cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Graphitic structure and surface chemical activity of nanosize carbon spheres

Abstract Monodispersed nanosize carbon spheres have recently been synthesized using a mixed-valent oxide-catalytic carbonization (MVOCC) process. In this paper, a high surface porosity of carbon spheres produced by an interaction with WO3 is reported. The interaction mechanism is due to the reduction of WO3 to W driven by an internal Auger decay process under the stimulation of a high-energy electron beam in a transmission electron microscope; combination of the desorbed O with C results in the loss of local carbon species. This process occurs only for the atoms located at the surface and surface diffusion plays a dominant role. Closed shell “onion-like” concentric fullerenes have been observed, with a C60 molecule at the center. It is suggested that W atom(s) may also be trapped within the C60 cage. The spiral growth model proposed for the growth of large fullerenes and carbon spheres has been directly proved experimentally. High-resolution electron images suggest the presence of single-shell toroidal fullerenes.
Estimating Momentum, Heat and Moisture Fluxes from Structure Parameters

Abstract A theory is developed for obtaining the vertical fluxes of momentum, heat and moisture in a quasi-steady, locally-homogeneous surface layer from measurements of the structure parameters of velocity, temperature and humidity. The momentum flux is shown to be generally more sensitive to measurement errors in the structure parameters and to uncertainties in certain turbulence parameters than are the heat and moisture fluxes. The structure parameters can, in principle, be obtained from path-averaged wave propagation measurements; for example, the temperature structure parameter CT2, is readily obtained from optical scintillations. It is estimated that in the case of CT2 a path-averaged optical measurement requires about 1% of the averaging time of a conventional measurement of CT2 under typical conditions.
Life-span cognitive activity, neuropathologic burden, and cognitive aging

Objective: To test the hypothesis that cognitive activity across the life span is related to late-life cognitive decline not linked to common neuropathologic disorders. Methods: On enrollment, older participants in a longitudinal clinical-pathologic cohort study rated late-life (i.e., current) and early-life participation in cognitively stimulating activities. After a mean of 5.8 years of annual cognitive function testing, 294 individuals had died and undergone neuropathologic examination. Chronic gross infarcts, chronic microscopic infarcts, and neocortical Lewy bodies were identified, and measures of β-amyloid burden and tau-positive tangle density in multiple brain regions were derived. Results: In a mixed-effects model adjusted for age at death, sex, education, gross and microscopic infarction, neocortical Lewy bodies, amyloid burden, and tangle density, more frequent late-life cognitive activity (estimate = 0.028, standard error [SE] = 0.008, p p = 0.008) were each associated with slower cognitive decline. The 2 measures together accounted for 14% of the residual variability in cognitive decline not related to neuropathologic burden. The early-life–activity association was attributable to cognitive activity in childhood (estimate = 0.027, SE = 0.012, p = 0.026) and middle age (estimate = 0.029, SE = 0.013, p = 0.025) but not young adulthood (estimate = −0.020, SE = 0.014, p = 0.163). Conclusions: More frequent cognitive activity across the life span has an association with slower late-life cognitive decline that is independent of common neuropathologic conditions, consistent with the cognitive reserve hypothesis.
Cystatin C in children on chronic hemodialysis.

Cystatin C (CyC) concentration has been suggested as a marker of middle-molecule accumulation, hemodialysis (HD) adequacy and for estimating residual renal function (RRF), but it has not been studied in pediatric HD. High CyC is associated with increased cardiovascular disease (CVD). We investigated CyC kinetics and the effect of RRF on CyC in a pediatric HD population. A total of 21 HD sessions and 20 interdialytic periods were analyzed in seven patients, age 5–19 years, of whom four were anuric (A) and three were non-anuric (NA). CyC was measured before (preHD) and after (postHD) three standard HD sessions in 1 week and prior to the first session of the following week. We found no difference (p = 0.67) in CyC concentration between preHD CyC (9.85 ± 2.15 mg/l; A vs. NA, p = 0.37) and postHD CyC (10.04 ± 2.83 mg/l; A vs NA, p = 0.28). The weekly average preHD CyC median concentration was 10.14 mg/l (A vs. NA, p = 0.87) and correlated with age (r = 0.808, p = 0.03) and height measurement (r = 0.799, p = 0.03), but not with RRF, single-pool Kt/V, ultrafiltration, HD duration or blood liters processed. Cystatin C is very elevated in children on HD. It does not rise between HD sessions, is not removed by standard HD and remains at steady state; therefore, elimination is extrarenal. Low RRF does not affect CyC elimination. CyC increases with age and height. If a high CyC concentration can be proven to have a causative role in the development of CVD, routine intensified HD regimens in children may be indicated for its removal.
Practicing evidence-based psychiatry: 1. Applying a study's findings: The threats to validity approach

