cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ergonomics evaluation of equipment adjustability for Mexican-American population

The effects of lack of equipment adjustability on nominal ranges of motion of upper body limbs for industrial sewing operations were studied, with a particular focus on Mexican-American males. Key upper body-segments of an industrial sewing operation were marked and analyzed using cinematography for a random pool of male workers descending from northern Mexico. Experimental results revealed that the worker's posture was affected by the adjustability of the sewing equipment, which was designed for the 5th to the 95th percentile of the US population. The awkward postures in turn affected the mean angular range of motion for the body-segments studied. As a result, there was a significant percentage of the available pool of worker's that may face occupational disorders, in spite of the fact that the equipment is adjustable, albeit from the 5th to the 95th percentile of the US population. These findings are particularly important to companies whose workforce is predominantly from populations that do not fit the US population profile. An adjustability index tool was developed as an equipment purchase/design tool that quantifies the percentage of the available pool of workers at risk of occupational disorders due to improper postures resulting from lack of adjustability. Finally, a cost framework is presented for choosing equipment that minimizes internal and external costs associated with equipment adjustability.
Enumeration of Nonsingular Buekenhout Unitals

The only known enumeration of Buekenhout unitals occurs in the Desarguesian plane . In this paper we develop general techniques for enumerating the nonsingular Buekenhoutunitals embedded in any two-dimensional translation plane, and apply these techniques to obtain such an enumeration in the regular nearfield planes, the odd-order Hall planes, and the flag-transitive affine planes. We also provide some computer data for small-order Andre planes of index two and give partial results toward an enumeration in this case.
Regional sensory and chemical characteristics of Malbec wines from Mendoza and California

Malbec grapes are widely grown and studied in Argentina, whereas the smaller production in California is less well known. This study sought to define and compare Malbec wine compositions from various regions in Mendoza, Argentina and California, USA. The Malbec wines were clearly separated, based on their chemical and sensory profiles, by wine region and country. Descriptors of Malbec wines were aromas of cooked vegetal, earthy, soy and volatile acidity, as well as acidic taste and astringent mouthfeel, regardless of the region of origin. Malbec wines from Mendoza generally had more ripe fruit, sweetness, and higher alcohol levels, while the Californian Malbec wines had more artificial fruit and citrus aromas, and bitter taste. Compositional differences between the two countries were related more to altitude than precipitation and growing degree days. To our knowledge, this is the first time that an extensive regionality study has been attempted for Malbec wines.
High power, high efficiency stacked mmWave Class-E-like power amplifiers in 45nm SOI CMOS

Stacking devices in CMOS power amplifiers (PAs) increases the achievable output voltage swing, thereby increasing the output power and efficiency, particularly at millimeter-wave frequencies. This work presents stacked CMOS PAs based on an improved Class-E design methodology, where device loss is explicitly accounted for in the analysis and design procedure. Design guidelines and fundamental limits on achievable performance are presented. Two fully-integrated 45GHz prototypes with 2 and 4 stacked devices have been fabricated in IBM's 45nm SOI CMOS technology. Measurement results yield a peak PAE of 34.6% for the 2-stacked PA with a saturated output power of 17.6 dBm, and a peak PAE of 19.4% for the 4-stacked PA with a saturated output power of 20.3 dBm. The former represents the highest PAE reported for CMOS mmWave PAs, and the latter represents the highest output power achieved from a CMOS mmWave PA. The paper also describes the modeling of active and passive devices for mmWave CMOS PAs for good model-hardware correlation.
Advancing e-governance: connecting learning and action

Electronic Governance is defined in many ways, but all the definitions include an expectation of innovation and improvement in the public sphere. Innovation entails experimentation and risk. Improvement requires deep understanding of the context of government, as well as new tools and new ways of working. Accordingly, advancing electronic governance demands both learning and action. This talk will focus on ways to conceptualize, operationalize, and capitalize on ways to link research and practice in a shared and mutually rewarding enterprise aimed at better public management and better governance.
NMDA Receptor Hypofunction Produces Opposite Effects on Prefrontal Cortex Interneurons and Pyramidal Neurons

NMDA receptors mediate excitatory postsynaptic potentials throughout the brain but, paradoxically, NMDA receptor antagonists produce cortical excitation in humans and behaving rodents. To elucidate a mechanism for these diverging effects, we examined the effect of use-dependent inhibition of NMDA receptors on the spontaneous activity of putative GABA interneurons and pyramidal neurons in the prefrontal cortex of awake rats. We find that inhibition of NMDA receptors predominately decreases the activity of putative GABA interneurons but, at a delayed rate, increases the firing rate of the majority of pyramidal neurons. Thus, NMDA receptors preferentially drive the activity of cortical inhibitory interneurons suggesting that NMDA receptor inhibition causes cortical excitation by disinhibition of pyramidal neurons. These findings support the hypothesis that NMDA receptor hypofunction, which has been implicated in the pathophysiology of schizophrenia, diminishes the inhibitory control of PFC output neurons. Reducing this effect may be critical for treatment of schizophrenia.
Intensity of food deprivation: The integrative impacts of the world system, modernization, conflict, militarization and the environment

US and world military expenditures have increased dramatically in the last decade. Some cross-national treatments identify positive impacts of military spending on a range of domestic outcomes, whi...
Nervous breakdown in 20th-century American culture.

