cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fluid flow and solute transport processes in unsaturated heterogeneous soils: Preliminary numerical experiments

Abstract Preliminary numerical experiments are conducted to investigate scale-dependent macrodispersivity, relative to solute transport, in unsaturated heterogeneous porous media. Synthetic heterogeneous soil columns are generated with the turning-bands approach. Fluid flow and solute transport are simulated with a three-dimensional finite-element model. Our numerical experiments confirm a three-phase development of macrodispersivity as a plume of contaminant moves through a heterogeneous soil. The initial phase grows linearly, then becomes nonlinear, and eventually reaches an asymptotic constant value. We find that the development of macrodispersivity in an unsaturated heterogeneous soil column can be predicted successfully by Dagan's formulas which were originally developed for heterogeneous aquifers. For the study of contaminant transport in unsaturated soils, the travel distance one would normally deal with is much shorter than that required to reach asymptotic macrodispersivity; thus, the two pre-asymptotic phases should be the principal concern in modeling contaminant transport in unsaturated soils. The first phase of the macrodispersivity development corresponds to what is normally referred to as the advection period during which no significant lateral mixing takes place. The linear system model for contaminant transport, which uses the travel time probability density function as the model's impulse response function, is valid only for the first phase and should therefore be applied only to the simulation of near-field contaminant transport within the advection period.
The Gifted: Clinical Challenges for Child Psychiatry

Gifted children and adolescents are an often misunderstood special needs population. Part of the problem is definitional. Most state regulations reflect the 1972 definition offered by the U.S. Office of Education, modified in the 1993 U.S. Department of Education Report, National Excellence: A Case for Developing America’s Talent. The federal definition stipulates that the gifted demonstrate outstanding ability or potential and require differentiated educational programs beyond those normally provided in the schools. The federal definition includes exceptional intellectual, academic and leadership ability, creativity, and artistic talent. In clinical practice, however, above-average intellectual ability remains the predominant definitional criterion. Most psychologists and school districts continue to use a singular criterion of above-average intelligence to identify giftednessVan IQ score of 120, 125, or 130. A second definitional issue that has contributed to misunderstanding is whether we should narrowly define giftedness as persons of high intelligence or more broadly define giftedness as any person with exceptional ability in a culturally valued domain. A third definitional issue is whether we should restrict our definition to those children with already demonstrated high ability or consider children with evidence of outstanding promise but not yet demonstrated ability. WHO ARE THE GIFTED AND PREVALENCE ESTIMATES
Direct Defect Imaging in the High Resolution SEM

The theory of imaging crystallographic defects in solid specimens through the use of electron channeling contrast is reviewed and the necessary conditions for observation are deduced. It is shown that current high performance field emission scanning electron microscopes can meet these requirements and produce dislocation images from suitable materials.
Community Education for the Black Elderly.

This paper is a description of the development and implementation of a conference designed to facilitate the interaction of the black elderly and social service agency personnel in Champaign County, Illinois. The conference was an outgrowth of a Title I Research Project, designed to study the extent to which black elderly in Champaign County utilized social services. The objectives of the conference were twofold: (1) to assist black elderly individuals to become aware of social services available in their community and create opportunities for these individuals to articulate their specific social service needs, and (2) to sensitize social service providers to the needs of their black elderly clients and provide insight concerning ways their agencies can meet these needs. The conference was productive, not only in providing a forum for interaction between black elderly recipients and social service providers but in encouraging members of the black elderly community to make use of many of the existing socia...
Conditional empirical, quantile and difference processes for a large class of time series with applications

Abstract The speed of a.s. convergence of conditional empirical distribution functions, quantile functions and difference processes is studied for a wide class of stationary time series. The difference process leads to a Bahadur-Kiefer representation of the conditional quantiles. Applications like autoregression function estimation, estimation of the hazard rate under random censoring, and robust conditional location functionals are also included. When specializing to the i.i.d. case our rates are very close to the best rates known in that special situation. Thus, some recent results on conditional processes with applications are extended to models with dependent data. Rather than modeling this dependence structure by the usual mixing conditions which are hard to precisely understand intuitively since they may fail to hold in very decent cases, we use the notion of mn-decomposability. Time series included are linear (with generalizes ARMA) processes and, more generally, processes with a Volterra expansion ofany finite 1order. Also bilinear processes are in this class.
Vaccination against lethal Clostridium difficile enterocolitis with a nontoxic recombinant peptide of toxin A

Toxin A ofClostridium difficile has a complex series of repeating units, each 20 or 30 amino acids in length, located at the COOH-terminus of the molecule. In the following study, we found that antiserum against a nontoxic recombinant peptide comprising 33 of the 38 repeating units neutralized the enterotoxic and cytotoxic activity of the toxin and that hamsters vaccinated with the recombinant peptide were partially protected againstC. difficile disease.
Pulsed Tm:YAG laser ablation of knee joint tissues

