cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Online customization of teleoperation interfaces

In teleoperation, the user's input is mapped onto the robot via a motion retargetting function. This function must differ between robots because of their different kinematics, between users because of their different preferences, and even between tasks that the users perform with the robot. Our work enables users to customize this retargetting function, and achieve any of these required differences. In our approach, the robot starts with an initial function. As the user teleoperates the robot, he can pause and provide example correspondences, which instantly update the retargetting function. We select the algorithm underlying these updates by formulating the problem as an instance of online function approximation. The problem's requirements, as well as the semantics and constraints of motion retargetting, lead to an extension of Online Learning with Kernel Machines in which the width of the kernel can vary. Our central hypothesis is that this method enables users to train retargetting functions to good outcomes. We validate this hypothesis in a user study, which also reveals the importance of providing users with tools to verify their examples: much like an actor needs a mirror to verify his pose, a user needs to verify his input before providing an example. We conclude with a demonstration from an expert user that shows the potential of the method for achieving more sophisticated customization that makes particular tasks easier to complete, once users get expertise with the system.
Inspiration: Core Characteristics, Component Processes, Antecedents, and Function.

The authors examined the core characteristics, component processes, antecedents, and function of state inspiration. In Studies 1 and 2, inspiration was contrasted with baseline experience and activated positive affect (PA) using a vivid recall methodology. Results supported the tripartite conceptualization of inspiration. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that inspiration may be decomposed into separate processes related to being inspired "by" and being inspired "to." Study 3 found that daily inspiration is triggered by illumination among individuals high in receptive engagement, whereas activated PA is triggered by reward salience among individuals high in approach temperament. Approach temperament was also implicated in being inspired "to." Inspiration and activated PA appear to serve different functions: transmission and acquisition, respectively.
Ovarian serous borderline epithelial tumors with multiple retroperitoneal nodal involvement: Metastasis or malignant transformation of epithelial glandular inclusions?

Abstract One of four patients who underwent lymph node excision at exploration for ovarian serous borderline epithelial tumor (OSBT) at Baystate Medical Center was found to have FIGO Stage III C lesion associated with extensive ovarian external (surface) papillary growth, peritoneal implants in the omentum and cul-desac, and involvement of multiple pelvic and periaortic lymph nodes by the tumor. Histologically, the lymph nodes showed an admixture of endosalpingeal glandular inclusions with neoplastic tissue identical to the ovarian tumor. The exact histogenesis and the prognostic significance of the nodal involvement by OSBT are still not fully understood. Although there is a small number of reported cases of lymph node involvement associated with OSBT, they are described as examples of nodal metastases or independent primary foci of malignant transformation. This paper presents an interesting association of OSBT with extensive pelvic and periaortic nodal involvement and reviews the relevant literature.
Localized Cooling for Human Comfort

Author(s): Wang, Mingyu; Wolfe, Edward; Ghosh, Debashis; Bozeman, Jeffrey; Chen, Kuo-huey; Han, Taeyoung; Zhang, Hui; Arens, Ed | Abstract: Traditional vehicle air conditioning systems condition the entire cabin to a comfortable range of temperature and humidity regardless of the number of passengers in the vehicle. The A/C system is designed to have enough capacity to provide comfort for transient periods when cooling down a soaked car. Similarly for heating, the entire cabin is typically warmed up to achieve comfort.Localized heating and cooling, on the other hand, focuses on keeping the passenger comfortable by forming a micro climate around the passenger. This is more energy efficient since the system only needs to cool the person instead of the entire cabin space and cabin thermal mass. It also provides accelerated comfort for the passenger during the cooling down periods of soaked cars. Additionally, the system adapts to the number of passengers in the car, so as to not purposely condition areas that are not occupied.The present paper reports on a fundamental study of localized cooling to achieve comfort in a vehicle environment. The individual cooling streams are evaluated by human comfort riders for effectiveness and limitations. Based on the local cooling studies, combination local cooling strategies are then created and evaluated by riders.
Letter Regarding Article by O’Neill et al, “Peak Oxygen Consumption as a Predictor of Death in Patients With Heart Failure Receiving β-Blockers”

To the Editor: A recent article1 published in Circulation investigated cardiopulmonary exercise testing with a primary aim of comparing patients who were or were not taking β-blockers at the time of the exercise test. The authors’ limitations did not mention the tracking of medication profiles during follow-up. It is likely, especially at a tertiary care center and during the early β-blocker era, that patients who were assigned to the no-β-blocker group at the time of testing were prescribed β-blockers shortly thereafter. There are plenty of data that show that ventilatory efficiency measurement is a more powerful mortality predictor than peak oxygen consumption, and these measures must be explored further.2,3 Data suggest that the peak value of Ve/Vco2 for ventilatory efficiency is probably not the best choice. The …
Addition of N–H bonds to iridium: Synthesis and characterization of N–Ir–H complexes and the observation that an iridium N-bonded indole ring becomes activated for Michael addition to alkynes

