cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Dynamics of Social Interactions in a Network Game

We characterize the social dynamics of human players in a transactional online game. We introduce two new approaches for understanding temporal behavior: the introduction of entropy dynamics, where we measuring the change in the entropy of certain descriptive distributions over the course of a game, and the use of clustering to discover temporal dynamics in subpopulations of experimental subjects. Experiments were conducted in the context of the Social Ultimatum Game, a multi-agent multi-round extension of a classical game-theoretic domain, using two distinct populations. We show that we are able to extract temporal behavior from the use of entropy dynamics and identify unique subpopulation behavior with respect to generosity, reciprocity and fairness.
Colorimetric analysis of saliva–alcohol test strips by smartphone-based instruments using machine-learning algorithms

We report a smartphone-based colorimetric analysis of saliva–alcohol concentrations, utilizing optimal color space and machine-learning algorithms. Commercial saliva–alcohol kits are used as a model experiment, utilizing a custom-built optical attachment for the smartphone to obtain consistent imaging of the alcohol strips. The color of the strips varies with the alcohol concentration, and the smartphone camera captures the color produced on the test strip. To make a suitable library for each alcohol concentration, statistical methods were tested to maximize between-scatter and minimize within-scatter for each concentration. Results of three different classification methods (LDA, SVM, and ANN) and four-color spaces (RGB, HSV, YUV, and Lab) were evaluated with various machine-learning data sets and five different smartphone models. Cross-validation results were used to assess the statistical performance, such as positive (PPV) and negative (NPV) predictive values. An Android app developed and provided average classification rates of 100% and 80% for the standard and enhanced concentrations, respectively.
Beryllium-Free β-Rb 2 Al 2 B 2 O 7 as a Possible Deep-Ultraviolet Nonlinear Optical Material Replacement for KBe 2 BO 3 F 2 .

A new beryllium-free deep-ultraviolet (DUV) nonlinear optical (NLO) material, β-Rb2Al2B2O7 (β-RABO), has been synthesized and characterized. The chiral nonpolar acentric material shows second-harmonic generation (SHG) activity at both 1064 and 532 nm with efficiencies of 2×KH2PO4 and 0.4×β-BaB2O4, respectively, and exhibits a short absorption edge below 200 nm. β-Rb2Al2B2O7 has a three-dimensional structure of corner-shared Al(BO3)3O polyhedra. The discovery of β-RABO shows that through careful synthesis and characterization, replacement of KBe2BO3F2 (KBBF) by a Be-free DUV NLO material is possible.
Endoscopic-assisted identification of residual tumor after apparent gross-total resection of giant intracranial epidermoids

Abstract Giant intracranial epidermoids (giant IEs) often extend into multiple compartments within the cranial vault and if tumor fragments are left behind during resection, recurrence is inevitable. The endoscope can be used to identify residual epidermoid and help achieve safe, maximal resection. We present two patients with giant IEs who underwent resections. The endoscope was used in final measure to survey the surgical beds. Residual tumors were identified in both cases, and further resections were performed. This report highlights the importance of an endoscopic survey after apparent gross-total resection of giant IEs.
Health behaviors (HB) and geriatric assessment (GA) in older women with breast cancer (BC).

9543 Background: Physical inactivity (PI), alcohol (A) and tobacco (T) abuse are associated with poor health outcomes in older adults, however, little is known about the prevalence of these HB and ...
Contact angles from Young's equation in molecular dynamics simulations.

We propose a method to calculate the equilibrium contact angle of heterogeneous 3-phase solid/fluid/fluid systems using molecular dynamics simulations. The proposed method, which combines the phantom-wall method [F. Leroy and F. Muller-Plathe, J. Chem. Phys. 133, 044110 (2010)] and Bennett's acceptance ratio approach [C. H. Bennett, J. Comput. Phys. 22, 245 (1976)], is able to calculate the solid/fluid surface tension relative to the solid surface energy. The calculated relative surface tensions can then be used in Young's equation to estimate the equilibrium contact angle. A fluid droplet is not needed for the proposed method, in contrast to the situation for direct simulations of contact angles. In addition, while prior free-energy based methods for contact angles mainly focused on the wetting of fluids in coexistence with their vapor on solid surfaces, the proposed approach was designed to study the contact angles of fluid mixtures on solid surfaces above the fluid saturation pressures. Using the proposed approach, the contact angles of binary Lennard-Jones fluid mixtures on a non-polar solid substrate were calculated at various interaction parameters and the contact angle of water in equilibrium with CO2 on a hydrophilic polar silica surface was obtained. For both non-polar and polar systems, the calculated contact angles from the proposed method were in agreement with those obtained from the geometry of a cylindrical droplet. The computational cost of the proposed method was found to be comparable to that of simulations that use fluid droplets, but the new method provides a way to calculate the contact angle directly from Young's equation without ambiguity.
“Violence spilt blood smashed glass”: Representations of Sri Lanka's Conflict in the Works of Jean Arasanayagam and Kamala Wijeratne

