cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effects of Title X “Gag Rule” upon Women's Attitudes towards Their Healthcare Providers:

Before the lifting of the Title X gag rule in 1993 health caregivers from federally funded clinics were prohibited from providing abortion information to clients. In February 1992 79 undergraduate women in business classes at the University of Connecticut were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (age range 18 to 29 years M= 19.4 yrs SD=2.1). Subjects read a written scenario imagining they were pregnant and receiving information from a nurse at a health clinic. In the first condition the nurse described all pregnancy options including abortion (n=26). In the second condition information on abortion was omitted (n=27). In the third condition information on abortion was omitted and attributed to the gag rule (n=26). Subjects rated their attitudes toward abortion and the health caregiver on 7-point agree-disagree scales. Reliable composite scales measured attitudes toward the health caregiver in terms of credibility perceived views on abortion and empathy. Subjects held pro-abortion views and the conservative Scheffe multiple-comparison test on one-way analyses was employed. Subjects in both groups for whom information on abortion was omitted viewed the healthcare provider as less credible than the group given information (p < .01); however the effect of the gag rule reminder was to reduce the likability and trustworthiness of the health caregiver (p < .01). The group without information on abortion was more likely to infer the healthcare provider held anti-abortion views but the gag rule reminder mediated this perception (p < .01). Subjects from whom information on abortion was withheld perceived their health caregivers as less empathetic to their situation than the fully informed group (p < .01). These findings suggest that women who are pro-abortion and who do not receive information on abortion during pregnancy counseling may view their health caregivers as incompetent or biased. The Title X gag rule may have adversely affected the quality of patient-caregiver relationships.
Optical variability of a bright new quasi-stellar source.

BROWNE1 has identified the radio source 1215 + 30 of the Bologna B2 survey with a remarkably bright quasi-stellar source of magnitude approximately 14.5. We report here that its optical flux is variable by more than two magnitudes, with discernible brightness changes over time scales of hours, as well as secular trends on a time scale of years.
Measure of the nonclassicality of nonclassical states

A continuous parameter introduced into the convolution transformation between P and Q functions leads to a measure of how nonclassical quantum states are with values ranging from 0 to 1: For photon-number states, the value is 1, the maximum possible. For squeezed vacuum states, it is a monotonically increasing function of the squeeze parameter with values varying from 0 to 1/2. This measure is identical to the minimum number of thermal photon necessary to destroy whatever nonclassical effects existing in the quantum states.
Coimmobilized multienzymes: An in vitro model for cellular processes

Abstract Two different systems of multienzymes have been coimmobilized onto Sepharose and shown to be catalytically active. The first system consists of the five enzymes that catalyze the conversion of glucose 1-phosphate to 1,3-diphosphoglycerate along with the bacteriol enzymes which are used to monitor NADH production by light emission. The NADH:FMN oxidoreductase-luciferase enzymes act to “pull” the reactions by continually oxidizing the NADH formed. The second system consisted of the 11 enzymes necessary for the conversion of glucose to alcohol and the bacteriol enzymes. In the presence of excess glucose this immobilized system was able to produce 4068 nmol of alcohol per gram of Sepharose-enzymes in 4 h. Using the same system, if 3-phosphoglycerate was used as the substrate, 6552 nmol. of alcohol were formed. These multienzyme immobilized systems are models that are uniquely suited for comparative studies of metabolic processes that occur in intact cells.
Left Ventricular Function in Mitral Stenosis

The effects of isometric exercise on left ventricular performance were studied during cardiac catheterization in six patients with mitral stenosis and six patients without significant cardiac disease. Quantitative analyses of left ventricular cineangiograms were completed to correlate changes with the findings during exercise. During exercise, left ventricular function curves were abnormal in five of the six patients with mitral stenosis. In addition, ejection fractions were significantly lower in the group with mitral stenosis as compared with the normal subjects. The lower ejection fractions in the patients with mitral stenosis were due to localized abnormalities in the posterobasal and anterior left ventricular walls. It is concluded that left ventricular function is abnormal in mitral stenosis due to localized wall motion abnormalities, which are probably due to fibrosis near or in the papillary muscles.
Global T wave inversion: Long-term follow-up

