cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Iron and pH on Glass Dissolution Rate

Short-term static tests were conducted with a surrogate high-level waste glass to measure the effects of pH and dissolved iron on the glass dissolution rate. The tests were conducted to determine if a term to account for the effects of dissolved iron is needed in the glass degradation model developed for Total System Performance Assessment (TSPA) calculations for the Yucca Mountain disposal system license application. The glass degradation model includes terms for dependencies on temperature, pH, and chemical affinity. A series of tests was conducted at 90 °C in various pH solutions without iron and with added FeCl 3 , Fe 2 O 3 , Fe 3 O 4 , and FeOOH. Tests were conducted at glass surface area/solution volume (S/V) ratios about 2 and 10 m -1 for between 2 and 21 days. Solution concentrations of boron were used to measure the extent of reaction and calculate the glass dissolution rates. Similar rates were measured in tests conducted with and without iron at each pH. Both the results of the tests with and without iron showed V-shaped pH dependence curves with minima at near-neutral pH values. The pH dependencies (η) are about 0.44 in basic solutions and –0.49 in acidic solutions, based on the combined results of tests with and without iron. These are within the range of values for the pH dependence in the TSPA model for site recommendation.
PS206. Wall Thickness Influence on Computational Wall Stress of Arteries

Objectives: Biomechanical analysis can predict mechanical stresses in cardiovascular structures. Prior models often assume uniform arterial wall thickness (WT). We hypothesize that including local WT in finite element analysis (FEA) of the carotid artery will effect wall stress (WS) distribution and maxima. Methods: CTAs in patients with carotid occlusive disease (n 5) were analyzed with custom algorithms to segment luminal and adventitial surfaces, providing local WT. A control model was defined with variable wall thickness (VWT) and hyperelastic material properties (MP). Experimental models tested the effects of: (1) uniform wall thickness (UWT), (2) soft and calcified plaque, and (3) linear MP. Commercial FEA software was used to load each model with 80 mmHg pulse pressure and compute Von Mises WS. Results: The mean (across n 5 patients) peak WS of the VWT model was 162 29 kPa. Peak WS decreased with the imposition of UWT (112 19 kPa, P .01) and with linear MP (105 24 kPa, P .01). UWT decreased both the average WS over the entire carotid bifurcation (31 4
Consumption-Driven Urban Development

Economic, political, cultural, and environmental distinctiveness may attract highquality workers and firms as well as reflect a region's export viability. We hypothesize that local consumption activity can be a source of such distinctiveness and thus of long-term growth and stability, and that specialization does not reflect export activity alone. Using skewness across metropolitan regions in the United States as a distinctiveness measure, we show that some occupations are more lopsided in their distribution than others. Because some highly skewed occupations like health care support workers and artists, media, entertainment, and sports workers are known to be chiefly local-serving; their regional significance can be attributed to variations in residents' local consumption spending rather than export demand. We conclude that economic development practitioners should weigh the considerable investments, including subsidies and tax incentives, made in wooing and retaining presumptive export base activities a...
Development of a measure of interpersonal communication competence

This article reports the development of a self‐report Interpersonal Communication Competence Scale (ICCS) that taps 10 dimensions of competence: self‐disclosure, empathy, social relaxation, assertiveness, interaction management, altercentrism, expressiveness, supportiveness, immediacy, and environmental control. First, we created the ICCS, reducing the number of items from an original 60 to 10. Then we established concurrent validity of the scale by looking at the ICCS's relationship to cognitive and communication flexibility.
Liability for Failing to Rescue

Should there be civil liability when a person who could easily and without risk rescue another fails to do so? It is argued that the failure to act does not cause the harm that follows, and that the misfeasance/nonfeasance distinction provides no basis for liability. In spite of this, it is maintained that there can sometimes be a duty to rescue, and even a right to be rescued, even in the absence of a voluntary undertaking or an explicit assumption of responsibility.
Effectiveness of controlled-release budesonide in preserving bone mineral density in patients with Crohn's disease.

Effectiveness of controlled-release budesonide in preserving bone mineral density in patients with Crohn's disease
Inhibition of Trypsin Sulfhydryl Reagents: Selective Toxicities of Organic Mercury Compounds

Several mercury compounds including p-chloromercuri-benzoate (PCMB) and phenylmercuric hydroxide (PMOH) were shown to bind with trypsin and to inhibit its proteolytic activity. None of the compounds showed activity when present in less than a 2,000:1 molar ratio of compound to enzyme. Some were not effective even at a ratio of 300,000:1. A study of the stoichiometry of the inhibition shows that trypsin possesses three susceptible binding sites and that the mercury compounds differ not only in their affinities for these sites but also in their selectivities.
Litigation, Courts, and Bureaucratic Policy Equity, Efficiency, and the Internal Revenue Service

Many view courts as institutions that allow individual litigants to achieve equity, or fairness, when the litigant has a dispute with a branch of government. However, many also argue that this fairness comes at the expense of efficiency and democratic control, particularly when individuals sue government agencies. Perhaps no agency exemplifies the competing concerns of equity, efficiency, and policy controlas does the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Taxpayer suits against the IRS seek individual fairness but at the expense of IRS efficiency and policy control. However, in using a two-stage least squares analysis of court verdicts, IRS audits, and litigation rates, I find that courts and litigants can achieve both fairness and IRS efficiency. Courts help the tax system function, by signaling to the IRS that their audit policy is incorrect and inefficient. Thus, courts aid both fairness and efficiency.
Memory experiments in physically aging systems : a test of multiordering parameter models?

