cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exploiting skeletonization to restore connectivity in a wireless sensor network

Recent technological advances and an increasing thrust toward automation have resulted in a rapid adoption of Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) as the de facto choice in monitoring and surveillance applications. Their low cost, versatility and ability to operate around the clock in inhospitable terrains without endangering human life make WSNs ideal for applications like space exploration, environmental monitoring and combat zone surveillance. In these applications WSNs are to operate autonomously for prolonged durations; thus self-healing from failures becomes a requirement to ensure robustness through sustained network connectivity. The paucity of resources makes node repositioning the method of choice to recover from failures that partition the network into numerous disjoint segments. In this paper we present a Geometric Skeleton based Reconnection approach (GSR) that exploits the shape of the deployment area in order to restore connectivity to a partitioned WSN in a distributed manner. GSR decomposes the deployment area into its corresponding two dimensional skeleton outline, along which mobile relays are populated by the surviving disjoint segments to reestablish connectivity. The performance of GSR is validated through mathematical analysis and simulation.
NUCLEAR CHEMICAL MINING OF PRIMARY COPPER SULFIDES.

Abstract A contained nuclear explosion is proposed to produce a chimney of broken ore well below the water table. After the chimney is filled with water and reaches hydrostatic equilibrium, oxygen, under pressure, is introduced near the bottom of the mass of broken rock. The increase in solubility of oxygen at high hydrostatic pressure is sufficient to initiate the oxidation of the primary sulfides: chalcopyrite and pyrite. The oxidation and dissolution of these sulfides produces enough heat to increase the temperature of the ore and water in the chimney as much as 100° to 150° C. The rate of dissolution of chalcopyrite becomes so rapid under these conditions that the rate of recovery is no longer limited by the rate of chalcopyrite dissolution, but by the degree of exposure and other factors. Means of solution control and distribution of oxygen in the chimney have been examined in some detail. A calculational model utilizing experimentally determined solubility rates is utilized to estimate the temperature rise in the chimney and the rate of copper recovery as a function of initial temperature, sulfide content of ore, size of sulfide particles, and fraction of sulfide exposed to solution. It is concluded that the high pressure and high temperature obtainable in a large ore mass broken by nuclear explosives promise the rapid and economic recovery of minerals not considered soluble by conventional in situ leaching methods. The method should be broadly applicable to the kinds of deep deposits that must be depended on for future production and with minimum disruption of the environment.
Reconfigurable Control with Neural Network Augmentation for a Modified F-15 Aircraft

The viewgraphs present background information about reconfiguration control design, design methods used for paper, control failure survivability results, and results and time histories of tests. Topics examined include control reconfiguration, general information about adaptive controllers, model reference adaptive control (MRAC), the utility of neural networks, radial basis functions (RBF) neural network outputs, neurons, and results of investigations of failures.
Joint process games: from ratings to wikis

We introduce a game setting called a joint process, where the history of actions determine the state, and the state and agent properties determine the payoff. This setting is a special case of stochastic games and is a natural model for situations with alternating control. Joint process games have applications as diverse as aggregate rating sites and wiki page updates. These games are related to Black's median voter theorem and also strongly connected to Moulin's strategy-proof voting schemes. When each agent has a personal goal, we look at how the play converges under a simple myopic action rule, and prove that not only do these simple dynamics converge, but the actions selected also form a Nash equilibrium. The convergence point is not the mean or the median of the set of agent goals; instead we prove the convergence point is the median of the set of agent goals and a set of focal points. This work provides the first theoretical model of wiki-type behavior and opens the door to more questions about the properties of these games.
Ultra-reliable digital avionics (URDA) processor architecture

The objective of the URDA program is to develop a prototype advanced development model (ADM) processor that combines a data processor, signal processor, memory and system interface on a single SEM-E avionics card. TI's approach integrates two Ada-programmable, URDA basic processor modules (BPMs) with a JIAWG-compatible PiBus and TMBus onto a common SEM-E format ADM module and provides a separate, high-speed (25-MWord/s 100-MByte/s) input/output bus for sensor data. Each BPM provides a peak throughput of 100 MIPS scalar concurrent with 400 MFLOPS vector processing in a removable multichip module (MCM). The URDA BPMs use the chipset and BPM architecture developed on the TI Aladdin program to implement a high-performance processor in an MCM package compatible with assembly onto standard form-factor, liquid-flow-through printed wiring board (PWB) modules. A Mips R4000 family reduced instruction set computer (RISC) processor and a TI 100-MHz bipolar complementary metal-oxide semiconductor (BiCMOS) vector co-processor (VCP) application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) provide, respectively, the 100 MIPS of scalar processor throughput and 400 MFLOPS of vector processing throughput for each BPM. Extensive software development, system modeling and simulation, and system integration and test tools are provided with the URDA processor. >
Report of the Substudy Assessing the Impact of Neurocognitive Function on Quality of Life 5 Years After Cardiac Surgery

