cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Policy Research: Lessons from the Field

Nursing's involvement in policy development has become a standard and expected part of nursing practice. One avenue of involvement, policy research, is clarified through description and case example. Policy research is described as context-driven, multimethodological, and time-sensitive. Considering these essential characteristics when planning and implementing policy research enhances nursing's ability to positively influence the policy process. A case example of policy research from the criminal justice system evaluated the effectiveness of a diversion program with alcohol and marijuana misdemeanants (N = 1,239). The purposes of the study were to describe the percentage of diversion participants with alcohol or marijuana-possession charges who were successful in completing the diversion program and to examine the incidence of subsequent arrests on alcohol or marijuana-possession charges among those who successfully completed the program. The case example demonstrates the intricate and unique relationship between research and the policy arena. Policy research can equip nursing to enter policy debates with data and to participate as a persuasive agent of social change.
PRECISION DETERMINATION OF THE K-SHELL FLUORESCENCE YIELD OF GALLIUM.

Abstract A large, wall-less multiwire proportional counter containing a gaseous source of 71 GeH 4 has been used in a precision determination of the K-shell fluorescence yield of gallium. Runs were performed with various pressures (0.3–6 atm) of pure propane and of argon-propane mixtures. Extensive evaluation was made of the detector efficiencies for K-Auger electrons and K X-rays following K-capture events in 71 Ge. The value found is ω k = 0.528 ± 0.006. Critical comparison with previous, measurements of ω k for gallium shows that methods involving solid sources of 71 Ge are subject to large systematic errors.
Listen and learn: An investigation of sonification as an instructional variable to improve understanding of complex environments

Sonification, the use of non-speech audio to convey information, was used to test whether the simultaneous presentation of visual and artificially created auditory (sound) information significantly improves scores on comprehension tests of complex, dynamic computer simulations of an ecology microworld over scores from college participants who were presented visual information alone. Brief training was provided and all tasks were completed online. Participants were also tested for musical aptitude and preferred learning modality. Results indicate that while age and grade point average significantly predicted score on the comprehension test, the treatment tested here did not. For one-month retention of knowledge, only grade point average was significant. Nevertheless, the experimental methodology and the demonstrated convenience of online data collection are a contribution to the field. Moreover, the size of several positive effects and the identification of opportunities for improvement in the presentation of information invite a follow-up study.
Clinical utility and approaches for estimating insulin sensitivity in pregnancy.

Insulin sensitivity as estimated by using the hyperinsulinemic-euglycemic clamp during pregnancy has been related to maternal energy expenditure, fat accretion and fetal growth. To determine whether less time consuming and invasive methods could be employed, we examined whether selected indices of insulin sensitivity derived from an oral glucose tolerance test (IS(OGTT)) or fasting glucose/insulin levels (IS(QUICKI) and IS(HOMA)) can be used to predict insulin sensitivity in women before and during pregnancy. A 2-h euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp (5 mol/L glucose, 40 mU x m(-2) x min (-1) insulin), and 120 min OGTT (75 g load pregravid, 100 g pregnant), was repeated on 15 women [10 with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) and 5 with gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM)], pregravid, and during both early (12-14 weeks) and late (34-36 weeks) pregnancy. An index of insulin sensitivity derived from the clamp (IS(CLAMP)) was obtained from glucose infusion rates adjusted for change in fat free mass and endogenous glucose production measured using [6,6(-2)H2]-glucose. Univariate analysis with combined groups and periods of pregnancy resulted in significant correlations between IS(CLAP) and IS(OGTT), (r2 = .74, P < .0001), IS(QUICKI) (r2 = .64, P < .0001), and IS(HOMA) (r2 = .53, P < .0001). The IS(OGTT) provided a significantly better correlation (P < .0001) than either IS(QUICKI') or IS(HOMA). Multivariate analysis revealed a significant group effect (P < .0003) on the prediction model, and separate equations were developed for the NGT (r2 = .64, P < .0001) and GDM (r2 = .85, P < .0001) groups. When subdivided by period of pregnancy the correlation between IS(CLAMP) and IS(OGTT) pregravid was r = .63, P = .0002, during early pregnancy; r2 = .80, P < .0001 and during late pregnancy; r2 = .64, P = .0002. The IS(OGTT) provides an excellent means of estimating maternal insulin sensitivity during pregnancy. The information obtained from the IS(OGTT) will be useful in making clinical decisions on maternal care and facilitating optimal pregnancy outcome.
Courses in science writing as literature

The best nonfiction science books and articles demonstrate that accurate science can be presented to the public so that it is understandable, yet as gripping as fine fiction. Some of these works serve as examples for students taking science-writing workshops. However, programs in science writing, journalism, English, the sciences, and medicine may benefit from offering a course that explores science writing as literature. Nonfiction books published each year outnumber fiction books by more than six to one, yet relatively few nonfiction literature courses exist, and science-writing-as-literature courses are rare, although popular with students. Courses in science writing as literature are known to have been taught at six universities. Courses have varied in emphasis (biology, medicine, general) and approach (one compared scientists and nonscientists as science writers). This report surveys the readings and features of existing courses.
Initial oxidative and subsequent conjugative metabolites produced during the metabolism of phenanthrene by fungi.

