cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Slowly Inactivating Sodium Currents are Reduced by Exposure to Oxidative Stress

Abstract Exposure of cardiac myocytes to oxidant stress has been implicated in the development of reperfusion arrhythmias. Studies on the effects of free radical generating systems on the fast sodium current have suggested an increase in a ««window»» current. The resulting increase in sodium influx has been hypothesized to cause an intracellular sodium load that stimulates Na+, Ca2+exchange and promotes a Ca2+overload. To test this proposal, the time course for effects of oxidative stress on a sodium current elicited with voltage ramps was investigated in feline ventricular myocytes. No window current was observed; instead, a slowly inactivating sodium current was generated at negative voltages near the sodium threshold potential. At room temperature there were no effects of a 30-min exposure to 1 m m H2O2on this slowly inactivating sodium current. Likewise, there were no effects of either 1 m m H2O2or 1.5 m m t-butyl hydroperoxide on fast sodium currents recorded at cool temperatures (12–15°C). Experiments were repeated with t-butyl hydroperoxide at warm temperatures (30–33°C), and the fast sodium current was reduced in magnitude and the reversal potential shifted to more negative voltages. These results demonstrate a temperature dependence for the loss of the fast sodium current during exposure to t-butyl hydroperoxide. Two exponentials were fit to the decaying phase of the fast sodium current and the slow time constant of inactivation was prolonged, suggesting delayed inactivation of the sodium current. Currents elicited with a steady-state inactivation protocol suggested development of a non-inactivating component during exposure to t-butyl hydroperoxide at warm temperatures. Direct evaluation of the slowly inactivating sodium current elicited by voltage ramps at warm temperatures (33–35°C), and analysed as subtraction currents to remove background leak currents, showed a gradual reduction. It is concluded that the non-inactivating component identified during analysis of the fast sodium current was not the result of enhancement of either a slowly inactivating sodium current or a window current. Thus, an increase in sodium influx through voltage-dependent sodium channels does not occur during exposure to oxidative stress, and therefore, cannot induce an intracellular sodium load.
Weathering the Storm: Generating Revenues for Higher Education during a Recession.

How college and university revenue and expenditure patterns have been affected by the current economic recession is analyzed.
Automated infusion pump

A peristaltic pump was designed for either manual or computer-controlled operations; it provides flow rates over a large dynamic range (0·01 to 30 ml/min). Driven by a stepper motor in which the stepping rate is determined manually with digital switches or under remote control, the pump is capable of operating in either direction with negative or positive back pressures, thus overcoming problems of unpredictable resistance to flow in needles and catheters through which the fluid is infused. The clamping effect of the pump rollers on the tubing prevents back flow by creating a pressure at the infusion site slightly higher than the intravascular pressures that are physiologically attainable, thus preventing clotting and microembolisation.
C−S and C−H Bond Activation of Thiophene by Cp*Rh(PMe3): A DFT Theoretical Investigation

A theoretical analysis of the C−S and C−H bond-activation pathways involving thiophene and Cp*Rh(PMe3) is presented in which B3LYP density-functional theory is utilized. In addition to the traditional pathway which connects the η2-coordinated intermediate with the C−H bond activation products, a new pathway is discussed which connects the η1 S-bound intermediate with these products. Calculations are performed in the basis of molecular orbitals of the interacting fragments for the reactive η1- and η2-coordinated intermediates to examine the orbital interactions and density transfer between the fragments. The calculated binding energy of the η1-coordinated intermediate is 15.5 kcal/mol weaker than that for the η2-coordinated intermediate due to the increased energy separation and reduced density transfer between the molecular orbitals of the interacting fragments. The structure of the transition state connecting the η1-coordinated intermediate with the C−S bond-activated product involves the strong overlap ...
Redundancy of conditions for a Virasoro algebra

I show that the Fairlie, Nuyts, Zachos construction of Virasoro algebra contains redundant conditions.
Political Advertising in the 2004 Election: Comparison of Traditional Television and Internet Messages

Although television advertising remained a dominant form of communication in the 2004 presidential election, the Internet reached new levels of campaign importance, providing voters with information from candidates, the media, and independent sources. Internet sites not only provided online viewing of traditional television advertising but also provided voters with the opportunity to seek out additional information about television ads viewed on the Web. Drawing on theory and research related to channel variables, this study compared the reactions of young voters who experienced candidate advertising on television or on the Web. Results indicate that the channel really does make a difference. John Kerry’s ads were more successful in raising his image and learning scores when viewed on the Web with access to additional information sources. However, television viewing reduced feelings of political cynicism and alienation for young voters.
Schedule-induced polydipsia: Interactions with wheel running

