cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Measurements of static noise in display images

The appearance of noise on a display is an important usability issue. Sources of noise include electrical interference, display driver artifacts, resampling artifacts, transmission artifacts, compression artifacts, and any intrinsic noise artifacts produced within a display device. Issues for the severity of the noise problem include total magnitude of noise, noise spatial frequencies, proximity of the noise spatial frequencies of the desired information content and the human-eye response to that information content, uniformity of the distribution of noise, and appearance of any visible or regular patterns in the noise. Whatever the source, an accurate method to measure noise may be required to properly assess the influence of the noise. We investigate the intricacies of using a digital camera to accurately measure noise in a static image on a flat panel display (FPD). The electro- optical transfer function of the FPD is measured. A known noise pattern is displayed and measured using the digital camera whereby the predicted noise is compared to the measured noise. Complications and limitations in the metrology will be discussed.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Anonymous versus confidential HIV testing: client and provider decision making under uncertainty.

Six intensive observational studies of HIV testing sites were undertaken in order to improve understanding of confidential and anonymous testing. Three sites offered only confidential testing (a large health maintenance organization's Urgent Care clinic, the same organization's HIV clinic, and a private medical practitioner's office), one offered only anonymous testing (a free clinic), and two offered a choice of confidential or anonymous testing (a thrift shop alternate testing site and a mobile testing unit). Multiple data collection strategies were used including direct field observation, semistructured interviews with clients and providers, and document and policy analysis. Using an organizational/interactional uncertainty framework, this study found that the choice between anonymous and confidential testing is a central aspect of the HIV testing process, that some clients are unclear about the differences between anonymous and confidential testing, that alternate testing sites' providers play a signi...
Emotional Word Detection and Adolescent Repressive-Defensive Coping Style

This study used a computer-based emotional word-recognition task to assess the emotional processing styles of repressive–defensive youth. A hypothesis was tested proposing that adolescent repressive–defensive coping style is associated with rapid engagement and disengagement of emotional stimuli (negative and positive). Data were collected on a male adolescent sample enrolled in a juvenile diversion program allowing for the comparison of anxious, low-anxious, and repressive–defensive youth. Consistent with prediction, repressive–defensive participants exhibited facilitated responding to emotional relative to neutral word stimuli across valence category (i.e., positive and negative). In contrast, anxious participants exhibited a unique pattern of facilitated responding to positive word stimuli. The current findings represent a first attempt at investigating the processing impairments of repressive–defensive coping style in a nonadult sample. Results are interpreted in light of broader adult and child research findings on emotional processing and affective disturbance.
Which of the BRICs Will Wield the Most Influence in Twenty-Five Years? Russia Reconsidered

Edward Mansfield (this issue) offers a twofold appraisal of the significance of rising powers—defined here as the BRIC countries—for the study of international political economy (IPE). On the one hand, current approaches in IPE suffice to explain the behavior of rising powers since none threatens the present architecture of the global economy or the positions of the United States and European Union (EU). On the other hand, one rising power, China, has managed to surpass the others in military and economic capabilities, warranting a closer examination of the linkages between political economy and national security. While this view seems eminently reasonable, I argue that forecasting the relative material capabilities of the BRICs over a longer period, say over the next quarter century, requires stretching the boundaries of IPE to pay close attention to incremental changes in demographic patterns and in the geographic distribution of vital resources. Such factors are difficult to capture in the ontologies of conventional IPE theories; yet, over the long run, they may well determine the upper limits for a rising power's capabilities in the global economy. With this in mind, I offer the following tentative proposition: Russia is the BRIC country with the best prospects for boosting both its global economic clout and its population's living standards over the next quarter century. ### The BRIC Club and Russia In 2009, Russia's economy contracted by a shocking 8% in the midst of a global economic crisis and falling oil prices (while India and China recorded GDP growth rates of 7.4% and 9.1%, respectively). Since then, Russia has become the only BRIC to be viewed as a candidate for exclusion from the category. The Russian economy has come to be seen as corrupt, institutionally rigid, susceptible to the resource curse, and bogged down by crumbling infrastructure and low productivity (Aslund 2009). Paul Krugman, among …
Diffuse Reflectance Infrared Studies of the Reaction of Synthetic Sea Salt Mixtures with NO2: A Key Role for Hydrates in the Kinetics and Mechanism

The heterogeneous reactions of oxides of nitrogen with NaCl as a model for sea salt particles have been the focus of many studies, due to their potential to act as precursors to atomic halogens in the troposphere. While a great deal has been learned about the kinetics and mechanisms of NaCl reactions, it is not clear how well this extrapolates to the complex mixture of inorganics found in sea salt. We report here diffuse reflectance infrared Fourier transform spectrometry (DRIFTS) studies in which nitrate formation on the salt surface is followed with time during the reaction of gaseous NO2 with synthetic sea salt at 298 K in the presence of either He or air as the carrier gas. The infrared bands due to surface nitrate formed during the reaction of NO2 are shown to be similar to those from the reaction of MgCl2·6H2O, a major hydrate in the mixture which was used as a surrogate for all of the crystalline hydrates. Significant amounts of surface-adsorbed water are generated in the reaction of synthetic sea ...
Back to the future: Settlement sociology, 1885–1930

