cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The impact of race on choice of location for elective surgical care in New York city.

Abstract Background The “white-flight” phenomenon of the mid-20th century contributed to the perpetuation of residential segregation in American society. In light of recent reports of racial segregation in our healthcare system, could a contemporary “white-flight” phenomenon also exist? Methods The New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System was used to identify all Manhattan and Bronx residents of New York city who underwent elective cardiothoracic, colorectal, general, and vascular surgeries from 2010 to 2016. Primary outcome was borough of surgical care in relation to patient’s home borough. Multivariable analyses were performed. Results White patients who reside in the Bronx are significantly more likely than racial minorities to travel into Manhattan for elective surgical care, and these differences persist across different insurance types, including Medicare. Conclusions Marked race-based differences in choice of location for elective surgical care exist in New York city. If left unchecked, these differences can contribute to furthering racial segregation within our healthcare system.
Multicourse Comparative Study of the Core Aspects for Flipped Learning: Investigating In-Class Structure and Student Use of Video Resources

Since 2013, the number of publications on flipped learning within chemistry have steadily increased. However, most of these studies focus on flipped course reforms within individual institutions, while the outcomes of any learning environment are dependent on how the environment is structured and the degree to which students interact with its elements. In this study, we apply a coordinated set of assessment practices to investigate similarities among flipped chemistry courses at five institutions in the United States. All courses in the study followed the two basic tenets of flipped learning: (1) foundational information was delivered through preclass materials (PCMs), and (2) the face-to-face (F2F) environment applied or extended the content through active learning. Each F2F environment was characterized using video recordings analyzed with the Classroom Observation Protocol in Undergraduate STEM (COPUS) tool. Each individual course showed consistent use of F2F time across each session recording; however, there were significant differences in the predominant student behaviors between courses. Student behavior in two of the courses (Courses Four and Five) was dominated by work in small-groups on problem-solving worksheets, in contrast to another course (Course One) where responding to whole-class questioning posed by the instructor dominated students’ behaviors. While behaviors in the two remaining courses (Courses Two and Three) included a mix of responding to clicker and whole-class questions, one of them (Course Three) also included large episodes of students simply listening during instructor presentation of material. A midsemester survey was administered in each course to characterize students’ interactions with, and perceptions of, the PCMs. Of particular note, student self-reports of the number of videos viewed and the timing of viewing trended with the amount of peer-to-peer interaction during F2F sessions. That is, students in courses with more consistent groupwork reported watching more of the video content and doing so before the F2F session. These results demonstrate that flipped classrooms can take many forms and suggest that F2F structure may create non-grade-based incentives for PCM utilization.
Race Correction and Spirometry: Why History Matters

In recent months, medical institutions across the United States redoubled their efforts to examine the history of race and racism in medicine, in classrooms, in research, and in clinical practice. In this essay, I explore the history of racialization of the spirometer, a widely used instrument in pulmonary medicine to diagnose respiratory diseases and to assess eligibility for compensation. Beginning with Thomas Jefferson, who first noted racial difference in what he referred to as "pulmonary dysfunction," to the current moment in clinical medicine, I interrogate the history of the idea of "correcting" for race and how researchers explained difference. To explore how race correction became normative, initially just for people labeled "black," I examine visible and invisible racialized processes in scientific practice. Over more than two centuries, as ideas of innate difference hardened, few questioned the conceptual underpinnings of race correction in medicine. At a moment when "race norming" is under investigation throughout medicine, it is essential to rethink race correction of spirometric measurements, whether enacted through the use of a correction factor or through the use of population-specific standards. Historical analysis is central to these efforts.
Findings on intraprocedural non-contrast computed tomographic imaging following hepatic artery embolization are associated with development of contrast-induced nephropathy

Findings on intraprocedural non-contrast computed tomographic imaging following hepatic artery embolization are associated with development of contrast-induced nephropathy
Optimal Semi-supervised Estimation and Inference for High-dimensional Linear Regression

There are many scenarios such as the electronic health records where the outcome is much more difficult to collect than the covariates. In this paper, we consider the linear regression problem with such a data structure under the high dimensionality. Our goal is to investigate when and how the unlabeled data can be exploited to improve the estimation and inference of the regression parameters in linear models, especially in light of the fact that such linear models may be misspecified in data analysis. In particular, we address the following two important questions. (1) Can we use the labeled data as well as the unlabeled data to construct a semi-supervised estimator such that its convergence rate is faster than the supervised estimators? (2) Can we construct confidence intervals or hypothesis tests that are guaranteed to be more efficient or powerful than the supervised estimators? To address the first question, we establish the minimax lower bound for parameter estimation in the semi-supervised setting. We show that the upper bound from the supervised estimators that only use the labeled data cannot attain this lower bound. We close this gap by proposing a new semi-supervised estimator which attains the lower bound. To address the second question, based on our proposed semi-supervised estimator, we propose two additional estimators for semi-supervised inference, the efficient estimator and the safe estimator. The former is fully efficient if the unknown conditional mean function is estimated consistently, but may not be more efficient than the supervised approach otherwise. The latter usually does not aim to provide fully efficient inference, but is guaranteed to be no worse than the supervised approach, no matter whether the linear model is correctly specified or the conditional mean function is consistently estimated.
Enhancer pleiotropy, gene expression, and the architecture of human enhancer-gene interactions

