cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Analysis of an altered simple silicate glass using different mineral and glass standards

Quantitative analyses of alteration products formed during the aqueous corrosion of glass were performed using four different sets of standards: relevant mineral standards, an NBS glass standard, unreacted simple silicate glass, and the unreacted center of the reacted glass. A simple silicate glass (containing Na, Mg, Al, Si, and Ca) was reacted in water vapor at 200° C for 14 days. Up to eight alteration phases, including a Mg-rich smectite clay and a zeolite intermediate in composition between Ca-harmotome and phillipsite, formed on the glass surface. A set of energy-dispersed spectra (EDS) of the bulk glass, the clay, and the zeolite were collected from a polished cross-section of the reacted sample. The sum of the elemental weight percents varied by as much as 48% using the different standards. These differences are due to poor electrical conductivity through the clay layer. When the analyses were normalized to 100%, the differences between analyses using the standards were small (less than 10 wt% for individual cations and <5 total wt%). Normalization is inappropriate in the analysis of hydrated alteration phases, which contain a significant amount of water. The inability of the EDS system to detect water requires that absolute analyses be used to estimate the water content of the alteration phases. The bulk glass standard analyses were best suited for this purpose. In addition, use of the bulk glass standard is preferable in our application because spectra of the altered layer and bulk glass can be acquired from the same specimen. Analytical errors that may occur due to poor conductivity through the reacted layer, drifting probe currents, or varying thickness of the carbon coating are also reduce.
RNase E autoregulates its synthesis by controlling the degradation rate of its own mRNA in Escherichia coli: unusual sensitivity of the rne transcript to RNase E activity.

RNase E is a key regulatory enzyme that appears to control the principal pathway for mRNA degradation in Escherichia coli. Here, we show that RNase E represses its own synthesis by reducing the cellular concentration of the rne (RNase E) gene transcript. Autoregulation is achieved by modulating the longevity of this 3.6-kb mRNA, whose half-life ranges from 8 min depending on the level of RNase E activity in the cell. Feedback regulation is mediated in cis by the 5'-terminal 0.44-kb segment of rne mRNA, which is sufficient to confer this property onto a heterologous transcript to which it is fused. Like the intact protein, an amino-terminal fragment of RNase E lacking 563 amino acid residues can act in trans to repress rne gene expression. Paradoxically, raising the rne gene copy number 21-fold in E. coli causes an unexpected reduction in the concentration of the full-length rne transcript, yet results in a small increase in RNase E protein production. These surprising phenomena are explained in terms of a model in which the degradation of this long and highly labile mRNA commences before elongation of the nascent transcript has been completed. In such circumstances, gene expression can be unusually sensitive to changes in mRNA stability.
The Status of Forensic Science Degree Programs in the United States

Although forensic science has long been an area of public interest, the recent and extraordi- nary success of hit TV shows such as the CSI series is thought to have brought about a new generation of students with an interest in forensic science. Despite the widespread belief that the number of forensic science programs in the United States has grown over recent years in response to this heightened demand, there has previously been little factual data presented to support these assertions. Presented here is a nu- merical evaluation of the number of programs offering forensic science degrees, criminal justice degrees, and forensic chemistry degrees over a thirty-year period, as well as a summary of the current accreditation system for forensic degree programs in the United States. Also presented is a discussion on the retention and graduation rates for students majoring in forensic chemistry at Ohio University, a program which was founded in 1976 and is now accredited by FEPAC.
Renal transplantation in a patient with common variable immunodeficiency

A 15-year-old girl developed end-stage renal disease requiring renal transplantation. Posttransplantation immunosuppression therapy consisted of antithymocyte globulin, glucocorticosteroids, cyclosporine A, and azathioprine. The patient's clinical course after transplantation was complicated by several episodes of graft rejection, chronic anemia, oral candidiasis, and numerous infections of the sinopulmonary tract that were recalcitrant to antibiotics and surgical intervention. An immunologic evaluation showed marked immune abnormalities beyond that expected by the transplant immunosuppression. Examination of serum samples taken before the transplant confirmed a diagnosis of common variable immunodeficiency. The difficulties of managing posttransplantation immunosuppression in a patient with a primary immunodeficiency are discussed. Patients with end-stage renal disease and a history of recurrent sinopulmonary infections may require immunologic screening before renal transplantation.
Effect of 200 roentgens fractional whole body irradiation in the burro.

