cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pre-emptive perception.

How can an action to a target be selected without yet knowing what it is? Pre-emptive perception (PEP) is a framework which orders neuronal mechanisms in association with voluntary actions before an action is started and until it is completed. It is assumed that PEP serves the purpose of perception, but a conscious, perceptual identification of the goal is not obligatorily completed during the time period of PEP itself. The concept of PEP is that the brain pre-emptively optimizes an action plan to maximize eventual perception, even before being sure what the goal is. Experimental studies of voluntary saccadic eye movements are considered as prototypic activity within the framework of PEP. The core concept of pre-emption is that a particular saccade is selected while a large number of other possible actions are deselected. Pre-emptive computations include mechanisms associated with internal context and reward. Neurophysiological studies which show anatomically and functionally separate cortical and some subcortical neuronal groups in computing saccades are summarized. There is a potential relationship of PEP as a neurobiological framework and some philosophical concepts. Terms for processes between planning and action, such as intention, anticipation, and attention, are often incongruent in everyday language and in epistemology. It is proposed here that a scrutiny of these terms can be rigorously approached by temporal subdivision of PEP and conversely, clear definitions of these terms can lead to organized experimental designs of cognitive neurobiology. The temporal subdivision of PEP allows a critique of The Will in the definition of Schopenhauer and distinguishes it from the 'free will'. Language: en
Post-operative radiation improves survival in children younger than 3 years with intracranial ependymoma

Concerns regarding long-term toxicities have led to the avoidance of post-operative radiation (PORT) in young children with intracranial ependymoma. We investigated the association between post-operative radiation therapy and overall survival (OS) in children younger than 3 years and compared their survival to other age groups. The study sample from the SEER database included 804 patients with intracranial ependymoma, grades 2–3, and diagnosed between 1988 and 2005. OS was estimated using the Kaplan–Meier method, and hazard ratios (HR) and 95% confidence limits (CL) were calculated based on multivariable Cox proportional hazards models. A total of 804 patients were selected and PORT was administered to 35% of patients younger than 3 years. With a median follow-up of 3 years (range 0.1–18 years), the 3 year OS was 61% for children younger than 3 years, 83% for those ages 3–20 years, and 69% for patients older than 20 years (P < 0.001). In multivariable analysis, OS was significantly improved for patients receiving PORT (HR 0.8, 95% CL 0.6–0.9), and gross total resection (HR 0.6, 95% CL 0.5–0.8). Among children younger than 3 years, the 3 year OS was significantly greater among those who received PORT compared to those who did not (81% vs. 56%, respectively, P = 0.005). The majority of children younger than 3 years with intracranial ependymoma did not receive PORT. Children younger than 3 years who did not receive PORT had a relatively poor outcome, while those who received radiation therapy had a survival similar to older patients.
Deep drilling and sampling via the wireline auto-gopher driven by piezoelectric percussive actuator and EM rotary motor

The ability to penetrate subsurfaces and perform sample acquisition at depths of meters is critical for future NASA in-situ exploration missions to bodies in the solar system, including Mars and Europa. A corer/sampler was developed with the goal of acquiring pristine samples by reaching depths on Mars beyond the oxidized and sterilized zone. To developed rotary-hammering coring drill, called Auto-Gopher, employs a piezoelectric actuated percussive mechanism for breaking formations and an electric motor rotates the bit to remove the powdered cuttings. This sampler is a wireline mechanism that is incorporated with an inchworm mechanism allowing thru cyclic coring and core removal to reach great depths. The penetration rate is being optimized by simultaneously activating the percussive and rotary motions of the Auto-Gopher. The percussive mechanism is based on the Ultrasonic/Sonic Drill/Corer (USDC) mechanism that is driven by piezoelectric stack and that was demonstrated to require low axial preload. The Auto-Gopher has been produced taking into account the a lessons learned from the development of the Ultrasonic/Sonic Gopher that was designed as a percussive ice drill and was demonstrated in Antarctica in 2005 to reach about 2 meters deep. A field demonstration of the Auto-Gopher is currently being planned with objective of reaching as deep as 3 to 5 meters in tufa subsurface.
Focal therapy for prostate cancer.

Purpose of review Nowadays the treatment paradigm for localized prostate cancer is to distinguish patients with clinically relevant cancers who may benefit from radical treatment, or perhaps an organ-sparing approach, from the remainder who may not need intervention at the time of diagnosis. We review new concepts of parenchymal preservation as possible new frontiers in the treatment armamentarium for this malignancy. Recent findings For a select cohort of patients with low-risk unifocal or unilateral prostate cancer lesions, a number of ablative treatment options for focal therapy are available with cryotherapy having the most clinical experience. Technologies that have the ability to be utilized for focal therapy include high-intensity focused ultrasound, brachytherapy, interstitial laser thermotherapy, stereotactic radio surgery, and vascular-targeted photodynamic therapy. Further basic and animal research along with the conduction of large-scale randomized clinical trials demonstrating long-term disease-free survival and quality of life outcomes are necessary. Summary The concept of focal therapy is evolving with the understanding of the biologic variability (clinically aggressive, significant or insignificant) of various prostate cancer lesions that may require different treatment approaches. Minimally invasive, parenchyma-preserving therapies can assume a greater role in the treatment of unilateral or unifocal lesions, representing an alternative approach to the current treatment extremes of whole-gland treatment and watchful waiting.
The Effects of Volatile Anesthetics on Ca++ Mobilization in Rat Hepatocytes

