cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Colony takeover by a socially parasitic ant, Polyergus breviceps : the role of chemicals obtained during host-queen killing

Abstract Abstract. The behavioural adaptations of parasitic ant queens are more complex than those of parasitic birds, in which the egg-laying female approaches the nest only when the host parents are absent, and leaves immediately after egg deposition. Queens of the socially parasitic ant Polyergus breviceps are incapable of rearing their own brood, and therefore require the assistance of host Formica workers soon after egg laying. Accordingly, a newly mated Polyergus queen must penetrate a nest of Formica, kill the host queen, and become permanently accepted by the slave species' workers. Laboratory tests show that a Polyergus queen will similarly attack and bite a dead (and therefore motionless) Formica queen. Immediately after attacking the dead host queen, the Polyergus queen will be accepted by workers from any colony of Formica belonging to the same species of the dead queen (but will be attacked by workers from other Formica species). Preliminary results also indicate that any adoption-facilitating chemicals obtained by the Polyergus queen are still effective 1 week after killing the host Formica queen. When Polyergus queens raised in colonies containing F. gnava were introduced into nests of F. occulta, most showed little interest in attacking the resident Formica queen. In four of 10 tests, however, the Polyergus queen killed the foreign queen and was accepted by the F. occulta workers. Such chemical transfer of foreign-queen odours may have played a key role in the evolution of social parasitism in Polyergus.
An analysis of the threshold voltage for short-channel IGFET's

Abstract For short-channel insulated-gate field-effect transistors (IGFET) operating with source-to-substrate reverse bias, the threshold voltage is in general a function of channel length and drain-to-source voltage. It is shown in this analysis that these dependences can be attributed to the two-dimensional distribution of the depletion charges. Starting from two fundamental relations, the overall charge neutrality and the voltage relations based on the energy band diagram, a generalized threshold voltage equation in integral form is derived. A closed-form threshold equation is then obtained using a regional approximation with a simplified piecewise-linear depletion profile. The equation includes as new factors, the channel length, junction depth and drain voltage, and passes to the conventional form for increasing channel length. The theoretical threshold voltage expression is found to predict the correct tendencies and is shown to be in reasonable agreement with experimental measurements.
A Finite Element Parametric Study of Femur Fracture Force in Out-of-Position Seating Positions Fracture Femoral Forces to Abbreviated Injury Scale Level 2+ and 3+

This research aimed at investigating the relationship between the femur forces of an out-of-position vehicle occupant and the potential injury severity occurring to the lower extremities during a frontal car crash. A better understanding and prediction of injuries allows for deriving thresholds to theoretically define values at which injuries could potentially occur, with the purpose of guiding engineers in the design of safer vehicles. A validated Knee-Thigh-Hip (KTH) finite element model of a 50th percentile male was used with the code LSDYNA to explore injury mechanisms in frontal impacts. The KTH joints were positioned at different angles of thigh flexion, adduction and abduction. Values for the Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS) level 2+ and 3+ were calculated using peak femur forces obtained with the FE simulations and regression equations for predicting KTH injuries developed by Kuppa [1]. The study shows that the probability of KTH bone fracture is higher when the thigh is initially abducted. The study also shows that the probability of KTH bone fracture is lower when the thigh is initially flexed, rather than in a neutral position. When considering combinations of adduction and flexion, results show that the probability of KTH bone fracture is not significantly affected by the angle of thigh flexion. On the other hand, results also show that the probability of KTH bone injury when the thigh is flexed and either adducted or abducted to a relative high angle is lower.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Fluorescence turn on by cholate aggregates

Bile salts, including sodium cholate (NaCh), are amphiphilic molecules with a concave hydrophilic side and a convex hydrophobic side. By forming aggregates in aqueous solution, these natural surfactants fulfill vital biological roles in the solubilization of cholesterol, lipids, and fat-soluble vitamins and thus are involved in the transport and absorption of important biological molecules. Following our success with the encapsulation of fluorescent protein chromophore (FP) analogs by synthetic hydrophobic and hydrophilic hosts, based upon substitution patterns, we now report the binding and turn on of other analogs by bile salt aggregates, observations which may lead to new tools for studying trafficking in these important systems.
Maternal Distress and Parenting in the Context of Cumulative Disadvantage