We investigated the effect of a free-running 2.01 micron pulsed Tm:YAG laser on bovine knee joint tissues. Ablation rates of fresh fibrocartilage, hyaline cartilage, and bone were measured in saline as a function of laser fluence (160 - 640 J/cm2) and fiber core size (400 and 600 microns). All tissues could be effectively ablated and the ablation rate increased linearly with the increasing fluence. Use of fibers of different core sizes, while maintaining constant energy fluence, did not result in significant difference in ablation rate. Histology analyses of the ablated tissue samples reveal average Tm:YAG radiation induced thermal damage (denatunalization) zones ranging between 130 and 540 microns, depending on the laser parameters and the tissue type.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Price competition and node-linkage association

This paper presents a short-run model of price competition for markets defined as networks (node-linkage associations) under perfectly inelastic consumer demand. Analytical and simulation analyses show an inverse relationship between firms' equilibrium price schedules and the number of directly connected rival firms. As the degree of network connectivity increases, holding the size of the overall market constant, average equilibrium mill prices tend to decrease at a decreasing rate. This implies that the intensity of competition in a network increases as the network becomes more fully connected, and equilibrium price levels converge at some theoretical minimum that is specific to the prevailing market conditions. Price-connectivity relations are shown to be highly sensitive to network structure and the distribution of price conjectural parameters. In addition, the paper briefly discusses the welfare implications of price reductions from an accessible and cost-efficient firm in a network.
Literature Autobiography Bags

The last day of a school is typically one of end-of-the-year picnics, assemblies, and other out-of-classroom activities. Also, there are procedural tasks to take care of, such as cleaning and returning books and equipment. It is a challenge for teachers to find uninterrupted time with their students to do something meaningful and bring closure to the school year. This article describes a project in which children assembled a collection of personal literature—including books, comic books, magazines, letters, cards, notes, news clippings, journals, and diaries that held special meaning for them—and placed them into a bag of their choice. On the last day of school, students presented the contents of their “literature autobiography bags.” The presentations became one of the most significant events of the year, turning the last day of school into a time of bonding and community building through literature sharing. The project was so successful that the author continues it to this day with his university preservice teachers as a way for them to introduce themselves through their personal literature.
The adsorption of nickelocene Part 1: molecular bonding on Ag(100)

Abstract The molecular adsorption and desorption of nickelocene, Ni(C 5 H 5 ) 2 , on Ag(100) have been studied by both angle-resolved photoemission and thermal desorption. Photoemission results indicate that the initially adsorbed surface species closely resemble that of molecular nickelocene. The molecular axis is not along the surface normal, as determined by angle-resolved photoemission and angle-resolved thermal desorption spectroscopy. This is a different bonding orientation than that adopted by molecular ferrocene on Ag(100). The molecular nickelocene desorption energies resemble those observed for ferrocene on Ag(100) but are complicated by multiple chemisorption states and steric effects in the desorption process. Nickelocene is unusual in that the molecular orientation is seen to affect the angular dependence of molecular desoprtion.
Mining latent entity structures from massive unstructured and interconnected data

The "big data" era is characterized by an explosion of information in the form of digital data collections, ranging from scientific knowledge, to social media, news, and everyone's daily life. Examples of such collections include scientific publications, enterprise logs, news articles, social media and general Web pages. Valuable knowledge about multi-typed entities is often hidden in the unstructured or loosely structured but interconnected data. Mining latent structured information around entities uncovers sematic structures from massive unstructured data and hence enables many high-impact applications. In this tutorial, we summarize the closely related literature in database systems, data mining, Web, information extraction, information retrieval, and natural language processing, overview a spectrum of data-driven methods that extract and infer such latent structures, from an interdisciplinary point of view, and demonstrate how these structures support entity discovery and management, data understanding, and some new database applications. We present three categories of studies: mining conceptual, topical and relational structures. Moreover, we present case studies on real datasets, including research papers, news articles and social networks, and show how interesting and organized knowledge can be discovered by mining latent entity structures from these datasets.
Kinetic analysis of fraction I protein biosynthesis in young protoplasts of tobacco leaves

Abstract At maximum inhibition chloramphenicol reduced [35S]methionine incorporation into acid-insoluble materials of sterile protoplasts from young tobacco leaves 5–7 cm in length by 30% compared to 70% by cycloheximide, indicating that 30% of the [35S]methionine became incorporated into chloroplast proteins and 70% into cytoplasmic proteins. [35S]Methionine became incorporated into both the large and small subunits of Fraction I protein, the major soluble protein of chloroplasts. Rifampicin and streptolydigin inhibited [3H]uridine incorporation into the 23 and 16 S rRNAs of chloroplasts to a much greater extent than into the 25 and 18 S cytoplasmic rRNAs. Rifampicin inhibited [35S]metionine incorporation into Fraction I protein after the third hour of incubation; streptolydigin after 2 h, the former evidently preventing initiation of mRNA for the large subunit of Fraction I protein and the latter its elongation. About 2.5 h was required between initiation of the large subunit mRNA synthesis, and appearance of the protein. It was estimated that 45 min is required for transcription of the mRNA which has a half-life of 2 h and that 105 min is required for its translation into the approximately 350 amino acids constituting the large subunit monomeric polypeptide. The effect of chloramphenicol, cycloheximide and 2-(4- methyl -2,6- dinitroanaline )-N- methyl propionamide, the latter an inhibitor of protein initiation by 80 S ribosomes, on kinetics of Fraction I protein synthesis indicate that protoplasts contain a pool of small subunit polypeptides and that 30 min is required to polymerize the approximately 100 amino acids constituting the primary structure.
The effect of calcium and magnesium on the activity of bovicin HC5 and nisin.

