cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current Circumcision Trends and Guidelines

Most consensus statements are made after clear consideration of the evidence at hand tempered by local politics. Routine circumcision was the norm in Great Britain, Canada, and the USA until after the Second World War. The early promoters of routine circumcision reflected the state of medicine in the late nineteenth century and were primarily influenced by anecdotal case reports, often of dubious nature. The reports of neonatal deaths from circumcision and the advent of the National Health Service before the end of the 1940s led Great Britain to abandon coverage for routine circumcision. It was more than 20 years later that Canada and Australia followed suit. The United States, for various reasons, took a different path, and following the First World War promoted routine circumcision, with an even stronger position following the Second World War. In 1999, to address the growing question as to the validity of routine circumcision, the AAP issued a policy statement that took the middle of the road, rather than polarized for or against. This policy has been revisited and revised based on new data as it accrues and last reaffirmed in 2005. That is, circumcision confers some medical benefit but not enough to call for its routine application.
Rates of Ligand Exchange around the Bis-Oxalato Complex [NpO2(C2O4)2]3− Measured by Using Multinuclear NMR Spectroscopy under Neutral to Semi-Alkaline Conditions

Author(s): Pilgrim, Corey D; Mason, Harris E; Zavarin, Mavrik; Casey, William H | Abstract: The kinetics of ligand exchange between the free oxalate ion, C2 O4 2- , and the bis-oxalato NpV complex, [NpO2 (C2 O4 )2 ]3- , in aqueous solution are reported by using 13 C and 17 O NMR spectroscopy methods. Rates of exchange were measured in the pH regime of 6.5-9.0, at which speciation is shown to be suitably simple. Because the neptunium(V) complex is paramagnetic, the rates of ligand exchange were estimated by following the width of the 13 C and 17 O signals assigned to the free oxalate ion in solution and by applying the Swift-Connick method for measuring rates of exchange. A set of experiments were conducted in which pH and total oxalate concentration were varied, and the linear dependence of the rate on these parameters was demonstrated. Variable-temperature NMR spectroscopy was also performed to measure activation parameters of complexation. At pHl8.0, ΔH≠ =16.9 ±4.9 kJ mol-1 and ΔS≠ =-116.3 ±17.1 kJ mol-1 K-1 , whereas at pHg8.0 there is almost no dependence on temperature, which is interpreted to indicate that hydrolysis is coupled to ligand exchange under these conditions.
Significant Research Findings in the Etiology of Child Abuse

Three variables—the role of the child, the psychological/personality factors of the parent, and sociological-environmental factors—are used as bases for analyzing current findings. The analysis ind...
Markov Processes and Conditional Independence

The notion of conditional independence has been utilized extensively in advanced treatments of Markov processes. Such processes appear as models of processes without “memory.” The “future” is conditioned only by the “present” and not by the manner in which the present state is reached. The past thus affects the future only as it influences the present. We wish to make the connection between the usual introductory treatment and the more advanced point of view, which is not only mathematically powerful but intuitively helpful in displaying the essential character of Markov processes. For a recent introductory treatment utilizing conditional independence, see Cinlar [1975].
Experimental and Theoretical Study of Microturbine-Based BCHP System

On-site and near-site distributed power generation (DG), as part of a Buildings Cooling, Heating and Power (BCHP) system, brings both electricity and waste heat from the DG sources closer to the end user's electric and thermal loads. Consequently, the waste heat can be used as input power for heat-activated air conditioners, chillers, and desiccant dehumidification systems; to generate steam for space heating; or to provide hot water for laundry, kitchen, cleaning services and/or rest rooms. By making use of what is normally waste heat, BCHP systems meet a building's electrical and thermal loads with a lower input of fossil fuel, yielding resource efficiencies of 40 to 70% or more. To ensure the success of BCHP systems, interactions of a DG system-such as a microturbine and thermal heat recovery units under steady-state modes of operation with various exhaust back pressures-must be considered. This article studies the performance and emissions of a 30-kW microturbine over a range of design and off-design conditions in steady-state operating mode with various back pressures. In parallel with the experimental part of the project, a BCHP mathematical model was developed describing basic thermodynamic and hydraulic processes in the system, heat and material balances, and the relationship ofmore » the balances. to the system configuration. The model can determine the efficiency of energy conversion both for an individual microturbine unit and for the entire BCHP system for various system configurations and external loads. Based on actual data Tom a 30-kW microturbine, linear analysis was used to obtain an analytical relationship between the changes in the thermodynamic and hydraulic parameters of the system. The actual data show that, when the backpressure at the microturbine exhaust outlet is increased to the maximum of 7 in. WC (0.017 atm), the microturbine's useful power output decreases by from 3.5 % at a full power setting of 30 kW to 5.5 % at a one-third power setting (10 k w), while the efficiency of the unit decreases from 2.5 to 4.0%, accordingly. Tests on the microturbine were conducted at the Cooling, Heating, and Power Laboratory set up at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory's Buildings Technology Center. Data were collected from the microturbine at power demand settings of 30 kW (full load) to 10 kW in 5-kW increments. For each power demand setting, data measurements were taken over an entire range of microturbine exhaust back pressures. The parameters measured were engine speed, ambient air temperature, air temperature at the microturbine inlet, gas temperature at the turbine outlet, exhaust gas temperature, throttle pressure loss, flow rate of natural gas, and composition of combustion products. The mathematical model provided gas temperature before the turbine, compression rate, and air flow rate, which were determined based on the measured data The results of these early tests and the computer-based simulation model are in very close agreement.« less
A dual-bandwidth multilayer monochromator system

