cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Organic matter inputs create variable resource patches on Puerto Rican landslides

Landslides are a frequent disturbance in montane tropical rainforests that result in heterogeneous environments for plant and soil development. Natural inputs of organic matter and associated nutrients contribute to soil fertility patchiness within landslides. To test the importance of organic matter and nutrient addition to landslide soil fertility and plant growth, we mixed three types of organic matter substrates that are common to landslides (Cecropia leaves, Cyathea fronds, and forest soil) and commercial fertilizer into recently eroded soil on five landslides in Puerto Rico. In addition, we sowed seeds of two common landslide colonists (Paspalum and Phytolacca) into the soil treatment plots in order to test treatment effects on seed germination and seedling growth. Soils, seed germination, and seedling growth were monitored for one year and the field experiment was replicated in a one-year screen-house experiment. Despite highly variable initial landslide conditions, responses to soil treatments were similar across all five landslides. The forest soil addition increased total soil nitrogen and soil organic matter on landslides within 60 days, whereas Cecropia leaves provided increased soil organic matter only after 210 days. Commercial fertilizer increased plant-available soil nitrogen and phosphorus within 60 days, and also increased seed germination of Paspalum seeds when compared to soils treated with Cecropia leaves. Despite these positive effects of treatments on soils and germination, there were no treatment effects on seedling growth in the field, perhaps due to leaching or other losses of soil nutrients evident in the lack of significant treatment differences in soil resources at 370 days. In the screen-house, forest soil and commercial fertilizer treatments significantly increased soil fertility and seedling growth of both Paspalum and Phytolacca compared to control treatments. These different responses to three common types of organic matter inputs create patchy soil conditions with important implications for plant colonization and landslide succession.
Terahertz death ray

Generation of near single-cycle pulses centered at 0.5 THz frequency with up to 10 muJ energy, 100 muW average power, and 5.0 MW peak power was demonstrated by tilting the intensity front of a femtosecond optical pump pulse from a 10 Hz Ti: sapphire laser to match the phonon-polariton phase velocity to the group velocity of the pump pulses in a lithium niobate crystal. THz pulse intensity as high as 10 MW/cm2 was achieved. The photon conversion efficiency was 45% and the calculated peak electric field strength at the focus of an off-axis parabolic mirror was 600 kV/cm.
The Distribution of Sublattices of ...m.

Lattices Λ, Λ′ are similar if one can be transformed into the other by an angle-preserving linear map. Similarity classes of lattices of rankn may be parametrized by a fundamental domainℱ of the action ofGLn(ℤ) on the generalized upper half-plane ℋn. Given 1<n≤m and , letN(D,T) be the number of sublattices of ℋn which have rankn, similarity class inD, and determinant ≤T. Our most basic result will be thatN(D,T)∼c1(m, n)μ(D)Tm asT→∞ for suitable setsD, where μ is the invariant measure on ℋn. The casen=2 had been dealt with by Roelcke and by Maass using the theory of modular forms.
Establishing a research agenda for studies of online search behaviors

As follow-up to discussions at the 2002 ASIST SIG USE Research Symposium on “Measuring Search Behaviors,” a Delphi study was conducted. It was designed to solicit expert opinion on two methodological aspects of research on online search behaviors: (1) the variables that are most critical to such studies and (2) methods for measuring these variables. A panel of over 75 experts participate in the three rounds of the study. A small number of variables related to the search process, databases and search systems, and the user/searcher were identified as having the highest priority for research, and can form the basis for a research agenda in the study of online searching behaviors. The third round of the survey identified the strengths and weaknesses of possible approaches to measurement of 11 of the variables that pose significant measurement challenges. In this panel, the outcomes of the study will be briefly reported. Then the panelists will discuss these results from the perspectives of a scholar who did not participate in the study (Janes), a scholar who did participate (Goodrum), and a practitioner who did participate (Hirsh).
Survey of pharmacists and physicians on drug interactions between combined oral contraceptives and broad-spectrum antibiotics

Objective : To evaluate physician and pharmacist knowledge on potential drug interactions between combined oral contraceptives (COC) and broad-spectrum antibiotics and determine if any difference exists between responses. Methods : Two hundred licensed retail pharmacists and 200 licensed family practice physicians in the states of Virginia, West Virginia, and Maryland were mailed an anonymous survey between August 2007 and November 2007. The survey consisted of 3 short questions asking practitioners about their current opinion on drug interactions with COCs and whether an alternative form of contraception is needed for patients taking COC and concomitant broad-spectrum antibiotics. The main outcome measure of the survey included: identifying how physicians and pharmacists handle prescribing or dispensing COCs along with broad-spectrum antibiotics. Gender, educational degree, and years in practice were also collected. Results : A total of 182 participants returned the surveys (57% were physicians and 43% were pharmacists). When asked if broad-spectrum antibiotics have a clinically significant interaction with COCs, 82.7% of physicians and 88.5% of pharmacists answered, “yes”. Of the respondents, 84.6% stated that the drug interaction warrants the patient to be advised to use back-up contraception. A total of 90.1% stated that they currently instruct patients to use back-up contraception when prescribing or dispensing antibiotics to a patient who is on COC, with no statistically significant difference existing between the responses of the pharmacists and the physicians. Conclusion : Physicians and pharmacists believe that broad-spectrum antibiotics decrease the effectiveness of COCs. These practitioners warn their patients of this interaction and advise the use of back-up contraception. More education should be provided to practitioners regarding the data concerning COCs and broad spectrum antibiotics and lack of a proven interaction.
Evolving Treatment of Advanced Colorectal Cancer

