cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Living Your Faith: Associations Between Family and Personal Religious Practices and Emerging Adults’ Sexual Behavior

As emerging adults recenter (Tanner and Arnett in Debating emerging adulthood: Stage or process? Oxford University Press, New York, pp 13–30, 2011) their relationships with their family, they may retain some values and behaviors, while they disregard others temporarily or even for good. In the current study, we investigated whether emerging adults’ personal and family religious practices contribute to sexual intercourse within and outside a committed relationship cross-sectionally and over 1 year. College students completed questionnaires (NT1 = 779; NT2 = 538). Using hierarchical logistic regressions on sexual intercourse within and outside a committed relationship at Time 1, family and personal religious practices predicted sexual intercourse within and outside a committed relationship; the family × personal religious practices interaction was also significant. Hierarchical logistic regressions showed that for Time 1 virgins (N = 286), only sexual permissive attitudes predicted sexual intercourse within and outside a committed relationship at Time 2. Thus, the current study’s findings supported this important developmental shifting that promotes emerging adults’ individuation.
Recent work on CNO in dwarfs and subdwarfs

The recent results on CNO in dwarfs and subdwarfs are discussed. The value of [O/Fe] ≃ 0.0 at solar abundances but gradually increases with decreasing [Fe/H]. The value of [C/Fe] is constant at ≃ 0.0 −2 +1 as [Fe/H] declines from + 0.5 to −2.0; for [Fe/H] < − 2.0, [C/Fe] increases somewhat reaching a mean value near + 0.2 or + 0.3 dex. All the investigations agree that N has a strong primary component.
Eight polymorphic microsatellite loci for the aquatic fungus Tetracladium marchalianum

We have identified eight polymorphic microsatellite loci from the aquatic haploid fungus Tetracladium marchalianum. Microsatellite polymorphism was evaluated using 90 fungal isolates, each of single spore origin, from submerged leaves in Illinois and Wisconsin rivers in the USA. The number of alleles observed for a single locus ranged from three to 13, with up to 10 observed from a population. These genetic markers will be useful to evaluate population structure, genotypic diversity, and the reproductive mode of T. marchalianum.
Medicinal Polypores of the Forests of North America: Screening for Novel Antiviral Activity

362 International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms Polypore mushrooms have been used medicinally for thousands of years. Th e Greek physician Dioscorides fi rst described the use of a wood conk, Agarikon, now known as Fomitopsis offi cinalis (Vill.: Fr.) Bond. et Singer (= Laricifomes offi cinalis), as a treatment against consumption in 65 AD. Other wood conks, such as Ling Chi or Reishi, have had a similarly long history of use in Asia. In the past 20 years, wood conks have been carefully explored for their immunomodulating and anticancer properties. More recently, mushrooms, including polypores, have and are being explored for their antimicrobial properties. Upon submitting more than a hundred in vitro cultures of mushrooms to the US Defense Department’s Bioshield BioDefense program, several tests show that some of these polypore mushrooms have strong antiviral activity. Within these verdant natural landscapes, trees hundreds of years old host ancestral strains of these elusive polypores. Species that are now rare, or in some cases thought to be extinct, still reside in the pristine old growth forests of the Pacifi c Northwest of North America. When clones from these mushrooms were grown in vitro and submitted for antiviral screening, several mycelial cultures produced antibiotics eff ective against Pox and other viruses. Notably, strains vary in their antiviral properties. Our natural genomes hold within them great potentials for staving off disease and have not yet been fully explored. Th e fungal diversity within these genomes may prove critical for isolating the most active strains, similar to the lessons learned from the isolation of Penicillium chrysogenum strains that lead to the commercialization of penicillin and saved millions of lives. With deforestation, pollution, and industrialization, societies should reevaluate the importance of their natural forests in the context that they hold within them novel medicines of enormous socioeconomic importance. Th e old paradigm of viewing the forest as valuable only in terms of timber seems overly simplistic given this new knowledge. Medicinal Polypores of the Forests of North America: Screening for Novel Antiviral Activity
Effects of experience and training on diagnostic accuracy

In this reexamination of a previously published report (R. Brammer, 1997), psychologists and psychology students (N = 138) were provided an artificial intelligence program that simulated a clinical interview, The "client" provided paragraph-length answers to the questions participants chose to ask. At the end of their interview, the participants provided a brief diagnosis for the client. A path analysis revealed that clinical experience is a strong predictor of the ability of form an accurate diagnosis and that an individual's level of training, mediated by the number of diagnostic questions asked, also helps to derive accurate diagnoses.
Effect of Loading Frequency on Fatigue Performance of Risers in Sour Environment

