cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Surgical management of drooling: clinical and caregiver satisfaction outcomes.

Summary Introduction Various surgical techniques are used to manage problematic drooling. These include: (1) re-routing of the submandibular ducts/excision of the sublingual glands (group 1), (2) excision of the submandibular glands/parotid duct ligation (group 2), and (3) ligation of the parotid and submandibular ducts (group 3). Purpose To compare the long-term effectiveness of three surgical techniques and to evaluate long-term caregiver satisfaction. Setting Tertiary care children’s hospital. Study design 10 year retrospective chart review and telephone follow-up questionnaire. Methods Demographic data, drooling severity, medical management and surgical outcomes using objective severity ratings were evaluated. Satisfaction scores were obtained by phone interview. Results 33 patients, 19 male and 14 female, age 1.1–27.6 years (mean 9.4 ± 4.9) underwent surgery. Six patients were in group 1, 14 in group 2 and 13 patients in group 3. There was no difference in age, sex or severity of drooling among groups. Mean follow-up was 4.5 years (range 1.1–10 years). Post-operative anti-cholinergic use was most common in group 3 (53%) compared to 21% in group 2 and 33% in group 1. Overall caregiver satisfaction for each group was 83% for group 1, 79% for group 2, and 30% for group 3. Gradual return of drooling occurred in 8 of 13 (61%) patients in group 3 and resulted in dissatisfied caregivers. Conclusions Although recent literature advocates four-duct ligation, our long-term results do not appear favorable. Reasons for this failure and strategies for avoidance are discussed.
A comparison of running suture versus figure-8 sutures as the initial step in achieving hemostasis during laparoscopic partial nephrectomy.

Abstract Background and Purpose: During laparoscopic partial nephrectomy, the importance of the initial suture placed under warm ischemic conditions cannot be underestimated. Inadequate hemostasis may lead to further surgical complications. Our goal was to determine which method of sutute ligation (running vs figure-8 interrupted) provides better initial hemostasis when performing partial nephrectomy in an ex-vivo porcine model. Materials and Methods: Deep partial nephrectomy defects were cut in the lateral aspect of six porcine kidneys. The renal artery was cannulated, and the kidneys were perfused from a water reservoir. The level (cm H2O) at which parenchymal leakage occurred was measured and recorded in three situations: No parenchymal suture; running suture along the base of the defect; and interrupted figure-8 sutures placed in parallel along the base of the defect. Results: Six kidneys were studied. Using interrupted figure-8 sutures, the mean leak pressure was 56.7 cm H2O (over baseline). Using a ...
The Tailored Low Dose Fluoroscopic Voiding Cystogram for Familial Reflux Screening

AbstractPurpose: Radionuclide voiding cystography is generally advocated as a screening study to detect familial reflux. We assessed the efficacy of tailored low dose fluoroscopic voiding cystography for this purpose.Materials and Methods: We evaluated 10 boys and 10 girls 9 months to 10 years old (mean age 5 years) who were siblings of patients known to have reflux. The technique used a low dose fluoroscopic system. A tailored voiding cystographic protocol was designed to minimize gonadal radiation dose.Results: Absence of reflux was confirmed in 10 patients. Mean fluoroscopy time was 19 seconds (range 14 to 22), resulting in mean gonadal radiation exposure of less than 1.5 mrad., which is comparable to the lowest reported doses with the radionuclide technique. After reflux was demonstrated in 10 patients the study was immediately converted to a standard fluoroscopic imaging technique to define lower tract anatomy and quantitate reflux, avoiding a second study.Conclusions: Tailored low dose fluoroscopic ...
Experimental confirmation of electron fluence driven, Cu catalyzed interface breakdown model for low-k TDDB

During technology development, the study of low-k TDDB is important for assuring robust chip reliability. It has been proposed that the fundamentals of low-k TDDB are closely correlated with the leakage conduction mechanism of low-k dielectrics. In addition, low-k breakdown could also be catalyzed by Cu migration occurring mostly at the interface between capping layer and low-k dielectrics. In this study, we conducted several important experiments including leakage modulation by changing the capping layer without changing the electric field, TDDB modulation by liner-free interconnect build, 3D on-flight stress-induced leakage current (SILC) measurement, triangular voltage sweep (TVS) versus TDDB, and Cu-free interconnect build at 32nm to experimentally confirm the proposed electron fluence driven, Cu catalyzed interface low-k breakdown model.
Loss of inhibin alpha uncouples oocyte-granulosa cell dynamics and disrupts postnatal folliculogenesis.

