cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Deposition uniformity inspection in IC wafer surface

This paper focuses on the task of automatic visual inspection of color uniformity on the surface of integrated circuits (IC) wafers arising from the layering process. The oxide thickness uniformity within a given wafer with a desired target thickness is of great importance for modern semiconductor circuits with small oxide thickness. The non-uniform chemical vapor deposition (CVD) on a wafer surface will proceed to fail testing in Wafer Acceptance Test (WAT). Early detection of non-uniform deposition in a wafer surface can reduce material waste and improve production yields. The fastest and most low-priced inspection method is a machine vision-based inspection system. In this paper, the proposed visual inspection system is based on the color representations which were reflected from wafer surface. The regions of non-uniform deposition present different colors from the uniform background in a wafer surface. The proposed inspection technique first learns the color data via color space transformation from uniform deposition of normal wafer surfaces. The individual small region statistical comparison scheme then proceeds to the testing wafers. Experimental results show that the proposed method can effectively detect the non-uniform deposition regions on the wafer surface. The inspection time of the deposited wafers is quite compatible with the atmospheric pressure CVD time.
Numerical quasiparticle representation of the nucleon-nucleon T matrix

In this paper we develop a practical "hybrid" numerical representation of the nucleon-nucleon T matrix. Part of the expression contains nonseparable terms which are easily calculated, and the rest consists of a separable representation of small rank in terms of Weinberg states. The method rests on the observation that when a set of positive-energy %'einberg states is used to obtain a separable representation of the potential V then the residue 6 V, due to the basis-set truncation, has very special properties: (1) The contribution 6 T to the T matrix due to AVis identical to the undistorted T matrix for 6 V alone, T&, i.e., the usual Moeller distortion factors in the two-potential formula are unity in this case. (2) A perturbative-iterative treatment of Tz in powers of 5 V is found to be equivalent to the finite-rank representation of operators of the type T, T — V, T — V — VGo V, and so on. This equivalence has both practical and theoretical implications. On the one hand, it provides a reliab1e method for calculating the T matrix and for analyzing the corresponding accuracy properties. On the other hand, a connection is established between each order of the quasiparticle method and the different variational principles which underlie the finite-rank representation of operators such as T, T — V, T — V — VGO V, etc. Numerical examples are provided for two difterent nucleon-nucleon singlet potentials (Reid soft core and MalflietTjon). In the Malffiet-Tjon case, for instance, two Weinberg states are found to be sufhcient in order to give an accuracy of 0.1% for the calculation of T — V — VGOV, while for T — V and T the same two states give an accuracy of 1% and 10%, respectively, in an interval of 6 fm ' around the on-shell point.
Interpretation of Scatchard plots for aggregating receptor systems.

Abstract Aggregation of cell surface receptors, with each other or with other membrane proteins, occurs in a variety of experimental systems. The list of systems where receptor aggregation appears to be important in understanding ligand binding and cellular responses is growing rapidly. In this paper we explore the interpretation of equilibrium binding data for aggregating receptor systems. The Scatchard plot is a widely used tool for analyzing equilibrium binding data. The shape of the Scatchard plot is often interpreted in terms of multiple noninteracting receptor populations. Such an analysis does not provide a framework for investigating the role of receptor aggregation and will be misleading if there is a relation between receptor aggregation and ligand binding. We present a general model for the equilibrium binding of a ligand with any number of aggregating receptor populations and derive theoretical expressions for observable Scatchard plot features. These can be used to test particular models and estimate model parameters. We develop particular models and apply the general results in the cases of six aggregating receptor systems where ligand binding and receptor aggregation are related: cross-linking of monovalent cell surface proteins by monoclonal antibodies, cross-linking of cell surface antibodies by bivalent ligand, antibody-induced co-cross-linking of cell surface antibodies and Fcγ receptors, ligand-enhanced aggregation of identical epidermal growth factor receptors, aggregation of heterologous receptors for interleukin 2 to form a high-affinity receptor, and association of receptors, including those for interleukins 5 and 6, with nonbinding accessory proteins that influence receptor affinity or effector function.
Periodic and Chaotic Current Oscillations at a Copper Electrode in an Acetate Electrolyte

Periodic and chaotic current oscillations are observed during electrodissolution of copper in a pH 3.5 sodium acetate/ acetic acid buffer under potentiostatic conditions using a rotating copper disk electrode. Periodic or chaotic oscillations are observed depending on the applied potential and electrode rotation rate. The oscillations arise after the formation and dissolution of an acetate salt film precursor to oxide passivation. The nature and composition of the surface films were examined using scanning electron microscopy and x‐ray powder diffraction data. Nonlinear dynamic analysis methods have been used to show the existence of deterministic chaos. Time series data of the chaotic oscillations were used to generate a return map that appears to be one‐dimensional. The chaotic attractor was reconstructed in a three‐dimensional state space using the method of time delays and the largest Lyapunov exponent was calculated and was positive for the chaotic oscillations indicating a sensitive dependence on initial conditions characteristic of deterministic chaos.
Using a Saturation Function to Interpret the Electrical Properties of Partially Saturated Concrete

