cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Reflex-mediated enhancement of airway protective mechanisms.

The upper esophageal sphincter (UES) and lower esophageal sphincter (LES) comprise the basal mechanisms against entry of gastric content into the aerodigestive tract and the airway. There are, however, other mechanisms referred to here as "response mechanisms" that become activated after certain stimulation, such as distention of the esophagus or tactile/pressure stimulation of the pharyngeal wall, and result either in fortification of the UES barriers--i.e., esophago-UES, pharyngo-UES, and laryngo-UES contractile reflexes--or closure of the glottis--i.e., esophagoglottal and pharyngoglottal closure reflexes. In addition, there are other reflexes included among the response mechanisms--such as pharyngeal swallow and secondary peristalsis induced by pharyngeal stimulation by liquid and esophageal distention by refluxate--that result in pharyngeal and esophageal volume clearance, thus reducing the chance for contact of refluxate with the tracheal, bronchial, and glottal structures.
THE CB1 ANTAGONIST RIMONABANT (SR141716) BLOCKS CUE-INDUCED REINSTATEMENT OF COCAINE SEEKING AND OTHER CONTEXT AND EXTINCTION PHENOMENA PREDICTIVE OF RELAPSE

Cannabinoid CB1 antagonists decrease self-administration of palatable food and several abused drugs in animals and modulate extinction of conditioned fear responses. Less is known, however, about whether and how CB1 antagonists might modulate the extinction of appetitive behavior. Therefore, this study examined the effects of the CB1 receptor antagonist rimonabant (SR141716) during extinction of responding maintained either by cocaine or by palatable foods (corn oil or Ensure), as well as responding elicited by stimulus cues that had been paired with the presentation of cocaine (i.e., cue-induced reinstatement) or a prime (presentation of cocaine or food). The effect of rimonabant on high rate responding in water-deprived mice trained to self-administer water was also examined. In mice self-administering cocaine, rimonabant attenuated cue-induced reinstatement of cocaine self-administration, the initial burst of responding during cocaine extinction and responding during spontaneous recovery. In mice self-administering corn oil, rimonabant decreased responding during extinction and also attenuated responding that had been reinstated by a priming presentation of corn oil. Moreover, mice treated with rimonabant required fewer daily sessions to reach criterion for extinction of cocaine-maintained responding than vehicle treated mice. Also, rimonabant had no effect on the rate of operant responding in mice trained to respond for water under an FR5 schedule of reinforcement. Taken together, these data suggest that in addition to attenuating the primary reinforcing effects of both palatable foods and drugs of abuse, CB1 receptor antagonism can attenuate context and cue reactivity during extinction learning and potentially enhance extinction learning in this way.
On the design of time-varying tracking systems for precise model-following

New results are given for the design of the tracking portions of time-varying discrete-time tracking systems. The feedback regulator part of the system is driven by the tracking error with gains that make it an observer (or in the full-order case, a Kalman filter) of a reference input signal model. Application of these methods is illustrated with a design example.
Monitoring Chemical Reactions by Using Ion-Channel-Forming Peptides

This paper presents a method for monitoring chemical reactions on individual molecules. We exploit the functional properties of an ion-channel-forming peptide to follow the conversion of chemical groups on molecules attached near the opening of these semisynthetic nanopores. It is known that the conductance properties of derivatives of gramicidin A (gA) can be measurably different. [1] Here, we take advantage of singlechannel conductance measurements to monitor in situ the multistep conversion of a tert-butyloxycarbonyl-protected (Boc-protected) amine to the free amine and the subsequent diazotization/hydrodediazoniation of the amine to an alcohol functionality on molecules attached to gA. These model reactions show that gA provides a simple nanoscale platform for sensing external chemical reagents with high sensitivity and selectivity. Gramicidin A is a natural ion-channel-forming peptide (molecular weight 1.9 kDa, secreted from the bacterium Bacillus brevis) that incorporates into lipid bilayers and facilitates the transmembrane flux of monovalent cations upon reversible dimerization in bilayers (Figure 1 A). [2] Although several artificial ion channels based on genetically engineered proteins, [3] peptides, [4] or oligomers of organic molecules [5] have been explored for their potential use as chemo- and biosensors, [6] most of these sensors are designed to sense particular structural properties of chemical or biochemical species (such as the ability of a ligand to interact with a binding pocket). In this work, we explore the use of ion channels derived from gA to detect chemicals that display particular functional properties (such as the ability to facilitate specific chemical transformations). Bayley and co-workers have previously demonstrated that wild-type and genetically modified a-hemolysin (a 232.4 kDa protein [7] ) can be used to monitor the conversion of a light-driven reaction by recording distinct conductances of intermediates throughout the course of the reaction. [3c] Here,
Model order reduction for nonlinear dynamical systems based on trajectory piecewise-linear approximations

