cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Comparison of fenprostalene and oxytetracycline as treatment for retained fetal membranes in dairy cows

Retained fetal membranes (RFM) is a common postpartum disorder of the reproductive system of dairy cows. The incidence, etiology, consequences, treatment and prevention of RFM have been thoroughly discussed. Agreement on the best way to manage and treat RFM is not unanimous. Management and treatment schemes are numerous, and there are proponents of each. Regimes of therapy include no treatment, intrauterine antibacterials, systemic antibacterials, uterine contractants, manual removal, no manual removal and various combinations. At the present time the most widely used treatment for RFM is probably intrauterine tetracycline with or without manual removal of the membranes; however, there is an apparent trend away from manual removal. The ideal therapy for RFM would be non-irritating to the endometrium, non-depressing to the uterine defense mechanism, prevent the development of metritis and promote uterine tone and contractions to discourage the accumulation of fluid. To achieve these desired effects, it would appear that both the proper antibacterials and uterine contractants would be needed. Thus far, the various treatments employed have not consistently brought about the desired results. Fenprostalene, an analogue of prostaglandin F2 alpha, has recently been advocated as a treatment for RFM. At least 3 reports indicate the beneficial effects of fenprostalene as therapy for RFM in dairy cows. In another trial, however, there was no benefit. The purpose of this study was to compare fenprostalene and oxytetracycline for the treatment of RFM noting in particular the effect on body temperature, days to expulsion, incidence of postpartum metritis and subsequent fertility.
Childhood Wealth Inequality in the United States: Implications for Social Stratification and Well-Being.

Wealth inequality—the unequal distribution of assets and debts across a population—has reached historic levels in the United States, particularly for households with children (Pfeffer and Schoeni [2016][1]; Saez and Zucman [2016][2]; Gibson-Davis and Percheski [2018][3]). Among households with a
Parent and Teacher Attitudes Toward Bullying In School

Bullying is a problem in elementary schools and has been shown to negatively affect a student’s academic performance, friendships, and attitudes towards bullying. Previous research has indicated that parents’ and teachers’ attitudes toward bullying and victimization can influence elementary children’s views of bullying, yet little research has compared parents’ and teachers’ attitudes toward these bullying behaviors of children in elementary school. The purpose of the quantitative study was to compare parent and teacher attitudes toward physical and verbal bullying and victimization of these behaviors. Guided by the social cognitive theory, the current study used the Reynolds Bullying Victimization Scales and the seriousness of 6 bullying vignettes to measure the participants’ attitudes toward bullying in school. The between subjects design included parents with children in kindergarten through 5 th grade (n = 30) and teachers teaching students in these grades (n = 30). Data were analyzed using independent sample 2-tailed t tests and descriptive statistics. Results indicated that teachers rated physical and verbal bullying and victimization from these behaviors more seriously than did parents, but the difference was not statistically significant. Social change initiatives may occur when parents and teachers are aware of each other’s attitudes toward bullying and victimization in elementary school, which may facilitate collaborative relationships between the groups, provide a safe environment, and improve children’s academic performance and
Models of Passive Membrane

From the point of view of irreversible thermodynamics, one of the most widely used models of passive membrane is the Nernst-Planck equation, which simply combines Ohm’s law for the flow of charged particles in an electrical-potential gradient and Fick’s first law for the diffusion of particles in a concentration gradient. In writing the Nernst-Planck equation, it is customary to deal with flow densities, i.e., the number of particles flowing through a unit of area in a unit of time. This quantity, usually labeled J, is particularly useful for membranes since one often is interested in the flow of particles through a given area of membrane.
Membrane Topology of γ-Secretase Component PEN-2

PEN-2 is an integral membrane protein that is a necessary component of the gamma-secretase complex, which is central in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer's disease and is also required for Notch signaling. In the absence of PEN-2, Notch signaling fails to guide normal development in Caenorhabditis elegans, and amyloid beta peptide is not generated from the amyloid precursor protein. Human PEN-2 is a 101-amino acid protein containing two putative transmembrane domains. To understand its interaction with other gamma-secretase components, it is important to know the membrane topology of each member of the complex. To characterize the membrane topology of PEN-2, we introduced single amino acid changes in each of the three hydrophilic regions of PEN-2 to generate N-linked glycosylation sites. We found that the N-linked glycosylation sites present in the N- and C-terminal domains of PEN-2 were utilized, whereas a site in the hydrophilic "loop" region connecting the two transmembrane domains was not. The addition of a carbohydrate structure in the N-terminal domain of PEN-2 prevented association with presenilin 1, whereas glycosylation in the C-terminal region of PEN-2 did not, suggesting that the N-terminal domain is important for interactions with presenilin 1. Immunofluorescence microscopy with selective permeabilization of the plasma membrane of cells expressing epitope-tagged forms of PEN-2 confirmed the lumenal location of both the N and C termini. A protease protection assay also demonstrated that the loop domain of PEN-2 is cytosolic. Thus, PEN-2 spans the membrane twice, with the N and C termini facing the lumen of the endoplasmic reticulum.
Managing Political Polarization in Congress: A Case Study on the Use of the Hastert Rule