Three filamentous fungi were examined for the ability to biotransform phenanthrene to oxidative (phase I) and conjugative (phase II) metabolites. Phenanthrene metabolites were purified by high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) and identified by UV/visible absorption, mass, and1H NMR spectra.Aspergillus niger ATCC 6275,Syncephalastrum racemosum UT-70, andCunninghamella elegans ATCC 9245 initially transformed [9-14C]phenanthrene to produce metabolites at the 9,10-, 1,2-, and 3,4- positions. Subsequently, sulfate conjugates of phase I metabolites were formed byA. niger, S. racemosum, andC. elegans. Minor glucuronide conjugates of 9-phenanthrol and phenanthrenetrans-9,10-dihydrodiol were formed byS. racemosum andA. niger, respectively. In addition,C. elegans produced the glucose conjugates 1-phenanthryl β-d-glucopyranoside and 2-hydroxy-1-phenanthryl β-d-glucopyranoside, a novel metabolite. [9-14C]Phenanthrene metabolites were not detected in organic extracts from biotransformation experiments with the yeasts,Candida lipolytica 37-1,Candida tropicalis ATCC 32113, andCandida maltosa R-42.
Quantum critical behaviour in the superfluid density of strongly underdoped ultrathin copper oxide films

A central challenge in the physics of high-temperature superconductors is to understand superconductivity within a single copper oxide layer or bilayer, the fundamental structural unit, and how superconductivity is lost with underdoping of charge carriers. A seminal property of crystals and thick films1,2,3,4 is that when mobile holes are removed from optimally doped CuO2 planes, the transition temperature, Tc, and superfluid density, ns(0), decrease in a surprisingly correlated fashion. We elucidate the essential physics of strongly underdoped bilayers by studying two-dimensional (2D) samples near the critical doping level where superconductivity disappears. We report measurements of ns(T) in films of Y1−xCaxBa2Cu3O7−δ as thin as two copper oxide bilayers with Tc values as low as 3 K. In addition to seeing the 2D Kosterlitz–Thouless–Berezinski transition5,6 at Tc, we observe a remarkable scaling of Tc with ns(0), which indicates that the disappearance of superconductivity with underdoping is due to quantum fluctuations near a 2D quantum critical point.
Convexity of the H function: Preliminary results for isotropic distribution functions

Abstract We consider a model Boltzmann equation and show that the H function is convex. The model, originated by Boltzmann, has advantages over other models; it more closely caricaturizes Boltzmann's equation, and in a particular limit it reduces to Boltzmann's equation.
Wi-Fi--The Nimble Musician in Your Laptop

It turns out that modern Wi-Fi radios are nimble musicians too, except that they generate radio waves rather than audio waves, and they are much, much faster. The integration of computer engineering and wireless technology, Wi-Fi gives every laptop its own "nimble musician" to send and receive data. A Wi-Fi radio applies computer science to the task by mathematically computing what the waveform would look like if we had actually built all those precision oscillators. The computer technology is known as digital signal processing, and the computation algorithm is known as the fast Fourier transform
Safety assessment of a nematode-resistant tomato by a simple, short-term rat feeding study

Abstract A simple, 11-week, weanling rat feeding period was used to determine general safety of a nematode-resistant tomato cultivar. Comparison of growth, mean blood hemoglobin, hematocrit, red blood cell count, and total white blood cell count of Fisher rats fed a complete diet containing 40% “VFN 8” tomato (nematode-resistant) cultivar to two other groups of rats, fed either a “New Yorker” tomato (nematode-susceptible) or a control diet, showed normal and similar results. Although the expressed product of the Mi gene necessary for nematode resistance is unknown, this short, comparative study of a whole plant food shows no unexpected toxicants influencing animal growth and hematology. However, human exposure of this resistant tomato would be needed to definitely determine consumer safety regarding allergenicity and hypersensitivity.
A nonlinear visco-elastic constitutive model for large rotation finite element formulations

