cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Characterization of anti-wear films formed from fresh and aged engine oils

Abstract Modern engine oils are formulated with zinc dialkyl-dithiophosphate (ZDDP) compounds to protect moving metal components from wear. As emissions regulations for automobiles become more stringent, lower concentrations of these additives are being considered in future oil formulations to extend the life of the catalyst after-treatment systems. However, any formulation changes need to be carefully tested to ensure there is no degradation in friction and wear performance. While evaluating engine oils in a prior study, we found that the valve-train wear improved markedly as the oil aged. Changes in tribological performance were linked to differences in surface film chemistry on the valve tappet components. In the current study, we examine the friction and wear of fresh and aged engine oils in controlled laboratory tests using a simulated valve-train apparatus, ball-on-flat, and cylinder-on-flat test rigs. Surface films that form during sliding were characterized at different length scales and depth distributions using reflection infrared spectroscopy, Raman spectroscopy, and high-vacuum surface analysis. The types of species present, such as phosphates, were different between fresh and aged oil. Carbonate and sulfide were present in films formed from fresh oil, but were usually absent from aged oil. Wear control may be related to a competition between carbonate and phosphate species. Oxidized-oil-derived entities are present on aged oil coupons and appear to improve friction performance. Thus, differences in film composition are used to explain performance differences of fresh and aged oils and the results from the different test rigs.
Ethnomedical pathogenesis and Hmong immigrants' sudden nocturnal deaths

Scores of seemingly healthy Hmong immigrants have died mysteriously and without warning from what has come to be known as Sudden Unexpected Nocturnal Death Syndrome (SUNDS). To date medical research has provided no adequate explanation for these sudden deaths. This study is an investigation into the role of powerful traditional beliefs in illness causation. In Stockton, California, 118 Hmong men and women were interviewed regarding their awareness of and personal experience with a traditional nocturnal spirit encounter. An analysis of this data reveals that the supranormal encounter acts as a trigger for Hmong SUNDS.
A note on methods of indexing associative relatedness

A method of indexing response relations among stimulus words on a word association test is presented utilizing the concept of mathematical sets. Two coefficients of associative relatedness are proposed and some relationships between these and a number of other coefficients are given.
Opioid and nociceptin receptors regulate cytokine and cytokine receptor expression

Opioids were originally discovered because of their ability to induce analgesia, but further investigation has shown that the opioids regulate the function of cells involved in the immune response. We suggest that the regulation of cytokine, chemokine, and cytokine receptor expression is a critical component of the immunomodulatory activity of the opioids. In this paper we review the literature dealing with the regulation of cytokine and cytokine receptor expression by agonists for the three major opioid receptor types (μ, κ, and δ), and nociceptin, the natural agonist for the orphanin FQ/nociceptin receptor. Although the opioid receptors share a high degree of sequence homology, opposing roles between the kappa opioid receptor (KOR) and the mu opioid receptor (MOR) have become apparent. We suggest that activation of the KOR induces an anti-inflammatory response through the down-regulation of cytokine, chemokine and chemokine receptor expression, while activation of the MOR favors a pro-inflammatory response. Investigation into the opioid receptor-like (ORL1)/nociceptin system also suggests a role for this receptor as a down-regulator of immune function. These effects suggest a broad role for opioids in the modulation of the function of the immune system, and suggest possible targets for the development of new therapeutics for inflammatory and infectious diseases.
Terrain-adaptive bipedal locomotion control

We describe a framework for the automatic synthesis of biped locomotion controllers that adapt to uneven terrain at run-time. The framework consists of two components: a per-footstep end-effector path planner and a per-timestep generalized-force solver. At the start of each footstep, the planner performs short-term planning in the space of end-effector trajectories. These trajectories adapt to the interactive task goals and the features of the surrounding uneven terrain at run-time. We solve for the parameters of the planner for different tasks in offline optimizations. Using the per-footstep plan, the generalized-force solver takes ground contacts into consideration and solves a quadratic program at each simulation timestep to obtain joint torques that drive the biped. We demonstrate the capabilities of the controllers in complex navigation tasks where they perform gradual or sharp turns and transition between moving forwards, backwards, and sideways on uneven terrain (including hurdles and stairs) according to the interactive task goals. We also show that the resulting controllers are capable of handling morphology changes to the character.
The Saaz Framework for Turbulent Flow Queries

In many respects, numerical simulations involving solutions to partial differential equations have replaced physical experimentation. However, few tools are available to sift through the deluge of data. We present Saaz, a query framework to analyze the simulation results of multi-scale physical phenomena which admit mathematical rules for characterizing features of interest. Saaz provides high-level primitives that free the domain-scientist to concentrate more on scientific discovery and less on code implementation and maintenance. It supports user-defined domain-specific query operations which may be subsequently composed into more complex queries. While Saaz supports offline processing of queries, we explore here the online capabilities by attaching Saaz to a running simulation, improving the simulation's effective temporal resolution. We discuss analysis for a computational fluid dynamics simulation of turbulent flow running on a cluster.
Mizoribine pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics in a canine renal allograft model of local immunosuppression.

