cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Conflicts in the Use of the ACS by Federal Agencies Between Statutory Requirements and Survey Methodology

The American Community Survey (ACS) has been fully implemented since 2005. The Census Bureau has released four 5-year datasets, the most geographically detailed dataset. Yet, government agencies still grapple with how to use the multiple datasets and estimates. The Census Bureau publishes guidelines for their use, emphasizing the need to balance timeliness and precision in choosing an estimate and encouraging the use of the margin of error. This study examines how three federal agencies use the ACS to implement programs to understand whether the published guidelines address the issues of importance to government agencies. These programs all use income data from the ACS, but for different ends: eligibility criteria, evaluation of federal guideline implementation, and allocation of funds among urban areas. After reviewing agency publications, studying changes in policy, and conducting personal interviews with officials, we find that the agencies consider not only precision and timeliness when choosing an estimate, but also statutory requirements, computational limitations, and geographic needs. Federal agencies are cognizant that these estimates are subject to error, but find that the margin of error adds complexity that does not necessarily result in better implementation of programs. The ACS offers users multiple dataset choices, with varying degrees of reliability, to estimate population characteristics. Current Census Bureau guidelines for the ACS do not meet the needs of many government agencies, as federal statutes are not designed with the current survey methodology in mind.
Redefining Diversity: Creating an Inclusive Academic Library through Diversity Initiatives

ABSTRACT This article contends that it is essential for academic librarians to identify and remain mindful of the unique needs of an increasingly diverse student demographic to ensure that academic libraries are a welcoming place for all students. It is through diversity initiatives that we can expect to improve the educational outcome for students by presenting the library as a vital part of their college experience. The article defines diversity in the most “elastic” sense of the word—including minority racial groups, but expanding the term to include international students, graduate students, returning students, distance learners, transfer students, “at-risk” students, and lesbian/gay/bisexual/transgender students.
Do we all speak the same language

Discusses the special concerns and issues invovling the development of standards on an international level.
The Reception of Canon Law and Civil Law in the Common Law Courts before 1600

English common law practitioners and judges borrowed much of the conceptual structure for their body of legal knowledge from the legal culture of continental Europe over the centuries. Their surviving writings show a marked increase in the use of Roman legal classifications in the century before 1600: public and private, criminal and civil, real and personal, property and possession, contract and delict, among other examples.1 Those who perpetuated the learning of the English royal courts in the sixteenth century had begun fitting it into a framework borrowed from the two great bodies of 'learned law' taught in the universities of Europe: civil (Roman) law and canon law. Common lawyers expressed the need for an 'institutes' of English law, a written introductory work that would survey the whole of the common law in its main classifications, comparable to Justinian's Institutes of Roman law (533 AD) and Giovanni Paolo Lancelotti's Institutes of canon law (1563). In the decades after 1600, such institutes of common law began to appear.2 This paper investigates the common lawyers' attitudes towards canon law and civil law' in the period from 1300 to 1600. How much canon law and civil law did
16-Channel On-chip Programmable Radio Frequency Arbitrary Waveform Generation

A 16-channel microring based spectral shaper for on-chip radio frequency arbitrary waveform generation (RFAWG) is designed, fabricated and demonstrated. Sixteen resonators with tunable heaters are cascaded to generate various RF waveforms like chirping and pi-phase-shift.
Predation by three owl species on northern pocket gophers of different body mass.

We examined the estimated sizes of Thomomys talpoides in the diets of Bubo virginianus (1,505 g), Tyto alba (437 g), and Asio otus (245 g) in north-central Oregon between 1973 and 1982. The three owl species tended to consume T. talpoides of different size and responded differently to predicted seasonal body mass changes in the T. talpoides population. On an annual basis B. virginianus preyed upon the largest individuals (x = 67.9 g), whereas A. otus preyed upon the smallest (x = 41.0 g). When compared with the predicted values for the size composition of the T. talpoides population, B. virginianus appeared to prey upon T. talpoides randomly with respect to size, whereas A. out demonstrated a high degree of selectivity, consistently preying upon relatively small individuals. However, the absence of significant seasonal changes in prey size electivities suggests that active choice is not a major factor in predation on gophers by A. otus. Instead, evidence suggests that A. otus attacks T. talpoides randomly with respect to size but captures them in accordance with size-related capture probabilities.
The Word Fragment Completion Effect: A Computer-Assisted Classroom Exercise

A computer demonstration of the word fragment completion effect was developed to enhance students' comprehension of an experimental paradigm used in cognitive psychology. The robust word fragment completion effect is used to introduce students to the implicit memory paradigm and to illustrate the advantages inherent in such a procedure. The demonstration is a useful tool for comparing and contrasting experimental procedures; it also provides a starting point for a discussion of multiple memory models.
Enzyme purification by selective elution with substrate analog from ion-exchange columns: application to glucose 6-phosphate dehydrogenase, pseudocholinesterase, lactate dehydrogenase, and alanine dehydrogenase.