In this paper we analyze and expand a recently developed approach to Model Order Reduction (MOR) for nonlinear dynamical systems based on trajectory piecewise-linear (TPWL) approximations. Error estimates are given for solutions computed with TPWL reduced order models, and problems of preserving stability and passivity are examined. Since the TPWL method has limited a priori guarantees on global accuracy, its effectiveness is demonstrated on a range of examples including a micromachined switch, two nonlinear electronic circuits, and shock propagation modeled by Burgers’ equation.
Cellular interface morphologies in directional solidification. III - The effects of heat transfer and solid diffusivity

The shape and stability of two-dimensional finite-amplitude cellular interfaces arising during directional solidification are compared for several solidification models that account differently for latent heat released at the interface, unequal thermal conductivities of melt and solid, and solute diffusivity in the solid. Finite-element analysis and computer-implemented perturbation methods are used to analyze the families of steadily growing cellular forms that evolve from the planar state. In all models a secondary bifurcation between different families of finite-amplitude cells exists that halves the spatial wavelength of the stable interface. The quantitative location of this transition is very dependent on the details of the model. Large amounts of solute diffusion in the solid retard the growth of large-amplitude cells.
Dearomatization Reactions of N-Heterocycles Mediated by Group 3 Complexes

Group 3 (Sc, Y, Lu, La) benzyl complexes supported by a ferrocene diamide ligand are reactive toward aromatic N-heterocycles by mediating their coupling and, in a few cases, the cleavage of their C−N bonds. When these complexes reacted with 2,2′-bipyridine or isoquinoline, they facilitated the alkyl migration of the benzyl ligand onto the pyridine ring, a process accompanied by the dearomatization of the N-heterocycle. The products of the alkyl-transfer reactions act as hydrogen donors in the presence of aromatic N-heterocycles, ketones, and azobenzene. Experimental and computational studies suggest that the hydrogen transfer takes place through a concerted mechanism. An interesting disproportionation reaction of the dearomatized, alkyl-substituted isoquinoline complexes is also reported.
Treatment of Portwine Marks by an Argon Laser

Although the treatment of the ordinarily incurable portwine birthmark by lasers has been practiced for more than 10 years, recent therapeutic investigations have been carried out particularly with the argon laser. Argon lasers now available for medical purposes produce treatment spots that are small. For certain practical reasons, at present, only relatively small portwine marks can be treated effectively. With trained personnel and proper safety measures, the treatment is safe for the patient and the operator. The treatment as yet is not proved to be better with the argon laser because the ruby laser and even an incoherent infrared thermal coagulator can produce similar and often larger cleared areas. It is recommended for the present that treatment of portwine marks by argon lasers be restricted to investigation in medical centers where critical evaluations, control studies, and more powerful laser systems can be developed.
Local signaling from a retinal prosthetic in a rodent retinitis pigmentosa model in vivo.

Objective In clinical trials, retinitis pigmentosa patients implanted with a retinal prosthetic device show enhanced spatial vision, including the ability to read large text and navigate. New prosthetics aim to increase spatial resolution by decreasing pixel/electrode size and limiting current spread. To examine spatial resolution of a new prosthetic design, we characterized and compared two photovoltaic array (PVA) designs and their interaction with the retina after subretinal implantation in transgenic S334ter line 3 rats (Tg S334ter-3). Approach PVAs were implanted subretinally at two stages of degeneration and assessed in vivo using extracellular recordings in the superior colliculus (SC). Several aspects of this interaction were evaluated by varying duration, irradiance and position of a near infrared laser focused on the PVA. These characteristics included: activation threshold, response linearity, SC signal topography and spatial localization. The major design difference between the two PVA designs is the inclusion of local current returns in the newer design. Main results When tested in vivo, PVA-evoked response thresholds were independent of pixel/electrode size, but differ between the new and old PVA designs. Response thresholds were independent of implantation age and duration (⩽7.5 months). For both prosthesis designs, threshold intensities were within established safety limits. PVA-evoked responses require inner retina synaptic transmission and do not directly activate retinal ganglion cells. The new PVA design evokes local retinal activation, which is not found with the older PVA design that lacks local current returns. Significance Our study provides in vivo evidence that prosthetics make functional contacts with the inner nuclear layer at several stages of degeneration. The new PVA design enhances local activation within the retina and SC. Together these results predict that the new design can potentially harness the inherent processing within the retina and is likely to produce higher spatial resolution in patients.
The role of butyrate in the reverse transformation reaction in mammalian cells.