Abstract An extension of a multiordering parameter model of volume and enthalpy recovery is tested by comparing calculated viscoelastic behavior with published creep data for memory like experiments. The calculated viscoelastic curves are qualitatively in agreement with published data. However, it has been determined from the creep data that the structure shift factor aδ has an unexpected temperature dependence, which may indicate an additional temperature dependence for one of the underlying variables such as x, the structure partition parameter.
The challenge of associated intramural hematoma with endovascular repair for penetrating ulcers of the descending thoracic aorta

Background The presence of penetrating aortic ulcers (PAUs) of the descending thoracic aorta has been associated with a poor long-term prognosis. Although early results have suggested acceptable outcomes for thoracic endovascular aortic repair (TEVAR) for PAU, few studies have described the late outcomes of this approach. Methods From 1993 to 2009, 37 patients (43.2% male; mean age, 72 years) underwent TEVAR for PAU. Associated intramural hematoma was present in 19. Comorbidities included hypertension in 31, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in 16, coronary artery disease in 22, and renal failure (mean preoperative creatinine, 1.4 mg/dL). Urgent or emergent indications were identified in 22 patients (59.5%), including presentation with rupture in 15 (40.5%). Results TEVAR was successfully performed in all patients. Arch repair was performed in 14 and total descending repair in 13. Concomitant procedures included coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and total arch debranching in one patient electively presenting with an asymptomatic PAU. Early morbidity included stroke (5.4%), temporary paraplegia (5.4%), and need for dialysis (2.7%). In-hospital or 30-day mortality was seen in two patients (5.4%). By Kaplan-Meier analysis, median survival was 89.8 months. Independent predictors of late mortality included urgent or emergent presentation (odds ratio, 14.7; P = .007). Actuarial freedom from TEVAR treatment failure (ie, need for open or endovascular aortic reintervention, aortic rupture, or aortic-related death) was 81.6% ± 7.8% at 5 years. Analysis stratified by type of pathology (PAU vs PAU and intramural hematoma) showed no significant baseline differences in age, comorbidities, or extent of repair. By Kaplan-Meier analysis, however, presentation with PAU and intramural hematoma was associated with an increased risk for TEVAR treatment failure ( P = .033). Conclusions TEVAR can be safely accomplished for patients presenting with PAU. The presence of associated intramural hematoma may adversely affect the late outcomes of therapy, highlighting the need for careful planning, prudent balancing of the benefits of immediate vs delayed treatment of the fragile aortic wall, and the imperative nature of attentive follow-up in patients with PAU.
Media Influence: Pre- and Postexposure of College Women to Media Images and the Effect of Mood and Body Image:

This study employs a repeated measures design to assess the effects of exposure to attractive models in the media on women's mood and body image. One hundred six college women participants were divided into two groups (high-vs. low-appearance self-schema), and their mood and body image were measured twice with an interval of 4 weeks. No significant effects of exposure to media images were noticed in women's body image scores. However, exposure to media images had an influence on women's mood by decreasing positive mood and elevating anxiety and depression from preexposure to postexposure. In both pre-and postexposure conditions, women with high-appearance self-schema exhibited significantly greater negative mood and lower body dissatisfaction and appearance evaluation than did those with low-appearance self-schema. This study suggests that media images of thinness and attractiveness may negatively affect college women's mood.
Keynote Speach 1: Modeling and analysis issues in the future Internet

Over the past several years there has been an increasing level of research activities worldwide to design an architecture and its protocols for the future Internet.
Biomimetic hydrogels for biosensor implant biocompatibility: electrochemical characterization using micro-disc electrode arrays (MDEAs)

Our interest is in the development of engineered microdevices for continuous remote monitoring of intramuscular lactate, glucose, pH and temperature during post-traumatic hemorrhaging. Two important design considerations in the development of such devices for in vivo diagnostics are discussed; the utility of micro-disc electrode arrays (MDEAs) for electrochemical biosensing and the application of biomimetic, bioactive poly(HEMA)-based hydrogel composites for implant biocompatibility. A poly(HEMA)-based hydrogel membrane containing polyethylene glycol (PEG) was UV cross-linked with tetraethyleneglycol diacrylate following application to MDEAs (50 μm discs) and to 250 μm diameter gold electrodes within 8-well culture ware. Cyclic voltammetry (CV) of the MDEAs revealed a reduction in the apparent diffusion coefficient of ferrocenemonocarboxylic acid (FcCO2H), from 6.68 × 10−5 to 6.74 × 10−6 cm2/s for the uncoated and 6 μm thick hydrogel coated devices, respectively. Single frequency (4 kHz) temporal impedance measurements of the hydrogels in the 8-well culture ware showed a reversible 5% change in the absolute impedance of the hydrogels when exposed to a pH change between 6.1 to 7.2 and a 20% drop between pH 6.1 and 8.8.
Viscosity and transient solvent accessibility of Trp-63 in the native conformation of lysozyme

