cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Resonance structures and aromaticity in capped carbon nanotubes

Abstract The shape of a single-walled carbon nanotube’s cylinder is described by its chiral indices, (n,m), and important properties of the nanotube are determined by this pair of values. In particular, a nanotube is metallic or quasi-metallic when n-m is a multiple of 3, and is otherwise a semiconductor. This paper characterizes the conjugated π-systems that can form on capped nanotubes in each case. When n-m is a multiple of 3, there is a fully conjugated π-system running along the nanotube’s cylinder such that two-thirds of the hexagons are benzene rings and one-third are in a resonant set. In contrast, when n-m is not a multiple of 3, the pattern is broken along the length of the cylinder by two fracture lines. Surprisingly, and contrary to conventional thinking, these results are completely independent of the nanotube caps. The results are related to a similar characterization for open nanotubes by Ormsby and King, although in that case only a single fracture line is necessary. This new work is backed by the authors’ previous results on the Clar numbers of fullerenes in general. It also provides new predictions for nanotubes and introduces the concept of the aromaticity ratio.
Renewal model for anomalous traffic in Internet2 links

We propose and estimate an alternating renewal model describing the propagation of anomalies in a backbone internet network in the United States. Internet anomalies, either caused by equipment malf...
Nature and strength of intrinsic cation–anion interactions of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium hexafluorophosphate clusters

Imidazolium-based cations and the hexafluorophosphate anion are among the most commonly used ionic liquids (ILs). Yet, the nature and strength of the intrinsic cation–anion interactions, and how they influence the macroscopic properties of these ILs are still not well understood. Threshold collision-induced dissociation is utilized to determine the bond dissociation energies (BDEs) of the 2 : 1 clusters of 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium cations and the hexafluorophosphate anion, [2Cnmim:PF6]+. The cation, [Cnmim]+, is varied across the series, 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium [C2mim]+, 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium [C4mim]+, 1-hexyl-3-methylimidazolium [C6mim]+, 1-octyl-3-methylimidazolium [C8mim]+, to examine the structural and energetic effects of the size of the 1-alkyl substituent of the cation on the binding to [PF6]−. Complementary electronic structure methods are employed for the [Cnmim]+ cations, (Cnmim:PF6) ion pairs, and [2Cnmim:PF6]+ clusters to elucidate details of the cation–anion interactions and their impact on structure and energetics. Multiple levels of theory are benchmarked with the measured BDEs including B3LYP, B3LYP-GD3BJ, and M06-2X each with the 6-311+G(d,p) basis set for geometry optimizations and frequency analyses and the 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis set for energetic determinations. The modest structural variation among the [Cnmim]+ cations produces only minor structural changes and variation in the measured BDEs of the [2Cnmim:PF6]+ clusters. Present results are compared to those previously reported for the analogous 1-alkyl-3-methylimidazolium tetrafluoroborate IL clusters to compare the effects of these anions on the nature and strength of the intrinsic binding interactions.
Robust Boundary Observer for Traffic State Estimation on One Incoming and Two Outgoing Roads

Abstract In this paper we design a partial differential equation (PDE) observer for state estimation of a fundamental component of traffic flow network: one incoming road segment and two outgoing road segment connected by a junction. Traffic state estimation refers to acquisition of traffic state information from partially observed traffic data. We propose a PDE model-based observer to estimate traffic density and velocity on the ”Y” shape traffic network from boundary sensing at the nodes including inlet, outlet and middle junction. The macroscopic traffic dynamics on each road segment are governed by Aw-Rascle-Zhang (ARZ) model, consisting of second-order nonlinear PDEs of traffic density and velocity. Using PDE backstepping method, we first construct a boundary observer from a copy of the plant and output injections from boundary measurement errors of the middle junction. The exponential stability of the estimation error system to zero in the L2 norm is achieved. For robustness of the observer design, we prove the Input-to-State Stability (ISS) of the estimation error system with respect to in-domain spatially distributed disturbances and measurement noise.
Investigating the trend of hydrogen’s flame velocity profile in relation to pressure and temperature above and below the adiabatic point

Abstract This document discusses the hydrogen combustion flame with a special focus on the flame velocity profile in relationship to combustion pressure and temperature. First, the chemistry associated with hydrogen combustion is discussed along with the important factors that affect the hydrogen flame. Then some of the models for hydrogen flame velocity are discussed. Computational analysis is performed to determine the trend of the flame velocity profile in relation to pressure and temperature above and below the adiabatic temperature point. Twelve test cases, made of combinations of pressure and temperature variations, are used to monitor the trend of the velocity profile when the temperature was under the adiabatic temperature point and when it was above the adiabatic temperature point. It is shown that increasing pressure or temperature, or both, always increased the flame velocity, which is consistent with the physics law. However, this study demonstrated that below the hydrogen adiabatic point, the hydrogen flame average velocity was much more responsive; it increased more than 9 times than when the temperature was above the adiabatic point; it only increased about 5 times. This was observed over the same range of applied pressure and the same range of applied temperature. A physics-based explanation is presented for this trend by considering the kinetic energies associated with the hydrogen species above and below the adiabatic point and the completeness of the combustion. It is also found that the peak velocity profile took place at around 40% of hydrogen concentration.
Utilizing local phase transformation strengthening for nickel-base superalloys

