cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solubility and Density Isotherms for the Sodium Sulfate−Water−Methanol System

The solubility of sodium sulfate in water and aqueous methanol has been determined over the temperature range 10 °C to 50 °C. Also the saturated solution densities were measured. The presence of methanol was observed to reduce the solubility of the salt greatly. In fact, in pure methanol, sodium sulfate was essentially insoluble. The solubility data for the sodium sulfate−water solution were within ±1% of values in the literature. No attempt was made in the study to differentiate between the two stable salts of sodium sulfate (decahydrate and anhydrous) in the temperature range studied.
Use of the crossboss catheter in coronary chronic total occlusion due to in‐stent restenosis

We describe treatment of six chronic total occlusions due to in-stent restenosis with the CrossBoss catheter (BridgePoint Medical, Minneapolis, Minnesota). The CrossBoss catheter allowed successful CTO crossing in 5 of 6 lesions (83%): in 50% the catheter entered the distal true lumen, whereas in 33% a wire was required for distal true lumen crossing. No complications were observed. Use of the CrossBoss catheter can facilitate treatment of coronary chronic total occlusions due to in-stent restenosis.
ThePrepared and Spontaneous Remarks of Presidents Reagan and Bush: A Validity Comparison for At-a-Distance Measurements

This paper examines the spontaneous and prepared remarks of Presidents Reagan and Bush in the domain of U.S.-Soviet relations at the end of the Cold War. The findings suggest that researchers should be cautious when drawing their sample frames, because scores gleaned from prepared remarks may contain systematic differences large enough to affect the workings of models using at-a-distance measurements. However, if the leader is involved in the preparation of speeches he or she delivers, then these prepared speeches typically are as valid an indicator of the leader's psychological variables as are spontaneous remarks from interviews. Context effects may be present for both cognitive and personal variables in remarks from spontaneous and prepared statements. Impression management, therefore, may be a bigger problem than authorship in assessing leaders at a distance.
Female crack users and their sexual relationships: The role of sex‐for‐crack exchanges

This study challenges the image of female crack users as exchangers, or women who exchange sex for crack. Between June 1997 and February 1999, quantitative interviews were conducted with 150 active female crack users, one half of whom also completed a qualitative interview. Data analysis involved contingency analysis, bivariate logistic regression analysis, and the constant comparison method. Exchangers (n = 65) were younger, and were more likely to have been homeless and to be single than were nonexchangers (n = 85). Exchangers also were more likely to report infidelity and less likely to communicate with their most recent steady partner about the partner's relationship expectations. Sexual behaviors differed by partner type among the exchangers and nonexchangers. These findings provide a comprehensive picture of female crack users. Additionally, the findings indicate the importance of designing interventions that capture the complexities of the women's sexual relationships.
Taming the surfatron

Abstract Several years ago, a surface-wave-induced plasma device known as a “surfatron” appeared as a promising new source for atomic emission spectrometry. Since that time little further development of the surfatron has been published. We have therefore sought to re-evaluate the surfatron by (a) reviewing the subject of surface-wave induced plasmas, (b) describing in detail the construction and operation of the surfatron, (c) studying the tuning capabilities of the system and (d) examining the spatial emission properties of the surfatron. The surfatron possesses a number of advantages over other kinds of microwave-induced plasma devices such as the Beenakker-type resonant cavity. Significantly, surfatron-sustained plasmas were produced readily in either argon or helium and were easily tuned. Moreover, the helium plasma showed resilience to the introduction of nebulized solutions and also possessed an annular shape. The surfatron showed much greater resistance to detuning caused by changes in plasma density than did the more conventional resonant-cavity system and required no external tuning elements.
A note on an approximation to neyman type a distributions

This note outlines a steepest descent approximation to the tail probability of the Neyman type A distribution.
Immunofluorescence assay of hybridoma supernatants

Methods are described for performing immunofluorescence assay using cultured mammalian cells as target specimens. This procedure uses slides that allow processing of 12 specimens as a unit. Avidin-biotin is employed to provide increased sensitivity.
Principles for The Law of Peoples

In The Law of Peoples John Rawls gives a list of eight principles for the law of peoples. I argue that the force of the principles depends in large part upon their being lexically ordered, and I attempt such an ordering. However, the lexically ordered list makes it clear that the duty of non-intervention obtains only after the duty to honor human rights is satisfied. Also, I point to certain “practical” difficulties with intervention on behalf of human rights. Rawls writes that additional principles are needed, and I make two suggestions. I conclude that the problems arising from intervention and the need for additional principles show that the “second Original Position” is like the first Original Position: both involve, Rawls notwithstanding, the selection and ordering of principles of justice.
Finite element analyses of layered visco‐elastic system under vertical circular loading