Advances in colorectal cancer treatment have led to improved outcomes for patients. A number of cytotoxic agents, alone and in combination, have shown activity. The addition of the newer, so-called “targeted” agents to standard chemotherapy drugs and regimens has also modestly improved outcomes. Progress in our knowledge and understanding of molecular pathways has led to the identification of markers critical in determining response or nonresponse to some of the targeted agents. This review discusses the available therapies in metastatic colorectal cancer and describes some of the molecular markers implicated in activity and resistance to current targeted therapies.
The effect of the prone position on venous pressure and blood loss during lumbar laminectomy

Abstract Study Objective: To determine the effects of three different prone support systems (Andrews spinal surgery frame, Cloward surgical saddle, and longitudinal bolsters) on inferior vena cava (IVC) and superior vena cava (SVC) pressures; the validity of measuring central venous pressure (CVP) for the determination of ideal positioning of the patient; and the relationship among frame type, blood loss, and hemodynamic measurements. Design: Prospective, randomized study of the hemodynamic effects of the prone position. Setting: Inpatient surgery at a university hospital (regional spinal cord injury treatment center). Patients: Eighteen patients free of significant coexisting disease (ASA physical status I and II) undergoing elective lumbar Laminectomy. Interventions: Patients were assigned to one of three support frames and measurement of SVC pressure, IVC pressure, and mean arterial pressures (MAP) were obtained supine, prone, and after repositioning. These pressures and measured blood loss were obtained every 15 minutes during the surgical Laminectomy portion of the procedure. Measurements and Main Results: Patients positioned on the Andrews frame had decreased mean SVC and IVC pressures from 8.7 mmHg and 8.4 mmHg in the supine position to 3.3 mmHg and 1.8 mmHg in the prone position, respectively ( p p p Conclusions: Increased blood loss was not associated with increased SVC or IVC pressure, nor was there any significant correlation between any demographic or hemodynamic variable and blood loss. There was no evidence that CVP is useful in determining the ideal prone position in patients undergoing lumbar Laminectomy.
N II λλ5668-5712: A New class of spectral features in eta Carinae

We report on the Nii λλ5668–5712 emission and absorption lines in the spectrum of η Carinae. Spectral lines of the stellar wind regions can be classified into four physically distinct categories: (1) low-excitation emission such as Hi and Feii, (2) higher-excitation Hei features, (3) the Nii lines discussed in this paper, and (4) Heii emission. These categories have different combinations of radial velocity behavior, excitation processes, and dependences on the secondary star. The Nii lines are the only known features that originate in “normal” undisturbed zones of the primary wind but depend primarily on the location of the hot secondary star. Nii probably excludes some proposed models, such as those where Hei lines originate in the secondary star’s wind or in an accretion disk.
Adjoint variational methods in nonconservative stability problems.

A general nonself-adjoint eigenvalue problem is examined and it is shown that the commonly employed approximate methods, such as the Galerkin procedure, the method of weighted residuals and the least square technique lack variational descriptions. When used in their previously known forms they do not yield stationary eigenvalues and eigenfunctions. With the help of an adjoint system, however, several analogous variational descriptions may be developed and it is shown in the present study that by properly restating the method of least squares, stationary eigenvalues may be obtained. Several properties of the adjoint eigenvalue problem, known only for a restricted group, are shown to exist for the more general class selected for study.
Permeability of hyaluronic acid solutions

The permeability of hyaluronic acid solutions was measured in a chamber closed at each end of semi-permeable membranes. Permeability was strongly concentration dependent below 1.0 gm% hyaluronic acid. Small changes in the ionic environment of 1.0 gm% hyaluronic acid solutions also altered permeability. The permeability of such solutions decreased by a factor of 4.7 in the presence of as little as 5 mM calcium ion and showed optimum permeability at pH 7.0. The pH optimum was not noted in hyaluronic acid preparations known to contain only small amounts of protein.
Effect of microbial concentration on biodegradation rates of phenols

Biodegradation rates of 12 phenols were measured with respect to acclimated microbial biomass ranging from 2.3×104 to 2.3×108 cells/l. Rates ranged between 0.02 mg l−1 day−1 for 1.6 mg/lp-bromophenol exposed to 2.3×104 cells/l and 1.41 mg l−1 day−1 for 3.2 mg/lp-methylphenol exposed to 2.3×108 cells/l. Generally, rates for all phenols were first-order in substrate concentration and zero-order in biomass concentration. Bromophenol biodegradation was preceded by lag periods of varying lengths and to a small extent the rate was dependent on microbial biomass. Results from this study suggest chemical biodegradation generally exhibits pseudo-first-and occasionally, second-order kinetics.
Social facilitation and imitation in group risk-taking