This article traces the rise of the term and concept, nervous breakdown. It emphasizes the reasons the concept gained ground, particularly between the 1920s and 1950s, as an explanation for various new or newly-pronounced professional diagnoses and as a plea for some time and space for individual recovery. While nervous breakdown had medical overtones, it emphasized a collapse of personal understanding but also the possibility for personal reconstitution. The causes for the popularity of nervous breakdown, ranging from shifts in standards in the 1920s, altered gender roles, and changing pharmacology, also help explain the concept's decline after the 1960s; but surprising persistence is discussed as well.
Transesophageal two-dimensional echocardiographic analysis of right ventricular systolic performance indices during coronary artery bypass grafting.

Sixteen patients (aged 59 ± 14 years) undergoing coronary artery bypass surgery were evaluated to delineate the intra-operative course of transesophageal echocardiographic right ventricular (RV) systolic performance indices. Pre-induction data included thermodilution RV ejection fraction (RVEFTD), 0.43 ± 0.13, RV end-diastolic volume index (EDVI), 110 ± 33 mL/m2, cardiac index (CI), 3.4 ± 1.0 L/min/m2, RV enddiastolic pressure (EDP), 7.1 ± 4.2 mmHg, and mean pulmonary artery pressure (PAP), 21 ± 6 mmHg. Eleven patients had significant right coronary artery (RCA) disease (>70% occlusion). Five patients arrived with an ongoing nitroglycerin infusion (1 to 3 μg/kg/min), which was maintained intraoperatively. Echocardiographic measurements included longitudinal-axis (LA) and short-axis (SA) planimetered area excursion fractions (2DLA and 2DSA, respectively) and LA maximal major and minor axis shortening fractions (max majorLA and max minorLA, respectively). Hemodynamic measurements included RVEFTD, EDVI, CI, EDP, and PAP. Measurements were determined following induction/ endotracheal intubation, following sternotomy/pericardiotomy, and after cardiopulmonary bypass (CPB) with the chest open. All patients were maintained on vasodilator therapy post-CPB (nitroglycerin, 1 to 3 μg/kg/min [N = 16] and nitroprusside, 0.5 to 4.5 pg/kg/min [N = 4]) post-CPB. Two patients received inotropic support (epinephrine, 0.2 to 0.3 μg/ kg/min). CPB was associated with significant decreases in max major axisLA and 2DLA (P < 0.05) as compared to measurements determined prior to CPB. Maximum major axisLA values pre-CPB were 0.35 ± 0.06 and 0.33 ± 0.08 versus post-CPB values of 0.24 ± 0.08. 2DLA values were 0.50 ± 0.16 and 0.47 ± 0.10 versus post-CPB values of 0.37 ± 0.11. 2DSA was maintained (values 0.43 ± 0.17 and 0.44 ± 0.18 versus post-CPB 0.52 ± 0.18). The pre-CPB maximum major axisLA/ maximum minor axisLA relationship was significant (γ = 0.71). There was no correlation between these variables post-CPB. Maximum major axisLA changes were unrelated to CPB duration, aortic cross-clamp time, cardioplegia dose, antecedent RV function, and the presence/ absence of RCA disease. Significant changes were also unrelated to changes in heart rate. There was no significant change in EDVI, EDP, and PAP measurements. These findings may indicate regional inhomogeneity of RV function or a spectrum of differing sensitivities to changes in RV performance of the respective measurement indices.
Strong Dunford–Pettis Sets and Spaces of Operators

Bibasic sequences of Singer are used to show that l1 embeds complementably in the Banach space X if and only if X* contains a non-relatively compact strong Dunford–Pettis set. Spaces of operators and strongly additive vector measures are also discussed.
Effects of fosinopril on cardiac function in patients with hypertension. Radionuclide assessment of left ventricular systolic and diastolic performance.

Numerous pharmacologic agents are capable of lowering the blood pressure of hypertensive patients; however, each drug has a characteristic side effect profile and effect on cardiac performance. In this study, the hemodynamic effects of the angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor fosinopril were assessed at rest and at peak upright bicycle exercise by first-pass radionuclide cineangiography in 12 patients with essential hypertension. Fosinopril reduced blood pressure at rest in the seated position from 152/101 to 131/85 mm Hg (P less than .01) and at peak exercise from 206/103 to 184/91 mm Hg (P less than .01). Fosinopril therapy was associated with an increase in stroke volume and cardiac output and a decrease in systemic vascular resistance at rest and during peak exercise. Both peak ejection rate and peak filling rate increased significantly at rest during fosinopril therapy. The unique cardiotropic response to fosinopril may reflect its effects on the myocardial renin-angiotensin system, and suggests that this agent may offer a therapeutic advantage compared with other angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors.
Patterns and trends in achievement gaps in Malaysian Secondary Schools (1999–2011): gender, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status