Analyses for the response of a linear visco-elastic system subjected to axi-symmetric vertical circular loading are presented. Hankel transforms with respect to the radial spatial coordinate are used to reduce the three-dimensional problem to that involving only a single spatial dimension, which is then discretized using the finite element method. Three techniques are employed to handle the time factor in the visco-elastic material: (i) direct time integration; (ii) Fourier transforms; and (iii) Laplace transforms. These methods are compared and evaluated through their numerical results. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Improving unsafe environments to support aging independence with limited resources

Aging with independence benefits individuals, family, and society. To achieve independence, older adults must be able to function in their homes. This function is determined both by their abilities and by the environment in which they maneuver. This article describes a promising program that intervenes with both older adults and their home environments to improve function. This program, called CAPABLE (Community Aging in Place, Advancing Better Living for Elders), is funded through the Affordable Care Act and can be scaled up nationally if determined to be a success in improving health and decreasing health care costs.
An explosive volcanic eruption in the Southern Hemisphere in 1928

SEVERAL climatologists1–3 have compiled lists of volcanic eruptions which are thought to be of meteorological and climatological importance. Although these lists have been criticised for being incomplete4, subsequent authors5,6 have used them in studies designed to reproduce and explain the climatic history of the Northern Hemisphere. I report here additional information on two volcanic eruptions which may be climatologically significant but have generally not been considered in climate studies. By clarifying the volcanic chronology, a better test of the hypothesis that volcanoes cause part of the observed climate change can be made.
Interactions between inositol phosphates and cytosolic free calcium following bradykinin stimulation in cultured human skin fibroblasts.

Abstract The inositol triphosphate (IP 3 ) that results from hydrolysis of phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate (PIP 2 ) is generally accepted to be responsible for the mobilization of intracellular calcium. However, some studies suggest that low concentrations of agonists elevate cytosolic free calcium concentration ([Ca 2+ ] i ) without IP 3 formation. Thus, in the present studies, a comparison of the temporal response of inositol phosphates (IP 3 , IP 2 and IP) and [Ca 2+ ] i to a wide range of bradykinin concentrations was used to examine the relation of these two signal transduction events in cultured human skin fibroblasts (GM3652). In addition, the effects of alterations in internal or external calcium on the response of these second messengers to bradykinin were determined. Bradykinin stimulated accumulation of inositol phosphates and a rise of [Ca 2+ ] i in a time- and dose-dependent manner. Decreasing the bradykinin concentration from 1μM to 0.1 μM increased the time until the IP 3 peak, and when the bradykinin concentration was reduced to 0.01 μM IP 3 was not detected. [Ca 2+ ] i was examined under parallel conditions. As the bradykinin concentration was reduced from 1 μM to 0.01 μM, the time to reach the peak of [Ca 2+ ] i increased progressively, but the magnitude of the peak was unaltered. These two second messengers were variably dependent on external calcium. Although the bradykinin-stimulated initial spike of [Ca 2+ ] i did not depend on extracellular calcium, the subsequent sustained levels of [Ca 2+ ] i were abolished in calcium free medium. The bradykinin-stimulated inositol phosphate formation was not dependent on the extracellular calcium nor on the elevation of [Ca 2+ ] i that was produced with Br-A23187. These results demonstrate that bradykinin-induced IP 3 formation can be independent of [Ca 2+ ] i and of external calcium, whereas changes in [Ca 2+ ] i are partially dependent on external calcium.
Bone marrow tissue engineering.

The creation of mixed hematopoietic chimerism has become an important clinical strategy for tolerance induction for cellular and organ transplantation, and for the treatment of numerous hematopoiet...
Crystal orientation effects on the onset of plasticity in single-crystal NiTi

The plastic deformation of several orientations of a monocrystalline NiTi shape memory alloy was investigated via nanoindentation. The onset of plasticity, indicated by a pop-in, was used to determine the activation volume for each orientation. Unlike other reports, we found the activation volume to be dependent on orientation; in particular, the (1 0 0) orientation had an activation volume double that of the (1 1 0) and (1 1 1) orientations. This is attributable to different recoverable transformation strain behaviors. These observations illuminate the deformation mechanisms that may exist in materials that undergo phase transformations.
Characterization of radiation and autoxidation-initiated damage in DNA model compounds

The damage caused by ionizing radiation and by autoxidation processes to the base moiety of deoxydinucleoside monophosphates d(TpA) and d(GpC) exposed in oxygenated solutions has been investigated. The same principal products are generated by both modalities. The products generated in largest yield have been identified as formamide and imidazolidine modifications derived from damaged thymine and cytosine moieties, respectively. These radiation-induced and autoxidation-induced lesions have been isolated by HPLC and characterized by 1H NMR spectroscopy including two-dimensional COSY spectroscopy. The possible biological significance of these lesions is discussed.
Effect of tilorone hydrochloride on the lymphoid and interferon responses of athymic mice.

