cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Banks, Insurance Companies, and Discrimination1

This article examines some of the reasons why banks and insurance companies have been accused of discrimination, and shows that this is by and large a false accusation. Economic analysis demonstrates that racial discrimination is not a profit-maximizing strategy. Actually, unwise public policies are actually precluding many consumers from the market.
The solar-surface boundary conditions of coronal magnetic loops

The dynamical properties of a realisticthermal-structure interface between a coronal loop and the chromosphere/photosphere are investigated by numerical simulations using acoustic and Alfvenic excitations. These properties are relevant to the end conditions seen by coronal MHD perturbations (e.g., waves or instabilities), in the absence of much slower energetics effects. Analytic studies of coronal-loop hydromagnetics have often made simplifying assumptions about the boundary conditions at the loop base in order to make their calculations tractable. However, in the presence of a transition region and chromosphere with rapidly varying plasma conditions, it is not clear how valid these heuristic assumptions are. In this study, we find that the discontinuous fluid-density model approximately represents the reflection/ transmission scaling with respect to varying transition-region density and temperature (i.e., dynamic impedance) ratios, although it does not quantitatively predict the chromospheric response to wave-like coronal activity. This disagreement is partially due to the finite width of the corona-to-photosphere transition.
Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease and Extra-hepatic Malignancy

Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) has risen to become the most common cause of chronic liver disease in Western nations in concert with rising rates of obesity. The majority of patients with NAFLD meet criteria for the metabolic syndrome and are often found to have insulin resistance (IR) or frank diabetes along with increased rates of cardiovascular disease, overall mortality, and primary hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). The association of NAFLD with cancer specifically is an area of more recent investigation with the majority of data coming indirectly from population based studies linking obesity and a variety of extra-hepatic malignancies. Research specifically linking NAFLD with cancer has been limited to colorectal adenomas and colorectal cancer (CRC), with the majority of data showing an increased prevalence of both in NAFLD populations.
Numerical Solution of Ocular Fluid Dynamics in a Rabbit Eye

Numerical calculations of the aqueous humor dynamics in the anterior chamber of a rabbit’s eye are presented to delineate the basic flow mechanisms. The calculations are based on a geometrical model of the eye, which represents the Trabecular mesh (TM) as a multi-layered porous zone of specified pore sizes and void fraction. The outer surface of the cornea is assumed to be at a fixed temperature (corresponding to the ambient temperature), while the iris surface is assumed to be at the core body temperature. Results are obtained for both the horizontal upward-facing orientation of the eye, and the vertical orientation of the eye. Parameters varied include: the pore size in the TM to understand how TM blockage influences the flow pattern and the intra-ocular pressure (IOP) distribution; the temperature difference between the iris and the cornea to underscore the important role of buoyancy in driving the aqueous humor flow; and, the pupil size reflecting different levels of ambient light. Buoyancy is observed to be the dominant driving mechanism for the convective motion in both orientations of the eye. Reducing the TM pore size does not appear to have a significant influence on the IOP until the pore size drops below 1 micron beyond which a significant increase in IOP is observed. Variations in the pupil size appears to have little influence on the IOP or flow distributions in view of the dominant role of buoyancy in controlling the flow motion.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
A refinement of the low and high hierarchies

Based on the e- and Δ-classes of the polynomial-time hierarchy, Schoning [S1], [S3]introduced low and high hierarchies within NP Several classes of sets have been located in the bottom few levels of these hierarchies [S1], [S3], [KS], [BB], [BS2], [AH]. Most results placing sets in the Δ-levels of the low hierarchy are related to sparse sets, and the proof techniques employed involve deterministic enumeration of sparse sets. Balcazaret al. [BBS]and Allender and Hemachandra [AH] introduced extended low hierarchies, involving sets outside of NP, based on the e- and gD-classes of the polynomial-time hierarchy. Several classes of sets have been located in the Δ-levels of these hierarchies as well, and once again most such results involve sparse sets. In this paper we introduce a refinement of the low and high hierarchies and of the extended low hierarchies. Our refinement is based on the Θ-classes of the polynomial-time hierarchy. We show that almost all of the classes of sets that are known to belong to the Δ-levels of the low and extended low hierarchies actually belong to the newly defined Θ-levels of these hierarchies. Our proofs use Kadin's [K1]technique of computing the census of a sparse set first, followed by a nondeterministic enumeration of the set. This leads to the sharper lowness results. We also consider the optimality of these new lowness results. For sets in the Θ-levels of the low hierarchy we have oracle results indicating that substantially stronger results are not possible through use of Kadin's technique. For sets in the Θ-classes of the extended low hierarchy we have tight absolute lower bounds; that is, lower bounds without oracles. These bounds are slightly stronger than similar bounds appearing in [AH].
Fostering Ethical Competence in Nursing Education

