cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Theoretical Influences on the Establishment of Inclusive Practices

Abstract The purpose of this study was to examine strategies used by classroom teachers for including students with severe multiple disabilities in elementary general education classrooms. Interviews and participant observations were conducted across a 10 month period at four sites. Categorical coding procedures for qualitative data were used to identify themes related to instructional practices in these inclusive classrooms. Results revealed influences of constructivist, Vygotskian and multiple intelligence theories on teacher decisions and perceptions. The tenets of each theory are presented, the impact of theoretical assumptions on teacher practice is examined and three lessons exemplifying such influences are illustrated.
Experimental measurements and numerical modeling of marginal burning in live chaparral fuel beds

An extensive experimental and numerical study was completed to analyze the marginal burning behavior of live chaparral shrub fuels that grow in the mountains of southern California. Laboratory fire spread experiments were carried out to determine the effects of wind, slope, moisture content, and fuel characteristics on marginal burning in fuel beds of common chaparral species. Four species (Manzanita sp., Ceanothus sp., Quercus sp., and Arctostaphylos sp.), two wind velocities (0 and 2 m/s), two fuel bed depths (20 and 40 cm), and three slope percents (0%, 40%, or 70%) were used. Oven-dry moisture content M of fine fuels (<6.25 mm diameter) ranged from 29% to 105%. Sixty-five of 115 fires successfully propagated the length (2.0 m) of the elevated fuel bed. A previously derived empirical marginal burning criterion was assessed, and a suitable modification was proposed for live chaparral fuels. Based on the experimental data, a stepwise logistic regression model was developed to predict the probability of successful fire spread. This procedure resulted in the selection of wind speed, slope percent, fuel loading, fuel moisture content, and relative humidity as the primary variables. It correctly classified 96% of 115 fires. Finally, a multidimensional numerical model for vegetation fire spread using a porous media sub-model was developed to simulate the laboratory fires. Results are used to analyze the internal heat transfer and combustion processes that determine fire spread success in shrub fuel bed.
On converting potential temperature to altitude in the middle atmosphere

In a recent “Rule-of-Thumb” feature, Crutzen and Freie [1997] provide an extremely simple, memorable, and apparently accurate conversion between potential temperature (θ, in Kelvins) and altitude (z, in km) for the stratosphere: θ/25 = z (1). Since potential temperature and altitude are nonlinearly related in general, how is this simple linear conversion derived? Why is it so accurate? Is it valid for the entire stratosphere? If not, is there a more general conversion formula which reduces to (1) for certain conditions? The point of this short article is to clarify the answers to these questions, using nothing more than fundamental concepts in meteorology and calculus.
Nonlinear Stability of Weak Detonation Waves¶for a Combustion Model

We show that the weak detonation waves for a combustion model of Rosales–Majda are nonlinearly stable. Because of the strongly nonlinear nature of the wave, usual stability analysis of weakly nonlinear nature does not apply. The chemical switch on-off is the main feature of nonlinearity. In particular, the propagation of the wave depends sensitively on the tail behaviour of the flow in front of it. Unlike the strong detonation waves, a weak detonation is supersonic and there is the separation of the gas waves from the reacting front. As a consequence, the reacting front needs to be traced.
A convergent multigrid cycle for the hybridized mixed method

We consider the application of a variable V-cycle multigrid algorithm for the hybridized mixed method for second-order elliptic boundary-value problems. Our algorithm differs from the previous works on multigrid for the mixed method in that it is targeted at efficiently solving the matrix system for the Lagrange multiplier of the method. Since the mixed method is best implemented by first solving for the Lagrange multiplier and recovering the remaining unknowns locally, our algorithm is more useful in practice. The critical ingredient in the algorithm is a suitable intergrid transfer operator. We design such an operator and prove mesh-independent convergence of the variable V-cycle algorithm. Numerical experiments indicating the asymptotically optimal performance of our algorithm, as well as the failure of certain seemingly plausible intergrid transfer operators, are presented. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Effect of Phosphate Binders on Supplemental Iron Absorption in Healthy Subjects

A single-dose, prospective, randomized, four-treatment, four-period crossover study was conducted to determine the acute effect of therapeutically equivalent doses of three commonly used phosphate binders on oral iron absorption. Twenty-three healthy subjects received 65 mg of elemental iron alone and with each phosphate binder (calcium carbonate 3000 mg, calcium acetate 2668 mg, or sevelamer HCl 2821 mg). Area under the change in plasma iron concentration-time curve over 6 hours postdosing was measured. ANOVA was used to assess the statistical significance of differences in iron absorption among the treatments. The relative bioavailability of iron administered with each phosphate binder compared to iron administered alone was estimated. The relative iron bioavailabilities (95% confidence intervals) for the calcium carbonate, calcium acetate, and sevelamer HCI treatments were 0.81 (0.70, 0.94), 0.73 (0.63, 0.85), and 0.90 (0.78, 1.05), respectively. Thus, single doses of both calcium-based phosphate binders significantly reduced single-dose iron absorption, while sevelamer HCl did not.
Space Analyticity for the Nonlinear Heat Equation in a Bounded Domain

