cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Web advertising and Hispanics

The liaison between America Online and Hispanic Publishing Corporation to launch an interactive area called HISPANIC Online attests to the growing importance of the Hispanic consumers to US corporations. Still, little published research exists documenting the evaluation and usage of Web advertising by this growing segment of the US population. Applying Pollay and Mittal’s seven‐factor advertising beliefs model, the authors explore the Hispanic Web users’ beliefs, attitudes, and use of Web advertising. The seven belief factors regarding Web advertising, as well as attitudes and demographic factors, of the Hispanic respondents were studied in three usage contexts of Web advertising: the attention subjects paid to Web advertisements; the frequency of subjects clicking on Web advertisements; and the frequency of subjects leaving Web sites. Multivariate discriminant analysis suggests that the seven belief factors and the attitude factor, along with age and income levels, are significantly correlated with the three usage contexts of Web advertising. The study results and implications for Web advertisers are discussed.
Aquifer structure identification using stochastic inversion

This study presents a stochastic inverse method for aquifer structure identification using sparse geophysical and hydraulic response data. The method is based on updating structure parameters from a transition probability model to iteratively modify the aquifer structure and parameter zonation. The method is extended to the adaptive parameterization of facies hydraulic parameters by including these parameters as optimization variables. The stochastic nature of the statistical structure parameters leads to nonconvex objective functions. A multi-method genetically adaptive evolutionary approach (AMALGAM-SO) was selected to perform the inversion given its search capabilities. Results are obtained as a probabilistic assessment of facies distribution based on indicator cokriging simulation of the optimized structural parameters. The method is illustrated by estimating the structure and facies hydraulic parameters of a synthetic example with a transient hydraulic response.
CCROP—Simulation model for container-grown nursery plant production

Abstract Container Crop Resource Optimization Program (CCROP) is an integrative model which simulates the growth and water and nutrient requirements of a woody ornamental shrub grown in small (2.8–11.4 L) containers in a field environment with overhead sprinkler irrigation. The model was developed for producers, producer advisers and researchers to support best management practice decision-making in container nursery production. We describe the primary processes simulated by CCROP particularly how they differ from traditional crops grown in-ground and assess the ability of CCROP to simulate measured values for a range of irrigation and fertilizer trials and transplanting dates. Results of model testing with 11 trials indicate that CCROP provided reasonable outcomes for biomass and leaf area growth as well as evapotranspiration, runoff (container drainage plus un-intercepted irrigation and rainfall) and nitrogen loss.
Taxonomy and limb ontogeny of Chaohusaurus geishanensis (Ichthyosauria), with a note on the allometric equation

Three of the six earliest ichthyosaurs, namely, Chaohusaurus geishanensis, Chensaurus chaoxianensis, and Chensaurus faciles, occur in the Lower Triassic (Spathian) of the Chaohu area, Anhui Provinc...
Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery of childhood empyema: early referral improves outcome

Video-assisted thoracoscopic surgery (VATS) is considered a safe and effective option in the treatment of childhood empyema. The aim of this study was to assess the efficacy of early referral for primary VATS in childhood empyema. A cohort of 24 consecutive children (12 boys, 12 girls) from 2004 to 2009 with post-pneumonic empyema, as demonstrated by loculation on ultrasound, undergoing VATS at a single tertiary level institution, was reviewed. All cases of empyema were managed as per the local protocol of early referral for primary VATS. Mean age of presentation was 54 months (5 months to 15 years). Mean duration of symptoms before presentation to our centre was 6.29 days (±2.74 days) (range 1–10 days) and mean time to referral to the paediatric surgical unit was 1.95 days (±2.57 days). VATS was performed in all patients with a mean operating time 113.7 min (±37.0 min), which included time for bronchoscopy (range 43–184 min). The mean duration of chest drainage was 4 days (±2.96 days) and post-operative hospitalisation was 6.88 days (±4.11 days). Early primary VATS for post-pneumonic empyema in children demonstrated a higher success rate, lower conversion to open thoracotomy improved outcome and shorter hospitalisation.
Over-voltage monitoring system based on photoelectric sensor array

Aiming at the shortcomings of existing over-voltage monitoring system, such as modifications of primary equipment and poor anti-interference performance, a method of applying sensor array to monitor over voltage is proposed and an over-voltage monitoring system based on photoelectric sensor array is established. Firstly, the hardware structure of this monitoring system is introduced. Secondly, theoretical deduction shows that the electric field generated by long straight overhead line system has the properties of linearity and superposition. Then, a general algorithm is introduced based on Discrete Fourier Transform (DFT) to separate the effects of the field generated by different voltages and the mathematical model that is applicable to parallel overhead lines system with arbitrary number could be built for the measurement of the over-voltage using photoelectric sensor array. According to the physical meaning of the coefficients in the model, two solutions are given with numerical simulation and experimental standardization respectively. Finally, the application of the measuring system is illustrated.
Ammonia metabolism in Reye syndrome and the effect of citrulline

