cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simulating incompressible flow on moving meshfree grids

Abstract A moving grid meshfree solver is developed for incompressible flow based on the General Finite Difference (GFD) discretization of a semi-implicit approximate projection algorithm. Boundary conditions are imposed using a sharp interface to modify the GFD stencil coefficients. To maintain grid regularity, we employ an explicit shift based on the relaxation of a linear spring model. Several test cases are presented to verify and validate the solver, including simulations of the Taylor-Green vortex problem, the flow in a lid-driven cavity and the flow around an inline oscillating cylinder.
Determinants of Resistance to Checkpoint Inhibitors.

The development of immune checkpoint inhibitors (ICIs) has drastically altered the landscape of cancer treatment. Since approval of the first ICI for the treatment of advanced melanoma in 2011, several therapeutic agents have been Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved for multiple cancers, and hundreds of clinical trials are currently ongoing. These antibodies disrupt T-cell inhibitory pathways established by tumor cells and thus re-activate the host’s antitumor immune response. While successful in many cancers, several types remain relatively refractory to treatment or patients develop early recurrence. Hence, there is a great need to further elucidate mechanisms of resistant disease and determine novel, effective, and tolerable combination therapies to enhance efficacy of ICIs.
A Longitudinal Analysis of Outcomes in Tracheostomy Placement Among Preterm Infants.

Objectives To study a case series of preterm and extremely preterm infants, comparing their decannulation and survival rates after tracheostomy. Methods We performed a single-institution longitudinal study of preterm infants with a tracheostomy. Infants were categorized as premature (born > 28 weeks and Results This study included 240 patients. Of those, 111 were premature and 129 were extremely preterm. The median age (interquartile range) at tracheostomy was 4.8 months (0.4). Premature infants were more likely than extremely preterm to have airway obstruction (54% vs. 32%, P .05) for both groups, even after controlling for potentially confounding factors like race, age, gender, birth weight, and age at tracheostomy. For neurocognitive QOL, 47% of patients survived with severely impaired QOL after tracheostomy. Preterm had 56% with severely impaired QOL and extremely preterm had 40% with severely impaired QOL (P = .03). Conclusion This study demonstrated that the time to decannulation and the likelihood of survival did not vary among premature and extremely premature infants even when controlling for other confounding variables. Level of evidence 3b Laryngoscope, 131:417-422, 2021.
Disability Status Attenuates Treatment Effects in an Intensive Outpatient Program for PTSD.

INTRODUCTION The utilization of intensive outpatient programs for the treatment of military-related post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) has increased through initiatives both inside and outside the military health care system. However, research in veteran populations suggest that patients concurrently undergoing disability evaluation may not respond well to such interventions. This study evaluates the relationship between disability separation and endorsement of PTSD symptoms during treatment at an intensive outpatient program. METHODS Patients in this retrospective study were 81 service members enrolled in a half-day, 6-week intensive outpatient program for PTSD. Sixty-seven percent (n = 54) were concurrently enrolled in the integrated disability evaluation system and were pending medical separation. Fifty-two percent (n = 42) also received a 4-week skills training intervention before beginning PTSD treatment. Patients completed the PTSD Checklist before, during, and after the treatment program as an index of PTSD symptoms. RESULTS A significant interaction effect was observed in which PTSD symptoms throughout program enrollment differed as a function of enrollment in the integrated disability evaluation system. Patients undergoing disability evaluations did not show significant changes in endorsed PTSD symptoms during program enrollment, whereas significant decreases in PTSD symptoms were observed in patients not undergoing disability evaluations. These effects controlled for lost treatment days as a result of training or other appointments. CONCLUSIONS These results provide preliminary data indicating that participation in disability separation may attenuate the effect of PTSD treatment and endorsement of PTSD symptoms in an intensive outpatient setting.
The Maintenance of Dormant and Commemorative Ties by Young Adults through Social Media

Past research suggests there are three types of friendship: active, dormant, and commemorative. Given studies have primarily focused on active ties, this study seeks to explore the maintenance of d...
Ambiguity, appraisal, and affect: examining the connections between goal perceptions, emotional labour, and exhaustion

Although public management scholars have examined the causes and consequences of goal ambiguity in public organizations, we know less about how goal perceptions intersect with emotional labour (EL)...
Enhancing Single-Crystal Dichroism of an Asymmetric Azo Chromophore by Perfluorophenyl Embraces and Boron Coordination

We describe the use of perfluorophenyl embraces and boron coordination (B ← N) to enhance dichroism in single crystals of an asymmetric azo chromophore. Specifically, a tripod-shaped boron adduct c...
From Affirmative Action to Inclusion