Some Gram-positive bacteria produce small peptides (bacteriocins) that have antimicrobial activity, but many bacteria can become bacteriocin resistant. Bovicin HC5, a lantibiotic produced by Streptococcus bovis HC5, has the ability to inhibit nisin-resistant bacteria. Because nisin resistance has in many cases been correlated with an alteration of lipoteichoic acids or the polar head groups of membrane phospholipids, we decided to examine the effect of divalent cations on nisin and bovicin HC5 activity. Both bacteriocins catalyzed potassium efflux from S. bovis JB1, a non–bacteriocin-producing strain. The addition of large amounts (100 mM) of calcium or magnesium increased the ability of S. bovis JB1 to bind Congo red (an anionic dye) and counteracted bacteriocin-mediated potassium loss. Calcium was more effective than magnesium in decreasing nisin activity, but the reverse was observed with bovicin HC5. Nisin-resistant S. bovis JB1 cells bound three times as much Congo red as nisin-sensitive cells, and this result is consistent with the idea that changes in cell surface charge can be a mechanism of bacteriocin resistance. The nisin-resistant cells were less susceptible to bovicin HC5, but bovicin HC5 still caused a 50% depletion of intracellular potassium. These results indicate that nisin and bovicin HC5 react differently with the cell surfaces of Gram-positive bacteria.
An Aligning Election and the Ukrainian Political Community

This article begins by relating the 2010 presidential election to preceding presidential elections in Ukraine. It demonstrates that this is the first time in Ukraine’s two decades of national independence that strong continuity has been present across successive elections in the territorially aggregated basis of support for the same leading candidate, or between such a candidate and a political mentor. From this perspective, the 2010 election is the country’s first aligning election. The article investigates the social and economic correlates of regional voting patterns in 2010, finding that identity-based variables based on section (macro-region) and language are the strongest predictors, although economics is also of some relevance. It goes on to compare the 2010 contest in this respect with the elections of 1994, 1999, and 2004, showing that identity politics lost in salience as of the late 1990s and then resurged. The reasons for this reversal have to do with the elite’s habit of relying on identity m...
A blend of first-principles and kinetic lattice Monte Carlo computation to optimize samarium-doped ceria

Solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) have been acknowledged as a possible future source for clean and efficient electric power generation. One of the most important goals in the SOFCs research is to decrease the operating temperature, which in turn will improve the stability and decrease the cost of various components enabling its widespread utilization. For realizing the aforementioned goal, it is imperative to identify suitable electrolyte materials that show enhanced conductivity in the intermediate temperature range (773–1,073 K). Sm-doped ceria (SDC) is considered a promising candidate for use as an electrolyte material for SOFC operation in intermediate temperature range due to the high oxygen ion conductivity. In this article, we present a theoretical investigation using first-principles and kinetic lattice Monte Carlo (KLMC) computations to highlight the trends in oxygen ion conductivity as a function of dopant content and temperature in SDC. Using first-principles calculations, oxygen vacancy formation and migration were examined at first, second, and third nearest neighbor positions to a Sm ion. The activation energies for oxygen vacancy migration along various pathways in SDC computed using first-principles were used as input to the KLMC model to study vacancy mediated diffusion. SDC with 20 % mole fraction of dopant content yields the maximum conductivity, which is in very good agreement with experimentally identified compositions. Rationale for increase in conductivity as a function of increase in dopant content and subsequent decrease in conductivity at higher dopant fractions in SDC is presented. This combined methodology of first-principles and KLMC computations is a useful tool for the design and identification of various ceria-based electrolyte materials used in SOFCs.
Stability of Allelic Frequencies and Distributions of Candida albicans Microsatellite Loci from U.S. Population-Based Surveillance Isolates

Allelic distributions and frequencies of five Candida albicans microsatellite loci have been determined for strains isolated from the bloodstream and obtained through active population-based surveillance in two U.S. metropolitan areas between 1998 and 2000. These data were compared to data for isolates obtained from two other U.S. regions in 1992 to 1993. In a majority of pairwise combinations between sites, no evidence was seen for shifts in microsatellite allelic frequencies. One to three alleles were highly predominant and correlated with major genotypes. These data both support the concepts of allelic stability and genetic equilibria and suggest that, in the United States, strains of C. albicans isolated from the bloodstream may form a defined, genetically homogeneous population across geographical distance and time.
Average evoked potentials and reaction times to visual stimuli.