AbstractThe nursing shortage, continuous substantive changes in health care organizations, and technological advances in the health care system highlight the importance of ethical competence in nursing, and healthcare. The shortage of nurses is compounded when today's practicing nurse experiences the moral distress associated with being unable to practice in congruence with the nursing code of ethics and standards of practice. Education of today's healthcare professionals must be responsive to a workplace dominated by the brisk pace of change, developing technology, the demand for efficiency and cost effectiveness, and the growth of information. This healthcare environment mandates examination of how nursing curricula foster sound ethical decision-making.
Pitfalls in computation, or why a math book isn''t enough

The floating-point number system is contrasted with the real numbers. The author then illustrates the variety of computational pitfalls a person can fall into who merely translates information gained from pure mathematics courses into computer programs. Examples include summing a Taylor series, solving a quadratic equation, solving linear algebraic systems, solving ordinary and partial differential equations, and finding polynomial zeros. It is concluded that mathematics courses should be taught with a greater awareness of automatic computation.
Developmental changes in preferences for help

Abstract This study investigated developmental changes in preferences for help from the perspective of the individual receiving help. Boys and girls in grades 3, 6, 9, and 12 responded to a questionnaire which presented seven hypothetical problem situations; each situation was paired with seven different helpers, which resulted in a total of 49 helper‐situation combinations. Children responded on a Likert‐type scale as to whether they would feel comfortable receiving help with a particular problem from the specified helper. Results indicated that preferences for help, much as altruism, must be regarded as a complex phenomenon reflecting several interacting variables, but two consistent findings emerged: (1) there was a developmental increase in preferences for help across the school‐age years, and (2) girls were more open to help than boys and were also rated as the most preferred helpers.
Triazolium-based energetic ionic liquids

The energetic ionic liquids formed by the 1,2,4-triazolium cation family and dinitramide anion are investigated by ab initio quantum chemistry calculations, to address the following questions: How does substitution at the triazolium ring's nitrogen atoms affect its heat of formation, and its charge delocalization? What kind of ion dimer structures might exist? And, do deprotonation reactions occur, as a possible first step in the decomposition of these materials?
Further studies on the oxidation of sulfur dioxide in coal-fired power plant plumes

Abstract Measurements of particulate sulfur to total sulfur concentration ratios and 34 S- 32 S isotope ratios were employed to determine the percent of sulfur dioxide converted to sulfate in the plumes of four coal-fired power plants. A fixed-wing airplane was outfitted with a high-volume impregnated filter assembly to collect the samples. A variety of parameters were investigated including relative humidity ranging from 32 to 85%, temperatures from 10 to 25°C, distances as far as 70km and times as long as 200 min. Generally the extent of SO 2 oxidation seldom exceeded 5% with essentially all of the observed oxidation occurring within the first few kilometers after emission. The observations are interpreted as indicative of a heterogeneous mechanism with the consumption or poisoning of available catalyst. No distinct correlation was found between the extent of sulfur dioxide conversion with distance, travel time, temperature, relative humidity, time of day or atmospheric stability. Plume reproducibility measurements were made, aircraft flight patterns compared and fringe effects investigated. An extensive body of information has been obtained and should serve as a reference for future investigations.
Exact upper bound on barrier penetration probabilities in many-body systems: Application to ``cold fusion''

The rate of tunneling of nuclei to classically forbidden small relative separation, in a fully interacting quantum-mechanical many-body system in equilibrium, is rigorously bounded above by a value calculable in terms of the Born-Oppenheimer potential between the nuclei. In the ``cold-fusion'' problem, the bound can be related to the affinities of helium and deuterium atoms to the metal in question, and shows that the allowed rate of tunneling of deuterons is far too small to be consistent with inferred rates of fusion.
IR and XPS studies on the interphase and poly(N-methylpyrrole) coatings electrodeposited on steel substrates

Abstract Poly( N -methylpyrrole) coatings have been electrodeposited on steel substrates from aqueous oxalate solutions. The formation process of the coatings was found to be different between acidic and basic mediums. In an acidic medium, the reactions were characterized by two stages: formation of the passive interphase and electropolymerization of the N -methylpyrrole. The composition of the formed interphase and poly( N -methylpyrrole) coatings were examined by infrared spectroscopy (IR) and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Our results show that the interphase formed in an acidic medium is composed of iron(II) oxalate dihydrate. The formation of poly( N -methylpyrrole) coatings on steel occurred after the passivation of steel was completed. Interaction between the poly( N -methyl pyrrole) coatings and the interphase is shown by the broadening of the –CO absorption peak.
Evolution reversed: The ability to bind iron restored to the N-lobe of the murine inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase by strategic mutagenesis

