cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Simultaneous Target and Multipath Positioning

This paper addresses the problem of target geo-localization in complex multipath environments such as indoor and urban settings. In both radar applications (where targets are non-cooperative) and navigation in GPS-denied areas using RF signals (where the subject is cooperative), multipath propagation is a well-known cause of large geo-location errors except in rare cases when a very accurate channel model is available. This work addresses more typical situations of uncertain channel properties by jointly estimating target position and multipath parameters. The proposed Simultaneous Target and Multipath Positioning (STAMP) approach involves an application of multi-scan multi-hypothesis data association to approximate recursive Bayesian estimates of both moving target location as well as specular reflector and point scatterer locations. STAMP achieves joint estimation by exploiting the different dynamics of targets (e.g., people moving) versus channel parameters (e.g., fixed wall locations). Algorithm performance is evaluated in simulation for radar localization of a non-cooperative target in an uncertain urban multipath environment. In addition, the successful demonstration of STAMP geolocation using real wideband microwave data collected in an actual building foyer with unknown floor plan is discussed. Finally, the issue of identifiability of both target and multipath parameters is explored via analysis of the Cramer-Rao Lower Bound (CRLB) on joint estimation of target and multipath parameters in both line-of-sight and non-line-of-sight scenarios.
Identification of a mariner-like repetitive sequence in C. elegans.

A repetitive element in C.elegans has been found that bears high homology to the element mariner of Drosophila mauritiana (EMBL accession number X77804). This element is present in about 20 copies in the N2 strain of C.elegans, and appears in roughly equal copy numbers in the related strain BO and in the hybrid strains RW7097 and TR679. There is only one copy of this MLE in three related species of Caenorhabditis. A cDNA of this mariner-like element (MLE) codes for a protein with 58% homology to the Drosophila transposase. The mariner-like element is not mobile in N2. This class of elements has now been described in insects, planaria and nematodes (GenBank accession number M98552 and this report).
Contemporary management of spasmodic dysphonia.

Purpose of reviewTo review current concept in spasmodic dysphonia management.Recent findingsThe standard of care for spasmodic dysphonia in 2004 remains botulinum toxin chemodenervation for symptomatic management. This is supported by a large body of literature attesting to its efficacy in many diff
Example elaboration as a neglected instructional strategy

Over the last decade an unfolding cognitive-psychology research program on how learners use examples to develop effective problem-solving expertise has yielded well-established empirical findings. Chi et al., Renkl, Reimann, and Neubert (in various papers) have confirmed statistically significant differences in how good and poor learners inferentially elaborate ("self-explain") example steps as they study. Such example elaboration is highly relevant to software documentation and training, yet largely neglected in the current literature.This paper summarizes the neglected research on example use and puts its neglect in a disciplinary perspective. I then show that differences in support for example elaboration in commercial software documentation reveal previously overlooked usability issues. These issues involve example summaries, using goals and goal structures to reinforce example elaborations, and prompting readers to recognize the role of example parts.Secondly, I show how these same example elaboration techniques can build cognitive maturity among underperforming high-school students who study technical writing. Principle-based elaborations, condition elaborations, and role recognition of example steps all have their place in innovative, high-school-level, technical-writing exercises, and all promote far-transfer problem solving.Finally, I use these studies to clarify the constructivist debate over what writers and readers contribute to text meaning. I argue that writers can influence how readers elaborate on examples, and that because of the great empirical differences in example-study effectiveness (and reader choices) writers should do what they can (through within-text design features) to encourage readers to elaborate examples in the most successful ways.
Possible Mechanisms of Coronary Artery Occlusion

Our knowledge of the mechanisms of coronary arterial occlusion is fragmentary but growing rapidly. Complex interactions among multiple factors may be important in precipitating spasm, altering coronary tone, and provoking occlusion. The specific could vary from time to time in the same patient and/or be different from patient to patient, perhaps depending on factors in the circulating blood, autonomic nervous system interactions and the status of coronary endothelium. Platelets, white cells, circulating and/or locally produced mediators, including prostaglandins, serotonin and histamine, may be involved in the process. The role of the endothelium may be very important. It is conceivable that endothelial dysfunction or disruption could be essential in the initiation of pathophysiological process resulting in occlusion. It was hoped that a single common mediator would be found to serve as a ‘final common path’ for coronary arterial occlusion, but no compound appears to be a leading candidate on the basis of the data currently available. Investigations into these mechanisms are among the most intriguing and important in cardiovascular medicine. The clinical implications and potential for therapeutic approaches based on a better understanding of these processes are exciting and important.
Olfactory Responses of Neotropical Short-Tailed Singing Mice, Scotinomys teguina, to Odors of the Mid-Ventral Sebaceous Gland: Discrimination of Conspecifics, Gender, and Female Reproductive Condition