Targeted disruption of the inhibin alpha gene (Inha(-)(/)(-)) in mice results in an ovarian phenotype of granulosa cell tumors that renders the animals infertile. Little is known about the reproductive defects prior to tumor development. Here, we report novel data on early follicle dynamics in Inha(-)(/)(-) mice, which demonstrate that inhibin alpha has important consequences upon follicle development. Morphological changes in both germ and somatic cells were evident in postnatal day 12 ovaries, with Inha(-/-) mice exhibiting numerous multilayered follicles that were far more advanced than those observed in age-matched controls. These changes were accompanied by alterations in follicle dynamics such that Inha(-/-) ovaries had fewer follicles in the resting pool and more committed in the growth phase. Absence of inhibin alpha resulted in advanced follicular maturation as marked by premature loss of anti-Mullerian hormone (AMH) in secondary follicles. Additionally, gene expression analysis revealed changes in factors known to be vital for oocyte and follicle development. Together, these data provide key evidence to suggest that regulation of the inhibin/activin system is essential for early folliculogenesis in the prepubertal mouse ovary.
Identification of a Variant Antioxidant Response Element in the Promoter of the Human Glutamate-Cysteine Ligase Modifier Subunit Gene REVISION OF THE ARE CONSENSUS SEQUENCE

Abstract Constitutive and inducible expression of the gene encoding the modulator subunit of human glutamate-cysteine ligase (GCLM) is regulated by either of two regions of the promoter; an antioxidant response element (ARE) at −302:−291 and a 44-bp fragment (−346:−303) upstream of the ARE. This second region includes a consensus AP-1 site previously considered responsible for the enhancer activity of the upstream fragment. Deletion of a 165-bp fragment (−348:−183) including the ARE and upstream 44-bp fragment totally ablated t-butyl hydroquinone (tBHQ) inducibility of a GCLM promoter/luciferase transgene. Mutation analyses confirmed that both the ARE and the −346:−303 fragment could support induction following tBHQ exposure but demonstrated that induction in the latter case did not involve the AP-1 site at −341:−335. A region sharing significant homology with the consensus ARE sequence except for a single nucleotide mismatch at −330 (5′-TTACnnnGCA-3′ versus5′-TGACnnnGCA-3′) was identified at the 5′-end of the 44-bp fragment immediately adjacent to the AP-1 site. A G in this position has been considered an invariant requirement of functional ARE sequences. Mutation of T−330 to A (a substitution known to ablate ARE function) or C eliminated basal and inducible expression. Substitution of a G at −330 enhanced basal expression relative to the wild-type sequence, but induction following tBHQ exposure was comparable, indicating that either sequence (5′-TTACnnnGCA-3′ versus5′-TGACnnnGCA-3′) may function as an ARE, although the former sequence is less effective at directing basal expression. This possibility was confirmed by similar mutational analyses of the core sequence of hNQO1, a prototypic ARE. Electrophoretic mobility shift competition assays revealed that the 5′-TTACnnnGCA-3′ sequence could compete with the hNQO1 ARE for protein binding but was less effective than a similar probe containing the 5′-TGACnnnGCA-3′ motif. Probes including the T(−330)A or T(−330)C mutations were ineffective. These results reveal that the GCLM promoter includes two functional AREs, one having a variant sequence. The results indicate that the consensus ARE sequence should be revised to 5′-RTKAYnnnGCR-3′.
Morphologic observations in the epicardial coronary arteries and their surroundings late after cardiac transplantation (allograft vascular disease)

Conclusions from this review, based primarily on study of 39 cardiac allografts in place for >2 months, but also on a study of 37 grafts in place for </=2 months, might include the following: (1) allograft vascular disease affects all layers of the epicardial coronary arteries and usually the intramural coronary arteries in the outer one-half of the left ventricular wall; (2) the resulting intimal lesion is relatively uniform, consisting mainly of cellular and acellular fibrous tissue; it is diffuse, affecting all segments of the major and minor epicardial coronary arteries; (3) the degree of resulting luminal narrowing is similar in most 5-mm coronary segments, making coronary angiography hazardous in reliably predicting accurately the degree of luminal narrowing; (4) the extensive adventitial fibrosis and the extensive fibrous tissue infiltration of the subepicardial tissues probably inhibit dilation and remodeling of the epicardial coronary arteries and indeed may constrict them; (5) luminal narrowing of the epicardial coronary arteries after transplantation may be the consequence of both intraluminal lesions and exterior compression from the surrounding fibrous tissue; (6) intraluminal and intralesion thrombus is commonly observed as are multiluminal channels in coronary plaques, suggesting that organization of thrombi plays some role in the progression of post-transplant epicardial coronary disease; (7) the coronary lesions developing after cardiac transplantation are morphologically quite different in composition than those occurring in natural (nontransplantation) atherosclerosis; and (8) inflammatory cellular infiltrates are often extensive in the subepicardial tissues and the infiltrates in this area may be extensive even when interstitial myocardial inflammatory infiltrates are minimal or absent.
An empirical analysis of smartphone personalisation: measurement and user variability

