cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adjoint retrieval of prognostic land surface model variables for an NWP model: Assimilation of ground surface temperature

Based on a 2-layer land surface model, a rather general variational data assimilation framework for estimating model state variables is developed. The method minimizes the error of surface soil temperature predictions subject to constraints imposed by the prediction model. Retrieval experiments for soil prognostic variables are performed and the results verified against model simulated data as well as real observations for the Oklahoma Atmospheric Surface layer Instrumentation System (OASIS). The optimization scheme is robust with respect to a wide range of initial guess errors in surface soil temperature (as large as 30 K) and deep soil moisture (within the range between wilting point and saturation). When assimilating OASIS data, the scheme can reduce the initial guess error by more than 90%, while for Observing Simulation System Experiments (OSSEs), the initial guess error is usually reduced by over four orders of magnitude. Using synthetic data, the robustness of the retrieval scheme as related to information content of the data and the physical meaning of the adjoint variables and their use in sensitivity studies are investigated. Through sensitivity analysis, it is confirmed that the vegetation coverage and growth condition determine whether or not the optimally estimated initial soil moisture condition leads to an optimal estimation of the surface fluxes. This reconciles two recent studies. With the real data experiments, it is shown that observations during the daytime period are the most effective for the retrieval. Longer assimilation windows result in more accurate initial condition retrieval, underlining the importance of information quantity, especially for schemes assimilating noisy observations.
ConfigChecker: A tool for comprehensive security configuration analytics

Recent studies show that configurations of network access control is one of the most complex and error prone network management tasks. For this reason, network misconfiguration becomes the main source for network unreachablility and vulnerability problems. In this paper, we present a novel approach that models the global end-to-end behavior of access control configurations of the entire network including routers, IPSec, firewalls, and NAT for unicast and multicast packets. Our model represents the network as a state machine where the packet header and location determines the state. The transitions in this model are determined by packet header information, packet location, and policy semantics for the devices being modeled. We encode the semantics of access control policies with Boolean functions using binary decision diagrams (BDDs). We then use computation tree logic (CTL) and symbolic model checking to investigate all future and past states of this packet in the network and verify network reachability and security requirements. Thus, our contributions in this work is the global encoding for network configurations that allows for general reachability and security property-based verification using CTL model checking. We have implemented our approach in a tool called ConfigChecker. While evaluating ConfigChecker, we modeled and verified network configurations with thousands of devices and millions of configuration rules, thus demonstrating the scalability of this approach. We also present a SCAP-based tool on top of ConfigChecker that integrates host and network configuration compliance checking in one model and allows for executing comprehensive analysis queries in order to verify security and risk requirements across the end-to-end network as a single system.
FACTORS CONTROLLING THE INTERTIDAL ZONATION OF IRIDAEA FLACCIDA (RHODOPHYTA)1

Field experiments were used to examine the effects of biological interactions on the abundance of Iridaea flaccida (S. & G.) Silva within and below its normal range in the intertidal zone of central California. A combination of competitor removal, grazer exclusion and transplant manipulations showed that within the I. flaccida zone, this alga can be the first macroscopic plant to become reestablished after clearing and that this can occur in less than two months. Grazing by molluscs within this zone retards, but does not prevent, re-establishment. Although absent prior to the experiments, both I. flaccida and I. cordata (Turn.) Bory settled, grew rapidly and reproduced in cleared areas below the I. flaccida zone, regardless of the presence of grazers. These plants did not establish themselves if entire thalli or holdfasts of other algae normally occupying the lower zone were present. The results support the few other in situ experimental investigations of algal zonation by showing that, when bounded by other plants, the lower limits of intertidal algae are directly determined by competition. They also suggest that I. flaccida and I. cordata may be conspecific.
Training science teachers to utilize better teaching strategies: A research synthesis

This study is a synthesis of practice and research related to the use of behavior analysis to train science teachers. An idealized model (derived from practice) for training science teachers is presented first. Then research related to the categories of the model is reviewed and synthesized. To do this, all available studies on the topic were classified by the type of treatment used to influence the teaching behaviors. The results were meta-analyzed. The effectiveness of training procedures fell into the following order, from lowest to highest: (1) study of an analysis system and self analysis; (2) observing models; (3) analyzing models; and, (4) practice and analysis with feedback. Science educators are encouraged to use the procedures outlined in the model to train better teachers. These results support the idealized model.
Inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate is inactivated by a 5-phosphatase in stamen hair cells of Tradescantia

