cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative analysis of collagen, protein and DNA in fixed, paraffin-embedded and sectioned tissue.

Modifications and adaptations of chemical techniques have been used to quantitate hydroxyproline (collagen), total protein and DNA in fixed, paraffin-embedded and sectioned tissue. The assays are rapid and sensitive to between 0.1 and 1.0 μg of each of the three components. Values for the ratio of collagen to total protein or collagen per DNA obtained from sectioned material are the same as values derived from fresh or fixed starting material. Depending on the tissue and the sample size, as little as three to five 5 μm thick sections can be analysed for these three components. The ratios of collagen per total protein or collagen per DNA are given for several murine tissues. The assay of these components in tissue sections will allow a more precise correlation between histological appearance and the quantitative biochemical changes that may accompany many pathological disorders. The techniques are particularly useful in retrospective studies where the experimental material may been bloc.
Performance for first flight unit of the advanced technology microwave sounder (ATMS)

The Advanced Technology Microwave Sounder (ATMS) meteorological flight instruments for use on board the NPOESS Preparatory Project (NPP) spacecraft and the National Polar-Orbiting Operational Environmental Satellite System (NPOESS), is a multi-channel microwave radiometer. The ATMS is a total power radiometer system that passively monitors the radiation from the Earth's surface and atmosphere in the microwave portion of the spectrum. It is a cross- track, line-scanned instrument designed to measure scene radiance's in twenty two discrete frequency channels. The paper presents instruments performance for first flight unit.
Oxytocin induction of short-latency maternal behavior in nulliparous, estrogen-primed female rats

This study was designed to test whether intracerebroventricular (icv) administration of oxytocin can shorten the latency of estrogen-treated virgin rats to respond to foster pups with maternal care. A secondary goal was a description of the behavioral effects of icv oxytocin in rats. Forty-eight hours before pup presentation female rats (Sprague-Dawley strain, obtained from Zivic-Miller Laboratories, Inc.) with chronic lateral ventricle cannulae were ovariectomized and treated with 100 micrograms/kg body wt estradiol benzoate (EB). Immediately before pup presentation either 400 ng oxytocin or the normal saline vehicle was infused. A second control group of noncannulated animals received the same surgery, EB treatment, and behavior tests without any icv infusion. Maternal behavior was scored on a scale from 0 to 5, one point each being given for licking pups, carrying pups, grouping pups, crouching over pups, and nest building. At the end of 1 hr of pup exposure 65% of the oxytocin-infused animals received scores of 4 or 5, while only 25% of the control animals attained these scores. Maternal behavior appeared as a unit in both spontaneously maternal and oxytocin-treated animals, with fewer than 10% in either group receiving scores of 1, 2, or 3. The oxytocin group also spent significantly more time grooming. In a second experiment in which oxytocin or normal saline was administered icv to oil-treated animals, this grooming effect was shown to be estrogen independent while the induction of maternal behavior required prior treatment with estrogen. Finally, a slight, transient hyperthermic effect of oxytocin on body temperature was observed in this test paradigm. These data suggest a role for oxytocin, acting with estrogen, in the onset of maternal behavior in rats.
A clue to the paradox of happiness.

Abstract This paper presents evidence from the 1976 survey of Americans’ mental health that married altruists are more likely to report themselves very happy than people with other personality dispositions, if family income and family size are held constant. Altruistic husbands exhibit diminishing marginal utility from children, as do all wives, regardless of personality. Data on the allocation of time for child-care account for the gender and personality differences in happiness. It is hypothesized that the paradox of happiness in the US is attributable to a decline in the percentage of altruists in the population.
Family and Frontier in Colonial Brazil: Santana de Panaiba, 1580–1822

Family and Frontier in Colonial Brazil: Santana de Panafba, 1580-1822. Alida C. Metcalf.1. Berkeley:University of California Press, 1992. xvi + 280 pp., maps, tables, figures, plates, appendix, notes, bibliography, index. $40.00 (cloth). ISBN 0-520-07574-9.
Outbreak of nosocomial Flavobacterium meningosepticum respiratory infections associated with use of aerosolized polymyxin B

Flavobacterium meningosepticum is an uncommon cause of adult nosocomial infection. On a medical/surgical intensive care unit we recently encountered an adult outbreak of respiratory colonization and infection caused by this organism, which was associated with the prophylactic use of aerosolized polymyxin B that had been used in an attempt to abort an outbreak of infection caused by highly resistant strains of Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Twenty isolates (95% from respiratory secretions) of F. meningosepticum from nine persons were identified during a 2 1/2-month period. No environmental source has been identified to date. Pneumonia developed in five patients, and two deaths associated with this organism occurred. All isolates were sensitive to ciprofloxacin; none were sensitive to other antibiotics tested, including third-generation cephalosporins, aminoglycosides, erythromycin, trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, antipseudomonal penicillins, aztreonam, and imipenem/cilastatin. Two patients with nosocomial pneumonia were successfully treated with oral ciprofloxacin. F. meningosepticum may emerge as an important pathogen if prophylactic use of polymyxin B becomes more widespread. Ciprofloxacin may become the agent of choice for treatment of this organism.
Location Patterns of Section 8 Housing in Jefferson County, Kentucky