Ammonia metabolism in Reye syndrome was studied by quantitative analysis of the time course of hyperammonemia and the urinary excretion of ammonia, urea, and total nitrogen. These measures were then utilized to assess the effect of citrulline administration in 8 patients compared to results in 22 patients managed without citrulline. Two indices of the severity and duration of hyperammonemia correlated strongly with mortality: the half-time for decline of hyperammonemia and the area under the hyperammonemia curve (an index of the total burden of ammonia presented to the brain). These results suggest that the total amount of ammonia delivered to brain may be important to the pathogenesis of encephalopathy. Citrulline-treated patients had more severe disease at admission and greater abnormalities in indices of nitrogen and ammonia metabolism, though the latter did not reach significance. The urine ammonia/urea nitrogen excretion ratio, an index of the efficiency of ammonia conversion to urea, normalized more rapidly in the citrulline-treated group, evidence that citrulline may have improved urea cycle function. Overall mortality did not differ in the two groups. The deaths of 2 citrulline-treated patients in this small group were attributable to factors unrelated to treatment, however, so the possible effect of citrulline on mortality was not definitively tested. No indication was found that citrulline was harmful, nor that it increased ammonia levels.
Interface cracks in anisotropic dissimilar materials : An analytic solution

Abstract Based on linear elastic fracture mechanics, analytic solutions are given for displacement and stress fields of in-plane deformation of two anisotropic half-planes, forming a composite bimaterial, with an interface crack, assuming strictly two-dimensional problems; this requires suitable orientation of the material symmetry axes to ensure decoupling of the anti-plane fracture mode from the in-plane ones. It is shown that the field equations are fully characterized in terms of four dimensionless parameters, and these parameters are expressed in terms of the twelve involved elastic constants, six for each half-plane. Analytic solutions are given for two models: (1) the fully open-crack model, involving oscillatory square-root singularities at crack tips ; and (2) the Comninou model which allows possible small contact zones close to the crack tips. Analytic expressions are obtained for the crack opening displacement, the size of the contact zone, the total force transmitted across the contact zone, and the stress field. The results are discussed and related to those for isotropic bimaterials, given by Gautesen and Dundurs.
The development of motilin, cholecystokinin and vasoactive intestinal peptide immunoreactivity in the forebrain and hindbrain of the rat, as determined by radioimmunoassay

Forebrain and brainstem motilin, cholecystokinin (CCK) and vasoactive intestinal peptide (VIP) were determined in rats from 4 days before to birth to 180 days after. CCK and VIP develop postnatally, as previously reported. Motillin concentrations in both areas, however, were highest 4 days before birth, decreasing after birth. In the oldest animals, motilin, CCK and VIP levels were decreased. The presence of substantial motilin immunoreactivity in the brain before birth is suggestive of a possible role for motillin in the regulation of development.
Bupropion Attenuates Methamphetamine Self-Administration in Adult Male Rats

Bupropion is a promising candidate medication for methamphetamine use disorder. As such, we used a preclinical model of drug-taking to determine the effects of bupropion on the reinforcing effects of methamphetamine (0.025, 0.05 or 0.1 mg/kg/infusion). Specificity was determined by investigating the effects of bupropion on responding maintained by sucrose. In the self-administration study, rats were surgically prepared with indwelling jugular catheters and trained to self-administer methamphetamine under an FR5 schedule. A separate group of rats was trained to press a lever for sucrose. Once responding stabilized, rats were pretreated with bupropion (0, 10, 30 and 60 mg/kg i.p.) 5 min before chamber placement in a unique testing order. Following acute testing, rats were then repeatedly pretreated with 30 and 60 mg/kg bupropion. Acute treatments of bupropion dose dependently reduced drug intake for 0.025-0.1 mg/kg methamphetamine; sucrose deliveries were only reduced with the high bupropion dose. Repeated exposure to 60 mg/kg bupropion before the session resulted in a consistent decrease in methamphetamine intake (0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg) and sucrose deliveries. Considered together, this pattern of findings demonstrates that bupropion decreases responding for methamphetamine, but the effects are only somewhat specific.
Biopsy of Cardiac Masses Using a Stabilized Intracardiac Echocardiography-guided System

Biopsy of a cardiac mass remains a difficult and risky procedure. Successful sampling of target tissue is hampered by continuous cardiac motion and blood flow. Because the surrounding tissues are vascular, complications can include hemorrhage, tamponade, arrhythmia, embolization, and death. Conventional imaging modalities are of limited utility in this dynamic environment. The present report describes the use of the instrumentation system originally designed for creation of direct portocaval shunts with intracardiac echocardiography imaging to perform core biopsies of cardiac and juxtacardiac masses in six patients. There were no hemorrhagic complications, and pathologic diagnoses were obtained in five of six cases.
THUNDER Piezoelectric Actuators as a Method of Stretch-Tuning an Optical Fiber Grating