The rise of the Tea Party and the ideological divisions within the Republican Party created challenging conditions for Speaker Boehner. The strategic use of the “go-it-alone” Hastert Rule allowed Speaker Boehner to successfully navigate a treacherous political path of managing his divergent caucus, preserving his leadership position, and passing selective legislation when necessary even when the majority of his caucus did not support it. This manufactured procedural tool served substantive and political purposes. The routine use of the Hastert Rule strengthened the hand of the Tea Party members to influence legislation. At the same time, selectively ignoring the Hastert Rule allowed Speaker Boehner to relieve some of the political pressure that the Tea Party members exerted in an effort to preserve the future electoral viability of his party. The Hastert Rule, an informal but accepted practice in the House of Representatives, created the latitude for Speaker Boehner to maneuver through this difficult period. It is an example of the remarkable ability of Congress to adapt and address internal challenges and threats.
Effects of ambient pressure on dynamics of near-nozzle diesel sprays studied by ultrafast x-radiography.

A time-resolved x-radiographic technique has been employed for measuring the fuel distribution close to a single-hole nozzle fitted in a high-pressure diesel injector. Using a monochromatic synchrotron x-ray beam, it is possible to perform quantitative x-ray absorption measurements and obtain two-dimensional projections of the mass of the fuel spray. We have completed a series of spray measurements in the optically dense, near-nozzle region (ml 15 mm from the nozzle orifice) under ambient pressures of 1, 2, and 5.2 bar Nd2 and 1 bar SFd6 at room temperature with injection pressures of 500 and 1000 bar. The focus of the measurements is on the dynamical behaviors of the fuel jets with an emphasis on their penetration in the near-nozzle region. Careful analysis of the time-resolved, x-radiographic data revealed that the spray penetration in this near-nozzle region was not significantly affected by the limited change of the ambient pressure. In addition, well-defined features of the spray, such as the leading and trailing edges, and fluctuations of fuel mass density in the spray body, allowed us to calculate the leading, trailing, and internal speeds of the sprays.
Unfolding Smooth Primsatoids

We define a notion for unfolding smooth, ruled surfaces, and prove that every smooth prismatoid (the convex hull of two smooth curves lying in parallel planes), has a nonoverlapping "volcano unfolding." These unfoldings keep the base intact, unfold the sides outward, splayed around the base, and attach the top to the tip of some side rib. Our result answers a question for smooth prismatoids whose analog for polyhedral prismatoids remains unsolved.
Low‐Field Whole Body Systems

The sections in this article are 1 Introduction 2 Physics of Low Field Strength Operation 3 Magnets for Low-Field MRI 4 Sequencing for Low-Field Imaging 5 Sequences for Mid-Field Imaging 6 Signal-to-Noise Ratio and Field Strength 7 Discussion 8 Biographical Sketches Related Articles
Wavelet-based feature extraction for mammographic lesion recognition

In this paper, multiresolution analysis, specifically the discrete wavelet transform modulus-maximus method, is utilized for the extraction of mammographic lesion shape features. These shape features are used in a classification system to classify lesions as cysts, fibroadenomas, or carcinomas. The multiresolution shape features are compared with traditional uniresolution shape features for their class discriminating abilities. The study involves 60 digitized mammographic images. The lesions are segmented prior to introduction to the classification system. The uniresolution and multiresolution shape features are calculated using the radial distance measure of the lesion boundaries. The discriminating power of the shape features are analyzed via linear discriminant analysis. The classification system utilizes a simple Euclidean distance measure to determine class membership. The system is tested using the apparent and leave-one-out test methods. The results of the classification system when using the multiresolution and uniresolution shape features are classification rates of 83% and 80% for the apparent and leave-one-out test methods, respectively. These results are compared with those of the system when using only the uniresolution shape features. The uniresolution classification rates are 72% and 68% for the apparent and leave-one-out test methods, respectively. Keywords: wavelet transform, multiresolution analysis, feature extraction, classification, shape, mammography, image processing
Adiabatic analysis of atomic collisions. II. Properties of velocity-coupled channels

The connection between wave functions describing inelastic collisions and a complete set of standing wave functions, expanded in a Born-Oppenheimer-type base, is developed in terms of Jost functions generalized for application to velocity-coupled channels. The Jost functions represent conserved currents which include, in our case, contributions from nuclear motion. Several limiting cases of a recently developed post-adiabatic treatment are examined from the points of view of numerical applications as well as qualitative discussion. The example of a spinning particle traversing a magnetic field of variable direction is worked out.
A Dynamical Model of the Stratospheric Sudden Warming

