cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
On-Line Auctions with Buy-It-Now Pricing: A Practical Design Model and Experimental Evaluation

Several studies have shown that on-line consumer-to-consumer (C2C) auctions operate below their revenue and efficiency potential. From a theoretical perspective, dynamic prices should improve auction performance, but it is unclear whether this is so in practice. Experiments with economically motivated human subjects tested the benefits of using dynamic prices in on-line auctions. The subjects, as buyers or sellers in a simulated auction environment, electronically traded five virtual products and at the end of each session received cash payments based on the experimental profits they generated. The results demonstrate that a dynamic auction design using a dynamic buy-it-now pricing option increases seller surplus as well as overall operational efficiency. Contrary to previous literature, the study shows that some dynamic pricing mechanisms are relatively easy to implement and have the potential to improve current static pricing auctions. Future theoretical models of dynamic auctions should abandon assumptions that unnecessarily restrict the ways dynamic pricing can be implemented.
Racial identity and the spatial assimilation of Mexicans in the United States

Abstract Mexico's national ideology holds that Mexicans are mestizos, a racially mixed group created by the union of Europeans and Indians. When Mexicans migrate to the United States, this mixed racial identity comes into conflict with Anglo-American norms that view race dichotomously, as Indian or white but not both. In this paper we examine the process of ideological assimilation by which Mexicans in the United States shift their identities from mestizo to white, and then measure the effect that race has on the level of residential segregation from non-Hispanic whites. Although residential barriers are not as severe for mestizos as for Hispanics of African heritage, we find that mestizos are significantly less likely than white Mexicans to achieve suburban residence and that this fact, in turn, lowers their probability of contact with non-Hispanic whites.
Autopoiesis and the origin of bacteria

"Autopoiesis" is the explanatory principle for the organization of living systems, a concept directly applicable to the problematic issues surrounding the origins of life. Because it provides criteria by which a system may be judged as living, autopoiesis can be used to characterize a minimal living system. Once these defining characteristics have been established, we can extrapolate the conditions which would have made possible the emergence of earliest life. Because autopoiesis is a principle of organization, it provides a definition of living systems not restricted to specific molecules or structures--that is, to those nucleic-acid/protein/lipid cellular life forms with which we are familiar. Autopoiesis provides the conceptual and systematic framework within which any living system may be identified. In examining living systems, then, autopoiesis gives us a literally "meta-physical" view of life.
Desciclovir permeation of the human erythrocyte membrane by nonfacilitated diffusion.

Abstract The mechanism of transport of desciclovir (DCV)—a structural analogue and prodrug of acyclovir (ACV) which provides an improved oral bioavailability of ACV—was investigated in human erythrocytes with a “papaverine-stop” assay. DCV influx was nonconcentrative, linearly dependent on DCV concentration (0.9 μM to 15 mM), insensitive (⩽20% inhibition) to nucleobases, nucleosides, or potent inhibitors of nucleoside transport, and occurred without permeant metabolism. However, DCV was a weak competitive inhibitor of the influx of adenine ( K i = 1.3 mM) and of 5-iodo-2′-deoxyuridine ( K i = 2.9 mM), permeants of the erythrocyte nucleobase and nucleoside carriers, respectively. This indicates that DCV has an affinity for both of these transporters, even though it appears not to be an effective permeant. We conclude that, in contrast to ACV which enters human erythrocytes primarily via the nucleobase carrier, DCV permeates these cells chiefly (⩾80%) by nonfacilitated diffusion. This mechanistic difference in transport between ACV and DCV is attributed to differences in their desolvation energies and suggests an explanation for the differences in the oral bioavailability of ACV which is observed after the administration of these two “acyclic nucleosides”.
A solution procedure for the file allocation problem with file availability and response time

Abstract A major design issue facing the designer of a distributed computing system involves the dertermination of the number of file copies and their locations in the distributed environment. This problem is commonly referred to as the file allocation problem (FAP). In this paper, a FAP model is formulated that seeks to obtain the lowest cost file allocation strategy. The model ensures, for all on-line queries, the attainment of acceptable levels of (i) response times during peak demand periods, and (ii) file availability. Unlike previous FAP research, the proposed model treats response time on a query-by-query basis, and not as a single, system-wide average delay constraint. Similarly, file availability is treated on a file-by-file basis. A branch-and-bound solution procedure is proposed for solving the resulting 0 1 integer programming problem to optimality. Results of computational experiment with the proposed solution procedure are reported.
In Vitro Enzymatic Reduction Kinetics of Mineral Oxides by Membrane Fractions from Shewanella oneidensis MR-1

