cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evaluation of a simple method for estimating solute transport parameters : Laboratory studies

A two-domain, physical nonequilibrium solute transport model has been used to describe the transport and fate of solute in soil. The model contains the parameters θ im (immobile water content) and α (mass transfer coefficient) which must be determined for a soil before applying the transport model. A simple field method that can estimate both θ im and α without measuring extensive breakthrough curves (BTCs) has been presented. The purpose of this paper was to test in laboratory soil columns the simple method of estimating parameters by comparing to the conventional BTC analysis method of parameter estimation. The experiments involved 12-cm-long and 4-cm-diam. columns packed with five different soil materials. The BTCs were performed on each column using a sequential application of four fluorobenzoate tracers. Each tracer was applied for a different length of time. The soil columns were sectioned at the end of the BTC experiments. The simple method gave results of θ im and α based upon the sectioned soil samples, and the BTC analysis gave results of θ im and α based upon effluent concentrations. The estimates by the two different methods were from the same experiments. Most of the estimated α values using the simple method were within the 95% confidence interval (CI) of the BTC estimates. For 7 of 10 soil columns, the estimates of immobile water fraction, θ im /θ, from the simple method were within the 95% CI of the estimates of θ im /θ obtained from BTC data. Breakthrough curves calculated using the θ im and α values estimated by the simple method were similar to observed BTCs. The simple method provides estimation of θ im and α from easy to obtain soil samples in field and can be used as a first approximation to apply the analytical BTC method.
Multiservice billing system — a platform for the future

Billing systems are key competitive weapons for telecommunications companies. BT is developing a new generation billing system under the auspices of its Billing 90s programme. The term adopted in this paper for the system is multiservice billing system (MSBS). The paper outlines the strategic business issues which have shaped the design of MSBS. It describes the scale and complexity of the problem which makes the construction of a multiservice platform such a difficult feat of software engineering. The concept of a common product model, which underpins the system‘s design, is introduced. The later sections provide a brief outline of the architecturer‘s physical realisation.
Hydrogen interactions in PdHn (1 <= n <= 4).

By use of a first-principles pseudopotential total-energy approach, the electronic and structural properties of ${\mathrm{PdH}}_{\mathrm{n}}$ are studied with n varying from 1 to 4. The interaction between a pair of hydrogen atoms in the octahedral cage of the Pd fcc lattice is examined in the light of recent claims of cold-fusion processes in metal hydrides. The calculation shows that there is virtually no heavy d-electron screening effect for the hydrogen interactions at short distances. The separation between hydrogen atoms remains much larger than the value required for a significant fusion rate. However, our total-energy results indicate that, with a moderate chemical potential shift, a very high density of hydrogen (n\ensuremath{\ge}2) can be achieved inside the Pd crystal.
Tracing the contours

Abstract This paper discusses Donna Haraway's 1988 arguments about feminist objectivity and situated knowledges. The author suggests that in order for feminist research to enhance feminist objectivity, as outlined by Haraway, it is necessary to delineate some principles or criteria according to which research could be evaluated. The author argues that the three elements which Haraway points to as being central to any discussion of feminist objectivity—accountability, positioning, and partiality—lead to three questions, which, in turn frame criteria and principles according to which research may be defined as implementing the goal of feminist objectivity. It is these three criteria—reinscription, micropolitics and difference—which are discussed and defined in this paper. The author uses the example of her recent research with young working class people in Britain to demonstrate how the criteria may be used to implement and enhance the projects for developing feminist objectivity.
Wire Bonding Dual-Sided Mcma Modules

Conventional package design of integrated circuit packages utilizes only one side of the package substrate. The MCM-L package with it's multi-laminate PC-board structure provides a rigidity to the substrate for assembly such that assembly may be performed on both sides of the package. The dual-sided MCM-L package with active chips attached to both sides of the substrate makes more effective use of substrate surface area. The same or similar chip set (combination of ASIC and memory chips) used in a 40mm package with assembly on one side, may be placed onto a dual-sided MCM-L substrate with a 28mm package size. The tooling used is designed to allow for re- insertion of the package into the bonder work holder bond site without damage to previous assembly. The tooling for processing a rigid substrate dual-sided MCM-L package differs from that of the conventional tooling set, and accomplishes two major goals. One, it provides a relief area for previous assembly to prevent physical damage to chips and wires, and heats the package area beneath the cavity to bond temperatures for fully automatic wire bonding.
Policy Assignment Strategies with Somewhat Flexible Exchange Rates

The choice of assigning monetary or fiscal policy to external balance is complicated when the authorities are concerned with both the current account balance and the exchange rate. A strategy of using monetary policy to control the current account via the exchange rate may fail, because the relative-price effect is likely to be offset by the effect of monetary policy on aggregate demand. An alternative strategy, in which fiscal policy is assigned to limit shifts in the current account while the exchange rate is not directly targeted, may have a better chance of having favorable effects on both variables.
RNA transcription in porcine skeletal muscle nuclei during postnatal development.

