cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Identity-based Earning Discrimination among Chinese People

Hukou registration is an instrument to control nonplanned population and capital movements, which the Chinese Communist Party has been exploiting extensively since the 1950s. It requires that each Chinese citizen be classified as either an agricultural or nonagricultural hukou inheritor and be distinguished by their location with respect to an administrative unit. Hukou distribution used to be entirely determined by birth, but nowadays, Chinese citizens can self-select their hukou status based on their ability that causes selection bias in conventional wage decomposition by hukou types. To avoid this bias, I estimated hukou-based earning discrimination by matching Chinese individuals based on a rich set of individual-, family-, and society-level characteristics. By deploying a recent nationally representative dataset, this paper finds that significant earning discriminations exist against agricultural hukou people. I further investigated the impact of hukou adoption within work ownership, work and employer types, and labor contract conditions. I argue that earning difference by hukou is not due to rural–urban segregations; rather, it is systematic and institutionally enforced. This is because, contrary to self-employment and no labor contract conditions, discrimination exists only when others employ them and where a labor contract condition is enforced. Moreover, they face discrimination only when they work for the Chinese government, not when they work for private firms, and they face higher discrimination in nonagriculture-related professions compared to agriculture-related professions.
Morality and Culture

Culture has been defined as “an integrated system of learned behaviors which are characteristic of the members of a society and which are not a result of biological inheritance”. Cultural norms are protected and preserved by the deeply discrediting process of the stigmatization and the punishment of those who violate cultural norms.
Toward an inclusive conception of eternity

Philosophical and theological conceptions of eternity frequently define it through a contrast with time’s transience. These conceptions reflect the widespread influence of Augustine’s idea of eternity, where eternity stands atemporally in opposition to time. Such conceptions are problematic for both divine and human relations to the world. However, the work of Plotinus and Boethius shows that eternity can be conceived more inclusively—as transcending time, but nonetheless including temporal change and dynamism within its presence. This facilitates Boethius’ views of divine knowledge and human freedom in ways that are not available to Augustine. His work demonstrates how an inclusive conception of eternity can reconcile the pursuit of eternal wisdom with a commitment to ethical responsibility within the temporal flow of the world.
A Refractive Index Study of a Diverse Set of Polymeric Materials by QSPR with Quantum-Chemical and Additive Descriptors.

Predicting the activities and properties of materials via in silico methods has been shown to be a cost- and time-effective way of aiding chemists in synthesizing materials with desired properties. Refractive index (n) is one of the most important defining characteristics of an optical material. Presented in this work is a quantitative structure–property relationship (QSPR) model that was developed to predict the refractive index for a diverse set of polymers. A number of models were created, where a four-variable model showed the best predictive performance with R2 = 0.904 and Q2LOO = 0.897. The robustness and predictability of the best model was validated using the leave-one-out technique, external set and y-scrambling methods. The predictive ability of the model was confirmed with the external set, showing the R2ext = 0.880. For the refractive index, the ionization potential, polarizability, 2D and 3D geometrical descriptors were the most influential properties. The developed model was transparent and mechanistically explainable and can be used in the prediction of the refractive index for new and untested polymers.
Associations Between Psychiatric Disorders and Alcohol Consumption Levels in an Adult Primary Care Population.

Background Unhealthy alcohol use frequently co-occurs with psychiatric disorders; however, little is known about the relationship between psychiatric disorders and alcohol consumption levels. Understanding varying levels of unhealthy alcohol use among individuals with a variety of psychiatric disorders in primary care would provide valuable insight for tailoring interventions. Methods We conducted a cross-sectional study of 2,720,231 adult primary care patients screened for unhealthy alcohol use between 2014 and 2017 at Kaiser Permanente Northern California, using electronic health record data. Alcohol consumption level was classified as no reported use, low-risk use, and unhealthy use, per National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism guidelines. Unhealthy use was further differentiated into mutually exclusive groups: exceeding only daily limits, exceeding only weekly limits, or exceeding both daily and weekly limits. Multivariable multinomial logistic regression models were fit to examine associations between 8 past-year psychiatric disorders (depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, anorexia nervosa, and bulimia nervosa) and alcohol consumption levels, adjusting for sociodemographic and health characteristics. Results In the full sample [53% female, 48% White, mean (SD) age = 46 (18) years], patients with psychiatric disorders (except eating disorders), compared to those without, had lower odds of reporting low-risk and unhealthy alcohol use relative to no use. Among patients who reported any alcohol use (n = 861,427), patients with depression and anxiety disorder, compared to those without, had higher odds of exceeding only weekly limits and both limits; patients with bulimia nervosa were also more likely to exceed both limits. Conclusions Findings suggest that patients with anxiety disorder, depression, and bulimia nervosa who drink alcohol are more likely to exceed recommended limits, increasing risk of developing more serious problems. Health systems and clinicians may wish to consider implementing more robust screening, assessment, and intervention approaches to support these vulnerable subgroups in limiting their drinking.
The Personification of the Partnership