This article presents an emergent conceptual model of the features and links between cumulative disadvantage, maternal distress, and parenting practices in low-income families in which parental incarceration has occurred. The model emerged from the integration of extant conceptual and empirical research with grounded theory analysis of longitudinal ethnographic data from Welfare, Children, and Families: A Three-City Study. Fourteen exemplar family cases were used in the analysis. Results indicated that mothers in these families experienced life in the context of cumulative disadvantage, reporting a cascade of difficulties characterized by neighborhood worries, provider concerns, bureaucratic difficulties, violent intimate relationships, and the inability to meet children's needs. Mothers, however, also had an intense desire to protect their children, and to make up for past mistakes. Although, in response to high levels of maternal distress and disadvantage, most mothers exhibited harsh discipline of their children, some mothers transformed their distress by advocating for their children under difficult circumstances. Women's use of harsh discipline and advocacy was not necessarily an "either/or" phenomenon as half of the mothers included in our analysis exhibited both harsh discipline and care/advocacy behaviors. Maternal distress characterized by substance use, while connected to harsh disciplinary behavior, did not preclude mothers engaging in positive parenting behaviors.
Photochemical Reduction and Oxidation Reactions on Barium Titanate Surfaces

The influence of the ferroelectric domain structure of BaTiO3 on the photochemical reactions that occur on its surface has been examined using atomic force microscopy. Both the photochemical reduction of aqueous silver cations and the oxidation of steric acid thin films were studied. During reduction, silver selectively deposits on the surface in patterns determined by the ferroelectric domain structure. Based on the analysis of domain polarization in single crystals, we find that the photochemical reduction reaction occurs preferentially on the positive ends of the dipoles. The most likely explanation for this phenomenon is that when the static dipolar field is oriented with the positive end of the dipole on the surface, photogenerated electrons are driven to the solid-liquid interface where they reduce metal cations. The oxidation of steric acid films, on the other hand, is not spatially selective. During oxidation, the films dissipate uniformly as they are converted to CO2 and H2O. In this case, we conclude that the oxidation occurs indirectly. Photogenerated holes create hydroxyl radicals which can migrate on the surface before reacting with the steric acid molecules.
Performance comparisons of power loaded OFDM systems over peak power limited channels

Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (OFDM) has been widely adopted in many applications and standards for a number of benefits including high efficiency and immunity against the frequency-selective channel. Power loading, which is a technique that allocates different amount of power for each subcarrier, further enhances the system performance by maximizing mutual information, reducing Bit Error Rate (BER) or improving other aspects of the communication system. OFDM, however, suffers from high Peak-to-Average Power Ratio (PAR) due to its wide dynamic range of time-domain waveforms. This makes OFDM symbols be affected by nonlinearity resides at the power amplifier (PA), causing the power efficiency to decrease and symbols to be distorted. The effect of power loading techniques over peak power limited OFDM systems has not been well studied. In this paper, some existing power loading techniques are applied to OFDM system, and performance is compared from four different aspects: PAR, Error Vector Magnitude (EVM), spectral characteristics, and Symbol Error Rate (SER). The paper concludes with the answer to the question of whether power loading hurts or helps if it is available for OFDM system.
Decreasing Electrosurgical Transurethral Resection of the Prostate Surgical Volume During Graduate Medical Education Training is Associated With Increased Surgical Adverse Events

Purpose: In the United States the numbers of electrosurgical transurethral prostate resection procedures have been decreasing. Since electrosurgical transurethral resection of the prostate is a difficult procedure to master, we hypothesized that recent residents are lacking in training for this procedure. We used summary case log information provided by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education to determine if the number of electrosurgical transurethral prostate resection procedures performed by graduating chief residents has decreased and if there has been an increase in surgical adverse events. In addition, we investigated whether the increased number of laser procedures impacted the rate of adverse events.Materials and Methods: Summary operative data from graduating chief resident case logs were provided by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education for academic years 2001 to 2007. The numbers of electrosurgical transurethral prostate resection procedures, laser procedures ...
Large Deviation Analysis of a Droplet Model Having a Poisson Equilibrium Distribution

In this paper we use large deviation theory to determine the equilibrium distribution of a basic droplet model that underlies a number of important models in material science and statistical mechanics. Given and , distinguishable particles are placed, each with equal probability , onto the sites of a lattice, where equals . We focus on configurations for which each site is occupied by a minimum of particles. The main result is the large deviation principle (LDP), in the limit and with , for a sequence of random, number-density measures, which are the empirical measures of dependent random variables that count the droplet sizes. The rate function in the LDP is the relative entropy , where is a possible asymptotic configuration of the number-density measures and is a Poisson distribution with mean , restricted to the set of positive integers satisfying . This LDP implies that is the equilibrium distribution of the number-density measures, which in turn implies that is the equilibrium distribution of the random variables that count the droplet sizes.
ATE digital testing using a programmable microsequencer architecture