(2008). “Violence spilt blood smashed glass”: Representations of Sri Lanka's Conflict in the Works of Jean Arasanayagam and Kamala Wijeratne. South Asian Review: Vol. 29, Perspectives on South Asian Women's Writing, pp. 83-102.
Variation in treatment of low energy gunshot injuries – A survey of OTA members

Abstract The purpose of this study was to determine current practice patterns in the treatment of low energy gunshot wounds involving bones and joints. One hundred seventy-three Orthopaedic Trauma Association (OTA) members completed a web-based survey. The survey included practices for antibiotic therapy and operative treatment for different types of low-energy gunshot injuries. Six different scenarios of soft tissue injury, intra-articular injury, and fractures were described. Several permutations of antibiotic therapy and operative or non-operative management options were given as choices on the survey. Survey responses had a high degree of heterogeneity with only two treatment options receiving more than 50% agreement among responders: 54% agreed on joint exploration with perioperative antibiotics for gunshot wounds (GSWs) traversing a joint and 55% agreed on treating operative tibial shaft fractures from GSWs with fixation, along with debridement and irrigation of the GSW tract, and perioperative antibiotics. The majority of participants (69%) were either not aware of or not sure of an established protocol for treatment of GSW to bones and joints at their institution. Moreover, there is still wide variation in treatments among 31% of the participants who reported a protocol in place at their institutions. We conclude there is wide variation among orthopaedic surgeons in the antimicrobial prophylaxis and treatment of GSWs. Opportunity exists to develop standardized practices to minimize related infections, other complications, and costs.
Evaluating the OSHA hand speed constant for stamping press applications

Abstract Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) utilizes ‘hand speed’ as a critical machine guarding parameter. OSHA’s current hand speed constant is based upon research conducted by Lobl (1935), who used a fixed hand starting position to estimate the maximum human hand speed of five males at 1.6 m/s (63 in./s). Sixty (60) college students participated in the present study to ascertain a more accurate estimate of the 95th percentile hand speed for machine guarding applications. Results indicated that the hand speed between the upper and lower dual palm button positions are significantly different, and for the upper button location OSHA’s hand speed constant may not be conservative enough to protect some operators. Specifically, the 95th percentile hand speed from the lower button was 1.510 m/s (protective for >95% of those tested), but the 95th percentile hand speed from the upper buttons was 2.825 m/s (protective
Hopelessness and violence among inner-city youths.

Objectives: Ethnographic literature on inner-city life argues that adolescents react to their uncertain (and objectively bleak) future by abandoning hope; this, in turn, leads them to engage in risk behaviors, including violence, with considerable frequency. This study empirically measures the pervasiveness of hopelessness and uncertainty about the future among inner-city adolescents and documents the link between hopelessness, uncertainty, and risk behavior. Methods: We surveyed a sample of 583 adolescents (aged 9–19) living in public housing in Huntsville, AL; this constitutes 80% of the eligible population. Each participant in the survey received $10. Their responses yielded empirical distributions for hopelessness, uncertainty about the future, and four violent behaviors. Using OLS regression, we examined the effect of hopelessness on these violent behaviors. Results: Hopelessness about the future was relatively rare, affecting only 20–30% of the respondents. However, it was a strong predictor of fighting and carrying a knife for females, and of carrying a knife, carrying a gun, and pulling a knife or gun on someone else for males. Uncertainty about the future was more prevalent, but unrelated to the violent behaviors. Conclusions: These results suggest that the conclusions of the ethnographic literature are only partially valid: While hopelessness is, in fact, strongly related to risk behavior, it is not nearly so prevalent as is generally assumed.
Analysis and Evaluation of Control Action End-State Impact on Manufacturing System Future Production

Some control actions (e.g., scheduling overtime production during breaks to catch up throughput) in a serial production line will drive the system to different states at the end time of the actions (defined as the action end-state), and influence the system production in future time. In this paper, we analyze how a selected control action and its end-state will impact system future production. The concept of end-state recovery time and its properties are proposed to describe the pattern of this system future behavior change, and to identify the time it takes to achieve such future production impact. Analytical methods are established to calculate this end-state production impact and recovery time in clean case scenario. In addition, we investigate the end-state production impact in stochastic scenario, and obtain a closed-form solution to evaluate the robustness of the end-state with respect to disruption events. The end-state analysis and evaluation results are critical for assessing and selecting control actions to more quickly and effectively improve system future production, and to deliver robust performance against disruption events.
Effect of Follow-Up Intervals on Breastfeeding Rates 5-6 Months Postpartum: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Abstract Objective: To compare the effect of early versus traditional postpartum follow-up intervals on breastfeeding continuation rates 6 months postpartum. Methods: This randomized controlled tri...
Quantitative Analysis of the Derailment Characteristics of Loaded and Empty Unit Trains

Operation of unit trains has grown substantially over the past half century owing to their ability to provide economic and efficient transportation of bulk products. Although various aspects of tra...
Presence of Nucleated Red Blood Cells

Nucleated red blood cells (nRBCs) originate in blood islands of the yolk sac at 16–20 days of gestation. Within the extraembryonic (placental) compartment, nRBCs begin to populate villous capillaries of the developing embryo at ∼6 weeks postconception and remain prevalent until the end of the first trimester. Thereafter, their presence decreases so that at term, under normal circumstances of delivery, nRBCs are inapparent upon cursory examination in the placental fetal vasculature. Readily identifiable nRBCs are present on placental examination at term in a number of clinical circumstances and in conjunction with a variety of placental processes. Highlights are considered below.
Health Insurance and Out-of-Pocket Costs in the Last Year of Life Among Decedents Utilizing the ICU.

