cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Micro‐ and Nano‐Structured Vanadium Pentoxide (V2O5) for Electrodes of Lithium‐Ion Batteries

Vanadium pentoxide (V2O5) has played important roles in lithium-ion batteries due to its unique crystalline structure. To assist researchers understanding the roles this material plays, a comprehensive and critical review is conducted based on about 250 publications. Here, we report basics and applications of micro- and nano-materials of V2O5 and V2O5-based composites. The comparative and statistical analysis leads to the discovery of several interesting phenomena. The V2O5 electrodes with two lithium ions have a favorable capacity performance with reversible phase formation. The excellent capacity retention is displayed in the V2O5 electrodes with one lithium ion inserted. In the case of three lithium ions insertion, it was found that the irreversible formation of the phase ω in LixV2O5 leads to its control. In addition, effects of additives on electrode performance, circuitry models of performance, as well as reaction routes are studied. Two unprecedented concepts of the “high capacity band” and “empirical total capacity retention” are proposed though the comprehensive statistical analysis of the reviewed data. This review provides a comprehensive collection of information of state-of-the-art and recent advancement in V2O5 and V2O5-based composite materials for electrodes. Researchers could use the information to design and develop advanced electrodes for future batteries.
Relocation and Well-Being in United Methodist Clergy and Their Spouses: What Pastoral Counselors Need to Know

The well-being of relocated, male Florida Annual Conference United Methodist clergy and clergy spouses (N = 124) was compared with that of nonrelocated male United Methodist clergy and clergy spouses (N = 153). Results revealed no significant differences in well-being between relocators and nonrelocators. Clergy spouses exhibited significantly lower well-being than did clergy. Perceptions of relocation, stress level, and coping resources were significant predictors of clergy well-being. However, only stress level and coping resources predicted spouse well-being. Qualitative analysis of participants' responses revealed that pastoral counselors should address issues such as grief, powerlessness, loneliness, and clergy family reluctance to seek counseling services.
Making the Case for Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis with LGBTGEQ+ Persons and Communities

ABSTRACTThe emergence of interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) in qualitative scholarship offers a means to derive in-depth meaning attending to the complexities of lived experience. IPA extends qualitative inquiry through a double hermeneutic whereby the researcher is making sense of the experiences of participants who are making sense of a phenomenon. In this article, the authors present seminal empirical studies using IPA with lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, gender expansive, queer communities, argue a rationale for its usefulness, discuss methodological insights and strategies, and offer potential future directions.
Choosers, Obstructed Choosers, and Nonchoosers: A Framework for Defaulting in Schooling Choices:

Background/ContextPrior research overlooks the importance of drawing distinctions within the category of defaulters or “nonchoosers” in schooling choices. Defaulters are both a theoretically and em...
Heavy episodic drinking is associated with poorer bone health in adolescent and young adult women

Objective:Osteoporosis is a costly bone disease characterized by low bone mineral density (BMD) that primarily affects postmenopausal women. One factor that may lead to osteoporosis is a failure to...
Evaluating readmission rates and discharge planning by analyzing the length-of-stay of patients

The length-of-stay (LOS) is an important quality metric in health care, and the use of phase-type (PH) distribution provides a flexible method for modeling LOS. In this paper, we model the patient flow information collected in a hospital for patients of distinct diseases, including headache, liveborn infant, alcohol abuse, acute upper respiratory infection, and secondary cataract. Based on the results obtained from fitting Coxian PH distributions to the LOS data, the patients can be divided into different groups. By analyzing each group to find out their common characteristics, the corresponding readmission rate and other useful information can be evaluated. Furthermore, a comparison of patterns for each disease is analyzed. We conclude that it is important to offering better service and avoiding waste of sources, by the analysis of the relations between groups and readmission. In addition, comparing the patterns within distinct diseases, a better decision for assigning resources and improving the insurance policy can be made.
Autoscopy: Disrupted Self in Neuropsychiatric Disorders and Anomalous Conscious States

Autoscopy is a loosely related complex of experiences in which one sees (or experiences) a “double” as external to one’s current vantage point. The phenomenology of autoscopy provides an alternative to current “models” of self in cognitive science. After years of silence on matters such as consciousness and self, cognitive science and neuroscience have now swung in the opposite direction, and claim to be able to experimentally study these topics, often in an oversimplified manner. These approaches uncritically confuse representational content about self or self-awareness in self-referential processing, i.e., having a self (a self-enclosed entity), with being a self, prospectively open to its own (yet-to-be-known) future.1 Ignoring this difference has led to an industry of philosophical essays and neuroimaging studies that claim to access the first-person perspective when only able to access higher order self-referential judgments (for critical reviews, see Fuchs 2006; Legrand et al. 2003; Mishara 2007b). A similar confusion prevails in current approaches to classify types of autoscopy in the search for its underlying cognitive-neural mechanisms.2 Due to its descriptive method and resulting theoretical framework, phenomenology is in a unique position to contribute to the study of human self and its disruption in neuropsychatric disorders.
Mitral Valve Repair for Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation with Advanced Cardiomyopathy

