cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Anxiety and Epigenetics.

Anxiety disorders are highly prevalent psychiatric disorders often comorbid with depression and substance abuse. Twin studies have shown that anxiety disorders are moderately heritable. Yet, genome-wide association studies (GWASs) have failed to identify gene(s) significantly associated with diagnosis suggesting a strong role for environmental factors and the epigenome. A number of anxiety disorder subtypes are considered “stress related.” A large focus of research has been on the epigenetic and anxiety-like behavioral consequences of stress. Animal models of anxiety-related disorders have provided strong evidence for the role of stress on the epigenetic control of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis and of stress-responsive brain regions. Neuroepigenetics may continue to explain individual variation in susceptibility to environmental perturbations and consequently anxious behavior. Behavioral and pharmacological interventions aimed at targeting epigenetic marks associated with anxiety may prove fruitful in developing treatments.
Single-Crystalline CeB6 Nanowires

Considered to be one of the best electron emission materials, CeB6 nanowires are of great scientific and industrial interest. CeB6 nanowires of square cross section with about 50 nm in lateral dimension and more than several micrometers in length have been successfully produced using a chemical vapor deposition method. The nanowires are grown in the 〈100〉 lattice direction, and both the tip top and the side surfaces are terminated with the {100} lattice planes.
Nonoperative Management of Osteochondritis Dissecans of the Knee: Progression to Osteoarthritis and Arthroplasty at Mean 13-Year Follow-up.

Background:Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is a disorder of subchondral bone that commonly affects the knee.Purpose:To (1) evaluate the rate of arthritis and knee arthroplasty in a population-based...
Correction to: Parents' Translations of Child Gesture Facilitate Word Learning in Children with Autism, Down Syndrome and Typical Development.

The original version of the article unfortunately contained mistake in the “Methods/Participants” section (p. 224) as “[M TD = 168.26 (SD = 125.18) vs. M AU = 172.91 (SD = 195.88) vs. M DS = 145.43 (SD = 88.78); Kruskal–Wallis, χ 2(2) = 2.42, p = .30], and for word types [M TD = 28.43 (SD = 26.89) vs. M AU = 39.65 (SD = 49.07) vs. M DS = 18.35 (SD = 22.78); χ 2(2) = 3.15, p = .21]’’. The correct text is given below: “[M TD = 51.91 (SD = 59.68) vs. M AU = 74.43 (SD = 116.01) vs. M DS = 25.26 (SD = 39.39); Kruskal–Wallis, χ 2(2) = 3.39, p = .18], and for word types [M TD = 18.48 (SD = 20.51) vs. M AU = 24.74 (SD = 32.98) vs. M DS = 11.22 (SD = 18.87); χ 2(2) = 3.58, p = .17]”..
Solid solubility of cementite in alpha iron

By the use of the internal friction of carbon in α-iron the solubility of cementite in α-iron has been measured down to a temperature of 150°C. The yield strength of ingot iron containing small amounts of cementite has also been determined as a function of carbon concentration.
Anti-melanoma activity of the bisphosphonate ester APOMINE™ is independent of Ras farnesylation and apoptotic cell death in human melanoma cell lines

4305 APOMINE™ is a synthetic bisphosphonate ester and novel hypocholesterolemic agent that accelerates the degradation of HMG-CoA reductase and has potential osteoanabolic activity. It has also been shown to selectively inhibit cell proliferation and induce tumor cell apoptosis through the farnesoid X receptor. APOMINE™ has been shown to rapidly induce caspase-3 activation in HL-60 promyelocytic leukemia cells. APOMINE™ has also demonstrated activity against melanoma in a transgenic murine melanoma prevention model as well as a Phase I clinical trial. We hypothesized that this anti-melanoma activity is due to the inhibition of isoprenoid synthesis with a subsequent decrease in Ras prenylation and activation. The aims of this current study are: 1) To investigate the degree of cytotoxicity of APOMINE™ in human melanoma cell lines, 2) To determine the method of cell death and cell-cycle effects, and 3) To examine the modulation of Ras activity by APOMINE™. The 5 day IC 50 of APOMINE™ in the A375 human melanoma cell line was 21.3 μM. Following a 3 hr exposure at 50 μM, APOMINE™ inhibited DNA synthesis by 40% as measured by 3 H-thymidine incorporation. Similar experiments looking at RNA and protein synthesis showed insignificant effects. Flow cytometric analysis of Annexin V-FITC and propidium idodide staining indicated that cytotoxicity in melanoma cells is mediated through a predominantly non-apoptotic pathway. Western blot analysis confirmed the lack of caspase-3 activation by APOMINE™. Cell cycle analysis demonstrated a 15% increase in the G1 fraction following a 2-day exposure. To determine if APOMINE™ blocked melanoma carcinogenesis through a decrease in N-Ras activity, the A375 human melanoma cell line (which contains a constitutively active mutant B-Raf protein) was compared to the UACC 3093 human melanoma cell line (which contains a constitutively active mutant N-Ras protein). Cytotoxic potency of APOMINE™ was equivalent between the two cell lines. Western blot analysis demonstrated a decrease in total N-Ras protein levels but not a shift from farnesylated to unfarnesylated protein as seen with the farnesyl transferase inhibitor FTI-277. Downstream of Ras, APOMINE™ decreased total ERK protein levels along with phosphorylated levels in both the A375 and UACC 3093 cells, in contrast to the MEK inhibitor PD98059, which inhibited ERK phosphorylation but not expression. From these results, it appears that APOMINE™ cytotoxicity against human melanoma cells is mediated by an alternative, non-apoptotic mechanism. (This work was supported by PHS CA27502).
Corrosion and Mechanical Properties of Al-5 At. Pct Cr Produced by Cryomilling and Subsequent Consolidation at Various Temperatures