The effect of wheel running on the level and temporal distribution of schedule-induced polydipsia was examined in 12 food-deprived rats given one food pellet per minute for 1 h. For all rats, wheel running decreased the level of Polydipsie intake. It also decreased licking in all six of the 10-sec postpellet intervals except the first. The degree of reduction in licking was a U-shaped function of the 10-sec postpellet intervals and was generally inversely related to the temporal distribution of running. The temporal distribution data are partially consistent with a temporal competition view of the interactions between schedule-induced polydipsia and wheel running
The accumulation and distribution of sodium in tomato strains differing in potassium efficiency when grown under low-K stress

Plants of five tomato strains were grown under low-K stress at three Na levels. These plants were harvested at three time intervals, and Na accumulation and distribution were measured in their tissues. Strain differences were observed for the ability to substitute Na for K under low-K stress. In two strains with high Na-substitution capacity, efficiency in substitution was associated with the accumulation of more Na and the maintenance of higher Na concentrations in shoot tissues than in other strains. In a third strain which also had a relatively high Na-substitution capacity at the highest solution Na level, an unusual efficiency in Na substitution was indicated, because the strain neither accumulated Na nor maintained high tissue Na levels.
Electrochemical schottky characteristics of ZnO for capacitance-voltage measurements

Water-based Schottky contacts are examined for flatband potential on bulk single-crystal ZnO material. The Zn and O faces are studied as well as the a-axis. Also, depletion capacitance-voltage (CV) measurements are made on a bulk ZnO sample that has been exposed to extensive electron irradiation. The CV measurements show that the ZnO (O-face) surface is only slightly affected by electron irradiation up to 2 MeV.
CGS 15943, an adenosine A2 receptor antagonist, reduces cerebral ischemic injury in the Mongolian gerbil.

The adenosine A2 receptor antagonist CGS 15943 (0.1 mg/kg, i.p.) was tested for cerebroprotective activity in a gerbil stroke model. CGS 15943 markedly reduced stroke injury assessed by locomotor activity monitoring and by histopathological measurement of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal cell injury. It is proposed that a previously demonstrated reduction in the ischemia/reperfusion-evoked release of excitotoxic amino acids following CGS 15943 administration could account for its cerebroprotective actions.
Geospatial modeling of pedestrian transportation networks: a case study from precolumbian Oaxaca, Mexico

Abstract Using accumulated cost surfaces and various pathfinding techniques within Geographic Information Systems (GIS) software, archaeologists and other spatial scientists have developed increasingly sophisticated models of human movement. Despite their utility, these approaches can be limited because standard GIS software cannot model movement (1) from many origins to many destinations or (2) without specific origins and destinations. Absent these capabilities, it is particularly difficult to model networks of movement over a given tract of land if you are interested in obtaining a more general sense of movement dynamics, not specific site-to-site patterns. In this paper, we present an innovative way of modeling past movement that generates both natural-looking networks and also indicates the degree of traffic that may have existed on any particular segment of those networks. The “From Everywhere to Everywhere” (FETE) model generates networks based on topography and landcover without requiring that origin and destination points be supplied in advance. We apply the FETE model to a case from the southern Mexican state of Oaxaca, a region that has extensive archaeological and ethnohistoric data sets that serve as a test of the efficacy of our technique. A comparison of the FETE output with known late precolumbian and early colonial movement corridors indicates that the method is effective and should be useful for modeling networks in other areas.
Stool DNA and Colorectal-Cancer Screening

Colorectal-cancer screening in the United States is a success story. The American Cancer Society recently reported that rates of death from colorectal cancer are down by 46% from their peak.1 There is good evidence that screening efforts have played an important role in the trend.2 However, work remains to be done, since approximately one third of Americans report not being current with screening.3 One approach to increase screening uptake is to broaden the available test options. On the basis of current U.S. Preventive Services Task Force guidelines, there are three recommended options: fecal occult blood testing, flexible sigmoidoscopy, and colonoscopy. . . .
Three dimensional Monte Carlo simulation of grain growth during GTA welding of titanium

The work reported here represents significant advancement in the modeling of grain structure evolution in metallic systems. Utilizing computed temperature fields from a well tested heat transfer and fluid flow model, the evolution of grain structure was simulated for the first time using a three dimensional (3D) Monte Carlo model of grain growth in the heat affected zone of commercially pure titanium welds. The computed weld geometry and the simulated mean prior β grain size for different heat inputs agreed well with the corresponding experimental results when turbulence in the weld pool was considered. The grain sizes at various locations equidistant from the fusion line were different, indicating that the results of previous 2D calculations need to be reexamined. The computed grain size distribution agreed well with the corresponding experimental data. The agreement indicates significant promise for understanding grain growth in the entire heat-affected zone using a comprehensive phenomenological model.
Single- and two-photon excitation of a GaAs random laser.