Ischemic mitral regurgitation, a late complication of coronary artery disease, develops secondary to changes in the mitral subvalvular apparatus and left ventricular geometry. Surgical treatment of ischemic mitral regurgitation can improve symptoms of congestive heart failure but has not clearly demonstrated a survival benefit. In this chapter, we discuss the pathophysiology of ischemic mitral regurgitation, experimental and clinical evidence underlying current treatment algorithms, and future areas of investigation.
Noncardiac Chest Pain

Noncardiac chest pain (NCCP) is a major source of healthcare expenditure and disability. Recent data indicate that 5.5 million patients visited emergency departments in the United States with the chief complaint of chest pain during 2007–2008. Chest pain is the second most common cause for emergency room visits after abdominal pain. NCCP is one of the most frequent causes of hospital admission in the Western world. In England and Wales, acute chest pain is responsible for approximately 700,000 patient visits annually at emergency departments and 20–30 % of emergency medical admissions.
Regional Economic Convergence: Is European Regional Policy Worth Keeping?

Regional economic inequalities within the European Union are more than twice those in the United States when measured by the standard deviation of regional per capita income. We look at the evolution of a variety of indices of regional economic inequality in the European Union and show that inequality in per capita income, unemployment and labor productivity has not decreased during the last 17 years.
AVIATION METEOROLOGY | Aviation Weather Hazards

This article is reproduced from the previous edition, volume 1, pp 166–177, © 2003, Elsevier Ltd.
Cross-Sectional HIV Incidence Estimation with Missing Biomarkers

Considerable progress has been made in the development of approaches for HIV incidence estimation based on a cross-sectional survey for biomarkers of recent infection. Multiple biomarkers when used in combination can increase the precision of cross-sectional HIV incidence estimates. Multi-assay algorithms (MAAs) for cross-sectional HIV incidence estimation are hierarchical stepwise algorithms for testing the biological samples with multiple biomarkers. The objective of this paper is to consider some of the statistical challenges for addressing the problem of missing biomarkers in such testing algorithms. We consider several methods for handling missing biomarkers for (1) estimating the mean window period, and (2) estimating HIV incidence from a cross sectional survey once the mean window period has been determined. We develop a conditional estimation approach for addressing the missing data challenges and compare that method with two naive approaches. Using MAAs developed for HIV subtype B, we evaluate the methods by simulation. We show that the two naive estimation methods lead to biased results in most of the missing data scenarios considered. The proposed conditional approach protects against bias in all of the scenarios.
Contrastive learning from pairwise measurements

Learning from pairwise measurements naturally arises from many applications, such as rank aggregation, ordinal embedding, and crowdsourcing. However, most existing models and algorithms are susceptible to potential model misspecification. In this paper, we study a semiparametric model where the pairwise measurements follow a natural exponential family distribution with an unknown base measure. Such a semiparametric model includes various popular parametric models, such as the Bradley-Terry-Luce model and the paired cardinal model, as special cases. To estimate this semiparametric model without specifying the base measure, we propose a data augmentation technique to create virtual examples, which enables us to define a contrastive estimator. In particular, we prove that such a contrastive estimator is invariant to model misspecification within the natural exponential family, and moreover, attains the optimal statistical rate of convergence up to a logarithmic factor. We provide numerical experiments to corroborate our theory.
Myosin Dephosphorylation as a Mechanism of Relaxation of Airways Smooth Muscle

Reversibility is crucial to any regulatory process. That is, it must be possible to return an activated system to the ground state so that the system can be reactivated. This is particularly true of smooth and striated muscles which may undergo thousands of contraction/relaxation cycles in one day. Many of the preceding chapters have addressed the importance of the phosphorylation of the 20 kDa myosin light chain (LC20) in initiating smooth muscle contraction. In this chapter we will focus on the importance of LC20 dephosphorylation in smooth muscle relaxation by reiterating a few essential points regarding myosin phosphorylation and force maintenance and describing experiments correlating LC20 dephosphorylation with smooth muscle relaxation. Finally, we will conclude with an extended discussion of phosphoprotein phosphatases, the enzymes that dephosphorylate LC20 and other proteins.
Incidence and prognosis of heart failure in persons with type 2 diabetes compared with individuals without diabetes - a nation-wide study from Finland in 1996-2012

Aims: To quantify the incidence and prevalence of heart failure (HF) in persons with type 2 diabetes (T2DM) and to examine the 1-year survival after the diagnosis of HF.Materials and methods: All c...
Implementation of a Mindfulness Intervention for Women in Treatment for Opioid Use Disorder and Its Effects on Depression Symptoms.

