cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Enhancement of Acute Parathion Toxicity to Fathead Minnows Following Pre-exposure to Propiconazole

Over the past two decades a number of antifungal imidazole and triazole derivatives have been approved for use in agricultural applications. In a recent survey of pesticide concentrations in aquatic ecosystems of Central America, the antifungal triazole compound propiconazole was found to be the most widely distributed pesticide. The technical-grade formulation of propiconazole (TGP) has been shown to induce cytochrome P450 expression in mammalian, avian, and piscine species. In addition, concurrent treatment with technical-grade penconazole and an organophosphate (OP) insecticide has been shown to enhance the acute toxicity of OP insecticides to mammalian and avian species. This enhancement was hypothesized to result from induction of a cytochrome P450-catalyzed reaction(s) that was responsible for activating parent OP insecticides to their toxic oxon metabolite. The present study was conducted to determine if pre-exposure to TGP would enhance the acute toxicity of the OP insecticide parathion to an aquatic species. Pre-exposure to TGP enhanced the acute toxicity of parathion to fathead minnows (Pimphales promelas). In vitro, TGP-treated hepatic microsomes isolated from fathead minnows had an increased parathion activation rate to paraoxon. An increased parathion activation rate may have been the mechanism responsible for enhancing parathion toxicity. Since TGP is concurrently applied with OP insecticides, the acute toxicity of OP insecticides to non-target organisms may be enhanced by previous exposure to TGP.
Absolute rate constant for the reaction OH + HBr → H2O + Br

Abstract The technique of laser flash photolysis-resonance fluorescence has been employed to study the kinetics of the reaction OH + HBr → H 2 O + Br over the temperature range 249–416 K. The rate constant is found to be independent of temperature. A simple average of the results obtained at six temperatures gives the value k ± 2σ = (1.19 ± 0.14) × 10 −11 cm 3 molecule −1 s −1 .
A knowledge-based system for evaluation of superload permit applications

The preservation of the state highway system and normal flow and safety of the motoring public is the statutory responsibility of state departments of transportation. The trucking companies hauling overweight and oversized loads apply for Special Hauling Permits for travel on state routes. The process of approving such superload permit applications is currently performed manually. This is a labor-intensive task, which can take a few days per application. To alleviate the problem, a knowledge-based expert system, called PERMIT_EXPERT, has been developed in the Microsoft Windows environment for handling of superload hauling permit applications. Knowledge representation is through decision trees and production rules. Since calculations of various rating factors require structural analysis, PERMIT_EXPERT is developed as a coupled expert system with access to an external structural analysis and bridge rating program. The knowledge base of PERMIT_EXPERT is acquired from design and operation guides of AASHTO specifications and the Ohio Department of Transportation and through interviews with experienced rating engineers. PERMIT_EXPERT can be used as a knowledgeable assistant by bridge rating engineers as well as for training new personnel.
New Ethics and Practices for Death and Dying from an Analysis of the Sociocultural Metacontingencies

As long as mystical concepts of life, behavior, and humankind prevail, their implications will be respected in social practices. Such a divorce from reality has led to horrible suffering and vast confusion maintained through misguided cultural practices pertaining to slow dying. By confronting these events from the perspective of the natural sciences, new ethics and practices can emerge by which to cope with the problems of dying. These new practices assuage the often prolonged fear of dying, substantially reduce the actual suffering when the time comes, and integrate the business of dying into the cultural economy.
Regional differences in brain norepinephrine and dopamine uptake kinetics in inbred rat strains with hypertension and/or hyperactivity

High-affinity uptake of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) were determined in synaptosomes of brain regions from four genetically related inbred rat strains, all derived from the Wistar-Kyoto rat: SHR, WKY, WKHA and WKHT strains. SHRs express hypertension and hyperactivity, WKHAs express hyperactivity alone, WKHTs express hypertension alone, and WKYs are neither hypertensive nor hyperactive. Significant increases in NE uptake, primarily in Vmax, in cerebral cortical areas and the cerebellum, were associated with the hypertensive trait. Significant increases in DA uptake Vmax in the frontal cortex were associated with the inheritance of hyperactivity among these strains. A limited study in SHRs indicated that DA uptake in the frontal cortex increased with age, and that males did not differ from females. No changes in DA uptake in the neostriatum were found with respect to either strain, or age or sex. These findings revealed changes in brain catecholamine neuronal function that are of relevance to both hypertension and hyperactivity. This was made possible by the availability of WKHA and WKHT, in addition to WKYs, as appropriate controls for the SHR.
Rapid turnover of a component required for photosynthesis explains temperature dependence and kinetics of photoinhibition in a cyanobacterium, Synechococcus 6301