We utilized a canine renal transplant model to estimate the first-pass extraction of mizoribine (MZB) during renal artery infusion and to compare the efficacy and toxicity of continuous intraarterial (i.a.) versus intravenous (i.v.) MZB delivery, with and without a background of oral cyclosporine. Five autotransplanted mongrel dogs with programmable, implantable pump/catheter systems were given MZB by both i.v. bolus (5 mg/kg) and i.a. infusion (5.0 mg/kg/day). Mean +/- SD elimination half-life was 3.02 +/- 0.81 hr, and the transplanted kidney removed as much as 47-59% (mean 56%) of locally infused MZB. With increasing local and systemic MZB delivery in a single autografted dog undergoing both i.a. and i.v. pump/catheter placement, renal extraction decreased from at least 47% (5.0 mg/kg/day) to 33% (7.5 mg/kg/day), finally to 18% (10.0 mg/kg/day). A dose of 3.0 mg/kg/day MZB did not significantly prolong survival of renal allograft recipients over that of untreated controls (median survival time [MST] = 8 days) when administered either locally (MST = 9 days) or systemically (MST = 12 days). All dogs receiving 4.0 mg/kg/day MZB i.a. died from rejection, and a survival advantage was still not realized (MST = 7 days). In contrast, 4.0 mg/kg/day i.v. prolonged survival over controls (MST = 14 days; P = 0.03) but not when directly compared with the i.a. group (P = 0.30), and produced death from severe debility in five of seven animals with significantly higher mean systemic MZB levels (P = 0.02). Four of six dogs receiving 5.0 mg/kg/day MZB i.a. (MST = 14 days) and two of four dogs receiving 5.0 mg/kg/day i.v. (MST = 14 days) died from severe debility, though survival in both groups was prolonged over control values (P = 0.01 and P = 0.05, respectively). Coadministration of a subtherapeutic dose of oral CsA (5 mg/kg/day) significantly prolonged the overall survival of dogs receiving MZB 4.0 mg/kg/day i.a. (MST = 23; P = 0.01) but not i.v. (MST = 11; P = 1.00), so that a significant difference in overall survival between the combined MZB i.a. + CSA and MZB i.v. + CSA groups was now realized in favor of the former (P = 0.04). We conclude that at local doses required to achieve immunosuppression, the transplanted kidney was not able to extract enough MZB to prevent death from systemic toxicity, presumably as a result of saturation of renal elimination mechanisms, so that an overall survival benefit was not realized.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)
Optical and Electrical Properties of Low to Highly-Degenerate InN Films

The optical and electrical properties of InN films with different levels of carrier concentrations have been investigated. Hall effect measurements at room temperature show that the InN films are n-type with carrier concentration, n e , ranging from ∼ 7 ×10 17 cm -3 to ∼ 3 × 10 20 cm -3 and corresponding mobility, //, of ∼ 1300 to 50 cm 2 V -1 S -1 . Optical absorption spectra of these films show a bandgap absorption edge ∼ 0.6 eV for the InN sample with the lowest n e , and 1.5 eV for the InN sample with the highest n e . However, after corrections for the degeneracy effects, all samples show an intrinsic E g ∼ (0.60 ± 0.05) eV. Temperature dependent (5 – 600 K) electrical measurements show that n e is nearly independent of temperature below 300 K, perhaps due to the presence of donor energy levels resonating with the InN conduction band. However, all the samples show an exponential increase in n e above 300 K due to excitation of other shallow donor like sources. Mobility versus temperature graph shows a maximum ∼ 200 K for InN film with n e = 7 × 10 17 cm -3 and moves towards lower temperature with increasing n e .
High-speed automated DNA sequencing utilizing from-the-side laser excitation

The Human Genome Initiative is an ambitious international effort to map and sequence the three billion bases of DNA encoded in the human genome. If successfully completed, the resultant sequence database will be a tool of unparalleled power for biomedical research. One of the major challenges of this project is in the area of DNA sequencing technology. At this time, virtually all DNA sequencing is based upon the separation of DNA fragments in high resolution polyacrylamide gels. This method, as generally practiced, is one to two orders of magnitude too slow and expensive for the successful completion of the Human Genome projection. One reasonable approach is improved sequencing of DNA fragments is to increase the performance of such gel-based sequencing methods. Decreased sequencing times may be obtained by increasing the magnitude of the electric field employed. This is not possible with conventional sequencing, due to the fact that the additional heat associated with the increased electric field cannot be adequately dissipated. Recent developments in the use of thin gels have addressed this problem. Performing electrophoresis in ultrathin (50 to 100 microns) gels greatly increases the heat transfer efficiency, thus allowing the benefits of larger electric fields to be obtained. An increase in separation speed of about an order of magnitude is readily achieved. Thin gels have successfully been used in capillary and slab formats. A detection system has been designed for use with a multiple fluorophore sequencing strategy in horizontal ultrathin slab gels. The system employs laser through-the-side excitation and a cooled CCD detector; this allows for the parallel detection of up to 24 sets of four fluorescently labeled DNA sequencing reactions during their electrophoretic separation in ultrathin (115 micrometers ) denaturing polyacrylamide gels. Four hundred bases of sequence information is obtained from 100 ng of M13 template DNA in an hour, corresponding to an overall instrument throughput of over 9600 bases/hr. A detailed description and the operating characteristics of this systems are presented.
The Shaping Healthy Choices Program: design and implementation methodologies for a multicomponent, school-based nutrition education intervention.

