cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Direct and indirect contamination with ochratoxin A of ripened pork products

Abstract The aim of this study was to evaluate the contribution of direct and indirect contamination on ochratoxin A (OTA) levels in different ripened pork products. A total of 24 Large White pigs were fed naturally OTA contaminated diets (4 different contamination levels, from 0.40 to 171 μg kg−1) for 2 weeks. Typical Italian pork products (dry sausage, dry-cured pork neck, dry-cured streaky bacon and dry-cured ham) were prepared using the contaminated tissues and ripened in 3 dry-cured ham manufacturing plants. Plasma, organs, tissues and ripened pork products were analysed for OTA content. As regards the animals fed at a level slightly less than 50 μg kg−1, the guidance value recommended by the Commission of European Communities, the OTA levels in muscle and in the ripened products were close to 1 μg kg−1 (range of the mean values 0.65–1.62 μg kg−1), the guideline value in meat products recommended by the Italian Ministry of Health. Dry sausage and dry-cured pork neck showed significantly higher OTA concentrations than dry-cured ham and dry-cured streaky bacon. OTA was partially degraded during the long ripening time of dry-cured ham. In dry sausage and dry-cured pork neck direct contamination was low and it was not detected in dry-cured streaky bacon; on the contrary, very high OTA levels were detected in several outer dry-cured ham samples (maximum OTA value: 314 μg kg−1). These results confirmed that direct contamination should be mainly monitored in dry-cured ham, whereas indirect contamination may eventually be relevant in other ripened pork products.
Analysis of ac conductivity of glasses by a power law relationship

The frequency dependence of electrical conductivity of many germanate and borate glasses has been analyzed in terms of an empirical power law at different temperatures. The power law has often been used in determining the concentration of mobile carriers in various materials, but our analysis does not agree with some of the assumptions and, hence, limits the physical interpretation of the law.
Real-Time Simulation in Computer-Assisted Instruction.

Large scale computer-assisted instruction systems generally impose severe constraints upon the demands that individual users may make. Nevertheless, it is possible to overcome these problems and a program is described which teaches students how to fly a specific maneuver through real-time simulation of the flight of a student-controlled “airplane”. This is achieved in spite of the fact that the student is “flying” his “plane” through the use of a manually controlled analog input device. Both computational and educational implications are discussed.
Stereotactic Body Radiotherapy for Recurrent Squamous Cell Carcinoma of the Head and Neck: Results of a Phase I Dose-Escalation Trial

Purpose To evaluate the safety and efficacy of stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT) in previously irradiated patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck (SCCHN). Patients and Methods In this Phase I dose-escalation clinical trial, 25 patients were treated in five dose tiers up to 44 Gy, administered in 5 fractions over a 2-week course. Response was assessed according to the Response Evaluation Criteria in Solid Tumors and [ 18 F]-fluorodeoxyglucose standardized uptake value change on positron emission tomography–computed tomography (PET-CT). Results No Grade 3/4 or dose-limiting toxicities occurred. Four patients had Grade 1/2 acute toxicities. Four objective responses were observed, for a response rate of 17% (95% confidence interval 2%–33%). The maximum duration of response was 4 months. Twelve patients had stable disease. Median time to disease progression was 4 months, and median overall survival was 6 months. Self-reported quality of life was not significantly affected by treatment. Fluorodeoxyglucose PET was a more sensitive early-measure response to treatment than CT volume changes. Conclusion Reirradiation up to 44 Gy using SBRT is well tolerated in the acute setting and warrants further evaluation in combination with conventional and targeted therapies.
ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORK BASED CLASSIFICATION OF MAMMOGRAPHIC MICROCALCIFICATIONS USING IMAGE STRUCTURE FEATURES

Mammography associated with clinical breast examination and breast self-examination is the only effective and viable method for mass breast screening. Most of the minimal breast cancers are detected by the presence of microcalcifications. It is however difficult to distinguish between benign and malignant microcalcifications associated with breast cancer. Most of the techniques used in the computerized analysis of mammographic microcalcifications segment the digitized grey-level image into regions representing microcalcifications. Since mammographic images usually suffer from poorly defined microcalcification features, the extraction of microcalcification features based on segmentation process is not reliable and accurate. We present a second-order grey-level histogram based feature extraction approach which does not require the segmentation of microcalcifications into binary regions to extract features to be used in classification. The image structure features, computed from the second-order grey-level histogram statistics, are used for classification of microcalcifications. Several image structure features were computed for 100 cases of “difficult to diagnose” microcalcification cases with known biopsy results. These features were analyzed in a correlation study which provided a set of five best image structure features. A feedforward backpropagation neural network was used to classify mammographic microcalcifications using the image structure features. Four networks were trained for different combinations of training and test cases, and number of nodes in hidden layers. False Positive (FP) and True Positive (TP) rates for microcalcification classification were computed to compare the performance of the trained networks. The results of the neural network based classification were compared with those obtained using multivariate Baye’s classifiers, and the k-nearest neighbor classifier. The neural network yielded good results for classification of “difficult-to-diagnose” micro-calcifications into benign and malignant categories using the selected image structure features.
The development of anticipatory nausea in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer.

