cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
National Trends in the Cost Burden of Pediatric Gunshot Wounds Across the United States.

Objective To characterize hospitalization costs attributable to gun-related injuries in children across the US. Study design The 2005-2017 National Inpatient Sample was used to identify all pediatric admissions for gunshot wounds (GSW). Patients were stratified by International Classification of Diseases procedural codes for trauma-related operations. Annual trends in GSW hospitalizations and costs were analyzed with survey-weighted estimates. Multivariable regressions were used to identify factors associated with high-cost hospitalizations. Results During the study period, an estimated 36 283 pediatric patients were admitted for a GSW, with 43.1% undergoing an operative intervention during hospitalization. Admissions for pediatric firearm injuries decreased from 3246 in 2005 to 3185 in 2017 (NPtrend Conclusions Admissions for pediatric firearm injuries were associated with a significant socioeconomic burden in the US, with increasing resource use over time. Pediatric gun violence is a major public health crisis that warrants further research and advocacy to reduce its prevalence and social impact.
Do regions have an impact on a person's health insurance status? A hierarchical modeling approach for small area estimates

Synthetic methods using age, race, sex and Hispanic origin (ARSH) arrays specific to regions have been used in combination with survey data to produce inexpensive estimates of health insurance coverage for different geographic regions. Because health insurance status is typically derived from survey data, a synthetic approach is unreliable when a region has few persons in sample with certain ARSH characteristics. For instance, a region with few persons of Hispanic origin and sparse survey coverage will produce less reliable estimates for that population subgroup. This article focuses on a hybrid model of synthetic estimation and hierarchical modeling. Hierarchical modeling can minimize the unexplained differences between regions making it possible to increase the reliability of the health insurance status estimates. Information on health insurance status and age, race, sex and Hispanic origin comes from the Survey of Income and Program Participation. State-level variables that influence the State’s average health insurance rate were gathered from multiple sources.
Computation of log BB values for compounds transported through carrier-mediated mechanisms using in vitro permeability data from brain microvessel endothelial cell (BMEC) monolayers.

Purpose. To explore the possibility of determining in vivo log BB values (the logarithm value of brain to plasma concentration ratio) from in vitro permeability data measured in brain microvessel endothelial cell (BMEC) monolayers.
T3 receptor suppression of Sp1-dependent transcription from the epidermal growth factor receptor promoter via overlapping DNA-binding sites

Expression of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene is inhibited by ligand-activated thyroid hormone receptor (T3R). Binding sites for Sp1 and for the T3R.retinoid X receptor (RXR) complex overlap in a functional core of the EGFR promoter. Sp1 inhibited binding of the T3R complex to this 36-base pair (bp) EGFR element in vitro but did not affect binding of the T3R complex to a positive thyroid hormone response element (TRE). In Drosophila SL2 cells, which lack Sp1 and T3R, function of the EGFR promoter was strongly dependent on Sp1. Sp1-dependent promoter function was inhibited by ligand-activated T3R but not by mutant T3R defective in DNA or T3 binding. RXR increased the extent of inhibition. Sp1 enhanced activity of the 36-bp element placed 5‘ to a minimal TATA promoter and this enhancement was also repressed by T3R. Mutations in the 36-bp element were unable to separate Sp1 and T3R functions. However, addition of a second half-site 5‘ to the existing site in an inverted repeat configuration created a positive TRE. In the absence of ligand, T3R inhibited Sp1 stimulation from this altered element; addition of T3 reversed the inhibition. When a dimeric TRE is separated from Sp1-binding sites strong synergism was observed. The nature and location of the TRE thus strongly influence biological responses. A TRE site in the EGFR promoter that overlaps an Sp1-binding site inhibits Sp1 function but is unable to direct positive function.
Large Proper-Motion Infrared [Fe II] Emission-Line Features in GGD 37

We report the detection of proper motions in [Fe II] 1.644 μm emission among the southeasternmost features in the Herbig-Haro object complex GGD 37. Imaging observations were made over a period of 5 yr, at epochs 1993.67, 1996.71, and 1998.68, that reveal proper-motion velocities of 400 ± 200 km s-1 at GGD 37:W2 and 850 ± 200 km s-1 at a newly identified object, designated GGD 37:RWPF 1. We believe the proper-motion velocity of GGD 37:RWPF 1 is the highest found to date for a Herbig-Haro object. The direction of GGD 37:RWPF 1's proper motion is almost due west, away from the nearby young stellar object complex in Cep A East. GGD 37:W2's direction of proper motion is north/northwest, which does not lead back to any of the compact objects in Cep A East.
Phenylethylamine effects on dopamine synthesis: Structure-activity relationships

