cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The “Big Five” personality traits of presidents and the relaxation of term limits in Latin America

Thirty-one presidents from every Latin American country – excluding Mexico – who were governing from 1945 to 2012 tried forty times to change the constitution of their countries to overstay in offi...
Connectivity Properties of Generalized K4-Hypercubes

We consider the class of generalized hypercubes constructed recursively from the graph K4 by repeatedly taking two copies of such a graph with a perfect matching added in between. We show that all ...
Military Medicine and the Making of Race: Life and Death in the West India Regiments, 1795–1874

Pinpointing exactly how people came to believe that innate racial differences exist remains a challenge for many scholars. Tim Lockley demonstrates he is up to this challenge with his latest book, ...
Investigation of the effects of microalgal cell concentration and electroporation, microwave and ultrasonication on lipid extraction efficiency

This study investigated the effects of Chlorella vulgaris (C. vulgaris) concentrations and pretreatment methods, electroporation, ultrasonication, and microwave, on lipids extraction. The C. vulgaris concentrations were varied in the range of 8.4–28.8% for chloroform/methanol/water solvent system and in the range of 7.6–32.0% for n-hexane/methanol/water solvent system. A maximum total lipid yield of 0.248 g/g of dry C. vulgaris was achieved at biomass concentration of about 15% for the chloroform/methanol/water system. This is the highest yield reported for lipids extracted without pretreatment. On the other hand, a maximum lipids yield of 0.139 g/g of dry C. vulgaris was obtained at about 24% biomass concentration for the n-hexane/methanol/water system. When pretreated with electroporation, ultrasonication, and microwave, the yield for lipid extraction increased by 5.3, 26.4, and 28.9%, respectively. Although electroporation resulted in the least amount of yield, it was the most efficient in terms of energy gain per energy input.
Human immunodeficiency virus type 1 neutralizing antibodies accelerate clearance of cell–free virions from blood plasma

The concentration of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV–1) particles in blood plasma is very predictive of the subsequent disease course in an infected individual; its measurement has become one of the most important parameters for monitoring clinical status1. Steady–state virus levels in plasma reflect a balance between the rates of virions entering and leaving the peripheral blood2. We analyzed the rate of virus clearance in the general circulation in rhesus macaques receiving a continuous infusion of cell–free particles in the presence and absence of virus–specific antibodies. Here we show, by measuring virion RNA, particle–associated p24 Gag protein and virus infectivity, that the clearance of physical and infectious particles from a primary, dual–tropic virus isolate, HIV–1DH12, is very rapid in naive animals, with half–lives ranging from 13 to 26 minutes. In the presence of high–titer HIV–1DH12–specific neutralizing antibodies, the half–life of virion RNA was considerably reduced (to 3.9–7.2 minutes), and infectious virus in the blood became undetectable. Although physical virus particles were eliminated extravascularly, the loss of virus infectivity in the blood reflected the combined effects of extravascular clearance and intravascular inactivation of HIV–1 infectivity due to antibody binding.
Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II: Data Overview

The Panel Study of Entrepreneurial Dynamics II offers a nationally-representative database for the United States to offer systematic, reliable, and generalizable data on the business formation process. It includes information on the proportion and characteristics of the adult population attempting to start new businesses, the kinds of activities nascent entrepreneurs undertake during the business start-up process and the proportion and characteristics of the start-up efforts that become infant firms. The PSED II follows a cohort of nascent entrepreneurs for three years beginning in 2005. Download the slides at: http://papers.ssrn.com/paper=1028256 Download the audio file at: http://papers.ssrn.com/paper=1029971
Descartes’s Secular Semantics

Abstract … if we bear well in mind the scope of our senses and what it is exactly that reaches our faculty of thinking by way of them, we must admit that in no case are the ideas of things presented to us by the senses just as we form them in our thinking. So much so that there is nothing in our ideas which is not innate to the mind or the faculty of thinking, with the sole exception of those circumstances which relate to experience, such as the fact that we judge that this or that idea which we now have immediately before our mind refers to a certain thing situated outside us. We make such a judgment not because these things transmit the ideas to our mind through the sense organs, but because they transmit something which, at exactly that moment, gives the mind occasion to form these ideas by means of the faculty innate to it. Nothing reaches our mind from external objects through the sense organs except certain corporeal motions… in accordance with my own principles. But neither the motions themselves n...
From Service to Solidarity: Engaged Education and Democratic Globalization

In this essay, I argue that the market-model university undermines the engaged education movement by supporting a mode of global organization that rewards values and practices opposed to those of social justice, human rights, ecological sustainability, and global community. On the basis of this argument, I propose that we may achieve the goals of the engaged education movement by working to construct a relational economy or economic democracy. Borrowing from Suzanne C. Toton, I also propose that we move from conceptualizing educational engagement as service to conceptualizing it as solidarity. Finally, I propose that our work be oriented less toward educating individuals to be good citizens and more toward educating them to be what Martin Luther King, Jr., describes as transformed non-conformists, persons committed to and capable of building a society that affirms the dignity of all persons by ensuring that every individual is able to enjoy a dignified life.
Influence of Water Injection on Performance and Emissions of a Direct-Injection Hydrogen Research Engine