Abstract Objective To provide a framework for implementation of multicomponent, school-based nutrition interventions. This article describes the research methods for the Shaping Healthy Choices Program, a model to improve nutrition and health-related knowledge and behaviors among school-aged children. Design Longitudinal, pretest/posttest, randomized, controlled intervention. Setting Four elementary schools in California. Participants Fourth-grade students at intervention (n = 252) and control (n = 238) schools and their parents and teachers. Power analyses demonstrate that a minimum of 159 students per group will be needed to achieve sufficient power. The sample size was determined using the variables of nutrition knowledge, vegetable preference score, and body mass index percentile. Intervention A multicomponent school-based nutrition education intervention over 1 academic year, followed by activities to support sustainability of the program. Main Outcome Measures Dietary and nutrition knowledge and behavior, critical thinking skills, healthy food preferences and consumption, and physical activity will be measured using a nutrition knowledge questionnaire, a food frequency questionnaire, a vegetable preferences assessment tool, the Test of Basic Science Process Skills, digital photography of plate waste, PolarActive accelerometers, anthropometrics, a parent questionnaire, and the School and Community Actions for Nutrition survey. Analysis Evaluation will include quantitative and qualitative measures. Quantitative data will use paired t , chi-square, and Mann-Whitney U tests and regression modeling using P = .05 to determine statistical significance.
Does PTSD impair cognition beyond the effect of trauma

This systematic review analyzed data from studies examining memory and cognitive function in subjects with posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), compared with subjects exposed to trauma (but without PTSD). Based on analysis of 21 articles published in English from 1968 to 2009, the conclusion is that individuals with PTSD, particularly veterans, show signs of cognitive impairment when tested with neuropsychological instruments, more so than individuals exposed to trauma who do not have PTSD.
Stimulated Rayleigh and Brillouin scattering in a supercritical fluid

We report stimulated Brillouin and Rayleigh scattering experiments in n-hexane for a wide range of subcritical and supercritical temperature and pressure conditions, including the near-critical region. The measurements were performed in a cell designed for operation at conditions near or above the critical point. An injection-seeded Nd:YAG laser was employed as the pump laser and an external cavity diode laser as the probe laser. The use of 1064-nm light enhances stimulated Rayleigh scattering through direct thermal absorption. Analysis of the recorded spectra yielded the widths, shifts, and heights of the electrostrictive Brillouin, thermal Brillouin, and thermal Rayleigh peaks. Comparison of these features with theory has showed consistency with the theoretical predictions of the relationships between the heights and widths of the thermal Brillouin and thermal Rayleigh peaks. Remarkable structure and sudden changes in the behavior of the Brillouin shifts, widths, and heights were observed in the vicinity of the critical region.
Why Not Decompress Early? The Cauda Equina Syndrome

auda equina syndrome is rare compared with low back pain, which affects millions of people. It has no gender or C race prevalence, but it occurs primarily in adults. The syndrome most commonly results from a massive herniated disk in the lumbar spine (1, 5). Other causes of cauda equina syndrome are spinal tumors; spinal infections, such as an epidural abscess; lumbar spinal stenosis; and traumas such as gunshot wounds, falls, and automobile accidents. A rarer cause of this syndrome is subdural or epidural hematoma. Surgical complications, such as postoperative hematoma and, rarely, spinal anesthesia, can also cause this syndrome.
Tool-supported program abstraction for finite-state verification

Numerous researchers have reported success in reasoning about properties of small programs using finite-state verification techniques. We believe, as do most researchers in this area, that in order to scale those initial successes to realistic programs, aggressive abstraction of program data will be necessary. Furthermore, we believe that to make abstraction-based verification usable by non-experts significant tool support will be required.In this paper, we describe how several different program analysis and transformation techniques are integrated into the Bandera toolset to provide facilities for abstracting Java programs to produce compact, finite-state models that are amenable to verification, for axample via model checking. We illustrate the application of Bandera's abstraction facilities to analyze a realistic multi-threaded Java program.
Monsoon effects in the Bay of Bengal inferred from profiling float‐based measurements of wind speed and rainfall