Almost 75 years of research has been devoted to producing superalloys capable of higher operating temperatures in jet turbine engines, and there is an ongoing need to increase operating temperature further. Here, a new disk Nickel-base superalloy is designed to take advantage of strengthening atomic-scale dynamic complexions. This local phase transformation strengthening provides the alloy with a three times improvement in creep strength over similar disk superalloys and comparable strength to a single crystal blade alloy at 760 °C. Ultra-high-resolution chemical mapping reveals that the improvement in creep strength is a result of atomic-scale η (D024) and χ (D019) formation along superlattice stacking faults. To understand these results, the energy differences between the L12 and competing D024 and D019 stacking fault structures and their dependence on composition are computed by density functional theory. This study can help guide researchers to further optimize local phase transformation strengthening mechanisms for alloy development. There is an ongoing need to increase the operating temperature of jet engines, requiring new high-temperature materials. Here, local phase transformations at superlattice stacking faults contribute to a three times improvement in creep strength in a Ni-based superalloy.
Human uterine artery responses to lidocaine.

Abstract Uterine arteries from pregnant and nonpregnant patients were studied to define their responses to lidocaine. Although local anesthetics usually are considered vasodilators, these data indicate that the human uterine artery constricts when exposed to 1,000 μg of lidocaine in vitro. Furthermore, those arteries from pregnant patients exhibitied significantly greater responses than did those from nonpregnant patients.
Ten challenges Redux : recent progress in propositional reasoning and search

In 1997 we presented ten challenges for research on satisfiability testing [1]. In this paper we review recent progress towards each of these challenges, including our own work on the power of clause learning and randomized restart policies.
The Polish Party in Crisis, 1980-1982

During the early 1980s the Polish United Workers’ Party suffered a major crisis, the most substantial crisis of any communist party in any communist party state. The disintegration of the party was at least partly responsible for both the development of Solidarity in the summer of 1980 and the imposition of martial law in December 1981. The lack of trust in the party and its authoritarian and unrepresentative character led the workers to demand an institution more responsive to their own needs. But the growth of Solidarity during 1981 and the continuing disintegration and fragmentation of the party led the military to preempt the leading role of the party by imposing martial law at the end of that year.
Corporate Entrepreneurship (Guest Editors' Introduction)

Provides the introduction to the special issue of this journal focused on corporate entrepreneurship including the state of theory, methods, and findings. The goal of this special issue was to facilitate progress in theory development on corporate entrepreneurship. This introduction presents a map of corporate entrepreneurship research, and links it to strategic management research. Five areas of inquiry for further research are identified: how corporate entrepreneurship is influenced by (a) environment, (b) strategic leaders, (c) organizational form and conduct, and (d) firm performance; and lastly, how corporate entrepreneurship influences firm performance. (SRD)
The State, Human Development and the Economics of Cocaine: The Case of Bolivia

The state in Bolivia is weak in the sense that it has not been able to organize economic development on a sustained basis or to ensure that the benefits of development reach those most in need. The economy of Bolivia is the poorest in South America. In 1988 its per capita GNP as officially measured was $570. The average income of the next poorest country on the South American mainland, Ecuador, was 96 per cent higher than Bolivia’s. In a world context Bolivia is classified as a middle income developing country but its average life expectancy at birth of 53 years would place it among the very poorest countries in the world.1 Human development evidently has not kept pace even with the modest progress the country has experienced in expanding material production, and in recent years there has been economic and social retrogression. Indeed the country has been in a severe economic crisis for a decade and GNP per capita is lower today than it was in 1965, a quarter of a century ago.
A Thematic Guide to Optimality Theory

This book describes Optimality Theory from the top down, explaining and exploring the central premises of OT and the results of their praxis. Examples are drawn from phonology, morphology, and syntax, but the emphasis throughout is on the theory rather than the examples, on understanding what is special about OT and on equipping readers to apply it, extend it, and critique it in their own areas of interest. To enhance the book's usefulness for researchers in allied disciplines, the topdown view of OT extends to work on first- and second-language acquisition, phonetics and functional phonology, computational linguistics, historical linguistics, and sociolinguistics. Furthermore, to situate OT for those coming from other traditions, this book also contains much discussion of OT's intellectual origins, its predecessors, and its contemporary competitors. Each chapter concludes with extensive suggestions for further reading, classified by topics, and supplemented by a massive bibliography (over 800 items). The book ends with a list of frequently asked questions about Optimality Theory, with brief answers and pointers to a fuller treatment in the text.
Localized vibrational modes in semiconductors: Infrared absorption