This study provides direct evidence that in hepatocytes, intracellular Ca++ is released from internal stores by halothane, enflurane, and isoflurane. Hepatocytes isolated from rat livers were used fresh or treated with saponin and then incubated in 45Ca++ media. The uptake of 45Ca++ by hepatocytes was maximal following 13-16 min of incubation (untreated or saponin-treated) and the effects of various agents on the release of 45Ca++ was studied following maximal loading. The agents used included halothane, enflurane, isoflurane, and several putative intracellular second messengers. The anesthetics, to various degrees, all stimulated a significant release of 45Ca++ from internal stores at concentrations that were at or less than clinical concentrations. The release of intracellular 45Ca++ by each of the anesthetic agents was dose-dependent with halothane and enflurane being equally potent at concentrations equivalent to 1 MAC exposure. The halothane-induced release was only somewhat suppressed by preincubation in either 2 mM LaCL3 or 10 microM dantrolene, both suggested Ca++ channel blockers. Transient increases in intracellular Ca++ regulates a number of enzyme systems, including glycogenolysis, while prolonged elevation in Ca++ concentrations have been implicated in the mechanism of hepatotoxicity.
Redistribution of zinc within burned and burned infected rats.

Abstract : Burns covering 30% or more of the total body surface place a severe metabolic demand on the host, a demand that often exceeds even that imposed by some infections. Though burns elicit alterations in amino acid, trace metal, and protein metabolism akin to those observed during infection, injury, and inflammation, there is a recent report by Oh et al. which indicates that burns might differ from other inflammatory stresses in that zinc does not accumulate in the liver despite a significant decrease in serum zinc. The absence of zinc sequestration by the liver in burned animals might be the result of leakage from the wound or a differential deposition within the wound itself. The latter possibility is intriguing in that, during myocardial infection, zinc appears to accumulate preferentially at the site of the damage in organelles associated with biosynthesis, and there is evidence that added zinc aids in wound healing in zinc deficient animals. Another reason to reinvestigate whether hepatic zinc accumulation occurs in burned animals is that hepatic zinc accumulation has always preceded or accompanied acute-phase globulin synthesis during inflammation and infection, even in zinc deficient animals. Since burned rats are known to exhibit increased synthesis of acute phase globulins, the absence of enhanced zinc uptake by the liver would indicate that this apparent association between zinc influx to the liver and increased acute-phase globulin synthesis is, indeed, merely coincidental and neither essential nor casual.
Delta-Doped Si/SiGe Zero-Bias Backward Diodes for Micro-Wave Detection

We report the first directly-measured sensitivity performance of a zero-bias Si-based heterojunction backward detector, which is readily compatible with mainstream silicon technology. A measured sensitivity of 2376 V/W driven from a 50 Omega source at zero-bias has been obtained. A cutoff frequency of 1.8 GHz was extracted with a series resistance of 290 Omega and a junction capacitance of 0.307 pF using a small signal model established to fit the measured S-parameters for a 5 mum diameter mesa device.
The effectiveness of a computerized guidance system in promoting career decision making

Abstract The effectiveness of CHOICES in improving the career decision making of university students through the utilization of the two instruments, (a) the Career Decision Scale and (b) the Occupational Scale of the Assessment of Career Decision Making, is examined. This experimental research involved 136 university students who were assigned to either an experimental or control group. Results indicated that CHOICES improved career decision making as measured by both instruments. No differences were found between its effectiveness with males and females.
Impaired lung diffusing capacity for nitric oxide and alveolar-capillary membrane conductance results in oxygen desaturation during exercise in patients with cystic fibrosis