AbstractElectrical properties are frequently measured in the concrete construction industry as a part of mixture qualification and quality-control testing. Whereas there are several factors that influence the electrical response of concrete, one of the most important factors is its degree of saturation. Although current standard tests rely on the concrete’s being saturated, this can be difficult to accomplish, is time-consuming, and can artificially increase the degree of hydration of the test sample in comparison with that of concrete in field structures (when the test samples are stored in water). Although some studies have measured the electrical response of concrete for samples with different moisture content (i.e., stored at different relative humidities), a single expression has not been proposed that predicts how drying changes the electrical response. This paper suggests that a saturation function should be considered as a possible method to account and to correct for less than complete saturation...
Fisherman, Would You Rather Be a Logger?: Federal Resource Regulation in the Pacific Northwest

Abstract The livelihood of fishermen depends heavily upon the efficacy of management practices that govern the resource. U.S. Forest Service natural resource management policies, which have developed over the past 70 years, might be usefully applied to marine fisheries management, despite obvious differences in the resources. Characteristics that are common to both resources, such as the prevalence of federal regulatory legislation, federal management agencies, parallel management concepts, resource-dependent communities, and foreign competition, outweigh these differences and reveal similar management problems for both resources. Three forestry policy areas that may contain promising concepts for marine fisheries management are (1) small business set-asides, (2) sustained-yield communities, and (3) worker-owned processing facilities. He also suggests some of the impacts of management upon the loggers and fishermen who must live with regulatory decisions.
Effects of intravenous dexmedetomidine in humans. II. Hemodynamic changes.

Dexmedetomidine (DMED) is a novel clonidine-like compound known to have sedative, analgesic, and cardiovascular stabilizing qualities. DMED is a more highly selective alpha 2-adrenergic agonist than clonidine. This investigation examined the hemodynamic effects of four selected iv doses in consenting healthy male volunteers. In a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial subjects received 0 (n = 9), 0.25 (n = 6) 0.5 (n = 6), 1.0 (n = 6), or 2.0 (n = 10) micrograms/kg of DMED by infusion (2 min). ECG, heart rate (HR), arterial blood pressure (MABP), bioimpedance cardiac output (CO), and plasma catecholamines concentrations (CA) were monitored from 90 min before to 360 min after infusion. Plasma DMED concentrations were measured. DMED produced a maximum decrease in MABP at 60 min of 14%, 16%, 23%, and 27% for the 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 micrograms/kg groups, respectively (P < .05). At 330 min MABP remained below baseline by 8% and 17% at the two largest doses (P < .05). Both HR and CO decreased maximally by both 17% at 105 min. The two largest doses produced a transient (peak at 3 min lasting < 11 min) increased in MABP (16 +/- 2.5 and 24 +/- 10 mmHg, respectively; P < .05) with a concomitantly reduced CO (41%, 2 micrograms/kg; P < .05) and HR (22%, 2 micrograms/kg; P < .05), whereas systemic vascular resistance doubled. Even the lowest dose decreased CA immediately to values close to 20 pg/ml for 5 h. A 2-min iv infusion of DMED produced a transient increase in MABP and a longer lasting decrease in MABP and CA. These DMED doses were well tolerated in the healthy volunteers.
Growth Factor-Stimulated Phosphorylation of Akt and p70S6K Is Differentially Inhibited by LY294002 and Wortmannin*

The phosphoinositide 3-kinase (PI3K) inhibitors, LY294002 (LY) and wortmannin (WM), are widely used to examine the role of PI3K in growth factor signaling. These compounds inhibit the kinase action of PI3K, thus preventing the accumulation of PI(3,4,5)P3 and PI(3,4)P2 (PIs) and subsequent phosphorylation and activation of the downstream effectors of PI3K, Akt and p70S6K. The efficacy of these inhibitors has been demonstrated by measuring cellular levels of PIs or the kinase activity of immunoprecipitated PI3K. However, their effects on activation of Akt and p70S6K, more widely used markers of PI3K activation, has not been formally tested. We have examined the effects of LY and WM on phosphorylation of Akt and p70S6K by insulin-like growth factor-I, insulin, and platelet-derived growth factor in skeletal muscle cells. LY is much less effective in blocking the phosphorylation of Akt than p70S6K; at concentrations which completely inhibit phosphorylation of p70S6K, phosphorylation of Akt is only partially in...
Leaf xylem embolism, detected acoustically and by cryo-SEM, corresponds to decreases in leaf hydraulic conductance in four evergreen species