Abstract The effects of various substituents on phenylethylamine- and amphetamine-induced alterations in dopamine synthesis have been studied in rat brain synaptosomal preparations isolated from the corpus striatum. The stimulation of synthesis normally observed with phenylethylamine and amphetamine was converted into inhibition by the addition of a p -hydroxy substituent on the ring. Thus, whereas 20μM phenylethylamine produced a 30 per cent stimulation of synthesis, 20 μM p -hydroxyphenylethylamine (tyramine) produced a 30 per cent inhibition, and whereas 20 μM d -amphetamine increased synthesis by 40 per cent, 20 μM dl - p -hydroxyamphetamine inhibited synthesis by 20 per cent. β-Hydroxy substitution on the side chain somewhat diminished, but did not prevent, synthesis stimulation, whereas the presence of both the β-hydroxy and p -hydroxy substituents appeared to increase the inhibitory effects, with 45 per cent inhibition produced by 20 μM dl -octopamine and 50 per cent inhibition produced by 20 μM dl - p -hydroxynorephedrine. The synthesis stimulation produced by dl -norephedrine was dependent upon the presence of calcium in the incubation medium. The addition of an N -methyl substituent on d -amphetamine to form d -methamphetamine did not alter significantly the stimulatory potency of amphetamine. Tyramine-induced synthesis inhibition was prevented by preincubation with cocaine, suggesting an intrasynaptosomal site of action. Amphetamine antagonized the synthesis stimulation produced by the depolarizing agent veratridine, but tyramine did not have this effect. These data suggest that the parent phenylethylamine compounds interact with an intracellular regulatory site, possibly related to calcium flux and/or dopamine release, that is not affected by the p -hydroxy derivatives.
Phase stability in Be–Nb and Be–Nb–Zr intermetallics

Sputter deposition of Be-Nb alloys at low temperature (30{degrees}C) produces an amorphous phase for compositions >5 at.% Nb. A metastable crystalline phase which can be considered a highly faulted form of the Be{sub 12}Nb occurs at higher deposition temperatures or by low-temperature annealing of the amorphous phase. Because of structural similarities, this metastable phase is a precursor to the formation of either Be{sub 12}Nb or Be{sub 17}Nb{sub 2} upon high temperature annealing. There was no evidence of the Be{sub 5}Nb phase which has been postulated on some phase diagrams. The Be{sub 12}Nb phase can accomodate considerable Zr in the structure and the Be{sub 13}Zr can accomodate Nb into its structure. The Be{sub 13}Zr becomes the predominant phase when the Zr/Nb composition ratio > 1. High temperature annealing of the ternary results in dual-phase regions of Be{sub 12}(Nb,Zr) + Be{sub 17}(NbZr){sub 2} or Be{sub 13}(Zr,Nb) + Be{sub 17}(Zr,Nb){sub 2}, but the coexistence of Be{sub 12}(Nb,Zr) + Be{sub 13}(Zr,Nb) has not been observed. 10 refs., 5 figs.
Transportation and Air Quality

This chapter describes how transportation activities have a direct impact on the quality of ambient air. The proper phrase to describe the science that studies this impact is “transportation and air quality” rather than “transportation and air pollution.” For a majority of the substances that may be considered as air pollutants are, in fact, naturally present in the atmospheres. The predominant effect transportation sources have on the atmospheric air is to affect the quality of the ambient air. This chapter presents a broad outline of the underlying science and practices related to transportation air quality.
The electronic structure, spectra, and magnetic properties of actinyl ions: Part II. Neptunyl, and the ground states of other actinyls☆☆☆

Abstract The ground state of the neptunyl ion is shown to be 2 Φ ( 5 2 )u on the basis of magnetic susceptibility experiments, and energy calculations which include spin-orbital coupling and ligand field effects. It is shown that the electronic spectrum of NpO 2 ++ may be accounted for entirely by intra-5 f -shell transitions. A low-energy infrared electronic transition in the range 2000–4000 cm −1 is predicted for the neptunyl ion, but has not thus far been observed. The ground states, electron configurations, and magnetic susceptibilities of PuO 2 ++ , NpO 2 ++ , AmO 2 ++ . PuO 2 + , AmP 2 + , and UO 2 + are also discussed.
Twinning of Crystals (I)

Twinning is a kind of defect, commonly observed in crystalline solids. We explore some implications of this, with respect to the theory of crystal elasticity.
Analysis of the Retinoid Isomerase Activities in the Retinal Pigment Epithelium and Retina