In the past, the digital testing of an aircraft's complex line replaceable units (LRUs) on large automatic test equipment (ATE) was handled by designing a special set of interface boards. As more and different LRUs were added to the aircraft, the test stations began to run out of room in the interface test adapter (ITA) patch panel. The solution was to design an interface board that uses a microcoded bit-slice architecture. This allowed many parallel and serial test requirements to be met with only a new microprogram thereby eliminating the need to design a new interface board when new requirements were added to the test station. It also allowed making changes easier. Putting multiple copies of a design into a test station allowed it to meet different requirements simultaneously. This microprogrammable architecture has been designed into the various ATE at the General Dynamics Electronics Division. The digital interface boards support over 300 different microprograms on over 50 LRUs on four different aircraft (F-16, B-1B, C-17, and C-5). >
Long-Term Oncological and Overall Outcomes of Percutaneous Radio Frequency Ablation in High Risk Surgical Patients With a Solitary Small Renal Mass

Purpose: We present long-term outcomes in patients receiving RFA for solitary small renal masses.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the overall oncological and survival outcomes of patients with a solitary renal mass treated with radio frequency ablation in whom it had been at least 40 months since treatment. Patients were offered radio frequency ablation due to the high risk of surgical management and surgeon preference. Followup consisted of serum creatinine measurement, physical examination and serial contrast enhanced computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging.Results: The 31 patients received a total of 34 radio frequency ablation treatments to a 1.0 to 4.0 cm solitary renal mass (median 2.0). Mean followup in survivors was 61.6 months (median 62.4, range 41 to 80). There was 1 primary treatment failure, which was successfully retreated. There were 3 recurrences 7, 13 and 31 months after radio frequency ablation, respectively. The overall recurrence-free survival rate was 90.3%. There was ...
Agile Manufacturing: A Border Perspective

Manufacturing along the United States-Mexico border was built on the low-cost and low-technology model of early maquiladora plants, which offered cheap alternatives to the U.S. labor rates and an alternative to labor-intensive assembly and attractive tax benefits. Forty years later, other areas of the world are offering a lower cost alternative to the same targeted manufacturing organization. The alternative choices are often a lower-cost option, making the United States-Mexico border region an option that gets left out of the equation. A review of the literature and an investigation of attractive features of the border region suggest a different approach that highlights the advantages of a proximity-based model interspersed with the components of agile manufacturing.
Effects of dietary amino acid content between 20 and 50 kg and 50 and 100 kg live weight on the subsequent and overall performance of pigs

Abstract Twenty-four gilts and 24 castrated males were used to investigate the effects of dietary amino acid content between 20 and 50 kg (0.423 or 0.765 g lysine/MJ DE) and 50 and 100 kg (0.423 or 0.612 g lysine/MJ DE) on the subsequent performance, carcass characteristics and internal organ weights. Between 20 and 50 kg, pigs offered the high-amino acid diet grew 18% faster (P
Representing Security Goals, Policies, and Objects

As information security is increasingly becoming critical for todays computer based systems, there is increasing need for integrating security concerns into the early phases of system development processes. As a result, more attention is being drawn to modeling of security goals and their refinements into implementable security policies. With the growing adoption of the UML for object oriented analysis and design, there is need to incorporate security concepts into UML models to offer an attractive approach to engineering security into the system being developed. In this paper, we present a visual approach to unifying goal oriented analysis of security objectives and their associated security policies, with UML functional models. We also show how this representation leads to the early discovery of conflicts and inconsistencies in security policies during analysis. A simplified college department information system is used to illustrate the major concepts of this approach.
Signal Versus Noise Characteristics of Filtered EMG Used as a Control Source

A common method of initially processing surface-detected electromographic (EMG) activity is to differentially amplify, rectify, and then smooth (using a low-pass filter) the rectified activity. The output of the filter exhibits a mean value slightly obscured by ripple. Both the mean value and ripple increase with increasing muscle contraction. The mean value can be called the signal while the ripple, undesirable when only the signal is desired, can be called noise. The SNR depends, at least, upon the contraction level, type of smoothing filter, and the amount of smoothing for the particular filter. This defined SNR is important in signal communication problems of both a design and a theoretical nature.
Acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia in children.

Summary We report four children with acute megakaryoblastic leukaemia (AMKL) and compare their clinical course with 16 previously reported cases of AMKL in children. In adults, AMKL has been reported as a rapidly progressive disease characterized by pancytopenia associated with bone marrow fibrosis, absence of organomegaly, and unresponsiveness to therapy. Although some of the childhood cases present with these features, the clinical course can be quite variable, particularly in young children, with both organomegaly and leuco-cytosis occurring. Down syndrome, or other constitutional abnormalities of chromosome 21 were present in four of 20 reported cases. Two of the four cases reported herein were initially diagnosed cytologically as childhood acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). All four patients achieved a complete remission, and three remain in remission from 34 to 56 months from diagnosis. Greater recognition of AMKL in the future will help to clarify the disease characteristics, prognosis and optimal treatment of this unusual form of leukaemia.
Improving the reliability of shape comparison by perturbation

