cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Investigation of the inherent electrical potential of PEO electrolyte films

Abstract Measurement of the through-plane potential of PEO–lithium triflate electrolyte films has demonstrated that they possess an inherent potential as cast from an acetonitrile solution onto a Teflon substrate. These films have an inherent potential of around 0.2 V and the cast films display a discharge behavior similar to a double layer capacitor system with a small discharge capacitance of 80 nF cm −2 . It is postulated that electrochemical properties of the films can be attributed to different salt concentration at the two surfaces. This difference in concentration may result from a matching of the surface-free energy of the Teflon substrate side of the film and the side of the film where evaporation occurs with the lithium triflate species in the polymer. Different spherulite morphologies were also observed for each surface. These morphologies can be assigned to spherulites having much different ion concentrations. Attenuated total reflection (ATR) IR spectroscopy was used to investigate the surface concentrations of free ions, ion pairs and ion multiples of both surfaces of the films. AC impedance spectroscopy of the surfaces of the film was also conducted. These data indicated that there is a difference in the surface concentration of each side. The ability of electrolyte films to exhibit a potential as fabricated may have potential applications as an easily manufactured power source for micro and nanodevices.
Small-scale heterogeneities in depleted mantle sources: near-ridge seamount lava geochemistry and implications for mid-ocean-ridge magmatic processes

The Lament seamounts form a chain of five volcanoes extending northwestward from the flanks of the East Pacific Rise (EPR) near 10° N (Fig. 1). They have been investigated using Sea MARC I and Sea Beam sonar1 and most recently with the submersible Alvin2. During the most recent field programme we collected precisely located samples from stratigraphic sections on caldera and crater walls of each volcano and from the adjacent EPR. Major objectives of this programme were to determine whether the seamounts and the nearby ridge crest shared common mantle sources and to elucidate off-axis magma storage and ascent processes. The chemical compositions of Lamont seamount lavas, which include some extremely primitive basalts, indicate that each sea-mount was fed from one or more closely spaced mantle sources with depleted chemical characteristics. The geochemical and isotopic data imply that there is no direct magmatic link between Lamont seamount and EPR accretionary magma sources. Lateral distances between individual seamounts, as well as those between the EPR axis and cones at the base of Sasha seamount are small (Fig. 1), leading us to the conclusion that chemical heterogeneities in depleted mantle sources exist on a very small scale (<5 km).
Consequences of climate variability for the performance of bison in tallgrass prairie

Climate variability is a major structuring factor in grassland ecosystems, yet there is great uncertainty in how changes in precipitation affect grazing herbivores. We determined how interannual variation in the timing and magnitude of precipitation affected the weight gain of free-roaming bison in their first and second year. Bison weights were analyzed for 14 years for Konza Prairie, Kansas, and 12 years for Tallgrass Prairie Preserve, Oklahoma. Greater late-summer precipitation increased bison weight gain. For every 100 mm precipitation, weight gain increased 6.4-15.3 kg depending on age classes and site. In contrast, greater midsummer precipitation decreased weight gain. For every additional 100 mm precipitation, weight decreased 9.7-17.3 kg depending on age class and site. The decreased weight gain of bison with greater midsummer precipitation was associated with increased grass stem production during the period for each of three dominant grasses at Konza Prairie. Although greater stem production increases the quantity of aboveground biomass, it should decrease the overall nutritional quality of biomass to grazers, which would reduce weight gain. With offsetting effects of mid- and late-summer precipitation on weight gain, these results show that predicting the effects of climate change on grazers must incorporate both the timing and magnitude of changes in precipitation and their effects on both the quantity and quality of biomass.
On the variability of seasonal parameters in hydrologic time series

