cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An approach to multivariable control of manipulators

The paper presents simple schemes for multivariable control of multiple-joint robot manipulators in joint and Cartesian coordinates. The joint control scheme consists of two independent multivariable feedforward and feedback controllers. The feedforward controller is the minimal inverse of the linearized model of robot dynamics and contains only proportional-double-derivative (PD2) terms - implying feedforward from the desired position, velocity and acceleration. This controller ensures that the manipulator joint angles track any reference trajectories. The feedback controller is of proportional-integral-derivative (PID) type and is designed to achieve pole placement. This controller reduces any initial tracking error to zero as desired and also ensures that robust steady-state tracking of step-plus-exponential trajectories is achieved by the joint angles. Simple and explicit expressions of computation of the feedforward and feedback gains are obtained based on the linearized model of robot dynamics. This leads to computationally efficient schemes for either on-line gain computation or off-line gain scheduling to account for variations in the linearized robot model due to changes in the operating point. The joint control scheme is extended to direct control of the end-effector motion in Cartesian space. Simulation results are given for illustration.
Microbial tracers to evaluate an on-site shallow-placed low pressure distribution system

Abstract Two antibiotic resistant Escherichia coli strains and two host-specific coliphages were used to evaluate a shallow-placed low pressure distribution (LPD) system installed in a soil that was unsuitable for a conventional system because of the shallow depth to shale bedrock. Three independent LPD subsystems were installed with design hydraulic loading rates of 7.7, 14.3 (based on Virginia regulations) and 30.61. d −1 m −2 (North Carolina design). The three subsystems were evaluated under different moisture and temperature conditions (summer 1989 and winter 1990) with actual loading rates of 4.1, 7.7 and 16.71. d −1 m −2 , respectively, and focused on the fate and transport of the biological tracers below each subsystem. The North Carolina design failed within 6 months of installation because the effluent loading rate was too high to permit infiltration through the fine-textured soil at the site. The lower Virginia loading rate functioned better in terms of hydraulic performance and retention of bacterial and coliphage tracers, retaining >99.9% of the tracers, while the higher Virginia loading rate retained >99% of the tracers over all samplings.
Research Trends in the United States: EE to ESD.

Research on education for sustainable development (ESD) is not a unified body of work and, much like the literature for environmental education (EE), research is published in many arenas. The trends, however, capture some of the major foci of the research that is emerging on ESD, especially in the early years of the Decade of Education for Sustainable Development (DESD). This article attempts to frame some of the themes in which ESD research is emerging in the United States.
Genetic Diversity of Bluebunch Wheatgrass Cultivars and a Multiple-Origin Polycross

Bluebunch wheatgrass (Pseudoroegneria spicata [Pursh] A. Love = Agropyron spicatum Pursh: Poaceae) is a cross-pollinating perennial grass native to western North America. Two bluebunch wheatgrass cultivars, Goldar and Whitmar, are currently available for large-scale rangeland seeding. However, cultivars may lack the genetic diversity and adaptation necessary for dynamic non-local environments. The objective of this study was to quantify and compare genomic DNA variation within and between Goldar, Whitmar, and Generation 2 of P-7, a multiple-origin polycross (MOPX2) of 25 naturally diverse bluebunch wheatgrass collections. We assayed 1043 polymorphic amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) products and 88 monomorphic AFLP products from three sample populations of 22 plants. The number of polymorphic loci (and unique alleles) within sample populations of P-7, Goldar, and Whitmar was 898 (99), 813 (49), and 746 (59), respectively. Conversely, the number of fixed AFLP loci within sample populations of P-7, Goldar, and Whitmar was 233, 318, and 385, respectively. The overall nucleotide-sequence diversity (pi +/- SE (x1000)] estimated for P-7, Goldar, and Whitmar was 100.2 +/- 7.1, 80.1 +/- 6.6, and 79.4 +/- 6.7, respectively. By all measures, genetic variation within P-7 is significantly higher than genetic variation within cultivars. However, the estimated number of inter-population nucleotide differences per site (d(x) +/- SE (x1000)] between Goldar and Whitmar, e.g., 36.6 +/- 1.6, is only slightly higher than pi within these cultivars, therefore the net nucleotide-sequence divergence (d(A) +/- SE (x1000)] between these cultivars is relatively small, e.g. 2.5 +/- 0.3. These results indicate that selectively neutral genetic diversity has not been dramatically reduced or inadvertently lost via genetic drift that may have occurred since the divergence of Goldar and Whitmar. No AFLP markers completely distinguish Goldar and Whitmar, therefore discrete morphological differences between these cultivars (e.g., the presence and absence of awns) most likely result from natural or artificial selection.
Mercury mobility at the Carson River Superfund Site, west-central Nevada, USA: Interpretation of mercury speciation data in mill tailings, soils, and sediments