Objectives:Use of intensive care is increasing in the United States and may be associated with high financial burden on patients and their families near the end of life. Our objective was to estimate out-of-pocket costs in the last year of life for individuals who required intensive care in the mont
Geometric Calibration of Continuum Robots: Joint Space and Equilibrium Shape Deviations

Currently, surgical continuum robots (CRs) are predominantly used as telemanipulators where modeling errors are overcome by the user. Such errors preclude their use for autonomous tasks. In this paper, we investigate the calibration of CRs with specific focus on capturing joint space errors due to homing offsets, assembly errors causing twist about the robot's backbone, and uncertainty in the equilibrium bending shapes of segments of these robots. A kinematic framework focusing on multibackbone CR is presented with emphasis on deriving calibration identification Jacobians. This framework captures the coupling between twist and the equilibrium shapes of a continuum segment as a function of its bending angle. To capture equilibrium shape variations as a function of bending, a homotopy of curves is defined and represented by respective modal coefficients. The estimation of the calibration parameters is cast as a nonlinear least-squares problem. The framework is validated by simulations and experimentally using a single-port access surgery robot. We believe this calibration framework will facilitate semiautomation of surgical tasks carried out by CRs.
A call to adopt a "fit for purpose" approach to antibody validation for flow cytometry analyses of stem cell models and beyond.

Human pluripotent stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes (hPSC-CMs) can be exploited as models for a wide range of research applications and numerous protocols for generating hPSC-CMs have been described...
Multimaterial Aerosol Jet Printed Magnetic Nanocomposites for Microwave Circuits

This article demonstrates the process and characterization of additively manufactured polymer-matrix magnetic nanocomposites. These nanocomposites are composed of nickel–zinc ferrite (Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4) nanoparticles in a polyimide matrix. These materials are printed using multimaterial aerosol jet printing where aerosols of nickel–zinc ferrite and polyimide inks are mixed in place to fabricate structures with nonunity relative permeability. To characterize these materials, we use energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy to estimate the content of ferrite in the composite, fitted simulation models, and ring resonator measurements to estimate the permeability. In fully aerosol jet printed 1-mm2 inductors, we demonstrate an increase in inductance density of 40% in a 4.5-turn microstrip spiral inductor using this printed composite. These fully printed inductors demonstrate an inductance density of 4.2-nH/mm2. EDS analysis shows films with 18 wt.% Ni0.5Zn0.5Fe2O4. Finally, we show microstrip transmission lines on printed composite compared to the same on polyimide subjected to a dc magnetic bias, displaying a magnetic resonance behavior.
Serial magnetic resonance imaging findings during severe attacks of familial hemiplegic migraine type 2: a case report.

Hemiplegic migraines represent a heterogeneous disorder with various presentations. Hemiplegic migraines are classified as sporadic or familial based on the presence of family history, but both subtypes have an underlying genetic etiology. Mutations in the ATP1A2 gene are responsible for Familial Hemiplegic type 2 (FHM2) or the sporadic hemiplegic migraine (SHM) counterpart if there is no family history of the disorder. Manifestations include migraine with aura and hemiparesis along with a variety of other symptoms likely dependent upon the specific mutation(s) present. We report the case of an adult man who presented with headache, aphasia, and right-sided weakness. Workup for stroke and various infectious agents was unremarkable during the patient’s extended hospital stay. We emphasize the changes in the Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) over time and the delay from onset of symptoms to MRI changes in Isotropic Diffusion Map (commonly referred to as Diffusion Weighted Imaging (DWI)) as well as Apparent Diffusion Coefficient (ADC). We provide a brief review of imaging findings correlated with signs/symptoms and specific mutations in the ATP1A2 gene reported in the literature. Description of the various mutations and consequential presentations may assist neurologists in identifying cases of Hemiplegic Migraine, which may include transient changes in ADC and DWI imaging throughout the course of an attack.
The Rise of American Girls' Literature

This Element looks at the publishing history of the genre, girls' literature, in the United States spanning 1850–1940. The genre is set in context, beginning with an examination of the early American women's literature that preceded girls' literature. Then the Element explores several sub-genres of girls' literature, the family story, orphan story, school story, as well as African American girls' literature. Underpinning each of these stories is the bildungsroman, which overwhelmingly ends with girls 'growing down' to marry and raise children, following the ideals outlined in the cult of domesticity.
Electrostatic levitation: an elegant method to control MEMS switching operation