Background and Purpose— The importance of perioperative cognitive decline has long been debated. We recently demonstrated a significant correlation between perioperative cognitive decline and long-term cognitive dysfunction. Despite this association, some still question the importance of these changes in cognitive function to the quality of life of patients and their families. The purpose of our investigation was to determine the association between cognitive dysfunction and long-term quality of life after cardiac surgery. Methods— After institutional review board approval and patient informed consent, 261 patients undergoing cardiac surgery with cardiopulmonary bypass were enrolled and followed for 5 years. Cognitive function was measured with a battery of tests at baseline, discharge, and 6 weeks and 5 years postoperatively. Quality of life was assessed with well-validated, standardized assessments at the 5-year end point. Results— Our results demonstrate significant correlations between cognitive funct...
Perceived and actual performance of daily tasks: relationship to visual function tests in individuals with retinitis pigmentosa.

Abstract Purpose To investigate the functioning in daily task performance of individuals with retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Goals were (1) to quantify the relationships among clinical tests of vision, self-reports, and evaluations of actual task performance to predict difficulty in these tasks; and (2) to validate self-report questionnaire data about daily task performance with observations and measurements of actual task performance conducted by a certified low-vision specialist. Design A cross-sectional study and survey. Participants Sixty-two individuals with RP (mean age, 37 years) participated in the study. Methods We obtained data about task performance from subjects' reports about their daily performance as assessed by a 53-item questionnaire and from a specialist's rating about actual ability on a 64-item battery of tasks, including ones similar to those assessed with the questionnaire. Main outcome measures Clinical measures of vision included visual acuity, visual fields using Goldmann perimetry, letter contrast sensitivity, and cone and rod electroretinogram (ERG) function. The questionnaire and functional tasks were clustered into three categories: "reading," "mobility," and "peripheral detection." Results Self-report was correlated significantly with actual task performance. Task performance was correlated significantly with clinical test performance. Moderate or worse difficulty in performance was observed only for visual acuity worse than 20/40; log contrast sensitivity less than 1.4; a visual field area smaller than 2000 deg 2 (area equivalent to a 50-degree diameter of visual field to the Goldmann II-4-e target); and ERG amplitudes less than 10 microvolts for 32-Hz light-adapted white flicker. Conclusions Despite the significant correlations, there remains variability in task performance that is unaccounted for in some individuals with low levels of clinical test performance. The assessment of actual task performance validated the use of self-reports in individuals with RP.
Effects of Race/Ethnicity and BMI on the Association between Height and Risk for Spontaneous Preterm Birth

Objective Short height and obesity have each been associated with increased risk for preterm birth (PTB). However, the effect of short height on PTB risk, across different race/ethnicities and body mass index (BMI) categories, has not been studied. Our objective was to determine the influence of maternal height on the risk for PTB within race/ethnic groups, BMI groups, or adjusted for weight. Study Design All California singleton live births from 2007 through 2010 were included from birth certificate data (vital statistics) linked to hospital discharge data. Prepregnancy BMI (kg/m 2 ) was categorized as underweight ( Results Among 1,655,385 California singleton live births, 5.2% were spontaneous PTB Conclusion Maternal shorter height is associated with a modest increased risk for spontaneous PTB regardless of BMI. Our results suggest that PTB risk assessment should consider race/ethnicity-specific height with respect to the norm in addition to BMI assessment.
Biliary excretion of pyrrolic metabolites of [14C]monocrotaline in the rat

The biliary excretion of amphoteric pyrroles was studied using in situ isolated rat liver preparations perfused in a recirculatory manner for 60 to 90 min with 14C-monocrotaline (40 mumol/120 ml of Krebs-Henseleit buffer). After 90 min, 20% of the administered 14C and an amount of pyrrole equivalent to 9 mumol of dehydroretronecine was recovered in the bile. Bile collected between 15 and 30 min contained the highest levels of 14C and pyrrolic metabolites. Isoelectric focusing (IEF) and electrophoretic separations on matrices of polyacrylamide and silica were used to isolate and estimate levels of pyrrolic conjugates. IEF and electrophoretic separations on silica revealed the presence of six pyrrole-positive metabolites. Reactions of monocrotaline pyrrole with glutathione produced three conjugates that had the same pI values as components found in bile. Electrophoretic separations on silica and polyacrylamide followed by reversed phase chromatography removed sufficient biliary matrix contaminants to permit identification of glutathione and cysteinyl-glycine conjugates of 6,7-dihydro-7-hydroxy-1-hydroxymethyl-5H-pyrrolizine and 1-formyl-7-hydroxy-6,7-dihydro-5H-pyrrolizine with fast atom bombardment MS/MS. This study revealed a complexity in the biliary pyrrolic excretion profile that had not previously been realized.
A Cost-Effective Retractor and Heart Stabilizer for Minimal-Access Coronary Bypass

Exposure for internal mammary artery harvesting and immobilization of the coronary artery during the performance of minimally invasive direct coronary artery bypass grafting requires the use of appropriate retractors and instruments. We have successfully used existing retractors and instruments, modified for such use, which are reusable and cost effective. The use of such a retractor and cardiac stabilizer is described.
Impaction grafting in revision total elbow arthroplasty.