Abstract The role of social facilitation and imitation in group risk-taking was explored in two experiments. The first experiment tried to determine if individual risk preferences can be changed by the mere presence of others and if these changes can account for shifts toward risk. Subjects predicted which of two differentially probable stimulus events would occur in a series of 360 trials. Expected value of the choices was held constant by varying the payoff inversely with the frequency of the two events. After 180 trials alone, subjects were put into one of four conditions, Control, Audience, Coaction, and Group. In the two social facilitation conditions, Audience and Coaction, there was an enhancement of dominant responses (i.e., conservative choices). But the Group condition showed a change in the risky direction, indicating that social facilitation processes cannot account for risky shifts. Experiment II replicated the social facilitation effects found in Experiment I, but failed to find pronounced tendencies of individuals to make their choices consistent with those of others. These weak imitation effects were found for a situation in which only knowledge of others' choices was accessible to the subject and in a situation in which both this knowledge was accessible and others were actually present. The implications of these findings for theories of risky shift were discussed.
Metabolism of thiopyrimidine derivatives: thiamylal, thiopental and thiouracil.

Abstract The metabolic fate of three pharmacologically significant thiopyrimidines has been investigated. Incubation of thiamylal, 5-allyl-5-(1-methylbutyl)-2-thiobarbituric acid, with minced rat liver resulted in the formation of a metabolite which was isolated and identified as secobarbital. The urine of rats receiving thiouracil, 2-mercapto-4hydroxypyrimidine, was examined by ion exchange and paper chromatography and revealed significant amounts of uracil. Thiouracil, when incubated with a mince or homogenate of rat liver, was metabolized at the rate of 280–350 μg g of tissue per 3 hr. Significant amounts of ammonia were formed during this time. The supernatant fluid from such incubated mixtures contained a metabolite which was identified chromatographically as β-alanine. Significant quantities of uracil also were shown to be present. These findings suggest a metabolic pathway in the rat for thiouracil which involves first, desulphuration with the formation of uracil, followed by cleavage of the thiopyrimidine ring and formation of β-alanine, ammonia and carbon dioxide. Rats receiving thiouracil-2-C14 were found to excrete about 80 per cent of the radioactivity in the urine during the first 24 hr. Approximately 1.9 per cent of the excreted radioactivity was extractable with chloroform and 6.2 per cent was removed by extraction with ethylene dichloride. Data are presented which indicate that approximately 16.5 per cent of the remaining radioactivity is uracil-2-C14. Thiopental, 5-ethyl-5-(1-methylbutyl)-2-thiobarbituric acid, was found to be metabolized by the musomal fraction of rat liver. Reduced triphosphopyridine nucleotide, magnesium ion and oxygen were essential for a maximum rate of metabolism. Pentobarbital was isolated from this enzymic system by countercurrent distribution and sublimation and characterized by ultra-violet and infra-red spectral analysis. Metabolic conversion was not greatly inhibited by cyanide ion but was markedly inhibited by β-diethylaminoethyl diphenylpropylacetate (SKF 525-A). Thiopental was metabolized at an averager ate of 0.3 μmole 3 hr by the enzymic activity present in the quantity of micrsomes obtained from 1 g of liver. Rates of metabolism of thiopental by musomal preparations of liver from the guinea pig and pigeon were approximately one-half and one-third, respectively, those of the dog, rabbit and mouse, all of which exhibited about the same activity and two-thirds that of rat liver.
Strain Engineering and Luminescence in Si/SiGe Three Dimensional Nanostructures

Strain engineering in composition-controlled Si-Si/Ge nanocluster multilayers with high germanium content (~ 50%) is achieved by varying thicknesses of Si/SiGe layers and studied by low temperature photoluminescence (PL) measurements. The PL spectra show reduction in strained silicon energy bandgap and a splitting presumably associated with partial removal of heavy hole-light hole degeneracy in SiGe valence band. Time-resolved PL measurements performed under different excitation wavelengths show dramatically different PL lifetimes, ranging from ~ 2 μs to 10 ns and an unusually high PL quantum efficiency. The results are explained by using the Si/SiGe interface recombination model, which is supported by ultra-high resolution transmission and analytical electron microscopy measurements.
Centres for space science and technology education: a United Nations initiative

Abstract The availability of environmental and Earth resources data acquired by satellites can assist all countries to gain a better understanding of how to safeguard their environment as well as ensure a more efficient management and productive harnessing of their natural resources, However, in order for the developing countries to share in the benefits inherent in remote sensing technology and in programmes related to environmental information systems, particularly through their participation in international, regional and national programmes and projects, there must be an adequate and long-term commitment to and an investment in the development of skills and knowledge in the discipline at the local level. This article focuses on the United Nations initiative to establish regional Centres for Space Science and Technology Education which should provide a unique opportunity for the development of such an indigenous capability. These Centres have the potential to contribute significantly to the implementat...
Winter frost at Viking Lander 2 site

