cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitative Analysis of Immunoglobulin G Subclasses in the Rat

Abstract Quantitative ELISAs have been developed for the four immunoglobulin G (IgG) subclasses (IgG1, IgG2a, IgG2b and IgG2c) of the rat. These assays were shown to have excellent sensitivity, reproducibility and adequate specificity for studies of natural IgG and antigen-elicited IgG responses. The sensitivity (working range for each isotype assay) was: IgG1, 1.6 to 200 ng/ml; IgG2a, 8 to 200 ng/ml; IgG2b, 1.6 to 200 ng/ml; and IgG2c, 1.6 to 1000 ng/ml. The isotype sum and the direct assay of total plasma IgG agreed closely. The utility of these assays was demonstrated in a study of the development of total IgG and of the specific IgG response following immunization with tetanus toxoid (TT). For total IgG, the predominant isotype was IgG2b (64% of total IgG) followed by IgG2a (29%), IgG1 (4%) and IgG2c (3%). In contrast, the anti-TT response was mainly of the IgG1 subclass (57% of total anti-TT). These quantitative assays should prove useful for investigating the response to experimental vaccines and th...
Mechanisms of hemostatic failure during laparoscopic nephrectomy: review of Food and Drug Administration database.

Objectives To compare the complications with endovascular stapling devices, nonlocking titanium clips, and nonabsorbable polymer ligating (Hem-o-lok) clips during laparoscopic nephrectomy. Methods The Food and Drug Administration Manufacturer and User Facility Device Experience Database was retrospectively reviewed for reports dated from January 1992 to March 2006 using the key words "nephrectomy" and "kidney." All episodes of pure and hand-assisted laparoscopic nephrectomy were evaluated. Results Of 2172 total nephrectomy or kidney-related reports, 352 reported failure using laparoscopic hemostatic devices to secure the renal vasculature, and 223 complications (63%) resulted during the use of endovascular stapling devices, 111 (33%) from nonlocking titanium clips and 18 (5%) from locking clips. The leading causes of failure reported in stapling devices were staple line malformation (47%) and locking up (29%). In titanium clips, jamming/feeding difficulties (27%) and trouble closing or "scissoring" clips (26%) were the most common. In locking clips, dislodgement (44%) was most frequently reported. Three, one, and three deaths were reported after the use of the stapling device, titanium clip, and locking clip device, respectively. Conclusions All three methods used to secure the renal hilum in laparoscopic nephrectomy can result in malfunction. Because the overall denominator of use is not known, it would be inappropriate to conclude that one device is safer than another. When they occurred, these device malfunctions were potentially serious. Knowledge of the possible mechanisms of failure seen with each device could allow surgeons to anticipate potential complications and, therefore, perform laparoscopic surgery more safely.
Time dependent theory for random lasers

A model to simulate the phenomenon of random lasing is presented. It couples Maxwell's equations with the rate equations of electronic population in a disordered system. Finite difference time domain methods are used to obtain the field pattern and the spectra of localized lasing modes inside the system. A critical pumping rate ${P}_{r}^{c}$ exists for the appearance of the lasing peaks. The number of lasing modes increases with the pumping rate and the length of the system. There is a lasing mode repulsion. This property leads to a saturation of the number of modes for a given size system and a relation between the localization length $\ensuremath{\xi}$ and average mode length ${L}_{m}$.
Kinetics, mechanisms, and synthesis studies of difunctional aminopropyl terminated polydimethylsiloxane oligomers

Polymerisation d'octamethylcyclotetrasiloxane amorcee par des siloxanolates en presence de bis(amino-3 propyl)-1,3 tetramethyldisiloxane
Development and Testing of Spent Shale Grouts for Backfilling Abandoned In-Situ Oil Shale Retorts

Grouts based on Lurgi spent shale were developed for backfilling in-situ oil shale retorts. Lignosulfonate fluidizer (0.25%) was used to achieve adequate fluidity. Addition of 10% fly ash increased the strength of the grouts. Permeabilities of the grouts decreased at higher confining pressures and were low enough to reduce leaching by groundwater.
Initiation of chemistry in molecular solids by processes involving electronic excited states

Abstract This article presents a description of the initiation of chemistry in molecular solids by laser excitation under high-pressure conditions. An experimental and theoretical study on the initiation of cyclotrimethylene triamine (RDX) suggests that the initiation process involve electronically excited states. Ab initio calculations on RDX crystals including vacancies and edge dislocations are used to provide an interpretation of the measured RDX initiation properties at pressures up to 5.0 GPa and laser fluences between 1.0 and 10 J/cm 2 .
Responses of pigeon vestibular hair cells to cholinergic agonists and antagonists.

