cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Novel Acoustic Scattering Processes for Target Discrimination

Abstract : The grant that expired during FY10 (N000140410075) was part of the Shallow-Water Autonomous Sensing Initiative to improve the reliability of acoustic methods using a wide frequency range and scattering data not necessarily limited to monostatic signatures. The related follow-on grant (N000141010093) that started in mid-FY10 has similar goals. The objective of these grants is to improve the understanding of acoustic scattering processes relevant to man-made objects in the shallow water environment. The current emphasis is on the interpretation of the effects on signatures of placing objects close to an interface. Synthetic aperture sonar, acoustic holographic images, spectral properties of scattering, and bistatic scattering are also examined. Other objectives involve improved understanding and modeling of scattering mechanisms. A multifaceted research approach appears to be advisable because some acoustic strategies may not always be applicable and different strategies may require widely different amounts of time to acquire data for a region of interest. Consequently it appeared to Marston that this project should retain research concerning both low frequency and high frequency sonar technologies. Beginning in FY07, the experimental effort at WSU was shifted to emphasize scaled targets directly relevant to the planning and interpretation of experiments carried out at the NSWC-PCD pond in cooperation with UW-APL. Thus, as explained in the Reports for FY07-09 [1-3], measurements at WSU were extended to include bistatic and monostatic acoustic properties of solid aluminum cylinders in the free field and adjacent to interfaces. This kind of target was selected because experiments at the NSWC pond have used aluminum cylinders of various dimensions.
Health, Education, and Gender

Higher levels of education are associated with better health outcomes throughout the world, but this occurs differently for men and women. In developed countries, men generally are better able to translate the benefit of education into better jobs with benefits that promote health. In developed countries, women often achieve as much or even more education than men, but without the employment benefits. However, women's health benefits more than men's from the intrinsic rewards of education, such as health promoting behaviors. In less developed countries, women's education still lags behind men's. When women are able to achieve more education, their health improves, sometimes at a faster rate than men's. This occurs, in part, because educational gains are more likely to decrease health damaging behaviors for women than for men. Also, higher levels of education are associated with decreased fertility, benefiting women's health. Keywords: education; gender; health
Rationality in Economics: On Two Forms of Rationality

They're made out of meat. Meat? … There's no doubt about it. They're completely meat. That's impossible. What about the radio signals? The messages to the stars? … The signals come from machines. Who made the machines? That's what we want to contact. They made the machines … Meat made the machines. That's ridiculous. How can meat make a machine? You're asking me to believe in sentient meat. I'm not asking you, I'm telling you. These are the only sentient race in the sector and they're made out of meat … No brain? Oh, there's a brain all right. It's just that the brain is made out of meat. So … what does the thinking? You're not understanding, … the brain does the thinking. The meat. Thinking meat! You are asking me to believe in thinking meat! Yes, thinking meat! Conscious meat! Loving meat. Dreaming meat! The meat is the whole deal. Bisson (1995) Humans are built to see what they are expecting to see , and it's hard to expect to see something you've never seen. Grandin and Johnson (2005, p. 51) Introduction The organizing principle throughout this work is the simultaneous existence of the two rational orders: constructivist and ecological. These two orders interact daily in ordinary human interaction, but that interaction is almost entirely invisible to our conscious experience. Theory is intensively constructivist. What enables theory to do useful work (work is “accomplishment”) is through testing processes in the laboratory, observations in the field, or both.
Immunoproteasome-Deficient Mice Mount Largely Normal CD8+ T Cell Responses to Lymphocytic Choriomeningitis Virus Infection and DNA Vaccination

During viral infection, constitutive proteasomes are largely replaced by immunoproteasomes, which display distinct cleavage specificities, resulting in different populations of potential CD8(+) T cell epitope peptides. Immunoproteasomes are believed to be important for the generation of many viral CD8(+) T cell epitopes and have been implicated in shaping the immunodominance hierarchies of CD8(+) T cell responses to influenza virus infection. However, it remains unclear whether these conclusions are generally applicable. In this study we investigated the CD8(+) T cell responses to lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus infection and DNA immunization in wild-type mice and in mice lacking the immunoproteasome subunits LMP2 or LMP7. Although the total number of virus-specific cells was lower in LMP2 knockout mice, consistent with their having lower numbers of naive cells before infection, the kinetics of virus clearance were similar in all three mouse strains, and LMP-deficient mice mounted strong primary and secondary lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus-specific CD8(+) T cell responses. Furthermore, the immunodominance hierarchy of the four investigated epitopes (nuclear protein 396 (NP(396)) > gp33 > gp276 > NP(205)) was well maintained. We observed a slight reduction in the NP(205)-specific response in LMP2-deficient mice, but this had no demonstrable biological consequence. DNA vaccination of LMP2- and LMP7-deficient mice induced CD8(+) T cell responses that were slightly lower than, although not significantly different from, those induced in wild-type mice. Taken together, our results challenge the notion that immunoproteasomes are generally needed for effective antiviral CD8(+) T cell responses and for the shaping of immunodominance hierarchies. We conclude that the immunoproteasome may affect T cell responses to only a limited number of viral epitopes, and we propose that its main biological function may lie elsewhere.
Pharmacological responses to pentobarbital in different strains of mice.

