cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An anisotropic elasticity model of strain partitioning in epitaxial thin layers

This work focuses on an anisotropic elasticity treatment of strain partitioning in planar thin layers/films caused by heteroepitaxial crystal growth. In particular, orthotropic materials are considered here. Previous work mostly focused on isotropic elasticity. Here, under the assumption of plane stress and using Hooke’s law for linear elasticity, equilibrium equations, and typical strain definitions, one obtains a solution for the strains, in the two planar directions, in the substrate and the epilayer. The strains in a particular layer are expressed as a function of the elastic constants, thicknesses, and lattice parameters of both layers. These results show that the anisotropic solution differs considerably from the isotropic treatment. The current results can also be used to predict the onset of misfit dislocation formation.
Cohort studies and the genetics of complex disease.

Three new studies identify nearly 20 new loci for serum lipid levels using predominantly a prospective cohort study design which also permits extensive and unbiased characterization of environmental exposures. Given the known, strong environmental influences on these traits, investigation of gene-environment interactions should be emphasized in attempts to understand the complete epidemiologic and genetic architecture of these complex traits.
Effects of viscosity ratio on deformation of a viscoelastic drop in a Newtonian matrix under steady shear

Abstract Deformation of an Oldroyd B drop in a Newtonian matrix under steady shear is simulated using a front tracking finite difference method for varying viscosity ratio. For drop viscosity lower than that of the matrix, the long-time steady deformation behavior is similar to that of the viscosity matched system—the drop shows reduced deformation with increasing Deborah number due to the increased inhibiting viscoelastic normal stress inside the drop. However for higher viscosity ratio systems, the drop response is non-monotonic—the steady drop deformation first decreases with increasing Deborah number but above a critical Deborah number, it increases with further increase in Deborah number, reaching higher than the viscous case value for some viscosity ratios. We explain the increase in deformation with Deborah number by noting that at higher viscosity ratios, strain rate inside the drop is reduced, thereby reducing the inhibiting viscoelastic stress. Furthermore, similar to the viscosity matched system, the drop inclination angle increases with increasing Deborah number. A drop aligned more with the maximum stretching axis at 45 degree of the imposed shear, experiences increased viscous stretching. With increased ratio of polymeric viscosity to total drop viscosity, the drop deformation decreases and the inclination angle increases. Our simulation results compare favorably with a number of experimental and computational results from other researchers.
Mitochondrial point mutations do not limit the natural lifespan of mice

Whether mitochondrial mutations cause mammalian aging, or are merely correlated with it, is an area of intense debate 1 . Here, we use a new, highly sensitive assay 2 to redefine the relationship between mitochondrial mutations and age. We measured the in vivo rate of change of the mitochondrial genome at a single‐base pair level in mice, and we demonstrate that the mutation frequency in mouse mitochondria is more than ten times lower than previously reported. Although we observed an 11-fold increase in mitochondrial point mutations with age, we report that a mitochondrial mutator mouse 3 was able to sustain a 500-fold higher mutation burden than normal mice, without any obvious features of rapidly accelerated aging. Thus, our results strongly indicate that mitochondrial mutations do not limit the lifespan of wild-type mice. Mitochondria are functionally diverse organelles with a central role in both oxidative phosphorylation 4 and apoptosis 5 . Accordingly, postmitotic tissues with high rates of oxygen consumption, such as brain and heart, are exceptionally sensitive to mitochondrial dysfunction 6 . The mitochondrial theory of aging postulates that a lifelong accumulation of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) mutations in multiple tissues eventually results in mitochondrial failure, which, in synergy with downstream processes such as apoptosis, results in loss of cellularity and the progressive decline of tissue functioning known as aging 3,7 . These mutations may compromise the integrity of the electron transport chain and increase the formation of reactive oxygen species (ROS), creating a vicious cycle of mutagenesis that continuously amplifies the production of cytotoxic oxygen radicals 8,9 . Although several studies have quantified either tissue-specific mutation frequencies 10 or mutation accumulation as a function of age 11 , most methods rely heavily on PCR and cloning-based strategies 12,13 , techniques that are limited in throughput and that may be confounded by polymerase infidelity on damaged templates and by cloning artifacts. Therefore, we explored the relationship between age and mutation accumulation in mtDNA with an adaptation of the random mutation capture (RMC) assay 2,14 , a quantitative
Sustainability as Megatrend: Two Schools of Macromarketing Thought

Is sustainability a megatrend? If so, what does it mean to be a megatrend, and how can macromarketing advance our understanding of sustainability as a megatrend? This article makes three contributi...
Association of rumen fungi with various forage grasses

