cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamic behavior of HIPed Ti–6Al–4V

Abstract The overall dynamic properties of hot isostatically pressed (HIPed) Ti–6Al–4V were throughout investigated. MIL-T-9047G was chosen as a standard material for property comparison due to its best combination of strength and ductility. The elastic constants of HIPed Ti–6Al–4V were measured by resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) method. Three types of Hopkinson bar tests (constitutive relations tests, strain-controlled specimen tests and hat-shaped specimen tests) were conducted on HIPed material as well as on the standard material to evaluate the high-strain-rate properties of HIPed Ti–6Al–4V. Thick wall cylinder explosion test was conducted to compare the post-critical behavior of baseline material (MIL-T-9047G) and Ti–6Al–4V HIPed material. The texture effect in high-strain-rate properties was checked as the main difference between HIPed (texture free) and standard material (grains elongated along the rod axial direction). The results show that the nonmilled HIPed Ti–6Al–4V has similar yield strength and strain-hardening curve in comparison with the standard material in forging direction but has a lower ductility, which is similar to the ductility of standard material normal to forging direction. The same conclusion also generated from the strain controlled specimen tests. The results that obtained in hat-shaped specimen tests show that HIPed material starts shear localization relatively earlier than standard material. This result is somewhat contradicted with the ballistic testing results that show better ballistic performance for HIPed materials in all three types of penetration tests (flat-ended, conical and long-rod) [see Refs. Nesterenko VF, Indrakanti SS, Goldsmith W, Gu Y. In: Staudhammer KP, Murr LE, Meyers MA, editors. Fundamental issues and applications of shock-wave and high-strain-rate phenomena. Amsterdam: Elsevier Science; 2001. p. 593–600; Nesterenko VF, Indrakanti SS, Brar S, Gu Y. Shock compression of condensed matter. AIP Conf Proc 2000; 505(1): 419–22; Nesterenko VF, Indrakanti SS, Brar S, Gu Y. Key Eng. Mater. 2000; 177-180: 243–8; Nesterenko VF, Goldsmith W, Indrakanti SS, Gu Y. Int J Impact Eng 2003; 28(2): 137–60; Gu Y, Indrakanti SS, Nesterenko VF. Shock compression of condensed matter. AIP Conf Proc 2002; 620(1): 1294–7]. The explanation for this contradiction might be the influences coming from the texture, and other microstructure features such as phase content, grain size distribution and fast shear localization propagation path at the grain boundary and the phase interface.
TORward AKTually useful mouse models

Cancer treatment is evolving from the empirical administration of chemotherapeutics to the precise deployment of molecularly targeted agents. This new paradigm depends on the ability to monitor therapy using molecular signatures of target inhibition in tumor tissue. Genetically engineered mice may prove useful for deriving such signatures, as shown for an analog of the anticancer drug rapamycin ( pages 594–601 ).
Magnetoconvection in a rotating spherical shell: structure of flow in the outer core

Abstract The structure of thermal convection in a three-dimensional rotating spherical shell of electrically conducting fluid with an imposed toroidal magnetic field depends on the Elsasser number, the ratio of Lorentz to Coriolis forces, and on the geometry of the shell. We present results of numerical calculations demonstrating that, for Elsasser numbers Λ ⪡ 1, fully developed convection consists of narrow geostrophic columns outside the inner-core tangent cylinder and weaker three-dimensional flow inside the tangent cylinder. For Elsasser numbers Λ ⩾ 1 the fully developed convection consists of magnetostrophic flow inside the tangent cylinder and large-scale spiraling geostrophic flow outside. Interaction of the geostrophic flow with toroidal field induces patches of concentrated poloidal field, which combine to produce the external dipole. The magnetostrophic component of the flow induces very little poloidal field. The external dipole field is nearly axial for small Λ, whereas for large Λ the external dipole is inclined and precesses about the rotation axis.
Novel separation for the determination of cadmium by isotope dilution ICP-MS in samples containing high concentrations of molybdenum and tin

A four-step matrix reduction procedure, beginning with thiourea-based solid phase extraction, was developed for the determination of cadmium in difficult sample matrixes by inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry. The separation scheme reduced the concentrations of tin and molybdenum, significant spectral interference sources for cadmium, from mg kg−1 levels to μg kg−1 and sub-μg kg−1 levels respectively, making possible interference-free measurement of cadmium and facilitating isotope dilution quantification. Cadmium recovery through the matrix reduction procedure was 78%. The effectiveness of the method was shown by application to NIST SRMs 1568a Rice Flour and 2703 Marine Sediment.
Reliability of risk-adjusted outcomes for profiling hospital surgical quality.