The reverse transformation reaction of Chinese hamster ovary cells from compact, epithelial-like, randomly growing, heavily knobbed, lectin reactive cells into stretched, tighly adherent, smooth-surfaced, lectin resistant, fibroblast-like cells normally elicited by dibutyryl cAMP can be produced to its complete extent by N6-monobutyryl cAMP or 8-bromo-cAMP. O2-monobutyryl cAMP is ineffective as is cAMP itself in the absence of an inhibitor of phosphodiesterase activity. In the presence of a phosphodiesterase inhibitor, cAMP is fully effective. These results indicate that the role of the butyryl groups of dibutyryl cAMP and, especially, the N6-butyryl, in the reverse transformation raction is protection of the cAMP analogue from degradation. Butyrate at concentrations of about 1 mM does produce a response which to some extent mimics that of cAMP analogues. The cells, however, fail to assume a fibroblastic-like shape, but rather become flattened. The butyrate effect is much slower and less readily reversible than that evoked by cAMP analogues. Butyrate produces an approximately 2-fold increase in intracellular cAMP levels. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that butyrate effects, in part, are mediated by cAMP.
A film projection system for use in quantitative morphological studies

SUMMARY A film projection system is described which permits stereological measurements to be made on negatives enlarged 2.7–6.7 times. The unique feature of this system is its use of the Zeiss TGZ 3 particle size analyser for determining profile size distributions. Elimination of negative printing greatly facilitates investigations requiring analysis of a large number of micrographs.
Ferromagnetism and spin-polarized charge carriers in In 2 O 3 thin films

We present evidence for spin-polarized charge carriers in ${\text{In}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{3}$ films. Both ${\text{In}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{3}$ and Cr doped ${\text{In}}_{2}{\text{O}}_{3}$ films exhibit room-temperature ferromagnetism after vacuum annealing, with a saturation moment reaching approximately $0.5\text{ }\text{emu}/{\text{cm}}^{3}$ for the Cr doped samples. We used point contact Andreev reflection measurements to directly determine the spin polarization, which was found to be approximately $50%\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}5%$ for both compositions. These results are consistent with suggestions that the ferromagnetism observed in certain oxide semiconductors may be carrier mediated.
A radiation hybrid map for the bovine Y Chromosome

Screening a bovine Y Chromosome-specific DNA library resulted in 34 new microsatellites, six of which mapped to the pseudoautosomal region (PAR), and 28 localized to the Y-specific region. These microsatellites, together with 23 markers previously mapped to the bovine Y Chr, were scored on a 7000-rad cattle–hamster radiation hybrid (RH) panel. Retention frequency of individual markers ranged from 18.5% to 76.5% with an average of 48.4%. Markers with high retention frequency (>55%) were found to exist in multiple copies on the Y Chr. Thirteen markers were placed on the PAR RH map with the AmelY gene proximal to the pseudoautosomal boundary and 46 markers, including Sry and Tspy gene, on the Y-specific region of the RH map. The microsatellites developed and mapped in this work will be useful for comparative mapping of cattle, sheep, and goat, studying the origin, evolution, and migration of bovidae species and provide an initial platform to develop a high-resolution map of the Y Chr and positional cloning of Y-specific genes.
Crossed immunoelectrophoresis of rat serum.

Abstract A crossed immunoelectrophoresis (X-IEP) reference profile of normal (Sprague-Dawley) rat serum antigens was developed. Twenty-three antigens were detected; 13 were identified. These included inter-α-trypsin inhibitor, α1-antichymotrypsin, and fibronectin, which had not previously been identified in rat serum. Many of the antigens were similar electrophoretically to their analogs in human and mouse serum, but some were substantially different. Inter-α-trypsin inhibitor, fibronectin, and C3 globulin were more anodic, while transferrin was more cathodic. Rat haptoglobin's mobility was between those of human and mouse haptoglobins. As in the mouse, but more so, α-macroglobulin in the rat had α1 mobility rather than α2 seen for this protein in human serum. Only rat α1-antichymotrypsin exhibited a double peak. There were variations in haptoglobin and α1-lipoprotein mobilities among different strains of rat. This establishment of a standard X-IEP map of rat serum will simultaneously permit multiple quantitative and qualitative analyses of rat serum antigens for various experimental and clinical purposes.
REMOVAL OF GROUNDED, DERELICT OR ABANDONED VESSELS AS SITE RESTORATION1

ABSTRACT Many agencies and organizations in the United States are implementing habitat restoration using a wide array of methods across a variety of habitats. These efforts are often motivated by l...
The Uptake of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) Vaccine Among Adolescent Females in the United States: A Review of the Literature

A comprehensive review of literature was conducted to identify the barriers and facilitators, from the parents'/guardians' and primary care providers' (PCPs) perspective, that are associated with the uptake of Human Papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine among adolescent females. Findings from 14 peer-reviewed articles indicate that 37% of adolescent females, 9 to 17 years of age, initiated the HPV vaccine, compared to the national average of 13- to 15-years-olds, which is 50%. The overall uptake and completion rates of the vaccine were low across all racial and ethnic groups. Barriers included parents'/guardians' knowledge, perceptions, and attitudes toward the HPV disease and the vaccine, along with the convenience in receiving the vaccine. Six studies reported that HPV vaccine initiation was highly likely if the parents/guardians had received a doctor's recommendation. Learning what interventions school nurses currently utilize could positively affect the HPV vaccine uptake and completion rates by other nursing disciplines realizing this ongoing effort.
Nonparametric estimating equations based on a penalized information criterion