Abstract Objectives. This study evaluated 11-year follow-up data from patients with global T wave inversion. Background. In an 8-year prospective investigation, global T wave inversion was characterized by a long QT interval, unexplained marked female preponderance and, despite dramatic electrocardiographic (ECG) changes, an in-hospital prognosis not statistically different from that of the entire hospital population in which the condition it occurred. Methods. To assess long-term prognosis, these and an additional 18 patients (total 118 patients; 92 women and 26 men) with global T wave inversion were followed up prospectively for up to 11 years (mean 33.9 ± 37.3 months). The additional patients did not significantly affect the in-hospital death rate (7.6%; previously reported death rate 8%) and the total series continued not to differ from the entire in-hospital population in which it occurred (7.02%; p = NS). Results. Long-term survival was shortened by digoxin, faster heart rates, atrial fibrillation and, especially, a malignant condition. Eighteen (78.3%) of 23 patients with a malignant condition died during the follow-up period (p ≤ 0.0005), with a mean survival time of only 12 months. Kaplan-Meier curves also revealed the poor prognosis for those patients taking digoxin; 21 (63.9%) of 36 patients died (p = 0.008). Eleven of the 12 patients with atrial fibrillation were taking digoxin; 58.3% of these died, demonstrating a worse prognosis than that of patients with sinus rhythm, 35% of whom died (p = 0.005). Conclusions. Global T wave inversion continues to have an unexplained (78% vs. 22%) female preponderance. Although the long-term prognosis depends on underlying or associated diseases, the striking diffuse ECG changes do not in themselves imply a poor prognosis.
Mutations in the zinc finger domain of IKKγ block the activation of NF-κB and the induction of IL-2 in stimulated T lymphocytes

Mutations in the zinc finger of I kappa B kinase gamma (IKK gamma) are associated with hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia-immune deficiency (HED-ID) in which the major immune deficit is the inability to switch Ab heavy chain class. However, the pathophysiologic role of the mutations has not been fully delineated. Since help from activated Th cells is essential in Ab class switching, we sought to examine how these mutations affect T cell activation. Using a human T cell line that was null for IKK gamma, we generated cells stably expressing two of the reported mutations, namely, D406V and C417R. Cells expressing either mutation failed to induce IL-2 following stimulation with PMA/ionomycin while the induction of IL-2 was restored in cells reconstituted with the wild type IKK gamma. The lack of IL-2 upregulation correlated with the lack of NF-kappaB activation as evidenced by the inability to induce I kappa B alpha degradation, NF-kappaB binding to DNA and the expression of a reporter gene. However, both mutations did not prevent the incorporation of IKK gamma into the IKK complex and, interestingly, the induced phosphorylation of I kappa B alpha at S32 and S36 and its subsequent ubiquitination were not affected. The suppression of IL-2 induction was solely due to the inhibition of NF-kappaB activation as the mutations did not impair the activation of AP-1 and NFAT. Our data indicated that the failure of T cells to undergo activation in response to TCR stimuli may play a role in the pathophysiology of HED-ID and also showed that IKK gamma has a role in the post-ubiquitination processing of I kappa B alpha.
Heat transfer correlation models for electrospray evaporative cooling chambers of different geometry types

Abstract Development of future electronics for high speed computing requires a silent thermal management method capable of dissipating a broad range of heat generated from application-specific integrated circuits, while keeping the skin temperature below 45 °C. Electrospray evaporative cooling (ESEC) chambers show promise because of their ability to dissipate a broad range of heat within a relatively small size. However, the development and the optimization of ESEC chambers are currently restricted, in part due to the lack of sufficient empirical heat transfer correlations. This paper investigates empirical heat transfer correlations for ESEC chambers with three different geometry types. Since the unstable multi-jet behavior of an ESEC chamber is similar to that of a free-surface traditional impinging liquid jet, these correlations are based on the traditional impinging liquid jet’s empirical correlations, yet are modified to factor in the electric field effect. The results show that the heat transfer enhancement ratio correlations and the Nusselt number correlations for different ESEC chambers cover more than 83% of the experimental data, within ±10% deviation. The sensitivity analysis results and experimental data prove that the variation in the enhancement ratio is sensitive to that of the potential and the flow rate. It is not sensitive to the geometric factor of the same ESEC type. This paper presents a natural convection correlation for chip-scale, heated, flat surfaces when the Rayleigh number is below 3000. Further investigation is necessary to extend these heat transfer correlations to cover additional parameters for different thermal management applications.
Polypeptide composition, assembly and phosphorylation patterns of the photosystem II antenna system of Chlamydomonas reinhardtii

