cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In-Situ Investigation of Organic Additive Interactions in Copper Electroplating Solutions with Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS)

To meet demand for increasingly higher-performance electronics in increasingly smaller form factors, achieving higher logic-memory bandwidth and higher I/O density is required. This necessitates finer copper lines, smaller copper microvias, and fine-pitch, copper-filled through-package vias (TPVs). However, low-quality copper filling in highaspect ratio TPVs can lead to void formation and mechanical failures. This poses various material and process challenges for the achievement of high-quality copper metallization. These challenges can be addressed through a better understanding of copper deposition mechanisms and investigating the fundamental aspects of copper plating chemistry. In this study, in-situ interactions between different classes of organic additives in copper plating solutions were investigated with surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS). A novel test set up is developed which allows for the direct observation of copper plating within a via. SERS was used to observe cases of competitive adsorption between suppressor, leveler, and accelerator additives within this ’via’. These observations are used to infer the impact of different classes of additives on viafilling performance and correlate the electrochemical behavior in the plating cell. A model is proposed to explain the relative tendencies of the differing classes of additives to adsorb to the copper surface within a via.
Evaluation of Rapid, Molecular-Based Assays for the Detection of Respiratory Syncytial Virus

Objective: Respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infection causes lower respiratory tract infection primarily in infants and toddlers. RSV reinfection also occurs throughout life and can be a significant cause of pneumonia and mortality in the elderly. Surges in physician offices, emergency department visits, and hospitalization often result from RSV illness. Point-of-care (POC) testing reduces healthcare costs and permits informed decisions on treatment, further testing, or hospitalization to occur during the physician-patient encounter. Optimal POC assays must be sensitive, easy to perform, and provide rapid results. Methods: In this study, 2 POC assays (Alere i; Abbot Rapid Diagnostics and cobas Liat, Roche Molecular, Inc.) and a laboratory-based assay (Solana; Quidel, Inc.) were evaluated using 133 patient nasopharyngeal specimens. Results: Sensitivity/specificity values (%) of 94.7/96.1, 98.2/96.1, and 96.5/94.7 were obtained for the Alere i, Liat, and Solana assays, respectfully. These values approximated those stated in each assay’s package insert. Conclusion: Rapid molecular assays for RSV are sensitive and accurate. The choice of assay should reflect each healthcare institution’s specific testing needs with respect to the benefits and drawbacks of each product.
Space-vector-based hybrid PWM for reduced line current ripple and common mode voltage in paralleled interleaved three-phase two-level converter

This paper proposes a hybrid space vector modulation (HBSVM) to reduce line current ripple while maintaining the optimal common mode voltage and zero sequence circulating current peak. The analysis reveals that the vector errors can be reduced by an equivalent basic vector with an adjustable length, which is synthesised by two basic vectors of the same vector angle. Then, a variable k is defined to denote the distribution of the two basic vectors. In addition, due to the implementation of k , a special vectors timing sequence is proposed. With the proposed generalised sequence, this paper investigates the current ripple over the switching period. Furthermore, we derive a map of the optimal distribution factor k opt to minimise the current ripple. Each 30° sector is divided into three subsectors; each applies k opt to minimise the current ripple. With the proposed two variables ( p and q ), a simple flowchart for k opt selection in the whole space vector plane is developed. The proposed HBSVM uses the optimal distribution k opt according to the position of the reference voltage, achieving the minimised line current ripple. The proposed HBSVM achieves the best line current quality while maintaining the optimal ZSCC and CMV peak, as validated by experiments.
Host country institutional diversity and MNE performance persistence

Abstract Real options theory is applied widely to the study of MNEs’ international expansions. This stream of research views the MNE as a network that incorporates a portfolio of options to maximize return in changing environmental conditions (Kogut & Kulatilaka, 1994). In this study, we examine whether and how flexibility benefits of multinationality influence MNEs’ ability to sustain superior performance. From a real options valuation perspective, our findings indicate that the composition of the MNEs’ affiliates’ portfolios influences aggregate value of individual options. We empirically test our theoretical framework using a comprehensive panel dataset of 134 U.S. manufacturing MNEs and their foreign affiliates from 2004 to 2012. Our findings suggest that institutional diversity of the host country portfolio moderates the relationship between multinationality and superior performance persistence, and the effect shows an inverted U-shape.
Surprisingly Simple Semi-Supervised Domain Adaptation with Pretraining and Consistency.