Abstract The thermal reaction between the electron-rich iridium complex, [IrCOD(PMe3)3]Cl, 1a, and pyrrolic or anilinic N–H bonds results in the oxidative addition of the N–H bond and the formation of an amido iridium hydride complex, HIr(amido)(Cl)(PMe3)3 with loss of COD. The only isomer formed in this reaction has a meridional arrangement of PMe3 ligands, with H trans to Cl and the amido group trans to PMe3. The reaction products of 1a with pyrrole, indole and 3-methyl indole were fully characterized included by single crystal X-ray diffraction. Attachment of the pyrrolic ring nitrogen to the iridium results in an electron rich ring system that is activated and adds to alkynes in a Michael addition reaction under mild conditions without a catalyst.
Linearized analysis of magnetohydrodynamic entrance flow in a vertical channel with combined thermal convection

A linearized analysis is presented for the magnetohydrodynamic entrance flow with combined forced and free convection in a vertical, constant wall temperature parallel-plate channel. Numerical results are obtained for slug velocity profile at the entrance and for various Hartmann and Grashof Numbers. The results agree well with the finite difference numerical solutions obtained elsewhere. They demonstrate that the velocity development and pressure gradient in the channel entrance region are greatly influenced by the Hartmann Number and the Grashof Number. Increasing Hartmann Number decreases velocity entrance length while increasing Grashof Number increases it. Thermal development is also found to be dependent on the above mentioned parameters, but to a relatively minor extent.
Scabies presenting as bullous pemphigoid-like eruption.

Several diseases, at times, may be confused with scabies. We report the diagnosis and treatment of scabies in two patients. Their eruptions recurred and persisted and eventually developed blisters. The skin biopsy specimens submitted for light microscopy and innnunofluorescence were considered to be consistent with bullous pemphigoid. Both patients were treated successfully with lindane and remained disease free for up to 6 months of follow-up.
Heat Pulses in NaF: Onset of Second Sound

In NaF, NaI, and LiF crystals of modest chemical or isotopic purity, only ballistic and diffusive propagation of heat is observed. In very pure NaF an additional pulse occurs. This pulse shows the behavior of incipient second sound.
New mean-energy formulae for free energy differences

We report a number of new exact expressions, within the realm of classical statistical mechanics, for the solvation contribution ΔA to the free energy change of a solute that undergoes a transformation between two states that differ in the way they interact with the solvent. Our basic result is a coupling-parameter expression that is equivalent to the usual cumulant expansion of ΔA. In our formula, which is derived from a linear coupling-parameter scheme, all the cumulant terms beyond the first one are collected into an integral over the coupling parameter. From this formula, with the help of the mean-value theorems of calculus, we derive exact one- and two-reference-point mean-energy expressions for the solvation free energy change, neither of which is limited to the linear response regime. Both the one- and the two-reference point formulae are given in terms of one distinguished value of the coupling parameter ( and ξ*, respectively) that is not known a priori (except in the linear response regime where...
Low‐frequency oscillations in temperature‐Proxy records and implications for recent climate change

The global-mean surface temperature has inherent variability on all time scales. Distinguishing natural climatic variability from the observed ∼0.5°C warming since the mid nineteenth century is crucial to understanding the response of the climate system to the enhanced greenhouse effect. We perform singular spectrum analysis (SSA' of several long-term (173–1481 years' proxy records of temperature. We find significant variability on the century time-scale in the records, with the most predominant modes being oscillations of time period ∼160 and ∼80 years. The findings remain essentially unchanged when the portion of the records after 1900 are excluded to remove any notable anthropogenic influence. These oscillations are of sufficient magnitude to account for a significant portion of the warming trend observed in instrumental records of temperatures from the 1850s until the 1970s. Our findings suggest that attribution of anthropogenically induced climate change may be more difficult than currently believed.
Biological production of methane from bituminous coal

Abstract Biogasification of coal offers significant economic and environmental benefits for the continued utilization of coal resources. Several consortia from various natural sources associated with coal have been shown to produce methane from media containing only coal as the organic carbon source. Methane production of these samples has continued to increase with time. The cultures have remained viable and have continued to produce methane after 5 successive transfers to media containing coal as the sole carbon source. Methane quantities of 4 and 5 volume percent methane (0.03 and 0.04 mmol per tube) have been observed from Pittsburgh and Wyodak coals. Serum tube experiments were scaled to larger column experiments that also indicated that methane is produced from medium containing coal as the only carbon source.
Bell numbers and k -trees

Abstract We show that the number of partitions of {1, … , n } with the restriction that each integer i is not in the same part as i − 1 is the Bell number B n − 1 . We generalize this result to partitions of the vertices of k -trees.
The influence of scale and the spatial characteristics of landscapes on land-cover mapping using remote sensing