A key question in the study of Mars is water exchange between atmosphere and surface on daily, seasonal, and astronomical timescales. We believe that small-scale processes are a key for enhanced understanding of the global water behavior of Mars. The principal data for this study of small scale properties of the Martian surface were collected by the second Viking lander (VL 2) and by both Viking orbiters. The annual deposition and retreat of the frost layer were observed in situ by VL 2. The frost is inferred to be H_2O frost but with some properties suggesting a much thicker layer than would be expected from the simple mass balance calculation. Our original contribution is in considering the effect of cold trapping (frost redeposition) which has been previously neglected and which enables us to reconcile all the observations with environmental conditions. In addition, we believe that this study points to a more general phenomenon of cold trapping in the Martian environment. Our study of the VL 2 observations suggests that H_2O frost occurs in two forms: (1) thin, almost continuous, early frost and (2) much thicker, patchy, later frost. Both frost forms contain essentially the same total water content, but they cover different fractions of the surface. The transition between the two frost forms occurs by recondensation at local cold traps when solar insolation sublimates the first frost but the atmosphere is still too cold to transport the resultant water vapor away. These cold traps are created by shadowing from the small-scale surface roughness, rocks, troughs, etc. This hypothesis hinges on the disparity between local and long-range transport of water vapor by the atmosphere. The local transport is driven by abundant insolation energy available at the time of transition. This results in a large fraction of surface frost being redistributed rapidly into locally thermodynamically preferable locations, cold traps. Long-range transport is constrained by the atmospheric carrying capacity. At the time of transition, the atmosphere is still cold, not far from its winter minimum, and is almost saturated by residual water vapor (5–8 precipitable micrometers). Therefore it cannot carry much additional water vapor to lower latitudes. This disparity delays the global transport of water vapor by the atmosphere.
GM1 in the nuclear envelope regulates nuclear calcium through association with a nuclear sodium-calcium exchanger.

The inner membrane of the nuclear envelope (NE) of neurons and other cells has been shown to contain GM1 tightly associated with a Na+/Ca2+ exchanger (NCX) whose activity it potentiates in mediating transfer of Ca2+ from nucleoplasm to the NE lumen. This is consistent with localization of the NCX/GM1 complex in the inner membrane of the NE. NCXs of the plasma membrane, in contrast, appear to bind GM1 much less avidly. This is believed due to different isoforms of NCX in the two membranes, and a difference in topology of NCX relative to GM1. A cytoprotective function for nuclear NCX/GM1 was suggested in the observation that cultured neurons from mice lacking GM1 (GM2/GD2 synthase knockout) were vulnerable to Ca2+-induced apoptosis. These neurons in culture were rescued to some extent by GM1 but more effectively by LIGA-20, a membrane-permeant derivative of GM1 that entered the NE. Further indication came from a study of the mutant mice, which were highly susceptible to kainate-induced seizures and could be rescued by LIGA-20. This correlated with the ability of LIGA-20 to cross the blood–brain barrier, enter brain cells, insert into the NE, and potentiate nuclear NCX.
Formation of Direction Selectivity in Natural Scene Environments

Most simple and complex cells in the cat striate cortex are both orientation and direction selective. In this article we use single-cell learning rules to develop both orientation and direction selectivity in a natural scene environment. We show that a simple principal component analysis rule is inadequate for developing direction selectivity, but that the BCM rule as well as similar higher-order rules can. We also demonstrate that the convergence of lagged and nonlagged cells depends on the velocity of motion in the environment, and that strobe rearing disrupts this convergence, resulting in a loss of direction selectivity.
Device-associated infections: a macroproblem that starts with microadherence.

Medical devices are responsible for a large portion of nosocomial infections, particularly in critically ill patients. Deviceassociated infections can cause major medical and economic sequelae. Bacterial colonization of the indwelling device can be a prelude to both infection and malfunction of the device. The pathogenesis of device-associated infection centers around the multifaceted interaction among the bacteria, the device, and the host. Bacterial factors are probably the most important in pathogenesis of infection, whereas device factors are the most amenable to modification with the objective of preventing infection. Some, but not all, of the studied bacterial receptors satisfy the proposed “adherence/infection” version of Koch’s postulates. Traditional surface-modifying preventive approaches have largely focused on antimicrobial coating of devices and resulted in variable clinical success in preventing device-associated infections. The potential protective role of newer innovative approaches, such as biofilm modification and bacterial interference, ought to be further investigated. American medicine has made great strides during the past several years, owing to enhanced medical knowledge and advanced technology. The more extensive use of medical devices has affected mostly critically ill patients, which has resulted in longer survival of patients who are at even higher risk for infection. Most cases of infection in critically ill patients are associated with medical devices. In this population of patients, 95% of cases of urinary tract infection are catheter related, 87% of cases of bloodstream infection originate from an indwelling vascular catheter, and 86% of cases of pneumonia are associated with mechanical ventilation [1]. The objectives of this article are to (1) assess the magnitude of the general problem of device-associated infections; (2) ad
Determinants of, and the Relation between, Foreign Direct Investment and GrowthA Summary of the Recent Literature

