cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A high-power fast-response switch-testing system

A high-power, versatile switch-testing system, presently in operation at NSWC Dahlgren, is described. The switch, along with a liquid-dielectric PFL, a liquid load, a voltage probe, and a current probe are mated in a low-inductance configuration. This arrangement allows the evaluation of switch performance on a nanosecond time scale.
Implications for Decision Support Systems

Understanding the culture of decisions in an organizational context is imperative for the successful design and delivery of decision support systems. The cultural paradigm is especially important i...
Role of α1-Adrenoceptors of the Locus Coeruleus in Self-Stimulation of the Medial Forebrain Bundle

Role of α 1 -Adrenoceptors of the Locus Coeruleus in Self-Stimulation of the Medial Forebrain Bundle
Illegitimacy and Down's syndrome.

GERMAN recently suggested that the high prevalence of Down's syndrome among the children of older mothers results from relatively low frequencies of sexual intercourse among such mothers and a consequent increase in the probability of delay in fertilization of discharged ova1. To test this hypothesis, he suggested that the prevalence of Down's syndrome be studied among the offspring of unmarried mothers, “who as a group engage in coitus sporadically rather than systematically”. On similar grounds, Goodhart2 postulated that a particularly high prevalence should be expected in the children of young unmarried mothers.
Influence of humans and climate on the fire history of a ponderosa pine-mixed conifer forest in the southeastern Klamath Mountains, California

Abstract Fire history of a ponderosa pine-mixed conifer forest was investigated in the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, southeastern Klamath Mountains, California. Fire return intervals were found to be frequent and similar to other comparable forests in California. Median fire interval for the six sample plots (1.4–1.7 ha) ranged from 2 to 4 years (mean range, 4.8–7.4 years). Most fires (93%) occurred late in the growing season or after growth for the season had stopped. Early fire activity was frequent and heterogeneous; however, this trend dramatically changed ca. 1850 to a less frequent and more homogeneous fire pattern. Euro-American settlement, which was active in this area, most likely caused this change by the elimination of Native American ignitions and by introducing logging, gold mining, grazing, and early fire suppression. For the period of record (1750–2002), years when fires were widespread within the study area were not correlated with drought conditions represented by reconstructed climate indices: palmer drought severity index (PDSI) and southern oscillation index. After 1850 when Euro-American settlement began, widespread fire years were associated with wetter than average conditions 3 years preceding the fire year (PDSI, gridpoint #5). Although several recent fire history studies have identified fire–climate relationships with these indices in the Pacific Northwest, additional research is needed in the southern portion of the region. Possible future extensions from the fire–climate relationships identified include: anticipating wildfire extent for future fire seasons, understanding potential alterations in Klamath fire regimes forced by climate change or by cultural land use practices, as well as planning fire management activities (fuels reduction, prescribed fire, etc.).
Managing networks through context: Graph visualization and exploration

With the increasing prevalence of multi-user environments in distributed systems, it has become an increasingly challenging task to precisely identify who is doing what on an enterprise network. Current management systems that rely on inference for user identity and application are not capable of accurately reporting and managing a large-scale network due to the coarseness of the collected data or scaling of the collection mechanism. We propose a system that focuses data collection in the form of local context, i.e. the precise user and application associated with a network connection. Through the use of dynamic correlation and novel graph modeling, we developed a visualization tool called ENAVis (the work appeared in earlier form in [1] and received USENIX best paper award). (Enterprise Network Activities Visualization). ENAVis aids a real-world administrator in allowing them to more efficiently manage and gain insight about the connectivity between hosts, users, applications and data access offering significant streamlining of the management process.
Nutrition, infant feeding and post-partum amenorrhoea in rural Bangladesh

The extent to which differences in the duration of postpartum amenorrhea among chronically malnourished women in rural Bangladesh are related to seasonal patterns of food supply maternal nutrition education and patterns of infant feeding was investigated by application of multivariate hazards models with time-varying covariates. The data were derived from the Birth Interval Dynamics study in Matlab and covered close to 1800 births. Parity education season of birth maternal weight and infant supplementation all were found to affect the duration of postpartum amenorrhea among these women. Education of 5 or more years had a positive effect on the resumption of menses. Higher parity women who were older had longer periods of amenorrhea as did women who gave birth in October-December. As a measure of nutritional status the womans weight at pregnancy termination showed a highly significant positive coefficient indicating that improved maternal nutrition increased the likelihood of resuming menstruation. Food supplementation which tends to decrease breastfeeding also significantly increased the risk of resuming menstruation and had an effect independent of the other variables. When the data were analyzed by season the most striking finding was the strong influence of education on children born during October-December (who are too young to be directly affected by the larger food supply at birth during the harvest season). The other seasons showed weaker effects of education and a stronger effect of supplementation perhaps because these infants are older during the harvest season and thus can benefit from supplements.
Infrared lines in β-quinol clathrates of methyl-isocyanide and formaldehyde