Abstract The attempt to preserve seasonal characteristics in the modeling of streamflow time series has given rise to a decomposition scheme wherein a random process is superimposed on another periodic process. Strong empirical evidence indicates that under this hypothesis, the amplitude and phase of the periodic component are quite variable. The nature of this variability is examined using simulated time series whose structure is assumed known. It is found that the random component tend to distort estimates of the amplitude and phase so that a relatively long series is needed to estimate parameters (60 years of simulated monthly data to give coefficients of variation of 0.16 for the amplitude and 0.20 for the phase angle). The variation of the phase angle and amplitude, as determined by demodulation is highly dependent on a “signal-to-noise” measure defined as the ratio of the variance explained by the periodic component to the variance of the random component.
Warfarin-related nephropathy is the tip of the iceberg: direct thrombin inhibitor dabigatran induces glomerular hemorrhage with acute kidney injury in rats

Background. Excessive anticoagulation with warfarin can result in acute kidney injury (AKI) by causing glomerular hemorrhage and renal tubular obstruction by red blood cell (RBC) casts in some patients, especially in those with chronic kidney disease (CKD). This condition was described as warfarin-related nephropathy (WRN). Recent evidence suggests that WRN-like syndromes are not confined to anticoagulation with warfarin, but may be seen with other anticoagulants, such as dabigatran. The aim of this study was to investigate dabigatran effects on kidney function in an animal model of CKD and possible pathogenic mechanisms of AKI. Methods. Control and 5/6 nephrectomy rats were treated with different doses of dabigatran and protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR-1) inhibitor SCH79797. Results. Dabigatran resulted in changes in coagulation in rats similar to those in humans at 50 mg/kg/day. Dabigatran resulted in a dose-dependent increase in serum creatinine (Scr) and hematuria in both control and 5/6 nephrectomy rats. SCH79797 also increased Scr and hematuria, more prominent in animals with CKD. Morphologically, numerous RBC tubular casts were seen in 5/6 nephrectomy rats treated with either dabigatran or SCH79797 and only occasional RBC casts in control rats. Conclusions. Our data indicate that WRN represents part of a broader syndrome, anticoagulant-related nephropathy (ARN). ARN, at least partially, is mediated via PAR-1. Our findings suggest that not only CKD patients, but other patients as well, are at high risk of developing AKI if the therapeutic range of anticoagulation with dabigatran is exceeded. Close monitoring of kidney function in patients on dabigatran therapy is warranted.
Erratum to: Formation of attentional-associative networks in real time: Role of the hippocampus and implications for conditioning

The function of the hippocampus in conditioning is portrayed in terms of an extension of Mackintosh’s (1975) attention theory, which describes the evolution of the salience (associability) of each stimulus in the situation, including the context, and its predictive associative relationship to itself and all other stimuli. In terms of the model, the hippocampus is essential for computations that reduce salience when a stimulus is presented in the context of other stimuli that are better predictors of events. The model is applied to the phenomena of latent inhibition and blocking.
Research in the service of society: Women at the institute for research in social science

This paper examines the place and contributions of women at the Institute for Research in Social Science from 1925 to 1945. Founded by Howard Odum at the Unviersity of North Carolina in 1924, the Institute provided an environment in which women could pursue social scientific work free from the gender discrimination found at most universities during the period. Research and publications by the women made important contributions to sociology and related fields while fulfilling the Institute’s primary mission of promoting regional understanding and development.
An Update of Practical CT Adrenal Imaging: What Physicians Need to Know

Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly being utilized for patient care, with a subsequent increase in the detection of incidental adrenal masses. It is important for physicians to be familiar with the various current and investigational CT techniques used to image and characterize adrenal masses, including noncontrast CT, dual-energy CT, post-contrast imaging with percentage washout calculations, and investigational techniques including histogram, perfusion, and biphasic CT analyses. Once an incidental adrenal mass is detected, it is important to utilize current CT adrenal imaging techniques to characterize adrenal masses and differentiate the indolent adrenal masses that may be left alone from malignant and symptomatic masses that need timely medical or surgical management. Current CT imaging techniques can be utilized to differentiate benign adrenal masses from malignant counterparts. In this article, we describe the common CT features of benign adrenal masses, including hyperplasia, adenoma, pheochromocytoma, and myelolipoma. We also describe the common CT features of malignant adrenal masses, including metastases, and adrenal cortical carcinoma.
Ribosome-associated chaperones act as proteostasis sentinels