Background: Many women in treatment for opioid use disorder (OUD) also experience mental health co-morbidities. Mindfulness intervention has demonstrated effectiveness for improving mental health i...
A Configurational Approach to Family Firm Innovation

This article develops an integrated framework for the examination of innovation drivers in small and privately owned family firms. Drawing from the family-driven innovation model, we study how fact...
Role Expectations and Role Evaluations in Daughtering: Constructing the Good Daughter

ABSTRACTThe relationship between mother and daughter is unlike other family dyads and important to both parties over a lifespan. One underexplored area of this relationship is how adult daughters c...
Comparing Theories of Legal Socialization

Chapter 2 compares the two leading theories of legal socialization: legal development theory (Levine & Tapp, 1977; Tapp & Kohlberg, 1977), which is a form of cognitive developmental theory (Kohlberg, 1969, 1984, 1986; Piaget, 1932), and social learning theory, a broad theoretical perspective of which several versions are particularly relevant to legal socialization (Akers, 1985; Akers et al., 1979; Bandura, 1969a, 1969b, 1973, 1977; Mischel & Mischel, 1976). The two theories represent two major paradigms in the psychology of learning and entirely different ways of conceptualizing the relationship between person and environment. Although not themselves competing theories, because neither takes the other as its opposite, the two approaches can be understood to generate competing hypotheses about the process of legal socialization (Cohn & White, 1986). The two theories are compared in these terms.
The Agr-Like Quorum-Sensing System Is Important for Clostridium perfringens Type A Strain ATCC 3624 To Cause Gas Gangrene in a Mouse Model.

Clostridium perfringens type A is involved in gas gangrene in humans and animals. Following a traumatic injury, rapid bacterial proliferation and exotoxin production result in severe myonecrosis. C. perfringens alpha toxin (CPA) and perfringolysin (PFO) are the main virulence factors responsible for the disease. Recent in vitro studies have identified an Agr-like quorum-sensing (QS) system in C. perfringens that regulates the production of both toxins. The system is composed of an AgrB membrane transporter and an AgrD peptide that interacts with a two-component regulatory system in response to fluctuations in the cell population density. In addition, a synthetic peptide named 6-R has been shown to interfere with this signaling mechanism, affecting the function of the Agr-like QS system in vitro In the present study, C. perfringens type A strain ATCC 3624 and an isogenic agrB-null mutant were tested in a mouse model of gas gangrene. When mice were intramuscularly challenged with 106 CFU of wild-type ATCC 3624, severe myonecrosis and leukocyte aggregation occurred by 4 h. Similar numbers of an agrB-null mutant strain produced significantly less severe changes in the skeletal muscle of challenged mice. Complementation of the mutant to regain agrB expression restored virulence to wild-type levels. The burdens of all three C. perfringens strains in infected muscle were similar. In addition, animals injected intramuscularly with wild-type ATCC 3624 coincubated with the 6-R peptide developed less severe microscopic changes. This study provides the first in vivo evidence that the Agr-like QS system is important for C. perfringens type A-mediated gas gangrene.IMPORTANCE Clostridium perfringens type A strains produce toxins that are responsible for clostridial myonecrosis, also known as gas gangrene. Toxin production is regulated by an Agr-like quorum-sensing (QS) system that responds to changes in cell population density. In this study, we investigated the importance of this QS system in a mouse model of gas gangrene. Mice challenged with a C. perfringens strain with a nonfunctional regulatory system developed less severe changes in the injected skeletal muscle compared to animals receiving the wild-type strain. In addition, a synthetic peptide was able to decrease the effects of the QS in this disease model. These studies provide new understanding of the pathogenesis of gas gangrene and identified a potential therapeutic target to prevent the disease.
Mergers in Medicare Part D: Assessing market power, cost efficiencies, and bargaining power

Abstract We empirically examine horizontal mergers amongst Part D insurers with the aim of assessing how market power, cost efficiencies, and bargaining power affect premiums and coverage characteristics, including drug access and out-of-pocket (OOP) cost. Our results reveal that market power raises premiums, but this is only a local effect that occurs in markets where the merging firms overlap. Mergers alter the bargaining process with upstream suppliers at both local and national levels, affecting drug access and OOP cost. We find evidence of cost efficiencies when firms restructure by consolidating their plan offerings.
The Significance of Signatures: Why the Framers Signed the Constitution and What They Meant by Doing So

The signing of the U.S. Constitution is traditionally understood as the closing act of the Constitutional Convention. This Note provides an alternative account, one that understands the Constitution’s signing as the opening act of the ratification campaign that followed in the Convention’s wake. To begin, the Note explains the signatures’ ambiguous form as the product of political maneuvering designed to win support for the Constitution during ratification. The Note then hypothesizes two ways in which the signatures may have helped to secure this support: (1) by highlighting pro-Constitution selling-points likely to resonate with the ratifying public; and (2) by limiting the ability of the signers’ to recant their support for the Constitution once ratification battles had begun. Finally, the Note identifies a few respects in which this ratification-centered account of the Constitution’s signing may influence our modern-day understanding of the document.
Self-recognition and emotional knowledge

