cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nonlinear ball chain waveguides for acoustic emission and ultrasound sensing of ablation

Harsh-environment acoustic emission and ultrasonic wave sensing applications often benefit from placing the sensor in a remote and more benign physical location, using waveguides to transmit elastic waves between the structural location under test and the transducer. Waveguides are normally designed with linear properties to have high fidelity over broad frequency ranges to minimize distortion – often difficult to achieve in practice. This paper reports on an examination of using nonlinear ball chain waveguides for the transmission of acoustic emission and ultrasonic waves for the monitoring of thermal protection systems undergoing severe heat loading, such as ablation and similar processes. Experiments test the nonlinear propagation of solitary, harmonic and mixed harmonic elastic waves through a copper tube filled with steel and elastomer balls. Mechanical pulses of varying time widths and amplitudes are launched into one end of the ball chain waveguide and observed at the other end in both time and frequency domains. A nonlinear mechanical model describes the motion of the ball chains. Based on the results of these studies it is anticipated that a nonlinear waveguide will be designed, built and tested as a possible replacement for the high-fidelity waveguides presently being using in an Inductively Coupled Plasma Torch facility for high heat flux thermal protection system testing. The design is intended to accentuate acoustic emission signals of interest, while suppressing other forms elastic wave noise.
The source of sand for the Killpecker sand-dune field, southwestern Wyoming

Abstract The primary source of sand for the Killpecker sand-dune field is the Laney Member of the Green River Formation (Eocene) and not the glaciofluviatile deposits to the west as previously believed. This contention is based on data from heavy-mineral analyses, grainsize parameters and outcrop locations of possible sand sources. The heavy-mineral assemblage of the dune field includes in order of decreasing frequency epidote, greenbrown hornblende, blue-green hornblende, magnetite, garnet, zircon and a variety of other heavy minerals in minor amounts. Earlier studies based on moment measures from sieved sands indicated that textural parameters such as positive skewness define the eolian environment. Textural parameters in this study were determined by graphic measures from settling-tube curves which had been calibrated both for glass beads and sieved natural sand. The use of textural parameters such as positive skewness to define eolian environments is not supported by the data of this study. Skewness was found to be linearly dependent on mean grain size with a critical value of ⋍1.7 φ (0.31 mm) separating positively and negatively skewed samples. Sand coarser than 1.7 φ (smaller or negative φ) was positively skewed and sand finer than 1.7 φ was negatively skewed.
Anterior spinal artery syndrome as a complication of transforaminal epidural steroid injections

Corticosteroids are commonly injected in the lumbar and cervical epidural space as a treatment for radiculitis. Historically, the epidural injections have been via an interlaminar technique but the transforaminal approach is becoming more prevalent. As the number of transforaminal procedures has increased, there have also been an increasing number of case reports of anterior spinal artery ischemic events leading to temporary and permanent neurological deficits or death. Aside from death, neurological compromise is the most feared complication of all for interventional pain physicians, and strategies to avoid the occurrence of these events are necessary. This review of complications will focus on the type and location of complications, anatomy of anterior spinal cord blood supply, description of the anterior spinal artery syndrome, discussion of potential etiologies, and suggested preventative strategies.
Biopolymer plugging effect: laboratory-pressurized pumping flow studies

The use of biopolymers and their producing microorganisms to form a wide range of impervious barriers, as well as for enhancement of oil recovery (EOR) is already well documented. Both of these important applications of biopolymers are based on their plugging characteristics. Flow systems are essential to examine the plugging effect of biopolymers under different conditions, in order to select suitable biopolymers for a particular application. In the present study, the plugging effect of a number of biopolymers, namely xanthan, polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB), guar gum, polyglutamic acid (PGA) and chitosan, has been investigated in a laboratory-pressurized pumping flow system. The present work is also targeted to study the correlation, if any, between biopolymer structure and plugging effect. The experimental system included a horizontally mounted sand-pack column and provided a constant flow, using a transducer and recording the pressure difference. Thus, the permeability ratio could be evaluated for each biopolymer as models in the field. All of the biopolymers studied have shown positive plugging effects by reducing the permeability of sand over the 11-day experimental period. The best plugging effect was obtained for PHB, which can reach more than a billion-fold permeability reduction, followed by chitosan and PGA, with a million-fold reduction of permeability. These biopolymers can be successfully used alone or in combination in field applications for stabilizing underground contamination to stop the plumes of subsurface pollutants, as well as for improving oil recovery from the field. Our results show that the plugging effect is influenced by the structure of biopolymers. This study will lead to a new method for characterizing the biopolymers used for plugging.
Seasonal dynamics of root system respiration inAtriplex confertifolia

The seasonal dynamics of respiratory capacity in the root system ofAtriplex confertifolia was studied under field conditions. Respiratory capacity of the root system undergoes seasonal adjustments with peak capacity occurring in spring and minimum capacity occurring in late summer. At greater depths in the profile, the timing of peak and minimum capacities is progressively delayed.
Hyperhomocysteinemia and cobalamin deficiency in young Asian Indians in the United States.