A method of stretching optical fiber holds interest for measuring strain in smart structures where the physical displacement may be used to tune optical fiber lasers. A small, light weight, low power tunable fiber laser is ideal for demodulating strain in optical fiber Bragg gratings attached to smart structures such as the re-usable launch vehicle that is being developed by NASA. A method is presented for stretching optical fibers using the THUNDER piezoelectric actuators invented at NaSA Langley Research Center. THUNDER actuators use a piezoelectric layer bonded to a metal backing to enable the actuators to produce displacements larger than the unbonded piezoelectric material. The shift in reflected optical wavelength resulting from stretching the fiber Bragg grating is presented. Means of adapting THUNDER actuators for stretching optical fibers is discussed, including ferrules, ferrule clamp blocks, and plastic hinges made with stereo lithography.
Defects in alkali halides: atomic force microscopy, cluster spectroscopy, and ultrafast time resolution

Abstract This paper is a review of three topics selected from the larger subject of defects in alkali halides. Two of the topics, atomic force microscopy of point defects on ionic insulators and optical spectroscopy of defects in nanocrystals, have rather short histories, so this may be an introduction as much as a review. The third topic, exciton self-trapping and defect formation, has been the occasion of some significant advances within the last two years in understanding the structure of the self-trapped exciton (STE), its trends from one alkali halide to another, and processes occurring on the picosecond or sub-picosecond time scales as the STE relaxes and in some cases turns into lattice defects. Recent results in time-resolved spectroscopy have been an important part of this.
The reaction of uranyl chloride with hydrochlorides and hydrooxalates of nitrogen-containing heterocycles

Abstract Nine uranium(VI) complexes of nitrogen-containing heterocycles were prepared by the reaction of uranyl chloride with the corresponding ligand and hydrochloric or oxalic acid in aqueous medium. Under practically identical conditions, two different types of complexes were obtained in both cases. In the chlorine-containing complexes of aromatic azaheterocycles, the chlorine : uranium ratio was 4:1 [(Pyridine·H) 2 UO 2 Cl 4 , (Quinoline·H) 2 UO 2 Cl 4 , and (Isoquinoline·H) 2 UO 2 Cl 4 ]. The chlorine : uranium ratio in the complexes of saturated heterocycles was 6:1 [(Piperidine·H) 4 UO 2 Cl 6 , (Piperazine·H 2 ) 2 UO 2 Cl 6 , and (Morpholine·H) 4 UO 2 Cl 6 ]. Analogously, in the oxalate complexes the ratios were 2:1 [(Pyridine· H) 2 UO 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 2 and (Quinoline·H) 2 UO 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 2 · H 2 O] and 3:1 [(Morpholine·H) 4 UO 2 (C 2 O 4 ) 3 ·3H 2 O]. The complexes were characterized on the basis of their elemental analysis and their infrared spectra were studied.
Temporal Aspects of Risk Characterization of Lead

AbstractTemporal factors are an integral part of the components of the risk assessment: hazard identification, dose-response assessment, and exposure estimation. Critical elements of risk characterization include expressions of uncertainty and variability in the data base describing toxicity, dose-response, and exposures to lead. Over the past two decades our understanding of the mechanism(s) of action of lead has resulted in progressively lower quantities of lead being of concern. An increased level of certainty has developed over the past ten years on the nature of the adverse neurodevelopmental consequences of lead exposure. Dose-response evaluation and accompanying risk characterization have been expressed by a number of organizations (e.g., a series of statements by public health authorities describing tolerable blood lead concentrations for children and adults, which have been lowered over time). Blood lead concentrations of concern for young children have decreased over time from ≥ 40 μgldL to ≥ 10...
Water Stress Induced Proline Accumulation at Different Stalk Positions and Growth Stages of Detached Tobacco Leaves

The ability of tobacco leaves to produce free amino acids during water stress was investigated in different aged plants and on leaves of various stalk positions. In mature and old plants, leaves from upper stalk positions showed more proline accumulation during four days of leaf wilting. Proline accumulation was greater in mature leaves than in either young or old leaves. Contrary to proline characteristics, asparagine accumulation was greater in younger leaves and leaves at upper positions on stalks. Asparagine also accumulated in leaves under turgid conditions when proline did not appear.
Open boundary conditions in rotating fluids

Abstract Outflow radiation conditions have frequently been used at open boundaries in oceanography and meteorology. A new implementation of Orlanski's formulation for problems requiring a radiation open boundary has been developed. Three different cases in which Rossby and Kelvin waves are present are studied. In all these tests the proposed open boundary condition shows no reflection at the outflow of the Kelvin wave. However, some reflection at the outflow of the Rossby wave is observed.
Visual Basic and Dynamic Data Exchange: Controlling Windows Applications

Commercially available molecular modeling programs have become increasingly popular as classroom tools in graduate and undergraduate chemistry courses. One such program, HyperChem, has become popular due to its research quality power as well as its ease of use. In this paper we describe general methods of controlling HyperChem through Visual Basic and dynamic data exchange (DDE), thus extending the capability of this program for demonstration and classroom use.
Thermal convective instability of a horizontal saturated porous layer with a segment of inhomogeneity

