cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
First-principles study of the role of solvent in the dissociation of water over a Pt-Ru alloy

Self-consistent gradient-corrected periodic density functional theoretical calculations are used to examine the effects of an aqueous environment on the dissociation of water over a Pt-Ru alloy. This reaction is thought to be one of the rate-limiting steps in oxidative removal of CO from the anode surface of both the direct methanol and reformate fuel cells. The reaction leads to the formation of surface hydroxyl (OH) intermediates that can subsequently oxidize adsorbed CO into ${\mathrm{CO}}_{2}.$ We examine the energetics and mechanism for the dissociation of water over ${\mathrm{Pt}}_{66}{\mathrm{Ru}}_{33}(111)$ in the presence of 23 water molecules (per 615 ${\mathrm{\AA{}}}^{3}$ unit cell volume) that act as a solution phase and in the absence of solution (vapor phase). The reaction is endothermic by +53 kJ/mol and has an activation barrier of +105 kJ/mol when carried out in the vapor phase, but was found to be much less endothermic (+26 kJ/mol) and has a significantly lower activation barrier (+27 kJ/mol) when carried out in solution. In the vapor phase, the reaction occurs homolytically whereby the dissociation is activated by insertion of a Ru atom into the O-H bond of water. The products formed are adsorbed hydroxyl and hydrogen intermediates. In contrast, in solution, the dissociation occurs via a heterolytic path whereby the solvent molecules are directly involved in activating the O-H bond. The reaction leads to the formation of a hydroxyl intermediate that is bound to the alloy surface and a proton that is released into the solution phase. Ab initio molecular dynamics simulations were performed at 300 K to establish the sequence of elementary steps that can occur. The simulations show that water dissociates over Ru and that the hydroxyl intermediate that first forms over Ru rapidly diffuses along the metal surface, migrating over Pt as well as Ru sites. We believe that this evidence shows that diffusion occurs as the result of the proton transfer between the coadsorbed water and hydroxyl intermediates in an aqueous environment. This could have important consequences for CO oxidation in PEM fuel cells whereby the diffusion of CO and/or OH intermediates is important for the reaction at the edge of the Pt/Ru boundaries. The work reported herein applies at open-circuit potentials, but may also be appropriate at other potentials as well.
Optimization of a virtual EUV photoresist for the trade-off between throughput and CDU

EUV source power and resist photospeed will dictate the throughput of EUV lithography, and throughput is a key factor in the cost of ownership of EUVL as a technology. However, low exposure doses typically lead to poor CD uniformity (CDU) and line-width roughness (LWR). In this paper, we simulate the CDU versus dose-to-size trade-off for a large number of virtual photoresists using PROLITH for 28nm, 26nm, and 22nm HP contacts. The resulting CDU versus dose curve is very similar to the experimental investigations by Naulleau et al. (Proc. SPIE, v7972, 2011) and by Goethals et al. (EUVL Symposium 2012). With the simulated results, we can investigate trends with physical properties such as diffusivity of acid and quencher, and overall exposure yield, as well as formulation properties such as PAG and quencher loadings, and conventional versus photodecomposable quencher.
Professional Wrestling as Moral Order

This paper treats structuralist and interactionist perspectives as complementary in an approach to the dynamics of professional wrestling as a social scene. Both directive or formulating aspects of culture as it is specified for social life and the creativity of human agents in negotiating such constraints from the viewpoint of their particularistic interests are emphasized in an examination of the confirmation and negotiation of identities, the clash and resolution of moral meanings, the calculated transgression of legal tradition, the location of the charismatic hero, and the ritual importance of disorder and crisis in wrestling. As such, the paper is offered as a contribution to an understanding of the sources and movement of meanings in ritual and dramatic forms.
Parametric study of a UV preionized CO2 laser

Abstract Small signal gain measurements of a uv preionized TEA CO 2 laser system are described. It is shown that the relative timing of preionization with respect to the main discharge determines the amount of electrical energy that can be deposited in the gas prior to arc formation.
Superconductivity in rare earth molybdenum selenides

Abstract The complete series of rare earth molybdenum selenides RExMo6Se8 (RE = rare earth) has been synthesized and with few exceptions these compounds are superconducting above 5 K. These results are discussed with respect to other superconducting compounds in this particular structure.
Using observations and a distributed hydrologic model to explore runoff thresholds linked with mesquite encroachment in the Sonoran Desert

