cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The influence of nano-particles on microstructural development at the interface of Sn3.5Ag-solder and Cu-substrate

Preliminary experimental results have shown that an unexpected large needle-like phase Ag3Sn grows from the solder/substrate interface and large polygon-like Sn-Cu intermetallic compounds are present in the region, which is close to the interface when using lead-free binary Sn3.5Ag solder alloy. This paper summarises the efforts made to prevent the formation of these deleterious phases. An addition of 0.25 wt% of either copper nano-particles or nickel nano-particles was found to effectively avoid the formation of large Ag3Sn phase and to modify the solder matrix through a random dispersion of the in-situ intermetallic compounds Cu6Sn5 or Sn4Ni3. The mechanism involved in influencing the interfacial structure is quite different for copper and nickel nano-particles. The addition of copper nano-particles stimulates the formation of the Sn-Cu compound Cu6Sn5 at the solder/substrate interface, while the nickel nano-particles promotes the formation of Sn-Cu-Ni-Ag compound to replace the regular scallop-like Cu6Sn5 having a round morphology.
Defense against the Dark Arts

Programmers must understand the mechanisms of malware attacks if they're to defend against them. Some believe programmers should also be taught and even practice both attacks and defense under controlled conditions. The notion of practicing attacks and writing malware is controversial. Further development of forensic tools and learning to use them will complement a curriculum designed to prepare programmers for a hostile environment, especially in public networks such as the Internet.
Correlates of dissociative symptoms among women with eating disorders.

Abstract We examined the relationship between dissociative symptoms and other Axis I and Axis II symptoms among a sample of 53 women diagnosed as having anorexia nervosa ( n = 18), bulimia nervosa ( n = 27), or eating disorder NOS ( n = 8). Dissociative symptoms were measured by the Dissociative Experiences Scale and the dissociation scale from the Trauma Symptom Checklist-40. Severity of dissociative symptoms was generally unrelated to severity of bulimic or anorexic symptomatology but was significantly associated with severity of anxiety and depression. In terms of Axis II symptoms, dissociative symptoms were most highly correlated with schizotypal symptomatology ( r = .59), uncorrelated with borderline or antisocial symptomatology, and slightly negatively correlated with histrionic symptomatology.
H II regions and the abundance properties of spiral galaxies

We investigate the relationships between the characteristic oxygen abundance, the radial abundance gradient, and the macroscopic properties of spiral galaxies by examining the properties of individual H II regions within those galaxies. Our observations of the line flux ratio (O II) lambda lambda 3726, 3729 + (O III) lambda lambda 4959, 5007)/H beta for 159 H II regions in 14 spiral galaxies are combined with published data to provide a sample of 39 disk galaxies for which (O II) + (O III)/H beta has been measured for at least five H II regions. We find that the characteristic gas-phase abundances and luminosities of spiral galaxies are strongly correlated. This relationship maps almost directly onto the luminosity-metallicity relationship of irregular galaxies and is also quite similar to that found for elliptical and dwarf spheroidal galaxies. Within our sample of spirals, a strong correlation between characteristic abundance and Hubble type also exists. The correlation between luminosity and Hubble type complicates the issue, but we discuss several interpretations of the correlations. The relationship between circular velocity and characteristic abundance is also discussed. We find that the slopes of the radial abundance gradients, when expressed in units of dex/isophotal radius, do not significantly correlate with either luminosity or Hubble type. However, the hypothesis that both early and very late type spirals have shallower gradients than intermediate spirals is consistent with the data. We find suggestive evidence that the presence of a bar induces a flatter gradient and also briefly discuss whether abundance gradients are exponential, as is usually assumed. We investigate the properties of individual H II regions in a subset of 42 regions for which we have spectra that cover almost the entire spectral range from 3500 to 9800 A. We use those data to estimate the densitites and ionizing spectra within the H II regions. We confirm that the ionizing spectrum hardens with increasing radius and decreasing abundance. We find no correlation between the ionization parameter and either radius or abundance, but this may be due to significant scatter introduced by the simple conversion of line ratios to ionization parameter.
Globalization and third world women: exploitation, coping and resistance

Ligaya Lindio-McGovern and Isidor Wallimann, Farnham and Burlington, VT, Ashgate, 2009, , 214 pp., £55.00, $99.95, (hardback), ISBN 978-0-7546-7463-4, (hardback) Globalization and Third World Women...
Popular Constitutionalism and Fisher's Dialogues

As other contributors to this symposium have noted, Louis Fisher has played a major role in shaping debates in such diverse policy battlegrounds as federal budgeting, war powers, and the use of legislative and presidential vetoes. Fisher is also widely (and fairly) credited with spurring interest in “constitutional dialogues”—the “process in which all three branches” along with “the states and the general public” offer separate, competing, and sometimes complementary visions of the Constitution and the values it embodies (Fisher 1988, 3).
Recent Advances in the Management of Gallstones

