cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Exposure to prenatal smoking and early-life body composition: the healthy start study.

Objectives To examine associations between exposure to prenatal smoking and early-life changes in fat mass (FM), fat-free mass (FFM), and anthropometrics. Methods About 670 mother–offspring pairs were analyzed in the longitudinal Healthy Start study. Maternal smoking data were collected during prenatal research visits. Offspring body composition and size were measured by air displacement plethysmography at delivery and postnatal follow-up (5 months) visits. Results Comparing exposed and unexposed offspring, exposure to prenatal smoking was significantly associated with reduced neonatal FM (P = 0.007) and FFM (P = 0.02). In contrast, at 5 months, exposed offspring had comparable FM (P = 0.61) and FFM (P = 0.41). After subsequent adjustment for birth weight, offspring exposed to prenatal smoking had significantly greater FFM (154.7 g, 0.5, 309.0; P = 0.049) and sum of skinfolds (2.7 mm, 0.06, 5.3; P = 0.04). From delivery to follow-up, exposed offspring had significantly greater increases in FFM (156.4 g, 2.8, 310.1; P = 0.046) and sum of skinfolds (2.7 mm, 0.06, 5.3; P = 0.04), even after adjustment for respective delivery measures. Conclusions Exposure to prenatal smoking was significantly associated with rapid postnatal growth, which may increase the offspring's risk of metabolic diseases.
In situ destruction of contaminants via hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation. Visalia Field Test

A field test of hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation (HPO) was conducted during the summer of 1997, during a commercial application of thermal remediation (Dynamic Underground Stripping (DUS)) at the Visalia Pole Yard (a super-fund site) in southern California. At Visalia, Southern California Edison Co. is applying the DUS thermal remediation method to clean up a large (4.3 acre) site contaminated with pole-treating compounds. This is a full-scale cleanup, during which initial extraction of contaminants is augmented by combined steam/air injection in order to enhance the destruction of residual contaminants by HPO. Laboratory results indicate that the contaminants at Visaha react at similar rates to TCE, which has been the focus of extensive laboratory work (Knauss et al., 1998a-c). Field experimental results from this application yield valuable information (1) confirming the destruction of contaminants in soil and groundwater by HPO, (2) validating the predictive models used to design HP0 steam injection systems, (3) demonstrating that accurate field measurements of the critical fluid parameters can be obtained using existing monitoring wells and (4) obtaining a reasonable prediction of the cost and effectiveness of HPO, working at a commercial scale and with commercial partners. The goal of our additional study and demonstration in conjunction withmore » Edison has been to obtain early proof of hydrous pyrolysis/oxidation in the field, and validate our predictive models and monitoring strategies. This demonstration provides valuable economic and practicability data obtained on a commercial scale, with more detailed field validation than is commonly available on a commercially-conducted cleanup. The results of LLNL' s field experiments constrain the destruction rates throughout the site, and enable site management to make accurate estimates of total in situ destruction based on the recovered carbon. As of October, 1998, over 900,000 lb of contaminant have been removed from the site; about 18% of this has been destroyed in situ.« less
Skin perfusion in pregnancy

Skin perfusion was monitored by photoelectric flow sensing in 42 pregnant and 20 nonpregnant women to obtain direct objective measurements of skin blood flow changes in pregnancy. The skin perfusion was found to increase significantly at the sixteenth gestational week and this increase was maintained at least 1 week post partum. The maximum increase, which was 3 to 4 times the control values, occurred between the twentieth and thirtieth week of gestation. No significant differences were found between normal and hypertensive pregnant patients, but significant decreases in skin perfusion were found in the supine position in patients with a positive "supine pressor test." These results indicate a pattern of increase in skin perfusion during pregnancy which appears to vary inversely with the reported increase in peripheral resistance.
DNA Methylation Screening and Analysis

DNA methylation is an epigenetic form of gene regulation that is universally important throughout the life course, especially during in utero and postnatal development. DNA methylation aids in cell cycle regulation and cellular differentiation processes. Previous studies have demonstrated that DNA methylation profiles may be altered by diet and the environment, and that these profiles are especially vulnerable during development. Thus, it is important to understand the role of DNA methylation in developmental governance and subsequent disease progression. A variety of molecular methods exist to assay for global, gene-specific, and epigenome-wide methylation. Here we describe these methods and discuss their relative strengths and limitations.
Privatizing the Transportation Security Administration

After the terrorist attacks in 2001, the federal government moved quickly to increase spending on aviation security and take control of passenger and baggage screening at U.S. airports. Congress created the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) in 2001, and then transferred the agency to the new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) in 2002. TSA’s main activity is operating security screening at more than 450 commercial airports across the nation. The agency also runs the Federal Air Marshal Service (FAMS), analyzes intelligence data, and oversees the security of rail, transit, highways, and pipelines. TSA has 62,000 employees and an annual budget in 2013 of $7.9 billion. After more than a decade of experience, it is clear that the creation of TSA and the federal takeover of airport screening was a mistake. Auditors have found that TSA’s screening performance has been no better, and possibly worse, than private screening. And TSA has become known for mismanagement, dubious investments, and security failures. Congress should abolish TSA. The TSA activities that have not shown substantial benefits should be eliminated. Passenger and baggage screening — which represents about two-thirds of TSA’s budget — should be moved to the control of airports and opened to competitive private bidding. And the remaining parts of TSA — including intelligence and analysis activities — should be moved to other federal agencies.
Researching Domestic Life in Late Ottoman Beirut