Abstract Acetylcholine (ACh) is the major neurotransmitter released from vestibular efferent terminals onto hair cells and afferents. Previous studies indicate that the two classes of acetylcholine receptors, nicotinic (nAChRs) and muscarinic receptors (mAChRs), are expressed by vestibular hair cells (VHCs). To identify if both classes of receptors are present in VHCs, whole cell, voltage-clamp- and current-clamp-patch recordings were performed on isolated pigeon vestibular type I and type II HCs during the application of the cholinergic agonists, acetylcholine and carbachol, and the cholinergic antagonists, d -tubocurarine and atropine. By applying in different combinations, these compounds were used to selectively activate either nAChRs or mAChRs. The effects of nAChR and mAChR activation on HC currents and zero electrode current potential ( V z ) were monitored. It was found that presumed mAChR activation decreased both inward and outward currents in both type I and type II HCs, resulting in either a depolarization or hyperpolarization. Conversely, nAChR activation mainly increased both inward and outward currents in type II HCs, resulting in a hyperpolarization of their V z . nAChR activation also increased outward currents in type I HCs resulting in either a depolarization or hyperpolarization of their V z . The decrease of inward and outward currents and the depolarization of the V z in type I pigeon HCs by activation of mAChRs represents a new finding. Ion channel candidates in pigeon vestibular HCs that might underlie the modulation of the macroscopic ionic currents and V z by different AChR activation are discussed.
A micromorphic electromagnetic theory

Abstract This work is concerned with the determination of both macroscopic and microscopic deformations, motions, stresses, as well as electromagnetic fields developed in the material body due to external loads of thermal, mechanical, and electromagnetic origins. The balance laws of mass, microinertia, linear momentum, moment of momentum, energy, and entropy for microcontinuum are integrated with the Maxwell’s equations. The constitutive theory is constructed. The finite element formulation of micromorphic electromagnetic physics is also presented. The physical meanings of various terms in the constitutive equations are discussed.
Solving the Structure of Size-Selected Pt Nanocatalysts Synthesized by Inverse Micelle Encapsulation

The structure, size, and shape of γ-Al2O3-supported Pt nanoparticles (NPs) synthesized by inverse micelle encapsulation have been resolved via a synergistic combination of imaging and spectroscopic tools. It is shown that this synthesis method leads to 3D NP shapes even for subnanometer clusters, in contrast to the raft-like structures obtained for the same systems via traditional deposition-precipitation methods. Furthermore, a high degree of atomic ordering is observed for the micellar NPs in H2 atmosphere at all sizes studied, possibly due to H-induced surface reconstruction in these high surface area clusters. Our findings demonstrate that the influence of NP/support interactions on NP structure can be diminished in favor of NP/adsorbate interactions when NP catalysts are prepared by micelle encapsulation methods.
A more direct proof of the minimum variance property of the linear weighted least-squares estimator

A simple and direct proof of the minimum variance property of the linear weighted least-squares estimator is presented.
RHIZOSPHERE BACTERIAL POPULATION RESPONSES TO ROOT COLONIZATION BY A VESICULAR-ARBUSCULAR MYCORRH1ZAL FUNGUS *†

Summary A mixture of bacteria and a vesicular-arbuscular mycorrhizal fungus isolated from field-collected sods of blue grama (Bouteloua gracilis (H.B.K.) Griffiths) were tested for their interaction in the rhizosphere of pot-grown blue grama plants. Populations of the inoculated bacterial species and actinomycete populations, as influenced by the presence or absence of Glomus mosseae (Nicol. and Gerd.) Gerdemann and Trappe, were enumerated by dilution plate counts from rhizosphere and non-rhizosphere soil samples. Total bacterial counts and the population of one bacterial species in the non-rhizosphere soil of pots containing plants were significantly greater than in soil of pots without plants. The population of two bacterial species and actinomycetes were not significantly different in the non-rhizosphere soil of both mycorrhizal and non-mycorrhizal plant treatments when compared to the soil of pots without plants. In the rhizosphere of mycorrhizal plants, the total bacterial population and colony counts of one of the four bacterial isolates, when expressed as colony-forming units (CFU) per gram of root dry weight, were significantly reduced compared with controls. The numbers of CFU per gram of rhizosphere soil of one bacterial species were significantly increased by the presence of the mycorrhizal fungus. Although no significant negative correlation was observed between populations of bacterial species in the rhizosphere soils, significant positive correlations between specific bacterial populations depended on whether or not the roots were mycorrhizal.
Cascading failures in complex infrastructure systems

This paper studies the effect of cascading failures in the risk and reliability assessment of complex infrastructure systems. Conventional reliability assessment for these systems is limited to finding paths between predefined components and does not include the effect of increased flow demand or flow capacity. Network flows are associated with congestion-based disruptions which can worsen path-based predictions of performance. In this research, overloads due to cascading failures are modeled with a tolerance parameter α that measures network element flow capacity relative to flow demands in practical power transmission systems. Natural hazards and malevolent targeted disruptions constitute the triggering events that evolve into widespread failures due to flow redistribution. It is observed that improvements in network component tolerance alone do not ensure system robustness or protection against disproportionate cascading failures. Topological changes are needed to increase cascading robustness at realistic tolerance levels. Interestingly, targeted topological disruptions of a small fraction of network components can affect system-level performance more severely than earthquake or lightning events that trigger similar fractions of element failure. Also, regardless of the nature of the hazards, once the triggering events that disrupt the networks under investigation occur, the additional loss of performance due to cascading failures can be orders of magnitude larger than the initial loss of performance. These results reinforce the notion that managing the risk of network unavailability requires a combination of redundant topology, increased flow carrying capacity, and other non-conventional consequence reduction strategies, such as layout homogenization and the deliberate inclusion of weak links for network islanding. Furthermore, accepted ideas that rare loss of performance events occur exponentially less frequent as the performance reduction intensifies contrast with more frequent network vulnerabilities that result from initial hazard-induced failures and subsequent cascading-induced failure effects. These compound hazard-cascading detrimental effects can have profound implications on infrastructure failure prevention strategies.
Injection of Oort cloud comets to the inner Solar System by galactic tidal fields