1. INTRODUCTIONIn [FoT], Foias and Temam introduced a method for estimating thespace-analyticity radius of solutions of the NavierStokes equation withperiodic boundary conditions. For the numerous applications, seee.g. [CEES, CRT, DTH, FT, Gr, K, LO]. In our previous paper [GK],we did not use the Fourier series and were thus able to treat the NavierStokes and other semilinear parabolic equations with singular (L
Pulmonary Hypertension in Preterm Infants: Prevalence and Association with Bronchopulmonary Dysplasia

Objective To determine whether early pulmonary hypertension (PH) at 10-14 days of life in preterm infants is associated with bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD) at 36 weeks' postmenstrual age (PMA). Study design This was a prospective observational cohort study of infants Results From March 2011 to April 2013, of 146 consecutively admitted infants +2 ± 1 +2 vs 25 +6 ± 1 +4 weeks), birth weight (837 ± 205 g vs 763 ± 182 g), and small for gestational age (14% vs 20%) were not significantly different among infants with no PH and early PH, respectively. Infants with early PH required >0.3 fraction of inspired oxygen by day 10 of life (70% vs 27%, P Conclusion In this prospective, single-center cohort, early PH was associated with moderate/severe BPD or death at 36 weeks' PMA.
A Comprehensive Phylogenetic Study of Amiid Fishes (Amiidae) Based on Comparative Skeletal Anatomy. an Empirical Search for Interconnected Patterns of Natural History

ABSTRACT The comparative osteology, phylogenetic relationships, and historical biogeography of all known taxa of fossil and living amiid fishes (Halecomorphi: Amiidae) are investigated in detail. Previously, the detailed osteology of nearly all fossil amiids was unknown. We present the first well-supported comprehensive phylogeny for fossil and living amiid fishes. We synthesize clearly documented phylogenetic data on amiids and other halecomorph fishes with other historical phenomena such as ontogeny, historical biogeography, stratigraphic paleontology, and paleoecology (both “stationary” and “historical”). We also use our study of halecomorph fishes as a platform to explore several fundamental methodological and theoretical concepts important to phylogenetic/evolutionary investigations. These concepts pertain mainly to (1) the use of comparative empirical data to interpret various historical patterns and (2) the practice of integrating fossil and living species together in original (i.e., non-literature...
Establishing objectives for a course in reading aloud

The importance of behavioral objectives in effective instruction has been established and illustrated in educational and speech literature. This article focuses on (1) the problems encountered by a teacher of a course in reading aloud in formulating and evaluating behavioral objectives, and (2) suggested assignments and behavioral objectives for a course in reading aloud which have proved to be workable in the classroom situation.
A Note on Inverses of Elementary Permutations

It is shown that there exists an elementary permutation of the natural numbers whose inverse is not provably recursive in formal number theory. This result is interpreted with respect to choosing the provably recursive functions as the appropriate formalization of the class of functions effectively computable on intuitive grounds.
Assessment of coronary arterial flow and flow reserve in humans with magnetic resonance imaging

Background The noninvasive measurement of absolute epicardial coronary arterial flow and flow reserve would be useful in the evaluation of patients with coronary circulatory disorders. Phase-contrast magnetic resonance imaging (PC-MRI) has been used to measure coronary arterial flow in animals, but its accuracy in humans is unknown. Methods and Results Twelve subjects (7 men, 5 women; age, 44 to 67 years) underwent PC-MRI measurements of flow in the left anterior descending coronary artery or one of its diagonal branches at rest and after administration of adenosine (140 μg·kg−1·min−1 IV). Immediately thereafter, intracoronary Doppler velocity (IDV) and flow measurements were made during cardiac catheterization at rest and after intravenous administration of adenosine. For the 12 patients, the correlation between MRI and invasive measurements of coronary arterial flow and coronary arterial flow reserve was excellent: coronary flowMRI (mL/min)= 0.85×coronary flowIDV (mL/min)+17 (mL/min), r=.89, and coronar...
Comparison of behavioural development in socially isolated and grouped rats.

Abstract The behavioural development of ten socially isolated and ten grouped rats was observed from 3 to 92 days of age under controlled laboratory conditions. Subjects were observed at the beginning of the dark part of the diurnal cycle. A time sample method was used to obtain data. Isolated subjects engaged in more exploratory locomotion, oral consummatory behaviour, attentive immobility, pawing behaviour and tail manipulation and engaged in less sleep and rest than grouped subjects. Some grouped subjects did not develop two non-social behaviours: pawing behaviour and tail manipulation. For most behaviours, differences between subjects were consistent over time. The percentage of time subjects engaged in each category of behaviour varied during development.
Professional disclosure in the counseling profession: A review of the literature

Professional disclosure is a vehicle by which clients can become informed about the services they may receive in a professional setting, including those in the allied health fields. This paper reviews the literature on professional disclosure from the viewpoints of shaping client expectations, promoting counselor accountability, and being ethically responsible. A written professional disclosure statement can be provided that satisfies these requirements.
Abstract 2072: Distinct antioxidant profiles of human prostate carcinoma cell lines and tissues: Implications for rational design of redox therapy