Both rainfall and wind have acoustic signatures that can be discerned at depths in the ocean well below the sea surface. We examine observations of rainfall and wind speed collected at a depth of 600 m in the Bay of Bengal from a specially modified Argo profiling float. In addition to the normal Argo sensors, the float carried a passive acoustic listener sensor package that monitored the spectrum of acoustic noise along the float trajectory at intervals of a few minutes and used a set of existing algorithms to estimate the wind speed and rainfall rate from these noise spectra. A comparison of the acoustically derived wind speed and rainfall estimates with analogous satellite-derived data (rainfall from the Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission and QwikScat winds) showed general agreement in both cases, although the float-based measurements were representative of conditions a few kilometers around the float, whereas the remotely sensed observations were smoothed over much larger length scales. The strong monsoon signal in the Bay of Bengal is clearly present in the float-based wind and rainfall data. The near-surface salinity measured by the float varied because of both rainfall events and the proximity to strong coastal runoff from major rivers. The float profiles of temperature and salinity in the upper ocean, and the effects of wind and rainfall, were simulated in a version of the Price-Weller-Pinkel mixed-layer model, which showed that the direct effects of most rainfall events are concentrated in the upper 20-30 m of the water column.
Culture and Self-Concept Stability: Consistency Across and Within Contexts Among Asian Americans and European Americans

Whereas prior cultural research has focused on consistency of self-descriptions across contexts, the current 4 studies examined cultural differences in consistency of multiple self-dimensions and did so both across and within different contexts. Supporting predictions, Study 1a found that Asian Americans were less consistent in their self-descriptions across relationship contexts than were European Americans. Yet Study 1b, a short-term longitudinal study, found that Asian Americans' self-descriptions nonetheless showed high consistency within these contexts over time. Together, these findings suggest that for Asian Americans self-concept stability derives from defining the self in "if-then" terms, that is, as variable across relationship contexts but stable within them. In Studies 2a and 2b, parallel consistency effects emerged for 2 core motivational facets of the self-concept: self-view importance and self-enhancement. Moreover, dialectical beliefs mediated the cultural difference in consistency across contexts. Overall, the results demonstrate both the robustness and the boundaries of cultural differences in self-concept consistency as well as the importance of examining multiple forms of stability in the self-concept. Implications for authenticity and well-being are discussed.
Pluralism and the Churching of Latin America

Reliable data on Protestant and Catholic membership in 18 Latin American nations show that Protestants have recruited a larger percentage of the population in many nations than previously estimated. Analysis of these data shows that, as predicted by the theory of religious economies, the Catholic Church has been invigorated by the Protestant challenge: Catholic mass attendance has risen to unprecedented levels, and is highest in nations where Protestants have made the greatest gains.
Characteristics of High-State/Low-State Transitions in VY Sculptoris Stars

About 12 years of photometric monitoring of 65 nova-like cataclysmic variables (CVs) have allowed analysis of occasional VY Sculptoris?type low states, which we define as a fading of more than 1.5 mag in less than 150 days. Detailed light curves of eight systems exhibiting these low states are presented and discussed. The data are sufficient to measure the speeds and the shapes of 29 transitions to and from the low state: both single-slope and dual-slope rises and falls are found, with the dual-sloped transitions always being faster when fainter. This behavior is consistent with the low states being due to a starspot on the secondary star, drifting under the inner Lagrangian point, if the two slopes are interpreted as being due to the passage of the umbral and penumbral portions of the starspot.
Governance’s New Spectacles

This stance has given rise to endless debate in public administration: How useful is scientific knowledge in practice? Can what practitioners know really be considered knowledge? Is there a way to bridge the theory-practice divide? All of these questions come from the separation that science makes between itself and life experience. In my view, they have made the gap between theory and practice wider than it needs to be.
On the degree of MIMO systems

MIMO channels and wireless communications systems have generated a great deal of renewed interest in linear system theory. This paper presents two results. The first is a simple proof based on first principles, of the known fact that the McMillan degree of a causal M times M MIMO system is at least as large as the degree of its determinant. The second is a new result which shows that the degree of the M x M system z-1 G(z) is equal to the degree of G(z) plus M if and only if the causal system G(z) has an anticausal inverse.
Landscape level planning in alluvial riparian floodplain ecosystems: Using geomorphic modeling to avoid conflicts between human infrastructure and habitat conservation

River channel movement processes necessary to maintain the natural heterogeneity in wildlife-dependent riparian ecosystems often conflict with the need to protect adjacent human infrastructure (e.g. towns, bridges, water pumps). This conflict can be avoided through long-term planning efforts which use process-based geomorphic simulation modeling to forecast potential long-term (>50 years) landscape-level effects of water management decisions on river meander migration. We describe two management conflicts from the Sacramento River, California, USA, and analyze alternative management scenarios using results from a meander migration and cutoff simulation model. The first example shows that the existing rock revetment upstream from Woodson Bridge State Recreation Area alters the river meandering and causes erosion problems. Removing the revetment would relocate the channel and create a natural meander-neck chute cutoff, reducing erosion at the park while providing ecosystem benefits. The second example suggests that although a bank revetment is needed to prevent the river from moving away from a major water pump, removing an upstream bank revetment would provide habitat benefits without causing pump facility problems. These examples demonstrate the benefits of taking a long-term, landscape-level view when implementing infrastructure projects in dynamic landscapes.
Conflict on the treatment floor: an investigation of interpersonal conflict experienced by nurses