Illumination of a liquid culture of Synechococcus 6301 at high photon flux density (PFD) elicits a time-dependent first-order exponential decline in relative quantum yield of photosynthetic O2 evolution to some steady-state value. Full photosynthetic activity is restored, also as a time-dependent first-order process, when the photoinhibited culture is transferred to lower PFD. Temperature and irradiation dependence of photoinhibition were measured under conditions which precluded simultaneous recovery from photoinhibition. Also the temperature and irradiation dependence of recovery from photoinhibition were determined under conditions which precluded simultaneous photoinhibition. Kinetics of photoinhibition were sensitive to PFD but relatively independent of temperature. Kinetics of recovery saturated at low PFD but were very temperature dependent at all PFDs. A general equation can be written to predict the change in photosynthetic activity versus time when a cell culture is placed at photoinhibitory PFD, assuming that first-order exponential photoinhibition and first-order exponential recovery from photoinhibition occur simultaneously. The equation can be made specific if the values of the kinetic constant for photoinhibition and for recovery from photoinhibition are known for the particular environmental conditions to which the cells are exposed. These values can be obtained by independently measuring the kinetics of photoinhibition without simultaneous recovery and the kinetics of recovery without simultaneous photoinhibition. The curve of photosynthetic activity versus time for cells placed at high PFD, which is predicted by this equation, precisely fits the experimentally determined kinetics of photoinhibition. This correlation remains valid over a wide range of temperatures and PFDs. Identical results were obtained with the marine cyanobacterium Synechococcus 7002. We conclude that the extent of net photoinhibition over a broad range of conditions represents a sum of individual rates of simultaneous photoinhibition and recovery from photoinhibition. The results support previous proposals that a protein required for photosystem II activity becomes functionally depleted during photoinhibition because protein synthesis or assembly into the membranes cannot keep up with the rate of its inactivation at excessively high PFDs. We also conclude that photoinhibition and light-dependent chilling sensitivity are manifestations of the same phenomenon.
The Underdevelopment of Legal Professions: A Review Article on Third World Lawyers

Richard L. Abel is Professor of Law, University of California, Los Angeles. B.A., 1962, Harvard University; LL.B., 1965, Columbia University School of Law; Ph.D., 1974, University of London. Professor Abel's title, a reference to theories of underdevelopment (e.g., Walter Rodney, How Europe Underdeveloped Africa (Washington, D.C.: Howard University Press, 1974)), is intended to suggest that Third World legal professions did not somehow fail to "develop"-they are not poor copies of Western models-but rather were underdeveloped, i.e., their particular configurations are a by-product of the penetration and dominance of the precapitalist periphery by the capitalist core. 1. See Richard L. Abel, The Sociology of American Lawyers: A Bibliographic Guide, 2 Law & Pol'y Q. 335 (1980). 2. David Campbell, Penny Smith, & Philip A. Thomas, Annotated Bibliography on the English Legal Profession and Legal Services: 1960-78 (Cardiff, Wales: University College Cardiff Press, 1980); Royal Commission on Legal Services, Final Report (2 vols. London: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1979) [hereinafter cited as Report]; Royal Commission on Legal Services in Scotland, Report (2 vols. Edinburgh: Her Majesty's Stationery Office, 1980). 3. See the reports published by the Professional Organizations Committee of the Province of Ontario; H. W. Arthurs & Brian D. Bucknall, Bibliographies on the Legal Profession and Legal Education in Canada (Toronto: Osgoode Hall Law School of York University, 1968). 4. Roman Tomasic & Cedric Bullard, Lawyers and Their Work in New South Wales: Preliminary Report (Sydney, Austl.: Law Foundation of New South Wales, 1978); see generally the publications of the New South Wales Law Reform Commission.
Otitis Media and Sinusitis in Children

Otitis media and sinusitis are among the most common diseases of childhood and various treatment approaches have been advocated. This review focuses on current experience in Pittsburgh, both in terms of our methods of patient management and the changing aetiology of the underlying diseases. Special reference is made to the role played by Branhamella catarrhalis and the emergence of β-lactamase-producing strains. Results from recently completed clinical trials would suggest that antibacterial therapy should be administered to children with these infections, to reduce morbidity and prevent the ever-present supportive complications associated with both diseases.
The XmnI restriction-modification system: Cloning, expression, sequence organization and similarity between the R and M genes

Abstract The xmnIRM genes from Xanthomonas manihotis 7AS1 have been cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. The nucleotide (nt) sequences of both genes were determined. The XmnI methyltransferase (MTase)-encoding gene is 1861 by in length and codes for 620 amino acids (aa) (68660 Da). The restriction endonuclease (ENase)-encoding gene is 959 by long and therefore codes for a 319-aa protein (35275 Da). The two genes are aligned tail to tail and they overlap at their respective stop codons. About 4 × 104 units/g wet cell paste of R·XmnI was obtained following IPTG induction in a suitable E. coli host. The xmnIR gene is expressed from the T7 promoter. M·XmnI probably modifies the first A in the sequence, GAA(N)4TTC. The xmnIR and M genes contain regions of conserved similarity and probably evolved from a common ancestor. M·XmnI is loosely related to M·EcoRI. The XmnI R-M system and the type-I R-M systems probably derived from a common ancestor.
Galilean Satellite Ephemerides E5