Proceedings: AACR 103rd Annual Meeting 2012‐‐ Mar 31‐Apr 4, 2012; Chicago, IL Several cancer chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation mediate their effects, at least in part, by generation of reactive oxygen/nitrogen species. Therefore, the levels of antioxidants and status of cellular redox state have tremendous influence on the outcome of these therapies. We analyzed antioxidant proteins in normal prostate epithelial cells and tissues as well as prostate cancer cell lines and tissues. Highly aggressive androgen-independent prostate cancer PC3 and LNCAP-C42B cells demonstrated significantly higher levels of superoxide dismutase (SOD) 2, peroxyredoxin (Prx) 1, 2, 3, and 4, thioredoxin (Trx) 1 and 2, and thioredoxin reductase (TR) 1 and 2, relative to normal prostate epithelial PrEC cells and immortalized RWPE1 human prostate epithelial cells. Similarity, the highly aggressive human prostate cancer tissues (Gleason scores 4+4 and 4+5) demonstrated significantly higher levels of SOD1 and 2, Prx 3 and 4, Trx 1 and 2, and TR 1 and 2 relative to adjacent normal prostate tissues. In contrast, the expression levels of these antioxidant proteins were lower or were not altered in less aggressive human prostate cancer tissues (Gleason score 3+3) relative to adjacent normal prostate tissues. Utilizing Trx1 redox western as a marker of cellular redox states, we found more oxidized form of Trx1 in PC3 and LNCAP-C42B cells and human prostate cancer tissues (Gleason scores 4+4 and 4+5) despite their higher levels of Trx1 protein expression. Our data suggest that alteration in antioxidant proteins and cellular redox state may differentiate cancers from non-cancer tissues. Additionally, knowledge of redox state profiles can help to predict the response of each cancer cell type to chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 103rd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2012 Mar 31-Apr 4; Chicago, IL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2012;72(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 2072. doi:1538-7445.AM2012-2072
Progress on the direct-methods solution of macromolecular structures using single-wavelength anomalous-dispersion (SAS) data.

In the past few years, a number of strategies have been outlined to resolve the SAS phase ambiguity given that unique estimates \omega(h, k) of the triple invariants are available. A new least-squares method is described that can in principle resolve the phase ambiguity to determine macromolecular phases provided that \omega(h, k) estimates are unbiased. Limi­tations of the method in practical applications are discussed. An example is given where the correct solution can be identified by use of the SAS tangent formula in the instance that traditional SAS phasing methods have lead to an incorrect heavy-atom sub­structure.
Near-Room Temperature Deposition of W and WO3 Thin Films by Hydrogen Atom Assisted Chemical Vapor Deposition

A novel near-room temperature CVD process has been developed using H-atoms reaction with WF6 to produce tungsten and tungsten oxide films. The chemical, physical and electrical properties of these films were studied. Good adhesion and low resistivity of W films were measured. Conformal WO3 films were obtained on columnar tungsten using a small amount of molecular oxygen in the gas stream. A reaction mechanism was evaluated on the basis of experimental results. The advantages of the method include deposition of adherent films in a plasma-free environment, near-room temperature, with a low level of impurity
Structural properties of ordered high-melting-temperature intermetallic alloys from first-principles total-energy calculations

Intermetallic compounds which are ductile at high temperatures are of great technological interest; however, purely experimental searches for improved intermetallic materials are time consuming and expensive. Theoretical studies can shorten the experimental search by focusing on compounds with the desired properties. While current ab initio density-functional calculations cannot adequately determine material properties at high temperature, it is possible to compute the static-lattice equation of state and elastic moduli of ordered binary compounds. Known correlations between equilibrium properties and high-temperature properties such as the melting temperature can then be used to point the way for experiments. We demonstrate the power of this approach by applying the linear augmented-plane-wave method to the calculation of the equation of state and all of the zero-pressure elastic moduli for SbY in the B1 (NaCl) phase, CoAl and RuZr in the B2 (CsCl) phase, and NbIr in the L${1}_{0}$ (Au-Cu I) phase. The calculated equilibrium lattice constants are all within 2% of the experimentally determined values. The only experimentally known elastic moduli in these systems are the bulk and shear moduli for polycrystalline SbY, CoAl, and NbIr. The predicted bulk moduli are with 7% of experiment. Theory enables us to place limits on the experimental polycrystalline shear modulus. The experimental shear moduli of SbY and CoAl are within our theoretical bounds, but the experimental shear modulus of NbIr is 35% smaller than our lower bound. We stress that in the case of CoAl our calculations provided a prediction for the bulk and shear moduli that were subsequently confirmed by the experiments of Fleischer. We also discuss the band structures and electronic density of states for these materials.
Characteristics of children discharged from hospitals in the United States in 2000 with the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever.

