cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New Considerations in the Announcement Effects of Privately Placed Debt

Abstract We examine the stock price reaction to announcements of privately placed debt. The results suggest no effect for firms with a public debt rating and offsetting effects for firms without a public debt rating. If the private placement appears to reduce monitoring for a firm without a debt rating, it produces a significantly negative price response. However, if it appears to increase financial flexibility and bargaining power, it produces a positive reaction. Overall, the evidence suggests that private placements of debt are more similar to public bond issues than bank loans in terms of the price reaction at the announcement.
Drugs and Prisoners: Treatment Needs on Entering Prison*

An interview study was conducted among a group of incoming prisoners in a county jail in Ohio during the summers of 1997 and 1998 to assess their current drug treatment needs. "Incoming prisoners" refers to individuals who were being transferred from this county jail to the state prison system. Marijuana and cocaine were the most commonly tried illegal drugs among the subjects as well as the drugs of choice during the month prior to imprisonment. The Diagnostic Interview Schedule, combined with questions employed in the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) project, was used to construct the questionnaire for this study. Based on the criteria of DSM-IV diagnoses, 57.5% of those interviewed had exhibited drug dependency at some point in their lives, and 51% were currently dependent on some substance. Thus, more than half of the incoming prisoners were in need of treatment for use of at least one substance. Cocaine dependence was the greatest problem facing this group of inmates, with an especially notable problem among the older females. Younger males were more likely to have current marijuana dependence. The study found that individuals currently dependent on cocaine or opiates perceived that they had a need for drug treatment, while those currently dependent on marijuana did not share this perception.
An empirical test of the relationship between agency/communion and influence in work groups

A model for understanding effective managerial practices is introduced. Effective Japanese and American managerial practices are explored for their relationship with the model's key concepts of agency (a goal-oriented sense of self, characterized by self-assertion, self-expansion, and self-protection) and communion (selflessness—a willingness to admit vulnerability and need to create nurturing relationships). It is hypothesized that agency and communion are each positively related to influence effectiveness. The hypothesis is tested with 120 individuals from 13 U.S. Navy decision-making groups using two questionnaires (ISQ-I and ISQ-II) completed by different subgroups of one's fellow group members. These questionnaires, respectively, measure agency/communion (independent variables) and various forms of influence on the group (dependent variables). Additionally, express-control and want-control preferences are measured, using the FIRO-B questionnaire, to test if these variables' relationship with agency and communion is in the expected direction. Both hypotheses were strongly confirmed.
Very special relativity.

By very special relativity (VSR) we mean descriptions of nature whose space-time symmetries are certain proper subgroups of the Poincare group. These subgroups contain space-time translations together with at least a two-parameter subgroup of the Lorentz group isomorphic to that generated by K(x) + J(y) and K(y)- J(x). We find that VSR implies special relativity (SR) in the context of local quantum field theory or of conservation. Absent both of these added hypotheses, VSR provides a simulacrum of SR for which most of the consequences of Lorentz invariance remain wholly or essentially intact, and for which many sensitive searches for departures from Lorentz invariance must fail. Several feasible experiments are discussed for which Lorentz-violating effects in VSR may be detectable.
AMMONIA TOLERANCE OF THE CALIFORNIA LEAF-NOSED BAT

A series of 59 California leaf-nosed bats, Macrotus californicus, was exposed to varying concentrations of anhydrous ammonia. Physiologic responses noted in the bat were compared to the same responses as recorded in the literature for man and other experimental animals. Recordings were made for the following: cardiac and respiratory rates, blood non-protein nitrogen, urine urea and ammonia and animal and gassing chamber temperatures. An elevation of non-protein nitrogen over the mean normal was evident but no significant elevation of urine urea and ammonia was noted. Resistance to the gas was demonstrated by decreases in respiratory and cardiac rates. Toxic manifesta- tions attributable to ammonia were noted in distinct visceral damage, corrosion of the skin and mucous membranes and pulmonary edema. Maximum sublethal con- centration tolerated for an exposure time of 9 hours was 3,000 ppm. Investigators have often mentioned the extremely unpleasant working condi- tions in the ammoniated atmosphere of caves and mines frequented by large numbers of bats (Krutzch and Sulkin, 1958; Eads et al., 1955; many others). During certain times of the year concentrations of ammonia in Cueva del Tigre, 14.9 miles SSE, Carbo, Sonora, Mexico, are elevated to a level such that reflex res- piratory arrest was experienced by E. L. Cockrum (personal communication). The cave at this time was in use as a maternity colony for an estimated 2 to 3 million bats. Since this condition occurs in the normal habitat of these animals, interest was aroused regarding their unusual tolerance to ammonia. No in- formation has been presented on the physiologic response of a bat to ammonia concentrations. This study was made, therefore, to determine the physiologic effects of ammonia inhalation on the California leaf-nosed bat, Macrotus cali- fornicus Baird.
Impaired growth and neurological abnormalities in branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase kinase-deficient mice