This research note maps out the different sources available for carrying out research on domestic life in late Ottoman Beirut. Remaining buildings, court records, consular trade reports, advertisements, and municipal minutes are not new to research on Bilad al-Sham. Collectively, however, they offer a multifaceted view of the material aspects of domestic life in the late Ottoman period and can contribute to a broader understanding of modernity that goes beyond histories of the elite.
Detecting repurposing and over-collection in multi-party privacy requirements specifications

Mobile and web applications increasingly leverage service-oriented architectures in which developers integrate third-party services into end user applications. This includes identity management, mapping and navigation, cloud storage, and advertising services, among others. While service reuse reduces development time, it introduces new privacy and security risks due to data repurposing and over-collection as data is shared among multiple parties who lack transparency into third-party data practices. To address this challenge, we propose new techniques based on Description Logic (DL) for modeling multiparty data flow requirements and verifying the purpose specification and collection and use limitation principles, which are prominent privacy properties found in international standards and guidelines. We evaluate our techniques in an empirical case study that examines the data practices of the Waze mobile application and three of their service providers: Facebook Login, Amazon Web Services (a cloud storage provider), and Flurry.com (a popular mobile analytics and advertising platform). The study results include detected conflicts and violations of the principles as well as two patterns for balancing privacy and data use flexibility in requirements specifications. Analysis of automation reasoning over the DL models show that reasoning over complex compositions of multi-party systems is feasible within exponential asymptotic timeframes proportional to the policy size, the number of expressed data, and orthogonal to the number of conflicts found.
Advanced infrared photonic devices based on HgMnTe

This review is oriented toward practical technological aspects of growth and applications of narrow bandgap semimagnetic semiconducting HgMnTe alloys. It summarizes recent achievements in crystal growth, device fabrication, and device characterization. Current work is focused on analyses of the growth process, approaches for the achievement of improved composition uniformity, the relationship between material properties and device performance, a comparison of performance of HgMnTe and HgCdTe devices, and new magnetic exchanged- based IR devices.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Serum hormones during the estrous cycle and estrous behavior in heifers after administration of propylthiouracil and thyroxine

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to assess the characteristics of thyroid-stimulating hormone (TSH) during the estrous cycle and to examine the effects of experimentally altered thyroid status on estrous behavior and hormonal concentrations in heifers. In Exp. 1, normal profiles of luteinizing hormone (LH), follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), and TSH were examined on days 2, 12, and 19 of the estrous cycle (day 0 = estrus) in six Holstein heifers. Baseline concentrations of LH were 1.5- to 2.1-fold higher on day 2 (P = .07) and day 19 (P
Correlation of paraquat toxicity with tissue concentrations and weight loss of the rat.

Abstract Paraquat was administered to Sprague-Dawley and Wistar rats po and iv. Death generally occurred in 2–5 days, but some rats survived for up to 12.5 days. Loss of body weight correlated with lethality, and concentrations in lung and kidney correlated with the degree of toxic response as defined by 2 levels of weight loss and death. The lung became the organ of highest concentration of paraquat through an initial stasis phase, and paraquat was detected in the lungs of all rats that died. The initial half-life of paraquat in plasma and in the tissues was 20–30 min. The subsequent half-life of paraquat in muscle was longest, 4–5 days, and secondary half-lives in the plasma and other tissues were about 2 days. Diquat did not accumulate in lung and muscle as did paraquat, and did not produce the lung pathology. The accumulation in lung (critical organ of pathology), the relatively long secondary half-life of paraquat in the plasma and tissues, the correlation of tissue concentrations with degree of toxic response and the findings with diquat contradict the concept of paraquat as a “hit-and-run” poison.
Tolerance limits - a review

This review covers some known results on tolerance limits for univariate distributions. Results for parametric continuous and discrete distributions as well as those based on nonparametric methods are included. Some general results, including those for certain restricted families of distributions are also covered. Sample size determination and related problems are discussed
Endometrial morphology and modulation of hormone receptors during ovarian stimulation for assisted reproductive technology cycles