In recent years major progress has been made in describing the gene families that encode the polypeptides of the light-harvesting antenna system of photosystem II (PSII). At the same time, advances in the biochemical characterization of these antennae have been hampered by the high degree of similarity between the apoproteins. To help interpret the molecular results, we have re-examined the composition, the assembly and the phosphorylation patterns of the light-harvesting antenna of PSII (LHCII) in the green alga Chlamydomonas reinhardtii Dang, using a non-Tris SDS-PAGE system capable of resolving polypeptides that differ by as little as 200 daltons. Research to date has suggested that in C. reinhardtii the LHCII comprises just four polypeptides (p11, p13, p16 and p17), and CP29 and CP26 just one polypeptide each (p9 and p10, respectively), i.e. a total of six polypeptides. We report here that these antenna systems contain at least 15 polypeptides, 10 associated with LHCII, 3 with CP29, and 2 with CP26. All of these polypeptides have been positively identified by means of appropriate antibodies. We also demonstrate substantial heterogeneity to the pattern of in-vitro phosphorylation, with major differences found among members of closely spaced and immunologically related polypeptides. Most intriguing is the fact that the polypeptides that cross-react with the anti-type 2 LHCII antibodies of higher plants (p16, and to a lesser extent p11) are not phosphorylated, whereas in higher plants these are the most highly phosphorylated polypeptides. Also, unlike in higher plants, CP29 is heavily phosphorylated. Phosphorylation does not appear to have any effect on the mobility of polypeptides on fully denaturing SDS-PAGE gels. To learn more about the accumulation and organization of the light-harvesting polypeptides, we have also investigated a chlorophyll b-less mutant, cbn1-48. The LHCII is almost completely lost in this mutant, along with at least some LHCI. But the accumulation of CP29 and CP26 and their binding to PSII core complexes, is relatively unaffected. As expected, the loss of antenna polypeptides is accompanied by a reduction of the size of large reaction-center complexes. Following in-vitro phosphorylation the number of phosphorylated proteins is greatly increased in the mutant thylakoids compared to wildtype thylakoids. We present a model of the PSII antenna system to account for the new polypeptide complexity we have demonstrated.
Timepieces: Components of Survey Question Response Latencies

Political scientists have increasingly found that the time respondents require to answer survey questions is a useful measure of the strength of political attitudes. However, questions remain about the collection, use, and interpretation of response time dataparticularly latencies collected during telephone interviews, far removed from the controlled environment of a laboratory setting. This paper uses a theoretical model of question response to decompose survey response time data into three hypothesized elementscomponents of response time attributable to baseline individual differences, systematic question effects, and the accessibility of the attitudes being targeted. These findings have implications for the study of political attitudes and other mental constructs, as well as practical implications for public opinion survey researchers using response time data.
Neural system for structural health monitoring

This is an overview paper that discusses the concept of an embeddable structural health monitoring system for use in composite and heterogeneous material systems. The sensor system is formed by integrating groups of autonomous unit cells into a structure, much like neurons in biological systems. Each unit cell consists of an embedded processor and a group of distributed sensors that gives the structure the ability to sense damage. In addition, each unit cell periodically updates a central processor on the status of health in its neighborhood. This micro-architectured synthetic nervous system has an advanced sensing capability based on new continuous sensor technology. This technology uses a plurality of serially connected piezoceramic nodes to form a distributed sensor capable of measuring waves generated in structures by damage events, including impact and crack propagation. Simulations show that the neural system can detect faint acoustic waves in large plates. An experiment demonstrates the use of a simple neural system that was able to measure simulated acoustic emissions that were not clearly recognizable by a single conventional piezoceramic sensor.
Algorithms and design for a second-order automatic differentiation module

This article describes approaches to computing second-order derivatives with automatic differentiation (AD) based on the forward mode and the propagation of univariate Taylor series. Performance results are given that show the speedup possible with these techniques relative to existing approaches. The authors also describe a new source transformation AD module for computing second-order derivatives of C and Fortran codes and the underlying infrastructure used to create a language-independent translation tool.
Ovarian stimulation in the immature fowl by desiccated avian pituitaries.

Immature female brown Leghorn chickens were injected daily with a saline suspension of ground, acetone-dried anterior lobes of chickens. Significant follicular stimulation, but no precocious ovulation, was observed in those treated from 1 to 90 days of age, from 30 to 65 days, and from 60 to 150 days, but not in those treated from 1 to 35 days. All stimulated ovaries were essentially normal in appearance, showing none of the hyperplastic, cystic growth observed after treatment with pregnant mare serum (PMS) or mammalian follicle stimulating hormone. Accelerated comb growth, indicating increased androgen secretion, was maintained in each group throughout the injection period. Such sustained comb stimulation cannot be produced by PMS, for cessation of growth and actual regression occur with prolonged treatment. These results (follicular stimulation, general normality of the treated ovaries, sustained comb growth) support the hypothesis that there are qualitative differences between avian and mammalian gonad...
Determination of the Phase Difference between Even and Odd Continuum Wave Functions in Atoms through Quantum Interference Measurements

We establish a technique for the determination of the phase difference between even and odd parity continuum wave functions in atoms. This determination is based upon our detailed measurements of a quantum mechanical interference between two photoionization processes using a two-color laser field. We present our measurement of the phase difference between the continuum p and d waves in atomic rubidium, which is in good agreement with the expected value.
Film modification by low energy ion bombardment during deposition