Hydraulic conductance of leaves (K(leaf)) typically decreases with increasing water stress. However, the extent to which the decrease in K(leaf) is due to xylem cavitation, conduit deformation or changes in the extra-xylary pathway is unclear. We measured K(leaf) concurrently with ultrasonic acoustic emission (UAE) in dehydrating leaves of two vessel-bearing and two tracheid-bearing species to determine whether declining K(leaf) was associated with an accumulation of cavitation events. In addition, images of leaf internal structure were captured using cryo-scanning electron microscopy, which allowed detection of empty versus full and also deformed conduits. Overall, K(leaf) decreased as leaf water potentials (Psi(L)) became more negative. Values of K(leaf) corresponding to bulk leaf turgor loss points ranged from 13 to 45% of their maximum. Additionally, Psi(L) corresponding to a 50% loss in conductivity and 50% accumulated UAE ranged from -1.5 to -2.4 MPa and from -1.1 to -2.8 MPa, respectively, across species. Decreases in K(leaf) were closely associated with accumulated UAE and the percentage of empty conduits. The mean amplitude of UAEs was tightly correlated with mean conduit diameter (R(2) = 0.94, P = 0.018). These results suggest that water stress-induced decreases in K(leaf) in these species are directly related to xylem embolism.
The tandem CCCH zinc finger protein tristetraprolin and its relevance to cytokine mRNA turnover and arthritis

Tristetraprolin (TTP) is the best-studied member of a small family of three proteins in humans that is characterized by a tandem CCCH zinc finger (TZF) domain with highly conserved sequences and spacing. Although initially discovered as a gene that could be induced rapidly and transiently by the stimulation of fibroblasts with growth factors and mitogens, it is now known that TTP can bind to AU-rich elements in mRNA, leading to the removal of the poly(A) tail from that mRNA and increased rates of mRNA turnover. This activity was discovered after TTP-deficient mice were created and found to have a systemic inflammatory syndrome with severe polyarticular arthritis and autoimmunity, as well as medullary and extramedullary myeloid hyperplasia. The syndrome seemed to be due predominantly to excess circulating tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), resulting from the increased stability of the TNF-α mRNA and subsequent higher rates of secretion of the cytokine. The myeloid hyperplasia might be due in part to increased stability of granulocyte–macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF). This review highlights briefly the characteristics of the TTP-deficiency syndrome in mice and its possible genetic modifiers, as well as recent data on the characteristics of the TTP-binding site in the TNF-α and GM-CSF mRNAs. Recent structural data on the characteristics of the complex between RNA and one of the TTP-related proteins are reviewed, and used to model the TTP-RNA binding complex. We review the current knowledge of TTP sequence variants in humans and discuss the possible contributions of the TTP-related proteins in mouse physiology and in human monocytes. The TTP pathway of TNF-α and GM-CSF mRNA degradation is a possible novel target for anti-TNF-α therapies for rheumatoid arthritis, and also for other conditions proven to respond to anti-TNF-α therapy.
Dopamine receptor type 5 in the primary cilia has dual chemo- and mechano-sensory roles.

Polycystic kidney disease is characterized by cardiovascular irregularities, including hypertension. Dopamine, a circulating hormone, is implicated in essential hypertension in humans and animal mo...
An optimal recovery approach to interpolation

A filter class is defined as a ball in an inner product space, and some standard results on inner product spaces are applied to filter classes. The filter design problem is addressed. The theory of optimal recovery is reviewed, and the interpolation problem is examined within an optimal recovery context. It is shown that the interpolation problem can be reduced to studying a hypercircle in an inner product space. The notion of the Chebyshev center of a set is introduced, and it is noted that the solution to the interpolation problem, from the optimal recovery viewpoint, is to find the Chebyshev center of the hypercircle. The interpolation filter is then the operator that transforms the vector of known samples into the center of the hypercircle. Some auxiliary results such as the linearity and time invariance of the interpolation filter are deduced. It is then shown that the estimation of an unknown sample is the same as the problem of approximating the representer of the unknown sample by a linear combination of the representers of the known samples. Hence the interpolation problem is equivalent to minimizing the L/sup 2/ norm of the error frequency response, from the filter design point of view. >
Weighted proportional allocation

We consider a weighted proportional allocation of resources that allows providers to discriminate usage of resources by users. This framework is a generalization of well-known proportional allocation by accommodating allocation of resources proportional to weighted bids or proportional to submitted bids but with weighted payments.We study a competition game where everyone is selfish: providers choose user discrimination weights aiming at maximizing their individual revenues while users choose their bids aiming at maximizing their individual payoffs. We analyze revenue and social welfare of this game. We find that the revenue is lower bounded by k/(k+1) times the revenue under standard price discrimination scheme, where a set of k users is excluded. For users with linear utility functions, we find that the social welfare is at least 1/(1+2/√3) of the maximum social welfare (approx. 46%) and that this bound is tight. We extend this efficiency result to a broad class of utility functions and multiple competing providers. We also describe an algorithm for adjusting discrimination weights by providers without a prior knowledge of user utility functions and establish convergence to equilibrium points of the competition game.Our results show that, in many cases, weighted proportional sharing achieves competitive revenue and social welfare, despite the fact that everyone is selfish.
Carl Cohen's ‘Kind’ Arguments For Animal Rights and Against Human Rights

Carl Cohen's arguments against animal rights are shown to be unsound. His strategy entails that animals have rights, that humans do not, the negations of those conclusions, and other false and inconsistent implications. His main premise seems to imply that one can fail all tests and assignments in a class and yet easily pass if one's peers are passing and that one can become a convicted criminal merely by setting foot in a prison. However, since his moral principles imply that nearly all exploitive uses of animals are wrong anyway, foes of animal rights are advised to seek philosophical consolations elsewhere. I note that some other philosophers' arguments are subject to similar objections.
Observation of interfractional variations in lung tumor position using respiratory gated and ungated megavoltage cone-beam computed tomography.

