cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Motivational Interviewing Confidence and Perceived Competence Among Undergraduate and Graduate Dietetics Students

BACKGROUND Motivational interviewing (MI) aligns with the scope of practice and competency standards for Registered Dietitian Nutritionists; however, few dietitians receive adequate training. Furthermore, little is known about MI training within dietetics curricula. OBJECTIVE The objective of this study was to determine differences in undergraduate and graduate-level dietetics students' confidence and perceived competence before/after taking a MI course. METHODS A 38-item pre-postsurvey was completed by students enrolled in a Basic and Advanced MI course at Utah State University. The survey included demographic questions and questions related to confidence and perceived competence using MI techniques. Paired t-tests were used to compare pre/post results and analysis of variance was used to compare groups. RESULTS Increased confidence and perceived competence were observed for Basic MI students (n = 72) (P < .0001) and Advanced MI students (n = 32) (P < .0001) after course completion. In the presurvey, Advanced MI students had higher confidence in 5 of 14 MI skills, higher competence in 2 of 11 MI skills, and higher overall MI competence scores (P = .008) than Basic MI students. Following completion of the course, Advanced MI students had higher overall MI confidence scores (P = .03). CONCLUSIONS Students' confidence and perceived competence with using MI increased after taking a college-level MI course. Incorporating MI courses into dietetics curricula may be an effective way to increase confidence and perceived competence of using MI techniques and therefore improving communication between dietitians and patients.
Mammary analogue secretory carcinoma: A challenging case arising in a young man with radiation exposure

Abstract Mammary Analogue Secretory Carcinoma (MASC) is a recently described salivary gland tumor frequently sampled via fine-needle aspiration. The cytologic features of MASC are not entirely distinctive and can simulate acinic cell carcinoma, but the tumor harbors an ETV6 gene rearrangement resulting in an ETV6-NTRK3 fusion gene. We present a case of MASC arising in a 31 year old man with a history of multiple radio-embolization procedures.
Counseling and Psychotherapy Theories in Context and Practice: Skills, Strategies, and Techniques

Preface. Contributors. Chapter 1. Introduction to Psychotherapy and Counseling Theory and Technique. Chapter 2. Psychoanalytic, Brief Analytic, Object Relations, and Interpersonal Approaches. Chapter 3. Individual Psychology: The Therapeutic Approach of Alfred Adler. Chapter 4. Jung and the Practice of Analytical Psychotherapy. Chapter 5. Existential Theory and Therapy. Chapter 6. Carl Rogers: Person-Centered Theory and Therapy. Chapter 7. Behavioral Theory and Therapy. Chapter 8. Cognitive Theory and Therapy. Chapter 9. Choice Theory and The New Reality Therapy. Chapter 10. Feminist Theory and Therapy. Chapter 11. Constructivist Theory and Therapy. Chapter 12. Multicultural and Non-Western Theories. Chapter 13. Integrative Theories of Counseling and Psychotherapy. References. Author Index. Sbject Index. About the Authors.
African Studies: History

African and African-American intellectuals long sought to counter primitivizing ideologies of their times by pointing to narratives of African state building. The real breakthrough in writing African history occurred as colonial rule was crumbling and the quest for a usable past – notably a usable national past – attracted young scholars in Africa and beyond. If the 1960s witnessed an emphasis on the particularity of African societies, disillusionment with Africa's present brought about a wider consideration of its past, especially the ways the slave trade and colonization constrained the continent's possibilities. Scholars attempt to document varied forms of imagination and communication, of networks and institutions, in different temporal and spatial frameworks.
Nonperturbative Radiative and Bound-State Equations for Strong Quantumelectrodynamics

QED is a good theory. But QED is also an incomplete theory and a theory with limitations. Incomplete, because the renormalization procedure must be mathematically firmly justified and the convergence of the theory must be shown. And there are limitations, because primarily we wish to understand the behaviour of e+e--systems, for example, at short distances nonpertubatively. For these reasons I discuss the results of recent work on a reformulation of electromagnetic phenomena in terms of the central concept of “Selfenergy of the electron”, rather than in terms of the two second quantized fields Aμ and ψ. QED is so firmly established that there can only be a reformulation of certain concepts and techniques, not a new theory. It is very useful to look at physical theories from many different points of view and QED should be no exception.
A knowledge-based approach to volumetric medical image segmentation

We propose in this paper an automatic segmentation of 3D image data based on a novel technique using adaptive K-mean clustering and knowledge-based morphological operations. The proposed adaptive K-mean clustering algorithm is capable of segmenting the regions of smoothly varying intensity distributions. Spatial constraints are incorporated in the clustering algorithm through the modeling of the regions by Gibbs random fields. Knowledge-based morphological operations are then applied to the segmented regions to identify the desired regions according to a priori anatomical knowledge of the region-of-interest. This proposed technique has been successfully applied to a sequence of cardiac CT volumetric images to generate the volumes of left ventricle chambers at 16 consecutive temporal frames. Our final automatic segmentation results compare favorably with the results obtained using manual outlining. Extensions of this approach to other applications can be readily made when a priori knowledge of the given object is available. >
Cellular and PCS propagation measurements and statistical models for urban multipath on an antenna array

