cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Presidents and Their Critics: The Structure of Television News Coverage

The tendency for presidents to lose support as their terms progress has sparked interest in the processes involved and the criteria used by the public for judging the presidency. Many political analysts agree that the President's portrayal on the network evening news programs significantly influences public perceptions of the President and his policies. An underexamined component of "presidential news" are the criticisms of the President, his policies, and staff that are contained in news stories that appear in the evening news programs. This article explores the following questions: 1) Who are the President's "televised" critics? 2) What aspects of presidential performance receive the most/least attention? 3) Do different presidential constituencies use different standards to judge presidential performance? 4) What is the tone of presidential judgments aired in the evening news? The article concludes with a brief assessment of the relevance of my findings for the "two-presidency" thesis.
Incentives for orphan drug research and development in the United States

The Orphan Drug Act (1983) established several incentives to encourage the development of orphan drugs (ODs) to treat rare diseases and conditions. This study analyzed the characteristics of OD designations, approvals, sponsors, and evaluated the effective patent and market exclusivity life of orphan new molecular entities (NMEs) approved in the US between 1983 and 2007. Primary data sources were the FDA Orange Book, the FDA Office of Orphan Drugs Development, and the US Patent and Trademark Office. Data included all orphan designations and approvals listed by the FDA and all NMEs approved by the FDA during the study period. The FDA listed 1,793 orphan designations and 322 approvals between 1983 and 2007. Cancer was the main group of diseases targeted for orphan approvals. Eighty-three companies concentrated 67.7% of the total orphan NMEs approvals. The average time from orphan designation to FDA approval was 4.0 ± 3.3 years (mean ± standard deviation). The average maximum effective patent and market exclusivity life was 11.7 ± 5.0 years for orphan NME. OD market exclusivity increased the average maximum effective patent and market exclusivity life of ODs by 0.8 years. Public programs, federal regulations, and policies support orphan drugs R&D. Grants, research design support, FDA fee waivers, tax incentives, and orphan drug market exclusivity are the main incentives for orphan drug R&D. Although the 7-year orphan drug market exclusivity provision had a positive yet relatively modest overall effect on effective patent and market exclusivity life, economic incentives and public support mechanisms provide a platform for continued orphan drug development for a highly specialized market.
Induction of HTLV-III/LAV from a nonvirus-producing T-cell line: implications for latency

When the human T-cell line A3.01 is infected with HTLV-III/LAV, the virus associated with the acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS), most of the cells are killed. However, a small number of cells that lack the Leu-3 surface marker survive. Under normal conditions these surviving cells do not produce virus, nor can they be infected by the virus, but they can be induced to produce virus by treatment with 5-iodo-2'-deoxyuridine. This response can be induced for as long as 3 months after the initial infection, suggesting that the cells may harbor a latent form of HTLV-III/LAV.
Synthesis and biologic activity of 3β-thiovitamin D3

Abstract We synthesized 3β-thiovitamin D 3 from 7-dehydrocholesterol and tested its biological activity and protein binding properties. The thiovitamin was found to be a weak vitamin D agonist at high doses in vivo . It was poorly bound by both vitamin D-binding protein as well as by the intestinal cytosol receptor for 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D. It did not increase the synthesis of calcium binding protein in the chick embryonic duodenum and did not block the activity of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 in this system We conclude that 3β -thiovitamin D 3 is a weak vitamin D agonist in vivo with no agonist activity or antagonist activity to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D 3 in the chick embryonic duodenum.
Micro-mechanical forces stimulate cell proliferation and vascularization of perfused tissues

INTRODUCTION: Treatment of complex wounds increasingly consumes health care resources. Numerous approaches have met with limited success. Since biological systems are designed to respond and adapt to mechanical stressors, one treatment modality to improve wound healing is the use of Micro-Mechanical Forces (MMFs). In order to examine this theory, we propose to study the effect of tension on vascular remodeling, angiogenesis and cellular proliferation.
Investigations in the Field of the Ultra-Short Electromagnetic Waves I. The Generator for the Production of Ultra-Short Undamped Waves

A description of apparatus for the production of ultra-short undamped electromagnetic waves by the method of Barkhausen and Kurz is given. An investigation has been made of the method of detecting the oscillations by observing the current in the plate circuit of the generator. At a constant plate potential the current is approximately proportional to the amplitude of the oscillations. A comparison of generators with one and with two tubes shows the advantages of the former. In certain cases the energy of oscillations produced by generators with one tube can be considerably increased by a suitable choice of the "ballast" capacity of the generator.
Lysophosphatidylcholine in liposomal membranes. Enhanced permeability but little effect on transfer of a water-soluble fluorescent marker into human lymphocytes