Purpose: To evaluate the use of megavoltage cone-beam computed tomography (MV CBCT) to measure interfractional variation in lung tumor position. Methods and Materials: Eight non–small-cell lung cancer patients participated in the study, 4 with respiratory gating and 4 without. All patients underwent MV CBCT scanning at weekly intervals. Contoured planning CT and MV CBCT images were spatially registered based on vertebral anatomy, and displacements of the tumor centroid determined. Setup error was assessed by comparing weekly portal orthogonal radiographs with digitally reconstructed radiographs generated from planning CT images. Hypothesis testing was performed to test the statistical significance of the volume difference, centroid displacement, and setup uncertainty. Results: The vertebral bodies and soft tissue portions of tumor within lung were visible on the MV CBCT scans. Statistically significant systematic volume decrease over the course of treatment was observed for 1 patient. The average centroid displacement between simulation CT and MV CBCT scans were 2.5 mm, −2.0 mm, and −1.5 mm with standard deviations of 2.7 mm, 2.7 mm, and 2.6 mm in the right–left, anterior–posterior and superior–inferior directions. The mean setup errors were smaller than the centroid shifts, while the standard deviations were comparable. In most cases, the gross tumor volume (GTV) defined on the MV CBCT was located on average at least 5 mm inside a 10 mm expansion of the GTV defined on the planning CT scan. Conclusions: The MV CBCT technique can be used to image lung tumors and may prove valuable for image-guided radiotherapy. Our conclusions must be verified in view of the small patient number.
Optimum tradeoffs for millimeter wave and infrared satellite communication

Satellite-ground tradeoffs are discussed for minimal cost satellite communication systems. Lossy millimeter wave systems are introduced with Wilson's (1969) Sun tracker data frequencies in the 40-47 and 95-100 GHz regions are found to be attractive. Loss comparisons with optical systems may be found with Chu and Hogg's (1968) analysis, and Chan's (1985) observation allow economic comparisons of millimeter wave and optical systems.
Rotational Grazing Systems and Livestock Grazing Behavior in Shrub-Dominated Semi-Arid and Arid Rangelands

Rotational grazing systems (RGS) are often implemented to alleviate undesirable selective grazing by livestock. At both fine and coarse scales, livestock selectively graze individual plants, patches, communities, and landscapes. Smaller pastures, increased stocking density, and rotation allow managers to constrain livestock movement and determine season and frequency of grazing, potentially limiting selectivity and preventing repeated grazing of preferred plants. However, in arid and semi-arid rangelands, forage growth is limited primarily by precipitation rather than defoliation frequency. When soil moisture is adequate, forage is abundant and defoliation levels are typically low, and repeated, intensive defoliation of preferred plants is less likely than in more mesic areas where more consistent precipitation and soil moisture storage allows animals to establish and maintain spatial hierarchies of grazing patterns. Many southwestern rangelands contain diverse vegetation, which provides quality forage during different times of the year. These spatial and temporal patterns of forage distribution may not be amenable to manipulation with RGS. Tracking data show that livestock often alternate among locations within pasture boundaries and can opportunistically exploit areas with higher quality forage when they are available. Higher stock densities combined with higher stocking rates can increase livestock use of less preferred areas, but overall distribution patterns of intensive-rotational and extensive grazing systems are often comparable at similar stocking rates and distances from water. Management that ensures that grazing of riparian areas does not occur during the critical late summer period may be more beneficial than RGS that periodically defers livestock use throughout the grazing season. In arid and semi-arid shrublands, timely adjustments to animal numbers and practices that improve grazing distribution at regional and landscape scales are more likely to be effective in maintaining or improving rangeland health than fencing and RGS.
Comparison of Knee-Joint Moments in Male and Female College Soccer Players during a Single-Leg Landing

Context: Although kinematic analyses are helpful in describing movement differences between genders, kinetic data might further explain the predisposing factors contributing to potential injury during athletic landing maneuvers. Objective: To determine whether there are differences in knee moments between male and female varsity college soccer players during a single-leg landing. Design: Preexperimental with static group comparison. Setting: Motion-analysis laboratory. Participants: 16 varsity college soccer players (8 men, 8 women). Intervention: Subjects performed 5 single-leg landings from a height of 60 cm. Main Outcome Measures: Peak internal rotation, valgus, varus, and extension knee moments calculated from raw ground-reaction forces and kinematic data. Results: Significant gender differences were present (P = .020), with men exhibiting 31% greater mean peak knee-varus moments than women when landing on a single leg from 60 cm (P = .020). Conclusions: Male soccer players demonstrate greater knee-va...
Global Civil-society Movements: What the World Social Forum Can do toChange the Worlds Situation

