cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Moving Magnetic Features in and out of Penumbral Filaments

A time sequence of high-resolution SOHO/MDI magnetograms, Dopplergrams, and continuum images is used to study the moving magnetic features (MMFs) in and out of penumbral filaments. Precursors of MMFs have been observed inside the penumbral filaments. One hundred and fifteen out of 127 well-observed individual MMFs in the moat of two sunspots have been identified to have precursors at an average distance of 4″ inside the penumbral filaments. The velocity of these precursors is small inside the penumbral filaments and becomes large once the MMFs cross the outer penumbra. The paths followed by the MMFs exhibit large fluctuations in their magnetic field strength values, with an additional hike in the fluctuations near the outer penumbra. It is also observed that the path followed by the MMFs appear as a cluster of fibrils which could be traced back inside the penumbra. The appearance of MMFs and their azimuthal velocity is position and time dependent.
Tape-recording data for a cumulative recorder and for programming interval schedules

A simple method for recording discrete events with a cassette tape recorder is described. Since the converter for the recorder is inexpensive, data for several subjects can be recorded simultaneously. The recorder-converter can also be used to program interval schedules. Cassette recorded responses for a subject can be played into a cumulative recorder.
The Role of Information and Opportunism in the Choice of Buyer-Supplier Relationships

An important characteristic of any buyer-supplier relationship is the amount and type of information that is exchanged between the contracting parties. Buyer-supplier networks are characterized by greater information exchange than arm’s-length transactions. This enhanced information exchange allows for greater production efficiency but increases the potential for information misappropriation. In this paper we characterize the set of innovations for which each of these forms of exchange relationships is efficient. We then explore the effect of an initial information linkage between the buyer and supplier. Such linkages increase the set of innovations for which networks are efficient. However, such linkages have a negative effect on the buyer’s incentive to innovate and an ambiguous effect on the supplier’s incentive to invest in flexible production techniques. Finally, we identify settings in which the buyer-supplier surplus is greater with such linkages.
A perturbation method for certain non-linear oscillators

Abstract We present a perturbation method for the analysis of single degree of freedom non-linear oscillation phenomena governed by an equation of motion containing a parameter ϵ which need not be small. The approach is to define a new parameter α = α ( ϵ ) in such a way that asymptotic solutions in power series in α converge more quickly than do the standard perturbation expansions in power series in ϵ. Phenomena considered are free vibration of strongly non-linear conservative oscillators and steady state response of strongly non-linear oscillators subject to weak harmonic excitation.
Numerical studies of methane production from Class 1 gas hydrate accumulations enhanced with carbon dioxide injection

Abstract Class 1 gas hydrate accumulations are characterized by a permeable hydrate-bearing interval overlying a permeable interval with mobile gas, sandwiched between two impermeable intervals. Depressurization-induced dissociation is currently the favored technology for producing gas from Class 1 gas hydrate accumulations. The depressurization production technology requires heat transfer from the surrounding environment to sustain dissociation as the temperature drops toward the hydrate equilibrium point and leaves the reservoir void of gas hydrate. Production of gas hydrate accumulations by exchanging carbon dioxide with methane in the clathrate structure has been demonstrated in laboratory experiments and proposed as a field-scale technology. The carbon dioxide exchange technology has the potential for yielding higher production rates and mechanically stabilizing the reservoir by maintaining hydrate saturations. We used numerical simulation to investigate the advantages and disadvantages of using carbon dioxide injection to enhance the production of methane from Class 1 gas hydrate accumulations. Numerical simulations in this study were primarily concerned with the mechanisms and approaches of carbon dioxide injection to investigate whether methane production could be enhanced through this approach. To avoid excessive simulation execution times, a five-spot well pattern with a 500-m well spacing was approximated using a two-dimensional domain having well boundaries on the vertical sides and impermeable boundaries on the horizontal sides. Impermeable over- and under burden were included to account for heat transfer into the production interval. Simulation results indicate that low injection pressures can be used to reduce secondary hydrate formation and that direct contact of injected carbon dioxide with the methane hydrate present in the formation is limited due to bypass through the higher permeability gas zone.
A controlled study of the nephrotoxicity of mezlocillin and gentamicin plus ampicillin in the neonate

The nephrotoxicity of the aminoglycoside gentamicin was evaluated in anopen, controlled study of newborn infants randomly allocated to receive either combination drug therapy with gentamicin and ampicillin or single drug therapy with meziocillin for treatment of presumed neonatal sepsis. There were no significant differences in initial clinical characteristics between the groups. Neonates receiving gentamicin, in contrast to those receiving meziocillin, had significant nephrotoxicity manifested by a smaller postnatal fall in mean serum creatinine concentration (−9%, P NS vs −21%, P
Medical management of vulnerable populations and co-morbid conditions of victims of bioterrorism

