cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A low-force swivel connector for infusing liquids into unrestrained animals

A swivel connector for infusing liquids into catheterized animals is described. The connector turns so freely that restraints and strain relief for the catheter are unnecessary. A cylindrical acrylic body and nylon cap screw hold a rubber O ring in place, and a length of needle tubing rotates within the O ring. The only friction in the swivel is between the needle tubing and the interior of the O ring. Construction time is about 1 h. Swivels of this design have provided trouble-free service for 3 years.
Human prolactin - 24-hour pattern with increased release during sleep.

Human prolactin was measured in plasma by radioimmunoassay at 20 minute intervals for a 24-hour period in each of six normal adults, whose sleep-wake cycles were monitored polygraphically. A marked diurnal variation in plasma concentrations was demonstrated, with highest values during sleep; periods of episodic release occurred throughout the 24 hours.
Spatio-temporal characterization of tropospheric ozone across the eastern United States

Abstract This paper utilizes a rotated principal components approach first used by Eder, Davis, and Bloomfield (Atmos. Environ. 27a (16) (1993) 2645) to characterize non–urban daily 8-h maximum ozone (O 3 ) concentrations within the eastern United States for the O 3 seasons of 1993–2002. The analysis proceeds by selecting a spatially representative O 3 database, imputing missing O 3 concentrations using a spatial interpolation scheme, applying a rotated principal components analysis to delineate spatial regions of homogeneous concentrations, and investigating the temporal patterns exhibited by concentrations in each of the regions. Spatially, the analysis divides the eastern United States into five regions: a Northeast region, a Great Lakes Region, a Mid–Atlantic region, a Southwest region, and a Florida region. Concentrations are near the domain average for the Northeast, Great Lakes, and Southwest regions, are highest in the Mid–Atlantic region, and are lowest in the Florida region. Within each region the temporal patterns (e.g., seasonal trends, persistency, and annual trends) of O 3 concentrations were quite different. The Northeast, Great Lakes, and Mid–Atlantic regions display a moderate amount of seasonal variability with peak concentrations occurring in late July, late June, and late July time periods, respectively. Conversely, the Southwest region exhibits a small amount of seasonal variability with peak concentrations occurring in late August, and the Florida region exhibits a relatively large amount of seasonal variability with peak concentrations occurring during the months of April and May. Ozone concentrations are most persistent in the Florida and Southwest regions (3–4 days of persistence), less persistent in the Mid–Atlantic region (2–3 days of persistence), and least persistent in the Northeast and Great Lakes regions (1 or 2 days persistence). These results demonstrate the spatial and temporal variability of O 3 concentrations in the eastern United States and indicate that regional characterization (e.g., through aggregation of clusters of monitors) of O 3 air quality may be a powerful yet simplifying air quality metric for determining seasonal trends, annual trends, and a variety of other O 3 concentration characteristics.
A Novel Form of Motility in Filopodia Revealed by Imaging Myosin-X at the Single-Molecule Level

Although many proteins, receptors, and viruses are transported rearward along filopodia by retrograde actin flow, it is less clear how molecules move forward in filopodia. Myosin-X (Myo10) is an actin-based motor hypothesized to use its motor activity to move forward along actin filaments to the tips of filopodia. Here we use a sensitive total internal reflection fluorescence (TIRF) microscopy system to directly visualize the movements of GFP-Myo10. This reveals a novel form of motility at or near the single-molecule level in living cells wherein extremely faint particles of Myo10 move in a rapid and directed fashion toward the filopodial tip. These fast forward movements occur at approximately 600 nm/s over distances of up to approximately 10 microm and require Myo10 motor activity and actin filaments. As expected for imaging at the single-molecule level, the faint particles of GFP-Myo10 are diffraction limited, have an intensity range similar to single GFP molecules, and exhibit stepwise bleaching. Faint particles of GFP-Myo5a can also move toward the filopodial tip, but at a slower characteristic velocity of approximately 250 nm/s. Similar movements were not detected with GFP-Myo1a, indicating that not all myosins are capable of intrafilopodial motility. These data indicate the existence of a novel system of long-range transport based on the rapid movement of myosin molecules along filopodial actin filaments.
Challenging the dominant logic of emergency departments: guidelines from chaos theory

Abstract Chaos is order without predictability ( 1 ). Any unfortunate patient who has recently made a trek to an Emergency Department (ED) or even better, has watched the immensely popular TV show, ER, knows that the visit can be a frustrating and a time consuming experience. The waits are so protracted that one can observe all cycles of birth, death, love, and romance in the waiting room. The process is tedious for the patient who must tell one’s tale to a triage nurse, a registration clerk, the primary nurse, the nursing care partner, and finally the emergency physician. Then, the patient must face more delays while being pushed, ineffectively, in a horizontal fashion, through vertical functional silos of care, such as laboratory and radiology. mThe mind-set or dominant logic of this system of ED patient flow assumes that waits are acceptable and unavoidable, and that the function of the ED is to care for only the truly emergent patient. This dominant logic, coupled with the market constraints of population-based versus case-based payment mechanisms, has led to a declining trend in ED visits for the first time in 20 years (2) . In order to improve the quality of ED care as well as to increase acceptability for patient and payer, the dominant logic must be challenged. An understanding of chaos theory and perception of the Emergency Department as a complex adaptive system foster methods for challenging the dominant logic.
A phenomenological framework for psychiatric nursing research.

