cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Results from a new die-to-database reticle inspection platform

A new DUV die-to-database high-resolution reticle defect inspection platform has been developed. This platform is designed to meet the 90nm through 65nm node 248/193nm lithography reticle qualification requirements of the IC industry. These design nodes typically include: COG layers, EPSM layers, and AltPSM layers, plus aggressive OPC which includes jogs, serifs, and SRAF (sub-resolution assist features). The architecture and technology of the new inspection platform is described. Die-to-database inspection results are shown on standard programmed defect test reticles, as well as, advanced 90nm through 65nm node reticles from industry sources. Results show high sensitivity and low false detections being achieved.
Changes in Tobacco Use Patterns among Veterans in San Diego during the Recent Peak of the COVID-19 Pandemic

The prevalence of tobacco use increases in times of stress; however, during the initial stage of the COVID-19 pandemic, tobacco use rates stayed the same in most populations. Previous work focused on the initial months of the pandemic, while this study examined the changes in tobacco use during a later peak period of the pandemic. We used data from 61,852 visits to the VA San Diego Healthcare System from November 2019 to February 2021, divided into pre-, early, and peak pandemic periods. Multinomial logistic regression was used to test whether the odds of being a daily or non-daily tobacco user varied over time, by demographic group, or with the presence of specific psychiatric diagnoses. Younger Veterans had a greater reduction in the prevalence of non-daily tobacco use between the early and peak periods, while older Veterans had a rise in daily use from pre- to the early pandemic, which returned to baseline during the peak. Individuals with substance use disorder and serious mental illness diagnoses were more likely to report tobacco use, but psychiatric diagnoses did not predict change over time. These findings demonstrate factors that potentially contribute to changes in tobacco use during a public health crisis and may help guide future targeted cessation efforts.
The Presumption Against Extraterritoriality as Applied to Disability Discrimination Laws: Where Does It Leave Students with DisabilitiesStudying Abroad?

In 1990 the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was enacted to ensure equal opportunities to people with disabilities in such areas as employment, education, health care, public services, and transportation. The ADA extends the prohibition on discrimination against people with disabilities to private and public entities, specifically those that had not been covered by the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. But the extent to which the ADA, or its predecessor statute, the Rehabilitation Act, applies extraterritorially to conduct and Americans overseas remains unresolved. This Article presents an argument in favor of the extraterritorial application of the ADA as well as section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. In order to illustrate the consequences of not applying these laws to conduct that occurs overseas, this Article reviews recent decisions involving requests for accommodations by students with disabilities participating in study abroad programs.
Epidemiological and Immunological Studies of Cryptococcus neoformans

Abstract Walter, Jinks E. (University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, Pa.), and Robert W. Atchison. Epidemiological and immunological studies of Cryptococcus neoformans. J. Bacteriol. 92:82–87. 1966.—The complement-fixation fluorescent-antibody test provided a means of differentiating between antibodies of Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. The test was applied to the sera of 134 pigeon fanciers for detection of antibodies to C. neoformans only. About 22% were positive as compared with 3% of a control group composed of 36 non-pigeon breeders. Positive reactions were observed only with C. neoformans types A and B cells. It was concluded that the pigeon fanciers had presumably been infected previously with C. neoformans type A or type B. Moreover, 48 of 49 isolates of C. neoformans cultured from the pigeon habitats of 72 fanciers studied were serotype A. These findings would seem to substantiate the hypothesis that pigeon habitats serve as reservoirs for human infections, and also that subclinical cryptococcosis is more prevalent than is realized.
Distinguishing “Loner” Attacks from Other Domestic Extremist Violence

Research Summary Recent reports have suggested that “loner” extremists, or self-radicalized extremists with no ties to organized groups who commit an ideologically motivated attack on their own, represent a growing threat to public safety in the United States. Disagreements among scholars and policy makers about contributing factors of loner attacks have led to competing predictions based largely on anecdotal evidence. Our study contributes to the understanding of loner violence by comparatively examining lethal attacks committed by far-right extremist loners and other far-rightists in the United States between 1990 and 2010. More than 20 of the leading claims from the literature on extremist loner violence are examined. The systematic comparison of far-right loners and other far-rightists presented in this article highlights ways in which loners are different from other far-rightists. Bivariate comparisons found that far-right loners are more likely to have a military background, less likely to be married, and more likely to plan on dying at commission of the crime, live alone, use a firearm, kill multiple victims, and select government targets. Loners also were similar to other far-right extremists on a large number of measures. Using a multivariate analysis, we tested what factors are particularly important for distinguishing between loners and other far-right offenders net the effects of other variables. Variables that significantly distinguished loners from other far-right homicide offenders include military background, age, mental illness, and relationship status. Policy Implications The findings highlight several important differences between loners and other types of violent extremists that could be used by policy makers and analysts to craft policies and strategies designed to prevent and preempt loner extremism. It seems that increased emphasis on intelligence, the use of undercover operations and informants, and task force strategies are in many ways working to prevent attacks committed by extremists. Although steps must always be taken to ensure that civil rights are not violated, our results provide direction for modifying and redirecting some ongoing counterterrorism efforts to prevent future loner attacks. We conclude with a discussion on how building or enhancing extant partnerships, information sharing, technological surveillance, and sharpening threat assessment capabilities could enhance current strategies to thwart loner violence.
Mechanics of Vascular Smooth Muscle