One critical skill in the practice of evidence-based medicine is the ability to correctly interpret and apply findings of a study relevant to the clinical question needing to be answered. In this paper, we outline an approach to asking the clinical question in a form answerable by a research study and then finding the most relevant study. We next define the two steps in the process of applying a study's findings towards making a treatment decision and discuss the threats to validity approach. We summarize concepts of statistical conclusion validity, internal validity, construct validity, and external validity. We illustrate the method utilizing a clinical vignette that requires choice of an antipsychotic agent. We discuss the results of Clinical Antipsychotic Trial of Intervention Effectiveness (CATIE) in schizophrenia and consider the threats to the different forms of validity in CATIE.
Minimum acceptable outcomes after lumbar spinal fusion

Abstract Background Context Defining success after spinal surgery remains problematic. The minimal clinically important difference (MCID) in pain or functional outcomes is a common metric often calculated independent of perceived risk and morbidity, which is an important consideration in large procedures such as spinal fusion and instrumentation. Purpose The purpose of this study was to describe a method of assessing treatment success based on prospective, patient-reported “minimum acceptable” outcome for which they would undergo a procedure. These goals can then be compared at follow-up to gauge how frequently patient goals are met and determine correlation with patient satisfaction. Study Design This is a clinical descriptive study of the patient-reported minimum acceptable outcomes for spinal fusion surgery. Outcome Measures Minimum acceptable outcomes were determined by patients on preoperatively administered standard questionnaires regarding ultimate pain intensity, functional outcome (Oswestry Disability Index [ODI]), medication usage, and work status. Satisfaction with outcomes was assessed at 2-year follow-up. Methods One hundred sixty-five consecutive patients undergoing lumbar fusion for either isthmic spondylolisthesis or disc degeneration were asked to preoperatively define on standard questionnaires their minimum acceptable outcomes after surgery. Two-year outcomes and satisfaction were subsequently reported and compared with the preoperatively determined minimum acceptable outcomes. Results Both the spondylolisthesis and the degenerative disc disease (DDD) groups reported that a high degree of improvement was the minimum acceptable threshold for considering spinal fusion. A large majority indicated that the minimum acceptable outcomes included at least a decrease in pain intensity to 3/10 or less, an improvement in ODI of 20 or more, discontinuing opioid medications, and return to some occupational activity. Achieving the minimum acceptable outcome was strongly associated with satisfaction at 2 years after surgery. Patients with compensation claims, psychological distress, and other psychosocial stressors were more likely to report satisfaction in the absence of achieving their minimum acceptable outcome. Conclusions Patients with spondylolisthesis and DDD both have relatively high minimum acceptable outcomes for spinal fusion. In these cohorts, few subjects considered more commonly proposed MCIDs for pain and function as an acceptable outcome and report that they would not have surgery if they did not expect to achieve more than those marginal improvements. Although there was good concordance between achieving the minimum acceptable outcomes and ultimate satisfaction, patients with significant psychosocial factors (compensation claims, psychological distress, and others) are less likely to associate satisfaction with outcomes with actually achieving these improvements.
Effects of material heterogeneities on the compressive response of thiol-ene pyramidal lattices

A process of directed UV photo-curing was previously developed for producing periodic thiol-ene lattices, with potential for use in lightweight structures. The present study probes the compressive response of two families of such lattices: with either one or two layers of a pyramidal truss structure. The principal goals are to assess whether the strengths of the lattices attain levels predicted by micromechanical models and to ascertain the role of lattice heterogeneities. These goals are accomplished through characterization of the lattice geometries via X-ray computed tomography and optical microscopy, measurements of the mechanical properties of the constituent thiol-ene and those of the lattices, and strain mapping on the lattices during compressive loading. Comparisons are also made with the properties of the thiol-ene alone, produced in bulk form. We find two lattice heterogeneities: (i) variations in strut diameter, from smallest at the top surface where the incident UV beam impinges on the monomer bath to largest at the bottom surface; and (ii) variations in physical and mechanical properties, with regions near the top surface being stiffest and strongest and exhibiting the highest glass transition temperature. Finally, we find that the measured strengths of the lattices are in accord with the model predictions when the geometric and material property variations are taken into account in the micromechanical models.
Successful Transcatheter Retrieval of an Air Gun Pellet and Adherent Thrombus From a Pulmonary Artery Branch

With his toy gun, a 9-year-old boy inflicted a high-velocity pellet gun shot to his own right thigh, with entry in the upper anterolateral aspect. The initial radiograph in the local emergency room showed the gun pellet in his left posterior pelvic region. He was asymptomatic except for pain in the right groin and thigh. The patient was placed on intravenous fluids and antibiotics and was admitted for observation. A repeat radiograph of his pelvis after 17 hours did not show the pellet. A subsequent chest …
Chain-matrix analysis of arbitrary-thickness dielectric reflection gratings

