cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Systematic Review of Whole School Improvement Models

This article presents a review of widely implemented, externally developed whole school improvement models. The models serve elementary, middle, and high schools and schools operated by education service providers. A systematic review of the research was conducted using rigorous evidence standards. Across models, the whole school improvement approach demonstrates promising results, with the majority of the evidence pertaining to elementary school models. However, there is relatively little research evidence that the majority of the models reviewed positively impact student academic achievement. For the majority of the models, most of the core components (i.e., practices or strategies) are linked to empirical evidence. An examination of the models' designs and materials revealed that model providers offer a range of services and supports for successful implementation. The use of research evidence in conjunction with other considerations is discussed.
Free and forced convection in conduits with asymmetric mass transfer

Approximate solutions for the thermal entrance region and a new exact solution for the fully developed region have been obtained for nonlinear fully developed conduit flows with unsymmetrical transverse flow. Entrance region solutions are obtained by a generalized version of Mercer's method. The effects on combined free and forced convection of asymmetric mass transfer, in the asymptotic region of fully developed thermal and hydrodynamic conditions, are studied and a new exact solution is given which applies to such problems.
Large quantum effects in the collinear F+H2-->FH+H reaction

We have performed accurate quantum mechanical calculations of reaction probabilities for the collinear F+H2-->FH+H reaction as well as corresponding quasiclassical trajectory calculations. A comparison of these results shows that very significant quantum mechanical effects are present in this reaction.
Homothetic maps of the space-time distance function and differentiability

Let (M 1,g 1) and (M 2,g 1) be time-oriented space-times. Letd i(p,q) be the supremum of lengths of future directed causal curves inM i fromp toq. Ifq is not in the future ofp, thend i (p, q)=0. A distance homothetic mapf is a function fromM 1 ontoM 2 which is not assumed to be continuous, but which satisfiesd 2(f(p),f(q))=cd 1(p,q) for allp,q eM 1. IfM 1 is strongly causal, then the distance homothetic mapf is a diffeomorphism which mapsg 1 to a scalar multiple ofg 2. Thus for strongly causal space-times, distance homothetic maps are homothetic in the usual sense. WhenM 1 is not strongly causal, distance homothetic maps are not necessarily differentiable nor even continuous. An example is given of a space-time which has discontinuous maps which are one to one, onto, and distance preserving.
Relationships among Botryosphaeria species and associated anamorphic fungi inferred from the analyses of ITS and 5.8S rDNA sequences

Distance, parsimony and maximum likeli- hood analyses of sequence data from the internal transcribed spacers (ITS1 and ITS2) and 5.8S rDNA were used to infer the phylogenetic relationships among Botryosphaeria species and associated anamor- phic fungi. The ingroup contained 52 isolates of 16 Botryosphaeria species and related taxa. A total of 6 outgroup species from putatively related families or orders were included in the analyses. Results indicate that the genus Botryosphaeria is not monophyletic, with B. vaccinii and Phyllosticta vaccinii not closely related to other fungi comprising this genus. The main group of Botryosphaeria species and related ana- morphic fungi contains two distinct clades: one with light-colored and narrow conidia and the other with dark-colored and broader conidia. Two sections, Hy- ala and Brunnea, were proposed to represent these two groups. Botryosphaeria ribis and B. dothidea are distinct. Diplodia pinea f. sp. cupressi is different from A and B RAPD marker groups of Sphaeropsis sapinea. Placement of a species within the form genera Sphaeropsis or Diplodia does not necessarily indicate a very close relationship with other taxa within that same genus. The name B. stevensii may have been applied to more than one species. Isolates under dif- ferent species names, such as those included in the cluster containing B. quercuum, might actually be the same species. Our study indicates that the genus Bo- tryosphaeria needs additional study and substantial taxonomic revision.
NEONATAL ELECTRICAL SEIZURES ARE OFTEN CLINICALLY INAPPARENT AND RESISTANT TO TREATMENT. † 2240

Neonates may have electrical seizures (ES) that are clinically undetected. To identify such infants, 27 infants were monitored with continuous EEG because they were considered to be at high risk: 16 with perinatal asphyxia (5 min Apgar score ≤5 and/or cord pH≤7.2 and continuing lethargy at 2h), of which 11 had suspected clinical seizures (szs) or abnormal movements; 8 with suspected clinical szs without asphyxia; 1 with unexplained apnea at term; 1 with meningitis; 1 with cerebral anomalies. Monitoring continued for 6h-24h(mean 20h) if no ES or 13h-26h (mean 21h) after the last ES. ES were treated with phenobarbital (up to 40 mg/kg) or lorazepam (0.1 mg/kg, up to 3 doses/8h); the second drug was added if ES continued. 13 of the 27 infants had no ES. Of these, 6 had already received anticonvulsant for suspected clinical szs before monitoring; 3 with suspected clinical szs without ES were not treated with anticonvulsant. 14 infants with ES were monitored for a total of 21h-97h (mean 45h) during which 4-226 (mean 54) ES were recorded. Clinical correlates were seen for fewer than 10% of their ES and 5 of the 14 had no clinical szs noted. 5 had more than 10 clinically inapparent ES per hour. 2 of 6 treated with phenobarbital went on to lorazepam; 4 of 9 treated with lorazepam went on to phenobarbital. In 2 infants, multiple ES continued without clinical correlates despite full doses of both drugs that stopped after loading doses of phenytoin. Clinical ascertainment of neonatal seizures is difficult. Continuous EEG monitoring in high risk neonates allows detection of abnormal cortical electrical activity that is not apparent clinically. Animal studies indicate that frequent ES are deleterious to the developing brain. The frequency and duration of clinically undetected ES in neonates and their resistance to traditional anticonvulsant therapy have not been adequately emphasized.
Level-dependent deforestation trajectories in the Brazilian Amazon from 1970 to 2001