The application of hydrogen (H{sub 2}) as an internal combustion (IC) engine fuel has been under investigation for several decades. The favorable physical properties of hydrogen make it an excellent alternative fuel for IC engines and hence it is widely regarded as the energy carrier of the future. Direct injection of hydrogen allows optimizing this potential as it provides multiple degrees of freedom to influence the in-cylinder combustion processes and consequently engine efficiency and exhaust emissions.
Thermoresponsive Double Network Micropillared Hydrogels for Controlled Cell Release

Thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide) hydrogels (PNIPAAm) have been widely used for controlled cell detachment. In this study, cell release is enhanced via deswelling with a two-pronged approach combining a double network (DN) design and micropatterning. PNIPAAm hydrogels are prepared as DNs comprised of a tightly crosslinked 1st network and a loosely crosslinked 2nd network. Moreover, the PNIPAAm DN hydrogels are prepared as both planar 1.5 mm-thick slabs as well as micropillar arrays (≈200 μm pillar diameter). Compared to the corresponding conventional single network (SN) hydrogels, DN hydrogels exhibit enhanced thermosensitivity and cell release efficiency, particularly for the micropillar arrays.
OBSERVATIONS OF γ‐RAY BURSTSfn1

Observational data on gamma-ray bursts are reviewed. Information is grouped into temporal properties, energy fluxes and spectral properties, and directions and distributions of the sources in space. (BJG)
Neutralism and Entrepreneurship: The Structural Dynamics of Startups, Young Firms, and Job Creation

An increasing number of studies and reports have shown that new and young companies account for most net job creation in the United States. This empirically documented reality, however, is not exclusively a result of new and young companies being particularly prolific or idiosyncratically superior to other firms. Indeed, concepts such as job creation and entrepreneurship increasingly are conflated with young and small firms. Yet the age breakdown of job creation is partly a reflection of the dynamics of firm accumulation - how firms enter and exit and survive over a period of time. In any given year in the U.S. economy, new and young companies represent a plurality of all firms in the economy. That is, they make up the largest bloc of firms by age category, meaning their considerable job creation record is partly structural. This does not mitigate the contribution of these companies to job creation, but that contribution must be seen in the proper structural context.
Wojciech Cwalina, Andrzej Falkowski, & Bruce I. Newman. (2011). Political Marketing: Theoretical and Strategic Foundations

Political Marketing: Theoretical and Strategic Foundations is a fairly comprehensive treatment of political marketing as an applied science. The authors state that democracies are built upon the pr...
The syntactic representation of perfectivity

In Russian, optionally transitive verbs become obligatorily transitive with the addition of a lexical perfective prefix. This paper gives a Distributed Morphology approach to this problem. It argues that the Roots that underlie these verbs introduce no argument; in the imperfective case, the object is introduced by the verbalizing head, while in the perfective case, the object is introduced by the perfective prefix itself. The perfective prefix combines with the Root before it combines with the verbalizing head to create an altered Root that is interpreted as a state and introduces an internal argument. The analysis is then extended to explain some interesting asymmetries between imperfective and perfective verbs with passive participles and negation.
Comparison of coronary and aortic atherosclerosis in youth from Japan and the USA

This paper reports the results of the largest autopsy-based comparative study of atherosclerotic lesions between young Japanese and Americans, aged 15–34 years and autopsied between 1987 and 1995, by analyzing the data from the Japanese second nation-wide study of atherosclerosis and Pathobiological Determinants of Atherosclerosis in Youth study in the USA. In the right coronary arteries, in Japanese, fatty streaks were well established in the second decade of life with very little increase in the remaining age groups up to age of 34 years. In contrast, in American subjects, the average percentage of surface involvement of fatty streaks and raised lesions proceeded steadily with age without an obvious plateau throughout the 20-year period. The extent and prevalence of the raised lesions was much greater in Americans than in Japanese in 25–29 and 30–34-year age groups. Moreover, the rate of progression of raised lesions was much more rapid in Americans. These findings are in keeping with the fact that coronary heart disease (CHD) death rates are much higher in the USA than in Japan. In light of data showing that the risk factor profiles for CHD have become very similar between the two countries, these differences need to be explained.
Exercise-induced changes in plasma lipids and lipoproteins

