cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Study of a special system of transportation in the epicarps of Urticaceae.

The epidermis of the mature fruits of most Urticaceae is filled with mucilage. The mucilage develops from the bottom of the cells of the epicarpic layer and thus isolates the layer from the rest of the pericarp. Yet the individual cells of this layer still are able to maintain communication with the subjacent layers of the pericarp through a special system of communication. This system consists of cells, named intercalary cells, distributed at even intervals throughout the pericarp. The intercalary cell is devoid of mucilage, and every mucilage cell touches at one point or other, one and only one, intercalary cell. The exchange of metabolites and the transport of constructive material from the mesocarp for the formation of the mucilage take place through the intercalary cell.
Modeling Square-Wave Voltammetry of Thin Protein Films Using Marcus Theory

A model combining Marcus theory with Gaussian distributions of kinetic and thermodynamic parameters was developed for square-wave voltammetry (SWV) and applied to the protein myoglobin in thin films of didodecyldimethylammonium bromide on electrodes. Nonlinear regression analysis allowed direct estimation of electron transfer rate constants and reorganization energies from single experiments at relatively large pulse heights. Successful fitting relies on the accurate representation of background current within the model. Analysis of 22 voltammograms at pH 6 over a range of frequencies and pulse heights gave a formal potential consistent with earlier determinations, and a mean log( ) of 3.3 + 0.8 s-1, not significantly different from the mean log( ) of 3.0 ± 0.6 s-1. The mean value of reorganization energy λRED was 0.41 ± 0.02 eV and λOX was 0.21 ± 0.01 eV. Differences in λRED and λOX are likely to reflect different solvation, bonding, and conformation near the iron heme regions of MbFeIII and MbFeII. Meth...
Ca2+-modulated ONE-GC odorant signal transduction.

In a subset of olfactory epithelium the odorant receptor guanylate cyclase, ONE-GC, is a central transduction component of the cyclic GMP signaling pathway. The odorant binds to the extracellular domain and activates its intracellular catalytic domain to generate the odorant second messenger, cyclic GMP. The present study demonstrates that it is a two-step, Ca2+-independent and Ca2+-dependent, sequential process. In step one, the odorant, uroguanylin, binds ONE-GC and primes it for stimulation. In step two, Ca2+-bound neurocalcin δ binds to the defined intracellular domain and saturates ONE-GC activity. A prototype model is proposed that depicts this signal transduction process.
Reward Protocols in Technical Organizations: Interpersonal Versus Technical Competence

Administrative philosophy has in recent years increasingly reflected the view that for effective performance, organizational members need to possess a reasonably high level of competence in interpersonal behavior. The study reported here produced findings concerning the relationship of this philosophy to the distribution of rewards among professionals in technical organizations. The investigation addressed the question, "In rewarding the technical professional employee, what relative weight does management give to his interpersonal skills as compared with his technical skills?" Data were collected in a university setting, an independent research laboratory, and a research-and-development engineering firm. In the engineering firm, interpersonal competence was found to be as highly related to reward level as was technical competence; in the university, interpersonal competence was negatively related, while technical competence was positively related to reward level; and in the laboratory, interpersonal comp...
Green manure effects on soil quality in relation to suppression of Verticillium wilt of potatoes

Verticillium dahliae is a major, persistent pathogen in soil but conventional control is becoming more difficult because of increasing costs and environmental impacts of pesticides. Organic amendments can naturally suppress plant diseases, but to be reliable, mechanisms and suppressive soil indicators need to be understood. Consequently, a 3 × 3 factorial experiment was conducted in two separate fields over 2 years with three green manure types (Austrian winter pea, Pisum sativum L.; broccoli Brassica oleracea L.; or Sudan grass, Sorghum vulgare), incorporated at three rates (6, 12, or 24 Mg ha−1 dry biomass). The relationship between soil chemical and microbiological properties and suppression of Verticillium wilt of potato was investigated using correlation and stepwise multiple-linear-regression (MLR) analysis. V. dahliae inoculum density (ID) were positively correlated with relative area under the senescence progress curve (RAUSPC) in both 2002 and 2003. In 2002, in addition to ID, low soil pH, low Ca, high K, high Mg, high total soil C, and low arylsulfatase activity were associated with low RAUSPC. Soil pH, Ca, K, and Mg were not impacted by green manure treatments, but rather indicated a pre-existing soil gradient at the 2002 site. In 2003, in addition to ID, high values of NO3−−N, total C, fluorescein diacetate hydrolysis (FDA), microbial respiration, and microbial biomass C were associated with low RAUSPC. These six factors were affected by green manure treatments. The best MLR model included terms for ID, FDA, and soil pH, and accounted for 70% of the variability in RAUSPC.
The Yeast Mitochondrial Citrate Transport Protein: MOLECULAR DETERMINANTS OF ITS SUBSTRATE SPECIFICITY

