < 200 °C) of a-Si:H. These process modifications provide new options for the processing of device structures by combinations of low-temperature deposition and post-deposition, short-term thermal annealing. It is shown for several different deposition processes, including conventional glow-discharge deposition (GD), RMS, and remote PECVD, that the distribution of bonded hydrogen between monohydride and polyhydride bonding groups is determined by the total amount of bonded hydrogen [H] in the film and is not intrinsically related to Ts, or any other deposition parameter. A statistical model is presented, which provides a basis for translating process-dependent representations of data for the relative monohydride and polyhydride fractions to a universally obeyed scaling relationship in which the independent variable is [H]. Finally, selected properties of low-Ts films formed by RMS and remote PECVD are briefly discussed.
Z13-DEPENDENT STOPPING POWER AND RANGE CONTRIBUTIONS*

The stopping power of a target, composed of atoms with atomic number Z2, for a projectile of charge Z1e and velocity v1, depends in first Born approximation on the projectile charge as (Z1e)2. Recently [1], we extended this theory to include the (Z1e)3 dependence in a classical treatment which is equivalent to a second Born approximation. The Z1 3 contribution was calculated for the statistical model of the target atom in the Lenz-Jensen approximation.
Spanning trees in locally planar triangulations

Thomassen has recently shown that a triangulation of the orientable surface of genus g has a spanning tree of maximum degree at most 4, provided every noncontractible cycle has length at least 23g + 4. We show that a 4-connected triangulation of the orientable surface of genus g has a spanning tree of maximum degree at most 3, provided that every noncontractible cycle has length at least 23g + 5. This proves a result suggested by Thomassen. Examples demonstrate that some condition on the length of the noncontractible cycles is necessary for a result of this kind.
Urodynamic assessment of patients with stress incontinence: how effective are urethral pressure profilometry and abdominal leak point pressures at case selection and predicting outcome?

Purpose of reviewDisagreement exists as to the extent of evaluation required prior to offering surgical intervention for the treatment of stress urinary incontinence in women. While few would argue that additional information can be gleaned from a properly performed urodynamic investigation, it rema
Polarization Modulated Excitation Spectroscopy

An accessory has been designed for the Beckman Model DK spectrophotometers for automatic recording of polarization modulated excitation spectra. The polarizer is continuously rotated while the excitation spectrum is scanned with the monochromator. The absorption, fluorescence, excitation and polarization spectra of rhodamine B in glycerol are used to illustrate performance.
Localisation of hydrogen peroxide and peroxidase in gametophytes of Ceratopteris richardii (C-fern) grown in the presence of pathogenic fungi in a gnotobiotic system

The endogenous localisation of peroxidase and hydrogen peroxide (H 2 O 2 ) was detected when gametophytes of the fern, Ceratopteris richardii, were exposed to the plant pathogenic fungi Sclerotium rolfsii and Sclerotinia sclerotiorum and Phytophthora infestans, an oomycete, in a gnotobiotic system. This was accomplished by light microscopy using 3,3'-diaminobenzidine, guaiacol and H 2 O 2 and starch potassium iodide (KI) staining procedures, which facilitated the observation of the reaction in vivo and in situ, without physically damaging the tissues. All three staining methods promoted staining at the rhizoid regions. Although most of the cells were destroyed when gametophytes were exposed to S. rolfsii and S. sclerotiorum, there was staining where mycelial growth was confluent with cell walls. A qualitative test confirmed that the colour change in starch KI agar medium, as well as in the histochemical test with starch KI, was because of H 2 O 2 secreted by S. rolfsii or S. sclerotiorum and not because of oxalic acid. When gametophytes were exposed to P. infestans, no infection occurred, but localisation of H 2 O 2 and peroxidase was detected irrespective of staining methods tested. Based on the observation on gametophytes grown in presence of P. infestans, it is possible that the peroxidase in plants coupled with H 2 O 2 may prevent the invasion of nonpathogens by functioning as a barrier. This fern-pathogen model system has potential for application as a tool to study the host-parasite interaction in a gnotobiotic system.
A combined NSMC and Pole series expansion approach for UXO discrimination