Hyperhomocysteinemia, a risk factor for vascular disease, may be a particular problem in Asian Indians, but information is limited, especially in the U.S., despite its growing Asian population. Moreover, suggestions have been made that folate deficiency is responsible for the hyperhomocysteinemia in Indians. Therefore, we studied homocysteine status in healthy Asian Indians in the U.S. prospectively, determined the frequency of cobalamin and folate deficiency as contributors to it, and examined whether food-cobalamin absorption contributed to cobalamin deficiency. Homocysteine levels were higher in Asian Indian men than in 4 other ethnic groups (P < 0.0001); 10/39 Indian men (25.6%) were hyperhomocysteinemic. Cobalamin levels were lower in Indian men (P = 0.000005) and women (P = 0.03) than in non-Indians; low levels were found more frequently in both Indian men (23/39; 59.0%) and women (5/21; 23.8%) than in others. Measuring methylmalonic acid in 10 selected subjects showed that the low cobalamin levels reflected cobalamin deficiency, and high methylmalonic acid levels were found in some subjects without hyperhomocysteinemia. Evidence of folate deficiency was not found in any subjects. Food-cobalamin absorption was normal in all 13 Indian subjects tested, including those with Helicobacter pylori infection. The results show that hyperhomocysteinemia is strikingly common in apparently healthy, young Asian Indian men. The cause appears to be cobalamin deficiency, which affected more than half of the Indian men, may be largely subclinical, is underestimated by homocysteine levels alone which were not always abnormal, and is probably largely dietary in origin. Folate deficiency is rare. This public health problem is amenable to prevention and treatment in this growing segment of the U.S. population. It was, parenthetically, noteworthy that many of the affected subjects were young physician trainees.
Draw Me a Picture

Developers, for the most part, don't draw diagrams because diagrams all too often don't offer any fundamental value that advances essential work. Yet, the problem remains that we must visualize ultra-large complex systems that have no directly observable physical manifestation. Here we explore how we might reconcile these two opposing realities.
A simple method for preparation of methyltrans-10,cis-12 octadecadienoate

A simple crystallization procedure is described for the preparation oftrans-10,cis-12 octadecadienoate from methyl esters of alkali-isomerized linoleic acid.
The Impact of Moisture on Mountain Waves during T-REX

Abstract The impact of moist processes on mountain waves over Sierra Nevada Mountain Range is investigated in this study. Aircraft measurements over Owens Valley obtained during the Terrain-induced Rotor Experiment (T-REX) indicate that mountain waves were generally weaker when the relative humidity maximum near the mountaintop level was above 70%. Four moist cases with a RH maximum near the mountaintop level greater than 90% have been further examined using a mesoscale model and a linear wave model. Two competing mechanisms governing the influence of moisture on mountain waves have been identified. The first mechanism involves low-level moisture that enhances flow–terrain interaction by reducing windward flow blocking. In the second mechanism, the moist airflow tends to damp mountain waves through destratifying the airflow and reducing the buoyancy frequency. The second mechanism dominates in the presence of a deep moist layer in the lower to middle troposphere, and the wave amplitude is significantly re...
Template-based level set segmentation using anatomical information

We present a preliminary evaluation of an automated segmentation method of the quadriceps muscles from MR images of the thigh. The method is being developed to assist research into morphological properties of the quadriceps muscles as biomarkers of osteoarthritis (OA) incidence and progression. Our method uses an anatomically anchored, template-based initialization of the level set-based segmentation approach. A template image is selected using the Kullback-Leibler divergence measure based on the muscle and fat content of the thigh images. Contours of the quadriceps muscles of the chosen template are then semi-automatically registered to the image to be segmented using an affine transformation. These registered contours are used as initializations for the multi-phase level-set segmentation of the image, which is pre-processed to reduce arterial flow artifacts, the bias field, and intramuscular fat/connective tissue. Thirteen studies from eleven different subjects were analyzed. The performance was compared against manual segmentations using the Zijdenbos similarity index (ZSI). The ZSI means and standard deviations were: rectus femoris, 0.73 plusmn 0.13; vastus intermedius, 0.78 plusmn 0.09; vastus lateralis, 0.81 plusmn 0.14; vastus medialis, 0.85 plusmn 0.10.
Use of the Just World Scale with Prison Inmates: A Methodological Note

The 20-item Just World Scale was administered to 52 inmates of a maximum security prison who were taking college courses and 106 sociology students from a four-year college in the same geographical area. Reliability analyses showed an acceptable coefficient alpha (.70) for the student sample but not for the inmates (.38). Factor analyses yielded five factors which were not the same for the two samples; in general, the just and unjust items loaded on different factors. These results suggest caution in applying the scale to samples of inmates and the necessity of ascertaining the scale's reliability for that sample.
Interior regularity of optimal transport paths

