cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Positive affective vocalizations during cocaine and sucrose self-administration: a model for spontaneous drug desire in rats.

Abstract Ultrasonic vocalizations in the 50 kHz range (50 kHz USVs) are emitted by rodents upon activation of positive affective states and appear to be a direct measure of internal emotional and motivational urges to seek rewarding stimuli such as drugs of abuse. Since these behavioral responses do not rely on training for expression, they can be viewed as a “spontaneous” measure of affective state. The goal of the present study was to monitor spontaneous USVs throughout a widely-used cocaine self-administration and reinstatement model of addiction and relapse. To gain insight into the changes in affective state across the different phases of a standard self-administration experiment, we measured 50 kHz USVs in rats during cocaine self-administration and reinstatement, and compared these to sucrose self-administration and reinstatement. During cocaine self-administration, the number of 50 kHz USVs increased over acquisition of self-administration and decreased during extinction. Furthermore, the number of USVs on the first day of acquisition in the cocaine experiment was positively correlated with how rapidly cocaine self-administration was acquired. These findings suggest that the initial affective response to cocaine may be a sensitive predictor of the motivational efficacy of rewarding stimuli and therefore the susceptibility to acquire self-administration of cocaine. Cue- and cocaine-induced reinstatement elevated 50 kHz USVs above extinction levels. Rats trained for sucrose self-administration showed no elevation in USVs during acquisition when USVs were considered over the entire 2 h session, but they did show an elevation in USVs during acquisition when considered over only the first 5 min of the session. As with cocaine-induced reinstatement, sucrose-induced reinstatement produced significantly more USVs compared to the prior extinction day. Taken together, USVs may serve as a sensitive and dynamic non-invasive measure that spontaneously (i.e. without any formal reinforcement contingencies) quantifies the extent to which positive affect is elicited by rewards such as drugs of abuse.
Metabolism of three subfractions of myelin in developing rats.

Abstract Purified myelin, isolated from rat brain, was subfractionated into light, medium and heavy myelin. The metabolism of [3H] leucine in myelin subfractions was studied at intervals from 1 to 24 hours and from 18 hours to 85 days after the injection of 12-day-old rats. The metabolism of [14C] glucose in myelin subfractions was also examined during the 85 day interval. In addition, the development of each of these subfractions, as reflected by protein accretion, was determined. Between 13 and 97 days of age, the amount of the three myelin subfractions increased 10- to 44-fold. At 13 days of age the heavy subfraction accounted for the greatest percentage of myelin protein. However, beyond 13 days, light myelin predominated. The total 3H-radioactivity in the light, medium and heavy subfractions increased throughout most of the 85 day interval examined. The 3H specific radioactivity (3H dpm/μgram protein) of light myelin peaked at 12 hours after injection. The specific radioactivity of both 3H and 14C (14C dpm/μgram lipid) in light myelin declined beyond the initial time point in the long term (18 hour – 85 day) study. In contrast, the specific radioactivity of both 3H and 14C peaked in the medium and heavy subfractions at 4 days after injection of radioactive precursor. The possible existence of a membranous precursor to myelin is discussed.
Thermoregulation at a high ambient temperature following the oral administration of ethanol in the rat.

Abstract This study was designed to assess the thermoregulatory mechanisms responsible for the elevation in body temperature following ethanol administration when exposed to a high ambient temperature (Ta). Male rats of the Fischer 344 strain were gavaged with 20% ethanol at doses of 0, 2.0, 4.0, 6.0, or 8.0 g/kg and were then placed in an environmental chamber set at a Ta of 37°C. Metabolic rate normalized to body mass0.75 (MR), evaporative water loss (EWL), and motor activity were recorded for 60 min. Ethanol elicited a significant increase in colonic temperature and decrease in MR, EWL, and motor activity. Ethanol also significantly reduced the quantity of evaporated water per milliliter of oxygen consumed (E/M). Multiple linear regression analysis indicated that the two major factors which were associated with the ethanol-induced elevation in body temperature were an increase in MR and a decrease in E/M. Visual observation of behavior indicated that the normal grooming of saliva onto the fur during heat stress was impaired in ethanol-treated animals. Thus, during exposure to a high Ta, the acute ethanol-induced elevation in body temperature appears to be attributed to a suppression in both autonomic and behavioral mechanisms of heat dissipation.
The welfare benefit of a home’s location: an empirical comparison of spatial and non-spatial model estimates