The BCKDH (branched-chain α-keto acid dehydrogenase complex) catalyses the rate-limiting step in the oxidation of BCAAs (branched-chain amino acids). Activity of the complex is regulated by a specific kinase, BDK (BCKDH kinase), which causes inactivation, and a phosphatase, BDP (BCKDH phosphatase), which causes activation. In the present study, the effect of the disruption of the BDK gene on growth and development of mice was investigated. BCKDH activity was much greater in most tissues of BDK−/− mice. This occurred in part because the E1 component of the complex cannot be phosphorylated due to the absence of BDK and also because greater than normal amounts of the E1 component were present in tissues of BDK−/− mice. Lack of control of BCKDH activity resulted in markedly lower blood and tissue levels of the BCAAs in BDK−/− mice. At 12 weeks of age, BDK−/− mice were 15% smaller than wild-type mice and their fur lacked normal lustre. Brain, muscle and adipose tissue weights were reduced, whereas weights of the liver and kidney were greater. Neurological abnormalities were apparent by hind limb flexion throughout life and epileptic seizures after 6–7 months of age. Inhibition of protein synthesis in the brain due to hyperphosphorylation of eIF2α (eukaryotic translation initiation factor 2α) might contribute to the neurological abnormalities seen in BDK−/− mice. BDK−/− mice show significant improvement in growth and appearance when fed a high protein diet, suggesting that higher amounts of dietary BCAA can partially compensate for increased oxidation in BDK−/− mice. Disruption of the BDK gene establishes that regulation of BCKDH by phosphorylation is critically important for the regulation of oxidative disposal of BCAAs. The phenotype of the BDK−/− mice demonstrates the importance of tight regulation of oxidative disposal of BCAAs for normal growth and neurological function.
Transfer price and equilibrium in multidivisional firms: an examination of divisional autonomy and central control

The problem faced by a firm that oversees two divisions, one of which produces and one of which uses an intermediate good, is considered. Since divisions have information that is not available to the centre, it is useful to allow the divisions some autonomy in their sales and procurement decisions. The analysis allows the centre to specify the transfer price that must be used in trades between divisions as well as placing restraints on their ability to trade with outside firms. In most of the models presented in this paper, the centre cannot observe the market price of the intermediate product, and in some models it cannot observe divisional costs. It is shown how the centre can obtain the full information solution in the simplest case by using a penalty factor that encourages internal trade. However, when divisional costs are not observable, the full information outcome is not obtainable. In this case, the optimal value of the penalty factor implies a tradeoff between the benefits of allowing divisions t...
SU-E-T-432: A Rapid and Comprehensive Procedure for Daily Proton QA

Purpose: The objective is to develop a rapid and comprehensive daily QA procedure implemented at the S. Lee Kling Proton Therapy Center at Barnes-Jewish Hospital. Methods: A scribed phantom with imbedded fiducials is used for checking lasers accuracy followed by couch isocentricity and for X-ray imaging congruence with isocenter. A Daily QA3 device (Sun Nuclear, FL) was used to check output, range and profiles. Five chambers in the central region possess various build-ups. After converting the thickness of the inherent build-ups into water equivalent thickness (WET) for proton, range of any beam can be checked with additional build-up on the Daily QA3 device. In our procedure, 3 beams from 3 bands (large, small and deep) with nominal range of 20 cm are checked daily. 17cm plastic water with WET of 16.92cm are used as additional build-up so that four chambers sit on the SOBP plateau at various depths and one sit on the distal fall off. Reading from the five chambers are fitted to an error function that has been parameterized to match the SOBP with the same nominal range. Shifting of the error function to maximize the correlation between measurements and the error function is deemed as the rangemore » shift from the nominal value. Results: We have found couch isocentricity maintained over 180 degrees. Imaging system exhibits accuracy in regard to imaging and mechanical isocenters. Ranges are within 1mm accuracy from measurements in water tank, and sensitive to change of sub-millimeter. Data acquired since the start of operation show outputs, profiles and range stay within 1% or 1mm from baselines. The whole procedure takes about 40 minutes. Conclusion: Taking advantage of the design of Daily QA3 device turns the device originally designed for photon and electron into a comprehensive and rapid tool for proton daily QA.« less
Human resources, high technology, and a quality organizational environment: Research agendas

Abstract The major characteristics of a quality-oriented organizational environment are reviewed. Implications of a quality environment for human resource management (HRM) philosophy and practice in high technology firms are described. Research agenda for the major HRM functional areas of job analysis, performance appraisal, selection, and compensation are offered. It is concluded that future theoretical and empirical HRM research must be responsive to the growing quality orientation.
Contact electrification of corona-treated polyethylenes

Abstract The influence of the corona treatment dose on the contact electrification characteristics of unfilled low density (LDPE) and TiO 2 -filled medium density (MDPE) polyethylene films was determined by measuring the surface charge after contact with a biased gold counterelectrode. The electronic work function and the surface state density were evaluated from a plot of charge versus counter electrode bias. In the untreated state, the surface state density of filled MDPE was found to be 30 times higher than that of the nominally pure LDPE. With increasing corona dose the surface state density of MDPE and LDPE rose steeply and saturated at levels that were higher by one and two orders of magnitude, respectively. The work function variations remained below 0.5 eV.
The Role of Organizational Communications on Employee Perceptions of a Firm

