cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
WE-AB-BRA-05: Fully Automatic Segmentation of Male Pelvic Organs On CT Without Manual Intervention

Purpose: We aim to develop a fully automatic tool for accurate contouring of major male pelvic organs in CT images for radiotherapy without any manual initialization, yet still achieving superior performance than the existing tools. Methods: A learning-based 3D deformable shape model was developed for automatic contouring. Specifically, we utilized a recent machine learning method, random forest, to jointly learn both image regressor and classifier for each organ. In particular, the image regressor is trained to predict the 3D displacement from each vertex of the 3D shape model towards the organ boundary based on the local image appearance around the location of this vertex. The predicted 3D displacements are then used to drive the 3D shape model towards the target organ. Once the shape model is deformed close to the target organ, it is further refined by an organ likelihood map estimated by the learned classifier. As the organ likelihood map provides good guideline for the organ boundary, the precise contouring Result could be achieved, by deforming the 3D shape model locally to fit boundaries in the organ likelihood map. Results: We applied our method to 29 previously-treated prostate cancer patients, each with one planning CT scan. Compared with manually delineated pelvic organs, our method obtains overlap ratios of 85.2%±3.74% for the prostate, 94.9%±1.62% for the bladder, and 84.7%±1.97% for the rectum, respectively. Conclusion: This work demonstrated feasibility of a novel machine-learning based approach for accurate and automatic contouring of major male pelvic organs. It shows the potential to replace the time-consuming and inconsistent manual contouring in the clinic. Also, compared with the existing works, our method is more accurate and also efficient since it does not require any manual intervention, such as manual landmark placement. Moreover, our method obtained very similar contouring results as the clinical experts. Project is partially support by a grant from NCI 1R01CA140413
Exact cumulant Kramers–Moyal-like expansion

Abstract We derive an exact equation, a Cumulant Kramers–Moyal Equation (CKME), quite similar to the Kramers–Moyal Equation (KME), for the probability distribution of a Markovian dynamical system. It can be applied to any well behaved (converging cumulants) continuous time systems, such as Langevin equations or other models. An interesting but significant difference with respect to the KME is that their jump-moments are proportional to cumulants of the dynamical variables, but not proportional to central moments, as is the case for the KME. In fact, they still obey a weaker version of Pawula’s theorem, namely Marcinkiewicz’s theorem. We compare the results derived from the equations herein with the ones obtained by computing via Gaussian and biased, and unbiased, Poisson Langevin dynamics and a Poisson non-Langevin model. We obtain the exact CKME time-evolution equation for the systems, and in several cases, those are distinct from the Fokker–Planck equation or the KME.
Production and transaction economies and IS outsourcing: a study of the U.S. banking industry

This paper studies economic determinants of IS outsourcing. It argues that a focus on comparative economic theories and models can improve our ability to explain outsourcing within the larger context of organizational strategy and environment. Specifically, the research constructs of production cost, transaction cost, and financial slack are examined simultaneously to understand what influences the outsourcing decision. To empirically test these relationships, information was gathered from senior IT managers in 243 U.S. banks. Financial indices from the archives of the Federal Reserve Bank were a second important source of data.Results of the study show that IS outsourcing in banks was strongly influenced by production cost advantages offered by vendors. Transaction costs played a role in the outsourcing decision, but it was much smaller than production costs. Finally, financial slack was not found to be a significant explanator, although firm size was a significant control factor. The paper has important implications for research and practice. For researchers, the findings provide evidence that financial criteria can be key factors in outsourcing decisions and compare the relative effects of production and transaction costs. For practitioners, the findings suggest that managerial sourcing strategies need to weigh both costs when hiring systems integrators.
Current Concepts in Splenic Trauma

Despite its protected location inside the rib cage, the spleen remains the most commonly injured organ after blunt abdominal trauma. The clinical decision-making process of splenic injury management continues to evolve due to improvements in surgical technique and noninvasive assessment. Splenic preservation techniques and splenic injury grading systems using computerized tomography were developed due to an increased understanding of the spleen's importance in the body's immunological defense system and awareness of the spleen's resiliency after injury. The concept of splenic salvage using splenorrhaphy and nonoperative management was initially applied to the pediatric population during the 1970s, with great success. Application of splenic salvage to hemodynamically stable adult patients with known or unknown splenic injury has demonstrated that adults can be less predictable in their clinical course. Despite the rigorous attention splenic trauma has received, it remains a controversial subject in the sur...
Depth Discovery in a Market with Expandable Limit Orders: An Investigation of the U.S. Treasury Market