Inositol 1,4,5 trisphosphate [Ins(1,4,5)P3] is produced from the hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5 bisphosphate, and as part of a second-messenger signal transduction mechanism, induces release of Ca2+ from internal stores in both plant and animal systems. It is less well established how the active Ins(1,4,5)P3 is inactivated. Studies in animal cells have demonstrated two separate metabolic pathways. Ins(1,4,5)P3 can be hydrolyzed by a 5-phosphatase or phosphorylated by a 3-kinase, resulting in the formation of Ins(1,4)P2 and Ins(1,3,4,5)P4, respectively, neither of which is able to mobilize intracellular Ca2+. Plant cell extracts have been reported to have hydrolytic and kinase activities that produce Ins(1,4)P2, and Ins(4,5)P2 and Ins(1,4,5,6)P4 from Ins(1,4,5)P3. These results offer little insight into the enzyme activities in the intact plant cell since the observed activities might be confined to intracellular compartments that have little if any impact on the signaling events within the cytosol that require Ins(1,4,5)P3. To resolve the mechanism of Ins(1,4,5)P3 inactivation, we microinjected stamen hair cells of Tradescantia virginiana L. with nonhydrolysable analogs of Ins(1,4,5)P3 that have been previously shown to cause Ca2+ release from intracellular stores. Our results indicate a sustained cytosolic [Ca2+] increase when cells were injected with the 5-phosphatase-insensitive 5-monophosphorothioate derivative of Ins(1,4,5)P3, in contrast to a brief transient when injected with the 3-kinase-insensitive 3-fluoro-3-deoxy Ins(1,4,5)P3 analog. We conclude that the 5-phosphatase pathway is the preferred pathway for Ins(1,4,5)P3 inactivation in the stamen hair cells of Tradescantia.
Using response surface analysis to optimize the quality of ultrapasteurized liquid whole egg

Response surface analysis (RSA) is used to show the effects of a range of heat pasteurization times and temperature combinations on several quality factors of liquid egg. The purpose of this paper is not to suggest the rigid processing time and temperature combinations to give maximum quality but to illustrate that RSA can be used as a tool to predict individual and multiple egg functional properties resulting from various processing conditions. The application of heat will change the quality and functional properties of the liquid egg. This paper describes the application of RSA to the changes in soluble protein, alpha-amylase, solids content, viscosity, and the height of cakes made with processed liquid whole egg (LWE). The Mallow's Cp statistic is used to determine the best model while minimizing the number of terms in the model. By using this method of choosing the model, the number of terms desired in the model can be first determined then the best fit can be determined from the possible models. The time and temperature combinations are in the ultra-high temperature range for eggs (30, 60, and 95 s each at 64, 68, and 72 C). The RSA may be used to optimize the quality and functionality of LWE while ensuring the safety of the product. This information can be used (with further testing) to maximize desirable and minimize undesirable product properties.
On locating part bins in a constrained layout area for an automated assembly process

Abstract This paper presents a zero-one mixed integer programming formulation for the optimal layout/location of a robotic cell. n different rectangular part bins of fixed sizes are to be optimally located within the constrained area. The objective is to minimize a total weighted round trip travel of the of the robotic arm between the bins and n fixed assembly locations. The problem is solved using a standard branch and bound code as well as a Lagrangian relaxation formulation which reduces the problem to that solving two linear programming sub-problems.
Altruistic Activity and Older Adults in Long Term Care Facilities

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of different types of activity on older adults in long term care facilities. Twenty-six female occupational therapy students visited older adults residing in local nursing facilities. Older adults were paired with student volunteers and participated in an altruistic activity, a non-altruistic activity, or weekly conversation with no activity. Responses to the dependent measures were also gathered from participants of a regularly scheduled group activity whose members did not interact with students. The dependent measures included the participants' scores on the revised Philadelphia Geriatric Center (PGC) Morale Scale, participants' scores on the Patient Description Scale, completed by each participant's student visitor, and the participants' rating of the activity using Osgood's Semantic Differential. Scores on the PGC Morale Scale indicated a significantly more positive attitude toward aging among individuals in the altruistic condition compared to ...
Lipid metabolism of insects: Interconversion of fatty acids and fatty alcohols

Abstract Fatty acids and fatty alcohols are interconverted in vivo in the tobacco budworm. The oxidation of injected or dietary [1-14C] hexadecanol and [1-14C] octadecanol to hexadecanoic and octadecanoic acid respectively takes place rapidly. Forty-eight hours after injection 84 per cent of the alcohol was oxidized to fatty acid, and when given in the larval diet the oxidation of alcohol was virtually complete. The reverse reaction, reduction of fatty acids to alcohols, was demonstrated with highly purified [1-14C] hexadecanoic acid and took place sparingly. The reaction equilibrium for the interconversion was strongly displaced in the direction of the fatty acids.
Analytical Solutions for Linear Counter-Current Spontaneous Imbibition in the Frontal Flow Period