Multipath propagation has a significant impact on the performance of cellular and personal communication services (PCS) systems in urban environments. This paper contains analyses to better understand urban multipath and examines the use of base-station antenna arrays to obtain spatial diversity. The results are based on data collected on large sparse aperture arrays and finely sampled arrays at a location below surrounding roof top heights for both PCS and cellular frequencies. A statistical model is formulated to explain the relationship between multipath scatterers and signal cross-correlations as a function of antenna spacing.
Linkage genetics of mouse ornithine decarboxylase (Odc)

Abstract Ornithine decarboxylase (ODC) is synthesized as a single polypeptide in the mouse, but DNA sequences reactive with ODC cDNA probes have been mapped to multiple mouse chromosomes. A DNA fragment from the untranscribed 5′ flank of a transcriptionally active ODC gene has been used as a probe to define a restriction fragment length polymorphism associated with the gene. The pattern of inheritance of this polymorphism in recombinant inbred strains of mice and in progeny of a conventional backcross localized it to proximal chromosome 12. This result confirms previous experiments with somatic cell hybrids that mapped the gene to chromosome 12 and further defines the linkage group conserved between proximal chromosome 12 and human chromosome 2p. The other ODC homologs are tentatively identified as cDNA-like pseudogenes.
Beyond errors: measuring reliability for error-prone interaction devices

The development of assistive technologies and ubiquitous computing highlights the need to better understand errors associated with both the limitations of the devices being used and difficulties introduced by the environment in which interactions occur. At the same time, we need to better understand the relationship between the user experience and the consequences users encounter when errors occur. Although error rates are the most common measure of reliability reported in the human-computer interaction literature, this simple metric fails to address the different consequences users may experience. We propose a new metric, leveraging the concepts of entropy and desirability, to quantify the concept of reliability. An empirical study provides a preliminary validation of this new metric, focusing on its ability to describe several aspects of user satisfaction as well as task completion time. Results confirm that our new metric is more effective than error rates when describing user satisfaction and that the metric can also be used to describe task completion times when error rates are high.
Patient perspectives on hepatitis C and its treatment.

ObjectiveMuch of the research to date on barriers to treatment for patients with hepatitis C has approached the problem from either the perspective of the medical provider or the healthcare system.MethodsTo better understand these barriers from the patients’ perspectives, nine exploratory focus grou
0.5 µW Sub-Threshold Operational Transconductance Amplifiers Using 0.15 µm Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FDSOI) Process

We present a low voltage, low power operational transconductance amplifier (OTA) designed using a Fully Depleted Silicon-on-Insulator (FDSOI) process. For very low voltage application down to 0.5 V, two-stage miller-compensated OTAs with both p-channel MOSFET (PMOS) and n-channel MOSFET (NMOS) differential input have been investigated in a FDSOI complementary metal oxide semiconductor (CMOS) 150 nm process, using 0.5 V threshold transistors. Both differential input OTAs have been designed to operate from the standard 1.5 V down to 0.5 V with appropriate trade-offs in gain and bandwidth. The NMOS input OTA has a simulated gain/3 dB-bandwidth/power metric of 9.6 dB/39.6 KHz/0.48 µW at 0.6 V and 46.6 dB/45.01 KHz/10.8 µW at 1.5 V. The PMOS input OTA has a simulated metric of 19.7 dB/18.3 KHz/0.42 µW at 0.4 V and 53 dB/1.4 KHz/1.6 µW at 1.5 V with a bias current of 125 nA. The fabricated OTAs have been tested and verified with unity-gain configuration down to a 0.5 V supply voltage. Comparison with bulk process, namely the IBM 180 nm node is provided and with relevant discussion on the use of FDSOI process for low voltage analog design.
Haphazard examples, prototype theory, and the acquisition of comparatives

The 'simple' and 'intensive' hypotheses for X-er and too X are re- examined with data from children's spontaneous speech. Although the data to some extent support these hypotheses, they provide evidence that children's uses of X-er and too X extend beyond simple and intensive uses and indicate that these forms do not MEAN 'X' or 'very X' for young children. The data are best explained by drawing on two theories that have been proposed in work on the acquisition of word meanings: the Haphazard Examples Hypothesis and the theory of acquisition with a prototype.
Labor Standards, Labor Endowments, and the Evolution of Inequality

Proponents often recommend high labor standards as a means of reducing inequality between and within countries. Opponents suggest that labor standards exacerbate international and domestic inequalities. In this paper, we forward a simple argument whereby the impact of higher labor standards on domestic inequality depends on a country's labor endowment. We hypothesize that where labor is abundant, higher standards will exacerbate inequality. Where labor is scarce, higher labor standards might lower inequality. In both cases, the impact of labor standards on inequality work through an employment and wage effect. Using newly available data on labor standards around the world from 1981 to 2000, we provide evidence largely consistent with our hypotheses. Higher labor standards do, indeed, exacerbate inequality in labor-abundant economies. On the other hand, higher labor standards lower inequality in labor-scarce economies. We discuss the implications of these findings for work on labor market insiders and outsiders as well as the political economy of development.
How Costly Is Affirmative Action? Government Contracting and California's Proposition 209