Abstract The dynamics of the stratosphere sudden warming phenomenon is discussed in terms of the interaction of vertically propagating planetary waves with zonal winds. If global-scale disturbances are generated in the troposphere, they propagate upward into the stratosphere, where the waves act to decelerate the polar night jet through the induction of a meridional circulation. Thus, the distortion and the break-down of the polar vortex occur. If the disturbance is intense and persists, the westerly jet may eventually disappear and an easterly wind may replace it. Then “critical layer interaction” takes place. Further intensification of the easterly wind and rapid warming of the polar air are expected to occur as well as weakening of the disturbance. The model is verified by numerical integrations of the adiabatic-geostrophic potential vorticity equation. Computed results possess features similar to those observed in sudden warming phenomena.
Mechanisms of antibiotic removal by nanofiltration membranes: Model development and application

Nanofiltration (NF) membranes have been shown to effectively remove low-molecular-weight compounds, but predicting their rejection has posed challenges due to the fact that multiple mechanisms can be involved (e.g. adsorption, steric-hindrance effects, and electrostatic effects) that concurrently control removal. The objective of this study was to systematically evaluate which factors were responsible for steady-state rejection of selected antibiotics such as sulfamethoxazole (SMX) and carbadox (CDX) for three NF membranes of varying tightness through a unique modeling approach which accounts for the fact that these compounds bear distinctive acid–base speciation properties under varying pH conditions. Both the steric-hindrance/pore-diffusion model for neutral solutes along with the Donnan steric partitioning model for charged solutes were integrated together to predict overall rejection. This is the first known study to evaluate compound rejection of compounds that carry such unique speciation properties as a function of pH by using such a combined approach. Antibiotic rejection was found to vary with both pH and membrane tightness. Rejection controlled by charge repulsion effects was accurately predicted for both negatively charged solutes such as SMX− and CDX− and positively charged solutes such as SMX+. However, rejection controlled by steric-hindrance effects for neutral solutes either overestimated (e.g. SMX) or underestimated (e.g. CDX) rejection by up to 23%. These findings improve the understanding of which transport mechanisms influence rejection of both neutral and charged low-molecular-weight compounds by NF membranes so that removal can be better predicted.
Bioactivities of Kernel Extracts of 18 Strains of Maize (Zea mays)

Abstract: Aqueous and ethanolic extracts of maize kernels from 18 varieties/strains were prepared for the evaluation of inhibitory activities toward α-glucosidase and scavenging activities toward nitric oxide (NO•) and superoxide (•O2−). All ethanolic extracts of maize strains tested inhibited yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) α-glucosidase with the highest potency (49% to 54%) found for 2 purple and a yellow strains. However, inhibitory effects of maize extracts on rat intestinal α-glucosidase were as a whole about 10% as effective as with the yeast enzyme. Maize extracts were capable of scavenging NO• at the level of 0.25 mg/mL to extents ranging from 24% to 50% and 26% to 57%, respectively, for aqueous and ethanolic extracts. All tested aqueous extracts were also capable of scavenging •O2−, with efficacies ranging from 8% to 38%, at the level of 1.5 mg/mL, whereas almost none of the ethanolic extracts scavenged •O2−, except for one purple strain (approximately 10% effective). The effectiveness in the enzyme inhibition and antioxidant assays did not correlate with total phenolic and/or anthocyanin levels, nor with the nature of pigmentation among the maize strains evaluated. Practical Application: A diversity of pigmented maize strains was evaluated for biological activities related to mitigating oxidative stress and slowing down glucose absorption from the diet. Certain strains tended to be more abundant in these biological activities and have potential to be used in dietary regimes that are designed to promote human health.
Practical strategies for promoting full inclusion of individuals with disabilities in community-based participatory intervention research

Community-based participatory research (CBPR) with disability communities is directed toward facilitating full inclusion of individuals with disabilities and disability community organizations in all aspects of the research process. Within the CBPR framework, academic-disability community partners may value and wish to use experimental designs to test interventions. Being aware of and proactively addressing barriers and challenges to inclusion in the areas of human resources, training, productivity, accommodation, and inadequate funding for disability community organizations are critical for success. Some of the strategies discussed in this article for addressing these challenges include creating redundant systems, providing benefits counseling and individualized payment options for employment, designing trainings to be disability friendly, and carefully considering selection of partners in light of available community resources. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Res Nurs Health 34:253–265, 2011
Profiling the high frequency wine consumer by price segmentation in the US market

Abstract Heavy users of consumer products are important to marketers as a profitable target segment. This is equally true in the wine industry, but with the added precaution of encouraging responsible consumption. This study examines the attributes and behaviors of 681 high frequency (heavy-user) wine consumers in the US, based on a price segmentation of High, Moderate, and Low Spenders. For this study, price segmentation was defined as the price typically paid for a bottle of wine for home consumption. Significant differences were discovered based on gender, age, income, wine involvement, shopping channel, ecommerce/social media usage and other key areas. Implications for marketing managers as well as areas of future research are described.
Graded structures for damage resistant and aesthetic all-ceramic restorations.