Die folgende Arbeit enthalt einen Uberblick uber die theoretischen und experimentellen Voraussetzungen fur die Beobachtung hochfrequenter, lokalisierter Schwingungsmoden von Storstellen in einem Kristallgitter. Die Diskussion ist beschrankt und die Infrarot-Absorption in Halbleitersystemen, und fur das Beispiel GaAs:Si wird ein Uberblick uber die experimentellen Ergebnisse gegeben. Die Messungen liefern Informationen uber vier verschiedene Punktdefekte und ihre Symmetrien. Es ergibt sich ein direkter Nachweis fur “ion-pairing” und “impurity site transfer”. Das Verfahren wird angewendet, um den Einflus anderer Fremdatome auf die Verteilung der Si-Atome auf die Gitterplatze zu studieren und um die Verteilung der Si-Atome in GaAs, das aus einer Ga-Losung gewonnen wurde, zu untersuchen. Andere experimentelle Ergebnisse betreffen neuere Beobachtungen der Absorption durch die lokalisierte Schwingungsmode von Si in GeSi-Legierungen mit Ge-Uberschus, Messungen der Storstellen-Segregations-Koeffizienten in verschiedenen Fallen mit lokalen Moden und die Beobachtung der lokalen Mode des Phosphors fur ionen-implantiertes Phosphor in GaAs.
Thermodynamics of stacking faults

The Gibbs treatment of interfacial free energy is reviewed and applied to the specific case of stacking faults in alloys. The alternative model of viewing the fault region as a second phase is briefly reviewed. Prior treatments of the topic using the later approach are shown to have led to thermodynamic inconsistencies in some cases. The relation between stacking fault energy and equilibrium separation of partial dislocations is established. The stress required to move partial dislocations or perfect dislocations in alloys is developed on the basis of a virtual displacement from equilibrium approach.
Pain extent and diagnosis: development and validation of the regional pain scale in 12,799 patients with rheumatic disease.

OBJECTIVE: To develop and validate a pain scale that measures the extent of body pain. METHODS: A total of 12,799 patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), osteoarthritis (OA), and fibromyalgia (FM) completed a mailed survey regarding the location and intensity of their pain in 38 articular and nonarticular regions. The data were analyzed using item response theory (IRT) by nonparametric Mokken analysis followed by Rasch analysis. The resultant scale was examined for its association with clinical severity variables and its ability to distinguish patients diagnosed with and without FM. RESULTS: The resultant 19 item regional pain scale (RPS) was composed primarily of nonarticular regions. The scale had strong scalability as measured by the Mokken H statistic (H = 0.52), and satisfied the Mokken monotonicity and double monotonicity criteria. The RPS also fit the Rasch model and had satisfactory reliability and separation statistics. Of all clinical variables assessed by survey, the RPS best identified patients diagnosed with FM. In addition, the scale correlated with measures of clinical severity, regardless of diagnosis, and predicted measures of utilization. CONCLUSION: The RPS is a valid scale of pain extent. It can be useful to identify patients with FM or can be used to develop a new definition of FM, even among patients with concomitant illnesses such as RA and OA. In addition, it is a measure of pain extent that is disease independent, and works as well in RA and OA as in FM to identify patients with increased severity and resource utilization.
Dislocation generation in the two-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova model at high stresses.

Dislocation generation is studied in a generalized two-dimensional Frenkel-Kontorova model which allows consideration of dislocations of arbitrary Burgers vector and line shape. Two new mechanisms for dislocation generation at high stresses have been found: (1) heterogeneous nucleation of dislocations on preexisting dislocations and (2) generation of dislocation loops in the wake of a moving dislocation. These new mechanisms provide an understanding of how materials generate the density of dislocations required to accommodate arbitrary strains at high strain rates.
Bilingualism and Subjective Well-Being in a Sample of Elderly Hispanics

This study aims to examine Ihe relationship between bilingualism and subjective well-being among elderly Hispanics. Bilingualism is viewed as the abilily to communicate in both English and Spanish. Subiective well-being includes positive affect and lack of negative affect. The study uses data from the 1988 national survey on elderly Hispanics. A sample of 632 elderly bilinguals whose first language was Spanish was selected for the analyses. LISREL 7 was used to test the correlations among two dimensions of bilingualism and two dimensions of subjective well-being. Both first-order confirmatory factor analysis and second-order confirmatory factor analysis reveal that languages and psychological well being correlated in expected directions. More importanlly, the study found that elderly Hispanics who had a stronger bilingual ability had a better psychological status. It is suggested that the social work profession can play an important role in helping recently arrived immigrants and refugees to learn English...
Major resin acids of Pinus nigra needles