Abstract We have measured the rates of isotope exchange at the nitrogen of the indole ring of Trp-63 of lysozyme and of l -tryptophan as a function of solution viscosity. We have used two cosolvents, glycerol and ethylene glycol, to modify the relative viscosity. We have derived the appropriate kinetic equations for the alternative possibilities that the exchange takes place either in solution or in the intact protein matrix. Because we chose to study the proton-catalyzed exchange reaction, the rate of it is not expected to be diffusion-limited. We confirmed this by measuring the exchange from tryptophan. These results and the known effects of glycerol and ethylene glycol on the solvation of indole allow us to predict that if the exchange reaction takes place in a protein matrix the effects of the two cosolvents when compared under isoviscous conditions should be identical. This is what we find for Trp-63 in lysozyme at 15, 20 and 26 o C. The slope of the linear plot of log k vs. log relative viscosity is 0.6. This strongly supports a model for conformational fluctuations where transient salvation takes place without major changes in protein folding. The most interesting feature of our findings is the fact that a slow reaction admittedly not diffusion-limited shows, when taking place in a protein matrix, a linear dependence on solution viscosity. We suggest that what we observe is the effect of damping of movement of the side chain expressed as a change in the friction along the reaction coordinate in the corresponding phase space. The presence of such effects stresses the validity and usefulness of Kramers model of rate processes for reactions taking place in a protein matrix. Such behavior is predicted by several of the recently proposed general mechanisms of enzyme catalysis.
Automatic boundary detection and symmetry calculation in dermoscopy images of skin lesions

This paper develops an approach and tool that automatically extracts skin lesion's boundary used for symmetry and area calculation. An image enhancement approach prepares every image for active contour (AC) evolution. Further, the AC automatically extracts the lesion's boundary used to measure symmetry applying minimal boundary box. Next, the lesion's area is calculated. Thus, the lesions are mapped as points onto area - symmetry 2D space to determine the distribution of the lesions with cancer. To validate the theoretical concepts experiments were performed with 51 skin lesion images. A statistics measures the accuracy of boundary extraction with respect to a ground truth. The advantages, disadvantages and the contribution of this study are reported at the end of the paper.
A multisystems analysis of adolescent suicide attempters

The present study tested an ecologically based model, which predicted that hopelessness (individual level) mediates the effects of family dysfunction (interpersonal level) and socioeconomic status (sociocultural level) on both suicidal intent and suicidal ideation, within a sample of attempters. Subjects included adolescent males and females presenting at a general hospital emergency room following suicide attempts. Baron and Kenny's (1986) criteria for testing mediation models through multiple-regression analyses were employed. Little evidence of mediation was found. Hopelessness proved to be the best predictor of suicidal intent and ideation within a sample of attempters.
Victoriamys, a new generic name for Chaline's vole from the Pleistocene of Western Europe ☆

Abstract A combination of dental and mandibular characters demonstrates that Chaline's vole, known from the Pleistocene of Spain and Italy, originally named as Allophaiomys chalinei and later referred by some authors to Arvicola and Tibericola, is unrelated to either Allophaiomys or Arvicola and probably is not closely related to Tibericola. It is here considered as the only member of a new genus, Victoriamys, named for the cave from which V. chalinei nov. comb. was first described.
Magnetic behavior and phase diagram of Co1−xMnx(SCN)2(CH3OH)2

Abstract The mixed magnetic system Co 1− x Mn x (SCN) 2 (CH 3 OH) 2 is examined and a prelimanary T−x magnetic phase diagram determined. Magnetic properties are more antiferromagnetic in nature for Co-rich mixtures and more ferromagnetic for Mn-rich mistures. A tetracritical point is likely present, near x =0.2 and 2.5 K.
Designing ciliated surfaces that regulate deposition of solid particles

Using computational modeling, we examine a pressure-driven fluid flow in a microchannel lined with regularly-spaced non-motile elastic cilia. Our simulations reveal that solid, neutrally-buoyant particles moving with the fluid can be effectively directed towards channel walls by synthetic cilia, thereby inducing their rapid deposition. This particle lateral migration takes place due to circulatory secondary flows emerging within a layer of compliant cilia. Our results suggest that synthetic ciliated surfaces could be harnessed for hydrodynamic separation, trapping, and filtration of microscopic biological and synthetic particles in microfluidic devices.
Two parameter cuscore qualty control procedures