A simple but rigorous chain-matrix analysis is used to determine the plane-wave diffraction efficiencies and angular selectivities of planar pure-reflection gratings (zero-slant angle) of arbitrary thickness, arbitrary-starting and arbitrary-ending conditions, and arbitrary incidence angle. The results from rigorous coupled-wave theory in the angular limit as the fringes become parallel to the surfaces are shown to approach these results in a particular average sense.
SecA promotes preprotein translocation by undergoing ATP-driven cycles of membrane insertion and deinsertion

Summary SecA, the peripheral subunit of E. coli preprotein translocase, alternates between a membrane inserted and a deinserted state as part of the catalytic cycle of preprotein translocation. When SecA is complexed with SecY/E and preprotein, ATP drives a profound conformational change, leading to membrane insertion of a 30 kDa domain of SecA. The inserted domain is protease-inaccessible from the cytosolic side of the membrane, but becomes accessible upon membrane disruption. Concomitant with 30 kDa domain insertion, ∼ 20 aminoacyl residues of the preprotein are translocated. Additional ATP, which may be hydrolyzed at the second ATP site of SecA, releases the translocated preprotein and allows the 30 kDa domain to deinsert, whence it can exchange with cytosolic SecA. Thus, SecA is the mobile subunit of an integral membrane transporter, consuming ATP during both the insertion and deinsertion phases of its catalytic cycle while guiding preprotein segments across the membrane.
High-frequency transitions in cortical spike trains related to short-term memory

Abstract Single-unit spike trains recorded from parietal cortex of monkeys performing a tactile short-term memory task show characteristic fluctuations (transitions) in their firing frequency that are related to memory. Spike trains recorded during the memory period, when the animal must retain information for the short term, show a higher rate of such transitions than spike trains recorded during intertrial baseline periods. In the present study, an analysis of multiple temporal resolutions over which these transitions are observed reveals that the memory-related transitions occur most prominently in the 25–50 Hz range. The results of this study suggest that, in the monkey, high frequency fluctuations of neuronal discharge in the parietal cortex are correlated with haptic short-term memory. The presence of such fluctuations are also consistent with theoretical models of short-term memory.
Tunneling from Electronic Bubble States in Liquid Helium through the Liquid-Vapor Interface

Ions have been extensively used in liquid helium to study both the superfluid and normal states. If the experimental cell is only partially filled with liquid, then the ions must pass through the phase boundary between liquid and vapor in order to reach a collector located in the vapor. The transport of charges across a phase boundary is of general interest in a variety of biological, chemical, and physical problems, helium being presumably one of the simplest cases. It has been observed that positive ions are unable to penetrate the liquid-vapor interface. However, negative ions (electronic bubbles) pass into the vapor quite easily, providing the temperature is not too low (T > 2° K). As the temperature is lowered, negative ions experience a rapidly increasing difficulty in penetrating the free surface, resulting in a vanishing current at moderate electric fields below 1°K.
A neuromorphic controller for a three-link biped robot

Summary form only given, as follows. A neural network architecture is developed for the control of a three-link biped walking robot. The proposed neuromorphic controller, based on a hierarchical structure of artificial neural networks, is trained by supervised learning. The training model is derived by applying nonlinear feedback decoupling and an optimal tracking strategy. The neurocontroller utilizes several useful computational features of neural networks-generalization, parameter adaptivity, and robustness. Based on a comparison of the system performance between the optimal control law and that based on the neurocontroller, the authors conclude that the neurocontroller provides superior performance in the presence of large disturbances. >
Octanol−Water Partition Coefficients of Non-Ortho- and Mono-Ortho-Substituted Polychlorinated Biphenyls

The octanol/water partition coefficients (Kow) at 25 °C were determined for 12 non-ortho- and mono-ortho-substituted polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). A generator-column/extractor-column technique was used, followed by off-line GC/ECD analysis. The relative standard deviations for the measurements ranged from 2.2 to 11.5%. The results were compared with both experimental and estimated literature values. Log Kow values determined for 12 congeners ranged from 6.47 to 7.15 and generally increased with an increase in molecular weight. Within homologue groups, congeners with less ortho-substitution generally have greater Kow values. The log Kow values of 46 congeners measured by the generator-column method from the literature and from this study were compiled and used for evaluation of quantitative structure−property relationships (QSPRs) relating the chlorine substitution pattern to the Kow. A useful equation to estimate log Kow was derived on the basis of multiregression analysis, which employs easily calcul...
Alpha 1-antitrypsin does not inhibit human monocyte caspase-1.

