cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Update in the Management of Acute Coronary Syndrome Patients with Cardiogenic Shock.

We provide a concise update on the contemporary management of cardiogenic shock in the setting of acute coronary syndrome (ACS). Early shock recognition, optimal selection and initiation of mechanical circulatory support (MCS), early coronary revascularization, and a team-based, protocol-driven approach are the current pillars of management. Cardiogenic shock complicates approximately 5–10% of ACS cases and continues to have high mortality. Early use of mechanical circulatory may prevent the downward spiral of shock and has significantly increased over time, supported mainly by registry data. In the CULPRIT-SHOCK trial, culprit-only revascularization was associated with a lower 30-day incidence of all-cause death or severe renal failure, compared with immediate multivessel PCI. Routine revascularization of non-infarct related artery lesion(s) during primary PCI for cardiogenic shock is, therefore, not recommended. The routine use of an intra-aortic balloon pump (IABP) was not associated with improved outcomes in the IABP-SHOCK II trial. A team-based and protocol-driven approach may further improve outcomes. Recent advances in coronary revascularization and use of MCS, implementation of shock teams and standardized protocols may improve outcomes of cardiogenic shock in ACS patients.
Effects of Isothermal Aging on the Microstructure Evolution and Pitting Corrosion Resistance of Lean Duplex Stainless Steel UNS S32003

UNS S32003 materials were aged at temperatures in the range of 873 K to 1173 K (600 °C to 900 °C) for 30 minutes and 2 hours. Nitrides were found to precipitate along the ferrite/austenite phase boundaries and within the ferrite phase. The precipitation kinetics was the fastest at 1073 K (800 °C), at which temperature the Cr-depleted zones were observed to be in the vicinity of the precipitates. Precipitation and resultant Cr-depleted zone led to the highest pitting susceptibility of the UNS S32003, aged at 1073 K (800 °C), when tested in 0.6 mol/L NaCl solution. To observe the precipitation evolution, the UNS S32003 specimens were aged at 973 K (700 °C) for different time periods for up to 120 hours. Within aging time up to 24 hours at 973 K (700 °C), only nitrides precipitates were observed and an intermetallic phase was observed after 120 hours of aging along with an increase in the percentage of precipitates. Pitting potential dropped with increasing aging time and metastable pitting rate increased with longer aging time period, both indicating a negative effect of aging on pitting corrosion resistance of the lean duplex stainless steel UNS S32003.
Pharmacological treatment of violence in schizophrenia

Chronic aggression and violence in schizophrenia are rare, but receive disproportionate negative media coverage. This contributes to the stigma of mental illness and reduces accessibility to mental health services. Substance Use Disorders (SUD), antisocial behavior, non-adherence and recidivism are known risk factors for violence. Treatment with antipsychotic medication can reduce violence. Aside from clozapine, long-acting injectable antipsychotics (LAI) appear to be superior to oral antipsychotics for preventing violence, addressing adherence and recidivism. LAI also facilitate the implementation of functional skills training. For the high-risk recidivist target population with schizophrenia, better life skills have the potential to also reduce the risk for contact with the legal system, including an improved ability to live independently in supported environments and interact appropriately with others. High-risk patients who are resistant to treatment with other antipsychotics should receive treatment with clozapine due to its direct positive effects on impulsive violence, along with a reduction in comorbid risk factors such as SUDs.
Glider Observations of Circulation Around an Island

Abstract : A continuing interest in oceanographic research involves the observation and prediction of coastal circulation. A special branch of the coastal problem involves circulation around islands, which has been less studied over the years. Island circulation is distinguished from continental coastal circulation primarily by an island s small size relative to the scales of atmospheric forcing and general ocean currents. Relevant processes include boundary currents, eddies shed in the island s wake, and island coastally trapped waves. This project aims to improve the understanding of island circulation through observations using underwater gliders, with the ultimate goal of better prediction.
The Effect of Program Staffing Difficulties on Changes in Dynamic Risk and Reoffending among Juvenile Offenders in Residential Placement

Recently there has been growing concern regarding the staffing challenges that plague the U.S. correctional system. This study examines whether staffing challenges within residential facilities are...
Dynamic carbon dioxide taxation with revenue recycling

Abstract The accumulation of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has global impacts via changing weather patterns and increasing average temperatures. These emissions, while globally important, are largely the result of decisions made at a more microeconomic level - the result of individual consumption preferences and production technologies used to make the goods we consume. Using a micro-founded DSGE framework that is calibrated with data from the United States, I model the accumulation of carbon dioxide emissions while accounting for market imperfections and frictions in the form of monopolistic competition, labor income taxation, and price-stickiness. Within this second-best setting the issues of carbon taxation and revenue recycling are addressed. I propose a dynamic, rules-based, and revenue neutral carbon tax to reduce carbon emissions and measure the resulting welfare effects. A measure of compensating variation indicates that consumers are made better off following the implementation of a dynamic carbon tax with lump-sum redistribution regardless of how the externality effect of emissions is modeled.
Energy performance of switchable window insulated shades for US residential buildings