The murine inhibitor of carbonic anhydrase (mICA) is a member of the superfamily related to the bilobal iron transport protein transferrin (TF), which binds a ferric ion within a cleft in each lobe. Although the gene encoding ICA in humans is classified as a pseudogene, an apparently functional ICA gene has been annotated in mice, rats, cows, pigs, and dogs. All ICAs lack one (or more) of the amino acid ligands in each lobe essential for high-affinity coordination of iron and the requisite synergistic anion, carbonate. The reason why ICA family members have lost the ability to bind iron is potentially related to acquiring a new function(s), one of which is inhibition of certain carbonic anhydrase (CA) isoforms. A recombinant mutant of the mICA (W124R/S188Y) was created with the goal of restoring the ligands required for both anion (Arg124) and iron (Tyr188) binding in the N-lobe. Absorption and fluorescence spectra definitively show that the mutant binds ferric iron in the N-lobe. Electrospray ionization mass spectrometry confirms the presence of both ferric iron and carbonate. At the putative endosomal pH of 5.6, iron is released by two slow processes indicative of high-affinity coordination. Induction of specific iron binding implies that (1) the structure of mICA resembles those of other TF family members and (2) the N-lobe can adopt a conformation in which the cleft closes when iron binds. Because the conformational change in the N-lobe indicated by metal binding does not impact the inhibitory activity of mICA, inhibition of CA was tentatively assigned to the C-lobe. Proof of this assignment is provided by limited trypsin proteolysis of porcine ICA.
The monotonicity of the reliability measures of the beta distribution

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the monotonic properties of the hazard (failure) rate and mean residual life function (life expectancy) of the beta distribution. The monotonic properties are sometimes very useful in identifying an appropriate model.
Extracting Agent-Based Models of Human Transportation Patterns

Due to their cheap development costs and ease of deployment, surveys and questionnaires are useful tools for gathering information about the activity patterns of a large group and can serve as a valuable supplement to tracking studies done with mobile devices. However in raw form, general survey data is not necessarily useful for answering predictive questions about the behavior of a large social system. In this paper, we describe a method for generating agent activity profiles from survey data for an agent-based model (ABM) of transportation patterns of 47,000 students on a university campus. We compare the performance of our agent-based model against a Markov Chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) simulation based directly on the distributions fitted from the survey data. A comparison of our simulation results against an independently collected dataset reveals that our ABM can be used to accurately forecast parking behavior over the semester and is significantly more accurate than the MCMC estimator.
Three-dimensional finite element simulations of the mechanical response of the fingertip to static and dynamic compressions

The analysis of the mechanics of the contact interactions of fingers/handle and the stress/strain distributions in the soft tissues in the fingertip is essential to optimize design of tools to reduce many occupation-related hand disorders. In the present study, a three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) model for the fingertip is proposed to simulate the nonlinear and time-dependent responses of a fingertip to static and dynamic loadings. The proposed FE model incorporates the essential anatomical structures of a finger: skin layers (outer and inner skins), subcutaneous tissue, bone and nail. The soft tissues (inner skin and subcutaneous tissue) are considered to be nonlinearly viscoelastic, while the hard tissues (outer skin, bone and nail) are considered to be linearly elastic. The proposed model has been used to simulate two loading scenarios: (a) the contact interactions between the fingertip and a flat surface and (b) the indentation of the fingerpad via a sharp wedge. For case (a), the predicted f...
Water-Soluble Polymers .72. Synthesis and Solution Behavior of Responsive Copolymers of Acrylamide and the Zwitterionic Monomer 6-(2-acrylamido-2-methylpropyldimethylammonio) Hexanoate

A novel carboxybetaine monomer, 6-(2-Acrylamido-2-methylpropyldimethylammonio) hexanoate (AMPDAH), has been synthesized and copolymerized with acrylamide in an aqueous NaBr solution. The feed ratio of AM (M1): AMPDAB(M2), was varied from 98.5 : 2.5 to 0 : 100 mol %. The polymerizations were carried out to 20–30% conversion. Copolymer compositions were determined with 13C NMR by integration of the amido carbonyl resonances. Reactivity ratios determined from the nonlinear least-squares method gave values of r1 = 0.98 and r2 = 0.85, indicating random incorporation of the comonomers into the final copolymer. Molecular weights ranged from 7.3 to 4.7 × 106 g/mol. The solubility behavior of the copolymers is dependent on the mol % AMPDAH incorporated into the copolymers. When 25 mol % or more is incorporated, the copolymers are only swellable in aqueous media and attempts to solubilize these systems were unsuccessful. AMPDAH incorporation of 10 mol % or less resulted in copolymers soluble in aqueous media under a variety of conditions. The viscometric properties of copolymers with 10 mol % or less is reported as a function of pH and added electrolytes. At high pH in deionized water, the polyzwitterions show both inter- and intramolecular associations, which are disrupted by the addition of sodium chloride. In deionized water, as the pH of the aqueous medium is lowered, the copolymers exhibit dramatic increases in viscosity as the carboxylate groups are protonated and charge–charge repulsions of the quaternary ammonium groups induce polyelectrolyte behavior. © 1997 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Variation in organochlorine bioaccumulation by a predatory fish; gender, geography, and data analysis methods.

