cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Is the Past Prologue?: A Test of Ghiselli’s Hobo Syndrome

Ghiselli (1974) observed that some workers possess internal impulses to migrate from one job to another irrespective of better alternatives or other apparently rational motives. Ghiselli labeled this tendency the “hobo syndrome.” The present study tested the validity of the hobo syndrome using a national longitudinal sample of young workers. Results of event history analyses indicated support for the hypothesis that turnover depends on the number of times an individual has left his or her job in the past. The meaning and implications of the results in light of recent dispositional research are discussed.
Thalamic glutamate/glutamine in restless legs syndrome: Increased and related to disturbed sleep

Objective: To evaluate possible abnormal increase in thalamic glutamate/glutamine levels for restless legs syndrome (RLS) indicating increased glutamatergic activity producing arousal that at night disrupts and shortens sleep. Methods: 1 H MRS of the right thalamus was performed using a 1.5 T GE MRI scanner and the PROBE-P (PRESS) on 28 patients with RLS and 20 matched controls. The Glx signal (combination of mostly glutamate [Glu] and glutamine [Gln]) was assessed as a ratio to the total creatine (Cr). This study tested 2 primary hypotheses: 1) higher thalamic Glx/Cr for patients with RLS than controls; 2) thalamic Glx/Cr correlates with increased wake during the sleep period. Results: The Glx/Cr was higher for patients with RLS than controls (mean ± SD 1.20 ± 0.73 vs 0.80 ± 0.39, t = 2.2, p = 0.016) and correlated significantly with the wake time during the sleep period ( r = 0.61, p = 0.007) and all other RLS-related polysomnographic sleep variables ( p Conclusions: The primary findings introduce 2 new related dimensions to RLS: abnormalities in a major nondopaminergic neurologic system and the arousal disturbance of sleep. The strong relation of the arousal sleep disturbance to glutamate and the lack of relation to the PLMS motor features of RLS contrasts with the reverse for dopamine of a limited relation to arousal sleep disturbance but strong relation to PLMS. Understanding this dichotomy and the interaction of these 2 differing systems may be important for understanding RLS neurobiology and developing better treatments for RLS.
Solute diffusion in swollen membranes VII. Diffusion in semicrystalline networks

A model is developed to express the solute diffusion coefficient through semicrystalline polymeric networks. The crystallites create impermeable diffusional barriers around the amorphous regions. Solute diffusion is determined by applying a transport model to the amorphous phase and incorporating the crosslinked polymer structure characteristics. This model is tested with theophylline and vitamin B12 permeation experiments through semicrystalline poly(vinyl alcohol) membranes prepared by annealing of amorphous PVA membranes. The degree of crystallinity varies between 23.1 % and 40.5 % on a dry basis. The solute diffusion coefficients correlate well with various parameters of the model.
Understanding the relative roles of disturbance and species interactions in shaping Mississippi River island plant communities

In order to better understand the factors governing community assembly on riverine islands, we conducted a greenhouse experiment that examined the effects of species interactions in combination with flooding that mimicked hydrologic gradients found on Mississippi River islands. Specifically, we examined the effects of inter and intra-specific competition and three disturbance treatments (drained, drought, and flood) on the growth performance of three island-ubiquitous herbaceous plant species (Amaranthus palmeri, Cyperus strigosus. and Xanthium strumarium). We predicted a decrease in interspecific competitive effects in disturbance treatments. Specifically, we expected A palmeri to be most affected by flooding treatment based on its facultative upland status suggesting that it should be a poor tolerator of flooded conditions. X. strumarium and C. strigosus both facultative wetland species in their status, should tolerate flooding, but we predict that C. strigosus should have greater stress tolerance due to its perennial life history. Because we find these species coexisting at the same elevation zones on riverine islands, we also predicted stronger intraspecific competition effects. Our results indicate that disturbance indeed affected competitive interactions, but the effects were species-specific. X. strumarium showed stronger competitive effects when grown with conspecifics while C. strigosus experienced greater competition with heterospecifics under drought treatments. Based on its wetland indicator status and life history characteristics, we expected A palmeri to exhibit a facilitative effect, as it is typically an upland species, but instead it was impacted most by interspecific competition. Our study indicates that factors other than competition, facilitation, and flood tolerance (e.g., priority effects) may be controlling island plant community dynamics, further studies are required.
Opto- $\mu{\rm ECoG}$ Array: A Hybrid Neural Interface With Transparent $\mu{\rm ECoG}$ Electrode Array and Integrated LEDs for Optogenetics