In a previous paper [12], we considered problems for which the cost of transporting one probability measure to another is given by a transport path rather than a transport map. In this model overlapping transport is frequently more economical. In the present article we study the interior regularity properties of such optimal transport paths. We prove that an optimal transport path of finite cost is rectifiable and simply a finite union of line segments near each interior point of the path.
Evidence for a major gene (RP10) for autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa on chromosome 7q: linkage mapping in a second, unrelated family

Retinitis pigmentosa is a genetically heterogeneous form of retinal degeneration, which has X-linked, autosomal recessive and autosomal dominant forms. The disease genes in families with autosomal dominant retinitis pigmentosa (adRP) have been linked to six loci, on 3q, 6p, 7p, 7q, 8q and 19q. In a large American family with late-onset adRP, microsatellite markers were used to test for linkage to the loci on 3q, 6p, 7p, 7q and 8q. Linkage was found to 7q using the marker D7S480. Additional microsatellite markers from 7q were then tested. In total, five markers, D7S480, D7S514, D7S633, D7S650 and D7S677, show statistically significant evidence for link-age in this family, with a maximum two-point lod score of 5.3 at 0% recombination from D7S514. These results confirm an earlier report of linkage to an adRP locus (RP10) in an unrelated family of Spanish origin and indicate that RP10 may be a significant gene for inherited retinal degeneration. In addition, we used recently reported microsatellite markers from 7q to refine the linkage map of the RP10 locus.
Numerical and analytical simulation of peristaltic flow of a Jeffrey-six constant fluid

This paper describes the Peristaltic flow of a Jeffrey-six constant fluid in an endoscope. The two-dimensional equation of Jeffrey-six constant fluid is simplified by making the assumptions of long wave length and low Reynolds number. The reduced momentum equations are solved with three methods, namely (i) Perturbation method, (ii) Homotopy analysis method, and (iii) shooting method. The comparison of the three solutions shows a very good agreement between the three results. The expressions for pressure rise and frictional forces per wave length have been also computed numerically. Finally, the pressure rise, frictional forces are plotted for different parameters of interest.
Magnetic automatic power-range control for an aircraft nuclear reactor

Control system philosophy for an aircraft nuclear power plant is discussed briefly. Advantages are presented for a power-range magnetic control system with a minimum number of moving parts. Control system elements and computing devices are discussed in detail. Performance of a breadboard version of the control system is evaluated.
Ultracold collisions and reactions of vibrationally excited OH radicals with oxygen atoms.

We report a quantum dynamics study of O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) collisions on its ground electronic state, employing two different potential energy surfaces: the DIMKP surface by Kendrick and Pack, and the XXZLG surface by Xu et al. A time-independent quantum mechanical method based on hyperspherical coordinates has been adopted for the dynamics calculations. Energy-dependent probabilities and rate coefficients are computed for the elastic, inelastic, and reactive channels over the collision energy range Ecoll = 10−10–0.35 eV, for J = 0 total angular momentum. Initial state-selected reaction rate coefficients are also calculated from the J = 0 reaction probabilities by applying a J-shifting approximation, for temperatures in the range T = 10−6–700 K. Our results show that the dynamics of the collisional process and its outcome are strongly influenced by long-range forces, and chemical reactivity is found to be sensitive to the choice of the potential energy surface. For O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) collisions at low temperatures, vibrational relaxation of OH competes with reactive scattering. Since long-range interactions can facilitate vibrational relaxation processes, we find that the DIMKP potential (which explicitly includes van der Waals dispersion terms) favours vibrational relaxation over chemical reaction at low temperatures. On the DIMKP potential in the ultracold regime, the reaction rate coefficient for O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) is found to be a factor of thirteen lower than that for O + OH (v = 0, j = 0). This significantly high reactivity of OH (v = 0, j = 0), compared to that of OH (v = 1, j = 0), is attributed to enhancement caused by the presence of a HO2 quasibound state (scattering resonance) with energy near the O + OH (v = 0, j = 0) dissociation threshold. In contrast, the XXZLG potential does not contain explicit van der Waals terms, being just an extrapolation by a nearly constant function at large O–OH distances. Therefore, long-range potential couplings are absent in calculations using the XXZLG surface, which does not induce vibrational relaxation as efficiently as the DIMKP potential. The XXZLG potential leads to a slightly higher reactivity (a factor of 1.4 higher) for O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) compared to that for O + OH (v = 0, j = 0) at ultracold temperatures. Overall, both potential surfaces yield comparable values of reaction rate coefficients at low temperatures for the O + OH (v = 1, j = 0) reaction.
Comparison of penetrating keratoplasty performed with a femtosecond laser zig-zag incision versus conventional blade trephination.