Convective stability is studied for an infinite horizontal porous layer containing a vertical porous segment of different properties. The critical Rayleigh number depends on the aspect ratio of the nonhomogeneous region and the ratios of permeability, thermal conductivity, and thermal diffusivity of the matrix. Incipient streamlines may be either symmetric or antisymmetric.
Entangled-photon generation from parametric down-conversion in media with inhomogeneous nonlinearity

We develop and experimentally verify a theory of type II spontaneous parametric down-conversion (SPDC) in media with inhomogeneous distributions of second-order nonlinearity. As a special case, we explore interference effects from SPDC generated in a cascade of two bulk crystals separated by an air gap. The polarization quantum-interference pattern is found to vary strongly with the spacing between the two crystals. This is found to be a cooperative effect due to two mechanisms: the chromatic dispersion of the medium separating the crystals and spatiotemporal effects that arise from the inclusion of transverse wave vectors. These effects provide two concomitant avenues for controlling the quantum state generated in SPDC. We expect these results to be of interest for the development of quantum technologies and the generation of SPDC in periodically varying nonlinear materials.
Influence of right ventricular site of stimulation and infarct location on the inducibility of ventricular tachycardia in patients with coronary artery disease

No prior studies have evaluated the relationship between the site of right ventricular stimulation, the site of prior infarction, and the inducibility of ventricular tachycardia (VT). This study was performed to determine if the location of pathologic Q waves influences the inducibility of VT at various right ventricular sites in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) and a history of myocardial infarction (MI). In 30 patients with a history of sustained, monomorphic VT, CAD, prior MI, and pathologic Q waves, programmed ventricular stimulation was performed at the right ventricular apex, septum, and outflow tract, in random order. There was electrocardiographic evidence of an MI that was inferior in 11 patients, anterior in 10 patients, and both inferior and anterior in 9 patients. Sustained, monomorphic VT was induced in 27 of 30 patients (90%). There were no significant differences among the three sites in the rate of inducibility of VT. The rate of inducible VT at each of the three right ventricular sites was not affected by the location of prior infarction. In conclusion, among patients with sustained, monomorphic VT, CAD, and a history of MI, the incidence of inducible sustained, monomorphic VT is not influenced by the location of prior infarction, regardless of whether programmed ventricular stimulation is performed at the right ventricular apex, septum, or outflow tract.
A fertilization reaction inAscidia nigra: Formation of microvilli

Eine elektronenmikroskopische Untersuchung der Eioberflache vonAscidia nigra zeigte, dass 30 sec nach Besamung zahlreiche Mikrovilli in den perivitellinen Raum vorragen. Diese Villi wurden in unbesamten Eiern nie gefunden.
Chemiluminescence associated with phagocytosis of foreign particles in rabbit alveolar macrophages

Abstract Rabbit alveolar macrophages exhibit a chemiluminescent response which is associated with phagocytosis of zymosan and polystyrene-butadiene particles. The chemiluminescence reaches a peak in 15 to 25 minutes and then gradually diminishes over the next 1 to 3 hours. During the time of maximal light emission there appears to be no actual uptake of particles, but the response is dependent upon the particle concentration. The metabolic inhibitor, DNP (2,4-dinitrophenol), causes a rapid inhibition of the chemiluminescent response. The addition of ATP to the medium prior to exposure of the cells to particles causes the chemiluminescent response to be greatly diminished, i.e., 0.3mM ATP virtually abolishes the response. These experiments suggest that some metabolic response of the cell to phagocytosis is responsible for the chemiluminescence.
Intraperitoneal cisplatin with sodium thiosulfate protection in rats with intestinal anastomoses

Intraperitoneal (IP) cisplatin administered at the time of intraabdominal malignancies such as gastric cancer may prevent or delay intraabdominal recurrence. Perioperative IP cisplatin raises concerns regarding systemic toxicity and retardation of wound healing. Systemic cisplatin toxicity may be reduced by administering its antidote, sodium thiosulfate (STS). A preclinical study of IP cisplatin in rats undergoing a small intestinal anastomosis was carried out. All animals that had received only cisplatin died in the postoperative period as a consequence of cisplating toxicity. Tensile strength of the intestinal anastomoses was determined on the tenth postoperative day in the surviving animals. Animals that had received intravenous (IV) cisplatin with STS had significantly lower tensile strengths than both those receiving IP cisplatin with STS and STS alone. This study demonstrates the safety of perioperative cisplatin with STS protection by the avoidance of systemic toxicity and minimizing the cisplatin-related retardation of wound healing. © 1993 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Molecular architecture of the chick vestibular hair bundle

