cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preparation and characterization of Fe3O4(1 1 1) nanoparticles and thin films on Au(1 1 1)

Abstract Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and thin films were prepared on the Au(1 1 1) surface and characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) and scanning tunneling microscopy (STM). Fe 3 O 4 was formed by annealing α-Fe 2 O 3 (0 0 0 1) structures on Au(1 1 1) at 750 K in ultrahigh vacuum (UHV) for 60 min. Transformation of the α-Fe 2 O 3 (0 0 0 1) structures into Fe 3 O 4 nanoparticles and thin films was supported by XPS. STM images show that during the growth procedure used, Fe 3 O 4 initially appears as nanoparticles at low coverages, and forms thin films at ∼2 monolayer equivalents (MLE) of iron. Two types of ordered superstructures were observed on the Fe 3 O 4 particles with periodicities of ∼50 and ∼42 A, respectively. As the Fe 3 O 4 particles form more continuous films, the ∼50 A feature was the predominant superstructure observed. The Fe 3 O 4 structures at all coverages show a hexagonal unit cell with a ∼3 A periodicity in the atomically resolved STM images.
British Satire and the Politics of Style, 1789-1832

Acknowledgements Note on the text Introduction 1. The scope of satire, 1789-1832 2. The modes of satire and the politics of style 3. The meaning of Radical verse satire 4. Peacock, Disraeli, and the satirical prose narrative 5. Satire displaced, satire domesticated Notes Works cites A select bibliography of British satirical verse, 1789-1832 Index.
Design, synthesis and characterization of panning agents for the selection of metalloantibodies

The design, synthesis and characterization of a new class of metal complexes (panning agents) for the selection of antibodies from a combinatorial library are described. The metal panning agents contain a phosphorodithioate moiety that binds soft metals, leaving them coordinatively unsaturated. Subsequent panning against an antibody phage library selects for members that recognize, and bind directly to, the metal rather than ligands attached to the metal.
Performance of severity of illness classification for Clostridium difficile infection to predict need-for-colectomy or inpatient death.

Background : In current state of practice, disease severity assessment for Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) lacks consensus between different organizations. In the latest guidelines for management of CDI, authors have proposed a new disease severity classification. This classification has been derived from expert opinion and includes previously reported patient related factors that predict unfavorable outcome in CDI. Objective : To evaluate the performance of new disease severity classification to predict CDI-related colectomy or in-patient deaths. Methods : This observational study was performed at a 300-bed community hospital catering to a suburban population. All the adult patients discharged during October 2005 through September 2012 and diagnosed with CDI were included in the study. Cases of CDI were identified using the billing database. Demographic and clinical characteristics of CDI cases were extracted from medical chart reviews performed by two physician researchers. Cases were classified as mild-to-moderate, severe, or severe and complicated CDI. Major outcomes measured were in-patient deaths and colectomy attributed to CDI. For risk stratification, each variable of severe and complicated CDI was counted. Results : In total, 59,897 patients were discharged from our hospital during the study period; 894 of them were diagnosed with CDI. Mean age of CDI cases was 74 years (standard deviation 15 years), 345 (39%) were male, and median length of hospital stay was 7 days (interquartile range 4–13). One hundred ninety-one patients (21%) were classified as mild-to-moderate, 93 patients (10%) as severe, and 610 patients (68%) as severe and complicated. In total, 14 patients underwent colectomy for CDI and 53 patients expired. In 35 of these patients, the cause of death was thought to be CDI. The combined outcome (CDI-related colectomy and/or death in hospital) occurred in 47 patients. None of the patients in mild-to-moderate disease or severe disease had combined outcome. On severe and complicated cases, as the score increased, rate of combined outcome increased significantly ( z −12.7, p <0.0001). On plotting receiver-operating curve, the simple variable count had area under the curve of 0.91. Conclusion : The newly proposed disease severity classification for CDI categorized more than two-thirds of patients as severe and complicated. Increase in number of severe and complicated classifying variables increases the chance of adverse outcomes significantly. Patients meeting only one variable could be potentially treated as a severe case instead of severe and complicated. This data needs to validated prospectively before could be used in clinical practice. Keywords : Clostridium difficile infection; Severity of Illness; Need for colectomy; inpatient mortality (Published: 31 July 2014) Citation : Journal of Community Hospital Internal Medicine Perspectives 2014, 4 : 24711 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/jchimp.v4.24711
Induction of cathepsin D inhibitor gene expression in response to methyl jasmonate

