cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The genuine victim and prosecutors’ charging decisions in sexual assault cases

This study examined the effect of victim characteristics and evidence factors on prosecutors’ decisions to file charges in sexual assault cases. Social scientists and legal scholars argue that sexual assault case processing decisions are affected by stereotypes of real rapes and genuine victims. They assert that complainants whose backgrounds and behavior conform to the image of a genuine victim will be taken more seriously, and their allegations treated more seriously, than complainants whose backgrounds and behavior are at odds with this image. We used a sample of arrests for sexual assault made by the Detroit Police Department in 1989 to test these assertions. We combined six victim characteristics to create a genuine victim scale, and we examined the effect of this scale, as well as a number of evidence factors, on prosecutors’ charging decisions. We performed separate analyses on cases with child victims and cases with adolescent or adult victims. We found that the genuine victim scale did not influence charging decisions in cases with child victims, but was theonly significant predictor in cases involving adolescent or adult victims. In contrast, none of the four evidence factors affected charging in cases with adult victims, and only one of these factors was related to charging in cases involving children. These findings suggest that prosecutors attempt to avoid uncertainty by screening out sexual assault cases unlikely to result in a conviction because of questions about the victim’s character, the victim’s behavior, and the victim’s credibility.
Method for Generating Equilibrium Swirling Inflow Conditions

The azimuthal body force technique, described here, represents a means of predicting, rather than prescribing, swirling inflow boundary conditions
Measuring and Correcting for Size Selection in Electrofishing Mark–Recapture Experiments

Abstract In electrofishing, the form of size selectivity is unknown, so parametric models of selection have not been developed. Capture probability can be estimated as a continuous function of fish size for two-sample mark–recapture experiments such as those often made to describe stream fish populations. One approach is based on nonparametric regression by smoothing splines, in which general linear models are fitted to data by penalized maximum-likelihood methods. Capture probabilities modeled this way allow the data to reveal the form of size selectivity and can be used to estimate population size. A confidence band around the estimated capture probability function and confidence intervals for the population estimate are obtained by bootstrapping. A second approach is based on parametric regression models and requires some knowledge of the form of the selection function. A confidence interval for the population estimate is based on the variance estimated by the delta method. These approaches are illustr...
Modeling cirrus clouds. Part II: Treatment of radiative properties

Abstract A new radiation scheme, suitable for two-stream radiation transfer models, was developed for cirrus clouds. Analytical expressions were derived for the extinction and absorption coefficients and the asymmetry parameter. These are functions of the ice particle size distribution parameters, ice particle shapes, and wavelength. The ice particle shapes considered were hexagonal plates and columns, bullet rosettes, and planar polycrystals. These appear to be the principal crystal types found in cirrus clouds. The formulation of radiative properties accounts for the size distribution projected area and the distance radiation travels through ice particles. For absorption, refraction and internal reflection of radiation were parameterized. By assuming an idealized cirrus cloud, the dependence of the single scatter albedo, reflectance, and emissivity on wavelength, ice particle shape, and size distribution was demonstrated. Reflectance and emissivity exhibited a strong dependence on ice particle shape, wi...
Force and Moment Measurements of a Transonic Fin-Wake Interaction.

Force and moment measurements have been made on an instrumented subscale fin model at transonic speeds in Sandia’s Trisonic Wind Tunnel to ascertain the effects of Mach number and angle of attack on the interaction of a trailing vortex with a downstream control surface. Components of normal force, bending moment, and hinge moment were measured on an instrumented fin downstream of an identical fin at Mach numbers between 0.85 and 1.24, and combinations of angles of attack between -5o and 10o for both fins. The primary influence of upstream fin deflection is to shift the downstream fin’s forces in a direction consistent with the vortex-induced angle of attack on the downstream fin. Secondary nonlinear effects of vortex lift were found to increase the slopes of normal force and bending moment coefficients when plotted versus fin deflection angle. This phenomenon was dependent upon Mach number and the angles of attack of both fins. The hinge moment coefficient was also influenced by the vortex lift as the center of pressure was pushed aft with increased Mach number and total angle of attack.
Observations on effects of ultra-violet rays upon living eggs of Nereis limbata exposed before insemination.

A. Eggs ofNereis exposed to ultra-violet light before insemination exhibit threee marked effects: 1. They extrude jelly equally from all parts of the cortex. 2. The first cleavage plane passes through that area of the egg from which the membrane is farthest removed—the site of maximum effect of the exposure. This sharply localized cortical injury can be traced throughout the egg's development into the worm of three segments. The majority of these worms exhibit a blister on the side of the first segment behind the head. 3. Polar body formation is suppressed. B. These effects are due to a sharply localized cortical injury.
Safeguarding Patient Welfare: Who's In Charge?

The article by Steinman and colleagues in this issue on the marketing of gabapentin guides the author's discussion of off-label uses of drugs, the changing regulatory power of the U.S. Food and Dru...
Climate and change in oceanic ecosystems: The value of time-series data.