The sections in this article are: 1 Uses of Mechanical Studies and Analytical Framework 1.1 Purposes and Scope of Chapter 1.2 Analytical Framework of Classic Muscle Mechanics 2 Preparations and Normalization 2.1 Criteria for Preparations Used in Mechanical Studies 2.2 Suitable Tissue Preparations and Procedures 2.3 Definitions, Units, and Symbols 3 Mechanics of Vascular Smooth Muscle Tissues 3.1 Parallel Elastic Component and Mechanical Hysteresis 3.2 Series Elastic Component 3.3 Static Properties of the Contractile Component 3.4 Dynamic Properties of the Contractile Component 4 Applicability of Tissue Mechanics to Cells and the Contractile Component 4.1 Relationships Between Cell and Tissue Mechanics
Worldwide dissemination of Radopholus similis and its importance in crop production.

The burrowing nematode, Radopholus similis, attacks agronomic and horticultural crops and many weeds, and is reported to reproduce on more than 250 plant species. Two races of R. similis are recognized. Although one race attacks citrus and the other race does not, they are morphologically similar. At present, the citrus race is found attacking citrus only in Florida, U.S.A., but it is known to infect more than 250 species and varieties of noncitrus plants. Although it has many hosts, R. similis is probably most widely distributed on banana and is found worldwide. Although best known as a pest of Piper nigrum, Musa spp., and Citrus spp., it also attacks many crops that are important in world commerce and in subsistence-type agriculture, a factor which makes it a significant agricultural pest. Worldwide dissemination occurs primarily when parasitized plants are moved into areas where the pest could adapt. Yield losses of 12.5 tons/ha in bananas have been reported from R. similis infection. Infections suppress orange and grapefruit yields as much as 70-80%. Because of the severity of R. similis damage (particularly to banana and citrus), extensive control programs have been developed. Prevention, cultural practices, resistant varieties, and chemical pesticides interact to reduce losses. Key Words: citrus, control, banana.
Unified Medical Language System and associated vocabularies

Vocabularies and ontologies comprise conceptual underpinnings of science, biology, and medicine. The 400-year heritage of medical classification has evolved into a broadly diverse spectrum of discrete vocabularies, nomenclatures, terminologies, and ontologies about terms and concepts of clinical and basic science interest. The Unified Medical Language System (UMLS) of the National Library Medicine (NLM) is an effective form in which about 100 major terminologies are compiled in a common format. For many source systems, complex relationships between and among terms are faithfully represented in the UMLS Metathesaurus. Many sophisticated relationships exist across terms among these terminologies. Complementing the core Metathesaurus are rich components of UMLS that have tremendous value and generalizability to the UMLS suite. The major UMLS components are (1) the Semantic Network, which enumerates a shared network of meaning applied across all Metathesaurus sources and (2) the Specialist Lexicon, which provides a rich linguistic body of knowledge about English words and terms together with an open-source suite of natural language processing tools and applications. Keywords: vocabularies; controlled terminologies; ontologies; biomedical concepts; knowledge representation; concept representation; nomenclature
ICTs and Gender Equality: Transformation Through Research?

This book is the second volume of output from the Gender Research in Africa and the Middle East into ICTs for Empowerment (GRACE) network. The arst—African Women and ICTs: Investigating Technology, Gender and Empowerment (Buskens & Webb, 2009)—with many of the same authors contributing to both—concentrated heavily on women’s use of mobile phones in Africa. The 2014 volume covers a broad range of information and communication technologies (ICTs), along with the teaching of ICTs at the university level and the situation of women ICT professionals in the workplace. Its coverage extends to the Middle East, with chapters from Jordan, Palestine, and Yemen. In Africa, one can discern a much higher level of both use and skills on the part of users since the arst volume. In the new chapters on the Middle East, Yemen is a standout for its almost total lack of access to and use of ICTs by women. The GRACE network follows an essentially participatory action approach, the speciacs of which Buskens and Webb (2014) deane as purpose-aligned action research—research with a positive purpose—in contrast to research into a problem to be resolved. The ideal is that researchers engage in “transformation of their own gendered selves in and through the research processes” (p. 5) in order to achieve personal and societal transformation through development research. The network’s overall vision is a post-sexist future in a world of freedom for both men and women—“a world where all people are free, where men and women are equals and treat each other with respect as partners, a world that is grounded in social justice and sustainability” (p. 291). While in the arst volume the research was mostly descriptive, the second aims to increase women’s empowerment through the research projects themselves: The authors are to become agents of gender change. Buskens and Webb deane the primary purpose of the second phase as arriving at social change in gender relations moving toward gender-equal societies through the research process and use of ICTs. Basic to this approach is nurturing selfand gender awareness and intentional agency in both respondents and researchers. Toward its accomplishment, the editors set up a hierarchy of approaches to changing gender relations, assessing the degree of accomplishment of the overall target of gender equality as conformist, reformist, and transformist, which are reoected in the major divisions of the volume. As Buskens and Webb write:
Managing Your Own Human Capital: Executive Interview Exercise (2008)

