cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Metabolic Pathways Associated With Term Labor Induction Course in African American Women

Objectives:The purpose of this study was to evaluate differences in the metabolic pathways activated in late-pregnancy serum samples among African American women who went on to have term (≥37 weeks...
Social Stories™ with Self-Modeling to Teach Social Play Behaviors to Korean American Children with Autism

This study evaluated the effectiveness of Social Story™ with self-modeling on social skills of three Korean-American children with autism spectrum disorder. Each child and the mother read a story i...
La crisis del euro

Faced with the current situation of the single currency and the Economic and Monetary Union (EMU), this editorial will set out by citing some concepts already touched upon in previous editorials (what the monetary union is and how it is put into action). Then we go on to other issues that are also important: how the current economic and financial crisis has affected the EMU, how what has come to be known as the “debt crisis” has manifested itself and the response given to both these issues by the European Union (EU) and its member countries’ governments; this block also deals with what has come to pass recently in the so–called “currency war”. This all leads us to question whether the euro zone (the EMU) is the optimum monetary sector and to wonder about what is in store for the future in this respect. We end up our text with some general considerations that lead us to reaffirm the advantages behind both the existence of the euro and also our country’s belonging to the EMU in spite of any drawbacks that might be entailed: at the same time we conclude that in order to overcome the current weakness of the euro, the EU must have a common, clear and decisive economic policy. If the indecisiveness and delays are not done away with, the EU will fall behind world economy.
In vitro long-term repeated exposure and exposure switching of a novel tobacco vapor product in a human organotypic culture of bronchial epithelial cells

Next-generation tobacco products and nicotine delivery systems such as heat-not-burn tobacco products and electronic cigarettes, the usage of which is expected to have a beneficial impact on public health, have gained popularity over the past decade. However, the risks associated with the long-term use of such products are still incompletely understood. Although the risks of these products should be clarified through epidemiological studies, such studies are normally performed based on each product category, not product-by-product. Therefore, investigation of the risk on a product-by-product basis is important to provide specific scientific evidence. In the current study, we performed the 40-day repeated exposure of in vitro human bronchial epithelial tissues to cigarette smoke (CS) or vapor from our proprietary novel tobacco vapor product (NTV). In addition, tissue samples exposed to CS were switched to NTV or CS exposure was stopped at 20 days to reflect a situation where smokers switched to NTV or ceased to smoke. All tissue samples were assessed in terms of toxicity, inflammation and transcriptomic alterations. Tissue samples switched to NTV and the cessation of exposure samples showed recovery from CS-induced damage although there was a time-course difference. Moreover, repeated exposure to NTV produced negligible effects on the tissue samples while CS produced cumulative effects. Our results suggest that the use of NTV, including switching to NTV from cigarette smoking, has fewer effects on bronchial epithelial tissues than continuing smoking.
Product market competition, stock price informativeness, and IFRS adoption: Evidence from Europe

This study examines whether and how policy changes that aim to improve market efficiency, specifically the mandatory adoption of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), influence the relation between product market competition and stock price informativeness. Using a sample of European firms, we find a negative association between product market competition and stock price informativeness as evidenced by larger (smaller) stock price changes surrounding earnings announcements for firms facing more (less) product market competition. These findings are consistent with prior studies examining the U.S. capital market. We further find that IFRS adoption alleviates the negative association. This positive effect is more pronounced among firms domiciled in countries with stronger legal enforcement and among smaller firms. Our results provide insights into the interrelation between product and capital markets in the European setting. More importantly, our results highlight the importance of policy changes, which aim to improve market efficiency, in influencing the relation between the two markets and document the benefit of IFRS adoption in mitigating the negative competition-informativeness relation.
Multi-beam X-ray ptychography for high-throughput coherent diffraction imaging

X-ray ptychography is a rapidly developing coherent diffraction imaging technique that provides nanoscale resolution on extended field-of-view. However, the requirement of coherence and the scanning mechanism limit the throughput of ptychographic imaging. In this paper, we propose X-ray ptychography using multiple illuminations instead of single illumination in conventional ptychography. Multiple locations of the sample are simultaneously imaged by spatially separated X-ray beams, therefore, the obtained field-of-view in one scan can be enlarged by a factor equal to the number of illuminations. We have demonstrated this technique experimentally using two X-ray beams focused by a house-made Fresnel zone plate array. Two areas of the object and corresponding double illuminations were successfully reconstructed from diffraction patterns acquired in one scan, with image quality similar with those obtained by conventional single-beam ptychography in sequence. Multi-beam ptychography approach increases the imaging speed, providing an efficient way for high-resolution imaging of large extended specimens.
Methodological considerations for survey research: Validity, reliability, and quantitative analysis