This paper combines the normalized surface magnetic charge (NSMC) model and a pole series expansion method to determine the scattered field singularities directly from EMI measured data, i.e. to find a buried object location and orientation without solving a time consuming inverse-scattering problem. The NSMC is very simple to program and robust for predicting the EMI responses of various objects. The technique is applicable to any combination of magnetic or electromagnetic induction data for any arbitrary homogeneous or heterogeneous 3-D object or set of objects. In this proposed approach, first EMI responses are collected at a measurement surface. Then the NSMC approach, which distributes magnetic charge on a surface conformal, but does not coincide to the measurement surface, is used to extend the actual measured EMI magnetic field above the data collection surface for generating spatially distributed data. Then the pole series expansion approach is employed to localize the scattered fields singularities i.e. to determine the object's location and orientation. Once the object's location and orientations are found, then the total NSMC, which is characteristic of the object, is calculated and used for discriminating between UXO and non-UXO items. The algorithm is tested against actual EM-63 time domain EMI data collected at the ERDC test-stand site for actual UXO. Several numerical results are presented and discussed for demonstrating the applicability of the proposed method for determining buried objects location as well as for discriminating between objects on interested from non-hazardous items.
UNSIGNALIZED INTERSECTION ANALYSIS: EFFECT OF OVERLAPPING CONFLICTING TRAFFIC FLOW ON MINOR MOVEMENT POTENTIAL CAPACITY

A particular component of two-way stop unsignalized intersection analyses as presented in the 1994 Highway Capacity Manual (HCM) is described. Specifically, advantages to minor movement capacity are evaluated where traffic flows overlap in multiple lanes. From vehicular arrival data collected by the author, it was determined that the current HCM can significantly underestimate the true potential capacity of minor movements that face multiple lanes of free-flow conflicting traffic. A modification to the HCM procedure is introduced in which an “effective” conflicting flow is calculated on the basis of “blockage” caused by individual lanes of traffic, assuming a Poisson count distribution. In every case examined (24 total), a more accurate potential capacity estimate resulted relative to that determined by the HCM procedure. The modification also resulted in a more accurate level of service in 8 of the 24 cases.
Neuroinflammation, neuroautoimmunity, and the co-morbidities of complex regional pain syndrome.

Complex Regional Pain Syndrome (CRPS) is associated with non-dermatomal patterns of pain, unusual movement disorders, and somatovisceral dysfunctions. These symptoms are viewed by some neurologists and psychiatrists as being psychogenic in origin. Recent evidence, however, suggests that an autoimmune attack on self-antigens found in the peripheral and central nervous system may underlie a number of CRPS symptoms. From both animal and human studies, evidence is accumulating that neuroinflammation can spread, either anterograde or retrograde, via axonal projections in the CNS, thereby establishing neuroinflammatory tracks and secondary neuroinflammatory foci within the neuraxis. These findings suggest that neuroinflammatory lesions, as well as their associated functional consequences, should be evaluated during the differential diagnosis of non-dermatomal pain presentations, atypical movement disorders, as well as other “medically unexplained symptoms”, which are often attributed to psychogenic illness.
Simulation-based assessment for construction helmets

In recent years, there has been a concerted effort for greater job safety in all industries. Personnel protective equipment (PPE) has been developed to help mitigate the risk of injury to humans that might be exposed to hazardous situations. The human head is the most vulnerable to impact as a moderate magnitude can cause serious injury or death. That is why industries have required the use of an industrial hard hat or helmet. There have only been a few articles published to date that are focused on the risk of head injury when wearing an industrial helmet. A full understanding of the effectiveness of construction helmets on reducing injury is lacking. This paper presents a simulation-based method to determine the threshold at which a human will sustain injury when wearing a construction helmet and assesses the risk of injury for wearers of construction helmets or hard hats. Advanced finite element, or FE, models were developed to study the impact on construction helmets. The FE model consists of two part...
Time-integral theorems for nonholonomic systems

Abstract This paper derives all the important variational and energetic time-integral theorems of linear and nonlinear nonholonomic (and nonconservative) systems, in both real and quasi-generalized coordinates, starting from a simple unifying viewpoint. Specifically, by multiplying the equations of motion with an arbitrary set of functions and then integrating the result between two arbitrary times one arrives at the “generalized virial theorem.” Identifying these arbitrary functions with actual generalized coordinates and velocities, and with virtual and skew (or noncontemporaneous) generalized coordinate variations, one obtains successively the theorems of virial (originally by Clausius), power, and Hamilton's “laws of varying action” for general nonconservative and nonholonomic systems. These theorems can prove useful not only for theoretical arguments and derivations, but also for approximate calculations of oscillating nonholonomic systems. As an illustration Hamilton's principle in quasi-coordinates is used to derive the equations of motion of the famous knife edge/sleigh problem.
Gonadotrophin stimulation of testosterone production by the rat testis in vitro

Measurement of testosterone production by the rat testis in vitro provides an extremely sensitive response system for the biological activities of luteinizing hormone (LH) and human chorionic gonadotrophin (HCG) activity in vitro. The sensitivity of the response to gonadotrophins depends upon the structural integrity of the isolated testis, as physical disruption by teasing apart the testis tubules results in substantial loss of the steroidogenic response to trophic hormones. The intact testis responds to as little as 0.2 ng HCG or 1 ng ovine LH, and shows maximal stimulation with 2 ng HCG or 10 ng ovine LH. Testosterone production in vitro was also markedly enhanced by Sepharose-coupled ovine LH and by dibutyryl cyclic AMP, consistent with the view that LH acts upon cell-membrane receptors to stimulate steroidogenesis in the testis via activation of adenyl cyclase. Desialylated gonadotrophins retained considerably greater biological activity in vitro than in vivo, indicating that the sialic acid residues are not essential for interaction of gonadotropins with their tissue receptor sites.
Preterms of low medical risk: Spontaneous behaviors and soothability at expected date of birth.