Summary Two plant species, potato ( Solanum tuberosum cv. Superior) and a nontuberizing potato species ( Solanum brevidens ), were tested for methyl jasmonate induction of the potato cathepsin D inhibitor at the RNA level using a leaf-petiole cutting system. Both species had previously shown accumulation of cathepsin D inhibitor transcripts in leaves in response to wounding. Methyl jasmonate, a hormone-like, lipidderived molecule, is considered to be a secondary messenger in the wound-signal transduction pathway and is a potent inducer of proteinase inhibitor II. A dose-response test was performed for methyl jasmonate induction of cathepsin D inhibitor in the leaves of leaf-petiole cuttings. Transcript induction levels were directly related to the concentration of methyl jasmonate. Cathepsin D inhibitor transcripts could be detected in the Solanum species after only 6 h of methyl jasmonate treatment. Immunoblot analysis showed cathepsin D inhibitor proteins accumulated in «Superior» leaves after methyl jasmonate treatment.
Calcium homeostasis III: the bone membrane potential and mineral dissolution

Active ionic transport through the bone membrane appears to be involved in the regulation of calcium level in the bloodstream. This transport process can be monitored by the transmembrane electrical potential difference, which increases in the presence of parathyroid hormone. The present work is an evaluation of the constraints placed on the system by the solubility limit of the mineral phase. A thermodynamic analysis demonstrates that control of mineral dissolution can only occur when the transported species is one of the mineral phase constituents. A combination of previous experimental results with the present development limits the possible active transport mechanism responsible for the adjustment of mineral dissolution/ deposition to: an outward-directed pump for hydroxyl ion, an outward-directed pump for phosphate ion, or an inward-directed pump for hydrogen ion.
En Face View of Atrial Septal Defect by Two-Dimensional Transthoracic Echocardiography: Comparison to Real-Time Three-Dimensional Transesophageal Echocardiography

Background It is generally believed that three-dimensional (3D) echocardiography can provide unique en face views of atrial septal defects (ASDs), whereas conventional two-dimensional (2D) transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) cannot. The purpose of this study was to develop a special 2D TTE–based en face view of ASDs. Methods En face views of ASDs on 2D TTE were obtained in 415 consecutive adult patients and compared with the results of real-time 3D transesophageal echocardiography in 25 of these patients. Results Acceptable en face views of ASDs on 2D TTE were obtained in 80% of patients, in whom secundum ASDs could be adequately imaged in more standard 2D imaging planes. The ability to visualize en face views of ASDs on 2D TTE was inversely related to their sizes ( P P > .05). Conventional 2D transthoracic echocardiographic views significantly underestimated ASD size with superior-inferior directional major axis. Conclusion Two-dimensional TTE can provide en face views of ASDs and their spatial orientations with respect to neighboring structures. This method may provide incremental information to 3D echocardiography in patients with ASDs.
Calculation of total and component potentials of water in Soil

The total potential of water in moist soil is assumed to be the sum of gravitational, pressure, osmotic and adsorption components. Osmotic potential is related to solute concentration at any point. Adsorption potential is assumed to depend on interaction of water dipoles with electric fields associated with the solid-liquid interface. The Gouy-Chapman theory of the electric double layer provides a basis for computing both osmotic and adsorption potentials at any point in the liquid outside the first few monolayers of water enveloping soil particles. From these, pressure potential can be calculated. Curves illustrating the variation of component potentials with distance from a particle are presented along with curves relating total potential to film thickness for soils brought to hydraulic equilibrium or to vapor equilibrium with external solutions. Measurement of total potential by freezing point depression is questioned.
An LC-MS method for analyzing total resveratrol in grape juice, cranberry juice, and in wine

Resveratrol is an antioxidant found in grapes, grape products, and some other botanical sources with antiinflammatory and anticancer properties. In grapes and wine, it occurs both as free resveratrol and piceid, the 3β-glucoside of resveratrol. Here we report a liquid chromatography−mass spectrometry method to analyze total resveratrol (including free resveratrol and resveratrol from piceid) in fruit products and wine. Samples were extracted using methanol, enzymatically hydrolyzed, and analyzed using reversed phase HPLC with positive ion atmospheric pressure chemical ionization (APCI) mass spectrometric detection. Following APCI, the abundance of protonated molecules was recorded using selected ion monitoring (SIM) of m/z 229. An external standard curve was used for quantitation, which showed a linear range of 0.52−2260 pmol of trans-resveratrol injected on-column with a correlation coefficient 0.9999. The coefficient of variance of the response factor over the same concentration range was determined to ...
Amplification: A central theme in late medieval rhetoric

Even though medieval rhetoric appears to lack direction and theme, an understanding of the society of the Middle Ages, the sources available to theorists, and the content of the ars dictaminis and ars praedicandi indicates that amplification provided such unity.
Controls on the geometry of fold-thrust belt salients