Although all known materials have internal damping that leads to energy dissipation, most existing large deformation visco-elastic finite element formulations are based on linear constitutive models or on nonlinear constitutive models that can be used in the framework of an incremental co-rotational finite element solution procedure. In this investigation, a new nonlinear objective visco-elastic constitutive model that can be implemented in non-incremental large rotation and large deformation finite element formulations is developed. This new model is based on developing a simple linear relationship between the damping forces and the rates of deformation vector gradients. The deformation vector gradients can be defined using the decomposition of the matrix of position vector gradients. In this paper, the decomposition associated with the use of the tangent frame that is equivalent to the QR decomposition is employed to define the matrix of deformation gradients that enter into the formulation of the viso-elastic constitutive model developed in this investigation. Using the relationship between the deformation gradients and the components of the Green–Lagrange strain tensor, it is shown that the damping forces depend nonlinearly on the strains and linearly on the classical strain rates. The relationship between the damping forces and strains and their rates is used to develop a new visco-elastic model that satisfies the objectivity requirements and leads to zero strain rates under an arbitrary rigid body displacement. The linear visco-elastic Kelvin–Voigt model frequently used in the literature can be obtained as a special case of the proposed nonlinear model when only two visco-elastic coefficients are used. As demonstrated in this paper, the use of two visco-elastic coefficients only leads to viscous coupling between the deformation gradients. The model developed in this investigation can be used in the framework of large deformation and large rotation non-incremental solution procedure without the need for using existing co-rotational finite element formulations. The finite element absolute nodal coordinate formulation (ANCF) that allows for straightforward implementation of general constitutive material models is used in the validation of the proposed visco-elastic model. A comparison with the linear visco-elastic model is also made in this study. The results obtained in this investigation show that there is a good agreement between the solutions obtained using the proposed nonlinear model and the linear model in the case of small deformations.
Ultra - Fast Convolution Approximations for Computerized Tomography

The amount of computation required to convolve projection data with a filter array may be reduced by implementing the required multiplications with reduced precision or by approximating the filter with a function which is piecewise constant over intervals several times longer than the projection sampling increment. We investigate an extreme form of the above approximations, for which multiplication by any filter element (except the central one) requires only a simple binary shift. Using this approximation, a projection of M samples may be filtered in an extremely straightforward manner using only M full-precision multiplications, representing a significant advantage over convolution implementations using Fourier or number-theoretic transforms. Simulations are presented which show that in most cases only an insignificant amount of error in the reconstructed image results from the use of this form of convolution approximation.
Radical ion probes. 11. Reaction of 1,1-dimethyl-5,7-di-t-butylspiro[2.5]octa-4,7-dien-6-one with 5-hexenyl magnesium bromide

Abstract In an ongoing effort to establish 1,1-dimethyl-5,7-di- t -butylspiro[2.5]octa-4,7-dien-6-one ( 1 ) as a mechanistic probe for the detection of single electron transfer (SET), the reaction of 1 with 5-hexenyl magnesium bromide was examined in the hopes of observing cyclization of any intermediate 5-hexenyl radicals to cyclopentylcarbinyl radicals. A polar process dominated the reaction, but in the less prevalent SET process, the 5-hexenyl → cyclopentylcarbinyl rearrangement was extensive, indicative of freely diffusing paramagnetic intermediates.
Wireless sensor networks: leveraging the virtual infrastructure

Overlaying a virtual infrastructure over a physical network is a time-honored strategy for conquering scale. We design a general-purpose virtual architecture for wireless sensor networks and show that it can be leveraged by a number of different protocols.
Soluble human complement receptor type 1 inhibits complement-mediated host defense.

Abstract Soluble complement receptor type 1 (sCR1) is a powerful inhibitor of complement activation. Because of this ability, sCR1 may prove to be an important therapeutic agent that can be used to block the immunopathologic effects of uncontrolled complement activation in a variety of clinically significant disorders. Although several previous studies have examined the ability of sCR1 to inhibit complemented-mediated immunopathologic damage, there is no information on its ability to interfere with the host's defense against infection. In the current experiments sCR1 exerted a concentration-dependent inhibitory effect on the phagocytosis of Streptococcus pneumoniae by human polymorphonuclear leukocytes in vitro. Not only di sCR1 inhibit complement-dependent opsonization of the pneumococcus but at higher concentrations it also inhibited the ingestion of bacteria which had been previously opsonized. Furthermore, when rats were injected with sCR1, it inhibited both their serum hemolytic activity and serum opsonic activity in a dose-dependent fashion. Finally, for rats treated with sCR1, the 50% lethal dose was S. pneumoniae and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. These data demonstrate that sCR1 significantly inhibits complement-mediated host against bacterial infection.
Nonadditive Expression of Homoeologous Genes Is Established upon Polyploidization in Hexaploid Wheat