Visual domain adaptation involves learning to classify images from a target visual domain using labels available in a different source domain. A range of prior work uses adversarial domain alignment to try and learn a domain invariant feature space, where a good source classifier can perform well on target data. This however, can lead to errors where class A features in the target domain get aligned to class B features in source. We show that in the presence of a few target labels, simple techniques like self-supervision (via rotation prediction) and consistency regularization can be effective without any adversarial alignment to learn a good target classifier. Our Pretraining and Consistency (PAC) approach, can achieve state of the art accuracy on this semi-supervised domain adaptation task, surpassing multiple adversarial domain alignment methods, across multiple datasets. Notably, it outperforms all recent approaches by 3-5% on the large and challenging DomainNet benchmark, showing the strength of these simple techniques in fixing errors made by adversarial alignment.
Management of maternal COVID-19: considerations for anesthesiologists.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: To describe updates to pragmatic recommendations that were published during the first coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) surge, including the current thinking about whether pregnancy worsens the severity of COVID-19. RECENT FINDINGS: Although a majority of pregnant women infected with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) remain asymptomatic or paucisymptomatic, pregnancy puts women at higher risk of severe COVID-19 and adverse birth outcomes. Pregnant and recently pregnant women are more likely to be admitted to intensive care units and receive mechanical ventilation than nonpregnant patients with COVID-19, although preexisting maternal comorbidities are significant risk factors.Early provision of neuraxial labor analgesia with a functional indwelling epidural catheter has been universally promoted, with the goal to reduce avoidable general anesthesia for cesarean delivery and mitigate risks for healthcare workers during airway manipulation. This recommendation, along with updated workflow models of anesthesia coverage, may contribute to a reduction in general anesthesia rates. SUMMARY: Initial recommendations to provide early neuraxial labor analgesia and avoid general anesthesia for cesarean delivery have not changed over time. Although workflows have significantly changed to allow continued patient and healthcare workers' safety, clinical anesthesia protocols for labor and delivery are essentially the same.
S-Palmitoylation-Dependent Regulation of Cardiomyocyte Rac1 Signaling Activity and Cardiac Hypertrophy

S-palmitoylation is a reversible lipid modification that regulates trafficking, localization, activity, and/or stability of protein substrates by serving as a fatty acid anchor to cell membranes. However, S-palmitoylation-dependent control of signal transduction in cardiomyocytes and its effects on cardiac physiology are not well understood. We performed an in vivo gain-of-function screen of zinc finger Asp-His-His-Cys (zDHHC) family S-acyl transferases that catalyze S-palmitoylation and identified the Golgi-localized enzyme zDHHC3 as a critical regulator of cardiac maladaptation. The closely-related enzyme, zDHHC7, also induced severe cardiomyopathy but this effect was not observed with overexpression of plasma membrane enzyme zDHHC5, endoplasmic reticulum enzyme zDHHC6, or Golgi enzyme zDHHC13. To identify effectors that may underlie zDHHC3-induced cardiomyopathy we performed quantitative site-specific S-acyl proteomics in zDHHC3-overexpressing cells that revealed the small GTPase Rac1 as a novel substrate. We generated cardiomyocyte-specific transgenic mice overexpressing zDHHC3, which develop severe cardiac disease. Cardiomyopathy and congestive heart failure in zDHHC3 transgenic mice are preceded by enhanced S-palmitoylation of Rac1 and induction of additional Rho family small GTPases including RhoA, Cdc42, and the Rho family-specific chaperone RhoGDI. In contrast, transgenic mice overexpressing an enzymatically-dead mutant of zDHHC3 do not exhibit this profound induction of RhoGTPase signaling or develop cardiac disease. Rac1 S-palmitoylation, plasma membrane localization, activity, and downstream hypertrophic signaling were substantially increased in zDHHC3 overexpressing hearts. Taken together, these data suggest inhibition of zDHHC3/7 S-acyl transferase activity at the cardiomyocyte Golgi or disruption of Rac1 S-palmitoylation as novel therapeutic strategies to treat cardiac disease or other diseases associated with enhanced RhoGTPase signaling.
Transanal Ileal Pouch: Is It Better?

Background: Restorative proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) is the procedure of choice for patients with ulcerative colitis and select patients with Crohn's disease. Minimally invasive techniques have been increasingly adopted including the transanal approach. However there remains a dearth of comparative data assessing the technical advantages and outcomes of a transanal approach to the IPAA against other minimally invasive techniques. Methods: In this review, we describe our learned approach with the transanal IPAA (ta-IPAA) and highlight key technical steps for a successful surgery in addition to evaluating the current literature on surgical and functional outcomes of this relatively novel procedure. Results: The ta-IPAA affords better visualization and access during a pelvic dissection translating to lower conversion rates. Lower odds of postoperative morbidity have been reported, but there was no difference in severity of complications when present. Though this technique has the advantages of a more accurate rectal transection obviating the need for multiple staple firings, the risk of anastomotic leak was similar between the two groups. Functional outcomes were found to be overall similar, though data is limited. Conclusions: The technical aspects of the IPAA have continued to evolve to mitigate the challenges posed by a deep pelvic dissection. While the ta-IPAA has been shown to be a safe and feasible procedure, the true advantages and functional benefits of this technique have yet to be elucidated with large-scale, quality data.
Case Series of Sarcoid Myelitis Masquerading as Disc-Related Compression Myelopathy (P1.2-062)