Analytical solutions have been derived in this article for counter-current spontaneous imbibition in a semi-infinite linear porous medium. The derivation is based on six fundamental equations, i.e., the existence of only two fluid phases, the continuity of flow, the generalized Darcy’s law for the wetting phase, the generalized Darcy’s law for the nonwetting phase, the relation between the capillary pressure generated by an interface and the difference in pressure across the interface between the nonwetting and wetting phases, and the conservation of mass. The mechanisms revealed by the solutions are simple and clear, and most of them are newly discovered. The solutions specify flow characteristics in three aspects. First, flow decelerates according to the square root of time. Second, the imbibed wetting phase volume is proportional to the square root of the product of porosity, suction capacity, and piston efficiency, while the sweeping distance is proportional to the square root of the ratio of suction capacity to the product of porosity and piston efficiency. Third, the volume of imbibed wetting phase is related to the area of the sample cross section, while sweeping distance does not. Suction capacity and piston efficiency are two measurable physical properties during counter-current spontaneous imbibition. An important step has been taken to extend the solutions to the cases where the saturation profiles are characterized by truncated fronts common in the productive reservoirs. It has been proven that the results calculated by analytical algorithms and the corresponding high-precision numerical methods match each other very closely. Previous study has already shown that the numerical simulation results can be highly consistent with the experimental performance measures. Therefore, with the advantages of clarity, accuracy, and speed, the analytical solutions provided in this article are very useful in increasing mechanism comprehension, enhancing engineering calculations and promoting wettability determination.
Compounds in the pyrrolo[3′,4′:4,5] pyrrolo[3,4‐b]indole series

Compounds in the new pyrrolo[3′,4′:4,5]pyrrolo[3,4-b]indole series have been produced by an imide cyclization of appropriate derivatives of pyrrolo[3,4-b]indole.
Effective modulation of the haematopoietic toxicity associated with zidovudine exposure to murine and human haematopoietic progenitor stem cells in vitro with lithium chloride.

The drug zidovudine (AZT), a synthetic thymidine analogue, has been used in the treatment of acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). Clinical use of zidovudine has induced haematopoietic toxicity manifested by anaemia, neutropenia, frequent thrombocytopenia, and overall bone-marrow suppression. The monovalent cation lithium has been shown to be an effective agent capable of modulating several aspects of haematopoiesis such as the induction of neutrophilia, thrombopoiesis, and protection against suppression of haematopoietic progenitor stem cells following exposure to anticancer drugs and/or radiation in the treatment of malignant disease. We here report the results of studies designed to evaluate the effectiveness of lithium in reversing and/or protecting against either murine or human bone marrow derived haematopoietic progenitors, i.e. (CFU-GM, CFU-Meg, and BFU-E) when co-cultured in the presence of zidovudine in vitro. Lithium chloride (LiCl) reversed zidovudine toxicity to either murine or human derived CFU-GM and CFU-Meg that was optimal at a concentration of 1 mM (P less than 0.05). However, the addition of lithium failed to influence zidovudine toxicity toward either murine or human BFU-E. In summary, these results support the scant clinical studies that have described the presence of neutrophilia and/or thrombopoiesis in zidovudine-treated AIDS patients receiving lithium. In addition, these data further confirm the need for more detailed evaluation of lithium as an adjuvant agent to reduce the haematopoietic toxicity associated with the use of antiviral therapy in HIV-infected patients.
Turning a blind eye to alternative medicine education

Donald M Marcus investigates how medical schools deal with the teaching of CAM Despite little evidence for their efficacy,1 2 3 and growing information about their adverse effects,4 complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) therapies are popular. In 2007 consumers spent $24bn (£15bn; €18bn) out of pocket on self prescribed alternative treatments and products.5 The use of these therapies is driven, in large part, by the prevalence of misinformation in the media and on the internet. Academic health science centers should provide evidence based guidance to health professionals and to the public. Unfortunately, many medical and nursing schools endorse the use of CAM. The mission of integrative medicine centers, which are present in more than 40 medical and nursing schools, is to introduce evidence based information regarding safe and effective alternative therapies into healthcare education. Although clinical trials before 2000 provided data supporting the efficacy of some alternative therapies, systematic reviews showed serious defects in their methodology that made them uninterpretable. More rigorous, independently funded trials of the past decade found no evidence for their efficacy beyond a placebo effect.1 2 3 A detailed review of curriculums created by 15 institutions that received educational grants from the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM) showed that they failed to conform to the principles of evidence …
The management of United States government information resources: An assessment of OMB circular A-130

Abstract In late 1985, the U.S. Office of Management and Budget issued its controversial circular on the “Management of Federal Information Resources. ”This article assesses that circular in four areas relating to public access to government information: information resources management, economy and efficiency in that management, the adequacy of selected definitions, and implications for the depository library program. The conclusion emphasizes that the circular is severely deficient and requires public scrutiny and modification, as well as congressional review.
Risks and benefits of supplement use.