Self-recognition emerges during the second year of life and represents the emergence of a reflective self, a metacognition which underlies self-conscious emotions such as embarrassment and shame, p...
Distribution Patterns and Associations of Dominant Tree Species in a Mixed Coniferous-Broadleaf Forest in the Changbai Mountains

In 2012 a plot was established with 1-ha area in a mixed coniferous-broadleaf forest in the Changbai Mountains, northeastern China for examining local forest processes, structure and succession. A method of O-ring statistics(paircorrelation function) was applied to analyze the spatial patterns and associations of the dominant species within different vertical layers. After the evaluation by their importance values, six tree species(or group)(i.e. Abies nephrolepis, Picea jezoensis, Pinus koraiensis, Tilia amurensis, and species group of Betula ssp. and species group of Acer ssp.) were determined as dominant trees species. It was found that some of these species exhibited closely clustered distributions at fine distances. As spatial distance increased, a random or even regular distribution gradually appeared with the exception of the upper layers of A. nephrolepis and P. koraiensis, and the lower layers of P. jezoensis, P. koraiensis and Betula ssp., which were substantially randomly distributed. Intra- and inter-species spatial associations varied in accordance with species, tree height and reciprocal distances. Positive associations were observedbetween the lower and upper height classes of trees of the same species(except for that of P. jezoensis) at fine distances. This may be owing to limited seed dispersal and geological heterogeneity. The aggregation intensity declines with increasing distances and this consistent with the predictions of self-thinning. Some coniferous trees(e.g. Pinus koraiensis) in the lower height class were positively associated with T. amurensis and group of Betula ssp. of the upper height class at some distances, suggesting that saplings of coniferous trees occupy a broader niche and can grow well under the canopy of the adult of broad-leaved trees. Negative associations were observed between upper coniferous trees and lower broad-leaved trees and between upper P. jezoensis and lower P. koraiensis, suggesting that a canopy of these trees might not provide suitable environment for the survival, establishment, and growth of lower individuals, corresponding well to Janzen-Connell hypothesis.
Bayesian Approach to Developing Context-Based Crash Modification Factors for Medians on Rural Four-Lane Roadways:

Rural four-lane roadways provide important transportation accessibility and mobility to populations in rural areas. It is a challenge for practitioners to determine cross-section types when both be...
Comparing the efficacy of adipose-derived and bone marrow-derived cells in a rat model of posterolateral lumbar fusion.

While bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (BMCs) have been widely used in spinal fusion procedures, adipose-derived stem cells (ASCs) offer a number of advantages as an alternative clinical cell source. This study directly compares the efficacy of ASCs and BMCs from the same donor animals to achieve successful fusion when combined with a clinical-grade bone graft substitute in a rat lumbar fusion model. ASCs and BMCs were isolated from the same Lewis donor rats and grown to passage 2 (P2). Single-level bilateral posterolateral intertransverse process lumbar fusion surgery was performed on syngeneic rats divided into three experimental groups: clinical-grade bone graft substitute alone (CBGS); CBGS + rat ASCs (rASC); and, CBGS + rat BMCs (rBMC). Eight weeks postoperatively, fusion was evaluated via microCT, manual palpation and histology. In vitro analysis of the osteogenic capacity of rBMCs and rASCs was also performed. Results indicated that the average fusion volume in the rASC group was the largest and was significantly larger than the CBGS group. Although the rASC group displayed the highest fusion rates via microCT and manual palpation, this difference was not statistically significant. Cell-seeded grafts showed more histological bone formation than cell-free grafts. P2 rASCs and rBMCs displayed similar in vitro osteogenic differentiation capacities. Overall, this study showed that, when combined with a clinical-grade bone graft substitute in a rat model, rASCs cells yielded the largest fusion masses and comparable fusion results to rBMCs. These results add to growing evidence that ASCs provide an attractive alternative to BMCs for spinal fusion procedures. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.
Tony Williams—The Signature Voice of The Platters: Volume One, 1955–1961

Before she became a single-named sonic sensation in 2003, Beyonce Knowles was a member of the highly successful R&B group Destiny’s Child. Similarly, before he launched his remarkable solo career i...
Valuing Density: An Evaluation of the Extent to which American, Australian, and Canadian Cities Account for the Climate Benefits of Density through Environmental Review