This article compares results from non-spatial and new spatial methods to examine the reliability of welfare estimates (direct and multiplier effects) for locational housing attributes in Seattle, WA. In particular, we assess if OLS with spatial fixed effects is able to account for the spatial structure in a way that represents a viable alternative to spatial econometric methods. We find that while OLS with spatial fixed effects accounts for more of the spatial structure than simple OLS, it does not account for all of the spatial structure. It thus does not present a viable alternative to the spatial methods. Similar to existing comparisons between results from non-spatial and established spatial methods, we also find that OLS generates higher coefficient and direct effect estimates for both structural and locational housing characteristics than spatial methods do. OLS with spatial fixed effects is closer to the spatial estimates than OLS without fixed effects but remains higher. Finally, a comparison of the direct effects with locally weighted regression results highlights spatial threshold effects that are missed in the global models. Differences between spatial estimators are almost negligible in this study.
Capacitance investigation of diode and GGNMOS for ESD protection of high frequency circuits in 45nm SOI CMOS technologies

S-parameter test structures from a 45 nm SOI CMOS technology show total capacitance per perimeter of poly-bounded ESD diodes ranges from ~0.35-0.42 fF/mum, and silicide-block (SBLK) bounded diodes show ~15-20% capacitance reduction. Floating-body or notched-silicon tied-body Gate-Silicided GGNMOS devices show total capacitance per width of ~0.65 fF/um for thin oxide devices, and ~0.72 fF/mum for thick oxide devices. Gate-Non-Silicided devices have ~20% higher capacitance because of increased junction area.
Time-Domain Synthesis of Conical Bore Instrument Sounds

This paper presents a series of approaches for discrete time-domain synthesis of conical bore instrument sounds. The generation of steady, selfsustained oscillations using conical waveguides is complicated by properties inherent to truncated conic frusta. Two different physical structures are discussed which can be characterized by the same circuit diagram. A more abstract and flexible “virtual” model is presented which is capable of synthesizing half-wave resonators with a rich variety of timbres. Implementations using digital waveguide techniques are described.
Climbing the vertebrate branch of U1A/U2B″ protein evolution

In the vertebrate lineage of the U1A/U2B″/SNF protein family, the U1A and U2B″ proteins bind to RNA stem–loops in the U1 or U2 snRNPs, respectively. However, their specialization is fairly recent, as they evolved from a single ancestral protein. The progress of their specialization (subfunctionalization) can be monitored by the amino acid sequence changes that give rise to their modern RNA-binding specificity. Using ancestral sequence reconstruction to predict the intermediates on the evolutionary branch, a probable path of sequential changes is defined for U1A and U2B″. The RNA-binding affinity for U1A/U2B″ protein ancestors was measured using modern U1 and U2 snRNA stem–loops and RNA stem–loop variants to understand how the proteins’ RNA specificities evolved.
Application of model-independent analysis using the sdds toolkit

The model-independent analysis (MIA) method in accelerators has not yet come into widespread use, unfortunately. This is perhaps due to a lack of convenient tools to bring the measurement data to the results stage. At the Advanced Photon Source, we used the SDDS toolkit and the SDDS-compliant EPICS toolkit in simple and not-so-simple applications for diagnosing operational problems from beginning to end in a short time. We were able to make quantitative measurements of pulsed power supply noise and beam position monitor noise, and identify an unstable power supply
Growth Substances From Veratrum tenuipetalum

Young leaves and buds of Veratrum tenuipetalum yielded non-indolic growth accelerators and inhibitors in the acidic ether fraction. The titer of accelerators decreased while the inhibitors increased as leaves matured. This was also true when comparing extracts of immature and fruiting inflorescences. Indole 3-acetic acid was at no time detected in leaf, bud, and inflorescence extracts but indole 3-acetyl-aspartic acid was readily recovered from all of these. The alkaline ether fraction of leaf base meristems, buds, roots, and rhizomes was rich in crystalline and amorphous alkaloids and phenolic acids. Reducing the quantity of major substances through crystallization, precipitation, and filtration permitted thin film chromatographic separation of the minor alkaloids and phenolic acids in the presence of the major ones. The unchromatographed mixture, and also certain of the purified major and minor alkaloids studied, strongly inhibited growth in germinating oat and winter rye seeds. In addition, profound changes in morphology and cytology of the seminal roots resulted. DNA disappeared partially to completely from affected tissue in 2 day germinated seeds.
SitABCD Is the Alkaline Mn2+ Transporter of Salmonella enterica Serovar Typhimurium

