cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mesoscopic surface roughness of ice crystals pervasive across a wide range of ice crystal conditions

Abstract. Here we show high-magnification images of hexagonal ice crystals acquired by environmental scanning electron microscopy (ESEM). Most ice crystals were grown and sublimated in the water vapor environment of an FEI-Quanta-200 ESEM, but crystals grown in a laboratory diffusion chamber were also transferred intact and imaged via ESEM. All of these images display prominent mesoscopic topography including linear striations, ridges, islands, steps, peaks, pits, and crevasses; the roughness is not observed to be confined to prism facets. The observations represent the most highly magnified images of ice surfaces yet reported and expand the range of conditions in which rough surface features are known to be conspicuous. Microscale surface topography is seen to be ubiquitously present at temperatures ranging from −10 °C to −40 °C, in supersaturated and subsaturated conditions, on all crystal facets, and irrespective of substrate. Despite the constant presence of surface roughness, the patterns of roughness are observed to be dramatically different between growing and sublimating crystals, and transferred crystals also display qualitatively different patterns of roughness. Crystals are also demonstrated to sometimes exhibit inhibited growth in moderately supersaturated conditions following exposure to near-equilibrium conditions, a phenomenon interpreted as evidence of 2-D nucleation. New knowledge about the characteristics of these features could affect the fundamental understanding of ice surfaces and their physical parameterization in the context of satellite retrievals and cloud modeling. Links to supplemental videos of ice growth and sublimation are provided.
Reaction of Phenyl Isocyanate and Phenyl Isothiocyanate with the Ge(100)-2 × 1 Surface

The adsorption of phenyl isocyanate and phenyl isothiocyanate at the Ge(100)-2 × 1 surface was probed using multiple internal reflection Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy, density functional theory (DFT), and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Results for phenyl isocyanate indicate that the saturation product is a [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction product across the C═N bond, forming a surface-bound carbonyl. DFT reveals that this is the most stable of the expected products, and its calculated vibrational spectrum agrees closely with experimental spectra. FTIR spectroscopy studies of phenyl isothiocyanate reveal multiple surface adducts, with the product of the [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction across the C═S bond as the major species and the product of the [2 + 2] cycloaddition reaction across the C═N bond as a minor product. In addition to these products, an excess of sulfur measured by XPS indicates the presence of a dissociative desorption product. The DFT calculated pathways and vibration...
Outpatient prescription drug use by children enrolled in five drug benefit plans

Abstract This study examined prescription drug use among ambulatory children younger than 18 years of age enrolled in five drug benefit plans. Data for this study were obtained from the pharmacy benefit manager who adminiters the drug benefit plans. During the study period of December 29, 1992, through December 28, 1993, 3144 children younger than 18 years of age (34.0% of the total plan enrollment) were enrolled in the five drug benefit plans. A total of 8547 prescription drugs were dispensed to the study population. The mean prescription price was $16.38, and the mean duration of therapy was 11.7 days. The mean prescription price was $1.56 more for boys than for girls. The most frequently dispensed drugs were antibiotics (42.0%), followed by cold preparations (15.9%). The annual prevalence rate of prescription drug use was 59.1 cases per 100 children. The study population-based annual frequency rate was 3.2 prescriptions per child, and the drug user-based annual frequency rate was 5.5 prescriptions per child. The annual expenditures were $51.85 per child and $90.39 per drug user, with the out-of-pocket expenditures being $19.09 and $33.04, respectively. The prevalence rate varied little by sex. However, both frequency and expenditure rates differed by sex and decreased with age. Higher levels of cost sharing per prescription were associated with higher prevalence, frequency, and expenditure rates. Larger cost-sharing differentials between generic and brand name drugs were associated with higher rates of generic drug use but were not always associated with lower expenditure rates.
Peri-bridged naphthalenes. 4. chalcogen-bridged acenaphthylenes

Abstract Three new electron donors, acenaphtho[5,6- cd ]-1,2-dithiole ( 1 ), acenaphtho[5,6- cd ]-1,2-diselenole ( 2 ), and acenaphtho[5,6- cd ]-1,2-ditellurole ( 3 ), can be prepared in 28%, 22%, and 14% yields respectively by reaction of the elemental chalcogens (S, Se, Te) with 5,6-dilithioacenaphthylene ( 4 ). Compound 4 is generated by treatment of 5,6-dibromoacenaphthylen ( 5 ), for which a convenient preparation is described, with n -butyllithium (2 equiv.) in THF at −78°C.
Uterine Carcinosarcoma Confined to the Pelvis: A Retrospective Review and Outcome Analysis

