cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Fermentation technology to improve productivity in dry grind corn process for bioethanol production

Abstract High solid fermentation during bioethanol production is a promising process engineering strategy to reduce total energy use and water requirements, and to improve productivity. However, ethanol toxicity at higher concentrations restricts the corn solids to 30–32% (w/w) during dry grind corn ethanol process. This work, using in situ ethanol removal, results in two big improvements in the fermentation process: 1) achieve complete fermentation of high solids slurries (up to 42%) at typical commercial enzyme dosages, and 2) fasten the fermentation process for currently used process with 32% solids. Application of vacuum at optimal times during fermentation (1 h at 12, 24, 36, and 48 h) of 40% corn solids resulted in complete fermentation, compared to about 12% residual glucose in the conventional process. The ethanol yield of 0.42 L/kg of dry corn with about 80% ethanol conversion efficiency was 88% higher than that of the conventional process at 42% solids (0.22 L/kg dry corn). Application of 1.5 h of vacuum at 18 and 24 h of fermentation with 32% solids resulted in high fermentation rates and decreased the fermentation time by more than 50%. Shorter fermentation times can allow processing of more material with the same equipment and allow smaller fermentation tanks in new plants, which would lead to both, lower capital and operating cost.
Basic Quality Improvement

(1993). Basic Quality Improvement. Journal of Quality Technology: Vol. 25, No. 4, pp. 314-315.
The Spatial Weights Matrix and ESF

A prominent feature differentiating between conventional and spatial statistics/econometrics is that the configuration of observations impacts results (i.e., their ordering is important). Accordingly, a spatial analysis needs to include some quantified version of this configuration, which has become known as the spatial weights matrix. In its simplest form, this matrix is topologically based and constructed as an n-by-n table of binary 0–1 indicator variables, one for each location on a map: a cell entry of 1 denotes that the table row and column locations are neighbors (or adjacent), and 0 denotes otherwise. One very common meaning of neighbor—the rook’s definition, based on an analogy with chess—is that two areal units in a surface partitioning share a common non-zero-length border. Sometimes the meaning is that neighbors share both zero- and non-zero-length borders—the queen’s definition. Other definitions involve a certain number of nearest neighbors, relative inter-centroid distance, and dividing ones by their corresponding row totals (i.e., row standardization). This chapter presents analytical comparisons of these different definitions of a spatial weights matrix, with special reference to those definitions preferred for spatial autoregression and eigenvector spatial filtering.
A Hippocampal Cell Line Expresses a Membrane-Associated Cholinergic Trophic Activity Not Attributable to Nerve Growth Factor

Basal forebrain cholinergic cells are prominently affected in Alzheimer’s disease (AD) (Hefti and Weiner, 1986). Choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) is decreased in cholinergic target areas such as the hippocampus and neocortex, and there is a loss of ChAT-positive cells in the basal forebrain, including the septal region. One of the postulated pathogenetic alterations in AD is a deficiency in the normal trophic interactions through which target neocortical and hippocampal cells promote the survival and function of projecting cholinergic neurons (Appel, 1981). Accordingly, trophic factor therapy has been proposed as a potential future approach to the management of AD. Even if abnormalities in trophic interactions do not play a specific pathogenetic role in AD, trophic agents might be expected to help maintain cholinergic innervation of cortex and thus possibly influence the clinical course of AD.
Channeling Radiation: A Historical Perspective

An illustrative history of channeling radiation is presented, from its discovery at Livermore in the late sixties to its more recent development at many laboratories around the world. This paper introduced this topic at the Workshop on Electron-Photon Interactions in Dense Media, held at Nor-Hamberd, Armenia, June 25–29, 2001. A sister paper given the following day illustrated the development of a number of applications of channeling radiation. Although reference is made here to a few of the results presented in this latter paper, many were shown by other speakers, and showing any appreciable number of them here is clearly beyond the purview of these Proceedings.
Effects of probabilities, adverse outcomes, and status quo on perceived riskiness of medications: Testing explanatory hypotheses concerning gist, worry, and numeracy

We tested predictions of fuzzy-trace theory that qualitative health status and gist representations (ordinal and categorical) of risks contribute to willingness to start medications, beyond effects of objective risk, emotion (worry), and numeracy. Adults in two experiments were given hypothetical scenarios based on actual medications, varying health status quo (acceptable or unacceptable), adverse event (pneumonia or cancer), and four levels of quantitative risk (from 1/100,000 to 1/100) between subjects. In both experiments, cancer and higher quantitative risk elicited greater worry and risk perceptions and reduced willingness to start a new medication. Willingness to start was also influenced by health status quo. After controlling for other variables, only status quo and gist representations consistently predicted willingness to start in both experiments. Results support an integrated approach to understanding and predicting perceptions of the risks of medications that encompasses numerical cognition, emotions (such as worry), and qualitative gist representations of medical information.
Regulating hearing aid compatibility of cell phones: results from a national survey.