This paper studies the brokered interdealer trading activity of primary dealers in the secondary market for U.S. Treasury securities. Limit orders in this market are expandable: specifically, quotes represent a firm-price commitment to trade but also serve as an invitation for brokered one-on-one quantity negotiation. As a result, we find that few transactions (0.6% of dollar volume) receive price improvement but many transactions (45.1% of dollar volume) discover greater-than-quoted depth. We find evidence consistent with dealers' using expandable limit order strategies to reduce costs associated with information leakage and stale limit orders. Expandable orders, however, create queues for other dealers who must wait to transact. We find evidence consistent with dealers' willingness to use another broker at worse prices rather than wait in the queue of a broker with quantity negotiations in progress.
The Elephant in the Law School Assessment Room: Student Responsibility and Motivating Our Students to Learn

The American Bar Association’s proposed new accreditation standards call for law schools to assess the effectiveness of their academic programs. Law schools are now doing so, quickly giving rise to an assessment movement that closely examines desired educational outcomes and professors’ efforts to attain them. But assessment has to date focused on the professor, who is just one part of the professor-student partnership. All but ignored are the contributions and motivation of the other critical component — the student.This article posits that to assess academic programs’ effectiveness, assessment must evaluate the contributions of students and not just professors. With such data, professors could target students’ progress and motivation strategically, making strides in both teaching and learning. Part I of this article sets out the responsibility for learning shared between professor and student and examines existing research in the field of student responsibility for learning. Part II explains the profound benefits of assessing student responsibility and Part III presents methods for measuring student perspectives and participation. Part IV identifies practical strategies for igniting students’ motivation and commitment to learning. Assessment aims to prepare students for legal practice. But unless law professors consider the level of responsibility students take for their own education, any assessment results will lack proper context. By assessing students’ contributions too, professors can take the necessary steps to enhance their students’ academic and professional competence.
Stochastic Approximation Approach to Design of Linear Controllers for Tracking Systems With Asymmetric Saturation

Reference-tracking closed-loop systems with saturating actuators often operate in asymmetric regimes. This is because reference signals cause the operating points away from the point of saturation symmetry (even if the actuator itself is symmetric, i.e., odd, function). Stability analysis and stabilizing controller design for asymmetric systems can be carried out using the same techniques as those for the symmetric case. In contrast, currently available methods for controller design in the framework of reference tracking are not applicable to asymmetric systems. The goal of this paper is to develop such a method for single-input single-output (SISO) plants having no poles in the open right-side plane. The approach is based on a global quasi-linearization technique referred to as stochastic linearization, which approximates the saturation function by an equivalent gain and equivalent bias. The main qualitative result obtained is that the asymmetry leads to a constant disturbance acting at the input of the plant. The quantitative results are analytical expressions for this disturbance and the ensuing steady-state tracking errors. It is shown that these errors exhibit a behavior incompatible with the linear control theory. Specifically, they may be increasing or nonmonotonic functions of the controller gain. In view of this fact, the paper develops a time-domain technique for linear tracking controller design based on two loci: the saturating root locus (to account for dynamics) and the saturating tracking error locus (to accounts for statics). Methods for sketching these loci are provided and applied to controllers design.
Logging business practices and perspectives on harvesting forest residues for energy: a Minnesota case study.

Timber harvesting residues, specifically the nonmerchantable tree tops and limbs associated with a commercial roundwood harvest, have the capacity to supply substantial feedstock for energy production. Phone interviews of Minnesota’s logging business owners who process residual woody biomass for energy using chippers and grinders were conducted in summer 2008 to characterize their practices on harvesting and processing these residues and to collect qualitative data describing biomass harvesting opportunities and constraints. Minnesota’s logging businesses are highly variable with respect to many aspects of woody biomass harvesting, such as preferred tree species, equipment configurations, strategies for collecting and processing residual biomass, and utilization efficiency. Factors cited as having a substantial influence on future biomass harvesting opportunities included the environmental benefits of burning woody biomass over traditional nonrenewable fuels and the potential for biomass harvesting to positively affect wildlife habitat and forest health. Low prices received for delivered wood chips and grindings, high fixed and variable operating costs, and resource uncertainty about future harvesting restrictions due to environmental concerns were cited as important issues that could limit growth in the state’s woody biomass harvesting sector.
Nip7p Interacts with Nop8p, an Essential Nucleolar Protein Required for 60S Ribosome Biogenesis, and the Exosome Subunit Rrp43p