An Al-5 at. pct Cr alloy was produced by high-energy ball milling at liquid nitrogen temperature followed by consolidation using equal-channel axial extrusion at 200 °C, 300 °C and 450 °C. The microstructure and corrosion response were compared with a cast alloy of the same composition. Rather than the intermetallics expected by the phase diagram and seen in the cast alloy, consolidated HEBM alloys exhibited extended solid solubility of Cr in the aluminum matrix in addition to a finely dispersed Cr-rich phase. This led to improvement in the corrosion behavior as investigated via potentiodynamic polarization and constant immersion tests in NaCl solution. Hardness and tensile tests were performed to evaluate the mechanical properties. The highest consolidation temperature (450 °C) contributed to significant grain growth and Cr diffusion, lessening the beneficial effects of processing with HEBM.
Exposure Through Runoff and Ground Water Contamination Differentially Impact Behavior and Physiology of Crustaceans in Fluvial Systems

Chemical pollutants enter aquatic systems through numerous pathways (e.g., surface runoff and ground water contamination), thus associating these contaminant sources with varying hydrodynamic environments. The hydrodynamic environment shapes the temporal and spatial distribution of chemical contaminants through turbulent mixing. The differential dispersal of contaminants is not commonly addressed in ecotoxicological studies and may have varying implications for organism health. The purpose of this study is to understand how differing routes of exposure to atrazine alter social behaviors and physiological responses of aquatic organisms. This study used agonistic encounters in crayfish Orconectes virilis as a behavioral assay to investigate impact of sublethal concentrations of atrazine (0, 40, 80, and 160 µg/L) delivered by methods mimicking ground water and surface runoff influx into flow-through exposure arenas for a total of 23 h. Each experimental animal participated in a dyadic fight trial with an unexposed opponent. Fight duration and intensity were analyzed. Experimental crayfish hepatopancreas and abdominal muscle tissue samples were analyzed for cytochrome P450 and acetylcholinesterase levels to discern mechanism of detoxification and mode of action of atrazine. Atrazine delivered via runoff decreased crayfish overall fight intensity and contrastingly ground water delivery increased overall fight intensity. The behavioral differences were mirrored by increases in cytochrome P450 activity, whereas no differences were found in acetylcholinesterase activity. This study demonstrates that method of delivery into fluvial systems has differential effects on both behavior and physiology of organisms and emphasizes the need for the consideration of delivery pathway in ecotoxicological studies and water-impairment standards.
Tectonic implications of the brittle fracture history of the Permian Narragansett Pier Granite, Rhode Island

The Permian Narragansett Pier Granite pluton underlies the southern coast of Rhode Island west of Narragansett Bay and extends into eastern Connecticut. Detailed study of dikes, joints, faults, microjoints zones of microjoints, and quartz lenses permits (1) definition of domains, (2) determination of patterns of brittle structures and their age relationships, and (3) inference of a stress history that records the transition from Alleghanian ocean closure to Mesozoic rifting. Structural features arranged in the order in which they formed are: (1) early aplite and pegmatite dikes; (2) early normal faults; (3) youngest set of pegmatite dikes; (4) quartz lenses; (5) oblique-slip faults; (6) strike-slip faults; (7) late dip-slip faults; and (8) common joints, microjoints, and zones of microjoints.
Humanlike Characteristics of Visual Mnemonic System in Macaques

Although there is still significant controversy as to whether in man each memory endures indefinitely in unaltered form (Bahrich et al., 1975; Hall and Loftus, 1984), any normal human being can unequivocally attest to a vast inventory of remembered material that is retained lifelong. The accuracy of this mnemonic store can seldom be assessed, but common experience suggests that the great majority of it is valid. In a few cases in which something approaching formal testing was achieved in, admittedly, possibly unique individuals (e.g., Luria, 1968; Hunter, 1977), trivial, unrehearsed material could be retrieved with astonishing accuracy after a lapse of 15 to 30 or more years (and see Neisser, 1982, for a collection of other examples). In tests of undergraduate college students, Standing (1973) was able to demonstrate, using 10,000 photographic slides that took several days to view, that a very large proportion of constantly changing visual scenes could still be recognized after a lapse of several days. Thus, the human mnemonic system can be characterized as being highly resistant to saturation (Nickerson, 1965) and capable of permanent retention and retrieval of information acquired in a single, brief exposure.
Post-Cold War Order in the Asia-Pacific: Equilibrium and Its Challenges