Abstract Men and women who participate in vigorous endurance-type exercise generally have plasma lipid and lipoprotein profiles consistent with lower risk for coronary heart disease. The major differences from matched physically inactive controls appear to be a lower plasma triglyceride concentration and greater high-density lipoprotein mass, due to increased levels of the subfraction HDL 2 and apoprotein A-I. Plasma low-density lipoprotein cholesterol concentration is less likely to be lower than in the inactive controls. Exercise training studies suggest a lower threshold—of around 1,000 kcal per week of endurancetype exercise at moderate intensity—seems to be required to produce plasma lipid or lipoprotein changes. Above this level, dose-response relationship exists, with greater changes occurring up to an expenditure of 4,500 kcal per week. From the limited data available, it appears more difficult to change the plasma lipoprotein concentration in women by exercise training than in men. Modification of activity of enzymes involved in triglyceride and cholesterol synthesis, transport, and catabolism most likely mediates these exercise induced changes.
The effect of disorder on the critical points in the vortex phase diagram of YBCO

The effect of line disorder induced by heavy ion irradiation and of point disorder induced by proton and electron irradiation on the upper and lower critical points in the vortex phase diagram of YBCO is presented. The authors find that dilute line disorder induces a Bose glass transition at low fields which is replaced at the lower critical point by first order melting at higher fields. Strong pinning point defects raise the lower critical point, while weak pinning point defects have little or no effect on the lower critical point. The upper critical point is lowered by point disorder, but raised by line disorder. First order melting is suppressed by point disorder in two ways, by lowering of the upper critical point only for weak point pins, or by merging of the upper and lower critical points for strong point pins. The differing responses of the upper and lower critical points to line and point disorder can be understood in a picture of transverse and longitudinal spatial fluctuations.
Modeling the effects of labor on housing reconstruction: A system perspective

Abstract The quick recovery and rebuilding of the housing stock after disaster (natural or man-made) is critical for an affected region, from the socio-economic perspective. The recovery efforts demand a considerable amount of time and resources. An efficient emergency management response system needs to be designed, with the intention of allowing a smooth post disaster reconstruction operation. This paper seeks to analyze the impacts of a disaster on labor for housing recovery and rebuilding of a devastated region. A System Dynamics (SD) model is proposed to mimic and explore the issue of labor force (namely, construction workers) management. The model describes the behavior of labor in the housing restoration process. It provides insights on the interactions between the labor force and the housing inventory management.
Early judgments of semantic and syntactic acceptability by children.

Judgments of the acceptability of correct, word order reversed, and semantically anomalous sentences were elicited from 2- and 3-year-old children in a game played with hand puppets. All of the sentences used were simple imperatives and each child was asked to correct those he called “wrong”. Performance on the judgment task was correlated with each child's mean length of utterance and with his comprehension of reversible active and passive sentences. Only the linguistically most advanced children were able to make a significant number of appropriate judgments and corrections of reversed word order imperatives. Less developed children could appropriately judge and correct semantically anomalous but not incorrect word order imperatives. The importance of semantic as opposed to syntactic factors in children's judgments of the acceptability of sentences is stressed.
Assessing Greater Sage-Grouse Breeding Habitat With Aerial and Ground Imagery

Anthropogenic disturbances, wildfires, and weedy-plant invasions have destroyed and fragmented many sagebrush (Artemisia L. spp.) habitats. Sagebrush-dependent species like greater sage-grouse (Centrocercus urophasianus) are vulnerable to these changes, making habitat monitoring essential to effective management. Conventional ground inventory methods are time consuming (expensive) and have lower data collection potentials than remote sensing. Our study evaluated the feasibility of ground (0.3-mm ground surface distance [GSD]) and aerial imagery (primarily, 1-mm GSD) to assess ground cover for big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt.) and other vegetation functional groups important in sage-grouse breeding habitat (lekking, nesting, and brood rearing). We surveyed ~526 km 2 of the upper Powder River watershed in Natrona County, Wyoming, USA, a region dominated by Wyoming big sagebrush (Artemisia tridentata Nutt. ssp. wyomingensis Beetle & Young) communities interspersed with narrow riparian corridors. Our study area was used year-round by sage-grouse and included 16 leks. In June 2010, we acquired aerial images (1-mm resolution) for 3228 systematic sampling locations; additional images were acquired as rapid-succession bursts where aerial transects crossed riparian areas and for 39 riparian and 39 upland ground locations (0.3-mm resolution) within 3.2-km of leks. We used SamplePoint software to quantify cover for plant taxa and functional groups using all ground images and a systematic sampling of aerial images. Canopy cover of sage-grouse food forbs— as averaged across aerial and ground imagery around all leks—was 1.8% and 7.8% in riparian and 0.5% and 4.0% in upland areas, respectively. Big sagebrush cover was 8.7% from upland aerial images and 9.4% from upland ground images. Aerial and ground imagery provided similar values for bare ground and shrubs in riparian and upland areas, whereas ground imagery provided finer-scale herbaceous-cover data that complemented the aerial imagery. These and other image-derived archival data provide a practical basis for landscape-scale management and are a cost-effective means for monitoring extensive sagebrush habitats.
Polymorphic (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats derived from a human brain cDNA library