Woody plant encroachment is a world wide phenomenon with implications on the hydrologic cycle at the catchment scale that are not well understood. In this study, we use observations from two small semiarid watersheds in southern Arizona that have been encroached by the velvet mesquite tree and apply a distributed hydrologic model to explore runoff threshold processes experienced during the North American monsoon. The paired watersheds have similar soil and meteorological conditions, but vary considerably in terms of vegetation cover (mesquite, grass, bare soil) and their proportions with one basin having undergone mesquite removal in 1974. Long-term observations from the watersheds exhibit changes in runoff production over time, such that the watershed with more woody plants currently has less runoff for small rainfall events, more runoff for larger events, and a larger runoff ratio during the study periods (summers 2011 and 2012). To explain this observation, we first test the distributed model, parameterized with high-resolution (1 m) terrain and vegetation distributions, against continuous data from an environmental sensor network, including an eddy covariance tower, soil moisture, and temperature profiles in different vegetation types, and runoff observations. We find good agreement between the model and observations for simultaneous water and energy states and fluxes over a range of measurement scales. We then identify that the areal fraction of grass (bare soil) cover determines the runoff response for small (large) rainfall events due to the dominant controls of antecedent wetness (hydraulic conductivity). These model-derived mechanisms explain how woody plants have differential effects on runoff in semiarid basins depending on precipitation event sizes.
Seeing data: new methods for understanding information

Cutting-edge information strategies demonstrate that visualization can help make abstract data more accessible by geographically representing relationships between data pieces and visually bringing out hidden features and relationships. Demonstrating the potential of information visualization to make the lives of general users easier a wide variety of development projects - many of which use different presentation strategies for representing data - continue to explore new techniques to help users map data variable onto multiple axes.
Interfacing aggregate plans and master production schedules via a rolling horizon feedback procedure

Abstract Aggregate planning and master scheduling are two important levels of a hierarchical production planning process. They serve as the front end of production and operations planning and control systems. It is imperative to have the front end well planned and coordinated. In this study, we demonstrate that a rolling horizon feedback procedure can be an effective coordination mechanism for interfacing aggregate planning and master scheduling. Each time the schedule is rolled ahead, the feedback of performance results from master scheduling provides the aggregate planning subsystem useful information for improving its planning activities. Our experiments show that there are at least three factors that make a rolling horizon procedure attractive: (i) the use of a horizon with a fractional portion of a seasonal cycle, (ii) high smoothing costs, and (iii) high setup costs. Using rolling horizons reduces the total aggregate costs in these situations relative to not using rolling horizons. The potential impacts of the rolling-horizon strategy are greater under some circumstances than others.
Ex situ and in situ methods for complete oxygen and non-carbidic carbon removal from (0001) Si 6H-SiC surfaces

Comparisons between the wetting characteristics of (0001)Si 6H-SiC and (111) Si surfaces in various acids and bases were made. It was found that 10:1 HF dipped Si (111) surfaces were hydrophobic where as the (0001)si 6H-SiC surfaces were hydrophilic. (0001)si 6H-SiC surfaces capped with a 20A Si layer, however, were hydrophobic after HF dipping and exhibited outgassing levels on annealing which were several orders of magnitude lower than SiC wafers dipped in HF without the capping layer. Annealing the Si capped (0001)Si 6H-SiC surfaces in UHV at 1100°C for 5 min. was found to be sufficient to thermally desorb the Si capping layer and produce a (3×3) Si rich, oxygen free (0001)Si 6H-SiC surface.
Efficient optimal design of uncertain discrete time dynamical systems

In this paper we consider the problem of optimal design of an uncertain discrete time nonlinear dynamical system. The problem is formulated using an a-posterori design criterion, which can account for uncertainties generated by the dynamics of the system itself as well as parametric uncertainties. In general, for most uncertain complex dynamical systems, this type of method is difficult to solve analytically. A numerical scheme is developed for the optimal design that involves two steps. First, in order to obtain a numerical algorithm for the optimal solution, we apply randomized algorithms for average performance synthesis to approximate the optimal solution. Second, using the properties of the Perron-Frobenius operator we develop an efficient computation approach to calculate the stationary distribution for the uncertain dynamical systems and the average performance criteria.
Rights and Great Responsibilities of Academic Pediatricians

Abstract Abraham Jacobi, in his first address to the newly formed American Pediatric Society over 100 years ago, stated, "Questions of public hygiene and medicine are both professional and social. Thus, every physician is by destiny a citizen of the commonwealth with many rights and great responsibilities." Accordingly, pediatricians have rights and great responsibilities to advocate for children who may be at particularly high risk for adverse outcomes. Often, well-intentioned policies or interventions can have tragic unexpected consequence for these children. In many circumstances, policies are developed by providers, policymakers, and others who may act without sufficient information to understand how a particular policy might adversely affect vulnerable populations. Thus, academic pediatricians should fulfill their great responsibilities by identifying signals from the populations they serve that may indicate unintended consequences of policies, performing the highest quality research and discovery to evaluate these signals, and disseminating the information back to the appropriate decision-makers to ensure that policies and interventions result in optimal outcomes for all children.
Metacognition: An Expanded View on the Cognitive Abilities of L2 Learners

My mind is always open to accept information about the language … I always concentrate because I have to learn … I just don't take it as it comes. I change it in my mind. There's always movement.
Quality Adjustment for Health Care Spending on Chronic Disease: Evidence from Diabetes Treatment, 1999-2009