This paper is concerned with the problem of simultaneously monitoring the process mean and process variability of continuous production processes using combined Shewhart-cumulative score (cuscore) quality control procedures developed by Ncube and Woodall (1984). Two methods of approach are developed and their properties are investigated. One method uses two separate Shewhart-cuscore control charts, one for determining shifts in the process mean and the other for detecting shifts in process variability. The other method uses a single combined statistic which is sensitive to shifts in both the mean and the variance. Each procedure is compared to the corresponding Shewhart schemes. It will be shown by average run length calculations that the proposed Shewhart- cuscore schemes are considerably more efficient than the comparative Shewhart procedures for certain shifts in the process mean and process variability for the case when the underlying process control variable is assumed to be normally distributed.
ARUBA results are not applicable to all patients with arteriovenous malformation

A 25-year-old woman presents with right-sided headaches. Brain MRI reveals a superficial 4-cm right parietal arteriovenous malformation without evidence of previous hemorrhage (Spetzler–Martin grade 3). 1. Should she be referred for neurosurgery or endovascular treatment? 2. Is endovascular treatment superior to medical treatment in this patient? Are the results of A Randomized Trial of Unruptured Brain Arteriovenous Malformations (ARUBA) trial applicable to all arteriovenous malformation patients? For brain arteriovenous malformations (AVMs), rupture represents the primary concern. Both prospective and retrospective observational studies have helped to define the natural history of AVMs and highlight potential risk factors. Estimates for bleeding from unruptured AVMs range from 1.3% to 4% per year1,2 with mortality of 10% to 30% from incident hemorrhage and neurological disability of 20% to 30%. Angioarchitectural features (eg, intranidal aneurysms, exclusive deep drainage, and restricted venous outflow), lesional features (eg, small size and deep location), and patient-specific features (eg, age, seizure history, and pregnancy) have all been described as affecting the rupture risk. The efficacy and risk of treatment vary based on the modality used (surgical, endovascular, or radiosurgical) and AVM specific location and features. For surgical treatment, the most robust risk stratification is based on the Spetzler–Martin …
Effect of physical vapor deposition on microstructure and properties of uranium 6 wt% niobium alloy

Abstract Uranium–6 wt% niobium alloy samples produced by the physical vapor deposition (PVD) process reveal unique metallurgical and mechanical properties. From two deposition conditions at 580°C with a bias voltage, and at 900°C without bias, the microstructural characterization indicates that the grain distribution morphology of the alloy in each case was primarily determined by the deposition process. Applying the bias voltage of 500 V during the PVD changed the grain morphology from a typical columnar to an equiaxed structure. On the other hand, the substrate temperature controlled the diffusivity of Nb and U and hence the characteristic `banding' into slightly different compositions observed in such microstructures. Very fine, equiaxed grains of the 580°C specimens are mainly responsible for the highly favorable strength and ductility combination. However, the columnar structure morphology present in the 900°C specimens did not adversely affect the tensile behavior. The 580°C material exhibited superior subzero tensile properties compared to both the 900°C and the wrought-processed materials. The PVD materials that had been specifically heat treated after deposition had room temperature tensile properties comparable to the wrought-processed material.
Nitrogen Conversion Factors for Several Soybean Protein Products

Nitrogen conversion factors, based on amino acid content (Factor Method) and micro-Kjeldahl nitrogen content (Kjeldahl Method), were computed for defatted soybean flakes, several laboratory isolates, and a commercial soy protein isolate. Computed nitrogen conversion factors were 5.64–6.08 (Kjeldahl Method) and 6.70–6.84 (Factor Method). Individual values for each nitrogen conversion factor did not differ significantly within each group (Factor Method or Kjeldahl Method). In contrast, the difference between the two groups is of major importance to the food industry. The Factor Method is recommended to provide the most accurate conversion factor.
Effects of two body weight reduction regimens on schedule dependent and schedule induced behavior.

Abstract Fifteen male hooded rats were divided into three equal groups on the basis of body weights. One group was allowed to eat ad lib and constituted the Control Group. The second group of animals was reduced over 7 days and adjusted to 80 percent of the body weight of the animals in the Control Group for a 23 day period and constituted the Adjusted Group. Animals in the third group were reduced to 80 percent of their own predeprivation body weight over 7 days and were maintained at this constant level for a 23 day period and constituted the Constant Group. The two experimental groups were then allowed to feed ad lib for the remainder of the experiment. Both the Adjusted and the Constant Groups were tested throughout restricted and ad lib eating periods on a FI 1 min food reinforcement generator schedule. Schedule dependent lever pressing, schedule induced licking and drinking, food intake and body weights were recorded for the duration of the experiment. Results demonstrate that schedule induced licking and drinking and schedule dependent lever pressing increased in the Constant Group at reduced body weight. Animals in the Adjusted Group did not change significantly on these measures during the same periods. When animals were returned to ad lib feeding conditions, the Constant Group initially increased body weight at a faster rate, ate significantly more, and exhibited significantly increased schedule induced licking and drinking. These initial differences disappeared later during the same period. The two experimental groups did not attain the expected body weight of the normal Control Group during 78 days of ad lib eating. Apparently, when animals are initially deprived rapidly and maintained at relatively constant body weight reduction, a prolonged body weight deficit occurs even though these same animals eat normal amounts of food.
On the definitions of effective stress and deformation gradient for use in MD: Hill’s macro-homogeneity and the virial theorem