Planning for the medical response to bioterrorism has primarily focused around the needs of the population as a whole. There has been little discussion pertaining to certain vulnerable groups such as children, pregnant women, or immunocompromised patients, yet they will likely comprise a significant subset of the exposed population. In addition, they will be at increased risk for morbidity and mortality following an attack. The emergency response to bioterrorism will be more complex as it relates to these vulnerable populations. Careful consideration of their special needs, some of which are presented in this article, may refine our efforts.
Discrete thinning dynamics in a continuum model of metallic nanowires

Transmission electron microscopy experiments have recently observed gold metal nanocylinders to thin down in a discrete manner: A kink---a step of order of one atomic layer---nucleates at one end and then moves along the wire, leaving a thinner cylinder behind it. In this paper, I show that a similar thinning process takes place within the nanoscale free-electron model, a structural and dynamical model of nanowires that treats the electron-confinement effects exactly while replacing the atomic structure by a continuum. Electron-shell effects, previously shown to be responsible for the stability of wires with magic radii, favor the formation of kinks connecting magic cylinders. A rich kink dynamics including interkink interactions ensues and is similar to that observed experimentally.
Does irradiation produce irreversible changes in canine jejunal myoelectric activity

We sought to determine whether acute irradiation-induced changes in jejunal myoelectric activity are reversible or chronic and progressive with repeated exposures. Five dogs underwent abdominal irradiation absorbing 938 cGy on four separate occasions, two weeks apart. Recordings of jejunal myoelectric activity were made before and 10–11 days after each irradiation exposure. Ten to 11 days after the first exposure, the animals recovered completely from the acute radiation syndrome, and the myoelectric activity returned to normal. After subsequent exposures, they developed chronic diarrhea, profound weight loss, and progressive changes in myoelectric activity. Slow waves exhibited highly variable configuration, had an irregular rhythm, and were frequently uncoupled. Spike burst activity, duration, and length of migration were reduced in association with abnormal motility patterns even though histologic abnormalities were mild. Such changes are likely to interfere with normal propulsion and contribute to impaired nutrition. The abnormalities suggest that irradiation causes dysfunction of one or more of the cellular elements involved in small bowel motility (muscle, nerve, and interstitial cells) prior to the development of severe histologic abnormalities or mechanical obstruction.
Multilayer adsorption of neon on graphite

Abstract We used an ellipsometric technique to measure adsorption isotherms for neon on graphite over the temperature range from 11 to 24.6 K. Discrete layer condensation steps were observed from the second to as high as the ninth layer. Chemical potentials at layer condensations and widths of the layer condensation steps were tabulated, and layer critical points were determined from the temperature dependence of the widths. Critical temperatures of the second and third layers are found to be 19.5 and 18.8 K respectively, in agreement with earlier work, but for layers 5, 6, and 7 increase to 21.8, 22.0, and 22.3 K respectively. This suggests that the roughening temperature of the (111) facet of neon is near 22.3 K, rather than 19 K as previously supposed.
Magnetic coil stimulation: Locus of excitation and clinical implications

The locus of excitation when stimulating the human peripheral or central nervous system with a magnetic coil [MC] is not precisely known. Recent studies using mammalian peripheral nerves in-vitro suggest certain concepts which may also govern MC stimulation in-vivo. In general, experimental observations support theoretical predictions. At this writing, the following results and conclusions reflect a converging consensus in our laboratory.
Hamiltonian cycles and paths in Cayley graphs and digraphs—a survey

Abstract Cayley graphs arise naturally in computer science, in the study of word-hyperbolic groups and automatic groups, in change-ringing, in creating Escher-like repeating patterns in the hyperbolic plane, and in combinatorial designs. Moreover, Babai has shown that all graphs can be realized as an induced subgraph of a Cayley graph of any sufficiently large group. Since the 1984 survey of results on hamiltonian cycles and paths in Cayley graphs by Witte and Gallian, many advances have been made. In this paper we chronicle these results and include some open problems and conjectures.
A robust CMOS Receiver front-end for Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance based explosives detection

Hidden bombs and abandoned military landmines buried in the afterwar field has become a severe threat to the society. A stand-off, high sensitive and portable explosive detection system is required to help this situation. Nuclear Quadrupole Resonance (NQR) detection technology has proven to be a highly effective solution for unambiguously detecting explosives, since NQR is an inherent characteristic of explosive substances. However, the current NQR based explosive detectors for field application have bulky size, and are vulnerable to the noise and Radio Frequency Interference (RFI). To address this problem, a robust CMOS Receiver front-end for NQR signal detection is proposed in this work. A Continuous Time Least Mean Square (CTLMS) adaptive filter is employed to mitigate RFI in the analog domain before the data quantization and further processing. With the proposed receiver circuit, the requirement of high precision data acquisition and complex detection algorithms downstream with high computation cost can be effectively relaxed. The proposed circuit system is implemented with 0.18 µm RF CMOS process.
A perfect match: decoding employee engagement – Part II: engaging jobs and individuals