Purpose To evaluate visual outcomes and astigmatism in patients who underwent penetrating keratoplasty (PK) with 2 different incision techniques. Design Retrospective comparison of a consecutive surgical series. Participants Fifty-seven consecutive patients who underwent PK at the University of California, Irvine, academic referral practice. Methods A comparison of 49 eyes of 43 patients that underwent femtosecond laser zig-zag incision pattern PK versus 17 eyes of 14 patients that underwent conventional Barron suction trephination PK performed contemporaneously. All PKs were closed with an identical, 24-bite running nylon suture technique. Main Outcome Measures Topographically determined astigmatism, best spectacle-corrected visual acuity (BSCVA), and recovery of full visual potential. Results The postoperative follow-up ranged from 1 to 12 months. There was a significant difference in average astigmatism between the groups at postoperative month 1 ( P = 0.013) and 3 ( P = 0.018). By month 3, the average astigmatism was 3 diopters (D) in the zig-zag group and 4.46 D in the conventional group. Of the patients with normal macular and optic nerve function ( n ZZ = 32; n con = 14), a significant difference in BSCVA was seen at month 1 ( P = 0.0003) and month 3 ( P = 0.006) with 81% of the zig-zag group versus 45% of the conventional group achieving BSCVA of ≥20/40 by month 3 ( P = 0.03). Conclusions The femtosecond laser generated zig-zag–shaped incision results in a more rapid recovery of BSCVA and induces less astigmatism compared with conventional blade trephination PK. Financial Disclosure(s) Proprietary commercial disclosure may be found after the references.
Optimal Coding for the Binary Deletion Channel With Small Deletion Probability

The binary deletion channel is the simplest point-to-point communication channel that models lack of synchronization. Input bits are deleted independently with probability d, and when they are not deleted, they are not affected by the channel. Despite significant effort, little is known about the capacity of this channel and even less about optimal coding schemes. In this paper, we develop a new systematic approach to this problem, by demonstrating that capacity can be computed in a series expansion for small deletion probability. We compute three leading terms of this expansion, and find an input distribution that achieves capacity up to this order. This constitutes the first optimal random coding result for the deletion channel. The key idea employed is the following: We understand perfectly the deletion channel with deletion probability d=0. It has capacity 1 and the optimal input distribution is iid Bernoulli (1/2). It is natural to expect that the channel with small deletion probabilities has a capacity that varies smoothly with d, and that the optimal input distribution is obtained by smoothly perturbing the iid Bernoulli (1/2) process. Our results show that this is indeed the case.
Ultrasound brachial artery reactivity testing: technical considerations.

Ultrasound brachial artery reactivity testing (UBART) is a noninvasive technique for evaluating endothelial function. Endothelial function is characterized by flow-mediated vasodilation of the brachial artery, which is measured by comparing the brachial artery diameter at rest to the diameter after increased forearm blood flow (reactive hyperemia). Brachial artery flow-mediated vasodilation correlates with measures of coronary artery endothelial function and predicts future adverse coronary events.
N-Terminal Palmitoylation of PSD-95 Regulates Association with Cell Membranes and Interaction with K+ Channel Kv1.4

Abstract Ion channels and associated signal transduction cascades are clustered at excitatory synapses by PSD-95 and related PDZ-containing proteins. Mechanisms that target PSD-95 to synaptic membranes, however, are unknown. Here, PSD-95 is shown to partition as an integral membrane protein in brain homogenates. Metabolic labeling of brain slices or cultured cells demonstrates that PSD-95 is modified by thioester-linked palmitate, a long chain fatty acid that targets proteins to cell membranes. In fact, PSD-95 is a major palmitoylated protein in intact cells, and palmitoylated PSD-95 partitions exclusively with cell membranes. Mutagenesis indicates that palmitoylation of PSD-95 occurs on conserved N-terminal cysteines 3 and 5. Palmitoylation-deficient mutants of PSD-95 do not partition as integral membrane proteins and do not participate in PDZ–ion channel interactions in vivo. This work identifies palmitoylation as a critical regulatory mechanism for receptor interactions with PSD-95.
Digital Television and Program Pricing

I explore several ways that the development of digital television technology can improve price discrimination by program producer/distributors—especially by the movie studios. These include development of video-on-demand systems, improved quantity discounting, and of particular interest, improved segmentation of consumers according to their demands for different levels of television transmission quality. I consider HDTV and DVD as examples of quality segmentation opportunities, and conclude that the result will be more revenues for program distributors and thus increased production investments in movies and other programs
Promoting substance use education among generalist physicians: an evaluation of the Chief Resident Immersion Training (CRIT) program.