SummaryNude athymic mice, which lack T-lymphocytes and are unable to mount a cellular immune response, failed to develop the lymphopenia so characteristically produced by a 100 mg/kg oral dose of tilorone hydrochloride in normal mice. The antiviral activity detected in athymic mice 18 hr after a 150 mg/kg oral dose of tilorone was significant, although somewhat less than that found in treated normal mice. These findings suggest that tilorone hydrochloride has a specific effect on T-lymphocytes that accounts for its effect on cellular immunity, but that its antiviral activity is not primarily mediated by T-lymphocytes.
The Senate and American Federalism

Commentary. This essay, along with chapter 2 (on the invention of centralized federalism), provides the essential data for the proposition that the main centralization of our federalism occurred in 1787. Casual observation suggests that the Senate was progressively detached from state legislatures’ control until the final separation in 1913. But the evidence here assembled indicates that the connection was always tenuous. State legislatures, ostensibly Senators’ constituents, were actually never more than convenient electors. Hence the real centralization was the change in 1787 from state delegates to Congress to United States Senators. The framers, intent on reducing the role of the states, reduced it so much that the Senate, despite appearances, was, from the beginning, a national body.
Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph Observations of Interstellar Oxygen and Krypton in Translucent Clouds

We have obtained high-resolution Hubble Space Telescope (HST) Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph (STIS) observations of O I λ1356 and Kr I λ1236 absorption in 11 sight lines characterized by high extinction, large H I column densities, and/or long path lengths. Previous Goddard High Resolution Spectrograph (GHRS) measurements of these weak features in seven relatively nearby diffuse clouds have shown no evidence for density-dependent depletion of either oxygen or krypton and have yielded a weighted mean gas-phase abundance ratio of log[N(O)/N(Kr)]GHRS = 5.56 ± 0.04. Our STIS measurements yield a lower weighted mean of log[N(O)/N(Kr)]STIS = 5.48; the difference is due primarily to several translucent sight lines in the STIS data set that diverge from the GHRS value. These translucent cloud sight lines pass near dense, star-forming regions, notably the ρ Oph, Orion, and Taurus molecular clouds. Since Kr, as a noble gas, should not be depleted much into grains, these cases suggest a trend toward the enhanced oxygen depletion predicted for denser ISM clouds.
DIII-D edge physics data base*

We have developed an edge physics data base containing data for the plasma in the divertor region and the scrape-off layer (SOL) for the DIII-D tokamak. The data base provides many of the parameters necessary to model the power flow to the divertor and other plasma processes in the plasma edge. It will also facilitate the analysis of DIII-D data for comparison with other divertor tokamaks. In addition to the core plasma parameters, edge-specific data are included in this data base. Initial results using the data base show good agreement between the pressure profiles measured by the Langmuir probes and those determined from the Thomson data for the inner strike point, but not for the outer strike point region. We also find that the ratio of separatrix density to average core density, as well as the in/out asymmetry in the SOL power at the divertor in DIII-D do not agree with values currently assumed in modeling the international thermonuclear experimental reactor (ITER).
Continuous-time, constant causative Markov chains

Abstract The definition of a constant causative Markov chain is extended to the continuous-time case. Such chains are nonhomogeneous and are found to have intensity matrices of the form Q(t) = tC + Q. Ergodicity is investigated resulting in an extension to continuous-time of a version of Lipstein's conjecture for constant causative chains. In the case where Q and C commute the irreducibility and ergodicity of the constant-causative chain can be directly related to that of two corresponding discrete-time, homogeneous chains, P = I + Q / q and R = I + C /c .
A self-regulating insulin delivery system. I. Characterization of a synthetic glycosylated insulin derivative

Abstract A derivatized insulin, succinyl amido phenyl-α- d -glycopyranoside insulin (SAPG-insulin) has been synthesized for use in a self-regulating insulin delivery system. The product was a heterogenous mixture of glycosylated insulins differing in their degree and site of substitution. These products were purified and separated using Con A affinity chromatography followed by fast protein liquid chromatography (FPLC) on an anion exchange column. The resultant 4 products were isolated and characterized by end group analysis, sugar group quantitation and isoelectric focusing. In addition, radioimmunoassay cross-reactivity and in vivo biological activity were assessed. The major peak was B-1 phenylalanine monosubstituted SAPG-insulin, which had a potency equivalent to native bovine insulin. This makes the purified fraction, B-1 phenylalanine monosubstituted SAPG-insulin, an ideal candidate for use in the self-regulating insulin delivery system. The method utilized in this work is also potentially useful in the modification of proteins or peptides for enhanced gastrointestinal absorption.
The Quest for Innovative Strategies to Increase Productivity