NIP7 encodes a conserved Saccharomyces cerevisiae nucleolar protein that is required for 60S subunit biogenesis (N. I. T. Zanchin, P. Roberts, A. DeSilva, F. Sherman, and D. S. Goldfarb, Mol. Cell. Biol. 17:5001–5015, 1997). Rrp43p and a second essential protein, Nop8p, were identified in a two-hybrid screen as Nip7p-interacting proteins. Biochemical evidence for an interaction was provided by the copurification on immunoglobulin G-Sepharose of Nip7p with protein A-tagged Rrp43p and Nop8p. Cells depleted of Nop8p contained reduced levels of free 60S ribosomes and polysomes and accumulated half-mer polysomes. Nop8p-depleted cells also accumulated 35S pre-rRNA and an aberrant 23S pre-rRNA. Nop8p-depleted cells failed to accumulate either 25S or 27S rRNA, although they did synthesize significant levels of 18S rRNA. These results indicate that 27S or 25S rRNA is degraded in Nop8p-depleted cells after the section containing 18S rRNA is removed. Nip7p-depleted cells exhibited the same defects as Nop8p-depleted cells, except that they accumulated 27S precursors. Rrp43p is a component of the exosome, a complex of 3′-to-5′ exonucleases whose subunits have been implicated in 5.8S rRNA processing and mRNA turnover. Whereas both green fluorescent protein (GFP)-Nop8p and GFP-Nip7p localized to nucleoli, GFP-Rrp43p localized throughout the nucleus and to a lesser extent in the cytoplasm. Distinct pools of Rrp43p may interact both with the exosome and with Nip7p, possibly both in the nucleus and in the cytoplasm, to catalyze analogous reactions in the multistep process of 60S ribosome biogenesis and mRNA turnover.
Ambiguities in Spatial Language Understanding in Situated Human Robot Dialogue

In human robot dialogue, identifying intended referents from human partners’ spatial language is challenging. This is partly due to automated inference of potentially ambiguous underlying reference system (i.e., frame of reference ). To improve spatial language understanding, we conducted an empirical study to investigate the prevalence of ambiguities of frame of reference. Our ﬁndings indicate that ambiguities do arise frequently during human robot dialogues. Although situational factors from the spatial arrangement are less indicative for the underlying reference system, linguistic cues and individual preferences may allow reliable disambiguation.
Mass customisation and consumer behaviour: the development of a scale to measure customer customisation sensitivity

Theoretical research on mass customisation of consumer products and services has emphasised the importance of consumers embracing customised products as a prerequisite to success. It seems obvious that if consumers are not interested in customisation, then there is no need to pursue customisation strategies. Consumers may be more or less inclined toward different types of mass customised products/services, thus it is critical to know the importance of customisation for consumers. This paper describes the development of a short scale to measure customer customisation sensitivity or CCS as an initial research effort. Ideas for future investigations are also suggested.
Stability of eccentrically stiffened plates

Abstract A finite element model is developed to investigate the elastic stability of eccentrically stiffened rectangular plates. The plate and beam elements form a structural system in which the neutral surfaces for bending in the x-z and y-z planes may not coincide. The additional forces resulting from the eccentricity of the middle surface of the plate and the centroids of the beams is taken into account in deriving the element stiffness and geometric matrix. The formulation is based on the behaviour of the plate-stiffener system and not on the behavior of the separate components. The results of this study clearly show the limitations of the equivalent orthotropic plate theory.
Simultaneous quantification of atomoxetine as well as its primary oxidative and O-glucuronide metabolites in human plasma and urine using liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS).

A sensitive and selective liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (LC/MS/MS) method for the determination of atomoxetine and its metabolites (4-hydroxyatomoxetine, N-des-methylatomoxetine, and 4-hydroxyatomoxetine-O-glucuronide) has been developed for human plasma and urine. Using stable-labeled internal standards, the method proved to be accurate and precise for the analytes in all species, resulting in inter-batch accuracy (percent relative error, %RE) within 100 ± 13% and inter-batch precision (relative standard deviation, %RSD) within 11%. Stability was demonstrated for the analytes in neat solutions and the reconstitution solvent, as well as plasma and urine (with or without the deconjugation reagent). The method was simple, robust (utilized for the analysis of several hundred clinical study samples), and amenable to high sample throughput.
Characterization of some mechanical properties of polycrystalline yttrium iron garnet (YIG) by non-destructive methods

Caracterisation de la durete, de la tenacite, du module d'Young, du module de cisaillement et du coefficient de Poisson de polycristaux d'YIG par des techniques non destructives
At Home but Not at Home: Filipina Narratives of Ambivalent Returns

Hong Kong is one of the wealthiest cities in Asia, a center of world trade, a place of many comings and goings. It is an international hub, whose social and cultural landscape is heterogeneous, hybrid, and transnational. Included in Hong Kong's population of 6.4 million are over 130,000 Filipino domestic workers, representing the territory's largest non-Chinese minority. In the 1970s there were but a few hundred Filipinas who worked as "domestic helpers" for expatriate employers in the colonial city.1 Their popularity quickly grew among the burgeoning middle-class Chinese population, which found it increasingly difficult to attract local Chinese women to do paid household work. By the 1990s well over 10 percent of Hong Kong's population employed domestic workers of some sort. Women of numerous other nationalities are included among the foreign domestic workers (among them Thai, Indonesian, Sri Lankan, Indian, and Malaysian), but by far the largest group is women from the Philippines. The majority of Filipinas are between the ages of 20 and 40, most are Roman Catholic, and approximately a quarter are married. Contrary to many locals' expectations, Filipina domestic workers do not come from the poorest or least educated sector of the Philippine population. The vast majority have attained more than a high school education, and some belong to middle-class families. They come to Hong Kong on two-year contracts, holding temporary work permits that are administered by the Philippine Overseas Employment Association and the Hong Kong labor and immigration departments. By far the largest group of employers today are local Chinese, many of whom have recently joined the ranks of Hong Kong's
Bringing Class, Ethnicity, and Nation Back to Race: The Color Lines in 2015