This chapter analyzes three broad pillars of the Asia-Pacific regional order during the Cold War and its immediate aftermath. The first pillar involves the long-term absence of state-to-state military conflicts since 1979. The second is the increase in intra-regional economic interdependence through the combination of expanded foreign direct investment, trade, and regional production networks. The third pillar relates to the expansion of formal government arrangements that institutionalize multilateral cooperation. For nearly four decades, these three have generated a positive spiral of cooperation, however wary, among the major regional powers. The current question is whether that positive interaction can continue, particularly as China’s regional influence increases and the administration of Donald Trump systematically reduces that of the US.
Incongruity versus tension relief: Hypotheses of humor

Three experiments employing weight-judgment tasks with the method of constant stimuli were conducted to test between incongruity and tension relief hypotheses of humor. In the first two experiments, the difficulty of the initial judgments and the heaviness of the final comparison weight were varied in order to manipulate tension and incongruity, respectively. Incongruity but not tension manipulations affected both facial expressions and ratings of humor. A third experiment varied the subjects' expectations about the heaviness of the final comparison weight, which was assumed to affect incongruity but not tension. The expectancy manipulations affected facial expressions and ratings of humor. The results of all three experiments supported the incongruity hypothesis but not the relief hypothesis of humor.
Parallax and Distance Estimates for Fourteen Cataclysmic Variable Stars

I used the 2.4 m Hiltner telescope at MDM Observatory in an attempt to measure trigonometric parallaxes for 14 cataclysmic variable stars. Techniques are described in detail. In the best cases the parallax uncertainties are below 1 mas, and significant parallaxes are found for most of the program stars. A Bayesian method which combines the parallaxes together with proper motions and absolute magnitude constraints is developed and used to derive distance estimates and confidence intervals. The most precise distance derived here is for WZ Sge, for which I find 43.3 (+1.6, -1.5) pc. Six Luyten Half-Second stars with previous precise parallax measurements were re-measured to test the techniques, and good agreement is found.
Return to Sport: Does 6-month Functional Testing Predict Second ACL Injuries at Long-term Follow-Up?:

Objectives:Following ACL reconstruction, objective measurements of functional testing are often incorporated into the decision-making process with regard to clearance for return to sport (RTS), in ...
The Wire and Beyond: Recent Advances in Breast Imaging Preoperative Needle Localization

Many patients with breast cancer are candidates for breast conservation therapy. This group includes individuals with small nonpalpable tumors detected at screening mammography and those with sufficient tumor shrinkage after neoadjuvant chemotherapy. Breast conservation surgery often requires the use of an imaging-guided preoperative localization procedure, during which a device is placed within or adjacent to the target lesion to guide the surgeon intraoperatively. For decades, wire localization has been the standard for preoperative localization in breast imaging. With this method, a wire is placed in the breast percutaneously, with the distal wire segment positioned adjacent to the abnormality and the proximal wire segment remaining outside the breast. Because of the external component of the wire, the patient must be compliant, and care must be taken to not disturb the wire's position before surgery. Scheduling flexibility is also limited because the wire localization must be performed on the same day as the subsequent surgery. More recently, the available options for performing preoperative localization have expanded greatly and now include the use of nonwire devices such as radioactive and magnetic seeds, radar reflectors, and radiofrequency identification tags. Nonwire localization devices can be placed days in advance of the surgery, at the patient's convenience, to avoid wire-related challenges and complications. They are placed percutaneously within or adjacent to the target breast lesion and detected intraoperatively by using a probe outside the breast.©RSNA, 2019.
Phototherapy and extracorporeal membrane oxygenation facilitate removal of carbon monoxide in rats

Inhaled carbon monoxide (CO) displaces oxygen from hemoglobin, reducing the capacity of blood to carry oxygen. Current treatments for CO-poisoned patients involve administration of 100% oxygen; however, when CO poisoning is associated with acute lung injury secondary to smoke inhalation, burns, or trauma, breathing 100% oxygen may be ineffective. Visible light dissociates CO from hemoglobin. We hypothesized that the exposure of blood to visible light while passing through a membrane oxygenator would increase the rate of CO elimination in vivo. We developed a membrane oxygenator with optimal characteristics to facilitate exposure of blood to visible light and tested the device in a rat model of CO poisoning, with or without concomitant lung injury. Compared to ventilation with 100% oxygen, the addition of extracorporeal removal of CO with phototherapy (ECCOR-P) doubled the rate of CO elimination in CO-poisoned rats with normal lungs. In CO-poisoned rats with acute lung injury, treatment with ECCOR-P increased the rate of CO removal by threefold compared to ventilation with 100% oxygen alone and was associated with improved survival. Further development and adaptation of this extracorporeal CO photo-removal device for clinical use may provide additional benefits for CO-poisoned patients, especially for those with concurrent acute lung injury.
Physical origins of the optical nonlinearities of materials: an overview

Key considerations in the search for new nonlinear optical crystals for UV applications and in the determination of the physical origins of the nonlinear refractive indices of laser glasses and organic liquids using femtosecond interferometry are reviewed.
Is College Pricing Power Pro-cyclical?