Forty-five preterms of low medical risk, observed on their expected date of birth, were compared on measures of spontaneous activity level, spontaneous irritability, spontaneous state change, and soothability with 23 healthy two-day-old term neonates of the same racial and social background. Preterms fussed and cried more. Preterms who cried were somewhat harder to soothe than full terms who cried. Preterms also tended to change state more frequently. Although the origin (biological or experiential) of these differences is not known, they are potential contributors to non-optimal interaction between preterms and their caregivers.
Differential mechanisms of LPS-induced NFκB activation in macrophages and fibroblasts

Lipopolysaccharide is a prototypic stimulus of inflammatory gene expression which can act on a variety of cell types to produce different patterns of response. In the present report, the ability of LPS to stimulate NFKB activity was investigated in a fibroblast cell line (NIH3T3) and compared to LPS-induced response in a macrophage like cell line (RAW264.7). LPS was a potent stimulus of KB binding activity in both cell types though the protein composition of such binding activity varied. LPS caused nuclear translocation of KB binding activity in RAW 264.7 cells which contained NFKB1 (p50), RelA (p65), and high levels of c-Rel. Nuclei from LPS-stimulated NIH3T3 cells contained only NFKB1 and RelA but little c-Rel. Both cell types contain comparable levels of total c-Rel protein. Using two structurally distinct KB sequence motifs, LPS was shown to produce a different pattern of transacting activity in fibroblasts as compared to macrophages; both KB motifs were sensitive to LPS in RAW264.7 cells while only o...
Mitigation of Turn-to-Turn Faults in Fault Tolerant Permanent Magnet Synchronous Motors

This study presents a method to mitigate and alleviate the effects produced by a turn-to-turn short in a fault tolerant permanent magnet synchronous motor with single-layer concentrated windings. The rotor magnets are capable of inducing a high voltage across the fault contact point; this voltage has the potential to generate a high circulating current that promotes the rapid propagation of the fault due to the thermal stress created by the increased localized fault power losses. The scope of this study is for applications where postfault operation is desired, even if it means operating at reduced power capacity and lower speeds. Upon quick detection of a fault, the proposed technique can be used to decelerate the propagation of the fault and extend the machine's postfault life span. The technique consists of a magnetic field-weakening strategy at speeds below nominal, to reduce the voltage induced in the faulted portion. The concept is validated through finite element analysis, modeling, and experimental data. It is demonstrated that the proposed technique reduces the fault current magnitude and winding temperature.
Psychological correlates of the mobility decision

In a sample of 50 college students, geographic mobility plans were significantly related individually to a measure of past mobility (r =.46, p < 01) and the personality dimension of sensation seeking (r =.38, p <.01). A multiple combination of predictors, using past mobility and the extraversion scale of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, accounted for 32% of the variance in mobility plans [(RSQ =.32, p <.001); with a complete model (eight predictors)] accounting for 49% of the variance in mobility plans. A hold-out cross validation sample (N = 10) supported this finding (Rc =.63, p <.05) and similar relationships were observed in a second sample (N = 100).
Superelastic shape memory alloy cables: Part II – Subcomponent isothermal responses

Abstract This paper constitutes the second part of our experimental study of the thermo-mechanical behavior of superelastic NiTi shape memory alloy cables. Part I introduced the fundamental, room temperature, tensile responses of two cable designs (7 × 7 right regular lay, and 1 × 27 alternating lay). In Part II, each cable behavior is studied further by breaking down the response into the contributions of its hierarchical subcomponents. Selected wire strands were extracted from the two cable constructions, and their quasi-static tension responses were measured using the same experimental setup of Part I. Consistent with the shallow wire helix angles in the 7 × 7 construction, the force–elongation responses of the core wire, 1 × 7 core strand and full 7 × 7 cable were similar on a normalized basis, with only a slight decrease in transformation force plateaus and slight increase in plateau strains in this specimen sequence. By contrast, each successive 1 × 27 component (1 × 6 core strand, 1 × 15 strand, and full cable) included an additional outer layer of wires with a larger number of wires, greater helix radius, and deeper helix angle, so the normalized axial load responses became significantly more compliant. Each specimen in the sequence also exhibited progressively larger strains at failure, reaching 40% strain in the full 1 × 27 cable. Stress-induced phase transformations involved localized strain/temperature and front propagation in all of the tested 7 × 7 components but none of the 1 × 27 components aside from the 1 × 27 core wire. Stereo digital image correlation measurements revealed finer features within a global transformation front of the 1 × 7 core strand than the 7 × 7 cable, consisting of an staggered pattern of individual wire fronts that moved in lock-step during elongation. Although the 1 × 27 multi-layer strands exhibited temperature/strain localizations in a distributed pattern during transformations, the localizations did not propagate and their cause was traced back to contact indentations (stress concentrations) arising from the cable’s fabrication. The normalized axial torque responses of the multi-layer 1 × 27 components during transformation were distinctly non-monotonic and complex, due to the alternating handedness of the layers. Force and torque contributions of individual wire layers were deduced by subtracting 1 × 27 component responses, which helped to clarify the transformation kinetics within each layer and explain the unusual force and torque undulations seen in the 1 × 27 cable response of Part I.
End of Life, Chronic Illness, and Trans-Identities