Effects of polyploidy in allohexaploid wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) have primarily been ascribed to increases in coding sequence variation and potential to acquire new gene functions through mutation of redundant loci. However, regulatory variation that arises through new promoter and transcription factor combinations or epigenetic events may also contribute to the effects of polyploidization. In this study, gene expression was characterized in a synthetic T. aestivum line and the T. turgidum and Aegilops tauschii parents to establish a timeline for such regulatory changes and estimate the frequency of nonadditive expression of homoeologous transcripts in newly formed T. aestivum. Large-scale analysis of nonadditive gene expression was assayed by microarray expression experiments, where synthetic T. aestivum gene expression was compared to additive model values (mid-parent) calculated from parental T. turgidum and Ae. tauschii expression levels. Approximately 16% of genes were estimated to display nonadditive expression in synthetic T. aestivum. A certain fraction of the genes (2.9%) showed overdominance or underdominance. cDNA–single strand conformation polymorphism analysis was applied to measure expression of homoeologous transcripts and further verify microarray data. The results demonstrate that allopolyploidization, per se, results in rapid initiation of differential expression of homoeologous loci and nonadditive gene expression in T. aestivum.
The role of doping profile on power gain of SiGe HBTs under constant Ge strain

The power gain characteristics of SiGe HBTs with constant total Ge strain in the base region, but different doping profiles, are studied. It is found that the doping profile is the dominant factor in determining f/sub max/ and high-frequency power gain, while Ge profile only plays an insignificant role. In addition, CE and CB configurations show distinct characteristics of power gain sensitivity on base doping profiles and DC bias.
Evidence of Evolutionary Conservation of Function between the Thyroxine Transporter Oatp1c1 and Major Facilitator Superfamily Members

Organic anion transporting polypeptide 1c1 (Oatp1c1) is a high-affinity T(4) transporter expressed in brain barrier cells. To identify Oatp1c1 amino acid residues critical for T(4) transport, consensus membrane topology was predicted and a three-dimensional Oatp1c1 structure was generated using the known structures of major facilitator superfamily (MFS) transporters, glycerol 3-phosphate transporter, lactose permease, and the multidrug transporter Escherichia coli multidrug resistance protein D as templates. A total of nine amino acid mutations were generated based on amino acid conservation, localization to putative transmembrane domains, and side chain functionality. Mutant constructs were transiently transfected into human embryonic kidney 293 cells and assessed for plasma membrane localization and the capacity to transport substrate (125)I-T(4). Wild-type Oatp1c1, R601S, P609A, W277A/W278A, W277F/W278F, G399A/G409A, and G399L/G409L were all expressed at the plasma membrane. Wild-type Oatp1c1 and W277F/W278F displayed biphasic T(4) transport kinetics, albeit the mutant did so with an approximately 10-fold increase in high-affinity Michaelis constant. The W277A/W278A mutation abolished Oatp1c1 T(4) transport. G399A/G409A and G399V/G409V mutants displayed near wild-type activity in an uptake screen but exhibited diminished T(4) transport activity at high-substrate concentrations, suggesting a substrate binding site collapse or inability to convert between input and output states. Finally, transmembrane domain 11 mutants R601S and P609A displayed partial T(4) transport activity with significantly reduced maximum velocities and higher Michaelis constant. Arg601 is functionally strongly conserved with members of the MFS whose structures and function have been extensively studied. These data provide the experimental foundation for mapping Oatp1c1 substrate binding sites and reveal evolutionary conservation with bacterial MFS transporter members.
Incumbent and Entrant Rivalry in a Deregulated Industry

This paper examines how two general cohorts of firms, entrants and incumbents, differ in their competitive intensity following price and entry deregulation in the trucking industry from 1980 to 1993. The results demonstrate that the competitive strength associated with entrants' experience is reduced as they grow. However, organizational size dampens the positive effect of competitive experience on the exit rate more slowly for incumbents that were large at deregulation than it does for entrants. The results suggest that two types of firms exert the strongest pressure on rivals: entrants that gain experience but remain small under deregulation, and incumbents that are large but had limited prederegulation experience.
Testing each hypothesis marginally at alpha while still controlling FWER: how and when.

This paper proposes a multiple testing procedure that allows one to reject each individual hypothesis at a prespecified level α, while still controlling the familywise error rate at α in the strong sense. Typically, rejecting a hypothesis when its marginal p-value is ⩽α in a multiple hypothesis testing setting will lead to an inflation of familywise error rate. However, this inflation can be avoided if a particular consistency criterion is prespecified and incorporated in the testing algorithm. The criterion is equivalent to requiring that all p-values be smaller than or equal to a particular threshold in the one-sided hypothesis testing setting. Extensions to the two-sided hypothesis testing setting and extensions to situations where the criterion can be chosen per user's preference are also presented. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Retrovirus-Specific Differences in Matrix and Nucleocapsid Protein-Nucleic Acid Interactions: Implications for Genomic RNA Packaging