Educational inequality is a highly debated yet empirically understudied topic in Malaysia. This paper examines the patterns and trends of academic achievement gaps by student social groups in Malaysia, drawing upon nationally representative data for the most recent four cohorts (1999, 2003, 2007, and 2011) of eighth-grade Malaysian students from the Trends in International Mathematics and Science Study. Results show that while the achievement gaps by gender (female vs. male) and ethnicity (Malay vs. non-Malay) existed at various time points and have changed over time, the magnitudes of change were small. Most alarmingly, the achievement gaps both in math and in science between students from high and low socioeconomic families have rapidly widened and became more prominent than gender and ethnicity gaps in recent years. If this trend continues, it will have dire consequences for economic equality and social stability in the society. To reduce educational achievement gaps, policymakers and educators should play a more active role in supporting academically disadvantaged students, especially those who are from underprivileged backgrounds.
A massive bolometer on the international space station to measure energy deposition by the space radiation environment

Abstract We describe a novel space-based low-temperature radiation detector, the “Particle Heating Detector” (PhD), which was recently selected to be part of the first mission of the Low-Temperature Microgravity Physics Facility, scheduled to fly on the International Space Station in 2008. This massive bolometer will measure total heating induced in an aluminum absorber by the space radiation environment. The use of paramagnetic alloy thermometers with SQUID readout, giving 0.3 nK / Hz resolution, combined with a large-area absorber, will enable the detector to perform high-resolution, real-time measurement of the low energy deposition levels caused by galactic cosmic rays in low-Earth orbit.
Delaying feedback by three seconds benefits retention of face-name pairs: the role of active anticipatory processing.

In three experiments, we used face–name learning to examine the puzzling feedback delay benefit—the tendency for feedback to be more effective when it is delayed rather than presented immediately. In Experiment 1, we found that feedback presented after a 3-s blank screen was more effective than feedback presented immediately, even after controlling for the exposure time to the material. In Experiment 2, we replicated the benefit of a feedback delay even when participants were given extra time to view the feedback or to try to retrieve the answer, indicating that this benefit is specific to a delay before feedback. Finally, in Experiment 3, we showed that the 3-s delay is beneficial only if it involves a blank screen, not if the delay is filled with an unrelated distracter task. These results suggest that the feedback delay benefit in this paradigm could arise from an active anticipatory process that occurs during the delay.
A New Device for Measuring Texture Changes in Raw White Shrimp Stored on Ice

Abstract An inexpensive force-deformation device was developed as part of an automated quality evaluation system for repeat-able and objective measurement of shrimp texture. Effects of shrimp size, crosshead speed, sample temperature and deformation levels on the elasticity of shrimp stored on ice for 14 days were studied. The elasticity measurement from the automated device showed no significant difference when compared with that of the Instron. Elasticity of white shrimp during the first 6 days was constant, but after day 9 it decreased, the day at which ammonia levels in the shrimp started to increase rapidly. Texture Profile Analysis parameters were also measured, but failed to provide clear indications of deterioration.
Recursiveness and preference orderings

Abstract Neoclassical economists normally just assume that preference orderings exist. What happens if agents are forced to produce their own preference orderings? It can be shown, by applying some concepts from recursive function theory, that this kind of production is problematic.
Community health nursing, wound care, and...ethics?

Because of changing demographics and other factors, patients receiving care for wounds, ostomies, or incontinence are being referred in increasing numbers to community health nursing organizations for initial or continued care. As home-based wound care becomes big business, little discussion is being focused on the moral and ethical issues likely to arise in the high-tech home setting. Progressively more complex and expensive home care relies on family members to take on complicated care regimens in the face of decreasing numbers of allowable skilled nursing home visits. A framework and a principle-based theory for reflection on the character and content of moral and ethical conflicts are provided to encourage informed and competent care of patients in the home. Common moral and ethical conflicts for WOC nurses in the United States are presented. These conflicts include issues of wound care supply procurement; use of documentation to maximize care or profit; problems of quality, care consistency, and caregiver consent; and dilemmas of tiered health care options. The advantages of a framework to address ethical conflicts are discussed.
Validation of a Personal Heat Stress Monitor

The purpose of this study was to test the validity of the Metrosonics, Inc. hs-3800 personal heat strain monitor in predicting deep-body temperature, measured with a rectal probe (Tre). Fifteen males participated in two sessions walking and arm curling at 300 Kcal/hr for up to 2 hours each in a 26°C wet bulb globe temperature environment wearing two different types of particle barrier, vapor permeable suits common to industry: a melt-blown spunbond polypropylene laminate (PPPC) and a flash-spunbond polyethylene (PEPC), subsequently compared for test-retest reliability. Eight of these subjects performed a third test while wearing an impermeable suit made from Saranex® (coated PEPC) (SAR). Correlations between the hs-3800 and Tre for PPPC were r = 0.58 and r=0.53 for SAR. In the first test of hs-3800 in PPPC, 0 true positives (TP), 10 true negatives (TN), 2 false positives (FP), and 3 false negatives (FN) were observed, yielding a specificity of the hs-3800 in PPPC of 78%. In the subsequent tests of the hs-...
Anomalous transport and structural properties of Sr1−xCuO2−δ thin films