Achieving a diverse and inclusive community requires establishing a culture of genuine equality for all members. Our purpose in writing this book is to share our collective knowledge about how to challenge the forces that enable and sustain discrimination in the workplace as informed by our experience developing and implementing the UC Davis ADVANCE program. The program’s goal is to create an inclusive academic community that reflects and serves the diverse population of California. In this introductory chapter, we emphasize the need to move from affirmative action programs, which have played an important role in fostering diversity, to a focus on institutional transformation, which requires not only changes in policy but also shifts in academic culture. Much of what we cover in this book is broadly applicable beyond academia and will interest those wanting to understand and address challenges to diversity, equity, and inclusion in their own organizations. Since workplaces differ in their goals, priorities, and culture, the book is not a “how to” manual but rather a collective effort to share with readers the approaches we took, the information we gathered, what we observed and experienced, and the lessons we learned along the way.
Lithic Resources of the Bearlodge Mountains, Wyoming: Description, Distribution and Implications

Les Bearlodge Mountains, dans le nord-est du Wyoming, revelent de considerables affleurements lithiques exploites par l'homme prehistorique. Parmi ceux-ci, on trouve les orthoquartzites des formations de Lakota et Fall River, ainsi que les calcedoines et orthoquartzites de la formation de Morisson. Les donnees presentees resultent d'une etude centree sur les materiaux lithiques de Black Hill National Forest. Un modele predictif d'approvisionnement lithique est suggere a partir d'une evaluation des ressources. Les descriptions geolologiques, les caracteristiques spatiales des ressources lithiques, le type et l'etendue de l'exploitation sont commentes, de meme que les implications archeologiques de ces facteurs
Implementation of fine-grained cache monitoring for improved SMT scheduling

Simultaneous multithreading (SMT) is emerging as an effective microarchitecture model to increase the utilization of resources in modern super-scalar processors. However, co-scheduled threads often aggressively compete for certain limited resources, among the most important of which is space in the cache hierarchy. Rather than require future systems to have more cache resources, performance-aware scheduling techniques can be used to adapt thread scheduling decisions and minimize this inter-thread contention for cache resources. Although many processors currently have the ability to summarize the activity in each cache level, systems that monitor and collect detailed information about cache access behaviors can enable scheduling algorithms to fully exploit multithreaded cache workload characteristics in different cache regions. This paper explores the design of a novel fine-grained hardware monitoring system in an SMT-based processor that enables improved system scheduling and throughput.
Dynamic simulation of medical diagnosis: learning in the medical decision making and learning environment MEDIC

MEDIC is a dynamic decision making simulation incorporating time constraints, multiple and delayed feedback and repeated decisions. This tool was developed to study cognition and dynamic decision making in medical diagnosis. MEDIC allows one to study several crucial facets of complex medical decision making while also being well controlled for experimental purposes. Using MEDIC, there is a correct diagnosis for the patient, which provides both outcome and process measures of good performance. MEDIC also allows us to calculate cue diagnosticity and probability functions over the set of hypotheses that participants are explicitly considering, based on assumptions of local (bounded) rationality. MEDIC has served in a series of studies aimed at understanding learning in dynamic and real-time medical diagnotic situations. In this paper, we outline the tool and highlight results from these preliminary studies which set out to measure learning.
Government Deficits in a Generalized Fisherian Credit Market: Theory with an Application to Indexing Interest Taxation (Deficits publics dans le contexte d'un marche du credit decrit par un modele general de type Fisher: theorie et application a l'indexation des impots frappant les interets) (Los deficit estatales en un mercado de credito generalizado de "Fisher": Teoria y aplicacion a la indizacion de los impuestos sobre los intereses)

La inflacion amplia el efecto distorsionante de los impuestos sobre la asignacion de recursos a traves del mercado de credito. Las distorsiones surgen a causa de la diferencia entre el rendimiento real para los prestamistas despues de deducir los impuestos y el costo real para los prestatarios. Estas distorsiones podrian evitarse indizando a la inflacion la tributacion de los ingresos por concepto de intereses e inversion y los gastos deducibles por concepto de intereses. Aunque tras una serie de debates anteriores se concluyo que tal indizacion reduciria el deficit fiscal, del presente trabajo se sigue que, en los supuestos utilizados en el analisis, la indizacion lo aumentaria. Esta diferencia de resultados es atribuible a que los supuestos son distintos. Algunos estudios anteriores investigaron los efectos de la inflacion sobre los tipos de interes en el supuesto de que no se graven los rendimientos inflacionarios de la inversion. En cambio, en este estudio se supone que al menos se gravan algunos rendimientos inflacionarios de la inversion, como serian las plusvalias obtenidas. Algunos estudios anteriores especificaban que los deficit estatales se financian a un tipo de interes anterior al pago de los impuestos, en el supuesto de que no se da un efecto retroactivo de los pagos gubernamentales de intereses sobre los ingresos fiscales. En cambio, en este estudio se especifica que tales deficit se financian a un tipo de interes posterior al pago de los impuestos, ya que se supone que los ingresos fiscales han aumentado en el equivalente a los impuestos recaudados sobre los intereses pagados al publico por el Estado. En el presente trabajo se supone que la indizacion adopta una modalidad segun la cual los impuestos se limitan a la renta de la inversion real y las deducciones se limitan tambien a los gastos de intereses reales. En este caso se demuestra que la indizacion reduce la diferencia entre los tipos de interes reales antes y despues del pago de impuestos, permitiendo asi que bajen los tipos de interes reales anteriores al pago de impuestos y que suban los posteriores al pago de los impuestos. Dado que el deficit fiscal se financia a un tipo de interes real posterior a los impuestos, la indizacion aumentara inequivocamente dicho deficit en los supuestos adoptados en este estudio.
Effects of Television on Metabolic Rate: Potential Implications For Childhood Obesity