Abstract Background Exercise has been shown to be beneficial for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF), but for some CF patients there is a risk of desaturation, although the predicting factors are not conclusive or reliable. We sought to determine the relationship between the diffusion capacity of the lungs for nitric oxide and carbon monoxide (DLNO and DLCO) and the components of DLCO: alveolar-capillary membrane conductance (D M ), and pulmonary capillary blood volume (V C ) on peripheral oxygen saturation (SaO 2 ) at rest and during exercise in CF. Methods 17 mild/moderate CF patients and 17 healthy subjects were recruited (age=26±7 vs. 23±8 years, ht=169±8 vs. 166±8 cm, wt=65±9 vs. 59±8 kg, BMI=23±3 vs. 22±3 kg/m 2 , VO 2PEAK =101±36 vs. 55±25%pred., FEV 1 =92±22 vs. 68±25%pred., for healthy and CF, respectively, mean±SD, VO 2PEAK and FEV 1 p 2 and measures of DLNO, DLCO, D M and V C at each stage. Results CF patients had a lower SaO 2 at rest and peak exercise (rest=98±1 vs. 96±1%, peak=97±2 vs. 93±5%, for healthy and CF, respectively, p M were significantly lower in the CF group (p M =50±1 vs. 34±1, p 2 was related to resting DLNO in CF patients (r=0.65, p=0.003). Conclusions These results suggest a limitation in exercise-mediated increases in membrane conductance in CF which may contribute to a drop in SaO 2 and that resting DLNO can account for a large portion of the variability in SaO 2 .
Climatological variability in modeled maximum concentrations

Abstract A 17-year data base consisting of estimated concentrations of the high and high second-high are analyzed for their year to year variability. This paper addresses the issue of the uncertainty in maximum concentration estimates as a function of period of record. Resampling techniques are utilized to estimate the ratios of the annual high and high second-high concentrations to the high and high second-high's from the 17-year record. This analysis suggest that if one year of data were used to estimate the high second-high concentration, the climatological highest high second-high would be 15–18 % higher depending on source type. It is the major intent of this paper to stimulate interest and research and to suggest that if less than five years of meteorological data are collected then some sort of correction may need to be applied to the high second-high concentration estimate.
Preparation and Characterization of Low Oil Uptake Rice Cake Donuts

ABSTRACT Cake donuts were prepared using wheat flour (WF), long grain rice flour (LGRF), and waxy rice flour (WRF). They were also prepared with the flours partially replaced by pregelatinized rice flour (PGRF) or propylene glycol alginate (PGA). The dough consistency was maintained at a comparable predetermined level by adjusting the water content. Without PGRF or PGA in the formulation, the WRF donut had the lowest oil uptake (11.8%) and the WF donut the highest (23.6%). With modified flour formulations, the oil uptake decreased for LGRF donuts and WF donuts. Oil uptake of the LGRF donut decreased with increased PGRF. Up to 30% PGRF could be used, with characteristics comparable to the traditional WF donuts but as much as 54% lower in oil uptake on a dry basis.
Factorial Validity of Personality Structure in Medical School Applicants

The Comrey Personality Scales (CPS) were administrated to 413 UCLA medical school applicants for the class of 1989. The 40 factored homogeneous item dimensions defining eight personality factors, two Validity scale scores, age, and sex were factor analyzed. It was found that all eight factors were identified, and the congruence coefficients indicated that the personality structure of the applicants is in substantial agreement with what has been found previously in four other groups. Construct validity substantiated by the analysis is evident. Significant differences in factor score means between medical school applicants and normative groups were found, however, for all personality factors, except for the Masculinity vs. Femininity scale in males.
Sensitivity of Regional Climate to Deforestation in the Amazon Basin

The deforestation results in several adverse effect on the natural environment. The focus of this paper is on the effects of deforestation on land-surface processes and regional climate of the Amazon basin. In general, the effect of deforestation on climate are likely to depend on the scale of the defrosted area. In this study, we are interested in the effects due to deforestation of areas with a scale of about 250 km. Hence, a meso-scale climate model is used in performing numerical experiments on the sensitivity of regional climate to deforestation of areas with that size. It is found that deforestation results in less net surface radiation, less evaporation, less rainfall, and warmer surface temperature. The magnitude of the of the change in temperature is of the order 0.5 C, the magnitudes of the changes in the other variables are of the order of IO%. In order to verify some of he results of the numerical experiments, the model simulations of net surface radiation are compared to recent observations of net radiation over cleared and undisturbed forest in the Amazon. The results of the model and the observations agree in the following conclusion: the difference in net surface radiation between cleared and undisturbed forest is, almost, equally partioned between net solar radiation and net long-wave radiation. This finding contributes to our understanding of the basic physics in the deforestation problem.
Effects of competition and nutrient enrichemnt on Avicennia germinans in the salt marsh-mangrove ecotone

Abstract A field experiment in Florida's salt marsh-mangrove ecotone was conducted to determine the impact of nitrogen (N) addition and aboveground competition on mangrove seedling growth and biomass partitioning. At this ecotone, Avicennia germinans (black mangrove) seedlings grow in competition with salt marsh species and provide a natural experiment. The seedlings were subjected to nutrient enrichment and released from aboveground competition via a meshing treatment. Aboveground competition removal decreased leaf area and foliar C:N (by 44.1% and 26.8%, respectively) while N-enrichment increased mangrove leaf production by 41.7%, foliar N by 62.2%, and leaf biomass by 72.1%. These results indicate that A. germinans seedlings significantly modify leaf characteristics in response to changing availability of light and nutrient resources. This work illustrates that mangrove seedlings (1) show large plasticity in both growth and nutrient acquisition, and (2) compete with salt marsh species. Our work also brings to light the interactive effects of biotic and abiotic drivers of mangrove productivity and the need for more multifactorial work in this important ecotone, where range shifts may be occurring.
Beryllium in Silicic Magmas and the Origin of Beryl-Bearing Pegmatites