Abstract The consequences of climatic change for the structure and function of oceanic ecosystems are of considerable current interest. A predictive, mechanistic model of these consequences based on our scanty knowledge of the dynamics of the systems' components seems unlikely: a complex set of simultaneous partial differential equations depicting population interactions and transfer rates of energy and materials would be necessary. A second approach is simply to measure the phenomenology of variations in both climate and ecosystem components, for the purpose of detecting shared patterns. Two studies of the latter type have been done. Both have been successful in revealing relationships between climatic variation and large-scale, large-amplitude, low-frequency biological variability. Both sets of results can provide models for the prediction of consequences, and both can serve as baselines for the definition of ‘change’.
Preliminary assessment of pediatric health care quality and patient safety in the United States using readily available administrative data.

OBJECTIVES: With>6 million hospital stays, costing almost $50 billion annually, hospitalized children represent an important population for which most inpatient quality indicators are not applicable. Our aim was to develop indicators using inpatient administrative data to assess aspects of the quality of inpatient pediatric care and access to quality outpatient care. METHODS: We adapted the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality quality indicators, a publicly available set of measurement tools refined previously by our team, for a pediatric population. We systematically reviewed the literature for evidence regarding coding and construct validity specific to children. We then convened 4 expert panels to review and discuss the evidence and asked them to rate each indicator through a 2-stage modified Delphi process. From the 2000 and 2003 Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project Kids' Inpatient Database, we generated national estimates for provider level indicators and for area level indicators. RESULTS: Panelists recommended 18 indicators for inclusion in the pediatric quality indicator set based on overall usefulness for quality improvement efforts. The indicators included 13 hospital-level indicators, including 11 based on complications, 1 based on mortality, and 1 based on volume, as well as 5 area-level potentially preventable hospitalization indicators. National rates for all 18 of the indicators varied minimally between years. Rates in high-risk strata are notably higher than in the overall groups: in 2003 the decubitus ulcer pediatric quality indicator rate was 3.12 per 1000, whereas patients with limited mobility experienced a rate of 22.83. Trends in rates by age varied across pediatric quality indicators: short-term complications of diabetes increased with age, whereas admissions for gastroenteritis decreased with age. CONCLUSIONS: Tracking potentially preventable complications and hospitalizations has the potential to help prioritize quality improvement efforts at both local and national levels, although additional validation research is needed to confirm the accuracy of coding. Language: en
Lower bounds for intersection searching and fractional cascading in higher dimension

Given an n-edge convex subdivision of the plane, is it possible to report its k intersections with a query line segment in O(k+$~polylog$(n)) time, using subquadratic storage? If the query is a plane and the input is a polytope with n vertices, can one achieve O(k+$~polylog$(n)) time with subcubic storage? Does any convex polytope have a boundary dominant Dobkin-Kirkpatrick hierarchy? Can fractional cascading be generalized to planar maps instead of linear lists? We prove that the answer to all of these questions is no, and we derive near-optimal solutions to these classical problems.
Effect of venoarterial pulsatile partial bypass on the coronary, renal and mesenteric circulations in cardiogenic shock☆

Abstract The effects of venoarterial pulsatile partial bypass upon the coronary, mesenteric and renal circulations were studied in cardiogenic shock. Circulatory assist corrected the shock state in 9 of the 10 animals as exhibited by return of systemic pressure to normotensive levels. The most uniform effect was the increase in coronary flow with lowering of coronary resistance associated with other objective signs of improved myocardial nutrition—that is, less cardiac irritability and correction of S-T elevations. Mesenteric flow was irregularly improved by pumping. Renal flow was not corrected; it remained at the same low levels that occurred during shock because of an increased renal vascular resistance.
Least-squares estimation for bifurcating autoregressive processes

Bifurcating autoregressive processes are used to model each line of descent in a binary tree as a standard AR(p) process, allowing for correlations between nodes which share the same parent. Limit distributions of the least-squares estimators of the model parameters for a pth-order bifurcating autoregressive process (BAR(p)) are derived. An application to bifurcating integer-valued autoregression is given. A Poisson bifurcating model is introduced.
MOLECULAR SYSTEMATICS OF A HOLARCTIC RODENT (MICROTUS: MURIDAE)

The Bering Land Bridge was the intermittent connection that allowed exchange of mammals between Asia and North America. Because some mammalian genera are widely distributed on both continents, recovery of phylogenetic histories of species within these genera may help reconstruct the sequence of intercontinental exchanges. We tested phylogenetic and biogeographic hypotheses in the widespread genus Microtus through parsimony and likelihood analysis of mtDNA-sequence data. The extant species of Microtus in North America are thought to be derived from multiple invasions from Asia or, alternatively, as a single invasion followed by autochthonous speciation. Mitochondrial cytochrome-b gene sequences were obtained for 78 individuals representing 24 species of Microtus. Data supported 1 clade of taiga voles (M. pennsylvanicus, M. montanus, M. townsendii,and M. canicaudus), a clade of Asian species (M. kikuchii, M. fortis, M. montebelli,and M. middendorffi ), plus the Holarctic M. oeconomusand several other previously identified clades. M. gregalis also was found to be distant from M. abbreviatus and M. miurus, thus contradicting monophyly of the subgenus Stenocranius. Monophyly of North American species was supported, albeit weakly. Basal relationships were not robust, reflecting a single pulse of diversification about 1.3 3 10 6 years ago. This pulse mirrors the fossil record and may be partially responsible
Cross-Cultural Inquiry: Some Assumptions