Postnatal developmental pretranslational regulation of skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene expression was investigated. Northern blot analysis of skeletal muscle alpha-actin and beta-tubulin mRNA from 1- and 28-day-old pigs indicated that there are developmental increases in alpha-actin mRNA abundance (P 0.1). A system for isolation of nuclei from porcine skeletal muscle and for transcriptional "run-on" analysis was established in order to investigate the regulatory mechanism of developmental changes in porcine skeletal muscle protein. Skeletal muscle nuclei were isolated from longissimus dorsi (LD) muscle of 1- and 28-day-old pigs by adapting a method to isolate nuclei from cardiac muscle. Results from a [3H]-UTP incorporation assay indicate that these nuclei preparations have the capacity to synthesize RNA and attain maximum incorporation after 40-45 min at 26 degrees C. Messenger RNA syntheses from skeletal muscle nuclei from 1- and 28-day-old pigs were not significantly different (P > 0.25). All nascent tRNA, rRNA, and mRNA in the nuclei were elongated since [3H]-UTP incorporation was reduced after addition of 0.05 micrograms/ml alpha-amanitin to the transcription mixture. Transcription "run-on" assay results indicated that more (P < 0.02) skeletal muscle alpha-actin pre-mRNA was synthesized in the 28-day-old pig skeletal muscle nuclei than in the 1-day-old pig skeletal muscle nuclei. These results indicate that the relative increase in skeletal muscle alpha-actin mRNA observed in the older animals was due, at least in part, to an increase in the transcriptional activity of the skeletal muscle alpha-actin gene.
The influence of seasonal changes in light on hormones in normal cats and in cats with lesions of the superior colliculi and pretectum

Abstract Two groups of cats with lesions of the superior colliculi and adjacent pretectal nuclei and two groups of sham‐operated cats were subjected simultaneously to artificial “bright winter” and “dim summer” lighting conditions and their endocrine state determined. Urinary excretion of 11‐hydroxycorticoids, adrenalin, and norad‐renalin were specified with fluorometric techniques, and thyroid function was assessed with an uptake measure of radioiodide and with a rate of release measure of radioiodide‐labelled hormones from the thyroid gland. The results indicated that the cats in the bright winter condition had much higher indices of thyroid and glucocorticoid function. No effect of the lighting schedules on the catecholamines, urinary volume or body weight was detected, and no effect of the lesion was detected. A comparison of these data with our previous longitudinal studies in cats, as well as with the literature on other species, indicates that (1) light is the Zeitgeber for the annual glucocorticoi...
Calcium ionophores and tension production in skinned frog muscle fibers.

Abstract Antibiotics, X-537A and A23187, were added in micromolar concentrations to selected bathing solutions of skinned frog muscle fibers, and they were shown to affect the production of tension in the skinned fibers. Segments of skinned fibers were bathed in a buffered calcium solution with a pCa near the threshold for contraction. When a segment was moved to a lightly buffered calcium solution with a pCa higher than the threshold for contraction but one containing either antibiotic, a transient contracture of the segment resulted. If the procedure was repeated in the same segment, no contracture was produced. The results are consistent with the idea that the antibiotics function as calcium ionophores in the membrane of the sarcoplasmic reticulum of skinned fibers.
Size effects in NiTi from density functional theory calculations

We use density functional theory to characterize how size affects the relative stability of thin NiTi slabs of different crystal structures and its implication on the martensitic phase transition that governs shape memory. We calculate the surface energies of B2${}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ phase (austenite), B19 (orthorhombic), B19${}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ (martensite), and a body-centered orthorhombic phase, the theoretically predicted ground state. We find that (110)${}_{\mathrm{B}2}$ surfaces with in-plane atomic displacements stabilize the austenite phase with respect to B19${}^{\ensuremath{'}}$ and BCO; thus, slabs with such orientations are predicted to exhibit a decrease in martensite transition temperature with decreasing thickness. Our calculations predict a critical thickness of 2 nm, below which the transition would not occur. The opposite trend is observed in slabs with atomic displacements along the surface normal: the phase transformation temperature increases with decreasing size.
Abnormalities in the fatty acid composition of the postmortem orbitofrontal cortex of schizophrenic patients: Gender differences and partial normalization with antipsychotic medications

