cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reflecting on Planning Models: A Challenge for Self-Modeling Systems

We discuss the opportunities for autonomous systems to perform reflection on their planners by adapting the models used to build plans. We first describe model-based planning systems, a form of automated planning system driven by declarative models of the planning domain. These models include descriptions of the conditions and effects of actions on the state of the world. When planning the activities of cyber-physical systems, the command and data representation of the system must be formally abstracted to the actions and states described in the planning system model. When the execution of a plan either fails or produces unexpected outcomes, the execution trace can be abstracted and compared to the predicted state according to the planning model, producing a list of discrepancies, these discrepancies can then be used to fix the model. This provides part of a reflection capability, namely, a set of well-formed problems with the domain model, the abstractions, or both. The challenge lies in the rest of the reflection capability, namely, a set of techniques for changing the models or the abstractions. We discuss these challenges and describe some of the options for addressing them.
When normal and deviant identities collide: Methodological considerations of the pregnant acafan

In this article, I examine how my visibly pregnant body influenced my experience as a field researcher at a fan convention, interviewing amateur fan fiction authors who write Harry Potter male-pregnancy fan fiction. Despite my efforts at carefully cultivating an identity as an acafan (a researcher who identifies as both a fan and a scholar of fandom), my identity as a pregnant woman was most salient throughout my fieldwork. I argue that because of the particular genre of fan fiction, male pregnancy (mpreg), which my participants engaged with, my status as a normative, heterosexual, publicly pregnant woman negatively affected the research process: my interactions with my interviewees deviated from my expectations in ways that shaped the data I collected. When I analyzed my field notes, I found a strong correlation between interviewees' recognition of my pregnancy and interviewees' experience of stigma associated with authors of mpreg. This research contributes to several bodies of work: the interplay between online and real-life identities, the role of the researcher in field research, and the role of pregnant researchers.
Exact and variational theorems for fracture mechanics of composites with residual stresses, traction-loaded cracks, and imperfect interfaces

By partitioning the total stresses in a damaged composite into either mechanical and residual stresses or into initial and perturbation stresses, it was possible to derive several exact results for the energy release rate due to crack growth. These general results automatically include the effects of residual stresses, traction-loaded cracks, and imperfect interfaces. The exact energy release rate results were expressed in terms of exact solutions to reduced composite stress analysis problems. By considering the common situation where the initial stresses are known exactly, but the perturbation stresses are only known approximately, it was possible to derive rigorous upper and lower bounds to the energy release rate for crack growth. Some of the new fracture mechanics equations were applied to crack closure calculations, to fiber fracture and interfacial debonding in the fragmentation test, and to microcracking in composite laminates.
Protein–DNA Complexes: Nonspecific

Nonspecific protein–DNA complexes form largely independently of deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) sequence or structure. Typically, the thermodynamic driving force for forming these complexes is electrostatic due to the polyelectrolyte (polyanionic) nature of the DNA. Keywords: nonspecific binding; cooperativity; protein–nucleic interactions; polyelectrolyte effect
Overview of Cost‐Consequence Modeling in Outcomes Research

Outcomes research has developed in response to the need for information on costs, risks, and benefits of clinical treatments, including data regarding the effectiveness of prescription drugs. It attempts to consider more than the biologic effects of pharmaceuticals, that is, to encompass wider measures of the results of their use, issues that are not routinely addressed during clinical trials. Cost-effectiveness analysis compares the outcome of different treatment options in terms of monetary cost per unit of effectiveness. Examples of measures of effectiveness are years of life saved, number of days of hospitalization avoided, and number of treatment successes. Cost-consequence models, also referred to as cost-outcome models, deal with costs and a variety of outcomes ranging from clinical to humanistic. Direct medical costs are those for prevention, detection, treatment, and rehabilitation; they are amounts spent to treat an illness, including hospitalization, professional services, pharmaceuticals, and medical supplies. Indirect medical costs are associated with changes in productivity, such as earnings lost because of illness. Humanistic outcomes deal primarily with functional status, quality of life, and satisfaction, and may include pain, anxiety, self-esteem, ability to carry out normal activities, and overall impressions. Since it is not possible to study all effects of treatments with clinical trials, modeling techniques are useful in making therapeutic decisions.
Transformation and Deoxyribonucleic Acid Size: Extent of Degradation on Entry Varies with Size of Donor

The fate of label introduced as donor deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) into competent cells of Diplococcus pneumoniae was determined immediately after entry at 25 C, as a function of the size of the donor DNA. Part of the label is found to be acid soluble, part has been incorporated into chromosomal DNA, apparently through reincorporation of degraded donor DNA, and part is found in single strands of length smaller than that of the input donor DNA strands. The last fraction apparently constitutes the precursor for integration of intact donor genetic markers and is referred to as the intact fraction. For large donor DNA the intact fraction contains over 80% of the total intracellular label, but the median strand length has been reduced to 2.2 × 106 daltons. For small donor molecules (1 × 105 to 6 × 105 daltons per strand) the fraction intact increases with donor size from 10 to 50% of the total intracellular label, and the median strand length of this fraction is half that of the donor strands. By combining these results with earlier data on the size dependence of the yield of transformants per unit of total intracellular donor label, we have calculated the probability that a marker in the intact fraction will be integrated, as a function of the length of the donor strand after entry. This probability has a linear dependence on strand length for activities below 40% of maximum, and extrapolates to zero activity at 77,000 daltons per strand.
Beyond Knights and Knaves