OBJECTIVE. The goal was to describe characteristics of children discharged from hospitals in the United States in 2000 with the diagnosis of acute rheumatic fever. METHODS. We explored characteristics of children RESULTS. In 2000, an estimated 503 acute rheumatic fever hospitalizations occurred among children CONCLUSIONS. In 2000, we found that hospitalizations for acute rheumatic fever were infrequent and varied according to race, season, location, and type of hospital.
Deformation of a line-element in the phase space at the triangular libration point

The flow in the projection of the phase space into the configuration space is presented in the neighborhood of a neutrally (or critically) stable equilibrium point in the restricted problem of three bodies. The projection is a line-element every point of which has zero initial velocity. After the elapse of various times the mapping (the rotations and elongations) of the line-element is described showing chaotic behavior.
Restoration and enhancement of earth images from a low-cost sampled video system

The WEBERSAT microsat has been in a 500 km polar orbit of Earth since January of 1990. During this time an on board, low cost, color CCD camera has logged several dozen video images of Earth and heavens. Each new image has presented a unique challenge in restoration and image enhancement. Imaging from space is not a new story, in fact several space qualified sub-systems have proven to be highly reliable. The distinctiveness of the WEBERSAT imaging system is that it is not an expensive space qualified subsystem; rather, it is composed completely of slightly modified off-the-shelf commercial components as one would find from a consumer video store. Today's cost for such equipment is well under one thousand dollars.
A Clear Path for Polymer Crystallization

The interior of a molecular crystal may not seem like the ideal environment for setting up a chemical reaction. The molecules in the crystal are held rigid, and there is no way to introduce new reagents or catalysts. However, for some reactions, a crystalline environment brings molecules together in a preferred orientation that leads to products that could not be formed in solution ( 1 ). The periodicity and high degree of order that characterize crystalline materials are particularly well suited to polymerization reactions, which can stitch monomers together into a highly ordered, nearly defect-free chain. The most commonly studied class of polymers made in this way are polydiacetylenes, prepared from crystals of molecular diyne monomers ( 2 , 3 ). On page 272 of this issue, Dou et al. ( 4 ) report that a new class of polymers can be prepared by solid-state polymerization of organic dye molecules. Both the crystallization and the polymerization in this system are so favorable that the reaction can be carried out in highly concentrated solutions, where micro- or nanocrystalline aggregates control the chemistry.
Rapid and specific detection of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis complex using fluorogenic probes andreal-time PCR.

A rapid and sensitive strategy for the specific identification of Mycobacterium tuberculosis (TB) was designed and evaluated using crude mycobacterial lysates. The speed of real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was combined with the sensitivity of fluorogenic probes to confirm the presence of mycobacteria as well as specifically identify the presence of members of the mycobacteria tuberculosis complex (MTC) in a single-tube assay. Oligonucleotides were designed to amplify the internal transcribed spacer (ITS) from several mycobacterial species. Specific fluorogenic probes were included in the PCR reaction for the identification of TB as well as Mycobacterium bovia and Mycobacterium africanum in bacterial lysates. The combination of TB-specific fluorogenic probes with real-time PCR formed an approach determined to be fast (less than 40 min), sensitive (less than 800 copies of DNA) and reliable for the specific detection of the MTC. Our data demonstrate the use of real-time PCR and fluorogenic probes in a rapid and sensitive assay to distinguish members of the MTC from other mycobacterial species.
E2F1 expression in LNCaP prostate cancer cells deregulates androgen dependent growth, suppresses differentiation, and enhances apoptosis.

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES To investigate the role of E2F/RB in androgen independent proliferation, differentiation, and sensitivity to apoptotic stimuli of LNCaP prostate cancer cells. METHODS The effects of E2F1 overexpression on androgen independent proliferation, differentiation, and apoptotic responses was assessed by flow cytometry, Western blot analysis and staining of nuclei. RESULTS Overexpression of E2F1 in LNCaP cells confers resistance to an androgen withdrawal-mediated growth arrest, prevents differentiation, and modifies apoptotic responses. Androgen independent proliferation is associated with a dose dependent elevation of cyclin E. Cells expressing high levels of E2F1 continue to express androgen receptor and have a diminished expression of neuronal specific enolase when cultured in androgen-depleted media. Additionally, E2F1-expressing cells are more sensitive to etoposide-induced apoptosis. Western blot analysis revealed that LNCaP-E2F1 cells have elevated expression of p73, Apaf-1, caspase-3, caspase-7, but expression of caspase-8 and -9, p14(ARF), and Mcl-1, is unaltered. CONCLUSION This is the first study that describes E2F1-dependent modifications of androgen dependence, differentiation, and sensitivity to apoptotic stimuli in LNCaP cells. Our analysis also identifies a subset of E2F1 targets that are instrumental in altering proliferative, differentiation, and apoptotic properties. Deregulation of the E2F/RB pathway and subsequent modification of key regulatory proteins may promote the development of hormone-refractory prostate tumors. Published 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The Effectiveness of Different Recruitment Sources: A Mediating Variable Analysis

Previous research suggests that one or more of three mediating variables account for the relationships between recruiting sources and applicant effectiveness. This paper offers a critical test of the three mediating variables: demographic characteristics, realistic expectations, and perceived person-job fit. Using a sample of 242 newly hired marketing representatives, the study found that employees recruited through college placement offices had better initial levels of performance than did employees recruited through newspaper advertisements. While all of the proposed mediating variables were associated with some recruitment sources, none of them mediated the effects of recruitment sources on performance or turnover. This paper suggests that there may be complex contingency relationships between recruitment sources and employee performance and turnover.
U.S. vs. Canada: Are we really tougher on fraud?