Enhancers are often studied as noncoding regulatory elements that modulate the precise spatiotemporal expression of genes in a highly tissue-specific manner. This paradigm has been challenged by recent evidence of individual enhancers acting in multiple tissues or developmental contexts. However, the frequency of these enhancers with high degrees of 'pleiotropy' out of all putative enhancers is not well understood. Consequently, it is unclear how the variation of enhancer pleiotropy corresponds to the variation in expression breadth of target genes. Here we use multi-tissue chromatin maps from diverse human tissues to investigate the enhancer-gene interaction architecture while accounting for (1) the distribution of enhancer pleiotropy, (2) the variations of regulatory links from enhancers to target genes, and (3) the expression breadth of target genes. We show that most enhancers are tissue-specific and that highly pleiotropy enhancers account for < 1% of all putative regulatory sequences in the human genome. Notably, several genomic features are indicative of increasing enhancer pleiotropy, including longer sequence length, greater number of links to genes, increasing abundance and diversity of encoded transcription factor motifs, and stronger evolutionary conservation. Intriguingly, the number of enhancers per gene remains remarkably consistent for all genes (∼14). However, enhancer pleiotropy does not directly translate to the expression breadth of target genes. We further present a series of Gaussian Mixture Models to represent this organization architecture. Consequently, we demonstrate that a modest trend of more pleiotropic enhancers targeting more broadly expressed genes can generate the observed diversity of expression breadths in the human genome.
A concurrent atomistic-crystal plasticity multiscale model for crack propagation in crystalline metallic materials

Abstract This paper develops a coupled concurrent atomistic–continuum multiscale model for analyzing crack propagation and associated mechanisms in crystalline metallic materials. This modeling framework can be used to develop effective continuum-scale constitutive models for crack evolution in deforming domains characterized by crystal plasticity. The atomistic region is modeled by the molecular dynamics (MD) code LAMMPS, while the continuum region is modeled by a dislocation density crystal plasticity FE model. A novel method is developed to transfer discrete dislocations in the atomistic domains to dislocation densities in the continuum domain. Propagation of dislocation densities in the continuum domain is modeled by the advection equation of a conserved quantity using the reproducing kernel particle method (RKPM) in conjunction with the collocation method. Validation studies are conducted by comparing results of the concurrent model with those by MD for nickel single crystal specimen with an embedded crack. An analytical model of the crack tip nucleated dislocation density evolution is developed for inclusion in crystal plasticity models. The effect of applied strain-rate and temperature on the parameters of this model are studied.
Make Juvenile Justice More Just: Raise-the-Age to 20 Years Old

The USA does not have a consistent age of majority for criminal responsibility in its justice systems. This article examines empirical evidence regarding benefits and drawbacks of serving youth younger than 20 in the adult criminal justice system and provides a case example of Vermont, the first state to raise the age to 20. A review of the effects of serving youth in juvenile versus criminal courts published between January 2000 and December 2019 was conducted, as well as an examination of current state laws regarding the age of responsibility. The review produced six overarching themes—parent/family involvement, recidivism and education, developmentally appropriate service provision, the impact of a criminal record, institutional and community safety, and cost-effectiveness. These themes and the case example from Vermont support legislating a consistent age of juvenile jurisdiction at 20 years old. Raising the age is congruent with the social work value of social justice and the Grand Challenge to Achieve Equal Opportunity and Justice. Moreover, given the recent reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (P.L. 115-385), there is strong bipartisan support for juvenile justice reform. Social workers are uniquely positioned to change policy practice to improve equity and the lives of youth, their families, and communities, by raising the national age in juvenile justice to 20 years old.
The Effect of Hidden Liquidity: Evidence from an Exogenous Shock

While existing studies find mixed results on the effect of hidden liquidity, this study exploits the Tick Size Pilot (“the Pilot”) as a quasi-natural experiment and uses instrumental-variable regression analyses to examine how hidden liquidity, both on and off-exchange, affect the informativeness of quotations. We document that an increase in tick size results in a reduction in pre-trade transparency, but with opposing effects on on- and off-exchange hidden liquidity. We find that an increase in hidden liquidity reduces price efficiency, the contribution of quotes to price discovery, and the ability to manage the order execution risk and cost of exchange order submission. In addition, an increase in hidden liquidity reduces the ability to manage transaction costs off exchange. These results hold for both on- and off-exchange hidden liquidity. However, several results differ when pre-trade transparency is measured using trade-based measures of hidden liquidity rather than order-based measures.
Modern Filter Design: Active RC and switched capacitor