What does it mean to say a business association is a legal person? The question has shadowed the law of business organizations for at least two centuries. When we say a business is a legal person we may be claiming that the law distinguishes its assets, liabilities, and obligations from those of its owners; or that it has a “real will” and personality apart from its owners; or that it in some way can carry or assert rights generally ascribed to natural persons. This Article sheds new light on these old questions by looking at an oft-overlooked business form, the partnership, and at once-fierce debates over just what the partnership is. In the decades around the turn of the twentieth century scholars and practitioners hotly debated whether the partnership was an “aggregate” or “entity” and whether the law should treat it as a separate legal person, debates which culminated in the drafting of the Uniform Partnership Act (1914). Central to these debates was a now-forgotten facet of the legal personhood debates: the moral consequences of treating a business association as a distinct legal person.
Cross-Cultural Corpus Creation and Statistical Tendencies in Music

The notion that some musical features can be found in a majority of cultures across the globe has garnered scholarly attention within the past decade [6, 29]. However, the lack of both large and diverse musical corpora has made furthering work on this topic difficult. This paper addresses this issue by testing four purported statistical tendencies in melodic organization across four substantial samples of culturally diverse music. Three corpora include musical samples of European, Native American, and Chinese folk music. The fourth, a new corpus devised specifically for the purposes of this study, is a corpus of cross-cultural folk music including material from nearly 700 sampled audio recordings collected from 44 distinct cultures. The creation of this corpus involved establishing clear guidelines on how to parse audio materials, how to define a musical “phrase”, and how to transcribe musical information (e.g. pitch and duration). While the primary purpose of this paper is to contribute to the dialogue on corpus creation techniques involving culturally diverse music, results for the testing of all four hypotheses are included. Results are consistent with a number of broad statistical tendencies in musical phrases that are evident above chance levels, and are common across the repertoires sampled. These include the tendency for small over large pitch movements, for large leaps to ascend, for musical phrases to fall in pitch, and for phrases to begin with an initial pitch rise. Limitations of our corpus creation methods and empirical tests are highlighted.
Gender Inequality in Patent Litigation

This article presents an empirical study of gender diversity—or, more precisely, the lack thereof—among the lawyers who handle patent cases in the federal courts, focusing on appellate litigation at the Federal Circuit and the Supreme Court. Drawing on two original datasets, the article finds that, over the past decade, 87.4% of oral arguments in patent appeals at the Federal Circuit have been presented by men. The numbers are similar at the Supreme Court: over the past thirty years, more than 90% of arguments in Supreme Court patent cases have been delivered by male attorneys. The typical explanation for these sorts of gender gaps is that men are disproportionality represented in the science and technology fields that underlie patent practice. But a closer look at the numbers shows that gender parity exists in specific areas of patent litigation. For starters, five of the Federal Circuit’s eleven active judges are women, and those women had more pre-appointment experience in patent law than their male counterparts. In addition, the data collected for this study demonstrate that, when the government becomes involved in patent litigation (usually because a case involves the Patent and Trademark Office), women present oral argument at the Federal Circuit 48.5% of the time—more than five times as frequently as the rate for private-sector litigants. Thus, the story this article tells—of women being largely absent from high-level patent litigation—is actually a story about gender inequality among the lawyers hired by large corporations such as Apple, Amazon, Google, and Samsung, all of which have been represented by women in less than 15% of their Federal Circuit arguments over the past decade. Figuring out why women rarely litigate patent appeals for private-sector clients is challenging, but this study suggests that it stems from persistent inequalities in law firm practice generally. To that end, the article suggests both small steps that would increase gender balance among the lawyers arguing patent cases and broader structural reforms that would improve diversity across the bar.
A sustainable approach to synchronous improvement of wet-stability and toughness of chitosan films

Abstract Wet-stability and toughness of chitosan films were improved synchronously via the establishment of formyl-saccharide intermolecular bonds. Poor wet stability and inferior mechanical properties limit the large-scale application of chitosan films. Previous crosslinkings using saccharide-aldehydes caused concerns such as formaldehyde, weakened mechanical properties, and changed cytocompatibility. Here we developed formaldehyde-free formyl-saccharides via control of oxidation conditions. Mechanical properties of chitosan products could be improved using different structures of formyl-saccharides with minimal amounts. With only 0.5% of sucrose-aldehydes(SU3) and raffinose-aldehydes(RA4), breaking strength and strain of chitosan films increased from 28 to 38 MPa and from 19% to 48%, respectively. Further increase in concentrations of crosslinkers contributed to more improvement of properties of chitosan films. Chitosan films with 2% of sucrose-aldehydes (SU3) had an increase in wet strength from 0 to 14 MPa and almost 100% weight retention in acidic water. Crosslinkages of formyl-saccharides did not change cytocompatibility and color of films.
Video Games: Their Effect on Society and How We Must Modernize Our Pedagogy for Students of the Digital Age