ABSTRACT The quality of service customers receive is due, in part, to the commitment employees have towards their employer. A critical component of employee commitment to a firm is organizational communication. Organizational communication exists in many forms and has both internal and external audiences. This study focuses on internal communications from the perspective of public relations and internal marketing and their relationship to an employee's perception of the firm where they work. A positive relationship was found between effective internal communications and perception of the firm. Implications of these findings are discussed.
Angular distribution in the decay of the singlet D state of charmonium directly produced in unpolarized p̄p collisions

We calculate the combined angular distribution of the final electron, of the {gamma} photon, and of the {pi}{sup 0} meson produced in the cascade process {ital {bar p}p}{r_arrow}{sup 1}{ital D}{sub 2}{r_arrow}{sup 1}{ital P}{sub 1}+{gamma}{r_arrow}({psi}{pi}{sup 0}) +{gamma}{r_arrow}({ital e}{sup +}{ital e}{sup {minus}})+{pi}{sup 0}+{gamma}, where {ital {bar p}} and {ital p} are unpolarized. Our final result is valid in the {ital {bar p}p} c.m. frame and it is expressed in terms of the Wigner {ital D}{sup {ital J}} functions and the spherical harmonics whose arguments are the angles representing the various directions involved. The coefficients of the terms involving the spherical harmonics and the Wigner {ital D}{sup {ital J}} functions are functions of the angular momentum helicity amplitudes or equivalently of the multipole amplitudes of the individual processes. Once the combined angular distribution is measured, our expressions will enable one to calculate the relative magnitudes as well as the cosines of the relative phases of all the angular momentum helicity amplitudes or equivalently of all the multipole amplitudes in the decay processes {sup 1}{ital D}{sub 2}{r_arrow}{sup 1}{ital P}{sub 1}+{gamma} and {sup 1}{ital P}{sub 1}{r_arrow}{psi}+{pi}{sup 0}. We also derive six different partially integrated angular distribution functions which give the angular distributions of one ormore » two particles in the final state. They can all be expressed entirely in terms of the spherical harmonics. By measuring these simpler angular distributions in the six different cases we get as much information on the helicity amplitudes as we obtained by measuring the combined angular distribution of the three particles, namely, the electron, the {gamma} photon, and the {pi}{sup 0} meson.« less
Mechanical behavior and interface design of MoSi2-based alloys and composites

The mechanical behavior of hot pressed MoSi2-based composites containing M05Si3, SiO2, CaO and TiC as reinforcing second phases was investigated in the temperature regime 1000-1300 °C. The effects of strain rate on the flow stress for M05Si~-, SiO2- and CaO-containing composites are presented. Effects of several processing routes and microstructural modifications on the mechanical behavior of MoSi2-M05Si ~ composites are given. Of these four composite additions, M05Si 3 and CaO produce strengthening of MoSi 2 in the temperature range investigated. SiO 2 greatly reduces the strength, consistent with the formation of a glassy phase at interface and interphase boundaries. TiC reduces the flow stress of MoSi 2 in a manner that suggests dislocation pumping into the MoSi 2 matrix. The strain rate effects indicate that dislocation creep (glide and climb) processes operate over the temperature range investigated, with some contribution from diffusional processes at the higher temperatures and lower strain rates. Erbium is found to be very effective in refining the microstructures and in increasing the hardness and fracture properties of MoSi2-MosSi 3 eutectics prepared by arc melting. Initial results on microstructural modeling of the deformation and fracture of MoSi2-based composites are also reported.
The Chern classes of Sobolev connections

AssumeF is the curvature (field) of a connection (potential) onR 4 with finiteL 2 norm $$\left( {\int\limits_{R^4 } {\left| F \right|^2 dx< \infty } } \right)$$ . We show the chern number $$c_2= {1 \mathord{\left/ {\vphantom {1 8}} \right. \kern-\nulldelimiterspace} 8}\pi ^2 \int\limits_{R^4 } {F \wedge} F$$ (topological quantum number) is an integer. This generalizes previous results which showed that the integrality holds forF satisfying the Yang-Mills equations. We actually prove the natural general result in all even dimensions larger than 2.
Synergy of Azlocillin and Mezlocillin Combined With Aminoglycoside Antibiotics and Cephalosporins

Abstract Synergistic activity between both azlocillin and mezlocillin and aminoglycosides or cefazolin could be demonstrated by checkerboard dilution, isobologram, and killing curve techniques. Azlocillin and mezlocillin combined with gentamicin, netilmicin, or amikacin were synergistic against Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Serratia, and indole-positive Proteus. Synergy was observed with isolates that were susceptible or resistant to azlocillin or mezlocillin. Synergy was seen most often when azlocillin or mezlocillin were combined with amikacin, gentamicin, or netilmicin against Pseudomonas aeruginosa. The combination of mezlocillin and an aminoglycoside produced synergy more often than did carbenicillin plus an aminoglycoside. No antagonism was seen when aminoglycoside antibiotics were combined with azlocillin or mezlocillin. Cefazolin was synergistic against Pseudomonas, Providencia, P. mirabilis, indole-positive Proteus, Citrobacter, Klebsiella, and Escherichia coli, when combined with azlocillin or mezlocillin. However, the combination of either agent with cefazolin was antagonistic when tested against selected indole-positive Proteus and Enterobacter isolates.
Web-based primer design for single nucleotide polymorphism analysis