It has recently been observed that, given the mean-variance relation, one can improve on the accuracy of the quasi-likelihood estimator by the adaptive estimator based on the estimation of the higher moments. The estimation of such moments is usually unstable, however, and consequently only for large samples does the improvement become evident. The author proposes a nonparametric estimating equation that does not depend on the estimation of such moments, but instead on the penalized minimization of asymptotic variance. His method provides a strong improvement over the quasi-likelihood estimator and the adaptive estimators, for a wide range of sample sizes. Il a ete observe recemment que pour une relation moyenne-variance donnee, il est possible d'ameliorer la precision d'un estimateur de quasi-vraisemblance au moyen d'un estimateur adaptatif dependant des moments superieurs. L'estimation de tels moments etant toutefois instable, le gain d'efficacite n'est appreciable que dans de grands echantillons. L'auteur propose une equation d'estimation non parametrique qui s'appuie non pas sur l'estimation de tels moments, mais plutǒt sur une minimisation penalisee de la variance asymp-totique. Son approche s'avere nettement superieure aux methodes d'estimation par quasi-vraisemblance et adaptative, et ce pour un large spectre de tailles d' echantillon.
Chronic prostatitis: comments on infectious etiologies and antimicrobial treatment.

Twenty-three males with the clinical diagnosis of chronic prostatitis were evaluated for a bacterial etiology by the Stamey and Meares method. In addition, 16 patients, regardless of culture results, were placed on either cefadroxil or oral carbenicillin antimicrobial therapy. Culture results identified only four (17%) of 23 patients with bacterial prostatitis: coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (2), Enterobocter agglomerons (1), and Haemophilus parainfluenzae, and coagulase-negative Staphylococcus (1). Four of seven patients who received oral carbenicillin and three of nine patients who received cefadroxil reported symptomatic relief. This study did not identify a common etiology for chronic prostatitis or a consistently effective antimicrobial treatment. Rather, we observed that the etiologic agent in most cases of chronic prostatitis (83%) could not be identified by routine bacteriologic culture. Future research efforts in chronic prostatitis must address not only treatment regimens but expand the search for etiologic agents.
The numerical solution of a navier-stokes problem in a stenosed tube: A danger in boundary approximations of implicit marching schemes☆

Abstract The numerical solution of a Navier-Stokes problem in a stenosed tube is determined by three approaches: (1) a conformal mapping followed by an explicit march; (2) a numerical mapping followed by a time independent approach; (3) a numerical mapping followed by an implicit march. It is seen that the third approach converges to an incorrect solution, unless care is exercised at the boundary.
Onychomycosis and diabetes.

Objective This study aims to discuss factors specific to diabetics in the diagnosis and treatment of onychomycosis. Discussion Onychomycosis has the potential to cause severe complications in diabetics and should be treated promptly. The existence of comorbid conditions and potential for drug–drug interactions complicates the selection of an appropriate treatment regimen. The role of Candida in onychomycosis is controversial but may be of increased significance in the diabetic population due to an underlying vulnerability to this organism. Conclusions Terbinafine is an excellent choice in diabetics due to its low risk of drug–drug interaction and proven efficacy against the typical pathogens that cause onychomycosis. Itraconazole, while an effective treatment for onychomycosis, is not a first-choice therapy due to its black-box cardiac warning and numerous drug interactions. Larger studies are needed in diabetics to determine the frequency of candidal nail infections.
Monkey to human transfer of delayed hypersensitivity in vitro with RNA extracts.

Abstract Human “nonsensitive” peripheral blood leukocytes were incubated with RNA extracts of lymphoid tissue from rhesus monkeys with skin-test sensitivity to keyhole limpet hemocyanin (KLH), purified protein derivative (PPD) or coccidioidin. In the presence of KLH, PPD, or coccidioidin, these nonsensitive human leukocytes specifically elaborated a material, presumably a migration-inhibitory factor, which inhibited the migration of guinea pig macrophages. Liver RNA extracts from sensitized monkeys, or RNA extracts from lymphoid tissues of nonsensitive monkeys in the presence of antigen, failed to elaborate this material (MIF).
Visual placing by human infants

Abstract Prior research has not agreed that extension of the arms by the human infant on approach to a surface is a visual response. In this research, human infants 8 to 11-months-old extended their arms on approach to a patterned surface covered with glass. The arms did not extend to a patterned surface 14 in. below the glass. Thus, the response is a visual, not a vestibular, proprioceptive one. Ambiguity of the visual stimulus that elicits the response is shown by the finding that the infants also extended their arms almost as much to a gray surface just beneath the glass as they did to the patterned one.
Restorative effect of cyclic AMP on the bioelectric processes of calcium deprived ganglia

Ca2+-Entzug hemmt die Bildung von Spikes in postsynaptischen Neuronen, vermutlich durch Anderung des Ruhepotentials. Die Hemmung wird aufgehoben durch Zugabe von zyklischem AMP oder Ca2+. Diese Beobachtung konnten durch Hyperpolarisation der postsynaptischen Membran und Zunahme der praesynaptischen Azetylcholin-Freisetzung eine Erklarung finden.
Taxometric analyses of specific language impairment in 6-year-old children.