The controversial Section 8 Housing Choice Voucher program is the largest federal low-income housing program. Using GIS-based spatial clustering analysis (Getis-Ord's Gi statistic) and multiple linear regressions, in this paper, the authors examine the locational patterns of more than 13,600 Section 8 housing units in Jefferson County, Kentucky, and explore key social, economic, demographic, and locational factors underlying the spatial distribution of Section 8 housing. The findings reveal that Section 8 housing continues to concentrate in the central city area with predominantly black residents, a high proportion of families in poverty, and abundant low-cost properties. The Section 8 voucher policy has failed to successfully de-concentrate poor families from these urban areas. Residential mobility of low-income families has been restricted by various factors, most important of which is the lack of accessibility to public transportation across the metropolitan area.
Computation of circulation control airfoil flows

Abstract The compressible Reynolds-averaged Navier–Stokes equations are solved for circulation control (CC) airfoil flows. Three turbulence models are considered for closure, including the Spalart–Allmaras model with and without a curvature correction and the shear stress transport model of Menter. Numerical solutions are computed with a structured grid solver. The effect of mesh density on the solutions is examined. We also address two important issues that have emerged in simulations of CC airfoil flows. One is the validity of incompressible simulations with the presence of a transonic wall jet. The other issue concerns the occurrence of nonphysical solutions for CC airfoil flows. In the present work we consider circulation control flows for a range of jet momentum coefficients. Comparisons are made between computed and experimental pressure distributions, velocity profiles, Reynolds stress profiles, and streamline patterns. Including curvature effects yields the closest agreement with the measured data.
An Alternative Technique for the Surgical Correction of Kinked or Redundant Carotid Arteries

Twenty patients with kinked and coiled arteries are presented, and their successful surgical management is described. In most of the patients, the redun dant artery was reimplanted into the common carotid artery, along with resec tion, if needed, to correct extreme redundancy. Alternatively, the authors used resection of the redundant posterior wall with insertion of a dacron velour patch anteriorly with equal success. Advantages of the latter technique are discussed.
Xyloglucan isolated from suspension-cultured sycamore cell walls is O-acetylated

Abstract Xyloglucan oligosaccharides were enzymically released from purified cell walls isolated from suspension-cultured sycamore cells. The O -acetyl substitution pattern of these oligosaccharides was determined by 1 H NMR spectroscopy. This analysis revealed that most of the 2-linked galactosyl residues of the decasaccharide and nonasaccharide fragments of cell wall xyloglucan are O -acetyl substituted, while the heptasaccharide fragment does not contain O -acetyl substituents. This acetylation pattern does not differ significantly from that of the same xyloglucan oligosaccharides enzymically released from the xyloglucan secreted by suspension-cultured sycamore cells.
Valence- and conduction-band densities of states for tetrahedral semiconductors: Theory and experiment

The theoretical and experimental electronic densities of states for both the valence and conduction bands are presented for the tetrahedral semiconductors Si, Ge, GaAs, and ZnSe. The theoretical densities of states were calculated with the empirical pseudopotential method and extend earlier pseudopotential work to 20 eV above the valence-band maximum. X-ray photoemission and inverse-photoemission results make it possible to compare critical-point features in the band structure with experimental structures.
The measurement of solar spectral irradiance at different terrestrial elevations

Abstract The increasing world population and the increasing complexity of civilization require improved efficiency in the utilization of natural resources. Solar energy is the primary determinate of our environment, and an understanding of the nature its irradiance is fundamental in the control or modification of human and biological ecology. Recent improvements in filter radiometry have resulted in the realization of simple robust instruments facilitating spectral irradiance determinations, in wavelength bands as narrow as 100 nm, throughout the solar spectrum. Application of these instruments, utilizing jet rocket aircraft, has extended our knowledge of the solar spectral irradiance at altitudes up to 80 km. This paper indicates the methods necessary to obatain such spectral data and presents some ground-based summaries and, in particular, new results of concurrent measurements made at 1·3 and 2·3 km; the meteorological interpretation is indicated. Since knowledge of the variation of such radiant energy fluxes at various locations on the Earth's surface is meagre, it is difficult to assess the potential application. Initial efforts might entail, as a minimum requirement, a three-channel bandpass system monitoring the total, ultraviolet and infrared irradiances. Data from this system could provide useful information concerning the local aerological situation. The need for extension of investigations in this field is urgent.
Relativistic Particles Coupled to Chern-Simons Term-Revisited