This study looks at the extent to which major cities in the United States, Australia, and Canada assess the climate impacts of densification through the environmental review process. Research indicates that greater urban density is associated with lower household greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in high GDP countries. Yet there is reason to believe that cities may be taking a parochial approach to evaluating the climate impacts of rezonings in their environmental reviews that fails to consider the environmental costs of maintaining low density. In this study, we survey the legal and policy frameworks governing the environmental review in American, Australian, and Canadian cities to determine the extent to which they consider and analyze the GHG benefits of land use changes that increase urban density. We also analyze environmental review documents for proposals to increase residential density in cities to determine the extent to which policy makers have incorporated empirical knowledge regarding the relationship between density and GHGs emissions into their environmental reviews of proposed land use changes. We find that very few cities of those we surveyed use a formal environmental review process for analyzing the GHG impacts of land use changes. In addition, the small number of cities in our survey that analyze the GHG implications of land use changes do not appear to comprehensively consider the broader GHG benefits of densification. In fact, cities that assess the GHG impacts of zoning changes appear more likely to consider densification as causing climate harms rather than climate benefits.
Exploring the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology in Patients with Multiple Sclerosis

Greater attention is being paid to performance validity in patients with multiple sclerosis (MS), though limited work has examined symptom validity measures in this population. Extensive previous literature has examined the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology (SIMS) across diverse populations with variable results. The purpose of the present study was to determine the extent to which the SIMS and/or its associated variables/items are useful in detecting non-credible cognitive performance in patients with MS. Sixty-seven patients with MS (Mage = 48.64; 71.6% women; 83.6% White) were referred for neuropsychological evaluation within a large, Midwestern academic medical center. Participants were categorized into credible (n = 50) and non-credible (n = 17) groups based on standalone performance validity test (PVT) criteria. The non-credible group reported significantly higher SIMS total scores than the credible group (d = 1.69). Results revealed that SIMS total score was broadly elevated across the entire sample (M = 17.55, SD = 8.30) and significantly correlated with depressive (r = .56) and anxiety (r = .38) symptoms. Publisher-recommended cutoffs for SIMS total scores of > 14 (specificity = .50) and > 16 (specificity = .64) yielded unacceptable levels of false positives. A novel subscale (SIMS-MS) was created from six items that were endorsed by ≥ 25% of the non-credible group and ≤ 10% of the credible group. The SIMS-MS demonstrated good differentiability between groups (AUC = .87), with good sensitivity (.53) and excellent specificity (.96) at a cutoff of > 1 (i.e., ≥ 2), and it did not significantly correlate with depressive (r = .21) nor anxiety (r = .23) symptoms, suggesting appropriate discriminant validity from face valid psychiatric symptoms. The SIMS-MS showed preliminary clinical utility at identifying individuals with MS who demonstrate non-credible cognitive performance on standalone PVTs. Implications, limitations, and directions for further inquiry, including validation against other measures of both performance and symptom validity, were discussed.
An approach to anaesthesia for scoliosis repair

Scoliosis is a condition that involves abnormal lateral curvature of the spine which may also involve rib cage deformity. It is described radiologically with a Cobb angle > 10°,1 and can be classified by the shape of the deformity and by which part of the spinal column is involved. In addition to cosmetic consequences, severe disease also leads to chronic back pain and may impact cardiorespiratory function. Generally, a Cobb angle > 45–50° requires surgery.2 Scoliosis can be classified aetiologically. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis accounts for approximately 75% of cases3 and occurs in 1–3% of the general population.4 Of those patients, only 0.1% will require surgery in order to improve function and cosmesis.4 Surgery may involve a posterior approach, anterior approach or a combination of the two.4
How Can Enclosing Seawater Liberate Biological Oceanographers

In this symposium, and others precedingit (Parsons et ale 1978, Kinne 1977) the philosophy of large-scale enclosures of marine systems, and the results of the several research programs in which this philosophy was given substance, have been reviewed. I will draw heavily on this history, especially that of the Controlled Ecosystem Pollution (later Populations) Experiments (CEPEX), at Saanich Inlet, British Columbia, Canada, to suggest some lines of investigation for the near future.
Comment on "On a Class of Variational Problems in Rocket Flight"

T2(x,t) = cos (\2 a2t)[Csfcc(\.2x/x/2) + Ctf8£\&/V2) + afss(X2x/\/2l C6/cs(X2x/v 2|] + sin ( X 2 W ) [ G / s s ( X 2 x / V 2 ) + C4fcs(X2x/\/2) + a/cc(X2x/V2) + C f l / M ( W \ / 2 ) ] , / < * < J (17) The constants appearing in the solution equations, Eqs. (16) and (17), are determined by the following relations resulting from the application of the boundary conditions Xia! = X2 a2 = 2TT//0 (18)
How to Incorporate a Securities & Exchange Commission Staff Paper into an International Accounting Course

This proposal shows how a recent SEC Staff Paper which outlines the differences between U.S. and international accounting standards can be used in an International Accounting course. We begin by outlining how the Staff Paper lists the differences between U.S. generally-accepted-accounting-principles (GAAP) versus International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS). The Staff Paper is a useful teaching resource because it is comprehensive, compact, and timely. It is comprehensive in that it lists over 100 individual GAAP/IFRS differences organized under 29 sections, yet the 50-page document is freely available on line, and it is timely as of November 2011. We also present a pedagogic tool to help students organize the GAAP/IFRS differences across three conservatism dimensions and two qualitative dimensions.
A combined fbm and PPCA based signal model for on-line recognition of PD signal