Specific language impairment (SLI), like many diagnostic labels for complex behavioral conditions, is often assumed to define a category of children who differ not only in degree but also in kind from children developing language normally. Although this assumption has important implications for theoretical models and clinical approaches, its validity has not been tested. In this study, distributions of language scores from children at ages 3 (N = 620) and 4 (N = 623) years were analyzed using a taxometric procedure known as "mean above minus below a cut" (MAMBAC; P. E. Meehl & L. J. Yonce, 1994). Language scores were distributed dimensionally at both ages, failing to support the hypothesis of a qualitatively distinct group corresponding to children with SLI.
Systematic description of evaporation spectra for light and heavy compound nuclei

To systematically describe evaporation spectra for light and heavy compound nuclei over a large range of excitation energies, it was necessary to consider three ingredients in the statistical model. First, transmission coefficients or barrier penetration factors for charged-particle emission are typically taken from global fits to elastic-scattering data. However, such transmission coefficients do not reproduce the barrier region of evaporation spectra and reproduction of the data requires a distributions of Coulomb barriers. This is possibly associated with large fluctuations in the compound-nucleus shape or density profile. Second, for heavy nuclei, an excitation-energy dependent level-density parameter is required to describe the slope of the exponential tails of these spectra. The level-density parameter was reduced at larger temperatures, consistent with the expected fadeout of long-range correlation, but the strong $A$ dependence of this effect is unexpected. Last, to describe the angular-momentum dependence of the level density in light nuclei at large spins, the macroscopic rotational energy of the nucleus has to be reduced from the values predicted with the finite-range liquid-drop model.
Collecting Decision Support System Data Through Remote Sensing of Unpaved Roads

Unpaved roads make up roughly 33% of the road system within the United States and are vitally important to rural communities for transport of people and goods. Effective asset management of unpaved roads requires frequent inspections to determine the roads' condition and the appropriate preventive maintenance or rehabilitation. The major challenge with managing unpaved roads is low-cost collection of condition data that are compatible with a decision support system (DSS). The advent of cheap, reliable remote-sensing platforms such as unmanned aerial vehicles along with the development of commercial off-the-shelf image analysis algorithms provides a revolutionary opportunity to overcome these data volume and efficiency issues. By taking advantage of these technological leaps, a market-ready system to detect unpaved road distress data compatible with a DSS was developed. The system uses aerial imagery that can be collected from a remote-controlled helicopter or manned fixed-wing aircraft to create a three-d...
Report from the ICSE workshop: bridging the gaps between software engineering and human-computer interaction

The First International Workshop on the Relationships between Software Engineering and Human-Computer Interaction was held on May 3--4, 2003 as part of the 2003 International Conference on Software Engineering, in Portland, OR, U.S.A. This workshop was motivated by a perception among researchers, practitioners, and educators that the fields of Human-Computer Interaction and Software Engineering were largely ignoring each other and that they needed to work together more closely and to understand each other better. This report describes the motivation, goals, organization, and outputs of the workshop and the significant activity that it has subsequently fostered.
Effect of the amyloid β hairpin's structure on the handedness of helices formed by its aggregates

Various structural models for amyloid β fibrils have been derived from a variety of experimental techniques. However, these models cannot differentiate between the relative position of the two arms of the β hairpin called the stagger. Amyloid fibrils of various hierarchical levels form left-handed helices composed of β sheets. However it is unclear if positive, negative and zero staggers all form the macroscopic left-handed helices. To address this issue we have conducted extensive molecular dynamics simulations of amyloid β sheets of various staggers and shown that only negative staggers lead to the experimentally observed left-handed helices while positive staggers generate the incorrect right-handed helices. This result suggests that the negative staggers are physiologically relevant structure of the amyloid β fibrils.
Combining Surface Treatments With Shallow Slots to Improve the Spatial Resolution Performance of Continuous, Thick LYSO Detectors for PET

Positron emission tomography (PET) detectors based on continuous scintillation crystals can achieve very good performance and have a number of practical advantages compared to detectors based on a pixelated array of crystals. Our goal is to develop a thick continuous detector with high energy and spatial resolution, along with high γ -photon capture efficiency. We examine the performance of two crystal blocks: a 46 × 46 × 14 mm3 and a 48×48×25 mm3 block of LYSO (Lutetium Yttrium Orthosilicate). Using Maximum Likelihood (ML) positioning based upon the light response function (LRF) in the 14 mm thick crystal, we measure a spatial resolution of 3 mm in the central region of the crystal with degradation near the edges due to reflections off the crystal sides. We also show that we can match the spatial resolution achieved using a 14 mm thick crystal by using a 25 mm thick crystal with slots cut into the gamma entrance surface to narrow the LRF. We also find that we can improve the spatial resolution performance near the detector edges by reducing the reflectivity of the crystal sides, albeit with some loss in energy resolution.
Altruism and culture as social products

