cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High-gain wide-viewing-angle null-hot-spot optical diffuser useful for display screen application

A high-gain, wide-viewing-angle optical diffuser without hot spots is presented. Such type of optical diffuser has potential applications in front and rear projection screens, LED display illumination, LCD backlights, beam homogenizer, etc. By shaping the diffused light pattern to be elliptical, high-gain is achieved by narrowing and thus enhancing 1D intensity distribution while the other dimension satisfies the wide-viewing-angle requirement. Optical diffuser can be implemented by illuminating a ground glass and recording the speckle pattern on a photoresist plate. Shaping the diffuser light pattern of resultant optical diffuser can be conveniently controlled by shaping the illuminating light pattern on ground glass. However the diffuser must be optimized such that hot spots can be totally eliminated. For surface relief optical diffusers, surface-roughness is the major factor affecting elimination of hot spots and, hence, efficiency of optical diffuser. Suitable exposure and development conditions for controlling surface roughness are investigated. After this recording process, a nickel plate is electro-formed from the photoresist plate. Under our design conditions, the nickel plate is measured to be with viewing-angle of 100 degree(s) horizontal X 40 degree(s) vertical (full angular width of 1/10 maximum) and gain of 5.24 (relative to 3M's wall screen). Hot spots are totally suppressed. Such plate can be used as master in industrial embossing processes for mass production. Controllability and simplicity in design and manufacture would make such optical diffuser very attractive for display screen as well as other applications mentioned above.© (1996) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Detecting Coevolution of Functionally Related Proteins for Automated Protein Annotation

Sequence similarity based protein clustering methods organize proteins into families of similar sequences, a task that continues to be critical for automated protein characterization. However, many protein families cannot be automatically characterized further because little is known about the function of any protein in a family of similar sequences. We present a novel phylogenetic profile comparison (PPC) method called Automated Protein Annotation by Coordinate Evolution (APACE) that facilitates the automated characterization of proteins beyond their homology to other similar sequences. Our method implements a new approach for the normalization of similarity scores among multiple species and automates the characterization of proteins by their patterns of co-evolution with other proteins that do not necessarily share a similar sequence. We demonstrate that our method is able to recapitulate the topology of the latest, unresolved, composite deep eukaryotic phylogeny and is able to quantify the as yet unresolved branch lengths. We further demonstrate that our method is able to detect more functionally related proteins, given the same starting data, than existing methods. Finally, we demonstrate that our method can be successfully applied to much larger comparative genomic problem instances where existing methods often fail.
The atmospheric corrosion of iron as studied by Mössbauer spectroscopy

Abstract The composition of the rust on the surface of steel panels was determined after atmospheric exposure times of 2 weeks, 2 months and 6 months. The initial product is γ-FeOOH which converts in time to a mixture of α-FeOOH and γ-Fe2O3. Steel exposed for times of the order of 25 years is covered with corrosion product consisting largely of γ-Fe2O3. The similarity between the composition of the corrosion products and precipitates formed from FeSO4 solution under mildly acidic conditions at 90°C suggests that the dominant anion in these atmospheric corrosion experiments is sulfate.
Spatial and temporal properties of eye movements produced by electrical stimulation of semicircular canal afferents

To investigate the characteristics of eye movements produced by electrical stimulation of semicircular canal afferents, we studied the spatial and temporal features of eye movements elicited by short-term lateral canal stimulation in two squirrel monkeys with plugged lateral canals, with the head upright or statically tilted in the roll plane. The electrically induced vestibuloocular reflex (eVOR) evoked with the head upright decayed more quickly than the stimulation signal provided by the electrode, demonstrating an absence of the classic velocity storage effect that improves the dynamics of the low-frequency VOR. When stimulation was provided with the head tilted in roll, however, the eVOR decayed more rapidly than when the head was upright, and a cross-coupled vertical response developed that shifted the eye's rotational axis toward alignment with gravity. These results demonstrate that rotational information provided by electrical stimulation of canal afferents interacts with otolith inputs (or other graviceptive cues) in a qualitatively normal manner, a process that is thought to be mediated by the velocity storage network. The observed interaction between the eVOR and graviceptive cues is of critical importance for the development of a functionally useful vestibular prosthesis. Furthermore, the presence of gravity-dependent effects (dumping, spatial orientation) despite an absence of low-frequency augmentation of the eVOR has not been previously described in any experimental preparation.
Age-related retention and distribution of ingested Mn3O4 in the rat