Much has been made of the dramatic influx of immigrants to the United States since the mid-1960s. This “Fourth Wave” of migration is remarkable not just for its sheer numbers, but also for its ethnic diversity, with newcomers disproportionately arriving from Asia and Latin America. Much too has been made of the changes in how the state classifies and counts by race and ethnicity. Most recently, the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) issued Directive No. 15 in 1977, requiring all federal agencies to collect data for at least five groups—American Indians and Alaska Natives, Asians and Pacific Islanders, non-Hispanic blacks, non-Hispanic whites, and Hispanics—then revised this directive in 1997 to include “mark one or more” responses that would allow for self-identification with multiple races/ethnicities. The face of America is changing before us. Taeku Lee is assistant professor of political science at the University of California at Berkeley (taekulee@berkeley.edu).
A Protein Dissociation Step Limits Turnover in FLP Recombinase-mediated Site-specific Recombination

When two ongoing FLP-mediated recombination reactions are mixed, formation of cross-products is subject to a lag of several minutes, and the subsequent rate of cross-product formation is greatly reduced relative to normal reaction progress curves. The lag reflects the formation of a stable complex containing multiple FLP monomers and two FLP recombination target-containing DNA recombination products, a process completed within 5-10 min after addition of FLP recombinase to a reaction mixture. The reaction products are sequestered within this complex for an extended period of time, unavailable for further reaction. The length of the lag increases with increasing FLP protein concentration and is not affected by the introduction of unreacted (non FLP-bound) substrate. The results provide evidence that disassembly of FLP complexes from products occurs in a minimum of two steps. At least one FLP protein monomer is released from reaction complexes in a discrete step that leaves the reaction products sequestered. The recombination products are released in a form free to react with other FLP recombination target-containing DNA molecules only after at least one additional disassembly step. One or both of these disassembly steps are rate limiting for reaction turnover under conditions often used to monitor FLP-mediated recombination in vitro.
Nonthermal energy level populations in excited oh electronically desorbed from alkali halide surfaces

Abstract Analysis of the A 2 Σ + → X 2 Π emission from excited OH radicals desorbed from alkali halide surfaces by low energy electron bombardment indicates strongly nonthermal energy partitioning among the rotational levels of the excited state. In particular, a difference in the population of the F 1 and F 2 states is observed. This alternation becomes stronger as the sample temperature is lowered below room temperature, indicating that the broken symmetry between the F 1 and F 2 states is sufficiently weak that thermal effects can partly mask it near room temperature.
Sequential screening for psychosocial and behavioural risk during pregnancy in a population of urban African Americans

OBJECTIVE: Screening for psychosocial and behavioural risks, such as depression, intimate partner violence, and smoking, during pregnancy is considered to be state of the art in prenatal care. This prospective longitudinal analysis examines the added benefit of repeated screening, compared with a single screening, in identifying such risks during pregnancy. DESIGN: Data were collected as part of a randomised controlled trial to address intimate partner violence, depression, smoking, and environmental tobacco smoke exposure in African American women. SETTING: Prenatal care sites in the District of Columbia serving mainly women of minority background. POPULATION: A cohort of 1044 African American pregnant women in the District of Columbia. METHODS: Mothers were classified by their initial response (acknowledgement of risks), and these data were updated during pregnancy. Risks were considered new if they were not previously reported. Standard hypothesis tests and logistic regression were used to predict the acknowledgment of any new risk(s) during pregnancy. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: New risks: psychosocial variables to understand what factors might help identify the acknowledgement of additional risk(s). RESULTS: Repeated screening identified more mothers acknowledging risk over time. Reported smoking increased by 11%, environmental tobacco smoke exposure increased by 19%, intimate partner violence increased by 9%, and depression increased by 20%. The psychosocial variables collected at the baseline that were entered into the logistic regression model included relationship status, education, Medicaid, illicit drug use, and alcohol use during pregnancy. Among these, only education less than high school was associated with the acknowledgement of new risk in the bivariate analyses, and significantly predicted the identification of new risks (OR 1.39, 95% CI 1.01-1.90). CONCLUSIONS: It is difficult to predict early on who will acknowledge new risks over the course of pregnancy, and thus all women should be screened repeatedly to allow for the identification of risks and intervention during prenatal care. Language: en
A study of the effects of bleaching on the width and index of refraction of frog rod outer segments.