Abstract The continuum notions of effective deformation gradient and effective stress for homogenization problems with large deformations are reviewed. The “local” problem to be homogenized can include inertia effects to allow for a link between continuum homogenization and the estimation of average properties for particle ensembles via molecular dynamics. The focus of this paper is on the role played by boundary conditions in: defining a meaningful space average of deformation, defining a meaningful space average of stress, and establishing a connection between the idea of effective stress from micro-mechanics and that based on the virial theorem.
Generating all maximal independent sets of bounded-degree hypergraphs

We show that any monotone function with a read-k CNF representation can be learned in terms of its DNF representation with membership queries alone in time polynomial in the DNF size and n (the number of variables) assuming k is some fixed constant. The problem is motivated by the well-studied open problem of enumerating all maximal independent sets of a given hypergraph. Our algorithm gives a solution for the bounded degree case and works even if the hypergraph is not input, but rather only queries are available as to which sets are independent.
Parsec-Scale Kinematic and Polarization Properties of MOJAVE AGN Jets

We describe the parsec-scale kinematics and statistical polarization properties of 200 AGN jets based on 15 GHz VLBA data obtained between 1994 Aug 31 and 2011 May 1. Nearly all of the 60 most heavily observed jets show significant changes in their innermost position angle over a 12 to 16 year interval, ranging from 10° to 150° on the sky, corresponding to intrinsic variations of ~ 0.5° to ~ 2°. The BL Lac jets show smaller variations than quasars. Roughly half of the heavily observed jets show systematic position angle trends with time, and 20 show indications of oscillatory behavior. The time spans of the data sets are too short compared to the fitted periods (5 to 12 y), however, to reliably establish periodicity. The rapid changes and large jumps in position angle seen in many cases suggest that the superluminal AGN jet features occupy only a portion of the entire jet cross section, and may be energized portions of thin instability structures within the jet. We have derived vector proper motions for 887 moving features in 200 jets having at least five VLBA epochs. For 557 well-sampled features, there are sufficient data to additionally study possible accelerations. The moving features are generally non-ballistic, with 70% of the well-sampled features showing either significant accelerations or non-radial motions. Inward motions are rare (2% of all features), are slow ( W Hz−1 there is a fall-off in maximum speed with decreasing 15 GHz radio luminosity. A preliminary analysis of the multi-epoch jet polarization properties indicates a wide range of behavior in the core electric vector position angles over time, with the latter remaining relatively stable in some jets, and varying rapidly in others. The fractional polarization level generally increases down the jet, and high-synchrotron peaked (HSP) blazars tend to have lower core fractional polarization levels. A general trend of decreasing maximum jet speed for higher synchrotron peaked blazars further suggests lower Doppler factors in the radio-emitting jets of HSP BL Lac objects.
Kinetics of Interleukin-1 and Tumor Necrosis Factor Secretion by Rabbit Macrophages Recovered from the Peritoneal Cavity after Surgery

Macrophages play a crucial role in wound healing after surgical injury, both as scavenger cells responsible for wound debridement and as cells that secrete soluble factors such as interleukin-1 (IL-1) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF). IL-1 and TNF alter many of the biological activities of cells that appear in postsurgical wounds. In this study, we determined the kinetics of IL-1 and TNF production by rabbit macrophages harvested from postsurgical peritoneal exudate (postsurgical macrophages) at several time points after peritoneal surgery. To further characterize the level of functional activities of postsurgical macrophages, the IL-1 and TNF levels were determined with or without stimulating the cells with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and phorbol myristate acetate (PMA). After surgery, the number of macrophages harvested by peritoneal lavage increased, reached peak levels on postsurgical day 3, and then decreased. IL-1 levels secreted by macrophages cultured without stimuli were elevated on postsurgical day ...
ADHD, strain, and criminal behavior: a test of general strain theory

This study explores the relationship between attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), strain, and criminal behavior. This is an attempt to introduce ADHD, a psychological disorder, into the framework of general strain theory. Using a purposive sample of college students, we tested the hypothesis that individuals with self-reported symptoms of ADHD were more likely to participate in criminal behaviors when experiencing strain. We found that ADHD symptoms conditioned the effect of strain on crime. The results suggest that individuals at risk for ADHD may be less able to legitimately cope with strain compared to the rest of the population.
Warm electron-driven whistler instability in an electron-cyclotron-resonance heated, mirror-confined plasma.