In the classic knights and knaves problem, there are n people in a room each of whom is a knight or a knave. Knights always tell the truth while knaves always lie. Everyone in the room knows each other’s identity. You are allowed to ask questions of the form “Person i, is person j a knight?” and you are told that there are more knights than knaves. What is the fewest number of questions you can ask to determine a knight? How about to determine everyone’s identity?
Occupational preferences and the quality of life

Abstract This paper focuses on the theoretical and empirical aspects of occupational choice by examining the structure of individual preferences expressed in terms of abstract characteristics. Both verbal and quantitative models were successfully tested, and a rough upper limit was set on the ability of individuals to specify their quality-of-life technology. The study was too restrictive to permit general inferences concerning the quality of life of particular occupations. However, it may be concluded from the limited empirical findings that the qualitative model captured career-living preferences almost as consistently as did the highly structured quantitative approach. The experiments extracted subjects' cognitive structures for career-living stiuations in all the richness and generality permitted by verbal expression. Although more costly to determine, such qualitative information is of considerable potential benefit to policy makers, ect., and equivalent knowledge cannot be obtained from numerical representations.
New approach to heterogeneous enzyme immunoassays using tagged enzyme-ligand conjugates

Abstract A new approach to heterogeneous enzyme immunoassays has been developed that uses a tag molecule linked to an enzyme-ligand conjugate. The insoluble phase is an insolubilized receptor to that tag. The antibody to the ligand, in addition to complexing either the free ligand or the one covalently linked to the tagged enzyme, also serves to mask the tag on the tagged enzyme-ligand conjugate so that it can no longer bind to the insolubilized receptor. Accordingly, the proportion of enzyme conjugate associated with the insoluble fraction is proportional to the amount of analyte ligand being assayed. This heterogeneous EIA based on the “antibody masking the tag” is called AMETIA. In the model system we use DNP-lysine as the ligand, β-galactosidase as the enzyme, biotin as the tag, and avidin immobilized to Sepharose as the insoluble receptor.
Childreach: Violence Prevention in Preschool Settings

TOPIC Early intervention to decrease violent and aggressive behavior in preschool-age children. PURPOSE To describe a model of an on-site early identification and intervention program for children under 6 in child care and preschool settings. SOURCES Literature review, authors' experiences in preschool prevention services, and pre/post intervention data using standardized tools. CONCLUSIONS An on-site secondary prevention program is an effective strategy to decrease violent and aggressive behavior in very young children. This model can be replicated in most communities through collaborations among childhood mental health professionals and early childhood educators.
J-integral for ferroelectric compact tension specimens with electric field

Experiments based on the compact tension geometry are applied to a relaxer composition of lead lanthanum zirconate titanate. This composition is transparent, and displays electro-optical and piezo-optical coupling. A standard photo-stress arrangement gives a direct view of electric field and stress concentrations. Electric field is observed to cause cracks to close. This is consistent with earlier predictions of a negative energy release rate.© (1997) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Antagonism of lateral olfactory tract synaptic potentials in rat prepyriform cortex slices

Abstract Dose-response data were collected for the inhibition of the manosynaptic excitatory input onto prepyriform neurons from fibers of the rat lateral olfactory tract, using the potent antagonist of excitatory transmission, l (+)-2-amino-4-phosphonobutyrate ( l (+)-AP4), kynurenate, N -(p-chlorobenzoyl)piperazine-2,3-dicar☐ylate, and N -(p-bromobenzoyl)piperazine-2,3-dicar☐ylate. Kynurenate and the piperazine derivatives blocked up to 80% of the synaptic response at doses of 1000μM, with single-affinity dose-response curves. l (+)-AP4 blocked only 50% of the synaptic response at a dose of 1000μM, with a multicomponent dose-response curve.
Sex and Alcohol: The Effects of Alcohol on the Hypothalamic-Pituitarv-Gonadal Axis

Effects of alcohol on the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis are complex. Those at the gonadal level are best defined in studies such as those presented in this issue. However, there is an accumulating body of data supporting central effects of alcohol. The precise locus or loci is not certain. Further investigations probably including in vitro methodologies are likely to enhance our knowledge in this area. Our understanding of the effects of alcohol in the human female is especially limited.
Are Nurturance and the Satiation of Social Reinforcers Equivalent Operations