Accessibility of telecommunication technologies by people who are deaf or hard of hearing has been a critical issue since the invention of the telephone. As both telephone and hearing-aid technolog...
Do Vaccines Cause Herpes Zoster

Varicella vaccines can rarely cause herpes zoster due to vaccine-strain viral reactivation. Other vaccines currently routinely recommended to the general population in the U.S. do not cause vaccine-strain viral reactivation.
Treatment of HIV-Associated Lymphomas: The Latest Approaches for Optimizing Outcomes

Treatment outcomes for patients with HIV-related lymphoma have improved since the advent of combination antiretroviral therapy. Standard regimens, including intensive regimens, are being used with encouraging results in patients with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma, Burkitt lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma, and primary central nervous system lymphoma. Approaches to salvage therapy also parallel those used in patients without HIV infection, including autologous and allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant. Drug interactions with particular antiretrovirals warrant close attention. At a population level, outcomes in patients with HIV infection and lymphoma remain inferior to outcomes achieved in the general population-but a great deal of progress has been made.
ECONOMIC IMPACTS OF MIGRATION AND BRAIN DRAIN AFTER MAJOR CATASTROPHE: THE CASE OF HURRICANE KATRINA

We develop a county-level recursive dynamic computable general equilibrium (CGE) model of Orleans Parish (OP) to examine local economic impacts of migration and brain drain after Hurricane Katrina....
An Agent-Based Model of Plastic Bags Ban Policy Diffusion in California

This paper uses an agent-based model to study plastic bags ban policy adoption in California. By simulating the policy diffusion among counties in California with close-to-reality data, this study seeks to identify the mechanism of policy diffusion and interaction among individuals as well as counties and between individuals and counties. This work models each individual with his/her own attributes, including education, preference, and wealth. Individuals may either influence or be influenced by interacting with others based on preference difference from others. Preferences of individuals are also affected by neighboring counties’ preference changes, while aggregated individual preference change determines the policy adoption and the change of preference of counties. By understanding the mechanism of policy diffusion from interconnected multi-level interaction, this work insights applicable to different areas of policy diffusion.
Modeling of the overall elastic behavior of a transversely isotropic material reinforced with arbitrarily oriented transversely isotropic platelets

Abstract The paper focuses on the calculation of the overall elastic properties of a transversely isotropic material reinforced with arbitrarily oriented platelets. We first propose a new methodology to estimate the contribution of a single arbitrarily oriented strongly oblate spheroidal inhomogeneity embedded in a transversely isotropic matrix, into overall elastic compliance. Then, this result is used to calculate the overall elastic properties by non-interaction approximation and Maxwell homogenization scheme. We compare our results with experimental data on dense biological tissue - hydroxyapatite platelets embedded in transversely isotropic collagen matrix.
Where fairness fails: data, algorithms, and the limits of antidiscrimination discourse

Problems of bias and fairness are central to data justice, as they speak directly to the threat that ‘big data’ and algorithmic decision-making may worsen already existing injustices. In the United...
Kinetics Model of Femtosecond Laser Ionization in Nitrogen and Comparison to Experiment

A zero-dimensional kinetics simulation of femtosecond laser ionization in nitrogen is proposed that includes fast gas heating effects, electron scattering (elastic and inelastic) rate coefficients from BOLSIG+, and photoionization based on filamentation theory. Key rate coefficients possessing significant uncertainty are tuned (within the range of variation found in the literature) to reproduce the time-varying signal acquired by a bandpass-filtered photomultiplier tube with good agreement up to several hundred nanoseconds. Separate spectral measurements calibrate the relative strength of signal components. Derived equations relate the model to experimental measurements in absolute units. Reactions contributing to the rate of change of important species are displayed in terms of absolute rate and relative fraction. In general, decreasing the gas density lengthens the duration of early reactions and delays the start of later reactions. The model agrees with data taken in a variable temperature and pressure free jet by an intensified camera. Results demonstrate that initial signal depends primarily on gas density and secondarily on gas temperature. The initial signal is optimized (maximized) at subatmospheric conditions. Decreases in gas density alter the evolution of excited-state populations, postponing the peak (while reducing its value) and slowing the rate of decay. For the optimal case, populations are favorably shifted in time with respect to the gate delay (and width) to boost the signal. Reductions in gas temperature generally enhance initial signal due to elevated dissociative recombination of cluster ions (along with excited-state coupling from quenching and energy pooling).
Sacubitril-Valsartan Improves Blood Pressure and Heart Failure in Left Ventricular Assist Device (LVAD) Patients