Kirstein-Miles J, Scior A, Deuerling E, Morimoto RI. The nascent polypeptide-associated complex is a key regulator of proteostasis EMBO J 2013 32 1451 68 doi: 10.1038/emboj.2013.87.
Expression of a keratan sulfate proteoglycan during development of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in the ferret

ABAKAN is a keratan sulfate proteoglycan was identified in rat brain by monoclonal antibody TED15 (Geisert et al. [1992] Brain Res. 571:165–168). It blocks neuronal attachment and neurite outgrowth in culture, is associated with astrocytes, and marks the boundaries of areas in the developing rat brain (Geisert and Bidanset [1993] Dev. Brain Res., 75:163–173). In the present study TED15 was used to examine the distribution of ABAKAN during laminar development of the dorsal lateral geniculate nucleus in ferrets. This distribution was also compared with that of astrocytes as displayed with antibodies to GFAP. In the adult, TED15 and anti-glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) labeling are similar. Both are fairly uniform in the nucleus although somewhat elevated near the optic tract and in the interlaminar zone between laminae A and A1. During development the pattern is quite different. At postnatal day 1 (P1), before lamination is evident, TED15 and anti-GFAP labeling are light in the nucleus. By P10, when laminae are emerging, both are elevated in the A-A1 interlaminar zone and in the C laminae. At P18, when laminae are distinct, TED15 labels the A-A1 interlaminar zone, and it marks the borders between the ON and OFF leaflets within A and A1 (Stryker and Zahs [1983] J. Neurosci. 3:1943–1951). In comparison, anti-GFAP marks the interlaminar zone but not the ON/OFF leaflets. By 6 weeks the nucleus resembles the adult nucleus. These results show that ABAKAN marks the boundaries of the major functional subdivisions of the lateral geniculate nucleus in the developing ferret and suggest that it plays a role in lamination. © Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Genome Assembly on a Multicore System

The genome assembly problem is to generate the original DNA sequence of an organism from a large set of short (400bp-500bp) overlapping fragments. The assembly problem is challenging particularly in presence of repeats, which are multiple identical or nearly identical stretches of DNA. MIRA is an open source assembler, which is widely used by biologist and works effectively in presence of repeats. However, it is computation intensive, for example an assembly of one million fragments requires about 18.3 hours. The computation in MIRA assembler is dominated by the contigs building phase, which is highly sequential in nature. In this paper, we propose a modification to MIRA assembler that allows this computation to be parallelized while maintaining the quality of the assembly. We implemented the modified MIRA assembler on a 64-core system with eight Intel(R) Xeon(R) X7560 processors. We were able to speedup the building contigs phase by a factor of 55 on the 64-core system. Additionally, we parallelized the other phases of the MIRA assembler and were able to reduce the total sequential execution time of assembly from 18.3 hours to 3.4 hours (speedup of 5.57) without sacrificing assembly quality. It is worth noting that the overall speedup is limited by Amdahl's Law as parts of original MIRA assembler are inherently sequential. For example for one million reads the sequential portion of the MIRA assembler takes about 2.78 hours doing I/O or other operations which limits the overall speedup to 6.58.
Developing technologies for broad-network concurrent computing

Abstract Recent developments in networking infrastructures, computer workstation capabilities, software tools, and programming languages have motivated new approaches to broad-network concurrent computing. This paper describes extensions to concurrent computing which blend new and evolving technologies to extend users' access to resources beyond their local network. The result is a concurrent programming environment which can dynamically extend over network and file system boundaries to envelope additional resources, to enable multiple-user collaborative programming, and to achieve a more optimal process mapping. Additional aspects of the derivative environment feature extended portability and support for the accessing of legacy codes and packages. This paper describes the advantages of such a design and how they have been implemented in the environment termed “IceT”.
Taurine transport in rat astrocytes adapted to hyperosmotic conditions