US health care expenditures reached $2.5 trillion in 2009, representing 17.6 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) and $8,086 per person (US Department of Health and Human Services Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services 2011). Since health care represents a large and growing share of the economy, and factors such as population aging imply that chronic disease treatment will continue to expand as a share of health expenditures, developing methods for assessing the value of quality improvement for chronic disease spending is of increasing importance for accurately measuring real economic activity. This paper develops a method for assessing the value of quality changes associated with health care for patients living with one important chronic disease, diabetes mellitus, using 11 years of detailed data on spending and quality of care for over 800 patients. We first provide an overview of measurement issues for health care quality, and then present our data, methods, results, and a brief discussion.
Service costs for women with co-occurring disorders and trauma

Abstract Several aspects of costs related to health care and other service use at 6-month follow-up are presented for women with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders with histories of physical and/or sexual abuse receiving comprehensive, integrated, trauma-informed and consumer/survivor/recovering person-involved interventions ( n = 1023) or usual care ( n = 983) in a nine-site quasi-experimental study. Results show that, controlling for pre-baseline use, there are no significant differences in total costs between participants in the intervention condition and those in the usual care comparison condition, either from a governmental (avg. $13,500) or Medicaid reimbursement perspectives (avg. just over $10,000). When combined with clinical outcomes analyzed in other works in this issue by Cocozza et al. (2005) and Morrissey et al. (2005), which favored the intervention sites, these cost findings indicate that the treatment intervention services are cost-effective as compared with the usual care received by women at the comparison sites.
Brief alcohol counseling improves mental health functioning in Veterans with alcohol misuse: Results from a randomized trial

Abstract Background Alcohol misuse occurs at high rates among U.S. Military Veterans presenting to primary care and is linked to numerous negative social and health consequences. The Veterans Health Administration has recently implemented brief alcohol interventions (BAI) in VA primary care settings. An emerging literature suggests that BAIs that target alcohol consumption may also have secondary health benefits such as reducing symptoms of depression and anxiety in civilian samples. The present study sought to examine whether secondary health benefits of BAIs observed in civilians generalize to a sample of alcohol misusing Veterans presenting to primary care. Methods Veterans ( N =167) screening positive for alcohol misuse during a routine primary care visit were randomized to receive treatment-as-usual (TAU) or TAU plus a web-delivered BAI. Assessment of overall mental health functioning, posttraumatic stress disorder, and depression occurred at baseline, three- and six-month post-treatment. Results Veterans receiving both BAI protocols demonstrated significant improvements in mental health functioning, depressive symptoms, and use of approach coping from baseline to six-month follow-up. No differential treatment effects on these outcomes were observed. Limitations Findings are limited by the lack of a no-treatment control group, and the potential impact of regression to the mean and assessment effects on outcomes. Conclusions Our findings replicate prior studies suggesting that a single-dose BAI may have some secondary mental health benefits for Veterans presenting to primary care with alcohol misuse.
A hybrid approach for simulating turbulent collisions of hydrodynamically-interacting particles

A hybrid direct numerical simulation (DNS) approach is proposed for simulating turbulent collisions of hydrodynamically-interacting particles, under the assumptions that the disturbance flows due to particles are very localized in space and there is a sufficient length-scale separation between the particle size and the Kolmogorov scale of the undisturbed turbulent flow. The approach consists of direct simulation of the undisturbed turbulent flow and an analytical representation of local small-scale disturbance flows induced by the particles. This hybrid DNS approach provides, for the first time, a quantitative research tool to study the combined effects of turbulence and hydrodynamic interactions on the motion and collisional interactions of small particles. Several numerical implementation issues are discussed, along with consistency and accuracy of the approach. Areas for further development of the approach are indicated.
Anatomical variations of the phrenic nerve and its clinical implication for supraclavicular block

This paper reports a case of simultaneous diaphragmatic and brachial plexus stimulation followed by a successful nerve block using the supraclavicular approach. An explanation for the qualitative differences in phrenic nerve block between interscalene and supraclavicular block is postulated, based on known anatomical variations.
Comparative study of optical-digital vs all-digital techniques in textural pattern recognition

In this study we examine the application of both optical–digital and all-digital techniques in textural pattern recognition and make a comparison of the two approaches. The optical–digital scheme makes use of an optical–digital computer to generate textural measurements based on the 2-D irradiance spectrum. The all-digital scheme produces measurements based on gray-tone spatial-dependence matrices. In both cases two feature extraction algorithms were employed: the Hotelling trace method and the Foley-Sammon discriminant vector analysis. Classification was accomplished using the k-nearest neighbor decision rule. The performance of these techniques was evaluated in an experiment involving the classification of four texture patterns. The results show that, for the textures chosen, both approaches give high classification accuracy with the optical–digital method performing somewhat better.
Prediction of outcome after radical prostatectomy in men with organ-confined Gleason score 8 to 10 adenocarcinoma.