This paper investigates the characteristics of a micro-switch that uses two side electrodes to open a normally closed switch. The side electrodes surround the fixed electrode in the well-known gap-closing electrode configuration. The side electrodes can open a closed switch and be tuned to respond appropriately to outside forces. The combined electrode system dramatically improves the control of a standard gap-closing electrode configuration. In conventional switches, a DC voltage above a certain value closes the switch. To reopen the switch, the voltage difference is reduced to peel off the moving electrode. Currently, the contact area is carefully designed to avoid stiction, but the degradation over time and stiction forces can cause a permanent failure. In this work, opening occurs by feeding the side electrodes a voltage beyond a certain value that results in a levitation force. Even if the degradation in the surfaces happens, the switch can open by increasing the side voltages. The characteristics of the combined actuation system are thoroughly analyzed and include the static pull-in, static displacement, release voltage, dynamic pull-in, frequency response, and basins of attraction. The results are validated by the experimental tests. The levitation-based micro-switch improves the system tunability as the sensitivity and switching thresholds can be adjusted.
Following Patients With Inborn Errors of Metabolism: What Do We Value and How Do We Know?

* Abbreviations: COS — : core outcome set MCAD — : medium chain acyl-coA dehydrogenase NBS — : newborn screening PKU — : phenylketonuria In the current drive to improve health care systems in the United States, “value” has been defined as the ratio of quality to cost. Measuring quality, in turn, relies on the common-sense definition of the word value: what do we find important in life? Agreeing on what we value, and how to measure it, has become a critical research task with implications for health policy and clinical practice. Within the research world, there is a movement to define “core outcome sets” (COSs) or variables that should be included in the results of any clinical trial.1 Reporting such common measures facilitates comparison of and synthesis across studies. COSs can also ensure that researchers focus on what matters to patients and families, as well as to health policy leaders. Pugliese et al2 propose COSs for medium chain acyl-coA-dehydrogenase (MCAD) deficiency and phenylketonuria (PKU), two relatively common inborn errors of metabolism, to address the lack of uniform outcome variables in clinical research studies. They employed a Delphi survey and consensus workshop approach to determine 8 core … Address correspondence to Jeffrey P. Brosco MD, PhD, Institute for Bioethics and Health Policy, Department of Pediatrics, Miller School of Medicine, Miami FL 33101. E-mail: jbrosco{at}miami.edu
Using ACRL Standards to Assess the Information Literacy of Graduate Students in an Education Program

Objective - This study investigates the information literacy of graduate education students, including those in doctoral cohorts. The Association for Research and College Libraries Information Literacy Standards were used a baseline for measurement. Methods - A survey was sent to all graduate students in the School of Education; it asked a combination of questions measuring students’ perceptions of their information literacy skills and testing their knowledge of information literacy. Results – A total of 172 surveys were returned. The results indicated that while there is a heavy reliance on internet sources, many students were able to determine which sources were reliable and which were not. After attending information instruction sessions, students were more familiar with library services and more inclined to use them. Conclusion - It was determined that a one credit course or multiple sessions of library instruction would better serve graduate students completing capstone projects.
Towards strategic Kriegspiel play with opponent modeling

Kriegspiel is a chess variant belonging to the family of invisible chess that encompasses partially observable variants of the popular game. Playing Kriegspiel is difficult, first, because the player needs to maintain a belief over all possible board configurations. Second, the player needs to select his move, given his belief about the board configuration and given the likely responses of the opponent. Predicting the likely responses is crucial and has a long tradition in minimax approaches to fully observable games. Minimax assumes that the players are rational and have opposing preferences, which is common knowledge. Further, minimax is applicable only to fully observable games. In partially observable games one needs to model not only the opponent's preferences, but also the opponent's belief about the board configuration, and possibly his belief about the original player. Further, the opponent's level of expertise may also be in question in realistic settings.
Recognition, management, and prevention of specific operating room catastrophes.

Operating room (OR) catastrophes and intraoperative emergencies are rare, but delays in their recognition and treatment may be devastating. In this article, some of the most important emergencies and potential OR catastrophes will be examined, including latex-induced anaphylaxis, malignant hyperthermia, thyrotoxic crisis, cardiovascular collapse, transfusion reaction, coagulopathy, the difficult airway, and mechanical hazards in the OR. All of these entities represent conditions in which early recognition and aggressive treatment are necessary to prevent fatal outcomes and in which prevention is the cornerstone of management. Surgeons, anesthesiologists, and OR personnel should be familiar with these entities, and, where appropriate, institutional protocols should be developed for their management.
A rapid path‐length searching procedure for multi‐axial fatigue cycle counting