Abstract An infra-red interference microscope has been developed to study the effects of a white light bleach on physical properties of single receptors. The width and optical path length was measured for fresh frog rod outer segments lying on their sides before and just after a major bleach. The data presented were recorded some seconds after the bleach. Use of a computer controlled microdensitometer allowed determination of these parameters with precision well beyond normal resolution limits. Following light exposure, receptor width increased between 2–4 per cent and optical path length difference remained virtually unchanged. This suggests that a small decrease in index of refraction occurred in the receptor outer segment at the wavelength used (826 nm).
The relationship between learner utility reactions and predicted learning transfer among trainees

Although learner reaction measures are increasingly shown to be insufficient indicators of training effectiveness and impact, they are still highly over–used in practice. New research on transfer of learning is contributing to a better understanding of how reaction measures may relate to important HRD outcomes. This study explored the relationship between learner utility reactions and predictors of learning transfer as operationalised in the Learning Transfer System Inventory. A limited correlation between participant reaction measures and predictors of learning transfer was found. However, the results of this study continue to raise questions about the role and value of reaction measures.
The Status of Design for Sustainability in Mechanical Engineering Design Education

Sustainability is gaining national and global prominence as a key external constraint in engineering design. Courses in solar energy and wind energy have been common offerings, but due to their power production focus, do not address sustainability in the broader context of design. The question becomes, are undergraduate mechanical engineering programs evolving to introduce design for sustainability concepts, such as life cycle assessment, the triple bottom line, and carbon balance, in the broader context of mechanical engineering design? A review of mechanical engineering programs at well recognized universities indicates that most course offerings with definable sustainable design content remain focused on sustainable energy production. In addition, most of these courses are primarily graduate level offerings, indicating a substantial population of recent graduate engineers with limited knowledge of the scope of design for sustainability. Isolated efforts to broaden awareness of sustainability concepts were also identified and will be reported. These programs may serve as models for integration of sustainability into the general mechanical design education.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Epstein‐Barr virus and nasopharyngeal carcinoma

The Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) has been studied for over 25 years as a probable cause of certain human cancers, including nasopharyngeal carcinoma (NPC). This is a low-incidence head and neck cancer in Western countries (including the USA), but is the third-leading cancer in males in Southeast Asia. Evidence supporting an etiologic relation between this virus and NPC includes the fact that there is a 100% infection rate in patients with this cancer and that EBV DNA and antigens have been demonstrated in all biopsies examined to date. The determination that EBV is at least a major co-factor in the etiology of NPC has led to the development of new diagnostic and prognostic tests for this disease using anti-viral markers. Of particular importance to the diagnosis of NPC were the findings, initially reported by the Henles [Int J Cancer 17:1-7, 1976], that the serum of patients with NPC contain IgA antibodies to EBV at a high frequency. In general, 80-90% of patients with this disease contain serum IgA antibodies to EBV as opposed to 10-30% of the normal population. This finding has resulted in the development and successful employment of tests measuring this antibody as adjuncts to pathology in the diagnosis of NPC including the occult form. In addition, this finding has resulted in the development of tests for the early detection of this disease. The IgA test for antibodies to EBV is currently employed in large screening programs in Southeast Asia designed to identify those individuals at risk for the development of NPC.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Tilted-field magneto-optical absorption in an imperfect parabolic quantum well.

We study the far-infrared optical absorption spectrum of electrons confined in an imperfect parabolic quantum well in a magnetic field tilted with respect to the growth axis. The calculations are carried out at finite temperature using a self-consistent-field approach both with and without a local exchange-correlation potential. We choose well parameters to match a real experimental sample and obtain excellent quantitative agreement over a wide range of magnetic-field strengths. We discuss the effects of possible asymmetries in the confining potential, and conclude that the infrared spectrum is dominated by depolarization and finite-temperature effects.
Geospatial intelligence as a context for computing education (abstract only)

We present Geospatial Intelligence (GEOINT) as a context for computing education. GEOINT is a rich source of ideas for programming projects, algorithm design and use of databases. Students are interested in GEOINT due to its inherently visual subject matter and its strong ties with crime, espionage and social changes and upheavals. In short we are motivating computation as a subject that can provide solutions and insights into crime mysteries and complex events that unfold over time and space. In addition to keeping Computer Science majors interested, we also seek to attract students of other disciplines into computing. GEOINT and computing knowledge can provide initial preparation for certain jobs that are in demand and also for graduate school. Our assignments and programming projects that are inspired by GEOINT can be used in an introductory programming course or a more advanced course. These materials derive from well known case studies and also fundamentals concepts in computing. Some programming projects are based on exploration of chronologies and timelines as tools that enable the geographical display of information as an order sequence of events. In general these geospatial displays can correlate information to help correct for possible gaps and inconsistencies in knowledge. These materials use multiple layered techniques of presenting information that use time, geographical location, weather conditions and static features of the earth's surface.
An Infinite Family of Non-embeddable Quasi-Residual Designs withk<v/2