This article demonstrates the importance of examining level-dependent deforestation trajectories that may be undetected within regional analyses. We examine Amazon-wide, sub-regional, settlement, and farm-level deforestation trajectories in the Brazilian Amazon and suggest factors that underlie level-dependent differences in spatial patterns and temporal magnitudes of deforestation from 1970 to 2001. At a sub-regional level, we find significant variation in frequency, magnitude, and intensity of deforestation associated with context-specific processes, including areas that have stopped deforesting, are rapidly reforesting, while at the same time increasing economic value of forest-based production. We use remote-sensing data from 1970 to 2001. For Amazon-wide and state-level analyses, we use data available from Brazil’s National Institute for Space Research. For sub-regional, settlement, and farm-lot levels, time-series Landsat images and aerial photographs and detailed field-based research are used to reconstruct the history of deforestation. Our analysis empirically demonstrates that understanding deforestation trajectories requires differentiating underlying causes at different levels of analysis and to be wary of overarching explanations and solutions that ignore differences in scale.
Introduction of a new critical p value correction method for statistical significance analysis of metabonomics data

Nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy-based metabonomics is of growing importance for discovery of human disease biomarkers. Identification and validation of disease biomarkers using statistical significance analysis (SSA) is critical for translation to clinical practice. SSA is performed by assessing a null hypothesis test using a derivative of the Student's t test, e.g., a Welch's t test. Choosing how to correct the significance level for rejecting null hypotheses in the case of multiple testing to maintain a constant family-wise type I error rate is a common problem in such tests. The multiple testing problem arises because the likelihood of falsely rejecting the null hypothesis, i.e., a false positive, grows as the number of tests applied to the same data set increases. Several methods have been introduced to address this problem. Bonferroni correction (BC) assumes all variables are independent and therefore sacrifices sensitivity for detecting true positives in partially dependent data sets. False discovery rate (FDR) methods are more sensitive than BC but uniformly ascribe highest stringency to lowest p value variables. Here, we introduce standard deviation step down (SDSD), which is more sensitive and appropriate than BC for partially dependent data sets. Sensitivity and type I error rate of SDSD can be adjusted based on the degree of variable dependency. SDSD generates fundamentally different profiles of critical p values compared with FDR methods potentially leading to reduced type II error rates. SDSD is increasingly sensitive for more concentrated metabolites. SDSD is demonstrated using NMR-based metabonomics data collected on three different breast cancer cell line extracts.
CLONING, SEQUENCE, AND EXPRESSION OF KYNURENINASE FROM PSEUDOMONAS FLUORESCENS

We have cloned the gene encoding kynureninase from Pseudomonas fluorescens using a restriction site polymerase chain reaction technique (RS-PCR) (G. Sarkar, R. T. Turner, and M. E. Bolander PCR Methods Appl. 2, 318-322, 1993) and expressed the enzyme in Escherichia coli DH5a F'. The kynureninase gene has an open reading frame (ORF) of 1251 base pairs that codes for a protein of 416 amino acids with a calculated molecular weight of 45,906. The protein purified from P. fluorescens has N-terminal threonine and an observed molecular weight of 45,787 by electrospray mass spectrometry, suggesting that the N-terminal methionine is removed by posttranslational processing. The complete gene was obtained by PCR and inserted into pTZ18U. The resultant plasmid was used to transform E. coli DH5alpha F', and these cells overexpressed kynureninase to about 37% of total soluble protein. The isolated recombinant protein has molecular weight and Km values identical to those of the native protein from P. fluorescens. The amino acid sequence exhibits 29% identity with those of rat and human kynureninases and 32% identity with the amino acid sequence translated from a Saccharomyces cerevisiae ORF. Alignment of the four sequences shows a highly conserved region which corresponds to the pyridoxal-5'-phosphate (PLP) binding site of rat kynureninase. Based on this alignment, we predict that Lys227 and Asp212 in P. fluorescens kynureninase are involved in pyridoxal-5'-phosphate binding. P. fluorescens kynureninase also exhibits significant homology to the nifS gene product, cysteine desulfurase, and to eucaryotic serine/pyruvate aminotransferases, suggesting that it is a member of subgroup IV of the aminotransferase family of PLP-dependent enzymes.
Desulfocarbo indianensis gen. nov., sp. nov., a benzoate-oxidizing, sulfate-reducing bacterium isolated from water extracted from a coal bed.

