cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Word-Order Changes in Predicate Negation Strategies in Romance Languages

SUMMARYThrough the detailed investigation of changes in predicate negation patterns of numerous, often poorly documented informal spoken varieties of Romance vernaculars (including Romance-derived creoles), this paper explores the view that despite considerable formal differences, languages tend to travel down a common hierarchy of changes in negation. Particular attention is paid to a 'new', clause- or sentence-final negation pattern (e.g. Braz. Port. [nao] falo ingles NaO; Palenquero y-ose abla ingles NU "I do not speak English" in an attempt to uncover weaknesses in three recently advanced hypotheses about the origin of new negation strategies.In contrast to the approach taken in an earlier investigation (Schwegler 1983), emphasis is placed on the need for distinguishing various mechanisms of innovation, all of which conspire to produce negation cycles which are governed by recurrent complex principles and strategies syntactic, typological, semantic, pragmatic, and psycholinguistic.RESUMESe basant sur une analyse detaillee de l'evolution de la negation predicative dans de nombreux dialectes romans, (y compris des dialectes creoles derives de langues romanes), cet article propose que, malgre d'importantes differences formelles, les langues ont tendance a passer par une hierarchie de changements determinee. Un nouveau type de negation, toujours place en fin de la phrase principale ou subordonnee (port. bres. [nao] falo ingles NaO; palenquero y-ase abla ingles NU "je ne parle pas anglais"), est releve afin de demontrer les difficultes de trois hypotheses recentes sur l'origine de nouvelles strategies en negation.Contrairement a la prise de position presentee dans une etude anterieure (Schwegler 1983), Fauteur releve l'importance de reconnaitre de multiples mechanismes d'innovation. L'interaction de ces mechanismes produit des cycles de negation qui sont eux-memes gouvernes par de complexes principes et strategies syntactiques, typologiques, semantiques, pragmatiques, et psycholinguistiques.ZUSAMMENFASSUNGDieser Artikel erforscht mittels einer detaillierten Untersuchung von anderungen in der Pradikatsnegation zahlreicher romanischer, oft sparlich dokumentierter Dialekte (einschlieBlich der romanisch-basierten kreolischen) den Gesichtspunkt, daB Sprachen trotz betrachtlicher formaler-Differenzen dazu neigen, eine gemeinsame Hierarchie von Negationsanderungen zu durchlaufen. Besondere Beachtung wird einem *neuen\ am Ende eines Haupt-' oder Nebensatz stehenden Negationstypus geschenkt (z.B. bras. port. [nao] falo ingles NaO; palenquero y-ase abla ingles NU"ich rede nicht Englisch"), um die Schwachen dreier kurzlich vorgeschlagener Hypothesen uber den Ur-sprung neuer Negationstrategien aufzudecken.Im Gegensatz zu dem in einer fruheren Arbeit (Schwegler 1983) vertretenen Standpunkt wird hier hervorgehoben, daB mehrere Innovations-mechanismen unterschieden werden mussen. Das Zusammenwirken dieser Mechanismen fuhrt zu Negationszyklen, welche komplexen syntaktischen, typologischen, semantischen, pragmatischen, und psycholinguistischen Prin-zipien und Strategien unterliegen.
A young man with acute weakness of his right arm.

A previously healthy, relatively young man has had a stroke. What is the cause and what should be done?
The short-term effects of smoke exposure on the pulmonary function of firefighters.

The short-term effects of smoke inhalation have been little studied. This study evaluated whether firefighters experience a significant change in spirometric values following exposure to smoke from a fire. Sixty firefighters from the city of Pittsburgh completed a questionnaire (Medical Research Council) and underwent spirometric testing following exposure to house fires. The group contained 25 current smokers, 14 ever smokers, and 21 never smokers. Firefighters reporting cough, phlegm, breathlessness, and chest illnesses were more likely to be current or ever smokers than never smokers. Mean spirometric data obtained before exposure, after a minimum of four off-duty days, showed the following: FVC, 4.50±0.60L (90 percent of predicted); FEV 1 , 3.65±0.56L (96 percent of predicted); FEV 1 /FVC, 81±8 percent (106 percent of predicted); FEF25-75%, 3.71±1.13L/s (96 percent of predicted); and PEF, 7.95±1.70L/s (87 percent of predicted). After exposure, spirometry was performed on 22 firefighters. All spirometric values decreased after exposure; however, a significant decline was only seen in two indices, the FEV, and FEF25-75%. This decline was small (3 to 11 percent). Two firefighters experienced an exaggerated decline in spirometric values after exposure, compared to the group as a whole. Neither age, smoking history, location of firefighting, intensity of smoke exposure, or use of a self-contained breathing apparatus explained the reasons for the greater decline in these two individuals. Thus, while firefighters do experience a small decrease in pulmonary function after exposure to house fires, there appears to be a small subgroup of firefighters who develop more substantial and potentially clinically important decreases in pulmonary function after smoke exposure.
Role of ω-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids on cyclooxygenase-2 metabolism in brain-metastatic melanoma

Cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) is important in the progression of epithelial tumors. Evidence indicates that ω-6 PUFAs such as arachidonic acid (AA) promote the growth of tumor cells; however, ω-3 fatty acids [eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)] inhibit tumor cell proliferation. We investigated the effects of ω-3 PUFA on the expression and function of COX-2 in 70W, a human melanoma cell line that metastasizes to the brain in nude mice. We show that 1) tumor necrosis factor-α upregulates the expression of both COX-2 mRNA and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production, and 2) ω-3 and ω-6 PUFA regulate COX-2 mRNA expression and PGE2 production. AA increased COX-2 mRNA expression and prostaglandin production in ω-6-stimulated 70W cells. Conversely, COX-2 mRNA expression decreased in cells incubated with EPA or DHA. AA increased Matrigel™ invasion 2.4-fold, whereas EPA or DHA did not. Additionally, PGE2 increased in vitro invasion 2.5-fold, whereas exposure to PGE3 significantly decreased invasion. Our results demonstrate that incubation of 70W cells with either AA or PGE2 increased invasiveness, whereas incubation with EPA or DHA downregulated both COX-2 mRNA and protein expression, with a subsequent decrease in Matrigel™ invasion. Taken together, these results indicate that ω-3 PUFA regulate COX-2-mediated invasion in brain-metastatic melanoma.
Transforming growth factor‐β induces loss of epithelial character and smooth muscle cell differentiation in epicardial cells

During embryogenesis, epicardial cells undergo epithelial-mesenchymal transformation (EMT), invade the myocardium, and differentiate into components of the coronary vasculature, including smooth muscle cells. We tested the hypothesis that transforming growth factor-beta (TGFbeta) stimulates EMT and smooth muscle differentiation of epicardial cells. In epicardial explants, TGFbeta1 and TGFbeta2 induce loss of epithelial morphology, cytokeratin, and membrane-associated Zonula Occludens-1 and increase the smooth muscle markers calponin and caldesmon. Inhibition of activin receptor-like kinase (ALK) 5 blocks these effects, whereas constitutively active (ca) ALK5 increases cell invasion by 42%. Overexpression of Smad 3 did not mimic the effects of caALK5. Inhibition of p160 rho kinase or p38 MAP kinase prevented the loss of epithelial morphology in response to TGFbeta, whereas only inhibition of p160 rho kinase blocked TGFbeta-stimulated caldesmon expression. These data demonstrate that TGFbeta stimulates loss of epithelial character and smooth muscle differentiation in epicardial cells by means of a mechanism that requires ALK5 and p160 rho kinase.
Quantitative image analysis for immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization

Image analysis hardware, software, and procedures are described for analysis of tissue reacted for antibody immunocytochemistry and in situ hybridization. A Magiscan image analyzer is used to process images viewed with a light microscope. LUT functions, spatial filters (parabola) and gray level convolutions (sharpen, laplacian, mexican hat) are applied in order to extract immunoreaction product or autoradiographic grains. These objects are then thresholded and binary operators (erosion, dilation, separation) are applied to separate closely apposed objects. Measurements routines are used to estimate the optical density and size of labeled profiles or to count grains and compute grain density per profile. A JEOL 1210 electron microscope is used to view tissue treated for post-embedding immunochemistry. Digital images are captured with a Kodak 1K CCD camera, archived, transported across a local area network, stored on optical disks and analyzed on a MacIntosh IIci. NIH Image is used to process these images. Results show that the optical density of GABA antibody labeling is reduced by monocular deprivation, that substance P mRNA hybridization labeling is increased by scopolamine, and that retinal terminals are densely labeled by antibodies to glutamate. These techniques are thus useful for measuring the amount of change in labeling after experimental manipulations and for distinguishing labeled from unlabeled profiles.
Notes from Educause 2007: On the Subject of Leadership

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on the conference, “Educause 2007”.Design/methodology/approach – The paper provides an overview of the presentations made at the conference.Findings – Several of the sessions were noteworthy for their focus on leadership.Originality/value – The paper provides a valuable review of the conference, focusing on the subject of leadership.
Neuroimaging in Child and Adolescent Neuropsychiatric Disorders

ABSTRACT Objective To review the major findings and pathophysiological implications of imaging studies of neuropsychiatric disorders that onset in childhood or adolescence. Method More than 200 neuroimaging studies were selected for review from Medline searches if the studies concerned developmental neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, fragile X syndrome, Down syndrome, schizophrenia, obsessive-compulsive disorder, Tourette's syndrome, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and dyslexia. Results Disordered central nervous system development may produce evidence of cortical neuronal migration abnormalities in autism, smaller cortical structures in Down syndrome, frontal lobe deficits and larger basal ganglia in schizophrenia, hypoplastic basal ganglia in Tourette's syndrome, aberrancies of the planum temporale in dyslexia, and hypoplastic cerebellar structures in numerous developmental disorders. Normal cerebral asymmetries appear to be disrupted in a number of disorders, including schizophrenia, Tourette's syndrome, attention deficit disorder, and dyslexia. Conclusions Neuroimaging data regarding pathological central nervous system development in childhood are still sparse, and many of the findings in developmental disorders of childhood onset concern the study of adult subjects with those disorders. Nevertheless, imaging modalities previously used only in adults are with increasing frequency being applied to the study of children, which will likely continue to contribute to the understanding of pathological brain structure and function throughout childhood and to the improved treatment of these disorders.
Antibody Directed Therapy after Lung Transplant