[3H]Taurine uptake and release was characterized in astrocytes from rat cerebral cortex grown in normal and hyperosmotic culture conditions to investigate mechanisms of cell volume regulation and adaptation to states of altered osmolality. In high concentrations of taurine (1 mM), uptake was linear in both osmotic conditions for at least 30 min. The uptake rate in 1 mM taurine was not affected by exposure to hyperosmotic conditions. The mean +/- S.E.M. apparent binding constant for carrier-mediated taurine transport, Km, was not altered by hyperosmotic conditions (22.8 +/- 5.1 microM in iso-osmotic media, 21.3 +/- 11.9 microM in hyperosmotic media). However, maximal velocity of uptake, Vmax (mean +/- S.E.M.), of taurine was significantly lower in hyperosmotically treated astrocytes (0.175 +/- 0.035 nmol/mg protein.min) compared with the Vmax of iso-osmotically treated astrocytes (0.299 +/- 0.026 nmol/mg protein.min). The diffusional transport rate, Kdiff, was not affected by growth in hyperosmotic conditions (0.221 +/- 0.033 microliter/mg protein.min in iso-osmotic media, 0.295 +/- 0.043 microliter/mg protein.min in hyperosmotic media). Taurine release rate, expressed as a percent of the total cell content, was not affected by hyperosmotic exposure. However, astrocytes grown in hyperosmotic conditions contain nearly 60% more taurine than control cells. Thus, the absolute rate of taurine release (mean +/- S.E.M.) was significantly larger (P < 0.05) in hyperosmotic cells (0.1592 +/- 0.0082 nmol/mg protein.min) compared with control cells (0.0943 +/- 0.0096 nmol/mg protein.min). Quantitative analysis of these data indicate that maintenance of elevated taurine contents by cultured cerebral astrocytes exposed to hyperosmotic conditions is not due to alterations in rates of transport.
Morphological evidence for surface pre-melting on Si(1 1 1)

Abstract We present what we believe to be the first morphological evidence for the occurrence of surface pre-melting on the Si(1 1 1) surface. Our results complement the extensive previous evidence from diffraction and ion scattering techniques for the presence of pre-melted (liquid-like) layers on Si(1 1 1) below the bulk melting temperature and also suggest how atomic steps are involved in the initiation of such layers. Our results are based on atomic force microscopy studies of morphologies that are preserved when surfaces are annealed in a range of high temperatures and then rapidly cooled to room temperature for observation. A unique feature of the experiments is the use of specially prepared atomically flat or very low step density surfaces; this allows us to see how the liquid-like morphologies are associated with the steps and also allows the high temperature structures to survive the cooling process without being absorbed into the steps which normally would exist on a surface vicinal to (1 1 1). Quenched-in structures ascribed to pre-melting also act as sinks for diffusing ‘excess’ adatoms generated by the (1 × 1) to (7 × 7) transition and this leads to the formation of dendritic islands.
Competing masculinities: South Asian American identity formation in Asian American basketball leagues

Through an ethnographic investigation of an Asian American-only basketball league in Atlanta known as Asian Ballers League, this paper illustrates the messy, contested, and complex terrain of identity formation for South Asian American men who participate in an Asian American league. South Asian American-ness and Asian American-ness do not exist in a vacuum but in relation to both racialized masculinities and power. South Asian American masculinity is performed in relation to Asian Americans, African Americans, whites, and in relation to racializing discourses. As basketball practices allow these young men to insert themselves into Asian America, they simultaneously perform their versions of South Asian American-ness and structure their own set of exclusions.
The Costs And Uses Of Photologging In Washington State

