cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Pr-Rich Portion of the Ni-Pr System

The Ni-Pr phase diagram on the Pr-rich side was revised using differential thermal analysis, differential scanning calorimetry, and scanning electron microscopy. The existence of four stoichiometric compounds, Ni2Pr, NiPr, Ni3Pr7, and NiPr3, was confirmed; however, the melting temperatures of 766 °C (NiPr), 566 °C (Ni3Pr7), and 562 °C (NiPr3) are considerably different from the previously reported values. The same was true for the four eutectic reactions, which were determined to be as follows: liquid (L) (45±1 at.% Pr) ↔ Ni2Pr+NiPr at a mean temperature of 732±5 °C; L (65±1 at.% Pr) ↔ NiPr+Ni3Pr7 at a mean temperature of 550±2 °C; L (72±2 at.% Pr) ↔ Ni3Pr7+NiPr3 at a mean temperature of 557±2 °C; and L (77±1 at.% Pr) ↔ NiPr3+Pr.
Artificial intelligence: no longer just for you and me

As Chair of SIGAI, I wanted to share the excitement that I see emerging in our field for this first issue of AI Matters.
Annotating non-coding regions of the genome

Most of the human genome consists of non-protein-coding DNA. Recently, progress has been made in annotating these non-coding regions through the interpretation of functional genomics experiments and comparative sequence analysis. One can conceptualize functional genomics analysis as involving a sequence of steps: turning the output of an experiment into a 'signal' at each base pair of the genome; smoothing this signal and segmenting it into small blocks of initial annotation; and then clustering these small blocks into larger derived annotations and networks. Finally, one can relate functional genomics annotations to conserved units and measures of conservation derived from comparative sequence analysis.
Crisis and the Filial Caregiving Situation of African American Adult Offspring

Although there is emerging knowledge about caregiver strain and health, little is known about this linkage from the perspective of African Americans who care for a demented parent. A two-group comparison design was used to examine the caregiving situation and experience of crisis in a preliminary sample of 38 African American adult offspring. Findings showed that subjects spent an average of 4 hours a day on parent care in the previous 6 months, and reported significant caregiver strain. The 17 subjects with crisis experience reported greater caregiver strain in the form of exhaustion and emotional arousal when compared with those who reported no crisis experience (n = 21). They were more likely to associate feelings of uncertainty and a low sense of mastery with the crisis experience and to associate feelings of frustration and confinement with lower ratings of perceived health. In addition, these subjects associated their distress in the caregiving situation with their health, childhood experiences, fam...
High-throughput analysis of phthalate esters in human serum by direct immersion SPME followed by isotope dilution-fast GC/MS.

Solid-phase microextraction (SPME) coupled to gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS) was applied to the determination of phthalate esters in human serum. The present method decreased the sample preparation time by a factor of 50 by using direct immersion SPME with an 85-μm polyacrylate fiber to extract phthalate esters from the matrix. The use of fast GC/MS further improves total analysis time when compared to other techniques. Isotope dilution was successfully applied to improve the precision, reproducibility, and repeatability of the SPME method. The linear dynamic range spans several orders of magnitude from low ppb to ppm levels, and the LOD for the method is 15 pg μL−1 on average with RSDs less than 4% for the six phthalate esters included in this study.
Kinetic extraordinary-mode eigenvalue equation for relativistic nonneutral electron flow in planar geometry

Use is made of the Vlasov–Maxwell equations to derive an eigenvalue equation describing the extraordinary–mode stability properties of relativistic, non-neutral electron flow in high-voltage diodes. The analysis is based on well-established theoretical techniques developed in basic studies of the kinetic equilibrium and stability properties of nonneutral plasmas characterized by intense self fields. The formal eigenvalue equation is derived for extraordinary-mode flute perturbations in a planar diode. As a specific example, perturbations are considered about the choice of self-consistent Vlasov equilibrium , where . is the electron density at the cathode ( x = 0), H is the energy, and P y is the canonical momentum in the Y -direction (the direction of the equilibrium electron flow). As a limiting case, the planar eigenvalue equation is further simplified for low-frequency long-wavelength perturbations with |ω − kv d , ≪ ω υ where and and ⋯ c = eB 0 / mc , and B 0 ệ z is the applied magnetic field in the vacuum region x b x ≤ d . Here, the outer edge of the electron layer is located at x = x b ; ω is complex oscillation frequency; k is the wavenumber in the y -direction; ω υ is the characteristic betatron frequency for oscillations in the x ′-orbit about the equilibrium value x ′ = x 0 = x b /2; and V d is the average electron flow velocity in the y -direction at x = x 0 . In simplifying the orbit integrals, a model is adopted in which the eigenfunction approximated by , where x ′( t ′) is the x ′-orbit in the equilibrium field configuration. A detailed analysis of the resulting eigenvalue equation for , derived for low-frequency long-wavelength perturbations, is the subject of a companion paper.
Let Your Conscience Be Your Guide: Smoking and Drinking in Disney's Animated Classics