The objective of this study was to identify the role of individual amino acid residues in determining the substrate specificity of the yeast mitochondrial citrate transport protein (CTP). Previously, we showed that the CTP contains at least two substrate-binding sites. In this study, utilizing the overexpressed, single-Cys CTP-binding site variants that were functionally reconstituted in liposomes, we examined CTP specificity from both its external and internal surfaces. Upon mutation of residues comprising the more external site, the CTP becomes less selective for citrate with numerous external anions able to effectively inhibit [14C]citrate/citrate exchange. Thus, the site 1 variants assume the binding characteristics of a nonspecific anion carrier. Comparison of [14C]citrate uptake in the presence of various internal anions versus water revealed that, with the exception of the R189C mutant, the other site 1 variants showed substantial uniport activity relative to exchange. Upon mutation of residues comprising site 2, we observed two types of effects. The K37C mutant displayed a markedly enhanced selectivity for external citrate. In contrast, the other site 2 mutants displayed varying degrees of relaxed selectivity for external citrate. Examination of internal substrates revealed that, in contrast to the control transporter, the R181C variant exclusively functioned as a uniporter. This study provides the first functional information on the role of specific binding site residues in determining mitochondrial transporter substrate selectivity. We interpret our findings in the context of our homology-modeled CTP as it cycles between the outward-facing, occluded, and inward-facing states.
Origin and evolution of the archaeo-eukaryotic primase superfamily and related palm-domain proteins: structural insights and new members

We report an in-depth computational study of the protein sequences and structures of the superfamily of archaeo-eukaryotic primases (AEPs). This analysis greatly expands the range of diversity of the AEPs and reveals the unique active site shared by all members of this superfamily. In particular, it is shown that eukaryotic nucleo-cytoplasmic large DNA viruses, including poxviruses, asfarviruses, iridoviruses, phycodnaviruses and the mimivirus, encode AEPs of a distinct family, which also includes the herpesvirus primases whose relationship to AEPs has not been recognized previously. Many eukaryotic genomes, including chordates and plants, encode previously uncharacterized homologs of these predicted viral primases, which might be involved in novel DNA repair pathways. At a deeper level of evolutionary connections, structural comparisons indicate that AEPs, the nucleases involved in the initiation of rolling circle replication in plasmids and viruses, and origin-binding domains of papilloma and polyoma viruses evolved from a common ancestral protein that might have been involved in a protein-priming mechanism of initiation of DNA replication. Contextual analysis of multidomain protein architectures and gene neighborhoods in prokaryotes and viruses reveals remarkable parallels between AEPs and the unrelated DnaG-type primases, in particular, tight associations with the same repertoire of helicases. These observations point to a functional equivalence of the two classes of primases, which seem to have repeatedly displaced each other in various extrachromosomal replicons.
Effect of o,p'-DDD and Similar Compounds on Thyroxine Binding Globulin

ABSTRACT o,p'-DDD has been observed to lower the serum protein bound iodine (PBI). Measurement of the binding capacity of thyroid binding globulin (TBG) by cellulose acetate electrophoresis demonstrated that the PBI lowering effect is probably due to competitive binding to this protein by o,p'-DDD, a diphenyl compound. Chemical similarities between o,p'-DDD and diphenylhydantoin, which also competes with thyroxine (T4) for TBG binding sites, are discussed. The effect of other compounds structurally similar to o,p'-DDD on T4 binding by TBG is noted.
Ontogenesis of morphine-induced behavior in the cat

We analyzed the behavioral responses to a single dose of morphine in kittens at postnatal (P) ages 7, 15, 30, 60, 90, and 120 days. Each kitten received 0.5 or 3.0 mg/kg i.p. of morphine sulphate or saline vehicle. An average of 6.5 kittens were studied at each dose and age. An ethogram was constructed, based on morphine effects in adult cats, to score appropriate behaviors from direct observation and video sampling. After injection behaviors were sampled for periods of 2 min every 15-30 min for a total of 4 h. The frequency of each selected behavior was scored at 2 s intervals during each of the 2 min periods and it was expressed as a percent of all time samples scored for the 4 h period. Statistical comparisons were made with control (saline) littermates. At P7-15 the drug's main effect was behavioral depression; i.e., kittens, away from the litter, laid sprawled as if with no muscle tonus; Nursing was suppressed and Vocalization was distressed. Mainly with the higher dose, at P30, morphine-specific behaviors appeared for the first time. With the kitten in a Sitting position, these included stereotypical Head and Paw Movements and body Torsion. At P60 other drug-elicited behaviors emerged, including Spinning, Retching, and Vomiting. By P90-120 the frequency of Head (16.0%) and Paw (16.9%) Movements doubled relative to P30-60. Morphine significantly changed frequencies of newly matured behaviors (in control kittens) including Sniffing and Licking (increased), and Grooming (decreased/blocked). Retching and Vomiting increased to adult levels. Morphine-induced hyperthermia was first detected at P60 and peaked by P90-P120. The early behavioral depression shifted to a pattern of increasing activity starting at P30 and peaking at P90-120, at which time Sleep was absent and Laying was reduced, while Walking and Sitting were increased. We concluded that the maturation of the stereotypical behavioral responses to morphine in cats begins at about P30 and is completed between P90 and 120. Results are discussed in terms of developmental parameters and putative brain sites of morphine's actions.
Inflation and other aggregate determinants of the trend in US divorce rates since the 1960s