Les nuages interstellaires et les marees galactiques contribuent a l'equilibre du Nuage de Oort, dont on etudie la dynamique
High Pressure Arcs in Common Gases in Free Convection

An oscillographic method is described for measuring the electric gradient $E$ (volts ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}1}$), current density $I$ (amp. ${\mathrm{cm}}^{\ensuremath{-}2}$), total voltage $e$ (volts) as a function of current $i$ in the discharge. The method is applied to arcs in the 0-10-ampere range under conditions of free convection in ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$, A, and He in the 1-50-atmosphere pressure range, and to air, C${\mathrm{O}}_{2}$, and steam at atmospheric pressure. The exponent $n$ and $B$ in $E={\mathrm{Bi}}^{\ensuremath{-}n}$ are determined for these cases. The range of $n$ is $0.54lnl0.73$, and some dependence on pressure is observed. The exponent $m$ in $E={B}_{0}{p}^{m}$ is measured for ${\mathrm{N}}_{2}$, ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}$, He, and A, and is found to be 0.31, 0.32, 0.20, and 0.16, respectively, with some dependence on current. The method is applied to arcs between electrodes of a number of common metals in air.
Radiographic findings in type 3 b Gaucher disease

The purpose of this paper is to describe the radiographic findings in type 3 b Gaucher disease, a chronic neuronopathic form of the illness with severe systemic manifestations. Between 1980 and 1985 17 consecutive patients were evaluated with radiography of the chest, long bones and spine, CT of the head and chest, abdominal sonography, and MRI of the head, abdomen and spine. Clinical manifestations were severe, and led to death from hepatic, pulmonary or cardiac failure in nine patients. Type 3 b Gaucher disease shares the same spectrum of radiographic findings observed in type 1 disease, but the systemic manifestations are more severe. Pulmonary infiltrates, thoracic lymph node enlargement, vertebral compression fractures and osteonecrosis of the long bones occur much more frequently in patients with type 3 b disease.
In Vitro Hemodynamic Investigation of the Embryonic Aortic Arch at Late Gestation

This study focuses on the dynamic flow through the fetal aortic arch driven by the concurrent action of right and left ventricles. We created a parametric pulsatile computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model of the fetal aortic junction with physiologic vessel geometries. To gain a better biophysical understanding, an in vitro experimental fetal flow loop for flow visualization was constructed for identical CFD conditions. CFD and in vitro experimental results were comparable. Swirling flow during the acceleration phase of the cardiac cycle and unidirectional flow following mid-deceleration phase were observed in pulmonary arteries (PA), head-neck vessels, and descending aorta. Right-to-left (oxygenated) blood flowed through the ductus arteriosus (DA) posterior relative to the antegrade left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) stream and resembled jet flow. LVOT and right ventricular outflow tract flow mixing had not completed until ∼3.5 descending aorta diameters downstream of the DA insertion into the aortic arch. Normal arch model flow patterns were then compared to flow patterns of four common congenital heart malformations that include aortic arch anomalies. Weak oscillatory reversing flow through the DA junction was observed only for the Tetralogy of Fallot configuration. PA and hypoplastic left heart syndrome configurations demonstrated complex, abnormal flow patterns in the PAs and head-neck vessels. Aortic coarctation resulted in large-scale recirculating flow in the aortic arch proximal to the DA. Intravascular flow patterns spatially correlated with abnormal vascular structures consistent with the paradigm that abnormal intravascular flow patterns associated with congenital heart disease influence vascular growth and function.
A Discrimination Based upon a Change in the Properties of a Stimulus

(1935). A Discrimination Based upon a Change in the Properties of a Stimulus. The Journal of General Psychology: Vol. 12, No. 2, pp. 313-336.
Reduced Na+,K+-ATPase Activity in Intact Red Cells and Isolated Membranes from Obese Man*

Na+,K+-ATPase activity was measured in red blood cells from 20 nondiabetic euthyroid male Pima Indians with varying degrees of obesity; their body mass indices ranged from 22–60 kg/m2. The Na+,K+-ATPase, measured both by 86Rb uptake inintact cells and ATP hydrolysis by purified membranes, was inversely correlated with bodymass index (r = −0.62; P < 0.005 and r = −0.75; P < 0.0001, respectively). These results confirm that obesity is associated with decreased Na+,K+-ATPase in intact red blood cells, and provide the first demonstration of a reduced sodium pump in isolated red cell membrane preparations from obese men.
Implementing parallel hmm-pfam on the EARTH multithreaded architecture