Objectives Clinical studies revealed several performance deficiencies with alumina- and zirconia-based all-ceramic restorations: fracture; poor aesthetic properties of ceramic cores (particularly zirconia cores); and difficulty in achieving a strong ceramic–resin-based cement bond. We aim to address these issues by developing a functionally graded glass/zirconia/glass (G/Z/G) structure with improved damage resistance, aesthetics, and cementation properties.
EF-G:A-Site Trna Distance Changes during Translocation

Prokaryotic elongation factor G (EF-G) catalyzes the coupled translocations on the ribosome of mRNA and A- and P-site bound tRNAs during the polypeptide elongation cycle. However, the kinetic pathway of this important step has not been fully elucidated. Here we describe the application of single molecule fluorescence resonance energy transfer (smFRET) to probe the mechanism of this key process in real time. Attaching a fluorescent probe within domain IV of EF-G permits monitoring of FRET efficiencies to sites in both ribosomal protein L11 and A-site tRNA. Two different sites on L11, position 38 or position 87, as well as two different A-site tRNAs, Phe-tRNAPhe or Val-tRNAVal were labeled with Cy5. The EF-G:L11 FRET efficiency is constant during EF-G occupancy of the ribosome (300 - 400 ms), whereas the EF-G:tRNA FRET proceeds from high to intermediate to low FRET values. This indicates that EF-G:A-site tRNA distance increases progressively during translocation, with our results providing the first good estimates of the timing of such changes. For both tRNAs, the EF-G:tRNA pair spends most of its time in the intermediate FRET state, with shorter lifetimes in the high and low FRET states. Each transition in the FRET value corresponds to a relative distance change of about 5 to 7 A, so in total, we capture a 12 A relative movement of A-site tRNA away from EF-G during translocation. EF-G:A-site tRNA FRET is sensitive to buffer conditions, with high Mg2+ and polyamines stabilizing the high FRET state. In addition, the translocation inhibitors viomycin and spectinomycin block formation of the low FRET state, although spectinomycin allows more movement between EF-G and tRNA than viomycin. Supported by NIH grant GM080376 to YEG and BSC and AHA fellowship 12POST8910014 to CC.
VARIATION OF Nb--Ta, Zr--Hf, Th--U, AND K--Cs IN TWO DIABASE-GRANOPHYRE SUITES.

Abstract Concentrations of Nb, Ta, Zr, Hf, Th, U and Cs have been determined in samples of igneous rocks representing the diabase-granophyre suites from Dillsburg, Pennsylvania, and Great Lake, Tasmania. Niobium and tantalum have a three to fourfold increase with differentiation in each of the suites. The chilled margin of the Great Lake intrusion contains half the niobium and tantalum content (5.3 ppm and 0.4 ppm, respectively) of the chilled basalt from Dillsburg (10 ppm and 0.9 ppm, respectively). The twofold difference between the suites is correlated with differences in their titanium content. The average Nb Ta ratios for each suite are similar: 13.5 for the Great Lake suite, and 14.4 for the Dillsburg suite. The zirconium content of the two suites is essentially the same and increases from 50 to 60 ppm in the chilled margins to 240–300 ppm in the granophyres. Hafnium is low in the early formed rocks (0.5 –1.5 ppm and achieves a maximum in the granophyres (5–8 ppm). The Zr Hf ratio decreases from 68 to 33 with progressive differentiation. In the Dillsburg suite thorium and uranium increase from 2.6 ppm and 0.6 ppm, respectively, in the chilled samples to 11.8 ppm and 3.1 ppm in the granophyres. The chilled margin of the Great Lake suite contains 3.2 ppm thorium and 9.8 ppm uranium; the granophyre contains 11.2 ppm thorium and 2.8 ppm uranium. The average Th U ratios of the Dillsburg and Great Lake suites are nearly the same—4.1 and 4.4, respectively. Within each suite the Th U ratio remains quite constant. Cesium and the K Cs ratio do not vary systematically in the Dillsburg suite possibly because of redistribution or loss of cesium by complex geologic processes. Except for the chilled margin of the Great Lake suite, the variation of Cs and the K Cs ratio are in accord with theoretical considerations. Cesium increases from about 0.6 ppm in the lower zone to 3.5 ppm in the granophyre; the K Cs ratio varies from 10 × 103 in the lower zone to 6 × 103 in the granophyre. A comparison of the abundance of some of these elements is made with those reported on oceanic tholeiites from the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Trace elements with large ionic radii (Th, U, Cs) are present in significantly greater concentrations in the two continental tholeiitic series than in the oceanic tholeiites. However, this does not seem to be true for lithophilic elements of smaller ionic radii (Zr and Nb). These trace element distribution patterns, when considered with other minor element and isotopic studies, indicate that 1. (1) crustal contamination does not entirely account for differences between continental and oceanic tholeiites, and 2. (2) the oceanic tholeiites do not necessarily delimit the geochemical characteristics of the mantle.
Experimental Pneumocystis lung infection promotes M2a alveolar macrophage-derived MMP12 production