ABSTRACT Demands for less invasive, more cost-effective therapy have revolutionized the management of gallstones over the past 10 years. There are no reliable methods of permanently reversing the pathophysiologic defects that cause gallstones. Open cholecystectomy (OC), the gold standard for managing symptomatic cholelithiasis, has been largely replaced by laparoscopic cholecystectomy (LC), which has the advantages of a minimal hospital stay and quicker return to work. Other adjunctive therapies, limited in applicability to selected patients, include oral bile acid therapy (BAT), dissolutional agents, and extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy. Chole-docholithiasis (CDL), formerly managed exclusively with surgical common duct exploration, is increasingly treated with therapeutic biliary endoscopy. Methods of laparoscopic common bile duct exploration are being developed. Optimal algorithms for applying these techniques to patients undergoing LC are evolving. In a sense, the solution to all, or certainly most, gallstones now can be seen through a scope.
The utility of fetal biometry as an adjunct to the multiple-marker screening test for Down syndrome.

Abstract Objective: Our purpose was to investigate fetal biometry as an adjunct to the multiple-marker screen (maternal age, serum a-fetoprotein, estriol, and human chorionic gonadotropin) for Down syndrome. Study Design: Fifty-two cases of Down syndrome were compared with 7514 normal fetuses. The measured/predicted femur length ratio had the best discriminant value (1.0 ± 0.11 vs 0.93 ± 0.13, p Results: The relative difference in the femur length ratio between normal and affected fetuses was small in comparison to that of the maternal serum analytes. At a risk cutoff of ≥ 1:190 the detection rates were similar and actually favored the trivariate algorithm but differed only by one case of Down syndrome. Conclusion: The addition of the measured/predicted. femur length ratio had a negligible effect on the performance of the multiple-marker screening test.
Inexact subgraph isomorphism in MapReduce

Inexact subgraph matching based on type-isomorphism was introduced by Berry et al. [J. Berry, B. Hendrickson, S. Kahan, P. Konecny, Software and algorithms for graph queries on multithreaded architectures, in: Proc. IEEE International Parallel and Distributed Computing Symposium, IEEE, 2007, pp. 1-14] as a generalization of the exact subgraph matching problem. Enumerating small subgraph patterns in very large graphs is a core problem in the analysis of social networks, bioinformatics data sets, and other applications. This paper describes a MapReduce algorithm for subgraph type-isomorphism matching. The MapReduce computing framework is designed for distributed computing on massive data sets, and the new algorithm leverages MapReduce techniques to enable processing of graphs with billions of vertices. The paper also introduces a new class of walk-level constraints for narrowing the set of matches. Constraints meeting criteria defined in the paper are useful for specifying more precise patterns and for improving algorithm performance. Results are provided on a variety of graphs, with size ranging up to billions of vertices and edges, including graphs that follow a power law degree distribution.
Critical current of dense Bi-2212 round wires as a function of axial strain

The critical current (Ic) of dense Bi2Sr2CaCu2O8+x (Bi-2212) round wires with Ag-alloy matrices was measured as a function of axial applied strain (), to determine whether the behavior is improved in comparison to wires with a large (30–50%) void fraction in the Bi-2212 filaments. Wires were reacted at approximately under a 1% O2 in Ar gas mixture at 100 bar pressure to densify the Bi-2212 fraction during the partial melt reaction. After measurement of the Ic at 4.2 K and 5 T at Florida State University, wire sections were sent to Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory where was measured at 4.2 K at 5 and 15 T using a U-shaped bending spring. We found that has a 0.3% wide linear reversible strain range. An unexpected result is that the width of this reversible range seems comparable to that found for porous samples reacted at only 1 bar, apparently negating an earlier plausible supposition that fuller density samples would be more resilient.
The effects of X‐rays on anterior regeneration in tubifex tubifex

Observations of earlier workers concerning the limited region from which anterior regeneration will occur in Tubifex and the reduced number of segments formed were confirmed in control worms used in these experiments. Only three anterior segments are replaced when as many as twelve are removed. Regeneration is completed within 18 days. Removal of anterior segments from worms that have received 9000 (r) units exposure to x-rays is not followed by regeneration. The wound heals rapidly and worms have been kept in laboratory 70 days without further change. Longitudinal sect ons of injured ends show that the epidermis and muscle layers extend across the wound surface to completely close the body cavity. The intestine retracts slightly and heals to form a blind tube. No mitotic figures appear in cells of this region and there is no evidence of regeneration. In control worms material for formation of the cerebral ganglia and new epidermis arises by proliferation of epidermal cells. The new pharynx arises from the region of the old intestine adjacent to the wound surface. The muscle layers of the body wall and pharynx in new segments are apparently formed by migration of cells from the old muscle elements about the margin of the wound area. No neoblasts were observed in anterior migration or in the process of formation upon adjacent septa in any of the worms.
Use of Oral Fluids in Treatment of Diarrhea