This paper summarizes recent arguments/findings on two aspects of foreign direct investment (FDI): its correlation with economic growth and its determinants. The first part focuses on recent literature regarding positive spillovers from FDI while the second deals with the determinants of FDI. The paper finds that while substantial support exists for positive spillovers from FDI, there is no consensus on causality. On determinants, the paper finds that market size, infrastructure quality, political/economic stability, and free trade zones are important for FDI, while results are mixed regarding the importance of fiscal incentives, the business/investment climate, labor costs, and openness.
Clinical Features of Infectious and Autoantibody Encephalitis

Investigators from University of Sydney, Australia; John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, UK; Imperial College, London, UK; and other centers, studied infectious, immune-mediated/autoantibody associated and unknown forms of encephalitis, including frequencies, clinical and radiological phenotypes, and long-term outcome.
The Evolving Medical and Veterinary Importance of the Gulf Coast tick (Acari: Ixodidae).

Amblyomma maculatum Koch (the Gulf Coast tick) is a three-host, ixodid tick that is distributed throughout much of the southeastern and south-central United States, as well as several countries throughout Central and South America. A considerable amount of scientific literature followed the original description of A. maculatum in 1844; nonetheless, the Gulf Coast tick was not recognized as a vector of any known pathogen of animals or humans for >150 years. It is now identified as the principal vector of Hepatozoon americanum, the agent responsible for American canine hepatozoonosis, and Rickettsia parkeri, the cause of an emerging, eschar-associated spotted fever group rickettsiosis identified throughout much of the Western Hemisphere. Coincident with these discoveries has been recognition that the geographical distribution of A. maculatum in the United States is far more extensive than described 70 yr ago, supporting the idea that range and abundance of certain tick species, particularly those with diverse host preferences, are not fixed in time or space, and may change over relatively short intervals. Renewed interest in the Gulf Coast tick reinforces the notion that the perceived importance of a particular tick species to human or animal health can be relatively fluid, and may shift dramatically with changes in the distribution and abundance of the arthropod, its vertebrate hosts, or the microbial agents that transit among these organisms.
Simple click reactions on polymer surfaces leading to antimicrobial behavior

In this study we developed simple reactions that combined microwave plasma reactions in the presence of maleic anhydride with alkyne click chemistries to achieve a platform for unlimited possibilities for further surface modifications of aliphatic polymer surfaces. Using this approach, we covalently attached ampicillin (AMP) to polyethylene (PE) and polypropylene (PP) substrates. As a result, high efficacy against microbial film formation, manifested by efficient antimicrobial activity against S. aureus with a 97–99.8% decrease of bacterial growth, was achieved. This simple and clean process allows functionalization of any polymeric substrate without adverse effects on bulk polymer properties.
Character degrees of p-groups and pro-p groups

In the 1970s, Isaacs conjectured that there should be a logarithmic bound for the length of solvability of a p-group G with respect to the number of different irreducible character degrees of G. So far, there are just a few partial results for this conjecture. In this note, we say that a pro- p group G has property (I) if there is a real number D = D(G) that just depends on G such that for any open normal subgroup N ,d l(G/N ) log2 |cd(G/N ) |+ D. We prove that any p-adic analytic pro-p group has property (I). We also study the first congruence subgroup G of a classical Chevalley group G with respect to the local ring Fpt. We show that if Lie(G)(Fp) has a non-degenerated Killing form, then G has property (I).
Mechanisms of memory loss in Aβ and tau mouse models

Although memory loss is the central symptom of Alzheimer’s disease, the pathophysiological mechanisms leading to dementia are poorly understood. It is difficult to answer this issue with studies in humans and impossible in cultured cells. Therefore animal models are needed to elucidate the molecular mechanisms leading to dementia. The chief neuropathological changes during Alzheimer’s disease, namely neurofibrillary tangles and amyloid plaques, have helped us to determine which molecules to focus upon in the animal models, specifically Aβ (amyloid β) and tau. This paper presents my perspective on what we have learnt about mechanisms of memory loss from Aβ and tau mouse models of Alzheimer’s disease. Natural history of Alzheimer’s disease Toappreciatethecontextinwhichanimalmodelshavehelped us understand the pathophysiology of memory loss, it is importanttodelineatethenaturalhistoryofAlzheimer’sdisease. Alzheimer’s disease has a very insidious onset; we do not know precisely when neural dysfunction begins. The brains of patients dying with Alzheimer’s disease are devastated by widespread plaques, tangles and neuron loss. In 1999, it became clear that there is a prodrome to Alzheimer’s disease, which is frequently referred to as ‘mild cognitive impairment’ [1]. These individuals have subjective complaints and mild clinical abnormalities on examination. The brains of individuals at this stage of illness have some plaques and tangles, but neuron loss is restricted to the entorhinal cortex [2,3]. Intriguingly, asymptomatic individuals who were at risk genetically for Alzheimer’s disease have shown evidence of brain dysfunction in functional magnetic resonance imaging and positron emission tomography studies [4,5]. This has givenrisetothenotionofalatentphaseofAlzheimer’sdisease [6]. Although we do not know what kind of brain pathology exists in these individuals, it is likely that they have rare plaques and tangles, because these neuropathological abnormalities appear in autopsy series of cognitively intact individuals after the age of 40 [7]. However, studies on individuals with mild cognitive impairment would lead to the prediction that these asymptomatic individuals would not yet have lost any neurons [2,3].
Iodine treatment of nylon: Effect on metal plating of the polymer