This paper reports on a planned upgrade to the capabilities of the Illinois Institute of Technology’s BioCAT undulator beamline in an effort to increase the photon flux 10 to 100-fold. This is accomplished by the addition of a double multilayer monochromator (MLM) system complementing the existing cryogenically-cooled double crystal silicon monochromator system. The water-cooled MLMs are designed and fabricated with each having two coated stripes to deliver a 12 keV undulator beam with either 1.0% or 0.5% energy bandwidths (BW). To simplify the mechanical design and operation of the MLM system, the two coatings have been designed with the same period thickness so that the BW selection is accomplished (at the same Bragg angle) by a mere horizontal translation of the MLMs. The challenge has been to find a pair of coatings that provide the desired BWs with high reflectivity at the same incident angle. This was achieved using MoSi2/B4C and Mo/MoSi2/B4C/MoS2 multilayers at an angle of 1.194°. The bandwidths and reflectivities attained are 0.52 and 83.33% for the former and 0.86 and 75.9% for the latter. Details are provided.
A Multi-Agent Shared Machine Learning Approach for Real-time Battery Operation Mode Prediction and Control

This paper introduces a machine learning approach for real-time battery operation mode prediction and control for residential PV applications. The novelty resides in the shared learning process among the devices. All the ESDs will share their historical data with a learning aggregator in order to train a ML algorithm for the mode prediction. The learning aggregator will then send the trained algorithm back to the agents. Its role will be to train and maintain the ML algorithm. First, from the historical data, the optimal battery operation mode for each operation time step is derived. Performances are tested with different number of houses in the training test and different training lengths. The month of August is reserved for testing, while the rest of year is used for training. In the first scenario, the same houses used in the training are used in the testing. In the second scenario, one set of houses is used for training and the other set for testing. Then, the shared-algorithm will be used to predict future operation mode for real-time operation. A comparison on bill savings is made with the model-predictive control approach using the residential load and PV data from the Pecan Street project website under a self-consumption case.
Mitochondrial Damage and Activation of the STING Pathway Lead to Renal Inflammation and Fibrosis

Summary Fibrosis is the final common pathway leading to end-stage renal failure. By analyzing the kidneys of patients and animal models with fibrosis, we observed a significant mitochondrial defect, including the loss of the mitochondrial transcription factor A (TFAM) in kidney tubule cells. Here, we generated mice with tubule-specific deletion of TFAM (Ksp-Cre/Tfamflox/flox). While these mice developed severe mitochondrial loss and energetic deficit by 6 weeks of age, kidney fibrosis, immune cell infiltration, and progressive azotemia causing death were only observed around 12 weeks of age. In renal cells of TFAM KO (knockout) mice, aberrant packaging of the mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) resulted in its cytosolic translocation, activation of the cytosolic cGAS-stimulator of interferon genes (STING) DNA sensing pathway, and thus cytokine expression and immune cell recruitment. Ablation of STING ameliorated kidney fibrosis in mouse models of chronic kidney disease, demonstrating how TFAM sequesters mtDNA to limit the inflammation leading to fibrosis.
Determining Effectiveness of the SaeboGlove With Spinal-Cord Injury (SCI): A Case Study

Date Presented 04/04/19 Researchers implemented a massed practice- and task-specific protocol with use of the SaeboGlove with an individual with an incomplete SCI. The purpose of this study was to determine changes in performance and satisfaction in meaningful occupations and changes in UE motor recovery following use of the SaeboGlove with an individual with an SCI. Results indicate the SaeboGlove has potential to improve engagement in occupations and improve UE motor function with individuals with incomplete SCI. Primary Author and Speaker: Whitney Henderson Additional Authors and Speakers: Brittany Nickelson
From Progressive Cities to Resilient Cities: Lessons from History for New Debates in Equitable Adaptation to Climate Change:

Planners and activists are identifying ways to promote equitable adaptation that counter climate injustice. This article explores how this progressive turn in adaptation compares with past progress...
Duolingo English Test, Revised Version July 2019

The Duolingo English Test (DET) is a computer adaptive test of English proficiency that is increasingly used for English-medium university admissions purposes. During the COVID-19 pandemic of 2020,...
The role of 2-year colleges in the improving situation of Hispanic postsecondary education

Abstract During the past two decades 2-year colleges have become an increasingly important part of the American higher education system, especially for Hispanics who are disproportionately likely to start their careers in 2-year colleges. Given that today's economy rewards college attendance more than every before [Bound & Johnson (1992). The American Economic Review, 82(3), 371–392; Bound & Johnson (1995). Federal Reserve Bank of New York Economic Policy Review, 1(1), 9–17.] it becomes important to consider the effect that 2-year colleges have had on the educational and subsequent labor market futures of Hispanics. Using a sample drawn from the sophomore cohort of the High School and Beyond we examine the extent to which access to 2-year colleges affects both the number of years of postsecondary education completed by Hispanics and the probability of their one-day attaining bachelor's degrees. Employing an IV approach to correct for self-selection, we find that 2-year colleges have an unambiguously positive effect on the educational attainment of Hispanics. Further, The fact that we estimate a democratization effect for Hispanics that exceeds previous estimates by nearly one full year suggests that Hispanics might disproportionately benefit from access to 2-year colleges.
Health-Related Quality of Life Data in Cancer Clinical Trials for Drug Registration: The Value Beyond Reimbursement.

