cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Associations Between Family and Peer E-Cigarette Use With Adolescent Tobacco and Marijuana Usage: A Longitudinal Path Analytic Approach.

Introduction Research indicates a link between adolescent e-cigarette use and combustible tobacco cigarette (CTC) initiation, and recent studies suggest their connection with marijuana uptake. Our 3-year longitudinal cohort study investigated the implications of adolescent, peer, and family e-cigarette use with adolescents' expectations and willingness to initiate CTC use, and subsequent CTC and marijuana use. Aims and methods Relationships were examined in a secondary analysis of a 3-year longitudinal cohort subsample involving adolescents enrolled in alternative California high schools (N = 1025). Analyses examined responses over three yearly observations. Family, peer, and respondents' e-cigarette use, respondents' positive cigarette expectancies and willingness to use CTCs were assessed in the study's first year (T1). CTC use in the survey's second year (T2) and marijuana use in the third year (T3) were assessed via path analysis. Results Respondents reporting at least one family member or peer using e-cigarettes were more likely to use e-cigarettes at T1 than those whose peers/family members did not. They reported more positive expectancies about CTCs and greater willingness to initiate use. These variables predicted CTC use at T2, which directly anticipated marijuana use in the survey's third year (T3), as did adolescents' use of e-cigarettes at T1. All model relations were statistically significant. Conclusions Analysis demonstrated the strong association of family members' and peers' behaviors with adolescent e-cigarette use, and the temporal precedence of e-cigarette use with subsequent CTC and marijuana uptake. The predictive implications of e-cigarettes for other dangerous substance use should be examined in future prevention campaigns. Implications The presented study expands upon existing literature connecting adolescent e-cigarette use and later CTC and marijuana use. The findings indicate the significant implications of exposure to e-cigarette use by parents and peers and demonstrate in a longitudinal 4-year panel survey the direct and indirect predictive implications of e-cigarette use for CTC and marijuana uptake. The research illustrates the utility of programs and campaigns that target peer and family groups to maximize impacts on adolescent willingness to try CTCs, positive expectancies, and possible onset of CTC and marijuana use.
Switch Transformers: Scaling to Trillion Parameter Models with Simple and Efficient Sparsity.

In deep learning, models typically reuse the same parameters for all inputs. Mixture of Experts (MoE) defies this and instead selects different parameters for each incoming example. The result is a sparsely-activated model -- with outrageous numbers of parameters -- but a constant computational cost. However, despite several notable successes of MoE, widespread adoption has been hindered by complexity, communication costs and training instability -- we address these with the Switch Transformer. We simplify the MoE routing algorithm and design intuitive improved models with reduced communication and computational costs. Our proposed training techniques help wrangle the instabilities and we show large sparse models may be trained, for the first time, with lower precision (bfloat16) formats. We design models based off T5-Base and T5-Large to obtain up to 7x increases in pre-training speed with the same computational resources. These improvements extend into multilingual settings where we measure gains over the mT5-Base version across all 101 languages. Finally, we advance the current scale of language models by pre-training up to trillion parameter models on the "Colossal Clean Crawled Corpus" and achieve a 4x speedup over the T5-XXL model.
GrowHON: A Scalable Algorithm for Growing Higher-order Networks of Sequences

Networks are powerful and flexible structures for expressing relationships between entities, but in traditional network models an edge can only represent a relationship between a single pair of entities. Higher-order networks (HONs) overcome this limitation by allowing each node to represent a sequence of entities, which allows edges to naturally express higher-order relationships. While HONs have proven effective in several domains, and previous works have been forced to choose between scalability and thorough detection of higher-order dependencies. To achieve both scalability and accurate encoding of higher-order dependencies, we introduce GrowHON, an algorithm that generates a HON by embedding the sequence input in a tree structure, pruning the non-meaningful sequences, and converting the tree into a network (Code available at https://github.com/sjkrieg/growhon). We demonstrate that GrowHON is scalable with respect to both the size of the input and order of the network, and that it preserves important higher-order dependencies that are not captured by prior approaches. These contributions lay an important foundation for higher-order networks to continue to evolve and represent larger and more complex data.
Who's Afraid of Free Speech? It's Critics of Political Correctness Who Shrink from the Values of Free and Robust Expression

Critics of "political correctness" and "cancel culture" argue that liberals - especially on college campuses - are hypocrites who care little about the supposed liberal values of free speech and tolerance. In this essay, I argue that it is actually the critics who are afraid of free speech. Much of the social pushback and protest that critics complain about is itself expression. More fundamentally, such pushback is a form of counterspeech and is therefore an indispensable part of our free speech system. This does not mean that all forms of social censure are consistent with free speech. Violence and property damage are so coercive that they are akin to government censorship. But other types of social censure - such as insults, shaming, delegitimizing, demonizing, and even social ostracism - are all compatible with free speech since, although unpleasant, they do not cross the line from persuasion to coercion.
Challenging the Autonomous Wall: Literacy Work in an Urban High School.