Disney films have long interested effects researchers, who have consistently shown the "quot;wholesome"quot; image generated by the company is misrepresentative. This content analysis explored tobacco and alcohol exposure in 24 Disney G-rated, animated, feature-length motion pictures from 1937 to 2000 and found 381 incidents of substance use. Over the decades, tobacco use tended to decrease while alcohol use increased. Virtually no antiuse messages were seen in these films directed to young children.
Scanning capacitance microscopy on a 25 nm scale

A near‐field capacitance microscope has been demonstrated on a 25 nm scale. A resonant circuit provides the means for sensing the capacitance variations between a sub‐100‐nm tip and surface with a sensitivity of 1×10−19 F in a 1 kHz bandwidth. Feedback control is used to scan the tip at constant gap across a sample, providing a means of noncontact surface profiling. Images of conducting and nonconducting structures are presented.
Depth-profiling analysis of polyimide films on copper substrates

Abstract In understanding the degradation of polyimide films on copper substrates at elevated temperatures, it is important to know where in the film degradation is initiated. This study uses Fourier-transform infra-red spectroscopy in combination with a chemical depth-profiling technique to investigate the interaction of various layers of a polyimide film cast on a copper substrate. The films will be analysed under as-cast, partially cured and severely degraded conditions.
Spark plasma sintering of TaC and/or CNTs reinforced SiC CMCs

This study focuses on a two-stage spark plasma sintering of TaC and/or carbon nanotubes (CNTs) reinforced SiC ceramic composites. The influence of reinforcements of TaC and CNTs, as well as sintering parameters, such as pressure, heating rate, and temperature, is investigated on the densification behavior and mechanical properties of the TaC–CNTs–SiC system. The results showed that the addition of CNTs increased the densification of SiC from 86% to 99.5% while still maintaining submicron grain size under the sintering parameters of 133℃/min, 1800℃, and 90 MPa pressure. TaC additives did not favor the densification of CNT–SiC ceramics but increased the nano hardness of the composites.
A comparison of computed and measured responses for a long isolated excavation at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility

Abstract The creep response of rock salt around a long uniform excavation of rectangular cross-section has been computed with the structural finite element code SANCHO, and the results are compared with field data. The excavation, known as the South Drift, is part of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) facility. The geomechanical model used in the calculations is quite complex and includes constitutive models based on standard laboratory creep tests. Because closure and closure rate measurements are at least three times larger than computed values, a thorough investigation of the many parameters in the geomechanical model is presented. This investigation indicates that variations to parameters not related to the constitutive model for halite cannot produce the type of changes in the closure histories needed to produce good agreement with data. Thus, the reason for the discrepancy is attributed to the parameters in the constitutive model for halite. However, none of the halite parameters investigated could produce the measured behavior. Several areas for future study have been identified.
SCHACHTEL'S METAMORPHOSIS: I. ON THE CONFOUNDING OF CREATIVITY CONTEXTS

-In its more specific aspect, this paper is a critical analysis of the concept of allocentric perception, advanced by E . G. Schachtel in his book Metamorphosis. It claims that Schachtel's presentation confounds the novelty and personal-subiectiue meaning contexts of creativity. That is, it claims that although the perceptions of the allocentric perceiver make his personal-subjecrive world more meaningful for him and may lead to his making the personalsubjective world of other individuals more meaningful for them, these perceptions are not a cause or condition of his producing anything that historians call innovative. In its more general aspect, the paper is a further effort to clarify the narure of creativity, the meaning of Rorschachian rationality and inner creation, and the nature and meaning of the contemporary "conformity" protest.
Dissolved oxygen levels in estuarine and coastal waters around Ireland.

Abstract This paper presents the status of summer oxygen conditions in estuarine and coastal waters around Ireland between 2003 and 2007. Of the 95 water bodies surveyed, 85 had oxygen levels sufficient to support aquatic life. This corresponds to a surface area of 3125 km2 or 99.4% of the total area assessed. Ten water bodies, representing a surface area of 20.2 km2, were deficient in oxygen but still capable of supporting most aquatic life. No evidence of hypoxia (
Evidence of autochthonous Chagas disease in southeastern Texas.

Autochthonous transmission of Trypanosoma cruzi in the United States is rarely reported. Here, we describe five newly identified patients with autochthonously acquired infections from a small pilot study of positive blood donors in southeast Texas. Case-patients 1–4 were possibly infected near their residences, which were all in the same region 100 miles west of Houston. Case-patient 5 was a young male with considerable exposure from routine outdoor and camping activities associated with a youth civil organization. Only one of the five autochthonous case-patients received anti-parasitic treatment. Our findings suggest an unrecognized risk of human vector-borne transmission in southeast Texas. Education of physicians and public health officials is crucial for identifying the true disease burden and source of infection in Texas.
Stochastic shortest path with unlimited hops

