cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Electron Mobility of Amorphous Red Phosphorus Thin Films.

Black phosphorus (BP) has been gathering great attention for its electronic and optoelectronic applications due to its high electron mobility and high ION/OFF current switching ratio. The limitations of this material include its low synthetic yield and high cost. One alternative to BP is another type of phosphorus allotrope, red phosphorus (RP), which is much more affordable and easier to process. Although RP has been widely used in industry for hundreds of years and considered as an insulating material, in this study, we demonstrate through field-effect transistors (FET) measurements that amorphous red phosphorus (a-RP) films are semiconductive with a high mobility of 387 cm2 V-1 s-1 and a current switching ratio of ≈103 , which is comparable to the electronic characteristics previously reported for BP. The films were produced via a thermal evaporation method or a facile drop-casting approach onto Si/SiO2 substrates. We also report a study of the oxidation process of the films over time and a method to stabilize the films via doping a-RP with metal oxides. The doped films retain stability for one thousand I-V cycles, with no signs of degradation.
Development finance 2.0: do participation and information technologies matter?

AbstractThis essay critically examines the discourse of participation in development finance directed at the poor in the Global South from national and international development agencies. This disc...
Discovery and Early Development of the Limulus Test

This is a first-hand description of the discovery by the author that the blood coagulation mechanism of Limulus polyphemus, the horseshoe crab, was exquisitely sensitive to bacterial endotoxins. The author recognized the potential usefulness of this observation and utilized his data to provide the basis for the invention of the Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL) test for the detection of bacterial endotoxin. The great superiority, both in sensitivity and ease of use, of the Limulus amebocyte lysate test to the then utilized rabbit pyrogen test (RPT) eventually resulted in its official approval. Subsequently, the LAL test became and remains the international standard for the detection of bacterial endotoxins in parenteral drugs, intravenous fluids, and implanted biomedical devices.
Perceptions of Agentic and Communal Narcissism on Facebook

Studies on narcissism in social media have been numerous. Manifestations of narcissistic behaviors are typically viewed negatively by others online. However, previous study is limited by only examining agentic narcissism. This study investigated perceptions of both agentic and communal narcissism in the context of Facebook. Two hundred and sixty undergraduate students viewed fictitious Facebook profiles with narcissistic or neutral status updates and rated the target on likeability, successfulness, and whether they would want to be friends with the target. Narcissistic statuses were viewed more negatively than neutral statuses across domains. Agentic narcissistic statuses were viewed most harshly. Some gender differences emerged. Female participants rated agentic narcissistic statements from female targets and communal narcissistic statements from male targets more negatively than did male participants. Participants' self-reported communal narcissism was related to their ratings of others, whereas self-reported agentic narcissism was not. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Parallel hierarchical architectures for efficient consensus clustering on big multimedia cluster ensembles

Abstract Consensus clustering is a useful tool for robust or distributed clustering applications. However, given the fact that time complexities of the consensus functions scale linearly or quadratically with the number of combined clusterings, execution can be slow or even impossible when operating on big cluster ensembles, a situation encountered when we pursue robust multimedia data clustering. This work introduces hierarchical consensus architectures, an inherently parallel approach based on the divide-and-conquer strategy for computationally efficient consensus clustering, in a bid to make faster, more effective consensus clustering possible in big multimedia cluster ensemble scenarios. Moreover, we define a specific implementation of hierarchical architectures, including a theoretical analysis of its fully parallel implementation computational complexity. In experiments conducted on unimodal and multimedia data sets involving small and big cluster ensembles, we find parallel hierarchical consensus architectures variants perform faster than traditional flat consensus in 75% of the experiments on small cluster ensembles, a percentage that rises to 100% on unimodal and multimedia big cluster ensembles, achieving an average speedup ratio of 30.5. Moreover, depending on the consensus function employed, the quality of the obtained consensus partitions ensures robust clustering results.
Abstract LB-A03: Molecular systems-guided imaging of multicellular in situ adaptation to targeted therapy in BRAF-mutant cancer

Adaptive signaling through receptor tyrosine kinases (RTKs) has been highly implicated in the resistance to drugs targeting constitutive RAS/RAF/MEK/ERK signaling, particularly in malignancies with constitutive V600 BRAF mutation. However, it has been difficult to systematically understand how such RTK-mediated bypass signaling is influenced by dynamic and localized interactions between tumor cells and neighboring stromal and immune populations. Here we present a pipeline that combines single-cell and bulk transcriptomic analysis from patients, with systems-level mapping of phosphosignaling pathways in co-cultures, to guide the longitudinal in vivo confocal (intravital) microscopy of adaptive bypass signaling in mouse models of BRAF-mutant cancer. This pipeline prioritizes key myeloid populations and phosphosignaling activities (including of ERK) to image in vivo. Intravital microscopy reveals how therapy-induced myeloid accumulation simultaneously shapes the local activity of multiple co-regulated signaling pathways in neighboring cancer cells, in a RTK-dependent manner. Overall, this work offers an integrative approach to quantitating multiple single-cell signaling pathway activities in the tumor microenvironment, and directly images the dynamics with which known cancer-cell autonomous mechanisms of targeted therapy resistance can be locally amplified by neighboring immune cell populations. Citation Format: Stephanie Wang, Ralph Weissleder, Douglas Lauffenburger, Miles Miller. Molecular systems-guided imaging of multicellular in situ adaptation to targeted therapy in BRAF-mutant cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR-NCI-EORTC International Conference on Molecular Targets and Cancer Therapeutics; 2019 Oct 26-30; Boston, MA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Mol Cancer Ther 2019;18(12 Suppl):Abstract nr LB-A03. doi:10.1158/1535-7163.TARG-19-LB-A03
Q-Zilla: A Scheduling Framework and Core Microarchitecture for Tail-Tolerant Microservices