VIDEO GAMES: THEIR EFFECT ON SOCIETY AND HOW WE MUST MODERNIZE OUR PEDAGOGY FOR STUDENTS OF THE DIGITAL AGE By Christopher John Baker, BA A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Major Director: Noreen C. Barnes, Ph.D. Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Theatre This thesis aims to explore how video games have become an extremely beneficial tool in regards to education, art, medicine, psychology, economics, and beyond. Chapter 1 focuses on how ubiquitous video games have become in America, and what makes video games such a uniquely enjoyable experience to warrant such popularity. Chapter 2 explores how video games have become instrumental in various fields. Chapter 3 discusses the role that video games now play in the world of education; specifically how we, as educators, must adapt a modern pedagogy best suited to students who have grown up with video games, which have influenced how they learn. This is the thesis’ primary contention and purpose. Chapter 4 dissects the two most studied controversies which surround video games as a medium: video game violence and video game addiction.
Constitutional Rules and Institutional Roles: Lessons from the Equal Protection Class of One

This Article examines the Supreme Court's recent "class-of-one" equal protection case, Engquist v. Oregon Department of Agriculture, where the Court held that the class-of-one equal protection theory did not apply in the government workplace. The Article concludes that Engquist reflects an implicit balancing of employees' equal protection rights and government's legitimate interests in a flexible workplace and avoidance of litigation, with the Court imposing a categorical rule favoring the government's side of the balance. This Article critiques this categorical balancing. It argues that as a substantive matter such a categorical rule is generally inappropriate where interests of constitutional stature exist on both sides of the balance. However, it is the Engquist Court's method that carries with it the most troubling implications for equal protection and constitutional rights generally. Engquist disregards the sub-constitutional decision rules that lower courts developed to apply the constitutional principle the Court announced when it officially endorsed the class-of-one theory in 2000. Those rules were designed to honor both sides of the balance described above, and drew on trial courts' ability to impose appropriate pleading requirements, sift carefully through facts and thus cull meritless claims at early stages of litigation while allowing potentially meritorious claims to progress. The Court's disregard of the doctrinal rules developed by the lower courts hearkens back to its analogous disregard of congressional factfinding supporting legislation enforcing the Fourteenth Amendment. While the Court's relationship to the lower courts is quite different from its relationship to Congress, the lower courts nevertheless have unique talents useful to the project of applying constitutional principles. Engquist's exclusion of the lower courts from the task of applying Court-announced constitutional principles suggests that the Court will also greet with skepticism future congressional attempts to participate in that project. Indeed, Engquist's method is quite consistent with the most restrictive versions of the modern Court's approach to congressional enforcement legislation. Given that equality claims in the future will likely feature conduct that is subtler and more socially embedded than the more open and obvious unconstitutional conduct of the past, any unwillingness by the Court's to accept Congress as a partner in uncovering and remedying equal protection violations constitutes an ominous portent for advocates of equality. Engquist, while certainly not a conclusive indicator of the Court's likely direction on this issue, gives cause for concern.
On Smell and Scientific Practice

The Secret of Scent . Adventures in Perfume and the Science of Smell. By Luca Turin . Faber and Faber, London, 2006. 217 pp. £12.99. ISBN 0-571-21537-8. Forthcoming from Ecco, New York. ISBN 0-06-113383-3. A biophysicist and perfume critic describes his obsession with olfaction and his controversial theory that we smell primarily by detecting the vibrational frequency of molecules.
Visualization of the Molecular Dynamics of Polymers and Carbon Nanotubes

Research domains that deal with complex molecular systems often employ computer-based thermodynamics simulations to study molecular interactions and investigate phenomena at the nanoscale. Many visual and analytic methods have proven useful for analyzing the results of molecular simulations; however, these methods have not been fully explored in many emerging domains. In this paper we explore visual-analytics methods to supplement existing standard methods for studying the spatial-temporal dynamics of polymer-nanotube interface. Our methods are our first steps towards the overall goal of understanding macroscopic properties of the composites by investigating dynamics and chemical properties of the interface. We discuss a standard computational approach for comparing polymer conformations using numerical measures of similarities and present matrix- and graph-based representations of the similarity relationships for some polymer structures.
Corporate Governance and Firm Diversification

We empirically investigate the relationship between corporate governance structure and diversification. Using a sample of 199 firms beginning in 1985 and following these firms through 1994, we examine 1) if governance structure is significantly different between focused and diversified firms; 2) if differences in corporate governance are associated with the decision to become more focused or diverse; and 3) if the previously documented value loss from diversification is associated with governance structure. We find that, relative to focused firms, diversified firms exhibit higher levels of pay and lower sensitivity of pay to firm performance, have more outsiders on the board, have similar sensitivity of CEO turnover to performance, and no economic difference in independent blockholdings. We find that firms that increase their level of diversification over the sample period have governance and performance characteristics remarkably similar to firms that retain their focus. Firms that decrease their level of diversification, however, have lower insider ownership but more equity-based compensation relative to focused firms. We find no evidence that governance characteristics explain the value loss associated with diversification. We do find, however, that the fraction of outside directors in a diversified firm is positively related to firm value. Collectively, our results suggest that diversified firms use alternative governance mechanisms as substitutes for low pay-for-performance sensitivity and CEO ownership. We conclude that agency costs do not provide a complete explanation for the magnitude and persistence of the diversification discount.
Restrictive eating in anorexia nervosa: Examining maintenance and consequences in the natural environment

