cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of obstetrician characteristics on cesarean delivery rates: A community hospital experience

Abstract Objective: Despite a decrease in the overall cesarean delivery rate at Ravenswood Hospital Medical Center in Chicago, a wide range of variation existed among individual obstetricians' rates. This study evaluated obstetricians' characteristics to determine whether they affected cesarean delivery rates. Study Design: In 1994 members of my department adopted strategies to decrease the cesarean delivery rate. Data on women who were delivered at the obstetric unit from 1994-1997 and data on their neonates were studied. Certain characteristics of obstetricians were also analyzed. The data were grouped according to personal characteristics and obstetricians' cesarean delivery rates: group 1 had a low rate (≤15%) and group 2 had a high rate (>15%). Pearson χ 2 analysis was used to evaluate the differences between the proportions. P Results: The departmental cesarean delivery rate decreased from 20.5% in 1994 to 15.5% in 1997 ( P P Conclusions: Cesarean delivery rates can safely be reduced. Certain individual obstetrician characteristics influence cesarean delivery rates. Obstetricians' commitment facilitates lowering of cesarean delivery rates. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1999;180:1364-72.)
Molecular and biochemical approaches to determining what bacteria are doing in vivo.

Although the results of experiments carried out to date have not given unambiguous answers to the question of which polysaccharides are being utilized byBacterioides in the colon, the results nonetheless encourage us to think that it may be possible to develop methods for answering this and related questions in the furture. Given the complexity of the in vivo environmental and the impossibility of knowing, much less controlling, all parameters, it will probably be necessary to use more than one approach to answering a particular question and assume that if anseers obtained by different approaches are consistent, they are probably correct. For example, the general conclusions from the experiments testing the performance of mutants in the germfree mouse model are in agreement with those arising from direct biochemical analysis of human feces. Also, results from these experiments with help to guide the design of more specific antibody probes because they indicate which polysaccharides are most likely to be important. A bootstrap type of approach in which each successive set of experiments produces information that makes possible a more specific type of probe may be the only approach that makes sense when dealing with metabolically versatile organisms in a highly complex ecosystem.
Critical Combinations of Radiation Dose and Volume Predict Intelligence Quotient and Academic Achievement Scores After Craniospinal Irradiation in Children With Medulloblastoma

Purpose To prospectively follow children treated with craniospinal irradiation to determine critical combinations of radiation dose and volume that would predict for cognitive effects. Methods and Materials Between 1996 and 2003, 58 patients (median age 8.14 years, range 3.99-20.11 years) with medulloblastoma received risk-adapted craniospinal irradiation followed by dose-intense chemotherapy and were followed longitudinally with multiple cognitive evaluations (through 5 years after treatment) that included intelligence quotient (estimated intelligence quotient, full-scale, verbal, and performance) and academic achievement (math, reading, spelling) tests. Craniospinal irradiation consisted of 23.4 Gy for average-risk patients (nonmetastatic) and 36-39.6 Gy for high-risk patients (metastatic or residual disease >1.5 cm 2 ). The primary site was treated using conformal or intensity modulated radiation therapy using a 2-cm clinical target volume margin. The effect of clinical variables and radiation dose to different brain volumes were modeled to estimate cognitive scores after treatment. Results A decline with time for all test scores was observed for the entire cohort. Sex, race, and cerebrospinal fluid shunt status had a significant impact on baseline scores. Age and mean radiation dose to specific brain volumes, including the temporal lobes and hippocampi, had a significant impact on longitudinal scores. Dichotomized dose distributions at 25 Gy, 35 Gy, 45 Gy, and 55 Gy were modeled to show the impact of the high-dose volume on longitudinal test scores. The 50% risk of a below-normal cognitive test score was calculated according to mean dose and dose intervals between 25 Gy and 55 Gy at 10-Gy increments according to brain volume and age. Conclusions The ability to predict cognitive outcomes in children with medulloblastoma using dose-effects models for different brain subvolumes will improve treatment planning, guide intervention, and help estimate the value of newer methods of irradiation.
Phytochemical and Antimicrobial Assessment of Five Medicinal Plants Found in Terai Region

Crude petroleum ether and methanol extracts of different parts of five medicinal plants collected from Terai region, namely, Asparagus racemosus , Catharanthus roseus , Hedychium coronarium , Mimosa pudica and Terminalia chebula were examined for their antimicrobial activity against different pathogenic microorganisms, Staphylococcus aureus , Escherichia coli , Klebsella spp., Salmonella paratyphi , Bacillus subtilis , Aspergillus niger , Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. From the obtained growth curves of methanol extract of Terminalia chebula and petroleum ether and methanol extracts of Hedychium coronarium , it can be said these extracts have relatively high bacteriostatic property than other plant extracts. Similarly, the zone of inhibitions observed during antifungal assay by methanol extract of Terminalia chebula against Aspergillus niger , Fusarium spp. and Penicillium spp. are comparable to that of Itraconazole (antifungal drug). It shows that Terminalia chebula has fungistatic property. Phytochemical screening revealed the presence of alkaloids, coumarins, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and glycosides. Nepal Journal of Science and Technology Vol. 13, No. 2 (2012) 79-86 DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.3126/njst.v13i2.7718
Effect of azole compounds on corrosion of copper in acid medium