This note contains instructions for an exercise in which students interview C-level executives on how they have managed their careers.
The Molecular Basis of Self-Association of IgG-Rheumatoid Factors

The intermediate complexes, sedimenting between 19S and 6.6S components of normal serum on analytical ultracentrifugation, were purified from plasma of three patients with rheumatoid arthritis. Sequential gel filtration and removal of contaminants by agarose-antibody immunoadsorbents were employed for purification of these complexes. The isolated complexes from the three patients consisted of IgG with κ and λ light chains. Sedimentation equilibrium ultracentrifugation experiments showed that the isolated complexes underwent concentration-dependent self-association, whereby the smallest detectable molecular species had a molecular weight of 292,000. These IgG dimers were formed by self-association of IgG-rheumatoid factors, since nearly all F(ab′) 2 fragments, prepared from the isolated complexes by pepsin digestion, bound to normal IgG. The association constants for the interaction between normal IgG and one binding site of the F(ab′) 2 fragments were about 10 5 liters/mole. Since a cyclic structure with two antigen-antibody bonds was thought to form in the self-association of two IgG-rheumatoid factors, the association constant for dimer formation was calculated to be 10 10 liters/mole. The preferential self-association of IgG-rheumatoid factor was supported by the observation that monomeric normal human IgG did not replace the IgG-rheumatoid factor when the complexes were dissociated and reformed in the pressence of excess normal IgG. The self-association of IgG-rheumatoid factors may be a general phenomenon in rheumatoid arthritis, as suggested by the observations of other investigators.
Effect of starch ingestion on plasma glutamate concentrations in humans ingesting monosodium L-glutamate in soup.

Plasma glutamate concentrations in human subjects are markedly lower when monosodium L-glutamate is ingested in a water solution containing partially hydrolyzed starch than when ingested in water alone. This study was carried out to investigate whether starch ingested as crackers had a similar effect. Eight normal adult subjects (four male, four female) ingested three servings of a beef consomme providing 50 mg/kg body weight monosodium L-glutamate. One serving was consomme alone, the other two were accompanied by sufficient crackers to provide 0.25 or 0.5 g starch per kilogram body weight, respectively. Ingestion of consomme containing glutamate significantly increased the mean plasma glutamate concentration above baseline to a mean peak value 30 min later. The peak after consumption of 0.5 g starch per kilogram body weight, but not 0.25 g/kg body weight, was significantly lower than when consomme alone was ingested. These data indicate that simultaneous ingestion of metabolizable carbohydrate with glutamate has a marked effect on the plasma glutamate response and indicate that the threshold value for carbohydrate is greater than 0.25 g/kg body weight.
Optimization of a Coupled Vapor Compression and Absorption Cooling System Driven by Gas Fueled IC Engine

In recent years, due to the increased fossil fuel costs and environmental concerns, there has been a renewed interest in absorption cooling (using low-grade heat source) systems for refrigeration and space cooling applications. Although, the stand-alone coefficient of performance (COP) is a concern with such systems, absorption cooling can be a useful add-on that improves the overall efficiency of conventional vapor compression cooling cycle. A local company based in Las Vegas which is involved in the development of advanced HVAC technologies, has developed a natural gas fueled internal combustion (IC) engine driven heat pump. This system recovers the rejected heat from the IC engine during the heating cycle, thus, increasing the heat delivered and improving the system’s overall efficiency. However, during the cooling cycle the rejected heat is dissipated to the ambient air through radiators. The overall efficiency of the system can be improved if the heat rejected during the cooling cycle can be recovered and used for space cooling or refrigeration applications. In this study, a vapor compression refrigeration system coupled with an absorption cooling system is simulated using MATLAB. The vapor compression system is driven by a natural gas fueled IC engine and the waste heat from the engine is used to drive the absorption cooling system. The waste heat is recovered both from gas exhaust and engine cooling systems. The developed simulation model is used to find the transients of both the vapor absorption and compressions systems for varied cooling demands. Important parameters such as coolant temperature and exhaust gas temperature are obtained from experimental data. This paper presents the most efficient load distribution between the vapor compression and absorption cooling systems.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
The economics of parallel trade.

