cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Spherical harmonic analysis for multivariate stable distributions

Series representations consisting of spherical harmonics are obtained for characteristic exponents and probability density functions of multivariate strictly stable distributions under various conditions. A result potentially applicable in a practical setting is that for strictly stable distributions with polynomial spectral spherical densities, the series representations converge absolutely with all their terms being calculable in closed form. Asymptotic expansions consisting of spherical harmonics are also considered for probability density functions.
COMPRESSION FATIGUE OF FIBER REINFORCED CONCRETE

The effect of repeated loads on the fatigue strength of fiber reinforced concrete was investigated to test the hypothesis that fiber concrete would exhibit compression fatigue behavior superior to that of unreinforced concretes. This hypothesis is based on the findings that short steel wires when added to concrete are crack arresting; and that the fatigue mechanism of concrete is believed to be a crack propagating mechanism. Over 100 cylindrical specimens of fiber reinforced and unreinforced concrete were tested in uniaxial compression. The results showed that the crack arrest mechanism associated with fiber concrete was not particularly effective in improving the fatigue strength of the material and that the fiber concrete exhibited the same compression fatigue characteristics as unreinforced concretes. It was observed, however, that the fiber concrete failed gradually, not exhibiting the explosive failure so often found with unreinforced concrete.
Representation, boundary computation and fast display of CSG models with NURBS primitives

We present efficient and accurate algorithms for Boolean combinations of solids composed of sculptured models. The boundary of each solid is represented as a collection of trimmed spline surfaces and a connectivity graph. Based on algorithms for trapezoidation of polygons, partitioning of polygons using polygonal chains, surface intersection of high degree spline surfaces and ray-shooting, the boundaries of the resulting solids and its connectivity graph after the Boolean operation are computed. We also present accurate representations of the intersection curves and boundary of the resulting solids. The resulting boundaries are used for interactive display and walkthrough applications. The system has been used to convert parts of a submarine storage and handling system model represented as more than 2, 000 CSG trees. The B-rep consists of more than 30, 000 trimmed spline surfaces and is displayed at interactive rates on the Pixel-Planes 5 graphics system.
How Salespeople Build Quality Relationships: A Replication and Extension

Abstract This study replicates and extends Crosby, Evans, and Cowles (1990) relationship quality model. It examines the antecedents and consequences of relationship quality between a salesperson and his or her customer using business customers rather than the sample of retail consumers used by Crosby and colleagues. The original study is further extended by the inclusion of equity as a predictor of buyer–salesperson relationship quality. The setting for this replication is a sales environment where a continuous service is sold to business customers. Approximately 1,000 customers responded to the survey instrument. These respondents represent a wide range of organizations including manufacturers, government agencies, retailers, and service firms. Findings from the current study suggest that the Crosby and co-workers model of relationship quality is relatively generalizable to different sales settings. This is indicated by the fit indices for this replication in a business-to-business sales setting AGFI = 0.93; CFI = 0.96; RMR = 0.05 . Although our research indicates several differences from those reported in Crosby et al., their results are generally supported. Of the eight possible common relationships tested in the replication, six were significant (p AGFI = 0.93; CFI = 0.96; RMR = 0.05 . The two relationships that were different between our replication and the original study indicate that relationship quality is more important for the business-to-business customer in determining how highly they rate a salesperson than it is for consumers. Furthermore, these findings indicate that individual consumers place greater value on salesperson expertise in determining their evaluation of a salesperson's effectiveness. Overall, the Crosby et al. model exhibits some degree of generalizability in the sales environment investigated in this replication. Implications of the study for building buyer–salesperson relationship are discussed, and suggestions are made concerning for future research topics.
Metabolic Engineering of Plant Secondary Metabolism

In this chapter, we focus on the promise inherent in current efforts to manipulate plant secondary metabolism to improve the yield and/or quality of domestic crop plants. While there is yet no commercial production of any crops engineered in this fashion, a number of crops are in development based on successful research demonstrating the potential of such alteration for improving agriculture and human health. However, as in the deployment of any new technology, there are cautionary notes regarding the possibility of unforeseen and undesirable side effects of such manipulation. Keywords: Tterpenoids; phenylpropanoids
The emerging role of resident memory T cells in protective immunity and inflammatory disease

Over the past decade, it has become clear that there is an important subset of memory T cells that resides in tissues-tissue-resident memory T (TRM) cells. There is an emerging understanding that TRM cells have a role in human tissue-specific immune and inflammatory diseases. Furthermore, the nature of the molecular signals that maintain TRM cells in tissues is the subject of much investigation. In addition, whereas it is logical for TRM cells to be located in barrier tissues at interfaces with the environment, these cells have also been found in brain, kidney, joint and other non-barrier tissues in humans and mice. Given the biology and behavior of these cells, it is likely that they have a role in chronic relapsing and remitting diseases of both barrier and non-barrier tissues. In this Review we discuss recent insights into the biology of TRM cells with a particular focus on their roles in disease, both proven and putative.
A View from the Engine Room: Computational Support for Symbolic Model Checking