We have demonstrated an anti-Stokes random laser emission at λ≈885 nm in micrometer-size powder of GaAs. The maximal pumping wavelength, λ=1300 nm, exceeded the lasing wavelength by nearly 50%. We conclude that both one- and two-photon pumping contribute to optical excitation of the material, with the two-photon pumping being a key process in creating the population inversion and gain.
Structure, function, and antigenicity of cholera toxin

Chemical modification of intact cholera toxin or its B subunit by either partial nitration or reduction and alkylation did not result in significant loss of biological activity as determined by measurement of cyclic AMP in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Complete nitration or succinylation in the presence of guanidine hydrochloride resulted in complete loss of biological activity and significantly affected the immunoreactivity of the toxin and B subunit. Compositional analyses of both the isolated alpha and gamma chains of the toxin were typical of globular proteins and did not reveal significant hydrophobicity. Analysis of antigenic relationships by radioimmunoassay indicated a partial crossreactivity between the alpha chain and the B subunit of cholera toxin. Since previous structural studies of the beta chain of cholera toxin indicated chemical similarity with the glycoprotein hormones [Kurosky et al. Science 195:299 (1977)], radioimmunoassay procedures were employed to investigate for possible crossreactivity. No evidence of crossreactivity between cholera toxin subunits and subunits of ovine luteinizing hormone was found.
Structures of diether lipids of Methanospirillum hungatei containing novel head groups N,N-diniethylamino- and N,N,N-trimethylaminopentanetetrol

Abstract Two newly discovered diether phospholipids have been isolated and characterized from cells of Methanospirillum hungatei GP1, each accounting for approx. 10% (by wt.) of the total polar lipid extract. Both contained C 20 C 20 acyclic phytanyl chains linked to the sn -2,3 positions of glycerol via ether bonds. These phospholipids had similar head groups linked to the sn-1 position of the glycerol moiety via a phosphodiester bond. The full structural designation of these lipids are: (A) 2,3-di- O -phytanyl-1- O -(phospho-2',- O -(1'- N , N , N -dimethylamino)-2',3',4',5'-pentanetetrol)- sn -glycerol and ( B ) 2,3-di- O -phytanyl-1- O -(phospho-2'- O -(1', N , N , N -trimethylamino)-2'3',4',5'-pentanetetrol)- sn -glycerol.
Stable replication of plasmids derived from Epstein-Barr virus in various mammalian cells

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) infects human B lymphocytes, transforming the infected cells into dividing blasts that can proliferate indefinitely. The viral genome of 172 kilobase pairs (kbp) is a plasmid in most transformed cells. We have identified a region of EBV DNA, termed oriP (nucleotides 7,333-9,109 of strain B95-8), which acts in cis to permit linked DNAs to replicate as plasmids in cells containing EBV DNA. We have postulated the existence of a trans-acting gene allowing oriP function. Here we report that this gene lies in a 2.6-kbp region of the viral genome (nucleotides 107, 567-110, 176) which encodes the EBNA-1 antigen. We show that circular DNAs containing oriP, the EBNA-1 gene and a selectable marker replicate autonomously in cells derived from at least four developmental lineages and from at least three species. We also find that the one-third of the EBNA-1 gene repetitive in sequence is not essential for the trans-acting function that EBNA-1 gives oriP.
Physiological consequences of early-life insult

Summary The most commonly observed severe lung injuries in early life are the respiratory distress syndrome in premature infants and the acute respiratory distress syndrome in children. Both diseases are characterised by alveolar instability, fluid filled airspace and some degree of airway obstruction. In the acute phase, collapsed alveoli can be reopened with positive end-expiratory pressure and lung recruitment. New insight into the physiology of lung recruitment suggests that the shape of the pressure–volume curve is defined by the change in rate of alveolar opening and closing. Reduced lung volumes and severe ventilation maldistribution are found in the acute phase but may persist during childhood. Any severe lung injury in this early phase of life can cause significant structural and functional damage to the developing lung. Follow-up studies of children with chronic lung disease have shown that the functional abnormalities will improve but may still be present in later childhood.
The Sage and the South: Teaching Confucianism in Dixie

. White and African-American students in the American South are able to meet and learn from Confucianism on its own terms much more readily than their peers elsewhere. This is because of their tendency to respect authority, participate in intergenerational ritual performances (especially those concerned with manners, meals, and mortuary practices), and judge the present in terms of the past (especially the U.S. Civil War). This is true despite the incompatibility that many southern students sense between Confucianism and their own religious doctrines. Instead, southern students' grasp of Confucianism rests on the grounds of lived religious experience. When southern students learn to see in Confucianism a set of beliefs, practices, and experiences that, in some ways, mirror their own, they are empowered to identify the tradition as “religious” in a way that renders “religion” a descriptive category of comparison rather than a limiting category of unique identity.
A Study of the Effect of Gramicidin Administered by the Oral Route.