The effects of television viewing on resting energy expenditure (metabolic rate) in obese and normal-weight children were studied in a laboratory setting. Subjects were 15 obese children and 16 normal-weight children whose ages ranged from 8 to 12 years. All subjects had two measures of resting energy expenditure obtained while at rest and one measurement of energy expenditure taken while viewing television. Results indicated that metabolic rate during television viewing was significantly lower (mean decrease of 211 kcal extrapolated to a day) than during rest. Obese children tended to have a larger decrease, although this difference was not statistically significant (262 kcal/d vs 167 kcal/d, respectively). It was concluded that television viewing has a fairly profound lowering effect of metabolic rate and may be a mechanism for the relationship between obesity and amount of television viewing.
The midplane biischial diameter.

Abstract Attention is called to the midplane biischial diameter (the diameter between the bases of the ischial spines). A reduction in the width of this diameter to 10.2 cm., or less, is regarded as of clinical significance, with special reference to the narrow upper midpelvis, and high occipitoposterior arrests.
Coenzyme Q10 deficiency in children: frequent type 2C muscle fibers with normal morphology.

Introduction: Neurological disorders with low tissue coenzyme Q10 (CoQ10) levels are important to identify, as they may be treatable. Methods: We evaluated retrospectively clinical, laboratory, and muscle histochemistry and oxidative enzyme characteristics in 49 children with suspected mitochondrial disorders. We compared 18 with CoQ10 deficiency in muscle to 31 with normal CoQ10 values. Results: Muscle from CoQ10-deficient patients averaged 5.5-fold more frequent type 2C muscle fibers than controls (P < 0.0001). A type 2C fiber frequency of ≥ 5% had 89% sensitivity and 84% specificity for CoQ10 deficiency in this cohort. No biopsy showed active myopathy. There were no differences between groups in frequencies of mitochondrial myopathologic, clinical, or laboratory features. Multiple abnormalities in muscle oxidative enzyme activities were more frequent in CoQ10-deficient patients than in controls. Conclusions: When a childhood mitochondrial disorder is suspected, an increased frequency of type 2C fibers in morphologically normal muscle suggests CoQ10 deficiency. Muscle Nerve 48:722–726, 2013
“Is”, Semantical Games, and Semantical Relativity

If there is a doctrine shared by almost all analysts of the semantics of natural language in these days, it is the distinction between the different senses of “is”: the “is” of predication, the “is” of identity, and the “is” of existence. The “is” of predication is often called the copula. Some writers add an alleged “is” of class-inclusion as the fourth reading. The most forceful philosophical proponent of the ambiguity of “is” is undoubtedly Bertrand Russell. In The Principles of Mathematics 1 he writes: The word is is terribly ambiguous, and great care is necessary in order not to confound its various meanings. We have (1) the sense in which it asserts Being, as in “A is”; (2) the sense of identity; (3) the sense of predication, in “A is human”; (4) the sense of “A is a-man” ... which is very like identity.2 In addition to these there are less common uses... where a relation of assertions is meant ... which ... gives rise to formal implication.
Building Groupware on THYME

Abstract : The study of collaboration within a community of users, as it is mediated by a computer application, requires the construction of groupware applications to mediate the collaboration. It also requires the capability to analyze the collaboration as it is mediated by the computer application. As the understanding of collaboration within a group unfolds, ideally, the application can be quickly adopted to fit the changing requirements of the group. Whereas existing toolkits for building groupware applications provide support for building production-level groupware, they do not provide the mechanism for analysis and rapid development of new applications, which is necessary for the study of collaboration. This paper presents an engineering methodology and a set of key requirements for building groupware applications that enable the analysis of collaboration as mediated by these applications. We describe the THYME framework and show how it can help groupware developers to build applications rapidly and successfully. We also detail how a one semester Human Computer Interaction class used the THYME framework to construct synchronous groupware applications in a short amount of time and with great success.
The nucleocapsid gene of infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus, a fish rhabdovirus