Hair bundles of the inner ear have a specialized structure and protein composition that underlies their sensitivity to mechanical stimulation. Using mass spectrometry, we identified and quantified >1,100 proteins, present from a few to 400,000 copies per stereocilium, from purified chick bundles; 336 of these were significantly enriched in bundles. Bundle proteins that we detected have been shown to regulate cytoskeleton structure and dynamics, energy metabolism, phospholipid synthesis and cell signaling. Three-dimensional imaging using electron tomography allowed us to count the number of actin-actin cross-linkers and actin-membrane connectors; these values compared well to those obtained from mass spectrometry. Network analysis revealed several hub proteins, including RDX (radixin) and SLC9A3R2 (NHERF2), which interact with many bundle proteins and may perform functions essential for bundle structure and function. The quantitative mass spectrometry of bundle proteins reported here establishes a framework for future characterization of dynamic processes that shape bundle structure and function.
Patterns of residential wood and electricity use: Results from the Hood River Conservation Project

Abstract We identify significantly different daily patterns of wood and electricity use among 100 houses that contained both wood heat output and electricity use submeters installed as part of the Hood River Conservation Project. It is found that patterns include low wood/high electricity, high wood/low electricity, and low wood/low electricity profiles. Profiles are not differentiable by day of week but differ widely as outdoor temperatures drop. Houses that are small in size tend to use high electricity/low wood patterns whereas low electricity/high wood patterns are utilized by larger households and houses.
A Photographic Study of Sound Pulses between Curved Walls and Sound Amplification by Horns

Photographic Study of Sound Pulses Passing between Walls Corresponding to Sections along a Straight Tube, a Crooked Tube, a Megaphone and a Conical Horn Receiver.---Using the photographic method previously developed by the author, four pairs of brass plates, each of the proper section, were arranged radially about the axis of the sound-producing spark so as to provide the four passages to be studied. As the sound pulse progressed through these passages, instantaneous photographs registered its position at various stages. Six of these are reproduced. They clearly show that whenever a pulse moves at an angle to a wall there is reflection in exact accord with Huygen's construction. Sound pulses, therefore, do not glide around bends in tubes without appreciable reflection. In the case of a pulse emerging from the open end of a tube or horn, the per cent. of the energy reflected is small, while much of the energy of a pulse entering the large end of a conical horn is reflected back out of the end it entered.Sound amplification produced by four horn receivers of different flares and with ratios of end areas varying from 7.8 to 256 was roughly measured outdoors and also in a special room with sound-absorbing walls, using both a Rayleigh disk and a Webster phonometer. The amplifying factors found were from three to twenty times less than would be expected from the simple condenser theory, which is clearly untenable. It is concluded that the amplification is a result of both resonance and condensation.
Characterization of the biochemical and biophysical properties of the phosphatidylserine receptor (PS-R) gene product

The PS-R gene product was originally described as a cell surface receptor that interacts with externalized phosphatidylserine (PS) on apoptotic cells, but more recent studies have shown that it plays a critical role in organ development and terminal differentiation of many cell types during embryogenesis. Despite these important developmental functions, the biochemical and molecular properties of PS-R are poorly understood. Here we have used several approaches to show that PS-R undergoes processive post-translational protein cross-linking to form covalent multimers within the nuclear compartment. Although PS-R has a potential Glu-Glu (QQ) duet that is often targeted by transglutaminase TG-2, the oligomerization of PS-R was not effected by QQ→AA mutation, or when PS-R gene product was expressed in TG-2 (-/-) fibroblasts. Pulse-chase experiments with 35 S-methionine indicates that the PS-R undergoes an initial proteolytic cleavage, followed by progressive multimerization of the monomeric subunits over time. In summary, we report here that PS-R is modified by an unusual post-translational modification, and we speculate that homomultimer of PS-R might be playing an important function as a scaffolding protein in the nucleus.
Microwave power performance of MBE-grown AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on HVPE GaN substrates

AlGaN/GaN high electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) by plasma-assisted molecular beam epitaxy on free-standing GaN substrates grown by hydride vapour phase epitaxy (HVPE) have been fabricated. Hall measurements yielded typical electron mobilities of 1750 cm2/Vs with sheet densities of 1.1×1013 cm−2. Off-state breakdown voltages as high as 200 V were measured on unpassivated devices. Output power density at 4 GHz was measured to be 5.1 W/mm at a power-added efficiency of 46% and an associated gain of 13.4 dB. This constitutes significant improvement of RF performance by MBE-grown AlGaN/GaN HEMTs on free-standing HVPE GaN.
Evidence of homology between the β-chain of human haptoglobin and the chymotrypsin family of serine proteases

Amino acid sequences from the β-chain of human haptoglobin are compared with those sequences known for the serine proteases of the chymotrypsin family. In a comparison of some 171 residues of the haptoglobin β-chain (approximately 60% of the protein molecule), approximately 30% of these are identical to residues occurring in sequences of either bovine trypsin, bovine chymotrypsin A, bovine chymotrypsin B, porcine elastase, or bovine thrombin B-chain, and an additional 10% are chemically similar. A combined comparison of the haptoglobin β-chain with the above five serine proteases gave an identity of 56% and a chemical similarity of 11%. Similarity of primary structure is also striking around two of the five half-cystinyl residues so far characterized in long lengths of sequence. These data provide substantial evidence that the β-chain of haptoglobin is homologous to the chymotrypsin family of serine proteases. Proposals are also presented to explain the occurrence of internal homology in the N-terminal region of the β-chain.
Cerebral laterality for famous proper nouns: visual recognition by normal subjects.