Purpose – Part I of this paper addressed the environmental and leadership factors that contribute to employee engagement. Next, the purpose of this paper is to add the job and person to the engagement equation.Design/methodology/approach – Summarizes the characteristics of engaging jobs. Then, reviews individual personality traits that engaged individuals are more likely to exhibit: hardiness, internal locus of control, active coping style, high self esteem, low neuroticism, and high extraversion. Finally, discusses the importance of a “match” between the employee's preferences and the general work conditions and offers performance improvement implications.Findings – Engagement is a complex topic and a challenging goal. An engagement‐friendly culture values the diversity of talents employees bring to the table, respects individual needs, and inspires all employees to pursue a common and exciting vision of the future. Logically, engagement will not be impacted by a single training program, regardless of it...
Investigating the prevalence of queuine in Escherichia coli RNA via incorporation of the tritium-labeled precursor, preQ1

There are over 100 modified bases that occur in RNA with the majority found in transfer RNA. It has been widely believed that the queuine modification is limited to four transfer RNA species in vivo. However, given the vast amount of the human genome (60-70%) that is transcribed into non-coding RNA (Mattick [10]), probing the presence of modified bases in these RNAs is of fundamental importance. The mechanism of incorporation of queuine, via transglycosylation, makes this uniquely poised to probe base modification in RNA. Results of incubations of Escherichia coli cell cultures with [(3)H] preQ(1) (a queuine precursor in eubacteria) clearly demonstrate preQ(1) incorporation into a number of RNA species of various sizes larger than transfer RNA. Specifically, significant levels of preQ(1) incorporation into ribosomal RNA are observed. The modification of other large RNAs was also observed. These results confirm that non-coding RNAs contain modified bases and lead to the supposition that these modifications are necessary to control non-coding RNA structure and function as has been shown for transfer RNA.
Restoration of high-potential cytochrome b-559 in liposomes

Abstract Cytochrome b -559, purified from spinach leaves as a low-potential, ascorbate-reducible form, was incorporated into liposomes made from digalactosyldiacylglycerol and phosphatidylcholine. Approximately half of the cytochrome was restored to a high-potential, hydroquinone-reducible form in the liposome suspensions.
An IgA high-titer cold agglutinin with an unusual blood group specificity within the Pr complex.

A high titer cold agglutinin was present in the serum of a patient with an IgA monoclonal protein. Cold agglutinin activity was confined to the IgA fraction of the separated proteins. The IgA cold antibody appears to have specificity within the Pr complex in that it reacts with adult I, adult i and cord i red cells equally strongly but none of these cells react when treated with papain and neuraminidase. Weak reactions were obtained with dog and rat cells, but only if the cells were not treated with papain or neuraminidase. Monkey, sheep, mouse, hamster, rabbit and guinea pig cells did not react. This pattern of reactions is different from any so far described and may indicate either a qualitative difference, suggesting a further antigen in the Pr complex, or a quantitive difference, suggesting that the Pr1 antigen is present in a weak form on the cells of some animals such as the rat and dog.
Advective Time Lags in Box Models

Abstract A box model of the thermohaline circulation with mixed boundary conditions in which advective processes are incorporated via an explicit time delay mechanism is considered. The pipes that connect the subtropical and subpolar boxes have a finite volume and do not interact with the atmosphere or with the rest of the ocean except for channeling fluxes between the subtropical and subpolar regions. The configuration can be reduced to a two-box model, which, unlike the traditional Stommel model, incorporates finite-time advective processes. It is found that including a time lag leaves the haline dominant steady state stable, but the thermally dominant steady state, which is stable in Stommel's model, can have an oscillatory instability. However, this instability does not lead to sustained oscillations. Instead, it simply makes the circulation cross over to the stable haline dominant pattern. Even in part of the parameter range for which the thermally dominant state remains linearly stable, the time lag...
The quality of economic studies of cancer pharmacogenomics: a quantitative appraisal of the evidence

This study evaluated the quality of health economic studies of cancer pharmacogenomics (PGx). A systematic search of the literature for economic studies of PGx was conducted in four common cancers. Evaluation of study quality was carried out using the quality of health economic studies instrument. Thirty-nine articles met our eligibility criteria and were selected and accepted for further statistical analyses. The majority of articles (85%) were studies focusing on breast cancer. The overall weighted mean quality score was 85.10, with a range from 21 to 100. Eighty-seven percent of articles were categorized as good quality, whereas some 10 and 3% were categorized as moderate and poor quality, respectively. The quality of economic studies of cancer PGx is generally good but varied widely. We identified several attributes that are predictive of quality. Our findings may be useful for oncologists, health economists and decision makers interested in evaluating studies involving PGx.
Police officer attitudes toward community policing: a case study of the Racine Wisconsin Police Department