Seven cDNA fragments containing polymorphic (AAT)n trinucleotide repeats were isolated from a human brain cDNA library and mapped by linkage to specific loci. These repeats may serve as gene markers or as candidates for diseases caused by expansion mutation.
Continuous cervical paravertebral catheter knot

The case of a 67 year-old woman who underwent left rotator cuff repair with subacromial decompression and acromioplasty with general anesthesia and a posterior cervical paravertebral catheter for postoperative pain control is presented. The catheter was placed without apparent incident and appropriate neural block and analgesia were achieved. On attempted removal of the catheter, resistance was encountered and a knot in the catheter was identified. Imaging showed no entanglement of nerve or vascular structures. Using a small skin incision, the catheter was successfully removed.
Permeability of Boric Acid Across Lipid Bilayers and Factors Affecting It

Boron enters plant roots as undissociated boric acid (H3BO3). Significant differences in B uptake are frequently observed even when plants are grown under identical conditions. It has been theorized that these differences reflect species differences in permeability coefficient of H3BO3 across plasma membrane. The permeability coefficient of boric acid however, has not been experimentally determined across any artificial or plant membrane. In the experiments described here the permeability coefficient of boric acid in liposomes made of phosphatidylcholine was 4.9 × 10−6 cm sec−1, which is in good agreement with the theoretical value. The permeability coefficient varied from 7 × 10−6 to 9.5 × 10−9 cm sec−1 with changes in sterols (cholesterol), the type of phospholipid head group, the length of the fatty acyl chain, and the pH of the medium. In this study we also used Arabidopsis thaliana mutants which differ in lipid composition to study the effect of lipid composition on B uptake. The chs1-1 mutant which has lower proportion of sterols shows 30% higher B uptake compared with the wild type, while the act1-1 mutant which has an increased percentage of longer fatty acids, exhibited 35% lower uptake than the wild type. Lipid composition changes in each of the remaining mutants influenced B uptake to various extents. These data suggest that lipid composition of the plasma membrane can affect total B uptake.
Handedness and language among the mentally retarded: Implications for the model of pathological left-handedness and gender differences in hemispheric specialization

The relationship between handedness and language was examined among 238 mentally retarded subjects representing the four DSM III classification ranges of mental retardation. Language ability was found to be significantly related to handedness, with an increased prevalence of left-handedness among those individuals with language deficits. In addition, both expressive and receptive language ability interacted with gender, with the main effects of each language variable being stronger for females than males. Although no main effects were found for severity of retardation, a significant interaction was found between severity and gender. Results support the model of pathological left-handedness and are discussed within the context of this theory, as well as with regard to gender differences in cerebral lateralization of language and cognitive functioning.
Optimally efficent implementation of Boolean functions used in 2D binary image processing

2D binary image processing algorithms frequently require the computation, for a pixel p, of some Boolean function of the values of a few pixels near p (e.g., the pixels in p's 8-neighborhood). For any such Boolean function over a given probability distribution on the space of its possible argument values, we present a method of generating a C implementation of the function that is, in a sense, optimally efficient. We introduce a measure for run-time efficiency as a result of generating the optimized C implementation, which is independent of the development platforms and the programming skills. Thus it can be regarded as a tool to measure the run-time efficiency of 2d binary image algorithms before even conducting actual experimental tests. Using a sample data set comparing with the evenly distributed probability data, we present our experimental results using our measure and analyze a number of thinning algorithms 5 based on our measure to evaluate the run-time performance of these binary image processing algorithms. Robert and Malandain 10 have done related work. However, they only considered function implementations that can be represented as ordered binary decision diagrams (OBDD)-i.e., implementations that evaluate the input arguments in the same order regardless of their values.
The Role of Use Scenarios in Developing a Community Health Information System

L'auteur presente l'application de scenarios d'utilisateurs dans la conception d'un systeme d'information de sante base sur le Web. Il s'agit ainsi d'adapter le systeme d'information au contexte social et aux besoins de ses usagers, ici les femmes noires americaines, pour mieux repondre a leurs attentes.
Home-centric visualization of network traffic for security administration

Today's system administrators, burdened by rapidly increasing network activity, must quickly perceive the security state of their networks, but they often have only text-based tools to work with. These tools often provide no overview to help users grasp the big-picture. Our interviews with administrators have revealed that they need visualization tools; thus, we present VISUAL (Visual Information Security Utility for Administration Live), a network security visualization tool that allows users to see communication patterns between their home (or internal) networks and external hosts. VISUAL is part of our Network Eye security visualization architecture, also described in this paper.We have designed and tested a new computer security visualization that gives a quick overview of current and recent communication patterns in the monitored network to the users. Many tools can detect and show fan-out and fan-in, but VISUAL shows network events graphically, in context. Visualization helps users comprehend the intensity of network events more intuitively than text-based tools can. VISUAL provides insight for networks with up to 2,500 home hosts and 10,000 external hosts, shows the relative activity of hosts, displays them in a constant relative position, and reveals the ports and protocols used.
Quantum hall effect of two-dimensional interacting boson systems