Abstract The complete nucleotide sequence of the infectious hematopoietic necrosis virus (IHNV) nucleocapsid gene has been determined using cDNA clones of genomic and messenger RNAs. Genomic clones were generated by using random DNA oligomers to prime cDNA synthesis and were mapped to their respective locations on the genome by the use of cDNA probes derived from viral mRNAs. Interesting features of the IHNV nucleocapsid gene sequence elucidated by the sequencing of these clones include short homologies with N genes of other rhabdoviruses at the 5′ and 3′ nontranslated termini of the mRNA, as well as an exceptionally long 5′ noncoding region of the mRNA, suggesting a leader RNA may be coupled to the N mRNA. A comparison of the IHNV N protein coding sequence with other rhabdoviral N genes shows some homologies at the amino acid level which indicates the possible evolutionary relationship of these N proteins. The determination of the nucleotide sequences of IHNV genes and intergenic regions will be useful for studying the mechanisms of rhabdoviral transcription and replication.
Non-linear bending of beams with uniformly distributed loads

Abstract The non-linear bending of both cantilever and simply supported beams subjected to a uniformly distributed load has been studied. The exact solutions for the slopes have been obtained and the solution for the maximum deflection and the horizontal projection of the beam length for the cantilever case are compared with a known approximate solution.
An overview of the secondary structure of the V4 region of eukaryotic small-subunit ribosomal RNA

The V4 region of the small subunit (18S) ribosomal RNA was examined in 72 different sequences representing a broad sample eukaryotic diversity. This domain is the most variable region of the 18S rRNA molecule and ranges in length from ca. 230 to over 500 bases. Based upon comparative analysis, secondary structural models were constructed for all sequences and the resulting generalized model shows that most organisms possess seven helices for this region. The protists and two insects show from one to as many as four helices in addition to the above seven. In this report, we summarize secondary structure information presented elsewhere for the V4 region, describe the general features for helical and apical regions, and identify signature sequences useful in helix identification. Our model generally agrees with other current concepts; however, we propose modifications or alternative structures for the start of the V4 region, the large protist inserts, and the sector that may possibly contain a pseudoknot.
Effect of primary alcohols on percutaneous absorption

Abstract The penetration enhancement of indomethacin by a series of primary alcohols with alkyl chains (C4–C16) was evaluated by the steady-state flux of indomethacin through shed skin of black rat snake. A parabolic relationship between the enhancement and the carbon atom number of the alcohols was established with tridecanol showing the maximum effect.
Fatal Thrombocytopenia and Liver Failure Associated with Carboplatin Therapy

A patient with fatal severe thrombocytopenia and acute hepatic necrosis complicating carboplatin (JM8, CBDCA, NSC 241240) therapy is described. The patient, an 18-year-old man with acute lymphocytic leukemia, was given high-dose carboplatin as a part of a phase I trial of this agent for the treatment of leukemia. Carboplatin (270 mg/m2/day) was administered as an intravenous infusion on five consecutive days, and the patient died 10 days after his last dose of carboplatin from complications of thrombocytopenia and acute liver necrosis. Autopsy revealed hemorrhage into the substance of the myocardium and hemorrhagic centrilobular liver necrosis. The temporal relationship between the initial rise in this patient's liver function tests and treatment with carboplatin suggests that this patient's liver failure was in part due to carboplatin. The autopsy findings of hemorrhage into the substance of the myocardium and centrolobular liver necrosis suggest that, in addition to its direct effects, carboplatin may have also contributed indirectly to this patient's liver failure through the complications of thrombocytopenia.
Diagnostic assessment of the borg MOEA for many-objective product family design problems

The recently introduced Borg multiobjective evolutionary algorithm (MOEA) framework features auto-adaptive search that tailors itself to effectively explore different problem spaces. A key auto-adaptive feature of the Borg MOEA is the dynamic allocation of search across a suite of recombination and mutation operators. This study explores the application of the Borg MOEA on a real-world product family design problem: the severely constrained, ten objective General Aviation Aircraft (GAA) problem. The GAA problem represents a promising benchmark problem that strongly highlights the importance of using auto-adaptive search to discover how to exploit multiple recombination strategies cooperatively. The auto-adaptive behavior of the Borg MOEA is rigorously compared against its ancestor algorithm, the e-MOEA, by employing global sensitivity analysis across each algorithm's feasible parameter ranges. This study provides the first Sobol' sensitivity analysis to determine the individual and interactive parameter sensitivities of MOEAs on a real-world many-objective problem.
Cell Culture Techniques for Studying Insect Cuticle

Evidence that biosynthetic pathways critical to the formation of insect cuticle are retained in continuous insect cell lines opens new possibilities for research on the cuticle system. Recent findings indicate that chitin, molting hormone, and catecholamines are all produced by a vesicle cell line derived from embryos of the cockroach Blattella germanica. The chitin that is formed by this cell line is particulate and does not show the characteristic featherlike crystalline structure found in mature cuticle. The molting hormone is produced as ecdysone and is released into the culture medium. The addition of 20-hydroxyecdysone to the cultures increases the production of chitin fourfold. These responses are similar to those found in insect organ cultures.
Chiral and Antichiral Order in Bent-Core Liquid Crystals