The historical core of the independent sector is comprised of churches, charitable organisations and higher education. What distinguishes these and other independent sector organisations from the governmental and commercial sectors is the fact that participation in the independent sector is free from state compulsion and not for the purpose of monetary gain. The independent sector is a modern development which could not have occurred without the disestablishment of religion. Disestablished churches have given rise to secular charities, higher education and other independent sector organisations in the United States. The independent sector is the arena in which cultural production and altruistic activities with a distinctive moral quality take place. Participation in the independent sector is the only mechanism for status legitimation in a democractic society with no compulsory state religion or traditional forms of authority.
Fast Buffer Insertion for Yield Optimization Under Process Variations

With the emerging process variations in fabrication, the traditional corner-based timing optimization techniques become prohibitive. Buffer insertion is a very useful technique for timing optimization. In this paper, we propose a buffer insertion algorithm with the consideration of process variations. We use the solutions from the deterministic buffering that sets all the random variables at their nominal values to guide the statistical buffering algorithm. Our algorithm keeps the solution lists short, and always achieves higher yield than the deterministic buffering. The experimental results demonstrate that the exiting approaches cannot handle large cases efficiently or effectively, while our algorithm handles large cases very efficiently, and improves the yield more than 12% on average.
Synthesis and processing of the bovine enteric coronavirus haemagglutinin protein

The haemagglutinin molecule on the bovine enteric coronavirus has been identified as a glycoprotein of 140K composed of disulphide-linked subunits of 65K. In this study, we have shown the subunits to be identical by demonstrating an unambiguous amino-terminal amino acid sequence. The unglycosylated subunit was found to have an Mr of 42.5K and to undergo rapid disulphide linkage and glycosylation. Glycosylation was found to be of the asparagine-linked type and some of the oligosaccharides underwent processing to complex forms. Studies with inhibitors of glycosylation suggested that a processing of the haemagglutinin oligosaccharide takes place on the virion whilst it is in the Golgi apparatus. Each haemagglutinin subunit on the mature virion was estimated to possess six or seven carbohydrate chains of either the high-mannose or hybrid type, and three or four chains of the complex type.
Checking for Relationships across Domains Measured by Triads and Paired Comparisons

The authors discuss an extension of the use of the triads test for judged similarity among various roles to measure union consciousness and paired comparisons techniques to assess the relative importance of structural versus personal characteristics for negotiating good contracts, the nature of obligations between stewards and staff, and tasks that stewards find most important to them. The authors show how they moved from the mapping of cognitive domains to testing for relationships among different domains to measure the strength of competing models of union organization in the stewards and staff of a single union. The authors suggest that the detection of patterns across domains can strengthen or question findings from each separate domain. They developed this method when an officer of one of the unions with whom they worked challenged an interpretation based on a single triads test.
Bronchioloalveolar Pathologic Subtype and Smoking History Predict Sensitivity to Gefitinib in Advanced Non–Small-Cell Lung Cancer

Purpose Gefitinib, an inhibitor of the epidermal growth factor receptor tyrosine kinase, induces radiographic regressions and symptomatic improvement in patients with non–small-cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Phase II trials suggested female sex and adenocarcinoma were associated with response. We undertook this analysis to identify additional clinical and pathologic features associated with sensitivity to gefitinib. Patients and Methods We reviewed medical records, pathologic material, and imaging studies of all 139 NSCLC patients treated on one of three consecutive studies of gefitinib monotherapy performed at our institution. We identified patients experiencing a major objective response and compared their clinical and pathologic features with the others. Univariate and multivariable analyses were performed on potential predictive features associated with sensitivity to gefitinib. Results Of 139 patients, 21 (15%; 95% CI, 9% to 21%), experienced a partial radiographic response. Variables identified as signif...
The effects of self-monitoring and reinforcement on exercise adherence.

Abstract Two behavioral techniques were assessed to determine their effects on subjects' adherence to unsupervised exercise. The subjects were 35 moderately fit persons who had just completed an adult fitness program (AF group) and 42 sedentary individuals who were recruited through the campus newspaper (NEWS group). Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: (a) self-monitoring, (b) reinforcement supplied by another person, or (c) control. All subjects were given instructions on how to exercise and asked to exercise on their own for 18 weeks. Self-monitoring subjects kept written records of their exercise behavior, while reinforcement subjects verbally reported their exercise behavior to another person who periodically administered rewards. Pre- and posttreatment tests on the NEWS group revealed no significant treatment or interaction effects. However, the reinforcement group had an 11% improvement in predicted max VO2 and a 9 bpm improvement in exercise heart rate compared to 7.8%, ...
A vertical cavity surface emitting polymer laser