Abstract MONTGOMERY, G. H. AND D. H. BOVBJERG. The development of anticipatory nausea in patients receiving adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. PHYSIOL BEHAV 61(5) 737–741, 1997.—Previous research on anticipatory nausea in cancer patients has focused on its occurrence in the clinic before chemotherapy infusions. The present study is the first, to our knowledge, to examine the development of anticipatory nausea across eight chemotherapy infusions for three time periods (night before, morning of, and immediately prior to each infusion). Based on classical conditioning experiments conducted with animal subjects, we hypothesized that the severity of anticipatory nausea would increase as the time for scheduled infusions approached. Eighty-two women diagnosed with Stage I or II breast cancer were assessed for the intensity of anticipatory nausea at three time periods prior to eight scheduled infusions of outpatient adjuvant chemotherapy. Analyses indicated a significant interaction between number of infusions experienced and temporal proximity to the infusion, supporting the hypothesis. Changes in the severity of anticipatory nausea across infusions were consistent with conditioned learning predictions. These results contribute to a growing recognition of the importance of conditioning principles for understanding side effects of chemotherapy for cancer and may have implications for the management of side effects secondary to a variety of pharmacotherapies in clinical practice.
The influence of clinical study design on cost-effectiveness projections for the treatment of gram-negative sepsis with human anti-endotoxin antibody

Abstract Purpose: This study was performed to compare the effect of entry criteria, patient population, and study design on outcome and projected cost-effectiveness of human anti-endotoxin antibody (HA-1A). Materials and Methods: Patients with suspected or documented gram-negative bacteremia (GNB) with sepsis syndrome or shock received HA-1A during an open-label protocol. The patient characteristics and outcome measures of this series were compared with those of a placebo-controlled randomized clinical trial (RCT) of HA-1 A. Both data sets were subjected to three published cost-effectiveness models of anti-endotoxin therapy, which were derived from RCT data. Results: One hundred thirty-one patients (43 with gram-negative bacteremia) received HA-1A during a 19-month open-label protocol. Comparison with the RCT results demonstrated greater severity of illness and higher 28-day mortality in the open-label protocol. When projected for open-label recipients, HA-1A was considerably less cost-effective than in the original projections based on RCT-derived data. This reduction in cost-effectiveness was consistent across all three models and their respective sensitivity analyses. Conclusions: Extrapolating cost-effectiveness from RCT-derived analyses to open-label usage may yield widely inaccurate projections because of only small differences in patient population and the drug administration protocol.
Comparative effects of methazole and two of its degradation products in plants on the metabolism of enzymatically isolated leaf cells of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic)

Effects of methazole [2-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-4-methyl-1,2,4-oxadiazolidine-3,5-dione] and of its plant degradation products, DCPMU [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)-1-methylurea] and DCPU [3-(3,4-dichlorophenyl)urea], on photosynthesis, protein synthesis, ribonucleic acid (RNA) synthesis, and lipid synthesis of enzymatically isolated leaf cells of velvetleaf (Abutilon theophrasti Medic) were compared. Photosynthesis and protein, RNA, and lipid synthesis were assayed by the incorporation of NaH14CO3, [14C]-leucine, [14C]-uracil, and [14C]-acetate, respectively, into the isolated cells. Time-course and concentration studies included incubation times of 30, 60, and 120 min and concentrations of 0.1, 1, 10, and 100 μM of all three chemicals. DCPMU was a more potent inhibitor of the four metabolic processes examined than either the parent herbicide methazole or DCPU. The sensitivity of the four metabolic processes to DCPMU decreased in the order: photosynthesis>lipid>RNA >protein synthesis. Inhibition of all metabolic processes by methazole was time-dependent, increasing in magnitude with concomitant increases in incubation time. It is probable that the observed effects of methazole were caused by DCPMU, formed through metabolism of methazole by the isolated leaf cells of velvetleaf rather than by methazole itself. DCPU was less active than the parent herbicide methazole and DCPMU and seems to be a terminal metabolite of methazole with limited phytotoxicity.
Crack trapping effect of persistent grain boundary islands

In the polycrystalline Fe-Si alloy, when a cleavage front transmits from one grain to another, it first penetrates stably across the grain boundary at a number of breakthrough points (BTPs) that distribute along the front quasi-periodically. As the critical energy release rate is reached, unstable crack jump occurs and the persistent grain boundary islands (PGBI) between the BTPs are left behind the verge of propagating, bridging across the crack flanks, which leads to a 10-30% increase in fracture resistance. In this article, this process is investigated through an energy analysis. The influence of the size/spacing ratio of PGBI on the grain boundary toughness is discussed in detail.
An initial investigation into a continuum of premarital sexual pressure