This article explores how one urban high school under threat of state closure developed a multifaceted literacy program to transform the teaching and learning of literacy in a novel university/scho...
Neurophysiological Considerations in the Treatment of Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

With the exception of the sudden death phenomenon, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) represents the single most severe and recalcitrant variant of pathogenetic stress arousal known to modern medicine (Everly, 1989). Its symptomatology includes both psychiatric and somatic manifestations (Everly, 1989) which often prove to be enigmatic to traditional treatment approaches. In this chapter, I will offer a reconsideration of the neurophysiology of PTSD wherein PTSD is viewed within the context of the “disorders of arousal” nosological genre as formulated in earlier research (Everly & Benson, 1989). Such a reformulation will give rise to a neurophysiological rationale for the use of therapeutic interventions designed to lower the “state-and-trait” levels of neurophysiological arousal within the PTSD patient. Indeed, it may be argued that successful treatment of the PTSD patient is contingent upon the successful diminution of manifest arousal.
Addendum to Chapter 4

Since preparing our chapter in 1989 a great deal has happened within the educational system of England and Wales. Consequently, some of the features described in this chapter are no longer extant. Some updating of the main text has been done and the purpose of this short note is to elaborate upon the most important changes.
A call for long‐term data in clinical studies of infrainguinal peripheral arterial revascularization: The DURABILITY II Study delivers

Key Points The DURABILITY II study provides outcomes in 220 patients treated with nitinol self-expanding stent placement for femoro-popliteal disease out to three years. In this core lab adjudicated study, the EverFlex™ (Covidien, Plymouth, MN) self-expanding stents had a low stent fracture rate (0.9%). The study demonstrated a freedom from clinically driven target lesion revascularization (TLR) of nearly 70% at 3 years. Based on this study, primary angioplasty and stenting of these lesions is a reasonable strategy though results are better with lesions less than 8 cm compared to those greater than 8 cm. Further research is need comparing this strategy to use of drug-coated stents and that of atherectomy with drug eluting balloons and with longer term follow-up.
Adaptive Engine Control

Robustness is a major consideration in any controls application. A controller that goes unstable with only a slight disturbance is useless especially in the harsh environment of an automobile. Therefore any scheme that increases the robustness without harming response time is very welcome. Adaptation is one such scheme and in our case we have two slowly varying values that lend themselves to it. Our original control scheme is a two surface sliding control that reduces the relative order to one. Therefore the adaptive derivations follow a standard sliding derivation. This derivation results in two adaptive laws that are implemented in both simulation and on a microprocessor controlled car engine.
Recent advances in nonlinear control

Summary form only given. Over the last two decades, the stability theory of nonlinear dynamical systems, on the one hand, and the geometric control theory, on the other hand, have jointly created foundations upon which it is possible to build constructive methods for nonlinear control design. This progress was described in "Constructive Nonlinear Control: A Historical Perspective", by P. Kokotovic and M. Arcak, Automatica, 37:637-662, 2001, with over 300 references. The main theme of that survey was that many earlier descriptive concepts, such as stability, optimality, passivity, are being 'activated' as design tools in recursive design procedures. In this talk, this theme is continued with some new developments of constructive methods and discuss a couple of their applications. In particular, 'maneuvering' method is reviewed, currently developed by Skjetne et al. 15th World Congress of IFAC, 2002 (to appear in Automatica, 2004) and applied to ship steering. Two recent control designs are presented, one for a jet engine axial compressor and the other for a turbo-charged diesel engine. Both designs have already been tested in the industrial type of experiments. A discussion of experimental results will conclude this talk.
All the Images of an Outdoor Scene

The appearance of an outdoor scene depends on a variety of factors such as viewing geometry, scene structure and reflectance (BRDF or BTF), illumination (sun, moon, stars, street lamps), atmospheric condition (clear air, fog, rain) and weathering (or aging) of materials. Over time, these factors change, altering the way a scene appears. A large set of images is required to study the entire variability in scene appearance. In this paper, we present a database of high quality registered and calibrated images of a fixed outdoor scene captured every hour for over 5 months. The dataset covers a wide range of daylight and night illumination conditions, weather conditions and seasons. We describe in detail the image acquisition and sensor calibration procedures. The images are tagged with a variety of ground truth data such as weather and illumination conditions and actual scene depths. This database has potential implications for vision, graphics, image processing and atmospheric sciences and can be a testbed for many algorithms. We describe an example application - image analysis in bad weather - and show how this method can be evaluated using the images in the database. The database is available online at http://www.cs.columbia.edu/CAVE/. The data collection is ongoing and we plan to acquire images for one year.
Analytical model of tidal distortion and dissipation for a giant planet with a viscoelastic core

We present analytical expressions for the tidal Love numbers of a giant planet with a solid core and a fluid envelope. We model the core as a uniform, incompressible, elastic solid, and the envelope as a non-viscous fluid satisfying the $n=1$ polytropic equation of state. We discuss how the Love numbers depend on the size, density, and shear modulus of the core. We then model the core as a viscoelastic Maxwell solid and compute the tidal dissipation rate in the planet as characterized by the imaginary part of the Love number $k_2$. Our results improve upon existing calculations based on planetary models with a solid core and a uniform ($n=0$) envelope. Our analytical expressions for the Love numbers can be applied to study tidal distortion and viscoelastic dissipation of giant planets with solid cores of various rheological properties, and our general method can be extended to study tidal distortion/dissipation of super-earths.
Binary-valued wavelet decompositions of binary images