As translation and interpreting studies continue to develop cognitive theories of translator and interpreter behavior and processing, there has been increased emphasis on research methods and data collection methodologies to glean new insights into the translation process. This article presents a critical review of survey research methods in Cognitive Translation Studies and argues for their inclusion as a means of better understanding translator and interpreter attitudes, behaviors, perceptions, and values. The article begins with a reflection on measurement and the need for alignment with theoretical frameworks and constructs; then it reviews important considerations when developing theoretically-grounded, empirically-based survey instruments, namely, validity, reliability, measurement invariance, and quantitative analysis. The article concludes with a call for additional methodological reflection on developing and using survey instruments.
Medicare Loses Billions to Billing Errors

Medicare continues to improperly pay billions to physicians because of incorrectly billed claims. While inpatient hospital claims have recently (2017-2018) seen a reduction in improper payments, improper payments for physician outpatient services, particularly evaluation and management services (E/M), continue to see little or no improvement. Opinions vary on the causes of these billing errors and consequently on the appropriate countermeasures. Despite this national crisis, to date, no strategies have proven to improve billing accuracy for evaluation and management services. This research examines the existing literature to explore theories and constructs that explain causal factors of evaluation and management billing errors and to illuminate gaps in the research which if explored, may result in potential strategies for improving billing accuracy.
A Simulation Optimization Approach for Managing Product Transitions in Multistage Production Lines

We explore the problem of managing releases into a multistage production system transitioning from producing a mature product in high volume to a new one whose production process is initially unreliable but improves as experience is accumulated. We use simulation optimization to develop solutions and examine the impact of learning at a single machine on the rest of the system. This work lays the foundation for studying product transitions using realistic fab scale simulation models.
Socioeconomic and psychosocial mechanisms underlying racial/ethnic disparities in cognition among older adults.

Objective: Racial/ethnic disparities in cognitive aging are only partly attributable to socioeconomic indicators. Psychosocial factors, such as discrimination and perceived control, also differ across racial/ethnic groups, and emerging literature highlights their potential role in contributing to cognitive disparities in addition to socioeconomic status. Method: 1,463 older adults (51% Hispanic, 27% non-Hispanic Black, and 22% non-Hispanic White) in the Washington Heights-Inwood Columbia Aging Project completed cognitive and psychosocial measures, including a comprehensive neuropsychological battery, Everyday and Major Experiences of Lifetime Discrimination scales, and the Perceived Control scale. Mediation models quantified separate indirect effects of Black race and Hispanic ethnicity on global cognitive composite scores through education, income, discrimination, and external perceived control. Results: Educational attainment, income, and perceived control each mediated racial/ethnic disparities in global cognition. Socioeconomic indicators (i.e., lower education and lower income) explained approximately 50% of the Black-White and Hispanic-White disparities in global cognition, and more external perceived control explained an additional 5%-8%. Hispanics reported the lowest levels of discrimination, while non-Hispanic Blacks reported the highest levels. However, neither everyday nor major lifetime discrimination was associated with global cognition. Significant racial/ethnic disparities in global cognition remained after accounting for the included socioeconomic and psychosocial factors. Conclusions: This study suggests that psychosocial factors may explain racial/ethnic disparities in cognitive aging above and beyond socioeconomic indicators. More external perceived control, which could reflect chronic exposure to interpersonal and institutional marginalization, may be a particularly salient psychosocial risk factor for poorer cognitive aging among non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic older adults. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
The 'Basic Bedford Rule' and Substantive Review of Criminal Law Prohibitions Under Section 7 of the Charter

The absence of justification for the Supreme Court of Canada’s framing of the objective of the assisted suicide and consensual homicide provisions of the Criminal Code, a framing which plainly pre-determined the finding of invalidity, calls into question the legitimacy of the Court's invalidation of the impugned laws. I explain why the Court’s interpretation of the impugned laws’ objective(s) was arbitrary and inconsistent with its own precedent in Bedford. I also question the basis on which the Court invalidates section 14 of the Criminal Code, given that it does not discuss its objective. Finally, I propose a basic framework for determining a law’s objective for the purposes of Charter section 7 review. This framework is designed particularly for criminal prohibitions, though it may be suitable for other contexts. It takes as its starting point the rule in Bedford — which the Court cites but does not actually follow in Carter — that the objective of the prohibition is to be “taken at face value” and “confined to measures directly targeted by the law”. Ordinarily, the text of the provision, particularly a criminal law prohibition, should make the objective plain, and examining outside evidence, such as Hansard transcripts, should be unnecessary. The onus should be on the party challenging the law’s validity to establish either that the law’s objective is not what it appears to be “on face value” or that the objective is invalid for other reasons.
Satisfaction of hem/onc patients with video visits during the COVID-19 pandemic at a tertiary care center in Michigan

185Background: In early 2020, the WHO declared the COVID-19 pandemic a public health emergency. Consequently, medical institutions minimized health care services to facilitate social distancing and...
Single-Molecule Fluorescence Spectroscopy Approaches for Probing Fast Biomolecular Dynamics and Interactions.