This study was designed to assess the strain differences in pentobarbital toxicity, narcosis, the development of tolerance and physical dependence, the half-life of pentobarbital and the activities of hepatic microsomal electron transfer chain in DBA/2J, C57BL/6J and ICR mice. The comparisons of responses to acute pentobarbital-induced narcosis with two different doses revealed that DBA was most sensitive among these strains. When continuous administration of pentobarbital by pentobarbital pellet implantation is concerned, four criteria were used to assess strain differences: 1) determination of the duration of the loss of righting reflex during pentobarbital pellet implantation; 2) cumulative mortality after pentobarbital pellet implantation; 3) degree of tolerance development after 3 days of s.c. implantation of a 75-mg pentobarbital pellet by the relative decrease in the pentobarbital sleeping time; and 4) assessment of hyperexcitability by pentylenetetrazol- and audiogenic-induced seizures after pellet removal. The order of susceptibility to continuous pentobarbital pellet implantation was found to be as follows: DBA/2J > C57BL/6J > ICR. The biochemical data also revealed that the half-life of pentobarbital in DBA/2J mice was significantly longer than that of C57BL/6J or ICR mice in both brain and serum. Further studies also showed that DBA/2J mice have lower hepatic cytochrome P-450 and cytochrome b5 levels and NADPH dehydrogenase and NADPH-cytochrome c reductase activities as compared with the other strains of mice. However, these parameters were markedly induced in DBA/2J mice after the development of tolerance to pentobarbital. It appears that the differences in genetic variation could be of importance for further studies in gaining insight of the mechanism of barbiturate tolerance and dependence.
The roles of law, client race and program visibility in shaping police interference with the operation of US syringe exchange programs.

Aims To determine the comparative levels of and associations between policing interference and characteristics of US syringe exchange programs (SEPs). Design Cross-sectional. Setting A national survey of US SEPs. Participants A total of 111 program managers (representing 59% of all US SEPs). Measurements Program manager self-report. Findings With overall interference profiles ranging from systematic to totally interference-free, 43% of respondents reported at least monthly client harassment, 31% at least monthly unauthorized confiscation of clients' syringes, 12% at least monthly client arrest en route to or from SEP and 26% uninvited police appearances at program sites at least every 6 months. In multivariate modeling, legal status of SEP, jurisdiction's syringe regulation environment and affiliation with health department were not associated with frequency of police interference. Programs serving predominantly injection drug users (IDUs) of color were 3.56 times more likely to report frequent client arrest en route to or from SEP and 3.92 times more likely to report unauthorized syringe confiscation. Those serving more than three sites were 3.96 times more likely to report client harassment, while stationary operation was protective against uninvited police appearances. The majority (56%) reported not documenting adverse police events; those who did were 2.92 times more likely to report unauthorized syringe confiscation from clients. Conclusions Findings highlight limitations of the impact of legal reforms on aligning police activities with SEP operations. Systematic adverse event surveillance and evidence-based structural interventions are needed to maximize the benefits of public health prevention targeting IDUs and other criminalized populations. SEPs that report no adverse events may represent programs already working in harmony with law enforcement agencies, a priority highlighted in US Centers for Disease Control's new SEP guidelines. The significance of mechanisms translating criminal justice disparities into health disparities is discussed.
Molecular Dynamics Studies of Superionic Conductors

Structural and dynamical properties of superionic conductors AgI and CuI are studied using molecular dynamics (MD) techniques. Our model of these superionic conductors is based on the use of effective pair potentials. To determine the constants in these potentials, cohesive energy and bulk modulus are used as input; in addition one uses notions of ionic size based on the known crystal structure.
Flood Risk Outreach and the Public's Need to Know

Summary In summary, the work shown here is not expected to “solve” the flood problem but it is a starting point for efficient regional development of a flood-risk outreach program that can ultimately help saves lives and property and reduce human suffering. I am grateful to the project's sponsors and the media contributors who have helped support this public service effort. And we are indebted to the people and communities of Central Texas who agreed to be interviewed. There can be little doubt that other areas of the country have similar problems (both from floods and the lack of education about the dangers). If there is any obligation of our society to improve safety precautions for a phenomenon like flooding, it begins with a forthright sharing of all the best, most compelling information we can produce with the most modern techniques that is then widely distributed and highly publicized to the general public. To put it in the bureaucratic vernacular: the public has “a need to know.”
Structure of a lectin from the sea mussel Crenomytilus grayanus (CGL).

