cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Assessment of Family Caregivers in Dementia

Development of an integrated family assessment inventory based on the Double ABCX and Circumplex models of family functioning and its clinical utility was evaluated with 121 primary family caregivers from a cognitive disorders program. The proposed model predicted a significant proportion of the variance associated with caregiver stress and strain. Several aspects of the caregiving arrangement also emerged as key features in predicting caregiver depression. These findings supported the model's central premise that both dyadic (caregiver-patient) and systemic (caregiver-family) variables are salient in assessing the impact of family caregiving with dementia.
An assessment of fertility clinic websites: room for quality improvement

OBJECTIVE: With advances in the digital age, an increasing number of infertile couples are turning to the Internet as their primary source of medical information. However, there is little data assessing the quality and content of this information on fertility websites. We sought to evaluate the information and options available on Society for Assisted Reproductive Technologies (SART) member websites. DESIGN: Cross-sectional evaluation. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Between 2/2014-4/4014, 396 SART member websites were evaluated by 2 independent researchers. Websites were surveyed for the following parameters: information on female and male factor infertility, success rates, egg cryopreservation, cost of treatment, surgical treatment, psychosocial resources and wellness information. X tests were used to assess for differences between groups. RESULTS: 98% (387/396) of clinics had awebsite, ofwhich 80%were private and 20% were academic centers. 26% of practices performedR500 cycles/year while 74% performed<500 cycles/year. 94% of websites provided general information on female factor infertility, while 88% offered material onmale factors. 54% reported both cycle number and live birth rate,with large practices more likely than smaller ones to report this data (76 vs 50%, p< .001). Large practices were more likely to offer egg cryopreservation than smaller ones (81 vs 65%, p1⁄4 .003), but rates were similar between academic and private practices (72 vs 68%, p1⁄40.5). Academic and private practices were equally likely to report cost of treatment (32 vs 36%, p1⁄4 .5), but private ones were more likely to offer shared risk financing (43 vs 28%, p1⁄4 .01). 19% of practices promoted robotic surgery and 44%offered tubal reversals. Only 35% publicized an on-site mental health specialist and 45% advertised wellness programs. Academic practices were more likely to offer experimental procedures (44 vs 14%, p<0.0001) and participation in research studies (37 vs 12%, p< .0001) as compared to their private counterparts. CONCLUSION: Though the majority of SART clinic websites offer general infertility information, there is substantial variability in the quality and completeness of content presented. Although a high success rate is commonly cited as the top reason patients choose an infertility clinic, only 54% of websites had accurate success rate reporting. The majority of practices offer surgical treatment, including robotic surgery and tubal reversals. Although anxiety and depression levels are high amongst infertility patients, a limited number of practices offer on-site psychosocial resources.
Nutrition knowledge levels about dietary fats and cholesterol: 1983-1988

Abstract Consumer knowledge of dietary fats and cholesterol was analyzed for trends over time and for relationships with demographic characteristics and health and dieting behaviors. The data were obtained from three approximately biennial Health and Diet Surveys conducted by the Food and Drug Administration and the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute between 1983 and 1988. Statistical methods included regression analysis and factor analysis. The results indicate that consumer knowledge about dietary fats and cholesterol is poor. Respondents with greater knowledge in 1988 were those who were more educated, middle-aged, or white, and those who were on a cholesterol-lowering diet. The regression analysis of 1988 scores indicated that education was the most important predictor of knowledge scores. Being on a self-prescribed cholesterol-lowering diet was related to higher knowledge, but being on a physician-recommended diet was related to higher knowledge scores only for younger respondents. None of the health behaviors, except engaging in regular exercise, was associated with higher knowledge levels.
The allergens responsible for house dust allergy

Abstract The isolated leukocytes donated by 20 highly dust-allergic individuals living in the Baltimore area showed widely different relative sensitivities to dialyzed extracts of the mite Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus (plus growth medium) and a commercial U. S. house dust sample ("U. S. Dust #1"). Most donors, using allergen concentrations determined on a weight basis, were more sensitive to the dust than the mite. There was no significant relationship between sensitivity to dust and mite. Further leukocyte assays with the use of several different dust extracts showed that while there were allergenic differences between extracts, "U. S. Dust #1" was usually the most potent. Immunodiffusion analysis using hyperimmune rabbit anti-mite sera showed that the main antigen shared by the mite and dust extracts was a component of human dander used as part of the mite growth medium. No mite-specific antigens were detectable in the dust extract by this analysis. The anti-mite sera showed little or no ability to block mite-mediated or dust-mediated leukocyte histamine release. For only one donor was blocking of both allergens attained. We conclude that mite components represent only some of the many dust allergens, and that the most potent mite antigens for rabbits are not the major allergens for man.
Splenectomy after angiographic embolization of the splenic artery in patients with massive splenomegaly and severe thrombocytopenia, in juvenile subacute myelomonocytic leukemia.