New ephemerides of Jupiter's Galilean satellites are produced from an analysis of CCD astrometric data, Voyager-mission optical navigation images, mutual event observations, photographic plates, and eclipse timing observations. The resulting parameters, for use in the galsat computer software, are in the B1950 frame for use by the Galileo space mission. Results in the J2000 system are also available.
Why is the rich US in such poor health

In the wake of a startling report highlighting the US's poor health compared to other wealthy nations, its study director Laudan Aron searches for answers
Use of reciprocity considerations for the two-dimensional BEM analysis of wave propagation in an elastic half-space with applications to acoustic emission

A simple numerical treatment of the infinite boundary in the BEM analysis of two-dimensional wave propagation problems in elastic half-spaces is proposed to avoid the spurious reflections of non-decaying Rayleigh waves introduced by the truncation of the boundary. The proposed method exploits the knowledge of the far-field asymptotic behavior of the solution to adequately correct the BEM displacement system matrix for the truncated problem to account for the contribution of the omitted part of the boundary. The reciprocal theorem of elastodynamics is used for a convenient computation of this contribution exclusively in terms of the boundary integrals of the original BEM system. The method is applied to the study of the acoustic emission from nucleating and propagating surface-breaking and buried cracks in a two-dimensional elastic half-space. It is shown to be particularly advantageous since it allows for an accurate calculation of the generated signal even when the observation point is located far from the acoustic emission source.
The oceans: A source or a sink of methyl bromide?

The global ocean/atmosphere flux of methyl bromide has been estimated from shipboard measurements of the saturation anomaly. When such data are extrapolated globally on the basis of constant saturation anomaly, the ocean is a net sink for methyl bromide [Lobert et al, 1995]. The same data can also be extrapolated on the basis of steady-state production rate of methyl bromide in the water column, allowing regional and seasonal variations in temperature to affect the saturation anomaly. We have carried out this type of extrapolation, and we found that the oceans are a strong net source of methyl bromide to the atmosphere. The difference arises mainly due to slow degradation rates in water of higher latitudes. A reduction of the applied production rate by more than 35% is needed in order to switch the ocean from a source to a sink of methyl bromide. These results demonstrate the sensitivity of current estimates of oceanic flux to assumptions about methyl bromide production and destruction in the water column.
Health outcomes among non-Caucasian living kidney donors: knowns and unknowns

Summary The growth in living kidney donation has been accompanied by greater racial diversity. Most information on post-donation health comes from single-center studies of dominantly Caucasian cohorts. Recent linkage of U.S. donor registration data with death records demonstrated higher mortality risks among African American donors, but importantly, no differences in death compared with demographically matched, healthy controls. Within the donor population, some recent studies have also identified higher likelihoods of post-donation hypertension, diabetes mellitus and kidney failure in African American and Hispanic donors. Thus, based on concerns for higher risks of long-term end-organ damage, it may be reasonable to consider race within the living donor selection process, such as use of more stringent exclusion criteria among non-Caucasian living donors with baseline elevated blood pressure. Recently identified associations of coding variants in the apolipoprotein L1 (APOL1) gene with nondiabetic renal failure in African Americans raise promise of APOL1 genotyping as a novel tool for risk stratifying African American potential donors, but more data are needed to understand implications for post-donation outcomes. To tailor counseling and informed consent, focused attention to long-term medical outcomes among non-Caucasian living donors is needed, and should include assembly of healthy non-donor controls for assessment of attributable risks of donation.
Effect of protein concentration on the binding of drugs to human serum albumin--I. Sulfadiazine, salicylate and phenylbutazone.

Abstract The binding of sulfadiazine, salicylate or phenylbutazone to human plasma and human serum albumin has been studied as a function of protein concentration. Results show that, as the concentration of albumin increases, the binding of all three drugs decreases. This phenomenon does not appear to be due to the presence of endogenous-competing ligands in serum or crystalline albumin preparations. Fluorescence depolarization measurements of dansylglycine complexes with human serum albumin show no evidence for the “molecular aggregation” of human serum albumin at high concentrations. Binding parameters obtained with dilute albumin solutions when extrapolated to physiological albumin concentrations may predict a higher degree of binding than that which is observed by direct measurement. The phannacokinetic implications of these findings are discussed.
Well-mixed dark matter and the Higgs

Abstract The breaking of electroweak symmetry through renormalization group flow in models that have MSSM spectra is found to produce “well-mixed” neutralino dark matter with a relic density consistent with the WMAP data and elastic scattering cross section with nuclei consistent with current limits from direct dark matter searches. These models predict a Higgs boson mass in the range (125–126) GeV. Well-mixed neutralino dark matter is predominantly bino-like, but has significant Higgsino and wino content, each with fractions of comparable size. With a ∼ 1 TeV gluino mass and sizable neutralino–nucleon scattering cross sections, natural models will be fully tested by both the LHC and future dark matter direct detection experiments.
Initial Combination Therapy for Patients with Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus: Considerations for Metformin Plus Linagliptin

For patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus, management of hyperglycemia is typically complex, and few patients successfully achieve and maintain recommended targets for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1c). Increasingly, combination therapy is recommended early in the disease course, or even directly at diagnosis in patients with relatively high HbA1c levels. A recent randomized, placebo-controlled, Phase III trial investigated the initial combination of linagliptin and metformin in patients with inadequate glycemic control to assess the benefits of initial combination compared with monotherapy. Linagliptin and metformin act in complementary ways, and the combination treatment showed superior efficacy compared with either monotherapy. Notably, responses were largest in patients with higher baseline HbA1c levels compared with moderate levels, suggesting this combination could be considered in these patients. This may be particularly relevant for those unwilling to start insulin because they prefer oral therapy or need to avoid body weight gain. Neither metformin nor linagliptin is associated with weight gain, and in this trial the combination was also weight neutral. As this combination therapy was well tolerated, with a low frequency of hypoglycemia, these findings suggest that initial combination of linagliptin plus metformin may have advantages for a large proportion of patients in clinical practice.
2. ONCE AGAIN, WITH MORE FEELING

This book summarizes in a compact volume Runciman's arguments to comparative sociologists that their discipline belongs under the theoretical umbrella of neo-Darwinian selectionism. In his view, heritable variation and competitive selection govern cultural and social as well as biological evolution. Runciman makes a strong case for the usefulness of selectionism, but two of the theory's central features are problematic: his choice of units of selection; and the notion that culture can be distinguished from society historically as well as analytically. No one friendly to the basic project would argue against the need for hypotheses about units that undergo selection, but arguments can be made, also on pragmatic grounds, that he has chosen the wrong kinds of units. Runciman's learning and wisdom show to good effect in the book's fundamental approach: in the overall human story, the biological, cultural, and social coevolve. The quickly accumulating evidence of evolutionary psychology, anthropology, sociology, and neuroscience strongly supports the hypothesis that there is a biological basis for a great deal of human behavior, and also that sociocultural evolution modifies genes. History, in this way of thinking, is like a “braided stream” of unpredictably mutating, blending, and coevolving biological, cultural, and social processes. The old Darwinian image of branching fails to capture the complexity of evolutionary processes in biology, culture, and society. Runciman outlines a unified bio-social science relying upon information theory. If his program were carried out consistently it would relegate to a non-scientific level the traditional historical narratives about “carriers” or “vehicles”. The scientific-explanatory level would instead feature replicators. Gametheory strategies play a prominent role in the selectionist picture. The emphasis on units of information stored in human brains or in exosomatic brain prostheses pushes neuroscience and information theory to the fore. An argument for the analytic-heuristic value of “memes” and “practices” should be weighed against the value of other hypothetical units undergoing selection in a sociocultural evolutionary approach.
Carbon monoxide intoxication during pregnancy: A case presentation and pathophysiologic discussion, with emphasis on molecular mechanisms

In carbon monoxide (CO) poisoning, the mortality and morbidity risk does not always correlate with the level of carboxyhemoglobin (COHb). Recent studies confirm that the mitochondrial cytochrome portion of the respiratory chain is susceptible to CO toxicity at concentrations traditionally considered nontoxic. These laboratory findings correlate with subtle neurologic symptoms detected by psychometric studies in individuals many days from the time of acute intoxication. Additionally, in the pregnant patient, a time lag for both uptake and elimination of CO between the mother and fetus has been demonstrated, with the fetus at risk for hypoxia even when the mother's blood level of CO is nontoxic. Hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in pregnant patients has not been shown to have adverse effects on the fetus. We present a case of CO intoxication in late pregnancy treated with HBO therapy without adverse consequences.
Adolescents’ fMRI Activation to a Response Inhibition Task Predicts Future Substance Use

Abstract Background Deficient behavioral regulation may be a risk factor for substance use disorders in adolescents. Abnormalities in brain regions critical to cognitive control have been linked to more intense and problematic future substance use (e.g., Durazzo, Gazdzinski, Mon, & Meyerhoff, 2010; Falk, Berkman, Whalen, & Lieberman, 2011; Paulus, Tapert, & Schuckit, 2005). The goal of this study was to examine the degree to which brain response to an inhibition task measured in mid-adolescence can predict substance use 18 months later. Method Adolescents aged 16–19 ( N = 80) performed a go/no-go response inhibition task during fMRI at project baseline, and were followed 18 months later with a detailed interview on substance use and dependence symptoms. Participants were 39 high frequency users and 41 demographically similar low frequency users (458 versus 2 average lifetime drug use occasions at baseline, respectively). Results Across all subjects, no-go trials produced significant increases in neural response in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and a region including the left angular and supramarginal gyri ( p (FWE) p Conclusions These findings are consistent with studies showing that impairments in cognitive control have strong associations with substance use. We found a predictive relationship between atypical activation patterns at baseline and substance use behavior 18 months later, particularly among adolescents with histories of previous heavy use.
Thirteen-year survival study of an environmentalEscherichia coli in field mini-plots