Summary This research sought to determine whether or not there is equivalence between the effects of nurturance and satiation with young children. Forty kindergarten and first grade girls participated. The children played with an adult who was either continuously nurturant or withdrew nurturance or with an adult who dispensed either four or 30 praise statements. Then, each child was tested in a discrimination task in which correct responses were reinforced by adult praise. The dependent measure was the number of trials required to reach a criterion of three consecutive correct responses. For children verbalizing at a high frequency during the session, those who received four reinforcers learned the task more rapidly than those who had received 30 reinforcers. The reverse results were obtained for children who verbalized infrequently. Although the direction of difference for children who verbalized frequently in the nurturance conditions was the same as that for children who verbalized frequently in the fr...
BRISC—An Open Source Pulmonary Nodule Image Retrieval Framework

We have created a content-based image retrieval framework for computed tomography images of pulmonary nodules. When presented with a nodule image, the system retrieves images of similar nodules from a collection prepared by the Lung Image Database Consortium (LIDC). The system (1) extracts images of individual nodules from the LIDC collection based on LIDC expert annotations, (2) stores the extracted data in a flat XML database, (3) calculates a set of quantitative descriptors for each nodule that provide a high-level characterization of its texture, and (4) uses various measures to determine the similarity of two nodules and perform queries on a selected query nodule. Using our framework, we compared three feature extraction methods: Haralick co-occurrence, Gabor filters, and Markov random fields. Gabor and Markov descriptors perform better at retrieving similar nodules than do Haralick co-occurrence techniques, with best retrieval precisions in excess of 88%. Because the software we have developed and the reference images are both open source and publicly available they may be incorporated into both commercial and academic imaging workstations and extended by others in their research.
Social Rejection Exclusion and Shunning Among the Gombe Chimpanzees

Abstract From the observations at Gombe over the past 23 years it appears that group punishment of deviant behavior through ostracism, as practiced in human groups, has not yet evolved in a truly sophisticated way in chimpanzee society. However, cases of “social rejection or exclusion” have been observed in three different behavioral contexts. Most frequently, a chimpanzee is the target of hostility as the result of competitive interaction within the community; in such cases, social cohesion counterbalances rejection, typically leading to integration within a relatively stable pattern of dominance and social interaction. The occasional departure of an individual who has been the target of aggression —like the withdrawal of Evered after repeated attacks by Figan and Faban—seems due to persistent hostility by a few males rather than general “ostracism” by the group as a whole. A second form of exclusion concerns outsiders found in the home range of the group: in these cases, hostility is more generalized, particularly in response to the attempt of an adult female with offspring to join the community. Finally, there are the rarely observed instances of shunning a group member whose behavior seems abnormal the social rejection of Pepe and Old Mr. McGregor after they suffered from polio.
An Accurate Analytical SNM Modeling Technique for SRAMs Based on Butterworth Filter Function

With the impact of process variations becoming increasingly pronounced in the sub-90nm regime, the stability of SRAM cells is considerably degraded. Static noise margin (SNM) is popularly used for SRAM stability measurement. Therefore, efficient techniques to estimate SNM are required for robust SRAM design. In this paper, we have proposed an analytical SRAM SNM modeling technique based on Butterworth function and coordinate transformation. The accuracy of the SNM model has been verified by changing of the SRAM design parameters, such as the relative sizes of the 6 transistors and device doping. With a wide range of design parameter change, less than 8% of estimation error is achieved by the proposed SNM model. The proposed SNM model has been applied to analyze the impact of process variations on SRAM SNM distribution. Also, the distribution of read SNM has been estimated for a range of design parameter variations
Dynamic fracture studies on 7075-T6 aluminum and 4340 steel using strain gages and photoelastic coatings

Abstract Strain gage technique and the method of photoelastic-coatings as applied to dynamic fracture mechanics are presented. Dynamic fracture experiments are conducted on heat-treated 4340 steel and 7075-T6 aluminum with face grooved SEN specimen geometries. The mirror like reflective coating used in conjunction with focused light is the key to obtaining clear isochromatic fringe pattern. Instantaneous stress intensity factors as a function of crack length are obtained independently from both the methods and compared.
Justice for Janitors: Scales of Organizing and Representing Workers

Low levels of unionization in the United States have led to much attention being devoted recently to the development of new models of organizing workers. In contrast to those which dominated for most of the past half century, the models currently being embraced by many labor leaders are typically grassroots and bottom-up in nature and call for a high level of participation by rank-and-file workers. The Justice for Janitors (JfJ) campaign is an example of just such a model, one which has been widely lauded for its innovativeness and success. However, whereas the campaign is often thought of as representing a highly decentralized approach to organizing because of the sensitivity it pays to local labor market conditions, the Service Employees’ International Union which developed it has recently called for a concentration of power in a small number of national union bodies. This has raised questions about the geographical scale at which power should rest within the union movement and how to develop organizing strategies which are locally sensitive yet also capable of challenging nationally and/or globally organized firms.
Bioactive borate glass coatings for titanium alloys