Background Alpha 1-antitrypsin (A1AT) is a 52 kDa serine protease inhibitor produced largely by hepatocytes but also by mononuclear phagocytes. A1AT chiefly inhibits neutrophil elastase and proteinase-3 but has also been reported to have immune modulatory functions including the ability to inhibit caspases. Its clinical availability for infusion suggests that A1AT therapy might modulate caspase related inflammation. Here we tested the ability of A1AT to modulate caspase-1 function in human mononuclear phagocytes.
Assessment of sows mating efficacy during the low productive period after early weaning: A field study

Data on sows bred after weaning (n = 9,540) and their lactation feed intake records (average lactation length <20 d) were obtained from 16 commercial farms. Weaning-to-first-mating intervals (WMI) at 6 to 12 d and 0 to 6 d after weaning were defined as the low and high productive periods, respectively. Of the 9,192 sows mated, 80.5 and 19.5% were mated at 0 to 6 d and 7 to 12 d, respectively. In logistic regression analysis, lower parity, shorter lactation length, lower average daily feed intake (ADFI) during lactation, and a greater number of weaned pigs were associated with mating at 7 to 12 d after weaning (P ≤ 0.045). Exponentiating the coefficients in logistic regression analysis, the odds ratios were 0.79 for parity, 0.84 for ADFI during lactation, 0.85 for lactation length, and 1.05 for weaned pigs, respectively. A sow with a 14-d lactation length is 2.3 (1/0.855) times as likely to mate within a 6- to 12-d WMI as a sow with a 19-d lactation length. Thus, the early weaned sows are more likely to mate during the low productive period than the later weaned sows. The odds for parity 0.79 imply that Parity 1 sows were 1.6 (1/0.792) times as likely to mate within a WMI 6 to 12 d as Parity 3 sows. For each 1-kg increase in ADFI, a mating occurrence during the low productive period decreased by 0.84 times. Sows are mated during the low productive period because this period is a part of the distribution of WMI in a herd. However, our research suggests that increasing feed intake during lactation and maintaining parity proportion appropriate to the herd can decrease the proportion of sows mated during the low productivity period.
The influence of demographics and working conditions on self-reported injuries among Latino day laborers.

AbstractBackground: The majority of day laborers in the USA are Latinos. They are engaged in high-risk occupations and suffer high occupational injury rates.Objectives: To describe on-the-job injuries reported by Latino day laborers, explore the extent that demographic and occupational factors predict injuries, and whether summative measures for total job types, job conditions, and personal protective equipment (PPE) predict injuries.Methods: A community survey was conducted with 327 participants at 15 corners in Houston, Texas. Hierarchical and multiple logistic regressions explored predictors of occupational injury odds in the last year.Results: Thirty-four percent of respondents reported an occupational injury in the previous year. Education, exposure to loud noises, cold temperatures, vibrating machinery, use of hard hats, total number of job conditions, and total PPE significantly predicted injury odds.Conclusion: Risk for injury among day laborers is not only the product of a specific hazard, but al...
Correlates of Escape: A Preliminary Assessment of Georgia Prisons:

Incapacitation theory of imprisonment postulates that confinement functions in isolating inmates from the free world community. Institutional escapes thwart this objective and undermine the relationship between prisons and their surrounding communities. Few published studies have examined the correlates of escape behavior. Fewer researchers have examined the connection between institutional escapes and structural conditions ofprisons. In this study, youthfulness of the inmate population, prison resources, adequacy of treatment personnel, and prison supervision levels are observed to explain 70% of the total variance in Georgia prison escape levels.
Evaluation of interaction between fluconazole and an oral contraceptive in healthy women

Abstract OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the potential pharmacokinetic interaction between 2 × 150 mg fluconazole administered once weekly and an oral contraceptive (OC) containing ethinyl estradiol and norethindrone. METHODS: A placebo-controlled, double-masked, randomized, two-way crossover study was used to investigate the pharmacokinetic interaction between 300 mg fluconazole once weekly and the OC Ortho Novum 7/7/7 (Ortho-McNeil Pharmaceutical, Inc., Raritan, NJ) in 26 healthy women, 18–36 years old. In the first cycle (28 days), subjects received OC only. In the second cycle, subjects were assigned randomly to receive OC-fluconazole or OC-placebo. In the third cycle, subjects were crossed over to the opposite treatment. RESULTS: Data for 21 subjects who completed the study were included in the pharmacokinetic analysis; data for all 26 subjects were included in the safety analysis (26 OC only; 24 OC-fluconazole; 23 OC-placebo). Treatment with OC-fluconazole resulted in small but statistically significant increases in 0–24 hour area under the plasma concentration-time curve (AUC 0–24 ) for both ethinyl estradiol (mean 24%, 95% confidence interval [CI] 18%, 31%) and norethindrone (mean 13%, 95% CI 8%, 18%) as compared with treatment with OC-placebo. Ethinyl estradiol maximum plasma concentration (C max ) was slightly (mean 8%, 95% CI 2%, 15%) though statistically significantly higher for OC-fluconazole treatment as compared with OC-placebo treatment. Norethindrone C max was not different (95% CI −6%, 11%) between the two treatment groups. No adverse events related to treatment were seen in the fluconazole treatment group. CONCLUSION: The concomitant administration of 300 mg fluconazole once weekly, twice the recommended dose for vaginal candidiasis, to women using OCs results in a slight increase in OC concentrations. Therefore, it appears that there is no threat of contraceptive failure because of concomitant fluconazole administration.
Nutrient antioxidants in the pathogenesis and prevention of cervical dysplasias and cancer