Nurse conflict has numerous detrimental outcomes for healthcare organisations, patients and nurses themselves. Although past literature has advanced general understanding of conflict and aggression, much of it is limited in its explanation of negative interactions between nurses themselves. To address this, we used a mixed-method approach to identify and describe characteristics of conflict between nurses using content analysis of qualitative descriptions and associated quantitative ratings from practicing registered nurses over 12 weeks of a weekly work experience survey administered online. We found six reliable themes describing the nature of nurse conflict including such characteristics as feeling unfairly treated, others’ irresponsible behaviours and work disagreement. Conflicts containing perceived unfair treatment as well as negative emotion and rude behaviour between nurses were rated very negatively. Results suggest that a comprehensive workplace conflict prevention strategy should include multip...
Mastering the Metered-Dose Inhaler : An Essential Step Toward Improving Asthma Control in School

School nurses can have significant cohorts of students with asthma. Effectively managing asthma in school can be challenging in terms of time, resources, and outcomes. A valuable focus for the school nurse is inhaled medication administration. Understanding the details required for optimal inhalation technique with metered-dose inhalers is the foundation for developing the skills to deliver and teach this vital aspect of asthma management. The school nurse can play a pivotal role in the partnership of asthma education that can benefit the student in school and at home.
Reducing phosphorus losses from surface-irrigated fields: emerging polyacrylamide technology

Most P losses from surface-irrigated fields occur via runoff, are associated with eroded sediment, and can be minimized by eliminating irrigation-induced erosion. A convenient new practice that eliminates furrow irrigation-induced soil losses uses a high molecular weight, anionic polyacrylamide (PAM) applied to initial irrigation inflows. We hypothesized that, compared to control furrows, PAM treatment would reduce field losses of ortho P, total P, NO 3, and lower tailwater chemical oxygen demand (COD). Two PAM treatments were tested: Igo applied 10 mg L - ' PAM only during the furrow advance (i.e., the application was halted after runoff began) and C I applied 1 mg L - ' PAM continuously throughout the irrigation. Soil was Portneuf silt loam (coarse-silty, mixed, mesic Durixerollic Calciorthid) with 1.6% slope. Initial inflows were cut back from 23 to 15 L min' after 1.5 to 6 h. Total soil loss over four irrigations was 3.06 Mg ha ' for control furrows vs. 0.33 (C 1) and 0.24 (I I,)) for PAM-treated furrows. OrthoP and total P concentrations in control tailwaters were five to seven times that of PAM treatments, and COD levels were four times those of PAM treatments. Runoff in controls was two times that of PAMtreated furrows. PAM-L0 lowered furrow stream nutrient concentrations more than did PAM-C 1, but owing to disparities in runoff, the two treatments produced similar cumulative sediment and nutrient mass losses. The PAM is effective, convenient, and economical, and greatly reduces P and organic material (COD) losses from surfaceirrigated fields.
Chemistry of HOx radicals in the upper troposphere

Aircraft observations from three recent missions (STRAT, SUCCESS, SONEX) are synthesized into a theoretical analysis of the factors controlling the concentrations of HO_x radicals (HO_x=OH+peroxy) and the larger reservoir family HO_y (HO_y=HO_x+2H_2O_2+2CH_3OOH+HNO_2+HNO_4) in the upper troposphere. Photochemical model calculations capture 66% of the variance of observed HOx concentrations. Two master variables are found to determine the variance of the 24 h average HOx concentrations: the primary HO_x production rate, P(HO_x), and the concentration of nitrogen oxide radicals (NO_x=NO+NO_2). We use these two variables as a coordinate system to diagnose the photochemistry of the upper troposphere and map the different chemical regimes. Primary HO_x production is dominated by the O(^1D)+H_2O reaction when [H_2O]>100 ppmv, and by photolysis of acetone (and possibly other convected HO_x precursors) under drier conditions. For the principally northern midlatitude conditions sampled by the aircraft missions, the HO_x yield from acetone photolysis ranges from 2 to 3. Methane oxidation amplifies the primary HO_x source by a factor of 1.1–1.9. Chemical cycling within the HO_x family has a chain length of 2.5–7, while cycling between the HO_x family and its HO_y reservoirs has a chain length of 1.6–2.2. The number of ozone molecules produced per HO_y molecule consumed ranges from 4 to 12, such that ozone production rates vary between 0.3 and 5 ppbv d^(−1) in the upper troposphere. Three chemical regimes (NO_x-limited, transition, NO_x-saturated) are identified to describe the dependence of HO_x concentrations and ozone production rates on the two master variables P(HO_x) and [NO_x]. Simplified analytical expressions are derived to express these dependences as power laws for each regime. By applying an eigenlifetime analysis to the HO_x–NO_x–O_3 chemical system, we find that the decay of a perturbation to HO_y in the upper troposphere (as from deep convection) is represented by four dominant modes with the longest time scale being factors of 2–3 times longer than the steady-state lifetime of HO_y.
Protein wrapping: a molecular marker for association, aggregation and drug design