Abstract Objectives Most adenocarcinomas of the prostate with a Gleason score greater than 8 at radical prostatectomy have extraprostatic extension and a high risk of progression. With prostate-specific antigen screening, we have seen some cases of earlier detected, organ-confined, high-grade adenocarcinoma. Few data are available as to the likelihood of cure in these cases. Methods We reviewed 27 cases of pathologically organ-confined adenocarcinoma with a prostatectomy Gleason score of 8 to 10. To exclude cases with a significant proportion of Gleason pattern 3, we excluded cases of Gleason score 3+5=8 and Gleason score 5+3=8. All cases of Gleason score 8 at radical prostatectomy were Gleason score 4+4. The prognostic value of the clinical parameters (clinical stage, serum prostate-specific antigen level, age) and pathologic factors (biopsy Gleason score, radical prostatectomy Gleason score, prostatectomy tumor volume) were tested to predict postoperative progression. Results The mean age at diagnosis was 59.7 years (range 46 to 69) with preoperative serum prostate-specific antigen levels ranging from 1.4 to 28 ng/mL (mean 7.8). All tumors were classified as pathologic Stage T2N0Mx. Fifteen patients (55.6%) had a Gleason score of 8, 11 patients (40.7%) had a Gleason score of 9, and 1 had a Gleason score of 10 (3.7%). Tumor volumes ranged from 0.02 to 1.44 cm 3 (mean 0.56). Follow-up information was available for all men. The mean follow-up for those without progression was 30.6 months (range 7 to 73) and for those with progression was 23.6 months (range 9 to 44). The 33-month actuarial risk of progression was 32%, with 10 men developing progression during the study. None of the preoperative or postoperative variables predicted progression. Conclusions Even when high-grade tumor is organ confined, it is associated with a relatively unfavorable short-term outcome that is not predictable on the basis of either preoperative clinicopathologic data or postoperative pathologic information obtained from the radical prostatectomy specimen.
Biological characteristics of Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin.

An enterotoxin with the ability to induce fluid accumulation in rabbit ileal loops, erythema in the skin of guinea pigs, and lethality in mice appears in cell extracts (CE) and culture filtrates (CF) of sporulating cells of some Clostridium perfringens type A strains. All activities in CE and CF were eluted simultaneously from a Sephadex G-200 column. Different elution patterns were obtained for these activities present in CE and CF. Rabbit immune serum against CF and the active CE fractions eliminated the three biological activities in CE and CF. These activities present in CF and CE were not eliminated by any of the known antitoxins present in diagnostic serum against C. perfringens types A, B, C, D, and E. Immunodiffusion studies with immune serum against active CE fractions and CF indicated a precipitin line of identity between CF and CE of NCTC 8798 and other enterotoxin-positive strains but not enterotoxin-negative strains. Disc electrophoresis of active G-200 fractions on 7.0% polyacrylamide gels revealed a single area containing erythemal activity and mouse lethality. Immunodiffusion with acrylamide gels, containing crude fractionated enterotoxin, and immune serum against partially purified enterotoxin revealed a single precipitin band in the same area as the biological activities. Immunoelectrophoresis of CE of enterotoxin-positive and enterotoxin-negative strains also showed one precipitin band which occurred only with enterotoxin-positive strains. These findings suggest that one component is responsible for the biological activities attributed to the enterotoxin. Images
High-temperature failure of polycrystalline alumina: II, creep crack growth and blunting

Creep crack growth in fine-grain alumina is measured by using surface cracks. A narrow power-law crack growth regime occurs at both 1300° and 1400°C, wherein the power-law exponent and activation energy are comparable to steady-state creep values. Asymptotic crack velocity behavior is exhibited near both the critical stress intensity factor, KC, and the crack growth threshold, Kth. The threshold occurs near 0.4 K1C at both 1300° and 1400°C and is associated with a transition in the size and distribution of damage. Displacement measurements indicate that crack tip damage exerts a strong influence on the displacement field, as predicted by recent theories. Furthermore, use of the stress intensity factor as a loading parameter does not produce adequate correlation with displacement measurements and is, therefore, not strictly suitable for nonlinear creeping ceramic poly crystals.
Ethics, genomics, and information retrieval

The union of genomics and computational information retrieval raises a number of ethical issues, including data sharing, database accuracy, group and subgroup stigma, and privacy and confidentiality. These issues are introduced and assigned a preliminary analysis which, it is hoped, may be of use in more sustained efforts to identify issues, solutions and potential guidelines, to stimulate education, and to strike the most appropriate balance between the rights of individuals and the needs of researchers and society.
Analysis of molecular orientation and internal stresses in extruded plastic sheets

The development of molecular orientation and internal stresses in extruded sheet made of polypropylene was analyzed, and their correlations to operating conditions such as draw ratio, cooling rate, die temperature, melt temperature, and die gap opening were studied. Measurements of attenuated-total-reflectance infrared dichroic ratio for the surface molecular orientation, birefringence for the orientation stress distribution in the thickness direction, and free shrinkage ratio for the overall frozen-in stresses were carried out to determine the amount of orientation stresses in the extruded samples. As expected, the overall orientation stress depends strongly on draw ratio, while higher melt temperature reduces the overall orientation. It was found that faster cooling rates and lower die temperatures cause surface orientation stresses to increase as the core orientation stresses remain almost unchanged.
Women of Spain