We introduce a binary-valued wavelet decomposition of binary images. Based on simple modulo-2 operations, the transform is computationally simple and immune to quantization effects. The new transform behaves like its real-valued counterpart. In particular, it yields an output similar to the thresholded output of a real wavelet transform operating on the underlying binary image. Using a new binary field transform to characterize binary filters, binary wavelets are constructed in terms of 2-band perfect reconstruction filter banks. We include lossless image coding results to illustrate the compactness of the representation.
Hybrid incremental cost consensus algorithm for smart grid distributed energy management under packet loss environment

With the development of smart grid technology, the future power system will become a complex cyber-physical system. The control and management of this system will impose new challenges to the current Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition system such as scalability in its computational and communications effort, and robustness to single point of failure. Decentralized cooperative control is promising to control and manage such a system in a more efficient and robust way. Consensus based algorithms have been proposed by researchers to deal with various power system applications in a distributed manner. Because of the sensitivity to communications imperfections, the performance of the consensus based algorithms degrade when the communication packet loss happens in practical applications. In this paper, a Hybrid Incremental Cost Consensus (Hybrid ICC) algorithm is proposed. Different from other consensus based algorithms, the Hybrid ICC algorithm is robust against communications imperfections by integrating gossip algorithm and consensus algorithm together. Several case studies are presented to illustrate the performance of the proposed Hybrid ICC algorithm and demonstrate the scalability and robustness under packet loss scenarios.
Bayesian optimization algorithm, decision graphs, and Occam's razor

This paper discusses the use of various scoring metrics in the Bayesian optimization algorithm (BOA) which uses Bayesian networks to model promising solutions and generate the new ones. The use of decision graphs in Bayesian networks to improve the performance of the BOA is proposed. To favor simple models, a complexity measure is incorporated into the Bayesian-Dirichlet metric for Bayesian networks with decision graphs. The presented modifications are compared on a number of interesting problems.
Pilot Study of Massage in Veterans with Knee Osteoarthritis

Abstract Objectives: To (1) assess the feasibility and acceptability of Swedish massage among Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care users with knee osteoarthritis (OA) and (2) collect preliminary data on efficacy of Swedish massage in this patient group. Design: Experimental pilot study. Setting: Duke Integrative Medicine clinic and VA Medical Center, Durham, North Carolina. Patients: Twenty-five veterans with symptomatic knee OA. Interventions: Eight weekly 1-hour sessions of full-body Swedish massage. Outcome measures: Primary: Western Ontario and McMaster University Osteoarthritis Index (WOMAC) and global pain (Visual Analog Scale [VAS]). Secondary: National Institutes of Health Patient Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System-Pain Interference Questionnaire 6b (PROMIS-PI 6b), 12-Item Short-Form Health Survey (SF-12 v1) and the EuroQol health status index (EQ-5D-5L), knee range of motion (ROM), and time to walk 50 feet. Results: Study feasibility was established by a 92% retention rat...
Acculturation, hazardous drinking and depressive symptomatology among Hispanics enrolled in a clinical trial.

AbstractBackground: Among Hispanics in USA, lower acculturation level has been found to be protective against alcohol abuse and depression. However, this relationship may not hold within at-risk samples. The prevalence and co-occurrence of hazardous drinking and depressive symptoms and their relationship to acculturation were examined among Hispanics enrolled in a study to reduce heavy drinking. At enrolment, all the participants reported past-month heavy drinking (one or more occasions of >4/5 drinks for females/males, and average weekly consumption >7/14 drinks per week). We explored whether gender moderated the effects of acculturation on hazardous drinking and depressive symptoms. Methods: Participants (N = 100) completed measures at baseline. Results: Eighty-nine percent of participants met criteria for hazardous alcohol use as assessed by the AUDIT and of those, 55% (n = 49) also reported elevated depressive symptoms. Of those who reported elevated depressive symptoms, nearly all (94%) met AUDIT cri...
Association of childhood rhabdomyosarcoma with neurofibromatosis type i and birth defects