We present new results for the Stochastic Shortest Path problem when an unlimited number of hops may be used. Nodes and links in the network may be congested or uncongested, and their states change over time. The goal is to adaptively choose the next node to visit such that the expected cost to the destination is minimized. Since the state of a node may change, having the option to revisit a node can improve the expected cost. Therefore, the option to use an unbounded number of hops may be required to achieve the minimum expected cost. We show that when revisits are prohibited, the optimal routing problem is np-hard. We also prove properties about networks for which continual improvement may occur. We study the related routing problem which asks whether it is possible to determine the optimal next node based on the current node and state, when an unlimited number of hops is allowed. We show that as the number of hops increases, this problem may not converge to a solution.
Socialism and Ethnic Solidarity: Samuel Ornitz’s Haunch, Paunch and Jowl

1Samuel Ornitz's Haunch, Paunch and Jowl (1923) was a "commercial success, selling in excess of one hundred thousand copies" at the time of its publication (Miller 210). Despite its initial success, the book has been virtually relegated to the dusty backshelves of literary history. Few have written on it, and though the book is currently in print again, after Markus Wiener publications brought it back on the market in 1985, it deserves more attention than it has received so far for more reasons than one: not only is it a tour de force in cynical and self-deconstructing point-of-view (and in stream-of-consciousness passages foreshadowing Henry Roth's 1934 masterpiece Call It Sleep), but it is also in some ways a more poignant (if polarized) discussion of the cultural dilemmas besetting upwardly mobile American Jews in the early twentieth century than Abraham Cahan's The Rise of David Levinsky (1917), to which its plot bears some resemblance. Haunch, Paunch and Jowl should not only be acknowledged as a centerpiece in early twentieth century American (Jewish) literary history in its amalgamation of naturalist, realist, sentimental, and modernist elements, but it is also of interest as a panoramic description of ideological crosscurrents and most pervasively shows the traces of one of those currents: cultural nationalism. Haunch, Paunch and Jowl appeared anonymously in hopes that "the book would sell better if the public thought it the actual memoir of a judge who had died five years earlier."1 Its reception in the Jewish community was mixed: "The book attracted much attention. Contemporary newspaper accounts chronicle sermons by rabbis who damned it as 'lecherous and degrading.'.... On the other hand, many Jews and Jewish organizations praised the novel. It was serialized in two working class papers, the Morning Freiheit in America and, years later, in the Rote Fahne in Germany." Given one of the most apparent
Moving Toward Peace: An Analysis of the Concept of a Good Death:

One of the primary outcomes of end-of-life care should be the experience of a good death by the patient and the family. Yet there is no clear, shared understanding of what a good death is. This analysis of the concept of a good death has been guided by Rodgers' evolutionary method of concept analysis.(1) Forty-two articles were analyzed. There was the strong agreement that the concept of a good death was highly individual, changeable over time, and based on perspective and experience. Medical, nursing, and patient perspectives, as well as literature in sociology, include the following attributes of a good death, listed in order of frequency of appearance in the literature: being in control, being comfortable, sense of closure, affirmation/value of the dying person recognized, trust in care providers, recognition of impending death, beliefs and values honored, burden minimized, relationships optimized, appropriateness of death, leaving a legacy, and family care.
Review of "Shelflisting Music" by Richard M. Smiraglia

The second edition of Richard P. Smiraglia's Shelflisting Music: Guidelines for Use with the Library of Congress Classification: M, is an indispensible supplement for those libraries classifying mu...
Impact Analyses of High-Order Light Reflections on Indoor Optical Wireless Channel Model and Calibration

This paper analyzes the impact of high order light reflections on indoor optical wireless communication (IOWC) channel models. Based on observing the results of computer simulations, a calibration method is proposed to reduce model errors. Channel models are generated by tracing and adding up diffuse light reflections and sequential sub-reflections along its traveling path. As computation complexity increases significantly with the number of reflection orders considered, researchers traditionally, though incorrectly, take the contribution of first a few reflection orders, most commonly three, to represent the complete channel. Discarded high-order reflections bring no significant performance difference to low-speed transmission systems; however, major contemporary IOWC research institutions focus on high-speed Gigabits per second (Gbps) communications and the model errors resulting from discarded high-order reflections are no longer negligible. This is where the importance of our proposed method lies. root-mean-square (RMS) delay-spread, for instance, is severely underestimated by neglecting higher-order reflections. We simulate an IOWC system in an ordinary 6 m × 6 m × 3 m room and calculate the contributions of each order of reflections at 841 locations. It shows the RMS delay-spread estimation using the first three orders underestimates the true value by 15.3% on the average and by at most 26.6% as maximum. To limit error within half a symbol period, 1 Gbps and 10 Gbps systems tolerate underestimations up to 13.7% and 1.4%, respectively. These must be achieved by applying first five and nine orders. To maintain the computation efficiency of low-order reflection models and improve their accuracies, we propose a statistical calibration method. It reduces average model error of first three reflection orders from 15.7% to 4.3%. The numbers of orders required by 1 and 10 Gps systems are individually reduced to 3 and 7.
Modulation of glucocorticoid secretion by growth hormone.