MntH, a bacterial homolog of the mammalian natural resistance-associated macrophage protein 1 (Nramp1), is a primary Mn2+ transporter of Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium and Escherichia coli. S. enterica serovar Typhimurium MntH expression is important for full virulence; however, strains carrying an mntH deletion are only partially attenuated and display no obvious signs of Mn2+ deficiency. We noted that promoter sequences for mntH and for the putative Fe2+ transporter sitABCD appeared to have the same regulatory element responsive to Mn2+ and so hypothesized that sitABCD could transport Mn2+ with high affinity. We have now characterized transport by SitABCD in S. enterica serovar Typhimurium using 54Mn2+ and 55Fe2+ and compared its properties to those of MntH. SitABCD mediates the influx of Mn2+ with an apparent affinity (Ka) identical to that of MntH, 0.1 μM. It also transports Fe2+ but with a Ka 30 to 100 times lower, 3 to 10 μM. Inhibition of 54Mn2+ transport by Fe2+ and of 55Fe2+ transport by Mn2+ gave inhibition constants comparable to each cation's Ka for influx. Since micromolar concentrations of free Fe2+ are improbable in a biological system, we conclude that SitABCD functions physiologically as a Mn2+ transporter. The cation inhibition profiles of SitABCD and MntH are surprisingly similar for two structurally and energetically unrelated transporters, with a Cd2+ Ki of ≈1 μM and a Co2+ Ki of ≈20 μM and with Ni2+, Cu2+, and Fe3+ inhibiting both transporters only at concentrations of >0.1 mM. The one difference is that Zn2+ exhibits potent inhibition of SitABCD (Ki = 1 to 3 μM) but inhibits MntH weakly (Ki > 50 μM). We have previously shown that MntH transports Mn2+ most effectively under acidic conditions. In sharp contrast, SitABCD has almost no transport capacity at acid pHs and optimally transports Mn2+ at slightly alkaline pHs. Overall, coupled with evidence that each transporter is multiply but distinctly regulated at the transcriptional level, the distinct transport properties of MntH versus SitABCD suggest that each transporter may be specialized for Mn2+ uptake in different physiological environments.
The Best-Laid Plans Modern Conceptions of Volition and Educational Research

Part of what it takes to succeed in academic settings is paying attention to and working toward appropriate goals. Working toward goals involves protecting the intention to accomplish goals from competing intentions and other distractions. Voluntary movement to protective action when situations demand it is central to a modern- day view of volition. This paper (a) discusses contemporary theory and research related to volition in education and (b) proposes agenda items for continued research.
Creating a Molecular Atmosphere: Phase 3

The use of laboratory-developed tests (LDT) was unfamiliar to me before I started to create this molecular atmosphere within our microbiology department at the System Laboratory of OSF Saint Francis Medical Center. My experience with diagnostic testing had usually included using a kit containing a product insert with step-by-step instructions on how to perform the test in question. However, the herpes simplex virus (HSV) assay and Bordetella pertussis/parapertussis (hereafter, Bordetella) test performed via real-time PCR needed to be developed, validated, and verified; protocols needed to be written based on the steps that we found to be successful. LDTs, also known as home-brew tests, are developed in-house and used for research or diagnostic purposes. LDTs are not frequently encountered in certified clinical laboratories; they are more commonly found in research-based facilities. This type of assay has not been approved by the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA), so no commercial kits are available. Laboratories that create home-brew assays can make the reagents themselves or buy reagents from outside vendors and develop their own protocol for testing. The validation … [↵][1]* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: stephanie.e.wallace{at}osfhealthcare.org [1]: #xref-corresp-1-1
UNSUPPRESSED FERMION NUMBER VIOLATION AT HIGH TEMPERATURE: AN O(3) MODEL

The O(3) nonlinear \ensuremath{\sigma} model in 1+1 dimensions, modified by an explicit symmetry-breaking term, is presented as a model for baryon- and lepton-number violation in the standard electroweak theory. Although arguments based on the Atiyah-Singer index theorem and instanton physics apply to the model, we show by explicit calculations that the rate of chiral fermion-number violation due to the axial anomaly is entirely unsuppressed at sufficiently high temperatures. Our results apply to unbroken gauge theories as well and may require reevaluation of the role of instantons in high-temperature QCD.
Intergroup emotions and intergroup relations.

Intergroup emotions theory seeks to understand and improve intergroup relations by focusing on the emotions engendered by belonging to, and by deriving identity from, a social group (processes called self-categorization and identification). Intergroup emotions are shaped by the very different ways in which members of different groups see group-relevant objects and events. These emotions come, with time and repetition, to be part and parcel of group membership itself. Once evoked, specific intergroup emotions direct and regulate specific intergroup behaviors. This approach has implications for theories of emotion as well as of intergroup relations. Because intergroup emotions derive from self-categorization and identification and because they strongly influence intergroup behavior, intergroup emotions theory provides an innovative framework for attempts to reduce prejudice and improve intergroup relations. A series of riots leaves more than a thousand Muslims dead in the Hindu-led Indian state of Gujarat. An African nation whose citizens have lived in relative peace since 1963 is torn apart as Luo tribesmen battle Kikuyu. A European nation goes without government for nearly 6 months because its French-speaking and Dutch-speaking political parties cannot agree on constitutional reform. Political pundits of the US presidential elections suggest that the 40-something candidate Barack Obama should try to depict the 70-something John McCain as a ‘geezer’, while McCain should characterize Obama as a ‘kid’. How are we to explain these diverse examples of a seemingly universal phenomenon, hostile intergroup relations? Most explanations of intergroup antipathy focus on the false or biased beliefs (or stereotypes) one group might have about another (Fiske, 1998), on external costs and rewards driving intergroup interactions (Campbell, 1965), and on the human tendency to see our own groups as superior to other groups (Tajfel & Turner, 1986). Despite their contributions, these traditional approaches to intergroup relations often seem both overly static and insufficiently passionate in the face of the typically fluid and often chilling ways in which groups treat
Fundamental Considerations in Pacing of the Diaphragm for Chronic Ventilatory Insufficiency: A Multi‐Center Study