Splenectomy for massive splenomegaly in thrombocytopenic patients refractory to platelet transfusions carries increased surgical risks. Blocking of the splenic artery may reduce the size of the organ, prolong the survival of transfused platelets, and reduce the surgical complications. We describe four cases of extreme splenomegaly and thrombocytopenia where successful splenectomy was carried out after angiographic embolization of the splenic artery in children with ju venile chronic myelogenous leukemia. Significant improvement was observed in platelet counts and in the survival of platelets after transfusions in three of the patients. There was a concomitant decrease in transfusion requirements. Isoimmunization prevented prolonged platelet survival in the fourth case. We recommend earlier splenectomy in these patients to reduce transfusion requirements and delay the onset of poor platelet survival after transfusions.
Strategies to Identify and Stratify Children with Special Health Care Needs in Outpatient General Pediatrics Settings

Developing improved systems of care for children with special health care needs (CSHCN) requires accurate identification and stratification of this population. This study was designed to assess the ability of a brief screener to identify and stratify CSHCN in a primary care clinic to focus future quality improvement initiatives and allocate resources. All families presenting for health maintenance visits or acute care appointments at an academic primary care clinic between September 5, 2012 and September 28, 2012 were asked to complete the CSHCN Screener©. This panel of patients was compared to registries previously created by: (1) retrospective chart reviews using published lists of International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems (ICD9) codes for CSHCN and (2) direct physician referral to a clinic case manager providing care coordination services to CSHCN. Screeners identified 246 CSHCN (16.8 % of unique completed screeners). Scores ranged from 0 to 5; higher scores indicate higher levels of complexity. Patients with positive screens had a mean score of 2.4. Patients previously identified by retrospective ICD9 search who completed a screener had a mean score of 1.6 with nearly one-half having negative screens. Patients previously identified by physician referral who completed a screener had a mean score of 2.7 with nearly one-half having scores of 4 or 5. The CSHCN Screener© can be utilized in an academic primary care clinic to prospectively identify CSHCN and potentially offers a more clinically meaningful method of identification given its inherent ability to stratify this population based on complexity of medical needs.
The functional morphology of light capture and carbon gain in the Redwood forest understorey plant Adenocaulon bicolor Hook

1. A three-dimensional geometric simulation model of crown architecture was utilized to investigate the efficiency of light capture and its relationship to whole-plant CO2 assimilation of Adenocaulon bicolor. 2. Positioning of the leaves by the combined effects of ontogenetic variations in petiole length and angle and leaf size, and the leaf divergence angles were shown to be effective in minimizing self shading. The efficiency of light absorption varied from 0·64 to 0·70 among individual plants that were sampled. 3. Plant to plant variation in simulated daily carbon gain was strongly influenced by variations in the direct and diffuse PFD received by the individual plants. When simulations were run for all plants under a single common light environment, the carbon gain was strongly dependent on the efficiencies of light absorption of the different plants. 4. Simulations in which petiole length was varied showed a non-linear dependence of light absorption efficiency on petiole length. When both petiole length and leaf size were varied in a way that maintained a constant biomass then an optimal petiole length that corresponded to the observed petiole length was apparent. The observed divergence angle between successive leaves also maximized light absorption efficiency as compared to greater or lesser angles, but increases in internode length had no significant effect. 5. The results of this study provide evidence for selection for an ‘optimal design’ of crown architecture in Adenocaulon bicolor that maximizes light capture.
Double-exposure mask synthesis using inverse lithography

Inverse lithography mask design and double-exposure lithog- raphy are two technologies that have gained a lot of attention in the recent past. Inverse lithography consists of synthesizing the input mask that leads to the desired output wafer pattern by inverting the mathemati- cal forward model from mask to wafer. Double-exposure lithography uses two pairs of mask and exposure to print a single desired wafer pattern. It usually involves splitting the latter into two parts. In this work, we present some preliminary results in our unique effort to combine the previous two powerful techniques. The goal is to use the inverse imaging approach to automatically synthesize the masks required to print the desired wafer pattern employing double-exposure lithography. We em- ploy the pixel-based mask representation, analytically calculate the gra- dient, and use a cyclic coordinate descent optimization algorithm to syn- thesize the two masks. We present results for chromeless phase-shift masks for an idealized case of a coherent imaging system =0 using the Kirchhoff approximation. The results indicate that our algorithm au- tomatically splits the target pattern into two overlapping parts, which are used separately during the individual exposures. Furthermore, the proposed approach is also capable of resolving the phase conflicts. The comparison with a single-exposure case indicates a superior contrast and no hot-spots. © 2007 Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers.
Self-Directed Action Affects Planning In Tool-Use Tasks with Toddlers

