cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Correction of Abnormal Bone and Mineral Metabolism in Chronic Streptozotocin-Induced Diabetes Mellitus in the Rat by Insulin Therapy*

Mineral homestasis and skeletal morphology were studied in freely fed control, streptozotocin-induced diabetic, and insulin-treated diabetic rats 7 weeks after the induction of diabetes. The untreated diabetic animals were characterized by modest hypercalcemia, hyperphosphatemia, and striking hypercalciuria and phosphaturia. Insulin treatment corrected the hypercalcemia and markedly reduced the calciuria (P < 0.001), but had no significant effect on the urinary phosphate levels. Circulating immunoreactive parathyroid hormone (iPTH) was detectable in only 6% of untreated diabetic animals compared to 30% of controls. Furthermore, in untreated diabetic animals, the circulating levels of iPTH, when detectable, approximated the lower limits of the assay. The urinary cAMP levels of untreated diabetic animals were markedly decreased. Both iPTH and urinary cAMP approximated control levels in insulin-treated rats. Conversely, plasma immunoreactive calcitonin was increased in the diabetic rats compared to control a...
Fabrication and characterization of barium strontium titanate and non-ferroelectric oxide composites for use in phased array antennas and other electronic devices

A ceramic ferroelectric phase shifting device has been demonstrated using Ba/sub 1-x/Sr/sub x/TiO/sub 3/ (BSTO) ceramics. As a part of an effort to optimize the electronic device performance in the phase shifter, various composites of BSTO combined with other nonelectrically active oxide ceramics have been formulated. In general, the composites have reduced dielectric constants, /spl epsi/', where /spl epsi/=/spl epsi/'-i/spl epsi/", and loss tangents, tan /spl delta/. The low dielectric constant and low loss tangent reduce the overall impedance mismatch and the insertion loss of the device. In addition, the overall tunability, change in the dielectric constant with applied voltage, is maintained at a relatively high level. The combination of electronic properties of these materials offer substantially higher operating frequencies, 10 GHz and above. Another application for one of the composites is for use as a capacitor-varistor surge protector. The microstructures including grain size and phase analysis have been examined using SEM and X-ray diffraction. The analysis of the phase formation, compositional variations, and grain size will be related to the electronic properties of the materials.
Anatomic variants of mesenteric veins: depiction with helical CT venography.

The purpose of this study was to describe the variable anatomy of mesenteric veins on axial CT images and on volume-rendered CT venograms that use maximum intensity projection and shaded-surface display.Fifty-seven patients undergoing helical CT of the pancreas were included in the study. The mesenteric venous system was analyzed in 54 patients. Three patients were excluded because the helical CT data were unsatisfactory.On helical CT with maximum intensity projection and shaded-surface display, the superior mesenteric vein (SMV) was seen as a single trunk of variable length in 40 patients. In seven other patients, two mesenteric trunks merged separately with the splenic vein. In the remaining seven patients, the SMV was occluded by tumor. The inferior mesenteric vein drained into the splenic vein in 28 patients (56%), into the SMV in 14 patients (26%), and into the splenomesenteric angle in nine patients (18%).Both axial and volume-rendered CT venograms accurately reveal the variable mesenteric venous an...
Magnetic and Thermal Characterization of An ELM Simulating Plasma (ESP) With Helicon Pre-Ionization

Edge Localized Modes (ELMs) continue to be an obstacle in magnetic confinement fusion. The simulation of such ELM events using a conical theta pinch serves as a means to explore methods to manage these events in future experiments. For the purposes of pre-ionization before the pinch, a 100-200 W helicon source, (at pressures between 5-100 mTorr, in either hydrogen or argon) is employed. Plasma pinching is the result of pulsed current through a single turn conical copper coil from discharge of high voltage capacitors. Direction of current flow around the coil and hence the magnetic field direction from pinching, as compared to the steady state magnetic field, is such that the system lends itself to a field reversed configuration (FRC). Axial magnetic field measurements during the theta pinch at the location of the coil as well as at a target downstream are accomplished using a B-dot probe array. Steady state magnetic field topology was configured in order to optimize the transfer of the pinched plasma from the pinch coil to the target, as well as to simulate tokamak-level magnetic field strengths. Thermal heating of a small target by the RF and pinched plasmas as a means of measuring plasma energy deposition augments data taken using other diagnostics. This heating is observed using an RF-compensated in-situ thermocouple probe attached to the target assembly. Power and energy densities are estimated. RF power and capacitor discharge voltage are varied to illustrate target heating parameters. Optical spectroscopy is used for atomic line spectra measurements. The results of these experiments with the imposed conditions are discussed
Management of vascular trauma from dog bites.