In an attempt to enhance delivery of liposome contents into cells, we tested the effect of lysophosphatidylcholine on transfer of the fluorescent dye, carboxyfluorescein, from small unilamellar and large multilamellar vesicles to human lymphocytes. Dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine and dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine-lysophosphatidylcholine small unilamellar vesicles with varying lipid ratios were prepared and characterized. In the presence of lysophosphatidylcholine, small unilamellar vesicles were slightly smaller and more leaky than those made without lysophosphatidylcholine. Lysophosphatidylcholine induced less leakage in large multilamellar vesicles. It did not show any appreciable effect on transfer of liposome contents, whether included as part of the liposomal bilayer (of unilamellar or multilamellar vesicles) or added exogenously together with small unilamellar dioleoyl phosphatidylcholine vesicles.
Excitatory transmission in the dorsal horn is in part mediated through APV-sensitive NMDA receptors

Abstract The role of subtypes of excitatory amino acid receptor in synaptic transmission in the spinal dorsal horn has been studied in an in vitro slice preparation with well-preserved afferent inputs to the dorsal horn. Intracellular recordings were made from 30 dorsal horn neurons in laminae I-III of 18 28 day old rats. Superfusion of the slice with a Mg 2 + zero solution resulted in an increase in the amplitude and duration of dorsal root-evoked excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSP) recorded intracellularly from dorsal horn neurons. Bath application of d -2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (10 −5 M to 2.5 × 10 −5 M) or dl -2-amino-5-phosphonovalerate (10 −4 M to 2.5 × 10 −4 M) rapidly and reversibly abolished the later component of the EPSP evoked by activation of either group of primary afferents and selectively antagonized the N- methyl- d -aspartate-induced depolarization.
Improved prediction of bending plumes

Integral plume models harbor a fundamental, often significant error because the standard implementation of control volumes, or elements, is inconsistent with the overall geometry of the problem. The error, called the negative volume anomaly, occurs irregularly, being contingent on there being strong bending and large plume diameter. When present it causes entrainment, i.e., dilution, to be overestimated. It is of practical significance because dilution estimates are used to design and assess diffusers. The anomaly arises when constructed round element faces intersect, as they do when plume diameters are large and plume bending is pronounced, inadvertently generating negative volume and a faulty integration of the governing equations. A modified control volume is proposed to correct the error, and its performance is demonstrated. Its development yields clues to other plume behavior, for example, how plume trajectories may respond to the asymmetrical addition of mass and its distribution in the element.
The effect of growth regulators and apex removal on branching and flower bud production of jojoba

The effects of three concentrations of 6-benzyladenine (BA), gibberellic acid 4 and 7 (GA4 + 7) and Promalin (a mixture of BA and GA4 + 7) on branching and flower production of three jojoba (Simmondsia chinensis (Link) C. Schneid.) clones were studied in greenhouse and field conditions. Treatments involving pinching were also included. Time of treatment application significantly influenced the plant's quantitative response, although the same qualitative changes were obtained. For plants treated in August, the growth regulators had a significant effect on both branching and flower bud production, and clones differed in their response. For the most responsive clone, the most effective treatments were 100 ppm GA4 + 7 and 100 ppm Promalin and these resulted in a 133% and 110% increase in flower buds after 17 months, respectively, relative to non-treated control plants. For this same clone, the best BA treatment (100 ppm) resulted in a 74% increase in flower buds, while pinching resulted in a 47% increase. The increase in flower buds was associated with an increase in the number of growing tips and node production. The ratio of flower buds per node was not changed. Similar responses were observed in a field experiment. The results of these studies indicate that growth regulators can be used to significantly increase branching and flower bud production on jojoba in the early years of growth.
SUSCEPTIBILITY OF THE SIBERIAN POLECAT TO SUBCUTANEOUS AND ORAL YERSINIA PESTIS EXPOSURE

To determine if the Siberian polecat (Mustela eversmannii) represents a suitable model for the study of plague pathogenesis and prevention in the black-footed ferret (Mustela nigripes), polecats were exposed to 103, 107, or 1010 Yersinia pestis organisms by subcutaneous injection; an additional group was exposed to Y. pestis via ingestion of a plague-killed mouse. Plague killed 88% of polecats exposed to Y. pestis (71% mortality in the 103 group, 100% mortality in the 107 and 1010 groups, and 83% mortality in the mouse-fed group). Within the challenged group, mean day of death post-challenge ranged from 3.6 to 7.6 days; all polecats died on or before day 12 post-challenge. Animals receiving the lowest parenteral dose survived significantly longer than those receiving higher parenteral doses. Within challenged animals, mean survival time was lower in those presenting with significant weight loss by day 3, lethargy, and low fecal output; time to onset of lethargy and other signs was also related to risk of ...
Glyoxalase I activity inH-2 b andH-2 d cells

Erythrocytes and thymocytes of theH-2d genotype express between 1.6 and 2.6 times as much glyoxalase I activity per milligram of protein as those of theH-2b genotype; the activity in theF1 (H-2b/H-2d) cells is intermediate between these two values. Activity of glyoxalase II is not affected by the H-2 genotype. The H-2d:H-2b ratio of glyoxalase I activity is higher in the BALB background where it is 2.6:1 than in the B10 background where it is 1.6:1. Thermal denaturation kinetics of enzymes from the H-2b and H-2d genotype cells are the same.
Linear elasticity of planar Delaunay networks. III: Self-consistent approximations