In this paper, a construction for 2-designs is given. A special case of this construction gives an infinite family of non-embeddable quasi-residual designs, with parameters 2?(2(3d+1)?2, 2(3d), 3d), whered?1.
Replacing short-acting nifedipine with alternative medications at a large health maintenance organization

In response to recent evidence about the safety of calcium channel blockers, Group Health Cooperative of Puget Sound (GHC), a large health maintenance organization, implemented a plan in April 1996 to reevaluate the medications of 1349 patients who were taking short-acting nifedipine. Following the intervention, 79.8% of patients taking short-acting nifedipine discontinued use, and 45.6% switched to once-daily felodipine. By presenting physicians and patients with recent evidence about the safety of short-acting nifedipine, a large health maintenance organization was able to motivate broad-scale changes to safer alternative drug therapies.
Partial Maxillectomy and Premaxillectomy in the Treatment of Oral Neoplasia in the Dog and Cat

Partial maxillectomies were performed in 17 dogs and three cats to accomplish wide excision of oral tumors. The extent of the maxillectomy was dependent on tumor type, location, size, and invasiveness as determined by clinical and radiographic examination and incisional biopsy. The tumor and involved portions of adjacent facial bones, most commonly the maxillary and incisive bones, were removed. The resulting oronasal defect was closed by suturing a labial mucosal flap based on the lip margin to the hard palate mucoperiosteum. The major postoperative complication was partial suture line dehiscence, which occurred in three dogs. All four dogs with benign tumors were free of disease 7 to 34 months postoperatively (median 21.5 months). Of the 13 dogs treated for malignant neoplasia, seven were tumor-free at follow-up times ranging from 3 to 31 months (median 12 months). Five dogs with malignant tumors developed local recurrence 1 week to 10 months postoperatively (median 4.5 months). One cat with a benign tumor and two with malignant tumors were tumor-free at follow-up times of 7, 24, and 27 months. Partial maxillectomy can be effective in treating both benign and malignant oral tumors in dogs and cats.
The carbohydrate moiety of rhodopsin: lectin-binding, chemical modification and fluorescence studies.

Abstract Rhodopsin contains a covalently attached carbohydrate moiety consisting of three N -acetylglucosamine and three mannose residues (Heller and Lawrence, 1970). We summarize here some of our recent studies of the carbohydrate moiety of bovine rhodopsin. (1) Concanavalin A (Con A) and wheat germ agglutinin bind to carbohydrate residues on dise membranes. The stoichiometry of binding was 1 Con A monomer per retinal, suggesting that the carbohydrate moiety of rhodopsin is located on the surface of disc membranes. Rhodopsin can be separated from some other constituents of the rod outer segment by affinity chromatography on a Con A-agarose column. (2) The carbohydrate unit of rhodopsin was oxidized with periodate. The 500 nm absorption band and the regenerability of this band after bleaching were not markedly altered by periodate oxidation. Thus, an intact carbohydrate unit does not appear to be essential for the chromophoric properties of rhodopsin or for regenerability. (3) The carbohydrate moiety of rhodopsin was oxidized with periodate and then labeled with a fluorescent hydrazide, such as methyl anthranilate hydrazide or fluorescein carbohydrazide. The efficiency of energy transfer from these fluorescent hydrazides to 11- cis retinal revealed that the distance between the carbohydrate group and 11- cis retinal is greater than 50 A.
Multi-objective optimization-based method for kinematic posture prediction: Development and validation

Posture prediction plays an important role in product design and manufacturing. There is a need to develop a more efficient method for predicting realistic human posture. This paper presents a method based on multi-objective optimization (MOO) for kinematic posture prediction and experimental validation. The predicted posture is formulated as a multi-objective optimization problem. The hypothesis is that human performance measures (cost functions) govern how humans move. Twelve subjects, divided into four groups according to different percentiles, participated in the experiment. Four realistic in-vehicle tasks requiring both simple and complex functionality of the human simulations were chosen. The subjects were asked to reach the four target points, and the joint centers for the wrist, elbow, and shoulder and the joint angle of the elbow were recorded using a motion capture system. We used these data to validate our model. The validation criteria comprise R-square and confidence intervals. Various physics factors were included in human performance measures. The weighted sum of different human performance measures was used as the objective function for posture prediction. A two-domain approach was also investigated to validate the simulated postures. The coefficients of determinant for both within-percentiles and cross-percentiles are larger than 0.70. The MOO-based approach can predict realistic upper body postures in real time and can easily incorporate different scenarios in the formulation. This validated method can be deployed in the digital human package as a design tool.
An ion-selective electrode for methylamine