This article extends empirical research on the determinants of divorce in two ways. First, I examine the effect of inflation on divorce. Second, the use of a structural time-series modelling approach attributes unobservables and omitted variables to an unobserved component, which allows for the model's parameters to be estimated consistently. Inflation is statistically significant, positive and persistent. I show that the effects of inflation are robust to the inclusion of additional explanatory variables and various trend specifications. The long-run implications of inflation are also substantial. I conclude that price stability has the potential to reduce divorce rates.
Paracetamol is an effective drug to use for pain following oral surgery

DATA SOURCE Studies were identified using the Cochrane trials registers of the Oral Health Group and of the Pain, Palliative and Supportive Care Group, along with the Cochrane Central Register of Controlled Trials, Medline, Embase and the Current Controlled Trials Register. Handsearching included several dental journals as well as the bibliographies of relevant clinical trials and review articles for studies outside the journals searched by hand. Authors of the randomised controlled trials (RCT) identified and manufacturers of analgesic pharmaceuticals were contacted in an attempt to identify unpublished or ongoing RCT. No language restriction was applied. STUDY SELECTION Randomised, parallel-group, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trials of paracetamol (acetaminophen) for acute pain following third molar surgery were included. DATA EXTRACTION AND SYNTHESIS All trials identified were scanned independently and in duplicate by two review authors. Any disagreements were resolved by discussion or, if necessary, a third review author was consulted. The proportion of patients who recorded at least 50% pain relief was calculated for both paracetamol and placebo. The number of patients experiencing adverse events, and/ or the total number of adverse events reported were analysed. RESULTS Twenty-one trials met the inclusion criteria. A total of 2048 people were initially enrolled in the trials (1148 took paracetamol and 892 the placebo) and of these 1968 (96%) were included in the meta-analysis (1133 took paracetamol, and 835 the placebo). Paracetamol provided a statistically significant benefit when compared with placebo for pain relief and for pain intensity at both 4 and 6 h. Most studies were found to have moderate risk of bias, with poorly reported allocation concealment being the main problem. The risk ratio for pain relief at 4 h was 2.85 (95% confidence interval, 1.89-4.29), and at 6 h was 3.32 (95% confidence interval, 1.88-5.87). A statistically significant benefit was also found between doses of <1000 mg and of 1000 mg, the higher dose giving greater benefit for pain relief and intensity at both timepoints. There was no statistically significant difference between the number of patients who reported adverse events: this was 19% in the paracetamol group and 16% in the placebo group. CONCLUSIONS Paracetamol is an effective drug to use for postoperative pain following oral surgery, and the reporting of adverse events shows it to be a safe drug: the number-needed-to-treat (NNT) to benefit is three for 1000 mg of paracetamol at 6 h and the NNT to harm is 33. It is most effective at a 1000 mg dose, and can be taken at 6-hourly intervals without compromising safety. It could be considered more readily by dentist and patients both as a first-choice analgesic, or to be taken alternately with other analgesics such as nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.
Model-based estimation of buffer overflow probabilities from measurements

We consider the problem of estimating buffer overflow probabilities when the statistics of the input traffic are not known and have to be estimated from measurements. We start by investigating the use of Markov-modulated processes in modeling the input traffic and propose a method for selecting an optimal model based on Akaike's Information Criterion. We then consider a queue fed by such a Markov-modulated input process and use large deviations asymptotics to obtain the buffer overflow probability. The expression for this probability is affected by estimation errors in the parameters of the input model. We analyze the effect of these errors and propose a new, more robust, estimator which is less likely to underestimate the overflow probability than the estimator obtained by certainty equivalence. As such, it is appropriate in situations where the overflow probability is associated with Quality of Service (QoS) and we need to provide firm QoS guarantees. Nevertheless, as the number of observations increases, the proposed estimator converges with probability 1 to the appropriate target, and thus, does not lead to resource underutilization in this limit.
Fiscal policy, growth, and macroeconomic performance in a small open economy