CGL is a 150 amino-acid residue lectin that was originally isolated from the sea mussel Crenomytilus grayanus. It is specific for binding GalNAc/Gal-containing carbohydrate moieties and in general does not share sequence homology with other known galectins or lectins. Since CGL displays antibacterial, antifungal and antiviral activities, and interacts with high affinity with mucin-type receptors, which are abundant on some cancer cells, knowledge of its structure is of significant interest. Conditions have been established for the expression, purification and crystallization of a recombinant variant of CGL. The crystal structure of recombinant CGL was determined and refined at a resolution of 2.12 A. The amino-acid sequence of CGL contains three homologous regions (73% similarity) and the folded protein has a β-trefoil topology. Structural comparison of CGL with the closely related lectin MytiLec allowed description of the glycan-binding pockets.
Adventures in desktop supercomputing: pre-conference workshop

Advances in Graphics Processing Units have been spurred on by the competition present in the computer gaming community. These high throughput processing devices are able to generate 3-D graphics at very high rate to deliver life-like action. Recently, these same devices are being used to carry out general purpose computing, and can provide supercomputer-level performance on everyone's desktop or laptop computer. This presentation will describe this new disruptive technology and describe how more of us can join this supercomputing revolution.
A Comment on the Changes in Higher Education in the Former Soviet Union.

At the time of their independence, the structure of higher education, curriculum content, governance, and admissions procedures were more or less identical across the fifteen republics of the former Soviet Union. Since independence there have been multiple changes, but often these have been quite similar in nature. There has been a move toward standardized testing as a criterion for admissions. There has been a restructuring away from sector ministerial control. There has been a diversification of provision. There has been a decentralization of governance, salary, and tuition structures. Why have the changes to higher education been so similar? Is it because globalization is so powerful and the local institutions on the periphery are so weak? Is it because of the irresistible pressures from international financial institutions such as the World Bank? Or are the requirements for excellence in higher education in a market economy sufficiently similarly to make changes inevitable? This paper supports the lat...
Catalytic Coprocessing of Plastics with Coal and Petroleum Resid Using NiMo/Al2O3

Coprocessing of waste plastics with coal and with petroleum resid was investigated to determine the effect of resid on reactivity and conversion. The coal used in this study was Blind Canyon bituminous coal, the resids were Maya and Manji, and the model plastics tested were polystyrene, poly(ethylene terephthalate) (PET), and low-density polyethylene (LDPE). Three systems, the individual species, binary combinations, and ternary combinations, were reacted at conditions of 430 °C and 8.7 MPa of H2 introduced at ambient temperature for 60 min of reaction time. Presulfided NiMo/Al2O3 was used as the catalyst, typically at 1 wt % loading, although other catalyst loading levels of 3 and 10 wt % were tested. Under these conditions polystyrene and PET reacted readily, while LDPE was difficult to convert. Binary reactions with resids resulted in high conversions of ∼94% from polystyrene and PET, while the reactions with LDPE yielded somewhat less conversion of ∼72%. By contrast, reactions of plastics with coal co...
A Historical Comparison of Validity Standards and Validity Practices

The present study examined the relationship between the validity theory of the past 50 years with actual validity practices. This process involved the comparison of validity requirements and theory as they appeared in the published test standards (by the American Psychological Association, the American Educational Research Association, and the National Council on Measurement in Education) to the practices of measurement professionals. Each of the four sets of test standards were operationally defined and then compared to information and opinions about validity evidence expressed in the Mental Measurements Yearbook test reviews. Results from this process indicate that the theoretical modifications to the concept of validity have been carried over into validity practice. However, it was also found that operational modifications to the concept of validity have been influenced by validity practice. Therefore, there appears to be a symbiotic relationship between theory and practice on the influence of validity.
Marijuana Use Associated with First Episode of Psychiatric Illness in an Adolescent Population

Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug in the United States. Although there have been reports of severe adverse effects, many view its use as relatively innocuous. As millions of adolescents and young adults currently use or have used marijuana, it is important that awareness of both medical and psychiatric risk factors is periodically reinforced. Four case reports are presented in which there appears to be a direct connection between the onset of psychiatric symptoms and the use of marijuana. (American Journal on Addictions 1994; 3:67–71)
Preconcentration of trace metals from seawater using silica immobilized 8-hydroxyquinoline

Abstract 8-Hydroxyquinoline immobilized on a porasil B silica substrate (37–75 μ) has been synthesized and applied to the preconcentration of trace metals from seawater. 900 ml aliquots of filtered seawater, adjusted to pH 8.0, were passed through a column consisting of a 1 cm bed of the immobilized chelate at flow rates up to 40 ml min −1 . Cd, Pb, Cu, Ni, Zn, Mn and Co are quantitatively recovered from the bed by elution with 10 ml of a solution of 1 M HCl 0.1 M HNO 3 . Trace metals in this eluate are quantitated against a matrix matched standard using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrometry. Analyses of two near-shore seawater samples as well as a deep sea sample were carried out.
The Molecular Pathogenesis of Barrett’s Esophagus: Common Signaling Pathways in Embryogenesis Metaplasia and Neoplasia