Abstract Transport and structural properties of Sr 1− x CuO 2−δ thin films grown by pulsed laser deposition support the contention that the tetragonal phase is capable of accommodating a significant density of alkaline-earth deficiencies up to x ≤0.3. Resistivity measurements indicate a significant change in the carrier density of the CuO 2 planes as Sr vacancies are introduced. In addition, an enigmatic anomaly in the resistivity at 185 K is observed for Sr 0.85 CuO 2−δ thin films. Magnetic measurements on these samples indicate that, although a significant drop in resistivity at 185 K is observed, it is not due to a superconducting transition. Hall measurements, as well as changes in the resistivity with film growth conditions, suggest that the majority carriers in these Sr 1− x CuO 2−δ thin films are electrons even with the Sr-vacancies present.
Antiabsorptive effects of 16, 16 dimethyl prostaglandin E2 and isolated rat colon

Abstract Ulcerative colitis is distinguished by abundant prostaglandin E 2 (PGE 2 ) in the stools and by severe diarrhea. To determine whether luminal PGE 2 alters normal colonic absorption, Na + and Cl − transport across isolated rat proximal colon were studied before and after 16, 16 dimethyl PGE 2 (dmPGE 2 ) addition to flux chambers. Luminal administration of dmPGE 2 significantly reduced the net mucosal to serosal fluxes of Na + and Cl − . These antiabsorptive tive effects of dmPGE 2 on Na + and Cl − active transport were reflected by a reduced metabolic rate of colonic tissue slices incubated with dmPGE 2 . Addition of dmPGE 2 significantly reduced oxidation of glucose by the colon. Structurally, dmPGE 2 reduced the length of colonic mucosal microvilli, thereby decreasing absorptive surface area. These results suggest that PGE 2 released into the colonic lumen of patients with ulcerative colitis exerts antiabsorptive effects on the colon and in this way contributes to the associated diarrhea.
Organized Spontaneity: The Learning Commons

The transition from an information center to a learning commons requires a focus on design elements that extend a user focus beyond services into new considerations of how patrons are interacting with information while occupying a particular physical space. The learning commons incorporates and promotes space that reinforces learning, imagines services as a menu of options, and acknowledges and supports the success of library users in their academic pursuits. This case study builds on the concept of “organized spontaneity” that serves both as an underlying philosophy or attitude toward library space and as a primary design feature of the transition.
Current Concepts in the Development of Cultured Skin Replacements

Current tissue-culture techniques permit the rapid expansion of keratinocyte populations, such that an area of cultured epithelium equivalent to that of the surface of an adult can be obtained from an initial small skin biopsy. Unfortunately, technical obstacles have delayed the widespread clinical use of multilayered sheets of epithelium. These factors include difficulties in preparing and transferring fragile cultured epithelial sheets, as well as frequent unsatisfactory "take" of cultured grafts on the wound bed. As greater understanding of the complex interactions of cells and matrix evolves, so have new techniques in the field of cultured keratinocytes for grafting. We have utilized an animal model that allows us to examine some of these new methods and the factors which influence graft take. It has become clear that adhesion properties of keratinocytes, early delivery of proliferative keratinocytes to the wound, the development of dermal replacements, and improved delivery systems for keratinocytes are important factors which must be considered for the optimal provision of skin replacements.
The assessment of primate intelligence

The principal difficulty in the comparative assessment of intellectual or learning skills is that the results of such assessments may be confounded by species differences in sensory, motor, motivational and other capacities. This may be overcome by assessing basic learning and conceptual abilities along the proposed ordinal scale of levels of these abilities. Each level may be assessed for a given species by using tasks which are suited to that species' sensory, motor, motivational and other capacities. A species is tested until its highest level of attainment is determined. The total scale, which is suitable for use with all animals, ranges from the simplest kind of learning (habituation) to three levels of concept learning which are based on the types of logical operations involved (I affirmation; II, conjunction, disjunction, and conditional; III, biconditional). Within these levels, as will be shown, the precision of measurement may be increased via the introduction of logically determined sublevels. The scale may be retroactively applied to existing literature as will be shown. Practical procedures for assessments, such as animals' abilities to use biconditional concepts, which apparently have not been done will be described.
Age-Associated Deficits in Pattern Separation Functions of the Perirhinal Cortex: A Cross-Species Consensus