Retroviral RNA encapsidation involves a recognition event between genomic RNA (gRNA) and one or more domains in Gag. In HIV-1, the nucleocapsid (NC) domain is involved in gRNA packaging, and displays robust nucleic acid (NA) binding and chaperone functions. By comparison, human T-cell leukemia virus type 1 (HTLV-1) NC, a deltaretrovirus, displays weaker NA binding and chaperone activity. Mutation of conserved charged residues in the deltaretrovirus bovine leukemia virus (BLV) matrix (MA) and NC domains affects virus replication and gRNA packaging efficiency. Based on these observations, we hypothesized that the MA domain may generally contribute to NA binding and genome encapsidation in deltaretroviruses. Here, we examined the interaction between HTLV-2 and HIV-1 MA proteins and various NAs in vitro . HTLV-2 MA displays higher NA binding affinity and better chaperone activity than HIV-1 MA. HTLV-2 MA also binds NAs with higher affinity than HTLV-2 NC, and displays more robust chaperone function. Mutation of two basic residues in HTLV-2 MA α-helix II, previously implicated in BLV gRNA packaging, reduces NA binding affinity. HTLV-2 MA binds with higher affinity and specificity to RNA derived from the putative packaging signal of HTLV-2 relative to nonspecific NA. Furthermore, an HIV-1 MA triple mutant designed to mimic the basic character of HTLV-2 MA α-helix II, dramatically improves binding affinity and chaperone activity of HIV-1 MA in vitro and restores RNA packaging to a ΔNC HIV-1 variant in cell-based assays. Taken together, these results are consistent with a role for deltaretrovirus MA proteins in viral RNA packaging.
Higher-order unfolding of satellite heterochromatin is a consistent and early event in cell senescence

Epigenetic changes to chromatin are thought to be essential to cell senescence, which is key to tumorigenesis and aging. Although many studies focus on heterochromatin gain, this work demonstrates large-scale unraveling of peri/centromeric satellites, which occurs in all models of human and mouse senescence examined. This was not seen in cancer cells, except in a benign senescent tumor in vivo. Senescence-associated distension of satellites (SADS) occurs earlier and more consistently than heterochromatin foci formation, and SADS is not exclusive to either the p16 or p21 pathways. Because Hutchinson Guilford progeria syndrome patient cells do not form excess heterochromatin, the question remained whether or not proliferative arrest in this aging syndrome involved distinct epigenetic mechanisms. Here, we show that SADS provides a unifying event in both progeria and normal senescence. Additionally, SADS represents a novel, cytological-scale unfolding of chromatin, which is not concomitant with change to several canonical histone marks nor a result of DNA hypomethylation. Rather, SADS is likely mediated by changes to higher-order nuclear structural proteins, such as LaminB1.
Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Why and When?

This Article and a related article, Pursuing a Tax LLM Degree: Where?, provide information and advice about Tax LLM programs to American law students and JD graduates who are thinking about pursuing a Tax LLM degree. This Article (1) discusses the costs and benefits of pursuing a Tax LLM degree, (2) explains the circumstances in which prospective Tax LLM students may be able to expand their employment options by pursuing a Tax LLM degree, and (3) compiles information and advice that tax law professors typically provide to prospective Tax LLM students in individual counseling sessions. This information includes a primer on tax practice employment opportunities, which vary based on (1) the nature of the work (i.e., transactional work or controversy work) (2) the type of tax subspecialty that is the focus of the tax practice and (3) the type of tax practice employer. The primer includes descriptions of various tax subspecialty areas, including business tax, international tax, estate planning, employee benefits, tax-exempt organizations, and tax controversies. This Article also offers advice to prospective Tax LLM students who are searching for tax positions with various types of employers, including (1) law firms (large, elite law firms, medium-size law firms, or smaller law firms), (2) accounting firms (Big Four accounting firms or smaller accounting firms), (3) the IRS, Treasury Department, or Department of Justice, (4) state taxing authorities, (5) corporations or other organizations, or (6) the U.S. Tax Court. For prospective Tax LLM students who hope to become full-time law professors, this Article also discusses the value of a Tax LLM degree in making the transition from tax practice to academia. In addition, this Article provides information regarding aspects of Tax LLM programs about which prospective Tax LLM students frequently inquire and addresses some common misconceptions about Tax LLM programs.
Modality and offering effects in sales presentations for a good versus a service

More businesses than ever are using telemarketing as a complement to or substitute for face-to-face selling. More businesses than ever are also selling services in lieu of selling goods. Yet, despite these trends, no empirical research has documented the relative effectiveness of telesales versus face-to-face presentations for selling goods versus services. The author begins to fill this void in the literature by presenting an initial investigation into the effects of modality (telesales vs. face-to-face presentation) and offering (a service vs. a good) on consumer recall, attitudes, and behavioral intentions. The findings reveal that recall is higher in a face-to-face presentation, attitudes and behavioral intentions are more positive following a telesales presentation for a service, and attitudes and behavioral intentions for a good are unaffected by the nature of the sales presentation. Implications of the findings for research, business practice, and future study are discussed.
PREVALENCE OF THE TARSAL TUNNEL SYNDROME IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS

Forty-eight patients with definite of classical rheumatoid arthritis (RA) were studied for the presence of tarsal tunnel syndrome (TTS). Nerve conduction velocities and distal latencies were determined in a constant temperature room and the findings compared with a group of 35 normal, age-matched subjects. After excluding four patients with peripheral neuropathy, a definite delay in the distal motor latency of the tibial nerve was documented in 11 subjects (25%). Two of the 11 had foot symptoms suggestive of TTS. These 11 patients with prolonged distal motor latencies did not otherwise differ from RA patients without TTS in terms of disease duration or severity, treatment, or the presence of foot deformity. Thus, compressive neuropathy of the branches of the posterior tibial nerve is a relatively frequent finding in patients with definite or classical RA.
Silver doped YBCO coated conductor development by sol-gel process

The nonfluorinated YBa/sub 2/Cu/sub 3/O/sub 7-x/ (YBCO) coated conductors with 1-3 wt%Ag have been fabricated by sol-gel process. Ag doped YBCO films were fabricated on CeO/sub 2//YSZ/CeO/sub 2/ buffer layered Ni tapes by continuous sol-gel dip coating process. Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis were used to characterize the YBCO coated conductor. The superconducting properties (T/sub c/ and J/sub c/) of Ag doped YBCO coated conductors were found to be higher than those of the un-doped conductors. The Ag doped YBCO has a T/sub c,zero/ of 88 K and J/sub c/ of 1.0/spl times/10/sup 5/ A/cm/sup 2/.
Trends in American Jewish Attachment to Israel: An Assessment of the “Distancing” Hypothesis

In recent years, social scientists have claimed that American Jews, in particular in the younger generation, have grown more distant from Israel. This paper draws on evidence from national surveys conducted over two decades to assess the “distancing hypothesis.” The survey data suggest that emotional attachment to Israel has varied within a narrow band, with no consistent pattern of increase or decrease. Predictions of distancing appear to be incorrect and several factors which were presumed to underlie distancing are examined: generational turnover, intermarriage and political alienation. These factors appear to have only small impact on the overall level of American Jewish attachment to Israel. An alternative narrative is suggested and the implications for the future relationship of American Jews to Israel are discussed.
Remotely sensed forest cover loss shows high spatial and temporal variation across Sumatera and Kalimantan, Indonesia 2000-2008

The Indonesian islands of Sumatera and Kalimantan (the Indonesian part of the island of Borneo) are a center of significant and rapid forest cover loss in the humid tropics with implications for carbon dynamics, biodiversity conservation, and local livelihoods. The aim of our research was to analyze and interpret annual trends of forest cover loss for different sub-regions of the study area. We mapped forest cover loss for 2000?2008 using multi-resolution remote sensing data from the Landsat enhanced thematic mapper plus (ETM +) and moderate resolution imaging spectroradiometer (MODIS) sensors and analyzed annual trends per island, province, and official land allocation zone. The total forest cover loss for Sumatera and Kalimantan 2000?2008 was 5.39?Mha, which represents 5.3% of the land area and 9.2% of the year 2000 forest cover of these two islands. At least 6.5% of all mapped forest cover loss occurred in land allocation zones prohibiting clearing. An additional 13.6% of forest cover loss occurred where clearing is legally restricted. The overall trend of forest cover loss increased until 2006 and decreased thereafter. The trends for Sumatera and Kalimantan were distinctly different, driven primarily by the trends of Riau and Central Kalimantan provinces, respectively. This analysis shows that annual mapping of forest cover change yields a clearer picture than a one-time overall national estimate. Monitoring forest dynamics is important for national policy makers, especially given the commitment of Indonesia to reducing greenhouse gas emissions as part of the reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries initiative (REDD +). The improved spatio-temporal detail of forest change monitoring products will make it possible to target policies and projects in meeting this commitment. Accurate, annual forest cover loss maps will be integral to many REDD + objectives, including policy formulation, definition of baselines, detection of displacement, and the evaluation of the permanence of emission reduction.
Use of Markov chains to design an agent bidding strategy for continuous double auctions

As computational agents are developed for increasingly complicated e-commerce applications, the complexity of the decisions they face demands advances in artificial intelligence techniques. For example, an agent representing a seller in an auction should try to maximize the seller's profit by reasoning about a variety of possibly uncertain pieces of information, such as the maximum prices various buyers might be willing to pay, the possible prices being offered by competing sellers, the rules by which the auction operates, the dynamic arrival and matching of offers to buy and sell, and so on. A naive application of multiagent reasoning techniques would require the seller's agent to explicitly model all of the other agents through an extended time horizon, rendering the problem intractable for many realistically-sized problems. We have instead devised a new strategy that an agent can use to determine its bid price based on a more tractable Markov chain model of the auction process. We have experimentally identified the conditions under which our new strategy works well, as well as how well it works in comparison to the optimal performance the agent could have achieved had it known the future. Our results show that our new strategy in general performs well, outperforming other tractable heuristic strategies in a majority of experiments, and is particularly effective in a "seller's market," where many buy offers are available.
Immune Cytolysis I. The Release of Ribonucleoprotein Particles II. Membrane-Bounded Structures Arising during Cell Fragmentation*