Two-phase Delaunay and regular triangular networks, with randomness per vertex, provide generic models of granular media consisting of two types of grains — soft and stiff. We investigate effective macroscopic moduli of such networks for the whole range of area fractions of both phases and for a very wide range of stiffnesses of both phases. Results of computer simulations of such networks under periodic boundary conditions are used to determine which of several different self-consistent models can provide the best possible approximation to effective Hooke's law. The main objective is to find the effective moduli of a Delaunay network as if it was a field of inclusions, rather than vertices connected by elastic edges, without conducting the computer-intensive calculations of large windows. First, we report on the dependence of effective Poisson's ratio onp for a single-phase Delaunay network with all the spring constantsk assigned according tok=l p. In case of two-phase media, it is found that the Delaunay network is best approximated by a system of ellipses perfectly bonded to a matrix in a symmetric self-consistent formulation, while the regular network is best approximated by a circular inclusion-matrix model. These two models continue to be adequate up to the point of percolation of holes, but the reverse situation of percolation of rigid inclusions is better approximated by the ellipses model in an asymmetric formulation. Additionally, we give results of calculation of Voigt and Reuss bounds of two-dimensional matrix-inclusion composites with springy interfaces.
Studies on the role of vitamin D in early skeletal development, mineralization, and growth in rats

The role of vitamin D in early skeletal development was studied by measuring serum calcium and phosphorus, osseous tissue quantity and mineralization, and endochondral bone elongation in rat fetuses and pups from vitamin D-replete and vitamin D-deficient mothers. At the 20th day of pregnancy there was a slight, yet significant, increase in the amount of osteoid on trabecular bone surfaces in fetuses from vitamin D-deficient mothers. The fetal bones otherwise appeared normal in spite of severe skeletal changes in the vitamin D-deficient mothers. After parturition, the importance of vitamin D in skeletal development becomes progressively more obvious. Serum calcium levels were slightly, yet significantly, lower in vitamin D-deficient than in vitamin D-replete pups and these levels continued to fall in the vitamin D-deficient pups through lactation and after weaning. At 3 days postpartum, there was a small, yet significant, increase in the amount of osteoid on bone surfaces of the vitamin D-deficient pups. The relative amounts of osteoid in the vitamin D-deficient pups continued to increase through lactation and after weaning when compared with vitamin D-replete pups. By the 14th day of lactation and at later periods, there were significant reductions in metaphyseal mineralized tissues in the vitamin D-deficient pups when compared with the vitamin D-replete pups. At weaning and after weaning, there were substantial increases in growth plate thickness and decreases in longitudinal bone growth in the vitamin D-deficient pups when compared with the vitamin D-replete pups. The results from this study indicate that vitamin D does not appear to play a major role in fetal skeletal development. However, after birth, vitamin D becomes progressively more important with age for normal bone development, mineralization, and endochondral growth.
Dopamine D1 receptors in cocaine dependence measured with PET and the choice to self-administer cocaine

The goal of this study was to determine D(1) receptor availability in human cocaine-dependent (CD) subjects and matched healthy controls (HCs). In addition, the CD subjects performed cocaine self-administration sessions in order to explore the association between D(1) receptor availability and cocaine-seeking behavior. Twenty-five CD subjects (40+/-4 years, 19M/6 F) and 23 matched HCs (38+/-4 years, 19M/4F) were scanned with PET and the radiotracer [(11)C]NNC 112. During the cocaine self-administration sessions, CD volunteers were given the choice to self-administer cocaine (0, 6, and 12 mg) or to receive a monetary voucher worth $5. D(1) receptor availability was measured in the limbic, associative, and sensori-motor striatum in addition to cortical brain regions. No difference in D(1) receptor availability was seen between the two groups. A negative association was seen between D(1) receptor BP(ND) in the limbic striatum and the choice for the 6 mg dose of cocaine (r=-0.47, p=0.02, corrected for age). These results do not support the hypothesis that cocaine dependence is associated with a reduction in D(1) receptor availability in the striatum. However, within the CD subjects, low D(1) receptor availability in the ventral striatum was associated with the choice to self-administer cocaine, suggesting that low D(1) receptor availability may be associated with an increased risk of relapse in cocaine dependence.
Short-term memory and information processing in pigeons

Abstract Six pigeons were trained to asymptotic performance on a variable-delay matching-to-sample task in which the samples were sometimes line or color elements and sometimes line-color compounds. On compound-sample trials, the comparison stimuli were sometimes color elements and sometimes line-tilts. Sample type and delay (0, 1.5, and 4.5 sec) were varied within sessions, and sample duration (.4, 1.0, and 3.0 sec) was varied between sessions. Forgetting curves were steeper for line-tilt than for color. As sample duration increased, matching performance improved more for colors than for line-tilts, especially at delays greater than zero. Performance was better with element samples than with compound samples only on the line-tilt dimension at zero delay. Some predictions of a unitary trace growth and decay theory of pigeon short-term memory were not confirmed. A dual-code hypothesis was proposed to account for the data.
Silicon microring resonator-based reconfigurable optical lattice filter for on-chip optical signal processing