Abstract The Carson River Superfund Site in west-central Nevada is an area of Hg-contaminated soil, sediment, water, air, and biola resulting from the amalgamation milling of Ag-Au ores of the Comstock lode worked approximately a century ago. In order to develop an understanding of the behavior, transport, and fate of Hg at this site, a technique was developed to estimate the proportions of total, elemental, exchangeable, organic, and sulfide Hg in soils, sediments, and tailings. Results of this analysis performed on active Carson River sediments indicate that Hg is selectively dissolved out of Hg-Au amalgam particles and subsequently adsorbed to fine-grained sediments which are then deposited in downstream, low-energy reaches of the Carson River and Labontan Reservoir. In the relatively more-reducing environment of the reservoir Hg appears to be converted, in large part, to relatively-insoluble HgS. The original elemental form of Hg released to the environment is the chemical form which is still dominant in most highly-contaminated soils, sediments, and tailings. Deeper, more-reducing soil horizons, however, appear to fix a significant portion of the Hg as HgS, analogous to the Lahontan Reservoir example described above. This fixation as HgS is documented to be largely limited to higher-sulfur areas where sulfide minerals from the Comstock ores increase the total sulfur concentrations of contaminated soils, sediments, and tailings.
Name-writing proficiency, not length of name, is associated with preschool children's emergent literacy skills

The goals of this study were twofold: first, to examine whether preschool children's name-writing proficiency differentiated them on other emergent reading and writing tasks, and second, to examine the effect of name length on preschool children's emergent literacy skills including alphabet knowledge and spelling. In study 1, a range of emergent literacy tasks was administered to 296 preschool children aged 4-5 years. The more advanced name writers outperformed the less advanced name writers on all emergent literacy measures. Furthermore, children with longer names did not show superior performance compared to children with shorter names. In study 2, four measures of alphabet knowledge and spelling were administered to 104 preschool children. Once again, the more advanced name writers outperformed the less advanced name writers on the alphabet knowledge and spelling measures. Results indicated that having longer names did not translate into an advantage on the alphabet knowledge and spelling tasks. Name writing proficiency, not length of name appears to be associated with preschool children's developing emergent literacy skills. Name writing reflects knowledge of some letters rather than a broader knowledge of letters that may be needed to support early spelling.
Theoretical and computational basis for drug bioavailability determinations using pharmacological data. I. General considerations and procedures.

The use of data deriving from monitoring the time variation of the intensity of pharmacological effect(s) following dosing can often present an advantageous alternative to the more conventional approach of using chemical or radiological assay of blood and/or urine level data for bioavailability evaluations of drug products: bioavailability studies can be performed with drugs where no assay exists. A relatively simplified discussion of the general theoretical principles on which the use of pharmacological data is based and a stepwise description of the approach for its routine application in bioavailability studies are presented. Approaches for computing rates and extents of drug bioavailability vs. time profiles on analog and digital computers are qualitatively described and quantitatively presented in a subsequent report. The concept of preabsorption (gastrointestinal bioavailability) is introduced and biophasic availability of drugs to local sites of action is discussed.
Response and Stability Analysis of Piecewise-Linear Oscillators Under Multi-Forcing Frequencies

Steady-state solutions of a piecewise-linear oscillator under multi-forcing frequencies are obtained using the fixed point algorithm (FPA). Stability analysis is also performed using the same technique. For the periodic solutions of a piecewise-linear oscillator with single forcing frequency, the harmonic balance method (HBM) is also used along with the FPA. Although both FPA and HBM generate accurate solutions, it is observed that the HBM failed to converge to solutions in the superharmonic range of the forcing frequency. The fixed point algorithm was also applied to the oscillator under multifrequency excitation. The algorithm proved to be very effective in obtaining torus solutions and in locating corresponding bifurcation thresholds. A piecewise-linear oscillator model of an offshore articulated loading platform (ALP) subjected to two incommensurate wave frequencies is found to exhibit chaotic behavior. A second order Poincare mapping technique reveals the hidden fractal-like nature of the resulting chaotic response. A parametric study is performed for the response of the ALP.
Stress and the Toxicity of Venoms

Animals injected with venom of the scorpion Centruroides sculpturatus Ewing or venom of the rattlesnake Crotalus atrox Baird and Girard were subjected to high-and low-temperature stress. Unconditioned animals transferred to a modified temperature were less refractory to the venoms than those conditioned for 48 hours, but all animals stressed were less refractory than unstressed animals. Animals receiving a series of small doses of epinephrine were similarly affected. This apparent change in toxicity of the venoms seems to be due to the physiological effects of stress rather than to the temperature per se.
Incorporation and disappearance of oxygen-18 in lung from mice exposed to 1 ppm 18O3.