About 155,000 people from different global movements participated in the 5th annual meeting of the World Social Forum (WSF) in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in January 20051. Apparently, participants had one thing in common: they saw the neo-liberal trend of globalization as an obstacle to achieving social justice and a better world. This paper argues that (1) neo-liberal globalization is not the only obstacle to social justice, human rights, and economic development in the majority of developing societies; and (2) the alternative the WSF suggests to change the capitalist world-system is not realistic and feasible. Also, with a ten-fold increase over the past five years, the WSF could move toward a new stage of its global role by not only advocating for the economic needs of the poor but also echoing the voices of people calling for democracy and human rights in different parts of the world. In the era of globalization, the WSF has the potential to be transformed from “an open meeting space for reflective thinking” into an established body that represents civil societies instead of governments, thus becoming a global entity parallel to the United Nations. In other words, it would be a permanent global NGO forum capable of bridging local and global civil-society movements based on the common objectives of achieving economic, political, and religious reforms. At the end, this paper presents some policy recommendations and specific mechanisms for exerting pressure on governments and global capitalist entities to follow the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other common goals.
Shaping and Cutting the Media Agenda: Television Reporters’ Perceptions of Agenda- and Frame-Building and Agenda-Cutting Influences

This monograph examines television reporters’ perceptions of how sources both within and outside the media attempt to influence news content and coverage decisions and to what degree they are successful. Using structural equation modeling and original data from a national web survey of television reporters, this research explores how market size, extramedia, organizational, and within-media forces influence television news content from a comprehensive perspective. The study also attempts to advance theory with the development and expansion of agenda cutting, and by updating the literature for agenda building and frame building as well as the social control of the newsroom.
Fuzzy based system identification

An adaptive fuzzy recursive filter for determining the optimum filter coefficients is presented. The algorithm is used for system identification of a two-pole model. This algorithm is shown to perform better than the standard Widrow LMS algorithm in terms of the speed of convergence. Computer simulations of the algorithm's performance are presented. >
Pricing Asian Options with Stochastic Volatility

Abstract In this paper, we generalize the recently developed dimension reduction technique of Vecer for pricing arithmetic average Asian options. The assumption of constant volatility in Vecer's method will be relaxed to the case that volatility is randomly fluctuating and is driven by a mean-reverting (or ergodic) process. We then use the fast mean-reverting stochastic volatility asymptotic analysis introduced by Fouque, Papanicolaou and Sircar to derive an approximation to the option price which takes into account the skew of the implied volatility surface. This approximation is obtained by solving a pair of one-dimensional partial differential equations.
Topological Persistence for Circle-Valued Maps

We study circle-valued maps and consider the persistence of the homology of their fibers. The outcome is a finite collection of computable invariants which answer the basic questions on persistence and in addition encode the topology of the source space and its relevant subspaces. Unlike persistence of real-valued maps, circle-valued maps enjoy a different class of invariants called Jordan cells in addition to bar codes. We establish a relation between the homology of the source space and of its relevant subspaces with these invariants and provide a new algorithm to compute these invariants from an input matrix that encodes a circle-valued map on an input simplicial complex.
A Comparison of Data Reduction Techniques for Line-Excited Optoacoustic Analysis of Mixtures

The use of discrete line laser excitation for the optoacoustic analysis of gas mixtures holds promise as a formidable analytical tool. However, this technique presents challenging demands on the data reduction process to increase the reliability of the analytical results. The problems unique to this method which make data reduction difficult are discussed. Use of simultaneous equations, multivariate least-squares, and a new iterative coefficient weighted least-squares approach are compared. Data indicating the relative performance of these methods are presented.
Skin-related symptoms following exposure to recreational water: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Exposure to contaminated recreational waters (defined by levels of fecal and other types of indicator bacteria) is associated with adverse health outcomes. The principal health outcome studied previously has been gastrointestinal illness. Although many studies included reports of frequent skin complaints (e.g. rash or itch) following recreational water exposure, no systematic reviews have examined the association between indicator levels and skin-related symptoms. Twenty relevant peer-reviewed studies were identified. The relative risks (swimmers vs. non-swimmers) of skin-related symptoms among those exposed to recreational water with bacterial indicator concentrations above threshold levels were determined using meta-analysis. Similarly, the relative risks (swimmers vs. non-swimmers) of skin-related complaints after exposure to water with bacterial indicator concentrations below threshold levels were determined. The ratio of these odds ratios (ROR) was then computed for each indicator. The risk of skin-related symptoms was significantly elevated in marine water with high levels of total coliforms ROR 1.86, (95% CI 1.21, 2.87); fecal coliforms ROR 1.45 (95% CI 1.02, 2.07); E. coli ROR 1.98, (95% CI 1.43, 2.75); enterococci ROR 2.04 (95% CI 1.34, 3.09) and fecal streptococci ROR 1.70 (95% CI 1.07, 2.71). However, no significant associations with water quality indicators were demonstrated for the freshwater indicators examined (total coliform, fecal coliform, E. coli). Swimmers exposed to marine water at high levels of several indicator bacteria experience a significant increase in skin-related symptoms compared to non-swimmers. This relationship was not demonstrated in freshwater settings.
STUDIES ON THE SONIC TREATMENT OF TOBACCO MOSAIC VIRUS.