Light sensitivity in the vertebrate retina is mediated by the opsin visual pigments inside rod and cone photoreceptor cells. These pigments consist of a G protein-coupled receptor and the photo-sensitive lig-and, 11-cis-retinaldehyde (11-cis-RAL). Absorption of a photon by an opsin pigment induces isomerization of the 11-cis-RAL chromophore to all-trans-retinaldehyde (all-trans-RAL), rendering the pigment insensitive to light. The bleached opsin regains light sensitivity by recombining with another 11-cis-RAL. The vertebrate eye contains a biochemical mechanism for regenerating 11-cis-RAL chromophore from all-trans-RAL, called the visual cycle. The visual cycle takes place within cells of the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). A second visual cycle also appears to be present in Muller glial cells of the retina. A critical step in the regeneration of 11-cis-RAL chromophore is thermal re-isomerization to the 11-cis configuration of an all-trans-retinyl ester (all-trans-RE) or an all-trans-retinol (all-trans-ROL). In RPE cells, this step is carried out by an enzyme called Rpe65 isomerase. This chapter provides methods for assaying Rpe65 isomerase. Although Rpe65 utilizes an all-trans-RE such as all-trans-retinyl palmitate (all-trans-RP) as substrate, it can be assayed in RPE homogenates by providing all-trans-ROL substrate and allowing the endogenous lecithin:retinol acyl transferase (LRAT) to synthesize all-trans-REs using fatty acids from phosphatidylcholine in the membranes. Alternatively, all-trans-RP can be provided directly as substrate, although this requires the isomerase reaction to be carried out in the presence of detergent, since fatty-acyl esters of all-trans-ROL are insoluble. Methods are provided in this chapter for assaying Rpe65 in RPE homogenates with both all-trans-ROL and all-trans-RP substrates. A second visual cycle appears to be present in the retinas of cone-dominant species such as chicken. This retinal pathway may augment the RPE to provide 11-cis-RAL to cone photoreceptors under conditions of bright light where the rate of opsin photoisomerization is high. The isomerase in this pathway (isomerase-2) utilizes all-trans-ROL and palmitoyl coenzyme A (palm CoA) as substrates to synthesize 11-cis-retinyl palmitate (11-cis-RP). Isomerase-2 appears to be present in Muller cells but has not yet been identified. Methods are provided in this chapter for assaying isomerase-2 in chicken retina homogenates.
Modification and identification of glutamate residues at the arginine-recognition site in the catalytic subunit of adenosine 3′:5′-cyclic monophosphate-dependent protein kinase of rabbit skeletal muscle

Abstract It has been proposed that the active centre of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase contains an arginine-recognition site, which is considered to be essential for the function of the catalytic subunit of the kinase [Matsuo, Huang & Huang (1978) Biochem. J. 173, 441–447]. The catalytic subunit can be inactivated by 3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-1-ethylcarbodi-imide and glycine ethyl ester at pH6.5. The enzyme can be protected from inactivation by preincubation with histone, a protein substrate of the enzyme. On the other hand, ATP, which also serves as a protein kinase substrate, does not afford protection. Polyarginine, a competitive inhibitor of protein kinase, which is known from kinetic studies to interact specifically with the arginine-recognition site, partially protects the catalytic subunit from inactivation by 3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl)-1-ethylcarbodi-imide. These results lead to the conclusion that the site of modification by carbodi-imide/glycine ethyl ester is most likely located at the arginine-recognition site of the active centre. A value of 1.7±0.2 (mean±s.d.) mol of carboxy groups per mol of catalytic subunit has been obtained for the number of essential carboxy groups for the function of protein kinase; a complete chemical modification of these essential carboxy groups results in total loss of catalytic activity. Finally, we have identified the essential carboxy group in the catalytic subunit of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase as being derived from glutamate residues. This is achieved by a three-step procedure involving an extensive proteolytic digestion of the [1-14C]glycine ethyl ester-modified enzyme and two successive high-voltage electrophoreses of the hydrolysate. It is concluded that 1.7mol of glutamyl carboxy groups per mol of catalytic subunit may be considered a component of the arginine-recognition site in the active centre of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase.
Macro Comparisons in Max Weber’s Sociology: Precautions, Possibilities, Achievements, and Limitations

Max Weber considers large-scale comparative study as an extremely delicate and complex endeavour. He insists on a certain number of precautions. According to him transcultural comparisons are definitely possible, but only in a specific and modest way. The present study will first present several major characteristics of sociology that render comparison difficult: we will stress its numerous reservations. We will then examine in which circumscribed manner the large-scale comparisons can be made, on the basis of ideal-types and their limited results.
The Crisis in Science and Technology and its Effect on Military Development

I want to discuss with you this afternoon the relation of science to war and to human welfare, the new instability that increasing physical knowledge has brought to the management and control of war and of human welfare, and the difficulty of managing development and its supporting applied research. It is in this last area that operations research helps.
Performance of Phase Comparison Sinusoidal Frequency Shift Keying

Some communication systems require the close packing of many signals into a fixed bandwidth while precluding an absolute phase reference at the receiver and time synchronization between the signals. This paper investigates the bit error performance in the presence of white Gaussian noise of PCSFSK, which has been found to be very bandwidth efficient under the above conditions; much more efficient than DQPSK. PCSFSK is found to perform slightly better than an upper bound on the performance of DQPSK for high signal-signal-to-noise ratios and somewhat worse for low signal-to-noise ratios, while allowing much closer packing of unsynchronized signals.
A case for an SC-preserving compiler