In this study, the experiences and needs of a sample of 1,963 current, global, English-speaking, transgender-identified adults responding to the Transgender MetLife Survey (TMLS) as related to a number of later-life and end-of-life (EOL) preparations and concerns were examined. EOL concerns are integrated with concerns and challenges around chronic illness and disability. Overall, this population was significantly ill-prepared for the major legalities and events that occur in the later to EOL time periods. The population was found to harbor significant fears around the future. Drawing on the author's decades of survey research in transgender aging and case data along with current scientific and online literature, illustrative quotations and case examples are provided.
Venous thromboembolism prophylaxis in hospitalized medical patients and those with stroke: a background review for an American college of physicians clinical practice guideline

This systematic review assesses the benefits and harms of venous thromboembolism (VTE) prophylaxis in hospitalized nonsurgical patients and supports the American College of Physicians clinical prac...
Boron geochemistry of the lower crust: Evidence from granulite terranes and deep crustal xenoliths

Abstract Boron contents are uniformly low in more than 100 granulites from exposed terranes in India, Norway, and Scotland and from xenolith suites in the western USA. Averages for the terranes (2.5 ppm) and for xenoliths (1.2 ppm) suggest maximum B contents of about 2 ± 1 ppm for the lower crust. Abundance distributions from exposed terranes are skewed to higher values as B has been added to some samples via retrograde fluids during decompression. The samples studied include mafic to felsic lithologies of both igneous and sedimentary origin. There is no correlation of B content with bulk composition or with protolith type in any of the suites studied. Boron is apparently depleted in all granulite protoliths during prograde metamorphism and dehydration. Similar depletions of B and other fluid-mobile elements (e.g., U, Cs) with respect to rare-earth elements (REE) Zr, Ba, Rb and K 2 O are seemingly inconsistent with origin of granulites primarily via extraction of silicate melts. These distinctive geochemical features are attributed to selective element transport in fluids released by devolatilization reactions. Anatexis is not necessarily precluded, but dehydration of the subsolidus protolith normally would precede melting and lead to depletion of the fluid-mobile elements. Compositions of any melts and restites eventually formed would reflect the effects of this antecedent process. The systematic depletion of B (and Cs) in granulites contrasts with the highly variable contents of most other incompatible elements determined. For this reason, the estimated lower crust abundance for B is relatively well constrained, whereas abundance estimates for many other elements are model dependent, have large uncertainties and are unlikely to be globally representative.
Reversible and irreversible evolution of a condensed bosonic gas

More than 70 years ago, Bose and Einstein proposed a provocative hypothesis—that at ultralow temperatures a novel state of matter should exist. They predicted this state could be attained by cooling an ordinary gas towards absolute zero. At a well-defined point in this process, a spontaneous transition should occur and change the state of matter from an unordered ensemble of individual particles into one collective entity. This single object, now devoid of its manyparticle character, ought to evolve as a collective matter wave.
Providing tunable consistency for a parallel file store

Consistency, throughput, and scalability form the backbone of a cluster-based parallel file system. With little or no information about the workloads to be supported, a file system designer has to often make a one-glove-fits-all decision regarding the consistency policies. Taking a hard stance on consistency demotes throughput and scalability to second-class status, having to make do with whatever leeway is available. Leaving the choice and granularity of consistency policies to the user at open/mount time provides an attractive way of providing the best of all worlds. We present the design and implementation of such a file-store, CAPFS (Content Addressable Parallel File System), that allows the user to define consistency semantic policies at runtime. A client-side plug-in architecture based on user-written plug-ins leaves the choice of consistency policies to the end-user. The parallelism exploited by use of multiple data stores provides for bandwidth and scalability. We provide extensive evaluations of our prototype file system on a concurrent read/write workload and a parallel tiled visualization code.
Deep Inside Champions, Just Genes?