We examined police officer attitudes toward community policing over a 19‐month period. Patrol officers’ and investigators’ attitudes toward community policing are less favorable toward community policing concepts, programming, decentralization of substations, and the community policing unit than senior command and, in some cases, sergeants. Both patrol and investigators indicate strained relationships with supervisors and are more supportive of a decentralized organizational structure than are sergeants and senior command. We ask if discretionary power and increased participatory management among all officers can be favorably viewed by management and if dissention can be tolerated and incorporated into a dialog for change.
Neuroendocrine Responses to Physostigmine in Alzheimer's Disease

• To assess central nervous system cholinergic neuroendocrine regulation in Alzheimer's disease (AD), we measured plasma arginine vasopressin, β-endorphin, and epinephrine responses to a cholinergic challenge elicited by intravenous administration of the acetylcholinesterase inhibitor physostigmine (0.0125 mg/kg) in male patients with AD (n =12) and compared their responses with those of age-matched normal control subjects (n =12). Physostigmine promptly increased plasma arginine vasopressin (tenfold), β-endorphin (twofold to threefold) and epinephrine (threefold) levels in elderly control subjects. In contrast, patients with AD showed attenuated responses to physostigmine. When controls and patients with AD who experienced nausea (n = 2 and n = 6, respectively) were excluded, the arginine vasopressin, β-endorphin, and epinephrine responses of patients with AD were significantly less than those of control subjects. These data suggest that the central nervous system cholinergic deterioration of AD results in decreased responsiveness of neuroendocrine systems that are regulated by central cholinergic mechanisms.
Sur le rang des courbes elliptiques sur les corps de classes de Hilbert

Let E/ℚ be an elliptic curve and let D 0 is an absolute constant. This result is compatible with the Birch and Swinnerton-Dyer conjecture.
High-Performance Chirped Electrode Design for Cat's Eye Retro-Reflector Modulators

Modulating retro-reflector (MRR) systems typically use large area surface-normal modulators with large lateral current flow. Frequency response is limited by the resistance capacitance time constant. In cat's eye MRRs, only a small percentage of the modulator area is illuminated at a time. Uniform resistance to each part of the modulator is desired to decrease location dependence of frequency response. A novel "chirped" grid electrode was designed to balance semiconductor sheet resistance and metal line resistance components of the series resistance. Measured rise/fall times across the device showed good uniformity
On Two-Hop MIMO Relay Using Random Beamforming in Cellular System

In this paper, we focus on point-to-multipoint relaying in cellular system. The base station, the mobile users and fixed relay each have multiple antennas. The special case of MIMO fixed relays with random beamforming is investigated. Via path selection, for any mobile user, only a single relay or the home base station is selected for transmission. Since heavy interference may be cancelled in decoding operation, the relays work in decode-and-forward mode. For simplicity, only two-hop communication is considered. Simulation results show the MIMO relay using random beamforming can improve the capacity performance of cellular system.
The effect of 2,4‐diaminotoluene and isomers of dinitrotoluene on unscheduled dna synthesis in primary rat hepatocytes

The important industrial chemicals 2,4-dinitrotoluene (DNT) and 2,4-diaminotoluene (DAT) are hepatocarcinogens in rats. Technical grade DNT contains approximately 76% 2,4-DNT, 19% 2,6-DNT, and lesser amounts of the other isomers. The ability of 2,4-DAT, technical grade 2,4-DNT, and the purified isomers 2,3-DNT, 2,4-DNT, 2,5-DNT, 2,6-DNT, 3,4-DNT and 3,5-DNT to damage the DNA of primary rat hepatocytes was examined. Male Fischer-344 rats were perfused in situ, single cell suspensions were obtained after liver dissociation, and cultures of these cells were treated in the presence of 3H-thymidine. Autoradiography was employed to visualize label incorporation following repair of DNA. At the nontoxic (as judged by cell morphology) doses of 1 x 10(-4) M and below, only 2,4-DAT induced a significant response (ie an average greater than 5 grains net/nucleus). The activity seen with 2,4-DAT suggests that damage to the DNA of the hepatocytes may play a role in its carcinogenic activity and is consistent with the proposal that the induction of DNA repair in primary hepatocytes is of value in predicting the activity of aromatic amino compounds. However, the carcinogenic activity of the dinitrotoluenes was not reflected as DNA repair in the isolated hepatocyte, indicating that additional factors involving the whole animal also play a role in the mechanism of action of DNT.
Meta optimization: improving compiler heuristics with machine learning