Hmmpfam is a widely used computation-intensive bioinformatics software for sequence classification. This poster describes a new parallel implementation of hmmpfam on EARTH, which is an event-driven fine-grain multithreaded programming execution model. The comparison results of the original PVM implementation and our implementation shows notable improvements on absolute speedup and scalability. On a cluster of 128 dual-CPU nodes, the execution time of a representative testbench is reduced from 15.9 hours to 4.3 minutes.
State feedback design using nonsquare descriptions

The spectrum assignability problem is solved using nonsquare reduced-order matrices. A pole-placement technique is proposed to compute state feedback in multi-input linear systems. The proposed algorithm has good numerical behaviour and utilizes nonsquare pencils of reduced-order. The fact that the method deals with reduced-order pencils and exploits the Schur-Hessenberg form improves the conditioning of the problem. >
Quantum-mechanical rates for gas-surface processes

We determine exact quantum-mechanical rates for reactive scattering of hydrogen and its isotopes at and from metal surfaces. To this end, we compute cumulutice reaction probabilities according to Miller, Schwartz and Tromp (J. Chem. Phys. 79 (1983) 48891, in the discrete r~uriable representation with absorbing boundmy conditions formulation of Seideman and Miller (J. Chem. Phys. 96 (1992) 44121. In particular, canonical rates for dissociative adsorption and associative desorption of H3 and isotopomcrs, as well as rates and diffusion coefficients for the diffusive motion of single hydrogen atoms on transition-metal surfaces are considered. For the adsorption/dcsorption processes we USC various two- and three-dimensional model potential energy surfaces, which are thought to bc typical for the interaction of Hz with first-row transition metals. First for uncorruguted and rigid surfaces, the dependence of the rates on temperature(s) and potential parameters are studied. Second, WC allow for non-rigidity of the substrate using the so-called surface-mass and surface-oscillator models of Luntz and Harris (Surf. Sci. 258 (1991) 3971. Further, we find that the inclusion of surface corrugation increases desorption rates, characterized by larger Arrhenius-preexponential frequencies. In our study of rates and diffusion coefficients for the hopping motion of atoms on metal substrates we focus on hydrogen on Ni(100). One- and two-dimensional realistic potential energy surfaces are used to elucidate the role of quantum effects, isotope effects, and dimensionality. We compare our results to simple quasi-classical and classical forms of transition-state theory and to cxpcriment.
Flexible design of doubly periodic frequency selective surfaces with a prismatic mesh based FEBI simulation tool and CMA-ES

A prismatic-mesh periodic finite element boundary integral (P-FEBI) simulation tool is paired with a high performance real-valued evolutionary strategy to efficiently design frequency selective surfaces. The irregular, triangular meshing scheme is used to produce metallic structures of nearly any arbitrary shape and contour inside of the unit cell. The unit cell is bound by a parallelogram which permits a hexagonal unit cell grid, allowing the use of increased unit cell size before diffraction occurs compared to square or rectangular lattices. The relatively new covariance matrix adaptation evolutionary strategy (CMA-ES) is used as an effective tool to find the optimum configuration of metallic shapes and dielectric properties that yield the desired electromagnetic scattering and radiation characteristics. An antenna for use in a planar array and a frequency selective surface are created using the outlined method to illustrate the flexible design capabilities of the design technique.
U.S. children living in and near poverty: risk of vaccine-preventable diseases.

Abstract Background: Poverty and factors associated with poverty are strong and persistent barriers to childhood immunization. Substantive differences in coverage with basic vaccinations have been consistently observed over time between children living in poverty and those who are not. Methods: The National Immunization Survey (NIS) uses a random-digit-dialing sample of telephone numbers in each state and in 28 urban areas. The NIS provides vaccination coverage information representative of all U.S. children aged 19 to 35 months. We categorized children in the NIS using Bureau of Census categories of poverty as follows: "above poverty" for household income ≥125% of the federal poverty threshold for the household's size and composition; "near poverty," 100% to Results: From 1996 to 1999, estimated vaccination coverage with the basic vaccine series was consistently higher among children living above the poverty level than all other children. The difference in estimated vaccination coverage between children living in severe poverty and those living above poverty was 13.6 percentage points in 1996, and 10.0 percentage points in 1999. Vaccination coverage with the series 4:3:1:3 among children living in near poverty was similar to that of children living in poverty (74.7% vs 73.3%, p =0.52). Estimated vaccination coverage increased significantly ( p p Conclusions: Low vaccination coverage among children living in and near poverty is a persistent problem in the United States. Additional efforts are needed to improve coverage.
Probable Exclusion of GLC1A as a Candidate Glaucoma Gene in a Family with Middle-age-onset Primary Open-angle Glaucoma