Although dietary supplements offer consumers the ability to participate in their own health and well being, steps need to be taken to educate the public and clinicians to prevent misuse and encourage proper use. Better patient education through health care providers and the establishment of good manufacturing procedures for supplement producers will benefit those wishing to take dietary supplements. Currently, supplement users may be exposed to increased risk due to the lack of required good manufacturing procedures, poor communication between patients and health care providers, and the manner in which dietary supplements can be marketed without proof of safety or efficacy derived from large clinical trials.
Sensing Sun Damage

Too much fun in the sun can leave a person’s skin red and inflamed, but these conditions might just be the tip of the iceberg. In addition to sunburns, the ultraviolet B (UVB) portion of the solar radiation spectrum—which includes wavelengths between 290 and 310 nm—also drives aging and
Simultaneous Quantification of Anandamide and Other Endocannabinoids in Dorsal Vagal Complex of Rat Brainstem by LC-MS

A quantitative method has been developed and validated for the simultaneous determination of anandamide (AEA), docosatetraenylethanolamide (DEA) and N-arachidonyldopamine (NADA) in dorsal vagal complex (DVC) of rat brainstem by liquid chromatographic-electrospray ionization mass spectrometry. The analytes were extracted from the tissue samples of rat brainstem by a single step liquid extraction technique using acetonitrile. The chromatographic separation was conducted on a C18 column using a gradient mobile phase consisting of methanol and water at a flow rate of 0.3 mL min−1. The analytes were quantified by positive electrospray ionization mass spectrometry with selected ion monitoring (SIM) mode. The limits of detection (LOD) for AEA, DEA and NADA were 0.5, 1 and 0.5 ng mL−1, respectively. This method required only simple processing of the samples and could be applied to monitor the change in the level of these compounds in DVC of the rat brain tissue. Time dependent (10–70 min) accumulation of the endocannabinoids (AEA, DEA, and NADA) in brain tissue was also studied, which included a novel examination of the accumulation of DEA as a function of time in rat brain tissue after decapitation.
Influence of lipoproteins on microglial degradation of Alzheimer's amyloid beta-protein.

Amyloid beta-protein (Abeta), the major component of plaques in Alzheimer's disease, is a small hydrophobic protein that is carried on apolipoprotein E (ApoE)- and ApoJ-containing lipoprotein particles in plasma and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). Microglia, the scavenger cells of the CNS, take up and degrade Abeta via lipoprotein receptors including scavenger receptors A and B, and possibly via other receptors. Lipoproteins, ApoE, and ApoJ influence the uptake and degradation of Abeta in vitro and in vivo. Differences in ApoE-E4, -E3, and -E2 isoforms with respect to Abeta binding to lipoproteins and delivery to cells, including microglia, may contribute to the increased risk of Alzheimer's disease for people with an APOE4 genotype and to risk reduction with APOE2.
A Small Group Strategy for Improving Compliance Behavior and Blood Pressure Control

A brief small group structured approach to improving compliance behavior and blood pressure control is described. The group intervention is based on the results of a diagnostic baseline survey of ambulatory hypertensive patients receiving care in an inner-city hospital. It was tailored to meet the expressed needs of that population group. Three main steps characterize the intervention: examining health behaviors and compliance issues with the patients using rehearsal of specific coping skills in problem solving activity; using Locus of Control concepts to facilitate process; and encouraging the patient to practice and apply the coping skills in stressful situations. Major themes within the group sessions and general outcomes are examined.
“Facing Threats”: Understanding Communication Apprehensive Instructors' Face Loss and Face Restoration in the Classroom

Noting a lack of qualitative literature devoted to student–teacher interactions, and even less targeting instructor communication apprehension (CA), this study aimed to combine these areas. Interview data were gathered from college instructors who experience CA in the classroom in an effort to garner their unique dealings with face-threatening situations with students. Using the concept of facework as a guide, two main themes arose from data analysis: (a) Threatening Face, and (b) Facing Identity: Managing and Restoring Face. Implications for facework theory and CA conclude this study.
Regional Science for what?: Policy orientation of WRSA

I am honored for being given this opportunity to address the members of the Western Regional Science Association that has its own tradition and orientation. I personally like this organization as the organization meets in a friendly atmosphere and spends a greater amount of time for each paper presented. However, at the same time, I am concerned with the fact that many of the papers Regional Scientists produce do not have very much to do with real-world problems we have. As many of past presidents of this association and other Regional Science organizations have expressed, many of us share the concern that Regional Science may not be addressing real world problems very much (such as Rodwin 1959; Harris 1968; Chinitz 1971; Hwang 1989; Funk 1989; Jensen 1991; Quigley 2001). What is Regional Science for? If Regional Science is not an instrument for solving real world problems, then why do we have to devote ourselves to this field of study? There is a view that there is value in intellectual pursuit of knowledge itself. Indeed, some of our fields in science may have developed without any specific purpose of utilizing the results of the study for practical purposes. However, some of us, and perhaps many of us, are not satisfied with such a situation. Particularly, those scholars affiliated with schools or departments of public policy, economics, urban planning, business, and engineering would not be fully satisfied with Regional Science without any practical use. In what follows, I would like to reflect on some of the pertinent issues, to survey the current situation of this field of study, and to make certain assessment about the future of this field of study. Regional Science has been with us since 1954 with the establishment of Regional Science Association, a forerunner of RSAI. During the past half Ann Reg Sci (2004) 38:349–356 DOI: 10.1007/s00168-003-0172-7
The Berkeley Data Analytics Stack: Present and future