SummaryA study has been made of the response of the burro to 200 r fractional Co60 gamma ray whole body irradiation. The response is similar to but slower than that observed with a daily dose of 400 r. The response of the platelets to irradiation with 200 r daily corresponded most closely with that seen when an acute LD50 dose had been given and correlated with the bleeding tendency which developed on the ninth irradiation day. A significant hyperferremia was observed in the burro one hour after receiving a total dose of 600 r but the maximum response was not obtained until 1800 r had been administered. Most animals had significantly elevated plasma iron values prior to exitus.
PKC-ε regulation of extracellular signal-regulated kinase: a potential role in phenylephrine-induced cardiocyte growth

Hypertrophic growth of cardiac muscle is dependent on activation of the PKC-e isoform. To define the effectors of PKC-e involved in growth regulation, recombinant adenoviruses were used to overexpr...
High-Q integrated 3-D inductors and transformers for high frequency applications

Using a novel 3-D fabrication technology, we have demonstrated, for the first time, very high frequency and high quality factor (Q) inductors and transformers on Si substrate. On high resistivity Si, this technology achieves a quality factor of Q>60 for 1nH inductor at frequencies of 3 to 7 GHz. High efficiency high-Q transformers with coupling factors 0.6<k<0.9 are achieved with very high self-resonance frequencies (8 GHz<f/sub res/<16 GHz). This technology is very simple and is fully compatible with Si and compound-semiconductor fabrication technologies and can be either implemented as a post-processing step or as a part of a vertical chip to inter poser packaging scheme.
Optimized data-driven order selection method for Gaussian mixtures on clustering problems

Perhaps the most fundamental consideration when modeling data as a mixture of Gaussians is the number of components in the mixture. To this end, numerous approaches have been proposed, ranging from the classic use of statistical hypothesis testing methods to make decisions, to the determination of balance between the model Goodness-of-Fit (GoF) and complexity. In this paper, we explore an existing simple yet powerful order selection method developed in the field of information theory, the Jump method. This method infers the model order by estimating, transforming, and analyzing a description of the distortion-rate function, R(D) of the input data. The description of the R(D) curve is efficiently estimated through the popular K-means clustering algorithm using proper seeding techniques. The proposed adaptations to the Jump method allow for higher sensitivity and improved performance at low dimensionality. These adaptations are experimentally tested in a clustering setting with synthetic and natural data. The results suggest better performance than with the original version.
Sum Rule for Lattice Vibrations in Ionic Crystals

It is shown that in lattices of tetrahedral symmetry with two ions to a unit cell, in the approximation of nearest neighbor repulsive interactions, for a given wave vector q, $\ensuremath{\Sigma}\stackrel{6}{i=1}{{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{i}}^{2}(\mathrm{q})=\frac{1}{\ensuremath{\beta}}\frac{18}{\overline{M}}{r}_{0},$ where ${\ensuremath{\omega}}_{i}(\mathrm{q})=\mathrm{angular}\mathrm{frequency}$ of the $i\mathrm{th}$ mode for a given wave vector q, $\overline{M}=\frac{{m}_{+}{m}_{\ensuremath{-}}}{({m}_{+}+{m}_{\ensuremath{-}})}$, ${m}_{+}=\mathrm{mass}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{positive}\mathrm{ion}$, ${m}_{\ensuremath{-}}=\mathrm{mass}\mathrm{of}\mathrm{the}\mathrm{negative}\mathrm{ion}$, ${r}_{0}=\mathrm{interionic}\mathrm{distance}$, and $\ensuremath{\beta}$ is the coefficient of compressibility. This theorem serves as a useful check on numerical work as well as a relation for the downward curvature of the optical modes at small $q$ in terms of the speed of sound. In the limit of small $q$, this relation becomes the first Szigeti relation. A similar theorem is true for low-density electron gases where the electrons localize on a lattice. Here one can show that $\ensuremath{\Sigma}\stackrel{3}{i=1}{{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{i}}^{2}(\mathrm{q})={{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\mathrm{pl}}}^{2},$ where ${{\ensuremath{\omega}}_{\mathrm{pl}}}^{2}=\frac{4\ensuremath{\pi}n{e}^{2}}{m}$, which is the classical plasma frequency. (This last relation was first derived by Kohn.)
A simple approach to fit the beta-binomial model

In this paper, I show how to estimate the parameters of the beta- binomial distribution and its multivariate generalization, the Dirichlet-multinomial distribution. This approach involves no additional programming, as it relies on an existing Stata command used for overdispersed count panel data. Including covariates to allow for regression models based in these distributions is straight- forward.
Design and verification of a secure electronic auction protocol

Auctions are an important and common form of commerce today. A difficult aspect of auctions is that the bidder must be present at the site of the auction. This reduces the appeal of auction and restricts the number of people who would otherwise participate in it. An auction over an electronic network is therefore an attractive way of conducting business. The author proposes a protocol for electronic auctions. This protocol ensures: (a) anonymity of the customer, (b) security from passive attacks, active attacks, message corruption, and loss of messages, (c) customer privacy, and (d) atomicity (i.e., under all circumstances, the transaction is either completed or aborted). A logic is developed based on the semantics of BAN-style logic (M. Burrows et al., 1990). Using this logic, the properties of anonymity, security, privacy, and atomicity are proved for the proposed protocol.
Treatment of acute mesenteric ischemia by percutaneous transluminal angioplasty