Author's Summary— The women of Spain have played an important and significant role in the history of Spain. Even a superficial study of her place in Spanish history and literature is much more significant than many believe.
How power users help and hinder open bug reporting

Many power users that contribute to open source projects have no intention of becoming regular contributors; they just want a bug fixed or a feature implemented. How often do these users participate in open source projects and what do they contribute? To investigate these questions, we analyzed the reports of Mozilla contributors who reported problems but were never assigned problems to fix. These analyses revealed that over 11 years and millions of reports, most of these 150,000 users reported non-issues that devolved into technical support, redundant reports with little new information, or narrow, expert feature requests. Reports that did lead to changes were reported by a comparably small group of experienced, frequent reporters, mostly before the release of Firefox 1. These results suggest that the primary value of open bug reporting is in recruiting talented reporters, and not in deriving value from the masses.
Heart rate variability analysis is more sensitive at identifying neonatal sepsis than conventional vital signs

Abstract Background Sepsis remains the largest preventable source of neonatal mortality in the world. Heart rate variability (HRV) analysis and noninvasive cardiac output have been shown to be useful adjuncts to sepsis detection in many patient groups. Methods With Institutional Review Board approval, 4 septic and 6 nonseptic extremely low birth weight patients were enrolled. Data from septic and healthy patients were collected for 5 hours. Electrocardiogram waveform and traditional vital signs were collected and the RR intervals were calculated; then HRV analysis was performed in both the time and frequency domain. Results HRV measurements in time domain, heart rate, and pulse oximetry (SpO2) were significantly different in septic patients vs nonseptic controls. Conclusions These results indicate that nonconventional vital signs such as HRV are more sensitive than traditionally used vital signs, such as cardiac output and mean arterial pressure, in the confirmation of sepsis in extremely low birth weight neonates. HRV may allow for earlier identification of septic physiology.
Evaluating Competing Models for Predicting Seed Mass of Walter's Millet

Abstract Predictive models that estimate seed mass of hydrophytes are useful for efficiently and accurately estimating forage availability for waterfowl in wetlands. Two predictors of seed mass have been successfully used in the past: a dot grid method that places plant inflorescences on a 9 dots/cm2 grid and counts the number of dots obscured by seed and measuring multiple plant measurements (e.g., inflorescence length and width). I developed 6 equations to predict seed mass/plant for Walter's millet (Echinochloa walteri) from 9 impoundments on 5 National Wildlife Refuges located in New Jersey, Delaware, and Virginia, USA. These equations included variables for number of dots obscured by seeds, plant morphology measurements, geographic location, and combinations of these variables. I used Akaike's Information Criterion to compare these competing models. The model using the number of dots covered by seeds (Y [g/plant] = 0.0036 × number of dots obscured) performed the best among the models tested. This mod...
Prediction of Nine Explosive Cyclones over the Western Atlantic Ocean with a Regional Model

Abstract A series of 14 numerical experiments were conducted using the Pennsylvania State University/National Center for Atmospheric Research mesoscale model on nine cases of explosive marine cyclogenesis. The main objective was to identify key factors that are important to short-range prediction of explosive cyclones. We found that the intensity and structure of the simulated cyclones were sensitive to the details of precipitation parameterization. The grid-resolvable-scale precipitation associated with the mesoscale slantwise ascent in the vicinity of the warm front was crucial for rapid development. The upright convective precipitation played a relatively unimportant role. Surface energy fluxes had little effect on the development during the 24-h period of rapid cyclogenesis. The pattern of upward and downward fluxes while the storms were in progress was not favorable for storm intensification. Small case-to-case variation was found among the nine-case ensemble in the resulting deepening due to changes...
A high-temperature study of the low-high leucite phase transition using the transmission electron microscope

That leucite transforms from a tetragonal to a cubic polymorph with increasing temperature has been accepted for nearly a century, but the precise nature ofthis transition has provoked some disagreement. X-ray difraction experiments suggest that leucite inverts directly from space group l4r/ato la3d; however, two distinct absorption events appear in most calorimetric experiments, raising the possibility that leucite passes through an intermediate phase with space group l4r/acd. In this paper, the evidence for both hypotheses is reviewed in detail. Further, the transition between low and high leucite was examined in situ during heating experiments with a transmission electron microscope. Dark-field imaging with the 420 diffracted beam revealed pseudomerohedral and merohedral twin types in the low-temperature polymorph, and with increasing temperature the contrast among both sets of twins steadily diminished. The transition temperature Z" was deduced from the merging of split spots in selected area electron-difraction patterns, indicating an equivalence in the lengths of a and c. Merohedral twins could not be discerned above ?"", whereas the pseudomerohedral twin boundaries definitely could be distinguished above the transition temperature. We conclude that leucite can indeed occur as a distinct intermediate phase with space group 14,/acd that is metrically but not symmetrically cubic within the error of our measurements. The failure of leucite to transform directly to a cubic structure may be related to AVSi ordering. Further, the observation that leucite remains tetragonal above the nominal transition temperature explains the memory efect long associated with leucite.
BLOOD FLOW IN THE DENTAL PULP OF THE DOG.