The Berkeley AMPLab was founded on the idea that the challenges of emerging Big Data applications requires a new approach to analytics systems. Launching in early 2011, the project set out to rethink the traditional analytics stack, breaking down technical and intellectual barriers that had arisen during decades of evolutionary development. The vision of the lab is to seamlessly integrate the three main resources available for making sense of data at scale: Algorithms (such as machine learning and statistical techniques), Machines (in the form of scalable clusters and elastic cloud computing), and People (both individually as analysts and en masse, as with crowdsourced human computation). To pursue this goal, we assembled a research team with diverse interests across computer science, forged relationships with domain experts on campus and elsewhere, and obtained the support of leading industry partners and major government sponsors. The lab is realizing its ideas through the development of a freely-available Open Source software stack called BDAS: the Berkeley Data Analytics Stack. In the nearly three years the lab has been in operation, we've released major components of BDAS. Several of these components have gained significant traction in industry and elsewhere: the Mesos cluster resource manager, the Spark inmemory computation framework, and the Shark query processing system. BDAS shows up prominently in many industry discussions of the future of the Big Data analytics ecosystem - a rare degree of impact for an ongoing academic project. Given this initial success, the lab is continuing on its research path, moving "up the stack" to better integrate and support deep machine learning and to make people a full-fledged resource for making sense of Big Data. In this talk, I'll first outline the motivation and insights behind our research approach and describe how we have organized to address the cross-disciplinary nature of Big Data challenges. I will then describe the current state of BDAS with an emphasis on the key components listed above and will address our current efforts on machine learning scalability and ease of use, and hybrid human/computer processing. Finally I will present our current views of how all the pieces will fit together to form a system that can adaptively bring the right resources to bear on a given data-driven question to meet time, cost and quality requirements throughout the analytics lifecycle.
Humanitarian Intervention and Communal Civil Wars

Military intervention to bring about lasting peace in a violent communal conflict fails or even backfires far more often than it succeeds. Policymakers and military officials commonly ignore the ch...
Identification of Mauthner-initiated response patterns in goldfish: Evidence from simultaneous cinematography and electrophysiology

1. This paper demonstrates that the Mauthner (M-) cell action potential is correlated with the onset of C-type fast-start responses beginning with a contraction of the contralateral body musculature. We made extracellular recordings from individual M-cells with chronically implanted microelectrodes in six goldfish while the animals were free to swim in an aquarium (19–23 °C). Fast-start responses were elicited by dropping a ball into the aquarium from above the fish. The behavior was filmed at 500 frames/s with a high-speed cine camera (Fig. 31). 2. In 45 responses, the M-cell action potential (M-spike) fired 7.4 ms ±6.7 (±SD) after the ball hit the water. The M-spike was followed after 8.1 ms±1.6 by the first stage of a C-type fast-start response that began with an initial contraction of the body on the side opposite the monitored M-cell (Figs. 5 A and 6). This is consistent with neuroanatomical and physiological evidence that the M-cell excites contra-lateral motor neurons. No M-spike was recorded in 18 trials when the C-start began with an initial contraction on the same side as the monitored M-cell (Fig. 7B1, 7B2). Presumably, such responses were initiated by the unmonitored M-cell on the opposite side of the brain. There was also no M-spike when the fish did not respond to the stimulus (ten trials). 3. M-initiated C-starts fell into two different response categories differentiated by the turns taken during the second stage of the motor pattern. In most cases (83%) the animal continued in the trajectory of its initial turn (Fig. 5 A). In 17% of the responses the second stage turn was in a direction opposite that taken initially, so that the animal darted forward (Fig. 5B). 4. The maximum mean displacement speed of three fish in 21 trials was 18 body lengths/s as measured from the rostrum. This occurred at about 16 ms after the response began (Fig. 9A). The maximum mean angular velocity of the head was 3,500 deg/s. This occurred at 10 ms after the response began (Fig. 9C). These values correspond to the pronounced lateral movement of the head during the initial stage of the response. 5. The M-initiated first stage was Stereotypic in terms of the trajectory taken (Fig. 8) and the mechanical performance of the animal (Fig. 9 B and D). In contrast, the turning performance during the second stage was variable from trial to trial (Figs. 8, 9B and D). 6. M-initiated responses were directed away from the stimulus. The M-cell on the side closest to the ball was the one that usually fired (85% of the trials) so that the initial turn was away from the stimulus. During 87% of the second stage responses, the animal oriented away from the stimulus (Fig. 10).
Nature of unseeded crystallization in semiconductors