Electrocorticogram (ECoG) recordings, taken from electrodes placed on the surface of the cortex, have been successfully implemented for control of brain machine interfaces (BMIs). Optogenetics, direct optical stimulation of neurons in brain tissue genetically modified to express channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2), enables targeting of specific types of neurons with sub-millisecond temporal precision. In this work, we developed a BMI device, called an Opto- μECoG array, which combines ECoG recording and optogenetics-based stimulation to enable multichannel, bi-directional interactions with neurons. The Opto- μECoG array comprises two sub-arrays, each containing a 4 × 4 distribution of micro-epidural transparent electrodes (~200 μm diameter) and embedded light-emitting diodes (LEDs) for optical neural stimulation on a 2.5×2.5 mm2 footprint to match the bilateral hemispherical area of the visual cortex in a rat. The transparent electrodes were fabricated with indium tin oxide (ITO). Parylene-C served as the main structural and packaging material for flexibility and biocompatibility. Optical, electrical, and thermal characteristics of the fabricated device were investigated and in vivo experiments were performed to evaluate the efficacy of the device.
Advances in Head and Neck Imaging

Abstract Imaging plays a key role in dental implantation, management of maxillofacial trauma, facial reconstruction, temporomandibular joint pathology, and evaluation and treatment of neoplasms and infections. In addition to traditional conventional radiography, recent advances in computer tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and positron emission tomography-computed tomography fusion technology have made radiology an even more vital component of patient care in dental and craniomaxillofacial practice.
The moral implications of teacher-child discourse in early childhood classrooms☆

The ways teachers engage children in discourse during teaching-learning activities have profound moral implications for children's learning and development. The goals of this article are (1) to explicate how teachers' control over classroom discourse patterns during teaching-learning activities influences the types of knowledge children create and acquire; (2) to examine the relationship between two types of teacher-child discourse commonly used in early childhood classrooms and the semiotic tools children appropriate through participation in each type of discourse; and (3) to outline the moral implications each has for children's learning and development. A framework for considering the moral implications of the ways teachers engage children in discourse during teaching-learning activities in early childhood classrooms is presented.
Studies of the perinatal differences in the activity of hepatic δ-aminolevulinic acid synthetase☆

Abstract Hepatic δ-aminolevulinic acid (ALA) synthetase activity in prenatal rats, rabbits and guinea pigs is four to eight times the adult level. During the period of elevated activity, ALA synthetase is relatively much less responsive to induction by 3,5-dicarbethoxy-1,4-dihydrocollidine (DDC) or to repression by hemin than is observed in adult rats and rabbits. No induction of ALA synthetase could be demonstrated in fetal rats. In newborn rabbits, hemin caused no significant reduction in ALA synthetase activity, whereas the adult enzyme activity was reduced to 32 per cent of control. This difference in response to hemin was also demonstrated in fetal and newborn rats. Refractoriness to induction decreases as enzyme activity decreases to adult levels. These studies indicate that the neonate may not regulate the activity of hepatic ALA synthetase at the same level as the adult. It is suggested that increasing repression of the enzyme to lower basal levels occurs as the animals mature, bringing the activity and response to DDC and hemin to the levels observed in adults. Perinatal alterations in the regulation of hepatic ALA synthetase activity may account for some of the problems associated with heme metabolism in the newborn and the toxic effects of bilirubin and various drugs.
An Interview with Min Zhu, Webex Founder and Active Venture Investor in China

An Interview with Min Zhu, Webex Founder and Active Venture Investor in China. In a public speech on April 21, 2007, Bill Gates acknowledged, “There was a survey done in the US that asked where the next Bill Gates will come from. Sixty per cent of the United States said that the next stunning success would come from Asia. I think it’s true and amazing that it’s so well organized that the investment and change here are leading to very innovative work”. To learn more about the current status of venture investment in China, we interviewed Mr. Min Zhu, who co‐founded Webex in Silicon Valley, and recently moved to China to focus on venture capital investment. He answered JABS questions on May 12, 2007 in Hangzhou, China.
Predicting WWW surfing using multiple evidence combination

The improvement of many applications such as web search, latency reduction, and personalization/ recommendation systems depends on surfing prediction. Predicting user surfing paths involves tradeoffs between model complexity and predictive accuracy. In this paper, we combine two classification techniques, namely, the Markov model and Support Vector Machines (SVM), to resolve prediction using Dempster's rule. Such fusion overcomes the inability of the Markov model in predicting the unseen data as well as overcoming the problem of multiclassification in the case of SVM, especially when dealing with large number of classes. We apply feature extraction to increase the power of discrimination of SVM. In addition, during prediction we employ domain knowledge to reduce the number of classifiers for the improvement of accuracy and the reduction of prediction time. We demonstrate the effectiveness of our hybrid approach by comparing our results with widely used techniques, namely, SVM, the Markov model, and association rule mining.
Database reasoning: extracting knowledge from databases (abstract)

As interest in developing expert systems continues to grow, it become more important for us to increase our understanding of how to successfully build these systems. The major problem that currently constricts the development of expert systems is the formidable process of eliciting knowledge from human experts.A possible solution to alleviate this knowledge-acquisition bottlenecks is to equip historical database with some deductive capabilities that will allow us to emulate expert-system reasoning entirely in the database's terms.In this paper we describe a system that tries to extend an existing database containing component test-repair history with several features to support inferencing at the reasoning level of human trouble shooters. That is, the system features automatic knowledge-base derivation. This presentation demonistrate the structure of a system that, when queried with a test step, will provide trouble shooting advice describing the most likely cause for failure.
Polar curves for transmission ellipsometry