Abstract We have used diffuse reflectance FTIR measurements to identify the vibrational band positions of formaldehyde and methyl-isocyanide enclathrated in β-quinol. The CN stretch in the methyl-isocyanide exhibits two distinct frequencies whose relative line strengths are a function of temperature. This observation indicates that there are two energetically close states for the CH 3 NC orientation in the β-quinol cage.
Functional regulation of brain pyruvate dehydrogenase : postnatal development, anesthesia and food-deprivation

Abstract The activity of brain pyruvate dehydrogenase complex (PDHC), is regulated by reversible phosphorylation of the alpha subunit of the E1 component (pyruvate dehydrogenase, EC 1.2.4.1) of PDHC. Using an in vitro back-titration assay, we have evaluated the postnatal development of E1α phosphorylation, as well as the effects of acute pentobarbital administration and food-deprivation on cerebral cortical E1α phosphorylation in synaptosomal and free mitochondrial compartments of the albino rat. Between birth and postnatal day 25, the back-titration phosphorylation increased ca 4-fold, with the largest increase occurring between days 15 and 20. The phosphorylation of E1α in the synaptosomal, but not free mitochondrial fraction, was decreased during pentobarbital anesthesia. Following 72 h of food-deprivation, E1α phosphorylation was decreased in both subcellular fractions. The postnatal increase in E1α back-titration phosphorylation is consistent with and similar in magnitude to previously reported increases in the specific enzymatic activity of PDHC. These results also highlight the potential importance of localized subcellular alterations in mitochondrial metabolism and further validate the back-titration phosphorylation of E1α as a valuable tool for the study of central nervous system PDHC metabolism.
General equilibrium in economies with adverse selection

We model economies of adverse selection as Arrow–Debreu economies. In the spirit of Prescott and Townsend (Econometrica 52(1), 21–45, 1984a), we identify the consumption set of the individuals with the set of lotteries over net transfers. Thus, prices are linear in lotteries, but they may be non linear in commodity bundles. First, we study a weak equilibrium notion by viewing the economy of adverse selection as a pure exchange economy. The weak equilibrium set is non empty, but some of the allocations may be inefficient, and the equilibria indeterminate. Second, following Prescott and Townsend (Econometrica 52(1), 21–45, 1984a), we introduce an intermediary (firm) supplying feasible and incentive compatible measures. Equilibria are constrained efficient, but the equilibrium set is empty for an open set of economies containing the Rothschild and Stiglitz insurance economies.
Using body movement and posture for emotion detection in non-acted scenarios

In this paper, we explored the use of features that represent body posture and movement for automatically detecting people's emotions in non-acted standing scenarios. We focused on four emotions that are often observed when people are playing video games: triumph, frustration, defeat, and concentration. The dataset consists of recordings of the rotation angles of the player's joints while playing Wii sports games. We applied various machine learning techniques and bagged them for prediction. When body pose and movement features are used we can reach an overall accuracy of 66.5% for differentiating between these four emotions. In contrast, when using the raw joint rotations, limb rotation movement, or posture features alone, we were only able to achieve accuracy rates of 59%, 61%, and 62% respectively. Our results suggest that features representing changes in body posture can yield improved classification rates over using static postures or joint information alone.
Variations on a seminal demonstration of people's insensitivity to sample size

Abstract Most people do not seem to realize that an extreme value for a sample statistic is more likely the smaller the sample. However, Harvard undergraduates, who have satisfied a Quantitative Reasoning Requirement, do much better on some versions of sample size questions than previous populations have. Nevertheless, these results show that subjects' difficulty in selecting the correct answer to questions about the relationship between sample statistic and sample size is not related to the presence or wording of an answer choice that states there is no relationship. Further, formally identical versions of problems yield quite different rates of correct answers.
Bridge Approach Settlements: Lessons Learned from Present Case Studies and Ground Improvement Solutions

Settlement at bridge approaches is a typical problem found between the end of the bridge and highway pavement. This problem creates an uneven transition or a ‘bump’ in the roadway, and causes not only inconvenience to passengers but also increasing in maintenance and repairing work/costs to the highway agencies. In the United States, state departments of transportations (DOTs) have been spending over $100 million to alleviate the bump problems every year. Many researches had been carried out to study the causes of the bump problem and they are summarized in this paper. To identify factors leading to the bump problem in Texas, a survey questionnaire was send to all twenty five districts in Texas. In addition some field investigations were conducted at bridges in Quanah, Arlington and Cleburne. Results from the study reveal that subsurface void development, erosion and compressibility of fill material were found to be the main contributing factors to the bridge approach settlement in the State of Texas.
Absence of seasonal fluctuation in serum concentration of 24,25(OH)2-vitamin D in childhood

Blood samples taken during all months of the year from 71 healthy children, aged 18 months to 19 years, were examined for the serum concentrations of 24,25-dihydroxyvitamin D [24,25-(OH)2D]. The mean serum 24,25(OH)2D value was 1.45±0.63 ng/ml (range=0.6–3.5 ng/ml). An analysis of values month by month failed to reveal any seasonal variation in the circulating levels of this metabolite.
Surface-Enhanced Emission from Single Semiconductor Nanocrystals