Abstract Anaerobic fungi in the rumen can significantly influence the degradation of forage fibre, but little is known about the propensity of the fungi to colonize various grass species. The objective of this study was to evaluate factors which may stimulate in vitro the fungal colonization of forage grasses, including the influence of grass species. Growth of fungi on forage tissues was studied with light, scanning electron and transmission electron microscopy. The inclusion of penicillin (1.25 mg per ml broth, 1600 units per mg) and streptomycin (0.2 mg per ml broth, 650 units per mg) inhibited bacterial growth and usually substantially increased (by about six times) the numbers of sporangia on bermudagrass ( Cynodon dactylon L. Pers.) leaf blades. At times, hyphae overgrew plant fragments. Cycloheximide (0.5 mg per ml broth) inhibited the growth of rumen fungi. Rumen fungi colonized rigid fibre particles and showed an ability to attack certain lignified (chlorine-sulphite positive) cell walls in grasses and in sisal ( Agave spp.). Sporangial numbers were higher on bermudagrass than on pangolagrass ( Digitaria decumbens Stent.), orchardgrass ( Dactylis glomerata L.) or Kentucky-31 tall fescue ( Festuca arundinacea Schreb.). Elemental sulphur, but not organic sulphur or sodium sulphate, added as a supplement to incubations in vitro (0.1% w/v) tended to increase sporangial numbers on leaves (averaging three times more than in the controls) when the steer providing rumen liquor was on mixed pasture of clover and grass, but did not stimulate sporangia when the steer ate bermudagrass hay. Substantial variation occurred frequently in the number of sporangia developing on leaf blades, and this variation was noticeable even on blades incubated within a single vessel. Anaerobic fungi vary in their colonization of leaf blades of various grasses, but the specific factors responsible for their ability to develop on various substrates require further study.
Rethinking Youth Political Socialization: Teenage Activists Talk Back

This article draws from the experiences and narratives of teenage activists throughout the Americas in order to add a needed dimension, that of peer political socialization, to the larger political...
Oxygen exchange rates off the Oregon Coast

Abstract A subsurface oxygen maximum is formed in summer as the water temperature rises, as a result of loss of oxygen above the layer in which the maximum occurs. Rates of oxygen exchange and eddy diffusivities are estimated. The exchange coefficient is of the same order of magnitude as that found by Redfield in the Gulf of Maine.
Geography of immigrant clusters in global cities: a case study of San Francisco

Cities throughout the world – particularly global cities – are becoming increasingly heterogeneous as a result of international migration movements. During the past three decades, the influx of immigrants into metropolitan areas like New York, Los Angeles and San Francisco has increased demand for housing, exacerbating the already tight housing markets in these cities. This article focuses on the spatial distribution and housing conditions of immigrants in San Francisco using primarily the 2000 US census data on population and housing down to the census tract level. Building on past research on ethnic enclaves and communities, this article applies spatial analysis methods to identify clusters where Chinese, Filipino and Mexican households – the largest foreign-born groups in San Francisco – live. The article argues that different immigrant groups show distinct spatial clustering patterns and that there are significant variations in housing outcomes for immigrants within and outside of ethnic clusters. These differences are largely in the direction predicted by the spatial assimilation theory. However, findings such as the high incidence of homeownership within Chinese and Filipino clusters suggest that contemporary immigrants do not necessarily view ethnic clusters as transitory. These findings help to confirm other recent studies showing that immigrants are now spatially clustered in ways that may no longer fit theoretical models derived from the settlement patterns of late nineteenth-century immigrants. The article contributes to literature concerned with ethnic clusters in US inner cities and the housing conditions of immigrants in global cities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
Changes in incidence and indications of tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy, 1970-2005.

Objective: To investigate 35-year epidemiological trends in tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy.Study Design/Subjects: Cross-sectional survey. Subjects included all patients from birth to age 29 years who had tonsillectomy or adenotonsillectomy from 1970 to 2005.Results: Study included 8106 patients (median age 8.0 years; range, 6 months to 29 years; male 3646 patients [45%]). Overall tonsillectomy incidence increased from 126 (95% confidence interval [CI], 111-140) per 100,000 person-years in 1970 through 1974 to 153 (95% CI, 139-166) in 2000 through 2005. A dominant factor, adenotonsillectomy incidence rose sharply from 243 (95% CI, 223-261) per 100,000 person-years in 1970 through 1974 to 485 (95% CI, 462-509) in 2000 through 2005. The indication of upper airway obstruction increased from 12 percent of patients in 1970 to 77 percent in 2005.Conclusions: Epidemiological trends in tonsillectomy and adenotonsillectomy have shifted substantially. Overall numbers have increased, and surgical indications ha...
Gender Roles and Pressure to be Truthful: The Bogus Pipeline Modifies Gender Differences in Sexual but Not Non-sexual Behavior