Abstract We consider the model of N relativistic spinless particles coupled to an abelian Chern-Simons term. Rewriting the action in a time reparametrized form by introducing an arbitrary parameter, parametrizing the world line of the particles, we make a classical constraint Hamiltonian analysis of the model. Subsequent to gauge fixing by equating the arbitrary parameter with time we identify the Hamiltonian of the system, which agrees with the Hamiltonian obtained by using Banerjee′s method of fixing the arbitrary Lagrange multiplier by using equations of motion. We exhibit the Poincare invariance of the model, at the classical level, by constructing spacetime generators using either the canonical or symmetric definition of the energy-momentum tensor. A detailed comparison of the expressions of angular momentum obtained by both methods shows that both agree up to a boundary term. In presence of a rotationally symmetric vortex configuration this term can be interpreted as an anomalous angular momentum term. We also heuristically discuss the effect of gauge fixing on the transformation properties.
Marital Stress, Psychological Distress, and Healthful Dietary Behavior: A Longitudinal Analysis

This longitudinal study examined the role of marital and psychological distress on healthful dietary change. A theoretical model is proposed that specified barriers to healthful dietary behavior as mediating the effect of depressive symptoms, role disagreement, inequity, and education on dietary change over time. Subjects were 97 married couples interviewed in their homes at 2 separate times. Selection in the first wave was by random area sampling based on population concentration. The findings provide evidence of the negative influence of interpersonal and intrapsychic distress on positive dietary change. For wives, marital and psychological distress and the barriers to dietary change were important factors in actual changes in dietary behavior. For both husbands and wives, higher barriers were associated with lesser positive dietary change.
An electronically despun array flush-mounted on a cylindrical spacecraft

A conformal array is presented that provides, by means of single-pole multithrow switches and microstrip power dividers, either an omnidirectional or an electronically despun directional radiation pattern. Switching techniques for scanning the directional pattern of circular arrays are discussed. The design parameters and measured results of an experimental 64-element array flush-mounted on a cylindrical spacecraft, are presented. Over the 40-percent bandwidth at S band, measured results show close agreement with theory.
Diversity in CD8(+) T cell differentiation.

CD8 + T cells are key effector cells of the adaptive immune system, however their activity must be tightly regulated to allow pathogen clearance whilst preventing immunopathology and autoimmunity. In this review, we summarise the diversity of responses that CD8 + T cells make to antigenic stimulation with a focus on how CD8 + T cell responses are regulated to achieve different immune outcomes. In particular, we discuss phenotypic diversity during tolerance induction as well as signals that drive effector and memory cell differentiation in response to infection.
Local similarity solutions for boundary layer flow of a FENE-P fluid

We study the boundary layer flow past a semi-infinite plate of a viscoelastic fluid governed by the FENE-P model. In the limit as the Reynolds number Re->~ and the Wessenberg number We is such that WeRe^1^/^2=O(1), the stream function is governed by a generalized Blasuis' equation. A local similarity solution is obtained by a shooting method. The effect of extensibility on the skin friction and first normal stress coefficients are discussed. We show that the skin friction increases with the extensibility parameter b. As b approaches infinity the result reduces to Blasius' solution. Compared to Blasius' solution a reduction of up to 20% in the skin friction coefficient is possible for finite values of b.
Exploring Bullying: An Early Childhood Perspective from Mainland China

(2008). Exploring Bullying: An Early Childhood Perspective from Mainland China. Childhood Education: Vol. 84, International Focus Issue 2008: Bullying and Violence Issues in Children's Lives: Examining the Issues and Solutions, pp. 340-343.
The XLA — A large spaceborne X-ray detector array — and its relation to advances in general relativity

XLA is intended to comprise a very large array of collimated proportional counters in the tradition of instruments used on Uhuru, HEAO, EXOSAT, TENMA, GINGA and being planned for XTE, NASA’s X-ray Timing Explorer, but larger, perhaps lOOm2. Because of its great size it would be difficult to launch directly into orbit as these others have been; rather, it is being configured as a facility on the Space Station, brought into orbit as a large number of small elements and assembled at the Station. Because of its size and the necessity to assemble in orbit, XLA is well suited to international participation. XLA has been previously described l)•
One-Dimensional Inversion of Full Waveforms using a Genetic Algorithm

A technique is presented to invert full waveforms using a genetic algorithm. The inversion scheme is based on a finite-difference solution of the 2-D elastic wave equation in the timedistance domain. The strength of this approach is the ability to generate all possible wave types (body waves and surface waves, etc.) and thus to simulate complex seismic wavefields that are then compared with observed data to infer subsurface properties. The capability of this inversion technique is tested with both synthetic and real experimental data sets. The inversion results from synthetic data show the ability of characterizing both low- and high-velocity layers, and the inversion results from real data are generally consistent with crosshole, SPT N-value, and material log results, including the identification of a buried low-velocity layer. Based upon the cases presented, coupling of global optimization with full waveforms is computationally practical, as the results presented herein were all achieved in about two hours of computer time on a standard laptop computer.
Plant health sensing system for determining nitrogen status in plants