Compiler writers have crafted many heuristics over the years to approximately solve NP-hard problems efficiently. Finding a heuristic that performs well on a broad range of applications is a tedious and difficult process. This paper introduces Meta Optimization, a methodology for automatically fine-tuning compiler heuristics. Meta Optimization uses machine-learning techniques to automatically search the space of compiler heuristics. Our techniques reduce compiler design complexity by relieving compiler writers of the tedium of heuristic tuning. Our machine-learning system uses an evolutionary algorithm to automatically find effective compiler heuristics. We present promising experimental results. In one mode of operation Meta Optimization creates application-specific heuristics which often result in impressive speedups. For hyperblock formation, one optimization we present in this paper, we obtain an average speedup of 23% (up to 73%) for the applications in our suite. Furthermore, by evolving a compiler's heuristic over several benchmarks, we can create effective, general-purpose heuristics. The best general-purpose heuristic our system found for hyperblock formation improved performance by an average of 25% on our training set, and 9% on a completely unrelated test set. We demonstrate the efficacy of our techniques on three different optimizations in this paper: hyperblock formation, register allocation, and data prefetching.
Periodic Non Uniform Sampling of Non Bandlimited Signals

We consider the periodic non uniform sampling of a class of continuous time non bandlimited signals. Unlike previous ous work, the periodic non uniform sequence is obtained by retaining a select group of samples from a larger set generated by oversampling the continuous time signal. The oversampled sequence is modeled as the output of a discrete time multirate interpolation filter. Using this model, we propose a number of ways to retrieve the signal and derive necessary and sufficient conditions for signal reconstruction with FIR digital filters. The use of FIR filtering insures the stability of the reconstruction process.
Subependymal (Grade 1 ) Intracranial Hemorrhage in Neonates on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation Frequency and Patterns of Evolution

Intracranial hemorrhage (ICH) is a potential contraindication to extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) therapy in neonates, since systemic anticoagulation required during ECMO may increase the incidence and progression of ICH. To determine the frequency and the pattern of evolution of subependymal hemorrhage (SEH) (grade 1 ICH) in neonates on ECMO, the daily head ultrasound (HUS) examinations obtained as part of a prospective neurologic evaluation protocol in 212 ECMO patients were reviewed. Forty-three patients (20%) had a total of 65 SEHs. Twenty-two infants had bilateral SEH. Twenty-eight infants developed 38 SEHs during ECMO bypass after pre-ECMO HUS showed no evidence of ICH. An additional 18 neonates had a total of 22 SEHs demonstrated on pre-ECMO HUS. No pre-ECMO HUS was performed in four infants having a total of five SEHs first identified during ECMO bypass. Of the 65 SEHs, 59 (91%) remained stable or resolved during ECMO, while six (9%) evolved during ECMO — three to grade 2, one to grade 3...
The Mammalian Ortholog of Drosophila MOF That Acetylates Histone H4 Lysine 16 Is Essential for Embryogenesis and Oncogenesis

The mammalian ortholog of the Drosophila MOF (males absent on the first) gene product is a histone H4 lysine 16-specific acetyltransferase. Recent studies have shown that depletion of human MOF (hMOF) in human cell lines leads to genomic instability, spontaneous chromosomal aberrations, cell cycle defects, altered nuclear morphology, reduced transcription of certain genes, and defective DNA damage response to ionizing radiation (IR). Here we show that MOF plays an essential role in mammals during embryogenesis and oncogenesis. Ablation of the mouse Mof gene (mMof) by gene targeting resulted in early embryonic lethality and cell death. Lethality correlated with the loss of H4 lysine 16 acetylation (H4K16ac) and could not be rescued by concomitant inactivation of ATM or p53. In comparison to primary cells or normal tissue, all immortalized human normal and tumor cell lines and primary tumors demonstrated similar or elevated hMOF and H4K16ac levels. Accordingly, MOF overexpression correlated with increased cellular proliferation, oncogenic transformation, and tumor growth. Thus, these data reveal that the acetylation of histone H4 at K16 by MOF is an epigenetic signature of cellular proliferation common to both embryogenesis and oncogenesis and that MOF is an essential factor for embryogenesis and oncogenesis.
Phonetic classification using multi-layer perceptrons

Several extensions to the authors' previously published results (Proc. IEEE IC ASSP, p.422-5, 1988) on the constrained task of using multilayer perceptrons to classify the vowels in American English spoken by many speakers and excised from continuous speech are described. For vowel classification, the use of linguistic features is investigated. How the choice of the number of hidden units affects classification accuracy is examined. The use of several initialization techniques to improve accuracy and reduce training is explored. The networks are modified in order to classify 38 vowels and consonants. Methods for input normalization and gain adaptation are investigated, leading to an accuracy of 70%. >
The Relation of Maternal Sensitivity to Children’s Internalizing and Externalizing Problems Within the Context of Maternal Depressive Symptoms:

Maternal depression has been linked to deficits in parenting that contribute to youth's development of externalizing and/or internalizing problems. Maternal sensitivity has been implicated within the infant literature as a foundational aspect of parenting contributing to a child's adjustment. This study examines the main and moderating effects of a construct labeled maternal sensitivity, within the context of depressive symptoms, on youth externalizing and internalizing problems in a sample of 65 mothers with a history of depression and their 84 children ages 9-15 years. Sensitivity was related to child externalizing problems. Although two-way interactions were not significant, exploratory moderation analyses indicated a significant three-way interaction among maternal depressive symptoms, maternal sensitivity, and youth gender for internalizing problems: among girls only, high depressive symptoms, low sensitivity, and the combination of these two variables were each associated with high levels of internalizing problems.
NET PRIMARY PRODUCTIVITY OF A WESTERN MONTANE RIPARIAN FOREST: POTENTIAL INFLUENCE OF STREAM FLOW DIVERSION

ABSTRACT We estimated aboveground and belowground net primary productivity (NPP) for two reaches of a montane riparian ecosystem in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains of California with differing stream flow regimes resulting from varying degrees of stream flow diversion for hydroelectric power generation. Total understory productivity (herbaceous and shrub) was 2.5 times higher (P < 0.001) at the high-flow site than at the low-flow site (22.4 and 8.9 g C m−2 yr−1, respectively). Annual litterfall was also higher (P = 0.03) at the high-flow (235 g C m−2 yr−1) than at the low-flow site (180 g C m−2 yr−1). However, tree and total aboveground NPP, as well as annual soil respiration and belowground NPP, were all statistically similar between sites. Furthermore, total (above- plus below-ground) NPP was statistically similar between sites (903 and 643 g C m−2 yr−1 for the high- and low-flow sites, respectively). These productivity estimates are, to our knowledge, the first ever reported for a western montane r...
Impact of Quality of Life on Patient Expectations Regarding Phase I Clinical Trials

PURPOSE: Quality of life (QOL) is increasingly recognized as a critical cancer-treatment outcome measure, but little is known about the impact of QOL on the patient decision-making process. A pilot study was conducted in an effort to (1) measure the expectations of patients, physicians, and research nurses regarding the potential benefits and toxicities from experimental and standard therapies, and (2) determine the relationship of QOL to patient perceptions regarding treatment options. METHODS: Thirty cancer patients enrolling in phase I clinical trials, their physicians, and their research nurses were administered questionnaires that assessed demographics, QOL, and treatment expectations. RESULTS: Compared with their physicians, patients overestimated potential benefits and toxicities from experimental therapy (mean expected benefit, 59.8% v 23.8%, P < .01; mean expected toxicity, 29.8% v 16.0%, P < .01). Patients estimated a greater potential for benefit (59.8% v 36.8%, P < .01) and less potential for ...
EMACS the extensible, customizable self-documenting display editor

EMACS is a display editor which is implemented in an interpreted high level language. This allows users to extend the editor by replacing parts of it, to experiment with alternative command languages, and to share extensions which are generally useful. The ease of extension has contributed to the growth of a large set of useful features. This paper describes the organization of the EMACS system, emphasizing the way in which extensibility is achieved and used.This report describes work done at the Artificial Intelligence Laboratory of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Support for the laboratory's research is provided in part by the Advanced Research Projects Agency of the Department of Defense under Office of Naval Research contract N00014-80-C-0505.
Bone physiology of tooth movement, ankylosis, and osseointegration

Abstract Tooth movement is a highly conserved physiologic mechanism for continuous adaptation of the dentition. Physiologic drift of teeth is essential for maintaining appropriate stomatognathic function over a lifetime. Orthodontics is a therapeutic exploitation of this physiologic mechanism. The relative position of a tooth is dictated by the equilibrium of forces acting on it. The periodontium is an "organ" of functionally coordinated tissues that responds to continuous loads. The critical adaptive tissue for the expression of tooth movement is the periodontal ligament. Finite element modeling suggests that differential levels of stress in bone and its supporting soft tissue control the tooth movement response. With regard to orthodontics, bone formation is analogous to the orthopedic hypertrophic response, whereas bone resorption corresponds more closely to fatigue failure. Ankylosed teeth and osseointegrated implants can provide good occlusal function and serve as effective orthodontic anchorage. Using fatigue failure mechanics, implants can serve as anchorage to move ankylosed teeth. When healthy teeth are moved into atrophic areas of the alveolar process, substantial amounts of new bone and attached gingiva are produced. Orthodontics is a form of tissue engineering.
Modeling vertical channel junction field effect devices in silicon carbide

The electrical characterization and model development for silicon carbide (SiC) vertical channel SIT and JFET structures are presented in this work. A compact model is developed based on the device geometry and SiC material properties. Northrop Grumman validates the model against measured data at 25 /spl deg/C and 100 /spl deg/C for a prototype 0.03 cm/sup 2/ SiC SIT provided. The model's on-state and transient characteristics are validated over this temperature range. Validation of the model shows excellent agreement with measured data. The physics-based approach implemented in this model is crucial to describing the transient behavior over a wide range of application conditions and temperature ranges.
Cautions and Research Needs Identified at the Equol, Soy, and Menopause Research Leadership Conference