Objective To study the biochemical and morphologic implications of different hormonal levels on endometrial development during assisted reproductive technology (ART) cycles. Design Prospective, controlled study. Setting University center. Patient(s) Eleven women during a natural cycle (controls) and 11 oocyte donors during an ART cycle (treated). Intervention(s) At the time consistent with day-3 ET, a transvaginal ultrasound, an endometrial biopsy, and blood sampling were performed. Morphology and thickness of the endometrial stripe were recorded. Real-time reverse transcriptase–polymerase chain reaction was used to measure messenger RNA (mRNA) levels for estrogen receptor (ER)-α, ER-β, P receptor (PR)-A, and PR-B in the endometrial tissue. Main Outcome Measure(s) To evaluate morphologic and biochemical endometrial development. Result(s) Endometrium was mostly trilaminar (proliferative-like pattern) and thicker in the treated group, as opposed to homogeneous and thinner in the controls. The PR-B mRNA expression increased 41% in treated patients; PR-A mRNA expression, instead, was unchanged. Serum E 2 and P were higher in the treated group than in controls. In contrast, FSH and LH levels were lower in the treated group. Conclusion(s) When compared with natural cycles, exposure of the endometrium to high hormone levels during ovarian stimulation significantly increased PR-B receptor expression at the time of ET. Concurrently, a proliferative-like endometrial pattern persisted. These findings reflect a delayed endometrial development in ART.
Image analysis of vocal fold histology

To visualize the concentration gradients of collagen, elastin and ground substance in histologic sections of vocal folds, an image enhancement scheme was devised. Slides stained with Movat's solution were viewed on a light microscope. The image was digitally photographed. Using commercially available software, all pixels within a color range are selected from the mucosa presented on the image. Using the Movat's pentachrome stain, yellow to yellow-brown pixels represented mature collagen, blue to blue-green pixels represented young collagen (collagen that is not fully cross-linked) and black to dark violet pixels represented elastin. From each of the color range selections, a black and white image was created. The pixels not within the color range were black. The selected pixels within the color range were white. The image was averaged and smoothed to produce 256 levels of gray with less spatial resolution. This new grey-scale image showed the concentration gradient. These images were further enhanced with contour lines surrounding equivalent levels of gray. This technique is helpful to compare the micro-anatomy of the vocal folds. For instance, we find large concentration of the collagen deep in the mucosa and adjacent to the vocalis muscle.
Measurement of the current‐density distribution in high‐temperature superconducting microstrip by means of kinetic‐inductance photoresponse (invited paper)

We report a technique for measuring the spatial profile of microwave-frequency currents in resonant thin-film superconducting microstrip devices operated near resonance. We probe the patterned superconducting device as a function of position by scanning a modulated light beam across the region to be probed. With the light focused to a spot size much smaller than the microstrip width, we have measured the current density distribution as a function of position across the width of the strip. Using an elementary model for the superconducting current density distribution, we fit an effective penetration depth at the edge of the microstrip. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Observations on the Role of Oxide Scales in High-Temperature Erosion-Corrosion of Alloys

The results are presented of exposure to a controlled high-temperature erosive gas stream of a series of alloys, which were selected to represent the range of microstructures and mechanical properties available in commercial high-temperature alloys. Analysis of the kinetic and morphological data suggested that the high-temperature oxidation behavior of a given alloy plays a very important role in determining its erosion-corrosion behavior under the conditions studied. In terms of relative behavior, alloys which are weak but ductile at temperature, and which form tenacious oxide scales, exhibited the highest resistance to high-temperature erosion-corrosion. Simple models were developed to describe the expected interaction between high-temperature oxidation and erosion.
CONGENITAL DEFECTS IN NORTHERN ELEPHANT SEALS STRANDED ALONG THE CENTRAL CALIFORNIA COAST

Eleven cases of congenital anomalies were identified in 210 (5%) juvenile northern elephant seals (Mirounga angustirostris) found stranded along the central California (USA) coast from 1 January 1988 to 31 December 1995. Seven individuals had mild-to-moderate hydrocephalus involving the lateral ventricles bilaterally, or the lateral and third ventricles. Two animals had severe cardiac anomalies: hypoplasia of the right ventricle with overriding aorta, and ventricular septal defect. Other anomalies included single cases of hydronephrosis, focal pulmonary dysplasia, and congenital epidermal angiomatosis. Common intercurrent disease processes were verminous pneumonia and arteritis, verminous enteritis and colitis, and splenic and hepatic hemosiderosis. The more severe anomalies were considered to be the cause of debilitation and stranding. Milder anomalies were found incidentally during routine gross necropsy and histopathologic examination.
DID U.S. MONETARY POLICY RESPOND TO EXCHANGE RATES, LONG-TERM INTEREST RATES, AND THE UNEMPLOYMENT RATE GAP?