This article describes a framework developed to support phenomenological research within the context of psychiatric nursing. Phenomenology involves the construction of social reality from the perspectives of those living within a situation. This research approach is of value to psychiatric nurses because of the essence of their practice and the unique nature of their clients' realities. Developing a phenomenological approach to research involves more than selecting a method to direct data collection and analysis. This framework integrates phenomenology as a philosophy and methodology with a method for analysis of the experience of living with a mental illness.
Cultural Narratives, Violence, And Mother-Son Loyalty: An Exploration Into Gusii Personification Of Evil

In 1992–94 during a period of communal hysteria about witches in Gusii, southwestern Kenya, three men involved themselves in the burning of their mothers, whom they accused of witchcraft. None of them was ever punished by the government or ostracized by his community in accordance with traditional custom. The community's response to such horrifying homicides is unusual, but it can be understood in terms of the dominant ideology of the patrilineage that gained great directive force (on the members) from the economic and political stress the country was going through at the time.
The Role of Self-Efficacy in Sales Education

Sales education programs are undergoing rapid growth and dynamic change as more business and other undergraduate students pursue sales jobs as desirable career entry points. The number of collegiat...
Slowing and controlling the translocation of DNA in a solid-state nanopore

DNA sequencing methods based on nanopores could potentially represent a low-cost and high-throughput pathway to practical genomics, by replacing current sequencing methods based on synthesis that are limited in speed and cost. The success of nanopore sequencing techniques requires the solution to two fundamental problems: (1) sensing each nucleotide of a DNA strand, in sequence, as it passes through a nanopore; (2) delivering each nucleotide in a DNA strand, in turn, to a sensing site within the nanopore in a controlled manner. It has been demonstrated that a DNA nucleotide can be sensed using electric signals, such as ionic current changes caused by nucleotide blockage at a constriction region in a protein pore or a tunneling current through the nucleotide-bridged gap of two nanoelectrodes built near a solid-state nanopore. However, it is not yet clear how each nucleotide in a DNA strand can be delivered in turn to a sensing site and held there for a sufficient time to ensure high fidelity sensing. This latter problem has been addressed by modifying macroscopic properties, such as a solvent viscosity, ion concentration or temperature. Also, the DNA transistor, a solid state nanopore dressed with a series of metal-dielectric layers has been proposed as a solution. Molecular dynamics simulations provide the means to study and to understand DNA transport in nanopores microscopically. In this article, we review computational studies on how to slow down and control the DNA translocation through a solid-state nanopore.
Comparison of growth and mortality in juvenile sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus) as indicators of contaminated marine sediments

A bioassay system involving exposure of juvenile sand dollars (Dendraster excentricus) to contaminated sediments from Puget Sound, Washington, was evaluated. In these bioassays, juvenile sand dollars were exposed to serially diluted sediments from three urban areas with different types and levels of contamination. Physical and biochemical measures of growth (i.e., length or diameter, DNA content, and protein content) were then evaluated for sensitivity and concentration responsiveness to a chemical gradient and compared with mortality as biological indicators of toxicant effects in sediments. Growth measurements appeared to be more sensitive indicators of contaminant exposure than mortality. Sediment mixtures with the highest proportions of contaminants were generally lethal to these organisms, but at lower sediment concentrations, where significant mortality did not occur, significant reductions in growth were observed. The results suggest that measurement of growth, either morphometrically or biochemically, in conjunction with mortality can provide better discrimination for assessing toxicity in sediment bioassay systems. Also, because impaired growth is a sublethal effect of contaminant exposure, it may be a useful indicator for assessing the long-term (chronic) effects of exposure to contaminants on marine organisms.
Intestinal surface area in infants with acquired monosaccharide intolerance.