Abstract The corrosion behaviour of a copper electrode in 0.1 M H2SO4 solution has been studied potentiodynamically at different temperatures ranging from 30 to 65 °C. The inhibition efficiencies of benzotriazole (BTA), tolytriazole (TTA) and imidazole (IA) are then studied for four concentrations in the range 8 × 10−2 to 10−1 M. Benzotriazole and imidazole, in the presence of H2SO4 solution, cause a shift, mainly in the anodic direction, of the corrosion potential at low current densities as well as in the line part of the cathodic Tafel line, but tolytriazole shifts the corrosion potential to the cathodic direction of the corrosion potential. The protection efficiency of each compound has been calculated for different temperatures and concentrations. The three tested azole compounds act as corrosion inhibitors in 0.1 M H2SO4 solution through adsorption on the copper electrode surface. The similar values of the activation energy Ea suggest that the azole compounds used have similar mechanisms of action. The higher values of Ea in inhibited acid indicate that the azole compounds act as catalysts on the copper surface. The inhibition efficiencies of the azole compounds used follow the sequence benzotriazole > tolytriazole > imidazole; this sequence agrees with the activation-energy results. The azole compounds used are classified as toxic substances and can inhibit the catalytic activity of a copper surface owing to the presence of lone pairs of electrons on the nitrogen atoms. The results reported in this research elucidate the effects of temperature and molecular structure on the inhibition efficiency. Benzotriazole is the most efficient of the three azole compounds for inhibiting the corrosion of copper in sulphuric acid solution. The thermodynamic parameters for adsorption of azole compounds are calculated.
On the zero temperature limit of the Kubo-transformed quantum time correlation function

The zero temperature limit of several quantum time correlation functions is analysed. It is shown that while the canonical quantum time correlation function retains the full dynamical information as temperature approaches zero, the Kubo-transformed and the thermally symmetrised quantum time correlation functions lose all dynamical information at this limit. This is shown to be a consequence of the projection onto the ground state, via the limiting process of the quantities and , either together as a product, or separately. Although these findings would seem to suggest that finite-temperature methods commonly used to estimate Kubo correlation functions would be incapable of retaining any ground state dynamics, we propose a route for recovering in principle all dynamical information at the ground state. It is first shown that the usual frequency space relation between canonical and Kubo correlation functions also holds for microcanonical time correlation functions. Since the Kubo-transformed microcanonical ...
The Less They Have, the More They Want: Reexamination of Concern with Status:

Kaufman's scale of status concern, originally developed on an undergraduate sample, was administered to a general population in a county-wide survey (N = 300). The scale was judged to be homogeneou...
The Carbon Crop: Continued

With regard to the relentlessly positive article by Anne Simon Moffat about forests as carbon sinks (Research News, [18 July, p. 315][1]), it is worth noting several points, the most critical being the importance of differentiating between harvesting a forest stand for biomass energy and doing so
MRF Reinforcer: A Probabilistic Element for Space Redundancy in Nanoscale Circuits

Shrinking devices to nanoscale, increasing integration densities, and reducing voltage levels to the thermal limit-all conspire to produce faulty systems. A possible solution is a fault-tolerant probabilistic framework based on Markov random fields. This article introduces a new redundancy element, the MRF reinforcer, which achieves significant immunity to single-event upsets and noise
Analysis of gypsy moth (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae) population dynamics in Michigan using geographic information systems

We studied the 9-yr (1986-1994) statewide gypsy moth, Lymantria dispar (L.), population distribution dynamics in Michigan using geographic information systems (GIS) based on an analysis of pheromone trap data of male moth catch from more than 3,000 permanent sites. A time series of male moth contour maps with 7 density categories (0, 1-25, 26-100, 101-200, 201-300, 301-400 and >400 moths.trap -1 year -1 ) was created using the GIS. The statewide gypsy moth population expanded at an alarming rate of 6,053 km 2 /yr with the largest area infested being 128,164 km 2 (85% of the state) in 1993. The population-weighted mean center stayed in the Lower Peninsula, but a low density population was developing in the Upper Peninsula during the 9-yr period. Map analysis showed that the statewide population gradually increased from 1986 to 1990 and then became relatively stable thereafter. Both the highest weighted average density (191 moths.trap - ryear -1 ) and the greatest coefficient of relative dispersion (307%) occurred in 1990. Linear regression slopes between successive years were >1.0 before 1990 and 70%). In the 9-yr study, 55% of the population cells stayed in the same density class in the following year. A general pattern of population density shifts was that increase prevailed over decrease. Research methodology, population distribution, temporal dynamics, and density shifts are discussed.
Spin vectors in the Koronis family: III. (832) Karin