Abstract Mn 3 O 4 is the major combustion product of methylcyclopentadienyl manganese tricarbonyl, a fuel additive used as a combustion improver and smoke suppressant. Toxicological data on this environmentally important form of Mn is generally lacking. Infant, adolescent, and adult Sprague-Dawley rats were intubated once with particulate 54 Mn 3 O 4 of known specific activity (3 μCi/25 μg Mn). Whole body retention and organ distribution were observed as functions of age at exposure, dietary iron level, and the postexposure period. Twenty-four hours after ingestion, infant rats retained up to 20 times more Mn than the adolescent or the adult. The retention of Mn was also a function of age at exposure within infancy. Liver was the principal site of deposition at all ages. Brain concentrations of Mn from a single dose were easily detectable in infants but undetected in adults. Low iron diet facilitated the retention of Mn by adolescents but not adults. The critical population for an acute exposure to ingested particulate Mn 3 O 4 appears to be the infant which had a higher retention, slower turnover and significant deposition in the liver, kidney, and brain. A comparison of the percentage of Mn retained by infant rats ingesting 54 Mn 3 O 4 or 54 MnCl 2 ·4H 2 O showed an inverse dose dependence for the oxide and a relative dose independence for the chloride over the range 25–500 μg Mn. Up to 12 times more Mn was retained by animals ingesting the chloride than the oxide in the range 100–500 μg Mn.
Prognostic Significance of Elevated Cardiac Troponin I After Heart Surgery

Background Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) measured after heart surgery has been associated with operative mortality. We sought to determine whether measuring cTnI after heart surgery provides additional prognostic information beyond that provided by validated preoperative risk scores, the Veterans Affairs (VA) risk score and the European System for Cardiac Operative Risk Evaluation (EuroSCORE). Methods We retrospectively collected cTnI levels measured 24 hours after surgery in 1,186 patients who underwent coronary artery bypass graft surgery (n = 696) or valve surgery (n = 490). The outcomes were operative death and perioperative myocardial infarction. The ability of the cTnI and the risk scores to discriminate patients who did or did not have the study outcomes was assessed by the area under the receiver operating curve (c-index). Results Mean age was 66 ± 10 years. Median cTnI was 38 ng/mL after valve surgery versus 18 ng/mL after coronary artery bypass graft surgery ( p p p = 0.1; and from 0.69 to 0.77 for the EuroSCORE; p = 0.005). Conclusions Postoperative cTnI measured 24 hours after heart surgery is independently associated with operative death and perioperative myocardial infarction and improves the ability to predict operative mortality in comparison with preoperative risk scores alone.
A 1-year follow-up of a multi-center treatment trial of adults with anorexia nervosa

OBJECTIVE: To examine maintenance of recovery following treatment in an adult anorexia nervosa (AN) population. METHOD: One year follow-up of a randomized clinical trial with 122 participants treated with: cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), drug therapy (fluoxetine), or a combination (CBT+fluoxetine) for 12 months. Participants were assessed at baseline, end of treatment, and follow-up. The primary outcomes were weight and the global scores from the Eating Disorder Examination (EDE) separately and combined. RESULTS: Fifty-two participants completed the follow-up. Mean weight increased from end of treatment to follow-up. Seventy-five percent (75%) of those weight recovered at end of treatment maintained this recovery at follow-up. Recovery of eating disorder psychopathology was stable from end of treatment to follow-up, with 40% of participants with a global EDE score within normal range. Using the most stringent criteria for recovery, only 21% of the completer sample was recovered. DISCUSSION: The findings suggest that while adults with AN improve with treatment and maintain these improvements during follow-up, the majority is not recovered. Additionally, further research is needed to understand barriers to treatment and assessment completion.
Transduction dynamics of intrapulmonary CO2 receptors

We have developed a functional model for quantitatively characterizing the transduction dynamics of the intrapulmonary CO2 receptors (IPC) in the snake lung. The model was based on experiments in which the neural discharges of several IPCs were recorded in response to abrupt step changes in CO2 concentration. Initial attempts to model the transduction dynamics linearly proved inadequate, although the linear model captured gross features such as rate sensitivity and the existence of two time constants in the adaptation time-course. However, with the incorporation of two static nonlinear features, namely, thresholding and preferential directionality of the rate-sensitive component, it was possible to account for over 80% of the total variation in the data. The model produced accurate predictions of IPC responses to other inputs, such as pseudorandom binary changes in CO2. The model also allows the prediction of IPC discharge in spontaneous breathing given measurements of lung CO2 concentration, and may serve as a starting point for further studies of transduction mechanisms at the cellular level.
Alternatives to Coscheduling a Network of Workstations

Efficient scheduling of processes on processors of a Network of Workstations (NOW) is essential for good system performance. However, the design of such schedulers is challenging because of the complex interaction between several system and workload parameters. Coscheduling, though desirable, is impractical for such a loosely coupled environment. Two operations, waiting for a message and arrival of a message, can be used to take remedial actions that can guide the behavior of the system toward coscheduling using local information. We present a taxonomy of three possibilities for each of these two operations, leading to a design space of 3×3 scheduling mechanisms. This paper presents an extensive implementation and evaluation exercise in studying these mechanisms. Adhering to the philosophy that scheduling and communication are intertwined and should be studied in conjunction, a complete communication substrate for UltraSPARC workstations, connected by Myrinet and running Solaris 2.5.1, has been developed. This platform provides the entire Message Passing Interface (MPI) to readily run off-the-shelf MPI applications by employing protected low-latency user-level messaging. Several applications can concurrently use this interface. This platform has been used to design, implement, and uniformly evaluate nine scheduling strategies with a mixture of concurrent real applications with varying communication intensities. This includes five new schemes (Periodic Boost, Periodic Boost with Spin Block, Spin Yield, Periodic Boost with Spin Yield, Dynamic Coscheduling with Spin Yield) that are presented in this paper. In addition to our evaluations of the pros and cons of each mechanism in terms of throughput, response time, CPU utilization, and fairness, it is shown that Periodic Boost is a promising approach for scheduling processes on a NOW.
A new mechanism for initiation of free-radical chain reactions during high-temperature, homogeneous oxidation of unsaturated hydrocarbons: Ethylene, propyne, and allene