The whistler electron microinstability has been observed in the Constance B quadrupole-mirror, electron-cyclotron-resonance heated plasma. Experimental evidence indicates that the warm-electron component (2 keV) drives the instability while the hot-electron component (400 keV) is stable. Dispersion-relation calculations using a new distribution function (electron-cyclotron-resonance heated distribution) to model the warm-electron component are in agreement with this experimental result.
Assessing Perceived Health and Associated Health‐Promoting Behaviors: An Investigation of Methods Used to Assess Health Status

Health assessments have been integral in the development of health behavior and policy recommendations. As the nation's health status improves, information about positive health is needed to continue development of appropriate behavior and policy recommendations. In this study, perceived health, health behaviors, health care usage, and how participants defined health were assessed. Using reported health-promoting behaviors, respondents were grouped into high-, middle-, and low-health groups. Analyses found statistically significant differences (p<.05) for all health behaviors reported and for life satisfaction. Each group's understanding of health also differed significantly. Results document the discriminating value and importance of positive health-promoting behaviors beyond their traditional role in prevention. Recommendations for health professionals' use of positive health assessments are discussed.
Combinatorial cassette mutagenesis as a probe of the informational content of protein sequences

A method of combinatorial cassette mutagenesis was designed to readily determine the informational content of individual residues in protein sequences. The technique consists of simultaneously randomizing two or three positions by oligonucleotide cassette mutagenesis, selecting for functional protein, and then sequencing to determine the spectrum of allowable substitutions at each position. Repeated application of this method to the dimer interface of the DNA-binding domain of lambda repressor reveals that the number and type of substitutions allowed at each position are extremely variable. At some positions only one or two residues are functionally acceptable; at other positions a wide range of residues and residue types are tolerated. The number of substitutions allowed at each position roughly correlates with the solvent accessibility of the wild-type side chain.
Intel case study: Software on demand

This paper presents the application of the software as a service (SaaS) approach of software streaming. Streaming refers to downloading software to client hardware platforms for temporary local execution. OS and application software is managed from a centralized server and provided only on-demand. Users obtain a clean, consistent, current build each time they log in, removing the nuisance of security patching and rebooting for environmental changes. Local execution and caching preserves user experience comparable to traditionally installed applications. To explore feasibility, Intel conducted a proof-of-concept (POC) to evaluate streaming in its call center and manufacturing environments on multi-user systems. The four-part study included performance, usability, IT operations and total cost of ownership (TCO). The proof-of-concept was successful in identifying streaming as a feasible technology with good performance and positive TCO in the tested scenarios. The biggest benefits were related to locking down the client and thus eliminating service calls related to configuration changes, software installation and viruses. The major challenges encountered were around the high learning curve and the software maturity related to packing applications for streaming. Based on the strong positive outcome of the POC, Intel has added streaming to its IT roadmaps.
Impairment of motor function of neonatal chicks by hemicholinium treatment during incubation.

Abstract Hemicholinium (HC-3), in dosages of 1, 100, or 350 μg/egg were injected into the yolk sac of embryonated White Leghorn chicken eggs. HC-3 (350 μg/egg) significantly increased prenatal and postnatal mortality and caused muscle weakness (flaccid paralysis, ataxia) in hatched chicks. The magnitude and rate of development of chick random motor activity was reduced. Postnatal growth was also inhibited during the first 5 days after hatching. An effect on the myoneural junction was evident as neostigmine, 0.40 mg/kg ip, and edrophonium, 6.7 mg/kg ip, temporarily reversed the ataxia; curare 0.96 mg/kg ip (the paralytic ED10 for normal chicks) enhanced the ataxia. The curare effect could be elicited for the first 5 days of life. Normal chicks treated with HC-3, 0.1 mg/kg ip, exhibited ataxia which was not potentiated by curare. Isolated sciatic nerve-gastrocnemius muscle preparations of chicks hatched from HC-3-treated eggs were electrically stimulated; HC-3 group muscles fatigued in significantly shorter time periods than control group muscles. Muscles of both groups contracted on direct stimulation. HC-3-treated chick plasma cholinesterase levels were not increased. Decrease in muscle acetylcholine (ACh) could not be detected as the ACh levels of control chicks were at the limit of method sensitivity. Hemicholinium treatment of embryonated chicken eggs results in hatched chicks which exhibit a short-term impairment of motor function of developmental origin. The probable site of action is the myoneural junction.
Inhibition of decay-accelerating factor (CD55) attenuates prostate cancer growth and survival in vivo.