Previous studies have observed significant abnormalities in the fatty acid composition of peripheral tissues from drug-naive first-episode schizophrenic (SZ) patients relative to normal controls, including deficits in omega-3 and omega-6 polyunsaturated fatty acids, which are partially normalized following chronic antipsychotic treatment. We hypothesized that postmortem cortical tissue from patients with SZ would also exhibit deficits in cortical docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6n-3) and arachidonic acid (AA; 20:4n-6) relative to normal controls, and that these deficits would be greater in drug-free SZ patients. We determined the total fatty acid composition of postmortem orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) (Brodmann area 10) from drug-free and antipsychotic-treated SZ patients (n=21) and age-matched normal controls (n=26) by gas chromatography. After correction for multiple comparisons, significantly lower DHA (−20%) concentrations, and significantly greater vaccenic acid (VA) (+12.5) concentrations, were found in the OFC of SZ patients relative to normal controls. Relative to age-matched same-gender controls, OFC DHA deficits, and elevated AA:DHA, oleic acid:DHA and docosapentaenoic acid (22:5n-6):DHA ratios, were found in male but not female SZ patients. SZ patients that died of cardiovascular-related disease exhibited lower DHA (−31%) and AA (−19%) concentrations, and greater OA (+20%) and VA (+17%) concentrations, relative to normal controls that also died of cardiovascular-related disease. OFC DHA and AA deficits, and elevations in oleic acid and vaccenic acid, were numerically greatest in drug-free SZ patients and were partially normalized in SZ patients treated with antipsychotic medications (atypical > typical). Fatty acid abnormalities could not be wholly attributed to lifestyle or postmortem tissue variables. These findings add to a growing body of evidence implicating omega-3 fatty acid deficiency as well as the OFC in the pathoaetiology of SZ, and suggest that abnormalities in OFC fatty acid composition may be gender-specific and partially normalized by antipsychotic medications.
Economic stress among low-income women with cancer: effects on quality of life.

BACKGROUND. Attention to the economic consequences of cancer has grown as the number of cancer survivors is increasing. Although prevalent among low-income minority survivors, the impact of economic stress on quality of life (QOL) remains largely unexplored. METHODS. Data are reported for 487 predominantly Hispanic low-income women with a primary diagnosis of breast or gynecological cancer and undergoing active treatment or follow-up. Cross-sectional and longitudinal analyses examined the effects of economic concerns on QOL, depression, and anxiety. RESULTS. Rates of unemployment, medical cost and wage concerns, and financial stress were high in this study population, at baseline, respectively, 70%, 68%, 47%, and 49%. The proportions reporting unemployed status and medical cost concerns stayed flat from baseline to 6 months, followed by a pronounced drop at 12 months. Patient reported rates of lost wage worries increased from baseline to 6 months, followed by a moderate decrease. Functional, emotional, physical, and social-family well-being and depression and anxiety scores exhibited consistent linear improvement from baseline to 12 months. Over 12 months, patients reporting economic concerns had significantly poorer functional, emotional, and affective well-being. CONCLUSIONS. Economic stress is negatively associated with QOL, highlighting the importance of addressing economic stress in low-income women with cancer. Cancer 2008. © 2007 American Cancer Society.
Measurement of electro-optical properties of β-SiC on sapphire substrates and free-standing films

Abstract The growth of SiC on sapphire and measurements of the electronic and optical properties of these films are reported. SiC on sapphire is grown in a low pressure chemical vapor deposition reactor using the H 2 , SiH 4 , C 3 H 8 gas system. Growth is facilitated by the use of a thin silicon interlayer or is directly on the sapphire substrates. The growth of these materials and the optical characterization of free-standing films of SiC are reported.
Impact of modern deepwater drilling and testing fluids on geochemical evaluations

Evaluation of petroleum-fluid properties, hydrocarbon shows, and source-rock characteristics requires new tools to properly recognize and correct for drilling and test-induced contamination, which is increasingly common in modern deepwater field operations. Oil exploration, development, and now production, are more frequently conducted in deeper-water environments where the challenges faced by drilling and operations can severely impact the evaluation of oil and rock geochemistry and fluid properties. Poorly consolidated sediments, swelling clay minerals, and responses to evolving environmental regulations regarding offshore disposal of drill cuttings have resulted in the widespread use of enhanced mineral oil or synthetic-based muds. Also, water-based drilling fluids used in some deepwater operations contain additives that may impact fluid and rock geochemistry. For example, asphalt-based shale stabilizers are added to aid well-bore competency and prevent sticking drill pipe, and polyalkylated glycols are added to depress freezing temperatures and prevent the formation of gas hydrates in the drilling mud. Because these and other additives are often a significant component of water-based muds, they may affect the geochemical signature of fluids and rocks and alter fluid properties. Highly saline brines are another important source of contamination as they are used in completion fluids, water-wet muds, and are emulsified in oil-wet muds. Brine components impact metal contents of petroleum-fluid tests and complicate the determination of formation-water compositions. Despite potential problems introduced by these additives, successful strategies can be devised to accurately access key geochemical and engineering parameters.
Response to Comment on Knowler et al. Preventing Diabetes in American Indian Communities. Diabetes Care 2013;36:1820–1822

Thank you for the opportunity to comment again on the article by Jiang et al. (1) and their response (2) to our previous commentary (3). As we wrote previously, their article describes an important implementation of diabetes prevention services in American Indian communities. Although this translational …
Pastoralism in Africa: past, present and future

Scholars working on the Arid Climate Adaptation and Cultural Innovation in Africa (ACACIA) project have, since the project's inception in 1995, provided some of the continent's best research on the...
Gapping as constituent coordination