Salients, convex-to-the-foreland curves in the map traces of orogens, typically involve fold-thrust belts formed along the foreland margin of orogens. An examination of the map-view shape, degree of asymmetry, dimensions, and structural trend-line patterns (i.e., the variation in fold trend and fault strike along the length of the belt) of 20 fold-thrust belt salients worldwide illustrates relationships between salient geometry and the geologic setting in which the salient formed. In order to understand these relationships, we used simple sandbox models to simulate the formation of three of the several types of salients. Specifically, we examined indenter-controlled salients (the geometry of which reflects interaction of a fold-thrust belt with a hinterland indenter), basin-controlled salients (the geometry of which reflects lateral variations in the thickness of predeformational basin fill), and detachment-controlled salients (the geometry of which reflects lateral variations in the strength of a detachment surface). Our models demonstrate that thrusts in these three types of salients initiate with a curved shape, and that rocks within thrust sheets on the limbs of salients can undergo a vertical-axis rotation in response to simple shear, without requiring major rotation of the fault trace. Furthermore, trend-line patterns distinguish basin-controlled from indenter-controlled salients. Specifically, structural trend lines in basin-controlled salients converge at the end points of the curve, while in indenter-controlled salients, they diverge at the end points of the curve. The asymmetry of a salient correlates with the asymmetry of the predeformational basin and/or of the indenter, and with the convergence direction. Thus, our results explain geometric characteristics of individual salients, and address controversies concerning paleomagnetic data in salients. They also may help prioritize petroleum-exploration targets in salients (foreland-basin oil fields concentrate at the apex of basin-controlled salients) because the geologic factors that generate the salient also contribute to localizing oil fields.
Chryseomonas luteola bloodstream infection in a pediatric patient with pulmonary arterial hypertension receiving intravenous treprostinil therapy

Treprostinil is a prostacyclin analogue approved for the treatment of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH). It is commonly administered through a central venous catheter (CVC). Treprostinil is associated with the incidence of Gram-negative bacterial bloodstream infections (BSI), a susceptibility that has been associated with a diluent used for treprostinil. We report the case of a 14-year-old boy with idiopathic PAH on continuous intravenous treprostinil therapy who presented with fever and fatigue. A blood culture drawn from his CVC was positive for the rare Gram-negative organism Chryseomonas luteola. The patient made a complete recovery with antibacterial treatment. This is the only documented case of a C. luteola BSI in a PAH patient receiving continuous intravenous treprostinil. We recommend maintaining a high index of suspicion for both common and rare Gram-negative pathogens and the early administration of appropriate antibiotic therapy in this population. The use of an alternate diluent solution, such as Sterile Diluent for Flolan, further decreases the infection risk.
Immune Thrombocytopenic Purpura

Immune thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) is an autoantibody-mediated thrombocytopenic disorder in which accelerated destruction of platelets occurs; platelet production may also be impaired by these antibodies. ITP is characterized by mucocutaneous bleeding. Rarely, more severe hemorrhages, such as intracranial hemorrhage, may occur. Traditional therapies, such as steroids, immunoglobulin therapy, and splenectomy, generally reduce peripheral destruction of platelets. More recently, with a better understanding of the immunopathologic mechanisms underlying thrombocytopenia, several new treatments have been developed, including thrombopoietic agents, specific inhibitors of Fcγ receptor (FcγR) signaling, and B-cell depletion therapies. This article outlines current understanding of the epidemiology, etiology, diagnosis, and treatment of ITP. The focus is on recent pathophysiologic insights and areas of potential controversy in which studies are ongoing.
Characterization and culture of virus replicating continuous insect cell lines from the bollworm,Heliothis zea (boddie)

A series of five discrete virus replicating insect cell lines were isolated from the ovarian and fat body tissues ofHeliothis zea pupae. Two of these cell lines (IPLB-HZ-1075 and-HZ-1079) were studied in depth as to their growth and virus replication responses to specific nutrients (acetyl-β-methylcholine, fresh glutamine) in a number of media. The same two cell lines were identified to species by serological (microimmunodiffusion) and isozyme (phosphoglucoisomerase and peptidase:glycyl-leucine) techniques. Distinguishing comparisons were made with other cell lines that have been confused with the present lines in the literature and with cell line and host pupal extracts from the same and other lepidopteran species studied concurrently in this laboratory. Sterility culture tests were negative for mycoplasmas. The present fiveH. zea lines were the first insect cell lines to replicate polyhedra from a unicapsid multiple embedded nuclear polyhedrosis virus (Baculovirus Group A), in this case the homologous virus obtained from larvae ofH. zea.
Tuned liquid dampers under large amplitude excitation

Abstract Rectangular tuned liquid dampers were investigated through shaking table tests and numerical modeling for large amplitude excitation. The results confirm earlier work undertaken for small amplitude excitation and considerably contribute to the body of knowledge describing tank behavior under large amplitude excitation. The random choice method of solving the fully nonlinear shallow-water-wave equations captures the underlying physical phenomenon adequately, including wave breaking, for most of the frequency range of interest. The tank behaves as a hardening spring system due to the liquid sloshing motion, and this trend is enhanced as excitation amplitude increases.
Asylum, Violence, and the Limits of Advocacy