The present report is an empirical analysis of smartphone personalisation. We collected data from two groups of users to measure how they adapt the content, interface and physical appearance of their devices. This user-driven personalisation is measured with a simple heuristic approach to quantify the behaviour. Using these scores, we explore how users differ from each other in how they personalise their smartphones with a focus on gender differences, usability and device usage in the wild. Among our findings are that not all users personalise their smartphones, females and males personalise their iPhones differently, and those who personalised their phones more tended to rate it as more usable. The users who personalised more also used their device for greater periods of time on a broader range of applications. For instance, individuals who adapted their iPhones to a greater degree also accessed the Web more often and spent more time browsing once it was accessed. We conclude with a discussion of possible factors underlying the large user diversity of smartphone personalisation found in this research.
Psychopathology of Abused Children

Abstract The major types of psychopathology and behavioral deviancy observed in physically abused children during their participation in clinical research and treatment programs are described. Some of the more prominent areas of disturbance were: overall impairment of ego functioning, associated with intellectual and cognitive defects; traumatic reactions with acute anxiety stales; pathological object relationships characterized by the failure to develop “basic trust”; excessive use of primitive defenses such as denial, projection, introjection, and splitting; impaired impulse control; impaired self-concept; masochistic and self-destructive behavior; difficulties with separation, and problems in school adjustment.
Probability distribution of a stochastically advected scalar field.

A systematic method is outlined for constructing workable approximations to the joint probability distribution scrP(\ensuremath{\psi},\ensuremath{\xi}) of amplitude \ensuremath{\psi} and spatial gradient \ensuremath{\xi} of an active or passive scalar field that is advected by a prescribed isotropically distributed stochastic velocity field and subjected to molecular diffusion. scrP(\ensuremath{\psi},\ensuremath{\xi}) is sampled along fluid-element paths, and closure is obtained by taking a multivariate-Gaussian reference field ${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\psi}}}_{0}$(x) and distorting it locally in x space so that it exhibits the current scrP(pxi,\ensuremath{\xi}).
Native Point Defects in Multicomponent Transparent Conducting Oxides

The formation of native point defects in layered multicomponent InAMO4 oxides with A 3+=Al or Ga, and M 2+=Ca, Mg, or Zn, is investigated using first-principles density functional calculations. We calculated the formation energy of acceptor (cation vacancies, acceptor antisites) and donor (oxygen vacancy, donor antisites) defects within the structurally and chemically distinct layers of InAMO4 oxides. We find that the antisite donor defect, in particular, the A atom substituted on the M atom site (AM) in InAMO4 oxides, have lower formation energies, hence, higher concentrations, as compared to those of the oxygen vacancy which is know to be the major donor defect in binary constituent oxides. The major acceptor (electron “killer”) defects are cation vacancies except for InAlCaO4 where the antisite CaAl is the most abundant acceptor defect. The results of the defect formation analysis help explain the changes in the observed carrier concentrations as a function of chemical composition in InAMO4, and also why the InAlZnO4 samples are unstable under a wide range of growing conditions.
Joint induction of shape features and tree classifiers

We introduce a very large family of binary features for two-dimensional shapes. The salient ones for separating particular shapes are determined by inductive learning during the construction of classification trees. There is a feature for every possible geometric arrangement of local topographic codes. The arrangements express coarse constraints on relative angles and distances among the code locations and are nearly invariant to substantial affine and nonlinear deformations. They are also partially ordered, which makes it possible to narrow the search for informative ones at each node of the tree. Different trees correspond to different aspects of shape. They are statistically and weakly dependent due to randomization and are aggregated in a simple way. Adapting the algorithm to a shape family is then fully automatic once training samples are provided. As an illustration, we classified handwritten digits from the NIST database; the error rate was 0.7 percent.
Economic Democracy: The Rawls-Vanek-Sraffa Connection

these three authors, and that together they form the skeletal outline of a formal theory of economic democracy. Moreover, the Rawls-Vanek-Sraffa model of economic democracy (hereafter referred to as the RVS model) suitably represents two sepa? rate intellectual traditions which are beginning to show some signs of convergence. One is a logical extension of liberal ideology and is termed radical liberalism. The other is a branch of democratic socialism. The apparent convergence of these two ideological strains is the result of certain historical tendencies. The continued instability of most capi? talist nations, the increasing popularity of socialist politics in France, Greece, Finland, and elsewhere, and the diminishing popularity of Soviet domestic and foreign policies, especially among Marxist theorists, have contributed to increasing dissatisfaction with both traditional liberalism and etatist socialism. The RVS model is one which seems to represent the interests of those who have escaped both of these ortho? doxies. The next two sections of this paper will tie the works of Rawls, Vanek and Sraffa together. It will be seen that a Rawlsian theory of justice provides the ethical foundation for economic democracy. The work of Vanek provides the formal microeconomic basis of a self-managed sec? tor, while the work of Sraffa provides the formal macroeconomic basis of a planned participatory sector. The final section will evaluate the possibility of the U.S. moving in the direction suggested by the RVS model.
Acquaintance reports of personality and academic achievement: A case for conscientiousness ☆