Symbolic model checking owes much of its success to powerful methods for reasoning about Boolean functions. The first symbolic model checkers used Ordered Binary Decision Diagrams (OBDDs) [1] to represent system transition relations and sets of system states [9]. All of the steps required for checking a model can be expressed as a series of operations on these representations, without ever enumerating individual states or transitions. More recently, bounded [3] and unbounded [10,11] model checkers have been devised that use Boolean satisfiability (SAT) solvers as their core computational engines. Methods having a SAT solver work on a detailed system model and OBDDs operate on an abstracted model have shown that the combination of these two reasoning techniques can be more powerful than either operating on its own [4]. Boolean methods have enabled model checkers to scale to handle some of the complex verification problems arising from real-world hardware and software designs. Given the importance of Boolean reasoning in symbolic checking, we take this opportunity to examine the capabilities of SAT solvers and BDD packages.We use several simple experimental evaluations to illustrate some strengths and weaknesses of current approaches, and suggest directions for future research.
Medical student perspectives on geriatrics and geriatric education.

OBJECTIVE: To ascertain medical students' perspectives on geriatrics. DESIGN: Interpretative phenomenological analysis. SETTING: An allopathic, Liaison Committee on Medical Education–accredited, former Donald W. Reynolds Foundation grant recipient, U.S. medical school. PARTICIPANTS: Thirty fourth-year medical students who completed geriatric educational activities in all 4 years of medical school. MEASUREMENTS: Two researchers independently reviewed verbatim transcripts from five focus groups and identified themes using the constant comparative method. RESULTS: Seventeen themes that elaborate on students' perspectives on geriatrics were identified. Students reported not feeling appropriately engaged in geriatrics, despaired at the futility of care, were depressed by the decline and death of their patients, were frustrated by low reimbursement rates and low prestige despite fellowship training, were concerned about patients' unrealistic expectations and opportunities for litigation, felt unsure how to handle ethical dilemmas, and found communicating with older adults to be enjoyable but time consuming and challenging. They felt they had too much exposure to geriatrics in medical school. CONCLUSION: Current attitude scales fail to capture some of the dimensions uncovered in this study, whereas students did not mention other dimensions commonly included in attitude scales. Regarding curriculum development, students may find an integrated preclinical geriatric curriculum to be more relevant to their careers than a stand-alone curriculum. Clinical clerkships might be in a better position to emphasize the positive aspects of geriatrics and develop strategies to address students' negative attitudes.
Production and characterization of aflatoxin B2a antiserum

The specificity and sensitivity of antiserum elicited from rabbits against aflatoxin B2a-bovine serum albumin conjugates were characterized with a radioimmunoassay (RIA) and an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). Aflatoxin B1 was first converted to aflatoxin B2a and then conjugated to bovine serum albumin and horseradish peroxidase by a reductive alkylation method. The antiserum was developed in New Zealand white rabbits by multiple-site injection with the aflatoxin B2a-bovine serum albumin conjugate. Antibody titers were determined by both RIA and ELISA. Competitive RIAs with various aflatoxin analogs indicated that the antiserum was most reactive with aflatoxin B1 and slightly cross-reactive with aflatoxins B2a, B2, and M1. Competitive ELISAs showed the antiserum to be equally specific for aflatoxins B2a and B12 and less reactive with aflatoxins B2 and M1. The relative sensitivities of RIA and ELISA for aflatoxin B1 quantitation were 100 and 10 pg per assay, respectively.
The spatial and temporal expression of outer segment proteins during development of Macaca monkey cones.