Between 1885 and. 1930, as sociology was becoming an academic discipline, sociology was also being practiced intelligently, innovatively, and self-consciously outside the academy in the social settlements that grew up in America’s major cities. In this paper, we first define and give a brief overview of the settlement movement in America; second, we show how the settlement workers were sociologists in their self-definition and action and in their relations with other sociologists; third, in the body of the paper, we describe the sociology done by the settlements in terms of the empirical research they undertook and the theory they created. Our argument is that settlement sociologists produced empirical studies that were both substantively significant and methodologically pioneer-ing; that they did so in terms of a coherent social theory unique in its focus on “the neighborly relation”; and that both their research and theory were part of a critical, reflexive, and activist sociology.
Estimating surface diffusion coefficients

General guidelines for correlating surface diffusion parameters have existed up to now only in loose form and for specialized cases. Based on a survey of over 500 systems (the largest currently in existence), we propose new correlations for the activation energy Ediff and pre-exponential factor Do for thermally activated surface diffusion on metals, semiconductors and some types of insulators. Physical bases rationalizing these correlations are provided. The highlights of these results follow, concerning two basic modes of surface diffusion: intrinsic, where the number of mobile particles remains constant with temperature, and mass transfer, where the surface releases mobile particles as the temperature increases. For intrinsic diffusion, Ediff on metals depends most strongly on whether or not the adsorbate is metallic. On semiconductors and insulators with directional bonding, the most important system property is the number of bonds an adsorbate forms with the substrate. For mass transfer self-diffusion at lower temperatures, kinks act as sources of adatoms, whereas at higher temperatures the terraces serve as the primary source. Consequently, two regimes exist for Ediff and Do, arising from the enthalpy and entropy for adatom creation in each process. Related effects can sometimes exist for mass transfer heterodiffusion. A clear increase in Ediff and Do appears in the higher temperature regime in progression from metals to semiconductors to insulators. For predictive purposes, semiquantitative estimates may be made for the enthalpy and entropy by analogy with bulk vacancy behavior. Diffusion in general does not seem to be perturbed significantly by the presence of an aqueous ambient. The present work represents the most comprehensive overall picture for surface diffusion yet available.
Predicting class II MHC/peptide multi-level binding with an iterative stepwise discriminant analysis meta-algorithm.

MOTIVATION Predicting peptides that bind to both Major Histocompatibility Complex (MHC) molecules and T cell receptors provides crucial information for vaccine development. An agretope is that portion of a peptide that interacts with an MHC molecule. The identification and prediction of agretopes is the first step towards vaccine design. RESULTS An iterative stepwise discriminant analysis meta-algorithm is utilized to derive a quantitative motif for classifying potential agretopes as high-, moderate- or non-binders for HLA-DR1, a class II MHC molecule. A large molecular online database provides the input for this data-driven algorithm. The model correctly classifies over 85% of the peptides in the database. AVAILABILITY Stepwise discriminant analysis software is available commercially in SPSS and BMDP statistical software packages. Peptides known to bind MHC molecules can be downloaded from http://wehih.wehi.edu.au/mhcpep/. Peptides known not to bind HLA-DR1 are available from the author upon request. CONTACT ronna@ucsfresno.edu.
An agritourism systems model: a Weberian perspective.

Agritourism is growing as a form of agricultural diversification in rural communities in the United States, as is research targeting the impact of agritourism on its various stakeholders. This paper examines the needs and obstacles of farm families acting as agritourism providers, Destination Marketing Organisations (DMOs), and agritourists, and develops a model to address each of these three stakeholder group’s unique motivations and needs for participating in an agritourism system. The model features the three stakeholders communicating successfully with each other and engaging in mutually beneficial relationships, primarily due to the application of Weber’s formal and substantive rationality. Ultimately, the model will be applied in the field, and specific strategies recommended for improving the agritourism system’s success. These strategies could serve as decision-support tools for entrepreneurial farms and firms leading to an improved quality of life and community as well as economic sustainability.
Around‐the‐Clock Performance of Closed‐End Funds

Herein, we find that the market price of closed-end fund shares tends to increase (decrease) in anticipation of a rise (fall) in the net asset value (NAV). Similarly, an increase (decrease) in the reported NAV tends to be followed by a rise (fall) in the price of the fund's shares. Interestingly, we also find a powerful negative autocorrelation between closed-end fund shares’ overnight and intraday returns in both univariate and multivariate tests for both the overall sample and a number of subsamples. We believe that this tendency results from the strategies that many specialists employ when they open their assigned shares.
Directional coronary atherectomy for failed angioplasty due to occlusive coronary dissection

We describe a case in which coronary balloon angioplasty failed to improve sequential lesions and resulted in a long area of dissection between the stenoses. Directional coronary atherectomy of the occlusive dissection produced excellent angiographic improvement to achieve a successful result and avoid the need for urgent coronary bypass surgery. Directional coronary atherectomy represents a potentially useful treatment for PTCA-induced coronary dissection.
Restoring transcription factor HoxA5 expression inhibits the growth of experimental hemangiomas in the brain.