This study documents the first example of in vitro solid-phase mineral oxide reduction by enzyme-containing membrane fractions. Previous in vitro studies have only reported the reduction of aqueous ions. Total membrane (TM) fractions from iron-grown cultures of Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 were isolated and shown to catalyze the reduction of goethite, hematite, birnessite, and ramsdellite/pyrolusite using formate. In contrast, nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) and succinate cannot function as electron donors. The significant implications of observations related to this cell-free system are: (i) both iron and manganese mineral oxides are reduced by the TM fraction, but aqueous U(VI) is not; (ii) TM fractions from anaerobically grown, but not aerobically grown, cells can reduce the mineral oxides; (iii) electron shuttles and iron chelators are not needed for this in vitro reduction, documenting conclusively that reduction can occur by direct contact with the mineral oxide; (iv) electron shuttles and EDTA stimulate the in vitro Fe(III) reduction, documenting that exogenous molecules can enhance rates of enzymatic mineral reduction; and (v) multiple membrane components are involved in solid-phase oxide reduction. The membrane fractions, consisting of liposomes of cytoplasmic and outer membrane segments, contain at least 100 proteins including the enzyme that oxidizes formate, formate dehydrogenase. Mineralmore » oxide reduction was inhibited by the addition of detergent Triton X-100, which solubilizes membranes and their associated proteins, consistent with the involvement of multiple electron carriers that are disrupted by detergent addition. In contrast, formate dehydrogenase activity was not inhibited by Triton X-100. The addition of anthraquinone-2,6-disulfonate (AQDS) and menaquinone-4 was unable to restore activity; however, menadione (MD) restored 33% of the activity. The addition of AQDS and MD to reactions without added detergent increased the rate of goethite reduction. The Michaelis-Menten K{sub m} values of 71 {+-} 22 m{sup 2}/L for hematite and 50 {+-} 16 m{sup 2}/L for goethite were calculated as a function of surface area of the two insoluble minerals. V{sub max} was determined to be 123 {+-} 14 and 156 {+-} 13 nmol Fe(II)/min/mg of TM protein for hematite and goethite, respectively. These values are consistent with in vivo rates of reduction reported in the literature. These observations are consistent with our conclusion that the enzymatic reduction of mineral oxides is an effective probe that will allow elucidation of molecular chemistry of the membrane-mineral interface where electron transfer occurs.« less
A new concept for recycling of thermosetting resins I: The case of crosslinkable copolyesters

A new approach for the recycling and the direct reuse of thermosetting resins has been successfully applied to a crosslinkable copolyester system. The process is essentially an acetolysis of the polymeric network leading to multifunctional oligomers with carboxy and acetoxy end groups. These species can react again upon heating to give a new crosslinked copolyester system. In this work, the parameters for the acetolysis process have been established and the products obtained have been compared to the starting ones, by differential scanning calorimetry, thermogravimetric analysis, mass spectrometry and dynamic mechanical analysis. The hydrolysis of the crosslinked copolyester has also been studied as a variation of recycling resulting in recovery of the monomeric units which compose the network.
Human fear conditioning conducted in full immersion 3-dimensional virtual reality.

Fear conditioning is a widely used paradigm in non-human animal research to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying fear and anxiety. A major challenge in conducting conditioning studies in humans is the ability to strongly manipulate or simulate the environmental contexts that are associated with conditioned emotional behaviors. In this regard, virtual reality (VR) technology is a promising tool. Yet, adapting this technology to meet experimental constraints requires special accommodations. Here we address the methodological issues involved when conducting fear conditioning in a fully immersive 6-sided VR environment and present fear conditioning data. In the real world, traumatic events occur in complex environments that are made up of many cues, engaging all of our sensory modalities. For example, cues that form the environmental configuration include not only visual elements, but aural, olfactory, and even tactile. In rodent studies of fear conditioning animals are fully immersed in a context that is rich with novel visual, tactile and olfactory cues. However, standard laboratory tests of fear conditioning in humans are typically conducted in a nondescript room in front of a flat or 2D computer screen and do not replicate the complexity of real world experiences. On the other hand, a major limitation of clinical studies aimed at reducing (extinguishing) fear and preventing relapse in anxiety disorders is that treatment occurs after participants have acquired a fear in an uncontrolled and largely unknown context. Thus the experimenters are left without information about the duration of exposure, the true nature of the stimulus, and associated background cues in the environment1. In the absence of this information it can be difficult to truly extinguish a fear that is both cue and context-dependent. Virtual reality environments address these issues by providing the complexity of the real world, and at the same time allowing experimenters to constrain fear conditioning and extinction parameters to yield empirical data that can suggest better treatment options and/or analyze mechanistic hypotheses. In order to test the hypothesis that fear conditioning may be richly encoded and context specific when conducted in a fully immersive environment, we developed distinct virtual reality 3-D contexts in which participants experienced fear conditioning to virtual snakes or spiders. Auditory cues co-occurred with the CS in order to further evoke orienting responses and a feeling of "presence" in subjects 2 . Skin conductance response served as the dependent measure of fear acquisition, memory retention and extinction.
A comparative ‘bottom up’ proteomics strategy for the site-specific identification and quantification of protein modifications by electrophilic lipids