Statistical analyses provide a means for assessing relationships between landscape spatial pattern and errors in the estimates of cover-type proportions as land-cover data are aggregated to coarser scales. Results from a multiple-linear regression model suggest that as patch sizes, variance/mean ratio, and initial proportions of cover types increase, the proportion error moves in a positive direction and is governed by the interaction of the spatial characteristics and the scale of aggregation. However, the standard linear model does not account for the different directions of scale-dependent proportion error since some classes become larger and others become smaller as the scene is aggregated. Addition of indicator variables representing class-type significantly improves the performance by allowing the model to respond differently to different classes. A regression tree model provides a much simpler fit to the complex scaling behavior through an interaction between patch size and aggregation scale. An understanding of the relationships between landscape pattern, scale, and proportion error may advance methods for correcting land-cover area estimates. Such methods could also facilitate high-resolution calibration and validation of coarse-scale remote-sensing-based land-cover mapping algorithms. Ongoing initiatives to produce global land-cover datasets from remote sensing, such as efforts within the IGBP and the EOS MODIS Land-Team, include significant emphasis on high level calibration and validation activities of this nature.
Characterization of the Fcγ receptor on human platelets

IgG-containing immune complexes may play a role in the immune destruction of human platelets by interacting with an Fc gamma receptor on the platelet surface. We studied the platelet Fc gamma receptor and characterized its interaction with IgG ligand and anti-Fc gamma receptor monoclonal antibodies. Oligomers of IgG, but not monomeric IgG, bound to platelets and the number of binding sites was significantly increased at low ionic strength. Ligand-binding studies indicated that normal human platelets express a single Fc gamma receptor (Fc gamma RII) with 8559 +/- 852 sites per cell, Kd = 12.5 +/- 1.7 X 10(-8) M using trimeric IgG. Results of studies with bivalent and Fab monoclonal anti-Fc gamma RII were consistent with each Fc gamma receptor expressing two epitopes recognized by the antibody. The number of Fc gamma binding sites and affinity of binding were unchanged by the presence of 2.0 mM Mg2+ or 10 micrograms/ml cytochalasin B. Platelet stimulation with thrombin or ADP in the presence of fibrinogen also did not alter the number of Fc gamma binding sites or the affinity of binding. However, platelets preincubated with 5 microM dexamethasone expressed a decreased number of Fc gamma binding sites as well as decreased IgG-dependent platelet aggregation. Platelets from patients with Glanzmann's thrombasthenia and from patients with the Bernard Soulier syndrome expressed a normal number and affinity of Fc gamma binding sites. The data suggest that platelet Fc gamma RII binding of trimeric IgG occurs independent of actin filament interaction, Mg2+, ADP, or thrombin and does not require GPIIb/IIIa or GPIIb/IIIa-fibrinogen interaction. Furthermore, this receptor appears to be normally expressed on GPIb-deficient platelets and susceptible to modulation by glucocorticoids. Finally, the Fc gamma-binding protein was isolated from whole platelets as a 220-kDa protein which upon reduction dissociates into 50,000 Mr subunits.
Polyacrylonitrile/carbon nanofiber nanocomposite fibers

Abstract Polyacrylonitrile (PAN)/carbon nanofiber (CNF) composite fibers have been processed with up to 30 wt% CNF using PAN polymers with molecular weights in the range of 100,000–700,000 g/mol. The composite fibers prepared from 20 wt% CNF and high molecular weight PAN polymer exhibit axial tensile properties that are typical of a textile fiber and in addition these fibers are also electrically conducting providing additional functionality (tensile strength of 0.31 N/tex, tensile modulus of 10.9 N/tex, axial electrical conductivity of 28 S/m). At high CNF concentrations (e.g. at 30 wt% CNF), CNF-rich and PAN-rich regions were observed in the fiber cross-section along with large elongated voids along the fiber axis. These factors negatively affect the tensile properties. All composite fibers exhibited an increased glass transition temperature ( T g ) by more than 15 °C along with a significant increase in storage modulus above T g as compared to the control fiber, suggesting good interaction between PAN and CNF.
Sodium regulation of α2-adrenoreceptors of human platelets: Inactivation by 4,4′-diisothiocyano-2,2′-stilbene disulfonic acid (DIDS)

In the present study, we investigated the effect of DIDS on Na+ regulation of α2-adrenoreceptors in human platelets. Pretreatment of platelet membranes at 23°C for 60 min with DIDS produced a reduction in the affinity of the receptors for both antagonist and agonist in a concentration related manner; however, there was a marked difference in the degree of reduction in the affinity of the receptors for antagonist and agonist. Thus, at 1 mM concentration of DIDS, the affinity of the receptors for antagonist was reduced by 2-fold while the affinity of the receptors for agonist was reduced by 14-fold. Furthermore, this concentration of DIDS abolished the ability of Na+ in reducing the affinity of the receptors for agonist. We suggest that the effect of DIDS is via Na+ binding component of the α2-adrenoreceptor-adenylate cyclase complex.
Avian spirochaetosis: Enhanced recognition of mild strains of Borrelia anserina with bursectomized- and dexamethasone-treated chickens