The initiation of free radical chain reactions by singlet carbene biradicals is proposed for homogeneous oxidation of typical unsaturated hydrocarbons, including ethylene, allene, and propyne. The mechanism features the production of singlet vinylidene and methylvinylidene by 1,1-H2 elimination and 1,2-H shift, respectively, from ethylene and propyne. The singlet biradicals then react with molecular oxygen to initiate a free-radical chain process. The analysis used quantum chemistry calculations and detailed modeling of ignition delay times. In all cases tested the carbene pathway was found to dominate the initial radical-pool production. © 2001 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 33: 698–706, 2001
Über die Beteiligung von Protonen an der Elektrizitätsleitung in Metallen

Es werden Beobachtungen uber die eigentumliche Elektrizitatsleitung von mit Wasserstoff beladenem Palladium mitgeteilt, und das Wesen dieser Leitung wird in Zusammenhang mit neuen Angaben von Coehn und Specht besprochen.
Market states and international momentum strategies

Abstract Cooper, Gutierrez, and Hameed [Cooper, M., Gutierrez Jr., R., Hameed, A. (2004). Market States and Momentum. Journal of Finance , in press] find that momentum profits derive from the “up” market; they claim that this is due to investor overconfidence. This paper examines their proposition in an international context and finds qualified support: momentum profits exist only in the up market but this holds for only two of three market state classifications based on past returns. A further test using lagged world industrial production growth to classify market states largely supports the proposition, although (statistically insignificant) profits also arise in the down market.
Nietzsche, Virtue, and the Horror of Existence

It has been argued that Nietzsche is committed to a virtue ethic.1 Solomon, for example, claims that Nietzsche is more like Aristotle than Kant. Aristotle's ethics, he holds, is not one of rules an...
Structure-cell data and expansion coefficients of bismuth telluride

Accurate measurements of the structure-cell parameters of bismuth telluride, Bi2Te3, have been made using annealed powders and etched rods cut from single-crystal ingots. Previously reported anomalies in the X-ray powder intensity data are found to originate entirely in preferred orientation of the crystallites. A study of the thermal expansion of the unit cell over the temperature range -195 to 400° C has revealed a marked anisotropy between the axial expansion coefficients, that for the c axis (22.2 × 10-6 per °C at 20° C) being almost twice that for the a axis (12.9 × 10-6). Near 200° C changes occur in both the principal axial expansions, comparable with those observed at low temperatures in certain hexagonal metal structures.
Candida Biofilms: Is Adhesion Sexy?

The development of Candida albicans biofilms requires two types of adhesion molecule - the Als proteins and Hwp1. Mutational analyses have recently revealed that these molecules play complementary roles, and their characteristics suggest that they may have evolved from primitive mating agglutinins.
PEACH: a model for performance and energy aware cooperative hybrid computing

Accelerator-based heterogeneous systems become increasingly important to high performance computing because of their potentials to deliver high performance and energy efficiency. To fully realize this potential, parallel software must utilize both host processors and accelerators' computing power and power-aware capabilities. We develop PEACH, a model for Performance and Energy Aware Cooperative Hybrid computing. PEACH explores judicious workload distribution between hosts and accelerators and intelligent energy-aware scheduling for further performance and energy efficiency gains on heterogenous systems. With a few system- and application-dependent parameters, PEACH accurately captures the performance and energy impact of workload distribution and energy-aware scheduling.
Automated real-time search and analysis algorithms for a non-contact 3D profiling system

The purpose of this research is to develop a new means of identifying and extracting geometrical feature statistics from a non-contact precision-measurement 3D profilometer. Autonomous algorithms have been developed to search through large-scale Cartesian point clouds to identify and extract geometrical features. These algorithms are developed with the intent of providing real-time production quality control of cold-rolled steel wires. The steel wires in question are prestressing steel reinforcement wires for concrete members. The geometry of the wire is critical in the performance of the overall concrete structure. For this research a custom 3D non-contact profilometry system has been developed that utilizes laser displacement sensors for submicron resolution surface profiling. Optimizations in the control and sensory system allow for data points to be collected at up to an approximate 400,000 points per second. In order to achieve geometrical feature extraction and tolerancing with this large volume of data, the algorithms employed are optimized for parsing large data quantities. The methods used provide a unique means of maintaining high resolution data of the surface profiles while keeping algorithm running times within practical bounds for industrial application. By a combination of regional sampling, iterative search, spatial filtering, frequency filtering, spatial clustering, and template matching a robust feature identification method has been developed. These algorithms provide an autonomous means of verifying tolerances in geometrical features. The key method of identifying the features is through a combination of downhill simplex and geometrical feature templates. By performing downhill simplex through several procedural programming layers of different search and filtering techniques, very specific geometrical features can be identified within the point cloud and analyzed for proper tolerancing. Being able to perform this quality control in real time provides significant opportunities in cost savings in both equipment protection and waste minimization.
Dynamic mechanical and dielectric relaxation characteristics of poly(trimethylene terephthalate)