PURPOSEA review of the literature was performed to evaluate how quality of life measures are collected, analyzed, and reported in cancer clinical trials intended to support drug registration.Health...
The Emergence of Intellectual Property for Legal Innovation

The legal system has traditionally been the source of intellectual property protection for innovation, not the object of protection. The legal system, however, is not static. It adjusts to new social needs; it accommodates new technologies; and perhaps also it improves with time. Just as private initiative can lead to innovation in other disciplines, so too can it foster innovation in the legal system itself. Private legal innovators may in turn seek to protect their innovations using the tools of intellectual property, and it may be in society’s interest to allow such protection to induce increased legal innovation. This chapter offers two case studies showing how private parties are currently protecting their legal innovations with various forms of intellectual property, including copyright, trademark and trade secret law. These case studies suggest that intellectual property is becoming an increasingly important tool for inducing legal innovation.
Probing Chromatin Compaction and Its Epigenetic States in situ With Single-Molecule Localization-Based Super-Resolution Microscopy

Chromatin organization play a vital role in gene regulation and genome maintenance in normal biological processes and in response to environmental insults. Disruption of chromatin organization imposes a significant effect on many cellular processes and is often associated with a range of pathological processes such as aging and cancer. Extensive attention has been attracted to understand the structural and functional studies of chromatin architecture. Biochemical assays coupled with the state-of-the-art genomic technologies have been traditionally used to probe chromatin architecture. Recent advances in single molecule localization microscopy (SMLM) open up new opportunities to directly visualize higher-order chromatin architecture, its compaction status and its functional states at nanometer resolution in the intact cells or tissue. In this review, we will first discuss the recent technical advantages and challenges of using SMLM to image chromatin architecture. Next, we will focus on the recent applications of SMLM for structural and functional studies to probe chromatin architecture in key cellular processes. Finally, we will provide our perspectives on the recent development and potential applications of super-resolution imaging of chromatin architecture in improving our understanding in diseases.
Vasoplegic Syndrome in Patients Undergoing Cardiac Surgery: A Literature Review

Vasoplegic syndrome is a rising problem affecting morbidity and mortality in patients undergoing cardiac surgery. Vasoplegia is a vasodilatory, shocklike syndrome characterized by decreased systemic vascular resistance, normal to high cardiac index, and hypotension refractory to fluid resuscitation and vasopressors. This review describes the presentation, physiology, risk factors, treatments, and implications of vasoplegia after cardiac surgery. No standardized methods for diagnosing and treating vasoplegia are available. Vasoplegia is caused by surgical trauma, systemic inflammation, and vascular dysregulation. Patients with comorbidities and those undergoing complex surgical procedures are at increased risk for vasoplegia. The use of β-blockers is protective. Vasoplegia is potentially reversible. Vasopressin is likely the most effective first-line vasopressor, and the use of methylene blue and/or hydroxocobalamin may restore vascular tone. Alternative therapies such as methylene blue and hydroxocobalamin show promise, but additional research and education are needed.
Has Depression Surpassed HIV As a Burden to Gay and Bisexual Men's Health in the United States?

Background: At the same time that advances in HIV prevention and treatment have changed the epidemic for gay and bisexual men, another epidemic faces this population. Gay and bisexual men represent one of the highest risk groups for depression, which potentially poses quality-of-life and public health challenges comparable to those of HIV. The present study seeks to inform comprehensive care for sexual minority men by estimating and comparing the morbidity of HIV and depression for US gay and bisexual men. Methods: Weighted counts of gay and bisexual men living with HIV and depression were derived from the CDC's Medical Monitoring Project and the National Survey on Drug Use and Health, respectively. Years lived with disability for HIV and depression come were calculated using the Global Burden of Disease Study's disability weights. Findings: Among gay and bisexual adult men in the US, the prevalence of past-year major depressive episodes is 14.17%, while the prevalence of HIV is 11.52%. We estimate that in calendar year 2015, major depressive episodes imposed 85,361 (95% CI: 58,293-112,212) years lived with disability among US adult gay and bisexual men, whereas HIV posed 42,981 (95% CI: 36,221-49,722) years lived with disability. Interpretation: This present analysis shows that depression morbidity currently exceeds that for HIV among US adult gay and bisexual men. While gay and bisexual men are frequently understood to be a high-risk population for HIV, including in guidelines for HIV prevention and treatment, the present analysis suggests that this population should also be considered at high-risk for depression. Healthcare providers should increasingly attend to the mental health needs of their gay and bisexual patients both within and outside of the context of HIV prevention and treatment. Funding Statement: The National Institute of Mental Health provided funding for this study (T32MH20031, Bromberg; R01MH109413, Pachankis, Paltiel). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare that they have no competing interests. Ethical Approval Statement: The authors state ethics approval not applicable.
Paramecium Molecular Evolution