Although Barrett’s esophagus has been recognized for over 50 years, the cellular and molecular mechanisms leading to the replacement of squamous esophageal epithelium with a columnar type are largely unknown. Barrett’s is known to be an acquired process secondary to chronic gastroesophageal reflux disease and occurs in the presence of severe disruption of the gastroesophageal barrier and reflux of a mixture of gastric and duodenal content. Current hypothesis suggest that epithelial change occurs due to stimulation of esophageal stem cells present in the basal layers of the epithelium or submucosal glands, toward a columnar epithelial differentiation pathway. The transcription factor CDX2 seems to play a key role in promoting the cellular biology necessary for columnar differentiation, and can be induced by bile salt and acid stimulation. Several cellular signaling pathways responsible for modulation of intestinal differentiation have also been identified and include WNT, Notch, BMP, Sonic HH and TGFB. These also have been shown to respond to stimulation by bile acids, acid or both and may influence CDX2 expression. Their relative activity within the stem cell population is almost certainly responsible for the development of the esophageal columnar epithelial phenotype we know as Barrett’s esophagus.
The Development of the Heliostat Focusing and Canting Enhancement Technique: An Optical Heliostat Alignment Tool for the National Solar Thermal Test Facility

A heliostat array is a field of heliostats that focuses sunlight continuously on a central receiver in a power tower solar concentration system. Each heliostat consists of a structurally mounted mirror surface capable of reflecting sunlight onto a given target throughout the day. Typically, most heliostats are actually a group of individual mirror facets on a single moving frame. To achieve highly concentrated solar flux on a central receiver, each heliostat mirror facet has to be properly aligned (both canted and focused) when attached to the heliostat frame. In order to accurately evaluate and correct heliostat facet alignment, Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) and New Mexico Tech (NMT) have developed the Heliostat Focusing and Canting Enhancement Technique (H-FACET), a new and unique heliostat alignment tool that allows technicians to make fast and effective adjustments to facet canting and focusing. H-FACET uses a high resolution digital camera mounted on top of a receiver tower to observe the image of a stationary target reflected by a heliostat. Custom image processing software compares specific measurement points on the actual target reflection image with the corresponding measurement points on an ideally reflecting heliostat. Deviations between the actual and ideal reflection points reveal facet misalignments. Additionally, a live image of the ideal and theoretical points provides real-time feedback during the alignment correction process. SNL has implemented H-FACET at the National Solar Thermal Test Facility (NSTTF). Technicians have used the canting portion of the software to successfully cant a large section of the SNL NSTTF heliostat field. Visual inspections of reflected heliostat beam patterns have demonstrated noticeable improvements in beam size and shape resulting from the use of H-FACET. Preliminary quantitative analyses of H-FACET have shown beam diameter reductions of up to fifty percent. The beam reductions resulting from the use of H-FACET will assist in minimizing beam spillage and increasing flux densities. As a result, H-FACET may be a valuable tool in increasing the annual performance of a heliostat field. This paper details the computational algorithms used in H-FACET. These algorithms include accurate models of heliostat field geometries, sun position, facet orientations and facet shapes. This paper also discusses the optical methods used to determine the orientations and surface shapes of ideally aligned facets. Lastly, it investigates probable sources of error and ways to improve H-FACET.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Activation of Phosphoinositide 3-OH Kinase by the α6β4 Integrin Promotes Carcinoma Invasion

We demonstrate that the alpha6beta4 integrin promotes carcinoma invasion through a preferential and localized targeting of phosphoinositide-3 OH kinase (PI3K) activity. Stable expression of alpha6beta4 increased carcinoma invasion in a PI3K-dependent manner, and transient expression of a constitutively active PI3K increased invasion in the absence of alpha6beta4. Ligation of alpha6beta4 stimulated significantly more PI3K activity than ligation of beta1 integrins, establishing specificity among integrins for PI3K activation. Alpha6beta4-regulated PI3K activity was required for the formation of lamellae, dynamic sites of motility, in carcinoma cells. The small G protein Rac is required downstream of PI3K for invasion. These studies define a mechanism by which the alpha6beta4 integrin promotes carcinoma invasion and invoke a novel function for PI3K signaling.
INFORMAL WORK IN THE U.S.: CASE STUDIES AND A WORKING TYPOLOGY

Informal economic activities appear to constitute a growing component of all economic transactions in the US and some other industrialized nations, despite the traditional view that such activities would dissipate with advanced capitalism (cf Castells and Portes 1989, Tanzi 1982). The study of these activities, particularly by sociologists, has likewise grown in recent years. For example, at the 1995 ASA annual meetings in Washington DC, a formal session was devoted entirely to such work, an annual feature of recent vintage. That year's session produced some six papers, five case studies with a US focus and a general typology on informal work, which are reviewed here. As a group, these papers provide numerous insights into various aspects of informal work in the US. Yet, in the end, they raise at least as many questions as they answer, no doubt a reflection of the infancy of the field of study.
Structural ambiguity in serial pattern learning