Author(s): Fitzsimmons-Craft, Ellen E; Accurso, Erin C; Ciao, Anna C; Crosby, Ross D; Cao, Li; Pisetsky, Emily M; Le Grange, Daniel; Peterson, Carol B; Crow, Scott J; Engel, Scott G; Mitchell, James E; Wonderlich, Stephen A | Abstract: ObjectiveThis study examined negative and positive affect in relation to restrictive eating episodes (i.e., meals/snacks perceived as restrictive) and whether restrictive eating was associated with likelihood of subsequent eating disorder behaviors (i.e., additional restrictive eating, binge eating, vomiting, laxative use, weighing, exercising, meal skipping, drinking fluids to curb appetite, body checking).MethodWomen with anorexia nervosa (N = 118) completed a 2-week ecological momentary assessment protocol.ResultsFor both restrictive and nonrestrictive eating, negative affect significantly increased from prebehavior to the time of the behavior but remained stable thereafter, while positive affect remained stable from prebehavior to the time of the behavior but decreased significantly thereafter. Across time, negative affect was significantly lower and positive affect was significantly greater in restrictive than nonrestrictive episodes. Engagement in restrictive eating was associated with an increased likelihood of subsequent restrictive eating, laxative use, and body checking, but not other behaviors. Engagement in nonrestrictive eating was associated with a decreased likelihood of subsequent restrictive eating, binge eating, vomiting, laxative use, weighing, meal skipping, drinking fluids to curb appetite, and body checking.DiscussionDespite similar patterns of affect across eating episodes over time, results suggest affect may be involved in the maintenance of restrictive eating in anorexia nervosa since restrictive episodes were associated with lower negative and greater positive affect across time compared to nonrestrictive episodes. Further, while restrictive episodes increased the likelihood of only three subsequent eating disorder behaviors, nonrestrictive episodes were protective since they decreased likelihood of all but one behavior.
Adaptive tracking control of manipulators using only position measurements

This paper presents a new approach to trajectory tracking control of uncertain manipulators using only position measurements. The proposed control strategy is an adaptive scheme which is very general and computationally efficient, requires virtually no information regarding the manipulator dynamic model, and is implementable without calculation of the robot inverse dynamics or inverse kinematic transformations. It is shown that the controller ensures semiglobal uniform boundedness of all signals in the presence of bounded disturbances, and that the ultimate size of the tracking errors can be made arbitrarily small.
Variations 10b: a digital realization of cage's variations II

Beginning in the middle of the twentieth century, composers of experimental music developed a number of new notational representations, most often falling under the category of graphical scores. John Cage's Variations II is a prime example, utilizing only dots and lines as its basis. I describe an interactive version of Cage's piece, called here Variations 10b, where a performer can change the score and receive immediate auditory feedback as to the results of the manipulation. This stands in contrast to the process of working through the analog score, where the aural output was not coincident with movement of the dots or lines. I suggest that creating and using digital versions of these early experimental music works radically changes the process of interacting with the pieces.
An examination of the research–practice gap in HR: Comparing topics of interest to HR academics and HR professionals

Abstract Over 4300 articles published in four HR-focused journals over a 20-year period of time were content analyzed according to topic area (indicator of interest area) and journal orientation (HR research versus HR practice). Analyses suggest that there were numerous interest area gaps between HR professionals and academics and that the magnitude of those gaps varied across topic areas. The gap regarding Compensation & Rewards was consistently large, with the interests of professionals far exceeding that of academics for the entire 20 years of analysis (approximately 14% of all articles in the professional journals, versus approximately 2% of all articles published in the academic journals). In contrast, the gap regarding OB & Motivation-related topics was consistently large with more than 16% of all articles in the academic journals on this topic, compared to less than 4% of all articles in the professional journals. These findings, along with suggestions for better understanding and closing the gap, are discussed.
Heat Transfer and Friction Loss Performance of Perforated Heat Exchanger Surfaces