Abstract Concurrent energetic particle bombardment can have a significant effect on the properties of evaporated and sputter-deposited films. However, in many experiments, particularly those using ion beam sputtering, the magnitude of the energetic bombardment by neutrals is ignored or underestimated. The effects of energetic bombardment include significant physical changes in the crystal sizes and orientations, defect densities, electrical and optical properties, chemical stoichiometry and surface morphologies. While there exists no general model for the effect of energetic bombardment on growing film properties, in a range of experiments researchers have started to explore systematically the interrelations of the various physical and chemical effects. These results will be helpful in elucidating what phenomena are relevant in any particular experimental system.
Entrance and Exit Losses for Developing Flow in Parallel Plate Channels

An analysis is presented to calculate the entrance and exit losses for developing flow in parallel plate channels. Such an analysis is of value for air-cooled heat sinks with short flow length, such as electronic heat sinks. These predictions are typically done using inlet (K c ) and exit (K e ) loss coefficients for parallel plate channels from the Kays and London book, Compact Heat Exchangers. However, the information presented in Compact Heat Exchangers assumes fully developed flow at the exit. Electronic heat sinks operate in the developing flow region. Thus, the use of the published K c and K e from Compact Heat Exchangers will result in an overestimation of the actual K c and K e values. The present author has completed an analysis that allows the accurate calculation of K c and K e values with parallel plate channels in the developing flow region. The results are presented in graphical and equation form as a function of contraction ratio and 4x+ (= 4x/D h Re). Entrance and exit losses can account f...
On Extending Capabilities Of A Robotic Vision System

A robot vision system should perform a variety of tasks accurately and robustly. The system should posses the capabilities to acquire images in a complex environment, to perform low level image processing, to extract primative features and critical information such as depth information, and to derive high level description of the scene. This paper describes extensions of a practical vision system which can acquire and process images under different viewing geometries and extract 3-D information using a pair of stereo images acquired using a single camera mounted on the hand of robot, using region-based stereo matching scheme. The performance of the system is tested by conducting several experiments utilizing a laboratory testbed.
THE EFFECTS OF VARIOUS DIELECTRIC OILS AND VOLUME FRACTION OF SOLIDS ON THE MECHANICAL PROPERTIES OF HYDROUS BASED ELECTRORHEOLOGICAL FLUIDS

Electrorheological (ER) fluids consist of fine polarizable particles suspended in a dielectric liquid. It is the dielectric mismatch between these phases that give rise to the ER effect. This paper presents data on ER fluids with different dielectric oils employing a constant solid phase consisting of zeolite with adsorbed water. The effect of solid concentration was also studied, in order to develop a more complete understanding of the mechanisms involved. Results are explained in terms of the dielectric properties of the phases present using an electrostatic model developed by the authors and an additional structural feature termed as chain bundling. The electrostatic model takes into account the characteristic chain-like structure which is commonly observed in these fluids, while the chain bundling concept incorporates multiple chain interactions.
Judgmental illusion produced by contrast with expectancy

Judgments of the numerousness of dots vary inversely with the size of the background on which the dots are presented. An expectancy-contrast model is proposed and tested in an experiment with this size-numerosity illusion. According to the model, the expectancy for numerousness depends upon the subjective correlation between size and numerosity; judgments-of numerousness are assumed to reflect an additive contrast with the expectancy. In agreement with the model, the data demonstrate that the effects of size depend upon the correlation between size and numerosity; when this correlation is negative, the illusion is reversed. The model received tentative support from quantitative tests of fit, based on functional measurement procedures.
Breaking the phonon bottleneck in semiconductor nanocrystals via multiphonon emission induced by intrinsic nonadiabatic interactions.

We observe ultrafast $1P$-to-$1S$ intraband relaxation in PbSe and CdSe nanocrystals (NCs) that have distinct energy spectra. While ultrafast dynamics in CdSe NCs has typically been interpreted in terms of electron-hole energy transfer, this mechanism is not active in PbSe NCs because of sparse densities of states in the conduction and valence bands. Our observations of temperature activation and confinement-enhanced relaxation in PbSe NCs can be explained by efficient multiphonon emission triggered by nonadiabatic electron-phonon interactions and are indicative of large, size-dependent, intraband Huang-Rhys parameters.
Sacroiliitis associated with pyelonephritis in pregnancy.