A 79-yr-old man with previously documented atherosclerotic vascular disease presented with acute abdominal pain, signs of peritoneal irritation, and guaiac-positive stool. A mesenteric arteriogram showed high-grade stenosis of the superior mesenteric artery with a pressure gradient of 70 mmHg and complete occlusion of the inferior mesenteric artery. Percutaneous transluminal angioplasty of the superior mesenteric artery was performed with immediate reduction of the pressure gradient, increase in vessel caliber, and relief of abdominal pain. The patient went on to complete recovery and remains pain-free 6 mo after discharge from the hospital. To our knowledge, this is the first report of percutaneous transluminal angioplasty used to treat acute mesenteric ischemia.
Technical Note: Simple analytical relationships between Ångström coefficients of aerosol extinction, scattering, absorption, and single scattering albedo

Abstract. Angstrom coefficients are commonly used to parameterize the slow wavelength dependence of aerosol scattering, absorption, and extinction coefficients and single scattering albedo. Here we introduce simple analytical relationships between these coefficients that establish a framework for intercomparison between theory and experimental results from different instruments and platforms and allow for closure studies and improved physical understanding.
Mentoring and 1st-Year Latina/o College Students:

This study focuses on college students of Latina/o heritage—one of the fastest growing college student groups, but with a slowly increasing graduation rate. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between university-based mentoring experiences and Latina/o students’ perceived comfort in the university environment.
Efficient construction of virtual p-cycles protecting all cycle-protectible working links

It has been shown that p-cycles, proposed by W.D. Grover and D. Stamatelakis (see Proc. ICC'98, p.537-43, 1998), have great potential in link restoration in IP networks in the event of single link failure. However, previously published schemes for computing p-cycles are time consuming and do not guarantee protection against every cycle-protectible working link. We say a working link connecting nodes u and v is cycle-protectible if there exists a simple cycle of spare links that contains both u and v. We present an efficient algorithm for constructing cycles made of spare links such that every cycle-protectible working link is protected by one of the cycles. For a network with n nodes and m spans, our algorithm runs in O(n/spl middot/(n+m)) time to construct O(m) cycles and to associate each working link to one of the cycles. We then extend our scheme to provide protection for every protectible working link, where a working link connecting nodes u and v is protectible if there exists a u-v path of spare links that does not use the span between u and v. To the best of our knowledge, our scheme is the first that guarantees protection of every cycle-protectible working link. The previous best algorithm requires O(nm/sup 3/) time for computing a single p-cycle, which is a factor of O(m/sup 2/) higher than the time complexity of our algorithm for computing all O(m) p-cycles.
Effect of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor on expression of selected proteins involved in regulation of apoptosis in the brain of newborn piglets after cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest

Objective The study objective was to investigate the effect of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor on the expression of proteins that regulate apoptosis in newborn piglet brain after cardiopulmonary bypass and deep hypothermic circulatory arrest. Methods The newborn piglets were assigned to 3 groups: (1) deep hypothermic circulatory arrest (30 minutes of deep hypothermic circulatory arrest, 1 hour of low-flow cardiopulmonary bypass); (2) deep hypothermic circulatory arrest with prior injection of granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (17 μg/kg 2 hours before cardiopulmonary bypass); and (3) sham-operated. After 2 hours of post-bypass recovery, the frontal cortex, striatum, and hippocampus were dissected. The expression of proteins was measured by gel electrophoresis or protein arrays. Data are presented in arbitrary units. Statistical analysis was performed using 1-way analysis of variance. Results In the frontal cortex, only Fas ligand expression was significantly lower in the granulocyte-colony stimulating factor group when compared with the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest group. In the hippocampus, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor increased Bcl-2 (54.3 ± 6.4 vs 32.3 ± 2.2, P = .001) and serine/threonine-specific protein kinase (141.4 ± 19 vs 95.9 ± 21.1, P = .047) when compared with deep hypothermic circulatory arrest group. Caspase-3, Bax, Fas, Fas ligand, death receptor 6, and Janus protein tyrosine kinase 2 levels were unchanged. The Bcl-2/Bax ratio was 0.33 for deep hypothermic circulatory arrest group and 0.93 for the granulocyte-colony stimulating factor group ( P = .02). In the striatum, when compared with the deep hypothermic circulatory arrest group, the granulocyte-colony stimulating factor group had higher levels of Bcl-2 (50.3 ± 7.4 vs 31.8 ± 3.8, P = .01), serine/threonine-specific protein kinase (132.7 ± 12.3 vs 14 ± 1.34, P = 2.3 × 10 6 ), and Janus protein tyrosine kinase 2 (126 ± 17.4 vs 77.9 ± 13.6, P = .011), and lower levels of caspase-3 (12.8 ± 5.0 vs 32.2 ± 11.5, P = .033), Fas (390 ± 31 vs 581 ± 74, P = .038), Fas ligand (20.5 ± 11.5 vs 57.8 ± 15.6, P = .04), and death receptor 6 (57.4 ± 4.4 vs 108.8 ± 13.4, P = .007). The Bcl-2/Bax ratio was 0.25 for deep hypothermic circulatory arrest and 0.44 for the granulocyte-colony stimulating factor groups ( P = .046). Conclusions In the piglet model of hypoxic brain injury, granulocyte-colony stimulating factor decreases proapoptotic signaling, particularly in the striatum.
Dimension integration: Testing models without trade-offs