In this paper, a series of advanced searching algorithms have been examined and implemented for accelerating multi-axial fatigue cycle counting efforts when dealing with large time histories. In a computerized calculation of the path-length dependent cycle counting method, most of the central processor unit's (CPU) time is spent on searching for the maximum range or distance in a stress or strain space. A brute-force search is the simplest to implement, and will always find a solution if it exists. However, its cost, in many practical problems, tends to grow exponentially as the size of the loading spectrum increases with a search time measured in the order of O(n2), where n is the number of spectrum data points. In contrast, a form of Andrew's monotone chain algorithm, as demonstrated in this paper, can remarkably reduce the solution time to the order of O(n log n). The effectiveness of the new path-length searching procedure is demonstrated by a series of worked examples with a varying degree of non-proportionality in multi-axial loading history.
Performance evaluation of scientific applications on modern parallel vector systems

Despite their dominance of high-end computing (HEC) through the 1980's, vector systems have been gradually replaced by microprocessor-based systems. However, while peak performance of microprocessors has grown exponentially, the gradual slide in sustained performance delivered to scientific applications has become a growing concern among HEC users. Recently, the Earth Simulator and Cray X1/X1E parallel vector processor systems have spawned renewed interest in vector technology for scientific applications. In this work, we compare the performance of two Lattice-Boltzmann applications and the Cactus astrophysics package on vector based systems including the Cray X1/X1E, Earth Simulator, and NEC SX-8, with commodity-based processor clusters including the IBM SP Power3, IBM Power5, Intel Itanium2, and AMD Opteron processors. We examine these important scientific applications to quantify the effective performance and investigate if efficiency benefits are applicable to a broader array of numerical methods.
Beam profiles measured on a neutron generator having an effective target area 5.5×5.5 cm2

Experimental measurements with a tissue equivalent chamber show that the larger target size of the mixed DT beam neutron generator results in a beam profile in a scattering material quite similar to those obtained with conventional high energy X-ray producing machines if an appropriate collimator is designed to reduce the penumbral width.
Comparison of Puncture Versus Vasotomy Techniques for Vasography in an Animal Model

AbstractPurpose: We determined the adverse effects of 2 different techniques of vasography in an animal model.Materials and Methods: Unilateral vasography was performed by a direct puncture technique with a lymphangiogram needle or through a partial thickness vasostomy technique in 2 groups of 10 adult Lewis rats using nonionic contrast medium mixed with methylene blue. Each rat had a contralateral vasectomy. A complete vasogram was confirmed by visualization of colored dye in the bladder. An additional group of 5 animals with unilateral vasectomy alone served as controls. The adverse effects of these 2 techniques were assessed by performing mating studies at 2 and 4 months after vasography. In vitro flow through the vas deferens, sperm granuloma formation and histology of the vas deferens at the vasography site were evaluated at sacrifice 5 months after vasography.Results: The fertility of the 3 groups, as measured by the mean number of uterine implantation sites, was not significantly different at the 2...
A relativistic relaxation-time model for the Boltzmann equation

Abstract A relaxation-time model is proposed for the collisions term of the relativistic Boltzmann equation for a single-component gas. The resultant equation is solved as a power series in the relaxation time and this solution is used to calculate the transport coefficients for the gas. These coefficients are then compared with those obtained using the relativistic Grad moment method and Marle's version of the relativistic relaxation-time model. The results indicate that the proposed relaxation-time model gives values for the transport coefficients which functionally agree with the values obtained using the relativistic Grad moment method in the asymptotic limits.
III-V access waveguides using atomic layer deposition

Normally, the larger refractive index contrast of silicon-on-insulator (SOI) photonics used for transporting highly confined optical modes is not available in compound semiconductor systems because the optically active layer rests upon an epitaxial support layer having a similar refractive index. Here, a semiconductor-under-insulator (SUI) technology for compound semiconductor membrane photonic circuitry is presented. It will be shown that such a technology can facilitate the transport of highly confined optical modes in compound semiconductor systems and is anticipated to be a critical part of future scalable quantum photonics applications.
Characterizing Long‐Period Seismic Effects of Long‐Wavelength Elastic and Anelastic Models

SUMMARY We present the results of a synthetic investigation designed to characterize the effects of long-wavelength elastic and anelastic models on the amplitudes and phases of long-period normal mode multiplets and Rayleigh wavepackets. Normal mode synthetics are created for recently constructed long-wavelength elastic and anelastic aspherical models of the Earth's upper mantle, using both the multiplet self-coupling approximation and the more accurate ±5 multiplet-multiplet coupling of the Galerkin method. Amplitude and phase measurements of the normal mode spectral peaks between 2 and 9 mHz and of the first eight Rayleigh wavepackets for 331 source-receiver pairs are compiled for each type of synthetic. the effects of anelastic and elastic structures are compared quantitatively with one another and with the predictions of zeroth order (in 1/l) asymptotic normal mode theory and linearized ray theory (LRT), and difficulties and advantages of applying these theoretical simplifications are identified and discussed. Although anelastic structures have only a minor effect on phases, long-wavelength models of anelastic and elastic structure each perturb amplitude measurements, with anelasticity accounting for up to ∼1/3 of the normal mode perturbations and up to ∼1/2 of the surface wave amplitude effect. Zeroth-order asymptotic theory and LRT predict that elastic and anelastic amplitude effects should qualitatively differ from one another, and thus should be separable in the data. While synthetics display qualitative agreement with the predictions of the approximations, for both normal mode spectra and surface wave measurements significant quantitative departures from zeroth-order asymptotic theory and LRT are observed. the part of the synthetic elastic amplitude signal not forecast by the approximate theories obscures the effects of aspherical anelasticity, particularly for normal modes, and can severely bias estimates of anelastic structure based solely on the approximations. In contrast, if an a priori model of aspherical elastic structure is assumed, the transfer functions that map amplitude anomalies from the elastic model to those for a model which includes anelastic asphericity are much more accurately forecast by zeroth-order asymptotic theory and LRT. Asymptotic theory accounts for over 85 per cent of the variance of such transfer functions for normal modes, and LRT predicts 67 per cent of the variance of surface wave transfer functions. Therefore, with the assumption of a priori elastic models, or in joint inversions of amplitude and phase data for elastic and anelastic structure, the approximations considered should prove useful for estimating models of aspherical attenuation.
Effects of Steel and Aluminum Shoes on Forelimb Kinematics in Stock-Type Horses as Measured at the Trot