Toddlers grasp a tool more effectively when it is self-directed (e.g., spoon) than other-directed (e.g., hammer), possibly because the consequences of self-directed actions are more obvious. When the negative consequences of an inefficient grip were made equally salient, the self-directed versus other-directed differences remained.
Daily Intake of Bisphenol A and Potential Sources of Exposure: 2005-2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Nationally representative data on urinary levels of bisphenol A (BPA) and its metabolites in the United States from the 2005–2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) were used to estimate daily BPA intakes. In addition, NHANES data on potential sources of BPA exposure and personal characteristics were explored for their association with urinary BPA levels. On the basis of 2005–2006 NHANES urinary BPA data and assumptions described in this paper, median daily intake for the overall population is approximately 34 ng/kg-day. Median daily BPA intakes for men are statistically significantly higher than for women; there is a significant decrease in daily BPA intake with increasing age. Gender- and age-specific median intakes differ from the overall population by less than a factor of 2. Although estimates of daily BPA intake have decreased compared with those from the 2003–2004 NHANES, it is premature to draw conclusions regarding trends at this time, as there is no indication that BPA use declined from 2003 to 2006. On the basis of an assessment of urinary BPA and questionnaire data from the 2005–2006 NHANES, consumption of soda, school lunches, and meals prepared outside the home — but not bottled water or canned tuna — was statistically significantly associated with higher urinary BPA.
Calculation of the glass forming range in binary metallic systems using thermodynamic models

Abstract The volume fraction of crystallized material formed during continuous cooling of Ni-Ti melts is calculated as a function of cooling rate and alloy composition. The thermodynamic driving force for the transformation is calculated from a thermodynamic model for the liquid and solid phases of the Ni-Ti system. A numerical integration of the transformation kinetics equation is used to calculate CCT curves as a function of alloy composition, x. These results are used to calculate the temperature T'(x,ζ, dT dt ) for the formation of a volume fraction ζ of crystalline material during cooling at the constant rate dT dt . Defining a critical value of ζ for the retention of the amorphous (liquid) structure and with the measured crystallization temperature curve Tx(x), we predict the glass forming range for the Ni-Ti system which is in good agreement with experiment. These calculations are summarized in a T' − Tv. criterion which states that the GFR of a binary alloy system is determined by the intersections of the T'(x) curves and the T(x) curve. This criterion considers explicitly transformation kinetics, unlike the earlier T0 − Tx criterion which considers only thermodynamics.
Dynamic analysis of a simplified free-piston Stirling engine:

Lumped-volume dynamic equations are derived using an energy-state formulation. This technique requires the writing of state functions for kinetic and poten tial energy. A Rayleigh dissipation function accounts for losses in the system. Using these functions, a Lagrangian is formed and the equations of motion for the system are derived. An example of the application of this technique is a model of the free-piston Stirling engine. The model was simplified and pro grammed on an analog computer. Data obtained by simulation compares favorably with experimental data.
Optimization of a long-period grating-based Mach–Zehnder interferometer for temperature measurement

Abstract An approach to optimize the design of the long-period grating pair as a temperature sensor device is presented, implemented by using a long-period grating (LPG) pair with a small separation (of around 2 mm) and scaling down their physical length by a factor greater than 2. The technique allows the interferometer formed not only to measure temperature variations over distances as small as the overall length of the grating pair (18 mm) but also to reduce the cladding losses between the LPGs forming the pair. This approach enhances the sharpness of the interference fringes (IFs) and the pits (Pts) in the transmission spectrum and, as a result, a high resolution sensor is obtained. The LPG pair is fabricated in the appropriate photosensitive single mode/core fibres, without being restricted to the use of dual core or other special fibres, thus exploiting the sensitivities of various fibres and reducing the overall system cost. In this work, the effectiveness of this technique is demonstrated by fabricating a small-scale LPG pair in a boron–germanium co-doped single mode fibre, with particular attention being paid to the higher order cladding modes. The sensitivity of the device thus created is 0.31 nm/°C with a root-mean-square (rms) deviation of 0.28 nm in the wavelength measurement, which corresponds to a temperature variation of approximately 0.9 °C. This was achieved while using a relatively low-resolution (0.6 nm) Optical Spectrum Analyzer to detect the wavelength changes of the device and was further improved to 0.7 °C when using an OSA with a resolution of 0.1 nm.
Testing integer knapsacks for feasibility

Abstract We present a new approach for determining whether there exist nonnegative integers x1, x2, …, xn satisfying a1x1 + a2x2 + ⋯ + anxn = b, where a1
Documentation in bone-marrow-augmented organ recipients of the presence of dendritic cell progenitors of donor origin.