PURPOSE To characterize the spatial and temporal expression of key structural and phototransduction cascade proteins in the monkey cone outer segment (OS). METHODS Retinas from Macaca monkeys from ages fetal day (Fd) 89 through adulthood were double labeled using immunofluorescence for short (S) or long/medium (L/M) wavelength-sensitive cone opsin and either a structural protein (peripherin) or a phototransduction cascade protein (alpha-transducin [alpha-T], phosphodiesterase [PDE], or rhodopsin kinase [RK]). The spatial and temporal patterns of expression for each protein at each age were determined and graphed as a percentage of retinal coverage. RESULTS In both cone types, opsins and phototransduction proteins appear first in the fovea and last at the retinal edge. Peripherin appears concomitantly with opsin in both S and L/M cones, but S cones express peripherin and opsin 1 to 3 weeks before neighboring L/M cones. Alpha-T, PDE, and RK are expressed together in the L/M cone OS shortly after L/M opsin appears. Phototransduction proteins are not expressed in S cones until 1 to 3 weeks after the appearance of S opsin and at the same time that neighboring cones are expressing both L/M opsin and phototransduction proteins. CONCLUSIONS The concomitant appearance of opsin and peripherin strongly suggests roles in promoting the structural integrity of the developing OS. Phototransduction cascade proteins appear in the developing OS at the same time as one another, but after opsin. The significant lag between their expression and that of S cone opsin indicates that phototransduction proteins are not essential for OS formation, nor does opsin expression trigger their expression. The different temporal but similar spatial expression patterns of phototransduction proteins within S and L/M cones suggests that some local signal(s) coordinates their appearance.
Look together: analyzing gaze coordination with epistemic network analysis.

When conversing and collaborating in everyday situations, people naturally and interactively align their behaviors with each other across various communication channels, including speech, gesture, posture, and gaze. Having access to a partner's referential gaze behavior has been shown to be particularly important in achieving collaborative outcomes, but the process in which people's gaze behaviors unfold over the course of an interaction and become tightly coordinated is not well understood. In this paper, we present work to develop a deeper and more nuanced understanding of coordinated referential gaze in collaborating dyads. We recruited 13 dyads to participate in a collaborative sandwich-making task and used dual mobile eye tracking to synchronously record each participant's gaze behavior. We used a relatively new analysis technique—epistemic network analysis—to jointly model the gaze behaviors of both conversational participants. In this analysis, network nodes represent gaze targets for each participant, and edge strengths convey the likelihood of simultaneous gaze to the connected target nodes during a given time-slice. We divided collaborative task sequences into discrete phases to examine how the networks of shared gaze evolved over longer time windows. We conducted three separate analyses of the data to reveal (1) properties and patterns of how gaze coordination unfolds throughout an interaction sequence, (2) optimal time lags of gaze alignment within a dyad at different phases of the interaction, and (3) differences in gaze coordination patterns for interaction sequences that lead to breakdowns and repairs. In addition to contributing to the growing body of knowledge on the coordination of gaze behaviors in joint activities, this work has implications for the design of future technologies that engage in situated interactions with human users.
Proportional Sentences at the ICTY

Sentences handed down at the ICTY have generally been lower than sentences handed down by the ICTR or by many domestic penal systems punishing individuals for domestic crimes. In this contribution to an OUP volume assessing the legacy of the ICTY, I argue that this disparity stems from a conflict between two different ideas of proportionality: defendant-relative proportionality and offence gravity proportionality. Although bearing some similarity to the categories first used by A.V. Hirsch, the categories are used to different effect in this Essay. Defendant-relative proportionality insists that defendants with a greater degree of culpability should receive longer sentences compared with defendants with lower culpability, while offence gravity proportionality insists that each defendant should receive punishment that accords with the gravity of the offence. These two senses of proportionality come into conflict at the ICTY when the only way to preserve defendant-relative proportionality is to scale down the punishment of those who are less culpable – a result which inevitably conflicts with offence gravity proportionality. The ICTY sentencing jurisprudence has fallen victim to this dilemma. This Essay makes a novel contribution to the international sentencing literature by explicitly defending the normative claim that offence gravity proportionality is primary and that a tribunal faced with sacrificing one proportionality over the other ought to satisfy the demands of offence gravity proportionality, even at the expense of defendant-relative proportionality. The warrant for this conclusion is that the harsh treatment associated with offence gravity proportionality vindicates the Rule of Law by providing a hypothetical war criminal with a maxim for action (in the Kantian sense) that makes compliance with the law rationally required. This vindication can only be accomplished by associating certain criminal maxims with punishments that adequately reflect the moral gravity of the offence. Comparisons between defendants are irrelevant for this purpose. Judges at the ICTY should therefore stop scaling down the sentences of lower- and medium-rung offenders in a misguided attempt to preserve room at the top of the scale for the worst offenders.
Leverage and Foreign Investment in U.S. Real Estate

Despite the large-scale purchase of U.S. real estate by foreign investors, empirical evidence has recently been offered that suggests that such investments may not be efficient for portfolio optimization. From the foreign perspective, free-floating exchange rates appear to introduce a level of risk to U.S. real estate assets that overrides any potential diversification benefits.For many years, corporate managers have borrowed in the home-country currency of their foreign assets to limit exchange risk exposure. This study investigates this strategy by examining the utility of U.S. dollar-denominated leverage to foreign investors in U.S. real estate. Specifically, efficient frontiers are constructed for British and Japanese investors to estimate the diversification gains available from including dollar-leveraged U.S. real estate in their respective investment portfolios.
The impact of intellectual property rights on foreign direct investment