Abstract This paper evaluates the potential energy savings when novel switchable insulated shading systems are applied to smart windows for US residential buildings. These switchable shades utilize dynamic and controllable transparent insulating layers to protect smart windows. Control strategies allow the shades vary dynamically their R-value and the smart windows to adjust their solar heat gain coefficient to achieve desired objectives. In this analysis, switchable insulated shades are applied to smart windows to minimize heating and cooling thermal loads for US housing units. First, switchable insulated shades using transparent insulating materials deployed as blinds for smart windows are described. The special case of switchable opaque insulated shades to act as automated blinds for conventional windows is also considered. Then, the modeling approach for switchable transparent and opaque insulated shades as integrated within a whole-building simulation environment is described to predict their performance under various design and operation strategies. Moreover, simplified 2-step controls rule-based control sets are outlined to operate the switchable windows in order to improve the building energy performance under heating and cooling operation modes. The energy analysis carried out for a prototypical housing unit located in four US cities indicates that switchable windows can save up to 59.1% and 64.9% in annual heating and cooling energy, respectively, for dwellings located in Golden, CO. Moreover, it is found that even when switchable opaque insulated shades are used with conventional double-pane windows, over 40% reduction in both heating and cooling energy end-uses can be achieved for residential buildings located in mild US climates.
A War Won and a Remembrance Lost: A History of Confiscation, A Failed Reconstruction, and the Dark Legacy of Monuments to the Confederacy

The land confiscation that had its first usage under the US government that was utilized against the Loyalists failed in its subsequent use in the Civil War to redistribute land and power. Since the planter aristocracy retained, almost ubiquitously, their pre-war lands, they were able to reenter the political sphere and social elite. The former Confederate elites easily transitioned back into power during Johnson’s amnesty-focused reconstruction plan, which immediately followed with the suppression of black republicans, racist laws, and segregation under Jim Crow laws. Due to the land, power, and wealth being restored to the former masters and their descendants, at the expense of the promises left unfulfilled to the former slaves by the Freedmen’s Bureau and President Johnson, the remembrance of the Civil War was effectively won by the rebellion. As stewards of the “lost cause,” the heirs of the Confederacy built monuments to their cause, influenced the retelling of the Civil War for generations, and even today has a wide following amongst white Southerners. Yet, this remembrance is being challenged with the focal point being the Confederacy’s monuments and statues that embellish, reframe, and celebrate the supposed glory and honor of the Southern State’s heroic stand for states’ rights. In an ironic twist, the issue of the land in which these monuments stand is now the battleground in how the Civil War is memorialized for future generations. In this moment, across dozens of states, the Union is still fighting a war it had won in the field but lost in its remembrance.
The effect of visual and auditory feedback on adult poor-pitch remediation:

Previous research has led to the hypothesis that poor-pitch singing is the result of a weakness in the auditory/vocal loop. The present study evaluated this hypothesis in a training paradigm that u...
Prices for Medical Services Vary Within Hospitals, But Vary More Across Them

Using commercial claims for 2012-2013 from Colorado’s All-Payer Claims Database, we examine how medical service prices vary for five hospital-based procedures and the complexity adjusted inpatient price. We find that prices vary substantially in multiple dimensions. Our analysis indicates that there is significant price variation across payers for the same service in the same hospital. If prices converged to the lowest rate each hospital receives, commercial expenditures would fall by 10-20%. The share of overall price variation accounted for by hospitals variation tends to be even more substantial. For four out of six prices, we find that differences associated just with hospitals’ metropolitan areas account for over 45% of the total variation. We observe substantial residual variation (17-50%) after accounting for factors specific to a given payer or provider.
TUNNEL MODELING USING MOBILE MAPPING LIDAR POINTS

Abstract. In this paper, a method to model a tunnel using lidar points is presented. The data used was collected using Leica Pegasus Two Ultimate with a Z+F 9012 Profiler mounted on a mobile platform. The tunnel was approximately 151 m long. Visual inspection of a cross-section of the tunnel showed two rail tracks supported on ballast and sidewalks along both sidewalls of the tunnel. The walls and the ceiling of the tunnel were made of five planar surfaces. The tunnel alignment was straight, without any horizontal or vertical curves. The bearing of the central axis of the tunnel was N12.2oW. The following methodology was developed to model just the planar surfaces of the tunnel by excluding the rails, ballast, sidewalks, powerlines, and other accessories. The entire methodology was divided into three broad parts. In the first part, a model cross-section was created. Since the design plans of the tunnel were not available, the model cross-section polyline was created using mean tunnel dimensions from random cross-section points. The model cross-section consisted of the walls and the ceiling of the tunnel. Points were placed at every 1 cm along the model polyline. Six of the model points that represented the shape of the tunnel were selected as salient points. The lower-left salient point was considered as the seed point. In the second part, to define a reference axis of the tunnel, an approximate centerline was manually defined by selecting points at its start and end. Lidar points within 1 m at the start and the end of the tunnel were modeled using the model points to determine the centroids. The reference axis was determined by connecting the centroids at the start and the end of the tunnel. In the third part, the tunnel points were sliced along the reference axis at 5 cm intervals. The model cross-section was matched to points within each tunnel slice using a three-stage approach. In the first stage, the pattern of salient points was matched to the tunnel points by placing the seed point at every tunnel point location. The distances between salient points and their nearest tunnel points were calculated. Ten sets of tunnel points with the least differences to the salient points were shortlisted. In the second stage, a dense point-to-point matching was performed between the model and sliced tunnel data at the shortlisted points. The shortlisted point location with the least difference between the tunnel and the model points was considered as a match. At this point, the model points were hinged to the tunnel points at the seed point location. Hence, in the last stage, a six-parameter affine transformation was performed to match the model points to the tunnel data. The transformed model points at every 5 cm of the length of the tunnel were considered as current shape of the tunnel.
An inactivated multivalent influenza A virus vaccine is broadly protective in mice and ferrets