Hemangiomas are vascular tumors that are angiogenesis-dependent. We previously showed that the transcription factor HoxA5, which is absent in activated, angiogenic endothelial cells (ECs), can block angiogenesis, and thus investigated whether restoring expression of HoxA5 blocks hemangioma growth in the mouse brain. We thus transplanted the murine hemangioma cell line EOMA or HoxA5 expressing EOMA cells into mice brain. Transplantation of EOMA cells into the mouse brain successfully induced brain hemangioma (BH) characterized by large, cyst-like spaces lined by thin walls of ECs surrounded by scant smooth muscle cell coverage. We also measured growth of vascular lesions and characterized the BH morphology. When EOMA cells expressing HoxA5 were injected, the volume of the lesions was reduced between 5 and 20-fold compared to the EOMA control group (p<0.05). Restoration of HoxA5 was associated with increased TSP-2, which inhibits angiogenesis and reduced HIF-1α expression. Our data suggest that restoring HoxA5 can attenuate experimental BH development.
Vasopressin facilitates play fighting in juvenile golden hamsters.

Abstract Vasopressin facilitates aggression in adult hamsters. Whether this neuropeptide has a similar role in play fighting remains unknown. The goal of the present study was to identify whether vasopressin controls play fighting in juvenile golden hamsters as well. Juvenile male golden hamsters were tested for play fighting after microinjections of a vasopressin V1A-receptor antagonist, Manning compound, either 0, 9, or 90 µM, into the anterior hypothalamus. The treatment selectively inhibited offensive aspects of play fighting in experimental animals. Attack frequencies were significantly decreased by both doses of Manning compound. In addition, the high dose of the receptor antagonist increased attack latencies, decreased bite frequencies, and decreased the averaged number of attacks per contact bout. Together, these results show that vasopressin controls offensive behaviors throughout development from play fighting in juveniles to aggression in adults.
Complex environment experience rescues impaired neurogenesis, enhances synaptic plasticity, and attenuates neuropathology in familial Alzheimer’s disease-linked APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mice

Experience in complex environments induces numerous forms of brain plasticity, improving structure and function. It has been long debated whether brain plasticity can be induced under neuropathological conditions, such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD), to an extent that would reduce neuropathology, rescue brain structure, and restore its function. Here we show that experience in a complex environment rescues a significant impairment of hippocampal neurogenesis in transgenic mice harboring familial AD-linked mutant APPswe/PS1ΔE9. Proliferation of hippocampal cells is enhanced significantly after enrichment, and these proliferating cells mature to become new neurons and glia. Enhanced neurogenesis was accompanied by a significant reduction in levels of hyperphosphorylated tau and oligomeric Aβ, the precursors of AD hallmarks, in the hippocampus and cortex of enriched mice. Interestingly, enhanced expression of the neuronal anterograde motor kinesin-1 was observed, suggesting enhanced axonal transport in hippocampal and cortical neurons after enrichment. Examination of synaptic physiology revealed that environmental experience significantly enhanced hippocampal long-term potentiation, without notable alterations in basal synaptic transmission. This study suggests that environmental modulation can rescue the impaired phenotype of the Alzheimer’s brain and that induction of brain plasticity may represent therapeutic and preventive avenues in AD.—Y.-S. Hu, P. Xu, G. Pigino, S. T. Brady, J. Larson, O. Lazarov. Complex environment experience rescues impaired neurogenesis, enhances synaptic plasticity, and attenuates neuropathology in familial Alzheimer’s disease-linked APPswe/PS1ΔE9 mice.
On contract satisfaction in a higher-order world

Behavioral software contracts have become a popular mechanism for specifying and ensuring logical claims about a program's flow of values. While contracts for first-order functions come with a natural interpretation and are well understood, the various incarnations of higher-order contracts adopt, implicitly or explicitly, different views concerning the meaning of contract satisfaction. In this article, we define various notions of contract satisfaction in terms of observational equivalence and compare them with each other and notions in the literature. Specifically, we introduce a small model language with higher-order contracts and use it to formalize different notions of contract satisfaction. Each of them demands that the contract parties satisfy certain observational equivalences.
Progression to the persistent form in asymptomatic paroxysmal atrial fibrillation.