Certain enzymes adsorbed on an ion-exchange column can be selectively eluted, after washing the column with a suitable buffer, by a substrate analog that associates with the enzyme and partially neutralizes its electric charge. The requirements of the method are: (1) pH of the buffer for chromatography should be between the isoelectric point of the enzyme and that of the substrate analog; (2) concentration of salt in the buffer should be lower than that needed to elute the enzyme in the absence of the analog but high enough to elute the enzyme in the presence of the analog; (3) the substrate analog should be able to associate with the enzyme at the pH used for the chromatography. This method was applied to the purification of human glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, human pseudochlinesterase, Bacillus subtilisl-lactate dehydrogenase and B. subtilisl-alanine dehydrogenase. A high degree of purification was achieved by selective elution with good recovery of the enzyme activity.
Self-Report Measures of Juvenile Psychopathic Personality Traits A Comparative Review

The authors evaluated self-report instruments currently being used to assess children and adolescents with psychopathic personality traits with respect to their reliability, validity, and research utility. Comprehensive searches across multiple computerized bibliographic databases were conducted and supplemented with manual searches. A total of 30 articles incorporating the following nine measures of juvenile psychopathy were identified: Antisocial Process Screening Device (APSD), Millon Adolescent Clinical Inventory—derived Murrie and Cornell Psychopathy Scale (MC-P), Psychopathy Scale—16 (PS-16), modified Childhood Psychopathy Scale (mCPS), Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory and Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory— Adolescent Version (MMPI and MMPI-A), NEO-Personality Inventory—Revised (NEO-PI-R),Psychopathic Personality Inventory (PPI),Psychopathy Scale—11 (PS-11), and Youth Psychopathic Traits Inventory (YPI). Current research shows limited utility for the MMPI-A, preliminary yet prom...
Histamine-liberator 4880 and basophilic leukocytes

Abstract When introduced in vivo , histamine-liberator 48/80 produces an abrupt disappearance of basophil leukocytes in the peripheral blood of rabbits and chickens. This disappearance is not due to migration into the tissues, but to degranulation in the blood stream. This process is generally coincident with the development of the shocklike state. A similar phenomenon is seen with the introduction of snake venom in vivo and in vitro . Colchicine produces a basophilic leukocytosis upon repeated subcutaneous administration.
Ginsburg-Landau theory of two antagonistic order parameters: Magnetism and superconductivity

Abstract An attempt is made to construct a Ginsburg-Landau theory of socalled magnetic superconductors. Two order parameters, the magnetization field and the gap function, are introduced in such a way as to inhibit each others growth. It is found that the non-local character of the superconducting order parameter must be taken into account in any evaluation of effects of the critical magnetic fluctuations. Some predictions are made within the limits of Ornstein-Zoernicke-like fluctuation theory and some comparison is made with available data.
Cobalt destroys neurons without destroying fibers of passage in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat.

Abstract When several injections of 4 mM cobalt chloride are made into the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat, cell somata are destroyed while fibers-of-passage are spared. Nissl and Wiel stains were used to assess the extent of cell and fiber damage, respectively, for cobalt lesions of layer A. Retrograde transport of horseradish peroxidase from the visual cortex to geniculate cells surrounding the lesions was used to demonstrate the integrity of fibers passing through the area depleted of cells. Cobalt provides a versatile and precise method of disrupting neural pathways. Depending upon the number and timing of the injections, the disruption can be temporary, resulting from a reversible inactivation of synaptic transmission, or permanent, caused by coma death.
Repeated brief postnatal maternal separation enhances hypothalamic gastric autonomic circuits in juvenile rats

Abstract Maternal separation of rat pups for 15 min each day over the first one to two postnatal weeks (MS15) has been shown to increase the active maternal care received by pups and to decrease their later neuroendocrine and behavioral stress reactivity compared to non-separated (NS) controls. Stress responses prominently feature altered gastric secretion and motility, and we previously reported that the developmental assembly of forebrain circuits underlying gastric autonomic control, including gastric responses to stress, is delayed by MS15 in neonatal rats [Card JP, Levitt P, Gluhovsky M, Rinaman L (2005) J Neurosci 25(40):9102–9111]. To determine how this early delay affects the later organization of central gastric autonomic circuits, the present study examined the effects of neonatal MS15 on central pre-gastric circuits assessed in post-weaning, juvenile rats. For this purpose, the retrograde transynaptic viral tracer, pseudorabies virus (PRV), was microinjected into the stomach wall of 28–30 day old male rats with an earlier developmental history of either MS15 or NS. Rats were perfused 72 h later and tissue was processed to reveal PRV-positive cells. Transynaptic PRV immunolabeling was quantified in selected preautonomic brainstem and forebrain regions, including the area postrema, bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, central nucleus of the amygdala, paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus (PVN), and visceral cortices. Compared to NS controls, MS15 rats displayed a significantly greater amount of PRV labeling within the PVN, including both the dorsal cap and ventral subnuclei. There were no postnatal group differences in the amount of PRV labeling within any other brain region examined in this study. This effect of MS15 to enhance hypothalamic preautonomic circuit structure indicates a strengthening of this pathway and may provide insight into how early life experience produces differential effects on later stress reactivity, including gastric secretory and motor responses to stress.
Sequential Patterns of Circulating Luteinizing Hormone and Follicle-Stimulating Hormone in Female Sheep From Early Postnatal Life Through the First Estrous Cycles,