Abstract Influenza A viruses (IAVs) present major public health threats from annual seasonal epidemics, from pandemics caused by novel virus subtypes, and from viruses adapted to a variety of animals including poultry, pigs and horses. Vaccines that broadly protect against all such IAVs, so-called “universal” influenza vaccines, do not currently exist, but are urgently needed. This study demonstrates that an inactivated, multivalent whole virus vaccine, delivered intramuscularly or intranasally, is broadly protective against challenges with multiple IAV HA/NA subtypes in both mice and ferrets, including challenges with IAV subtypes not contained in the vaccine. This vaccine approach indicates the feasibility of eliciting broad “universal” IAV protection, and identifies a promising candidate for influenza vaccine clinical development. One-Sentence Summary An inactivated, whole avian influenza virus vaccine delivered intramuscularly or intranasally provides extremely broad protection against antigenically divergent viral challenge and is a promising candidate for a “universal” influenza virus vaccine.
Plasmids pJP4 and r68.45 Can Be Transferred between Populations of Bradyrhizobia in Nonsterile Soil.

IncP plasmid r68.45, which carries several antibiotic resistance genes, and IncP plasmid pJP4, which contains genes for mercury resistance and 2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid degradation, were evaluated for their ability to transfer to soil populations of rhizobia. Transfer of r68.45 was detected in nonsterile soil by using Bradyrhizobium japonicum USDA 123 as the plasmid donor and several Bradyrhizobium sp. strains as recipients. Plasmid transfer frequencies ranged up to 9.1 × 10-5 in soil amended with 0.1% soybean meal and were highest after 7 days with strain 3G4b4-RS as the recipient. Transconjugants were detected in 7 of 500 soybean nodules tested, but the absence of both parental strains in these nodules suggests that plasmid transfer had occurred in the soil, in the rhizosphere, or on the root surface. Transfer of degradative plasmid pJP4 was also evaluated in nonsterile soil by using B. japonicum USDA 438 as the plasmid donor and several Bradyrhizobium sp. strains as recipients. Plasmid pJP4 was transferred only when strains USDA 110-ARS and 3G4b4-RS were the recipients. The plasmid transfer frequency was highest for strain 3G4b4-RS (up to 7.4 × 10-6). Mercury additions to soil, ranging from 10 to 50 μg/g of soil, did not affect population levels of parental strains or the plasmid transfer frequency.
Technology Advances for Dynamic Real-Time Optimization

Abstract Integration of real-time optimization and control is an essential task for profitable process operation in a highly competitive environment. While integrated large-scale optimization models have been formulated for this task, their size and complexity is often a challenge to many available optimization solvers. On the other hand, recent development of powerful, large-scale solvers leads to a reconsideration of these formulations, in particular, through application of efficient large-scale barrier methods for nonlinear programming (NLP). Moreover, in-built NLP sensitivity capabilities quickly compute approximate solutions of perturbed NLPs. This allows on-line computations to be drastically reduced, even when large nonlinear optimization models are considered. Moreover, extensions of these approaches to consider dynamic complementarity systems allow the treatment of a class of discrete decisions. These recent results motivate the development of dynamic real-time optimization (D-RTO) strategies that can be used to merge and replace the tasks of (steady-state) real-time optimization (RTO) and (linear) model predictive control (MPC). This is enabled by continuing advances in nonlinear model predictive control and its generalization to deal with economic objective functions. Finally, successful implementation of D-RTO suggests a bottom up strategy starting from MPC to build a single D-RTO layer with consistent dynamic models, rather than modifying the existing RTO layer.
Compactifications of $d=11$ Supergravity on Kahler Manifolds

We consider compactifications of eleven-dimensional supergravity to five and three spacetime dimensions, on internal spacesK 6 andK 2×K 6, whereK n denotes ann-dimensional Kahler manifold. The compactifications to five dimensions yield no surviving spacetime supersymmetries. However, we find compactifications to three dimensions onS 2×K 6 andT 2×K 6 whereK 6 is Ricci-flat and Kahler (a Calabi-Yau space) withN=4 supersymmetry. We also discuss the massless spectrum.
Converting a C Corporation into an LLC: Quantifying the Tax Costs and Benefits