Originally published in 1981, Modern Filter Design remains a classic statement of the principles underlying the analysis and design of active RC and switched capacitor filters. Among other topics, the authors discuss the design of continuous-time, second order active sections (biquads), various measures of sensitivity, and the basic properties and classification of continuous-time and sampled data systems, together with filter transfer functions and approximations.
Suppressor genes for nonsense mutations: II. The Su-4 and Su-5 suppressor genes of Escherichia coli

Two Escherichia coli suppressor genes, Su-4 and Su-5 , are characterized in the present report. These genes, which suppress the N1 class of phosphatase nonsense mutations, are genetically and physiologically distinct from the previously described suppressor genes for N1 mutations, Su-1 , Su-2 and Su-3 . The Su-4 gene is located in the tryptophan region of the bacterial chromosome, and the Su-5 gene in the galactose region. With the two new suppressor genes it has been possible to detect another class of suppressible phosphatase mutations, the N2 class, which does not respond to the other three suppressor genes. The N2 mutations appear to act as nonsense mutations in an Su − strain, since all unsuppressed N2 mutants fail to produce phosphatase enzymic activity or cross-reacting material. N2 mutations occur preferentially in codons that specify, in the standard phosphatase molecule, either basic or acidic amino acids, in contrast to N1 mutations which occur in codons that specify neutral amino acids. This suggests that the nonsense codon resulting from N2 mutations is different from the UAG nonsense codon resulting from N1 mutations. Other evidence for two different nonsense codons is the demonstration that an N2 codon can be transformed by mutation into an N1 codon. (In another report, the N2 codon has been identified as UAA.) When N1 or N2 mutations are suppressed by the Su-4 + gene, the phosphatase proteins produced appear, from electrophoretic analyses, to contain a neutral amino acid at the position in the molecule specified by the nonsense codon. When the same mutations are suppressed by the Su-5 + gene, there appears to be a bagic amino acid present at the corresponding positions. Thus, each suppressor gene causes a different amino acid to be specified by a nonsense codon. The Su-4 + gene is a moderately effective suppressor of N1 and N2 mutations. The highest level of suppression obtained, as measured by the amount of phosphatase cross-reacting material produced, is 16% of the amount in the standard P + strain. The Su-5 + gene suppresses N1 and N2 mutations less effectively, yielding a maximum of 6% of the standard amount of cross-reacting material. The N2 class of phosphatase mutations is similar in some characteristics, but not in all, to the ochre class of mutations in phage T4.
Studies on Adrenal Steroid Hydroxylases COMPLEX FORMATION OF THE HYDROXYLASE COMPONENTS

Abstract Adrenodoxin reductase and adrenodoxin have been shown to form a complex with a stoichiometric molar ratio of 1:1. The dissociation constant of the complex is found to be approximately 10-9 m in a low ionic strength medium, and approximately 10-6 m in a high ionic strength medium. The reductase is relatively labile upon heat treatment; the adrenodoxin-dependent cytochrome c reductase activity decreases about 80% when reductase is treated at 45° for 15 min. The presence of adrenodoxin largely protects the inactivation. The NADPH-2,6-dichloroindophenol reductase activity of adrenodoxin reductase is stimulated either by the addition of adrenodoxin or by increasing the concentrations of salts. Antiserum prepared against adrenodoxin has no effect on the adrenodoxin-stimulated NADPH-2,6-dichloroindophenol reductase activity. The NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activity of the complex has a maximal activity at an ionic strength of 0.04, and no activity at an ionic strength over 0.4. Antiserum against adrenodoxin completely inhibits this activity. The reductase-adrenodoxin complex has been shown to produce superoxide anion radicals in the presence of NADPH and molecular oxygen. The site responsible for superoxide anion radical generation is predominantly on the iron-sulfur protein. Adrenodoxin reductase, adrenodoxin, or their complex fails to show any indication of a stable stoichiometric complex with partially purified cytochrome P-450, as judged by a Sephadex gel filtration technique.
Study of the crust and mantle using magnetic surveys by Magsat and other satellites

This article summarizes some of the methodology and results for studies of the earth's mantle and crust. Mantle conductivity studies can be made either by studying signals impressed on the earth from outside, e.g., the ionosphere or magnetosphere, or by studing signals originating in the core and transmitted through the mantle. Crustal field studies begin with a careful selection of the data and subsequent removal of core and external fields by some sort of filtering. Average maps from different local times sometimes differ, presumably due to the remaining presence of fields of external origin. Several techniques for further filtering are discussed. Where large-area aeromagnetic maps are available, crustal maps derived from satellite data can be compared with upward continued data. In general, the comparisons show agreement, with some differences, particularly in and near the auroral belts. The satellite data are further reduced by various methods of inverse and forward modeling, sometimes including reduction to the pole. These techniques are generally unstable at the equator. Common methods of stabilizing the inversions include principle components analysis and ridge regression. Because of the presence of the core field, the entire crustal contribution from the field is not known. Also, there is a basic nonuniqueness to the inverse solutions. Nevertheless, magnetizations that are interpretable can be derived.
Facilitating Older Spouses' Adjustment to Widowhood: A Preventive Intervention Program