ConclusionsTyrothricin in small amounts is bactericidal against L. acidophilus in vitro. Tyrothricin has no effect on the same organism when it is administered by mouth to animals harboring this bacillus even when 160 times the in vitro killing dose is given. In the amounts used in these experiments tyrothricin was not found to produce lesions in the gastro-intestinal tract.
TRAFFIC SIGNAL LUMINANCE AND VISUAL DISCOMFORT AT NIGHT

The visual discomfort from simulated traffic signals under nighttime viewing conditions was assessed. Discomfort increased with increasing signal luminance and decreasing viewing distance. Color identification of signals was very high for all signal colors and luminances studied. Red signals meeting luminous intensity specifications of ITE and specifications being drafted in Europe were unlikely to cause visual discomfort under the conditions tested. Green and yellow signals meeting ITE and European specifications were more likely to cause visual discomfort. Dimming signals using light-emitting diodes might be a feasible strategy for minimizing discomfort under some nighttime viewing conditions.
Associated Release of Magnesium and Phosphorus from Active and Abandoned Dairy Soils

Dairy manure application to soils can result in phosphorus (P)-related degradation of water quality. The P in these manure-impacted soils can be labile even years after abandonment and under conditions normally associated with high P stability. Failure of P to stabilize with time compounds the environmental consequences of dairy manure disposal, especially on sandy soils. The objectives of this study were to compare chemical characteristics of active and abandoned dairy manure-impacted soils and minimally impacted soils and to assess the continuous release of P in relation to sparingly soluble salts using repeated water extractions, X-ray diffraction, and speciation modeling of column leachates. Soil samples from Ap horizons were collected from nine highly manure-impacted (total P > 1000 mg P kg -1 soil) areas on four active and five abandoned dairies and four minimally impacted soils (total P abandoned dairy > minimally impacted soils. Release of Mg and SRP were significantly correlated (r 2 = 0.68) and did not decline after abandonment; Ca release was not correlated with SRP (r 2 = 0.01), and declined significantly (p < 0.05) after abandonment. Speciation data from column leachates suggested that Mg-P phases and/or the most soluble Ca-P phases could control P solution activities. An implication of this study is that P stabilization via crystallization of calcium phosphates (even at near-neutral pH) may be preempted by Mg-P association. Thus, mechanisms to minimize P release may require P-retaining soil amendments or management of animal rations to eliminate Mg-P formation.
Molecular dynamic simulation of amorphous carbon and graphite interface

Amorphous carbon/graphite interface is modeled by molecular dynamic simulation using a Tersoff-type potential function with the Brenner parameters for in-plane interaction combined with the pair potential function for the interplanar bonding. The interface is created by compressing the amorphous carbon produced in a separate simulation with perfect crystalline graphite terminated to expose (1120) planes. The planar structure and weak interplanar bonding allow the graphitic planes to deform in order to accommodate the bonds formed at the interface, which is consistent with the HRTEM study of the interface. The simulation indicates that the generated interface mostly consists of nearly sp2 hybridized bonding connecting the two sides. The bonds across the interface when formed are likely to maintain their equilibrium configurations. Due to the large interplanar spacing, many atoms both on the graphite and a-C sides are left unbonded leaving the interface energetically unfavorable with respect to the bulk. These unbonded radicals probably weaken the structural rigidity of the interface providing a fracture path under stress.
Compensatory loss of axosomatic synapses in the dentate gyrus of the senescent rat.

Abstract A portentous reorganization of the dentate gyrus occurs characteristically in senescent rats. This reorganization includes atrophy of dendrites, hypertrophy of astrocytes and a 27% loss of axodendritic synapses in the molecular layer of the dentate gyrus. A coincident loss of axosomatic synapses is now reported. These synapses on granule cell somata were counted in electron micrographs of representative coronal sections through the dentate gyri of five 3-month-old and five 25-month-old Fischer-344 male rats. A 15% decrease in the number of axosomatic synapses per 100 μm length of granule cell plasma membrane and a 22% decrease in the amount of neuronal surface covered by synapses were found in the senescent, as compared with the young adult, animals. These differences were statistically significant. As synapses on granule cell somata are inhibitory terminals of GABAergic interneurons it is suggested that their loss in senescence may be compensatory for the loss of axodendritic synapses, which are excitatory. By means of a compensatory loss of synapses it may be possible for the aging animal to maintain a reasonably adaptive level of function in spite of ongoing changes in the level of granule cell excitation resulting from the reorganization of the dentate gyrus in senescence.
Tension pneumocephalus after endoscopic sinus surgery: a technical report of multiportal endoscopic skull base repair

Objectives:Large skull base defects and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) leak repairs are traditionally performed through a transnasal endoscopic approach or an open craniotomy approach. While this is often successful, when the defect is adjacent to the crista galli it can be very difficult to seal the medial portions of the defect. Our objective is to report our experience using a novel multiportal (transnasal and transorbital) endoscopic technique to repair large, bilateral anterior cranial fossae defects using an intracranial “brain sling.”Methods:Reviews of the literature and medical records were performed.Results:Endoscopic transnasal and transorbital repair of large bilateral anterior cranial fossae skull base defects was performed using acellular radiated cadaver dermis and collagen matrix through a multiportal approach. The visualization and surgical access through transorbital portals permitted an intracranial extradural/intradural repair using a single, large section of reconstruction material. It was ...
Levels of Moral Reasoning Among Female Domestic Violence Offenders: Evaluating the Impact of Treatment