Objective: Describe imaging characteristics of sarcoid myelitis, particularly those mimicking compression myelopathy. Background: Neurosarcoidosis is a rare manifestation of sarcoidosis, with myelitis occurring in 10–25% of these patients. Diagnosis is difficult due to poorly sensitive serologic, CSF, and neuroimaging markers. Sarcoid myelitis can also mimic more common conditions, such as compression myelopathy. Design/Methods: Case series. Results: 60-year-old woman with biopsy-proven pulmonary sarcoidosis presented with progressive numbness in all limbs. MRI suggested cord compression due to degenerative disc disease C5–7 with cord edema and T2 hyperintensity C4-T1. Neurosurgery prescribed hard collar with plan for decompression. CSF had elevated protein (66) with 6 nucleated cells. Diagnosis of neurosarcoidosis was made with complete response to IV steroids. 55-year-old man presented with neck pain and progressive tingling in hands and legs. MRI showed cord compression due to disc herniations C5–7 with cord edema and T2 hyperintensity C2–7, leading to urgent posterior laminectomy and fusion. Post-operative MRI showed worsened cord edema, patchy contrast enhancement, and extension of T2 hyperintensity to T4 level. CSF had elevated protein (60) and 30 nucleated cells. CT chest showed mediastinal lymphadenopathy. Lymph node biopsy revealed non-necrotizing granulomas, consistent with sarcoidosis. 58-year-old man presented with acute on chronic paresthesias and triparesis. MRI showed cord compression due to disc herniation C6–7 with cord edema and T2 hyperintensity C2-T1. He underwent urgent posterior and later anterior laminectomies and fusions with continued worsening of weakness. CSF had elevated protein (121) and 10 nucleated cells. CT chest showed mediastinal and hilar lymphadenopathy. Bronchoscopic fine needle aspiration cytology showed non-necrotizing granulomas, consistent with sarcoidosis. Conclusions: Sarcoid myelitis may present with the appearance of compression myelopathy. In our patients, distinguishing features included longitudinally extensive signal change beyond the levels of disc disease and cord edema. Recognizing these signs is critical to avoid unnecessary invasive procedures. Disclosure: Dr. Gluck has nothing to disclose. Dr. Wesley has received personal compensation in an editorial capacity for Elsevier and Clinical Therapeutics.
Herbie Wolf, Poet

Herbie Wolf felt good, and why in heU shouldn't he? On Tuesday he'd gotten the letter from Sundial Press saying they were going to publish his first book of poems, Spring Training; and then, on Friday, Dean Parrish had told him that, because of the book, they were going to make him an assistant professor with the understanding that, if he stayed on for another three years, he'd be given tenure. Of course, being made assistant professor meant a twelve hundred doUar raise; and Sundial Press was sending him seven hundred; and, who could teU, he might have the kind of success Rod McKuen had had (Spring Training would have wide appeal for a book of poems) and make milUons. So he and Jeanie spent Saturday afternoon looking at houses in the Wildwood Heights Subdivision and in Mekose Park. They came home about six o'clock and Jeanie was a Uttle nervous, because they had asked a lot of people over for what Herbie caUed a Victory Party at eight and that gave her only two hours to get supper ready, put Dougie to bed, clean up, get dressed and so forth. "So don't worry," Herbie said, opening a bottle of Scotch. "These people, they're our friends. What do they care if the house is a Uttle dirty? They want to get drunk a Uttle and celebrate my success. What do they care?" "I care," Jeanie said, going into the kitchen. "That's who cares." Herbie Wolf stood at the window looking out at the street. A crumby street; a crumby half of a duplex apartment; a lousy instructorship at Columbine CoUege. But that was all over now; he'd made it, up on the first rung, maybe even the second; he was being pub?shed; he was an assistant professor. And he wouldn't stay there long either. There would be other books and better jobs; some day maybe even Yale or Columbia. From Columbine to Columbia: he could call his autobiography that. People wrote autobiographies now about how they'd made it; look at Podhoretz. Some day, like Podhoretz, he too, Herbie Wolf, would be invited to Sutton Place. Herbie Wolf, Poet. He swaUowed some Scotch, turned and went into the kitchen. Dougie was fussing in his highchair and Jeanie was messing
The commodity flow gravity model: A theoretical reassessment

Abstract A generalized gravity model is shown to be the proper tool for describing commodity flows in space generated by a revenue maximizing monopolistic firm. Hartwick's finding that the slope and intercept parameters of the logarithmic transformation of the commodity flow gravity equation are positively correlated is confirmed and a theoretical explanation of this phenomenon is provided.
Serial extension for 800/1600 Mb/s computer interconnect

HIPPI is an ANSI standard (X3.183-1991) for transmitting data in parallel between data processing equipment. To meet the need for transmitting HIPPI data serially on fiber or coaxial cable, serial-HIPPI was created. The authors describe the interface units required by serial-HIPPI, an extender for transmitting data serially between HIPPI nodes at 800 Mb/s or 1600 Mb/s. >
Edge-Affected Context for Adaptive Contrast Enhancement

Contrast enhancement is a fundamental step in the display of digital images. The end result of display is the perceived brightness occurring in the human observer; design of effective contrast enhancement mappings therefore requires understanding of human brightness perception. Recent advances in this area have emphasized the importance of image structure in determining our perception of brightnesses, and consequently contrast enhancement methods which attempt to use structural information are being widely investigated. In this paper we present two promising methods we feel are strong competitors to presently-used techniques. We begin with a survey of contrast enhancement techniques for use with medical images. Classical adaptive algorithms use one or more statistics of the intensity distribution of local image areas to compute the displayed pixel values. More recently, techniques which attempt to take direct account of local structural information have been developed. The use of this structural information, in particular edge strengths, in defining contextual regions seems especially important. Two new methods based on this idea are presented and discussed, namely edge-affected unsharp masking followed by contrast-limited adaptive histogram equalization (AHE), and diffusive histogram equalization, a variant of AHE in which weighted contextual regions are calculated by edge-affected diffusion. Results on typical medical images are given.
Factors Affecting the Acetylene to 15N2 Conversion Ratio in Root Nodules of Myrica gale L.