Centrifugally purified samples of tobacco mosaic virus were subjected to intense sound vibrations of 9,000 cycles per second for 0, 2, 8, 16, 32, and 64 minutes. The viscosity and stream birefringence of the samples decreased with time of sonic treatment, but no chemical changes were found. Electron micrographs of the samples show that the particles are broken perpendicular to their long axis. In the untreated sample 62 per cent of the particles are about 280 mµ in length. As sonic treatment continued, the number of particles of this length decreased exponentially with time, the number half this length increased and then decreased, and the number of quarter length particles subsequently increased and then decreased. The biological activity of the samples, as determined by the half leaf lesion method, decreased exponentially with time of sonic treatment with a rate constant given by k = 0.13 min.–1. A correlation exists between the size distributions and biological activity and shows that only the particles of length 280 mµ are the biologically active units. Tobacco mosaic virus particles can be made to aggregate end-to-end when the material is heated at its isoelectric point and reheated after being brought back to pH 7. Material which was not sonic treated and was made to aggregate showed reduced biological activity, but the activity was increased when the aggregated material was subjected to strong mechanical stirring. Material which was sonic treated for 32 minutes and which was made to aggregate showed the same biological activity as the material which was sonic treated but not aggregated.
Firearm-related deaths in the United States and 35 other high- and upper-middle- income countries

BACKGROUND: The Forty-Ninth World Health Assembly recently declared violence a worldwide public health problem. Improved understanding of cross-national differences is useful for identifying risk factors and may facilitate prevention efforts. Few cross-national studies, however, have explored firearm-related deaths. We compared the incidence of firearm-related deaths among 36 countries. METHODS: Health officials in high-income (HI) and upper-middle-income countries (UMI) with populations greater than one million were asked to provide data using ICD-9 codes on firearm-related homicides, suicides, unintentional deaths and deaths of undetermined intent, as well as homicides and suicides for all methods combined. Thirty-six (78%) of the 46 countries provided complete data. We compared age-adjusted rates per 100,000 for each country and pooled rates by income group and geographical location. RESULTS: During the one-year study period, 88,649 firearm deaths were reported. Overall firearm mortality rates are five to six times higher in HI and UMI countries in the Americas (12.72) than in Europe (2.17), or Oceania (2.57) and 95 times higher than in Asia (0.13). The rate of firearm deaths in the United States (14.24 per 100,000) exceeds that of its economic counterparts (1.76) eightfold and that of UMI countries (9.69) by a factor of 1.5. Suicide and homicide contribute equally to total firearm deaths in the US, but most firearm deaths are suicides (71%) in HI countries and homicides (72%) in UMI countries. CONCLUSIONS: Firearm death rates vary markedly throughout the industrialized world. Further research to identify risk factors associated with these variations may help improve prevention efforts.
A forward error correction technique using a high-speed, high-rate single chip codec

The authors describe an error-correction coding approach that allows operation in either burst or continuous modes at data rates of multiple hundreds of megabits per second. Bandspreading is low since the code rate is >or=7/8, which is consistent with high-rate link operation. The encoder, along with a hard-decision decoder, fits on a single application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) chip. Soft-decision decoding is possible utilizing applique hardware in conjunction with the hard-decision decoder. Expected coding gain is a function of the application and is approximately 2.5 dB for hard-decision decoding at 10/sup -5/ bit-error rate with phase-shift-keying modulation and additive Gaussian white noise interference. The principal use envisioned for this technique is to achieve a modest amount of coding gain on high-data-rate, bandwidth-constrained channels. Data rates of up to 300 Mb/s can be accommodated by the codec chip. The major objective is burst-mode communications, where code words are composed of 32 n data bits (7 >
Measurements of f(α) for Multifractal Attractors in Driven Diode Resonator Systems

A single diode resonator system is a nonlinear circuit consisting of a series combination of a resistance, inductance and a p-n junction diode. Driven single diode resonator systems experimentally show the period-doubling route to chaos, while driven coupled diode resonator systems show the quasi-periodic route to chaos. We report f(α) spectra1,2 calculated from experimental data3,4 and model calculations5 for driven diode resonator systems at transitions to chaos. The method used to obtain f(α) has no “free” adjustable parameters.
Jaundice and enlargement of the gallbladder: a diagnostic problem. Report of 2 cases.