Among several bacterial and viral pathogens, the atypical fungal organism Pneumocystis jirovecii has been implicated as a contributor to the pathogenesis of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). In a previous study, we reported that Pneumocystis-colonized HIV-positive subjects had worse obstruction of airways and higher sputum levels of macrophage elastase/matrix metalloproteinase 12 (MMP12), a protease strongly associated with the development of COPD. Here, we examined parameters of Pneumocystis-induced MMP12 in the lungs of mice and its role in the lung immune response to murine Pneumocystis. Initial studies demonstrated that P. murina exposure induced Mmp12 mRNA expression in whole lungs and alveolar macrophages (AMs), which was dependent on the presence of CD4+ T cells as well as signal transducer and activator of transcription 6. Mmp12 mRNA expression was upregulated in AMs by interleukin (IL)-4 treatment, but downregulated by interferon (IFN)-γ, indicating preferential expression in alternatively activated (M2a) macrophages. IL-4 treatment induced the 54-kDa proenzyme form of MMP12 and the 22-kDa fully processed and active form, whereas IFN-γ failed to induce either. Despite a reported antimicrobial role in macrophage phagolysosomes, mice deficient in MMP12 were not found to be more susceptible to lung infection with P. murina. Collectively, our data indicate that MMP12 induction is a component of the P. murina-induced M2 response and thus provides insight into the link between Pneumocystis colonization/infection and exacerbations in COPD.
Elastic photon scattering from carbon and calcium and its interpretation

Differential cross sections for the elastic scattering of tagged, monochromatic photons have been measured for targets of carbon and calcium between 19 and 52 MeV. The formalism for the interpretation of these cross sections in terms of the total photoabsorption cross section and its partitioning into E1 and E2 parts is presented. For carbon, we find excellent agreement between the photoabsorption deduced from the scattering and previous direct measurements. The fore-to-aft asymmetries in the cross sections indicate that the bulk of E2 strength is above 50 MeV and not between 30 and 45 MeV, as previously thought. For calcium, the scattering data indicate that the integrated photoabsorption cross sections per nucleon are closer to the nearly constant value reported for A>100 than previously thought. No compact E2 strength exhausting more than 0.5 classical sums is found below 50 MeV, although weaker or less compact strength cannot be ruled out.
Towards a More Plausible Exemplification Theory of Events

Among the most well-known accounts of events is Jaegwon Kim’s exemplification theory, which identifies each event with a property exemplification (often modeled as an “ordered triple” of an entity, property type, and time). Two of the most influential rival event theorists (Lawrence Lombard and Jonathan Bennett) have urged rejecting exemplificationism on the basis of the charge that it ultimately conflates events with facts [Lombard (1986): Events: A Metaphysical Study. Routledge & Kegan Paul; Bennett (1988):Events and their Names. Hackett Publishing Company]. In response, I offer a detailed examination of Lombard and Bennett’s arguments that exemplificationism undermines the event/fact distinction. I then develop and defend a modified version of Kim’s account that overcomes this objection, and so constitutes a more plausible exemplification theory of events.
Wikis and collaborative learning in higher education

While collaborative learning and collaborative writing can be of great value to student learning, the implementation of a technology-supported collaborative learning environment is a challenge. Wit...
JPEG image compression using quantization table optimization based on perceptual image quality assessment

We consider the use of perceptual image quality assessment for quantization table (QT) optimization for JPEG compression. For evaluating performance, we consider the use of the Structural Similarity Index (SSIM) for evaluating distortion in the compressed images. This leads to the study of rate-SSIM curves that replace the traditional use of rate-distortion curves based on the PSNR.
Dominance and submission: The ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and responses to status cues

Status hierarchies constitute a fundamental organizing principle of human society. However, little is known about the neural systems that process nonverbal cues that indicate status. Preliminary neuropsychological work has suggested a role for the ventrolateral and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VLPFC/VMPFC) and the superior temporal cortex (STC). We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to delineate the nature of these roles. Analyses revealed signal changes in the right VLPFC in connection with two primary functions attributed to status cues. Status cues moderate behavior and the right VLPFC showed increased signal for high-status relative to neutral and low-status cues. The VLPFC also showed increased signal for high-status cues displayed by individuals of the opposite gender to the perceiver; this may be relevant to the role status cues play in moderating mate choice behavior. Connectivity results indicated significant positive connectivity between the VLPFC and both the VMPFC and the STC. We suggest that the VLPFC retrieves information from these regions when processing hierarchy cues to facilitate socially adaptive behavior.
Listening to the Coalition Merchants: Measuring the Intellectual Influence of Academic Scribblers