The authors develop a spreadsheet model that evaluates the interplay of the present and future tax costs and benefits associated with the conversion of a C corporation to an LLC. The model discloses few situations where the conversion election is the better choice within a time value of money framework. This is true even when assuming that dividends are taxed at ordinary income rates.
Capabilities of Photoelastic Coatings for the Study of Strain in Rocks

ROCK STRAIN CAN BE STUDIED UTILIZING CONTINUOUSLY AND PERIPHERALLY CEMENTED PHOTOELASTIC SHEETS AND FROZEN-STRESS RING PHOTOELASTIC GAGES IN INTEGRATING MOUNTS. STANDARD ERRORS OF ESTIMATE OF STRAIN DIFFERENCES, AS CALCULATED FROM NORMAL INCIDENCE, RANGE UP TO 20 MICRO IN./IN. STANDARD ERRORS OF ESTIMATE OF PRINCIPAL STRAINS TAKEN SEPARATELY RANGE UP TO ABOUT 30 MICRO IN,/IN. STRAIN LEVELS AS LOW AS SEVERAL TENS OF MICRO IN./IN. CAN BE MEASURED WITH CONFIDENCE. STRAIN LEVELS CALCULATED FROM PHOTOELASTIC OBSERVATIONS AND ELASTICITY THEORY TYPICALLY DIFFER FROM EACH OTHER BY 10 PER CENT. RESULTS ARE CONSISTENT AMONG CONTINUOUSLY BONDED AND INTEGRATING MOUNTS, RECTANGULAR AND CIRCULAR SHEETS, DIFFERENT LOADING SCHEMES, AND DIFFERENT LIGHTING AND VIEWING ARRANGEMENTS. FROZEN RING PHOTOELASTIC GAGES ARE RELATIVELY EASILY READ AND INDICATE DIRECTIONS OF PRINCIPAL STRAINS. WORK WITH ROCK SPECIMENS GIVES RESULTS IN ACCORD WITH THOSE OBTAINED FROM WORK WITH ALUMINUM BARS. PHOTOELASTIC COATINGS ARE VERY SENSITIVE INDICATORS OF FRACTURES AND OTHER TYPES OF ANISOTROPY. THIS METHOD IS APPLICABLE TO MANY TYPES OF INVESTIGATION. /AUTHOR/
Molecular determinants of CNS virulence of MHV-4.

Viral etiology is well established for at least two chronic progressive CNS diseases in man. Subacute sclerosing panencephalitis (SSPE) is a rare late complication of childhood measles characterized by a long time span between the initial attack and the onset of SSPE. This latent or silent phase may be a decade or longer, and the interaction between virus and host during this interval is poorly understood (1).
Hypersonic Ionizing Air Viscous Shock-Layer Flows over Sphere Cones

Hypersonic, nonequilibrium viscous flow with ionization over nonanalv tic blunt bodies is considered. The equations which govern the viscous shock-layer flow are presented and the method by which the equations are solved is discussed. The predictions of the present finite-difference method are compared with other numerical predictions as well as with experimental data. Flows over two sphere cones are considered, the RAM C re-entry body (a 9° sphere cone at 233,000 ft and 25,000 fps) and a 7.5° sphere cone at the experimental wind-tunnel conditions of Pappas and Lee. The predictions of the present method agreed well with the experimental data and with the other numerical predictions except those of Kang and Dunn for the 9° sphere cone. Substantial differences were found between the present predictions and the more approximate predictions of Kang and Dunn for heattransfer distributions and temperature profiles.
More efficient optimization of long-term water supply portfolios

[1] The use of temporary transfers, such as options and leases, has grown as utilities attempt to meet increases in demand while reducing dependence on the expansion of costly infrastructure capacity (e.g., reservoirs). Earlier work has been done to construct optimal portfolios comprising firm capacity and transfers, using decision rules that determine the timing and volume of transfers. However, such work has only focused on the short-term (e.g., 1-year scenarios), which limits the utility of these planning efforts. Developing multiyear portfolios can lead to the exploration of a wider range of alternatives but also increases the computational burden. This work utilizes a coupled hydrologic-economic model to simulate the long-term performance of a city's water supply portfolio. This stochastic model is linked with an optimization search algorithm that is designed to handle the high-frequency, low-amplitude noise inherent in many simulations, particularly those involving expected values. This noise is detrimental to the accuracy and precision of the optimized solution and has traditionally been controlled by investing greater computational effort in the simulation. However, the increased computational effort can be substantial. This work describes the integration of a variance reduction technique (control variate method) within the simulation/optimization as a means of more efficiently identifying minimum cost portfolios. Random variation in model output (i.e., noise) is moderated using knowledge of random variations in stochastic input variables (e.g., reservoir inflows, demand), thereby reducing the computing time by 50% or more. Using these efficiency gains, water supply portfolios are evaluated over a 10-year period in order to assess their ability to reduce costs and adapt to demand growth, while still meeting reliability goals. As a part of the evaluation, several multiyear option contract structures are explored and compared.
A comparison of steady state methods for power electronic circuits