A plant health sensing system was developed for determining nitrogen status in plants. The system consists of a multi-spectral optical sensor and a data-acquisition and processing unit. The optical sensor’s light source provides modulated panchromatic illumination of a plant canopy with light-emitting diodes, and the sensor measures spectral reflectance through optical filters that partition the energy into blue, green, red, and near-infrared wavebands. Spectral reflectance of plants is detected in situ, at the four wavebands, in real time. The data-acquisition and processing unit is based on a single board computer that collects data from the multi-spectral sensor and spatial information from a global positioning system receiver. Spectral reflectance at the selected wavebands is analyzed, with algorithms developed during preliminary work, to determine nitrogen status in plants. The plant health sensing system has been tested primarily in the laboratory and field so far, and promising results have been obtained. This article describes the development, theory of operation, and test results of the plant health sensing system.
EVIDENCE-BASED EARLY READING PRACTICES WITHIN A RESPONSE TO INTERVENTION SYSTEM

Many students who experience reading failure are inappropriately placed in special education. A promising response to reducing reading failure and the overidentification of students for special education is Response to Intervention (RTI), a comprehensive early detection and prevention system that allows teachers to identify and support struggling readers early, before they fail. A key component of RTI is the implementation of evidence-based reading practices within a multitiered framework. School psychologists are increasingly being asked to lead or be members of RTI building teams. As such, they can play an important role in assuring that evidence-based practices in reading are implemented with integrity. The purpose of this article is to provide a framework for judging the extent to which early reading instruction within a multitier RTI system is evidence based. Key evidence-based practices related to the content, design, and delivery of early reading instruction are described. © 2010 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Surface temperatures in the polar regions from Nimbus 7 temperature humidity infrared radiometer

Monthly surface temperatures in the Arctic and Antarctic regions have been derived from the 11.5 micrometer thermal infrared channel of the Nimbus 7 temperature humidity infrared radiometer (THIR) for a whole year in 1979 and for a winter and a summer month from 1980 through 1985. The data set shows interannual variability and provides spatial details that allow identification of temperature patterns over sea ice and ice sheet surfaces. For example, the coldest spot in the southern hemisphere is observed to be consistently in the Antarctic plateau in the southern hemisphere, while that in the northern hemisphere is usually located in Greenland, or one of three other general areas: Siberia, the central Arctic, or the Canadian Archipelago. Also, in the southern hemisphere, the amplitude of the seasonal fluctuation of ice sheet temperatures is about 3 times that of sea ice, while in the northern hemisphere, the corresponding fluctuations for the two surfaces are about the same. The main sources of error in the retrieval are cloud and other atmospheric effects. These were minimized by first choosing the highest radiance value from the set of measurements during the day taken within a 30 km by 30 km grid of each daily map. Then the difference of daily maps was taken and where the difference is greater than a certain threshold (which in this case is 12 C), the data element is deleted. Overall, the monthly maps derived from the resulting daily maps are spatially and temporally consistent, are coherent with the topograph y of the Antarctic continent and the location of the sea ice edge, and are in qualitative agreement with climatological data. Quantitatively, THIR data are in good agreement with Antarctic ice sheet surface air temperature station data with a correlation coefficient of 0.997 and a standard deviation of 2.0 C. The absolute values are not as good over the sea ice edges, but a comparison with Russian 2-m drift station temperatures shows very high correlation (with correlation coefficient at 0.998) and a standard deviation of 1.1 C. Overall, the rms error is estimated to be from 1 to 2 C, depending on the surface, while the average bias when compared with in situ data is less than 2 C.
Determinants of drug use: A test of the coping hypothesis

Abstract This paper uses a national probability sample to examine major correlates of drug use among American adults. Demographic correlates of alcohol, cigarette, marijuana, tranquilizer, sleeping pill and stimulant use are explained in terms of a self medication or coping perspective of drug use. Two analysis procedures are used. In the first, respondents were asked to list strategies they use when they have problems. These responses are ‘broken down’ by drug use categories or ‘taking pills’. In the second procedure, attempts are made to interpret the correlations between age, sex, marital status, education and drug use by introducing variables which measure how respondents were experiencing fundamental aspects of their lives (role stress items) and mental health variables. A substantial portion of the variance in drug use that is explained by demographic variables appears to operate through social role and mental health variables, that is, these latter variables interpret the demographic/drug use relationships in a way that is consistent with a coping perspective. The authors conclude that these data and this analysis provided cautious support for a coping perspective.
Wernicke’s Encephalopathy: Expanding the Diagnostic Toolbox