Patterns of circulating LH and FSH were examined during several 6-h periods in developing female sheep from 3 weeks of age through the first estrous cycles (30-40 weeks of age) and early pregnancy. With the onset of pulsatile LH secretion, beginning 11 weeks afterbirth, circulating LH increased to levels 2- to 5-fold greater than those observed in the adult. Thereafter, high and variable levels of circulating LH persisted through young adulthood when ovarian cyclicity including ovulation became manifest. Although prior to the initial estrus changes in frequency of LH release (number of LH discharges/6-h period) appeared to occur randomly from week to week, after first estrus, changes in frequency became predictable. During the early (day 1) and late (day 15) luteal phases of the first estrous cycles, when circulating progesterone was low (<0.6 ng/ml), the frequency of LH release was increased (5-7 discharges/6 h) while during the mid-luteal phase (days 7-12), when circulating progesterone was high (2-4 ng...
Synthesis and Properties of Phenyl Phosphines with Meta-Positioned Methyl Groups and the X-ray Structure of Tris(3,5-dimethyl-4-methoxyphenyl)phosphine

Nine phosphines, Phx(3,5-dimethyl-4-R-phenyl)3-x where R = H, F or OCH3, have been synthesized, and the donor properties of the P(III) centers have been evaluated by measuring the A1 ν(CO) frequencies of the Ni(CO)3L complexes. These data indicate that, compared to hydrogen, the methyl groups are electron donating, the fluoro groups are electron withdrawing, and the methoxy groups have little effect. The X-ray structure of tris(3,5-dimethyl-4-methoxyphenyl)phosphine has been obtained, and a prominent feature of the structure is that the methoxy groups are perpendicular to the phenyl ring faces and folded toward the ring faces adjacent to the phosphorus lone pair.
Historical Events and People in Geosciences

This book is a selection of some of the papers given at a historical symposium sponsored by the Interdivisional Commission on History of the International Association of Geomagnetism and Aeronomy (IAGA) during ihe International Union of Geodesy and Geophysics (IUGG) General Assembly held in Hamburg in 1983. Most of the papers are from a session on historical events or people, chaired by Schroder, but several are included from a related session on historical scientific records, chaired by J. Feynman (Boston College, Boston, Mass.). The articles cover a number of topics, such as biography. Fine examples here are the article on Balfour W. Currie (1902–1981), the Canadian upper atmosphere physicist (it is a pity that a photograph of h im was not included), or the article on Erich Regener (1881–1955), German pioneer in cosmic ray and upper atmosphere physics. Other articles concern the history of observatories (such as Ben Nevis) or the genesis of concepts (L. Biermann of t h e Max-Planck-Institut, Garching, Federal Republic of Germany (FRG), on the solar wind). H. Schmidlin (Denzlingen, FRG) presents excellent “insider” comments on the development of early gravimeters; such comments should be studied by contemporary sociologists of science.
Scattering and Multiple Scattering in Disordered Materials, an Overview

The papers papers in this section were presented at a joint session of symposium V on Applications of Multiple Scattering Theory and of Symposium P on Disordered Systems. They show that the ideas of scattering theory can help us to understand a very broad class ofphenomena.
Dietary protein effects on cholelithiasis in hamsters: Interaction with amino acids and bile acids

The objective of this experiment was to study the effects of dietary cottonseed protein and casein on plasma and biliary lipids, plasma amino acids and gallstones in hamsters. Thirty-four male hamsters (60 ± 5 g) were fed either the lithogenic “Dam Diet” (containing 20% casein, 74.3% sucrose and 5.7% vitamin-mineral mix) or a similar diet that contained 20% cottonseed protein for 30 days. Both diets contained protein as a protein isolate. The concentration of alpha-aminobutyric acid was significantly elevated in the casein-fed group. Significant differences in the total plasma cholesterol or lipoprotein cholesterol concentrations were not observed between the two dietary groups. A significant elevation in the absolute concentration of biliary cholesterol was observed in the casein-fed hamsters. Cottonseed protein-fed animals exhibited a significantly elevated concentration of bile acids. The ratio of glycochenodeoxycholic:glycocholic acid was significantly higher in the cotton-seed protein-fed group. This study reports that an elevated concentration of biliary cholesterol with a concomitant decrease in bile acid concentration yields a condition favorable to gallstone formation. It is proposed that cottonseed protein may have a specific effect on the bile acid pool by increasing the ratio of glycochenodeoxycholic acid:glycocholic acid which, in turn, prevents formation of cholesterol gallstones.
Synthetic and bio-hybrid nanoscale layers with tailored surface functionalities

Abstract We examine the prospective routes for the design of synthetic/biomacromolecular/inorganic film assemblies for photothermal cell based on biomimetic approach. We demonstrate examples of channel proteins immobilized onto surfaces of silicon single crystals modified with Langmuir–Blodgett and self-assembled monolayers. These proteins can be immobilized in intact, closed-pore conformation. Their state within photosensitive monolayers can be controlled by the photoisomerization reaction triggered by UV light.
An overview of optical phased array technology and status