Through a collection of examples, Epstein provides a balanced and nuanced consideration of genetic influences on athletic performance.
Increasing daily walking improves glucose tolerance in overweight women.

Abstract Background Physical activity (PA) has been shown to benefit glucose tolerance. Walking is a convenient low-impact mode of PA and is reported to be the most commonly performed activity for those with diabetes. The purpose of this study was to determine whether a recommendation to accumulate 10,000 steps/day for 8 weeks was effective at improving glucose tolerance in overweight, inactive women. Methods Eighteen women (53.3 ± 7.0 years old, 35.0 ± 5.1 kg/m 2 ) with a family history of type 2 diabetes completed a 4-week control period followed by an 8-week walking program with no changes in diet. The walking program provided a goal of accumulating at least 10,000 steps/day, monitored by a pedometer. Results During the control period, participants walked 4972 steps/day. During the intervention period, the participants increased their accumulated steps/day by 85% to 9213, which resulted in beneficial changes in 2-h postload glucose levels ( P glucose ( P = 0.025), systolic blood pressure ( P P = 0.002). There were no changes in body mass, body fat percentage, and waist circumference during the walking intervention. Conclusions The 10,000 steps/day recommendation resulted in improved glucose tolerance and a reduction in systolic and diastolic blood pressure in overweight women at risk for type 2 diabetes. This demonstrates that activity can be accumulated throughout the day and does not have to result in weight loss to benefit this population.
Ho-Kashyap Associative Processors

A Ho-Kashyap (H-K) associative processor (AP) is demonstrated to have a larger storage capacity than the pseudoinverse AP and to allow linearly dependent key vectors to be accurately stored. A new Robust H-K AP is shown to perform well over all M/N (where M is the number of keys and N is their dimension), specifically when M ≈ N, where the standard pseudoinverse and H-K APs perform poorly. Also considered are variable thresholds, an error-correcting algorithm to allow analog synthesis of the H-K AP, and the different reliabilities of the recollection elements.
Effect of combination of preoperative ibuprofen/acetaminophen on the success of the inferior alveolar nerve block in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to determine the effect of the administration of the combination of preoperative ibuprofen/acetaminophen on the success of the inferior alveolar nerve (IAN) block in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis. Methods One hundred endodontic emergency patients in moderate to severe pain diagnosed with irreversible pulpitis of a mandibular posterior tooth randomly received, in a double-blind manner, identical capsules of either a combination of 800 mg ibuprofen and 1000 mg acetaminophen or placebo 45 minutes before the administration of a conventional IAN block. Access was begun 15 minutes after completion of the IAN block, and all patients had profound lip numbness. Success was defined as no or mild pain (visual analog scale recordings) on access or initial instrumentation. Results and Conclusions The success rate for the IAN block was 32% for the combination ibuprofen/acetaminophen group and 24% for the placebo, with no significant difference (P = .37) between the 2 groups. For mandibular posterior teeth, a combination dose of 800 mg ibuprofen and 1000 mg acetaminophen given 45 minutes before administration of the IAN block did not result in a statistically significant increase in anesthetic success in patients with symptomatic irreversible pulpitis.
Micro-lymphatic bypass in the treatment of obstructive lymphoedema of the arm: case report of a new technique

A report is presented of a case of secondary lymphoedema of the upper limb successfully treated by microlymphatic bypass with a composite graft containing three lymphocollectors from the lower limb to bypass the ablated portion of the pathway. To ensure success the surgery must be carried out before the peripheral lymphatics have been damaged or destroyed by increasing pressure and recurrent infection. Pre-operative lymphangiography is mandatory to assess suitability for the bypass procedure. Other methods of treatment are reviewed.
Power-free bistable threshold accelerometer made from a carbon nanotube framework

Abstract. This paper presents a design and a method for fabricating and testing fully compliant, bistable threshold accelerometers made from a carbon-infiltrated carbon nanotube framework. Two different configurations based on differences in compliant beam angles are presented. Both configurations were tested under constant accelerations produced by mounting them on a spinning disk and under impulse accelerations by mounting them to the end of a swinging pendulum with a stop at the lowest point of the pendulum path. Tests were also performed to observe the potential effects of stress relaxation in the carbon nanotube material. This was done by placing the accelerometers in their second stable position (nonfabricated position) and then testing them after a period of 24 h. Results show that in eight of the twelve tests there was no significant change due to stress relaxation. In the other four tests, the change was relatively small, especially when compared to stress relaxation effects in other materials such as plastics. Measurements indicate that the accelerometers show very high repeatability individually. However, we also observed that there is significant variation in switching acceleration between accelerometers with identical geometric parameters. This may be due to random variation occurring during the fabrication process.
Promoting wellness in lamaze classes.