The detection of single nucleotide polymorphisms by PCR is necessary for many types of genetic analysis, from mapping genomes to tracking specific mutations. This technique is most commonly used when polymorphisms alter restriction endonuclease recognition sites. Here we describe a web-based program, dCAPS Finder 2.0, that facilitates the design of mismatched PCR primers to create or remove a restriction endonuclease recognition site relative to the polymorphism being analyzed.
The practical value of cholecystography in surgery of the gall-bladder

Abstract Since its introduction by Graham and Cole in 1924, cholecystography, which is now very widely used throughout this country and abroad, has brought to the surgeon interested in the diseases of the gall-bladder a very practical and reliable means of pre-operative diagnosis. Not only is cholecystography valuable in gauging gall-bladder function, but also in determining the presence or absence, the character and number, the location and the behavior of gallstones. The method is also of practical importance in differentiating gallstones from other calculi in the right abdomen which might otherwise be misinterpreted.
Normative Premises in Regulatory Theory

Economics has developed important concepts of policy analysis that are widely applied to problems of regulation: cost-benefit analysis, the economics of property rights and techniques of constrained maximization. They encompass such lines of reasoning as: (1) the view that the property right should be assigned to the party to whom it is the most valuable; (2) the view that the burden should be placed on the party best situated to solve the problem at the lowest cost; (3) the view that regulation ipso facto creates inefficiencies and distortions; and (4) the view that law should promote efficiency.
A simplified adaptive fence procedure

Abstract In this short note, we propose a simplified adaptive fence procedure that reduces the computational burden of the adaptive fence procedure proposed by Jiang et al. [Jiang, J., Rao, J.S., Gu, Z., Nguyen, T., 2008. Fence methods for mixed model selection. Ann. Statist. 36, 1669–1692] for mixed model selection problems. The consistency property of the new procedure is established. Simulation results show that the new procedure performs very well in a small sample situation. The method is applied to a well-known data set in small area estimation.
Height on posets and graphs

A height function h is defined for any connected poset P with no infinite chains. A regularity condition which we call the minimal path condition is also defined. It is shown that the minimal path condition is equivalent to the gradability of P if h(x) = h(l) + h(u). It is shown that a poset P can be characterized by binary operations U, @? on the power set of P which generalize the usual inf and sup for lattices. A structure theorem for upper and lower semimodular posets is proved and some results are obtained concerning modular pairs in a poset. Finally, some applications of the above theory are given for digraphs.
Paleoecological evidence for abrupt cold reversals during peak Holocene warmth on Baffin Island, Arctic Canada

A continuous record of insect (Chironomidae) remains preserved in lake sediments is used to infer temperature changes at a small lake in Arctic Canada through the Holocene. Early Holocene summers at the study site were characterized by more thermophilous assemblages and warmer inferred temperatures than today, presumably in response to the positive anomaly in Northern Hemisphere summer insolation. Peak early Holocene warmth was interrupted by two cold reversals between 9.5 and 8 cal ka BP, during which multiple cold-stenothermous chironomid taxa appeared in the lake. The earlier reversal appears to correlate with widespread climate anomalies around 9.2 cal ka BP; the age of the younger reversal is equivocal but it may correlate with the 8.2 cal ka BP cold event documented elsewhere. Widespread, abrupt climate shifts in the early Holocene illustrate the susceptibility of the climate system to perturbations, even during periods of enhanced warmth in the Northern Hemisphere.
Effect of Subjectively Enhancing the Initial Vorticity Field in a Short-Range Numerical Forecast

The paper tests a simple method to incorporate subsynoptic-scale information into the initial conditions of a forecast model. The amplitude, orientation and vertical structure of the vorticity field associated with the subsynoptic-scale disturbance are estimated subjectively; this is done using a combination of climatological and physical models together with all available data. The initial values of geopotential are then obtained in the vicinity of the subsynoptic-scale disturbance, as over the rest of the domain, through the balance equation. Two sets of initial conditions are tested in 12-hr forecasts using a six-layer version of a primitive equation forecast model (Anthes and Warner, 1978). The analysis schemes consisted of (1) a careful subjective analysis of radiosonde data with a high-resolution objective interpolation, and (2) the same preceding analysis but including data derived from the enhanced vorticity fields in the vicinity of the subsynoptic-scale disturbance. The results are discussed in some detail.
Increased density of cortical apolipoprotein E immunoreactive neurons in rabbit brain after dietary administration of cholesterol

Rabbits were fed 2% cholesterol diet for 4, 6 and 8 weeks or control diet for 6 weeks. Frontal cortex and hippocampal formation were stained with apolipoprotein E (Apo-E) antibody using standard immunocytochemical methods. The number of neurons expressing the Apo-E epitope and the intensity of Apo-E immunoreactivity increased with increasing time on the cholesterol diet. Because Apo-E chaperones cholesterol in the brain, the data may suggest that elevated circulating levels of cholesterol eventually cause increased cerebral levels.
Psychiatry and the draft.