When nodules of actinorhizal plants are exposed to acetylene, there is often an initial peak rate of acetylene reduction followed by a decline and a partial recovery. Treatment of hydroponically grown Myrica gale L. with water deficiency or dark stress increased the magnitude of the acetylene-induced decline and decreased the extent of the recovery. When N2 fixation was measured with 15N2 in unstressed plants, the ratio of acetylene reduction (peak) to N2 fixation prior to acetylene exposure was 3.73 [plus or minus] 0.14 (mean [plus or minus] SE). This value does not differ significantly (P
Efficient Algorithms for Generation of Combinatorial Covering Suites

In this note we describe efficient algorithms for generating tests that cover a prescribed set of combinations of a software system’s input parameters. Our methods for obtaining uniform t-wise coverage are based on repeatedly coloring the vertices of a graph such that the vertices in each t-subset have different colors in at least one of the colorings. The resulting algorithm is compared to other known algorithms for uniform coverage, a greedy algorithm and a randomized algorithm, in particular. The size of its output test suite is then related to a new lower bound that we obtain on the minimal size of a test suite.
Comparison of 30x11.5 - 14.5 bias-ply and radial-belted tire characteristics

An investigation at NASA Langley Research Center was conducted to determine the static and dynamic mechanical characteristics of 30x11.5-14.5, Type VIII, bias-ply and radial-belted aircraft tires. The tire characteristics were determined by application of vertical and fore-and-aft loads. The results of the study are presented to show static load deflection curves, hysteresis losses, and stiffness and damping characteristics of each tire type tested. The advantages and disadvantages of each type of tire are also given.
Next Generation PON Based LTE Architecture and Challenges in Femtocells Deployments

This research paper explores a cost effective all packet based converged fixed mobile access networking architecture that enables the convergence of PON and 4G LTE into the fixed mobile platform. The proposed model provides the enhanced overall system performance in terms of cost effectiveness, bandwidth utilization, support for better QoS and handoff capability. This research paper investigates LTE and EPON technologies converged architecture and issues in the seamless deployment of Femtocells. The goal is to provide an overview for these end-user-deployed femtocells infrastructure enhancements and describe how the above improvements come about. We also describe the business and technical challenges that femtocells present.
Neuronal Nuclear Autoantibodies, Type 1 (Hu)

Publisher Summary This chapter reviews the pathogenetic role of anti-neuronal nuclear antibodies, type 1 antibodies and characterizes antigenic and biological properties of these antibodies. Definitive detection of these antibodies provides an invaluable clinical tool for diagnosis of paraneoplastic encephalomyelitis or sensory neuronopathy and for detecting an underlying tumor. In the majority of cases, this tumor is a small-cell lung cancer, but in other cases can be associated with neuroblastoma, prostate cancer, and sarcoma.
Lachesin: an immunoglobulin superfamily protein whose expression correlates with neurogenesis in grasshopper embryos

We describe the developmental expression in grasshopper (Schistocerca americana) and molecular characterization in grasshopper and fruit fly (Drosophila melanogaster) of Lachesin, a novel immunoglobulin superfamily protein. Lachesin is expressed on the surfaces of differentiating neuronal cells from the onset of neurogenesis in both the central and peripheral nervous systems. Lachesin expression begins in some cells of the neurogenic ectoderm immediately after engrailed expression begins in the posterior cells of each future segment. All neurogenic cells express Lachesin early, but only those cells that become neuroblasts continue to express Lachesin. Ectodermal cells in the neurogenic region that adopt non-neuronal fates lose Lachesin at the time that they diverge from a potentially neurogenic pathway. Neuroblasts, ganglion mother cells and neurons all express Lachesin early in their lives, but expression becomes restricted to a subset of neurons as development progresses. Sensory neurons express Lachesin as they delaminate from the body wall ectoderm. Lachesin is also present on growing axons of the CNS and PNS and becomes restricted to a subset of axons later in development. This expression is unique among known insect neurogenic genes and suggests a role for Lachesin in early neuronal differentiation and axon outgrowth. Grasshopper Lachesin is a 38 × 10(3) M(r) protein linked to cell membranes through a glycosyl phosphatidylinositol anchor. We have cloned the Lachesin gene from both grasshopper and fly. The proteins are highly conserved (70% identical) between the two species. Lachesin is similar to Drosophila amalgam, bovine OBCAM and the human poliovirus receptor, putting it into a subgroup of the immunoglobulin superfamily containing one V- and two C2-type immunoglobulin domains. Lachesin is also similar to several other vertebrate immunoglobulin superfamily proteins (TAG-1, F11, L1 and NgCAM) known to function in neurite outgrowth and other cell surface recognition events.
Data mining for imprecise temporal associations