Abstract For three-phase ambient-film-substrate systems, the ratio ϱ T = T p / T s of the complex amplitude-transmission coefficients T p and T s for light polarized parallel (p) and perpendicular (s) to the plane of incidence is related to a complex exponential function of film thickness d by a bilinear transformation. This observation leads to elucidation of the nature of the complex plane polar curves of the function ϱ T ( d ), where the film thickness is variable and the angle of incidence is fixed. In particular, the polar curve ϱ T ( d ) for a transparent ambient-film-substrate system studied by transmission ellipsometry is shown to be exactly a circle.
Some techniques for teaching rhetorical invention

“Invention” is best thought of as a process by which the speaker comes to understand his world better and to discover what might be said about it. Students can learn to invent by analyzing: by examining objects and events systematically and by examining completed professional discourse in search of structures and movements of thought that they can apply in ordering their own experiences. They can also be encouraged to invent by exercising their imagination: by mentally creating or recreating events; by searching for analogies that will reveal their feelings or perceptions about their experiences; and by enacting roles in dramatic improvisations.
Resource placement with multiple adjacency constraints in k-ary n-cubes

The problem of placing resources in a k-ary n-cube (k>2) is considered in this paper. For a given j/spl ges/1, resources are placed such that each nonresource node is adjacent to j resource nodes. We first prove that perfect j-adjacency placements are impossible in k-ary n-cubes if n >
Moving Object Localization in Thermal Imagery by Forward-backward MHI

Detecting moving objects automatically is a key component of an automatic visual surveillance and tracking system. In airborne thermal video, the moving objects may be small, color information is not available, and even intensity appearance may be camouflaged. Previous motionbased moving object detection approaches often use background subtraction, inter-frame difference or three-frame difference. In this paper, we describe a detection and localization method based on forward-backward motion history images (MHI). This method can accurately detect location and shape of moving objects for initializing a tracker. Using long and varied video sequences, we quantify the effectiveness of this method.
Integrity of tritiated orphanin FQ/nociceptin: implications for establishing a reliable binding assay.

Abstract In the course of establishing a reliable and reproducible binding assay for the orphanin FQ/nociceptin (OFQ/N) ligand-receptor system we used reversed phase-high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) (RP-HPLC) to monitor the integrity of [3H]OFQ/N obtained from three different manufacturers. This means of analysis revealed that the stability of [3H]OFQ/N during storage varied considerably depending on the manufacturer. Furthermore, the integrity of [3H]OFQ/N was significantly compromised in the presence of COS-7 cell membranes. Interestingly, if the peptide was added to COS-7 membranes after they had been exposed to low pH it remained intact, suggesting that the peptide’s breakdown during binding is, in part, enzymatically mediated. Although a variety of protease inhibitors were tested, none proved completely effective at protecting the tritiated peptide. The intention of the studies presented here was to evaluate OFQ/N binding components, namely the available [3H]OFQ/N ligands, in an effort to standardize the binding conditions for this receptor ligand system. Consequently, this study underscores the importance of monitoring the integrity of the trace ligand being used in a given binding assay.
Erd-medlda: Entity relation detection using supervised topic models with maximum margin learning

This paper proposes a novel application of topic models to do entity relation detection (ERD). In order to make use of the latent semantics of text, we formulate the task of relation detection as a topic modeling problem. The motivation is to find underlying topics that are indicative of relations between named entities (NEs). Our approach considers pairs of NEs and features associated with them as mini documents, and aims to utilize the underlying topic distributions as indicators for the types of relations that may exist between the NE pair. Our system, ERD-MedLDA, adapts Maximum Entropy Discriminant Latent Dirichlet Allocation (MedLDA) with mixed membership for relation detection. By using supervision, ERD-MedLDA is able to learn topic distributions indicative of relation types. Further, ERD-MedLDA is a topic model that combines the benefits of both, maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and maximum margin estimation (MME), and the mixed-membership formulation enables the system to incorporate heterogeneous features. We incorporate different features into the system and perform experiments on the ACE 2005 corpus. Our approach achieves better overall performance for precision, recall, and F-measure metrics as compared to baseline SVM-based and LDA-based models. We also find that our system shows better and consistent improvements with the addition of complex informative features as compared to baseline systems.
Accelerating the Convergence of Discretization Algorithms

Abstract : Acceleration techniques for discretization algorithms used in the approximate solution of nonlinear operator equations are considered. Practical problems arising in the solution of large systems of nonlinear algebraic equations are discussed. These techniques are applied to the approximate solution of mildly nonlinear elliptic equations by finite differences, and several numerical examples are given. (Author)
What is Psycho-History?