Purpose: To determine whether an adult-onset variety of primary open-angle glaucoma in family UM:POAG1 is linked to the previously mapped GLC1A juvenile-onset primary open-angle glaucoma locus on chromosome 1q or whether linkage can be excluded. Methods: Microsatellite repeat markers from the 9 cM D1S196 to D1S218 interval containing the GLC1 A gene were amplified by polymerase chain reaction from DNA samples collected from 11 members of one sibship in family UM:POAG1. Haplotype analysis was carried out, including calculation of the probability that the observed data would have been obtained if the underlying cause of primary open-angle glaucoma in this family were a defect in a gene located in the tested interval. Linkage analysis was carried out under an autosomal dominant model for GLC1 A glaucoma. Results: In family UM:POAG1, primary open-angle glaucoma was diagnosed in six surviving and one deceased member of a sibship of 13 individuals during the fifth or sixth decade of life. Glaucoma in this family has a later average age at diagnosis and significantly less elevation in intraocular pressure than GLC1 A glaucoma so far described. Haplotype analysis, using a population prevalence up to 0.9%, shows that it is unlikely that the reported data would have been observed if primary open-angle glaucoma in this pedigree were due to the GLC1 A locus on chromosome 1q21-q31. Linkage analysis under the juvenile glaucoma autosomal dominant model allowed exclusion of linkage across the entire GLC1 A genetic inclusion interval, with a maximum lod score in the interval of -3.28. Conclusion: The most likely interpretation of these observations is that a defect in the GLC1 A glaucoma gene is not responsible for adult-onset primary open-angle glaucoma in family UM:POAG1. This suggests the existence of at least two primary open-angle glaucoma genes, the previously reported GLC1A gene on chromosome 1q and another gene located elsewhere in the genome. Diagnosis of UM:POAG1 glaucoma between 42 and 57 years of age also raises questions regarding the relation of the glaucoma present in this family to the common later-age-onset form of the disease.
Candidate Recruitment and Former Rebel Parties

What kinds of candidates do former rebel groups that transform into political parties recruit to their electoral banner after a civil war? Although there has been a growing literature on the transformation of rebel groups into political parties, there is remarkably little literature on the candidates they recruit to run under their banner. Using a unique data set that codes individual level candidate characteristics, I examine the kinds of candidates that a former rebel group, the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), recruited to run in the single member plurality districts in the first Constituent Assembly Election in 2008 after the end of the Nepalese civil war. In particular, I examine two key questions: Who did the CPN(M) recruit to run under the banner of the party? Where did they nominate different kinds of candidates. The results suggest that the Maoists recruited candidates based on characteristics of the districts, not unlike what would be expected of most parties. Highly placed party officials were nominated in districts that were relatively “safe”, whereas district and regional party officials were nominated in areas that were supportive of the party. The party nominated candidates that were non party elites who had been recruited after the end of the civil war in districts that were “winnable”.
NDE techniques for concrete and masonry structures

The paper describes non-destructive evaluation (NDE) techniques that have been applied to existing concrete and masonry structures. NDE techniques for detection of induced damage and characterization of retrofit and strengthening schemes are included. The theoretical basis and experimental requirements of each technique are first described. Then case studies of application of the described techniques to specific cases on concrete and masonry structures are described. Conclusions about the suitability of each technique are drawn. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Monitoring change through hierarchical segmentation of remotely sensed image data

NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center has developed a fast and effective method for generating image segmentation hierarchies. These segmentation hierarchies organize image data in a manner that makes their information content more accessible for analysis. Image segmentation enables analysis through the examination of image regions rather than individual image pixels. In addition, the segmentation hierarchy provides additional analysis clues through the tracing of the behavior of image region characteristics at several levels of segmentation detail. The potential for extracting the information content from imagery data based on segmentation hierarchies has not been fully explored for the benefit of the Earth and space science communities. This paper explores the potential of exploiting these segmentation hierarchies for the analysis of multi-date data sets, and for the particular application of change monitoring.
Early environment, emotions, responses to stress, and health.

A harsh early family environment is related to mental and physical health in adulthood. An important question is why family en- vironment in childhood is associated with these outcomes so long after its initial occurrence. We describe a program of research that evaluates a model linking these variables to each other. Specifically, we hypothesize that low social competence and negative emotional states may mediate relations between a harsh early family environment and physiological/ neuroendocrine responses to stress, as well as long-term health outcomes. We report evidence that the model characterizes self-rated health, cortisol responses to stress, and, in males only, elevated cardiovascular responses
Shear-augmented dispersion in non-Newtonian fluids