Lexical processing has long been associated with left-hemisphere function, especially for infrequently occurring words. Recently, however, persons with severe aphasia, including word-recognition deficits, were observed to recognize familiar proper nouns. Further, some patients suffering right-hemisphere damage were poorer at identifying famous names than left-hemisphere-damaged subjects. These observations point to the possibility that some property of the right hemisphere provides an advantage for the processing of familiar or personally relevant stimuli. To investigate this possibility, we conducted split-visual-field studies in which we manipulated stimulus sets, recognition task, and exposure duration. Greater accuracy in the right visual field was found for common nouns and unknown proper nouns, and famous proper nouns were overall more accurately recognized. Performance for famous nouns in the two visual fields was not significantly different when the task required categorization into famous or nonfamous and when stimuli most highly rated as familiar were used. These findings support our proposals that (1) both hemispheres can process famous proper nouns and (2) the right hemisphere is specialized for personal relevance.
Theoretical detection limits of magnetic biobarcode sensors and the phase space of nanobiosensing

A scaling theory of the sub atto-molar (aM) detection limits of magnetic particle (MP) based biosensors (e.g., bio-barcode assays) is developed and discussed. Despite the dramatic differences of sensing protocols and detection limits, the MP-based sensors can be interpreted within the same theoretical framework as any other classical biosensor (e.g., nanowire sensors), except that these sensors are differentiated by the geometry of diffusion and the probe (ρMP)/target (ρT) density ratio. Our model predicts two regimes for biomolecule detection: For classical biosensors with ρMP ≤ ρT, the response time ; while for MP-based biosensors with . The theory (i) explains the performance improvement of MP-sensors by (order of 103–106), broadly validating the sub-aM detection limits reported in literature, (ii) offers intuitive interpretation for the counter-intuitive ρT-independence of detection time in MP-sensors, (iii) shows that statistical fluctuations should reduce with ρT for MP sensors, and (iv) offers obvious routes to sensitivity improvement of classical sensors.
Combating Hyperthermia in Acute Stroke A Significant Clinical Concern

Background—Moderate elevations of brain temperature, when present during or after ischemia or trauma, may markedly worsen the resulting injury. We review these provocative findings, which form the ...
On Flutter and Buffeting Mechanisms in Long-Span Bridges

Using linear formulations throughout, the present paper reexamines the problem of the three-dimensional dynamic response of long, flexible bridge decks to wind, particularly with the modern cable-stayed bridge in view. There are some particular motivations for the approach presently used. First, it has been observed that the bridge deck, the principal attractor of aerodynamic forces, undergoes three-dimensional motion having not only vertical and twist components, but lateral sway as well. This is a pronounced feature of many cable-stayed bridge vibration modes; and, since lateral sway can play a strong, contributory role in total aeroelastic action, it is important that its effects be included. Second, under buffeting by turbulent wind, total bridge response is random in the time domain, precluding the direct expression of aeroelastic forces via the well-known flutter derivatives which are applicable only to harmonic motion. In principle their role must be supplanted for general motions by the integrated effects of those motions as weighted by the corresponding aerodynamic indicial functions. However, to date such indicial functions have themselves been derived only through inverse Fourier transformation of experimentally obtained flutter derivatives; hence there exists an impetus to carry out the entire analysis in the frequency domain, where the original flutter derivatives can be used directly. The details of this procedure and its consequences regarding both the stability and level of bridge deck response are pursued in the body of the paper.
THE ACQUISITION-RICH ENVIRONMENT REVISITED

problematic for several reasons. Within the general class of input-output and interactionist views of learner-to-learner talk, the utterances of one speaker are viewed in relation to those of the other. In the case of teacher/learner or native speaker/non-native speaker interaction, comprehensible input should facilitate (weak version) or bring about (strong version) acquisition of the L2 (26). While challenging the notion of a direct causal link between input and acquisition, Pica and other interactionists (e.g., 49) have nonetheless adopted the same general assumption-that input from A is acted upon by B, and vice versa. A full refutation of the applicability of input-output models and their associated terms for descriptions both of learner talk and language learning/acquisition is beyond the scope of this paper.2 Nonetheless, we make a small beginning with the following reasons for questioning the validity of the term acquisition-rich environment: 1) It assumes that an environment providing opportunities for language learning can be determined to be rich or poor a priori; 2) It does not properly reflect the newer communicative, task-based language opportunities in which learners are the primary interactants in FL/SL classrooms; 3) It does not adequately reveal the function of the totality of utterances observed in learner-to-learner talk; 4) What learners actually acquire is often left unspecified. We use a variety of data collected from several settings to illustrate these points. Data ar presented from two groups of ESL el ctronics students solving a frequency proble at the oscilloscope, a pair of beginning content-based Swahili students engaged in a map task, and a pair of intermediate universitylevel Spanish students doing ajigsaw task. Using these data we will consider learner conversa-
A distributed platform for archiving and retrieving RSS feeds