We define pricing power as a college’s ability to increase its net tuition revenue by raising its sticker-price for tuition. The greater is the positive effect of sticker-price increases on net tuition revenue, the greater is the pricing power. We gauge variation in the pricing power of private, non-profit baccalaureate colleges by estimating this effect over the academic years 2000–2001 through 2012–2013—a span which includes two recessions. Drawing on IPEDS data for 118 colleges, our empirical results reveal that the additional real net tuition revenue earned per dollar increase in the real sticker-price fell by 5 % following the 2001–2002 recession, but had fully recovered to its pre-recession level by 2004–2005. In contrast, since the end of the Great Recession of 2007–2009 the real return to sticker-price increases has fallen by 12 % with no recovery in sight by the end of our sample period. So while private colleges’ pricing power was pro-cyclical during the sample period’s first recession, the later, more severe Great Recession has produced a larger, longer lasting negative effect on pricing power. We consider the implications for private colleges of this lost pricing power.
5 – Measures of Variability

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the measures of variability: the variance, the standard deviation, the population variance estimate, and the range. When the data of a sample are to be used to estimate the variance of the population from which a sample has been drawn, the population variance estimate needs to be calculated. Another measure of variability sometimes encountered in the behavioral sciences is the range, which is equal to the highest score minus the lowest score. However, the range is at best a rough measure and is generally less useful than the variance or standard deviation.
Revisiting the Rating Process

A system of rating or evaluation catering to investors, employers, and multilateral agencies plays a vital role in disbursing the information in a useful format. The effectiveness of the system hinges on the credibility of the system. A number of studies are conducted to suggest ways to safeguard the system from potential pitfalls and to improvise it as per the evolving needs. This paper employs the effort in the similar direction and brings useful insights using simple mathematical models supported by empirical evidence.
A Composite DC-DC Converter using Current-Fed Dual-Half Bridge

This paper proposes a novel composite DC-DC converter, which consists of a current-fed dual-half-bridge (CF-DHB) module and a conventional boost converter module. With each module delivering partial power to the load, the operations of two converter modules can be optimized individually, which improves system efficiency and reduces the voltage stress across the power devices. Compared with the existing composite converter based on the dual-active-bridge (DAB), the proposed design has simplified topology and control with a less number of switches. Efficiency is much improved in low power range compared to the conventional boost converter. Experimental studies are performed to demonstrate the operation principle and validate the effectiveness of the proposed converter and its control.
Dorsal Root Ganglion Stimulation as Treatment for Complex Regional Pain Syndrome of the Foot Refractory to Spinal Cord Stimulation: A Case Report

The ACCURATE study demonstrated non-inferiority and superiority of dorsal root ganglion stimulation (DRGS) over traditional spinal cord stimulation (t-SCS) in patients with complex regional pain syndrome (CRPS). Yet, its efficacy in patients who had previously failed SCS therapy is unknown. A mid-60-year-old-male patient with right foot CRPS previously implanted with SCS system experienced relapse in pain. The patient was offered DRGS at right L5/S1 with 90% pain reduction. The patient subsequently proceeded to implant with continued pain relief. This case report demonstrates the effectiveness of DRGS in a patient who previously failed SCS. DRGS can be a viable salvage treatment option in the face of tolerance or loss of efficacy with SCS.
Successful Implementation of a Discharge Bundle to Reduce Unplanned 30-day Readmissions: Lessons Learned

Introduction: Elevated unplanned readmission rates (URR) may be a reflection of poor discharge transition practices. To address this, Solutions for Patient Safety (SPS) promotes a five element discharge transition bundle; however barriers participant hospitals may encounter and strategies for successful implementation have not been fully described. Objective: 1) Decrease the rate of 30-day URR by 10% within 12 months. Methods: This project was conducted at a 433-bed, tertiary care, non-profit freestanding children’s hospital with about …
How social networks affect the repression-dissent puzzle.

Scholars have offered multiple theoretical resolutions to explain inconsistent findings about the relationship of state repression and protests, but this repression-dissent puzzle remains unsolved. We simulate the spread of protest on social networks to suggest that the repression-dissent puzzle arises from the nature of statistical sampling. Even though the paper’s simulations construct repression so it can only decrease protest size, the strength of repression sometimes correlates with a decrease, increase, or no change in protest size, regardless of the type of network or sample size chosen. Moreover, the results are most contradictory when the repression rate most closely matches that observed in real-world data. These results offer a new framework for understanding state and protester behavior and suggest the importance of collecting network data when studying protests.
Minorization-Maximization (MM) Algorithm for Semiparametric Logit Models: Bottlenecks, Extensions, and Comparisons