The present article examines personality as a predictor of college achievement beyond the traditional predictors of high school grades and SAT scores. In an undergraduate sample (N D 131), self and informant-rated conscientiousness using the Big Five Inventory (BFI; John, Donahue, & Kentle, 1991) robustly correlated with academic achievement as indexed by both freshman GPA and senior GPA. A model including traditional predictors and informant ratings of conscientiousness accounted for 18% of the variance in freshman GPA and 37% of the variance in senior GPA; conscientiousness alone explained unique variance in senior GPA beyond the traditional predictors, even when freshman GPA was included in the model. Conscientiousness is a valid and unique predictor of college performance, and informant ratings may be useful in its assessment for this purpose.
Recent developments in molecular simulation

With the ever-increasing availability of high-performance computing, the tremendous advances in simulation algorithms and the paradigm-shifting combination of machine learning and simulation, molec...
Screening and characterization of resistance to succinate dehydrogenase inhibitors in Alternaria solani

Field isolates of Alternaria solani, which causes early blight of potato in Idaho, USA were evaluated in vitro for their sensitivity towards the succinate dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDHI) fungicides boscalid, fluopyram and penthiopyrad. A total of 20 isolates were collected from foliar-infected tissue in 2009, 26 in 2010 and 49 in 2011. Fungicide sensitivity was tested using the spiral-gradient end point dilution method. The frequency of boscalid-resistant isolates (>50% relative growth when using a spiral dilution gradient starting at 507 mg L−1) drastically increased over the duration of this study (15% in 2009, 62% in 2010 and 80% in 2011). Increasing resistance to fluopyram and penthiopyrad was observed. However, cross-resistance was only observed between boscalid and penthiopyrad. The target site of this fungicide class is the succinate dehydrogenase (SDH) enzyme complex, which is vital for fungal respiration. Sequence analysis of the SDH complex revealed mutations in the subunits B and D that were correlated with the emergence of boscalid resistance in potato fields in Idaho. In particular, H277R and H133R were identified in SDH subunits B and D, respectively. The presence of restriction sites in the gene sequences allowed the development of a rapid PCR-RFLP method to assess boscalid sensitivity in A. solani populations.
Bystander’s Willingness to Report Theft, Physical Assault, and Sexual Assault: The Impact of Gender, Anonymity, and Relationship With the Offender

This research examines bystander willingness to report three different crimes to the police or campus authorities among a college student sample (n = 295). Twelve original vignettes varied anonymity when reporting, bystander’s relationship with the offender (friend or stranger), and crime type. A factorial analysis of variance showed that main effects were found for crime type, bystander’s gender, and bystander’s relationship with the offender; anonymity was not significant. The physical assault was the most likely to be reported (4.47), followed by theft (3.26), and sexual assault (2.36). Women were more likely than men to report each crime type, and bystanders who were good friends of the offender were less likely to report than strangers. No two- or three-way interactions were significant, but a significant four-way interaction indicated that anonymity, relationship with the offender, and bystander’s gender predicted willingness to report for the sexual assault scenario.
Crosstalk measurement and reduction in dense WDM systems using subcarrier tone channel identification and linear cancellation

Proposes a scheme for the monitoring and reduction of crosstalk arising front the limited stop-band rejection of optical bandpass filters in dense WDM systems. The optical carrier at each wavelength is modulated with a subcarrier tone unique to that wavelength. The crosstalk level can be determined by measuring the power of the tone. The crosstalk from other channels can be cancelled by weighing and summing the photocurrents of several adjacent channels. Assuming a Gaussian passband for example, the channel density can be increased by 30% to 50%, depending on the number of adjacent channels detected, and the system can achieve a BER <10/sup -9/ even if the signal-to-interference ratio is less than 10 dB.
Zinc Requirement for Normal Feathering of Commercial Leghorn-Type Pullets

Abstract Commercial egg type chicks have been fed practical type starting rations containing 5 percent meat scrap and 5 percent fish meal. The basal diet analyzed 38–44 p.p.m. zinc for the different years. The use of a new feed mill increased the level in the basal diet to 52–55 p.p.m. Addition of zinc carbonate decreased the incidence of a feather abnormality from 5–20 percent down to very low levels. Total zinc levels of 52 p.p.m. for 3 weeks did not prevent the fraying. However, 78 p.p.m. and higher levels for only the first week gave good protection. Feeding the higher levels of zinc for only the first week of life gave excellent protection. Weight gains were not improved significantly by zinc additions. A feather condition described as a blister appeared in frequencies of .4–2.2% even with commercial egg strains.
Influence of the Viral Regulatory Region on Tumor Induction by Simian Virus 40 in Hamsters