The military draft in the United States has influenced the middle class deeply in recent years. Old and young exhibit a draft-centered disaffection with established values, and the young are further corroded by draft-related psychopathology. This predicament of the middle class is shared by the psychiatrist, whose counseling and diagnoses can be contradicted arbitrarily by the needs of an implacable system.
Heroes and heroin : From true romance to pulp fiction

L'A. tente de mettre en evidence les raisons fondamentales qui ont fait du film Pulp Fiction, de Quentin Tarantino, un grand succes populaire. Considerant le film en tant que recit, il examine la relation entre narration cinematographique et genre litteraire. Il tente de montrer que le film Pulp Fiction est emblematique d'une categorie englobante de la culture populaire, mettant en evidence sa relation avec la premiere manifestation moderne de la fiction populaire depuis l'antiquite : la romance medievale de chevalerie. Tirant ses exemples comparatifs essentiellement de l'oeuvre de Chretien de Troyes, il suggere qu'il existe des similitudes entre certains elements du film et des textes medievaux. Il montre qu'il existe des figures narratives analogues qui revelent une continuite narrative depuis huit siecles, et qui sont l'expression seduisante d'intrigues archetypales qui refletent les espoirs, les peurs, et les aspirations materielles des cultures contemporaines respectives, assimilant et esthetisant notamment la violence.
Digitalis: New facts about an old drug∗

Abstract Present evidence suggests that the fundamental hemodynamic property of the digitalis glycosides to improve the contractile state of the myocardium rests upon the cellular action of the drugs to potentiate excitation-contraction coupling. This effect appears to be mediated by glycoside-induced enhancement of the concentration of calcium ions in the endoplasm surrounding the myofibrils at the time of cardiac contraction. It is likely that the arrhythmiaprovoking properties of digitalis are related to the loss of intracellular potassium and the inhibition by the drug of the membrane pump ATPase system required for maintaining intracellular potassium concentrations. The postulation that the inotropic and certain toxic actions of digitalis are mediated by different mechanisms is helpful clinically since the two properties of the glycoside can be dissociated by the administration of potassium. The over-all metabolic and hemodynamic effects of the glycosides are closely dependent on the state of the circulation at the time the agent is employed. Thus, the drugs have the direct property of increasing the oxygen utilization of the myocardium while producing their inotropic effect, manifested by a rise in the velocity of contraction, and in this respect they possess no unique ability to improve the efficiency of the heart. However, this action to increase myocardial oxygen requirements is masked and offset in the presence of heart failure, since the reduction of myocardial systolic wall tension by the drug diminishes the oxygen demand of the heart more than the direct inotropic effect tends to augment it. Similarly, the alterations of cardiocirculatory dynamics produced by the drug are related to the hemodynamic condition of the patient. Thus, in the absence of heart failure, the inotropic effect is not translated into an increase in cardiac output. In contrast, in patients with congestive heart failure, the improvement of the contractile state of the failing myocardium by the glycoside elevates the cardiac output to a marked degree, allowing a diminution of the elevated adrenergically-induced arteriolar resistance and venous tone and a shift of venous blood out of the portal into the systemic venous compartment. Thus, digitalis possesses both direct and indirect cardiac and extracardiac actions, and the over-all alterations of circulatory dynamics depend on the hemodynamic status of the patient.
New pathway for δ-aminolevulinic acid biosynthesis: Formation from α-ketoglutaric acid by two partially purified plant enzymes

Abstract Two enzymes which catalyze the formation of δ-aminolevulinic acid in two steps from α-ketoglutaric acid have been partially purified from Zea mays leaf extracts. The enzymes catalyze the following reactions: (1) a novel NADH-dependent reduction of the 1-carboxyl group of α-ketoglutarate, yielding 4,5-dioxovaleric acid, followed by (2) a transamination of this product with L-alanine to yield δ-aminolevulinate. The dehydrogenase cannot be demonstrated in crude extracts since it is masked by glutamic dehydrogenase. This pathway, in which the 5-carbon skeleton of α-ketoglutarate is utilized intact for δ-aminolevulinate formation, differs radically from the classical δ-aminolevulinate synthase reaction between glycine and succinyl-CoA.
Comparison between amorphous Ni-Zr alloys formed by solid state reaction and by codeposition

Abstract We have studied three kinds of amorphous Ni-Zr alloy thin films, prepared by solid state reaction in layered nickel and zirconium films and by dual electron gun codeposition. The codeposited films have a homogeneous composition of Ni 1 Zr 1 and Ni 1 Zr 2 . The reacted alloys have a composition gradient ranging roughly from Ni 50 Zr 50 to Ni 64 Zr 36 . The alloys have been characterized by differential scanning calorimetry, in situ resistivity measurement, transmission electron microscopy and Rutherford backscattering spectra. A comparison has been made of the three kinds of amorphous alloys in terms of their stabilities, crystallization behavior and diffusion characteristics.
Visualization and Measurement of Flow in Two-Dimensional Paper Networks