Abstract This paper investigates the effect of disadvantaged business enterprise subcontractor goals on the winning bids for highway construction contracts using California's Proposition 209, which prohibited the consideration of race or gender in awarding state-funded contracts. After Proposition 209, prices on state-funded contracts fell by 5.6% relative to federally funded projects, for which preferences still applied. Most of the price decline after Proposition 209 resulted from the mix of subcontractors employed, which seems to arise from the higher costs of firms located in high-minority areas. Finally, short-run barriers to entry and expansion may increase the cost of affirmative action.
Residual Stress Analysis using Multiparameter Tomographic Reconstruction

In this work, the potential application of acoustic tomography to determine the distribution of residual stresses is discussed. Multiparameter reconstruction techniques are presented for both 2-D and 3-D residual stress states along with results from synthetic data. The effect of measurement errors on the accuracy of the reconstruction is also presented.
Impact of management practices on the tallgrass prairie.

The ELM ecosystem-level grassland model simulates the flow of water, heat, nitrogen, and phosphorus through the ecosystem and the biomass dynamics of plants, consumers, and the decomposers. This model was adapted to a tallgrass prairie site in northeastern Oklahoma, USA, the Osage Site of the U.S. International Biological Program Grassland Biome. Several range management manipulations were simulated by the model and the results compared to field data and literature information: (1) altering the grazing intensity, grazing system, and grazing time period; (2) adding nitrogen and phosphorus to the grassland; (3) adding water during the growing season; and (4) spring burning of the prairie.
Polar solvation dynamics in Zn(II)-substituted cytochrome c: Diffusive sampling of the energy landscape in the hydrophobic core and solvent-contact layer

We employed picosecond time-resolved fluorescence spectroscopy to characterize polar diffusive protein and solvent dynamics in Zn(II)-substituted cytochrome c. The solvent-response function, obtained from the dynamic Stokes shift of the Zn(II) porphyrin's fluorescence 0-0 transition energy over the 100-ps to 12-ns time scale, exhibits a double-exponential decay (250 ps and 1.45 ns time constants). The addition of glycerol to the external solvent medium slows only the slower of the two exponential components; in the presence of 50% (v/v) glycerol, the second time constant was lengthened to 2.2 ns. The magnitude of the decay accounts for 85% of the reorganization energy and leaves room for only a minor inertial component on the sub-ps time scale. The results show that two types of polypeptide motions are sensed by the intrinsic Zn(II) porphyrin. The slower of the motions arises from polypeptide motions in the interfacial, solvent-contact portion of the protein. The faster, solvent-independent part of the response arises from motions of the polypeptide in the hydrophobic core of the protein. The two classes of motion are apparently not strongly coupled, nor is the dynamic Stokes shift coupled to the nonpolar reorganization that accompanies the excited-state photodissociation of the Zn(II) porphyrin's protein-derived axial ligands. The finding that the inertial response is limited to a small fraction of the total reorganization energy suggests that the hydrophobic core of the protein is largely incapable of the free-rotor or librational character of polypeptide and solvent motions that is observed near the solvent interface.
The Influence of the Fixed Negative Charges on Mechanical and Electrical Behaviors of Articular Cartilage Under Unconfined Compression

Unconfined compression test has been frequently used to study the mechanical behaviors of articular cartilage, both theoretically and experimentally. It has also been used in explant and gel-cell-complex studies in tissue engineering. In biphasic and poroelastic theories, the effect of charges fixed on the proteoglycan macromolecules in articular cartilage is embodied in the apparent compressive Young's modulus and the apparent Poisson's ratio of the tissue, and the fluid pressure is considered to be the portion above the osmotic pressure. In order to understand how proteoglycan fixed charges might affect the mechanical behaviors of articular cartilage, and in order to predict the osmotic pressure and electric fields inside the tissue in this experimental configuration, it is necessary to use a model that explicitly takes into account the charged nature of the tissue and the flow of ions within its porous interstices. In this paper, we used a finite element model based on the triphasic theory to study how fixed charges in the porous-permeable soft tissue can modulate its mechanical and electrochemical responses under a step displacement in unconfined compression. The results from finite element calculations showed that: 1) A charged tissue always supports a larger load than an uncharged tissue of the same intrinsic elastic moduli. 2) The apparent Young's modulus (the ratio of the equilibrium axial stress to the axial strain) is always greater than the intrinsic Young's modulus of an uncharged tissue. 3) The apparent Poisson's ratio (the negative ratio of the lateral strain to the axial strain) is always larger than the intrinsic Poisson's ratio of an uncharged tissue. 4) Load support derives from three sources: intrinsic matrix stiffness, hydraulic pressure and osmotic pressure. Under the unconfined compression, the Donnan osmotic pressure can constitute between 13%-22% of the total load support at equilibrium. 5) During the stress-relaxation process following the initial instant of loading, the diffusion potential (due to the gradient of the fixed charge density and the associated gradient of ion concentrations) and the streaming potential (due to fluid convection) compete against each other. Within the physiological range of material parameters, the polarity of the electric potential depends on both the mechanical properties and the fixed charge density (FCD) of the tissue. For softer tissues, the diffusion effects dominate the electromechanical response, while for stiffer tissues, the streaming potential dominates this response. 6) Fixed charges do not affect the instantaneous strain field relative to the initial equilibrium state. However, there is a sudden increase in the fluid pressure above the initial equilibrium osmotic pressure. These new findings are relevant and necessary for the understanding of cartilage mechanics, cartilage biosynthesis, electromechanical signal transduction by chondrocytes, and tissue engineering.
Prediction of Effective Three-Dimensional Elastic Constants of Translaminar Reinforced Composites