Abstract While foreign direct investment (FDI) has been discussed extensively, little research has been undertaken on the nature and direction of the relationship between intellectual property rights protection and FDI. The author uses empirical findings based on a study of 27 countries to support the propositions that the level of intellectual property rights protection is a strong determinant of inward investment and that intellectual property rights have a greater impact on inward investment than many economic policy variables among certain country groups.
Rapid eye movement sleep disturbance in posttraumatic stress disorder

The subjective sleep disturbance in posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), including the repetitive, stereotypical anxiety dream, suggests dysfunctional rapid eye movement (REM) sleep mechanisms. The polysomnograms of a group of physically healthy combat veterans with current PTSD were compared with those of an age-appropriate normal control group. Tonic and phasic REM sleep measures in the PTSD subjects were elevated on the second night of recorded sleep. Increased phasic REM sleep activity persisted in the PTSD group on the subsequent night. During the study, an anxiety dream occurred in a PTSD subject in REM sleep. The results are consistent with the view that a dysregulation of the REM sleep control system, particularly phasic event generation, may be involved in the pathogenesis of PTSD. The finding of a specific disturbance of sleep unique to PTSD may have significant implications for the design of effective treatments for PTSD.
One-boson-exchange potential model for the ΛN interaction

Abstract A one-boson-exchange potential model for the ΛN interaction is described. The effect of the ΣN channel is included explicitly. The potential includes contributions from the following bosons: pseudoscalar and vector octets, and scalar and vector unitary singlets. The approximations needed to obtain a potential for a general baryon-baryon interaction are discussed, and certain ambiguities are pointed out. In particular, we consider to what extent the addition of momentum-dependent corrections would be an improvement over the extreme nonrelativistic limit. By numerical calculations, we then adjust the parameters of our model to reproduce experimental low-energy Λp data. We use SU (3) to relate the meson-baryon couplings. The principal search parameters are the mass and coupling of the scalar unitary singlet boson, the vector coupling of the vector unitary singlet boson, and the radius of a phenomenological spin-independent hard core. Λp cross sections are then calculated from zero energy up through the Σ-production threshold. Some of the ambiguities present in a local potential are investigated numerically. For our model we find that the values of the search parameters are not especially sensitive to these ambiguities.
Testing theories of cultural imperialism: International media and domestic impact

This article assesses the argument which links inputs of Western media fare to cultural changes in developing nations. The structural thesis of cultural imperialism, as outlined by Gaining and others, holds that domination by the West over international news and information flows causes Third World nations to be molded in the West's cultural image. The structural thesis is evaluated by means of a series of empirical tests based on data from twenty‐four Third World nations. These tests are conducted in three areas which have been argued to exhibit readily apparent aspects of cultural imperialism: 1) economic practices; 2) educational trends; 3) lifestyles. The results show little or no support for structural claims that those Third World nations which import a great deal of Western media also tend to be most like the West culturally. Furthermore, the evidence suggests that economic development (e.g., industrialization) in and of itself may have more to do with the Westernization of the Third World than eit...
Mammalian phylogeny: Genes and supertrees

A massive effort to sample mammals for genes has yielded new proposals for the branching architecture of the great radiation of placental mammals. Some of these are notably discrepant with morphologically based analyses, but they suggest new research that should address several major outstanding issues.
Feline Exocrine Pancreatic Disorders

Despite the uncommon clinical diagnosis, cats frequently suffer from disorders of the exocrine pancreas. Pancreatitis is the most common feline exocrine pancreatic disorder. Pancreatitis can be acute or chronic and mild or severe. The etiology of most cases of feline pancreatitis is idiopathic. Some cases have been associated with severe abdominal trauma, infectious diseases, cholangiohepatitis, and organophosphate and other drug intoxication. The clinical presentation of cats with pancreatitis is nonspecific. Vomiting and signs of abdominal pain, which are the clinical signs most commonly observed in humans and dogs with pancreatitis, are only uncommonly observed in cats with pancreatitis. Routine laboratory findings are also nonspecific. Abdominal ultrasonography is a valuable diagnostic tool in feline patients with pancreatitis. Serum activities of lipase and amylase are rarely increased in cats with pancreatitis; however, these cats often have elevated serum fTLI concentrations. The goals of management are removal of the inciting cause, provision of supportive and symptomatic therapy, and careful monitoring for and aggressive treatment of systemic complications. Exocrine pancreatic insufficiency is a syndrome caused by insufficient synthesis of pancreatic digestive enzymes by the exocrine portion of the pancrease. The clinical signs most commonly reported are weight loss, loose and voluminous stools, and greasy soiling of the hair coat. Serum fTLI is subnormal in affected cats. Treatment of cats with EPI consists of enzyme supplementation with powdered pancreatic extracts or raw beef pancreas. Many cats with EPI have concurrent small intestinal disease. Most cats with EPI also have severely decreased serum cobalamin concentrations and may require parenteral cobalamin supplementation. Pancreatic adenocarcinoma is the most common neoplastic condition of the exocrine pancreas in the cat. At the time of diagnosis, the tumor has already metastasized in most cases, and the prognosis is poor. Pancreatic pseudocyst, pancreatic abscess, pancreatic parasites, pancreatic bladder, and nodular hyperplasia are other exocrine pancreatic disorders, that are less commonly seen in cats.
Life-cycle cost evaluations of electric/hybrid vehicles