The two-dimensional paper network (2DPN) is a versatile new microfluidic format for performing complex chemical processes. For chemical detection, for example, 2DPNs have the potential to exceed the capabilities and performance of existing paper-based lateral flow devices at a comparable cost and ease of use. To design such 2DPNs, it is necessary to predict 2D flow patterns and velocities within them, but because of the scattering of the paper matrix, conventional particle imaging velocimetry is not practical. In this note, we demonstrate two methods for visualization of flow in 2DPNs that are inexpensive, easy to implement, and quantifiable.
Ponderable soliton stars and cosmic background radiation

A theory is developed to describe the possible perturbations of the cosmic background radiation (CBR) by radiation from ponderable soliton stars in the early universe. Since the temperature of such stars is in the range of 10 to the 6th K, thermalization of their emitted radiation is possible. Two models are considered: one in which thermalization is ignored and one in which decoupling from thermalization is considered as a sudden process. The expected perturbation of the CBR is probably less than 1 percent and is largely around the short-wavelength end, in the form of point radio sources. This result is consistent with the most recent COBE measurements.
Multiple forms of starch branching enzyme of maize: Evidence for independent genetic control

Abstract Purification of starch branching enzymes from kernels of two nonlinked mutants of maize, sugary and amylose-extender , showed the basis of the two mutations to be associated with branching enzymes I and IIb, respectively. Branching enzyme I from sugary kernels purified as nonmutant branching enzyme I, but had an altered pattern of activity when amylose was used as a substrate. In addition to the typical fall in absorbance at high wavelengths (550–700 nm) of the amylose-iodine complex, branching of amylose by sugary branching enzyme I caused an increase in absorbance at low wavelengths (400–550 nm). Branching enzyme IIb was undetected in extracts of amylose-extender kernels, while branching enzymes I and IIa appeared unaltered. Low umprimed starch synthase activity was also observed in DEAE-cellulose fractions of amylose-extender maize, but this activity was regenerated by the addition of any branching enzyme.
Restoration Principles and Criteria: Superfund Program Policy for Cleanup at Radiation Contaminated Sites

The United State’s Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) Office of Superfund Remediation and Technology Innovation (OSRTI) is responsible for implementing the long-term (non-emergency) portion of a key U.S. law regulating cleanup: the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act, CERCLA, nicknamed “Superfund.” The purpose of the Superfund program is to protect human health and the environment over the long term from releases or potential releases of hazardous substances from abandoned or uncontrolled hazardous waste sites. The focus of this paper is on Superfund, including how radiation is addressed by the Superfund program.
Interacting limits to algal growth: Light, phosphorus, and carbon dioxide availability

Abstract Most studies of limiting factors to algal growth seek to quantify the effect of individual factors. However, rates and amounts of photosynthetic carbon fixation in laboratory cultures of Anacystis nidulans show simultaneous dependence on the availability of phosphorus, carbon dioxide, and light. Thus, not all limiting factors may act independently to control algal growth in aquatic systems, and further research into the extent of such interactions is needed.
Factorization of coherence functions

Abstract A general and vigorous proof of the theorem that unimodularity of coherent indices leads to the factorizability of coherence functions is given.
Life is a shell game.

The article discusses the term "vacancy chain," which is used by sociologists and economists to describe a sequential exchange of resources that benefits every individual in sequence. The author relates his experience of observing vacancy chains in hermit crabs and discusses the first studies of vacancy chains in human beings. Also discussed is how the study of vacancy chains in animals may help improve the way resources, such as apartments, automobiles, and jobs, are distributed among human beings.
The conference on information resources for the campus of the future: a report

New opportunities now exist for the publication, acquisition, and distribution of knowledge. Libraries can play a major role in the adoption and utilization of technology related to these opportunities. These activities will be additive—they will not, at this time, replace traditional resources and services. Librarians possess certain skills that will remain important to the organization, classification, and dissemination of knowledge. But they will have to develop additional capabilities, and a willingness to accept and handle new technologies, in order to assure important roles in the future.
Déjà vu All Over Again: Investigating Temporal Continuity of Adolescent Victimization

An important theoretical issue in the study of criminal victimization focuses on state dependence or the extent to which prior victimization causally affects subsequent victimization. Framing this issue are two conceptual arguments that posit divergent predictions regarding the impact of past victimization. While “victim labeling” suggests that the experience of prior victimization increases victimization in the future, “victim rationality” suggests that past victimization decreases subsequent victimization. To date there has been little longitudinal research that explicitly evaluates these competing viewpoints. In response, the current study uses panel data from a sample of adolescents to assess the merit of these opposing theoretical frameworks. Against this theoretical backdrop, it is shown that prevailing strategies for the analysis of panel data—random-effects and fixed-effects—produce erroneous results that add confusion to the debate regarding the nature of state dependence processes in criminal victimization. Drawing from advances in econometrics, two estimators that can overcome the problems that plague more traditional panel data models are used to provide a test of the competing victimization perspectives. Results from those analyses suggest support for the thesis that past victimization increases subsequent victimization, but the magnitude of this positive relationship is more modest than is indicated by analytic models that have been utilized in prior longitudinal victimization research.
Transient Bacteremia Associated with Percutaneous Liver Biopsy