Normal aging causes a decline in object recognition. Importantly, lesions of the perirhinal cortex produce similar deficits and also lead to object discrimination impairments when the test objects share common features, suggesting that the perirhinal cortex participates in perceptual discrimination. The current experiments investigated the ability of young and aged animals to distinguish between objects that shared features with tasks with limited mnemonic demands. In the first experiment, young and old rats performed a variant of the spontaneous object recognition task in which there was a minimal delay between the sample and the test phase. When the test objects did not share any features (‘Easy’ perceptual discrimination) both young and aged rats correctly identified the novel object. When the test objects contained overlapping features, however, only the young rats showed an exploratory preference for the novel object. In Experiment 2, young and aged monkeys were tested on an object discrimination task. When the object pairs were dissimilar, both the young and aged monkeys learned to select the rewarded object quickly. In contrast, when LEGOs® were used to create object pairs with overlapping features, the aged monkeys took significantly longer than did the young animals to learn to discriminate between the rewarded and the unrewarded object. Together, these data indicate that behaviors requiring the perirhinal cortex are disrupted in advanced age, and suggest that at least some of these impairments may be explained by changes in high-level perceptual processing in advanced age.
Structure-constrained relative acoustic impedance using stratigraphic coordinates

ABSTRACTAcoustic impedance inversion involves conversion of seismic traces to a reflection coefficient time series and then into acoustic impedance. The usual assumption for the transformation of poststack seismic data into impedance is that seismic traces can be modeled using the simple convolutional model. According to the convolutional model, a seismic trace is a normal-incidence record, which is an assumption that is strictly true only if the earth structure is composed of horizontal layers. In the presence of dipping layers, such an assumption is violated, which introduces bias in the result of impedance inversion. I implemented impedance inversion in the stratigraphic coordinate system, in which the vertical direction is normal to the reflectors and seismic traces represent normal-incidence seismograms. Tests on field data produced more accurate and detailed impedance results from inversion in the stratigraphic coordinate system, compared to impedance results using the conventional Cartesian coordin...
Carbonate deposition, physical limnology and environmentally controlled chert formation in Paleocene-Eocene Lake Flagstaff, central Utah

Abstract Lake Flagstaff (Paleocene-Eocene of central Utah) owed its existence, large size, shallowness and low clastic content to its tectonic setting, but the climate controlled its mostly autochthonous sediments. During the first and most humid of the three lake phases, the lake was fresh, calcareous, large, and highly productive, with abundant vegetation and snails. The first deposits were limestones with gradually increasing detrital dolomite eroded from lake-marginal carbonate mudflats that were undergoing penecontemporaneous dolomitization. Continuous fluctuation in lake level produced many secondary dewatering and pedogenic-paludine fabrics. The lake developed into a playa lake during the very arid second phase, becoming restricted in area and fauna. The water was saline and alkaline, and twice became a gypsum-precipitating brine. Frequent exposure of the lake beds resulted in much calichification and in rapid and complete dolomitization. Under the intermediate climate of the third phase, the lake reexpanded and freshened, snails returned, and many limestones escaped dolomitization. Each phase defines a member of the Flagstaff Formation. Chert, absent in the oldest beds, increases up-section. The lowest chert forms minor small spheres and linings in voids near the top of the lowest member, suggesting limited silica input and post-dolomitization precipitation in areas of greatest groundwater movement. The base of the middle member contains horizons of atextural chert mudcrack fillings and nodules that appear to have been an inorganically precipitated gel. Most of the middle member, however, contains abundant chert nodules that replaced limestone prior to dolomitization. The nodules grew prior to burial (some even prior to mudcrack formation) by the movement of dissolved silica to areas of relatively low pH. In the upper member, chert is even more prevalent: entire thin beds were pervasively but incompletely silicified prior to dolomitization, probably by vertical evaporative pumping of siliceous groundwater moving under mudflats toward the lake.
Predictability of stored-wheat insect population trends from life history traits.

The extent to which the relationship between environmental factors (temperature and grain moisture content) and life history traits can predict insect population trends in stored wheat was investigated by comparing nine measured population trends with predictions from population dynamics simulation models. Regression of measured against predicted insect population densities indicated that the predictions of the simulation model explained 87, 93, and 96% of the changes in the mean measured densities of Cryptolestes ferrugineus (Stephens), Rhyzopertha dominica F., and Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), respectively. Thus, for the population trends of the three species presented here, only 13, 7, and 4% of the changes in mean measured population densities remains to be explained by other factors.
Experimental Study on the Aging of Sands

Aging effects in sand, such as increases in cone penetration resistance with time after deposition and/or densification, are known to occur in the field, but the causes of these effects are not fully understood. A laboratory testing program was designed to study mechanisms responsible for aging effects under controlled conditions. The testing program included measurements of the small strain shear modulus, electrical conductivity, pore fluid chemistry, and minicone penetration resistance after different periods of aging. Two different sands were tested, and aging effects were evaluated for different combinations of relative density, temperature, and pore fluid composition. Increases in the small strain shear modulus were observed throughout most of the tests, and chemical analyses suggest that precipitation of carbonate and silica occurred in two tests. Despite these changes, there was no corresponding increase in the minicone penetration resistance with time in any of the tests. It is unlikely that preci...
Studies on the microsomal drug-metabolizing enzyme system--effect of isooctane and pyridine nucleotides.