What are the differences between U.S. and Canadian auditing for fraud? Many U.S. financial executives have some familiarity with U.S. standards. But fewer understand Canadian ones. And while the U.S. standard may seem tougher, the Canadians have a more practical view of the auditor's ability. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Activation of Promoters for Cellular Lipogenic Genes by Hepatitis B Virus Large Surface Protein

Hepatitis B virus large surface protein has the unusual property of accumulating in a particulate form within a preGolgi compartment, leading to marked proliferation of intracellular membranes. We show here that large surface protein activates the promoters for two lipogenic genes that code for farnesyl diphosphate synthase and fatty acid synthase. This activation is transduced, in part, by the transcription factor NF-Y. Although NF-Y is also necessary for the transcriptional induction of chaperone proteins residing in the endoplasmic reticulum by unfolded proteins, other inducers of chaperone synthesis do not activate the promoters for farnesyl diphosphate synthase and fatty acid synthase. Our results suggest the presence of a novel signaling pathway from the endoplasmic reticulum to the nucleus that causes the intracellular membrane proliferation seen in the hepatocytes of persons with accumulated large surface protein particles.
Conformational Switching of Human G-Quadruplexed DNA with Ligand Binding under Molecular Crowding Conditions

Formation of quadruplexed DNA (qDNA) within telomeric DNA has the potential to effectively inhibit the activity of telomerase, a key enzyme in tumorigenesis. The effects of molecular crowding (MC) within the cell can affect the folding of qDNA and modulate telomerase activity. Furthermore, MC can affect the ability of ligand binding to qDNA in promotion of the folded quadruplex conformation. Thus it is important that quadruplex-ligand binding be evaluated under more physiologically relevant conditions. We have examined the effects of MC on the association of N-methyl mesoporphyrin IX (NMM), a ligand which selectively binds to G-quadruplexed DNA, on the conformation of (TTAGGG)4 (HT4) and (TTAGGG)8 (HT8) human telomeric sequences. We and others have shown that in K+ solutions, HT4 forms a hybrid conformation, whereas the HT8 sequence forms two consecutive hybrid quadruplexes. With addition of crowding mimetics (Ficoll 70; Ficoll 400; and PEG 200 (20 and 40% w/v)) to the HT4 sequence, CD studies show a conformational switch to an antiparallel structure in Ficoll 400 (40% w/v) and a parallel conformation in PEG 200 (40% w/v), with no conformational changes observed in Ficoll 70. For HT8, a similar effect was observed, but in addition an anti-parallel conformation was obtained in Ficoll 70 (40% w/v), which suggests an enhanced sensitivity to dehydration for the HT8 sequence. Additionally, thermal CD melting studies showed stabilization of HT8 conformation in Ficoll compared with HT4. With binding of NMM to HT4 in 20% (w/v) crowding mimetics a shift to the parallel conformation was observed. However, the antiparallel (more dehydrated) conformation for HT8 is promoted in Ficoll 400. We plan more detailed environmental studies of NMM binding to qDNA under crowding conditions using fluorescence spectroscopy.(Supported by NIH 5SC3 GM095437)
Policy innovation and tertiary education graduation rates: a cross-country analysis

This study extends Trow’s theory of higher education development to examine changes in national-level tertiary education graduation rates. Applying Trow’s framework we arrive at three stages: (1) elite systems with gross tertiary graduation rates less than 15%, (2) massified systems with gross tertiary graduation rates between 15% and 50%, and (3) universal systems with gross tertiary graduation rates above 50%. This study conducts event history analyses using a unique cross-national panel dataset, which spans the time period from 1999–2005. Following the work of Berry and Berry, our event history analyses model both the internal features of each country and the influence that nation-states have on each other with regard to setting tertiary education graduation policy. We find significant influences of both internal determinants and diffusion factors. We find a positive, significant effect of membership in the OECD consistent across both the massified and universal thresholds. We also find a positive, sig...
Minimizing late jobs in the general one machine scheduling problem

Abstract In this paper, the problem of minimizing the number of late jobs on one machine is investigated. The general problem is considered, i.e., with release dates and different due dates. A lower bound is first proposed, based on the relaxation of a Mixed-Integer Linear Programming formulation of the problem. A heuristic is then presented. Its effectiveness is computationally studied by comparison with the lower bound.
Influence of segmental swelling of an asymmetric block copolymer on the morphology of melt-mixed immiscible polymer blends