Abstract Four experiments on serial anticipation learning of lights by college students show that (a) the operations of transposing and taking the mirror image are used, (b) temporal inversion is not used, (c) a sequence made of two contrasting halves may be as easy to learn as a sequence having a single homogeneous hierarchical structure. Data revealed intrasequence confusion errors made by importing an operation from one part of the sequence to another. In homogeneous sequences, subjects appear to lose track of where they are in a sequence, and therefore repeat an operation already performed. The evidence supports the idea of an hierarchical cognitive structure, but shows that learning is not a simple function of that structure. Errors and difficulties arise from structural ambiguities, substrings of events that can be reconciled with more than one possible cognitive structure.
Intraocular lens calculator for childhood cataract

Abstract Purpose: To evaluate a computer program to predict the pseudophakic refraction of a child at any age. Setting: A pediatric ophthalmology practice. Methods: A computer program was written for Windows 95 that calculates the initial postoperative pseudophakic refraction of a child using Holladay's formula, give the axial length and keratometry readings. The logarithmic model was used to predict the ultimate refraction at age 20 years and chart the predicted curve of refractive error with standard deviations. Results: The program provided a graph of a child's predicted pseudophakic refraction versus age that would allow the surgeon to dynamically view the effects of changing the intraocular lens (IOL) power. Conclusions: If pseudophakia and aphakia have the same effect on the growth of the eye, this program should accurately predict the myopic shift of a pseudophakic child. This could help guide the surgeon's choice of IOL power.
Making mitigation decisions based on short-term tests of 222Rn.

One test option recommended by the EPA for deciding to mitigate involves up to two short-term measurements. If the initial measurement is {ge}148 Bq m{sup {minus}3}, the test is repeated and the house is mitigated only if the mean of the two measurements is {ge}148 Bq m{sup {minus}3}. The frequency of errors under this test option was evaluated using 2-d and 1-y measurements from 1,449 houses. The chances of making incorrect mitigation decisions vary from 1% to more than 50%. 4 refs., 2 tabs.
Visual disability resulting from a dislocated intraocular lens

Complications may arise from the failure to remove a dislocated intraocular lens, even when it appears to rest in a benign position and pose no problems. We examined a patient with a second intraocular lens left in the inferior vitreous cavity. Shifting the loose lens resulted in eventual complications and visual disability; removing the dislocated lens and replacing the functional intraocular lens yielded good results.
IR spectroscopic studies of major cellular components. III. Hydration of protein, nucleic acid, and phospholipid films.

The IR absorption spectra of protein, DNA, RNA, and phospholipid films as a function of the water content are reported. We find that the hydration of protein films affects the peak intensity of amide I and amide II bands and the shape of the amide III band. For nucleic acids, the symmetric (νS PO) and antisymmetric (νAS PO) stretching vibrations of the phosphate linkage are the most affected by hydration, because both intensity changes and frequency shifts are observed. The spectra of phospholipid films are also sensitive to hydration, and they exhibit changes in the peak intensities and frequencies of both νS PO and νAS PO vibrations. We interpret the spectral differences between water saturated and dried films both in terms of structural changes and the change in the local dielectric in the vicinity of the polar and solvent exposed groups. In addition, we observe that the most significant change in the absorption intensity, frequency, and shape of the water sensitive vibrations occurs at high hydration levels. The principal component analysis of hydration results and the kinetics of water removal from sample films are also discussed. In addition, protein spectra acquired using film and KBr pellet sampling techniques are compared. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Biopolymers (Biospectroscopy), 2003
Adipose levels of polybrominated diphenyl ethers and risk of breast cancer

We conducted a case-control study to evaluate the risk of breast cancer associated with adipose concentrations of polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs) among women undergoing surgical breast biopsies in the San Francisco Bay Area of California (n=78 cases; 56 controls). Adipose tissue was analyzed for the five major congeners of PBDEs. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate age- and race-adjusted exposure-specific odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Adipose levels of PBDEs were among the highest ever reported. Adjusted ORs for the highest compared with lowest levels of exposures were as follows: 0.56 (95% CI 0.19-1.68) for BDE-47; 1.19 (95% CI 0.35-4.10) for BDE-99; 0.91 (95% CI 0.33-2.53) for BDE-100; 0.52 (95% CI 0.19-1.39) for BDE-153; 1.67 (95% CI 0.44-6.29) for BDE-154; 2.04 (95% CI 0.45-9.20) for total BDEs. These results provide no evidence of an association between PBDE adipose concentrations measured at or near the time of diagnosis and breast cancer risk. Our study was limited by a small sample size. Given the high levels of PBDEs found in this population of California women, future studies are warranted. Such studies would benefit from a larger sample size, a more representative control series, and/or a prospective design.
IMPURITY-INDUCED MODULATIONS IN PDXNBSE3 COUPLED TO CHARGE-DENSITY-WAVE FORMATION