A number of coordinate constructions in natural languages conjoin sequences which do not appear to correspond to syntactic constituents in the traditional sense. One striking instance of the phenomenon is afforded by the "gapping" construction of English, of which the following sentence is a simple example: (1) Harry eats beans, and Fred, potatoes Since all theories agree that coordination must in fact be an operation upon constituents, most of them have dealt with the apparent paradox presented by such constructions by supposing that such sequences as the right conjunct in the above example, Fred, potatoes, should be treated in the grammar as traditional constituents, of type S, but with pieces missing or "deleted". Comments University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report No. MSCIS-89-76. This technical report is available at ScholarlyCommons: http://repository.upenn.edu/cis_reports/820 Gapping As Constituent Coordination MS-CIS-89-76 LINC LAB 162
New Photoactivated Protecting Groups. 6. p-Hydroxyphenacyl: A Phototrigger for Chemical and Biochemical Probes1,2

p-Hydroxyphenacyl, a new photoactive, aqueous soluble protecting group is proposed as a second generation α-keto “cage” reagent, a phototrigger for the efficient, rapid release of bioactive phosphates, e.g., inorganic phosphate (Pi) and ATP (Givens, R. S.; Park, C.-H. Tetrahedron Lett. 1996, 37, 6259−6262). p-Hydroxyphenacyl esters 6c and 7 trigger the release of Pi and ATP when irradiated at wavelengths between 300−350 nm also yielding p-hydroxyphenylacetic acid (8) from the rearrangement of the intermediate α-keto carbocation or its equivalent. In contrast, unsubstituted and m-substituted phenacyl esters yield only photoreduction and radical coupling products and none of the rearrangement product. Quantum efficiencies of 0.38 ± 0.04 were measured for the disappearance of the p-hydroxyphenacyl phosphate esters 6c and 7; the appearance efficiencies for 8 and ATP were 0.30 ± 0.03. Rates of release of ∼107 s-1 or better are observed for these esters with only minor variations in efficiencies and rate consta...
Relationship of image quality to decision accuracy for ARVD in MRI

Rates of agreement for diagnosing ARVC/D using MRI are not known. 45 cardiac MRI cases were sent to 13 expert radiologists. Only 1 of 45 cases had complete agreement among readers. ARVC/D was more likely to be reported present if fat in the myocardium was reported, if the RV chamber size was enlarged, and if RV configuration was abnormal. A normal LV chamber size was more likely with a negative report and an enlarged LV chamber size was just as likely to be called positive as negative. The radiologists were more likely to correctly call a no ARVC/D case negative (71%) than positive, but they were below chance (47%) in calling an ARVC/D case positive. 13% of the cases were rated as having poor image quality, 42% fair, 38% good and 7% excellent. There was no relationship between image quality and percent readers agreeing on presence/absence of ARVC/D. Interreader variability for ARVC/D using MRI cardiac film images is quite high. Image quality does not seem to be a major contributing factor. Inclusion of MRI cine loop images of the heart, standardized protocol, and utilization of the most current MRI equipment may improve reader agreement as well as diagnostic accuracy.
Overstorey growth response to thinning, burning and fertiliser in 10-13-year-old rehabilitated jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) forest after bauxite mining in south-western Australia.

Summary Silvicultural treatment of dense stands of regrowth jarrah (Eucalyptus marginata) and marri (Corymbia calophylla) established following bauxite mining in the jarrah forests of Western Australia may be required for both timber production and catchment water yield objectives. In 10–13-y-old rehabilitation stands, four thinning treatments (1500–2500 (unthinned), 1111, 625 and 400 stems ha−1 retained) were applied in summer and either burnt by a prescribed fire in the following autumn or left unburnt. Fertiliser was also applied in a factorial combination with thinning and burning treatments. Tree growth was assessed 4 y after treatment. Mean individual tree diameter growth (under bark) was 0.48 cm y−1 in unthinned stands, rising exponentially to 1.44 cm y−1 when stands were thinned to 400 stems ha−1 (4.2 m2 ha−1 basal area under bark (baub)). Application of fertiliser in unburnt plots further increased growth rates of the two heaviest thinnings by 18% and 25% compared to equivalent unburnt and thinne...
Ludic Eloquence: On John Ashbery's Recent Poetry

A remarkable phenomenon in recent American writing has gone largely unnoticed. A major poet, now eighty, has over the last sixteen years published at a rate _few poets half his age could match. To put the matter in purely quantitative terms, since 1991 John Ashbery has issued eight major collections of poetry, two book-length poems, and three volumes of critical prose?the equivalent of an entire career's output for many poets. The nine poetry volumes alone total 1,210 pages, more than the sum of all his previous books of poems, published between 1956 and 1988. Few critics would claim that Ashbery's recent poetry rises to the impossibly high mark set by his three masterpieces of the early 1970s, The Double Dream of Spring,
The Politics of Peace in the GDR: The Independent Peace Movement, the Church, and the Origins of the East German Opposition