I HAVE entitled my paper ‘What is Psycho-History’, in obvious imitation of an illustrious predecessor in analysing Clio’s nature and character. For reasons that will be clear later, I have come to think that psycho-social history may well be a better title than psycho-history for the inquiry that seems to be emerging, but since ‘tradition’, that is about ten years of effort by historians and psycho- analysts, has gone on under the latter rubric, I shall retain it here.
To treat or not to treat: psychosis, palliative care, and ethics at the end-of-life: a case analysis.

Background: The concept of staging of disease in psychiatry has developed over the past years. A neglected component of this model pertains to people in the advanced stages of a mental illness, who remain symptomatic and functionally impaired despite treatment. These patients are often high service utilizers, receiving complex multimodal treatments where the balance of risk and benefit shifts perceptibly. In this paper, we argue the need to adopt ‘palliative’ models of care for some individuals, and consider changing the therapeutic goals to follow care pathways similar to those used in other chronic and refractory medical illnesses. Method: Data was sourced by a literature search using Medline and a hand search of scientific journals. Relevant articles were selected. Results: Clinical staging can help us better define subgroups of patients who will benefit from different goals and treat- ment. In the most advanced stage group, we find patients with persistent symptoms and treatment resistance. In these situations, it may be preferable to follow some of the principles of palliative care, which include the setting of attainable goals, reduction of side-effects, limited symptom control, targeting identified psychological and social problems, and attempting to attain the best quality of life for these patients and their families. Conclusions: It is in the interest of those in the advanced phases of a disorder that clinicians acknowledge the limita- tions of treatment and actively attempt to plan treatment utilizing alternate models. It is essential to be clear that such approaches do not equate to the abandonment of care, but rather to the reconceptualizing of feasible and personalized treatment goals, a rebalancing of the risks and benefits of intervention, the management of illness behaviour, and the approaches that allow the patient to live gainfully within their limitations. Keywords Clinical, depression, management, palliative, psychotherapy, recurrence, staging, treatment 1School of Medicine, Deakin, Geelong, Australia 2Barwon Health, Geelong, Australia 3Orygen Youth Health Research Centre, Parkville, Australia 4Mental Health Research Institute, Parkville, Australia 5 Departments of Psychology and Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia 6 Bipolar Disorders Program, Clinical Institute of Neuroscience, Hospital Clinic, University of Barcelona, IDIBAPS, CIBERSAM, Barcelona, Spain 7 Centre for Women’s Mental Health, Royal Women’s Hospital, Parkville, Australia 8Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia Corresponding author: Michael Berk, Deakin University, PO Box 281, Geelong, VIC 3220, Australia. Email: mikebe@barwonhealth.org.au 432072 ANP46210.1177/0004867411432072Berk et al.ANZJP Articles 2012
Functional status in children with limb deficiency: Development and initial validation of an outcome measure

Abstract Objective: To develop a new outcome measure in response to the increasing demands for cost effectiveness analyses and empirically derived outcome instruments in the treatment of pediatric limb deficiency. This article describes the development, refinement, and initial psychometric properties of the Child Amputee Prosthetics Project-Functional Status Inventory (CAPP-FSI). Design: Parents of children with limb deficiency were surveyed during routine clinic visits. Setting: Two outpatient pediatric clinics. Participants: Seventy-five parents and their children with limb deficiency (ages 8 to 17 years) participated in the study as part of annual physical evaluations or routine follow-up care. Main Outcome Measure: The newly developed CAPP-FSI. Results: Internal consistency reliability (Cronbach's alpha) = .96 for the CAPP-FSI. Content validity is described and initial construct validity is empirically confirmed. Conclusion: The CAPP-FSI is a promising assessment instrument for measuring important health outcomes in children with upper or lower limb deficiency.
An Emerging Paradigm in Atherosclerosis: Focus on Subclinical Disease

Atherosclerosis is a generally asymptomatic process that begins early in life and eventually leads to clinically overt coronary heart disease (CHD), with the age of onset determined by genetics, environment, and associated interactive factors. Early diagnosis and treatment of subclinical atherosclerosis in asymptomatic patients who are at risk of developing clinically evident atherosclerosis may help prevent CHD and future coronary events. New understanding of the role of atherosclerotic plaque burden in predicting risk for CHD and the development of new technologies for evaluating coronary plaque have improved our ability to assess risk in asymptomatic patients who may have subclinical disease. Assessment technologies including coronary angiography, intravascular ultrasound, B-mode ultrasound, and electron-beam computed tomography have been used widely in clinical studies of statin treatment in patients with and without CHD. Results from these studies show that statins not only lower lipids but inhibit progression and, in some instances, lead to regression of coronary plaques. The unique combination of benefits provided by statin therapy may have an application in treating subclinical atherosclerotic disease.
Musical style preferences and aural discrimination skills of primary grade school children

This study sought (a) to measure first-, second-, and third-grade students' preferential reactions to aurally presented musical stimuli representing various styles, (b) to determine the effects of ...
Electromigration characteristics of copper interconnects