Abstract In this study, 18 O 3 was used as a tracer for inhaled ozone in mice. The amount of ozone-derived oxygen (ODO) in the lungs was determined by measuring the amount of oxygen-18 in excess of the natural abundance level which remained covalently bound to organic constituents of lung following exposure to 1 ppm 18 O 3 for ≤60 min. The rate of disappearance of ODO from the lungs was determined by quantifying the rate of decrease of oxygen-18 in excess of the natural abundance level in lung from mice exposed to 1 ppm 18 O 3 for 45 min. With exposure to 1 ppm 18 O 3 , ODO accumulated in lung at a rate of 4.38 pmol/mg dry weight/min. Ozonederived oxygen had a half-life in lung of approximately 6 hr. We estimate that a minimum of 44 pmol of O 3 reacted with lung every minute of exposure to 1 ppm O 3 .
General Circulation of the Ocean

The past half decade has been a period of vibrant growth in our understanding of the dynamics of large-scale ocean circulation. There have been notable advances in combining thermohaline and wind-driven theories, and it is time that these ideas are spread more widely to researchers and students. To meet this need, the book General Circulation of the Ocean edited by H.D.I. Abarbanel and W.R. Young, presents a series of overview lectures given by people working in the area of ocean circulation. The objective of the book is to bring recent theories of ocean circulation to a wider audience. In this, it succeeds admirably.
Dermatologists meet the primary care standard for first contact management of skin disease

Abstract Background: It has been suggested that first contact for skin disease should be the domain of primary care providers because they provide comprehensive services beyond those offered by dermatologists. Objective: The purpose of this study was to test the hypothesis that dermatologists do not meet the standards for providing primary care to which generalists are held. Methods: National Ambulatory Medical Care Survey data from the year 1995 were used to determine the frequency at which counseling and preventive examinations were performed at visits to primary care providers and dermatologists. Results: Counseling and preventive examinations were performed at a minority of visits for skin disease. No counseling was reported at 91% of the visits to primary care providers and at 94% of visits to dermatologists. Preventive examinations other than blood pressure were done at 4.7% of the visits to primary care providers and at 1.5% of visits to dermatologists. Conclusion: The standard of primary care for skin disease, as set by the generalist, is attention to the skin disease and not comprehensive medical care. Dermatologists are best able to meet this standard. (J Am Acad Dermatol 1998;39:182-6.)
Altered pattern of Na,K-ATPase activity and mRNA during chronic alcohol consumption by juvenile and adolescent rats.

The effect of chronic ethanol consumption on cerebral cortical activity of Na,K-ATPase was determined in Long-Evans (LE) rats fed an ethanol-containing diet beginning at different stages of development. Na,K-ATPase activity was operationally resolved into α1 and α2/3 isozyme activities. There was no significant difference in Na,K-ATPase activities before and after alcohol consumption in the preparations from adult rats. However, for rats beginning alcohol consumption as adolescents, the α2/3 activity was significantly elevated following chronic alcohol consumption. Both LE and Sprague–Dawley rats showed this same selective increase in cortical α2/3 activity when rats began alcohol consumption as juveniles. The shift in cortical α2/3 activity was not observed in cerebellum or subcortical forebrain and was reversible when rats were fed ethanol throughout the normal adolescent period and then withdrawn and tested 2 weeks later (during the adult period). Levels of isoform-specific mRNA were determined in preparations of cerebral cortices of rats showing elevated α2/3 isozyme activities. In these preparations, isoform specific α2 and α3 mRNA was significantly elevated. There was no effect of ethanol feeding on cortical α1 mRNA. These findings indicate that the longer term effects of ethanol on the developing brain include elevated Na,K-ATPase activity and a mechanism that is pre-translational and isoform specific.
Polarized trafficking of thyrocyte proteins in MDCK cells.

Abstract Recent studies suggest striking similarities between polarized protein sorting in thyrocytes and MDCK epithelial cells, including apical trafficking of thyroglobulin (Tg), thyroid peroxidase, and aminopeptidase N; as well as basolateral targeting of heparan sulfate proteoglycans, thrombospondin 1 (TSP1), type 1 5'-deiodinase, sodium–potassium ATPase, and the thyrotropin receptor. In this report, we have firstly expressed in stably transfected MDCK II cells a range of truncation mutants lacking up to 78% of the C-terminus of TSP1; these studies indicate that the N-terminal region containing the heparin binding domain is sufficient for basolateral targeting of TSP1. Secondly, we have stably transfected MDCK II cells with both Tg and sodium-iodide symporter (NIS) cDNAs, obtaining clones that simultaneously express both thyroid-specific proteins at the apical and basolateral cell surfaces, respectively. These studies represent promising early steps towards designing artificial thyrocytes by thyroid gene transfer into MDCK cells.
TISSUE SELENIUM LEVELS AND GROWTH RESPONSES OF MICE FED SELENOMETHIONINE, SE-METHYLSELENOCYSTEINE OR SODIUM SELENITE

Abstract Mice fed diets containing selenomethionine at a level of 20 ppm selenium and raised to 30 ppm selenium at 3 weeks on experiment showed (1) delayed response to selenium toxicity, (2) slow recovery from the toxicity after removal of selenium from the diet and (3) relatively high deposition and retention of tissue selenium. These data suggest that selenomethonine initially becomes incorporated in to the primary structure of proteins and as such is not particularly toxic. However, upon its slow removal from protein, selenomethionine becomes toxic by forming selenium IV compounds through a pathway similar to that followed by methionine. Mice fed diets containing sodium selenite or Se-methylselenocysteine at the same level of selenium as the selenomethionine diet showed (1) immediate response to selenium toxicity (2) rapid recovery from the toxicity after removal of selenium from the diet and (3) relatively low deposition and relatively rapid depletion of tissue selenium. These data suggest that sodium...
Malpractice and the vascular surgeon