We examined the olfactory communication of the Neotropical short-tailed singing mouse, Scotinomys teguina, by investigating whether S. teguina responded to odors produced by the mid-ventral sebaceous gland of conspecifics. Females spent significantly more time investigating male odor than an odorless stimulus or a female odor. Males spent significantly more time investigating female odor than an odorless stimulus, but not that of a male odor. This latter result does not seem to be explained by differences in age or sexual experience of test subjects, but may be influenced by reproductive condition of the female odor donor. Male S. teguina spent significantly more time (1) investigating and (2) in total proximity to odors of estrous than non-estrous females. Males spent more time (1) investigating and (2) in total proximity to odors of males than non-estrous females. Finally, given the choice between odor of males vs proestrous females, males showed no preference. Thus, the mid-ventral gland in S. teguina seems to convey information about conspecifics, sex, and female reproductive condition. Male odor, compared with proestrous female odor, is equally interesting to males, suggesting that the gland also plays an important role in male–male communication. Sexual dimorphism in the size of the gland and in the amount of secretion produced by the gland may be related to either male–male competition or female choice.
Intraoperative events common to videoscopic preperitoneal mesh inguinal herniorrhaphy

background Videoscopic preperitoneal mesh (VPM) inguinal herniorrhaphy avoids the entry into the abdominal cavity, which is necessary with other videoscopic techniques. Despite this advantage, surgeons have been slow to adopt this technique. We reviewed our experience with VPM inguinal herniorrhaphy, specifically investigating the technical aspects of this approach. methods Data were collected prospectively. Operative notes were reviewed retrospectively detailing intraoperative events not “typical” with the VPM technique. results One hundred consecutive patients undergoing VPM repair of 127 hernias were studied. The repair was completed in all but 2 patients. Mean operating time was 120 minutes (60 to 146). In 36 repairs there were 59 intraoperative “events” requiring specific maneuvers to correct. Events identified were the need for transection of the hernia sac, creation and repair of a peritoneal tear, and need to divide the inferior epigastric vessels. No complications related to these events occurred. When events occurred, operative times were significantly longer (146 ± 45 versus 83 ± 23 minutes; P conclusion Intraoperative events are common with VPM herniorrhaphy. These events significantly prolong operating time. A surgeon's lack of familiarity with such events and how to deal with them may in part explain the reluctance to widely apply the VPM technique.
Probabilistic flood forecast: Exact and approximate predictive distributions

Summary For quantification of predictive uncertainty at the forecast time t 0 , the future hydrograph is viewed as a discrete-time continuous-state stochastic process { H n : n = 1 , … , N } , where H n is the river stage at time instance t n > t 0 . The probabilistic flood forecast (PFF) should specify a sequence of exceedance functions { F ‾ n : n = 1 , … , N } such that F ‾ n ( h ) = P ( Z n > h ) , where P stands for probability, and Z n is the maximum river stage within time interval ( t 0 , t n ] , practically Z n = max { H 1 , … , H n } . This article presents a method for deriving the exact PFF from a probabilistic stage transition forecast (PSTF) produced by the Bayesian forecasting system (BFS). It then recalls (i) the bounds on F ‾ n , which can be derived cheaply from a probabilistic river stage forecast (PRSF) produced by a simpler version of the BFS, and (ii) an approximation to F ‾ n , which can be constructed from the bounds via a recursive linear interpolator (RLI) without information about the stochastic dependence in the process { H 1 , … , H n } , as this information is not provided by the PRSF. The RLI is substantiated by comparing the approximate PFF against the exact PFF. Being reasonably accurate and very simple, the RLI may be attractive for real-time flood forecasting in systems of lesser complexity. All methods are illustrated with a case study for a 1430 km 2 headwater basin wherein the PFF is produced for a 72-h interval discretized into 6-h steps.
Nanoemulsion nasal adjuvant W805EC induces dendritic cell engulfment of antigen-primed epithelial cells

Nanoemulsions are adjuvants that enhance antigen penetration in the nasal mucosa, increase cellular uptake of antigens by both epithelial dendritic cells, and promote migration of antigen-loaded dendritic cells to regional lymph nodes within a day of vaccine administration. The objective of this study was to determine whether the W805EC nanoemulsion adjuvant enhances immune response not only by direct uptake of antigen by dendritic cells, but also indirectly, by phagocytosis of antigen-primed, apoptotic, epithelial cells. Consistent with this, we show that exposure of both epithelial cells (TC-1s) and dendritic cells (JAWS II or bone marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs)) to nanoemulsion exhibited augmented antigen uptake in cell culture. TC-1 cells subsequently underwent G2/M cell cycle arrest and apoptosis, and when co-cultured with JAWS II or BMDCs were rapidly engulfed by the dendritic cells, which responded by up-regulating dendritic cell maturation marker CD86. Altogether these results suggest that the effectiveness of nanoemulsions as adjuvants stems, at least in part, from the engulfment of antigen-loaded epithelial cells, leading to enhanced antigen processing and a strong and balanced mucosal and systemic immune response.
The metabolism of N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene to a mutagen in L5178Y/TK+/− mouse lymphoma cells