To meet the needs of sport horses, horseshoes of various styles and materials have been implemented to enhance performance. Steel shoes are commonly used for their affordability and longevity; however, the use of aluminum horseshoes is being adopted to satisfy the various requirements of certain equestrian activities. Owing to the importance of the allure of movement in many aspects of competitive riding, the lightweight nature of aluminum horseshoes has been recognized to accentuate foreleg action. By performing a repeated-measures crossover study on nine healthy stock-type horses, the effects of these two horseshoe types on forelimb action were analyzed at the trot using two-dimensional kinematics. Horses were trotted in hand for three repetitions over a distance of 50.1 meters on days 4, 18, 32, and 46 postshoeing for two 6-week shoeing cycles. Video footage was collected and analyzed using gait analysis software (EquineTec) for each repetition. The measured stride length, fetlock extension, elbow and knee range of motion, and minimum and maximum elbow angle remained constant between treatments. However, there was a significant treatment effect on minimum carpal angle and maximum hoof height, with aluminum shoes having a larger minimum carpal angle than those in steel shoes (P < .05) and a lower maximum hoof height (P < .05). An overall 3-degree difference in minimum carpal angle and approximate 2.5-cm difference in maximum hoof height was observed between treatments. This finding is of particular importance to performance horse disciplines for which a lesser degree of knee action is desirable.
Student Newspapers Show Opinion Article Political Bias

This analysis of political reporting and opinion pieces in student newspapers shows a significant bias against Republicans in opinion articles but greater objectivity in the news section. A pro-Dem...
Feature space trajectory (FST) classifier neural network

A new classifier neural network is described for distortion-invariant multi-class pattern recognition. Its input training data in different classes are described by a feature space. As a distortion parameter (such as aspect view) of a training set object is varied, an ordered training set is produced. This ordered training set describes the object as a trajectory in feature space, with different points along the trajectory corresponding to different aspect views. Different object classes are described by different trajectories. Classification involves calculation of the distance from an input feature space point to the nearest trajectory (this denotes the object class) and the position of the nearest point along that trajectory (this denotes the pose of the object). Comparison to other neural networks and other classifiers show that this feature space trajectory neural network yields better classification performance and can reject non-object data. The FST classifier performs well with different numbers of training images and hidden layer neurons and also generalizes better than other classifiers.© (1994) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Effect of glutamate on the degradation of pentachlorophenol by Flavobacterium sp.

The degradation of pentachlorophenol (PCP) by a Flavobacterium sp. was investigated by inoculating induced cells into cultures containing PCP alone or PCP and glutamate as carbon sources. Using PCP as the sole carbon source, the degradation activity increased with PCP concentration. However, a lag phase was observed and this lag was more pronounced at higher PCP concentrations. Exposure of cells to higher PCP concentrations during induction did not reduce the lag. The presence of glutamate reduced the lag in PCP degradation. Such an elimination of the lag phase appears to be due to maintaining cell viability with the presence of glutamate.
A Bayesian nonlinear filtering algorithm for linear systems with unknown time-varying noise statistics

The problem of estimating the state of a linear dynamic system driven by additive gaussian noise with unknown time varying statistics is considered. Estimates of the state of the system are obtained which are based on all past observations of the system. These observations are linear functions of the state contaminated by additive white gaussian noise with unknown time varying statistics. The case of scalar measurements is given first and the more general solution for vector measurements is stated. A previously developed algorithm designed for use in the case of stationary noise is modified to allow estimation of an unknown Kalman gain and thus the system state in the presence of unknown time varying noise statistics. The algorithm is inherently parallel in nature and if implemented in a computer with parallel processing capability should only be slightly slower than the stationary Kalman filtering algorithm with known noise statistics. Numerical examples for both the scalar and vector measurement cases are given.
1. Severe neurological events (SNE) after bone marrow Transplantation (BMT) in children