A multiple-antibiotic resistantE. coli was applied to rye-grass covered field mini-plots to simulate point-source contamination. Using three mini-plots for testing and a fourth as a control, the ability of the tracer bacterium to survive under field conditions was studied. Three test plots each received separately 107, 108, or 1010 cfu mL−1 E. coli grown for 24 h. in 5 L one-third strength Tryptic soy broth. In Phase I of the study, it was determined that the tracer disappeared from leaf surfaces of rye-grass covering the plots after 41 days. In Phase II, determination of the presence of the tracer in the top 2″ (5 cm) of soil after two months elapsed time indicated that tracer cfu/g dry wt. of soil had declined five, three, and three-logs for test plots 1,2, and 3. In Phase III, subsurface soil sampling using a soil auger on the three test minei-plots indicated the tracer had penetrated through the top-soil and into the underlying B horizon (20 to 50 cm down). In Phase IV, detailed sampling by excavation of the subsurface soil Horizons of the third test mini-plot showed that the tracer had also penetrated through the hardpan (C Horizon) located 0.6 m below the surface to enter the groundwater (1.06 m deep) (Phase V).E. coli counts fell precipitously to 103 cfu g−1 in soil and then, in the groundwater at the groundwater-soil interface, persisted at a concentration of 103 cfu 100 mL−1 for 2 yr. As time past, tracer counts fell to 145 cfu/100 mL in 6 yr. rose to 820 cfu 100 mL−1 in 1986 (8 yr elapsed time), and then fell to 25 cfu 100 mL−1 in 1991 after 13 yr. Serotyping of 1986E. coli isolates indicated that 62% were of the original tracer serotype (0.128:B12) while only 43% of the 1991 isolates were of the same serotype. The penetration rate of the tracer down through the mini-plot soil into the groundwater was 0.02 m day−1 while downslope dispersion occurred at an estimated rate of 1.0 m day−1. The implications of the above findings are discussed.
Prognostic significance of an elevated creatine kinase in the absence of an elevated troponin I during an acute coronary syndrome

In patients with troponin-negative acute coronary syndromes, creatine kinase (CK)-MB elevation predicts a significantly higher risk of death and major acute cardiac events compared with CK-MB negative patients. This risk is accentuated in troponin-negative, CK-MB positive patients who do not demonstrate ST elevation by electrocardiogram.
Asian women have greater abdominal and visceral adiposity than Caucasian women with similar body mass index.

Asian women have greater abdominal and visceral adiposity than Caucasian women with similar body mass index
Separability of the Neutrino Equations in a Kerr Background

The first-order neutrino equations are shown to be separable in the Kerr-metric background. These equations are then used to show that the neutrino field is not superradiant, in contrast to the scalar, electromagnetic, and gravitational fields.
Irish Migrants in the Canadas: A New Approach

ncluding a new preface by the author, Irish Migrants in the Canadas probes beyond the aggregate statistics of most studies of the migration process. Bruce Elliott traces the genealogies, movements, landholding strategies, and economic lives of 775 families of Irish immigrants who came to Canada between 1815 and 1855 from County Tipperary, Ireland. He follows his subjects not only from Ireland to Canada but in their subsequent movements within North America. His work has important implications for current discussions of nineteenth-century society in Ireland, Canada, and the United States.
Essential oils of Persea subgenus Persea (Lauraceae).

Abstract The leaf oils of nine taxa in the genus Persea, subgenus Persea were examined by GC/MS. The taxa were Persea schiedeana, P. primatogena, P. americana var. floccosa, P. americana. var. steyermarkii, P. americana var. nubigena, P. americana var. drymifolia, P. americana var. guatemalensis, P. americana var. americana and the chemovar, “aguacate de anis.” Analysis of oils showed the presence of over 90 components, of which 76 were identified. P. schiedeana oil was found to contain α-pinene (23.7%), β-pinene (23.2%) and β-caryophyllene as major components. The major constituents of P. americana var. floccosa and P. americana var. steyermarkii were α-pinene (10.9%, 7.6%), β-pinene (20.6%, 10.4%), α-terpineol (9.6%, 7.9%), β-caryophyllene (12.6%, 8.4%), viridiflorene (0.1%, 10.3%) and globulol (0.1%, 9.2%), respectively. The oils of P. americana var. nubigena and P. americana var. drymifolia contained α-terpineol (18.4%, 393%) and methylchavicol (12.4%, 40.2%), as major components, respectively. P. ame...
Procedures for estimating atmospheric deposition properties of organic chemicals