BACKGROUND Education about substance use (SU) disorders remains inadequate in medical training.
Multilayer-coated photodiodes with polarization sensitivity at EUV wavelength

The design of Mo/Si and Mo/Y multilayers as EUV polarizers is presented. The polarization performance of these multilayers was calculated based on their optical properties at around Brewster angles. The polarization results of a silicon photodiode that was coated with an interface-engineered Mo/Si multilayer are described. The sensitivity of this specially-coated photodiode and its polarization responses were determined from both reflectance and transmittance of the multilayer coating, using synchrotron radiation. The multilayer reflected 69.8% of s-polarized light and only 2.4% of p-polarized light, therefore transmitted about 0.2% s-polarized light and 8.4% p-polarized light at 13.5 nm to the underlying photodiode substrate. A polarization ratio based on transmittance values, (Tp-Ts)/(Tp+Ts), of 95% was achieved with sufficiently high sensitivity. This result demonstrates the usefulness of Mo/Si multilayer-coated photodiodes as future EUV polarimeters.
On finding and using repeating seismic events in and near China

[1] A comprehensive search for repeating seismic events was performed using cross correlation on waveforms for 17,898 seismic events in and near China reported in the Annual Bulletin of Chinese Earthquakes from 1985 to 2005. We define a repeat as an event pair having a high cross correlation (≥0.8) for a particular bandwidth (0.5 to 5 Hz) and time window (5 s before P arrival to 40 s after Lg arrival). Such events typically have hypocenters separated by no more than about 1 km. This result enables a determination of median relative location error of around 15 km for global and regional catalogs that locate events in this study one at a time using phase picks. The maximum location error is on the order of hundreds of kilometers. We use nonnormalized cross-correlation values to measure relative amplitudes of event pairs. The standard deviation is about 0.06 magnitude units, much better than the precision of relative magnitudes for doublet events, which we estimate for the Chinese catalog to have a standard deviation of 0.36 magnitude units. Two thousand three hundred and seventy-nine events out of the 17,898 or 13% of the events in this catalog are classified as repeats, with later years showing an increase in the percentage. About half the repeats occur as isolated doublets, the rest as multiplets of three or larger, up to a 92-event multiplet. Most of the events appear to be triggered or are due to some earthquake interaction since their recurrence intervals are significantly shorter than would be estimated from tectonic loading.
Blast resistance of polyurea based layered composite materials

Abstract Composite materials have been used in applications involving blast and ballistic impacts, and are considered effective materials in absorbing the energy of blast. Application of polyurea to composites, as a shock mitigation material is a relatively new idea. In this study, layered and sandwich composite materials, comprising of polyurea (PU) and E-glass vinyl ester (EVE) composite are experimentally evaluated for effective blast resistance using a shock tube. Rectangular plates of the plain–woven composite and the layered composite, simply supported along two edges and free along the other two were subjected to controlled blast. The free end of the plate was observed real time using a high-speed camera during the dynamic bending due to the blast. Results indicate that addition of the polyurea layer on the impact face considerably increases the blast resistance. Further, sandwich materials prepared by sandwiching the polyurea between two composite skins had the best blast resistance compared to the layered and the composite plates.
Effect of Crystallographic Texture on Deformation Fields in Fretting Contacts

Fretting contacts in the partial slip regime are simulated by a finite element model of a rigid cylinder on an elastic-crystal viscoplastic half-space. The half-space is modeled as duplex Ti-6Al-4V, a polycrystalline metal alloy consisting of equiaxed primary alpha grains and secondary lamellar alpha+beta grains. Various realistic 3-D crystallographic textures are considered. The deformation fields generated by fretting are quantified in terms of cumulative effective plastic strain distributions and plastic strain maps. The results clearly demonstrate the importance of the various sources of microstructural heterogeneity in the surface layers. The main sources of microstructural heterogeneity include the distribution of phases, slip system strength anisotropy, and crystallographic texture. In basal textured materials with fretting on the edge, the plastic strain is more evenly distributed in the subsurface regions than in other textured cases. This is explained by the greater number of grains able to deform by soft slip modes and the symmetry of this type of texture relative to the fretting orientation. Transverse and basal/transverse textures result in more heterogeneously-distributed plastic strain with strain often concentrated in narrow vein-like structures with maximum accumulation near alpha/alpha+beta grain boundaries. Elastic shakedown is more difficult to achieve in the later case. Ratcheting is the primary mechanism for cyclic plastic strain accumulation.© 2005 ASME
Sex differences in tolerance to the locomotor depressant effects of lobeline in periadolescent rats

Abstract Lobeline is being tested in clinical trials as a pharmacotherapy for methamphetamine abuse and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Preclinical research demonstrates that lobeline produces locomotor hypoactivity apart from its therapeutic effects; however, the hypothesis that there are sex differences in hypoactivity or in the development of tolerance to its locomotor depressant effects has not been investigated. Periadolescent rats were injected with saline to determine baseline locomotor activity. Animals received saline or lobeline (1.0–10 mg/kg) daily for 7 consecutive days (post natal days 29–35), and were challenged with saline 24 h later to assess baseline activity. Lobeline produced hypoactivity in total horizontal activity and center distance travelled. Tolerance developed to the lobeline-induced hypoactivity and sex differences in lobeline tolerance were observed on both measures. Females acquired tolerance to lobeline 5.6 mg/kg at a slower rate than males. Saline challenge revealed a linear dose-dependent trend of hyperactivity on both measures, which indicates that rats exhibited altered locomotor behavior 24 h after the final lobeline treatment. These findings demonstrate sex differences in the hypoactive response to lobeline prior to puberty and suggest that females may experience more locomotor depressant effects than males. Chronic lobeline may induce hyperactivity following cessation of treatment.
The Sacred Mind: Newar Cultural Representations of Mental Life and the Production of Moral Consciousness