We present a silicon microring resonator-based reconfigurable optical lattice filter for on-chip signal processing. The device design employs a novel infinite impulse response (IIR) structure with high flexibility for rapid reconfiguration. Preliminary measurement results show high-quality filter response.
Prediction of differential sorption kinetics near Tg for benzene in polystyrene

A recent first principles theory for “anomalous” diffusion, which accounts for the effect of a protracted macromolecular response to a perturbation, is used to quantitatively predict the results from successive differential sorption experiments in the benzene/atactic polystyrene system. The physical constants in the theory are evaluated for the conditions of the experiment without reference to any non-Fickian diffusion data. The theoretical predictions are in reasonable agreement with the experimental observations.
Nonstationary Spatial Gaussian Markov Random Fields

Thin-plate splines have been widely used as spatial smoothers. In this article, we present a Bayesian adaptive thin-plate spline (BATS) suitable for modeling nonstationary spatial data. Fully Bayesian inference can be carried out through efficient Markov chain Monte Carlo simulation. Performance is demonstrated with simulation studies and by an application to a rainfall dataset. A FORTRAN program implementing the method, a proof of the theorem, and the dataset in this article are available online.
Testing the Flat World Thesis Using a Public Dataset to Engage Students in the Global Inequality Debate

We present a learning module to engage students in the global inequality debate using Google Public Data World Development Indicators. Goals of this article are to articulate the importance and urgency of teaching global issues to American students; situate the central debate in the globalization literature, paying particular attention to global inequalities and trajectories of convergence or divergence in life chances; and demonstrate the value of engaging students in the analysis of macro-level data. These data enable students to test assumptions concerning gaps in opportunities that separate wealthy societies from poor societies and determine whether these gaps are narrowing or expanding. Depending on the course content and combinations of indicators studied, students reach different conclusions concerning the merits of a "flat world" thesis. We find that teaching about global inequalities and engagement with global data reshapes students’ beliefs and enhances student interest in the concerns of global relations.
Physiology of the Auditory Afferents in an Acoustic Parasitoid Fly

The fly, Ormia ochracea, possess a novel auditory organ, which allows it to detect airborne sounds. The mechanical coupling of its pair of tympanal membranes provides the basis for a unique means of sensing the direction of a sound source. In this study, we characterized the neuroanatomy, frequency tuning, and neurophysiological response properties of the acoustic afferents. Our experiments demonstrate that the fly's nervous system is able to encode and localize the direction of a sound source, although the binaural auditory cues available in the acoustic sound field are miniscule. Almost all of the acoustic afferents recorded in this study responded to short and long sound pulses with a phasic burst of one to four action potentials. A few afferents responded tonically for the duration of the sound stimulus. A prominent class of afferents responds to suprathreshold stimuli with only a single spike discharge, independent of stimulus level, frequency, or duration. We also tested the response of the afferents to speakers separated by 180° along the azimuth of the fly. We found that the afferent responses have a shorter latency because of ipsilateral stimulation. This could be a temporal code of the direction of a sound source. The threshold frequency tuning for the afferents revealed a range of sensitivities to the frequency of the cricket host's calling song frequency. The difference in the number of afferents above threshold on either side of the animal is a population code, which can also be used for sound localization.
Geographic Variation in Naupliar Growth and Survival in a Harpacticoid Copepod

Newly hatched nauplii of Scottolana canadensis (Willey) collected from two locales in Maine were larger than Maryland nauplii when females were reared under identical conditions (20[deg]C and high food concentration, 2.5 [times] 105 algal cells ml[minus]1). Under high food concentration, Maryland nauplii had faster growth rates (log10 [mu]m h[minus]1) than Maine nauplii, but survivorship was similar. Growth rates were lower under low food concentration (0.5 [times] 105 cells ml[minus]1), and were the same for all locales, whereas survivorship of the Maine nauplii through NV was higher than the Maryland nauplii. We hypothesize that size-related differences in naupliar feeding efficiency may explain the variation in survival under low food stress.
Two alternative pathways for generating transmissible prion disease de novo