The rate of spread of a passive species is modified by the superposition of a velocity gradient on the concentration field. Taylor (18) solved for the rate of axial dispersion in fully developed steady Newtonian flow in a straight pipe under the conditions that the dispersion be relatively steady and that longitudinal transport be controlled by convection rather than diffusion. He found that the resulting effective axial diffusivity was proportional to the square of the Peclet numberPec and inversely proportional to the molecular diffusivity. This article shows that under similar conditions in Casson and power law fluids, both simplified models for blood, and in Bingham fluids the same proportionalities are found. Solutions are presented for fully developed steady flow in a straight tube and between flat plates. The proportionality factor, however, is dependent upon the specific rheology of the fluid. For Bingham and Casson fluids, the controlling parameter is the radius of the constant-velocity core in which the shear stress does not exceed the yield stress of the fluid. For a core radius of one-tenth the radius of the tube, the effective axial diffusivity in Casson fluids is reduced to approximately 0.78 times that in a Newtonian fluid at the same flow. Using average flow conditions, it is found that the core radius/tube radius ratio iso(10−2) too(10−1) in canine arteries and veins. Even at these small values, the effective diffusivity is diminished by 5% to 18%. for power law fluids,Pec 2 dependence is again found, but with a proportionality constant dependent upon the power law exponentn. The effective diffusivity in a power law fluid relative to that in a Newtonian fluid is roughly linearly dependent onn for 0<n<1. Forn=0.785, representative of human blood, the effective diffusivity reduction is 10% in a circular tube.
TCP over ATM: performance results from a testing site

Because Transmission Control Protocol CTCP) is widely used to reliably transport data, there is considerable interest in its performance over Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM). Much research has been done in this area and results are available, mainly from computer simulations. However, simulation results do not contain the steps required by the user to optimize TCP performance. Nascom needed that information. This paper addresses different tests. It uses each test summary as an example for a specific issue. The summaries include configuration, results, and comments. The hardware and software used also are listed. Based on NASA Communications (Nascom) test results, this paper shows that existing router implementations degrade TCP over ATM performance, that unspecified bit rate (UBR) is preferred over variable bit rate (VBR) for a traffic contract, and that multiple streams fairly share one ATM network.
Chromosomal Abnormality in the Newborns of Hepatitis B Surface Antigen (HBsAg) Carrier Mothers

The association of maternal hepatitis B surface antigen carriers (HBsAg) and chromosomal abnormalities in their newborns has been previously sug gested. This is a report on two female infants with abnormalities of chromosome 18 and trisomy 3q syndrome who were born to HBsAg carriers. These cases indicate that a possible relationship exists between the HBsAg carrier state in the mother and chromosome abnormalities in her offspring. It is suggested that the parents of all newborns with a structural chromosomal abnormality be tested for HBsAg.
Relationship between testosterone supplementation and insulin-like growth factor-I levels and cognition in healthy older men

Abstract Background. Our laboratory has previously reported that testosterone (T) administration to older men significantly improves cognitive function. This study examined potential changes in insulin-like growth factor (IGF) IGF-I, IGF-II and IGF-related binding proteins in response to T administration in older men and their relationship to cognitive functioning. Methods. Twenty-five healthy community dwelling volunteers, ranging in age from 50–80 years were randomized to receive weekly intra-muscular (i.m.) injections of either 100 mg T enanthate or placebo (saline) for 6 weeks. Serum hormone levels and cognitive functioning was assessed at baseline and twice during treatment. Results. Significant positive associations between IGF-I and IGF-II and spatial memory, spatial reasoning, and verbal fluency were observed after 6 weeks of T administration. Increased serum T levels from treatment were positively associated with improvement in spatial reasoning performance, whereas estradiol was associated with a decline in divided attention performance. Serum IGF-I, IGF-II and IGFBPs did not change in response to T treatment. Conclusions. Our results suggest that T, estradiol and IGF-I may have independent and selective effects on cognitive functioning. Positive associations between T levels and cognition are consistent with an effect of androgen treatment, whereas positive associations between IGF-I levels and cognition are reflective of a relationship between endogenous IGF-I levels and cognition.
Wildland fire as a self-regulating mechanism: the role of previous burns and weather in limiting fire progression

Theory suggests that natural fire regimes can result in landscapes that are both self-regulating and resilient to fire. For example, because fires consume fuel, they may create barriers to the spread of future fires, thereby regulating fire size. Top-down controls such as weather, however, can weaken this effect. While empirical examples demonstrating this pattern-process feedback between vegetation and fire exist, they have been geographically limited or did not consider the influence of time between fires and weather. The availability of remotely sensed data identifying fire activity over the last four decades provides an opportunity to explicitly quantify-the ability of wildland fire to limit the progression of subsequent fire. Furthermore, advances in fire progression mapping now allow an evaluation of how daily weather as a top-down control modifies this effect. In this study, we evaluated the ability of wildland fire to create barriers that limit the spread of subsequent fire along a gradient representing time between fires in four large study areas in the western United States. Using fire progression maps in conjunction with weather station data, we also evaluated the influence of daily weather. Results indicate that wildland fire does limit subsequent fire spread in all four study areas, but this effect decays over time; wildland fire no longer limits subsequent fire spread 6-18 years after fire, depending on the study area. We also found that the ability of fire to regulate, subsequent fire progression was substantially reduced under extreme conditions compared to moderate weather conditions in all four study areas. This study increases understanding of the spatial feedbacks that can lead to self-regulating landscapes as well as the effects of top-down controls, such as weather, on these feedbacks. Our results will be useful to managers who seek to restore natural fire regimes or to exploit recent burns when managing fire.
Using a proxy X server to facilitate COTS application integration