Abstract Studies of asteroid families constrain models of asteroid collisions and evolution processes, and the Karin cluster within the Koronis family is among the youngest families known (Nesvorný, D., Bottke, Jr., W.F., Dones, L., Levison, H.F. [2002]. Nature 417, 720–722). (832) Karin itself is by far the largest member of the Karin cluster, thus knowledge of Karin’s spin vector is important to constrain family formation and evolution models that include spin, and to test whether its spin properties are consistent with the Karin cluster being a very young family. We observed rotation lightcurves of Karin during its four consecutive apparitions in 2006–2009, and combined the new observations with previously published lightcurves to determine its spin vector orientation and preliminary model shape. Karin is a prograde rotator with a period of (18.352 ± 0.003) h, spin obliquity near (42 ± 5)°, and pole ecliptic longitude near either (52 ± 5)° or (230 ± 5)°. The spin vector and shape results for Karin will constrain models of family formation that include spin properties; in the meantime we briefly discuss Karin’s own spin in the context of those of other members of the Karin cluster and the parent body’s siblings in the Koronis family.
KNOWLEDGE OF NONVERBAL CUES, GENDER, AND NONVERBAL DECODING ACCURACY

The Test of Nonverbal Cue Knowledge (TONCK), a paper and pencil test measuring explicit knowledge of nonverbal cue meanings and uses, was developed and found to be reliable and to have predictive ability. In four studies, participants were given the TONCK and one or more tests of accuracy in decoding nonverbal cues the adult faces and voices tests of the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy 2 (DANVA) and the video and audio tests of the Profile of Nonverbal Sensitivity (PONS), as well as a test of general cognitive ability (the Wonderlic Personnel Test). Results are reported for the four studies individually and also in a meta-analytic summary. Females scored higher than males on the TONCK and on the PONS, and the TONCK predicted accuracy on the PONS and DANVA. Knowledge of nonverbal cues did not account for the gender difference in decoding ability on the PONS. Cognitive ability was related to the TONCK but did not compromise relations with other variables. The future utility of the TONCK, content specificity of tests, as well as the automaticity of judging cues are discussed.
The original biotechnology: brewing an undergraduate education

The increasing number of microbreweries and brewpubs and the popularity of homebrewing present a heady opportunity for undergraduate projects that blend together theory, practice and job opportunities in the realm of fermentation science. However, a perception of prohibitive regulation on campus and other concerns has led many instructors to abandon that most practical demonstration of fermentation, the production of ethanol by Saccharomyces cerevisiae. We present our success in introducing fermentation using homebrewing in a microbiology laboratory. Virtually all fundamental topics of microbiology are remarkably easy to demonstrate with this project: growth and replication, physiology, limitation of growth by sterilization and other methods, competition, energy conservation and utilization, consequences and uses of mutations, and genetic engineering are among the topics which dovetail with this activity. Further, this activity also represents a natural introduction to a number of industrial topics: issues of scaling-up, pilot tests and environmental conditions. Journal of Industrial Microbiology & Biotechnology (2000) 24, 327–333.
An Unexpectedly Facile Cyclization of Polyhydric Alcohols

Contrary to previous reports in the literature, the reaction of polyhydric alcohols such as sorbitol or mannitol gives good yields of the tetrahydroxyoxepane derivative in the presence of an acid catalyst, in refluxing toluene, with complete retention of stereochemistry.
Semi-supervised prediction of protein subcellular localization using abstraction augmented Markov models

Determination of protein subcellular localization plays an important role in understanding protein function. Knowledge of the subcellular localization is also essential for genome annotation and drug discovery. Supervised machine learning methods for predicting the localization of a protein in a cell rely on the availability of large amounts of labeled data. However, because of the high cost and effort involved in labeling the data, the amount of labeled data is quite small compared to the amount of unlabeled data. Hence, there is a growing interest in developing semi-supervised methods for predicting protein subcellular localization from large amounts of unlabeled data together with small amounts of labeled data. In this paper, we present an Abstraction Augmented Markov Model (AAMM) based approach to semi-supervised protein subcellular localization prediction problem. We investigate the effectiveness of AAMMs in exploiting unlabeled data. We compare semi-supervised AAMMs with: (i) Markov models (MMs) (which do not take advantage of unlabeled data); (ii) an expectation maximization (EM); and (iii) a co-training based approaches to semi-supervised training of MMs (that make use of unlabeled data). The results of our experiments on three protein subcellular localization data sets show that semi-supervised AAMMs: (i) can effectively exploit unlabeled data; (ii) are more accurate than both the MMs and the EM based semi-supervised MMs; and (iii) are comparable in performance, and in some cases outperform, the co-training based semi-supervised MMs.
Effects of mutagenesis of residue 221 on the properties of bacterial and mitochondrial elongation factor EF-Tu.