The field of data mining is dedicated to the analysis of data in order to find underlying connections and the discovery of new patterns. Since the volume of data to be analyzed is sometimes quite significant, there is the need for efficient data mining algorithms to be implemented. The market-basket algorithm can represent a breakthrough in data mining techniques. As the associations that are to be analyzed grow more and more abstract, the market-basket approach is unable to deal with imprecise temporal associations, leaving a big area uncharted. This research is dedicated to the analysis of temporal imprecise associations through the modification of a standard a-priori approach by means of fuzzy set relations to classify the associations relating different sources of data. The results of this research show that it is possible to investigate such relations with the help of fuzzy set classification for temporal associations, and the result of such exploration is as easily understandable as the standard a-priori algorithm.
NMR solution structure of an oxaliplatin 1,2-d(GG) intrastrand cross-link in a DNA dodecamer duplex.

We have determined, at high resolution, the NMR solution structure of an oxaliplatin-GG DNA dodecamer in the A GG C sequence context by 2D NMR studies. Homonuclear assignment strategies resulted in unambiguous assignment of 203 out of 249 protons, which corresponds to assignment of ∼81% of the protons. Assignments of H5′ and H5″ protons were tentative due to resonance overlap. The structure of the oxaliplatin duplex was calculated using the program CNS with a simulated annealing protocol. A total of 510 experimental restraints were employed in the structure calculation. Of 20 calculated structures, the 15 with the lowest energy were accepted as a family. The RMSD of the 15 lowest energy structures was 0.68 A, indicating good structural convergence. The theoretical NOESY spectrum obtained by back-calculation from the final average structure showed excellent agreement with the experimental data, indicating that the final structure was in good agreement with the experimental NMR data. Significant conformational differences were observed between the oxaliplatin-GG 12-mer DNA we studied and all previous solution structures of cisplatin-GG DNA duplexes. For example, the oxaliplatin-GG adduct shows much less distortion at the A G base-pair step than the cisplatin-GG adducts. In addition, the oxaliplatin-GG structure also has a narrow minor groove and an overall axis bend of about 31°, both of which are very different from the recent NMR structures for the cisplatin-GG adducts. These structural differences may explain some of the biological differences between oxaliplatin- and cisplatin-GG adducts.
Evidence for a relationship between spring snow cover in North America and summer rainfall in New Mexico

Two possible mechanisms for interannual modulation of precipitation anomalies in the Southwest U.S. are examined. The association between El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) fluctuations and New Mexico precipitation anomalies is found to vary with season: positive Pacific Ocean surface temperature anomalies are associated with positive winter-spring precipitation anomalies in New Mexico but negative summer anomalies. We propose that the spring snow extent across the west-central U.S. acts to enhance or suppress the subsequent summer monsoon circulation affecting the American Southwest, such that excessive snow leads to deficient summer rain, and deficient snow leads to abundant rain. This mechanism is consistent with the observed seasonal variation in the ENSO—precipitation relationship.
The effects of molecular weight on the exposure characteristics of poly(methylmethacrylate) developed at low temperatures

Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) with various molecular weights exposed using 50keV electron beam have been investigated at subzero developer temperatures. Contrast curves for Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK):Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)=1:3 and MIBK:IPA=1:7 developers were determined. The contrast curves for different molecular weight PMMA resists converge into a single curve at lower temperatures. At low temperatures, the line edge roughness and resolution improved. However, minimum line pitch shows no significant improvement while dose latitudes for a particular line pitch increased. It is shown that at low temperatures, linewidth resolution and periodicity are invariant for the different PMMA molecular weights (50K to 2.2M) used in this work.Poly(methylmethacrylate) (PMMA) with various molecular weights exposed using 50keV electron beam have been investigated at subzero developer temperatures. Contrast curves for Methyl Isobutyl Ketone (MIBK):Isopropyl Alcohol (IPA)=1:3 and MIBK:IPA=1:7 developers were determined. The contrast curves for different molecular weight PMMA resists converge into a single curve at lower temperatures. At low temperatures, the line edge roughness and resolution improved. However, minimum line pitch shows no significant improvement while dose latitudes for a particular line pitch increased. It is shown that at low temperatures, linewidth resolution and periodicity are invariant for the different PMMA molecular weights (50K to 2.2M) used in this work.
The BATSE search for absorption lines

No absorption lines between 15 and 100 keV have been detected in burst spectra accumulated by BATSE. Almost 250 bursts have been inspected visually, and a computerized search has begun. Our simulations show that BATSE could indeed detect lines similar to those observed byGinga in strong bursts, and our tests of the detectors' actual capabilities demonstrate they function as understood. The apparent discrepancy between BATSE andGinga is not yet compelling, and therefore the BATSE nondetections do not invalidate theGinga detections. Nonetheless, the absence of BATSE line detections indicates a low line-occurrence frequency.
Stabilization in superintense fields: A classical interpretation