ABSTRACT: We measured the cortisol and corticosterone responses to insulin-induced hypoglycemia in 13 growth hormone (GH)-deficient children and 30 short children without GH deficiency. Although there was no difference between the two groups in 1) degree of hypoglycemia attained, 2) baseline cortisol, 3) baseline coricosterone, or 4) cortisol 40 min after insulin injection, GH-deficient children had a significantly greater corticosterone response to this stress (3.6 ± 0.4 versus 1.9 ± 0.2 μg/dl). (All data are presented as mean ± SEM.) In order to explore the effect of GH on corticosterone secretion, we measured cortisol and corticosterone responses to synthetic (1-24) ACTH before and after 3 days of exogenous GH (0.2 unit/kg/day). In 13 GH-deficient children, GH treatment caused a significant decrease in the corticosterone response to ACTH (2.2 ± 0.2 μg/dl before GH to 1.6 ± 0.2 μg/dl; t = 5.22, p < 0.001; paired t test) despite the fact that there was no significant change in the cortisol response to ACTH (18 ± 2 μg/dl before and 16 ± 2 μg/dl after). When seven short children who were not GH deficient underwent a similar 3-day course of GH, the decrease in their corticosterone response was much less although still statistically significant (2.0 ± 0.5 to 1.8 ± 0.5 μg/dl; paired t test, p < 0.05). Again, the stimulated levels of cortisol were not affected by GH treatment (19 ± 4 versus 18 ± 3 μg/dl) These results indicate that GH modulates the adrenal response to ACTH by suppressing corticosterone secretion without affecting cortisol secretion. In summary, this study presents two new findings. First, corticosterone levels are elevated during insulin tolerance testing in children with GH deficiency and, second, a 3-day course of GH replacement therapy causes a reduction in corticosterone serum levels after ACTH administration to more normal levels without altering the corresponding cortisol concentrations. As corticosterone is a less potent glucocorticoid, it might function as a cortisol antagonist when present in increased amounts and play a role in the poor recovery from hypoglycemia frequently observed in individuals with GH deficiency.
Critical questions of engineering students by gender and ethnicity

Engineering and computer science careers are not well known to the general public. Most students studying these majors also have limited knowledge and information about their chosen area of study. In working with students over many years, the authors have experienced many questions from these students. As part of the evaluations for Academic Success Meetings, the students have been encouraged to ask questions about areas that they need to know more about. The questions tend to repeat themselves and fall into general categories. Not all students have mentors to answer these questions. Starting with the most important, the answers to all of these questions will go on a website that has been developed especially for transfer students under a National Science Foundation Step Award # 0836050. An initial 136 questions were presented to over 100 students. The students were asked to choose the 20 most critical questions to them. From this data, in an earlier paper, the top five questions were determined for students over 21 and the top five for students 21 and under, as well as by academic level. In this paper the similarities and differences in these critical questions by gender and by race/ethnicity are considered. The males and females in this study had two questions in common for their top five: “Why should I consider getting a PhD degree in engineering?” and “How do I choose a job?” The three race/Ethnicity groups of White, Hispanic/Latino, and Other/Unknown had only one question in common: “Will there be a job for me when I graduate?” Each of the three two-pair combinations had one question in common. The differences in critical questions by gender and ethnicity will also be discussed. The information determined here will help educators and advisors encourage potential and actual students in engineering and computer science. With this information they can focus their message by honing in on the critical questions of their particular audience. These questions and their answers can also be used for intentional advising.
The EmotiveModeler: An Emotive Form Design CAD Tool

Whether or not we are experts in the design language of objects, we have an unconscious understanding of the emotional character of their forms. The EmotiveModeler integrates knowledge about our emotive perception of shapes into a CAD tool that uses descriptive adjectives as an input to aid designers in creating objects that can communicate emotive character. Through inputting words into the EmotiveModeler UI in the Rhinoceros 3D modeling software, both expert and novice designers can manipulate the design of a bottle to express emotive character through its form.
Organochlorine residues in eggs of black-crowned night herons from colorado and wyoming

Eggs of black-crowned night-herons Nycticorax nycticorax (L.) were collected for analysis from seven nesting sites in Colorado and Wyoming in 1979. One egg was taken per nest from as many as 20 nests per site during early incubation. The nests were marked and revisited after hatching, but before fledging, to record the number of live young. DDE was detected in all of the collected eggs (total 147) at a mean concentration of 3.1 ppm, fresh basis (residue means are geometric). Mean DDE at the seven sites varied from 1.8 to 7.6 ppm. Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) were detected in 81 eggs (mean 1.0 ppm); the highest mean at any site was 2.2 ppm. Twelve other organochlorines were each detected in 1 to 30 eggs, usually at a concentration of > 1.0 ppm. Mean total organochlorines in the eggs from the seven sites ranged from 2.0 to 10.1 ppm and the median number of compounds per egg ranged from one to five. Eggshell thickness was negatively correlated (p > 0.001, r = – 0.585) with DDE levels in the 147 eggs. Average shell thickness (0.258 ± 0.030 mm) was 8.8% lower than the average thickness (0.283 ± 0.016mm) of 40 pre-DDT eggs from this region. The nesting sites with the highest DDE and total organochlorine residues in the eggs had the thinnest shells, produced the fewest young and had more nonviable eggs and dead young. At four of the seven sites, the average number of live young per nest was > 2.0, the minimum long-term mean required for population maintenance. The source of the contaminants found in the heron eggs in this study was not determined.
Sensory Impairment in Late-life Schizophrenia