Purpose Antibodies directed against human leukocyte antigens, particularly donor specific anti-HLA antibodies (DSAs), have been associated with the development of bronchiolitis obliterans syndrome and worse survival after lung transplant. Antibody depletion therapies have been successfully used to treat humoral rejection in kidney transplant recipients. We hypothesized that antibody directed therapies would alter circulating antibodies and improve survival in lung transplant recipients with evidence of allograft dysfunction and DSAs. Methods and Materials We developed a standard treatment that includes plasmapheresis, methylprednisolone, bortezomib, rituximab and IVIG. HLA antibodies were measured serially pre and post treatment with consideration for changes in the calculated panel reactive antibody (cPRA), a quantification of detectable anti-HLA antibodies. Primary endpoints were changes in cPRA class I and cPRA class II over time. Secondary endpoint was 1 year survival after starting therapy. Results Between 9/2010 and 2/2012, 9 LT recipients with DSA and allograft dysfunction received antibody directed therapy. Of the 411 HLA antibody tests reviewed, single antigen determination was available for 34 cPRA class I and for 69 cPRA class II values. Considering repeated measures overtime, there was a significant change in class I cPRA (p=0.01). There was no significant change in class II cPRA over time (p=0.88). One year unadjusted survival following antibody directed therapy was 61%. Conclusions Donor-specific HLA antibodies are associated with worse outcomes after lung transplantation and may be representative of antibody mediated rejection. The optimal treatment of DSAs is unknown. A protocol involving plasmapheresis and biological agents directed towards antibody depletion can effectively reduce class I cPRA but not class II cPRA. Additional studies are needed to determine if this approach improves allograft function or the poor survival associated with DSAs.
"I Like It the Way It Is!": Peer-Revision Writing Strategies for Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

The author examined whether independent or peer revision produced a greater number of meaningful revisions between drafts. The study was a single-participant, alternating treatment design. The sample comprised 8 students in a predominately low-SES urban school in the United States. Students of mixed gender and background were in a self-contained, multilevel class designed for students with significant behavioral and emotional disabilities. Students wrote daily in both treatment conditions in a counterbalanced fashion. Results indicate that students made more surface-level revisions in the independent condition and produced more content-related revisions in the peer condition. In both conditions, the 2nd draft was more descriptive than the 1st, and students in the peer condition increased their use of complex vocabulary and organizational components. In addition, discussion during peer conferencing was positive, appropriate, and relevant to the topic.
Pulmonary gas exchange in freely diving Weddell seals, Leptonychotes weddelli.

Abstract Composition of end-tidal samples collected from the first expiration after resting apneusis and after deep or prolonged dives was determined in voluntarily diving adult Weddell seals whose average weight was 425 kg. Also determined was respiratory exchange ratio (R) and oxygen consumption (o2). After an average resting apneusis of 4.5 min the end-tidal 0, tension (p a O2) averaged 59 mm Hg and CO2 tension (P a CO2) averaged 50 mm Hg. After deep dives of an average submersion of 11.5 min the PAO2 = 70mmHg and P a CO2=27 mm Hg. The exploratory dives, which ranged from 25–47 min, averaged P a O2=40 mm Hg and P a CO2 = 36 mm Hg. It is concluded that the marked difference in the end-tidal composition of the deep dives is a result of hyperventilation preparatory for the dive and subsequent lung collapse and little gas exchange during the dive. Resting R was 0.69, but after dives R was highly variable. It began low and usually rose above 1.0 and subsequently fell to near 0.70. Mean resting O2 was 309 ml × kg−1× hr−1 whereas O2 after dives was initially as high as 2.4 L × kg−1× hr−1 but fell precipitously during the ventilation period. Mean overall o2 which included both the ventilation and the submersion period was 254 ml × kg−1× hr−1. The reasons for diving o2 being lower than resting O2 are discussed and it is concluded that the cost of diving is not great.
Electrophysiological study of corticocaudate projections in cats