Abstract The dynamic mechanical and dielectric relaxation properties of a commercial poly(trimethylene terephthalate) [PTT] have been investigated for both quenched and isothermally melt-crystallized specimen films. The relaxation characteristics of PTT were consistent with those of other low-crystallinity semiflexible polymers, e.g. PET and PEEK. While the sub-glass relaxation was largely unperturbed by the presence of the crystalline phase, both calorimetric and broadband dielectric measurements across the glass transition indicated the existence of a sizeable rigid amorphous phase (RAP) fraction in melt-crystallized PTT owing to the constraining influence of the crystal surfaces over the crystal–amorphous interphase region. A strong increase in measured dielectric relaxation intensity (Δ ɛ ) with temperature above T g indicated the progressive mobilization of the RAP material, as well as an overall loss of correlation amongst the responding dipoles.
A Fast Method for Electronic Band Structure Calculations

Band structure calculation provides a basis for the study of thermal, optical and magnetic properties of crystals. The reduced Bloch mode expansion (RBME) method is a model reduction method in which a selected set of Bloch eigenvectors within the irreducible Brillouin zone at high symmetry points are used to expand the unit cell problem at hand. In this method, a major reduction in computational cost is achieved with minimum loss of accuracy. The method applies to both classical and ab inito band structure calculations of periodic media, and to any type of wave propagation problem: phononic, photonic, electronic, etc. In this work, the applicability of RBME in calculating the three-dimensional (3D) electronic band structure for crystal structures with different symmetries is demonstrated. Using the Kronig-Penney fixed potential, a high-symmetry cubic model and a low-symmetry triclinic model are considered. For both cases, the energy (eigenvalues) and wave functions (eigenvectors) demonstrate very good convergence performance with the number of expansion points.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
ERRATA: FERMIONIC AND BOSONIC SELF-ORGANIZED NETWORKS: A REPRESENTATION OF QUANTUM STATISTICS

A new class of self organized networks is described that is relevant to understand the emerging order in a large number of complex systems such as biological systems, the web, and heterogeneous phases in high Tc superconductors. The Bose and Fermi quantum distributions are shown to be the right tool to describe the two extreme limit distributions, the scale-free and the Cayley-tree network respectively. The new class of self-organized networks is described by a 'mixed' quantum distribution. Here the bosonic and fermionic types of self organization coexists, maintaining the same 'ergodic' nature.
Application of Real-time Particle Sensors to Help Mitigate Exposures of Wildland Firefighters

High particulate exposures have been demonstrated to decrease lung function among firefighters. In this article, the authors demonstrated the feasibility of using small real-time particle sensors to inform wildland firefighters so they may make informed decisions on the use of personal respiratory protection. Using 1 mg/m3 as an indicator point for use of appropriately designed respiratory protection, such sensors could help prevent 16% to 74% of particulate exposure during prescribed burns when firefighters assess exposure as low or medium. Adherence to such a guideline for the use of respiratory protection would involve its deployment during 3% to 22% of individual 8-hour shifts. In addition, data-logging sensors would provide a valuable tool for tracking exposure to particulates among wildland firefighters for occupational health monitoring.
Marital Satisfaction and Pain Severity Mediate the Association between Negative Spouse Responses to Pain and Depressive Symptoms in a Chronic Pain Patient Sample

Objective. The current study investigated marital satisfaction and pain severity as mediators of the relationship between spouse responses to pain and depressive symptoms. The study also investigated possible gender differences in these relationships. Patients and Setting. This study included 165 married patients with chronic pain who were evaluated and treated at a comprehensive pain and rehabilitation center. Design. Patients completed several questionnaires, including the West Haven-Yale Multidimensional Pain Inventory, Beck Depression Inventory, and the Marital Adjustment Test. Results. Analyses were conducted separately for male and female patients. Correlational analyses revealed several gender differences in the associations among marital functioning, pain severity, and depressive symptoms. In addition, path analyses suggested that more frequent negative spouse responses to pain were associated with increased pain severity and decreased marital satisfaction, which were linked to increased depressive symptoms. Similar results were found for male and female chronic pain patients in terms of multivariate relationships. Conclusions. The current results suggest that marital therapy aimed at improving communication and coping skills may be an appropriate treatment for depression and pain in married chronic pain patients, regardless of sex.
Location Effects and the Determination of Beginning Teacher Salaries: Evidence from Ohio