A scale-up modeling technique has been developed to examine the effects of perforation geometry on the heat transfer and friction loss performance of compact heat exchangers having plate-perforated rectangular fin surfaces. The test cores, each consisting of a number of aluminum plates separated by wooden spacers to form parallel flow channels, were tested in a subsonic wind tunnel. The effects of the Reynolds number, plate surface porosity, core frontal porosity, and slot geometry on the heat transfer rate, friction loss, and noise intensity are determined. It is found that under certain circumstances plate perforation will produce significant improvement in heat transfer for the same pressure drop and pumping power. These studies are directed to the design of air-cooled condensers for Rankine cycle automotive engines, marine power propulsion systems, and the dry cooling towers of extra-high capacity electric power plants.
Study of Kinetics and Macroinitiator Efficiency in Surface-Initiated Atom-Transfer Radical Polymerization

Generation of surface-tethered block copolymer brushes with well-defined physicochemical characteristics requires achieving good control over the degree of polymerization of each block of the copolymer. In order to precisely form these block copolymer layers, one must (1) utilize a polymerization scheme that is capable of generating nearly monodisperse polymers, (2) fully characterize the kinetics of surface-initiated polymerization, and (3) produce macroinitiators with living characteristics capable of reinitiating the growth of each subsequent block. In this work, we describe technological steps leading to the controlled growth of surface-tethered homopolymers and multiblock copolymers via surface-initiated atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) from flat substrates. We first report on investigating the ability of a macroinitiator to reinitiate a homopolymer brush. We use computer simulations to illustrate the advantages of an “added deactivator” type ATRP over the traditional “sacrificial initiato...
Challenges in Acute Ischemic Stroke Clinical Trials

There have been only 3 positive Phase III randomized clinical trials in acute ischemic stroke, all reperfusion therapies (NINDS; PROACT II; ECASS III). The only approved acute stroke therapy is <3-hour IV tPA. Although numerous compounds have shown benefit in animal models of brain infarction, there has never been a positive Phase III randomized clinical trial of a neuroprotectant in acute ischemic stroke. There are many challenges to acute stroke clinical trials but chief among these are the very short therapeutic window ("time is brain") and the issue of stroke heterogeneity. Stroke is a syndrome and only a very small percentage of all stroke patients present to hospitals in time to consider reperfusion therapy. Many drugs have been rushed to trial prematurely based on inadequate preclinical testing. Many trials have been seriously underpowered due to overly optimistic treatment expectations and the risk of brain hemorrhage has precluded aggressive multimodal treatment strategies. Rather than simply relying on a clock, new imaging methods are being developed to identify patients with "tissue at risk" and "salvageable brain" regardless of time of stroke onset. The 7 STAIR conferences have been convened to address these and other challenges to acute ischemic stroke trial design and completion.
573: Abnormal second trimester serum analytes are more predictive of earlier and more severe variants of preeclampsia than mild preeclampsia

more predictive of earlier and more severe variants of preeclampsia than mild preeclampsia Richelle Olsen, Douglas Woelkers, Andrew Hull, Yvette LaCoursiere UCSD Medical Center, Department of Reproductive Medicine, San Diego, CA, University of California San Diego, Department of Reproductive Medicine, San Diego, CA OBJECTIVE: To determine the relative association of abnormal second trimester serum analytes with mild versus severe forms of preeclampsia-toxemia (PET) STUDY DESIGN: This is a retrospective cohort study of 7767 subjects undergoing second trimester serum aneuploidy screening from a single institution. Values of maternal serum alpha fetoprotein (AFP), beta hCG (HCG) and inhibin (INH) were independently calculated as gestational age specific multiples of the median (MoM) for each subject. Outcomes evaluated were gestational age at delivery and occurrence and severity of PET. Cases were classified as having preeclampsia with delivery 34 weeks ( 34 PET), preeclampsia with delivery 34 weeks ( 34 PET), or mild and severe preeclampsia (mPET and sPET) by usual clinical criteria (ACOG 1996, 2002). Results were analyzed using Students t-test, chi square and stepwise logistic regression. RESULTS: In this cohort, there were 459 (6.5%) cases of preeclampsia, of whom 65 (14%) delivered prior to 34 weeks and of whom 394 (86%) delivered after 34 weeks. Elevated concentrations of AFP, HCG and INH were significantly associated with the occurrence of any form of PET. For each abnormal analyte 2.0 MoM, the odds ratio was higher for the development of 34 PET (see Table 1). This association remained when comparing mPET and sPET. The higher the MoMs for each analyte the greater the likelihood of PET and the more likely that the PET would be severe. CONCLUSION: Elevated concentrations of AFP, HCG, and INH are more strongly predictive of severe and early variants of preeclampsia than of mild disease at term, and this risk differential increases as the concentration of the analytes rises. This information may help stratify women at higher risk for adverse outcomes who require more vigilant monitoring.
Pregnancy Intentions During the Transition to Parenthood and Links to Coparenting for First-Time Fathers of Infants