Motivated by the promising performance of alternative estimation methods for mixed logit models, in this paper we derive, implement, and test expectation-maximization (EM) and minorization-maximization (MM) algorithms to estimate the semiparametric logit mixed logit (LML) and mixture-of-normals multinomial logit (MON-MNL) models. In particular, we show that the reported computational efficiency of the MM algorithm is actually lost for large choice sets. Because the logit link that represents the parameter space in LML is intrinsically treated as a large choice set, the MM algorithm for LML actually becomes unfeasible to use in practice. We thus propose a faster MM algorithm that revisits a simple step-size correction. In a Monte Carlo study, we compare the maximum simulated likelihood estimator (MSLE) with the algorithms that we derive to estimate LML and MON-MNL models. Whereas in LML estimation alternative algorithms are computationally uncompetitive with MSLE, the faster-MM algorithm appears emulous in MON-MNL estimation. Both algorithms – faster-MM and MSLE – could recover parameters as well as standard errors at a similar precision in both models. We further show that parallel computation could reduce estimation time of faster-MM by 45% to 80%. Even though faster-MM could not surpass MSLE with analytical gradient (because MSLE also leveraged similar computational gains), parallel faster-MM is a competitive replacement to MSLE for MON-MNL that obviates computation of complex analytical gradients, which is a very attractive feature to integrate it into a flexible estimation software. We also compare different algorithms in an empirical application to estimate consumer’s willingness to adopt electric motorcycles in Solo, Indonesia. The results of the empirical application are consistent with those of the Monte Carlo study.
The American Review of Public Administration: A Biography

This article is an intellectual history of the noble endeavors and challenges involved in the creation and evolution of the American Review of Public Administration. It traces the journal’s develop...
Molecular dynamics simulation of the effect of cooling rate on the structure and properties of lithium disilicate glass

Abstract The effects of cooling rate on the structure and properties of lithium disilicate (LS2) glass are investigated using molecular dynamics (MD) computer simulations. The evolution of structural features such as pair distribution function, bond angle distribution, and Li coordination distribution are determined, and correlated with dynamic and static properties to elucidate the effects of cooling rate. The density, elastic moduli, and diffusion coefficient are found to be highly sensitive to cooling rate, whereas the Si pair distribution function and bond angle distribution are weakly affected by the cooling rate. Additionally, the changes of Si-O-Si bond angle and Li coordination number suggest the formation of Li cluster at lower cooling rates. Furthermore, by comparing results from other simulations and reported experiments, we confirm that the increase of cooling rate leads to an increase of conductivity and a decrease of density. At very high cooling rates, we find that all the atoms in LS2-glass do not relax simultaneously, but do so in two distinct configurations.
A firm recommendation: measuring the softness of infant sleep surfaces

BACKGROUND Approximately 3600 sudden unexpected infant deaths (SUID) occur annually in the United States, and a quarter of SUIDs are caused by unintentional suffocation and strangulation in bed, with soft bedding use being a significant risk factor. Therefore, The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends infants sleep on a "firm" surface, though neither an objective definition nor national standard has been established. The purpose of this study is to report on the performance of a device that measures mattress softness and to provide quantitative values of softness for various infant sleep surfaces. METHODS In collaboration with the authors and a national child product safety organization (Kids in Danger), University of Michigan engineering students designed and validated a device that measures the vertical depression (softness) of a simulated 2-month-old's head on a sleep surface. A total of 17 infant sleep surfaces - 14 household surfaces and 3 hospital mattresses - were measured between April 2019 and January 2020. The average softness of each surface was calculated. Surfaces were also measured with soft bedding, which included an infant fleece blanket, and firm and soft pillows. RESULTS The average softness for the 14 household sleep surfaces ranged from 7.4-36.9 mm. The 2019 cribette playard and the 2018 infant spring had similar softness (21 mm) as the 2018 and 2019 adult foam and 2015 sofa. An infant's fleece blanket folded once added an additional 2.3-6.5 mm of softness, folded twice added 4.8-11.6 mm, and folded three times added 11-21.8 mm. Using a firm pillow added 4.0-20.9 mm of softness while using a soft pillow added 24.5-46.4 mm. The softness for the 3 hospital sleep surfaces ranged from 14 to 36.9 mm, with the infant bassinet being the firmest and the pediatrics mattress being the softest. CONCLUSIONS We found a wide range of softness among sleep surfaces, with some infant mattresses as soft as some adult mattresses. Adding blankets and pillows to mattresses measurably increased softness. Quantifying sleep surface softness will advance our understanding of how softness relates to SUID risk. We hope this new information will further inform safe infant sleep recommendations and improve mattress safety standards nationally.
Quantitative Characterization of the Microstructure-Property Relationships in Ni and MIEC Nanocatalyst-Infiltrated Ni/YSZ Anodes

The performance of solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) anodes can be improved by infiltration of nanoscale electrocatalysts, which increases triple phase boundary (TPB) density, but only when the added TPBs are active. Quantitative characterization of the microstructure of infiltrated nanocatalysts remains a critical challenge in understanding their role in improved performance. This paper explores the relationship between electrochemical performance and microstructure for Ni/YSZ anodes infiltrated with Ni, gadolinium-doped-ceria (GDC), and Ni/GDC nanocatalysts using a combination of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS), distribution of relaxation times (DRT) analysis, scanning electron microscopy (SEM) microstructural characterization, and three-dimensional (3-D) anode reconstruction. Estimated polarization resistance improvements as a result of nickel nanoparticle infiltration are discussed.
The Method of Matched Asymptotic Expansions and Its Generalizations