Most of the simian virus 40 (SV40) genome is conserved among isolates, but the noncoding regulatory region and the genomic region encoding the large T-antigen C terminus (T-ag-C) may exhibit considerable variation. We demonstrate here that SV40 isolates differ in their oncogenic potentials in Syrian golden hamsters. Experimental animals were inoculated intraperitoneally with 10(7) PFU of parental or recombinant SV40 viruses and were observed for 12 months to identify genetic determinants of oncogenicity. The viral regulatory region was found to exert a statistically significant influence on tumor incidence, whereas the T-ag-C played a minor role. Viruses with a single enhancer (1E) were more oncogenic than those with a two-enhancer (2E) structure. Rearrangements in the 1E viral regulatory region were detected in 4 of 60 (6.7%) tumors. Viral loads in tumors varied, with a median of 5.4 SV40 genome copies per cell. Infectious SV40 was rescued from 15 of 37 (40%) cell lines established from tumors. Most hamsters with tumors and many without tumors produced antibodies to T antigen. All viruses displayed similar transforming frequencies in vitro, suggesting that differences in oncogenic potential in vivo were due to host responses to viral infection. This study shows that SV40 strains differ in their biological properties, suggests that SV40 replicates to some level in hamsters, and indicates that the outcome of an SV40 infection may depend on the viral strain present.
Postnatal Cranial Development in Papionin Primates: An Alternative Model for Hominin Evolutionary Development

The evolution of hominin growth and life history has long been a subject of intensive research, but it is only recently that paleoanthropologists have considered the ontogenetic basis of human morphological evolution. To date, most human EvoDevo studies have focused on developmental patterns in extant African apes and humans. However, the Old World monkey tribe Papionini, a diverse clade whose members resemble hominins in their ecology and population structure, has been proposed as an alternative model for human craniofacial evolution. This paper reviews prior studies of papionin development and socioecology and presents new analyses of juvenile shape variation and ontogeny to address fundamental questions concerning primate cranial development, including: (1) When are cranial shape differences between species established? (2) How do epigenetic influences modulate early-arising pattern differences? (3) How much do postnatal developmental trajectories vary? (4) What is the impact of developmental variation on adult cranial shape? and, (5) What role do environmental factors play in establishing adult cranial form? Results of this inquiry suggest that species differences in cranial morphology arise during prenatal or earliest postnatal development. This is true even for late-arising features that develop under the influence of epigenetic factors such as mechanical loading. Papionins largely retain a shared, ancestral pattern of ontogenetic shape change, but large size and sexual dimorphism are associated with divergent developmental trajectories, suggesting differences in cranial integration. Developmental simulation studies indicate that postnatal ontogenetic variation has a limited influence on adult cranial morphology, leaving early morphogenesis as the primary determinant of cranial shape. The ability of social factors to influence craniofacial development in Mandrillus suggests a possible role for phentotypic plasticity in the diversification of primate cranial form. The implications of these findings for taxonomic attribution of juvenile fossils, the developmental basis of early hominin characters, and hominin cranial diversity are discussed.
Efficacy of in-situ for the remediation of PAH contaminated soils

Abstract Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) are of environmental concern because many PAHs are either carcinogens or potential carcinogens. Petroleum products are a major source of PAHs. The occurrence of PAH contamination is widespread and novel treatment technologies for the remediation of contaminated soils are necessary. Ozone has been found to be extremely useful for the degradation of PAHs in soils. For these compounds, the reaction with molecular ozone appears to be the more important degradation pathway. Greater than 95% removal of phenanthrene was achieved with an ozonation time of 2.3 h at an ozone flux of 250 mg h−1. After 4.0 h of treatment at an ozone flux of 600 mg h−1, 91 % of the pyrene was removed. We have also found that the more hydrophobic PAHs (e.g. chrysene) react more slowly than would be expected on the basis of their reactivity with ozone, suggesting that partitioning of the contaminant into soil organic matter may reduce the reactivity of the compound. Even so, after 4 h of exposure to ozone, the chrysene concentration in a contaminated Metea soil was reduced from 100 to 50 mg kg−1 . Ozone has been found to be readily transported through columns packed with a number of geological materials, including Ottawa sand, Metea soil, Borden aquifer material and Wurtsmith aquifer material. All of these geological materials exerted a limited (finite) ozone demand, i.e. the rate of ozone degradation in soil columns is very slow after the ozone demand is met. Moisture content was found to increase the ozone demand, most likely owing to the dissolution of gaseous ozone into the pore water. As once the initial ozone demand is met, little degradation of ozone is observed, it should be possible to achieve ozone penetration to a considerable distance away from the injection well, suggesting that in-situ ozonation is a feasible means of treating uncontaminated unsaturated soils. This is substantiated by two field studies where in-situ ozonation was apparently successful at remediating the sites.
Separation of overlapping signatures in EMI data