Abstract Extending the original Taylor rule and applying the VAR model, the author finds that the federal funds rate (FFR) responds positively to a shock to the output gap, the inflation gap, the long-term interest rate, or the lagged FFR, and it reacts negatively to a shock to the unemployment rate gap or the exchange rate. The response of FFR to stock prices is insignificant at the 5% level. The long-term rate can explain up to 41.3% or 46.1% of the variation in FFR, depending on the model considered. The exchange rate can explain up to 8.5% or 12.3% of the variance, depending on the model considered. The output gap can explain up to 26.6% of FFR variance. The unemployment rate gap can explain up to 26.8% of the variation in FFR. Because FFR responds to a shock to the output gap and the unemployment rate gap in a similar manner, both may be considered in conducting monetary policy. The more explanatory power of the long-term interest rate than the inflation gap may suggest that both need to be taken int...
Advances and challenges of applied large-eddy simulation

Large-eddy simulation has become one of the most promising and successful methodology that concerns turbulent flows. It is reaching a level of maturity that brings this approach to the mainstream of engineering and industrial computations, while it opens new opportunities and brings new challenges for further progress. These advances and challenges, in the framework of industrial applications, have been the subject of a discussion meeting held at the Royal Society that brought together leading LES experts and industrial practitioners. The outcome of this discussion meeting is reported in a recent issue of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, and is thoroughly reviewed in this article. Advances and challenges of LES applied in industrial applications are concurrently reviewed and further discussed.
Laboratory evaluation of kinetic parameters for lake sediment denitrification models

Abstract Laboratory experiments using the acetylene blockage technique showed that denitrification rates in sediments from Lake Okeechobee, Florida, are described by Michaelis-Menten nitrate dependence and Arrhenius temperature dependence ( E act = 15.5 kcal, but do not appear to be affected by seasonal differences in the supply of carbon substrates in this eutrophic lake. Peak nitrate concentrations in the sediments are in the range of the half-saturation constant, and thus, for a given temperature, k d varies by a factor of approximately two over the typical range of nitrate concentrations. Most diagenetic sediment denitrification models employ a single-valued rate constant k d , to describe nitrate dependence. However, the use of a constant k d for eutrophic lake sediments may result in a significantly erroneous estimate of annual denitrification loss.
Pixons and Bayesian image reconstruction

Due to noise processes and resolution limitations, the act of measurement of a particular physical quantity or quantities, Q, leads to a data set which only crudely describes the quantities of interest. Quite naturally, scientists have developed a number of methods which attempt to optimally extract the values, H (or hypothesis), of these underlying quantities from these flawed data sets. This paper describes the theory of the pixon, the fundamental unit of information in a recorded data set. Describing the data in this representation (co-ordinate system of basis) provides an efficient means of extracting the underlying properties. The advantages provided by the pixon description can be understood in terms of Bayesian methods where the pixon basis forms a model with a highly optimized prior. We also show the connection between the pixon concept and Algorithmic Information Content and how pixons can be thought of as a generalization of the Akaike Information Criterion. In addition, the relationship between pixons and 'coarse graining' and the consequences of measurement uncertainty are related to the role of the Heisenberg uncertainty principle in introducing degeneracy in the phase space description of statistical mechanics. Finally, we describe our most current formulation of the Fractal Pixon Basis (FPB) and supply examples of image restoration and reconstruction drawn from the field of astronomical imaging.
Computation of Incoming Solar Radiation over the Equatorial Pacific

Abstract This paper discusses findings in regard to cloud distributions over the equatorial Pacific and the development of a method, compatible with actual cloud distributions, for using certain existing formulas to compute incoming solar radiation from meteorological data. U. S. Air Force Uniform Summaries of Surface Weather Observations for 10 central and western equatorial Pacific sites indicate that the very large cirriform cloud contribution to total sky cover, noted in the July 1957–June 1958 Canton Island weather data, is a general characteristic of the cloud distribution over a large part of the western equatorial Pacific. Since most formulas for computing incoming solar radiation depend on a mean total cloud cover entry, a large bias toward thin cirriform cloud could lead to sizeable underestimations of incoming solar radiation and cause significant errors in heat budget calculations for this region. In order to determine a suitable cloud cover term, monthly mean total sky cover, low cloud cover ...
Fourier analysis of reaction time data

The popularity of the assumption of stages in models of the reaction time process and the availability of fast and efficient means of computing approximations to the Fourier transform makes the Fourier analysis of reaction time data attractive. This paper indicates some problems associated with such analyses and suggests convenient ways to overcome some of the difficulties.
Architectural Support for Enhanced SMT Job Scheduling

By converting thread-level parallelism to instruction level parallelism, simultaneous multithreaded (SMT) processors are emerging as effective ways to utilize the resources of modern superscalar architectures. However, the full potential of SMT has not yet been reached as most modern operating systems use existing single-thread or multiprocessor algorithms to schedule threads, neglecting contention for resources between threads. To date, even the best SMT scheduling algorithms simply try to group threads for co-residency based on each thread's expected resource utilization but do not take into account variance in thread behavior. As such, we introduce architectural support that enables new thread scheduling algorithms to group threads for co-residency based on fine-grain memory system activity information. The proposed memory monitoring framework centers on the concept of a cache activity vector, which exposes runtime cache resource information to the operating system to improve job scheduling. Using this scheduling technique, we experimentally evaluate the overall performance improvement of workloads on an SMT machine compared against the most recent Linux job scheduler. This work is first motivated with experiments in a simulated environment, then validated on a hyperthreading-enabled Intel Pentium-4 Xeon microprocessor running a modified version of the latest Linux kernel.
“Hey, Those Shoes Are Out of Uniform”: African American Girls in an Elite High School and the Importance of Habitus