Last November the filming of the Washington State Highway System was completed. Today the cost involved in developing the photo logging system and how the photofile is actually used will be discussed.© (1973) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Intra‐competition between the Asian Four Little Dragons in US Markets

Using an optimizing model of import demands, the degree of competition between the Four Little Dragons in the US market are examined. This paper finds that the exports by Hong Kong can be substituted by Taiwan, and vice versa. Hong Kong and Singapore have some degree of substitution, although Singapore tends to have low elasticities of substitution with Taiwan and South Korea. Moreover, the relatively low own-price elasticities for Singapore and South Korea indicate their exporting goods are up-scaled. This suggests that non-price factors like product quality may be of importance in penetrating the US market.
Software Systems Requirements

This module describes course SWE 2623 on software systems requirements given at the School of Computing and Software Engineering Southern Polytechnic State University. The process of extracting, deriving, and validating software requirements from a customer are explored, including levels of user/customer involvement, effective means of documenting requirements, the dynamics of interviewing, and the development of requirements specifications interactively (via methods such as the Evolutionary Spiral Model, now required for all contractors by DoD Directive 5000.1). A large part of the course is devoted to problem domain modeling using current analysis methods and supporting tools, including rapid prototyping aids and UML. Requirements engineering methodologies, such as Consortium Requirements Engineering and Requirements-Based Testing, are examined. Formal methods employing languages such as Z and SPARK are discussed.
The abrasion/erosion and erosion-corrosion characteristics of steels

Abstract The metal wastage which occurs on the combustion gas side of in-bed heat exchanger tubes in fluidized bed combustors (FBCs) is an important problem in this method of generating power from coal. The particle flow conditions which occur along the tube surfaces that remove material are the subject of some speculation as to whether three-body abrasion or solid particle impact erosion is causing the degradation. In this paper, evidence is presented that shows that the basic mechanism of particles degrading the surface is essentially the same for both descriptions of the active mechanism. The ability to extrapolate to long-term metal wastage rates in actual in-service FBC exposures from short-term laboratory tests that reach steady state loss rate conditions in the order of 5 h is also discussed. The concept of trading off various test conditions such as test temperature and particle size, shape, and velocity to realize similar amounts of metal wastage from balanced test conditions is presented.
The Vomeronasal Organ Mediates Interspecies Defensive Behaviors through Detection of Protein Pheromone Homologs

Potential predators emit uncharacterized chemosignals that warn receiving species of danger. Neurons that sense these stimuli remain unknown. Here we show that detection and processing of fear-evoking odors emitted from cat, rat, and snake require the function of sensory neurons in the vomeronasal organ. To investigate the molecular nature of the sensory cues emitted by predators, we isolated the salient ligands from two species using a combination of innate behavioral assays in naive receiving animals, calcium imaging, and c-Fos induction. Surprisingly, the defensive behavior-promoting activity released by other animals is encoded by species-specific ligands belonging to the major urinary protein (Mup) family, homologs of aggression-promoting mouse pheromones. We show that recombinant Mup proteins are sufficient to activate sensory neurons and initiate defensive behavior similarly to native odors. This co-option of existing sensory mechanisms provides a molecular solution to the difficult problem of evolving a variety of species-specific molecular detectors.
Localization and function of Ih channels in a small neural network

Subthreshold ionic currents, which activate below the firing threshold and shape the cell's firing properties, play important roles in shaping neural network activity. We examined the distribution ...
Towards an Alternative Conception of Job-Search Theory and Policy: Information as an Indeterminate Process

The theoretical heritage of job-search models is reconsidered, with a stress on their roots in neoclassical equilibrium theory. A different conception of the “imperfect” information problem is proposed, namely what is called ‘indeterminate’ information. Competing economic and geographical models of job search are reviewed and the logic of indeterminate information applied. A research agenda is introduced, which highlights the role that contracts play in allocating the costs of indeterminate information. Last, implications are drawn regarding the role of public policy.
Probing the chemistry of CH3I on Pt–Sn alloys