Records were reviewed of 477 patients who had diaphragm pacemakers implanted for treatment of chronic hypoventilation. Three groups were established for comparison. (1) Center group: 165 patients operated on in six medical centers participating in a cooperative study; (2) Noncenter group, sufficient data available: 203 patients operated on by surgeons with experience limited to a few cases; (3) Nonstudy group, minimal data available: 109 patients operated on as in group 2; vital statistics only were contributed. The protocol for data gathering was comprised of 154 major variables. Basic data on age, sex, diagnosis and etiology were analyzed for homogenicity of data among the groups. A comprehensive analysis of the pacing methods, complication and results from the Center group yielded information on the early experience with diaphragm pacing important to its future application.
Deamidation Kinetics of Precipitated by Carbon Dioxide Compared with Commercial Caseinates

Casein precipitated by carbon dioxide (CO 2 -casein), and commercial sodium and calcium caseinates (1% w/v in water) were thermally deamidated at pH 8 for up to 96h at 85, 100, and 115°C. CO 2 -casein displayed the highest overall extent of deamidation at 100 and 115°C after 32 and 24h, respectively, while there was no difference at 85°C. Structural differences between CO 2 -casein and the commercial caseinates may account for the difference in deamidation. Deamidation kinetics were apparent first-order with respect to concentrations of the amides, asparagine and glutamine. Reaction rate constants and Arrhenius parameters were comparable from regression modeling.
Climate change impacts on mycotoxin risks in US maize

To ensure future food security, it is crucial to understand how potential climate change scenarios will affect agriculture. One key area of interest is how climatic factors, both in the near- and the long-term future, could affect fungal infection of crops and mycotoxin production by these fungi. The objective of this paper is to review the potential impact of climate change on three important mycotoxins that contaminate maize in the United States, and to highlight key research questions and approaches for understanding this impact. Recent climate change analyses that pertain to agriculture and in particular to mycotoxigenic fungi are discussed, with respect to the climatic factors – temperature and relative humidity – at which they thrive and cause severe damage. Additionally, we discuss how climate change will likely alter the life cycles and geographic distribution of insects that are known to facilitate fungal infection of crops.
Winter Visitors to Yellowstone National Park: Their Value Orientations and Support for Management Actions

The idea of a National Park contains a diversity of values and missions. This paper takes a multi-dimensional, context-specific approach to measuring the perceived values of Yellowstone National Park. It is an initial step in recording how perceptions of National Parks are changing over time. Responses of 1064 winter visitors to 24 park value items were factor and cluster analyzed to produce four groups. Examination of the relationship between cluster membership and support / opposition to a variety of management actions showed significant differences for all 19 proposed actions. Groups of visitors with different value orientations showed correspondingly different levels of support for management actions. The National Park Service (and other natural resource agencies) can, therefore, expect to encounter and manage for a diversity of perceived values and conflicting attitudes towards park management and planning.
Electrooptically tunable folded arrayed waveguide grating multiplexer

Channel tunability of 10 GHz has been demonstrated in a 40-channel 50-GHz-spaced folded silica-on-silicon arrayed waveguide grating (AWG) multiplexer using quadratic nonlinearity in phosphorous-doped glass and a specially shaped electrode. Such AWG can be stabilized and tuned around ITU grid without power-consuming thermoelectric coolers.
Assessing the Cultural in Culturally Sensitive Printed Patient Education Materials for Chinese Americans with Type 2 Diabetes

Type 2 diabetes affects Chinese Americans at an alarming rate. To address this health disparity, research in the area of cultural sensitivity and health literacy provides useful guidelines for creating culturally appropriate health education. In this article, we use discourse analysis to examine a group of locally available, Chinese- and English-language diabetes print documents from a surface level and deep structure level of culture. First, we compared these documents to research findings about printed health information to determine whether and how these documents apply current best practices for health literacy and culturally appropriate health communication. Second, we examined how diabetes as a disease and diabetes management is being constructed. The printed materials addressed surface level culture through the use of Chinese language, pictures, foods, and exercises. From a deeper cultural level, the materials constructed diabetes management as a matter of measurement and control that contrasted with previous research suggesting an alternative construction of balance. A nuanced assessment of both surface and deeper levels of culture is essential for creating health education materials that are more culturally appropriate and can lead to increased health literacy and improved health outcomes.
Morphological Plasticity in Four Larval Anurans Distributed along an Environmental Gradient