Direct treatment of L5178Y mouse lymphoma TK+/- cells with N-acetyl-2-aminofluorene (AAF) from two commercial sources produced small, but reproducible increases in mutant frequency over background in the absence of exogenous microsomal enzymes. Unlike most direct-acting mutagens which typically produce regular, dose-dependent increases in mutant frequency; AAF treatment caused very slight dose-related increases or a saturation phenomenon which could be overcome by increased exposure time. Direct mutagenicity following prolonged (24h) exposure was confirmed when a third highly purified (99.9%) AAF sample was tested. Microsomal enzyme analyses of disrupted L5178Y cell preparations revealed negligible benzo[a]pyrene hydroxylase but measurable AAF-N-hydroxylase activity. These data demonstrate that L5178Y mouse lymphoma cells are capable of limited metabolism of AAF to an active mutagen.
Verruciform xanthoma in a young male patient with a past history of pemphigus vulgaris.

Abstract A large verruciform xanthoma developed on an area of the tongue that had been extensively involved with the vesicular lesions of pemphigus vulgaris in a 15-year-old boy. A rationale is presented that supports a previously published theory that epithelial implantation from a myriad of causes (trauma, vesiculobullous disorders, etc.) may be capable of producing the lesions secondary to breakdown of the implanted epithelial cells.
Japanology and Ideology A Review Article

Prior to World War II, ignorance of Japan and of Japanese scholarship was the primary reason for the nonparticipation of Western scholars in the debate over the meaning of the Restoration. Hugh Borton and Herbert Norman stood virtually alone among Western Japanologists in showing either an interest in or an understanding of the material.1 Then, after the war, the field of Japanology was quickly dominated by a number of former American military officers who learned the Japanese language in military language schools before or while participating in the American occupation of Japan. Arguably, this new breed of Japanologists studied aspects of Japanese society, history, and politics that did not conflict either with their politically conservative beliefs, nurtured by the emerging cold war, or with the occupation's attempt at politically engineering a democratic Japan remolded in America's image of itself. During the 1950s and 1960s, this new generation of Japanologists produced dozens of tomes that dealt with Japan's great historical figures, the successes of its political institutions, and the praiseworthy Confucian social
Correct memory operation of cache-based multiprocessors

This paper shows that cache coherence protocols can implement indivisible synchronization primitives reliably and can also enforce sequential consistency. Sequential consistency provides a commonly accepted model of behavior of multiprocessors. We derive a simple set of conditions needed to enforce sequential consistency in multiprocessors. These conditions are easily applied to prove the correctness of existing cache coherence protocols that rely on one or multiple broadcast buses to enforce atomicity of updates; in these protocols, all processing elements must be connected to the broadcast buses. The conditions are also used in this paper to establish new protocols which do not rely on the atomicity of updates and therefore do not require single access buses to propagate invalidations or to perform distributed WRITEs. It is also shown how such protocols can implement atomic READ&MODIFY operations for synchronization purposes.
Modulation of the Human Homeobox Genes PRX-2 and HOXB13 in Scarless Fetal Wounds

Scarless healing of cutaneous wounds occurs in humans during the first two trimesters of development, but by birth all wounds are repaired with scar formation. To search for transcriptional regulatory genes that might mediate fetal tissue regeneration, we surveyed homeobox gene expression in proliferating fetal fibroblasts and in wounded and unwounded skin. Two novel human homeobox genes, PRX-2 and HOXB13, were identified that were differentially expressed during fetal versus adult wound healing. Both genes were predominantly expressed in proliferating fetal fibroblasts and developing dermis, and PRX-2 was downregulated in adult skin. In a model of scarless fetal skin regeneration, PRX-2 expression was strongly increased compared with unwounded skin and the signal was localized to the wounded dermis, the site of scarless repair. Conversely, in adult skin weak epidermal PRX-2 expression was observed, mRNA levels were not increased by wounding, and no dermal expression was detected. HOXB13 expression was decreased in wounded fetal tissue relative to unwounded fetal controls or wounded adult skin. Thus both HOXB13 and PRX-2 are expressed in patterns consistent with roles in fetal skin development and cutaneous regeneration.
Mastery Learning and Contemporary Issues in Education

Abstract Issues concerning applications of mastery learning continue to interest educators (Montazemi and Wang, 1995). This paper examined the historical background of mastery learning. In addition, a discussion of computer assisted instruction, cooperative learning, and constructivist learning as these topics relate to mastery learning were addressed. Computer assisted instruction is described as a tool to assist the teacher when using mastery learning. Comparisons between cooperative and mastery learning were discussed and support for research combining both strategies were recommended. Literature describing similarities/differences between constructivism and mastery learning were non-existent. Research using mastery and constructivist learning in combination is an additional recommendation.
Antecedents of Mandatory Customer Participation in Service Encounters: An Empirical Study