The fluorescence behavior of single CdSe(ZnS) core-shell nanocrystal (NC) quantum dots is dramatically affected by electromagnetic interactions with a rough metal film. Observed changes include a fivefold increase in the observed fluorescence intensity of single NCs, a striking reduction in their fluorescence blinking behavior, complete conversion of the emission polarization to linear, and single NC exciton lifetimes that are >10(3) times faster. The enhanced excited state decay process for NCs coupled to rough metal substrates effectively competes with the Auger relaxation process, allowing us to observe both charged and neutral exciton emission from these NC quantum dots.
A graphic digital database of drosophila embryogenesis

Modern studies of the genetic control of development have increased the need for an accurate and comprehensive storage and display of gene expression data. This can be achieved in the form of an electronic graphic database of development. Here, we introduce the first steps towards a database of Drosophila embryogenesis. For each morphologically defined stage, a complete series of histological and/or optical sections are generated (optical sections are generated by laser confocal microscopy). Digitized sections are imported into a drawing program where they serve as templates to define the contours of organs and the position of individual cells. From these data, surface and point cloud models of all developmental stages are generated. Gene expression data can be entered by translating the expression domain of a given gene into the three-dimensional coordinate system of the database.
Natural History of Chronic Hepatitis B

In this article, the 4 phases of chronic HBV infection are reviewed and the factors that are associated with disease progression and the development of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cirrhosis are discussed. Also discussed is what is known to date about how to identify persons at the highest risk of developing HCC and/or cirrhosis. Finally, ways in which the natural history can be altered by hepatitis B vaccination and identification, close monitoring, and appropriate treatment of chronically infected individuals are reviewed.
Inhaled nitrous oxide versus placebo as an analgesic and anxiolytic adjunct to peripheral intravenous cannulation

The objective was to determine whether an inhaled 50:50 mixture of nitrous oxide and oxygen (N(2)O/O(2)) provides significant pain and anxiety relief during intravenous cannulation in healthy adults. The study was conducted at the ED of a military teaching hospital. Participants included adult volunteers aged 18 to 50 years. Excluded were those with allergy to N(2)O, anemia, cardiac disease, pregnancy, asthma, or bone marrow disorder. A prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design was used comparing a 50:50 mixture of N(2)O/O(2) versus O(2). After recording baseline nonhatched 100mm visual analog scales (VAS) for pain and anxiety, subjects inhaled gas 1 for 120 seconds, followed by antecubital intravenous cannulation, discontinuance of gas and VAS rating of procedural pain and anxiety. After 15 minutes, the experiment was repeated with gas 2. Ten subjects would detect a 12mm difference in pain or anxiety with a standard deviation of 10 mm, an alpha error under 0.05 and a power over 80%. Differences between VAS were compared by matched 2-tailed t-test. Eleven subjects were enrolled. One withdrew because of dizziness while inhaling gas (N(2)O). The 10 remaining subjects reported significantly less pain (N(2)O/O(2) 14.5mm, SD 18; O(2) 34.3mm, SD 23.4; P < .01) and anxiety (N(2)O/O(2) - 7.9mm, SD 7.8; O(2) 6.0mm, SD 11.6; P < .02) when inhaling N(2)O/O(2) than when inhaling O(2) alone. N(2)O/O(2) provided significant pain and anxiety reductions during intravenous cannulation. Some patients may experience adverse perceptions while using N(2)O, limiting its utility. Further studies defining the role of N(2)O as an anxiolytic agent, efficacy in actual patients, and cost comparisons with intravenous conscious analgesia/sedation, are warranted.
Quantum fluctuation generated vortices, dual singular-gauge transformation, and zero-temperature transition from d-wave superconductor to underdoped regime

By extending the original Anderson singular-gauge transformation for static vortices to two mutual flux-attaching singular-gauge transformations for moving vortices, we derive an effective action describing the zero-temperature quantum phase transition from d-wave superconductor to underdoped regime. In this action, quantum fluctuation generated vortices couple to quasiparticles by a mutual statistical interaction with statistical angle $\ensuremath{\theta}=1/2$ and a dynamic Doppler shift term. The vortices also interact with each other by long-range logarithmic interactions due to charge fluctuation. Neglecting the charge fluctuation first, we find that the mutual statistical interaction is exactly marginal. In the underdoped regime, the quasiparticles are described by (2+1)-dimensional QED; in the superconducting regime, they are essentially free. However, putting back the charge fluctuation changes the physical picture dramatically: both the dynamic Doppler shift term and the mutual statistical interaction become irrelevant short-ranged interactions on both sides of the quantum critical point. There are no spin-charge separation and no dynamic gapless gauge field in the Cooper-pair picture. The formalism developed at $T=0$ is applied to study thermally generated vortices in the vortex plasma regime near the finite temperature Kosterlitz-Thouless transition. The important effects of the $\mathrm{AB}$ phase scattering and the Doppler shift on angle resolved photoemission spectroscopy data are also briefly reviewed.
Calcium ionophore A23187 elevates angiotensin-converting enzyme in cultured bovine endothelial cells