Bioactive borate glass coatings have been developed for titanium and titanium alloys. Glasses from the Na2O–CaO–B2O3 system, modified by additions of SiO2, Al2O3, and P2O5, were characterized and compositions with thermal expansion matches to titanium were identified. Infrared and X-ray diffraction analyses indicate that a hydroxyapatite surface layer forms on the borate glasses after exposure to a simulated body fluid for 2 weeks at 37°C; similar layers form on 45S5 Bioglass® exposed to the same conditions. Assays with MC3T3-E1 pre-osteoblastic cells show the borate glasses exhibit in vitro biocompatibility similar to that of the 45S5 Bioglass®. An enameling technique was developed to form adherent borate glass coatings on Ti6Al4V alloy, with adhesive strengths of 36 ± 2 MPa on polished substrates. The results show these new borate glasses to be promising candidates for forming bioactive coatings on titanium substrates.
SU-FF-T-272: Low-Energy Photon Dose Calculations Using Various MCNP Photon Databases: Dose Comparison Between MCNP, PENELOPE, and EGSnrc

Purpose: Recent releases of the MCNP5 and PENELOPE (2001) Monte Carlo codes use photo‐atomic data from the most updated EPDL97 library, and include Doppler broadening in Compton scattering processes. Such advances in photondatabases and transport algorithm are particularly important in low‐energy photon dose calculations. Method and Materials: We computed radial dose distributions for r = 0.2–10 cm from a point source in a 50 cm‐diameter sphere of water. Nine discrete energies for primary photon sources were chosen in the range of 10–150 keV. To isolate the effects of updated photoelectric data, Doppler broadening, bound electron model, and kerma approximation, we varied transport parameters and photondatabases in the same simulation geometry using MCNP5 and MCNP4 with LIB04, LIB03, or LIB02 photondatabases, PENELOPE, and EGSnrc. Results: The results from MCNP5/LIB04 agreed with those of PENELOPE within statistical uncertainties (±1%) over the entire ranges of energies and radial distances investigated. They also agree well with EGSnrc data within about ±2% (except for doses at 10 keV). MCNP/LIB02 or LIB03, on the other hand, produced doses up to 8% lower in the range of 20–80 keV than MCNP/LIB04 and PENELOPE. Such differences stem primarily from the differences in the photoelectric data used. The dosimetric effects of Doppler broadening and bound electron model for Compton interactions appear to be insignificant in the energy range investigated. Kerma calculated by photon only transport well approximates absorbed dose in water within statistical uncertainties (±1%) except for primary photons of E = 10 keV. Conclusion: Low‐energy photon dose and kerma in water calculated by MCNP5 and MCNP4 with the updated photondatabase (LIB04) are comparable to doses by PENELOPE and EGSnrc.
Exon 44 nonsense mutation in two‐duchenne muscular dystrophy brothers detected by heteroduplex analysis

Utilizing a heteroduplex method, we screened the dystrophin exon 43–45 region for point mutations, including small deletions and insertions. The method depends upon the formation of a heteroduplex between wild-type and mutant DNA PCR products. DNA specimens from one hundred and four DMD patients without detected deletions or duplications were multiplexed amplified for exons 43, 44, and 45. The PCR products were mixed with the PCR products from nonaffected controls, electrophoresed, and examined for the presence of altered mobility heteroduplex bands. An exon 44 nonsense mutation in two DMD brothers and a common intron 44 polymorphism were identified using this approach. Although the exon 44–45 region is a hotspot for deletion breakpoints, it does not appear to be prone to point mutations. The technique is extremely useful for screening several exons simultaneously and it allowed us to screen a large number of patients. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Surface Velocity Estimation From Satellite Imagery Using Displaced Frame Central Difference Equation

Estimation of surface velocity from satellite imagery with large-scale displacement and longer temporal interval is one of the most challenging remote sensing problems in ocean dynamics. In this paper, a nonlinear inverse model using the displaced frame central difference (DFCD) equation has been created for estimating velocity in an image sequence. Iterative equations with Gauss-Newton and Levenberg-Marquardt algorithms are formulated for solving the nonlinear system of equations. A unified adaptive framework is developed based on the DFCD equations, velocity field modeling, a nonlinear least-squares model, and an algorithm of progressive relaxation of the overconstraint for seeking a flow field in which each vector is consistent with its neighbors. A numerical model is used as a benchmark to examine the accuracy of this new technique. Three sequences of NOAA Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) images taken in the New York Bight are also used to demonstrate the performance of the proposed technique. The estimated velocity fields are compared with those measured with the coastal ocean dynamics applications radar array. The experimental results indicate that the new estimator with the DFCD equation has major improvement over the linear inverse model for the simulation and real AVHRR data sets.
Parties and Institutional Choice Revisited

Scholars of institutional change in Congress offer competing theoretical accounts of the accrual of procedural rights by House majority parties. One camp posits that the interests and capacities of political parties drive procedural change that affects agenda control. An alternative perspective offers a nonpartisan, median-voter account. I explore these two accounts, survey challenges involved in testing them, and determine the fit of the accounts to the history of procedural change in the House. I find that no single perspective accounts best for the pattern of rule changes affecting agenda control and that the median-voter model may be time-bound to the twentieth century�after partisan majorities had constructed the core partisan procedural regime of the House.
Monitoring particle interactions in aqueous suspensions by fiber optic doppler anemometry