The most intuitive memory consistency model for shared-memory multi-threaded programming is sequential consistency (SC). However, current concurrent programming languages support a relaxed model, as such relaxations are deemed necessary for enabling important optimizations. This paper demonstrates that an SC-preserving compiler, one that ensures that every SC behavior of a compiler-generated binary is an SC behavior of the source program, retains most of the performance benefits of an optimizing compiler. The key observation is that a large class of optimizations crucial for performance are either already SC-preserving or can be modified to preserve SC while retaining much of their effectiveness. An SC-preserving compiler, obtained by restricting the optimization phases in LLVM, a state-of-the-art C/C++ compiler, incurs an average slowdown of 3.8% and a maximum slowdown of 34% on a set of 30 programs from the SPLASH-2, PARSEC, and SPEC CINT2006 benchmark suites.While the performance overhead of preserving SC in the compiler is much less than previously assumed, it might still be unacceptable for certain applications. We believe there are several avenues for improving performance without giving up SC-preservation. In this vein, we observe that the overhead of our SC-preserving compiler arises mainly from its inability to aggressively perform a class of optimizations we identify as eager-load optimizations. This class includes common-subexpression elimination, constant propagation, global value numbering, and common cases of loop-invariant code motion. We propose a notion of interference checks in order to enable eager-load optimizations while preserving SC. Interference checks expose to the compiler a commonly used hardware speculation mechanism that can efficiently detect whether a particular variable has changed its value since last read.
Concordant Hamster-to-Rat Liver Xenotransplantation Leads to Hyperlipidemia

Different species have adapted in different ways to their environment through the variation of specific metabolic parameters. For example, hamsters, unlike rats, are able to adjust their metabolism when they are subjected to extreme temperatures, modifying the mobilization of fat and regulating its storage.1 Knowing that the liver plays a primary role in lipid metabolism, we performed liver transplantation between hamsters and rats to determine what effects this might have in recipient cholesterol and trygliceride levels.
Ising models for order-disorder transition in an adsorbed overlayer

Abstract Based on a 2D zero field anti-ferromagnetic Ising model, we obtain a relation between the angular distribution of intensity of a LEED superlattice beam from an adsorbed lattice gas with nearest-neighbor repulsive interaction and the spin-spin correlation functions in the Ising model.
Clinical and angiographic outcomes of sirolimus-eluting stents implantation in Japanese patients in daily practice.

Background Studies in Western countries have shown that sirolimus-eluting stents (SES) are clinically effective in the real world, but the detailed serial angiographic analyses are limited to some complex lesions. In addition, the efficacy of SES has not been fully investigated in a Japanese population. Methods and Results The study population consisted of 249 consecutive unselected patients who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with SES. Clinical and angiographic follow-up were evaluated at 8 months. Clinical follow-up was obtained in all patients and angiographic follow-up was obtained in 228 patients (91.6%) with 272 lesions (91.0%). Major adverse cardiac events were documented in 44 patients (17.7%). There were 2 stent thromboses within 24 h and 11 days after PCI (0.8%). Late lumen loss in the proximal edge, in-stent, and distal edge was 0.06±0.44 mm, 0.26±0.60 mm, and -0.05±0.30 mm, respectively. The rate of angiographic in-segment binary restenosis was 14.0% (proximal edge: 3.3%, in-stent: 10.7%, distal edge: 0.7%). By multivariate analysis, an increased risk of restenosis was significantly associated with hemodialysis, diabetes, lesion length, and impaired left ventricular ejection fraction. Conclusion In accordance with previous reports, SES is considered to be feasible, safe and effective based on the results in an unselected Japanese population. (Circ J 2006; 70: 1367 - 1371)
SUPERCONDUCTING FILM WITH EMBEDDED COBALT NANORODS

Studies of the transport properties of a PbBi superconducting film with an embedded triangular array of cobalt nanorods with a 300 nm period are reported. It is found that the critical current demonstrates strong hysteresis and maxima at magnetic field values corresponding to an integral number of flux quanta per unit cell of the array. The amplitude of the critical current is larger than for a control film without nanorods. The increase varies from several times to several orders of magnitude depending on the magnetic field and temperature.
The Triple Taxation of Corporate EquityProfits

In the absence of liquidations and share repurchases, the value of corporate equity is the net present value of all future dividends. This net present value is subject to three taxes: the corporate income tax, the dividend income tax, and the capital gains tax. Algorithms are developed for calculating the aggregate tax rate on corporate equity net present value. Although the lowest aggregate tax rate occurs when all earnings are paid as dividends, corporations increase shareholder value by reinvesting earnings whenever the after-tax returns of doing so exceed the discount rate. It is these high return investments that are subject to the highest aggregate tax rates, potentially exceeding 90 percent of pre-tax value under current law.
Billingsley’s packing dimension

For a stochastic process on a finite state space, we define the notion of a packing measure based on the naturally defined cylinder sets. For any two measures v, γ, corresponding to the same stochastic process, if F ⊆{ω∈Ω:lim n logγ(C n (ω))/logv(Cn(ω))=θ}, then we prove that Dim v (F) = θ Dim γ (F).
Kinetic chiral symmetry breaking in NaClO3 crystallization

Abstract Aqueous solutions of the ionic compound NaClO 3 are not optically active. These solutions can be made to supersaturate and precipitate chiral crystals of NaClO 3 . The undisturbed solution yields statistically equal numbers of l- and d-crystals. Stirring the solution causes breakage of chiral symmetry and very high enantiomeric excesses can be obtained. A computer program has been developed which closely simulates this phenomenon. A kinetic mechanism for the origin of chiral asymmetry in this system is discussed in relation to the current experimental and simulation data.
Clinical trials in special care populations: some methodological issues requiring attention with limited group sizes