Abstract We report a mass spectrometry-based comparative “bottom up” proteomics approach that combines d0/d4-succinic anhydride labeling with commercially available hydrazine (Hz)-functionalized beads (Affi-gel Hz beads) for detection, identification and relative quantification of site-specific oxylipid modifications in biological matrices. We evaluated and applied this robust and simple method for the quantitative analysis of oxylipid protein conjugates in cardiac mitochondrial proteome samples isolated from 3‐ and 24‐month-old rat hearts. The use of d0/d4-succinic anhydride labeling, Hz-bead based affinity enrichment, nanoLC fractionation and MALDI-ToF/ToF tandem mass spectrometry yielded relative quantification of oxylipid conjugates with residue-specific modification information. Conjugation of acrolein (ACR), 4-hydroxy-2-hexenal (HHE), 4-hydroxy-2-nonenal (HNE) and 4-oxo-2-noneal (ONE) to cysteine, histidine and lysine residues were identified. HHE conjugates were the predominant subset of Michael-type adducts detected in this study. The HHE conjugates showed higher levels in mitochondrial preparations from young heart congruent with previous findings by others that the n − 3/n − 6 PUFA ratio is higher in young heart mitochondrial membranes. Although this study focuses on protein adducts of reactive oxylipids, the method might be equally applicable to protein carbonyl modifications caused by metal catalyzed oxidation reactions.
Bayesian model comparison in gravitational wave data analysis

We estimate the probability of detecting a gravitational wave signal from coalescing compact binaries in simulated data from a ground-based interferometer detector of gravitational radiation using Bayesian model selection. The simulated waveform of the chirp signal is assumed to be a spin-less Post-Newtonian (PN) waveform of a given expansion order, while the searching template is taken to be either of the same PN family as the simulated signal or one level below its PN expansion order. Within the Bayesian framework we estimate the detection probabilities and the statistical uncertainties due to noise as a function of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), and the posterior distributions of the parameters characterizing the chirp signal. Our analysis indicates that the detection probabilities are not compromised when simplified models are used, while the accuracies in the determination of the parameters can be significantly worsened.
Diabetes increases the risk of acute hepatic failure.

Abstract Background & Aims: It is unclear whether patients with diabetes are at an increased risk of developing acute liver failure (ALF). We performed a large cohort study to examine the occurrence of ALF by using the databases of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Methods: We identified all patients with a hospital discharge diagnosis of diabetes (ICD-9 codes: 250 [1–9][0–4]) from 1985 to 1990 and randomly assigned patients without diabetes for comparison (3:1 ratio). We excluded patients with concomitant liver disease as far back as 1980. After excluding the first year of follow-up, the remaining patients were observed through 2000 for the occurrence of ALF (ICD-9 570). The cumulative risk and the relative risk of ALF were determined by Kaplan–Meier and Cox Proportional Hazard survival analysis, respectively. Results: We included 173,643 patients with diabetes and 650,620 patients without diabetes. Patients with diabetes were significantly older (62 vs. 54 years) and were less likely to be white (28% vs. 24%). The cumulative risk of ALF was significantly higher among patients with diabetes (incidence rate, 2.31 per 10,000 vs. 1.44 per 10,000 person-years; P P P Conclusions: Diabetes increases the risk of ALF. The increase in ALF is independent of recognized underlying chronic liver disease or viral hepatitis. GASTROENTEROLOGY 2002;122:1822-1828
Solid-source growth and atomic-scale characterization of graphene on Ag(111)

The integration of graphene with silver offers the promise of combining the electronic and plasmonic properties of both materials. Here, Kiraly et al. achieve the growth of graphene on a silver substrate, with the graphene electronic structure only minimally affected by the silver.
Role of phosphorylation in elicitation of the oxidative burst in cultured soybean cells

The oxidative burst is likely the most rapid defense response mounted by a plant under pathogen attack, and the generated oxidant species may be essential to several subsequent defense responses. In our effort to characterize the signal-transduction pathways leading to rapid H2O2/O2- biosynthesis, we have examined the role of protein phosphorylation in this resistance mechanism. K-252a and staurosporine, two protein-kinase inhibitors, were found to block the oxidative burst in a concentration-dependent manner. When added during H2O2 generation, the burst was observed to rapidly terminate, suggesting that continuous phosphorylation was essential for its maintenance. Importantly, phosphatase inhibitors (calyculin A and okadaic acid) were found to induce the oxidative burst in the absence of any additional stimulus. This may suggest that certain kinases required for the burst are constitutively active and that stabilization of the phosphorylated forms of their substrates is all that is required for burst activity. In autoradiographs of elicited and unstimulated cells equilibrated with 32PO4(3-), several phosphorylated polypeptide bands were revealed that could represent proteins essential for the burst.
Coordinate-Free Relativity

The assumption that the universe can be described using a coordinate system is very strong. To reveal some of the structure in such an assumption, I present in this paper axioms for flat space-time which allow the coordinate system to be derived. In this way a structure more general than that of a coordinate system is suggested.
Lesbians’ Perceived Readiness to Parent:

Women who self-identify as lesbian are choosing to be mothers; such pursuit is full of challenges. Still many lesbian women are making deliberate choices to pursue motherhood. Thus, they are negotiating that choice within a culture which is both heterocentric and homophobic. This article explores the ways women are prioritizing factors influencing their decision to pursue motherhood utilizing phenomenological methods. Findings suggest lesbian women feel perceived parenting readiness is the paramount indicator of parenting readiness. Further, readiness is characterized by emotional and financial readiness, relationship stability, and having adequate sources of support.
Very early complete hydatidiform mole

Recent trends toward early pregnancy ultrasound have led to evacuation of complete hydatidiform moles at a stage before the development of diffuse trophoblast hyperplasia and villous cavitation. Absence of these recognized diagnostic criteria can lead to misdiagnosis and subsequent trophoblastic neoplasia. The authors identified a case of very early complete hydatidiform mole (VECM) on review of a previous curettage specimen when the patient presented 4 weeks later with increasing human chorionic gonadotropin (HCC) titers and the typical histological features of complete mole on a subsequent curettage. DNA studies on this index case and three subsequent similar specimens confirmed the diagnosis of complete hydatidiform mole using polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of eight microsatellite markers on microdissected maternal and villous tissue. VECM were compared with spontaneous abortions and elective terminations of a similar gestational age to develop diagnostic criteria. Five cardinal diagnostic features were identified: redundant bulbous terminal villi, hypercellular villous stroma, a labyrinthine network of vinous stromal canaliculi, focal cytotrophoblast and syncytiotrophoblast hyperplasia on both villi and the undersurface of the chorionic plate, and enlarged hyperchromatic implantation site trophoblast.
Potential shuttle vectors based on the methanogen plasmid pME2001

Methane is produced by anaerobic archaebacteria known as methanogens. Currently the only available plasmid from a methanogen is pME2001. We have incorporated pME2001 into plasmids which should be capable of replication in a range of microbial host species. Plasmid pET2411, a recombinant plasmid formed by joining pBR322 to pME2001, directs the synthesis of pME2001 encoded polypeptides in Escherichia coli but cannot replicate in E. coli in the absence of E. coli DNA polymerase I.
Factor Theories of Intelligence are All Right Almost

spects, but they have had in common their reliance on the factor as the unit in terms of which intelligence and individual differences in intelligence can be understood (Brody & Brody, 1976; Butcher, 1970; Sternberg, 1977). Although psychological interpretations of the meaning of factors differ from one investigator to another (Coan, 1964; Sternberg, 1977), the basic idea is usually that factors represent latent abilities of some kind that give rise to measured individual differences in performance on intelligence tests and in the real world. For example, observed individual differences in tests such as vocabulary, reading comprehension, and spelling might be understood primarily in terms of individual differences in an underlying "verbal" factor.
Self-similar force-free wind from an accretion disc

We consider a self-similar force-free wind flowing out of an infinitely thin disc located in the equatorial plane. On the disc plane, we assume that the magnetic stream function P scales as P α R ν , where R is the cylindrical radius. We also assume that the azimuthal velocity in the disc is constant: ν Φ = Mc, where M < 1 is a constant. For each choice of the parameters v and M, we find an infinite number of solutions that are physically well-behaved and have fluid velocity ≤ c throughout the domain of interest. Among these solutions, we show via physical arguments and time-dependent numerical simulations that the minimum-torque solution, i.e. the solution with the smallest amount of toroidal field, is the one picked by a real system. For ν ≥ 1, the Lorentz factor of the outflow increases along a field line as y ≈ M(z/R fp ) (2-ν)/2 ≈ R/R A , where R fp is the radius of the foot-point of the field line on the disc and R A = R fp /M is the cylindrical radius at which the field line crosses the Alfven surface or the light cylinder. For v < 1, the Lorentz factor follows the same scaling for z/R fp < M- 1/(1-ν) , but at larger distances it grows more slowly: y ≈(z/R fp ) ν/2 . For either regime of v, the dependence of y on M shows that the rotation of the disc plays a strong role in jet acceleration. On the other hand, the poloidal shape of a field line is given by z/R fp ≈ (R/R fp ) 2/(2-ν) and is independent of M. Thus rotation has neither a collimating nor a decollimating effect on field lines, suggesting that relativistic astrophysical jets are not collimated by the rotational winding up of the magnetic field.
Syntheses of 1,2-di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) and analogs with 13C- and 2H-labeled choline head groups

Abstract The syntheses of four head group labeled analogs of 1,2-di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine (DPPC) (6) by a general method from 1,2-di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphatidic acid (5) have been performed. The syntheses of 1,2-di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[α-13C]choline (6a) and 1,2-di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[β-13C]choline (6b) were performed from labeled [1-13C]glycine (1a) in 52% overall yield and from [2-13C]glycine (1b) in 56% overall yield, respectively. 1,2-Di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[N(C2H3)3]choline (9) was prepared from 2-aminoethanol in 39% overall yield. 1,2-Di-O-palmitoyl-sn-glycero-3-phospho[α-C2H2]choline (12) was prepared from N,N-dimethylglycine ethyl ester in 50% overall yield.
Impact of the price of energy on the use of conservation tillage in agriculture in the USA