In this issue of Innovative Higher Education, Adrianna Kezar examines the followingquestion. “What is the best way to achieve broader reach of improved practices in highereducation?” At the outset, she notes that policymakers and the general public increasinglyexpect post-secondary institutions to achieve broad national goals quickly and effectively bythe adoption of programs and practices (often funded) that have been “successful” in anotherplace, a practice known as “scale-up.” In conclusion, she cautions against the use ofsimplistic scale-up models, which basically take a “successful” innovation from a localsetting and then apply it to other places with little consideration for differences in context.Followingthefailureoftop-downapproachestobringaboutdesiredchangesandoutcomes,the idea to “scale-up” caught the interest of grantors, policymakers, and educators. However,the history of scale-up innovations in k-12 is not one of success; in fact, Kezar uses the term“dismal record.” She elaborates that the adopters need to consider the concepts of depth,sustainability, spread, and ownership in order for scaling up to be effective. For change to belong-lasting, educators must attend to rewards, cultural norms, and capacity. In the end, sheconcludes that the lessons and practices of social movements and the concepts of mutualadaptionaremoreappropriateforconsiderationthanthe practicesassociated withscalingupifhighereducationistoachievebroaderadoptionofchange.Kezar’sanalysisoftheexpansionofservice learning from 200 colleges to over 3000 colleges in less than a decade provides usefulinsight for administrators considering the adoption and expansion of innovations.Kezar’s article intrigued me as I spend quite a bit of time in meetings and discussions ofhigher education problems and opportunities at the state and university level. Often theconversation will turn to the internal bureaucratic barriers to change, the lack of funding forinnovation, and sometimes the lack of interest by the constituents who must embrace andimplement new ideas and practices. Occasionally, participants will point to a successfulprogram or process at a peer or aspirational institution; and then we muse about how thatwill or will not work here. On the flip side, someone will propose that we have a successful
A thermodynamically consistent rate-dependent model for turbulence—part i. formulation☆

Abstract The averaged basic balance laws for the mean turbulent motion of an incompressible fluid are considered. The Clausius-Duhem inequality for the mean motion is formulated and thermodynamics of the mean field fluid is studied. The free energy and the coldness functions for the mean turbulent motion are introduced and several thermodynamical relationships are developed. Based on the averaged entropy inequality an anisotropic rate-dependent constitutive equation for the turbulent stress tensor is formulated, and the constraints on material coefficients are described. Thermodynamically consistent transport equations for time, frequency and dissipation scales of turbulence are also developed. It is shown that the resulting model contains the available ratedependent algebraic stress models as special limiting cases.
Ephemeral-stream processes: Implications for studies of quaternary valley fills

Three unstable ephemeral-stream channels (arroyos), which drain source areas that have high sediment yields ranging from predominantly sand (Arroyo Calabasas) to a mixture of sand, silt, and clay (Sand Creek) to largely silt and clay (Sage Creek), were resurveyed to provide data on the rates and mechanics of erosion and sedimentation processes during periods ranging from 14 to 22 yr. Channel morphology changed significantly. Erosion occurred through nickpoint recession and bank collapse, but erosional reaches are separated by aggrading or stable-channel reaches. In general, sediment that is eroded, as the nickpoint recedes upstream, is trapped in the widened channel downstream. In this manner sediment is transported episodically out of these basins during a series of cut-and-fill cycles. The manner by which the channels aggrade and the morphology of the aggraded stable channels are controlled by the sediment type. The wide and shallow channel of Arroyo Calabasas is filled by vertical accretion of sand-size sediment. The narrow and deep channels of Sage Creek and Sand Creek are created by the lateral accretion of cohesive fine-grained sediment. The channel modification and the cut-and-fill episodes are dependent on high sediment yields, and therefore they are independent of subtle climatic shifts. Cut-and-fill deposits that have been created in this manner should not be equivalent in age from basin to basin, and therefore channel trenching and filling in the semiarid western United States during the Holocene need not be synchronous.
Regions upstream from the core promoter of the rat ribosomal gene are required for the formation of a stable transcription initiation complex by RNA polymerase I in vitro.

Abstract The sites required for the formation of a stable transcription initiation complex and for the initiation of transcription of rat rDNA in vitro were examined. A series of 5′ deletion mutants of the rat transcription initiation region (−167 through +638) were constructed. These mutants were examined for their ability to support the faithful initiation of transcription in vitro. Mutants which contain less than 31 nucleotides upstream of the initiation site (+1) were unable to support detectable initiation of transcription. In this transcription system a series of deletion mutants from −167 to −31 were transcribed with equal efficiency when assayed individually. On the other hand, when the wild-type and mutant templates were compared in order-of-addition assays, they were found to be unequal. The incubation of an extract with a wild-type template, prior to the addition of nucleotides, precluded transcription of any second template added after the preincubation step. However, the preincubation of extract with mutants of the region upstream of the core promoter, from −122 to −31, did not preclude transcription of a wild-type template added after the preincubation step. Formation of the stable preinitiation complex was found to require the region between −122 and −167.
Embedding metric spaces in Euclidean space

In this paper, we give necessary and sufficient conditions for embedding a given metric space in Euclidean space. We shall introduce the notions of flatness and dimension for metric spaces and prove that a metric space can be embedded in Euclidean n-space if and only if the metric space is flat and of dimension less than or equal to n.
Cutting Force of Hollow Needle Insertion in Soft Tissue