Shape comparison is a key scenario in morphometric study, where registration is often involved and found to be unreliable: different registrations can lead to different shape differences. This paper proposes a generic scheme applicable to most registration methods, to reduce this unreliability. It perturbs the registration processes by feeding them with resampled shape groups, and then aggregates the results to yield the final result. This scheme can be simplified for pair-wise registration methods to reduce the computation. Experiments are conducted on both synthetic and biomedical shapes using different registration methods, which demonstrate its effectiveness.
Creep compliance response of a cohesive soil

Abstract The creep response of a cohesive soil tested in uniaxial compression is presented in terms of a creep compliance function. The variables considered include strain, time, stress level, and moisture content. The soil response is definitely nonlinear, but the stress dependence of the creep compliance is written in explicit form. Variations in moisture content are handled by normalizing the response with respect to the unconfined compressive strength as a consistency index. The compliance method of response representation is related to theoretical aspects of the viscoelasticity of cohesive soils. Nonlinear aspects of soil response are discussed.
Mandated electronic equipment recycling in Europe: implications for companies and US public policy

Legislation in several European countries require companies to recover and recycle products at the end of their useful life. This paper focuses on draft requirements in Germany and the Netherlands for electronic equipment, and discuss the implications of such legislation for companies and US public policy. >
Global Radiative–Convective Equilibrium in the Community Atmosphere Model, Version 5

AbstractIn the continued effort to understand the climate system and improve its representation in atmospheric general circulation models (AGCMs), it is crucial to develop reduced-complexity frameworks to evaluate these models. This is especially true as the AGCM community advances toward high horizontal resolutions (i.e., grid spacing less than 50 km), which will require interpreting and improving the performance of many model components. A simplified global radiative–convective equilibrium (RCE) configuration is proposed to explore the implication of horizontal resolution on equilibrium climate. RCE is the statistical equilibrium in which the radiative cooling of the atmosphere is balanced by heating due to convection.In this work, the Community Atmosphere Model, version 5 (CAM5), is configured in RCE to better understand tropical climate and extremes. The RCE setup consists of an ocean-covered Earth with diurnally varying, spatially uniform insolation and no rotation effects. CAM5 is run at two horizon...
SENSORY TRANSDUCTION AS A PROPOSED MODEL FOR BIOLOGICAL DETECTION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC FIELDS

Laboratory studies of the biological effects of low-frequency electromagnetic fields (EMFs) have demonstrated that the fields can produce or alter a wide range of phenomena. Explaining the diversity of the reported effects is a central problem. Our basic hypothesis is that the effects are generally indirect, and arise as a consequence of sensory transduction of the fields. In this view, EMF detection and its biological consequences occur in different types of cells. Experimental verification of the hypothesis will ultimately require data showing that the interaction of EMFs with tissue results in biological changes that are the same as or similar to changes that occur during sensory transduction. The goal was to identify the specific phenomena that would be expected to occur if the hypothesis were true. We therefore analyzed the presently accepted models of sensory transduction in the somatic and special senses. Many kinds of processes were identified in connection with transduction of different kinds of ...
Full binary combination schema for floating voltage source multi-level inverters

This paper presents schema of operation for floating voltage source multilevel inverters. The primary advantage of the proposed schema is that the number of voltage levels (and thus power quality) can be increased for a given number of semiconductor devices when compared to the conventional "flying capacitor" topology. However, the new schema requires fixed floating sources instead of capacitors and therefore is more suitable for battery power applications such as electric vehicles, flexible AC transmission systems and submarine propulsion. Alternatively transformer/rectifier circuits may be used to supply the floating sources in a similar way to cascaded H-bridge inverters. Computer simulation results are presented for 4-level, 8-level, and 16-level inverter topologies. A 4-level laboratory test verifies the proposed method.
More than Words: A Reply to Malt and Sloman.

In four experiments, Malt and Sloman [Malt, B. C., & Sloman, S. A. (2007). Category essence or essentially pragmatic? Creator’s intention in naming and what’s really what. Cognition, 105, 615‐648] show that the naming of artifacts is a!ected by discourse context. They see this phenomenon as posing a problem for the intentional-history theory of artifact categorization (e.g., [Bloom, P. (1996). Intention, history, and artifact concepts. Cognition, 60, 1‐ 29]), and as supporting instead their alternative theory that naming is determined by communicative goals. This response begins by distinguishing the problem of artifact categorization (determining the categories that artifacts belong to) from the problem of artifact naming (deciding how to talk about members of these categories). In light of this distinction, it turns out that Malt and Sloman’s findings are fully consistent with all theories of artifact categorization, including the intentional-historical one. Moreover, contrary to what they argue, there are actually many cases where the relative contributions of categorization and pragmatics can be clearly distinguished. Finally, it is argued that Malt and Sloman’s own account of artifact naming presupposes a capacity for artifact categorization; it cannot work without one. ! 2007 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
Pragmatic Thinking about Self, Society, and Natural Environment: Mead, Carson, and Beyond