We examine how race and class influenced the lives of six African American high school seniors who attended a predominantly white, elite, independent secondary school. Race and class contributed to an organizational habitus of the school characterized by white and wealthy privilege. Interaction of that dominant habitus with the dissimilar individual habitus of the students resulted in a form of symbolic violence—symbolic violence the black students knowingly endured in exchange for the social mobility afforded by attending the elite school.
Fast radix-2 division with quotient-digit prediction

An implementation of a radix-2 division unit is presented that uses prediction of the quotient digit. This prediction allows the concurrent computation of the quotient digit and the partial remainder. To achieve a simple quotient-digit selection, resulting in a step time roughly half of that of SRT division (without prediction), a simple estimate of the partial remainder is used, which requires that the divisor be scaled close to unity. This prescaling is simple to implement and increases the execution time by two cycles. We estimate a speed-up of 1.5 with respect to SRT division with redundant remainders.
The linear Boltzmann equation in optically thick systems with forward-peaked scattering

Abstract The monoenergetic linear Boltzmann equation is approximated asymptotically in the limit as (i) the mean free path tends to zero, (ii) the mean scattering cosine tends to unity, and (iii) the transport cross section is held constant. Two differential scattering kernels, the Henyey-Greenstein and screened Rutherford kernels, are treated in this limit. In both cases, the leading and first-order terms in the approximations are described by the usual Fokker Planck operator and pseudodifferential operators that can be written in closed form. These pseudodifferential operators account for “large-angle” scattering effects that are not described by the standard “small-angle” Fokker-Planck operator.
Changes in scleral exposure following modified Le Fort III osteotomy

Objective The Kufner modified Le Fort III osteotomy (LFIII) can be used to address midface deficiency, which is often accompanied by excessive scleral exposure. The purpose of this project is to analyze the changes in scleral exposure after a LFIII. Methods Thirteen patients with midface hypoplasia were treated with LFIII. Scleral surface area (SSA) was determined by pixel count and the distance from the inferior eyelid margin to the center of the pupil (MED) was measured pre- and postoperatively. Intraclass correlation coefficients were calculated to assess measurement reliability and repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) were determined to assess systematic difference among the replicates. Results The interquartile range for change in SSA ranged from −31% to −7%, median 20% ( P = .002) and the interquartile range for change in MED ranged from −21% to −12%, median −18% ( P = .0002). Conclusions SSA and MED can be reliably determined using the aforementioned method. The LFIII decreases scleral exposure.
Linear phase immitances via periodically switched networks

Abstract Linear phase response can be realized with periodically switched immitance networks. The techniques presented emphasize the versatility of phase shift obtainable using resonant transfer networks. The periodically switched networks shown provide an alternative to the earlier time-invariant configurations. An illustrative example is included.
The isolation of nuclear membrane from a large-scale preparation of bovine liver nuclei

Abstract 1. 1. A procedure for the large-scale preparation of bovine liver nuclei is described. 2. 2. Nuclear membrane was prepared by treatment of nuclei with deoxyribonuclease followed by extraction with a 0.5 M MgCl2 solution. 3. 3. An evaluation of mitochondrial and microsomal contamination involving chemical, enzymatic and ultrastructural analysis indicated only slight contamination in both nuclear and nuclear membrane fractions. 4. 4. The total contaminating protein averaged 2.65% for nuclei and 10.6% for nuclear membrane. 5. 5. Electron microscopy showed that the membrane fraction contained both outer and inner nuclear membranes. 6. 6. The nuclear membrane fraction contained 74.6% protein, 8.9% RNA, 0.92% DNA, and 13.7% phospholipid. Recovery studies showed an average of 10.3% of the nuclear protein, 23.9% of the nuclear RNA, 0.27% of the nuclear DNA, and 47.1% of the nuclear phospholipid recovered in the membrane fraction.
Will homeowners impose property taxes

Abstract This paper analyzes whether homeowners will use property taxes, as opposed to other revenue instruments, to finance local public services. The paper assumes homeowners recognize the impact of the outcomes of their voting for public services on their property values. Homeowners are modelled as endogenous in number in each community; and within each community they correspond to the ex post voter-residents of a community. Under these conditions, in a Nash equilibrium among imperfectly competitive communities, homeowners do not choose to finance with property taxes. The paper also integrates the two divergent models of community decision-making — the utility-maximizing voter model and the profitmaximizing corporation model.
Technical cost analysis for PEM fuel cells