For the Newars of Nepal, mind, self, and emotion are sacred and moral; the "inner" world is absorbed in a religious ethos. This sacralization of mental life in Newar culture is consistent with the way religious forms-sacred beings and symbols and a moral order based on a religious worldview-provide the fundamental grounds for the Newar construction of reality. Newar life has not been secularized; the world and the mind have not been disenchanted. The concept of mind Newars bring to the experience of an "inner" life, of mental existence, helps Newars create themselves as moral beings. As Newars evaluate and experience themselves in terms of cultural theories of mental life, they produce states of moral consciousness, ways of knowing themselves as moral agents. Their concepts of mind, formed within a religious and ethical worldview, mediate the development of a "moral self." Their vision of mind
Alchemical Reproduction and the Career of Anna Maria Zieglerin

(2001). Alchemical Reproduction and the Career of Anna Maria Zieglerin. Ambix: Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 56-68.
Steam Slip—Theoretical Prediction From Momentum Model

Theoreticai equations governing slip effects in forced circulation oi boiling water are derived. The equations indicate that steam slip is dependent upon channel geometry, inlet water velocity, and rate of heat addition. A simplified momentam model is postulated which leads to equal friction and head losses of two phases. The model gives good agreement with available experimental results in horizontal and vertical test sections with and without heat addition at pressures from 12 to 2000 psia. Discussion of the model in terms of nonquasi steady-state unbalances of friction and head losses of the two phases explains experimental deviations from the predictions and the previously noted effects of water inlet velocity. It also gives trends for the effects of channel geometry and rate of heat addition. application of the simplified model to calculating two- phase pressure drops is included. (auth)
Transition temperatures and structural correlations for cellulose triesters

Six homologs of the cellulose triester series were found to exhibit, in general, three second-order transitions as determined dilatometrically. A parallel study of torsional modulus versus temperature revealed one glass–rubber transition, which allowed molecular assignment of one of the above. The dependence of the remaining two transition temperatures on length of the ester group permits some speculation with regard to their origin. The glass–rubber and secondary transitions exhibit an inversion for cellulose trivalerate and higher homologs, the two secondary transitions occurring at temperatures higher than the glass–rubber transition. A possible explanation for this anomaly in terms of side-chain crystallization is discussed.
Origin of Frogs of Patagonian Forests

THE modern amphibian fauna of the Nothofagus (beech) forests of Patagonia is poor in taxa, but rich in endemics—characteristics which make this fauna challenging for evolutionists. Because of a general lack of adequate data about the taxonomy and the distribution of the frogs involved, however, their evolutionary history has not yet been interpreted satisfactorily. Much new information has recently been published about these amphibians (especially the book by Cei1) so I have analysed the evolutionary history of frogs from the Nothofaguas forests.
Role Perceptions of Mothers With Young Children: The Impact of a Child’s Disability

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the perceived past, present, and future occupational roles of mothers of young children. Awareness of the role demands placed on mothers will assist occupational therapists in addressing the needs of children with disabilities within the family context. METHOD One hundred and thirty-five mothers of children 6 months to 5 years of age completed the Role Checklist, which examines participants' perceptions of past, present, and future occupational roles. Forty-five participants had children with multiple disabilities and major functional limitations, 45 had children with Down's syndrome, and 45 had children who were typically developing. RESULTS The group of mothers of children who were typically developing was found to have significantly more present roles than the other two groups. All three groups lost significant numbers of roles from past (before birth of child) to present and anticipated adding significant numbers of future roles. There were no significant differences among the three groups in value placed on occupational roles. CONCLUSION Role demands of caring for a young child were high for all participants, particularly if the child had a disability. Participants seemed to respond to these demands by giving up other discretionary roles in order to meet their caregiving obligations. Thus, asking mothers of children with disabilities to take on therapy-related caregiving tasks may contribute to role strain.
An Empirical Study of Student Willingness to Study Abroad

Companies wish for universities to provide business students with international education and awareness. Short- and long-term study-abroad programs are an effective method by which this is accomplished, but relatively few American students study abroad. In response to these facts, this study develops hypotheses that predict student willingness to study abroad and tests the hypotheses using a survey of over 300 primarily business undergraduate students at a public Midwestern university. Results indicate a significant difference between student willingness to study abroad short-term versus long-term. Results also show that personal, situational, and location variables influence students' willingness to study abroad, though completing an international business class had no effect. Implications for international business scholars are discussed.
Density and Viscosity of Binary Mixtures of Ethyl-2-methylbutyrate and Ethyl Hexanoate with Methanol, Ethanol, and 1-Propanol at (293.15, 303.15, and 313.15) K