An interactionist approach provides a relevant point of view on human—natural environment relations. This essay draws on an interactionist approach from a Meadian, pragmatic, social constructionist perspective. In the context of grounded distinctions for interpreting “natural environment,” this discussion considers instances of human intervention and levels of responses, for example, individual, social, cultural, historical, and utopian, as variant, even conflicting, reconstructions of the foundational relationship of human—natural environment interaction. Incorporating a pragmatic model derived from Rachel Carson, the work at hand focuses on knowledge and ethical claims, as discourse and action shift from preventing to mitigating and adjusting environmental outcomes.
Relationship between semen cultures, leukospermia, and semen analysis in men undergoing fertility evaluation

Abstract Objective To determine the correlation between semen cultures, semen Gram stains, leukospermia, and semen analysis parameters in asymptomatic men undergoing fertility evaluation. Design Prospective clinical study. Setting Infertility clinic at a university teaching hospital. Patient(s) Two hundred ninety-nine asymptomatic men undergoing fertility evaluation. Intervention(s) After an antibacterial skin preparation, all men gave semen specimens for culture, Gram stains, semen analysis, and assessment for leukospermia. Main outcome measure(s) A comparison of the presence or absence of bacteriospermia, the specific bacterial isolate, the quantity of bacteriospermia, the presence or absence of leukospermia, and semen analysis parameters. Result(s) The presence or absence of bacteriospermia or leukospermia did not correlate with each other. Leukospermia did not correlate with semen parameters. Staphylococcus species was the most common isolate (25.4% of all patients) and did not correlate with semen parameters or leukospermia. Streptococcus viridans (15.4% of all patients) and Enterococcus faecalis (7.4% of all patients) were the next most common isolates and were associated with statistically significantly poorer semen quality. Conclusion(s) Leukospermia is a poor marker for either bacteriospermia or impaired semen quality. Staphylococcus species are commonly isolated but appear to be innocuous. Streptococcus viridans and Enterococcus faecalis are associated with poorer semen quality and may warrant treatment.
Performance analysis of generalized selective combining over Rayleigh fading channels

A performance analysis of the generalized selective combining (GSC) diversity scheme over Rayleigh fading channels is presented and compared with that of the conventional maximal-ratio combining and selective combining schemes. Starting with the moment generating function of the GSC output signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) we derive closed-form expressions for the average combined SNR, outage probability, and average error probability of a wide variety of modulation schemes operating over independent identically distributed diversity paths. Because of their simple form, these expressions readily allow numerical evaluation for cases of practical interest.
Hidden alternative structures of proline isomerase essential for catalysis

A long-standing challenge is to understand at the atomic level how protein dynamics contribute to enzyme catalysis. X-ray crystallography can provide snapshots of conformational substates sampled during enzymatic reactions, while NMR relaxation methods reveal the rates of interconversion between substates and the corresponding relative populations. However, these current methods cannot simultaneously reveal the detailed atomic structures of the rare states and rationalize the finding that intrinsic motions in the free enzyme occur on a timescale similar to the catalytic turnover rate. Here we introduce dual strategies of ambient-temperature X-ray crystallographic data collection and automated electron-density sampling to structurally unravel interconverting substates of the human proline isomerase, cyclophilin A (CYPA, also known as PPIA). A conservative mutation outside the active site was designed to stabilize features of the previously hidden minor conformation. This mutation not only inverts the equilibrium between the substates, but also causes large, parallel reductions in the conformational interconversion rates and the catalytic rate. These studies introduce crystallographic approaches to define functional minor protein conformations and, in combination with NMR analysis of the enzyme dynamics in solution, show how collective motions directly contribute to the catalytic power of an enzyme.
Low Cost Inspection for Improved Wind Turbine Blade Reliability

Wind turbines are an economically-viable alternative and renewable power generation source. Installed capacity is growing by over 20%/year and continued development of wind turbine applications will benefit by ensuring the reliability of wind turbine blade systems. In this work, we extend some previous results on low cost sensors for composite wind turbine blades to determine Loads, Health Monitoring, and Inspection, and Repair. The emphasis of this work is in manufacturing, and the influence of the sensors on mechanical properties. Representative wind turbine blade laminates were made with embedded and post-processing integrated sensors. Sensors studied to date include Polyvinylidene Fluoride (PVDF) piezo electric polymer sensors for strain and transient loadings, accelerometers, embedded metal foil strain gages, ambient humidity sensors, thermocouples, IR transmittance for quality, and fiber optic sensors for a variety of sensing applications. Major conclusions from this work are that low cost sensors are feasible. However, embedding sensors into wind turbine blade laminates will not be trivial; composite/sensor interface and static strength problems were confronted in the present work. Specific results for manufacturing the structural performance of wind turbine blades with sensors are presented, with current, best alternatives for manufacturing.
Women at mid-life: symptoms, attitudes, and choices, an internet based survey.