Abstract This paper tests a behavioral property called dimension integration. The test evaluates models, such as lexicographic semi-orders and the priority heuristic, which assume that a person uses only one dimension at a time. It provides a way to compare such models against those that assume a person combines information from different dimensions. The test allows one to test the hypothesis that different people use different lexicographic semi-orders with different threshold parameters. In addition, by use of a “true and error” model, it is possible to “correct” for unreliability of choice in order to estimate the proportions of participants who show different response patterns that can be classified as integrative or not integrative. An experiment with 260 participants was conducted in which people made choices between two-branch gambles. The aggregate results violate the priority heuristic and six lexicographic semi-orders. The data also refute the theory that people use a mixture of these lexicographic semi-orders. In addition, few individuals appear to show response patterns consistent with non-integrative models. Instead, they show that most individuals show patterns consistent with the hypothesis that they combine information between dimensions.
Future directions for NIH-supported pediatric AIDS research.

: The Office of AIDS REsearch (OAR) at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) is responsible for the coordination of AIDS research. In June 1999, the OAR, in conjunction with the NIH Institutes and Centers, initiated a review of NIH-sponsored pediatric AIDS research. This article discusses a number of important priorities for future clinical research in NIH-sponsored pediatric AIDS, both in developed and developing countries. These have the potential to significantly prevent perinatal transmission, reduce adolescent in-fections, and impact treatment of pediatric infections.
Reactive exploration through following isolines in a potential field

In this paper we propose a control law aimed at tracing level curves (isolines) in a scalar potential field. An exploration agent governed by such a law can map simply connected regions in space where the potential field exceeds a predefined threshold. The distinguishing feature of our control is that it does not rely on higher order characteristics of the field such as the gradient at a point or the curvature of the isolines, in contrast with these parameters appearing as inputs in other proposed control laws [1], [2]. Furthermore, we establish relationships between the performance of our control law and the geometry of the isoline and show results from implementing the algorithm in both a simulated environment and a testbed.
Down modulation of HIV-1 gene expression using a procaryotic RNA-binding protein

Abstract The coat protein of the single stranded RNA bacteriophages acts as a translational repressor by binding with high affinity to a target RNA that encompasses the ribosomal binding site of the replicase gene. We have expressed this procaryotic RNA-binding protein in mammalian cells. Using the coat protein binding site attached to the HIV-1 5' leader RNA, we tested for the biological effect of co-expressed bacteriophage protein. We found that HIV-1 LTR-directed expression within this context was inhibited in trans by the coat protein. This example suggests the feasibility of using procaryotic RNA-binding proteins as genetic modulators in eucaryotic cells.
On the boundary layer structure of differentially heated cavity flow in a stably stratified porous medium

This paper considers two-dimensional flow generated in a stably stratified porous medium by monotonic differential heating of the upper surface. For a rectangular cavity with thermally insulated sides and a constant-temperature base, the flow near the upper surface in the high-Darcy-Rayleigh-number limit is shown to consist of a double horizontal boundary layer structure with descending motion confined to the vicinity of the colder sidewall. Here there is a vertical boundary layer structure that terminates at a finite depth on the scale of the outer horizontal layer. Below the horizontal boundary layers the motion consists of a series of weak, uniformly stratified counter-rotating convection cells. Asymptotic results are compared with numerical solutions for the cavity flow at finite values of the Darcy-Rayleigh number.
Working on the Margins in Metropolitan Los Angeles: Immigrants in Day-Labor Work

This article explores disadvantage theory for understanding the participation of Latino immigrants in day labor. Data from 481 randomly surveyed day workers at 87 hiring sites throughout Metropolitan Los Angeles make possible an examination of key demographic and labor market characteristics of this self-employed occupation. Even though the overwhelming majority of day laborers are recently arrived and unauthorized immigrants, not all are desperate, as disadvantage theory would have us believe. Day laborers are diverse in terms of their family structure, recency of arrival, tenure in day work, and human capital. Despite this diversity, lack of human capital and other characteristics generally handicap day laborers in their search for stable, better paying occupations in the non-day-labor market. Earnings among day laborers are mixed, hourly rates are higher than federal or state minimum-wage ceilings, bargaining is commonplace and advantageous to the worker, and wages are paid in cash and untaxed. However, these advantages are offset by unstable work patterns. For a minority of day laborers, this market provides an alternative to other forms of low-skilled, and irregular employment. Resumen Este articulo explora Ia teoria de Ia desventaja para entender Ia participacion de inmigrantes Iatinos como jornaleros urbanos. Entrevistas con 481 jornaleros urbanos, seleccionados aleatoriamente en 87 lugares de empleo en el area metropolitana de Los Angeles, hacen posible un analisis de las caracteristicas demograficas y del mercado de trabajo de este tipo de auto empleados. Aunque Ia gran mayoria de los jornaleros urbanos son inmigrantes recien llegados sin autorizacion para trabajar, no todos estan desesperados, como Ia teoria de Ia desventaja podria hacernos creer. Los jornaleros urbanos son diversos en terminos de su estructura familiar, el tiempo de su llegada, su experiencia en este trabajo y su capital humano. A pesar de esto, Ia falta de capital humano y otras caracteristicas, generalmente los obstaculizan para buscar ocupaciones estables y mejor pagadas en el mercado laboral regular. Los ingresos entre los jornaleros urbanos son diversos, Ia paga por hora es mayor que los topes del salario minima federal o estatal, el regateo de salarios es comun y ventajoso para el trabajador y los salarios son pagados en efectivo y libres de impuestos. Sin embargo, estas ventajas son neutralizadas por Ia inestabilidad del trabajo. Para una minoria de jornaleros urbanos este mercado ofrece una alternativa a otros empleos irregulares y de baja calificacion.
An instructional module for engineering ethics