A Trans-Laminar-Reinforced (TLR) composite is defined as composite laminate with up to five percent volume of fibrous reinforcement oriented in a trans-laminar fashion in the through-thickness direction. The objective of this work was to examine the effect of important parameters on elastic response. Detailed finite element models of unit cells were used to study the effects of adding TLR on the elastic constants. Parameters investigated included TLR material, TLR volume fraction, TLR diameter, TLR through-thickness angle, ply stacking sequence, and the microstructural features of pure resin regions and curved in-plane fibers. The work was limited to materials with at least one ply interface. Adding a few percent TLR had a small negative effect on the in-plane extensional and shear moduli, Ex, Ey and Gxy but a large positive effect (up to 60 percent) on the thickness direction extensional modulus, E,. The volume fraction and the axial modulus of the TLR were the controlling parameters affecting E,. The ou...
Influence of laboratory animal hosts on the life cycle of Hyalomma marginatum and implications for an in vivo transmission model for Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus

Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever virus (CCHFV) is one of the most geographically widespread arboviruses and causes a severe hemorrhagic syndrome in humans. The virus circulates in nature in a vertebrate-tick cycle and ticks of the genus Hyalomma are the main vectors and reservoirs. Although the tick vector plays a central role in the maintenance and transmission of CCHFV in nature, comparatively little is known of CCHFV-tick interactions. This is mostly due to the fact that establishing tick colonies is laborious, and working with CCHFV requires a biosafety level 4 laboratory (BSL4) in many countries. Nonetheless, an in vivo transmission model is essential to understand the epidemiology of the transmission cycle of CCHFV. In addition, important parameters such as vectorial capacity of tick species, levels of infection in the host necessary to infect the tick, and aspects of virus transmission by tick bite including the influence of tick saliva, cannot be investigated any other way. Here, we evaluate the influence of different laboratory animal species as hosts supporting the life cycle of Hyalomma marginatum, a two-host tick. Rabbits were considered the host of choice for the maintenance of the uninfected colonies due to high larval attachment rates, shorter larval-nymphal feeding times, higher nymphal molting rates, high egg hatching rates, and higher conversion efficiency index (CEI). Furthermore, we describe the successful establishment of an in vivo transmission model for CCHFV in a BSL4 biocontainment setting using interferon knockout mice. This will give us a new tool to study the transmission and interaction of CCHFV with its tick vector.
Dynamic Parameter Encoding for Genetic Algorithms

The common use of static binary place-value codes for real-valued parameters of the phenotype in Holland's genetic algorithm (GA) forces either the sacrifice of representational precision for efficiency of search or vice versa. Dynamic Parameter Encoding (DPE) is a mechanism that avoids this dilemma by using convergence statistics derived from the GA population to adaptively control the mapping from fixed-length binary genes to real values. DPE is shown to be empirically effective and amenable to analysiss we explore the problem of premature convergence in GAs through two convergence models.
Measure for Measure: Prophetic History, Qur'anic Exegesis, and Anti-Sunnī Polemic in a Fāṭimid Propaganda Work (BL Or. 8419)

The acephalous British Library manuscript Or. 8419 is currently catalogued as a qiṣaṣ al-anbiyāʾ or compilation of Islamic narratives about the prophets. However, an examination of its contents reveals that although it does focus on the various prophets – including Muḥammad himself – and their missions, the text is more accurately characterised as Ismāʿīlī taʾwīl, a commentary on Qur'anic passages that draws parallels between the struggles of the prophets of the past and the persecution of the Shīʿa in the present. The central argument of the text is that while the Shīʿī Imāms and their supporters continue the legacy of the prophets and their virtuous followers in the past, the majority of the Muslim community has gone astray just as the Jews and Christians did before them, especially in their denial of the claims of the ahl al-bayt. Various indications in the text suggest that it was produced as propaganda supporting the claims of the Fāṭimids at an early juncture in the dynasty's history, possibly durin...
Polarization effects in gloss measurements.