Single-molecule fluorescence spectroscopy, and particularly its Forster resonance energy transfer implementation (SM-FRET), provides the opportunity to resolve the stochastic conformational fluctuations undergone by individual protein molecules while they fold-unfold, bind to their partners, or carry out catalysis. Such information is key to resolve the microscopic pathways and mechanisms underlying such processes, and cannot be obtained from bulk experiments. To fully resolve protein conformational dynamics, SM-FRET experiments need to reach microsecond, and even sub-microsecond, time resolutions. The key to reach such resolution lies in increasing the efficiency at which photons emitted by a single molecule are collected and detected by the instrument (photon count rates). In this chapter, we describe basic procedures that an end user can follow to optimize the confocal microscope optics in order to maximize the photon count rates. We also discuss the use of photoprotection cocktails specifically designed to reduce fluorophore triplet buildup at high irradiance (the major cause of limiting photon emission rates) while improving the mid-term photostability of the fluorophores. Complementary strategies based on the data analysis are discussed in depth by other authors in Chap. 14 .
Humoral immune responses to Streptococcus pneumoniae in the setting of HIV-1 infection.

Streptococcus pneumoniae (pneumococcus) remains one of the most commonly identified causes of bacterial infection in the general population, and the risk is 30–100 fold higher in HIV-infected individuals. Both innate and adaptive host immune responses to pneumococcal infection are important against pathogen invasion. Pneumococcal-specific IgA antibody (Ab) is key to control infection at the mucosal sites. Ab responses against pneumococcal infection by B cells can be generated through T cell-dependent or T cell-independent pathways. Depletion of CD4+ T cells is a hallmark of immunodeficiency in HIV infection and this defect also contributes to B cell dysfunction, which predisposes to infections such as the pneumococcus. Two pneumococcal vaccines have been demonstrated to have potential benefits for HIV-infected patients. One is a T cell dependent 13-valent pneumococcal conjugate vaccine (PCV13); the other is a T cell independent 23-valent pneumococcal polysaccharide vaccine (PPV23). However, many questions remain unknown regarding these two vaccines in the clinical setting in HIV disease. Here we review the latest research regarding B cell immune responses against pneumococcal antigens, whether derived from potentially invading pathogens or vaccinations, in the setting of HIV-1 infection.
The Business of Entertainment Marketing Research: Predicting Composite Audience Profiles and Consumer Perceptions of Major Recording Artists

Using Kelly's ( 1964) Choice Corollary as a guideline and a-technique as a method of research, the author developed a Q-sort of actual music recordings and a separate Q-sort of 36 descriptive characteristics. Ninety-eight respondents from 56 zip codes participated. Seven types of composite audience profiles and four types of image profiles were found.
Optimal Nesting of Species for Exact Cover: Many against Many

Experiments with resource-defined fitness sharing (RFS) applied to shape nesting problems indicate a remarkable ability to discover exact covers of resources [1, 2]. These exact covers are represented by a maximally sized set of cooperating (non-competing) species. Recent papers by Horn [3, 4] introduce the first formal analyses of this empirical phenomenon. In [3], a minimal case of two species, a and b , against a third, c , is considered: the two-against-onescenario. It is shown that if the team of a and b form an exact cover, then c will be extinct at niching equilibrium. In [4], this result is generalized to the case of two-against-many: if a and b form an exact cover against an arbitrary number of competing species, under very general assumptions, a and b will be the only survivors at niching equilibirum. In the current paper, we extend these results to the most general scenario: many-against-many. We prove that, under certain very general assumptions, any size team of species forming an exact cover will dominate a population with any number of competing species: at niching equilibirum, all such competitors will be extinct. The results are more general than shape-nesting problems, applying as well to the NP-complete problem exact cover by k-sets.
The capitalist composition of organic: The potential of markets in fulfilling the promise of organic agriculture

Observers of agriculture and theenvironment have noted the recent remarkable growth ofthe organic products industry. Is it possible for thisgrowth in the organics market to contribute toprogressive environmental and social goals? From theperspective of green consumerism, the organics marketis a powerful engine for positive change because itpromotes greater environmental awareness andresponsibility among producers and consumers alike.Given its environmental benefits and its ability touse and alter capitalist markets, organic agricultureis currently a positive force for environmentalism.Still, there are contradictions between organic idealsand practice – e.g., the reductionism of organicstandards, the limitations of private organiccertification, and the widespread practice ofinput-substitution – that emerge through thedynamics of the capitalist market. As the marketmatures, these contradictions will increasinglyundermine the very environmental benefits that are thefoundation of organic agriculture. Fundamental change,therefore, is not likely to occur through the marketalone. There are ways, however, that the organicsmarket could contribute to a broader movement leadingto collective action. For instance, the organicsmarket tends to undermine commodity fetishism in theagrifood system, thereby strengthening civil society.In addition, the market provides space and resourcesfor social movement activity, such as in the struggleover the National Organic Standards.
WILL THE DEATH PENALTY REMAIN ALIVE IN THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY?: INTERNATIONAL NORMS, DISCRIMINATION, ARBITRARINESS AND THE RISK OF EXECUTING THE INNOCENT