Objecti6es: This Internet-based survey questioned middle-aged women (age 35‐69) regarding their current attitudes, beliefs, symptoms, and treatment choices surrounding the climacteric. Methods: 448 respondents completed the 189 item, WEB-based survey that included measures of quality of life, lifestyle habits, anxiety symptoms, and questions regarding attitude toward and sources of information about menopause. Results: Three relationships were hypothesized and supported: frequency of self-reported menopause symptoms would be: (1) negatively associated with healthy behaviors; (2) positively associated with anxiety; (3) positively associated with stress. All measures were self-report. Fatigue, muscle and joint aches, and impatience were the most commonly reported symptoms. No particular symptom was strongly correlated (r\0.4) to lifestyle behaviors. Questions regarding information exchange reveal that many women are not consulting with their healthcare providers about HRT or frequently discussing alternatives. Many receive health information from lay sources. Conclusions: There is a need for improved information exchange on this subject. Our results are similar to those found using large randomized telephone survey methods, which supports the use of the Internet as a reliable and convenient venue for gathering data regarding health issues. It is important to consider healthy lifestyle behaviors toward the regulation of the climacteric syndrome. © 2001 Elsevier Science Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.
A Search for Good Lattice Rules Based on the Reciprocal Lattice Generator Matrix

The search for cost-effective lattice rules is a time-consuming and difficult process. After a brief overview of some of the lattice theory relevant to these rules, a new approach to this search is suggested. This approach is based on a classification of lattice rules using “the upper triangular lattice form” of the reciprocal lattice generator matrix.
Large-time asymptotics for the Gt/Mt/st+GIt many-server fluid queue with abandonment

We previously introduced and analyzed the G t /M t /s t +GI t many-server fluid queue with time-varying parameters, intended as an approximation for the corresponding stochastic queueing model when there are many servers and the system experiences periods of overload. In this paper, we establish an asymptotic loss of memory (ALOM) property for that fluid model, i.e., we show that there is asymptotic independence from the initial conditions as time t evolves, under regularity conditions. We show that the difference in the performance functions dissipates over time exponentially fast, again under the regularity conditions. We apply ALOM to show that the stationary G/M/s+GI fluid queue converges to steady state and the periodic G t /M t /s t +GI t fluid queue converges to a periodic steady state as time evolves, for all finite initial conditions.
Modification of vehicle handling characteristics via steer-by-wire

This paper presents a physically intuitive method for altering a vehicle handling characteristics through active steering intervention. A full state feedback controller augments the driver steering command via steer-by-wire to achieve desired handling behavior. Accurate estimates of vehicle states are available from a combination of the Global Positioning System (GPS) and inertial navigation system (INS) sensor measurements. By canceling the effects of steering system dynamics and tyre disturbance forces, the steer-by-wire system is able to track commanded steer angle with minimal error. Experimental results verify that with precise steering control and accurate state information, a vehicle handling characteristics can be modified to match driver preference or to compensate for changes in operating conditions.
Maitotoxin-elicited calcium influx in cultured cells. Effect of calcium-channel blockers.

Abstract Maitotoxin elicited a marked influx of 45Ca2+ into NIH 3T3 fibroblast cells. The influx was blocked by imidazoles (econazole, miconazole, SKF 96365, clotrimazole, calmidazolium) with ic 50 values from 0.56 to 3 μM. Phenylalkylamines (verapamil, methoxyverapamil) and nitrendipine were less potent, and diltiazem was very weak. Among other calcium blockers, the diphenylbutylpiperidines fluspirilene and penfluridol, the diphenylpropylpiperidine loperamide, and the local anesthetic proadifen were quite active with ic 50 values of 2–4 μM. The pattern of inhibition of maitotoxin-elicited calcium influx did not correspond to the ability of the agents to block elevation of calcium that ensues through calcium-release activated calcium (CRAC) channels after activation of phosphoinositide breakdown by ATP in HL-60 cells. The imidazoles did block CRAC channels, but fluspirilene, penfluridol, loperamide and proadifen were ineffective. Loperamide actually appeared to enhance influx of calcium via the activated CRAC channels. The imidazoles, in particular calmidazolium, caused an apparent influx of calcium and caused a stimulation of phosphoinositide breakdown in HL-60 cells.
In-service Training in Public Administration and it's Perception by Orhangazi Governorship and the Staff of it's Affiliated Units

