cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On the impossibility of extreme event thresholds in the absence of global warming

The exceptional severity of recent climate extremes has raised the question of whether some events would have been impossible in the absence of global warming. This question is critical for climate adaptation, but is challenging to answer given the length and non-stationarity of the observational record. The large single-model ensemble climate simulations archived in the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project (CMIP6) offer a unique opportunity to explore whether the hottest temperatures of the current climate are more extreme than any that could have occurred in the absence of human forcings. We first analyze the one CMIP6 model that has daily data archived for large ensembles in both the historical all-forcings and historical natural forcings experiments. We find that, for large areas of the world, the maximum daily-, seasonal- and annual-scale thresholds of the large single-model ensemble with natural and human forcings ("all-forcings") are never reached in the large single-model ensemble with only natural forcings. However, we also identify widespread areas – notably in the northern hemisphere mid-latitudes – where the hottest thresholds of the all-forcings ensemble are frequently exceeded in the absence of human forcings. Further analysis suggests that human forcings other than greenhouse gases (GHGs) are a primary cause of this discrepancy. For example, when comparing the late and early periods of the CMIP6 historical all-forcings experiment, other large single-model ensembles exhibit similar muting of extremely warm years over northern-hemisphere mid-latitude regions. However, under GHG-only forcing, all years in the recent period are hotter than the hottest early-period year over most of the globe. These results suggest that, although the hottest events in the current climate may have been virtually impossible in the absence of historical GHG emissions, other non-GHG anthropogenic forcings have muted the emergence of previously impossible events.
On Frank Golley’s International and Interdisciplinary Insights for a Twenty-First Century Earth Stewardship Based on Environmental Ethics

Current interest in developing a worldview to enhance Earth stewardship recognizes the importance of a multicultural perspective based on environmental ethics and a global understanding of the value of biodiversity and ecosystem processes. Frank Golley was a champion in developing and implementing ecosystem concepts based on “nature-centered thinking”. His environmental ethics-based principles emphasized “connectedness” among people and their environment that included the value of cultural differences in responding to natural and human-driven disturbances. Golley concluded that long-term, large-scale international studies are essential in evaluating the vulnerability of species and their habitats as well as ecosystem processes. Some ecological disturbances are easy to observe (e.g., floods, fires, hurricanes) while others (e.g., gradual loss of species, slow spread of invasive species) take longer to study but most require long-term research before their full impacts are known. Moreover, cumulative effects and indirect effects of complex interactions require multi-disciplinary research to sort out the causes and effects of changing ecosystem structure and function, often at a global scale. Research in tropical ecosystems demonstrated the need for organizing site-based research for extensive comparative studies. Golley’s international leadership accelerated progress in enhancing the understanding of how these long-term changes in tropical rainforests and agroecosystems can affect local populations and global connections with other ecosystems. Today ongoing studies of both wet and dry tropical forests are providing important data related to ecosystem services needed by local communities. Golley’s linking of ecosystem ecology, landscape ecology, and environmental ethics helped to define pragmatic sustainable “response systems” as a way to resolve complex tradeoffs among conflicting perspectives and his approach can continue to help develop ideas for Earth stewardship.
The Role of p21ras in Proliferative Signal Transduction

While numerous evidences indicate that oncogenes or their cellular proto-oncogene counterparts play critical roles in the control of cellular proliferation, there is little indication how these molecules function or interact with each other. Our goal is to relate the biochemical and molecular characteristics of the ras proto-oncogene to its biological function within living cells. This effort relies upon a monoclonal antibody able to neutralize the biological activity of ras following microinjection into living cells. With this antibody we have effectively deprived the injected cells of ras activity and then studied the biological consequences of this treatment. The data obtained not only confirm the critical importance of ras activity during cellular proliferation; but suggests that p21 ras might have a role in the function of other proto-oncogenes. Finally, recent evidence might even indicate the means by which the activity of p2 1 ras is controlled during normal mitogenic stimulation. The implications of this possibility are discussed.
Intrauterine growth restriction after bariatric surgery

Objective: Studies have suggested that pregnancies in patients with gastric bypass surgery for obesity are uncomplicated if the procedure was performed 6 to 18 months before pregnancy. We aim to examine intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) in patients who underwent gastric bypass for at least 18 months before conception and who had no other obstetric risk factors. Material and Methods: We reviewed pregnancy outcome of patients who underwent gastric bypass 18 to 48 months before
Managerial reputation concerns, outside monitoring, and investment efficiency

This paper argues that an external monitor can be less effective when there is uncertainty regarding the quality of the management and the business environment. In a two-period model, an outside monitor, who initially does not know managerial quality, can have the manager fired. The manager makes investment decisions based on noisy but informative private information, and if she is the empire-building type, derives private benefits from over-investment. Uncertainty imposes extra costs on the monitor, and leads to equilibrium in which the riskneutral monitor gives up monitoring ex ante. The model highlights the limits of external monitoring, and suggests that outside monitoring cannot fully substitute for internal monitoring by the board. Some implications of this model are confirmed in empirical tests.
System 901: low K, copper MCM-C packaging