The topic of human rights has been likened to "a moral and political mine field" (Downing and Kushner 1988:l). The growing literature on anthropology and human rights focuses on the key issue of universalism versus relativism, with proposals for the resolution of this antinomy ranging from leastcommon denominator approaches (Renteln 1990) to suggestions for frameworks for cross-cultural dialogue on rights (An-Na'im 1992; Falk 1992). The tension in this body of literature reflects the common frustration of anthropologists who recognize the abstract quality of theoretical debates within the field, which while philosophically intriguing have placed anthropologists on the margins of practical action. Washburn notes,
The effect of matching on the power of randomized community intervention studies

Currently, there is considerable interest in studies that use the community as the experimental unit. Health promotion programmes are one example. Because such activities are expensive, the number of experimental units (communities) is usually very small. Investigators often match communities on demographic variables in order to improve the power of their studies. Matching is known to improve power in certain circumstances. However, we show here that if the number of communities is small, the matched design will probably have less power than the unmatched design. This is due primarily to the loss of degrees of freedom in the matched design, which outweighs the benefits of matching on any but the strongest correlates of changes in behaviour. In the community intervention situation, even small differences in sample size between the matched and unmatched analyses can have expensive consequences.
Statistical mechanics of combinatorial search

The statistical mechanics of combinatorial search problems is described using the example of the well-known NP-complete graph coloring problem. A simple parameter describing the problem structure predicts the difficulty of solving the problem, on average. However, because of the large variance associated with this prediction, it is of limited direct use for individual instances. Additional parameters, describing the problem structure as well as the heuristic effectiveness, are introduced to address this issue. This also highlights the distinction between the statistical mechanics of combinatorial search problems, with their exponentially large search spaces, and physical systems, whose interactions are often governed by a simple Euclidean metric. >
Use of the microalga Monoraphidium sp. grown in wastewater as a feedstock for biodiesel: Cultivation and fuel characteristics

Abstract The use of microalgae as feedstocks for biodiesel is potentially limited by climatic conditions with low light and temperature levels. Monoraphidium sp. Dek19 was identified by 18S rRNA gene sequencing. This is a species indigenous to the upper Midwestern USA which grows to high densities in wastewater with bioremediation resulting in a reduction of nitrate and phosphate levels. Mesocosm pool cultures (171L) were used to characterize growth of this species in larger volumes than typical of previous lab-based studies. The alga was shown to be cold-tolerant and to grow to workable density within 15 days at relatively low light intensities in sterilized treated effluent. It was harvested by FeCl3 flocculation and filtration, and lipid content was measured at 26% of dry weight. Pool cultures yielded enough biomass to extract lipids and transesterify them to biodiesel for testing in a stationary engine. GC analysis showed FAMEs produced from Monoraphidium sp. to have a similar fatty acid profile to soybean oil. Engine testing of this algal biodiesel in blends with petrodiesel showed a significant reduction in NOx emissions. The results of this study indicate in general that searching for species of algae adapted to local environments is a good strategy for developing biodiesel feedstocks, and specifically that Monoraphidium sp. Dek19 represents a species isolate that could be used to produce this fuel economically using wastewater in Northern locations with cool climates.
Second-order illumination in real-time (student paper)

This paper presents a simple and efficient algorithm for achieving real-time performance on current consumer graphics hardware when rendering complex, dynamic scenes with direct and secondorder diffuse (indirect) illumination. An image space, low-discrepancy sampling technique for positioning point lights is presented. These point lights simulate second-order diffuse illumination throughout the scene. A novel use of negative point lights allows fast approximation of occlusion of second-order diffuse illumination in image space. Finally, an optimization technique is provided that improves frame rates while maintaining image quality by approximating the illumination of all point lights at lower resolutions for less detailed areas of the scene.
System Requirements for Underwater Acoustic Holographic Mapping

The relations among the holographic parameters of focal length, aperture, and wavelength and the system parameters of resolution and stability in the horizontal and vertical are developed for the application of acoustic holography to mapping and searching the sea floor. The relative advantages of pulsed and continuous acoustic sources are discussed, the concept of the sanitized signals from a pulsed source is introduced, and the implications in terms of forbidden zones and statistical uncertainty in the amplitude of the mean scattered signal are developed. The information content of the acoustic holographic surface and the required sampling spatial density are presented. The area scan rate of the holographic system is related to the system parameters. A conceptual design of an acoustic deep-water holographic system, Sea Fan, is described as an example of the application of the constraints previously developed. The scan rate of Sea Fan is compared with some present methods of searching the sea floor. An optical reconstruction process involving the superposition of a cohologram and a quadrature hologram is described.
Proactive design for manufacturing (DFM) for nanometer SoC designs