The theme of presidential addresses has varied to include political, historical, and clinical topics. I suspect that the most vexing problem for presidents is the choice of topics. I can recall my former chairman, Dr. Paul Adkins, thoughtfully discussing various approaches for his presidential address to the Society of Thoracic Surgery in the winter of 1981. For me, however, the choice was easy. At the time of my selection as president, I was involved with two major lawsuits. For 12 years before these lawsuits, I had no legal problems not even requests for medical records. Within 8 months the exaggerated confidence I had in my clinical abilities and interpersonal skills with my patients was shattered by the filing of three major lawsuits. One suit was so frivolous that the plaintiffs attorney withdrew it after being threatened with disciplinary action and a countersuit. The other two would not disappear and dominated my thoughts for 4 long, painful years; this reminded me of the condemned man's comments as he approached his rendezvous with the gallows, "It certainly focuses one's attention." I hope this lecture will give you basic information on the malpractice tort system. I do not want this address to be a diatribe against the system, but please excuse me if some anger and bitterness break through. I have tried to gather as much factual information as possible to give an objective evaluation. Toward that goal I have mostly but not exclusively relied on three major studies that have focused on the numbers and characteristics of adverse
Modified Muscle-Sparing Paraspinal Approach for Stabilization and Interlaminar Decompression: A Minimally Invasive Technique for Pedicle Screw-Based Posterior Nonfusion Stabilization ☆

Introduction Though Wiltse developed the paraspinal muscle-splitting approach to the spine, the exact location of where and how to split the paraspinal musculature when performing this approach remains unclear. This type of approach may be particularly useful for posterior nonfusion stabilization as significantly less damage occurs with this approach than with a muscle-stripping approach.
Performance of Low‐Profile Skimmer Trawls in the Inshore Shrimp Fishery of North Carolina

Abstract A gear development study was conducted during May–Jun 1995 comparing the catch composition of shrimp (family Penaeidae) and finfish bycatch in a standard high-profile skimmer trawl (3.7-m vertical height) and a low-profile skimmer trawl (0.9-m vertical height) in the North and Newport rivers, North Carolina. As opposed to the traditional otter trawl, a skimmer trawl is a net attached to frames and pushed rather than pulled by the vessel. The low-profile net was designed by commercial fishers in the hope of reducing finfish bycatch and the capture of floating debris. The objective of the study was to determine whether a reduced vertical height actually reduced finfish bycatch, while minimizing losses of brown shrimp Penaeus aztecus and pink shrimp P. duorarum. White shrimp P. setiferus were not present during the study period. Total shrimp catches (including discard shrimp) with the low-profile net were significantly smaller than with the high-profile net. Brown shrimp catches were smaller by 39.1...
Abortion Incidence and Services In the United States in 2000

CONTEXT: Nearly half of unintended pregnancies and more than one-fifth of all pregnancies in the United States end in abortion. No nationally representative statistics on abortion incidence or on the universe of abortion providers have been available since 1996. METHODS: In 2001–2002 The Alan Guttmacher Institute (AGI) conducted its 13th survey of all known U.S. abortion providers collecting information for 1999 2000 and the first half of 2001. Trends were calculated by comparing the survey results with data from previous AGI surveys. RESULTS: From 1996 to 2000 the number of abortions fell by 3% to 1.31 million and the abortion rate declined 5% to 21.3 per 1000 women 15–44. (In comparison the rate declined 12% between 1992 and 1996.) The abortion ratio in 2000 was 24.5 per 100 pregnancies ending in abortion or live birth 5% lower than in 1996. The number of abortion providers decreased by 11% to 1819 (46% were clinics 33% hospitals and 21% physicians’ offices); clinics provided 93% of all abortions in 2000. In that year 34% of women aged 15–44 lived in the 87% of counties with no provider and 86 of the nation’s 276 metropolitan areas had no provider. About 600 providers performed an estimated 37000 early medical abortions during the first six months of 2001; these procedures represented approximately 6% of all abortions during that period. Abortions performed by dilation and extraction were estimated to account for 0.17% of all abortions in 2000. CONCLUSIONS: Abortion incidence and the number of abortion providers continued to decline during the late 1990s but at a slower rate than earlier in the decade. Medical abortion began to play a small but significant role in abortion provision. (authors)
AZW-LA-II White Paint on Swift: Lessons Learned from First Time Flying on Spacecraft Radiators

AZ-Tek's AZW-LA-II low solar absorptance white paint was previously flown as a flight experiment, and is being flown as a calorimeter. However it has never been flown as a thermal coating of radiators on an operational spacecraft before. This paint has the lowest solar absorptance among all white paints, and a very small degradation. Its cost is many times more expensive than white paints that have a higher solar absorptance. To meet the thermal requirements of the Swift Burst Alert Telescope (BAT) Detector Array and X-Ray Telescope (XRT) focal plane camera assembly (FPCA) charged coupled device (CCD), AZW-LA-II is used as the thermal coating for the BAT and XRT radiators. This paper presents the lessons learned from flying this low solar absorptance white paint as a thermal coating of radiators on an operational spacecraft for the first time.
Experiential Learning Process: Exploring Teaching and Learning of Strategic Management Framework through the Winter Survival Exercise:

This article examines an attempt to introduce experiential learning methods in a business strategy course. In organizational behavior and industrial/organizational psychology, experiential teaching methods have been so widely adopted that some authors have suggested dropping the distinction between experiential and traditional teaching. Although intuitively appealing, experiential methods have not yet become popular among professors teaching strategy to traditional-age undergraduate students. It seems that heavy reliance on case-based teaching has resulted in a lack of emphasis on experiential learning tools for strategic management. In this study, the Winter Survival Exercise was used to introduce, concisely and effectively, the strategic management framework to 97 traditional-age undergraduate strategic management students in three different sections over three semesters. Statistical analysis supported the efficacy of this teaching method. Implications for teaching business strategy using experiential m...
Stereoselective formation of a hydrindane ring system by anionic olefin cyclization. Trapping of the alkyllithium intermediate with electrophiles.

Abstract Cyclopentane formation via the intramolecular addition of a cyclic vinyllithium reagent to simple alkenes produces a single hydrindane alkyllithium diastereomer that can be trapped with electrophiles.
INTRINSIC FLUORESCENCE CHANGES IN NERVE TERMINALS, EVOKED BY ACTION POTENTIALS, ARE MODULATED BY KREBS CYCLE SUBSTRATES

Electrical stimulation of the mammalian neurohypophysial infundibular stalk evokes the entry of Na+ and Ca2+ into the neurosecretory terminals during the action potential. These events, in turn, increase intracellular Ca2+ and activate NaK- and Ca-ATPases, prompting the mitochondria to increase oxidative phosphorylation which can be monitored by recording the changes in FAD and NADH fluorescence. This paper reflects our efforts to determine whether or not modulating the capacity of mitochondria to produce ATP, by changing the concentrations of two important substrates of the Krebs cycle of the nerve terminal mitochondria, pyruvate and glucose, has an effect on the intrinsic fluorescence changes triggered by action potential stimulation.
Burton E. Sobel: 1937–2013

Dr Burton (Burt) E. Sobel was born in New York City on October 21, 1937 and died in Colchester, Vermont on May 3, 2013. At the time of his death, he was the Distinguished University Professor at the University of Vermont, and Director of the University’s Cardiovascular Research Institute. Burt received his undergraduate training at Cornell University, and attended Harvard Medical School, from which he received his medical degree magna cum laude in 1962. After his residency in Medicine at the (then) Peter Bent Brigham Hospital he had fellowship training in cardiology and pharmacology in the intramural program of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute. In 1968, he assumed his first faculty position in the Department of Medicine at the University of California, San Diego, where he was director of the Coronary Care Unit and then also of the Myocardial Research Unit. In 1973, he became Director of the Cardiovascular Division at Washington University, St. Louis, and, in 1985, he was named the Lewin Distinguished Professor in Cardiovascular Disease and Director of the Center for Cardiovascular Research at that University. From 1994 to 2005, he served as the Amidon Professor and Chair of the Department of Medicine at the University of Vermont. Burt was the quintessential physician–scientist–leader. From my close contact with him during his years at the National Institutes of Health and at the University of California, San Diego, it was clear that …
The effect of stimulus size on human cyclofusional response

Abstract Objective measurement of human cyclofusional response was carried out using a binocular eye movement monitoring device and a wide angle (50° field of view) tachistoscope. We studied the effect of stimulus size on the central and motor components of cyclofusional response. The results show a slight increase of cyclofusional thresholds corresponding to an increase in stimulus size from 10° to 50°. The torsional disparity contained in the 50° stimulus evoked substantial cyclovergent eye movements and the response also contained a significant central (non-motor) component. Reducing the stimulus size from 50° to 10° diminishes the magnitude of the motor response to a 5° torsional disparity. The data thus show the importance of wide field stimulation for evoking a significant motor component in cyclofusional response.
At the Feet of the Gods: Myth, Tragedy, and Redemption in Alfonso Reyes's Ifigenia cruel

Alfonso Reyes describes his Ifigenia cruel (Cruel Iphigenia), an adaptation of Euripides’ Iphigenia at Tauris, as a play about an individual's redemption from a cycle of violence: Iphigenia, forced to go back to her murderous family in Greece, refuses to do so and remains as a priestess in Tauris, sacrificing human victims to Artemis. This article offers a qualification of Reyes's reading through the following two aspects: his choice of myth and his understanding of Greek tragedy. The alternative version of the myth, that of the Taurian Iphigenia, allows Reyes to explore the possibility of redemption. At the core of this version there are two types of violence, human and sacred; Reyes concentrates on the human aspect of this violence in his reading of the play, but the sacred poses a problem: to liberate herself from the crimes of her family, Iphigenia chooses human sacrifice. Reyes's understanding of Greek tragedy provides a solution to this apparent contradiction. Since tragedy, for Reyes, is the manife...
Geographic Prioritization of Distributing Pandemic Influenza Vaccines