SummaryPulpal blood flow to the canine teeth of young dogs was studied using the isotope fractionation technique, which involves determining the fractional distribution of the cardiac output to the teeth. Cardiac outputs were determined from isotope dilution curves. Xylocaine and xylocaine with varying amounts of epinephrine (5-20 μg) were infiltrated separately at the apex of a canine tooth. The contralateral tooth in the same arch served as the control. The average flow in the control teeth was 0.98 cc min-g of pulp tissue. Flow in teeth which had xylocaine alone infiltrated at the apex showed no significant difference from the controls. However, flow in those canine teeth which had 5-20 μg of epinephrine infiltrated decreased an average of about 30%. This change in flow was significantly correlated to the dose of epinephrine injected.
Personal Rapid Transport at Vectus, Ltd.

At a test track in Uppsala, Sweden, Vectus chief technology officer Jorgen Gustafsson watched as three driverless vehicle “pods” maneuvered through a test track. Proceeding at a rate of up to 30 miles per hour, the vehicles merged and diverged on a pair of concentric guideways, all under full computer control. Gustafsson envisioned these vehicles carrying passengers around a web of stations at airports, corporate or academic campuses, or even in cities. Waiting for a shuttle bus could become a thing of the past—and so, too, could the huge costs of installing traditional subways and light rail. Even better, the vehicles would transport each passenger directly from origin to destination, bypassing all other stations and eliminating waits for others to get on or off. This was personal rapid transport (PRT), and Gustafsson’s Vectus, Ltd. aimed to make it a reality. Meanwhile, Advanced Transport Systems Ltd. (ATS) of Bristol, United Kingdom, was nearing completion of a similar system at London’s Heathrow airport. A lightweight, concrete guideway, little thicker than an elevated bicycle path, connected Heathrow’s new Terminal 5 to the business car park a mile away. In five minutes, a passenger could proceed from T5 to the parking lot—without waiting for a shuttle to arrive or for other passengers to board. If the system expanded to cover more of the Heathrow property, it could whisk passengers to car rental providers and nearby hotels and even between terminals. (See Exhibit 1.) Despite Gustafsson’s grand aspirations, the next steps were challenging. ATS had won the Heathrow contract, but so far Vectus had only achieved the installation at its Uppsala test track. Numerous planners had evaluated PRT, but they inevitably rejected the PRT approach as unproven. As Gustafsson drove to work each morning, he saw opportunities for PRT at every turn—connecting a local mall to the train station across the highway, linking communities separated by a nature preserve, replacing slow buses that brought passengers to subway stations, and offering a safer alternative to bicyclists during rain or snow. Vectus had a solution to offer, but to whom and how?
Towards triggering higher-order thinking behaviors in MOOCs

With the aim of better scaffolding discussion to improve learning in a MOOC context, this work investigates what kinds of discussion behaviors contribute to learning. We explored whether engaging in higher-order thinking behaviors results in more learning than paying general or focused attention to course materials. In order to evaluate whether to attribute the effect to engagement in the associated behaviors versus persistent characteristics of the students, we adopted two approaches. First, we used propensity score matching to pair students who exhibit a similar level of involvement in other course activities. Second, we explored individual variation in engagement in higher-order thinking behaviors across weeks. The results of both analyses support the attribution of the effect to the behavioral interpretation. A further analysis using LDA applied to course materials suggests that more social oriented topics triggered richer discussion than more biopsychology oriented topics.
Spin-Orbit Semimetals in the Layer Groups

Since the discovery of graphene, there has been great interest in finding other nodal semimetals in two and three dimensions. Over the past few years, numerous examples of these materials have been proposed or observed. However, the explanations for the symmetry and topology mechanisms protecting nodal features in these materials have generally been provided on a case-by-case basis. In this paper, we use a mathematical consideration of crystal lattices on flat manifolds like Mquotobius strips and Klein bottles, most recently revived by Watanabe, Po, Vishwanath, and Zaletel, to develop a framework for discussing all possible two-dimensional and quasi-two-dimensional semimetals in systems with strong spin-orbit interactions. Using this framework, we draw connections to known nodal features in two- and three-dimensional semimetals like SrIrO${}_{3}$, and we predict new ones, including an exotic ``Cat's Cradle'' Weyl fermion feature.
16 THE PREVALENCE OF NEUROPSYCHIATRIC SYMPTOMS IN MILD COGNITIVE IMPAIRMENT: A POPULATION-BASED STUDY.