Jaundice and a palpable gallbladder occurred in 2 patients in the absence of common bile duct occlusion. In both, the jaundice resulted from hepatic parenchymal disease. Obvious obstruction of the cystic duct by a gallstone accounted for the cholecystomegaly in one case; in the other, obstruction of the cystic duct was attributed to impingement by a metastasis. Courvoisier's Law pertains strictly to the differential diagnosis of common bile duct obstruction, and not to cases such as these. Other uncommon causes of icterus and enlargement of the gallbladder are enumerated.
Health Security for All? Social Unionism and Universal Health Insurance, 1935–1958

"This is a big fight," declared William Green, "life and health are at stake." With this fund-raising appeal to fellow unionists, the president of the American Federation of Labor (AFL) hoped to save the Committee for the Nation's Health (CNH), an important resource in the battle for social insurance legislation., What is most remarkable is that this appeal was made in 1951. The "big fight" was over. The cause of national health insurance lay dead, victim of conservative forces led by the American Medical Association (AMA). Yet Green and others in the labor movement persevered in a campaign to the bitter end to amend the Social Security Act of 1935 to make health care accessible to wage earners and to all Americans. Even after decades at the top of the AFL, William Green understood that such access remained a matter of life and death for tens of millions of uninsured workers and their dependents. The labor movement's contributions to the campaign for health insurance legislation in the mid-twentieth century have been underestimated. Historians have fixed attention on the academic, governmental, and medical proponents of insurance reform and have given little more than passing notice to the unionists who were deeply involved in this effort. Paul Starr's analysis of the politics of health insurance glosses over labor's role. Similarly, Daniel S. Hirshfield's monograph on federal policy under Franklin D. Roosevelt relegates the unions to a minor part in the liberal coalition. Monte M. Poen identifies labor as the "most powerful advocate" of reform during the presidency of Harry S. Truman but leaves the nature and impact of that advocacy vague.2 No one has examined unionists' perseverance on this issue throughout the 1950s, when labor stood out as virtually the only remaining cham-
Intersectionality in Quantitative Psychological Research: I. Theoretical and Epistemological Issues

Intersectionality has become something of a buzzword in psychology and is well-known in feminist writings throughout the social sciences. Across diverse definitions of intersectionality, we find three common assumptions: (1) There is a recognition that all people are characterized simultaneously by multiple social categories and that these categories are interconnected or intertwined. (2) Embedded within each of these categories is a dimension of inequality or power. (3) These categories are properties of the individual as well as characteristics of the social context inhabited by those individuals; as such, categories and their significance may be fluid and dynamic. Understanding intersectionality as an approach and critical theory, rather than as a falsifiable theory, we consider its potential within research using quantitative methods. We discuss positivism, social constructionism, and standpoint epistemology in order to examine the implications of these epistemologies for research methods and to explo...
Mortality in the ICU: Who Dies Within the First 24 Hours?

SESSION TITLE: ICU Management and OutcomesSESSION TYPE: Original Investigation SlidePRESENTED ON: Tuesday, October 25, 2016 at 08:45 AM - 10:00 AMPURPOSE: Despite many studies looking at ICU mortality, there is little data on those patients who die within 24-hours of ICU admission. The objective of
Design of Screening Procedures: A Review

It has been well accepted that dependence on inspection to correct quality problems is ineffective and costly, and hence screening (100% inspection) should not be used as a long-term solution for i...
Using GIS for Substance Abuse Research and Intervention

This chapter explores the use of Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and Geospatial Technology (GT) to assess patterns of substance abuse. While geospatial techniques encompass a range of approaches for data collection, analysis and visualization, GIS is the platform through which data are organized and managed, analyzed for relationships across space and time, and visualized in the form of a map. Differences between vector and raster data are discussed, with vector data noted as the most common form of data used in substance abuse research. Mechanisms of data input are also discussed, including secondary sources of spatial data, geocoding, digitizing, and use of GPS receivers to collect original data. Varying geographic scales are considered, including challenges associated with working with aggregated space. Data models for spatial analysis are also explored. Lastly, a review of the extant research on geospatial approaches to understand substance abuse is presented, including exploration of emergent geospatial approaches to understanding substance use and abuse.
Conceptualizing multicultural discourses of security: introduction to the special issue*

ABSTRACTThis introduction to the special issue reviews recent developments in interdisciplinary scholarship on security, discourse, and culture. It then reviews recent work in fields of critical intercultural studies to associate these developments with the commitments of Cultural Discourse Studies. It concludes by previewing the essays collected for this issue.
The critical electric field of gas mixtures over the extended range of cryogenic operating conditions

In this study, we provide the critical electric field and dielectric strength of cryogenic gas mixtures over an extended cryogenic temperature and pressure range that covers most of the operating conditions of superconducting applications. For gas-cooled cryogenic systems, condensation must not occur during operation. To prevent condensation, we determine the maximum allowed mole fractions of gas species consisting cryogenic gas mixtures by accounting for the operating conditions of cryogenic applications. Subsequently, we estimate the dielectric strength of the gas mixtures in terms of the density-reduced critical electric field ( ( E / N ) c r), obtained by solving the Boltzmann equation with the two-term approximation method. Using the values of ( E / N ) c r, we calculate the critical electric field (Ecr) over the extended cryogenic operation range of 10–100 K at pressures between 1.0 and 2.0 MPa. The results show that the dielectric strength of cryogenic gas mixtures varies as a function of temperatu...
The Effects of CEO Tenure on Entrepreneurial Orientation and Firm Performance