The role of the nutritional factors in biochemical interactions that are part of an oncogenic process or inhibit free radical proliferation have attracted considerable interest in relation to molecular mechanism(s) and the natural history of human cancer. Epidemiologic and experimental studies have drawn attention to the association between dietary micronutrient deficiencies and the incidence of neoplastic and malignant lesions. In the last two decades, the role(s) of retinoids, carotenoids, tocopherols and water-soluble antioxidant vitamins, and allegations of anti-tumor properties in the daily dietary consumption of fresh fruits and green leafy vegetables, have captured the attention of an increasingly sensitive diet-and health care-conscious public, the biochemical community, and industrial food producers. Moreover, recent epidemiologic and compelling advances in molecular biology have linked the presence of restricted human papillomavirus (HPV) subtypes to cervical carcinoma and precursor lesions. In the present report, we identify and review measurable effects of dietary deficiencies of selected antioxidant micronutrients (i.e., β-carotene and vitamins A, C, and E) and their associations with known cervix cancer risk factors in the pathogenesis and potential prevention of cervix dysplasias, presumed to be the precursor lesions of cervix cancer.
Keck Interferometer nuller instrument performance

The Keck Interferometer combines the two 10 m Keck telescopes as a long baseline interferometer. It is funded by NASA as a joint development among the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, the W. M. Keck Observatory, and the NASA Exoplanet Science Institute. In February 2008, the 10 um nulling mode began a 32 night observing program with three key science teams to perform a survey of nearby stars for exozodiacal dust. This program has recently concluded, and has been followed by nuller observing on a variety of science topics through the standard proposal process. We provide a review and update of the nuller implementation, and describe the data reduction process, including the calibration approach. We then review the technical performance of the instrument based on the full key science data set, including sensitivity and systematic errors. We also provide some summary data on atmospheric effects applicable to the cophasing approach.
Effect of Dilution on Reactivity and Structure of Aluminum Hydroxide Gel

Aluminum hydroxide gel loses reactivity upon aging. However, a sharp decrease in reactivity occurs when the gel is diluted with double-distilled water. The loss of reactivity is directly related to the degree of dilution, but dilution with dioxane or the mother liquor has no effect on reactivity. It is hypothesized that dilution with water causes a change in the equilibrium between stabilizing ions incorporated in the gel structure and ions in solution. As the stabilizing ions leave the gel structure to reestablish the equilibrium, a loss of reactivity is observed until a new equilibrium is established.
Characteristics of Physicians Presenting for Assessment at a Behavioral Health Center

Physician health and impairment have been of considerable interest in recent years. This study contributes detailed clinical data to the existing body of knowledge, by drawing from a sample of physicians assessed at a behavioral health center over a two year time frame. Demographic, referral, and clinical data were gathered using a systematic medical record review procedure, based on 108 physicians who were evaluated within an intensive multidisciplinary assessment program. The majority suffered from active substance use disorders (52.8%), with other psychiatric disorders (29.6%), and substance use disorders in remission (17.6%) the other largest categories. Of those with an active substance use disorder, primary drugs of choice were alcohol and prescription opiates. Over half had comorbid psychiatric disorders (Axis I, II, or both). Significant relationship, employment, and emotional problems were found in all three groups. The significant increase in presentation and/or detection of psychiatric and behavioral problems, both comorbid with and not substance use related, confirms the need for a revision and expansion of views about physicians' behavioral health concerns.
Effects of an azasteroid on growth, development and reproduction of the free-living nematodes Caenorhabditis briggsae and Panagrellus redivivus.

1. 1. The azasteroid, 25-azacoprostane (ASA-6), was evaluated for its effects ohe growth, development and reproduction of the free-living nematodes, Caenorhabditis briggsae and Panagrellus redivivus. 2. 2. The axenic culture medium for either species of nematode consisted of Caenorhabditis briggsae Maintenance Medium (CbMM): formalin-killed Escherichia coli (1:1) with or without the addition of 5 μg cholesterol per ml and/or 25 μg ASA-6 per ml medium. All cultures also contained 50 μg Tween 80 per ml medium. 3. 3. After two generations of growth in sterol-deficient media, both species displayed a decrease in mean length, a decrease in the percent development to the adult stage and an inhibition of reproductive capability. These effects were more apparent in the sterol-deficient medium containing ASA-6. 4. 4. In the presence of cholesterol and ASA-6, growth and reproduction of C. briggsae, but not of P. redivivus, was inhibited after five generations. 5. 5. Morphologic abnormalities of azasteroid-inhibited worms were similar to those shown by worms cultured in sterol-deficient medium. 6. 6. These results suggest that different species of nematodes may exhibit different responses to azasteroid and that sterol utilization and metabolism may vary between nematode species. In addition, the similarities between the known effects of azasteroid inhibition in insects and those presented in this study on nematodes suggest a similar mechanism of action by the inhibitor in both groups of organisms.
Retroactivity attenuation in signaling cascades