This paper presents a 3-D finite element model (FEM) using cohesive zone (CZ) concept to simulate the hollow needle insertion and identify the change in cutting force. CZ is a FEM technique that integrates the fracture mechanics based on surface energy and has often used in analysis of crack propagation. Experiments of needle insertion into the soft polyvinyl chloride (PVC) phantom tissue were conducted using two types of needle (bias bevel and lancet) under a constant speed to identify friction and cutting forces. Using the CZ concept, a thin layer of FEM is built to observe the tissue flow and cutting force along the needle cutting edge during insertion. Both experimental observation and modeling results show higher cutting force for the lancet tip due to smaller rake angle along the cutting edge. This FEM approach has demonstrated the potential as being an analysis tool for hollow needle insertion.© 2013 ASME
Scientists in the swamp: narrowing the language-practice gap in community psychology.

As a confluence of unique values and activities, the collective practice of community psychology is difficult to characterize in a simple way. Increasingly, however, professional contexts are laden with pressure to define any practice—from library work to medical interventions—in the orderly, compact language of traditional science. This trend has historically been resisted in the field by those sensing a fundamental lack of fit between the fluid, emergent aspects of community psychological practice and the fixed, precise language of classic science. In response to this “language–practice gap,” some have attempted to adapt the traditional language of science to better fit the field’s practice, while others have explored alternative languages of practice seemingly more indigenous to the messy “swamp” of actual communities. While the former effort leaves some theoretical contradictions intact, the latter tends to discount scientific identity entirely. This paper proposes a potential step forward by resituating questions of disciplinary language and identity within a current philosophical discourse where the nature of social science itself remains sharply contested. This suggests shifting attention away from “should we be a science?” to “what kind of science might we be after all?”; in turn, alternative languages may be re-cast as legitimate contributors to a kind of science more authentic to human communities—even a viable “science in the swamp.” One such language–philosophical hermeneutics—is presented as a particularly valuable supplement to traditional science. Illustrations highlight ways that hermeneutics may advance the formal language of the field towards a closer fit of what actually happens in practice, while preserving and even bolstering the empirical rigor and scientific identity of the field.
Numerical solution of Space Shuttle Orbiter flowfield

The supersonic viscous laminar flow around the Space Shuttle Orbiter forebody has been computed with a parabolized Navier-Stokes code using a generalized coordinate transformation. The initial solution for the nose part of the Orbiter was obtained with a three-dimensional time-dependent Navier-Stokes solver. It was necessary to employ a wind-axis oriented coordinate system to obtain the initial solution with the time-dependent code. The generalized PNS technique was then used to march the solution downstream from the given initial data surface. An algebraic grid generation scheme was employed which accurately describes the body shape by clustering points at the wing tip and at the wing-body juncture. The computed heat-transfer coefficients, pressure coefficients, and shock shapes are compared with the available experimental data for 0 and 30 deg angle of attack.
Human immunodeficiency virus type II (HIV-2)

Abstract HIV-2 is associated with AIDS. At the present time it is rare in the United States. The latent period may be longer than that for HIV-1: it may take as long as 15 years or more before clinical symptomatology develops. Once AIDS develops in the presence of HIV-2, it has all of the characteristics seen in similarly advanced cases of HIV-1. Testing for HIV-2 includes screening EIA and supplementary Western blot testing. Therapy should be directed at the opportunistic infections and consideration should be given to antiviral medications, although their efficacy is as yet not well proven
Interaction of mean airway pressure and inhaled nitric oxide (iNO) on gas exchange. † 192

Introduction: iNO can lower pulmonary vascular resistance, improve oxygenation, improve ventilation/perfusion (V/Q) matching, and reduce effective shunt (Qs/Qt). Analysis of gas exchange during iNO has shown reduction in perfusion to low V/Q units without redistribution to high V/Q units in models of the adult respiratory distress syndrome, and a significant reduction in Qs/Qt with minimal change in deadspace ventilation (Vd/Vt) in newborns with persistent pulmonary hypertension. We hypothesized that positive airway pressure may limit the redistribution of blood flow to high V/Q lung units during iNO therapy. Figure
Demo abstract: Histogram distance-based radio tomographic localization

ABSTRACT We present an interactive demonstration of histogram distance-based radio tomographic imaging (HD-RTI), a device-free localization (DFL) system that uses measurements of received signal strength (RSS) on static links in a wireless network to estimate the locations of people who do not participate in the system by wearing any radio device in the deployment area. Compared to prior methods of RSS-based DFL, using a histogram difference metric is a very accurate method to quantify the change in RSS on the link compared to historical metrics. The new method is remarkably accurate, and works with lower node densities than prior methods.
Human Sperm Bioassay Has Potential in Evaluating the Quality of Cumulus-Oocyte Complexes