Following Converse’s advice that ideology is the product of a “creative synthesis,” conducted by a narrow group of intellectuals, this paper reports on attempts to study ideology at its point of creation. I develop a measure of ideology expressed among pundits, based on coded opinion pieces in magazines and newspapers from 1830 to 1990. I use this measure to test the impact of ideas on party coalitions. I argue that ideologies, as created by intellectuals, strongly influence the coalitions that party leaders advance. In three cases – the realignment on slavery before the Civil War, the Civil Rights realignment in the mid-20th century, and the party change on abortion more recently – there is evidence that intellectuals reorganize the issues before parties realign around them. This evidence suggests that the patterns of “what goes with what” that intellectuals design have an impact on the nature of political cleavages.
Qualitative Inquiry and the IRB Protection at all Costs

Implications of Institutional Review Board (IRB) decisions, especially for qualitative inquirers, may be that already marginalized voices continue to go unvoiced. Using a constructivist inquiry as a case study, this article examines IRB assessment of risk for interpretive qualitative research.
Buffer dependence of retinal glycolysis and ERG potentials.

Abstract Using the isolated rat retina, the present experiments have examined the effects of varying the type and concentration of buffer system with and without changes in external pH on lactic acid production and ERG potentials. The buffers chosen for study included bicarbonate CO 2 , HEPES, Tris+ and phosphate. High rates of retinal glycolysis were observed with either 25m m bicarbonate and 5% CO2 (control condition) or with 30 m m quantities of the other buffers at an external pH of 7·4. Significantly lower rates of retinal glycolysis were obtained when the concentration of each buffer was reduced to 10, 5 or 3 m m without a change in external pH. Lactic acid production was also decreased when the external pH was lowered regardless of the buffer system employed. The a- and b-waves were well maintained in the presence of 25 m m bicarbonate and 5% CO2. Lowering the bicarbonate concentration at constant external pH led to a decrease in their amplitudes. With either Hepes, Tris+ or phosphate employed at concentrations between 3 and 30 m m the amplitude of the a-wave was reduced and the b-wave was lost. These results show that the nature and concentration of the buffer system used in in vitro retinal studies influences metabolic and electrical activities in this tissue and emphasize the importance of the buffer as a constituent of the incubation medium.
Angry Inmates Are Violent Inmates: A Poisson Regression Approach to Youthful Offenders

The importation model of inmate behavior posits that pre-confinement characteristics and behaviors contribute to inmate misconduct; however most of this research has centered on criminal history and not psychosocial characteristics that might predict misconduct, namely anger. Controlling for 14 confounds, including psychiatric symptoms, age, race, gender, commitment offense type, and four measures of prior delinquency, anger significantly predicted sexual misconduct, staff assaults, and aggressive misconduct and approached significance in predicting ward assaults. ROC-AUC analyses indicated that the MASYI-2 angry-irritable scale had significant but modest classification power, with sensitivities ranging from .58 to .66. Suggestions for future research are provided.
Bulk emission and interface probing of thin film CdS by two-photon spectroscopy

Two-photon excitation is used to probe the bulk region of differently prepared thin CdS films on transparent substrates. The excitation is performed at room temperature by 200 fs laser pulses at 1.54 eV. By applying the Roosbroeck–Shockley relation, besides self-absorption, it is demonstrated that the emission of films fabricated by spray pyrolysis on Pyrex and close-spaced vapor transport on CaF2 takes place according to direct absorption inversion. The sample formed by pulsed-laser deposition on glass shows perfect agreement with the theoretical fit whereas the theory does not describe the emission of the evaporated film on glass. By comparison of top and rear face emission, the interface absorption is probed. Absorption increase at the interface of evaporated and laser deposited samples shifts the rear emission 40 meV towards lower energies with respect to the top emission. No interfacial absorption increase takes place in the other samples. 2002 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.
The effect of various price markdowns on consumers' ratings of a new product

The purpose of the current study was to determine whether the magnitude of a price markdown affects consumers' purchase intentions and/or price perception. Four groups of subjects were all shown a brochure for a new TV video game selling for $49.95. Three different list prices were used: $200, $100, and $75. A fourth group, the control, was shown only the selling price. The results of the experiment indicated that the group shown the $200 list price (i.e., a 75% markdown) had greater intent-to-purchase the product than did the control group. There were no differences among the groups with respect to price perception.
Comprehension of English and Spanish by Preschool Mexican-American Children.