Calcium ionophore A23187 (0.3-0.4 microM) elevated cellular angiotensin-converting enzyme activity (ACE) 2-7-fold after 48 h incubation with bovine pulmonary artery endothelial cells in culture. Cycloheximide (0.1 micrograms/ml) blocked the elevation in ACE produced by A23187. The increase in ACE was inhibited by 0.2 mM EGTA, 50 microM verapamil and 50 microM nifedipine, and was not associated with changes in cellular cAMP. Melittin, a phospholipase A2 activator, or addition of exogenous arachidonic acid failed to reproduce the elevation, and indomethacin only partially blocked the A23187 effect. The elevation of ACE was also inhibited by the calcium-calmodulin inhibitor, calmidazolium. Thus, we postulate that the ionophore A23187 elevates ACE in endothelial cells through a calcium-dependent mechanism other than phospholipase A2 activation. The elevation depends on new protein synthesis and involves calcium-calmodulin-dependent cellular mechanisms.
Power, Measure, and Technology: Some Tales of Gender, Engineering, and the Cooperative Workplace/Women Changing Work/Dishing It Out: Power and Resistance among Waitresses in a New Jersey Restaurant

Sally Hacker. Power, Measure, and Technology: Some Tales of Gender, Engineering, and the Cooperative Workplace. Boston, Unwin Hyman, 1989. Patricia Lunneborg. Women Changing Work. New York, Bergin and Garvey, 1990. Greta Foff Paules. Dishing It Out: Power and Resistance among Waitresses in. New Jersey Restaurant Philadelphia, Temple University Press, 1991.
Planning the new central academic library

Presents suggestions to be considered in planning a new or renovated academic library. Examples are based on the William T. Young Library, central library at the University of Kentucky. The article is based on a presentation given at the American Library Association Annual Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA, July 1999, as part of the program “2001 a Space Odyssey: Rethinking Library Buildings in a Digital Age”.
Childhood abuse and neglect and adult intimate relationships: a prospective study.

Abstract Objective: The present study extends prior research on childhood maltreatment and social functioning by examining the impact of early childhood physical abuse, sexual abuse, and neglect on rates of involvement in adult intimate relationships and relationship functioning. Method: Substantiated cases of child abuse and neglect from 1967 to 1971 were matched on gender, age, race, and approximate family class with non-abused and non-neglected children and followed prospectively into adulthood. Between 1989 and 1995, 1,196 participants (676 abused and neglected and 520 controls) were administered a 2-hour in-person interview, including a psychiatric assessment and a variety of standardized rating scales. Results: Male and female abuse and neglect victims reported higher rates of cohabitation, walking out, and divorce than controls. Abused and neglected females were also less likely than female controls to have positive perceptions of current romantic partners and to be sexually faithful. Conclusions: Although previous research on childhood maltreatment and adult intimate relationships has emphasized outcomes for female victims of childhood sexual abuse, present findings suggest that other forms of early maltreatment (physical abuse and neglect) also have a negative effect on both males’ and females’ ability to establish and maintain healthy intimate relationships in adulthood.
Human Clothing and Dog Behavior: An Unproven Hypothesis

(1997). Human Clothing and Dog Behavior: An Unproven Hypothesis. Anthrozoos: Vol. 10, No. 2-3, pp. 82-83.
Relation‐specific capabilities and barriers to knowledge transfers: creating advantage through network relationships

This study examines the role of network knowledge resources in influencing firm performance. More specifically: Can a firm that uses the identical supplier network as competitors and purchases similar inputs from the same plants achieve a competitive advantage through that network? In a sample of U.S. automotive suppliers selling to both Toyota and U.S. automakers, we found that greater knowledge sharing on the part of Toyota resulted in a faster rate of learning within the suppliers' manufacturing operations devoted to Toyota. Indeed, from 1990 to 1996 suppliers reduced defects by 50 percent for Toyota vs. only 26 percent for their largest U.S. customer. The quality differences were found to persist within suppliers because the inter-organizational routines and policies at GM, Ford, and Chrysler acted as barriers to knowledge transfers within suppliers' plants. These findings empirically demonstrate that network resources have a significant influence on firm performance. We also show that some firm resources and capabilities are relation-specific and are not easily transferable (redeployable) to other buyers or networks. This result implies that a firm may be on its production possibility frontier for each customer but the productivity frontier will be different for each customer owing to constraints associated with the customer's network. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
The difficult in vitro fertilization patient: an individualized approach.