This paper provides a new treatment of district location in modeling the determinants of teacher salaries by incorporating the methodology of spatial econometrics. Using a location weighting variable, we examine how starting teacher salaries in one district are influenced by other districts' starting salaries in the region. We find that a $1 increase in average beginning teacher salaries of a district's neighbors generates an own salary increase in average teacher salaries ranging from $0.51 to $0.96. In order to completely account for the spillover effects present, the specification of the location variable must incorporate both the size and distance of neighboring districts.
Modifier effects on the properties and structures of aluminophosphate glasses

Abstract Properties and structures of potassium, barium and magnesium alumino-metaphosphate glasses (O/P≈3) have been investigated. Adding Al(PO3)3 to an alkali or alkaline earth metaphosphate glass improves the chemical durability, increases the glass transition temperature and reduces thermal expansion and residual OH-content. Infrared spectra are dominated by metaphosphate vibrational modes, the frequencies of which are dependent on the field strengths of the modifying cations. 27 Al MAS NMR spectroscopy indicates that aluminum ions are incorporated into the aluminophosphate network primarily in octahedral sites, although tetrahedral and pentahedral sites are also present. The average aluminum co-ordination number decreases in the series K+>Ba2+>Mg2+ and this is related to a reduction in the basicity of glasses with higher field strength modifiers.
Invited response to K. Ryan's comments on Coltrain et al. (2004) and Coltrain (2009): Is Native Point " Burial 21" Dorset in age; were historic-era burials European in origin and how important were caribou in Sadlermiut diets?

Abstract This is an invited to response to K. Ryan’s comments on Coltrain et al. (2004) and Coltrain (2009) . Both publications present stable isotope data and AMS radiocarbon dates on a suite of eastern Arctic burials from three sites in north-western Hudson Bay. In these articles, we examined the importance of bowhead whaling among Thule foragers at Silimiut and Kamarvik and contrasted their subsistence strategies with those of the proto-historic Sadlermiut, using the stable and radio-isotope chemistry of purified bone collagen to monitor variability in resource acquisition over time. Ryan dismisses a Dorset-era radiocarbon date on a burial collected by Collins from the T-1 site asserting that a single radiocarbon measurement is not a reliable indicator of age and thus the burial is Sadlermiut not Dorset. She also contests our assessment that two historic-era individuals in the Sadlermiut mortuary assemblage were either European or consumed diets relatively high in European foods. Ryan further argues that our reconstruction of protohistoric Sadlermiut diets is not in keeping with the archaeofaunal record. Her primary concern is a perceived lack of agreement between a subset of our findings and the archaeological record.
Vertebral artery dissection causing an acute C5 radiculopathy

A 32-year-old mechanic developed severe left neck pain at work. Two days later, he experienced left arm weakness, particularly shoulder and elbow flexion; after another 2 days, he noted numbness at the left jaw angle. Examination revealed weakness in the C5 myotome and absent biceps reflex, but no facial or jaw numbness.
Perturbation of β1 integrin-mediated adhesions results in altered somite cell shape and behavior

Abstract Cell contact and adhesion between somites and the axial extracellular matrix (ECM) is likely to play a fundamental role in vertebrate development. In a preliminary report we showed that injection of the monoclonal antibody CSAT, which recognizes the avian β1 integrins, causes a lateral separation of both somites and segmental plate tissue from the embryonic axis ( Drake and Little, 1991 ). In this study we addressed the cell biological response to CSAT injection, particularly the cell-ECM interactions involved in maintaining normal somite-axial relationships. A total of 150 stage 7–10 quail embryos have been injected with CSAT and then cultured for varying periods (1–30 hr). CSAT caused somitic cells to behave abnormally. Changes include, rounding-up, extensive blebbing, and formation of retraction fibers. A majority of separated somites were able to assume normal axial position with further time in culture. Whether a somite subsequently aligned at the axis was dependent on the amount of CSAT injected and the postinjection culture period. Embryos in which somites remained separated from the axis after relatively long culture intervals (18–24 hr) displayed abnormal sclerotomal cell migrations. In no case did control injected embryos exhibit cellular alterations. Similarly, the injection of RGD-containing peptides had no detectable effect on somitogenesis or somite/segmental plate adhesion to the axis. On the basis of these data, we conclude that β1 integrins are necessary for normal somitic cell adhesions to the axis, but not somite segmentation and differentiation.
Influence of the process-induced asymmetry on the accuracy of overlay measurements

In the current paper we are addressing three questions relevant for accuracy: 1. Which target design has the best performance and depicts the behavior of the actual device? 2. Which metrology signal characteristics could help to distinguish between the target asymmetry related overlay shift and the real process related shift? 3. How does uncompensated asymmetry of the reference layer target, generated during after-litho processes, affect the propagation of overlay error through different layers? We are presenting the correlation between simulation data based on the optical properties of the measured stack and KLA-Tencor’s Archer overlay measurements on a 28nm product through several critical layers for those accuracy aspects.
Analytical modeling of material flow in equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE)