Objective: The purpose of this study was to: (a) investigate the level of moral reasoning of female batterers beginning court-mandated treatment, (b) investigate whether the current standardized treatment program was effective in altering the level of moral reasoning of female batterers, and (c) determine if there was an association between level of moral reasoning and recidivism at 2 years following treatment completion. Method: The study employed a nonequivalent control group design in examining the moral reasoning level of 91 women court ordered into a standard group treatment program for domestic violence offenders. Results: Analysis of the pretest data indicated that the entire sample of batterers was employing a level of moral reasoning two standard deviations lower than adults in general. Additionally, analysis of the posttest data demonstrated that there was no significant increase in moral reasoning at the conclusion of the treatment program, indicating that the current treatment program was inef...
The Bag Filterhouse for Oil-Fired Power Plants

This Report, published as Informative Report No. 7 of the Air Pollution Control Association’s TI-5 Public Utilities Committee, began to move through the 14 step approval procedure of APCA’s Technical Council in February 1964 Comments made by members of the Technical Council were considered in the preparation of the final report. It is now published as representing the best thinking of the Association. It is an extremely timely and informative report.
Stable, monomeric variants of lambda Cro obtained by insertion of a designed beta-hairpin sequence

lambda Cro is a dimeric DNA binding protein. Random mutagenesis and a selection for Cro activity have been used to identify the contacts between Cro subunits that are crucial for maintenance of a stably folded structure. To obtain equivalent contacts in a monomeric system, a Cro variant was designed and constructed in which the antiparallel beta-ribbon that forms the dimer interface was replaced by a beta-hairpin. The engineered monomer has a folded structure similar to wild type, is significantly more stable than wild type, and exhibits novel half-operator binding activity.
Emergent fungal entomopathogen does not alter density dependence in a viral competitor.

Population cycles in forest Lepidoptera often result from recurring density-dependent epizootics of entomopathogens. While these systems are typically dominated by a single pathogen species, insects are often infected by multiple pathogens, yet little is known how pathogens interact to affect host dynamics. The apparent invasion of northeastern North America by the fungal entomopathogen Entomophaga maimaiga some time prior to 1989 provides a unique opportunity to evaluate such interactions. Prior to the arrival of E. maimaga, the oscillatory dynamics of host gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar, populations were apparently driven by epizootics of a nucleopolyhedrovirus. Subsequent to its emergence, E. maimaiga has caused extensive mortality in host populations, but little is known about how it has altered multigenerational dynamics of the gypsy moth and its virus. Here we compared demographic data collected in gypsy moth populations prior to vs. after E. maimaiga's invasion. We found that the recently invading fu...
A Brownian Dynamics Study of the Interaction of Phormidium laminosum Plastocyanin with Phormidium laminosum Cytochrome f

The interaction of Phormidium laminosum plastocyanin (PC) with P. laminosum cytochrome f (cyt f) was studied using Brownian dynamics (BD) simulations. Few complexes and a low rate of electron transfer were observed for wild-type PC. Increasing the positive electrostatic field on PC by the addition of a Zn2+ ion in the neighborhood of D44 and D45 on PC (as found in crystal structure of plastocyanin) increased the number of complexes formed and the calculated rates of electron transfer as did PC mutations D44A, D45A, E54A, and E57A. Mutations of charged residues on Phormidium PC and Phormidium cyt f were used to map binding sites on both proteins. In both the presence and absence of the Zn2+ ion, the following residues on PC interact with cyt f: D44, D45, K6, D79, R93, and K100 that lie in a patch just below H92 and Y88 and D10, E17, and E70 located on the upper portion of the PC molecule. In the absence of the Zn2+ ion, K6 and K35 on the top of the PC molecule also interact with cyt f. Cyt f residues involved in binding PC, in the absence of the Zn2+ ion, include E165, D187, and D188 that are located on the small domain of cyt f. The orientation of PC in the complexes was quite random in accordance with NMR results. In the presence of the Zn2+ ion, K53 and E54 in the lower patch of the PC molecule also interact with cyt f and PC interacts with E86, E95, and E123 on the large domain of cyt f. Also, the orientation of PC in the complexes was much more uniform than in the absence of the Zn2+ ion. The difference may be due to both the larger electrostatic field and the greater asymmetry of the charge distribution on PC observed in the presence of the Zn2+ ion. Hydrophobic interactions were also observed suggesting a model of cyt f-PC interactions in which electrostatic forces bring the two molecules together but hydrophobic interactions participate in stabilizing the final electron-transfer-active dock.
On the dynamics of finite-strain rods undergoing large motions a geometrically exact approach