Due to an object's unique combination of several physical characteristics, including conductivity and permeability, detection systems using the principles of electromagnetic induction (EMI) can be used to detect and classify a characteristic shape or signature for various targets. Subsequently, a library of signatures for targets of interest may be generated for classification purposes to reduce the false alarm rate associated with remediation. However, targets of interest are rarely isolated in the subsurface environment; metallic clutter and/or other targets of interest may be located in close proximity, thereby altering the returned signature and creating the possibility of false alarms. In this presentation, we will present data that was collected on mine-like targets located in close proximity to each other using a prototype frequency-domain EMI sensor, the Geophex GEM-3. We will show that weighted combinations of each object's independent signature can represent the resulting EMI response from two objects, located in close proximity. We will also present simple algorithms to detect the presence of overlapping objects and analyze their performance as a function of object separation and other relevant parameters. The creation and use of target recognition algorithms that consider multiple closely spaced objects will also be discussed.
An Improved High Speed Recording Spectrophotometer

An automatic recording spectrophotometer designed to cover the range 10,000 to 2000A is described. With present light sources the instrument will trace absorption curves at high speed from 9800A to 3400A, and can be used somewhat more slowly to cover the spectrum to 2300A. A ten-foot concave grating monochromator with fixed slits is used to provide a spectral band 0.5 to 10A wide, the purity available depending on the light intensity and the speed of recording desired. An 11-stage electron multiplier is used to balance a light beam which has passed through the sample to be measured, against the same beam later reduced by a photometric disk by a recorded amount. An electric “memory” device is used to accomplish this balance, and at the instant of balance a spark is passed through a piece of suitable graph paper wrapped around a rotating cylinder. Twenty absorption measurements can thus be made and recorded per second. The instrument will plot either transmission or density values against wave-lengths on a linear scale, to an accuracy of about 1 percent.
My agent as myself or another: effects on credibility and listening to advice

People consider other people who resemble them to be more persuasive. Users may consider embodied conversational agents, or ECAs, to be more persuasive if the agents resemble them. In an experimental study, we found that users rated the persuasiveness of agents that resemble them higher than other agents. However, actual advice-taking diverged from this pattern; when users created the agents, users changed their choices less when interacting with the agents that resembled them. We conducted a follow-up study and found that resemblance and self-esteem affect interactions with agents that resemble users. We discuss the use of self-report and behavioral data in evaluations of agent interfaces and how agents that resemble users might foster particular social interactions with a system. We suggest that agents that resemble users may be more persuasive in advising users about their actions and decisions.
High-performance W-band SiGe RFICs for passive millimeter-wave imaging

A W-band square-law detector was implemented in a commercial SiGe 0.12µm BiCMOS process (IBM8HP, f t = 200 GHz) and was integrated with a SiGe LNA and SPDT switch. The combined LNA+Detector is 0.26 mm2, achieves a peak responsivity of µ4 MV/W at 94 GHz with a minimum NEP ≪ 0.02 pW/Hz1/2, and consumes 29 mA from a 1.2 V supply. A low-loss W-band SPDT is also integrated on some designs for an internal 50 ∼ reference. The chip can achieve a temperature resolution of 0.3–0.4 K with a 30 ms integration time and ∼ 20 GHz bandwidth. This represents, to our knowledge, the first W-band SiGe passive mm-wave imaging chip with state-of-the-art temperature sensitivity.
The PDB is a covering set of small protein structures.

Structure comparisons of all representative proteins have been done. Employing the relative root mean square deviation (RMSD) from native enables the assessment of the statistical significance of structure alignments of different lengths in terms of a Z-score. Two conclusions emerge: first, proteins with their native fold can be distinguished by their Z-score. Second and somewhat surprising, all small proteins up to 100 residues in length have significant structure alignments to other proteins in a different secondary structure and fold class; i.e. 24.0% of them have 60% coverage by a template protein with a RMSD below 3.5 A and 6.0% have 70% coverage. If the restriction that we align proteins only having different secondary structure types is removed, then in a representative benchmark set of proteins of 200 residues or smaller, 93% can be aligned to a single template structure (with average sequence identity of 9.8%), with a RMSD less than 4 A, and 79% average coverage. In this sense, the current Protein Data Bank (PDB) is almost a covering set of small protein structures. The length of the aligned region (relative to the whole protein length) does not differ among the top hit proteins, indicating that protein structure space is highly dense. For larger proteins, non-related proteins can cover a significant portion of the structure. Moreover, these top hit proteins are aligned to different parts of the target protein, so that almost the entire molecule can be covered when combined. The number of proteins required to cover a target protein is very small, e.g. the top ten hit proteins can give 90% coverage below a RMSD of 3.5 A for proteins up to 320 residues long. These results give a new view of the nature of protein structure space, and its implications for protein structure prediction are discussed.
Writing To Learn In Ultrasound

Writing to learn is a relatively new concept that is designed to help improve student learning and retention through writing assignments. These assignments are often short and specific. This is a learning tool that can be easily incorporated into any study program, even a clinically based one. This method of learning can also be used by working sonographers as they complete continuing education requirements.
Asymptotic analysis of optimum uniform scalar quantizers for generalized Gaussian distributions