Comparative research offers some insights into the genesis of movements under highly repressive conditions in which dissident groups are systematically denied the organizational and political resources necessary to mount a sustained challenge to the state. During the 1970s and 1980s there were circles of dissidents in the German Democratic Republic (GDR, or East Germany), but most grievances were not expressed in an organized form, and there were few opportunities to mobilize protest against the Communist regime. State repression and party control of society meant that opposition had to be organized within institutions that were shielded from state control. Religious subcultures offered a rival set of identities and values while generally accommodating the demands of the regime. Within the free social space offered by the church, a peace movement developed during the late 1970s and early 1980s. The effort to build an independent citizens' peace movement based in the church played an important role in linking together various groups committed to nonviolent protest, peace, ecology, and human rights into a coherent, if still organizationally weak, opposition during the East German revolution of 1989.
Online Bayesian change point detection algorithms for segmentation of epileptic activity

Epilepsy is a dynamic disease in which the brain transitions between different states. In this paper, we focus on the problem of identifying the time points, referred to as change points, where the transitions between these different states happen. A Bayesian change point detection algorithm that does not require the knowledge of the total number of states or the parameters of the probability distribution modeling the activity of epileptic brain in each of these states is developed in this paper. This algorithm works in online mode making it amenable for real-time monitoring. To reduce the quadratic complexity of this algorithm, an approximate algorithm with linear complexity in the number of data points is also developed. Finally, we use these algorithms on ECoG recordings of an epileptic patient to locate the change points and determine segments corresponding to different brain states.
Calculation of the one-loop graviton mass shift in bosonic string theory

Abstract We explicitly calculate the one-loop mass shifts for the gravitation, the Kalb-Ramond field and the dilaton in bosonic theory. These are found by computing the regularizedtwo-point functions on the torus and then subtracting the tadpole contributions. The results from here are consistent with general covariance and gauge invariance.
OSHA, EPA and Other Stakeholder Responses to the Conclusions and Recommendations of the Chemical Safety Board’s Report on “Improving Reactive Hazard Management” and Some Approaches Towards Resolving Remaining Recommendation Issues

The USA Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) conducted a study of the chemical safety risks posed by the class of reactive hazards. This report, “IMPROVING REACTIVE HAZARD MANAGEMENT” (Report), was issued in October 2002 and its conclusions and recommendations have had significant impacts on how stakeholders view the adequacy of industry and government management of reactive hazards. The continued stream of high profile accidents due to reactive hazards such as Concept Sciences and Toulouse) cause people to also remember that realization of a reactive hazard also led to the accidents at Bhopal and Seveso and consequent major legal and social impacts in India, the United States and Europe. After a discussion of the congruence between the Report’s Objectives and Conclusions and the major thrusts of the Reactive Report’s ‘Recommendations’, to government agencies and other stakeholders, the paper will provide an update on the positive impacts that the CSB Report has already had on activities by professional societies, government and industry and examine some of the major unresolved recommendations, particularly those directed to OSHA to broaden PSM regulatory coverage of reactive chemicals. The paper will conclude with observations on various approaches to broadening coverage of reactive hazards along the lines recommended by the CSB to OSHA and EPA. Among the approaches reviewed will be the one embodied in New Jersey’s very recently modified TCPA regulation, selected proposals in the literature, and voluntary guidelines such as those under development by the newly formed Reactive Management Roundtable group of AIChE.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
A prediction of the discrete electronic transition 2pπu-3dσg of H2+

Abstract The potential curves of the 2pπu and 3dσg electronic states of H2+ have been calculated in the Born-Oppenheimer approximation. A small hump (≊30 cm−1) has been found in the 2pπu state at large internuclear separations. A number of the vibrational levels of both states have been determined and a discrete electronic spectrum is predicted to occur in the near infrared region. The calculated spectroscopic constants of the two states are unusually small for diatomic hydrogen. A brief discussion of one possible observation of this spectrum is given.
Transmission of a female sex pheromone thwarted by males in the spider Linyphia litigiosa (Linyphiidae)

When a male Sierra dome spider (Linyphia litigiosa) encounters a virgin female that has been sexually mature for 7 to 10 days, he rapidly packs the silk of her web into a tight mass. This behavior hinders evaporation of a male-attractant chemical that such highly receptive females apply to their webs. The male thereby reduces the likelihood that his mating partner will attract rival males.
Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate induced mobilization of Ca2+ from rat brain synaptosomes.

Inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate (IP3) was found to release Ca2+ from presynaptic nerve endings (synaptosomes) made permeable with saponin. ATP-dependent Ca2+ uptake was carried out until equilibrium was reached. Addition of IP3 produced a rapid release of Ca2+, which was complete within 60 sec, followed by Ca2+ reaccumulation to the original level in 5–7 min. Cholinergic receptor stimulation with muscarine also produced a similar Ca2+ release from synaptic endoplasmic reticulum. Ca2+ release by IP3 was not detectable in the absence of the mitochondrial inhibitors oligomycin or sodium azide. Reaccumulation of Ca2+ was prevented by the presence of vanadate, a potent inhibitor of Ca2+/Mg2+ ATPase. Half maximal and near complete release of Ca2+ took place at 0.4 μM and 3 μM IP3 concentrations, respectively. These studies demonstrate for the first time IP3 mobilization of Ca2+ from endoplasmic reticulum within synaptic plasma membranes.
1,2,3‐benzotriazines. I. The synthesis of some benzimidazo [1,2‐c][1,2,3]‐benzotriazines and naphth[1′,2,(2′,1′):4,5]imidazo[1,2‐c][1,2,3]benzotriazine

A number of substituted benzimidazo[1, 2-c][1,2,3]benzotriazines were prepared by the diazotization of the appropriate 2-(o-aminophenyl)benzimidazoles. Diazotization of 2-(o-aminophenyl)naphth[1,2-d]imidazole yielded a new heterocyclic ring system. Various methods of preparation of 2 - (o-aminophenyl)benzimidazoles were investigated. The condensation of o-phenylenediamines with anthranilic acids, in the presence of polyphosphoric acid, provided a convenient route to 2-(o-aminophenyl)benzimidazoles but in several cases the products were contaminated with considerable amounts of 6-(o-aminophenyl)benzimidazo[1,2 -c]quinazolines. 2 - (o-Aminophenyl)benzimidazoles were also obtained by the catalytic hydrogenation of 2-(o-nitrophenyl)benzimidazoles which resulted from the condensation of an o-phenylenediamine with an o-nitrobenzaldehyde in ethanol, nitrobenzene or acetic acid. When the condensation was carried out in nitrobenzene, small amounts of 2-(o-aminophenyl)benzimidazoles were also formed. The Weidenhagen synthesis, which involves the reaction of an aromatic diamine with an aldehyde in the presence of copper acetate and subsequent decomposition of the cuprous salt of the benzimidazole, yielded 2-(o-aminophenyl)benzimidazoles instead of the expected 2-(o-nitrophenyl)benzimidazoles when the decomposition was carried out in ethanol. When the cuprous salt was treated with hydrogen sulfide in dilute hydrochloric acid, a mixture of amino- and nitrobenzimidazoles resulted. The ultraviolet and infrared spectra of all the compounds prepared were examined.
Data Practices in the Crop Sciences: A Review of Selected Faculty Publications

This bibliographic study gathered information about the data practices of crop scientists from their publications. Two recent articles were reviewed from each faculty member in the Department of Crop Sciences, University of Illinois College of Agricultural, Consumer and Environmental Sciences. The goals of this study were to learn the common data types used in crop sciences research, to describe data reuse and sharing practices in the literature, and to highlight resources for acquiring and sharing data, especially repositories with an agricultural emphasis.
Patient Satisfaction with Health Care: Critical Outcome or Trivial Pursuit?

Measuring and reporting on patient satisfaction with health care has become a major industry. The number of medlinearticles featuring “patient satisfaction” as a key word has increased more than 10-fold over the past two decades, from 761 in the period 1975 through 1979 to 8,505 in 1993 through 1997. Patient satisfaction measures have been incorporated into reports of hospital and health plan quality,1, 2 and armies of consultants make a good living selling software packages to health care providers eager to assess their customers' reactions by telephone, fax, and modem. Unless my own academic hospital is aberrant, reams of patient satisfaction reports sit on the desk of every health care administrator in America. Amidst this flurry of activity, three fundamental questions emerge: Is patient satisfaction worth measuring? How can it best be measured? And how are we to use the results? These three questions—one philosophical, one empirical, and one practical—form a framework for evaluating the place of patient satisfaction in the patient outcomes movement as a whole.
Calculating poly(ethylene‐co‐acrylic acid)‐solvent phase behavior with the SAFT equation of state

Statistical Associating Fluid Theory (SAFT) is used to model the cloud-point behavior of poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid), with up to 7 mol % acid content, in propane, butane, propylene, butene, and dimethyl ether at temperatures to 250°C and pressure to 2600 bar. The values for the pure component temperature-independent segment volumes, nonspecific interaction energies, and the numbers of segments per molecule are equal to those used for polyethylene, because these copolymers contain modest amounts of acrylic acid repeat units. Two different approaches are used to determine values of the pure component energy of hydrogen bonding, ϵ/k, and the binary interaction parameter, kij. In one approach, ϵ/k for acid dimerization is obtained from literature spectroscopic data and a constant value of kij is fit to each copolymer-solvent cloud-point curve. Increasing the value of kij shifts the predicted cloud-point curves to higher temperatures and pressures. For the five solvents used in this study, kij decreased steadily in the range of 0.040 to −0.025 as the acid content in the copolymer increased. The predicted cloud-point curves are in good agreement with experimental data, and the impact of hydrogen bonding on the phase behavior is well represented, even if kij is set equal to zero. For the second approach, ϵ/k is set to ∼ 90% of the value obtained from spectroscopic data as determined from a fit of a single poly(ethylene-co-acrylic acid)-butane cloud-point curve, while kij is fit to the corresponding polyethylene-solvent system. This approach requires less mixture data than the previous approach, and the calculated cloud-point curves are also in good agreement with experimental data, except for the EAA-DME systems. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Managed care: A ball control game