Background: This study investigated the progression of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (AF) to the persistent form in Japanese asymptomatic AF patients. Methods and Results: Data were derived from a single hospital-based cohort in the Shinken Database 2004–2012 (n=19,994), in which 1,176 patients were diagnosed as having paroxysmal AF. AF progression occurred in 115 patients (6.0%/year) during the mean follow-up period (1,213±905 days). Although patients who were asymptomatic at the initial visit (n=468) had a low-risk profile compared with symptomatic patients, they had greater AF progression at follow-up (unadjusted hazard ratio, 1.611; 95% CI: 1.087–2.389; P=0.018). Absence of symptoms, male sex, and cardiomyopathy were independent predictors for AF progression in the multivariate model. It was noted that asymptomatic patients were less likely to undergo pulmonary vein isolation (PVI). In addition, the interaction term between asymptomatic AF and absence of PVI could be another independent predictor for AF progression. Prognosis was similar between asymptomatic and symptomatic patients with AF. Conclusions: Irrespective of low-risk profile, patients with asymptomatic paroxysmal AF had greater progression of AF compared with symptomatic patients. This paradoxical result appeared to be the result of less intensive clinical management, including invasive rhythm control. (Circ J 2014; 78: 1121–1126)
The use of severity scores in the intensive care unit

Around 1980 several intensivists decided to score the severity of ICU patients in order to compare the populations and evaluate the results. The outcome of intensive care depends on several factors present on the first day in the ICU and on the patient’s course under ICU therapy. The severity scores comprise usually two parts: the score itself and a probability model. The score itself is a number (the highest number, the highest severity). The probability model is an equation giving the probability of hospital death of the patients. This seminal comprise two parts: the classification of the scores and their practical use.
Early visual changes in reflected light on non-stained brain sections after focal ischemia mirror the area of ischemic damage.

There is no reliable, simple method for delineation of ischemic regions at early time points after ischemia. We propose that at early times after stroke, ischemic regions can be visualized as a subtle change in reflected light directly in thaw-mounted, dried 20 μm brain sections. In 15 male Sprague–Dawley rats, anesthetized with isoflurane, middle cerebral artery transection and permanent bilateral common carotid artery occlusion was performed and brains were processed in five different ways. Areas of reflective change (RC) on non-stained sections were compared with areas on the adjacent sections delineated by microtubule associated protein 2 (MAP2) antibody, a reliable marker for early post-stroke, in five rats each at 1, 3, and 6 h after focal cerebral ischemia. A statistically significant correlation between ischemic areas (IA) measured on non-stained brain sections (IARC) and adjacent sections immunostained (IM) with MAP2 Ab (IAIM) (IARC=0.05+0.88·IAIM; R2=0.8; n=15; P<0.01) and a small mean difference ±2 S.D. (−0.9±6.0%) indicated that the area measured on non-stained sections reflects the IA measured on MAP2 -IM sections. At 1 and 3 h after ischemia, the ratio between ischemic regions measured on the non-stained sections and on the adjacent sections immunostained with MAP2 Ab were not different from 100% (97.6±1.7%, 100.9±6.0%). At 6 h post-stroke, the IA measured on the non-stained sections was larger than on the IM sections (109.8±2.7%, P<0.01, compared to 100% ratio). Our study demonstrated that this quick and simple method for detection of damaged brain permitted the use of brain tissue for other assays and could be very useful for neuroprotective evaluation and for directed micro-sampling of brain tissue at early times after ischemia.
Offload Destination Selection to Enable Distributed Computation on Battlefields

The tactical edge (battlefields, disaster relief operations, etc.) is an ideal domain for utilizing mobile devices for computation. However, these situations require jobs to complete in a timely manner. Efficiently offloading computation can ensure timely job completion, but access to cloud computing infrastructure is typically limited, unreliable, or unavailable. As an alternative, we propose using vehicle-mounted high performance computers, called Tactical HPCs (T-HPCs), as offload targets. A common scenario includes multiple offload targets with different computation capabilities, multiple clients wanting to offload computations, and wireless ad-hoc connectivity. While offloading strategies exist, currently none address the requirements of task scheduling in this setting. This paper presents an algorithm for offloading tasks from multiple sources while taking into account the computation capabilities and current utilization of available offload targets. In addition, distributed scheduling avoids a single point of failure which could be disastrous on the tactical edge. We report the results of simulations showing that our method reduces job completion time compared to alternative offloading schemes.
Stochastic stability of wind excited structures

Concepts of stochastic stability of randomly excited dynamical systems are described and compared. Controversies surrounding their applications to wind-loaded structures are explained. An example of a long-span bridge in turbulent winds is given.
Molecular analysis of the Gal/GalNAc adhesin of Entamoeba histolytica