It has been shown in an earlier work that impedance-like effects, called retroactivity, are found at the interconnection of biomolecular systems just as they occur in several engineering systems. These effects are particularly relevant in signaling cascades that have several downstream targets. These cascades have been extensively studied to determine how a stimulus at the top of the cascade is transmitted and amplified as it propagates toward the bottom of the cascade. In principle, because of retroactivity, a perturbation at the bottom of the cascade can propagate upstream. In this paper, we study the extent to which this propagation occurs by analytically finding retroactivity gains at each stage of the cascade. These gains determine whether a perturbation at the bottom of the cascade is amplified or attenuated as it propagates upstream.
How Preservice Teachers Engage in the Process of (De)Colonization: Findings from an International Field Experience in Honduras

Critical multicultural education and its promise of cultural inclusion face a crisis induced by powerful neoliberal forces that view education as an economic enterprise rather than open dialogue and inclusive pedagogies. With this in mind, this article uses interpretive phenomenology to examine how US American preservice teachers engage in the process of decolonization to challenge neoliberal influences in education and develop multicultural awareness during an international cross-cultural field experience in Honduras. Participants in this study comprise seventy-six preservice teachers from a Mid-Western university who went on a study abroad program to Honduras. Data for the study were collected through interviews, discussions, class assignments, reflective journals and researchers’ field notes and observations. Multiple levels of data analysis reveal that international cross-cultural field experiences promote a deeper understanding of colonial social relations and questioning of powerful neoliberal networks that perpetuate the status quo to disadvantage diverse and minority students. Findings also indicate that through reflexive and critical dialogue preservice teachers negotiate difference, engage with the self and other, and question their own knowledge and practices in sustaining colonial relations of privilege and domination with implications for classroom practice. This study suggests that ongoing multicultural awareness at every stage of teacher preparation, beginning at the preservice level, has the power to effect change in future classroom practice so that all students, including diverse minority populations experience educational equity and equal opportunities for academic success.
Carbon and nitrogen mineralization in row and interrow areas of chisel and ridge tillage systems

Understanding linkages between C and N cycles will improve our ability to estimate soil N supplying power. This study investigated temporal patterns in C and N mineralization at two sampling locations within ridge tillage and chisel plow systems. The study was conducted on a Brandt silty clay loam (fine-silty over sandy or sandy skeletal, mixed Pachic Udic Haploboroll) near Aurora, SD. Maize (Zea mays L.) was planted at the site in 1992 and 1993. In the chisel plow treatment, net C mineralization rates in samples from the row and interrow areas were similar. However, in the ridge tillage treatment, net C mineralization rates in samples from row areas were higher than those from valley areas for seven and similar for five, of the 13 sampling dates. In 1992 and 1993, net N mineralization was influenced sampling date but not sampling location. Net N and C mineralization peaks did not occur at the same time. Mineralization peaks occurred during early spring for N and during late spring to mid summer for C. Temporal changes in mineralized C: N ratios indicate that organic substrate quality changed during the year. This study shows that C and N mineralization linkages are complex and vary in both space and time, and suggest that problems associated with relating chemical N mineralization indices to field responses may result from difficulties associated with estimating the effect of tillage or climatic parameters on microbial activity.
Teaching Letter–Sound Connections With Picture Mnemonics: Itchy's Alphabet and Early Decoding

The authors explored Itchy's Alphabet as an innovative approach to teaching letter–sound connections through multisensory cues. This is the initial demonstration of this instructional method for increasing students’ sublexical skills (letter identification, letter–sound knowledge, and phonological awareness). To examine the effectiveness of the program, the authors chose 3 kindergarten classrooms as intervention and comparison classes. The authors chose the Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (R. H. Good, D. Simmons, E. Kame'enui, R. A. Kaminski, & J. Wallin, 2002) to monitor early decoding progress because of its unique ability to assess and monitor young children's acquisition of early reading skills. Results show that Itchy's Alphabet, combined with hands-on manipulatives, was strongly connected to children's grasp of sublexical skills. Test scores indicated gains for all children including those who were at risk, children who received special education services, and typically developing ...
Sea‐water intrusion in coastal aquifers

This paper describes briefly the sea-water intrusion problem in California, methods of control, certain fundamentals of sea-water intrusion, and applicability of electrolytic model studies. An example of intrusion in Salinas Valley is presented.
Managing stakeholders vs. responding to shareholders