Assumptions tend to shape in-struction. Nine assumptions concerning the study of cultures are presented in this article. The authors have presented a limited number of examples from Latin America to illustrate the propositions. These are: critical incidents; time; cultural heuristics; historical constraints; concepts of social stratification, conflict, change, and justice; subsuming elements of a culture; cross-cultural elements; space; and social structure and function. The focus is on day-to-day cultural and cross-cultural patterns vis-a-vis historical culture and civilization.
Algorithm design for automated transportation photo enforcement camera image and video quality diagnostic check modules

Photo enforcement devices for traffic rules such as red lights, toll, stops, and speed limits are increasingly being deployed in cities and counties around the world to ensure smooth traffic flow and public safety. These are typically unattended fielded systems, and so it is important to periodically check them for potential image/video quality problems that might interfere with their intended functionality. There is interest in automating such checks to reduce the operational overhead and human error involved in manually checking large camera device fleets. Examples of problems affecting such camera devices include exposure issues, focus drifts, obstructions, misalignment, download errors, and motion blur. Furthermore, in some cases, in addition to the sub-algorithms for individual problems, one also has to carefully design the overall algorithm and logic to check for and accurately classifying these individual problems. Some of these issues can occur in tandem or have the potential to be confused for each other by automated algorithms. Examples include camera misalignment that can cause some scene elements to go out of focus for wide-area scenes or download errors that can be misinterpreted as an obstruction. Therefore, the sequence in which the sub-algorithms are utilized is also important. This paper presents an overview of these problems along with no-reference and reduced reference image and video quality solutions to detect and classify such faults.
The Fermi surface and pseudopotentials of aluminium

The accurately determined energy levels at the W point of the FCC Brillouin zone obtained from low-temperature galvanometric measurements of the Fermi surface of aluminium are used to determine an empirical local pseudopotential and to test the precision of the standard scheme for calculations of band structure. While satisfactory for cohesive and structural properties, the standard scheme appears to reproduce the third-zone Fermi surface dimensions and topology rather poorly. Since there still remains some flexibility in the definition of ab initio pseudopotentials, it is suggested that agreement with the major cohesive and structural properties can be maintained, but that with relatively minor adjustment Fermi surface properties can also be reproduced. This notion is illustrated for the empirical local pseudopotential which is applied to the evaluation of the interatomic pair potential (which is found to be in good agreement with other calculated pair potentials) and also to a redetermination of the conductivity of molten aluminium which reveals rather clearly the limitations of the first-order Born approximation.
Language life or language death: A matter of perspective in an endangered linguistics

Lamb, Sydney M. and E. Douglas Mitchell, eds. Sprung from Some Common Source: Investigations into the Prehistory of Languages. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1992. xii + 411 pages, hardcover $45.00. Robins, R. H. and E. M. Uhlenbeck, eds. Endangered Languages. New York: Berg Publishers, 1992. xiv + 273 pages, hardcover $39.50.
Time-resolved Z-scan measurements of optical nonlinearities

We introduce a temporal delay in one beam of the two-color Z-scan apparatus, which measures nondegenerate nonlinear absorption and nondegenerate nonlinear refraction. This technique allows us to time resolve separately the sign and the magnitude of the nonlinear absorption and refraction at frequency ωp that are due to the presence of a strong excitation at frequency ωe. For example, in semiconductors we specifically measure the bound electronic, nondegenerate nonlinear refraction and nondegenerate two-photon absorption, as well as the two-photon-generated free-carrier refraction and absorption as functions of time. We demonstrate this technique on ZnSe, ZnS, and CS2, using picosecond pulses at 1.06 and 0.532 μm.
Mental Health Needs of the Elderly Vary by Setting

To learn more about elderly patients who use outpatient mental health services, we retrospectively reviewed the charts of 75 patients overage 60 treated in an inner-city community mental health center during a 1-year period and compared them with 34 patients in a hospital-based psychogeriatric clinic and 26 patients in a suburban geriatric outreach program. The patients in the three settings differed with regard to age of onset and type of psychopathology, use of psychotropic medication, and mental health needs.
Synthesis of Helical Polybinaphthyls

Novel helical polybinaphthyls have been designed and synthesized by using an acid-promoted intramolecular cyclization of arylalkynes. The structures of these polymers are characterized by various s...
Crystal diversity and macropatterns in leaves of Oleaceae

Oleaceae leaves surveyed from herbarium specimens of 240 species from 23 genera were rehydrated, bleached, processed into xylol, mounted unstained, and viewed microscopically between crossed polarizers. Occurrence of five crystal types and two variants (tiny acicular crystals and sphaerites) within one family is unusual. Number of crystal types within a single species was one (108 spp.), two (53 spp.), three (51 spp.), four (15 spp.), and five (6 spp.). Seven species lacked crystals. The tiny acicular crystal variant was most common (167 spp.), followed by prisms (67 spp.), raphides (65 spp.), druses (61 spp.), sphaerites variant (50 spp.), styloids (36 spp.), and crystal sand (21 spp.). Epidermal crystals were common (155 spp.), with epidermal crystals clustering at base of trichomes in 21 species. Jasminum was exceptional in having mostly druses and almost no crystals around vascular bundles. Most Oleaceae crystals are tiny, usually about 5 μm in length, except for larger styloids and raphides.
Competition between gas phase and surface oxidation of TiCl4 during synthesis of TiO2 particles