Background: Revision total elbow arthroplasty is often undertaken in patients who have severe osteolysis of both the distal part of the humerus and the proximal part of the ulna. To deal with such bone loss, we have adopted the practice of impaction grafting, which has become a well-established technique in the proximal part of the femur. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the results of twelve patients who had undergone revision total elbow arthroplasty with impaction grafting between 1993 and 1997. There were eight women and four men with a mean age of fifty-seven years. All patients were followed for at least two years (range, twenty-five to 113 months), with an average duration of follow-up of seventy-two months. Seven of the patients had an initial diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis, and five had posttraumatic arthritis. Impaction grafting was undertaken during the initial revision in three of the patients, whereas the remaining nine patients had undergone at least one prior revision without impaction grafting. Four patients had impaction grafting on the ulnar side alone, six had it on the humeral side alone, and two underwent impaction grafting of both the humerus and the ulna. Six allograft struts were placed to span structural defects in five patients. Results: At the time of the latest follow-up, eight of the elbow prostheses were intact after the index impaction grafting procedure. Two elbows had been revised because of loosening, and another had been revised because of a fracture of the ulnar component. A fourth patient had undergone a resection arthroplasty because of infection. The eight remaining patients demonstrated marked radiographic improvement in bone quality in the region of the impaction graft without clinical symptoms of loosening. At the time of the last follow-up, after an additional revision in three elbows, there were five excellent, four good, and three fair results. Conclusions: Impaction grafting is a reliable technique for treating osteolysis in patients undergoing revision total elbow arthroplasty; however, complications can occur, and a high percentage of patients need additional surgery. Level of Evidence: Therapeutic Level IV. See Instructions to Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence.
Missile mayhem and antimissile angst: From reset to retro in U.S.-Russian security relations

The political context for nuclear arms reductions, as between the United States and Russia, seemed to stall in 2012 and appeared uncertain as to possible progress during the second term of U.S. President Barack Obama and the third term of Russian President Vladimir Putin. The prospect of a successor agreement to New START that would reduce the numbers of U.S.- and Russian-deployed strategic nuclear weapons to even lower levels was further clouded by Russian objections to U.S. and NATO plans to deploy missile defenses in Europe. The present study considers the political and military aspects of some prospective Obama approaches to post–New START nuclear arms reductions and performs pertinent analysis to consider the relationship between offensive nuclear arms reductions and missile defenses going forward.
Effects of adolescent onset voluntary drinking followed by ethanol vapor exposure on subsequent ethanol consumption during protracted withdrawal in adult Wistar rats.

Abstract Epidemiological studies have demonstrated that heavy drinking and alcohol abuse and dependence peak during the transition between late adolescence and early adulthood. The objective of the present study was to determine whether a model of early onset adolescent ethanol drinking exposure that is followed by an ethanol vapor regimen during late adolescence and young adulthood leads to an increase in drinking in adulthood. In this model, initiation of voluntary ethanol drinking in adolescence, using a sweetened solution, was followed by an 8-wk intermittent ethanol vapor regimen in Wistar rats. A limited-access two-bottle choice paradigm was then used to measure intake of a 10% (w/v) ethanol solution. No differences in water intake (g/kg), total fluid intake (ml/kg) and body weight (g) were observed between air-exposed and ethanol-vapor exposed groups during the pre-vapor and post-vapor phases. The 8 weeks of ethanol vapor exposure was found to produce only a modest, but statistically significant, elevation of ethanol intake during the protracted withdrawal period, compared to air-exposed rats. A significant increase in ethanol preference ratio was also observed in ethanol-vapor exposed rats during the sucrose-fading phase, but not during the protracted withdrawal period. The findings from the present study suggest that in addition to alcohol exposure, environmental variables that impact appetitive as well as consumptive behaviors may be important in developing robust drinking effects that model, in animals, the increased risk for alcohol dependence seen in some human adolescents who begin drinking at an early age.
Interfusions: Consumption, Identity and the Practices and Power Relations of Everyday Life

Consumption involves knowledge acquisition and act-ual usage—not simply shopping and purchasing—and therefore is intricately bound up with the practices, power relations, and discourses of everyday life. Widely accepted observations about the fluidity and multiple dimensions of identity do not adequately link situated practices with the repeated (re)constitution and destabilization of identity elements. Moreover, it is not only through the use of purchased goods to produce individual and collective difference that consumption and identity are connected. Circumstances in contemporary commodity societies demand that critical human geographical studies of consumption and identity unconventionally couple ethnography and political economy, that the practices of ‘safe’ geography and ‘safe’ representation be forsaken.
Resistance of Sclerotinia homoeocarpa to Iprodione, Propiconazole, and Thiophanate-Methyl in Tennessee and Northern Mississippi