Abstract The extraction of liver microsomes of rat or rabbit with isooctane resulted in a uniform loss of protein, RNA and total lipid. The residual particulate matter metabolized aminopyrine at a reduced rate, whereas the metabolism of acetanilide and aniline was either accelerated or unaffected. The rate of metabolism of o -nitroanisole by the isooctane-treated microsomes was essentially unchanged. The extracted microsomes, particularly of the rabbit, were less sensitive to the inhibitory action by SKF 525-A in the metabolism of o -nitroanisole. Attempts to prepare a solubilized enzyme system from the isooctane-treated microsomes were not successful. ATP, GTP and various types of pyridine dinucleotides stimulated drug metabolism when they were added to the NADPH generating system containing a catalytic amount of NADP.
Feedback and conflict as determinants of influence

Abstract Sixty subjects made a series of 20 judgments on the qualifications of applicants for college admissions. The subjects' judgments were made on the basis of information provided by two sources. The analysis focused on differences in the influence of the two sources resulting from varying levels of conflict in the information provided and from the feedback on the accuracy of the judgments which was given to the subject after each trial. Subjects were found to base their judgments on the content of the information when conflict was mild and on a choice between sources when conflict was strong; also, judgments based on a choice between sources were found to be less intense. Feedback was found to determine the preference for sources although results were less clear-cut than expected.
What Are SEC Football Tickets Worth? Evidence from Secondary Market Transactions

Tickets to sporting events are highly differentiated�seat location, date and time of the game, and home-team and opponent qualities make each ticket unique. Preferences also differ nontrivially across fans, all of which make the supplier's pricing problem complex. We examine strategies employed by Southeastern Conference (SEC) universities in pricing their football tickets and evaluate their effectiveness in extracting surplus from fans. We use hedonic analysis of data collected from online secondary market transactions to construct a synthetic season ticket, which we compare to prices actually charged by university athletic departments. We also compare quality premiums charged by universities for better seats with market evaluations of those quality differences.
Polymorphonuclear leukocytes occlude capillaries following middle cerebral artery occlusion and reperfusion in baboons.

Microvascular perfusion defects may accompany sustained occlusion and subsequent reperfusion of the middle cerebral artery; however, the nature of such "no-reflow" defects remains unclear.In the absence of antithrombotic pretreatment, we documented lenticulostriatal microvascular flow integrity following 3-hour middle cerebral artery occlusion and 1-hour reperfusion in a baboon occlusion/reperfusion model by two methods identifying 1) microvascular occlusion and 2) microvascular patency.Microvascular "no-reflow" involved capillaries (vessels of 4.0-7.5 microns diameter) of the lenticulostriatal territory. Capillary reflow included 27-39% of all capaillaries in two subjects, indicating a significant reduction of perfusion from normal (2p = 0.045). In identical experimental preparations, single polymorphonuclear leukocytes completely occluded 4.7% of microvessels of capillary diameter in randomly selected fields, partially occluded 3.5% of postcapillary venules, and occluded 40% (four of 10) of capillaries ...
Ventriculoatrial conduction in swine during cardiac pacing: Animal model for retrograde conduction

Studies on cardiac conduction disorders and pacemaker tachycardias are usually conducted in patients because the phenomenon of ventriculoatrial (retrograde) conduction resulting from ectopic beats and pacing the ventricles has only been reported in humans. This study was conducted to characterize the ventriculoatrial (VA) conduction and retrograde P wave electrogram (EGM) amplitude and slew rate in 10 anesthetized pigs. Three transvenous pacemaker leads were positioned in the heart: one in the right atrial appendage, one in the sinoatrial (SA) node region, and another in the apex of the right ventricle. Ventriculoatrial conduction always occurred when the heart was paced from the right ventricle. There was a significant difference (p less than 0.05) between the amplitude and slew rate of the intrinsic P wave EGM (6.36 +/- 1.88 mV, 1.03 +/- 0.35 mV/msec) compared to the retrograde P wave EGM (3.12 +/- 1.37 mV, 0.57 +/- 0.18 mV/msec) detected at the SA node region. However, there was no significant difference between the intrinsic P wave EGM (4.81 +/- 2.01 mV, 0.40 +/- 0.26 mV/msec) and the retrograde P wave EGM (4.13 +/- 3.74 mV, 0.13 +/- 0.05 mV/msec) detected in the atrial appendage. The advantage of positioning an electrode in close proximity to the SA node for optimum atrial EGM detection and differentiation from retrograde P wave EGM is evident. The VA conduction time (178.5 +/- 8.5 msec) was significantly greater (p less than 0.01) than the antegrade conduction time (120.0 +/- 18.2 msec). The pig with its VA conduction is a useful model for pacemaker-induced tachycardias and for in vivo testing of drugs and/or pacemaker programs that can be utilized for controlling or preventing them.
Healthcare worker influenza declination form program.