In general, standardized in vitro fertilization (IVF) protocols and practice regimens can be applied with success for most patients. Such approaches, however, may not be effective for some women who do not “fit the mold” and for whom highly individualized treatments are more suitable. In this article, we outline our personal experience and treatment approaches for these challenging patients.
SAGE urban operations tool suite methodology

As the US Army transitions to a regionally aligned architecture, analysts are seeking new and innovative geospatial applications to inform the operations planning process for unfamiliar terrain. In this paper, we outline our systems approach used to develop a suite of geospatial analysis tools used to plan military operations in the urban environment as part of a larger research effort to develop tactical geospatial tools for the US Army (Situational Awareness Geospatially Enabled (SAGE)). This paper describes the iterative stakeholder analysis used to accurately identify operational needs, requirements, capability gaps and associated importance, and the comprehensive methodology used to generate the suite of tools. This research was unique in that we simultaneously developed a recommended suite of tools in addition to a formalized geospatial tool development methodology for the clients' later use. This paper describes the development and application of this methodology which categorically decomposed military operations, aligned stakeholder requirements with existing capabilities, and architected new geospatial capabilities consistent with the existing geospatial program architecture. Key to the developed methodology is that it produced geospatial tools which capitalized upon previously developed technologies, maintained the program's operational theme, and logically developed capabilities which directly satisfied requirements.
Mineralogy of Ordovician K-Bentonites in Kentucky

Preliminary results of investigations of Trenton-Black River (Ordovician) K-bentonites from well cores in northern Kentucky and from outcrops along the Kentucky River illustrate the variations in some physical and chemical properties. It is hoped that some features may eventually be useful in stratigraphic correlation, considering that the very nature of these altered ash beds makes them ideal time-lines. That these beds are derived from volcanic ash is evidenced by significant amounts of biotite, magnetite, leucoxene, apatite, and zircon. The following means of investigation have been employed: X-ray diffraction, DTA, cation exchange, heavy mineral studies, and insoluble residue studies of adjacent limestones. X-ray analyses of untreated and glycolated clay samples indicate a mixed-layer, dioctahedral, illite-montmorillonite type structure with an I-M ratio varying from 4:1 to 3:2. The proportion of expandable layers in many samples is higher than that reported for Ordovician K-bentonites elsewhere. No evidence of chlorite is detected. DTA data show a primary hydroxyl peak near 725°C suggesting a basic montmorillonite-type of hydroxyl bonding. Treatment with 1M solutions of various cations produces a slight expansion of the expandable layers with Ca2+, and contraction with Na+, K+, and NH4+ giving some indication of original environmental composition. The evidence supports suggestions by earlier authors that the clays are basically montmorillonites which have undergone partial contraction due to the adsorption of potassium in the interlayer positions. While euhedral zircons are most likely non-detrital, recent work on zircons in igneous rocks suggests the same may also be true for some of the sub-rounded and fractured species. Insoluble residues of limestones contain abundant chert and mixed-layer illite-montmorillonite clay directly adjacent to the ash beds, but farther away illite and chlorite dominate and are probably detrital in origin.
On the solution of boundary-layer equations for a non-Newtonian power-law fluid

Abstract The accuracy of a formula for calculating velocity gradient at the wall for power-law fluids is investigated by obtaining the exact numerical solution of the boundary-layer equations for Howarth's flow. In general, the formula is found to be quite accurate for the pseudo-plastic cases, n
A linear time algorithm for max-min length triangulation of a convex polygon

We consider the following planar max-min length triangulation problem: given a set of n points in the Euclidean plane, find a triangulation such that the length of the shortest edge in the triangulation is maximized. In this paper, a linear time algorithm is proposed for computing the max-min length triangulation of a set of points in convex position. In addition, an O(nlogn) time algorithm is proposed for computing the max-min length k-set triangulation of a set of points in convex position, where we are to compute a set of k vertices such that the max-min length triangulation on them is minimized over all possible k-set. We further show that the graph version of max-min length triangulation is NP-complete, and some common heuristics such as greedy algorithm are in general not able to give a bounded-ratio approximation to the max-min length triangulation.
Incidence and prognostic significance of intraventricular conduction abnormalities after coronary bypass surgery

Abstract To determine the incidence and prognostic significance of new postoperative conduction disturbances, 2,000 consecutive patients who underwent primary elective coronary bypass surgery were evaluated. One hundred eleven (5.5%) of the 2,000 patients developed a new intraventricular conduction defect that persisted to hospital discharge. Right bundle branch block occurred in 86 (85%), left bundle branch block in 5 (4%) and nonspecific intraventricular conduction defect in 9 (11%). One hundred of these 111 patients were successfully matched with others in the study population who had maintained normal intraventricular conduction during the operative period. Patients were matched on the basis of age, gender, absence of preoperative conduction disturbances, left ventricular function and bypass grafts to the same vessels. Follow-up of the two groups for a period of 1 to 76 months (mean 60 months) failed to show any difference in survival or cardiac events such as myocardial infarction, repeat coronary bypass surgery, coronary angioplasty and permanent pacemaker implantation. The appearance of right or left bundle branch block or a nonspecific intraventricular conduction defect after coronary bypass surgery does not appear to have an unfavorable impact on the long-term prognosis of these patients.
SU‐FF‐T‐412: The Feasibility of Using Tomotherapy Hi‐Art Machine for Stereotactic Radiosurgery