Dollar spot, caused by Sclerotinia homoeocarpa F.T. Bennett, is a common foliar disease on golf courses. Of 284 isolates collected from Tennessee and northern Mississippi, 90 were tested for in vitro resistance to three commonly used fungicides. The estimated fungicide concentration required to inhibit growth by 50 and 90% varied among locations. Isolates at seven locations were resistant to iprodione, whereas isolates were resistant to propiconazole at only one location. Isolates at five locations were resistant to thiophanate-methyl. Some isolates showed resistance to 1000 μg a.i. mL -1 iprodione and thiophanate-methyl, whereas resistance occurred at 10 μg a.i. mL -1 propiconazole. Isolates at only one location exhibited resistance to both thiophanate-methyl and iprodione, and isolates at only one location had resistance to all three fungicides. This study revealed that resistance to fungicides has developed in S. homoeocarpa in Tennessee and Northern Mississippi. These results also support the contention that repeated use of these three classes of fungicide may lead to development of resistant isolates of S. homoeocarpa.
Adenocarcnoma of the appendix: An unusual case and review

Primary adenocarcinoma of the appendix is the rarest form of malignant tumor of the appendiceal stump is described. As with other malignancies, surgical treatment is described. As with other malignancies, surgical treatment is most effective during the early stages of disease. In our series most of the patients who had metastatic disease had fairly rapid downhill courses. The choice of right hemicolectomy with node dissection in all cases is suported.
α-Chymotrypsin: Effects of bicyclic substrate geometry and hydrophobicity on reactivity

The α-chymotrypsin-catalyzed hydrolysis rates of p-nitrophenyl cyclopentane-carboxylate (I), p-nitrophenyl indan-2-carboxylate (II), and p-nitrophenyl spiro-[4.4]nonane-2-carboxylate (III) were measured at pH 8.1 in 20% methanol. After correction for variations in reactivity owing to stereoelectronic effects inherent to the substrates, the deacylation rate constants (kc)n of I and II are not significantly different. In (kcKm)n II is 50 times more reactive than I, which demonstrates that the aromatic ring of the former substrate contributes significantly to its reactivity. The nearly equal reactivities of II and III indicate that the enzyme is rather insensitive to the geometry of the nonester-bearing ring of these compounds.
Laser-Assisted Evaporations Of Dielectric And Semiconductor Materials

Evaporation of materials by means of lasers is a technique that has reached maturity as an optical coating and semiconductor epitaxial layer growth technology and as such has been applied to a large class of materials. Using cw and pulsed CO 2 lasers, several oxides, fluorides and semiconductors were deposited with good optical properties. Mixtures of the above were obtained by using multiple laser evaporation targets. The dielectric films were characterized for their optical properties and semiconductor films for their structural and electrical properties. Laser evaporation conditions and characterization results of the films will be explained.
THE POWER OF KNOWLEDGE IN GAMES

We propose a theory of the interaction between knowledge and games. Epistemic game theory is of course a well-developed subject but there is also a need for a theory of how some agents can affect the outcome of a game by affecting the knowledge which other agents have and thereby affecting their actions. We concentrate on games of incomplete or imperfect information, and study how conservative, moderate, or aggressive players might play such games. We provide models for the behavior of a knowledge manipulator who seeks to manipulate the knowledge states of active players in order to affect their moves and to maximize her own payoff even while she herself remains inactive, except for influencing the states of knowledge of the other players.
On 'globbicity' of low-resolution protein structures.

Using Harker's [Harker (1953). Acta Cryst. 6, 731–736] idea of spherically averaged polyatomic groups or `globs' as the units of structure suitable for analyzing low-resolution diffraction data from protein crystals, `globbic' scattering factors have been calculated for main-chain peptide units and amino-acid side-chain groups to 3 A resolution via Debye's [Debye (1915). Ann. Phys. (Leipzig), 46, 809–823] scattering formula. It is shown that the scattering factors are insensitive to intra-­globbic conformational variation and can be approxima­ted fairly well by a single-Gaussian formula, i.e. fg(s) = Zg exp(−1.7Zgs2), where s = (sinθ)/λ and Zg is the total electron count for the atoms of the glob. Phase errors due to the globbic approximation and their effect on electron-density maps at 3.5 A resolution have been assessed via calculations for the crambin structure; this analysis indicates that the globbic scattering factors will be useful in efforts to develop procedures for direct-methods phasing of diffraction data to ∼3.5 A resolution from protein crystals.
The effect of therapist/patient race- and sex-matching in individual treatment