Abstract An interactive microcomputer software package, MARVEL, has been developed for analyzing battery/heat engine/hybrid vehicle systems. It enables least-life-cycle-cost analyses that identify the combination of battery and heat engine characteristics for different vehicle types and missions. Key features of MARVEL include extensive modeling of the interrelationships among battery parameters and a consistent design effort to avoid premature specification of any parameter. The software package includes default data sets for various vehicle designs, driving profiles, and battery technologies. It can be used to analyze a pure electric vehicle, a pure heat engine vehicle, or a hybrid vehicle that employs both batteries and a heat engine. MARVEL is written in PL/I language for use on IBM-compatible microcomputers.
Cyclosporine-A-mediated inhibition of p-glycoprotein increases methylprednisolone entry into the central nervous system

Prospective, randomized, pharmacokinetic study. To determine if cyclosporine-A-mediated inhibition of p-glycoprotein would increase methylprednisolone entry into the central nervous system thereby permitting a reduction in the systemic methylprednisolone dose. Department of Anesthesiology, University of Washington, Seattle, USA. Microdialysis probes were used to obtain cerebrospinal fluid and gluteal muscle extracellular fluid samples for measurement of methylprednisolone concentration in pigs. At time zero, a methylprednisolone bolus was given and an infusion started. At 210 min, after reaching a stable methylprednisolone concentration, a cyclosporine-A bolus was given (either 10 or 30 mg/kg) and microdialysis samples collected until 420 min. Plasma samples were collected at 10, 30 min and then every 30 min until the study's end. Cyclosporine-A bolus produced a dose-dependant increase in methylprednisolone concentration in plasma, muscle and cerebrospinal fluid. Importantly, the magnitude of the increase in cerebrospinal fluid was significantly greater than the increase in plasma and muscle. The relatively greater increase in cerebrospinal fluid concentrations of methylprednisolone is consistent with increased penetration of the blood–brain barrier secondary to cyclosporine-mediated p-glycoprotein inhibition. Theoretically, increased methylprednisolone entry into the central nervous system should allow a reduction in the systemic methylprednisolone dose and a consequent decrease in glucocorticoid-mediated side effects.
Dynamic pulse buckling of cylinders of various a/h ratios

Abstract Dynamic pulse buckling of infinite cylinders of radius to thickness ratios (a/h) ranging from 10 to 300 is investigated with the finite element code ADINA. Comparison is made to plastic flow pulse buckling theory and to elastic pulse buckling theory, which describe behaviour for thick shells of small a/h ratios and for thin shells of large a/h ratios, respectively. Buckling response to uniform initial velocities is studied by determining the growth of initial harmonic shape imperfections in the finite element models. The finite element results show that the predominant harmonic of response increases with a/h ratio and that, for thinner shells, it is dependent on the initial velocity value. These characteristics are consistent with theory. The results differ from theory in that the predominant harmonic numbers and amplitudes are in most cases much less than the theoretical predictions, and that the mode shape varies considerably during the response. The response of the midrange a/h ratio shells, which cover many practical cases, is not particularly well predicted by either plastic flow or elastic pulse buckling theory and a numerical approach such as a nonlinear finite element solution is required to investigate these cases.
Qualitative changes in the cisternal and lumbar spinal fluid following an intravenous injection of glucose in apparently “healthy” children

Summary Qualitative glucose determinations were carried out on lumbar and cisternal cerebrospinal fluid in 17 normal children over a time period of about 1 hour after an intravenous injection of glucose. Normative means and standard deviations of the glucose levels are given. The changes in levels over 10 minute time periods follow a characteristic pattern and are presented.
Abstract P1-09-01: The effect of generic anastrozole on adherence to adjuvant endocrine therapy