We reviewed 27 published studies examining a possible association between sensory (visual or hearing) impairment and late-life psychosis with paranoid features. A majority of these investigations supported the postulated association between hearing impairment and late-onset schizophrenia or paranoid disorder. Many of the published studies, however, had important methodological limitations. In a casecontrol study, we assessed visual and hearing impairments in 87 middle-aged and elderly subjects (16 with late-onset schizophrenia, 25 with early-onset schizophrenia, 20 with mood disorder, and 26 normal comparison subjects). Visual and hearing impairments were assessed in a blind manner by means of standardized quantitative assessments. Compared with normal subjects, both of the schizophrenia groups and the mood disorder group had greater impairment in most variables of corrected visual acuity and in self-reported hearing deficit, but not in uncorrected (constitutional) visual acuity or on pure-tone audiometry. Our results suggest that the observed relationship between sensory impairment and late-life psychosis may be due, at least in part, to a suboptimal correction of sensory deficits in older psychiatric patients.
Nucleic acid melting by Escherichia coli CspE

Escherichia coli contains nine members of the CspA family. CspA and some of its homologues play critical role in cold acclimation of cells by acting as RNA chaperones, destabilizing nucleicacid secondary structures. Disruption of nucleic acid melting activity of CspE led to loss of its transcription antitermination activity and consequently its cold acclimation activity. To date, the melting activity of Csp proteins was studied using partially doublestranded model nucleic acids substrates forming stem–loop structures. Here, we studied the mechanism of nucleic acid melting by CspE. We show that CspE melts the stem region in two directions, that CspE-induced melting does not require the continuity of the substrate’s loop region, and CspE can efficiently melt model substrates with single-stranded overhangs as short as 4 nt. We further show that preferential binding of CspE at the stem–loop junction site initiates melting; binding of additional CspE molecules that fully cover the single-stranded region of a melting substrate leads to complete melting of the stem.
The Federal Constitutional Court in the German Political System

The Federal Constitutional Court is an important policy-making institution in the German political system. As the guardian of the Basic Law, the Constitutional Court has played a critical role in umpiring the federal system, resolving conflicts among branches of the national government, overseeing the process of parliamentary democracy, monitoring the financing of political parties, and reviewing restrictions on basic rights and liberties. In each of these areas, the Court's decisions have shaped the contours of German life and politics. Its influence is fully the equal of that of the Supreme Court in American politics. Despite its “activist” record of nullifying laws favored by legislative majorities, the German Court has managed to retain its institutional independence as well as the trust of the general public.
The C-S lyases of higher plants, determination of homology by immunological procedures☆

Abstract The characteristic fresh flavours and odours of a number of important vegetables are the result of the enzymatic degradation of certain secondary nonpr
SEMIPARAMETRIC TIME SERIES REGRESSION

. Let (Xi, Yi), i= 0, pL 1,… denote a bivariate stationary time series with Xi being Rd-valued and Yi being real-valued. We consider the regression model Yi=θ(Xi) +Zi, where θ(·) is an unknown function and Zi is an autoregressive process. Given a realization of length n, we examine the problem of estimating the nonparametric function θ(·) and the parametric component Zi. Under appropriate regularity conditions, it is shown that both components can be optimally estimated.
Enteral versus parenteral nutrition in the critically ill.

P roviding nutritional support for critically ill patients has become easier over the past decade with the advent of total parenteral nutrition and then enteral nutrition. Traditionally, patients who are critically ill are septic with systemic evidence of infection including tachypnea, tachycardia, and hypoand hyperthermia. This may lead to sepsis syndrome and subsequent multisystem organ failure. Characteristic changes in the septic patient include an altered hormonal milieu, hypermetabolism, an increase in nitrogen excretion, altered glucose, fat, and amino-acid metabolism, depletion of energy and protein, and acute anorexia. This accounts for 10–50% of deaths in the intensive-care unit.1 The goals of nutritional support in a critically ill patient include detecting and correcting any preexisting malnutrition, preventing progressive protein-calorie malnutrition, optimizing the patient’s metabolic state, and decreasing the morbidity, mortality, and duration of recovery. The decision between enteral and parenteral nutritional support is not straightforward.
Electoral Behavior in Civil Wars: The Kurdish Conflict in Turkey