Human sperm bioassay is routinely used as a quality control check for the culture media. This is one of the three bioassays chosen by the College of American Pathologists (CAP) for interlaboratory proficiency testing to assess the standards of in vitro fertilization (IVF) and andrology laboratories. This study utilized sperm bioassay to assess the quality of cumulus-oocyte complexes (COCs) retrieved in IVF procedures COCs, harvested from the female partner of IVF couples, undergoing identical ovarian stimulation protocols, were individually inseminated with the sperm of the corresponding male partner. Sperm motility in sperm-COC cocultures were compared. Cocultures were established by inseminating the 103 COCs, retrieved from 18 IVF couples with 1 x 10(5) to 2 x 10(5) sperm of the corresponding male partners of the couples. In all 18 cases, the sperm were prepared identically using the Percoll wash method. The cocultures were maintained for 48 h but the oocytes were removed immediately after the fertilization check (approximately 16 h). The motility of sperm in the cocultures and in the insemination stocks were noted and 17 of 18 sperm stocks used for insemination had similar high preinsemination motility (90.2 +/- 5.0%). At 48 h the sperm motility had significantly decreased in the cocultures compared to the insemination stocks; 52.7 +/- 19.9% versus 67.2 +/- 10.4%. There was no difference in the motility among the small, medium, and large COCs (56.4 +/- 24.6%, 52.5 +/- 17.9%, and 50.8 +/- 20.9%, respectively). In 45% of IVF cases, the motility in cocultures varied widely, falling below as well as above that of their corresponding insemination stocks. Furthermore, the sperm motility varied among the cocultures in both pregnant and nonpregnant patients but the extent of variation appears to be greater in the latter. The inter-COC coculture sperm motility variation most likely is due to the differences in the quality of cumulus-oocyte complexes.
50+ years of intrinsic breakdown

The basic quantum mechanical theory for intrinsic breakdown was developed by von Hippel and Frohlich over 70 years ago, but only now can we exploit their ideas accurately through the use of computational quantum mechanics. As shown above, von Hippel's low energy criterion for intrinsic breakdown provides remarkably good agreement with measured data for a range of both ionic and covalently bonded materials. We can correlate intrinsic breakdown with both bandgap and phonon cutoff frequency, although the relationships differ for different groups of materials. The challenge going forward is to move from intrinsic breakdown to engineering breakdown through inclusion of effects caused by morphology, chemical impurities (impurity states in the bandgap), and defects such as nanocavities. We believe that inclusion of these phenomena is possible using Monte Carlo computations with parameters computed using first principles methods, and we are pursuing this approach.
Highly Activated CD8+ T Cells in the Brain Correlate with Early Central Nervous System Dysfunction in Simian Immunodeficiency Virus Infection

One of the consequences of HIV infection is damage to the CNS. To characterize the virologic, immunologic, and functional factors involved in HIV-induced CNS disease, we analyzed the viral loads and T cell infiltrates in the brains of SIV-infected rhesus monkeys whose CNS function (sensory evoked potential) was impaired. Following infection, CNS evoked potentials were abnormal, indicating early CNS disease. Upon autopsy at 11 wk post-SIV inoculation, the brains of infected animals contained over 5-fold more CD8 + T cells than did uninfected controls. In both infected and uninfected groups, these CD8 + T cells presented distinct levels of activation markers (CD11a and CD95) at different sites: brain > CSF > spleen = blood > lymph nodes. The CD8 + cells obtained from the brains of infected monkeys expressed mRNA for cytolytic and proinflammatory molecules, such as granzymes A and B, perforin, and IFN-γ. Therefore, the neurological dysfunctions correlated with increased numbers of CD8 + T cells of an activated phenotype in the brain, suggesting that virus-host interactions contributed to the related CNS functional defects.
Evolution of the East: Central Indian Ocean, with Emphasis on the Tectonic Setting of the Ninetyeast Ridge