Abstract The literature on service quality and customer loyalty has long focused on enhancing the work of service providers. This study examined “the other side of the coin” in service co-production or value co-creation in service encounters by investigating how service providers might take a proactive approach to building relationships based on mandatory customer participation (MCP). The research evaluated how such antecedents as role clarity, self-efficacy, purchase importance, and servicescape could influence MCP. Path analysis revealed that these four factors significantly influenced different dimensions of MCP; which in turn had a significant impact on customer loyalty. Using these insights, managers could develop a strategic approach to managing customer roles in the service delivery process. This study adds to the body of knowledge on service quality by demonstrating empirically the determinants and structure of MCP and their relationships with customer loyalty in service co-production processes in a hospitality setting.
Transcranial motor evoked potential recording in a case of Kernohan's notch syndrome: case report.

OBJECTIVE AND IMPORTANCE: Compression of the cerebral peduncle against the tentorial incisura contralateral to a supratentorial mass lesion, the so-called Kernohan-Woltman notch phenomenon, can be an important cause of false localizing motor signs. Here, we demonstrate a case in which clinical, radiological, and electrophysiological findings were used together to define this syndrome. CLINICAL PRESENTATION: A 21-year-old man sustained a left temporal depressed cranial fracture from a motor vehicle accident. Serial computed tomographic examinations demonstrated no evolution of hematomas or contusions, and he was managed nonsurgically with ventriculostomy for intracranial pressure control. Throughout his course in the neurosurgical intensive care unit, he displayed persistent left hemiparesis. INTERVENTION: Further radiological and electrophysiological studies were undertaken in an attempt to explain his left hemiparesis. Brain magnetic resonance imaging demonstrated T2 prolongation in the central portion of the right cerebral peduncle extending to the right internal capsule. Electrophysiological studies using transcranial electrical motor evoked potentials revealed both a marked increase in voltage thresholds, as well as reduction in the complexity of the motor evoked potential waveform on the hemiparetic left side. The contrasted to significantly lower voltage thresholds as well as a highly complex motor evoked potential waveform recorded on the relatively intract contralateral side. CONCLUSION: This is the first time that clinical, radiological, and electrophysiological findings have been correlated in a case of Kernohan's notch syndrome. Compression of the contralateral cerebral peduncle against the tentorial incisura can lead to damage and ipsilateral hemiparesis. The anatomic extent of the lesion can be defined by magnetic resonance imaging and the physiological extent by electrophysiological techniques.
Application of holographic interferometry for analysis of the dynamic and modal characteristics of an advanced exotic metal airfoil structure

variations of thistechnology have also been applied to define dynamic and vibration related structural behavior4.Such applications of holographic technique offer some of the most effective methods of modaland dynamic analysis available. Real-time dynamic testing ofthe modal and mechanical behaviorof aerodynamic control and airfoil structures for advanced aircraft has always required advancedinstrumentation for data collection in either actual flight test or wind-tunnel simulations.Advanced optical holography techniques are alternate methods which result in actual full-fieldbehavioral data on the ground in a noninvasive environment .
P′P′ Precursors Under Africa: Evidence for Mid-Mantle Reflectors

Observations of precursors to P′P′ from a recent exceptionally large deep earthquake in the Fiji Islands (moment magnitude = 7.6) at an array of broadband stations in California revealed mid-mantle reflectors near depths of 785 kilometers and 1200 kilometers under the southern African rift. Such observations, previously reported primarily in subduction zones, suggest that these reflectors may have a global character. Our analysis, which also indicated a sharp, uplifted 670-kilometer discontinuity, demonstrates the power of sparse regional broadband arrays for the study of weak, frequency-dependent features in deep-Earth structure.
THE DISTRIBUTION OF THORIUM, URANIUM, AND POTASSIUM IN THE MANCOS SHALE

Abstract Over 135 samples of the upper Cretaceous Mancos shale have been analysed for uranium, thorium, and potassium by chemical and radiometric means. These samples were collected from 16 localities in Colorado, Utah, Arizona and New Mexico. The average concentrations found in the Mancos shale samples are 10·2 p.p.m. thorium, 3·7 p.p.m. uranium, and 1·9 per cent potassium as metal. The average Th/U ratio is 3·1. For the most part, the variations in the thorium, uranium and potassium concentrations are gradual and take place over large distances. Thorium, Th/U ratio and potassium tend to decrease and uranium tends to increase with distance from the upper Cretaceous shoreline. The K/Th ratio in the shale, including sandy intertongues, shows remarkedly little variation on a regional basis. Laboratory studies indicate that the uranium in the Mancos shale is present largely in the fine-grained primary resistate minerals, and the thorium occurs in the fine-grained secondary resistates or fixed in or on clays.
Reader's Block: Response