Acquired monosaccharide intolerance is characterized by the malabsorption of all carbohydrates, resulting in profuse acidic diarrhea. Five infants with this syndrome, ranging from two to six months of age, were studied by measuring their ability to absorb glucose given by intestinal perfusion. Jejunal biopsies obtained at the time of perfusion were studied by light and electron microscopy, and surface area measurements were obtained. Glucose absorption and surface area were significantly decreased ( P
Increased Dryland Cropping Intensity with No-Till Barley

For most of a century, the wide spread practice of growing only one crop every other year in a tillage, based wheat (Triticum aestivum L.)-fallow rotation has degraded soils and contributed to environmental problems in low-precipitation (<350 mm annual) dryland regions of the inland Pacific Northwest of the USA. Many growers in this 2-million-ha cropland area are increasing the intensity of cropping with spring crops, but most use conventional tillage (CT) for seedbed preparation. The agronomic performance of spring barley (Hordeum vulgare L.), sown into CT seedbeds with double-disk drills or into standing stubble with several types of no-till (NT) drills (hoe, single disk, and notched coulter), was determined in two experiments conducted both in 1996 and 1997 where the previous crop was either winter wheat or spring barley. We measured stand establishment, seed-zone temperature, soil water, dry biomass accumulation, rhizoctonia root rot, surface residue retention, and grain yield components. Plant stand (r(2) = 0.60), dry biomass accumulation (r(2) = 0.63), and spike density (r(2) = 0.62) as single independent variables, and combined in a multiple regression model (R(2) = 0.81), were strongly correlated (P < 0.001) to grain yield. Early-season seed-zone temperatures were cooler under NT, but seed-zone water was slightly higher with CT. Low spike density consistently occurred in a wide row spacing (406 mm) NT drill treatment, and the highest overall yields were obtained with NT drills with rows spaced 255 mm or less. Rhizoctonia root rot was severe on seminal roots in all treatments in three out of four trials, but did not appear to limit yields, possibly due to healthy crown roots and favorable growing conditions. No-till spring sowing into undisturbed standing stubble (2420-5230 kg ha(-1)) can produce grain yields equal to or exceeding those under CT and can provide environmental and potential soil quality benefits for low-precipitation dryland farming areas in the inland Pacific Northwest.
Conditional Asymmetric Linkage Disequilibrium (ALD): Extending the Biallelic r2 Measure

For multiallelic loci, standard measures of linkage disequilibrium provide an incomplete description of the correlation of variation at two loci, especially when there are different numbers of alleles at the two loci. We have developed a complementary pair of conditional asymmetric linkage disequilibrium (ALD) measures. Since these measures do not assume symmetry, they more accurately describe the correlation between two loci and can identify heterogeneity in genetic variation not captured by other symmetric measures. For biallelic loci the ALD are symmetric and equivalent to the correlation coefficient r. The ALD measures are particularly relevant for disease-association studies to identify cases in which an analysis can be stratified by one of more loci. A stratified analysis can aid in detecting primary disease-predisposing genes and additional disease genes in a genetic region. The ALD measures are also informative for detecting selection acting independently on loci in high linkage disequilibrium or on specific amino acids within genes. For SNP data, the ALD statistics provide a measure of linkage disequilibrium on the same scale for comparisons among SNPs, among SNPs and more polymorphic loci, among haplotype blocks of SNPs, and for fine mapping of disease genes. The ALD measures, combined with haplotype-specific homozygosity, will be increasingly useful as next-generation sequencing methods identify additional allelic variation throughout the genome.
Dynamic reconstruction of 3D structure and 3D motion

This paper presents a computational scheme for reconstructing 3D structure, 3D motion and complete surfaces from instantaneous image motion based on multiple frames. The scheme is motivated by psychophysical observations and designed to achieve efficient, robust and flexible behavior. The scheme consists of multiple interacting stages. At the structure-from-motion stage, relative depths and 3D velocities are estimated by minimizing the error in fit to the instantaneous 2D motion measurements and the overall deviation from rigidity. This nonlinear optimization is achieved by an efficient two-stage iterative algorithm. The temporal integration stage based on Kalman filtering effectively improves the 3D structure over multiple frames. The global motion of the observer or each constituent object can be computed at a later stage by using the estimated 3D velocities. The surface reconstruction stage reconstructs complete 3D surfaces, which can further stabilize the 3D structure recovery. The scheme can account for a number of psychophysical findings that include the perceptual demonstrations explored by Ramachandran et al. (Husain et al. 1989, Lappin et al. 1980) regarding interactions between two superimposed cylinders, and the experimental results using displays of moving points with short lifetimes (28, 55). >
Existing evidence is not sufficient to accept or refute the superiority of any adhesive system for the restoration of non-carious cervical lesions.