Abstract Chemically-bursectomized and adrenalcortical steroid-treated chicks were considerably more susceptible to B. anserina than their normal counterparts. The use of these chemically-altered chicks should facilitate studies with mild strains of the organisms because such strains often do not cause a spirochaetaemia and, therefore, are not detected in untreated birds over 2- to 3-weeks-of-age. In the absence of chemical alteration, birds under 3-weeks-of-age were the most sensitive to B. anserina. Chemically-bursectomized and, to a lesser extent, adrenalcortical steroid-treated birds retained an evident spirochaetaemia for longer than untreated birds, and the degree of spirochaetaemia was greater. Normal, i.e. untreated chicks, particularly older ones, may develop immunity to the organism without evidence of a spirochaetaemia. The disease process in B. anserina infections appears to be initiated by an effective humoral antibody response.
Photochemistry of copper(II) macrocyclic complexes: the charge transfer photochemistry of 2,12-dimethyl-3,7,11,17-tetraazabicyclo[11,3,1]heptadeca-1(17),2,11,13,15-pentaenecopper(II)

Abstract The photochemical properties of Cu(CR) 2+ (CR ≡ 2,12-dimethyl-3,7,-11,17-tetraazabicyclo[11,3,1]heptadeca-1(17),2,11,13,15-pentaene) were investigated by continuous and flash photolysis. UV photolyses induce two reactions: the hydrolysis of the macrocyclic ligand and redox reactions that reduce the metal center to copper(I). These photoreactions are regarded as being caused by the population of ligand-to-metal and metal-to-ligand charge transfer states. A proposed mechanism is compared with mechanisms for the photochemical transformations of related macrocyclic complexes.
Oxytocin in mares: lack of evidence for oxytocin production by or action on preovulatory follicles.

Abstract It is not known whether the equine preovulatory follicle produces oxytocin or is a target tissue for oxytocin, as has been reported for other species, especially ruminants. Bovine granulosa cells secrete oxytocin, and oxytocin modulates the production of progesterone by granulosa cells in vitro. We examined whether oxytocin plays a comparable role in the equine preovulatory follicle. To test the hypothesis that the equine preovulatory follicle produces oxytocin during estrus and that its production increases in late estrus, preovulatory follicles were isolated during early (Days 1 to 2; n=4) and late (Days 4 to 5; n=4) estrus. Granulosa cells, pieces of theca interna and pieces of follicle wall (theca with attached granulosa cells) were cultured for 3 d with or without equine gonadotropins. Culture media were collected, replaced at 3, 6, 12, 24, 48, and 72 hr of culture, and assayed for oxytocin. Granulosa cells from preovulatory follicles secreted negligible amounts of oxytocin during 3 d of culture, irrespective of gonadotropin treatment or stage of estrus. Likewise, negligible amounts of oxytocin were measured in theca and follicle wall cultures at both developmental stages, in the presence or absence of gonadotropins. Furthermore, follicular fluid from early or late estrous follicles contained only negligible amounts of oxytocin. To determine if oxytocin affects steroidogenesis by equine granulosa cells, granulosa cells from follicles obtained on Day 2 of estrus were cultured with graded doses of oxytocin (0, 1, 10, 100, and 1, 000 ng/ml) in defined medium supplemented with testosterone (0.5 μM) and culture media were assayed for estradiol-17β and progesterone. Estradiol was secreted throughout the culture period, and its production was not significantly affected by oxytocin treatment (P > 0.05). Progesterone secretion was relatively low during the first 24 hr of culture, increased dramatically on the second day of culture, and remained high through the third day. No dose of oxytocin had a significant effect on progesterone secretion (P > 0.05). In conclusion, the results indicate that equine preovulatory follicles, isolated during early or late estrus, are neither a source of oxytocin nor a target for oxytocin action on steroidogenesis. Although ovarian oxytocin appears to play a role in regulating follicular function in some other mammalian species, our data provide no support for such a role for oxytocin in mares.
The Citizen Factory: Schooling and Cultural Production in Bolivia

The Citizen Factory: Schooling and Cultural Production in Bolivia. Aurolyn Luykx. Albany: State University of New York Press, 1999. xiii. 399 pp., appendix, notes, bibliography, index.
Chance and consensus in peer review

An experiment in which 150 proposals submitted to the National Science Foundation were evaluated independently by a new set of reviewers indicates that getting a research grant depends to a significant extent on chance. The degree of disagreement within the population of eligible reviewers is such that whether or not a proposal is funded depends in a large proportion of cases upon which reviewers happen to be selected for it. No evidence of systematic bias in the selection of NSF reviewers was found.
Parsing human motion with stretchable models

We address the problem of articulated human pose estimation in videos using an ensemble of tractable models with rich appearance, shape, contour and motion cues. In previous articulated pose estimation work on unconstrained videos, using temporal coupling of limb positions has made little to no difference in performance over parsing frames individually [8, 28]. One crucial reason for this is that joint parsing of multiple articulated parts over time involves intractable inference and learning problems, and previous work has resorted to approximate inference and simplified models. We overcome these computational and modeling limitations using an ensemble of tractable submodels which couple locations of body joints within and across frames using expressive cues. Each submodel is responsible for tracking a single joint through time (e.g., left elbow) and also models the spatial arrangement of all joints in a single frame. Because of the tree structure of each submodel, we can perform efficient exact inference and use rich temporal features that depend on image appearance, e.g., color tracking and optical flow contours. We propose and experimentally investigate a hierarchy of submodel combination methods, and we find that a highly efficient max-marginal combination method outperforms much slower (by orders of magnitude) approximate inference using dual decomposition. We apply our pose model on a new video dataset of highly varied and articulated poses from TV shows. We show significant quantitative and qualitative improvements over state-of-the-art single-frame pose estimation approaches.
The influence of temperature on the rate of locomotion in Amoeba II. The rate of locomotion in Amoeba at different temperatures