Abstract During protein biosynthesis, elongation factor Tu (EF-Tu) delivers aminoacyl-tRNA (aa-tRNA) to the A-site of ribosomes. This factor is highly conserved throughout evolution. However, several key residues differ between bacterial and mammalian mitochondrial EF-Tu (EF-Tu mt ). One such residue is Ser221 ( Escherichia coli numbering). This residue is conserved as a Ser or Thr in the bacterial factors but is present as Pro269 in EF-Tu mt . Pro269 reorients the loop containing this residue and shifts the adjoining β-strand in EF-Tu mt compared to that of E. coli EF-Tu potentially altering the binding pocket for the acceptor stem of the aa-tRNA. Pro269 was mutated to a serine residue (P269S) in EF-Tu mt . For comparison, the complementary mutation was created at Ser221 in E. coli EF-Tu (S221P). The E. coli EF-Tu S221P variant is poorly expressed in E. coli and the majority of the molecules fail to fold into an active conformation. In contrast, EF-Tu mt P269S is expressed to a high level in E. coli . When corrected for the percentage of active molecules, both variants function as effectively as their respective wild-type factors in ternary complex formation using E. coli Phe-tRNA Phe and Cys-tRNA Cys . They are also active in A-site binding and in vitro translation assays with E. coli Phe-tRNA Phe . In addition, both variants are as active as their respective wild-type factors in ternary complex formation, A-site binding and in vitro translation assays using mitochondrial Phe-tRNA Phe .
A Structural Approach to Establishing a Platform Chemistry for the Tunable, Bulk Electron Beam Cross-Linking of Shape Memory Polymer Systems

The synthetic design and thermomechanical characterization of shape memory polymers (SMPs) built from a new polyurethane chemistry that enables facile, bulk and tunable cross-linking of low-molecular weight thermoplastics by electron beam irradiation is reported in this study. SMPs exhibit stimuli-induced geometry changes and are being proposed for applications in numerous fields. We have previously reported a polyurethane SMP system that exhibits the complex processing capabilities of thermoplastic polymers and the mechanical robustness and tunability of thermomechanical properties that are often characteristic of thermoset materials. These previously reported polyurethanes suffer practically because the thermoplastic molecular weights needed to achieve target cross-link densities severely limit high-throughput thermoplastic processing and because thermally unstable radiation-sensitizing additives must be used to achieve high enough cross-link densities to enable desired tunable shape memory behavior. In this study, we demonstrate the ability to manipulate cross-link density in low-molecular weight aliphatic thermoplastic polyurethane SMPs (Mw as low as ~1.5 kDa) without radiation-sensitizing additives by incorporating specific structural motifs into the thermoplastic polymer side chains that we hypothesized would significantly enhance susceptibility to e-beam cross-linking. A custom diol monomer was first synthesized and then implemented in the synthesis of neat thermoplastic polyurethane SMPs that were irradiated at doses ranging from 1 to 500 kGy. Dynamic mechanical analysis (DMA) demonstrated rubbery moduli to be tailorable between 0.1 and 55 MPa, and both DMA and sol/gel analysis results provided fundamental insight into our hypothesized mechanism of electron beam cross-linking, which enables controllable bulk cross-linking to be achieved in highly processable, low-molecular weight thermoplastic shape memory polymers without sensitizing additives.
Using social indicators to forecast partisan alignments in congressional election years

This paper presents five forecasting equations for political party alignments in the United States during the post-World War II period. Time series data published by various public and survey organizations are utilized to estimate for the years 1948–1974 for party identifications and results of elections for the House of Representatives. The observed equations explain from 86–93% of the variance for the years 1948–1974 and usually allow acceptance of the null hypothesis of no autocorrelation of disturbances. These equations are then employed to make forecasts of the 1976 election year alignments which are compared to observed values. The forecasting equations for 1976 are generally successful, for example, missing the congressional alignments by nine House seats. Some contingent forecasts are made for 1978 election year alignments, based upon certain alternative assumptions about economic and political climates. The equations do not intend to test new theories but rather to apply fairly simple ideas to forecasting trends in public opinion. The authors argue that forecasting equations are useful for anticipating future trends, for planning future research and for assessing whether an unusual event is manifesting itself or alternatively whether a certain trend in public opinion is to be expected from normal processes.
Drug discovery: Priming the antimalarial pipeline.

Emerging resistance to existing antimalarial drugs could nullify efforts to eliminate this deadly disease. The discovery of thousands of agents active against malaria parasites offers hope for developing new drugs. There are still nearly 250 million malaria cases reported annually, over 800,000 fatal, with most deaths being children under 5. The malaria parasite Plasmodium falciparum is notoriously adept at developing drug resistance, and new drugs are urgently needed. Two reports raise hopes that alternatives to artemisinins might be found, by identifying thousands of compounds inhibiting the growth of P. falciparum asexual-stage parasites in red blood cells, many distinct in structure and mechanism from current drugs. Guiguemde et al. present a chemical genomics screen of over 300,000 compounds: the 1,300 'hits' include 561 with good potency and broad therapeutic windows. Gamo et al. screened nearly 2 million compounds from GlaxoSmithKline's chemicals library, finding over 13,500 hits, many active against multidrug-resistant isolates. These studies provide a rich source of potential leads, freely available to academic and industry labs looking for new antimalarials.
Online Material Characterization Using Full-Field Strain Measurement