O NE OF THE MAJOR factors postulated as responsible for the reported mental, social, and educational problems of the Mexican-American child is what is referred to as his language handicap. This is described by some as a result of schooling in English when the language of the home is Spanish. To this point, Sinchez (1967, p. 31) writes, "Imagine the Spanish-speaking child's introduction to American Education! He comes to school, not only without a word of English but without the environmental experience upon which school life is based . . ." In similar vein, Brussell (1968, p. 38) states that "The fact that the Mexican-American's primary language is usually Spanish may cause complex social problems for the Mexican-American child when he enters school." A different, but related interpretation bases the educational problem on the fact of what is termed the "bilingualism" of the Mexican-American child. In this context, bilingualism is interpreted as exposure to two languages, regardless of the degree of competency. Holland (1960) believes that these children cannot really be thought of as fully bilingual, but rather as substandard or partial speakers of two languages. Another factor that seems pertinent, but which is seldom controlled in research on the mental and educational problems of the Mexican-American, is economic status. Behaviors which may be a function of poverty are attributed to language. Sanchez (1966, p. 21) comments "The fact that his state of socio-economic disadvantage is usually accompanied by a lack of knowledge of the English language is nearly always interpreted as 'language handicap,' or 'bilingualism.' As a consequence of this confusion, the school addresses itself to a fruitless hunt into the mysteries of the deleterious effects of being unable to speak English, instead of adapting its program to the requirement of children who are disadvantaged socio-economically." Although statements similar to the previous abound in the literature, there have been few investigations into the language of preschool Mexican-American children that study the relationship among language, the degree of bilingualism, and socio-economic status. In a review of the literature on bilingualism with specific reference to the Mexican-American child I stated, "The possibility of comparing findings among the various studies was made difficult in that the definition of bilingualism varied from study to study. In most cases, no indication was made of the age at which the second language was learned, the extent of bilingual background, etc. In some investigations, language proficiency in the mother tongue was studied, while in others only the language proficiency in the second language was considered.
Autonomy and manual operation in a small robotic system for under-vehicle inspections at security checkpoints

Unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) technology can be used in a number of ways to assist in counter-terrorism activities. In addition to the conventional uses of tele-operated robots for unexploded ordinance handling and disposal, water cannons and other crowd control devices, robots can also be employed for a host of terrorism deterrence and detection applications. In previous research USU developed a completely autonomous prototype robot for performing under- vehicle inspections in parking areas (ODIS). Testing of this prototype and discussions with the user community indicated that neither the technology nor the users are ready for complete autonomy. In this paper we present a robotic system based on ODIS that balances the users' desire/need for tele- operation with a limited level of autonomy that enhances the performance of the robot. The system can be used by both civilian law enforcement and military police to replace the traditional mirror on a stick system of looking under cars for bombs and contraband.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Levels of cyclic nucleotides in mouse regional brain following 300 ms microwave inactivation.

— The uniformity and speed of inactivation of mouse brain adenylate cyclase, guanylate cyclase and cyclic nucleotide phosphodiesterase were measured after 6 kW microwave irradiation (MWR). Inactivation of enzymes was uniform throughout the brain during heating and 100% loss of activity was evident after 300 ms. MWR. For comparison of effects of inactivation times on levels of cyclic nucleotides measured in regional brain areas, cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP were estimated after 1.5 kW MWR requiring 4 s of heating and 6 kW MWR requiring 300 ms. Except for corpus striatum, uniformly lower levels of cyclic AMP were measured following 300 ms vs. 4s MWR. There was no change in cyclic GMP levels in regional brain areas after 4s vs. 300 ms MWR. Cyclic AMP and cyclic GMP were measured from the same regional brain tissue samples after 300 ms and ratios calculated. The finding of much lower cyclic AMP:cyclic GMP ratios than had previously been reported suggests that slow inactivation times provide for the measurement of regional brain cyclic nucleotide values which are not consistent with the in-vivo state.
Requirements for Hud Raster Image Modulation in Daylight

Head-up displays (HUDs) represent the leading candidate display technology for inclusion in an enhanced or synthetic vision system (EVS or SVS) for commercial transport aircraft. One common EVS concept assumes the raster display of raw or processed sensor (radar or IR) data. However, experience with the use of raster rather than stroke display modes has been largely limited to the presentation of images captured by IR sensitive and image-intensified cameras during night flying conditions when the luminance of the forward scene over which the image will be superimposed is much lower than in daytime. The objective of this work is to generate a specification for minimum HUD raster image modulation assuming real-world luminance values typically found in low-visibility, daylight flight. Six Honeywell pilots rated the image quality and utility of flight video as presented through a military-style HUD in a transport cockpit mockup. Flight video came from daylight FLIR and daylight CCD cameras. The luminance of t...
On the economics of design

Abstract Designers must economise in the use of their resources, including their design methods. This paper focuses on some fundamental economic aspects of the search for or development of design methods. It is argued that the search for design methods that are “perfect” in that they always select the right sequence of things to do, is economically unsound. The answers to two key questions addressed by means of any design method, “Where shall I search next?” and “When shall I stop the search and accept a solution as satisfactory?” will always involve a measure of guessing. These two questions are discussed from the vantage point of both static and dynamic economising problems.
Visibility Based Preconditioning for bundle adjustment

We present Visibility Based Preconditioning (VBP) a new technique for efficiently solving the linear least squares problems that arise in bundle adjustment [24]. Using the camera-point visibility structure of the scene, we describe the construction of two preconditioners. These preconditioners when combined with an inexact step Levenberg-Marquardt algorithm[25] offer state of the art performance on the BAL data set [1], with 3–5× reduction in execution time over currently available methods while delivering comparable or better solution quality.
Can classical optical superposition principle get us out of quantum mysticism of non-locality and bring back reality to modern physics?