Previous studies have indicated that the research context has an influence on whether gender differences are found in sexual behavior, likely due to adherence to different gender norms for men and women. The present study utilized bogus pipeline methodology to help determine if the purported use of a lie detector would influence gender differences in reports of other types of behaviors considered more suitable for one gender or the other. Participants consisted of General Psychology students attending a regional campus of a major Midwestern university in the United States. Approximately half of 293 participants completed a questionnaire while connected to non-functioning lie detection equipment and the other half completed the questionnaire after the equipment had been disconnected. There were interactions between gender of participant and testing condition for sexual behavior but not for other types of common behaviors considered more appropriate for one gender or the other. This suggests that there is something specific to sexual behavior with regard to a differential willingness between men and women to report behavior unless there is pressure to be honest. Hypergender ideology was related to reports of sexual behavior (but not nonsexual behavior) only for men in the bogus pipeline condition, lending further support to the idea that gender role expectations influence reports of sexual behavior more than reports of other types of behavior.
A hypervisor-based system for protecting software runtime memory and persistent storage

An important goal of software security is to ensure sensitive/secret data owned by a program shall be exclusively accessible by the program. An obstacle to such security goal is that modern commodity operating systems (OS) for the sake of speed and flexibility have a unified linear address space--any OS kernel program can access all the linear addresses. As a result, rootkits or malicious system software are able to control the OS virtual address space, harvest the sensitive data used by software programs on the compromised computer, and report the data to remote entities controlled by hackers.In this paper, we present a holistic approach against sophisticated malware. Instead of focusing on the security of various abstraction layers of OS, we utilize the hardware techniques to directly provide the trust services to software programs. Without modifying OS, we leverage the virtual machine monitor technologies to create a lightweight hypervisor for fine-grain software runtime memory protection. As a result, a program's memory could be hidden from other high privilege system software in a single commodity OS. In addition, we propose the data locker component in the hypervisor, which prevents the sensitive data of software program in persistent storage from leaking to rootkits or other malware. For the performance evaluation, the implementation based on hardware-assisted x86 virtualization technology is presented and experimental results are reported.
VIPER: verifying the integrity of PERipherals' firmware

Recent research demonstrates that malware can infect peripherals' firmware in a typical x86 computer system, e.g., by exploiting vulnerabilities in the firmware itself or in the firmware update tools. Verifying the integrity of peripherals' firmware is thus an important challenge. We propose software-only attestation protocols to verify the integrity of peripherals' firmware, and show that they can detect all known software-based attacks. We implement our scheme using a Netgear GA620 network adapter in an x86 PC, and evaluate our system with known attacks.
Stable Boundary Layer in Complex Terrain. Part II: Geometrical and Sheltering Effects on Mixing

AbstractThe authors examine how terrain texture and topography influence nocturnal mixing rates. Local topographic curvature and site sheltering exhibit systematic influences on nocturnal heat and momentum fluxes and the near-surface potential temperature distribution. This influence is particularly evident in hilly terrain with patchy forested areas, typical of eastern North America and many other regions. Exposure to local obstacles, quantified using Fujita’s “transmission factor,” has its maximum influence on mixing during strong winds (>5 m s−1), whereas the effects of local terrain curvature dominate under weaker winds. Such complementary dominance conditions currently limit direct comparison of the two effects. Even with a limited network of 10 stations, it is clear that preferred regions for mixing can be identified in advance given knowledge of land cover and topography. When designing a network of surface stations to be deployed in heterogeneous terrain, one should consider site curvature, slope,...
Origin of Archean migmatites from the Gwenoro Dam area, Zimbabwe-Rhodesia

Archean migmatites in the vicinity of Gwenoro Dam in Zimbabwe-Rhodesia are composed chiefly of trondhjemite gneiss (TR), mafic tonalite (MT), amphibolite (AM), leuco-trondhjemite veins (LTR), and pegmatites. The gneiss is intruded in nearby areas with small tonalite plutons (TN). Geochemical model studies together with field relationships are consistent with the following model for migmatite production: AM is produced by partial melting of a partly depleted ultramafic parent in which neither garnet nor amphibole remain in the residue; TR and TN are produced by partial melting of undepleted to variably depleted amphibolite in which garnet does not remain in the residue; MT is produced by mixing of plagioclase-rich TR with AM; and LTR represents the solid residue after fractional crystallization of TR.
Can education rescue genetic liability for cognitive decline

Abstract Although there is a vast literature linking education and later health outcomes, the mechanisms underlying these associations are relatively unknown. In the spirit of some medical literature that leverages developmental abnormalities to understand mechanisms of normative functioning, we explore the ability of higher educational attainments to “rescue” biological/genetic liabilities in brain function through inheritance of a variant of the APOE gene shown to lead to cognitive decline, dementia, and Alzheimer's disease in old age. Deploying a between-sibling design that allows quasi-experimental variation in genotype and educational attainment within a standard gene–environment interaction framework, we show evidence that the genetic effects of the “risky” APOE variant on old-age cognitive decline are absent in individuals who complete college (vs. high school graduates). Auxiliary analyses suggest that the likely mechanisms of education are most consistent through changing brain processes (i.e., “how we think”) and potentially building cognitive reserves, rather than alleviating old age cognitive decline through the channels of higher socioeconomic status and resources over the life course.
Two stage estimation of several poisson parameters