ABSTRACT The features of a preventive mental health intervention developed to assist late middle-aged and older spouses' psychosocial adjustment to spousal death from cancer and facilitate their transition to widowhood are described. Beginning during the last few months of the patient's illness and continuing into the initial months of the post-death period, the program is designed to provide the well/surviving spouse with emotional support, facilitate grief work and enable open discussion. Program format and delivery are discussed and the pre- and post-death components are presented. High risk criteria are used to target spouses at risk for morbid bereavement outcomes. The rationale for the risk profile is discussed. Implications of the program for social work practice are provided.
Direct mass spectrometric determination of 13C enrichment of organic compounds

A direct mass spectrometric measurement method is developed for the determination of 13C enrichment and chemical purity of a labelled compound. The labelled compound is mixed with various amounts of unlabelled analogue to provide a series of mixtures containing different but comparable quantities of labelled and unlabelled species. Intensity ratios of selected isotopically anologous ions from these two species are determined using selected ion monitoring. Equations are established to relate measured intensity ratios to sample mixture weight ratios, chemical purities of the labelled and unlabelled compounds, ion composition and isotopic abundance of the enriched and unenriched carbons, A non-linear regression procedure, based on the measured intensity ratio, the mixture weight ratio and the known chemical purity of the unlabelled compound, is used to resolve the chemical purity and the isotopic abundance yielding results with standard errors of 1.0 and 0.4%, respectively. This procedure is suitable for compounds labelled with more than 60% of an isotope.
The light ion LMF and its relevance to IFE

The inertial confinement fusion (ICF) program at Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) is directed toward validating light ions as an efficient driver for ICF defense and energy applications. The light ion laboratory microfusion facility (LMF) is envisioned as a facility in which high gain ICF targets could be developed and utilized in defense-related experiments. The relevance of LMF technology to eventual inertial fusion energy (IFE) applications is assessed via a comparison of LMF technologies with those projected in the Light Ion Beam Reactor Assessment (LIBRA) conceptual reactor design study.
A heated Biuret-Folin protein assay which gives equal absorbance with different proteins.

Abstract This protein assay requires heating the sample with biuret reagent for 100 min at 100°C before addition of Folin. Different proteins give almost identical optical densities on a nitrogen basis with this procedure. The absorbance per microgram-atom of protein nitrogin is linear at or below 0.400. A convenient final concentration of protein in this assay is about 0.2 μg-atom of protein nitrogen per ml. Most of the absorbance is due to amino acid combinations other than tyrosine and trytophan in the protein. The specificity appears similar to that of the bluret where few compounds of biological importance interfere significantly in the assay at normal cellular concentrations.
Effect of state of compensation on the relaxation of crustal plateaus on Venus

[1] Building on Nunes et al. (2004), which examined the end-member case of viscous relaxation of fully compensated crustal plateaus on Venus, we now investigate viscous relaxation for the other end-member case of uncompensated topography. The approach consists of modeling viscous flow in a crust-mantle system by means of analytic and finite element methods. Differential stresses produced by uncompensated plateau topography concentrate beneath the entire domain of the plateau and extend deep into the mantle. Loss of topography occurs via fast subsidence due to isostatic adjustment, and a slower lateral flow due to spreading of the thickened crust. Rims arise from the isostatic adjustment, and rim dimensions depend on the thickness of the competent layer, controlled by the thermal state of the system. Rim dimensions after 1 Myr are ∼1 km high and ∼300 km wide for a surface temperature of 740 K and thermal gradient of <10 K/km, and ∼600 m high and ∼100 km wide for hotter crustal conditions. Although models predict the marginal circumferential (hoop) folding observed at crustal plateaus, they do not account for the large radial grabens also observed. Adding a subcrustal zone of time-dependent buoyancy causes a delay in the isostatic adjustment. During this period of delay, viscous flow in a relatively hot crust leads to a reduction in rim amplitude once isostatic adjustment takes place. Only cooler conditions in this model can reproduce the wide and high rims observed at crustal plateaus on Venus. Consequently, phase transitions in the lower crust may produce sufficiently large variations in buoyancy to affect the surface topography and are more compatible with a cooler thermal state, but they cannot explain the thickened crust or the interpretation of gravity data showing current isostatic support. Lateral variation in heat flow (and thickness of the competent layer) may help address the latter and needs to be explored through both lithospheric and mantle convection models.
The Toxicity and Distribution of ‘Ilotycin’†