Abstract The effect of TiCl 4 surface reaction on the size of product TiO 2 particles is quantitatively investigated over a wide range of process conditions (temperature and reactant concentration) that are typically employed in industrial and research facilities. A model for titania aerosol dynamics is developed accounting for the simultaneous gas phase and particle phase (surface) oxidation rate of TiCl 4 . Using this model, the implications of these two chemical pathways on the size of product titania particles are elucidated. It is shown, for the first time, that TiCl 4 oxidation on the surface of freshly formed titania particles is most important at high TiCl 4 concentrations. A design diagram is presented mapping the significance of surface and gas-phase oxidation of TiCl 4 in terms of process temperature and initial TiCl 4 mole fraction. The model predictions are compared with experimental results and conflicting interpretations of the mechanism of titania formation by TiCl 4 oxidation in the literature are reconciled. This model can be used to investigate the significance of surface growth in gas-phase synthesis of fumed silica as well as other ceramic and metallic particles.
Cross sections for quenching of CH A 2δ, ν′=0, by N2 and H2O from 1740 to 2160 K

Measurements of time-resolved CH fluorescence are reported for 77 methane-based counterflow diffusionflames at atmospheric pressure. Seven oxidizer mixtures, with variations in O2/N2/Ar mole fractions, are used with each of 11 CH4/N2/Ar fuel mixtures to vary the resulting nitrogen mole fraction without altering the flame temperature. A wide range of fluorescence lifetimes is observed at the locations of peak CH concentration. A procedure for extracting single-collider thermally averaged cross sections for nitrogen in these flames is developed despite the complicated collisional environments. Because of linear relationships between nitrogen and other collider mole fractions in the 7 oxidizer mixtures, the effects of quenching from species other than nitrogen can be subtracted without knowledge of their quenching rate coefficients. The 11 fuel mixtures are used to parametrically assess the N2 cross-section dependence on temperature from 1740 to 2160 K. The results show that N2 quenching of CH A 2Δ, ν′=0, at flame temperatures is less efficient by a factor of 3 than the correlation of Tamura et al., which relies on extrapolation from a single measurement at 1300 K. Using the improved nitrogen cross-section correlation of σQ,N2=1.53×10−4 T1.23 exp(−522.1/T), water is found to be an equally important quencher of CH in flames. The collision environment for the 77 diffusion flames is predicted using OPPDIF with GRI-Mech 3.0 kinetics, and the resulting data are used to suggest improvements to the H2O cross section. The present data are consistent with a constant H2O thermally averaged cross section versus temperature as opposed to a constant quenching rate coefficient.
Matrix modulation of compensatory lung regrowth and progenitor cell proliferation in mice

Mechanical stress is an important modulator of lung morphogenesis, postnatal lung development, and compensatory lung regrowth. The effect of mechanical stress on stem or progenitor cells is unclear. We examined whether proliferative responses of epithelial progenitor cells, including dually immunoreactive (CCSP and proSP-C) progenitor cells (CCSP+/SP-C+) and type II alveolar epithelial cells (ATII), are affected by physical factors found in the lung of emphysematics, including loss of elastic recoil, reduced elastin content, and alveolar destruction. Mice underwent single lung pneumonectomy (PNY) to modulate transpulmonary pressure (mechanical stress) and to stimulate lung regeneration. Control mice underwent sham thoracotomy. Plombage of different levels was employed to partially or completely abolish this mechanical stress. Responses to graded changes in transpulmonary pressure were assessed in elastin-insufficient mice (elastin +/−, ELN+/−) and elastase-treated mice with elastase-induced emphysema. Physiological regrowth, morphometry (linear mean intercept; Lmi), and the proliferative responses of CCSP+/SP-C+, Clara cells, and ATII were evaluated. Plombage following PNY significantly reduced transpulmonary pressure, regrowth, and CCSP+/SP-C+, Clara cell, and ATII proliferation following PNY. In the ELN+/− group, CCSP+/SP-C+ and ATII proliferation responses were completely abolished, although compensatory lung regrowth was not significantly altered. In contrast, in elastase-injured mice, compensatory lung regrowth was significantly reduced, and ATII but not CCSP+/SP-C+ proliferation responses were impaired. Elastase injury also reduced the baseline abundance of CCSP+/SP-C+, and CCSP+/SP-C+ were found to be displaced from the bronchioalveolar duct junction. These data suggest that qualities of the extracellular matrix including elastin content, mechanical stress, and alveolar integrity strongly influence the regenerative capacity of the lung, and the patterns of cell proliferation in the lungs of adult mice.
Total synthesis of (±)-talaromycin B

Abstract The synthesis of (±)-talaromycin B is described which employs diastereotopic hydroxymethyl groups in a spiroketalization as a means of controlling remote stereochemical relationships. The acyclic precursor is constructed in a lynchpin process from a single alkylating reagent.
Prolactin receptor heterogeneity: processing and signalling of the long and short isoforms during development.