The problem of on-line recognition and retrieval of relatively weak industrial signal such as Partial Discharges (PD), buried in excessive noise has been addressed in this paper. The major bottleneck being the recognition and suppression of stochastic pulsive interference (PI), due to, overlapping broad band frequency spectrum of PI and PD pulses. Therefore, on-line, on-site, PD measurement is hardly possible in conventional frequency based DSP techniques. We provide new methods to model and recognize the PD signal, on-line. The observed noisy PD signal is modeled as linear combination of systematic and random components employing probabilistic principal component analysis (PPCA). Being a natural signal, PD exhibits long-range dependencies. Therefore, we model the random part of the signal with fractional Brownian motion (fBm) process and pdf of the underlying stochastic process is obtained. The PD/PI pulses are assumed as the mean of the process and non-parametric analysis based on smooth FIR filter is undertaken. The method proposed by the Author found to be effective in recognizing and retrieving the PD pulses, automatically, without any user interference.
Market Conditions and Contract Design: Variations in Debt Contracting

Scholars have cataloged rigidities in contract design. Some have observed that boilerplate provisions are remarkably resistant to change, even in the face of shocks such as adverse judicial interpretations. Empirical studies of debt contracts and collateral, in contrast, suggest that covenant and collateral terms are customized to the characteristics of the borrower and evolve in response to changes in market conditions, such as expansion and contraction in credit supply. Building on the adverse selection and moral hazard theories of covenants and collateral, we demonstrate that an expansion (contraction) of credit will lead not only to a decrease (increase) in the interest rate but also a reduction (expansion) of covenants and collateral through lessening (worsening) adverse selection and moral hazard problems. We conclude with some empirical implications of this analysis.
A Simple Method for the Direct Detection of Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 from Raw Alfalfa Sprouts and Spent Irrigation Water Using PCR

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recognizes that raw seed sprouts are an important cause of foodborne disease and is now recommending that either spent irrigation water or final product be screened for Salmonella and Escherichia coli O157:H7 as a means of assuring the safety of product intended for consumption. In an effort to streamline such testing efforts, a simple method to preconcentrate pathogens from sprouts and spent irrigation water was investigated to facilitate the direct (without prior cultural enrichment) detection of pathogens using the PCR technique. Alfalfa sprouts and spent irrigation water were seeded with Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and E. coli O157:H7 at 10−1 to 106 CFU/g or CFU/ml, respectively. Samples were blended (sprouts only) and then centrifuged at high speed to sediment the total bacterial population. The precipitate was processed for DNA isolation, PCR amplification, and amplicon confirmation by Southern hybridization. Mean pathogen recoveries after centrifuga...
Steel Ductility Measurements

Ductility is essential for the fabrication and adequate performance of cold-formed steel structures. For defining safe minimum values of ductility, it is first necessary to develop reliable ductility measurements. It is shown that the usual percent elongation in a 2-in. gage length of a standard rectangular coupon is not a consistent measure of ductility and that reduction in area is difficult to measure for sheet and strip steel specimens. Distinction is made between uniform elongation observed in a specimen over a length outside the fracture zone, and local elongation measured over a short length across the fracture. The separate and complementary roles of uniform and local ductility are presented. Several measures for these two distinct properties are described. Two methods for separately measuring uniform and local ductility by minor modifications of the standard ASTM tension test are proposed.
Theory of Vortex Sound

Preface 1. Introduction 2. Lighthill's theory 3. The compact Green's function 4. Vorticity 5. Vortex sound 6. Vortex-surface interaction noise in two-dimensions 7. Problems in three-dimensions 8. Further worked examples Bibliography.
Evidence for Mitochondrial Regulation of Photosynthesis by a Starchless Mutant of Nicotiana sylvestris

Mutant NS458 of Nicotiana sylvestris (Speg. et Comes) contains a defective plastid phosphoglucomutase and accumulates only trace amounts of starch. Determinations of carbon partitioning using tracer d-[3-(14)C]glyceric acid showed that the maximal CO(2) assimilation by mature leaves of the mutant at saturating [CO(2)] and light and low [O(2)] was close to the flux for sucrose formation in the wild type. The mutant is characterized by exceptionally slow oscillations in maximal CO(2) assimilation. The postulate that these slow oscillations follow changes in the cytosolic rate of sucrose phosphate synthesis has been investigated. Studies with wild-type and mutant leaf discs subjected to various treatments failed to indicate that any significant activation-inactivation cycle in sucrose-P synthase activity can occur. The rate of sucrose phosphate synthesis, however, might be altered by variations in the supply of uridine UDP-glucose which is controlled by the rate of ATP regeneration (via UTP regeneration). Treating mutant leaf protoplasts and young leaves with oligomycin, an inhibitor of mitochondrial ATP regeneration, reduced photosynthesis by as much as 25 and 40%, respectively. The wild type failed to show inhibition by oligomycin, i.e. its effect is masked when starch and sucrose synthesis can interact. It is concluded that maximal CO(2) assimilation in the mutant is fine tuned by mitochondrial metabolism such that interactions between sucrose synthesis and mitochondrial processes may generate the observed oscillations.
Sputtering of (100) Si by 350 keV Co implantation