Abstract While non-interacting two-dimensional (2-D) boson systems cannot have the quantum Hall effect (QHE), we show that 2-D interacting boson systems can have the QHE if there is a downward cusp in the ground state energy. A necessary condition to have the QHE at filling factor v = p/q with σH = (p/q)e2/h is that p and q must satisfy eipqπ= 1, so the possible candidates are v = 2n1/(2n2 + 1) and (2n1 + 1)/2n2 where n1 and n2 are integers.
DNA-Based Magnetic Nanoparticle Assembly Acts as a Magnetic Relaxation Nanoswitch Allowing Screening of DNA-Cleaving Agents

Monodisperse magnetic nanoparticles conjugated with complementary oligonucleotide sequences self-assemble into stable magnetic nanoassemblies resulting in a decrease of the spin−spin relaxation times (T2) of neighboring water protons. When these nanoassemblies are treated with a DNA cleaving agent, the nanoparticles become dispersed, switching the T2 of the solution back to original values. These qualities render the developed nanoparticles and their nanoassemblies as magnetic relaxation switches capable of screening for DNA-cleaving compounds by magnetic resonance methods such as MRI and NMR.
Comparative specificity of rabbit antibody populations elicited to chemically modified sDNA.

Abstract A trinitrophenylation reaction specific for guanosyl residues (2'N position) was used to synthesize a modified deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) immunogen. Antibodies from a pool of hyperimmune antitrinitrophenyl (TNP)-denatured DNA (sDNA) antisera were resolved into subpopulations by various immunoadsorption and ligand elution schemes. Results indicate that anti-hapten (TNP) and anti-carrier (sDNA) antibodies were present and resolvable by immunoadsorption. Antibodies purified by absorption with trinitrophenyl-deoxyguanosine monophosphate-bovine serum albumin (TNP-dGMP-BSA)-cellulose adsorbent and elution with TNP-dGMP were preferentially specific for the trinitrophenyl immunodominant group. When the antiserum pool was incubated with the same adsorbent and eluted with dGMP, antibodies displaying similar specificities were harvested. Finally, when the pool was adsorbed with an sDNA adsorbent, antibodies to the four constituent bases were eluted. All purified antibody populations were analysed by equilibrium dialysis and ligand inhibition studies to determine hapten binding properties. Based on this model system, the data are discussed in terms of the specificities of antibody subpopulations elicited to chemically modified nucleic acids.
The three viruses of non-A, non-B hepatitis

L'hepatite non-A-non-B transmise par transfusion de sang. L'hepatite non-A-non-B transmise par facteurs de coagulation. L'hepatite non-A-non-B epidemique transmise par l'eau
Combat Trauma and Moral Fragmentation: A Theological Account of Moral Injury

Moral injury, the experience of having acted (or consented to others acting) incommensurably with one’s most deeply held moral conceptions, is increasingly recognized by the mental health disciplines to be associated with postcombat traumatic stress. In this essay I argue that moral injury is an important and useful clinical construct but that the phenomenon of moral injury beckons beyond the structural constraints of contemporary psychology toward something like moral theology. This something, embodied in specific communal practices, can rescue moral injury from the medical model and the means–end logic of techne and can allow for truthful, contextualized narration of and healing from morally fragmenting combat experiences.
Educational psychology and the reform of teacher education

Benton and Hoyt (1989) perform a service for educational psychology by obtaining empirical evidence about educational psychologists' reactions to changes in teacher education proposed by the Holmes Group and the Carnegie Commission. Their paper should serve to stimulate debate about the proper role of educational psychology in teacher education. In this paper, we challenge the empirical findings reported by Benton and Hoyt and suggest reasons why the findings may misrepresent educational psychologists' interest in teacher education. We argue that some of the Holmes and Carnegie recommendations contradict the emerging consensus among cognitive psychologists about the contextually bound nature of knowledge. Benton and Hoyt conceptualize educational psychology according to the traditional middleperson viewpoint and make recommendations with respect to educational psychology that presume this conceptualization. We counter that the middleperson viewpoint is being made obsolete by changes in psychology, and describe an alternative conception of educational psychology. This alternative conception leads to a set of alternative recommendations about the appropriate role of educational psychology in the reform of teacher education.
Alcohol dependence and simultaneous cocaine and alcohol use in cocaine-dependent patients.