This chapter addresses the portion of the geochemical cycle of beryllium that entails its transfer through the continental crust by the generation and migration of silicic magmas, which will be referred to loosely as granitic but will include all of the textural variants of rocks derived from the granitic bulk compositions. Within the granite system, we will examine the distribution of Be between anatectic melts and residual crystals, and we will track the accumulation of Be in melt via crystal fractionation, culminating in the saturation of pegmatite-forming melts in the mineral beryl. Beryl is unquestionably the most common manifestation of Be enrichment, and the most abundant of the phases that contain essential beryllium (see Cerný this volume). To explain the presence of beryl in pegmatites, we pose four questions: 1. How much Be does it take to saturate a granitic (pegmatite-forming) melt in beryl? 2. How much Be is likely to be incorporated in silicic partial melts at their source? 3. Consequently, how much fractionation of a typical granitic magma must occur to achieve beryl saturation in pegmatitic derivatives (or is beryl saturation possible without extended magmatic fractionation)? 4. And should all granitic magmas be expected to achieve beryl saturation eventually, or are there special attributes of the source material or crystalline phases in the magma that predetermine the likelihood of forming beryl in pegmatitic differentiates? To address these questions, we start with a review of beryl saturation in pegmatites. We then examine the likely abundance of Be derived by anatexis at the sources of granitic magmas. With the two ends of the system bracketed, we can then subject Be fractionation to conventional modeling methods to ascertain how much fractionation must take place to bring granitic melts to beryl saturation. As a review, this chapter relies as much as possible on readily available publications …
A chromatographic analysis for ricinine.

RICININE, the alkaloid of castor bean plants, is of interest since it is one of the very few natural products containing a nitrile group and since, as Leete and Leitz1 have shown, it is biogenetically derived from the vitamin, nicotinic acid. In our studies on the distribution and biogenesis of ricinine we have sought a semi-quantitative analytical method that would permit routine determination of ricinine in a large number of samples of plant tissue without tedious extraction and isolation procedures. Such a goal is hindered since ricinine is neutral and does not react with the usual ‘alkaloidal reagents’.
Influence of steric effects and compressibility on nonlinear response to laser pulses and the diameters of self-trapped filaments.

Steric effects and compressibility appear to be important in determining the effective Kerr constant of liquids for short laser pulses, and also the saturation of the Kerr constant. Their influence may explain the relatively high threshold power and large diameters of self-trapped light filaments which are observed in many liquids.
PHOTOCOMPUTING : EXPLORATIONS WITH TRANSPARENCY AND OPACITY

We continue to search for methods of parallel computing using light. An algorithm for solving instances of the Boolean satisfiability problem is given and illustrated using a photocopying machine with plastic transparencies as medium. The algorithm solves satisfiability problems in linear time but requires the assumption that information can be stored with a density that is exponential in the number of variables in the problem instance. Consideration is given to situations in which this density limitation is not quite absolute.
Local activation variability during monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in the dog.

Objective: The aim was to determine the beat to beat variability in local activation time during sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia in a canine model of experimental myocardial infarction. Methods: A digital template matching algorithm was developed for detecting subtle beat to beat variability in local activation timing at each of multiple ventricular sites. Ten electrically induced sustained ventricular tachycardia episodes, mean cycle length 211 (SD 40) ms, were endocardially and epicardially mapped in mongrel dogs weighing 15-20 kg. Digitised data were analysed for beat to beat local activation time variability. Similar data recorded during ventricular pacing at comparable rates and during sinus rhythm served as controls. Results: The overall mean variability of local activation time for all 10 ventricular tachycardias was 3.2(1.6) ms, range 1.8(1.1) ms to 4.7(2.8) ms, in contrast to the overall mean variability of 0.2(0.4) ms (p=0.0001) for ventricular pacing and 0.7(0.6) ms (p=0.0001) for sinus rhythm. Oscillations in local activation time manifested alternans type periodicity during seven of 10 ventricular tachycardias independent of any alternans in local electrogram morphology. Conclusions: During sustained, monomorphic ventricular tachycardia, beat to beat variability and alternans type oscillations in local activation time are common and may be an intrinsic property of re-entry since they are negligibly small during ventricular pacing.
Myelin basic protein microheterogeneity in subfractions of rat brain myelin.