Rhabdomyosarcoma (RMS) is an uncommon malignant soft tissue sarcoma whose cause is largely unknown. Reported risk factors include genetic alterations (e.g., p53 mutations, a defective gene at 11p15.5, or specific chromosomal translocation of t(2:13)), and parents' use of drugs around the time of conception. We present results from a national, case-control study of 249 RMS cases (170 males and 79 females) and 302 controls (196 males and 106 females). The cases, aged 0-20 years at diagnosis, were identified via the Intergroup RMS Study-III during 1982-1988. Controls were selected by random digit telephone dialing. As a supplement to the original study, information on genetic diseases and birth defects (BD) was collected from the subjects' parents by telephone interview. Fifty-six (22.5%) cases and 55 (18.2%) controls were reported to have genetic diseases or BD (odds ratio [OR] = 1.30,95% confidence interval [CI] = 0.85-2.02, P = .21). The case group had a significantly higher frequency of neurofibromatosis type I (NF1) than did the control group, i.e., five cases (2.0%) had NF1 vs. zero controls (P = .02). The case group also had a higher frequency of major BDs than did the control group (6.0% vs. 2.6%, OR = 2.36, 95% CI = 0.92-6.52, P = .05). However, this excess was only observed in males (7.6% vs. 2.6%, OR = 3.16, 95% CI = 1.02-10.41, P = .02). Among the 15 cases having both RMS and major BDs, six (40.0%) had both conditions in the same regional anatomic site: Two (13.3%) had both in the extremities, two (13.3%) in the genitourinary system, and two in the head and neck. These findings suggest that common genetic mechanisms or in utero exposures may be involved in the development of many childhood tumors and congenital abnormalities.
Healing Dramas and Clinical Plots: The Narrative Structure of Experience

Healing Dramas and Clinical Plots: The Narrative Structure of Experience. Cheryl Mattingly. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998. xiii. 192.
Integration and excision of a 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid-degradative plasmid in Alcaligenes paradoxus and evidence of its natural intergeneric transfer

A self-transmissible 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid (2,4-D)-degradative plasmid, pKA2, has been identified in a new 2,4-D-degrading strain, Alcaligenes paradoxus 2811P, isolated from agricultural soil. pKA2 occurred as a 42.9-kb plasmid in strain 2811P. A derivative strain, 2811C, was isolated from a stock culture in which the entire pKA2 plasmid was apparently integrated into the host chromosome without loss of the 2,4-D+ phenotype. This interpretation is based on the disappearance of a free plasmid DNA band, a shift in the tfdA-hybridizing band to the chromosome, loss of transmissibility of the 2,4-D+ trait, and appropriate shifts in Southern hybridization bands of plasmid DNA compared with whole-cell DNA. The integrated plasmid of strain 2811C was excised either precisely or imprecisely after continued transfer on 2,4-D-containing medium. This suggests that a chromosome-free plasmid cycle may occur to optimize fitness under conditions of specific resource fluctuation. Another new 2,4-D-degrading strain, Pseudomonas pickettii 712, which was isolated from the same field plot but at a different time, was found to carry a plasmid that is nearly identical to pKA2. The plasmid of this strain, pKA4, is 40.9 kb long and has features in common with pKA2, such as high self-transmissibility, hybridization only to the tfdA gene among the 2,4-D-metabolic genes of 2,4-D-degradative plasmid pJP4, and similar restriction endonuclease-generated fragments. Furthermore, the genetic homology between the two plasmids was high since all fragments of pKA2 hybridized to pKA4. These results suggest that these two plasmids are closely related and thus their occurrence in two genera in nature is the result of natural horizontal gene transfer. Images
Circularly polarized loop antennas with a parasitic element for bandwidth enhancement

In this paper, it is demonstrated that the bandwidth of circular polarization (CP) for a loop antenna can be significantly increased when adding one more parasitic loop inside the original loop. The axial ratio (ARles2 dB) bandwidth of the circular-loop antenna with a parasitic circular loop is found to be 20%, more than three times the AR bandwidth (about 6.5%) of a single loop. A bandwidth of 30% (ARles2 dB) with a gain of more than 10 dBi is obtained for a series-fed dual rhombic-loop antenna while a bandwidth of 50% for AR les 2 dB can be realized for the parallel-fed dual rhombic loop. This type of wideband CP antennas has two important features: i) easy to change the sense of CP; ii) able to implement an antenna array in a coplanar stripline circuit
Pharmaceutical Powder Compaction Technology

Tablets, whether designed for immediate or modified drug release, all require the compaction of dry particles, although excipient selection may be different. Irrespective of the intended use, compr...
Interactions between osteosarcoma cell lines and dendritic cells immune function: An in vitro study.

Abstract Dendritic cells (DCs) might be partly responsible for the defective immune response in tumor bearing hosts, but no study in osteosarcoma patients is still available. Therefore, we investigated in vitro whether human osteosarcoma cell lines have an inhibitor effect on different types of DCs: CD14+DCs, DC1 and DC2. DCs derived from healthy donors were cultured with osteosarcoma cell lines and appropriate cytokine cocktails and analysed for the expression of co-stimulatory molecules (CD40, CD80, CD83, CD86, HLA-DR). Each interaction resulted in a lower phenotypic expression of the DCs maturation markers, especially on DC2. Moreover, the addition of various cytokines and compounds (rhIL-12, CD40L, Indometacin) induced the DC1 and DC2 subsets towards the Th1 pattern as shown by ELISA. Osteosarcoma highly interferes with an in vitro DCs immune function as antigen presenting cells. The understanding of tumor biology underlines the need for a specific osteosarcoma immunotherapy able to reverse this immune-surveillance inhibition.
Global update: USA