Background: Endocrine therapies, particularly aromatase inhibitors, substantially reduce breast cancer mortality in clinical trials. High rates of cost-related nonadherence to these long-term oral medications, however, have reduced their population-wide impact. While the 2006 Medicare Part D introduction promised to improve this situation, most Part D enrollees’ out-of pocket aromatase inhibitor costs actually remained high and rose steadily over subsequent years. We examined the effect of a natural experiment which lowered these costs—anastrozole patent expiration—upon endocrine therapy adherence among a nationwide sample of breast cancer patients. Methods:Our sample included all female Medicare beneficiaries aged > = 66 identified (using a validated Medicare claims algorithm) as having incident breast cancer surgery in 2006-07 who also had one or more Part D claim for an aromatase inhibitor or tamoxifen between 7/1-12/30/2008. Part D claims were used to calculate adherence, defined as medication possession ratio (MPR)>80%, and medication out-of-pocket costs. A binary outcome regression model with a logit link was estimated using generalized estimating equations to study the effect of FDA approval of generic anastrozole (7/1/2010) upon adherence. The model was also adjusted for patient sociodemographic and health characteristics (age, race, comorbidities), time since surgery, low-income subsidy (LIS) (which lowers copays and eliminates the Medicare D “donut hole”) and temporal trend. Results: The mean out-of-pocket medication cost for the 22,203 cohort members (85% white, 47% age > = 75, 31% low income subsidy recipients, 45% anastrozole users) was $205 in the first quarter of 2009. Cohort members’ adherence to endocrine therapies dropped 15.8% from 72% in the first quarter to 61% in the last quarter during the pre-generic year (2009). In contrast, adherence was reduced by less than half that amount (-6.3%) between the same time periods in 2010 once anastrozole went generic. In adjusted models, both generic anastrozole availability and receipt of a low income subsidy were strongly associated with greater adherence to hormonal therapy (table). White race, younger age, and lower comorbidity all had smaller but statistically significant associations with greater adherence. There were no significant interactions between variables. Conclusions and Implications: The introduction of generic anastrozole was associated with a substantial and clinically significant improvement in endocrine therapy adherence among Medicare Part D enrollees. Such results have generally not been observed in studies of generic medications for chronic diseases, and may partly reflect increasing out-of-pocket demands by insurers. These findings, along with our findings of better adherence among low income subsidy recipients, highlight the importance of regulatory and subsidy policies for patients requiring long-term cancer medications. Citation Information: Cancer Res 2013;73(24 Suppl): Abstract nr P1-09-01.
Stress redistribution and cavity nucleation near a diffusively growing grain boundary cavity

Abstract This article considers the growth of an isolated grain boundary cavity by diffusive flow of matter along the cavity surface and onto the grain boundary, while surrounding grains deform elastically. The analysis addresses the early life of the cavity, in which surface diffusion is rapid enough to maintain a near-equilibrium cavity shape with a uniform curvature. Although the stress normal to the grain boundary is largest at the cavity edge in the purely elastic case, diffusive flow shifts the stress peak to many radii away from the cavity. The magnitude of the stress peak is typically 5–25% greater than the remote stress normal to the grain boundary. The probability of a new cavity nucleating in the stress peak of an existing cavity is predicted to increase as the cube of the site distance from the cavity. Secondly, the stress concentration provided by the existing cavity, despite the small value, is predicted to increase the nucleation rate by several orders of magnitude.
How adolescents comprehend unfamiliar proverbs: the role of top-down and bottom-up processes.

Typically achieving students who were 12, 15, and 18 years old (n=150) participated in this investigation. The goal was to determine the extent to which students' prior knowledge of the nouns in un...
Diachrony and AAE: St. Louis, Hip-Hop, and Sound Change outside of the Mainstream

In this article, the authors provide a diachronic analysis of the urr variable as it appears in African American English (AAE) spoken in St. Louis. While many believe that this linguistic feature i...
The perception of distance and location for dual tactile pressures.

The concept that distance on the skin is frequently misperceived was first reported over a century ago by Weber. Weber and others have reported that the apparent distance between pressure stimuli fluctuates with both body site and stimulus orientation. The present study confirms these effects and shows that the misperceptions are usually compressive in nature. It further establishes that errors in perceived distance correspond to errors in perceived location, indicating that an interaction exists between the perceptual processes responsible for percepts of tactile location and distance. Perceived location depends on the relationship of a tactile stimulus both to the body frame and to nearby stimuli, and the effect of nearby stimuli is to induce a perceptual affinity between sensations of pressure. These results are discussed in relation to the more frequently examined dynamic illusions of tactile distance (tau phenomenon) and location (the cutaneous rabbit).
Quasi-two-body production in K−n → Σ∓ + mesons at 4.94 GeV/c☆