Optical Phased Array technology will revolutionize optical systems. Within the last year or two we have had a demonstration of nonmechanical beam steering over a 45 degree x 45 degree field of regard. This demonstration had a response time of 6 - 40 millisecond, and a beam size of about a half of a centimeter. It had an efficiency of 15 -20 %. We are now working to increase beam size and efficiency, and to decrease speed. This demonstration was for narrow band radiation. We are also working on methods of decreasing dispersion so we can steer broadband radiation. We have approaches for all of the above areas. Another area of work is to move into the MWIR and LWIR regions. Currently we are working mostly in the visible and NIR. In the long run we would like to combine optical phased array technology with microwave phased arrays, so it would be possible to steer both 15 Ghz , or about 1 cm wavelength, radiation and 200 THz, or about 1.5 um, radiation.
Matriculation in U.S. economics Ph.D. programs : How many accepted americans do not enroll?

Using a sample of 26 U.S. economics Ph.D. programs in Fall 2003, we estimate that only about 12 percent of the U.S. and Canadian students accepted for doctoral study did not enroll in any U.S. economics Ph.D. program in Fall 2003 or Fall 2004. It is not possible to increase the supply of new Ph.D. economists substantially by "closing the sale" on accepted applicants: additional qualified applicants are needed. Nonmatriculants are remarkably similar to enrollees in demographics, prior education, test scores, and fields of special interest, but express less interest in economic research and are less likely to have been offered financial aid. An expected financial aid deficiency was also the most-cited reason for deciding not to matriculate, followed by how long it takes to earn an economics Ph.D., and the expectation of higher lifetime earnings in a career other than economics. Most who decided against an economics Ph.D. enrolled in an alternative graduate program.(This abstract was borrowed from another version of this item.)
Arterial duct morphology with reference to angioplasty and stenting

We studied the angiographic morphology of the arterial duct in neonates with congenital heart diseases. We defined the variations in ducto-aortic angle, number of tortuosities and site of insertion into the aorta of the duct in five diagnostic groups: (i) patent arterial duct (unobstructed) (n = 27), (ii) coarctation of the aorta (n = 24), (iii) pulmonary stenosis (n = 23), (iv) pulmonary atresia (n = 19) with or without ventricular septal defect, (v) hypoplastic left heart syndrome (n = 3). In the patent arterial duct group the angles ranged from 80 to 139 degrees, mean 107 degrees; in the coarctation group, 76 to 136 degrees, mean 104 degrees; in the pulmonary stenosis group, -60 to 111 degrees, mean 43 degrees; in the pulmonary atresia group, -55 to 115 degrees, mean 25 degrees; in the hypoplastic left heart syndrome 92 to 105 degrees, mean 98 degrees. The angles for the pulmonary atresia and stenosis groups were significantly less than those for the coarctation and patent ductus groups (P < 0.001). A ventricular septal defect in patients with pulmonary atresia or pulmonary stenosis was significantly associated with a smaller angle, a more proximal and a more tortuous duct (P < 0.01). The varying morphology of the duct in neonates with congenital heart lesions, especially with right heart obstruction requires special attention when attempting catheter techniques of ductal stenting. In particular the angle of approach and the presence of tortuosities may increase the difficulty of endovacular stenting.
Hemodynamic effects of closed and open chest cardiac resuscitation in normal dogs and those with acute myocardial infarction.

Abstract Experiments under controlled conditions were conducted to compare the hemodynamic effects of open and closed chest cardiac compression in normal dogs and in those with acute myocardial infarction. Cardiac outputs (dye-dilution method), central aortic systolic, diastolic and mean pressures were recorded prior to electrically induced ventricular fibrillation and during fibrillation while closed and then open-chest cardiac compression was in progress in the same animal. Twelve normal dogs and 10 with acute myocardial infarction induced by plastic sphere coronary artery embolization were studied in this manner. The results indicate that the open chest method generally provides greater cardiac output (average 61 per cent of control values), and greater aortic systolic, diastolic and mean pressures (48 per cent of control mean aortic pressure) than the closed chest technic (20 per cent and 21 per cent respectively), in both groups of animals. However, higher cardiac outputs were obtained with closed chest massage in smaller dogs than in larger ones (39 per cent vs. 13 per cent of control values), but even with small dogs the cardiac outputs with closed chest compression were less than with open chest cardiac compression. Systolic ejection period and stroke volume were considerably diminished with the closed technic and, therefore, a rapid rate of compression (120/min.) was more effective than slower rates. With direct heart compression, rates of 30 to 60 per minute were most efficacious. With either technic the administration of epinephrine during massage resulted in increased values of the systolic, diastolic and mean aortic pressures. It is concluded that under ideal conditions permitting a choice of cardiac resuscitation technic, the direct open chest method of cardiac compression produces, in the dog, hemodynamic responses more nearly approaching the normal state than the closed chest technic.
The Notch Pathway Is Important in Maintaining the Cancer Stem Cell Population in Pancreatic Cancer