It has been shown that Krebs ascites tumor cells incubated in vitro with immune gamma globulin and complement lose the bulk of their cytoplasmic RNA to the suspending medium, although the cell membrane remains visibly intact. The present experiments show that about four-fifths of the lost RNA is sedimented by centrifugation of the cell-free medium at 105,000 g. Electron microscopic and chemical analyses of the pellets show them to consist of 150 A ribonucleoprotein particles. It is concluded that most of the RNA passes from the cells in this form. Antibody-complement action causes osmotic swelling of the tumor cells and they become quite fragile. Fragmentation of such preparations yields large numbers of membrane-bounded spheres which may be separated from the heavier nuclei by differential centrifugation. Electron microscopic study of the spheres provides evidence that they can arise from segments of the cell surface as well as from mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum.
A comparison of internet and print-based physical activity interventions

Background Physical activity interventions tailored to individual characteristics and delivered via print produce greater increases in activity compared with nontailored interventions and controls. Using the Internet to deliver a tailored physical activity intervention offers an alternative to print that might be available to larger populations at a lower cost. Methods Participants (N = 249 adults; mean [SD] age, 44.5 [9.3] years; and mean [SD] body mass index [calculated as weight in kilograms divided by height in meters squared], 29.4 [6.1]) were randomized to 1 of 3 physical activity interventions: (1) motivationally tailored Internet (tailored Internet, n = 81), (2) motivationally tailored print (tailored print, n = 86); and (3) 6 researcher-selected Web sites available to the public (standard Internet, n = 82). Participants in the tailored Internet and tailored print arms received the same tailored intervention content. Participants were assessed at baseline and at 6 and 12 months. Results At 6 months, participants in the tailored print arm reported a median of 112.5 minutes of physical activity per week, those in the tailored Internet arm reported 120.0 minutes, and those in the standard Internet arm reported 90.0 minutes ( P = .15). At 12 months, the physical activity minutes per week were 90.0, 90.0, and 80.0 for those in the tailored print, tailored Internet, and standard Internet arms, respectively ( P = .74). Results indicated no significant differences between the 3 arms. Conclusions The use of tailored Internet, tailored print, and standard Internet as part of a behavior change program increased physical activity behavior similarly. Because the use of the Internet was not different from the print-based intervention, this may be an opportunity to reach more sedentary adults in a more cost-effective way. Trial Registration clinicaltrials.gov Identifier:NCT00200317
Toward Modeling Charge-Defect Reactions at the Atomistic Level

Defect reactions involving charged species are commonplace in nuclear fuels fabrication and burn-up. Even the simplest of these fuels, uranium dioxide (UO2), typically involves the nominal charge states of +3, +4, and +5 or +6 in U and -1 and -2 states in O. Simulations that attempt to model evolutionary processes in the fuels require tracking changes among these charge states. At the atomistic level, modeling defect reactions poses a particularly vexing problem. Typical potential energy surfaces do not have this type of physical phenomena built into them. Those models that do attempt to model charge-defect reactions do not have especially strong physical bases for the models. For instance, most do not obey established limits of charge behavior at dissociation or lack internal consistency. This work presents substantial generalizations to earlier work of Perdew et al. No matter the size of the system, total system hamiltonians can be decomposed into subsystem or site hamiltonians and coulombic interactions. Site hamiltonians can be evaluated in a spectral representation, once an integer number of electrons are assigned. For both pair and individual site hamiltonians a dilemma emerges in that many sites are better understood as possessing a fractional charge. The dilemma is howmore » to weight the site integer-charge states in a physically consistent manner. One approach to solving the dilemma results in two distinct charge-dependent energy contributions emerge, arising from intra- and inter-subsystem charge transfer. Further analysis results in a model of the intra-subsystem charge-transfer that can accommodate the mixed valence states of either U or O in nuclear fuels. Mixed valence properties add complications to the model that originate in the phenomenological fact that it typically requires different amounts of energy to increase or decrease charge. As a result of the inherent complexity one has the option of using multiple charges, a concept with strong ties to shell models, or modeling parameters not directly related to charge as functions of charge. This later approach is illustrated by invoking a minimization principle that does preserve the important dissociation limits of Perdew et al., in order to complete the model.« less
Appraisal and evaluation of software products