Background Vascular trauma from large-dog bites present with a combination of crush and lacerating injuries to the vessel, as well as significant adjacent soft tissue injury and a high potential for wound complications. This retrospective case series evaluates our 15 years of experience in managing this uncommonly seen injury into suggested treatment recommendations. Methods From our database, 371 adult patients presented with dog bites between July 1997 and June 2012. Twenty (5.4%) of those patients had vascular injuries requiring surgical intervention. Patient demographics, anatomic location of injury, clinical presentation, imaging modality, method of repair, and complication rates were reviewed to assess efficacy in preserving limb function. Pediatric patients were managed at the regional children's hospital and, therefore, not included in this study. Results Among the 20 surgically treated vascular injuries, there were 13 arterial-only injuries, two venous-only injuries, and five combination arterial and venous injuries. Seventeen patients (85%) had upper extremity injuries; three patients had lower extremity injuries (15%). The axillobrachial artery was the most commonly injured single vessel (n = 9/20; 45%), followed by the radial artery (n = 4/20; 20%). Surgical repair of vascular injuries consisted of resection and primary anastomosis (four), interposition bypass of artery with autogenous vein (13), and ligation (two), with (one) being a combination of bypass and ligation. All patients had debridement of devitalized tissue combined with pulse lavage irrigation and perioperative antibiotics. Associated injuries requiring repair included muscle and skin (n = 10/20; 50%), bone (n = 1/20; 5%), nerve (n = 1/20; 5%), and combinations of the three (n = 5/20; 25%). Postoperative antibiotic therapy was administered for 14.7 ± 8.2 days in all 20 patients. Four patients (20%) developed postoperative wound infections, although this did not compromise their vascular repair. Of the patients compliant with postoperative surveillance, all limbs (100%) were viable at discharge and at 1-year follow-up. Conclusions Dog bite vascular injuries are an uncommon occurrence, where extremity pulse abnormalities are the most common presentation. These injuries are also associated with significant adjacent soft tissue trauma, which warrants aggressive debridement and perioperative antibiotic therapy. Despite vigilant management, nearly one-fifth of our patients sustained wound infections. All infections were successfully managed with broad-spectrum antibiotics, and all limbs were preserved 1-year postoperatively.
How specific is the first recognition step of homologous recombination

The Escherichia coli RecA protein promotes homologous recognition in base triplets via non-Watson-Crick bonds that differ from those formed nonenzymically from DNA consisting of runs of purines or pyrimidines. Base substitutions reveal recognition to be permissive, consistent with a search for homology that achieves speed at the cost of precision.
Educational reform in teacher preparation: Proposals, reactions, and implementation

The article by Benton and Hoyt provides data that creates an opportunity for a significant discussion concerning the role of educational psychologists in education reform. Education reform in teacher education has three identifiable stages. The first stage is the series of proposals that have been generated by a number of groups implying that education reform efforts will bring about positive change. The second component has been reactions or debates surrounding the proposals and significant changes proposed by national reports. Finally, there have been component parts of the proposals implemented in experimental ways in schools and colleges of education. Clearly, a segment of the educational psychology academic community has been involved in all three phases of education reform, and the need for maintaining a research posture and a demand for documentation of improvement is necessary from all educators—and in particular educational psychologists. The 1980s were the years for proposing and reacting. The years between now and the twenty-first century will be the time of implementation and evaluation of changes. The opportunity is present for active involvement of all interested educational psychologists. The article by Benton and Hoyt is a meaningful article for educational psychologists because it points out our differing opinions and provides some basis for us to understand our differences concerning specific issues in teacher education reform.
The Geometry of the Critically-Periodic Curves in the Space of Cubic Polynomials

We provide an algorithm for computing the Euler characteristic of the curves in consisting of all polynomials with a periodic critical point of period p in the space of critically marked complex cubic polynomials. The curves were introduced in [Milnor 09, Bonifant et al. 10], and the algorithm applies the main results of [DeMarco and Pilgrim 11b]. The output is shown for periods p⩽26.
Geographic Variation and Taxonomic Revision of Rice Rats (Oryzomys palustris and O. argentatus) of the United States

We evaluated geographic variation in O. argentatus and six named subspecies of O. palustris , using exploratory and confirmatory multivariate analyses of 12 skull measurements. We also conducted a preliminary analysis of pelage color, using colorimetry to describe spectral characteristics as continuous variables. Rice rats are highly variable in both cranial and pelage characters. Striking variation by age and sex corroborated the advice of Merriam (1901) that only adult males should be used for taxonomic investigation of Oryzomys . We found no species-level difference among these taxa, and we were unable to separate O. argentatus and most named subspecies of O. palustris from one another. Only two groups are distinguishable: O. p. palustris from the continental United States, and O. p. natator from peninsular Florida. The taxonomic arrangement of the genus Oryzomys in the United States appears to have been overly split on the basis of random variation in small samples.
A NEW APPROACH TO RADIONUCLIDE ANALYSIS IN GROUNDWATERS