The gloss of a sample is determined as the ratio of the specular reflectance of the sample to that of a blackglass reference standard for angles of incidence of 20 degrees , 60 degrees , or 85 degrees . The angle of 60 degrees is close to the Brewster angle of the black glass, and it must be expected that the natural polarization of the incident radiation in the gloss meter affects the gloss measurements. Calculations for unpolarized and for partially polarized incident radiation show that in general the gloss value of the black glass changes drastically with increasing degree of polarization but that the gloss value of a sample, determined from the ratio mentioned above, is affected very little, particularly if the refractive index of the sample is close to that of the reference.
Phosphorylation of Serine 43 Is Not Required for Inhibition of c-Raf Kinase by the cAMP-dependent Protein Kinase

The activity of the serine/threonine kinase c-Raf (Raf) is inhibited by increased intracellular cAMP. This is believed to require phosphorylation with the cAMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA), although the mechanism by which PKA inhibits Raf is controversial. We investigated the requirement for PKA phosphorylation using Raf mutants expressed in HEK293 or NIH 3T3 cells. Phosphopeptide mapping of 32P-labeled Raf (WT) or a mutant lacking a putative PKA phosphorylation site (serine to alanine, S43A) confirmed that serine 43 (Ser43) was the major cAMP (forskolin)-stimulated phosphorylation site in vivo. Interestingly, the EGF-stimulated Raf kinase activity of the S43A mutant was inhibited by forskolin equivalently to that of the WT Raf. Forskolin also inhibited the activation of an N-terminal deletion mutant Δ5–50 Raf completely lacking this phosphorylation site. Although WT Raf was phosphorylated by PKA, phosphorylation did not inhibit Raf catalytic activity in vitro, nor did forskolin treatment inhibit the activity of an N-terminally truncated Raf protein (Raf 22W) or a full-length Raf protein (Raf-CAAX) expressed in NIH 3T3 cells. In contrast, forskolin inhibited the EGF-dependent activation of a Raf isoform (B-Raf), lacking an analogous phosphorylation site to Ser43. Thus, these results demonstrate that PKA exerts its inhibitory effects independently of direct Raf phosphorylation and suggests instead that PKA prevents an event required for the EGF-dependent activation of Raf.
Powder Patterns on Ferromagnetic Crystals

The regular patterns which, as Bitter has found, form on ferromagnetic single crystals from a suspension of magnetic iron oxide have been studied on large crystals of 3.5 percent silicon-iron. Three different types of patterns were observed at low, medium, and high fields, respectively. The direction of Type I and Type II patterns is determined by the crystal orientation; that of Type III is always nearly normal to the applied field. Type I patterns were found only after polishing or otherwise straining an annealed sample, and the line spacing stayed constant (except at H=0) as the field was increased. We conclude that surface strains are essential in producing this type of pattern. Type II patterns were little affected by stress, and the lines multiplied when the longitudinal or normal field component was increased. Certain dissymmetries of the lines and their behavior near a hole in the sample were studied. It is concluded that the Type II lines are formed at the intersections of magnetic "sheets," lying in dodecahedral (110) planes, with the surface. Type III patterns form near surface inhomogeneities where the magnetic flux is forced to cross the surface and where the magnetization accordingly has a normal component.
Behavioral thresholds for tones during infancy.

Abstract An adaptive up-down tracking procedure was used in combination with a visually reinforced head turn response to examine auditory sensitivity for 500, 2000, and 8000-Hz tone bursts in infants 6 to 18 months of age. Six- and 10-month-old infants were tested with headphone presentation of stimuli, while 10-, 14, and 18-month-olds were tested in sound field. Infant threshold estimates for both headphone and sound field were within 15 dB of adult comparisons for all frequencies and age groups. Six-month-olds were significantly less sensitive to the 8000-Hz tone than to either of the lower frequency stimuli, but older infants demonstrated approximately equal sensitivity for all three frequencies tested.
Reparación endovascular de los aneurismas

Conozca este nuevo tratamiento que se esta aplicando como alternativa a la cirugia abierta y su papel en el cuidado de estos pacientes
Thermogenic effect of Meltdown RTD™ energy supplement in young healthy college women

Methods Ten female subjects (20.4 ± 0.70 y; 166.9 ± 7.2 cm; 67.0 ± 7.0 kg; 29.6 ± 6.5% body fat) underwent two testing sessions administered in a randomized and double-blind fashion. During each session, subjects reported to the Human Performance Laboratory after at least 3-h postabsorptive state and were provided either 140 ml of the high-energy supplement (S; commercially marketed as Meltdown RTD®) or placebo (P). Subjects consumed two 70 ml doses of S or P, separated by 30 min. Subjects then rested in a semi-recumbent position for three hours. VO2 and HR were determined every 5 min during the first 30 min and every 10 min during the next 150 min. BP was determined every 15 min during the first 30 min and every 30 min thereafter. The profile of mood states and questionnaire focusing on alertness, focus and fatigue was determined every 30 minutes. Area under the curve (AUC) analysis was computed for VO2, whereas a 3 hour average and an average for each hour was calculated for RQ, kcal from carbohydrate, kcal from fat, total kcal, HR, BP, and mood states. Results AUC analysis revealed a significant 10.8% difference in VO2 between S and P for the 3 hour study period. No significant differences in oxygen consumption were seen in the first hour following ingestion of the supplement. Oxygen consumption was significantly elevated within the second hour (13.9%) and third hour (11.9%) following ingestion. A significant difference in energy expenditure was also seen between S (1.09 ± 0.10 kcal·min-1) and P (0.99 ± 0.09 kcal·min-1) for the 3 hour study period. Although energy expenditure was not significantly differently different between S and P in the first hour, significant differences between the groups were seen in the second (1.10 ± 0.11 kcal·min-1 and0.99 ± 0.09 kcal·min-1, respectively), and third hour (1.08 ± 0.11 kcal·min-1 and 0.99 ± 0.09 kcal·min-1, respectively). Significantly higher systolic BP (p < 0.01) was observed between S (110.0 ± 3.9 mmHg) and P (107.3 ± 4.4 mmHg) during the three hour study period. No significant differences were seen in HR or diastolic BP at any time point. No significant differences were seen between S and P in any of the mood states measured during the study.
Modification of biomedical polymers in dense fluids. Miscibility and foaming of poly(p-dioxanone) in carbon dioxide + acetone fluid mixtures