As many researchers have experienced, studying special patient populations can be particularly challenging. The problem of heterogeneity of the experimental material that can plague any research design becomes even more prominent when studying special patients because of limited group sizes. Dr. Stanley B. Heifetz, former acting chief of clinical trials at NIDR, offers SCD readers some guidelines to avoid the pitfalls of inadequate research methods
Overview of laminar dielectric capacitors

Laminar dielectric capacitors tend to be used in high voltage, precision, high power density, and high energy density applications. Such capacitors are near ideal in their discharge characteristics.
Human Trafficking in Scotland

This paper reports on interview-based research carried out to improve the evidence base around human trafficking in Scotland. It aims to construct a more detailed national picture of the nature and extent of the phenomenon while also examining the issues and challenges for policing and victim care in a Scottish context. In total, 79 individuals believed to be victims of human trafficking came into contact with agencies in Scotland between April 2007 and March 2008. The majority of cases involved adult female victims who had been trafficked into sexual exploitation. Overall, this research echoes the message of that carried out in other jurisdictions: human trafficking is a complex area of policing and victim care with many challenges.
Measuring the universal deceleration using angular diameter distances to clusters of galaxies

Abstract Recent simulations, as well as weak lensing and X-ray data, indicate that gas is a good tracer of the total mass in clusters. The constancy of the gas fraction fg in clusters of galaxies can thus be used as a novel distance indicator f g ∝h 3 2 Ω b /Ω 0 . Assuming spherical symmetry and hydrostatic equilibrium allows us to infer fg using only the β-model parameters and an emission weighted temperature. Even though none of the factors h, Ω b , Ω 0 is individually known to high precision, the relative distances between clusters at high redshift can be used to infer the deceleration parameters q0. Using this new model, the local population of clusters has a scatter of only 15% in the Hubble relation. The 3 clusters at redshift z ∼ 0.5 suggest q0 ≈ 0.85±0.29 with 1 − σ statistical error. This result would argue against a cosmological constant. The method is robust to errors in the measurement of the core radius as long as the product of the central density and the core radius squared ϱ0rc2 are well determined. However, this result may still be subject to unknown systematics such as cooling flows, which will require more detailed temperature maps, weak lensing data and numerical simulations to model accurately. Future lensing and X-ray data will dramatically improve the statistics.
Computer-assisted instruction: An effective instructional method

This study provides data that support computer-assisted instruction (CAI) as an effective instructional method when teaching associate degree nursing students about congenital heart disease. Literature indicates that students learn better when they see, hear, and interact in the learning process. CAI is an instructional method that includes these elements. Implications of this include the fact that CAI can be used to teach difficult concepts to nursing students effectively and provide nursing faculty an alternative teaching strategy to lecture.
A Complexity Model and a Polynomial Algorithm for Decision‐Tree‐Based Feature Construction

Using decision trees as a concept description language, we examine the time complexity for learning Boolean functions with polynomial-sized disjunctive normal form expressions when feature construction is performed on an initial decision tree containing only primitive attributes. A shortcoming of several feature-construction algorithms found in the literature is that it is difficult to develop time complexity results for them. We illustrate a way to determine a limit on the number of features to use for building more concise trees within a standard amount of time. We introduce a practical algorithm that forms a finite number of features using a decision tree in a polynomial amount of time. We show empirically that our procedure forms many features that subsequently appear in a tree and the new features aid in producing simpler trees when concepts are being learned from certain problem domains. Expert systems developers can use a method such as this to create a knowledge base of information that contains specific knowledge in the form of If-Then rules.
An Instrumentation and Control System for SubSea Cable Burial

To protect new and existing subsea electric utility power cables from environmental and man-made hazards, they must be buried under the sea floor. Experience demonstrates that the cable must be handled extremely carefully throughout the lay and burial sequence. During 1980, an automated, simultaneous cable-lay, trenching, and burial-sled system was implemented and tested. Following a period of modification and improvement, full-scale operations began under the adverse conditions of Cook Inlet, Alaska. This paper describes the automated control and instrumentation system which is being used to integrate surface-cable handling and subsea-trenching and burial operations. Key system elements include a subsea control and sensor suite directed by a surface microcomputer via bidirectional serially multiplexed communications.
Laplace reconstruction of experimental diagnostic x‐ray spectra

This paper displays the results of a blind study used to determine the capability of a Laplace transform pair model to accurately reconstruct diagnostic x‐ray spectra from experimental attenuation data. Spectra reconstructed from attenuation measurements are compared to experimental spectra obtained on the same unit using an intrinsic germanium spectrometer system. The results show that when pure attenuation materials are used, good agreement is obtained between the experimental and computed spectra. If an alloy attenuator like 1100 aluminum is used, the proportion of contaminants must be included in the Laplace formulation for accurate reconstruction.
Lung injury and complement activation: Role of neutrophils and xanthine oxidase