The iodine treatment of nylon surfaces consist essentially of dipping the nylon in an iodine—potassium iodide solution and quickly rinsing the absorbed iodine out of nylon surfaces using glycol—water—thiosulfate as a wash solution. The treatment was found to profoundly affect the adhesion between the nylon and an electrolessly deposited metal on its surface. The adhesion changes from no adhesion for an untreated nylon surface to a maximum of 28 lb/in. for a treated sample. The adhesion is dependent mainly on the nature of the nylon surface (crystallinity, molecular weight, etc.), the duration of the iodine treatment, and the nature and conditions of the wash solution. Electron microscope pictures of the nylon surface after the iodine treatment show a shallow etching pattern, and therefore mechanical keying between the metal and the polymer is not a probable factor of importance. Under certain experimental conditions, the iodine treatment changes the crystallinity from the α-form predominant in the nylon before treating the sample to the γ-form. It also decreases the overall crystallinity of the surface, softens the polymer, and improves its water wettability. All the above changes enhance a more intimate interaction between the deposited metal and the polymer.
Rheological and Mechanical Behavior of Concrete Mixtures with Recycled Concrete Aggregates

This paper investigates the workability, compressive strength, and elastic modulus of normal strength concrete mixtures that use recycled concrete aggregates (RCA) as replacement for virgin coarse natural aggregates. To provide a regional geographical representation of the variability in material quality and properties, a total of 144 mixtures with 16 different RCA sources are used in the experimental program. Three RCA concrete mix design methods utilizing varying amounts of direct volume aggregate replacement, direct weight replacement, and equivalent mortar replacement are compared. It is found that the RCA material properties do not affect the workability of RCA concrete designed using the direct volume replacement method. However, for the equivalent mortar replacement method, there is a significant reduction in workability even when the maximum recommended amount of water reducer is used. The compressive strength and elastic modulus of concrete are not significantly affected by the mix design method. Depending on the RCA source, the compressive strength of RCA concrete is generally comparable to the strength of concrete with virgin aggregates. However, there is a greater effect in the elastic modulus as the amount of RCA is increased. The results suggest that the RCA material properties that most affect the mechanical behavior of concrete are the aggregate water absorption and deleterious material content.
Pseudorandom binary pulse shaping in femtosecond laser spectroscopy and imaging

Multiphoton spectroscopy and functional imaging using a 10-fs laser pulse with binary (0 or /spl pi/) phase shaping are demonstrated. Theoretical and experimental considerations of pseudorandom Galoise fields to control multiphoton intrapulse interference are presented.
The Measurement of Word-of-Mouth Communication and an Investigation of Service Quality and Customer Commitment As Potential Antecedents:

The current research systematically develops and empirically validates a scale to measure word-of-mouth communication and investigates two forms of customer commitment and service quality as potent...
Working Women: A Study of Relationships between Stress, Coping and Health

This study examines the relationship between job and home environment conditions, job stress, coping and health outcomes in 230 working women. The women sampled were employed full time and 73% were managers or professionals with advanced degrees. The level of job distress was found to be the best predictor of degree of depression, anxiety and physical symptoms. The tendency to use avoidance coping and problem-focused coping was also a significant predictor. The results support the notion that stress in the work environment has a negative impact on the physical and mental health of working women. The results are compared to those of previous relevant studies of men. The findings are also discussed in terms of the mitigating effect of coping on health outcomes.
Effects of cardiac glycosides on electrical activity in the isolated retina of the frog.

Ouabain added to physiological salt solutions bathing the isolated frog retina irreversibly abolishes the electrical response to light (the electroretinogram or ERG). The time course of abolition depends on the concentration of ouabain in the medium and the surface of the retina to which it is applied. When the glycoside is placed on the receptor surface, in 7 min the ERG is completely eliminated by 10-4 M ouabain and more than 90% inhibited by 3 x 10-5 M ouabain. The effect is slower at lower concentrations and when the solution is applied to the vitreous surface of the retina. The evidence suggests that abolition of the ERG by ouabain is due principally to inhibition of the active transport of sodium: (a) Structurally modified glycosides which are considerably less potent inhibitors of alkali cation-activated ATPase activity in preparations of frog retinal outer segments are also poorer inhibitors of electrical activity in isolated retinas. (b) Replacing much of the sodium in the medium bathing the retina by choline, Tris, or sucrose significantly protects the retina from ouabain. It is suggested that in a standard sodium environment essentially constant activity of the sodium pump is required to prevent rapid and irreversible change. The cellular sites most critically dependent on the sodium pump have not been identified.
Benign Pediatric Liver Tumors