In general, the changes of locomotor rate of Amoeba under the influence of temperature are similar to the effects of temperature in other biological processes. The rate increases with rising and decreases with falling temperatures within a certain temperature range, this being, for the forms investigated, the interval between 6° and 23.5°C. In some individuals, however, these limits were found to be wider, extending from 2° to 26°. There is an average optimum at about 23.5°, beyond which an increase in temperature is followed by a decrease in rate. The immediate response of Amoeba to a change of temperature is variable, due, as was shown in a previous paper, to the fact that locomotor-rate changes are rhythmic. The effect of a change of temperature is thus conditioned not only by the enviornmental factors, but also by the phases of the locomotor rhythm. This fact also makes it difficult to establish the exact quantitative relationship which exists between a change of temperature and the locomotor rate—an aspect which will be developed in a future paper.
Public Policy, Invasive Species and Animal Disease Management

There has been a rapid increase in recent years in invasive species and animal management economic research. Expanded interest in the topic has been partially driven by the practical importance of public policy to deal effectively with invasive species, given its public good aspects. This paper shows that the basic criteria of public goods: non-rivalry and non-excludability, apply directly to animal disease border measures and eradication services, with some caveats. It is also argued that public policy should assess disease control and eradication on grounds of biology, national economic interests, and international cooperation. Specific regulations and programs must be evaluated on the basis of cost benefit principles.
Effects of Delay and Number of Related List Items on Implicit Activation for DRM Critical Items in a Speeded Naming Task.

Two experiments examined decay and additivity of semantic priming produced by DRM false memory lists on a naming task. Subjects were presented with study lists containing 14 DRM items that were either all 14 related, the first 7 related, the second 7 related, or all 14 unrelated to the non-presented critical item. Priming was measured on a naming task that presented the critical item in test position 1, 3, or 9. Priming occurred for the 14 related list in the first position only. However, there was also evidence for long term semantic priming in other conditions that was not due to relatedness-checking. Across experiments, an underadditive pattern of activation was obtained. The results are interpreted within the context of Activation Monitoring Theory and suggest that the laws of rapid decay and additivity established for single prime target pairs may not apply to mixed DRM lists or delayed testing.
Entropy, confinement, and chiral symmetry breaking

This paper studies the way in which confinement leads to chiral symmetry breaking (CSB) through a gap equation. We argue that a combination of entropic effects, related to fluctuations of Wilson loops with massless constituents, and an Abelian gauge invariance of the confinement action as expressed in terms of the usual confining effective propagator $8\ensuremath{\pi}{K}_{F}{\ensuremath{\delta}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}/{k}^{4}$, in effect removes infrared singularities coming from use of this propagator in a standard gap equation (${K}_{F}$ is the string tension). Beginning from an Abelian gauge-invariant description of CSB that differs from this standard gap equation, we show how to extract a corresponding gap equation that incorporates both entropic effects and Abelian gauge invariance by replacement of the confining propagator with $8\ensuremath{\pi}{K}_{F}{\ensuremath{\delta}}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}/({k}^{2}+{m}^{2}{)}^{2}$. Here the finite mass $m$ turns out to be $\ensuremath{\approx}M(0)$ [$M({p}^{2})$ is the running quark mass], based on an extension of an old calculation of the author. This massive propagator gives semiquantitatively two critical properties of confinement: (1) a negative contribution to the confining potential coming from entropy; (2) an infrared cutoff required by Abelian gauge invariance. Entropic effects lead to a $\overline{q}q$ condensate and contribute a negative term $\ensuremath{\sim}\ensuremath{-}{K}_{F}/M(0)$, essential for a massless pion, to the pion Hamiltonian. The resulting gap equation leads to ${M}^{2}(0)\ensuremath{\approx}{K}_{F}/\ensuremath{\pi}$. We argue that one-gluon exchange is not strong enough in the IR to drive quark CSB, but in any case is necessary to get the correct renormalization-group ultraviolet behavior. We find the standard renormalization-group result with the improvement that the prefactor (related to $⟨\overline{q}q⟩$) can be calculated from the confining solution. Finally, we briefly point out the Minkowski-space virtues of using a principal-part propagator to describe confinement.
Aspects of Applicative Programming for Parallel Processing

Early results of a project on compiling stylized recursion into stackless iterative code are reviewed as they apply to a target environment with multiprocessing. Parallelism is possible in executing the compiled image of argument evaluation (collateral argument evaluation of Algol 68), of data structure construction when suspensions are used, and of functional combinations. The last facility provides generally, concise expression for all operations performed in Lisp by mapping functions and in APL by typed operators; there are other uses as well.
Electrooptic polymeric digital optical switches (DOSs) with adiabatic couplers