This paper presents a comparison of the following steady state methods for power electronics: Newton's method with analytically determined Jacobian, Newton's method with numerically determined Jacobian, Newton's method with Broyden updates of an initial numerically determined Jacobian, Newton's method with a globally convergent strategy (and numerical Jacobian), Bukowski's method and Skelboe's method. Each algorithm is incorporated into a very accurate power electronics' simulator (PECS) at source-code level and compared on a common basis. The results on several switching converters suggest the analytical Newton's method to be the most accurate and fastest. When analytical derivatives are not available, both Broyden's and Skelboe's methods are competitive.
Lung volume changes during respiration in ducks

Abstract The avian lung has been considered to be rigid and to remain isovolumetric during the respiratory cycle. We tested this hypothesis by implanting radiopaque markers of tantalum on the dorsal pulmonary surfaces and ventral pulmonary aponeuroses of Pekin ducks (Anas platyrhynchos) and measuring changes in lung thickness during the respiratory cycle using high speed cineradiography. We found small but regular changes in lung thickness that were synchronous with respiratory phase. Lung thickness was greatest at mid-inspiration (0.6% greater than mean) and least at mid-expiration (0.8% less than mean). Measurements made on ostrich (Struthio camelus) respiratory structures suggest that the maximal force that could be generated by the muscles (Mm. costopulmonales) at the margins of the ventral pulmonary aponeurosis is more than two orders of magnitude greater than would be required to resist pressure-induced changes in lung volume during respiration at rest. The action of these muscles could account for the very small magnitute of the volume changes measured during the respiratory cycle.
Magnesium is essential in mechanisms of pulmonary vasomotor control

Abstract Magnesium (Mg2+) is an important cofactor in many intracellular biochemical reactions; however, its role in the signal transduction pathways of pulmonary vascular smooth muscle is poorly defined. The purpose of this study was to examine the following mechanisms of pulmonary vascular smooth relaxation in the presence and in the absence of Mg2+: (1) Endothelium-dependent cGMP-mediated relaxation (response to acetylcholine, ACh), (2) Endothelium-independent cGMP-mediated relaxation (response to sodium nitroprusside, SNP), and (3) β2-adrenergic cAMP-mediated relaxation (response to isoproterenol, ISO). Dose response curves were generated in isolated rat pulmonary artery rings preconstricted with phenylephrine. With Mg2+, ACh 10−6Mproduced complete ring relaxation but in the absence of Mg2+, only 66% relaxation was produced in response to ACh 10−6M(P
A template for reliable assessment of resident operative performance: assessment intervals, numbers of cases and raters.

Background Operative performance rating (OPR) instruments have been developed to assess operative performance (OP). To guide program implementation, this study determined: 1) Appropriate intervals for OP progress decisions, 2) Number of OPRs and raters required per interval to achieve reproducible results. Methods 21 surgeons rated 897 OPs (3 procedures) by 36 residents. Six-month PGY intervals were compared to determine length of stable operative performance intervals. Variance component analyses established rating factor importance. Generalizability analyses and decision studies determined number of OPRs required for reproducible OP decisions (reliabilities = 0.80). Results Resident OPRs are stable across single PGY years. 2.3 OPRs/resident/month provided a dependable basis for annual or semi-annual resident OP decisions. Results were similar for all procedures and training years. Rater idiosyncrasies accounted for most score variation (63% when interaction effects involving rater idiosyncrasies were included). Resident ability was the next most important source of variation (12%). Procedure was a less important source (5%). Conclusion Annual resident OP decisions are supported. 2.3 OPRs per month provide a dependable basis for judging resident OP. These numbers are sufficient regardless of training year or procedure mix though efforts should be made to balance procedure mix. Multiple raters should rate each resident to control for rater idiosyncrasies.
Calcific aortic atherosclerosis of the rabbit after cholesterol and pitressin treatment

Summary Approximately half of a group of albino rabbits treated with the neuroendocrine pitressinin conjunction with an atherogenic cholesterol diet demonstrated lesions of calcific atherosclerosis of the aorta within a short period of time. The morphology of these lesions resembles the human plaques more closely than those produced by an atherogenic diet alone. This modification is not dose-dependent nor is it related to alterations in blood pressure. Both factors, atherogenic diet and pitressin, are necessary conditions for the calcific lesion, since lipid accumulation in the wall precedes calci-fication. The resemblance of the lesions to those of the human disease may be of importance in virtue of the natural occurrence of vasopressin in man.
Using DEA to Identify and Manage Congestion