The pressure on corporate executives to increase their stock prices and shareholder value in the short‐term has caused them to lose sight of how lasting shareholder value is created in the first place. The enterprise must be managed to meet the needs of all stakeholders rather than making decisions based solely on short‐term shareholder value considerations. The primary management emphasis should be on meeting the needs of our customers and motivating employees to do so. Companies that put their customers first and empower their employees to serve them will inevitably provide greater growth in shareholder value than those corporations that focus primarily on boosting their stock price and only giving lip service to other constituencies. The demands of all stakeholders must be met concurrently. Leaders must juggle the competing interests of their stakeholders – customers and customer’s customers; current employees and those in acquired companies; short‐term and long‐term shareholders; media; local, national, and international communities; government and regulators.
Current Distribution, Relative Abundance, and Landscape-Level Habitat Associations of the Cerulean Warbler (Setophaga cerulea) Along the Lower Roanoke River in North Carolina

Setophaga cerulea (Cerulean Warbler) has been inadequately monitored along the Roanoke River in North Carolina since a breeding population was discovered there in 1972. Our objectives were to estimate the Cerulean Warbler's current population size and distribution along the river, and evaluate landscape habitat characteristics in the Roanoke River Basin among areas used and unused by the same species. In May 2001 and 2011, we surveyed for singing male Cerulean Warblers, primarily by boat, along approximately 160 km of the Roanoke River from Weldon to Williamston in northeast North Carolina. We found Cerulean Warblers in three distinct groups along the Roanoke River during both survey years; however, we detected at least 32.4% fewer males in 2011 (n = 23) than in 2001 (n = 34). The landscape within 500 m of areas used by Cerulean Warblers had significanlty less crop cover, blackwater floodplain (i.e., swamp) forest, and variation in mean canopy height than unused landscapes we surveyed. These same differences existed at distances up to 1 km, but several additional dissimilarities became evident at this scale, including presence of more evergreen plantations and a greater fragmentation of the dominant forested land cover at used versus unused landscapes. We recommend continued monitoring of the Cerulean Warbler along the Roanoke River, increased habitat protection, and encourage an in-depth investigation into management strategies to sustain this population.
Complexity, Generality, and Qualitative Comparative Analysis:

Qualitative comparative analysis (QCA) offers researchers the opportunity to combine the intensiveness of case-oriented research strategies and the extensiveness of variable-oriented approaches in a single framework. QCA is specifically designed for a moderate number of cases, too few for variable-oriented research designs and too many for in-depth, case-oriented analysis. To illustrate QCA's applicability to moderate-sized data sets, we analyze data on forty-one villages in southern India reported in Robert Wade's (1988) comparative study of villagewide collective action, Village Republics. Using QCA, we show that Wade's explanation of village-wide collective action is incomplete. We complement his strictly ecological explanation with a sociological perspective and show that intervillage competition is an important condition for villagewide collective action.
Genes and politics.

The science of genetics arose to study the transmission of physical characteristics from parents to their offspring. When closely studied, much variation exists for virtually any characteristic, say, in size or color, among the members of all species, be they flies, dogs, or ourselves, the members of the Homo sapiens species. The origin of this variability long fascinated the scientific world, which already in the 19th century asked how much of this variation is due to environmental causes (nurture) as opposed to innate hereditary factors (nature) that pass unchanged from parents to offspring. That such innate heredity exists could never be realistically debated. One need just look at how characteristics in the shape of the face pass through families. Ascribing, say, the uniqueness of the Windsor face to nurture as opposed to nature goes beyond the realm of credibility.
Comment: Resistance to Wilderness

One doesn't read a cultural critique like "The Trouble with Wilderness" for the essay's conclusions alone. Cronon's essay is provocative; it also has a substantial method and a rhetorical strategy. What follows is a response to the essay's method; 1) what questions it asks, to whom, how it goes about answering them, and its strategy: 2) how the discourse frames wilderness as a term, how it interrogates the ideology of wilderness, and how it tries to resolve the problems it poses. The following series of shared questions indicates that Cronon and I share a set of goals in this inquiry. I have ordered these, framing the central ideological questions with issues of actual environmental politics. One enters these questions through literature and exits into rhetoric. I refer to them multiply, and in relations signified by colons (:).
Source process and tectonic implications of the great 1975 North Atlantic earthquake