Very dilute amounts of Pd in Pd{sub {ital x}}NbSe{sub 3} introduce long-range electronic modulations of wavelength 7{ital b}{sub 0}, 4{ital b}{sub 0}, 3{ital b}{sub 0}, and 2{ital b}{sub 0} at room temperature as the Pd concentration increases in the range {ital x}=0.002 to {ital x}=0.02 while the low-temperature charge-density waves (CDW{close_quote}s) initially remain unchanged. For {ital x}{ge}0.02 the low-temperature CDW{close_quote}s are quenched while the NbSe{sub 3} structure remains intact, and the high-temperature modulations disappear, indicating a clear correlation between the two effects. The magnetoquantum oscillations due to magnetic breakdown first detect the band-structure shift followed by the sudden quenching of the nested Fermi surface sheets. The atomic force microscope scans show substantial charge transfer between chains caused by the Pd doping. {copyright} {ital 1996 The American Physical Society.}
Modeling the Dependent Competing Risks With Multiple Degradation Processes and Random Shock Using Time-Varying Copulas

We develop s-dependent competing risk model for systems subject to multiple degradation processes and random shocks using time-varying copulas. The proposed model allows for a more flexible dependence structure between risks in which (a) the dependent relationship between random shocks and degradation processes is modulated by a time-scaled covariate factor, and (b) the dependent relationship among various degradation processes is fitted using the copula method. Two types of random shocks are considered in the model: fatal shocks, which fails the system immediately; and nonfatal shocks, which does not. In a nonfatal shock situation there are two impacts towards the degradation processes: sudden increment jumps, and degradation rate accelerations. The comparison results of the system reliability estimation from both constant and time-varying copulas are illustrated in the numerical examples to demonstrate the application of the proposed model. The modified joint distribution bounds in terms of Kendall's tau and Spearman's rho provide an improvement to Frechet-Hoeffding bounds for estimating the possible system reliability range.
Mechanisms of pollution-induced airway disease: in vivo studies.

Peden DB. Mechanisms of pollution-induced airway disease: in vivo studies. Several studies have investigated the effects of ozone, sulphur dioxide (SO2), and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) on lung function in normal and asthmatic subjects. Decreased lung function has been observed with ozone levels as low as 0.15 ppm - this effect is concentration dependent and is exacerbated by exercise. A number of lines of evidence suggest that the effect on lung function is mediated, at least in part, by neural mechanisms. In both normals and asthmatics, ozone has been shown to induce neutrophilic inflammation, with increased levels of several inflammatory mediators, including prostaglandin E2. However, in normal subjects, none of the markers of inflammation correlate with changes in lung function. The lung function changes in asthmatics may be associated with inflammatory effects; alternatively, ozone may prime the airways for an increased response to subsequently inhaled allergen. Indeed, an influx of both polymorphonucleocytes and eosinophils has been observed in asthmatic patients after ozone exposure. It has been suggested that the effect of ozone on classic allergen-induced bronchoconstriction may be more significant than any direct effect of this pollutant in asthmatics. SO2 does not appear to affect lung function in normal subjects, but may induce bronchoconstriction in asthmatics. Nasal breathing, whlch is often impaired in asthmatics, reduces the pulmonary effects of SO2, since this water-soluble gas is absorbed by the nasal mucosa. NO2 may also influence lung function in asthmatics, but further research is warranted. SO2 and NO2 alone do not seem to have a priming effect in asthmatics, but a combination of these two gases has resulted in a heightened sensitivity to subsequently inhaled allergen.
Risk Marker Analysis of Husband-to-Wife Violence: A Continuum of Aggression

To evaluate whether a continuity of aggression assumption underlies husband-to-wife violence, an analysis of the 1985 National Family Violence Survey was performed to assess to degree to which highly recognized risk markers discriminate among various levels of husband-to-wife violence. Parallel analyses were conducted on men's reports of expressions of violence and women's reports of victimization. Individuals of both genders who reported more extreme forms of violence were more likely to report less extreme violence as well. In addition, several risk markers that discriminated individuals involved in husband-to-wife violence exhibited linear associations with the level of violence reported. These linear trends appeared consistent regardless of whether husbands' reports of inflicting violence or wives' reports of being victimized were examined. These results support the assumption that husband-to-wife violence lies upon a continuum of severity.
COMPARATIVE BEHAVIOR OF E. COLI AND S. AUREUS REGARDING ATTACHMENT TO AND REMOVAL FROM A POLYMERIC SURFACE

Staphylococcus aureus was found to attach more readily on polypropylene fibers with greater resistance to subsequent washing off than Escherichia coli after immersion of the fibers up to 300 s in pure culture suspensions in mineral salts medium. Each of five different washing solutions were effective against E. coli, whereas only a solution that contained SDS was effective against S. aureus. Placement of inoculated fibers on nutrient agar for longer periods of time resulted in greater resistance to washing by both organisms, although S. aureus remained more resistant than E. coli.
Effect of bleaching whey on sensory and functional properties of 80% whey protein concentrate