In this paper, we propose an innovative DFM design flow which achieves designs for logic products that are much more manufacturable than those using traditional design flows in nm technologies. It integrates manufacturability information-extracted directly from the target nm process-into the timing-driven synthesis and PR 2) a new design view data-file, containing a pre-characterized set of design attributes extracted from the cell library layouts and the required target process parameter extractions; 3) a set of software elements that plug the manufacturability information into the standard IC design creation and analysis flow. The EDA tools interact with these elements to determine the most manufacturable mapping and arrangement of any given logic function onto the physical library.
Design and test of a model pole for the ALS U5.0 undulator

The ALS (Advanced Light Source) insertion devices must meet very tight requirements in terms of field quality and field strength. Even though the ability to calculate the performance of a hybrid insertion device has improved considerably over the past few years, a model pole was assembled to test the ALS U5.0 undulator geometry and to verify the calculations. The model pole consists of a half period of the periodic structure of the insertion device, with mirror plates at the midplane and at the zero-field, half-period planes. A Hall probe was used to measure the vertical component of the field near the midplane of the model as a function of gap and transverse position. >
COMPARATIVE OBSERVATIONS OF THE HEARTS OF MONGREL AND GREYHOUND DOGS.

A study of 40 racing Greyhounds and 60 mongrel dogs provided comparative data on the respective components of the canine electrocardiogram. Additional data revealed that the Greyhound had a heart weight — body weight ratio of 1.25 gm, a heart rate of 115 beats per minute, a systolic blood pressure of 254 mm of Hg, and a diastolic pressure of 139 mm of Hg. These findings in an athletic animal are compared with similar observations in untrained animals. The significance of this basic information is presented and discussed.
On Distinguishing Methodological from Radical Behaviorism

Methodological behaviorism may be understood as an umbrella term that subsumes a broad range of intellectual positions in psychology. The positions arose because of influences from both outside and inside psychology. Two influences from outside psychology are from philosophy: logical behaviorism and analytic philosophy. An influence from inside psychology is the conventional interpretation of operationism. Four principal methodological behaviorist positions may be characterized in terms of a combination of ontological and methodological assumptions. Skinner’s radical behaviorism may be distinguished from methodological behaviorist positions on the basis of (a) its conception of verbal behavior as ongoing operant activity, rather than logical, symbolic, or referential activity; and (b) its conception of private events as behavioral in character, rather than mental.
Powder Processing of High Temperature Aluminides

This paper reviews the several powder processing techniques that have been applied to the fabrication of both monolithic aluminides and their composites. Attention is given to the active research at Rensselaer on reactive sintering and reactive hot isostatic pressing of elemental powders, hot pressing of prealloyed powders, and molding of powder-fiber-binder slurries. The application of one or more of these techniques to the following monolithic intermetallics is described: NiAl, Ni3Al, TiAl, NbAl3, Ta2Al, and TaAl3. Progress has occurred in fabrication of dense compacts, including some composites, from these aluminides.
IRRES: Intrusion-Resilient Remote Email Storage

Both individuals and corporations increasingly rely on email to exchange important and, often sensitive, information. With the advent of ubiquitous computing and miniaturization of end-devices, many users leave email on remote servers, thus facilitating anywhere/anytime access from any networked device. Since private and sensitive information is often contained in email, it is very important to prevent its unauthorized disclosure. In this paper, we consider the problem of repeated intrusions of third-party email servers. Specifically, we design IRRES: Intrusion-Resilient Remote Email Storage system that prevents email leakage despite the presence of a powerful mobile adversary. IRRES eliminates sender compliance requirements by shifting encryption from email sender to email server. Incoming email messages are encrypted by the server with one-time keys obtained from an intrusion-resilient cooperative randomness generation process. Thus, even if the server is compromised twice, all email encrypted in the interim remains secure.
Low Concentrations of Ammonia During Brooding Decrease Broiler Weight

Abstract Broiler chickens were exposed to ammonia in the atmosphere during the 0 to 28 day brooding period. Exposure levels were 0, 25, and 50 ppm continuously, and 50 ppm for 12 hr per day; ammonia exposure was stopped after 4 weeks, but birds were reared to 7 weeks of age. Continuous exposure to 50 ppm reduced body weight at 7 weeks of age by 8%; continuous exposure to 25 ppm reduced weights by 4%. Exposure to 50 ppm for 12 hr per day reduced weights by 3%, which was not significant at the .05 level of probability. There was no discernible effect on feed conversion or mortality.
Phosphodiesterase Type 5 Inhibition A Support of the Left Ventricular Assist Device Bridge to Transplant