To meet the packaging needs of today's larger faster IC's DuPont Electronics has developed system 901. It is based on a crystallizable cordierite dielectric for low K, high strength, silicon matched TCE, combined with high conductivity copper metallization. Processing is easily carried out either with copper electrodes in a H/sub 2/O/N/sub 2/ atmosphere or with CuO electrodes in a burnout/reduction/sinter sequence. In both modes, circuits meet packaging performance requirements, especially distortion-free camber, without the need for constrained-sintering. The achievement of these properties has required an understanding of the origin of the forces affecting sintering, and the development of modifiers to control those forces. >
Feature-based pronunciation modeling for automatic speech recognition

Spoken language, especially conversational speech, is characterized by great variability in word pronunciation, including many variants that differ grossly from dictionary prototypes. This is one factor in the poor performance of automatic speech recognizers on conversational speech. One approach to handling this variation consists of expanding the dictionary with phonetic substitution, insertion, and deletion rules. Common rule sets, however; typically leave many pronunciation variants unaccounted for and increase word confusability due to the coarse granularity of phone units. We present an alternative approach, in which many types of variation are explained by representing a pronunciation as multiple streams of linguistic features rather than a single stream of phones. Features may correspond to the positions of the speech articulators, such as the lips and tongue, or to acoustic or perceptual categories. By allowing for asynchrony between features and per-feature substitutions, many pronunciation changes that are difficult to account for with phone-based models become quite natural. Although it is well-known that many phenomena can be attributed to this "semi-independent evolution" of features, previous models of pronunciation variation have typically not taken advantage of this. In particular, we propose a class of feature-based pronunciation models represented as dynamic Bayesian networks (DBNs). The DBN framework allows us to naturally represent the factorization of the state space of feature combinations into feature specific factors, as well as providing standard algorithms for inference and parameter learning. We investigate the behavior of such a model in isolation using manually transcribed words. Compared to a phone-based baseline, the feature-based model has both higher coverage of observed pronunciations and higher recognition rate for isolated words. We also discuss the ways in which such a model can be incorporated into various types of end-to-end speech recognizers and present several examples of implemented systems, for both acoustic speech recognition and lipreading tasks. (Copies available exclusively from MIT Libraries, Rm. 14-0551, Cambridge, MA 02139-4307. Ph. 617-253-5668; Fax 617-253-1690.)
Search for CP violation and b → sg in inclusive B decays

We present preliminary results on two analyses performed by the SLD Collaboration using inclusive B decays: a search for CP violation and a search for the b → sg transition.
Odious Debt in an Imperfect World

The odious debt problem refers to a government's ability to borrow for elite consumption while the general population repays. Although an intuitive response is to ban lending to such regimes, this paper shows that if a government faces endogenous replacement risk, then an international odious debt doctrine which (i) decreases the country's debt ceiling; (ii) decreases the likelihood that the citizens must repay the debt; or (iii) increases the government's cost of borrowing for a given default risk can all decrease citizens' welfare. These findings suggest that, even when a regime is clearly odious, allowing it to borrow up to a point may be preferable to a complete lending ban.
Holocene accumulation rates of calcite in the Panama Basin: Lateral and vertical variations in calcite dissolution

Abstract Study of calcite accumulation rates in the Holocene section of 28 sediment cores from the Panama Basin region, eastern equatorial Pacific, suggests that calcite accumulation is controlled primarily by lateral and vertical variations in dissolution rates. Low accumulation rates within the central western trough and within 250 km of the continental shelf suggest, respectively, the effects of low calcite supply from surface water and enhanced dissolution due to oxidation of an increased flux of organic matter from the surface water. Elsewhere calcite accumulation rates decrease linearly with depth according to a gradient of 3.3 g/cm2/1000 yrs/km. ΔpH calculations using hydrographic data from a station in the basin indicate that the seawater below 200 m is undersaturated with respect to calcite and that the hydrographic lysocline (Morse and Berner, 1972) occurs between 300 and 1900 m. The pattern of accumulation below the high-productivity regions can be explained by the lysocline model of calcite dissolution. Linear extrapolation of the inferred dissolution curve to the surface yields an average annual surface input of 50–110 g calcite/m2.
Repunctuated Feminism: Marketing Menstrual Suppression Through the Rhetoric of Choice

This essay examines the rhetoric of choice as it is used by direct-to-consumer campaigns to persuade women to limit menstruation through the consumption of oral contraceptives. Using the tools of feminist rhetorical criticism, I trace how choice is rhetorically constructed to suggest that menstrual suppression is a path to individual empowerment while co-opting second and post-second-wave rhetorics. Finally, I explore the meaning of these constructions of choice and suggest broader implications for ongoing feminist movements.
Salicylate induced tinnitus: Behavioral measures and neural activity in auditory cortex of awake rats