ΣPCB and p,p‘-DDE levels within and among walleye (Stizostedion vitreum) populations were examined to determine how the method of data analysis could influence the interpretation of (i) gender differences and (ii) geographic variation. In the lower Great Lakes (Huron, Erie, and Ontario) whole-body burdens of both contaminants tended to increase with body mass at a faster rate in males than in females. Thus, males generally had higher burdens than females at large body sizes but not at small body sizes. This result was not strongly influenced by the method of expressing contaminant level (burden, wet mass concentration, or lipid mass concentration) but was influenced by the choice of covariate (body mass, body length, or age) in some cases. Mean ΣPCB and p,p‘-DDE concentrations of walleye muscle declined along a gradient from the lower Great Lakes to the Northwest Territories. Analyses using means adjusted for age yielded a stronger contrast between Great Lakes and non-Great Lakes populations than analyses...
Sub-micrometer patterning of proteins by electric lithography.

We report in this paper an electric lithographic (EL) technique to generate protein patterns with sub-micrometer resolution on a poly(N-tBOC-2-aminoethyl methacrylate) surface. In the EL process, an electric potential is applied between metal patterns on a mask and the poly(N-tBOC-2-aminoethyl methacrylate) layer to electrochemically induce the dissociation of the tBOC from the amine functional groups. Proteins are then selectively attached to the amine functional groups in the modified polymer surface areas to form protein patterns. This technique can reliably generate high-resolution protein patterns down to ∼300 nm on the polymer surface at a high speed with a simple process/system.
Correlation Between Sample Means and Sample Ranges

Abstract The correlation between the mean and the range is investigated for sampling from symmetric and asymmetric populations. It is shown that when the sampling is from any symmetric population with finite variance the correlation is zero. However, zero correlation does not imply symmetry. The results are of interest in the field of statistical quality control.
Managing organizational conflict.

L'auteur definit le conflit organisationnel en fonction du modele «pouvoir-dependance» d'Emerson, puis il decrit trois methodes pour maitriser les conflits
Numerical solution of singular integral equations for planar problems in the theory of elasticity for a body with corner points at the edges

Singular integral equations have been used to derive numerical solutions for planar cases in the theory of elasticity for bodies bounded by piecewise-smooth edges with allowance for the stress singularities at the corner points. Problems are considered on tension and shear for an infinite plate weakened by a semicircular hole or by a smooth curvilinear crack or a two-part kinked one. Values are given for the stress-intensity coefficients at the corner points and at the crack vertices.
Experimental study of the combustion of single aluminum particles in O2/Ar

Single aluminum particles of 50 μ diam have been ignited by focused laser flux and observed by cinephotomicrography throughout their entire burning history in a controlled O2/Ar environment. The ignition stimulus, ambient atmosphere, and particle size have been judiciously selected and closely controlled to make the laboratory phenomenon conform to anticipated assumptions common to a droplet-combustion model: spherical symmetry, negligible convection, negligible radiation, and quasi-steady burning. The results indicate that the burning rate is constant throughout the history of a given droplet. The burning-rate law, dn=d0n-βt, was fitted to the present data by nonlinear, least-squares analysis. The results are not definitive with regard to the burning-rate exponent (n=1.5±0.5) because the measurement of droplet diameter at f/20 was diffraction-limited to ±2 μ. Given n, the instantaneous burning rate of aluminum in O2/Ar is determined to 5% by the least-squares fit. The burning rates of several droplets under identical conditions are numerically most consistent under the assumption that n=2. A survey of previous work over a restricted (X0∞, P) range shows that the average burning rate of aluminum based on initial diameter and time-to-burnout is roughly correlated by d0n ∼ τ, with 1.5
Optical remote sensing of forest leaf area index and biomass

Forests are the most complex terrestrial ecosystem on Earth’s land surface, providing vital goods and services upon which the welfare of humanity depends. The quantification of leaves and biomass in forests is critical for understanding the ecological role of forests in the terrestrial ecosystem. Great effort has been dedicated to the mapping of leaf area and biomass using remotely sensed data. This review focuses on the use of optical remote sensing in mapping leaf area index (LAI) and aboveground biomass for forests. Significant progress has been made in mapping LAI in the past few decades. Mapping of LAI started with location-specific empirical approaches and evolved to semi-empirical and biophysical approaches, which can be applied globally. Although there are some biases in the current LAI products, it can be expected that better-quality LAI products will be delivered in the future. At present, mapping biomass remains predominantly empirical because there is no direct physical relationship between re...
Energy-information trade-offs between movement and sensing.