— Myelin subfractions were prepared from adult rat brain by discontinuous sucrose gradient ultracentrifugation. Gel electrophoretic studies at pH 10.6 in the presence of urea revealed differences in basic protein microheterogeneity among subfractions. With increasing myelin density there was a decrease in the most positively charged components of both large BP and small BP. Since these components are the least modified by deamidation and phosphorylation, it seems likely that the heavier myelin subfractions are enriched in the more modified components of the microheterogeneous population of BP. These observed differences may be related to the regulatory processes controlling biosynthesis, organization, and catabolism of BP in CNS myelin.
The effect of testicular extract (Reynals spreading factors) upon human skin

Abstract 1. 1. Reynals spreading factors diffuse rapidly when injected into the human skin, as a rule, without definite wheal formation. 2. 2. The phenomenon of rapid diffusion was demonstrated in a group of cases sensitive to ragweed six hours after the preparation of the skin with rabbit testicular extract. 3. 3. The spreading effect was still present twenty-four hours after preparation of the skin, but in greatly diminished intensity. 4. 4. In practically all instances the testicular effect was no longer demonstrated forty-eight hours after preparation of the skin with rabbit testicular extract. 5. 5. No indication of an alteration of cellular permeability to lamb and ragweed antigens could be demonstrated by the methods employed.
A Left Amygdala Mediated Network for Rapid Orienting to Masked Fearful Faces

A rapid response to environmental threat is highly adaptive and fearful facial expressions serve as important threat cues. The biological significance of these threat cues is demonstrated by neuroimaging findings of amygdala responses to backward masked fearful faces. Additionally, behavioral dot-probe studies reveal that backward masked fearful faces modulate spatial attention. However, little is known about the behavioral impact of the amygdala sensitivity to masked fearful faces. Using a dot-probe task with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we provide the first evidence that the amygdala is involved in orienting to backward masked fearful faces. Furthermore, this spatial attention-related amygdala response was correlated with activity in the anterior cingulate, superior temporal sulcus, and lingual gyrus.
R68-26 Some Techniques for Accuracy Improvement in Analog Computation

Howe has included a variety of valuable information in this paper, the unifying thread being the improvement of precision in analog devices, a topic in which he has long been a leader and innovator. This paper describes 1) precise means of implementing with hardware nonlinear mathematical models involving function generation, multiplication, and division, and 2) techniques of scaling the mathematical model so as to obtain full benefit of the precision available in the analog devices. It is unfortunate that the details of this latest work are somewhat obscured by several errors in the published paper.
Improving Application Execution in Multicluster Grids

Multicluster grids have emerged as major execution environments to solve large-scale compute-intensive applications, with each participating cluster having its own scheduler under different policies. In order to take full advantages of multicluster grid capability, computer scientists need to deal with how to collaborate practically and efficiently participating autonomic systems to execute grid-enabled applications. Experiencing various practical applications, we developed a novel execution model called DA-TC (dynamic assignment with task containers) to improve application execution in a multicluster grid environment, in terms of application turnaround time and execution reliability. Experiments show that the DA-TC model significantly reduces turnaround time and increases resource utilization for certain applications.
Differential Synthesis of Human Placental Lactogen and Human Chorionic Gonadotropin in Vitro

The dynamics of the synthesis and secretion of human placental lactogen (hPL) and human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) were investigated by culturing explants from normal term placentae in minimal essential medium with 15% fetal calf serum for periods up to 4 days. The total amounts of hPL and hCG in the media and tissues at the end of each day were determined by radioimmunoassay, and new hormone synthesis was measured by incorporation of [3H]leucine into hPL and hCG at several intervals during the first 2 days after a 1-h pulse with 25 μCi of [3H]leucine. The secretion of hPL was maximal on the 1st day, decreased by 83.5 ± 9.3% on the 2nd day, and then remained constant over the next 2 days. The secretion of hCG also decreased by 78.0 ± 3.7% from the 1st to the 2nd day of culture. In contrast to hPL, however, the secretion of hCG increased by an average of 780% from the 2nd to the 4th days. Hormone released into the medium during the 1st day in culture was almost all preformed since the addition of cyclohe...
Impact of medical and psychiatric multi-morbidity on mortality in diabetes: emerging evidence