Paramecia are iconic members of the phylum Ciliophora, the ciliate protozoa or synonym. Many different aspects of their cellular and molecular features have been intensively studied by researchers for many years.
Political Change and the Islamic Revival in Tunisia

There was a resurgence of political Islam in the Arab world during the decade of the 1970s. Fueled, in part, by the Arab’s defeat in the June 1967 war, by money from Saudi Arabia and other conservative oil-rich Arab states, and by the 1979 Islamic revolution in Iran, this resurgence increased the proportion of ordinary citizens who believed that society and political affairs should be governed by Islamic principles, and often by conservative and traditionalist interpretations of these principles. Accordingly, although Islam was rarely entirely absent from Arab society and politics, this increased the likelihood that the MENA region would continue to be inhospitable to wholly secular political formulae. Tunisia is a particularly appropriate place to examine the Islamic resurgence given that it had done more than any other Arab country to limit the influence of Islam in political affairs. In addition to reviewing religion and politics in Tunisia during the last decades of French colonial rule and the first two decades after independence, this chapter presents the results of public opinion surveys conducted in 1967 and 1973, the latter coterminous with some of the fieldwork on which other chapters in this volume report. The surveys asked questions not only about personal religiosity but also about the influence Islam should have in society and politics. Findings show an increase between 1967 and 1973 in personal religiosity and in agreement on most but not all of the relevant questions that Islam should exert influence in public affairs. The study also found that these changes between 1967 and 1973 were more pronounced in certain demographic categories and less pronounced in others. The chapter concludes with the observation that the Islamic resurgence was growing in Tunisia in the 1970s and appeared to have considerable support among relatively well-educated individuals, as well as among persons who were socially disadvantaged.
An alternative ending to "Pleasant extensions retaining algebraic structure''

The culmination of the papers (arXiv:0905.0518, arXiv:0910.0909) was a proof of the norm convergence in $L^2(\mu)$ of the quadratic nonconventional ergodic averages \frac{1}{N}\sum_{n=1}^N(f_1\circ T_1^{n^2})(f_2\circ T_1^{n^2}T_2^n)\quad\quad f_1,f_2\in L^\infty(\mu) associated to an arbitrary probability-preserving \bbZ^2-system (X,\mu,T_1,T_2). This is a special case of the Bergelson-Leibman conjecture on the norm convergence of polynomial nonconventional ergodic averages. That proof relied on some new machinery for extending probability-preserving $\bbZ^d$-systems to obtain simplified asymptotic behaviour for various nonconventional averages such as the above. The engine of this machinery is formed by some detailed structure theorems for the `characteristic factors' that are available for some such averages after ascending to a suitably-extended system. However, these new structure theorems underwent two distinct phases of development, separated by the discovery of some new technical results in Moore's cohomology theory for locally compact groups (arXiv:1004.4937). That discovery enabled a significant improvement to the main structure theorem (Theorem 1.1 in (arXiv:0905.0518)), which in turn afforded a much shortened proof of convergence. However, since the proof of convergence using the original structure theorem required some quite different ideas that are now absent from these other papers, I have recorded it here in case it has some independent interest.
Electron spin resonance spectra of niobium(IV) complexes—III: Niobium(IV) chloride adducts with various pyridines☆

Abstract Niobium tetrachloride reacts with pyridine and various substituted pyridines to form complexes of the type NbCl 4 · 2L which have a trans geometry in solution. ESR spectra of these complexes show variations in hyperfine parameters which can be related to the inductive or resonance effect of the substituent. The antibonding ground state 1 B 2 > ∗ molecular orbital is quiete covalent for all of the complexes investigated.
Crooks, Lawrence E.: Field Strength Selection for MR Imaging

The sections in this article are 1 Introduction 2 Conceptual Limits on Field Strength 3 Magnet Selection 4 Imaging Results 5 Conclusions 6 Biographical Sketch
Confronting Race: Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815–1915

Review of: "Confronting Race: Women and Indians on the Frontier, 1815–1915," by Glenda Riley.
Can climate feel the pressure

Atmospheric carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations are widely held to be the main driver of climate change through the Phanerozoic (the past 541 million years), with warm intervals corresponding to high CO2 concentrations and cold intervals having low CO2 concentrations ( 1 ) (see the figure). However, paleoclimate models often cannot match proxy estimates of temperature and precipitation unless unrealistic CO2 concentrations are prescribed ( 2 , 3 ). The solution may come from an unexpected direction: atmospheric oxygen (O2), which is not a greenhouse gas and thus provides no direct greenhouse forcing. On page 1238 of this issue, Poulsen et al. ( 4 ) report model results that identify O2 as an important climate driver through its contribution to total atmospheric pressure.
NMR pressure study of 27Al and 65Cu in the Al65Cu20Ru15 quasicrystal.