Author(s): Abel, Ethan V; Kim, Edward J; Wu, Jingjiang; Hynes, Mark; Bednar, Filip; Proctor, Erica; Wang, Lidong; Dziubinski, Michele L; Simeone, Diane M | Abstract: BackgroundPancreatic cancer stem cells (CSCs) represent a small subpopulation of pancreatic cancer cells that have the capacity to initiate and propagate tumor formation. However, the mechanisms by which pancreatic CSCs are maintained are not well understood or characterized.MethodsExpression of Notch receptors, ligands, and Notch signaling target genes was quantitated in the CSC and non-CSC populations from 8 primary human pancreatic xenografts. A gamma secretase inhibitor (GSI) that inhibits the Notch pathway and a shRNA targeting the Notch target gene Hes1 were used to assess the role of the Notch pathway in CSC population maintenance and pancreatic tumor growth.ResultsNotch pathway components were found to be upregulated in pancreatic CSCs. Inhibition of the Notch pathway using either a gamma secretase inhibitor or Hes1 shRNA in pancreatic cancer cells reduced the percentage of CSCs and tumorsphere formation. Conversely, activation of the Notch pathway with an exogenous Notch peptide ligand increased the percentage of CSCs as well as tumorsphere formation. In vivo treatment of orthotopic pancreatic tumors in NOD/SCID mice with GSI blocked tumor growth and reduced the CSC population.ConclusionThe Notch signaling pathway is important in maintaining the pancreatic CSC population and is a potential therapeutic target in pancreatic cancer.
Fabrication of Hybrid Micro-Nanofluidic Devices With Centimeter Long Ultra-Low Aspect Ratio Nanochannels

Hybrid microfluidic and nanofluidic devices have a variety of applications including water desalination, molecular gates and DNA sieving among several other lab-on-chip uses. Most microfluidic and nanofluidic devices currently are fabricated in glass, silicon, polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), or with a combination of these materials. In order to impart functionality, metals, polymers or auxiliary components are often integrated with these devices. Ultra-low aspect ratio channels have several advantages including critical dimensions on the nanoscale but increased throughput compared to higher aspect ratio channels with the same critical dimension, which is important for applications where a higher volumetric flow rate is desired. Additionally, theoretical analysis is significantly easier as ultra-low aspect ratio channels can be modeled as 1-D systems. The fabrication methods for achieving low aspect ratios (< 0.005) usually require extensive facilities with several innovative fabrication and bonding schemes being previously reported. In this paper, we report on fabrication and bonding of ultra-low aspect ratio microfluidic and nanofluidic devices with aspect ratios at 0.0005 in glass/PDMS devices in contrast to the previous best reported result of 0.005 achieved in a silica device using stamp and stick PDMS bonding. The simplicity of our approach presents a new pathway to achieving the lowest aspect ratio nanochannels ever reported for channels fabricated using an interfacial layer for bonding. Centimeter long nanochannels on a borosilicate substrate were fabricated by standard UV photolithography followed by wet etching. Surface roughness of the fabricated channels is on the same order as the roughness of the initial substrate (2–3 nm) and therefore can enable fabrication of channels with critical dimensions approaching 15 nm or less. Devices were then bonded using a second borosilicate substrate with a thin PDMS adhesion layer (∼ 2 μm). The PDMS adhesion layer allows rapid, facile, and alignment-free bonding compared to traditional fusion or anodic bonds. Successful verification of device operation and functionality was determined by verifying flow in operational devices and with scanning electron microscopy to confirm bonding for the formation of nanochannels.Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Mechanisms of Slower Nitric Oxide Uptake by Red Blood Cells and Other Hemoglobin-containing Vesicles

Nitric oxide (NO) acts as a smooth muscle relaxation factor and plays a crucial role in maintaining vascular homeostasis. NO is scavenged rapidly by hemoglobin (Hb). However, under normal physiological conditions, the encapsulation of Hb inside red blood cells (RBCs) significantly retards NO scavenging, permitting NO to reach the smooth muscle. The rate-limiting factors (diffusion of NO to the RBC surface, through the RBC membrane or inside of the RBC) responsible for this retardation have been the subject of much debate. Knowing the relative contribution of each of these factors is important for several reasons including optimization of the development of blood substitutes where Hb is contained within phospholipid vesicles. We have thus performed experiments of NO uptake by erythrocytes and microparticles derived from erythrocytes and conducted simulations of these data as well as that of others. We have included extracellular diffusion (that is, diffusion of the NO to the membrane) and membrane permeability, in addition to intracellular diffusion of NO, in our computational models. We find that all these mechanisms may modulate NO uptake by membrane-encapsulated Hb and that extracellular diffusion is the main rate-limiting factor for phospholipid vesicles and erythrocytes. In the case of red cell microparticles, we find a major role for membrane permeability. These results are consistent with prior studies indicating that extracellular diffusion of several gas ligands is also rate-limiting for erythrocytes, with some contribution of a low membrane permeability.
FACTORS INFLUENCING LEGAL DISPOSITION IN CHILD ABUSE INVESTIGATIONS