Purpose: To study the feasibility of treating multiple‐brain metastass with stereotactic radiosurgery using the tomotherapy Hi‐Art machine, and to compare tomotherapy stereotactic radiosurgerytreatment plans with conventional linac‐based stereotactic radiosurgery plans. Method and Materials: Five previously treated patients with multiple brain metastases ranging from 1 to 5 metastases were selected for the study. These five patients were treated with linacstereotactic radiosurgery. The same structures and prescription doses used for linacradiosurgery were also used to produce stereotactic radiosurgerytreatment plans on the tomotherapy planning system. In order to compare the tomotherapy plans to the linac‐based plans, the homogeneity of the target volumes, as well as the PITV, the volume of normal braintissue receiving at least 10Gy and treatment time were considered. Results: Analysis of the five plans shows that the target dose uniformity, target dose conformality, and the treatment time for each plan is much improved for tomotherapy. The plans show that on average using tomotherapy planning system increases the dose uniformity by 70%, increases the target‐dose conformality by 42% while it reduces the normal tissue volume receiving at least 10 Gy by about 40% for large metastases. On the other hand, for metastases smaller than 1cc tomotherapy increases the 10.0 Gy volume over that for a conventional linac plan by about 60%. Conclusion: These results show that tomotherapy could be used for treating patients with multiple brain metastases using stereotactic radiosurgey.
The effect of cycloheximide on the synthesis of ribonucleic acid in the mosquito Anopheles albimanus Weidemann

Abstract The effect of cycloheximide on RNA synthesis and other metabolic processes in newly emerged Anopheles albimanus Weidemann was determined. The extent of utilization of labelled adenine in the presence and absence of the drug was used as an estimated of RNA synthesis. A correlation between mortality and concentration of the drug which was administered to the adult mosquito by membrane feeding was established. A sublethal concentration of the drug increased the rate of synthesis of all RNA species implicating gene activation at the transcriptional level. Under the experimental conditions, the data indicates that cycloheximide interfered with the interconversion of purine nucleotides. The mechanism whereby cycloheximide increases RNA synthesis is discussed. The data presented together with other observations suggest that differential sensitivity to increased concentrations of cycloheximide may serve as a method of characterizing strains within the genus Anopheles .
High-resolution broadband spectral interferometry

We demonstrate solar spectra from a novel interferometric method for compact broadband high-resolution spectroscopy. The spectral interferometer (SI) is a hybrid instrument that uses a spectrometer to externally disperse the output of a fixed-delay interferometer. It also has been called an externally dispersed interferometer (EDI). The interferometer can be used with linear spectrometers for imaging spectroscopy or with echelle spectrometers for very broad-band coverage. EDI's heterodyning technique enhances the spectrometer's response to high spectral-density features, increasing the effective resolution by factors of several while retaining its bandwidth. The method is extremely robust to instrumental insults such as focal spot size or displacement. The EDI uses no moving parts, such as purely interferometric FTS spectrometers, and can cover a much wider simultaneous bandpass than other internally dispersed interferometers (e.g. HHS or SHS).
Mutational analysis of the -10 region from the Mycobacterium tuberculosis lipF promoter

The promoter driving expression of the Mycobacterium tuberculosis gene lipF (Rv3487c) had previously been identified as being upregulated by acidic stress. Subsequently a 59 base pair (bp) acid inducible minimal promoter region was isolated in which a putative -10 region was identified. In this study we use mutational analysis to investigate the -10 region of the lipF promoter. Mutations within this region lead to a dramatic decrease of promoter activity, while a mutation outside of this region does not affect promoter activity.
A technique for verifying the input response function of neutron time-of-flight scintillation detectors using cosmic rays

An accurate interpretation of DD or DT fusion neutron time-of-flight (nTOF) signals from current mode detectors employed at the Z-facility at Sandia National Laboratories requires that the instrument response functions (IRF’s) be deconvolved from the measured nTOF signals. A calibration facility that produces detectable sub-ns radiation pulses is typically used to measure the IRF of such detectors. This work, however, reports on a simple method that utilizes cosmic radiation to measure the IRF of nTOF detectors, operated in pulse-counting mode. The characterizing metrics reported here are the throughput delay and full-width-at-half-maximum. This simple approach yields consistent IRF results with the same detectors calibrated in 2007 at a LINAC bremsstrahlung accelerator (Idaho State University). In particular, the IRF metrics from these two approaches and their dependence on the photomultipliers bias agree to within a few per cent. This information may thus be used to verify if the IRF for a given nTOF detector employed at Z has changed since its original current-mode calibration and warrants re-measurement.
Analysis of iron content in individual human red blood cells by electron microprobe and scanning electron microscope