Transient bacteremia associated with percutaneous liver biopsy was studied by pour-plate blood cultures, which were obtained immediately before and after the procedure and 5, 10, 15, and 30 min later in 89 patients. Part of the liver tissue was also cultured in all patients. Histological diagnoses included hepatitis, cirrhosis, cholangitis, fatty liver, granulomata, metastatic liver disease, lymphoma, and miscellaneous disorders. All blood cultures obtained before liver biopsy were sterile. Bacteremia was demonstrable in 12 patients (13.48%). In most of these patients, blood cultures were positive for as long as 15 min after liver biopsy; all cultures were negative at 30 min. Among the bacteria associated with 12 episodes of bacteremia were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Bacteroides, enterococci, diphtheroids, Staphylococcus aureus, alpha-hemolytic Streptococcus, and Streptococcus pneumoniae. The patients with positive liver biopsies had a higher incidence of bacteremia (83.3%) than did the patients whose liver biopsies were sterile (8.r%); this difference is stastically significant (P smaller than 0.01). Thus, liver biopsy can be associated with transient bactermia.
Editor's overview: mentoring interventions that facilitate development, reflection, and change in educational settings

This volume of Mentoring & Tutoring: Partnership in Learning addresses mentoring interventions that facilitate development, reflection, and change in educational settings. The authors discuss theor...
Indications for simultaneous orthognathic and septorhinoplastic surgery.

Abstract Orthognathic and rhinoplastic surgery can be combined successfully when certain guidelines are understood. Relative indications and contrain-dications have been established that generally yield predictable results. Tip position (rotation and projection) may be the most difficult aspect to predict and, therefore, is best avoided during simultaneous surgery. Major deformities of the dorsum can be easily corrected in conjunction with maxillary surgery. Three cases demonstrating these guidelines are presented and discussed.
Cultivating an awesome IT staff

Good IT staff are hard to keep -- or are they? Hiring the right people must be a priority; keeping them on board is just as important. Setting priorities in hiring and screening all applicants is essential to maintaining a dedicated staff. Once good staff are on board, it's the small things that count, although a bit of funding for professional development is always nice.
IL‐18 gene promoter −137C/G and −607C/A polymorphisms in Chinese Han children with type 1 diabetes mellitus

Summary Type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) is a heterogeneous autoimmune disease, and both environmental and genetic factors play a role in its pathogenesis. Interleukin (IL)-18 is a potent pro-inflammatory cytokine capable of inducing interferon-gamma production that is associated with the development of T1DM. The gene for IL-18 is located on chromosome 11q22.2-q22.3 and has been reported to be associated with a susceptibility to T1DM. To test the putative involvement between IL-18 gene polymorphism and predisposition to T1DM, we conducted a case-control study in Chinese Han children. The single nucleotide polymorphisms at position −607(C/A) and −137(C/G) in the promoter region of the IL-18 gene were analysed by sequence-specific primers-polymerase chain reaction in 118 patients with T1DM and 150 healthy controls. (1) The allele frequency of −607A was 41.2% and 53.0%, respectively, in patients and in control subjects (P = 0.01), but the allele frequency of −137C/G was not statistically significant (P = 0.37). (2) The distribution of CC genotype at position −607 was significantly different between patients and normal controls (P = 0.03), while the distribution of AA genotype in patients was significantly lower than that in the controls (P = 0.03). (3) Furthermore, there was a significant increase in haplotype (−137C/−607G) and genotype combination (−137GG/ −607CC) in patients compared with controls (P = 0.03 and P = 0.04, respectively). The results of this study show that IL-18 gene promoter polymorphisms confer susceptibility to T1DM in Chinese Han children. Moreover, subjects carrying AA genotype at position −607 of the promoter of IL-18 gene may be a low risk of T1DM development.
Cooling Power Transformers by Forced Circulation of Cooling Medium

The paper discusses the various methods that have been used in cooling power transformers by forced circulation of the cooling medium, and points out the benefits 1. To the war effort in the saving of critical materials. 2. To the user in first cost, shipment, installation, station layout, and mobility. The selection of proper control equipment is analyzed from the standpoint of protection and reliability of forced cooling. The relation between hot-spot and average winding temperatures and the future for forced cooling after the war is discussed.
Nitric-oxide-guanylyl-cyclase-dependent and -independent components of multiple forms of long-term synaptic depression