Alcohol use and associated factors were studied in 124 consecutive cocaine-dependent admissions to an outpatient substance abuse clinic. Two analyses were conducted: First, those who did and did not meet criteria for current alcohol dependence were compared on sociodemographic and drug use characteristics. Second, patients who reported simultaneous cocaine and alcohol use on > 50% vs. ≤ 50% of the occasions that they used cocaine were compaired using the same dependent measures. Fifty-seven percent of patients met criteria for current alcohol dependence. Those with and without alcohol dependence did not differ on any sociodemographic characteristics, but those with dependence scored higher on the alcohol and family subscales of the Addiction Severity Index, the Michigan Alcoholism Screening Test, and measures of alcohol use, and were more likely to use cocaine and alcohol simultaneously, to use cocaine with friends and in social settings, and were more likely to report financial difficulties and unwanted ...
History of a stochastic growth model

One of the earliest models of stochastic growth was originally developed for simulating the appearance of various biological patterns; in particular, bacterial colonies. Although it received little attention from biologists, some twenty years later it was adopted by crystallographers, solid state researchers, other physicists and chemists. Because of the model's flexibility it is being used by them after modifications appropriate to the application, in order to simulate their physical study objects under a variety of conditions. Only within the last few years has there been any interest in using this and similar digital models to represent the possible products of biological processes. It is also worth noting that aside from its relevance to probabilistically influenced pattern formation, the model has possible use in image processing for image compression and as an information-lossless way to code, regions, contours, or line segments.
Cellular Response to Human Acetylcholine Receptor in Patients with Myasthenia Gravis

Abstract A preparation of human skeletal muscle acetylcholine receptor (AchR) was used in vitro as an antigen to stimulate lymphocytes from patients with myasthenia gravis (MG). Clinical data obtained from the patients included duration and severity of disease; history of steroid treatment or prior thymectomy; and the presence of thymoma. Lymphocytes from patients with MG showed a significantly higher response to human AchR antigen than did lymphocytes from control subjects. Previous studies of cellular response to AchR have receptor prepared from eel or ray electric organs. By stimulating lymphocytes from MG patients with a preparation of human AchR, we have come one step closer to documenting a possible contribution of a cellular immune response to the pathogenesis of MG.
An Aberrant Parthenogenetic Chicken Embryo

Abstract A virgin Dark Cornish hen laid an egg which began to develop parthenogenetically. The embryo thus formed was harvested for chromosomal analysis after twenty-two hours of incubation. A unique translocation between one member of each of the largest and third largest pairs of chromosomes was found in all thirty-seven metaphase cells observed. Because of the heteromorphic karyotype and the parthenogenetic character of this embryo, it is conclusive evidence for the occurrence of a chromatid exchange at Meiosis II.
Highly chlorinated dimethanofluorenes in technical chlordane and in human adipose tissue

Several new components of technical chlordane were discovered using electron capture, negative ionization gas chromatographic mass spectrometry. These compounds have 10–12 chlorines and are produced by the condensation of three cyclopentadiene molecules. The most abundant compound has a molecular weight of 606 and has the elemental composition C15H6Cl12. This compound and a series of related compounds were also identified as contaminants in human adipose tissue samples. These compounds are approximately 0.01–0.03% of the technical chlordane mixture, and they have average concentrations in human adipose tissue of 0.4–0.7 ng per gram of fat. They are more highly retained in human adipose tissue than chlordane-like compounds containing eight or fewer chlorine atoms.
Spatial analysis and land use regression of VOCs and NO2 from school-based urban air monitoring in Detroit/Dearborn, USA

Passive ambient air sampling for nitrogen dioxide (NO2) and volatile organic compounds (VOCs) was conducted at 25 school and two compliance sites in Detroit and Dearborn, Michigan, USA during the summer of 2005. Geographic Information System (GIS) data were calculated at each of 116 schools. The 25 selected schools were monitored to assess and model intra-urban gradients of air pollutants to evaluate impact of traffic and urban emissions on pollutant levels. Schools were chosen to be statistically representative of urban land use variables such as distance to major roadways, traffic intensity around the schools, distance to nearest point sources, population density, and distance to nearest border crossing. Two approaches were used to investigate spatial variability. First, Kruskal–Wallis analyses and pairwise comparisons on data from the schools examined coarse spatial differences based on city section and distance from heavily trafficked roads. Secondly, spatial variation on a finer scale and as a response to multiple factors was evaluated through land use regression (LUR) models via multiple linear regression. For weeklong exposures, VOCs did not exhibit spatial variability by city section or distance from major roads; NO2 was significantly elevated in a section dominated by traffic and industrial influence versus a residential section. Somewhat in contrast to coarse spatial analyses, LUR results revealed spatial gradients in NO2 and selected VOCs across the area. The process used to select spatially representative sites for air sampling and the results of coarse and fine spatial variability of air pollutants provide insights that may guide future air quality studies in assessing intra-urban gradients.
Theory of the Seebeck coefficient in LaCrO3 and related perovskite systems.