Neurophysiological studies of salicylate-induced tinnitus have generally been carried out under anesthesia, a condition that abolishes the perception of tinnitus and depresses neural activity. To overcome these limitations, measurement of salicylate induced tinnitus were obtained from rats using schedule induced polydipsia avoidance conditioning (SIPAC) and gap pre-pulse inhibition of acoustic startle (GPIAS). Both behavioral measures indicated that tinnitus was present after treatment with 150 and 250 mg/kg of salicylate; measurements with GPIAS indicated that the pitch of the tinnitus was near 16 kHz. Chronically implanted microwire electrode arrays were used to monitor the local field potentials and spontaneous discharge rate from multiunit clusters in the auditory cortex of awake rats before and after treatment with 150 mg/kg of salicylate. The amplitude of the local field potential elicited with 60 dB SPL tone bursts increased significantly 2h after salicylate treatment particularly at 16-20 kHz; frequencies associated with the tinnitus pitch. Field potential amplitudes had largely recovered 1-2 days post-salicylate when behavioral results showed that tinnitus was absent. The mean spontaneous spike recorded from the same multiunit cluster pre- and post-salicylate decreased from 22 spikes/s before treatment to 14 spikes/s 2h post-salicylate and recovered 1 day post-treatment. These preliminary physiology data suggest that salicylate induced tinnitus is associated with sound evoked hyperactivity in auditory cortex and spontaneous hypoactivity.
Advances in the immunological monitoring of childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia

In children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL), measurements of minimal residual disease (MRD) during therapy provide crucial information about the response to treatment and the risk of relapse. Flow cytometry is a practical and widely applicable tool for monitoring MRD in patients with ALL. This approach is based on the identification of immunophenotypes expressed by leukaemic cells but not by normal lympho-haematopoietic cells in bone marrow and peripheral blood. These phenotypes can identify one leukaemic cell among 10 000 normal cells and are currently applicable to at least 90% of patients with ALL. A strong correlation between flow cytometric measurements of MRD during clinical remission and treatment outcome has been demonstrated, suggesting that these assays should be incorporated into treatment protocols.
Primary immunodeficiency diseases: dissectors of the immune system

The past 50 years have seen enormous progress in this field. An unknown concept until 1952, there are now more than 100 different primary immunodeficiency syndromes in the world's literature. Each novel syndrome has shed new insight into the workings of the immune system, dissecting its multiple parts into unique functioning components. This has been especially true over the past decade, as the molecular bases of approximately 40 of these diseases have been identified in rapid succession. Advances in the treatment of these diseases have also been impressive. Antibody replacement has been improved greatly by the development of human immunoglobulin preparations that can be safely administered by the intravenous route, and cytokine and humanized anticytokine therapies are now possible through recombinant technologies. The ability to achieve life-saving immune reconstitution of patients with lethal severe combined immunodeficiency by administering rigorously T-cell-depleted allogeneic related haploidentical bone marrow stem cells has extended this option to virtually all such infants, if diagnosed before untreatable infections develop. Finally, the past 3 years have witnessed the first truly successful gene therapy. The impressive results in X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency offer hope that this approach can be extended to many more diseases in the future.
Long-Term Outcomes for the Promoting CARE Suicide Prevention Program.

Objectives—To provide a long-term look at suicide risk from adolescence to young adulthood for former participants in Promoting CARE, an indicated suicide prevention program. Methods—Five hundred ninety-three suicide-vulnerable high school youth were involved in a long-term follow-up study. Latent class growth models identify patterns of change in suicide risk over this period. Results—Three distinct trajectories are determined, all showing a maintenance of decreased suicide risk from postintervention in adolescence into young adulthood for direct suicide-risk behaviors, depression and anger. Intervention conditions as well as key risk/protective factors are identified that predict to the long-term trajectories.
The relationships between XPC binding to conformationally diverse DNA adducts and their excision by the human NER system: is there a correlation?

Abstract The first eukaryotic NER factor that recognizes NER substrates is the heterodimeric XPC-RAD23B protein. The currently accepted hypothesis is that this protein recognizes the distortions/destabilization caused by DNA lesions rather than the lesions themselves. The resulting XPC-RAD23B–DNA complexes serve as scaffolds for the recruitment of subsequent NER factors that lead to the excision of the oligonucleotide sequences containing the lesions. Based on several well-known examples of DNA lesions like the UV radiation-induced CPD and 6–4 photodimers, as well as cisplatin-derived intrastrand cross-linked lesions, it is generally believed that the differences in excision activities in human cell extracts is correlated with the binding affinities of XPC-RAD23B to these DNA lesions. However, using electrophoretic mobility shift assays, we have found that XPC-RAD23B binding affinities of certain bulky lesions derived from metabolically activated polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon compounds such as benzo[ a ]pyrene and dibenzo[ a , l ]pyrene, are not directly, or necessarily correlated with NER excision activities observed in cell-free extracts. These findings point to features of XPC-RAD23B–bulky DNA adduct complexes that may involve the formation of NER-productive or unproductive forms of binding that depend on the structural and stereochemical properties of the DNA adducts studied. The pronounced differences in NER cleavage efficiencies observed in cell-free extracts may be due to differences in the successful recruitment of subsequent NER factors by the XPC-RAD23B–DNA adduct complexes, and/or in the verification step. These phenomena appear to depend on the structural and conformational properties of the class of bulky DNA adducts studied.
A Small Sample Study of the Moments and Distribution of the Log Likelihood Ratio Statistic.