The isotropic Knight shift ({ital K}{sub iso}) and nuclear spin-lattice relaxation rate ({ital R}{sub 1}) of {sup 27}Al and {sup 65}Cu were studied at 77 K in the Al{sub 65}Cu{sub 20}Ru{sub 15} {ital I}-phase as functions of pressure. Up to 1.8 kbar the {sup 27}Al {ital K}{sub iso} values showed no deviation from the room pressure value (0.032{plus_minus}0.003)%, and up to 1.9 kbar the {ital R}{sub 1} values changed by no more than 20% of the values at 1 bar for both {sup 27}Al and {sup 65}Cu. These results and previous temperature and composition dependence NMR data are not consistent with a factor of 2 change in the {ital s}-band electronic density of states over an energy scale of 10{sup {minus}2} eV.
Ureteral obstruction in chronic ectopic pregnancy

Abstract A case of ureteral obstruction in association with a chronic ectopic pregnancy is presented.
Effect of transport modeling on hypersonic cooled wall boundary layer stability

Boundary layer transition to turbulence on blunt entry/reentry vehicles leads to increased heating and additional thermal protection system weight. The boundary layers on the blunt face contain large temperature gradients which require the modeling of complex multi-species flows including detailed transport models and non-equilibrium chemistry. In this work, the sensitivity of stability characteristics to different transport and thermodynamic models is investigated. The flat plate boundary layer is used as a model problem using representative temperature profiles and Mach numbers for temperature ranges without dissociation. It is shown that the stability characteristics, both linear and transient growth, are sensitive to the models used for calculating the transport and thermodynamic properties.
COMBINED CHEMICAL AND ENZYMATIC SYNTHESIS OF A C-GLYCOPEPTIDE AND ITS INHIBITORY ACTIVITY TOWARD GLYCOAMIDASES

A novel chemoenzymatic approach to synthesizing high-mannose-type N-glycopeptide and its C-linked glycopeptide analog is described. The synthesis consists of two steps: a chemical synthesis of GlcNAc-containing peptides and an enzymatic glycosyl transfer of Man9GlcNAc to the terminal GlcNAc in the peptides in an aqueous medium containing organic solvents. The essential enzyme used is an endo-β-N-acetyl-glucosaminidase from Arthrobacter protophormiae (Endo-A). This approach should be generally applicable to the synthesis of both natural and designed high-mannose-type glycopeptides. It has been found that, while the natural high-mannose-type N-glycopeptide 2 can be rapidly hydrolyzed by glycoamidases [commonly called N-glycanase or, systematically, peptide-N4-(N-acetyl-β-d-glucosaminylasparagine amidase], the synthetic C-glycopeptide 1 with an insertion of a methylene group at the crucial asparagine−GlcNAc linkage is resistant to the enzyme-catalyzed hydrolysis and shows apparent inhibitory activity toward...
Intermittent morphine administration induces dependence and is a chronic stressor in rats.

Although constant treatment with morphine (implanted pellets) does not activate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, intermittent injections of morphine may constitute a chronic stressor in rats. To test this hypothesis, we compared the effects of morphine in escalating doses (10-40 mg/kg, s.c.) or saline injected twice daily for 4 days on energy balance, hormones, HPA responses to novel restraint and central corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF) mRNA 12 h and 8 days after the last morphine injection in adult male Sprague-Dawley rats. Weight gain stopped at the onset of morphine, weight loss was marked 36 h postmorphine; thereafter, body weight gain paralleled saline controls. At 12 h, insulin, leptin, and testosterone concentrations were reduced but normalized by 8 days. Restraint and tail nicks caused facilitated ACTH responses at 12 h, under-responsiveness at 8 days. CRF mRNA, measured only at 12 h, was increased in the paraventricular (PVN) and Barrington's nuclei (BAR), decreased in the bed nuclei of the stria terminalis (BNST) and unchanged in the amygdala (CeA) in morphine-treated rats. After stress, CRF mRNA increased in PVN in both groups, increased in BAR and decreased in BNST in saline but not morphine groups, and was unchanged in CeA in both groups. Results from all variables characterize intermittent morphine injections as a chronic stressor. In contrast to constant treatment, injected morphine probably allows some withdrawal during each 12 h interval, causing repeated stress. Drug addicts treat themselves intermittently, and stress causes relapse after withdrawal. Thus, intermittent morphine, itself, may promote relapse.
Fully parallel thinning with tolerance to boundary noise

Abstract A new fully parallel thinning algorithm is developed and evaluated in this paper to solve the noise spurs problem and preserve geometric properties efficiently. The algorithm not only prevents the excessive erosions but also lessens the creation of spurious end points for an image with boundary noise. When two input images are similar in shape but with boundary noise, our skeletons produced appear more consistent in topology as compared to those using other algorithms. Although a few additional neighbors other than 3 × 3 are considered in the deletability conditions, the smoothing procedure prior to thinning is avoided. The parallel thinning algorithm runs very fast and can be implemented in real time. Several English and Chinese characters and the difficult patterns often illustrated in the literature are also experimented to show the efficiency and consistency of our algorithm.
Surface wave diffraction by a truncated dielectric slab recessed in a perfectly conducting surface