While there is accumulating evidence for the importance of the metabolic cost of information in sensory systems, how these costs are traded-off with movement when sensing is closely linked to movement is poorly understood. For example, if an animal needs to search a given amount of space beyond the range of its vision system, is it better to evolve a higher acuity visual system, or evolve a body movement system that can more rapidly move the body over that space? How is this trade-off dependent upon the three-dimensional shape of the field of sensory sensitivity (hereafter, sensorium)? How is it dependent upon sensorium mobility, either through rotation of the sensorium via muscles at the base of the sense organ (e.g., eye or pinna muscles) or neck rotation, or by whole body movement through space? Here we show that in an aquatic model system, the electric fish, a choice to swim in a more inefficient manner during prey search results in a higher prey encounter rate due to better sensory performance. The increase in prey encounter rate more than counterbalances the additional energy expended in swimming inefficiently. The reduction of swimming efficiency for improved sensing arises because positioning the sensory receptor surface to scan more space per unit time results in an increase in the area of the body pushing through the fluid, increasing wasteful body drag forces. We show that the improvement in sensory performance that occurs with the costly repositioning of the body depends upon having an elongated sensorium shape. Finally, we show that if the fish was able to reorient their sensorium independent of body movement, as fish with movable eyes can, there would be significant energy savings. This provides insight into the ubiquity of sensory organ mobility in animal design. This study exposes important links between the morphology of the sensorium, sensorium mobility, and behavioral strategy for maximally extracting energy from the environment. An “infomechanical” approach to complex behavior helps to elucidate how animals distribute functions across sensory systems and movement systems with their diverse energy loads.
Chemical and structural biology of nucleic acids and protein-nucleic acid complexes for novel drug discovery

Since nucleic acids (DNA and RNA) play very important roles in cells, they are molecular targets of many clinically used drugs, such as anticancer drugs and antibiotics. Because of clinical demands for treating various deadly cancers and drug-resistant strains of pathogens, there are urgent needs to develop novel therapeutic agents. Targeting nucleic acids hasn’t been the mainstream of drug discovery in the past, and the lack of 3D structural information for designing and developing drug specificity is one of the main reasons. Fortunately, many important structures of nucleic acids and their protein complexes have been determined over the past decade, which provide novel platforms for future drug design and discovery. In this review, we describe some useful nucleic acid structures, particularly their interactions with the ligands and therapeutic candidates or even drugs. We summarize important information for designing novel potent drugs and for targeting nucleic acids and protein-nucleic acid complexes to treat cancers and overcome the drug-resistant problems.
Scaling of fatigue crack growth in rock

Abstract This paper presents a comprehensive set of size effect experiments on fatigue crack kinetics for Berea sandstone. It is observed that for all specimens the Paris-Erdogan law is applicable for a wide range of amplitudes of the stress intensity factor. The fatigue tests also indicate that there is a small-crack growth regime at the beginning stage of cyclic loading, where the growth rate decreases as the crack initiates from the notch tip. It is shown that the fracture kinetics for both the small-crack growth and the Paris regimes is subjected to a strong size effect. Meanwhile, a series of size effect tests on monotonic strength of Berea sandstone is also performed in order to investigate the difference in fracture process between fatigue and monotonic loading scenarios. By using the digital image correlation method, it is found that the fracture process zone (FPZ) length under cyclic loading is about 60% larger than that under monotonic loading. In parallel with the experimental investigation, it is shown that the observed effect of the specimen size on the fracture kinetics can be explained by a size effect model for the critical energy dissipation for fatigue crack growth, which is analogous to the size effect on the apparent fracture energy for monotonic loading.
Bronchioloalveolar carcinoma of the lung: recurrences and survival in patients with stage I disease.

Abstract Objectives: The aim of our study was to retrospectively compare the patient characteristics, the frequency and pattern of recurrent disease, and survival in patients with stage I bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and adenocarcinoma of the lung. Methods: Patients with stage I bronchioloalveolar carcinoma or adenocarcinoma other than bronchioloalveolar carcinoma resected between 1984 and 1992 with adequate clinical follow-up were studied. The clinical characteristics of the patients, extent of initial surgical resection, sites of recurrent disease, and overall survival were examined and compared between the 2 groups. The median follow-up for patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and adenocarcinoma was 6.2 years and 5.9 years, respectively. Results: A total of 138 patients were identified. Thirty-three patients had bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and 105 patients had adenocarcinoma. Eleven (33%) of the patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma had never smoked cigarettes versus 9 (9%) of the patients with adenocarcinoma ( P = .0036). There were no significant differences between patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma and adenocarcinoma in sex distribution and overall recurrence rate. Of the 12 patients with recurrent bronchioloalveolar carcinoma, 1 patient (8%) had extrathoracic disease develop at the site of first recurrence compared with 49% of patients with recurrent adenocarcinoma ( P P = .04). Conclusions: Stage I bronchioloalveolar carcinoma is more likely to occur in nonsmokers. Survival is longer in patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma. Further research is warranted to define the etiology, clinical course, and molecular abnormalities in patients with bronchioloalveolar carcinoma to generate more effective therapeutic approaches. (J Thorac Cardiovasc Surg 2001;121:42-7)
Early histologic, metabolic, and vascular assessment of anterior cruciate ligament autografts

A rabbit model for anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction using autogenous patellar tendon was utilized to study the early events of autograft cellular dynamics. Biochemical, autoradiographic, histological, and vascular injection techniques demonstrated that the native autograft cell population rapidly necroses. This repopulation occurs without a vascular contribution; cells entering the autograft are reliant upon synovial fluid nutrition.
Effect of Sucrose in the Initial Drinking Water of Broiler Chicks on Mortality and Growth