To evaluate incidence, risk factors and outcome of SNE after BMT, we retrospectively evaluated 272 (169 M, 103 F) consecutive children that between June 1985 and January 2001 underwent BMT at the “G. Gaslini” Institute. Subjects with solid tumor were excluded. Their median age at transplant was 8 years (range 2 mos. – I 9 yr.), and the source of stem cells was autologous (A), related donor (RD)., and unrelated donor (UD) in 87, 115 and 70 subjects, respectively. 166 children received total body irradiation (TBI) as part of the conditioning regimen; 63 received Busulfan while 43 were treated with other drugs; finally, 54 children received cranial prophylactic irradiation (CPI) (1800 cGy) during front line treatment before BMT. A total of 41 SNE were observed in 37 children (18 M, 19 F); their median age at BMT was 10 years (range 2–16 yr.). Neurological symptoms occurred after a median time of 92 days (range 5–3203) The source of HSCT was UD-BM, RD-BM, and A-BM in 19, 16, and 2 cases respectively.). Ten of them received CPI before BMT. Neuralogical symptoms were: seizures (n=20), changes of mental status and coma (n=12), motor or sensitive defects (n=6), progressive loss of cognitive functions (n=3), clonus and myoclonus (n=2) and visual impairment (n=1). Causes of neurological symptoms were attributed to CSA toxicity (CSA-t) in 21 pt. (77%), to irradiation or chemotherapy injury (IC-i) in 7 (2.6%), to CNS infections (CNS-I) in 7 (2.6%), to CNS hemorrhages in 3 pt. (1.1%) and to immunomediated pathogenesis in the remaining 3 (1.1%). CSA-t occurred in 21 out of 185 patients receiving immunosuppressive therapy. Onset of symptoms was after a median of 96 days (range 20–370 days) after BMT. When CSA was discontinued, a complete resolution of SNE was observed in all cases. The 7 IC-i occurred between 1 month and 7 years after BMT. Mental deterioration and/or coma were observed in 5, clonus and dysarthria in one and visual impairment in another. CNS-I were observed in 7 pt. and were mostly of viral origin (2 cases of EBV, and 1 of CMV, HHV6 and adenovirus, respectively), whereas the 2 remaining cases had neuratoxoplasmosis and aspergillosis. The 3 CNS hemorrhages occurred 30, 50 and 250 days fram BMT, respectively. Finally the 3 immunomedia-ted SNE were due to a demyelinating leucoencephalopathy in the context of ex-tensive chranic GvHD in 2 cases; and to a Guillain-Barre syndrome in the remainning one. Preliminary analysis shows that type of BMT (p
Semi-implicit integration factor methods on sparse grids for high-dimensional systems

Numerical methods for partial differential equations in high-dimensional spaces are often limited by the curse of dimensionality. Though the sparse grid technique, based on a one-dimensional hierarchical basis through tensor products, is popular for handling challenges such as those associated with spatial discretization, the stability conditions on time step size due to temporal discretization, such as those associated with high-order derivatives in space and stiff reactions, remain. Here, we incorporate the sparse grids with the implicit integration factor method (IIF) that is advantageous in terms of stability conditions for systems containing stiff reactions and diffusions. We combine IIF, in which the reaction is treated implicitly and the diffusion is treated explicitly and exactly, with various sparse grid techniques based on the finite element and finite difference methods and a multi-level combination approach. The overall method is found to be efficient in terms of both storage and computational time for solving a wide range of PDEs in high dimensions. In particular, the IIF with the sparse grid combination technique is flexible and effective in solving systems that may include cross-derivatives and non-constant diffusion coefficients. Extensive numerical simulations in both linear and nonlinear systems in high dimensions, along with applications of diffusive logistic equations and Fokker-Planck equations, demonstrate the accuracy, efficiency, and robustness of the new methods, indicating potential broad applications of the sparse grid-based integration factor method.
Moving Landscapes, Making Place: Cities, Monuments and Commemoration at Malizi/Melid

The urbanization of Syro-Hittite (Luwian and Aramaean) states is one of most complex yet little explored regional processes in Near Eastern history and archaeology. In this study, I discuss aspects of landscape and settlement change in northern Syria and southeastern Anatolia during the Early Iron Age (ca. 1200-850 BC), and suggest that the emergent geo-politics of the region involved the foundation of cities and construction of specific types of commemorative monuments including rock reliefs, steles and city gates. While defining new forms of territorial power, these monuments linked local polities to a shared Hittite past through their literary and visual rhetoric, and a discourse of inherited agricultural land. To contextualize the subject matter, I first discuss the gradual southward shift of an imperial center of power from central Anatolia towards Karkamis and Tarhuntassa at the end of the Late Bronze Age, arguing against the widespread models of a sudden collapse of the Hittite Empire followed by dark ages. Furthermore, I present archaeological and epigraphic evidence for the formation of the regional state Malizi/Melid. This Syro-Hittite kingdom established itself in the Malatya-Elbistan Plains in eastern Turkey during the first centuries of the Early Iron Age as one of the earliest political entities to emerge from the ashes of the Hittite Empire. Monuments raised by Malizean 'county lords' in rural and urban contexts suggest a picture of a fluid landscape in transition, one that was configured through the construction of cities, and other practices of place-making.
Viability of Utility Values in Decisions under Risk