The practicing physician cannot help but be somewhat surprised by the current interest and publicity given to oral rehydration therapy for diarrheal disease. Indeed, oral rehydration therapy has been used to some extent by all physicians who deal with diarrhea, and the history of its use as a folk remedy is probably as long as the history of diarrheal illness. Why, then, has interest in this rather mundane therapy reemerged? Only recently have we begun to understand how oral fluids are absorbed, and this has resulted in changes in the composition and indications for use of these fluids. Even though the need for fluid intake during an episode of diarrhea has appeared always to have been a part of folk medicine, the medical profession did not consider this practice until the early 19th century. In 1832, after William O9Shoughnessy, an Irish physician, described the chemical composition of the stools in cholera, Thomas Latta of Scotland attempted to treat cholera by the intravenous infusion of water and salts. Of the 15 cases he reported in The Lancet, five patients survived. Latta was criticized severely for this therapy, but it was pointed out (in discussion in The Lancet) that these five patients were saved from almost certain death.
Why did states enact hospital rate-setting laws?

DURING the early 1970s several states enacted hospital rate-setting programs. These programs effectively reduced the growth of hospital expenditures over the ensuing decade.' In this paper we develop and test an economic theory of regulation that explains the passage of rate-setting laws. We consider and reject the hypothesis that states enacted the laws in response to large general increases in hospital expenses. We conclude instead that states passed these laws in order to reduce expenditures for hospitalized Medicaid patients. Rate-setting programs differ along several dimensions, including the unit of review (the unit of output for which the rate is set), whether participation and compliance is mandatory, and the number of patients for whom the rates apply. There are only eight states in which participation and compliance is mandatory and in which the rates have applied to 50 percent or more of the patients. Table 1 lists these states and the years in which they enacted rate setting. When enacted, the rates in all these states applied to Medicaid recipients and Blue Cross enrollees. In some states rates have also applied to other privately insured patients and those without insurance.2 For our purposes we will refer to all eight states as the
Simultaneous photometry of X Persei and 3U 0352+30

The suggested association of X Persei with the weak X-ray source 3U 0352+30 raises the possibility of detection of X-ray/optical covariability. The paper reports a successfully conducted simultaneous optical/X-ray observation utilizing ground-based photometry and a satellite-borne proportional counter. Photoelectric photometry of X Persei was obtained on five out of seven consecutive nights in January 1975. The observations yield the faintest and bluest photoelectric magnitudes and colors ever reported for X Per; this change apparently occurred relatively uniformly during 1973-74 and is reminiscent of behavior last observed in about 1900. On January 21, 7 hr of data were obtained simultaneously with OAO Copernicus X-ray observations of 3U 0352+30. The X-ray flux varied during this period by a factor of 2, but there is no obviously correspondent optical activity, to a level of 0.02 mag. The optical data are also used to limit the 0.01-mag variations coincident with the X-ray periodicity reported by White et al. (1976).
Guidelines for Teaching Non-Verbal Communications through Visual Media

There is a natural unique relationship between non-verbal communications and visual media such as television and film. Because of the unique characteristics of non-verbal communications they cannot be taught in the same way as verbal communications. Visual media will have to be used extensively—almost exclusively—as well as other methods requiring special teaching skills. Teachers of educational media will play a key role in preparing teachers of non-verbal communications.
Series-Fed Microstrip Antenna Arrays and Their Application to Omni-Directional Antennas

The analysis of a series feed approach for N-element slot-coupled microstrip antenna arrays is presented. A cylindrical arrangement of six four-element arrays using this feeding mechanism is shown to achieve optimum omni-directional beam characteristics and exhibit pattern stability over frequency in the C-band. The cylindrical arrangement is measured to have a gain of 6 dB over 750 MHz of bandwidth. A closed-form omni-directional pattern analysis is also developed.
Population Policies in Developed Countries

Developed countries have completed their demographic transition process, and many of these countries must now deal with post-transitional imbalances. They are facing three main issues: sub-replacement fertility, population aging, and immigration. The proposed remedies have taken the shape of policies addressing each of these issues specifically. First, some countries have designed and implemented policies to raise fertility. These policies have occasionally obtained modest results, but generally have failed to change fertility levels significantly. Second, countries have tried to address population aging by taking some programmed initiatives, for instance through the provision of specific care for the elderly. However, interventions in this area have been less well defined and, so far, not very conclusive either. Finally, several countries have attracted immigrants whilst others have tried to curb immigration flows. Immigration policies have been shaped by the specific economic and political context of receiving countries.
The Application and Bargaining of Performance Agreements for Local Economic Development

This paper explores which factors influence the degree to which cities apply performance agreements to constrain economic development incentives. By integrating the political bargaining and network approaches, insight is gained into how political bargaining based on networks can be applied to performance agreements and thus what factors influence their application. Development resources, circumstantial conditions, and organizational networks are hypothesized to influence performance agreements. The results confirm that development resources (such as physical resources, expertise and experience, size of businesses) dominantly influence the level of performance agreement application. However, this study finds that the priority of economic development in circumstantial conditions is also important to promote performance agreements.
Determinants of outcome after surgical treatment of pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries.