EEG relation to average evoked potentials and human reaction time to visual stimuli for trials with and without feedback
The symmetric ergodic capacity of phase-fading interference channels to within a constant gap: 3 users in the strong and very strong regimes

Consider a three-user time-varying Gaussian interference channel under uniform phase fading. Prior work on ergodic interference alignment has shown that each user can simultaneously achieve half its interference-free rate. In this paper, we combine ideas from ergodic alignment and compute-and-forward to characterize the symmetric ergodic capacity of this channel in the strong and very strong regimes to within a constant gap.
Automating extrusion design: a case study in geometric and topological reasoning for mechanical design

Abstract A model for topological and geometric reasoning about mechanical designs is described and demonstrated by a computer program using the 2D domain of extrusion cross-sections as a case study. The design system uses a feature-based representation and has two stages: first, parametric design, in which a numerical, iterative technique is used to vary existing parameters and second, topological design (the central focus of this research), in which the extrusion cross-section is modified by adding new parameters and/or deleting old ones. This paper summarizes recent research related to topological design, then describes representation and reasoning as modelled in the computer program, presents some test cases, and outlines future directions for geometric and topological reasoning in mechanical design domains.
The Politics of Threat Perception and the Use of Force: A Political Economy Model of U.S. Uses of Force, 1949–1994

A growing body of empirical research addresses the influence of domestic political and economic circumstances on the use of force. Most models explain the use of force as a function of various domestic and international demands for military force. This article uses data on U.S. uses of force between 1949 and 1994 to test a model that also considers the influence of these conditions on the supply of this policy instrument. Conditions that have complementary demand and supply effects—making military force both more useful and less costly to employ—are associated with frequent U.S. uses of force in the postwar era. These conditions include high unemployment, strong investor confidence, wartime presidential election years, and the absence of ongoing wars. Some of these same conditions contribute to a motivated bias in international threat perception, leading U.S. decision makers to perceive more opportunities for the use of force when it is most convenient for them to employ it.
Jet impingement modeling of cryogen spray cooling: analysis of 2D cryogen temperature distribution

The main goal of this study was to demonstrate the feasibility of using backside infrared imaging to estimate the spatial cryogen temperature distribution during a cryogen spurt. Calculations from numerical models showed that the frontside temperature distribution could be identified at the back side of a thin aluminum sheet. Infrared images were obtained at various timepoints during a cryogen spurt from the back side of an 800-micrometers aluminum sheet and the temperature distribution estimated. The temperature distribution was approximately gaussian in shape. A secondary goal was to calculate the temperature distribution in skin for two cases: 1) uniform cryogen temperature distribution, essentially representative of a 1D geometry assumption; and 2) nonuniform distribution. At the end of a 100-ms spurt, calculations showed that, for the two cases, large discrepancies in temperatures at the surface and at a 60-micrometers depth were found at radii greater than 2.5 mm. These results suggest that it is necessary to consider spatial cryogen temperature gradients during cryogen spray cooling of tissue.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Heavy rare gases from Rabbit Lake (Canada) and the Oklo mine (Gabon): natural spontaneous chain reactions in old uranium deposits

Xenon isotopic studies confirm natural spontaneous chain reactions at the Oklo mine site (Republic of Gabon) with an integrated neutron flux of approximately 4 × 1020n/cm2 and a duration between 14,000 and 70,000 years. Similar studies for the Rabbit Lake deposit (Saskatchewan), a slightly younger site with some evidence of continued geologic activity, shows no evidence of self-supporting reactions.
Nitroreductases in the Madagascar cockroach, Gromphadorhina portentosa

Abstract Nitrobenzene reduction by tissue preparations of the Madagascar cockroach, Grompphadorhina portentosa, was studied in vitro. Active enzyme preparations were obtained from midgut, hindgut, fat body, and Malpighian tubules. Anaerobic conditions were essential for activity which was found in all subcellular fractions tested. The microsomal enzymes were strongly NADPH-dependent whereas the soluble enzymes were strongly NADH-dependent. Flavin addition stimulated activity greatly and it appeared that the true substrate for the nitroreductases was FMN and that nitrobenzene was nonenzymatically reduced by FMH2.
Progress in Neuroprotective Strategies for Preventing Epilepsy