We consider the Seebeck coefficient in ${\mathrm{LaCrO}}_{3}$ and related transition-metal-oxide perovskites using a model for electronic conduction based on the electronic structure of the 3d orbitals of the B-site transition-metal cations. Relations for the Seebeck coefficient are presented for those perovskite systems in which electronic conduction is through the ${\mathit{t}}_{2\mathit{g}}$ states of the B-site transition-metal cations. High- and low-temperature limits for the Seebeck coefficient are identified for the cases of both strong and weak magnetic coupling between electron spins. In these high- and low-temperature limits, the Seebeck coefficient is determined as a function of carrier concentration. Results are applied to an analysis of experimental data for the (La,Sr)${\mathrm{CrO}}_{3}$ series. \textcopyright{} 1996 The American Physical Society.
Symmetry-Driven Rational Design of a Tetrahedral Supramolecular Ti4L4 Cluster

General design principles for the formation of tetrahedral M4L4 clusters (L=ligand) are outlined and exemplified by the formation and structure of the [Ti4L4]8− species pictured on the right.
Release of Aluminum from Clays in an Acid Rock Drainage Environment

Aluminum concentrations in low pH acid rock drainage (ARD) commonly exceed the freshwater aquatic toxicity threshold. An Al-containing ARD released from pyritic sandstone and shale fill along US. Interstate 80 in Center County, Pennsylvania has adversely impacted a former fishing stream. This ARD consistently contains low concentrations (<2 mg/L) of Fe and high concentrations (≈48 mg/L) of Al. Batch experiments conducted with kaolinite and H/Al-bentonite clays and clay soils collected from the Centre County, PA area suggests that synthetic brackish ARD enhances the release of Al from these clays, compared to synthetic acid (sulfuric) only and non-brackish ARD. This implies that highway deicing salts in road runoff could aggravate the leaching of Al from pyritic rocks used as fill or exposed in road cuts. Likewise, the use of ARD to enhance the production of natural gas from tight shales could result in the leaching of Al. Quantification of levels of Al released from field clays could be critical when considering remediation strategies.
The duodenal progenitor population. III. The progenitor cell cycle of principal, goblet and paneth cells

The duodenal progenitor population has been investigated with tritium thymidine (H3-T) and autoradiography in male Swiss albino mice to characterize the role that individual cell types (principal, goblet, and Paneth) have in the proliferative activity of the duodenal crypt of Lieberkuhn. Incorporation of H3-T into newly synthesized DNA of all three cell types was observed by one-half after injection of the isotope. Labeled principal and goblet cells were distributed from the first cell of the cryptal mouth to the last cell at the cryptal base. The majority of labeled cells was found in the central region of the crypt Labeled Paneth cells were restricted to the last four cells at the cryptal base. Analysis of the percentage of labeled metaphase and mitotic figures after H3-T administration showed that the progenitor cycle duration of principal and goblet cells was about 15 hours, while that of Paneth cells was approximately 80 hours. The mean S-phase duration was 7.4, 7.4 and 8.7 hours for principal, goblet, and Paneth cells, respectively. Thus, the G1 portion of the cell cycle was considerably longer for Paneth cells, while all phases of the progenitor cycle were of the same duration for principal and goblet cells. It appears from the data that the three cell types of the adult duodenal crypt comprise independent populations capable of self-renewal. Our observations also suggest the existence of causal relationships between the positioning of the proliferative cells types in the duodenal microenvironment and their respective cycle durations.
How Did Health Care Reform in Massachusetts Impact Insurance Premiums

It is widely recognized that the 2006 Massachusetts health reforms served as a blueprint for national reform under the 2010 Affordable Care Act (ACA). As such, there is interest in using the Massachusetts experience to understand how insurance premiums might change under the ACA. In this paper, we analyze changes in private insurance premiums in Massachusetts between 2002 and 2010. In contrast to earlier estimates from Massachusetts (Cogan, Hubbard and Kessler 2010), we find no statistical evidence of changes in group premiums. By contrast, we find large reductions in non-group premiums in Massachusetts relative to the rest of the U.S.
The American Counterculture of War: Supporting Foreign Insurgencies and the American Discourse of War

The U.S. Army Special Forces and the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) trace their legacy back to the Office of Strategic Services (OSS). But the history and legacy of special operations, especially the use of unconventional warfare, goes back much further in American history. After closely examining the historical literature that discusses the American ways, cultures, and dominant traditions of war, this article asserts that unconventional warfare, the practice of supporting insurgencies, represents a counterculture of war that is rising and beginning to influence the discourse on strategy, war, and warfare in America. The article speculates that the rise of this counterculture could be a forcing function for better strategy and strategic thinking.
An ecological analysis of A‐B and its relationship to field dependences

Because of conceptual and methodological problems of the A-B categorization, several authorities (Gomes-Schwartz, Hadley, & Strupp, 1978; Stephens, Shaffer & Zlotowitz, 1975) have suggested that a moratorium on A-B research deserves serious consideration. In anticipation of this possibility, and to attempt to clarify the confusing findings with regard to the nature of A-B and the relationships of A-B and Field Dependence, the authors initiated this study of the ecological framework of a psychiatric ward and the role characteristics of both staff and patients (N = 99). The results of the study supported the two major hypotheses that were derived from a functional analysis of the demand characteristics for both patients and staff on an inpatient psychiatric unit. First, it was found that the staff scored higher on type A characteristics than on type B characteristics and, second, it was found that the patients scored higher on type B characteristics than on type A characteristics.
Seminaries and Writing the History of New Spain: An Interview with Stafford Poole, C.M.