This study analyzes the effects of political violence on electoral behavior by focusing on one of the longest lasting ethnic conflicts in contemporary times, the Kurdish insurgency in Turkey. How do armed conflict and electoral institutions shape turnout in a civil war context? Building on an original data-set at the sub-national level, the study reaches two major conclusions. First, it shows rural displacement caused by political violence led to lower levels of turnout and severely hampered access to voting controlling for a wide range of socioeconomic and electoral system variables. Second, an unusually high electoral threshold aggravated this pattern of disenfranchisement and limited the avenues of nonviolent Kurdish political activism with negative implications for the resolution of the conflict.
A Review of “When School Reform Goes Wrong”

My first year as a classroom teacher coincided with the birth of a statewide accountability model based on standardized tests. The effects of this happenstance were not fully realized until my mand...
The Transition to Widowhood and the Social Regulation of Health: Consequences for Health and Health Risk Behavior

Objectives. This study estimates the effects of the transition to widowhood on changes in the social regulation of health and examines the consequences of this association for health and health risk behavior following spousal death. Methods. Analysis of longitudinal data from the Changing Lives of Older Couples Study tests the following hypotheses: (a) Widowed individuals experience greater declines in health regulation over time than their married counterparts and (b) the extent to which widowhood undermines health and increases health risk behavior depends on whether it is accompanied by a decline in health regulation. Results. Compared with their continually married counterparts, those who experience the transition to widowhood report a significant decline in the frequency of health reminders and health assistance received from others. The decline in the frequency of health regulation has important consequences for health behavior and health outcomes. Widowhood undermines health and increases health risk behaviors only when it is accompanied by a decline in health regulation. Widowed individuals who experience increases in health regulation show improvements in health and declines in health risk behavior. Discussion. Interventions targeted at improving the health habits of widowed individuals by mobilizing health-related support systems may be effective at minimizing the negative health consequences of spousal loss.
Molecular structure of amyloid fibrils: insights from solid-state NMR

Solid-state nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) measurements have made major contributions to our understanding of the molecular structures of amyloid fibrils, including fibrils formed by the beta-amyloid peptide associated with Alzheimer's disease, by proteins associated with fungal prions, and by a variety of other polypeptides. Because solid-state NMR techniques can be used to determine interatomic distances (both intramolecular and intermolecular), place constraints on backbone and side-chain torsion angles, and identify tertiary and quaternary contacts, full molecular models for amyloid fibrils can be developed from solid-state NMR data, especially when supplemented by lower-resolution structural constraints from electron microscopy and other sources. In addition, solid-state NMR data can be used as experimental tests of various proposals and hypotheses regarding the mechanisms of amyloid formation, the nature of intermediate structures, and the common structural features within amyloid fibrils. This review introduces the basic experimental and conceptual principles behind solid-state NMR methods that are applicable to amyloid fibrils, reviews the information about amyloid structures that has been obtained to date with these methods, and discusses how solid-state NMR data provide insights into the molecular interactions that stabilize amyloid structures, the generic propensity of polypeptide chains to form amyloid fibrils, and a number of related issues that are of current interest in the amyloid field.
Therapy of Skin, Soft Tissue, and Bone Infections with Cefoxitin Sodium

Twenty-seven patients with skin and soft tissue infections, including three with contiguous osteomyelitis, were given cefoxitin intravenously or intramuscularly; the infections of 25 (93%) were resolved with cefoxitin therapy. Etiologic agents included staphylococci, streptococci, Enterobacteriaceae, and anaerobes. Susceptible pathogens were inhibited by less than or equal to 8 micrograms of cefoxitin/ml. This level of drug was surpassed by mean peak serum concentrations eight- to 12-fold after intravenous infusions and two- to threefold after intramuscular injections and resulted in eradication of susceptible organisms from lesions during treatment. Intravenously administered cefoxitin was well tolerated, although eosinophilia, phlebitis, elevation of levels of hepatic enzymes, and a positive direct Coombs' test were observed. Intramuscular injections of cefoxitin in 0.5% lidocaine caused pain and induration and thus were poorly tolerated.
Spectroscopic Diagnostics and Kinetics of Low Pressure Processing Plasmas

A review is presented of a negative glow model of low frequency, low pressure plasma reactors and the salient features are described using silane mixtures as the example. The input requirements for this model and similar models are also discussed in order to establish the sensitivity of the homogeneous plasma reactions to operational conditions. Calculations are presented to demonstrate the sensitivity to mixture ratios, buffer gas type and power loading.
Linking genetic and environmental factors in amphibian disease risk

A central question in evolutionary biology is how interactions between organisms and the environment shape genetic differentiation. The pathogen Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis (Bd) has caused variable population declines in the lowland leopard frog (Lithobates yavapaiensis); thus, disease has potentially shaped, or been shaped by, host genetic diversity. Environmental factors can also influence both amphibian immunity and Bd virulence, confounding our ability to assess the genetic effects on disease dynamics. Here, we used genetics, pathogen dynamics, and environmental data to characterize L. yavapaiensis populations, estimate migration, and determine relative contributions of genetic and environmental factors in predicting Bd dynamics. We found that the two uninfected populations belonged to a single genetic deme, whereas each infected population was genetically unique. We detected an outlier locus that deviated from neutral expectations and was significantly correlated with mortality within populations. Across populations, only environmental variables predicted infection intensity, whereas environment and genetics predicted infection prevalence, and genetic diversity alone predicted mortality. At one locality with geothermally elevated water temperatures, migration estimates revealed source–sink dynamics that have likely prevented local adaptation. We conclude that integrating genetic and environmental variation among populations provides a better understanding of Bd spatial epidemiology, generating more effective conservation management strategies for mitigating amphibian declines.
Adaptive radar: Beyond the RMB rule