In this tutorial review we survey the concept of protein wrapping from a physico-chemical perspective. Wrapping is introduced as an indicator of the packing quality of protein structure. Thus, while a well-wrapped protein is sustainable in isolation, a poorly wrapped protein is reliant on binding partnerships to maintain its structural integrity. At a local level, wrapping is indicative of the extent of solvent exposure of the amide–carbonyl hydrogen bonds of the protein backbone. Poorly wrapped hydrogen bonds, the so-called dehydrons, are shown to represent structural vulnerabilities. These singularities are sticky, hence promoters of protein associations. We also focus on severely under-wrapped protein structures that belong to an order/disorder twilight. Such proteins are shown to be prone to aggregate. Finally, we survey the recent exploitation of dehydrons as targetable features to promote specificity in drug-based cancer therapy. Dehydrons prove to be valuable targets to reduce side effects and enhance drug safety.
Religious Market Competition in a Richer World

Economic growth has not led to a decline in religion despite past predictions that it would. Using a formal model of religious competition, I show how economic growth produces counteracting effects on religious activity in an open religious market, and that it has little effect in a religious market that is already secularized due to regulations that prohibit religious competition or in a highly religious market with regulations that inhibit secular activities. Theories predicting the decline of religion due to rising opportunity costs of religious demand and supply ignore countervailing influences. [T]he opinion is everywhere gaining ground that religion is a mere survival from a primitive . . . age, and its extinction only a matter of time. (Crawley 1905) I think what I and most other sociologists of religion wrote in the 1960s about secularization was a mistake. Our understanding was that secularization and modernity go hand in hand. . . . It wasn’t a crazy theory. There was some evidence for it. But I think it’s basically wrong. Most of the world today is certainly not secular. It’s very religious. (Berger 1997) 1
Reducing Gain Shifts in Photomultiplier Tubes

Gain shifts in photomultipliers from count-rate changes can be minimized by using only five active stages, making up the gain with a low-noise preamplifier. Further reductions sometimes result from a dim light shining on the dynode structure. Reductions to less than 1 part in 600 were seen.
Risk Stratification for Advanced Colorectal Neoplasia—Response

We appreciate the interest in our article and thank Berstad and colleagues for their kind comments about its importance. As noted in our Discussion, we concur with their speculation that the notable absence of several important risk factors for advanced colorectal neoplasia (ACN) may be largely
Early and middle Miocene depositional history of the Maracaibo Basin, western Venezuela

The uplift of the Sierra de Perij and Mrida Andes and the marine connection with the Falcn Basin ultimately controlled the distribution of shallow-marine, coastal, and nonmarine sedimentary rocks in the Maracaibo Basin during the early and middle Miocene. These rocks contain the most important shale top seal in the basin and nearly three-quarters of the produced plus proven reserves of the supergiant Bolvar coastal fields. The Maracaibo Basin has been isolated from extrabasinal drainage systems since the late Oligocene, and sediments derived from the surrounding highlands were either deposited in the basin or delivered into the neighboring Falcn Basin through a narrow marine passage (the westward extension of the Falcn Channel). Four unconformity-bounded sequences mapped in the northeastern sector of the Maracaibo Basin help recreate its regional paleogeography as it was flooded from the northeast through this passage. In the early Miocene, part of the basin became a semi-enclosed shallow-marine gulf, and wave- and tide-modified deltas prograded across the temporarily inactive Lama-Icotea fault system. As sea level dropped, the shoreline advanced eastward of the Falcn Channel, and valleys were incised and subsequently filled by transgressive estuarine sediments. In the next sea level highstand, tidal-bar complexes of a tide-dominated delta system prograded and filled all available accommodation space. In the middle Miocene, relative sea level dropped into the Falcn Basin, and the Maracaibo area became a mixed-load fluvial drainage basin. By late middle Miocene, the two basins were separated, and the Maracaibo Basin became an intermontane fluvial-lacustrine depression.
The electronic viewbox.