This paper presents and reviews an online methodology which characterizes materials using full-field strain measurement. The proposed methodology utilizes the principle of conservation of energy and formulates both the deterministic technique based on the pseudoinverse analysis and the stochastic technique based on the Kalman filter in terms of recursive linear equations. The methodology further describes the derivation the average Frobenius norm and the differential entropy as recursively computable measures enabling the evaluation of the well-posedness of the material characterization problem as well as the uncertainty of the identified constants. Comparative studies have identified that the deterministic identification is a particular case of the stochastic identification, whilst the adequacy and significance of both the average Frobenius norm and the differential entropy was reconfirmed.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Virtual Earthquake Engineering Laboratory Capturing Nonlinear Shear, Localized Damage and Progressive Buckling of Bar

We embarked upon developing a novel parallel simulation platform that is rooted in microphysical mechanisms. Primarily aiming at large-scale reinforced-concrete structures exposed to cyclic loading...
Common intermediates in the transfer of triplet excitation energy and molecular exchange reactions

Abstract Irradiation of acetone-d 6 and tetramethyl-ethylene (TME) yields acetone and TME-d 6 as the only products. The comparable behavior of this reaction and the transfer of triplet excitation energy from acetone to olefins points to a common molecular triplet oxetane intermediate for both processes.
Ethnic Exploration and Consciousness of Difference: Chinese Adoptees in Early Adolescence

Ethnic exploration is one path for children adopted internationally to develop an understanding of how and why they are different from others, and to build personal biographies that bring together adoption, race, and national origin. In this article, we draw on the concept of consciousness of difference to analyze the ethnic explorations of 282 Chinese adopted girls. Where race was salient and positive in daily life, ethnic exploration during early adolescence provided an affirmative way for many of them to normalize the consciousness of being visibly different from family and friends, even though in some ways it also complicated it.
Losing neurons: selective vulnerability and mesial temporal sclerosis.

Summary: Mesial temporal sclerosis (MTS) is found in about two-thirds of patients with refractory temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), and surgical removal of the sclerotic structures eliminates seizures in the majority of cases undergoing surgical resection. Although multiple factors have been implicated in the genesis of MTS, it is still unclear why some individuals are more likely to develop hippocampal sclerosis than others. Epileptologists have proposed that there must be at least two factors involved—an initial precipitating injury (IPI), such as a prolonged febrile seizure, CNS infection, or head trauma, and a second factor that increases vulnerability to neuronal injury. This has been termed the “two-hit hypothesis.” Three of the many factors that could possibly heighten susceptibility to neuronal injury and MTS are discussed here. These are microdysgenesis, hippocampal dysgenesis, prior seizures, and genetic predisposition. We conclude that there is currently no compelling evidence to support a role for microdysgenesis in MTS. Hippocampal dysgenesis, on the other hand, may account for febrile seizures and possibly MTS in a small subpopulation of patients with TLE. Additional larger studies are needed to confirm these findings. Experimental evidence indicates that an epileptogenic hippocampus can result from prolonged febrile seizures in infant rats, even though these seizures do not cause MTS in the rat. It is not known if this pathophysiological sequence occurs in humans. Lastly, there appears to be a strong genetic component that predisposes some individuals to MTS, regardless of whether they experience an IPI.
Public trust as a policy goal for research with human subjects.

In his insightful essay, “The Case for Evidence-Based Rulemaking in Human Subjects Research,” Benjamin Sachs (2010) argues that documents that guide research with human subjects, such as the Nuremb...
The Effects of Learner-Generated Elaborations on Concept Learning from Prose

AbstractThis research evaluated the effects of asking subjects to create personal examples of target concepts on their ability to recall, classify, and apply their conceptual knowledge. Subjects were 48 undergraduates at a large midwestern university. All subjects studied a passage on four psychological principles that contained application adjunct questions preceded by definition adjunct questions inserted after selected paragraphs. Application questions asked subjects to identify novel examples of target concepts, and definition questions asked subjects to identify appropriate definitions. One-half of the subjects also received instructions after each set of adjunct questions to write down two personal examples of the target concept (i.e., elaborate their conceptual knowledge). Subjects were also separated into high and low ability groups based on their performance on a series of ability tests. The results indicated that elaboration produced a significant main effect and ability by treatment interaction...
Distribution of Flares on the Sun: Superactive Regions and Active Zones of 1980--1985