Objective. We compared the treatments of uterine carcinosarcoma at our institution and evaluated their impact on survival. Methods. A retrospective analysis was performed on 60 eligible patients with carcinosarcoma limited to the pelvis. Subjects were divided into four categories: surgery, surgery plus chemotherapy, surgery plus radiation therapy, and a combination of surgery, chemotherapy, and RT. The most commonly used chemotherapy was cisplatin and/or carboplatin and taxol. Radiotherapy included external beam radiation therapy (EBRT) alone or with high dose rate (HDR) brachytherapy or HDR brachytherapy alone. Survival probability data were computed using the Kaplan-Meier method. The differences between groups were compared using the log-rank test. Results. The combination of surgery and radiation therapy with or without chemotherapy is seen to improve overall survival (OS) compared to surgery alone and , resp.). Brachytherapy involving three HDR vaginal cylinder fractions shows an equally effective reduction in local recurrence compared to EBRT. Conclusion. Our study of a relatively large number of carcinosarcoma patients suggests that adjuvant radiation therapy improves OS compared to surgery alone. Brachytherapy with 3 HDR vaginal cylinder fractions is preferred because of its time-saving, better tolerance, low toxicity and equivalent OS, and local control compared to EBRT.
A spline-based technique for estimating flow velocities using two-camera multi-line MTV

Applications of spline-based data reduction techniques for molecular tagging velocimetry (MTV) are explored for the case in which two cameras are employed. To accommodate two cameras, an affine warp-mapping scheme that correlates the two camera views is introduced, and the associated uncertainties quantified. Spline-based techniques are examined for both multiple line and grid-based images. The high spatial resolution of the multiple line method enables accurate measurements of the velocity gradient and spatial correlations in a single direction. Such information is required to accurately obtain turbulent integral and Taylor micro scales. Comparison with previous multiple line methods indicates that even with the additional uncertainties associated with two cameras, the present spline technique improves sub-pixel resolution by about a factor of three. This improvement is required to accurately obtain turbulent integral and Taylor length scales.
Young adults who smoke cigarettes and marijuana: analysis of thoughts and behaviors.

Abstract Introduction Smoking both cigarettes and marijuana is increasingly common among young adults, yet little is known about use patterns, motivations, or thoughts about abstinence. In a U.S. sample, this study explored young adults' severity of cigarette and marijuana co-use, quit attempts, and thoughts about use. Methods Young adults age 18-to-25 who had smoked at least one cigarette in the past 30 days completed an anonymous online survey. Results Of 1987 completed surveys, 972 participants reported both past-month cigarette and marijuana use (68% male, 71% Caucasian, mean age 20.4 years [SD = 2.0]). Frequency of use, temptations to use, measures of dependence, decisional balance, and past-year quit attempts were associated across the two substances (all p Conclusions Cigarette and marijuana use, temptations to use, and pros/cons of using were related in this young adult sample. Differences in motivation and thoughts about abstinence, however, suggest that young adults may be more receptive to interventions for tobacco than marijuana use. Use patterns and cognitions for both substances should be considered in prevention and intervention efforts.
Phenobarbital effects on weight gain and circadian cycling of food intake and body temperature.

Rats fed a diet supplemented with phenobarbital at a concentration of 0.25% gained less weight than rats fed the unsupplemented diet. The reduced weight gain in the phenobarbital-treated rats accompanied the induction of marked hepatomegaly. Circadian cycling of food consumption in control rats followed a biphasic pattern, with the first feeding episode occurring during the middle of the 12-h dark phase and the second occurring as the dark phase ended. In rats on phenobarbital, eating activity was confined to the first feeding episode, with the level of intake during this interval increasing to compensate for the absence of significant subsequent feeding, so that the daily levels of food consumption were similar in both groups. Measurements of circadian cycling of deep body temperature showed that ingestion of 0.25% dietary phenobarbital approximately doubled the amplitude of the temperature cycle and advanced the time at which peak temperature was attained by aproximately 2 h. It is suggested that the lower weight gain in rats chronically exposed to 0.25% dietary phenobarbital results primarily from alterations in hepatic metabolism, but phenobarbital-mediated changes in the circadian cycling of food intake and deep-body temperature may also contribute to the growth reduction.
Optimizing Privacy-Accuracy Tradeoff for Privacy Preserving Distance-Based Classification

Privacy concerns often prevent organizations from sharing data for data mining purposes. There has been a rich literature on privacy preserving data mining techniques that can protect privacy and still allow accurate mining. Many such techniques have some parameters that need to be set correctly to achieve the desired balance between privacy protection and quality of mining results. However, there has been little research on how to tune these parameters effectively. This paper studies the problem of tuning the group size parameter for a popular privacy preserving distance-based mining technique: the condensation method. The contributions include: 1 a class-wise condensation method that selects an appropriate group size based on heuristics and avoids generating groups with mixed classes, 2 a rule-based approach that uses binary search and several rules to further optimize the setting for the group size parameter. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the authors' approach.
Parallel graph algorithms for hypercube computers