Objectives Identification of variables influencing surgical outcome in patients treated for pulmonary atresia with ventricular septal defect and major aortopulmonary collateral arteries. Methods A total of 90 consecutive patients (median age, 12 months; range, 20 days to 35 years), who had primarily undergone either 1-stage unifocalization (n = 69) or palliation to promote native pulmonary arterial development (n = 21), were studied. Chromosome 22q11 deletion had occurred in 37% of the cases. Ventricular septal defect closure was accomplished in 70 patients (78%), with a mean postoperative right/left ventricular pressure ratio of 0.48 ± 0.14. Results The rate of 14-year survival, freedom from conduit reintervention, and freedom from percutaneous intervention on the pulmonary arteries was 75%, 46%, and 52%, respectively. At a median interval of 95 months (range, 1.5-164 months), the right/left ventricular pressure ratio did not differ significantly from early postoperatively. Univariate analysis showed that an absence of confluent intrapericardial pulmonary arteries favorably affected the postoperative right/left ventricular pressure ratio after ventricular septal defect closure ( P = .04). Kaplan-Meier estimates showed age of 30 days or younger ( P = .0004) and weight of 3 kg or less ( P = .0004) at unifocalization and chromosome 22q11 deletion ( P = .001) significantly affected survival. Chromosome 22q11 deletion was significantly associated with mortality, even in the Cox regression model (hazard ratio, 8.26; P = .003). Finally, ventricular septal defect closure during single-stage and single/multiple-stage procedures significantly correlated with both early ( P = .0013 and P P = .013 and P = .0007, respectively) survival. Conclusions The results of surgery were satisfactory and durable, despite the need for repeated percutaneous or surgical reinterventions. The outcomes were negatively affected by neonatal age and low body weight and positively affected by simultaneous or staged ventricular septal defect closure. Finally, chromosome 22q11 deletion remained an independent variable affecting survival.
Sign Redesign: Applying Design Principles to Improve Signage in an Academic Library

When the Mansfield University library’s Special Events and Customer Service Committee created a communications plan for the library, the opportunity presented itself to overhaul the library signs. Applying basic design principles of contrast, alignment, and repetition along with standards from the Americans with Disabilities Act, the library improved the visual communications within the library. Patrons can now read signs from a distance and understand their purpose. Using common design elements, the library began presenting official library information more cohesively. Extending beyond signs, these design principles are now part of the library’s print publications and promotional items. With this consistency, the library brand is more easily recognizable both within the library and across campus. This article describes some basic elements of design and the process of redesigning the signs.
Reliability of a New Stabilized Dynamometer System for the Evaluation of Hip Strength

Background: Hip strength is associated with numerous orthopaedic and neuromuscular injuries and/or pathologies and may be assessed with a variety of anatomic testing positions and techniques. Isokinetic dynamometers are generally too cumbersome and intricate for efficient use in mass screenings (for prognostic studies of risk for injury) as well as with special populations. The reliability of isometric testing devices has demonstrated varied reliability, generally examining only 1 or 2 motions of the hip and reporting values of force, not torque. Consequently, there is a need for an efficient hip strength-testing device to quantify torque that tests subjects in 1 anatomic position, while evaluating multiple hip motions.Hypothesis: Evaluation of supine hip abduction, adduction, flexion, and extension torque using a new stabilized dynamometer system will produce good to excellent intra- and interexaminer reliability results.Study Design: A blinded, randomized, repeated-measures study design was used in this descriptive laboratory investigation.Methods: Supine isometric hip flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction torques were evaluated with a cage-stabilized dynamometer in 19 collegiate and professional-level ice hockey athletes by 2 investigators at 3 time intervals. Inter- and intrarater reliability was assessed.Results: Supine hip flexion, extension, abduction, and adduction torque was performed with good to excellent inter- and intrarater reliability (intraclass correlation coefficients ranging from 0.74 to 0.92 and 0.78 to 0.92, respectively) for all motions tested.Conclusions: We have developed an isometric hip strength-testing device that can be assembled around an examination table to efficiently and reliably evaluate torque developed for multiple motions of the hip.Clinical Relevance: This device and testing protocol may be used to efficiently evaluate hip strength in numerous settings; it allows decreased subject burden and increased comfort (which may be important following an injury in case-control investigations); and it may be well tolerated when testing athletes as well as special populations in the clinical setting.
Cardiovascular responses in patients with acute allergic reactions treated with parenteral epinephrine