The potential for parallel trade in the European Union (EU) has grown with the accession of low price countries and the harmonisation of registration requirements. Parallel trade implies a conflict between the principle of autonomy of member states to set their own pharmaceutical prices, the principle of free trade and the industrial policy goal of promoting innovative research and development (RD it accounts for roughly 30% of total costs. Optimal (welfare maximising) pricing to cover joint costs (Ramsey pricing) requires setting different prices in different markets, based on inverse demand elasticities. By contrast, parallel trade and regulation based on international price comparisons tend to force price convergence across markets. In response, manufacturers attempt to set a uniform 'euro' price. The primary losers from 'euro' pricing will be consumers in low income countries who will face higher prices or loss of access to new drugs. In the long run, even higher income countries are likely to be worse off with uniform prices, because fewer drugs will be developed. One policy option to preserve price differentials is to exempt on-patent products from parallel trade. An alternative is confidential contracting between individual manufacturers and governments to provide country-specific ex post discounts from the single 'euro' wholesale price, similar to rebates used by managed care in the US. This would preserve differentials in transactions prices even if parallel trade forces convergence of wholesale prices.
Atrial natriuretic peptide-dependent modulation of hypoxia-induced pulmonary vascular remodeling.

Abstract Hypoxic stress upsets the balance in the normal relationships between mitogenic and growth inhibiting pathways in lung, resulting in pulmonary vascular remodeling characterized by hyperplasia of pulmonary arterial smooth muscle cells (PASMCs) and fibroblasts and enhanced deposition of extracellular matrix. Atrial natriuretic peptide (ANP) reduces pulmonary vascular resistance and attenuates hypoxia-induced pulmonary hypertension in vivo and PASMC proliferation and collagen synthesis in vitro. The current study utilized an ANP null mouse model ( Nppa −/−) to test the hypothesis that ANP modulates the pulmonary vascular and alveolar remodeling response to normobaric hypoxic stress. Nine-10 wk old male ANP null ( Nppa −/−) and wild type nontransgenic (NTG) mice were exposed to chronic hypoxia (10% O 2 , 1 atm) or air for 6 wks. Measurement: pulmonary hypertension, right ventricular hypertrophy, and pulmonary arterial and alveolar remodeling were assessed. Hypoxia-induced pulmonary arterial hypertrophy and muscularization were significantly increased in Nppa −/− mice compared to NTG controls. Furthermore, the stimulatory effects of hypoxia on alveolar myofibroblast transformation (8.2 and 5.4 fold increases in Nppa −/− and NTG mice, respectively) and expression of extracellular matrix molecule (including osteopontin [OPN] and periostin [PN]) mRNA in whole lung were exaggerated in Nppa −/− mice compared to NTG controls. Combined with our previous finding that ANP signaling attenuates transforming growth factor (TGF)-β-induced expression of OPN and PN in isolated PASMCs, the current study supports the hypothesis that endogenous ANP plays an important anti-fibrogenic role in the pulmonary vascular adaptation to chronic hypoxia.
Effects on perinatal outcome of treating women with 1 elevated glucose tolerance test value

Objective This study was undertaken to determine whether medical nutrition therapy and home glucose monitoring can reduce complications in pregnancies with 1 elevated oral glucose tolerance test value. Study Design This was a retrospective case-control study with historical controls. Medical records of women with one elevated oral glucose tolerance test value between January 2001 and June 2006 were reviewed; routine medical nutrition therapy and self-blood glucose monitoring for this group of women was initiated in April 2004. Women before (untreated group) and after (treated group) the initiation of therapy were compared. Baseline characteristics, as well pregnancy weight gain, birthweight greater than 4000 g, incidence of shoulder dystocia, cesarean delivery rate, and neonatal metabolic complications were compared. Student t test, Mann-Whitney U test, and χ 2 test were used as appropriate, with P Results Fifty-seven women comprised the untreated group, and 69 were in the treated group. Except for greater prepregnancy weight in the treated group, maternal characteristics did not differ significantly between the 2 groups. Mean birthweight was similar between untreated and treated subjects (3385 g vs 3476 g, P = .45). Number of subjects with birthweights greater than 4000 g, shoulder dystocia, and unplanned cesarean deliveries were similar between the 2 groups. Conclusion In our patient population, women with 1 elevated oral glucose tolerance test value did not benefit from a structured program of medical nutritional therapy and self- blood glucose monitoring.
Cyber-insurance framework for large scale interdependent networks

This article presents a framework for managing cyber-risks in large-scale interdependent networks where cyber insurers are strategic players. In our earlier work, we imposed that breach probability of each network node (which we view as a player) is a function of two variables: first, player own security action and second, average security of all players. In this article, we formally derive the expression of breach probability from the standard assumptions. For a homogeneous interdependent network (identical users), we provide a solution for optimal security choice of each node in environments without and with cyber insurers present. Then, we introduce a general heterogeneous network (many user types), and derive the expression for network security. Lastly, we consider the network with two user types (normal and malicious), in which we allow one user type (malicious users) to subvert monitoring of the insurers, even if these insurers are able to perfectly enforce security levels of normal users (at zero cost). Our analysis confirms a discrepancy between informal arguments that favor cyber-insurance as a tool to improve network security, and formal models, which tend to view insurance as an instrument of managing risks only. In particular, our results support the case against cyber-insurance as the means of improving security. Our framework helps to identify the crucial network parameters for improving incentives to provide secure networks.
Long-term experience in the surgical management of cancer of the uterine cervix.