A novel, strictly anaerobic, sulfate-reducing bacterium, designated strain SCBMT, was isolated from water extracted from a coal bed in Indiana, USA. The isolate was characterized by a polyphasic taxonomic approach that included phenotypic and genotypic characterizations. Cells of strain SCBMT were vibrio-shaped, polarly flagellated, Gram-negative, motile, oxidase-negative and weakly catalase-positive. Growth of strain SCBMT was observed at NaCl concentrations ranging from 0 to 300 mM. However, no growth was observed when 1 M or more NaCl was present. Growth was observed at 16–37 °C, with optimal growth at 30 °C. The optimum pH for growth was 7, although growth was observed from pH 6.5 to 8. The doubling time under optimal growth conditions (30 °C, pH 7, 2.5 mM benzoate, 14 mM sulfate) was 2.7 days. Bicarbonate, HEPES, PIPES and MES were effective buffers for growth of strain SCBMT, but citrate inhibited growth. When sulfate was provided as the electron acceptor, strain SCBMT grew autotrophically with hydrogen as the electron donor and heterotrophically on benzoate, formate, acetate, pyruvate, butyrate, fumarate, succinate and palmitate. None of the substrates tested supported fermentative growth. Thiosulfate and sulfate were used as electron acceptors coupled to benzoate oxidation, but sulfite, elemental sulfur, DMSO, anthraquinone 2,6-disulfonate, nitrate, nitrite, ferric citrate, hydrous iron oxide and oxygen were not. The G+C content of genomic DNA was 62.5 mol%. The major cellular fatty acids were anteiso-C15 : 0 and C18 : 1ω7c. Phylogenetic analysis based on 16S rRNA gene sequencing placed strain SCBMT into a distinct lineage within the class Deltaproteobacteria . The closest, cultivated phylogenetic relative of strain SCBMT was Desulfarculus baarsii DSM 2075T, with only 91.7 % 16S rRNA gene sequence identity. On the basis of phenotypic and genotypic analyses, strain SCBMT represents a novel genus and species of sulfate-reducing bacteria, for which the name Desulfocarbo indianensis gen. nov., sp. nov. is proposed. The type strain of Desulfocarbo indianensis is SCBMT ( = DSM 28127T = JCM 19826T). Desulfocarbo is the second genus of the order Desulfarculales .
Reply to "Adenocarcinoma of the anterior tongue".

Thank you for the invitation to respond to the valuable comments from Dr. Yang regarding our article entitled “Adenocarcinoma of the anterior tongue: a case report”. The goal of our case report was to highlight the rarity of adenocarcinoma occurring in the anterior tongue. In addition, we also focused and elaborated on the management on this entity which is primarily surgical. Of the case reports that were cited in our article, the adenocarcinomas identified were pathologically considered “tubular adenocarcinoma” [1], “papillary adenocarcinoma of minor salivary gland” [2] and “polymorphous lowgrade adenocarcinoma.” [3] These previously reported cases cannot be further categorized by us based on the World Health Organization classification as we are not aware of the specific pathological features of these specimens. While it would have been of interest to further sub-categorize the adenocarcinoma in our reported case as was suggested in the Comment, our pathology department did not specify the subtype and further analysis is not available. Despite this, the specific subtype of the adenocarcinoma does not have significant impact on the treatment. Thank you again for your comments.
Midbrain auditory sensitivity in the spring peeper (Pseudacris crucifer): correlations with behavioral studies.

1. We derived audiograms from recordings of multiunit activity in the torus semicircularis of 10 males and 6 females of the spring peeper from central Missouri, USA. We used free-field stimulation with tone bursts that had temporal properties similar to typical advertisement calls and that ranged in frequency from 500–6000 Hz. 2. Audiograms from different electrode positions in the same animal had the same general shape. There was no evidence of tonotopy. 3. Audiograms showed two regions of maximal sensitivity: a low-frequency region (500–700 Hz); and a high-frequency region (2000–4000 Hz). Absolute thresholds and frequencies of maximum sensitivity varied considerably from individual to individual. 4. Audiograms derived from all individuals of each sex indicated that in the high-frequency region, corresponding to the frequency range of advertisement calls, males were more broadly tuned than females. However, tuning in both sexes was relatively weak, and the data predict relatively little selectivity in behavioral responses over the entire range of variation in frequency of the advertisement call in local populations. 5. The results are discussed in terms of behavioral experiments with both males and females from the same populations in central Missouri. We show that merely summarizing the audiograms based on estimates of minimum thresholds of a population or species may mask significant individual differences in tuning. Moreover, most behavioral studies are conducted at playback levels considerably above threshold. For these reasons, behavioral selectivity is not always accurately predicted by inspection of “average” audiograms.
Enhanced assay of endothelial exocytosis using extracellular matrix components