Pandemic influenza is an international public health concern. In light of the persistent threat of H5N1 avian influenza and the recent pandemic of A/H1N1swine influenza outbreak, public health agencies around the globe are continuously revising their preparedness plans. The A/H1N1 pandemic of 2009 demonstrated that influenza activity and severity might vary considerably among age groups and locations, and the distribution of an effective influenza vaccine may be significantly delayed and staggered. Thus, pandemic influenza vaccine distribution policies should be tailored to the demographic and spatial structures of communities. Here, we introduce a bi-criteria decision-making framework for vaccine distribution policies that is based on a geospatial and demographically-structured model of pandemic influenza transmission within and between counties of Arizona in the Unites States. Based on data from the 2009–2010 H1N1 pandemic, the policy predicted to reduce overall attack rate most effectively is prioritizing counties expected to experience the latest epidemic waves (a policy that may be politically untenable). However, when we consider reductions in both the attack rate and the waiting period for those seeking vaccines, the widely adopted pro rata policy (distributing according to population size) is also predicted to be an effective strategy.
Community choice of revenue instruments

Abstract This paper analyzes communities' choices of revenue instruments, such as property taxes, land taxes, housing revenues, fees, and head taxes, in an imperfect competition framework. Developer-dominated, or profit-maximizing communities generally prefer fees or charges to taxes; while voter-dominated, or utility-maximizing communities prefer taxes to fees. The impact of balanced budget constraints, restrictions on the choices of instruments, and public service choices are also analyzed.
Topological terms in one- and two-dimensional quantum Heisenberg antiferromagnets.

We show that the Wess-Zumino kinetic terms of individual spins combine to provide nontrivial topological terms for one-dimensional antiferromagnetic spin chains but do not produce a Hopf term for antiferromagnets on two-dimensional squares lattices. This result suggests that some other mechanism is needed to account for the neutral fermions which may be present in high-${T}_{c}$ materials.
How to Identify a Domain-General Learning Mechanism When You See One

A longstanding and fundamental debate in developmental science is whether knowledge is acquired through domain-specific or domain-general mechanisms. To date, there exists no tool to determine whether experimental data support one theoretical approach or the other. In this article, we argue that the U- and N-shaped curves found in a number of studies across a range of developmental areas are a product of domain-general learning. This pattern arises through a combination of improving cognitive capacities, which allow for different levels of processing, and emergent constraints on learning. We propose that developmental scientists' knowledge of the meaning of this pattern can aid the theoretical interpretation of data as well as experimental design to incorporate a sufficiently inclusive range of ages.
Muscle tendon release and transposition for enhancement of mandibular denture stability.

Abstract A technique of muscle tendon repositioning to create an anterior lingual sulcus to enhance denture retention is presented. It is based on previously developed surgical procedures. While clinically we do not know the ultimate location of the genioglossus and geniohyoid muscles, we do know that at no time was the patient's ability to speak, swallow, or manage food affected adversely.
Buoyancy and Stable Levitation of a Magnetic Body immersed in a Magnetizable Fluid

THIS communication concerns the nature of some peculiar forces experienced by a body immersed in magnetic fluid when the body is a source of magnetic field. Prediction and experimental demonstration are given of the stable ‘fluidmagnetic’ levitation of a permanent magnet at an interior region of the fluid.
Demonstration of dual resolution cone beam CT technique with an a-Si/a-Se flat panel detector

In this study, we demonstrated volume of interest (VOI) scanning technique in dual resolution cone beam CT (CBCT) breast imaging. A paraffin cylinder with a diameter of 130 mm was used to simulate breast. A wire phantom with a diameter of 15 mm was constructed as VOI. The phantom contains 8 vertically aluminum wires of various diameters surrounded by paraffin. The wire phantom was inserted into the breast phantom 45 mm away from the center. The phantoms were first scanned with a bench top experimental CBCT system at a low exposure level with the detector operated in a binning mode. Then a VOI mask was placed between the x-ray source and the phantoms. The phantoms were scanned again with high exposure level and the detector operated in the non-binning mode. The VOI mask was moved to follow the wire phantom during the whole CT scan to limit the exposures to cover the VOI only. The low resolution and high resolution images were then combined together for reconstruction with FDK algorithm. Visual review of the regular and dual resolution CBCT images shows that thinnest resolvable wire in the dual resolution CBCT images has a diameter of 152 μm. The thinnest resolvable wire in regular CBCT images has a diameter of 254 μm. The estimated dose to the phantom for dual resolution CBCT is 123% of that with regular CBCT at low exposure level. The dual resolution CBCT technique greatly enhances the CT image quality while still remains a low exposure level to the phantom.
Reduced evaporation in house mice (Musmusculus) acclimated to water restriction

Abstract 1. 1. Evaporative water loss (EWL) was measured from wild house mice and laboratory mice ( Mus musculus ). EWL was partitioned as head and trunk portions. 2. 2. Total EWL from control wild mice averaged 0·94 mg H 2 O/cm 3 O 2 whereas the average for these mice acclimated to one-eighth ad lib . was 0·72 mg/ cm 3 . Laboratory mice receiving water as desired evaporated a total of 0.88 mg/cm 3 compared to 0·58 mg/cm 3 from animals acclimated to one-eighth ad lib . 3. 3. Wild house mice at one-quarter ad lib . had less evaporation from the head than controls; at one-eighth ad lib . both head and trunk evaporation were less than in controls. Laboratory mice acclimated to one-eighth ad lib . had less evaporation from the trunk than controls. 4. 4. Trunk evaporation was reduced relatively more (extreme of 58 per cent) than head evaporation (extreme of 17 per cent).
Multiple forms of liver microsomal flavin-containing monooxygenases: complete covalent structure of form 2.