Abstract The relationship between energy expenditure and the use of conservation tillage is of special importance in addressing concerns about the impact of agricultural production on the environment in the US. After establishing that a relationship exists between the price of energy and the use of conservation tillage via the Granger causality, the relationship is quantified. It is shown that while the real price of crude oil, the proxy used for the price of energy, does not affect the rate of adoption of conservation tillage, it does impact upon the extent to which it is used. Finally, there is no structural instability in the relationship between the relative use of conservation tillage and the real price of crude oil over the period 1963–1997.
The effect of human disturbance on foraging behavior and habitat use in piping plover (Charadrius melodus)

Piping plovers breed in coastal areas where they experience intense competition with man. I studied habitat use (using transects) and foraging behavior (using focal animals) at three habitats on each of three nesting beaches over a 2-yr period (1988–1989) in New Jersey, USA, to understand how plovers use space. Piping plovers forage along in tidal oceanfront, in the dunes, and in backbays, and their relative use of tehse habitats partially depends on the presence of people. Within each habitat the plovers select sites that contain fewer people than the habitat as a whole. The time devoted to vigilance (when they are not searching for food) is directly related to the number of people near them, and to the overall human use of that habitat. Thus, in habitats with few people the plovers can spend 90% of their foraging time actively searching for prey and feeding, whereas on beaches with many people they may spend less than 50% of their foraging time in direct feeding behaviors. A diversity of habitats allows the birds to move between habitats to minimize interactions with people and maximize the time devoted to foraging. The results suggest that it is critical to maintain high habitat diversity in coastal environments to help mitigate competition with people.
Characterization of α1(IV) Collagen Mutations in Caenorhabditis elegans and the Effects of α1 and α2(IV) Mutations on Type IV Collagen Distribution

Type IV collagen is a major component of basement membranes. We have characterized 11 mutations in emb-9 , the α1(IV) collagen gene of Caenorhabditis elegans , that result in a spectrum of phenotypes. Five are substitutions of glycines in the Gly-X-Y domain and cause semidominant, temperature-sensitive lethality at the twofold stage of embryogenesis. One is a glycine substitution that causes recessive, non–temperature-sensitive larval lethality. Three putative null alleles, two nonsense mutations and a deletion, all cause recessive, non–temperature-sensitive lethality at the threefold stage of embryogenesis. The less severe null phenotype indicates that glycine substitution containing mutant chains dominantly interfere with the function of other molecules. The emb-9 null mutants do not stain with anti–EMB-9 antisera and show intracellular accumulation of the α2(IV) chain, LET-2, indicating that LET-2 assembly and/or secretion requires EMB-9. Glycine substitutions in either EMB-9 or LET-2 cause intracellular accumulation of both chains. The degree of intracellular accumulation differs depending on the allele and temperature and correlates with the severity of the phenotype. Temperature sensitivity appears to result from reduced assembly/secretion of type IV collagen, not defective function in the basement membrane. Because the dominant interference of glycine substitution mutations is maximal when type IV collagen secretion is totally blocked, this interference appears to occur intracellularly, rather than in the basement membrane. We suggest that the nature of dominant interference caused by mutations in type IV collagen is different than that caused by mutations in fibrillar collagens.
Measurements of Cell Mass Distribution during Cell Division with Quantitative Phase Microscopy

Despite much attention to the regulation of genetic material partitioning during cell division, relatively little is known about the partitioning of cell mass, an essential outcome of successful cytokinesis. Recent work suggests that mispartitioning of cellular contents during division may constitute a form of epigenetic memory, however, conventional techniques cannot accurately quantify daughter cell masses. Quantitative phase microscopy, in which the phase shift of light as it passes through and interacts with matter inside a cell is measured, in combination with computer vision techniques, provides a new approach for directlyView Large Image | View Hi-Res Image | Download PowerPoint Slide measuring the masses of hundreds of paired daughter cells and tracking the resultant cell fates. We will show that, across several cell types, approximately one in ten cell divisions results in a highly asymmetric partitioning of mass. Additionally, we have found that specific disruption of acto-myosin activity using small molecule inhibitors leads to a marked increase in the percentage of highly-asymmetric cell divisions. This suggests that sub-cytotoxic concentrations of chemotherapeutics may lead to dramatic variation in cancer cell population mass distributions and potential epigenetic effects on cell function and disease progression.
Deformable trailing edge flaps for modern megawatt wind turbine controllers using strain gauge sensors