Abstract Vascular inflammation plays a key role in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. The first step in vascular inflammation is endothelial exocytosis, in which endothelial granules fuse with the plasma membrane, releasing prothrombotic and proinflammatory messenger molecules. The development of cell culture models to study endothelial exocytosis has been challenging because the factors that modulate exocytosis in vitro are not well understood. Here we report a method for studying endothelial exocytosis that optimizes extracellular matrix components, cell density, and duration of culture. Human umbilical vein endothelial cells plated on collagen I-coated plates and cultured in the confluent state for 7–12 days in low-serum medium showed robust secretion of von Willebrand factor when stimulated with various agonists. This exocytosis assay is rapid and applicable to high-throughput screening.
Vibracode System of Supervisory Control on a Carrier Communication Channel

Besides providing a high-grade 2-way telephone circuit, this carrier current system used by the Georgia Power Company transmits control signals for operating voltage regulator and capacitor switches, alarm signals when oil circuit breakers trip or tap-changing-under-load transformers get out of step, and telemetered voltage signals.
Perspectives on working with parents of handicapped children

Several different approaches to working with parents of handicapped children have developed over the years out of a broad range of perspectives. This review of literature examines perspectives from the early 1960s, from the stage theorists' point of view, and from current research in family/child/environment interactions. Implications for school psychologists to enhance relationships with parents through a broader understanding of this literature are discussed.
Some results on tree decomposition of graphs

We investigate tree decompositions (T,(Xt)tϵV(T)) whose width is “close to optimal” and such that all the subtrees of T induced by the vertices of the graph are “small.” We prove the existence of such decompositions for various interpretations of “close to optimal” and “small.” As a corollary of these results, we prove that the dilation of a graph is bounded by a logarithmic function of the congestion of the graph thereby settling a generalization of a conjecture of Bienstock. © 1995 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
Response to Comment on: Davidson et al. High-Dose Vitamin D Supplementation in People With Prediabetes and Hypovitaminosis D. Diabetes Care 2013;36:260–266

This letter is in response to Pilz et al. (1) who are concerned about the possible long-term effects of high levels of vitamin D on mortality. In a sense, our study was a “proof of concept” one. As noted in our article (2) and in its Supplementary Table 3, there have been a number of studies evaluating the effect of vitamin D supplementation on diabetes, insulin secretion, and insulin sensitivity, almost all of which …
Temporary Discontinuation of Warfarin Therapy: Changes in the International Normalized Ratio

Objective: To measure the rate of decrease of the international normalized ratio (INR) after temporary discontinuation of warfarin therapy. Design: Prospective evaluation of an outpatient cohort. S...
Emergent Intraverbal Responses VIA Tact and Match-to-Sample Instruction.

The present investigation evaluated the effectiveness of category tact and match-to-sample instruction in facilitating the emergence of intraverbal responses (i.e., naming several items belonging to a specific category) for 2 children with autism. Results demonstrated the emergence of untaught responses, suggesting an effective instructional protocol for establishing intraverbal responses without direct instruction.
Adsorption and angle-resolved electron-stimulated desorption of CCl4 on Ru(0001)

The adsorption and electron-stimulated desorption of CCl4 on Ru(0001) have been studied at 100 K using a variety of surface analytical techniques, including thermal desorption spectroscopy, Auger electron spectroscopy, low-energy ion scattering, and mass and angle-resolved electron-stimulated desorption (ESDIAD). CC14 is found to dissociate partially for fractional monolayer coverages, and to adsorb molecularly above a coverage of 13%. Upon electron bombardment, Cl+ ions are found to desorb with their angular distribution directed along the surface normal; this implies that CC14 orients with one C-C1 bond normal to the surface. The total yield of Cl+ increases linearly with increasing molecular CC14 coverage up to one monolayer, which implies that Cl+ stems mainly from molecular CCl4 and that interadsorbate quenching is not significantly affecting the desorption yield. Beyond a coverage of 1 ML, the Cl+ yield continues to increase, and starts leveling off after 2 ML. We estimate the yield from a thick layer of CCl4 to be of the order of 3 × 10−8 ions/electron. The angular distribution of the desorbing Cl+ ions widens with increasing CCl4 exposure. Besides Cl+, higher mass fragments of CCl4, such as CCl+, CCl2+ and CCl3+ are also found to desorb from multilayers upon electron bombardment.
High Fat Diet Rapidly Suppresses B Lymphopoiesis by Disrupting the Supportive Capacity of the Bone Marrow Niche