Hepatic flavin-containing monooxygenases catalyze NADPH-dependent oxygenation of a wide variety of drugs that possess a nucleophilic heteroatom. Two forms of these enzymes (form 1 and 2) have been isolated from rabbit liver microsomes and partially characterized (Ozols, J., 1989, Biochem. Biophys. Res. Commun. 163, 49–55). The complete amino acid sequence of form 2 is presented here. Sequence determination was achieved by pulsed liquid-phase and solid-phase sequencing of 40 peptides generated by chemical and enzymatic cleavages, including CNBr cleavage of tryptophanyl residues. Form 2 monooxygenase contains 533 amino acid residues and has a molecular weight of 60,089. The COOH terminus of this enzyme is very hydrophobic and presumably functions to anchor the protein to the membrane. Form 2 is readily degraded, since a form lacking residues 1 to 278 and a form without the COOH-terminal segment were also isolated from solubilized membrane preparations. The amino acid sequence of form 2 is 52% identical to that of form 1 and shows 55% identity to the sequence of rabbit lung monooxygenase derived from the cDNA data. The putative FAD and NADP binding segments around residues 9 and 190 are conserved in all three forms. Three variable segments can also be identified in these isoforms. These are residues 308 to 321, residues 408 to 421, and the membrane binding domain, residues 505 to 533. A comparison of the presently limited amino acid sequence data of flavin-containing monooxygenases (FMOs) implies that a particular FMO in different mammalian species may be very similar, but isozymes within a species may exhibit more extensive variability with respect to homology and catalytic activity. This study documents the structural diversity of a second hepatic FMO from rabbit liver and establishes this class of drug-metabolizing enzymes as a family of related proteins.
Structural and kinetic study of the self-assembly of nucleosome core particles

Abstract When isolated chicken erythrocyte core histones (or core particles dissociated in 2.0 m -NaCl) are labeled with the fluorescent reagent N-(l-pyrene)maleimide at pH 7.0, only histone H3 reacts, presumably at cysteine 110. Pyrene-labeled core particles were salt-jumped from 2.0 m -NaCl to lower concentrations. When the final NaCl concentration is higher than 0.6 m , only pyrene monomer emission is observed, whereas between 0.6 and 0.2 m , the monomer intensity decreases, while pyrene excimer intensity increases, indicating that the two pyrene rings can contact each other in the compact nucleosome structure. The excimer emission provides a direct and simple way to monitor nucleosome assembly. Digestion with DNAase I and spectroscopic studies show that core particles can be reconstituted either by salt-jump of core particles from 2.0 to 0.2 m -NaCl or by direct mixing of DNA and histones in 0.2 m -NaCl, but the former procedure is more efficient. The kinetics of core particle self-assembly by salt-jump from 2.0 to 0.2 m -NaCl or direct mixing in 0.2 m -NaCl were followed by measuring the increase in excimer emission. The kinetic data obtained can be fitted to a two-exponential rate equation (rate constants: ~10−1 s−1 and ~7 × 10−3 s−1). The kinetic parameters are essentially the same for a 2.0 to 0.2 m -NaCl salt-jump and a 0.6 to 0.2 m -NaCl salt-jump, indicating that binding of histones to DNA, which takes place above 0.6 m -NaCl, is very fast and that the two kinetic components observed for the overall reaction are related to the folding of the core particle. The kinetic parameters are independent of DNA and histone concentrations, excluding mechanisms involving second-order reactions. A two-step sequential mechanism is consistent with the folding kinetics but further investigations on unfolding-refolding reactions indicate that more complex mechanisms must be considered. Linear or cyclic mechanisms involving two intermediates are consistent with the available kinetic data. These intermediates could be related with the altered nucleosome structures observed in newly replicated chromatin or they may be involved in chromatin transcription.
How Item Writers Understand Depth of Knowledge

An important part of test development is ensuring alignment between test forms and content standards. One common way of measuring alignment is the Webb (1997, 2007) alignment procedure. This article investigates (a) how well item writers understand components of the definition of Depth of Knowledge (DOK) from the Webb alignment procedure and (b) how consistent their DOK ratings are with ratings provided by other committees of educators across grade levels, content areas, and alternate assessment levels in a Midwestern state alternate assessment system. Results indicate that many item writers understand key features of DOK. However, some item writers struggled to articulate what DOK means and had some misconceptions. Additional analyses suggested some lack of consistency between the item writer DOK ratings and the committee DOK ratings. Some notable differences were found across alternate assessment levels and content areas. Implications for future item writing training and alignment studies are provided.
Premature Lower Extremity Atherosclerosis: Clinical Aspects