Electroluminescence from conjugated polymers has opened new doors for the application of organic materials in electrically pumped light-emitting devices. Because photoluminescence line narrowing and stimulated emission in a variety of conjugated polymers have been reported recently, the prospects of electrically pumped polymer lasers are exciting. As the active material, we use the semiconducting conjugated polymer BEH:PPV [poly-2,5-bis(2'-ethylhexyloxy)-1,4-phenylenevenylene]. For laser applications, the active material has to be combined with an optical feedback structure. To form a high quality planar cavity, we use a pair of dielectric mirrors that contain a stack of alternating quarter-wave layers of low and high refractive-index materials. The mirrors are characterized by low losses and high reflectivities in the gain region of the polymer. A 200-nm film of BEH:PPV is spin-coated onto one of the dielectric mirrors. We excite with 100-fs optical pulses into the /spl pi/-/spl pi/* absorption band of BEH:PPV (555 nm). we compare the emission spectra from the polymer in the cavity with the emission of a single BEH:PPV layer without a cavity for three pump intensities. For all these intensities, the excitation is high enough to obtain optical gain and stimulated emission in the polymer layer. The emission spectrum of the polymer layer without cavity shows a narrow emission band that is typical for excitation above the threshold for stimulated emission.
The role of high-dose chemotherapy in the treatment of multiple myeloma: A controversy

Summary Background: Minimal criteria for the diagnosis of multiple myeloma are provided. Monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, smoldering multiple myeloma, primary systemic amyloidosis and metastatic carcinoma must be included in the differential diagnosis. Patients with multiple myeloma should not be treated unless they have an increasing M-protein in the serum or urine, development of anemia, hyper-calcemia, renal insufficiency, lytic lesions, fractures or extra-medullary plasmacytomas. Patients and methods: This is a review of patients treated with chemotherapy, autologous stem-cell transplantation and allogeneic transplantation. Results: Comparisons of melphalan and prednisone with a variety of combinations of therapeutic agents produces a higher response rate than with melphalan and prednisone but no significant difference in overall survival. Autologous stem-cell transplantation produces a higher response rate and some prolongation of survival but is not curative. Allogeneic transplantation is associated with a mortality of 40% and is not curative. Conclusions: If the patient is younger than 70 years, the physician should consider the possibility of an autologous peripheral blood stem-cell transplant. Ideally, this should be done as part of a prospective study. Hematopoietic stem cells are damaged by alkylating agents so they must be collected before these agents are given. Autologous stem-cell transplantation does not produce a cure and most patients will relapse. The appropriate timing of an autologous stem-cell transplant has not been ascertained. Hopefully, better preparative regimens and the removal of contaminated tumor cells from the peripheral blood will make an autologous transplant more effective. Another major question is whether double (tandem) transplants are superior to a single autologous stem-cell transplant. A current French Myeloma Group Study randomized study should answer this question. Allogeneic transplantation for multiple myeloma must be made safer because the transplant-related mortality is 40%. The relapse of multiple myeloma following allogeneic transplant is a major problem and consequently the preparative regimens must be improved. The infusion of donor lymphocytes following relapse after an allogeneic transplant is useful. New approaches with immunologic aspects including the use of dendritic cells and vaccines are of potential importance for the future.
Mathematica(R) assisted Web-based antenna education

An online, asynchronous learning and simulation environment for antenna education is described. The simulation environment revolves around a Web-based Mathematica(R) gateway, named WebMath. WebMath accepts standard common gateway interface input from forms and Java/sup TM/ applets and applications. The system permits the online execution of Mathematica(R) commands with immediate or deferred output, and acts as a front-end to external computational engines. Beyond conventional Mathematica(R) kernel output, WebMath provides optional animations and virtual reality modeling language renditions. Several examples demonstrate how WebMath can be used in an introductory antenna course as a supplement to traditional teaching methods.
Molecular characterization of the Smyth chicken sublines and their parental controls by RFLP and DNA fingerprint analysis

Abstract Two commercial broiler lines were used in an experiment to map quantitative trait loci (QTL) affecting disease resistance. Chickens from these lines were genotyped with 27 microsatellite markers to estimate heterozygosity and polymorphism information content (PIC), the probability that one parent is heterozygous at a marker locus and the other has a different genotype. Heterozygosity estimated from allelic frequencies was 0.52 for the two lines; however, heterozygosity calculated from actual counts of heterozygous loci was much lower (0.36) than the estimated heterozygosity. The PIC was 0.45 in these lines, and average allele number per marker locus was about 3.5. Twenty-five males produced from a cross between these two lines were screened with the DNA markers to select birds with high heterozygosity at marker loci. Mating simulation showed that uninformative matings could be reduced by about 5% if 12 pairs of males and females with the highest heterozygosity at marker loci were selected, which was about a 25% reduction in total uninformative matings. This experiment demonstrated that the heterozygosity and PIC in commercial broiler lines were low and selection for the birds with high heterozygosity at marker loci could increase informative content in chickens used in the experiments of QTL mapping, thus increasing detection power for QTL mapping.
Coalition Threading: Combining traditional and non-traditional parallelism to maximize scalability