Abstract The present cost of fuel cells estimated at about $200 kW −1 is a major barrier for commercialization and use in automotive applications. In the United States the target costs for fuel cell systems for the year 2004 as formulated by PNGV are $50 kW −1 . Lomax et al. have estimated the costs of polymer electrolyte membrane (PEM) fuel cells to be as low as $20 kW −1 . These estimates are based on careful consideration of high volume manufacturing processes. Recently, Arthur D. Little (ADL) has estimated the cost of a fuel cell system for transportation at $294 kW −1 . This estimate considers a fuel processor and directly related balance of plant components. The difference of the cost estimates results from the vastly different design assumptions. Both of these estimates are based on considering a single high volume of production, 500,000 fuel cells per year. This work builds on these earlier estimates by employing the methods of technical cost modeling and thereby including explicit consideration of design specifications, exogenous factor cost and processing and operational details. The bipolar plate is analyzed as a case study. The sensitivity of the costs to uncertainty in process conditions are explored following the ADL design. It is shown that the PNGV targets can only be achieved with design changes that reduce the quantity of material used. This might necessitate a reduction in efficiency from the assumed 80 mpg.
Reasons for Staying in Intimately Violent Relationships: Comparisons of Men and Women and Messages Communicated to Self and Others

Victims of intimate partner violence (IPV) often are blamed for remaining in abusive relationships. As a result, victims may communicate messages rationalizing why they stay. Systematic, comparative examinations of these messages directed toward self and others by males versus females have not been conducted. This study addresses a gap in the literature by exploring victims’ communication regarding staying. Self-reports of 345 heterosexual IPV victims (N = 239 women, 106 men) demonstrated that more justifications were communicated internally to self than externally to others. Men and women differed significantly in only three of 14 messages, with men choosing more stereotypically masculine reasons for staying. Findings are discussed in terms of applications to victims and their stay-leave decision-making in IPV relationships.
Gully Erosion, Northwestern Colorado: A Threshold Phenomenon

The widespread occurrence of discontinuous gullies in the oil-shale region of northwestern Colorado is of particular concern because of the resulting progressive destruction of the valley floors. Furthermore, the integration of a semi-arid drainage network can cause a rapid increase in the sediment yield of the basin, with subsequent harmful effects downstream. Field work in the Piceance Creek and Yellow Creek drainage basins indicates that these discontinuous gullies developed on oversteepened segments of the valley floors. Although the critical slope of entrenchment is probably related to magnitude of run-off, discharge measurements are not available; therefore, drainage-basin area was selected as the most representative measure of discharge. An inverse relation between drainage-basin area and critical slope of entrenchment applies, and the lower limit of scatter of the data establishes a critical slope-area relation, which can be used to identify potentially unstable valley floors. This relation can help the land manager determine areas of instability where preventive measures can most economically and successfully be undertaken. It is stressed that this particular quantitative relation is applicable only to the Piceance Creek and Yellow Creek drainage basins. In more heterogeneous basins, other variables will need to be included in the analysis; however, the general theory of valley stability will remain applicable.
Cultured neuronal networks as environmental biosensors.

Contamination of water by toxins, either intentionally or unintentionally, is a growing concern for both military and civilian agencies and thus there is a need for systems capable of monitoring a wide range of natural and industrial toxicants. The EILATox-Oregon Workshop held in September 2002 provided an opportunity to test the capabilities of a prototype neuronal network-based biosensor with unknown contaminants in water samples. The biosensor is a portable device capable of recording the action potential activity from a network of mammalian neurons grown on glass microelectrode arrays. Changes in the action potential ﬁring rate across the network are monitored to determine exposure to toxicants. A series of three neuronal networks derived from mice was used to test seven unknown samples. Two of these unknowns later were revealed to be blanks, to which the neuronal networks did not respond. Of the ﬁve remaining unknowns, a signiﬁcant change in network activity was detected for four of the compounds at concentrations below a lethal level for humans: mercuric chloride, sodium arsenite, phosdrin and chlordimeform. These compounds — two heavy metals, an organophosphate and an insecticide — demonstrate the breadth of detection possible with neuronal networks. The results generated at the workshop show the promise of the neuronal network biosensor as an environmental detector but there is still considerable effort needed to produce a device suitable for routine environmental threat monitoring. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The impact of inadequate sleep on children's daytime cognitive function

This report describes the relationship between sleep and cognitive function in children. As reviewed, the empiric data to directly address the effects of sleep loss or disruption on children's cognitive function are quite sparse. However, a wide range of clinical and observational data support a general picture that inadequate sleep results in tiredness, difficulties with focussed attention, low threshold to express negative affect (irritability and easy frustration), and difficulty modulating impulses and emotions. In some cases these symptoms may resemble attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. These findings are discussed in relation to a model of sleep loss influencing prefrontal cortex including executive functions involved in the control of attention and emotions.
Reversible chemical cross-linking and ribonuclease digestion analysis of the organization of proteins in ribonucleoprotein particles.