We investigated morphological plasticity to the presence of predators in the tadpoles of four ranid frog species distributed along a pond hydroperiod gradient in southeast Michigan. We first reared all four species (Wood Frog, Rana sylvatica; Leopard Frog R. pipiens; Green Frog, R. clamitans; and Bullfrog, R. catesbeiana) under identical laboratory conditions in the presence and absence of caged larval dragonflies (Anax spp.). We then reared wood frog and leopard frog in outdoor mesocosms to examine the predator-induced responses during ontogeny. Finally, we reared leopard frog with predators fed either leopard frog or wood frog larvae to determine whether prey responses depended upon predators consuming conspecific prey. All four ranids exhibited some degree of morphological change in the presence of Anax; these differences were species specific and fairly robust to different experimental conditions. The responses over ontogeny indicated that the changes were direct responses to the predator’s presence and not an indirect result of the predator slowing anuran growth or development. Finally, larval leopard frog responded similarly to predators feeding on conspecifics and congenerics. Taken together, these results suggest that morphological responses to predators may be relatively common in larval anurans. Further, because many of the responses are known to be adaptive antipredator strategies, predator-induced morphological plasticity has important evolutionary and ecological implications.
A cluster randomized trial of an organizational process improvement intervention for improving the assessment and case planning of offenders: a Study Protocol

The Organizational Process Improvement Intervention (OPII), conducted by the NIDA-funded Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies consortium of nine research centers, examined an organizational intervention to improve the processes used in correctional settings to assess substance abusing offenders, develop case plans, transfer this information to community-based treatment agencies, and monitor the services provided by these community based treatment agencies. A multi-site cluster randomized design was used to evaluate an inter-agency organizational process improvement intervention among dyads of correctional agencies and community based treatment agencies. Linked correctional and community based agencies were clustered among nine (9) research centers and randomly assigned to an early or delayed intervention condition. Participants included administrators, managers, and line staff from the participating agencies; some participants served on interagency change teams while other participants performed agency tasks related to offender services. A manualized organizational intervention that includes the use of external organizational coaches was applied to create and support interagency change teams that proceeded through a four-step process over a planned intervention period of 12 months. The primary outcome of the process improvement intervention was to improve processes associated with the assessment, case planning, service referral and service provision processes within the linked organizations. Providing substance abuse offenders with coordinated treatment and access to community-based services is critical to reducing offender recidivism. Results from this study protocol will provide new and critical information on strategies and processes that improve the assessment and case planning for such offenders as they transition between correctional and community based systems and settings. Further, this study extends current knowledge of and methods for, the study of evidence-based practice adoption and implementation.
A modeling approach for continuum robotic manipulators: Effects of nonlinear internal device friction

In recent years, flexible robotic catheter systems have been developed for minimally invasive cardiac surgery. These systems commonly include a passive flexible catheter, which is biocompatible, and an active servo system which provides the actuation for the flexible catheter. To relate control actuation motion of the servo system to catheter motion, models of continuous catheters have been developed. A typical approach is to assume a kinematic model in which the catheter maintains constant curvature along its length when articulated. However, this approach cannot explain the nonlinear behavior of the catheter when the effect of internal friction is considered. In this paper we present a lumped-parameter modeling approach that allows for the inclusion of nonlinear effects, including friction. The proposed approach has been used to model a prototype catheter where internal friction is modeled using a modified Dahl friction model. To evaluate the efficacy of the modeling approach, the simulation results were compared to an experimental catheter prototype. Results show that the proposed approach significantly improves simulation accuracy as compared to the case where friction is not considered. In addition, the effects of friction on catheter performance were investigated using the developed modeling approach.
The Rise of the Fiscal State in Europe, c. 1200–1815. Edited by Richard Bonney. New York: Oxford University Press, 1999. Pp. xii, 527. $110.00.

Since 1995 three volumes of essays, in each of which Richard Bonney has served as contributor or editor, have been published around the history of European fiscal systems. What new contribution or approach does this volume, the third, offer? Like its predecessors, this one fits into the “new fiscal history,” structured around the notion that fiscal systems should be studied in their broader constitutional, political, social, and economic contexts. As Bonney states in the introduction to the present volume, the point is to move beyond “teleology” (p. 12) or the tendency to compare “any fiscal system over time … with another in a sort of balance sheet” (p. 2). While not wanting to take any one country's experience as the measure for others, Bonney does identify certain broad stages through which fiscal systems have passed. His approach borrows from Joseph Schumpeter's thesis—subsequently adopted primarily by historians of Scandinavia and Germany—that early modern “countries” underwent a transition from “domain state” to “tax state,” whereby sovereigns expanded their fiscal reach beyond the medieval ideal of living from the revenues of the royal domain. In a previous volume Bonney and his collaborators revised this model of the rise of the tax state (see the introduction to Crises, Revolutions and Self-Sustained Growth: Essays in European Fiscal History, 1130–1830, edited by W. M. Ormrod, Margaret Bonney, and Richard Bonney. Stamford: Shaun Tyas, 1999). Tax states, they argued, could falter and break down through loss of confidence or institutional paralysis, and thus did not represent the endpoint of fiscal development. Rather, it is the modern “fiscal state,” where institutions and structures allow for self-sustained growth and development, that represents the culmination of revolutionary changes. Furthermore, they held that crisis might occur within a given fiscal system and affect its shape or scope, but that only revolutionary upheaval could cause transition from one system to another. A revised model requires empirical support, and the present volume seeks to deliver it in the form of “national” case studies that are juxtaposed (in rough geographical order, from Western Europe eastward), but not compared.
Is tubal embryo transfer of any value? A meta-analysis and comparison with the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology database