Abstract This paper presents several parallel algorithms on unweighted graphs for hypercube computers. The algorithms are for checking bipartiteness and for finding a spanning forest, the connected components, a fundamental cycle set, and the bridges of a graph. The algorithm for finding spanning forest is based on a strategy of successive elimination of non-forest edges. The input graph is partitioned equally among processors, which repeatedly eliminate non-forest edges and merge their results to finally construct the desired forest of the entire graph. In all the algorithms, low communication overhead is achieved by restricting the message-flow to only between the neighboring processors. The spanning-forest algorithm is used as a subroutine to design the remaining algortihms. Except for the bridge-finding algorithm, all others achieve optimal speedups for dense as well as sparse graphs, and each algorithm is optimally scalable up to a large number of processors depending upon the density of the input graph. For a graph of n vertices and m edges, the time complexity of the spanning-forest algorithm, using p processors, is O( m / p + n log p ), which corresponds to an optimal speedup for p ⩽( m / n )/(1+log( m / n )).
Mechanistic Study of Classical Translocation-Dead SpoIIIE36 Reveals the Functional Importance of the Hinge within the SpoIIIE Motor

SpoIIIE/FtsK ATPases are central players in bacterial chromosome segregation. It remains unclear how these DNA translocases harness chemical energy (ATP turnover) to perform mechanical work (DNA movement). Bacillus subtilis sporulation provides a dramatic example of intercompartmental DNA transport, in which SpoIIIE moves 70% of the chromosome across the division plane. To understand the mechanistic requirements for DNA translocation, we investigated the DNA translocation defect of a classical nontranslocating allele, spoIIIE36. We found that the translocation phenotype is caused by a single substitution, a change of valine to methionine at position 429 (V429M), within the motor of SpoIIIE. This substitution is located at the base of a hinge between the RecA-like β domain and the α domain, which is a domain unique to the SpoIIIE/FtsK family and currently has no known function. V429M interferes with both protein-DNA interactions and oligomer assembly. These mechanistic defects disrupt coordination between ATP turnover and DNA interaction, effectively uncoupling ATP hydrolysis from DNA movement. Our data provide the first functional evidence for the importance of the hinge in DNA translocation.
How Many Factors Underlie the WAIS-R?

The present investigation examined various objective methods for determining the number of factors that best explain the factorial structure of the WAIS-R. The six methods yielded a wide of range of number of factors and the “correct” answer was determined to be equivocal. In general, the two- and three-factor solutions appeared to be the most viable. Practical implications these data are discussed.
Borate protection of hoop pine (Araucaria cunninghamii) sapwood from attack by subterranean termites (Coptotermes spp., Isoptera: Rhinotermitidae)

Summary Field bioassays were conducted with two Australian Coptotermes species to determine protection of hoop pine sapwood afforded by borate compounds. Coptotermes lacteus (Froggatt) was examined in winter and Coptotermes acinaciformis (Froggatt) in winter, spring and late summer at two localities in the state of Queensland. Sapwood blocks were placed in plastic containers and attached to termite mounds or infested trees. Termite response was determined by mass loss over five weeks and modelled. C. lacteus was relatively benign in winter and for 1.0 and 2.5% mass loss, mean borate retentions of 0.20 and 0.06% m/m boric acid equivalent (BAE), respectively, were derived. With C. acinaciformis, for 1.0 and 5.0% mass loss, mean borate retentions ranged from 0.49 and 0.25% BAE. respectively, in winter, to 0.76 and 0.47% BAE. respectively, in late summer. These results support conclusions from earlier laboratory studies conducted elsewhere. Total prevention of damage by field populations of termites was not a...
Modification of a nitrous oxide sedation apparatus to provide capability for intermittent positive pressure ventilation

Nitrous oxide and oxygen sedation machines can be modified by the addition of a pop-off valve to provide for the administration of intermittent positive pressure ventilation with a full face mask if resuscitation of the patient is necessary. A standard nitrous oxide sedation machine was modified for use with either a nasal mask to deliver nitrous oxide sedation or a Frumin valve plus a full face mask for intermittent positive pressure ventilation in resuscitation situations.
Hydrology, hydraulic, and sediment considerations of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway

The planning, design, and construction of the Tennessee-Tombigbee Waterway was a massive undertaking Ten locks and dams were constructed that form lakes with a total water surface area of over 42,400 acres The overall length of the waterway is 234 miles and required the excavation and disposal of over 307 million cubic yards of material Because of the magnitude of the project and the many factors and complexities involved, this article can only serve as an overview of the topics presented During the course of the development of the project, many design memoranda and reports were generated which portray the details of design Some of the more pertinent of these design documents are listed in the references.
Scaphoid Fracture in a Patient After a Fall

The patient was a 27-year-old man who was referred to a physical therapist because of persistent right wrist pain after a fall on an outstretched hand in a remote setting 3 months prior. Immediately after the injury, the patient was seen by a physician's assistant in a remote medical clinic, where right wrist radiographs were completed and interpreted as normal. Based on the history and physical exam, a potential scaphoid fracture was suspected. Therefore, the physical therapist ordered radiographs of the right wrist, which revealed a fracture through the waist of the right scaphoid with a band-like lucency. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2012;42(6):568. doi:10.2519/jospt.2012.0410
Multiple communication channels-based packet dropout compensation for networked control systems