The potential waves evoked in the caudate nucleus (CN) of cats by stimulation of the cerebral neocortex were sterotactically recorded. The head and the body of the caudate nucleus were systematically explored. Stimulation of the ipsilateral sigmoid gyrus and the orbitofrontal cortex evoked waves with the largest amplitude in the CN. Smaller potentials were evoked from the ipsilateral ectosylvian and suprasylvian gyri and from the sigmoid gyrus on the contralateral side. Antidromic conduction from the caudate nucleus to the cortex demonstrated the directness of the corticocaudate pathway. By stimulating the white matter and by amking lesions, the corticocaudate pathway was shown to pass, in part, through the subcallosal fasciculus and, in part, through the internal capsule. Corticocaudate connections were shown to be separate from the fibers of the corticospinal tract. A staggered and extensively overlapping topographic progression of the corticocaudate projections was demonstrable along the antero-posterior axis, but was less evident in the medio-lateral direction. It was concluded that the intranuclear distribution of functional synaptic connections must be more profusely branched than was suspected from anatomical data.
PURIFICATION, CHARACTERIZATION, AND RADIOLABELING OF LINGCOD (OPHIODON ELONGATUS) SKIN TYPE I COLLAGEN

The acid-solubilized collagen of lingcod skin has been extracted, purified and characterized. The skin collagen was readily solubilized by 0.5 M acetic acid, pH 2.5, treatment and further purified by fractional salt precipitation. The purified type I collagen had a melting temperature of about 20C, and its content in the skin of lingcod was high, as has the content of type I collagen been reported for land mammalian and avian skin. Analysis of the collagen by sodium dodecylsulfate-polyacrylamide electrophoresis indicated the presence of three different α-chains, α1, α2, and α3, which is the same structural composition of skin type I collagen found in Atlantic cod, Alaska pollack, blue grenadier and several other teleosts examined. The amino acid composition of lingcod skin type I collagen was very similar to the amino acid composition of Atlantic cod skin collagen, but was not strictly homologous with type I collagen from carp, invertebrate aquatic mammals and mammalian muscles. The purified collagen was radiolabeled to high specific radioactivity and used as a substrate for the assay of Pacific rockfish skeletal muscle matrix metalloproteinases. Radiolabeling did not show any apparent effect on the melting temperature or fibril formation properties of collagen. The radiolabelled lingcod type I collagen fibrils form at 15C and can be used to assay collagenolytic activity from fish at this temperature.
Once‐Married Lesbians: Facilitating Changing Life Patterns

Many women have undergone a significant life transition from a heterosexual marriage to a lesbian life pattern. As facilitators of life transitions, counselors can play an important role in minimizing the pain and maximizing the growth involved in such a change. This article provides counselors with information about the diversity of this life transition and then discusses three areas in which counselors may facilitate this process by helping clients to (a) develop a positive identity as a lesbian, (b) adapt to their relationships with women partners, and (c) deal with work-related issues arising from the changed life pattern.
The surface activity of PVP and other polymers and their antihemolytic capacity.

Abstract The polymeric cryoprotective agents polyvinylpyrrolidone, dextran, and hydroxyethyl starch do not penetrate the cell membrane and are not present in high osmotic concentrations. Thus, they can exert little of the “antifreeze” behavior generally attributed to glycerol or dimethyl sulfoxide, and must protect cells from freezing injury by some action external to the cell surface. Surface energy measurements of droplets of hemoglobin solution immersed in solutions of cryoprotective polymers indicate that these polymers lower the surface energy of the solution below that of the hemoglobin droplets and form a stable interface. In injured cells, these polymers will therefore hide membrane defects by forming an interface across which hemoglobin cannot easily pass. When freezing is slow, the polymers have little if any true cryoprotective effect but interfere with hemoglobin release as an assay of injury.
Free Speech, Political Equality, and Campaign Finance Reform: A Paradox for Democracy?

Liberty to speak free of government interference and political equality are both essential to democracy. Yet political equality requires governmental regulation of resources needed for political speech. Analysis of Supreme Court cases, supplemented by considerations from democratic theory, suggest that this apparent paradox is better understood as a tension within the idea of free speech itself: between liberty to speak and the need for government to oversee fair distribution of resources necessary for politically effective speech. Although it is a tension worth negotiating with care, democracy simply requires fairness in distribution of politically relevant resources. The Supreme Court has erred in not reading the Constitution as mandating political equality as a fundamental right, and also in not incorporating real political equality as a compelling state interest. Therefore, the public should seek a 28th Amendment that would mandate political equality regardless of economic circumstance as a fundamenta...
Spectral generalization gradients from pigeons as a function of response latency.