Cancer of the uterine cervix is the seventh most common malignancy among women and the fifth most common cause of cancer mortality worldwide. In the United States, the use of the Papanicolaou (Pap) smear for screening has meant a significant decline in the incidence and mortality from cervical cancer over the past five decades. However, there are still approximately 12,800 new cases diagnosed per year in the U.S. and 4,800 deaths are estimated in 1999. Both surgery and radiation therapy have long-established roles in management. Surgery has the advantages of shorter treatment time, removal of the primary tumor, more limited tissue injury, and the potential to preserve ovarian function; radiation therapy has the capacity to treat tumor that involves the bladder and/or rectum while preserving their function. Therefore, the role of surgery is more suited to the management of early-stage disease and centrally located recurrences that occur after radiation therapy. Studies from our institution have played an integral role in the development of the modern surgical approach to cervical cancer. Reviews on early-stage disease helped define the role of conization and simple hysterectomy for microinvasive cervical cancer and identified patients who were at high risk for recurrence after radical hysterectomy. The classic work of Brunschwig has given gynecologic surgeons the ability to offer hope and life to select patients who previously could have expected only pain and death. Future investigation into the techniques of intra-operative radiation therapy may increase the pool of patients for whom surgically based salvage therapy may be offered. Semin. Surg. Oncol. 17:161–167, 1999. © 1999 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Credibility-enhanced curated database: Improving the value of curated databases

In curated databases, annotations may contain opinions different from those in sources. Moreover, annotations may contradict each other and have uncertainty. Such situations result in a natural question: “Which opinion is most likely to be correct?” In this paper, we define a credibility-enhanced curated database and propose an efficient method to accurately evaluate the correctness of sources and annotations in curated databases.
Single amino acid substitutions in the C-terminus of collagen II alter its affinity for collagen IX

The structural integrity of cartilage depends on the presence of extracellular matrices (ECM) formed by heterotypic fibrils composed of collagen II, collagen IX, and collagen XI. The formation of these fibrils depends on the site-specific binding between relatively small regions of interacting collagen molecules. Single amino acid substitutions in collagen II change the physicochemical and structural characteristics of those sites, thereby leading to an alteration of intermolecular collagen II/collagen IX interaction. Employing a biosensor to study interactions between R75C, R789C or G853E collagen II mutants and collagen IX, we demonstrated significant changes in the binding affinities. Moreover, analyses of computer models representing mutation sites defined exact changes in physicochemical characteristics of collagen II mutants. Our study shows that changes in collagen II/collagen IX affinity could represent one of the steps in a cascade of changes occurring in the ECM of cartilage as a result of single amino acid substitutions in collagen II.
An interior point algorithm for nonlinear quantile regression

Abstract A new algorithm for computing quantile regression estimates for problems in which the response function is nonlinear in parameters is described. The nonlinear l 1 estimation problem is a special (median) case. The algorithm is closely related to recent developments on interior point methods for solving linear programs. Performance of the algorithm on a variety of test problems including the censored linear quantile regression problem of Powell (1986) is reported.
An evaluation of rosuvastatin: pharmacokinetics, clinical efficacy and tolerability

Background: The HMG Co-A reductase inhibitors (statins) are the most efficacious agents for lowering cholesterol. Statins reduce clinical cardiovascular events and are generally well tolerated. Objective: To review the efficacy and safety of rosuvastatin, the newest and most potent of the approved statins. Methods: A comprehensive (PubMed) search was performed to identify relevant publications up to May 2007. Results/conclusions: Rosuvastatin reduces LDL cholesterol (LDL-C) by up to 50%, and by 70% when combined with ezetimibe. Rosuvastatin also reduces plasma triglycerides and increases HDL-C, and slows atherosclerosis progression in coronary and carotid arteries in both low-risk and high-risk individuals. Tolerability is comparable with other statins. Clinical trials to evaluate cardiovascular outcomes have recently been published (CORONA) or are underway.
Aluminum complexation with nucleoside di- and triphosphates and implication in nucleoside binding proteins

Abstract Aluminum ion (Al 3+ ) is known to affect markedly a wide variety of biological systems, and the presence of Al 3+ in humans has been linked to a number of diseases. As the role of Al 3+ in human disease clearly has its origins in Al 3+ coordination chemistry, and since ATP may well serve as the predominant binder of Al 3+ in many cells, it is important to understand speciation in systems containing Al 3+ ion and nucleoside di- and triphosphates (especially ADP and ATP). There are also a large number of proteins which require nucleoside phosphates as substrates or are regulated by nucleoside phosphates, and All' ion can potentially interfere with the normal functions of these proteins. The objective of this review is to present the current state of our understanding of aluminum complexation with nucleoside di- and triphosphates and to indicate possible consequences of A1 3+ complexation with proteins. Much of the current knowledge has been revealed by comprehensive potentiometric titration and multinuclear nuclear magnetic resonance analyses. Computer calculations have also played an important role in expanding our understanding of A1 3+ complexation with nucleoside phosphates.
Volume visualization on a stereoscopic display

A stereoscopic workstation is under development for visualizing transparent 3 dimensional (3D) volumes of data. The hardware and software are summarized, and initial results are presented.
The role of drugs in crime: insights from a group of incoming prisoners.