This summary addresses the progress and limitations of existing research on the physiologic properties of the isoflavone daidzein metabolite equol. Previous research demonstrating that physiological equol is its S-enantiomer has led to the preparation of S-(-)equol-enriched products formed by the bacterial fermentation of soy germ. Although this product has interesting properties as described in this workshop, the following important issues must be addressed: 1) the product should be evaluated against a preparation containing an equal amount of pure S-(-)equol to determine whether other components resulting from the fermentation are contributing to the physiological effects; 2) evaluation of the cellular mechanisms of S-(-)equol using cell culture methods should be conducted at concentrations consistent with those encountered physiologically (in the nmol/L range) and in several cell lines representing a target tissue; and 3) in follow-up studies in animal models and in human clinical trials, standardized preparations of S-(-)equol should be made available. Research opportunities now exist to determine whether equol's apparent effects on menopausal symptoms (hot flashes, sleep disturbances, bone health) in equol producers can be extended to equol nonproducers. It will be important to ensure that such research is not complicated by cultural differences, differences in lifetime exposure to soy products, experimental techniques, and other variables. Further areas of research that would benefit from the availability of S-(-)equol preparations include its use in skin care (either as an antioxidant or as an estrogen receptor agonist) and in the treatment of brain injury as well as postmenopausal cognitive decline.
Present guidelines for device implantation: clinical considerations and clinical challenges from pacing, implantable cardiac defibrillator, and cardiac resynchronization therapy.

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) have become mainstays of clinical cardiology practice for high-risk patients supported by persuasive clinical trial data. Yet, areas of certainty are offset by considerable uncertainty about the criteria for implantation and for reimbursement. This article reviews selected elements of the clinical trial data and reconciles, when possible, guideline recommendations with the Center for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) national coverage determination (NCD). Medical practice guidelines represent the cumulative effort of patients, clinicians, scientists, and statisticians striving to guide patient care on the basis of the best clinical trial science available.1–6 Expert consensus dates back centuries, but the modern era of clinical guidelines is founded on the concept of evidence-based medicine, introduced in the 1980s. Having its origin in the discipline of clinical epidemiology and public health, evidence-based medicine incorporates both best science and best clinical practice. The most commonly used definition by Sackett et al7 states, “Evidence-based medicine is the conscientious, explicit and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about the care of individual patients.” Guidelines rank the strength of evidence by class: Class I represents the highest recommendation, Class II requires further physician consideration, and Class III discourages the use of the therapy considered. A complementary grading system considers the relative benefit versus risk as a statement of certainty of treatment effect from A, indicating strongest certainty, to C, indicating lowest certainty.8 Guidelines provide the practicing physician an exhaustive summary of the available literature, including areas of conflict and differences in study protocols and patient cohorts. Without such guidelines, physician and hospital performance metrics would be adrift, and payers would have no objective footprint to assess reasonable standards of care. Although medical practice guidelines are an important tool for physicians faced with clinical …
CORDIC-based architectures for robot direct kinematics and Jacobian computations

Two efficient CORDIC-based architectures, designed to take advantage of the algorithmic characteristics of the kinematic equation, are proposed for the real-time computation of manipulator direct kinematics and Jacobian. The kinematic equation of an N-jointed manipulator involves the chain product of N homogeneous link transformation matrices and reveals the requirement for computing a large set of elementary operations: multiplications, additions, and trigonometric functions. Since these elementary operations, in general, cannot be efficiently computed in genera-purpose uniprocessor computers, the coordinate rotation digital computer (CORDIC) algorithms are used. It is found that a general homogeneous link transformation matrix can be decomposed into a product of two matrices, each of which can be computed by two CORDIC processors arranged in parallel, forming a generic two-stage cascade CORDIC computational module. >
Programming as an engineering discipline

For too long computer programming has been treated as an art or a craft rather than as a science or an engineering discipline. The Kernel Language approach provides a precise and concise basis for programming in all paradigms (imperative, logical, functional and object-oriented) as well as for parallel, concurrent and distributed multi-thread programming. The Kernel Language is implemented as a subset of Oz, a powerful, multi-paradigm programming language that is similar to Java. This allows us to apply the theory to enhance the art of practical problem solving. KL allows us to introduce multi-thread programming and the major programming paradigms in first courses of programming. With the rapidly expanding acceptance of multi-language programming capabilities of dotNET, a revision of traditional introductory programming courses becomes more and more important.
Detection of muscle atrophy on routine sonography of the shoulder.