Abstract Labdane diterpene acids were found to be the major resin acid components in Pinus nigra needles of various seed sources. The major constituents have been identified as 4-epiimbricataloic acid, manoyl oxide 19-oic acid, 4-epicommunic acid, and 15-monomethyl pinifolate. A GC method was developed to analytically differentiate pinifolic acid from its monomethyl ester in an admixture of both compounds. A minor resin acid was identified as 18-acetoxy-8(17)-labden-15-oic acid. 10-Nonacosanol and isoabienol were identified as major constituents of the needle and cortex extractives, respectively.
Chorus structure in tarbush grasshoppers: inhibition, selective phonoresponse and signal competition

Abstract. In species where sexually advertising males signal in groups, the timing of an individual'ssignals relative to those of neighbours may be a critical aspect of mating success. Temporal signalinteractions and their relation to female attraction were examined in the tarbush grasshopper,Ligurotettix planum. The acoustic signals of neighbouring L. planum males form a crudely alternatingchorus. Alternation within male pairs is effected by an (inhibitory resetting) mechanism that causes amale to refrain from calling for at least a 1 8-s interval beginning 0 2 s after the onset of a neighbour'scall. This mechanism is not equally applied to all neighbours. Rather, males are selectively inhibited byonly their nearest one or two neighbours, whereas more distant, but audible, callers are ignored. Malesalso time their calls to occur shortly before calls at the ends of predictably recurring silent intervals.Consequently, males do not decrease their calling rates in high population density, and they competeeffectively for females. Phonotaxis in L. planum females is characterized by preference for leading calls,a psychoacoustic feature that would select for timing mechanisms that avert the production of followingcalls in males. The inhibitory resetting mechanism averts such calls. Moreover, because males are onlyinhibited by nearest neighbours, their strongest competitors, they can avoid producing unattractivefollowing calls and still maintain normal calling rates. By calling at the ends of silent intervals, malesmay actively compete with neighbours via 'attempting' to relegate the neighbours' calls to ineffective,from the neighbour's perspective, time intervals following the focal male's call.Many animal species in which males producelong-range sexual advertisement signals typicallyoccur in population densities sufficiently high thatsignallers can perceive one another. In such cir-cumstances it is not unusual for neighbouringmales to adjust their signal timing mutually andthereby collectively produce a ion-random tem-poral pattern (Alexander 1975; Greenfield &Shaw 1983). Of the various non-random patternsof collective signalling reported, the extremes ofsynchrony and alternation are most fascinatingbecause of the precise timing oten evident. Syn-chrony may be defined as an incidence of over-lap of rhythmic signals much greater than thatexpected by chance, whereas alternation is a
School Effectiveness Indices Revisited: Cross-Year Stability.

School effectiveness indices (SEIs) based on residuals from regressing test performance onto prior test performance and a socioeconomic status (SES) measure were obtained for 2 consecutive years for 431 elementary schools. The resulting SEIs were found to be reasonably stable year to year, the correlations ranging from. 34 to .66, depending on grade level (1–4) and subject (reading and mathematics). To aid in the identification of the factors that affect the stability of school achievement, correlations of the SEIs across subjects and grade levels were obtained also. It was determined that SEIs reflecting the performance of students at the same grade level were relatively stable, whether the same or different students were involved. However, SEIs reflecting the performance of students at different grade levels were very unstable. This suggests that grade-within-school effects dominate whatever global school effects operate in elementary schools. Implications for effective schools research, the design of school recognition/reward programs, and research and measurement specialists in general are discussed
Complexes of polyadenylic acid and the methyl esters of amino acids.

A study of amino acid methyl esters binding to polyadenylic acid supports the theory that the genetic code originated through weak but selective affinities between amino acids and nucleotides. NMR, insoluble complex analysis, and ultraviolet spectroscopy are used to illustrate a correlation between the hydrophybicities of A amino acids and their binding constants, which, beginning with the largest, are in the order of Phe (having nominally a hydrophobic AAA anticodon), Ile, Leu, Val and Gly (having a hydrophilic anticodon with no A). In general, the binding constants are twice the values by Reuben and Polk (1980) for monomeric AMP, which suggests that polymer amino acids are interacting with only one base. No real differences are found betwen poly A binding for free Phe, Phe methyl ester or Phe amide, except that the amide value is slightly lower.
The Naive Parton Model and BRAHMS Measurements

The Naive Parton Model is revisited in conjunction with some data collected with BRAHMS spectrometers at RHIC.
Visualization method to predict the nucleophilic asymmetric induction of prochiral electrophiles.