Aims. Equivocal findings of the effect that therapist and patient similarity plays in treatment outcome led us to examine the impact of race- and sex-matching on treatment retention and outcome for a sample of people seeking outpatient substance abuse treatment. Design. Patient and therapist characteristics were crossed in a 2 × 2 factorial design. Matching effects were then tested using retrospective data. Participants. Participants were 116 African-American cocaine-dependent people. Setting. The study site was a university-sponsored outpatient treatment facility located in an economically depressed area of a large Northeastern US city. Measurements. Follow-up data were drawn from the Addiction Severity Index, the Risk for AIDS Behavior Inventory and a questionnaire measuring post-discharge need for treatment, employment and education. Retention was defined as the number of days inclusive between the last date of service and the date admitted. Findings. No meaningful effects in favor of matching were observed on outcome measures. Conclusion. While matching therapists and drug-dependent people does not appear to be essential in promoting positive retention and outcome, limitations of this study that include sample size and the homogeneous demographic nature of those seeking therapeutic services at our facility lead us to conclude that replication with a larger number of therapists and patients is needed. In a different therapeutic setting, with a different population presenting for treatment, the mismatching of patients and therapists with respect to factors such as those explored here might well yield differing results.
Achieving Quality Teaching and Learning Through Integrating Proper Research Activities in Mechatronics Education

This paper addresses an approach to improve the quality of engineering education by incorporating research components into the teaching in the form of team projects. By reflecting the author’s experience on teaching an undergraduate junior course – ME106/EE106 Mechatronics, the feasibility and effectiveness of this approach is demonstrated. It is shown that integrating research activities, industry sponsored projects, lab construction, and national student design contests into teaching helps improving the quality of engineering education. Properly integrating research activities into classroom also helps the faculty to maintain the dynamic balance between the teaching and research.Copyright © 2002 by ASME
Four Ways to Meddle with Subjectivity: French Lyric Poetry since Baudelaire

Conversation. It seems to have been the simple pleasure of talking about books with likeminded people that attracted me to work in the humanities. It's symptomatic, I think, that having been invited some years ago to give a keynote address at a large antipodean conference, I chose to avoid the authority and conclusiveness the word keynote implies and instead to present a species of conversation - a tiny conference, if you will - by bringing together a set of poems that each in its own way 'meddles with subjectivity'. What is the relation of subjectivity to language, and more particularly to poetic language? Each poem in my conversation muddies the water in relation to that abiding question, which is not only a permanent topic of the lyric but also happened to address the conference theme. So it was a case of two birds with one stone: 'conversation', more than 'keynote', is the true modus vivendi of the humanities; the textual subject - in all the possible interpretations of that phrase - their abiding concern.
A sensitive assay for the quantitation of soluble elastin.

Abstract A rocket immunoelectrophoretic system was developed for the quantitation of soluble elastin using phosphate buffers. The methodology is applicable to unlabeled tropoelastin samples in the concentration range of 10–100 mg/liters utilizing Coomassie blue staining. Increased sensitivity (1 mg/liter) was achieved by the use of in vitro radiolabeled tropoelastin and detection of the [3H]valine-labeled rockets by fluorography.
Automated real-time structure health monitoring via signature pattern recognition

C. LiangDept. of Mechanical EngineeringSan Diego State UniversitySan Diego, CA 92182-0191ABSTRACTDescribed in this paper are the details of an automated real-time structure health monitoring system. The system is based onstructural signature pattern recognition. It uses an array ofpiezoceramic (PZ1) patches bonded to the structure as integratedsensor-actuators, an electric impedance analyzer for structural frequency response function (FRF) acquisition and a PC forcontrol and graphic display. An assembled 3-bay truss structure is employed as a test bed. Two issues, the localization ofsensing area and the sensor temperature drift, which are Critical for the sneess of this technique are addressed and a novelapproach of providing temperature compensation using probability correlation function is presentecL Due to the negligibleweight and size of the solid-state sensor array and its ability to sense incipient-type damage, the system can eventually beimplemented on many types of structures such as aircraft, spacecraft, large-span dome roof and steel bridges requiring multi-location and real-time health monitoring1. INTRODUCTIONNondestructive evaluation of structural integrity, or health monitoring, of important structures, such as truss-based sceframe, is of great interest to civil and spae engineering community. To date, many approahes based on modal analysis, orsystem identification have been investigated to assess the damage of a working truss. Most of them explore the fact thatdamage to truss member or its connections generally leads to changes in the modal stiffness matrix of the structure23 Yet,few of them exhibit engineering feasibility because of the low reliability in locating the damage and the requirement ofcomplicated modeling, intensive computation and sophisticated instrumentation.Examination of the mechanical impedance of a structure at the location of interest and comparing it with pre-saved data base
Interaction of an axisymmetrically loaded plate with the elastic space

Abstract The problem to be examined is that of a circular disk or plate attached to the wall of a cylindrical hole in an infinite solid. The interface boundary stress distribution will be compatible with simple plate theory and the slope and displacements are matched to the wall where the midplane of the plate intersects the solid. The problem is solved for any axisymmetric loading of a plate of uniform thickness and material parameters. This method can be easily extended to any axisymmetric plate solution without midplane forces. The material parameters in the plate and the supporting solid can be specified independently. In the specific examples included, plate deflections for a rigid wall assumption as opposed to a wall and plate of the same material never differ by less than 200%. There is little reason to believe that the trends indicated by the examples would change significantly for other usual loadings and geometries within the scope of the problem.
Relationship of cognitive function and the acquisition of coping skills in computer assisted treatment for substance use disorders