ewline"> The training concept makes the most basic sense to train people according to some specifi purpose. The last person’s personality andcharacter in the educational process is gaining new dimensions. In-service training ; training is provided for staff working in publicinstitutions and organizations. Relevant to their duties to the staff in this training aims to provide a variety of knowledge and skills.Objectives set for the most comprehensive in-service training is to make possess the qualifiations required by the organization ‘s employees. To continue unabated growth of technological developments affect the working life as affected many sectors. Organizationsproducing goods and services must demonstrate compliance with these innovations to follow the day to day and innovation. In thisway, added new ones on the existing knowledge and skills. Here are a reflction of his life ‘s work in learning arises in this way. Increasing the effiiency of institutions and for satisfaction the staff skills in today’s working life is essential for in-service training scheme. Inthis study, in-service training are examined in public administration requirements and benefis, for example, tried to put forward viewsof practitioners in Orhangazi District and affiiated units detected by the staff in a survey by practitioners as to be wound, and not forthe people in the right ways and methods.
Cardiac Injuries: A Review of Multidetector Computed Tomography Findings

Trauma is the leading cause of death in United States in the younger population. Cardiac trauma is common following blunt chest injuries and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. This study discusses various multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) findings of cardiac trauma. Cardiac injuries are broadly categorized into the most commonly occurring blunt cardiac injury and the less commonly occurring penetrating injury. Signs and symptoms of cardiac injury can be masked by the associated injuries. Each imaging modality including chest radiographs, echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging and MDCT has role in evaluating these patients. However, MDCT is noninvasive; universally available and has a high spatial, contrast, and temporal resolution. It is a one stop shop to diagnose and evaluate complications of cardiac injury. MDCT is an imaging modality of choice to evaluate patients with cardiac injuries especially the injuries capable of causing hemodynamic instability.
Sex moderates the association between symptoms of anxiety, but not obsessive compulsive disorder, and error‐monitoring brain activity: A meta‐analytic review

Sex differences in cognition and emotion are particularly active areas of research. Much of this work, however, focuses on mean-level differences between the sexes on cognitive and/or emotional variables in isolation. In this article, we are primarily concerned with how sex affects associations between cognition and emotion, or cognition-emotion interactions. Specifically, the purpose of this paper is to shed light on a gap in our understanding of how sex affects the relationship between error monitoring, a core component of cognitive control, and anxiety. Using meta-analysis, we show that the relationship between symptoms of anxiety and a neurophysiological marker of error monitoring-the error-related negativity (ERN)-is significantly greater in women than men such that women, but not men, with higher levels of anxiety show a larger ERN. This sex difference held true across studies of anxiety-specific symptoms but not studies of obsessive-compulsive symptoms. These findings underscore the need to consider sex in studies of anxiety and the ERN as well as support growing evidence indicating that obsessive-compulsive problems are distinguishable from other anxiety-specific problems across multiple levels of analysis. Overall, we conclude that ignoring sex in studies of cognition-emotion interactions is unacceptable. Rather, future research that continues to tackle questions related to sex differences in associations between cognition and emotion will more likely lead to advancements in basic and applied sciences of relevance to health and human behavior.
Coordinated Transport of a Slung Load by a Team of Autonomous Rotorcraft

This paper describes a hierarchical approach to coordinated transportation of a slung load by a team of autonomous helicopters. A closed-loop controller computes net force and moments on the load’s center of gravity so a desired trajectory is followed; cable forces at each attachment point are computed so that the net force and moment on the center of gravity equal the desired values from the controller; nally each helicopter’s position, velocity, and thrust are computed to obtain the desired attachment force, assuming a compliant cable connects the helicopter to the load. Results of simulations showing four degree of freedom transport of a load (North, East, Down position and yaw angle) show the utility of the proposed approach.
The Flight Vehicle Design and Fabrication Course: Two Decades of Project-Based Learning at Penn State

In 1990 the Department of Aerospace Engineering of The Pennsylvania State University began offering an undergraduate course focusing on “hands-on” design and fabrication. Two decades later that course has become an established example of the benefits of projectcentered learning. The basic structure of the class has remained relatively unchanged, with students generally enrolling as freshman and remaining in the class until they graduate. While in the class, the students work on projects in both laboratory and design groups. These projects have historically focused on the design and fabrication of composite sailplanes, but efforts recently shifted to an entry into the Human-Powered Aircraft Kremer Competition, administrated by the Royal Aeronautical Society of Great Britain. In addition, for the past several years, a subgroup of the class has competed in the AIAA Student Design/Build/Fly (DBF) competition. Throughout the history of this course, students have experienced a deeper understanding in the theoretical constructs of aerospace engineering, developed leadership and teamwork skills, and gained invaluable hands-on experience.
Micronodular thymic neoplasms: case series and literature review with emphasis on the spectrum of differentiation