Abstract Silicon (100) substrates have been implanted with 350 keV Co to fluences in the range 7.2 × 1015 to 3.3 × 1017 Co/cm2 at temperatures near 100 ° C and 450 ° C. Rutherford backscattering profiles of the implanted Co were analyzed by the computer code MEASTRI to extract values for the sputtering coefficient, S, of Si by Co at these temperatures. At the lower temperatures S =1.1± 0.2 results from the analysis, while at 450 °C we obtain S=1.8 ± 0.2. The value predicted by the Matsunanu/Yamamura formula is S = 1.6. Our results are consistent with those of Nizam and Benazeth-Colombie which show a similar variation in S for 40 keV Ar+ bombardment of (100) Si in the temperature range 50–550 °C. This temperature variation is interpreted as due to an altered surface binding energy resulting from surface rearrangement at the higher temperatures.
Determination of zero velocity for a constant acceleration Mössbauer spectrometer

Abstract It has been suggested that the “zero” of velocity cannot be determined with precision for Mossbauer spectrometers operating in the constant acceleration mode. Two methods for this determination are described. One utilizes the convergence of a multi-line spectrum, with increasing velocity range, toward the zero velocity position. The second utilizes the intersection of spectra taken at different velocity ranges.
Methods for isolation and confirmation of Vibrio vulnificus from oysters and environmental sources: a review

The gram-negative bacterium Vibrio vulnificus is a natural inhabitant of estuarine waters and poses a significant health threat to humans who suffer from immune disorders, liver disease, or hemochromatosis (iron overload). V. vulnificus enters human hosts via wound infections or consumption of raw shellfish (primarily oysters), and infections frequently progress to septicemia and death in susceptible individuals. Prevalence in waters and shellfish is not correlated with fecal indicator organisms; therefore, species-specific detection and enumeration of V. vulnificus in the environment has become a priority for agencies that are responsible for shellfish safety. The many selective-differential media developed for isolation of Vibrio spp., and specifically for V. vulnificus detection, are reviewed here; however, none of the media developed to date combines the sensitivity to low numbers with the specificity necessary to inhibit growth of other organisms. Therefore, immunological and molecular protocols are needed for confirmation of the identity of the organism and are discussed in detail. Methods under development that hold promise for rapid, accurate, and sensitive detection and enumeration of the organism include multiplex and real-time PCR. Developing technologies that have proven useful for detection and investigation of other pathogens such as biosensors, spectroscopy and microarrays may provide the next generation of tools for investigation of the prevalence and ecology of V. vulnificus.
The Structure of Substances Which Affect the Autonomic Nervous System. II. Amino vinyl Ketones

In a continuing investigation of the effect of interaction of amino groups with adjacently oriented groups on pharmacodynamic properties, a series of aminovinyl ketones has been prepared. The preparation of these compounds was greatly facilitated by the finding that esters of hydroxyvinyl ketones with various acids react as vinyl- ogous acid anhydrides on aminolysis.
Why do people say nasty things about self-reports?

paper, I would have offered a paradoxical analysis, 'Accept as is - in spite of the author's sensitive appreciation of the strengths and liabilities of self-report measures'. The remainder of this comment will attempt to flesh-out the logic and the paradox behind my hypothetical assessment. Paradox rarely rears its ugly head in science, yet in spite of careful analyses like Spector's, and growing evidence of the validity of self-reports, it seems as if self-report-bashing might be an article of faith of some Scientific Apostle's Creed, 'I believe in good science; the empirical determination of theory choice, the control of extraneous variables, and the fallibility of self-report measures . . .' Spector (1994) acknowledges that cross-sectional self-report studies are sometimes inadequate. At times the problems are due to the studies' passive observational nature (and might be equally problematic had non-self-report measures been employed) and sometimes due to the self-report measurement strategy itself. The former cluster of problems should not be heard as a critique of self-reports per se, so I will instead direct my attention to the latter group of problems. There are known contaminations to self-report measures (e.g. social desirability, selective memory, etc.) that need to be considered. However, Donald Campbell's famous aphorism that good scientists are ontological realists but epistemological fallibalists - suggests that the fallibility of self-reports is not in itself a cogent critique. The immediate question arises: What measurement strategy do you propose to use instead of a self-report (e.g. behavioral, physiological, significant-other, expert judge, archival), and what are the grounds for believing that your alternative measurement strategy is less fallible than a self-report?
Synthesis of bowl-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons via palladium-catalyzed intramolecular arylation reactions.