The bone marrow (BM) niche is the primary site of hematopoiesis, and cues from this microenvironment are critical to maintain hematopoiesis. Obesity increases lifetime susceptibility to a host of chronic diseases, and has been linked to defective leukogenesis. The pressures obesity exerts on hematopoietic tissues led us to study the effects of a high fat diet (HFD: 60% Kcal from fat) on B cell development in BM. Seven week old male C57Bl/6J mice were fed either a high fat (HFD) or regular chow (RD) diet for periods of 2 days, 1 week and 6 weeks. B-cell populations (B220+) were not altered after 2 d of HFD, within 1 w B-cell proportions were reduced by −10%, and by 6 w by −25% as compared to RD (p<0.05). BM RNA was extracted to track the expression of B-cell development markers Il-7, Ebf-1 and Pax-5. At 2 d, the expression of Il-7 and Ebf-1 were reduced by −20% (p = 0.08) and −11% (p = 0.06) whereas Pax-5 was not significantly impacted. At one week, however, the expressions of Il-7, Ebf-1, and Pax-5 in HFD mice fell by -19%, −20% and −16%, and by six weeks were further reduced to −23%, −29% and −34% as compared to RD (p<0.05 for all), a suppression paralleled by a +363% increase in adipose encroachment within the marrow space (p<0.01). Il-7 is a critical factor in the early B-cell lineage which is secreted by supportive cells in the BM niche, and is necessary for B-cell commitment. These data indicate that BM Il-7 expression, and by extension B-cell differentiation, are rapidly impaired by HFD. The trend towards suppressed expression of Il-7 following only 2 d of HFD demonstrates how susceptible the BM niche, and the cells which rely on it, are to diet, which ultimately could contribute to disease susceptibility in metabolic disorders such as obesity.
Statistical package for analysis of competition ELISA results

A computation and analysis program has been assembled to facilitate the use of competition ELISA and similar assays for studies of antigen regulation and turnover. The program fits sigmoidal standard curves using a 4-parameter logistic function, determines amounts of antigen from the equation which defines the standard curve, and calculates specific activities by linear regression of the levels of antigen in varying amounts of total protein. An optional weighting function is provided to adjust for systematic non-uniform variance. Outlying points are identified during the linear regression, and the user may delete them or redefine the acceptable working range of the standard curve. The program provides a complete print-out of the data and optional plots of the fitted standard curve and the regression analysis of the samples, as well as statistics which are useful for quality control. It also provides the option of storing the data points from the standard curve on magnetic diskettes. The package is written in BASIC for a Wang Model 2200 computer equipped with a magnetic diskette drive, line printer, and flat-bed X-Y plotter, but it is readily adaptable to other systems and input/output devices.
Cartesianism and the Kinematics of Mechanisms: Or, How to Find Fixed Reference Frames in a Cartesian Space-Time

Although much attention has been devoted to developing and refining Newton's absolute conception of space and time, an interest that has not abated over the years, very little recent thought has been dedicated to a similar treatment of the spatial and temporal notions that formed one of the main early competitors of the Newtonian view: namely, Descartes' "relational" theory (i.e., where space and time are regarded as only the relations among bodies, in contrast to the absolutist conception that considers them to be something "over and above" mere relations). Much of the neglect of the Cartesian hypotheses on space and motion stems, of course, from the belief that its internal inconsistencies and underdeveloped concepts render it useless as a foundation for Descartes' theories of bodily interaction, especially as advanced in his most important scientific tract, the Principles of Philosophy. Two such problems provide the motivation for the analysis undertaken in this essay: first (1), the alleged inconsistency between Descartes' rules of bodily collision and his professed relational view of motion; and, second (2), Newton's contention, in an early manuscript entitled De gravitatione, that the Cartesian plenum (i.e., a universe completely filled with matter) can not provide the "fixed" spatial locations, or frames of reference, necessary to make sense of Descartes' brand of inertial motion (rectilinear uniform speed). Contrary to the popular verdict, this essay will strive to show that Descartes' handling of space and motion is more consistent than has been generally acknowledged; and, in particular, that a "general" Cartesian theory (based on his fundamental laws and concept of relational motion) has the potential to provide a significant and highly effective response to these two problems if examined with the degree of latitude often accorded Newton's essential hypotheses.
High-Frequency Combustion Instability in Liquid Propellant Rocket With Concentrated Combustion and Distributed Time Lag

In view of the turbulent conditions in the combustion chamber in a liquid propellant rocket motor, different pro­ pellant elements wil] encounter different dynamic and heat transfer conditions before they are converted into burned gas. This fact is represented in the simplified model of analyzing high-frequency combustion instability assumed in Ref. (I)2 by the nonuniformity of the time lags and the space lags of different propellant elements. The effect of nonuniform time lag on the high-frequency insta­ bility of the system is analyzed with the spatial distribution of combustion assumed as concentrated at arbitrary axial location, i.e., uniform space lag. It is inferred from the analytical results that spreading the sensitive time lag about a mean value is stabilizing, but its over-all effect, especially for small time lag spread, is not very significant as compared with the stabilizing effect of the supercritical nozzle.
Symbolic Capital in a Virtual Heterosexual Market: Abbreviation and Insertion in Italian iTV SMS

This study analyzes gender variation in nonstandard typography—specifically, abbreviations and insertions—in mobile phone text messages (SMS) posted to a public Italian interactive television (iTV) program. All broadcast SMS were collected for a period of 2 days from the Web archive for the iTV program, and the frequency and distribution of abbreviations and insertions, as well as overall message lengths, were analyzed according to sender gender. The results reveal that females posted more and longer SMS and followed more, and more varied, nonstandard typographic practices, contrary to previous gender-related findings in the sociolinguistics and computer-mediated communication literatures. A theoretically grounded explanation for these findings is developed in terms of the localized norms of a heterosexual market—and an implicit dating market—in Italian iTV SMS.
Community blood supply model: development of a new model to assess the safety, sufficiency, and cost of the blood supply.