Abstract This paper develops an endogenous growth model of a small open economy. Domestic capital accumulation involves convex costs of adjustment, a consequence of which is that no steady-state growth path may exist. The equilibrium growth rates of domestic capital and consumption are determined largely independently. The former is determined by production conditions, the latter is determined primarily by tastes. Various fiscal issues are discussed, beginning with the effects of taxes on growth and welfare. The latter part of the paper discusses optimal fiscal policy in a situation where the tax revenues are used to finance utility-augmenting government expenditure.
Essays on the political economy of rural Africa

This book addresses several of the classic questions in African Studies. In the pre-colonial era what were the sources of order in societies without states? And what were the origins of 'traditional' states in Africa? In the colonial period, what caused the divergent patterns of agricultural development? And what were the issues that drove the peasantry into the rebellions which brought an end to colonial rule? Since independence what has been the fate of the African peasantry? What has been the content of the agricultural policies adopted by the governments of Africa? And how can these policies be accounted for? In answering these questions, the book explores various forms of explanation and advances a form of political economy based upon rational-choice analysis.
Strengthening Efforts to Engage the Hispanic Community in Citizen-Driven Governance: An Assessment of Efforts in Utah

How can the Hispanic community in Utah strengthen its active engagement in government? Interviews by the authors with key government and community-based organization representatives offer evidence on (1) who is being engaged in the Hispanic community, (2) what are the barriers to engagement, and (3) which modes of engagement are likely to be effective and under what conditions. Findings indicate that only a small elite in the Hispanic community is currently involved. Even for the elite, engagement is fairly superficial. Historical patterns characterize the Hispanic community limited interaction. The peculiar nature of Utah government also reduces their participation. Pragmatic lessons are drawn to enhance substantially improved partnerships, build comprehensive action plans, and strengthen government commitment to civic inclusion that transcend Utah and apply to diverse minority communities everywhere.
Assessing Client Change in Individual and Family Counseling

This article presents outcome data from an ongoing nonintrusive method for evaluating counseling services. Applied to one agency’s delivery of solution-focused brief therapy, the method is brief and easily integrated into clinical practice. Using two scaling questions (one to measure daily functioning and the other to measure emotional coping), clinicians asked clients in every session to rate on a scale of 0 to 10 their present status on two dimensions. Data were collected by 40 professional counselors providing services to 3,920 cases during a 2-year period, averaging three counseling sessions per case. Analyses demonstrated statistically significant findings for both functioning and coping regardless of the number of sessions and client system (i.e., individual or couple and family). The research demonstrates a clinically useful method for assessing counseling services in process and illustrates the improvements in functioning and coping experienced by clients concurrent within their participation in c...
Perceived and Implicit Ranking of Academic Journals: An Optimization Choice Model

A new system of ranking academic journals is proposed in this study and optimization choice model used to analyze data collected from 346 faculty members in a business discipline. The ranking model uses the aggregation of perceived, implicit sequencing of academic journals by academicians, therefore eliminating several key shortcomings of previous ranking methodologies reported in the literature. Ranking results from the new system are comparable to that of previous methods, yet they reflect some present trends in quality perception of scholarly journals in the field.
Four-iron (sulfide) ferredoxin from Bacillus polymyxa.

Ferredoxin from Bacillus polymyxa contains (per mole) four non-heme iron residues, four acid-labile sulfide residues, and four cysteine residues. Its molecular weight is approximately 8,800, and it has an oxidation-reduction potential (Em) of −390 mv. It is active as an electron carrier in several ferredoxin-linked enzyme systems.
Infectious diseases associated with molluscan shellfish consumption.

A history of shellfish-vectored illnesses (i.e., those associated with consumption of clams, oysters, mussels, and scallops) occurring in the past nine decades is presented. Typhoid fever was a significant public health problem among consumers of raw molluscan shellfish earlier in this century. The development of more effective sewage treatment procedures and the institution of a national program following these outbreaks led to a series of measures which eventually eliminated shellfish-associated typhoid fever. Present-day problems associated with this food source still involve some wastewaterborne bacterial illnesses. However, the principal public health concerns are with wastewater-derived viral pathogens and with bacterial agents of an environmental origin. The nature, occurrence, and magnitude of these public health problems are described.
An information architecture for future power systems and its reliability analysis

Analysis of 162 disturbances from 1979 to 1995 reported by the North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC) indicates the importance of information systems under the regulated and competitive environment. This paper points out the major deficiencies in current communication and information systems and proposes a new power system information architecture aimed at correcting these deficiencies. The proposed architecture includes automation and control systems at all levels, from substation control system to independent system operator (ISO) operating center, taking into account the requirements of real-time data, security, availability, scalability, and appropriate Quality of Service (QoS). It uses multiple communication channels employing a wide variety of technologies to transmit real-time operating data and control signals. The real-time operating and control system is modeled with various redundancy configurations; the reliabilities of different configurations are studied and compared for practical values of component failure rates and repair rates.
AMPK and substrate availability regulate creatine transport in cultured cardiomyocytes.