The paper documents the development of a proxy X Window System server, XPatch, that facilitates integration of COTS applications on systems with trusted X Window system implementations. The XPatch design and architecture are described, portability issues addressed, and accreditation issues identified.
Methodological Review: Ranked Levels of Influence model: Selecting influence techniques to minimize IT resistance

Implementation of electronic health records (EHR), particularly computerized physician/provider order entry systems (CPOE), is often met with resistance. Influence presented at the right time, in the right manner, may minimize resistance or at least limit the risk of complete system failure. Combining established theories on power, influence tactics, and resistance, we developed the Ranked Levels of Influence model. Applying it to documented examples of EHR/CPOE failures at Cedars-Sinai and Kaiser Permanente in Hawaii, we evaluated the influence applied, the resistance encountered, and the resulting risk to the system implementation. Using the Ranked Levels of Influence model as a guideline, we demonstrate that these system failures were associated with the use of hard influence tactics that resulted in higher levels of resistance. We suggest that when influence tactics remain at the soft tactics level, the level of resistance stabilizes or de-escalates and the system can be saved.
Diet and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths: acculturation and socioeconomic factors in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Background Low socioeconomic status is associated with poor diet, food insufficiency, and poor child health. Hispanic households have disproportionately low incomes. Acculturation-related changes may augment the effects of poverty on children's diet and health. Objective The goal was to determine the associations that acculturation, measured by parents' language use, and income have with dietary intakes and food insufficiency among Hispanic youths. Design Data on 2985 Hispanic youths aged 4-16 y were from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (1988-1994). Nutrient intake data were from one 24-h dietary recall. The analysis was controlled for demographic, socioeconomic, and program variables. Results Parents' exclusive use of Spanish was associated in bivariate analyses with differences in intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and folate and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. When other factors were controlled for, less acculturation was associated with differences in intakes of energy and sodium and in percentages of energy from fat and saturated fat. Individuals in poorer households had higher intakes of energy, protein, sodium, and some micronutrients. Although not significant for all indicators of food insufficiency, consistent patterns showed that household food insufficiency decreased with less acculturation (odds ratio: 0.4; 95% CI: 0.2, 0.7 for adult meal size reduced) and increased with low income [odds ratio: 5.9 (3.0, 11.7) for not enough food and 5.4 (2.2, 13.4) for child meal size reduced]. Conclusions Both acculturation and poverty have roles in children's diets and in household food insufficiency. Culturally specific public health and nutrition education should complement efforts to improve the financial security of low-income households.
Eigenbehaviors: identifying structure in routine

Longitudinal behavioral data generally contains a significant amount of structure. In this work, we identify the structure inherent in daily behavior with models that can accurately analyze, predict, and cluster multimodal data from individuals and communities within the social network of a population. We represent this behavioral structure by the principal components of the complete behavioral dataset, a set of characteristic vectors we have termed eigenbehaviors. In our model, an individual’s behavior over a specific day can be approximated by a weighted sum of his or her primary eigenbehaviors. When these weights are calculated halfway through a day, they can be used to predict the day’s remaining behaviors with 79% accuracy for our test subjects. Additionally, we demonstrate the potential for this dimensionality reduction technique to infer community affiliations within the subjects’ social network by clustering individuals into a “behavior space” spanned by a set of their aggregate eigenbehaviors. These behavior spaces make it possible to determine the behavioral similarity between both individuals and groups, enabling 96% classification accuracy of community affiliations within the population-level social network. Additionally, the distance between individuals in the behavior space can be used as an estimate for relational ties such as friendship, suggesting strong behavioral homophily amongst the subjects. This approach capitalizes on the large amount of rich data previously captured during the Reality Mining study from mobile phones continuously logging location, proximate phones, and communication of 100 subjects at MIT over the course of 9 months. As wearable sensors continue to generate these types of rich, longitudinal datasets, dimensionality reduction techniques such as eigenbehaviors will play an increasingly important role in behavioral research.
A 25-yr Climatology of Large-Amplitude Hourly Surface Pressure Changes over the Conterminous United States

Abstract Hourly surface pressure observations for a 25-yr period (1949–63; 1984–93) for the conterminous United States have been used to map the distribution of large hourly pressure changes defined as falls or rises in excess of 4.25 hPa. Initially, 8431 reports satisfying this pressure change threshold were obtained. After error checking, this number was reduced to 5380 occurrences. Large hourly surface pressure changes are most common over the Great Plains and New England and least common over the Southeast and Southwest. Large pressure falls are confined almost exclusively to the Plains, upper Midwest, and New England, and are virtually absent over the Intermountain West and parts of the Appalachians. A manual (subjective) analysis identified 1038 inertia–gravity wave (IGW) occurrences from the 5380 large hourly surface pressure change occurrences. IGW occurrences are most common across the Plains and from the Great Lakes toward western New England, and are virtually absent across the Intermountain We...
Downregulation of Gαq-11 protein expression in guinea pig antral and colonic circular muscle during pregnancy