Abstract Our necks are under persecution; we labor and have no rest. Servants have ruled over us. Our inheritance goes to strangers; our houses are aliens. Lamentations 5:2-8 (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1997;176:1225-9.)
Protecting vernal pools: a model from Massachusetts, USA

Ephemeral ponded wetlands, often referred to as vernal pools in the wetland’s lexicon of the northeastern United States, are in need of protection from outright loss, catastrophic alteration, and disruption of natural processes in the surrounding landscape, because of their great importance to a characteristic wildlife fauna. The state of Massachusetts, USA provides a useful model for vernal pool protection. Vernal pools have been specifically protected under state wetlands regulations since 1987 and many of the state’s municipalities have added additional, more stringent protection under local wetland bylaws. Some vernal pools are also protected under federal wetlands protection law. The protection of vernal pools in Massachusetts is based on a certification process in which biological data are collected to demonstrate that a wetland provides vernal pool functions. Once certified, and if a pool meets jurisdictional requirements, regulatory restrictions are placed on development and other activities proposed within the pool. The regulatory protection for vernal pools in Massachusetts has resulted in the prevention of outright loss and degradation of many vernal pools across the state. However, a 2001 US Supreme Court decision, referred to as the SWANCC decision, may result in a loss of federal jurisdiction over many vernal pools, protection that is especially valuable for pools that do not meet state regulatory criteria. Of significant importance is a lack of protection in existing regulations of the upland non-breeding habitat surrounding vernal pools, which has been shown to be of critical importance to the animals that rely on the pools. Despite the shortcomings of the regulatory protection model in Massachusetts, it has been especially effective as a catalyst for environmental and wildlife awareness, public participation in the wetlands regulatory process, and as an extremely valuable tool in environmental education and outreach.
Center-surround filters for the detection of small targets in cluttered multispectral imagery: analysis of errors and filter performance

In Part I of this two-part series, we described the adaptive double-gated filter (DGF), a nonlinear CS detector that is sensitive to target shape and statistical properties. In particular, we derived the DGFs parameters from knowledge of target shape, size, and statistics, as well as background statistics. Several variants of the DGF were presented different for target recognition regimes (e.g., smooth targets against rough backgrounds, and vice versa). An additional variant of the DGF, known as the adaptive triple-gated-filter (TGF) was presented which aids in target registration. In this paper, we analyze the errors inherent in the DGF and TGF. Our analyses emphasize the performance of the DGF in limiting conditions, including high noise and poorly defined targets. Additionally, we discuss implementational optimization of the DGFs performance and time complexity. Examples of DGFs application to a database of field images presented, with discussion of results stated in terms of probability of hits and rate of false alarms.
A detailed molecular belt model for apolipoprotein A-I in discoidal high density lipoprotein.

Apolipoprotein A-I (apoA-I) is the principal protein of high density lipoprotein particles (HDL). ApoA-I contains a globular N-terminal domain (residues 1–43) and a lipid-binding C-terminal domain (residues 44–243). Here we propose a detailed model for the smallest discoidal HDL, consisting of two apoA-I molecules wrapped beltwise around a small patch of bilayer containing 160 lipid molecules. The C-terminal domain of each monomer is ringlike, a curved, planar amphipathic α helix with an average of 3.67 residues per turn, and with the hydrophobic surface curved toward the lipids. We have explored all possible geometries for forming the dimer of stacked rings, subject to the hypothesis that the optimal geometry will maximize intermolecular salt bridge interactions. The resulting model is an antiparallel arrangement with an alignment matching that of the (nonplanar) crystal structure of lipid-free apoA-I.
Predicting aggressive driving behavior from anger and negative cognitions

The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the anger experience and expression, as well as cognitive distortions, of individuals who self-report higher and lower levels of driver aggression. Fifty-seven higher driver aggression participants and 73 lower driver aggression participants completed measures of trait anger, driving anger, anger expression, angry thoughts while driving, hostile thoughts, and dysfunctional attitudes. The present study results suggest that higher aggression drivers demonstrate a different pattern of affective experience, problematic cognitive tendencies, and subsequent negative outcomes in comparison to those reporting lower levels of aggression. Future research should continue to investigate patterns of negative cognitions for aggressive drivers, in order to inform treatment and prevention strategies for this societal concern.
Sequential Patterning in Family Interaction: A Methodological Note

Participation rates have traditionally been used to indicate certain aspects of family and group structure. A recently reported indicator is the predictability of sequences of speakers in ongoing interaction; investigators have assumed that the greater the predictability the greater the rigidity, organization or structure of the group. We have examined one method, reported by Haley, for analyzing participation sequences and have shown that findings from the sequential analysis mix the effects of aggregate participation rates with the clustering of participation in time. We suggest an alternate method for measuring the predictability of sequences of speeches that can be more clearly interpreted and that, in combination with other measures, can provide findings which are more complex and more directly relevant to theories of family organization.
A Gay and Lesbian Congregation Seeks Social Justice for Other Marginalized Communities