This work focuses on the development of a simple technique to accurately predict and visualize the diastereoselectivity of ketone, aldehyde, and allyl chloride reductions by mapping electrostatic potential onto the frontier molecular orbital involved in the reduction. A distinct difference of electrostatic potential on the faces of the carbonyl can be used to predict the face of nucleophilic attack with a high level of accuracy.
Double Beta Decay

In the last few years our understanding of neutrino intrinsic properties has expanded in a revolutionary and unexpected way. The results of experiments with solar, atmospheric, reactor, and accelerator neutrinos are all (or almost all) consistent and lead to the inescapable conclusion that neutrinos are massive but very light particles and that they are mixed. By that we mean that the electron, muon, and tau neutrinos νe, νμ, ντ that are produced in the weak decays are not particles with a definite mass (in fact, perhaps for that reason we should not call them elementary particles at all), but rather superpositions of particles with a definite mass, usually just denoted ν1, ν2, ν3.
SPIN RESONANCE IN NEUTRON-IRRADIATED GRAPHITE

The carrier spin-resonance line of neutron-irradiated single crystals of graphite at 300\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K has been observed as a function of the thermal neutron flux up to a dose of 9.6\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{18}$ nvt. From the intensity increase and the $g$ shift for $H$ parallel to the $c$ axis, it is concluded that on the average 30 holes become mobile per nvt per ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$. This is in agreement with earlier work of Hennig and Hove which was based on electrical measurements. It is shown that the line they reported in spin-resonance experiments on polycrystalline graphite was due to mobile charge carriers and not to paramagnetic carbon centers as they assumed. The number of holes created is compared to a recent electron transmission microscopy investigation of Bollmann where the damage has been observed directly. It is estimated that about one hole per displaced carbon atom is freed.For the unirradiated graphite the linewidth was found to be anisotropic, being 4.6 gauss for $H$ parallel and 3.0 gauss for $H$ perpendicular to the $c$ axis. This shows for the first time an incomplete "motional" narrowing for mobile carrier spin resonance. The anisotropy as well as the width decreases monotonically with irradiation, and at the highest dose investigated the linewidth is isotropic and equal to 1.3 gauss. The change in linewidth with irradiation and temperature is interpreted as due to a change in spin lattice relaxation time ${T}_{1}$ which is caused by carrier scattering via spin-orbit interaction.
Differences in Traditional and Nontraditional Students' Preferences for Advising Services and Perceptions of Services Received

When traditional students' perceptions of advising were compared to those of nontraditional students, the traditional students placed more value on developmental advising. Overall, traditional stud...
Ground water modeling of mise-a-la-masse delineation of contaminated ground water plumes

Abstract Finite-difference simulations of mise-a-la-masse electrical flow through conductive contaminant plumes show that the approximate dimensions of a plume and the approximate location of its center of mass can be derived from the resulting electrical potential fields. Contaminant plumes that exhibit `Gaussian' (statistically normal) concentration distributions form trending heterogeneities with respect to electrical conductivity. These plumes are relatively poor conductors with electrical conductivity decreasing continuously with distance outward from the contaminant source in the directions of plume migration. Thus, electrical flow from a single, current electrode placed in the source of a contaminant plume refracts continuously with distance from the source as the current flows preferentially through the plume. Changes in the electrical potential field that occur at the land surface due to the presence of an evolving plume can be used to monitor the growth of the plume.
Temperature‐dependent nonlinear effects and catalyst evolution in the asymmetric addition of diethylzinc to benzaldehyde

Several efficient and highly enantioselective titanium-based catalysts promote the asymmetric addition of alkyl groups to aldehydes. The catalysts involved in these reactions have been found not to exhibit nonlinear behavior. We have been able to identify a series of chiral bis(sulfonamide)-based titanium catalysts that do show nonlinear behavior. Monitoring of the product ee's (eep's) at different conversions and different temperatures has led us to propose that nonlinear behavior is caused by an autoinduction process rather than by catalyst aggregation. Evidence to support this hypothesis includes ee p 's that change with the extent of conversion. We have found that when enantiopure ligand was used, the ee p increases with conversion from 72% to 80%. However, use of non-enantiopure ligand results in ee p 's that decrease with conversion. These results are rationalized by different rates of alkoxide exchange processes between like and unlike titanium-alkoxide containing complexes.
An in silico assessment of gene function and organization of the phenylpropanoid pathway metabolic networks in Arabidopsis thaliana and limitations thereof