Attachment of Entamoeba histolytica to colonic epithelium and a variety of other target cells is mediated by a galactosc/N-acetyl D-galactosamine (Gal/GalNAc) inhibitable adhesin. Seven monoclonal antibodies specific for nonoverlapping epitopes of the 170 kDa subunit have been shown to have distinct effects on adherence. Four of these monoclonal antibodies inhibit or have no effect on amebic adherence while two others enhance amebic adherence. The epitopes recognized by these seven monoclonal antibodies have been mapped to the extracellular cysteine rich region of the 170 kDa subunit. The conformational nature of the epitopes was examined by testing monoclonal antibody reactivity with isolated regions of the 170 kDa subunit expressed as fusion proteins in E. coli and also with denatured native adhesin. These analyses suggested that three of monoclonal antibodies recognized conformational epitopes while the remaining four recognized linear epitopes. The mapping of these monoclonal antibodies have identified functionally important regions of the Gal/GalNAc adhesin and have also shown that recombinant Gal/GalNAc adhesin, when expressed in E. coli, retained at least some of its native conformation.
Million-fold preconcentration of proteins and peptides by nanofluidic filter.

We have developed a highly efficient microfluidic sample preconcentration device based on the electrokinetic trapping mechanism enabled by nanofluidic filters. The device, fabricated by standard photolithography and etching techniques, generates an extended space charge region within a microchannel, which was used to both collect and trap the molecules efficiently. The electrokinetic trapping and collection can be maintained for several hours, and concentration factors as high as 106−108 have been demonstrated. This device could be useful in various bioanalysis microsystems, due to its simplicity, performance, robustness, and integrabilty to other separation and detection systems.
Dates and times in email messages

In this paper, we present a user interface which allows users to keep track of calendar related email messages. We provide visual cues for calendar related items, as well as allow users to search these for messages based on the dates and times they contain. We also provide an easier way for users to convert these calendar related messages into actual calendar entries.
Simulation of daily precipitation in the Pacific Northwest using a weather classification scheme

A weather classification scheme was coupled with a semi-Markov model to represent the coincident occurrence of rain/no rain states at a single rain gauge and classes representing regional atmospheric circulation patterns, as identified from National Meteorological Center gridded observations for a large area of the North Pacific. Weather classes were identified from daily observations of surface pressure and 850 mb pressure height at five selected ten degree latitude by ten degree longitude cells using a K-means clustering algorithm, which was applied on a month-by-month basis. The number of climate classes, K, for each month was chosen based on a preliminary analysis of the model’s ability to describe statistics of observed precipitation occurrences at the Stampede Pass, Washington weather station. The length of stay distributions within each precipitation occurrence/weather class were assumed to be geometric, and the precipitation amounts for each class and season were fitted with a mixed exponential distribution. Parameters of the length of stay distributions, transition probabilities, and precipitation amounts were estimated from the period of record 1975–84.
Noise produced by the large-scale transition region structure of turbulent jets

The 'orderly' structure which has been observed recently by numerous researchers within the transition region of subsonic turbulent jets is analyzed to reveal its noise-producing potential. For the case of a circular jet, this structure is modeled as a train of toroidal vortex rings which are formed near the jet exit and propagate downstream. The noise produced by the model is evaluated from a reformulation of Lighthill's expression for the far-field acoustic density which emphasizes the importance of the vorticity within the turbulent flow field. It is shown that the noise production occurs mainly close to the jet exit and depends primarily upon temporal changes in the toroidal radii. These results suggest a new approach to noise suppression which has been substantiated experimentally.
Diabetes and Dementia in Long-Term Care

OBJECTIVES: To examine the presence or absence of dementia, and the prevalence rates for different dementias, in patients with and without adult onset diabetes (AODM). DESIGN: Chart survey. SETTING: A public long-term care facility in Rochester, New York, chosen to provide an enriched sample with respect to the diseases and demographic variables of interest. PARTICIPANTS: All long-term care residents in the facility aged 50 years or older (n = 476), mean age 74.8 years. Thirty-six (7.6%) had probable Alzheimer's disease (AD), 49 (10.3%) had possible AD, 38 (8.0%) had clinically diagnosed vascular dementia, 84 (17.6%) had unspecified dementias, and 269 (56.5%) were not demented. MEASUREMENTS: Demographic data, dementia and diabetes determined on the basis of extraction of chart data, and hypertension, myocardial infarction, congestive heart failure, and hypercholesterolemia determined on the basis of chart diagnoses. RESULTS: There were 99 residents with AODM in the sample, a prevalence rate of about 21%. The rates of both dementia and AODM were as expected for this age group and setting. Patients with probable or possible AD had the lowest rates of AODM (0 and 6.1%, respectively), and patients with vascular dementia had the highest rates of AODM (47.4%). Age, sex, and race influenced both the risk of having a dementia and the type of dementia. When these variables were adjusted for in multiple logistic regression, however, AODM remained a robust predictive factor because of its significant negative association with AD. Patients with unspecified dementias and no dementia showed rates of AODM (about 20%) that were roughly comparable and intermediate between vascular dementia and AD. CONCLUSIONS: In our study, AD diagnosed clinically and AODM did not co-occur, whereas AODM was associated with vascular dementia diagnosed clinically. Conversely, in non-Alzheimer, nonvascular dementias diagnosed clinically, the rates of AODM were equivalent to those in nondemented patients. These findings are in agreement with some, but not all, previous studies.
Revenue Management in Order‐Driven Production Systems