Lamaze childbirth educators are responsible for teaching wellness-based classes that do not add to the anxiety of the current, fear-based culture of maternity health care. Expectant parents' vulnerable months of pregnancy offer “teachable moments” for the childbirth educator, during which parents can be encouraged to alter their lifestyles and adopt the concept of wellness to their principles of living. In this article, concepts of wellness are examined, drawing from the writings of wellness advocates, midwifery researchers, and an anthropologist. Nutrition, physical exercise, breathing, and awareness of the five senses are components of potential class content explored in this article.
Complementary-like inverters based on an ambipolar solution-processed molecular bis(naphthalene diimide)-dithienopyrrole derivative

Abstract We report on high-mobility top-gate organic field-effect transistors (OFETs) and complementary-like inverters fabricated with a solution-processed molecular bis(naphthalene diimide)-dithienopyrrole derivative as the channel semiconductor and a CYTOP/Al2O3 bilayer as the gate dielectric. The OFETs showed ambipolar behavior with average electron and hole mobility values of 1.2 and 0.01 cm2 V−1 s−1, respectively. Complementary-like inverters fabricated with two ambipolar OFETs showed hysteresis-free voltage transfer characteristics with negligible variations of switching threshold voltages and yielded very high DC gain values of more than 90 V/V (up to 122 V/V) at a supply voltage of 25 V.
Esophageal dysfunction and Raynaud's phenomenon in patients with scleroderma

The relationship of Raynaud's phenomenon (RP) to the degree of esophageal motility dysfunction was evaluated in 12 patients with scleroderma. Motility abnormalities of the smooth muscle esophagus were quantitated using a motility index (MI). MI of the scleroderma patients differed significantly from controls. No relationship was noted between the extent of motility abnormality and the duration or severity of the RP. A nearly uniform finding was the absence of coordinated esophageal peristalsis, occurring regardless of the duration or severity of the RP. The study demonstrates that it is not possible to predict the degree of esophageal motility dysfunction in scleroderma based on RP alone. The disease may have two different and independent pathogenetic components. One component is closely linked to RP and involves impairment of neuromuscular electrical transmission. The other component (independent of RP) involves progressive loss of muscle strength in the distal esophagus and in the lower esophageal sphincter.
Performance standards and testing of two-dimensional bar code systems for overhead scanning

Abstract This paper describes a standard testing methodology to objectively compare the performance of a new class of two-dimensional bar code systems for an overhead sortation and tracking application in an automated material handling environment. The performance of two different two-dimensional bar code systems was compared on five different tests. These tests included (1) range of speed, (2) width of field, (3) symbol rate with undamaged, unoriented symbols, (4) symbol rate with damaged, oriented symbols, and (5) focus time. Results showed that four of the five tests appear to be valid means for comparing performance of differing two-dimensional technologies for an overhead sortation/tracking application.
Serum adiponectin during pregnancy and postpartum in women with gestational diabetes and normal controls.

Aims. To investigate changes in serum adiponectin during pregnancy and postpartum and assess its relationship with insulin resistance as measured by homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR).Methods. ...
Different sensing techniques for geomorphometric measurements

Solid-state MEMS accelerometers are small and cost-effective new sensors developed within the last decade that have often been used as tilt sensors in non-agricultural environments. In some applications accelerometers can replace electronic clinometers, which are heavily dampened sensors used in common tilt measurements. Our research tested the hypothesis that either sensor can be used as dynamic tilt sensors and accurately map areas with varying topography. Slope is a vector measurement of the rate of change of elevation, and is a soil attribute commonly studied in the geosciences due to the influence it exerts over other soil attributes and crop yield. Mathematical models were used to relate pitch and roll angles of a roving vehicle to field slope gradient and aspect, based on data collected with a dual-axis accelerometer and a dual-axis clinometer in a field test. Benchmark for comparisons were slope values derived from RTK-GPS measurements. Time-domain and spatial-domain filters were applied to the data collected in the field. The coefficient of determination (r^2), mean absolute error (MAE), and model efficiency (ME) were used to compare slope gradient results. Slope aspect was evaluated on whether it was correctly classified according to cardinal directions. Results suggest that the accelerometer and the clinometer are accurate enough to be used as dynamic tilt sensors. The MAEs of slope gradient were less than 1^o when compared to measurements derived from RTK-GPS, for scales similar to Order I soil maps. The correct classification of slope aspect was higher than 70%. Solid-state MEMS accelerometers represent a new and cost-effective technology that can be successfully used in such measurements. Accelerometers outperform clinometers in cost, speed, and simplicity of use, but not in accuracy.
Illness Duration and Coping Style in Chronic Fatigue Syndrome