The meridional Ninetyeast Ridge in the eastern Indian Ocean separates the deep Central Indian Basin from the deeper Wharton Basin (or Cocos Basin–West Australian Basin) to the east. The flattish-summited ridge extends slightly east of north from near 32° S. directly to 7° S. where it appears segmented as a series of en echelon northeast-southwest–trending highs, then in a northerly direction disappears beneath the sediments of the Bengal Fan system near 9° N. Linear parallel to subparallel troughs border this linear ridge on the east side; on the west, from results of magnetic observations and preliminary deep drilling information, Ninetyeast Ridge apparently is bonded to the Indian plate. A second extensive north-south topographic rise and magnetic boundary zone, herein named the Investigator Fracture Zone, lies near 98° E. in the Wharton Basin. Easterly trending magnetic-anomaly lineations identified as numbers 5 through 16 and numbers 21 through 33b, increasing in age northward and with spreading rates variable through time, have been recognized in the Central Indian Basin. East of Ninetyeast Ridge in the Wharton Basin, anomalies 19 through 27, with spreading rates varying in concert with those of comparable age west of the ridge, have been found to increase in age toward the south. Older anomalies 28 through 33 have been identified in both basins; their divergent trends provide evidence that spreading rates decrease markedly westward during the time span they cover in the Late Cretaceous. From deep-sea drilling information supplementing and supporting magnetic, topographic, and gravity data obtained principally by research ships and PROJECT MAGNET since 1962, we interpret Ninetyeast Ridge to be an extrusive pile with a low-density shallow root, rather than a horst or an uplift resulting from the convergence of plates. The trough system that is partially buried with sediment east of the ridge and the north-south Investigator Fracture Zone several hundred kilometers farther to the east are remnants of formerly active transform faults that marked huge relative offsets between the spreading centers separating the Indian and Antarctic-Australian plates from anomaly 33b (Late Cretaceous) to anomaly 19 (Eocene) time. During the Late Cretaceous, Ninetyeast Ridge and Chagos-Laccadive Ridge had similar settings, marking paired offsets of an active spreading center around the southern tip of India. Both features terminated as active transform faults with the cessation of north-south spreading and the commencement of northeast-southwest spreading close to the time of anomaly 11 (Oligocene). The here-interpreted oceanic data is strong but not conclusive support for fitting India to Enderby Land in Antarctica in the Early Cretaceous. With presently available information, we have been unable to establish the precise time at which the spreading center in the Wharton Basin ceased to function.
Linked surveys of health services utilization

The linked population/establishment survey (LS) of health services utilization is a two-phase sample survey that links the sample designs of the population sample survey (PS) and the health-care provider establishment sample survey (ES) of health services utilization. In Phase I, household respondents in the PS identify their health-care providers during a specified calendar period. In Phase II, health-care providers identified in Phase I report the variables of interest for all or a sample of their transactions with all households during the same calendar period. The LS has been proposed as a potential design alternative to the PS whenever the health-care transactions of interest are hard to find or enumerate in household surveys and as a potential design alternative to the ES whenever it is infeasible or expensive to construct or maintain complete sampling provider frames that list all health-care providers with good measures of provider size. Suppose that the non-sampling errors are ignorable, how do the LS, PS and ES sampling errors compare? This paper addresses that question by summarizing and extending recent research findings that compare expressions of the sampling variance of (1) the LS and PS of equivalent household sample size and (2) the LS and the ES of equivalent expected health-care provider and transaction sample sizes. The paper identifies the parameters contributing to the precision differences and assesses the conditions that favour the LS or one or the other surveys. Published in 2007 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Aspergillus fumigatus contamination of lymphokine-activated killer cells infused into cancer patients.

Abstract Lymphokine-activated killer (LAK) cells, prepared by incubating autologous lymphocytes in cell culture medium with interleukin-2, selectively lyse tumor cells and are effective immunotherapy of some cancers. During a 3-month period, two patients at our center were infused with LAK cells subsequently found to have been contaminated by Aspergillus fumigatus. Each case was investigated by obtaining environmental cultures and assessing aseptic practices during LAK cell preparation. Investigation of the first case demonstrated a malfunction of the laminar air flow hood, under which interleukin-2 and the patient's lymphocytes had been added to cell culture medium, and showed heavy A. fumigatus contamination of the hood, adjacent countertop, and cell culture incubator. Despite repair of the laminar air flow hood and cleaning of the laboratory, a second case occurred, and cultures at that time implicated the humidified cell culture incubators as the source of A. fumigatus. Following incubator sterilization and removal of the humidification apparatus from the incubators, weekly environmental cultures in the LAK cell laboratory were negative, and none of the LAK cell cultures from the 20 patients treated during the ensuing 15 months grew A. fumigatus. Our findings show that growth of fungi in humidified incubators, which previously has caused contamination problems in tissue culture and clinical microbiology laboratories, can result in patient infections when humidified incubators are used to prepare cells for reinfusion.
Looking to the Future to Appreciate the Present The Benefits of Perceived Temporal Scarcity

Both psychological research and conventional wisdom suggest that it can be difficult to attend to and derive enjoyment from the pleasant things in life. The present study examined whether focusing on the imminent ending of a positive life experience can lead to increased enjoyment. A temporal distance manipulation was used to make college graduation seem more or less close at hand. Twice a week over the course of 2 weeks, college students were told to write about their college life, with graduation being framed as either very close or very far off. As predicted, thinking about graduation as being close led to a significant increase in college-related behaviors and subjective well-being over the course of the study. The present research provides support for the counterintuitive hypothesis that thinking about an experience's ending can enhance one's present enjoyment of it.
Concentration dependence of bis(tributyl)tin oxide accumulation in the mussel, mytilus edulis