This article investigates the effectiveness of a tactical demand-capacity management policy to guide operational decisions in order-driven production systems. The policy is implemented via a heuristic that attempts to maximize revenue by selectively accepting or rejecting customer orders for multiple product classes when demand exceeds capacity constantly over the short term. The performance of the heuristic is evaluated in terms of its ability to generate a higher profit compared to a first-come-first-served (FCFS) policy. The policies are compared over a wide range of conditions characterized by variations in both internal (firm) and external (market) factors. The heuristic, when used with a Whole Lot order-processing approach, produces higher profit compared to FCFS when profit margins of products are substantially different from each other and demand exceeds capacity by a large amount. In other cases it is better to use the heuristic in conjunction with the Split Lot order-processing approach.
A Model of Intelligibility in Science: Using Galileo's Balance as a Model for Understanding the Motion of Bodies.

In 1590, or thereabouts, Galileo wrote the manuscript De Motu (Galileo 1590). In this text he attempted to demonstrate the errors of Aristotelian natural philosophy and began his lifelong attempt to construct a science of motion. The chief device in De Motu was his wide ranging use of the balance. The balance was a simple machine, familiar to all, that Galileo could describe using principles of equilibrium.
The influence of human immunodeficiency virus infection and intravenous drug abuse on complications of hemodialysis access surgery

To examine the influence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection on complications in dialysis access surgery, a review was performed on patients undergoing hemodialysis at two major metropolitan medical centers over a 30-month period. One hundred eight patients underwent a total of 169 graft procedures; mean follow-up was 14 1/2 months. There were 18 (17%) patients who were HIV-positive who had no symptoms, 11 (10%) patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), and 79 (73%) patients who were HIV-negative. Twenty-three percent (25/108) of patients had a history of intravenous drug abuse (IVDA), most of whom also had either AIDS or asymptomatic HIV infection. Dialysis procedures included 44 autogenous reconstructions (26%), 117 polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) grafts (69%), and 8 (5%) procedures of unknown type. Arteriovenous fistula or graft thrombosis was a frequent complication. The overall 12-month graft patency rate was 41%, and patients with HIV infection or a history of IVDA did not have a significantly increased risk of thrombosis. Multivariate analysis showed that the use of PTFE as opposed to autogenous reconstruction was the only significant risk factor found for occlusion within the first 12 months after operation (p < 0.01). Twenty-five graft infections occurred, all in PTFE grafts. The PTFE graft infection rate was 43% in patients with AIDS, 36% in patients who were HIV-positive and who had no symptoms, and 15% in patients who were HIV-negative (p < 0.05). Patients with a history of IVDA had a 41% PTFE graft infection rate versus a 13% infection rate in patients who did not have a history of IVDA (p < 0.01).(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Comparison of the carpal cleaning brush in two genera of hydrothermal vent shrimp (Crustacea, Decapoda, Bresiliidae).

Clusters of specialized serrate setae in patches called "carpal cleaning brushes," or carpal-propodal brushes, are found on the distal margins of the chelipedal carpus in many species of caridean shrimps and other decapod crustaceans. These brushes, used to clean the antennal flagellum, occur in some bresiliid shrimp species associated with hydrothermal vents in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans, and recently their presence has been proposed as a distinguishing taxonomic character at the genus level. Occurrence of such brushes in shrimp that live near hydrothermal vents is of interest because of the high number of bacteria associated with these vents. These shrimp have the potential to be heavily fouled with bacteria, whereas at the same time preliminary studies suggest that they may depend upon these bacteria at least in part (or possibly exclusively) for food. We employ scanning electron microscopy to examine and describe the general morphology and location of carpal brushes on the chelipeds of all known species in two vent shrimp genera, Rimicaris Williams and Rona and Chorocaris Martin and Hessler. The brush is well developed and clearly delimited in all known species of Chorocaris, where it consists of a triangular field of serrate setae and a posterior blunt spine that possibly functions as a "stop" to keep the antennal flagellum in place during grooming. Rimicaris exoculata has no recognizable carpal cleaning brush or any serrate setae on the chelipedal carpus and thus appears derived relative to species of Chorocaris with regard to this feature. A newly described species, R. aurantiaca, is somewhat intermediate, having no carpal brush but with two serrate setae and a blunt spine in the region occupied by the brush in species of Chorocaris. Possible implications and comparisons to the genera Alvinocaris and Opapaele are discussed briefly. J. Morphol. 235:31-39, 1998. © 1998 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Mimosine produced by the tree-legume Leucaena provides growth advantages to some Rhizobium strains that utilize it as a source of carbon and nitrogen