The present study describes the cardiovascular responses to epinephrine (Epi) given into the arm, in adult patients with acute allergic reactions, and the differential responses to subcutaneous (SC) and intramuscular (IM) administration. Sixty-three adult patients were treated with Epi administered SC or IM after H1 and H2 receptor blockade. Heart rate and blood pressure (BP) were then measured for 20 minutes. Changes in heart rate and BP variables were analyzed. Pulse pressure and systolic BP showed increases with time. Diastolic BP also showed a modestly decreasing values over time. Heart rates did not change. Time-related changes between IM and SC Epi treatment were not observed. Sex influenced timed BP values and a significant sex by time effect was observed. In subset analysis, only male patients showed an overall time effect for BP variables, especially pulse pressure. In conclusion, adults with acute allergic syndromes treated with arm-injected Epi show a modest but definite increase in pulse pressure and systolic BP. This pattern is observed more in males. Heart rate and blood pressure differences between IM and SC arm-injected Epi treatments do not appear to be significant.
Can syphilis be eradicated from the world

With the description of the complete genome sequence of Treponema pallidum, the declining rates of primary and secondary syphilis in many developed countries, and the continuing development of easier, cheaper, and more reliable diagnostics, the goal of worldwide syphilis eradication may be achievable. Although syphilis is easy to detect and cure given adequate access to and utilization of healthcare, many barriers exist on the way to its elimination and ultimate eradication. This review discusses current opinions regarding the plans, prospects and obstacles to worldwide syphilis eradication.
The Host Galaxies of Narrow-Line Seyfert 1 Galaxies: Nuclear Dust Morphology and Starburst Rings

We present a study of the nuclear morphology of a sample of narrow- and broad-line Seyfert 1 galaxies (NLS1s and BLS1s, respectively) based on broadband images in the Hubble Space Telescope archives. In our previous study we found that large-scale stellar bars at >1 kpc from the nucleus are more common in NLS1s than BLS1s. In this paper we find that NLS1s preferentially have grand-design dust spirals within ~1 kpc of their centers. We also find that NLS1s have a higher fraction of nuclear star-forming rings than BLS1s. We find that many of the morphological differences are due to the presence or absence of a large-scale stellar bar within the spiral host galaxy. In general, barred Seyfert 1 galaxies tend to have grand-design dust spirals at their centers, confirming the results of other researchers. The high fraction of grand-design nuclear dust spirals and stellar nuclear rings observed in NLS1s' host galaxies suggests a means for efficient fueling of their nuclei to support their high Eddington ratios.
V K Centers and Recombination Luminescence in Rubidium Iodide and Sodium Iodide

${V}_{K}$ centers are introduced into both NaI and RbI by low-temperature irradiation of crystals containing electron-attaching impurities. These centers are identified by optical-absorption spectra and by the anisotropic absorption of oriented centers. ${V}_{K}$ centers are stable in NaI below about 58\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K, and in RbI below about 125\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}K. These temperatures permit an estimate of the thermal activation energy for migration of the $\mathrm{I}_{2}^{}{}_{}{}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ as 0.15 and 0.32 eV, respectively. Recombination of electrons with ${V}_{K}$ centers in both crystals produces the "intrinsic" luminescence characteristic of the pure crystal. The connection with exciton states is discussed briefly.
Reporting in randomized clinical trials improved after adoption of the CONSORT statement.

Abstract Objective To examine the extent to which the Consolidated Standards of Reporting Trials (CONSORT) reporting guidelines improved clinical trials reporting and subject attrition, which may undermine the credibility of published randomized clinical trials (RCTs). Study Design and Setting Published RCTs reported in two major medical journals before and after the CONSORT guidelines were systematically reviewed; one used the CONSORT statement (JAMA) and one did not (NEJM). Results The quality of RCT reporting improved for both journals, but JAMA showed more significant and consistent improvements in all aspects of RCT reporting. Subject attrition was better accounted for after the publication of CONSORT, although the attrition rates for various reasons actually increased. Attrition due to unknown reasons, as a percentage of total attrition, declined dramatically, from 68.7% pre-CONSORT to 13.0% post-CONSORT. Conclusions Attrition of study subjects remains a serious problem in RCTs. Bias from selective attrition can undermine the presumptive scientific advantage of RCTs. The CONSORT guidelines improved RCT reporting when they were implemented but did not substantially improve reported attrition rates.
How well do satellite AOD observations represent the spatial and temporal variability of PM2.5 concentration for the United States