Importance Quality improvement platforms commonly use risk-adjusted morbidity and mortality to profile hospital performance. However, given small hospital caseloads and low event rates for some procedures, it is unclear whether these outcomes reliably reflect hospital performance. Objective To determine the reliability of risk-adjusted morbidity and mortality for hospital performance profiling using clinical registry data. Design, Setting, and Participants A retrospective cohort study was conducted using data from the American College of Surgeons National Surgical Quality Improvement Program, 2009. Participants included all patients (N = 55 466) who underwent colon resection, pancreatic resection, laparoscopic gastric bypass, ventral hernia repair, abdominal aortic aneurysm repair, and lower extremity bypass. Main Outcomes and Measures Outcomes included risk-adjusted overall morbidity, severe morbidity, and mortality. We assessed reliability (0-1 scale: 0, completely unreliable; and 1, perfectly reliable) for all 3 outcomes. We also quantified the number of hospitals meeting minimum acceptable reliability thresholds (>0.70, good reliability; and >0.50, fair reliability) for each outcome. Results For overall morbidity, the most common outcome studied, the mean reliability depended on sample size (ie, how high the hospital caseload was) and the event rate (ie, how frequently the outcome occurred). For example, mean reliability for overall morbidity was low for abdominal aortic aneurysm repair (reliability, 0.29; sample size, 25 cases per year; and event rate, 18.3%). In contrast, mean reliability for overall morbidity was higher for colon resection (reliability, 0.61; sample size, 114 cases per year; and event rate, 26.8%). Colon resection (37.7% of hospitals), pancreatic resection (7.1% of hospitals), and laparoscopic gastric bypass (11.5% of hospitals) were the only procedures for which any hospitals met a reliability threshold of 0.70 for overall morbidity. Because severe morbidity and mortality are less frequent outcomes, their mean reliability was lower, and even fewer hospitals met the thresholds for minimum reliability. Conclusions and Relevance Most commonly reported outcome measures have low reliability for differentiating hospital performance. This is especially important for clinical registries that sample rather than collect 100% of cases, which can limit hospital case accrual. Eliminating sampling to achieve the highest possible caseloads, adjusting for reliability, and using advanced modeling strategies (eg, hierarchical modeling) are necessary for clinical registries to increase their benchmarking reliability.
Sustained Loading and Temperature Response of Fiber-Reinforced Polymer-Concrete Bond

One aspect of long-term behavior of the bond of fiber-reinforced polymer (FRP) and concrete bond has received relatively little attention in the literature: bond stress redistribution and remaining (residual) pulloff strength after sustained loading. The relevance of this missing information is directly related to the expected reliability of FRP-strengthened structures when subjected to sustained loading and elevated temperatures over their life span. The objective of this investigation was to evaluate the effects of sustained loading and temperature on the time-dependent distribution of strain in carbon FRP bonded to concrete and on the pulloff strength of the carbon FRP at room temperature after the sustained loading period. Pulloff specimens were used to evaluate stress distributions during sustained loading tests at loads below ultimate and during tests to ultimate after sustained loading. Under sustained loading, the presence of temperature and a bond-line flaw increased the bond stress transfer length between the FRP and the concrete substrate. However, although the presence of higher temperatures resulted in increased pulloff strength, this beneficial effect was eliminated in the presence of sustained loading.
Reconciling deep seismic refraction and reflection data from the grenvillian-appalachian boundary in western New England

Abstract The Grenvillian-Appalachian boundary is characterized by pervasive mylonitic deformation and retrograde alteration of a suite of imbricated allochthonous and parautochthonous gneisses that were thrust upon the Grenvillian continental margin during the lower Paleozoic. Seismic reflection profiling across this structural boundary zone reveals prominent dipping reflectors interpreted as overthrust basement slices (parautochthons) of the Green Mountain Anticlinorium. In contrast, a seismic refraction study of the Grenvillian-Appalachian boundary reveals a sub-horizontally layered seismic velocity model that is difficult to reconcile with the pronounced sub-vertical structures observed in the Green mountains. A suite of rock samples was collected from the Green Mountain Anticlinorium and measured at high pressures in the laboratory to determine the seismic properties of these allochthonous and parautochthonous gneisses. The laboratory-measured seismic velocities agree favorably with the modelled velocity structure across the Grenvillian-Appalachian boundary suggesting that the rock samples are reliable indicators of the rock mass as whole. Samples of the parautochthonous Grenvillian basement exposed in the Green Mountains have lower velocities, by about 0.5 km/s, than lithologically equivalent units exposed in the eastern Adirondack Highlands. Velocity reduction in the Green Mountain parautochthons can be accounted for by retrograde metamorphic alteration (hydration) of the paragneisses. Seismic anisotropies, ranging from 2 to 12%, in the mylonitized Green Mountain paragneisses may also contribute to the observation of lower seismic velocities, where the direction of ray propagation is normal to the foliation. The velocity properties of the Green Mountain paragneisses are thus insufficiently different from the mantling Appalachian allochthons to permit their resolution by the Ontario-New York-New England seismic refraction profile.
FOUR SOIL MOISTURE CHARACTERISTIC CURVE FUNCTIONS EVALUATED FOR NUMERICAL MODELING OF SAND

ABSTRACT Four mathematical representations of a soil moisture characteristic curve were examined for applicability to numerical modeling. The models were: 1) the Campbell equation, 2) the Verma and Brutsaert equation, 3) the van Genuchten equation, and 4) the Hutson and Cass Two-Equation Method. The media that was measured and simulated was a sand-silt mix. The Campbell equation was deemed inappropriate for modeling wet situations and, therefore, not suitable for a numerical model. The remaining soil moisture characteristic curve representations did not result in significant differences in hydraulic head prediction but the execution time for the numerical model varied significantly. The van Genuchten equation best represented observed data. KEYWORDS. Soil moisture. Model comparisons, Soil moisture characteristic curve.
Public Meetings and the Democratic Process