Previous studies established that prion disease with unique strain-specific phenotypes could be induced by in vitro-formed recombinant PrP (rPrP) fibrils with structures different from that of authentic prions, or PrPSc. To explain the etiology of prion diseases, new mechanism proposed that in animals the transition from rPrP fibrils to PrPSc consists of two main steps: the first involves fibril-induced formation of atypical PrPres, a self-replicating but clinically silent state, and the second consists of atypical PrPres-dependent formation of PrPSc via rare deformed templating events. In the current study, atypical PrPres with characteristics similar to those of brain-derived atypical PrPres was generated in vitro. Upon inoculation into animals, in vitro-generated atypical PrPres gave rise to PrPSc and prion disease with a phenotype similar to those induced by rPrP fibrils. Significant differences in the sialylation pattern between atypical PrPres and PrPSc suggested that only a small sub-fraction of the PrPC that is acceptable as a substrate for PrPSc could be also recruited by atypical PrPres. This can explain why atypical PrPres replicates slower than PrPSc and why PrPSc outcompetes atypical PrPres. This study illustrates that transmissible prion diseases with very similar disease phenotypes could be produced via two alternative procedures: direct inoculation of recombinant PrP amyloid fibrils or in vitro-produced atypical PrPres. Moreover, this work showed that preparations of atypical PrPres free of PrPSc can give rise to transmissible diseases in wild type animals and that atypical PrPres generated in vitro is an adequate model for brain-derived atypical PrPres.
Conditions for Capacitor Voltage Regulation in a Five-Level Cascade Multilevel Inverter: Application to Voltage-Boost in a PM Drive

A cascade multilevel inverter is a power electronic device built to synthesize a desired AC voltage from several levels of DC voltages. Such inverters have been the subject of research in the last several years, where the DC levels were considered to be identical in that all of them were either batteries, solar cells, etc. Similar to previous results in the literature, the work here shows how a cascade multilevel inverter can be used to obtain a voltage boost at higher speeds for a three-phase PM drive using only a single DC voltage source. The input of a standard three-leg inverter is connected to the DC source and the output of each leg is fed through an H-bridge (which is supplied by a capacitor) to form a cascade multilevel inverter. A fundamental switching scheme is used, which achieves the fundamental in the output voltage while eliminating the fifth harmonic. A new contribution in this paper is the development of explicit conditions in terms of the power factor and modulation index for which the capacitor voltage of the H-bridges can be regulated while simultaneously maintaining the aforementioned output voltage. This is then used for a PM motor drive showing the machine can attain higher speeds due to the higher output voltage of the multilevel inverter compared to using just a three-leg inverter.
Phase equilibria of ultramafic compositions on Mercury and the origin of the compositional dichotomy

Measurements of major element ratios obtained by the MESSENGER spacecraft using x-ray fluorescence spectra are used to calculate absolute element abundances of lavas at the surface of Mercury. We discuss calculation methods and assumptions that take into account the distribution of major elements between silicate, metal, and sulfide components and the potential occurrence of sulfide minerals under reduced conditions. These first compositional data, which represent large areas of mixed highreflectance volcanic plains and low-reflectance materials and do not include the northern volcanic plains, share common silica- and magnesium-rich characteristics. They are most similar to terrestrial volcanic rocks known as basaltic komatiites. Two compositional groups are distinguished by the presence or absence of a clinopyroxene component. Melting experiments at one atmosphere on the average compositions of each of the two groups constrain the potential mineralogy at Mercury’s surface, which should be dominated by orthopyroxene (protoenstatite and orthoenstatite), plagioclase, minor olivine if any, clinopyroxene (augite), and tridymite. The two compositional groups cannot be related to each other by any fractional crystallization process, suggesting differentiated source compositions for the two components and implying multi-stage differentiation and remelting processes for Mercury. Comparison with high-pressure phase equilibria supports partial melting at pressure o10 kbar, in agreement with last equilibration of the melts close to the crust–mantle boundary with two different mantle lithologies (harzburgite and lherzolite). Magma ocean crystallization followed by adiabatic decompression of mantle layers during cumulate overturn and/or convection would have produced adequate conditions to explain surface compositions. The surface of Mercury is not an unmodified quenched crust of primordial bulk planetary composition. Ultramafic lavas from Mercury have high liquidus temperatures (1450–1350 1C) and very low viscosities, in accordance with the eruption style characterized by flooding of pre-existing impact craters by lava and absence of central volcanoes.
Electromagnetics: computational methods and considerations

Frequency-domain computational techniques in electromagnetics make specialized use of generic integral-equation and finite-element methods. Familiar advantages and drawbacks apply. Though EM theory has changed little since Maxwell, numerical solution methods have improved sharply; yet, while analysis tools now flourish, practical design software is scarce. Also, EM area editor E. Miller offers a few comments. >
The effects of spatial frequency, orientation, and color upon binocular rivalry and monocular pattern alternation

The purpose of this investigation was to determine whether or not monocular and binocular rivalry are mediated by the same mechanism. The question was approached by examining, in a series of two experiments, the spatial frequency and orientation tuning characteristics for both forms of rivalry, as well as the effects of color upon monocular and binocular rivalry. The results of Experiment 1 indicate that binocular rivalry is insensitive to spatial frequency and color. In Experiment 2, the effects of spatial frequency and orientation were examined. The results of this experiment indicate that binocular rivalry is less sensitive to changes in orientation than is monocular alternation. There is no effect of color upon binocular rivalry. It was concluded that monocular alternation and binocular rivalry are mediated by different mechanisms.
The Link Between Mental Health Problems and Youth Violence in Adolescence: A Multilevel Test of DSM-Oriented Problems