ExxonMobil requires experimental verification of fatigue performance of fracture-critical risers designed for sour environments. Interaction between the sour environment and cracks in welded risers affects the crack-growth rate and, thus, the fatigue performance of the risers. Therefore, when conducting tests on riser welds in a sour environment, the frequency at which cyclicloads are applied during testing is critical to properly capturing the physio-chemical reactions and diffusion processes at the crack tip. Unfortunately, the load frequencies required to properly capture these effects are much lower than those currently used in cost-effective, resonant fatigue testing in air. Depending on the material, sour environment composition, and loading regime, testing at too high a frequency can eliminate the potential deleterious effects of the environment acting on the riser. Yet, testing at too low a frequency may not be practical. In order to determine the most efficient but technically valid load frequency to be used in a fatigue qualification testing program, a novel experimental screening methodology has been devised and implemented. In this paper, the proposed methodology is discussed and the results of a pilot test program conducted with C-Mn steel in a mildly sour environment are presented. For the particular sour brine, C-Mn steel and loading regime, it was found that the loading frequency could be increased up to about 1Hz, thereby making the fatigue verification tests more practical and cost-effective than the 1/3Hz currently used.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Impulsive phenomena in a small active region

The temporal and spatial variations of EUV emission from a small growing active region were investigated. Frequent localized short term (∼ few minutes) fluctuations in EUV emission were observed throughout the 7.2 hr interval when the most continuous observations were acquired. Approximately 20% of the 5 ″ x 5 ″ pixels had intensity variations exceeding a factor of 1.3 for the chromospheric Lα line, a factor of 1.5 for lines formed in the chromospheric-coronal transition region and a factor of 1.4 for the coronal Mg x line. A subflare in the region produced the largest intensity enhancements, ranging from a factor of ∼ 2.3 for the chromospheric Lα line to ∼ 8 for the transition region and coronal lines. The EUV fluctuations in this small active region are similar to those observed in coronal bright points, suggesting that impulsive heating is an important, perhaps dominant form of heating the upper chromospheric and lower coronal plasmas in small magnetic bipolar regions. The responsible mechanism most likely involves the rapid release of magnetic energy, possibly associated with the emergence of magnetic flux from lower levels into the chromosphere and corona.
Comparison of the modified vest and the direct anastomosis for radical retropubic prostatectomy.

Abstract Objectives This retrospective study was undertaken to compare the efficacy of the Vest and direct vesicourethral anastomosis for radical prostatectomy. Methods Five hundred six patients who underwent consecutive radical prostatectomies at our institution were analyzed. Two hundred fifty-nine patients underwent vesicourethral anastomosis using the Vest technique and 247 underwent a direct suture anastomosis. The groups were analyzed relative to time until healing, the occurrence of anastomotic strictures, and the continence rate 1 year after surgery. Results Approximately twice as many patients who underwent the Vest procedure experienced delayed healing and 8.5% developed anastomotic strictures compared with 1.2% of the direct anastomosis group. The Vest group experienced slightly better urinary continence 1 year postoperatively. Conclusions The Vest procedure is a reasonable alternative to direct anastomosis for radical prostatectomy and provides similar results. We suggest specific circumstances when the Vest anastomosis may be particularly useful.
Development of Banded Structure in a Numerically Simulated Hurricane

Abstract The developments of the propagating and the stationary bands in a three-dimensional model of a hurricane (Isbell, 1964) are investigated. Propagating bands in the vertical motion fields in the middle and the upper troposphere form in the regions of strong heating in the upper troposphere and weak cooling in the middle troposphere. The structures of the wind, temperature and pressure fields in these bands are similar to those observed in the outer radar bands of hurricanes. Strong, nearly stationary bands form close to the center in the intense storm stage. Results of two experiments, one (M1) in which the so-called nonconvective release of latent heat in the upper troposphere is included and the other (M2) in which this heating is not incorporated, are compared. Convective release of latent heat is included in both experiments. The stationary bands in which form in M1, also develop in M2. The propagating bands which form in M1, however, do not develop in M2. The rate of intensification of the sim...
Prehospital bicarbonate use in cardiac arrest: a 3-year experience.