Infantile hepatic hemangiomas and mesenchymal hamartomas occur almost exclusively in the pediatric liver. This chapter examines the clinical and pathologic features of these two lesions and discusses their differential diagnoses. The chapter also discusses other benign lesions seen in pediatric specimens including macroregenerative nodules, focal nodular hyperplasia, and hepatic adenomas.
Academic Language in Physical Education.

This article focuses on defining academic language in physical education and provides a step-by-step approach designed to help preservice and inservice teachers understand and incorporated academic language into their lesson planning. It provides examples of discipline-specific vocabulary, language functions, syntax, and discourse, aiming to clarify ambiguities surrounding language demands as they relate to the field of physical education. Furthermore, teaching strategies and assessment tools that enhance and measure academic language skills are discussed and presented.
Inmate Supervisory Style

Abstract This exploratory study examines the inmate supervisory styles of women and men working as correctional officers in two medium security state prisons. In-depth interviews concerning hypothetical incidents are utilized to explore the approaches of officers toward inmates. Findings indicate that officers of both genders perceive women to have a unique style of supervision. Men officers viewed their female counterparts as less aggressive, more lenient, and too friendly with inmates. Women correctional officers see themselves as adopting a more personalized, service-oriented approach to inmates. Data from the hypothetical incidents reveals that both genders respond similarly in confrontational situations with inmates. Where differences are present, they are much different than the literature and the officers in the present study surmised. Women tended to be strict and assert their authority while male officers were more likely to talk things out with the inmate. Findings suggest that training may neut...
Use of web-based materials to teach electric circuit theory

Beginning fall 2001, the Electrical Engineering Department at Texas A&M University, College Station, significantly altered the instructional philosophy of the ELEN 214 Electric Circuit Theory course by introducing more engineering design into the curriculum and adopting the WebCT-based interactive homework submission system. This paper will discuss the use of the Quiz tool within WebCT for the construction of question banks and their publication to a WebCT server. An example, deriving mathematical expressions, which describes electric circuit behavior and helps customize the homework problems to each individual student, are discussed. In other words, in a class of 200 students, each student is presented with an individual homework assignment with a unique set of problems not repeated to anyone else via WebCT. A help desk staffed by senior undergraduates assists the course students in completing the WebCT-based homework on time. WebCT is an essential ingredient in the delivery of the course. The approach presented in this paper can be adapted to any other course in engineering/science that involves mathematical calculations. So far, the course evaluations suggest that the students are more motivated and excited about electrical and computer engineering as a career.
Tapping the Potential of Virtual World-Based Simulations in Higher Education

The purpose of this paper is to illustrate the pedagogical possibilities of employing virtual world simulations across many disciplines of higher education. We first present a discussion of the varied approaches to pedagogy along with the identification of the pros and cons for each one. Next, we present an introduction to virtual world concepts and key issues surrounding their use for educational purposes. A specific discussion of the virtual world Second Life is presented. Following these preliminary sections, we present by subject areas, the many potential and actual implementations of virtual world simulations in higher education.
Group Games—A Psychological Appraisal

(1938). Group Games—A Psychological Appraisal. The Journal of Health and Physical Education: Vol. 9, No. 4, pp. 217-261.
Political Science's Contribition to General Education at Liberal Arts Colleges

What does political science contribute to common core and general education in liberal arts colleges? Although our discipline pays some attention to curriculum choice and design for our own discipline as a major, hardly any systematic study of what political science contributes to the undergraduate experience writ large has been done. Using Council of Public Liberal Arts Colleges (COPLAC) as a sample, this work examines how political science departments contribute to general education. There is great diversity in the common core and general education programs even across this small sample. Political science is most commonly used to meet some sort of social science requirement in the core, although there are schools which allow political science coursework to meet many other requirements as well. Political science courses are almost always an option, though, and hardly ever required.
Problems and Bibliography on Intersection Homology

Before considering various possible extensions of intersection homology (such as intersection K-theory), we wish to reflect on small resolutions[D], [F]. For a small resolution π: \( \tilde X \to X \) there is a canonical isomorphism \( H_* (\tilde X) \cong IH_* (X) \). We might expect other “intersection functors” to satisfy a similar identity. A severe limitation on the existence of such functors is therefore provided by the existence of spaces which have two different small resolutions.
Theology in Mark and Q: Abba and “Father” in Context