The study is concerned with the problems of H∞ performance analysis and controller design for networked control systems with multiple communication channels. The idle communication channels are made full use to compensate the negative influences of time delay and packet dropout. By defining new Lyapunov functions, linear matrix inequality-based H∞ performance analysis and controller design are presented, and the merit of the proposed design methods lies in their less conservativeness, which is achieved by avoiding the utilisation of bounding inequalities for cross products of vectors. The simulation results illustrate the effectiveness of the proposed multiple communication channels-based time delay and packet dropout compensation.
Antral Inflammatory Cells, Gastric Emptying, and Electrogastrography in Pediatric Functional Dyspepsia

The aims of the current study were to determine the activation states of antral eosinophils and mast cells and to evaluate the interactions of antral inflammatory cells with gastric emptying and electrogastrography (EGG) in 30 pediatric patients with functional dyspepsia. Eosinophil degranulation was moderate in 42% and extensive in 54% of patients. Mast cell degranulation was >50% in 81% of patients. Elevated mast cell density was associated with slower one hour gastric emptying and increased preprandial dysrhythmia. Mast cell density correlated with the preprandial percentage tachygastria. CD3+ cell density correlated with the preprandial percentage tachygastria also, but only in patients with increased eosinophil density. In conclusion, antral eosinophils and mast cells are significantly activated in pediatric functional dyspepsia. Mast cell density is associated with delayed gastric emptying and preprandial dysrhythmia, suggesting that there may be an interaction between antral inflammation and gastric electromechanical dysfunction in the pathophysiology of pediatric functional dyspepsia.
Exploring Molecular and Mechanical Gradients in Structural Bioscaffolds

Most organisms consist of a functionally adaptive assemblage of hard and soft tissues. Despite the obvious advantages of reinforcing soft protoplasm with a hard scaffold, such composites can lead to tremendous mechanical stresses where the two meet. Although little is known about how nature relieves these stresses, it is generally agreed that fundamental insights about molecular adaptation at hard/soft interfaces could profoundly influence how we think about biomaterials. Based on two noncellular tissues, mussel byssus and polychaete jaws, recent studies suggest that one natural strategy to minimize interfacial stresses between adjoining stiff and soft tissue appears to be the creation of a "fuzzy" boundary, which avoids abrupt changes in mechanical properties. Instead there is a gradual mechanical change that accompanies the transcendence from stiff to soft and vice versa. In byssal threads, the biochemical medium for achieving such a gradual mechanical change involves the elegant use of collagen-based self-assembling block copolymers. There are three distinct diblock copolymer types in which one block is always collagenous, whereas the other can be either elastin-like (soft), amorphous polyglycine (intermediate), or silk-like (stiff). Gradients of these are made by an incrementally titrated expression of the three proteins in secretory cells the titration phenotype of which is linked to their location. Thus, reflecting exactly the composition of each thread, the distal cells secrete primarily the silk- and polyglycine-collagen diblocks, whereas the proximal cells secrete the elastin- and polyglycine-collagen diblocks. Those cells in between exhibit gradations of collagens with silk or elastin blocks. Spontaneous self-assembly appears to be by pH triggered metal binding by histidine (HIS)-rich sequences at both the amino and carboxy termini of the diblocks. In the polychaete jaws, HIS-rich sequences are expanded into a major block domain. Histidine predominates at over 20 mol % near the distal tip and diminishes to about 5 mol % near the proximal base. The abundance of histidine is directly correlated to transition metal content (Zn or Cu) as well as hardness determined by nanoindentation. EXAFS analyses of the jaws indicate that transition metals such as Zn are directly bound to histidine ligands and may serve as cross-linkers.
Unique Antibody Responses to Malondialdehyde-Acetaldehyde (MAA)-Protein Adducts Predict Coronary Artery Disease

Malondialdehyde-acetaldehyde adducts (MAA) have been implicated in atherosclerosis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the role of MAA in atherosclerotic disease. Serum samples from controls (n = 82) and patients with; non-obstructive coronary artery disease (CAD), (n = 40), acute myocardial infarction (AMI) (n = 42), or coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery due to obstructive multi-vessel CAD (n = 72), were collected and tested for antibody isotypes to MAA-modifed human serum albumin (MAA-HSA). CAD patients had elevated relative levels of IgG and IgA anti-MAA, compared to control patients (p<0.001). AMI patients had a significantly increased relative levels of circulating IgG anti-MAA-HSA antibodies as compared to stable angina (p<0.03) or CABG patients (p<0.003). CABG patients had significantly increased relative levels of circulating IgA anti-MAA-HSA antibodies as compared to non-obstructive CAD (p<0.001) and AMI patients (p<0.001). Additionally, MAA-modified proteins were detected in the tissue of human AMI lesions. In conclusion, the IgM, IgG and IgA anti-MAA-HSA antibody isotypes are differentially and significantly associated with non-obstructive CAD, AMI, or obstructive multi-vessel CAD and may serve as biomarkers of atherosclerotic disease.
Kinetics of the gas-phase recombination reaction of hydroxyl radicals to form hydrogen peroxide.