The Arabidopsis genome sequencing in 2000 gave to science the first blueprint of a vascular plant. Its successful completion also prompted the US National Science Foundation to launch the Arabidopsis 2010 initiative, the goal of which is to identify the function of each gene by 2010. In this study, an exhaustive analysis of The Institute for Genomic Research (TIGR) and The Arabidopsis Information Resource (TAIR) databases, together with all currently compiled EST sequence data, was carried out in order to determine to what extent the various metabolic networks from phenylalanine ammonia lyase (PAL) to the monolignols were organized and/or could be predicted. In these databases, there are some 65 genes which have been annotated as encoding putative enzymatic steps in monolignol biosynthesis, although many of them have only very low homology to monolignol pathway genes of known function in other plant systems. Our detailed analysis revealed that presently only 13 genes (two PALs, a cinnamate-4-hydroxylase, a p-coumarate-3-hydroxylase, a ferulate-5-hydroxylase, three 4-coumarate-CoA ligases, a cinnamic acid O-methyl transferase, two cinnamoyl-CoA reductases) and two cinnamyl alcohol dehydrogenases can be classified as having a bona fide (definitive) function; the remaining 52 genes currently have undetermined physiological roles. The EST database entries for this particular set of genes also provided little new insight into how the monolignol pathway was organized in the different tissues and organs, this being perhaps a consequence of both limitations in how tissue samples were collected and in the incomplete nature of the EST collections. This analysis thus underscores the fact that even with genomic sequencing, presumed to provide the entire suite of putative genes in the monolignol-forming pathway, a very large effort needs to be conducted to establish actual catalytic roles (including enzyme versatility), as well as the physiological function(s) for each member of the (multi)gene families present and the metabolic networks that are operative. Additionally, one key to identifying physiological functions for many of these (and other) unknown genes, and their corresponding metabolic networks, awaits the development of technologies to comprehensively study molecular processes at the single cell level in particular tissues and organs, in order to establish the actual metabolic context.
Growth of young loblolly pine trees following pruning

Pruning loblolly pine trees is sometimes practiced to improve wood quality even though reduced growth following treatment may occur. Two experiments were established in February 2000 in the Piedmont region of Virginia, USA, to examine the impact of timing and intensity of pruning on subsequent growth of young loblolly pine trees. Results of one study indicated that there is a window of opportunity during the early portion of stand development where up to 50% of the live crown length can be removed without a significant loss of long-term height or diameter growth. Within a year following pruning at ages 3, 6 and 9 (all pruning treatments occurred prior to crown closure), crown mass had been restored and growth comparable to an unpruned control resumed. By age 11 there were no significant differences in cumulative height or dbh of any of the one-lift pruning treatments and the control. Findings from a second study planted at closer spacings where pruning treatments occurred at crown closure (age 6) showed that pruning some of the trees in a loblolly pine plantation does not result in a loss of long-term height or diameter growth or crown dominance for the pruned trees as compared to their unpruned neighbors. For both studies, growth reductions following pruning were small and transitory.
Problem-Based Teaching in International Management: A Political/Economic Risk Assessment Exercise

This article draws from the current literature to examine problem-based learning (PBL) as a management education tool, and provides an example of how to incorporate PBL into an undergraduate international management course. Also included are an explanation of, and specific guidelines for, a PBL exercise focused on the analysis of “country risk” (political/economic risks) for potential foreign direct investment. Additionally, the benefits and unique challenges of successfully implementing this type of exercise are discussed.
Novel vascular targeting/disrupting agents: Combretastatin A4 phosphate and related compounds

Novel anticancer compounds are being developed that attempt to exploit the unique properties of the vascular endothelium, which supplies rapidly dividing neoplasms. The goal of these vascular targeting agents (VTAs) or endothelial disrupting agents is to cause rapid shutdown of tumor blood supply with subsequent tumor death from hypoxia and nutrient deprivation. VTAs are classified into two broad categories: biologic therapies or small molecule compounds. A variety of VTAs are in early clinical development. These agents have demonstrated clinical activity in phase I trials and are being evaluated with cytotoxic chemotherapy and radiotherapy.
Too Much of a Good Thing

Self-discrepancy (SD) theories and self-enhancement (SE) theories have focused primarily on people's motivations to seek either self-consistent or self-enhancing feedback. The two sets of theories, however, also suggest different reactions to the feedback people receive from others. SE theories suggest that people react negatively to evaluations that are more negative than self-evaluations, but positively to evaluations that are more positive. SD theories, like identity control theory, suggest that people react negatively to either under- or overevaluation. We use data from newly married couples over the first three years of marriage to test these different predictions of SD and SE theories. The results indicate strong support for discrepancy theories overall, though an examination of potential moderators suggests that the discrepancy effect is larger when the relationship to the other is stronger. We discuss implications of these results for identity control theory.
Quantitation of Regional Cerebral Blood Flow Increases in Prefrontal Cortex during a Working Memory Task: A Steady-State Arterial Spin-Tagging Study

Abstract Steady-state arterial spin-tagging MRI approaches were used to quantitate regional cerebral blood flow increases in prefrontal cortex during a working memory (“two-back”) task in six normal subjects. Statistically significant increases in cerebral blood flow in prefrontal cortex were observed in all six subjects: the average increase in cerebral blood flow in activated prefrontal cortex regions was 22 ± 5 cc/100 g/min (23 ± 7%). The results demonstrate that spin-tagging approaches can be used to follow focal activation in prefrontal cortex during cognitive tasks.
From models to mechanisms: Odorant communication as a key determinant of social behavior in rodents during illness-associated states