The present study was designed to evaluate whether drug dependence is associated with any specific perception of the role of drugs in crime. In the summers of 1997 and 1998, face-to-face interviews were conducted with members of a group of incoming prisoners at the Cuyahoga County Jail in Cleveland, Ohio. “Incoming prisoners” denotes persons whose criminal cases had been adjudicated and who were on their way to one of Ohio's prisons. Respondents were asked whether they themselves perceived that drugs had been a factor in the crimes for which they had been arrested. Those respondents classified as dependent on at least one illicit drug tended to answer affirmatively. This sub-group was also more likely than their non-dependent counterparts to admit to using drugs in the two days following the commission of their crimes. Specifically, these respondents viewed the need to obtain drugs for personal use as one of their main motives for participating in crime.
Identifying Innovators in Consumer Service Markets

This article describes the use of a short, valid, reliable self-report scale to measure consumer innovativeness in a service industry context, thereby identifying the potential earliest buyers in a specific service-market category. Suitable for mail questionnaire or personal interview, this six-item, Likert-type scale enables marketers and researchers to identify these important consumers prior to introducing any specific service innovation. This study used a survey of 185 adult men and women to demonstrate how the scale performs by giving valuable insights into the travel services market
Post-cranial prey transport mechanisms in the black pinesnake, Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi: an x-ray videographic study

Most previous studies of snake feeding mechanisms have focused on the functional morphology of the highly specialized ophidian jaw apparatus. Although some of these studies have included observations of post-cranial movements during feeding, the functional roles of these movements have remained poorly understood. In this study, we used x-ray videography to examine post-cranial prey transport mechanisms in a colubrid snake, Pituophis melanoleucus lodingi. We found that prey transport in this species progresses through four distinct phases, three of which are characterized by either undulatory or concertina-like movements of the anterior portion of the trunk. In the first phase of transport (the oral phase), unilateral movements of the jaws are used to pull the head forward around the prey. In the second phase (the orocervical phase), unilateral jaw movements continue, but are augmented by concertina-like movements of the anterior portion of the trunk. In the third phase (the cervical phase), prey transport occurs exclusively through concertina-like movements of the neck. Finally, in the fourth phase (the thoracic phase), prey is transported to the stomach via undulatory movements of the trunk. Our observations of feeding behavior in a phylogenetically diverse sample of fourteen other snake species demonstrate that similar post-cranial transport mechanisms are used by a wide variety of alethinophidian snakes that feed on large, bulky prey.
Selective Detection of Vapor Phase Hydrogen Peroxide with Phthalocyanine Chemiresistors

The use of hydrogen peroxide as a precursor to improvised explosives has made its detection a topic of critical importance. Chemiresistor arrays comprised of 50 nm thick films of metallophthalocyanines (MPcs) are redox selective vapor sensors of hydrogen peroxide. Hydrogen peroxide is shown to decrease currents in cobalt phthalocyanine sensors while it increases currents in nickel, copper, and metal-free phthalocyanine sensors; oxidation and reduction of hydrogen peroxide via catalysis at the phthalocyanine surface are consistent with the pattern of sensor responses. This represents the first example of MPc vapor sensors being oxidized and reduced by the same analyte by varying the metal center. Consequently, differential analysis by redox contrast with catalytic amplification using a small array of sensors may be used to uniquely identify peroxide vapors. Metallophthalocyanine chemiresistors represent an improvement over existing peroxide vapor detection technologies in durability and selectivity in a gr...
Time of ovarian follicle selection during the porcine estrous cycle

Abstract Two experiments were conducted to: 1) determine the time during the procine estrous cycle when compensation in ovulation rate after unilateral ovariectomy (ULO) ceases to be complete, 2) compare the follicle selection process in gilts selected for high ovulation rate with unselected control gilts and 3) determine the number of follicles on the right ovary at various stages of the estrous cycle. Experiment I included 25 crossbred gilts, while Experiment II included 17 gilts selected for high ovulation rate and 16 unselected control gilts. The right ovary was removed via a mid-ventral laparotomy on either day 13, 15, 17 or 19 of the cycle. In Experiment I, compensation in ovulation rate ceased between days 13 and 15; whereas, in Experiment II, cessation occurred between days 15 and 17. Selected and control gilts responded alike to ULO, indicating similarity in the follicle selection process. Follicle numbers in the right ovary showed a general decline, especially between days 17 and 19, indicating that atresia was occurring during the follicular phase. The results indicate that the selection of ovarian follicles for ovulation at the ensuing estrus occurs before day 17 of the porcine estrous cyle.
Dexmedetomidine preserves attention/calculation when used for cooperative and short-term intensive care unit sedation.