Due to their extensive spatial coverage, satellite Aerosol Optical Depth (AOD) observations have been widely used to estimate and predict surface PM2.5 concentrations. While most previous studies have focused on establishing relationships between collocated, hourly or daily AOD and PM2.5 measurements, in this study, we instead focus on the comparison of the large-scale spatial and temporal variability between satellite AOD and PM2.5 using monthly mean measurements. A newly developed spectral analysis technique e Combined Maximum Covariance Analysis (CMCA) is applied to Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS), Multi-angle Imaging Spectroradiometer (MISR), Sea-viewing Wide Field-of-view Sensor (SeaWiFS) and Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI) AOD datasets and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) PM2.5 data, in order to extract and compare the dominant modes of variability. Results indicate that AOD and PM2.5 agree well in terms of interannual variability. An overall decrease is found in both AOD and PM2.5 across the United States, with the strongest signal over the eastern US. With respect to seasonality, good agreement is found only for Eastern US, while for Central and Western US, AOD and PM2.5 seasonal cycles are largely different or even reversed. These results are verified using Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET) AOD observations and differences between satellite and AERONET are also examined. MODIS and MISR appear to have the best agreement with AERONET. In order to explain the disagreement between AOD and PM2.5 seasonality, we further use Cloud-Aerosol Lidar with Orthogonal Polarization (CALIOP) extinction profile data to investigate the effect of two possible contributing factors, namely aerosol vertical distribution and cloud-free sampling. We find that seasonal changes in aerosol vertical distribution, due to the seasonally varying mixing height, is the primary cause for the AOD and PM2.5 seasonal discrepancy, in particular, the low AOD but high PM2.5 observed during the winter season for Central and Western US. In addition, cloud-free sampling by passive sensors also induces some bias in AOD seasonality, especially for the Western US, where the largest seasonal change in cloud fraction is found. The seasonal agreement between low level (below 500 m AGL), all sky CALIOP AOD and PM2.5 is significantly better than column AOD from MODIS, MISR, SeaWiFS and OMI. In particular, the correlation between low level, all sky AOD and PM2.5 seasonal cycles increases to above 0.7 for Central and Western US, as opposed to near zero or negative correlation for column, clear sky AOD. This result highlights the importance of accounting for the seasonally varying aerosol profiles and cloud-free sampling bias when using column AOD measurements to infer surface PM2.5 concentrations.
Generalized forbidding grammars

Each production of a generalized forbidding grammar has an associated finite set of words. Such a production can be applied only if none of its associated words is a substring of a given rewritten sentential form. It is shown that these grammars with productions having associated only words consisting of one or two symbols characterize type 0 languages
Signal Transduction Cascades Regulating Fungal Development and Virulence

Cellular differentiation, mating, and filamentous growth are regulated in many fungi by environmental and nutritional signals. For example, in response to nitrogen limitation, diploid cells of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae undergo a dimorphic transition to filamentous growth referred to as pseudohyphal differentiation. Yeast filamentous growth is regulated, in part, by two conserved signal transduction cascades: a mitogen-activated protein kinase cascade and a G-protein regulated cyclic AMP signaling pathway. Related signaling cascades play an analogous role in regulating mating and virulence in the plant fungal pathogen Ustilago maydis and the human fungal pathogens Cryptococcus neoformans and Candida albicans. We review here studies on the signaling cascades that regulate development of these and other fungi. This analysis illustrates both how the model yeast S. cerevisiae can serve as a paradigm for signaling in other organisms and also how studies in other fungi provide insights into conserved signaling pathways that operate in many divergent organisms.
Asymmetric synthesis and conformation

Abstract The configuration of the 3-alkyl substituted 1,2,3-triphenyl-1-propanones is proved through use of pseudocontact shifts using Eu(dpm)3. The conformation of all isomers, regardless of size of R, is similar (trans vicinal protons). The relative stability of the two isomers is also independent of R up to R = t-Bu. The conformation and configuration of the hydride reduction products, the alkyl substituted 1,2,3-triphenyl-1-propanols, are elucidated through use of NMR chemical shifts, coupling constants, pseudocontact shifts, and by IR spectra. The starting materials and reduction products (with one exception) have the same conformation at relevant centers, yet the mode of hydride attack is best explained by means of a different conformation in the transition state, in which the LAH approaches over a proton at either asymmetric center.
Interaction of xanthan gum with suspended solids

Xanthan gum was adsorbed significantly by magnesium carbonate, aluminum hydroxide, zinc oxide, and calcium carbonate, giving Langmuir-type isotherms. Saturation adsorption was higher from 0.9% NaCl than from water due to reduced mutual repulsion of polymer segments in the presence of the salt. Adsorption resulted from electrostatic attraction between positively charged particles and the negatively charged polymer. ζ-Potential measurements correlated with the adsorption data but were not predictive of the flocculation state. The results indicate that flocculation of magnesium carbonate and aluminum hydroxide by xanthan gum is consistent with a bridging mechanism.
MobiShare: Flexible privacy-preserving location sharing in mobile online social networks

Location sharing is a fundamental component of mobile online social networks (mOSNs), which also raises significant privacy concerns. The mOSNs collect a large amount of location information over time, and the users' location privacy is compromised if their location information is abused by adversaries controlling the mOSNs. In this paper, we present MobiShare, a system that provides flexible privacy-preserving location sharing in mOSNs. MobiShare is flexible to support a variety of location-based applications, in that it enables location sharing between both trusted social relations and untrusted strangers, and it supports range query and user-defined access control. In MobiShare, neither the social network server nor the location server has a complete knowledge of the users' identities and locations. The users' location privacy is protected even if either of the entities colludes with malicious users.
The Italian AIDS 'hot-line': providing information to the people.