Abstract The American Heart Association no longer recommends the routine use of sodium bicarbonate in cardiac arrests. Reasons cited include the lack of documented effect on clinical outcome and potential adverse effects of metabolic alkalosis and hypernatremia. We reviewed 36 months of experience with 619 nontrauma adult, prehospital cardiac arrest patients to identify 273 successful resuscitations who had emergency department blood gases and electrolytes performed. Determination of complications associated with prehospital intravenous sodium bicarbonate and its impact on survival in resuscitated patients was undertaken. Fifty-eight patients did not receive sodium bicarbonate (NO HCO 3 group) and had short cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) times (7.4 ± 5.5 minutes). Two hundred fifteen patients did receive sodium bicarbonate (HCO 3 group) and had significantly longer CPR times (23.3 ± 13.5 minutes, P ≤ .001). Both groups demonstrated routine early chest compression and hyperventilation as evidenced by no significant difference in paramedic response time or rate of intubations. Initial emergency department blood gas results of both groups were not significantly different. No patients in the NO HCO 3 group had hypernatremia (sodium [Na] + > 150), whereas four patients (2%) in the HCO 3 group were hypernatremic. Eight patients (14%) in the NO HCO 3 group and 37 patients (17%) in the HCO 3 group were alkalotic with pH values greater than 7.49 ( P = NS). Six patients (10%) of the NO HCO 3 group and 24 patients (11%) of the HCO 3 group had a metabolic component to the alkalosis as defined by a positive base excess value ( P = NS). Survival was examined in both groups following standardization for the presenting rhythm of ventricular fibrillation and CPR time intervals of 5 minutes. Survival did not differ significantly between the NO HCO 3 group and the HCO 3 group during any CPR time interval. However, base changes were significantly improved in the 15 to 20 minute CPR time interval ( P ≤ .05). Because only resuscitated patients were evaluated in this study, no determination could be made regarding bicarbonate's influence on survival following cardiac arrest. We describe the incidence of alkalosis, metabolic alkalosis, hypernatremia, and survival in patients receiving HCO 3 and not receiving HCO 3 who were successfully resuscitated from prehospital cardiac arrest.
The effects of testing in shifts on a clinical in-course computerized exam.

Problem Testing a large medical class over two days with a single-form computer-based test has generated questions related to test security and the influence of unequal test preparation times afforded by the testing method. Methods An analysis of variance (anova) design was used to compare the scores for the two days for each of the three tests. In addition, a within-student match-paired t-test of standard score differences was used to examine the relative standing of students across tests administered on different days. Results Both the anova and the match-paired t-test failed to detect a difference between first and second day testing. Conclusion: This research suggests that using a single test form with shift-based computerised assessments, spread over as many as two days, does not seriously compromise the integrity of the results. Since creating multiple unique-item forms is often not possible, shift-based testing with a single test form appears to be a fair method of accommodating a large number of students.
The unique informational efficiency of the competitive mechanism in economies with production

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the informational requirements of resource allocation processes for convex production economies. First, we establish a lower bound of the message space of an informationally decentralized mechanism that realizes Pareto efficient allocations over the class of classical production economies. Then, it is shown that this lower bound is exactly the size of the message space of the competitive (Walrasian) mechanism, and thus the competitive mechanism is informationally efficient for general neoclassical production economies in the sense that it uses the smallest message space among the class of resource allocation processes that are informationally decentralized and realize Pareto optimal allocations. Further, it is shown that the competitive mechanism is the unique informationally efficient decentralized mechanism that realizes Pareto efficient and individually rational allocations. The results obtained in the paper may shed light on the socialist controversy between Mises-Hayek and Lange-Lerner.
The effect of wind speed and bed slope on sand transport

This paper reports on a wind tunnel study of the effects of bed slope and wind speed on aeolian mass transport. The use of a sloping wind tunnel has enabled estimation of the friction angle α to be about 40° for saltating particles in the range 170–540 μm. A formula relating dimensionless mass transport to friction speed and bed slope is proposed, and mass transport data for five uniform sand samples and one non-uniform sand sample are shown to fit the equation well. In particular, the relationship reveals an overshoot in mass transport slightly above threshold collisions, a feature also evident when previous experimental data is re-examined. As the number of mid-air collisions between the saltating particles increases greatly with wind speed, the overshoot may occur as a result of increasing energy losses resulting from the collisions. Finally, it is demonstrated that data for saltating snow shows a similar overshoot in the dimensionless transport rate.
Patient engagement in the inpatient setting: a systematic review

Objective To systematically review existing literature regarding patient engagement technologies used in the inpatient setting. Methods PubMed, Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) Digital Library, Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) Xplore, and Cochrane databases were searched for studies that discussed patient engagement (‘self-efficacy’, ‘patient empowerment’, ‘patient activation’, or ‘patient engagement’), (2) involved health information technology (‘technology’, ‘games’, ‘electronic health record’, ‘electronic medical record’, or ‘personal health record’), and (3) took place in the inpatient setting (‘inpatient’ or ‘hospital’). Only English language studies were reviewed. Results 17 articles were identified describing the topic of inpatient patient engagement. A few articles identified design requirements for inpatient engagement technology. The remainder described interventions, which we grouped into five categories: entertainment, generic health information delivery, patient-specific information delivery, advanced communication tools, and personalized decision support. Conclusions Examination of the current literature shows there are considerable gaps in knowledge regarding patient engagement in the hospital setting and inconsistent use of terminology regarding patient engagement overall. Research on inpatient engagement technologies has been limited, especially concerning the impact on health outcomes and cost-effectiveness.
Causes of polygyny: ecology economy kinship and warfare.