Abstract Data on the following quasi-two-body reactions produced in K − n interactions at 4.94 GeV/ c are presented: Σ − π 0 , Σ − η 0 , Σ − ϱ 0 , Σ − ω 0 , Σ − η ′ 0 , Σ − φ 0 , Σ − f 0 , Σ − f′ 0 , Λ (1405) π − and Λ (1520) π − . Cross sections, four-momentum transfer distributions, and density matrix elements are discussed. Assessment of possible exchange mechanisms and comparisons with the predictions of the quark model are made.
Ion‐Selective Electrodes – The Early Years

As we near the 50th anniversary of the development of modern ion-selective electrodes (ISEs), the Matrafred Conference seemed to be the ideal venue to reminisce about the early years, since Hungary is generally regarded as the birthplace of these new electrodes. Those of us, who worked with ISEs in the 1960s and '70s, can recall the ex- citement of discovery existing at the time. In this reminiscence, I shall first provide a few vignettes of the leaders in the early years followed by a description of some of my personal research to demonstrate the variety of novel ap- proaches open to investigators of that era.
The Resisting Screen: Multicultural Politics in a Global Perspective

“Given the eclipse of revolutionary metanarratives in the postmodern era, how do we critique the dominant Eurocentric media while harnessing its undeniable pleasures?” (Shohat and Stam 340). “What ...
Point-Counterpoint. The New Reference Daily Intakes: for Better or for Worse?

The introduction of the RDIs was well intentioned. However, there are scientific uncertainties and reasons for concerns about the proposed new nutrition standards. Adoption of the RDIs will inevitably lead to reduced intakes of critically important vitamins and minerals, will make it more difficult for members of nutritionally vulnerable groups to meet their nutrient needs, and will have undesirable effects on the health of the most needy by altering nutrition priorities and programs in this country. National nutrition standards remain with us for a long time. The U.S. RDAs have been in place for 18 years; any new standards need to be sound enough and safe enough to last as long. The proposed RDIs are clearly not of this caliber.
Functional analysis of ISC1 by site-directed mutagenesis.

We previously reported that the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae ISC1 gene (Yer019w), which has homology to the bacterial sphingomyelinase gene, encodes inositol phosphosphingolipids−phospholipase C,...
Electrophysiological indicants of black-white discrimination performance for letter and non-letter patterns

This study examined event-related potentials (ERPs) and behavioral measures, considered to be sensitive to the selective processing of black versus white letter and non-letter patterns, in a group of seventy-four randomly selected 6 to 8 year old children. Results demonstrated faster and more accurate behavioral performance on the experimental task for the letter than for the non-letter patterns. The ERP measures provided complementary information regarding this letter facilitation effect, indicating that the selective neural processing of letter as compared to non-letter patterns was present in the electrophysiological waveform within the initial 100-140 ms after stimulus presentation. Later ERP measures (200-260 and 500-600 ms post-stimulus) in response to the letter stimuli showed greater differences as a function of task relevance over the left than over the right hemisphere. The results from the present study indicate a remarkably early facilitative influence of stimulus type (letter versus non-lette...
Flocking, Formation Control, and Path Following for a Group of Mobile Robots

This paper presents a multifunctional control law for a group of mobile robots. The controller concurrently integrates flocking, formation control, and path following, as basic components in a navigation framework for mobile sensor networks tasked with searching and harvesting information. The convergence of the closed loop system is ensured using Ryan’s invariance principle; the particular tool being necessary due to the use of a nonsmooth artificial potential field for formation control. Simulations and experiments corroborate the theoretical convergence results.
Experimental dissection of devitrification in aqueous solutions of 1,3-butanediol.

Abstract Devitrification is a major problem which must be overcome for successful organ cryopreservation. Devitrification can be initiated on fracture planes and on bubbles, but the focus of attention here is on devitrification by ordinary heterogeneous and homogeneous mechanisms, which are the most relevant for organ preservation by vitrification. The purpose of the present studies was to define the devitrification process: to determine nucleation rates, ice-crystal growth rates, and the distribution of icecrystal size and to evaluate the applicability of existing quantitative models of these processes which have successfully approximated the behavior of other aqueous systems. The present work was done using differential scanning calorimetry and cryomicroscopy. The amount of ice formed has been estimated for highly concentrated solutions. Kinetic parameters are presented here for isothermal conditions and continuous heating rate experiments. The classical theory based on the Johnson-Avrami equation has been evaluated and the results are compared with the theory of Boutron. The agreement is good for the continuous heating rate conditions, but results differ for the isothermal conditions.
Outcomes from DiabetesCARE: A pharmacist-provided diabetes management service