This paper deals with identifying and managing congestion. For this purpose, DEA (Data Envelopment Analysis) is used to identify congestion when the data show it to be present, estimate its amounts, and separate it from other forms of inefficiency. DEA is also used to identify where improvements may be made in the management of congestion and to estimate input decreases and output increases that may be made after managerial inefficiencies in managing congestion are eliminated. The treatment here differs from the usual approaches that are restricted to identifying sources and amounts of technical inefficiency and congestion to be eliminated. The focus is directed rather to efficiency of performances in the presence of inefficiencies imposed by, say, labor contracts or government regulations and policies. Other developments include a use of rates of substitution formulated in terms of slack variables that help to avoid instabilities associated with the very small values that are often encountered in the use of dual variables to determine the rates of substitution. These rates of substitution are intended for use in guiding allocations (or reallocations) of inputs between different plants (or other entities) in ways that can further improve performance without reducing the congesting inputs that are to be employed. Hence modifications are needed to extend the usual restrictions to movements on the efficiency frontier so that frontiers associated with congestion and other inefficiencies can be dealt with.
AUDIENCE'S RESPONSE TO JOKES IN SPEECHES WITH AND WITHOUT RECORDED LAUGHS

Two speakers made videotaped speeches containing apt humor twice before a live audience; in one presentation the live audience laughed at the jokes and in the other there was no laughter. 64 students saw one tape with laughter, then one without and rated each speaker on ethos scales and on “interestingness” and “funniness.” They preferred the speaker who elicited laughter, but a significant order of speakers made the main findings conditional.
Attitudes toward menopause and hormone therapy among women with access to health care.

Objective: To explore the relationship between women's attitudes toward menopause and hormone therapy and paradigms of menopause as a natural life event versus a biomedical phenomenon. Design: Women (N = 2092) sampled from physicians' practices in Washington state completed mailed questionnaires with a response rate of 72%. Results: Women's attitudes toward menopause were unrelated to their adoption of a biomedical versus developmental paradigm of menopause. In contrast, women's adoption of the view that menopause was an endocrine deficiency and that symptoms should be treated with hormones were correlated. Endorsement of the endocrine deficiency model of menopause was related to women's attitudes toward hormone therapy as more efficacious, less risky, and requiring daily use of a drug. Women's experiences of a hysterectomy and hormone use were associated with their attitudes. Conclusions: Women's attitudes toward menopause are multidimensional and not influenced wholly by adoption of a biomedical or developmental paradigm. Women embraced menopause as part of life and simultaneously accepted changes in their endocrine production. Attitudes toward hormone therapy were closely aligned with adoption of a biomedical view of menopause and use of hormone therapy.
Conformation, Dynamics, and Insertion of a Noncysteine-Containing Protegrin-1 Analogue in Lipid Membranes from Solid-State NMR Spectroscopy

Disulfide-bonded beta-hairpin structures are common among antimicrobial peptides. Disulfide bonds are known to be important for antimicrobial activity, but the underlying structural reason is not well understood. We have investigated the membrane-bound structure of a disulfide-deleted analogue of the antimicrobial peptide protegrin-1, in which the four Cys residues were replaced by Ala. The secondary structure, dynamics, and topology of this Ala-PG1 peptide in the membrane were determined by using magic-angle-spinning NMR spectroscopy. Conformation-dependent (13)C isotropic chemical shifts of multiple (13)C-labeled residues were obtained from 1D cross-polarization and direct-polarization spectra, and from 2D J-coupling-mediated (13)C-(13)C correlation spectra. Most labeled residues exhibited two conformations: a random coil and a beta-sheet structure. The dual-conformation property was present in both anionic lipid bilayers, which mimic the bacterial membrane, and zwitterionic cholesterol-containing bilayers, which mimic the eukaryotic cell membrane. The mobility of the peptide was measured by using a 2D C-H dipolar-shift correlation experiment. The random-coil fraction was highly mobile whereas the beta-sheet component was rigid. (1)H spin diffusion from the lipid chains to the peptide indicates that the beta-sheet component was well inserted into the anionic membrane, but surface bound in the cholesterol-containing neutral membrane. Thus, the removal of disulfide bonds changed some PG-1 molecules to highly mobile random coils that were poorly associated with the lipid membrane, but other molecules retained a beta-sheet conformation and had a similar membrane-binding topology to the parent peptide. Thus, the reduced antimicrobial activity of Ala-PG1 was largely due to the reduced number of insertion-competent beta-sheet molecules, rather than uniformly weakened activity of identically structured peptides.
Teaching Tree Thinking to College Students: It’s Not as Easy as You Think