SYNOPSIS Objective . The objectives of this study were to identify associations and pathways through which first-time resident fathers' pregnancy intentions (reported retrospectively) influence their later coparenting and to examine whether these associations varied based on the child's gender. Design. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study—Birth Cohort (ECLS-B) 9- and 24-month surveys, we examined a sample of first-time resident biological fathers (N = 1,278). Results. Having a mistimed or unwanted pregnancy is associated with higher levels of paternal depression and with lower mother–father relationship happiness, which in turn are associated with lower coparental supportiveness and higher coparental conflict. There was also a negative association between father's depression and mother–father relationship happiness. No significant differences in associations by gender of child were found. Conclusions. Pregnancy intentions are associated with later coparenting behavior for first-time fath...
Boundary value problems for fourth order differential equations in Hilbert space

This paper is concerned with existence and uniqueness results for fourth order boundary value problems in a Hilbert space. Our approach is based on the Leray-Schauder continuation theorem.
Air Ingress Accident in a High Temperature Reactor with Prismatic Fuel

In this paper, the safety behavior of the new generation high temperature reactors (HTRs) with prismatic fuels during air ingress accident conditions has been investigated. These reactors conceived primarily for the production of hydrogen, are characterized by their inherent safety features with respect to passive decay heat removal through conduction, radiation and natural convection. Air ingress is an HTR specific event. The potential threat posed by air ingress lies in the chemical reaction of oxygen with hot graphite at a temperature above 500 deg. C leading to reaction heat and graphite corrosion. A substantial amount of graphite burn-off can take place only if sufficient amount of air enters into the core. In order to better assess the phenomena of air ingress into the reactor, it is postulated that breaks are present above and below the reactor core and that unobstructed ingress of air through them is possible. It is obvious that the air ingress incident has to be preceded by a depressurization accident. For this hypothetical scenario the maximum possible air flow rate through the core resulting solely from the pressure losses in the core is determined as a function of the break cross sections exposed above and below themore » core. This paper demonstrates the thermal behavior of the ANTARES reactor (operating inlet/outlet temperatures 450/850 deg. C) for various air flow rates with respect to graphite burn-off and maximum temperatures of fuel and bottom reflector region. It indicates the limiting time at which the graphite layer of fuel will be completely burnt-off and the pellets exposed. (authors)« less
An in-the-lens spectrometer for high performance E-beam testing

In-the-lens spectrometers using the properties of an adiabatically decreasing magnetic field have demonstrated superior performance over a number of other detectors, particularly in terms of rejection of errors due to local field effects. Traditionally, however, this has involved placing the sample in a strong magnetic field which can have deleterious effects, particularly on imaging resolution. We present a design of spectrometer which uses adiabatic electron straightening to minimize local field errors but in which the sample is maintained in a region of low magnetic field strength. The design offers all the previous advantages but with imaging capabilities approaching those attainable with a conventional SEM at short working distance.
The cellular specificity of the effect of vasopressin on toad urinary bladder.

Phase and electron micrographs of toad bladders were obtained following dilution of bathing media in the presence and absence of vasopressin. Dilution of the mucosal medium alone resulted in no morphologic changes. Subsequent addition of vasopressin produced an increase in the cell volume of the granular cells, manifested by some or all of the following changes: increased area of granular cell profiles as observed in sections, rounding of the cell nucleus, displacement of the two components of the nuclear envelope, loss of nuclear heterochromatin, sacculation of the endoplasmic reticulum and the Golgi apparatus, and reduction in the electron density of the cell cytoplasm. No such morphologic changes were noted in the other cell types comprising the mucosal epithelium — the mitochondria-rich, the goblet, and the basal cells. On the other hand, dilution of the serosal bathing medium in the absence of vasopressin caused a marked increase in the cell volume of all these cell types. The results demonstrate that the action of vasopressin to enhance bulk water flow across toad bladder is exerted specifically on the apical surface of the granular cells. It is suggested that the hormonal effect on sodium transport may also be limited to the granular cells. The route of osmotic water flow and the possible role of the other mucosal epithelial cells is discussed.
Broadband Infrared (IR) metamaterial absorber

In this work a Metamaterial (MTM) absorber design is introduced that has a very wide absorption characteristics over the midrange Infrared (IR) band, the proposed structure comprised of 4 layers, the extra layer adds a degree of freedom in optimizing the response compared the conventional 3-layered absorbers. The simulations revealed a broadband absorption region that extends from 3µm up to 12µm of light wavelength.
A Qualitative Assessment of Registered Female Sex Offenders Judicial Processing Experiences and Perceived Effects of a Public Registry

In this study, the effect that the sex offender registry has had on female sex offenders in two states is explored. In-depth personal interviews were conducted with nine registered female sex offenders from Illinois and Texas. Questions were asked about the arrest that led to registration and the effect that sex offender registration statutes have had on their lives. Braithwaite's crime, shame, and reintegration theory was relied on to assess the extent to which the processes described in his theory occurred in this sample. The focus of many of the questions included whether the women were able to reintegrate into their communities or if they were stigmatized. It was found that every respondent reported at least one negative effect on her life as a result of being identified on the public registry. Also, many of the stigmatization processes described by Braithwaite were applicable to the interviewed women.
Immunization of rabbits with type II pneumococcal polysaccharide.