Two hundred seventy‐five undergraduate single women were surveyed to investigate whether a continuum of premarital sexual pressure exists. Participants were asked if they were pressured into 21 different sexual behaviors. For each behavior, they responded to forced‐choice questions about the stage of dating at which the pressure occurred and the type of pressure most often experienced. Over 50% of the participants reported being pressured into kissing, breast and genital manipulation, and oral contact with their partners' genitals. Further, participants were likely to be pressured into kissing and some forms of fondling while casually dating; and masturbation, oral genital contact, and intercourse while seriously dating. Guttman analysis supports the existence of a four‐step continuum of sexual pressure from persistent physical attempts, to positive statements, to threats of force, to the use of force.
A divergence-free spectral expansions method for three-dimensional flows in spherical-gap geometries

Abstract A spectral method for the solution of the incompressible Navier-Stokes equations in spherical-gap geometries is presented. The method uses divergence-free vector expansions which inherently satisfy the boundary conditions [1]. Basis and test functions are constructed from Chebyshev polynomials and vector spherical harmonics (VSH) yielding a Petrov-Galerkin weighted-residual method that produces spectral convergence. No rotational nor equatorial symmetry of the flow field is implicitly imposed. The approach makes extensive use of the convenient properties of the VSH which are presented in a computationally suitable form whenever possible. The alias-free implementation of the method rests upon a standard, explicit-implicit time-integration technique. A VSH-Chebyshev vector transform with two "fast directions" is also developed and briefly presented. Several test cases are used to validate the resulting initial-boundary-value code. Axisymmetric, basic spherical Couette flow computations are compared with available numerical results while a three-dimensional spiral Taylor-Gortler vortex flow simulation is tested against experimental measurements. Very good agreement is found in all cases.
The Effects of Laminated Structure on Delamination Buckling and Growth

Cylindrical postbuckling solutions are obtained for an arbitrarily structured laminate. The strains of the middle surface contain sinusoidal terms that are in-phase with the out- of plane deflection. Bendmg-stretching coupling significantly reduces the buckling load and enhances the postbuckling deformation. The effects may be characterized by introduc ing an equivalent bending rigidity. The postbuckling solutions for a laminate with clamped ends are applied first to a thin-film strip delamination in a base laminate subjected to uni form membrane loads and next to a mid-plane delamination in a symmetric laminate. The energy release rates at the crack tip are evaluated to determine the stability characteristics of delamination growth.
Determining Cell Fate Transition Probabilities to VEGF/Ang 1 Levels: Relating Computational Modeling to Microfluidic Angiogenesis Studies

Angiogenesis is crucial during many physiological processes, and is influenced by various biochemical and biomechanical factors. Two such factors: VEGF and Ang 1 are known to be critical and we demonstrate here their effect of sprout formation in an in vitro microfluidic system. Previously, we have developed a 3D hybrid, agent-field model where individual cells are modeled as sprout-forming agents in a matrix field. We have conducted microfluidic experiments under different concentrations of VEGF and Ang 1 and analyzed the difference in sprout number and sprout lengths using Decision Tree Analysis. We demonstrate that under specific transition probabilities, the model gives us capillary characteristics similar to those seen in experiments (R2 ~ 0.82–0.99). Thus, this model can be used to cluster sprout morphology as a function of various influencing factors and, within bounds, predict if a certain growth factor will affect migration or proliferation as it impacts sprout morphology
Experiences with bulk SMS for health financing in Uganda

Short message service (SMS, aka text messaging) is a low-cost and effective means of communication for organizations attempting to maintain contact with many people. In this paper we look at the deployment and of a bulk mobile text-messaging platform (Bulk SMS), conceived and commissioned by a health non-governmental organization (NGO) for use in communicating with the 100+ private health facilities. We show how the platform emerged from existing practices, the features and expectations of the system, and the ways in which it was used. Common failure points include infrastructural limitations, human error, and unexpected use cases. We find that 1) the use of SMS as a media enables new types of communication, and 2) SMS alone is not sufficient for maintaining relationships within the NGO program.
Order 24 Hadamard matrices of character at least 3

Abstract It is determined that the number of inequivalent Hadamard matrices of order 24 and character at least 3 is at least 29. N. Ito, J. Leon and the author are determining the equivalence classes among the 133 matrices given here. The author has shown elsewhere [in “Theory and Applications of Graphs,” Lecture Notes in Mathematics No. 642, Springer-Verlag, Berlin/Heidelberg/New York, 1978; and in “Proceedings of the April 1978 Meeting of the New York Academy of Sciences”] that all Hadamard matrices of character 2 and order 24 have higher transpose character and that there is exactly one matrix of order 24 with both characters one.
NMR measurements of nanophase silver

Abstract The room temperature nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectrum of Ag109 in nanophase silver is presented. In contrast to previous measurements of Cu in nanophase copper, where evidence of a significant distribution of anisotropic Knight shifts is present, the Ag signal can be understood in terms of a distribution of isotropic Knight shift. The width and shape of the response can be interpreted using a simple model for the grain boundary resulting in spatial variations in the electron wavefunction within the material.
A computational exploration of the oxygen reduction reaction over a carbon catalyst containing a phosphinate functional group

Oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) over a carbonaceous catalyst (1) with a phosphinate (>P(O)OH) moiety was explored computationally. Under the acidic environment of a fuel cell, 1 could be active for ORR and be converted to 2 with a >P(OH)2 moiety. An edge phosphinate could be active for both 2- and 4-electron ORR.
Applications of Doppler Radar Sensors on Railroad Crossing Safety Alerting System

Radar sensors like ultra-wideband Doppler radar sensors may be utilized as a vibration sensing device in a restricted area for railroad monitoring. As long as something or someone enters the restricted area, the alert signals will be sent to the control center or train driver to stop the moving train and prevent accidents. Combining with visual monitor system, the radar sensors may compensate for the insufficient information under poor lighting, fogging, or raining environment. The simulations and experimental results supported its feasibility in a railroad system. The feasibility of further radar application is also discussed.
Flame interactions and burning characteristics of two live leaf samples

Combustion experiments were performed over a flat-flame burner that provided the heat source for multiple leaf samples. Interactions of the combustion behavior between two leaf samples were studied. Two leaves were placed in the path of the flat-flame burner, with the top leaf 2.5 cm above the bottom leaf. Local gas and particle temperatures, as well as local oxygen concentrations, were measured along with burning characteristics of both leaves. Results showed that the time to ignition of the upper leaf was not significantly affected by the presence of the lower leaf. The major difference observed was that the time of flame duration of the upper leaf was significantly affected by the presence of the lower leaf. Causes for the prolonged flame were found to be the consumption of oxygen by the burning lower leaf and the obstruction provided by the lower leaf, causing a wake effect, thus altering the combustion behavior of the upper leaf.
Introduction to computer‐mediated communication: A master syllabus for teaching communication technology

Communication educators are challenged to incorporate Internet‐ and World Wide Web‐based communication technologies into the classrooms, both to enhance pedagogy and to prepare students to compete in competitive job markets. Despite widely touted benefits of doing so, incorporating computer‐mediated communication (CMC) into instructional design and teaching it to students of communication poses instructional challenges. The purpose of this essay is to offer a foundation for presenting communication technologies to undergraduate and graduate students that overcomes prevalent obstacles to their grasping and using CMC for research and learning. This essay describes three overarching goals that teaching communication technology should meet: 1) conceptual understanding of CMC technologies, 2) development of technological skills, and 3) synthesis and incorporation of CMC into everyday work as an educational and business resource. The essay outlines instructional units, activities, and suggested readings, then p...
Sex differences in infant rhesus macaque separation-rejection vocalizations and effects of prenatal androgens.

Infant and juvenile rhesus macaques exhibit many sexually dimorphic behaviors, including rough and tumble play, mounting, and time spent with nonmother females. This study investigated sex differences in infant rhesus monkey separation-rejection vocalizations (SRVs), and the effects of altering the prenatal hormone environment on these differences. Pregnant females received exogenous androgen (testosterone enanthate), an androgen antagonist (flutamide), or vehicle injections for 30 or 35 days during the second (early) or third (late) trimester of pregnancy. Control females used a greater percentage of coos and arched screams than did control males. In contrast, males used a greater percentage of geckers and noisy screams than did females. Females also had longer SRV bouts, used more calls, and used more types of vocalizations than did males. Mothers were more likely to respond to the SRVs of male infants than to the SRVs of female infants. Prenatal flutamide treatment early in gestation reduced the likelihood that mothers would respond to their male offspring, but prenatal androgen treatment had no effect on response rates of mothers to female offspring. Early, but not late, androgen treatment produced females who vocalized in a male-typical manner. Similarly, early flutamide treatment produced males who displayed more female-typical SRVs. Late flutamide treatments of females produced as much masculinization of SRVs as did early androgen treatment in females. These results demonstrate sex differences in highly emotional vocalizations in infant rhesus macaques and provide evidence that the timing and form of prenatal hormonal exposure influence such vocalizations.
Enstatite-jadeite join and its role in the Earth's mantle

Phase relations on the enstatite-jadeite join were experimentally determined at solidus temperatures and 90–152 kb, and at 1400–2050°C/175–219 kb, with a split-sphere anvil apparatus (USSA-2000). New findings include immiscibility in garnet and determination of the stability of NaAlSiO4 (calcium ferrite structure) with stishovite. A thermodynamic model for the enstatite-jadeite join was developed to calculate a complete phase diagram for the join at 500–2500°C and 0–270 kb. The results indicate that the two major discontinuities in the Earth's mantle at 400 and 670 km depths could correspond respectively to the formation and the breakdown of garnet with a pyroxene composition. A model for a chondritic upper mantle is proposed in which large-scale chemical and mineral layering was produced by fractionation of liquidus phases in a magma ocean. Solidification was completed at 400 km depth by crystallization of sodium-enriched residual melts, which produced a pyroxene layer at 300–400 km depths.
Forage intake and ingestive behavior of cattle grazing old world bluestems