Growth of most Rhizobium strains is inhibited by mimosine, a toxin found in large quantities in the seeds, foliage and roots of plants of the genera Leucaena and Mimosa. Some Leucaena-nouuXdXmg strains of Rhizobium can degrade mimosine (Mid+) and are less inhibited by mimosine in the growth medium than the mimosine-non-degrading (Mid-) strains. Ten Mid+ strains were identified that did not degrade 3-hydroxy-4-pyridone (HP), a toxic intermediate of mimosine degradation. However, mimosine was completely degraded by these strains and HP was not accumulated in the cells when these strains were grown in a medium containing mimosine as the sole source of carbon and nitrogen. The mimosine-degrading ability of rhizobia is not essential for nodulation of Leucaena species, but it provides growth advantages to Rhizobium strains that can utilize mimosine, and it suppresses the growth of other strains that are sensitive to this toxin.
A Biomimetic Strategy to Access the Silybins: Total Synthesis of (−)-Isosilybin A

We report the first asymmetric, total synthesis of (−)-isosilybin A. A late-stage catalytic biomimetic cyclization of a highly functionalized chalcone is employed to form the characteristic benzopyranone ring. A robust and flexible approach to this chalcone provides an entry to the preparation of the entire isomeric family of silybin natural products.
Extending our experimental reach: Toolbox reviews in Genetics.

THE astonishing diversity of life on our planet offers almost unlimited opportunity for experimentation aimed at understanding the principles of the propagation of life. Yet most of what we know about the mechanisms of life has come from studying a select few organisms. The Security Council of the
A Discontinuous Galerkin Global Shallow Water Model

Abstract A discontinuous Galerkin shallow water model on the cubed sphere is developed, thereby extending the transport scheme developed by Nair et al. The continuous flux form nonlinear shallow water equations in curvilinear coordinates are employed. The spatial discretization employs a modal basis set consisting of Legendre polynomials. Fluxes along the element boundaries (internal interfaces) are approximated by a Lax–Friedrichs scheme. A third-order total variation diminishing Runge–Kutta scheme is applied for time integration, without any filter or limiter. Numerical results are reported for the standard shallow water test suite. The numerical solutions are very accurate, there are no spurious oscillations in test case 5, and the model conserves mass to machine precision. Although the scheme does not formally conserve global invariants such as total energy and potential enstrophy, conservation of these quantities is better preserved than in existing finite-volume models.
Patterns of fruit production in the subdioecious plant Astilbe biternata (Saxifragaceae)

Summary 1 Patterns of fruit production in the subdioecious plant Astilbe biternata were used to test whether sex ratio is correlated with relative fruit production by females and males; whether males that produce large inflorescences also produce proportionally more fruit; whether male fruit production is correlated with habitat type; and whether pollen limitation could affect fruiting. 2 Inflorescence length, a good predictor for flower production, was surveyed along with percentage fruit production and sex ratio in 22 populations from throughout the species range, including eight populations where plants were growing in both roadside and understorey habitats. In one population, the percentage fruit production of males and females was assessed in relation to the distance from to the nearest pollen source. 3 There was significant variation in sex ratios among populations, but this was not correlated with relative (female:male) total fruit production. Fruiting males produced smaller inflorescences than either females or non-fruiting males, and within fruiting males, individuals with large inflorescences produced proportionally fewer fruits than those with small inflorescences. The proportion of males that produced fruit was higher in roadside than understorey habitats whereas all females produced fruit in both habitats. Female, but not male, percentage fruit production decreased with distance from the nearest potential pollen source. 4 Allocation patterns to fruiting differed between males and females. Percentage fruit production declined as inflorescence size increased for both males and females. Astilbe biternata males with a genetic propensity to produce fruit might produce smaller inflorescences, or fruit production might be determined by resource availability within the inflorescence after the inflorescence is produced.
Effect of Er3+ pairs on the gain and noise figure of EDFAs

Simulations are used to examine the effects of Er3+ pairs on the characteristics of erbium-doped fiber amplifiers. As the percentage of pairs is increased, the most significant effect is that the small-signal gain steadily drops. On the other hand, the optimum fiber length (for maximum gain at a given pump power) and the saturation power (at optimum length and constant gain) vary minimally up to pair concentrations of 40%. The noise figure shows degradation with increasing pair concentrations that is due entirely to the reduction in gain, i.e., at constant gain a paired and unpaired amplifiers are predicted to have the same noise figure. The main effect of pairs is therefore to increase the amplifier pump power requirement.
Effect of nonframework alumina on the hydrothermal stability of USY