The diffraction of a TM sub o surface wave by a terminated dielectric slab which is flush mounted in a perfectly conducting surface is studied. The incident surface wave gives rise to waves reflected and diffracted by the termination; these reflected and diffracted fields may be expressed in terms of the geometrical theory of diffraction by introducing surface wave reflection and diffraction coefficients which are associated with the termination. In this investigation, the surface wave reflection and diffraction coefficients have been deduced from a formally exact solution to this canonical problem. The solution is obtained by a combination of the generalized scattering matrix technique and function theoretic methods.
Composition and possible significance of fatty acids in the lipid classes in honey bee semen

Abstract Phospholipids constitute the major fraction present in the lipids of honey bee semen. The neutral lipids appear to be composed primarily of triglycerides, sterols, sterol esters, and free fatty acids. The extractable seminal lipids are virtually restricted to the spermatozoa, the plasma containing only traces of detectable lipid. In all lipid classes, C16:0 and C18:0 are the main saturated fatty acids. Among the unsaturates, C18:1 is a major component in all classes and C16:1 is one of the main constituents in all fractions except the phospholipids in which it occurs in trace amounts. In the triglycerides, C18:2 is the major unsaturate. The phospholipids contain no appreciable quantities of short-chain fatty acids and C16:0 (23 per cent) and C18:1 (56 per cent) account for 80 per cent of the total fatty acids. The C18 fatty acids constitute about 50 per cent of the total fatty acids present in the triglycerides. The free fatty acid fraction contains about 27 per cent short-chain fatty acids up to C14:1. The sterol ester fraction is almost totally lacking in short-chain fatty acids but is distinguished from all other lipid classes in containing a large percentage of fatty acids with a chain length greater than C18:3. The spermatozoa of the honey bee are highly motile for several hours in the absence of added oxidizable substrate, and the concentration of phospholipids decreases during aerobic incubation. The implications of these results are discussed.
Some-Codes of Rahman and Blake for Computer Applications

By ordering the elements of GF(pn) lexicographically, rather than sequentially, the recently constructed codes of Rahman and Blake become attractive for ultra high-speed computer applications. The codes are based on supplementary difference sets. The whole procedure is illustrated in detail for the (75,50) double error correcting code.
Theoretical and experimental aspects of magnetic nerve stimulation

The driving function for axons exposed to electric and magnetic fields is the sum of two terms, the first spatial derivative of the induced field inside the axon and the first spatial derivative of the extracellular conduction electric field. This extracellular field is generated by primary sources such as electrodes and secondary sources due to inhomogeneities in the volume conductors. The magnetic driving function must be modified for terminations and bending or diameter changes. For a termination the driving function is proportional to the magnitude of the electric field and can be significantly larger than the first spatial derivative of the same field. This is demonstrated numerically and experimentally.
Adapting information retrieval systems to user queries

Users enter queries that are short as well as long. The aim of this work is to evaluate techniques that can enable information retrieval (IR) systems to automatically adapt to perform better on such queries. By adaptation we refer to (1) modifications to the queries via user interaction, and (2) detecting that the original query is not a good candidate for modification. We show that the former has the potential to improve mean average precision (MAP) of long and short queries by 40% and 30% respectively, and that simple user interaction can help towards this goal. We observed that after inspecting the options presented to them, users frequently did not select any. We present techniques in this paper to determine beforehand the utility of user interaction to avoid this waste of time and effort. We show that our techniques can provide IR systems with the ability to detect and avoid interaction for unpromising queries without a significant drop in overall performance.
Energy loss of fast electrons and positrons in a plasma

Calculation of the stopping power of a plasma for fast electrons and positrons. First the classical limit is considered where beta = v/c is much less than alpha is the fine structure constant. Then the nonrelativistic Born-approximation formulas are derived; this domain corresponds to alpha much less than beta much less than 1. Finally, the general case of relativistic electrons and positrons is treated; in the relativistic case the scattering cross sections of Moller (electron-electron) and Bhabha (positron-electron) are used in the calculation. In all three energy domains the problem is broken up into cases of small and large momentum transfers. For large q, scattering off individual plasma electrons is considered, while in the limit of very small q for the quantum-mechanical domain, excitation of quantized plasma oscillations contributes to dE/dx; in the classical limit for small q the polarizability of the plasma provides the effective cutoff. The formulas for the stopping power differ slightly from those for a heavy ion going through a plasma because there are exchange effects and the fast electrons and positrons can lose a large fraction of their energy in one scattering off a plasma electron.
Student Intercultural Proficiency From Study Abroad Programs

In the past decade, study abroad programs (SAPs) have more than doubled, where today, about 223,000 U.S. college students study abroad, immersing themselves in foreign language, culture, and busine...
The effect of feed on the input impedance of a microstrip antenna