Abstract Commercial poultry companies in the Southeastern United States have experienced high mortality when chicks are hatched from eggs laid by young breeding flocks. Hatching eggs weighing 47–54 g from 28-week-old breeders were collected on the farm, hatched in a commercial hatchery, and housed in a typical environment-controlled broiler house. A total of 7600 mixed-sex broilers was used in two experiments to determine the effect of adding sucrose to the drinking water on broiler chick mortality and growth. In each experiment, four groups of 950 broilers each were offered either an 8% sucrose solution or tap water, with or without feed, for the first 15 hr after housing. Broiler chick mortality was reduced from an average of 4.60% for the group of birds not receiving the sucrose treatments to 2.90% for die groups receiving the sucrose treatments. Presence or absence of feed during the first 15 hr of housing had no effect on mortality. Body weights were unaffected by dietary treatments. Thus, sucrose added to the initial drinking water of broiler chicks successfully reduced mortality of broilers without sacrificing market body weights.
Institutional Arrangements and the Creation of Social Capital: The Effects of Public School Choice

While the possible decline in the level of social capital in the United States has received considerable attention by scholars such as Putnam and Fukuyama, less attention has been paid to the local activities of citizens that help define a nation's stock of social capital. Scholars have paid even less attention to how institutional arrangements affect levels of social capital. We argue that giving parents greater choice over the public schools their children attend creates incentives for parents as “citizen/consumers” to engage in activities that build social capital. Our empirical analysis employs a quasi-experimental approach comparing parental behavior in two pairs of demographically similar school districts that vary on the degree of parental choice over the schools their children attend. Our data show that, controlling for many other factors, parents who choose when given the opportunity are higher on all the indicators of social capital analyzed. Fukuyama has argued that it is easier for governments to decrease social capital than to increase it. We argue, however, that the design of government institutions can create incentives for individuals to engage in activities that increase social capital.
The mixed signal optimum energy point: voltage and parallelism

An energy optimization is proposed that addresses the non-trivial digital contribution to power and impact on performance in high-speed mixed-signal circuits. Parallel energy and behavioral models are used to quantify architectural tradeoffs across the analog/digital boundary. An interleaved ADC is optimized as a case study to demonstrate this approach. The chosen operating point of 36 channels and 700 mV operation gives a 3x improvement in energy compared to the seed of the model. The model matches closely the measured results of an ADC testchip implemented in a 65 nm CMOS process.
Effect of substituents on arene oxide-mediated liver toxicity among substituted bromobenzenes.

Abstract A series of seven ortho-substituted bromobenzenes was evaluated for their potential to produce liver injury in rats, as reflected in histologically observed centrolobular necrosis and in increases in serum glutamate-pyruvate transaminase. Absorption characteristics of the compounds following intraperitoneal dosing with solutions in sesame oil were estimated by determining the liver concentration of each compound after 4 hr. Twenty-four-hour toxicity values for the compounds were similar for both indexes of liver damage (histology and SGPT activity) and indicated that bromobenzenes bearing electron-withdrawing substituents at the ortho position are very potent liver toxicants. Bromobenzenes with electron-releasing substituents are less toxic, and those bearing substituents with less pronounced electronic character elicited intermediate toxic effects.
Kinetics of peptide folding in lipid membranes

Despite our extensive understanding of water-soluble protein folding kinetics, much less is known about the folding dynamics and mechanisms of membrane proteins. However, recent studies have shown that for relatively simple systems, such as peptides that form a transmembrane α-helix, helical dimer, or helix-turn-helix, it is possible to assess the kinetics of several important steps, including peptide binding to the membrane from aqueous solution, peptide folding on the membrane surface, helix insertion into the membrane, and helix-helix association inside the membrane. Herein, we provide a brief review of these studies and also suggest new initiation and probing methods that could lead to improved temporal and structural resolution in future experiments.
Microdosimetry of Electron Microbeams

Abstract Miller, J. H., Batdorf, M. T., Lynch, D. J., Lewis, R. R. and Wilson, W. E. Microdosimetry of Electron Microbeams. Radiat. Res. 162, 474–479 (2004). Track structures of 25, 50 and 80 keV primary electrons, simulated by the detailed-history Monte Carlo method, were analyzed for the frequency distributions of energy deposited in spheres with a diameter of 1 μm, placed in a cylindrically symmetrical array around the projected initial direction of the primary electron. The frequency mean of specific energy, the dose mean of lineal energy, and the parameters of lognormal functions fit to the dose distributions were calculated as a function of beam penetration and radial distance from the projected beam axis. Given these data, the stochastics of dose and radiation quality for micrometer-scale sites targeted by a medium-energy electron microbeam can be predicted as a function of the site's location relative to the beam entry point.
Viral Bcl-2-Mediated Evasion of Autophagy Aids Chronic Infection of γHerpesvirus 68