Abstract A simple electrode is described for the assay of methylamine in the concentration range 10-5–10-2 M. The electrode is based on the air-gap sensor principle. In the range of linear response, the relative standard deviation is about 1.4 % when the measurement time is 24 min, and about 5 % when the equilibration time is 12 min. Some interference is noted from dimethylamine and ammonium chloride.
RISK FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH HOSPITAL ACQUISITION (HA) OF ROTAVIRUS INFECTION (RVI) ON AN INFANT WARD

To assess the incidence and risk factors of HA of RVI on an infant ward, as defined by the presence of RV antigen in stool examined by ELISA (Abbott), children admitted with community-acquired gastroenteritis (CA GI), those with diarrhea developing ≥ 72 hours after admission (HA), room contacts of infected patients and selected uninfected controls (C) were enrolled during a 6 mos. period. Of 583 prospectively followed admissions, 23 of 60 CA GI were due to RV. In spite of enteric isolation of GI cases, 36 additional infants developed HA RVI; the attack rate of HA RVI totalled 6%, ranging monthly from 1.0 to 14%. Of HA cases, 26 of 36 (72%) cases had no room contact with an RVI case, in comparison to only 7 of 31 C (22%) (p<.0002), and 9 of 36 (25%) HA RVI were in isolation rooms for unrelated reasons, indicating that isolation did not prevent HA of RVI. The major risk factor was season; 69% (16/23) of CA and 75% (27/36) NA cases occurred during the late winter and early spring. 15 of 36 HA (42%) and 9 of 31 C (29%) shared the same houseofficer; similarly, 28 of 36 (78%) and 25 of 31 (81%), respectively, shared a nurse. Mean duration of hospitalization, 25.9 d in HA was significantly longer than that of 21.8 d in C (p=0.04). These findings indicate that HA of rotavirus is common in spite of enteric precautions; results in prolonged hospitalization and, thus, potentially preventable costs; and indicate the need for further studies to elucidate modes of transmission.
The “Color” of Heritage: Decolonizing Collaborative Archaeology in the Caribbean

AbstractThis article explores the intersection of postcolonial theory and archaeology as it relates to the process of collaboratively investigating Afro-Caribbean heritage. Decolonizing archaeology involves asking uncomfortable questions regarding fundamental aspects of archaeological practice. The author examines the possibility that historical archaeologists sometimes miss collaborative projects due to a site’s assumed racial classification. The grouping of sites around the perceived ancestry of its inhabitants may restrict the ability of archaeologists to craft collaborative projects with various publics in postcolonial locations like the Caribbean. Recent research on Nevis provides a case study demonstrating how groups develop deep affinities for locations and how these affinities may cut across lines of color. The author’s goal is not to critique other approaches, but to challenge his own practice of archaeology by reflexively constructing a cosmopolitan past, one which reflects increased agency for ...
The Feasibility of Mri Feedback Control for Intracavitary Phased Array Hyperthermia Treatments

Temperature feedback control has the potential to enhance hyperthermia treatments by providing more uniform heating of the target volume and improving the transient temperature response. A multivariable least squares batch algorithm was used to estimate system parameters for simulated prostate hyperthermia treatments. A multi-input, multi-output (MIMO) linear quadratic regulator (LQR) controller was designed for prostate hyperthermia treatments with an intracavitary phased array. A parametric study was performed for the one dimensional control case, investigating factors relevant to magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) feedback control such as spatial resolution of temperature measurements (size of the averaging volume), sampling rate (image acquisition time), thermometry noise, control width, control depth, physiological parameter changes and reference input structure. Simulations utilizing the two dimensional (2-D) thermometry of MRI and the 2-D focusing capabilities of phased arrays demonstrated that near ...
Response of Terrestrial CH4 Uptake to Interactive Changes in Precipitation and Temperature Along a Climatic Gradient

We determined the response of terrestrial methane (CH4) uptake to 4 years of full-factorial manipulations of precipitation and temperature in four ecosystems along a 50 km warm and dry to cold and wet climatic gradient (desert grassland, pinyon-juniper woodland, ponderosa pine forest, and mixed conifer forest). Our goals were to determine whether ecosystem-specific, intraannual, and interactive responses to altered precipitation and warming are quantitatively important. Passive collectors and interceptors increased (+50% per event) and reduced (−30% per event) the quantity of precipitation delivered to experimental plant–soil mesocosms, and downward transfer along the elevation gradient warmed mesocosms by 1.8°C on average. Methane uptake in the colder and wetter ecosystems along the gradient decreased with increasing precipitation, especially during the wet season. The warmer and drier ecosystems, however, responded more strongly to warming, exhibiting less CH4 uptake with increasing temperature. We found no interaction between altered precipitation and warming in any ecosystem. Soil CH4 consumption in the laboratory was a strong predictor of ecosystem differences in field CH4 consumption, but was a poor predictor of the effects of climatic change observed in the field. Based on our results, future climate scenarios that are wet and warm will cause the largest reduction in terrestrial CH4 uptake across ecosystem types.
The effects of psychological stress on electromyographic activity and negative affect in ambulatory tension-type headache patients.