This paper studies the asymptotic characteristics of optimum uniform scalar quantizers as N, the number of levels, becomes large. It is shown that the length of the support region increases as (ln N)/sup 1//spl alpha//, when applied to a random variable with a generalized Gaussian density of the form p(x)=ae(-b|x|/sup /spl alpha//). Moreover, the mean-squared error is asymptotically well approximated by /spl Delta//sup 2//12, where /spl Delta/ is the step size, and decreases as (ln N)/sup 2//spl alpha///N/sup 2/. >
Diakoptic theory for multielement antennas

A theory is presented for the analysis of multielement antennas which consist of interconnected, conductive structure elements of electrically small dimensions. The theory is based on the retarded electromagnetic potentials which permit a diakoptic approach to the problem. The antenna is broken up into its individual structure elements. Each element is assumed to be excited by currents which are impressed at its terminals, i.e., junctions with adjacent elements (current coupling) and by the electric fields of the currents and charges on all the other elements (fieid coupling). Both excitations are treated independently. Each impressed current produces a "dominant" current distribution, a characteristic of the element, which can be readily computed. Current coupling is formulated by "intrinsic" impedance matrices which relate the scaler potentials at the terminals of an element, caused by its dominant current distributions, to the impressed currents of the element. Field coupling produces "scatter" currents on all the elements and is formulated by a "fieid-coupling" matrix which relates the scalar potentials at the terminals, caused by field coupling, to the impressed currents at all the terminals. Intrinsic and "field-coupling" matrices are combined to form the "complete" impedance matrix of the diakopted antenna. Enforcing continuity of the currents and equality of the scalar potentials at all the interconnections between the elements yields a system of linear equations for the junction currents and the input impedance of the antenna. Current coupling dominates field coupling. Fieid coupling is primarily affected by the dominant current distributions of the elements, and in general the scatter currents have negligible effect on it. Although detailed numerical investigations will be presented in another paper, a simple example is included here to demonstrate that the diakoptic theory yields very good results even if greatly simplified assumptions are made.
Coordinated target assignment and intercept for unmanned air vehicles

Presents an end-to-end solution to the cooperative control problem represented by the scenario where M unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) are assigned to transition through N known target locations in the presence of dynamic threats. The problem is decomposed into the subproblems of: 1) cooperative target assignment; 2) coordinated UAV intercept; 3) path planning; 4) feasible trajectory generation; and 5) asymptotic trajectory following. The design technique is based on a hierarchical approach to coordinated control. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of the approach.
Catalytically Active Peptidylglycine α-Amidating Monooxygenase in the Media of Androgen-Independent Prostate Cancer Cell Lines

Peptidylglycine alpha-amidating monooxygenase (PAM) converts inactive terminal-glycine prohormones into their activated alpha-amidated forms. PAM is thought to play a role in the development of antiandrogen drug resistance in prostate cancer (CaP) through PAMactivated autocrine growth. On the basis of the previous finding that many lung cancer cell lines excrete PAM into their culture media, this study investigates PAM levels in media collected from human CaP cell line cultures. Androgen-independent DU145 and PC-3 prostate cancer cell lines exhibited readily detectable levels of PAM activity in extracts and media, whereas the androgen-dependent LNCaP cell line showed little or no activity. Because of the much larger volume of media versus cell extracts, more than 90% of the total PAM activity was located in the media for both the PC-3 and DU145 cell lines, providing a readily accessible source of CaP PAM. A simple, scalable method to obtain PAM from the culture media of androgen-independent human prostate cancer cell lines is described in this article. This approach provides a much easier means of collecting CaP-derived PAM than previously described cell fractionation procedures and should facilitate the investigations of the role and targeting of PAM in hormone-independent CaP.
19F NMR study of the leucine-specific binding protein of Escherichia coli: mutagenesis and assignment of the 5-fluorotryptophan-labeled residues

The Escherichia coli L-leucine receptor is an aqueous protein and the first component in the distinct transport pathway for hydrophobic amino acids. L-leucine binding induces a conformational change, which enables the receptor to dock to the membrane components. To investigate the ligand-induced conformational change and binding properties of this protein, we used (19)F NMR to probe the four tryptophan residues located in the two lobes of the protein. The four tryptophan residues were labeled with 5-fluorotryptophan and assigned by site-directed mutagenesis. The (19)F NMR spectra of the partially ligand free proteins show broadened peaks which sharpen when L-leucine is bound, showing that the labeled wild-type protein and mutants are functional. The titration of L-phenylalanine into the 5-fluorotryptophan labeled wild-type protein shows the presence of closed and open conformers. Urea-induced denaturation studies support the NMR results that the wild-type protein binds L-phenylalanine in a different manner to L-leucine. Our studies showed that the tryptophan to phenylalanine mutations on structural units linked to the binding pocket produce subtle changes in the environment of Trp18 located directly in the binding cleft.
Processing and Visualization of Diffusion MRI