Managing tail latency is a primary challenge in designing large-scale Internet services. Queuing is a major contributor to end-to-end tail latency, wherein nominal tasks are enqueued behind rare, long ones, due to Head-of-Line (HoL) blocking. In this paper, we introduce Q-Zilla, a scheduling framework to tackle tail latency from a queuing perspective, and CoreZilla, a microarchitectural instantiation of our framework. On the algorthmic front, we first propose Server-Queue Decoupled Size-Interval Task Assignment (SQD-SITA), an efficient scheduling algorithm to minimize tail latency for high-disparity service distributions. SQD-SITA is inspired by an earlier algorithm, SITA, which explicitly seeks to address HoL blocking by providing an "express-lane" for short tasks, protecting them from queuing behind rare, long ones. But, SITA requires prior knowledge of task lengths to steer them into their corresponding lane, which is impractical. Furthermore, SITA may underperform an M/G/k system when some lanes become underutilized. In contrast, SQD-SITA uses incremental preemption to avoid the need for a priori task-size information, and dynamically reallocates servers to lanes to increase server utilization with no performance penalty. We then introduce Interruptible SQD-SITA, which further improves tail latency at the cost of additional preemptions. Finally, we describe and evaluate CoreZilla, wherein a multi-threaded core efficiently implements ISQD-SITA in a software-transparent manner at minimal cost. Our evaluation demonstrates that CoreZilla improves tail latency over a conventional SMT core with 2, 4, and 8 contexts by 2.25×, 3.23×, and 4.88×, on average, respectively.
Sex Differences in Middle School Students' Attitudes Toward School

AbstractMiddle school students' attitudes toward school were studied over several years as part of a larger evaluation of a middle grades reform initiative. Close to 3,000 students in urban middle schools were surveyed annually with the Quality of School Life scale. Girls had significantly better attitudes toward school, teachers, and classwork than boys in sixth grade, but declined steeply by the end of seventh grade, and lost their initial advantage. It is suggested that the “mismatch” hypothesized by other researchers between the developmental needs of young adolescents and middle school structure and practices may be greater for girls than for boys.
Polymeric perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions are ultrasound-activated wireless drug infusion catheters

Catheter-based intra-arterial drug therapies have proven effective for a range of oncologic, neurologic, and cardiovascular applications. However, these procedures are limited by their invasiveness, as well as the relatively broad drug spatial distribution that is achievable with selective arterial catheterization. The ideal technique for local pharmacotherapy would be noninvasive and would flexibly deliver a given drug to any region of the body. Combining polymeric perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions with existent clinical focused ultrasound systems could in principle enable noninvasive targeted drug delivery, but it has not been clear whether these nanoparticles could provide the necessary drug loading, stability, and generalizability across a range of drugs to meet these needs, beyond a few niche applications. Here, we directly address all of those challenges and fully develop polymeric perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions into a generalized platform for ultrasound-targeted drug delivery with high potential for clinical translation. We demonstrate that a wide variety of drugs may be effectively uncaged with ultrasound using these nanoparticles, with drug loading increasing with hydrophobicity. We also set the stage for clinical translation by delineating production protocols that hew to clinical standards and yield stable and optimized ultrasound-activated drug-loaded nanoemulsions. Finally, as a new potential clinical application for these nanoemulsions, we exhibit their in vivo efficacy and performance for cardiovascular applications, by achieving local vasodilation in the highest flow vessel of the body, the aorta. This work establishes the power of polymeric perfluorocarbon nanoemulsions as a clinically-translatable platform for effective noninvasive ultrasonic drug uncaging for myriad targets in the brain and body.
Cable Fault Detection: Optical Fiber Current Sensor Cable Link Noise Reduction

In fiber optic current sensors, two main parts, the sensor head unit and the drive/control/chassis unit, are connected by optical fiber cable links. The fiber link carries measurement information from the sensor to an electronics chassis faraway. The optical cable can be wrapped around the main high voltage/current conductors to reduce cost. However, a fiber wrapped around the conductor will have an induced Faraday effect due to the power conductor magnetic field. This creates an unwanted current signal pickup. Also, vibrational pickup due to the macro and micro bend loss of this fiber cable is present as well. These unwanted signals interfere with electric current measurement in a very problematic and erratic way. We have demonstrated by employing optical depolarizers in the sensor fiber link a method of reducing unwanted vibrational and current pickup in the sensor.
Transcranial stimulation of alpha oscillations upregulates the default mode network