Wernicke's encephalopathy (WE) is a life threatening neurological disorder that results from thiamine (Vitamin B1) deficiency. Clinical signs include mental status changes, ataxia, occulomotor changes and nutritional deficiency. The conundrum is that the clinical presentation is highly variable. WE clinical signs, brain imaging, and thiamine blood levels, are reviewed in 53 published case reports from 2001 to 2011; 81 % (43/53) were non-alcohol related. Korsakoff Syndrome or long-term cognitive neurological changes occurred in 28 % (15/53). Seven WE cases (13 %) had a normal magnetic resonance image (MRI). Four WE cases (8 %) had normal or high thiamine blood levels. Neither diagnostic tool can be relied upon exclusively to confirm a diagnosis of WE.
Morphologic changes of the liver following chemotherapy for metastatic breast carcinoma: CT findings

Thirty patients with metastatic breast carcinoma to the liver underwent systemic chemotherapy. Twentyfour of these patients also received hepatic arterial infusion chemotherapy, three in conjunction with hepatic artery embolization. The morphologic changes of the liver believed to be due to chemotoxic effect of treatment occurred in 27 patients, and were evaluated by serial computed tomography (CT) examinations. These included fatty changes in seven patients, severe cirrhotic changes in four, localized atrophy with regional contour changes in three, and areas of low density in the regions of previously treated metastases in 13. The CT features of cirrhosis included density changes along with nodular irregularity of the hepatic borders with marked decrease in liver size and development of ascites.
Evaluating Speed-Reduction Strategies for Highway Work Zones

Research was conducted to identify the potential of fluorescent orange sheeting, innovative message signs, and changeable message signs with radar for reducing speeds in highway work zones. The study investigated the effect of each strategy immediately after implementation (immediate effect) as well as several weeks after implementation (novelty effect). In addition to the overall effect of each strategy on all vehicles, the study included the effect on specific vehicle types during various lighting conditions. The researchers collected traffic data before, immediately after, and 2 or 3 weeks after implementation of each strategy (3 consecutive weeks for the changeable message sign). They collected data upstream of the temporary traffic-control zone, in the advance-warning area, and adjacent to the active work area. The researchers used various statistical tests to evaluate the significance of speed changes from phase to phase and adjusted vehicle speeds with the upstream speed changes over time. The study indicated that fluorescent orange sheeting and innovative message signs help reduce speeds at highway work zones (with diminished influence over time). Moreover, both strategies influence vehicle speeds more during the day than at night. Drivers of passenger vehicles tended to decrease their speeds more than did truck drivers. Changeable message signs with radar significantly reduced the vehicle speeds in the immediate vicinity of the sign and did not demonstrate a novelty effect.
Bandwidth enhancement of position measurements using measured acceleration

Abstract The work described here concerns the bandwidth enhancement of any low bandwidth position measurement device by using acceleration measurements to provide high frequency motion information. The emphasis is on the mechanism for combining the two types of measurements effectively, rather than the measurement transducers themselves. Alternative procedures for combining position and acceleration information are examined, along with relevant considerations. Digital implementation of the signal processing is chosen and the effects of sampling rates, quantisation and roundoff on overall accuracy assessed quantitatively. The conclusions from the analysis are used to help determine the signal processing details. In addition, implications of using the measurement scheme in closed loop position control applications are explicitly considered. The feasibility of the computational scheme has been established by experimental tests under open loop and closed loop position control conditions. A 16-bit microprocessor/coprocessor combination was used and was successful in increasing the bandwidth of accurate position measurement from 16 Hz to well over 40 Hz. Specific recommendations to improve overall computational accuracy are given and are easily realisable using more powerful microcomputing equipment than the one used here.
Monte Carlo simulation of neutron generation by lightning leaders

Summary form only given. Terrestrial Gamma-ray Flashes (TGFs) are high-energy photon bursts originating from the Earth's atmosphere [Fishman et al., Science, 264, 1313, 1994]. Measurements have correlated TGFs with initial development stages of normal polarity intracloud lightning that transports negative charge upward (+IC) [e.g., Lu et al., GRL, 37, L11806, 2010; JGR, 116, A03316, 2011] and it has been suggested that long unbranched +IC lightning leaders could produce a suficient number of energetic electrons during their stepping processes to explain TGFs [Celestin and Pasko, JGR, 116, A03315, 2011]. Moreover, neutron bursts have been observed in association with lightning [e.g., Shah et al., Nature, 313, 773, 1985; Shyam and Kaushik, JGR, 104, 6867, 1999; Bratolyubova-Tsulukidze et al., Adv. Space Res., 34, 1815, 2004]. Additionally, the large amount of energetic photons in TGF events has been suggested to be responsible for the production of neutron bursts [Babich et al., JETP Lett, 84, 285, 2006; Carlson et al., JGR, 115, A00E19, 2010].In the present study, we simulate the acceleration of electrons during the negative corona Hash stage of stepping negative lightning leaders. Energetic photons are produced by these runaway electrons either producing gamma-rays or lower energy X-rays depending on the electric potential difference in the leader head region. We have developed a Monte Carlo model that simulates neutron generation through the photonuclear interaction in the atmosphere. In this work, we quantify the properties of the neutron source possibly generated by different lightning discharges and we also investigate the possibility of neutron generation from typical negative cloud-to-ground lightning discharges.
Lack of association between occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and risk of pancreatic cancer: a systematic evaluation of available data