Supreme Court Justice Arthur Goldberg once said that the deliberate institutionalized taking of human life by the state is the greatest degradation of the human personality imaginable. Although most developed nations in the world have abandoned the death penalty, the United States, which purports to be a leader in the protection of human rights, retains capital punishment. Thirty-eight states, the federal government and the military provide for death as a punishment for certain crimes. Over 3,600 people are on death rows across the country. Executions have become "routine" in Texas and the pace of executions is increasing throughout the country.However, an increasing number of voices are expressing concern about the use of the death penalty in this country. Many people -- including many supporters of capital punishment -- have become alarmed about the danger of executing the innocent, and appalled by the way in which people are processed in assembly-line fashion to the death chambers in states like Texas and Virginia. Upon closer examination of the criminal justice system, many have been shocked by the poor quality of legal representation provided for poor people facing the death penalty, the extent to which race influences who is sentenced to death, and improper police and prosecution practices, such as obtaining favorable testimony from criminals against those facing death by giving them lenient treatment. Some are troubled by the execution of people who are mentally retarded, mentally ill or children at the times of their crimes. In short, people are concerned about how capital punishment works in practice.I would like to discuss these concerns and practices in addressing whether the United States will continue to use this extreme, enormous, and irrevocable form of punishment throughout the twenty-first century or join the trend in the rest of the world in abandoning it.
Molecular genetic profiles of colitis-associated neoplasms.

Abstract Background/Aims: A major long-term risk for patients with chronic idiopathic colitis is the development of colorectal dysplasia and adenocarcinoma. The presence or absence of specific genetic changes in these lesions will provide important insights into the relationship of colitis-associated dysplasia and the development of carcinoma. Methods: A case-study approach was used to develop detailed molecular genetic profiles of advanced dysplasias and carcinomas from six patients with ulcerative colitis or Crohn's colitis. Results: Numerous genetic alterations were identified in each of the dysplasias and carcinomas profiled. These genetic alterations involved many of the same targets found in sporadic colorectal tumors and included multiple sites of allelic deletion, microsatellite instabilities, and mutations of the K- ras , p53 , and APC genes. The progression of dysplasia to carcinoma was often accompanied by an accumulation of these mutations. Conclusions: Genetic alterations are common in colitis-associated neoplasia, just as in sporadic colorectal neoplasia. This could have important implications for the evaluation and treatment of patients with colitis.
Microfabricated atomic frequency references

We report on the fabrication of a physics package for a chip-scale atomic clock with a volume of 9.5 mm/sup 3/, consuming 75 mW of power. The design is described in detail and is strongly motivated by the goal of wafer-level fabrication and assembly. A fractional frequency instability of 2.4 /spl times/ 10/sup -10/ at one second of integration is demonstrated; the long-term drift is -2 /spl times/ 10/sup -8//day. We discuss the performance of the clock at short and long integration times as well as its power consumption, and suggest possible improvements.
Purification of Functional RNA‐Protein Complexes using MS2‐MBP

Biological machines composed of RNAs and proteins play essential roles in many biological processes. To better understand the mechanism and function of these machines, it is critical to isolate them in a highly purified and functional form. A method for isolating functional RNA-protein complexes assembled in vitro is described. The approach combines gel filtration and an affinity-chromatography strategy using the bacteriophage MS2 coat protein, which binds to a specific RNA-hairpin structure. Using this method, highly purified and functional human spliceosomes have been isolated. The purified spliceosome preparation is used to determine the protein components of the spliceosome by mass spectrometry and to examine the structure of the spliceosome by electron microscopy.
Nebular Spectra of the Unusual Type Ia Supernova 1991T

The nebular optical spectra of the unusual Type Ia supernova 1991T are modeled by treating important atomic processes with reliable atomic data and by assuming both Chandrasekhar-mass and sub-Chandrasekhar-mass white dwarf explosion models. Similar to the case of normal Type Ia supernovae, a better agreement between the calculated and observed spectra of SN 1991T is obtained by assuming a sub-Chandrasekhar-mass model than Chandrasekhar-mass models, though the required white dwarf mass of ~1.1 M☉ is higher for SN 1991T than the ~0.9 M☉ for normal Type Ia supernovae. This demonstrates that variation in the behavior among Type Ia supernovae can be naturally realized by a range of sub-Chandrasekhar-mass models. The optical emission of SN 1991T is well accounted for by the sub-Chandrasekhar-mass model in both brightness and spectral shape from ~7 to 14 months for a distance of 14 Mpc to the supernova.
Measurement of Heme Concentration