Abstract The default mode network (DMN) is the most prominent intrinsic connectivity network, serving as a key architecture of the brain’s functional organization. Conversely, dysregulated DMN is characteristic of major neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the field still lacks mechanistic insights into the regulation of the DMN and effective interventions for DMN dysregulation. The current study approached this problem by manipulating neural synchrony, particularly, alpha (8-12 Hz) oscillations, a dominant intrinsic oscillatory activity that has been increasingly associated with the DMN in both function and physiology. Using high-definition (HD) alpha-frequency transcranial alternating current stimulation (α-tACS) to stimulate the cortical source of alpha oscillations, in combination with simultaneous EEG-fMRI, we demonstrated that α-tACS (vs. sham control) not only augmented EEG alpha oscillations but also strengthened fMRI and (source-level) alpha connectivity within the core of the DMN. Importantly, increase in alpha oscillations mediated the DMN connectivity enhancement. These findings thus identify a mechanistic link between alpha oscillations and DMN functioning. That transcranial alpha modulation can upregulate the DMN further highlights an effective non-invasive intervention to normalize DMN functioning in various disorders. Significance Statement In the brain’s functional organization, the default mode network (DMN) represents a key architecture, whose dysregulation is involved in a host of major neuropsychiatric disorders. However, insights into the regulation of the DMN remain scarce. Through neural synchrony, the alpha-frequency oscillation represents another key underpinning of the brain’s organization and is thought to share an inherent interdependence with the DMN. Here, we demonstrated that transcranial alternating current stimulation of alpha oscillations (α-tACS) not only augmented alpha activity but also strengthened connectivity of the DMN, with the former serving as a mediator of the latter. These findings reveal that alpha oscillations can support DMN functioning. In addition, they identify an effective non-invasive approach to regulate the DMN via α-tACS.
Declining body, institutional life, and making home-are they at odds? The lived experiences of moving through staged care in long-term care settings.

This study examines elderly residential life in long-term care settings, focusing on the ways residents interact with their physical and social environments. It further proposes that the residential environment is an important player for everyday ethics in long-term care settings, and is also an important factor in enhancing the quality of life for residents. By employing the theories of place identity and environmental meanings and listening to the voices of the elderly collected through an ethnographic field study in elderly homes of life care, the study reveals the residents’ experiences of going through declining health and moving through the stages of care. Two major themes were identified. The first theme of liminal life portrays the elders’ fears as they move through the stages of care. This theme includes four sub-themes: (1) the loss of home and the loss of autonomy; (2) impending loss and its constant reminders; (3) the social classification of “us” and “them”; (4) the irreversibility of moving. The second theme of relational life describes the keys to successful transitions as experienced and told by the residents. The second theme includes three sub-themes: (1) shifting identity and the acceptance of old age; (2) human interdependence and building trust; (3) an accompanied death. Study implications are further discussed, including specific suggestions for social programs and revisions to the physical environments. A more fundamental question about place-based staged care is also raised so as to serve as a point of departure for reflections and discussions amongst health professionals, planners and designers, and other decision-makers.
Renewable gasoline-range aromatics and hydrogen-enriched fuel gas from biomass via catalytic microwave-induced pyrolysis

A novel pathway was investigated to produce gasoline-range aromatics and hydrogen-enriched fuel gas by microwave-induced pyrolysis of cellulose integrated with packed-bed catalysis in the presence of a solid phase catalyst. The employed catalyst was well-promoted ZSM-5 after the couplings of hydrothermal and calcined treatments, completely converting volatile vapors derived from microwave pyrolysis into aromatics and non-condensable gases. A central composite experimental design (CCD) was employed to investigate the effects of catalytic temperature and inverse weight hourly space velocity (WHSV)−1 on the pyrolysis-oils composition. It was observed that the chemical compounds of the upgraded bio-oils from catalytic microwave pyrolysis of cellulose were aromatic hydrocarbons, phenols, and aromatic oxygenates. Aromatic hydrocarbons that accounted for the largest selectivity of these compounds were in the range from 82.93 to 96.60% in bio-oils depending on alterations of catalytic conditions. Up to 48.56% selectivity towards aromatics in the upgraded bio-oil belongs to gasoline-range aromatics under the mild conditions. The maximum selectivity of aromatic hydrocarbons (96.60%) was gained at a packed-bed temperature of 500 °C and a WHSV−1 of 0.067 h. Gaseous results show that hydrogen was the dominant composition, occupying approximately 40 vol%. The high amounts of gasoline-range aromatics and valuable hydrogen are attributed to the technologies of microwave-assisted pyrolysis and ex situ catalysis. These findings from this study pave a new route for biorefinery industries to produce developed products (aromatics and hydrogen-rich gases) through microwave-induced technologies.
Reorientational Relaxation Time at the Onset of Intermolecular Cooperativity

For three liquids, salol, propylene carbonate, and o-terphenyl, we show that the relaxation time or the viscosity at the onset of Arrhenius behavior is a material constant. Thus, while the temperature of this transition can be altered by the application of pressure, the time scale of the dynamics retains a characteristic, pressure-independent value. Since the onset of an Arrhenius temperature-dependence and the related Debye relaxation behavior signify the loss of intermolecular constraints on the dynamics, our result indicates that intermolecular cooperativity effects are governed by the time scale for structural relaxation.
Cytomegalovirus activates transcription directed by the long terminal repeat of human immunodeficiency virus type 1.