The author analyzed coordinates of energetic solar flares observed with the hard X-ray burst spectrometer during the period from February 1980 through August 1985. A small number of 'superactive regions' produced the majority of the major flares during this period. There exist active zones, in which the flare occurrence rate is much higher. Two active zones are in the northern hemisphere, and two are in the southern hemisphere. The longitudinal separation of the two active zones in the same hemisphere is about 180 deg, but tha active zones of the southern hemisphere are misaligned from those of the northern hemisphere by about 80 deg. The rotation period of the active zones is 26.75 d. Active zones last several years or longer. There is a hint of active centers rotating at a period of 23.7 d.
Oxygen Chemistry in the Interstellar Medium: The Effect of Vibrational Excitation of H2 in the O(3P)+H2 Reaction

The O + H2 → OH + H reaction is considered to be the key step in initiating oxygen chemistry in shocked interstellar molecular clouds. We present extensive quantum scattering calculations of rate coefficients of the O + H2 → OH + H reaction involving both ortho and para hydrogen in the temperature range 100-4000 K. The role of vibrational excitation of H2 is examined, and it is shown that vibrational excitation of the molecule has a significant effect on reactivity, especially at low temperatures. At 100 K, the rate coefficient increases by about 11 orders of magnitude when the H2 vibrational quantum number is increased from v = 0 to v = 3. Initial vibrational state selected cross sections, rate coefficients, and product OH vibrational level distributions are presented for v = 0-3 of the H2 molecule.
A distinct reversible colorimetric and fluorescent low pH response on a water-stable zirconium–porphyrin metal–organic framework

A water stable zirconium–porphyrin MOF (PCN-222) was synthesized according to the reported method and found to produce a distinct reversible colorimetric and fluorescent “turn-off-turn-on” pH response. The colorimetric response is achieved under acidic conditions starting at pH ∼3 and persists under concentrated acidic conditions. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of a colorimetric MOF pH sensor.
Suicidal behavior in the family and adolescent risk behavior.

Abstract Purpose The purpose of this study was to examine the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of adolescents exposed to suicide attempts and suicide deaths by a family member and to evaluate the separate associations between exposure to a family member’s suicide attempts or suicide death and risk behaviors, social-emotional functioning, and family connectedness. Method We performed a cross-sectional analysis of data collected in 1995 for wave I of the National Longitudinal Survey of Adolescent Health (n = 5,918). The independent variable was the exposure to suicidal behavior by a family member during the past 12 months (death by suicide, suicide attempt, and no suicidal behavior). The dependent variables were substance use, suicidal behavior, violent behavior, perceived shortened life expectancy, emotional distress, and parental and adolescent reports of family connectedness. Results In the year before the survey, 3.9% of adolescents experienced a family member’s suicide attempt whereas 1.2% experienced a family member’s death by suicide. In regression analyses adjusting for sociodemographic variables, adolescents who had experienced the suicide attempt of a family member were more likely than those with no exposure to report the following: cigarette and marijuana use, alcohol misuse, suicidal ideation and attempts, fighting and inflicting injuries, decreased life-expectancy, emotional distress, and decreased adolescent reports of parent-child and family connectedness. Adolescents who had experienced a family member’s death by suicide were more likely to report marijuana use and alcohol misuse, suicidal ideation and attempts, inflicting severe injuries, and emotional distress. Conclusions Adolescents who have experienced suicide attempts or suicide deaths in the family show high levels of at-risk behaviors, most notably their own suicidal ideation and attempts.
Acquisition of binding of English reflexives by Turkish L2 learners: A neo-gricean pragmatic account

Abstract This study looks at how pragmatic constraints affect the acquisition of the binding of English reflexives by adult Turkish L2 learners. Pragmatically biased and pragmatically netural sentences are compared to find out whether pragmatic bias towards a non-local antecedent overrides the parameter setting of English and causes learners to choose as possible antecedents NPs outside the binding domain. Both group and individual results indicate that pragmatically biased sentences lead the subjects to consider pragmatic information to the extent that it can override their syntactic knowledge. Therefore, this study incorporates the pragmatic theory of anaphora in which the interpretation of a reflexive is subject to the I-principle , a pragmatic strategy which finds an antecedent for the reflexive that gives the most informative, stereotypical interpretation in keeping with our knowledge about the world. The I-principle seems to be operative for Turkish speakers in selecting an actual antecedent among several possible ones both in their L1 and their L2.
SU-FF-I-14: Region-Of-Interest (ROI) Cone-Beam Computed Tomography (CBCT) Using Rotational Digital Angiography (DA) Acquisitions