For the simultaneous estimation of several Poisson parameters under the loss function , we prove the existence of sequential estimators which are better both in risk (expected loss) and sample size than the usual estimator (the sample mean) of a given fixed sample size. Sequential versions of Clevenson-Zidek estimators are used to produce two-stage sequential estimators with the desired property.
THE DIRECT ISOLATION OF THE MITOTIC APPARATUS

A method for isolating the mitotic apparatus from dividing sea urchin eggs without the use of ethyl alcohol or of detergents is described. In the present method, the eggs are dispersed directly in a medium containing 1 M (to 1.15 M) sucrose, 0.15 M dithiodiglycol, and 0.001 M Versene at pH 6, releasing the visibly intact mitotic apparatus. The method is designed for studies of enzyme activities, lipid components, and the variables affecting the stability of the apparatus.
A stochastic model for health care resource planning

Abstract The need for improved management of health care in the United States is evidenced by recent trends and the current state of the nation's health. Many systems and methodologies for aiding health care management have been proposed. However, at this relatively early stage of development, most approaches are either highly conceptual or restricted to unique conditions, thereby having little utility for general application. This paper first defines a conceptual model of the health care system and then develops a generalized management planning model which is designed to be applicable to a broad class of health care programs. Following this, the described methodologies are applied to a specific health care program, the Cervical Cancer Detection Program of South Texas, and the general model is used to derive a computerized resource planning model for a major subsystem of the program. The findings derived from the experimental application of the methodology are discussed in terms of (1) the mechanics of the resource planning model, (2) the use of the resource planning model as an aid to management planning, (3) the adaptability of the resource planning model to similar health care programs and (4) the applicability of the systems methodology and the generalized model to various types of health care programs.
Cobalt, chromium, and nickel concentrations in body fluids of patients with porous‐coated knee or hip prostheses

Co, Cr, and Ni concentrations were determined by electrothermal atomic absorption spectrophotometry in serum and urine specimens collected from a group of 28 patients at intervals of from 1 day to 2.5 years after total knee or hip arthroplasty with porous-coated prostheses fabricated of Co-Cr alloy (ASTM F-75-82). Two control groups were also tested: (a) 42 healthy adults and (b) 16 orthopaedic patients after total knee or hip arthroplasty with porous-coated prostheses fabricated predominantly of Ti-Al-V alloy (ASTM F-136-84). All prostheses contained polyethylene components to avoid metal-to-metal contact. Mean Co concentrations in serum and urine were slightly increased in patients with Co-Cr knee implants at 6-120 weeks after surgery, compared with (a) preoperative values, (b) corresponding values in patients with Co-Cr hip implants, and (c) corresponding values in control patients with Ti-Al-V knee and hip prostheses. Substantially increased Co levels were observed in serum and urine of two patients at 7 weeks and 22 months postarthroplasty, associated with loosening of the prostheses; one of the patients also had elevated Cr levels in serum and urine. Although ASTM F-75-82 and F-136-84 alloys contain very little Ni (less than 1.0 and less than 0.2% Ni, respectively, by wt), mean Ni concentrations in serum and urine were greatly increased at 1-2 days after implantation of Ti-Al-V and Co-Cr prostheses, diminishing by 2 weeks. The postoperative hypernickelemia and nickeluresis may reflect contamination of the operative field with Ni-containing particles from the drills, cutting jigs, and drilling jigs, or it may represent a previously unrecognized pathophysiological response to surgery.
The predictive accuracy of intertemporal‐choice models

How do people choose between a smaller reward available sooner and a larger reward available later? Past research has evaluated models of intertemporal choice by measuring goodness of fit or identifying which decision-making anomalies they can accommodate. An alternative criterion for model quality, which is partly antithetical to these standard criteria, is predictive accuracy. We used cross-validation to examine how well 10 models of intertemporal choice could predict behaviour in a 100-trial binary-decision task. Many models achieved the apparent ceiling of 85% accuracy, even with smaller training sets. When noise was added to the training set, however, a simple logistic-regression model we call the difference model performed particularly well. In many situations, between-model differences in predictive accuracy may be small, contrary to long-standing controversy over the modelling question in research on intertemporal choice, but the simplicity and robustness of the difference model recommend it to future use.
Thinking Practice: The Social Work Integral Model