Abstract The dynamics of a fully nonlinear rod model, capable of undergoing finite bending, shearing, and extension, is considered in detail. Unlike traditional nonlinear structural dynamics formulations, due to the effect of finite rotations the deformation map takes values in r 3 × SO(3), which is a differentiable manifold and not a linear space. An implicit time stepping algorithm that furnishes a canonical extension of the classical Newmark algorithm to the rotation group (SO(3)) is developed. In addition to second-order accuracy, the proposed algorithm reduces exactly to the plane formulation. Moreover, the exact linearization of the algorithm and associated configuration update is obtained in closed form, leading to a configuration-dependent nonsymmetric tangent inertia matrix. As a result, quadratic rate of convergence is attained in a Newton-Raphson iterative solution strategy. The generality of the proposed formulation is demonstrated through several numerical examples that include finite vibration, centrifugal stiffening of a fast rotating beam, dynamic instability and snap-through, and large overall motions of a free-free flexible beam. Complete details on implementation are given in three appendices.
State Tax and Expenditure Limitations: There is No Story

Out of the troubled economic atmosphere of the late 1970's grew a discontent with government in general and taxation in particular. The tax revolt took hold at the local level and placed limits on the growth of the property tax through celebrated citizen initiatives like Proposition 13 in California. At the national level, uneasiness with the role of government and a sense that taxation was too high culminated in 1980 with the election of Ronald Reagan. The electorate embraced promises of less government and lower taxes. For states, the tax revolt resulted in a number of state tax and expenditures limitations (TELS). Most had several things in common: they were adopted before 1983, they addressed state appropriations, and they were largely a western phenomenon spreading from California. The overall condition of state economies and structure of state tax systems, in combination with the sensitivity of policymakers to anti-tax sentiment, have done more to limit state spending than have imposed restrictions.
Does the legalization of medical marijuana increase completed suicide

AbstractIntroduction: Suicide is among the 10 most common causes of death in the United States. Researchers have identified a number of factors associated with completed suicide, including marijuana use, and increased land elevation. Colorado is an ideal state to test the strength of these associations. The state has a completed suicide rate well above the national average and over the past 15 years has permitted first the medical and, as 2014, the recreational use of marijuana. Objectives: To determine if there is a correlation between medical marijuana use, as assessed by the number of medical marijuana registrants and completed suicides per county in Colorado. Methods: The number of medical marijuana registrants was used as a proxy for marijuana use. Analysis variables included total medical marijuana registrants, medical marijuana dispensaries per county, total suicide deaths, mechanism of suicide death, gender, total suicide hospitalizations, total unemployment, and county-level information such as m...
Differential nonlinearity compensation enables the design of a low-cost networked MCA

An algorithm to compensate for the differential nonlinearity of an inexpensive integrated-circuit analog-to-digital converter (ADC) made it possible to develop a simple, low-cost multichannel analyzer (MCA). The cost is low enough ($250) to allow the use of an MCA per head in a plutonium continuous-air-monitoring (CAM) system. Multiple heads are connected to a standard personal computer via a simple networking scheme to allow a single computer to control a number of heads. The power requirements are low enough for the heads to be powered from a single power supply over the network cable. The system provides improved detectability, lower false alarm rates, lower installation costs, and lower maintenance. It is self-diagnosing for common problems and can even set its own filter change intervals. The authors discuss the design development, the circuit design, the software, and the performance. >
Vibrations of rotating beams with tip mass

Es werden die zur Rotationsebene normalen Biegeschwingungen eines rotierenden Stabes mit Endmasse studiert; insbesondere wird im Anschluss an eine fruhere Arbeit, die sich auf die Grundschwingung beschrankte, der Einfluss der Endmasse bei grosseren Winkelgeschwindigkeiten auf die hoheren Eigenschwingungen untersucht. Dabei werden Storungsmethoden und asymptotische Naherungen in Verbindung mit den klassischen Verfahren vonRayleigh-Ritz undSouthwell angewendet. Fur Stabe veranderlichen Querschnittes wird nachgewiesen, dass fur Eigenschwingungen genugend hoher Ordnung und hinreichend grosse Winkelgeschwindigkeiten die Eigenfrequenzen durch die Endmasse erhoht werden. Fur Stabe konstanten Querschnittes werden numerische Schranken angegeben, welche dieses Resultat bereits fur die erste Oberschwingung beweisen. Dieses Verhalten steht im Gegensatz zu demjenigen der Grundschwingung, deren Eigenfrequenz durch eine Endmasse stets erniedrigt wird.
Design and development of a flowing bed reactor for brine shrimp culture