We discuss and test competing explanations for polygyny based on household economics, malecentered kin groups, warfare, and environmental characteristics. Data consist of codes for 142 societies from the Standard Cross-Cultural Sample, including new codes for polygyny and environmental characteristics. An explanatory model is tested for the worldwide sample using regression analysis, and then replicated with regional samples. We obtain convergent results with two different measures of polygyny, cultural rules for men's marriages and the percentage of women married polygynously. We conclude that the best predictors of polygyny are fraternal interest groups, warfare for capture of women, absence of constraints on expansion into new lands, and environmental quality and homogeneity.
Genome-Wide Patterns of Genetic Polymorphism and Signatures of Selection in Plasmodium vivax

Plasmodium vivax is the most prevalent human malaria parasite outside of Africa. Yet, studies aimed to identify genes with signatures consistent with natural selection are rare. Here, we present a comparative analysis of the pattern of genetic variation of five sequenced isolates of P. vivax and its divergence with two closely related species, Plasmodium cynomolgi and Plasmodium knowlesi, using a set of orthologous genes. In contrast to Plasmodium falciparum, the parasite that causes the most lethal form of human malaria, we did not find significant constraints on the evolution of synonymous sites genome wide in P. vivax. The comparative analysis of polymorphism and divergence across loci allowed us to identify 87 genes with patterns consistent with positive selection, including genes involved in the "exportome" of P. vivax, which are potentially involved in evasion of the host immune system. Nevertheless, we have found a pattern of polymorphism genome wide that is consistent with a significant amount of constraint on the replacement changes and prevalent negative selection. Our analyses also show that silent polymorphism tends to be larger toward the ends of the chromosomes, where many genes involved in antigenicity are located, suggesting that natural selection acts not only by shaping the patterns of variation within the genes but it also affects genome organization.
Teaching Iran-Contra: Further Reflections.

pletely as I did in this experiment. Educational practices can be partly democratized, consonant with time constraints, the subject matter, and the level of willingness and preparation of students. While it is clear that students in this course were both willing and able to shoulder more responsibility for their own learning, the shift from my shoulders to theirs need not be as extensive as it was in this course. Notes
Inmates' perceptions of determinate and indeterminate sentences

The movement to replace indeterminate with determinate sentencing is among the most important recent developments in the criminal justice field. While the views of citizens and scholars on the subject have been widely promulgated, little is known about those of the ultimate “consumers” of sentencing reform, namely, inmates. This article examines the views of a systematic sample of inmates in a maximum security institution in Massachusetts. Subjects' opinions were sought on the relative merits of the two typs of sentencing, and possible behavioral and deterrent effects of a proposed switch to determinate sentencing. More inmates were found to be either opposed to or undecided about than in favor of determinate sentencing.
Epilepsy after brain insult: Targeting epileptogenesis

Seizures and epilepsy are common sequelae of acute brain insults such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, and central nervous system infections. Early, or acute symptomatic, seizures occur at the time of the brain insult and may be a marker of severity of injury. A cascade of morphologic and biologic changes in the injured area over months to years leads to hyperexcitability and epileptogenesis. After a variable latency period, late unprovoked seizures and epilepsy occur. The latent period may offer a therapeutic window for the prevention of epileptogenesis and the development of unprovoked seizures and epilepsy. Administration of anticonvulsant drugs following acute brain insults has thus far failed to prevent late epilepsy. Proper choice of disease models and target populations will aid in the development of putative antiepileptogenic agents. The incidence, timing, and pathophysiology of common epileptogenic brain injuries, including head trauma, cerebrovascular disease, brain tumors, neurosurgical procedures, neurodegenerative conditions, status epilepticus, and febrile seizures, are reviewed.
Manipulation of cellular excitability by cell fusion: effects of rapid introduction of transient outward K+ current on the guinea pig action potential

To investigate the still-undetermined role of the Ca2+-independent transient outward current (Ito1) on repolarization of the cardiac action potential, we used cell fusion to introduce Ito1 into guinea pig cardiomyocytes, which normally lack this current. This technique enables the rapid delivery of premade functional ion channels to cardiomyocytes within hours of isolation, thus eliminating the action potential alterations that complicate prolonged cell culture. Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cells stably expressing Kv4.3 (CHO-Kv4. 3) were loaded with a fluorescent dye and fused to guinea pig cardiomyocytes using polyethylene glycol. As controls, nontransfected CHO cells were fused using the same protocol. Myocytes fused with CHO-Kv4.3 cells exhibited a robust Ito1 (16. 5+/-2.6 pA/pF at +40 mV; 37 degrees C; n=19), whereas controls had none. Ito1 accelerated the early repolarization velocity (r=-0.68; 3 ms after the overshoot) and progressively suppressed the voltage of the plateau phase (r=-0.90) with increasing Ito1 density. Reduction of the action potential duration to 50% repolarization (r=-0.76) and to 90% repolarization (r=-0.65) also correlated well with Ito1 density. Thus, Ito1 exerted a significant effect on the early repolarization phase and abbreviated action potential duration. Cell fusion is a valuable and generalizable technique to introduce preformed membrane proteins into native cells.
Characterization of four esterase genes and esterase activity from the gut of the termite Reticulitermes flavipes