Generalization gradients on wavelength were obtained from pigeons using a discrete trials procedure. For a group tested with 3 sec trials, it was found that gradients produced by responses of shorter latencies showed greater extent of generalization than did gradients produced by responses of longer latencies. This relationship was also shown to hold when latencies were experimentally controlled by training different groups of animals on trials of differing lengths.
Design, Synthesis, and Biological Activity of a Family of Novel Ceramide Analogues in Chemoresistant Breast Cancer Cells

Resistance to chemotherapy and endocrine therapy is a major cause of breast cancer treatment failure. We have synthesized six novel analogues using C8-ceramide as the lead analogue and studied their effect on hormone therapy resistant (MDA-MB-231) and chemoresistant (MCF-7TN-R) breast cancer cells. Pharmacologic intervention using these ceramide analogues inhibited clonogenic survival and induced apoptosis, with one analogue being more effective than C8-ceramide. Our results show ceramide-based therapy has therapeutic potential in treating drug resistant breast cancer.
Surface stresses in paraffin and polyethylene

Abstract Previous calculations of surface stress in polyethylene and paraffin crystals are extended to include other experimental and computational data. There are significant changes in the magnitude of the stresses. For polyethylene, these might reflect variations in the nature of the fold surface. Computational modelling yields surface stresses and energies that agree with the experimentally based magnitudes for paraffins but disagree with those for polyethylene. The discrepancy is not reduced by taking account of the effect of neighbouring crystals in the modelling. The agreement of the paraffin modelling results with experiment suggests that the discrepancy for polyethylene has its origins in the model of the fold surface. This raises the possibility that modelling can be used to investigate the nature of the fold surface.
Developmental alterations as a result of in ovo exposure to the pesticide metabolite p,p'-DDE in Alligator mississippiensis.

Abstract The pesticide metabolite p , p ′-DDE (1,1-dichloro-2,2-bis ( p -chlorophenyl) ethylene), has been implicated in numerous reproductive and developmental abnormalities. Previous work has shown this ubiquitous contaminant to behave in an estrogenic or antiandrogenic manner, depending on the species and endpoints examined. In the current study, we examined the effects of embryonic exposure to p , p ′-DDE in the alligator, a species that exhibits temperature-dependent sex determination. We compared sex ratios at an intermediate and all male producing temperature, as well as plasma testosterone (T) and gonad aromatase activity relative to untreated controls and in ovo estradiol-17β (E 2 )-treated neonates that served as positive estrogenic controls. We also compared oviductal epithelial cell height (ECH) and phallus size—estrogen and androgen responsive tissue, respectively. A female biased sex ratio was observed among hatchlings exposed to p , p ′-DDE at 100 parts per billion (ppb) wet egg mass at the intermediate incubation temperature. No effect on sex determination was observed for p , p ′-DDE at the all male producing temperature. Significant influence on sex determination was observed for E 2 at 100 and 0.1 ppb at the intermediate temperature and 100 ppb at the all male producing temperature. Both p , p ′-DDE and E 2 failed to influence plasma T, gonadal aromatase activity, oviductal ECH, and phallus morphology at the concentrations used. Our data show that gonadal differentiation is highly sensitive to chemical perturbation relative to the other endpoints examined, and that the response to the interaction of dose and temperature should be taken into account in similar studies.
Examining the linkage between shrub encroachment and recent greening in water‐limited southern Africa

There have been reports of widespread increases in satellite-derived vegetation indices in drylands across the globe. At the same time, there are numerous field-based observations of increases in the density of small woody plant species, a process known as shrub encroachment. We compare ground-based observations of shrub encroachment with information from 14 years of Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission (TRMM) precipitation data, Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) Normalized Difference Vegetation Index (NDVI) and MODIS land cover data for southern Africa, focusing on areas that receive less than 1000 mm of precipitation per year. Cumulative precipitation and maximum NDVI were computed for each year and linear regression analysis was used to correct for interannual variability in precipitation. Accounting for precipitation effects, we found an underlying, overall greening in southern Africa, with NDVI increasing +3.34% on average over the 2000–2013 study period. Over 15% of the region is undergoing statistically significant change, strongly biased towards greening. The strongest greening was in a coherent band stretching from northern Namibia to Lesotho. Ground-based reports of shrub encroachment tend to overlap with strong greening; we suggest that these processes are linked. Reports that intersect our period of record showed overwhelmingly positive trends, indicating that our method is suitable for detecting shrub encroachment. Shrublands and savannas accounted for 78% of the study region. Savannas did not change appreciably (−0.21% total change) from 2000–2013 while shrublands were greening faster than any other land cover type over the same period (+8.93%). Fast rates of greening in this biome may be indicative of shrub expansion. Large-scale shrub encroachment will have important consequences for dryland degradation and global carbon dynamics.
Post-Occupancy Evaluation of a Transformed Nursing Home: The First Four Green House® Settings

To study how well the physical environments of four Green Houses® served the residents, staff, and visitors and to develop recommendations for similar small-house nursing home projects. Longitudinal post-occupancy evaluation of four houses using mixed-methods, including behavioral mapping, checklist ratings of individual bedrooms and bathrooms, place-centered time scans, environmental tracers, and questionnaires and interviews. The small residential environments achieved the desired functional results for residents and staff. Some components of the environment proved problematic, especially bathroom designs, lighting and fixtures, and storage spaces. Certain areas of the buildings were under utilized, particularly a den. Space was used differently in the two houses dedicated to residents with dementia compared to the other two houses. In the latter, residents tended to use their own rooms for a variety of activities, including visits, and often kept their doors closed, whereas in the former the central he...
Spherical analyzers and monochromators for resonant inelastic hard X-ray scattering: a compilation of crystals and reflections