In this paper we discuss a number of recent, important developments in adaptive radar. Specifically, we comprehensively identify critical trends and describe in some detail a number of corresponding solutions helping transition space-time adaptive processing (STAP) from theory to practice. Specific issues considered herein include: (1) the impact of clutter heterogeneity on detection performance; (2) the role of sensor deployment and the inducement of clutter nonstationarity; (3) the influence of aperture on system performance; and, (4) limitations imposed by computational burden on the deployable solution space. The intent of the paper is to juxtapose STAP theory and practice, with an emphasis on some developments of the past dozen years or so.
Method for reducing jitter in multi-gigahertz ATE

Controlling jitter on a picosecond (or smaller) time scale has become one of the most difficult challenges for testing multi-gigahertz systems. In this paper we present a novel method for reducing jitter in timing-critical ATE signals. This method uses a real-time averaging approach to combine multiple ATE signals and produces timing references with significantly lower random jitter. For example, we demonstrate a 3times reduction in jitter by combining eight ATE signals (each with sigma=4ps) to produce a low-jitter signal (sigma=1.3ps). The measured jitter reduction is shown to closely match that predicted by theory. This counter-intuitive (but welcome) result is of general interest for the design of any low-jitter system, and is particularly helpful for multi-GHz ATE where precise timing is so critical
Yes-no questions that convey a critical stance in the language classroom

Despite certain important critiques, much of the work on teacher questions has centered on the distinction between referential and display questions as well as their roles in creating more or less communicative classrooms. With some notable exceptions, few have delved into the specificity of how questions work in the details of classroom interaction. Based on 28 hours of videotaped adult ESL (English as a second language) classroom interaction collected in the United States, this conversation analytic study describes a particular type of yes-no questions used by teachers in environments where some sort of evaluation is relevant, the target of which varies (e.g. learner performance, textbook or a hypothetical linguistic construction). The yes-no question is used to convey a critical stance toward that target, as embodied in both the design and the receipt of these questions. Learners either align or dis-align with that stance. Dis-alignment transpires when the critical stance threatens concerns for learner...
Determination of the antimalarial drug piperaquine in small volume pediatric plasma samples by LC–MS/MS

Aim: Determination of piperaquine (PQ) in pediatric plasma requires a method with a small sample volume. Results: We report a sensitive LC–MS/MS method for quantitation of PQ with only 25 µl human plasma. Using a deuterated internal standard (PQ-d6), an analytical PFP column, APCI+ as the ion source and MRM (535/288 for PQ and 541/294 for the IS) for detection, the method has a linear calibration range of 1.5–250 ng/ml with a runtime of 3.0 min per sample. The method was applied to plasma samples from children. Conclusion: The developed LC–MS/MS method is suitable for pediatric studies with small volume plasma samples collected via capillary tubes. One limitation was the performance of PFP columns varied among different brands.
Chloroplast DNA rearrangements in Campanulaceae: phylogenetic utility of highly rearranged genomes.

The Campanulaceae (the "hare bell" or "bellflower" family) is a derived angiosperm family comprised of about 600 species treated in 35 to 55 genera. Taxonomic treatments vary widely and little phylogenetic work has been done in the family. Gene order in the chloroplast genome usually varies little among vascular plants. However, chloroplast genomes of Campanulaceae represent an exception and phylogenetic analyses solely based on chloroplast rearrangement characters support a reasonably well-resolved tree. Chloroplast DNA physical maps were constructed for eighteen representatives of the family. So many gene order changes have occurred among the genomes that characterizing individual mutational events was not always possible. Therefore, we examined different, novel scoring methods to prepare data matrices for cladistic analysis. These approaches yielded largely congruent results but varied in amounts of resolution and homoplasy. The strongly supported nodes were common to all gene order analyses as well as to parallel analyses based on ITS and rbcL sequence data. The results suggest some interesting and unexpected intrafamilial relationships. For example fifteen of the taxa form a derived clade; whereas the remaining three taxa – Platycodon, Codonopsis, and Cyananthus – form the basal clade. This major subdivision of the family corresponds to the distribution of pollen morphology characteristics but is not compatible with previous taxonomic treatments. Our use of gene order data in the Campanulaceae provides the most highly resolved phylogeny as yet developed for a plant family using only cpDNA rearrangements. The gene order data showed markedly less homoplasy than sequence data for the same taxa but did not resolve quite as many nodes. The rearrangement characters, though relatively few in number, support robust and meaningful phylogenetic hypotheses and provide new insights into evolutionary relationships within the Campanulaceae.
Parasitic Nematodes Decrease Fecundity in the Western Mosquitofish, Gambusia affinis