Background: Sacroiliitis is a rare infection and an unusual cause of back pain during pregnancy. Because pregnancy and infections commonly associated with pregnancy are risk factors, this diagnosis should be considered in the gravida with sacroiliac pain. Case: A 17-year-old woman at 24 weeks' gestation, with a history of illicit drug use, presented to a local emergency room with back and buttock pain. Bacteriuria and pyuria were diagnosed, and cefazolin was initiated. Blood cultures grew Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli. Despite prolonged antibiotic therapy for possible endocarditis, she had persistent debilitating lower back and buttock pain. Radiographic studies detected sacroiliitis, and broadened antibiotic therapy effected cure. Conclusion: When sacroiliitis is suspected, diagnostic imaging with either computed axial tomography, or, preferably, magnetic resonance imaging may be helpful. Antibiotic therapy should be tailored to the specific organism involved and continued for 3–6 weeks.
Identification of potential recovery facilities for designing a reverse supply chain network using physical programming

Although there are many quantitative models in the literature to design a reverse supply chain, every model assumes that all the recovery facilities that are engaged in the supply chain have enough potential to efficiently re-process the incoming used products. Motivated by the risk of re-processing used products in facilities of insufficient potentiality, this paper proposes a method to identify potential facilities in a set of candidate recovery facilities operating in a region where a reverse supply chain is to be established. In this paper, the problem is solved using a newly developed method called physical programming. The most significant advantage of using physical programming is that it allows a decision maker to express his preferences for values of criteria (for comparing the alternatives), not in the traditional form of weights but in terms of ranges of different degrees of desirability, such as ideal range, desirable range, highly desirable range, undesirable range, and unacceptable range. A numerical example is considered to illustrate the proposed method.
The crystal structure of Tani3 and its change on cold working

Abstract The crystal structure of TaNi3 was examined in terms of cold work and annealing treatments. Three different crystal structure types were found, which differ in the stacking sequence of ordered close-packed layers, and which can be designated as TaNi3, TaNi3Ox, and cold worked TaNi3. A similar change of the crystal structure on cold working occurs in three related AB3 phases. Conditions for this transformation are found to be the structural arrangement of atoms in the unit layer, the stacking fault energy, and the stability of the ordered structure.
BrdsNBz Sexually Experienced Teens More Likely to Use Sexual Health Text Message Service

Text messaging services are becoming an increasingly popular way to provide sexual health information to teens, but little is known about who uses such services. This study assessed whether teens at a greater risk for negative sexual health outcomes use a sexual health text message service. A text message service that connects teens with sexual health educators was promoted in six public schools in one state in the Southeast. Students (n = 2,125) in four schools completed an online questionnaire assessing personal risk factors associated with negative sexual health outcomes and use of the text message service. Text message service users (n = 144) were more likely to have had sex, to have been in a relationship, and to come from a lower socioeconomic status background. Users also felt less connected to their schools and were slightly older than nonservice users. When all variables were entered into a logistic regression, only sexual experience was associated with service use. Sexual health text message services are designed to provide information to teens in an effort to prevent negative sexual outcomes. Such services seem to be reaching youth with increased risk of teen pregnancy and sexually transmitted disease acquisition. This study provides evidence that teens most likely to benefit are also those most likely to use a sexual health text message service.
Serving children and adolescents in the school: can social work meet the challenge?

Educators recognize that social, personal, and environmental conditions can interfere with childrens' learning. As a result, educational reforms have emphasized family support services and the provision of social and related services at or near the school. However, the entry of agency based social workers into the school has not sufficiently taken into account the role of pupil personnel staff, including school social workers. Findings from a state study that examined the population served and services provided by school social workers are discussed in light of the implications they have for collaboration between school and agency social workers working within the school.
Oxygen desaturation and cardiac arrhythmias in children during esophagogastroduodenoscopy using conscious sedation

To determine whether oxygen desaturation and cardiac arrhythmias occur in children during esophagogastroduodenoscopy with the use of conscious sedation, we prospectively studied 34 consecutive patients between the ages of 2 months and 18 years. Patients with pulmonary, cardiac, and neurologic disorders were defined as high risk and those without were defined as normal. All patients received intravenous sedation with meperidine, diazepam, or midazolam, used alone or in combination. Pulse oximetry, respiratory rate, and lead II electrocardiogram were recorded throughout all episodes of desaturation and tachycardia. Oxygen desaturation to less than 90% occurred in 68% of normal patients and in 58% of high-risk patients during esophagogastroduodenoscopy. Seventy-five percent of the high-risk patients and 82% of the normal patients had an arrhythmia during esophagogastroduodenoscopy usually associated with oxygen desaturation. Sinus tachycardia was the most common arrhythmia, although other arrhythmias were identified. Despite the frequency of oxygen desaturation and cardiac arrhythmias, no adverse outcome was observed in any patient. Most episodes of oxygen desaturation and cardiac arrhythmia resolved spontaneously. Subdivision of patients into high-risk groups by age, sex, weight, or diameter of endoscope used did not allow prediction of oxygen desaturation or cardiac arrhythmia. Our data suggest that conscious sedation in children undergoing esophagogastroduodenoscopy is safe and free of significant adverse clinical problems. However, conscious sedation during esophagogastroduodenoscopy continues to have certain inherent risks. Therefore we strongly advocate the routine use of continuous cardiac rhythm and pulse oximetry monitoring of all children during esophagogastroduodenoscopy performed with the use of conscious sedation.
The use of preferences to measure the benefit of adjuvant radiation therapy for stage I seminoma.