Multi-morbidity, or the presence of multiple chronic diseases, is a major problem in clinical care and is associated with worse outcomes. Additionally, the presence of mental health conditions, such as depression, anxiety, etc., has further negative impact on clinical outcomes. However, most health systems are generally configured for management of individual diseases instead of multi-morbidity. The study examined the prevalence and differential impact of medical and psychiatric multi-morbidity on risk of death in adults with diabetes. A national cohort of 625,903 veterans with type 2 diabetes was created by linking multiple patient and administrative files from 2002 through 2006. The main outcome was time to death. Primary independent variables were numbers of medical and psychiatric comorbidities over the study period. Covariates included age, gender, race/ethnicity, marital status, area of residence, service connection, and geographic region. Cox regression was used to model the association between time to death and multi-morbidity adjusting for relevant covariates. Hypertension (78%) and depression (13%) were the most prevalent medical and psychiatric comorbidities, respectively; 23% had 3+ medical comorbidities, 3% had 2+ psychiatric comorbidities and 22% died. Among medical comorbidities, mortality risk was highest in those with congestive heart failure (hazard ratio, HR = 1.92; 95% CI 1.89-1.95), Lung disease (HR = 1.42; 95% CI 1.40-1.44) and cerebrovascular disease (HR = 1.39; 95% CI 1.37-1.40). Among psychiatric comorbidities, mortality risk was highest in those with substance abuse (HR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.46-1.54), psychoses (HR = 1.16; 95% CI 1.14-1.19) and depression (HR = 1.05; 95% CI 1.03-1.07). There was an interaction between medical and psychiatric comorbidity (p = 0.003) so stratified analyses were performed. HRs for effect of 3+ medical comorbidity (2.63, 2.66, 2.15) remained high across levels of psychiatric comorbidities (0, 1, 2+), respectively. HRs for effect of 2+ psychiatric comorbidity (1.69, 1.63, 1.42, 1.38) declined across levels of medical comorbidity (0, 1, 2, 3+), respectively. Medical and psychiatric multi-morbidity are significant predictors of mortality among older adults (veterans) with type 2 diabetes with a graded response as multimorbidity increases.
Structural analysis and partitioning of dynamic process models for parallel state estimation

This paper presents a new decomposition algorithm that attempts to partition a large dynamic system into loosely coupled subsystems to be solved concurrently on network-based parallel computers (multicomputers) for the purpose of state estimation. This new technique is based on structural properties of the dynamic system and parallel computing considerations. In particular, the rate of convergence of a dynamic iterative solution scheme, employed for the coordination of subsystem integrations on different computer nodes, is used as a criterion for the selection of the best system partitioning among candidate partitions.
Critical mass: the potential role of the mega-group to address the manpower shortage and facilitate office-based practice in interventional radiology.

THE American College of Radiology and Society of Interventional Radiology (SIR) have recognized that contemporary interventional procedures are often the primary invasive therapeutic treatment in a patient’s disease and that interventional radiologists must be accountable for patient outcomes over time (1,2). For this to take place, interventional radiologists need to perform evaluation and management services, see patients in ambulatory settings, plan and implement treatment, and then follow patients in an ambulatory setting. Of course, all this requires office-based practice, and it is recognized in interventional radiology (IR) that an office-based practice model with hospital privileges is in the best interests of patients and is the only reasonable way for interventional radiologists to compete for ambulatory, elective patients in the future (3). The traditional alignment of interventional radiologists in hospital radiology departments poses several problems. The first is that the foundation of radiology group practice is usually the hospital franchise model; that is, usu-
Distributed multi-agent coordination: A comparison lemma based approach

In this paper, we focus on the study of distributed multi-agent coordination, including leaderless consensus and consensus tracking, by using a comparison lemma based approach. First, we investigate and present general comparison lemmas for vector differential equations that are represented in terms of upper right-hand derivatives. By using the general comparison lemmas, the stability of linear/nonlinear closed-loop systems can be guaranteed given that some properly designed linear/nonlinear systems are stable. This provides an important tool in the stability analysis of linear/nonlinear closed-loop systems by making use of known results in linear/nonlinear systems. Second, we apply the general comparison lemmas in the stability analysis of two distributedmulti-agent coordination problems, namely, leaderless consensus and consensus tracking. We propose general nonlinear distributed algorithms and derive mild conditions to guarantee convergence by using the general comparison lemmas.
Slouching toward the milennium: Some survival prescriptions for neuropsychology

The following address was given as the Distinguished Neuropsychologist Award Presentation and Acceptance Speech at the 15th annual conference of the National Academy of Neuropsychology, San Francisco, November 2, 1995. Substantive issues discussed include: (a) the threatened loss of the clinical in clinical neuropsychology; (b) post-doctoral training and job market dilemmas in 1995; (c) proficiency versus specialty status for neuropsychology; (d) the Battle of the Boards (ABCN, APBN); and (e) forensic neuropsychology, a cautionary note.
Vitellogenin and vitellogenin receptor gene expression is associated with male and female parenting in a subsocial insect

Complex social behaviour in Hymenoptera has been hypothesized to evolve by co-opting reproductive pathways (the ovarian ground plan hypothesis, OGPH) and gene networks (the reproductive ground plan hypothesis, RGPH). In support of these hypotheses, in eusocial Hymenoptera where there is reproductive division of labour, the yolk precursor protein vitellogenin (Vg) influences the expression of worker social behaviour. We suggest that co-opting genes involved in reproduction may occur more generally than just in the evolution of eusociality; i.e. underlie earlier stages of social evolution such as the evolution of parental care, given that reproduction and parental care rarely overlap. We therefore examined vitellogenin (vg) gene expression associated with parental care in the subsocial beetle Nicrophorus vespilloides. We found a significant reduction in the expression of vg and its receptor, vgr, in head tissue during active parental care, and confirmed that the receptor is expressed in the brains of both sexes. Ours is the first study to show that vgr is expressed in the brain of a non-eusocial insect. Given the association between behaviour and gene expression in both sexes, and the presence of vitellogenin receptors in the brain, we suggest that Vg was co-opted early in the evolution of sociality to have a regulatory function. This extends the association of Vg in parenting to subsocial species and outside of the Hymenoptera, and supports the hypothesis that the OGPH is general and that heterochrony in gene expression is important in the evolution of social behaviour and precedes subsequent evolutionary specialization of social roles.
Novel Parylene fabrication technologies for microfluidic systems with reduced mass, volume, and power consumption