Summary1. Type II pneumococcal polysaccharide was found to be antigenic in rabbits. 2. Rabbits injected intradermally or intravenously with minute amounts of type II pneumococcal polysaccharide developed an active resistance to intradermal infection with type II pneumococcus. 3. The pooled serum of rabbits injected intradermally with the polysaccharide protected mice against 10,000 LD of pneumococcus type II, but not against pneumococcus type I. 4. The pooled serum of rabbits injected intravenously with the polysaccharide protected mice against almost 10,000 LD of pneumococcus type II. 5. It is suggested that previous failure to immunize rabbits with type-specific polysaccharides may be attributed to the use of excess polysaccharide resulting in “immunological paralysis.” 6. The evidence shows that the mouse-protective antibody is the specific antipolysaccharide which occurs in amounts too small to be detected by quantitative precipitin technics. 7. An attempt to demonstrate univalency of the type-specifi...
Making decisions based on the preferences of multiple agents

People often have to reach a joint decision even though they have conflicting preferences over the alternatives. Examples range from the mundane—such as allocating chores among the members of a household—to the sublime—such as electing a government and thereby charting the course for a country. The joint decision can be reached by an informal negotiating process or by a carefully specified protocol. Philosophers, mathematicians, political scientists, economists, and others have studied the merits of various protocols for centuries. More recently, especially over the course of the past decade or so, computer scientists have also become deeply involved in this study. The perhaps surprising arrival of computer scientists on this scene is due to a variety of reasons, including the following.
STUDIES OF THE SMALLER BORON HYDRIDES AND THEIR DERIVATIVES

Abstract A survey of systematic studies of the smaller boron hydrides is presented. Relative Bronsted acidities have been determined and the Lewis base properties of anions derived by removing a bridge proton have been investigated. Addition of BH 3 to these anions results in expanded borane anion structures. These expanded structures can be converted on a large scale to B 5 H ll, B 6 H 10 , and B 6 H 12 in high yield. Principles are described for preparing certain specifically methyl substituted derivatives of the smaller boron hydrides and boron hydride anions. The nature of the basic boron-boron site in B 6 H 10 and in boron hydride anions is discussed with respect to fluxional properties and the formation of selected metalloboranes. The structures and properties of some bis-ligand adducts of B 5 H 9 and B 6 H 10 (B 5 H 9 L 2 and B 6 H 10 L 2 ) and their relationships to the hypho class of cluster systems is discussed.
Myotendinous Junction Defects and Reduced Force Transmission in Mice that Lack α7 Integrin and Utrophin

The α7β1 integrin, dystrophin, and utrophin glycoprotein complexes are the major laminin receptors in skeletal muscle. Loss of dystrophin causes Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a lethal muscle wasting disease. Duchenne muscular dystrophy-affected muscle exhibits increased expression of α7β1 integrin and utrophin, which suggests that these laminin binding complexes may act as surrogates in the absence of dystrophin. Indeed, mice that lack dystrophin and α7 integrin (mdx/α7−/−), or dystrophin and utrophin (mdx/utr−/−), exhibit severe muscle pathology and die prematurely. To explore the contribution of the α7β1 integrin and utrophin to muscle integrity and function, we generated mice lacking both α7 integrin and utrophin. Surprisingly, mice that lack both α7 integrin and utrophin (α7/utr−/−) were viable and fertile. However, these mice had partial embryonic lethality and mild muscle pathology, similar to α7 integrin-deficient mice. Dystrophin levels were increased 1.4-fold in α7/utr−/− skeletal muscle and were enriched at neuromuscular junctions. Ultrastructural analysis revealed abnormal myotendinous junctions, and functional tests showed a ninefold reduction in endurance and 1.6-fold decrease in muscle strength in these mice. The α7/utr−/− mouse, therefore, demonstrates the critical roles of α7 integrin and utrophin in maintaining myotendinous junction structure and enabling force transmission during muscle contraction. Together, these results indicate that the α7β1 integrin, dystrophin, and utrophin complexes act in a concerted manner to maintain the structural and functional integrity of skeletal muscle.
Inositol polyphosphate receptor and clathrin assembly protein AP-2 are related proteins that form potassium-selective ion channels in planar lipid bilayers.