A study of the first four moments of the log likelihood ratio statistic suggests that a transformed Beta ranks as a serious competitor to the Chi-square as an approximating distribution for certain multinomials. An error analysis of the series approximations of these moments indicates that the equiprobable case is not of sufficient generality for the study of multinomial type statistics.
Evidence of Health Risks Associated with Prolonged Standing at Work and Intervention Effectiveness

Purpose Prolonged standing at work has been shown to be associated with a number of potentially serious health outcomes, such as lower back and leg pain, cardiovascular problems, fatigue, discomfort, and pregnancy-related health outcomes. Recent studies have been conducted examining the relationship between these health outcomes and the amount of time spent standing while on the job. The purpose of this article was to provide a review of the health risks and interventions for workers and employers that are involved in occupations requiring prolonged standing. A brief review of recommendations by governmental and professional organizations for hours of prolonged standing is also included. Findings Based on our review of the literature, there seems to be ample evidence showing that prolonged standing at work leads to adverse health outcomes. Review of the literature also supports the conclusion that certain interventions are effective in reducing the hazards associated with prolonged standing. Suggested interventions include the use of floor mats, sit-stand workstations/chairs, shoes, shoe inserts and hosiery or stockings. Studies could be improved by using more precise definitions of prolonged standing (e.g., duration, movement restrictions, and type of work), better measurement of the health outcomes, and more rigorous study protocols. Conclusion and Clinical Relevance Use of interventions and following suggested guidelines on hours of standing from governmental and professional organizations should reduce the health risks from prolonged standing.
Thinking In, Around, and About The Curriculum: the role of cognitive education

Although everybody agrees that education reform is needed, there is little agreement on the nature of the problems, and certainly not on the remedies; nevertheless, there is a central focus on curriculum issues. Three principal points are addressed in this paper: (a) new approaches in education are urgently needed, (b) new educational approaches require revised concepts of the nature and development of human abilities, and (c) those new concepts must lead inevitably to emphasis on the acquisition, growth, and application of systematic processes of logical thinking, which is to say, “cognitive” or “metacognitive” education. The author presents a “transactional perspective” on human abilities, with three principal components: intelligence, cognitive processes, and intrinsic motivation. Intelligence and cognitive processes differ with respect to their respective sources, their relative modifiability, their composition, methods of assessment, and the role of parents and teachers in their development. Individu...
Accounting for violence: marketing memory in Latin America

Accounting for violence: marketing memory in Latin America, edited by Ksenija Bilbija and Leigh A. Payne, Durham, NC, Duke University Press, 2011, 424 pp., US$24.95 (paperback), ISBN 978-0822350422...
Middle-income Housing Programmes in American Cities

There is increasing consensus among policy-makers and scholars that in order to ensure the social, economic and political viability of American central cities it will be necessary to address middle-income as well as low-income housing needs. The popularity of equity planning—with its focus on the most needy-implies, however, that these programmes would be so controversial that politicians would be reluctant to implement them. Case-studies of seven North American cities (Baltimore, Cleveland, Montreal, New York, St Louis, St Paul and Wilmington) failed to support this hypothesis. Middle-income housing programmes have developed a strong constituency among community leaders and minority politicians who see these programmes playing an important role in neighbourhood revitalisation efforts. Although tax abatements and below market-rate mortgages are not reversing patterns of central-city decline, they are achieving more modest objectives such as encouraging banks to provide more loans in inner-city areas. The ...
THE EFFECTS OF NON-LAMELLAR FORMING LIPIDS ON MEMBRANE PROTEIN-LIPID INTERACTIONS

The role of lipid polymorphism in the regulation of membrane-associated protein function is examined, based on recent studies which showed that changes in the levels of phosphatidylethanolamine (PE), cholesterol and phospholipid unsaturation, modulate the activity of the key signal transduction enzyme, protein kinase C (PKC). It is shown that effects of membrane compositional changes on PKC activity involve a perturbation of protein-lipid interactions with the head group region rather than with the hydrophobic interior of the bilayer. A key determinant in the perturbation of these interactions is suggested to be an elastic curvature energy, termed curvature stress, which results from the unfavorable packing of non-lamellar forming lipids in a planar bilayer. PKC activity is shown to be a biphasic function of curvature stress, with an optimum value of this parameter corresponding to an optimally active PKC conformation. Thus, it is shown that the maximal activity of conformationally distinct PKC isoforms may require a different optimum value of curvature stress. Furthermore, it is hypothesized that curvature stress may have differing effects on the conformation of membrane-associated PKC activity induced by diacylglycerols, phorbol esters or other activators, based on recent studies showing that these agents induce the formation of disparate active conformers of the enzyme.
Analysis of mtDNA deletions in muscle by in situ hybridization.