Abstract Proteins encoded by a variety of DNA viruses activate gene expression from the promoter within the long terminal repeat (LTR) of the human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1). The mechanism by which immediate-early (IE) gene products of human cytomegalovirus (CMV) activate expression from the HIV-1 LTR was examined in transient expression assays in cultures of human cells by using plasmids containing the LTR linked to the bacterial chloramphenicol acetyltransferase (CAT) gene and a plasmid expressing the CMV IE gene. Analysis of clustered site mutations within the HIV-1 LTR revealed that sequences from nucleotides -6 to +20 (relative to the start site of transcription) are critical for responsiveness to transactivation by CMV IE gene products. This region partially overlaps the trans-acting response element (+19 to +42) required for function of the HIV-1 transactivator. The CMV IE gene was shown to increase the steady-state levels of both prematurely terminated and full-length transcripts initiated within the LTR. These results support a model in which CMV IE gene products act through a specific regulatory element in the HIV-1 LTR to increase viral transcription.
Some inequalities for Gaussian measures and the long-range order of the one-dimensional plasma

THE following is a preliminary report on some recent work, the full details of which will be published elsewhere. We have come across some inequalities about integrals and moments of log concave functions which hold in the multidimensional case and which are useful in obtaining estimates for multidimensional modified Gaussian measures. By making a small jump (we shall not go into the technical details) from the finite to the infinite dimensional case, upper and lower bounds to certain types of functional integrals can be obtained. As a non-trivial application of the latter we shall, for the first time, prove that the one-dimensional one-component quantummechanical plasma has long-range order when the interaction is strong enough. In other words, the Wigner lattice can exist, in one dimension at least. As another application we shall prove a log concavity theorem about the fundamental solution (Green’s function) of the diffusion equation.
The impairing effects of alcohol intoxication and speeding on driving precision: analyses of additive and interactive effects

Automobile crash reports show that up to 40% of fatal crashes in the United States involve alcohol and that younger drivers are over-represented. Alcohol use among young drivers is associated with impulsive and risky driving behaviors, such as speeding, which could contribute to their over-representation in alcoholrelated crash statistics. Laboratory studies show that alcohol increases impulsive behaviors by impairing the drinker’s ability to inhibit inappropriate actions. This effect can be exacerbated in conflict situations where the expression and inhibition of behavior are equally motivating. The present study tested the hypothesis that this response conflict might also intensify the disruptive effects of alcohol on driving performance. Fourteen subjects performed a simulated driving task. Conflict was motivated by providing equal monetary incentives for careful behavior (e.g., slow driving) and for quick, abrupt behavior (fast driving). Subjects were tested under two alcohol doses (0.65 g/kg and a placebo) that were administered twice: when conflict was present and absent. Alcohol interacted with conflict to increase risky and impaired driving. The findings provide new insights into how alcohol might interact with personal and environmental factors that also impair driver performance and increase crash risk. Keywords – Alcohol, driving, impulsivity, response conflict
A User-Centric Approach to Assessing Confidentiality and Integrity of Service-Based Workflows

In service-based systems (SBS), workflows are composed of loosely coupled services. The quality of service (QoS) of composite service-based workflows needs to be considered. In doing so, various aspects of the QoS of these workflows need to be assessed. In this paper, a user-centric approach is presented to assessing the confidentiality and integrity of service-based workflows, given the QoS of constituent services. Our approach incorporates the users' preferences for data sensitivity on the data processed by the workflow. It allows users to compare the amount of risk incurred by possible failure of the confidentiality or integrity functions of component services of a workflow.
Evolutionary and ecological aspects of early brain malnutrition in humans.

This article reviews the effects of malnutrition on early brain development using data generated from animal experiments and human clinical studies. Three related processes, each with their own functional consequences, are implicated in the alteration of brain development. (1) Maternal undernutrition at the start of pregnancy results in reduced transfer of nutrients across the placenta, allowing the conservation of effort for future reproductive episodes. (2) Differential allocation to growing organs by the fetus in response to nutritional stress spares the brain to a large though still limited degree, reflecting the organ’s relative contribution to survival and reproductive success. (3) Prenatal malnutrition disrupts developing neurotransmitter systems, which results in the expression of specific cognitive and affective traits. It is argued that the increasing size and therefore cost of the brain, in conjunction with increasing ecological instability and marginality, reinforced selection for maternally controlled growth suppression of offspring, reallocation of organ growth rates by offspring, and behavioral changes related to development of neurotransmitter systems.
Disconnected pancreatic duct syndrome in severe acute pancreatitis: clinical and imaging characteristics and outcomes in a cohort of 31 cases.