Purpose Angiotensin receptor neprilysin inhibitors (ARNIs) are not routinely used in patients following left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation. At our center, we have increasingly adopted ARNI use in LVAD patients. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of ARNI therapy on LVAD patients. Methods Stable LVAD outpatients with hypertension and persistent heart failure symptoms were initiated on ARNI therapy at our center. We retrospectively reviewed medication requirements and clinical parameters pre- and 3-months post-ARNI initiation. Results Twenty stable LVAD outpatients were initiated on sacubitril-valsartan in an effort to improve blood pressure control and heart failure symptoms. Of these 20 patients, 10 (50%) were maintained on 24/26 mg BID dosing, 6 (30%) were uptitrated to 49/51 mg BID, and 4 (20%) to 97/103 mg BID. Three months following ARNI initiation, mean arterial pressure improved from 92±24 to 75±19 mm Hg (P Conclusion ARNI can improve blood pressure, decrease diuretic requirement, and improve functional capacity in LVAD patients. LVAD speed and medication adjustments may be necessary following ARNI initiation, and in some instances, side effects can limit the ability to sustain ARNI therapy in the setting of LVAD.
Fostering "Global Citizens"? Trends in Global Awareness, Agency, and Competence in Textbooks Worldwide, 1950-2011.

Global citizenship education (GCED) has gained attention in academic and popular discourse as a vehicle for building a more peaceful and sustainable world. This article asks how various aspects of GCED have been present in textbooks cross-nationally over time. Based on a longitudinal dataset of over 600 social science textbooks from around the world, the article argues that textbooks have increasingly incorporated global awareness, global agency, and skills to recognize various perspectives. Findings further suggest that what it means to be a “citizen” has expanded beyond national boundaries, such that individuals are increasingly viewed as global agents, able to contribute to and make a difference not only for their local community but also for global ones. This view is especially adopted in textbooks from countries that are democratic, and embedded in the international community.
Near Miss Involving Red Phosphorus

A recent near miss involving ignition of a small amount of red phosphorus was investigated. The near miss is discussed in detail along with the root cause investigation. Six possible root causes we...
A Fluorination Method for Improving Cation-Disordered Rocksalt Cathode Performance

Author(s): Ahn, J; Chen, D; Chen, G | Abstract: In Li-rich cation-disordered rocksalt oxide cathodes (DRX), partial fluorine substitution in the oxygen anion sublattice can increase the capacity contribution from transition-metal (TM) redox while reducing that from the less reversible oxygen redox. To date, limited fluorination substitution has been achieved by introducing LiF precursor during the solid-state synthesis. To take full advantage of the fluorination effect, however, a higher F content is desired. In the present study, the successful use of a fluorinated polymeric precursor is reported to increase the F solubility in DRX and the incorporation of F content up to 10–12.5 at% into the rocksalt lattice of a model Li-Mn-Nb-O (LMNO) system, largely exceeding the 7.5 at% limit achieved with LiF synthesis. Higher F content in the fluorinated-DRX (F-DRX) significantly improves electrochemical performance, with a reversible discharge capacity of ≈255 mAh g−1 achieved at 10 at% of F substitution. After 30 cycles, up to a 40% increase in capacity retention is achieved through the fluorination. The study demonstrates the feasibility of using a new and effective fluorination process to synthesize advanced DRX cathode materials.
SEMG Biofeedback Reeducation and Rehabilitation: The Sella Protocol

Surface electromyography (SEMG) dynamic protocols were developed to facilitate the assessment of SEMG resting and activity amplitude potentials and to guide muscular reeducation and rehabilitation....
Optimal Control of an Energy-Recycling Actuator for Mobile Robotics Applications

Actuator power consumption is a limiting factor in mobile robot design. In this paper we introduce the concept of an energy-recycling actuator, which uses an array of springs and clutches to capture and return elastic energy in parallel with an electric motor. Engaging and disengaging clutches appropriately could reduce electrical energy consumption without sacrificing controllability, but presents a challenging control problem. We formulated the optimal control objective of minimizing actuator power consumption as a mixed-integer quadratic program (MIQP) and solved for the global minimum. For a given actuator design and a wide range of simulated torque and rotation patterns, all corresponding to zero net work over one cycle, we compared optimized actuator energy consumption to that of an optimized gear motor with simple parallel elasticity. The simulated energy-recycling actuator consumed less electrical energy: 57% less on average and 80% less in the best case. These results demonstrate an effective approach to optimal control of this type of system, and suggest that energy-recycling actuators could substantially reduce power consumption in some robotics applications.
Older Adults' Loneliness in Early COVID-19 Social Distancing: Implications of Rurality

Objectives Older adults face greater health risks due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), yet preventative social distancing measures may cause increased social isolation, potentially heightening risk of loneliness. In this mixed-methods study we examine changes in older adults' loneliness due to social distancing, explore variability in perceptions, and identify whether such changes differ by rurality. Methods A Midwestern sample of 76 older adults aged 70-97 (mean age = 82; 74% female; 95% White; 39% rural) completed a phone interview about their experiences with social distancing due to COVID-19. Interviews were conducted during early weeks of regional social distancing. Participants completed retrospective and current assessments of loneliness, including providing explanations of their responses. Results On average, loneliness increased during early social distancing, yet variability was evident. Those experiencing increased loneliness described a feeling of loss or lack of control, whereas those experiencing stability in loneliness identified adaptability in social connection modes or feeling accustomed to social isolation. Rural older adults experienced a significantly smaller increase in loneliness than their nonrural counterparts. Discussion These findings suggest nuanced experiences among older adults, but generally negative implications for loneliness. Interventions to address older adults' social isolation and loneliness during COVID-19 are warranted.
Directly Controlling the Perceived Difficulty of a Shooting Game by the Addition of Fake Enemy Bullets