Electrooptic polymeric digital optical switches with an adiabatic coupler is proposed and demonstrated. The tip portion of the Y-branch is replaced by a full 1 /spl times/ 2 adiabatic coupler. By having this design, the switching voltage can be lowered and the devices are easier to fabricate. The fabricated switches show a characteristic step-like response to the driving voltage. The switching voltage is 5.9 /spl sim/ 6.4 V for dual-arm driving and the extinction ratio is higher than 20 dB. With the improvement of the bias voltage, this nonresonant optical switch design can be driven in a push-pull configuration without bias.
Establishing the correspondence between control points in pairs of mammographic images

This paper describes part of a study aimed at developing a computer-based aid for mammogram screening that makes a detailed comparison between mammograms of the same patient acquired at different screenings and detects changes indicative of cancer. The focus is on determining control points in two mammograms; these points are used to put two mammograms into correspondence. The paper details the algorithm for identifying the potential control points and establishing the correspondence between the two sets of control points. The algorithm's performance was evaluated by three observers, one of whom is an experienced radiologist, and found to be adequate.
Postprostatectomy urinary incontinence: Urodynamic assessment

This communication deals with our urodynamic observations in 21 incontinent postprostatectomy patients. The factors causing incontinence were (1) persistent detrusor hyperactivity, (2) sphincter failure causing passive incontinence, and (3) a combination of the above two factors. None of the 21 subjects had any evidence of residual outlet obstruction.
Polymer distribution during bicomponent melt blowing of poly(propylene)/poly(ethylene terephthalate) and its improvement

Bicomponent melt blown (MB) microfiber nonwovens of poly(propylene) (PP) and poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET) were produced in this study. It is interesting to analyze the polymer distribution uniformity across the web because it affects many end-use properties. By utilizing the technique of differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), a standard working line between heat of fusion and weight percentage was constructed for mixtures of PP and PET components. The fitted equations were used for determination of a component percentage in a certain position across the MB web. Measurements were conducted from DSC re-heating curves to achieve accurate results. The distribution of polymer varies with polymer mass ratio and processing conditions. The overall uniformity increased with the percentage of PP. When PP is the minor component in the polymer pair, it exhibits notably higher percentage in edge areas across the MB web. These results suggest the phase interface distortion of the polymer melt occurred at the entrance of the MB coat-hanger die tip. The polymer distribution uniformity is improved by adjusting temperature profile of the MB die. © 2002 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Appl Polym Sci 85: 2885–2889, 2002
Spiritual Orientation among Adolescents in a Drug-Free Residential Therapeutic Community

Clinically, the treatment of substance abuse has relied on the Twelve Steps model, which is heavily focused on issues of spirituality. Adolescents may have cognitive and developmental issues that preclude them from taking advantage of the Alcoholics Anonymous (AA) model. To this end, we examined the spiritual orientation and spiritual behaviors among adolescent substance abusers in a drug-free residential therapeutic community (TC). One hundred and eighty-six adolescent clients of a drug-free residential therapeutic community were given a self-report questionnaire about their substance abuse and attitudes toward spirituality. The adolescents had a mean Spiritual Orientation Score of 21.48, reflecting a significantly lower level of spiritual orientation than adults in a similar setting. Also, adolescents who were heavy marijuana users were less spiritual than those adolescents who used marijuana less. Spirituality and affiliation with religious institutions may be considered a protective factor because the...
Synthesis and characterization of multiblock partially fluorinated hydrophobic poly(arylene ether sulfone)‐hydrophilic disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) copolymers for proton exchange membranes

Hydrophobic-hydrophilic sequence multiblock copolymers, based on alternating segments of phenoxide ter- minated fully disulfonated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (BPS100) and fluorine-terminated poly(arylene ether sulfone) (6FBPS0) were synthesized and evaluated for application as proton exchange membranes. By utilizing mild reaction conditions the ether-ether interchange reactions were minimized, preventing the randomization of the multiblock copolymers. Tough, duc- tile, transparent membranes were solution cast from the block copolymers and were characterized with regard to intrinsic vis- cosity, morphology, water uptake, and proton conductivity. The conductivity values of the 6FBPS0-BPSH100 membranes were compared to Nafion 212 and a partially fluorinated sulfo- nated poly(arylene ether sulfone) random copolymer (6F40BP60). The nanophase separated morphology was con- firmed by transmission electron microscopy and small angle X-ray scattering, and enhanced proton conductivity at reduced relative humidity was observed with longer block lengths. V C 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part A: Polym Chem 000: 000-000, 2013
Improving the Efficiency of Capture-Resistant Biometric Authentication Based on Set Intersection

Traditional biometric authentication systems store biometric reference templates in cleartext on an authentication server, making them vulnerable to theft. Fuzzy extractors allow an authentication server to store biometric verification data that are resistant to capture. It is hard to recover the reference templates from these biometric verification data, thus increasing the privacy of the reference templates. In this paper, we improve the efficiency of a set intersection-based fuzzy extractor in two ways. First, we speed up the computation of verifying a biometric sample under some parameter combinations through integrating a Reed-Solomon decoding algorithm. Second, we propose a new function to improve the storage efficiency of the fuzzy extractor. A prototype implementation is developed to validate our improvements and it shows that our first improvement could speed up computation as many as 2.29 times 106 times.
Physiological dimensions of ototoxic responses in a model fish species.