Recent experiments have found a bent-core liquid crystal in which the layer chirality alternates from layer to layer, giving a racemic or "antichiral" material, even though the molecules are uniformly chiral. To explain this effect, we map the liquid crystal onto an Ising model, analogous to a model for chiral order in polymers. We calculate the phase diagram for this model and show that it has a second-order phase transition between antichiral order and homogeneous chiral order. We discuss how this transition can be studied by further chemical synthesis or by doping experiments.
Women and corporate boards of directors: The promise of increased, and substantive, participation in the post Sarbanes-Oxley era

Abstract Few aspects of corporate board diversity have generated the focused attention that the participation, position, and promise of women's service on the board has generated, especially in recent years. Of particular note is the extent to which women serve on large firm boards of directors (e.g., Fortune 500 firms). Increases in levels of participation have been described as glacial. While critics decry the level of participation of women on large-scale corporate boards, careful scrutiny suggests substantial progress. Concurrent with steady increases in the overall participation of women on corporate boards are increases in their presence on key board committees. Importantly, women's leadership of key board committees and their service as lead directors has improved in parallel with increases in their board memberships. These increases are particularly noteworthy in the post Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX) period. Such trends suggest the continued progress of women in assuming prominent positions in the corporate governance landscape, and provide evidence that the increasingly challenging environment in the post-SOX era has not attenuated the gains noted in the pre-SOX period.
A three-phase uninterruptible power supply with an adaptive reference waveform generator

In this paper, a new digital deadbeat controller along with a modified adaptive reference signal generator are designed, implemented and applied to a three-phase series-parallel line-interactive uninterruptible power supply (UPS). This kind of UPS system provides input power factor correction, output voltage conditioning with higher efficiency compared with other kinds of UPS. It consists of a series and a parallel converter. The series converter deals with voltage-based distortions while the parallel converter cancels the current-based disturbances. The objective of the controller is to achieve deadbeat dynamic response for the parallel and series converters. The adaptive filter provides the reference signal for the load voltage and source current without any phase shift. The proposed controller adjusts the current of the parallel converter and voltage of the series converter with two and four sampling periods, respectively. Simulation and experimental results are presented, which show the viability of the proposed controller and reference signal generator for this topology.
Fully-integrated 6H-SiC JFET amplifiers for high-temperature sensing

Fully monolithic, transimpedance and differential voltage amplifiers are reported in this paper based on 6H-SiC, n-channel, depletion-mode JFETs. The single-stage transimpedance amplifier has a low-frequency gain of ~222 kΩ at room temperature, with ~2% gain matching for copies on a 6-mm x 6-mm die. The transimpedance gain is set by an integrated resistor and is ~1.1 MΩ at 450oC. The single-stage, differential voltage amplifier has a typical gain-bandwidth of ~2.8 MHz at 600oC and a typical open-loop voltage gain of ~35.8 dB at 25oC, with less than 1-dB gain variation from 25-600oC.
Analysis of thin-film inhomogeneities using electroluminescence and LBIC measurements

Electroluminescence (EL) and light-beam-induced-current (LBIC) mapping are used to study lab-size thin-film photovoltaic devices. Inhomogeneities seen in individual cells with these two characterization techniques are compared and analyzed. Features of interest in CdTe cells include signal variations across large areas of the cell as well as local, well-defined regions with little or no EL signal and/or reduced quantum efficiency (QE). CIGS devices exhibit these inhomogeneities as well as current crowding around the gridlines, where the current immediately around the front contacts is highest and decreases as the distance from the contacts increases. Other inhomogeneities seen using both EL and LBIC and across both technologies show variations in sheet resistance, mostly in the TCO layer.
Survival of bifidobacteria in the presence of bile salt

The ability of Bifidobacterium species to survive in the presence of sodium glycocholate, at concentrations ranging from 0 to 3 g liter−1, was tested. Bacterial growth was monitored by measuring the optical density for up to 48 h. All the Bifidobacterium strains tested showed growth limitation in the presence of sodium glycocholate. However, after a series of propagations in fresh trypticase-peptone-yeast extract medium devoid of bile salt all bacterial strains retained their activity. It was concluded that Bifidobacterium species are able to survive physiological and higher bile salt levels and that bifidobacteria can be considered for use as dietary adjuncts.
Difference frequency generation laser based spectrometers

Tunable mid-infrared laser sources are the key to pre - cision optical trace gas detection. Difference-frequency genera- tion (DFG) based laser sources are among a few practical laser sources that have demonstrated ultra-high detection sensitivities during real-world applications when combined with appropriate signal enhancing and noise reduction spectroscopic techniques. This article will discuss the technical approaches, illustrate ap- plication examples of DFG sources, and offer perspectives to competing technologies.
Guidelines for the selection of hardfacing alloys for sliding wear resistant applications