Pregnancy has an inhibitory effect on motility of the gastrointestinal tract. The present study was designed to examine the mechanisms responsible for antral and colonic hypomotility in pregnant guinea pigs. Circular smooth muscle cells from the antrum and left colon were isolated by enzymatic digestion with collagenase from pregnant and nonpregnant guinea pigs. Contractile responses to agonists were expressed as percent shortening from resting cell length. The function of G proteins in antral and colonic circular smooth muscle was assessed by [35S]guanosine 5′-O-(3-thiotriphosphate) (GTPγS) binding induced by CCK-8 and G protein quantitation. The contraction of antral and colonic circular smooth muscle from pregnant guinea pigs was reduced in response to CCK-8 and to GTPγS but was normal in response to KCl andd-myo-inositol 1,4,5-trisphosphate compared with nonpregnant animals. The stimulation of [35S]GTPγS binding to Gαq-11 induced by 1 μM CCK-8 was significantly lower in antral and colonic circular smo...
Dynamics of two-dimensional \( \mathcal{N}=\left(2,\;2\right) \) theories with semichiral superfields I

We analyze the dynamics of a general two-dimensional $$ \mathcal{N}=\left(2,\;2\right) $$ gauged linear sigma model with semichiral superfields. By computing the elliptic genera, we study the vacuum structure of the model. The result coincides with the model without using semichiral superfields. We also show that the low energy effective twisted superpotential contributed by semichiral superfields vanishes, whether we turn on twisted masses or not.
Comment on “Deaths by Lightning in Mexico (1979–2011): Threat or Vulnerability?”

The original article that was the subject of this comment/reply can be found at http://journals.ametsoc.org/doi/abs/10.1175/WCAS-D-13-00049.1.
Linear and Nonlinear Localization of Light in Light-Induced Lattices

We provide a brief overview of our recent work on linear and nonlinear localization of light in optically-induced photonic structures, including nonlinear self-trapping of discrete solitons and photonic bandgap guidance in lattices with structured defects.
Effect of Aspect Ratio on Nonlinear Interaction Between Vortex Shedding and Excitation Frequency in Canonical Flows

Higher-order spectral analysis have been performed to the hydrodynamic forces acting on forced oscillating cylinder. We investigate the effect of spanwise length of the cylinder on the nonlinear interaction between the fluctuating forces and the excitation. Direct numerical simulations of the flow past stationary and oscillating cylinders have been per
A SiGe 8–18-GHz Receiver With Built-In-Testing Capability for Self-Healing Applications

A wideband (8-18 GHz) built-in test receiver in silicon-germanium technology is presented. The receiver chain consists of a low-noise amplifier (LNA), an image-reject mixer, on-chip automatic gain control ring oscillator sources that are used to provide test signals of a predefined amplitude, and control circuitry in the form of digital-to-analog converters and data registers. Both the LNA and the mixer circuit blocks incorporate tuning knobs to enable tuning of RF metrics to ensure consistent performance and mitigate the negative effects of process, voltage, and temperature variations, aging, and damage from extreme environments such as ionizing radiation. A maximum post-healed gain greater than 30 dB, an image rejection ratio exceeding 30 dB, output third-order intercept point greater than 8 dBm, and noise figure less than 9 dB are obtained in measurement. An automated healing algorithm was developed and shown to be effective at improving the overall performance of the receiver. The receiver was fabricated in an 0.18- μm SiGe BiCMOS process with a peak fT of 150 GHz, and consumes 240-260 mA from a 4-V supply.
Phenytoin-Induced Stress Protein Synthesis In Mouse Embryonic Tissue

AbstractSeveral proteins haVe been shown to be synthesized in response to various environmental stimuli, including treatment with teratogens. The role of these proteins in the teratogenic process is unknown. Pregnant A/J mice were treated with either a teratogenic or a non-teratogenic dose of the anticonvulsant drug, phenytoin (PHT). Protein synthesis in embryonic craniofacial (target) tissue or forelimb buds (non-target) was determined by incorporation of radiolabeled leucine and analysis by two-dimensional polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. Synthesis of three proteins in target tissue and one protein in non-target tissue was stimulated by drug treatment. These results suggest that synthesis of specific stress proteins may serve as biomarkers of drug-target tissue interaction.
Investigation on The Blood Lead Levels of 293 Workers with Lead Exposure

[Objective]To understand the in vivo lead levels of workers with lead exposure.[Methods]Graphite furnace atomic absorption spectrophotometer and blood analyzer XS-1000i were used for determination of blood lead level and hemoglobin level respectively.[Results]Of 293 workers,the blood lead level of 192 workers(65.5%) was over 1.9 μmol/L.The results showed negative correlations between blood lead level and hemoglobin level on male and female workers.[Conclusion]The blood lead level is relatively high in 293 lead-exposed workers.The enterprises should improve manufacturing technique,enhance protective measures,eliminate lead in workers with high lead level and perform health examination on workers regularly.