A classical approach is used to study the mechanism of the recently discovered suppression of ionization in superintense fields. We show that most features of this suppression occur in a classical context.
Flight data recorder: monitoring persistent-state interactions to improve systems management

Mismanagement of the persistent state of a system---all the executable files, configuration settings and other data that govern how a system functions---causes reliability problems, security vulnerabilities, and drives up operation costs. Recent research traces persistent state interactions---how state is read, modified, etc.---to help troubleshooting, change management and malware mitigation, but has been limited by the difficulty of collecting, storing, and analyzing the 10s to 100s of millions of daily events that occur on a single machine, much less the 1000s or more machines in many computing environments.We present the Flight Data Recorder (FDR) that enables always-on tracing, storage and analysis of persistent state interactions. FDR uses a domain-specific log format, tailored to observed file system workloads and common systems management queries. Our lossless log format compresses logs to only 0.5--0.9 bytes per interaction. In this log format, 1000 machine-days of logs---over 25 billion events---can be analyzed in less than 30 minutes. We report on our deployment of FDR to 207 production machines at MSN, and show that a single centralized collection machine can potentially scale to collecting and analyzing the complete records of persistent state interactions from 4000+ machines. Furthermore, our tracing technology is shipping as part of the Windows Vista OS.
Usher syndrome: Definition and estimate of prevalence from two high-risk populations

The Usher Syndrome (US) refers to the combined neurosensory deficits of profound hearing impairment and retinitis pigmentosa. We have obtained information on 600 cases of deaf-blindness from the registry of the Helen Keller National Center for Deaf-Blind Youths and Adults (HKNC). Of these, 54% met the diagnostic criteria of US, although only 23.8% were so diagnosed. More extensive analysis of 189 Usher clients from HKNC showed an excess of males, some variability in audiograms, and wide ophthalmologic variation. Genetic analysis of 113 sibships showed a segregation ratio consistent with recessive inheritance. The Acadian population of Louisiana has a high frequency of US which contributes significantly to the deaf population of the state. Among 48 cases from the Louisiana School for the Deaf, there was an excess of males, more variability in audiograms than expected, and an increased segregation ratio in the 26 informative sibships. Estimates of prevalence obtained using registry data and statistics from Louisiana clearly suggest that the previous estimate of 2.4 per 100,000 is too low for the United States. Recognizing problems with ascertainment, our prevalence estimate of 4.4 per 100,000 is still considered quite conservative.
Dressed up and sipping rum: local activities within the touristic space of Trinidad, Cuba.

Drawing on ethnographic research, this paper examines a particular cultural practice sponsored by a government agency in a touristic town in Cuba to consider the intersection of the global market, socialism, and local identity. Trinidad is a major tourist destination in Cuba, and tourism is the dominant economic activity in the city. The Office of Conservation serves to restore and maintain the historic townscape, which tourists from all over the world come to appreciate. At the same time, the Office plans and hosts cultural events for local residents. While bifurcated spaces that cater separately to tourists and residents seem prevalent in tourism in the global South, this paper explores specific events held for local residents in order to understand the spatial implications of such practices in post‐Soviet Cuba. The paper discusses how the locally specific spatial practices emerge in response to and because of the tourist dominance of public space, and the global fame the World Heritage status earned th...
Social cognition and social robots

Social robots are robots designed to interact with humans or with each other in ways that approximate human social interaction. It seems clear that one question relevant to the project of designing such robots concerns how humans themselves interact to achieve social understanding. If we turn to psychology, philosophy, or the cognitive sciences in general, we find two models of social cognition vying for dominance under the heading of theory of mind: theory theory (TT) and simulation theory (ST). It is therefore natural and interesting to ask how a TT design for a social robot would differ from the ST version. I think that a much more critical question is whether either TT or ST provide an adequate explanation of social cognition. There is a growing although still minority consensus that, despite their dominance in the debate about social cognition, neither TT nor ST, nor some hybrid version of these theories, offers an acceptable account of how we encounter and interact with one another. In this paper I will give a brief review of the theory of mind debate, outline an alternative theory of social cognition based on an embodied interactive approach, and then try to draw out a few implications about social robotics.
Treatment of hyperlipidemia.

OVER the past decade considerable insight into the mechanisms involved in normal and abnormal lipid transport as well as the mode of action of hypolipidemic drugs has been achieved.1 This progress ...
The ultrastructure of calf heart conducting fibers with special reference to nexuses and their distribution.