Adjusting the balance between the player’s game skill and the difficulty level is one of the most important factors to improve the player’s engagement. However, it is still quite rare to find works that aim to straightly control the subjective difficulty perceived by the player. Our research question is whether or not it is possible to control the perceived difficulty just by adding enemy objects that do not raise the actual difficulty level. To investigate this issue, we designed a simple shooting game with two ‘fake enemy bullets’: Unreachable Bullets and Non-collisionable Bullets, which do not damage the player character. The experiment suggests that the non-collisionable bullet can efficiently increase the perceived difficulty level but the unreachable bullet does not. Such a study in novel techniques that can control the perceived difficulty without changing the actual difficulty could contribute to both research and practices in game design.
Is radiation necrosis in radiated melanoma brain metastasis increasing because immunotherapy is contributing to this or are patients just living longer

e21518Background: The use of immune checkpoint inhibitors, particularly combination ipilimumab and nivolumab, has drastically changed the management of patients with melanoma brain metastasis. Sele...
What Role Does Motivation and Engagement in Garden-Based Education Play for Science Learning in At-Risk Middle School Students? A Self-Determination Theory Perspective

The goal of this chapter is to explore how a motivational model based on self-determination theory can be used as a guide for specifying some of the elements of garden-based education necessary to promote science learning and achievement. This model posits that students’ intrinsic motivation and constructive engagement with garden-based activities are “active ingredients” in their learning, and that programs will succeed in fostering motivation and engagement to the extent that they support key student experiences in the gardens, including feelings of belonging and self-efficacy, and a sense of purpose and ownership for garden-based activities and outcomes. The utility of this framework is illustrated with research from an interdisciplinary collaboration organized around the Learning Gardens Laboratory (LGLab), a garden-based education program grounded in sustainability pedagogy and carried out in cooperation with a middle school serving mostly low-income, minority, and immigrant youth. Analyses of information from 310 sixth and seventh grade students, their 6 Science teachers, and school records collected at multiple time points during the year suggested that, consistent with the motivational model, students’ engagement in garden-based activities predicts improvements across the school year in their science learning in the garden and achievement in science and other core subjects taught in the garden (math and social studies). Moreover, one way in which students’ garden engagement contributes to improvements in learning and achievement is by boosting their engagement in science class. Different patterns of meditational effects were found depending on the target outcome. For science learning in the garden, engagement in the garden and in science class both make unique contributions; for science achievement, the effects of garden engagement are fully mediated by science engagement; and for core achievement, garden engagement contributes to achievement not only directly, but also indirectly – by shaping students’ subsequent engagement in science class. Discussion centers on how this framework can be used to enrich current garden-based education programs as well as to guide future research, including the selection of measures, the generation of motivational hypotheses, and the use of longitudinal designs to study key processes of engagement and learning in the gardens and in science class.
A Behavioral View of EO and Strategic Leadership

This chapter discusses a behavioral perspective on EO, and contrasts the ontological assumptions made under a behavioral perspective with the attitudinal perspective also found in the EO literature. While arguing for the primacy of a behavioral perspective, the chapter briefly discusses the role of organizational culture in the EO literature, and how these discussions may be useful in an EO-leadership context. The chapter then outlines a behavioral perspective on strategic leadership and contrasts this perspective with the ex officio view common in strategic leadership research. I then introduce resource allocation decisions as the organizing frame around a behavioral perspective on EO and strategic leadership, premised on the argument that what leaders commit resources toward, and how those resource allocation decisions influence entrepreneurial behaviors, is central to understanding how leaders influence the firm’s level of EO. The chapter concludes with an introduction of a research model of EO and strategic leadership.
Statin Intolerance and Non-Compliance: An Empiric Approach.