The early identification of mental illness in youngsters is an important goal for youth, their families, and society. This study utilized continuous indicators of DSM-oriented psychopathology to ex...
Early stages of intermetallic compound formation and growth during lead-free soldering

We investigate the early stages of the morphological evolution of intermetallic compounds (IMCs) during lead-free soldering involving liquid Sn-based solder and Cu substrate considering the heterogeneous nucleation of the IMCs. The simulation is performed through the multi-phase-field approach [20,25]. Initially, the liquid Sn-based solder and the Cu substrate are considered to be at metastable local equilibrium. Nucleation at the solder/substrate interface is modeled by considering it to be a Poisson process. The phase-field simulation accounts for variations in grain boundary diffusion in the g phase and interface energies between the g phase and liquid solder, and uses these variations to investigate the multiplicity of soldering reactions, and make comparisons with previous work [23]. The simulations address the kinetics of the IMC growth during lead-free soldering under the effect of nucleation at an early stage, illustrating the variation in Cu substrate thickness, IMC thickness and number of grains that nucleate or disappear due to grain growth-induced coalescence.
American Capital Punishment in Comparative Perspective

It is often said that American capital punishment fulfills no purposes, serves no functions, and possesses no coherent rationale. In Peculiar Institution: America's Death Penalty in an Age of Abolition (2010), David Garland argues that American capital punishment is functional, meaningful, and effective, especially in the cultural realm of death penalty discourse. He also demonstrates that America's radically local version of democracy helps explain why the death penalty has persisted in the United States long after it disappeared in other Western democracies and that many of the peculiar forms through which American capital punishment is now administered have been designed to deny association with the lynchings that have occurred in American history. Garland arrives at these conclusions by comparing capital punishment in contemporary America with death penalty systems from the American past and from other Western nations. This essay argues that comparison with Asia further illuminates what is peculiar—and ordinary—in American capital punishment.
Evolution of Shear Layer Instabilities in the Transverse Jet

This experimental study focused on the quantification of near-field shear layer instabilities associated with a round gaseous jet injected normally into crossflow. The control of these instabilities via acoustical jet forcing has been the subject of prior and ongoing studies by our group for a number of specific jet, crossflow, and excitation conditions. In the present study, in the absence of acoustical forcing, preferred mode instabilities associated with jet shear layer vortices were observed and quantified for a range of jet and crossflow conditions. Evidence of higher harmonics and the merging of these vortical structures along the upstream edge of the transverse jet were also quantified. These transverse jet instabilities and associated merger processes were found to be similar in nature to those for the free jet’s shear layer, yet often stronger in magnitude and associated with systematically higher characteristic jet Strouhal numbers.
Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide modulates GABAA receptor function through activation of cyclic AMP

Vasoactive intestinal polypeptide (VIP) has been shown to potentiate current responses elicited by activation of the GABAA receptor (IGABA) in freshly dissociated ganglion cells of the rat retina. Here we tested the hypothesis that this heteroreceptor cross talk is mediated by an intracellular cascade of events that includes the sequential activation of a stimulatory guanine nucleotide binding (Gs) protein and adenylate cyclase, the subsequent increase in levels of cyclic AMP and, finally, the action of the cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA). Intracellular dialysis of freshly dissociated ganglion cells with GTP gamma s irreversibly potentiated IGABA, while GDP beta s either decreased or had no effect on IGABA. Additionally, GDP beta s blocked the potentiation of IGABA by VIP. Cholera toxin rendered VIP ineffective in potentiating IGABA, while pertussis toxin had no effect on the VIP-induced potentiation of IGABA. Extracellular application of either forskolin or 8-bromo-cyclic AMP potentiated IGABA, as did the introduction of cyclic AMP directly into the intracellular compartment through the recording pipet. Intracellular application of cyclic AMP-dependent protein kinase (PKA) potentiated IGABA, while a PKA inhibitor blocked the potentiating effect of VIP. These results lead us to conclude that activation of a cyclic AMP-dependent second-messenger system mediates the modulation of GABAA receptor function by VIP in retinal ganglion cells.
Self-diffusion of 95Nb in single crystals of NbCx

The self-diffusion coefficients of 14C in NbCx single crystals have been measured as a function of composition in the temperature range 1900–2315 K, and can be represented by the expressions D∗C(NbC0.868) = (2.59−1.07+1.82) exp (−100.42 ± 2.2 kcalmolRT)cm2s D∗C(NbC0.834) = (7.44−4.14+9.36) exp (−105.0 ± 3.3 kcalmolRT)cm2s D∗C(NbC0.766) = (2.22−1.04+1.98) × 10−2exp (−76.02 ± 2.7 kcalmolRT)cm2s The lower values of the activation energy and the pre-exponential term in NbC0.766 are attributed to a change in the path of C mass transport from that of an octahedral-tetrahedral-octahedral mechanism in NbC0.868 and NbC0.834 involving a C-metal divacancy mechanism. The effect of lattice geometry and the electronic charge distribution on the diffusion mechanism is also discussed.
A shift in the clinical spectrum of eosinophilic gastroenteritis toward the mucosal disease type