Pheromones and other social odor cues convey rich information among rodents. Social investigation is described as a key element in olfactory communication, which involves motivated approaches to conspecifics and other socially relevant stimuli. This behavior is activated by the detection of social cues to gather information about conspecifics for subsequent strategies such as avoidance or further approach, thereby determining the extent and nature of physical contact that ensues. This feature indicates a useful way for describing the process of social communication in distance-based manner. In particular, airborne odorant signals in rodent species guide social investigation at a distance, and provide information regarding the health status of the odor donors. In this review, we will address the role of the inflammatory response in the release of odor cues that involve information about several illness-associated conditions (bacterial or parasitic infection, stressor exposure, etc.). We will provide an overview of how sex and developmental epoch in odor donors serve as predictors of subsequent social behavior. We conclude that inflammatory processes have a profound impact on social behavior through a direct effect on the sick individual (i.e., reduced motivation to engage in social interaction), while the release of illness-related, aversive odor cues from the sick individual serves to inhibit social investigation by healthy conspecifics. Together, this dual impact of acute illness is thought to minimize disease transmission across individuals and promote healthy group living.
The risk of small St. Jude aortic valve prostheses

Abstract We reviewed our 12-year experience with 254 adult patients who had St. Jude valves in the aortic position and used multivariate analysis to examine risk factors possibly affecting long-term morbidity and mortality. Nineteen-millimeter or 21-mm valves were implanted in 115 patients. Poor preoperative congestive heart failure status was associated with persistent congestive heart failure on late foliow-up. Preoperative congestive heart failure and coronary artery disease were the only predictors of overall late death. Late deaths associated with heart failure and late sudden deaths were examined separately. Preoperative degree of heart failure was the only predictor of late death with associated heart failure. The implantation of a 19- or 21-mm valve in patients with a body surface area greater than 1.9 m 2 somewhat increased the risk of late sudden death. In patients with a body surface area greater than 1.9 m 2 and with a 19-mm or 21-mm annulus, consideration should be given to using a high-performance St. Jude valve or performing an annulus-enlarging procedure if this can be done with negligible morbidity.
Camera Model Identification Using Local Binary Patterns

In digital image forensics, camera model identification seeks for the source camera model information from the given images under investigation. To achieve this goal, one of the popular approaches is extracting from the images under investigation certain statistical features that capture the difference caused by camera structure and various in-camera image processing algorithms, followed by machine learning and pattern recognition algorithms for similarity measures of extracted features. In this paper, we propose to use uniform gray-scale invariant local binary patterns (LBP) as statistical features. Considering 8-neighbor binary co-occurrence, three groups of 59 local binary patterns are extracted from the spatial domain of red and green color channels, their corresponding prediction-error arrays, and their 1st-level diagonal wavelet sub bands of each image, respectively. Multi-class support vector machines are built for classification of 18 camera models from &#x00E2;Dresden Image Database'. Compared with the results reported in literatures, the detection accuracy reported in this paper is higher.
Native Hawaiian Women and the Experience of Breast Cancer

This article describes a qualitative inquiry into the experiences of Native Hawaiian women living through and beyond a diagnosis of breast cancer. Native Hawaiian women have increased incidence and mortality breast cancer rates compared with other ethnic groups in Hawaii. Health promotion programs targeted at Native Hawaiians have often failed because of cultural inappropriateness. A lack of knowledge about the culture is frequently a part of this failure. Therefore, the specific purpose of this study was to examine the lived experience of a selected group of Native Hawaiian breast cancer survivors, uncover the connections between their narratives and their personal and cultural milieux, and generate knowledge about the Native Hawaiian woman's breast cancer experience that would be useful in planning future health promotion outreach efforts. The study consisted of interview data collected from 11 Native Hawaiian female participants, ranging from 44 to 82 years of age. An interpretive phenomenological analysis of the data identified recurrent contexts and themes. The three major contexts in their stories were discovery, transformation (physical, emotional and spiritual), and life realignment. Themes included the importance of spiritual connection, an altruistic desire to reach out and assist others in a similar situation, and a context of familial silence about cancer history. These elements can assist in formulating health promotion and intervention activities for this population. Interwoven with these themes was the Native Hawaiian concept of pono--a sense of rightness and balance, and the crucial importance of the participants' Native Hawaiian identity and cultural heritage.
Impulse noise removal utilizing second-order difference analysis

The pending problem that research in random-valued impulse noise filtering has been facing is the inability to distinguish noisy values that do not occur as extreme outliers in comparison with other surrounding pixels. In this paper, we propose a new detection and filtering algorithm that consists of (1) a two-stage detection scheme that employs second-order difference between pixels to determine the integrity of the image pixels and (2) a noise filtering process that estimates the original value of each noisy pixel utilizing the information gathered from (1). Due to its unbiased detection criteria, this method treats both fixed-valued and random-valued noise with extremely high detection rate.
On Density Microheterogeneities in Dilute Supercritical Solutions