Background. Through a combination of predonation donor screening and donated unit testing, the blood supply is safer than ever. However, as a result of increasingly stringent screening measures, one of the greatest threats may be an insufficient supply. The balance between safety and adequacy of the blood supply has not received enough attention. Study Design and Methods. The authors developed a model to allow for empirical investigation of the determinants of a safe and sufficient supply. The model is a cohort simulation of allogeneic whole-blood donation, with the population of presenting donors stratified into 8 age and gender groups because the probability of donor and donation deferral varies by these characteristics. Parameters are estimated from year 2000 Blood Centers of Pacific (BCP) data. The model includes cost parameters, which were estimated using BCP expenditure data. The main outcomes are the number of transfusable units of blood and the unit cost of procurement. Results. The model tracks t...
Recombination of H3+ and D3+ ions in a flowing afterglow plasma

Abstract The analysis of flowing afterglow plasmas containing H 3 + or D 3 + ions indicates that the de-ionization of such plasmas does not occur by simple dissociative recombination of ions with electrons. An alternative model of de-ionization is proposed in which electrons are captured into H 3 ∗∗ autoionizing Rydberg states that are stabilized by collisional mixing of the Rydberg molecules' angular momenta. The proposed mechanism would enable de-ionization to occur without the need for dissociative recombination by the mechanism of potential-surface crossings.
Infrared spectra of individual semiconducting single-walled carbon nanotubes: Testing the scaling of transition energies for large diameter nanotubes

We have measured the low-energy excitonic transitions of chiral assigned individual large-diameter semiconducting single-walled nanotubes using a high-resolution Fourier transform photoconductivity technique. When photoconductivity is complemented by Rayleigh scattering spectroscopy, as many as five optical transitions can be identified on the same individual nanotube over an energy range of 0.3-2.7 eV. We find that well-established energy scaling relations developed for nanotubes of smaller diameter are not consistent with the measured low-energy transitions in large (1.8-2.3 nm) diameter nanotubes.
Coulomb and nuclear excitation of giant dipole resonances in ( alpha, alpha ') inelastic scattering.

Cross sections of inelastic \ensuremath{\alpha}-particle scattering to isovector giant dipole resonances are calculated including both nuclear and Coulomb excitation. It is shown that the calculated cross sections are rather small and can be safely neglected for bombarding energies less than 200 MeV in determining the strength of the giant monopole resonance. This conclusion contradicts that of a recent report made by Peterson.
Atherosclerotic aneurysms of aortocoronary vein grafts

1 ate postoperative atherosclerosis of a saphenous vein [SV) used for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is frequent. Only 40 to 45% of such SV grafts have a normal angiographic appearance 10 years after CABG.1-3 Saphenous vein graft aneurysms occurring 4 to 6 months after CABG are likely related to venous valves.4 Late graft aneurysms associated with atherosclerosis are unusual586 The present study describes clinical, pathologic and radiologic findings in 5 patients who had aneurysms of atherosclerotic SVs used as conduits for CABG. All patients were admitted to Brigham and Women’s Hospital for repeat cardiac catheterization 6 to 10 years after CABG with SVs. Multiple projections including the right and left anterior oblique [with both caudal and cranial angulation) and the anteroposterior views were obtained of the native coronary arteries and the SV grafts. All 5 patients subsequently underwent repeat CABG. The aneurysmal segments of the SV grafts were removed, fixed in formalin, embedded in paraffin, sectioned and stained with hematoxylin
Biomechanical, Perceptual, and Cognitive Factors Involved in Balance Recovery Following Unexpected Perturbations: A Literature Review

For an individual standing or walking on a moving or non-moving surface, perturbations can result in postural instability and sudden loss of balance. When unexpected perturbations occur, specific mechanisms involving the sensory, cognitive, and motor systems activate in order to regain postural control. For example, specific muscle synergies can result in compensatory limb movements (e.g. stepping or reaching towards a fixed object) that are prevalent mechanical responses to sudden loss of balance and play a crucial role in preventing falls. These movements require the interaction of multiple sensory systems including the visual, somatosensory, and vestibular systems. If sensory information is unavailable or incomplete, there may be a greater reliance on cognitive processes such as memory and attention in order to execute a balance-recovering mechanical response; however, if cognitive processes are tasked, compensatory responses may be negatively affected. The ability to recover from sudden loss of balance is critical in preventing falls on both non-moving and moving surfaces. This review includes a discussion of the biomechanical, perceptual, and cognitive factors responsible for the control of balance recovery on moving surfaces.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Critical evaluation of desorption phenomena of heavy metals from natural sediments.