SUMMARY The Cathedral of Hope in Dallas, Texas, is the world's largest gay and lesbian congregation. As an unabashedly liberal church, the Cathedral of Hope views social justice as the foundation of theological beliefs and the heart of community building activities with other marginalized and oppressed people. These actions of social justice and community building have produced an unexpected outcome. Social justice has been returned to this congregation in the form of community affirmation, acceptance, recognition, and advocacy. Thus, one significant way for gays and lesbians to achieve social justice is to work for the same with other oppressed people, devoid of strings or hidden agendas.
HPLC methods for detection of uniconazole-P in soils and plant tissues

High-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) methods have been developed for the detection of uniconazole-P [(E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-4,4,-dimethyl-2-(1,2,4-triazol-1-yl)-1-penten-3-ol; XE-1019; the active ingredient in Prunit and Sumagic] in soil and plant tissue samples. Methanolic extracts of soil and plant samples were dried to the aqueous phase, the pH adjusted to 11, and partitioned against methylene chloride. The methylene chloride phases were washed with pH 11 water and then passed through C-18 solid phase extraction (SPE) columns. The soil extracts were then dried and the residues taken up in 1 ml acetonitrile of which 20 μl were injected directly onto a C-18 reverse phase analytical column for HPLC analysis. Plant tissue extracts were purified by partitioning and passing through a sequence of Florisil/C-18/Florisil SPE columns before HPLC analysis. Recovery of uniconazole-P was ∼70% from soils and ∼40% from plant tissues. Quantitative detection of 10 parts per billion (ppb) uniconazole-P in plant tissues and soil samples was feasible following these procedures. The soil cleanup procedures were also used to detect uniconazole-P in leachates collected from container-grown plants.
Consistency and Compositional Characteristics of Commercial Yogurts

Abstract Objectives were to determine a) the uniformity in composition and consistency within and among seven brands of plain yogurts, b) the influence of composition upon consistency, c) the effect of storage time upon consistency, and d) correlation of objective with subjective measurements of consistency. Objective measurements were with Curd-O-Meter and Brookfield Viscometer while organoleptic measurements were by a trained laboratory panel of three members. Differences among yogurts in pH and protein contents were not significant but acidity, fat, and total solids differed. Within brands pH and total solids varied little, but acidity, protein, and fat varied. Mean consistencies differed by both objective measurements. Ratings by judges 1 and 2 were correlated negatively with objective measurements. While pH and subjective evaluations did not change during 2 wk storage, acidity and objective measurements increased slightly.
Mechanical properties of fiber glass and Kevlar woven fabric reinforced composites

Abstract An experimental study was carried out on woven fabric/epoxy composites focusing on their mechanical properties under uniaxial tensile, flexural, compressive, short beam shear and Mode I interlaminar fracture loading conditions. Composites with fiber glass and Kevlar 49 woven fabrics and with different fabric constructions and microfiber additives were investigated. The interlaminar fracture behavior was characterized using double cantilever beam (DCB) test and the fracture mechanism was analyzed by means of scanning electron microscopy (SEM). The mechanical properties were evaluated in uniaxial tension, three-point flexure, compression and short beam shear. The effects of the reinforcing fabric structure and microfiber additives to the matrix on the mechanical behavior and failure mechanisms of the composites were analyzed.
Modal package convection in a porous layer with boundary imperfections

Thermal convection with a continuous finite bandwidth of modes in a porous layer with horizontal walls at different mean temperatures is considered when a spatially non-uniform temperature is prescribed at the lower wall. The nonlinear problem of three-dimensional convection for values of the Rayleigh number close to the classical critical value is solved by using multiple scales and perturbation techniques. The preferred flow solutions are determined by a stability analysis. It is found that for the case of near-resonant wavelength excitation regular or non-regular solutions in the form of superposition of small-scale multi-modal solutions with large-scale multimodal (or non-modal) amplitude can become preferred, provided the wave vectors of the solutions are contained in the set of wave vectors due to the modal form of the boundary imperfections and the form of the large-scale part is the same as that due to the boundary imperfections. For the case of non-resonant wavelength excitation some three-dimensional solutions in the form of superposition of small-scale multi-modal solutions with large-scale multi-modal (or non-modal) amplitudes can be preferred, provided that the wavelength of the small-scale modulation is not too small. Large-scale flow structures are quite different from the small-scale flow structures in a number of cases and, in particular, they can exhibit kinks and can be non-modal in nature. The resulting flow patterns are affected accordingly, and they can provide quite unusual and non-regular three-dimensional preferred patterns. In particular, they are multiples of irregular rectangular patterns, and they can be non-periodic.
Techniques for Enhancing Communication Productivity in AAC

This paper summarizes selected findings on approaches to increasing the rate of communicatively appropriate responses in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC). Six approaches—efficient k...