This paper presents new fabrication technologies and materials for microfluidic systems with reduced mass, volume, and power consumption. A general microfluidic platform consists of sample preparation, processing and detection. The system requires various fluidic components, e.g., reagent and waste reservoirs, micromixers, microreactors. To fabricate these different components, we have developed four new Parylene microfluidic technologies that are capable of fabricating various features whether they are small (microns), large (centimeters), long (meters), complex, 2D, or 3D. The first Parylene-D microfluidic components are demonstrated. The developed technologies are very promising for portable and in situ detection especially for space mission and field-deployable application.
Hemangioma versus vascular malformation : Presence of nerve bundle is a diagnostic clue for vascular malformation

Abstract Context.—Arteriovenous vascular malformations and hemangiomas are benign vascular lesions that are difficult to distinguish from one another clinically. Also, they may be confused with each other at histopathology. Therefore, histochemical stains for the presence of an artery are frequently used to distinguish between the two. Objective.—Because it is clinically relevant to differentiate between arteriovenous vascular malformations and hemangiomas, this study was carried out to explore additional diagnostic clues that may help in the diagnosis and differentiation of these lesions. Design.—A total of 167 cases of benign extracranial vascular lesions were retrieved from the anatomic pathology file of our institution. These comprised 66 cases diagnosed as arteriovenous vascular malformations and 101 cases previously diagnosed as hemangiomas. The hematoxylin-eosin–stained glass slides were reviewed, Movat pentichrome histochemical stain was used to identify elastic vessels (arteries/arterioles), and ...
Impact of contact resistances on the low-dimensional scaling of thermoelectric energy conversion devices

Thermoelectric energy conversion devices have several advantages relative to alternative heat removal and energy harvesting technologies-they are free of moving parts, acoustically silent, highly reliable and compatible with on-chip integration. Yet their historically limited performance and low efficiency in comparison with alternative technologies have restricted their use from more widespread applications. Previous work has made significant improvements in the low-dimensional figure of merit for several thermoelectric materials, such as superlattice, quantum dot, and skutterite thin-films. Electrical and thermal contact resistances at these length scales, however, have limited the impacts of these advances in material properties so severely that practical devices with high efficiency have yet to be developed. Whereas past work has focused extensively on the enhancement of material rather than interface properties, this work aims to quantify the impact of electrical and thermal contact resistances on device performance and efficiency at low-dimensions. Effective expressions for thermal conductivity, electrical conductivity, and figure of merit of the thermoelectric pellet are presented to account for electrical and thermal interfacial effects at the pellet-interconnect interfaces. Contact resistances are determined for various semiconductor-metal interfaces. Implications of the results are illustrated for the performance and efficiency of two classes of representative thermoelectric devices-bulk and on-chip thermoelectric cooling and energy harvesting devices. For practically achievable values of modern Bi2Te3s heat exchangers, the impact of modern parasitic resistances results in a 50% reduction in the figure of merit at length scales less than ~0.5 mum. The furthered understanding and mitigation of interfacial resistances will enable the potential of high figure of merit materials to create thermoelectric energy conversion devices that are competitive with alternative technologies.
Profiting from the Spoils of War? Examining Policymakers’ Efforts to Address Wartime Sexual Violence

When and why does the United States Government acknowledge and condemn the occurrence of sexual violence in war and post-war reconstruction efforts? Beginning with the observation that states do not respond in a consistent manner to all instances of wartime sexual violence, the study aims to uncover the motivations driving state policymakers to acknowledge and condemn such atrocities in any case. Tracing the United States Government’s actions from 1993 onward, this study examines when and why policymakers choose to acknowledge, condemn, and attempt to mitigate sexual violence in war. The study utilizes elite interviews and content analysis of speech acts, policies, and legislative hearings regarding sexual violence in armed conflict to examine the notion that policymakers cite sexual violence strategically. The study ultimately concludes that the response to wartime sexual violence is not explained simply by strategic interests but results from a confluence of individual efforts and historical contingencies. The findings have implications for international efforts to address the use and prevalence of sexual violence in war zones, given the position of the United States as a strong player and norm exporter within the international community. The argument contributes to the dynamic and growing body of academic research on the use of and response to sexual violence in war.
Caveat-scriptor: write anywhere shingled disks