Milton Van Dyke’s Perturbation Methods in Fluid Mechanics [490] was effectively both the earliest and the most influential book specifically about applied singular perturbations. (Some credit might be given earlier fluid dynamics textbooks, e.g., Hayes and Probstein [199]). Van Dyke extensively surveyed the large extant aeronautical and fluid dynamical literature, forcefully advocating and clarifying the so-called method of matched asymptotic (or inner and outer) expansions . Although Van Dyke acknowledged that Prandtl’s boundary layer theory was the prototype singular perturbation problem, he introduced the subject by describing incompressible fluid flow past a thin airfoil. The book’s highlight message, sometimes called Van Dyke’s magic rule , states:
A novel low cost PV micro-inverters based on analog control and interleaving method

This paper proposes a novel simplified low cost analog implementation of a master/slave methodology resulting in an efficient soft-switched interleaved variable frequency flybacks operating in the boundary conduction mode (BCM). The scheme is suitable for PV micro-inverters and other applications such as battery chargers. The circuit allows for master/slave synchronization while copying the ON time of the master flyback to the slave one, which result in component count and cost reduction. The proposed discrete analog implementation utilizes a drive winding embedded in the master flyback transformer, which also controls the start of the ON time of the slave flyback. Hence, a voltage control oscillator (VCO) method is adopted. Such technique helps simplify the control and reduce the losses of the drive circuits while eliminating the need for an auxiliary startup supply. Operation procedure, design considerations, and experimental results are presented in this paper. The implementation simplicity of the scheme at low cost is demonstrated while reaching impressive performance.
Mobility of adsorbed protein molecules as studied by fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP)

Publisher Summary The fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) method is used to investigate the molecular dynamics in foam and emulsion films. These delicate, fragile elements are critical structures that determine the stability of foams and emulsions but that are not accessible to investigation by dilational of shear rheology. Systematic studies of phospholipid stabilized foam films are undertaken and demonstrate the influence of lipid structure, orientation, and phase state on measured surface diffusion in foam films. Foam and film drainage properties are influenced by the diffusion properties of the surface adsorbed phospholipid layer. Foam films stabilized by protein alone have highly rigid adsorbed layers where surface diffusion is not detectable. When a critical concentration of added low molecular weight surfactant is exceeded, then diffusion is detected in these adsorbed layers and this onset of diffusion in most cases correlates with a decrease in stability of the dispersion (foam or emulsion). Addition of protein crosslinking components can re-establish the gel-like nature of the adsorbed layer in foam films formed from mixtures of surfactant and protein. This process correlates well with restoration of foam stability.
Performance Evaluation of Distributed Web Server Architectures under E-Commerce Workloads.

One of the central and key components to make the ECommerce a success is high performance and highly reliable web server architectures. Extensive research has been sparked aiming at improving web server performance. Fundamental to the goal of improving web server performance is a solid understanding of behavior and performance of web servers. However, very little research is found on evaluating web server performance based on realistic workload representing E-Commerce applications which are usually exemplified by a large amount of CGI (Common Gateway Interface), ASP (Active Server Page), or Servlet (Java Server-side interface) calls. This paper presents a performance study under the workload with a mixture of static web page requests, CGI requests, Servlet requests, and database queries. System throughputs and user response times are measured for five different server architectures consisting of PCs that run both a web server program and a database. We observed that performance behaviors of the web server architectures considered under this mixed workload are quite different from that under static page workload and sometimes counter-intuitive. Our performance results suggest that there is a large room for potential performance improvement for web servers.
Any Given We: Sheldon Wolin and Vital Democracy

Democracy and the state are two political notions that have come under considerable duress in late modernity. This paper considers a prominent critic of both, Sheldon Wolin. The paper examines three elements that figure in Wolin’s analyses of democracy and the modern state in a central way: community, memory, and the culture of history. A theorization of these elements can illuminate what is at stake in the articulation of political conceptions that yield communal forms through the constitution of political space. Wolin’s analyses of democracy, the state, and modern power can be of help, first, in elucidating the political valences of the three elements themselves; second, in specifying relationships of mutuality among them; and third, in theorizing what is at issue in the transposition of these elements from the domestic sphere to the international. The paper speaks mainly to the first and second concerns. A path is explored for thinking what is at stake in the third, namely, locating in and then transposing from the domestic sphere a ‘we’ which does not enjoy a precise ontology, but which is nonetheless capable of giving collaborative efforts in world-political spheres another political ground.
Sleep correlates of trait executive function and memory in Parkinson's disease.