Abstract This paper reports on the miscibility and foaming of a bioabsorbable polymer, poly(p-dioxanone) in CO 2 + acetone mixtures at high pressures. Liquid–liquid miscibility pressures have been determined in acetone for polymer concentrations in the range from 1 to 15 wt% over a temperature range from 70 to 170 °C. Phase boundaries were also determined for 5, 7.5 and 10 wt% solutions in CO 2 (11 wt%) + acetone (89 wt%); and for 7.5 wt% polymer solutions in CO 2 (25 wt%) + acetone (75 wt%) fluid mixture. The solutions in both acetone and in acetone + CO 2 mixtures were found to display UCST type behavior. In solvent mixtures, miscibility pressures show a marked increase with increased carbon dioxide content. At 150 °C, for the 7.5 wt% polymer solution, the miscibility pressures increased from about 25 MPa in pure acetone to 40 MPa in 10 wt% CO 2 mixture and to about 65 MPa in 25 wt% CO 2 containing mixture. Foaming experiments were carried out in a specially designed mold with porous plates in pure carbon dioxide and also in mixtures containing acetone at low addition levels (
Horizontal control effector sizing for high speed civil transport

This paper discusses the development of a numerical tool that determines the dynamic horizontal control effector sizing criteria for given high-speed civil transport dynamic model. This criteria includes computing the maximum cg travel for a range of control effector sizes and actuator motion constraints, while guaranteeing an existence of a feedback controller that will recover from a severe gust without exceeding actuator amplitude and rate limits and satisfy other dynamic requirements. The key idea is to formulate these constraints in terms of linear matrix inequalities. This tool is termed the Tail Sizing Design Tool. In addition, the paper illustrates the application of the tool to measuring the effect of adding a second horizontal control surface in the form of a canard. The capability to measure the effect of simple, symmetric, flexible motion of the vehicle is also addressed. Based on numerical analysis of designs, conclusions are drawn on the relative effectiveness of the use of canards, the use of static versus dynamic controllers, and on the inclusion of aeroelastic effects.
Optical and acoustical dynamics of microbubble contrast agents inside neutrophils

Acoustically active microbubbles are used for contrast-enhanced ultrasound assessment of organ perfusion. In regions of inflammation, contrast agents are captured and phagocytosed by activated neutrophils adherent to the venular wall. Using direct optical observation with a high-speed camera and acoustical interrogation of individual bubbles and cells, we assessed the physical and acoustical responses of both phagocytosed and free microbubbles. Optical analysis of bubble radial oscillations during insonation demonstrated that phagocytosed microbubbles experience viscous damping within the cytoplasm and yet remain acoustically active and capable of large volumetric oscillations during an acoustic pulse. Fitting a modified version of the Rayleigh-Plesset equation that describes mechanical properties of thin shells to optical radius-time data of oscillating bubbles provided estimates of the apparent viscosity of the intracellular medium. Phagocytosed microbubbles experienced a viscous damping approximately sevenfold greater than free microbubbles. Acoustical comparison between free and phagocytosed microbubbles indicated that phagocytosed microbubbles produce an echo with a higher mean frequency than free microbubbles in response to a rarefaction-first single-cycle pulse. Moreover, this frequency increase is predicted using the modified Rayleigh-Plesset equation. We conclude that contrast-enhanced ultrasound can detect distinct acoustic signals from microbubbles inside of neutrophils and may provide a unique tool to identify activated neutrophils at sites of inflammation.
Quantitative Assessment of U.S. Wheat Performance for Quality Characteristics