Abstract The iron content of single human red blood cells has been assessed using electron microprobe analysis and scanning electron microscope. Cells for microanalysis consist of a fixed-washed and freeze-dried preparation. This preparative procedure improves stability and spatial resolution of the analytic method. The reference standard employs compressed pellets of purified iron-containing human hemoglobin and human albumin, respectively. The cell preparation and reference standard remain stable for long periods of time. Differences in Fe content and its distribution among individual red cells from both normal subjects and sickle cell anaemia patients have been measured by the quantitative and semi-quantitative techniques (wavelength and energy dispersive X-ray spectrometry). There are several points which can be made from this study. One concerns the estimate of iron on a cell by cell basis, the average variation among cells being slightly over 13% ranging from 6% to 19.4% by individuals (samples) or from 11% to 14% by ethnic groups. These differences are thus closely comparable across ethnic grouping with a possibility of high level in Asians and lower level in sickle cell anaemia patients.
Molecular neurosurgery for glial and neuronal disorders.

Molecular neurosurgery is the surgical use of molecules to destroy, sus-tain, or modulate or augment neurons, supporting cells or tumor cells within the ner-vous system. Molecules designed for surgica
Novel signaling mechanisms of intracellular angiotensin II-induced NHE3 expression and activation in mouse proximal tubule cells.

Expression of a cytosolic cyan fluorescent fusion protein of angiotensin II (ECFP/ANG II) in proximal tubules increases blood pressure in rodents. To determine cellular signaling pathways responsib...
Interacting Genetic Loci on Chromosomes 20 and 10 Influence Extreme Human Obesity

Obesity is a multigenic trait that has a substantial genetic component. Animal models confirm a role for gene-gene interactions, and human studies suggest that as much as one-third of the heritable variance may be due to nonadditive gene effects. To evaluate potential epistatic interactions among five regions, on chromosomes 7, 10, and 20, that have previously been linked to obesity phenotypes, we conducted pairwise correlation analyses based on alleles shared identical by descent (IBD) for independent obese affected sibling pairs (ASPs), and we determined family-specific nonparametric linkage (NPL) scores in 244 families. The correlation analyses were also conducted separately, by race, through use of race-specific allele frequencies. Conditional analyses for a qualitative trait (body mass index [BMI] ⩾27) and hierarchical models for quantitative traits were used to further refine evidence of gene interaction. Both the ASP-specific IBD-sharing probability and the family-specific NPL score revealed that there were strong positive correlations between 10q (88–97 cM) and 20q (65–83 cM), through single-point and multipoint analyses with three obesity thresholds (BMI ⩾27, ⩾30, and ⩾35) across African American and European American samples. Conditional analyses for BMI ⩾27 found that the LOD score at 20q rises from 1.53 in the baseline analysis to 2.80 (empirical P =.012) when families were weighted by evidence for linkage at 10q (D10S1646) through use of zero-one weights (weight 0–1 ) and to 3.32 (empirical P prop ) were used. For percentage fat mass, variance-component analysis based on a two-locus epistatic model yielded significant evidence for interaction between 20q (75 cM) and the chromosome 10 centromere (LOD = 1.74; P =.024), compared with a two-locus additive model (LOD = 0.90). The results from multiple methods and correlated phenotypes are consistent in suggesting that epistatic interactions between loci in these regions play a role in extreme human obesity.
Dirac-Fock self-consistent field method for closed-shell molecules with kinetic balance and finite nuclear size

We present a general method of implementing the kinetic balance condition within the Dirac-Fock (DF) self-consistent field (SCF) formalism for closed-shell molecular structure. We review the steps leading to the derivation of DF SCF equations for closed-shell molecules, particularly as formulated by Matsuoka et al. In the present approach, the large component of the molecular spinors are expanded in terms of atomic basis spinors of spherical-type Gaussian functions, with the small component related to the large component by the kinetic balance condition. It is shown that imposing the kinetic balance condition on geometric Gaussian-type basis functions allows us to obtain the Fock matrix elements, involving both the large and the small components, form the standard nonrelativistic Cartesian-type matrix elements. By using properties of orthogonal polynomials, the solid spherical harmonics are expressed in Cartesian form, thus providing a general basis for transformation of one- and two-electron-matrix elements, obtained from a Cartesian Gaussian-type basis, to a spherical Gaussian-type basis. The advantages of using kinetically balanced geometric Gaussian-type basis functions in molecular DF calculations including finite-size nucleus effects are emphasized. For the sake of completeness, we have added in an appendix corrections to the nuclear attraction matrix elements for the finite-size nucleus already derived by Matsuoka.
DIRECTOR COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION

(1999). DIRECTOR COMPETENCIES AND LEADERSHIP DEVELOPMENT: THE ROLE OF EARLY CHILDHOOD TEACHER EDUCATION. Journal of Early Childhood Teacher Education: Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 201-205.
The regulatory mechanisms of export trafficking of G protein-coupled receptors