Background Health care worker (HCW) vaccination rates have been low for many years (approximately 50%). Our goal was to implement an influenza declination form program (DFP) to assess feasibility, participation, HCW vaccination, and costs. Methods This was a prospective interventional pilot study using mixed methods to evaluate the DFP implementation processes and outcomes. We conducted a formative evaluation and interviews; data were transcribed and coded into themes. Secondary outcomes included self-reported HCW influenza vaccine uptake (pre-/postsurvey) and program costs; data were evaluated using descriptive and bivariate analyses. Results The DFP was compatible with ongoing strategies and unit culture. Barriers included multiple hospital shifts and competing demands. Facilitators included complementary ongoing strategies and leadership engagement. HCW vaccination rates were higher post- versus preimplementation (77.4% vs 53.5%, P =.01). To implement the DFP at site 1, using a mobile flu cart, 100% of declination forms were completed in 42.5 staff hours over Conclusion DFP implementation required limited resources and resulted in increased HCW influenza vaccine rates; this may have positive clinical implications for influenza infection control/prevention.
Magnetic resonance measurement of turbulent kinetic energy for the estimation of irreversible pressure loss in aortic stenosis.

ObjectivesThe authors sought to measure the turbulent kinetic energy (TKE) in the ascending aorta of patients with aortic stenosis and to assess its relationship to irreversible pressure loss.Backg ...
Processing of interferometric signals for a CTE measurement system

An improved Michelson interferometer and signal analysis system was developed for the CTE (coefficient of thermal expansion) measurement of thin plates and thin walled tubes. Computer based methods based on phase angle calculation to interpret the interference fringes were derived and compared to a manual chart recording approach. The computer recording system provided an automatic signal interpretation with minimal electronic circuitry. Algorithms for finding the signal phase angle were developed. Matrix operations were performed on the stored data. Requirements for signal stability and electronic noise were determined. A fixed parameter approach maps data onto a reference ellipse and eliminates the effect of ellipse size changes. Results for fused silica and composite plates and tubes in the axial direction agree well with prior work and predictions from classical composite plate theory.
Mosaic mongolism. II. Cytogenetic studies

Cytogenetic studies were performed on 8 persons with mosaic mongolism (46/47, 21+). It was found that the leukocyte culture can be used with confidence to determine the proportion of trisomic and normal cells at a single point in the life of the individual. However, we observed that in 7 subjects who had leukocyte cultures analyzed after periods of up to 7 years, there were significant shifts in the proportion of trisomic cells in 4 (3 had decreased and the other had increased percentages of trisomic cells). Long-term cultures of skin fibroblasts led to marked increases in the percentage of trisomic cells after several months of serial subculture. This information seriously challenges any attempts to correlate data on the proportions of trisomic cells in cultured tissues of persons with mosaic mongolism with the phenotype of mongolism.
Ambegaokar-Baratoff-Ginzburg-Landau crossover effects on the critical current density of granular superconductors.

The critical current density of a granular superconductor, modeled as an array of Josephson-coupled grains, is calculated using a Ginzburg-Landau approach that accounts for suppression of the superconducting gap parameter in the grains by supercurrent. For a wide range of experimental parameters, the critical current density versus temperature is found to have an Ambegaokar-Baratoff dependence at low temperatures but to exhibit a crossover to a Ginzburg-Landau (1-T/T/sub c/)/sup 3/2/ dependence near T/sub c/, the crossover occurring at the temperature for which the Josephson coupling energy of a junction is approximately equal to the superconducting condensation energy of a grain. Experimental results displaying this behavior are reported for a NbN film.
Carbon-13 magnetic resonance as a probe for solute-solvent interaction in dipolar heterocyclic media

Carbon-13 magnetic resonance shifts of solvent carbon atoms were measured as a function of solute concentration for a series of alkali metal salts inN-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 3-methyl-2-oxazolidone, which are 5-membered dipolar-aprotic heterocyclic solvents of dielectric constants 32.0 and 77.5, respectively. Chemical shifts were linear functions of solute molarities in the concentration range of 0.19–0.75M. Cation-solvent interaction decreased in tenacity as Li+>Na+>K+. Shifts were anion dependent for both solvents, and the magnitude of solvent structure shielding, by solute anions, decreased as tetraphenylborate > thiocyanate > perchlorate. The carbonyl shifts ofN-methyl-2-pyrrolidone and 3-methyl-2-oxazolidone were compared to other heterocyclic solvents.
Characterization of radiation-induced aging in silica-reinforced polysiloxane composites

Abstract Changes in crosslink density and chemical structure of silica-reinforced silicone polymer composites due to aging in gamma radiation environments were examined in this study. Solvent swelling was utilized to determine the individual contributions of the matrix polymer and filler phase to the overall crosslink density of silica-reinforced silicone polymer composites. The results show how polymer–filler hydrogen bonding dominates the overall crosslink density of the material. Air-irradiated samples displayed decreased hydrogen bonding at the polymer–filler interface, while vacuum irradiation revealed the opposite effect. These results were supported by solid-state NMR experiments that correlated the motional dynamics of the polymer chains with crosslink density through T 2 relaxation time measurements. GC/MS analysis was used to identify degradation products formed as a result of irradiation and speculate upon likely degradation mechanisms.
A variable time delay compensator for multivariable linear processes

Abstract A variable time delay compensator based on the Smith predictor is proposed. Finite difference and cinematic techniques are employed for a numerical approximation of the variable delay. The resulting multivariable controller is analyzed for robustness using the structured singular value. The technique is demonstrated through two simulated systems: a single-input, single-output numerical example, and a cross-direction paper machine control problem.
The effect of choosing on confidence in choice.