Abstract Objective: To analyze published randomized trials of ZIFT and ET via meta-analysis and compare the results with those of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology database. Design: Meta-analysis and comparison to SART data sets for 1991–1996. Setting: University medical center. Patient(s): Patients from the literature with infertility, randomized to either tubal or uterine embryo transfer. Intervention(s): All published articles in English were identified using an electronic database spanning January 1966 to December 1998 by keyword and text word searches, supplemented with a hand search through the references of original studies, review articles, and conference abstracts to identify randomized trials comparing ZIFT and IVF-ET. Additional data was obtained through correspondence with authors. Main Outcome Measure(s): Implantation and clinical pregnancy rates were compared. Ectopic pregnancy rate was a secondary outcome measure. Result(s): Six randomized controlled trials including 548 cycles, 514 retrievals, and 388 transfers were reviewed. Demographic and stimulation and transfer details were comparable between the groups. Implantation and pregnancy rates did not differ significantly, and there was a trend toward increased risk of ectopic pregnancy with ZIFT. Conclusion(s): Published randomized trials suggest that there is no difference in implantation and pregnancy rates between women undergoing ZIFT and IVF-ET.
Leveraging strengths of different stakeholders to improve and scale improved cooking products experiences from the Harvest fuel initiative

Despite significant efforts in the improved cooking sector over the past several decades, challenges have been encountered in developing high-performance products that both satisfy user preferences and are affordable. Among the reasons for these challenges are poor dissemination of R&D results to cooking technology enterprises, underutilization of the existing knowledge base by organizations working on the design of cooking technology, and lack of resources within enterprises to devote to product line improvement. This paper presents experiences from a pilot program, the Harvest Fuel Initiative, which partnered local clean cooking enterprises with technical, business and user-research expertise to evaluate and improve their product lines, achieve growth and economic sustainability, and understand the needs of their user markets. Specific examples include lab- and field-based product testing, implementation of quality control measures, and user-centered research studies. While these efforts directly benefited the partner enterprises, the innovation and lessons learned are of benefit to a wide range stakeholders working in technology for developing countries.
The Structure of “Politics”

Taxonomic definitions of politics are chronically unable to extend class properties to the heterogeneous scope of political events, leading to the view that “politics” may be a standard cluster concept. Clusters of properties, however, may be arranged around core terms strongly retentive in ordinary uses of a concept. Some terms are even rigid designators, necessary and sufficient conditions for reference in all possible worlds. The concept of “politics” provides two core terms, “directiveness” and “aggregation,” though not rigid designators. Such a core structure concentrates the standard cluster-analysis of “politics” on extension, not carrying over to all aspects of sense, thus permitting a weak and revised case for taxonomy on nonidentifying core terms. The implications of core terms in the concept of “politics” include the restriction of research-utility as an adequacy criterion and the acceptance of conventional status for distinctions between political and nonpolitical events.
GEOGRAPHICAL VARIATION AND EVOLUTION IN PSEUDOSINELLA VIOLENT A (FOLSOM).

For many years we have been studying the evolution of the cave forms of Collembola of the genus Pseudosinella. The first part of this study concerned the highly cave-adapted species, P. hirsuta, in the caves of the southeastern United States (Christiansen and Culver, 1968). The present work concerns P. violenta. This common species can be found throughout the United States and southern Canada as well as much of Latin America. It is primarily an inhabitant of the soil litter, particularly endogean regions such as abandoned ant nests and under stones. The collembola inhabiting such regions are generally quite different from cave forms (Vandel, 1964) although some intergradation between the populations of the two environments does exist. In this work the term "surface" forms should be considered to apply to such endogeic elements. Pseudosinella violenta is one of the commonest surface species in non-arid areas, but it is rarely found in caves, except in central Texas where it has invaded caves extensively. Here it has started to go through some of the evolutionary changes seen in more highly evolved cave species. Collections were made in over 60 caves of Central Texas, largely by James Reddell and other members of the Texas cave survey. It soon became apparent that any analysis of the changes occurring in this group would have to involve extensive comparisons with surface populations. Suitable collections were made in Iowa in 1966 and 1967, and in Texas during June of 1968 (see Fig. 1). Analyses of the populations from all regions were made using semi-
VP1 gene sequence analysis and genetic characteristics of ECHO virus 7:analysis of 60 strains in GenBank