A method using liquid scintillation spectral analysis (LSSA) for analyzing mixtures of radionuclides in groundwater samples, which is fast, simple, and inexpensive, was developed and bench-tested. Samples can be measured in a field laboratory with a new commercial portable liquid scintillation instrument that provides advanced analysis, display, and computational features previously found only in large expensive laboratory models. Results can be available within hours from the time samples are collected. The analysis provides a good measure of total sample activity and a spectral index value that may detect changes in radionuclide distributions from previous analyses when counting statistic are adequate. If a sample shows no change, further analytical costs for it may be avoided. A method that rapidly and quantitatively concentrates very low levels of activity from liter-size samples in minutes was also tested. With some modest improvements in this step, this work offers a completely new methodology and approach to groundwater remediation, which can dramatically reduce analytical costs and speed monitored cleanup and closure in many types of radiological work programs.
The anodic formation of calomel films on mercury electrodes-an ellipsometric-galvanostatic study

The mechanism of formation of calomel films on mercury electrodes in 1M potassium chloride solutions has been investigated by combining conventional galvanostatic techniques with a new application of ellipsometry. In this application, the ability of surface films to alter the polarization state of light reflected from metals has been used to monitor optically the state of the mercury surface and to signal the formation of a calomel film on a mercury mirror anode. The cell has been designed for simultaneously obtaining potential-time and ellipsometer intensity-time transients. A potentiostat has been used to maintain the mirror electrode at a potential such that it is kept free of anodically-formed films-this is the optical reference state. The cessation of potentiostatic control of the potential and the imposition of a constant anodic current makes calomel formation possible and ellipsometrically detectable in situ. The essential observation is that the mercury anode attains the 'calomel potential' in a time significantly less than the 'induction time' ($\tau\_i$) which is necessary for the formation of a calomel film on the anode. This induction time increases if an inert gas is bubbled during the passage of an anodic current. Further, it depends on the galvanostatic current density; the product i$\tau\_2^\frac{1}{2}$ increases linearly with current density at low current densities, but is constant at current densities > $\sim$ 0.1 mA/cm$^2$. The ellipsometer showed that, even when the anodic current was turned off during film growth, calomel growth continued for some time after which the film thickness became fairly steady over several minutes. Under these conditions (of steady thickness), the refractive index of a particular film has been shown to be that of calomel and its thickness $\approx$ 35 $\overset{\circ}{\mathrm A}$. The experimental results are discussed in terms of a dissolution-precipitation model in which a Hg/KCl interface is charged to the 'calomel potential' by a process involving the formation of mercurous adions and specifically adsorbed chloride ions. The transformation of the polarizable interface into a non-polarizable interface occurs through the passage into solution of chloro-mercurous ions, Hg$\_2$Cl$^+$. The accumulation of these ions is subject to diffusion away from the electrode and to disproportionation into chloro-mercuric ions, HgCl$^+$, and other mercuric entities. When the chloro-mercurous ions attain a critical concentration (corresponding to the solubility product of calomel with respect to Hg$\_2$Cl$^+$) in the vicinity of the anode, a film of calomel is precipitated on to the electrode. On the basis of a diffusion precipitation model, the authors have previously derived an expression for the dependence of i$\tau^\frac{1}{2}\_2$ on i by solving the boundary-value problem. The predictions of this equation are in conformity with the plot of i$\tau^\frac{1}{2}\_2$ against i experimentally observed for calomel formation.
Effects of anesthesia and surgery on prostanoid concentrations in plasma and pulmonary lymph

Comparisons were made of plasma and pulmonary lymph concentrations of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and thromboxane B2 between chronic and acute models of the sheep lung lymph fistula preparation. Pentobarbital anesthetized sheep subjected to acute thoracotomy and artificially ventilated demonstrated significantly elevated pulmonary lymph concentrations of 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and TxB2 for two hours following surgery while venous or arterial plasma prostanoid concentrations increased to a much lesser degree over the same time period. No changes in plasma or lymph prostanoid concentrations were observed in the unanesthetized, chronic lung lymph preparation during a similar baseline observation period. The rates of decrease of pulmonary lymph prostanoid concentrations in the acute model following surgical preparation suggest the requirement of a three hour stabilization period after completion of all surgical procedures before pulmonary arachidonic acid metabolism reaches steady-state conditions.
Interactions of Sliding Charge-Density Waves with Phonons

Abstract While it is well known that the depinning of a charge-density wave (CDW) in a quasi-one-dimensional conductor causes unusual electron transport properties, it also affects the lattice phonons in surprising ways. In this paper, we discuss two such effects. In orthorhombic TaS3, depinning causes low-frequency acoustic velocities to decrease, presumably because the local phase of the CDW can relax in an oscillating strain when it is depinned. We have used torsional oscillator measurements to determine the voltage dependence of the average relaxation time. In monoclinic K0.3MoO3, we have measured changes in the frequencies, oscillator strengths, and bandwidths of optic phonons near current contacts. The sign of these changes depends on the polarity of the current, indicating that they are due to polarization of the CDW which accompanies depinning.
Shyness and verbal creativity