Abstract Overconfidence has been widely observed in difficult judgment and choice tasks. That is, the subjective probabilities of correctness that people assign to their answers to difficult general knowledge questions are too high relative to actual proportions correct. The present study was designed to gain insight into the overconfidence phenomenon through manipulations of the choice and confidence assessment process. Results for three different measures of confidence show that manipulations of the choice process affected observed confidence levels. The effects of choosing on confidence suggest that overconfidence is most likely to be severe in spontaneous, less contemplated, choices. Suggestions are made for further research on (a) the relationship of choice to confidence, and (b) additional operationalizations of confidence.
Sensitivity analysis for failure and damage in dynamically loaded tensile bars

A computational procedure is presented for evaluating the sensitivity coefficients of porous viscoplastic solids under dynamic loading conditions. The effects of finite strains, material strain and strain-rate hardening, and the thermal softening due to adiabatic heating are incorporated into the formulation. A critical void volume fraction criterion is used to identify the initiation of failure. The equations of motion emanating from a finite element semi-discretization are integrated using an explicit central difference scheme. First- and second-order sensitivity coefficients of the response quantities (derivatives with respect to various material parameters) are evaluated using a direct differentiation approach in conjunction with an automatic differentiation software facility. Numerical results are presented for tensile specimens subjected to impact loading. Both axisymmetric and plane strain states are considered. The first- and second-order sensitivity coefficients are generated by evaluating the derivatives of the response quantities with respect to various macroscopic and microscopic material parameters. Time histories of the response and sensitivity coefficients, and their spatial distributions at selected times are presented.
The neuronal response to pain

A great deal of information has been obtained about the normal physiology of pain transmission. This information has been utilised in the development of techniques, such as transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation and dorsal column stimulation, to relieve pain symptoms. This review will discuss the role of both the peripheral and the central nervous systems in the transmission of noxious stimuli. It will also discuss the neuronal response to pain involving spinal, thalamic and cortical neurons, as well as the descending inhibitory control systems. The response of peripheral and central neurons in pain models such as arthritis and peripheral neuropathy is altered. There is an increase in the neuronal response to peripherally applied stimuli following tissue or nerve injury that involves spinal, thalamic and cortical neurons. Increased activation of the endogenous descending inhibitory systems also occurs in response to injury. Both the peripheral and central nervous systems are ‘plastic', they can be mo...
Functional techniques for the analysis of the nonlinear behavior of phase&#8211;locked loops

In this paper we consider the analysis of a nonlinear feedback system. The purpose of the paper is twofold. The first objective is to demonstrate the efficiency of the Volterra functional expansion technique as a method of analyzing nonlinear feedback systems. The techniques we demonstrate are valid for a large class of nonlinear systems. Several important advantages of the functional approach are as follows: 1) Random and deterministic inputs and disturbances are included. 2) All input-output relationships are explicit. One does not have to solve complicated differential equations. 3) Once one becomes facile with the properties of the expansion, the analysis of any particular nonlinear system is rapid and straightforward. The second objective is to obtain some new and useful results for a device of practical importance. The particular nonlinear system that we will use as an example represents a phase-locked loop whose input signal is a phase-modulated sinewave which has been corrupted by additive noise. Two interesting cases of phase modulation are considered. In the first case the phase θ 1 (t) is a deterministic function. In the second case the phase θ 1 (t) is a sample function from a random process. The results are presented as closed form analytic expressions. Several interesting cases are plotted as a function of the significant parameters.
Single cell analysis of circadian dynamics in tissue explants

Tracking molecular dynamics in single cells in vivo is instrumental to understanding how cells act and interact in tissues. Current tissue imaging approaches focus on short-term observation and typically nonendogenous or implanted samples. Here we develop an experimental and computational setup that allows for single-cell tracking of a transcriptional reporter over a period of >1 wk in the context of an intact tissue. We focus on the peripheral circadian clock as a model system and measure the circadian signaling of hundreds of cells from two tissues. The circadian clock is an autonomous oscillator whose behavior is well described in isolated cells, but in situ analysis of circadian signaling in single cells of peripheral tissues is as-yet uncharacterized. Our approach allowed us to investigate the oscillatory properties of individual clocks, determine how these properties are maintained among different cells, and assess how they compare to the population rhythm. These experiments, using a wide-field microscope, a previously generated reporter mouse, and custom software to track cells over days, suggest how many signaling pathways might be quantitatively characterized in explant models.