Many native and introduced warm-season grasses are being seeded as a consequence of crop reduction programs; however, little is known about the intake and ingestive behavior of cattle (Bos taurus L.) grazing such grasses. The influence of differences in herbage mass, sward height, and morphological composition of old world bluestem (Bothriochloa spp.) pastures on herbage intake and ingestive behavior of steers were examined over the course of two grazing seasons at El Reno, OK. Soils were fine-silty Pacific Haplustolls of the Dale series. Swards of 'Caucasian' [B. caucasica (Trin.) C.E. Huhh.] and 'Plains' [B. ischaemum (Hack.) Celarier & Harlan var. ischaemum (L.) Keng.] old world bluestem were maintained within the range of 0.5 to 5 Mg ha −1 by continuous variable stocking [...]
Using emulations to enhance the performance of parallel architectures

We illustrate the potential of techniques and results from the theory of network emulations to enhance the performance of a parallel architecture. The vehicle for this demonstration is a suite of algorithms that endow an N-processor bit-serial processor array A with a "meta-instruction" GAUGE k, which (logically) reconfigures A into an N/k-processor virtual machine B/sub k/ that has: 1) a datapath and memory bus whose emulated width is k bits, as opposed to A's 1-bit width and 2) an instruction set that operates on k-bit words, in contrast to A's instruction set, which operates on 1-bit words. In order to stress the strength of the approach, we show (via pseudocode) how our emulation techniques can be implemented efficiently even if A operates in strict SIMD mode, with only single-bit masking capabilities and with no indexed memory accesses. We describe at an algorithmic level how to implement our technique-including datapath conversion ("corner-turning") and the creation of the word-parallel instruction sets-on arrays of any regular network topology. We instantiate our technique in detail for arrays based on topologies with quite disparate characteristics: the hypercube, the de Bruijn network, and a genre of mesh with reconfigurable buses. Importantly, the emulations that underlie our technique do not alter the native machine's instruction set, hence allowing an invariant programming model across gauges.
The Myth of Mental Illness

At the core of virtually all contemporary psychiatric theories and practices lies the concept of mental illness. A critical examination of this concept is therefore indispensable for understanding the ideas, institutions, and interventions of psychiatrists.
YIELD AND COMPARISON OF NUTRITIVE AND ENERGY VALUES: PIGS' EARS

Raw and cooked pigs' ears tissue were compared for yield, proximate mineral, vitamin, amino acid, saturated and polyunsaturated fats, and cholesterol composition and for protein efficiency ratio. The raw yield was 94.7%, a cooking loss of 1.8%, while the total loss was 7.1%. Cooking these connective tissues indicated a significant increase in moisture apparently due to gelatinized collagen. Cooking produced significant losses of protein and caloric values. There were some changes in minerals, vitamins, and amino acids. The raw and cooked tissue data revealed negative vitamins A and C and a significant difference for thiamin, riboflavin, and polyunsaturated fats; but no significant difference for saturated fats and cholesterol. Protein evaluation results clearly indicated that the estimated PER predicted the PER of the pigs' ears tissue within ±2 of the corrected rat bioassay PER. The corrected and est. PER for raw ears were 0.60 and 0.71, respectively, while the corrected and est. PER for cooked ears were 0.68 and 0.81: respectively.
Factoring the characteristic polynomial

We outline an approach, named “ultimate pruning,” for obtaining factors of the characteristic polynomial of trees. The approach is an extension of the pruning method of Balasubramanian in which the size of the determinant (A-xI) is gradually decreased by modifying the entries in the adjacent matrix A for element having terminal bonds. The “ultimate prunings” bypass gradual pruning and starts immediately with a 2 × 2 determinant for a tree, as illustrated on numerous trees having n = 10 and less vertices. Possible application to larger graphs is indicated, few large graphs are considered and some generalization discussed.
Impact evaluation of the irrigation management reform in northern China

The paper evaluates the reform in the irrigation sector in northern China, in particular, the transfer of irrigation management to water user associations or contractors from the village committee. With a set of panel data collected in randomly selected villages in northern China, a fixed effects model at the canal level with instrumental variable estimation is used to control for unobservable heterogeneity and endogeneity problem. The results show that WUAs have increased maintenance expenditures, the timeliness of water deliveries, the percent of irrigated area and the rates of fee collection. There are also improvements in irrigation systems managed by contractors but with magnitudes smaller than in the case of WUAs. WUAs or contracting, however, have limited impacts on water use and crop production. Discussions on reasons for the findings of limited impacts offer some suggestions for the next steps of the irrigation reform and call for continued research efforts to collect more data for further impact evaluations.
Observation and Interpretation of Microwave Cloud Signatures over the Arctic Ocean during Winter