Whey is a highly functional food that has found widespread use in a variety of food and beverage applications. A large amount of the whey proteins produced in the United States is derived from annatto-colored Cheddar cheese. Color from annatto is undesirable in whey and must be bleached. The objective of this study was to compare 2 commercially approved bleaching agents, benzoyl peroxide (BP) and hydrogen peroxide (HP), and their effects on the flavor and functionality of 80% whey protein concentrate (WPC80). Colored and uncolored liquid wheys were bleached with BP or HP, and then ultrafiltered, diafiltered, and spray-dried; WPC80 from unbleached colored and uncolored Cheddar whey were manufactured as controls. All treatments were manufactured in triplicate. The WPC80 were then assessed by sensory, instrumental, functionality, color, and proximate analysis techniques. The HP-bleached WPC80 were higher in lipid oxidation compounds (specifically hexanal, heptanal, octanal, nonanal, decanal, dimethyl disulfide, and 1-octen-3-one) and had higher fatty and cardboard flavors compared with the other unbleached and BP-bleached WPC80. The WPC80 bleached with BP had lower norbixin concentrations compared with WPC80 bleached with HP. The WPC powders differed in Hunter color values (L, a, b), with bleached powders being more white, less red, and less yellow than unbleached powders. Bleaching with BP under the conditions used in this study resulted in larger reductions in yellowness of the powders made from whey with annatto color than did bleaching with HP. Functionality testing demonstrated that whey bleached with HP treatments had more soluble protein after 10 min of heating at 90°C at pH 4.6 and pH 7 than the no-bleach and BP treatments, regardless of additional color. Overall, HP bleaching caused more lipid oxidation products and subsequent off-flavors compared with BP bleaching. However, heat stability of WPC80 was enhanced by HP bleaching compared with control or BP-bleached WPC80.
Gonadal function in aging rats and its relation to pituitary and mammary pathology.

Abstract In the female rat, aging is characterized by a high incidence of prolactin (Prl)-secreting pituitary adenomas and mammary tumors. In contrast to this, old males show only a moderate to low incidence of pituitary and mammary pathology. Since gonadal steroids and Prl are thought to be key factors in the genesis of the above neoplastic pathologies, it was of interest to compare the serum levels of progesterone (P), estradiol (E2), testosterone (T) and Prl with the incidence of pituitary and mammary tumors in aging male and female rats. Young (3–4-month; YF), old (25-month; OF) and senescent (33–35-month; SF) female and young (3–4-month; YM) and old (24–26-month; OM) male Sprague—Dawley rats were killed by decapitation and their pituitaries weighed. Serum sex steroids and Prl were measured by RIA. The average life span of females but not males was markedly extended by systematic removal of mammary tumors. Females showed a rising incidence of mammary tumors after 14 months of age. In males, this pathology which began to appear at 16 months, had a much lower incidence than in females at all ages. Serum levels of E2 were ( x ± S.E.M. ) 22.0 ± 1.6; 18.9 ± 0.8; 32.9 ± 2.5; 37.3 ± 2.0 and 32.2 ± 3.0 pg/ml for YM, OM, YF, OF and SF, respectively. Serum P was 1.4 ± 0.3; 1.6 ± 0.2; 10.4 ± 2.2; 9.7 ± 3.3 and 6.8 ± 0.8 ng/ml for YM, OM, YF, OF and SF, respectively. Serum T was 1578.9 ± 188.7; 807.6 ± 103.0; 197.5 ± 11.8; 223.7 ± 25.5 and 176.9 ± 20.7 pg/ml for YM, OM, YF, OF and SF, respectively. Finally, serum Prl was 14.9 ± 1.7; 21.9 ± 4.0; 15.9 ± 1.4; 52.4 ± 9.4 and 170.8 ± 31.1 ng/ml for YM, OM, YF, OF and SF, respectively. A strong correlation was found between serum Prl and anterior pituitary weight in OM, OF and SF, but not between serum Prl and sex steroid levels or sex steroid ratios. We conclude that, although the sex-related differences in mammary and pituitary tumor incidence during aging in rats can be partially accounted for by the different serum profiles of Prl and gonadal steroids in each sex, sex-associted differences in target tissue susceptibility should also be considered as an important determinant of the level of tumor incidence.
The contemporary role of F-wave studies. F-wave studies: clinical utility.

Keywords: F waves; peripheral neuropathies; radiculopathies; nerve injury; F-wave utility
Preliminary investigation fo the non-linear response of image intensifiers used for gamma-ray imaging

Image intensifiers combined with columnar scintillators have found application in x-ray and gamma-ray, biomedical imaging and other fields. In scintillator imaging, hundreds or thousands of optical photons can illuminate the faceplate of the image intensifier in a small area, essentially simultaneously. This is a situation not found in the typical design application for an image intensifier, night vision or low-light-level imaging. Microchannel plates (MCPs) are known to exhibit gain saturation that could result in non-linear signal response in scintillator imaging, limiting quantitative measurement capabilities. A calibrated LED photon source was developed that can provide a known average number of photons per unit area in a small spot size, similar to that seen due to a gamma-ray interaction in a BazookaSPECT imager. A BazookaSPECT imager is composed of a columnar scintillator and an image intensifier, with output light optically imaged onto a CCD camera. The calibrated source was used to investigate gain-saturation effects for two Proxivision, GmbH image intensifiers, a single-stage BV 2583 EZ and a two stage BV 2583 QZ-V 100N in a BazookaSPECT imaging configuration. No gain saturation was found for the single-stage image intensifier up to more than 100 optical photons per microchannel, but significant gain-saturation non-linearities were measured in the two-stage image intensifier at high gains for >12 optical photons per microchannel. Implications for scintillator imaging using such systems are discussed.
Prehistoric trepanation in the Cuzco region of Peru: a view into an ancient Andean practice.