Background & Aims Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is a rare disorder characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. Despite the increasing prevalence of eosinophilic GI disorders, the epidemiology of EG has not been well studied. We evaluated the clinical spectrum of EG. Methods We reviewed data from patients diagnosed with EG, allergic gastroenteropathy, or eosinophilia and referred to gastroenterologists from 1987 to 2007 (n = 59; 52 with mucosal, 3 with muscularis, and 4 with subserosal disease). The study included subjects diagnosed with EG and those with a history that suggested EG, defined by GI symptoms; eosinophilic infiltration of the GI tract, eosinophilic ascites, or characteristic radiographic findings with eosinophilia; and no parasitic or extraintestinal disease. Findings were compared with those from patients with unexplained GI symptoms and peripheral eosinophilia (n = 11). Results Associations between clinical variables and EG subgroups did not differ between patients with EG and peripheral eosinophilia. Fifty percent of patients with EG who underwent food allergy testing had a positive test result; only 32% of those with EG who underwent radiographic imaging had positive test results. Patients with EG received steroid therapy; 75% with mucosal, 67% with muscle, and 100% with subserosal disease received prednisone. Eighty-eight percent of patients who received only steroids (mean follow-up period, 7 mo) and 94% of patients who received steroids in combination with another therapy (mean follow-up period, 4 mo) had improved or resolved disease. Conclusions Unlike eosinophilic esophagitis, EG is rare. Results from this large study suggest that EG disease type has shifted toward that of the mucosal layer.
Analytics-driven solutions for customer targeting and sales-force allocation

Sales professionals need to identify new sales prospects, and sales executives need to deploy the sales force against the sales accounts with the best potential for future revenue. We describe two analytics-based solutions developed within IBM to address these related issues. The Web-based tool OnTARGET provides a set of analytical models to identify new sales opportunities at existing client accounts and noncustomer companies. The models estimate the probability of purchase at the product-brand level. They use training examples drawn from historical transactions and extract explanatory features from transactional data joined with company firmographic data (e.g., revenue and number of employees). The second initiative, the Market Alignment Program, supports sales-force allocation based on field-validated analytical estimates of future revenue opportunity in each operational market segment. Revenue opportunity estimates are generated by defining the opportunity as a high percentile of a conditional distribution of the customer's spending, that is, what we could realistically hope to sell to this customer. We describe the development of both sets of analytical models, the underlying data models, and the Web sites used to deliver the overall solution. We conclude with a discussion of the business impact of both initiatives.
Stochastic Analysis of Electrostatic MEMS Subjected to Parameter Variations

This paper presents an efficient stochastic framework for quantifying the effect of stochastic variations in various design parameters such as material properties, geometrical features, and/or operating conditions on the performance of electrostatic microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) devices. The stochastic framework treats uncertainty as a separate dimension, in addition to space and time, and seeks to approximate the stochastic dependent variables using sparse grid interpolation in the multidimensional random space. This approach can be effectively used to compute important information, such as moments (mean and variance), failure probabilities, and sensitivities with respect to design variables, regarding relevant quantities of interest. The approach is straightforward to implement and, depending on the accuracy required, can be orders of magnitude faster than the traditional Monte Carlo method. We consider two examples-MEMS switch and resonator-and employ the proposed approach to study the effect of uncertain Young's modulus and various geometrical parameters, such as dimensions of electrodes and gap between microstructures, on relevant quantities of interest such as actuation behavior, resonant frequency, and quality factor. It is demonstrated that, in addition to computing the required statistics and probability density function, the proposed approach effectively identifies critical design parameters, which can then be controlled during fabrication, in order to improve device performance and reliability.
Realization of discrete (inverse) wavelet transforms in arbitrary dimensions

One-dimensional (1D) wavelet transforms (WTs) have become a valuable tool in chemometrics, which is currently expanded to multi-dimensional WTs for applications in multi-way analyses. In this short communication we present a unified concept for realizing multi-dimensional WTs of arbitrary order. Goal of this technical report is to demonstrate that multi-dimensional WTs can be realized solely by means of well-established 1D WTs. The high practicality of the proposed approach is due to a recursive algorithm, which derives a N-dimensional WT (N ≥ 2) by combining the already available (N − 1)-dimensional WT with an additional 1D WT. This concept for designing WTs in arbitrary dimensionality has the potential to open new chemometric perspectives for hyphenated measurement techniques. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Stability of two IMEX methods, CNLF and BDF2-AB2, for uncoupling systems of evolution equations