Neuroprotection is increasingly considered as a promising therapy for preventing and treating temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE). The development of chronic TLE, also termed as epileptogenesis, is a dynamic process. An initial precipitating injury (IPI) such as the status epilepticus (SE) leads to neurodegeneration, abnormal reorganization of the brain circuitry and a significant loss of functional inhibition. All of these changes likely contribute to the development of chronic epilepsy, characterized by spontaneous recurrent motor seizures (SRMS) and learning and memory deficits. The purpose of this review is to discuss the current state of knowledge pertaining to neuroprotection in epileptic conditions, and to highlight the efficacy of distinct neuroprotective strategies for preventing or treating chronic TLE. Although the administration of certain conventional and new generation anti-epileptic drugs is effective for primary neuroprotection such as reduced neurodegeneration after acute seizures or the SE, their competence for preventing the development of chronic epilepsy after an IPI is either unknown or not promising. On the other hand, alternative strategies such as the ketogenic diet therapy, administration of distinct neurotrophic factors, hormones or antioxidants seem useful for preventing and treating chronic TLE. However, long-term studies on the efficacy of these approaches introduced at different time-points after the SE or an IPI are lacking. Additionally, grafting of fetal hippocampal cells at early time-points after an IPI holds considerable promise for preventing TLE, though issues regarding availability of donor cells, ethical concerns, timing of grafting after SE, and durability of graft-mediated seizure suppression need to be resolved for further advances with this approach. Overall, from the studies performed so far, there is consensus that neuroprotective strategies need to be employed as quickly as possible after the onset of the SE or an IPI for considerable beneficial effects. Nevertheless, ideal strategies that are capable of facilitating repair and functional recovery of the brain after an IPI and preventing the evolution of IPI into chronic epilepsy are still hard to pin down.
Impact of oxidized plant phenolics on the nutritional quality of dietar protein to a noctuid herbivore, Spodoptera exigua

Abstract Treatment of selected dietary proteins (i.e. casein, soy protein, gluten, zein and tomato foliar protein) with chlorogenic acid and polyphenol oxidase significantly reduced protein quality to Spodoptera exigua larvae as measured by larval growth rate. The reduction in growth was negatively correlatable with the content of lysine, histidine, cystein and methionine for each protein. These amino acids contain nucleophilic centres (e.g. -SH, -NH2) that are susceptible to alkylation by quinones formed from the enzymatic oxidation of chlorogenic acid. The treatment of the proteins with chlorogenic acid and polyphenol oxidase caused significant losses in alkylatable amino acids (i.e. cysteine, histidine, methionine and lysine). The amount of chlorogenic acid bound to each protein was significantly increased by polyphenol oxidase activity and was dependent upon the content of the alkylatable amino acids. In the absence of polyphenol oxidase, the influence of alkylatable amino acids content was different. The toxicity of chlorogenic acid was directly proportional to the content of alkylatable amines in a model protein, casein. Also, the ability of chlorogenic acid to bind to protein was inversely proportional to alkylatable amine content. The importance of phenolics and phenolic oxidizing enzymes in determining protein quality to insect herbivores is discussed.
Data processing in multivariable RFID vapor sensors

Sensors for selective monitoring of gases and volatiles are needed for numerous applications including medical diagnostics, food safety, environmental, industrial, homeland protection, and many others. For these and other applications, we have developed passive radio frequency identification (RFID) sensors for vapor sensing where we apply a sensing film onto the resonant antenna of the RFID sensor, simultaneously measure several parameters of antenna impedance, and process these parameters using multivariate analysis tools. In this work, we critically analyze techniques of processing the impedance response of individual sensors coated with different sensing materials and the ability of these techniques to increase selectivity of developed sensors upon exposure to model vapors. Four types of investigated data processing techniques are based on unsupervised and supervised pattern recognition algorithms. Two evaluation criteria for these techniques involved their ability (1) to correctly identify types of vapors and (2) to provide the smallest error of prediction of concentrations of vapors.
Nucleon-nucleon interaction in a ``non-symmetric'' quark model

Abstract We extend the work of Warke and Shanker on the nucleon-nucleon interaction to include colored nucleon clusters. By treating a two-nucleon state as a mixture of a color singlet-singlet component and a color octet-octet component, it is shown that, with a few percent admixture of the octet-octet component, a Coulomb-type quark-quark potential can generate a nucleon-nucleon potential comparable to the phenomenological central-force potentials. It also leads to a color van der Waals potential which is too strong in comparison with experiment.
Estimation of Parameters in Compound Weibull Distributions

The two-parameter Weibull distribution has been recognized as a useful model for survival populations associated with reliability studies and life testing experiments. In the analysis of atmospheric data, the distributions encountered are often a result of combining two or more component distributions. These compound distributions are consequently of interest to aerospace scientists. Presented is a method for estimation of the parameters of a compound Weibull distribution with two shape parameters, two scale parameters and a proportionality factor.
Governance, Privatization, and Systemic Risk in the Disarticulated State

With the United States grappling with the greatest economic downturn since the Great Depression, questions are emerging about whether outsourcing contributes to the instability of government service production. In this article, the authors explore systemic risk in privatized service implementation networks. Reliance on networks of private agents for service production contributes to the disarticulated and fragmented state and increases the potential for systemic crisis if shocks to the network occur, putting vulnerable clients at risk. Government must focus on understanding systemic risk in networked governance arrangements and building resilient networks to avoid crises, the authors argue. Finally, potential research on systemic risk in networked governance arrangements is discussed. In public administration as governance, it is essential that we do not diminish our institutions to such an extent that we lose our capacity to support the development of sound public policy, as well as our ability to eff ectively implement that policy.
Giant Left Ventricular Pseudoaneurysm