An analysis of satellite microwave brightness temperatures at 85 GHz (37 GHz) shows that these temperatures sometimes vary by more than 30 K (15 K) within 1 or 2 days at a single location over Arctic sea ice. This variation can be seen in horizontal brightness temperature distributions with spatial scales of hundreds of kilometers, as well as in brightness temperature time series observed at a single location. Analysis of satellite observations during winter shows that such brightness temperature warming frequently occurs in the Arctic Ocean, particularly in regions over which low pressure systems often pass. By comparing the observed microwave brightness temperature warming with ground-based measurements of geophysical variables collected during the Surface Heat Budget of the Arctic (SHEBA) experiment and with numerical prediction model analyses from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF), it is found that brightness temperature anomalies are significantly correlated with clouds and precipitation. This finding raises the possibility of using satellite microwave data to estimate cloud liquid water path and precipitation in the Arctic. Factors contributing to the brightness temperature warming were examined, and it was found that the primary contributors to the observed warming were cloud liquid water and surface temperature change.
Long-Term Outcomes in Patients With Muscle-Invasive Bladder Cancer After Selective Bladder-Preserving Combined-Modality Therapy: A Pooled Analysis of Radiation Therapy Oncology Group Protocols 8802, 8903, 9506, 9706, 9906, and 0233

Purpose Multiple prospective Radiation Therapy Oncology Group (RTOG) protocols have evaluated bladder-preserving combined-modality therapy (CMT) for muscle-invasive bladder cancer (MIBC), reserving cystectomy for salvage treatment. We performed a pooled analysis of long-term outcomes in patients with MIBC enrolled across multiple studies. Patients and Methods Four hundred sixty-eight patients with MIBC were enrolled onto six RTOG bladder-preservation studies, including five phase II studies (RTOG 8802, 9506, 9706, 9906, and 0233) and one phase III study (RTOG 8903). Overall survival (OS) was estimated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and disease-specific survival (DSS), muscle-invasive and non–muscle-invasive local failure (LF), and distant metastasis (DM) were estimated by the cumulative incidence method. Results The median age of patients was 66 years (range, 34 to 93 years), and clinical T stage was T2 in 61%, T3 in 35%, and T4a in 4% of patients. Complete response to CMT was documented in 69% of patient...
Experimental Validation of a Tibiofemoral Model for Analyzing Joint Force Distribution

A computational model of the tibiofemoral joint utilizing the discrete element analysis method has been developed and validated with human cadaveric knees. The computational method can predict load distributions to within a root mean square error (RMSE) of 3.6%. The model incorporates subject-specific joint geometry and the health of the subjects' articular cartilage to determine the cartilage stiffness. It also includes the collateral and cruciate ligaments and utilizes stiffness values derived from literature for these elements. Comparisons of the total load, peak load, and peak load location for axial, varus, and valgus loading conditions confirmed that there was less than 4% RMSE between the analytical and experimental results. The model presented in this paper can generate results with minimal computational time and it can be used as a non-invasive method for characterizing and monitoring subject-specific knee loading patterns.
Integral vorticity transport method on an overset grid

We present an overset grid method for solution of the integro-differential vorticity–velocity formulation of the Navier–Stokes equations for two-dimensional, incompressible flow. The method uses a body-fitted inner grid, on which vorticity is evolved semi-implicitly, and a Cartesian outer grid with explicit vorticity evolution. The Biot–Savart integral is solved using an adaptive, optimized multipole acceleration method. The Biot–Savart integration is performed over all inner grid cells, over all ‘active cells’ of the outer grid that lie entirely outside of the inner grid, and over sub-elements of a set of ‘overhanging’ cells of the outer grid that overlap part of the inner grid. A novel method is developed using a level-set distance function to rapidly and easily partition the overhanging grid cells, which is essential for the Biot–Savart integration in order to avoid double-counting vorticity in the overhanging region. A similar decomposition into outer, inner and overhanging cells is used in solving for pressure using a boundary-element formulation, which requires evaluation of an integral over the vorticity field using a method similar to that used for the Biot–Savart integral. The new overset grid method is applied to flow past stationary and moving bodies in two dimensions and found to agree well with prior experimental and numerical results. Copyright 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Properties of external pipe coatings

Pipelines are important and expensive pieces of capital equipment and their owners are interested in their safe and economic operation. This requires the reliable protection of the pipes against corrosion by the use of external coatings and/or cathodic protection.
A novel assembling technique for fiber collimator arrays using UV-curable adhesives

Packaging and assembly covers almost 80% of the overall cost of any fiber-optic devices. It is thus a demanding issue to lower the cost of fiber-optic alignment and attachment process. This work summarizes the results for the development of automated alignment and attachment processes for the packaging of 1/spl times/8 collimator arrays, which are critical for many photonic devices. The emphasis of this work is on the comparison of the use of three different UV-curing adhesives (Adhesives A, B, and C). It is concluded that regardless of curing shrinkage, a proper adhesive joint design can alleviate the optical loss effect of the relative fiber-lens displacement induced during curing and the subsequent cooling processes.
Differential gene expression in the rat caudate putamen after "binge" cocaine administration: advantage of triplicate microarray analysis.