Nonframework aluminum in ultrastabilized Y (USY) was extracted with 0.08 N sodium hydroxide solution at room temperature. The spectral intensity of 27 Al MAS n.m.r. for tetrahedrally coordinated aluminum was analyzed quantitatively. By treatment with sodium hydroxide solution, about one-half of the nonframework aluminum was extracted, and the intensity of 27 Al for tetrahedral aluminum increased, showing the recovery of symmetric surroundings for tetrahedral aluminum. This suggests that the zeolite framework of USY was deformed by the formation of nonframework aluminum species in zeolite cavities. The octahedrally coordinated nonframework aluminum contributes to the hydrothermal stability of USY. However, the formation of silica-containing amorphous nonframework aluminum species seems to decrease the hydrothermal stability of USY as well as the partial destruction of framework. There are optimum unit cell dimensions of USY for hydrothermal stability. The optimum value decreases with increasing Si/Al molar ratio of parent sodium Y.
Acute lobar nephronia: a case report and literature review.

Abstract Background Patients with fever, vomiting, and abdominal pain commonly present to the emergency department, often generating a broad differential diagnosis. We describe the first reported case in the emergency medicine literature of acute lobar nephronia (ALN). Objectives To describe the presentation, evaluation, and management of acute lobar nephronia. Case Report A healthy 27-year-old woman presented after 18 h of fever to 39.94°C (103.9°F), nausea, vomiting, and severe right-sided abdominal pain. Despite a normal urinalysis, a contrasted computed tomography scan of the abdomen and pelvis demonstrated right perinephric stranding, which was initially interpreted as pyelonephritis. A staff over-read the following day by a radiology body specialist confirmed “likely developing abscess,” consistent with the diagnosis of acute lobar nephronia. Conclusion A normal urinalysis may move clinicians to dismiss a nephrogenic or urologic process. ALN is considered a midpoint in the spectrum of upper urinary tract infections between acute pyelonephritis and intrarenal abscess. Diagnosis may be difficult, and inpatient management, sometimes prolonged, is the norm.
Nilpotent normal form for divergence-free vector fields and volume-preserving maps

Abstract We study the normal forms for incompressible flows and maps in the neighborhood of an equilibrium or fixed point with a triple eigenvalue. We prove that when a divergence-free vector field in R 3 has nilpotent linearization with maximal Jordan block then, to arbitrary degree, coordinates can be chosen so that the nonlinear terms occur as a single function of two variables in the third component. The analogue for volume-preserving diffeomorphisms gives an optimal normal form in which the truncation of the normal form at any degree gives an exactly volume-preserving map whose inverse is also polynomial with the same degree.
Model-based autonomous system for performing dexterous, human-level manipulation tasks

This article presents a model based approach to autonomous dexterous manipulation, developed as part of the DARPA Autonomous Robotic Manipulation Software (ARM-S) program. Performing human-level manipulation tasks is achieved through a novel combination of perception in uncertain environments, precise tool use, forceful dual-arm planning and control, persistent environmental tracking, and task level verification. Deliberate interaction with the environment is incorporated into planning and control strategies, which, when coupled with world estimation, allows for refinement of models and precise manipulation. The system takes advantage of sensory feedback immediately with little open-loop execution, attempting true autonomous reasoning and multi-step sequencing that adapts in the face of changing and uncertain environments. A tire change scenario utilizing human tools, discussed throughout the article, is used to described the system approach. A second scenario of cutting a wire is also presented, and is used to illustrate system component reuse and generality.
ELISA tests for antibodies against mycobacterial glycolipids

ELISA tests with purified mycobacterial glycolipids and bovine heart cardiolipin are described. The possible clinical use of ELISA tests with mycobacterial glycolipids for the diagnosis of tuberculosis and other mycobacterioses is discussed.
Muscle use during gait on land and in water

A common assumption about gait training in water is that the use of muscles will be the same as on land. In this study, six subjects were examined walking on land and in water at different depths. For all of them, muscle use changed in water deeper than 50% of their height, which indicates that the optimal depth of water for gait training is about 50% of the body height.
Environmental mediation: An alternative approach to policy stalemates

Environmental mediation is a new and innovative attempt to overcome the policy stalemates that frequently hinder effective environmental policymaking. It brings together environmentalists, business groups, government officials, and a neutral mediator in an attempt to negotiate a binding settlement to a specific controversy. This essay describes this approach, discusses its advantages over more traditional dispute resolution processes, and explains how it is able to produce acceptable agreements in such a difficult policy area.