OBJECTIVE. We describe an effective, resource-free method for facilitating the comparison of film-based and PACS-based radiographic studies.CONCLUSION. Side-by-side comparison of film-based and PACS-based radiographic studies is often inconvenient because of the absence of an ergonomically satisfactory viewbox near the workstation. With a simple maneuver, any PACS display monitor can be used as a rudimentary viewbox, providing a convenient and ergonomically effective alternative.
On the Sampling Variance of Raingage Networks

Abstract A study has been conducted which examines the sampling variance of raingage networks, the most commonly used precipitation estimating system. The study is based on the use of computer-simulated isohyetal patterns of known characteristics (absolute ground truth) which were calibrated against measured isohyetal patterns from convective storms that are reported in the literature. The sampling variance of raingage networks is quantitatively related to both the raingage density and the characteristics of the isohyetal pattern. It was found that the sampling variance or coefficient of variation is inversely proportional to the number of gages per surface raincell and directly proportional to the gradient of rainfall. These results have been used to assess the relative contribution of the sampling variance of raingage networks and the natural variability of rainfall to the estimated experimental unit sample size requirements for evaluating precipitation augmentation experiments. The convective storm rai...
The archeology, sedimentology and paleontology of Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary and nearby hard bottom reefs along the mid continental shelf of the Georgia Bight

Abstract Geoarcheological surveys undertaken over the past two decades at Gray's Reef National Marine Sanctuary, 32 km offshore Georgia, and nearby JY Reef have recovered archeological and paleontological materials dating from the Late Pleistocene, primarily Marine Isotope Stage (MIS) 3, 59–24 KYBP as well as the early-to-mid Holocene, 6000 BP. The paleontological materials include both invertebrate and vertebrate taxa from both the Pleistocene and Holocene while the archeological materials are Holocene age. Sediment coring has developed a more comprehensive picture of the inner-to-mid continental shelf sediment prism of the Georgia Bight. Optical petrography, scanning electron microscopy, electron dispersive spectroscopy (SEM-EDS) and wavelength dispersive X-ray diffraction (XRD) have been used to characterize Gray's Reef lithic artifacts and nearby outcrops which are both primarily Pliocene age calcareous sandstones. JY Reef is, by contrast, a coquina rich in fossil and subfossil materials but depauperate in any archeologic finds. Petrologic and geochemical data have been developed for both the outcrops and artifacts that are in good agreement with previous studies using optical petrography.
If There Is No Change, Just Say So

One of most frequent reasons to image a patient is to make comparisons to prior studies to determine whether the imaging features of an abnormality have changed. The difference between two studies dictates management in patients with cancer, chronic diseases, and acute unstable diseases. Worsening of a disease may necessitate a new treatment plan, whereas no change or improvement is reassuring to the physician and patient. Although the task seems simple enough, radiologists can make absence of change unnecessarily wordy and confusing. The most straightforward way to communicate an absence of change between two examinations is to say so: “no change in..” Synonyms such as stable are clear in meaning to other
Too Much Knowledge? Security Beliefs and Protective Behaviors Among United States Internet Users

Home computers are frequently the target of malicious attackers because they are usually administered by non-experts. Prior work has found that users who make security decisions about their home computers often possess different mental models of information security threats, and use those mental models to make decisions about security. Using a survey, we asked a large representative sample of United States Internet users about different causal beliefs related to computer security, and about the actions they regularly undertake to protect their computers. We found demographic differences in both beliefs about security and security behaviors that pose challenges for helping users become more informed about security. Many participants reported weakly held beliefs about viruses and hackers, and these were the least likely to say they take protective actions. These results suggest that all security knowledge is not the same, educating users about security is not simply a more-is-better issue, and not all users should receive the same messages.
Drug Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease

Alzheimer’s disease is a devastating illness that will become more common as the population ages. Although clinical diagnosis of the illness is not certain without histological examination of the brain, and misdiagnosis may occur, broad working criteria to help diagnose the likely presence of Alzheimer’s disease are available. Thoughtful clinical evaluation improves diagnostic accuracy, and appropriately diagnosed patients are critical for involvement in research into new antidementia agents. Essential to the discovery of new drugs is careful measurement of illness response. A variety of scales — some aimed at patients, others at their caregivers, and yet others for clinicians — assess Alzheimer’s disease severity, progression, symptom response, and quality of life. Of note, patient response is not the only measurement of treatment benefit today. Growing interest is also being placed on tracking the possible amelioration of caregiver ‘burden’. This burden refers to the psychological, physical, and material costs of providing care for an Alzheimer’s patient over long periods of time. A number of scales and questionnaires have been developed and are occasionally used. Many drugs have been tried in Alzheimer’s disease, but very few have produced any benefit, and this is often modest. Ergoloid mesylates, initially thought to be effective, are now considered of little value. The cholinomimetic drugs, especially the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor tacrine, have provided a very modest benefit, slowing the progression of the illness for a number of months. No cognitive improvement has been noted with the various nootropic agents such as piracetam. Early studies with levacecarnine (acetyl-L-carnitine), a substance that facilitates the use of fatty acids, memantidine, the dimethyl derivative of amantidine, and the calcium channel blocker nimodipine, have shown some promise, but require larger, more rigorous studies. As mentioned above, documenting effects in individual patients is crucial; examining for potential benefit to caregivers is a growing part of research design. Current treatment efforts will become more sophisticated as a deeper understanding of the neurobiology of Alzheimer’s disease develops. For the immediate future, the goal is not cure but slowing of the disease process. Achieving this limited goal would have a substantial impact on the financial and human costs of the illness.
Contemporary Orthodontics, 4th ed.