To review epidemiologic studies on risk of pancreatic cancer and occupational exposure to diesel exhaust. A literature search was conducted, and data were abstracted in a systematic fashion. Comparable results were combined using a random-effects meta-analysis. Twenty-six studies were included in the review, including five studies based on routine statistics, 11 case–control studies [meta-relative risk (RR) of three estimates for diesel exhaust exposure 0.9; 95 % confidence interval (CI) 0.5, 1.6] and ten cohort studies (meta-RR of their results: 1.03; 95 % CI 0.93, 1.13). Few studies reported results according to duration of exposure or other quantitative measures; no consistent pattern emerged. The overall evidence from studies on occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and risk of pancreatic cancer leads to the conclusion of the absence of such association.
MECHANICS OF ENAMEL ADHERENCE: XII, A CHEMICAL AND X‐RAY EXAMINATION OF METALLIC PRECIPIT́ATES FROM ENAMELS CONTAINING IRON AND COBALT OXIDES*

In view of the evidence that some reducing agent, known as the ferrous agent, acts to precipitate iron at the interface of a “cobalt” ground coat and the steel base, silicon carbide was substituted for the ferrous agent to permit the determination of iron as well as cobalt in the metallic precipitates. Enamels containing various percentages of iron and cobalt oxides were treated with silicon carbide at temperatures higher than normal firing temperatures. This was done in order to study the relative behavior toward a common reducing agent of iron and cobalt at various concentrations in enamel glass solution. The resulting metallic precipitates have been examined by chemical and X-ray analyses.
Emissions Reduction by Varying the Swirler Airflow Split in Advanced Gas Turbine Combustors

A rich burn/quick mix/lean burn (RQL) combustor concept for reducing pollutant emissions is currently under investigation at the NASA Lewis Research Center. The current study investigates the effect of varying the mass flow rate split between the swirler passages for an equivalance ratio of 2.0 on fuel distribution, temperature distribution, and emissions for the fuel nozzle/rich burn section of an RQL combustor. It is seen that optimizing these parameters can substantially improve combustor performance and reduce combustor emissions. The optimal mass flow rate split for reducing NO(x) emissions based on the numerical study was the same as found by experiment.
Purchaser strategies to influence quality of care: from rhetoric to global applications

The potential of purchasers to influence the quality and safety of care has captured the attention of health sector leaders worldwide. Quality based purchasing explicitly seeks to hold providers accountable for the quality and safety of care. Three strategies are available to purchasers: (1) selective contracting based on quality; (2) payment differentials based on quality; and (3) sponsorship of comparative provider report cards. Examples are given to illustrate each of the three strategies. Governments, employers, social insurance funds, community based insurance organizations, health plans, donors, and other buyers of health services are encouraged to explore and debate these purchaser strategies within the context of an overarching national or local quality framework. Public and private funders of operations research are encouraged to support and disseminate evaluations of purchaser efforts to improve quality. This paper is designed to highlight and frame purchasers' strategies explicitly crafted to enhance the quality and safety of care. The ultimate aim is to encourage thoughtful discussion about whether or not one or more purchaser strategy might support a particular country's goals to improve care. Experiences from both developed and developing countries are included to facilitate the exchange of ideas and provide the broadest of perspectives.
On and Off the ’Net: Scales for Social Capital in an Online Era

Scholars investigating the relationship between the Internet and social capital have beenstymied by a series of obstacles, some due to theoretical frameworks handed downunchanged from television research, and some due to the lack of an appropriate yard-stick. For example, the social interactions that occur through television are prima faciedifferent from those that occur online. Given this basic functional difference, we cannotapproach social capital research in an online era with the same set of assumptions andmeasures. To address this gap in the literature and in our measurement toolkits, thisarticle reports on the development and validation of the Internet Social Capital Scales,or ISCS. These scales are intended to measure two different types of social capital—known as ‘‘bridging’’ and ‘‘bonding’’—for both online and offline contexts. Questionitems are developed and tested and found to be valid and psychometrically sound.Potential uses of the scales are then discussed.doi:10.1111/j.1083-6101.2006.00029.x
Electronic Conductivity of Semiconductor Nanoparticle Monolayers at the Air|Water Interface