Abstract Purpose: In Stage I seminoma, treatment with radiation therapy (RT) after radical inguinal orchiectomy reduces the likelihood of relapse by 15%, but does not improve survival, thus making quality of life an important outcome measure. The purpose of this study was to use utilities to assess the quality of life benefits associated with adjuvant RT in this setting. Materials and Methods: One hundred healthy men were interviewed using a utility assessment tool. Utilities for five health states were measured using the standard gamble technique: (A) adjuvant RT with 5% recurrence risk; (B) recurrence after RT, salvaged with chemotherapy; (C) orchiectomy alone with 20% recurrence risk; (D) recurrence after orchiectomy alone, salvaged with RT; and (E) recurrence after orchiectomy alone, salvaged with chemotherapy. Results: The median age was 25. Utilities were highest for nonrecurrent health states, and lowest for recurrence salvaged with chemotherapy. All differences in utilities between health states were significant, except between states A and C and B and E. Variability in utilities was not explained by the sociodemographic factors examined. Conclusions: Our results suggest that healthy males do not value the 15% reduction in recurrence risk achievable with adjuvant RT. However, they do predict that an actual recurrence, especially one requiring salvage chemotherapy, will lead to significant decline in quality of life. We intend to use these utilities to further evaluate the cost-effectiveness of RT in this setting.
Agro-economic analysis of maize production in Bangladesh: a farm level study

The study was carried out in four major maize growing areas namely Chuadanga, Dinajpur, Bogra and Lalmonirhat during 2006-2007 to know profitability level of maize production in Bangladesh. A total of 200 randomly selected maize growers taking 50 from each location were interviewed using pre-designed interview schedule. The average yield was found to be 8.00 t/ha. The average costs of maize production were Tk 44197, Tk 33195 and Tk 24441 per hectare on total cost, variable cost and cash cost basis respectively and gross return was Tk 69773 per hectare. The gross margin was Tk 36578/ha on total variable cost (TVC) and Tk 45332/ha on cash cost basis. The net return was observed to be Tk 25575 per hectare. Benefit cost ratios were calculated as 1.58, 2.10 and 2.85 on total cost, variable cost and cash cost basis respectively. As a result, maize cultivation was more profitable. Lack of capital and high price of TSP were the main constraints to its higher production. Key Words: Maize; production; agro-economic. DOI: 10.3329/bjar.v34i1.5748 Bangladesh J. Agril. Res . 34(1) : 15-24, March 2009
The Stability of the Low Temperature Surface Reconstruction in Au(111)

We have performed computer simulation studies on the 22×v3 surface reconstruction of Au(111). This reconstruction involves a uniaxial contraction of the top monolayer corresponding to a surface strain of about 4.3% and has been observed to be the stable structure for clean surfaces at low temperatures. A continuum model yields a stability criterion that depends on the knowledge of a small number of measurable physical quantities: surface stress f, surface free energy γ, lattice parameter a0 and shear modulus ώ. The simulations using EAM potentials accurately reproduce many observed features of the reconstruction and tend to support the continuum model and the resulting stability criterion.
MO-FF-A1-04: An Innovative Needle Tip Detection Method for TRUS-Guided Prostate HDR Brachytherapy

Purpose: In the TRUS‐guided prostate HDR brachytherapy, the needle tip defines the distal end of possible dwells. Needle tip detection plays a critical role in the distance accuracy of dwell positions and hence has a significant impact on dosimetry. However, directly finding the needle tip on the ultrasoundimages is nothing but an uncertain art. Therefore, the current study was conducted to design and evaluate a novel method to turn this uncertain art into an accurate measurement‐based detection. Method and Materials: Our method used real‐time‐measured residual needle length and offline‐established coordinates to calculate the needle tip position on the TRUSimages. Coordinates were established and populated to a lookup table through measurements at possible template‐to‐probe configurations. With the known full length of a needle, the tip position can be calculated using an online‐measured residual length and this lookup table. To evaluate our method, we conducted an experiment in water. The needle tip positions were detected by (1) x‐ray radiographs which we use as the gold‐standards; (2) our measurement‐based method; and (3) direct detection on ultrasoundimages. 5 different template‐to‐probe configurations were tested, and at each configuration the equipments were assembled for 3 times to assess the assembling reproducibility. Results: With the 5 tested configurations, the reproducibility was found based on the gold‐standard radiographs to be within 0.2 mm. Relative errors using our method and the direct detection method were from 0.6 to 0.8 mm and from 0.9 to 2.3 mm, respectively. Conclusion: A simple and effective method to accurately detect the needle tip on the TRUSimages for HDR prostate brachytherapy was developed based on physical‐measurement‐defined coordinate systems. The validity and accuracy of the method was tested and established. The easy‐to‐implement method is clinical‐ready.
Commentary on Kendler's review of the cognitive-developmental basis of human learning