Social workers are bound by the mission, values, and ethics of the National Association of Social Workers. Yet a broad, transtheoretical model accounting for these core principles and guiding identification of clinically and ethically sound daily praxis decisions is lacking in the field's literature and practice wisdom. Such a model could aid in assuring dependably sound social worker actions; socialization of colleagues; clearer guidelines for teaching, supervision, and ethical review of peers; and accreditation of educational programs. The Social Work Integral Model (SWIM) emerged from field practice and scholarship for instructional use and addresses this conceptual gap. Further, congruence of the SWIM with Ken Wilber's model of Integral Science suggests SWIM is a theoretical, as well as a practical, advance for the field.
Applications of progenitor sum rules in nuclear theory

Abstract The energy-weighted sum rules, obtained by taking matrix elements of double commutators with the nuclear Hamiltonian of appropriately defined densities, are didactically reviewed. Following a catalogue of applications such sum rules have found in theoretical nuclear physics, the progenitor sum rules (PSR's) are derived using standard commutator relations for second-quantized nucleon field operators. This leads to the extension of PSR's to coupled Fermi-Bose systems, and in particular, to a simple model of interacting mesons and nucleons. The effects of interactions are also discussed from the point of view of (static) exchange potentials. The relation of the dipole sum rule to nuclear photoabsorption is reviewed briefly. The application of PSR's to the calculation of longitudinal inelastic form factors, and the use of the “doorway hypothesis” is discussed in detail, together with the semiclassical collective-oscillation interpretation of these results proposed by Bertsch. Suzuki's very interesting applications of PSR to the evaluation of collective mass parameters, coupling constants, and polarization functions of the Bohr-Mottelson self-consistent mean-field theory are also given a detailed treatment. Certain miscellaneous applications of PSR to calculation of Coulombic isospin mixing, to energy shifts in isospin multiplets, and to induced moments and effective charges are collected and discussed in a unified manner. The review concludes with a discussion of the qualitative character of the nuclear photoabsorption strength below the meson production threshold, especially with regard to the question of to what extent the (γ, NN) reaction is sensitive to pair correlations in the nuclear ground state.
Memory and Nostalgia in Antonio Tabucchi's Last Two Books

In Il tempo invecchia in fretta, a collection of short stories (2009), and in Viaggi e altri viaggi, a travel book (2010), the Italian novelist Antonio Tabucchi (1943–2012) investigates the conflict between interior time, or duration, and social, or historical time. Il tempo invecchia interrogates the dialectic between individual lives and grand historical processes. Viaggi—Tabucchi's intellectual autobiography—retrieves the past, which exists in the present as memory, so as to counter the “eternal present” of media time and its humus, consumerism, and provide a sense, or direction, to future decision making. Both volumes demonstrate a form of social commitment that is not Sartrean—that interrogates the present while abstaining from proposing solutions—but is well suited to our times: by bringing together narrative remnants of the past in the present of memory, Tabucchi attempts to give the present a sense and a direction to the future. These altrove altrui (the elsewheres of others) provoke a feeling of ...
Improving Parameter Estimates and Model Prediction by Aggregate Customization in Choice Experiments

We propose aggregate customization as an approach to improve individual estimates using a hierarchical Bayes choice model. Our approach involves the use of prior estimates to build a common design customized for the average respondent. We conduct two simulation studies to investigate conditions that are most conducive to aggregate customization. The simulations are validated by a field study showing that aggregate customization results in better estimates of individual parameters and more accurate predictions of individuals' choices. The proposed approach is easy to use, and a simulation study can assess the expected benefit from aggregate customization prior to its implementation.
“Flecked retina”—an association with primary hyperoxaluria

A child with hyperoxaluria, probable Type I, was noted to have a “fleked retina” on funduscopic examination at age 21/2 months; it persisted throughout his seven years of life. The relationship of the ocular findings to his metabolic disease is discussed.
Design of reversible sequential circuits optimizing quantum cost, delay, and garbage outputs

Reversible logic has shown potential to have extensive applications in emerging technologies such as quantum computing, optical computing, quantum dot cellular automata as well as ultra low power VLSI circuits. Recently, several researchers have focused their efforts on the design and synthesis of efficient reversible logic circuits. In these works, the primary design focus has been on optimizing the number of reversible gates and the garbage outputs. The number of reversible gates is not a good metric of optimization as each reversible gate is of different type and computational complexity, and thus will have a different quantum cost and delay. The computational complexity of a reversible gate can be represented by its quantum cost. Further, delay constitutes an important metric, which has not been addressed in prior works on reversible sequential circuits as a design metric to be optimized. In this work, we present novel designs of reversible sequential circuits that are optimized in terms of quantum cost, delay and the garbage outputs. The optimized designs of several reversible sequential circuits are presented including the D Latch, the JK latch, the T latch and the SR latch, and their corresponding reversible master-slave flip-flop designs. The proposed master-slave flip-flop designs have the special property that they don't require the inversion of the clock for use in the slave latch. Further, we introduce a novel strategy of cascading a Fredkin gate at the outputs of a reversible latch to realize the designs of the Fredkin gate based asynchronous set/reset D latch and the master-slave D flip-flop. Finally, as an example of complex reversible sequential circuits, the reversible logic design of the universal shift register is introduced. The proposed reversible sequential designs were verified through simulations using Verilog HDL and simulation results are presented.
The Visible Structure of Turbulent Jet Diffusion Flames: Large-Scale Organization and Flame Tip Oscillation