Public meetings are frequently attacked as useless democratic rituals that lack deliberative qualities and fail to give citizens a voice in the policy process. Do public meetings have a role to play in fostering citizen participation in policy making? While many of the criticisms leveled against public meetings have merit, I argue that they do. In this article, I explore the functions that city council and school board meetings serve. While they may not be very good at accomplishing their primary goal of giving citizens the opportunity to directly influence decisions made by governing bodies, they can be used to achieve other ends, such as sending information to officials and setting the agenda. As a complement to deliberative political structures, public meetings have a role to play by offering a venue in which citizens can achieve their political goals, thereby enhancing governmental accountability and responsiveness.
Head-up tilt and hemodynamic changes during orthostatic hypotension in patients with supine hypertension

Abstract Objectives. This study assessed the mechanism(s) of the decrease in upright blood pressure in patients with supine hypertension by using the tilt test and a hemodynamic approach. Background. Orthostatic hypotension in patients with supine hypertension creates a pathophysiologic and therapeutic dilemma. Methods. We studied 28 consecutive patients with history of orthostatic intolerance amounting to recurrent syncope in 13 of them (15 men, 13 women; mean [SD] age 65 ± 11 years). They all had supine hypertension (systolic blood pressure >160 mm Hg) and orthostatic hypotension (found to be a decrease in systolic blood pressure >30 mm Hg during tilt test). Cardiac output, and orthostatic hypotension (found to be a decrease in systolic radionuclide first-pass technique (technetium-99m red blood cell tagging). Total blood volume was determined by radioiodinated serum albumin, and the ratio of cardiopulmonary to total blood volume was used as an index of venous capacitance. Results. Twenty-one patients had accentuated venous pooling defined as a tilt-induced decrease in cardiopulmonary volume/ total blood volume ratio >15% from baseline or a supine ratio Conclusions. Orthostatic hypotension in patients with supine hypertension may have multiple etiologies. Hemodynamic assessment with determination of cardiopulmonary volume and systemic vascular resistance differentiated between venous pooling and autonomic insufficiency in these patients; head-up tilt and plasma catecholamine levels did not. These findings may have important therapeutic implications.
FEASIBILITY OF STORING RADIOACTIVE WASTES IN COLUMBIA RIVER BASALTS

In 1968 Atlantic Richfield Hanford Company initiated a study to assess the feasibility of final geologic storage of Hanford defense, radioactive waste in deep caverns constructed in the Columbia River flood basalts. The project, which included geologic studies, hydrologic tests, heat flow analysis, compatibility analysis, and tectonic studies, was suspended in 1972 before completion of interpretive work. In 1976 the interpretation and documentation were completed. These data may be valuable in qualifying the Columbia River flood basalts as a viable medium for final geologic storage of commercial radioactive waste. The findings to date are summarized, and the proposed future work is presented. (LK)
Structural Design of Mesoporous Silica by Micelle-Packing Control Using Blends of Amphiphilic Block Copolymers

The formation of mesoporous silica materials has been studied using blends of diblock (CnH2n+1(OCH2CH2)xOH, CnEOx, n = 12 − 18 and x = 2−100) and Pluronic triblock (EOxPO70EOx, x = 5−100) amphiphilic block copolymers as the structure-directing agents and sodium silicate as the silica source. The mesostructure of the silica materials thus obtained, as determined by X-ray diffraction and transmission electron microscopy, changes as the volume of the hydrophilic EO group of the surfactant increases, from lamellar to two-dimensional hexagonal (p6mm), three-dimensional hexagonal, a cubic phase, and another cubic phase with Im3m symmetry. Particle morphologies of the mesoporous silica materials are correspondingly changed from sheetlike to irregular, facetted cubic shapes depending on the periodic mesoscale symmetry of the structure. It is reasonable that the structural transformations are due to the changes in hydrophobic surface curvatures, which can be controlled readily and precisely by using polymer blend...
Systems analysis in computer science education

This paper points out the failure of computer system management to keep pace with the increasing economic importance of computers. The authors see the problem as one of orientation for the field of computer science and, especially, computer science education. Curriculum modifications are suggested which could help alleviate the situation.
Separation of action potentials in multiunit intrafascicular recordings

Classification of action potentials in multiunit recordings was based on the use of various types of features to uniquely characterize action potentials from different cells. The authors compared classification results obtained using three types of descriptive features: digitized data points, amplitude and duration (time domain) parameters, and fast Fourier transform (FFT) coefficients. Digitized data points used as descriptive features provided good classification success and required minimal computation. Time-domain features gave comparable results but required more computation. FFT coefficients were less effective than the other features. As the signal-to-noise ratio of the recordings increased, smaller differences in feature values could be discriminated. >
Prognostic Factors and Survival in Patients Treated Surgically for Recurrent Metastatic Uterine Leiomyosarcoma