The increasing ubiquity of NAND flash storage is forcing magnetic disks to accelerate the rate at which they lower price per stored bit. Magnetic recording technologists have begun to pack tracks so closely that writing one track cannot avoid disturbing the information stored in adjacent tracks [13]. Specifically, the downstream track will be at least partially overwritten, or shingled by each write, as shown in Figure 1, and the upstream track will tolerate only a limited number of adjacent writes. Some data that was stored in the downstream track will be lost, forcing firmware or software to ensure that there was no data in those locations that might be read in the future. In order to avoid deployment obstacles inherent in asking host software to change before shingled disks can be used, the current generation of shingled disks follow the model established by flash storage: a shingled translation layer of firmware in the disk remaps data writes to empty tracks and cleans (read, move, write) fragmented regions to create empty tracks. Known as Drive-Managed Shingled Disks [9], host software does not need to change because disk firmware will do extra work to cope with any write pattern that could destroy data. To reduce or eliminate this extra work, API changes in the hard disk have been proposed [1] to enable HostManaged management of shingled disks. This paper explores two models for Host-Managed Shingled Disk operation. The first, Strict-Append, breaks the disk into fixed sized bands and compels disk writes to occur strictly sequentially in each band, allowing only per-band-truncate-to-empty commands to recover space. This is approximately a physical realization of the classic
A 1-Year Experience with Human Metapneumovirus in Children Aged <5 Years

Human metapneumovirus (hMPV) is a recently discovered respiratory pathogen. We tested respiratory specimens for the presence of hMPV by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction. These specimens were obtained over a 1-year period from children aged <5 years and had negative results by the direct fluorescent antibody test for respiratory syncytial virus, influenza A and B, parainfluenza viruses 1-3, and adenovirus. Overall, 54 (8.1%) of 668 individuals tested positive for hMPV. During March and April of the study period, hMPV was detected in 17.6% and 25.0% of specimens tested, respectively. At least 2 distinct genotypes of hMPV circulated during the study period. Fever, tachypnea, cough, rhinorrhea, retractions of the chest wall, and wheezing were common findings. Of hMPV-positive children, 60.4% were aged <12 months. hMPV accounted for a small but significant proportion of respiratory-tract disease in infants and children.
Direct adaptive longitudinal control of vehicle platoons

Higher traffic capacities require smaller intervehicular spacings. At such intervehicular separations, aerodynamic drag force changes significantly with the distance to be maintained. The mass of the vehicle varies with the number of passengers. In this paper, we present a Lyapunov-based decentralised adaptive control algorithm to compensate for such parametric variations. We examine this direct adaptive control algorithm for platoon performance and parameter convergence. We present the simulation and experimental results to demonstrate the effectiveness of the adaptive controller. >
An Econometric Decomposition of Aggregate Data: Application to the EU-15 Average Cattle Slaughter Weight

The level of aggregation of reported data has limited the proper accounting of live animals in many livestock models, making the consistency of their underlying biologics suspect. The authors suggest an econometric methodology to decompose a wide range of aggregate data, and they apply this method to estimate a disaggregated average cattle slaughter weight for calves, cows, and other cattle from total beef production data in the European Union.
Analysis of the dynamics of assembly and structural impact for a histidine tagged FGF1-1.5 nm Au nanoparticle bioconjugate.

Whether assembling proteins onto nanoscale, mesoscopic, or macroscropic material surfaces, maintaining a protein’s structure and function when conjugated to a surface is complicated by the high propensity for electrostatic or hydrophobic surface interactions and the possibility of direct metal coordination of protein functional groups. In this study, the assembly of a 1.5 nm CAAKA passivated gold nanoparticle (AuNP) onto FGF1 (human acidic fibroblast growth factor) using an amino terminal His6 tag is analyzed. The impact of structure and time-dependent changes in the structural elements in FGF1and FGF1-heparin in the presence of the AuNP is probed by a molecular beacon fluorescence assay, circular dichroism, and NMR spectroscopy. Analysis of the results indicates that a time-dependent evolution of the protein structure without loss of FGF1 heparin binding occurs following the formation of the initial FGF1-AuNP complex. The time-dependent changes are believed to reflect protein sampling of the AuNP surface...
Morphological knowledge and early writing ability.

This study assessed the morphological knowledge of kindergarteners and first graders in relation to their early writing ability. Morphological knowledge was investigated because, in order to write, children need to understand that words are composed of morphemes and phonemes, and because poor writers have particular difficulty with inflected forms of words. Kindergarteners and first graders were grouped by their implicit understanding of morphology and were given tests of dictated spelling and morphological analysis. First graders with poor implicit morphological knowledge omitted more inflectional morphemes in writing and were less able to identify base morphemes in spoken words than kindergarteners and first graders with higher levels of implicit morphological knowledge. The results demonstrate the importance of morphological knowledge in the development of written language proficiency.