Results: The median patient age was 53 years (range 20-83 years); 48% were men. The most common etiology of acute pancreatitis (AP) was biliary (55%) followed by idiopathic (27%). The median interval between the diagnoses of AP and DPDS was 56 days (range 3-251 days); the median follow-up after the last ERCP or surgical procedure was 7 months (range 0-90 months). The DPDS location included the following: pancreas head 6%, neck 58%, body 26%, and tail 10%. Twenty-six patients had initial endoscopic treatment (19 had long-term improvement; 7 failed treatment and required surgery) and 5 underwent immediate surgery. Mortality was 0%; 26% developed chronic pancreatitis (CP) and 16% diabetes mellitus (DM); 10% resolved completely, 45% had smaller fluid collections, and 26% patients were lost to follow-up. No relationship between demographic and clinical data with endoscopic and clinical outcomes was found. Conclusions: Endoscopic treatment temporarily improved DPDS, with a failure rate of 23%. Immediate surgery was not required in all cases. CP and/or pancreatic atrophy occurred relatively shortly after the DPDS diagnosis in 26% and DM in 16% of cases. DPDS did not lead to mortality. Early surgery may be considered after initially stabilizing the fluid collection with endoscopic therapy. (Gastrointest Endosc 2008;68:91-7.)
Biology of the Predatory Mite Phytoseiulus macropilis in Hawaii (Acarina: Phytoseiidae)

Under laboratory conditions of approximately 26°C and 60% RH, the average durations of the life-history stages of Phytoseiulus macropilis (Banks) were: egg, 43 hours; larva, 13 hours; protonymph 21 hours; and deutonymph, 23 hours. The total period from egg deposition to adulthood averaged slightly more for females (101 hours) than for males (98 hours). Preoviposition and oviposition periods averaged 31 hours and 20 days, respectively, and average oviposition was 52 eggs (range, 33–75) per female. Mean adult longevity of mated individuals was 27 days for females, 30 days for males; of unmated individuals, 45 and 42 days, respectively. Females isolated from males for 40–41 days after emergence were able to mate and lay viable eggs. The ♀:♂ sex ratio ranged from 4:1 to 5:1. The food provided consisted of all stages of Tetranychus tumidus Banks. Larvae of P. macropilis did not feed, but all subsequent stages ate readily; nymphs and adults preferred eggs and larvae of the prey rather than the later stages. Deutonymphs ate more than protonymphs, but less than adults, and adult females ate more than males. Average consumption by nymphs of P. macropilis was 10 eggs, 12 larvae, 5 nymphs, or 2 adults of T. tumidus .
Anxiety symptoms and healthcare utilization among a sample of outpatients in an internal medicine clinic.

Objective:In this study, we explored the role of anxiety symptoms (i.e., symptoms that would probably not fulfill DSM criteria) in relationship to healthcare utilization.Method:We surveyed 117 outpatients in an internal medicine clinic regarding four types of anxiety symptoms (i.e., mixed anxiety features, generalized anxiety, obsessive-compulsive personality features, worry), and through a retrospective review of medical records, examined healthcare utilization patterns.Results:Nearly 28% of participants endorsed “positive” results on at least three of the anxiety-symptom measures. When examined for relationships to healthcare utilization, only obsessive-compulsive personality features demonstrated a significant relationship.Conclusions:While anxiety symptoms were common in this primary care sample, their impact on healthcare utilization was limited, in that only obsessive-compulsive personality features demonstrated a relationship.
Computing Large Subcubes in Residual Hypercubes

A residual hypercube is an arbitrary subgraph induced by a subset of the nodes of the hypercube. Residual hypercubes can be used to model the availability of only some of the nodes of a hypercube, e.g., in fault tolerance and processor allocation problems. A residual hypercube may be specified either by listing all the nodes included in the subgraph, or else by specifying a collection of subcube descriptors, which are n-element strings over {0, 1, ?} describing all of the available nodes; these variations in representation are useful in designing processor allocation algorithms 1, 3]. We present an efficient algorithm for determining a subcube of maximum dimension in the residual hypercube when all the available nodes are listed explicitly. Given a residual hypercube of an n-dimensional cube with m available nodes, our algorithm takes time O(nm2) time; this compares favorably with the O(2m22m) algorithm of Ozguner and Aykanat (Inform. Process. Lett. 29 (1988), 247-254) in the case where large numbers of nodes are unavailable. (The algorithm of Ozguner and Aykanat is superior for small numbers of faults.) We show how to parallelize our algorithm to run on the residual hypercube in O(n) parallel steps regardless of the size of the residual hypercube. We show that when the available nodes are described by subcube descriptors rather than by an explicit list of all available nodes, the problem of finding a maximal-dimension subcube becomes co-NP-hard. Finally, we show that the related problem of finding long cycles in residual hypercubes is NP-complete.
Purification of metallurgical-grade silicon by slagging and impurity redistribution