Abstract The area under the curve (AUC) of the modified Lorentzian power spectrum as determined by fiber optic Doppler anemometry (FODA) is directly related to the number of freely diffusing particles in suspension. The initiation of particle interactions is characterized by deviation from a linear volume fraction-AUC relationship. The AUC approaches zero when an extensive particle network forms which dampens the random motion of particles. The rheological behavior supports this conclusion as a yield value was first noted when the AUC approached 0. The ability of AUC to monitor particle interactions was confirmed by a decrease in AUC when a latex dispersion was flocculated by NaCl, CaCl2, or AlCl3. Both the volume fraction at which particle interactions were initiated, φd, and the volume fraction at which particle random motion was dampened, φc, decreased when the pH of an aluminum hydroxide suspension was adjusted closer to the point of zero charge. The AUC was useful in studying the disaggregation of an aluminum hydroxide suspension by shear. Shear was found to also produce aggregation under specific conditions of surface charge and volume fraction. The reversibility of shear-induced changes in particle interactions was studied and the conditions of surface charge and volume fraction which control the reversibility of the particle structures were defined.
Treatment of self-injury and disruptive behavior with carbamazepine (Tegretol) and behavior therapy

Carbamazepine (Tegretol), an anticonvulsant medication, was evaluated within a double blind, placebo controlled, single subject experimental design to assess its effectiveness for reducing self-injury and disruptive Tourette's-like behavior presented by an 11-year-old girl with mild mental retardation and suspected partial complex seizure disorder. Results of the study showed self-injury, growling noises, and facial grimacing as completely suppressed following treatment with Carbamazepine. Additional disruptive behaviors, including off-task, noncontextual speech, and foul language were either minimally responsive or nonresponsive to treatment. Several behavior modification techniques were added to the treatment protocol to address these behaviors and assessed in combination with carbamazepine using an alternating treatments design format. The addition of behavior therapy yielded equivocal results. Discussion focused on the use of carbamazepine in the treatment of behavior disorders.
Martian Biology: Accumulating evidence favors the theory of life on Mars, but we can expect surprises

Of all the proposals put forth to account for the observed Martian phenomena, the idea of life on Mars seems to be the most tenable. And if this idea is accepted, we are immediately drawn to the conclusion that this life is a very well-adapted and flourishing one—not the struggle for existence so often suggested in light of the obvious difficulties earthly organisms would have in living on Mars. The suggested criteria seem to eliminate all the known life forms, but of all these forms, a higher plant would require the least modification in order to meet the criteria. The basic shape of the leaf of a higher plant seems suited to conditions on Mars, but the lower gravity might well result in some interesting modifications in morphology. Some life forms on Mars might resemble our own higher plants, but we should be prepared to encounter some interesting surprises in biochemistry.
Problematic Situations in the Lives of Urban African American Middle School Students: A Qualitative Study.

Qualitative methods were used to identify problem situations encountered by adolescents in urban middle schools serving a predominantly African American student population. Interviews focusing on identifying problem situations and the context in which they occur were conducted with 60 adolescents including students and peer mediators at middle schools and adolescents at community centers. Interviews were also conducted with 50 adults, including parents of middle school students, community center staff, and middle school staff including bus drivers, cafeteria workers, teachers, security guards, and school administrators. Qualitative analysis and coding of interview transcripts identified 39 themes representing a diverse array of problem situations, many of which occurred across multiple contexts including peers, school, family, and neighborhood domains.
Portable Common Lisp graphical user interfaces with LTk

While many implementations of Common Lisp provide graphical toolkits, Common Lisp as a whole lacks a standard way of creating graphical user interfaces. This is related to the fact that there is also no portable Common Lisp foreign function interface. To work around this limitation, the Lisp bindings to the Tk graphics toolkit use Lisp streams to talk to a Tcl/Tk subprocess. As a consequence, LTk is a highly portable solution to the GUI problem, allowing LTk based programs to run under 9 different Lisp implementations and the multitude of operation systems supported by Tk. LTk wraps all Tk widgets in CLOS objects, so creating and interacting with widgets is fully integrated into Lisp. Even creating new widgets by inheriting from an existing widget is supported.The LTk-remote package extends LTk by the ability to use sockets for the communication with the Tcl/TK process and thus is network transparent. To run a LTK-remote program, only a very small Tcl script is needed on the client machine. As the widgets are fully rendered by the Tcl clients, this mechanism is also highly efficient with respect to the necessary network bandwidth.This paper describes the implementation of LTk and shows the CLOS interface to the Tk widgets.
Intrauterine devices and pelvic inflammatory disease: evolving perspectives on the data.