BACKGROUND Sleep disturbance and cognitive impairment are correlated in non-diseased populations, but their association in Parkinson's disease (PD) is uncertain. Prior studies examining measures of cognition in relation to sleep have used either self-report or actigraphically measured sleep and have produced conflicting findings. OBJECTIVE In this descriptive study, we correlated measurements of sleep in PD patients derived from the gold-standard measurement, in-lab polysomnography, with an extensive battery of cognitive measures. We hypothesized that poorer sleep would be related to relatively more impaired cognition. METHODS Idiopathic PD patients (n = 34) completed a cognitive battery encompassing three broad domains (executive function, immediate memory and delayed memory), and underwent PSG for two nights. Scores for each domain from individual cognitive measures were converted to z-scores and then averaged to produce a composite score. We used second night PSG data and quantified measures of sleep architecture, sleep continuity, sleep apnea and nocturnal movement (periodic leg movements, PLMS). RESULTS Lower executive function was associated with higher PLMS after controlling for chronological age, mini-mental state examination scores, and UPDRS motor subscale scores. These results were independent from psychomotor speed. There was a marginally significant positive correlation between the proportion of time spent in REM and immediate recall ability. Measures of sleep continuity and sleep apnea were unrelated to cognition in these patients. CONCLUSIONS PLMS, known to be a frequent feature of PSG-measured sleep in PD, may be an important correlate of impaired executive function in PD. Whether treating this disorder of sleep results in improvement in cognition remains to be determined.
63Ni Complexes in Rabbit Serum and Urine after Injection of 63NiCl2

Radioactive nickel chloride (63NiCl2) was injected i.v. into rabbits in dosage of 0.24 mg Ni/kg body wt. 63Ni was rapidly cleared from the serum (T1/2 ≃ 8.2 h) during the period from 1 h to 2 days after the injection, but slowly (T1/2 ≃ 95 h) during the period from 4 to 7 days after the injection. During 24 h after injection of 63NiCl2, an average of 90% of serum 63Ni was bound to albumin and 10% was ultrafiltrable. Chromatography on Sephadex G-25 demonstrated the presence of five distinct 63Ni complexes (Fractions I to V) in serum ultrafiltrates. During 24 h after injection of 63NiCl2, an average of 78% of the administered dose of 63Ni was excreted in the urine. Chromatography of the urine on Sephadex G-25 separated three 63Ni complexes, which appeared to have identical chromatographic mobilities as serum Fractions II, III, and V. The chemical identities of the ultrafiltrable 63Ni complexes in serum and urine have not been established, although one (Fraction V) resembles Ni histidine in its chromatographic mobility on Sephadex G-25. This study demonstrates that ultrafiltrable nickel in serum and urine does not exist primarily as free Ni(II), but instead as Ni complexes, and suggests that ultrafiltrable Ni receptors play an important physiological role in nickel homeostasis by serving as diffusible vehicles for the extracellular transport and renal excretion of nickel.
Newcomer Immigrant Students Reinventing Academic Lives Across National Borders

Relocation across national borders poses unique challenges and possibilities to newcomer immigrant students who enter diverse urban high schools. Based on focus group data with 27 newcomer students, in this article the author attends to the ways in which these students begin to counteract the challenges that relocation poses for them by recognizing the benefits of their new lives and envisioning routes to future academic/professional lives that transcend cultural, structural, and spatial boundaries. The author concludes with the implications of the analysis for educational theory and practice.
In the Absence of Food: A Case of Rhythmic Loss and Spoiled Identity for Patients with Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Feeding Tubes

This study addresses the social and symbolic meaning of food and explores what happens on a micro/interactional level when people lose the ability to eat. Data are from open-ended survey research q...
Modafinil's use in combating interferon-induced fatigue.

Interferon (IFN) is an effective agent in the treatment of chronic viral hepatitis C. A variety of adverse neuropsychiatric effects including anxiety, depression, delirium, psychoses, and mania complicates its usage. IFN-α-induced depression is presumed to be composed of two overlapping syndromes: a depression-specific syndrome characterized by depressed mood, anxiety, and cognitive complaints, and a neurovegetative syndrome consisting of fatigue, anorexia, somatic pain complaints, and psychomotor retardation [1]. Our results show that depression-specific symptoms peak at 12 weeks of IFN therapy and respond well to serotoninergic antidepressants [2]. We conclude that neurovegetative symptoms are relatively treatment refractory to antidepressants, occur early in the course of treatment, and tend to persist for the duration of therapy [1].
Bending and Twisting of Pipes With Strain Hardening

A closed-form solution is presented for the small deformation analysis of a straight thin-walled circular cylinder. Dimensionless interaction curves and charts which relate the variables, bending moment, curvature, maximum effective strain, twisting moment, and shear strain are also provided for engineering practice convenience. The average stress-strain diagram of the cylinder is described by two straight lines. The result is not only a good approximation of a wide class of piping materials, but also provides a standard tool for estimating the accuracy of different direct schemes such as numerical integration, finite-difference, and finite-element methods.
The debt crisis and adjustment responses in Eastern Europe: a comparative perspective