We compared the distribution of deleted mitochondrial DNA (Delta-mtDNA) in skeletal muscle of a patient with autosomal recessive (AR) and another with autosomal dominant (AD) progressive external ophthalmoplegia (PEO) by in situ hybridization (ISH). The patients studied had similar numbers of fibers deficient in cytochrome c oxidase (COX) activity (13.6% and 12.8%) and fibers with mitochondrial proliferation (5.5% and 5.3%). ISH suggested that each COX-deficient fiber contained a single species of Delta-mtDNA. Most deletions ablated the region between the genes encoding adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthase subunit 8 and cytochrome b. Fibers that appeared to be depleted of mtDNA were also present. We conclude that muscle from patients with autosomally inherited PEO contains not only Delta-mtDNA but also focal depletion of mtDNA and that the distribution of these mtDNA defects appears to be similar. These changes most likely represent the common consequence of whatever genetic factors are responsible for the generation of Delta-mtDNA.
Responsibility and risk: accounts of reasons for seeking an HIV test

Using data from recordings of HIV test counselling sessions in publicly funded sites in Northern California, US, this paper examines the discussion of clients' reasons for testing as a site for self-presentation. While counsellors attempt to use the reason for testing discussion as a lead-in to a discussion of risk behaviour, clients often describe their testing as part of a routine, not in response to a specific risk. Clients use three practices to present themselves as reasonable and responsible people who are in control of their HIV status. First, clients present the normal and routine nature of testing, thereby portraying their reasonableness in seeking an HIV test. Secondly, clients deny or downgrade their risk when counsellors seek to identify a specific risk. Thirdly, when introducing a particular risk, clients package it within mitigating contexts that emphasise their knowledge about and control over the risk. These practices can make it difficult for counsellors to focus the counselling session on a specific risk incident. One of the counsellors in our dataset provides an alternative approach that manages to elicit risk and legitimates routine testing as a reason for testing.
GENTAMICIN IN PREMATURE NEONATES: A DOSAGE REGIMEN BASED ON MATURITY

Gentamicin toxicity and efficacy studies have indicated desired peak and trough serum concentrations of 4-12 mcg/ml and less than 2 mcg/ml, respectively. Choosing an appropriate dose and dosage interval for premature infants is complicated by decreasing glomerular function with decreasing gestational age. We tested a regimen in which 24 infants less than 7 days of age,who were born between 26 and 36 weeks of gestation, received 2.5 mg/kg of gentamicin intravascularly every 18 hours. Trough serum gentamicin concentrations exceeded 2 mcg/ml in 33%; peak serum concentrations exceeded 12 mcg/ml in none but were less than 4 mcg/ml in 12.5%. Regression analysis of the data revealed inverse linear correlations between peak and trough serum gentamicin concentrations and gestational age (p<0.01 and p<0.05, respectively). Using these relationships a mathematical model was derived for calculating optimal gentamicin dose and dosage interval based on gestational age (G, in weeks): Initial dose (mg/kg) ė 4.2 + 0.038 G Subsequent doses (mg/kg) ė 3.4 + 0.031 G Dosage interval (hours) ė 50 − 0.76 G This regimen is designed to yield peak and trough serum concentrations of 8 mcg/ml and 1.5 mcg/ml, respectively. We conclude that the observed variations in gentamicin serum concentrations in premature neonates warrants the use of dosage regimens based on estimated gestational age. Additional clinical experience is needed to confirm the validity of these dosage recommendations.
P5J-2 Ultrasound Probe with Integrated ECG Lead

We integrated electrocardiogram (ECG) leads onto the face of a cardiac ultrasound transducer and the exterior chassis of a simulated small, portable scanner to minimize the number of devices needed to collect cardiac information. Since the ECG leads were not placed on their standard locations, a precordial ECG was recorded.
Analgesic activity of oral naproxen in patients with postoperative pain.