The development of right heart failure has been a clinical concern of physicians caring for patients after cardiac transplantation since the inception of the field.1 Although the problem of “fixed” pulmonary vasoconstriction that does not respond to the reduction of left ventricular filling pressure seems to have diminished since the early days of transplantation, there are still some patients in whom this remains a problem. Data from the International Society of Heart Transplantation Registry suggests that right ventricular (RV) dysfunction accounted for 50% of all cardiac complications and 19% of all early deaths among heart transplantation patients,2 with persistent pulmonary vasoconstriction a major contributing factor to early RV dysfunction. The cause of the increase in vasoconstriction is unknown, although it may be a result of humoral factors, including cytokines, promoting changes in vascular smooth muscle gene expression. The hallmark of this problem is a lack of sensitivity to endogenous and exogenous vasodilators, be they nitric oxide (NO) released from pulmonary vascular endothelium or exogenous agents acting through NO, endothelin, or prostaglandin signaling pathways.3 Heart failure patients with fixed pulmonary hypertension can be disqualified from consideration for transplant surgery, given their worse prognosis for early survival. One alternative for these patients is to attempt …
Integral Involvement of Severely Handicapped Students within Regular Public Schools

The authors contend that least restrictive environment involves more than merely placing severely handicapped students in regular schools. In addition to regular school placement, systematic effort...
Determinants of Political Party Preference

rather than the factors that cause respondents to reply the way they do. A second approach, which might be referred to as demographic, seeks to relate voting statistics to a wide range of factors, primarily social, economic, ethnic, and religious. Knowledge of these factors without any knowledge of individual preferences within the group permits prediction of voting choice with a rather high degree of accuracy. Still another, in which category this study falls, is an attempt to study the factors operating on an individual which cause him to make a certain choice, or to change his choice. An extensive review of the psychology of voting has been presented by Lipset, Lazarsfeld, Barton, and Linz in Lindzey (6). A major portion of their review is devoted to the study of political behavior through an analysis of voting statistics. Their review of panel technique studies indicated that voters’ choices were analysed most frequently by the study of demographic or social factors. Rarely has the individual, as an individual, been followed intensively in a panel. The rdle of personal experience and personality structure in the formation and retention of attitudes on political and social issues has been studied intensively by Smith, Bruner, and White (9). These authors studied a small number of people in an attempt to relate ideographically their opinions about communism to their total outlook on life. They were able to show how the particular personality structure of each of their subjects constituted a stabilizing and unifying framework for their attitudes toward communism and Russia, These opinions were not simply random events but were closely allied to the personality characteristics of each subject. Studies of voting choice and psychological test data have been most fre
Hypoxia-inducible factor-1α polymorphisms and TSC1/2 mutations are complementary in head and neck cancers

Polymorphisms or mutations in hypoxia inducible factor-1 alpha (HIF-1alpha) that increases its activity and stability under normoxia have recently been identified. Likewise, disruption of the TSC1/TSC2 complex through loss of TSC1 or TSC2 has been shown to result in abnormal accumulation of HIF-1α. Here, we investigate the novel polymorphisms in exon 12, that approximate the oxygen-dependent degradation domain of HIF-1alpha in five cell lines and 28 patients with oral squamous carcinomas. Moreover, we assess for the presence of polymorphisms and mutations in TSC1 and TSC2, to ascertain if dysregulation of such might complement HIF-1alpha expression. Denaturing high pressure liquid chromatography (DHPLC) analysis on PCR fragments in exon 12 of HIF-1alpha from 28 patients with OSCC revealed that 6 of 28 patients had mismatched heteroduplex patterns. Genomic DNA was extracted from peripheral blood leukocytes and direct sequencing showed that in 5 of the six cases these changes represented polymorphisms while, one case was a somatic mutation. Analyses of TSC1 and TSC2 revealed heteroduplexes in exons: TSC1 exon 17; TSC2 exons 36,40, and 41. The relative levels of HIF-1alpha were significantly greater for tumors possessing a HIF-1alpha polymorphism or mutation within exon 12, whereas tumors possessing a deletion or polymorphism in TSC1/TSC2 displayed a trend for higher levels of HIF-1alpha. Western blot analyses for HIF-1alpha, TSC1 and TSC2 in five SCC cell lines revealed high levels of HIF-1alpha in SCC cells possessing TSC1 and/or TSC2 mutations. Wild-type TSC2 cells targeted with siRNA to TSC2 exhibited increased levels of HIF-1alpha. Transfection of a HIF-1alpha mutant produced higher levels of HIF-1alpha in TSC1/TSC2 mutant cell lines than in wild type cells. TSC1/TSC2 mutant cell lines administered Rapamycin blocked S6 phorphorylation and diminished the levels of HIF-1alpha to those observed in cell lines with wild type TSC1/TSC2. Dysregulation of the TSC1/TSC2 complex by mutation compliments HIF-1α polymorphisms in the expression of HIF-1alpha in SCC of the head and neck, and may provide biomarkers to predict responses to specific therapies and overall disease prognosis.
Personality, Social Skills, and Disturbed Behavior Patterns