We investigate the influence of an asymmetric PS-b-PMMA block copolymer (bcp) on the morphology of melt-mixed immiscible binary polymer blends containing poly(styrene-co-acrylonitrile) random copolymer (SAN) and poly(cyclohexylmethacrylate) (PCHMA). By varying the SAN copolymer composition, the balance between the swelling of each block segment located at the interface between the two phases is altered and the effect on blend morphology is studied. As in earlier studies using a symmetric bcp, we find that for a specified shear history, there is a zone of effective emulsification of the blend bounded by regions of internal and external emulsification failure. However, the locations of the boundaries between stable and unstable emulsification differ for an asymmetric versus a symmetric bcp. Thus the morphology depends not only on the segmental swelling ratio but also on the difference in the effective size of each bcp segment. Scaling arguments successfully correlate the limits of stable emulsification for both symmetric and asymmetric bcp.
Models of the Giant Planets

Models of the giant planets were constructed based on the assumption that the hydrogen to helium ratio is solar in these planets. This assumption, together with arguments about the condensation sequence in the primitive solar nebula, yields models with a central core of rock and possibly ice surrounded by an envelope of hydrogen, helium, methane, ammonia, and water. These last three volatiles many be individually enhanced due to condensation at the period of core formation. Jupiter was found to have a core of about 40 earth masses and a water enhancement in the atmosphere of about 7.5 times the solar value. Saturn was found to have a core of 20 earth masses and a water enhancement in the atmosphere of about 25 times the solar value. Rock plus ice constitute 75-85% of the mass of Uranus and Neptune.
Software-defined radio receiver: dream to reality

This article describes a fully integrated 90 nm CMOS software-defined radio receiver operating in the 800 MHz to 5 GHz band. Unlike the classical SDR paradigm, which digitizes the whole spectrum uniformly, this receiver acts as a signal conditioner for the analog-to-digital converters, emphasizing only the wanted channel. Thus, the ADCs operate with modest resolution and sample rate, consuming low power. This approach makes portable SDR a reality
Glucose-Insulin-Potassium Solution for Acute Myocardial Infarction

OBJECTIVE:To review the role of glucose-insulin-potassium (GIK) solution in the management of acute myocardial infarction (AMI).DATA SOURCES:MEDLINE (1966–October 2001) database, using the search terms glucose, insulin, potassium, and myocardial infarction.STUDY SELECTION:Relevant English-language human studies and meta-analyses.DATA SYNTHESIS:Most studies that have investigated the use of GIK in AMI have been from the prethrombolytic era. Although most data trended toward favoring GIK in improving mortality and morbidity of AMI, the Polish GIK study was terminated prematurely because of an increase in mortality in patients treated with GIK. Dosage, duration of treatment, and route of administration of GIK varied among studies.CONCLUSIONS:Until results from larger-scale studies become available, the routine use of GIK infusion in AMI patients is not recommended.
Analysis of the noise spectra of a laser diode with optical feedback from a high-finesse resonator

Noise spectra of a semiconductor laser with and without optical feedback from an external high-finesse resonator are calculated. Even very small amounts of optical feedback significantly reduce the low-frequency noise power, but the reduction depends on the source of the noise. The effect of various parameters on the noise reduction and on the stability of single-mode operation of the laser are determined, and the results are compared to recent experimental measurements. The results provide guidelines for the design of practical systems for achieving narrow emission linewidths and avoiding instability. The theoretical results show that a semiconductor laser with optical feedback functions as a laser with an optical servoloop and can be considered a self-injection-locked laser. >
Prevalence of HIV-associated periodontitis and chronic periodontitis in a southeastern US study group

Objectives This study estimates factors associated with the prevalence of HIV-associated periodontal diseases (HIV-P) and the severity and extent of periodontitis in HIV-infected adults from North Carolina (NC). Methods Data are derived from a cross-sectional study of HIV-infected adults (total n = 326, dentate n = 316) treated at the University of North Carolina Hospitals. Outcomes were a diagnosis of HIV-P and measures of probing pocket depth (PPD), recession (REC), and clinical attachment level (CAL). Immunosuppression was measured by peripheral blood CD4+ cells/mm3. Results In addition to persons with HIV (non-AIDS), this study included 10 percent of the AIDS cases in North Carolina. Median age was 37 years (range = 19-67); 78 percent were male and 60 percent were black. Sixty-two percent of persons had a probing pocket depth > or = 5 mm; 46% had recession > or = 3 mm, and 66 percent had attachment level > or = 5 mm in one or more sites. Cases of HIV-P (n = 15) were rare. Persons taking HIV-antiretroviral medication were one-fifth (OR = 0.20; 95% CI = 0.07, 0.63) as likely to have HIV-P as those not taking those medications, controlling for CD4+ cell counts. Conclusions HIV-infected persons in this study group from North Carolina exhibited severe and extensive measures of adult periodontitis. A small proportion experienced a severe form of HIV-P, which was attenuated by antiretroviral therapy.
Application of DP-FETI domain decomposition method for the negative index of refraction materials

In this paper, NIM are modeled by a fast nonconforming dual primal-finite element tearing interconnecting (DP-FETI) domain decomposition method (DDM). We apply the DP-FETI-DDM method to model both positive and negative index materials, refer to as PIM and NIM. Since NIM are generally periodic in nature, the proposed method is capable of taking advantage of such periodicity and only requires small amount of memory.
Transient freezing in laminar tube‐flow