Background Coping skills training is an important component of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), yet cognitive impairment and related limitations that are often associated with chronic substance use may interfere with an ability to learn, retain, or use new information. Little previous research has examined the cognitive or neuropsychological factors that may affect substance users’ ability to learn new coping skills in CBT. Methods Fifty-two substance dependent individuals randomized to receive a computerized version of cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT4CBT) or treatment as usual (TAU) were administered several cognitive and neuropsychological measures, as well as a coping skills measure prior to and upon completing an 8-week treatment period. Results Across treatment conditions, participants who scored above the median on a measure of IQ demonstrated greater improvement in the quality of their coping skills than those below the median on IQ (Group × Time, F(1,49) = 4.31, p < .05). Also, IQ had a significant indirect effect on substance use outcomes through an effect on the quality of coping skills acquired, specifically for those who received CBT4CBT. Conclusion Individuals with higher IQ at baseline improved the quality of their coping skills more than those with lower IQ, which in turn reduced rates of substance use following treatment. This highlights the impact of substance users’ cognitive functioning and abilities on the acquisition of coping skills from CBT, and suggests need for greater awareness and tailoring of coping skills training for those with poorer functioning.
Long-term covered interest parity: evidence from currency swaps

Abstract This paper constructs long-term arbitrage conditions using a now well- developed mechanism for hedging long-term currency positions, the currency swap. Using the arbitrage conditions, bond yields denominated in different currencies are compared across the onshore markets of Canada, Japan, Germany, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and within the Euromarket. The evidence indicates that long-term financial capital is as mobile across these markets as is short-term capital. This appears to be the case both within the Euromarket and across political jurisdictions.
ALTERATIONS IN CHICK BONE GROWTH AND BONE TISSUE EICOSANOIC FATTY ACIDS: RELATIONSHIP TO BIOTIN STATUS, PAIR-FEEDING, AND TREADMILL EXERCISE

Abstract Day-old male broiler chicks were fed a balanced, purified diet ad libitum and trained to exercise on a motorized treadmill. At 10 days of age, chicks were fed purified diets containing one of three biotin levels and received either no exercise or 5 minutes of treadmill exercise per day. Diet and exercise regimens were followed until the chicks were 32 days old. Liver biotin levels at 32 days were decreased in chicks fed biotindeficient (BD) diets compared with chicks fed biotin-adequate (BA) diets and pair-fed (PF) chicks (737 ng/g liver tissue vs. 1309 ng/g and 1098 ng/g, respectively). Chicks fed BD diets had poorer feed conversion ratios, reduced average weight gains, and shortened tibiotarsi compared with PF chicks and chicks fed BA diets. Periosteal bone appositional rate, bone formation, and percent cortical bone were increased in chicks fed BD diets compared with PF chicks. Levels of 16:0 and 18:0 fatty acids were higher but levels of 20:4ω6 and 22:4ω6 were lower in cortical bone phospholipids (PLs) of PF chicks compared with chicks fed BD and BA diets. There were no statistically significant effects due to treadmill exercise on any of the measurements made. The results indicate that chicks fed BD diets have decreased longitudinal bone growth and increased radial bone growth compared to chicks pair-fed a BA diet.
Effects of prenatal nutritional deficiency on affiliation and aggression in rats

Abstract Adult male rats were allowed to choose between two different target rats in a T-maze. The experimental animals and targets experienced prenatal zinc deficiency (Z), undernutrition, or normal nutrition (A) via their mother's diet during the last third of pregnancy. In social encounters between the experimental and target animals, the Z animals were the most aggressive rats. The choice data indicated that animals preferred to affiliate with the A targets. The Z target rats were the social partners most often avoided. The results suggest long-term effects of early nutritional deprivation on social behavior, specifically affiliation and aggression.
Hepatic lymphoma in cyclosporine-treated transplant recipients: sonographic and CT findings

The purpose of this study was to determine the CT and sonographic features of hepatic lymphoma developing in organ transplant recipients taking cyclosporine. The four patients included in the study had non-Hodgkin lymphoma. Two of the cases were primary, with no associated lymphadenopathy or extrahepatic lesions. The hepatic lymphomas were characterized by multiple low-density areas on CT scans and hypoechoic areas on sonograms. In three of the four patients, the lesions regressed after the cyclosporine dosage was reduced. We conclude that in cyclosporine-treated organ transplant recipients, hepatic lymphoma should be considered in the differential diagnosis of hepatic lesions with or without lymphadenopathy when multiple low-density lesions are shown by CT and hypoechoic lesions are shown by sonography.
New stability-indicating high performance liquid chromatography assay and proposed hydrolytic pathways of chlorhexidine