Quality of U. S. grain exports has been a contentious issue over the past decade. Nowhere is the issue more hotly debated than for wheat. At the core of the debate has been the ability of Canada to command a premium for its wheat in foreign markets. Buyers' perceptions of quality have been suggested as an explanation, but empirical evidence on the quality attributes responsible for this country-of-origin premium has been limited to hedonic pricing studies. This paper quantifies purchasers' perceptions of the relative importance of quality characteristics for the world's major importing countries. This is done by calculating three indices. The attainment index measures how well buyers' perceptions of the importance of the characteristic matches buyers' perceptions of how well it is being supplied. The supply index measures buyers' perceptions on how well a characteristic is being supplied. The demand index measures how important the buyers perceive a particular characteristic to be. Then buyers' perceptions of the performance of U.S. and Canadian wheats are evaluated, given the perceived importance of each characteristic, and related to previous empirical results. Finally, these results are compared for alternative groupings of importing countries. La qualite des exportations des cereales americaines est un sujet de controverse depuis une dizaine d'annees, surtout relativement au ble. Au coeur du debat se situe l'aptitude du ble canadien a commander un prix superieur sur les marches erangers. On a propose comme explication les notions subjectives de qualite des acheteurs mais les preuves empiriques des caracteres qualitatifs justifiant cette prime de pays d'origine se sont limites aux aspects hedoniques. Dans la presente etude, nous quantifions les perceptions que se font les acheteurs de l'importance relative des caracteres qualitatifs selon les principaux pays importateurs. Trois index sont calcules: l'indice de satisfaction determine dans quelle mesure les perceptions qu'ont les acheteurs de l'importance d'un caractere correspondent a celles qu'ils retrouvent dans le produit livre. L'indice de prestation indique dans quelle mesure un caractere qualitatif donne du produit livre repond aux attentes de l'acheteur. Enfin l'indice d'exigence indique l'importance que l'acheteur accorde a un caractere qualitatif donne. Nous avons ensuite evalue les perceptions des acheteurs a l'egard des bles americains et canadiens, selon l'importance suggestive accordee a chaque caracteristique et nous les comparons a des resultats experimentaux antetieurs.
Influence of nitrogen supply rates on growth and nutrient storage by water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) plants

Abstract The effect of nitrogen (N) levels of the culture medium (0.5–50.5 mg N l−1 or 38–3820 mg N m−2 day−1) on net productivity and nutrient (N, phosphorus (P) and potassium (K)) storage by water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes (Mart.) Solms) plants was investigated using outdoor tanks. Net productivity increased with N supply rate of up to 5.5 mg N l−1 (or 416 mg N m−2 day−1); higher concentrations did not significantly increase the yield. The net productivity increased until plant tissue N content reached 16 mg N g−1 dry weight, but additional increase in tissue N content did not improve yield. However, N storage in the plant tissue increased in response to N supply rate with maximum N storage (80 g N m−2) measured in plants cultured at 50.5 mg N l−1. Plant density affected N storage in the tissue; when water hyacinths were cultured in N-limited water, plant tissue-N decreased by 75% within 4 weeks of growth. The storage of P and K in the plant tissue was increased up to 5.5 mg N l−1 and 2.5 mg N l−1 in the culture medium, respectively.
Training test-taking skills: A critical analysis†

Children, as well as adults, can be handicapped when taking a standardized test because of an unfamiliarity with the test format or with the requirements of the testing situation. This review presents a critical analysis of the skills required for test-taking, the training of test-taking skills, and the experimental evidence on the training. Based on the recommendations of psychologists such as Thorndike, Cronbach, and McClelland, practical classroom strategies for test-taking are discussed. Cautions on the pitfalls of training test-taking skills on questionable dimensions, such as on test item content, are also discussed. The review concludes with recommendations for a task-specific instructional unit which trains the necessary skills for test-taking to assure that the score on the test is an accurate measurement of the skill being assessed.
The impact of recent increases in atmospheric CO2 on biomass production and vegetative retention of Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum): implications for fire disturbance

Cheatgrass (Bromus tectorum) is a recognized, invasive annual weed of the western United States that reduces fire return times from decades to less than 5 years. To determine the interaction between rising carbon dioxide concentration ([CO2]) and fuel load, we characterized potential changes in biomass accumulation, C : N ratio and digestibility of three cheatgrass populations from different elevations to recent and near-term projections in atmospheric [CO2]. The experimental CO2 values (270, 320, 370, 420 μmol mol−1) corresponded roughly to the CO2 concentrations that existed at the beginning of the 19th century, that during the 1960s, the current [CO2], and the near-term [CO2] projection for 2020, respectively. From 25 until 87 days after sowing (DAS), aboveground biomass for these different populations increased 1.5–2.7 g per plant for every 10 μmol mol−1 increase above the 270 μmol mol−1 preindustrial baseline. CO2 sensitivity among populations varied with elevational origin with populations from the lowest elevation showing the greatest productivity. Among all populations, the undigestible portion of aboveground plant material (acid detergent fiber ADF, mostly cellulose and lignin) increased with increasing [CO2]. In addition, the ratio of C : N increased with leaf age, with [CO2] and was highest for the lower elevational population. These CO2-induced qualitative changes could, in turn, result in potential decreases in herbivory and decomposition with subsequent effects on the aboveground retention of cheatgrass biomass. Overall, these data suggest that increasing atmospheric [CO2] above preambient levels may have contributed significantly to cheatgrass productivity and fuel load with subsequent effects on fire frequency and intensity.
Survey on indicators in environmental performance evaluation for small and medium sized companies

In response to social concerns on environmental issues since the mid 1990s, environmental management systems (EMS) have been implemented by many companies around the world since mid 1990s. Many organisations have developed procedures, methods, and criteria depending on their unique situations. However, small and medium sized organisations in many cases do not have resources enough to develop the evaluation procedures, criteria and indicators by themselves. Accordingly, novice firms face difficulty in carrying out environmental performance evaluations. The survey identified environmental performance indicators that were used in environmental reports of large and global companies. It suggested that the indicators reflect the attributes of the industry. This study also can be used to select elements to be disclosed in environmental performance reports of small and medium sized companies.
A terminology and differential diagnosis for brief seizures in infants and children; and the definition of petit mal

Summary The terminology of convulsive disorders probably will remain confused until more basic information is available. The confusion could be lessened if the term “petit mal” were restricted to what is a clinically distinct seizure disorder. Similarly, the confusion would be less if no attempt were made to force seizures arbitrarily into a “major” and “minor” classification. The clinician's efforts should be directed toward a full characterization of the attack and its victim. The knowledge thus gained will help the physician predict the future for his patient and employ the most effective of the available therapies.
Molecular, functional, and evolutionary analysis of sequences specific to Salmonella.