A typical user has a collection of Web sites she often visits to get information, but keeping track of "what's new" on these Web sites is a nontrivial task. As the contents of the Web sites change frequently, the user would conceivably refresh or reload the Web pages to recollect the information to see if anything is new. To make this keep-up-to-date task easier, many Web sites provide what are called RSS feeds, which are descriptions of the new data in XML format. Some RSS readers have been developed in the past several years, but they are not able to retrieve information that was updated during the time period when the reader is offline. In this paper, we present a distributed platform that can archive, retrieve, and synchronize RSS feeds for the updated information through a network of servers.
The Impact of Outflow Environment on Tropical Cyclone Intensification and Structure

Abstract In this study, the impacts of regions of weak inertial stability on tropical cyclone intensification and peak strength are examined. It is demonstrated that weak inertial stability in the outflow layer minimizes an energy sink of the tropical cyclone secondary circulation and leads to more rapid intensification to the maximum potential intensity. Using a full-physics, three-dimensional numerical weather prediction model, a symmetric distribution of environmental inertial stability is generated using a variable Coriolis parameter. It is found that the lower the value of the Coriolis parameter, the more rapid the strengthening. The lower-latitude simulation is shown to have a significantly stronger secondary circulation with intense divergent outflow against a comparatively weak environmental resistance. However, the impacts of differences in the gradient wind balance between the different latitudes on the core structure cannot be neglected. A second study is then conducted using an asymmetric iner...
A Language of Life: Characterizing People Using Cell Phone Tracks

Mobile devices can produce continuous streams of data which areoften specific to the person carrying them. We show that cellphone tracks from the MIT Reality dataset can be used to reliablycharacterize individual people. This is done by treating eachperson's data as a separate language by building a standardn-gram language model for each ``author.'' We then compute theperplexities of an unlabelled sample as based on each person'slanguage model. The sample is assigned to the user yielding thelowest perplexity score. This technique achieves 85\% accuracyand can also be used for clustering. We also show how languagemodels can also be used for predicting movement and proposemetrics to measure the accuracy of the predictions. Finally, wedevelop an alternative method for identifying individuals bycounting the subsequences in a sample which are unique to theirauthors. This is done by building a generalized suffix tree of thetraining set and counting each subsequence from a sample which isunique for some person as evidence towards identifying that personas the author. We present the identification and prediction as apart of a {\sc humble} human behavior modeling framework, outlinegeneral modeling goals, and show how our methods help. Ourresults suggest that people's medium-scale movement behavioralpatterns, at the granularity of cell tower footprints, can be usedto characterize individuals.
Metabolism and Distribution of Intravenously Administered d-Aldosterone-l,2-H3 in the Arteries, Kidneys, and Heart of Dog

The initial disappearance of intravenously administered H 3 -d-aldosterone from the plasma was associated with a rapid uptake of the labeled aldosterone in the tissues. The subsequent, slower fall off of plasma aldosterone radioactivity appeared to parallel the biological decay of H 3 -aldosterone in the tissues. H 3 -d-aldosterone attained a maximal level in the kidney, liver, heart, and aorta of dog in five to 15 minutes after the aldosterone injection. During and after the time of peak tissue radioactivity, H 3 -aldosterone radioactivity was higher in the kidney, liver, heart, and thoracic aorta than in the plasma. No consistent relationship was observed between the H 3 -aldosterone uptake and the salt, water, and acid mucopolysaccharide content of different portions of the aorta. Subcellular fractionation of the tissues indicated that most of the H 3 -aldosterone taken up by the tissues was present in the supernatant fraction and not bound to subcellular particles. Radioautography revealed a high concentration of H 3 -aldosterone along the cell walls of the convoluted tubular cells and along the walls of the glomerular capillaries, arterioles, and Bowman9s capsule. In the heart H 3 -aldosterone localized along the cell walls of the heart muscle cells, whereas in the aorta the hormone appeared to accumulate over the cytoplasm of the smooth muscle cells. The uptake and distribution of H 3 -aldosterone in the tissues were not altered by pretreatment with the aldosterone antagonist, spironolactone.
Aerosol granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor for pulmonary alveolar proteinosis