The potential energy hypersurface (PES) of the reaction OH + OH (+M) → H2O2 (+M) has been investigated at the CASPT2/aug-cc-pVDZ and CASPT2/aug-cc-pVTZ levels of theory. The PES is characterized by a barrier below the energy of the reactants and a hydrogen-bonded adduct formed by the OH radicals. On the basis of the potential energy hypersurface obtained, the high-pressure limiting rate coefficient (k∞) of the reaction was calculated using variable reaction coordinate transition-state theory, classical trajectory simulations, and a two-transition-state model. Over the temperature range of 200−3000 K, k∞(T) = 9.3 × 10−9T−1.040 exp(3.5/T) + 1.13 × 10−12T0.303 exp(84/T) cm3 molecule−1 s−1 is reported. Available experimental data on the pressure dependence of the reaction with He and Ar as bath gases were analyzed using a two-dimensional master equation. Over the temperature range of 200−3000 K, the following low-pressure limiting rate coefficient (k0) and center broadening factor (Fcent) were obtained for He...
L'Esprit objectif as a theory of language

Sur la contribution de J.-P.Sartre a la theorie du langage, son concept de l'Esprit objectif et le debat secret avec R.Barthes concernant la liberte et la determination du langage et de l'ecriture.
A decomposition-based implementation of search strategies

Search strategies, that is, strategies that describe how to explore search trees, have raised much interest for constraint satisfaction in recent years. In particular, limited discrepancy search and its variations have been shown to achieve significant improvements in efficiency over depth-first search for some classes of applications.This article reconsiders the implementation of discrepancy search, and of search strategies in general, for applications where the search procedure is dynamic, randomized, and/or generates global cuts (or nogoods) that apply to the remaining search. It illustrates that recomputation-based implementations of discrepancy search are not robust with respect to these extensions and require special care which may increase the memory requirements significantly and destroy the genericity of the implementation.To remedy these limitations, the article proposes a novel implementation scheme based on problem decomposition, which combines the efficiency of the recomputation-based implementations with the robustness of traditional iterative implementations. Experimental results on job-shop scheduling problems illustrate the potential of this new implementation scheme, which, surprisingly, may significantly outperform recomputation-based schemes.
Behavior of male and female rats with septal lesions: Influence of prior gonadectomy

Abstract The influence of gonadectomy at different ages upon the behavioral changes induced by septal lesions in adulthood was examined in male and female rats. In both sexes septal lesions increased emotionality, facilitated acquisition of shuttle avoidance responding, increased escape from light onset, depressed rearing in the open field, increased the number of shocks received during passive avoidance acquisition, but did not affect the number of sessions required to acquire or to extinguish the passive avoidance response. In males prepuberal, but not neonatal or adult gonadectomy attenuated hyperemotionality, but gonadectomy had little influence on other behavioral changes produced by septal lesions. Ovariectomy, either prepuberally or in adulthood, also attenuated hyperemotionality in females with lesions. Adult, but not prepuberal ovariectomy rendered females with septal lesions somewhat hypoactive compared to other female groups. Among animals without lesions, females reared more, entered more squares and were less likely to defecate than males during open field tests. Neonatal, but not prepuberal or adult gonadectomy increased both rearing and activity in males. Females also acquired active avoidance behvior and extinguished passive avoidance behavior more rapidly than males and gonadectomy at any age did not abolish the sex differences in these behaviors. Sex differences in behavior and the effects of gonadectomy were generally similar in controls and in animals with septal lesions, suggesting that differences in septal function are not likely to underly sex differences in these behaviors.
Syntax-directed documentation for PL360

The language PL360, together with its phrase structure grammar, is used as a concrete basis for illustrating an idea called syntax-directed documentation. This idea is: (1) to use the phrase structure of a program to define the structure of a formal documentation for that program; (2) to use the syntactic types and identifiers in the resulting structure to trigger the automatic formation of questions to the programmer, whose answers will become part of that documentation; and (3) to provide automatic storage and retrieval facilities so that other programmers who want to understand or modify the program can access the resulting documentation, which is cross-indexed in various ways by syntactic types and objects. A small PL360 program, already found in the literature, is worked out as an example.
On human commoditization and resistance: A model based upon Buchenwald Concentration Camp