Abstract An automatic self-cleansing high density brine shrimp reactor has been designed and tested, and the concept appears successful. Initial experiments suggest that extra-ordinarily high densities of brine shrimp may be maintained in such a system. The concept of a flowing film of glass beads appears to be a very useful technique in scouring waste material from animal culture tanks. The concept is particularly useful for culture of small marine herbivores in continuous culture. The bead flow rapidly removes waste material while allowing for water passage, yet completely containing the animals. Further design improvement and development should result in a high density brine shrimp culture system which is both simple and inexpensive to build, as well as reliable and cost effective to operate, and capable of efficient algal cell removal from culture water.
Effect of pH on the interfacial behavior of uracil

Summary The adsorption of uracil at the mercury electrode-solution interface has been studied by differential capacitance and maximum bubble pressure techniques as a function of pH. At pH 8.0 and below uracil exhibits an initial, dilute adsorption region where the area occupied by one adsorbed uracil molecule, 69±5 2 , is close to that expected if the pyrimidine molecule is adsorbed flat on the electrode surface, i. e. with the plane of the ring atoms parallel to the electrode surface. At a bulk solution concentration of about 21 m M and at potentials centered at ca.−0.5 V the uracil molecules undergo an abrupt surface reorientation and adopt a perpendicular stance on the electrode. The area occupied by one uracil molecule in the perpendicular orientation is 39±3 2 . At pH 11.0 uracil exists as a monoanion and in this form is significantly less strongly adsorbed in the initial flat surface orientation. The orientation of adsorbed uracil monoanions from the flat to perpendicular stance is not observed at pH 11.0 until the bulk solution concentration of uracil reaches ca . 65m M .
A Response to the British Journal of Industrial Relations Symposium on the Human Rights Watch Report: A Minimum Program for Promoting Collective Bargaining Rights as a Human Right

The publication of Unfair Advantage, a report published by Human Rights Watch (HRW), documents and analyzes how employers routinely violate international human rights standards by depriving U.S. workers of their legal right to organize. In a recent symposium on Unfair Advantage published in the British Journal of Industrial Relations, 7 essays analyzed the strengths and weaknesses of the HRW report from a variety of ideological and theoretical perspectives. Although the scholars who wrote these essays raised a number of important issues concerning Unfair Advantage, they failed to provide any concrete or practical methodologies for using this report to promote the collective bargaining rights of U.S. workers in the early years of the twenty-first century. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to critique these symposium papers as well as to propose a minimum program, on the basis of Unfair Advantage, for advancing the collective bargaining rights of U.S. workers.
A Multizone Time-Marching Technique for Unsteady Separating Three-Dimensional Boundary Layers and Its Application to the Symmetry-Plane Solution of an Impulsively Started Prolate Spheroid

Recent interest in unsteady separation and separated flows brings up the need of an accurate and efficient computational scheme for general unsteady three-dimensional boundary-layer flows. Resolution of the singular behavior at separation is a delicate problem. The task is further complicated by the geometrical singularity and the nonstationary stagnation point.We propose a numerical scheme to sidestep these difficulties.At the first stage of development,the simpler problem of the symmetry-plane solution of the laminar boundary-layer over an impulsively-started prolate spheroid is calculated.
State-Level Determinants of Entrepreneurship and a Preliminary Measure of Entrepreneurial Climate

State and local governments increasingly look to entrepreneurship as a means of stimulating economic growth. However, can the public sector play a role in promoting entrepreneurial activity—and if so, what should that role be? The authors investigate independent effects of financial and human entrepreneurial capital and ideas on entrepreneurial activity in the 50 states. Financial entrepreneurial capital has an inverse U-shaped relationship with entrepreneurial activity, suggesting there are limits to using increasing amounts of financial capital to stimulate entrepreneurship, all else being equal. The authors rank each state in terms of predicted and actual entrepreneurial activity scores and propose a preliminary measure of the entrepreneurial “climate” of each state. Although most states are ranked near where casual analysis might place them, the authors find that others have predicted values that differ significantly from actual values. This suggests that climate may be an important factor in stimulat...
Quantifying risk and assessing outcome in cardiac surgery.

Abstract Quality improvement, research, and reporting of outcome results can be stratified by preoperative risk by using a logistic regression equation or scores to correct for multiple risk factors. The more than 30-fold mortality differences between lowest and highest risk patients make it critical to stratify outcome results by patient severity. Probabilities are not predictions,58 however, and caution must be exercised when applying scores to individuals. Outcome assessment will grow in its importance to professionals, initially in the guise of quality reporting and improvement, but increasingly as a tool for risk assessment, patient counseling, and directing therapeutic decisions based on more complete information about patient subgroups. Physicians may be called on for recommendations in choosing systems for their hospitals and communities. Therefore, it is important to have an understanding of how such systems are developed, what factors indicate adequate performance of a system, and how such systems of risk stratification should be applied in practice.
Consistency, self-consciousness, and the predictive validity of typical and maximal personality measures