Article Title and Bibliographic Information Adhesives for the restoration of non-carious cervical lesions: a systematic review. Chee B, Rickman LJ, Satterthwaite JD. J Dent 2012;40(6):443-52. Epub 2012 Feb 18. Reviewer David G. Pendrys, DDS, PhD Purpose/Question The purpose of this systematic review was to assess the effectiveness of currently available resin-based adhesive systems Source of Funding Information not available Type of Study/Design Systematic review Level of Evidence Level 2: Limited-quality, patient-oriented evidence Strength of Recommendation Grade Grade B: Inconsistent or limited-quality patient-oriented evidence
SirT1 is required in the male germ cell for differentiation and fecundity in mice

Sirtuins are NAD+-dependent deacylases that regulate numerous biological processes in response to the environment. SirT1 is the mammalian ortholog of yeast Sir2, and is involved in many metabolic pathways in somatic tissues. Whole body deletion of SirT1 alters reproductive function in oocytes and the testes, in part caused by defects in central neuro-endocrine control. To study the function of SirT1 specifically in the male germ line, we deleted this sirtuin in male germ cells and found that mutant mice had smaller testes, a delay in differentiation of pre-meiotic germ cells, decreased spermatozoa number, an increased proportion of abnormal spermatozoa and reduced fertility. At the molecular level, mutants do not have the characteristic increase in acetylation of histone H4 at residues K5, K8 and K12 during spermiogenesis and demonstrate corresponding defects in the histone to protamine transition. Our findings thus reveal a germ cell-autonomous role of SirT1 in spermatogenesis.
Return to High School– and College-Level Football After Anterior Cruciate Ligament Reconstruction A Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) Cohort Study

Background:There is a relative paucity of data regarding the effect of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) reconstruction on the ability of American high school and collegiate football players to return to play at the same level of competition as before their injury or to progress to play at the next level of competition.Purpose:(1) To identify the percentage of high school and collegiate American football players who successfully returned to play at their previous level of competition, (2) to investigate self-reported performance for those players able to return to play or reason(s) for not returning to play, and (3) to elucidate risk factors responsible for players not being able to return to play or not returning to the same level of performance.Study Design:Cohort study; Level of evidence, 3.Methods:This study was a retrospective analysis of prospective patients taken from the Multicenter Orthopaedic Outcomes Network (MOON) cohort who identified football as their primary or secondary sport. Identified pa...
Impact of Migration and Fitness on the Stability of Lethal T-Haplotype Polymorphism in Mus Musculus: A Computer Study

The t-haplotype is a chromosomal region in Mus musculus characterized by meiotic drive such that heterozygous males transmit t-bearing chromosomes to roughly 90% of their offspring. Most naturally occurring t-haplotypes express a recessive embryonic lethality, preventing fixation of the t-haplotype. Surprisingly, the t-haplotype occurs in nature as a persistent, low-frequency polymorphism. Early modeling studies led LEWONTIN to hypothesize that this low level polymorphism results from a balance between genetic drift in small demes and interdemic migration. Here, we show that while combinations of deme size and migration rate that predict natural t-haplotype frequencies exist, the range of such values is too narrow to be biologically plausible, suggesting that small deme size and interdemic migration alone do not explain the observed t-haplotype frequencies. In response, we tested other factors that might explain the observed t-polymorphism. Two led to biologically plausible models: substantially reduced heterozygous fitness and reduced meiotic drive. This raises the question whether these phenomena occur in nature. Our data suggest an alternative explanation: there is no stable, low-level t-polymorphism. Rather wild populations are in one of two stable states characterized by extinction of the t-haplotype and a high t-haplotype frequency, respectively, or in transition between the two.
Trait Social Anxiety and Physiological Activation: Cardiovascular Threat During Social Interaction

Physiological activation is thought to be a part of the constellation of responses that accompany social anxiety, but evidence regarding the nature of such activation is mixed. In two studies, the relationship between trait social anxiety and responses during social interaction was explored using on-line cardiovascular indexes of threat. Across Studies 1 and 2, women higher in trait social anxiety exhibited cardiovascular responses consistent with greater threat during the social interaction than those lower in social anxiety. Retrospective self-reports (Studies 1 and 2), as well as partner ratings and interaction behavior (Study 2), also revealed consistent differences as a function of trait social anxiety. Study 2 added male participants, among whom a divergence emerged between results for physiological measures and other responses. These findings have implications for understanding physiological as well as psychological processes among people with social anxiety during social interaction.
Developing a Vegetable Fertility Program Using Organic Amendments and Inorganic Fertilizers