The ubiquitous presence of donor cell chimerism in the tissues of long-term successful organ allograft recipients1–3 provided quintessential support to the argument that these cells play a seminal role in allograft acceptance and in the induction of donor-specific tolerance. A finding of commensurate significance was the observation that livers (unlike other organs) when transplanted orthotopically across most mouse4 and several rat-strain combinations5,6 and in few outbred pigs7,8 are spontaneously accepted without the necessity for exogenous immunosuppression. This ascertainment complemented by the novel observations made by Lu et al9 has prompted the advancement of the hypothesis that perhaps the comparative tolerogenicity of various organs is contingent on the quantity and quality of resident migratory cells, of which those of dendritic leukocyte lineage conceivably play an auspicious role. Given their functional significance, we initiated a systematic search to establish the presence of progenitors of donor-dendritic cells (DC) in the peripheral blood of bone marrow (BM)-augmented organ transplant recipients. Additionally, the evidence for the multilineage donor cell chimerism was also sought; reported herein is the outcome of these investigations.
Seismic evaluation of a low rise steel building

Abstract Most low rise building structures (four storeys or less) in the US today have received little, if any, design for lateral forces due to earthquakes, except in those few areas in which seismic analysis is mandated by local building codes. Infrequent but damaging earthquakes in areas of low to moderate seismicity may pose a substantial threat to structures not specifically designed for earthquake resistance. A well designed two storey steel office building located in Atlanta, Georgia, proportioned for gravity and wind loads only, was selected for detailed seismic evaluation. The dynamic properties of the building were obtained from analyses of three-dimensional computer models. The effective shear stiffness of diaphragms was used to study the influence of diaphragm flexibility on model response. The lateral force resisting capability of the building was evaluated using seismic load provisions of the Uniform Building Code and the tentative provisions of ATC-3. Elastic and inelastic responses of the analytical models to moderate earthquake motions were also determined. The inelastic response spectrum force levels were in good agreement with code values. Seismic resistance was found to be satisfactory for both the code and inelastic response spectrum force levels which were larger than the actual design wind loads.
Myofibroblast and extracellular matrix origins in proliferative vitreoretinopathy

To evaluate origins of the fibrocontractive cell populations and their relation to collagens I and II in proliferative vitreoretinopathy (PVR). Human PVR membranes were evaluated by indirect immunofluorescence for GFAP, cytokeratin-18 (CK-18), α-smooth muscle actin (αSMA), collagens I and II. Collagen expression by porcine Muller and retinal pigment epithelial cells (RPE) was evaluated using RT-PCR of RNA harvested from freshly isolated primary and proliferating cultures. Collagen I was detected in all PVR samples and was widely distributed in the extracellular matrix. In contrast, collagen II was present in only two of the ten samples and was localized to thin, acellular bands near the border of the tissues. Using cell type-specific markers CK-18 and GFAP, RPE and glia were localized to the collagen I-rich matrices. Cells positive for GFAP and CK-18 can also co-express αSMA. Normal and proliferating RPE express collagen I, but Muller cells show no evidence of collagen I expression until they proliferate in culture. In contrast, normal RPE and Muller cells contain message for collagen II which is lost shortly after introduction into culture. Collagen I appears to be the predominate fibrillar collagen in human PVR membranes and collagen II a comparatively minor component. Muller cells and RPE are physically associated with the collagen I matrix and are capable of expressing this protein suggesting that they are the origin. It also appears that the majority of myofibroblasts in PVR membranes are derived from either RPE or Muller cells suggesting that they play a major role in membrane development.
The Impact of the Terrorist Attacks of 9/11 on Anti-Islamic Hate Crime

Abstract Using existing data from the FBI's Uniform Crime Reporting (UCR) Program, time series analyses were conducted on hate crime data from 2001 around the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001. A statistically significant increase in anti-Islamic hate crime occurred after 9/11, and anti-Islamic hate crime leveled off within 8 weeks of the occurrence. News stories reporting anti-Islamic hate crimes, stories reporting fear of such bias crime, and public calls for calm, tolerance, and/or reaction to anti-Islamic bias crime followed a similar pattern found within the official data. A city-by-city analysis found that UCR reported anti-Islamic hate crime was essentially non-existent in New York City and Washington, DC. It is suggested that public calls for calm and tolerance and in-group/out-group dynamics may have impacted anti-Islamic hate crime frequency, thus accounting for rises and reductions in this form of bias crime over time.
Minimizing and mapping sequential circuits

SHANNON'S original paper suggesting a modification of the classical Boolean algebra of symbolic logic to a form of switching algebra led to the development among switching and computer designers of many special techniques.1?3 Recent interest in the field is rapidly developing methods well within the reach of the occasional switching engineer who finds a moderately complex relay circuit necessary to the operation or sequencing of another design. Reference is made to these papers for a brief summary of the binary nomenclature and operators of switching algebra.4,5 The approach suggested here assures the designer that he is manipulating an adequate number of relays, and provides a pictorial work sheet that keeps track of all contact positions. The work sheet permits easy recognition of possible holding circuit difficulties. Negation is proposed as the switching-algebra operator to denote shunt contacts, and is consistent with the mapping procedure.
The status of national minority languages in Soviet education: An assessment of recent changes