54-year-old man presented with the chief complaint of an enlarging pulsatile mass on his chest wall for the preceding 3 months. He had a history of anterior myocardial infarction 19 years previously complicated by left ventricular aneurysm for- mation, which was resected 8 years prior to admission. Three months prior
Specific colorimetric detection of o-diphenols and 3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine-containing peptides

Abstract The catecholic moiety of simple and monosubstituted o-diphenols reacts with nitrite to produce a bright red (λmax 500 nm) chromophore in alkali. Most of these o-diphenols have extinction coefficients in the range of 7000 to 10,000 cm−1 m −1 at 500 nm. Di- and tetrasubstituted o-diphenols, monophenols, and m- and p-diphenols in the concentration range 4 to 20 μg/ml do not form visible reaction products with nitrite. Monomethyl catechol ethers and 2,3-dihydroxypyridine react with nitrite forming yellow to orange products in alkali. The nitrite-sensitive o-diphenols tested included pyrocatechol, 4-methylcatechol, 2,3-dihydroxybenzaldehyde, protocatechuic acid, 4-nitrocatechol, 4-tert.-butylcatechol, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetic acid, 3,4-dihydroxyphenylpropionic acid, l -epinephrine, dopamine, l -3,4-dihydroxyphenylalanine (DOPA), (+)-catechin, poly(DOPA-Glu-DOPA), poly(Glu-DOPA), poly(Glu-Glu-Glu-DOPA), and the protein periostracin. We also found that detection of DOPA proteins on polyacrylamide gels is readily accomplished by reaction with nitrite.
A groundwater recharge field study: site characterization and initial results

A field study site was installed in east-central Pennsylvania to examine processes controlling groundwater recharge. It was instrumented to monitor climatic inputs, soil water dynamics and groundwater response. Characterization of the layered fractured bedrock underlying the site by rock coring, seismic surveys and interval packer testing showed consistencies between layer depths, fracture frequencies, seismic velocities and hydraulic conductivities. Monthly summaries of rainfall and percolate over two years showed that percolate rates were generally high and closely related to precipitation during the dormant season. During the growing season, however, the relationship became erratic with large variabilities occurring between individual lysimeter measurements. Eight dormant season rainfall events were examined in detail. Smaller events produced similar responses from 1 m deep percolate lysimeters. Approximately 10–15 mm of rain was required to initiate percolate, with the time delay in response dependent on how long it took this depth to accumulate; 5 to 6 mm of the rain was retained in storage, with the remainder becoming percolate. Larger rains, from 30–110 mm, caused correspondingly larger depths of percolate and larger water table responses, but generally similar patterns of site response. Groundwater at the site was typically about 6 m below the land surface during the dormant season. It responded 1–2 hours after the onset of percolate, and reached its maximum elevation anywhere from 4 to 16 hours after that, even though percolate was still occurring. Based on causative depth of recharge and amount of water level rise in wells, the specific yield of the aquifer was found to be of the order of 0·01. This value is characteristic of fracture geometry rather than matrix properties of the bedrock. Copyright © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Shell-filling effects and Coulomb degeneracy in planar quantum-dot structures

We investigate the influence of electron-electron interactions on the electronic properties of quantum dots in a regime where the energy-level separation is comparable to or larger than the Coulomb charging energy at low temperature ${(e}^{2}/2C\ensuremath{\gg}{k}_{B}T).$ A self-consistent three-dimensional solution of Schr\"odinger and Poisson equation within the local-density approximation is implemented to study the formation of shell structure in highly symmetric quantum dots which is in good agreement with recent experimental results [Tarucha et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 77, 3613 (1996)] For asymmetric quantum dots, we show that the shell structure disappears, and features due to electron-electron interaction lead to the accidental formation of an isolated electron shell called ``Coulomb degeneracy'' in the energy spectrum.
Prediction of γ‐B28 ELNES with comparison to α‐B12

Using ab initio techniques we have calculated the electron energy loss near edge structure (ELNES) of a new high pressure phase of boron (γ-B28) and the structurally similar allotrope, α-B12. The total ELNES spectra are presented as weighted sums of the site specific spectra of the constituent non-equivalent B atoms. The five different non-equivalent B sites in γ-B28 all show rich ELNES spectra and their similarities and differences to the simpler α-B12 case are detailed. (© 2009 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim)
A Circuit for Generating Polynomials and Finding Their Zeros

This paper describes an instrument for generating any polynomial and for finding the roots of any polynomial equation to any desired degree of accuracy.
The principle of Saint-Venant in linear and non-linear plane elasticity