Abstract Most of T. S. Kendler's critical review of my volume was devoted to a comparison of our developmental model of human learning with her own levels-of-function model. The exposition she offered is misleading in two important respects. First, she misconstrued a central aspect of our model. This concerns the relation between two behaviorally distinct types of hypotheses, predictions and response sets. This relation is clarified and evaluative data are summarized. Second, she concluded that the two models share many common characteristics. In fact, the commonalities hold at only the most superficial level. This is because the models differ in terms of the mechanisms they incorporate and their specificity (testability).
Talmudic exegesis or identification with the aggressor

In characterizing the field of sociological theory as suffering a present from a dysfunctional "multiple personality disorder," Janet Saltzman Chafetz applies a bit of psychiatric terminology to commentary on the theory area. But the general thrust of her remarks, and, in particular, her derogatory comments about the "exegesis of classics" suggest that another clinical concept might be more ap ropos: "identification with the aggressor." As coined by Anna Freud, the concept refers, of course, to the process in which individuals struggle to defend themselves against the condemnations and criticisms of threatening authority figures by taking on the aggressors' hostile attitudes and turning these back upon other persons. It seems to me that there has been a fair amount of this going on in the theory area in the past few years. Chafetz's denunciation of "exegesis" and related activities echoes a view that some in the theory area are increasingly voicing in articles, exchanges, reviews of one another's work, and so on, and that now meets considerable assent in theory circles. It is a view that critics outside the field have long expressed, namely, that all this about what Durkheim, Weber, Mead, Parsons, and the rest had to say is pretty superfluous to the real sociologi cal task of analyzing the social world. That some outsiders would hold this opinion is not surprising. Disciplines and subdisciplines thrive on misconceptions and negative stereotypes about other fields with which they have little familiarity. Economists misperceive sociology and devalue sociological work; social theorists trivialize the work of methodologists; and a number of sociologists who are outside the theory area?and devote little time to the works of Durkheim and Parsons and still less to research by scholarly interpreters?denigrate social theorists as sterile exegetes. This is academic business as-usual and often fairly inconsequential, at least until scholars in the devalued areas feel the need to appease the skeptics?as when sociologists seek funding from panels of economists and assimilate their perspectives, or when theorists chafe at their problematic position in the discipline and aim for some of the
Measuring procedural justice and legitimacy at the local level: the police–community interaction survey

To introduce and evaluate the Police–Citizen Interaction (PCI) Survey, the electronic survey component of the National Police Research Platform, designed to measure the quality of police–citizen encounters at the local level. Three studies tested the feasibility, validity, and sample representativeness of the PCI Survey. A randomized control trial (RCT) compared the PCI Survey results with the most widely used survey method, the telephone survey. The primary measures were the community member’s satisfaction with the contact, judgments of procedural justice during the interaction, police effectiveness, and police legitimacy. The RCT revealed no significant differences between the PCI Survey and the standard telephone survey, thus increasing confidence in the validity of the PCI methodology. The PCI Survey was able to replicate “known group” findings from prior research; capture agency-level differences in public satisfaction; uncover complex interactions of race, type of incident and procedural justice; and show the relative importance of both process and outcome during police-initiated contacts. The PCI Survey approach, utilizing web and voice interactive methods, shows considerable promise as a tool for measuring organizational performance in new ways, focusing on procedural fairness and the quality of police services rather than the reliance on crime statistics. The survey appears to have utility for local jurisdictions, while at the same time providing standard metrics for cross-jurisdictional theory testing and benchmarking. The survey was tested initially with three agencies of different sizes. It will be refined for implementation on a larger scale.
Staphylococcus aureus exploits cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides produced during early pneumonia to promote staphylokinase-dependent fibrinolysis.

The increasing prevalence of Staphylococcus aureus strains isolated from hospital- and community-acquired respiratory tract infections is an important public health concern worldwide. The majority of S. aureus strains produce staphylokinase, a plasminogen activator capable of inactivating neutrophil α-defensins and of impairing phagocytosis via opsonin degradation. Cathelicidin antimicrobial peptides are present at sites of infection before the release of neutrophil α-defensins. Therefore, we hypothesized that staphylokinase interacts with cathelicidin during the early pathogenesis of S. aureus airway infection. In a mouse intranasal infection model, cathelicidin was strongly up-regulated in the airways during the development of staphylococcal pneumonia. In vitro, cathelicidin bound directly to staphylokinase and augmented staphylokinase-dependent plasminogen activation and fibrinolysis at concentrations consistent with those detected in the airways during infection. These data suggest that staphylokinase production may be a novel virulence mechanism by which S. aureus exploits cathelicidin to promote fibrinolysis, leading to enhanced bacterial dissemination and invasive infection.
The nature of playfulness in young adults