We have previously described an inositol polyphosphate receptor (IPxRec), purified from detergent-solubilized bovine cerebellum microsomes, that displays potassium ion channel activity in planar lipid bilayers. We now find that the IPxRec is closely related to clathrin assembly protein AP-2. The IPxRec and AP-2 purified from bovine brain clathrin-coated vesicles share several structural and functional features: (i) similar subunit composition; each has four major polypeptides that have similar mobility (Mr values of 111,000, 100,000, 50,000, and 17,000) and relative intensity by SDS/PAGE analysis; (ii) similar size as studied by molecular sieve chromatography (Mr 400,000); (iii) identical N-terminal amino acid sequences for the Mr 50,000 subunits and Mr 111,000/100,000 doublets; (iv) immunoreactivity of the AP-2 Mr 111,000/100,000 doublet to polyclonal antibodies affinity purified against the doublet proteins of the IPxRec; (v) display of the in vitro diagnostic feature of assembly proteins--i.e., they induce the assembly of clathrin cages; and (vi) ion channel activity selective for potassium ions with the same unitary conductance when incorporated into planar lipid bilayers. One difference was found. AP-2 channels were not blocked by inositol 1,3,4,5-tetraphosphate as reported for IPx receptor channels. These studies suggest a possible connection between the IPx signaling pathways and receptor-mediated endocytosis.
Cosimo Bartoli on music

To students of sixteenth-century music the Florentine man of letters Cosimo Bartoli (1503–72) is known chiefly for two statements made in the third dialogue of his Ragionamenti Accademici. One is a comparison of sculptors and musicians, with Donatello and Ockeghem seen as precursors of Michelangelo and Josquin. The other is an encomium of Verdelot, called the greatest composer after Josquin, to which is added the name of Arcadelt who ‘faithfully trod in the footsteps of Verdelot’. A number of musicologists have noticed that Bartoli had quite a lot more than this to say about music, and have cited other remarks from his work; but no one has to my knowledge dealt with the whole of the musical section of the Ragionamenti, and only Bartoli's recent and very excellent biographer Judith Bryce has spoken of the subject in the context of its author's career and personality.
Reorientation of Impurity-Fluoride Interstitial Complexes in Rare-Earth-Doped Ca F 2

Measurements of dipole relaxation by the method of ionic thermocurrents have been made on Ca${\mathrm{F}}_{2}$: ${\mathrm{Gd}}^{3+}$ and peaks at 140 and 60.5 K have been observed. Analysis yields reorientation energies and ${\ensuremath{\tau}}_{0}'\mathrm{s}$ of 0.395 eV and 1.2 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}$ sec for the upper peak and 0.167 eV and 2 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}$ sec for the lower peak, respectively. Opportunity is taken to correct the previously reported parameters for the low-temperature peak in Ca${\mathrm{F}}_{2}$: ${\mathrm{Er}}^{3+}$. The correct values are 0.147 eV and 3 \ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{} ${10}^{\ensuremath{-}13}$ sec.
Differences in extreme low salinity timing and duration differentially affect eastern oyster (Crassostrea virginica) size class growth and mortality in Breton Sound, LA

Abstract Understanding how different life history stages are impacted by extreme or stochastic environmental variation is critical for predicting and modeling organism population dynamics. This project examined recruitment, growth, and mortality of seed (25–75 mm) and market (>75 mm) sized oysters along a salinity gradient over two years in Breton Sound, LA. In April 2010, management responses to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill resulted in extreme low salinity ( 25 °C) significantly and negatively impacted oyster recruitment, survival and growth in 2010, while low salinity ( Perkinsus marinus infection prevalence remained low throughout the year at all sites and almost all infection intensities were light. Oyster plasma osmolality failed to match surrounding low salinity waters in 2010, while oysters appeared to osmoconform throughout 2011 indicating that the high mortality in 2010 may be due to extended valve closing and resulting starvation or asphyxiation in response to the combination of low salinity during high temperatures (>25 °C). With increasing management of our freshwater inputs to estuaries combined with predicted climate changes, how extreme events affect different life history stages is key to understanding variation in population demographics of commercially important species and predicting future populations.
Statistical study of Pc1–2 wave propagation characteristics in the high‐latitude ionospheric waveguide

[1] Propagation of ULF Pc1–2 geomagnetic pulsations in the ionospheric waveguide (duct), centered around the F2 region altitude of maximum ionospheric electron density, is studied using the data obtained from a ground array of five search coil magnetometers in Antarctica distributed over a very extensive range of geomagnetic latitudes from subauroral to polar cap (−62° to −87°, spanning 2920 km geographically). A statistical study including a total of 138 Pc1–2 wave ducting events in 2007 presents wave power attenuation factors that vary between ∼10 and 14 dB/1000 km and the change of polarization during the wave propagation under different ionospheric sunlight conditions. It is also shown that the frequency cutoff of the wave events in the waveguide is dependent on the ionospheric conductivity, and the wave power attenuation increases with increasing frequency. In addition, it appears that initial propagation direction is related to attenuation, which supports the idea that meridional propagation is most efficient as predicted in previous studies. The results show the observations of ducted waves over such an unprecedented latitudinal extent along a magnetic meridian, which have rarely been measured before, and thus provide very important information in regard to wave ducting under various ionospheric conditions.
Abdominal Fat in Broiler Breeders

Abstract Forty sires and forty dams from a female selection and a control broiler line were slaughtered at 47 weeks of age. Males had a mean of .17% abdominal fat and females 3.32% with 37.5% of the males having little or no fat.