Profound alterations in myocellular creatine and phosphocreatine levels are observed during human heart failure. To maintain its intracellular creatine stores, cardiomyocytes depend upon a cell mem...
Prevalence of Coronary Heart Disease in Subjects with Normal and Impaired Glucose Tolerance and Non-insulin-dependent Diabetes Mellitus in a Biethnic Colorado Population The San Luis Valley Diabetes Study

The prevalence of coronary heart disease was studied in 1984-1988 in 1,092 individuals with normal glucose tolerance, 173 individuals with impaired glucose tolerance, and 429 individuals with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, who were age 25-74 years and were from a biethnic community in the San Luis Valley, Colorado. Glucose tolerance was classified using the World Health Organization criteria, and coronary heart disease prevalence was assessed using the Rose Questionnaire and a resting electrocardiogram. Compared with normal glucose tolerance, coronary heart disease was significantly more prevalent in diabetic non-Hispanic white women (odds ratio (OR) for all end points combined = 3.2, 95% confidence interval (Cl) 1.8-5.5) and men (OR = 1.9, 95% Cl 1.1-3.3) and in diabetic Hispanic women (OR = 1.7, 95% Cl 1.1-2.5), but not men (OR = 1.0, 95% Cl 0.6-1.7). Among diabetic men, the prevalence of possible myocardial infarction was lower in Hispanics than in non-Hispanic whites (OR = 0.4, 95% Cl 0.2-0.7). Similar patterns of coronary heart disease were observed in individuals with impaired glucose tolerance. The paradoxically low prevalence of coronary heart disease in Hispanics with non-insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus, especially men, may be due to unknown protective factors, increased case fatality, or competing mortality in this group.
Serum Placental Lactogen in Mice in Relation to Day of Gestation and Number of Conceptuses

Placental lactogen (PL) has been measured throughout gestation by radioreceptor assay. Serum mouse PL (mPL) levels were low at the beginning of gestation, peaked at Day 10, and returned to low levels again by Day 13. From Day 13 until term, mPL levels remained low. No circadian rhythm in mPL levels was seen over two different 24 h periods. Mouse PL levels were correlated with the number of conceptuses in an animal from DayS 9 to 18 of gestation.
Calmodulins and related potential calcium sensors of Arabidopsis

Summary • Calcium (Ca2+) signaling is thought to orchestrate responses to cellular stimuli. The efficacy of Ca2+ signaling requires mediation by Ca2+-binding proteins. • The determination of the Arabidopsis genome sequence enables the identification of genes encoding potential Ca2+ sensors. • Six Arabidopsis loci are defined as calmodulin (CAM) genes. Fifty additional genes are CAM-like (CML) genes, encoding proteins composed mostly of EF-hand Ca2+-binding motifs, have no other identifiable functional domains, and at least 16% identical with CaM. Number and structural diversity of the EF hands are evaluated. Intron/exon boundaries, phylogenetic tree and chromosomal distribution data for the CAMs and CMLs are presented. • Arabidopsis has 6 CAM genes, encoding only 3 isoforms. Maintenance of these genes suggests that they are unlikely to be fully redundant in function. Furthermore, the repeated EF hand motif is incorporated into at least 50 additional loci. The CaM relatives have altered EF hand number, organization, and predicted functional capacity. Additional structural differences and expression behaviors also indicate that the CML family has likely evolved distinct roles from the CAMs.
Improving the Spectral Efficiency of Amplify-and-Forward Cooperative Relay Network with Adaptive M-QAM Modulation

This paper investigates the performance of cooperative amplify-and-forward (CAF) relay networks with adaptive M-ary quadrature amplitude modulation (M-QAM) technique in Nakagami-m and Rice wireless fading environments. We derived closed form upper bound expression for the marginal MGF of end-to-end SNR of CAF relay system in Nakagami-m fading to compute average bit error rate (ABER), mean achievable spectral efficiency, and outage probability performance metrics. Additionally, along with the above bounding techniques, we have adopted an accurate approximate MGF of end-to-end SNR of CAF relay system to compute above mentioned performance metrics. Employing the above novel approach based on "approximate MGF" allows us to simplify the computation complexity of achievable spectral efficiency as well as ABER of CAF relay system in generalized fading environments by simply replacing appropriate single channel MGF as readily available. The accuracies of our analytical results have been validated via Monte Carlo simulations.
Promiscuous patching of broken chromosomes in mammalian cells with extrachromosomal DNA