Evidence is presented that oxygen products generated from xanthine oxidase (XO) may also be involved in the pathogenesis of neutrophil-mediate lung injury following intravascular activation of complement with cobra venom factor (CVF). CVF injection in rats resulted in a rapid increase in plasma of both XO activity (but not xanthine dehydrogenase) and its reaction product, uric acid. These changes were greatly attenuated in allopurinol-treated animals. The appearance of XO activity was paralleled by a rise in plasma of histamine. Prevention of histamine release by pretreatment of rats with cromolyn abolished both the rise in plasma histamine and the increase in XO activity. Since we have previously shown that histamine can enhance XO activity in vitro and in vivo (Am. J. Pathol. 135:203, 1989), these observations suggest that the increase in plasma XO activity following CVF injection is related to the appearance in plasma of histamine. Accordingly, pretreatment of rats with xanthine oxidase inhibitors (allopurinol, lodoxamide) or prevention of histamine release by pretreatment with cromolyn significantly attenuated development of lung injury following injection of CVF. Our data support the concept that oxygen radicals derived from both neutrophils and XO are playing a role in the CVF-induced acute lung injury.
Real area of contact and boundary friction in metal forming

Abstract Upper-bound models for asperity flattening on a workpiece surface undergoing bulk plastic deformation are developed. It is found that the effective hardness of the surface can be greatly reduced by the presence of underlying plastic flow. Theoretical predictions of the variation of real area of contact with strain show excellent agreement with experiments using model asperities in rolling. Friction models which allow for the reduction in effective hardness are developed for cases in which roughness is concentrated on either the workpiece or tooling.
Rapid solvothermal synthesis of an isoreticular metal–organic framework with permanent porosity for hydrogen storage

Abstract Existing methods for the preparation of metal–organic frameworks are generally very time-consuming or they yield low surface area materials. The aim of this research was to develop a rapid inexpensive solvothermal method for producing high quality IRMOF-8 (isoreticular metal–organic framework) crystals. IRMOF-8 crystals could be produced in 2–4 h, which is a significant improvement over traditional solvothermal convective oven syntheses. The effect of temperature on the pore volume, pore size, surface area and hydrogen storage capacity of convective oven synthesized IRMOF-8 (C-IRMOF-8) and the rapid solvothermal synthesized IRMOF-8 (RS-IRMOF-8) was also investigated. The optimum synthesis temperatures were 120 °C and 155 °C for C-IRMOF-8 and RS-IRMOF-8, respectively. BET analysis showed that the C-IRMOF-8 and RS-IRMOF-8 samples had pore volumes of 0.603 cm3/g STP and 0.693 cm3/g STP with SSA of 1694 and 1801 m2/g, respectively at the optimum temperatures. The products of this rapid synthesis route had greater surface areas and comparable hydrogen storage capacities to those prepared by traditional solvothermal convective oven syntheses.
Averaged and time-resolved heat transfer of steady and pulsating entry flow in intake manifold of a spark-ignition engine

Abstract Entry flow heat transfer experiments are reported in steady and pulsating flows of air at mean Reynolds numbers of 3000–35,000. The ducts are chosen to match typical spark-ignition engine manifolds: a highly curved and a straight pipe, which together bracket most practical geometries. The pulsating engine intake flow encompasses an approximate half sine wave followed by a stagnant phase three times as long, all at a repetition rate of 16–50 Hz. Heat flow is imposed through electric heating of the outsides of the manifolds. Heat transfer in the curved pipe is closely comparable to the straight geometry, and it is concluded that entrance effects dominate. Time-averaged axially resolved and axially averaged Nusselt numbers are reported. The unsteady nature of the intake flow enhances heat transfer significantly, between 50% and 100%. Time-resolved wall heat flux measurements at a location close to the exit of the system show that heat transfer is delayed relative to the onset of the flow. During the stagnant flow phase, heat transfer and turbulence decay slowly from their high levels during the induction flow phase. Heat transfer enhancement in the pulsating flow case is caused by the contribution of the stagnant phase.
Immobility and the Re-Imaginings of Ethnic Identity among Mongolian Kazakhs in the 21st Century

Abstract Accompanying the dissolution of the USSR and the formation of new nation states in the 1990s, nearly half of Mongolian Kazakhs migrated from their adopted home of Mongolia to the imagined homeland of Kazakhstan. By 2000, a sizable percentage returned to Mongolia. In explaining their decisions to stay in or to return to Mongolia, the Kazakhs we interviewed cite several culturally specific factors. Place identities, as expressed through cultural elements of religiosity, kinship ties, and language versatility, tie Mongolian Kazakhs strongly to western Mongolia while meta-narratives about diaspora and homeland prescribe identity with Kazakhstan. Utilizing life history interviews, participant observation, and questionnaire data we argue that Mongolian Kazakhs actively employ narratives of their cultural history to re-create and re-establish place identities in Mongolia and ultimately re-imagine Mongolian-Kazakh community and identity. These recreated place identities have emerged among Mongolian-Kazakhs who chose to remain immobile or return migrated from the ‘homeland’ of Kazakhstan.
Epidural block for obstetrics: Comparison of bolus injection of local anesthetic with gravity flow technique