Abstract The Italian AIDS hot-line has recently completed its first two operational years. Established as an emergency service, it was initially overloaded with calls, under the emotional impact of a new disease. As the average number of calls settled to around a hundred per day, a wider approach aimed at the concerns raised by callers has been possible. A particular effort has been made to handle psychological and social aspects of HIV infections. A large proportion of the questions analyzed (62,500) deal with doubts about transmission (30%), reliability of diagnostic tests (15%), and handling individual situations. Some categories of callers, such as drug users, parents or relatives of HIV-infected people, and seropositives often require experienced telephone counselling. HIV-positive callers follow the proportional distribution of AIDS cases in Italy: intravenous drug users forming the majority, followed by homosexuals and finally heterosexual subjects (reaching 10%, a value in accordance with trend pr...
Standardized measures of health status and disability and the decision to pursue operative treatment in elderly patients with degenerative scoliosis.

Objective Treatment decision making in elderly patients with degenerative scoliosis is complex. Although most patients can be adequately treated with nonoperative therapies, a subset ultimately elects for surgical treatment. However, the factors that govern this transition are poorly understood. The objective of this study was to assess whether standardized measures of health status and disability may be useful in distinguishing those patients who elect for surgical treatment. Methods This study is a retrospective review of a prospective database of 139 consecutive patients aged older than 60 years (mean = 70 years), with degenerative scoliosis treated by a single surgeon. Patients with severe symptoms who had failed multimodality nonoperative care were considered for surgical intervention. The Scoliosis Research Society Questionnaire (SRS-30), 12-Item Short Form Health Survey (SF-12), Oswestry Disability Index (ODI) surveys, and Charlson Comorbidity Index (CCI) were collected at the time of presentation and compared between the operative and nonoperative groups. Results There were no statistically significant differences between the operative and nonoperative groups in terms of age and major radiographic parameters. Significant differences between the operative and nonoperative groups were found for all 3 self-assessment survey results, with those electing for operative intervention reporting worse scores for ODI (54 versus 40; P = .001), SRS-30 (2.7 versus 3.0; P = .01), SF-12 physical component summary (23 versus 29; P = .01), and SF-12 mental component summary (46 versus 52; P = .03). Unexpectedly, patients treated surgically had a higher level of comorbidity as measured by the CCI (2.0 versus 1.3; P = .003). Conclusion Self-assessments of health and disability distinguish elderly patients with degenerative scoliosis electing for surgery compared with those who continue nonoperative therapies. Standardized measures of health status and disability may be useful in identifying patients nearing the threshold of crossing over to surgical treatment.
Phase II Trial of MEK Inhibitor Selumetinib (AZD6244, ARRY-142886) in Patients with BRAFV600E/K-Mutated Melanoma

Purpose: Test the hypothesis that in BRAF-mutated melanomas, clinical responses to selumetinib, a MEK inhibitor, will be restricted to tumors in which the PI3K/AKT pathway is not activated. Experimental Design: We conducted a phase II trial in patients with melanoma whose tumors harbored a BRAF mutation. Patients were stratified by phosphorylated-AKT (pAKT) expression (high vs. low) and treated with selumetinib 75 mg per os twice daily. Pretreatment tumors were also analyzed for genetic changes in 230 genes of interest using an exon-capture approach. Results: The high pAKT cohort was closed after no responses were seen in the first 10 patients. The incidence of low pAKT melanoma tumors was low (∼25% of melanomas tested) and this cohort was eventually closed because of poor accrual. However, among the five patients with melanoma accrued in the low pAKT cohort, there was one partial response (PR). Two other patients had near PRs before undergoing surgical resection of residual disease (one patient) or discontinuation of treatment due to toxicity (one patient). Among the two nonresponding, low pAKT patients with melanoma, co-mutations in MAP2K1 , NF1 , and/or EGFR were detected. Conclusions: Tumor regression was seen in three of five patients with BRAF-mutated, low pAKT melanomas; no responses were seen in the high pAKT cohort. These results provide rationale for co-targeting MEK and PI3K/AKT in patients with BRAF mutant melanoma whose tumors express high pAKT. However, the complexity of genetic changes in melanoma indicates that additional genetic information will be needed for optimal selection of patients likely to respond to MEK inhibitors. Clin Cancer Res; 19(8); 2257–64. ©2013 AACR .
Contact pressure dependence of wear rates of ultra high molecular weight polyethylene