The responses of East European states to changing international economic opportunities and constraints during the 1973–84 period are examined and contrasted with a sample of newly industrializing countries, including Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Mexico, Brazil, and Yugoslavia. The effects of external economic shocks and internal policy choices on balance-of-payments difficulties and borrowing requirements in the mid-1970s are assessed. With the exception of Korea, all the countries that chose to borrow heavily at this time, including all of the East European countries, confronted a debt crisis by the early 1980s and were compelled to introduce austerity measures. Economic performance under austerity is compared in terms of the policy instruments different countries used and their effects on output growth, distributional goals, the balance of payments, and debt levels. Long-term effects of the debt crisis on development strategy and economic and political structure are also considered.
Probability of a Laser Illuminating a Space Object

Laser beam impingement probability is needed to quantify the risk of accidental or unwanted illumination of a spaceobject.Atheoreticalmethodofcombininglaserbeampointingerrorandspaceobjectposition errorisused to calculatebeam impingementprobability.Themethodaccountsforposition,velocity,anderrorcovariancematrices of laser emitter and space object. Laser slew rate, pointing uncertainty, and beam divergence half-cone angle, as well asspace object sizeand shape, arealso included in the formulation. In performing thecalculation, parameters are transformed to a laser beam coordinated frame that is centered on the nominal beam axis. Instantaneous and time-dependent impingement probabilities are reduced to one-dimensional contour integrals. The cumulative impingement probability is expressed as a simple integral. A software tool was created to implement the method. Numerical results for example data are presented. Nomenclature A = unit vector normal to the laser beam having the largest pointing uncertainty a = standard deviation of the symmetric probability density,m B§ = y-axis intercept parameter in the diagonal frame, m b = standard deviation along the y axis of the diagonal frame, m C = satellite and laser combined error covariance matrix
Using an end-to-end demonstration in an undergraduate grid computing course

In this paper, we describe a demonstration called an "End-to-End" demonstration developed for the 2005 offering of our grid computing course that was taught across the State of North Carolina in 2004 and 2005. This course was broadcast across the State of North Carolina using NCREN (North Carolina Research and Education Network) a televideo network. Eight universities and colleges participated in the course in 2004, which grew to 12 universities and colleges in 2005. We will briefly outline the course as the background information to the demonstration. We created the End-to-End demonstration to bring together the aspects of grid computing that are taught in the course.
Dolbeault Cohomological Realization of Zuckerman Modules Associated with Finite Rank Representations

Abstract The Dolbeault complex of an arbitrary finite dimensional homogeneous holomorphic vector bundle on certain open orbits in a generalized flag manifold is studied. The complex is shown to have the closed range property and the resulting cohomologies form the maximal globalization representations of the corresponding Zuckerman modules.
Dynamics of parasitism in the organ-pipe wasp, Trypoxylon politurn: effects of spatial scale on parasitoid functional response

. 1 Life tables and rates of parasitism were tabulated from mud nests built by Trypoxylon politum (Hymenoptera: Sphecidae) at nine different nesting sites from Missouri and Mississippi. 2 Most developmental mortality occurred either during the first two instars of development, or during the inactive prepupal phase. The majority (76%) of deaths were caused by insect parasitoids and cleptoparasites. Levels of parasitism and survivorship varied among nesting sites, and among locations within the two sites surveyed at a fine spatial scale. 3 Total developmental mortality, K, was positively associated with the number of hosts (immature T.politum) per site. Within one of two sites sampled at a fine spatial scale, K was negatively associated with the local density of hosts. Levels of total parasitism were positively associated with host population size, and negatively associated with local host density within one of the two sites sampled at a fine spatial scale. 4 Levels of parasitism by Melittobia (Hymenoptera: Eulophidae) were positively associated with the number of hosts per site, but negatively associated with the local density of hosts within sites. Melittobia parasitism was also negatively associated with the local density of old nesting material within sites. 5 Parasitism by Melittobia was a function of both the numbers of nests per quadrat and the mean nest size per quadrat at one of the two sites surveyed at a fine scale. At the other site, parasitism by Melittobia was a function of mean nest size per quadrat. 6 The life cycle and nesting behaviour of T.politum, in relation to the regulation of its numbers, is discussed.
GH Receptor Antagonist: Mechanism of Action and Clinical Utility

This review focuses on the development of GH receptor antagonist as a novel agent for treatment of acromegaly, its mechanism of action and potential areas of use. A brief overview of acromegaly, its diagnosis and existing medical, surgical and radiotherapy options of treatment is necessary to justify the addition of yet another therapeutic modality to the already vast therapeutic armamentarium.
Psychophysical and Electroretinographic Findings in X-linked Juvenile Retinoschisis

• We compared psychophysical and electroretinographic test results of four patients with X-linked juvenile retinoschisis who had clinically apparent lesions isolated to the foveal area. The b-wave of the flash electroretinogram was selectively reduced, while the a-wave was within the normal range. Oscillatory potentials generated by either the rod or cone systems were markedly reduced. Absolute thresholds outside the fovea were either normal or only moderately elevated, indicating that the sensory neural pathways were, by and large, operating with limited dysfunction. Therefore, the oscillatory potentials do not directly reflect, to any appreciable extent, the function of bipolar or ganglion cells. Finally, a sequence of pathologic events is proposed for X-linked juvenile retinoschisis that initiates with Muller cell dysfunction.