Background. Uterine leiomyosarcoma (LMS) is a rare diagnosis, which is seldom cured when it recurs with metastatic disease. We evaluated patients who present with first time recurrence treated surgically to determine prognostic factors associated with long-term survival. Methods. Over a 16-year period, 41 patients were operated on for recurrent uterine sarcoma. Data examined included patient age, date of initial diagnosis, tumor histology, grade at the initial diagnosis, cytopathology changes in tumor activity from the initial diagnosis, residual tumor after all operations, use of adjuvant therapy, dates and sites of all recurrences, and disease status at last followup. Results. 24 patients were operated for first recurrence of metastatic uterine LMS. Complete tumor resection with histologic negative margins was achieved in 16 (67%) patients. Overall survival was significantly affected by the FIGO stage at the time of the initial diagnosis, the ability to obtain complete tumor resection at the time of surgery for first time recurrent disease, single tumor recurrence, and recurrence greater than 12 months from the time of the initial diagnosis. Median disease-free survival was 14 months and overall survival was 27 months. Conclusion. Our findings suggest that stage 1 at the time of initial diagnosis, recurrence greater than 12 months, isolated tumor recurrence, and the ability to remove ability to perform complete tumor resection at the time of the first recurrence can afford improved survival in selected patientsat the time of the first recurrence can afford improved survival in selected patients.
Toss 'n' turn: smartphone as sleep and sleep quality detector

The rapid adoption of smartphones along with a growing habit for using these devices as alarm clocks presents an opportunity to use this device as a sleep detector. This adds value to UbiComp and personal informatics in terms of user context and new performance data to collect and visualize, and it benefits healthcare as sleep is correlated with many health issues. To assess this opportunity, we collected one month of phone sensor and sleep diary entries from 27 people who have a variety of sleep contexts. We used this data to construct models that detect sleep and wake states, daily sleep quality, and global sleep quality. Our system classifies sleep state with 93.06% accuracy, daily sleep quality with 83.97% accuracy, and overall sleep quality with 81.48% accuracy. Individual models performed better than generally trained models, where the individual models require 3 days of ground truth data and 3 weeks of ground truth data to perform well on detecting sleep and sleep quality, respectively. Finally, the features of noise and movement were useful to infer sleep quality.
Localization of Olfactory Cyclic Nucleotide-Gated Channels in Rat Gonadotropin-Releasing Hormone Neurons

The GT1 GnRH cell lines express all three subunits of the cyclic nucleotide-gated (CNG) channels (CNG2, 4.3 and 5) expressed in olfactory neurons. We investigated using in situ hybridization and double immunofluorescence whether endogenous GnRH neurons in therat also express CNG channel subunits. Sections from male and female adult rats were hybridized with a digoxigenin-labeled riboprobe made to regions of rat GnRH, CNG2, CNG4.3 or CNG5 cDNAs. In both sexes, 70–80% of GnRH neurons contained mRNAs for CNG2, CNG4.3 and CNG5. Similarly, double immunofluorescence staining for GnRH and CNG2, CNG4.3 or CNG5 confirmed that 70–80% of GnRH perikarya contained all three CNG subunit proteins. Moreover, the distribution of the immunostaining of CNG subunits in the external layer of the median eminence overlapped with GnRH with the presence of functional cAMP-gated cation channels. The presence of CNG channel subunits in the median eminence supports the notion that coordination of the excitability of the scattered Gn...
Tuning Carbon Content and Morphology of FeCo/Graphitic Carbon Core–Shell Nanoparticles using a Salt-Matrix-Assisted CVD Process

Large-scale and tunable synthesis of FeCo/graphitic carbon (FeCo/GC) core–shell nanoparticles as a promising material for multipurpose biomedical applications is reported. The high-quality graphitic structure of the carbon shells is demonstrated through high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), and Raman spectroscopy. A saturation magnetization of 80.2 emu g−1 is reached for the pure FeCo/GC core–shell nanoparticles. A decrease in the saturation magnetization of the samples is observed with an increase in their carbon content with different carbon morphologies evolved in the process. It is also shown how hybrid nanostructures, including mixtures of the FeCo/GC nanoparticles and multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWNTs) or carbon nanorods (CNRs), can be obtained only by manipulation of the carbon-bearing gas flow rate.
The Armero tragedy: lessons for mental health professionals.

A U.S. mental health consultant worked closely with medical personnel soon after a volcanic eruption and mud avalanche killed about 22,000 persons and devastated the area around Armero, Colombia. The consultant conducted workshops and courses on crisis intervention for health personnel operating disaster relief units and for mental health professionals, pediatric nurses, and family workers; she also provided consultations to clinic and shelter directors and case consultation with hospitalized victims. Observations of early postdisaster responses of hospitalized victims showed recurring themes such as victims' ambivalence about learning the full extent of the disaster and their own losses, delayed mourning because many bodies could not be recovered, somatic expressions of anxiety and fear, and the use of primitive defenses, such as magical thinking.
Altered Soil-Soil Water Interactions Inferred from Stream Water Chemistry at an Artificially Acidified Watershed at Bear Brook Watershed, Maine USA