The electronic conductivity of PbS and CdTe nanoparticle monolayers was examined voltammetrically by using interdigitated array (IDA) electrodes at the air|water interface. Their band gap energies were estimated from the I−V responses and were very consistent with results obtained from optical measurements as well as solution electrochemistry. For CdTe nanoparticles, the I−V responses were analogous to those of a molecular diode with reproducible voltammetric behavior after repeated potential cycling. Interestingly, there appeared to be indications of particle surface trap states in the voltammetric responses that correlated with spectroscopic measurements. In addition, the band gap of the nanoparticle monolayers could be manipulated by the interparticle interactions, red shifting with decreasing interparticle separation. In contrast, the electroactive nature of the PbS particles led to the decomposition of the nanoparticles and hence deposition onto the electrode surface. The resulting voltammetric respo...
Brillouin zone and band structure of β‐Ga2O3

Gallium oxide is increasingly used in a variety of applications, but confusion reigns over the Brillouin zone and the band structure of monoclinic β-Ga2O3. We present a detailed study of the shape of the Brillouin zone and the location of high-symmetry points. Combined with a study of electronic structure based on hybrid density functional theory, this allows us to derive an accurate band structure. We discuss the nature of the band gap and the location of the band extrema.
Sociality among Foraging Ardeidae: Does Plumage Coloration Influence Nearest-Neighbor Spacing?

Abstract Increased sociality in herons, family Ardeidae, is often considered to be associated with the occurrence of white plumage. If white plumage increases sociality, we hypothesized that white-plumaged birds should forage closer to one another and dark birds should remain more solitary. We tested this hypothesis by investigating the inter-individual spacing (nearest neighbor distance) in two pairs of closely related species that differ in plumage coloration: (1) Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias)/Great Egret (A. alba) and (2) Little Blue Heron (Egretta caerulea)/Snowy Egret (E. thula). All birds observed were in adult plumage. We recorded distances to nearest conspecific, nearest congeneric, nearest white (regardless of species) and nearest dark bird to each focal bird within a given (focal) pond. Because species occurred in varying numbers, we compared the observed mean distances with randomly generated distances based on the total number of birds in the pond. All observations were conducted under ste...
Prominent Accumulation in Hemodialysis Patients of Solutes Normally Cleared by Tubular Secretion

Dialytic clearance of urea is efficient, but other small solutes normally secreted by the kidney may be cleared less efficiently. This study tested whether the high concentrations of these solutes in hemodialysis patients reflect a failure of passive diffusion methods to duplicate the efficacy of clearance by tubular secretion. We compared the plasma concentrations and clearance rates of four solutes normally cleared by tubular secretion with the plasma concentrations and clearance rates of urea and creatinine in patients receiving maintenance hemodialysis and normal subjects. The predialysis concentrations (relative to normal subjects) of unbound phenylacetylglutamine (122-fold), hippurate (108-fold), indoxyl sulfate (116-fold), and p-cresol sulfate (41-fold) were much greater than the concentrations of urea (5-fold) and creatinine (13-fold). The dialytic clearance rates (relative to normal subjects) of unbound phenylacetylglutamine (0.37-fold), hippurate (0.16-fold), indoxyl sulfate (0.21-fold), and p-cresol sulfate (0.39-fold) were much lower than the rates of urea (4.2-fold) and creatinine (1.3-fold). Mathematical modeling showed that prominent accumulation of the normally secreted solutes in hemodialysis patients could be accounted for by lower dialytic clearance relative to physiologic clearance combined with the intermittency of treatment. Whether or not more efficient removal of normally secreted solutes improves outcomes in dialysis patients remains to be tested.
Improving memory bank-level parallelism in the presence of prefetching

DRAM systems achieve high performance when all DRAM banks are busy servicing useful memory requests. The degree to which DRAM banks are busy is called DRAM Bank-Level Parallelism (BLP). This paper proposes two new cost-effective mechanisms to maximize DRAM BLP. BLP-Aware Prefetch Issue (BAPI) issues prefetches into the on-chip Miss Status Holding Registers (MSHRs) associated with each core in a multi-core system such that the requests can be serviced in parallel in different DRAM banks. BLP-Preserving Multi-core Request Issue (BPMRI) does the actual loading of the DRAM controller's request buffers so that requests from the same core can be serviced in parallel, minimizing the serialization of each core's concurrent requests. When combined, BAPI and BPMRI improve system performance by 11.7% on a 4-core CMP system for a wide variety of multiprogrammed workloads. BAPI and BPMRI also complement various existing DRAM scheduling and prefetching algorithms, and can be used in conjunction with them.
External partners in assessment of student development and learning

This chapter discusses the role of external partnerships in student development and learning outcomes assessment in the context of results from a national survey of senior student affairs officers.
IGF-I attenuates diabetes-induced cardiac contractile dysfunction in ventricular myocytes.