A rationale for procedures to estimate the climatological mean dry deposition velocity and precipitation scavenging ratio of organic chemicals is developed. Both deposition parameters depend strongly on vapor pressure, as it affects the partitioning between vapor and sorbed phases. Separate formulae are presented for vapor and sorbed fractions using their mass-weighted average to describe the deposition parameters for the total airborne concentration. Deposition of sorbed fractions is controlled solely by particle size, and methods for estimating the particle size are presented. Dry deposition velocity for the vapor fraction is derived by semiempirical analysis, and is found to depend on Henry's Law constant, molecular diffusion coefficients in air and water, and the chemical's reaction rate in water. Estimates of the dry deposition velocity for 5 chlorinated hydrocarbons are made and compared with observations. Estimates of the precipitation scavenging ratio are compared with observational data for 11 chlorinated or aromatic hydrocarbons. The estimates generally are within an order of magnitude of the measured values.
An advanced IC processing laboratory at the University of Notre Dame

A new integrated circuits fabrication laboratory course was developed at the University of Notre Dame, USA. The course was taught first to graduate students, who helped to develop the processes, and then to seniors. Complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) test circuits of up to 150 transistors per circuit, with 5-micron minimum geometries on 4-inch wafers were successfully fabricated. In this paper, the authors discuss the construction, funding, and operation of the facility in which the course is taught. They also discuss the fabrication process used by the students, class assignments, and results of the first semester in which the course was offered to seniors. >
Reliability Based Design Optimization With Correlated Input Variables Using Copulas

For the performance measure approach (PMA) of RBDO, a transformation between the input random variables and the standard normal random variables is necessary to carry out the inverse reliability analysis. For reliability analysis, Rosenblatt and Nataf transformations are commonly used. In many industrial RBDO problems, the input random variables are correlated. However, often only limited information such as the marginal distribution and covariance could be practically obtained, and the input joint probability distribution function (PDF) is very difficult to obtain. Thus, in literature, most RBDO methods assume all input random variables are independent. However, in this paper, it is found that the RBDO results can be significantly different when the input variables are correlated. Thus, various transformation methods are investigated for development of a RBDO method for problems with correlated input variables. It is found that Rosenblatt transformation is impractical for problems with correlated input variables due to difficulty of constructing a joint PDF from the marginal distributions and covariance. On the other hand, Nataf transformation can construct the joint CDF using the marginal distributions and covariance, and thus applicable to problems with correlated random input variables. The joint CDF is Nataf model, which is called a Gaussian copula in the copula family. Since the Gaussian copula can describe a wide range of the correlation coefficient, Nataf transformation can be widely used for various types of correlated input variables. In this paper, Nataf transformation is used to develop a RBDO method for design problems with correlated random input variables. Numerical examples are used to demonstrate the proposed method. Also, it is shown that the correlated random input variables significantly affect the RBDO results.
Faculty computer literacy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee

The CSD Faculty Loan Program focuses on the computer-phobic, or at least computer-anxious, faculty member, rather than those faculty who have already come to grips with computer technology. We started the program in June, 1985.Objectives: To provide faculty with sufficient computing experience to enable them to evaluate the use of computers in their instructional and research activities.To expose participants to several computing tools that could enhance their personal productivity.
Neighborhood Outsiders, Field Insiders: Latino Immigrant Men and the Control of Public Space

This paper examines how a group of primarily Latino immigrant men claim and control a sought-after and contested public soccer field in a West Los Angeles public park. In contrast to previous studies that took the stability, viability, and visibility of groups, and their claims, as given, this study examines how group boundaries become constructed and taken-for-granted in working out the use and control of public space. As this study reveals, control is premised on creating and sustaining meaningful distinctions between insiders and outsiders, which are far from self-evident in open gatherings. Control is also constructed through the enforcement of informal authority, which is inherently uncertain in public space, especially for stigmatized groups with no formal association to the area. By studying how social organization is repeatedly challenged and reconstructed on the playing field, this paper sheds new light onto how informal claims on public space are made and remade in the contemporary city.
Oscillation and variation inequalities for convolution powers

We prove L^2 variation inequalities for operators defined by the convolution powers of probability measures on locally compact Abelian groups. In some cases we also obtain L^p results for 1<p<\infty. These inequalities imply the pointwise convergence of these operators and give an estimate of the number of upcrossings.
Characterization of the Cognitive Impairments Induced by Prenatal Exposure to Stress in the Rat

We have previously shown that male rats exposed to gestational stress exhibit phenotypes resembling what is observed in schizophrenia, including hypersensitivity to amphetamine, blunted sensory gating, disrupted social behavior, impaired stress axis regulation, and aberrant prefrontal expression of genes involved in synaptic plasticity. Maternal psychological stress during pregnancy has been associated with adverse cognitive outcomes among children, as well as an increased risk for developing schizophrenia, which is characterized by significant cognitive deficits. We sought to characterize the long-term cognitive outcome of prenatal stress using a preclinical paradigm, which is readily amenable to the development of novel therapeutic strategies. Rats exposed to repeated variable prenatal stress during the third week of gestation were evaluated using a battery of cognitive tests, including the novel object recognition task, cued and contextual fear conditioning, the Morris water maze, and iterative versions of a paradigm in which working and reference memory for both objects and spatial locations can be assessed (the ‘Can Test’). Prenatally stressed males were impaired relative to controls on each of these tasks, confirming the face validity of this preclinical paradigm and extending the cognitive implications of prenatal stress exposure beyond the hippocampus. Interestingly, in experiments where both sexes were included, the performance of females was found to be less affected by prenatal stress compared to that of males. This could be related to the finding that women are less vulnerable than men to schizophrenia, and merits further investigation.
Comments on Seeing and Doing