‘Ilotycin’ is a crystalline antibiotic produced by an actinomycete, identified as a strain of Streptomyces erythreus. It has shown significant activity against pathogenic Gram-positive organisms and against some of the more important Gram-negative organisms such as the Neisseria, Hemophilus, and Brucella groups. Acute toxicity tests by different routes of administration to each of several species of animals have shown the antibiotic to be of low toxicity, which has been confirmed by subacute studies now underway. ‘Ilotycin’ has been found in the blood, urine, feces, and cerebrospinal fluid of dogs which had received the drug by mouth. The antibiotic is basic; numerous salts have been prepared, the acute toxicity of several of which are reported. Blood and urine levels following parenteral injections to dogs are included.
THE VASCULAR TRANSITION REGION OF HELIANTHUS ANNUUS (COMPOSITAE). II. EFFECT OF IONIZING RADIATION

A B S T R A C T The vascular pattern in the transition region of Helianthus annuus L. may be altered by ionizing radiation in dosages ranging from 650-19,200 R. The alteration of the vascular cylinder is expressed by (1) the failure of normal tracheary elements to mature and (2) by the induction of accessory xylem and/or phloem strands. The anatomical alterations in the vasculature of the transition region are presented and their significance discussed in terms of seedling survival and the mechanisms controlling vascular differentiation.
Molecular characterization of a plant FKBP12 that does not mediate action of FK506 and rapamycin

Immuonosuppressive drugs FK506 and rapamycin block a number of signal transduction pathways in eukaryotic systems. The 12 kDa FK506 binding protein (FKBP12) mediates the action of both FK506 and rapamycin against their functional targets. In this report, we cloned, sequenced and characterized a gene encoding FKBP12 in Vicia faba (VfFKBP12). While VfFKBP12 is highly homologous to animal and yeast FKBP12, it does not mediate the action of FK506 and rapamycin. There are unique features in plant FKBP12 sequences that cause the variation in their function. One lies in the domain that is critical for interaction with calcineurin (CaN), the mammalian and yeast target of FKBP12-FK506 complex. Protein-protein interaction assays revealed a low-affinity and unstable VfFKBP12-FK506-CaN ternary complex. In the genetic assay, VfFKBP12 did not restore the sensitivity of yeast FKBP12 mutant to rapamycin or FK506, supporting that plant FKBP12-ligand complexes are unable to block the function of the drug target. Also unique to plant FKBP12 proteins, a pair of cysteines is spatially adjacent to potentially form disulfide linkage. Treatment of VfFKBP12 with reductant dithiothreitol (DTT) abolished the formation of VfFKBP12-FK506-CaN ternary complex. Site-directed mutagenesis to substitute one of the cysteines, Cys26, with Ser produced a similar effect as DTT treatment. These results indicate that an intramolecular disulfide bond is a novel structural feature required for the low-affinity interaction between plant FKBP12 and CaN. In conclusion, plant FKBP12 proteins have evolved structural changes that modify their protein-protein interacting domains and cause loss of function against the drug targets.
Intensity-based navigation with global guarantees

This article introduces simple, information-feedback plans that guide a robot through an unknown obstacle course using the sensed information from a single intensity source. The framework is similar to the well-known family of bug algorithms; however, our plans require less sensing information than any others. The robot is unable to access precise information regarding position coordinates, angular coordinates, time, or odometry, but is nevertheless able to navigate itself to a goal among unknown piecewise-analytic obstacles in the plane. The only sensor providing real values is an intensity sensor, which measures the signal strength emanating from the goal. The signal intensity function may or may not be symmetric; the main requirement is that the level sets are concentric images of simple closed curves. Convergence analysis and distance bounds are established for the presented plans. Furthermore, they are experimentally demonstrated using a differential drive robot and an infrared beacon.
Interaction of levamisole and mercaptans during thymocyte proliferation induced by concanavalin A.

Abstract Levamisole enhances[ 3 H]thymidine uptake of murine thymocytes stimulated by concanavalin A (Con A). The proliferative response of thymocytes to Con A can also be enhanced by addition of mercaptans. Six different mercaptans were examined for this effect; three of them, 2-mercaptoethanol, cysteamine, and l -cysteine, stimulated the Con A response. Addition of levamisole to an optimal stimulatory dose of 2-mercaptoethanol or cysteamine resulted in complete inhibition of cell proliferation. Three other mercaptans, penicillamine, d -cysteine, and glutathione, failed to enhance the Con A response and, in fact, were mildly inhibitory. Levamisole gave only slightly less than normal stimulation in the presence of these mercaptans. In the absence of Con A neither levamisole nor the mercaptans stimulated cell proliferation. Oxidized 2-mercaptoethanol reacted analogously to reduced 2-mercaptoethanol both in the presence and absence of levamisole. We have interpreted these results as suggesting that the effect of levamisole is dependent upon the state of activation of the lymphocyte.
The deficiency anemias