Despite the political nature of stem cell research, this area of science continues to flourish in the USA. In 2011, the NIH funded approximately US$1.2 billion in stem cell research – a steady increase from past years – with US$123 million devoted to human embryonic stem cells [101]. According to the ISI Web of Science, more than 4000 US-authored stem cell publications were produced in 2011, accounting for approximately 38% of the world total. Approximately a quarter of these publications were collaborations with authors from other countries [1].
Acute hemodynamic and metabolic effects of ICI 118,587 (Corwin), a selective partial beta1 agonist, in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract The effects of acute intravenous administration of ICI 118,587 (Corwin), a partial beta 1 agonist, were studied in nine patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and symptomatic congestive heart failure. Hemodynamic and metabolic parameters were measured using Swan-Ganz, arterial, and coronary sinus catheters. Repeated doses of Corwin produced no significant change in left ventricular performance, while a trend towards decreased blood pressure and stroke work was seen. No change occurred in coronary sinus blood flow, transmyocardial lactate extraction, or catecholamine release. One patient had significant depression of left ventricular function with hypotension. Thus, acute infusion of Corwin produced no beneficial inotropic responses, but rather produced features suggestive of further myocardial depression.
Late Holocene alluvial chronology and climate change in the central great plains

Abstract Alluvium in one reach of the Republican River valley, south-central Nebraska, dates to the Holocene. Radiocarbon dating of fills underlying the two terraces in the valley reveals that entrenchment between 4500 and 3700 yr B.P. formed the high terrace. Subsequently, alternating aggradation and stability occurred until sometime between 1800 and 1100 yr B.P. Following another period of alluviation, channel incision formed the low terrace. General synchrony between this chronology and other late Holocene fluvial chronologies of the central Great Plains suggests climatic control of fluvial activity. The episodes of incision are tentatively correlated with different climate regimes, illustrating the difficulty of attributing a given fluvial response to a particular direction of climatic change.
Lophotoxin Is a Slow Binding Irreversible Inhibitor of Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

Lophotoxin and the bipinnatins are members of the lophotoxin family of marine neurotoxins, which covalently react with Tyr190 in the α-subunits of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor. Bipinnatin-A, -B, and -C are protoxins that have been shown to spontaneously convert from inactive to active toxins during preincubation in buffer. However, in this report, we show that preincubation of lophotoxin did not result in an increase in the subsequent rate of irreversible inhibition of nicotinic receptors. Thus, unlike the bipinnatins, lophotoxin does not appear to be an inactive protoxin. Lophotoxin preferentially inhibited one of the two acetylcholine-binding sites on the receptor, and this preference resulted from both a higher reversible affinity and a faster rate of irreversible inhibition at this site. Association of 125I-α-bungarotoxin in the presence of lophotoxin was analyzed to obtain the apparent reversible association and dissociation rate constants for lophotoxin. The apparent association rate constant of lophotoxin was approximately 106-fold slower than expected for a diffusion-limited interaction, indicating that lophotoxin is a slow binding irreversible inhibitor. The kinetic constants that describe the interaction of lophotoxin with the receptor did not change in the presence of dibucaine, suggesting that, unlike agonists, the slow apparent association of lophotoxin does not result from a slow transition of the receptor to a desensitized conformation.
Swainsonine stimulates bone marrow cell proliferation and differentiation in different strains of inbred mice

The immunomodulatory alkaloid swainsonine (8αβ-indolizidine-1α,2α,8β-triol) has potential for overcoming the bone marrow suppressive effects of cancer chemotherapeutic drugs and radiation. The effect of swainsonine on bone marrow cellularity was evaluated in four different strains (C57BL/6; C3H-HEN; Balb/C and DBA-2 mice) of inbred mice subjected to multiple doses of the alkaloid. Swainsonine treatment stimulated bone marrow cell proliferation in all strains of mice. Examination of the peripheral blood did not reveal any increase in total leukocyte count. In vitro assessment of total colony-forming unit (CFU) capacity of bone marrow cells showed a two- to eight-fold increase in swainsonine treated mice of different strains compared to their corresponding controls given sham injections of physiological saline. Swainsonine induced increase in CFU capacity of bone marrow cells should find clinical application in cancer treatment with chemotherapeutic agents and radiation.
Telecommunications Network Design: Comparison of Alternative Approaches

The design and development of the network infrastructure to support mission-critical applications has become a critical and-complex activity. This study explores the use of genetic algorithms (GA) for network design in the context of degree-constrained minimal spanning tree (DCMST) problem; compares for small networks the performance of GA with a mathematical model that provides optimal solutions; and for larger networks, compares GA's performance with two heuristic methods—edge exchange and primal algorithm. Two performance measures, solution quality and computation time, are used for evaluation. The algorithms are evaluated on a wide variety of network sizes with both static and dynamic degree constraints on the network nodes. The results indicate that GA provides optimal solutions for small networks. For larger networks it provides better solution quality compared to edge exchange and primal method, but is worse than the two methods in computation time.
Structural dynamics methods for concurrent processing computers