Four esterase genes and general esterase activity were investigated in the gut of the termite Reticulitermes flavipes. Two genes (RfEst1 and RfEst2) share significant translated identity with a number of insect JH esterases. The two remaining genes (RfEst3 and RfEst4) apparently code for much shorter proteins with similarity to fungal phenolic acid esterases involved in hemicellulose solubilization. All four genes showed consistently high midgut expression. This result was further supported by colorimetric activity assays and Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, which showed significant esterase activity and a number of isoforms in the midgut. The greatest esterase activity and isoform composition were detected when α-naphthyl propionate was used as a substrate. Moreover, esterase activity and diverse isoforms were present in gut mitochondrial, microsomal, and cytosolic sub-cellular protein fractions, as well as in the hindgut lumen. These findings reveal an agreement between gut esterase gene expression and activity distributions, and support the idea that R. flavipes gut esterase activity is host (not symbiont)-derived. In addition, these findings support the hypotheses that termite gut esterases may play important roles in lignocellulose digestion and caste differentiation. This study provides important baseline data that will assist ongoing functional-genomic efforts to identify novel genes with roles in semiochemical, hormone, and lignocellulose processing in the termite gut. © 2009 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
A detector for neutron imaging

A bright neutron source such as the Spallation Neutron Source (SNS) places extreme requirements on detectors including excellent 2-D spatial imaging and high dynamic range. Present imaging detectors have either shown position resolutions that are less than acceptable or they exhibit excessive paralyzing dead times due to the brightness of the source. High neutron detection efficiency with good neutron-gamma discrimination is critical for applications in neutron scattering research where the usefulness of the data is highly dependent on the statistical uncertainty associated with each detector pixel.. A detector concept known as MicroMegas (MicroMEsh GAseous Structure) has been developed at CERN in Geneva for high-energy physics charged-particle tracking applications and has shown great promise for handling high data rates with a rather low-cost structure. We are attempting to optimize the MicroMegas detector concept for thermal neutrons and have designed a 1-D neutron strip detector which we have tested In addition, we are performing research into the compatibility of various converter coatings. Our goal is to develop a manufacturable detector that could be scaled to a 1m/sup 2/, 2-D array for use at the SNS and other facilities.
Lunar-forming impacts: processes and alternatives

The formation of a protolunar disc by a giant impact with the early Earth is discussed, focusing on two classes of impacts: (i) canonical impacts, in which a Mars-sized impactor produces a planet–disc system whose angular momentum is comparable to that in the current Earth and Moon, and (ii) high-angular-momentum impacts, which produce a system whose angular momentum is approximately a factor of 2 larger than that in the current Earth and Moon. In (i), the disc originates primarily from impactor-derived material and thus is expected to have an initial composition distinct from that of the Earth's mantle. In (ii), a hotter, more compact initial disc is produced with a silicate composition that can be nearly identical to that of the silicate Earth. Both scenarios require subsequent processes for consistency with the current Earth and Moon: disc–planet compositional equilibration in the case of (i), or large-scale angular momentum loss during capture of the newly formed Moon into the evection resonance with the Sun in the case of (ii).
Multiple control elments for the uvrC gene unit of Escherichia coli

We have sequenced the control region of the uvrC protein including two open reading frames (ORF) encoding polypeptides of 28 kd and 23 kd molecular weight. The uvrC gene is preceded by five promoters. The P1, P2a and P2b promoter sequences are 5' to the 28 kd and the 23 kd proteins respectively. The P3 and P4 promoters are located within the structural gene for the 23 kd protein. The P3 promoter is required for adequate in vivo expression. There are three putative lexA protein binding sites, detected at the 3' end of the 28 kd protein (lexA1), within the coding sequences for the 23 kd protein (lexA2) and within the P3 promoter (lexA3). Promoter P2 is responsible for transcription of the uvrC gene, producing transcripts of 2.8 and 1.6 kb. The upstream region including the 28 kd protein is required for enhanced expression under non-induced conditions. These results show that the uvrC gene is controlled by multiple promoters and is transcribed as part of a multigene unit.
Caffeine-Mediated Override of Checkpoint Controls: A Requirement for rhp6 (Schizosaccharomyces pombe)