Abstract This experiment tested the hypothesis that shy people may be less creative than those who are not shy. Forty-two college women who had previously completed the Shyness Scale and the Private Self-Consciousness Scale wrote poems which were rated for creativity. Half of the subjects were told that they would receive evaluative feedback regarding the quality of their poems. The negative relationship between shyness and creative performance was substantial when the trait of shyness was salient, due either to the private self-consciousness of the subject or to anticipation of evaluation. These results were discussed from the perspective of cognitive approaches to social anxiety.
Memory, attention, and school problems in children with seizure disorders

This study investigated memory and attention abilities in children with seizure disorders. First, children with different types of seizure disorders were evaluated for differences in memory (Rey Auditory‐Verbal Learning Test and Color Span Test) and attention (Continuous Performance Test‐2). From a total group of 51 children with seizure disorders, 35 children were classified into three subgroups based on seizure type and medication (Absence/Valproic Acid, n = 12; Complex Partial/Carbamazepine, n = 12; and Tonic‐Clonic/Carbamazep‐ine, n = 11). Results suggested no significant differences among the three subgroups on the memory or attention tasks, although trends toward lower memory scores for the absence subgroup and lower memory scores for all three subgroups compared with norms were noted. Second, the original group of 51 children were regrouped into two subgroups based on school problems (No School Problems, n = 17; School Problems, n = 26). Results indicated that children with school problems had more...
Stresses in a transversely isotropic elastic cone under an asymmetric force at its vertex

Behandelt wird das Problem eines transversal isotropischen Korpers, der durch zwei konzentrische Kegelflachen begrenzt ist und durch eine asymmetrische Kraft an der Spitze belastet wird. Geschlossene Ausdrucke werden gegeben fur den Spannungszustand und die Verformung. Ein interessanter Spezialfall ist das Cerruti-Problem, wo eine konzentrierte Kraft tangential an der Oberflache eines elastischen Halbraumes wirkt. Die Losung ist exakt im Rahmen der linearen Elastizitatstheorie.
The genetic unity of Southern Uto-Aztecan

The internal structure of the Uto-Aztecan language family has been debated since the late 19th century, when the historical relationships among all of its major subdivisions were first recognized. Alexis Manaster Ramer’s identification in 1992 of a phonological innovation shared by languages belonging to the four northernmost subfamilies led to the acceptance of these languages as a genetic linguistic unit called Northern Uto-Aztecan, but no consensus has emerged regarding the organization into higher-level subgroups of the remaining five subfamilies. In this essay, I argue in support of a perspective, originally developed by Terrence Kaufman, that the languages in these subfamilies also constitute a genetic unit, Southern Uto-Aztecan, based on two shared, sequential innovations: *-n- g *-r- and *-ŋ- g *-n-. Key to my argument is the reconstruction of a Proto-Uto-Aztecan liquid phoneme with **[-r-] and **[-l-] as its allophones, which clarifies the diachronic relationships among reflexes of **-n-, **-ŋ-, and **-r- in the daughter languages. The model that I propose offers a parsimonious solution to several perennial issues in Uto-Aztecan historical phonology and a possible explanation for the absence of a liquid phoneme in the Numic languages.
Boundary conditions for persistent roll resonance on re-entry vehicles.

Persistent roll resonance on re-entry vehicles can cause catastrophic increases in vehicle angle of attack. This paper analyzes the problem through the physical interpretation of boundary conditions on the roll equation for the occurrence of persistent roll resonance. The result is a rather simple equation that can be used to predict whether or not a particular transient resonance case will become a persistent resonance situation. The boundary equation also implies some of the qualitative effects of various vehicle and trajectory parameters on the probability of occurrence of persistent roll resonance and indicates that a smaller reentry vehicle with low static stability and large ballistic coefficient, undergoing a shallow reentry flight at low altitude, is more likely to experience persistent roll resonance. This, of course, is strongly influenced by the type and magnitude of vehicle asymmetries, which may result from manufacturing tolerances or in-flight changes in heat-shield contour. Linear aerodynamic coefficients and small angles of attack are assummed. Inertial moments due to products of inertia and moments due to the combination of drag and center-of-gravity asymmetry are neglected.
An approach to nonlinear programming

A nonlinear programming problem with inequality constraints and with unknown vectorx is converted to an unconstrained minimization problem in unknownsx and λ, where λ is a vector of Lagrange multipliers. It is shown that, if the original problem possesses standard convexity properties, then local minima of the associated unconstrained problem are in fact global minima of that problem and, consequently, Kuhn-Tucker points for the original problem. A computational procedure based on the conjugate residual scheme is applied in thexλ-space to solve the associated unconstrained problem. The resulting algorithm requires only first-order derivative information on the functions involved and will solve a quadratic programming problem in a finite number of steps.
Improving Small-Area Population Estimation: An Integrated Geographic and Demographic Approach