A two-dimensional elastic isotropic body $$R:{\text{ }}[0 < x{\text{ < 2}}l;{\text{0 < }}y < h]{\text{ with }}\frac{h}{l} \ll {\text{1}}$$ is considered. The body has self-equilbrated loadings on its short ends and is unstressed on its long sides. If it is assumed that the first four derivatives of the displacement vector are uniformly bounded and the bounds are sufficiently small, it can be shown from standard equations of non-linear elasticity that $$\left| {e{\text{(}}x,y{\text{)}}} \right| \leqq \varepsilon {\text{exp}}\left[ { - k\frac{{{\text{(}}x - a{\text{)}}}}{h}} \right],{\text{ }}x < l$$ where (i) e(x, y) is the strain tensor at any point (x, y). (ii) ɛ=sup ¦ e(x,y)¦ (x, y) e R (iii) k and a are positive constants which depend only upon the uniform bounds for the derivatives of the displacement vector.
Prediction of a Weyl semimetal in Hg 1 - X - Y Cd x Mn y Te

We study strained Hg$_{1-x-y}$Cd$_x$Mn$_y$Te in a magnetic field using a $\bm{k}\cdot\bm{p}$ model and predict that the system is a Weyl semimetal with two nodes in an experimentally reasonable region of the phase diagram. We also predict two signatures of the Weyl semimetal phase which arise from tunability of the Weyl node splitting. First, we find that the Hall conductivity is proportional to the average Mn ion spin and thus is strongly temperature dependent. Second, we find an unusual magnetic field angle dependence of the Hall conductivity; in particular, we predict a peak in $\sigma_{xy}$ as a function of field angle in the $xz$-plane and a finite $\sigma_{yz}$ as the $x$-component of the field goes to 0.
Effects of supplemental phytase and phosphorus on histological, mechanical and chemical traits of tibia and performance of turkeys fed on soyabean-meal-based semi-purified diets high in phytate phosphorus

Tibial traits were investigated for turkey poults fed on soyabean-meal-based semi-purified diets high in phytate P (2.2 g/kg) with added phytase and inorganic P. Dietary treatments were : (1) 2.7 g non-phytate P (nP)/kg ; (2) diet 1+1000 U phytase/kg diet ; (3) 3.6 g nP/kg ; (4) diet 3+800 U phytase ; (5) 4.5 g nP/kg ; (6) diet 5+600 U phytase ; (7) 6.0 g nP/kg. Added phytase and nP increased (P < 0.006) tibial dry matter, ash weight and content, body-weight gain, feed intake and gain :feed. The Mg and Zn concentrations in the tibial ash were also increased (P < 0.001 and P < 0.09 respectively) by added phytase or nP ; tibial P and Ca concentrations tended to be increased. Hypertrophy zone width of the tibial proximal end decreased (P < 0.001), while proliferating zone width, tibial length, and widths at the long and short axes increased (P < 0.003) as phytase and nP were added. The addition of phytase also tended to enlarge the cartilaginous zone width, which was linearly increased (P < 0.05) by added nP. Disorganization scores of the hypertrophy zone and trabecular bone were low, approaching normal (P < 0.05), for turkey poults fed on diets with phytase supplementation, and tibial abnormality scores were linearly decreased (P < 0.001) as nP levels increased (zero score is considered normal). Adding phytase and nP improved the orderliness of development, mineralization and arrangement of cartilage and bone cells, and alleviated the effects of P deficiency on the histological and gross structure of the tibias. Tibial shear stress increased (P < 0.04) as phytase and nP were added. In summary, similar improvements in bone characteristics were achieved for turkey poults fed on a P-deficient diet supplemented with either phytase or nP.
Testicular and Paratesticular Neoplasms in Prepubertal Males

Purpose: We reviewed the current diagnosis, staging and management of testicular and paratesticular neoplasms in prepubertal males.Materials and Methods: We performed a medical literature search in English using MEDLINE/PubMed that addressed testicular and/or paratesticular neoplasms in prepubertal males. We then analyzed the literature with respect to individual tumors. We present a concise approach toward the management of these individual tumors.Results: There is still a predominance of yolk sac tumors in prepubertal males, although some studies suggest that teratomas are more common but underreported due to their benign course in children. Prepubertal males are diagnosed in a fashion similar to that in adult patients with an appropriate history and physical examination. A palpable, nontender mass suggests the diagnosis and prompts scrotal ultrasound and tumor markers. Although treatment for most primary tumors has historically been radical inguinal orchiectomy, most benign tumors can now be managed by...
Novel Approaches to Nanopatterning: From Surface Monolayer Initiated Polymerization to Hybrid Organometallic-Organic Bilayers