This paper describes a short (3 class-hour) module developed to teach engineering ethics. The module has been designed for simple integration into a standard technical course, minimally impacting existing curricula and effectively introducing the need for engineering ethics, the key components in an engineering code of ethics, and resources for help in resolving ethical conflicts. Case studies are used, showing directly how certain ethical issues relate to the practice of engineering and prompting lively in-class discussions. Using cooperative and active learning techniques, the class develops its own code of engineering ethics and compares their code to the professional society codes within their discipline. Test data shows that after taking the module, students are more capable of stating the key components of an engineering code of ethics and are more knowledgeable concerning resources available for resolving ethical dilemmas. Testing also shows that the students have a high awareness of the issues involved in engineering ethics and that, after taking the module, they are significantly more confident concerning their ability to address ethical conflicts in their future professional practice.
Myth, Miramiento, and the Making of Religious Landscapes

This chapter examines the production of embodied religious landscapes in the high provinces of rural Peru. I begin by outlining two trends in the study of religious landscapes: one focused on the social relations surrounding built landscapes and the other engaging with the lived or embodied religious landscapes, including the narratives and stories which construct them. I then consider the ways that embodied religious landscapes in Peru contribute to a particular kind of provocation (Massey, J Mater Cult 11(1–2):33–48, 2006) or “myth” which suggests that religious change and the growth of Evangelical Protestantism are linked to economic success. I conclude by suggesting that these stories and symbols are essential for understanding fully the social production of religious landscapes.
A Training Program for Operators of Small Wastewater Treatment Plants

Operators of small wastewater treatment plants frequently live in remote areas where operator training is not readily available. A training program has been prepared using the techniques of self-instruction, wherein an operator reads a short section of the training material, writes the answers to questions in a notebook, and compares the written answers with suggested answers. The training materials were developed by experienced operators following extensive field studies. First, operators (subject matter experts) for each treatment process prepared an outline of what knowledge and skills (need-to-know criteria) they expected their operators to possess to safely operate and maintain each treatment process in the training manual. Draft chapters were then field tested using operators with varying levels of education and experience to determine the effectiveness of the training materials. Studies conducted on the performance of operators who had participated in the training program and those who had not received the training revealed that trained operators produced a better quality effluent at the same treatment plant over a one-year period. Effective training materials and programs can help operators safely and efficiently operate and maintain small wastewater treatment plants.
Population-based 3D genome structure analysis reveals driving forces in spatial genome organization

Conformation capture technologies (e.g., Hi-C) chart physical interactions between chromatin regions on a genome-wide scale. However, the structural variability of the genome between cells poses a great challenge to interpreting ensemble-averaged Hi-C data, particularly for long-range and interchromosomal interactions. Here, we present a probabilistic approach for deconvoluting Hi-C data into a model population of distinct diploid 3D genome structures, which facilitates the detection of chromatin interactions likely to co-occur in individual cells. Our approach incorporates the stochastic nature of chromosome conformations and allows a detailed analysis of alternative chromatin structure states. For example, we predict and experimentally confirm the presence of large centromere clusters with distinct chromosome compositions varying between individual cells. The stability of these clusters varies greatly with their chromosome identities. We show that these chromosome-specific clusters can play a key role in the overall chromosome positioning in the nucleus and stabilizing specific chromatin interactions. By explicitly considering genome structural variability, our population-based method provides an important tool for revealing novel insights into the key factors shaping the spatial genome organization.
Approaches to an Integrated Undergraduate Education in Materials Science and Engineering

This is an era of great excitement and opportunity in the materials field, particularly for those of us in universities. Our field has expanded greatly in recent years. Materials scientists and engineers have joined forces with physicists, chemists, electrical engineers and others to pave the way for major technological advances. Remarkable strides in instrumentation have brought insights unimagined a decade ago. The realization is growing in so many other fields of research and education that further advances are limited largely by the capabilities of materials. There is no field of engineering that could not improve the efficiency or performance of its products, if better materials were available.
Modeling of Liquid-Liquid Extraction (LLE) Equilibria Using Gibbs Energy Minimization (GEM) for the System TBP–HNO3–UO2–H2O–Diluent