This inquiry proposes Kopytoff's notion of commoditization-as-process as an emerging issue in marketing. It documents the transformation of persons from the status of individuals to that of undifferentiated commodities, who are then used for their possessors' purposes. Data are drawn from first-person accounts provided by survivors of Buchenwald concentration camp. A central thesis is that willful acts of consumer behavior are a primary means by which commoditization is resisted and selfhood maintained. The closing section includes a brief discussion of additional applications within the consumer domain. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Failure to induce mutations in Chinese hamster V79 cells and WB rat liver cells by the polybrominated biphenyls, firemaster BP-6, 2,2′,4,4′,5,5′-hexabromobiphenyl, 3,3′,4,4′,5,5′-hexabromobiphenyl, and 3,3′,4,4′,5,5′-tetrabromobiphenyl

Firemaster BP-6 (FM), a mixture of polybrominated biphenyls (PBB), and the congeners 2,2',4,4',5,5'-hexabromobiphenyl (2,4,5-HBB), 3,3',4,4',5,5'-hexabromobiphenyl (3,4,5-HBB), and 3,3',4,4'-tetrabromobiphenyl (3,4-TBB) were tested for their ability to induce mutations in mammalian cells in culture. A rat liver microsome-mediated (S 15) Chinese hamster V79 cell mutation assay was used to test the mutagenicity of PBB and 3,4-TBB. V79 cells and WB rat liver cells were used to detect the mutagenicity of 2,4,5-HBB and 3,4,5-HBB. No mutagenic effects were detected at the dose levels tested. The possibility that these compounds promote liver neoplasms via a nongenotoxic mechanism is discussed.
Kin Support and Parenting Practices Among Low-Income African American Mothers: Moderating Effects of Mothers’ Psychological Adjustment

Moderating effects of psychological adjustment on the relationship of kinship support with parenting practices were assessed among 204 low-income African American mothers of adolescents. Hierarchical regression analyses revealed that kinship support, optimism, and self-esteem were positively associated with mothers’ emotional support of their adolescents. Moderating effects of mothers’ adjustment revealed that the positive association of kinship support with emotional support was less apparent when mothers were more depressed. Additional evidence of moderation was found, in that the positive association of kinship support with emotional support was more apparent when mothers had higher levels of self-esteem. Kinship support and optimism were positively associated with mothers’ maintenance of organization in the family. Evidence of the moderating effects of mothers’ adjustment revealed that the positive association of kinship support with family organization was more evident when mothers had higher levels ...
Strathern beyond the Human: Testimony of a Spore

How might Strathernian comparison extend anthropology beyond human exceptionalism? This essay explores how a fungal spore might guide attention to more-than-human nature. The exercise allows us to reflect on knowledge tools we use for understanding human as well as nonhuman social relations.
Domains and logics

The author's discovery of domains and domain-theoretic models for the lambda -calculus in 1969 is discussed, along with the research of others working in the area at that time. >
The Extraterritorial Application of U.S. Securities Fraud Prohibitions in an Increasingly Global Transactional World

This draft working paper, prepared for a French academic forum entitled “American Law Today: Identity, Mutations, and Debate,” is a brief essay on the current and potential future extraterritorial reach of Section 10(b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and Rule 10b-5 adopted by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission under Section 10(b). The essay does three principal things. First, it summarizes the key antifraud rules in context. Next, it describes (in brief) the history and current state of the academic and political debate on the extraterritoriality of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 (including commentary on the U.S. Supreme Court’s opinion in Morrison v. Nat’l Austl. Bank Ltd. and reactions to the recently released report of the Securities and Exchange Commission in compliance with Congress’s mandate under the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act). Finally, before briefly concluding, the essay suggests a way forward for Congress in light of the current state of the extraterritoriality debate.The essay has a very simple general premise: that Congress should clarify the extraterritorial reach of Section 10(b) and Rule 10b-5 and ground its rule firmly in applicable policy: namely, the protection of U.S. investors and markets.
A framework for diversifying windows native APIs to tolerate code injection attacks

We present a framework to prevent code injection attacks in MS Windows using Native APIs in the operating system. By adopting the idea of diversity, this approach is implemented in a two-tier framework. The first tier permutes the Native API dispatch ID number so that only the Native API calls from legitimate sources are executed. The second tier provides an authentication process in case an attacker guesses the first-tier permutation order. The function call stack is back-traced to verify whether the original caller's return address resides within the legitimate process. The process is terminated and an alert is generated when an attack is suspected. Experiments indicate that our approach poses no significant overhead.
Design of a millimeter waveguide satellite for Space Power Grid

A central element in the use of Space as a power grid for near-real-time power exchange, is a constellation of satellites, capable of receiving and relaying beamed power at multi-megawatt level with extremely high efficiency and low thermal losses. The conceptual design of such a satellite is considered in this paper. Preliminary calculations indicate that power delivery and transmission will use millimeter waveguides inside the satellite to guide the power between antennae, and as feeds for the antennae. The paper seeks solutions for the milimeter waveguides, antennae and thermal control systems in order to refine the mass and efficiency estimates. While the standardized design is for 2000-kilometer orbits, an option to use fewer satellites between as few as two participating nations at 5500 km is also considered at the startup of the system. The NASA system design process is followed wherever practical. However, some innovations are required beyond to move into the regime of 60MW power beams with millimeter waveguides. Corrugated waveguides are identified as a solution for 220 GHz beam redirection, directly coupled to antenna elements.
Predictors of recurrence following an initial episode of transverse myelitis.