The dilute supercritical mixtures were examined in the framework of the Kirkwood−Buff theory of solutions. Various expressions were employed for the excess number of aggregated molecules of solvent around individual solute molecules to conclude that at infinite dilution the above mentioned excess is zero. This suggested that the density enhancement observed when small amounts of a solute were added to a solvent near the critical point of the latter may not be caused by the aggregation of the solvent molecules around individual solute molecules as usually considered. Further, comparing experimental results, it was shown that the density enhancement caused by the near critical fluctuations in a pure solvent are almost the same, in a wide range of pressures, as those in dilute supercritical mixtures near the critical point of the solvent.
The Cross-Generational Mother–Daughter–Aunt–Niece Design: Establishing Validity of the MDAN Design with NLSY Fertility Variables

Using National Longitudinal Survey of Youth (NLSY) fertility variables, we introduce and illustrate a new genetically-informative design. First, we develop a kinship linking algorithm, using the NLSY79 and the NLSY-Children data to link mothers to daughters and aunts to nieces. Then we construct mother–daughter correlations to compare to aunt–niece correlations, an MDAN design, within the context of the quantitative genetic model. The results of our empirical illustration, which uses DF Analysis and generalized estimation equations (GEE) to estimate biometrical parameters from NLSY79 sister–sister pairs and their children in the NLSY-Children dataset, provide both face validity and concurrent validity in support of the efficacy of the design. We describe extensions of the MDAN design. Compared to the typical within-generational design used in most behavior genetic research, the cross-generational feature of this design has certain advantages and interesting features. In particular, we note that the equal environment assumption of the traditional biometrical model shifts in the context of a cross-generational design. These shifts raise questions and provide motivation for future research using the MDAN and other cross-generational designs.
First Simultaneous Optical and Extreme-Ultraviolet Observations of the Quasi-coherent Oscillations of SS Cygni

Using extreme-ultraviolet (EUV) photometry obtained with the Extreme Ultraviolet Explorer (EUVE) satellite and UBVR optical photometry obtained with the 2.7 m telescope at McDonald Observatory, we have detected quasi-coherent oscillations (so-called dwarf nova oscillations) in the EUV and optical flux of the dwarf nova SS Cyg during its 1996 October outburst. There are two new results from these observations. First, we have for the first time observed "frequency doubling": during the rising branch of the outburst, the period of the EUV oscillation was observed to jump from 6.59 to 2.91 s. Second, we have for the first time observed quasi-coherent oscillations simultaneously in the optical and EUV. We find that the period and phase of the oscillations are the same in the two wave bands, finally confirming the long-held assumption that the periods of the optical and EUV/soft X-ray oscillations of dwarf novae are equal. The UBV oscillations can be simply the Rayleigh-Jeans tail of the EUV oscillations if the boundary layer temperature kTbb 15 eV and hence the luminosity Lbb 1.2 × 1034(d/75 pc)2 ergs s-1 (comparable to that of the accretion disk). Otherwise, the lack of a phase delay between the EUV and optical oscillations requires that the optical reprocessing site lies within the inner third of the accretion disk. This is strikingly different from other cataclysmic variables, where much or all of the disk contributes to the optical oscillations.
Distribution of glucagon-like peptide 1-immunopositive neurons in human caudal medulla

In rodents, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1)-positive neurons within the caudal medulla respond to a broad array of interoceptive signals that suppress food intake and drive the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal stress axis. The collective results of experiments utilizing cFos to identify activated neurons in rats and mice indicate that GLP-1 neurons are consistently activated by stimuli that present actual or anticipated threats to bodily homeostasis. The distribution of GLP-1-positive neurons in the human brain is unreported. The present study identified GLP-1-positive neurons and mapped their distribution within the caudal medulla in two adult human subjects (one female, one male). The goal of the study was to obtain structural evidence with which to challenge the general hypothesis that functions ascribed to GLP-1 neurons in rodent species may reflect parallel functions that exist in humans. In both human subjects, GLP-1-immunopositive neurons were located within the dorsal medullary region containing the caudal (visceral) nucleus of the solitary tract and in the nearby medullary reticular formation, similar to the distribution of GLP-1 neurons in rats, mice, and Old World monkeys. Quantitative analysis indicates the presence of approximately 6.5–9.3 K GLP-1-positive neurons bilaterally within the human caudal medulla. It will be important in future studies to map the distribution of GLP-1-positive fibers and terminals within higher regions of the human brain, to improve our understanding of how central GLP-1 signaling pathways might influence stress responsiveness, energy balance, and other physiological and behavioral functions.