The present work contains a deformable trailing edge flap controller integrated in a numerically simulated modern, variablespeed, pitch-regulated megawatt (MW)-size wind turbine. The aeroservoelastic multi-body code HAWC2 acts as a component in the control loop design. At the core of the proposed controller, all unsteady loads are divided by frequency content. Blade pitching and generator moment react to low-frequency excitations, whereas flaps deal with high-frequency excitations. The present work should be regarded as an investigation into the fatigue load reduction potential when applying trailing edge flaps on a wind turbine blade rather than a conclusive control design with traditional issues like stability and robustness fully investigated. Recent works have shown that the fatigue load reduction by use of trailing edge flaps may be greater than for traditional pitch control methods. By enabling the trailing edge to move independently and quickly along the spanwise position of the blade, local small flutuations in the aerodynamic forces can be alleviated by deformation of the airfoil flap. Strain gauges are used as input for the flap controller, and the effect of placing strain gauges at various radial positions on the blade is investigated. An optimization routine minimizes blade root fatigue loads. Calculations are based on the 5 MW reference wind turbine part of the UpWind project primarily with a mean turbulent wind speed close to rated power. A fatigue load reduction of 25% in the blade root moment was obtained for a continuous 6.3 m long flap. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Academic degrees and professional certification

We ask how one should invest one's time and money in a lifelong learning program, and if hiring personnel, what training and expertise should be looked for. In this article, we discuss general professional certifications and compare and contrast them with a bachelor's degree to help decide which is most appropriate.
Epidemiologic findings on the relationship of time of day and time since last meal to five clinical variables: Serum cholesterol, hematocrit, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate

Abstract Data from 10,559 men and women, aged 30–64, participating in the morning and afternoon in a Chicago Health Department multiphasic screening project, were used to evaluate the relationship of time of day and time since last meal to group mean serum cholesterol, hematocrit, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, and heart rate. Serum cholesterol showed no definable differences with time of day and time since last meal. Hematocrit values tended to be slightly higher in the morning than in the afternoon and showed no consistent differences with time since last meal. Systolic blood pressure values, but not diastolic, were slightly higher in the afternoon than in the morning. Mean heart rates tended to be slightly higher in the afternoon and lower with time elapsed since last meal. All these differences were small and not of an order to present significant problems with regard to carrying out mass screening for these variables over the course of the day.
Giant dipole moment in a triad system. Mechanisms of anisotropic photoresponse in the transient dc conductivity of dipolar solutes

A transient dc conductivity method was used to observe formation of a giant dipole moment for the triad molecule MA-ANI-NI (methoxyaniline-aminonaphthalimide-dimethylphenyl-naphthalenediimide-octyl) in toluene. The independence of the dipole moment on excitation wavelength indicates high efficiency of intramolecular energy or (and) electron transfer. The effect of light polarization on the DC conductivity signal caused by a photoinduced increase in solute dipole moment is considered in detail. It is shown that the time variation of the signal includes information about structural anomalies in the angular distribution function of molecular dipoles and depends on light polarization even for zero ground state dipole moment. Nonzero ground state dipole moment and (or) electric field dependence of the charge transfer rate constants give an additional source for an anisotropic photoresponse signal. Analysis of the photoresponse and its anisotropy for the triad gives ground (μg), first (μ1), and second (μ2) exci...
First World War Nursing: New Perspectives

Over the last four decades, historians of the First World War era – mirroring the historical profession as a whole – have come to regard women as important historical actors, and have embraced gend...
Geriatric critical care

This issue of the Critical Care Clinics is devoted to critical illness in the elderly. The topic is particularly appropriate because the elderly are 48% of the critically ill population in ICUs and will continue to represent a substantial proportion of patients in the ICU. The introduction by Carson outlines the epidemiology of critical illness in the elderly in the first article of the issue. He points out that absolute numbers of elderly patients are rapidly increasing in the United States and Europe. In the U.S., the population aged 85 and over will increase from 3 million in 1990 to 7 million in 2020 and will double again in size to 14 million by 2040. By 2050, the very old will be nearly 5% of the total U.S. population. By 2020, the elderly will constitute from one fifth to nearly one fourth of the population of many European countries. Patient preference data suggest that the desire for intensive care is unlikely to decline in the elderly. Furthermore, there is no evidence of a higher level of functional impairment in the elderly 1 year after ICU admission. The next article addresses the rapid increases in non-Caucasian populations and the striking differences in communication across cultures. Nunez points out that the United States continues to be a country of immigrants with an ever-increasing diversity of cultures represented by a multitude of nationalities, ethnicities, beliefs, and customs. According to the latest census figures, the total population of the United States grew by 13.2% between 1990 and 2000. During the same period, the population of Hispanics grew 57.9%, Asians grew 48.3%, American Indian and Alaskan Natives grew 26.4%, blacks or African Americans grew 15.6%, and Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islanders grew 9.3%. From another perspective, while the race in the majority—Caucasian (white)—grew 5.9%, other races and
Proliferation of colonic lymphocytes in response to inflammatory cytokines is lower in mice fed fish oil than in mice fed corn oil.