This review integrates information from common organic amendments used in conventional vegetable production, including 1) cover crops (legumes and nonlegumes), 2) compost generated from yard wastes, biosolids, municipal solid waste (MSW), animal manures, and other biodegradable waste by-products, and 3) raw animal manure (with and without bedding). Environmental monitoring has shown elevated nitrate concentration to be widespread in both surface and groundwater, often occurring in regions with concentrated horticultural production. Therefore, the objective of this review was to calculate the nutrient content from organic amendments, since these are not considered nutrient sources. Common organic amendments affect soil bulk density, water-holding capacity, soil structure, soil carbon content, macroand micronutrients, pH, soluble salts, cation exchange capacity (CEC), and biological properties (microbial biomass). The first step in building a conventional tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) fertility program will be to take a soil sample and send it to a soil laboratory for a nutrient analysis. These results should be compared with the local crop recommendations. Second, select the organic amendments based on local cover crop suitability and availability of compost, raw animal manure, or both. Then, determine the nutrients available from cover crops and other applied organic amendments and use inorganic fertilizer sources to satisfy the crop nutrient requirements not supplied from these other sources.
The conference on politics. An appraisal from the members' viewpoint

Frank criticism, as well as frank confession, is good for the soul. The other side of last month's rosy picture of the Conference.
A bottom–up model of spatial attention predicts human error patterns in rapid scene recognition

Humans demonstrate a peculiar ability to detect complex targets in rapidly presented natural scenes. Recent studies suggest that (nearly) no focal attention is required for overall performance in such tasks. Little is known, however, of how detection performance varies from trial to trial and which stages in the processing hierarchy limit performance: bottom-up visual processing (attentional selection and/or recognition) or top-down factors (e.g., decision-making, memory, or alertness fluctuations)? To investigate the relative contribution of these factors, eight human observers performed an animal detection task in natural scenes presented at 20 Hz. Trial-by-trial performance was highly consistent across observers, far exceeding the prediction of independent errors. This consistency demonstrates that performance is not primarily limited by idiosyncratic factors but by visual processing. Two statistical stimulus properties, contrast variation in the target image and the information-theoretical measure of "surprise" in adjacent images, predict performance on a trial-by-trial basis. These measures are tightly related to spatial attention, demonstrating that spatial attention and rapid target detection share common mechanisms. To isolate the causal contribution of the surprise measure, eight additional observers performed the animal detection task in sequences that were reordered versions of those all subjects had correctly recognized in the first experiment. Reordering increased surprise before and/or after the target while keeping the target and distractors themselves unchanged. Surprise enhancement impaired target detection in all observers. Consequently, and contrary to several previously published findings, our results demonstrate that attentional limitations, rather than target recognition alone, affect the detection of targets in rapidly presented visual sequences.
El rastro de la arqueóloga, la mirada de la antropóloga: diálogos con Alicia Dussán de Reichel y su obra

Este articulo presenta una aproximacion analitica de la vida y la obra intelectual de la antropologa colombiana Alicia Dussan de Reichel, con el principal objetivo de conectar los contextos sociales y teoricos que dieron sentido a su trabajo de campo como etnologa, arqueologa y antropologa sociocultural. Este acercamiento se construye a partir de fragmentos de multiples conversaciones y entrevistas realizadas entre los anos 2000 y 2003, en Bogota y Bucaramanga, asi como de una lectura critica de su produccion academica.
University of Michigan surgical experience with ureterolysis for retroperitoneal fibrosis: a comparison of laparoscopic and open surgical approaches.

Objectives To compare our experience with open surgical ureterolysis (OU) and laparoscopic ureterolysis (LU) to determine any differences in success and convalescence. OU for extrinsic compression of the ureters secondary to retroperitoneal fibrosis effectively releases the ureters from the fibrotic environment in most cases. Reports have suggested that LU provides similar benefits, with a decreased intensity and duration of convalescence. Methods We retrospectively reviewed the data from 22 patients who had undergone 25 ureterolysis procedures for retroperitoneal fibrosis from 1997 to 2006 at our institution. Results LU was performed in 13 cases (10 patients) and a total of 16 ureters. No conversion to open surgery was required. OU was performed in 12 cases (12 patients) and a total of 16 ureters. LU was associated with a significantly shorter hospital stay than OU (mean 2.1 versus 5.9 days, P = .004). Laparoscopic intraperitonealization of the ureters was performed in 97.5% of all affected ureters compared with 50% with OU (P = .02). No difference was seen between the 2 groups in the performance of an omental wrap, postoperative creatinine level, complication rate, operating time, or transfusion requirement. With a mean follow-up of 30 months for the OU group and 24 months for the LU group, the success rate was 87.5% after OU and 93.8% after LU (P = 1.0). Conclusions The results of our study have shown that LU is a safe and effective surgical procedure for retroperitoneal fibrosis. LU offers similar results and a shorter hospital stay compared with OU and should be considered the technique of choice, when available.
A deformable model for fingerprint matching

The process of automatic fingerprint matching is affected by the nonlinear deformation introduced in the image during fingerprint sensing. Given several template impressions of a finger, we estimate the ''average'' deformation of each template impression by comparing it with the rest of the impressions of that finger. The average deformation is developed using the thin plate spline (TPS) model and is based on minutia point correspondences between pairs of fingerprint impressions. The estimated average deformation is utilized to pre-distort the minutiae points in the template image before matching it with the minutiae points in the query image. We show that the use of an average deformation model leads to a better alignment between the template and query minutiae points. An index of deformation is proposed for choosing the deformation model with the least variability arising from a set of template impressions corresponding to a finger. Our experimental data consists of 1600 fingerprints corresponding to 50 different fingers collected over a period of 2 weeks. It is shown that the average deformation model leads to an improvement in the alignment between impressions originating from the same finger.
Procreation after death or mental incompetence: medical advance or technology gone awry?