Abstract Study Objective: To test the hypothesis that slow administration of local anesthetic into the epidural space by gravity flow reduces the incidence of signs and symptoms of unintended injection. Design: Prospective, randomized study. Setting: Teaching hospital. Patients: 600 ASA physical status I and II parturients scheduled for labor and delivery or elective cesarean section. Interventions: After identification of the epidural space with pulsations of an air-fluid column, parturients for vaginal delivery (n = 380) were randomized to receive a test dose of 3 ml 3% 2-chloroprocaine with epinephrine 20 μg, two doses of 7 ml bupivacaine 0.03 % with sufentanil 1 μg/ml and epinephrine 2 μg/ml by either gravity flow (Group 1) given over 30 seconds or by bolus injection (Group 2) given over 5 seconds through the epidural needle; parturients for Cesarean delivery (n = 220) were randomized to receive a test dose and two doses of 6 ml lidocaine 2 % with sufentanil 1 μg/ml and epinephrine 2 μg/ml by either gravity flow or by bolus injection through the epidural needle. Changes in maternal heart rate (HR) and blood pressure, signs of intravascular injection, and adverse effects of epidural bupivacaine-sufentanil were recorded after each dose. Measurements and Main Results: Gravity flow administration (Group 1) was associated with a smaller increase in mean maternal HR ( p p p p = 0.01), and segmental spread ( p p = 0.12, Fisher's exact test. No patient in either group had an accidental intrathecal injection. Conclusion: Gravity flow administration of local anesthetic-opioid solution during epidural block for obstetrics was associated with fewer signs of systemic drug absorption and cardiovascular perturbations than was the traditional bolus injection. This study supports the current opinion that slow administration of local anesthetic during epidural black contributes to fewer adverse events.
Phosphorus budget of a 70-year-old northern hardwood forest

Recent measurements have made it possible to revise and improve the phosphorus budget of the Hubbard Brook Experimental Forest, including partitioning P uptake by vegetation from the forest floor and mineral soil and estimating net P mineralization in the forest floor. Both living biomass and forest floor are accumlating P (at rates of 1.3 and 0.16 kg P ha-1 yr-1 respectively) in this 70-yr old northern hardwood forest. About 61% of the P taken up by the vegetation each year comes from the forest floor (5.9 kg P ha-1 yr-1 of a total 9.6 kg P ha-1 yr-1), even though the P content of this pool is just 5% of that in mineral soil. The turnover rate of P in the forest floor is 7% yr-1, while that of the mineral soil is 0.3% yr-1. Recycling of P in the forest floor is very efficient; of the 5.6 kg P ha-1 yr-1 net mineralization in the forest floor, only 0.3 kg P ha-1 leaches into the mineral soil; the rest is taken up by plants. This tight recycling of P is important because P is less readily available in the mineral soil than in the forest floor.
Generating Diagnostic Residuals for Steer-by-Wire Vehicles

Steer-by-wire remains unavailable on production vehicles today, despite the numerous benefits it will provide, due to the expense of high-reliability designs. Model-based fault detection techniques can eliminate the need for redundant sensors in steer-by-wire vehicles, lowering costs without compromising reliability. This paper presents the modeling and fault detection filter design techniques used to construct a set of diagnostic residuals suitable for detecting and isolating a wide variety of steering system faults, based only on measurements from sensors already present in a steer-by-wire system. These diagnostic residuals are sensitive enough to detect faults at a magnitude well below where they would impact the driver's ability to control the vehicle. Experimental results from a full-scale research steer-by-wire vehicle demonstrate this sensitivity
Sexually dimorphic age-related differences in the immunocytochemical distribution of somatostatin in the platyfish

Somatostatin (SRIF) was localized by immunocytochemistry in the brains and pituitary glands of male and female platyfish (Xiphophorus maculatus) between the ages of 8 and 30 months (average life span is 30 months). In the brain, immunoreactive (ir-) SRIF is found in the perikarya of the ventrobasal hypothalamus (nucleus lateralis tuberis, nucleus anterior tuberis), dorsomedial hypothalamus, dorsal thalamus, ventral tegmentum and rhombencephalic basal plate; in the pituitary it is localized surrounding the ir-growth hormone containing cells of the caudal pars distalis, and in older fish it is also found within certain cells of the pars intermedia. We have demonstrated that there are consistent, sexually dimorphic, age-related changes in the intensity and/or distribution of ir-SRIF. The sexual dimorphism of the changes in SRIF immunoreactivity during the aging of platyfish may be related to the different patterns of growth observed in males and females.
The Active-Empathic Listening Scale (AELS): Conceptualization and Evidence of Validity Within the Interpersonal Domain

Although several theoretical perspectives highlight the importance of listening, our field has largely neglected developing valid listening measures. The purpose of this article is to provide a conceptualization and measurement of one type of listening important to relational and individual well-being: active-empathic listening. Results from two studies provide evidence of construct validity of a self- and other-report version of the Active-Empathic Listening Scale. The discussion focuses on directions for future research using this scale and for the need to develop additional measures that tap components of listening.
Enforcement of age-appropriate immunization laws.