Over the long-term, at least half of patients started on statins will discontinue them. Statin noncompliance can be defined as discontinuing therapy for whatever reason. This results from four causes: dysfunction of the health care system; fear of side effects (nocebo effect); disorders of the musculoskeletal system or other organs misconstrued as statin related; and true statin myotoxicity. Statin intolerance here represents discontinuation due to perceived side effects. For statin intolerance in patients with clinical atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease, the goal is an LDL level < 70 mg/dL Treatment includes maximally tolerated statin dosage, adding non-statin drugs, and if necessary, a PCSK9 inhibitor. For primary prevention in patients at intermediate risk, as determined by risk factors, coronary artery calcium should be measured for deciding on statin therapy. For patients having zero calcium, a statin can be withheld for a decade before rescanning. If original calcium score is 1-99 Agatston units, a statin can be delayed for five years before rescanning. When the score is ≥ 100, statin therapy is indicated.
Protein Kinase C as the Site of Action of the Phorbol Ester Tumor Promoters

The phorbol esters are among the most potent tumor promoters in the two-stage model for mouse skin carcinogenesis(1–3) They induce numerous biochemical and cellular responses in mouse skin, of which increased cellular proliferation and hyperplasia are particularly prominent. In in vitro systems likewise, the phorbol esters induce a wide spectrum of responses, including various alterations in cellular proliferation, differentiation, and intercellular communication(4–6) The phorbol esters thus represent valuable tools to explore cellular function. The elucidation of their mechanism of action at the molecular level is relevant not only to the study of experimental chemical carcinogenesis but also to broader areas of research in cellular growth and differentiation.
Physicalism, Chaos and Reductionism

In addition to ignoring the severe practical problems posed by decoherence phenomena, quantum mind hypotheses are motivated by a misunderstanding of the nature of classical (i. e. nonquantum) dynamics. As presently understood, nonlinear dynamical systems — of which the brain is clearly one — exhibit the twin phenomena of chaos and emergence. The first of these impedes reductionist formulations as does quantum theory, and the second leads to hierarchical structures in biological organisms and cognitive systems, which are difficult to analyze reductively. Thus a quantum mind theory must rest on empirical evidence rather than philosophical speculation.
Full signature invariants for L~0(F(t))

Let F/Q be a number field closed under complex conjugation. Denote by L 0 (F(t)) the Witt group of hermitian forms over F(t). We find full invariants for detecting non-zero elements in L 0 (F(t)) ⊗ Q. This group plays an important role in topology in the work done by Casson and Gordon.
SPECIES-SPECIFIC HEMAGGLUTINOGENS IN CULTIVATED MAMMALIAN CELLS. II. THE INTRACELLULAR LOCATION OF HEMAGGLUTINOGENS.

Abstract Species-specific antigenicity as measured by inhibition of species-specific hemagglutinins is associated with particulate as well as soluble proteinaceous components throughout the cell including the nucleus. There is no indication for a particular, specially located cell constituent as carrier of species-specificity. In contrast, blood group B-specific antigen was not found in the nuclear cell fraction of primary rhesus monkey kidney cells, but in the particulate as well as soluble cytoplasmic fractions tested.
Free Radical Trap Phenyl-N-tert-Butylnitrone Protects against Light Damage But Does Not Rescue P23H and S334ter Rhodopsin Transgenic Rats from Inherited Retinal Degeneration

Phenyl-N-tert-butylnitrone (PBN) protects rat retinas against light damage. Because the degenerative process involved in light damage and inherited retinal degeneration both lead to a common final cell death, apoptosis, we used transgenic rats with a P23H or S334ter rhodopsin mutation to test the effects of PBN on retinal degeneration and light damage and the susceptibility of the transgenic rats to light damage. In the first study, 3-week-old mutant and wild-type rats were given no drug, 0.25% PBN in drinking water, or 0.25% PBN in drinking water plus three daily intraperitoneal injections of PBN (100 mg/kg, i.p., every 8 hr). Electroretinograms were recorded at postnatal day 49, after which the rats were killed for morphometric analysis. There was no photoreceptor rescue by PBN in P23H or S334ter rats, as evidenced by equivalent loss of function and photoreceptor cells in the three treatment groups. In the second study, P23H, S334ter, and wild-type rats were exposed for 24 hr to 2700 lux light. The rats were untreated or treated with PBN (50 mg/kg per injection, every 6 hr, starting before exposure). ERGs were recorded before and 1 d after exposure. Animals were killed 6 d later for morphometric analysis. PBN protected wild-type and P23H but not S334ter retinas from light damage. S334ter retinas were relatively less susceptible to light damage than P23H and wild-type rats. The results suggest that the initiating event(s) that causes photoreceptor cell death in the mutated rats is different from that which occurs in light damage, although both ultimately undergo an apoptotic cell death.
Characterization of Benthic Bacterial Assemblages in a Polluted Stream Using Denaturing Gradient Gel Electrophoresis

To study differences in bacterial assemblages among sites with different environmental conditions, sediment samples were collected from three sites along a South Carolina (U.S.A.) coastalplain stream with varying levels of anthropogenic perturbation. The objective of this study was to compare the bacterial assemblages among these sites to detect possible impacts from the disturbance. To accomplish this comparison, DNA was extracted from the samples and subjected to the polymerase chain reaction using primers designed to amplify bacterial 16S rRNA genes. Relative measures of bacterial genetic diversity, assessed using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (DGGE), revealed greater numbers of unique sequences at the disturbed sites. The number of bands, which is analogous to species richness, did not vary predictably among sites. Similarity indices revealed a high level of similarity among replicate samples from each site and low similarity between samples from different sites. This study demonstrated that bacterial assemblages differed among sites and that the presence or absence of certain species, represented by unique DGGE bands, differed among sites; unique bands were most commonly encountered at the disturbed sites. Based on the evidence gathered, we conclude that benthic bacterial assemblages vary longitudinally and that anthropogenic disturbance may alter the bacterial component of streams.
Examples of extreme cases in l/sub 1/ and H/sub /spl infin// optimization