Oral naproxen in doses of 100, 200 and 400 mg was compared with oral meperidine in doses of 25 and 75 mg, in a double-blind, single-dose, completely-randomized study of patients with postoperative pain. One hundred patients were studied, twenty for each of the five treatments. The patients1 subjective pain scores were recorded by an observer for four hours after administration of the treatment. Dose-effect trends were present with both naproxen and meperidine. Naproxen 400 mg performed the best of all treatments in the study; on pain-score measurements it was significantly superior to meperidine 25 mg; and in terms of the number of patients requiring re-medication for pain during the four-hour observation period, significantly fewer patients failed on naproxen 400 than on naproxen 100 mg. No appreciable excess of side effects occurred with naproxen.
Self-Aligned Top-Gate Coplanar a-Si:H Thin-Film Transistors With a $\hbox{SiO}_{2}$ –Silicone Hybrid Gate Dielectric

We have made self-aligned top-gate coplanar hydrogenated amorphous-silicon (a-Si:H) thin-film transistors using a SiO2-silicone hybrid material as the gate dielectric. The hybrid dielectric layer is 150 nm thick and separates a chromium gate electrode from nickel silicide source and drain. The nickel silicide is formed by rapid thermal reaction of a deposited nickel film with the underlying a-Si:H. The electron field-effect mobility is ~1.0 cm2/V · s, the subthreshold slope is ~380 mV/decade, and the ON/OFF current ratio is ~105. The gate leakage current of ~10 pA across the 150-nm-thick hybrid dielectric is ~1/10 of that observed across the typical 300-nm-thick SiNx dielectric. The whole process needs only two masks.
Influences of cognitive slowing on age differences in intelligence.

Chez 622 adultes âges de 43 a 89 ans et 211 etudiants sont comparees les performances a une batterie de tests mesurant de multiples aptitudes primaires
Community Integration Questionnaire for patients with brain tumor: a comparative study.

Objectives: This study compares mean scores obtained on the Community Integration Questionnaire among patients with brain tumor and published data for traumatic brain injury and nonpatient groups. Design: Subjects included 33 adult outpatients with biopsy-confirmed high-grade malignant brain tumors. Both sexes were represented. Subjects were older and better educated than historic samples. The Community Integration Questionnaire was positively skewed. Results: Subjects had higher scores on the Social Integration Scale than on Productivity. Higher education was associated with Productivity and the Community Integration Questionnaire total score. However, greater age was associated with lower scores. Significant gender effects were obtained. Conclusions: Women with brain tumors had significantly higher Home Integration Scores than males with tumors. However, Home Integration was lower for persons with brain tumors than for either the corresponding gender in the traumatic brain injury model systems group for males and females, respectively. Similarly, compared with community-dwelling persons with traumatic brain injury, males, but not females, with cerebral tumors had significantly lower Social Integration scores. When compared with nondisabled adults, persons with brain tumors reported significantly lower Productivity and Community Integration Questionnaire total scores.
Visually Perceived Eye Level and Horizontal Midline of the Body Trunk Influenced by Optic Flow

The eye level and the horizontal midline of the body trunk can serve, respectively, as references for judging the vertical and horizontal egocentric directions. We investigated whether the optic-flow pattern, which is the dynamic motion information generated when one moves in the visual world, can be used by the visual system to determine and calibrate these two references. Using a virtual-reality setup to generate the optic-flow pattern, we showed that judged elevation of the eye level and the azimuth of the horizontal midline of the body trunk are biased toward the positional placement of the focus of expansion (FOE) of the optic-flow pattern. Furthermore, for the vertical reference, prolonged viewing of an optic-flow pattern with lowered FOE not only causes a lowered judged eye level after removal of the optic-flow pattern, but also an overestimation of distance in the dark. This is equivalent to a reduction in the judged angular declination of the object after adaptation, indicating that the optic-flow information also plays a role in calibrating the extraretinal signals used to establish the vertical reference.
The decay of 159Gd

Abstract Precision energy measurements on four gamma rays in the 159 Gd → 159 Tb decay were performed with a 2 m curved-crystal spectrometer. Energies of the other gamma rays and all gamma intensities were determined with a Ge(Li) spectrometer. A level scheme is proposed for 159 Tb which includes a level at 854 keV. The status of the 617 keV doublet has been clarified. On the basis of these measurements a proposal is made concerning the nature of the 854 keV level.
Pteridine content of some photosynthetic bacteria

Abstract A simple procedure for estimating total 2-amino-4-hydroxypteridinyl compounds in microorganisms has been used to demonstrate that some photosynthetic bacteria contain relatively large amounts of such compounds, and, generally, that their concentration is higher when the organism is grown in the light, anaerobically, as opposed to dark, aerobic growth where this is possible.
Molecular hydrogen in H II region transition zones

Model calculations are performed which demonstrate that H II - H I transition zones with densities between 10 and 100 per cu cm may contain molecular-hydrogen column densities of the order of 10 to the 13th power to 10 to the 15th power per sq cm. Observational data for several stars are presented which confirm the theoretical values. It is concluded that all detectable molecular hydrogen is not necessarily located in cold regions of space.
Technical-market research—Get customers to collaborate in developing products