Abstract We have studied crystal growth directions in explosively recrystallized ion-implanted amorphous silicon layers on silicon substrates (induced by continuous-wave Ar + laser or electron beam). Both these cases represented examples of unseeded crystallization in which we found 〈110〉 as the preferred direction of crystal growth. A crystallization model is presented to rationalize the predominance of 〈110〉 direction during unseeded crystal growth in semiconductors with a diamond cubic structure.
Characterization of Changes in Electrophysiological Activity in an Operational Environment

The purpose of this study is to characterize differences in EEG collected under stationary conditions and that collected in mobile settings. EEG activity has not been evaluated in operational settings due to difficulties associated with processing of EEG in real-world settings such as real-time removal of artifacts, operational environments, and possible differences in EEG frequency associated with mobility. Utilization of EEG measures of cognitive activity in dynamic environments demands the use of real-time algorithms of signal decontamination and characterization of specific components of EEG activity. In this study, EEG was collected and filtered in real-time in a set of controlled stationary scenarios and similar mobile scenarios in order to characterize differences in EEG power, electrode locations, and individual differences under mobility while participants performed tasks of variable difficulty. Results illustrate that the lack of systematic differences in EEG spectral power associated with mobil...
Efficient solution-processed hybrid polymer–nanocrystal near infrared light-emitting devices

We report solution-processed hybrid LEDs, emitting infrared light with enhanced efficiency, based on PbSe nanocrystal (NC) lumophores embedded a conjugated polymer forming the nanocomposite active layer. The effect of device geometry and the NC-polymer blend composition on device performance is studied in detail. Increasing the PbSe NC concentration leads to a substantial decrease in device current, and an increase in efficiency and turn-on voltage. Analysis of the device data indicates that the PbSe NCs act as carrier traps and radiative recombination centers. With optimized concentration of NC emitters and active layer thickness, the devices exhibit an external electroluminescence quantum efficiency of 0.83% at a peak emission wavelength of 1280 nm.
A COMPARISON OF THE RHEOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF DIFFERENT FRACTIONS OF CHICKEN MYOFIBRILLAR PROTEINS

ABSTRACTSuspensions of myofibrils and salt-soluble (SSP) or insoluble (SIP) proteins of chicken breast muscle in 0.6 M NaCl at pH 6.0 were heated to induce gels. Dynamic oscillating measurements showed multiple transitions in the shear storage modulus and loss modulus for all three protein fractions in the temperature range of 40–65C. However, changes in these viscoelasticities were most pronounced for SSP and least appreciable for SIP. Gel penetration test also revealed a descending order of SSP < myofibrils < SIP in gel strength. The three fractions of myofibrillar proteins appeared to follow a similar gelation mechanism but vary in the density of the gel networks.
Infant mortality: explaining black/white disparities in Wisconsin.

Objectives: Understanding the factors contributing to black/white disparities in infant mortality rates in Wisconsin is a prerequisite to decreasing these disparities and improving birth outcomes. We examined multiple determinants of infant mortality to understand the impact of specific risk factors on the infant mortality rates of blacks and whites in Wisconsin. Methods: We used the Wisconsin Interactive Statistics on Health database to examine infant mortality data for the 5-year time period, 1998–2002 (N=32,166 black infant births; 272,559 white infant births). We conducted a bivariate analysis of relative risks (RR) of infant mortality (black vs. white) using specific variables available in the database. We then examined the relationship between infant mortality rate and selected risk factors using regression analyses. Results: Unadjusted, black infants were 3.0 times more likely to die during their first year of life, compared with white infants. Adjusting for gestational age black infants were only 1.9 times more likely to die. The risk was further reduced, after adjusting for birth weight, to 1.3. However, stratifying and adjusting for 8 other multiple variables accounted for some, but not all of the disparity. Black infants who had the same risk profile as white infants still had a 2-fold excess risk of death. In addition, simultaneously controlling for 4 of the 8 risk factors (maternal age, maternal education, adequacy of prenatal care received, and region of the state) also reduced, but did not eliminate, this excess risk (RR was still 2.2 for black infants). Independent of maternal age and region of the state, adequate prenatal care and higher levels of education are significant indicators of the racial disparity between whites and blacks. Conclusions: These results suggest that, within a given racial group, increasing access to prenatal care and increasing maternal educational attainment will improve infant mortality rates but will not eliminate the black/white disparity in infant mortality. In fact, these interventions may actually widen the disparity in infant mortality rate between blacks and whites, especially if funds and programs are applied equally throughout the population, rather than targeted to high-risk individuals, who lag significantly behind the majority population. The Wisconsin white population, which has already attained an infant mortality rate of 4.5 per 1,000 live births, will continue to have greatest benefit from these programs compared to blacks who have a rate of 19.2 in 2004; thus, the disparity is not eliminated and the gap widens probably due to differential uptake of health messages secondary to health literacy issues. Further research is needed to fully understand the additional, more difficult to measure factors that contribute significantly to infant mortality, especially among black women.
Structures of the Jazz Age : mass culture, progressive education, and racial discourse in American modernism