Peripheral arterial disease (PAD) involving the lower extremities is presumably a disease of the elderly. The awareness of PAD in the general population, and in younger adults in particular, is low. Atherosclerosis is the major cause of lower limb ischemia in the young. Young adults with clinical manifestations of premature lower extremity atherosclerosis (PLEA) typically have multiple cardiovascular risk factors and the majority are smokers, with strong family history of cardiovascular disease, and typically have chronic symptoms of claudication at diagnosis. Frequently these symptoms are either not reported in a timely manner by the patients or are attributed to other, presumably more common causes of leg pain in the young. More than 70% of patients with PLEA have angiographic evidence of severe aortoiliac disease. The results of surgical revascularizations in young adults are inferior to those reported in older patients. Younger adults typically require multiple revascularizations with relatively high amputation rate. We conclude that PAD should be considered in adults with multiple risk factors regardless of their age if appropriate symptoms are present. There is a need for increased public health awareness for premature lower extremity atherosclerosis.
Calculation of Dipole Moments from Rates of Nitration of Substituted Benzenes and Its Significance for Organic Chemistry

(1) From a set of assumptions which seem reasonable a priori, the authors calculate the charge distributions in the molecules of mono‐substituted benzenes, and the dipole moments of the latter from reaction rate data alone. These coincide very well with the observed moments. (2) From the dipole moments of aromatic and aliphatic compounds, the ortho‐, meta‐ and para‐percentages during nitration were calculated. These also accord satisfactorily with the experimental values. (3) It is concluded that these two facts give a quantitative basis to the usual explanation about the orienting power of substituents of benzene. (4) The nitration of benzene is an ionic reaction : The nitrating agent X·NO2 dissociates into X— and NO2+ in the activated complex, and the latter ion interacts with the reacting carbon. The activation free energy is reduced by the amount of the electrostatic interaction, i.e., 4.80·10—10ey/(rD). Here ey is the charge on the reacting carbon, r, the distance between NO2+ and the reacting carbon...
Effects of time and rate of nutrient application on foliar nutrient concentration and cold hardiness in Viburnum species

Viburnum plicatum Thunb. f. tomentosum Rehd. and Viburnum dentatum L. were fertilized with N, P, and K at a high or low rate during late spring and late summer. V. plicatum f. tomentosum absorbed more K than N and P. Potassium applications to soil increased foliar K significantly, but increases were much greater following spring applications than following late summer applications. There was no luxury consumption of K by V. dentatum. N and K applications decreased cold hardiness of V. plicatum f. tomentosum in late October. Nutrient applications had no effect on cold hardiness of V. dentatum regardless of date of application.
Residence Time Theory

The intellectual roots of residence time theory date back to 1908 and, thus, span the 100-year history of Industrial & Engineering Chemistry. The theory was created, developed, and extended by chemical engineers. It permeates chemical engineering in general and chemical reaction engineering in particular. It also has found widespread utility in the geosciences, environmental engineering, medicine, and biology. This paper provides an overview of the theory and gives some new results here and there.
A new sulphur dioxide sensor using a novel two-phase solid-sulphate electrolyte

Abstract Several solid-sulfate electrolyte cells have been recently developed to measure SO 2 or SO 3 in gases. After describing the principal guidelines used to develop these sensors, the results with single-phase electrolyte cells are summarized. The single-phase electrolyte sensors with gas-reference electrodes are reliable, but voltage instabilities are observed with solid-reference electrodes. Because a solid reference offers distinct advantages in commercial applications, a novel two-phase electrolyte cell which is chemically compatible with a solid reference electrode has been developed. This Li 2 SO 4 -Ag 2 SO 4 sensor has exceptional reliability and long-term chemical stability.
An information-theoretic characterization of partitioned property spaces

A methodology, derived by analogy to Shannon’s information-theoretic theory of communication and utilizing the concept of mutual information, has been developed to characterize partitioned property spaces. A family of non-intersecting subsets that cover the “universe” of objects represents a partitioned property space. Each subset is thus an equivalence class. A partition and it’s associated equivalence classes can be generated using any one of a number of procedures including hierarchical and non-hierarchical clustering, direct approaches using rough set methods, and cell-based partitioning, to name a few. Thus, partitioned property spaces arise in many instances and represent a very large class of problems. The approach is based on set-valued mappings from equivalence classes in one partition to those in another and provides a coarse-grained means for comparing property spaces. From these mappings it is possible to compute a number of Shannon entropies that afford calculation of mutual information, which represents that amount of information shared by two partitions of a set of objects. Taking the ratio of the mutual information with the maximum possible mutual information yields a quantity that measures the similarity of the two partitions. While the focus in this work is directed towards small sets of objects the approach can be extended to many more classes of problems that can be put into a similar form, which includes many types of cheminformatic and biological problems. A number of scenarios are presented that illustrate the concept and indicate the broader class of problems that can be handled by this method.