The organization of select proteins within ribonucleoprotein particles containing heterogeneous nuclear and uridine-rich small nuclear RNAs (hnRNP and UsnRNP respectively) was examined by chemical cross-linking and ribonuclease digestion using diagonal two dimensional PAGE and immunoblotting detection systems. Monoclonal antibodies specific for A2, C1 and C2 hnRNP proteins, detected these proteins at gel coordinates which suggested homotypic dimers and trimers of A2 and homotypic trimers, hexamers and larger multimers of C1 and C2. Ribonuclease digestion did not alter the cross-linking properties of hnRNP C1 and C2 proteins but did result in loss of A2 homotypic dimers and trimers. Blots simultaneously reacted with hnRNP specific monoclonal antibodies and autoimmune patient serum (RNP/Sm), or monoclonal antibodies reactive with the U1 hnRNP specific 63 kDa protein and/or the UsnRNP common proteins B′, B and D revealed no complexes which would indicate interactions between hnRNPs and UsnRNPs. The U1 UsnRNP specific 63 kDa protein appeared not to be cross-linked to UsnRNP common B′,B and D proteins. The data also suggested that UsnRNP common protein D was cross-linkable to UsnRNP common proteins D′, E and G but not to B′ and B. The cross-linking properties of D were unaffected by ribonuclease digestion. In contrast, ribonuclease digestion resulted in an inability to cross-link select complexes containing either B′ and B, or p63. The data suggest that both hnRNPs and UsnRNPs are comprised of RNA-dependent and RNA-independent protein-protein interactions.
(U-Th)/He ages of phosphates from St. Séverin LL6 chondrite

Abstract We obtained single-grain (U–Th)/He ages from 14 merrillite and five chlorapatite aggregates from St. Severin to constrain its low- T thermal history. In addition, we performed 3 He/ 4 He stepped heating diffusion experiments for merrillite and chlorapatite crystals from Guarena chondrite to better constrain He diffusion properties in chondritic phosphates in general. Among the 19 phosphate grains from St. Severin, the five oldest merrillites and four oldest chlorapatites yielded weighted mean ages of 4412 ± 75 Ma (1 σ : MSWD = 0.34) and 4152 ± 70 Ma (MSWD = 0.48), respectively. These weighted mean ages overlap with the peaks of the corresponding probability density plots, thus likely represent the most pristine (U–Th)/He ages of St. Severin. The radiogenic 4 He and proton-induced 3 He diffusion experiments on Guarena chondrite resulted in two well-defined linear trends in Arrhenius plot for merrillite (radius = ∼59 μm) and chlorapatite (∼43 μm) grains. Error-weighted linear regressions of the 3 He data yielded following diffusion parameters: E a = 135.8 ± 4.8 kJ/mol, and ln( D o / a 2 ) = 5.83 ± 0.66 ln(s −1 ) for merrillite; and E a = 109.3 ± 9.7 kJ/mol, and ln( D o / a 2 ) = 8.15 ± 1.93 ln(s −1 ) for chlorapatite. Assuming the analyzed fragments approximate the diffusion domain, log D o was calculated as (−1.93 ± 0.29) log(cm 2 /s) and (−1.19 ± 0.84) log(cm 2 /s) for merrillite and chlorapatite, respectively. These results indicate higher closure T for merrillite than chlorapatite. Assuming these results also apply to St. Severin and that crystal dimensions define the limiting diffusive length-scale, the closure temperatures of merrillite and chlorapatite in St. Severin are estimated to be 94–112 °C (for cooling rates of 0.3–2.6 °C/Ma) and 18 °C (for 0.3 °C/Ma), respectively. The new single-grain (U–Th)/He ages and 3 He/ 4 He stepped heating diffusion results, combined with previously reported Pb/Pb and 40 Ar/ 39 Ar (with updated λ – t FCs pairs) data indicate that St. Severin experienced relatively rapid cooling from 477 °C down to ∼100 °C at a cooling rate of 2.6 °C/Ma. The identified thermal history is generally consistent with the reported cooling path from Pu fission track data. These results suggest that St. Severin experienced relatively slow cooling compared to H chondrites, which may have resulted from its parent body size being larger than that of the H chondrites.
Children's response to a sexual abuse prevention program: A study of the spiderman comic

1980s Grade 2 Grade 4 Grade 6 Middle Childhood Late Childhood Child Abuse Prevention Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Child Safety Child Perceptions Comic Books Media Factors Elementary School Student Student Perceptions 06-03
Upper semi-continuity of the separating equilibrium correspondence

Abstract We formulate separating equilibria with (many) signals as the set of zeroes of a suitable mapping and show continuity of this mapping for a suitable topolog. We prove upper semi-continuity (usc) of the correspondence mapping the set of multidimensional signalling environments into their sets of separating equilibria.
Klebsiella pneumoniae colonization in patients with spinal cord injury.

Abstract Klebsiellapneumoniae colonization of 53 patients with spinal cord injury was studied. Cultures of multiple body sites from patients, the environment, food, and hospital personnel were obtained. K.pneumoniae was cultured from one or more body sites in 46% of male patients. Significant bacteriuria was found in 10% of male patients. Positive cultures of the urethra and perineum for K.pneumoniae were significantly associated with the use of the external condom catheter ( p
Breaking In and Grabbing A Meal: Anaplasma phagocytophilum Cellular Invasion, Nutrient Acquisition, and Promising Tools for Their Study

Anaplasma phagocytophilum invades neutrophils to cause the emerging infection, human granulocytic anaplasmosis. Here, we provide a focused review of the A. phagocytophilum invasin-host cell receptor interactions that promote bacterial entry and the degradative and membrane traffic pathways that the organism exploits to route nutrients to the organelle in which it resides. Because its obligatory intracellular nature hinders knock out-complementation approaches, we also discuss the current methods used to study A. phagocytophilum gene function and the potential benefit of applying novel tools that have advanced studies of other obligate intracellular bacterial pathogens.
Cognitive control under contingencies in anxious and depressed adolescents: an antisaccade task.