Pharmaceutical agents known to be toxic to the human auditory system also impair sensory hair cells of teleosts, and this supports the use of fish models for the screening of such compounds. However, previous investigations have focused almost exclusively on anatomical changes after drug administration without assessing macro-level physiological effects. Using the goldfish (Carassius auratus), we demonstrate that the acquisition of auditory evoked potentials offers a rapid and non-invasive means for tracking ototoxin-induced shifts in auditory thresholds. Gentamicin (100 mg/mL) was the agent of choice as it is an extensively-studied human ototoxin. Significant shifts (p < 0.05) in hearing sensitivity were observed between 300 Hz and 600 Hz and these shifts depended on acoustic pressure, but not particle motion. This differential elevation of auditory thresholds may be caused by impairment of specific populations of auditory sensory hair cells.
Discordant Cellular Response to Presurgical Letrozole in Bilateral Synchronous ER+ Breast Cancers with a KRAS Mutation or FGFR1 Gene Amplification

We describe herein a patient presenting with bilateral estrogen-receptor-positive (ER+) breast tumors who was enrolled in a clinical trial exploring molecular aberrations associated with hormone-refractory tumor cell proliferation. Short-term (two week) hormonal therapy with the aromatase inhibitor letrozole substantially reduced proliferation as measured by Ki67 immunohistochemistry in one tumor, whereas the second was essentially unchanged. Extensive molecular and genetic work-up of the two tumors yielded divergent lesions in the two tumors: an activating KRAS mutation in the responsive tumor and an amplification of the fibroblast growth factor receptor-1 (FGFR1) locus in the treatment-refractory tumor. These findings provide an insight to possible mechanisms of resistance to antiestrogen therapy in ER+ breast cancers. First, they illustrate the necessity of clinically approved assays to identify FGFR1 gene amplification, which occur in approximately 5% of breast tumors and have been linked to antiestrogen resistance. It is quite possible that the addition of FGFR inhibitors to ER-targeted therapy will yield a superior antitumor effect and improved patient outcome. Second, they suggest that the role of activating mutations in RAS, although rare in breast cancer, may need to be explored in the context of ER+ breast tumors.
A nursing faculty's transition to teaching online.

Abstract The introduction of web-based instruction into nursing education has resulted in a significant change in the responsibilities of nurse educators. This phenomenological research study explored the experiences of a graduate nursing faculty who had recently made the transition from traditional face-to-face instruction to web-based teaching. Through guided interviews, the faculty participants provided a rich description of their transition to web-based teaching and their perceptions of what faculty members need in order to make such a change successfully. Faculty members described how their role as nurse educators was reconceptualized as they learned to teach in a different environment. The participants' accounts of their experiences revealed a true paradigm shift in their perception of the nurse educator role and, for many, a comparable shift in their philosophy of teaching.
A nonlinear model predictive control algorithm with proven robustness and resolvability

A robustly stabilizing MPC (model predictive control) algorithm with guaranteed resolvability is developed for uncertain nonlinear systems. With resolvability, initial feasibility of the finite-horizon optimal control problem implies future feasibility in a receding-horizon framework. The control consists of two components; (i) feedforward; and (ii) feedback. Feedforward control and the associated nominal trajectory are obtained by online solution of a finite-horizon optimal control problem for the nominal system dynamics. The feedback control policy is designed off-line, based on a bound on the model uncertainty. The entire controller is shown to be robustly stabilizing with a region of attraction composed of initial states for which the finite-horizon optimal control problem is feasible. The controller design for this algorithm is demonstrated on a class of systems with uncertain nonlinear terms that have norm-bounded derivatives and derivatives in polytopes. An illustrative numerical example is also provided.
The Logistic Function Part III: A Period-Doubling Cascade

In Chapter 7, we characterized the behavior of the parametrized family of functions h r (x) = rx(1 − x) for 0 2 + \sqrt 5 \). All real numbers not in the Cantor set are in the stable set of infinity. We stated without proof that this property also holds for \( 4 < r \leqslant 2 + \sqrt 5 \). Finally, we note in Corollary 9.5 that h is chaotic on [0,1] when r = 4. The analysis of the behavior of h for parameter values between 3 and 4 remains.
The Effect of Human Capital on Firm Performance and Survival: Context of the Asian Financial Crisis

In pursuit of a deeper understanding of human capital and firm performance link, we examine an important and heretofore overlooked contingency, the financial crisis. Utilizing longitudinal data fro...
FRI0526 Ipsilateral lower extremity joint involvement increases the risk of poor pain and function outcomes after hip or knee arthroplasty