William R. Proffit, D.D.S., Ph.D.; Henry W. Fields, Jr., D.D.S., M.S., M.S.D.; David M. Sarver, D.M.D., M.S. St. Louis: Mosby/Elsevier, 2006. 751 pp., illustrated, indexed $125 hardcover; $175 Edition (2007) ISBN 978-0-323-04046-4 Students, residents, and practitioners of orthodontics will be
Verification and Validation of the PLTEMP/ANL Code for Thermal-Hydraulic Analysis of Experimental and Test Reactors

The document compiles in a single volume several verification and validation works done for the PLTEMP/ANL code during the years of its development and improvement. Some works that are available in the open literature are simply referenced at the outset, and are not included in the document. PLTEMP has been used in conversion safety analysis reports of several US and foreign research reactors that have been licensed and converted. A list of such reactors is given. Each chapter of the document deals with the verification or validation of a specific model. The model verification is usually done by comparing the code with hand calculation, Microsoft spreadsheet calculation, or Mathematica calculation. The model validation is done by comparing the code with experimental data or a more validated code like the RELAP5 code.
Resonant pair tunnelling and singular effects of c-axis disorder in cuprate and organic superconductors

Abstract In the interlayer pair tunnelling theory of superconductivity, the large scale of Tc has its origin in the k-space locality of the pair tunnelling matrix elements. We give a complementary interpretation of the same physics as a process of resonant pair tunnelling and illustrate it through Cooper pair analysis. This interpretation is used to give a mechanism which leads to a singular suppression of Tc as a function of c-axis (off-plane or off-axis) disorder. In this mechanism the non-resonant tunnelling processes arising from the c-axis disorder in general contributes a pair binding energy which is reduced by a factor of the order of TJ /Ef , where TJ is the interlayer pair tunnelling matrix element and EF is the Fermi energy. This leads to a simple theorem which states that the scale of Tc is controlled by the space average value of the bare one-electron interlayer hopping matrix element. After briefly discussing the fact that the organic superconductors based on ET and tetramethyltetraselenafulv...
Temporal Variability in Repeated Bioassays of Field Populations of European Red Mite (Acari: Tetranychidae): Implications for Resistance Monitoring

Discriminating bioassaysare increasingly being used to detect resistance and estimate the frequency (F) of resistant (R) phenotypes in field populations. The proportion of survivors in discriminating bioassaysis thought to measure the frequency of R phenotypes in the population. External factors that cause physiological stress in a field population may alter response to a discriminating concentration and affect estimates of F. Because esusceptible (S) phenotypes already die at the discriminating concentration, only the response of R phenotypes changes. Thus, estimates of F will be biased and populations under stress will appear to be more susceptible than they really are. Repeated discriminating bioassays of the European red mite, Panonychus ulmi (Koch), showed variability in estimates of F. Repeated bioassays of P. ulmi from commercial apple orchards were used to construct a cumulative distribution function that describes the probability that Rphenotypes die in the discriminating bioassay. This distribution function was then used in simulations to explore the effect of day-to-day variability in tolerance of R phenotypes on resistance monitoring programs.
Collapsed Matrices with (Almost) the Same Eigenstuff

are pu ~ 0.9954 and e1 ~ (.9221, .0556, .0190, .0031, .0002)r A is the annual transition matrix for a Leslie matrix model [5] of the population of female brook trout in Hunt Creek, Michigan, with five age groups [2]. Each entry in the first row of A gives the number of female fingerlings expected from each member of one age group. The entries in the subdiagonal give the fraction of each age group that is expected to survive for one year. So, given an initial population vector v, An\ shows the expected populations in each age group after n years. The entries in the eigenvec? tor represent the long-run fraction of the population in each age group. The dominant eigenvalue represents the eventual annual growth rate of the population. We show how to collapse A to
Modeling of Dislocation Mobility in Metals: Effect of Obstacles and Thermal Processes

Thermally activated dislocation glide velocity through weak point obstacle arrays is studied analytically and computationally. Thermal activation rate is estimated using the modified Friedel relations under the weak obstacle approximation. The average flight velocity after an activation event as a function of stress and temperature is obtained by the discrete dislocation dynamics (DD). This numerical calculation includes the effect of self-stress, interaction with electrons and phonons, and the inertial effect. These results are implemented into a phenomenological model to study the dislocation velocity under various conditions. The model can reproduce both obstacle control and drag control motion in low and high velocity regions, and a flow stress anomaly at transient regions.