Abstract I tested effects of infection by the parasitic larval nematode Eustrongylides ignotus on reproduction in the livebearing western mosquitofish Gambusia affinis. Generally, parasitized females had fewer developing broods than nonparasitized females. Parasitic nematodes significantly reduced fecundity in the western mosquitofish.
A Minimal Flavor Violating 2HDM at the LHC

We explore the phenomenology of a two-Higgs-doublet model (2HDM) where both Higgs doublets couple to up-type and down-type fermions with couplings determined by the minimal flavor violation (MFV) ansatz. This 2HDM ''type MFV'' generalizes 2HDM types I--IV, where the decay rates of $h\ensuremath{\rightarrow}b\overline{b}$ and $h\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ are governed by MFV couplings independent of the Higgs couplings to gauge bosons or the top quark. To determine the implications of the present Higgs data on the model, we have performed global fits to all relevant data. Several surprisingly large effects on the light Higgs phenomenology can arise: (1) The modified couplings of the Higgs to fermions can enhance the $h\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\gamma}\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rate significantly in both vector boson fusion production (up to a factor of 3 or more) and the inclusive rate (up to a factor of 1.5 or more); (2) in the 2HDM type MFV, the constraints on a light charged Higgs are milder than in 2HDM types I--IV. Thus, there can be substantial charged Higgs loop contribution to the diphoton rate, allowing further enhancements of the diphoton rates; (3) the $h\ensuremath{\rightarrow}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{+}{\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ rate can be (highly) suppressed, independently of the other decay channels. Furthermore, we studied the correlation between the light Higgs and the heavy Higgs phenomenology. We showed that even small deviations from the decoupling limit would imply good prospects for the detection of the heavy Higgs boson. In some regions of parameter space, a substantial range of ${M}_{H}$ is already either ruled out or on the edge of detection. Finally, we investigated the possibility that the heavy Higgs is close in mass to the light Higgs, providing an additional $h/H\ensuremath{\rightarrow}b\overline{b}$ rate, as well as confounding the extraction of properties of the Higgs bosons.
Orthogonal NMF through subspace exploration

Orthogonal Nonnegative Matrix Factorization (ONMF) aims to approximate a nonnegative matrix as the product of two k-dimensional nonnegative factors, one of which has orthonormal columns. It yields potentially useful data representations as superposition of disjoint parts, while it has been shown to work well for clustering tasks where traditional methods underperform. Existing algorithms rely mostly on heuristics, which despite their good empirical performance, lack provable performance guarantees. We present a new ONMF algorithm with provable approximation guarantees. For any constant dimension k, we obtain an additive EPTAS without any assumptions on the input. Our algorithm relies on a novel approximation to the related Non-negative Principal Component Analysis (NNPCA) problem; given an arbitrary data matrix, NNPCA seeks k nonnegative components that jointly capture most of the variance. Our NNPCA algorithm is of independent interest and generalizes previous work that could only obtain guarantees for a single component. We evaluate our algorithms on several real and synthetic datasets and show that their performance matches or outperforms the state of the art.
ISC, a novel group of bacterial and archaeal DNA transposons that encode Cas9 homologs

ABSTRACT Bacterial genomes encode numerous homologs of Cas9, the effector protein of the type II CRISPR-Cas systems. The homology region includes the arginine-rich helix and the HNH nuclease domain that is inserted into the RuvC-like nuclease domain. These genes, however, are not linked to cas genes or CRISPR. Here, we show that Cas9 homologs represent a distinct group of nonautonomous transposons, which we denote ISC (insertion sequences Cas9-like). We identify many diverse families of full-length ISC transposons and demonstrate that their terminal sequences (particularly 3′ termini) are similar to those of IS605 superfamily transposons that are mobilized by the Y1 tyrosine transposase encoded by the TnpA gene and often also encode the TnpB protein containing the RuvC-like endonuclease domain. The terminal regions of the ISC and IS605 transposons contain palindromic structures that are likely recognized by the Y1 transposase. The transposons from these two groups are inserted either exactly in the middle or upstream of specific 4-bp target sites, without target site duplication. We also identify autonomous ISC transposons that encode TnpA-like Y1 transposases. Thus, the nonautonomous ISC transposons could be mobilized in trans either by Y1 transposases of other, autonomous ISC transposons or by Y1 transposases of the more abundant IS605 transposons. These findings imply an evolutionary scenario in which the ISC transposons evolved from IS605 family transposons, possibly via insertion of a mobile group II intron encoding the HNH domain, and Cas9 subsequently evolved via immobilization of an ISC transposon. IMPORTANCE Cas9 endonucleases, the effectors of type II CRISPR-Cas systems, represent the new generation of genome-engineering tools. Here, we describe in detail a novel family of transposable elements that encode the likely ancestors of Cas9 and outline the evolutionary scenario connecting different varieties of these transposons and Cas9.