Accurate and timely population information is essential for public planning and commercial applications. Traditional population estimates, however, are only available at aggregated geographic level...
Using Notches to Track Mammary Epithelial Cell Homeostasis

Summary Notch signals mediate a wide range of activities in development and cancer. A report in this issue of Cell Stem Cell (Bouras et al., 2008) demonstrates that Notch serves as a switch that controls cell fate and tissue homeostasis in mammary epithelium.
Binary shape recognition based on an automatic morphological shape decomposition

The authors present a technique for translation-invariant binary convex polygon shape recognition based on a morphological shape decomposition. The triangular shape primitives from the decomposition of convex shapes are used as features for shape recognition. The shape primitives are smaller and simpler than the templates of shapes; thus they are more efficient in representing shapes for discrimination. Maximum entropy reduction is used as an optimization criterion for selecting features from among the shape primitives at each node of a decision tree. Experiments on the classification of ten classes of noisy polygon shapes, where five replications per class were used for training and fifty replications per class were used for testing, achieved a recognition rate of 98.80% on the test set. >
Social spacing of crayfish in natural habitats: what role does dominance play?

We examined the impact of dominance on crayfish social spacing and resource control. Spatial distributions of individual crayfish, Orconectes propinquus, were recorded from five sample sites in Douglas Lake, MI, USA. Crayfish populations from each site were collected and then immediately transferred to artificial ponds in order to reproduce potential dominance hierarchies. After 15 h of observation in the artificial ponds, hierarchies were found to stabilize and dominance for each crayfish was scored based on the percentage of total fights an individual won. These dominance scores were then regressed against nearest neighbor distance obtained from field data, crayfish size, and shelter evictions observed during hierarchy formation. Dominant crayfish were found to have greater nearest neighbor distances than lower ranking crayfish. In addition, as the difference in dominance score between nearest neighbors increased, the distance between them also increased. Although claw size was an accurate predictor of dominance, size did not correlate with nearest neighbor distance. Factors such as social dynamics may thus play a larger role in natural crayfish populations than previously thought. Dominant crayfish also performed more shelter evictions during hierarchy formation, which were correlated with nearest neighbor distance, suggesting that eviction by dominant crayfish may enforce spacing. Social status appears to significantly impact crayfish spatial distribution and shelter acquisition such that more dominant crayfish exhibit increased control over space and shelter. Finally, this study suggests the possibility that stable crayfish dominance hierarchies exist in nature.
An automated system for mosaicking spaceborne SAR imagery

An automated system has been developed for mosaicking spaceborne synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery. The system is capable of producing multiframe mosaics for large-scale mapping by combining images in both the along-track direction and adjacent cross-track swaths from ascending and descending passes. The system requires no operator interaction and is capable of achieving high registration accuracy. The output product is a geocoded mosaic on a standard map grid such as UTM or polar stereographic. The procedure described in detail in this paper consists essentially of remapping the individual image frames into these standard grids, frame-to-frame image registration and radiometric smoothing of the seams. These procedures are directly applicable to both the Magellan Venus Mapper and a scanning SAR design such as Radarsat, Eos SAR in addition to merging image frames from traditional SAR systems such as SEASAT and SIR-B. With minor modifications, it may also be applied to spaceborne optical sensor data to generate large-scale mosaics efficiently and with a high degree of accuracy. The system has been tested with SEASAT, SIR-B and Landsat TM data. Examples presented in this paper include a 38-frame mosaic of the Yukon River basin in central Alaska, a 33-frame mosaic of southern California and a three-frame terrain-corrected geocoded mosaic of the Wind River basin in Wyoming.
Modeling Physically Simulated Characters with Motion Networks

We present a system that allows non-programmers to create generic controllers for physically simulated characters. The core of our system is based on a directed acyclic graph of trajectory transformations, which can be modified by feedback terms and serve as reference motions tracked by the physically simulated character. We then introduce tools to enable the automatic creation of robust and parameterized controllers suitable for running in real-time applications, such as in computer games. The entire process is accomplished by means of a graphical user interface and we demonstrate how our system can be intuitively used to design a simbicon-like walking controller and a parameterized jump controller to be used in real-time simulations.
Immunohistochemical identification of an extracellular matrix scaffold that microguides capillary sprouting in vivo.