Purpose: Region‐of‐interest (ROI) cone beam computed tomography(CBCT) promises significant integral dose reduction to patients during acquisition; however, reconstruction using these data result in truncation artifacts both inside and outside the ROI. We propose a new technique to equalize the intensity in the region outside the ROI to that inside to achieve reconstructions comparable to full‐field‐of‐view (FFOV) CBCT.Method and Materials: A ROI filter comprised of a 2.25 cm diameter central aperture in 0.21 g/cm2gadolinium screens was installed on the x‐ray‐tube assembly of a standard C‐arm gantry. Standard (unsubtracted) Rotational Digital Angiography (DA) acquisitions were performed of a head phantom. FFOV images without the filter in place were also obtained. The location of the ROI in the projection images was identified using edge detection and template matching. Intensities outside the ROI were equalized to those inside the ROI by mapping the intensities at the same percentiles in the cumulative histograms of these regions for every image. The equalized images were reconstructed using the 3D reconstructionsoftware of the acquisition apparatus. Results: Inside the ROI, the reconstruction data are highly correlated to the FFOV data (R2 = 0.87). Outside the ROI, the reconstruction while noisier due to fewer photons is comparable to the FFOV, but some artifacts due to the incomplete equalization and detection of the ROI edges, are visible. Further refinement methods are being investigated. Integral Dose Reduction was estimated to be 80% compared to the FFOV 12″ acquisition. Conclusion: DA‐ROI‐CBCT promises to be a feasible clinical technique for non‐subtracted applications such as those in cardiology and orthopedics allowing substantial integral dose reduction to the patient, while providing similar reconstructions to standard FFOV acquisitions. Support: NIH Grants R01‐NS43924, R01‐EB002873, Sterbutzel Funds, Toshiba Medical Systems Corporation.
On the structural similarities between worlds and times

In the debate about the nature and identity of possible worlds, philosophers have neglected the parallel questions about the nature and identity of moments of time. These are not questions about the structure of time in general, but rather about the internal structure of each individual time. Times and worlds share the following structural similarities: both are maximal with respect to propositions (at every world and time, either p or ∼p is true, for every p); both are consistent; both are closed (every modal consequence of a proposition true at a world is also true at that world, and every tense-theoretic consequence of a proposition true at a time is also true at that time); just as there is a unique actual world, there is a unique present moment; and just as a proposition is necessarily true iff true at all worlds, a proposition is eternally true iff true at all times. In this paper, I show that a simple extension of my theory of worlds yields a theory of times in which the above structural similarities between the two are consequences.
Open channel flow misconceptions and ontological categories

National calls have been made for the identification of preconceptions and misconceptions in science and engineering. Identifying misconceptions can provide a basis for improved research-based curriculum development and implementation. The recognition of false beliefs and flawed mental models of these concepts can also contribute to theories of conceptual change. The purpose of this research was to identify misconceptions related to open channel flow. During spring and fall of 2011, out of 91 students from two sections of ‘Water Resources Engineering’ course, 50 students were interviewed, and 41 students were given a pre/post test. The goal of these open-ended interviews and pre/post-tests was to obtain detailed data on students understanding of open channel flow concepts. Results suggest students have misconceptions relating to the hydraulic and energy grade line (HGL/EGL), flow transitions, and flow profiles. Many students have the correct terms of the HGL and EGL but lack understanding of where the terms re on an open channel flow profile. A large percentage of tested students revealed false beliefs relating to transitions. For example, more than 50 percent of tested students drew a decrease in water depth for a subcritical drop, rather than an increase in depth. Students also had difficult in labeling subcritical, critical, and supercritical places along flow profiles and how water flows over or under different weir structures. Repairing these fundamental misconceptions is essential for students to be able to apply these concepts in diverse situations and learn more advanced topics.
Drooling and stuttering, or do synapses whisper?

Spillover and multivesicular release are likely to occur at a variety of synapses in the CNS. Although the latter could enhance the former, neither appears to require the other, even though both affect neuronal communication. In two recent papers, new techniques, as well as the careful use of old standards, provide compelling evidence for these formerly heretical mechanisms.
The Adoption Of Low-Volume Irrigation Technologies As A Water Conservation Tool

ABSTRACT The world is facing an era of increasing demand for water and a decreasing usable supply of the resource. Since agricultural water use makes up a large proportion of total consumption, water conservation in irrigation would have a substantial effect in extending the resource base. Low-volume irrigation methods such as drip irrigation have been suggested as a way of meeting conservation goals. There are secondary effects associated with the adoption of some modern technologies, however, which might decrease the effectiveness of these conservation efforts. Drip irrigation facilitates the cultivation of marginal lands thus extending the agricultural land base. Although water-use efficiency will increase with a switch from surface to drip methods, if the yield-increasing effect of using a modern system is great then the total amount of water used per converted hectare may be greater than before. Increased crop supply and larger agricultural profits are positive objectives which could be met by the ad...
Heats of Formation of the Acetyl Radical and Ion Obtained by Threshold Photoelectron Photoion Coincidence