Objective To estimate the prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms among subjects with mild cognitive impairment (MCI) in a defined population. Background The population-based prevalence of neuropsychiatric symptoms in MCI is unknown except for a recent report (Lyketsos et al, 2002, JAMA) that has not yet been replicated. Design/Methods The Mayo Clinic Study of Aging is an NIH-funded population-based study that was launched in October 2004. It is designed to estimate the prevalence and incidence of MCI. Elderly individuals of age 70 to 89 years are being recruited by using a stratified random sampling from the target population of Olmsted County, Minnesota (equal allocation of men and women). All participants undergo neurological, neuropsychiatric, and psychometric evaluations. A consensus panel of behavioral neurologists, geriatrician, neuropsychiatrist, neuropsychologists, and nurses determined the classification of normal cognitive aging, MCI, or dementia based on standard definitions. The Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI) was administered to all participants, and the prevalence of symptoms in MCI cases was compared to cognitively normal individuals (controls), matched by age and gender (1 case to 3 controls), by using chi-square or Fisher9s exact test. Results Neuropsychiatric data were available on 104 participants with MCI and 312 cognitively normal individuals. The prevalence of apathy was 24% in MCI ( n = 25/104) vs 6.1% (19/312) in cognitively normal individuals ( p
Enantioselective Blockade of T-type Ca2+ Current in Adult Rat Sensory Neurons by a Steroid That Lacks γ-Aminobutyric Acid-Modulatory Activity

A number of steroids seem to have anesthetic effects resulting primarily from their ability to potentiate currents gated by gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptor activation. One such compound is (3alpha,5alpha, 17beta)-3-hydroxyandrostane-17-carbonitrile [(+)-ACN]. We were interested in whether carbonitrile substitution at other ring positions might result in other pharmacological consequences. Here we examine effects of (3beta,5alpha, 17beta)-17-hydroxyestrane-3-carbonitrile [(+)-ECN] on GABAA receptors and Ca2+ channels. In contrast to (+)-ACN, (+)-ECN does not potentiate GABAA-receptor activated currents, nor does it directly gate GABAA-receptor mediated currents. However, both steroids produce an enantioselective reduction of T-type current. (+)-ECN blocked T current with an IC50 value of 0.3 microM with a maximal block of 41%. (+)-ACN produced a partial block of T current (44% maximal block) with an IC50 value of 0.4 microM. Block of T current showed mild use- and voltage-dependence. The (-)-ECN enantiomer was about 33 times less potent than (+)-ECN, with an IC50 value of 10 microM and an amount of maximal block comparable to (+)-ECN. (+)-ECN was less effective at blocking high-voltage-activated Ca2+ current in DRG neurons (IC50 value of 9. 3 microM with maximal block of about 27%) and hippocampal neurons. (+)-ECN (10 microM) had minimal effects on voltage-gated sodium and potassium currents in rat chromaffin cells. The results identify a steroid with no effects on GABAA receptors that produces a partial inhibition of T-type Ca2+ current with reasonably high affinity and selectivity. Further study of steroid actions on T currents may lead to even more selective and potent agents.
Reactive Liners Prepared Using Powders of Aluminum and Aluminum-Magnesium Alloys

Cylindrical reactive liners filled with powders of aluminum, aluminum-magnesium alloys, and aluminum-magnesium powder blends were prepared and initiated by a centrally located explosive charge. The experiments were performed in a cubic chamber. Several transient pressure measurements were taken in addition to the quasistatic pressure caused by the explosion. Results were compared against a reference case with an inert liner filled with aluminum oxide powder. For all reactive liners, an increase in both quasistatic pressure and blast wave strength were observed compared to the case of an inert liner. In experiments with mechanically alloyed Al⋅Mg powders, the quasistatic pressure is effectively the same as in experiments with pure aluminum. An improvement in the achieved quasistatic pressure is observed for the liners with a cast alloyed Al⋅Mg powder. Most interestingly, a substantial contribution to the air blast indicative of very early reaction occurring in sub-millisecond time scale is observed for all experiments with reactive liners. The most substantial improvement in the blast characteristics is observed in experiments with mechanically alloyed Al⋅Mg powders. While the mechanisms of prompt reactions of metals and alloys remain largely unexplored, the present results highlight the importance of such reactions for reactive liners and other components of energetic systems.
The Monte Carlo Method for Participating Media

In Chapter 8 we first introduced the Monte Carlo method for the evaluation of radiative exchange between surfaces. While statistical in nature, in this method we are tracing physically meaningful photons from their point of emission to their point of absorption, or their exit from the enclosure (albeit only a tiny, but statistically relevant sample). Therefore, the method is immediately applicable to participating media: we simply need to add statistical algorithms for the emission of photons from a gas, particles, or a semitransparent medium, as well as rules for the interaction of streaming photons with the medium, i.e., volumetric absorption and scattering.
Tectorial Membrane Traveling Waves Underlie Sharp Auditory Tuning in Humans

Our ability to understand speech requires neural tuning with high frequency resolution, but the peripheral mechanisms underlying sharp tuning in humans remain unclear. Sharp tuning in genetically modified mice has been attributed to decreases in spread of excitation of tectorial membrane traveling waves. Here we show that the spread of excitation of tectorial membrane waves is similar in humans and mice, although the mechanical excitation spans fewer frequencies in humans-suggesting a possible mechanism for sharper tuning.
Plato and the Ontological Placement of Images