To study double-strand break (DSB)-induced mutations in mammalian chromosomes, we stably transfected thymidine kinase (tk)-deficient mouse fibroblasts with a DNA substrate containing a recognition site for yeast endonuclease I-SceI embedded within a functional tk gene. Cells were then electroporated with a plasmid expressing endonuclease I-SceI to induce a DSB, and clones that had lost tk function were selected. In a previous study of DSB-induced tk-deficient clones, we found that approximately 8% of recovered tk mutations involved the capture of one or more DNA fragments at the DSB site. Almost half of the DNA capture events involved the I-SceI expression plasmid, and several events involved retrotransposable elements. To learn whether only certain DNA sequences or motifs are efficiently captured, in the current work we electroporated an I-SceI expression plasmid along with HaeIII fragments of φX174 genomic DNA. We report that 18 out of 132 tk-deficient clones recovered had captured DNA fragments, and 14 DNA capture events involved one or more fragments of φX174 DNA. Microhomology existed at most junctions between φX174 DNA and genomic sequences. Our work suggests that virtually any extrachromosomal DNA molecule may be recruited for the patching of DSBs in a mammalian genome.
Public Understanding of Synthetic Biology

The objective of this article is not to draw exhaustive conclusions about public perceptions of synthetic biology but to provide readers with an integrated review of the findings from 4 years of quantitative and qualitative research conducted on this subject in the United States. US public perceptions toward synthetic biology are ambivalent. Members of the public show enthusiasm for synthetic biology applications when those applications are developed to address societal, medical, and sustainability needs, whereas engineering biology is seen as a potential concern if this research is done without investigations of its potential risks and long-term implications. Members of the public also support funding for research that leads to applications that actually meet social and sustainability goals. When it comes to oversight, their priorities are to promote transparency and accountability and to ensure a form of tailored governance in which diverse knowledge sources help address the uncertainty surrounding new ...
Assessment of mothers' working models of relationships: Some clinical implications.

The parent-child relationship exerts a powerful influence upon child behavior. Thus, it has been suggested that psychiatric diagnoses of infants and young children should include a characterization of parent-child relationships and interactions. In this article, we discuss one way of characterizing relationships, which is based upon interviews of parents' childhood histories and their conceptualizations or working models of early experiences (Adult Attachment Interview, George, Kaplan, & Main, 1985). The associations between mothers' working models, their parenting behavior, and the behavior of their children are discussed. Patterns of parent-child relationships described in mothers' subjective histories are discussed with respect to the patterns of interactional behavior of the mothers and their children observed in a laboratory play session. Case examples are given to illustrate the patterns, and implications for clinical use of this system are discussed. The interview appears to be a reliable tool for characterizing parental histories, assessing the associations between subjective conceptualizations and parenting behavior, exploring parental contributions to child behavior, and outlining patterns of relationships.
The Pht/Pht/8 Queueing System: Part I--The Single Node

We develop a numerically exact method for evaluating the time-dependent mean, variance, and higher-order moments of the number of entities in aPh t / Ph t /8 queueing system. We also develop a numerically exact method for evaluating the distribution function and moments of the virtual sojourn time for any timet; in our setting, the virtual sojourn time is equivalent to the service time for virtual entities arriving to the system at that timet. We include several examples using software that we have developed and have put in downloadable form in the Online Supplement to this paper on the journal's website.
Parallel mining of association rules from text databases on a cluster of workstations

Summary form only given. We propose a new algorithm named Parallel Multipass with Inverted Hashing and Pruning (PMIHP) for mining association rules between words in text databases. The characteristics of text databases are quite different from those of retail transaction databases, and existing mining algorithms cannot handle text databases efficiently because of the large number of itemsets (i.e., sets of words) that need to be counted. The new PMIHP algorithm is a parallel version of our multipass with inverted hashing and pruning (MIHP) algorithm, which was shown to be quite efficient than other existing algorithms in the context of mining text databases. The PMIHP algorithm reduces the overhead of communication between miners running on different processors because they are mining local databases asynchronously and prune the global candidates by using the inverted hashing and pruning technique.
Factors influencing athletic training students' selection of graduate programs

FACTORS INFLUENCING ATHLETIC TRAINING STUDENTS’ SELECTION OF GRADUATE PROGRAMS by Sonja Askew, ATC There is no published research known to the author on factors that influence athletic training student enrollment in the graduate programs. An investigation was conducted to determine the factors influencing students’ selection of graduate programs and their relationship to gender, age, and ethnicity. A web-based survey was developed with content adapted from the work of Johanson (2004; 2007) and Wilcox, Weber, and Andrew (2005) to assess the factors. The survey was validated through a pilot study and by a
Anonymity on the Internet: ACLU of Georgia v. Miller

Abstract The Internet allows anyone with a computer and a telephone line to talk to total strangers anywhere in the world. In the pure democracy of the Internet, chat sessions can become virtual masquerade parties, where users can express their own personalities or create new ones, depending on the circumstances and their individual whims. This can all take place based on the anonymity that is intrinsic to the Internet.
Soaps and Shampoos in Pediatric Practice