Objective To review our experience with semen retrieval in men who are incompetent or dead and to formulate general medical, legal, and ethical guidelines for practitioners. Design Case series and literature review. Setting Academic. Patient(s) Seven incompetent or neurologically dead individuals in whom sperm retrieval was requested. Intervention(s) Electroejaculation. Result(s) Seminal emission was induced in the two men who underwent electroejaculation. Sperm suitable for cryopreservation was obtained in one of these men. Review of the legal and ethical implications of such procedures led to development of general guidelines for determining whether gamete retrieval should be performed when requested. Issues of procreational autonomy, consideration of the decedent's wishes, and assurance of the well-being of any new life created were considered most strongly in the formation of these guidelines. Conclusion(s) Although the retrieval of sperm from deceased or incompetent individuals may be achieved readily, it is incumbent upon the practitioner to consider the legal and moral implications of these procedures before proceeding.
Modelocked Fiber Ring Lasers

The MIT work on passively mode-locked erbium doped fiber ring lasers is reviewed. After a discussion of the polarization-additive pulse modelocking principle, the characteristics of a laser using the "soliton" principle of operation are presented, followed by those of the "stretched pulse" laser. The timing jitter in lasers of both types is exceptionally small and can be attributed solely to the spontaneous emission noise. It is shown that the ring configuration is conducive to self-starting. Finally we describe the operation of an environmentally stabilized version of the stretched pulse laser.
Chemosterilization by fumigation: effects of temperature and time of exposure.

When male house flies, Musca domestica L., were fumigated in a circulating atmosphere with hempa at 15°C for 2.5 h, 39% were rendered sterile, and the average uptake of the sterilant was 2.27 μg/♂. At 35°C and 0.5-h exposure, sterility was 36%;, and the uptake of hempa was 3.28 μg/♂. After 2.5-h fumigation at 35°C, sterility increased to 95%, and uptake of hempa to 14.16 μg/♂. Regardless of the uptake, the metabolism of hempa was higher at the longer exposure periods. When 50 individual flies were fumigated at 35°C for 2.5 h, nonecontained less than 9.25 μg, or more than 23.71 μg of hempa; and the mean value was 15.33 μg, with a standard deviation of 3.34 μg.
Understanding China's non–fossil energy targets

More than 130 countries have targets for increasing their share of renewable or nonfossil energy ( 1 ). These shares and targets are often reported without clear articulation of which energy accounting method was used to convert nonfossil electricity into units that allow comparison with other energy sources ( 2 – 4 ). Three commonly used conversion methods are well documented by organizations dealing in energy statistics, but often, the method is not clearly stated when countries translate national targets into international pledges or when organizations track and compare targets across nations. China—the world's largest energy producer, energy consumer, and emitter of energy-related carbon dioxide (CO2)—uses a distinct fourth method that is unique, not well documented in the literature, and not transparent in policy documents. A single, standardized, and transparent methodology for any targets that are pledged as part of an international agreement is essential.
Thermomechanically Modulated Nanoscale Multilayered Materials for Application in Electromagnetic Gun Systems

Fired rails from electromagnetic railguns show severe damage from arcing and tribological mismatch. We have fabricated and studied several different nanoscale multilayered materials as possible routes to improve the thermal transport and thermomechanical properties of the rail and armature materials. A vacuum-arc-based plasma deposition technique with wide control of ion energy was used for the film synthesis, and high-energy high-dose (energy up to ˜ 150 keV, dose up to ˜ 1 × 1017cm−2) metal ion implantation was also used. The multilayered film structures formed and investigated included sublayers of Ti, TiCo, ZrN, TaN and dlc (diamond-like carbon) in the following combinations: (i) ZrN on TiCo on TaN on dlc on a Cu substrate, (ii) ZrN on TiCo on TaN on dlc on an Al substrate, (iii) TiN on TiCo on TaN on a stainless steel substrate, and (iv) Ti on TiCo on a stainless steel substrate. Individual sublayer film thickness was in the range of 400A-7μ. The surfaces were characterized by SEM, TEM, RBS, high energy electron diffraction, arid microhardness measurements. Significant improvements in the material surface properties were obtained for virtually all of the surface structures investigated. Here we outline the material synthesis and surface modification techniques used and the materials characterization results obtained.
Engineered nanopores for single-molecule detection of proteins