What imagination is cannot be answered apart from understanding its conceptual topology, the articulated framework of basic phenomena and concepts that govern our thinking about it. The first step is to understand how the image (as object), then imagination (as psychological power), developed from the problematic of being and appearance. The pre-Socratic thinker Empedocles of Agrigentum thought that we experience things by virtue of image-bearing particles they emit. Plato (428–347 B.C.E.), in his dialogue the Meno, criticized this kind of hypothesis and emphasized instead the human ability to apprehend and work with images, in particular mathematical images. In other dialogues, above all the Sophist and the Republic, he developed an ontology of images and their emergence, and as corollary he took the first step toward a psychology of imagining. Careful explication of it shows the falsity of the widespread conviction that Plato thought images were ontologically deficient. The Republic presents a grand vision of a cosmos in which the good images itself not just in intelligible forms or ideas but at every level of being. The good does this according to knowable, mathematical proportions, and the human soul has the power to know these levels, both in themselves and as figures or images of other levels. The most typically human form of imagining for Plato is the making of logoi, words in discourse that represent the world and its things. The underlying Platonic conceptual topology provided the basis for all future investigations of imagination.
Obesity increases the risk of end-stage renal disease among living kidney donors

Determining candidacy for live kidney donation among obese individuals remains challenging. Among healthy non-donors, body mass index (BMI) above 30 is associated with a 16% increase in risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD). However, the impact on the ESRD risk attributable to donation and living with only one kidney remains unknown. Here we studied the risk of ESRD associated with obesity at the time of donation among 119 769 live kidney donors in the United States. Maximum follow-up was 20 years. Obese (BMI above 30) live kidney donors were more likely male, African American, and had higher blood pressure. Estimated risk of ESRD 20 years after donation was 93.9 per 10 000 for obese; significantly greater than the 39.7 per 10 000 for non-obese live kidney donors. Adjusted for age, sex, ethnicity, blood pressure, baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate, and relationship to recipient, obese live kidney donors had a significant 86% increased risk of ESRD compared to their non-obese counterparts (adjusted hazard ratio 1.86; 95% confidence interval 1.05–3.30). For each unit increase in BMI above 27 kg/m 2 there was an associated significant 7% increase in ESRD risk (1.07, 1.02–1.12). The impact of obesity on ESRD risk was similar for male and female donors, African American and Caucasian donors, and across the baseline estimated glomerular filtration rate spectrum. These findings may help to inform selection criteria and discussions with persons considering living kidney donation.
Connexin-purinergic signaling in enteric glia mediates the prolonged effect of morphine on constipation

Morphine is one of the most widely used drugs for the treatment of pain. However, side effects, including persistent constipation and antinociceptive tolerance, limit its clinical efficacy. Prolonged morphine treatment results in a "leaky" gut, predisposing to colonic inflammation that is facilitated by microbial dysbiosis and associated bacterial translocation. In this study, we examined the role of enteric glia in mediating this secondary inflammatory response to prolonged treatment with morphine. We found that purinergic P2X receptor activity was significantly enhanced in enteric glia that were isolated from mice with long-term morphine treatment (in vivo) but not upon direct exposure of glia to morphine (in vitro). LPS, a major bacterial product, also increased ATP-induced currents, as well as expression of P2X4, P2X7, IL6, IL-1β mRNA in enteric glia. LPS increased connexin43 (Cx43) expression and enhanced ATP release from enteric glia cells. LPS-induced P2X currents and proinflammatory cytokine mRNA expression were blocked by the Cx43 blockers Gap26 and carbenoxolone. Likewise, colonic inflammation related to prolonged exposure to morphine was significantly attenuated by carbenoxolone (25 mg/kg). Carbenoxolone also prevented gut wall disruption and significantly reduced morphine-induced constipation. These findings imply that enteric glia activation is a significant modulator of morphine-related inflammation and constipation.-Bhave, S., Gade, A., Kang, M., Hauser, K. F., Dewey, W. L., Akbarali, H. I. Connexin-purinergic signaling in enteric glia mediates the prolonged effect of morphine on constipation.
Entrepreneurship: Productive, unproductive, and destructive—Relative to what?

Abstract We identify an ambiguity surrounding institutions and entrepreneurship. While entrepreneurship creates social value at the economy level in the appropriate institutional environment, individual entrepreneurs may create or destroy value in any institutional environment. This raises the question: under what conditions does entrepreneurship create social value? Social value creation depends on the entrepreneur's next best alternative, and institutions are constraints on the relevant alternatives. Hence, society is better off when entrepreneurs navigate poor institutions relative to reduced entrepreneurial activity. Furthermore, entrepreneurs engaging in seemingly “productive” activity need not create social value. We illustrate the argument with two examples.
Strictures: Bougienage and Balloon Dilation

Esophageal strictures are uncommon in children. Noninvasive management of esophageal strictures is based on the same principles in children as in adults though there is much less published literature in pediatric practice. Bougienage and balloon dilation are effective and preferences of one technique over the other will depend on the situation. The major complication is perforation and is related to the characteristics of the stricture itself.