Non-traditional parallelism provides parallel speedup for a single thread without the need to manually divide and coordinate computation. This paper describes coalition threading, a technique that seeks the ideal combination of traditional and non-traditional threading to make the best use of available hardware parallelism. Coalition threading provides up to 2× gains over traditional parallel techniques on individual loops. However, deciding when and to what degree to apply either traditional or non-traditional threading is a difficult decision. This paper provides heuristics for identifying loops that benefit from a combination of traditional and nontraditional parallelism and those that will perform best with a single technique. Using this heuristic, coalition threading provides an average gain of 17% across all the loops and an average speedup of 16.7% for the full applications over traditional parallelism. This performance is within 0.7% of the speedup that an oracle heuristic could attain.
The M3D-C1 approach to simulating 3D 2-fluid magnetohydrodynamics in magnetic fusion experiments

A new approach for solving the 3D MHD equations in a strongly magnetized toroidal plasma is presented which uses high-order 2D finite elements with C1 continuity. The vector fields use a physics-based decomposition. An efficient implicit time advance separates the velocity and field advance. ITAPS (SCOREC) adaptivity software and TOPS solvers are used.
Strategic Alliances in the Hotel Industry

Abstract Although strategic alliances have their pitfalls, a well-conceived alliance can offer both partners competitive advantages that they could not attain separately
TWO METHODS FOR SELF CALIBRATION OF DIGITAL CAMERA

Photogrammetric mapping using Commercial of the Shelf (COTS) cameras is becoming more popular. Their popularity is augmented by the increasing use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) as a platform for mapping. The mapping precision of these methods can be increased by using a calibrated camera. The USGS/EROS has developed an inexpensive, easy to use method, particularly for calibrating short focal length cameras. The method builds on a self-calibration procedure developed for the USGS EROS Data Center by Pictometry (and augmented by Dr. C.S Fraser), that uses a series of coded targets. These coded targets form different patterns that are imaged from nine different locations with differing camera orientations. A free network solution using collinearity equations is used to determine the calibration parameters. For the smaller focal length COTS cameras, the USGS has developed a procedure that uses a small prototype box that contains these coded targets. The design of the box is discussed, along with best practices for calibration procedure. Results of calibration parameters obtained using the box are compared with the parameters obtained using more established standard procedures.
Preparing and Presenting a Talk

How information is presented can have as much impact as the information itself. In order to ensure that you're getting your message across to the audience, you need to prepare your talk with as much care as you designed your research. This unit outlines information on how to prepare a great talk and deliver it for maximum effectiveness. Keywords: presentation; talk; speech; public speaking
BER performance of all-optical subcarrier label swapping with 2R regeneration

This paper proposes and demonstrates an all-optical subcarrier label swapping subsystem with 2R (reamplification, reshaping) optical regeneration and wavelength conversion. The experimental results show error-free operation with reshaping and regeneration leading to negative power penalty for signals with impaired signal-to-noise and extinction ratios. While the experiment was conducted on a single wavelength channel, a multiwavelength optical label switching system can incorporate this technique in parallel. The 2R regeneration in the all-optical label-swapping subsystem implies its viability in a scalable optical-label switching network.
Attraction of Ceratitis capitata (Diptera: Tephritidae) and endemic and introduced nontarget insects to BioLure bait and its individual components in Hawaii.

BioLure, a synthetic food attractant for Mediterranean fruit fly [Ceratitis capitata (Wiedemann) ], is composed of three chemicals (ammonium acetate, trimethylamine hydrochloride, and putrescine). We deployed these components together and in separate MultiLure traps across predominantly native forests, non-native forests, farmlands, orchards, and residential areas on the islands of Hawaii and Maui, to evaluate attraction of C. capitata and nontarget insects. Large numbers (as many as 186 per trap per day) of mainly saprophagous nontarget flies (primarily Drosophilidae, Chloropidae, Lonchaeidae, Neriidae, Otitidae, and Calliphoridae) were attracted to BioLure. Very few predators, parasitoids, or pollinators were attracted. Native species, predominantly drosophilid and calliphorid flies, were attracted in large numbers in endemic forests, but mostly (at least 88%) introduced species were collected in orchards, backyards, and non-native forest. A comparison of attraction to the three separate components versus combined components in traps revealed that ammonium acetate and, to a lesser extent, putrescine are the key components attractive to nontarget species. Omitting the putrescine ingredient from BioLure did not drastically decrease C. capitata catches but reduced nontarget captures by 20%.
Clock Period Optimization During Resource Sharing and Assignment

This paper analyzes the effect of resource sharing and assignment on the clock period of the synthesized circuit. We focus on behavioral specifications with mutually exclusive paths, due to the presence of nested conditional branches and loops. It is shown that even when the set of available resources is fixed, different assignments may lead to circuits with significant differences in clock period. We provide a comprehensive analysis of how resource sharing and assignment introduces long paths in the circuit. Based on the analysis, we develop an assignment algorithm which uses a high-level delay estimator to assign operations to a fixed set of available resources so as to minimize the clock period of the resultant circuit. Experimental results on several conditionalintensive designs demonstrate the effectiveness of the assignment algorithm.