Objective To study the genetic variance of ECHO virus 7 in different origins.Methods Search GenBank to find all available ECHO virus 7 strains and their VP1 gene sequence.The nucleotide and amino acid diversity were calculated and phylogenetic tree was constructed using MEGA software for genotyping analysis.Results A total of 97 strains of ECHO virus 7 were found from GenBank and among which,60 were distinct isolates with different VP1 gene sequences that were isolated in 12 different countries from 1999 to 2009.The 60 ECHO virus 7 strains were grouped into genotypes A,B,C and D;genotype A only contained the ECHO virus 7 prototype strain Wllace,genotype D was further divided into 3 subgenotypes.The nucleotide and amino acid diversity among different ECHO virus 7 strains were 5.9%-23.3% and 1.0%-13.0%,respectively.Conclusions ECHO virus 7 can be divided into 4 genotypes based on their VP1 gene sequence.Different genotypes of ECHO virus 7 can circulate in a wide-range geographical area and different genotypes can co-circulate in a region during the same period of time.
ns-3 Web-Based User Interface: Power Grid Communications Planning and Modeling Tool

All utilities have invested in some level of engineering tools and qualified staff required to modernize the power grid. These engineering tools vary in their level of complexity and fidelity. Most of the existing tools are either application specific or have not been designed to work together to assist in assembling comprehensive first order smart grid build-out cost estimations and planning, especially with regard to communications. There is a need for software to assist utility owners, operators, engineers, and consultants with smart grid communications planning and engineering. The development of a web-based Power Grid Communications Planning and Modeling Tool using ns-3 is in process that will address these needs. This tool models use cases for power grid communications, abstracting away the details of programming in ns-3. The tool will be made open source at the completion of the initial version.
Interpreting Iroquoian site structure through geophysical prospection and soil chemistry: Insights from a coalescent community in Ontario, Canada

Abstract In the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries A.D., northern Iroquoian communities in southern Ontario and upper New York State came together into large, palisaded village aggregates. Over time, these coalescent communities exhibit increasing degrees of socio-political complexity and reorganization of the built environment. This paper employs magnetic gradiometry, magnetic susceptibility, and soil phosphate analysis to help infer the settlement structure of Spang, a coalescent community located east of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The results are interpreted with reference to the fully-excavated Draper and Mantle sites, occupied before and after Spang in this contiguous community relocation sequence. The results suggest the potential presence of longhouses, a palisade, and a central plaza consistent with increased community integration over time. As geophysical prospection is infrequently employed on Iroquoian village sites, the results suggest the potential of these techniques as components of research designs employed by researchers and cultural resource managers.
The Effect of Nutritional Information Disclosure in Advertising: An Information Processing Approach

The effect of providing nutritional information in food advertisements is examined experimentally in this study. The results indicated that this information only affected the early stages of proces...
NGK-State Relations during Apartheid’s Early Years(1948–61)

The election of 1948 marked the beginning of National Party rule. From the late 1940s to the 1980s, the NP steadily increased its control over the state and developed and implemented the policy of apartheid.1 The NGK was an important civil society institution that justified the development and consolidation of apartheid. NGK-state relations during the early years of apartheid were those of mutual engagement.
Ethical Issues Involved in the Dual Role of Treater and Evaluator

Of all the medical specialties, psychiatry has the longest history of accepting the dual role of providing individual treatment to patients and providing expert opinions and management of persons perceived to be dangerous to society. For much of its history, the majority of psychiatrists in the United States were employed in prisons and public mental hospitals, where their major roles were perceived (at least by their employers) as serving the interests of the state in resolving criminal cases and protecting the public.1,2 With the growth of academic psychiatry and the differentiation of private, individual psychotherapy from public psychiatry in the 1940s, an increasing number of psychiatrists have left the public sector for a more traditionally medical, autonomous private practice.3,4
Evaluation of turbulence measurement techniques from a single Doppler lidar