Abstract The work presented in this report summarizes an evaluation of the relative sliding wear characteristics of several commonly used commercial hardfacing alloys. The alloys studied include cobalt-base, nickel-base and Fe-Cr-Ni alloys which also contain small amounts of cobalt. Selecting the most effective alloy combination to withstand sliding wear is a challenge for materials engineers, equipment designers and fabricators. Accurate guidelines for selecting compatible alloys from a wear resistance point of view are not available. On the basis of the results of this work several hardfacing alloy combinations were identified which provide good sliding wear resistance. In addition, several hardfacing alloy combinations were found to exhibit poor wear resistance compatibility. The guidelines presented in this report will aid in the selection of suitable hardfacing alloy combinations with adequate sliding wear resistance. The wear guidelines are also supplemented with corrosion data in several environments of importance in the chemical process industries. These data should assist in the selection and optimization of hardfacing alloys in the presence of aggressive environments.
Finite element/boundary element simulation of interior noise control using active-passive control technique

ABSTRACT This paper presents a finite element/boundary element (FE/BE) formulation for modeling and analysis of active-passive noisecontrol system. Finite element method is proposed to model the smart plate with surface bonded piezoelectric patches and theenclosing walls and the dual reciprocity boundary element method is proposed for modeling the acoustic cavity. The use ofFE/BE method facilitates us imposing the impedance boundary conditions at the fluid/passive absorber/structure interface.An output feedback optimal controller design procedure is given for the smart plate system with active patches for the lowfrequency regime.KEYWORDS: Finite element/boundary element modeling, cabin noise control, optimal controller 1. INTRODUCTION The primary contributions to the noise spectrum inside a helicopter cabin are the main rotor, tail rotor and turbines, whichoperate at frequencies ranging from 50 to 500 Hz and the gear mechanisms in the main transmission, operate at frequenciesabove 500 Hz [1]. Traditional means for the control of undesired sound and vibration is often referred to passive methodssince no power source is required for the control system. The noise reduction is achieved by either insulating the enclosurewalls or by covering them with porous sound absorbers. These passive control methods are quite effective at high frequenciesor at narrow frequency bands. At low frequencies the active control method using segmented piezoelectric patches is found tobe an attractive alternative to passive methods.For modeling such active vibration and radiated noise control system using embedded or bonded discrete piezoelectricpatches, finite element (FE) method is found to be an efficient and more practical method [2-7]. Modeling and analysis ofthese smart structures using FE method have been studied earlier by researchers in CEEAMt [3-711.
A model for personality at three levels

People differ. How and why they differ are the fundamental questions for personality psychologists. In this article we address three levels at which people differ: within individuals, between individuals, and between groups of individuals. A dynamic model of personality is considered where traits are seen as rates of change in states in response to environmental cues. Within individuals, motivational and behavioral states show inertial properties and lead to an analysis of rates of change and latencies of behavior. Between individuals, the analysis is one of frequency and duration of choices. When individuals self select into groups reflecting shared interests and abilities, the structure of these group differences reflects the consequences of the self selection. Examples of the dynamic model are given for each level of analysis.
Phase Inversion of Liquid–Liquid Dispersions Under Applied Electric Fields

This paper presents experimental studies on the effects of applied electric fields on aqueous/organic liquid–liquid dispersions, using toluene/water systems with certain physical properties modified by various additives. In general, because of polarization and deformation effects, coalescence of aqueous drops is facilitated by the application of electric fields. As a result, with an increase in the applied voltage, the ambivalence regime—the range of the organic volume fraction plotted versus energy input, in which either phase may be continuous or dispersed—is narrowed and shifted toward higher volume fraction of the organic phase. Effects of physical properties of liquid–liquid dispersions such as aqueous-phase conductivity, organic-phase viscosity, aqueous-phase pH, and liquid–liquid interfacial surface tension are reported here. Variation of these physical properties affected the ambivalence regime differently under the conditions with and without an applied electric field. The phase-inversion behavio...
Acyl coenzyme A:retinol acyltransferase activity and the vitamin A content of polar bear (Ursus maritimus) liver.

Abstract 1. 1. Acyl coenzyme A: retinol acyltransferase activity was identified in the microsomes from a polar bear liver. 2. 2. The highest rate of in vitro retinol esterification was 821 pmol/min/mg microsomal protein. 3. 3. The in vitro esterification rate displayed a small dependence upon the concentration of exogenous protein (bovine serum albumin) and even less on the concentration of sulfhydryl-reducing agent (dithiothreitol). 4. 4. Vitamin A was present in the liver at a concentration of 8050 μg/g tissue, with 98% of the vitamin in its ester form. 5. 5. Retinyl palmitate was 37.3% of the total liver retinyl esters, while retinyl oleate represented 20.9%, stearate 12.8%, and linoleate 7.7%.
Pursuing the Frontiers: The history and future of the frontiers in education conference