(1974). The status of national minority languages in Soviet education: An assessment of recent changes. Soviet Studies: Vol. 26, No. 1, pp. 28-40.
Privacy preservation in context aware systems: Overview and applications

Summary form only given, as follows. Advent of 4 G networks, IPv6 and increasing number of subscribers indicate that each mobile device will have its own IP address and virtually become a hotspot. In the coming years, systems that track and record our movements will indispensably be integrated in our everyday life. Location-based systems: dashboard navigation systems, Internet enabled smartphones with GPS features, and electronic tags that help us at various locations are extensively in use. In near future, location-aware/ context aware tools will become more common and sophisticated. Increasing number of services (apps)/devices that will track not only the location, but also the context / environment of the user will enter the market. The perils of exposure on Internet and subsequent exploitation have been widely recorded in literature. Some of the services provided do necessitate the knowledge of exact location, context and some personal details, like in case of assistance during accidents, but generally, applications like finding the restaurants or movies playing in an area do not require the exact location and context of the user. When a user?s movement in public spaces is tracked and systematically recorded along with the context of his actions, his contextual privacy is under threat. This presentation will discuss the current state of research in this area and analyses the effect of threat on the privacy of context aware system users. Based on the insight, this talk will provide an integrated framework to tackle the privacy preservation issue comprehensively: from user perspective as well as service provider perspective. In addition, this talk will also include a discussion on context aware distributed storage system.
Multiple-component radiation-measurement error models.

Abstract Measurement error modeling and assessment are crucial to any assay method. Realistic error models prioritize future efforts to reduce key error components and provide a way to estimate total (“random” and “systematic”) measurement error. This paper describes multiple-component error models for radiation-based assay, gives example applications, and describes strategies for choosing and then fitting error models.
Energy Efficient Tracking by Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling on Android Smart Phones

Mobile smart phones and tablets provide not only high resolution cameras but also powerful processing capabilities. Yet, these devices consume more energy at the same time. Thus, energy efficiency and battery life have been extremely important topics for mobile devices. Dynamic Voltage and Frequency Scaling (DVFS) has been commonly used to reduce energy consumption for digital systems. In this paper, we propose a novel approach, which integrates DVFS to smart phones performing object tracking. If the processor is continuously run at the highest frequency, this would provide higher frame processing rate, but would consume significantly more energy. If the lowest CPU frequency is used, energy consumption would be decreased, but the frame processing rate would be low. In the proposed approach, instead of running at a certain set frequency, The CPU frequency is adjusted depending on the scene so that energy consumption is decreased without significantly lowering the frame processing rate. The tracking algorithm employed is based on the color-blob tracking provided by OpenCV. All the experiments have been performed on Android smart phones, both Google Nexus S and Samsung Galaxy S3. We measured the real-time energy consumption together with the frame per second processing rate as the metrics. The results show that by introducing DVFS, the proposed method provides 24.29% and 10.3% savings in energy consumption on Nexus S and Galaxy S3, respectively, compared to using the maximum frequency setting.
SiO2 Formation at the Aluminum Oxide/Si(100) Interface

Thin films of aluminum oxide were deposited on clean Si(100) substrates using trimethylaluminum and oxygen at 300°C. Infrared spectroscopic and x-ray photoelectron spectroscopic analyses of these films showed no aluminum silicate or SiO2 phase formation at the film/substrate interface. The O/Al ratio in the as deposited film was found to be higher than that in stoichiometric Al2O3. On annealing the as deposited samples in Ar at higher temperatures, a peak due to the transverse optical phonon for the Si-O-Si stretching mode appeared in the infrared spectra. A combination of Z-contrast imaging and electron energy loss spectroscopy in the scanning transmission electron microscope confirmed that the annealed samples developed a layer of silicon dioxide at the aluminum oxide-Si interface. Z-contrast images and electron energy loss spectra, obtained while heating the sample inside the scanning transmission electron microscope were used to follow the interfacial SiO2 formation.
Similarity Hashing: A Computer Vision Solution to the Inverse Problem of Linear Fractals

The difficult task of finding a fractal representation of an input shape is called the inverse, problem of fractal geometry. Previous attempts at solving this problem have applied techniques from numerical minimization, heuristic search and image compression. The most appropriate domain from which to attack this problem is not numerical analysis nor signal processing, but model-based computer vision. Self-similar objects cause an existing computer vision algorithm called geometric hashing to malfunction. Similarity hashing capitalizes on this observation to not only detect a shape's morphological self-similarity but also find the parameters of its self-transformations.
Online Electromyographic Control of a Robotic Prosthesis