Abstract High speed visual observations of free turbulent jet diffusion flames are presented. Computer graphic volume rendering, whereby many frames from a movie sequence are displayed simultaneously, is used to provide a unique view of the flow evolution. Two fuels were used, acetylene and ethylene, to span Ihe range from the momentum-driven to the buoyancy-driven regime. The data show that, for all flow regimes, the flames exhibit a large-scale organized motion in the far-field of the jet as manifested by a progression of organized structures up through the length of the visible flame. Occasional pairings of structures are also observed. These structures eventually become the flame tip, which burns out in a quasi-periodic manner. Under no conditions was a random, small-scale breakup and disappearance of the flame tip ever observed. In all cases the speed of the organized structure is seen to be constant and equal to 12 ± 2° of the jet exit velocity. The constancy of speed occurs in spite of the axial de...
Nonhuman Primate Models of Menopause Workshop

The Nonhuman Primate Models of Menopause Workshop was held on the National Institutes of Health campus in January 2001. The purpose of this workshop, sponsored by the National Institute on Aging, was to review what is known about the female reproductive aging process in various species of monkeys (particularly rhesus, baboons, cynomolgus, and chimpanzees), including hormone profiles during the menopausal transition, occurrence of hot flashes, extent of age-related and menopause-associated changes in hormone levels on metabolism, bone loss, and impaired cardiovascular and cognitive function. Many aspects of the female reproductive aging process appear to be concordant between humans and these monkey species, but several important features may be species-specific. Those features that appear to parallel human menopause and aging include general similarity of hormone profiles across the menopausal transition, progression to cycle termination through irregular cycles, declining fertility with age, age-related gains in weight and percentage body fat content (with tendencies toward insulin resistance and glucose intolerance), increased low-density lipoprotein cholesterol and decreased high-density lipoprotein cholesterol, declines in serum dehydroepiandrosterone, similarities in temperature-regulation systems, protective responses to estrogen replacement following ovariectomy in terms of bone metabolism, lipid profiles, and cognitive changes. Important differences include relatively short postmenopausal life span, timing in menopause-related changes in hormone secretion, and seasonal menstrual cycles. In addition, the question of whether ovariectomy in young adults is an appropriate model for the consequences of natural or surgical menopause in middle-aged and older adults is unresolved, and the numbers of older female animals available for research on menopause are very limited. The use of animal models is seen by workshop participants to be crucial for a mechanistic understanding of the human menopausal process and its connections to postmenopausal health problems; however, extensive in-depth and broad-based research is required to determine if nonhuman primates are appropriate models of human menopause.
Comparison of the BOLD- and EPISTAR-technique for functional brain imaging by using signal detection theory

Two magnetic resonance imaging techniques, BOLD (blood oxygenation level dependent) and EPISTAR (echo-planar imaging and signal targeting with alternating radio-frequency), were compared for functional brain imaging. Ten volunteers were imaged performing a sequential finger to thumb opposition task alternating with no movement conditions. Techniques were compared using variance maps and signal detection theory (ROC analysis). True positive activation in regions of interest with expected task-dependent signal changes were computed versus false activation rates in regions in which no activation was expected. D-prime coefficients were calculated for each comparison and statistically compared using a paired t test. Activation in the perirolandic region was seen in all volunteers with both techniques. There was no significant difference for the d-prime between BOLD and EPISTAR. These results indicate that based on a different physiologic principle, EPISTAR is an alternative to BOLD to perform fMRI with similar results.
Self-healing multi-radio wireless mesh networks

We present novel Localized sElf-reconfiGuration algOrithms (LEGO) for a multi-radio wireless mesh network to autonomously and effectively recover from wireless link failures. First, LEGO locally detects link failures by accurately monitoring the network condition and, upon detection of a failure, triggers network reconfiguration. Second, it dynamically forms/deforms a local group for cooperative network reconfiguration among local mesh routers in a fully-distributed manner. Next, LEGO intelligently generates a local network reconfiguration plan through which a thus-formed group recovers from local failures, while keeping network changes to minimum. Finally, by figuring local channel utilization and reconfiguration cost in its planning, LEGO maximizes the network's ability to meet diverse links' QoS demands. LEGO has been implemented on a Linux-based system and experimented on a reallife testbed, demonstrating its effectiveness in recovering from link failures and its improvement of channel efficiency by up to 92%.
Is Rural Residency a Risk Factor for Childhood Poverty?1