γ-herpesviruses (γHVs) have developed an interaction with their hosts wherein they establish a life-long persistent infection and are associated with the onset of various malignancies. One critical virulence factor involved in the persistency of murine γ-herpesvirus 68 (γHV68) is the viral homolog of the Bcl-2 protein (vBcl-2), which has been implicated to counteract both host apoptotic responses and autophagy pathway. However, the relative significance of the two activities of vBcl-2 in viral persistent infection has yet to be elucidated. Here, by characterizing a series of loss-of-function mutants of vBcl-2, we have distinguished the vBcl-2-mediated antagonism of autophagy from the vBcl-2-mediated inhibition of apoptosis in vitro and in vivo. A mutant γHV68 virus lacking the anti-autophagic activity of vBcl-2 demonstrates an impaired ability to maintain chronic infections in mice, whereas a mutant virus lacking the anti-apoptotic activity of vBcl-2 establishes chronic infections as efficiently as the wild-type virus but displays a compromised ability for ex vivo reactivation. Thus, the vBcl-2-mediated antagonism of host autophagy constitutes a novel mechanism by which γHVs confer persistent infections, further underscoring the importance of autophagy as a critical host determinant in the in vivo latency of γ-herpesviruses.
Measuring Americans' Issue Priorities A New Version of the Most Important Problem Question Reveals More Concern About Global Warming and the Environment

For decades, numerous surveys have asked Americans the ''Most Important Problem'' (MIP) question: ''What do you think is the most important problem facing this country today?'' Global warming and the en- vironment have rarely been cited by more than a small number of respond- ents in these surveys in recent years, which might seem to suggest that these have not been the most important issues to Americans. This paper explores the possibility that an additional method of assessing the public's priorities might support a different conclusion. Three experiments embedded in na- tional surveys (two done via the Internet, the other done by telephone) show that when asked the traditional MIP question, respondents rarely mentioned global warming or the environment, but when other respondents were asked to identify the most serious problem that will face the world in the future if nothing is done to stop it, global warming and the environment were the most frequently mentioned problems. Furthermore, a large majority of Americans indicated that they wanted the federal government to devote substantial effort to combating problems that the world will face in the future if nothing is done to stop them. Thus, future surveys might include both versions of the MIP question to more fully document Americans priorities.
VEGETARIAN DIETS AND THE INCIDENCE OF CANCER IN A LOW-RISK POPULATION

Background: Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US. Dietary factors account for at least 30% of all cancers in Western countries. Since people do not consume individual foods but rather combinations of them, the assessment of dietary patterns may offer valuable information when determining associations between diet and cancer risk. Methods: We examined the association between dietary patterns (non-vegetarians, lacto, pesco, vegan, and semi-vegetarian) and the overall cancer incidence among 69,120 participants of the Adventist Health Study-2. Cancer cases were identified by matching to cancer registries. Cox-proportional hazard regression analysis was performed to estimate hazard ratios, with "attained age" as the time variable. Results: 2,939 incident cancer cases were identified. The multivariate HR of overall cancer risk among vegetarians compared to non-vegetarians was statistically significant (HR=0.92; 95%CI: 0.85, 0.99) for both genders combined. Also, a statistically significant association was found between vegetarian diet and cancers of the gastrointestinal tract (HR=0.76; 95%CI: 0.63, 0.90). When analyzing the association of specific vegetarian dietary patterns, vegan diets showed statistically significant protection for overall cancer incidence (HR=0.84; 95%CI: 0.72, 0.99) in both genders combined and for female-specific cancers (HR=0.66; 95%CI: 0.47, 0.92). Lacto-ovo-vegetarians appeared to be associated with decreased risk of cancers of the gastrointestinal system (HR=0.75; 95%CI: 0.60, 0.92). Conclusion: Vegetarian diets seem to confer protection against cancer. Impact: Vegan diet seems to confer lower risk for overall and female-specific cancer compared to other dietary patterns. The lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets seem to confer protection from cancers of the gastrointestinal tract.
Semantic Relatedness Measures in Ontologies Using Information Content and Fuzzy Set Theory

The success of the semantic Web is linked with the use of ontologies on the semantic Web. Ontologies help systems understand the meaning of information and can serve as the interface to the inferencing layer of the semantic Web. An increasingly important task is to determine a degree or measure of semantic relatedness between concepts within and across ontologies. This paper presents an overview of such measures using several examples found in the research literature. The relationship between a distance-based network semantic relatedness measure and an information theoretic measure is shown for the first time by using Tversky's set-theoretic measures and a new information content measure. New measures of semantic relatedness between ontological concepts are proposed by viewing each concept as a set of its descendent leaf concepts
Wide-Band Reduction of Coupling and Pulse Distortion in Multi-Conductor Integrated Circuit Lines