Cells exposed to inhibitors of DNA synthesis or suffering DNA damage are arrested or delayed in interphase through the action of checkpoint controls. If the arrested cell is exposed to caffeine, relatively normal cell cycle progression is resumed and, as observed in checkpoint control mutants, loss of checkpoint control activity is associated with a reduction in cell viability. To address the mechanism of caffeine's action on cell progression, fission yeast mutants that take up caffeine but are not sensitized to hydroxyurea (HU) by caffeine were selected. Mutants 788 and 1176 are point mutants of rhp6, the fission yeast homolog of the budding yeast RAD6 gene. Mutant rhp6-788 is slightly HU sensitive, radiosensitive, and exhibits normal checkpoint responses to HU, radiation, or inactivation of DNA ligase. However, the addition of caffeine does not override the associated cell cycle blocks. Both point and deletion mutations show synthetic lethality at room temperature with temperature-sensitive mutations in cyclin B (cdc13-117) or the phosphatase cdc25 (cdc25-22). These observations suggest that the rhp6 gene product, a ubiquitin-conjugating enzyme required for DNA damage repair, promotes entry to mitosis in response to caffeine treatment.
The Credibility of Performance Feedback in Tournaments

This paper studies the effect of performance feedback on tournament outcomes, when a possibly dishonest principal may manipulate the agents' expectations to stimulate their effort. Under plausible circumstances, an increase in the principal's propensity to tell the truth (i.e., integrity) induces a mean preserving spread in the distribution of effort and leads to a decrease in expected profits and welfare. More generally, I identify conditions under which a lower integrity can improve the effectiveness of financial incentives in inducing the agents' effort, thus leading to higher expected profits for the principal.
On the occurrence of stable heteroclinic channels in Lotka–Volterra models

The Lotka–Volterra (LV) equations can be used to model the behaviour of complex systems in nature. Trajectories in a stable heteroclinic channel (SHC) describe transient dynamics according to the winnerless competition principle in such a system. The existence of an SHC is guaranteed if the parameters of the LV equations satisfy a number of conditions. We study under what conditions a heteroclinic channel arises in a system where the coupling strengths are chosen randomly. These results describe the overall structure of the system dependent on the length of the channel. This relationship gives an estimation for the possible length of sequences of states in systems occurring in nature.
All Rural Places Are Not Created Equal: Revisiting the Rural Mortality Penalty in the United States

Objectives. I investigated mortality disparities between urban and rural areas by measuring disparities in urban US areas compared with 6 rural classifications, ranging from suburban to remote locales.Methods. Data from the Compressed Mortality File, National Center for Health Statistics, from 1968 to 2007, was used to calculate age-adjusted mortality rates for all rural and urban regions by year. Criteria measuring disparity between regions included excess deaths, annual rate of change in mortality, and proportion of excess deaths by population size. I used multivariable analysis to test for differences in determinants across regions.Results. The rural mortality penalty existed in all rural classifications, but the degree of disparity varied considerably. Rural–urban continuum code 6 was highly disadvantaged, and rural–urban continuum code 9 displayed a favorable mortality profile. Population, socioeconomic, and health care determinants of mortality varied across regions.Conclusions. A 2-decade long tren...
Support service process improvement: an application within a University Health Sciences Center

Clients have been critical of the lengthy turnaround time for the internal review process of research applications at a University Health Sciences Center. Two well-known Continuous Improvement (CI) frameworks, namely, the Seven-Step Model and the Deming Plan-Do-Study-Act (P-D-S-A) cycle, were synthesised to create an integrated structure for guiding improvements in this support service process for evaluating the suitability of the research protocols designed to protect the rights of human subjects. A wide variety of Total Quality (TQ) tools were used by the CI team to help summarise and display the current performance data, create and present diagrams to document and describe the existing process, facilitate the analysis of current problems and their root cause, and develop solutions to improve the study process. The goal was to implement an action plan that would eliminate the root cause and several fail points that were embedded in the current process. Initial results from a preliminary implementation of several solutions indicated that the turnaround time for the approval review process was reduced by 27%.
Complex Dielectric Spectroscopy Characterization of a Li0.982Ta1.004O3 Ferroelectric Single Crystal

The dielectric properties of a c-oriented ferroelectric Li0.982Ta1.004O3 single crystal have been investigated. The frequency and the temperature dependence of the dielectric properties have been measured from 500 to 650°C at frequencies ranging from 5 to 106 Hz. Both blocking and non-blocking electrodes were used for separating the electrode effect from the crystal bulk dielectric response. A low-frequency dispersion was identified to be due to the contribution of Li+ ionic carriers. Based on the electrical measurement data and complex nonlinear least squares fitting, an equivalent circuit is proposed to represent the dielectric properties of the single crystal.
The Strength of Brønsted Acid Sites in Microporous Aluminosilicates