Abstract This paper contains a review of the experimental work of the past twenty years which has contributed to the pathologic physiology of anemias. The fundamental work of Castle on pernicious anemia is reviewed and the treatment of this disease described. Although the etiology of pernicious anemia is unknown, some comments are made concerning a familial predisposition to this disease. As illustrative examples the case histories of a mother and her daughter are presented wherein it is shown that this disease was present in both. In addition, attention is called to the fact that hypochromic anemia had preceded the development of pernicious anemia in the mother. The role that iron plays in the development of deficiency anemia is also discussed. Although such anemia could result from loss of blood over long periods of time, it is stated that a similar anemia could occur in the absence of normal gastric secretion of hydrochloric acid. It is well known that anemia occurs frequently in persons suffering from vitamin C deficiency. Since this anemia is relieved by the ingestion of vitamin C, it is believed that an absence of this vitamin from the food contributes to the development of anemia.
Determination and mutagenic activity of nitrogen-containing thiophenic compounds in coal-derived products

Abstract Polycyclic aromatic compounds containing both nitrogen and sulphur heteroatoms in aromatic rings were determined in a coal-derived liquid and a coal tar by capillary column gas chromatography and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry. G.c. with a flame photometric detector was used to analyse the nitrogen-containing polycyclic aromatic compound fraction obtained by adsorption chromatography on neutral alumina. The four possible isomers of the azadibenzothiophenes, and various other azathiophenic compounds, were positively identified by comparison with retention data of newly synthesized standard compounds. The aminodibenzothiophenes were the major nitrogen/sulphur-containing heterocycles in the coal liquid, while the azathiophenic compounds were the major ones in the coal tar. The differences between the two coal-derived products were related to the reaction conditions during their production. The four isomers of the azadibenzothiophenes were assayed for mutagenicity using the Ames test and compared with the mutagenicities previously reported for the aminodibenzothiophenes. It was found that the azadibenzothiophenes were not mutagenic, as opposed to the aminodibenzothiophenes.
Comparison of Two-Dimensional Power and Phase Spectra Generated from Sample Modulation Step-Scan FT-IR Experiments

In the past fifteen years, sample modulation infrared spectroscopy has been introduced for the analysis of dynamic processes. Sample modulation measurements were initially restricted to a few custom-built dispersive instruments, but the recent introduction of commercial step-scan Fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectrometers has made dynamic infrared spectrometry widely practical.
Kinetic theory of the critical behavior of transport coefficients in many-component Bose systems

The dynamic spherical model introduced by Ma and Senbetu is investigated in the neighborhood of the critical point. Singular parts of the transport coefficients are calculated. The heat conductivity diverges as ${\ensuremath{\tau}}^{\frac{(d\ensuremath{-}4)}{(d\ensuremath{-}2)}}$ where $\ensuremath{\tau}$ is the reduced temperature and $d$ is the dimension of the space ($2ldl4$). The singular part of viscosity is proportional to $\ensuremath{\tau}$. The volume viscosity is zero.
Parallel all-row preconditioned interval linear solver for nonlinear equations on multiprocessors

Interval Newton methods in conjunction with generalized bisection form the basis of algorithms that find all real roots within a specified X ⊂ Rn of a system of nonlinear equations F(X) = 0 with mathematical certainty, even in finite-precision arithmetic. One of the major computational cost in such methods is solving a correspondent linear interval system. This paper proposes parallel implementations of the all-row preconditioned interval linear solver on two multiprocessor architectures: shared bus multiprocessor and hypercube connected multiprocessor. Efficient parallel algorithms that are specifically tailored for these architectures are presented. The algorithms effectively use the hardware features to minimize communication overheads. Performance evaluation is carried out by means of actual measurements of the algorithms running on real parallel computers. Our numerical results show that data partitioning, data allocation and processor scheduling play important roles in the performance of the parallel computation. In both systems, significant speedup can be obtained by properly overlapping computation and communication.
Estimating intraclass correlation coefficient and identifying influential observations under one-way random effects model

In this paper we consider the estimation of intraclass correlation coefficient and identification of influential observations under one-way random effects model. We introduce an approach to correct negative estimation values induced by the method of moments estimator, and provide an interval estimation for intraclass correlation coefficient. We present the diagnostic tools to identify influential observations through the uncorrected estimate of intraclass correlation coefficient. A simulation study is conducted to investigate the performance of our procedure for identifying influential observations. We also apply the method on a real data of repeated blood pressure measurements.
Raman scattering and infrared absorption in bulk amorphous red phosphorous

Abstract Raman scattering and infrared absorption measurements in bulk amorphous red P indicate considerable spectral detail for an elemental amorphous solid, including a distinct separation of acoustic and lower lying optic-like bands. The results suggest appreciable structural correlations and weak interlayer-like bonding. Increased covalency of amorphous red P relative to amorphous As is indicated.
Eddy-damped quasinormal Markovian closure: a closure for magnetohydrodynamic turbulence?