The purification of metallurgical-grade silicon (MGSi) was carried out by slagging and impurity redistribution through repeated melting and pulling. A Czochralski crystal puller was used for performing both functions. The slags consisting of CaOSiO2 and CaOMgOSiO2 were found to be effective for extracting aluminum from the MGSi melts. The repeated melting and pulling method was effective for the removal of other metallic impurities. When slagging and multiple pulling were combined, the thrice-pulled ingots contained an impurity concentration equivalent to that of semiconductor-grade silicon with the exception of boron and phosphorus.
HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND LYMPHOCYTE SUB-TYPES WITH G-CSF, HIGH-DOSE METHYLPREDNISOLONE OR COMBINATION TREATMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED NEUTROPENIA 128

HEMATOLOGICAL PARAMETERS AND LYMPHOCYTE SUB-TYPES WITH G-CSF, HIGH-DOSE METHYLPREDNISOLONE OR COMBINATION TREATMENTS IN CHILDREN WITH CHEMOTHERAPY-INDUCED NEUTROPENIA 128
Continuous Quality Improvement Tools at Work: Case Studies at the University of Cincinnati

Quality management programs implemented for continuous quality improvement at the University of Cincinnati are described. One of the earliest programs was implemented in 1993 to improve teaching effectiveness in the College of Engineering. It was base..
Administration of antidepressants, diazepam and psychomotor stimulants further confirms the utility of Flinders Sensitive Line rats as an animal model of depression

Flinders Sensitive Line (FSL) rats have been proposed as an animal model of depression because they resemble depressed humans in that they have elevated REM sleep, reduced activity, and increased immobility and anhedonia after exposure to stressors. The present paper reviews experiments on the drug treatment of FSL and control Flinders Resistant Line (FRL) rats related to their utility as an animal model of depression, and presents new information. FSL rats exhibited exaggerated immobility in the forced swim test which is counteracted by the tricyclic antidepressants imipramine and desipramine and the serotonin reuptake blocker sertraline; the low immobility exhibited by the FRL rats is generally unaffected by these compounds. In contrast to these "therapeutic" effects of well recognized antidepressants, lithium and bright light treatment did not alter the exaggerated immobility of FSL rats. Novel data indicated that neither FSL nor FRL rats exhibited alterations in swim test immobility following chronic administration of the psychomotor stimulant amphetamine (2 mg/kg) and the anticholinergic scopolamine (2 mg/kg), which typically reduce immobility after acute administration. However, it was found that the calcium channel blockers verapamil (5 and 15 mg/kg) and nicardipine (10 mg/kg) did reduce the exaggerated immobility in FSL rats following chronic administration, suggesting that these compounds need to be evaluated further in humans. Previous studies have indicated no differences between FSL and FRL rats evaluated in the elevated plus maze, either at baseline or after the administration of diazepam, suggesting that the FSL rat may not differ from controls in anxiety-related behavior. Another recently published study showed that the FSL rat also did not differ from normal Sprague-Dawley rats in startle tests, indicating that the FSL rats do not exhibit behaviors shown in animal models of schizophrenia. These findings confirm the utility of FSL rats as an animal model of depression because the FSL rats do not appear to exhibit behaviors analogous to anxiety or schizophrenia and because they respond "therapeutically" to antidepressants and not psychomotor stimulants.
The Road Less Traveled

My heart was removed and replaced on May 17, 2006. No melodrama is intended here, just an unadorned factual statement. Transplants are transformative. In my case, that transformation led to bioethics.
Dietary zinc deficiency increases uroguanylin accumulation in rat kidney

Dietary zinc deficiency increases uroguanylin accumulation in rat kidney. Background Zinc deficiency in humans produces a secretory diarrhea that is corrected by zinc supplementation. In rats, differential mRNA display analysis has shown that intestinal uroguanylin gene expression is increased in zinc deficiency. An endocrine axis involving intestinal uroguanylin and the kidney may exist. Therefore, we conducted this study to examine whether zinc deficiency would affect uroguanylin expression in the kidney of rats. Methods A purified diet, deficient or adequate in zinc content, was fed to rats. Preprouroguanylin mRNA was localized in kidney by in situ hybridization, and prouroguanylin/uroguanylin peptides were localized in the kidney by immunohistochemistry. Abundance was measured by Western blotting and slot blotting analyses. Results In situ hybridization demonstrated that preprouroguanylin mRNA-expressing cells were localized in the proximal tubules, being primarily limited to the cortical-medullary junction. Zinc deficiency did not alter the abundance or distribution of the mRNA. Immunohistochemistry, using a uroguanylin peptide-specific, affinity-purified antibody, demonstrated that immunoreactive uroguanylin peptide was localized to the same cells but that the staining was stronger in zinc-deficient rats. Western blotting analysis of kidney extracts showed that there was no difference in abundance of prouroguanylin between zinc adequate and deficient rats. However, slot blotting analysis demonstrated that the abundance of a low molecular weight immunoreactive peptide, presumably uroguanylin, was higher in extracts of zinc-deficient rats. Conclusion The results suggest that production of prouroguanylin by the kidney, in contrast to the intestine, is not influenced by dietary zinc intake, but that higher amounts of uroguanylin in kidney extracts may reflect renal processing of the hormone obtained from the systemic circulation.
Visual Programming Languages and the Empirical Evidence For and Against