Abstract In the area of crash impact, research is urgently required on the development and evaluation of parallel methods for crash dynamics analysis of complex nonlinear finite element and/or finite difference structural problems. An investigation of selected nonlinear dynamics algorithms appropriate for parallel computers is reported. Implicit methods such as those of the Newmark type which build on the Cholesky decomposition strategy and explicit methods such as the central difference time integration method are included. Both implicit and explicit dynamics algorithms are investigated on two significantly different parallel computers, the FLEX/32 shared memory multicomputer and the INTEL iPSC Hypercube local memory computer.
Raman scattering studies of phonons in quasiperiodic superlattices based on generalizations of the fibonacci sequence

Recently there has been a great deal of interest in the structural, vibrational, and electronic properties of nonperiodic superlattices.1 This work has been stimulated by the discovery of quasicrystals2 and the realization that 1-D analogs of quasicrystals could be created artificially in multilayer systems.3 By far the majority of the work in these systems has concentrated on quasiperiodic Fibonacci superlattices.4 The Fibonacci structure is a particular case of a class of quasiperiodic structures defined by the recursion relation5 $$ {{S}_{j}} = {{({{S}_{{j - 1}}})}^{n}}{{S}_{{j - 2}}} $$ (1) By defining the basic building blocks S1 and S2 in terms of layers of different materials and thicknesses we have attached a basis to the quasiperiodic lattice. Table 1 illustrates how the recursion relation (1) is used to build up the first 5 generations in terms of S1 and S2.
Rehabilitation and quality of life measurement issues

This article addresses issues that have bearing on the measurement of quality of life as an outcome of speech rehabilitation. The construct should be measured with a questionnaire(s) that captures the patient's perspective; is valid, reliable, and sensitive to changes in the discrepancy or “gap” between present experience and rehabilitation expectations; is compatible with adaptive rehabilitation strategies and goals; measures the dimensions of psychological well-being, physical well-being, body image concerns, social concerns, financial concerns, and communication; realistically focuses on those dimensions of quality of life that clinicians can expect to impact; and is repeated at critical but realistic intervals bearing in mind subject attrition.
Laparoscopic harvesting of small bowel graft for small bowel transplantation

Background: Small bowel transplantation represents a valid therapeutic option for patients with intestinal failure, obviating the need for long-term total parenteral nutrition. Recently, reports have shown the feasibility of performing living related intestinal transplantation using segmental small bowel grafts. The limitations of this technique include inadequate harvested small bowel lengths, as compared with the lengths obtained in cadaveric small bowel harvests, and large incisions for the donor. In this pilot study, we evaluated the feasibility of laparoscopically harvesting long segments of proximal jejunum for small bowel transplantation using a porcine model. The results can be used to evaluate the potential for applying this technique in human cases. Methods: For this study 10 yorkshire pigs were used. Under general anesthesia, each pig underwent laparoscopic segmental resection of 200 cm of proximal jejunum on a vascular pedicle. The harvested graft then was autoreimplanted using an open technique by anastomosing the vascular pedicle to the superior mesenteric vessels. Success was determined 2 hours after anastomosis by visually identifying a pink graft with viable-appearing mucosa, an artery with a strong thrill, and palpable venous flow. The animals were then sacrificed. Results: The mean operation time required to laparoscopically harvest the small bowel graft was 80 min (range, 35–120 min), and the mean length of harvested graft was 220 cm (range, 200–260 cm). The mean length of the graft's vascular pedicle was 4.5 cm (range, 4–5 cm). All 10 grafts were successfully harvested laparoscopically and then reimplanted using an open technique. All the grafts maintained good vascular flow, and showed no evidence of mucosal necrosis at necropsy. Obviously, further studies would be required to examine the long-term results of reimplanting a laparoscopically harvested small bowel graft, but proposals for such studies is beyond the scope of this report. Conclusion: Minimally invasive techniques can be used to harvest proximal small bowel grafts for living related small bowel transplantation.
Ignition of Non Dilute Clusters of Drops in Convective Flows

Abstract Abstract-A global model has been developed for the qualitative prediction of ignition of clusters of drops evaporating in a convecti ve flow. This model incorporates the description of convective droplet-cluster evaporation through a model which is valid for both dense and dilute clusters. The model takes into account drop interactions and the resulting possible limitations on evaporation in the limit of dense cluster s. An Eulerian description is used to predict both drop and gas velocities. To complement the fluid mechanics model which is self-contained, the bulk interaction between the convective flow around the cluster and the cluster is evaluated using a penetration ratio criterion. The penetration distance itself is calculated in a Lagrang ian frame. The model of droplet-cluster ignition can predict both the ignition time of the cluster and the location of the flame rs) at that time (under the, assumption of a spherical cluster). The ignition-timing part of the ignition criterion is valid o...
Stochastic comparisons for bulk queues