Summary. The Atlantic segment of the Africa-Europe plate boundary has usually been interpreted as a transform boundary on the basis of the bathymetric expression of the Gloria fault and dextral strike-slip first-motion mechanisms aligned along the Azores-Gibraltar line of seismicity. The 1975 May 26 earthquake (Ms=7.9) was assumed to fit into this framework because it occurred in the general area of this line and has a similar first-motion focal mechanism (strike=288", dip=72", slip angle=184"). However, several anomalies cast doubt on this picture: the event is abnormally large for an oceanic transform event; a sizeable tsunami was excited; the aftershock area is unusually small for such a large event; and most significantly, the epicentre is 200 km south of the presumed plate boundary. The Rayleigh wave radiation pattern indicates a change in focal mechanism to one with a significant dip-slip component. The short duration of the source time history (20 s, as deconvolved from long-period P-waves), the lack of directivity in the Rayleigh waves, and the small one-day aftershock area suggest a fault length less than 80 km. One nodal plane of the earthquake is approximately aligned with the trace of an ancient fracture zone. We have compared the Pasadena 1-90 record of the 1975 earthquake to that of the 1941 North Atlantic strike-slip earthquake (200km to the NNW) and confirmed the large size of the 1941 event (M=8.2). The non-colinear relationship of the 1975 and 1941 events suggests that there is no well-defined plate boundary between the Azores and Gibraltar. This interpretation is supported by the intraplate nature of both the 1975 event and the large 1969 thrust event 650 km to the east. This study also implies that the largest oceanic strike-slip earthquakes occur in old lithosphere in a transitional tectonic regime.
A neural network control for effective admission control in ATM networks

We propose and analyze a new call admission controller for ATM networks using neural networks (NN). The proposed model is based upon real time measurements of the traffic via a simple parameter, which is the number of cells arriving during the measurement interval. The length of the measurement interval and the number of traffic samples within, are selected to capture the variability properties of the traffic. A neural network controller is then trained to learn the long term correlation properties of the traffic which is essential for effective statistical multiplexing and bandwidth allocation. A large set of training data representing multiservice traffic patterns with multiple QOS requirements is used to ensure that the controller can generalize and produce accurate results when confronted with new test data. The reported results prove that the neural network approach is effective in estimating the bandwidth requirements, when compared to other traditional methods that are based upon an algorithmic approach. This is, primarily, due to the unique learning and adaptive capabilities of neural networks enable them to approximate any non-linear function from previous experience. Evidently, such unique capabilities are the reasons for proposing the use of neural networks to solve many of the problems encountered in the design of ATM networks.
Optical characterization of synthetic faceted gem materials grown from hydrothermal solutions

Various non-destructive optical characterization techniques have been used to characterize and identify synthetic gem materials grown from hydrothermal solutions, to include ruby, sapphire, emerald, amethyst and ametrine (amethyst-citrine), from their natural counterparts. The ability to observe internal features, such as inclusions, dislocations, twins, color bands, and growth zoning in gem materials is strongly dependent on the observation techniques and conditions, since faceted gemstones have many polished surfaces which can reflect and scatter light in various directions which can make observation difficult. However, diagnostic gemological properties of these faceted synthetic gem materials can be obtained by choosing effective optical characterization methods, and by modifying optical instruments. Examples of some of the distinctive features of synthetic amethyst, ametrine, pink quartz, ruby and emerald are presented to illustrate means of optical characterization of gemstones. The ability to observe defects by light scattering techniques is discussed.
Effect of a hardwood forest canopy on rainfall intensities

Ground rainfall intensities and throughfall were measured under a fully-stocked hardwood forest in West Virginia over a period of one year. Maximum 5- and 15-min intensities were compared with similar measurements made in the open. The results were analyzed separately for winter and summer conditions; that is, bare canopy versus canopy in full leaf. Regression equations were calculated for estimating intensities and throughfall under canopy from rainfall measurements made in the open. The study shows that low rainfall intensities are reduced more by summer canopy, and high intensities are reduced more by winter canopy. Throughfall is reduced by canopy interception approximately the same amount in both summer and winter.
Flexible bandwidth provision in a sectored packet switch with an optical core

An opto-electronic three-stage packet switch architecture is described that plays to the strengths of electronics as a memory technology and to photonics as a communications technology whilst accommodating the relatively slow reconfiguration of current transparent photonic switch technology. The configuration of the photonic centre stage is found by solving an edge-colouring problem on a bipartite graph defined by the traffic. This is simple to implement and the calculation need be repeated only if there are persistent variations in the statistical pattern of the arriving traffic. A major bottleneck is removed by dispensing with a per-time slot scheduler; at the price of only a modest spatial speed-up, which is easy to provide with photonic technology. The architecture and method have been verified by simulation using simple traffic models that capture the non-stationary and bursty nature of real traffic.
Structured analysis using hierarchical predicate transition nets

In previous work, a methodology for constructing hierarchical and structured high-level Petri net specifications has been developed. The authors further explore and refine the methodology for using hierarchical high-level Petri nets in systems analysis. The approach has adapted the results from the data flow diagram method and its application to modern systems analysis. The major steps and the associated techniques of the approach are presented and demonstrated through a library system. >
ALAMO: An Improved&#963;-Space Based Methodology for Modeling Process Parameter Variations in Analog Circuits

This paper describes an original methodology for accurately modeling MOSFET process parameter variations. As compared to other process parameter variation modeling methods, the proposed methodology is capable of correctly modeling not only differences of process/model parameters, but also the process parameter variations for individual devices. This capability is very important for popular analog circuits like current biasing circuits, voltage reference circuits, and single-ended output amplifiers.