Advances in the theory of robust control have brought forth two methodologies for controller design: l/sub 1/ and H/sub /spl infin//. In this paper the authors take the approach of using examples to illustrate some tradeoffs while designing controllers using either of the two methodologies. Further, for the sake of simplicity the authors consider the case of minimization of the sensitivity transfer function in all the examples. First, the authors discuss the frequency domain properties of l/sub 1/ optimal solutions and compare them with H/sub /spl infin// optimal solutions. Next the authors contrast l/sub 1/ and H/sub /spl infin// optimal solutions and explore their extreme behavior. Finally with the help of an example the authors illustrate some interesting properties of mixed minimization. >
Optical constants of a model semiconductor

From the computed absorption coefficient resulting from band-to-band transitions in a simple model semiconductor, and application of the Kramers-Kronig dispersion relation, the real and imaginary parts of the optical index are separated and the reflection coefficient is computed.
A specimen of older pima bajo

Se presenta en este trabajo una seleccion de pequenos textos, tomados del Confessionario en lengua pima , segun la transcripcion de Buckingham Smith (1862). Dicho Confessionario , junto con otros manuscritos en pima bajo, se atribuye a Baltasar de Loaysa (1608-1692). De ser asi, como lo hace notar el autor de este trabajo, estos textos serian los testimonios mas antiguos en pima bajo.
OpenFlow-based server load balancing gone wild

Today's data centers host online services on multiple servers, with a front-end load balancer directing each client request to a particular replica. Dedicated load balancers are expensive and quickly become a single point of failure and congestion. The OpenFlow standard enables an alternative approach where the commodity network switches divide traffic over the server replicas, based on packet-handling rules installed by a separate controller. However, the simple approach of installing a separate rule for each client connection (or "microflow") leads to a huge number of rules in the switches and a heavy load on the controller. We argue that the controller should exploit switch support for wildcard rules for a more scalable solution that directs large aggregates of client traffic to server replicas. We present algorithms that compute concise wildcard rules that achieve a target distribution of the traffic, and automatically adjust to changes in load-balancing policies without disrupting existing connections. We implement these algorithms on top of the NOX OpenFlow controller, evaluate their effectiveness, and propose several avenues for further research.
REINVENTING GOVERNMENT AND RURAL PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION: LESSONS FROM FIVE CASES

Public transportation is a good test for question: Is the public sector really reinventing itself?, because it is highly sensitive to the reinventing government movement now so prominent on U.S. policy agenda. The paper develops prospectively useful policy insights from five rural Michigan cases of reinventing local public transportation. The analysis finds that taskforce recommendations are modest attempts at reinvention. Significant change involving interorganizational coordination in a complex service such as public transportation is difficult to bring about. This difficulty is attributed to lack of goal consensus and resource instability. Local policy entrepreneurs, however, possess many more opportunities for promoting reinvention.
CD4+ CD25+ Regulatory T Cell Repertoire Formation in Response to Varying Expression of a neo-Self-Antigen

We have examined the development of self-peptide-specific CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in lineages of transgenic mice that express the influenza virus PR8 hemagglutinin (HA) under the control of several different promoters (HA transgenic mice). By mating these lineages with TS1-transgenic mice expressing a TCR that recognizes the major I-E(d)-restricted determinant from HA (site 1 (S1)), we show that S1-specific T cells undergo selection to become CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in each of the lineages, although in varying numbers. In some lineages, S1-specific CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells are highly abundant; indeed, TS1xHA-transgenic mice can contain as many S1-specific CD4+ T cells as are present in TS1 mice, which do not express the neo-self HA. In another lineage, however, S1-specific thymocytes are subjected to more extensive deletion and far fewer S1-specific CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells accumulate in the periphery. We show that radioresistant stromal cells can direct both deletion and CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cell selection of S1-specific thymocytes. Interestingly, even though their numbers can vary, the S1-specific CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cells in all cases coexist with clonally related CD4+ CD25- T cells that lack regulatory function. These findings show that the formation of the CD4+ CD25+ regulatory T cell repertoire is sensitive to variations in the expression of self-peptides.
In vitro and in vivo interaction of 64Cu-DOTA-cetuximab and epidermal growth factor receptor in cervical cancer cell lines