The input impedance of a probe-fed, annular-ring-loaded, circular-disk microstrip antenna is analyzed using three methods of increasing complexity. The first method uses a new variational formula. The second method uses a mode-matching method. The third method uses the mode-matching method with a diaphragm at the coaxial aperture. The mode-matching methods are identical to the variational formula under the single-mode approximation. When a diaphragm is present, the singl-mode approximation is insufficient, implying the variational formula is inaccurate when a diaphragm exists. The theory shows that the effect of the gap capacitance at the coaxial aperture on the input impedance of the microstrip antenna is important when the dielectric substrate is thick. The theories agree well with experiment data with no fudge factors.
Appalachian Culture and Reality TV: The Ethical Dilemma of Stereotyping Others

Stereotypical images of Appalachians abound in entertainment media. When CBS proposed transplanting a poor Appalachian family to California for a reality television show titled The Real Beverly Hillbillies, Appalachians and advocacy groups were outraged. This article explores ethical issues raised by stereotypical portrayals of Appalachians and potential harm from those stereotypes as well as the reality from which they emerged. Using the theories of Levinas, Kant, and Aristotle, we then examine the ethics of stereotyping Appalachians and other subcultures in entertainment media. Finally, we propose a decision tree to aid producers of entertainment media in creating ethical portrayals of fictional characters and real people.
Phosphorylcreatine shuttle enzymes during perinatal heart development

Mammalian heart development, from the time of weaning until adulthood, is characterized by progressive and significant enhancement in functional performance. Aerobic metabolism and contractile protein ATPase activity increase in parallel with augmented cardiac function. The present studies examined the potential contribution of phosphorylcreatine shuttle enzymes to the developmentally linked alterations in heart performance. Mitochondrial ATPase specific activity was not altered between weanling and adult heart; however, creatine kinase activity was enhanced approximately threefold. Myofibrillar ATPase activity doubled over the developmental time course, while creatine kinase activity increased to an even greater extent. Enhanced myofibrillar ATPase activity was not due to alterations in either calcium sensitivity or ATPase activity measured in purified myosin. Both the mitochondrial and myofibrillar creatine kinase enzyme activities are enhanced during normal heart growth; however, relatively greater enhancement of the myofibrillar component occurs. Thus, enzymatic reactions comprising the phosphorylcreatine shuttle system are dramatically increased during normal heart development. This mechanism deserves consideration as a potentially powerful contributor to enhanced cardiac function during the perinatal period.
Effect of growing rice on nitrogen mineralization in flooded soil

Only a small fraction of the total organic N in soils is mineralized to the plant-available forms during a cropping season. The mineralization process and the availability of mineral N in soils are affected by various environmental factors and management practices, including the presence of growing plants. This study was conducted to determine the effect of rice (Oryza sativa L.) on mineral N availability in a flooded Maahas soil (Typic Tropaquept). Available N, extractable NH 4 - and NO 3 -N in soil plus N accumulated in plants, referred to as mineral N availability, was significantly higher in planted than in unplanted soils. Increased N availability may result from reduced loss or enhanced supply of mineral N in the presence of growing plants. Average increase in mineral N supply in freshly flooded soil was 31% due to growing of rice through the first month (0-30 d) and 62% through the second month (30-60 d) of its life cycle. In soils under prolonged flooding, average increases in the mineral N supply due to 2 mo rice growing during the vegetative stage (10-70 d) were 14 to 47% depending on the initial mineral N status of the soils. The gain in mineral N achieved by growing rice plants was higher in soils with a low than a high initial mineral N content. Rice genotypes differed in their ability to increase mineral N availability in flooded soils, and the stronger influences were associated with higher dry-matter yields of the plants (shoot plus root). Soil N availability to wetland rice, especially in soils with low mineral N supply, thus may be considerably enhanced by selection of efficient genotypes.
Action of intrinsic laryngeal muscles during release calling in leopard frog.

Cinematographic, gross anatomical, muscle contraction, histological, and electromyographic data were used to determine the actions of the intrinsic laryngeal muscles of the leopard frog (Rana pipiens pipiens) during release calling. The dilator muscles act as glottal openers, the posterior constrictors as vocal cord opposers, and the external and anterior constrictors as glottal closers. The posterior constrictors do not “tense” the vocal cords, but merely bring them into opposition at the midline by pulling on the vocal pulvinaria, which act as levers. The anterior constrictors probably are not involved in vocal cord changes. Most of the release call trills (glottal trills) are produced by a brief opening of the glottis (which is quickly terminated by contraction of the glottal closers) during which there is a brief vocal cord opposition. The final trills of the call (vocal cord trills) occur during a continuous, prolonged opening of the glottis and are produced by the relaxation oscillations of the vocal cords.
Synthesis and characterization of ABA triblock copolymers containing poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) as A blocks and tetramethyl bisphenol-A polysulfone as B blocks