In natural sediments, the majority of heavy metal ions are generally associated with the solid phase. To become bioavailable, the metal ions must desorb from the solid. Numerous studies of heavy metals in sediments have suggested that sorption and desorption exhibit hysteresis (i.e., the two processes are not reversible), while other studies have suggested that desorption hysteresis does not exist. In this study, sorption/desorption hysteresis of lead (Pb) and cadmium (Cd) was evaluated over the following range of conditions: (i) desorption induced by replacing the supernatant liquid with contaminant-free electrolyte solution; (ii) desorption induced by lowering the solution pH with mineral acid; and (iii) desorption induced by sequestration with EDTA. Given the importance of dissolved organic and inorganic ligands in regulating heavy metal behavior in nature sediments, sorption/desorption experiments were conducted on both untreated and prewashed sediments. Prewashing treatment increases the sorption potential of Cd but not Pb. Desorption hysteresis is observed in both the untreated and the prewashed sediments using the replaced supernatant method, and the desorption hysteresis appears to increase with aging time. Hysteresis is not observed when desorption is initiated by lowering the solution pH. A large fraction of the sorbed heavy metal ions can be easily desorbed by EDTA; between 0.04 and 1.2 mmol/kg Cd and Pb ions are resistant to desorption.
The specific factors continuum model, with implications for globalization and income risk

Abstract This paper embeds the specific factors model in the goods continuum approach of Dornbusch et al. (1977, 1980) and applies it to analyze the effect of globalization on income risk. Globalization amplifies sector specific income risk induced by idiosyncratic sectoral technology shocks, but tends to reduce income risk to both mobile and immobile factors induced by aggregate technology shocks that differ by country. Aggregate risk bears most heavily on the poorest specific factors.
Self Theories and Employee Motivation

Two paradigmatic approaches to theorizing about the self exist: the self as agent and the self as a series of processes emerging out of the self-concept. Within each paradigm a number of theories about the self imply consequences for employee motivation. The paradigms can be viewed as operational within different organizational contexts. A metatheoretical model is proposed, relating organizational and task conditions, the activation level of the employee's self, and the employee motivation theories likely to be explanatory and predictive.
MDSplus Current Developments and Future Directions

MDSplus is a data handling software system used widely in the fusion research community. It provides tools for acquiring, storing and analyzing data from fusion experiments, simulations, and analysis codes. The system also provides a networking system that enables users to access data remotely from any computer on the Internet. The software is now available for most computing platforms. MDSplus is an open source package and as the user community grows, many tools and programs based on MDSplus are being developed at numerous fusion research sites. MDSplus is easily taught to access other data stores and is being used to provide a network gateway to fusion data stored in non-MDSplus formats. Many large physics codes are being fitted to use MDSplus as the primary means of data input and output, removing the necessity to build different versions of the code to access different data formats. This paper will describe where and how the software is currently being used, identify recent developments and enhancements to the system and present some of the planned improvements to the software.
Mapping out the Uncanny Valley: a multidisciplinary approach

This presentation will detail the results of two studies done for the purpose of investigating the Uncanny Valley in virtual character modeling, and present the results in the context of research from other disciplines. The emphasis of the presentation will be on translating the results to provide information for character designers and modelers.Media critics including The New York Times, Wired Magazine, and ESPN have mentioned Dr. Masahiro Mori's theory of the Uncanny Valley in reviews of film and video games. The concept involves the negative reaction some people experience when seeing real world robots or virtual 3-d models of humans that are intended to be very realistic. This increasingly common concept comes from robotics, and most direct investigation of the theory has been done with robots, not virtual characters.The original Uncanny Valley paper presented a theorized relationship between familiarity and human appearance. Mori's original 1970 paper begins with the idea that the relationship between how human a robot looks and how positively people will regard its appearance is a positive one. The main concept is that this positive relationship temporarily turns extremely negative for robots that look very human but aren't totally so.The two studies at the center of this submission were designed to investigate the design of virtual agents for the screen, and provide information for character designers. The first asked sixty research subjects to evaluate seventy five video game and animation characters, including humans, robots, anthropomorphized animals and others. The initial findings of this first study were presented at SIGGRAPH's Sandbox Symposium in 2007, a more detailed contextual analysis will be presented here. The second study looked at a more specific group of characters, the humanoid characters of Second Life. While the first study gave details about the relationship between human appearance and attraction in a wide range of characters, the second provides more specific information on the design of human characters.Data analysis from these studies provided a fountain of information that would be of use to any character modeler. The first study using a wider range of characters showed a clear relationship between subjects' opinion on human-like appearance and attraction. The relationship found was more complex than the one from the original Mori paper, but supported the Valley idea. The data from the second study also was found to be supportive of the concept, and analysis provided insight into how character gender, use of texture, level of facial detail, and other design decisions influenced the relationship.Research on virtual character design will be used to provide a third perspective on the Uncanny Valley. Human reaction to virtual agents has been explored in areas such as psychology, computer science, telecommunications, and instructional technology. The most relevant studies from these areas will be used to put the studies' results in context for designers.
Unified approach for exact calculation of angular momentum coupling and recoupling coefficients

We present schemes to reformulate all the 3j, 6j and 9j symbols in a form which is the product of two factors. One is a prefactor which is the square root of integer products and quotients. The other is the summation of the products of binomial coefficients. In the calculation of these factors, we utilize two types of number representation: the prime number representation for the prefactor, and the 32768-base number representation for the summation terms. This makes it possible to tabulate or exactly calculate the coupling and recoupling coefficients for any large angular momenta. Instead of evaluating a large number of factorials of integers, we also compute the binomial coefficients recursively at every stage, which dramatically increases the efficiency of calculation. Hence, a direct method for very fast and exact calculation of coupling and recoupling coefficients for all range of quantum angular momenta is established.
An improved model for adhesively bonded DCB joints