G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) are a superfamily of cell-surface receptors that regulate a variety of cell functions by responding to a myriad of ligands. The magnitude of the response elicited by a ligand is dictated by the level of receptor available at the plasma membrane. GPCR expression levels at the cell surface are a balance of three highly regulated, dynamic intracellular trafficking processes, namely export, internalization and degradation. This review will cover recent advances in understanding the mechanism underlying GPCR export trafficking by focusing on specific motifs required for ER export and the role of the Ras-like Rab1 GTPase and glycosylation in regulating ER-Golgi-cell-surface transport. The manifestation of diseases due to the disruption of GPCR export is also discussed.
Perspectives on publishing in Africa

An indigenous publishing industry is essential to African development. The author places the African situation in a Third World context and discusses such issues as the nature of the African reading public, the politics of language, the role of multinationals, problems of distribution, and technology. He describes the challenges faced in developing an African book industry and suggests some possible approaches to providing assistance.
Submesoscale Cold Filaments in the Gulf Stream

AbstractA set of realistic, very high-resolution simulations is made for the Gulf Stream region using the oceanic model Regional Oceanic Modeling System (ROMS) to study the life cycle of the intense submesoscale cold filaments that form on the subtropical gyre, interior wall of the Gulf Stream. The surface buoyancy gradients and ageostrophic secondary circulations intensify in response to the mesoscale strain field as predicted by the theory of filamentogenesis. It can be understood in terms of a dual frontogenetic process, along the lines understood for a single front. There is, however, a stronger secondary circulation due to the amplification at the center of a cold filament. Filament dynamics in the presence of a mixed layer are not adequately described by the classical thermal wind balance. The effect of vertical mixing of momentum due to turbulence in the surface layer is of the same order of magnitude as the pressure gradient and Coriolis force and contributes equally to a so-called turbulent therm...
“Communicate Through the Roof”: A Case Study Analysis of the Communicative Rules and Resources of an Effective Global Virtual Team

Challenges to effective collaboration are magnified when work teams are composed of geographically distributed members. Team members separated by time, distance, and culture often struggle with issues of trust, conflict, and potentially divisive subgroups. With global virtual teams becoming increasingly common in organizations, it is important to understand how to minimize such interactional difficulties. This study examines rules and resources that members of a corporate global team draw on to structure their interactions. In this case study, team members draw on highly ritualized actions prescribed by their software development process and their enacted values to mitigate their communication challenges.
Classifying Lower Extremity Muscle Fatigue During Walking Using Machine Learning and Inertial Sensors

Fatigue in lower extremity musculature is associated with decline in postural stability, motor performance and alters normal walking patterns in human subjects. Automated recognition of lower extremity muscle fatigue condition may be advantageous in early detection of fall and injury risks. Supervised machine learning methods such as support vector machines (SVMs) have been previously used for classifying healthy and pathological gait patterns and also for separating old and young gait patterns. In this study we explore the classification potential of SVM in recognition of gait patterns utilizing an inertial measurement unit associated with lower extremity muscular fatigue. Both kinematic and kinetic gait patterns of 17 participants (29 ± 11 years) were recorded and analyzed in normal and fatigued state of walking. Lower extremities were fatigued by performance of a squatting exercise until the participants reached 60% of their baseline maximal voluntary exertion level. Feature selection methods were used to classify fatigue and no-fatigue conditions based on temporal and frequency information of the signals. Additionally, influences of three different kernel schemes (i.e., linear, polynomial, and radial basis function) were investigated for SVM classification. The results indicated that lower extremity muscle fatigue condition influenced gait and loading responses. In terms of the SVM classification results, an accuracy of 96% was reached in distinguishing the two gait patterns (fatigue and no-fatigue) within the same subject using the kinematic, time and frequency domain features. It is also found that linear kernel and RBF kernel were equally good to identify intra-individual fatigue characteristics. These results suggest that intra-subject fatigue classification using gait patterns from an inertial sensor holds considerable potential in identifying “at-risk” gait due to muscle fatigue.
Development and validation of a cystic fibrosis genetic knowledge questionnaire within the general population of the United States.

Abstract Background There is no valid and reliable instrument to evaluate genetic education and counseling received by parents who have an infant with a positive newborn screen for cystic fibrosis (CF). Methods This study assessed the validity and reliability of a new instrument designed to evaluate the effectiveness of genetic education and counseling received by parents who have an infant with a positive newborn screen for cystic fibrosis (CF). A 16-item CF genetic knowledge questionnaire (CFGKQ) was completed by 84 members of the general population (GP) and 441 genetic counselors in the United States. Participants also rated the importance of genetic content. Results Significant group differences were found in mean percentages of correct responses (p Conclusions The 14-item CFGKQ appears to have promising validity and reliability for use within the United States. This instrument may be a useful tool in the development of evidence-based genetic education and counseling programs. Additional research is needed to validate this instrument for use with other populations.
Robust Hurwitz l/sup p/ stability of polynomials with complex coefficients

Necessary and sufficient conditions for robust stability of a family of polynomials with complex coefficients are provided. This work generalizes a frequency-domain criteria for robust stability of continuous linear systems reported on by Y.Z. Tsypkin and B.T. Polyak (1991). >