We already know that in the purely technological frontier, photonics is going to play a leading role during this century riding on the shoulders of electronics-, bio- and nano-technologies. This talk will underscore that the fundamentals of photonics as has already been developed by classical optics, specifically, the Superposition Principle (SP) will play a profound role in bringing REALITY in physics while opening up many new paths to innovations by opening up new understandings behind SPS.P becomes manifest only when the detectors and the detectees are within each others range of interacting forces and can exchange energy allowed by the quantum restrictions to manifest the measurable transformations undergone by them. The deeper recognition of this fundamentally “local” SP will guide us overcome many conceptual bottlenecks, appreciate deeper realities hidden behind the current quantum formulation, remove the unnecessary non-causal interpretations of quantum mechanics, bridge classical and quantum optics and bring back conceptual freedoms for many new photonics innovations. One of the many specific examples is that the apparent spectrometric resolution limit δνδt >1 is not a fundamental principle of nature. I will show mathematical and experimental work to establish this assertion.
“Penis envy” and attitudes toward castration-like punishment of sexual aggression ☆

Abstract Psychoanalytic hypotheses that relate the construct of “penis envy” to the enactment of castration responses toward sexual aggressors were examined by requiring females to evaluate an anthropological film that presented multilations of male genitals. High or low penis envy was determined from responses to Blacky Cartoon VI; the mutilations were presented as cultural rites de passage or as tribal punishments for sexual misconduct. Evaluations of the film showed that interactions predicted by psychoanalytic theory were obtained for subjects' approval of the mutilations, approval of their adoption in the United States, belief that other women should view the film, and desire to see the film again. The analog suggests that penis envy leads to the punishment of sexual aggression, and several psychoanalytic hypotheses for further experimentation on this construct are presented.
An exploratory analysis of the contexts and circumstances of filicide‐suicide in Chicago, 1965–1994

Filicide is the killing of a ward by a parent. Relative to many other types of homicide, filicide is an infrequent event. Filicide followed by the offender's suicide is less frequent still. The contexts and circumstances surrounding filicide-suicide may nevertheless provide insight into parental psychology. Some research suggests, for example, that filicidal genetic parents are more likely to commit suicide than are filicidal stepparents. Five hypotheses are tested for this study, using a database that includes incident-level information on over 22,000 homicides committed in Chicago during the years 1965-1994. Findings do not support the hypothesis of differential risk of suicide following filicide by genetic parents and stepparents. Previous work is replicated, indicating that: (1) filicides that include multiple victims are more likely to end in the offender's suicide than are filicides that include a single victim, (2) parents are more likely to commit suicide following a filicide of an older child than a filicide of a younger child, (3) older parents, relative to younger parents, are more likely to commit suicide following filicide, and that (4) fathers, relative to mothers, are more likely to commit suicide following filicide. Discussion suggests future directions for research that can inform our understanding of filicide and of filicide-suicide. Aggr.
Explicit estimation-error-probability computation and sensor design for flag Hidden Markov Models

Hidden Markov Models (HMM) are used in a number of sensor networking applications. These applications often require performance evaluation and sensor design for HMM estimation algorithms. This article approaches the performance evaluation and design problems from a structural perspective. Specifically, for a special class of flag HMMs (where sensors accurately flag a subset of states), explicit formulae are derived for the average error probability of the maximum-likelihood estimate. These formulae are used to optimally place sensors, and to gain an understanding of the relationship between the HMMs structure and estimation error. Three examples, including a real-world case study on monitoring the elderly in a smart home, are presented.
The coding sequence for the human 18,000-dalton hydrophobie pulmonary surfactant protein is located on chromosome 2 and identifies a restriction fragment length polymorphism

The 18-kd Hydrophobic pulmonary surfactant protein (PSP-B) is a developmentally regulated protein which is important for normal lung function. A complementary DNA probe for 221 NH2 terminal amino acids of PSP-B was used to determine the chromosomal location of this gene and identify a restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Southern blot hybridization to genomic DNA isolated from a panel of human-CHO somatic cell hybrids unambiguously maps this gene to chromosome 2. Human DNA cut with BamHI yields a RFLP with variable bands at 2.8 and 2.6 kb. Since there is a relative lack of polymorphic markers for chromosome 2, this sequence may be useful in linkage analysis.
A closed-form differential renormalization-group generator for critical dynamics

Abstract We give the first derivation of an exact, closed-form, differential renormalization-group generator for critical dynamics . We calculate, as an example, the dynamic critical exponent z around dimensionality 2σ for a time-dependent Lifshitz model with Lifshitz character L = σ 2 .