The fibers of the conducting system of the calf heart have been examined by electron microscopy. The individual cells comprising the fibers and the nature of their cell contacts were studied with particular attention given to the incidence and frequency of nexuses. Nexuses were found to occupy 3.3% of the surface of the 27 cell borders which were measured. The frequency of nexuses did not vary whether the cell border was from the periphery or the center of the fiber. Other junctional specializations found were desmosomes, fasciae adherentes, and junctions exhibiting degrees of structural differentiation which were between these two. These various junctional complexes comprised approximately 45% of the cell borders and occurred with equal frequency and in no particular sequential order. The fibers were surrounded by dense connective tissue, including occasional elastic fibers. Individual cells contained varying numbers of myofibrils, both peripherally and centrally, as well as large numbers of glycogen particles and scattered filaments. Among the mitochondria was found a type which had one central tubular crista. Occasional lipofuscin granules were seen. The role of the nexus and other factors in the conduction of impulses in the conducting system is discussed.
VCM automated 3-D measurement system: theory, application, and performance evaluation

The vision-based coordinate measurement (VCM) automated measurement system has been under development at the National Research Council Canada for several years. The system, which is a multicamera passive system, combines the principles of stereo vision, photogrammetry, knowledge-based techniques, and object-oriented design to provide precise coordinate and dimension measurements of parts for applications such as those found in the aerospace and automobile industries. The system may also be used for tracking or positioning of parts and digitization of targeted objects. Description of the system, the techniques employed for calibration, CAD-based feature extraction and measurement, and performance evaluation are presented.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Shell abnormalities in scaphitid ammonites

The kinds incidence of shell abnormalities were investigated in over 2000 adult Late Cretaceous scaphitid ammonites. Most are species of Hoploscaphites Discoscaphites from the Maastrichtian Fox Hills Formation; for comparison, four older species of Scaphites were also studied. Four kinds of abnormalities vary in their incidence among the Fox Hills taxa but display no general trends. (1) Morton's syndrome, shell asymmetry unrelated to external injury, occurs in 3 to 6% of the Fox Hills scaphites. (2) Suture wander. veering-off of the ventral lobe of the suture from the midline of the venter, occurs in most Fox Hills taxa with an incidence ranging from 1 to 11%. (3) Stretch pathology, an attenuation of the shell on the posterior part of the adult body chamber, is confined to Hoploscaphifes nicolleti. (4) Externally inflicted injury, indicated by repaired damage on mature shells, has an average incidence of 10% in Fox Hills scaphites except in the stratigraphically youngest H. nebrascensis H. cheyennewis which approach 25 40% respectively. Good correlation between percent injuries adult size ornamentation is obtained only in Discoscaphifes; all morphs of the co-occurring Hoploscaphites display nearly the same incidence of injuries regardless of their morphologic variation. The stratigraphically youngest H. nebrascensis becomes larger more nodose simultaneously sustains more injuries. However, its dimorph H. cheyennensis remains morphologically unchanged although its incidence of injuries quadruples. These injury data, in themselves, do not support the hypothesis that predators were contributing more heavily to the mortality of Maastrichtian ammonites precipitated their extinction.
Utilization of extraction profiles to estimate the accumulation of extractables from polymeric materials

A method is described whereby an extraction profile is used to determine solute/polymer interaction properties (total pool and partition coefficient) which can be used to estimate the level to which an extractable component of the polymer can accumulate in solution. The extraction profile is obtained by measuring the equilibrium solution concentration of the extractable for varying amounts of polymer extracted. Either the interaction properties obtained from these data or the profiles themselves are used to estimate the maximal equilibrium solution accumulation of the extractable. The method is used to estimate the levels to which several extractables from a rubber material used in the pharmaceutical industry will accumulate in solution. The measured properties produce estimated accumulations which match experimental observations well.
k nearest neighbor classification across multiple private databases

Distributed privacy preserving data mining tools are critical for mining multiple databases with a minimum information disclosure. We present a framework including a general model as well as multi-round algorithms for mining horizontally partitioned databases using a privacy preserving k Nearest Neighbor (kNN) classifier.
A Look at Changes in Government Information Policies after September 11

Communication presentee dans le cadre de la Section des Publications officielles et l'information gouvernementale de l'IFLA (International Federation of Library Associations and Institutions) lors de la 68 eme conference annuelle de l'IFLA, tenue a Glasgow, Ecosse, 18-24 aout 2002. Apres les evenements du 11 Septembre, graves dans la memoire des citoyens et des gouvernements, une pensee principale nous vient a l'esprit : comment les terroristes ont-ils appris de quelles connaissances ils avaient besoin pour effectuer l'operation et tromper egalement la securite ? Les premiers coupables etaient les gouvernements eux-memes avec leurs traditions et les exigences de l'accessibilite de l'information gouvernementale a l'ensemble de la population. Ces evenements ont conduit aux changements des politiques de l'information du gouvernement, aussi bien quant a la politique d'edition gouvernementale qu'aux possibilites d'acces par un citoyen ordinaire. Ces changements de pratiques du gouvernement comprennent la discontinuite de la publication d'information, la re-edition des publications anterieures et le renforcement de l'application de la loi concernant l'acces a l'information privee.
Gallium nitrate suppresses the production of nitric oxide and liver damage in a murine model of LPS-induced septic shock