During development, the fetus is exposed to prolactin activity from the placenta, as well as from the developing fetal pituitary. Distinct prolactin receptor isoforms, having different cytoplasmic domains generated by alternative splicing, are expressed as development proceeds at different levels in different organs. The ‘long’ receptors are able to mediate transduction of all signals examined, in contrast with the ‘short’ isoforms, whose truncated cytoplasmic domains are able to mediate a much smaller repertoire of signals and can act as dominant negatives. Our studies demonstrate that, although these forms share internalization mechanisms, the long form is internalized faster, resulting in more rapid down-regulation of this form. In order to examine the mechanisms by which prolactin may exert trophic effects on its target tissues during development, we have examined the signalling pathways through which prolactin binding to the long receptor regulates the transcription of cyclin D1. Our studies reveal the importance of the JAK/STAT (Janus kinase/signal transduction and activators of transcription) pathway, and the complexity of prolactin signalling to this promoter.
Social influences, social norms, social support, and smoking behavior among adolescent workers.

Abstract Purpose. To examine the relationships between worksite interpersonal influences and smoking and quitting behavior among adolescent workers. Design. The cross-sectional survey assessed factors influencing tobacco use behavior, Setting. During the fall of 1998, data were collected from 10 grocery stores in Massachusetts that were owned and managed by the same company. Subjects. Eligible participants included 474 working adolescents ages 15 to 18. Eighty-three percent of workers (n = 379) completed the survey. Measures. The self-report questionnaire assessed social influences, social norms, social support, friendship networks, stage of smoking and quitting behavior, employment patterns, and demographic factors. Results. Thirty-five percent of respondents were never smokers, 21% experimental, 5 % occasional, 18% regular; and 23% former smokers. Using analysis of variance (ANOVA), results indicate that regular smokers were 30% more likely than experimental or occasional smokers to report coworker enco...
Frequency tuning properties of neurons in the inferior colliculus of an FM bat.

We examined frequency tuning characteristics of single neurons in the inferior colliculus of the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus, in order to determine whether there are different classes of spectral selectivity at this level and to relate frequency tuning properties to the design of the echolocation signal. In unanesthetized but tranquilized animals, we recorded responses from 363 single units to pure tones, frequency-modulated (FM) sweeps, or broad-band noise. Most units were selective for stimulus type; 50% responded only to pure tones, 14% responded only to FM sweeps, and 5% responded only to noise. The remainder responded to two or more types of stimuli. Tuning curves could be classified as follows: 1) V-shaped tuning curves (57%) were the most common type; 2) closed tuning curves (20%) had thresholds at both low and high sound levels; 3) narrow filters (14%) had Q values above 20 at 10 dB and 30 dB above threshold or 10 dB and 40 dB above threshold; 4) frequency-opponent tuning (6%) was found in units with high spontaneous activity; within a center range of frequencies, firing rate increased above spontaneous level, but at higher or lower frequencies, firing rate decreased below spontaneous level; 5) double-tuned units (3%) had two best frequencies (BF). The most clear evidence of topographic distribution was seen for filter units, which were only found in the dorsal part of the 20–30 kHz isofrequency contour. Filter units were also the most clearly related to the echolocation signal of the bat. Their BFs were all within the range of the dominant frequency (˜20–30 kHz) that Eptesicus uses during the searching phase of echolocation. © 1992 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Design of water utilization systems in process plants with a single contaminant

This paper illustrates necessary conditions of optimality for single component water-using networks in process plants. These necessary conditions correspond to the optimal water allocation planning (WAP) problem that considers wastewater reuse on the basis of a single contaminant and where the objective is to minimize the total water intake. The conditions under which degenerate solutions are possible are also identified. Examples are discussed. A method that can be implemented by hand is also provided.
Vibrational Energy Redistribution in Polyatomic Liquids: Ultrafast IR−Raman Spectroscopy of Acetonitrile

Ultrafast anti-Stokes Raman scattering after intense mid-IR excitation is used to study vibrational energy relaxation (VER) and vibrational cooling (VC) in neat liquid acetonitrile. The mid-IR pulse (3000 cm-1) excites a combination of C−H stretching fundamentals and C−H bending overtones, which are coupled by Fermi resonance. Vibrational excitation decays from the pumped C−H stretch in 5 ps. Almost no energy is transferred from C−H stretch to C⋮N stretch (2253 cm-1). The C⋮N stretch behaves as a VER “blocking group” which keeps vibrational energy in the CH3−C moiety. A 5 ps buildup, which mirrors the C−H stretch decay, is seen in the C−H bending modes (∼1500 cm-1) at about one-half the C−H stretch energy, and in the lowest energy vibration at 379 cm-1, a C−C⋮N bend. By diluting the acetonitrile with CCl4, it is shown that the buildup of population in the C−C⋮N bend mirrors the buildup of excitation of the bath. Monitoring the C−C⋮N bend allows us to track the instantaneous fraction of energy which has be...
Destabilization of the Thermohaline Circulation by Atmospheric Transports: An Analytic Solution