The influence of rural variables on young children's poverty status, adjusting for individual and family characteristics, is explored. The literature suggests that specific demographic variables exert an overwhelming influence on children's poverty status. This is confirmed with data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth. Results also suggest that the residential histories of children have consequences for their poverty status, even after the influence of control variables has been taken into account. The conclusion identifies the integration of survey and ecological data as one promising direction for future research on childhood poverty.
Sulfonation Distribution in Sulfonated Polystyrene Ionomers Measured by MALDI-ToF MS

Matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-ToF MS) was used to quantify the sulfonation level and sulfonation distribution of sulfonated polystyrene ionomers prepared by homogeneous solution sulfonation. The sulfonation levels obtained by MALDI-ToF MS and acid–base titration were compared, and the sulfonate distributions determined by MALDI-ToF MS were compared with theoretical random distributions. The results indicate that the sulfonation reaction used produces a sample with a random sulfonate distribution.
Expanding in the gradient at weak coupling.

A new method for producing the weak-coupling expansion in nonlinear $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ models and Yang-Mills theories is developed. It assumes only the smallness of the gradient of the field, rather than of the field itself, as the coupling constant $\frac{1}{\ensuremath{\beta}}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}0$. The new method reproduces all the known exact results. It agrees with ordinary perturbation theory only in Abelian problems or when the number of space-time dimensions $d\ensuremath{\rightarrow}\ensuremath{\infty}$. Notably the new scheme reveals that the $\mathrm{O}(N)$ nonlinear $\ensuremath{\sigma}$ models in $d=2$ are not asymptotically free; it also indicates that the leading term of the $\ensuremath{\beta}$ function of QCD in four dimensions is likely different from its presently accepted value.
Randomized trial of MST and ARC in a two-level evidence-based treatment implementation strategy.

Objective: A randomized trial assessed the effectiveness of a 2-level strategy for implementing evidence-based mental health treatments for delinquent youth. Method: A 2 × 2 design encompassing 14 rural Appalachian counties included 2 factors: (a) the random assignment of delinquent youth within each county to a multisystemic therapy (MST) program or usual services and (b) the random assignment of counties to the ARC (for availability, responsiveness, and continuity) organizational intervention for implementing effective community-based mental health services. The design created 4 treatment conditions (MST plus ARC, MST only, ARC only, control). Outcome measures for 615 youth who were 69% male, 91% Caucasian, and aged 9―17 years included the Child Behavior Checklist and out-of-home placements. Results: A multilevel, mixed-effects, regression analysis of 6-month treatment outcomes found that youth total problem behavior in the MST plus ARC condition was at a nonclinical level and significantly lower than in other conditions. Total problem behavior was equivalent and at nonclinical levels in all conditions by the 18-month follow-up, but youth in the MST plus ARC condition entered out-of-home placements at a significantly lower rate (16%) than youth in the control condition (34%). Conclusions: Two-level strategies that combine an organizational intervention such as ARC and an evidence-based treatment such as MST are promising approaches to implementing effective community-based mental health services. More research is needed to understand how such strategies can be used effectively in a variety of organizational contexts and with other types of evidence-based treatments.
Testing the effects of self-regulation on industrial accidents

Our study, the first to test the impact of self-regulation on industrial accidents, examines Responsible Care (RC) in the US chemical manufacturing sector. RC requires members to adhere to codes of conduct on production safety and pollution prevention. Using our author-constructed database of 1,867 firms that own 2,963 plants between 1988 and 2001, we instrument for firms’ self-selection into RC using pollution-related regulatory pressure on firms that influences their probability of joining RC, but not plant-level accidents. We find that participation in RC reduces the likelihood of accidents by 2.99 accidents per 100 plants in a given year, or by 69.3%. Participation in RC also reduces the likelihood of process safety accidents and accidents related to violations of RC codes by 5.75 accidents per 100 plants in a given year, or by 85.9%. Alternatively, estimates using Propensity Score Matching (PSM) methods indicate that participation in RC reduces the likelihood of accidents by 0.66 accidents per 100 plants in a given year. The reduction in the likelihood of accidents, due to participation in RC, contributes to economically significant averted losses, with savings, even based on the smaller PSM estimates, totaling $180 million per year.
Intraoperative Angiography in Cerebral Aneurysm Surgery: A Prospective Study of 100 Craniotomies