Background Recent studies have demonstrated the association of contralateral extremity strength and contralateral knee pain on outcomes 2-3 years after TKA. To our knowledge, there are no published studies describing the effect of ipsilateral lower extremity joint involvement on medium-term patient-reported outcomes (PROs), i.e., pain and function after hip or knee arthroplasty. Objectives To assess the association of ipsilateral knee/hip pain on short- and mid-term pain and function outcomes after total hip or knee arthroplasty (THA/TKA) Methods In this prospectively cohort study, we used the data from the Mayo Clinic Total Joint Registry to assess the association of ipsilateral knee or hip joint involvement with moderate-severe pain and moderate-severe functional limitation at 2- and 5-year follow-up after primary and revision THA and TKA using multivariable-adjusted logistic regression analyses. Results At 2-year, 3,823 primary THA, 4,701 primary TKA, 1,218 revision THA and 725 revision TKA were studied. After adjusting for multiple covariates, ipsilateral knee pain was significantly associated with outcomes after primary THA (all p-values Conclusions Presence of ipsilateral joint involvement after THA or TKA is strongly associated with poor pain and function outcomes. A potential way to improve outcomes is to address ipsilateral lower extremity joint involvement. Disclosure of Interest None Declared
Tuberculosis of the Placenta: A Historical Study with Especial Reference to the Nature of the Earliest Lesions Produced by the Tubercle Bacillus

In this Journal for January, 1904, the writer, with Dr. D. M. Cowie, contributed a study of placental and congenital tuberculosis based upon a case observed by them of placental tuberculosis occurring in the seventh month of pregnancy, associated with miliary tuberculosis of the mother. At the time only eight undoubted cases of tuberculosis of the human placenta could be collected from the literature. Of these, two cases had been reported by Lehmann, three by Schmorl and Kockel, two by Warthin, and one by Auche and Chambrelente. Since our paper was published a number of other cases have been recorded. Of these, one case by Runge had been reported while our article was in press; since its publication Schmorl and Geipel have added nine cases, and Wollstein one, the total number at the present thus being brought up to 20. This rapid increase in the number of reported cases bears out the belief expressed in our paper that placental tuberculosis is probably of much more frequent occurrence than is at the present time supposed, and that with more careful and systematic examinations of placentas the number of cases would increase. This view found striking corroboration in the examination by Schmorl and Geipel of placentas from 20 cases in which the mothers were tuberculous, and the demonstration of tuberculosis of the placenta in nine of these cases. The fact that the majority of reported cases were seen by but two or three observers also points to a not infrequent occurrence of the condition.
Dosimetry of a novel anti-CDH3 radiotracer in non-human primates.

1027 Objectives 111In-FF21101 is a human-mouse monoclonal antibody (Mab) directed against cadherin 3 which has been radioconjugated with a DOTA chelator and 111In. Our aim was to assess its biodistribution and dosimetry in Cynomolgus macaques. Methods Five adult Macaca fascicularis (3 males and 2 females) were included. After anesthesia and intubation, primates were administered 103.6-122.1 MBq of 111In-FF21101. Whole-body planar and SPECT imaging was performed at 0, 2, 24, 48, 72, 96 and 120 hours post-injection, using a dual-head Siemens Symbia S camera. Each day, CT scans for SPECT attenuation correction and organ contouring were acquired on an adjacent General Electric 750 HD CT scanner. A 10 ml calibration source was imaged as well, to convert SPECT counts to radioactivity. Volumes of interest of identifiable source organs of radioactivity were defined on aligned serial SPECT and CT images using MIM version 6.2 (MIM Software Inc.), to generate source organ time-activity curves (TACs). Source organs identified with SPECT/CT were: heart contents, lungs, liver, spleen, kidneys and testes. Total body TACs were generated from regions of interest defined on the planar whole-body images. Human organ residence times and radiation absorbed dose estimates (D) for both 111In- and 90Y-FF21101 were obtained by primate-to-human mass scaling, using the methodology developed by the Medical Internal Radiation Dose (MIRD) Committee of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging (SNMMI). Results All source organs exhibited uptake and mono-exponential clearance typical of a Mab. The organs with the five highest estimated D (mSv/MBq) were (111In-FF21101): spleen (0.879), lungs (0.706), liver (0.705), kidneys (0.620) and heart wall (0.431); and (90Y-FF21101): spleen (9.02), lungs (8.71), kidneys (5.84), liver (5.11) and heart wall (2.63). Conclusions 111In-FF21101 exhibits favorable biodistribution and dosimetry in Cynomolgus macaques, that can be exploited for radioimmunotherapy. Data obtained in this study are being used to support an IND and Phase 1 trials at MD Anderson. Research Support This study was supported by a grant from FUJI Pharma Co, Ltd.
Solvent Effects on Redox Reactions. Part 2. The Cr(II) Reduction of Tris(pentane‐2,4‐dionato)cobalt(III) in Water/Acetone Solvent Mixtures.

Kinetic studies at mole fractions of acetone (0.06-0.7), various acidities, and 25-45 °C indicate three pathways: mono-bridged inner-sphere, di-bridged inner-sphere, and outer-sphere reduction to give the products (Ia), (Ib), and (II), respectively.