Abstract We provide analytical forms for the plastic deformation and velocity gradients associated with a single pass of equal channel angular extrusion (ECAE). Three cases of plastic deformation are considered: ideal simple shear, a plastic deformation zone (PDZ) in the shape of a central fan of angle β m , and a two-part PDZ consisting of a central fan in the ‘upper’ region and a low intensity shear deformation in the ‘lower’ region. The analysis for simple shear considers a general die angle Φ , whereas the other two cases only consider Φ =90°. The tensors for deformation and velocity gradients completely describe the deformation, such as the directions and magnitudes of material stretching and rotations. From this analysis, one can calculate deformation and texture evolution. Texture evolution during flow through the central fan zone involves continuous rotation of the texture components causing the texture developed at the end of the extrusion to be rotated relative to the ideal simple shear case. The analysis of the two-part zone suggests inhomogeneity in texture evolution, in which features of the initial texture are retained and rotated in the lower region, while they are nearly erased in the upper region. These analytical flow patterns for a single pass can be repeatedly applied for any number of passes of any ECAE route.
On tensor categories of Lie Type EN,N≠9☆

Let V be the minuscule representation of the Lie algebra g(EN), N=6,7. We show that the centralizer of the action of the quantum group Uqg(EN) on V⊗n is generated by the R-matrices and one additional element, appearing in the (N−1)st tensor power; a similar description can be given for the classical limit. An analogous statement is true for a certain direct summand of V⊗n for Uqg(EN) with N>5,N≠9; here V is the module whose highest weight is the fundamental weight labeled by the vertex furthest from the triple point of the graph EN. Moreover, we obtain a 2-parameter family of braid representations generalizing a q-version of the Brauer centralizer algebras.
Pulmonary Kaposi's Sarcoma: Clinical Findings and Results of Therapy

In a single-blind, placebo-controlled randomized trial, 100 successive patients were enrolled with serious skin and soft-tissue infections, whose illnesses had precipitated an initial hospital admission or an extension of inpatient care. There were 93 evaluable patients who received either ofloxacin, 400 mg orally every 12 hours plus an intravenously administered placebo every eight hours, or cefotaxime, 2.0 g intravenously every eight hours plus an orally administered placebo every 12 hours. The average length of therapy was 12 days. Both patient groups had similar demographics and underlying conditions. Wound infection was the most common diagnosis, followed by abscess, cellulitis, and trophic ulcer. Multiple pathogens were commonly isolated from infected sites (1.4 pathogens/patient). The most common pathogen was Staphylococcus aureus, followed by Escherichia coli, Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcescens, Proteus/Providencia spp., and Enterobacter spp. Persistence of the initial pathogen at the end of therapy was observed in 22.5 percent of the cefotaxime-treated group, but in only 10 percent of the ofloxacin-treated group. There was one clinical failure in the cefotaxime group, caused by a susceptible strain of Enterobacter cloacae, and there was one clinical failure in the ofloxacin group, in which the patient had an Acinetobacter calcoaceticus var. anitratus wound infection and subsequently developed a P. aeruginosa superinfection. Adverse experiences, including rash, insomnia, and nausea, occurred in 16 percent of the patients in each group. It was concluded that oral ofloxacin is as safe and efficacious as parenteral cefotaxime in the treatment of serious skin and skin structure infections.
Flourescence and Temperature Measurements in an Actively Forced Swirl-Stabilized Spray Combustor

The effect of synchronized liquid fuel injection into combustion zones within excited air vortices in a small-scale model of a swirl-stabilized combustor was studied using planar laser induced fluorescence (PLIF) imaging of OH. Both the liquid fuel stream and airstream were forced at a normalized frequency of approximately 6. Air vortices were produced by acoustically forcing the airstream. The liquid fuel was modulated at the same frequency and injected at different phase angles relative to the air vortex formation. Air was forced at two levels, and both nonswirling and swirling flow situations (swirl number of 0.3) were considered. Instantaneous and phase-averaged PLIF images of OH and time-averaged temperature measurements were obtained for different phase differences between the two forcing signals. The PLIF images indicated that with forcing there was an increase in the radial distribution of the reaction zones and a decrease in the height of the flame above the nozzle exit for both nonswirling and swirling conditions. Swirl also produced better mixing along the radial direction for low forcing amplitudes. The phase difference between the two forcing signals produced a significant change in the reaction zones particularly at a low-forcing level and with swirl. The single-shot and phase-averaged PLIF images indicated that in the unforced swirling flow, high OH concentrations were obtained in two regions: an inner brush flame region and an outer flame-sheet-type region. The effect of the outer shear layer on combustion was enhanced by swirl, as the swirl increased the droplet dispersion away from the axis. With forcing, the mixing between the inner and outer regions is enhanced, and the time-averaged OH concentrations show that the primary combustion occurs in the inner core region of the flame.
A radially cracked, cylindrical fracture toughness specimen

Abstract A new fracture toughness specimen in the shape of a hollow circular cylinder has been characterized, allowing more economical and representative use of as-formed cylinders in toughness tests. Several configurations of a cylinder with radial cracks parallel to the axis of revolution are described with respect to crack mouth compliance and stress intensity factor. Specimen geometries useful for fracture toughness tests are analyzed in detail, based on results derived from finite-element codes. Results of experiments using 707S-T6 aluminum and uranium alloys of known toughness showed good agreement with the analytical results.
Prevention of cataracts by statins: a meta-analysis.