Heme (iron protoporphyrin IX) is a prosthetic group for a number of hemoproteins in different tissues (e.g., hemoglobin, myoglobin, cytochrome P-450s, mitochondrial cytochromes, catalases, and peroxidases). Mutations in the biosynthetic pathway can affect the synthesis and/or degradation of heme. Several assays are provided in this unit for quantifying heme: a spectrophotometric assay based on the characteristic absorption spectrum of oxidized and reduced form of the hemochrome formed by replacing the nitrogen ligands with pyridine; a fluorescence assay based on removal of the iron by a heated, strong oxalic acid solution to produce fluorescent protoporphyrin; a reversed-phase HPLC assay to measure heme and intermediates in the synthetic pathway; and a radiometric assay to measure newly synthesized heme in tissue culture cells.
Moral and political identity and civic involvement in adolescents

In the USA, civic involvement in adolescence includes political and nonpolitical activities. Given that identities can motivate behavior, how do political and moral identities relate to civic activity choices? In this study, high school students (N = 1578) were surveyed about their political and nonpolitical civic actions and their moral and political identities. Overall, students were more involved in service than they were in political activities. Hierarchical regression analyses were used to investigate the relation between identity and involvement, controlling for known correlates of involvement: sex, ethnicity, parent education, peer civic engagement, parent civic engagement and school civic opportunities. Moral and political identity were positively related to overall involvement. Political identity was positively related to political involvement, but was not related to nonpolitical service. Moral identity was positively related to service and expressive-political involvement, but negatively related...
A distributed and decentralized approach for ant colony optimization with fuzzy parameter adaptation in traveling salesman problem

Ant Colony Optimization (ACO) is a swarm intelligence technique often applied to find solutions to hard optimization problems. In this paper, we present a new decentralized peer-to-peer approach for implementing ACO on distributed memory clusters. In addition, the approach is augmented with a fuzzy logic controller to reactively adapt several parameters of the ACO as a method of offsetting the increased exploitation resulting from the way in which information is shared between computing processes. We build an implementation of the approach for the Travelling Salesman Problem (TSP). The implementation is tested with several TSP problem instances with different numbers of processes in a cluster. The adaptive version is compared with the non-adaptive version and shown to agree with our expectations and performance is evaluated for different numbers of processes with an improvement shown.
A Model for the Activated Energy Transfer within Eumelanin Aggregates

The emission properties of eumelanin from Sepia officinalis are examined following UV-A excitation. The emission decay is nonexponential, exhibiting decay components on the tens of picosecond to several nanosecond time scales. The corresponding depolarization dynamics are also nonexponential and reveal that the emission becomes totally depolarized with an average time constant of ∼80 ps at 20 °C. The depolarization of the emission is found to be activated; a simple Arrhenius fit to the depolarization rate data gives an activation barrier of 21 ± 3 kJ mol-1. The nonexponential emission decay is concluded to be a reflection of the structural disorder of eumelanin. The rapid and nonexponential depolarization dynamics are attributed to energy transfer processes that occur within “spherical” subunits that comprise the eumelanin aggregates.
Effect of hormone replacement therapy on the validity of the Friedewald equation in postmenopausal women: the postmenopausal estrogen/progestins interventions (PEPI) trial

The Friedewald equation is often used to estimate low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C). Hormone therapy is known to raise triglyceride (TG) and high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and alter lipid contents of lipoproteins. We compared Friedewald estimated LDL-C to measured LDL-C in PEPI participants on placebo or four different hormone treatment groups. At baseline, the 0.2 coefficient for triglyceride (TG) was accurate for all five treatment groups. Among women who took >80% of their pills and whose TG was <4.5 mmol/l (400 mg/dl), LDL-C was underestimated for 69-82% of the participants in the active treatment groups, compared to 50% in the placebo group. After 3 years of therapy, the TG coefficient that offered a better fit of the Friedewald equation in the active treatment groups was 0.39 for the equation in mmol/l (0.17 for the equation in mg/dl). Using this coefficient is clearly warranted for greater accuracy in research studies.
Freedom and Entertainment: Rating the Movies in the Age of New Media – By Stephan Vaughn

Over the last two decades media scholars have increasingly turned their attention to the efforts of civic and business groups to censor films and the mass media. Access to the archives of the Holly...
High-efficiency high-reliability laser diodes at JDS Uniphase

Laser diodes and bars with high efficiency, power, and reliability are critical for a wide variety of applications including direct material processing and pumping high power and efficient fiber lasers and solid state lasers. We present progress towards the 80% power conversion efficiency goal of the DARPA Super High Efficiency Diode Sources (SHEDS) program. Currently, laser bars using JDSU SHEDS technology achieve as high as 72.7% total power conversion efficiency at room temperature and 80W operating power.
Continuous-time distributed convex optimization on weight-balanced digraphs