The study used an experimental design to investigate factors that influence a child protective service worker's decisions to recommend court action in cases of child abuse involving physical injury. The focus was decisions that are made early in an investigation. Seriousness of injury, whether or not there was a previous child abuse report, the consistency of the explanation regarding nature and location of injury, and parental reaction toward the worker were all found to significantly affect case disposition decisions. Although there was a general tendency among workers not to recommend court action, there was substantial disagreement regarding the appropriateness of court action in particular child abuse cases. The findings substantiate the need for clarification of decision-making criteria in child abuse cases.
Above- and belowground organic matter storage and production in a tropical pine plantation and a paired broadleaf secondary forest

The distribution of tree biomass and the allocation of organic matter production were measured in an 11-yr-old Pinus caribaea plantation and a paired broadleaf secondary forest growing under the same climatic conditions. The pine plantation had significantly more mass aboveground than the secondary forest (94.9 vs 35.6 t ha-1 for biomass and 10.5 vs 5.0 t ha-1 for litter), whereas the secondary forest had significantly more fine roots (⩽2 mm diameter) than the pine plantation (10.5 and 1.0 t ha-1, respectively). Standing stock of dead fine roots was higher than aboveground litter in the secondary forest. In contrast, aboveground litter in pine was more than ten times higher than the dead root fraction. Both pine and secondary forests had similar total organic matter productions (19.2 and 19.4 t ha-1 yr-1, respectively) but structural allocation of that production was significantly different between the two forests; 44% of total production was allocated belowground in the secondary forest, whereas 94% was allocated aboveground in pine. The growth strategies represented by fast growth and large structural allocation aboveground, as for pine, and almost half the production allocated belowground, as for the secondary forest, illustrate equally successful, but contrasting growth strategies under the same climate, regardless of soil characteristics. The patterns of accumulation of organic matter in the soil profile indicated contrasting nutrient immobilization and mineralization sites and sources for soil organic matter formation.
Effects of chronic baclofen use on active movement in an individual with a spinal cord injury.

Effects of chronic baclofen use on active movement in an individual with a spinal cord injury
Dry mechanical liftoff technology for metallization on parylene-C using SU-8

This paper presents a new fabrication method to employ dry mechanical liftoff of SU-8 mask to pattern metals on parylene-C film. Soaking tests were done to examine the adhesion between SU-8 and parylene-C film with different interface treatments. SU-8 masks with different thickness were tested in order to find out the best trade-off between the feature sizes and the easiness of removal from paryelene-C film after metal deposition. Features from 10µm to 300µm in diameter and width were successfully patterned on parylene-C film by this method. The 15µm thick SU-8 liftoff mask is highly flexible and can be peeled off mechanically from parylene-C film by tweezers seconds without any visible residue. Metal lines with testing pads from 10µm to 100µm wide and 1cm long were also fabricated and tested to evaluate their resistances. this new method provides an alternative way of metallization on parylene-C film which benefits the application in MEMS area.
Multiparadigm Space Processing for Hyperspectral Imaging

Projected demands for future space missions, where on-board sensor processing and autonomous control rapidly expand computational requirements, are outpacing technologies and trends in conventional embedded microprocessors. To achieve higher levels of performance as well as relative performance versus power consumption, new processing technologies are of increasing interest for space systems. Technologies such as reconfigurable computing based upon FPGAs and vector processing based upon SIMD processor extensions, often in tandem with conventional software processors in the form of multiparadigm computing, offer a compelling solution. This paper will explore design strategies and mappings of a hyperspectral imaging (HSI) classification algorithm for a mix of processing paradigms on an advanced space computing system, featuring MPI-based parallel processing with multiple PowerPC microprocessors each coupled with kernel acceleration via FPGA and/or AltiVec resources. Design of key components of HSI including autocorrelation matrix calculation, weight computation, and target detection will be discussed, and hardware/software performance tradeoffs evaluated. Additionally, several parallel-partitioning strategies will be considered for extending single-node performance to a clustered architecture. Performance factors in terms of execution time and parallel efficiency will be examined on an experimental testbed. Power consumption will be investigated, and tradeoffs between performance and power consumption analyzed. This work is part of the Dependable Multiprocessor (DM) project at Honeywell and the University of Florida, one of the four experiments in the Space Technology 8 (ST-8) mission of NASA's New Millennium Program.
Helping Children Enter into Another's Experiences: The Look and Feel of It.