A new model is presented for treating transient freezing in laminar tube-flow. The liquid motion is constrained by requiring head-loss versus flow-rate to match that of a linear pump-characteristic curve. This feature enables the model to describe freezing conditions which may lead to occlusion of the tube with solid-phase material. The results demonstrate the sensitivity of tube occlusion both to temperature and liquid-pumping capability. Both steady-state and transient results obtained compare favorably with those found in the literature, which include an exact steady-state solution. Maximum error is estimated at 15%. On presente un nouveau modele pour le traitement de la congelation temporaire qui se produit lors de l'ecoulement dans un tube laminaire. On restreint le mouvement du liquide en s'assurant que le rapport entre la perte de charge et le debit corresponde a celui d'une courbe caracteristique pour une pompe lineaire; cela permet au modele d'indiquer les conditions de congelation qui peuvent conduire a l'occlusion du tube avec des matieres solides. Les resultats qu'on a obtenus demontrent la sensibilite de l'occlusion du tube a la temperature et a la capacite de pompage du liquide. Les informations obtenues en regime permanent et en regime transitoire se comparent favorablement avec les donnees publiees, lesquelles comprennent une solution exacte en regime permanent. On considere que l'erreur maximale est de 15%.
Intermittent pattern of neural tube closure in two strains of mice

Development of the neural tube is often described as a continuous process that begins in the cervical region of the embryo and proceeds both rostrally and caudally. Examination of neural tube closure in the cranial region of LM/Bc and SWV/Bc mice revealed an intermittent pattern with four distinct areas of closure. Closure I begins at the level of somites 1-3 and proceeds bidirectionally. Closure II is initiated at the prosencephalic-mesencephalic border and also proceeds bidirectionally. Closure III is unidirectional, beginning adjacent to the stomodeum and proceeding caudally to meet closure II. Finally, closure IV takes place over the rhombencephalon where it meets closure II to complete rostral neural tube closure. In these two strains of mice anterior neural tube closure progressed as somite number increased. However, the SWV strain required a longer gestational time to develop equal numbers of somites and therefore to complete closure. In light of the intermittent pattern of closure observed in mice, the development of the rostral nervous system in other mammals, including humans, should be reconsidered.
Epitaxial Growth of α-Fe(111) ON Si(111) Studied by X-RAY Diffraction and Transmission Electron Microscopy

Epitaxial α-Fe films have been grown on Si(111) substrates at 30 and 320°C by electron beam evaporation in an ultra high vacuum environment to a thickness between a few hundred and several thousand Angstroms. Conventional θ-2θ x-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy show that the α-Fe films are oriented with the Fe(111) plane parallel to the Si(111) plane and with the Fe[110] direction parallel to the Si[110] direction in the plane of the substrate.
Calcium Dependent Dynamics and Forced Unbinding of Cadherins

Members of the cadherin superfamily of proteins have been implicated in selective cell adhesion, signaling, and more recently in mechanical processes such as sound transduction. While it is well known that the extracellular repeats of cadherin proteins mediate cell-cell adhesion in a calcium-dependent manner, the molecular mechanisms behind the influence of calcium in cadherin's adhesion dynamics and its mechanical response are not well understood. In addition, the architecture and strength of adhesion complexes formed by different members of the cadherin family remain debated. Here we report molecular dynamics simulations of classical cadherins type I (C-cadherin) and type II (Cadherin-8 and Cadherin-11) involving systems with up to 355,000 atoms. The simulations show how calcium ions control the structural integrity of cadherin's linker regions, the availability of key residues involved in cell-cell adhesion, and cadherin's mechanical response. The simulations also revealed the different mechanical strengths of type I and II adhesion complexes. The results illustrate the general principles of linker mediated elasticity of modular proteins relevant for cell-cell adhesion and sound transduction.
The Fighting Spirit Women's Self-Defense Training and the Discourse of Sexed Embodiment

This article presents ethnographic research on women's self-defense training and suggests that women's self-defense culture prompts feminists to refigure our understanding of the body and violence. The body in feminist discourse is often construed as the object of patriarchal violence (actual or symbolic), and violence has been construed as something that is variously oppressive, diminishing, inappropriate, and masculinist. Hence, many feminists have been apathetic to women's self-defense. As a practice that rehearses, and even celebrates women's potential for violence, women's self-defense illustrates how and why feminism can frame the body as both a social construction and as politically significant for theory and activism.
Sequent calculi for skeptical reasoning in predicate default logic and other nonmonotonic logics

Sequent calculi for skeptical consequence in predicate default logic, predicate stable model logic programming, and infinite autoepistemic theories are presented and proved sound and complete. While skeptical consequence is decidable in the finite propositional case of all three formalisms, the move to predicate or infinite theories increases the complexity of skeptical reasoning to being ?11-complete. This implies the need for sequent rules with countably many premises, and such rules are employed.
Controlling lipid oxidation of food by active packaging technologies