Abstract The past decade has witnessed the emergence of an active visual programming research community. Yet, there has also been a noteworthy shortage of empirical evidence supporting the resulting research. This paper summarizes empirical data relevant to visual programming languages, both to show the current empirical status and to act as a call to arms for further empirical work.
Observations on the response of two p-n junction diodes to protons

Abstract The response of two silicon p-n junction diodes has been measured for protons up to 13.3 MeV. In one case the dependence of depletion layer thickness with bias voltage was found to be T ∝ V 0.46 . The observed resolution, made up of contributions from crystal noise, beam width, and scatterer thickness, was about 1% for 9-MeV protons.
Analytic game—theoretic approach to ground-water extraction

Abstract The roles of cooperation and non-cooperation in the sustainable exploitation of a jointly used groundwater resource have been quantified mathematically using an analytical game-theoretic formulation. Cooperative equilibrium arises when ground-water users respect water-level constraints and consider mutual impacts, which allows them to derive economic benefits from ground-water indefinitely, that is, to achieve sustainability. This work shows that cooperative equilibrium can be obtained from the solution of a quadratic programming problem. For cooperative equilibrium to hold, however, enforcement must be effective. Otherwise, according to the commonized costs–privatized profits paradox, there is a natural tendency towards non-cooperation and non-sustainable aquifer mining, of which overdraft is a typical symptom. Non-cooperative behavior arises when at least one ground-water user neglects the externalities of his adopted ground-water pumping strategy. In this instance, water-level constraints may be violated in a relatively short time and the economic benefits from ground-water extraction fall below those obtained with cooperative aquifer use. One example illustrates the game theoretic approach of this work.
A note on the taxonomy of three membraniporine ectoprocts from Chesapeake Bay

Recent work on the taxonomy and biology of three species of membraniporine ectoprocts of the Chesapeake Bay area has necessitated changes in their nomenclature.Acanthodesia tenuis is now known asMembranipora tenuis, Membranipora membranacea must be considered to be as undescribed species ofMembranipora, andElectra crustulenta has been found to beConopeum tenuissimum. Recognition of these changes is particularly important in the case ofConopeum tenuissimum, a very common fouling species over large areas of Chesapeake Bay.
School Counseling in Belize: Poised for Great Development

The majority of persons serving as school counselors in Belize do not have the formal training proposed by standard setting bodies, such as the U.S. National Board of Certified Counselors (NBCC) and the American School Counseling Association (ASCA). However, those serving as counselors readily identify responsibilities that parallel those advocated by the ASCA National Model (ASCA 2005). This article identifies characteristics of Belize school counselors, and reviews current school counseling practices and the implications of these for the future of school counseling in that setting. Opportunities for standardization and professional development for school counselors, solidification of a professional identity, and barriers to educational attainment are also explored.
A comparative study of locomotion in the caecilians Dermophis mexicanus and Typhlonectes natans (Amphibia: Gymnophiona)

Abstract We compared locomotion of two species of caecilian using x-ray videography of the animals traversing smooth-sided channels and a pegboard. Two channel widths were used, a body width channel and a body width +20% channel. The terrestrial caecilian,Dermophis mexicanus, used internal concertina locomotion in both channels and lateral undulation on the pegboard. The aquatic caecilian,Typhlonectes natans, was not able to move at all in the body width channel. In the wider channelTyphlonectesproceeded at the same speed asDermophiswhile using normal, rather than internal, concertina locomotion. On the pegboard,Typhlonectesused lateral undulation and achieved 2.5 times the speed managed byDermophis. A phylogenetic analysis of this, and other, evidence shows that (1) internal concertina evolved in the ancestor to extant caecilians and (2) internal concertina locomotion was secondarily lost in the aquatic caecilians.
Animal Reservoirs of Shiga Toxin-Producing Escherichia coli

Shiga toxin-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) strains have been detected in a wide diversity of mammals, birds, fish, and several insects. Carriage by most animals is asymptomatic, thus allowing for dissemination of the bacterium in the environment without detection. Replication of the organism may occur in the gastrointestinal tract of some animals, notably ruminants. Carriage may also be passive or transient, without significant amplification of bacterial numbers while in the animal host. Animals may be classified as reservoir species, spillover hosts, or dead-end hosts. This classification is based on the animal's ability to (i) transmit STEC to other animal species and (ii) maintain STEC infection in the absence of continuous exposure. Animal reservoirs are able to maintain STEC infections in the absence of continuous STEC exposure and transmit infection to other species. Spillover hosts, although capable of transmitting STEC to other animals, are unable to maintain infection in the absence of repeated exposure. The large diversity of reservoir and spillover host species and the survival of the organism in environmental niches result in complex pathways of transmission that are difficult to interrupt.
Biochemical effects of manufactured gas plant residue following ingestion by B6C3F1 mice.