Abstract Background: The state of North Carolina has statutes that require age-appropriate immunization as recommended by the U.S. Public Health Service. Provisions of this statute allow for criminal misdemeanor charges and injunctions to be brought against parents who do not have their children immunized on time. The decision to invoke the age-appropriate immunization statute rests with the health director of each county. This study was performed to determine if the county health directors were aware of this statute and whether they had ever utilized it to enforce age-appropriate immunization. Methods: All health department directors in the state of North Carolina (N = 86) received letters inviting them to complete a 20-minute structured phone interview at a time of their convenience. Specific questions addressed their knowledge of the statutes and the specific penalties available. Additional questions addressed their attitudes and beliefs about the law and what they believed the state government could do to assist in enforcing the law. Results: Interviews were completed for 75 of the 86 (87%) county health departments or districts. All respondents reported they were aware, prior to receiving the materials informing them of the study, that the state required children to be immunized on time. Over 95% reported they knew the law required age-appropriate immunization and 100% were aware of school/licensed day-care requirements. The vast majority (83%) of county health directors believe that criminal misdemeanor charges and injunctions should be brought against parents for failing to have their child age-appropriately immunized. However, only 5% (n = 4) of health directors reported that their county had ever brought criminal misdemeanor charges, and none had filed an injunction against a parent whose child was not immunized on time. Conclusions: Despite the presence of legal statutes, there have been only rare efforts to compel age-appropriate immunization through enactment and enforcement of criminal penalties on parents. Much of the hesitancy for such efforts likely comes from the fear of the confusing, hard-to-understand legal procedures and from the potential negative impact on public opinion that these tactics may create. Although such actions should be taken only as a last resort, they may be necessary on some occasions.
Reasonable Regard: A Solution to the Lignite Problem

Because strip mining for lignite destroys the surface and precludes production of oil, a way must be found for the two competing interests to coexist peacefully and allow the maximum development of natural resources. Peaceful coexistence is possible if the parties recognize areas of conflict and reach agreement as to locations of operations and access routes before operations begin. In cases of conflict, the Commissioner of Conservation should be authorized to determine and regulate the rights of competing mineral interest owners by employing the standard of reasonableness embodied in the Mineral Code and the doctrine of accommodation, the standard of due regard, and Louisiana Civil Code article 667. 73 references.
Storm Water Management: the Concept and its Application

: Storm water management is a concept being applied in many urban areas to deal with the increasing problems of storm runoff control and flood damage prevention. This paper introduces the concept and describes the recently completed storm water management program in Columbus, Georgia. Columbus has spent five years and over $200,000 in the development of their problem which includes several basic elements: soils inventory and analysis, hydrologic data collection, sediment and erosion control ordinance, storm water management handbook, urban flood simulation model, interdepartment coordination study, drainage problem categorization study, and a pilot basin study. The results of the pilot basin study are presented including example output from the urban simulation model. The computer output illustrates both the hydrologic-hydraulic and economic capabilities of the model.
Variables that affect the dependability of L2 pragmatics tests

Abstract Researchers have tested L2 pragmatics using at least six types of instruments. This study focuses on four of them: (a) Written Discourse Completion Tasks, (b) Oral Discourse Completion Tasks, (c) Discourse Role-Play Tasks (DRPT), and (d) Role-Play Self-Assessments. Students learning Korean ( n = 53) took these tests. Generalizability theory was used to examine the effects of different numbers of raters, item functions, item types, item characteristics on the dependability (analogous to reliability) of these tests. In addition, multifaceted Rasch (FACETS) analyses were used to investigate: (a) the relative severity or difficulty (on a common logit scale) of individual raters, item functions, item types, and item characteristics and (b) the degree to which the five-point scale was working well on each test. Based on these analyses, recommendations are made for deciding how to design each of the four types of tests in terms of the numbers of different raters, item functions, item types, and item characteristics that should be used to maximize test dependability in light of whatever practical considerations language teachers, testers, administrators, or researchers may deem important in using L2 pragmatics tests for actual decision making. The relative importance of item types, functions, and testing methods are also considered from a theoretical perspective.
Stability analysis of state dependent dynamic frictional sliding

Friction induced vibrations are often encountered both in everyday life (e.g., squealing brakes or doors) and in technological applications of interest (e.g., machine tool feed drives, bearings). Prediction of such effects in general circumstances requires rate dependence of the underlying friction model, as has been recognized by many researchers. In earlier work the authors have proposed a phenomenological kinetic friction model featuring viscous response to highly transient slip events, as well as fading memory of recent slip history. Encouraging predictions have been obtained using this model, both in single degree of freedom systems and in large deformation finite element simulations of slip instability in metal forming procedures. This work systematically examines the stability of constant velocity frictional sliding as predicted by this model, and attempts to characterize the types of instabilities that can be observed. Non-linear dynamic stability studies are presented for two systems: a single degree of freedom system governed by the proposed rate- and state-dependent frictional model, and a two degree of freedom system in which the coupling between the normal and tangential degrees of freedom is explicitly included.