The efficacy of gallium (Ga) nitrate was examined in a murine model of sepsis. Male Balb/c mice (6–8 weeks) were randomized into 3 groups: 1) vehicle-treated controls 2) mice with sepsis induced by treatment with 0.3 mg iv of Propionibacterium acnes followed one week later by 0.01 μg lipopolysaccharide (LPS) and 10 mg of D-galactosamine (GalN) 3) mice with sepsis injected with 45 mg/kg s.c. of gallium nitrate (calculated as elemental Ga) 24 hours prior to LPS/GalN. Two hours after LPS/GalN or vehicle, plasma concentrations of tumor necrosis factor (TNF-α) in groups 1, 2 and 3 were 54 ± 31 (n = 6), 21390 ± 5139 (n = 4), and 21909 ± 943 (n = 5) pg/ml, respectively. After 6 hours, plasma concentrations of gamma interferon (IFN-γ) were < 10 (n = 8), 4771 ± 1078 (n = 6), and 1622 ± 531 (n = 15) pg/ml, respectively, and of nitratenitrite (products of nitric oxide) were 64 ± 8 (n = 7), 146 ± 118 (n = 8), and 57 ± 8 (n = 15) μM. At 18 hours, serum chemistries were; SGOT 171 ± 46 (n = 13), 10986 ± 3062 (n = 7), and 1078 ± 549 (n = 8) IU/L; SGPT 165 ± 59, 17214 ± 4340, and 2088 ± 1097 IU/L; and total bilirubin 0.2 ± 0.0, 0.9 ± 0.4, and 0.2 ± 0.0 mg/dl for groups 1, 2, and 3 respectively. Blinded histologic evaluation of livers at 18 hours revealed inflammatory infiltrate scores (x [range], 0 = none, 1 = minimal, 2 = mild, 3 = moderate, and 4 = severe) of 0.1 [0–1] (n = 8), 3.0 [2–4] (n = 15), and 2.0 [0–3] (n = 10), and necrosis scores of 0.0, 2.8 [0–4], and 0.9 [0–4]. Although Ga did not affect production of TNF-α, it ameliorated hepatocellular injury and protected against necrosis. Based on this model of sepsis, Ga may have a role in treating the human disease.
Current Realities and Future Opportunities for Social Work Education

In a time of both great threat to and po tential for human society, a time of great social upheaval and rapid development of new knowledge, no profession that has its roots in science and its goals in service can remain unaffected by the changes taking place, nor should it remain aloof from help ing to shape the direction and nature of change. There probably has been no period in the relatively short history of social work when the demands and expectations of social work and social work education have
Manufacturing and lifecycle costs of battery electric vehicles, direct-hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and direct-methanol fuel cell vehicles

In this study, potential vehicle manufacturing costs, lifecycle costs, infrastructure support costs, and emission-related costs are compared for three potential zero-emission vehicle (ZEV) technology development and deployment scenarios. These scenarios include production of mid-sized battery electric vehicles, direct-hydrogen fuel cell vehicles, and direct methanol fuel cell vehicles from 2003 to 2026, and operation of the vehicles in California's South Coast Air Basin (SCAB) from 2003 to 2043. The study focuses on potential manufacturing cost reductions for electric motors, motor controllers, battery systems, hydrogen storage tanks, and fuel cell systems, due to the combined forces of production scale economies and technological progress. Vehicle manufacturing and lifecycle costs are calculated by integrating vehicle component cost functions with a detailed vehicle performance and cost spreadsheet model. Fleet-level costs for vehicle operation, infrastructure development, and criteria pollutant and greenhouse gas emissions are calculated using a MATLAB/Simulink model developed by the author. In this regional-scale, fleet-level model, fuzzy set theory is used to characterize uncertainty in key input variables, and to propagate uncertainty through the calculation of vehicle, infrastructure, and emissions costs.
Gene Expression Profiling of Valvular Interstitial Cells in Rapacz Familial Hypercholesterolemic Swine.

Rapacz familial hypercholesterolemic (RFH) swine is a well-established model of human FH, a highly prevalent hereditary disease associated with increased risk of coronary artery disease and calcific aortic valve disease (CAVD). However, while these animals have been used extensively for the study of atherosclerosis, the heart valves from RFH swine have not previously been examined. We report the analysis of valvular interstitial cell gene expression in adult (two year old) and juvenile (three months old) RFH and WT swine by microarray analysis via the Affymetrix Porcine Genome Array (GEO #: GSE53997). Principal component and hierarchical clustering analysis revealed grouping and almost no variability between the RFH juvenile and WT juvenile groups. Additionally, only 21 genes were found differentially expressed between these two experimental groups whereas over 900 genes were differentially expressed when comparing either RFH or WT juvenile swine to RFH adults.
The Future Dvcs Experiments in Hall a at Jlab

Two DVCS experiments off the proton have been recently approved to run in Hall A at JLab to measure electro-production of photon and π absolute cross-sections in the deep inelastic regime. They will exploit the successful experimental technique as well as build on the physics outcomes of the previous generation of DVCS experiments in Hall A. The new experiments will run both before and after the CEBAF upgrade.
Three-dimensional speckle holography of cellular motion inside tissue

Three-dimensional imaging assays of anti-cancer drugs applied to tissues are performed using motility contrast imaging (MCI), a speckle holographic imaging technique that detects sub-cellular motion as a fully-endogenous imaging contrast agent.