In the last twenty years, Joachim Jeremias's interpretation of the word abba has become a focus of theologies that attempt to base themselves on the Jesus of history. In the face of feminist critiques of the use of “father” for God, Robert Hamerton-Kelly reiterated Jeremias's case for Jesus' supposedly unique usage of both abba and “father,” asserting its revelatory status and its freedom from and even opposition to patriarchy. Some feminist scholars have attempted to incorporate Hamerton-Kelly's description of Jesus' use of abba into feminist understandings of God, based on reconstructions of Jesus' teaching.
Effects of experimentally added salmon subsidies on resident fishes via direct and indirect pathways

Artificial additions of nutrients of differing forms such as salmon carcasses and analog pellets (i.e. pasteurized fishmeal) have been proposed as a means of stimulating aquatic productivity and enhancing populations of anadromous and resident fishes. Nutrient mitigation to enhance fish production in stream ecosystems assumes that the central pathway by which effects occur is bottom-up, through aquatic primary and secondary production, with little consideration of reciprocal aquatic-terrestrial pathways. The net outcome (i.e. bottom-up vs. top-down) of adding salmon-derived materials to streams depend on whether or not these subsidies indirectly intensify predation on in situ prey via increases in a shared predator or alleviate such predation pressure. We conducted a 3-year experiment across nine tributaries of the N. Fork Boise River, Idaho, USA, consisting of 500-m stream reaches treated with salmon carcasses (n = 3), salmon carcass analog (n = 3), and untreated control reaches (n = 3). We observed 2–8 fold increases in streambed biofilms in the 2–6 weeks following additions of both salmon subsidy treatments in years 1 and 2 and a 1.5-fold increase in standing crop biomass of aquatic invertebrates to carcass additions in the second year of our experiment. The consumption of benthic invertebrates by stream fishes increased 110–140% and 44–66% in carcass and analog streams in the same time frame, which may have masked invertebrate standing crop responses in years 3 and 4. Resident trout directly consumed 10.0–24.0 g·m−2·yr−1 of salmon carcass and <1–11.0 g·m−2·yr−1 of analog material, which resulted in 1.2–2.9 g·m−2·yr−1 and 0.03–1.4 g·m−2·yr−1 of tissue produced. In addition, a feedback flux of terrestrial maggots to streams contributed 0.0–2.0 g·m−2·yr−1 to trout production. Overall, treatments increased annual trout production by 2–3 fold, though density and biomass were unaffected. Our results indicate the strength of bottom-up and top-down responses to subsidy additions was asymmetrical, with top-down forces masking bottom-up effects that required multiple years to manifest. The findings also highlight the need for nutrient mitigation programs to consider multiple pathways of energy and nutrient flow to account for the complex effects of salmon subsidies in stream-riparian ecosystems.
Measuring Norfloxacin Binding to Trypsin Using a Fluorescence Quenching Assay in an Upper-Division, Integrated Laboratory Course

Fluorescence quenching assays are often used to measure dissociation constants that quantify the binding affinity between small molecules and proteins. In an upper-division undergraduate laboratory course, where students work on projects using a guided inquiry-based approach, a binding titration experiment at physiological pH is performed to analyze the interaction between the drug norfloxacin and the protein trypsin. The resulting nonlinear binding data are fitted using a scientific data analysis program to determine the dissociation constant (Kd value) describing this interaction. The experiment is especially of interest to students who plan to pursue careers in health-related aspects of biochemistry.
Sharpened Forms of the Plane Isoperimetric Inequality

(1970). Sharpened Forms of the Plane Isoperimetric Inequality. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 77, No. 1, pp. 29-34.
Polythelia and associated conditions

Polythelia (congenital supernumerary nipples) is a marker for more serious anomalies of the urinary and cardiovascular systems. It is associated with obstructive abnormalities of the kidney or the renal collecting system, renal agenesis, renal cell carcinoma, supernumerary kidneys, cardiac conduction disturbances and congenital heart disease.
Pattern of rat intestinal brush-border enzyme gene expression changes with epithelial growth state

Enterocyte growth and differentiation occur simultaneously within the epithelium, but little is known regarding any relationship between these two processes. Four rat models of small intestinal epithelial hypo- and hyperplasia (neonatal ontogeny, fasting/refeeding, hypo-/hyperthyroidism, and bombesin treatment) were used to study the regulation of enterocyte gene expression in relation to epithelial growth state. Mucosal scrapings, as well as crypt and villus cell populations, were subjected to Northern blot analyses using radiolabeled cDNA probes corresponding to lactase, intestinal alkaline phosphatase, villin, ornithine decarboxylase (ODC), and the actin control. In all four models, the hypoplastic (atrophic) condition is characterized by high levels of lactase and low levels of the 3.0-kb intestinal alkaline phosphatase mRNA, whereas under hyperplastic conditions this pattern is reversed. The changes in intestinal alkaline phosphatase and lactase are qualitatively similar along the longitudinal axis of the intestine and are proportional to the degree of hyperplasia, as verified by ODC mRNA levels. Furthermore, the crypt-villus axis of differentiation is maintained regardless of epithelial growth state. In conclusion, the pattern of brush-border enzyme gene expression changes as a function of epithelial growth state, indicating a previously unrecognized degree of plasticity to the state of enterocyte differentiation.