Long-term depression (LTD) of synaptic strength is induced by glutamate-triggered increases in postsynaptic [Ca2+], through either influx or release from intracellular stores. Induction of LTD has also been reported to require release of Ca2+ from presynaptic stores and activation of presynaptic Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II. This finding leads to the hypothesis that the intercellular messenger nitric oxide (NO) may be a means by which postsynaptic Ca2+ triggers changes expressing LTD in presynaptic terminals. We report that bath application of the oxadiazoloquinoxalone derivative ODQ (5 μM), a selective inhibitor of NO-sensitive guanylyl cyclase (NOGC), markedly attenuated (90%) the magnitude of LTD induced by low-frequency stimulation (LFS; 1 Hz/15 min) of Schaffer collateral-CA1 synapses in hippocampal slices in vitro. Both the NO donor S-nitroso-N-acetylpenicillamine (100 μM) and the membrane-permeant cyclic guanine 3′,5′-monophosphate (cGMP) analogue 8-(4-chlorophenylthio) guanosine (8-pCPT)-cGMP (50 μM) enhanced the magnitude of LTD, which is consistent with the hypothesis that activation of NOGC plays a role in the induction of LTD. Nicotinamide (20 mM), an inhibitor of NO-activated ADP ribosyltransferase, did not impair the induction of LTD. In contrast to de novo LTD, the reversal of long-term potentiation by LFS (depotentiation) was only partially blocked (55%) by ODQ, and heterosynaptic LTD was not impaired at all, suggesting that there are both NOGC-dependent and -independent forms of LTD. Because postsynaptic intracellular infusion of ODQ (500 μM) failed to block the induction of LTD, we conclude that activation of presynaptic NOGC is a necessary step in the induction of an NOGC-dependent component of LTD. Hippocampus 7:286–295, 1997. © 1997 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
New macrosegregation criteria for quality problems in continuous casting of steel

To estimate the quality condition in continuously cast steel slabs, simple but accurate macrosegregation criteria have been proposed. The formation of macrosegregation phenomena in continuous casting of peritectic carbon steels has been investigated by metallographic study of collected slab samples. The metallographic study involved plant trails to collect the slab samples and to prepare them for chemical macrosegregation analysis. The experimental results show a fluctuation of carbon between positive and negative segregation with distance from slab surface based on the cooling conditions experienced by the slab. Via mathematical analysis, formulae of average macrosegregation level ASL, its fluctuation level FSL and its segregation quality number SQN have been developed. The results calculated by these formulae show good agreement with the description of the formation mechanisms of different continuous casting defects and their locations. Therefore, these calculations illustrated that macrosegregation cri...
Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security

Regions and Powers: The Structure of International Security. By Barry Buzan and Ole Waever. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2004. 596p. 32.99 paper.This book is based on the assumptions that the regional level of security has always been important, has grown in importance over the past seven or so decades, and has emerged as especially prominent with the end of the Cold War. Unfortunately, neorealists are unable to recognize the increasing importance of regional interactions because they focus exclusively on the global level. Equally regrettable is the fact that newer globalization perspectives are unable to capture regional security relations adequately because they, too, severely downgrade the importance of states and/or assume that reactions to forces like globalization do not meaningfully differ across regions. Consequently, these prominent theoretical schools are increasingly unsuccessful at making sense of reality.
A signaling complex of Ca2+-calmodulin-dependent protein kinase IV and protein phosphatase 2A.

Stimulation of T lymphocytes results in a rapid increase in intracellular calcium concentration ([Ca2+]i) that parallels the activation of Ca2+-calmodulin–dependent protein kinase IV (CaMKIV), a nuclear enzyme that can phosphorylate and activate the cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) response element–binding protein (CREB). However, inactivation of CaMKIV occurs despite the sustained increase in [Ca2+]i that is required for T cell activation. A stable and stoichiometric complex of CaMKIV with protein serine-threonine phosphatase 2A (PP2A) was identified in which PP2A dephosphorylates CaMKIV and functions as a negative regulator of CaMKIV signaling. In Jurkat T cells, inhibition of PP2A activity by small t antigen enhanced activation of CREB-mediated transcription by CaMKIV. These findings reveal an intracellular signaling mechanism whereby a protein serine-threonine kinase (CaMKIV) is regulated by a tightly associated protein serine-threonine phosphatase (PP2A).
Rituximab and ICE as second-line therapy before autologous stem cell transplantation for relapsed or primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma

Patients with relapsed or primary refractory diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DLBCL) who achieve complete response (CR) before autologous stem cell transplantation (ASCT) generally have better outcomes than those who achieve only partial response (PR). We investigated whether adding rituximab to the ifosfamide-carboplatin-etoposide (ICE) chemotherapy regimen (RICE) could increase the CR rate of patients with DLBCL under consideration for ASCT. Thirty-six eligible patients were treated with RICE, and 34 received all 3 planned cycles. The CR rate was 53%, significantly better than the 27% CR rate (P =.01) achieved among 147 similar consecutive historical control patients with DLBCL treated with ICE; the PR rate was 25%. Febrile neutropenia was the most frequent grade 3 or 4 nonhematologic toxicity; it occurred in 7.5% of delivered cycles. No patient had RICE-related toxicity that precluded ASCT. The median number of CD34(+) cells per kilogram mobilized was 6.3 x 10(6). Progression-free survival rates of patients who underwent transplantation after RICE were marginally better than those of 95 consecutive historical control patients who underwent transplantation after ICE (54% vs 43% at 2 years; P =.25). RICE appears to induce very high CR rates in patients with relapsed and refractory DLBCL; however, further studies are necessary to determine whether this treatment regimen will improve outcomes after ASCT.