This paper presents a two-part study investigating the use of forearm surface electromyographic (EMG) signals for real-time control of a robotic arm. In the first part of the study, we explore and extend current classification-based paradigms for myoelectric control to obtain high accuracy (92-98%) on an eight-class offline classification problem, with up to 16 classifications/s. This offline study suggested that a high degree of control could be achieved with very little training time (under 10 min). The second part of this paper describes the design of an online control system for a robotic arm with 4 degrees of freedom. We evaluated the performance of the EMG-based real-time control system by comparing it with a keyboard-control baseline in a three-subject study for a variety of complex tasks.
Performance of N95 Respirators: Filtration Efficiency for Airborne Microbial and Inert Particles

In 1995 the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health issued new regulations for nonpowered particulate respirators (42 CFR Part 84). A new filter certification system also was created. Among the new particulate respirators that have entered the market, the N95 respirator is the most commonly used in industrial and health care environments. The filtration efficiencies of unloaded N95 particulate respirators have been compared with those of dust/mist (DM) and dust/fume/mist (DFM) respirators certified under the former regulations (30 CFR Part 11). Through laboratory tests with NaCl certification aerosols and measurements with particle-size spectrometers, N95 respirators were found to have higher filtration efficiencies than DM and DFM respirators and noncertified surgical masks. N95 respirators made by different companies were found to have different filtration efficiencies for the most penetrating particle size (0.1 to 0.3 µm), but all were at least 95% efficient at that size for NaCl particle...
Legionella pneumophila-Induced Immunostimulation and Blastogenesis of Normal Mouse Spleen Cells in Vitro

Cell-free sonic extracts prepared from Legionella pneumophila serogroup I were found to enhance the uptake of (3H)thymidine by normal mouse spleen cell cultures in vitro and also stimulate an enhanced antibody response to sheep erythrocytes, both in immunized and nonimmunized cultures. Increased background antibody responses to other erythrocyte species also occurred, indicating that the Legionella antigen was a polyclonal B cell activator. A purified cell wall component with physicochemical properties relatively similar to endotoxin, but without toxicity for mice, was found to have mitogenic activity for normal mouse spleen cells and immunostimulatory properties for anti-erythrocyte antibody response. Heating the sonicate or the purified somatic antigen for 10 min diminished immunoenhancing activity but had little effect on mitogenic properties. These results point to the complex effects of Legionella- derived antigens on normal lymphoid cell function and indicate that antigens derived from Legionella have marked immunomodulatory properties. Bacteria may markedly influence nonspe- cific immune responses, both in vivo and in vitro. Cell wall derived components from many Gram-negative or Gram-positive bac- teria are known to stimulate the antibody re- sponse of normal lymphoid cells in vitro (1- 3). In the present study, cell wall components isolated from Legionella pneumophila, in- cluding a crude cell-free sonicate and purified endotoxin-like somatic antigen, were found to be markedly mitogenic for normal murine spleen cells in vitro and also markedly en- hanced the antibody response to sheep eryth- rocytes. Materials and Methods. Animals. Inbred
SUBTLE AGENTS FOR CHANGE: THE JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY, J. MARVIN WELLER, AND SHIFTING EMPHASES IN INVERTEBRATE PALEONTOLOGY, 1930–1965

Abstract Through an examination of the contents of the Journal of Paleontology (JP), this paper traces the growing interest in biological problems in mid twentieth-century invertebrate paleontology. While noting the continued dominance of descriptive morphology and systematics, the paper tracks the increasing attention paid to paleoecology, evolution and geographic distribution, and quantitative methods. An analysis of the debate over the relative importance of biology and geology for paleontology, and J. Marvin Weller's evolving views on the subject, further illustrate the main point. Neither Weller nor JP initiated the interest in biological questions, but both played an important role in bringing new developments to the attention of the paleontology community.
Using geographic information systems and regression analysis to evaluate relationships between land use and fecal coliform bacterial pollution

Abstract Geographic Information Systems (GIS) and regression modeling techniques were used to evaluate relationships between land use and fecal pollution in Murrells Inlet, a small, urbanized, high-salinity estuary located between Myrtle Beach and Georgetown, SC. GIS techniques were used to identify and calculate land use and spatial variables to be used in a regression model. The regression analysis was performed to identify specific land-use characteristics that may influence fecal coliform densities in the estuary. The regression modeling used land-use parameters to explain the variability of fecal coliform densities measured monthly at 21 locations in the estuary over the 10-year period from 1989 to 1998. Individual regression models were generated for each season, and for a combined data set. The results of the regression analyses indicate that proximity to areas with septic tanks, and rainfall runoff from urbanized areas are important predictors of fecal coliform densities in the estuary. Sampling sites closer to areas with high densities of active septic tanks or more urbanized land uses tended to have higher fecal coliform densities. Although these results may suggest that septic tanks are a substantial human source of fecal pollution, previous research has indicated that the fecal pollution in those areas is probably not from human sources. The areas of Murrells Inlet with higher septic tank densities also are located in areas of high housing density, are in close proximity to the land–water interface, and are in the extreme upper reaches of the estuary, where flushing and dilution effects may be reduced. The higher fecal coliform densities observed at these locations may be a coincidental result of these factors and fecal deposition from pets, and not the direct result of fecal pollution input from the septic tanks. The results also show seasonal differences in the dynamics of fecal coliform bacterial pollution in the estuary. The winter model included a rainfall interaction term, which indicates that ground saturation effects may be an important part of fecal deposition in winter months. The water quality management implications of this research include identification of strategies to reduce or intercept urban stormwater runoff, reduction of waste dumping from boats, and reduction of pet waste.
Ligand redistribution reactions of Me2Ga(C5H5) and MeGa(C5H5)2