/ B n y-the-by, that very word, Reading, in its critical use, always charms me. An actress's Reading of a chambermaid, a dancer's Reading of a hornpipe, a singer's Reading of a song, a marine painter's Reading of the sea, the kettle-drum's Reading of an instrumental passage, are phrases ever youthful and delightful" (Dickens, Our Mutual Friend 605). Thus Eugene Wrayburn, in a novel that obsessively plays the symbolic value of literacy off against the interpretive challenge posed by nonalphabetic signs. 'The streets being, for pupils of [Charley's] degree, the great preparatory Establishment in which very much that is never unlearned is learned before and without book" (263), the novel may not be able to distance itself as breezily as Eugene from the usage that allows Riah to "read his master's face" (281) or Charley to "call the fire at home, [Lizzie's] books" (636).1 For Dickens, according to one of his shrewdest early readers, "London is like a newspaper"-if only, perhaps, in the semiotic density which makes the British Constitution indistinguishable from the traces of a horse (Bagehot 468). Eugene's list calls attention to the metaphoricity of "reading" in Victorian culture, but its expansionism will sound equally familiar to readers of twenty-first-century cultural studies. Yet the imperialist extension of reading to encompass any interpretive act is only half the story. If, in John Plotz's words, the book is constitutively torn between its "metaphoric" and "metonymic" powers-put differently, its verbal content and material form -then the obverse of the Victorians' appeal to reading as a model for a broader range of hermeneutic practices would be their unease with the nonlinguistic functions that printed objects fill even, or especially, when not being read (472). The tension between those two senses of "reading" is compounded by the question of who exactly the subject of that verb is. Looking at uses of the word in the literary criticism of the past twenty years, it may be too crude to hypothesize a shift from "reading" as a
Restatements Due to Improper Revenue Recognition: A Neural Networks Perspective

ABSTRACT: The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued Staff Accounting Bulletin No. 101 (SEC 1999) in an attempt to curb improper revenue recognition practices. Nonetheless, revenue restatements and the subsequent earnings restatements have continued unabated. Our goal is to contribute to the emerging technologies literature by applying the neural networks methodology to the study of revenue restatements. We also compare the results of the neural network classification with classifications obtained from multiple discriminant analysis (MDA) and logistic regression (Logit) models. Six financial and governance variables were used to train the neural network on a sample of 180 firms, and the model was validated using a holdout sample of 51 additional firms. The results show that the neural network model has superior predictive power for predicting revenue restatement firms when compared to the MDA and Logit models. However, the Logit and MDA models predict nonrevenue restatement firms better. Moreover...
Low levels of toxic elements in Dead Sea black mud and mud-derived cosmetic products

Natural muds used as or in cosmetics may expose consumers to toxic metals and elements via absorption through the skin, inhalation of the dried product, or ingestion (by children). Despite the extensive therapeutic and cosmetic use of the Dead Sea muds, there apparently has been no assessment of the levels of such toxic elements as Pb, As, or Cd in the mud and mud-based products. Inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry analysis of eight toxic elements in samples collected from three black mud deposits (Lisan Marl, Pleistocene age) on the eastern shore of the Dead Sea in Jordan revealed no special enrichment of toxic elements in the mud. A similar analysis of 16 different commercial Dead Sea mud cosmetics, including packaged mud, likewise revealed no toxic elements at elevated levels of concern. From a toxic element standpoint, the Dead Sea black muds and derivative products appear to be safe for the consumer. Whatever the therapeutic benefits of the mud, our comparison of the elemental fingerprints of the consumer products with those of the field samples revealed one disturbing aspect: Dead Sea black mud should not be a significant component of such items as hand creams, body lotions, shampoo, and moisturizer.
Dempster, shafer, and aggregate uncertainty

An improved algorithm for calculating Aggregate Uncertainty in Shafer's Evidence Theory is presented and its correctness is proven. A problem with this, and the original algorithm when applied to Dempsters's Theory of Lower and Upper probabilities is then presented.
Soret diffusion and non-ideal dufour conduction in macroporous catalysts with exothermic chemical reaction at large intrapellet damköhler numbers