We consider two important classes of single-server bulk queueing models: M(X)/G(Y)/1 with Poisson arrivals of customer groups, and G(X)/m(Y)1 with batch service times having exponential density. In each class we compare two systems and prove that one is more congested than the other if their basic random variables are stochastically ordered in an appropriate manner. However, it must be recognized that a system that appears congested to customers might be working efficiently from the system manager's point of view. We apply the results of this comparison to (i) the family {M/G(s)/1,s ⩾ 1} of systems with Poisson input of customers and batch service times with varying service capacity; (ii) the family {G(s)/1,s ⩾ 1} of systems with exponential customer service time density and group arrivals with varying group size; and (iii) the family {M/D/s,s⩾ 1} of systems with Poisson arrivals, constant service time and varying number of servers. Within each family, we find the system that is the best for customers, but this turns out to be the worst for the manager (or vice versa). We also establish upper (or lower) bounds for the expected queue length in steady state and the expected number of batches (or groups) served during a busy period. The approach of the paper is based on the stochastic comparison of random walks underlying the models.
Evidence that regulation of hepatic guanylate cyclase activity involves interactions between catalytic site -SH groups and both substrate and activator.

Abstract Partially purified hepatic soluble guanylate cyclase (EC 4.6.1.2) was rapidly inactivated by molecular oxygen and by low concentrations of SH oxidants at pH 7.4, a process which was prevented and reversed by dithiothreitol. Cystamine and 5,5′-dithiobis(2-nitrobenzoic acid) inhibited enzymatic activity in a time- and temperature-dependent manner. Various disulfides, SH oxidants, and thiol alkylating agents inhibited both basal guanylate cyclase activity and activity stimulated by nitric oxide, S -nitrosocysteine, and nitrosylhemoglobin. These observations indicate that guanylate cyclase possesses one or more SH groups at its catalytic site. Preincubation of guanylate cyclase with excess MgGTP or with enzyme activators markedly protected the enzyme against inhibition by various thiol reactive agents. These findings suggest that the SH groups at the catalytic site interact also with enzyme activators. 2,3-Dimercaprol, which possesses vicinal dithiols, but not dithiothreitol markedly inhibited guanylate cyclase activity at concentrations equal to or exceeding those of MgGTP. Thus, two closely juxtaposed SH groups may be located at the catalytic site. The presence of cysteine or hematin in preincubates of guanylate cyclase, to which nitric oxide was also added, was mandatory in order to enable the activated form of the enzyme to be recovered by gel filtration. Guanylate cyclase activated by S -nitrosocysteine or nitrosyl-hemoglobin was recovered in the maximally activated state, and this was prevented by preincubation of enzyme with SH oxidants or excess MgGTP. These data imply that cysteine, hematin, and their nitrosyl derivatives bind to SH groups at the catalytic site of guanylate cyclase.
Arachidonate incorporation into phospholipids in rat brain: A comparison between slice and membrane preparation.

Abstract The incorporation of [ 3 H]arachidonic acid ([ 3 H]AA) into cerebral phospholipids was studied in slices and membranes of rat brain cortex. Effects of preincubation, different washing procedures with or without bovine serum albumin, or incubation in the presence of neurotransmitters were investigated. Over 60% of the phospholipid-bound [ 3 H]arachidonic acid was recovered in phosphatidylinositol in both slice and membrane preparations. Preincubation or addition of bovine serum albumin resulted in slower incorporation of the isotope to membrane as well as to slice phospholipids, but removal of the added serum albumin enhanced the incorporation in the membrane preparation. Preincubation of slices in the presence of norepinephrine (1 mM) or serotonin (1 or 2.5 mM) resulted in a marked increase of [ 3 H]arachidonate incorporation into phosphatidylinositol concomitant with decreased incorporation into other phosopholipids. Analysis of [ 3 H]arachidonate incorporation as a function of time, in accordance with a compartmental model, indicated that observed differences in the accumulation of [ 3 H]arachidonate in various phospholipids were probably due to different rates of acylation by arachidonyl-transferases with no appreciable changes in the rates of deacylation by enzymes of the phospholipase A type. Further, the pool of phospholipid-bound arachidonate which is readily available for deacylation-reacylation processes appears to be distributed differentially among various phospholipids with more than 50% of this pool located in phosphatidylinositol and only 0.75% of the phosphatidylinositol molecules appear to be active in deacylation-reacylation processes involving arachidonyl groups.
Coming Out to Tell Our Stories: Using Queer Theory to Understand the Career Experiences of Gay Men in Public Relations

Despite the increasing focus on understanding the diversity of public relations, academics and practitioners have largely ignored gay men. Grounded in queer theory, this qualitative study examines the experiences of gay men working in public relations. We used in-depth interviews and focus groups to allow participants to discuss their careers openly. Practitioners indicated that they enjoyed working in public relations, although they pointed out areas of dissatisfaction and suggested ways to improve the working environment for gay men. These include an increased awareness of personal lives and the gay community, reduction of stereotypes, and adopting diversity-friendly policies.
Efficient Semiparametric Marginal Estimation for Longitudinal/Clustered Data

We consider marginal generalized semiparametric partially linear models for clustered data. Lin and Carroll derived the semiparametric efficient score function for this problem in the multivariate Gaussian case, but they were unable to construct a semiparametric efficient estimator that actually achieved the semiparametric information bound. Here we propose such an estimator and generalize the work to marginal generalized partially linear models. We investigate asymptotic relative efficiencies of the estimators that ignore the within-cluster correlation structure either in nonparametric curve estimation or throughout. We evaluate the finite-sample performance of these estimators through simulations and illustrate it using a longitudinal CD4 cell count dataset. Both theoretical and numerical results indicate that properly taking into account the within-subject correlation among the responses can substantially improve efficiency.
Initial accumulation of platelets during arterial thrombus formation in vivo is inhibited by elevation of basal cAMP levels.