The extendability of conventional subtractive lithographic processing using spin-coated polymeric single layer resists (SLR) faces many challenges as feature sizes in microelectronics push below 100 nm. In addition, the opacity of the polymeric materials traditionally used as SLR resins to future exposure sources presents new challenges as the radiation penetration depth decreases (e.g. 157 nm, EUVL, low keV e-beam). One solution to these problems is the use of surface imaging materials and processes. In such surface imaging methods, exposure in only a thin surface layer is used to create a pattern in a substantially thicker etch barrier layer. Conventional surface imaging approaches have mainly focused on silylation techniques which have experienced a variety of problems. This paper presents an update on two novel surface imaging methods under investigation: (1) surface monolayer initiated polymerization (SMIP) and (2) organometallic-organic bilayer resists. The SMIP process involves using a monolayer that contains a polymerization initiator functionality. Exposure of the monolayer to radiation can deactivate the initiators in selected areas and the remaining initiators can subsequently be used to directly grow patterned polymer structures. This process allows complete decoupling of the imaging properties of the monolayer from the etch properties of the polymer etch barrier. In essence, the polymerization process is used to amplify the pattern initially formed in the monolayer. Recent results are presented that demonstrate the use of x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy in conjunction with dose array experiments to analyze the sensitivity of the initiators used for this process. The other novel surface imaging method presented in this work uses organometallic-organic bilayers. In these systems, thin films of radiation sensitive organometallic precursors are used as an imaging layer in conjunction with thick organic etch barrier layers. Upon exposure, the organometallic precursor film is selectively converted to metal oxide. After exposure, the unexposed regions of the film can be developed away. Subsequent dry pattern transfer in an oxygen plasma can be used to transfer the pattern defined in the thin oxide layer through the organic etch barrier layer. Organometallic precursor films with sensitivities on the order of 70 ώC/cm2 are demonstrated which result in oxide films that possess an etch selectivity of 100:1 with respect to novolac in oxygen plasmas. 500 nm line-space patterns are demonstrated as a first lithographic imaging proof-of-concept.
Application of the reactive lysine procedure to estimate lysine digestibility in distillers dried grains with solubles fed to growing pigs

Two experiments were conducted to measure the reactive Lys concentration in corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS). In expt 1, reactive Lys was measured in 33 sources of DDGS using two procedures: the homoarginine procedure and the furosine procedure. The concentration of reactive Lys in DDGS was then correlated with the concentration of standardized ileal digestible (SID) Lys in DDGS fed to growing pigs. In expt 2, a factorial experiment was conducted using four ratios of condensed distillers solubles (CDS) and wet distillers grain (WDG). The ratios (wt/wt) of CDS to WDG were 0:100, 20:80, 40:60, and 100:0, and four subsamples from each combination were freeze-dried or oven-dried at 50, 75, or 100 degrees C. The dried samples were designated DDG, DDGS 20, DDGS 40, and CDS, respectively. All subsamples were analyzed for total Lys and for reactive Lys using the homoarginine procedure. Results of expt 1 showed that only 74.1% of total Lys was reactive if measured by the homoarginine procedure and 83.5% was reactive if measured by the furosine procedure. The concentration of SID Lys in DDGS was correlated with the concentration of reactive Lys measured by the homoarginine procedure ( r (2) = 0.70, P < 0.05) and by the furosine procedure ( r (2) = 0.66, P < 0.05). In expt 2, the concentrations of total Lys and reactive Lys were reduced ( P < 0.05) when addition of CDS or drying temperature of the samples was increased, but the reduction was greater ( P < 0.05) when both CDS addition and drying temperature were increased at the same time. After oven-drying at 100 degrees C, 75.7% of total Lys was reactive in DDG, but only 27.6 and 10.2% were reactive in DDGS 20 and DDGS 40, respectively. In conclusion, reactive Lys is correlated with the concentration of SID Lys in DDGS, and addition of CDS exacerbates the negative effects of heating on the concentration of total Lys and reactive Lys in DDGS.
TECHNOLOGY AND SECOND LANGUAGE ACQUISITION

Computer technology provides learners with new and varied options for language learning through interactive tasks delivered through CD-ROMs, Web pages, and communications software on the Internet. Researchers need to reconsider any approach to second language acquisition (SLA) concerned with explaining how language development is prompted by exposure to the target language in view of the dramatic differences in language experience learners engage in due to computer technology. Virtually all theories are concerned with the role of linguistic input or the environment (VanPatten & Williams, 2007), and therefore technology needs to be considered.
Public Meeting Discourse

Public meetings are sites for democratic participation and deliberation on issues facing a municipality. In the North American context, the New England Town Hall meeting epitomizes this democratic ideal. Such meetings are a place where ordinary folks can get up on their feet, have their say, and possibly influence the town's decision. Not surprisingly, what transpires at public meetings often falls short of these ideals or mythos of democracy. The gap between the ideal and the realities of public meetings has led to calls for empirical studies of citizen participation and deliberation. A language and social interaction (LSI) approach seems especially well suited for studies of public meetings given the focus on talk as social action and interaction. This discursive turn to actual communicative practices as embodied in participants' discourse has been called “ordinary democracy.” Keywords: citizenship; empowerment; language and social interaction; political communication; public participation
Boundary Interpolation Sets for Conformal Maps

A compact subset of the unit circle is an interpolation set for conformal mappings if and only if it has logarithmic capacity zero.