Chlorhexidine (CHD) is an antiseptic agent widely used in mouth rinses and ophthalmic solutions. Its assay in these solutions has been commonly performed with high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC). Published HPLC assays were unable to detect the many possible hydrolysis products of CHD, with the exception of p-chloroaniline. This raises concerns regarding the stability-indicating capabilities of the HPLC assays. In addition, the reliability of these assays was affected by the irreversible absorption of CHD on silica-based reversed phase (RP) columns. Special attention must be paid to the mobile phase or sample matrices in order to obtain reliable assay results. This paper presents a polymer-based RP-HPLC method that is stability-indicating. The method detected six UV-absorbing hydrolysis products of CHD. The identities of the products, which were elucidated by UV and mass spectral analyses, are consistent with the proposed hydrolytic pathways of CHD. Quantitation problems observed with silica-based RP-HPLC assays do not arise with the new method. Preliminary data indicate that the new HPLC method can be developed into a reliable, stability-indicating assay for CHD in ophthalmic solutions.
Structure and stability of self-esteem in late teens

Abstract Research on stability and structure of self-esteem has led to some controversies in the last few years. Although self-esteem is shown to be stable in late adolescence, changes, often positive, have also been documented. The present research uses an attitudinal framework and a large longitudinal data set to explore these issues. As expected, results indicated that, across a 2-yr time period, self-esteem was stable, although a slight positive change was observed. When change occurred, it was not solely in self-esteem, but in a relatively large array of other self-relevant variables directly or indirectly representing beliefs about self. Attributions of personal control over one's own outcomes and behaviors were found to be potent statistical predictors of self-esteem and its change over time, although no causality can be inferred from these findings. Furthermore, respondents with low self-esteem at time I were found to lag behind those with high self-esteem on all self-related variables at time 2. It is concluded that self-beliefs and the related proximal psychological variables are better predictors of self-esteem and its change than are distal socio-demographic variables.
Adriamycin-induced DNA damage mediated by mammalian DNA topoisomerase II

Adriamycin (doxorubicin), a potent antitumor drug in clinical use, interacts with nucleic acids and cell membranes, but the molecular basis for its antitumor activity is unknown. Similar to a number of intercalative antitumor drugs and nonintercalative epipodophyllotoxins (VP-16 and VM-26), adriamycin has been shown to induce single- and double-strand breaks in DNA. These strand breaks are unusual because a covalently bound protein appears to be associated with each broken phosphodiester bond. In studies in vitro, mammalian DNA topoisomerase II mediates DNA damage by adriamycin and other related antitumor drugs.
Brain sites involved in the mediation of the behavioral effects of intraventricularly administered (−)-nicotine

Fifteen hooded rats were trained to lever press for food under a fixed ratio (FR) 32 schedule. When lever pressing stabilized all rats were implanted with two cannulae, one in the lateral ventricle (LV) and the second in one of the following brain structures: dorsal hippocampus (DH), locus ceruleus (LC), lateral hypothalamus (LH), reticular formation (RF), or the vestibular nucleus (VN). All rats when infused with 5.0 μg (−)-nicotine (LV) showed an increased latency to complete the first ratio. Infusions of (−)-nicotine (0.25 μg) into specific brain sites showed that qualitatively and quantitatively similar effects on FR performance could be produced when nicotine was infused into the VN. When lidocaine (5.0 μg) was applied to the RF the latency to complete the first ratio following 5.0 μg (−)-nicotine infusion into the LV was decreased by 55%. Lidocaine infused into the VN completely blocked the effect of LV (−)-nicotine. Neither lidocaine nor (−)-nicotine had any effect on responding when applied to the other brain structures. The results suggest that a primary site of central action of (−)-nicotine is the VN and that inhibition of the RF will attenuate the behavioral effects of LV infusions of (−)-nicotine.
Relationship of abdominal obesity measured by DXA and waist circumference with insulin sensitivity in Hispanic and non-Hispanic white individuals: the San Luis Valley Diabetes Study.

Background To determine if dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) measures of trunk fat, a user-defined abdominal region of interest (ROI) and waist circumference (WC) differ in their association with insulin sensitivity among Hispanics and non-Hispanic whites (NHW) or explain any ethnic differences in insulin sensitivity. Methods A cross-sectional study of data collected (1997–98) as part of the longitudinal San Luis Valley Diabetes Study was utilized. There were 664 non-diabetic participants including 349 women (220 NHW, 139 Hispanic) and 305 men (197 NHW, 108 Hispanic), average age 63 years. Measurements included body mass index, WC and DXA measures of total and abdominal fat. Fasting glucose and insulin were used to estimate insulin sensitivity using the QUICKI index. A 2-h oral glucose tolerance test was used to classify participants with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) or impaired glucose tolerance (IGT). Results Among women with NGT, Hispanics had lower insulin sensitivity, with DXA trunk fat explaining the most variance in QUICKI and 54% of the ethnic difference in QUICKI after adjusting for total body fat and lean mass. Among men with NGT, there were no differences between Hispanics and NHW in insulin sensitivity or any differences in the association of the abdominal fat measures with insulin sensitivity. Among men and women with IGT, the fat distribution variables explained little variance in QUICKI. Conclusions DXA measures of trunk fat provide additional information over WC and the DXA abdominal ROI measure about ethnic differences in insulin sensitivity between older Hispanic and NHW women with NGT. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Supply chain disruption risk management through strategic information acquisition and sharing and risk-sharing contracts