Abstract The literature supports an association of chronic inflammation with the development of tumors. The colon contains a specialized lymphocyte population that may influence various stages of colon carcinogenesis. Dietary factors are known to affect both inflammation and tumor development in this tissue. Diets high in n –6 fatty acids are considered to be proinflammatory and tumor-promoting whereas n –3 fatty acids are not. This study examined the proliferative response of colonic lymphocytes (CL) from BALB/c mice fed a diet high in either corn oil or menhaden oil when cultured in the presence of proinflammatory cytokines. CL were isolated from mice fed one of the experimental diets and cultured in the presence of anti-CD2, IL-1 β , IL-2, or TNF- α . Proliferation of CL in culture was measured by BrdU incorporation. CL from mice fed the high n –3 diet showed lower rates of proliferation following exposure to the inflammatory cytokines than CL from mice fed the high n –6 diet. CL from the high n –3 group showed the same proliferative potential as those from the n –6 diet group following exposure to a combination of anti-CD2 and TNF. Results from this study indicate that diets high in n –3 fatty acids slow the inflammatory response in the colon as compared to diets high in n –6 fatty acids. The n –3 lipids do not appear to compromise overall immune potential, however.
Perspectives in Molecular Imaging Through Translational Research, Human Medicine, and Veterinary Medicine

The concept of molecular imaging has taken off over the past 15 years to the point of the renaming of the Society of Nuclear Medicine (Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging) and Journals (European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging) and offering of medical fellowships specific to this area of study. Molecular imaging has always been at the core of functional imaging related to nuclear medicine. Even before the phrase molecular imaging came into vogue, radionuclides and radiopharmaceuticals were developed that targeted select physiological processes, proteins, receptor analogs, antibody-antigen interactions, metabolites and specific metabolic pathways. In addition, with the advent of genomic imaging, targeted genomic therapy, and theranostics, a number of novel radiopharmaceuticals for the detection and therapy of specific tumor types based on unique biological and cellular properties of the tumor itself have been realized. However, molecular imaging and therapeutics as well as the concept of theranostics are yet to be fully realized. The purpose of this review article is to present an overview of the translational approaches to targeted molecular imaging with application to some naturally occurring animal models of human disease.
Spiritual power: the internal, renewable social power source

Models of social power have not included spirituality as a source of power, which may miss an important dynamic in organizations. A definition of spiritual power is proposed based on empirically demonstrated effects of spiritual practice. Unlike other sources of power, spiritual power is independent of external resources, does not deplete as it is spent, and stimulates transcendent responses. The article discusses how the concept of spiritual power contributes to the existing literatures on workplace spirituality and social power.
Prediction of stress-rupture life of glass/epoxy laminates

This paper reports an effort to predict the life of quasi-isotropic E-glass/epoxy composite laminates under constant load and in an acid environment. An experimental program involving stress-rupture tests of unidirectional coupons immersed in a weak hydrochloric acid solution was conducted to determine their stress-life response. Creep tests were conducted on unidirectional coupons parallel and transverse to the fibers, and on ±45° lay-ups to characterize the lamina stress- and time-dependent compliances. Lamina data were used in a composite stress-rupture life model, based on the critical element modeling approach, to predict the life of quasi-isotropic laminates. Predictions compare favorably with experimental data. Discrepancies underscore the need for detailed materials characterization in the actual service environment.
An analysis of the vertical structure of the atmosphere and the upper‐level meteorology and their impact on surface ozone levels in Houston, Texas

[1] Despite emission reductions, Houston continues to be designated as a nonattainment area for ozone (O 3 ) by the Environmental Protection Agency. Upper-level synoptic maps and information about the vertical structure of the lower troposphere obtained by in situ measurements were analyzed to characterize ozone exceedances in which peak 8-h average concentration exceeded 85 ppb during the Texas Air Quality Study-II in August-September 2006. Cluster analysis of meteorological conditions showed that the highest background surface O 3 concentrations occurred under northerly or easterly flow regimes at 850 hPa, coinciding with the advection of dry continental air. Exceedance days in September 2006 occurred almost exclusively in postfrontal environments. These frontal passages are associated with shifts in wind direction and may lead to increases in background O 3 from 30 ppbv (marine) to 60-70 ppbv (continental) throughout the lower troposphere. Several factors are identified to be important for 8-h average ozone peaks in Houston under well-developed land-sea-bay breeze conditions, including (1) the presence of easterly winds advecting industrial emissions from the Ship Channel, and (2) the presence of persistent large-scale northerly flows aloft advecting elevated continental background ozone levels that are eventually entrained into lower layers through the growth of the convective planetary boundary layer.
The thermodynamic properties of substoichiometric yttrium sesquioxide

The thermodynamic properties of the yttrium + oxygen system have been measured and shown to be consistent in the range of composition between the stoichiometric sesquioxide and the substoichiometric sesquioxide at its lower phase boundary. The enthalpy of formation and dissociation energy of YO(g) at T → 0 are − (8.7 ± 1.5) and (168 ± 1.5) kcal th mol −1 , respectively. The partial molar enthalpy of vaporization of YO(g) from Y 2 O 3 (s) at 2400 k is (159.2 ± 1.5) kcal th mol −1 calculated via the third-law procedure and (158.2 ± 0.8) kcal th mol −1 from a second-law measurement. The partial pressures of Y(g) and YO(g) at the lower phase boundary of the sesquioxide in the temperature range 1833 to 2100 K are given by the equatons: log 10 p (Y, g, l.p.b.) = − (17650 ± 260) K/ T + (4.081 ± 0.134) and log 10 p (YO, g, l.p.b.) = − (26460) ± 280)K/ T + (6.274 ± 0.144). From these results values for the standard Gibbs free energy of formation of the substoichiometric sesquioxide were calculated as a function of temperature and the corresponding composition of the lower phase boundary. At 2000 K the composition is Y 2 O 2.89 and the standard Gibbs free energy is −310 kcal th mol −1 which is 9 kcal th mol −1 more positive than that of the stoichiometric oxide. The melting temperature of the nearly stoichiometric oxide, Y 2 O 2.99 0 , is (2710 ± 10) K.
Structure-Property Relations for the Rheology of Dispersions of Charged Colloids