The Bear Brook Watershed in Maine, USA is the site of a paired watershed study. West Bear (WB) catchment is being artificially acidified with 1,800 eq ha−1 y−1 of (NH4)2SO4. East Bear (EB) serves as the control. After six years of artificial acidification, volume-weighted concentrations in WB, normalized to EB, increased approximately as follows, in Reg L-1: H+, 15; Al (umoles), 50; Al (p.eq L-1), 100; Ca, 50; Mg, 20; Na, 10; K, 2; SO4, 120; NI-1,, 2; NO3, 80; HCO3 has decreased 10 paq L’. Based on changing chemistry, several inferences can be made about soil-soil water interactions.
Speech Waveform Compression Using Robust Adaptive Voice Activity Detection for Nonstationary Noise in Multimedia Communications

The voice activity detection (VAD) is crucial in all kinds of speech applications. However, almost all existing VAD algorithms suffer from the nonstationarity of both speech and noise. To combat this difficulty, we propose a new voice activity detector, which is based on the Mel-energy features and an adaptive threshold related to the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) estimates. In this paper, we first justify the robustness of the Bayes classifier using the Mel-energy features over that using the Fourier spectral features in various noise environments. Then, we design an algorithm using the dynamic Mel-energy estimator and the adaptive threshold which depends on the SNR estimates. In addition, a realignment scheme is incorporated to correct the sparse-and- spurious noise estimates. Numerous simulations are carried out to evaluate the performance of our proposed VAD method and the comparisons are made with a couple existing representative schemes, namely the VAD using the likelihood ratio test with Fourier spectral energy features and that based on the enhanced time-frequency parameters. Three types of noise, namely white noise (stationary), babble noise (nonstationary) and vehicular noise (nonstationary) were artificially added by the computer for our experiments. As a result, our proposed VAD algorithm significantly outperforms other existing methods as illustrated by the corresponding receiver operating curves (ROCs). Finally, we demonstrate one of the major applications, namely speech waveform compression, associated with our new robust VAD scheme and quantify the effectiveness in terms of compression efficiency.
Distinguishing Between Binary-Source and Planetary Microlensing Perturbations

A planetary microlensing event is characterized by a short-lived perturbation to the standard microlensing curve. Planetary perturbations typically last from a few hours to a day, have maximum amplitudes, ?max, of ?5%-20% of the standard curve, and come in two classes: major and minor image perturbations. There exist a subset of binary-source events that can reproduce the main features of major image perturbations, which are likely to represent more than half of all planetary events, and thus masquerade as planetary events. These events require a binary source with a small flux ratio, ~ 10-2 to 10-4, and a small impact parameter for the fainter source, ?2 /?max. The detection probability of events of this type is ~?2, and can be as high as ~30%; this is comparable to planetary detection rates. Thus a sample of planetary-like perturbations could be seriously contaminated by binary-source events, and there exists the possibility that completely meaningless physical parameters would be derived for any given major image perturbation. Here I derive analytic expressions for a binary-source event in the extreme flux-ratio limit and use these to demonstrate the basic degeneracy between binary-source and planet perturbations. I describe how the degeneracy can be broken by dense and accurate sampling of the perturbation, optical/infrared photometry, or spectroscopic measurements.
The effect of reading recovery® on special education referrals and placements

This study examined the effect of Reading Recovery®, an early intervention program for first-grade children, on the rates of referral and placement in special education in New York City. Study participants consisted of students who had a complete Reading Recovery (RR) program (RR-discontinued and RR-recommended) and a comparison group composed of children with literacy difficulties, who were initially performing at a slightly higher level than the Reading Recovery children. The results showed that children who received the Reading Recovery program were referred for testing and placed in special education at a statistically significant lower rate. Reading Recovery is associated with a 5% reduction in estimated referral rate and a 3% decrease in placement rate. Additionally, an examination of the classification labels of children placed in special education revealed that RR-discontinued children were less likely to be classified as learning disabled than those in both the comparison group and the RR-recommended group. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Psychol Schs 39: 635–646, 2002.
A Laboratory for Gravitational Scattering Experiments

An accurate macroscopic description of the evolution of star clusters, galaxies, and clusters of galaxies should be based on a detailed knowledge of the underlying microscopic processes. Examples of such processes are the interactions between single stars and binaries, in the context of a star cluster, or between whole galaxies, in the context of a cluster of galaxies. A statistical description of these processes is most conveniently given in terms of cross sections and reaction rates, just as in atomic or nuclear physics. The main difference is that in gravitational physics our particle accelerator is replaced by a computer program, which plays the role of star accelerator.
Stoichiometry and the new biology: the future is now.