Objective: This study sought to identify factors that increased the risk of recurrence after an initial transverse myelitis (TM) presentation. Methods: Retrospective cohort study of 192 patients initially presenting with TM of unknown etiology. Patients diagnosed with multiple sclerosis during the first myelitis episode were excluded. Demographic and laboratory data were analyzed for associations with recurrence. Results: One hundred ten of 192 patients (57%) eventually developed recurrent symptoms: 69 (63%) neuromyelitis optica (NMO) or NMO spectrum disorder, 34 (31%) non-NMO recurrent TM, and 7 (6%) systemic autoimmune disease. Multiple independent risk factors for recurrence were identified: African American race (risk ratio 1.60, p p = 0.007, 1.19–2.98), longitudinally extensive myelitis at onset (1.34, p = 0.036, 1.01–1.78), Sjogren syndrome antigen A (1.89, p = 0.003, 1.44–2.48), vitamin D insufficiency (4.00, p p = 0.006, 1.23–2.32), and the presence of inflammatory markers (e.g., immunoglobulin G index) in the CSF (2.14, p Conclusions: Sex, race, and serologic biomarkers warrant consideration when assessing risk of TM recurrence. Male sex and Caucasian American race were independently associated with risk of monophasic idiopathic TM. Recurrence risk in female and African American patients appears driven by a greater likelihood of developing NMO or NMO spectrum disorder.
Multidatabase global query optimization

Data requests to multidatabases are posed through non-procedural languages such as SQL and, for a global data request, optimization must be performed to achieve good system performance. However, the issues are often complicated in multidatabases, due to additional issues arising because of the autonomy and heterogeneity restrictions of the independent local DBMSs. The data translation problem between various local systems can be observed at the schema level and at the instance level. We have identified the need for a domain translation table in multidatabase query processing, and we discuss methods of implementing it. Some observations about multidatabase inter-site joins are made, and four methods by which multidatabase global queries can be processed are introduced and analytically compared. >
Assessing Potential Propulsion Breakthroughs

The term, propulsion breakthrough, refers to concepts like propellantless space drives and faster-than-light travel, the kind of breakthroughs that would make interstellar exploration practical. Although no such breakthroughs appear imminent, a variety of investigations into these goals have begun. From 1996 to 2002, NASA supported the Breakthrough Propulsion Physics Project to examine physics in the context of breakthrough spaceflight. Three facets of these assessments are now reported: (1) predicting benefits, (2) selecting research, and (3) recent technical progress. Predicting benefits is challenging since the breakthroughs are still only notional concepts, but kinetic energy can serve as a basis for comparison. In terms of kinetic energy, a hypothetical space drive could require many orders of magnitude less energy than a rocket for journeys to our nearest neighboring star. Assessing research options is challenging when the goals are beyond known physics and when the implications of success are profound. To mitigate the challenges, a selection process is described where: (a) research tasks are constrained to only address the immediate unknowns, curious effects or critical issues, (b) reliability of assertions is more important than their implications, and (c) reviewers judge credibility rather than feasibility. The recent findings of a number of tasks, some selected using this process, are discussed. Of the 14 tasks included, six reached null conclusions, four remain unresolved, and four have opportunities for sequels. A dominant theme with the sequels is research about the properties of space, inertial frames, and the quantum vacuum.
Changes in Self-Efficacy and Decisional Balance for Exercise among Obese Women in a Weight Management Program

PINTO, BERNARDINE M., MATTHEW W. CLARK, DEAN G. CRUESS, LYNDA SZYMANSKI, AND VINCENT PERA. Changes in self-efficacy and decisional balance for exercise among obese women in a weight management program. Obes Res. Objective: To assess changes in eating and exercise self-efficacy and decisional balance for exercise in an obese population enrolled in a multi-disciplinary weight management program. Research Method and Procedures: Thirty-two obese women were assessed at entry and after 12 weeks of treatment. Results: Participants showed 15% mean weight loss after 12 weeks of treatment. Mean minutes of self-reported exercise increased by 229%. Participants demonstrated significant improvements in self-efficacy for both eating and exercise and health parameters but not in decisional balance for exercise adoption. Discussion: These results may have implications for the practitioner in that self-efficacy changes occur during successful weight loss, but decisional balance for exercise may not change until individuals enter maintenance. These results imply that practitioners may be advised to shift from confidence building to relapse prevention early on in treatment, and that focusing on strengthening the pros of exercise and reducing the cons of exercise may need to remain constant during treatment.
Development of bipolar plates for fuel cells from graphite filled wet-lay material and a thermoplastic laminate skin layer