Objective. To describe the utility of sonography in visualizing muscle atrophy during routine sonographic examination of the shoulder for evaluation of the rotator cuff tendons. Methods. A retrospective review of 199 shoulder sonographic examinations performed by 2 musculoskeletal radiologists trained in musculoskeletal sonography with knowledge of the typical sonographic findings of muscle atrophy was performed. Reports were reviewed for the presence of muscle atrophy. If atrophy was present, the reports from those examinations were rereviewed for concomitant rotator cuff abnormalities. Results. Forty-five examinations (23%) showed atrophy in at least 1 muscle on the basis of the criteria of increased echogenicity and decreased bulk. There were a total of 81 individual muscles that showed atrophy, with the following distribution: 16% supraspinatus (n = 13), 31% infraspinatus (n = 25), 36% teres minor (n = 29), 2% subscapularis (n = 2), and 6% biceps brachii (n = 5). In 34 of the 45 examinations with muscle atrophy, there were 57 concomitant full-thickness tendon tears: 64% supraspinatus (n = 29), 38% infraspinatus (n = 17), 7% subscapularis (n = 3), 0% teres minor (n = 0), 16% long head of biceps (n = 7), and 2% deltoid (n = 1). Conclusions. Although primary sonographic evaluation of the painful shoulder concentrates on the tendons of the rotator cuff, we suggest that examination of the muscles should become a standard component of
The Role of Multifilament Structures and Lateral Interactions in Dynamics of Cytoskeleton Proteins and Assemblies

Microtubules and actin filaments are biopolymer molecules that are major components of cytoskeleton networks in biological cells. They play important roles in supporting fundamental cellular processes such as cell division, signaling, locomotion, and intracellular transport. In cells, cytoskeleton proteins function under nonequilibrium conditions that are powered by hydrolysis of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) or guanosine triphosphate (GTP) molecules attached to them. Although these biopolymers are critically important for all cellular processes, the mechanisms that govern their complex dynamics and force generation remain not well explained. One of the most difficult fundamental issues is to understand how different components of cytoskeleton proteins interact together. We develop an approximate theoretical approach for analyzing complex processes in cytoskeleton proteins that takes into account the multifilament structure, lateral interactions between parallel protofilaments, and the most relevant biochemical transitions during the biopolymer growth. It allows us to fully evaluate collective dynamic properties of cytoskeleton filaments as well as the effect of external forces on them. It is found that for the case of strong lateral interactions the stall force of the multifilament protein is a linear function of the number of protofilaments. However, for weak lateral interactions, deviations from the linearity are observed. We also show that stall forces, mean velocities, and dispersions are increasing functions of the lateral interactions. Physical-chemical explanations of these phenomena are presented. Our theoretical predictions are supported by extensive Monte Carlo computer simulations.
A method for the experimental production of lung abscess.

ConclusionThus far our experiments have lad us to believe that we can produce lung abscess with a fairly high degree of success and the method many perhaps furnish further experimental evidence in favor of the embolic theory of lung abscess.
Information Retrieval Based on Statistical Language Model

Information retrieval (IR)based on statistical language model (SLM)and the smoothing technology related to SLM are generally introduced in this paper. By comparing with popular retrieval models of IR in the past years, the ad- vantage of information retrieval based SLM is discussed in detail. At last, some research directions of information re- trieval based on SLM are presented.
Facebook for Health Promotion: Female College Students' Perspectives on Sharing HPV Vaccine Information Through Facebook.

Facebook, a social network site, has been widely used among young adults. However, its potential to be used as a health promotion medium has not been fully examined. This study explored Facebook's potential for sharing human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine information among female college students in Hawai‘i. Culturally tailored flyers and handouts were developed and distributed at one large university in Hawai‘i to recruit female college students between the age of 18 and 26 having an active Facebook account. Three focus group meetings were conducted to gather student perspectives about how information about HPV vaccine may be best shared via Facebook. We found that students believed Facebook is a good awareness tool but they needed more knowledge about the HPV vaccine to feel comfortable sharing the information. Participants preferred forwarding information to chatting about HPV. Some participants expressed concern that their Facebook friends would think the HPV vaccine information they forwarded on Facebook is spam. Participants suggested prefacing the posted HPV vaccine information with a personal note in their own words to make the message more interesting and relevant to their Facebook friends. Future interventions using Facebook to promote HPV vaccine could provide students with HPV vaccine information from credible sources and ask students to attach personal testimonials or endorsements while forwarding the information on Facebook.
Patterns of family service needs and caregiver–child relationships among families at risk of child welfare involvement

Caregivers at risk of involvement in the child welfare system report high levels of need for multiple types of services, and their children have high levels of mental health need. Caregivers from families with more service needs, as well as unmet needs, are less likely to be engaged with child welfare services and may have diminished capacity to care for their child. This study takes a family-centered approach by using latent class analysis to identify patterns of both caregiver and child service needs among families at risk of child welfare involvement. Using data from the LONGSCAN consortium (N = 957), we identified 4 classes of service needs among child welfare-involved families. We then examined differences between the 4 classes based on demographics, maltreatment histories, unmet service needs, and caregiver–child relationship. The caregivers were split fairly evenly among the 4 classes: low needs, medical needs, poverty support, and high needs. There were significant differences between classes on assessed variables, with higher levels of needs associated with diminished caregiver–child relationships.