A set of nonlinear differential equations are developed that are analogous to the spectral evolution equations of incompressible magnetohydrodynamics (MHD). Because these equations possess little detail of MHD, apart from salient symmetry properties, they provide a toy model in which aspects of turbulent MHD can be understood readily. In the context of this model, the eddy-damped quasinormal Markovian (EDQNM) closure often used in Navier–Stokes turbulence is demonstrated to provide physically realizable spectra for magnetohydrodynamic turbulence, if the eddy-damping functions are chosen to satisfy certain symmetry properties. The requirements of physical realizability are more demanding in MHD than in fluid turbulence. In the absence of mean fields, this model demonstrates that the components of not only the turbulent kinetic energy spectrum, but also the magnetic energy spectra, never become negative. Another condition for realizability possessed by this model is that the components of the turbulent cross-helicity spectrum always satisfy a Schwarz inequality with respect to the corresponding components of the kinetic and magnetic energy spectra.
Searching sterile dark matter with x-ray telescopes

Sterile neutrinos with masses in the keV range can be the cosmological dark matter, and they can also solve several other astrophysical puzzles. In particular, the anisotropic emission of sterile neutrinos from a supernova can explain the observed velocities of pulsars. The x-ray photons from the decays of the relic sterile neutrinos could have ionized the primordial gas, speeding up the molecular hydrogen production and, ultimately, the star formation. Precision x-ray spectroscopy can be used to search for this form of dark matter.
Law and technology Unstandard standardization: the case of biology

How applicable are the approaches adopted by information and communication technology standards-setting organizations to biological standards?
STUDIES IN THE LATER MANUSCRIPT TRADITION OF ARISTOPHANES' PEACE

Aristophanes' Peace is preserved in ten manuscripts, the oldest and most complete of which are the tenth-century Ravennas 429 (R) and the eleventh-century Venetus Marcianus 474 (V). A third manuscript, Venetus Marcianus 475 (G), is almost certainly a direct copy of V and can therefore be eliminated. The seven remaining manuscripts of the play, along with the Aldine edition of 1498, share numerous variant readings, as well as lacunae at 948–1011 and 1076b, and can accordingly be described as a family. As I will argue in detail below, the stemmatic relationship among the members of this family can be most economically represented as shown in Figure 1.
Direct measurement of the surface tension of a soft elastic hydrogel: exploration of elastocapillary instability in adhesion.

An adhesively stressed thin film of a soft hydrogel confined between two rigid flat substrates autoroughens with its dominant wavelength (λ) exhibiting pronounced dependence on the film thickness (H). A linear stability analysis confirmed that this long wavelength instability (λ ∼ 7H) is due to an elastocapillary effect, the implementation of which required direct measurements of the surface tension and the elasticity of the gel. The surface tension of the gel was estimated from the fundamental spherical harmonic of a hemispherical cap of the gel that was excited by an external noise. The shear modulus (μ) of the gel was determined from its resonant shear mode in a confined geometry. During the course of this study, it was found that a high density steel ball submerges itself inside the gel by balancing its excess weight with the accumulated strain induced elastic force that allows another estimation of its elastic modulus. The large ratio (1.8 mm) of the surface tension to its elasticity ascertains the r...
Choline analogs as potential tools in developing selective animal models of central cholinergic hypofunction

Abstract A chronic deficiency in central cholinergic function has been implicated in a number of neuropsychiatric disease states. This deficiency most probably exists at the presynaptic nerve terminal in the brain, where acetylcholine metabolism is known to occur. To date there are no reports on animals that could simulate the neurochemical conditions which appear to cause these diseases in humans, as a result of a direct manipulation of the central cholinergic system. Several compounds related to choline have however been studied, which might be useful agents for developing such an animal model, through their specific action on the high-affinity choline transport system in the brain. This minireview presents an overview of results obtained with these potentially neurotoxic choline analogs, and provides a critical analysis of current knowledge in this area of investigation.
Compatibility of multi-layer, electrically insulating coatings for vanadium–lithium blankets

Abstract The objective of this work is to demonstrate that a multi-layer, electrically insulating coating will acceptably reduce the magneto hydrodynamic (MHD) pressure losses in a lithium-cooled blanket. Coatings of Er 2 O 3 or Y 2 O 3 with an overlying coating of vanadium have been fabricated by physical vapor deposition. Coatings have demonstrated acceptable as-received resistivity at 800 °C in vacuum and at 600 °C in contact with Li. When the Y 2 O 3 coating was completely covered with a 10 μm vanadium layer, it survived exposure to Li for 100 h at 800 °C without degradation. The interaction between V alloys and Li at ⩽800 °C is now the critical compatibility issue and a loop test is being constructed. New ceramic materials based on the Y–Ti–O system also are being explored.
A note on tests of Granger causality

(1984). A note on tests of Granger causality. Applied Economics: Vol. 16, No. 3, pp. 335-342.
Technical Note: Electrochemical Behavior of Ti-30Mo in a Gamma Radiolysis Environment

The amounts of hydrogen take-up by Ti-30Mo alloy were measured by hot vacuum extraction. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were applied to investigate the oxide layers and morphology of the surfaces after free immersion in the brine solution at 108 C, both with and without radiation. In situ measurements of the open circuit potential (OCP) and polarization behavior were conducted to study the corrosion properties of Ti-30Mo in brine at 25 C, both with and without radiation. Furthermore, hydrogen peroxide was added to brine to discover what effects are produced by H/sub 2/O/sub 2/ without radiation. These results are compared with the effects of ..gamma...
Do probiotics have a role in the treatment and prevention of nosocomial infections