The adiabatic temperature rise in catalytic pellets is predicted from a modified version of the Prater equation. Onsager reciprocal relations for coupled heat and mass transfer are violated in an analysis of thermal diffusion in macroporous catalysts with exothermic chemical reaction when Dufour conduction (i.e., the diffusion-thermo effect) is neglected. In this contribution, Dufour conduction is analysed for both ideal and non-ideal pseudo-binary gas mixtures that simulate the production of methanol from carbon monoxide and hydrogen. In the diffusion-controlled regime at large intrapellet. Damkohler numbers where intermolecular collisions provide the dominant resistance to mass transfer within the catalttic pores, temperatures in the catalytic core could be much greater than predictions based on the original Prater equation when the Prater number exceeds 0.30. The molecular flux of thermal energy includes Fourier's law, the interdiffusional flux, and Dufour conduction. Diffusional mass flux includes Fick's law and the Soret effect. All physicochemical properties of the reactive gas mixture exhibit temperature dependence. There is essentially no difference between maximum intrapellet temperature predictions that include or neglect ideal Dufour conduction when external catalytic surface temperatures range from 300―400 K and thermal diffusion enhances the flux of “smaller” reactants toward the centre of the catalyst. For “large-molecule reactants” that participate in exothermic reactions, thermal diffusion opposes Fick's law and Dufour conduction opposes Fourier's law. Under these conditions, it is demonstrated that core temperaturs are overestimated by neglecting both off-diagonal coupling mechanisms (i.e., Soret diffsuion and Dufour conduction). Prater numbers greater than unity and unrealistically high gas pressures are required to distinguish between maximum intrapellet temperatures for ideal and real gas simulations, where the latter consider tow-body interactions for Lennard-Jones molecules in the virial equation of state.
MOIRE INTERFEROMETRY WITH EMBEDDED GRIDS, EFFECT OF OPTICAL REFRACTION,

Optical refraction resulting from refractive index gradients in nonhomogeneously stressed models is investigated as a limitation on the usefulness of moire interferometry employing embedded grids. Apparent displacements caused by internal refraction are estimated for static and dynamic cases; Boussinesq's problem, and the problem of a spherically expanding pulse, respectively. Refraction effects are found to be far larger in the dynamic case. Moire observations of motions in models loaded by pellet impact are compared with independently measured motion histories. Anomalies in the moire data are found to agree fairly well with predicted refraction effects for a spherically expanding pulse. It is concluded that optical refraction effects are potentially quite detrimental to observation of transient internal motions using moire interferometry.
X-ray fluorescence tomography using imaging detectors

This paper presents a feasibility study of using emission tomography (ET) systems for synchrotron X-ray fluorescence computer tomography (XFCT). The proposed detection system combines high-resolution semiconductor detectors with multiple-pinhole apertures. The key advantage of using an ET-based detection system is that 3D distributions of trace elements can be built up with much reduced scanning motion and potentially without need for tomographic reconstruction. In comparison to the conventional line-by-line scanning scheme, the ET-based imaging system allows a great reduction in imaging time, which has been one of the major hurdles for current XFCT studies. In order to compare different imaging schemes for XFCT studies, we developed an analytical performance index that is based on the fundamental tradeoffs between image noise and spatial resolution achievable with given detection configurations. To further demonstrate the feasibility of using SPECT apertures for XFCT, a prototype CCD-based multiple-pinhole imaging system was set up at the Advanced Photon Source (APS) for imaging phantoms that contain solutions of several trace metals. Simultaneously acquired 3D distributions of these elements are presented.
The Relationship Between Spatial Ability of Native Speakers of Japanese and Their Coding Strategy When Reading Kanji

Abstract This paper describes research that investigates how native Japanese speakers read kanji. The controversy concerning whether native speakers of Japanese rely more on visual or phonological coding is of particular interest. Results from recent research question the persistent belief that kanji or Chinese characters are picture‐like symbols representing ideas or meanings of words and that native readers of Chinese or Japanese obtain the meanings of kanji without relying on sounds. An experiment employing eye‐tracking methodology was designed to examine whether a relationship exists between the role of phonology in reading kanji and the spatial ability of the reader. Results suggest that regardless of the reader's spatial orientation, phonological coding is an important factor in the process of understanding kanji. These findings have design implications for computer‐assisted instructional software of non‐alphabetic languages.
A physics-based model for actuation and sensing of ionic polymer metal composites

In this paper, we propose a novel modeling framework to study quasi-static large deformations and electrochemistry of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs). The chemoelectromechanical constitutive behavior is obtained from a Helmholtz free energy density, which accounts for mechanical stretching, ion mixing, and electric polarization. The framework is specialized to plane bending of thin IPMCs through a structural model, where the bending moment of the IPMC is computed from a one-dimensional modified Poisson-Nernst-Planck system. For small static deformations, we establish a semianalytical solution based on the method of matched asymptotic expansions, which we ultimately use to elucidate the physics of IPMC sensing and actuation.
An island-wide assessment of the chronology of settlement and land use on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) based on radiocarbon data

The archaeological landscape on Rapa Nui (Easter Island) contains a palimpsest of surface archaeological features reflecting a long history of settlement and land use. The popular narrative of societal collapse prior to European contact relies on chronometric data from the late pre-European contact period and also cites major settlement shifts as evidence for societal collapse and socio-political reorganization. This paper explores the archaeological evidence for proposed changes in settlement by assessing the spatial and temporal distribution of radiocarbon determinations collected from archaeological and landscape contexts. A corpus of over 300 determinations is placed into an island-wide GIS database and analysed. The results of this study suggest that Rapa Nui settlement and land use exhibit continuity rather than punctuated, detrimental change during the late pre-European contact period.
Communications fabric for scientific collaboration