The electromigration characteristics of electroless plated copper interconnects have been investigated under DC and time-varying current stressing. A scheme for selected electroless Cu plating by using 150-AA Co as the seeding layer is reported. The Cu DC and pulse-DC lifetimes are found to be one and two orders of magnitude longer than that of Al-4% Cu/TiW and Al-2% Si interconnects at 275 degrees C, and the extracted Cu lifetime at 75 degrees C is about three and five orders of magnitude longer than that of Al-4% Cu/TiW and Al-2% Si, respectively. As previously reported for Al metallization, the Cu bipolar lifetimes were found to be orders of magnitude longer than their DC lifetimes under the same peak stressing current density because of the partial recovery of electromigration damage during the opposing phases of bipolar stressing. >
A Personal View of Smoothing and Statistics

Personal views are offered on the foundations of smoothing methods in statistics. Key points are that smoothing is a useful tool in data analysis, and that the field of data based smoothing parameter selection has matured to the point that effective methods are ready for use as defaults in software packages. A broader lesson available from the discussion is: a combination of computational methods and mathematical statistics is a powerful research tool.
Cooperative answering through controlled query relaxation

As knowledge storage systems grow in size and complexity, it becomes unreasonable to expect that users always know enough about the data and how the data are organized to construct accurate and useful queries. Even when a system has syntactic utilities for building queries, users continue to compose queries that contain misconceptions, are too general, or are bound to fail. Cooperative-answering strategies seek to detect such situations and collaborate automatically with users to find the information that the users are seeking. Relaxation can automatically identify new queries related to an original query. The author introduces methods to control and restrict relaxation, thus making it more efficient.
Insulin and 2-Hour Glucose Levels Are Inversely Related to Lp(a) Concentrations Controlled for LPA Genotype

Abstract—In this study we assessed the relationship of lipoprotein(a) [Lp(a)] with diabetes status and with measures of glucose and insulin in a population of Mexican Americans having a high prevalence of non–insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus (NIDDM). Because of enormous allelic diversity at LPA [the locus encoding the apo(a) protein] that directly influences Lp(a) concentrations, it was first necessary to adjust for the large effects of variation at LPA. We calculated residual Lp(a) concentration as the difference between observed and expected; expected Lp(a) concentration was based on information from all family members sharing each identical-by-descent (IBD) allele. We found significant effects of sex and age on residual Lp(a) concentrations that increased with age (P=0.0004) and in females (P=0.0034). Although diabetes status per se was not related to residual Lp(a) concentrations (P=0.097), we found that residual Lp(a) concentrations were inversely correlated with fasting insulin (P=0.0017) and wit...
Physeter catodon (Sperm whale)

Skin biopsies of three females and one male were kindly made available by Dr. R. Strawn, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Seattle, Washington, USA.
Statin Use and Risk of Prostate Cancer Recurrence in Men Treated With Radiation Therapy

Purpose There has been growing interest in the potential anticancer activity of statins based on preclinical evidence of their antiproliferative, proapoptotic, and radiosensitizing properties. The primary objective of this study was to determine whether statin use is associated with improved clinical outcomes in patients treated with radiotherapy (RT) for prostate cancer. Patients and Methods In total, 691 men with prostate adenocarcinoma treated with curative-intent RT between 1988 and 2006 were retrospectively analyzed. Of those, 189 patients (27%) were using statins, either during initial consultation or during follow-up. Lipid panels were collected (n = 298) a median of 5 months before RT start. Median follow-up was 50 months after RT. Results Statin use was associated with improved freedom from biochemical failure (FFBF; P < .001), freedom from salvage androgen deprivation therapy (FFADT; P = .0011), and relapse-free survival (RFS; P < .001). Improved FFBF for statin users was seen in low-, intermedi...
Evaluation of a Hybrid-Stress Formulation for Thick Multilayer Laminates

A hybrid-stress-based finite-element formulation for thick multilayer laminates is evaluated by comparing results with available analytic and numerical solutions. Particular attention is given to the order of the through-thickness behavior; in the present hybridstress element, high-order behavior is assumed within each layer. Using the plane-strain problem of a three-layer semi-infinite cross-ply under transverse sinusoidal loading as an example, the hybrid-stress element is shown to yield excellent correlation with the elasticity solution, and to yield improved accuracy compared with the other approach considered.
Biomolecule-nanoparticle interactions: Elucidation of the thermodynamics by isothermal titration calorimetry.