Liquid-liquid extraction (LLE) is a widely used separation method for an extensive range of metals including actinides. The Gibbs energy minimization (GEM) method is used to compute the complex chemical equilibria for the LLE system HNO3–H2O–UO2(NO3)2–TBP plus diluent at 25°C. The nonelectrolyte phase is treated as an ideal mixture defined by eight tri-n-butyl phosphate (TBP) complexes plus the inert diluent. The Pitzer method is used to capture nonidealities in the concentrated electrolyte phase. The generated extraction isotherms are in very good agreement with reported experimental data for various TBP loadings and electrolyte concentrations demonstrating the adequacy of this approach to analyze complex multiphase multicomponent systems. The model is robust and yet flexible allowing for expansion to other LLE systems and coupling with computational tools for parameter analysis and optimization.
Political Culture and Political Change

In “A Culturalist Theory of Political Change” in the September 1988 issue of this Review, Harry Eckstein argued that “a cogent, potentially powerful theory of political change can be derived from culturalist premises.” But Herbert Werlin finds Eckstein's effort to accommodate culture theory to political change unsatisfactory. Werlin argues that politics in the sense of political engineering, rather than cultural changes, mainly accounts for transformations in political life. Eckstein responds, arguing that the political methods for inducing change are themselves culturally conditioned .
Gonadal development and sex determination in pulmonate molluscs

A cytological study has been made, at the light- and electron-microscope levels, of gonadal development in Arion circumscriptus. The gonad appears to be ectodermal in origin and is composed of two cell lines—germinal and non-germinal. These two lineages are established in the embryo. The germinal line is first represented by primordial germ cells while the non-germinal line is first represented by auxiliary cells. The primordial germ cells differentiate into spermatogonia and oogonia, the auxiliary cells into Sertoli cells and follicular cells. Spermatogonia and oogonia differentiate about the time of hatching. All subsequent germ cells appear to differentiate from these initial populations of spermatogonia and oogonia. The concept of a germinal epithelium, as a cell layer in which germ cells differentiate from indeterminate germ cells throughout the life cycle, is not supported by this study.
Clutch Size Related to Hunting Manner of Spider Species

Clutch size among species of spiders is positively correlated with length of adult female of the species; regression equations are provided, calculated from published data. Additional factors, manner of hunting (type of web or degree of hunting activity) and habitat, appear systematically related to clutch size. Available information on number of clutches suggests overall natality is closely related to clutch size in spiders. More-sedentary web spiders and the less-active non-web spiders, in the series Clubionidae, Gnaphosidae, Salticidae, Lycosidae, Thomisidae, have higher egg production. However, web spiders (Pholcidae, Agelenidae, some Theridiidae) which live in habitats of supposedly low prey encounter rates have both low egg production and more care of offspring than other web spiders.
Clinical significance of left axis deviation.

Left axis deviation is always a matter of concern since it is often seen without other apparent electrocardiographic abnormalities and the physician must decide whether or not its presence is significant to the patient. The results of an army study of 195 men with left axis deviation compared with a normal control group over a period of 22 months indicated that left axis deviation is highly suspect of associated atherosclerosis. Experience has shown a higher operative risk for the patient with left axis deviation in combination with anterolateral peri-infarction block.
A computationally efficient denoising and hole-filling method for depth image enhancement

Depth maps captured by Kinect depth cameras are being widely used for 3D action recognition. However, such images often appear noisy and contain missing pixels or black holes. This paper presents a computationally efficient method for both denoising and hole-filling in depth images. The denoising is achieved by utilizing a combination of Gaussian kernel filtering and anisotropic filtering. The hole-filling is achieved by utilizing a combination of morphological filtering and zero block filtering. Experimental results using the publicly available datasets are provided indicating the superiority of the developed method in terms of both depth error and computational efficiency compared to three existing methods.
Analysis of present family planning service after induced abortion in Guangzhou City

Objective To investigate situation about the post abortion family planning service (PAFPS) in Guangzhou,and to provide basis for further improvement of PAFPS in Guangzhou.Methods In June,2009,by using methods of qualitative interview and quantitative investigation,820 women who undertook induced abortion in four grade 2 public hospitals located in three districts of Guangzhou were investigated.Results Among the 820 women,46.71% of them were under the age of 25,52.60% unmarried,60.61% nulliparous,68% just graduated from high school or below,31.71% had undertaken induced abortion at least once,78.60% had less than 2 000 RMB salary every month.50.49% of these women did not use any contraceptives and 40.12% had a failed contraception.44.61% of them did not grasp correct knowledge of reproductive health and contraception,89.51% women received family planning education and 77.07% of them knew how to select contraceptives.All the women received the consultant service and 97.23% of them were satisfactory or basically satisfactory with the service.All the four hospitals investigated could provide good PAFPS.Conclusion The induced abortion women in Guangzhou are in the lower age,and most of them are unmarried and nulliparous with lower cultural degree,poorer salary,poorer knowledge about attitude and practice on contraception.So it is necessary to provide PAFPS to these women,especially provide community PAFPS.
Automatic Repeat Request (ARQ)