The question of how psychopathology is related to social skills and to personality and temperament is important for a number of practical and theoretical reasons. Different clinical interventions make different assumptions concerning the causal relationships among personality, social skills, and psychopathology. Dissatisfaction among behaviorally oriented clinicians and researchers with personality-trait-based and nonempirically based (predominantly psychodynamic) conceptualizations of psychopathology and social behavior contributed to the rapid development and extensive use of social skills assessment and training (Phillips, 1985). During the last quarter of this century many social-skill-oriented writers (e.g., Gottman, 1979; Wine, 1981) and social systems theorists (e.g., Watzlawick, 1977; Watzlawick & Beavin, 1977) have criticized psychodynamic and other trait models that assume defects in development, biology, or personality cause psychopathology and interpersonal distress. Such criticism, in part, may be based on the misperception that for the social skills and learning orientations to be useful, productive, and valid, conceptualizations from trait and biological models of behavior must be useless, unproductive, and invalid.
The Uncommon as the Common

Webster’s Dictionary defines “uncommon” as “not ordinarily encountered.” This definition suggests that uncommonness is neither positive nor negative but does imply that uncommonness is to be judged against some type of normative value. The feature of such a definition is that it is relative rather than absolute. In one culture or setting, a particular behavior may be common, whereas it may be uncommon in another. Nonstandard English, for example, may be common in a poor inner-city community but uncommon in the suburbs. While some might hold to an absolute standard, say, for example, in mental health, against which deviation in any culture or setting could be viewed as uncommon, we prefer the more relative view as implied in the definition as given. We shall hold uncommon to mean: (1) that there exists a norm, (2) that this norm is relative, and (3) that all deviance is to be viewed in terms of that relative norm.
Management of Yellowmargined Leaf Beetle Microtheca ochroloma (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) Using Turnip as a Trap Crop

The yellowmargined leaf beetle, Microtheca ochroloma Stal, is a major pest of cruciferous vegetable crops in organic production systems. Very few organically acceptable management options are currently available for this pest. Field studies were conducted at a research station in Alabama and at a commercial organic vegetable farm in Florida to investigate the effectiveness of turnip, Brassica rapa rapa, as a trap crop for M. ochroloma. In the research station trial with cabbage planted as the cash crop, perimeter planting of turnip as a trap crop effectively reduced beetle numbers and crop damage below levels recorded in the control. During the first season of our on-farm trial, with napa cabbage and mustard as the cash crops, using turnip as a trap crop effectively reduced both beetle numbers and cash crop damage below levels found in the control plots, but economic damage was still high. In the second season, beetle populations were too low for significant differences in damage levels to occur between the trap crop and control plots. Together, these results suggest that turnip planted as a trap crop can be an effective control tactic for cruciferous crops, like cabbage, that are much less attractive to M. ochroloma than turnip. In crops, like mustard and napa cabbage, that are equally or only slightly less attractive than turnip, planting turnip as a trap crop would have to be used in combination with other tactics to manage M. ochroloma.
Improving security and privacy in online social networks

Online social networks (OSNs) have gained soaring popularity and are among the most popular sites on the Web. With OSNs, users around the world establish and strengthen connections by sharing thoughts, activities, photos, locations, and other personal information. However, the immense popularity of OSNs also raises significant security and privacy concerns. Storing millions of users' private information and their social connections, OSNs are susceptible to becoming the target of various attacks. In addition, user privacy will be compromised if the private data collected by OSNs are abused, inadvertently leaked, or under the control of adversaries. As a result, the tension between the value of joining OSNs and the security and privacy risks is rising. To make OSNs more secure and privacy-preserving, our work follow a bottom-up approach. OSNs are composed of three components, the infrastructure layer, the function layer, and the user data stored on OSNs. For each component of OSNs, in this dissertation, we analyze and address a representative security/privacy issue. Starting from the infrastructure layer of OSNs, we first consider how to improve the reliability of OSN infrastructures, and we propose Fast Mencius, a crash-fault tolerant state machine replication protocol that has low latency and high throughput in wide-area networks. For the function layer of OSNs, we investigate how to prevent the functioning of OSNs from being disturbed by adversaries, and we propose SybilDefender, a centralized sybil defense scheme that can effectively detect sybil nodes by analyzing social network topologies. Finally, we study how to protect user privacy on OSNs, and we propose two schemes. MobiShare is a privacy-preserving location-sharing scheme designed for location-based OSNs (LBSNs), which supports sharing locations between both friends and strangers. LBSNSim is a trace-driven LBSN model that can generate synthetic LBSN datasets used in place of real datasets. Combining our work contributes to improving security and privacy in OSNs.
Pronunciation analysis for children with speech sound disorders

Phonological disorders affect 10% of preschool and school-age children, adversely affecting their communication, academic performance, and interaction level. Effective pronunciation training requires prolonged supervised practice and interaction. Unfortunately, many children do not have access or only limited access to a speech-language pathologist. Computer-assisted pronunciation training has the potential for being a highly effective teaching aid; however, to-date such systems remain incapable of identifying pronunciation errors with sufficient accuracy. In this paper, we propose to improve accuracy by (1) learning acoustic models from a large children's speech database, (2) using an explicit model of typical pronunciation errors of children in the target age range, and (3) explicit modeling of the acoustics of distorted phonemes.
FUZZY LEARNING RATE NEURAL NETWORK TRAINING AND STRUCTURAL HEALTH MONITORING