Abstract The four-box coupled atmosphere–ocean model of Marotzke is solved analytically, by introducing the approximation that the effect of oceanic heat advection on ocean temperatures is small (but not negligible) compared to the effect of surface heat fluxes. The solutions are written in a form that displays how the stability of the thermohaline circulation depends on the relationship between atmospheric meridional transports of heat and moisture and the meridional temperature gradient. In the model, these relationships are assumed to be power laws with different exponents allowed for the dependence of the transports of heat and moisture on the gradient. The approximate analytic solutions are in good agreement with Marotzke’s exact numerical solutions, but show more generally how the destabilization of the thermohaline circulation depends on the sensitivity of the atmospheric transports to the meridional temperature gradient. The solutions are also used to calculate how the stability of the thermohalin...
Osteoclast synthesis and secretion and activation of latent transforming growth factor β

The coupling of bone resorption and formation suggests that autocrine and paracrine factors are produced and released within the local bone environment. Since osteoblasts secrete latent transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta), and osteoclasts can activate this latent complex, one candidate paracrine coupling factor is TGF-beta. To examine whether TGF-beta is also a potential osteoclast-derived autocrine and paracrine factor, highly purified avian osteoclasts were examined for synthesis of TGF-beta and the mechanism by which osteoclasts activate the latent TGF-beta complex was investigated. TGF-beta protein production was measured within 4 h of culture in osteoclast-conditioned media using growth factor inhibition of CCL-64 cells and verified by blocking effects with anti-TGF-beta antibodies. Synthesis of TGF-beta was confirmed by northern blotting and metabolic labeling. Northern blots of total RNA revealed that osteoclasts expressed the mRNA for TGF-beta 2, beta 3, and beta 4. Biosynthetic studies suggest that TGF-beta 2 was the principle form secreted in culture. Nearly all the TGF-beta that was secreted had been activated by the osteoclasts. When presented with exogenous latent TGF-beta, osteoclasts activated latent TGF-beta from a variety of sources. Furthermore, osteoclast-conditioned media retained the ability to activate latent TGF-beta during cell-free incubations at 37 degrees C. Osteoclast-mediated activation was inhibited by proteinase inhibitors, weak base treatment of the cells, or disruption of the cytoskeletal network. These data suggest that osteoclasts may secrete proteinases into the extracellular milieu to activate latent TGF-beta and that TGF-beta may be an autocrine factor involved in regulating osteoclast activity.
Active Learning in Comparative Politics: A Mock German Election and Coalition-Formation Simulation

Instructors constantly encourage students to learn and process information. Brock and Cameron assert, “Individuals process information, learn concepts, and solve problems in different ways” (1999, 251). Some students learn by listening, others learn by taking notes, more learn by seeing, and still others learn by doing and saying. Yet in many college class-rooms, the dominant teaching method is the traditional lecture. While lecturing may be a necessary teaching technique, it is often insufficient for teaching a large number of students with varying learning preferences.
Sparse Hessian factorization in curved trajectories for unconstrained minimization

Curved trajectories algorithm CTA is a package for the minimization of unconstrained functions of several variables with intervals on the variables. The core algorithm is novel in that steps may follow polynomial space curves instead of straight lines. The space curves result from truncations of a Taylor series expansion of the Gradient inverse function. A critical item in the efficiency of CTA is the factorization of the sparse Hessian matrix and handling a non-positive definite Hessian. This paper describes a new approach for non-positive definite Hessians that has given robust results especially for ill-conditioned problems and the CTA package compares very favourably with other minimization packages using a sample of large Cuter problems.
Regulation of Neuronal Survival and Death by E2F-Dependent Gene Repression and Derepression

Neuronal death induced by a variety of means requires participation of the E2F family of transcription factors. Here, we show that E2F acts as a gene silencer in neurons and that repression of E2F-responsive genes is required for neuronal survival. Moreover, neuronal death evoked by DNA damaging agents or trophic factor withdrawal is characterized by derepression of E2F-responsive genes. Such derepression, rather than direct E2F-promoted gene activation, is required for death. Among the genes that are derepressed in neurons subjected to DNA damage or trophic factor withdrawal are the transcription factors B- and C-myb. Overexpression of B- and C-myb is sufficient to evoke neuronal death. These findings support a model in which E2F-dependent gene repression and derepression play pivotal roles in neuronal survival and death, respectively.
THE ALPHA 4 SUBUNIT OF THE GABAA RECEPTORS FROM RAT BRAIN AND RETINA