An improved analytical model is proposed for characterizing the fracture behavior of an adhesively bonded double cantilever beam joint under Mode I loading. Novel interfacial normal stress distribution function is used with a key parameter c that is determined using continuum mixture theory. In addition to the mechanical and sectional properties of the adherends, crack length, and overlap area, the model also incorporates the adhesive thickness and material properties as well as the crack tip rotation. Model prediction of the fracture toughness of the joint is entered into finite element analysis to simulate crack propagation under peel loading. The effect of various parameters on the joint fracture properties is discussed. Results show that the proposed model provides better correlation with published experimental data.
A Note on Some Measures of Profile Agreement

Profile similarity or agreement is increasingly used in personality research and clinical practice and has potential applications in many other fields of psychology. I compared 4 measures of profile agreement—the Pearson r, Cattell's (1949) r p , McCrae's (1993) r pa , and an intraclass correlation coefficient (double entry), ICCDE—using both broad factor and specific facet profiles. Matched versus mismatched self-ratings/other ratings on the NEO Personality Inventory–3 (McCrae, Costa, & Martin, 2005) were used as criteria. At the factor level, r pa and ICCDE were comparable, and both were superior to r p in distinguishing matched versus mismatched profiles. At the facet level, ICCDE was superior to the other coefficients. The Pearson r performed better than expected.
Factors Affecting Articulation Skills In Children With Velocardiofacial Syndrome and Children With Cleft Palate or Velopharyngeal Dysfunction: A Preliminary Report

Abstract Objective: To examine the influence of speech perception, cognition, and implicit phonological learning on articulation skills of children with velocardiofacial syndrome (VCFS) and children with cleft palate or velopharyngeal dysfunction (VPD). Design: Cross-sectional group experimental design. Participants: Eight children with VCFS and five children with nonsyndromic cleft palate or VPD. Methods and Measures: All children participated in a phonetic inventory task, speech perception task, implicit priming nonword repetition task, conversational sample, nonverbal intelligence test, and hearing screening. Speech tasks were scored for percentage of phonemes correctly produced. Group differences and relations among measures were examined using nonparametric statistics. Results: Children in the VCFS group demonstrated significantly poorer articulation skills and lower standard scores of nonverbal intelligence compared with the children with cleft palate or VPD. There were no significant group differen...
Susceptibility of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus) and brown bullhead (Ameriurus nebulosus) to oxidative stress: a comparative study

Many pollutants in aquatic systems have been shown to exert toxic effects related to oxidative stress. Biochemical parameters of xenobiotic metabolism and oxidative stress were examined in two benthic fish species, channel catfish and brown bullhead, which differ in their apparent susceptibility to pollutant-mediated neoplasia. These parameters included enzyme activities and production of reactive oxygen species by hepatic subcellular fractions. Hepatic ethoxyresorufin O-deethylase (EROD) activity was markedly higher in catfish than in bullhead. This interspecific difference was also observed following induction of EROD activities by β-naphthoflavone (βNF). Conversely, hepatic microsomal cytochrome P-450 reductase (P-450R) activity was higher in bullhead and was unaffected in both species by βNF treatment. Hepatic catalase, DT diaphorase, glutathione reductase, glutathione S-transferase and total glutathione content were significantly higher in catfish as well. Hepatic glutathione peroxidase activity was significantly higher in bullhead. No significant interspecific difference was observed in hepatic superoxide dismutase activity. Cytosolic rates of menadione-mediated superoxide anion and hydrogen peroxide production were higher in pooled catfish liver samples as compared to bullhead. Conversely, microsomal rates of superoxide and hydrogen peroxide production were higher in bullhead, consistent with relative P-450R activities in the two species. Catfish liver homogenate was more effective than bullhead homogenate at inhibiting iron/ ascorbate-mediated production of 8-hydroxydeoxyguanosine (8-OHdG) in vitro.
Strain sensing of carbon fiber reinforced geopolymer concrete

Health monitoring of concrete structures is performed by assessing the structure’s state of stress. One such method involves monitoring electrical resistance variations as an indirect measure of stress variations. Carbon fibers were added to fresh geopolymer mix to enhance its electrical conductivity. AC-impedance spectroscopy analyses were performed on sample specimens to obtain their electrical resistance. Geopolymer concrete specimens entrained with carbon fibers were dynamically loaded in bending and uniaxial compression to observe changes in electrical resistance with respect to variations in their stress state. For beam specimens electrical resistance was found to follow a descending trend with increasing bending stresses. A more complex relationship was noted for cylinder specimens that were loaded axially. Overall experimental results suggest that conductive geopolymer could serve as a smart material in health monitoring applications of concrete structures.
Characteristics of atmospheric turbulence as related to wind loads on tall structures

Atmospheric turbulence characteristics related to drag loads of tall spacecraft structures by boundary layer wind model