The ability to understand and reason with tree-of-life diagrams (i.e., cladograms), referred to as tree thinking, is an essential skill for biology students. Yet, recent findings indicate that cladograms are cognitively opaque to many college students, leading them to misinterpret the information depicted. The current studies address the impact of prior biological background and instruction in phylogenetics on students’ competence at two foundational tree-thinking skills. In Study 1, college students with stronger (N = 52) and weaker (N = 60) backgrounds in biology were asked to (a) identify all the nested clades in two cladograms and (b) evaluate evolutionary relatedness among taxa positioned at different hierarchical levels (two questions) and included in a polytomy (two questions). Stronger-background students were more successful than weaker-background students. In Study 2, a subset of the stronger-background students (N = 41) who were enrolled in an evolution class subsequently received two days of instruction on phylogenetics. As expected, these students’ tree-thinking skills generally improved with instruction. However, although these students did very well at marking the nested clades, fundamental misinterpretations of relative evolutionary relatedness remained. The latter was especially, although not exclusively, the case for taxa included in a polytomy. These results highlight the importance of teaching cladistics, as well as the need to tailor such instruction to the difficulties students have learning key macroevolutionary concepts.
A note on Barlow-Wu structure functions

The essential feature of the class of Barlow-Wu continuum structure functions is revealed through a new axiomatic characterization. The axioms introduced facilitate ready determination of whether a Barlow-Wu function is an appropriate model for a particular system.
The role of fracture toughness in low-cycle fatigue crack propagation for high-strength alloys

Abstract The trend toward broader application of high-strength structural alloys has increased the potential for failure by low-cycle fatigue crack propagation. There is a significant probability that complex structures will contain undetected cracks remaining from fabrication or that cracks will readily initiate from less severe fabrication defects. Under the repeated application of high stresses, imposed on high-strength alloys, such cracks will rapidly grow in low-cycle fatigue. To guard against disastrous failures caused by cracks propagating to terminal fracture, high-strength structural alloys which also possess high levels of fracture resistance have been developed in recent years. This paper describes the principal fatigue crack propagation characteristics which are derived from high fracture toughness and discusses the potential benefits available through the use of high-toughness alloys in cyclically-loaded structures.
An Outline of a Theory of Affordances

A theory of affordances is outlined according to which affordances are relations between the abilities of animals and features of the environment. As relations, affordances are both real and perceivable but are not properties of either the environment or the animal. I argue that this theory has advantages over extant theories of affordances and briefly discuss the relations among affordances and niches, perceivers, and events.
Stereoselective synthesis of conformationally constrained glycosylated amino acids using an enzyme-catalyzed desymmetrization.

As part of an effort to probe the mechanism by which glycosyltransferases recognize glycoproteins and assemble the core structures of O-linked oligosaccharides, constrained glycopeptides, compounds 2 and 3, based on the α-N-acetylgalactosaminyl serine substructure 1, were designed. In this paper we describe a stereoselective preparation of protected versions of these compounds. A pig liver esterase-catalyzed enzymatic desymmetrization of a diacetate substrate, 10, was employed as a key component in the synthesis.
Studies of multi‐start clustering for global optimization

Global/multi-modal optimization problems arise in many engineering applications. Owing to the existence of multiple minima, it is a challenge to solve the multi-modal optimization problem and to identify the global minimum especially if efficiency is a concern. In this paper, variants of the multi-start with clustering strategy are developed and studied for identifying multiple local minima in nonlinear global optimization problems. The study considers the sampling procedure, the use of Hessian information in forming clusters, the technique for cluster analysis and the local search procedure. Variations of multi-start with clustering are applied to 15 multi-modal problems. A comparative study focuses on the overall search effectiveness in terms of the number of local searches performed, local minima found and required function evaluations. The performance of these multi-start clustering algorithms ranges from very efficient to very robust. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Influence of exposure on preschoolers' art preferences

Two studies investigated (a) the art preference of young children for realistic, stylized, and abstract styles; and (b) the influence that exposure to art has on these style preferences. In the first study, 41 preschool children (19 females, 22 males) were individually administered an art style preference task comprised of nine prints, three of each style, of well known paintings. Both color and subject matter variables were controlled. A rank ordering of responses indicated a preference for abstract over realistic and stylized paintings. A second group of preschoolers (22 females, 20 males) were administered the preference task both before and following exposure to a painting ranked as one of the least preferred in the previous study. The three treatments were (a) classroom exposure, (b) home exposure, or (c) exposure through classroom discussion about the painting and the artist. Analyses revealed that all three types of exposure increased preference for the selected painting as well as preference for other paintings in that style. The importance of providing opportunities for young children to experience art is discussed in relation to capabilities of young children, as indicated by the results of the two studies.
Food Insecurity Is Associated with Health Status of Older Adults Participating in The Commodity Supplemental Food Program in A Rural Appalachian Ohio County

ABSTRACT Context. Food insecurity is associated with poorer nutritional and health status among older adults. Objectives. To assess the household food security and health status of older adults participating in the Commodity Supplemental Food Program (CSFP) and to determine the relationship of these factors. Design. A telephone survey conducted during Spring 2004 that included the 18-item Food Security Survey Module and SF-36 health status questionnaire. Setting. Athens County, Ohio, located in rural, Appalachian Ohio. Participants. Convenience sample of older adults 60 years and older [n = 91; 71.0y (8.1 SD)] receiving CSFP benefits and living in households located in Athens County, Ohio. Main Outcome Measures. Household food security status (U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module) and health status (SF-36) (physical and mental health scores in eight areas: Physical functioning, role-physical, bodily pain, general health, vitality, social functioning, role-emotional, mental health). It was hypothesiz...
Particle Adhesion and Detachment in Turbulent Flows Including Capillary Forces