In this study, patterns of prehistoric trepanation in the southern highlands of Peru were examined through an analysis of 11 Cuzco-region burial sites. Trepanations were found in 66 individuals, with several individuals exhibiting more than one trepanation, for a total of 109 perforations observed. The predominant methods used were circular cutting and scraping—methods that proved highly successful with an overall 83% survival rate and little ensuing infection. Survival rates showed a significant increase over time, apparently reflecting improvements in trepanation technique through experimentation and practical experience. Practitioners avoided certain areas of the cranium and employed methods that reduced the likelihood of damage to the cerebral meninges and venous sinuses. In many cases, trepanation as a medical treatment appears to have been prompted by cranial trauma, a finding that corroborates other studies pointing to cranial trauma as a primary motivation for the surgical procedure. Am J Phys Anthropol, 2008. © 2008 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Robust Material Decomposition for Spectral CT

There is ongoing interest in extending CT from anatomical to functional imaging. Recent successes with dual energy CT, the introduction of energy discriminating x-ray detectors, and novel, target-specific, nanoparticle contrast agents enable functional imaging capabilities via spectral CT. However, many challenges related to radiation dose, photon flux, and sensitivity still must be overcome. Here, we introduce a post-reconstruction algorithm called spectral diffusion that performs a robust material decomposition of spectral CT data in the presence of photon noise to address these challenges. Specifically, we use spectrally joint, piece-wise constant kernel regression and the split Bregman method to iteratively solve for a material decomposition which is gradient sparse, quantitatively accurate, and minimally biased relative to the source data. Spectral diffusion integrates structural information from multiple spectral channels and their corresponding material decompositions within the framework of diffusion-like denoising algorithms. Using a 3D, digital bar phantom and a material sensitivity matrix calibrated for use with a polychromatic x-ray source, we quantify the limits of detectability (CNR = 5) afforded by spectral diffusion in the triple-energy material decomposition of iodine (3.1 mg/mL), gold (0.9 mg/mL), and gadolinium (2.9 mg/mL) concentrations.
Ganglia removal and photically driven activity in the earthworm (L. terrestris)

This experiment investigates the effect of removing the anterior ganglia on the earthworm’s locomotor response to light. Ss with their five anterior segments amputated, Ss with both pairs of ganglia surgically isolated, and Ss with only the supraoeosophageal ganglia removed showed increased locomotor activity during a period of exposure to intermittent light as compared with periods of darkness. Normal and sham operated Ss also showed increased reactivity to light but were significantly less reactive than two of the operated groups.
Model for Toughness Curves in Two-Phase Ceramics: II, Microstructural Variables

The fracture mechanics analysis of Part 1 is here extended to consider the effects of volume fraction and scale of second-phase particles on the toughness-curve properties of ceramic-matrix composites. Increasing these variables enhances the flaw tolerance of the material, but only up to certain limits, beyond which bulk microcracking occurs. These limits define domains of damage accumulation and potential strength degradation by microcrack coalescence. In the familiar approximation of elliptical crack-wall profiles, the authors show that the principal effects of increasing volume fraction (or expansion mismatch) and particle size is to enhance the slope and scale of the T-curve, respectively. They also derive expressions for the microcracking limits and use these expressions to construct a simple design diagram for characterizing the effects of microstructural variation on mechanical behavior. Indentation-strength data on Al[sub 2]O[sub 3]/Al[sub 2]TiO[sub 5] composites over a range of volume fractions and particles sizes are used to demonstrate the severe loss in mechanical integrity that can be suffered on entering the microcracking domains.
Differential inhibition of virus hemagglutination by chlorophyllin.

SummaryCopper chlorophyllin inhibited hemagglutination by influenza A, mumps and Newcastle disease viruses. This action was not due to a dialyzable component. Hemagglutination by Newcastle disease virus was most affected. Part, at least, of the inhibition appeared to be due to a direct effect on the virus.
IL-17: Important for Host Defense, Autoimmunity, and Allergy?

In this issue, Milovanovic and colleagues present evidence that IL-17a enhances IgE production, although the precise mechanism remains unclear. Their initial finding was that higher numbers of IL-17a-producing CD4+ T cells were observed after polyclonal stimulation in a largely airway allergic population. These data add to the evidence that atopic disorders such as asthma and, possibly, atopic dermatitis (AD) may have distinct immunologic phenotypes. The hope is that by characterizing the immunologic basis of these common diseases we will be able to understand the heterogeneity observed in natural history, response to treatments, susceptibility to infections, genetic risk factors, and associations with other atopic disorders.