Abstract Background Nanomaterials (NMs) are often exposed to a broad range of biomolecules of different abundances. Biomolecule sorption driven by various interfacial forces determines the surface structure and composition of NMs, subsequently governs their functionality and the reactivity of the adsorbed biomolecules. Isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC) is a nondestructive technique that quantifies thermodynamic parameters through in-situ measurement of the heat absorption or release associated with an interaction. Scope of review This review highlights the recent applications of ITC in understanding the thermodynamics of interactions between various nanoparticles (NPs) and biomolecules. Different aspects of a typical ITC experiment that are crucial for obtaining accurate and meaningful data, as well as the strengths, weaknesses, and challenges of ITC applications to NP research were discussed. Major conclusions ITC reveals the driving forces behind biomolecule–NP interactions and the effects of the physicochemical properties of both NPs and biomolecules by quantifying the crucial thermodynamics parameters (e.g., binding stoichiometry, Δ H , Δ S , and Δ G ). Complimentary techniques would strengthen the interpretation of ITC results for a more holistic understanding of biomolecule–NP interactions. General significance The thermodynamic information revealed by ITC and its complimentary characterizations is important for understanding biomolecule–NP interactions that are fundamental to the biomedical and environmental applications of NMs and their toxicological effects. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled Microcalorimetry in the BioSciences — Principles and Applications, edited by Fadi Bou-Abdallah.
Recent Advances in the Chemistry of Polyurethanes

Abstract Major emphasis in recent years has been placed upon efforts to develop aliphatic isocyanates to impart light stability and improved stability toward hydrolysis. Another major area of research activity were new methods for the generation of isocyanates. Aliphatic isocyanates. The first commercial aliphatic diisocyanate used was 1,6—hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI), OCN (CH2)6NCO, a colorless liquid, boiling at 127° C at 10 mm Hg; it is less reactive than either tolylene diisocyanate (TDI) or 4,4′-diisocyanatodiphenylmethane (MDI). However, in the presence of certain metal catalysts, such as tin, lead, bismuth, zinc, iron, cobalt, etc., the activity of the aliphatic isocyanate groups is equal to or greater than that of the isocyanate groups in TDI. The use of hexamethylene diisocyanate (HDI) leads to urethane polymers having better resistance to discoloration, hydrolysis, and heat degradation as compared to TDI. Due to its high vapor pressure and toxicity, a higher molecular weight modification of ...
Origin and development of the urogenital union in the chick.

SummaryThe primordial rete of the chick embryo is a product of the gonadal blastema. It differentiates coincidentally with the primary sex cords with which it is continuous from the beginning. The rete testis is elaborated into a well vascularized network which invades the anterior portion of the mesonephros. There the rete tissues invest and ultimately fuse with the capsules of renal corpuscles. Cavitation of the rete testis begins within the first 3 days after hatching and is well advanced by the end of the 3rd week, when lumina appear in the sex cords. The rete ovarii in general parallels the development of the rete testis. However, its bulk is always less and shows only incipient cavitation. As a result of breakdown of the medullary cords accompanied by a disintegration of the connection between rete and renal capsules, the rete ovarii ends up as a rudiment isolated in the mesovarium. In embryos where a complete block of one mesonephros is effected experimentally, rete cords make their appearance asso...
Effect of dilantin sodium on tensile strength of healing wounds.

SummarySystemic administration of dilantin sodium produces a dramatic increase in tensile strength of healing wounds in rats. This is probably a function of increased collagenization, the same basic reaction which accounts for the undesirable side-reaction of gingival hyperplasia in epileptics receiving this drug, although the mechanism is unknown.
Application of a Competency Model to Clinical Neuropsychology

Professional competencies in psychology have received significant attention as education and training standards have been increasingly framed in the context of behavioral, knowledge-based, and attitudinal learning outcomes. We first review the development of the specialty of clinical neuropsychology and describe the establishment of educational and training guidelines in the specialty, including their most recent update (Hannay et al., 1998). Competency initiatives in professional psychology over the last decade are then summarized. Specialties in professional psychology have delineated education and training guidelines and are beginning to incorporate competency-based approaches to describe advanced and specialized abilities that build on generic, core, foundational and functional psychology knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Following the model of France et al., (2008), we apply the Assessment of Competency Benchmarks framework to describe specific competencies required for specialty practice in clinical neuropsychology.
Coincorporation of N and Ta into TiO2 Nanowires for Visible Light Driven Photoelectrochemical Water Oxidation

We report a synthesis of N- and Ta-coincorporated TiO2 (N,Ta:TiO2) and Ta-incorporated TiO2 (Ta:TiO2) nanowire (NW) arrays and their application as photoanodes for water photooxidation. Tantalum is incorporated into TiO2 NWs with concentrations ranging from 0.11 to 3.47 atomic % by a simple solvothermal synthesis. N,Ta:TiO2 nanowires are prepared via nitridation of Ta:TiO2 nanowires in NH3 flow at a relatively low temperature (500 °C). N,Ta:TiO2 NWs with the optimum Ta concentration of 0.29 atomic % also demonstrate significant enhancement in photoelectrochemical performance with the photocurrent reaching 0.52 and 0.18 mA/cm2 under AM 1.5 G and visible light (>420 nm) illumination, compared with 0.26 and 0.13 mA/cm2 for that of N:TiO2 NWs, although the active spectrum of the N,Ta:TiO2 NW sample only extends to ∼520 nm (2.38 eV), compared to ∼540 nm (2.30 eV) for N:TiO2 NWs. We believe that the enhancement shown by the N,Ta-coincorporated sample is due to fewer recombination centers from charge compensatio...
Some new additive and multiplicative Ramsey numbers