Abstract Purpose Differential effects on cognition were recently demonstrated between dexmedetomidine (DEX) and propofol (PRO) when used for cooperative sedation. Propofol was found to reduce cognition, whereas DEX improved cognition. To further discriminate these effects, we evaluated the effect of PRO vs DEX in selected areas of cognition. Methods This is a post hoc analysis of the Acute Neurologic Intensive Care Unit Sedation Trial and an investigator-initiated, prospective, randomized, double-blinded, crossover study, comparing the effect of PRO and DEX on cognition measure by the Johns Hopkins Adapted Cognitive Exam (ACE). A linear model analysis accounting for within-patient correlation of measures was used to estimate differences in ACE subscales between drugs. Results Propofol diminished adjusted scores on all ACE subscales ( P P Conclusions Our findings indicate that DEX improved ACE attention/calculation subscale in awake patients receiving cooperative sedation. This is in contrast to the deterioration in all mean ACE subscale scores observed using PRO, suggesting DEX preserved cognitive function with specific preservation of focus and attention and allows for greater cognition compared with PRO across all cognitive domains.
Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy. An analysis of 14 deaths occurring in a patient registry

Sinus histiocytosis with massive lymphadenopathy (SHML) is generally regarded as a benign disorder in spite of its propensity to form large masses and to disseminate to both nodal and extranodal sites. Although in most patients the extent of SHML does not appear to determine disease outcome, recent reports have documented that infiltrates of SHML can cause death. To gain perspective on the role of SHML in patient deaths in this population, the authors analyzed the 14 known fatalities in an SHML registry comprising 215 patients. The average age at death was 33 years. Autopsy was performed on eight patients. SHML infiltrates were clearly the cause of death in only two patients (previously reported). In another four cases persistent SHML was prominent at death. The other deaths were the result of complications of defined immunologic abnormalities (five), or of unusual infections (three). The authors have not seen an example of cytologic malignant transformation of SHML.
Molecular transformation as a means for 3D optical memory devices

3D optical memory devices, capable of huge storage, very large bandwidth and amiable to parallel processing, are described. The 3D storage and accessing of information is based on non-linear absorption and emission by two different molecular structures.
Single step isolation of sildenafil from commercially available Viagra tablets.

Sildenafil, the active ingredient in Viagra™, ahs been purified from commercially available tablets. The purification, using Sephadex G25 chromatography under conditions of low ionic strength, is simple and inexpensive. Sildenafil purified according to this protocol has been characterized with respect to its IC50 for PDE5, its ultraviolet absorption profile, and by collision-induced dissociation fingerprinting, positive ion nanospray, and MALDI mass spectrometry. Tritated sildenafil (6 Ci/mmol) was prepared commercially using the sildenafil purified by this protocol and was verified to retain the potency of unlabeled sildenafil. This protocol and similar procedures will allow investigators to easily isolate sufficient amounts of sildenafil or other PDE5 inhibitors for conducting biochemical and in vitro studies of drug action.
A sodium-nitrate-based, water-soluble, granular fertilizer for sport fish ponds.

Abstract We tested a granular, water-soluble, sodium-nitrate-based fertilizer (8% N, 24% P2O5, 15% K2O, and trace elements; per application rates of 8 and 16 kg/ha) for potential use in freshwater sport fish ponds and compared it with a liquid fertilization program commonly used in the United States. At 16 kg/ha application, the sodium-nitrate-based fertilizer was as effective as the liquid fertilizer in increasing net phytoplankton productivity and sunfish production. This granular product can be broadcast directly over pond surfaces because it quickly dissolves in the water and does not settle to the bottom as rapidly as normal granular fertilizers. Nitrate is a good nitrogen source for ponds because it is not acid-forming, it does not increase oxygen demand, it will not increase un-ionized ammonia concentrations, it can oxidize bottom soils, and it is not objectionable in effluents. This new fertilizer has excellent possibilities as a fish pond fertilizer.
Chemical criteria to identify the depositional environment of chert: general principles and applications