Stability is proven for two second order, two step methods for uncoupling a system of two evolution equations with exactly skew symmetric coupling: the Crank-Nicolson Leap-Frog (CNLF) combination and the BDF2-AB2 combination. The form of the coupling studied arises in spatial discretizations of the Stokes-Darcy problem. For CNLF we prove stability for the coupled system under the time step condition suggested by linear stability theory for the Leap-Frog scheme. This seems to be a first proof of a widely believed result. For BDF2-AB2 we prove stability under a condition that is better than the one suggested by linear stability theory for the individual methods.
A systematic approach to the analysis of general and feedback circuits and systems using signal flow graphs and driving-point impedance

Feedback has long been a mysterious effect that has either fixed or ruined circuits. Phase- and loop-gain analysis have served to maintain this view of feedback by being difficult to handle and to interpret. In this paper, a unified approach to circuit analysis is presented which readily handles feedback circuits using driving-point impedance (DPI) techniques to directly generate a signal flow graph (SFG). When coupled with pole-zero diagrams, a complete analytical tool results, giving the design engineer qualitative as well as quantitative answers. A simple extrapolation of the methodology shows it to be applicable to systems composed of linear cells such as active filters, where loading effects at input and output ports are automatically included in the analysis.
DNMT1: an emerging target in the treatment of invasive urinary bladder cancer.

Abstract Objectives More than 14,000 people die from invasive urothelial carcinoma (iUC) of the urinary bladder each year in the USA, and more effective therapies are needed. Naturally occurring canine iUC very closely resembles the disease in humans and serves as a highly relevant translational model for novel therapy of human iUC. Work was undertaken to identify new targets for anticancer therapy in dogs with the goal of translating successful therapeutic strategies into humans with iUC. Materials and methods Microarray expression analyses were conducted on mRNA extracted from canine normal bladder ( n = 4) and iUC tissues ( n = 4) using Genome Array 1.0 and analyzed by GeneSpring GX 11, with the stringency of P Results DNMT1 was expressed in 0 of 6 normal canine bladder samples and in 10 of 22 (45%) canine iUC samples. The proliferation of canine iUC cells was inhibited by 5-azaC (at concentrations ≥5 μm) and by TSA (at concentrations ≥0.1 μm). Western blot results were supportive of DNMT1-related effects having a role in the antiproliferative activity. Conclusions Microarray expression analyses on canine tissues identified DNMT1 as a potentially “targetable” gene. Expression of DNMT1 in canine iUC was confirmed by IHC, and in vitro studies confirmed that drugs that inhibit DNMT1 have antiproliferative effects. These findings are similar to those recently reported in human iUC and are also in line with results of a preclinical (prehuman) trial of 5-azaC in dogs with naturally occurring iUC. DNMT1 has excellent potential as a target for iUC therapy in humans.
Effect of social relationships on antiretroviral medication adherence for people living with HIV and substance use disorders and transitioning from prison

This paper examines how family and social relations facilitate and inhibit adherence to antiretroviraltherapy (ART) for people living with HIV (PLH) who have underlying substance use disorders and are transitioningto the community post-incarceration. Combining the methods of inductive close reading and constantcomparison, we analyzed the data from 30 semi-structured interviews of PLH who had recently transitioned to thecommunity within the previous 90 days. Three central themes were anticipated as important socialrelationships post-release: self-reported family, friends and clinicians. Among these, four sub-themes (social isolation, ‘double jeopardy’, search for belonging, and trust and respect) emerged, highlighting how they impacted ART adherence. Post-release, participants returned to resource-poor communities where they experienced socialisolation. ART adherence was enabled by having a purpose in life, which correlated with having robust family support structures. Many former prisoners felt that a chasm between them and their families existed, both because of HIV stigma and their addiction problems. In this context, relationships with untrustworthy friends from their druguse networks led to relapse of drug use and risky behaviors, jeopardizing participants’ ART adherence and persistence. To avoid the double jeopardy, defined as seeking friends for support but who were also the ones who contributed to drug relapse, participants searched for new social anchors, which often included their healthcare providers who represented trusted and respected persons in their life. While some former prisonersperceived doctors as uncaring and their relationships asymmetrical, positive relationships with these providers,when respect and trust was mutual, reinforced the participants’ sense of belonging to what they called ‘the world that don’t do drugs’ and motivated them to adhere to ART.
Use of cell culture to identify human precancer.

In the United States, colon cancer is the most common form of internal cancer in both sexes. Prevention of the disease depends on early diagnosis of polyps or pre-cancerous lesions. The response of normal human colon fibroblasts (CRL1459) was used to identify individuals with clinical pre-cancer. Their plasma induced transformation associated morphology characterized by the retraction of cellular processes, cell rounding and eventual detachment from the vessel surface. Those plasma samples which induced a transformation associated morphology contained significantly increased levels of protease as shown by casein hydrolysis (Bio-Rad, CA). We are using hyperproteinasemia as a biomarker to identify individuals with polyps who have hereditary adenomatosis of the colon and rectum (ACR). We are currently evaluating cell cultures versus biochemical assays as a means for early detection of precancerous tumors in the general population. The findings of a tumor associated protease in clinical precancer, and its effect on cell cultures support our proposal that protease activity promotes tumor progression in ACR and may represent the gene defect in this hereditary disease.