For a, r ∈ N, the set of positive integers, define FSP2(a, r) ( respectively SP2(a, r) ) to be the first n ∈ N, if such exists, such that whenever {1, 2, . . . , n} is r-colored, there exist x and y with a ≤ x 1) for which FSP2(a, r) or SP2(a, r) are known to be finite are those for which explicit values have been computed. In this paper we provide exact values of FSP2(a, 2) for a ≤ 5 (of which FSP2(1, 2) and FSP2(2, 2) were previously known). We provide exact values of SP2(a, 3) for a ≤ 9 and exact values of SP2(a, 2) for a ≤ 105. We also compute upper and lower bounds for SP2(a, 2).
An Empirical Comparison of Two Telephone Sample Designs

The clustered telephone sample design described by Waksberg is compared with a design randomly generating four digit numbers within working prefixes. The clustered sample is found to increase the p...
Belonging as Intellectual Creation

This project considers the question of “what we create when we create.” Certainly, one product of creation is “stuff”— creative works and inventions. But by engaging in creative endeavor, creators often create other public, personal, or social goods, including skills, self-actualization, and community. This project postulates that for some creators, consumers, and creative communities, a sense of belonging is, itself, a product of intellectual creation that rivals “stuff” in its importance to progress and human flourishing. The project considers social science research establishing a sense of belonging as a fundamental human need and driver of behavior. It also considers how for some creators and in some circumstances, a desire for a sense of belonging may surpass the financial benefits of exclusivity as a motivator of creation and may encourage adherence to copying and attribution norms that differ from formal law. This refines the common narrative under which the creation of “stuff” is the primary objective of formal intellectual property law, and under which legal exclusivity is a necessary incentive for creation and innovation. Finally, the project explores the normative implications of this refinement.
An approach to decreasing the burning rate of NEPE propellant

Three factors,including temperature profile of fizz zone,heat of reaction of condensed phase and temperature of burning surface have been found to affect the burning rate of NEPE propellant by the light of analysis of the heat balance on the burning surface.The possible methods to decrease burning rate are presented,the action of burning rate depressants and the effect on energy of propellant are researched.The results show that the approach for decreasing the burning rate of propellant is feasible.
The Application of Visualization Technology in Fitting of Weak Polarization Curve and the Electrochemical Mechanism Analysis of Hot Dip Coating in Seawater

The visualization technology is introduced to the fitting of weak polarization curve. Considering which, a program named Fitting in Windows is worked out by the authors. All utilities of Fitting are described in detail, especially the choice of original values. It is shown that Fitting can watching and controlling the fitting process of dynamically and efficiently, avoiding nonconvergent, and owing the relevant privilege of Windows software and kindness to users. As examples, the corrosion behaviors of hot dip zinc coating, ZnRE coating and zinc based alloy coating of steel wires in seawater are studied by means of weak polarization curve measure and computer analysis.
The Western Reserve, Edward Morley, and oxygen: a brief historical introduction.

Edward Morley was an early member of the faculty of Western Reserve University in Cleveland. He was a very talented experimentalist who collaborated with Michelson of the Case School of Applied Science on the famous “Speed Of Light through the Ether” measurements in the 1880’s. In the 1890’s, Morley accomplished the difficult feat of providing the atomic weight of Oxygen, demonstrating by three separate quantitative methods and to the third decimal, that the atomic weight of oxygenwas 15.879, significantly less than the 16 predicted by the then current “Prout Hypothesis.”
22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome: A Paradigmatic Copy-Number-Variant (CNV) Disorder

Often in the history of medicine, as the field progresses from descriptive to etiologic diagnosis, great strides can be made in the treatment of disease. The current chapter will discuss the 22q11.2 Deletion Syndrome (22q11DS), and argue that knowledge of the syndrome that has emerged in the past several decades, together with rapid progress in applications of genomic analysis to diagnosis of complex neurobehavioral syndromes, is creating the basis for a new understanding of many developmental disabilities. To provide context, it is useful to begin with a historical example, in part abstracted from Pearce’s fascinating account, which illustrates how progressing from description to causation led ultimately to what was arguably one of the great revolutions in twentieth-century psychopharmacology.
Agricultural Progress Measured in Grain Equivalents

The wheat which supplies our bread undergoes various milling processes, removing the outer layers of the grain, which are sold for animal feeding, until (except for the minority who like wholemeal bread) only about two-thirds of the weight of the original grain is left. The demand, on the part of most consumers, for highly milled white flour is a matter of taste and choice; the fact that people can consume ‘wholemeal’ bread indicates that such a high degree of milling is not a physiological necessity. But on the other hand, it appears that we are not entitled to say that the whole wheat grain (after crushing and cooking, but without milling away any of the bran, etc.) is edible and digestible by human beings, as it is by animals. There appears to be some difference of medical opinion on this point. ‘Bran is used industrially for polishing steel’, said one medical upholder of the view against eating it, ‘but why use it on your intestines?’
Modeling and simulation framework for dynamic strain localization in elasto-viscoplastic metallic materials subject to large deformations