Diabetic cardiomyopathy is characterized by impaired ventricular contraction and altered function of insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), a key factor for cardiac growth and function. Endogenous I...
Experiments on Sea Level Measurements Using S-Band Interferometric Techniques

A remote interferometric method to measure sea level variations in coastal regions is discussed and data of numerous experimental tests are summarized. The bistatic scheme of measurements is employed with horizontal separation of transmitter-receiver units ranging from 400 m to 2700 m. To account for an impact of sea surface roughness, the method incorporates a reflection coefficient phase measuring procedure. The phase of the coherent reflection coefficient measured in the experiments is presented as a function of sea state. The experiments were performed with electronic distance measurement equipment of a Tellurometer type. The typical error of sea level measurements obtained was about 3 cm. This error exceeds that theoretically predicted because of technical limitations of the equipment in meeting the requirements of the interferometric method.
Regulation of expression of transforming growth factor-β2 by transforming growth factor-β isoforms is dependent upon cell type

The effect of three different isoforms of transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-beta) on the expression of TGF-beta 2 mRNA was studied in several continuous tumor cell lines. As previously reported for the mouse fibroblast cell line AKR-2B, the expression of TGF-beta 2 mRNA transcripts of 5.4, 4.7, 3.7 and 3.0 kb was decreased after a 24 hr treatment with 5 ng/ml of TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2 or TGF-beta 3. In A549, HBL-100 and BSC-1 epithelial cell lines, five distinct TGF-beta 2 mRNA transcripts of 5.8, 5.1, 4.0, 3.8 and 2.8 kb were detected by Northern blot analysis. Treatment of these cells with TGF-beta 1, TGF-beta 2 or TGF-beta 3 for 24 hr resulted in a 2-3 fold increase in the 5.8, 4.0 and 3.8 kb transcripts, with little detectable change in abundance of the 5.1 and 2.8 kb transcripts. The effect of the TGF-beta proteins was dose (5 ng/ml) and time (3-6 hr) dependent. A similar 2-3 fold increase in the level of secreted TGF-beta 2 was observed following treatment of A549 cells with TGF-beta 1. Basal level and induced expression of TGF-beta 2 mRNA in response to TGF-beta isoforms was decreased in the presence of actinomycin D. In all cell lines studied, the expression of the 2.5 kb TGF-beta 1 mRNA was relatively unchanged or markedly increased in response to treatment with TGF-beta.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
PAC-inspired Option Discovery in Lifelong Reinforcement Learning

A key goal of AI is to create lifelong learning agents that can leverage prior experience to improve performance on later tasks. In reinforcement-learning problems, one way to summarize prior experience for future use is through options, which are temporally extended actions (subpolicies) for how to behave. Options can then be used to potentially accelerate learning in new reinforcement learning tasks. In this work, we provide the first formal analysis of the sample complexity, a measure of learning speed, of reinforcement learning with options. This analysis helps shed light on some interesting prior empirical results on when and how options may accelerate learning. We then quantify the benefit of options in reducing sample complexity of a lifelong learning agent. Finally, the new theoretical insights inspire a novel option-discovery algorithm that aims at minimizing overall sample complexity in lifelong reinforcement learning.
Representing the existence and the location of hidden objects: Object permanence in 6- and 8-month-old infants ☆

The present experiment investigated two facets of object permanence in young infants: the ability to represent the existence and the location of a hidden stationary object, and the ability to ‘represent the existence and the trajectory of a hidden moving object. Six- and B-month-old infants sat in front of a screen; to the left of the screen was an inclined ramp. The infants watched the following event: the screen was raised and lowered, and a toy car rolled down the ramp, passed behind the screen, and exited the apparatus to the right. After the infants habituated to this event, they saw two test events. These were identical to the habituation event, except that a box was placed behind the screen. In one event (possible event), the box stood in back of the car’s tracks; in the other (impossible event), it stood on top of the tracks, blocking the car’s path. Infants looked longer at the impossible than at the possible event, indicating that they were surprised to see the car reappear from behind the screen when the box stood in its path. A control experiment in which the box was placed in front (possible event) or on top (impossible event) of the car’s tracks yielded similar results. Together, the results of these experiments suggest that infants understood that (I) the box continued to exist, in its same location, after it was occluded by the screen; (2) the car continued to exist, and pursued its trajectory, after it disappeared behind the screen; and (3) the car could not roll through the space occupied by the box. These results have implications for theory and research on the development of infants’ knowledge about objects and infants’ reasoning abilities.
Civil Servants and Policymakers: Neutral or Responsive Competence?

Competence is a frequently used but complex concept. This article explores various recent uses of the concept, with particular attention to political conditions favoring an emphasis on neutrality or responsiveness. We close with a brief comparative analysis of the quest for responsiveness in administration.