Background:Current data indicate a persisting concern about possible cataractogenecity of statins.Objective:To perform a meta-analysis of studies pertaining to statins and cataract.Methods:We identified 363 records by a systematic search of the MedLine, Web of Knowledge, Cochrane database, and ClinicalTrials.gov. After exclusion of duplicates, studies without cataract as an outcome, reviews, and animal or basic science studies, we analyzed 14 studies. Two end points were examined: clinical cataract (requiring extraction or reported by the patient) and lens opacities discovered by slit-lamp examination.Results:Using random effects meta-analysis, a statistically significant decrease in cataracts with statins was observed among studies examining clinical cataract (odds ratio [OR] 0.81, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.71-0.93, P = .0022). Absolute risk reduction was 1.4% ± 0.015%, 95% CI 1.1%-1.7%, P < .0001, corresponding to 71, 95% CI 59-91, number needed to treat. The effect was larger for the harder end po...
Directionality of the fibre c-axis of cellulose crystallites in microfibrils of Valonia ventricosa

Abstract The directionality of the c -axis (fibre axis) of the cellulose crystallites in the cell wall of Valonia ventricosa has been elucidated using tilt experiments, electron diffraction in selected areas and micro-diffraction on ultrathin sections. It is shown that each lamella of the cell wall contains the two directions ‘up and down’ for the c -axis, while for one single microfibril, this c -axis is unidirectional, as for a single crystal. A direct consequence of this last result is that the 3.5 nm elementary microfibrils, which are generally thought to be the basic morphological units of plant cell walls, can be considered to occur as separate entities within a microfibril of Valonia ventricosa only if they have the same sense and the defects at the boundaries are small.
The 37Cl(3He, α)36Cl reaction and the 36S ground state analog

Abstract The 37 Cl( 3 He, α) 36 Cl reaction has been studied using a 15 MeV 3 He beam. Some 34 states up to 12.2 MeV excitation energy were observed. Angular distributions were measured for 11 states and compared with DWBA predictions in order to yield spectroscopic information. The 36 S ground state analog was identified at 4.33 MeV excitation energy from which the Coulomb displacement energy for the pair 36 Cl- 36 S was calculated to be 6.25 MeV.
1-Alkoxyamino-1-deoxy alditols, useful u.v.-absorbing derivatives of neutral and acidic oligosaccharides

Abstract The feasibility of using 1-alkoxyamino-1-deoxy alditol derivatives to facilitate the purification and structural characterization of oligosaccharides was examined. 1-Benzyloxyamino-1-deoxy, 1-deoxy-1- p -nitrobenzyloxyamino, and 1-deoxy-1-[4-( p -nitrophenyl)butoxyamino] alditol derivatives of mono- and oligo-saccharides were prepared by reduction of the corresponding O -substituted oximes with sodium cyanoborohydride. The 1-alkoxyamino-1-deoxy alditol derivatives were separated by h.p.l.c. and characterized by 1 H-n.m.r. spectroscopy and f.a.b.-m.s. Per- O -methylation of the 1-benzyloxyamino-1-deoxy and 1-deoxy-1- p -nitrobenzyloxyamino alditol derivatives resulted in the elimination of a benzaldehyde moiety and formation of a quaternary ammonium salt. The positive mode f.a.b. mass spectra of these cationic per- O -methylated derivatives of oligosaccharides included very intense molecular ion signals, suggesting the possibility of a significant reduction in the amount of per- O -methylated oligosaccharide required for f.a.b.-m.s. analysis. Because the ionic nature of the derivatives hinders their analysis by g.c.-m.s. a new reagent, 4-( p -nitrophenyl)butoxyamine, was synthesized and used to prepare the 1-deoxy-1-[4-( p -nitrophenyl)butoxyamino] alditol derivatives of several mono- and oligo-saccharides. These could be separated by h.p.l.c., with detection by u.v. absorption, and they were stable under O -methylation conditions. The per- O -methylated derivatives of oligosaccharides can be analyzed by e.i.-m.s. as well as f.a.b.-m.s. O -Methylated 1-deoxy-1-[4-( p -nitrophenyl)butoxyamino] alditol derivatives of monosaccharides are amenable to processing by g.c.—m.s., allowing standard methylation analysis of derivatized oligosaccharides to be performed. Thus, the separation and structural analysis of oligosaccharides are facilitated by the physical and chemical properties (u.v. absorption, ease of separation by h.p.l.c., stability to methylation and hydrolysis conditions, and ease of analysis by g.c.—m.s. and f.a.b.-m.s.) imparted to oligosaccharides by forming the 1-deoxy-1-[4-( p -nitrophenyl)butoxyamino] alditol derivatives.
Estimation of gallbladder ejection fraction utilizing cholecystokinin-stimulated magnetic resonance cholangiography and comparison with hepatobiliary scintigraphy.