This paper studies the continuous-time distributed optimization of a sum of convex functions over directed graphs. Contrary to what is known in the consensus literature, where the same dynamics works for both undirected and directed scenarios, we show that the consensus-based dynamics that solves the continuous-time distributed optimization problem for undirected graphs fails to converge when transcribed to the directed setting. This study sets the basis for the design of an alternative distributed dynamics which we show is guaranteed to converge, on any strongly connected weight-balanced digraph, to the set of minimizers of a sum of convex differentiable functions with globally Lipschitz gradients. Our technical approach combines notions of invariance and cocoercivity with the positive definiteness properties of graph matrices to establish the results.
The political economy of state level welfare benefits

Several new relationships ware indicated by this study. First, the percentage of adults with a college degree seems to increase welfare spending. As noted above, this does not necessarily imply that this group is particularly altruistic overall; higher AFDC levels could be encouraged by a politically productive minority in this group. Second, the percentage Black in the population is a better predictor of AFDC levels than is the percentage of Black AFDC recipients. That is, discrimination against Blacks, via lower AFDC levels, is more closely related to the relative size of the Black community than the relative size of the Black welfare population. The results suggest similar discrimination against Hispanics in regard to AFDC levels. The percentage Catholic increases AFDC levels. This does not necessarily imply that Catholics have a higher preference for welfare spending than non-Catholics (although this may be the case). It may reflect the effect of pressure from Catholic interest groups. Since Catholics are the largest religious group in most states, they may be better able to support political pressure groups that demand more generous welfare programs. Union pressures may contribute to higher levels of welfare benefits. This is more likely to be the case when unemployment levels are particularly high. The relative size of the poverty population is not significantly related to benefit levels. The greater cost to taxpayers of increasing benefit levels when the poverty group is large seems to offset the rent-seeking efforts of a larger recipient group. Finally, jurisdiction size play a significant role in determining benefit levels with larger states providing more generous benefits. In general, the results suggest that the influence of rent-seeking recipients is not a dominant factor in explaining AFDC benefit levels. This result is not surprising given the lack of political influence of this particular recipient group. It is likely that rent-seeking behavior is more important among more politically active groups such as social security recipients and public employees. The influence of altruistic motives in affecting aid levels is more subtle than has been suggested in many past studies. Income was not found to be an important, direct determinant of AFDC levels. The presence of altruistic motives coupled with the ability to effectuate these desires politically seems to be the key to explaining this type of transfer.
Phosphorimetric determination of procaine, phenobarbital, cocaine,and chlorpromazine in blood serum, and cocaine and atropine in urine

Abstract A new sensitive and rapid method is proposed for the determination of procaine, cocaine, phenobarbital and chlorpromazine in blood serum, and cocaine and atropine in urine. The drug is extracted from the biological fluid using chloroform or ether, the solvent is evaporated and the resulting residue is dissolved in EPA; the EPA solution is measured phosphorimetrically. Recoveries of 100 ± 6% and relative standard deviations of 2–5% are obtained for most drugs.
Characteristics of a Mercury Arc Discharge in a Magnetic Field

Langmuir double probes and microwave resonant cavities are used to determine the axial magnetic field effects on the electron temperature, plasma density, and a low frequency natural oscillation in a mercury arc at low pressure. It is found that the magnetic field causes the electron temperature to greatly increase and become dependent on the amount of discharge current. The plasma density develops pronounced axial variations in the presence of the magnetic field. The natural oscillation frequency is found to be independent of the magnetic field or discharge current.
Currents on a Semi‐Infinite Tube Illuminated by Electromagnetic Waves

Exact Wiener-Hopf solutions of the integral equations are presented. A simple relation is then proposed to relate the solutions of a semi-infinite tube and long finite tubes of the same radius. This relation is useful in a practical sense as a means of obtaining numerical solutions for one case from the solutions of the other.
Superconductivity in Hg3-δAsF6: Absence of surface mercury

Abstract Low temperature resistance and X-ray fluorescence measurements indicate that the anisotropic superconductivity of Hg3-δAsF6 does not arise from a surface film of extruded mercury. Meissner effect data demomstrate that the superconductivity goes to complete flux exclusion below 0.43 K.
Compact 3D optical data storage and retrieval system

A compact, rugged and low-cost 3-D optical storage system based on space and phase-code multiplexed volume holograms is presented in this paper. Holograms are recorded at a 2-D (e.g., 16 multiplied by 16) grid of locations in a photorefractive crystal. At each location, multiple holograms are stored via phase-code multiplexing. Compared with the commonly utilized angle multiplexing, the phase-code multiplexing permits a high storage capacity without alignment problems. In contrast to wavelength multiplexing, phase-code multiplexing does not require bulky and high-cost components for wavelength tuning and can switch very quickly from one hologram to another. By combining the space and phase-code multiplexing techniques, such a 3-D optical storage system has the potential to store 1 terabit information and to retrieve data at the rate of gigabits per second. In this paper, the optical architecture is described and the system design considerations are discussed. The preliminary proof-of- concept experimental results are reported.
IMMUNOGLOBULIN PRODUCTION IN SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASE (SCID) AFTER THYMUS EPITHELIAL EXPLANT THERAPY