Platelet accumulation at sites of vascular injury is the primary event in arterial thrombosis. Initial platelet accrual into thrombi is mediated by interactions of platelet adhesion receptors with ligands on the injured endothelium or in the sub-endothelial matrix. The role of intracellular signals in initial platelet accumulation at sites of endothelial injury, however, is the subject of debate. We have used a newly discovered inhibitor of phosphodiesterase 3A (PDE3A) and the well-characterized PDE3A inhibitor, cilostazol, to modulate 3′,5′-cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP) levels in an in vivo model that enables the kinetic analysis of platelet accumulation. These studies demonstrate that elevation of basal cAMP levels results in an overall decline in platelet accumulation at the site of vascular injury. In particular, the initial rate of accumulation of platelets is inhibited by elevation of cAMP. Analysis of the kinetics of individual platelets at injury sites using intravital microscopy demonstrates that cAMP directs the rate at which platelets attach to and detach from thrombi. These studies demonstrate that cAMP in circulating platelets controls attachment to and detachment from sites of arteriolar injury. Thus, the status of the intracellular signaling machinery prior to engagement of platelet receptors influences the rate of platelet accumulation during thrombus formation.
The effect of an electric field on the crystallization of gel-derived alumina precursors observed in situ in the TEM

Abstract A method has been devised to enable the observation of structural changes occurring in situ in TEM when an electric field is exerted across a thin-film sample connecting two electrodes. During early observation in the electron microscope, while an electric field is applied, small crystals formed in the alumina precursor gel assumed a preferred orientation yielding electron diffraction spots in a line almost perpendicular to the electric field direction. This phenomenon suggests that dipolar units produced during decomposition and restructuring in the precursor were aligned by the electric field. This behavior is contrasted with that of precursor samples observed in a similar way except without an applied electric field, where no special orientation for the small crystals formed was observed. The orientational effect occured only during the early stages of the structural transformations. Annealed crystalline samples did not exhibit this behavior.
What Do You Mean, Rhetoric Is Epistemic?

In 1967, Robert L. Scott (1967) advocated that "rhetoric is epistemic." This concept has enriched the work of rhetorical theorists and critics. Scott's essay is founded in a concept of argumentative justification in rhetoric, viewed as an alternative to analytic logic. Other writers, including Brummett (1976), Railsback (1983), and Cherwitz and Hikins (1986), have offered variations on Scott's theme. The thesis that rhetoric is epistemic has been controversial, however, and from the tone of the debate one may draw two conclusions: many rhetorical theorists feel that Scott was on to something important, and the thesis as it has been developed is flawed. Much of the dispute centers on what the thesis means. These discussions have not yet adequately clarified that issue. The philosopher's most fundamental obligation is to define terms with care. It is in precisely this respect that the rhetoric-is-epistemic theorists have fallen short. Some of the key terms in this literature include rhetoric, knowledge, certainty, and truth. In too many cases, the writers on rhetorical epistemology have not defined their key terms at all. In other cases, their definitions are inadequate or inconsistent. This essay undertakes to sort out the most important definitional problems, which center on the rhetoric-is-epistemic theorists' habit of equivocating about the meanings of "rhetoric" and "certainty." The result makes it possible to endorse the validity of Scott's essentially ethical conclusions, while dismissing a number of unnecessary complexities in the arguments made by rhetoric-asepistemic theorists. Finally, a few alternatives that might lead to more robust foundations for the rhetoric-as-epistemic thesis are suggested. In 1978, after reviewing four distinct interpretations of the claim that rhetoric is epistemic, Leff concluded that clarification of what that claim means "deserves more disciplined treatment than it has received in the recent literature" (1978, 77). The same could still be said. After some
A kinetic study of the endogenous reduction of the oxidized sites in the primary cytochrome c peroxidase-hydrogen peroxide compound.

Abstract The primary compound formed in the reaction between H2O2 and cytochrome c peroxidase is oxidized two equivalents above the native enzyme. The two oxidized sites are thought to be an Fe(IV) and an amino acid radical. In the absence of oxidizable substrate, the Fe(IV) and radical sites decay by apparent first-order processes but at different rates. It is likely that the decay involves both intra- and intermolecular electron-transfer reactions. The reduction of the Fe(IV) site depends upon the pH with a minimum reduction rate of 2.9·10−5s−1 at pH 6. At pH 4 and 6, the reduction of the Fe(IV) site is facilitated by prior oxidation of amino acid residues in the protein.