Recently, granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) auto-antibodies have been found in many patients with pulmonary alveolar proteinosis (PAP). The present study reports a retrospective case series of patients who used aerosolised GM-CSF in the treatment of idiopathic PAP. Between 1999 and 2003, 12 patients elected to receive aerosolised GM-CSF (250 microg b.i.d. every other week) in lieu of whole-lung lavage or observation. Patient characteristics, pulmonary function tests, arterial blood gas analysis, laboratory values and chest radiographs were extracted from the patient's medical records. Of the six patients tested, all had GM-CSF neutralising antibodies. Additionally, abnormalities in GM-CSF gene expression (one patient), receptor expression (two patients) and ability to upregulate adhesion molecules (one patient) were found. All patients except one had a positive response (mean improvements in arterial oxygen tension, alveolar-arterial oxygen gradient, carbon monoxide diffusing capacity of the lung and forced vital capacity were 17.1 mmHg, 18.4 mmHg, 16.6% pred and 13.5% pred, respectively). Two patients made a complete recovery and were disease free 1 and 2 yrs after discontinuing treatment. Four patients showed complete response to both the initial course or when treated again for recurrence after discontinuation of treatment. One patient required dose escalation (500 microg b.i.d.) with complete response. GM-CSF was well tolerated without late toxicity after median (range) follow-up of 30.5 (3-68) months. In conclusion, aerosolised granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor is safe and effective in treating pulmonary alveolar proteinosis providing an alternative to whole-lung lavage or subcutaneous granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor.
Facilitation and Restoration of Cognitive Function in Primate Prefrontal Cortex by a Neuroprosthesis that Utilizes Minicolumn-Specific Neural Firing

Objective. Maintenance of cognitive control is a major concern for many human disease conditions; therefore, a major goal of human neuroprosthetics is to facilitate and/or recover the cognitive function when such circumstances impair appropriate decision making. Approach. Minicolumnar activity from the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was recorded from nonhuman primates trained to perform a delayed match to sample (DMS), via custom-designed conformal multielectrode arrays that provided inter-laminar recordings from neurons in the PFC layer 2/3 and layer 5. Such recordings were analyzed via a previously demonstrated nonlinear multi-input–multi-output (MIMO) neuroprosthesis in rodents, which extracted and characterized multicolumnar firing patterns during DMS performance. Main results. The MIMO model verified that the conformal recorded individual PFC minicolumns responded to entrained target selections in patterns critical for successful DMS performance. This allowed the substitution of task-related layer 5 neuron firing patterns with electrical stimulation in the same recording regions during columnar transmission from layer 2/3 at the time of target selection. Such stimulation improved normal task performance, but more importantly, recovered performance when applied as a neuroprosthesis following the pharmacological disruption of decision making in the same task. Significance. These findings provide the first successful application of neuroprosthesis in the primate brain designed specifically to restore or repair the disrupted cognitive function.
A comparison of radar signal classifiers

The performances of two neural network classifiers are compared with those of two conventional information theoretic pattern classifiers for the classification of radar returns. Each of the classifiers is applied to the problem of discriminating between the radar signal returns of five commercial aircraft at various azimuth angles. The neural network classifiers are frequency-sensitive competitive learning (FSCL) and FSCL learning vector quantization (FSCL-LVQ), a variation on T. Kohonen's LVQ classifier (1988). These are compared to the nearest-neighbor and the maximum-likelihood classifiers. It is shown that the performance of the neural classifier is close to that of the maximum-likelihood and the nearest-neighbor classifiers. The results indicate that the neural classifiers are relatively insensitive to the noise level of the training data
Trajectory control in targeted force impulses

The present study examines the influences of target predictability, level of practice and response urgency upon the latency and trajectory of a simple motor response. This response is an impulse of isometric force produced by the index finger and aimed to match a step change in a visual target. As expected (Welford 1980), the responses of naive subjects responding as soon as possible after target presentation were initiated at longer latencies when the target steps were of unpredictable amplitudes (choice condition) than when their amplitudes were all the same (simple condition). This choice effect on response latency diminished progressively with practice and eventually disappeared. The trajectories of urgently produced choice responses, however, differed from those of simple responses, and this difference was not reduced by practice. Choice trajectories were more variable and showed a systematic distortion in scaling: response amplitudes exhibited a central tendency bias, or range effect. When targets were equiprobable, responses were biased towards the middle sized target while responses aimed at targets of unequal probability were biased towards the most probable. This effect was independent of the absolute amplitudes of the responses required and was not associated with deviations from the pulse height control policy (Gordon and Ghez 1987a) that human subjects use to vary the amplitude of force impulses. The distortion in scaling and the increased variability of responses aimed at individual targets were markedly reduced when urgency was relaxed and subjects could respond when ready. Then, both simple and choice responses were proportionally scaled to the target, but choice responses were initiated at longer latencies. The changes in trajectory of urgent responses suggests that their inaccuracy occurs because the subjects initiate their responses before the specification of amplitude is complete. The central tendency bias of such incompletely specified responses suggests further that, prior to target presentation, subjects prepare a default response reflecting their expectations. This default may then be modified by information obtained from the target in a process that lasts longer than a minimal reaction time.