In order to present an overview of current understanding about the relationship between pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) and IUD use this paper reviews the evolution of pertinent studies and identifies study design limitations. The first section includes a tabulated outline of the initial epidemiological studies that indicated an association between PID and IUD use (1968-80) and describes the biases in these studies. Section 2 considers the contribution of the US Womens Health Study the largest case-control study of the relationship which addressed many of these concerns and indicated that the risk of IUD-associated PID was primarily related to insertion that the Dalkon shield increased risk and that monogamy reduced risk. A table illustrates relative risk found by this study for various scenarios. Next the two analyses of data (1981 and 1990) from the Oxford Family Planning Association Study are reviewed and risk data from both publications are tabulated. Section 4 looks at the World Health Organizations 1992 study that used data collected in 12 randomized and one nonrandomized clinical trial from centers throughout the world. Data are tabulated to show rate of PID for various types of IUDs and two durations of use. This study confirmed that greatest risk is associated with insertion. The paper then provides an analysis of each of the following current conclusions regarding PID risk and IUD usage: 1) risk is primarily confined to time of insertion (except for the Dalkon shield); 2) in women with no risk factors the IUD poses little risk of tubal infection; 3) screening for IUD use may reduce absolute risk; 4) copper IUDs (especially the copper T380A) pose lower risk; and 5) Actinomyces israelii is not thought to be a major pathogen in this clinical setting.
A Longitudinal Study of Rhesus Monkey ( Macaca mulatta ) Milk Composition: Trace Elements, Minerals, Protein, Carbohydrate, and Fat

The concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, protein, carbohydrate, and fat were analyzed in milk from rhesus monkeys (Macaca mulatta) during the course of lactation. Concentrations of iron, copper, zinc, magnesium, sodium, potassium, and protein were higher in milk of early lactation (colostrum) than in mature milk, while concentrations of calcium increased with lactation time. Concentrations of zinc in monkey colostrum and mature milk were similar to that of human milk, while iron, copper, calcium, and protein concentrations were higher than in human milk.
Spectrophotometric and calorimetric studies of U(VI) complexation with sulfate at (25 to 70) °C

Sulfate, one of the inorganic constituents in the groundwater of nuclear waste repository, could affect the migration of radioactive materials by forming complexes. Spectrophotometric and microcalorimetric titrations were performed to identify the U(VI)/sulfate complexes and determine the equilibrium constants and enthalpy of complexation at 25-70 C. Results show that U(VI) forms moderately strong complexes with sulfate, i.e., UO{sub 2}SO{sub 4}(aq) and UO{sub 2}(SO{sub 4}){sub 2}{sup 2-}, in this temperature range and the complexes become stronger as the temperature is increased: 2-fold and 10-fold increases in the stability constants of UO{sub 2}SO{sub 4}(aq) and UO{sub 2}(SO{sub 4}{sub 2}{sup 2-}), respectively, when the temperature is increased from 25 C to 70 C. The complexation is endothermic and entropy-driven, showing typical characteristics of inner-sphere complexation and 'hard acid'/'hard base' interactions. The thermodynamic trends are discussed in terms of dehydration of both the cation (UO{sub 2}{sup 2+}) and the anion (SO{sub 4}{sup 2-}) as well as the effect of temperature on the structure of water.
Serotonin 5-HT2 receptors activate local GABA inhibitory inputs to serotonergic neurons of the dorsal raphe nucleus

The purpose of the present study was to characterize the synaptic currents induced by bath-applied serotonin (5-HT) in 5-HT cells of the dorsal raphe nucleus (DRN) and to determine which 5-HT receptor subtypes mediate these effects. In rat brain slices, 5-HT induced a concentration-dependent increase in the frequency of inhibitory postsynaptic currents (IPSCs) in 5-HT neurons recorded intracellularly in the ventral part of the DRN (EC(50): 86 microM); 5-HT also increased IPSC amplitude. These effects were blocked by the GABA(A) receptor antagonist, bicuculline (10 microM) and by the fast sodium channel blocker, TTX, suggesting that 5-HT had increased impulse flow in local GABAergic neurons. DAMGO (300 nM), a selective mu-agonist, markedly suppressed the increase in IPSC frequency induced by 5-HT (100 microM) in the DRN. A near maximal concentration of the selective 5-HT(2A) antagonist, MDL100,907 (30 nM), produced a large reduction ( approximately 70%) in the increase in IPSC frequency induced by 100 microM 5-HT; SB242,084 (30 nM), a selective 5-HT(2C) antagonist, was less effective ( approximately 24% reduction). Combined drug application suppressed the increase in 5-HT-induced IPSC frequency almost completely, suggesting involvement of both 5-HT(2A) and 5-HT(2C) receptors. Unexpectedly, the phenethylamine hallucinogen, DOI, a partial agonist at 5-HT(2A/2C) receptors, caused a greater increase (+334%) in IPSC frequency than did 5-HT 100 microM (+80%). This result may be explained by an opposing 5-HT(1A) inhibitory effect since the selective 5-HT(1A) antagonist, WAY-100635, enhanced the 5-HT-induced increase in IPSCs. These results indicate that within the DRN-PAG area there may be a negative feedback loop in which 5-HT induces an increase in IPSC frequency in 5-HT cells by exciting GABAergic interneurons in the DRN via 5-HT(2A) and, to a lesser extent, 5-HT(2C) receptors. Increased GABA tone may explain the previous observation of an indirect suppression of firing of a subpopulation of 5-HT cells in the DRN induced by phenethylamine hallucinogens in vivo.
Synapse Location during Growth Depends on Glia Location