This text charts the American cultural landscape of the twenties, which was populated by intellectuals and writers such as H.L. Mencken, Irving Babbitt, Dos Passos, Cather and Dreiser. It also includes an examination of the progressive educational philosophy of the time, the critique of mass culture and the cult of primitivism, as exemplified by figures such as Anzia Yezierska, Harry Leon Wilson and DuBose Heyward. The author aims to show how these different strands of thought were woven together in a way that helped to sustain Republican rule and an expanding economy, until the stock market crash of 1929.
A System of Coding Medical Data for Punched-Card Machine Retrieval Part 1. As Applied to Epilepsy

SUMMARY A system of coding medical data is described which allows machine retrieval using punched-cards. Examples are given from the system as set up for analysis of data from patients with epilepsy. This system is outlined and the advantages are discussed. RESUME Description d'un systeme de codification des donnees medicales permettant leur recherche mecanique ulterieure a l'aide de cartes perforees. L'auteur donne des exemples du systeme pour l'analyse des donnees concernant des malades epileptiques. Le systeme est expose dans ses grandes lignes et ses avantages soumis a la discussion. Addendum Readers who are interested in obtaining full details of our system may write to the authors for complete copies of the code lists and code sheets.
Consequences of Assessment and Accountability Systems Are Integral to the Argument-Based Approach to Validity

Considering consequences in the evaluation of validity is not new although it is still debated by Paul E. Newton (this issue) and others (Mehrens, 1997; Popham, 1997). The argument-based approach t...
Oxidation reduction potential as a measure of disinfection effectiveness for chlorination of wastewater

Chlorine is commonly added as a disinfectant to potable water before distribution and to wastewater before discharge. The chlorine residual is usually monitored to verify proper disinfectant dose and to ensure adequate pathogen kill before wastewater discharge. Measuring chlorine residual usually requires time-intensive techniques, whereas the measurement of oxidation-reduction potential (ORP) is a possible alternative method with real-time results. Experiments were conducted in which inactivation of total coliform, E. coli, and enterococci was measured with chlorine dose, and ORP was evaluated as a predictor of kill of these organisms. Raising ORP through chlorination was effective at disinfection, yet disinfection effectiveness was found to be not well predicted with ORP measurements.
RELATION BETWEEN ENDEMIC (BALKAN) NEPHROPATHY AND URINARY-TRACT TUMOURS

Serum and urine beta 2-microglobulin concentrations were determined in 38-6% of the 869 inhabitants of a village in which both Balkan endemic nephropathy and papillary tumours of the urinary-tract epithelium are common. Over 23% of the "healthy" population had raised serum and/or urine beta 2-microglobulin. 5 of 6 patients with papillary tumours of the renal pelvis, without evidence of renal parenchymal involvement, and 13-4% of the "healthy" population had raised serum-beta 2-microglobulin. It is suggested that overproduction of beta 2-microglobulin, a light-chain-like immune globulin, by the tumour cells may result in a light-chain-like nephropathy--i.e., endemic Balkan nephropathy.
Kinetics study of thermal decomposition of calcium carboxylate salts

The MixAlco™ process ferments lignocellulosic biomass to carboxylate salts that are thermally decomposed into ketones, which are then chemically converted to a wide variety of chemicals and fuels. To perform these decompositions, suitable reaction models are necessary to properly design, scale, and optimize commercial reactors. For three salt types (calcium acetate, and two types of mixed calcium carboxylate salts), activation energy was determined using three isoconversional methods that employed TGA curves at different heating rates. For all three salt types, activation energy varied significantly with conversion. The average activation energy for calcium acetate was 556.75 kJ mol−1, and the activation energies for the two mixed calcium carboxylate salts were 232.87, and 176.55 kJ mol−1. In addition, three functions of conversion were employed to see which one best modeled the experimental data. The Sestak–Berggren model provides the best universal fit for all three salt types.
Does the federal reserve create political monetary cycles

Abstract This research examines the existence of a political monetary cycle that would help incumbents create political business cycles. Previous research in this area examined similar issues but employed a reaction function that forced the author to make a specific determination as to the policy target employed by the Federal Reserve across a given time period. The relevant literature reveals that if the Federal Reserve is attempting to optimize policy response to external shocks, then some mixture of interest rate and monetary aggregate targets is superior to either target individually. The model in this paper solves this problem through the use of the g1 coefficient. The g1 coefficient is derived from the underlying behavior of the Federal Reserve in its attempt to choose and employ the optimal policy targets necessary for offsetting unanticipated shocks to the economy. The change in g1 is regressed on twelve electoral variables to determine the impact of presidential elections on Federal Reserve policy.
Social studies marginalization: Examining the effects on K-6 pre-service teachers and students