Decay-accelerating factor (CD55) is a member of membrane-bound complement-regulatory proteins. CD55 expression correlates with poor survival in patients with colorectal cancer and has been implicated in the survival and tumorigenesis of blood-borne malignancies. Histologic analysis of clinical specimens from patients with advanced prostate cancer revealed an increase in CD55 expression in prostate tumor epithelial cells. CD55 was shown to be functionally active and to inhibit complement-mediated lysis in PC-3 and DU145 cells. The percentage of lysis was correlative with the CD55 expression profile observed in these prostate cancer cell lines. These data suggest that CD55 is an important regulator of prostate cancer cell survival. As a result, we have hypothesized that CD55 expression on prostate cancer cells promotes cell survival and contributes to the metastatic potential of prostate cancer cells. To determine the role of CD55 in prostate cancer tumorigenesis and metastasis, we generated PC-3Luc prostate cancer cells with CD55 siRNA-targeted disruption. We found that PC-3Luc/CD55 siRNA constructs in SCID mice resulted in a significant attenuation of overall tumor burden. Further investigation into the mechanisms of CD55-mediated tumor cell/microenvironment interaction is necessary to understand the role of CD55 in tumor cell survival and metastatic lesion formation.
Why ICANN can't [failings of Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers]

In 1998 the US Department of Commerce authorized the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to make them. This nonprofit organization establishes the policies that govern the domain name system. It decides what new top level domains to add to the name system, when to add them, and who will be in charge of them. It settles disputes over name assignments and oversees the dozens of companies, called domain-name registrars, that sell and control domain names. But ICANN is floundering. The organization, based in Marina Del Rey, Calif., has never won over the managers of the country code top-level domains in the rest of the world, such as .uk (United Kingdom) and .de (Germany). Its relations with the root server operators are also strained. The latter maintain the 13 computers around the world in which copies of the key records for the top-level domain names are stored along with their corresponding Internet protocol addresses. Most disturbingly, ICANN recently abandoned its pledge to create a membership structure to elect its powerful, 18-member board of directors. Currently, outside views are in effect excluded because agencies within ICANN, called Supporting Organizations, select most of the board members. At the root of ICANN's troubles is a paralyzing clash of visions of what the organization should be. By regarding itself as a technical priesthood, ICANN has failed as an international policymaking institution.
First passage percolation: The stationary case

If the passage time of the edges of the ℤ d lattice are stationary, ergodic and have finite moment of orderp>d, then a.s. the set of vertices that can be reached within timet, has an asymptotic shape ast→∞.
Reading and searching digital documents: An experimental analysis of the effects of image quality on user performance and perceived effort

As increasing amounts of information are viewed, read and manipulated digitally, many users still report performance and satisfaction costs with digital documents compared to paper equivalents. While many factors impact this process, image quality has been assumed by many to have relatively little impact once current screen display standards are maintained. We test this hypothesis by comparing users on a variety of routine information tasks performed on standard and enhanced screen displays. Using Microsoft ClearType, a font technology which enhances text display resolution by accessing vertical color stripes at the pixel level, we examined user performance on reading, editing and searching tasks with routine office applications. Results suggest that for tasks involving lengthy eye-on-text interaction (e.g., reading for comprehension) advances in image quality can still yield significant improvements in performance for most users.
The evolution of nitrogen cycling

The energetics of nitrogen transformation reactions and the evolution of nitrogen cycling are examined. It is suggested that meteor impact-produced fixed nitrogen could have caused the entire reservoir of the earth's N2 to convert into fixed nitrogen at the end of accretion. The abiotic fixation rate on the early earth by lightning is estimated at about 1-3 X 10 to the 16th molecules of NO/J. It is found that biological nitrogen fixation may have evolved after the development of an aerobic atmosphere. It is shown that HNO could eventually become NO2(-) and NO3(-) after reaching the earth's surface. It is concluded that the evolutionary sequence for the biological transformation of nitrogen compounds is ammonification - denitrification - nitrification - nitrogen fixation.
Organic chemistry: How to beat an alcohol problem.

Some alcohols can't be made in a way that controls the crucial arrangement of chemical groups in the molecule. A reaction that uses common laboratory reagents offers a practical route to these compounds.
Seed Feeding, Seed Caching, and Burrowing Behaviors ofHarpalus rufipesDe Geer Larvae (Coleoptera: Carabidae) in the Maine Potato Agroecosystem

Seed feeding, seed caching, and burrowing behaviors ofHarpalus rufipeslarvae were investigated in Presque Isle, Maine during 1994–1996. Larval feeding preference for seeds was tested in the laboratory with 10 plant species in both choice and no-choice feeding trials. The feeding rate of seeds varied with seed species. The biomass and number of seeds attacked were related to seed size. All larval instars attacked more small seeds as compared to large seeds and mid-sized seeds in both choice and no-choice feeding trials. Seedling emergence of redroot pigweed (Amaranthus retroflexusL.) under field conditions was affected by a significant interaction between the presence of first instar larvae and the depth of seed burial. Fewer seedlings emerged from 0 to 3 cm depth in the soil when first instar larvae were present than when they were not present. Seedling emergence from seeds sown below a 3-cm depth was not affected by the presence of larvae. A parallel study investigating the effects of first instar feeding on a less preferred species, wild mustard (Brassica kaber[DC] L. C. Wheeler.), showed that the presence or absence of larvae had no impact on the emergence of wild mustard across all burial depths. Laboratory studies of larval seed caching and burrowing behavior using the preferred common lambsquarters (Chenopodium albumL.) and the less preferred birdsrape mustard (Brassica rapaL.) showed no difference between burrowing depths nor the number of seeds cached by the first instar larvae. However, the number of seeds cached by the second instar larvae was dependent on species identity (1.5 common lambsquarters per day vs 0.5 birdsrape mustard per day).
An analytic solution to the Rayleigh scattering cross section integral