Resonant inelastic X-ray scattering (RIXS) experiments require special sets of near-backscattering spherical diced analyzers and high-resolution monochromators for every distinct absorption-edge energy and emission line. For the purpose of aiding the design and planning of efficient RIXS experiments, comprehensive lists of suitable analyzer reflections for silicon, germanium, α-quartz, sapphire and lithium niobate crystals were compiled for a multitude of absorption edges and emission lines. Analyzers made from lithium niobate, sapphire or α-quartz offer many choices of reflections with intrinsic resolutions currently unattainable from silicon or germanium. In some cases these materials offer higher intensities at comparable resolutions. While lithium niobate, sapphire or α-quartz analyzers are still in an early stage of development, the present compilation can serve as a computational basis for assessing expected and actual performance. With regard to high-resolution monochromators, bandpass and throughput calculations for combinations of double-crystal, high-heat-load and near-backscattering high-resolution channel-cuts were assembled. The compilation of these analyzer and monochromator data is publicly available on a website.
Impact of interhospital intensive care unit transfers

Duke University Medical Center is a tertiary referral level one trauma hospital with a 16 bed surgical intensive care unit (SICU) averaging 1100 admissions per year. SICU patients include trauma, gastrointestinal, vascular, transplant, urology, orthopedics, otolaryngology and gynecology services. SICU admissions consist of postoperative, trauma via emergency room, intrahospital floor transfer and interhospital direct transfer. Transfers from outside institutions are often critically ill patients who have a significantly prolonged length of stay (LOS) and use vast amounts of resources. All SICU admissions were compared with interhospital transfers for the last 3 fiscal years. Interhospital transfers account for 5% of ICU admissions but 10% of total costs. These patients generate increased cost per case of over $11,000. The ICU LOS is significantly increased from 3.3 days for all patients to 7.5 for transfers. Likewise, the SICU mortality of these cases is significantly increased from 7.3% to 28.6% and hospital mortality from 9.6% to 33.5% We continually review our practices to dedicate our resources where they do the most good. We must continue to take salvageable, critically ill patients in transfer early in the course of their illness when appropriate SICU management can favorably influence outcome. In our experience, interhospital transfer of critically ill patients identifies a group with overall poor prognosis. There is a need for a means to evaluate and appropriately triage outside referrals in order to maximize clinical outcomes. Analysis of these transfers is underway to identify prospective predictors of potentially futile care to allow better utilization of available resources. Table 1
Fast model-based penetration testing

Traditional approaches to security evaluation have been based on penetration testing of real systems, or analysis of formal models of such systems. The former suffer from the problem that the security metrics are based on only a few of the possible paths through the system. The latter suffer from the inability to analyze detailed system descriptions due to the rapid explosion of state space sizes, which render the models intractable for tools such as model checkers. We propose an approach to obtain statistically valid estimates of security metrics by performing repeated penetration testing of detailed system models. We make use of importance sampling techniques to help reduce the variance of our estimates, and achieve relative error bounds quickly. We validate our approach by estimating security metrics of a large model with more than 2/sup 1700/ possible states.
Charge-transfer polymers: a new class of materials for nonlinear optics

Holographic recording has been demonstrated in conducting polymer/C60 blends. These materials allow ultrafast holographic recording and the ability to tailor the decay dynamics of the recorded hologram. Diffraction efficiencies up to 1.6 percent have been measured in these materials for gratings recorded with individual laser pulses. Results are presented that demonstrate that an improved signal-to-noise ratio is obtained when holographic detection is used to observe the dynamics of photo-induced absorption.
A generalized procedure for the prediction of multicomponent adsorption equilibria

Prediction of multicomponent adsorption equilibria has been investigated for several decades. While there are theories available to predict the adsorption behavior of ideal mixtures, there are few purely predictive theories to account for nonidealities in real systems. Most models available for dealing with nonidealities contain interaction parameters that must be obtained through correlation with binary-mixture data. However, as the number of components in a system grows, the number of parameters needed to be obtained increases exponentially. Here, a generalized procedure is proposed, as an extension of the predictive real adsorbed solution theory, for determining the parameters of any activity model, for any number of components, without correlation. This procedure is then combined with the adsorbed solution theory to predict the adsorption behavior of mixtures. As this method can be applied to any isotherm model and any activity model, it is referred to as the generalized predictive adsorbed solution theory. © 2015 American Institute of Chemical Engineers AIChE J, 61: 2600–2610, 2015
Multisensor collaboration in wireless sensor networks for detection of spatially correlated signals

This paper addresses multisensor collaboration for the detection of weak and noisy signals using a network of wireless sensors. We propose a scheme that is designed to detect spatially correlated signals, which is common in many sensor network applications. The proposed scheme allows sensor nodes to automatically form collaborative teams to combine multisensor information for efficient detection of target signals. It applies a clustering measure for multisensor decision fusion that improves the detection performance over traditional schemes that use a counting rule. Associated communication protocols to perform multisensor collaboration, data aggregation and fusion are presented. These protocols are designed to optimise the communication cost in the network while maintaining low probabilities of error for collaborative detection. Performance evaluations of the proposed schemes, obtained using extensive computer simulations, are presented.
Microsatellite variation, population structure, and bottlenecks in the threatened copperbelly water snake