There is a call for biological science to move away from the reductionist focus of the past, but there are large-scale integrative efforts already underway; biological stoichiometry provides one such example.
Indicators of Client Satisfaction in Academic, Career, and Personal Counseling in Higher Education:

There will be an increasingly older cast to American society during the next twenty to thirty years. Middle-aged and older Americans will face numerous changes in the workplace, including technological change, a global economy, lack of promotional opportunities, and layoffs. As a result of these changes, many adult workers will chose to enter or re-enter college programs to upgrade their employment skills. Personnel within institutions of higher education, including those in the counseling office, may not be fully prepared to serve these older students who will need assistance with their transition to college. Without such aid, these students might drop out of higher education, exacerbating the retention problem faced by many colleges. The retention literature indicates that the identification of and commitment to career goals as well as the development of relationships with the institution are two important contributors to the retention of college students. Additionally, the literature on the adult stude...
The histogenesis of the regenerating fore limb of larval Amblystoma after exarticulation of the humerus

A new limb skeleton will form in regenerating limbs of the larval Amblystoma in which the humerus had been completely removed. The cartilage of the new limb skeleton develops out of a blastema in which there are no cells of cartilage origin. This regeneration blastema is a composite structure made up of cells derived from a dedifferentiation of the injured tissues of the limb. The tissues which have been observed as contributing to the regeneration blastema are: muscles, especially the muscles of the shoulder; connective tissue of the sheath of the brachial nerve plexus; muscle connective tissue; and, to a certain extent, subcutaneous connective tissue. The new cartilage of the limb skeleton develops out of this composite blastema by means of a differentiation of cells in the central axis of the blastema. The amount of cartilage regenerated appears to depend on the mass of the blastema. When the blastema does not extend fully into the glenoid cavity of the scapula, the head of the developing humerus is deficient in size and structure. However, a complete limb skeleton is regenerated when the blastema does extend fully into the glenoid cavity. Since the new cartilage of the regenerated limb has no genetic continuity with the old limb skeleton, it would appear that the limb field exerts some kind of histogenetic determining action.
Cisplatin induces DNA double-strand break formation in Escherichia coli dam mutants

Escherichia coli dam cells are more susceptible to the cytotoxic action of cisplatin than wildtype. Dam mutS or dam mutL bacteria, however, are resistant to this agent indicating that active mismatch repair sensitizes dam cells to cisplatin toxicity. Genetic data, obtained previously, were consistent with the generation and repair of cisplatin-induced double-strand breaks (DSBs). We measured DSB formation in temperature-sensitive dam recB mutants, after exposure to cisplatin, using pulse field gel electrophoresis and observed an increase in linear 100-300 kb DNA fragments corresponding to approximately 15-45 double strand breaks per genome. The formation of these DSBs was temperature and dose-dependent and was decreased in recBC bacteria at the permissive temperature or in dam(+) or mutS control strains. There was a three-fold increase in circa 2 mb linear chromosomal fragments in dam recBC strains at the non-permissive temperature compared to recBC alone. We show that dam priA strains are not viable suggesting that DSB formation is dependent on DNA replication restart. The sensitivity of priA mutants to cisplatin is also consistent with this conclusion.
Inhibitors of diacylglycerol lipase and diacylglycerol kinase inhibit carbamylcholine-stimulated responses in guinea pig pancreatic minilobules.

Abstract We earlier showed that the diacylglycerol (DG) lipase inhibitor, RHC 80267, increased the steady-state level of DG and inhibited the release of arachidonic acid (AA) in carbamylcholine (CCh)-stimulated pancreatic minilobules (J. F. Dixon and L. E. Hokin, (1984) J. Biol. Chem.259, 14418–14425). There was no effect on phospholipid metabolism. We have now investigated the effect of RHC 80267 on CCh-stimulated formation of inositol monophosphate formation, cGMP formation, and amylase release. CCh (10 μ m ) increased cGMP formation by approximately 20-fold, and this response was inhibited 55–75% by RHC 80267 (75–100 μ m ). RHC 80267 had no effect on either nitroprussideor calcium ionophore-stimulated cGMP formation, arguing against a direct inhibition of guanylate cyclase by RHC 80267. Arachidonic acid, the release of which is inhibited by RHC 80267, neither stimulated cGMP formation nor reversed the effect of RHC 80267 on CCh-stimulated cGMP formation. This suggests, but does not prove, that the rise in cGMP in response to CCh is not due to an increase in AA as has been suggested. Both phorbol myristate acetate (25 n m ) and the DG kinase inhibitor R 59022 (10 μ m ) inhibited CCh-stimulated cGMP formation by 40%. RHC 80267 also inhibited CCh-stimulated inositol phosphate accumulation and amylase release by 60 and 40%,respectively. The data suggest that the inhibition of CCh-stimulated cGMP formation and other muscarinic responses by RHC 80267 is probably the result of feedback inhibition of the cholinergic receptor via activation of protein kinase C by the elevated DG.
Improvements for the next generation of FDDI

Some changes are suggested to the fiber distributed data interface (FDDI) which will extend its applicability and efficiency. They present a concept showing how to gain a multiplicative effect in throughput for token rings by using a combination of a second counter-rotating ring and destination removal. Evidence is given to show that 100 Mb/s rings can deliver up to 250 Mb/s on each ring assuming a uniform destination address space. The concept of destination removal is dependent upon the destination address space and a uniform distribution was used in the analysis and simulation for this work. It is intended to show the degree to which such an approach might be beneficial for future networks and to show that these ideas can have a major impact on performance. Analytical and simulation results to support the design proposals are provided. >
How many sex offenders really live among us? Adjusted counts and population rates in five US states