This chapter provides a survey of techniques for processing and visualization of diffusion magnetic resonance imagery. We describe various approaches to modeling the local diffusion structure from scanner measurements. In particular, we differentiate between parametric and non-parametric models, and describe regularization approaches. We then look at techniques to trace out neural pathways and infer global tissue structure. Deterministic, probabilistic, and global trajectories are analyzed, and techniques of validation are introduced. Last, we draw upon these as building blocks for the visualization and analysis of the neural architecture of individuals and groups. Special attention is drawn to volume segmentation, fiber clustering, and tissue analysis.
The EU’s Losing Battle Against Corruption in Bulgaria

Twenty-five years after the European Union identified high levels of corruption as a top issue to be addressed in Bulgaria, the country remains the most corrupt member state. This article asks why despite strong conditionality before accession in 2007 and a specially tailored cooperation and verification mechanism (CVM), the EU has been unsuccessful in effectively assisting management of corruption in Bulgaria. The article focuses on the CVM and argues that since Bulgaria’s accession in 2007, external pressure from the EU is a necessary but insufficient condition for change. The EU needs civil society organizations (CSOs) to be an empowered and trustworthy domestic partner, in order for the CVM to achieve the rule of law in Bulgaria. The main finding is that the EU has set itself up for failure even before it established the CVM, because it did not nourish an domestically active, strong and pro-EU CSOs.
A Comprehensive Approach to Predicting Crystal Morphology Distributions with Population Balances

A modeling framework is developed for predicting crystal morphology distributions with a goal toward their control in the manufacture of crystalline products. This work distinguishes itself from prior efforts in this direction by its comprehensive coverage of all possible morphologies based only on fundamental molecular information on the material. The morphology of growing crystals is composed of a finite number of low-energy faces characterized by their Miller indices and perpendicular distances. The symmetry of crystals allows the classification of kinetically and geometrically similar faces into different groups identified by their perpendicular distances (h-vector). A set of different kinds of morphologies obtained by combining different groups of faces is referred to as a morphology set. Further, a morphology graph is constituted with vertices as elements of morphology set and edges specifying conditions for transformations between morphologies. These conditions form a polyhedral cone, which will be...
Ultrafast Spectroscopy of a Photochromic Ruthenium Sulfoxide Complex

Photochromic [Ru(bpy)2(OSO)](PF6), where bpy is 2,2′-bipyridine and OSO is 2-methylsulfinylbenzoate, was investigated by femtosecond transient absorption spectroscopy. The results show that for both S- and O-bonded isomers, a 3MLCT state is formed on a femtosecond time scale. Also observed is the formation of multiple metal-to-ligand charge-transfer (MLCT) states, representing different conformers, prior to isomerization on the picosecond time scale. These results and others are compiled in an energy diagram depicting these results.
Practice patterns of primary care providers and urologists for use of medical expulsion therapy.

ABSTRACTPurpose: α-blockers and calcium channel blockers have shown promise for medical expulsion therapy (MET) of distal ureteral calculi <1 cm in size. Although MET has been discussed in urology for some time, little has been written about MET in the emergency medicine and primary care literature. We sought to evaluate current practice patterns of MET among urologists, emergency medicine physicians, other primary care providers, and frontline military care providers. Methods: Web-based, self-developed survey to assess the current practice patterns of providers for the initial management of uncomplicated ureteral calculi, and specifically, their frequency of using MET. Cross-tabulation strategies utilizing compiled survey results were used to assess survey outcomes and determine prevalence values for understanding, familiarity, and therapeutic interventions for nephrolithiasis. Results: Of 293 medical professionals, 114 (39%) were urologists, 55 (48%) of which were fellowship trained in endourology. Fift...
On the Government's Functions in the Undertaking of Social Responsibility of Small and Medium Size Enterprise

Due to various reasons,the social responsibility of small and medium size enterprise in China is not as satisfactory as the society anticipated.Therefore the Government should perform its functions effectively,to transform the mode of economic growth,foster a correct view of achievements,to improve relevant laws and regulations,enhance continuously its service awareness,to build a service-oriented government,to get rid of the worries of corporate to perform social responsibility;improve the competitive mechanism,strengthen the supervision and management and to strengthen education and training;to advocate and improve the information disclosure system to ensure the authenticity of corporate social responsibility report.
Minoxidil. Update on its clinical role.

Prior to the introduction of minoxidil, the treatment of common baldness was limited to hair transplants, hair pieces, and cosmetic agents based largely on unsubstantiated claims. Minoxidil is the first FDA-approved topical medication for the treatment of both male and female androgenetic alopecia. The background of minoxidil's development and use in clinical practice is reviewed in this article. The scientific study and common use of topical minoxidil has ushered in a new era of research into hair loss and its treatment.