Abstract The total Rayleigh scattering cross section integral has been integrated analytically using atomic form factors described as a sum of exponentials. This form of the scattering integral eliminates the need for numerical integration using interpolated values of form factors. The result of the integration is expressed in a simple analytical form that can be numerically integrated over the spectra from an X-ray tube.
Bridging cell surface receptor with nuclear receptors in control of bile acid homeostasis.

Bile acids (BAs) are traditionally considered as “physiological detergents” for emulsifying hydrophobic lipids and vitamins due to their amphipathic nature. But accumulating clinical and experimental evidence shows an association between disrupted BA homeostasis and various liver disease conditions including hepatitis infection, diabetes and cancer. Consequently, BA homeostasis regulation has become a field of heavy interest and investigation. After identification of the Farnesoid X Receptor (FXR) as an endogenous receptor for BAs, several nuclear receptors (SHP, HNF4α, and LRH-1) were also found to be important in regulation of BA homeostasis. Some post-translational modifications of these nuclear receptors have been demonstrated, but their physiological significance is still elusive. Gut secrets FGF15/19 that can activate hepatic FGFR4 and its downstream signaling cascade, leading to repressed hepatic BA biosynthesis. However, the link between the activated kinases and these nuclear receptors is not fully elucidated. Here, we review the recent literature on signal crosstalk in BA homeostasis.
Suboptimal dietary zinc intake increases aluminum accumulation into the rat brain

The aluminum concentration in the frontal cortex and hippocampus increased when rats were fed semi-synthetic diets containing suboptimal levels of zinc and elevated levels (1000 parts per million, ppm) of aluminum.
The filaggrin story: novel insights into skin-barrier function and disease

Recent reports have uncovered the key role of the protein filaggrin in maintaining an effective skin barrier against the external environment. Loss-of-function mutations in the profilaggrin gene (FLG) are common and are present in up to 10% of the population. These mutations are the cause of the semi-dominant skin-scaling disorder ichthyosis vulgaris and are a major risk factor for the development of atopic dermatitis. The discovery of these mutations also provides new data concerning the genetics of atopic asthma as well as intriguing insight into disease mechanisms of systemic allergies involving antigen exposure in skin with defective barrier function. Collectively, these novel findings have significant implications for the classification and future clinical management of patients with atopic and allergic diseases.
Structures of Tris(donor)‐Tris(acceptor)‐Substituted Benzenes, 2.Potassium Salts of Trinitrophloroglucinol

The X-ray crystallographic analysis of the mono-, di-, and tri-potassium salts 2b – d of trinitrophloroglucinol (2a) show their benzene rings to become considerably more distorted on successive deprotonation. A parallel increase in C – C, and a decrease in C – O and C – N bond lengths leading to a radialenetype structure is also observed. For 2b, two chemically different molecules are found in the crystal which differ in their hydrogen-bond pattern as well as in their average bond lengths and deviation of their benzene rings from planarity. AM1 calculations show that for 2b,d a multitude of structures, differing widely in the deviation of their benzene cores form planarity, can exist within a small energy range ( < 3 kcal/mol). The experimental and computational results are discussed in terms of a model that emphasizes “push-pull” interactions as the main cause for the distortions of the benzene rings in compounds of type 1 and 2.
Crystal structure and chemical reactivity of transition metal carbides and nitrides

Trends in melting points, stoichiometry, and crystal structures in early transition metal carbides and nitrides are discussed in terms of the Engel-Brewer valence bond theory. It is deduced that carbon and nitrogen combine their valence sp electrons with the metal spd bands. As a consequence crystal structure and chemical reactivity of the compounds resemble those of elements further to the right in the Periodic Table. This is in accord with the original suggestion of Levy and Boudart
Microsatellite panels for gene localization in red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus

article i nfo Article history: A mapping tool for the economically important, aquacultured species red drum (Sciaenops ocellatus )i s described. The tool consists of multiplex panels, each of which contains 3-4 microsatellite markers that span individual linkage groups, with a spacing of ≤25 cM in either male- or female-specific maps or a combined map. A total of 27 newly-designed microsatellite markers were added to a previously generated map and then localized to specific linkage groups, using a de novo single-pair cross, in order to demonstrate the utility of the tool. All 27 markers were successfully localized when 100 progeny were genotyped; 26 of the markers were localized when 25, 50, or 75 progeny were genotyped. The tool will allow researchers without access to tissue from original crosses to localize genes of interest, including quantitative trait loci (QTL), to specific linkage groups (chromosomes), using a subset of microsatellite markers.