Abstract Adsorption and reaction of CH3I (methyl iodide) on Pt(1 1 1) and the (2 × 2) and (√3×√3)R30° Sn/Pt(1 1 1) surface alloys was investigated primarily by using temperature programmed desorption (TPD) and high-resolution electron energy loss spectroscopy (HREELS). CH3I adsorbs molecularly on Pt(1 1 1) at 100 K, and 34% of the adsorbed CH3I monolayer decomposes during heating above 200 K in TPD. Competition occurs during heating within the chemisorbed layer between hydrogenation to produce methane and dehydrogenation that ultimately leads to adsorbed carbon. Alloying Sn into the Pt(1 1 1) surface decreases the heat of adsorption and the amount of decomposition of CH3I. Alloyed Sn slightly reduces the CH3I adsorption bond energy from 13.4 kcal/mol on Pt(1 1 1) to 11.4 kcal/mol on the (2 × 2) alloy with θSn=0.25 and 9.3 kcal/mol on the (√3×√3)R30° Sn/Pt(1 1 1) alloy with θSn=0.33. More notably, the Sn–Pt alloy surface strongly suppressed CH3I decomposition. Only 4% of the adsorbed CH3I monolayer decomposed on the (2 × 2) Sn/Pt(1 1 1) surface, and no decomposition of CH3I occurred on the (√3×√3)R30° Sn/Pt(1 1 1) surface during TPD. Methane was the only hydrocarbon desorption product observed during TPD. These results point to the importance of adjacent “pure Pt” threefold hollow sites as reactive sites for CH3I decomposition. Finally, we note that CH3I, and presumably the other short-chain alkyl halides, are not reactive enough on Pt–Sn alloys to serve as convenient thermal precursors for preparing species small alkyl groups such as CH3(a) for important basic studies of the reactivity and chemistry of alkyl groups on Pt–Sn alloys. Another approach is required such as the use of a CH3-radical source or non-thermal activation of adsorbed precursors via photodissociation or electron-induced dissociation (EID).
Exposing the fallacies of anti-porn feminism

This paper examines an issue at the centre of feminist debates about pornography and sex work, and that is whether these practices reduce women to sex objects. I question the assumption that the ex...
Dispersal limitation inferred from an experimental translocation of Lomatium (Apiaceae) species outside their geographic ranges.

Determining limitations on poleward range expansion is important for predicting how climate change will alter the distribution of species. For most species, it is not known what factors set their distributional limits and the role dispersal limitation might play if range-limiting factors were altered. We conducted a transplant study of three related and cooccurring Lomatium species at their northern range limits to test competing hypotheses of range limitation. We added seeds to experimental plots inside and outside the species’ geographic range (a regional treatment) in a replicated design with vegetation intact and vegetation reduced (a disturbance treatment) and with herbivore access and herbivore exclusion (an herbivory treatment). Germination and reemergence were measured through two growing seasons, along with community-level variables. A fully-crossed linear mixed model revealed that Lomatium survivorship outside the current range was as good or better than survivorship within the range, at least when the vegetative community remained intact. This suggests that the species are dispersal limited. Germination often was improved in the presence of an intact vegetative community, but this potentially facilitative effect was absent in second-year reemergence. Plots exposed to herbivory had slightly, but significantly, reduced germination, though reemergence did not differ between herbivore treatments. Lomatium dissectum, a rare species, had significantly lower survivorship than its congeners, suggesting that range shifts in rare taxa may be particularly difficult. Seed additions beyond species’ range limits may be a strategy for overcoming dispersal limitation and assisting species in poleward migrations.
Noninvasive high resolution mechanical strain maps of the spine intervertebral disc using nonrigid registration of magnetic resonance images