Purpose To evaluate the utility of magnetic resonance cholangiography (MRC) in estimation of gallbladder ejection fraction (GBEF) and to comparing this value to the conventional method, hepatobiliary scintigraphy (HBS). Materials and Methods Twenty-one healthy volunteers were imaged on sequential weeks to determine GBEF using MRC and HBS. GBEF was calculated by HBS after infusion of 20 ng/kg of sincalide following injection of 111 Mbq of Tc 99m mebrofenin. For estimation by MRC, imaging of the gallbladder was performed before and after slow infusion of sincalide every 5 minutes, for a total of 60 minutes. Gallbladder imaging was performed using a heavily T2-weighted 2D fast spin echo (FSE) sequence. Data was analyzed using a variance component analysis technique. Results Mean GBEF by HBS was 65.7%, with an SD of ±27.3%. Mean GBEF by MRC was 62.7%, with an SD of ± 20.4%. If minimum normal GBEF is set at 35%, two of the cases showed discordance, with HBS calculating an abnormally low average GBEF compared to MRC. Additionally, two cases showed abnormally low GBEF for both modalities. The coefficient of correlation between HBS and MRC was 0.72. Inter- and intraobserver variance is acceptable within the two modalities with <1.1% variation. Conclusion GBEF can be calculated with MRC, yielding similar values when a group of volunteers are considered. Further study with symptomatic patients is needed to determine the validity of this technique for clinical diagnosis. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2002;15:75–81. © 2002 Wiley–Liss, Inc.
Plasmapheresis treatment in Guillain-Barré syndrome: potential benefit over IVIg in patients with axonal involvement.

Abstract: Response to therapeutic plasma exchange (TPE) was evaluated in patients diagnosed with Guillain–Barre Syndrome (GBS). Our aim was to assess response to TPE in patients who had failed treatment with intravenous immune globulin (IVIg). We conducted a retrospective chart review of 10 patients with the diagnosis of Guillain–Barre Syndrome who required TPE. Patients were identified by reviewing data from log books for TPE at The University of Connecticut Health Center, Farmington CT, USA. Patients who had failed IVIg treatment prior to being referred for TPE were also identified. Eight out of 10 patients treated with TPE showed improvement in their neurological exam. Four patients had axonal involvement on electromyelogram (EMG). Three patients were referred for TPE after failing IVIg treatment. All three of these had axonal involvement on EMG. Three of the four patients with axonal involvement demonstrated improvement with TPE. TPE may be a superior treatment option as compared to IVIg in patients with GBS and EMG findings of axonal involvement.
The educational transformation of work: towards a new synthesis

Formal education not only educates individuals, it reconstitutes the very foundations of society through a pervasive culture of education with a legitimate capacity to reconstruct work and its cent...
Sensitization of Photoconduction in Polymers

Abstract Photoconductivity can be induced in most materials by employing radiation in an appropriate region of the electromagnetic spectrum. The radiation has to be sufficiently energetic to promote electronic transitions in the material, this being the first step in photoconduction phenomena. Thus, high-energy radiation, such as x rays and gamma rays, produces “photoconductivity,” i.e., conductivity induced by absorbed photons, in most materials. As the photon energy decreases through the UV, visible, and IR regions, many materials fail to respond when the photon energy becomes too small to excite the lowest lying electronic transitions in the material. As a class, many easily fabricated polymers have their lowest energy electronic transitions in the UV and vacuum-UV region of the electromagnetic spectrum. Polymers having electronic transitions in the visible region are often intractable and not readily fabricated into films and other useful forms. Consequently, much attention has been given to “sensitiz...
Prostate carcinogenesis and inflammation: Emerging insights

Prostate cancer remains a significant health concern for men throughout the world. Recently, there has developed an expanding multidisciplinary body of literature suggesting a link between chronic inflammation and prostate cancer. In support of this hypothesis, population studies have found an increased relative risk of prostate cancer in men with a prior history of certain sexually transmitted infections or prostatitis. Furthermore, genetic epidemiological data have implicated germline variants of several genes associated with the immunological aspects of inflammation in modulating prostate cancer risk. The molecular pathogenesis of prostate cancer has been characterized by somatic alterations of genes involved in defenses against inflammatory damage and in tissue recovery. A novel putative prostate cancer precursor lesion, proliferative inflammatory atrophy, which shares some molecular traits with prostate intraepithelial neoplasia and prostate cancer, has been characterized. Here, we review the evidence associating chronic inflammation and prostate cancer and consider a number of animal models of prostate inflammation that should allow the elucidation of the mechanisms by which prostatic inflammation could lead to the initiation and progression of prostate cancer. These emerging insights into chronic inflammation in the etiology of prostate carcinogenesis hold the promise of spawning new diagnostic and therapeutic modalities for men with prostate cancer.
Notes On Behavior Modification

The author reviews 3 topics featured in his first Behavior Modification column: pupil management, social validation, and nondiscriminatory testing. Two new topics are also discussed: data and decisions, and program evaluation. As for the first, a few studies are reviewed which suggest that pupils' performance is aided when teachers use graphs to make instructional decisions. As for the second topic, a study is summarized to illustrate how direct and daily measurement may be arranged to evaluate and compare instructional programs.