Active packaging is an innovative strategy in preventing lipid oxidation. Different active substances with different mechanisms of action have been investigated for imparting antioxidant activity to active packaging systems, including free radical scavengers, metal chelators, ultraviolet (UV) absorbers, oxygen scavengers, and singlet oxygen quenchers. Antioxidant agents have been incorporated into active packaging systems in different forms, mainly including independent sachet packages, adhesive-bonded labels, physical adsorption/coating on packaging material surface, being incorporated into packaging polymer matrix, multilayer films, and covalent immobilization onto the food contact packaging surface. In this paper, we review recent advances in antioxidant active packaging with the highlight of the development and application of non-migratory active packaging systems. The potential use of emerging technologies in antioxidant active packaging is also emphasized. We further describe challenges and opportunities towards the commercial application of such antioxidant active packaging systems, with a focus on maintaining safety, quality and nutrition of packaged foods.
Prophylaxis of infective endocarditis: Current perspectives

Infective endocarditis mainly affects the proximal surfaces of the heart valves but may affect the distal surface of the valve leaflets, subvalvular apparatus, congenital heart defects, walls of the heart chambers damaged by the impact of abnormal jets, prosthetic tissue placed in the heart, and attachments of implanted shunts, conduits, fistulae, or pacing wires. The occurrence of endocarditis is almost always preceded by a transient bacteremia. The transient bacteremia can be caused by dental procedures, lacerations of the skin and mucous membranes, and insertion of septic needles or catheters in the blood stream. However, the most common causes of transient bacteremia are daily routine activities, such as brushing teeth and chewing food. Therefore, the chances of developing infective endocarditis are higher with routine daily activities than with dental procedures or other manipulations, such as gastrointestinal or genitourinary procedures. In a few cases infective endocarditis is caused by dental procedures or by other diagnostic and therapeutic manipulation [1]. Furthermore, chances of developing infective endocarditic after such procedures not covered by antibiotic prophylaxis are low even in individuals with predisposing conditions. Also, the protection provided by antibiotic prophylaxis is not complete. The cumulative risk of wide use of such antibiotic prophylaxis is more than the benefit, even if the prophylaxis is completely effective [2]. Therefore, routine use of antibiotic prophylaxis before oral, dental, gastrointestinal, and genitourinary procedures is not recommended in a wide variety of underlying cardiac conditions. Thus, the best way to prevent bacterial endocarditis is by
Beam-Beam Simulations for the ERHIC Electron Ring

To study collisions between polarized electrons and heavy ions or polarized protons at high energy, adding a 10 GeV electron storage ring to the existing RHIC facility is currently under consideration. To achieve high luminosities of several 1033cm-2sec-1range, a vertical beam-beam tuneshift parameter of ξ y = 0.08 is required for the electron beam. Simulation studies are being performed to study the feasibility of this high tuneshift parameter and explore the potential for even higher tuneshifts. Recent results of these studies are presented.
Designing a distributed collaborative environment

The features of DiCE (distributed collaborative environment) are described in terms of its flexibility in supporting various types of collaborations, and an overview of the collaboration management in DiCE is given. A collaboration is defined as an aggregation of conferences, and the functionality of connection management necessary for instantiating conferences is discussed. The networking environment, and design principles are described. The software architecture of the conferencing system is outlined, the hardware environment is described, and results are given. >
Creating Convective Weather Scenarios for Simulating Weather Reroutes

This paper presents a method that converts weather forecast data into sequences of linked polygons that represent moving convective weather systems for air transportation simulation. These dynamic polygons can be used for simulating tactical flight rerouting. Using the method, an example weather scenario was generated and used as input for a simulation of traffic in a subsection of the national airspace. A total of 38 polygon sequences were generated from weather forecasts and used for rerouting. A total of 5,725 flights were simulated flying through the subsection. Of these flights, 866 were rerouted to avoid the convective weather regions emulated by the polygons. The average in-flight delay of the rerouted flights was 6.1 minutes.
Nighttime Wakefulness Associated with Infant Rearing in Callithrix kuhlii

Parent-infant cosleeping occurs in human and nonhuman primates, yet studies on the impact of cosleeping on parental sleep patterns have been limited to human mothers. We examined the effects of cosleeping on the nighttime wakefulness of a biparental New World primate, Wied's black tufted-ear marmoset (Callithrix kuhlii). We compared the sleep patterns of marmoset parents caring for young infants to those without infants, using an 8 mm videocamera and timelapse VCR under infrared illumination. The presence of young infants significantly impacted the sleep of mothers but not fathers. In fact, mothers rearing young infants were awake >3 times as often as mothers without infants. We also examined the nighttime wakefulness of marmoset parents across the first 9 weeks of infant life (birth through weaning). Although callitrichid mothers tend to reduce their daytime investment in offspring very early in infant life by relinquishing the care of infants to fathers and alloparents, increased nighttime wakefulness was not limited to the early postpartum period for the mothers. Instead, mothers exhibited more nighttime wakefulness than fathers did across the first 9 weeks of infant life. Our results indicate that the presence of infants has a greater impact on the sleep patterns of Callithrix kuhlii mothers than fathers, suggesting that mothers are more involved in infant care than previously realized and that fathers are not nearly as involved in nighttime care as their behavior during the day would suggest.