Abstract A novel anti-α4 antibody has been used for the purification and characterization of the α4-containing GABAA receptors in the rat brain and for studying the immunocytochemical distribution of the α4 subunit peptide in rat brain and retina. The anti-α4 antibody recognized a 66 kDa peptide in brain membranes and immunoprecipitated 10–28% of the brain GABAA receptors in various brain regions as determined by [3H]muscimol binding. The highest immunoprecipitation values were obtained in the thalamus and the lowest in the cerebellum. Surprisingly, the receptors immunoprecipitated by anti-α4 showed little or no diazepam-insensitive or diazepam-sensitive [3H]Ro15-4513 binding sites in any brain region. In the cerebellum, where 25% of the [3H]Ro15-4513 binding is diazepam-insensitive, much of the latter was immunoprecipitated by an anti-α6 antibody but not by the anti-α4 antibody. Immunoblots of immunoaffinity-purified GABAA receptors from the cerebral cortex on immobilized anti-α4 revealed molecular colocalization of α4 and γ2. However, the absence of significant benzodiazepine binding in these GABAA receptors suggests that the assembly of the α4 and γ2 subunits in the cerebral cortex and in other brain regions is such that they do not normally form diazepam-insensitive [3H]Ro15-4513 binding sites. This result contrasts with the presence of diazepam-insensitive [3H]Ro15-4513 binding sites in the GABAA receptors expressed in heterologous systems resulting from the combination of α4, γ2 and β2 subunits. Immunocytochemistry has revealed the abundance of α4 peptide immunoreactivity in the thalamus and dentate gyrus (mainly in the hilar neurons and the inner third of the granule cell layer). The α4 immunoreactivity is also present in the external plexiform layer of the olfactory bulb and in all layers of the neocortex and pyriform cortex. In the retina, α4 is concentrated on ganglion cells (including some giant ganglion cells), the inner plexiform layer and to a lesser extent in the outer plexiform layer. Copyright © 1996 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Treatment of Spontaneous Pneumothorax in a Patient With Right Pulmonary Agenesis

Pulmonary agenesis is a rare congenital disease that is associated with many other congenital anomalies. We present the case of a patient, with right pulmonary agenesis and transmediastinal lung herniation, who presented with a spontaneous pneumothorax. This congenital anomaly and the treatment for this rare presentation is discussed in detail.
Diarrhea-associated pathogens, lactobacilli and cellulolytic bacteria in equine feces: Responses to antibiotic challenge ☆

Abstract Antibiotics are important to equine medicine, but antibiotic-associated diarrhea (AAD) can lead to poor performance and even mortality. AAD is attributed to disruption of the hindgut microbiota, which permits proliferation of pathogenic microbes. The goal of this study was to evaluate the effects of common antibiotics on cellulolytic bacteria, lactobacilli, and AAD-associated pathogens in the feces of healthy horses. Fifteen horses were assigned to three treatment groups (blocked by age and sex): control (no antibiotics), trimethoprim–sulfadiazine (PO), or ceftiofur (IM). Fecal samples (n = 8 per horse) were taken during dietary adaptation (3 weeks), antibiotic challenge (1 week), and withdrawal (1 week). Bacteria were enumerated by serial dilution and viable count. Cellulolytic bacteria decreased by >99% during administration of either antibiotic (P
Prevalence and Characterization of Urinary Tract Infections in Dogs with Surgically Treated Type 1 Thoracolumbar Intervertebral Disc Extrusion

Objective— To determine the prevalence of urinary tract infections (UTI), factors that correlate positively with UTI, and whether identified UTI are most likely community- or hospital acquired in dogs with surgically treated type 1 thoracolumbar intervertebral disc (IVD) extrusions. Study Design— Prospective cross-sectional clinical study. Sample Population— Dogs (n=92) that were surgically treated for a thoracolumbar extradural compressive spinal cord lesion that was consistent with type 1 IVD extrusion. Methods— Dogs were evaluated for bacterial lower UTI when possible by cystocentesis and urine culture before surgery, and 48–72, 96–120 hours, and 7 days after surgery while hospitalized. Paraparesis, confirmation of thoracolumbar extruded nucleus pulposus, and informed owner consent were required for study inclusion. Urine specimens (n=297) were cultured and both objective and subjective clinical data were obtained. Results— Prevalence of UTI in dogs with surgically treated type 1 thoracolumbar IVD extrusion was 27% (25 dogs). Temporal prevalence of UTI was 15% (13/89) before surgery, 12% (11/91) at 2–3 days, 16% (12/76) at 4–5 days, and 20% (8/41) at 7 days after surgery. Statistically significant factors affecting UTI prevalence included neurologic and urinary status, sex, administration of perioperative antibiotics, and amount of time body temperature was <35°C during anesthesia. Conclusion— UTI are common in dogs with surgically treated type 1 thoracolumbar IVD extrusion. Females, dogs that cannot ambulate or voluntarily urinate, dogs not administered perioperative cefazolin, and dogs whose body temperature falls <35°C during anesthesia have a higher incidence of UTI. Clinical Relevance— All dogs with surgically treated type 1 thoracolumbar IVD extrusion should be monitored for the presence of UTI; however, close attention should be paid to females and dogs that cannot ambulate or voluntarily urinate.
First principles calculation of the elastic constants of intermetallic compounds: metastable Al3Li

We report first principles local density calculations for the metastable Al3Li intermetallic compound with cubic L12 crystal structure using the full-potential linearized augmented plane wave method. From the second derivative of the total energy as a function of volume, and generated tetragonal and trigonal lattice distortions, the elastic constants C11, C12, and C44 were derived yielding C11 = 158 GPa, C12 = 29.4 GPa, and C44 = 57.7 GPa. Because of the very high Young’s modulus (E = 141 GPa) compared, for example, to pure Al (E = 66 GPa), it is suggested that Al3Li plays an important role in strengthening the Al–Li alloys. The calculated Young’s modulus appears in good agreement with experimental estimates when the experimental values are extrapolated to 0 K. Although the Young’s modulus of Al3Li is increased in comparison to Al, the calculated bulk modulus is decreased to a value of 72 GPa as compared to pure Al (82 GPa), in agreement with experiment. As a result, the Poisson ratio is reduced to ŝ = 0.173 as compared to the value 1/3 for an isotropic medium. Because of this and the high Young’s modulus, the calculated Debye temperature ΘD at 0 K amounts to 672 K, which is substantially larger than ΘD for Al, which is about 400 K.
The effect of population health on foreign direct investment inflows to low- and middle-income countries