Abstract Playful people are uniquely able to transform virtually any environment to make it more stimulating, enjoyable and entertaining. Efforts to more systematically characterize the playful person have proven more fruitful with children than with adults. To determine if playfulness could be identified as a meaningful psychological construct in adults, focus groups of undergraduate students first described characteristics of highly playful and nonplayful people. Six hundred and forty-nine students rated themselves on playfulness and on these descriptors, and then identified and rated others high and low in playfulness. Fifteen qualities were found to uniquely describe a playful individual, resulting in four component qualities of “gregarious”, “uninhibited”, “comedic” and “dynamic” for both men and women. Participants defined playfulness and its inherent qualities in the same way whether they perceived it in themselves or in others.
Calibration of a Wind Farm Wind Speed Model With Incomplete Wind Data

Publicly available information today on wind and wind generation is incomplete for deep understanding of their characteristics. The owner or operator of a wind farm typically only releases minutes-level turbine wind speed data. Although seconds-level wind power data may be obtained from the SCADA system, they only reflect aggregated performance at the wind farm level and thus cannot be used to obtain the covariance/correlation of wind speeds experienced by individual turbines at the seconds-level, which is a key to in-depth understanding of the characteristics of wind for wind farm control studies. To address this issue, this paper presents an empirical framework that uses incomplete wind data to calibrate a wind farm wind speed model. First, two such models are constructed from an ARIMA state-space model. Next, Monte Carlo filters and likelihood function maximization are incorporated to calibrate the models, reconstruct the unobserved states, and estimate the parameters. Finally, we test the model using synthetic wind data and demonstrate its effectiveness in statistically recovering missing information in the data.
The Effect of Microbial Contamination on the Requirement of Chicks for Certain Nutrients

Abstract OBSERVATIONS were made by Edwards et al. (1960) on the growth rate and requirement for magnesium, zinc, and methionine when birds were grown in clean and unclean environments. Their experiments showed that chickens grown in a room immediately after it had been cleaned and fumigated grew at a much faster rate than chicks that were grown in the same room with older chicks present from the start of the experiment. The data also suggest that the requirements of the chick for magnesium and zinc may be higher when the chicks are grown in contaminated quarters as compared to chicks grown in fumigated quarters. The studies reported in this paper were conducted to obtain additional information on this point. The experiments were specifically designed to answer the following questions: (1) Can very clean isolation rooms be used to simulate the effect of both fumigated and contaminated quarters when proper treatment is …
Long-Term Composition Dynamics of PAH-Containing NAPLs and Implications for Risk Assessment

Subsurface contaminants such as coal tar, creosote, diesel fuel, and other petroleum-derived materials typically exist as very complex chemical mixtures. Risk assessment is useful for site management if a single metric can represent the composition-dependent risk profile of the mixture. This paper examines the factors governing human health risk assessment for multicomponent nonaqueous phase liquids (NAPLs) containing polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). A model is presented describing the interdependence of the dissolution rates of individual compounds and the shifts in the NAPL composition that occur due to the large differences in aqueous solubilities. The model also accounts for solidification of the less soluble NAPL constituents. Thirty-year numerical simulations describe composition dynamics for natural environmental processes as well as three remediation processes: pump-and-treat, bioremediation, and solvent extraction. Carcinogenic risk due to ingestion of contaminated groundwater at the sou...
Predictive value of initial PET-SUVmax in patients with locally advanced esophageal and gastroesophageal junction adenocarcinoma.

Introduction: We have previously shown that in early clinical stage esophageal adenocarcinoma, a positron emission tomography standardized uptake values (PET SUV max ) of max in patients with locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma who undergo preoperative chemoradiotherapy. Methods: We performed a retrospective analysis, selecting patients with adenocarcinoma of the esophagus who had a pretreatment PET scan and who received chemoradiotherapy before esophagectomy. Data recorded included demographics, PET SUV max , treatment details, pathologic details, and survival data. Comparison of categorical variables was done by χ 2 analysis, continuous variables by t test, survival analysis by the Kaplan-Meier method, and comparisons of survival using the log-rank test. Results: Between January 1996 and September 2007, 189 patients were appropriate for this analysis. The initial PET SUV max was Conclusions: Although the initial PET SUV max does not predict survival in patients with locally advanced esophageal adenocarcinoma who receive preoperative chemoradiotherapy, patients with a high initial SUV max respond better to preoperative therapy. These results can be used to better select esophageal cancer patients for combined modality treatment.