To gain insight into how a naturally occurring scaffold composed of extracellular matrix (ECM) proteins provides directional guidance for capillary sprouting, we examined angiogenesis in whole-mount specimens of rat mesentery. Angiogenesis was studied in response to normal maturation, the injection of a mast cell degranulating substance (compound 48/80), and mild wounding. Confocal microscopy of specimens immunolabeled for elastin revealed a network of crosslinked elastic fibers with a density of 140.8 ± 37 mm of fiber/mm2 tissue. Fiber diameters ranged from 180 to 1400 nm, with a mean value of 710 ± 330 nm. Capillary sprouts contained CD31- and OX-43-positive endothelial cells as well as desmin-positive pericytes. During normal maturation, leading endothelial cells and pericytes were in contact and aligned with an elastic fiber in ≃80–90% of all sprouts. In wounding and compound 48/80-treated specimens, in which angiogenesis was markedly increased, leading endothelial cells remained in contact and aligne...
Regulatory and Technology Survey of Sense-and-Avoid for UAS

The purpose of this paper is to summarize the sense-and-avoid issue for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) with respect to regulatory, political, technological, and experimental aspects of its development over the last seven years. In essence, sense-and-avoid is defined as “the ability to sense traffic, which may be a conflict, evaluate flight paths, determine traffic right-of-way, and maneuver to avoid other traffic.” Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Order 7610.4K currently states that UAS “must provide an equivalent level of safety, as compared to see-and-avoid requirements for manned aircraft.” The fundamental safety concern regarding UAS platforms is their inability to sense-and-avoid non-cooperative aircraft, or aircraft without an active transponder, such as balloons, gliders, and crop dusters. Regardless of this concern, industry and government demand for UAS operations in the U.S. National Airspace System (NAS) continues to rise, resulting in the FAA’s issuance of over one hundred Certificates of Authorization (COA) within the last three years, which temporarily authorizes FAA-compliant UAS operations within a confined airspace.
Effects of carbaryl grasshopper control on nesting killdeer in North Dakota

There is currently special concern for the effects of range grasshopper control on insectivorous grassland birds, such as upland shorebirds. The direct and indirect effects on killdeer (Charadrius vociferus) of carbaryl applications for grasshopper control were investigated in North Dakota in 1992. Specimens were collected from two rangeland sites aerially sprayed with 1.44 and 1.12 kg/ha of Sevin-4-Oil (0.56 and 0.45 kg/ha carbaryl active ingredient, respectively) and two untreated areas. Potential exposure to carbaryl, estimated from pesticide residue concentrations of whole-body and gizzard contents, was highest 2 d after treatment and then decreased over time. Whole-body carbaryl residues averaged significantly higher (p < 0.05) in specimens from sprayed areas, particularly from sites where the higher carbaryl application was used. There was no difference in the mean brain AChE activity and whole-body lipid content of killdeer from treated and untreated areas. The relative abundance of arthropods (principal prey of killdeer) was also estimated on the treatment area. As expected, grasshopper densities declined significantly posttreatment but the spray caused a temporary increase in the availability of affected grasshoppers. The two application rates caused similar reductions in grasshopper numbers. Killdeer did not exhibit a functional response of a prey switch as a result of the spray, but they did demonstrate an increased arthropod capture rate for a short period (8 d) after treatment. Although exposure was documented on the higher application rate area, this exposure was apparently not high enough to cause an impact on the parameters we measured in this study. These results support the conclusions of other studies that carbaryl, applied at the rate of 1.12 kg/ha, has little impact on birds and is equally as effective in reducing grasshopper numbers as the higher application rate.
Pharmacotherapy of postpartum depression.

Background: The prevalence and recurrence rates of postpartum depression (PPD) are 13 and 25%, respectively. Despite its detrimental impact on the health of the mother–infant dyad, there is a paucity of data in the literature regarding the efficacy of pharmacological treatment of PPD. Objectives: i) To review the literature on the use of antidepressants and hormonal supplements for the prevention and the treatment of PPD; ii) to give the authors' opinion on the current status of the pharmacological treatment of PPD; and iii) to discuss developments that are likely to be important in the future. Methods: An electronic search was performed by using PubMed, Medline, and PsychINFO. Inclusion criteria were: i) empirical articles in peer-reviewed English-language journals; ii) well-validated measures of depression; and iii) a uniform scoring system for depression among the sample. Results/conclusion: The electronic search yielded a total of 19 articles (12 on treatment and 7 on prevention of PPD) with the follo...
Military Organizations and Programs Contributing to Resilience Building

Extreme stress and adversity due to combat operations and disaster assistance is commonplace in the military. Adverse events may be compounded by multiple deployments and family or relational problems. The military’s mission readiness depends largely on the resilience of service members, family members, military units, and communities. In general, resilience is an individual, family, organization, or communities’ ability to adapt to adverse stress effectively as measured by performance and well-being. A resilience defi nition provided by The Technical Cooperation Program (TTCP) The Technical Panel 13 (TTP-13) is “the sum total of psychological processes that permit individuals to maintain or return to previous levels of well-being and functioning in response to adversity.” 1 This article provides an overview of some of the organizations that focus on resilience building for military members, providers, units, families, and communities.
Quality of life measurement in paediatric and adolescent populations with HIV: a review of the literature.