Viability of utility values in decision making under risk and with high payoffs, where classical maximization of expected monetary value fails, is demonstrated. Building on von Neumann & Morgenstern's utility axioms, an Excel spreadsheet method is described to develop an executive(s)'s utility function, which can be used for consistent decision making and to delegate decision making authority to subordinates. Also, the concept can be extended to derivation of a consensus utility function for a group of executives, which can be used to make decisions under risk at corporate levels.
Permeation of gases at high pressures

Abstract The permeation of He, N2, CH4, C2H6, C2H4, CO2, and N2O through polyethylene membranes has been studied at pressures up to 60 atm and at temperatures between −10° and 60° C. The experimental temperature range encompassed the critical temperature of the last four penetrants. The mean permeability coefficient, P, for C2H6, C2H4, CO2, and N2O exhibited an exponential dependence on pressure at reduced penetrant temperatures below and near unity. This dependence decreased with increasing reduced temperature. The values of P for CH4, which were obtained at reduced temperatures above unity, were essentially constant over the entire pressure range. Finally, the P's for N2 and He, which were measured at the highest reduced temperatures, appeared to decrease slightly with increasing pressure. Possible causes for the observed behavior are discussed, and a new correlation for the pressure dependence of the permeability coefficients is presented. The separation of two different N2O-CO2 mixtures by selective p...
Perceived Quality of Academic Advising: The Effect on Freshman Attrition

Using data from 1,033 freshmen at a public urban university, this study examined the effect of the perceived quality of academic advising on student attrition in a model of the student attrition process. High-quality advising negatively influenced attrition through effects on GPA, satisfaction in the role of a student, the value of a college education for future employment, and intent to leave the university. Low-quality advising was related to greater attrition than was high-quality advising, but, on the other hand, low-quality advising was associated with less attrition than no advising at all. The effect size of the advising variables suggested that a more extensive provision of high-quality advising might be considered as one strategy in a multifaceted institutional effort to reduce freshman attrition.
Dermal absorption of neat and aqueous volatile organic chemicals in the Fischer 344 rat.

Quantification of dermal absorption of volatile organic chemicals (VOCs) from aqueous solutions is required to understand the potential health hazards resulting from skin exposure to these chemicals in contaminated water. Male Fischer 344 rats were dermally exposed (3.1-cm 2 dorsal skin) to neat, one-third saturated, two-thirds saturated, or saturated aqueous solutions of 14 VOCs for 24 hr. Blood samples were obtained via indwelling jugular catheters during exposure (0, 0.5, 1, 2, 4, 8, 12, and 24 hr), and analyzed for the VOCs by gas chromatography using headspace analysis. Absorption of the neat VOCs in this series of chemicals decreased as water solubility decreased. Peak blood levels of VOCs attained during exposure for 24 hr to neat chemicals were: 1,2-dichloroethane (135.1 μg/ml), bromochloromethane (113.3 μg/ml), chloroform (51.0 μg/ml), benzene (24.2 μg/ml), tetrachloroethylene (21.1 μg/ml), dibromomethane (18.2 μg/ml), trichloroethylene (11.6 μg/ml), toluene (9.5 μg/ml), xylene (8.8 μg/ml), hexane (8.0 μg/ml), ethylbenzene (5.6 μg/ml), styrene (5.3 μg/ml), carbon tetrachloride (5.0 μg/ml), and 1,1,1-trichloroethane (3.4 μg/ml). Blood levels of 1,2-dichloroethane and benzene continued to increase during the 24-hr exposure to neat chemical, while blood levels of the other neat VOCs peaked within 4 hr and then either decreased or remained about the same for the duration of the exposure. Absorption of VOCs from one-third, two-thirds, or saturated aqueous solutions was rapid, and resulted in depletion of the chemical from the solution although only a small amount of water was absorbed. Blood levels of each VOC were directly related to the exposure concentrations. The rapid appearance of VOCs in the blood from aqueous solutions demonstrates that detectable amounts of VOCs were absorbed during exposure of only about 1% of the skin surface area of the rat.
Pulsed Laser Heating of Highly Absorbing Particles

The interaction of pulsed laser radiation with small, highly absorbing particles is common to a wide variety of engineering processes. Examples include laser cladding, laser surface cleaning, and laser inclusion damage of high-power optics. In these applications, detailed knowledge of the radiant energy absorption and heating in the particle and surrounding medium is essential for understanding, controlling, and/or optimizing the process. Often the particles are assumed to absorb the incident radiant energy uniformly throughout their volume, which results in an assumed uniform heating of the particle. The results of this work, however, indicate that the absorption and heating can be highly nonuniform for a wide variety of situations. 9 refs., 4 figs., 3 tabs.