The toxic potential of manufactured gas plant residue (MGP) given in the diet to male and female B6C3F1 mice was evaluated. In addition, the bioavailability of chemical components of MGP were also investigated by monitoring polycylic aromatic hydrocarbon (PAH) metabolites in urine and DNA adduct formation in forestomach and lung tissue. Basal gel diets containing 0.05, 0.25, 0.50% MCP or 0.005% benzo[a]pyrene (BaP) were fed to animals for 94 and 185 d. Mice readily consumed adulterated diets without any evidence of acute toxicity. The total amount of MGP and BaP consumed by mice ranged from 118 to 2604 mg and from 12 to 29 mg, respectively. Male mice fed a control or BaP diet and female mice fed a 0.05% MCP diet had the highest body weight gains. Male and female mice fed a 0.50% MCP diet had the lowest body weight gains. The bioavailability of chemical components of MCP was evaluated by monitoring the urinary excretion of PAH metabolites by male mice fed a 0.25% MCP diet. 1‐Hydroxypyrene was determined by...
Price discrimination with opaque products

In opaque selling, firms intentionally withhold key information concerning some products to create an opaque product type. For example, at Hotwire and Priceline, airlines and hotels sell tickets and hotel rooms without revealing flight and hotel information. With opaque selling, firms can segment the market, and charge a discounted price in the opaque market and a published price in the full-information market. Thus opaque selling in the travel industry enables firms to manage capacity utilisation efficiently, and to discriminate among customers, especially close to the consumption period. In this paper, we focus on the optimality of opaque selling, and investigate when it improves profits and how to set opaque and published prices. We find that depending on customer heterogeneity, opaque selling sometimes can simultaneously increase a firm's sales and profits. While the resulting social welfare benefits can increase or decrease, Pareto improvements are possible when customers are more differentiated in their willingness to pay. We also find that opaque selling is not always optimal. When customers are too heterogeneous, even with excess capacity, the firm will serve only high-value customers with full-information products, and ignore low-value customers. Our study provides guidelines for retailers, firms in the travel industry, and other service providers as long as the opaque nature of this new selling method enables them to effectively segment the market. For these service providers, opaque selling is a creative strategy through which they can efficiently manage existing resources and substantially improve profits. Our findings provide guidelines for policy makers on when to encourage and when to control opaque selling.
UV Absorption Spectrum and Rate Constant for Self-Reaction of Silyl Radicals

The rate constant of self-reaction of silyl radicals, SiH3 + SiH3 → products (1), was measured at 300 K over an extended buffer gas pressure range (1−100 bar, He) using excimer laser pulsed photoly...
Theory of manganite superlattices

A theoretical model is proposed for the (0,0,1) superlattice manganite system ${({\text{LaMnO}}_{3})}_{n}{({\text{SrMnO}}_{3})}_{m}$. The model includes the electron-electron, electron-phonon, and cooperative Jahn-Teller interactions. It is solved using a version of the single-site dynamical mean-field approximation generalized to incorporate the cooperative Jahn-Teller effect. The phase diagram and conductivities are calculated. The behavior of the superlattice is found to be a good approximation to be an average over the density-dependent properties of individual layers, with the density of each layer fixed by electrostatics.
Thermal conduction in sub-100nm transistors

Heat conduction in integrated circuits spans length scales across several orders of magnitude: From the lattice spacing at a few Angstroms to the substrate thickness at hundreds of micrometers. The smaller length scale becomes increasingly important in devices with feature size well below 100nm. This paper provides an overview of sub-continuum electro-thermal transport. We use the phonon Boltzmann transport equation to model heat conduction in the device and show that phonons emitted by hot electrons in the drain create a phonon hotspot. The resulting non-equilibrium leads to increased thermal resistance within the device. At the limits of scaling, the resistance is comparable to that due to the substrate and packaging.
Electrical Activity in the Heart during Hyperkalemic Hypothermic Cardioplegic Arrest: Site of Origin and Relationship to Specialized Conduction Tissue

Previous studies from this laboratory have shown that low-amplitude electrical activity (LEA) may occur during standard hyperkalemic hypothermic cardioplegic arrest and be undetected by routine monitoring techniques. The present study was designed to elucidate the electrophysiological nature of LEA. Ten dogs were monitored continuously during standard cardioplegic arrest using a 32-channel data acquisition system. In 7 animals (Part I), electrophysiological mapping of the lower right atrial septum during arrest was performed. The initial site of activation of LEA was consistently recorded from the region of the lower atrial septum prior to atrial or ventricular electrical activation. The site of origin of LEA was thus localized to the anatomical region of the atrial septum containing the atrioventricular nodal conduction tissue. In Part II, the electrophysiological mechanism of LEA was investigated in the remaining 3 animals utilizing an intrinsic property of specialized conduction tissue. Inclusion of a calcium channel-blocking agent in standard cardioplegic solution completely prevented the development of LEA in all 3 animals, which is in contrast to findings in previous studies using standard cardioplegic solution alone. These data suggest that LEA may be related to calcium-mediated activation of specialized conduction tissue. This mechanism of activation may explain why LEA cannot be detected by the intraoperative monitoring techniques routinely employed.