Abstract Today's fusion experiments are geographically and institutionally dispersed collaborations. This makes the need for good remote collaboration tools particularly acute. Informal interactions between scientists are particularly important and hard to realize with traditional communications approaches. We are testing existing packages based on the IETF SIP (session initiation protocol) standard and integrating them into our applications to address these issues. Development of additional tools may be needed to provide better integration and enhanced functionality. By providing a spectrum of tools encompassing instant messaging, voice, video, presence, event notification and application sharing, we hope to overcome technical hurdles and a natural reluctance, among researchers, to interact with colleagues who are not on site. Existing web pages, which support integrated and shared workspaces, such as electronic logbooks, code and experimental run management, records of presentations and publications, personnel databases, and physical site maps will be ‘communications enabled’, so that just as currently there are ‘mailto’ links we will be able to have ‘speak to:’, ‘instant message to:’, ‘video to:’, and ‘share with:’ links. Mechanisms will be provided for session portability; a conference might be moved from a hard phone to a soft phone so that video or application sharing could be enabled. This paper discusses our ongoing efforts in these areas, including a prototype implementation of some of these tools.
Protein change in plant evolution: tracing one thread connecting molecular and phenotypic diversity

Proteins change over the course of evolutionary time. New protein-coding genes and gene families emerge and diversify, ultimately affecting an organism’s phenotype and interactions with its environment. Here we survey the range of structural protein change observed in plants and review the role these changes have had in the evolution of plant form and function. Verified examples tying evolutionary change in protein structure to phenotypic change remain scarce. We will review the existing examples, as well as draw from investigations into domestication, and quantitative trait locus (QTL) cloning studies searching for the molecular underpinnings of natural variation. The evolutionary significance of many cloned QTL has not been assessed, but all the examples identified so far have begun to reveal the extent of protein structural diversity tolerated in natural systems. This molecular (and phenotypic) diversity could come to represent part of natural selection’s source material in the adaptive evolution of novel traits. Protein structure and function can change in many distinct ways, but the changes we identified in studies of natural diversity and protein evolution were predicted to fall primarily into one of six categories: altered active and binding sites; hypomorphic and hypermorphic alleles; altered protein-protein interactions; altered domain content; altered protein stability; and altered activity as an activator or repressor. Variability was also observed in the evolutionary scale at which particular changes were observed. Some changes were detected at both micro- and macroevolutionary timescales, while others were observed primarily at deep or shallow phylogenetic levels. This variation might be used to determine the trajectory of future investigations in structural molecular evolution.
Complications of subcutaneous low-dose heparin therapy in neurosurgical patients

BACKGROUND Venous thromboembolism is a major cause of postoperative morbidity and mortality in neurosurgery. The use of low-dose unfractionated heparin therapy perioperatively for prophylaxis against deep vein thromboses and pulmonary embolism has been well demonstrated in many other surgical specialties but is less commonly used in neurosurgery because of fears of devastating postoperative hematomas. METHODS The safety of such therapy has been analyzed in 950 patients undergoing an inpatient neurosurgical procedure. 872 patients (152 cranial procedures) completed treatment with 5000 U sodium heparin subcutaneously twice a day, commencing before surgery and continuing till patients were ambulatory. RESULTS There were three minor hemorrhagic complications-two superficial wound hematomas (one requiring treatment) and one gastrointestinal hemorrhage-identified. Three clinically significant major complications developed, two epidural hematomas after spinal surgery requiring evacuation and one intraventricular hemorrhage after brain biopsy. CONCLUSION This report, along with an analysis of previously published reports of low-dose perioperative heparin therapy in neurosurgical patients, suggests that such therapy is unlikely to be associated with increased morbidity. Given the known efficacy of low-dose heparin in reducing venous thromboembolism in other surgical patients, such therapy may reduce mortality and morbidity from thromboembolic complications in neurosurgical patients with minimal risk.
Do NMDA receptors have a critical function in visual cortical plasticity

The theoretical framework, by which we understand the function of NMDA receptors, is derived, in large part, from work conducted on the hippocampal slice preparation, where NMDA receptors are crucial for a form of synaptic plasticity known as long-term potentiation (LTP). Establishing their role in plasticity mechanisms in the neocortex is proving to be far more difficult than originally envisaged, in part due to the fact that the operation of NMDA receptors is different in the intact animal than in vitro. For example, NMDA receptors are activated at low levels of sensory input in intact animals but only by high levels of input in slice preparations. Recent results suggest that a re-evaluation of the role of NMDA receptors in neocortical plasticity is required. Here we discuss some of the issues and introduce four criteria by which any factor supposedly involved in plasticity can be judged. NMDA receptors fulfill more of these criteria than any of the other factors so far investigated in the visual cortex, but maybe this is because they have been studied more intensively.
ELastic strain energies of precipitates and periodically distributed inclusions in anisotropic media