Purpose To review the quality and utility of currently available self-report generic quality of life (QOL) and health-related quality of life (HRQOL) measures for use with children and adolescents with human immunodeficiency virus and/or acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS). Methods Literature searches were conducted to identify QOL and HRQOL measures developed for, adapted for, or otherwise used with paediatric and adolescent populations with HIV/AIDS. The quality of measures (i.e. item generation techniques, instrument properties including reliability, validity and responsiveness) were compared and critically evaluated. Results Nineteen QOL/HRQOL measures were identified. Item content was generated from the respondent (adult) population in only eight (42%) measures. Seventeen (90%) measures reported internal reliability in the accepted range between 0.70 and 0.90 and four (21%) reported reproducibility statistics in this range. Although validity was reported for 19 (100%) measures, only six (32%) showed evidence for three or more properties, with construct validity being the most commonly reported aspect. The authors of eight (42%) measures reported evidence for responsiveness. Conclusions While almost all measures reviewed demonstrated adequate psychometric properties, only one-third demonstrated all aspects of validity, and less than half demonstrated responsiveness. None included paediatric or adolescent populations with HIV/AIDS in their development, neglecting to obtain input from target respondents in item generation to determine what health-related and daily functioning factors are of importance to them. Despite noted limitations, the AUQUEI or the SWED-QUAL appear the best currently available generic measure, and the MQOL-HIV the preferred disease-specific measure, at least for use with older adolescents/young adults.
An Acoustic Temperature Sensor to Monitor Variable Frequency Microwave Curing of Polymer Dielectrics

While conventional thermal curing can take several hours, variable frequency microwave (VFM) curing can perform the same steps in minutes, without compromising intrinsic material properties. VFM processing is a viable alternative to conventional thermal techniques because of advantages like rapid heating selective heating of materials, and the capability to process metals. However, current limitations include uncertain process characterization methods and a lack of reliable temperature measuring techniques. Prior research has utilized statistical experimental design, neural networks, and genetic algorithms to model and optimize VFM process parameters. Current research focuses on developing a reliable temperature measuring system using acoustic techniques to monitor polymer dielectrics cured in a VFM The acoustic sensor exhibits the capability to measure temperatures from 20 to 200 degC with an accuracy of plusmn2 degrees.
Office of Naval Research contributions to neural networks and signal processing in oceanic engineering

The authors summarize many of the highlights and accomplishments of the Office of Naval Research's neural network basic research programs and share a bit of the historical perspective that serves as a source of pride in the world of Navy science and technology, namely, the long-term support and resulting payoff of Navy-sponsored research in neural networks. The significant problems that must be overcome before neural network applications will become widely available to the Navy community are surveyed. >
Uniqueness of behavioral effects in causal attribution1

Most research on causal inferences has dealt with the conditions under which an observed behavior is attributed to a disposition of the actor rather than to some external factor (e.g., Steiner & Field, 1960; Jones, Davis, & Gergen, 1961; Frieze & Weiner, 1970; Ajzen, 1971; McArthur, 1972). Much less is known about causal attribution to an actor whose behavior may reflect any of several different internal factors. That is, even when external determinants can be ruled out, it is often possible to invoke more than one disposition to account for the observed act. Jones & Davis (1965) suggested that any outcome or effect produced by the actor's behavior can provide the basis for a causal attribution. Suppose that an actor is observed buying a package tour of the following European capitals: Oslo, London, Paris, and Rome. His desire to visit any one of these cities could provide an explanation for his behavior. According to Jones & Davis, a behavior tends to be attributed to its noncommon or unique effects; i.e., to outcomes that would not be produced by alternative behaviors.^ By implication, the more uniquely a given effect is associated with the actor's chosen alternative, the more likely it is that a dispositional attribution will be based on that effect. Imagine that the actor in the above example had a choice among four different package tours of Ein^opean capitals. If only the chosen tour included Oslo, an observer would be more
Mjan: a Computer Program for Univariate and Multivariate Judgment Analysis

The purpose of this program is to perform both univariate and multivariate judgment analysis. More specifically, given a situation in which a group of judges rates a set of subjects on one or more characteristics, and given one or more known attributes of the subjects, the program provides a (linear) model for each judge's rating policy and then iteratively clusters the judges according to the similarity of those policies. The program, which is written in FORTRAN IV for use on the CDC 6400, makes use of the International Mathematical and Statistical Library (IMSL) subroutines.
The effects of topically applied silicone gel and its silver derivative on the prevention of hypertrophic scarring in two rabbit ear-scarring models

Topically applied silicone gel is an effective treatment in the management of hypertrophic scars. This early study of silicone gel predates other well-controlled scientific studies that demonstrate these findings. Our well-established rabbit ear scarring model creates 7 mm punch wounds down to the bare cartilage, including the removal of the perichondrium. In this study, we employ a new model that creates 10 mm punch wounds that leaves the perichondrium intact. Both the 7 mm and new 10 mm scar models were used to study the effectiveness of silicone gel and silicone gel silver respectively on hypertrophy and the inhibition of scar formation. All samples were harvested at post-wounding day 35 for histological analysis. Silicone gel significantly reduced scar area (p=0.005), scar elevation index (p=0.03), and epidermal area (p=0.016). Silicone gel silver significantly reduced scar elevation index (p=0.004). The new 10 mm scar model resulted in more hypertrophic scarring than the typical, 7 mm wound scar model (p=0.0001). In conclusion, silicone gel and its silver derivative are effective in preventing hypertrophic scarring and scar models that leave the perichondrium intact causes scars with more hypertrophy.
Characterization and detection of PPM-encoded servo signals in tape drives