Abstract Most personality measures which ask for subjects' typical performance have often not been effective as predictors of criterion behaviors. Based upon the maximal performance model of ability tests, predictors were constructed which required subjects to report both how dominant they typically are in a particular situation and how dominant they are capable of acting. The efficacy of these typical and maximal self-reports in predicting typical and maximal expressions of dominance in the laboratory was compared. Self-reports of maximal dominance tended to outpredict self-reports of typical dominance for both typical and maximal laboratory expressions of dominance. In addition, maximal self-reports were of equal predictive validity for both those subjects reporting themselves as consistent in expressing dominance and those reporting themselves as inconsistent (situationally variable). Finally, the extent to which subjects were self-reflective (private self-consciousness) and concerned about their appearance to others (public self-consciousness) mediated the validity of both their typical and maximal self-reports, although the predictive superiority of maximal self-reports was maintained.
The spatial frequency distribution of the QRS loop as studied on 154 normal individuals

Abstract The spatial distribution of the QRS complex of 154 normal individuals was analyzed in this investigation. The three scalar vector components X, Y, and Z were recorded simultaneously at high speed on film, and the Lissajous loops of the three body planes were displayed on the cathode-ray oscilloscope. The spherical coordinates of the instantaneous vectors were determined from the time-based scalar recordings with the aid of a vector coordinating instrument and tabulated functions. The data obtained were plotted into charts, representing the angular distribution as a function of time. The position of the polar vector, representing the spatial orientation of the principal QRS plane, was calculated from plane projection areas. Mean and standard deviation values of the spherical coordinates of the instantaneous as well as the polar vectors were determined for all individuals. The wide range of individual variability observed during the initial and terminal portions of the QRS complex is not fully explained by rotation, anatomic or otherwise. An inherent structural variation was demonstrated by viewing plane deviations and open plane projection vectors as a function of time. Individual scatter is narrow during the time of the peak and for a short interval preceding it. This region of minimal dispersion appears to be of value for comparative studies. There are during this interval well-defined, consistent differences between the male and female groups, as well as between the respective age groups. The group of men between the age of 40 and 50 shows a more marked change than does the corresponding female group. The region defined by the mean and standard deviation values of the spherical coordinates can be plotted as a function of time and serve as a calibration curve against which individual tracings may be tested. More extensive studies and clinical correlation will be necessary before the discriminating power of this method can be fully evaluated.
Prealbumin is as important as albumin in the nutritional assessment of hemodialysis patients

Prealbumin is as important as albumin in the nutritional assessment of hemodialysis patients. Background Although serum prealbumin is considered a valid indicator of nutritional status in hemodialysis patients, there is relatively little evidence that its determination is of major prognostic significance. In this study, we aimed to determine the independent association of serum prealbumin with survival in hemodialysis patients, after adjusting for serum albumin and other indicators of protein energy nutritional status. Methods Serum prealbumin was measured in more than 1600 maintenance hemodialysis patients. We determined the correlations among prealbumin and other indicators of nutritional status, including serum albumin, and bioimpedance-derived indicators of body composition. The relationship between serum prealbumin and survival was determined using proportional hazards regression. Results The serum albumin was directly correlated with the serum prealbumin ( r = 0.47, P Conclusion In hemodialysis patients, the serum prealbumin provides prognostic value independent of the serum albumin and other established predictors of mortality in this population.
Assessment of behavioral change in a child psychiatric inpatient program

A behavioral rating scale, the Devereux Child Behavior Scale, was used to assess change in 55 children who were patients in a child psychiatric inpatient unit for an average of 3.9 months. The children were rated by unit staff on admission and at discharge, and by their parents prior to admission and at three and six months after discharge. The ratings indicate that the children did make statistically significant positive behavioral changes while in the hospital and that they continued to change up to six months post-discharge. Staff tended to rate the children as less disturbed than the parents but both groups of raters indicated significant change by their ratings.
Low cycle fatigue of MAR-M 200 single crystals with a bimodal γ′ distribution at 760 and 870°C

Abstract Fully reversed strain control fatigue tests were conducted on single crystals of the nickel-base superalloy MAR-M 200 at 760 and 870°C. The γ′ distribution in the alloy was bimodal with the large γ′ size range of about 0.5–1.0 μm and secondary small γ′ size range of about 0.1–0.3 μm. The plastic strain range was held constant, but the orientations of the tensile axes of the specimens were varied. The fatigue behavior was found to be orientation dependent. At 760°C, planar slip (octahedral) led to orientation-dependent strain hardening and cyclic lives. Multiple-slip crystals strain hardened the most, resulting in relatively high stress ranges and low lives. Single-slip crystals strain hardened the least, resulting in relatively low stress ranges and higher lives. A preferential crack formation site which was related to slip plane geometry was observed in single-slip-oriented crystals. At 870°C the trends were quite different, and the slip character was much more homogeneous. As the tensile axis orientation deviated from 〈001〉, the stress ranges increased and the cyclic lives decreased. This behavior has been explained on the basis of the orientation-dependent creep rates observed in other similar alloys.