In this paper, we develop a framework that captures the effects of information management and risk-sharing contracts in supply chain networks. In particular, we analyse the impact of strategic information acquisition and sharing on supply chain disruption risks and costs and we evaluate the supply chain performance of risk-sharing contracts. Risk-sharing contracts specify who needs to incur the costs when supply chain disruptions occur. We develop a model that consists of three tiers of multi-criteria decision-makers, manufacturers, retailers, and demand markets. We describe the behaviour or each decision-maker, derive the finite-dimensional variational inequality formulation of the equilibrium conditions of the supply chain and present numerical examples. The numerical examples highlight that it is not a priori clear which participant in the supply chain network will benefit from increased information-sharing activities. Our models indicate that the beneficiary of reduced information-sharing costs is in ...
HUE-TONE SENSORY INTERACTION: A NEGATIVE RESULT

Choice reaction times (RT) were obtained from four trained Ss to red vs blue targets in four conditions. In three conditions, a noninformative tone occurred on half the trials and could be (a) low frequency, (b) high frequency, or (c) either high or low frequency. Tone never occurred in the fourth condition. As previously observed, tone occurrence produced a nonselective reduction in RT. Contrary to some studies where tone selectivity facilitated detection of blue as opposed to red targets, no such selective effects were obtained. As prior studies (Bernstein & Edelstein, 1971) have found tone frequency to interact with RT to targets differing in location (above vs below fixation), it was concluded that the information-processing stage for color selection is different from the stage for location selection.
trans-Activation by the hnRNP K Protein Involves an Increase in RNA Synthesis from the Reporter Genes

The function of many of the pre-mRNA-binding proteins in mRNA biogenesis is unclear. We have analyzed the biochemical function of the hnRNP K protein by using a mouse cDNA clone. A previous study indicated that the expression of hnRNP K activates c-myc promoter in transient transfection assays. We show that the expression of hnRNP K results in a trans-activation of a variety of RNA polymerase II promoters. The trans-activation function depends on the sequences of hnRNP K that are also necessary for RNA binding. However, the RNA binding motifs are not sufficient for trans-activation. We could identify a mutant that bound RNA in vitro but was impaired in its ability to trans-activate the reporter genes. The trans-activation was not a result of the stabilization of the reporter mRNA, because hnRNP K increased the steady-state level of the reporter mRNA without altering its decay rate. By doing nuclear run-on assays, we provide evidence that the hnRNP K protein trans-activates the reporter genes by increasing the level of transcription.
The Development of a Data System for a Combination of Liquid Chromatography or Capillary Electrophoresis with an Ion Trap Storage/Reflectron Time-of-flight Mass Detector

A data system based upon a 200 MHz transient recorder interface card in a Pentium PC computer is demonstrated for on-line analysis of microbore high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), capillary HPLC and capillary electrophoresis (CE) separations using a fast and sensitive ion-trap storage/reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometric detector (IT-reTOFMS). Under the control of a user-written program, the system is capable of conducting the data acquisition and storage for a minimum of 30 min, at rates exceeding 10 Hz, of individual mass spectra containing 16,000 data points having 10 nsec resolution. The capability is mainly attributed to the use of a data reduction scheme in which only mass intensities higher than a preset threshold are saved as indexed flight-time/intensity pairs. This produces a typical reduction ratio of 30:1 in data set size, yielding faster storage with smaller file size, and permits the complete set of mass spectra to be held in the computer's memory. In addition, the data system is capable of displaying, for real-time evaluation of the analysis, each individual mass spectrum and the total-ion chromatogram. Further, the selected-ion chromatograms of given masses and a 3-dimensional topographic map describing a separation process can be rapidly generated from the collected data for the unambiguous and high fidelity identification of target analytes in a complex mixture.
In situ observation of surface phenomena on {100} and {101} potassium dihydrogen phosphate crystals

Abstract Surface patterns on the {100} and {101} faces of KH2PO4 (KDP) crystals growing in a stagnant aqueous solution were studied by in situ interference-contrast reflection microscopy. The contrast of the image registered by a video camera was enhanced to such an extent that steps as low as 80A could be observed. The effect of supersaturation and Cr3+ impurity addition on the behaviour of steps and the shape of growth hillocks was studied and it appeared that crystal growth is a complicated, non-steady state process. On {100} the effect of volume diffusion of the growth units could be positively identified. Also it was found that at low supersaturation the surface morphology is similar to the pattern observed at higher supersaturation after Cr3+ addition. Below 2% supersaturation even a blocking of step growth occured. This suggests that metal or other impurities play a significant role in the crystal growth process at low supersaturation.