IMMUNOGLOBULIN PRODUCTION IN SEVERE COMBINED IMMUNODEFICIENCY DISEASE (SCID) AFTER THYMUS EPITHELIAL EXPLANT THERAPY
Crystallization in blends of poly(ethylene terephthalate) and poly(butylene terephthalate)

Blends composed of poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) and poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT) were melt-mixed in a Brabender cam mixer at different mixing speeds. The glass transition (T g ) and the crystallization behavior of the blends from glassy state were studied using DSC. It was found that although the blends had the same composition and exhibited the similar T g , their properties of crystallization could be different; some exhibited a single crystallization peak and some exhibited multiple crystallization peaks depending upon experimental conditions. Results indicated that the behavior of crystallization from glassy state were influenced by entanglement and transesterification of chains. The crystallization time values were obtained over a wide range of crystallization temperature. From curve fitting, the crystallization time values and the temperature, at which the crystallization rate reaches the maximum, were found.
Identification of a Cyanogenetic Growth-Inhibiting Substance in Extracts from Peach Flower Buds

A cyanogenetic substance capable of completely inhibiting growth of pea sections has been isolated from dormant peach flower buds. This substance was identified as mandelonitrile ( dl -benzaldehyde cyanohydrin) by infrared spectographic analysis and paper chromatography.
A layered agarose approach to fabricate depth-dependent inhomogeneity in chondrocyte-seeded constructs

Inspired by the depth-dependent inhomogeneity of articular cartilage, it was hypothesized that a novel layered agarose technique, using a 2% (wt/vol) top and a 3% (wt/vol) bottom layer, would create an inhomogenous tissue construct with distinct material properties in conjoined regions. The biochemical and mechanical development of these constructs was observed alongside uniform 2% and 3% constructs. Initially, uniform 3% agarose disks had the highest bulk Young’s modulus (EY � 28 kPa) of all groups. After 28 days of culture in 20% FBS-containing media, however, uniform 2% chondrocyte-seeded constructs achieved the highest Young’s modulus compared to bilayered and 3% agarose disks. Though all three groups contained similar GAG content (� 1.5% ww), uniform 2% agarose disks on day 28 possessed the highest collagen content (� 1% ww). Unlike in either homogeneous construct type, microscopic analysis of axial strain fields in bilayered constructs in response to applied static compression revealed two mechanically disparate regions on day 0: a softer 2% layer and a stiffer 3% layer. With time in culture, this inhomogeneity became less distinct, as indicated by increased continuity in both the local displacement field and local EY, and depended on the level of FBS supplementation of the feed media, with lower FBS concentrations (10%) more closely maintaining the original distinction of material properties. These results shed positive light on a layered agarose technique for the production of inhomogeneous bilayered chondrocyte-seeded agarose constructs with applications for investigations of chondrocyte mechanotransduction and for possible use in the tissue engineering of inhomogeneous articular cartilage constructs. � 2004 Orthopaedic Research Society. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
The Shango Cult in Nigeria and in Trinidad

T RINIDAD was discovered by Columbus in 1498, and some slaves were brought early to the island. In 1783 less than three thousand persons occupied the island, but in that year Spain opened Trinidad to settlement by non-Spanish immigrants. The population grew to 17,718 by 1797, the year the British took over the island. Between 1783 and 1797, a considerable number of French colonists migrated to Trinidad from Granada, St. Vincent, the French islands, France, and Canada. In 1797 (de Verteuil 1858:178), the population consisted of: 2,151 Whites; 4,476 free colored; 10,000 slaves; and 1,082 American Indians. Herskovits and Herskovits (1947:17-22) point out that the Trinidadian Negro is only secondarily of African derivation. Only 4,250 persons of African birth lived in the island in 1876, 3,035 in 1881, and 164 in 1931. Most of the Negro population of Trinidad came from other West Indian islands; a few came from the South American mainland and the United States. Following the abolition of slavery in 1838, indentured workers from India were brought to the island, mainly as laborers on the sugar estates in the South. A comparison of the Shango cults of the Yoruba of southwestern Nigeria and of lower class people of African descent in Trinidad reveals interesting similarities and differences in the form and meaning of a number of culture elements.
An instability indicator for expert control

An instability indicator is proposed for use in supervisory/expert control systems. The indicator-which consists of a trend indicator, a rectifier, and a smoother-observes the plant output. The trend indicator generates the difference between two time averages of different final horizons and is implemented as a pair of discrete moving-average or first-order exponential filters. The rectifier is an absolute value or square operation, while the smoother is a moving-average or exponential filter, with a longer horizon/time constant. The instability alarm is triggered on the basis of the amplitude of the indicator output.
Novel heteroaromatic organofluorine inhibitors of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase.