Abstract. Measurements of turbulence are essential to understand and quantify the transport and dispersal of heat, moisture, momentum, and trace gases within the planetary boundary layer (PBL). Through the years, various techniques to measure turbulence using Doppler lidar observations have been proposed. However, the accuracy of these measurements has rarely been validated against trusted in situ instrumentation. Herein, data from the eXperimental Planetary boundary layer Instrumentation Assessment (XPIA) are used to verify Doppler lidar turbulence profiles through comparison with sonic anemometer measurements. For 17 days at the end of the experiment, a single scanning Doppler lidar continuously cycled through different turbulence measurement strategies: velocity–azimuth display (VAD), six-beam scans, and range–height indicators (RHIs) with a vertical stare. Measurements of turbulence kinetic energy (TKE), turbulence intensity, and stress velocity from these techniques are compared with sonic anemometer measurements at six heights on a 300 m tower. The six-beam technique is found to generally measure turbulence kinetic energy and turbulence intensity the most accurately at all heights (r2 ≈ 0.78), showing little bias in its observations (slope of ≈ 0. 95). Turbulence measurements from the velocity–azimuth display method tended to be biased low near the surface, as large eddies were not captured by the scan. None of the methods evaluated were able to consistently accurately measure the shear velocity (r2 = 0.15–0.17). Each of the scanning strategies assessed had its own strengths and limitations that need to be considered when selecting the method used in future experiments.
Has the South Changed? Shelby County and the Expansion of the Voter ID Battlefield

In June 2013, a sharply divided United States Supreme Court struck down the preclearance formula of Section 4(b) of the Voting Rights Act (VRA), a provision that placed the South and other jurisdictions with a history of racial discrimination in voting under special federal scrutiny. The immediate effect of the Court’s ruling in Shelby County v. Holder is an expansion of the voter identification (Voter ID) battlefield to the South. In the four years before the ruling, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ) used the VRA’s Section 5 preclearance provisions to block Voter ID laws in southern states. But with the preclearance requirements effectively voided by Shelby County, election officials across the South have resumed efforts to implement Voter ID laws. A very real fear now exists that the expansion of Voter ID laws to the South will lead to minority disenfranchisement and a retreat from the historic progress achieved by the VRA. The long history of election law “reforms” leading to minority disenfranchisement makes such fears quite reasonable. Moreover, the fact that Voter ID laws have been enacted by legislatures across the country in highly divisive fashion through party-line votes deepens the suspicion that malignant motives lurk behind such laws. If the spread of Voter ID laws results in minority disenfranchisement in the South, Shelby County will go down in history as one of the Supreme Court’s worst decisions. This article contends, however, that there is reason for cautious optimism that the post-Shelby County expansion of Voter ID laws will not undermine minority voting rights in the South in the long run. First, Section 2 of the VRA—which prohibits racially-discriminatory election laws—was unaffected by the Shelby County ruling and thus remains in full force. Second, the South already has experience with Voter ID laws, and in the years since implementation, minority turnout in southern Voter ID states has gone up, not down. That paradoxical outcome is the direct result of the controversy that surrounds such laws. Indeed, Voter ID laws have the unintentionally progressive effect of provoking a backlash among minority voters that consistently leads to higher minority turnout rates. Moreover, although racism clearly remains present in the South as well as in the nation as a whole, truly historic change is underway in the racial dynamics of southern politics. The South’s demographics are changing at such an accelerating rate that politicians who appear hostile to minority voting rights will increasingly find themselves in political jeopardy as minorities make up an ever larger share of the southern electorate. For all of these reasons, therefore, there is reason for cautious optimism that Voter ID laws will not represent a long-term setback to the cause of minority voting rights in the South.
Assessing irregular extended sources

The aperture averaging of an extended-source radiance distribution depends upon exposure duration and whether the potential injury mechanism is thermal or photochemical. A standardized method has evolved over the past four decades for dealing with this. However, with the 2014 revisions of the ANSI Z136.1 and IEC 60825-1 standards, the approach can be simplified for short pulse durations because of the revision of the exposure limits that describe a constant radiance above 5 mrad for pulses less than 0.625 ms. Regardless of the irregularities of a pulsed source, the localized retinal irradiance determines the potential for retinal injury. Hence only a 1.5-mrad and a 5-mrad averaging field-of-view is necessary when hot spots are smaller than 5-mrad; whereas, only a 5-mrad field-of-view is required for sources with hotspots that are greater than 5 mrad. Because of radial heat-flow away from any localized areas of high retinal irradiance (i.e., high source radiance) and because of eye-movements, larger averaging areas may be employed for lengthy exposures. A standard 11-mrad field-of-view is employed to account for eye movements when exposures are of the order of 10-100 s. Repetitive-pulse exposures and exposures greater than 0.625 ms may require consideration of more than one aperture to properly account for heat-flow and eye movements.
The Development of South Carolina as an Insular Frontier

Colonial South Carolina exhibited formal and organizational characteristics similar to those described in the model of insular frontier settlement. Although its history represents an adaptation to conditions particular in time and space, the form these adaptations took reflects a strategy employed by other agricultural societies of colonial Europe. Such a strategy is linked to the process of insular frontier change described in the model. This chapter describes the aspects of this process revealed in historical sources. Colonial South Carolina underwent intensive settlement of the type described in the model of insular frontier colonization. Characteristics of change associated with this colonization process are evident in the historical sources relating to the early development of the region. These sources reveal not only the broad economic, social, and political changes that occurred on a regional basis but also the form these changes took in individual settlements on the frontier.