Synaptic contacts are largely established during embryogenesis and are then maintained during growth. To identify molecules involved in this process, we conducted a forward genetic screen in C. elegans and identified cima-1. In cima-1 mutants, synaptic contacts are correctly established during embryogenesis, but ectopic synapses emerge during postdevelopmental growth. cima-1 encodes a solute carrier in the SLC17 family of transporters that includes sialin, a protein that when mutated in humans results in neurological disorders. cima-1 does not function in neurons but rather functions in the nearby epidermal cells to correctly position glia during postlarval growth. Our findings indicate that CIMA-1 antagonizes the FGF receptor (FGFR), and does so most likely by inhibiting FGFR's role in epidermal-glia adhesion rather than signaling. Our data suggest that epidermal-glia crosstalk, in this case mediated by a transporter and the FGF receptor, is vital to preserve embryonically derived circuit architecture during postdevelopmental growth.
Does the USSR Have a 'Grand Strategy'? Reinterpreting the Invasion of Afghanistan*

This essay examines the question of Soviet intervention in the Third World. It begins by discussing recent theories of Soviet strategy, including those which hold that the USSR has a grand strategy...
Longitudinal Control Design and Performance Evaluation for the Nereus 11,000 m Underwater Vehicle

This paper reports the predicted performance of a flight-control system for Nereus, a new underwater vehicle designed for oceanographic operations to 11,000 m depth. We investigated three operating configurations: (a) a vectored thrust dynamic foil configuration suited for zero speed hover through intermediate speeds; (b) a level flight mode suited to modest climb angles, and (c) a pitching flight mode suited to high speed operation. We report the terrain-following performance attained by each in simulation. Our simulations employ a simple non- linear longitudinal plane dynamics model supplemented at low angles of attack by a high-fidelity model provided to us by Vehicle Control Technologies of Reston VA. Terrain-following performance is specified as an operating envelope that describes attainable climb angle versus forward speed for a given height- above-bottom tolerance.
Radionuclide Sorption on Well Construction Materials

Laboratory experiments were conducted to measure the extent to which trace concentrations of radioactive materials would sorb on well construction materials and to assess the rapidity with which sorption would occur. The radionuclides employed in these studies were tritium, Cs-137, and Co-57, Solutions with trace concentrations of these radionuclides were contracted with casings of PVC, fiberglass-epoxy, stainless steel, carbon steel, and steel rods coated wtih expoy. The PVC showed no interaction with the tritium or Cs-137 during contact times of two hours to these weeks; however, it did sorb Co-57. The fiberglass-epoxy also interacted only with the cobalt. The stainless steel sorbed cesium and cobalt. The carbon steel (or the ferric hydroxide forming on its surface) also sorbed both cesium and cobalt. The epoxy-coated steel rods did not interact measurably with day of the radio-nuclides so long as the coating was intact. The sorption reactions generally were apparent after a few days of contact: in the case of carbon steel, they were detectable in a few hours.
Mast cells in the promotion and limitation of chronic inflammation

Observations of increased numbers of mast cells at sites of chronic inflammation have been reported for over a hundred years. Light and electron microscopic evidence of mast cell activation at such sites, taken together with the known functions of the diverse mediators, cytokines, and growth factors that can be secreted by appropriately activated mast cells, have suggested a wide range of possible functions for mast cells in promoting (or suppressing) many features of chronic inflammation. Similarly, these and other lines of evidence have implicated mast cells in a variety of adaptive or pathological responses that are associated with persistent inflammation at the affected sites. Definitively characterizing the importance of mast cells in chronic inflammation in humans is difficult. However, mice that genetically lack mast cells, especially those which can undergo engraftment with wildtype or genetically altered mast cells, provide a means to investigate the importance of mast cells and specific mast cell functions or products in diverse models of chronic inflammation. Such work has confirmed that mast cells can significantly influence multiple features of chronic inflammatory responses, through diverse effects that can either promote or, perhaps more surprisingly, suppress aspects of these responses.
An Endoparasitic Lamippid Copepod in Acanella From the North Atlantic

[Une nouvelle espece de copepode lamippide, Lamippella acanellae, est decrite. Ce crustace parasite bathyal, recolte pendant la Campagne Biogas I du "Jean Charcot" dans l'Atlantique du Nord, demeure dans des polypes du gorgoniaire Acanella arbuscula (Johnson). L'anatomie musculaire du mâle est comparee a celle d'autres lamippides., Une nouvelle espece de copepode lamippide, Lamippella acanellae, est decrite. Ce crustace parasite bathyal, recolte pendant la Campagne Biogas I du "Jean Charcot" dans l'Atlantique du Nord, demeure dans des polypes du gorgoniaire Acanella arbuscula (Johnson). L'anatomie musculaire du mâle est comparee a celle d'autres lamippides.]
Does lacking threat-management resources increase information avoidance? A multi-sample, multi-method investigation