B12 Cetuximab (ImClone Systems/Bristol-Myers Squibb), a chimeric monoclonal antibody specific for the extracellular domain of the human epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR), is approved by the FDA for the treatment of EGFR-expressing, metastatic colorectal carcinoma. Patients treated with cetuximab show an objective response rate of 10.8%, and thus far, no correlation has been found between the degree of EGFR expression and the response to cetuximab treatment. At least 60% of cervical cancers are EGFR positive. Copper-64-labeled cetuximab and cervical cancer cell lines with varying degrees of EGFR expression were used to investigate characteristics of the antibody-EGFR interaction that might correlate with patient response. Five cervical cancer cell lines (C-33A (negative for EGFR), HeLa, DoTc2 4510, ME-180 and CaSki ) were shown by GeneChip microarray analysis to have different EGFR expression. Cetuximab was conjugated with the chelator DOTA and radiolabeled with 64 Cu (T 1/2 = 12.7 h; β + (17.4%)). Saturation receptor binding and internalization assays were carried out in the five cell lines using whole cells with 64 Cu-DOTA-cetuximab and receptor densities (B max ) and binding constants (K d ) were determined. The values for EGFR binding affinity (K d ) of 64 Cu-DOTA-cetuximab in the five cell lines were very similar (0.1 - 0.7 nM), as was expected for the same substrate-receptor interaction. The EGFR receptor concentration (B max ; fmol/mg total cellular protein) was found to mimic the order of EGFR expression as determined by microarray analysis and was in the order of CaSki (2133) > ME-180 (818) > DoTc2 4510 (610) > HeLa (305) > C-33A (24). The level of internalization of 64 Cu-DOTA-cetuximab by these cell lines showed the same trend, and studies are currently underway to examine the rate of internalization for each of the cell lines. CaSki cells were implanted into SCID mice and the resulting tumors were imaged by microPET with 64 Cu-DOTA-cetuximab. High uptake was observed in the CaSki tumors by both microPET imaging and biodistribution (SUV: 1.36; 13.2 ∓ 2.7 %ID/g). PET imaging of EGFR positive tumors with 64 Cu-DOTA-cetuximab may give further insight into the actions of cetuximab on EGFR positive tumors.
Consumer Ethics: The Role of Religiosity

This article presents the results of a study that investigated the role that religiosity plays in determining consumer attitudes/beliefs regarding various questionable consumer practices. Additionally, other personal factors were examined including idealism, relativism, consumer alienation and selected demographics such as income and age. All of these constructs were examined as antecedents of consumer ethical beliefs. The results of a post hoc analysis indicated that religiosity was a significant determinate of both idealism and relativism, and since idealism and relativism determine consumer ethical beliefs, religiosity is a significant indirect determinate of consumer ethical beliefs.
Accountability, Strategy, and International Non-Governmental Organizations

Increased prominence and greater influence expose international non-governmental development and environmental organizations (INGOs) to increased demands for accountability from a wide variety of stakeholders-donors, beneficiaries, staffs, and partners among others. This paper focuses on developing the concept of INGO accountability, first as an abstract concept and then as a strategic idea with very different implications for different INGO strategies. We examine those implications for INGOs that emphasize service delivery, capacity-building, and policy influence. We propose that INGOs committed to service delivery may owe more accountability to donors and service regulators; capacity-building INGOs may be particularly obligated to clients whose capacities are being enhanced; and policy influence INGOs may be especially accountable to political constituencies and to influence targets. INGOs that are expanding their activities to include new initiatives may need to reorganize their accountability systems to implement their strategies effectively.
Effects of 4 y of oral supplementation with beta-carotene on serum concentrations of retinol, tocopherol, and five carotenoids.

β-Carotene has been studied widely as a potential cancer-preventing agent. Recent studies found that subjects who took β-carotene supplements orally had increases in their serum concentrations of α-carotene and lycopene that were large (> 150% increase) and significantly greater than such increases in subjects who received placebo and that similar supplementation was associated with a decrease of 37% in plasma lutein concentrations. A biologic interaction between β-carotene and other carotenoids was suggested. We measured concentrations of retinol. α-tocopherol, and five carotenoids in serum specimens from a random sample of subjects enrolled in a clinical trial of the use of antioxidant vitamins in preventing colonic adenomas. We used serum specimens obtained at enrollment and after the subjects took placebo (n = 54) or 25 mg β-carotene/d (n = 54) orally for 4 y. In a multivariate analysis, baseline serum concentrations of the analytes, sex, body mass index, diet, smoking status, and age were associated with variable changes in some analytes over the 4-y period but supplementation with β-carotene was related only to a mean increase in serum β-carotene itself of 151%. We excluded with 95% confidence an increase in lycopene > 4.9%, an increase in α-carotene > 17.6%, and a decrease in lutein > 14.7% in subjects given β-carotene, These results confirm previous findings that supplementation with β-carotene given orally does not alter serum concentrations of retinol or α-tocopherol. The findings also indicate that β-carotene supplementation, which results in a moderate increase in serum β-carotene concentration, does not significantly change serum concentrations of other carotenoids.
Debt Issued Through Others: Conduits, Joint Powers Authorities, and Borrowing Costs in California Local Governments