T underlying principle of nanopore probe techniques is quite simple: The application of a voltage bias across an electrically insulated membrane enables the measurement of a tiny picoamp-scale transmembrane current through a single hole of nanometer size, called a nanopore. Each molecule, translocating through the nanopore, produces a distinctive current blockade, the nature of which depends on its biophysical properties as well as the molecule-nanopore interaction. I will describe our recent strategies for engineering new functional nanopores for single-molecule protein detection, both in organic and siliconbased materials, and with properties that are not encountered in nature. From a practical point of view, this methodology shows promise for the integration of engineered nanopores into nanofluidic devices, which would provide a new generation of research tools in nanomedicine and in high-throughput applications for molecular biomedical diagnosis.
Association between Screen Time and Obesity among Middle School Students in Shanghai

[Objective] To assess the association between screen time and obesity among middle school students in Shanghai, and to provide evidence for intervention. [Methods] Middle school students aged 9 to 16 years and their parents were recruited by a two-stage sampling technique in Shanghai, 2011. A structured questionnaire was used to collected information on screen time and related risk factors, and a total of 4 196 questionnaires were valid. A nutrition evaluation was conducted based on data from physical examinations. A logistic regression model was developed to determine the contribution of screen time to obesity. [Results] Of the 4 196 students investigated, 51.5% students reported extra screen time. Adjusting for age, sex, dietary behavior, sleep, physical activity, birth weight, and the nutritional status of parents, the screen time of students was associated with obesity, and the OR value of obesity in students with normal screen time versus students with extra screen time was 0.779. [Conclusion] The extra screen time is associated with obesity. Studies on the risk factors of extra screen time are necessary to inform developing intervention programs in the future.
The Legacy of Luella Miner

Luella Miner, missionary to China from 1887 to 1935, was the founder and president of the first college for women in China. Her many writings, including letters, journals, articles, and books, are ...
Supportive Care in the Cancer Patient

“Supportive care,” as the term is currently used, embraces a large and diverse group of medical and paramedical specialties, of which the common bond is the minimization or prevention of the common complications of cancer and its therapy. Although not unique to those with malignancy, the art and science of caring for their social, psychological, and somatic distress have become more highly developed than for perhaps any other single patient group. There have been a number of recent reviews of all or parts of this field (Holland and Frei, 1973; Goepp and Hammond, 1975).
Risks for exposures to and infection with HIV among health care providers in the emergency department.

Summary As HIV becomes more prevalent, the treatment of HIV-infected individuals will continue to engender legal and ethical difficulties. Present-day issues include informed consent for testing for HIV status, mandatory testing of patients for HIV, patient confidentiality, the duty to treat individuals infected with HIV, and issues concerning health care workers infected with HIV. Federal and state legislatures and courts will continue to make decisions concerning individuals infected with HIV as new issues arise. Emergency physicians, already the resource of last resort for many of these patients, should continue to familiarize themselves with the ethical and legal implications of caring for patients with HIV infection and working with colleagues who have HIV.
Letter from America.

I have a photo from a collection from the National Archives taken during the 1930s. It shows a GP sitting at his desk with a stern look on his face and a sign that reads ‘Consultations: Cash Only’. Although one might be amused by the 80-year-old photo, offices and hospitals still demand payment from the patient, albeit more subtly, even if the patient has health insurance. ‘Co-pay’ and ‘deductible’ are the terms used these days for the portion of the bill patients must pay and are among the more maddening aspects of US health economics. Patients who have to make frequent visits may have $40 charges for each visit in addition to their insurance, and so patients with chronic diseases that require frequent monitoring can quickly run up bills that keep them away even though they are ‘insured’. Drug costs are another example. I am on an anticoagulant for which I had a ‘co-pay’ of $15/month for the past year but my …
Collection Condition Assessment in a Midsized Academic Library

In 2014, Rasmuson Library at the University of Alaska Fairbanks conducted its first collection condition survey. The institutionally significant Alaska Collection was chosen as a manageable project...
Sparse classification of rf transients using chirplets and learned dictionaries

We assess the performance of a sparse classification approach for radiofrequency (RF) transient signals using dictionaries adapted to the data. We explore two approaches: pursuit-type decompositions over analytical, over-complete dictionaries, and dictionaries learned directly from data. Pursuit-type decompositions over analytical, over-complete dictionaries yield sparse representations by design and can work well for target signals in the same function class as the dictionary atoms. Discriminative dictionaries learned directly from data do not rely on analytical constraints or additional knowledge about the signal characteristics, and provide sparse representations that can perform well when used with a statistical classifier. We present classification results for learned dictionaries on simulated test data, and discuss robustness compared to conventional Fourier methods. We draw from techniques of adaptive feature extraction, statistical machine learning, and image processing.
On the optimality of a myopic policy in multi-state channel probing