Rat genome U34A (Affymetrix®) oligonucleotide microarrays were used to analyze changes in gene expression in the caudate putamen (CPu) of Fischer rats induced by 1 and 3 days of “binge” cocaine (or saline) administration. A triplicate array assay of pooled RNA of each treatment group was used to evaluate the technical variability and sensitivity of microarrays. Cocaine-regulated genes were identified using the Affymetrix MAS 5.0 and Data Mining Tool v. 3. Eighty-nine upregulated and eight downregulated genes/ESTs were found after 1 day of “binge” cocaine. Following 3 days of cocaine treatment we identified 21 upregulated and 17 downregulated genes/ESTs. RNase protection assays of selected genes confirmed reliability of changes identified by the microarrays at the level of ≥1.40-fold increase. Many genes upregulated in the CPu by cocaine were immediate early genes for transcription factors and for “effector” proteins (e.g., vesl/Homer1a, Arc, synaptotagmin IV). Acute “binge” cocaine also increased mRNA levels for glutamate receptor GluR2, dopamine receptor D1, and a number of phosphatases. Genes downregulated by cocaine include several genes associated with energy metabolism in mitochondria, as well as the phosphatydylinositol-4 kinase and the regulator of G-protein signaling protein 4 (RGS4). A differential expression of somatostatin receptor SSTR2, not known to be a cocaine-responsive gene, as well as the clock gene Per2, were found by microarrays and confirmed by RNase protection assay. These results demonstrate the potential of microarrays in profiling gene expression with ≥40% increase or ≥14% decrease in mRNA levels for discovery of novel cocaine-responsive genes. Synapse 48:157–169, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Reactions of (Z)-3-aryl-3-chloropropenals with nucleophiles: stereoselective formation of (E)-vinylogous esters, (E)-vinylogous amides, and vinamidinium salts

The highly stereoselective conversions of (Z)-3-aryl-3-chloropropenals to (E)-3-alkoxy-3-arylpropenals, to (E)-3-aryl-3-morphorlinopropenals, and to vinamidinium salts are reported. The stereochemical assignments were based on 2D-NMR experiments.
Does expanding public insurance prevent material hardship for families with children

The 1997 Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) provided states with funding to expand public insurance to children in low-income families. Recent studies suggest CHIP improved family finances, but it is unknown whether CHIP specifically affected the prevalence of material hardships such as food and housing insecurity. This study uses cross-sectional data on low-income children from the National Survey of American Families (1997-2002) to examine the impact of CHIP on material hardships. Using an instrumental variable that exploits variation in income eligibility cutoffs across states and years, I find that households gaining CHIP eligibility did not experience significant changes in material hardship. CHIP significantly reduced the prevalence of postponed care for the subgroup of households close to the poverty line. For low-income families with children, public health insurance may play a larger role in increasing access to care than in supplementing the budget for necessities.
Phenomenology from Robbe-Grillet to Julio Cortázar: An Essay on the Poetics of Presence

This article provides a comparative analysis of the works of Alain Robbe-Grillet (1922-2008) and Julio Cortazar (1914-1984) setting phenomenology as a common ground and comparative basis. The authors' works are regarded in relation to the philosophies of Edmund Husserl (1859-1938) and Martin Heidegger (1889-1976). An extensive analysis of Husserl’s phenomenological method of description is provided in order to set the philosopher’s text in relation to Robbe-Grillet’s techniques of the nouveau roman. The development from Husserlian phenomenology to Heideggerian existential phenomenology is fully taken account of to demonstrate that while Robbe-Grillet’s literary phenomenology follows closely the tenets of Husserlian epistemology, Cortazar’s text adopts a Heideggerian approach to his rendering of truth in terms of existential content.
Beam-beam simulations for separated beams in the LHC

We present beam-beam simulation results from a strong-strong gaussian code for separated beams for the LHC. We focus on the possible detrimental effects of the beam-beam interaction in cases when the beams are: (1) periodically swept about each other, and (2) brought into collision from separated orbits. For 10{sup 5}-turn runs we do not see significant emittance blowup for nominal bunch intensities, although there is significant blowup at intensities 10 times the nominal value.
Feruloylation in Grasses: Current and Future Perspectives

In the cell walls of forage grasses, ferulic acid is esterified to arabinoxylans and participates with lignin monomers in oxidative coupling pathways to generate ferulate-polysaccharide-lignin complexes that cross-link the cell wall. The accumulation of ferulates and the cross-linking of arabinoxylans via diferulate esters are hypothesized to function in various processes in plants. The specific roles of arabinoxylan feruloylation as well as the nature, cellular localization, and substrate for arabinoxylans feruloylation of cell walls are reviewed. The various approaches that have been used for assessing the specific roles of feruloylation are described and assessed. I argue that, until recently, the specific role of feruloylation in these various processes has been established largely by indirect experiments and, although these studies reached similar conclusions about the potential importance of wall feruloylation, they suffer from a common problem: namely they depend on correlations between two processes and do not stem from a detailed understanding of the mechanisms of feruloylation. I also argue that the nature of arabinoxylan feruloylation remains uncertain.
A null-field method for estimating underground position