The current study focuses on creating a more refined understanding of the number and prevalence rates of sex offenders living in five states using adjusted aggregate counts and US census data. Registered sex offender (RSO) population data reported by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) were compared to data obtained directly from registries in five states and adjusted for those identified as confined, deported, deceased, or living in another jurisdiction. Results indicate that 43% of RSOs in the five states (ranging from 25% in Texas to 60% in Florida) were not living in the community. Similarly, when estimating point prevalence rates of RSOs per 100,000 people in the US population, rates were substantially inflated when not adjusted for those who are residing in the community. The need for accurate data to inform policy development, resource allocation, and public education is explored.
Effects of Perioperative Red Blood Cell Transfusion on Disease Recurrence and Survival After Pancreaticoduodenectomy for Ductal Adenocarcinoma

The premise that allogeneic red blood cell transfusion (RBCT) contributes to adverse oncologic outcomes after surgery remains controversial. We examined the effects of RBCT during and after pancreaticoduodenectomy (PD) for pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) on disease recurrence and survival. A prospective database of 220 patients undergoing PD for PDAC from 2000 to 2008 was reviewed and transfusion data collected. Univariate and multivariate analyses were performed for factors influencing RBCT, recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). The effect of amount and timing (intraoperative vs. postoperative) of RBCT was analyzed. One hundred forty-seven patients (67%) received RBCT: 70 (32%) received 1 to 2 units, and 77 (35%) received >2 units. Median RFS and OS for the entire cohort was 12 and 16 months, respectively. RBCT of >2 units was associated with reduced RFS (9 vs. 15 months; P = 0.033) and OS (14 vs. 20 months; P = 0.003). Stratified by timing of transfusion, postoperative RBCT was associated with shortened RFS and OS. Controlling for age, body mass index, comorbidities, tumor factors, and major complications, each incremental unit of postoperative RBCT was associated with reduced RFS (hazard ratio 1.10, 95% confidence interval 1.02–1.18) and OS (hazard ratio 1.08, 95% confidence interval 1.03–1.12). Low hemoglobin and presence of comorbidities were the only preoperative factors independently associated with RBCT. Allogeneic red blood cell transfusion after PD for PDAC is independently associated with earlier cancer recurrence and reduced survival, in particular when administered postoperatively and in larger quantities. Blood-conservation methods are especially indicated for patients with preoperative anemia and medical comorbidities.
Local Graph Partitions for Approximation and Testing

We introduce a new tool for approximation and testing algorithms called partitioning oracles. We develop methods for constructing them for any class of bounded-degree graphs with an excluded minor, and in general, for any hyperfinite class of bounded-degree graphs. These oracles utilize only local computation to consistently answer queries about a global partition that breaks the graph into small connected components by removing only a small fraction of the edges. We illustrate the power of this technique by using it to extend and simplify a number of previous approximation and testing results for sparse graphs, as well as to provide new results that were unachievable with existing techniques. For instance:1. We give constant-time approximation algorithms for the size of the minimum vertex cover, the minimum dominating set, and the maximum independent set for any class of graphs with an excluded minor.2. We show a simple proof that any minor-closed graph property is testable in constant time in the bounded degree model.3. We prove that it is possible to approximate the distance to almost any hereditary property in any bounded degree hereditary families of graphs. Hereditary properties of interest include bipartiteness, k-colorability, and perfectness.
Differential expression of the neuroendocrine genes Hel‐N1 and HuD in small‐cell lung carcinoma: Evidence for down‐regulation of HuD in the variant phenotype

Hel-N1 and HuD belong to the elav gene family and have gained recent attention as potential neuroendocrine markers for small-cell lung carcinoma (SCLC). Members of this conserved family normally appear at different stages of neuronal maturation, raising the possibility that their expression patterns in SCLC reflect the degree of neuroendocrine differentiation. I have utilized a ribonuclease protection assay to analyze Hel-N1 and HuD expression in cultured SCLC cells with high (classic phenotype) and low (variant phenotype) levels of neuroendocrine differentiation. Hel-N1 was detected in both classic and variant SCLC. Although HuD was detected consistently in classic SCLC, it was low to absent in variant SCLC, indicating a significant down-regulation in that phenotype. The expression patterns of Hel-N1 and HuD also were analyzed in 9 primary SCLC and 10 non-SCLC lung-tumor samples. In the majority of SCLC samples, either Hel-N1 or HuD was detected exclusively or predominantly, indicating a pattern of variable gene expression similar to cultured SCLC. Neither transcript could be detected in the non-SCLC samples. These data indicate that (i) HuD mRNA expression is associated with a higher level of neuroendocrine differentiation in SCLC, (ii) Hel-N1and HuD expressions are variable in both primary and cultured SCLC and (iii) HuD and Hel-N1, in combination, are neurogenetic markers for SCLC. Int. J. Cancer 74:378–382, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Public‐Private Symbiosis in Nashville Special Education