I am grateful to Professor Lindley for taking the time to study my book Causality, and for summarizing its main ideas so crisply and lucidly to the readers of this Journal. I would like to comment on a couple of issues that I believe warrant further emphasis in discussing causality. The first concerns the importance of mathematical notation for distinguishing causal from associational relationships, the second deals with the theoretical foundations of causality. It is true that many members of Lindley's generation were not tormented by causal questions but, still, one should not take lightly the frustration of those who tried to tackle such questions and who could not find any mathematical machinery for solving, or even posing those questions. Having been part of this frustrated generation, I remember quite clearly how, even ten years ago, we could not express mathematically the simple fact that symptoms do not cause diseases, let alone draw mathematical conclusions from such facts. Asking for the probability that one event "caused" another was considered an ill-posed, metaphysical question that lies outside the province of statistical analysis. Statisticians who had to interface with researchers in other disciplines have encountered many barriers of confusion and miscommunication, all rooted in causation. The main users of statistical methods: economists, biologists, and health and social scientists, brought with them a wealth of substantive, do(x)-type information (also called "assumptions"), which they were unable to incorporate into statistical methods and techniques. Likewise, these users expected statistical methods to produce meaningful do(x)-type conclusions, but all statistics could deliver were study-specific associations of the see(x) variety. In some applications (e.g., epidemiology), the absence of notational distinction between do(x) and see(x)-type dependencies seemed unnecessary, because investigators were able to keep such distinctions implicitly in their heads, and managed to confine the mathematics to strictly conventional, see(x)-type expressions. In others, as in economics and the social sciences, investigators rebelled against this notational restriction by leaving mainstream statistics and constructing their own mathematical machinery (called Structural Equation Models). This machinery has remained a mystery to outsiders, and eventually became a mystery to insiders as well. "Every science is only so far exact as it knows how to express one thing by one sign," said Augustus de Morgan in 1858, and the results of not having the signs for expressing causality reached a critical point in the 1980-90's. Problems such as the control of confounding, the estimation of treatment effects, the distinction between direct and indirect effects, the estimation of probability of causation, and the combination of experimental and nonexperimental data became a source of endless disputes among the users of statistics, and statisticians could not come to the rescue. Causality describes several such disputes, and why they could not be resolved by conventional statistical methodology.
An RF-MEMS switch for high-power applications

This paper presents a stress- and temperature-stable RF-MEMS metal-contact switch exhibiting high power handling (>10 W) and high reliability (>100 million cycles at 2 W of RF power) for DC- to 40-GHz applications. The device, which employs a hybrid Au/Ru contact, is fabricated with an all-metal surface micro-machining process and achieves a contact force of 1.5 mN per contact pair at 90 V actuation, as well as a restoring force of 1.0 mN. Measured results based on unpackaged devices in open-air conditions show that the on-resistance is 1–2 Ω (&#60;1 Ω with cleaning), the off-capacitance is 8 fF, the pull-in voltage is 68 V, and the switching and release time is &#60;10 µs.
Look-ahead based fuzzy decision tree induction

Decision tree induction is typically based on a top-down greedy algorithm that makes locally optimal decisions at each node. Due to the greedy and local nature of the decisions made at each node, there is considerable possibility of instances at the node being split along branches such that instances along some or all of the branches require a large number of additional nodes for classification. In this paper, we present a computationally efficient way of incorporating look-ahead into fuzzy decision tree induction. Our algorithm is based on establishing the decision at each internal node by jointly optimizing the node splitting criterion (information gain or gain ratio) and the classifiability of instances along each branch of the node. Simulations results confirm that the use of the proposed look-ahead method leads to smaller decision trees and as a consequence better test performance.
Prognostic use of a QRS scoring system after hospital discharge for initial acute myocardial infarction in the Framingham cohort.

Myocardial infarct size is an important risk factor for survival after acute myocardial infarction (AMI). The purpose of this study was to determine the prognostic value of myocardial infarct size, as estimated by the Selvester 54-criteria/32-point QRS scoring system, in the Framingham cohort. During the first 30 years of the Framingham Heart Study, a total of 384 participants developed an AMI requiring hospitalization; from this group, 243 patients met the following inclusion criteria: (1) no electrocardiographic changes due to a previous infarction, (2) survival >3 days after discharge from the AMI hospitalization and (3) no electrocardiographic evidence of conduction disturbances or ventricular hypertrophy at the time of their final inhospital electrocardiogram. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed to test the association of the QRS score, and other associated risk factors, with time until coronary heart diseaserelated death. QRS score was found to be significantly associated with outcome (p = 0.03), as was the systolic blood pressure before infarction (p >0.001). Both univariate and multivariate analysis showed that a history of systolic hypertension was the variable most strongly associated with coronary heart disease-related death. Thus, identification of AMI survivors at high risk for subsequent mortality can be improved by routine blood pressure measurement before AMI, and QRS scoring of the electrocardiogram taken at hospital discharge.
Abstraction of transition properties in multiagent organizations