The role of focusing 4-year-olds' attention on “feeling” or “looking” was examined in three experiments by testing predictions about children's memory for their interactions with an adult partner as they engaged in a collaborative task. Children made collages with an adult partner, and they were later asked to remember who placed the pieces on the collage. Children were more likely to claim they placed pieces actually placed by their partner (Experiments 1, 2, and 3), unless directed to think about how their partner looked when placing the partner's pieces (Experiments 1 and 3). False claims were observed after children were directed to think about how it would “feel” to perform the actions, whether motoric instructions were focused on the self (Experiment 2, N = 48) or partner (Experiment 1, N = 40, and Experiment 3, N = 24). Furthermore, false claims (referred to as I did it errors) were positively associated with accurate collage memory (Experiment 3). These findings suggest that adopting a perspective...
MALDI-FTMS Characterization of Oligosaccharides Labeled with 9-Aminofluorene

9-Aminofluorene (9AmFL) was investigated as an oligosaccharide label. The label was amenable to high UV detectability but did not interfere with mass spectrometric analysis. The 9AmFL label has high molar absorptivity ( 1.4 10 4 Lc m 1 mol 1 at 267 nm), is chemically stable, and adds easily in reductive amination to the aldehyde terminus of oligosaccharides. Various linear and branched oligosaccharides were labeled with 9AmFL and the products were purified by chromatography on porous graphitized carbon (PGC). The derivatization reaction gave excellent yields (95%). Up to 100-fold increase in UV sensitivity at 206 nm, compared to the corresponding alditol, was observed. Mass spectra were recorded for the labeled compounds. In the presence of sodium dopant, series of Y- and B-fragments were observed. Protonation of the labeled compounds prior to mass spectrometric analysis resulted in simplified spectra (Y-fragments only) and allowed for complete sequence analysis. The retention of the positive charge at the label in the protonated species was consistent with the basicity of the amine. The smallest amount of labeled sugar to be detected by photo-diode array (PDA) was 5 pmol ( 267 nm). (J Am Soc Mass Spectrom 2001, 12, 1254 –1261) © 2001 American Society for Mass Spectrometry
Invisible Z-boson decays at e+e- colliders

�-coupling, 0.45 < gL < 0.5, while the right-handed one is only mildly bounded, |gR| � 0.2. We show that measurements at a future e + e linear collider at different center-of-mass energies, p s = mZ and p s � 170 GeV, would translate into a markedly more precise measurement of the Z�¯ �-couplings. A statistically significant deviation from Standard Model predictions will point toward different new physics mechanisms, depending on whether the discrepancy appears in the direct or the indirect measurement of the invisible Zwidth. We discuss some scenarios which illustrate the ability of different invisible Z-boson decay measurements to constrain new physics beyond the Standard Model. The four LEP collider experiments have performed several precise measurements of the properties of the Z-boson [1, 2, 3, 4], the heavy, neutral partner of the W-boson and the photon. These measurements are part of the evidence that the Standard Model of the Electroweak Interactions (SM) works extremely well, up to energies of several hundred GeV. One of these measurements is associated with the “invisible Z-boson width” (invisible Z-width). Assuming that the SM is correct, this measurement can be translated into a count of the number of neutrino species. The current value of the invisible Z-width agrees quite well with the SM expectation that there are three very light (mν ≪ 1 GeV) neutrino species. This is often interpreted as evidence that the SM contains three and only three families of fermionic fields, meaning that there is no fourth sequential generation. It is remarkable that this result is in agreement with cosmological constraints on the number of relativistic species around the time of Big Bang nucleosynthesis, which seem to indicate the existence of three very light neutrino species [5]. It is interesting to note that the LEP result is precise enough to probe whether the “number of neutrinos,” Nν, deviates slightly from three. Indeed, it is often quoted that the most precise LEP numbers can be translated into Nν = 2.9841 ±0.0083 [2], about two sigma away from the SM expectation, Nν = 3. While not statistically significant, this result has invited theoretical speculations, some of which involve suppressing the Zν¯-couplings with respect to the SM value.
E. E. Schattschneider: A Bibliographic Note

E. E. Schattschneider spent his professional career at Wesleyan University, an institution that prides itself in being aggressively anti-bureaucratic. Given the age we live in, there is doubtless merit in this stance. But there are costs as well. I say this because when asked to provide a bibliographic listing of Schattschneider's publications, I quickly learned that the written record, so essential to any well functioning bureaucracy, was a sometime thing at the University. There was no official file, I was told, either in the central administration or in the University Archives, that contained information on Schattschneider's career at Wesleyan.But Wesleyan was also a small place during Schattschneider's years—in 1930, the year Schattschneider joined the faculty, the University graduated 93 seniors. And being a small place, it scrutinized closely the comings and goings of its faculty. It did so, among other ways, in an annual publication with the nondescript title, The Mid-Winter Bulletin. Each bulletin listed, albeit sporadically, faculty activities for the previous year. Here one could read about who attended what professional meeting, who lectured at which university, who spoke to which civic group, and who preached at the then mandatory campus chapel services. One also could read about faculty awards and honors, and about faculty appointments to committees, on and off campus.
Lithium Ion Dynamic Battery Pack Model and Simulation for Automotive Applications

In this paper, we introduce a lumped parameter, distributed battery pack dynamic model which allows simulation of the electrical dynamics of all the cells in an arbitrarily configured series/parallel pack typical of those used in automotive applications. The dynamic pack simulator is based on the development of an analytical solution for the dynamic response of a single cell and an analytical development of such elemental solutions into a distributed dynamic pack model which can resolve the dynamics of each cell within the pack. This formulation leads to a computationally efficient simulation tool appropriate for application on large battery packs. This simulation tool is then used to perform Monte Carlo simulations on typical automotive current profiles for packs made of cells with a statistical distribution of parameters. A mild distribution of cell mismatch leads to cell unbalance development and statistical metrics for the growth unbalance, presented and related to both current severity and cell parameter distribution. The tool is ideally suited for studies in Battery Management System (BMS) algorithm development, as well as model-based fault propagation and diagnostics.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Spirituality, psychological well-being, and HIV symptoms for African Americans living with HIV disease.