A sample of patients with chronic fatigue syndrome was recruited to assess coping strategies and illness duration. It was hypothesized that adaptive coping strategies would be higher among those with longer illness duration. Those in the longer illness duration group reported higher use of active coping, positive reframing, planning, and acceptance, and lower use of behavioral disengagement than those in the shorter illness duration group. No significant differences were found between the two illness duration groups for physical impairment or symptom severity, but the long duration group revealed a lower percentage of participants who were working than the short duration group. These findings suggest that individuals with longer or shorter duration of the illness have differences in coping styles but not differences in physical impairment or symptom severity.
The phosphatidylinositol synthase of proximal tubule cells

Abstract Phosphatidylinositol (PI) is a precursor for an important class of phospholipids, the phosphatidylinositol polyphosphates. Because renal myo-inositol levels may vary under both physiological (e.g., antidiuretic) and pathophysiological (e.g., diabetic) conditions, the formation of PI from CDP-diacylglyceroI (CDP-DG) and myo-inositol via phosphatidylinositol synthase and the regulation of this enzyme have important implications for the cellular biology of renal epithelia. We sought to understand the role of PI synthase by determining its subcellular localization, kinetic properties and regulation in rabbit proximal tubule cells. Proximal tubule cells were isolated from New Zealand White rabbits. The subcellular synthesis of PI was assessed by [32P]orthophosphate labelling with subsequent subcellular fractionation. Labelling of PI was time-dependent and consistent with the rapid incorporation of 32PO4 into basolateral, brush-border, microsomal and nuclear fractions. Pulse-chase labelling of proximal tubule cells was consistent with the formation of PI in microsomal fraction of the proximal tubule cells in addition to both brush-border and basolateral membranes. Conversely, phosphatidylcholine, phosphatidylethanolamine and phosphatidylglycerol displayed radiolabelling patterns consistent with microsomal synthesis alone. The in situ formation of phosphatidylinositol was substantiated by the direct measurement of phosphatidylinositol synthase activity in basolateral, brush-border and microsomal fractions. The apparent Km values for myo-inositol were 0.32 ± 0.19, 0.39 ± 0.21 and 0.23 ± 0.05 mM, and for CDP-DG were 0.12 ± 0.02, 0.14 ± 0.05 and 0.12 ± 0.02 mM in basolateral, brush-border and microsomal fractions, respectively. Vmax values for phosphatidylinositol formation were slightly, but not significantly greater, in microsomal than for plasma membrane fractions. Moreover, based on enzymatic enrichment data, plasma membrane PI synthase activity could not be explained by microsomal cross-contamination alone. PI synthase activity was inhibited by co-incubation with PI without differences among the cellular fractions. Intracellular myo-inositol concentration in the proximal tubule cells as measured by gas-liquid chromatography was 20.5 mM, significantly greater than the apparent Km values for myo-inositol. In conclusion, the in situ synthesis of phosphatidylinositol occurs in several membrane fractions; the kinetic properties of phosphatidylinositol synthase appear to be similar in each fraction; and phosphatidylinositol synthase in proximal tubule cells is inhibited by its own formation product. These data suggest that myo-inositol concentration alone is unlikely to be an important regulator of the chemical mass of phosphatidylinositol at the levels of this polyol observed in rabbit kidney.
Accelerated building and ray tracing of restricted BSP trees

We present algorithms for building and ray tracing restricted BSP trees. The build algorithm uses a dynamic programming technique to compute coefficients that allow efficient calculation of the surface area heuristic. This algorithm reduces asymptotic runtime, and has significant impact on tree building time. Additionally, we make several simple observations which lead to very fast ray-tree traversal of RBSPs. Our new traversal algorithm is based on state-of-the-art kd-tree traversal algorithms, and effectively increases the speed of ray tracing RBSPs by an order of magnitude. We show that RBSP trees are not only practical to build, but that RBSP trees are nearly as fast to ray trace as kd-trees, generally accepted as the fastest ray acceleration structure.
Design and application of actively controlled injection schemes for resin-transfer molding

Liquid composite molding (LCM) processes provide the potential for producing complex net-shape components with relatively simple hardware requirements. The physical complexity of these processes has motivated the development of numerical process simulations, addressing preform manufacture, mold filling, and resin cure. While these simulations have increased the scope of parts successfully manufactured, it is argued here that in order to bring these processes to their full potential, intelligent application of active-control technology should be applied. In this paper we investigate active control of resin transfer molding (RTM), focusing on mold filling. A fully automated flow-visualization testbed has been developed, integrating a multiple line injection system, flow-front sensors, and automated vent assemblies. A mold-filling case study is presented here, demonstrating a design methodology for actively controlled injection schemes. The resulting injection scheme is implemented experimentally, and is shown to eliminate dryspots in all cases. As increasingly complicated parts are addressed, it is imperative that well-defined design methodologies are developed, that can be easily applied to the widest variety of components.
Narratives of corruption Anthropological and fictional accounts of the Indian state

In this article I attempt to analyze stories about corruption for what they might reveal about the Indian state. By triangulating my own fieldwork data, a prize-winning novel written by an official...
Lithium-induced increase in human brain grey matter

Summary Rodent studies have shown that lithium exerts neurotrophic or neuroprotective effects. We used three-dimensional magnetic resonance imaging and brain segmentation to study pharmacologically-induced increases in grey matter volume with chronic lithium use in patients with bipolar mood disorder. Grey-matter volume increased after 4 weeks of treatment. The increases in grey matter probably occurred because of neurotrophic effects.
p38: signaling improved platelet storage?