Abstract Probiotics, or living microbes used as therapeutic agents, have been used for the treatment and prevention of diverse types of diseases. However, the focus of the application of these probiotics has been mainly on individuals and not on widespread outbreak prevention. As continued efforts in infection control and antibiotic treatments fail to stem the increasing rates of nosocomial outbreaks, probiotics may offer an alternative strategy for controlling these infections. The advantages of probiotics are that they are natural, have a long history of use, are well-studied, have a low risk of antibiotic-resistance and have an excellent safety profile. A review of the literature for randomised controlled trials using probiotics found 22 studies that were applicable to this aim. The most promising targets for probiotics are Clostridium difficile outbreaks, antibiotic-associated diarrhoea (AAD) and rotaviral outbreaks in paediatric patients.
An SPSS program to compute subjective organization

This paper describes an SPSS program that computes four common subjective organization measures: Pellegrino’s (1971) ARC′ for bidirectional pairs and unordered triplets, Tulving’s (1962) measure for bidirectional pairs, and Bousfield and Bousfield’s (1966) deviation measure. This program can compute these measures between any two tests for an unlimited number of to-be-remembered items.
The calcium sensor PeCBL1, interacting with PeCIPK24/25 and PeCIPK26, regulates Na+/K+ homeostasis in Populus euphratica

This paper is the first to directly link two types of ion channel regulation pathway into an emerging and complex CBL–CIPK signal system in wooden plant. In Arabidopsis thaliana, the calcineurin b-like (CBL) 1 gene has been shown to be necessary in response to abiotic stresses. In this study, we identified CBL1 in the woody plant Populus euphratica, designated as PeCBL1. Heterologous expression of PeCBL1 could build the resistance of sensitive phenotypes to low K+ stress in the corresponding Arabidopsis cbl1/cbl9 mutant, and display a salt-sensitive phenotype compared with the mutant. Protein interaction analysis showed that PeCBL1 can interact with PeCIPK24, 25 and 26, and form different complexes of PeCBL–PeCIPK. To further investigate the mechanism of PeCBL1, we analyzed the fluxes of K+ and Na+ in roots of the wild-type Arabidopsis, cbl1/9 mutant, and PeCBL1 transgenic plants under low K+ stress and high Na+ stress. These analyses revealed that, compared to the cbl1/9 mutant, the PeCBL1 transgenic plant roots exhibited a higher capacity to absorb K+ after exposure to low K+ stress, and a lower capacity to discharge Na+ after exposure to salt stress. The results suggest that CBL1 interacts with CIPK24, CIPK25 and CIPK26 to regulate Na+/K+ homeostasis in Populus euphratica.
Supercritical fluid chromatographic analysis of new crop seed oils and their reactions

Supercritical fluid chromatography (SFC) with an open tubular column of nonpolar stationary phase separated triglycerides from crambe, meadowfoam,Euphorbia lagascae, and vernonia oils based on their molecular weight. The triglyceride compositions were consistent with the literature. SFC proved also to be a valuable tool in analyzing lipase-catalyzed transesterification reactions where lesquerella oil and estolides were among the substrates employed. Analyte molecular weights could be estimated from a retention time- (or elution density-) molecular eeight calibration curve. An increase in isothermal column temperature during SFC pressure or density programming improved the resolution of high-molecular-weight (>600 Da) analytes but yielded poorer resolution for analytes of molecular weight <200. A simultaneous pressure and temperature ramping program proved superior in enhancing resolution in several instances.
Effect of gel electrolytes containing silica nanoparticles on aluminum corrosion

We have investigated corrosion of aluminum current collectors in electrolytes containing LiTFSI salt by chronopotentiometry, cyclic voltammetery, chronoamperometry, electrochemical impedance spectroscopy, and optical microscopy. Open-circuit potentials for cells with gel electrolytes containing silica nanoparticles are relatively stable in comparison to the corresponding baseline liquid, which suggests that the Al/electrolyte interface is more stable in presence of silica nanoparticles. Cyclic voltammetery and chronoamperometry data show that the current density for Li/electrolyte/Al cells with gel electrolytes containing fumed silica was less than that for baseline liquid electrolyte. The Nyquist plot for liquid electrolyte after chronoamperometry is semicircular-like, that is a corrosion reaction occurred. After cell disassembly, black particulates are evident and pits are observed on the aluminum foil. In comparison, no corrosion products are observed for cells containing gel electrolytes, and the Nyquist plots indicate that corrosion does not occur appreciably. Gel electrolytes produce impedance spectra with a large phase lag over a wide frequency range, which is not observed for the baseline liquid electrolyte. These phenomena may be interpreted as a good film-coating behavior associated with gel electrolytes, which results in a lower aluminum corrosion rate.