Abstract Customers frequently need assistance in knowing what they want or might need, especially since they are unaware of the array of new products that are still in the R & D labs. If they could ‘see it and experience it’, customers could then better decide if they needed the new product. Thus, creating the experience helps to create the need. Towards this end, technical-market research is an innovative, technology-driven process to understand the mind of the consumer, so that the voice of the customer can be better translated into new products by designers, engineers, and marketers. The use of planning processes such as technical-market research and ‘antenna shops’ encourage innovative, collaborative ways for R & D organizations to become a higher value-added resource in the customer satisfaction process, resulting in more timely actions with fewer ‘false starts’.
Questionnaire Response Bias and Face-to-Face Interview Sample Bias in Sexuality Research

Response bias in self‐administered questionnaires (SAQs) and sample bias in face‐to‐face interviews (FTF) are examined. SAQ study results suggest (a) nonresponse bias is of chief concern in studies of masturbation, (b) partial responders fail to answer sexuality questions because they are uneasy making personal disclosures of sexual information, and (c) this latter threat varies inversely with sexual knowledge and experience indices. No significant order effects were found within SAQs, a result likely related to subjects' high educational levels. The FTF interview study showed (a) volunteers, relative to nonvolunteers, are more willing to disclose sexual information independent of overall self‐disclosure tendencies, (b) completing SAQs with sexuality items did not affect volunteering, (c) results from FTF interviews overestimate the breadth of sexual behaviors and knowledge, and (d) the FTF interview method may be less advantageous to use than SAQs. Data are also presented which support the reliability an...
Strategies for large-scale, distributed hydrologic simulation

Large-scale simulation of watershed-runoff and soil-water dynamics requires the development of a modeling and parametrization strategy to explicitly incorporate the spatial structure and variability of system behavior. A dynamic, contributing-area model that concentrates on the effects of drainage-basin topography and soil hydraulic properties (TOPMODEL) is interfaced with geographic data processing and digital terrain analysis for this purpose. From digital elevation data, the methodology automatically partitions the landscape into a set of hydrologically connected subcatchment areas, then can separately parameterize TOPMODEL in each unit with information drawn from the digital elevation model (DEM) or any registered, ancillary data plane. Scale flexibility is built into the system by allowing free choice of the detail of the watershed partition, which is based on a framework for geomorphic analysis and manipulation of stream-network and drainage-basin structure developed over the past two decades. Runoff generation from each subcatchment may be simulated in parallel from the separate parameter frequency distributions within each unit. Operationally, the area over which the model can be run is limited only by the parametrization process, as the computational effort is O(n), where n is the number of subcatchments, and is not dependent on subcatchment size. The performance of the system is currently being assessed by comparison with a finite-element, hillslope hydrology model, run on topographically distinct subcatchments.
Imaging of premixed flames in microgravity

A laser schlieren system which uses video recording and digital images analysis has been developed and applied successfully to microgravity combustion experiments performed in a drop-tower. The optical system and the experiment are installed within a small package which is subjected to free-fall. The images are recorded on video tape and are digitized and analyzed by a computer-controlled image processor. The experimental results include laminar and turbulent premixed conical flames in microgravity, normal positive gravity (upward), and reverse gravity (downward). The procedures to extract frequency information from the digitized images are described. Many gross features of the effects of gravity on premixed conical flames are found. Flames that ignite easily in normal gravity fail to ignite in microgravity. Buoyancy driven instabilities associated with an interface formed between the hot products and the cold surrounding air is the mechanism through which gravity influences premixed laminar and turbulent flames. In normal gravity, this causes the flame to flicker. In reverse gravity, -g, and microgravity, μg, the interface is stable and flame flickering ceases. The flickering frequencies of +g flames vary with changing upstream boundary conditions. The absence of flame flickering in μg suggest that μg flames would be less sensitive to these changes.
Effect of methylxanthines on diaphragmatic fatigue in the piglet.

Studies in adult animal and human subjects have suggested that the methylxanthine drugs can delay the onset or attenuate the severity of diaphragmatic fatigue. We have investigated the effect of aminophylline and caffeine on the pressure-generating capacity of the fatigued diaphragm in 1-mo-old piglets. Measurements of ventilation, transdiaphragmatic pressure, blood gases and pH, diaphragmatic electromyogram, diaphragmatic pressure- frequency curve (PdiFC), diaphragmatic blood flow, and end-expiratory lung volume were obtained at baseline, after 90 min of inspiratory resistive loaded breathing (IRL), and again 30 min after methylxanthine infusion while still on IRL. IRL resulted in a significant decrease in minute ventilation secondary to a fall in tidal volume. Spontaneously generated transdiaphragmatic pressure increased 7-fold from baseline. EMG activity increased to both segments of the diaphragm. Abdominal expiratory muscle activity was noted after the onset of IRL and was accompanied by a fall in end-expiratory lung volume. The PdiFC was significantly decreased from baseline after 90 min of IRL, demonstrating diaphragmatic fatigue. Aminophylline did not alter the PdiFC of the diaphragm. Diaphragmatic electromyogram and tidal volume increased. No change in diaphragmatic blood flow was demonstrable after infusion of aminophylline. Serum theophylline levels averaged 117 ±11 μmol/L (21 ± 2 μg/mL). Caffeine administration did not alter the PdiFC or the diaphragmatic electromyogram during IRL. Blood flow to both segments of the diaphragm decreased after caffeine infusion. Serum caffeine levels averaged 86 ± 30 μmol/L (16.6 ± 5.9 μg/mL). We conclude that the methylxanthines, aminophylline and caffeine, do not reverse the loss of pressure generation by the diaphragm that occurs after 90 min of IRL in the anesthetized piglet.
Mechanistic Studies of MDM2-mediated Ubiquitination in p53 Regulation