This paper investigates the effect of population health on gross inflows of foreign direct investment (FDI). We conduct a panel data analysis of 74 industrialized and developing countries over 1980-2000. Our main finding is that gross inflows of FDI are strongly and positively influenced by population health in low- and middle-income countries. Our estimates suggest that raising life expectancy by one year increases gross FDI inflows by 9%, after controlling for other relevant variables. These findings are consistent with the view that health is an integral component of human capital for developing countries.
Martensite in steel: strength and structure

Abstract This paper reviews the strengthening mechanisms associated with the various components of martensitic microstructures in steels and other ferrous alloys. The first section examines the experiments and strengthening theories associated with Fe–Ni and Fe–Ni–C alloys, in which the martensite, because of subzero Ms temperatures, can be evaluated with carbon atoms trapped in octahedral interstitial sites. The evaluation of strengthening in these alloys has been limited to interpreting yield strength of unaged, untempered martensite in terms of interstitial solid solution strengthening. The second section reviews strengthening of martensitic Fe–C alloys and low-alloy carbon steels with above-room-temperature Ms temperatures. In these alloys, it is impossible to prevent C diffusion during quenching, and strengthening of martensite becomes dependent on static and dynamic strain aging due to carbon atom interaction with dislocation substructure. In all alloys the dominant strengthening component of martensitic microstructures is the matrix of martensitic crystals, either in lath or plate morphology, but secondary effects due to other microstructural components such as carbides and retained austenite are also discussed.
Ocular Mucosal CD11b+ and CD103+ Mouse Dendritic Cells under Normal Conditions and in Allergic Immune Responses

Steady state dendritic cells (DC) found in non-lymphoid tissue sites under normal physiologic conditions play a pivotal role in triggering T cell responses upon immune provocation. CD11b+ and CD103+ DC have received considerable attention in this regard. However, still unknown is whether such CD11b+ and CD103+ DC even exist in the ocular mucosa, and if so, what functions they have in shaping immune responses. We herein identified in the ocular mucosa of normal wild-type (WT) and Flt3-/- mice the presence of a CD11b+ DC (i.e., CD11c+ MHCII+ CD11b+ CD103- F4/80+ Sirp-a+). CD103+ DC (i.e. CD11c+ MHCII+ CD11b low CD103+ CD8a+ DEC205+ Langerin+) were also present in WT, but not in Flt3-/- mice. These CD103+ DC expressed high levels of Id2 and Flt3 mRNA; whereas CD11b+ DC expressed high Irf4, Csfr, and Cx3cr1 mRNA. Additionally, the functions of these DC differed in response to allergic immune provocation. This was assessed utilizing a previously validated model, which includes transferring specific populations of exogenous DC into the ocular mucosa of ovalbumin (OVA)/alum-primed mice. Interestingly, in such mice, topical OVA instillation following engraftment of exogenous CD11b+ DC led to dominant allergic T cell responses and clinical signs of ocular allergy relative to those engrafted with CD103+ DC. Thus, although CD11b+ and CD103+ DC are both present in the normal ocular mucosa, the CD11b+ DC subset plays a dominant role in a mouse model of ocular allergy.
The structural and functional analysis of cadherin calcium-dependent cell adhesion molecules

During the past year considerable progress has been made in our understanding of cadherin structure and function. Recent research has concentrated on several aspects of the cell and molecular biology of cadherins, including genomic organization, cytoskeletal interactions, regulation of expression and function by post-translational modifications, differential expression during embryonic development, and the emerging role of cadherin misexpression and malfunction in pathogenesis.
Gangster operators and invincibility of positive semidefinite matrices

Abstract Decrease in absolute value of a symmetrically placed pair of off diagonal entries need not preserve positive definiteness of an n × n matrix, n ⩾ 3 . A gangster operator is one that replaces some such pairs by 0s. Circumstances in which gangster operators preserve positive definiteness are investigated. Certain general circumstances are given, and graphs that ensure preservation are characterized.
Angular distributions in C12 → 3α

Abstract Feynman diagram techniques are used to calculate angular distributions of C 12 → 3α for states in C 12 with spin 0 + , 1 − , 2 + . The breakup is assumed to proceed sequentially through the 0 + , 2 + states of Be 8 . The extent to which the sequential mode dominates provides a determination of the nature of the states of C 12 in terms of the cluster model. Pure sequential decay would indicate that these states in C 12 are well described as being cluster model states with an alpha particle bound to a Be 8 nucleus. Angular distributions are presented for unpolarized initial states and for 2 + states of arbitrary polarization. Application is made to states which have been studied experimentally.