In this paper, a new neural network learning procedure, called fuzzy learning rate steepest descent (FSD) method, is proposed for training neural networks. The dynamic learning rate steepest descent (DSD) method proposed by the authors has been proven to be more effective, more efficient, and robust than the standard steepest descent (SSD) method in training a neural network. However, the optimal performance of the DSD method still relies on the selection of several control parameters. Fuzzy concepts are introduced in this paper to further optimize the DSD method. Numerical benchmark examples as well as practical experiments indicate that there are significant improvements in the neural network training by using the FSD method. Based on the proposed network training method and structural dynamic characteristics, a health monitoring system, which is able to detect the delamination damage and the impact damage, is designed to conduct health monitoring for composite structures.
Increased substance P receptor expression by blood vessels and lymphoid aggregates in Clostridium difficile -induced pseudomembranous colitis

Pseudomembranous colitis is most often caused by toxins secreted by Clostridium difficile following bowel flora overgrowth after antibiotic use. The secretory and inflammatory effects observed in C. difficile toxin A-induced enterocolitis in the rat ileum are inhibited by CP-96,345, a substance P (SP) receptor antagonist. To determine if SP plays a role in the pathogenesis of human pseudomembranous colitis, SP receptor distribution was examined in a toxin A-positive specimen of bowel. Quantitative receptor autoradiography was used to examine SP receptors in tissue from a patient who tested positive for C. Difficile toxin. SP receptors were massively increased in small blood vessels and lymphoid aggregates in the pseudomembranous colitis bowel in comparison to control specimens. The SP binding was saturable and exhibited similar affinities for SP and CP-96,345. SP may contribute to the inflammatory response in pseudomembranous colitis via a massive increase in SP receptor antagonists may offer a novel therapeutic intervention for pseudomembranous colitis.
Picturing Human Life

Focusing on recent discussions of psychological egoism and altruism can help us toward a general picture of what human lives are like. Much of human motivation is neither egoistic nor a altruistic, but nonetheless depends on instincts or basic desires that treat other people or things outside us as intrinsically important. The desire for esteem and love from others, the desire for proximity to others, the desire to attain competence and mastery, curiosity or inquisitiveness, and even malice and sadism toward others all illustrate this possibility and can be considered “neutral” as between egoism and altruism. Such neutral motivation pervades human life and basically involves bringing what lies outside us into our lives, a process I call “expansive encompassing.” This most general characterization of what human lives are like avoids the pessimism of Freud, Hobbes, and others, but also avoids the excessive optimism about human life and motivation that characterizes care ethics and the Mencian tradition of Chinese thought.
A One-Sentence Proof That √2 Is Irrational

r + k = n, giving the rank and nullity theorem without use of the echelon form. Note that the reliance on orthogonality in the arguments above is elementary and does not require the Gram-Schmidt process. The ideas used here can be readily applied to complex matrices with minor modifications. The hermitian inner product is used instead in the complex vector space Cn, as is the hermitian transpose. Observation 2) would note then that vectors in the null space of A are orthogonal to those in the row space A. The row and column rank theorem is a well-known result that is valid for matrices over arbitrary fields. The notion of orthogonal complement can be generalized using linear functionals and dual spaces, and the general structure of the arguments here can then be carried over to arbitrary fields. The text [1, pp. 97 ff.] contains such an approach. Many authors base their discussion of rank on the echelon form. The fact that the non-zero rows of the echelon form are a basis for the row space, or that columns in the echelon form containing lead ones can be used to identify a basis for the column space in the original matrix A, are central to such a development of rank. Results such as these follow easily if it is established independently that row rank and column rank must be equal.
Geometric indicators of population persistence in branching continuous-space networks

We study population persistence in branching tree networks emulating systems such as river basins, cave systems, organisms on vegetation surfaces, and vascular networks. Population dynamics are modeled using a reaction-diffusion-advection equation on a metric graph which provides a continuous, spatially explicit model of network habitat. A metric graph, in contrast to a standard graph, allows for population dynamics to occur within edges rather than just at graph vertices, subsequently adding a significant level of realism. Within this framework, we stochastically generate branching tree networks with a variety of geometric features and explore the effects of network geometry on the persistence of a population which advects toward a lethal outflow boundary. We identify a metric (CM), the distance from the lethal outflow point at which half of the habitable volume of the network lies upstream of, as a promising indicator of population persistence. This metric outperforms other metrics such as the maximum and minimum distances from the lethal outflow to an upstream boundary and the total habitable volume of the network. The strength of CM as a predictor of persistence suggests that it is a proper "system length" for the branching networks we examine here that generalizes the concept of habitat length in the classical linear space models.