A broad group of compounds including substituted pyrazoles, pyrroles, indoles, and carbazoles were screened to identify potential inhibitor lead compounds of fructose-1,6-bisphosphatase (FBPase). Best inhibitors are (1H-indol-1-yl)(4-(trifluoromethyl)phenyl)methanone, ethyl 3-(3,5-dimethyl-1H-pyrrol-2-yl)-4,4,4-trifluoro-3-hydroxybutanoate, 3,5-diphenyl-1-(3-(trifluoromethyl) phenyl)-1H-pyrazole, and ethyl 3,3,3-trifluoro-2-hydroxy-2-(1-methyl-1H-indol-3-yl)propanoate. The IC50 values (3.1, 4.8, 6.1, and 11.9 μM) were comparable to that of AMP, the natural inhibitor of murine FBPase (IC50 of 4.0 μM). Docking programs were utilized to interpret the experiments.
Inherited deficiencies of human methylmalonyl CaA mutase activity: reduced affinity of mutant apoenzyme for adenosylcobalamin.

We have studied the affinity of methylmalonyl CoA mutase for its required cofactor, adenosylcobalamin, in extracts of control and mutant human cultured fibroblasts. Control enzyme has an apparent Km for adenosylcobalamin of 6–7 × 10−8 M. Five mutant cell lines from patients with methylmalonicacidemia due to a mutase apoenzyme defect were studied. Three have undetectable mutase activity (<0.15% of control) at all cofactor concentrations. Two others, however, have markedly altered Km's for adenosylcobalamin of 2.8 × 10−4 M and 1.7 × 10−5 M. These mutant lines synthesize adenosylcobalamin normally and, by complementation analysis, are genetically identical to all other mutase apoenzyme mutants tested. We conclude that the mutase deficiency in these two cell lines results from structurally altered mutase apoenzymes with markedly reduced affinities for adenosylcobalamin.
A comparative study of lot streaming procedures

Abstract We describe computational experiments with several algorithms for solving the lot streaming problem. Each of the algorithms optimizes the makespan under some set of constraints. For example, we can constrain the solution to have no idling, consistent sublots, equal sublots or equal sublots and no idling. Such constraints increase the makespan substantially over what is optimally possible, or they may have no impact at all. Our computational results for the three-machine problem provide a quantification of these relationships.
International Multifoods – Case B

The International Multifoods company (IMC) confronted a series of crises in the 1990s that are described in this case. The Renaissance information system, which was intended to bring enormous cash ...
Is it ‘who I am’, ‘what I can get away with’, or ‘what you’ve done to me’ ? A Multi-theory Examination of Employee Misconduct

Research on detrimental workplace behaviors has increased recently, predominantly focusing on justice issues. Research from the integrity testing literature, which is grounded in trait theory, has not received as much attention in the management literature. Trait theory, agency theory, and psychological contracts theory each have different predictions about employee performance that is harmful to the organization. While on the surface they appear contradictory, this paper describes how each can be integrated to increase our understanding of detrimental workplace behaviors.Deborah L. Kidder is an Associate Professor in the Department of Management at Towson University, in Towson, MD, USA. Her Ph.D. is in Industrial Relations from the University of Minnesta. Her research interests involve issues of trust and equity, perceptions of (un) fairness at work, and the consequences of (un)fair treatment for employees and organizations. She teaches courses in Human Resource Management, Organizational Behavior, Leadership, and Negotiation.
Mournful Bowles and Why He Was

This article explores the mournful quality of the "Sonnets" of William L. Bowles (1762â€“1850), which was both hailed and derided, epecially by Lord Byron. Kelllogg uses used unpublished correspondence held in the Rutgers Library to demonstrate that the "Sonnets" are in no real sense "maudlin," but the genuine expression of deeply felt personal sorrow.
RESPONSE TIME AS A FUNCTION OF UNCERTAINTY

Summmy.-The purpose of this study was to compare uncertainty among simple reaction time, compatible reaction time and disjunctive reaction time for 25 students. The results indicated variable differences in length of reaction time, i.e., simple RT < compatible RT < disjunctive RT. A sign test, performed for both mean and median scores, was significant. It was concluded that reaction time did increase as a function of uncertainty.
Protection Poker: The New Software Security "Game";

Without infinite resources, software development teams must prioritize security fortification efforts to prevent the most damaging attacks. The Protection Poker "game" is a collaborative means for guiding this prioritization and has the potential to improve software security practices and team software security knowledge.
An Asymptotic Analysis of the Delayed Logistic Equation when the Delay is Large

We show how to construct an asymptotic solution to the delayed logistic equation y = ay(l — yt), corresponding to the asymptotic limit oc-»oo. The results of the analysis are compared with a numerical computation, and found to be comparatively accurate for a > 2. Since the approach adopted is novel, we comment on some features which may be relevant in other problems.