Over the course of the past half century, the field of colonial Latin American history has been greatly enriched by the contributions of Father Stafford Poole. He has written 14 books and 84 articles and book chapters and has readily shared his knowledge at coundess symposia and other scholarly forums. Renowned as a historian, he was also a seminary administrator and professor of history in Missouri and California. Moreover, his background and formation are surely unique among priests in the United States and his story is certainly worth the telling.
Are telecommunications facilities ‘infrastructure?’ If they are, so what?

Abstract It is obvious that modern telecommunications networks possess at least some of the attributes of what we commonly call ‘infrastructure’. They are essential to modern commerce and, indeed, to modern living. It is essential that all subscribers be able to connect to most other subscribers, but perhaps not through the same network but through interconnected networks. These networks may even have natural monopoly characteristics and may generate substantial externalities. Nevertheless, the speed of technological change in electronics and communications provides a strong argument against government programs to develop or build modern telecommunications infrastructure. The choice of any network architecture is fraught with risk and could require the investment of S1000 or more per subscriber that could easily be obsolete as soon as it is completed. Rather than providing grants of monopoly and relying on the ensuing regulation of network architecture, governments should open their telecommunications sectors to competition, allowing private firms to shoulder the risk of building these expensive new networks. Indeed, the United States has recently moved strongly in this direction after a quarter century of selective telecommunications liberalization that has seen private networks flourish. The evidence on the effect of new telecommunications infrastructure on economic growth is too weak to justify a conclusion that this infrastructure has already created large externalities. As networks proliferate, with private and public systems competing with each other and complementing each other, it will be even more difficult to demonstrate these externalities. Thus, the case for government support and direction of telecommunications infrastructure investment remains very weak.
Radiology scheduling with consideration of patient characteristics to improve patient access to care and medical resource utilization

The objective of this paper is to redesign a scheduling scheme in a hospital radiology department that accounts for patient characteristics to improve patient access to care and utilization of medical resources. Patients’ characteristics are used to determine the length of required procedure time. The reclassification of patient groups is demonstrated using a decision tree technique and an algorithm based on the least weighted average coefficient of variation. The results indicate that the proposed scheduling scheme reduces patient wait time as much as 71%, increases the radiographer utilization by at most 83%, reduces overall cost by as far as 54%, and improves patient access by 1.25 times than current schedule capability. The proposed approach provides relatively implementable details and a minimal system accommodation, especially for the participated radiology department. The success of the implementation will bring better service for patients and the use of medical resources more efficiently.
Investigations on the chemistry of heparin. I. Desulfation and acetylation.

Abstract Desulfation of heparin with 0.06 M anhydrous methanolic HCl resulted in the formation of a polysaccharide containing equimolar amounts of sulfur and nitrogen, wherein the amino groups are free. When this was N-acetylated and again submitted to methanolysis, an additional sulfate per tetrasaccharide was cleaved yielding a product containing nitrogen, sulfur, acetyl, and methoxy in the ratio of 2:1:2:2. The rate of hydrolysis in 1 N H2SO4 of the glycosidic linkages of this product is appreciably higher than that of heparin. This desulfated, N-acetylated derivative would, therefore, be more suitable for graded hydrolysis studies than heparin itself, since the conditions required for hydrolysis of the latter also bring about excessive destruction of the uronic acid moiety.
Layered interactive visual interface design: A visual interface for the navigation and analysis of digital text communications

We describe the preliminary development of an interactive visualization tool intended to produce a multi-layered visual interface design that allows for fast, easy navigation and analysis of digital text corpora and text communications, allowing for more efficient distributed collaboration and communications in the virtual world.
The effect of vitamin D status on risk factors for cardiovascular disease

Vitamin-D-related pathways are implicated in various endocrine, inflammatory and endothelial functions. An estimated 1 billion people in the world have vitamin D deficiency or insufficiency, and undiagnosed vitamin D deficiency is common. Vitamin D deficiency is associated with substantial increases in the incidence of hypertension, hyperlipidaemia, myocardial infarction and stroke, as well as in diseases such as chronic kidney disease and type 2 diabetes. Low vitamin D levels also upregulate the renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system, increase inflammation and cause endothelial dysfunction. However, the role of vitamin D deficiency in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality is an emerging and hotly debated topic. Epidemiological studies suggest an association between low vitamin D levels and risk factors for cardiovascular disease, but a causal relationship has not been established, and clinical trials and meta-analyses have not demonstrated convincing evidence that vitamin D therapy improves cardiovascular outcomes. Some evidence suggests that vitamin D status is a biomarker of lifestyle, since unhealthy and sedentary lifestyles are associated with vitamin D insufficiency or deficiency and are also risk factors for cardiovascular complications.