OBJECTIVE : To determine the frequency of unexpected major arterial occlusion and incomplete aneurysm clipping on intraoperative angiography after cerebral aneurysm clipping and to determine factors that predict these unexpected findings. METHODS : Data was collected prospectively on 100 consecutive craniotomies for the clipping of 107 aneurysms in 92 patients. Patient age and sex, aneurysm location and size, how the aneurysm presented, day of surgery after hemorrhage, intraoperative rupture, and postoperative course were recorded. After clipping, the surgeon recorded whether he thought the aneurysm was obliterated and whether he thought the clip occluded a major artery. Intraoperative angiography was then performed. The incidence of unexpectedly finding a major arterial occlusion or residual aneurysm was determined. Factors predicting these unexpected findings revealed by intraoperative angiography were identified by logistic regression. RESULTS : There were 11 giant (10%), 13 posterior circulation (12%), and 68 (64%) ruptured aneurysms. Unexpected angiographic findings necessitating at least one clip adjustment occurred in 12 cases (11%). Clip readjustments restored flow through six major arterial occlusions (6%) and completely obliterated 10 persistently filling aneurysms (10%). Logistic regression showed that factors predicting an unexpected arterial occlusion were giant aneurysm and basilar apex location (P < 0.05). Unexpected residual aneurysm was predicted by giant aneurysm and posterior communicating artery location (P < 0.05). CONCLUSION : Intraoperative angiography detects unexpected arterial occlusions and residual aneurysms in 12% of cases and can decrease complications of aneurysm surgery, although the yield in unselected patients is low. The subgroup of patients with giant, basilar apex, and posterior communicating artery aneurysms has a significantly higher incidence of untoward findings and may benefit from increased usage of intraoperative angiography.
Research on neuropsychiatric genetics: interests of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) supports research concerning the determinants of normal and pathological development of the nervous system, from the genetic to the environmental. NINDS also funds basic and clinical research concerning the etiology, diagnosis, treatment, consequences, and prevention of the spectrum of neurodevelopmental disorders including neurobehavioral and neurodegenerative disorders (National Advisory Council Neurological Disorders and Stroke, 1989, 1992; Division of Convulsive, Developmental and Neuromuscular Disorders, NINDS, 1993). © 1994 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Characterization and constitutive modeling of stress-relaxation behavior of Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) across the glass transition temperature

Abstract Characterizing the large strain behavior of Poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) across its glass transition temperature is essential for modeling hot embossing. Its mechanical properties vary significantly across the glass transition as well as with strain rate. Several previous models have attempted to capture this behavior with limited success, and none have considered stress relaxation. In this work, stress relaxation experiments are conducted on PMMA at various temperatures spanning the glass transition. The experimental data is then used to develop a new constitutive model. As with earlier models for thermoplastics around the glass transition, the material model consists of two resistances: intermolecular and network. The key advantage of the new model is that the network resistance is represented through an 8-chain hyperelastic model in parallel with a ROuse LInear Entangled POLYmer (Rolie-Poly) element. The structure of the network interactions captures the strain hardening at temperatures less than glass transition and the melt behavior at temperatures greater than glass transition to greatly improve stress relaxation predictions. Strain softening is introduced in the intermolecular branch to predict the stress at small strains. Glass transition is described through temperature dependent material properties. Results have been encouraging for the model’s ability to capture stress relaxation behavior from temperatures 15° below to 25° above glass transition. In addition, it can capture the relaxation behavior at both large and small strains as well as with varying strain rates. This ability to capture stress relaxation suggests it will greatly improve finite element model predictions for hot embossing with PMMA.
Military spending in Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland☆

Abstract This paper examines the location of military expenditures in the national income accounts of Czechoslovakia, Hungary, and Poland, estimates expenditures for these countries, and compares these estimates with published defense budgets. Expenditures on military personnel are constructed using military force estimates, and cost-of-living and wage data. Military procurement estimates are constructed from input-output tables and trade data. The sum of expenditure estimates by category is roughly of the same size as the published budgets suggesting that reported military spending may reflect almost all of actual spending. This finding contrasts with the Soviet case where actual spending is a multiple of the reported budgets.
Reliability-based bridge design and life cycle management with Markov decision processes☆

Abstract A Markov Decision Process-based (MDP) modelling approach is used to identify optimal structural designs and their associated maintenance policies. This approach has the desirable attributes of capturing the dynamics of the coupled structural design/maintenance problem while yieldding a mathematical model that is computationally tractable. Implicit in the MDP is the computationally and theoretically usful choice of modelling the dynamics of structural performance and maintenance actions as two related but separate processes. Structural resistance deterioration due to corrosion and stochastic structural loading are modelled in the MDP as a “self-transition” process, that is, a process that models structural performance without maintenance intervention. A suite of maintenance actions and their associated costs constitute the core of the “decision effect” process. These two processes, made computationally operational through the development of self-transition and decision effect matrices, are then combined into a joint transition matrix, with which we can model the effects of maintenance actions on bridge performance and costs. Initial designs and their associated minimum expected, discounted lifetime costs are identified with the MDP for a two girder bridge.