Background Emotion-related perturbations in cognitive control characterize adult mood and anxiety disorders. Fewer data are available to confirm such deficits in youth. Studies of cognitive control and error processing can provide an ideal template to examine these perturbations. Antisaccade paradigms are particularly well suited for this endeavor because they provide exquisite behavioral measures of modulation of response errors. Methods A new monetary reward antisaccade task was used with 28 healthy, 11 anxious, and 12 depressed adolescents. Performance accuracy, saccade latency, and peak velocity of incorrect responses were analyzed. Results Performance accuracy across all groups was improved by incentives (obtain reward, avoid punishment). However, modulation of saccade errors by incentives differed by groups. In incentive trials relative to neutral trials, inhibitory efficiency (saccade latency) was enhanced in healthy, unaffected in depressed, and diminished in anxious adolescents. Modulation of errant actions (saccade peak velocity) was improved in the healthy group and unchanged in both the anxious and depressed groups. Conclusions These findings provide grounds for testing hypotheses related to the impact of motivation deficits and emotional interference on directed action in adolescents with mood and anxiety disorders. Furthermore, neural mechanisms can now be examined by using this task paired with functional neuroimaging.
Liquid meal replacements and glycemic control in obese type 2 diabetes patients.

Objective: Although weight management is an important component in the treatment of type 2 diabetes, there has been concern about the use of liquid meal replacements (MRs) in treating obese patients with type 2 diabetes because of the sugar content of the MRs. The goal of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of using MRs for weight loss in obese patients with type 2 diabetes. Research Methods and Procedures: Seventy-five subjects with type 2 diabetes, treated only with oral agents, were recruited for this 12-week clinical study. Subjects were randomized into three groups using either a MR containing lactose, fructose, and sucrose, a MR in which fructose and sucrose were replaced with oligosaccharides (sugar-free Slim-Fast), or an exchange diet plan (EDP) using the proportion of macronutrients recommended by the American Diabetes Association. Results: Fifty-seven patients (41 MR and 16 EDP) finished the study. None developed serious adverse effects, including major hypoglycemic reactions. Weight losses in the MR 1 and MR 2 groups were comparable (6.4% and 6.7%, respectively) and greater than the weight loss in the EDP group (4.9%). Fasting glucose level was significantly reduced in the MR group compared with the EDP group (p = 0.012). There was a significant reduction in the MR group in total cholesterol and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol that was not seen in the EDP group. Discussion: We have shown that liquid MRs are a safe and effective weight loss tool for obese subjects with type 2 diabetes, and can result in improvements in body weight, glucose, insulin, hemoglobin A1c and lipid levels.
Cytomegalovirus Seropositivity and C-Reactive Protein Have Independent and Combined Predictive Value for Mortality in Patients With Angiographically Demonstrated Coronary Artery Disease

Background—The role of inflammation in coronary artery disease (CAD) is being increasingly recognized. Markers of inflammation (eg, C-reactive protein [CRP]) and infection (eg, seropositivity to Chlamydia pneumoniae, cytomegalovirus [CMV], and Helicobacter pylori) have been proposed as risk factors for CAD, but these associations require further evaluation. Methods and Results—We prospectively tested whether CRP levels and IgG seropositivity to C pneumoniae, CMV, and H pylori are predictors of subsequent mortality in 985 consecutive patients with angiographically demonstrated CAD (stenosis ≥70%). Patients were followed for an average of 2.7 years (range 1.5 to 4.0 years). Patients averaged 65 years of age; 77% were men; and 110 (11.2%) died during follow-up. CRP levels were significantly elevated in nonsurvivors compared with survivors (mean CRP 3.1 mg/dL versus 1.5 mg/dL, P=0.003). After controlling for all known baseline variables, the 2nd and 3rd tertiles of CRP compared with the 1st produced a Cox haz...
Overcommunication in strategic information transmission games

Abstract In this paper we conduct laboratory experiments to test the Crawford and Sobel [Crawford, V., Sobel, J., 1982. Strategic information transmission. Econometrica 50, 1431–1451] theory of strategic information transmission. Our experimental results strongly support the basic insight of the theory, namely, that less information is transmitted when preferences of the sender and the receiver diverge. Moreover, the average payoffs for the senders, the receivers, and the overall subject population are very close to those predicted by the most informative equilibrium. However, the evidence shows that subjects consistently overcommunicate in that the senders' messages are more informative about the true states of the world and that the receivers rely more on the senders' messages in choosing actions, compared with what the theory allows in the most informative equilibrium. To understand the overcommunication phenomenon, we use two popular approaches of bounded rationality: behavior type analysis and quantal response equilibrium, to analyze subjects' behavior in our experiment data.