The annual ASEE/IEEE Frontiers in Education Conference is now in its 44th year. From its earliest days, FIE has aimed to enhance engineering education through the latest advances in learning theory, pedagogy, and technology. We have also engaged in periodic reflection and self-examination to assess how well we have met the challenges of keeping up with advances in other fields and incorporating technological and pedagogical innovations. This panel brings together eight participants who have demonstrated long term commitment to the Frontiers in Education Conference through their leadership and active involvement. The panel includes current and past members of the FIE Steering Committee, former general and program chairs, the conference historian, and active researchers in engineering education. Looking back, this panel will review previous conferences and their influence on engineering education, and how we have attracted a diverse group of attendees and expanded our community from a few committed individuals to a large number of active participants. The panelists will discuss what new frontiers are arising, what happened to the previous frontiers, and whether FIE has properly addressed the real frontiers in recent conferences. Building on the history and accomplishments of Frontiers in Education, we will assess currently active research areas and identify emerging topics relevant to FIE.
Using the telephone to improve health behavior and health service delivery

The technology for using the telephone to deliver interventions to improve health behavior and health care has expanded dramatically and exciting innovations continue to emerge. These developments enable the telephone to be used to deliver individualized services to a broad cross section of target groups, while minimizing logistic and system barriers, and cost. However, as telephone-delivered interventions have proliferated, a number of questions remain concerning the elements that are essential to their effectiveness. We provide a broad overview of telephone interventions, published in the past 10 years to identify gaps in knowledge about these services, and make recommendations for future program development and evaluation.
Fiber optic gyroscopes--light is better

Fiber optic gyroscopes are becoming prevalent in the marketplace especially in automobile navigation systems in Japan. This article tells how they work, what they do, and how they're used.
Purification and characterization of the AAA+ domain of Sinorhizobium meliloti DctD, a σ54-dependent transcriptional activator

ABSTRACT Activators of σ54-RNA polymerase holoenzyme couple ATP hydrolysis to formation of an open complex between the promoter and RNA polymerase. These activators are modular, consisting of an N-terminal regulatory domain, a C-terminal DNA-binding domain, and a central activation domain belonging to the AAA+ superfamily of ATPases. The AAA+ domain of Sinorhizobium meliloti C4-dicarboxylic acid transport protein D (DctD) is sufficient to activate transcription. Deletion analysis of the 3′ end of dctD identified the minimal functional C-terminal boundary of the AAA+ domain of DctD as being located between Gly-381 and Ala-384. Histidine-tagged versions of the DctD AAA+ domain were purified and characterized. The DctD AAA+ domain was significantly more soluble than DctD(Δ1-142), a truncated DctD protein consisting of the AAA+ and DNA-binding domains. In addition, the DctD AAA+ domain was more homogeneous than DctD(Δ1-142) when analyzed by native gel electrophoresis, migrating predominantly as a single high-molecular-weight species, while DctD(Δ1-142) displayed multiple species. The DctD AAA+ domain, but not DctD(Δ1-142), formed a stable complex with σ54 in the presence of the ATP transition state analogue ADP-aluminum fluoride. The DctD AAA+ domain activated transcription in vitro, but many of the transcripts appeared to terminate prematurely, suggesting that the DctD AAA+ domain interfered with transcription elongation. Thus, the DNA-binding domain of DctD appears to have roles in controlling the oligomerization of the AAA+ domain and modulating interactions with σ54 in addition to its role in recognition of upstream activation sequences.
Perfect and almost perfect sequences

The autocorrelation function of a sequence is a measure for how much the given sequence differs from its translates. Periodic binary sequences with good correlation properties have important applications in various areas of engineering. In particular, one needs sequences with a two-level autocorrelation function, that is, all nontrivial autocorrelation coefficients equal some constant γ. The case where γ is as small as theoretically possible in absolute value has turned out to be especially useful; such sequences are called perfect. Unfortunately, in many cases perfect sequences cannot exist, and so one has also considered “almost perfect” sequences, where one allows one nontrivial autocorrelation coefficient to be different from γ. In this paper, we concentrate on the existence problem for perfect and almost perfect binary periodic sequences; such sequences are actually equivalent to certain cyclic difference sets and cyclic divisible difference sets, respectively, structures which have been studied in Design Theory for a long time. This connection allows one to obtain strong results on the existence of (almost) perfect sequences. We also discuss some related questions, namely the aperiodic case, ternary perfect sequences, binary perfect arrays, and the merit factor of a sequence. Finally, we conclude the paper with a simplified description of an interesting real-world application, namely “coded aperture imaging”. Our paper serves mainly as a survey of the area just outlined, but it also contains some new results.
Treating stage 2 hypertension.