Abstract This paper describes a theoretical and computational framework for the treatment of adiabatic shear band formation in rate-sensitive polycrystalline metallic materials. From a computational perspective, accurate representation of strain localization behavior has been a long-standing challenge. In addition, the underlying physical mechanisms leading to the localization of plastic deformation are still not fully understood. The proposed framework is built around an enhanced-strain finite element formulation, designed to alleviate numerical pathologies known to arise in localization problems, by allowing a localization band of given finite width (weak discontinuity) to be embedded within individual elements. The mechanical threshold strength (MTS) model is used to represent the temperature and strain rate-dependent viscoplastic response of the material. This classical flow stress model employs an internal state variable to quantify the effect of dislocation structure evolution (work hardening and recovery). In light of growing evidence suggesting that the softening effect of dynamic recrystallization may play a significant role, alongside thermal softening, in the process of shear band formation and growth, a simple dynamic recrystallization model is proposed and cast within the context of the MTS model with the aid of the aforementioned internal state variable. An initiation criterion for shear localization in rate and temperature-sensitive materials is introduced and used in the present context of high-rate loading, where material rate-dependence is pronounced and substantial temperature increases are achieved due to the dissipative nature of viscoplastic processes. In addition, explicit time integration is adopted to facilitate treatment of the dynamic problems under consideration, where strain rates in excess of 10 4 s −1 are typically attained. Two series of experiments are conducted on AISI 316L stainless steel, employing the commonly used top-hat sample geometry and the Split-Hopkinson Pressure Bar dynamic test system. Axi-symmetric finite element simulation results are compared to cross-sectional micrographs of recovered samples and experimental load–displacement results, in order to examine the performance of the proposed framework and demonstrate its effectiveness in treating the initiation and growth of adiabatic shear banding in dynamically loaded metallic materials. These comparisons demonstrate that thermal softening alone is insufficient to induce shear localization behaviors observed in some materials, such as stainless steel, and support the hypothesis that dynamic recrystallization and/or other softening mechanisms play an essential role in this process.
Stability of Prismatic and Octahedral Coordination in Layered Oxides and Sulfides Intercalated with Alkali and Alkaline-Earth Metals

Many layered oxide and sulfide intercalation compounds used in secondary batteries undergo stacking-sequence-change phase transformations during (de)intercalation. However, the underlying reasons why different intercalants result in different stacking-sequence changes are not well understood. This work reports on high-throughput density functional theory calculations on the prototype systems AxCoO2 and AxTiS2 (where A = [Li, Na, K, Mg, and Ca]), which show that a few simple rules explain the relative stability among the O1, O3, and P3 stacking sequences. First, for large intercalants (Na, K, and Ca), P3 stacking is favorable at intermediate concentrations (x ∼ 0.5) as its intercalant site topology minimizes in-plane electrostatic repulsion. At the extreme compositions (x ∼ 0 and x ∼ 1), O1 or O3 are stable, with more ionic compounds preferring O3 and covalent ones O1. These rules explain why stacking-sequence changes are much more common in Na materials than Li ones.
Recent Advances in Endometrial Cancer

Endometrial cancer is the most common gynecologic malignancy in the United States, with yearly rates continuing to increase. Most women present with early stage disease; however, advanced disease carries a grave prognosis. As a result, novel therapies are currently under investigation for the treatment of endometrial cancer. These advances include a better understanding of the genetic basis surrounding the development of endometrial cancer, novel surgical therapies, and new molecular targets for the treatment of this disease. This review explores the literature regarding these advancements in endometrial cancer.
The cutaneous ecosystem: the roles of the skin microbiome in health and its association with inflammatory skin conditions in humans and animals

Background Inhabiting a sterile world is no longer an acceptable or desirable concept. Recent studies developed in the microbiome field have unveiled complex microbial populations inhabiting the skin, digestive, respiratory and reproductive tracts. Microbiome studies have opened new venues to explore the human and animal second genome, its functions and its importance in maintaining health. Skin microbiome in health The composition of the skin microbiome varies across different body sites and across individuals, being influenced by different host habits, including for instance age, sex, diet, hygiene and lifestyle. Exposure to a diverse skin microbiome is now considered to be a key component in immune regulation, and imbalances in these microbial populations are being associated with human and animal skin inflammatory disorders. Skin microbiome in inflammatory skin conditions We have learned that in several skin conditions, there is a significant alteration in the diversity and composition of the microbiota colonizing the skin. For instance, in human and animal patients with atopic dermatitis, dysbiosis of the skin microbiota results in lower diversity of microbial populations. Whether these altered microbial populations are the cause or the effect of inflammatory skin conditions seen in humans and animals are still under investigation, but there is no doubt that the microbiome has an important role in maintaining skin health. Summary This review focuses on the most current studies describing the skin microbiome in humans and animals, its role in modulating the immune system, and its association with human and animal skin diseases.