ARQ technique adds parity or redundant bits to the transmitted data stream that are used by the decoder to detect an error in the received data. When the receiver detects an error, it requests that the data be retransmitted by the receiver. This continues until the message is received correctly. In ARQ, the receiver does not attempt to correct the errors, but rather it sends an alert to the transmitter in order to inform it that an error was detected and that a retransmission is needed. This is known as a negative acknowledgement, and the transmitter retransmits the message upon receipt. If the message is error-free, the receiver sends an acknowledgement (ACK) to the transmitter. This form of error control is only capable of detecting errors; it has no ability to correct errors that have been detected.
Estimation of passivated metal stack modulus through simulations of Micro-indentation

The determination of the passivated metal stack modulus, and in particular the modulus of thin films in a stack, is of great importance in the assessment of the reliability of Back-End-of-Line (BEOL) structures. Micro-indentation, which enables estimation of the modulus of thin films without needing (difficult to fabricate) free-standing film specimen, is utilized to extract the modulus of the top-most film on double-layer and multilayer stacks in the present study. Finite element modeling is used to simulate indentation tests and to extract the film modulus. Two double-layer and four multi-layer stack structures (differing in number of layers and materials) are characterized to study the influence of film/substrate modulus ratio, yield strength and layer configuration on the estimated modulus. Comparison of the results obtained by four different regression functions shows that the reciprocal of Gao's function and the reciprocal of linear function can, in general, produce more accurate results for double-layer stacks and multilayer stacks, respectively. In the special case where a great amount of sink-in is developed, the modulus obtained from a single low-depth test may be more accurate.
Botulinum Toxin Treatment of Benign Essential Blepharospasm (BEB) and Hemifacial Spasm

Benign essential blepharospasm (BEB) and hemifacial spasm are two of the most common movement disorders that affect the face. The etiology of BEB is not known. The most likely etiology of hemifacial spasm is microvascular compression at the facial nerve root exit zone from the brainstem, or less commonly at its entry point into the internal auditory meatus. Botulinum toxin therapy is currently the most common treatment modality for both disorders. Botulinum toxin inhibits the release of acetylcholine at the neuromuscular junction. It should be noted that similar movement disorders can be pharmacologically produced with Levodopa and neuroleptic antipsychotic drugs, both acutely and after long-term therapy.
Signal Transduction: Notch catches a Jagged edge.

Notch signaling is an essential cell–cell communication pathway that influences numerous cell fate decisions during development. Structural and biochemical studies of a Notch–Jagged complex dramatically advance current understanding of ligand recognition, and reveal evidence of catch-bond behavior in the complex.
Building Thin Film Model Materials to Study Active Sites of PGM-Free Electrocatalyst for ORR

Replacement of noble metal catalysts for oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) with transition metals can have a profound impact on clean and economical energy production. Although non-precious metals have been extensively studied as ORR electrocatalysts, there has been a long debate about what active site is responsible for the ORR and what the catalytic mechanism is. The mystery of the chemical nature of the active sites hinders the development of efficient and stable ORR catalyst. The biggest obstacle to resolving the mechanism is the fact that the active sites are buried in the bulk, porous catalyst and the components in the real catalyst are complicated. Here, we propose a thin film model approach to study the active sites of FeN thin film, deposited on top of glassy carbon by magnetron sputtering. Rutherford backscattering, X-ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy were carried out to characterize bulk films and to determine deposition conditions that result in Fe tetrahedrally coordinated with nitrogen. The significance of this study is that this is the first time active sites are intentionally exposed to the surface and can be directly characterized by x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). Bonding between Fe-N in the bulk film and N-C at the interface between FeN and glassy carbon have been confirmed by XPS. Rotating disk electrode experiments have been carried out to measure the ORR activity of Fe-N, C-N, Fe-C the Fe-N-C exposed surfaces by looking at thin Fe-N, C-N, Fe-C, and Fe-N-C films. This study will also provide answers to the controversy about whether carbon, nitrogen or iron is essential in the ORR catalyst.
Efficacious Carriers for Multi-Specific Priming of a Mucosal IgA Response

Small rodent models have been successful in demonstrating that cholera toxin can prime effectively by the intestinal route for an anti-toxic secretory IgA response (1–3). Secretory antibodies in the intestinal lumen have been shown to protect the gut from a toxin challenge by the enteric route (3,4). Thus, cholera toxin is fairly unique among non-replicating antigens in being able to prime effectively by the mucosal route for protective immunity. The studies presented here characterize this mucosal priming process, in particular the memory B cell component which is generated, in order to understand the superiority of cholera toxin over other non-living antigens in priming by the gut route. Our findings in the cholera toxin system are then applied to evaluating non-toxic substitutes as mucosal priming agents.
Applying from Abroad Versus Applying from the USA: Importance of a Research Fellowship

I was born and raised in Catania, a town on the west coast of Sicily. After completing high school (there is no college in Italy), at age 18, I enrolled in medical school, one of 1500 new students who aspired to become physicians. At that time, there was no limit on the number of students who could enter medical school, and there were no admission exams.
NEW HUMAN ALDEHYDE DEHYDROGENASES