We report nine cases of micronodular thymoma with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia and one case of micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid hyperplasia from our institution. For a better understanding of these rare tumors, clinical records, and histological features of these cases were reviewed, with detailed review of additional 64 literature cases of micronodular thymic neoplasms. The joint analysis identified 64 cases of micronodular thymoma with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia and 9 cases of micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid hyperplasia. Both groups revealed slight male predilection, with male:female ratio of 1.3:1 and 5:4, and occurred at >40 years of age, with a mean of 64 (41-83) and 62 (42-78) years, respectively. Myasthenia gravis was noted in 3/64 (5%) and 1/9 (11%) patients, respectively. Other systemic, disimmune, or hematologic disorders were noted in 6/64 (9%) and 1/9 (11%) patients, respectively. Components of conventional thymoma were reported in 11/64 (17%) micronodular thymomas with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia, with transitional morphology between the two components in most of them. Cellular morphology was predominantly spindle in micronodular thymoma with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia when specified (30/43), and epithelioid in micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid hyperplasia (6/9), and cytological atypia was more encountered in the latter. Dedifferentiation/transformation from micronodular thymoma with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia to micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid hyperplasia seems to occur in a small subset of cases. Three cases of micronodular thymomas with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia were described with co-existent low-grade B-cell lymphomas. Follow-up data were available for 30 micronodular thymomas with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia and 6 micronodular thymic carcinomas with lymphoid hyperplasia, with a mean of 47 (0.2-180) months and 23 (3-39) months, respectively. Patients were alive without disease, except for five micronodular thymoma with lymphoid B-cell hyperplasia patients (dead from unrelated causes), and one micronodular thymic carcinoma with lymphoid hyperplasia patient (dead of disease).
Peripheral Administration of a Long-Acting Peptide Oxytocin Receptor Agonist Inhibits Fear-Induced Freezing

Oxytocin (OT) modulates the expression of social and emotional behaviors and consequently has been proposed as a pharmacologic treatment of psychiatric diseases, including autism spectrum disorders and schizophrenia; however, endogenous OT has a short half-life in plasma and poor permeability across the blood-brain barrier. Recent efforts have focused on the development of novel drug delivery methods to enhance brain penetration, but few efforts have aimed at improving its half-life. To explore the behavioral efficacy of an OT analog with enhanced plasma stability, we developed PF-06655075 (PF1), a novel non-brain-penetrant OT receptor agonist with increased selectivity for the OT receptor and significantly increased pharmacokinetic stability. PF-06478939 was generated with only increased stability to disambiguate changes to selectivity versus stability. The efficacy of these compounds in evoking behavioral effects was tested in a conditioned fear paradigm. Both central and peripheral administration of PF1 inhibited freezing in response to a conditioned fear stimulus. Peripheral administration of PF1 resulted in a sustained level of plasma concentrations for greater than 20 hours but no detectable accumulation in brain tissue, suggesting that plasma or cerebrospinal fluid exposure was sufficient to evoke behavioral effects. Behavioral efficacy of peripherally administered OT receptor agonists on conditioned fear response opens the door to potential peripheral mechanisms in other behavioral paradigms, whether they are mediated by direct peripheral activation or feed-forward responses. Compound PF1 is freely available as a tool compound to further explore the role of peripheral OT in behavioral response.
National Inventory of Clinical Laboratory Testing Services (NICLTS). Development and test distribution for 1996

Context A statistically valid inventory of the distribution, both geographic and by laboratory type, of clinical and anatomical laboratory testing in the United States is needed to assess the impact of the Clinical Laboratory Improvements Amendments of 1988 and to provide information for other health care and public health policy decisions. Objective To present initial US laboratory testing volume data compiled by the National Inventory of Clinical Laboratory Testing Services. Design Stratified random sample of laboratories performing testing in 1996 with data on the number of laboratory tests performed, identified by method and analyte. Data were collected by field tabulators (moderate- or high-complexity laboratories) or through a mail/telephone survey (waived or provider-performed microscopy laboratories) for each site. Participants Laboratories that were enrolled in the 1996 Online Certification Survey and Reporting System, maintained by the US Health Care Finance Administration, and that performed laboratory testing during 1996. Main outcome measure Laboratory testing distribution for 1996 in the United States by analyte, method, and specimen type. Results An overall response rate of 79% provided data from 757 moderate- or high-complexity laboratories and 1322 waived or provider-performed microscopy laboratories. The estimated total US testing volume for 1996 was 7.25 +/- 1.09 billion tests. Laboratories performing complex testing, defined as greater than 16 method/analyte/specimen type combinations, comprised 16% of the US laboratories by survey site, but performed 80% (95% confidence limits, 43% to 100%) of the testing volume. Glucose analysis was the most frequently performed test. Automated hematology and chemistry analyzers were the most frequently used methods. Conclusions A statistically valid, consistent survey of the distribution of US laboratory testing was obtained. Simple analysis of these data by laboratory type and geographic region can provide insights into where laboratory testing is performed. The study design allows extensions that will facilitate collection of additional data of importance to public health and medical care delivery.