Abstract In that salmonellae have been implicated in an unprecedented array of diseases, sequences found to be specific to this species are often thought to be involved in the virulence attributes not seen in other enteric bacteria. To identify the molecular, genetic, and phenotypic characteristics that differentiate bacterial species, we analyzed five cloned DNA fragments that were originally described as being confined to Salmonella. Most of these segments mapped to unique positions on the Salmonella typhimurium chromosome indicative of independent evolutionary events, and three had G+C contents considerably lower than that of the Salmonella genome, suggesting that they arose through horizontal transfer. The nucleotide sequence was determined for one of the clones exhibiting an atypical base composition. This 4.9-kb fragment contained an open reading frame with structural similarity to the LysR family of transcriptional regulators. Strains harboring deletions in this region were tested for > 120 phenotypic characteristics including the effects on a collection of environmentally regulated lac gene fusions. In addition, all deletion strains behaved like the wild-type parent when tested for virulence in mice.
Structural acoustics model of the violin radiativity profile

Violin radiativity profiles are dominated by the Helmholtz-like A0 cavity mode (∼280Hz), first corpus bending modes B1− and B1+ (∼500Hz), and BH and bridge-filter peaks (∼2.4kHz and ∼3.5kHz, respectively), with falloff above ∼4kHz. The B1 modes—dependent on two low-lying free-plate modes—are proposed to excite A0 via coupling to B1-driven in-phase f-hole volume flows. VIOCADEAS data show that A0 radiativity increases primarily as A0-B1− frequency difference decreases, consistent with Meinel’s 1937 experiment for too-thick/too-thin plate thicknesses, plus sound post removal and violin octet baritone results. The vibration→acoustic energy filter, FRAD, computed from shape-material-independent radiation and total damping, peaks at the critical frequency fcrit, estimated from a free-plate mode by analogy to flat-plate bending. Experimentally, fcrit decreased as this plate mode (and B1+) frequency increased. Simulations show that increasing plate thicknesses lowers fcrit, reduces FRAD, and moves the spectral b...
Performance of simplified modification of diet in renal disease and Cockcroft-Gault equations in patients with chronic spinal cord injury and chronic kidney disease.

Abstract Introduction The purpose of the study was to compare the performance of the simplified Modification of Diet in Renal Disease (MDRD) and Cockcroft-Gault (CG) equations with 24-hour urinary creatinine clearance (Ccr) in patients with spinal cord injury (SCI) and chronic kidney disease. Methods A retrospective diagnostic accuracy study of 116 patients with chronic SCI followed at the Memphis Veterans Affairs Medical Center Spinal Cord Injury Unit with measured Ccr (mCcr) 2 . Results Linear regression analysis relating estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) to mCcr showed a highly significant correlation between mCcr and eGFR (n = 116; r = 0.81, r 2 = 0.65, P r = 0.74, r 2 = 0.54, P r = 0.86, r 2 = 0.73, P Conclusions Both MDRD and CG equations overestimate GFR in patients with chronic SCI at all stages of chronic kidney disease, particularly in quadriplegic subjects. An empirically derived correction factor markedly improved the performance and accuracy of both prediction equations.
The detection of small organic molecules based on novel functionalized Surface Plasmon Resonance Sensors

The objective of this study was to develop rapid, inexpensive, and easily applied in vivo phenotyping strategies for characterizing drug-metabolizing phenotypes with reference to the cytochrome P450 (CYP) enzymes in biological fluids. Therefore, the accurate detection of low concentration of theophylline, which can be used as a probe for cytochrome P450 (CYP450) enzymes (e.g. CYP1A2) activity, could benefit drug-metabolizing studies. In this study, a portable, specific, and sensitive functionalized surface plasmon resonance (SPR) sensor using polyacrylamide molecularly imprinted polymers (MIPs) as the highly specific selector is developed for the detection of low concentration theophylline in the presence of other confounding components, such as, caffeine which has a very similar chemical structure.
Lattice simulation investigation of high-multiplicity cross sections in weakly coupled scalar field theories

Abstract We make a new application of MC lattice field theory to bound high multiplicity cross sections inweakly coupled field theories.
Rhetoric in South America, edited by María Alejandra Vitale and Philippe-Joseph Salazar

If there are rhetoricians who still profess The Rhetorical Tradition as a singular frame for the study of rhetoric, Alejandra Vitale and Philippe-Joseph Salazar’s collection, Rhetoric in South Amer...