Ensemble-averaged deprotonation energies (DPE) derived from periodic density functional theory models are insensitive to the location of isolated Al atoms and associated protons and similar among microporous aluminosilicates (i.e., zeolites) with different crystalline frameworks (MFI, BEA, FER, MOR, CHA, FAU). These DPE values are 1201 ± 11 kJ mol–1 after correcting for systematic artifacts of periodic DFT methods, which vary with framework density, and averaging over the four distinct proton locations at each Al atom. These energies rigorously reflect the strength of the acid sites in these important catalytic solids. Thus, the stability of the conjugate anions and the acid strength of these materials merely reflect the presence of Al atoms within the silicate framework, and not their specific siting or local confining environment. DPE values did not show any systematic trends with the vibrational frequency or length of O–H bonds, with Si–O–Al bond angles, or with NH3 adsorption enthalpies, properties th...
A Dynamic Algorithm for Local Community Detection in Graphs

A variety of massive datasets, such as social networks and biological data, are represented as graphs that reveal underlying connections, trends, and anomalies. Community detection is the task of discovering dense groups of vertices in a graph. Its one specific form is seed set expansion, which finds the best local community for a given set of seed vertices. Greedy, agglomerative algorithms, which are commonly used in seed set expansion, have been previously designed only for a static, unchanging graph. However, in many applications, new data is constantly produced, and vertices and edges are inserted and removed from a graph. We present an algorithm for dynamic seed set expansion, which incrementally updates the community as the underlying graph changes. We show that our dynamic algorithm outputs high quality communities that are similar to those found when using a standard static algorithm. The dynamic approach also improves performance compared to re-computation, achieving speedups of up to 600x.
Functional Modeling: Toward a Common Language for Design and Reverse Engineering

Computer support for future product development must focus on the conceptual design stage where informed decisions make the most impact on design. Working within a systematic, function-based design methodology, we propose modifications to a formal representation originally applied to reverse engineering. In recasting this representation for design capture and reuse, significant barriers have been identified: the language appears to lack expressiveness in key areas, and the representations generated from reverse engineering differ significantly from those used for design. Toward addressing these issues, we augment the language to improve its description of key aspects of design function. In addition, we propose several means of reorganizing reverse engineering information to enhance its reuse in design. Both of these efforts are evaluated in a framework of case-based design, showing significant improvement over the original design representation and pointing toward future improvements.© 2003 ASME
RSR13, A Synthetic Allosteric Modifier of Hemoglobin, Enhances Recovery of Stunned Myocardium in Dogs

RSR132-[4-[[(3,5-dimethylanilino)carbonyl]methyl]phenoxyl]-2-methylproprionic acid sodium salt; (Figure 1) is a compound that mimics the natural physiological effects of 2,3-diphosphoglycerate by allosterically modifying hemoglobin (Hb) saturation. RSR13 binds to and stabilizes deoxyHb in vitro (1). These actions cause a rightward shift of the oxygen (O2)-Hb dissociation curve and increase tissue O2 delivery in vivo (2). RSR13 maintains pH and preserves high-energy phosphates during myocardial ischemia by improving O2 delivery (3). Thus, allosteric modification of Hb affinity for O2 with drugs that stabilize the deoxyHb may be an important new approach to the treatment of myocardial hypoxemia due to ischemic heart disease. We tested the hypothesis that RSR13 enhances the recovery of contractile function of postischemic, reperfused myocardium generated by repetitive, brief episodes of ischemia and reperfusion in barbiturate-anesthetized, acutely instrumented dogs.
Effects of prior exploration on subsequent discrimination learning

Two groups of rats learned a positional discrimination task on an elevated “Y” maze. Prior to discrimination training the experimental group was allowed to explore the maze for nine days during which time the control group was given pre training on an elevated straightaway. It was found that the experimental group learned the discrimination task significantly faster than the control group. This superiority was interpreted as due to the fact that the experimental group started discrimination learning with an already formed habit strength (H), which by interacting with incentive motivation (K) in a multiplicative way produced a larger excitatory potential (E) than the control group which started discrimination learning with negligible habit strength.
Electrically compensated Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance cell for complex mixture mass analysis.

Complex natural organic mixtures such as petroleum require ultrahigh mass spectral resolution to separate and identify thousands of elemental compositions. Here, we incorporate a custom-built, voltage-compensated ICR cell for Fourier transform ion cyclotron resonance mass spectrometry (FTICR MS), based on a prior design by Tolmachev to produce optimal mass resolution. The compensated ICR cell installed in a custom-built 9.4 T FTICR mass spectrometer consists of seven cylindrical segments with axial proportions designed to generate a dc trapping potential that approaches an ideal three-dimensional axial quadrupolar potential. However, the empirically optimized compensation voltages do not correspond to the most quadrupolar trapping field. The compensation electrodes minimize variation in the reduced cyclotron frequency by balancing imperfections in the magnetic and electric field. The optimized voltages applied to compensation electrodes preserve ion cloud coherence for longer transient duration by approxi...
Toward a Sociology of Exile: A Report on an Academic Symposium