Cleansing of the skin and hair is part of the daily routine of all neonates, infants, toddlers, children, and adolescents. Numerous soap and shampoo products are available to the consumer. The pediatrician is often asked to comment on the safety and efficacy of these products. Little information is available to help the pediatrician make a rational decision. The list of ingredients on the package are seldom useful and can be confusing. The theoretical and practical considerations leading to the addition of the major constituents of soaps and shampoos are reviewed and guidelines for the use of soaps and shampoos under normal circumstances and in a few selected conditions are suggested.
Pain, Malingering, and Performance on the WAIS-III Processing Speed Index

Pain patients often report cognitive symptoms and many will include them in their claims of disability. The Processing Speed Index (PSI) of the WAIS-III was investigated as one aspect of cognitive functioning in six groups. Slight impairment was found for PSI and Digit Symbol subtest performance, but not for Symbol Search, in a Laboratory-induced Pain group and a Clinical Pain group. The lowest scores were found in a Simulator group instructed to fake cognitive impairment and a Clinical Pain group diagnosed as Malingering. Results suggest that PSI scores are only slightly reduced by laboratory-induced pain or chronic pain, and that unexpectedly low scores in the absence of significant/documented brain dysfunction suggest poor effort or deliberate misrepresentation.
Creep of Engineering Materials: Modeling and Remaining Life Assessment

This article outlines the work being carried out at GE Global Research, Bangalore in the area of creep modeling and remaining life assessment of ferritic steels and superalloys. Fundamental insights into the commonalities and differences between creep behavior of these two classes of materials are discussed. It is shown that these basic insights offer ways to develop physics based models that can enable confident extrapolation to regimes well outside the range of calibration. Methods to measure creep damage (non-cavity damage) are also discussed. It is shown that these methods when applied in conjunction with the physics based models can enable accurate remaining life assessment of high temperature components.
Synthesizing and Evaluating Animations of American Sign Language Verbs Modeled from Motion-Capture Data

Animations of American Sign Language (ASL) can make information accessible for many signers with lower levels of English literacy. Automatically synthesizing such animations is challenging because the movements of ASL signs often depend on the context in which they appear, e.g., many ASL verb movements depend on locations in the signing space the signer has associated with the verb’s subject and object. This paper presents several techniques for automatically synthesizing novel instances of ASL verbs whose motion-path and hand-orientation must accurately reflect the subject and object locations in 3D space, including enhancements to to prior state-of-the-art models. Using these models, animation generation software could produce an infinite variety of indicating verb instances. Using a corpus of motion-capture recordings of multiple performances of eight ASL indicating verbs, we modeled the signer’s hand locations and orientations during each verb, dependent upon the location in the signing space where the subject and object were positioned. In a user study, ASL signers watched animations that included verbs synthesized from these models, and we found that they had similar quality to those produced by a human animator.
Correlation of microscale deformations to macroscopic mechanical behavior using incremental digital volume correlation of in-situ tomography

An incremental digital volume correlation (DVC) technique was developed to measure large nonlinear deformations on volumetric images acquired using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μ-CT). A series of bridging volumetric images are acquired during the loading of a specimen. The deformation in the neighboring images is sufficiently small to allow DVC calculation. The displacements are accumulated, and analyzed to determine their gradients for deformation measurements. The technique was applied for observation of internal deformations of Polymethacrylimide (PMI) foam, polymer bonded sugar (PBS), and granular materials in compression experiencing large nonlinear deformations. When PMI foam underwent compression, 17 states of the PMI were captured and large nonlinear deformations were observed. The PBS cylindrical specimen, in which sugar grains are embedded in hydroxylterminated polybutadiene (HTPB) binder matrix, was compressed up to 32 % of compressive strain without confinement. The debonding evolution was observed and discussed. On granular materials, a methodology was developed to determine for the force chains. These applications demonstrate that incremental DVC is a powerful technique for linking the microstructure with macroscopic mechanical behavior.
3d segmentation of rodent brain structures using hierarchical shape priors and deformable models

In this paper, we propose a method to segment multiple rodent brain structures simultaneously. This method combines deformable models and hierarchical shape priors within one framework. The deformation module employs both gradient and appearance information to generate image forces to deform the shape. The shape prior module uses Principal Component Analysis to hierarchically model the multiple structures at both global and local levels. At the global level, the statistics of relative positions among different structures are modeled. At the local level, the shape statistics within each structure is learned from training samples. Our segmentation method adaptively employs both priors to constrain the intermediate deformation result. This prior constraint improves the robustness of the model and benefits the segmentation accuracy. Another merit of our prior module is that the size of the training data can be small, because the shape prior module models each structure individually and combines them using global statistics. This scheme can preserve shape details better than directly applying PCA on all structures. We use this method to segment rodent brain structures, such as the cerebellum, the left and right striatum, and the left and right hippocampus. The experiments show that our method works effectively and this hierarchical prior improves the segmentation performance.
Decoupling of diameter and pitch in nanostructure arrays made by colloidal self-assembly