A new algorithm to locate receivers buried in the earth using low-frequency magnetic dipoles is presented. It is found that if the earth is modeled using horizontal layers and the system is noiseless, ground-zero can be located exactly. Resonably accurate depth estimates can also be obtained.
The Role of Carbon Capture and Storage in Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction Models: A Parametric Study for the U.S. Power Sector

This paper analyzes the potential contribution of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies to greenhouse gas emissions reductions in the U.S. electricity sector. Focusing on capture systems for coal-fired power plants until 2030, a sensitivity analysis of key CCS parameters is performed to gain insight into the role that CCS can play in future mitigation scenarios and to explore implications of large-scale CCS deployment. By integrating important parameters for CCS technologies into a carbon-abatement model similar to the EPRI Prism analysis (EPRI, 2007), this study concludes that the start time and rate of technology diffusion are important in determining emissions reductions and fuel consumption for CCS technologies. Comparisons with legislative emissions targets illustrate that CCS alone is very unlikely to meet reduction targets for the electric-power sector, even under aggressive deployment scenarios. A portfolio of supply and demand-side strategies is needed to reach emissions objectives, especially in the near term. Furthermore, model results show that the breakdown of capture technologies does not have a significant influence on potential emissions reductions. However, the level of CCS retrofits at existing plants and the eligibility of CCS for new subcritical plants have large effects on the extent of greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
NEMATODE AND DIPTERAN ENDOPARASITES OF THE WOLF SPIDER PARDOSA MILVINA (ARANEAE, LYCOSIDAE)

Abstract We collected 75 immature Pardosa milvina and maintained them in a laboratory until death or maturity to determine whether P. milvina in our population were harboring endoparasites. Nine mermithid nematodes emerged from P. milvina hosts, with each nematode emerging from a separate spider. One dipteran parasite, an acrocerid, emerged from P. milvina. This study provides the first published record of nematodes emerging from P. milvina and documents an additional record of acrocerid parasitism of P. milvina.
Efficient Modeling of Realistic Neural Networks with Application to the Olfactory Bulb

In this paper we present an algorithm that allows for stable and efficient calculation of the dynamics of networks of biologically realistic model neurons. The level of description is that of currents and voltages in compartments making up individual neurons in the network. Using this algorithm, the calculation time for a single neuron scales linearly with the number of compartments in that neuron. Thus, individual neurons in a network can be represented accurately.
Efigies de cerámica benizaa

Hacia el fin de la epoca anterior a Cristo o principios de nuestra era, no muy lejos de Monte Alban, Oaxaca, un consumado artesano alfarero produjo varias efigies ceramicas casi identicas. No obstante, sus caracteristicas tan especiales las hacen a la vez singulares. Hoy dia se conocen tres de esas piezas. Si poco sabemos acerca del pasado remoto de esos objetos, su historia mas reciente es igualmente enigmatica. Un ejemplar, el mas completo, forma parte de las colecciones del Museo de Arte en Cleveland, Ohio; el otro, despostillado de una parte, esta en el Museo de las Culturas de Oaxaca; y la tercera pieza, de la que solo queda la cabeza, yace relegada en la bodega del Museo Nacional de Antropologia. Las dos efigies que se encuentran en Mexico llegaron a sus respectivos repositorios a finales del siglo XIX, y nada se sabe acerca de su procedencia precisa ni de como fueron descubiertas. La que esta ahora en Oaxaca pertenecio primero a Jose Juan Canseco, un cura de Ejutla. Antes de llegar al Museo Nacional, la cabeza habia sido parte de la coleccion del arzobispo Francisco Plancarte y Navarrete. Por otra lado, el museo en Cleveland adquirio su estatuilla en 1954 de un coleccionista particular, y falta constatar si su manufactura es antigua o si es una reproduccion aproximada de la pieza que aun se conserva en Oaxaca. Las dos efigies enteras miden aproximadamente 37 cm de altura
Effects of reference databases' refinements on the validity of molecular definitions of 15,371 candidate human-specific regulatory sequences

Thousands of candidate human-specific regulatory sequences (HSRS) have been identified, supporting the idea that unique to human phenotypes result from human-specific changes to genomic regulatory networks (GRNs). The sequence quality of reference genome databases is essential for the accurate definition of regulatory DNA segments as candidate HSRS. It is unclear how database improvements would affect the validity of the HSRS' definition. Sequence conservation analysis of 15,371 candidate HSRS was carried out using the most recent releases of reference genomes' databases of humans and nonhuman primates (NHP) defining the conservation threshold as the minimum ratio of bases that must remap of 1.00. This analysis identifies 3,793 regulatory DNA segments that lack evidence of human-specific mutations and represent regulatory sequences highly conserved in humans, Bonobo, and Chimpanzee. Present analysis revealed a major database refinement's effect on the validity of HSRS' definition and suggests that human-specific phenotypes may evolve as a results of integration into human-specific GRNs of both conserved in NHP and human-specific genomic regulatory elements.