Habitat loss and isolation is pervasive in the Midwest U.S. Wetlands are experiencing particularly dra- matic declines, yet there is a paucity of information on the genetic impacts of these losses to obligate wetland verte- brates. We quantified the genetic variation of extant populations of a shallow wetland specialist and evaluated potential reductions in population size (i.e. bottlenecks) using seven polymorphic microsatellite DNA markers. We analyzed 228 copperbelly water snakes (Nerodia eryth- rogaster neglecta), representing populations from three states. Moderate genetic differentiation exists among all three regions (FST = 0.12, P \ 0.001), with evidence for low levels of differentiation within the federally protected Ohio region (FST = 0.025, P = 0.007), and moderate to strong differentiation within the Indiana region (FST = 0.23, P \ 0.001). Furthermore, Bayesian clustering (i.e. STRUCTURE) supports the separation of the Indiana sites, both from each other and from all other sampling sites. However, it does not support the separation of the Ohio sites from the Kentucky sites. Differentiation among sampling sites did not appear to be related to geographic distance, but rather depended on the quality of terrestrial corridors used for dispersal. Mode shifts in allele frequencies and excess heterozygosity tests were negative, while M-ratio tests were nearly all positive, indicating the likelihood of historical rather than contemporary population bottlenecks. However, potential subspecific intergradation in the Kentucky region may have artificially lowered the M-ratio, and we suggest caution when using the M-ratio approach if intergradation is suspected. Our results have conservation implications for wetland management and management of the copperbelly populations, and emphasizes the importance of protecting wetland complexes.
Is the Individual Market More than a Bridge Market? An Analysis of Disenrollment Decisions

The individual insurance market is perceived by many to provide primarily transition coverage, but there is limited research about how long people stay in this market and what affects their disenrollment decisions. We examine these issues using administrative records and survey data for those enrolled in the individual market in California. We conclude that there is less turnover in this market than is commonly believed. We find that economic factors and coverage characteristics are important in the decision to disenroll, but that perceptions about insurance and the health care system also affect this decision.
Fast Gauss Transforms based on a High Order Singular Value Decomposition for Nonlinear Filtering

We develop new algorithms to speed up the evaluation of the Chapman-Kolmogorov equation when using the marginal particle filter for nonlinear filtering. Evaluation of the Chapman Kolmogorov equation is equivalent to performing kernel denity estimation (KDE) and therefore has O(N2) complexity. The computational complexity of KDE can be reduced to O(N) using the fast Gauss transform (FGT), however the computational constant of the FGT grows exponentially with the dimension, thus making its use impractical in higher dimensions. We develop new FGT algorithms based on a high order singular value decomposition (HOSVD), which can work in high dimensions, and show that they are efficient for high dimensional nonlinear filtering problems.
Scheduling heavy-tailed data traffic over the wireless Internet

We propose new concepts in quality of service (QoS) and scheduling for the wireless Internet that account for the following key observations: (a) Internet traffic is long range dependent, or heavy-tailed, but the conventional approach of handling this via more conservative resource provisioning is unattractive in relatively low bandwidth wireless networks; (b) flat rate charging is an attractive paradigm for data applications, in which case the network's objective becomes to satisfy as many users as possible, rather than be fair in a traditional sense. The QoS framework consists of guaranteeing a certain bandwidth, with high probability, to the transactions on the network, where a transaction might be interpreted, for example, as a TCP connection, or a group of TCP connections, for a given source-destination pair. The lengths of these transactions can vary widely, ranging from a large file transfer to a short E-mail or Web page download, and follows a heavy-tailed distribution. We demonstrate that much fewer network resources are required to satisfy a given QoS guarantee using scheduling strategies that implicitly or explicitly penalize long transactions, compared to a "fair" strategy such as round robin. For multiple users that see channels of different capacities on a shared wireless medium, we modify our QoS framework to be consistent with the proportional fairness criterion. We show that schedulers that discriminate against long transactions, while providing roughly equal "air time" to the users, work much better than conventional round robin based scheduling.
Modular comparison of laparoscopic and robotic simulation platforms in residency training: A randomized trial