Objective To describe outcomes attained by the DiabetesCARE component of the PharmacistCARE program, which is an innovative pharmacy practice model implemented within a self-insured employer. Design Descriptive nonexperimental study. Setting University of Kentucky (UK), from March 2003 through December 2006. Patients 236 patients with diabetes (95% with type 2 diabetes). Intervention Three clinical pharmacists provided UK Health Plan (UKHP) members with diabetes with comprehensive disease state and medication therapy management. Main outcome measures Clinical outcomes included glycosylated hemoglobin (A1C), fasting lipid panels, blood pressure, weight, vaccination rates, and aspirin use. Humanistic outcomes included the mental and physical components of the 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12) and patient satisfaction with health services related to their diabetes care. Screening parameters included the proportion of patients meeting Healthcare Effectiveness Data and Information Set expectations for patients with diabetes. Productivity and health resource use were also assessed based on patient responses to survey questions. Results After 1 year of enrollment, patients in the DiabetesCARE program achieved improved clinical outcomes compared with baseline, as evidenced by statistically significant reductions in A1C, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol, triglycerides, and total cholesterol. Statistically significant increases were seen in high-density lipoprotein cholesterol and the proportion of patients obtaining influenza vaccine, yearly screenings for lipid level assessment, screenings for kidney disease, and eye examinations. The mental component score of the SF-12 was significantly increased. Patients were highly satisfied with the DiabetesCARE service, and satisfaction with their overall diabetes care within UKHP was significantly enhanced. Based on the patient provided survey data analyzed here, productivity and health resource use were unchanged; however, additional analyses using UKHP claims data are ongoing. Conclusion The DiabetesCARE program is a unique pharmacist-provided service delivered in a freestanding pharmacist clinic that enhances health outcomes for adult members with diabetes in a self-insured employer group.
Evaluating the effects of behavioral realism in embodied agents

Designers of embodied agents constantly strive to create agents that appear more human-like, with the belief that increasing the human-likeness of agents will improve users' interactions with agents. While designers have focused on visual realism, less attention has been paid to the effects of agents' behavioral realism on users' responses. This paper presents an empirical study that compared three theories of agent realism: Realism Maximization Theory, Uncanny Valley Theory, and Consistency Theory. Results of this study showed that people responded best to an embodied agent when it demonstrated moderately realistic, inconsistent behavior. These results support Uncanny Valley Theory and demonstrate the powerful influence of agent behavior on users' responses.
More on Bullying

Bullying continues to be a hot topic among contributors to the Journal of School Violence. This edition of the Journal begins with an article from Stelios Georgiou, University of Cyprus, focused on...
Soils in Our Environment, Ninth Edition.

RAYMOND W. MILLER and DUANE T. GARDINER. Prentice Hall, Upper Saddle River, NJ 07458. 2001. Cloth bound with CD-ROM, 642 p. $100.00. ISBN 0-13-020036-0. Introductory soil science is taught to a large number of students at the freshman and sophomore levels. Several textbooks are available for
Intersection properties of invariant manifolds in certain twist maps

We consider the spaceN ofC2 twist maps that satisfy the following requirements. The action is the sum of a purely quadratic term and a periodic potential times a constantk (hereafter called the nonlinearity). The potential restricted to the unit circle is bimodal, i.e. has one local minimum and one local maximum. The following statements are proven for maps inN with nonlinearityk large enough. The intersection of the unstable and stable invariant manifolds to the hyperbolic minimizing periodic points contains minimizing homoclinic points. Consider two finite pieces of these manifolds that connect two adjacent homoclinic minimizing points (hereafter called fundamental domains). We prove that all such fundamental domains have precisely one point in their intersection (the Single Intersection theorem).
CONDITIONAL DISCRIMINATION IN MENTALLY RETARDED SUBJECTS: PROGRAMMING ACQUISITION AND LEARNING SET

In Experiment 1, 3 subjects with retardation were exposed to two visual-visual arbitrary matching-to-sample problems each day. One conditional discrimination was presented under trial-and-error conditions, and the other was presented under a component training procedure. The latter began by establishing the comparison discrimination and its rapid reversal. The successive discrimination between the sample stimuli was established through differential naming. Then, sample naming was maintained in conditional discrimination sessions in which the same sample was presented in blocks of consecutive trials. Block size was decreased across sessions until sample presentation was randomized as in trial-and-error training (but with naming maintained). Two subjects initially learned only with component training. The performance of the 3rd subject was inconsistent across conditional discriminations. One of the successful subjects ultimately learned rapidly and consistently with trial-and-error procedures. Experiment 2 sought to demonstrate learning set in the other 2 subjects. Elements of the component training procedure were withdrawn over successive conditional discriminations. Ultimately, 1 subject nearly always learned under trial-and-error conditions, and the other learned under trial-and-error conditions combined with differential sample naming.