Abstract The consequences of a trend to marginalize social studies in the early grades are complex and widespread, as a new wave of novice teachers and K-6 students are receiving a message clearly implying that social studies education is unimportant. Convincing them of the value in teaching and learning social studies is progressively becoming more difficult for social studies methods instructors. The purpose of this study was to examine pre-service teachers' observations of the extent to which social studies is being marginalized, possible barriers involved, and the impact that this phenomenon has on pre-service teachers and K-6 students in the classroom. Through a mixed-method design, 88 pre-service teachers were asked to report their classroom observations. Over half observed social studies instruction. Of those who observed social studies instruction, about a third indicated that teachers taught 5–15 min per day. Pre-service teachers reported personal success in planning and teaching social studies lessons during their practicum experiences; likewise, K-6 students were motivated by pre-service teachers' student-centered activities in the lessons. The results of this study provide one form of current documentation regarding the effects of social studies marginalization in K-6 schools.
A structure–function study of PACAP using conformationally restricted analogs: Identification of PAC1 receptor-selective PACAP agonists

Pituitary adenylate cyclase-activating polypeptide (PACAP) has widespread physiological/pathophysiological actions and there is increased interest for its use therapeutically, especially in the CNS (neuroprotection). Unfortunately, no selective PACAP-analogs exist for PACAP-preferring PAC1-receptors, primarily because of its high sequence identity to VIP and particularly, because of the inability of structure-function studies to separate the pharmacophore of PAC1-R from VPAC1-R, which has high affinity for PACAP and VIP. The present study attempted to develop PAC1-R-selective agonists primarily by making conformationally restricted PACAP-analogs in positions important for receptor-selectivity/affinity. Forty-six PACAP-related-analogs were synthesized with substitutions in positions 1-4, 14-17, 20-22, 28, 34, 38 and receptor-selectivity determined in PAC1-R,VPAC1-R,VPAC2-R-transfected or native cells from binding or cAMP-generation experiments. Fifteen PACAP-analogs had 6-78-fold higher affinities for PAC1-R than VPAC1-R and 13 were agonists. Although binding-affinities correlated significantly with agonist potency, the degree of receptor-spareness varied markedly for the different PACAP-analogs, resulting in selective potencies for activating the PAC1 receptor over the VPAC1 receptor from 0- to 103-fold. In addition, a number of PACAP-analogs were identified that had high selectivity for PAC1-R over VPAC2-R as well as PACAP-analogs that could prove more useful therapeutically because of substitutions known to extend their half-lives (substitutions at potential sites of proteolysis and attachment of long-chain fatty acids). This study provides for the first time a separation of the pharmacophores for PAC1-R and VPAC1-R, resulting in PACAP-related analogs that are PAC1-R-preferring. Some of these analogs, or their modifications, could prove useful as therapeutic agents for various diseases.
Single-electron charging and periodic conductance resonances in GaAs nanostructures.

Narrow channels interrupted by two controlled potential barriers and having a tunable electron density were made in GaAs, and their conductance was measured at low temperatures. Reproducible and accurately periodic oscillations of the conductance with changing density are found to correspond to the sequential addition of single electrons to the segment of the channel between the barriers. Detailed examination of the line shape of the conductance versus density provides a new insight into the transport mechanism.
Generalized Topological Index

This paper deals with an index which is different in general from the topological index defined by Atiyah and Singer because we loosen the normalization property. The intrinsic relation of this new index with operations in K-theory is explained. It is also shown that if we change the normalization axiom, the corresponding index is well-defined and may be expressed in terms of the topological index. Mathematics Subject Classifications (1991): Primary 19L47; Secondary 19K56. The purpose of this paper is to define an index which is a generalization of the topological equivariant index introduced by Atiyah and Singer. The new index is allowed to have a different normalization condition. The main results of the paper are presented in Theorems 4.2 and 4.3. It turns out that our modification of the normalization axiom cannot be completely arbitrary. There are strong relations imposed on the set of parameters involved. In the third section of the paper we find all those relations. We prove that under those restrictions the generalized topological index exists and, moreover, it is unique. The final formula for the new index is written in terms of an operation in K-theory. The normalization proposed by Atiyah and Singer is the most natural one for the index theorem purposes and our results imply the following statements. First, the normalization axiom for the index is not redundant and it does not follow from the other axioms. Second, all possible changes of the normalization property do not have substantially new features because of the close relations to the classical theory which we exhibit. The authors want to thank Victor Nistor for the statement of the problem. 2. Equivariant K-Theory and Topological Index