α, β-Bis(hydroxyphenol) tetramethyl bisphenol-A polysulfone (PSUT) was synthesized by two different methods, one using a strong base, the other using a weak base. The bifunctional polysulfone containing tetramethyl bisphenol-A chain ends was exploited as a model telechelic that can be used for the preparation of ABA triblock copolymers containing poly(2,6-dimethyl-1,4-phenylene oxide) (PPO) as A segments and PSUT as B segments. PSUT and PPO were incorporated into triblock copolymers by an oxidative coupling copolymerization of PSUT with 2,6-dimethylphenol or by the redistribution of PPO in the presence of PSUT. The mechanism of block copolymerization is discussed. DSC studies indicate that short immiscible PPO and PSUT segments incorporated into a triblock copolymer do not exhibit phase separation. Polymer blends of the PPO–PSUT–PPO triblock copolymers with PPO homopolymer were analyzed by DSC. Both miscible and phase-separated blends can be prepared depending on the molecular weight of both PPO homopolymer and of the PPO segment present in the triblock copolymer. Polymer blends of the PPO–PSUT–PPO triblock copolymer with PSUT were miscible at all compositions.
72 TREATMENT OF SEVERE AGGRESSION AND SELF-MUTILATION

Chronic self-mutilation and aggression is a medically important and sometimes life threatening behavioral disorder in adolescents with profound intellectual deficits. In 40 institutionalized mentally retarded patients, lithium carbonate proved beneficial in relieving targeted aggressive behaviors in 35%, unhelpful in 28%, temporarily useful in 25%, and indeterminate in 12%. In the patients showing a beneficial response, a cyclical pattern of aggressive outbursts was seen in 86%, a history of sleep disturbance in 93%, and a positive family history of psychiatric disease in 71%. No serious side effects were noted during the period of medication. In 3 patients who proved refractory to therapeutic dosages of lithium carbonate, an operant conditioning program was implemented as follows: (1) reinforcement of nondestructive behaviors, (2) development and shaping of socially desirable behaviors, (3) training in muscle relaxation and vigilance, and (4) a generalization program to allow maintenance of therapeutic gains by nonmedical caretakers. Medically significant self-abuse ceased in all patients within 5 days, and each achieved greater than 90% compliance with a graded series of self-care tasks within 14 days. Abstinence from self-injury has been complete for up to 40 months. Lithium carbonate and/or the above behavioral program prove highly effective in controlling aggressive behavior in the mentally retarded. (Supported in part by USPHS grants HD 05515 and HD 04147)
Genome-Wide RNAi Screen Identifies Letm1 as a Mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ Antiporter

Mitochondria are integral components of cellular calcium (Ca2+) signaling. Calcium stimulates mitochondrial adenosine 5′-triphosphate production, but can also initiate apoptosis. In turn, cytoplasmic Ca2+ concentrations are regulated by mitochondria. Although several transporter and ion-channel mechanisms have been measured in mitochondria, the molecules that govern Ca2+ movement across the inner mitochondrial membrane are unknown. We searched for genes that regulate mitochondrial Ca2+ and H+ concentrations using a genome-wide Drosophila RNA interference (RNAi) screen. The mammalian homolog of one Drosophila gene identified in the screen, Letm1, was found to specifically mediate coupled Ca2+/H+ exchange. RNAi knockdown, overexpression, and liposome reconstitution of the purified Letm1 protein demonstrate that Letm1 is a mitochondrial Ca2+/H+ antiporter.
Stationary Axially Symmetric Generalizations of the Weyl Solutions in General Relativity

It is shown that a necessary condition that normal-hyperbolic solutions of the Einstein vacuum field equations for the metric tensor defined by the quadratic differential form $d{s}^{2}=fd{u}^{2}\ensuremath{-}2mdudv\ensuremath{-}ld{v}^{2}\ensuremath{-}{e}^{2\ensuremath{\gamma}}(d{x}^{2}+d{z}^{2})$ (where $f$, $l$, $m$, and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ are functions of $x$ and $z$, and $fl+{m}^{2}={x}^{2}$) be of type III or $N$ is that ${x}^{\ensuremath{-}1}f$, ${x}^{\ensuremath{-}1}l$, and ${x}^{\ensuremath{-}1}m$ be functions of a single function $\ensuremath{\mu}$; it is further shown that no such nonflat solutions exist. Solutions having this functional dependence are found to belong to one of three classes: the Weyl class and two classes which may be obtained from it. One of these classes is characterized by Sachs-Penrose type-I stationary solutions having one real and two distinct complex-conjugate eigenvalues. The other class is characterized by Sachs-Penrose type-II stationary solutions admitting a single shear-, twist-, and expansion-free doubly degenerate geodesic ray which is also a null, hypersurface-orthogonal Killing vector. Further invariant properties of these classes are discussed, as well as the special case where $\ensuremath{\mu}$ depends only upon $x$.
Low-voltage breakdown of the quantum Hall state in a laterally constricted two-dimensional electron gas.

We have observed controlled, low-voltage breakdown of the quantum Hall state in $\mathrm{GaAs}\ensuremath{-}{\mathrm{Al}}_{x}{\mathrm{Ga}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}\mathrm{As}$ heterostructures with lateral constrictions a few micrometers in width. The breakdown characteristics show an onset of dissipation at voltages corresponding to the cyclotron energy for even filling factors. Analysis of these results in terms of a simple model implies that the dissipation process involves interlevel as well as intralevel scattering, and therefore that large potential gradients are present in the two-dimensional electron gas.