In this paper, a method with the potential to rapidly produce thermoplastic polymer composite bipolar plates with improved formability and through-plane conductivity is described. In our earlier work, it was reported that composite bipolar plates made with graphite filled wet-lay materials exhibited excellent mechanical properties and in-plane electrical conductivity. However, the through-plane conductivity and formability of the materials needed improvement. In this work, laminate polymer composite plates consisting of a wet-lay based core and a fluoropolymer/graphite skin layer are manufactured in an effort to improve formability and through-plane conductivity. These plates are characterized by their throughplane and in-plane conductivity, half-cell resistance, and mechanical properties at ambient and elevated temperatures. The laminate plates with PPS based wet-lay core exhibited bulk conductivities of above 300 S cm −1 , tensile strength of up to 34 MPa, and flexural strength of up to 54 MPa. Compared to the bipolar plates consisting of wet-lay material only, the bipolar plates with laminate structure exhibited an increase in through-plane conductivity of 25–35%, as well as a decrease in half-cell resistance by a factor of up to 5. The laminate bipolar plates can be manufactured in several ways with two of them being discussed in detail in the paper. © 2006 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Femtosecond time-resolved absorption spectroscopy of main-form and high-salt peridinin-chlorophyll a-proteins at low temperatures.

Steady-state and femtosecond time-resolved optical methods have been used to compare the spectroscopic features and energy transfer dynamics of two systematically different light-harvesting complexes from the dinoflagellate Amphidinium carterae: main-form (MFPCP) and high-salt (HSPCP) peridinin−chlorophyll a−proteins. Pigment analysis and X-ray diffraction structure determinations [Hofmann, E., Wrench, P. M., Sharples, F. P., Hiller, R. G., Welte, W., Diederichs, K. (1996) Science 272, 1788−1791; T. Schulte, F. P. Sharples, R. G. Hiller, and E. Hofmann, unpublished results] have revealed the composition and geometric arrangements of the protein-bound chromophores. The MFPCP contains eight peridinins and two chlorophyll (Chl) a, whereas the HSPCP has six peridinins and two Chl a, but both have very similar pigment orientations. Analysis of the absorption spectra has shown that the peridinins and Chls absorb at different wavelengths in the two complexes. Also, in the HSPCP complex, the Qy transitions of th...
Illustrations of Financing and Tax Transfers in Owner Financed Real Estate Sales

Abstract The dramatic increase in seller or creative financing in the late 1970s and early 1980s has captured the attention of many academicians and practitioners. The primary focus in the existing literature is on explaining differences in loan terms between creative financing and conventional financing and on how these differences are capitalized into sale prices. This paper investigates the role of financing opportunity costs and federal income taxation and their consequences on real estate financing. Illustrations of the model show the feasibility of interpersonal financing transfers (between buyers and sellers) and intertemporal tax transfers (across time periods).
A combination of centralized and distributed methods for multi-agent planning and scheduling

Task planning and scheduling techniques developed as part of a project whose goal is to control the operations of many robots in the same environment are presented. Centralized approaches allow task allocation to be improved. However, they are not appropriate for coordinating the actions of multiple mobile robots in a dynamic environment where unforeseeable events occur. Consequently, the author advocates a mixed strategy, allowing robots to make and execute individual plans as well as to connect with a central task planner and scheduler when appropriate. The author first presents individual planning techniques. Then he describes a framework allowing robots to exchange information with a central system able to optimize task allocation. >
Stability of IPA derivative estimates through a stochastic linear difference equation

When the waiting times in a queuing system satisfy an explicit recursion, their derivatives, which are infinitesimal perturbation analysis (IPA) estimates, satisfy a linear difference equation with random coefficients. Simple conditions on the coefficients guarantee the stability and convergence of the IPA estimates. These conditions are related to the underlying dynamics. >
Considering Jumping Ship? A Pirate Looks At Retirement

If you’re like me, a “senior” faculty member at a public state university facing significant budget cuts, recently you’ve probably thought about leaving your current position for another faculty position in a different state. A possible reason for considering jumping ship is envisioning a clearer picture of your retirement as it nears on the horizon – a retirement that does not look quite what you had projected ten years ago, due to the that fact that you elected the defined contribution (DC) plan (often referred to as an “optional” or “alternate” retirement plan at universities) rather than the traditional defined benefit (DB) state employee pension plan when you first arrived at your university 20-odd years ago (which was the right choice, at that time, given the information available…keep reminding yourself of that), and then seeing the value of that retirement account drop considerably two-three years ago. Although your retirement account may have mostly recovered, there are still those lost years of growth that may have you secondguessing your previous decision. Alas, that decision cannot be undone, but a new decision can be created by moving to another state. It is this possible decision that is the topic of this paper. What factors should be considered in choosing between the traditional DB plan and the optional DC plan for an individual who cannot necessarily reach the maximum benefit under the DB plan?