The conventional historiography describing a strict public-private divide in United States schooling is misleading. The standard story claims that public schooling was a fuzzy concept 200 years ago; the division between public and private education for children thus developed largely over the nineteenth century. In the early nineteenth century, public funds went to many private schools and even large private systems, such as the New York Public School Society. In some instances, public funds went to parochial education, either explicitly or as part of an arrangement to allow for diverse religious instruction using public funds. However, the nineteenth century witnessed growing division between public and private, largely excluding religious education (or at least non-Protestant religious education). By the end of the nineteenth century, the standard educational historiography suggests, public schools meant public in several senses: funded from the public coffers, open to the public in general, and controlled by a public, democratically controlled process. Tacit in that definition was a relatively rigid dividing line between public and private school organizations. Historians know that this implicit definition of “public” omits key facts. First, the governance of public schools became less tied to electoral politics during the Progressive Era. Public schooling in nineteenth-century cities generally meant large school boards, intimately connected with urban political machines. By the 1920s, many city school systems had smaller boards in a more corporate-like structure. The consolidation of small rural school districts in the first half of the twentieth century completed this removal of school governance from more local politics. A second problem with the definition above is unequal access to quality education (however defined). Historically, the acceptance of all students was true only in a limited sense, either in access to schools at all (with the exclusion of many children with disabilities) or, more generally, to the resources and curriculum involved in the best public schooling of the early twentieth century (as with racial segregation).
How Big Are Total Individual Income Tax Expenditures, and Who Benefits from Them?

Tax expenditures measure the cost of spend? ing programs run through the tax system. In preparing their annual lists, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) and Congress's Joint Committee on Taxation (JCT) define tax expenditures as deviations from the "normal" individual and corporate income tax bases. OMB has recently also listed tax expenditures measured against consumption tax and compre? hensive income tax bases. Tax expenditures are "static," meaning that they assume no change in economic behavior if they are eliminated. Tax expenditure estimates may thus be much larger than revenue estimates for eliminating a par? ticular provision. The measurement of tax expenditures is controversial, mainly because there is no com? monly agreed tax baseline against which to measure departures. In spite of this and other measurement issues, most public finance econo? mists believe that measuring tax expenditures is an important part of good budget management because tax benefits can have the same effect on beneficiaries as direct spending programs, and impose similar opportunity costs in terms of higher taxes, reduced federal spending, and higher deficits. We should assess their effects on the federal budget and on achieving program objectives the same way we assess direct spend? ing programs. Non-business tax expenditures?the focus of this paper?are large relative to the size of the economy and to total tax revenues.1 They rose sharply between 1976 and 1985, from 4.2 to 6.4 percent of GDP. They dropped between 1985 and 1990 as a result of the Tax Reform Act of
Investigation of a Large-Scale Mode of Ocean-Atmosphere Variability and Its Relation to Tropical Pacific Sea Surface Temperature Anomalies

Abstract By examining the linearly coupled atmospheric and oceanic signals related to interannual variability in sea surface temperatures and upper-air wind fields, a hemispheric-scale ocean–atmosphere teleconnection mode is isolated that is significantly correlated with equatorial Pacific SSTs 12 months later. The interannual component of this teleconnection mode is related to a basin-scale dipole in the upper-air wind fields stretching across the extratropical Pacific, with additional anomalies extending from the eastern tropical Pacific over North America and into the Atlantic basin. In addition, it is related to variability in the SST field with warm anomalies found over the tropical/subtropical western Pacific as well as the equatorial eastern Pacific; also, there are related cold anomalies over the extratropical central North Pacific that extend down into the central subtropical/tropical Pacific. Diagnostic studies investigating the ocean–atmosphere structure for this mode of variability indicate th...
Effects of hypoxia on expression of superoxide dismutases in cultured ATII cells and lung fibroblasts

This study investigated whether hypoxia affected the expression of mitochondrial manganese-containing superoxide dismutase (Mn-SOD) and the cytosolic copper and zinc-containing superoxide dismutase (Cu,Zn-SOD) in alveolar type II epithelial (ATII) cells and lung fibroblasts. Cells were exposed in vitro to air (controls) or to 2.5% oxygen (hypoxia) for 24 h. Mn-SOD and Cu,Zn-SOD mRNA expression was measured by quantitative reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction. Both Mn-SOD and Cu,Zn-SOD mRNA expression in ATII cells decreased significantly after 1 day in hypoxic conditions. The decrease in Mn-SOD mRNA (-69%) was greater than that in Cu,Zn-SOD mRNA (-48%). ATII cell surfactant protein A transcript expression remained constant. Mn-SOD (-52%) and Cu,Zn-SOD (-54%) mRNA expression decreased similarly in lung fibroblasts cultured during hypoxia. The half-life of the Mn-SOD mRNA measured in lung fibroblasts exposed to air or hypoxia for 24 h decreased significantly from 5.8 +/- 0.1 to 3.8 +/- 0.7 h (-34%). The half-life for the Cu,Zn-SOD decreased significantly from 4.0 +/- 0.3 to 2.4 +/- 0.1 h (-40%). Neither Mn-SOD nor Cu,Zn-SOD protein expression in ATII cells changed significantly during hypoxia. Hypoxia decreases expression of Mn-SOD and Cu,Zn-SOD mRNA in ATII cells and lung fibroblasts in part by decreasing stability of the mRNA transcripts.