We consider the channel probing problem arising in opportunistic scheduling over fading channels, cognitive radio networks, and resource constrained jamming. The communication system consists of N channels. Each channel is modeled as a multi-state Markov chain (M.C.). At each time period a user selects one channel to probe and uses it to transmit information. A reward depending on the state of the selected channel is obtained for each transmission. The objective is to design a channel probing policy that maximizes the expected total reward collected over a finite or infinite horizon. This problem can be viewed as an instance of a restless bandit problem, to which the form of optimal policies is unknown in general. We discover conditions sufficient to guarantee the optimality of a myopic probing policy.
An inclusive account of mind across spatiotemporal scales of cognition

We review a variety of studies in the neural and cognitive sciences that progressively move from the level of neural systems to the level of individual behavior to the level of group behavior. At each step along the way, the evidence suggests that a cognitive process observed at one spatiotemporal scale of analysis is inseparable from the larger subsuming cognitive process observed at the next larger spatiotemporal scale of analysis. Each incremental expansion of the spatiotemporal scale of analysis is a small enough step to seem trivial, and unlikely to serve as a categorical distinction between “the mind” and the “rest of the world”. Such expansions illustrate the necessity for attending to cognitive phenomena that span across two or more spatiotemporal scales. Our analysis suggests that a mind can be observed among the physical processes that connect together a brain, a body, and an environment, and even among the physical processes that connect a group of people together.
Experimental observation of wave modulation and Dirac cone in acoustic double zero refractive index metamaterials (Conference Presentation)

Acoustic zero index metamaterials such as density-near-zero metamaterials have received increasing attention due to their potential applications on beam forming, cloaking, wave tunneling, and imaging. High transmission resulted by impedance matching of such zero index metamaterials and surrounding media requires the effective density and inverse bulk modulus to be simultaneously zero. Metamaterials possessing this property are called double zero index metamaterials. The design of double zero index metamaterials needs scatterers with sound speed lower than the background medium, which is extremely challenging for air acoustics because the air sound speed is among the lowest. This challenge can be solved for high order waveguide mode by designing structures with larger thickness. An experimental scan of the pressure field inside our design metamaterial excited by a point source reveals the existence of a Dirac cone at the Brillouin zone center. The measured envelope of the propagating wave inside the metamaterial shows double negative, double positive, and double zero properties below, above, and at the Dirac point,respectively. This result is confirmed by the measured acoustic beam out of the metamaterial. A gapless transition between double negative and double positive acoustic metamaterials is realized. The development of this double zero index metamaterial provides new routes to broaden practical applications of acoustic metamaterials.
Negotiating Femininity: Gender Identity Affects Women’s Outcomes in Negotiations

Despite extensive research on gender and negotiation outcomes, the role of gender identity is less well understood. Across three behavioral studies, we demonstrate that gender identity plays an important role in women’s decisions about negotiation, and that gender identity relevant priming improves women’s performance in competitive negotiations. We show that a situational moderator (the gendered nature of the negotiation topic) affects negotiation decisions for women with strong feminine identities, but not for women with weak feminine identities. Likewise, the gender gap in the decision to negotiate about a masculine topic was driven by the difference between men versus women with strong feminine identities. Subsequently, we tested two gender identity relevant primes, one that highlighted the benefits of feminine identity and one that made masculine traits accessible. In both cases, women performed better in the prime conditions, with the male advantage typically seen ameliorated, than when no primes we...
Experimental validation of thermodynamic mixture rules at extreme pressures and densities

Accurate modeling of a mixed material Equation of State (EOS) at high pressures (∼1 to 100 Mbar) is critical for simulating inertial confinement fusion and high energy density systems. This paper presents a comparison of two mixing rule models to the experiment to assess their applicability in this regime. The shock velocities of polystyrene, aluminum, and nickel aluminide (NiAl) were measured at a shock pressure of ∼3 TPa (∼30 Mbar) on the Omega EP laser facility (Laboratory for Laser Energetics, University of Rochester, New York). The resultant shock velocities were compared to those derived from the RAGE (Eulerian) hydrodynamics code to validate various mixing rules used to construct an EOS for NiAl. The simulated shock transit time through the sample (Al or NiAl) matched the measurements to within the ±45ps measurement uncertainty. The law of partial volume (Amagat) and the law of partial pressure (Dalton) mixture rules provided equally good matches to the NiAl shock data. Other studies showed that th...