Timing-based servo signals, which are read back from dedicated servo patterns on tape to generate estimates for the operation of reel-to-reel and track-follow servomechanisms, are characterized by a first-order position jitter noise and pulse-width variation noise model. A method for the identification of servo signal parameters and the evaluation of the relative contributions of additive noise and medium noise components is presented. The performance of matched-filter detection of binary symbols that are embedded in recorded servo patterns using pulse-position modulation is investigated, and an analytical expression for the symbolerror probability in the presence of additive noise and medium noise is obtained. Finally, the performance of a near-optimum detector approximating the matched filter is evaluated by simulations and compared with matched-filter detection performance.
Trends in Advance Care Planning in Patients With Cancer: Results From a National Longitudinal Survey

Importance Advance care planning (ACP) may prevent end-of-life (EOL) care that is nonbeneficial and discordant with patient wishes. Despite long-standing recognition of the merits of ACP in oncology, it is unclear whether participation in ACP by patients with cancer has increased over time. Objectives To characterize trends in durable power of attorney (DPOA) assignment, living will creation, and participation in discussions of EOL care preferences and to explore associations between ACP subtypes and EOL treatment intensity as reflected in EOL care decisions and terminal hospitalizations. Design, Setting, and Participants We analyzed prospectively collected survey data from 1985 next-of-kin surrogates of Health and Retirement Study (HRS) participants with cancer who died between 2000 and 2012, including data from in-depth “exit” interviews conducted with the surrogates after the participant’s death. The HRS is a nationally representative, biennial, longitudinal panel study of US residents older than 50 years. Trends in ACP subtypes were tested, and multivariable logistic regression models examined for associations between ACP subtypes and measures of treatment intensity. Main Outcomes and Measures Trends in the surrogate-reported frequency of DPOA assignment, living will creation, and participation in discussions of EOL care preferences; associations between ACP subtypes and both surrogate-reported EOL care decisions and terminal hospitalizations. Results From 2000 to 2012, there was an increase in DPOA assignment (52% to 74%, P = .03), without significant change in use of living wills (49% to 40%, P = .63) or EOL discussions (68% to 60%, P = .62). Surrogate reports that patients received “all care possible” at EOL increased during the period (7% to 58%, P = .004), and rates of terminal hospitalizations were unchanged (29% to 27%, P = .70). Limiting or withholding treatment was associated with living wills (adjusted odds ratio [AOR], 2.51; 95% CI, 1.53-4.11; P P = .002) but not with DPOA assignment. Conclusions and Relevance Use of DPOA increased significantly between 2000 and 2012 but was not associated with EOL care decisions. Importantly, there was no growth in key ACP domains such as discussions of care preferences. Efforts that bolster communication of EOL care preferences and also incorporate surrogate decision makers are critically needed to ensure receipt of goal-concordant care.
Epitope analysis of the major reactive region of the 100-kd protein of PM-Scl autoantigen.

Objective. To localize the epitope(s) bound by anti–PM-Scl antibodies in the N-terminal half of the 100-kd protein, the major antigen of the PM-Scl complex. Methods. Investigations were performed by immunoblotting 20 anti–PM-Scl positive sera against bacterially expressed, polymerase chain reaction–derived deletion mutants of the S1 fragment (amino acids 11–437), enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) screening against synthesized serial octapeptides, and ELISA screening, with anti–PM-Scl positive sera, against a synthesized 21–amino acid peptide covering the active region. Results. Anti–PM-Scl positive sera retained full immunoblot activity with fragment 207–436 and most activity with fragment 11–241, but had markedly decreased activity against fragments 236–436 and 11–212, indicating a major epitope in the aa 207–241 region. Fusion proteins with smaller fragments localized this activity between aa 226 and aa 246. Of 42 anti–S1-positive, anti–PM-Scl positive sera tested by ELISA against a synthetic peptide of this region, 36 were definitely positive, 4 borderline, and 2 negative. Similar activity was seen with a peptide from which proline 228 was deleted. Three additional epitope areas were found in S1, but each reacted with only a few sera. Anti–PM-Scl positive sera did not react with any octapeptide spanning the major epitope area (aa 207–246). Conclusion. The main immunoblot epitope of the PM-Scl 100-kd protein is within a central area of 21 aa (aa 226–246), but is longer than the usual linear epitope. This peptide may be useful in patient testing. Three minor epitopes in S1 may also be recognized by some sera.