Ultrafast clock speeds and short rise times of digital signals give them a very large bandwidth. With clock speeds in the Gigabit /second range and rise times on the order of 10 picoseconds, these signals will have significant frequency components in the tens to hundreds of GHz. This wide frequency range requires a full-wave analysis, rather than a a quasi-static one, to accurately predict the distortion and coupling of highspeed digital signals. High speed circuits also have small inter-line spacing to increase packing density, which in turn increases coupling distortion and crosstalk. Successful design of these high-speed circuits requires accurate prediction of pulse distortion and coupling, as well as a technique to reduce coupling over a very wide band of frequencies.
Assumers for high-speed single and multi-cycle on-chip interconnect with low repeater count

Achieving high-speed signaling across narrow deep-submicron wires with reduced repeater count is a major design challenge. A clocked repeater circuit, called assumer, that allows high-speed point-to-point signaling with single repeater per single-cycle wirelength is presented in this paper. Simulations at the 90-nm node on 3-mm to 10-mm range of wirelength considering minimum pitch intermediate and global metal layers show up to 31% delay reduction and up to 80% less repeater count compared to conventional repeated wires. However, assumer interconnect suffers from switching power overhead. Therefore, the proposed method is only suitable for designs where speed and area are the primary concerns.
The structure of the lowermost mantle determined by short-period P-wave amplitudes

Summary. The seismic velocities in the D″ region (lowermost 200 km of the mantle) are recognized to be anomalously low, though the details of the velocity structure are not known. The structure of D″ is important, in particular whether a smooth velocity model is appropriate or not. A smooth decrease in the seismic velocities would be consistent with a thermal boundary layer at the base of the mantle. We have used the amplitudes of short-period (T= 1s) P- and diffracted P-waves to investigate the internal structure of D″. A short-period amplitude data set is obtained by using underground nuclear events as sources and applying receiver corrections to the amplitudes. Receiver effects are largely responsible for the factor of ∼8 scatter in the amplitudes of the North American WWSSN stations. Applying receiver corrections reduces the scatter to a factor of ∼2, thereby providing a quantitatively useful amplitude profile into the core shadow. Using Soviet events and North American WWSSN stations, the D″ layer beneath the north polar region is well sampled. The core shadow (at T= 1 s) begins sharply at a distance of Δ= 95.5 and the slope of the amplitude decay is well defined. Also, the amplitudes decrease slightly from Δ∼87 to ∼90, then increase to Δ∼95. Synthetic seismograms are used to test various earth models, with the important conclusion that the amplitudes from smooth D″ models with a small velocity gradient in D″ decay too slowly in the shadow. This mismatch cannot be satisfactorily explained by random forward scattering or a thin low Q layer within D″. Anelastic calculations show that a thin low Q layer in D″ decreases the amplitudes before the shadow, with little effect on the decay slope in the shadow. All of the features of the observed amplitude profile can be explained as the interference effects of a model that has a low-velocity zone in the upper part of D″ followed by a normal velocity gradient in the lower part of D″. This type of model (POLAR series) also explains the scatter often observed in dT/dΔ beyond Δ∼90. The interference effects and required velocity changes in D″ are small, and long-period amplitudes will respond only to the averaged velocity gradient in D″. The POLAR models imply a compositional and/or phase change at the top of D″. Thus, the preferred seismological model does not allow the D″ region to be interpreted as a single thermal boundary layer between the mantle and core.
MOM-5 Frizzled regulates the distribution of DSH-2 to control C. elegans asymmetric neuroblast divisions

Asymmetric cell divisions produce all 302 neurons of the C. elegans hermaphrodite. Here, we describe a role for a C. elegans Dishevelled homolog, DSH-2, in an asymmetric neuroblast division. In dsh-2 mutants, neurons normally descended from the anterior neuroblast daughter of the ABpl/rpppa blast cell were frequently duplicated, while non-neuronal cells produced by the posterior daughter cell were often missing. These observations indicate that in the absence of dsh-2 function, the posterior daughter cell was transformed into a second anterior-like cell. Loss of mom-5, a C. elegans frizzled homolog, produced a similar phenotype. We also show that the DSH-2 protein localized to the cell cortex in most cells of the embryo. In the absence of MOM-5/Fz, DSH-2 was localized to the cytoplasm, suggesting that MOM-5 regulates asymmetric cell division by controlling the localization of DSH-2. Although all neurons in C. elegans are produced by an invariant pattern of cell divisions, our results indicate that cell signaling may contribute to asymmetric neuroblast division during embryogenesis.
Noncoding RNAs and Gene Silencing

Noncoding RNA has long been proposed to control gene expression via sequence-specific interactions with regulatory regions. Here, we review the role of noncoding RNA in heterochromatic silencing and in the silencing of transposable elements (TEs), unpaired DNA in meiosis, and developmentally excised DNA. The role of cotranscriptional processing by RNA interference and by other mechanisms is discussed, as well as parallels with RNA silencing in imprinting, paramutation, polycomb silencing, and X inactivation. Interactions with regulatory sequences may well occur, but at the RNA rather than at the DNA level.