The density and viscosity of binary mixtures of ethyl-2-methylbutyrate and ethyl hexanoate with methanol, ethanol, and 1-propanol over the whole composition range have been measured at three different temperatures (293.15, 303.15, and 313.15) K and atmospheric pressure. A Redlich−Kister-type polynomial equation was fitted to the calculated excess molar volumes and viscosity deviations.
Copper in biological systems. A report from the 7th Manziana conference, held at Santa Severa, September 11–15, 1995

In this fifty-seven page report, the author attempts to give the essence of the twenty-four lectures and of an about equal number of posters, including subjects of discussion, that were presented at an international conference on copper proteins held in Italy. The report deals with research carried out up to mid-1995 and contains 140 literature references and thirty-three figures or schemes.
Cholera toxin action on rabbit renal brush-border membranes inhibits phosphate transport

Abstract Cholera toxin was used to enhance ADP-ribosylation of rabbit renal rush-border membranes. Treatment of brush-border membrane sheets with cholera toxin in the presence of NAD resulted in a specific inhibition of the initial phase of Na + -dependent P 1 uptake, compare to controls incubated with NAD alone. The P i uptake was determined after conversion of the membrane sheets to vesicles. The equiliibrium uptake of P i , Na + -independent uptake of P i , the Na + -dependent uptake of l -proline and the activities of several brush-border membrane enzymes were not changed. The inhibition of P i transport was dependent on the presence of both NAD and cholera toxin. Incubationof membrane sheets with [ 3H ]NAD produced acid-stable binding of radioactivity to the membranes and the binding was increased 5-fold by the presence of cholera toxin. The use of [ 32 P]NAD and autoradiography confirmed that the bound radioactivity was associated with several different membrane proteins, and that cholera toxin increased binding to these proteins including three that were not labelled in the absence of the toxin. The specific inhibitory action of cholera toxin on Na + P i contransport is probably mediated by ADP-ribosylatin of membrane proteins, suggesting that the P i transport system can be regulated by ADP-ribosylation, at least in vitro.
Failure to detect changes to people during a real-world interaction

Recent research on change detection has documented surprising failures to detect visual changes occurring between views of a scene, suggesting the possibility that visual representations contain few details. Although these studies convincingly demonstrate change blindness for objects in still images and motion pictures, they may not adequately assess the capacity to represent objects in the real world. Here we examine and reject the possibility that change blindness in previous studies resulted from passive viewing of 2-D displays. In one experiment, an experimenter initiated a conversation with a pedestrian, and during the interaction, he was surreptitiously replaced by a different experimenter. Only half of the pedestrians detected the change. Furthermore, successful detection depended on social group membership; pedestrians from the same social group as the experimenters detected the change but those from a different social group did not. A second experiment further examined the importance of this effect of social group. Provided that the meaning of the scene is unchanged, changes to attended objects can escape detection even when they occur during a natural, real-world interaction. The discussion provides a set of guidelines and suggestions for future research on change blindness.
Financial Services Consolidation and Performance in New York State Savings and Loan Associations, 2000-2011

The market structure-performance relationship has been tested for US banking in industrial organization studies. Two divergent hypotheses with regard to this relationship are the Structure-Conduct-Performance (SCP) Paradigm and Efficient Structure Hypothesis (ESH). This paper presents the test results of both hypotheses with respect to the New York State S&L associations using the time-series and cross sectional (firm-level) data for the most recent period 2000-2010. The results of PEGLS regression indicate that performances of S&Ls vary with respect to operating cost, credit risk and capitalization. Neither market share nor concentration, however, plays a significant role in explaining profitability. The results partially support the ESH as an explanation for the market behavior of New York State S&L associatons. Given that profitable banks are efficient but also risk dependent, additional policies are warranted in order to mitigate risk and maintain the safety and soundness for the remaining S&Ls in the New York State.
On stresses in mixtures

The first formulation of the theory of mixtures in the terminology of modern continuum mechanics was by TRUESDELL [1], who traced the general ideas to FICK [2] and STEFAN [3]. Since then the theory has been further developed and extended by a number of authors. 1 However, it seems to me that at the fundamental level of formulation of boundary conditions and, more generally, of interpretation of the fields in the theory there remains a great deal of confusion and contradiction. For example, while it is indisputable that the partial stress tensor represents a force exerted per unit area, it is not always so clear exactly upon what the force is exerted and by what. In fact I claim that the usual interpretation of the partial stress tensor is misleading; in this paper I present some arguments against it and present an alternative point of view. In the first section I give an outline of a formal structure for mixture theory and in the second present axioms which formalize the (usually implicit) assumptions which underlie the classical interpretation of the equations of balance of forces for mixtures. I think that this formalization reveals clearly the weaknesses inherent in this interpretation of the theory. 2 In the third section of the paper I present a set of axioms, based on work done by GURTIN, DE LA PENHA, OLIVER, SAMPAIO and me [6-9], which are free of the peculiar defect of the other approach, and I show how they may yield the classical equations. I also present arguments as to why this interpretation of these equations may be more useful when one seeks to create manageable constitutive equations for the theory. In this paper I give no proofs; all results may be established easily by simple translation of the proofs in [7] or [8].
Blackbody infrared radiative dissociation at low temperature: hydration of X2+(H2O)n, for X = Mg, Ca