Elastic strain energies of precipitates and periodically distributed inclusions are calculated by anisotropic elasticity theory. Taking Cu as a representative matrix, elastic strain energies of a spherical, needle and disc-shaped precipitate having different elastic moduli are calculated as functions of orientation of precipitates relative to the crystalline direction of the matrix. The computed results are further examined by the consideration of interaction energy between constituting elements of the precipitates. The calculation of elastic strain energy due to periodically arranged nitrogen atoms in iron predicts that the arrangement of nitrogen atoms, corresponding to the Fe16N2 structure, is energetically most favorable one. The same result can also be obtained from interaction energy consideration between the nearest neighbor nitrogen atoms and an iron atom.
An efficient space-fractional dispersion approximation for stream solute transport modeling

Abstract The success of transient storage (TS) modeling for natural streams depends, in part, on the ability to describe the dispersion process accurately. Evidence based on stream tracer data shows that solute transport processes often do not follow the classical second-order dispersion model (e.g., early breakthrough and faster than Fickian travel times were observed). While models based on space-fractional dispersion are a promising alternative, different definitions of fractional derivatives exist in the literature. Unlike integer-order derivatives, fractional derivatives represent convolutions of concentration with long-range spatial correlation and numerical approximations can produce dense matrices. Therefore issues of both accuracy and computational efficiency need to be examined to successfully identify model parameters for natural streams. In this paper, we first compare the performance of several numerical approaches for solving the space-fractional dispersion equation. We examine three different numerical approaches to approximate the space-fractional derivatives including: (a) a fully-implicit scheme based on the shifted Grunwald–Letnikov (GL) approximation (b) a three-point implicit representation based on the GL formula and (c) a three-point implicit scheme based on mass conservation and the Caputo definition of the fractional derivative. We then use an operator-splitting technique to evaluate a TS model based on space-fractional dispersion (the FSTS model) and test the model against analytical solutions and stream tracer data. A sequence acceleration method (Richardson extrapolation) significantly improves the performance of all schemes examined. Results indicate that the fully-implicit GL method with Richardson extrapolation produces the most accurate solutions while the three-point implicit GL scheme has a stringent time-step restriction to produce acceptable solutions. The three-point implicit scheme based on the Caputo derivative produces accurate solutions in a fraction of the time taken by the fully-implicit GL method and represents the best trade-off between accuracy and computational efficiency for practical applications. The scheme is suitable for parameter estimation and is used to successfully describe tracer data in a natural stream.
Global Aspects of Infection Control

This article marks the beginning of a new section in Infection Control and Hospital Epidemiology . The section will focus on the global status of infection control. Readers who are interested in submitting articles are encouraged to do so. Articles could include an overview of infection control practices in a specific country, problems that have arisen in translating practices from the United States to another country problems related to nosocomial pathogens that are not likely to be found in U.S. hospitals, antimicrobial usage patterns, and other important topics that would give the readership a perspective on the status of infection control in countries outside the United States. If you would like your original article, review, or commentary considered for this section, please so state in your cover letter when you submit your manuscript to the editorial office.
Influence of midcollicular decerebration on the cardiovascular effects of ouabain.

Abstract Ouabain (20 and 40, μg kg , i.v.) administered to debuffered anaesthetized cats with forebrain areas intact, produced increases in cardiac contractile force, heart rate, and arterial blood pressure. Removal of forebrain areas by midcollicular decerebration prevented the chronotropic effect, antagonized the positive inotropic effect, but did not alter the pressor effect of ouabain. These results suggest that sub-arrhythmic doses of ouabain increase heart rate and contractile force in the cat by activating forebrain structures.
Immunoglobulin (Gm and Km) allotypes in the Aymara of Chile and Bolivia

SummaryImmunoglobulin (Gm and Km) allotype and haplotype frequencies are presented for 1707 individuals from Northern Chile and Western Boliva, subdividing them by ethnicity and altitude of residence. The haplotype distributions of Gm as well as Km loci in these populations suggest that in almost all of the ethnicity×altitude subdivisions of this population considerable admixture of Amerindian and Caucasian genes have occurred. The haplotype frequency heterogeneity and the analysis of departure from Hardy-Weinberg expectations demonstrate that while some local variation in haplotype frequencies at the Gm and Km loci exists in this region, there is no clear evidence suggesting that the pattern of variation is due to an adaptation to the hypoxia of altitude. We conclude that such differences in haplotype frequencies are probably due to random genetic drift and differential admixture of Amerindian and Caucasian genes that have occurred in the past.