During storage, platelets become gradually impaired in activation and signaling responses. In this issue of Blood, Canault and colleagues demonstrate that storage-induced shedding of platelet receptors GP1bα and GPV is mediated by p38 MAP kinase and inhibition of this pathway improves the function and posttransfusion recovery of stored platelets. 1 .
The effect of the prostaglandin analogue-misoprostol on rat liver mitochondria after chronic alcohol feeding.

Rats fed ethanol (36% of total calories in a nutritionally adequate liquid diet) for 5 weeks develop functional alterations of hepatic mitochondria and steatosis of the liver. At the fatty liver stage, ADP-stimulated respiration of mitochondria was depressed in ethanol fed rats by 30% (p< 0.001) with glutamate + malate and by 23% (p< 0.001) with succinate as substrates. A similar decrease was noted in the respiratory control ratio (RCR) (34% and 29%, respectively). The total lipid content of the liver increased 2.6 fold (p< 0.001). Mitochondrial dysfunction could be prevented, in part, by the treatment with a synthetic derivative of prostaglandin E1, misoprostol, at a mean daily dose of 80 μg/kg of body weight. The RCR with glutamate + malate as substrates was improved by 36% (p< 0.05). We conclude that misoprostol attenuates several functional alterations in liver mitochondria during alcohol feeding.
Resolution and image spread in autoradiographs of tritium-labeled cells.

Abstract Calculations of the radiation dose rate about point sources of tritium have been extended to explain the variations in image spread seen in autoradiographs of cells labeled with tritiated thymidine. The resolution attainable with tritium sources in contact with the sensitive emulsion is much sharper (0·2μ) than that attainable with C14 (2μ). With sources at a micron or more depth, however, the effect of the very low energy tritium gb− particles on improving the resolution is lost and the resolution deteriorates. As the depth of a tritium-labeled cell nucleus in the tissue section increases, the grain density decreases, the resolution becomes poorer, and the image spread increases.
Mariner 6 and 7 ultraviolet spectrometer experiment: Photometry and topography of mars

From data obtained by the ultraviolet spectrometers aboard the Mariner 6 and 7 Mars missions the reflectivity of the illuminated disk of Mars was found to have two distinct spectral types, associated with polar and nonpolar regions. In this work the characteristic spectrum of nonpolar regions on Mars is discussed. An interpretation of the variation of the intensity at 3050 A due to surface pressure variations is given. A comparison of the ultraviolet observations with pressures inferred by the infrared spectrometer is used to test this interpretation and to determine physical parameters of Mars which lead to the observed reflectance. Earth based pressures obtained by broadening of the one-micron band of CO2 and radar topography are compared with the ultraviolet results.
Magnetic Circular Dichroism Spectra of Compounds Containing Quadruple Metal–Metal Bonds. Polarized Single Crystal Absorption Spectra of (n‐Bu4N)2[Re2Br8] at 5 K

It is found that only weak MCD B terms are associated with the 1A1s → 1A2u (δ → δ*) absorption in Re2X2-8 (X = Cl, Br), Mo2Cl4-8, and Mo2Cl4[P(C2H5)3]4. At 15K (KBr disk sample), the 585 nm absorption system of Mo2Cl4[P(C2H5)3]4 shows 320 cm−1 vibronic fine structure in a1g (MoMo). By analogy, this sytem is assigned to the spin-allowed δ → δ* transition. The lowest energy strong MCD signals exhibited by Re2Cl2-8, Re2Br2-8, and Mo2Cl4-8 are A terms at 310, 420, and 270 nm, respectively. These are associated with the 1A1g → 1Eu (X(π) → δ*) transitions. Relatively intense MCD signals at 275 and 380 nm for Re2Cl2-8 and Re2Br2-8 and corresponding features in the single crystal polarized absorption spectra are assigned in each case to two overlapping transitions, 1A1g → 1A2u (X(π) → δ*) and 1A1g → 1Eu (X(σ) → δ*). The 440 nm absorption systems of Mo2 (O2CH)4 and Mo2(O2CCF3)4 exhibit strong MCD B terms.