Abstract Many chert sequences are located at key stratigraphic intervals or in structurally allochthonous packages, and because such sequences provide critical information regarding the formation of sedimentary basins and tectonic orogens it is important to determine precisely their original depositional position. Chemical methods of delineating environments are becoming increasingly sophisticated and useful, in part because even slight post-depositional recrystallization may obscure primary rock textures. Most chemical criteria have developed only on a case-by-case and local basis, however, with limited broad applicability. Here I synthesize major, trace, and rare earth element (REE) data in bulk chert from 49 sequences from continental margin, pelagic, and ridge-proximal environments, ranging in age from Early Paleozoic to Neogene, and develop a set of depositional chemical criteria applicable to cherts regardless of age, diagenetic history, or tectonic region. The criteria allow for analytical limitations and diagenetic modifications (precluding use of Si, Ca, Mn, Mg, P, Sr, and Ba, and other elements) intrinsic to chert chemistry. Major element ratios, capitalizing on the affiliations of Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 to terrigenous matter and of Fe 2 O 3 to metalliferous input, can distinguish continental margin from ridge-proximal sedimentation, but cannot uniquely identify pelagic deposition. Trace element data are too few to interpret rigorously, with substantial overlap occurring between depositional regimes. REE ratios (i.e., La n / Ce n ) allow the best resolution of all three depositional regimes and are independent of diagenetic modification. I present new diagrams illustrating the chemical depositional criteria, and apply them to several sequences described in the literature that have historically yielded problematic genetic interpretations.
Even Conservative Unions Have Revolutionary Effects: Frank Tannenbaum on the Labor Movement

Frank Tannenbaum is best known for his studies of Mexican agrarian reform and for his contributions to the comparative history of slavery and slave societies. But as a young man he had made a name for himself as a notorious labor agitator, and he went on to publish two books on the US labor movement, which are worthy of reconsideration as important interpretations of independent trade unionism and political reform. The first volume appeared in 1921 and offered an original perspective on the popular syndicalism that formed such a large, positive element of the philosophy of the International Workers of the World (IWW), to the extent it had one, at the center of which lay the struggle for social recognition on the part of immigrant and (supposedly) unskilled workers. The second appeared thirty years later and provided a thoughtful defense of the private, employment-based welfare and industrial relations system that the New Deal established in the United States. Together the books offer a provocative account of the social and individual radicalism of US-style “pure and simple” trade unionism.
Heme Iron Reduction and Catalysis by a Nitric Oxide Synthase Heterodimer Containing One Reductase and Two Oxygenase Domains

Inducible nitric oxide (NO) synthase (iNOS) is comprised of an oxygenase domain containing heme, tetrahydrobiopterin, the substrate binding site, and a reductase domain containing FAD, FMN, calmodulin, and the NADPH binding site. Enzyme activity requires a dimeric interaction between two oxygenase domains with the reductase domains attached as monomeric extensions. To understand how dimerization activates iNOS, we synthesized an iNOS heterodimer comprised of one full-length subunit and one histidine-tagged subunit that was missing its reductase domain. The heterodimer was purified using nickel-Sepharose and 2′,5′-ADP affinity chromatography. The heterodimer catalyzed NADPH-dependent NO synthesis from L-arginine at a rate of 52 ± 6 nmol of NO/min/nmol of heme, which is half the rate of purified iNOS homodimer. Heterodimer NO synthesis was associated with reduction of only half of its heme iron by NADPH, in contrast with near complete heme iron reduction in an iNOS homodimer. Full-length iNOS monomer preparations could not synthesize NO nor catalyze NADPH-dependent heme iron reduction. Thus, dimerization activates NO synthesis by enabling electrons to transfer between the reductase and oxygenase domains. Although a single reductase domain can reduce only one of two hemes in a dimer, this supports NO synthesis from L-arginine.
The Aftermath of Information Technology Outsourcing: An Empirical Study of Firm Performance Following Outsourcing Decisions

Increasingly, organizations are jumping onto the information technology (IT) outsourcing bandwagon in an effort to create value. However, evidence indicating the positive economic consequences of such initiatives has been limited. This study attempts to fill this void by synthesizing the process‐oriented research in IT business value literature and the resource‐based theory to develop an integrative research framework for assessing the value proposition of IT outsourcing. With a process‐oriented lens, the framework suggests that the effects of IT outsourcing are best documented at the process level and hence, it is imperative that one takes into consideration the impact of IT outsourcing on performance at both the process level as well as the firm level. Grounded in the resource‐based view, the framework also accounts for the complementary role of firms' core IT capability as a critical condition for the value creation of IT outsourcing. Consistent with the process‐oriented prediction, the findings sugges...
Acetylcholinesterase inhibition by bis-carbamates

Abstract The inhibition and reactivation of acetylcholinesterase (AChE, EC 3.1.1.7) from the honey bee ( Aphis mellifera L.), the house cricket ( Acheta domestica L.), and bovine erythrocytes by substituted phenyl bis-carbamates were studied. AChE from different species shows remarkable species specificity toward these inhibitors. Bis-carbamates with five methylene groups unexpectedly showed strong inhibition toward bee and cricket AChE. Preincubation of AChE with monocarbamates such as neostigmine prevents the inhibition by bis-carbamates indicating that they involve the same esteratic site. The results of sucrose gradient centrifugation and reactivation studies indicate that only one end of the bis-carbamate is carbamylated to an esteratic site of AChE. There is no evidence that two enzyme molecules are linked to a biscarbamate molecule. None of the bis-carbamates was appreciably toxic to insects. Using dilution technique to study the reactivation rates showed that bovine erythrocyte AChE inhibited by these compounds reactivates much faster than insect AChE.