The dissociative photoionization onsets for the production of CH 3 CO + + CH 3 _from acetone and CH 3 CO + + CH 3 CO_from butanedione have been measured by threshold photoelectron photoion coincidence (TPEPICO) in which time-of-flight (TOF) mass spectra are obtained as a function of the ion internal energy. The use of velocity focusing for threshold electrons and the subtraction of "hot" electron coincidences from the TPEPICO spectra allow the 0 K dissociation onset to be measured with a precision of I kJ/mol. The experimental onset for CH 3 _loss from CH 3 COCH 3 was measured to be 10.563 ′ 0.010 eV and the onset for CH 3 CO_ loss from CH 3 COCOCH 3 was found to be 10.090 ′ 0.006 eV. A 298 K heat of formation of the CH 3 CO + of 659.4 ′ 1.1 kJ/mol is obtained by combining the measured dissociation onset with the well-established heats of formation of acetone and the methyl radical. A 298 K heat of formation of the CH 3 CO_ radical of -9.8 ′ 1.8 kJ/mol is obtained by combining the measured dissociation onset with the well-known heat of formation of butanedione and the measured heat of formation of CH 3 CO + . The acetone and butanedione ionization energies were measured to be 9.708 ′ 0.004 and 9.21 ′ 0.05 eV, respectively.
A case history of solar and galactic space weather effects on the geosynchronous communications satellite TDRS-1

Abstract Energetic particles of both galactic and solar origin have the potential to cause state changes in memory devices used on-board spacecraft. The particular memory device used in the attitude control system of the Tracking and Data Relay System (TDRS-1) lends itself to the study of this phenomena due to its high susceptibility to such upsets. An eight-year record of TDRS-1 on-orbit upsets reflect the solar cycle variation in galactic radiation as well as radiation enhancements due to solar events. The proton and alpha particle data from the GOES space environment monitor are used to illustrate the radiation environment responsible for these upsets.
Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling Students' Characteristics and Career Goals.

ABSTRACT Students from a master's program in Substance Abuse and Clinical Counseling (SACC) at a midsize southeastern university were surveyed to determine personal characteristics and career goals. Sixty-two of the 68 students currently enrolled in the program volunteered to anonymously complete the questionnaire. The typical profile of the SACC student was 30 years old (i.e., average age), white (85%) and female (68%) with a bachelor's degree in psychology (44%) and work experience in human services (60%). Eight-four percent of the students had a specific career goal. The top four goals were substance abuse counselor, clinical mental health counselor, substance abuse prevention specialist, and state agency rehabilitation counselor. Implications for substance abuse counselor education and recruitment are discussed.
Generators of the early and late median thenar premotor potentials.

The generator sources of the median thenar premotor potentials (PM Ps) have remained elusive despite debate in the literature. By studying the median nerve in the hand with a variety of bipolar and referential recording montages, we systematically examined the possible near-field and far-field sources that may determine these potentials. The results suggest that the early PMP is a near-field potential recorded by G 1 and generated by the median nerve traversing the distal carpal tunnel. The late PMP represents a far-field potential generated by the median digital nerve fibers as they pass from the palm volume into the thumb volume. Characteristics of the late PMP are explained using the leading/trailing dipole (L/TD) model of far-field potential generation. The diagnostic utility of these PMPs is questionable, since they are recorded from regions along the nerve rather than from more clearly defined sites. 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
English language teacher education in Turkey: policy vs academic standards

This qualitative study examines curriculum frameworks in English language teacher education (ELTE) programs in Turkey in light of current second language (L2) teaching standards and research vs Turkey's Higher Education Council (HEC) mandates. It also investigates program directors' perceptions about the current situations of their programs with regards to those standards and mandates. Data include eight ELTE curricula (including both private and public and low and high-ranking schools), interviews with eight program directors, student admission test scores, and teacher education standard manuals. Results suggest that while the overwhelming majority of the programs offer a homogeneous curriculum with a similar number of credit-hour allocation and weighted coverage for each competency area in the curriculum, compared to international education standards for teachers of English to speakers of other languages (TESOL), these programs seem to exhibit several noticeable weaknesses concerning the language, cultu...
Rate dependence of short-pulse laser ablation of metals in air and vacuum

Ablation rates of aluminum and stainless steel are studied as a function of fluence, hole depth, pulse duration and ambient pressure (air vs vacuum). We find a weak rate dependence on pulse duration from 150 fs to 500 ps, and a strong rate dependence on hole depth due to surface roughness. Machining in air plays an important role in deep holes, but has a weaker influence on initial surface ablation rates. Oxidation greatly reduces drilling rates for deep holes in aluminum.
The chemistry of perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) with nitrone and nitroso spin traps: an EPR/Spin trapping study.

Abstract While applying electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR)/Spin Trapping techniques, several reactive intermediate species were identified in the reaction of perfluoroisobutylene (PFIB) with nitrone and nitroso spin trap agents: the carbon dioxide radical anion (CO2−), a carbonyl fluoride intermediate (COF), and vinyl carbanions of PFIB. The reaction of PFIB with N-t-butyl-α-phenylnitrone (PBN) forms a dipolar ion which undergoes electron transfer reactions generating stable nitrone spin adducts. Nitroso compounds reacted with carbanions derived from PFIB, which raises the possibility that electron transfer reactions of this type might account for the observed nitroxides. Our results suggest that PFIB undergoes some type of electron transfer reaction leading to several reactive intermediate species (RIS). The implications of these observations on pulmonary damage caused by inhalation of PFIB are discussed.