The issuance of debt is a complicated and time-consuming task requiring governments to pay substantial fixed transaction costs. Conduit financings, where one entity issues debt on behalf of a government, including bond pools, where multiple governments issue debt together, are methods that offer the potential to reduce the burdens of participating governments, ideally lowering their costs. But conduit hosts have costs of their own to cover and may not be able to offer a cost advantage to their participants. In this paper we examine debt issued under the Marks Roos Act of 1985, a law created to facilitate pooling but actually used for conduit financing. We seek to determine how issuers fare using this mechanism rather than issuing by themselves. We examine issuance costs and borrowing costs (true interest cost) and find both to be significantly lower for those governments that issued by themselves.
Is a minority government in the offing? Might it be good for health care?

With a strong show of hands at city hall — 17 to 6 — Halifax has become the first major city in Canada to ban the use of pesticides on residential lawns and gardens. Beginning next April, it will be illegal to use pesticides within 50 m of hospitals or schools. The full ban takes effect in 2003
Oxygen matters: tissue culture oxygen levels affect mitochondrial function and structure as well as responses to HIV viroproteins.

Mitochondrial dysfunction is implicated in a majority of neurodegenerative disorders and much study of neurodegenerative disease is done on cultured neurons. In traditional tissue culture, the oxygen level that cells experience is dramatically higher (21%) than in vivo conditions (1–11%). These differences can alter experimental results, especially, pertaining to mitochondria and oxidative metabolism. Our results show that primary neurons cultured at physiological oxygen levels found in the brain showed higher polarization, lower rates of ROS production, larger mitochondrial networks, greater cytoplasmic fractions of mitochondria and larger mitochondrial perimeters than those cultured at higher oxygen levels. Although neurons cultured in either physiological oxygen or atmospheric oxygen exhibit significant increases in mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS) production when treated with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) virotoxin trans-activator of transcription, mitochondria of neurons cultured at physiological oxygen underwent depolarization with dramatically increased cell death, whereas those cultured at atmospheric oxygen became hyperpolarized with no increase in cell death. Studies with a second HIV virotoxin, negative regulation factor (Nef), revealed that Nef treatment also increased mitochondrial ROS production for both the oxygen conditions, but resulted in mitochondrial depolarization and increased death only in neurons cultured in physiological oxygen. These results indicate a role for oxidative metabolism in a mechanism of neurotoxicity during HIV infection and demonstrate the importance of choosing the correct, physiological, culture oxygen in mitochondrial studies performed in neurons.
Sine-Gordon breathers on spatially periodic potentials.

We have carried out an extensive simulation program to study the behavior of sine-Gordon breathers initially at rest in the presence of perturbations that are periodic in space and constant in time. We report here a number of different observed phenomena and the range of the relevant parameters (the ratio of the breather width to the perturbation wavelength and the perturbation magnitude) for which each one of them occurs. We also propose some qualitative explanations valid for certain regimes.
Acceptability and preferences for vaginal dosage forms intended for prevention of HIV or HIV and pregnancy

This paper reviews key issues found to affect acceptability and preferences for vaginal products to prevent HIV infection or HIV and pregnancy. We focus on the interplay between the biological and physico-chemical aspects of formulation and the social and behavioral issues that may affect use. The need for an HIV prevention product that women can use is driven by women's increased biological and social vulnerability to HIV infection, and thus social and behavioral research on microbicide acceptability has been conducted alongside, as well as separate from, the earliest product development efforts. Some acceptability and preference issues are specific to a product's dosage form, use-requirements, and/or use indications, while others pertain to any vaginal product used for prevention of HIV or pregnancy. Although most of the work cited here was published since 2010, it draws on a much longer trajectory of research.
Dizziness in childhood

There is a scant literature regarding vestibular evaluation of children with complaints of dizziness or vertigo. Considerable time and effort are expended on the problem and prevention of hearing loss in children, yet we often ignore concurrent or subsequent vestibular disorders. This neglect could be due to several factors, perhaps the most common being the fact that vertiginous crises in childhood are often attributed to problems of behavior or incoordination. In this article, we offer an approach to the dizzy child based on presenting symptoms. We discuss features of the history, examination, and laboratory evaluation key to determining the cause of dizziness. Finally, we discuss management, which varies according to the diagnosis.
Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis with Pancreatic Involvement: Imaging Findings Including Diffusion-Weighted Imaging

Langerhans cell histiocytosis (LCH) can affect many different organs. However, LCH with pancreatic involvement is very rare with a few reports about imaging findings. We present a case of multisystemic LCH with pancreatic involvement in a five-week-old infant. Pancreas lesion showed hypoechoic on ultrasonography, low density with poor enhancement on CT, and restricted diffusion on diffusion-weighted imaging. Although LCH with pancreatic involvement is rare, LCH should be considered in the differential diagnosis of pancreatic mass in children.