Abstract Study Objective To compare minimally invasive surgery (MIS) skills acquired using laparoscopic and robotic simulation training platforms. Design Randomized trial (Canadian Task Force classification I). Setting University residency training program. Subjects PGY1 and PGY2 resident physicians in Obstetrics and Gynecology. Interventions All residents completed prestudy questionnaires (demographic data and previous experience in MIS) followed by simulation pretesting to assess baseline laparoscopic and robotic skills. Residents were then randomized to laparoscopic or robotic training cohorts in which they completed proctored training of 4 basic laparoscopic or 4 matching robotic modules (1 hour per module, 4 hours total). Thereafter, residents repeated the timed assessment of all skills. Finally, they completed poststudy questionnaires about the training experience. The primary outcome measure was the percentage of improvement in skill completion time. Secondary outcome measures were answers to poststudy questionnaires. Measurements and Main Results Sixteen residents completed the study. The laparoscopic and robotic training groups did not differ substantially on demographic measures, previous experience in MIS, or baseline laparoscopic and robotic completion times. Median improvement for individual laparoscopic modules was, respectively, 37.76%, 46.43%, 53.29%, and 66.48% in the laparoscopic cohort vs 21.84%, 21.80%, 38.15%, and 32.98% in the robotic cohort. Median improvement for individual robotic modules was, respectively, 35.42%, 26.08%, 22.33%, and 47.48% in the laparoscopic cohort vs 52.70%, 62.02%, 67.64%, and 71.62% in the robotic cohort. Median improvement in combined laparoscopic, robotic, and overall skills was, respectively, 50.56%, 34.83%, and 45.52% in the laparoscopic group vs 36.18%, 64.12%, and 49.86% in the robotic group. Residents predicted greater comfort performing surgical procedures using the platform in which they trained; however, the robotic training cohort liked their training more. Conclusions Laparoscopic and robotic simulation platforms each demonstrated improved performance in the same and other platform. The robotic platform seems to have an edge over the laparoscopic platform. Larger studies are required in addition to studies to compare the effectiveness of both platforms in more advanced skills and to compare their effect on proficiency in the operating room.
The significance of differences in the potency of enantiomers of anti-acetylcholine drugs

The anti-acetylcholine potencies of the dimethylaminoethyl and N/-methyl piperidin-4-yl esters of R and S 2-cyclohexyl-2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetic acid and their quaternary derivatives have been measured by in vitro and in vivo procedures. The R-enantiomer of dimethylaminoethyl-2-cyclohexyl-2-hydroxy-2-phenylacetate was approximately 100 times more active than the corresponding S-enantiomer both in vivo and in vitro. In contrast, the differences in potencies of the enantiomers of the other compounds were smaller in vivo than in vitro and moreover, the in vivo differences in potency decreased as the potency of the racemates increased. The relevance of these results to general studies of enantiomeric differences is discussed.
Location of a Protease and its Inhibitor in the Barley Kernel

Tissues of barley caryopsis and seedling were examined for the protease, BAPAase, and an inhibitor. The enzyme was present in extracts of alevn-one but was absent from aleurone incubation media and extracts of: embryo with scutellum; seedling with scutellum and rootlets, and endosperm that was free of aleurone tissue. The enzyme was present in non-incubated aleurone and did not increase significantly during incubation under conditions where alpha-amylase increased in the medium and tissue. Addition of gibberellie acid produced no detectable increase in BAPAase. Extracts of endosperm had weak BAPAase-inhibitory activity; embryo or seedling extracts produced strong inhibition. The inhibitor present in these extracts was dialyzable.
The Persistence of Seeding Effects in a Winter Orographic Cloud Seeded with Silver Iodide Burned in Acetone

Abstract A single case-study of a winter orographic cloud over the central Sierra Nevada is presented in which the effects of aerial seeding with silver iodide, an AgI NH4C1O4 mixture burned in acetone, were observed to persist for over 90 min after seeding and 100 km downwind of the seedline. A research aircraft was able to locate and track the line source of AgI using an ice nucleus counter. High ice crystal concentrations due to seeding were not apparent until more than one hour after seeding. This may have been partially due to the high natural concentrations of ice, but post-mission analysis revealed that most sampling passes during the first hour following seeding were made below the AgI seeded volume. Ice nucleus measurements confirmed sampling of the seedline from 1–1.5 h after seeding, with associated increases in ice crystal concentrations. The effectiveness of the seeding material in the field was higher than laboratory measurements would suggest.
A 64-channel ultra-low power bioelectric signal acquisition system for brain-computer interface

A 64-channel bioelectric signal acquisition system incorporating a CMOS ultra-low power amplifier array and serializer integrated circuit (IC) is presented. Each amplifier within the array employs a complementary differential topology with cross-coupled-pair active load to achieve ultra-low power and low-noise operation for a nominal gain of 39 dB. The serializer utilizes zero-power complementary switch network which is controlled by an on-chip synchronous counter-based control circuitry. Fabricated in a 130 nm CMOS process with an area of 5.45 mm2 (excluding pads), the IC is designed to operate in the weak inversion region, resulting in an estimated total power consumption of 14 μW. Each amplifier consumes 216 nW from 0.4 V supply and occupies 0.044 mm2 of die area. The measured input-referred voltage noise across 190 Hz of amplifier's bandwidth is 2.19 μVRMS, corresponding to a power efficiency factor of 11.7. Experiments show that this system effectively amplifies human electroencephalographic and electromyographic signals.