There is a burgeoning body of research exploring entrepreneurial orientation (EO) and its relationship to firm performance, but what influences EO, the proverbial man behind the curtain, still elud...
Plasma Cell Depletion Attenuates Hypertension in an Experimental Model of Autoimmune Disease

Numerous studies show a direct relation between circulating autoantibodies, characteristic of systemic autoimmune disorders, and primary hypertension in humans. Whether these autoantibodies mechanistically contribute to the development of hypertension remains unclear. Systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is a chronic autoimmune disorder characterized by aberrant immunoglobulin production, notably pathogenic autoantibodies, and is associated with prevalent hypertension, renal injury, and cardiovascular disease. Because plasma cells produce the majority of serum immunoglobulins and are the primary source of autoantibodies in SLE, we hypothesized that plasma cell depletion using the proteasome inhibitor bortezomib would lower autoantibody production and attenuate hypertension. Thirty-week-old female SLE (NZBWF1) and control (NZW [New Zealand White]) mice were injected IV with vehicle (0.9% saline) or bortezomib (0.75 mg/kg) twice weekly for 4 weeks. Bortezomib treatment significantly lowered the percentage of bone marrow plasma cells in SLE mice. Total plasma IgG and anti-dsDNA IgG levels were higher in SLE mice compared with control mice but were lowered by bortezomib treatment. Mean arterial pressure (mm Hg) measured in conscious mice by carotid artery catheter was higher in SLE mice than in control mice, but mean arterial pressure was significantly lower in bortezomib-treated SLE mice. Bortezomib also attenuated renal injury, as assessed by albuminuria and glomerulosclerosis, and reduced glomerular immunoglobulin deposition and B and T lymphocytes infiltration into the kidneys. Taken together, these data show that the production of autoantibodies by plasma cells mechanistically contributes to autoimmune-associated hypertension and suggests a potential role for patients with primary hypertension who have increased circulating immunoglobulins.
A VMAT planning technique for locally advanced breast cancer patients with expander or implant reconstructions requiring comprehensive postmastectomy radiation therapy

Abstract Locally advanced breast cancer patients with expander or implant reconstructions who require comprehensive postmastectomy radiotherapy (PMRT) can pose unique treatment planning challenges. Traditional 3D conformal radiation techniques often result in large dose inhomogeneity throughout the treatment volumes, inadequate target coverage, or excessive normal tissue doses. We have developed a volumetric modulated arc therapy (VMAT) planning technique without entering through the ipsilateral arm that produced adequate target volume coverage, excellent homogeneity throughout the target volume, and acceptable doses to the normal structures. Twenty left-sided and 10 right-sided patients with either ipsilateral or bilateral permanent implants or tissue expanders who received comprehensive PMRT between October 2014 and February 2016 were included in this study. Ten left-sided cases used deep inspiration breath hold (DIBH) technique, and others used free breathing (FB). Planning target volume (PTV) included chestwall, internal mammary nodes (IMNs), supraclavicular, and axillary lymph nodes. A VMAT plan using 4 or 5 partial arcs with 6 MV photon beam avoiding entering through the ipsilateral arm was generated for each patient. Prescription dose was 50 Gy in 25 fractions. PTV coverage, maximum depth of IMNs, dose homogeneity and dose to the heart, lungs, thyroid, contralateral intact breast or implant, liver, stomach, left anterior descending artery, ipsilateral brachial plexus, esophagus, spinal cord, and total MU were evaluated. PTV D95% (Gy) was 49.6 ± 0.9, 48.7 ± 0.9, and 49.5 ± 1.1; PTV D05% (Gy) was 55.7 ± 0.6, 55.1 ± 1.4, and 55.0 ± 0.7; maximum depth of IMNs (cm) was 4.3 ± 0.9, 4.6 ± 1.1, and 4.9 ± 2.3; ipsilateral lung, V20Gy (%) was 29.0 ± 2.1, 28.8 ± 2.5, and 27.5 ± 3.4; heart mean dose (Gy) was 4.2 ± 0.4, 7.5 ± 1.1, and 6.6 ± 0.8 for right-sided FB, left-sided FB, and left-sided DIBH cases, respectively. D95% of IMNs all received 100% prescription dose. The maximum dose (Gy) to the left anterior descending artery was 33.8 ± 11.7 for left-sided FB and 31.4 ± 7.3 for left-sided DIBH. VMAT technique avoiding ipsilateral arm can produce acceptable clinical plans for locally advanced breast cancer patients with expander or implant reconstructions receiving comprehensive PMRT.
Vascular Surgery Fellowship

This chapter provides an overview of the vascular surgery fellowship. It covers both the application and interview process as well as provides guidance in choosing the proper fellowship for the individual candidate. Lastly, vascular board certification and job applications are discussed.