Multiagent systems (MAS) can be employed to solve a great many problems. When combined with an organization model, an MAS becomes an even more useful structure capable of taking on problems that require self-organization, adaptation, and recovery. The cost of being able to solve these problems, can be that of complexity. Even small organization-based MAS may transition to tremendous numbers of new organization states, depending on the environmental effects to the organization properties. The transition process can result in a state explosion of new potential organization configurations for consideration before determination of the optimal or desired state. The effects of having to consider large numbers of potential organization configurations after the transition is triggered can have damaging outcomes on the organization's set of goals and overall mission, due to the duration of time spent considering how to reorganize. In this paper, an approach is proposed to solve the problem of state explosion in organization-based multiagent systems.
Expression and possible role of muscle-type carnitine palmitoyltransferase I during sperm development in the rat

Because we had found whole testis from adult rats to be much richer in the messenger RNA for the muscle (M) than for the liver (L) form of mitochondrial carnitine palmitoyltransferase I (CPT I), we sought to determine which cell type(s) accounts for this expression pattern and how it might relate to reproductive function. Studies with immature (14-day-old) and adult animals included 1) Northern blot analysis of testis mRNA; 2) in situ hybridization with slices of testis; 3) enzyme assays for CPT I, CPT II, and carnitine acetyltransferase (CAT) in testicular germ cells and nongerm cells, together with measurement of the malonyl-coenzyme A (CoA) sensitivity and affinity for carnitine of CPT I; 4) labeling of testicular CPT I with [3H]etomoxir, a covalent inhibitor of the enzyme; and 5) the response of testicular and nontesticular CPT I to dietary etomoxir. The data established the following: 1) L-CPT I was the sole isoform detected in immature testis. 2) Expression of the M-CPT I gene was associated only with meiotic and postmeiotic germ cells. 3) Adult testis contains a mixture of the L- and M-CPT I enzymes, the L and M form dominating in extratubular cells and spermatids, respectively. Mature epididymal spermatozoa appear to be devoid of CPT I activity while possessing abundant levels of CPT II and CAT. 4) Five days of dietary etomoxir treatment at a dose that resulted in essentially complete inhibition of CPT I in liver, heart, skeletal muscle, and kidney was totally without effect on either the L- or M-type enzyme in the testis of mature rats. The data point to an important role for transient expression of M-CPT I, coupled with sustained activity of CAT, in the maturation and/or function of rat sperm. They also suggest that, at least in the case of one CPT I inhibitor (etomoxir), the testis is unusually resistant to the agent when given orally.
Toddlers with Autism Spectrum Disorder are more successful at visual search than typically developing toddlers.

Plaisted, O’Riordan and colleagues (Plaisted, O’Riordan & Baron-Cohen, 1998; O’Riordan, 2004) showed that school-age children and adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) are faster at finding targets in certain types of visual search tasks than typical controls. Currently though, there is very little known about the visual search skills of very young children (1–3-year-olds) – either typically developing or with ASD. We used an eye-tracker to measure looking behavior, providing fine-grained measures of visual search in 2.5-year-old toddlers with and without ASD (this representing the age by which many children may first receive a diagnosis of ASD). Importantly, our paradigm required no verbal instructions or feedback, making the task appropriate for toddlers who are pre- or nonverbal. We found that toddlers with ASD were more successful at finding the target than typically developing, age-matched controls. Further, our paradigm allowed us to estimate the number of items scrutinized per trial, revealing that for large set size conjunctive search, toddlers with ASD scrutinized as many as twice the number of items as typically developing toddlers, in the same amount of time.
The Biomechanical Stability of Distal Clavicle Excision Versus Symmetric Acromioclavicular Joint Resection

Background:Treatment for acromioclavicular (AC) joint pain may include distal clavicle excision (DCE). It is possible that DCE can disrupt the surrounding ligaments, leading to increased AC joint laxity.Purpose:To determine the load to failure and stiffness of the AC joint after DCE and symmetric acromioclavicular joint resection (ACJR).Study Design:Controlled laboratory study.Methods:Specimens were randomly assigned to 1 of 2 groups: 1-cm DCE (n = 10) or symmetric (5-mm excision of acromion and distal clavicle) ACJR (n = 10). The specimens were loaded intact in the anterior-posterior plane to determine anteroposterior translation. This was repeated after surgery and compared. The specimens were loaded at 2 mm/s until clinical failure. Force and displacement were recorded, and stiffness was calculated.Results:The peak load to failure for the DCE group was 387.8 N (standard error of the mean [SEM], 31.4 N) and for the ACJR group was 468.5 N (SEM, 30.9 N) (P = .035). The average stiffness for the DCE group ...