Electrophoretic separation techniques of alcohol and aldehyde dehydrogenases have been generally employed for identification of the individual isozyme components. The electrophoretic patterns of alcohol dehydrogenase, a largely cathodal enzyme, are relatively easy to interpret because only a few other proteins migrate towards cathode and different isozymes have different isoelectric points. Aldehyde dehydrogenase, however, is largely an anodal enzyme, which migrates in the direction of the majority of other proteins, large numbers of which superimpose with aldehyde dehydrogenase. Some of these proteins produce gel bleaching during nitroblue tetrazolium / phenazine methosulfate color development and thereby mask some weaker aldehyde dehydrogenase bands. This is the reason why only the major bands of aldehyde dehydrogenase are usually visualized. In addition, there are several different aldehyde dehydrogenases that have the same pI as the major bands and therefore superimpose on isoelectric focusing gels. The superimposals that are now known to occur as a result of work of a large number of investigators (Greenfield and Pietruszko, 1977; Impraim et al., 1982; Jones and Teng, 1983; Palmer and Jenkins, 1985; Santisteban et al., 1985; Forte McRobbie and Pietruszko, 1986; Ryzlak and Pietruszko, 1988 a, b; Kurys et al., 1989; Wang et al., 1990) are shown in Table 1. The best known superimposals occur at pI 5.3 where the human E1 isozyme, human E3 isozyme and the Oriental E2 isozyme are found.
Remote Sensing of Coastal Hazards

With the coastal population increasing, storms have been inflicting unprecedented losses on coastal communities. Coastal agencies require advance information on the predicted path, intensity and progress of a storm and associated waves and storm surges; near-real-time information during the peak of the storm to monitor flooding and control rescue operations; and post-storm reports to assess the damage and plan the recovery. The same holds true for other disasters, such as oil spills and algal blooms. Coastal communities are also facing a rising sea level, caused mainly by global warming. Airborne and satellite remote sensors, such as multispectral imagers, Lidar and radar, are now able to provide most of the information required for emergency response and coastal management.
Histopathologic quantification of viable tumor versus treatment effect in surgically resected recurrent glioblastoma.

The prognostic impact of the histopathologic features of recurrent glioblastoma surgical specimens is unknown. We sought to determine whether key histopathologic characteristics in glioblastoma tumors resected after chemoradiotherapy are associated with overall survival (OS). The following characteristics were quantified in recurrent glioblastoma specimens at our institution: extent of viable tumor (accounting for % of specimen comprised of tumor and tumor cellularity), mitoses per 10 high-power fields (0, 1–10, > 10), Ki-67 proliferative index (0–100%), hyalinization (0–6; none to extensive), rarefaction (0–6), hemosiderin (0–6), and % of specimen comprised of geographic necrosis (0–100%; converted to 0–6 scale). Variables associated with OS in univariate analysis, as well as age, eastern cooperative oncology group performance status (ECOG PS), extent of repeat resection, time from initial diagnosis to repeat surgery, and O6-methylguanine-DNA methyltransferase promoter methylation, were included in a multivariable Cox proportional hazards model. 37 specimens were assessed. In a multivariate model, high Ki-67 proliferative index was the only histopathologic characteristic associated with worse OS following repeat surgery for glioblastoma (hazard ratio (HR) 1.3, 95% CI 1.1–1.5, p = 0.003). Shorter time interval from initial diagnosis to repeat surgery (HR 1.11, 95% CI 1.02–1.21, p = 0.016) and ECOG PS ≥ 2 (HR 4.19, 95% CI 1.72–10.21, p = 0.002) were also independently associated with inferior OS. In patients with glioblastoma undergoing repeat resection following chemoradiotherapy, high Ki-67 index in the recurrent specimen, short time to recurrence, and poor PS are independently associated with worse OS. Histopathologic quantification of viable tumor versus therapy-related changes has limited prognostic influence.
Getting the Job in Advertising: Hiring Decision Makers' Perceived Value of Student-Run Communications Agency Experience for Recent Graduates.

Student-run communications agencies on university campuses provide the opportunity for communications students to apply classroom learning to real client projects with actual budgets. Students have...
Chapter 13 – Conclusion

Professionalism embodies qualities of the clinician, that clinician’s care of individual patients, and the clinician’s relationships to students, colleagues, and society as a whole. It includes ethical standards and respect for boundaries. Social media and the Internet provide new avenues for professionalism breaches. With its distinctive features, digital technology allows breaches to occur rapidly and broadly and often permanently. Breaches have the potential to harm the individual patient and professional as well as that individual’s health-care institution and specialty and the health-care profession as a whole. This book has focused on eight professionalism standards that can be breached online. New ways to violate (and protect) these standards are emerging every day; the sensitivity of online information is increasing. Health-care professionals need to protect themselves and their profession by engaging in forums for ongoing learning and frank discussion about these issues. Society’s trust in health care is at stake.