The effect of capillary forces on particle adhesion and removal mechanism in turbulent flows is studied. Different detachment theories are used and the increase of adhesion force by the capillary effect is included in the analysis. The criteria for incipient rolling and sliding detachments are evaluated. The sublayer and burst models, which account for the structure of turbulent near-wall flows, are used for evaluating the air velocity condition near the substrate. The critical shear velocities for removing particles of different sizes under different conditions are evaluated, and the results are compared with those obtained in the absence of the capillary force. Comparisons of the model predictions with the available experimental data are also presented.
Comparison of trained and untrained observers using subjective and objective measures of imaging performance

Rationale and Objectives. We compared subjective and objective measures of imaging performance using variations of Rose- and Burger-type low-contrast phantoms with trained (radiology residents) and untrained (graduate students) observers. Methods. With one phantom variant, observers indicated the total number of objects seen when test objects were presented in a regular pattern (subjective). With the second phantom variant, observers stated whether a low-contrast disk was present in each locale, thereby permitting the true-positive fraction and false-positive fraction to be determined (objective). Results. The untrained-observer group had a significantly lower imaging performance than the trained observer group in subjective tests. These differences were not found on objective tests. For the trained-observer group, similar contrast levels were required in subjective and objective tests to yield a 50% rate of detection. Conclusion. Trained observers are superior subjects compared with untrained observers for assessing imaging performance using subjective low-contrast phantoms. In experiments using phantoms that allowed objective testing, both groups of observers yield similar results.
A high-resolution, fully implicit method for enhanced oil recovery simulation

A high-resolution total-variation-diminishing (TVD) finite-difference scheme has been developed and used in the authors multidimensional multicomponent, multiphase, finite-difference, IMPES-type compositional simulators for years. A variety of simulation results of enhanced oil recovery (EOR) processes have shown that this scheme gives convergent, high-order, accurate solutions. However, a restriction on the timestep size is always needed to ensure stability because of the IMPES formulation. This restriction sometimes can be very severe which means in some cases simulations are of high cost or even infeasible. It is well known that the fully implicit formulation is the most stable method. The standard approach, however, usually adopts lower-order finite-difference schemes for both the temporal and spatial discretizations because of computational requirements and difficulties in the program coding and the implementation of the physical property models. The advantage of the methods thus are overshadowed by the increased amount of numerical dispersion associated with large truncation error, which is especially detrimental to accurate field simulation and process design. A new fully implicit, high-resolution algorithm and a simulator based on the algorithm were developed and are described in this paper. The new algorithm and the simulator are verified by the good agreement between numerical results and analytical solutions.more » Verification cases with analytical solutions were also used to compare different simulation approaches. The new algorithm has a higher resolution than standard methods, is more stable than the IMPES method, and stability is preserved with nonuniform grids.« less
Measurement of chemoattractant concentration profiles and diffusion coefficient in agarose

Migration of leukocytes is influenced by both the concentration and gradient of a chemoattractant. In the under-agarose assay, attractant diffuses through the medium away from the attractant well. For complete analysis of assay data, the diffusion coefficient of the attractant in the assay system must be known, and the attractant concentration profiles must be mathematically predictable. This paper describes a method whereby the diffusion coefficient of a chemoattractant through agarose may be determined, by measurement of attractant concentration profiles. The diffusion coefficient of FNLLP was found to be D = 1.0 X 10(-5) cm2/s at 37 degrees C. In addition it was found that the concentration profiles can be satisfactorily predicted by solution of the diffusion equation with appropriate boundary conditions.
Characterization of survival and phenotype throughout the life span in UCP2/UCP3 genetically altered mice

In the present investigation we describe the life span characteristics and phenotypic traits of ad libitum-fed mice that overexpress UCP2/3 (Positive-TG), their non-overexpressing littermates (Negative-TG), mice that do not expression UCP2 (UCP2KO) or UCP3 (UCP3KO), and wild-type C57BL/6J mice (WT-Control). We also included a group of C57BL/6J mice calorie-restricted to 70% of ad libitum-fed mice in order to test partially the hypothesis that UCPs contribute to the life extension properties of CR. Mean survival was slightly, but significantly, greater in Positive-TG, than that observed in Negative-TG or WT-Control; mean life span did not significantly differ from that of the UCP3KO mice. Maximal life span did not differ among the ad libitum-fed groups. Genotype did not significantly affect body weight, food intake, or the type of pathology at time of death. Calorie restriction increased significantly mean and maximal life span, and the expression of UCP2 and UCP3. The lack of difference in maximal life spans among the Positive-TG, Negative-TG, and UCP3KO suggests that UCP3 does not significantly affect longevity in mice.