As a central regulator for cell cycle arrest, apoptosis, and cellular senescence, p53 requires multiple layers of regulatory control to ensure correct temporal and spatial functions. It is well accepted that Mdm2-mediated ubiquitination plays a crucial role in p53 regulation. In addition to proteasome-mediated degradation, ubiquitination of p53 by Mdm2 acts a key signal for its nuclear export. Nuclear export has previously been thought to require the disassociation of the p53 tetramer and exposure of the intrinsic nuclear export signal. To elucidate the molecular mechanism of degradation-independent repression on p53 by Mdm2, we have developed a two-step approach to purify ubiquitinated forms of p53 induced by Mdm2 from human cells. Surprisingly, however, we found that ubiquitination has no effect on the tetramerization/oligomerization of p53, arguing against this seemingly well accepted model. Moreover, nuclear export of p53 alone is not sufficient to completely abolish p53 activity. Ubiquitination-mediated repression of p53 by Mdm2 acts at least, in part, through inhibiting the sequence-specific DNA binding activity. Thus, our results have important implications regarding the mechanisms by which Mdm2 acts on p53.
More Art than Science: Impedance Analysis Prone to Interpretation Error

Background Impedance monitoring for reflux evaluation does not have standardized scoring, which can confound interpretation between observers. We investigated the variability of impedance testing interpretation between physicians and computer software.
Matching Clients’ Needs With Drug Treatment Services

This paper reports results of a study that investigated whether matching drug treatment services with client needs improved outcomes for a sample of 171 clients who participated in community-based drug treatment programs. Clients were initially assessed on multiple problem areas (alcohol use, drug use, medical, psychological, family/social, legal, employment, housing) and on areas of special needs or stated preferences for services (e.g., transportation, child care, language). A 6-month follow-up interview reassessed clients' problems/needs in all areas and collected information on the services received. The results showed that some services significantly improved client outcome for those who had expressed needs for such services. Notably, services meeting the need for vocational training, child care, transportation, and housing showed beneficial effects. A higher level of needs and services matching (defined either by the ratio of services received to services desired, or by the total level of met versus unmet needs in the eight problem areas) significantly predicted longer treatment retention.
2,3,7,8-Tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin-mediated oxidative stress in CYP1A2 knockout (CYP1A2-/-) mice.

The objective of the study was to compare alterations in indicators of oxidative stress following 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) exposure in cytochrome P4501A2 (CYP1A2) knockout mice and their parental lineage strains (C57BL/6N and 129/Sv). This study will aid in determining the role, if any, of CYP1A2 in TCDD-mediated oxidative stress. Formation of thiobarbituric acid-reactive substances (TBARS) as a measurement of lipid peroxidation, production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) via the in vitro reduction of cytochrome c in tissue homogenate, and changes in the biochemical antioxidant glutathione were monitored to determine oxidative stress 7 days following a single oral dose of 25 microg TCDD/kg. TBARS, reduction of cytochrome c, and changes in glutathione demonstrated a similar response in CYP1A2 knockout and parental strains. These data suggest that CYP1A2 does not play a critical role in the acute oxidative stress response following TCDD exposure.
Response: the "tail" of the twin adaptors.

In this issue, Guo et al. find that the diversification of AP-1 clathrin adaptor functions by paralogous μ1 subunits is not based on differential localization but on differential cargo recognition. Here, Rodriguez-Boulan et al. suggest that the available evidence remains consistent with subcellular compartment-specific distinctions in μ1 paralog functions.
Modified interfacial reactions in Ag–Zn multilayers under the influence of high DC currents

Abstract The influence of DC currents of up to 764 A/cm2 on interfacial reactions in silver–zinc diffusion couples was investigated at temperatures between 300 and 350 °C. Regardless of current density, the product always contained three intermetallic compounds: AgZn, Ag5Zn8, and AgZn3. The relative abundance of each of the compounds was unaffected by the current. The AgZn phase was dominant, followed by the Ag5Zn8 and AgZn3 phases. The imposition of a DC current, however, was found to strongly enhance the growth kinetics of all phases above a threshold value. The threshold current increases with increased reaction temperature. The increase in growth of all phases was unaffected by the direction of the current, implying that electromigration was not a dominant cause of the enhanced growth. It is suggested that a possible current effect is an increase in defect concentration or atomic mobility.