The purpose of this descriptive cross-sectional study was to explore the contribution of spiritual well-being and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) symptoms to psychological well-being measured by depression, hope, and state-trait anxiety in a sample of 117 African-American men and women with a mean age of 38 years living with HIV disease. Of the respondents, 26% had acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and 74% were HIV seropositive. Each participant completed a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Sign and Symptom Checklist for Persons With HIV Disease, the Spiritual Well-Being Scale, the Nowotny Hope Scale, State-Trait Inventory, and the Beck Depression Inventory. The findings suggest that existential well-being, a spiritual indicator of meaning and purpose, more than religious well-being, was significantly related to the participants' psychological well-being. In addition, HIV symptoms were found to be significant predictors of psychological well-being. These findings support the need for nurses to continue exploring ways to integrate and support spirituality within the domains of clinical practice.
A mechanistical study on non-equilibrium reaction pathways in solid nitromethane (CH3NO2) and D3-nitromethane (CD3NO2) upon interaction with ionizing radiation

Abstract Thin films of homogeneously mixed nitromethane (CH 3 NO 2 ) and D3-nitromethane (CD 3 NO 2 ) ices were exposed to energetic electrons and Lyman α photons. The isotopically mixed reaction products were probed in situ via reflectron time-of-flight mass spectrometry coupled with pulsed photoionization during temperature programmed desorption. This study provides compelling evidence on three high energy pathways, which have not been observed under collisionless conditions in the gas phase. These are decomposition of nitromethane (CH 3 NO 2 ) via atomic oxygen loss to nitrosomethane (CH 3 NO), fragmentation of nitromethane (CH 3 NO 2 ) and/or methylnitrite (CH 3 ONO) via carbene (CH 2 ) loss, and carbon hydrogen bond rupture processes in nitromethane (CH 3 NO 2 ) and/or methylnitrite (CH 3 ONO).
Trading Consistency for Scalability in Scientific Metadata

Long-term repositories that are able to represent the detailed descriptive metadata of scientific data have been recognized as key to both data reuse and preservation of the initial investment in generating the data. Detailed metadata captured during scientific investigation not only enables the efficient discovery of relevant data sets but also is a source for exploring ongoing activity. In XMC Cat metadata catalog, an XML catalog that uses a novel hybrid model to store XML to a relational database, we exploit differences in the temporal utility between browse and search metadata to selectively relax the consistency model used. By ensuring only eventual consistency on parts of the solution, we determine through experimental analysis that the performance and scalability of the catalog can be substantially improved.
Getting Ahead: Current Secondary and Postsecondary Acceleration Options for High-Ability Students in Indiana

Gifted education programs at the secondary level have yet to receive as much attention as those at the primary and elementary levels. The 2007 State of the States Report found that AP courses remai...
NMOS IC's for clock and data regeneration in gigabit-per-second optical-fiber receivers

The design and performance of two essential analog circuits in optical-fiber receivers is described. A time-interleaved decision circuit is capable of regenerating 35-mV nonreturn-to-zero (NRZ) data inputs to full logic levels at 1.1 Gb/s with 10/sup -11/ bit error rate (BER), and a phase-locked loop (PLL) extracts the clock from a 2/sup 23/ long pseudorandom sequence at 1.5 Gb/s with 13-ps r.m.s. jitter. The two circuits have been implemented as 1- mu m NMOS ICs, and in their core area dissipate 200 and 350 mW, respectively. >
Memory bounded inference in topic models

What type of algorithms and statistical techniques support learning from very large datasets over long stretches of time? We address this question through a memory bounded version of a variational EM algorithm that approximates inference in a topic model. The algorithm alternates two phases: "model building" and "model compression" in order to always satisfy a given memory constraint. The model building phase expands its internal representation (the number of topics) as more data arrives through Bayesian model selection. Compression is achieved by merging data-items in clumps and only caching their sufficient statistics. Empirically, the resulting algorithm is able to handle datasets that are orders of magnitude larger than the standard batch version.
Prevention of severe acute sunburn in patients receiving phototherapy

The most dramatic acute side-effect associated with ultraviolet (UV) phototherapy for psoriasis is severe blistering sunburn. We investigated this phenomenon in four busy phototherapy centers and identified five events. In four of the cases human error led to the inadvertent treatment of patients on a psoralen and UVA (PUVA) regimen with UVB radiation and in one case a mechanical malfunction of a phototherapy unit led to inappropriate UV dosing. This led us to alter our quality control programme to decrease the risk of this problem occurring in the future.