Abstract The compounds Me2Ga(C5H5) and MeGa(C5H5)2 have been prepared by ligand redistribution reactions between appropriate stoichiometric quantities of Ga(C5H5) and GaMe3. Both compounds have been demonstrated by 1H NMR spectral studies to be unstable in solution and to form symmetrized products by ligand redistribution reactions. Thus, Me2Ga(C5H5) forms GaMe3 and MeGa(C5H5)2 as primary products whereas MeGa(C5H5)2 decomposes to Ga(C5H5)3 and Me2Ga(C5H5). The compound Me2Ga(C5H5) has also been shown to serve as a cyclopentadienyl transfer reagent as it reacts with FeCl2 to form Fe(C5H5)2 and Me2GaCl.
Understanding reservoir connectivity in waterfloods before breakthrough

Abstract Interwell connectivity is a key issue in understanding any field performance, especially when secondary and tertiary recovery methods are initiated. This paper shows that capacitance–resistance modeling (CRM) is a viable alternative to solving the prebreakthrough flow problems in a variety of situations. In each case, CRM is able to mimic the results of streamline simulations for establishing fractional flow directed at each producer. We show that one can discern connectivity between the injector and producers in an inverted-five-spot pattern and in channelized reservoirs, and even with limited injection in prebreakthrough scenarios in heterogeneous media. In closed systems, low-signal amplitude may suffice for characterization, provided reasonable injection perturbation exists. The field case reinforced the notion of nonintuitive reservoir connectivity in an actual situation.
Relative keyboard input system

This paper describes a "relative keyboard," where keystrokes are treated as inputs in a continuous space relative to each other, instead of a discrete, unambiguous sequence. A user with the ability to touch-type may type anywhere on the sensing surface without the need for a visual keyboard. An implementation of such a system is explored and evaluated on simulated data and real user data.
An Imaging Biomarker of Early Treatment Response in Prostate Cancer that Has Metastasized to the Bone

Prostate cancer ranks as the most common lethal malignancy diagnosed and the second leading cause of cancer mortality in American men. Although high response rates are achieved using androgen blockade as first-line therapy, most men progress toward hormone-refractory prostate cancer. Systemic chemotherapies have been shown to improve clinical outcome in hormone refractory prostate cancer patients; however, they are not curative. Due to the high incidence of bone involvement in hormone-refractory prostate cancer, assessment of treatment response in metastatic prostate cancer to the bone remains a major clinical need. In this current study, we investigated the feasibility of using the functional diffusion map (fDM) as an imaging biomarker for assessing early treatment response in a preclinical model of metastatic prostate cancer. The fDM biomarker requires a pretreatment and midtreatment magnetic resonance imaging diffusion map, which is used to quantify spatially distinct therapeutic-induced changes in the Brownian motion (or diffusion) of water within tumor tissue. Because water within tumor cells is in a restricted environment relative to extracellular water, loss of cell membrane integrity and cellular density during therapy will be detected by fDM as an increase in diffusion. Regions of significantly increased diffusion values were detected early using fDM in docetaxel-treated versus untreated metastatic prostate bone tumors at 7 days post treatment initiation (P < 0.05), indicating loss of tumor cell viability. Validation of fDM results was accomplished by histologic analysis of excised tissue. Results from this study show the capability of fDM as a biomarker for detection of bone cancer treatment efficacy, thus warranting clinical evaluation.
Does Facial Processing Prioritize Change Detection?: Change Blindness Illustrates Costs and Benefits of Holistic Processing

There is broad consensus among researchers both that faces are processed more holistically than other objects and that this type of processing is beneficial. We predicted that holistic processing of faces also involves a cost, namely, a diminished ability to localize change. This study (N = 150) utilized a modified change-blindness paradigm in which some trials involved a change in one feature of an image (nose, chin, mouth, hair, or eyes for faces; chimney, porch, window, roof, or door for houses), whereas other trials involved no change. People were better able to detect the occurrence of a change for faces than for houses, but were better able to localize which feature had changed for houses than for faces. Half the trials used inverted images, a manipulation that disrupts holistic processing. With inverted images, the critical interaction between image type (faces vs. houses) and task (change detection vs. change localization) disappeared. The results suggest that holistic processing reduces change-localization abilities.
Small Heat Shock Protein αA-crystallin Regulates Epithelial Sodium Channel Expression