Are people who lack personal and interpersonal resources are more likely to avoid learning potentially threatening information? We conducted four studies assessing three different populations (undergraduates, high school students, and a nationally-representative sample of adults), using a variety of measures and methods (e.g., single and multi-item self-report measures, a behavioral measure, social network analysis), across three information contexts (i.e., general health information, specific disease risk, socially-evaluative information). The consistent finding is that people who lack personal and interpersonal resources to manage threat are more likely to avoid learning potentially-threatening information. The results indicate that personal and interpersonal resources represent generalizable and robust predictors of information avoidance.
Ion Conduction in the Stem of the PA63 Channel of Anthrax Toxin during Lethal Factor (LF) Translocation

Protective antigen (PA), a critical 83kDa protein component of the anthrax toxin, forms channels in cell membranes which allow for the transport of two toxin components, lethal factor (LF) and edema factor (EF), into cells. The heptameric channel formed by PA63 (the 63 kDa, C-terminal part of PA) is thought to be a mushroom-shaped structure, with seven phenylalanine residues forming a ring (known as the phenylalanine clamp) at the junction between the cap and the stem. It is known that when LF is driven through the channel by an applied ΔV across the membrane, the seal created by the phenylalanine clamp causes an essentially complete block of conduction, but it is not known whether the stem of the channel allows for any conduction when occupied by LF. We are studying the PA63 channel at both the microscopic and the macroscopic level in an effort to determine how much conductance, if any, is allowed when the channel is occupied by LF and the phenylalanine clamp has been mutated to less bulky alanine residues. Preliminary data suggest that when LF is added to the cis compartment containing the mutant channel, the block in conductance (at positive voltages) may not be as complete as when the phenylalanine clamp is present, but it is nonetheless significant. If this is the case, then the electric field created by the ΔV across the membrane is focused at the phenylalanine clamp.
Kinetics of the reaction between steam and the basal plane of graphite

The gold decoration/transmission electron microscopy technique has been used to measure the rate of removal of carbon atoms from the basal plane of gra processes have been determined: removal of edge atoms surrounding the monolayer etch pits, and abstraction of carbon atoms within the basal plane which for edge carbon removal ranges from 0.02 at 600°C to 26 atom/atom active site/s at 900°C. The activation energy of 52 kcal/mole is close to the val of the saturated basal atoms (with 3 sp2 bonds) may be expressed in terms of the probabilities of successful collisions of O atoms which are fo for both CO2 and CH2O reactions, are of the order of 10−10 in the above temperature range. Comparison of the two reaction oxygen and water is the species responsible for basal atom abstraction. The gasification of graphite by steam is immensely anisotropic. At 23 torr H2O the turnover frequency in the prismatic or edge directions, {1010} and {1120} faces, is higher than that on the basal {0001} plane by a factor of 4 × 1010 at 900°C and 4 × 1012 at 700°C.
SOUTH AMERICAN OCCURRENCES OF THE ADAMANIAN (LATE TRIASSIC:LATEST CARNIAN) INDEX TAXON STAGONOLEPIS (ARCHOSAURIA: AETOSAURIA) AND THEIR BIOCHRONOLOGICAL SIGNIFICANCE

Abstract Aetosaur fossils from the Upper Triassic Ischigualasto Formation of Argentina formerly assigned to Aetosauroides scagliai Casamiquela and Argentinosuchus bonapartei Casamiquela are reassigned to Stagonolepis robertsoni Agassiz (small specimens) and S. wellesi (Long and Ballew) (larger specimens). Numerous features of the skull, vertebral column, appendicular skeleton, and particularly the armor, of these Argentinian aetosaurs are identical to those of Stagonolepis and differ from other aetosaurs. Identification of Stagonolepis in South America has important implications for the correlation of nonmarine strata across Late Triassic Pangea. Stagonolepis is an index taxon of the Adamanian land-vertebrate faunachron of latest Carnian age. Its occurrences in the Ischigualasto and Santa Maria formations, as well as at the type locality in the Lossiemouth Sandstone of Scotland and in the Blasensandstein of the German Keuper, cross-correlate with a well-established tetrapod biostratigraphy of the Chinle G...
Age Regression: Tailored versus Scripted Inductions

The effects of tailored versus scripted hypnotic inductions were tested with the intention of shedding light on age regression phenomena. From an initial pool of 31 volunteers, 10 males and 10 females who scored 3 or better on the Stanford Hypnotic Clinical Scale, participated in this study. Participants were assigned to either scripted or tailored hypnotic induction conditions for regression to age 5. The age specific developmental task was to indicate for each of 10 abstract figure pairs, which of each pair "was upside down". Both groups showed significant focal point dependency. However, the tailored induction group showed significantly greater focal point dependency characteristic of 5-year-old children, in contrast to the scripted induction group. It appears that tailored hypnotic inductions may provide a better avenue for the ego to regulate its own degree of regression. The better match to personality style takes advantage of the naturally occurring ego-syntonic capacities of the participant, thereby facilitating greater hypnotic responsiveness.