SYNOPSIS Fourteen female dental hygiene students (seven with episodic tension-type headache and seven who rarely or never experienced headache) wore an ambulatory electromyographic recorder and completed hourly subjective ratings of pain and negative affective states for six days while they carried out their normal daily activities. Three of the days were designated as high stress days by virtue of the fact that the students were required to take a major course examination or undergo a clinical evaluation on that day. The remaining three days were designated as low stress days by virtue of the fact that no unusual demands were made on the students, and they simply attended lectures as usual. All students showed significantly greater levels of electromyographic activity on the high stress days compared to the low stress days, but there was not a statistically significant difference between the headache and control groups. Headache group subjects reported significantly higher levels of pain compared to the control group, but their pain ratings did not differ between high and low stress days. Subjective ratings of negative affective states (anxiety, anger, sadness, and frustration) were significantly greater on high stress days compared to low stress days. Headache group subjects also exhibited a tendency to report higher levels of negative affective states than did control group subjects, but only in the case of frustration was the .05 level of statistical significance achieved.
Parasitization of introduced puncturevine weevils by indigenous Chalcidoidea in southern California.

Two species of indigenous Pteromalidae, Habrocytus piercei Crawford and Neoctolaccus tylodermae (Ashmead), are reported and assessed as primary, solitary, larval, and pupal ectoparasites of Microlarinus lareynii (Jacquelin duVal) and M. lypriformis (Wollaston), weevils introduced into southern California for biological control of puncture vine, Tribulus terrestris L. Other Chalcidoidea were found to parasitize these biological-control agents, but they were of much lower incidence in rearings. The weevils and these 2 principal species of parasites apparently are widely associated in southern California. An average of ¼ of the over wintering generations of M. lareynii was destroyed each fall by H. Piercei and N. tylodermae in 3 irrigated puncture vine plots sampled during 1967 and 1968.
"Apical dominance" in the sporangiophore of the fungus Phycomyces.

Control, by the spores, over the elongation and the branching of the sporangiophore is described. If the sporangium is removed from a sporangiophore, the sporangiophore stops growing within a few hours. 6–16h later a branch grows from the defunct growing zone. This branch forms a new sporangium and spores, and then starts to elongate again. The original growing zone can be “rescued” by replacing the sporangium with another sporangium or a sporangium-sized drop of spores. If the original growing zone is rescued, then it continues growing and the sporangiophore does not form a branch. It can only be rescued, however, within the first 60 min after the original sporangium is removed.
Response of ERα-IR and ERβ-IR cells in the forebrain of female rats to mating stimuli

Abstract Sexual behavior in female rats depends on the action of estradiol on estrogen receptors (ERs) found in particular brain regions. While hormonal regulation of female sexual behavior requires ERα, the possible functions of ERβ remain to be clarified. Mating stimulation has several behavioral and physiological consequences and induces Fos expression in many brain areas involved in the regulation of reproductive behavior and physiology. In addition, some cells in which mating induces Fos expression coexpress ERα. To determine whether cells in which Fos is induced by a particular mating stimulus coexpress ERα, ERβ, or both, we used a triple-label immunofluorescent technique to visualize ERα-, ERβ-, and mating-induced Fos-immunoreactivity (Fos-ir) in neurons in which mating stimulation reliably increases Fos expression. Ovariectomized, hormone-primed rats were either unmated, received 15 mounts, or received 15 intromissions. In the rostral medial preoptic area, Fos-ir was induced by mounts alone primarily in cells coexpressing ERα-ir, while Fos-ir was induced by intromissions mainly in cells coexpressing both ERα-ir and ERβ-ir (ERα/ERβ-ir). In the dorsal part of the posterodorsal medial amygdala, Fos-ir was induced by intromissions in cells coexpressing ERα-ir and ERα/ERβ-ir. However, in the ventral part of the posterodorsal medial amygdala, Fos-ir was induced by intromissions primarily in cells coexpressing only ERβ-ir. These data suggest that qualitatively different sexual stimuli may be integrated through distinct ER-containing circuits in the rostral medial preoptic area and posterodorsal medial amygdala. The diversity in coexpression of type of ER in cells in different brain areas after various mating stimuli suggests a role for both ERα and ERβ in the integration of hormonal information and information related to mating stimuli.