In May of 1985, 40 scholars and representatives of a variety of public agencies and private organizations met on the campus of Smith College in North? ampton, Massachusetts to participate in the second of a series of conferences on refugees and refugee policies funded by grants from The Exxon Education Foundation. The first meeting, "Working with Refugees", was held in March, 1983. Its participants addressed the politics of rescue and the process of resettlement, paying particular attention to protection, assistance, selection, admission, movement, and adaptation. (The edited proceedings have just been published by The Center for Migration Studies.) The recent symposium had a more academic focus. It was called "Toward a Sociology of Exile" and sought to zero in on the problems of studying and teaching about the causes and results of forced migrations, the role of international and U.S. law, and the current situation of refugees in developing countries and in the West, especially in the U.S. "Toward a Sociology of Exile" began with a series of working papers presented by two who had known the experience of exile at first hand: Lewis A. Coser, the well-known German-born sociologist now teaching at SUNY, Stony Brook, spoke with personal poignancy about those Georg Simmel called "strangers". Hai Ba Pho, a Vietnamese political scientist affiliated with the University of Lowell, talked about how such strangers can become effective participants in American political and social life. Their remarks bracketed a presentation by John Scanlan of the Indiana University Law School and Gilburt Loescher, a political scientist from Notre Dame, who have just completed a book, Calculated Kindness, on what they see as persisting biases in American refugee admission policies. Their evocative comments and the responses of Charles Sternberg, a refugee from Czechoslovakia who recently retired as Executive Director of the International Rescue Committee, set the stage for the three-day gathering. Together they indicated the
A method of determining electrical potential gradient across mitochondrial membrane in perfused rat hearts

The electrical potential gradient across the mitochondrial membrane (delta psi m) in perfused rat hearts was estimated by calculating the equilibrium distribution of the lipophilic cation tetraphenylphosphonium (TPP+), using measured kinetic constants of uptake and release of TPP+. First-order rate constants of TPP+ uptake were measured during 30-min perfusions of intact rat hearts with tracer amounts (5.0 nM) of tritium-labeled TPP+ ([3H]TPP+) in the perfusate. This was followed by a 30-min washout, during which the first-order rate constant of efflux was estimated. Values of [3H]TPP+ outside the heart and total [3H]TPP+ inside the heart at equilibrium were calculated. From this information and separately estimated time-averaged plasma membrane potentials (delta psi c) it was possible to calculate free cytosolic [3H]TPP+ at equilibrium. It was also possible to calculate free intramitochondrial [3H]TPP+ at equilibrium as the difference between total tissue [3H]TPP+ minus free cytosolic TPP+ and the sum of all the bound [3H]TPP+. Bound [3H]TPP+ was determined from [3H]TPP+ binding constants measured in separate experiments, using both isolated mitochondria and isolated cardiac myocytes under conditions where both delta psi m and delta psi c were zero. Delta psi m was calculated from the intramitochondrial and cytosolic free TPP+ concentrations using the Nernst equation. Values of delta psi m were 144.9 +/- 2.0 mV in hearts perfused with 5 mM pyruvate and 118.2 +/- 1.4 mV in hearts perfused with 11 mM glucose, in good agreement with delta psi m obtained from isolated rat heart mitochondria.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
WillSense: Adherence Barriers for Passive Sensing Systems That Track Eating Behavior

Energy balance is one component of weight management, but passive objective measures of caloric intake are non-existent. Given recent success of actigraphy as a passive objective measure of the physical activity construct that relieves participants of the burden of biased self-report, researchers are aiming to find a passive objective measure of caloric intake to improve understanding of problematic eating behaviors in obese and non-obese participants. Passive sensing food intake systems have failed to go beyond the lab and into behavioral research in part due to low adherence to wearing passive monitoring systems. This paper presents preliminary results in obese and non-obese participants performing structured and unstructured eating experiments to understand wearable adherence as affected by: 1) perceived data privacy; 2) stigma of wearing devices; 3) comfort. Wearables examined include neck- and wrist-worn sensors, and video camera-based systems.
“Free cities and regions”—Patrick Geddes’s theory of planning

Patrick Geddes is a recognized founder of urban and regional planning. Despite this accolade, a review of US planning programs reflects Geddes’s work largely absent from planning pedagogy. Recently interest in Geddes has revived in several fields. However, many researchers, particularly in planning, still criticize his ideas as lacking a coherent theoretical framework or as obsolete in addressing the power relations in contemporary cities and social movements. In this paper, I seek to augment recent work on Geddes as well as explore criticisms of his approach. I examined published and archival manuscripts dealing with Geddes’s approach to planning. I argue Geddes did, across his voluminous output, frame a consistent planning theory valuable for contemporary environmental planning and social movements. I conclude by calling for wider reintroduction of Geddes’s ideas into planning education and research.