The prevalence of hypertension increases with advancing age, due primarily to increases in systolic blood pressure. Systolic hypertension is the most common form of hypertension in individuals over 50 years of age and reflects pathologic decreases in arterial compliance. Systolic blood pressure elevation is a more important risk factor for cardiovascular disease than is diastolic blood pressure elevation. Stage 2 hypertension, defined as blood pressure ≥160/100 mm Hg, is often found in older persons, who are at highest risk for cardiovascular events. In this clinical review, hypertension experts utilize a case study to provide a paradigm for treating older patients with stage 2 hypertension.
Pediatric obsessive-compulsive disorder: a guide to assessment and treatment.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) is an anxiety disorder characterized by recurrent or persistent thoughts, impulses, or images that are experienced as intrusive or distressing (obsessions), and ...
Initial characterization of the glutamate-cysteine ligase modifier subunit Gclm(-/-) knockout mouse: novel model system for a severely compromised oxidative stress response

Glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCL) is the rate-limiting enzyme in the GSH biosynthesis pathway. In higher eukaryotes, this enzyme is a heterodimer comprising a catalytic subunit (GCLC) and a modifier subunit (GCLM), which change the catalytic characteristics of the holoenzyme. To define the cellular function of GCLM, we disrupted the mouse Gclm gene to create a null allele. Gclm(-/-) mice are viable and fertile and have no overt phenotype. In liver, lung, pancreas, erythrocytes, and plasma, however, GSH levels in Gclm(-/-) mice were 9-16% of that in Gclm(+/+) littermates. Cysteine levels in Gclm(-/-) mice were 9, 35, and 40% of that in Gclm(+/+) mice in kidney, pancreas, and plasma, respectively, but remained unchanged in the liver and erythrocytes. Comparing the hepatic GCL holoenzyme with GCLC in the genetic absence of GCLM, we found the latter had an approximately 2-fold increase in K(m) for glutamate and a dramatically enhanced sensitivity to GSH inhibition. The major decrease in GSH, combined with diminished GCL activity, rendered Gclm(-/-) fetal fibroblasts strikingly more sensitive to chemical oxidants such as H(2)O(2). We conclude that the Gclm(-/-) mouse represents a model of chronic GSH depletion that will be very useful in evaluating the role of the GCLM subunit and GSH in numerous pathophysiological conditions as well as in environmental toxicity associated with oxidant insult.
Microheterogeneity Controls the Rate of Gelation of Actin Filament Networks

Rapid sol-gel transitions of the actin cytoskeleton are required for many key cellular processes, including cell spreading and cell locomotion. Actin monomers assemble into semiflexible polymers that rapidly intertwine into a network, a process that in vitro takes ∼1 min for an actin concentration of 1 mg/ml. The same actin filament network, however, takes ∼1 h to exhibit a steady-state elasticity. We hypothesize that the slow gelation of F-actin is due to the slow establishment of a homogeneous meshwork. Using a novel method, time-resolved multiple particle tracking, which monitors the range of thermally excited displacements of microspheres imbedded in the network, we show that the increase in elasticity in a polymerizing solution of actin parallels the progressive decline of the network microheterogeneity. The rates of gelation and network homogenization slightly decrease with actin concentration and in the presence of the F-actin cross-linking proteins α-actinin and fascin, whereas the rate of actin polymerization increases dramatically with actin concentration. Our measurements show that the slow spatial homogenization of the actin filament network, not actin polymerization or the formation of polymer overlaps, is the rate-limiting step in the establishment of an elastic actin network and suggest that a new activity of F-actin binding proteins may be required for the rapid formation of a homogeneous stiff gel.
Office Approach to Anaphylaxis: Sooner Better than Later

Anaphylaxis, an acute and potentially lethal multisystem allergic reaction, is almost unavoidable in medical practice. Physicians must be able to recognize anaphylaxis, treat it promptly and appropriately, and provide preventive recommendations. Epinephrine, which should be administered immediately, is the drug of choice for acute anaphylaxis.
Treatment of neuromas about a major amputation stump

In five patients, with intractable pain from neuromas that developed after amputations at the wrist or forearm, the neuromas were resected and the median nerve anastamosed to the ulnar nerve under the pronator teres muscle. In one patient, the anterior interosseous nerve was also anastamosed to the superficial radial nerve under the muscles of the forearm. Patients reported an 80% to 90% reduction in pain. This procedure is limited to patients in which all other treatments have failed.
Racial Differences in the Incidence of Hypertensive End-Stage Renal Disease (ESRD) Are Not Entirely Explained by Differences in the Prevalence of Hypertension

Blacks experience a disproportionate risk of end-stage renal disease (ESRD) compared with whites. The increased prevalence of hypertension in blacks has been suggested as an explanation for this increased risk. We were able to examine this possibility using hypertensive ESRD incidence rates in a population with wellcharacterized prevalence of hypertension and rate of its control. After adjusting rates of hypertensive ESRD for age, sex, and differences in the prevalence of hypertension by race, we found black:white (B:W) relative risk still to be increased. Prevalence estimates for moderate-severe hypertension and differences in the control of hypertension between the two race groups are of insufficient magnitude to explain the increase in adjusted relative risk. This observation provides further support for the possibility that there are racial differences in the susceptibility to renal damage from elevated BP, which may explain increased risk for hypertensive ESRD in blacks, or that hypertension is being erroneously diagnosed as the cause of ESRD in blacks when another cause is present.