Software product evaluation can be problematical as products from different backgrounds are likely to exhibit different strengths and weaknesses. A weakness in one area will not necessarily eliminate a product from consideration as project requirements are seldom absolute What therefore is needed is a systematic approach which helps to identity the product or products which best meet the needs of the project or organisation.A method will be described which has been designed to assess the suitability of software products against the total requirements of a project. The method consists of a weighted scoring technique based on a customisable criteria hierarchy Different scenarios in which the method can be used will be covered, together with a description of a hierarchy for the evaluation of text-based information management systems
Federal Institutions, Declarations of Independence and Civil War

Countries at civil war differ across a number of dimensions that are often used to account for onset, duration or severity. A relatively understudied dimension is the role of institutional arrangements on the severity of civil wars. We argue that federal systems put in place the mechanisms to make civil wars shorter but bloodier because they often allow for independent militia, taxation, and infrastructural development. Federal systems also make more credible a declaration of independence. These factors make civil wars looks much more like conventional warfare than their guerilla-based counterpart. We rely on the cases of Yugoslavia and the United States to build and describe our arguments and then we test our arguments against cross national data from the 20th century civil wars. Our results provide insights into the role of institutional arrangements on the management of internal conflicts and suggest that further research could make an important contribution to our understanding of civil wars.
The random chain model for polyelectrolytes

The random chain model for polyelectrolytes proposed by Kuhn, Kunzle, and Katchalsky is considered. The thermodynamic and configurational properties calculated by Katchalsky and Lifson are shown to be somewhat in error because they have used an incomplete expression for the stretching free energy of the polymer. The agreement of the theory with experiment is not substantially affected in most regions of interest.
Motion parallax in the perception of movement by a moving subject

This experiment was designed to study the influence of motion parallax on the perception of movement by a moving subject. Motion parallax occurs when an observer is moving in the environment. Items closer to the observer move in the direction opposite to his movements more rapidly than items further away. This is due to the fact that the angle of shift between the moving observer and objects in the environment is progressively less as distance increases. To demonstrate that motion parallax provides important cues for the perception of movement, these cues were manipulated to produce a perceptual paradox. First, a more distant item (a stimulus ball) was actually moved until its apparent motion was synchronized with nearer items (a forward plane of balls). Then the subjects were allowed to observe the stimulus ball as it was being slowed from synchrony with the forward plane of balls. Under these circumstances, the subjects reported significantly that the stimulus ball was moving forward, even though it was actually moving backward.
Anti-inflammatory Dietary Inflammatory Index scores are associated with healthier scores on other dietary indices

Dietary components are important determinants of systemic inflammation, a risk factor for most chronic diseases. The Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII) was developed to assess dietary inflammatory potential. It was hypothesized that anti-inflammatory DII scores would be associated with "healthier" scores on other dietary indices. The Energy Balance Study is an observational study focusing on energy intake and expenditure in young adults; only baseline data were used for this analysis (n=430). The DII, as well as the Healthy Eating Index-2010 (HEI-2010), the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (AHEI), and the Dietary Approaches to Stop Hypertension Index (DASH) were calculated based on one to three 24-hour dietary recalls. General linear models were used to estimate least square means of the AHEI, HEI-2010, and DASH according to DII quartiles. Those with higher (ie, more proinflammatory) DII scores were more likely to be males, have less than a completed college education, and be younger. In addition, those with higher scores for cognitive restraint for eating or drive for thinness had lower (ie, anti-inflammatory) DII scores. Linear regression analyses indicated that as the DII increased, the AHEI, HEI-2010, and DASH dietary indices decreased (ie, became more unhealthy, all P<.01). The DII is a novel tool that characterizes the inflammatory potential of diet and is grounded in the peer-reviewed literature on diet and inflammation. Findings from the Energy Balance Study indicate that the DII is associated with other dietary indices, but has the added advantage of specifically measuring dietary inflammatory potential, a risk factor for chronic disease.
Patterns of early dietary exposures have implications for maternal and child weight outcomes

Objective This article examines relations between patterns of dietary exposures at 9 months and infant and maternal weight status at 1 year postpartum. Methods Participants were part of the Infant Feeding Practices Study II and included 1807 mothers participating through the first year postpartum. All data were self-reported monthly by mothers. Latent class analysis was conducted to identify patterns of infant dietary exposures at 9 months. Factors that predicted dietary pattern class membership were examined including infant sleep and parity. Dietary pattern membership was used to predict child and maternal weight outcomes at 1 year postpartum. Results Five patterns of dietary exposures were identified, characterized by differences in milk-feeding and solid foods at 9 months: “Breastfed Fruits and Vegetables,” “Breastfed Low Variety,” “Formula-Fed Fruits and Vegetables,” “Formula-Fed Low Variety,” and “Mixed High Energy Density.” Infants in the Mixed High Energy Density dietary pattern were more likely to be overweight at 1 year. Conclusions Dietary classes that capture different combinations of several aspects of infant feeding may be more useful than single dietary predictors, for example, breastfeeding, formula-feeding, or early introduction to solids, to describe differences in infants' early dietary experience and risk for overweight.