Treatment of the benzannulated enediyne 11 with potassium tert-butoxide in refluxing toluene for 12 h produced 15 via a cascade sequence of cyclization reactions. Two subsequent palladium-catalyzed intramolecular arylation reactions then afforded the bowl-shaped polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon 16. The X-ray structures of 16 and two closely related molecules show the presence of significant curvatures.
Protein kinase C mediates angiotensin II-induced contractions and the release of endothelin and prostacyclin in rat aortic rings

Angiotensin II (Ang II) stimulation of vascular smooth muscle results in a myriad of intracellular signals that interact to produce the final physiologic response of the cell. We used rat aortic rings to investigate the role of protein kinase C (PKC) in Ang II-induced contractions and in the concomitant release of endothelin (ET) and prostacyclin (PGI2). Ang II (10(-9) M) produced a rapid contraction which was sustained for 10 min. When aortic rings were pretreated with graded concentrations of each of the four different inhibitors of PKC, that is, (i) 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonylmethyl) piperazine (H7); (ii) 1-(5-isoquinolinesulfonyl) piperazine(CL); (iii) staurosporine; or (iv) calphostin C, inhibition of Ang II-induced contractions began at 10(-9) M, and was nearly complete at 10(-6) M. Ang II-induced contractions were associated with a 10-fold increase in the release of both ET and PGI2. Pretreatment with 10(-6) M of any one of the same four PKC inhibitors blocked Ang II-induced release of both ET and PGI2. Pretreatment with a blocker of the endothelin-A receptor, BQ123 (10(-6) M), inhibited, by approximately 50%, Ang II-induced contractions, and the release of both ET and PGI2. In aortic rings denuded of endothelium, Ang II-induced contractions, and the release of both ET and PGI2 were significantly reduced, compared to intact rings. We conclude that PKC mediates Ang II-induced contractions in rat aortic rings and that the secondary release of both ET and PGI2 during Ang II-induced contractions is mediated, at least in part, by PKC. In addition, approximately half of Ang II-induced contractile force and of PGI2 release is dependent upon the ET released from endothelial cells.
Mapping potential carbon and timber losses from hurricanes using a decision tree and ecosystem services driver model

Information on the effect of direct drivers such as hurricanes on ecosystem services is relevant to landowners and policy makers due to predicted effects from climate change. We identified forest damage risk zones due to hurricanes and estimated the potential loss of 2 key ecosystem services: aboveground carbon storage and timber volume. Using land cover, plot-level forest inventory data, the Integrated Valuation of Ecosystem Services and Tradeoffs (InVEST) model, and a decision tree-based framework; we determined potential damage to subtropical forests from hurricanes in the Lower Suwannee River (LS) and Pensacola Bay (PB) watersheds in Florida, US. We used biophysical factors identified in previous studies as being influential in forest damage in our decision tree and hurricane wind risk maps. Results show that 31% and 0.5% of the total aboveground carbon storage in the LS and PB, respectively was located in high forest damage risk (HR) zones. Overall 15% and 0.7% of the total timber net volume in the LS and PB, respectively, was in HR zones. This model can also be used for identifying timber salvage areas, developing ecosystem service provision and management scenarios, and assessing the effect of other drivers on ecosystem services and goods.
Atomistic mechanisms of amorphization during nanoindentation of SiC: A molecular dynamics study

Atomistic mechanisms underlying the nanoindentation-induced amorphization in SiC crystal has been studied by molecular dynamics simulations on parallel computers. The calculated load-displacement curve consists of a series of load drops, corresponding to plastic deformation, in addition to a shoulder at a smaller displacement, which is fully reversible upon unloading. The peaks in the load-displacement curve are shown to reflect the crystalline structure and dislocation activities under the surface. The evolution of indentation damage and defect accumulation are also discussed in terms of bond angles, local pressure, local shear stress, and spatial rearrangements of atoms. These structural analyses reveal that the defect-stimulated growth and coalescence of dislocation loops are responsible for the crystalline-to-amorphous transition. The shortest-path-ring analysis is effectively employed to characterize nanoindentation-induced structural transformations and dislocation activities.
Domains of life satisfaction among patients living with HIV: A factor analytic study of the quality of life inventory

This study sought to identify multidimensional factors of life satisfaction in individuals with HIV through a factor analysis of the Quality of Life Inventory (QOLI), and to examine the relationship of these factors to health-related quality of life, depression, and medication adherence. Four quality of life domains emerged: Achievement, Self-Expression, Environment, and Interpersonal Relationships. QOLI means were substantially lower than the normative means and were significantly related to the SF-12 mental (but not the physical) component summary. Multidimensional assessments of quality of life in HIV may help specify targets sensitive to psychosocial interventions.