Abstract A new apparatus for making blackbody infrared radiative dissociation (BIRD) measurements at below ambient temperature is described, and its use for measuring threshold dissociation energies of weakly bound clusters is demonstrated. Hydration energies are determined for alkaline-earth metal water clusters, X 2+ (H 2 O) n , X=Mg, Ca and n =8–10. For n =8 and 9, the energies obtained from BIRD measurements are in excellent agreement with values reported previously, but for n =10, the energies are slightly lower than those determined previously using the high-pressure ion source mass spectrometry (HPMS) equilibrium method.
Sparsity-aware estimation of nonlinear Volterra kernels

The Volterra series expansion has well-documented merits for modeling smooth nonlinear systems. Given that nature itself is parsimonious and models with minimal degrees of freedom are attractive from a system identification viewpoint, estimating sparse Volterra models is of paramount importance. Based on input-output data, existing estimators of Volterra kernels are sparsity agnostic because they rely on standard (possibly recursive) least-squares approaches. Instead, the present contribution develops batch and recursive algorithms for estimating sparse Volterra kernels using the least-absolute shrinkage and selection operator (Lasso) along with its recent weighted and online variants. Analysis and simulations demonstrate that weighted (recursive) Lasso has the potential to obviate the “curse of dimensionality,” especially in the under-determined case where input-output data are less than the number of unknowns dictated by the order of the expansion and the memory of the kernels.
Selection of optimal material and operating conditions in composite manufacturing. Part I: computational tool

The Genetically Optimized Neural Network System (GONNS) is proposed as a human-like decision-making tool for the selection of optimum composite material and operating conditions. Multiple neural networks represent the characteristics of the system after a training process and genetic algorithms find the optimum operating conditions. The error of the GONNS was found to be less than 1% when the neural networks-represented analytical functions and genetic algorithms were used to select the optimal conditions. The GONNS is very promising for many complex optimization problems when analytical equations are not available to represent the characteristics of the system.
Feeding wild American black bears in Virginia: a survey of Virginia bear hunters, 1998–99

Abstract Some bear hunters in Virginia, primarily houndsmen, feed American black bears (Ursus americanus) to attract them to hunting sites, but also because some hunters believe that supplemental food improves bear reproduction and survival. However, a regulation prohibiting unauthorized feeding of bears, deer (Odocoileus virginianus), and turkey (Meleagris gallopavo) on national forest and state-owned lands in Virginia became effective 1 July 1999. We sent a survey to all members of the Virginia Bear Hunters Association (VBHA) (n = 459) to determine the amount of food provided to bears by hunters between 1 July 1998 and 30 June 1999. Survey response rate was 52%. One hundred thirteen of 238 (48%) survey respondents spent $18,378 on supplemental food during that time. One hundred twenty-eight respondents provided 2,942,394 kilograms of food to bears between 1 July 1998 and 30 June 1999. Whole-shelled corn, pastries, and rendered animal fat (grease) accounted for 58% of the total mass; however, whole-shell...
Glutamate receptor inhibitors as potential insecticides

Philanthotoxin (PhTX) is a neurotoxic constituent of the paralytic venom of the digger wasp, Philanthus triangulum. PhTX inhibits glutamate receptors of insect muscles mostly as a channel blocker, thereby producing muscle paralysis. Since glutamate receptor blockers may be of value as selective insect control agents, numerous derivatives of Ph TX were synthesized and tested for their potencies as inhibitors of insect skeletal muscle glutamate receptors. Structure-activity relationship studies revealed that shortening the polyamine chain length reduced potency, and quaternarization of the nitrogen destroyed it. The potency was increased by a bulky anchoring group with moderate hydrophobicity at the end of the polyamine chain. The conversion of the tryosyl moiety to 3,5-diiodo-tyrosyl also increased potency and so did lengthening the butyryl chain from 4 to 10 carbons. Not only did Ph TXs inhibit different subtypes of glutamate receptors, including the mammalian N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor, but also nicotinic receptors of insects and vertebrates. Because of this low selectively, and the hydrophilicity of the derivatives tested, which interferes with their penetration to the target receptor, these compounds cannot be used as insecticides. Nevertheless, the insect skeletal muscle glutamate receptor is a viable target for selective insecticides and major changes in Ph TX structure may possibly produce derivatives that can be potential insecticides. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.