The effect of electrostatic interactions on the rheology of aqueous colloidal dispersions is a topic of longstanding interest. "Electroviscous effects" were first quantified experimentally in the semidilute regime by Stone-Masui and Watillon in 1968, substantiating an earlier dilute theory and subsequent predictions for pair interactions. Experiments demonstrating the development of yield stresses at higher concentrations, stimulating exploration of the fluid-to-solid transition and later characterization of plastic flow and melting transitions in the solid phase. More recently, an extensive parametric study of rheology in the fluid phase, demonstrating the effects of particle size, ionic strength, and volume fraction. This paper reports a correlation for the low shear viscosity of the fluid phase suggested by the semidilute theories, an effort that is complicated by incomplete knowledge of the surface charge and ionic strength at finite volume fractions.
Motivational Forces of Cognitive Dissonance and Psychological Reactance

Abstract Etude experimentale des effets de dissonance et de reactance sous trois conditions: (1) choix et restriction partielle de liberte; (2) aucun choix et restriction partielle de liberte; (3) aucun choix et restriction totale de liberte. Selon l'hypothese principale, une fois la decision prise, et pour des Ss qui sont libres de choisir entre les possibilites existantes, les mecanismes de reduction de la dissonance predomineraient sur les effets de reactance provoques par la restriction de liberte. Les resultats confirment cette hypothese. L'experience a egalement pour but de verifier dans un milieu culturel different les assertions de ces deux theories de la motivation. Les resultats confirment les predictions, pertinentes pour la situation experimentale, de la theorie de dissonance, et donnent, pour la condition (2) (aucun choix et restriction partielle de liberte), quelques preuves de reactance psychologique.
Mantle convection with moving heat-source anomalies: geophysical and geochemical implications

Abstract We consider the role played by the heterogeneous distribution of heat-producing elements (HPE) in time-dependent mantle convection. Petrological studies, especially those associated with hotspots, indicate significant variations of the amount of HPE, ranging several to several tens times that of chondrite. The spatial extent of HPE anomalies in the mantle is uncertain, though some inferences from the morphologies of subducting slabs, geochemical and seismological studies suggest the possibility of the existence of HPE anomalies with dimensions which range from several to a few hundreds of kilometers thick and several to thousands of kilometers wide. Correlation between hotspot magmas and geochemical heterogeneities, especially the enrichment of incompatible elements in hotspot magmas, raises certain issues concerning the relationship between HPE anomalies and plume dynamics. The major questions arise: (1) the onset of plume instabilities excited by HPE, and (2) plume-plume interactions. We find that, HPE anomalies result in more rapid growth of plumes, and there exists the possibility that the plumes with HPE may dominate over the other thermal plumes. The dynamical effects of plume-plume interactions are to prevent plumes from being sheared by the large-scale background flow, and they also provide an efficient mode for transporting heat and HPE anomalies. From these two-dimensional calculations, we propose a dynamical model in which the generation and persistence of plumes are strongly controlled by HPE anomalies and plume-plume interactions.
Assessing effects of serotonin precursors on newborn behavior

Abstract While traditional studies of newborn diet have focused on the effects of malnutrition on the central nervous system, there is now interest in how qualitative differences in the composition of early newborn feeding might influence behavior. This paper reviews the available techniques for assesing newborn perception and cognition, as well as behavioral organization. The paper then focuses intensively on measures of newborn state behaviour in view of evidence in adult humans, as well as in non-human species, suggesting a relationship between sleep behavior (sleep onset, night waking) and brain serotonin levels. A study designed to examine the relationship between dietary precursors of brain serotonin (within the range of concentrations found in human milk) and newborn state behavior after feeding is described to illustrate the application of these techniques. Healthy, fullterm newborns were fed a modified formula, containing tryptophan or valine, on one day, a routine formula on another day, and observed continuously for 3 h after each feeding for the observation and recording of newborn state. Data from individual infants in the tryptophan and valine groups are presented to illustrate the findings that infants fed tryptophan entered quiet sleep and active sleep sooner than infants fed valine and spent more time in active sleep and less time alert. These results illustrate the value of newborn behavior as a sensitive dependent variable in studies of behavioral effects of diet and suggests that variations in serotonin levels in the newborn brain may modulate the newborn's sleep/wake behaviour.