Wear rates of orthopaedic polyethylene in 37 degrees C water are not very contact stress dependent below 1000 psi (6.9 MPa) but above that level they accelerate substantially. The pressure dependence overall follows an exponential function. Creep in the contact pressure range of 3--17 MPa and above is a much larger factor than wear in indentation effects. For accurate measurement of wear rates by depth measurements it is necessary to permit creep to proceed under static load until it ceases before beginning the wear test.
Role of Mn in controlling the dielectric loss and ageing effect in Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3-Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)O3-Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3

Compositions in the Pb(Zn1/3Nb2/3)O3–Pb(Fe2/3W1/3)O3–Pb(Fe1/2Nb1/2)O3 (PZN–PFW–PFN) system show a high dielectric constant, insulation resistance and bend strength. In addition they can be sintered at very low temperatures. Hence they find technological applications as multilayer capacitors with low cost Ag-based internal electrodes. The dielectric loss in these ceramics was controlled by doping with Mn in the form of Mn-acetate, MnO2, and Pb(Mn1/3Nb2/3)O3. The subtle differences in the dielectric properties of PZN–PFW–PFN, when Mn is taken in these forms are reported in this paper. A possible way of controlling the ageing effect is highlighted. © 1998 Chapman & Hall
Self-Medication as Adaptive Plasticity: Increased Ingestion of Plant Toxins by Parasitized Caterpillars

Self-medication is a specific therapeutic behavioral change in response to disease or parasitism. The empirical literature on self-medication has so far focused entirely on identifying cases of self-medication in which particular behaviors are linked to therapeutic outcomes. In this study, we frame self-medication in the broader realm of adaptive plasticity, which provides several testable predictions for verifying self-medication and advancing its conceptual significance. First, self-medication behavior should improve the fitness of animals infected by parasites or pathogens. Second, self-medication behavior in the absence of infection should decrease fitness. Third, infection should induce self-medication behavior. The few rigorous studies of self-medication in non-human animals have not used this theoretical framework and thus have not tested fitness costs of self-medication in the absence of disease or parasitism. Here we use manipulative experiments to test these predictions with the foraging behavior of woolly bear caterpillars (Grammia incorrupta; Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) in response to their lethal endoparasites (tachinid flies). Our experiments show that the ingestion of plant toxins called pyrrolizidine alkaloids improves the survival of parasitized caterpillars by conferring resistance against tachinid flies. Consistent with theoretical prediction, excessive ingestion of these toxins reduces the survival of unparasitized caterpillars. Parasitized caterpillars are more likely than unparasitized caterpillars to specifically ingest large amounts of pyrrolizidine alkaloids. This case challenges the conventional view that self-medication behavior is restricted to animals with advanced cognitive abilities, such as primates, and empowers the science of self-medication by placing it in the domain of adaptive plasticity theory.
Rapid solidification processing of high Tc superconductors: Microstructural features and phase relationships

Abstract We rapidly solidified the composition YBa 2 Cu 3 O 7−x and found a metastable crystalline phase and amorphous materials in the as-quenched state. Upon annealing these materials transform to the orthorhombic superconducting phase. Annealing these materials above the crystallization temperature of the glass results in the growth of the Cu-rich metastable crystallites into randomly oriented rectangular shapes in the remaining Cu-depleted glass. The first phase to appear with the 1:2:3 stoichiometry from the glass is the tetragonal phase. Magnetic relaxation data indicate that the rapidly solidified materials exhibit a more well defined distribution of energy barriers for flux motion than do the conventionally processed materials.
Mechanical Properties of Tape Composites

The stiffness and strength of tape-reinforced composites have been calculated by using the finite-element method, simple model theory and the von Mises-Hencky criterion. The tapes are assumed to be oriented uniaxially in both the longitudinal and transverse directions. According to the theoretical calculations, substantial increases in two basic moduli and a transverse strength are possible with the tape systems, as compared with the corresponding fiber systems. The calculations are based mainly on glassepoxy composites.
Association mapping and fine mapping with TreeLD

Summary: The program package TreeLD implements a unified approach to association mapping and fine mapping of complex trait loci and a novel approach to visualizing association data, based on an inferred ancestry of the sample. Fundamentally, the TreeLD approach is based on the idea that the evidence for association at a particular position is contained in the ancestral tree relating the sampled chromosomes at that position. TreeLD provides an easy-to-use interface and can be applied to case--control, TDT trio and quantitative trait data. Availability: The program TreeLD is available on the Internet from http://pritch.bsd.uchicago.edu/software.html Contact: szoellne@genetics.bsd.uchicago.edu
A comparison of charge transfer efficiency measurement techniques on proton damaged n-channel CCDs for the Hubble Space Telescope Wide-Field Camera 3

We examine proton-damaged charge-coupled devices (CCDs) and compare the charge transfer efficiency (CTE) degradation using extended pixel edge response, first pixel response, and /sup 55/Fe X-ray measurements. CTEs measured on Marconi and Fairchild imaging sensors CCDs degrade similarly at all signal levels, though some of the Fairchild CCDs had a supplementary buried channel.