Integral membrane proteins are synthesized on the cytoplasmic face of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER). After being translocated or inserted into the ER, they fold and undergo post-translational modifications. Within the ER, proteins are also subjected to quality control checkpoints, during which misfolded proteins may be degraded by proteasomes via a process known as ER-associated degradation. Molecular chaperones, including the small heat shock protein αA-crystallin, have recently been shown to play a role in this process. We have now found that αA-crystallin is expressed in cultured mouse collecting duct cells, where apical Na+ transport is mediated by epithelial Na+ channels (ENaC). ENaC-mediated Na+ currents in Xenopus oocytes were reduced by co-expression of αA-crystallin. This reduction in ENaC activity reflected a decrease in the number of channels expressed at the cell surface. Furthermore, we observed that the rate of ENaC delivery to the cell surface of Xenopus oocytes was significantly reduced by co-expression of αA-crystallin, whereas the rate of channel retrieval remained unchanged. We also observed that αA-crystallin and ENaC co-immunoprecipitate. These data are consistent with the hypothesis that small heat shock proteins recognize ENaC subunits at ER quality control checkpoints and can target ENaC subunits for ER-associated degradation.
Reduction Mod p of Standard Bases

ABSTRACT We investigate the behavior of standard bases (in the sense of Hironaka and Grauert) for ideals in rings of formal power series over commutative rings with respect to specializations of the coefficients. For instance, we show that any ideal I of the ring of formal power series A[[X]] = A[[X 1 ,…, X N ]] with coefficients in a Noetherian ring A admits a standard basis whose image under every specialization of A onto a field is a standard basis of the image of I. Applications include a modular criterion for ideal membership in ℤ[[X]] and a constructibility result for ideal membership in K[[X]], where K is a field. # Communicated by A. Prestel. † To Volker Weispfenning, on his 60th birthday.
Effect of purple (Cyperus rotundus) and yellow nutsedge (C. esculentus) on growth and reflectance characteristics of cotton and soybean

Abstract Because of interest in monitoring crop response to weed interference, greenhouse experiments were conducted to evaluate interference of purple and yellow nutsedge on the growth, development, and spectral response of cotton and soybean. Cotton fresh weight was reduced 9 to 42% compared with the control when grown with yellow and purple nutsedge. Fresh weight of soybean was reduced 27 to 60% when it emerged simultaneously with yellow nutsedge and 45 to 63% when it emerged 7 d after yellow nutsedge. Soybean fresh weight was reduced 30 to 35% when it emerged simultaneously with purple nutsedge and 44 to 72% when it emerged 7 d after purple nutsedge. Reflectance data were analyzed using wavelet transformation techniques with the HAAR mother wavelet. Nine extracted features from the cotton and soybean leaf reflectance measurements were used to classify single-leaf cotton and soybean reflectance measurements to predict whether cotton or soybean was growing in the presence or absence of purple and yellow...
Graft polymerization kinetics of acrylamide initiated by ceric nitrate–dextran redox systems

The kinetics of the graft polymerization of acrylamide initiated by ceric nitrate—dextran polymeric redox systems was studied primarily at 25°C. Following an initial period of relatively fast reaction, the rate of polymerization is first-order with respect to the concentrations of monomer and dextran and independent of the ceric ion concentration. The equilibrium constant for ceric ion—dextran complexation K is 3.0 ± 1.6 l./mole, the specific rate of dissociation of the complex, kd, is 3.0 ± 1.2 × 10−4 sec.−1, and the ratio of polymerization rate constants, kp/kt, is 0.44 ± 0.15. The number-average degree of polymerization is directly proportional to the ratio of the initial concentrations of monomer and ceric ion and increases exponentially with increasing extent of conversion. The initial rapid rate of polymerization is accounted for by the high reactivity of ceric ion with cis-glycol groups on the ends of the dextran chains. The polymerization in the slower period that follows is initiated by the breakdown of coordination complexes of ceric ions with secondary alcohols on the dextran chain and terminated by redox reaction with uncomplexed ceric ions.
Escape Hatches for the Clonal Offspring of Serpulid Polychaetes

Serpulid polychaetes in the genera Filograna and Salmacina reproduce asexually by releasing a single bud at a time from their posterior ends into their calcareous tubes. Here I show that buds of Salmacina amphidentata gain access to the exterior of these tubes via escape hatches built into the tubes by the parent worms. Each escape hatch consists of a hole in the tube blocked by a calcareous disc that is supported in place by an organic membrane. After buds detach from their parents, the calcareous discs are dislodged, and buds begin to form their own tubes from the resulting openings. Repeated bouts of asexual reproduction result in the formation of aggregations of branched tubes. A survey of Filograna and Salmacina spp. from the Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific oceans suggests that the formation of escape hatches for clonal offspring is common to many members of these genera.