This paper reports the fabrication of ordered nanostructure array using colloidal self-assembly. Colloidal lithography, also known as nanosphere lithography (NSL), has been extensively and exhaustively utilized to create various nanostructures with the limitation in the resulting morphology and array spacing. Especially, independent control over the individual nanostructure size and array pitch remains a challenge and is the subject of this paper. Here, we show three different methods that expand the type of the nanostructure array produced from NSL. First, the combined technique of NSL and metal-assisted chemical etching (MACE) is shown to generate vertically-aligned Si nanowire (SiNW) array with the unprecedented dimensional control. Second, a stretchable elastomer with transfer printing is utilized to control the pitch of the original NS arrays, and with a custom-designed radial stretcher, a hexagonal symmetry of the resulting nanostructures is conserved. An array of sparsely ordered silicon or quartz nanopillars is obtained along with metallic nanostructures on NSs as etch masks. Finally, a double lift-off method is introduced to create an array of metallic nanodots that are not conventionally realized using the NSL template.
Evaporite Dissolution Relevant to the Wipp Site, Northern Delaware Basin, Southeastern New Mexico

Evaluation of the threat of natural dissolution of host evaporites to the integrity of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in southeastern New Mexico has taken into consideration (1) the volume of “missing” rock salt, (2) the occurrence (or not) of characteristic dissolution brines, (3) geomorphic features, some of which are unrelated to dissolution, and (4) the time intervals over which dissolution may have been active. Even under the assumption that all “missing” halite was originally present and has been removed by dissolution, there is no evidence of active preferential removal of the lower Salado Formation halite by any geologically reasonable process. The geologic record contains evidence of dissolution in the Triassic and Jurassic; to constrain all removal of basinal halite to the late Cenozoic yields an unrealistically high rate of removal. Application to the lower Salado of a stratabound mechanism known to be active in Nash Draw, a near-surface feature within the Basin, allows a minimum survival time of 2,500,000 years to be predicted for the subsurface facility for storage of radioactive waste at WIPP. This calculation is based on an analysis of all known dissolution features in the Delaware Basin, and takes into account the wetter (pluvial) climate during the past 600,000 years.
Effect of a Vi-degrading Enzyme on Potency of Typhoid Vaccines in Mice

The influence of Vi antigen in typhoid vaccines on mouse-protective activity was studied by treatment of these vaccines with a Vi-degrading enzyme isolated from Bacillus sphaericus. The protective activity of citrobacter vaccine (strain 5396/38) against Salmonella typhosa (strain Ty 2) challenge in mice was due solely to the Vi antigen in the vaccine, whereas the protective activity of the typhoid vaccines 6A and L was due to a combination of the Vi and other factor(s) not present in the citrobacter vaccine. The immunity conferred by these non-Vi factor(s) was specific for the typhoid bacillus and passively transferable by immune serum. Typhoid vaccines 6A and L differed with respect to the amount or the quality of their Vi antigen. The effect of the Vi-degrading enzyme on the potencies of these vaccines varied with the route of immunization. The Vi antigen seemed to be a
Study on Anode Oxidation Process of Aluminum Alloy Foams

In this thesis,porous aluminum anodizing film is prepared on aluminium alloy foams in oxalic acid solution by electrochemical method,micromorphology and crystal structure of the oxide films are analyzed by scanning electron microscopy(SEM).The influence of oxalic acid solution concentration,oxidizing current density and temperature on the structure of porous aluminum anodizing film is investigated,and a comparation is made between porous aluminum anodizing film produced by one step and two steps.The result indicates that micro porosities on the oxide film are equally distributed and the size of aperture is nearly the same.Porous aluminum anodizing film produced by two steps anodic oxidation is superior to one step.
Block Constraints in Age–Period–Cohort Models with Unequal-width Intervals

Age–period–cohort (APC) models are designed to estimate the independent effects of age, time periods, and cohort membership. However, APC models suffer from an identification problem: There are no unique estimates of the independent effects that fit the data best because of the exact linear dependency among age, period, and cohort. Among methods proposed to address this problem, using unequal-interval widths for age, period, and cohort categories appears to break the exact linear dependency and thus solve the identification problem. However, this article shows that the identification problem remains in these models; in fact, they just implicitly impose multiple block constraints on the age, period, and cohort effects to achieve identifiability. These constraints depend on an arbitrary choice of widths for the age, period, and cohort intervals and can have nontrivial effects on the estimates. Because these assumptions are extremely difficult, if not impossible, to verify in empirical research, they are qua...