Mussels, Mytilus edulis, were exposed in a daily static renewal protocol to five different [l‒14C]bis(tributyl)tin (TBT) concentrations: 23, 45, 63, 141 or 670 ng L‒1. The time course of accumulation in four tissues (gills, viscera, adductor muscle and mantle) was determined for a period of 2 to 7 weeks. The pattern of uptake was strongly concentration‒dependent. In both 23 and 45 ng L‒1 concentrations, an apparent steady state was reached within two weeks. At exposure concentrations of 63 ng L‒1 and above, tissue burdens did not reach a steady state within an observation period of six weeks and increased in proportion to exposure concentration. TBT concentrations in tissues were ranked as follows: gills » viscera > adductor muscle ≈ mantle, with gill concentrations consistently dominating those in other tissues throughout exposure. Bioconcentration factors for TBT in mussels were greater (estimated to be in the range of 1,500 to 7,300) than would be predicted from the Kow value. These studies suggest that M. edulis would be a potentially useful sentinel organism for TBT above a threshold concentration in the marine environment. This threshold appears to be near a value that distinguishes areas receiving direct inputs of antifouling paints from those that do not.
Analysis of tools for simulation of Shipboard Electric Power Systems

Abstract Navy Shipboard Power Systems have different characteristics when compared with utility power systems. To conduct system studies on shipboard power systems, an effective simulation tool is required to model the Shipboard Electric Power Systems. This paper presents the results of the analysis of three popular simulation tools, ATP, PSpice and Saber for transient simulation of Shipboard Electric Power Systems (SPSs). The results suggest that ATP is a good tool for generating detailed component models and calculating model parameters directly from standard specifications and ratings of the equipment. PSpice and Saber have an excellent graphical interface for building complex SPSs and flexibility in establishing monitoring points and processing output data.
Design of a 13.56 MHz segmented Helmholtz coil for RF exposure testing of biologics to simulated RFID readers

The design methodology of a large 13.56 MHz Helmholtz coil with central magnetic field strength of H0 = 5.0 amperes/m is described. This apparatus is for use in protocol testing evaluating any thermal or non-thermal effects on blood and blood product samples that might be caused by long-term exposure to the fields produced by the 13.56 MHz RFID reader antennas. The Helmholtz coil was initially constructed as one continuous inductor; however, stray capacitance prevented it from resonating above 10.17 MHz. It was then successfully reconstructed as a four-segment Helmholtz coil by following methods used in designing Helmholtz coils for use in magnetic resonance imaging. Complete design, construction and testing details of the segmented Helmholtz coil and its RF drive system are given both to enable duplication and as a design guide for similar large Helmholtz coils. Occupational safety recommendations are made to enable safe operation. An application to blood products RF safety testing is discussed.
Detection, identification, and reconstruction of faulty sensors with maximized sensitivity

A new method proposed here detects, reconstructs, and identifies faulty sensors using a normal process model, which can be built from first principles or statistical methods such as partial least squares or principal component analysis. The model residual is used to detect sensor faults that demonstrate a deviation from the normal process model. To identify which sensor is faulty, a structured residual approach with maximized sensitivity is proposed to make one residual insensitive to one subset of faults but most sensitive to other faults. The structured residuals are subject to exponentially weighted moving average filtering to reduce the effect of noise and dynamic transients. The confidence limits for these filtered structured residuals are determined using statistical inferential techniques. In addition, other indices including generalized likelihood ratio test, cumulative sum, and cumulative variance of the structured residuals are compared to identify faulty sensors. The fault magnitude is then estimated based on the model and faulty data. Four types of sensor faults, including bias, precision degradation, drifting and complete failure, are simulated to test this method. Data from an industrial boiler process are used to test its effectiveness. Both single faults and simultaneous double faults are detected and uniquely identified with the method.
Isometry of Polish metric spaces

We consider the equivalence relation of isometry of separable, complete metric spaces, and show that any equivalence relation induced by a Borel action of a Polish group on a Polish space is Borel reducible to this isometry relation. We also consider the isometry relation restricted to various classes of metric spaces, and produce lower bounds for the complexity in terms of the Borel reducibility hierarchy. In this article we consider the equivalence relation of isometry of Polish metric spaces and ask how complicated it is. By a Polish metric space we mean a Polish space X together with a complete metric d on X. Two spaces are isometric if there is a bijection between them which preserves the metric. We wish to characterize the complexity of this isometry relation. We do this by considering it as an equivalence relation on an appropriately defined Polish space, and using the theory of Borel reducibility of equivalence relations. Definition 1. Let E and F be equivalence relations on the Polish spaces X and Y . We say that E is Borel reducible to Y , E B Y , if there is a Borel function f : X ! Y such that for all x1,x2 2 X we have x1 E x2 i f(x1) F f(x2). When E is reducible to F, we may view the classification of E as at most as complicated as that of F. We will develop techniques for reducing equivalence relations induced by Borel actions of Polish groups to the isometry relation. We will show that any such equivalence relation is reducible to the isometry relation, a result obtained independently by Gao and Kechris in [8]. We will also use these techniques to find bounds on the complexity