High resolution strain measurements are of particular interest in load bearing tissues such as the intervertebral disc (IVD), permitting characterization of biomechanical conditions which could lead to injury and degenerative outcomes. Magnetic resonance (MR) imaging produces excellent image contrast in cartilaginous tissues, allowing for image-based strain determination. Nonrigid registration (NRR) of MR images has previously demonstrated sub-voxel registration accuracy although its accuracy and precision in determining strain has not been evaluated. Accuracy and precision of NRR-derived strain measurements were evaluated using computer generated deformations applied to both computer generated images and MR images. Two different measures of registration similarity--the cost function which drives the registration algorithm--were compared: Mutual Information (MI) and Least Squares (LS). Strain error was evaluated with respect to signal-to-noise ratio (SNR), contrast-to-noise ratio (CNR), and strain heterogeneity. Additionally, the creep strain response from an in vitro loaded porcine IVD is shown and comparisons between similarity measures are presented. MI showed a decrease in strain precision with increasing CNR and decreasing SNR while LS was insensitive to both. Both similarity measures showed a decrease in strain precision with increasing strain heterogeneity. When computer generated heterogeneous strains were applied to MR images of the IVD, LS showed substantially lower strain error in comparison to MI. Results suggest that LS-driven NRR provides a more accurate image-based method for mapping large and heterogeneous strain fields and this method can be applied to studies of the IVD and, potentially, other soft tissues which present sufficient image texture.
Variance-Based Sensitivity Analysis: An Illustration on the Lorenz'63 Model

AbstractSensitivity analysis (SA) generally refers to an assessment of the sensitivity of the output(s) of some complex model with respect to changes in the input(s). Examples of inputs or outputs include initial state variables, parameters of a numerical model, or state variables at some future time. Sensitivity analysis is useful for data assimilation, model tuning, calibration, and dimensionality reduction; and there exists a wide range of SA techniques for each. This paper discusses one special class of SA techniques, referred to as variance based. As a first step in demonstrating the utility of the method in understanding the relationship between forecasts and parameters of complex numerical models, here the method is applied to the Lorenz'63 model, and the results are compared with an adjoint-based approach to SA. The method has three major components: 1) analysis of variance, 2) emulation of computer data, and 3) experimental–sampling design. The role of these three topics in variance-based SA is a...
Imaging of spinal metastatic disease.

Metastases to the spine can involve the bone, epidural space, leptomeninges, and spinal cord. The spine is the third most common site for metastatic disease, following the lung and the liver. Approximately 60–70% of patients with systemic cancer will have spinal metastasis. Materials/Methods. This is a review of the imaging techniques and typical imaging appearances of spinal metastatic disease. Conclusions. Awareness of the different manifestations of spinal metastatic disease is essential as the spine is the most common site of osseous metastatic disease. Imaging modalities have complimentary roles in the evaluation of spinal metastatic disease. CT best delineates osseous integrity, while MRI is better at assessing soft tissue involvement. Physiologic properties, particularly in treated disease, can be evaluated with other imaging modalities such as FDG PET and advanced MRI sequences. Imaging plays a fundamental role in not only diagnosis but also treatment planning of spinal metastatic disease.
Cultural Evolution: Contemporary Viewpoints

Cultural Evolution: Contemporary Viewpoints. Gary M. Feinman and Linda Manzanilla, eds. New York: Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers, 2000. 267 pp.
Impact of an Electronic Medical Record System on Community-Based Primary Care Practices

Background: Although primary care physicians are increasingly interested in adopting electronic medical record (EMR) systems, few use such systems in practice. This study explores the organizational impact of an EMR system on community-based practices that have overcome the initial barriers and are experienced EMR users. Methods: Five primary care practices that are members of a national research network participated in this study. Using qualitative methods, including semistructured interviews and observations, we assessed the impact of an EMR system on the work lives of various user groups. Results: Physicians and staff indicated that the EMR system has changed not only how they manage patient records but also how they communicate with each other, provide patient care services, and perform job responsibilities. The EMR is also perceived by its users to have an impact on practice costs. Although in most practices physicians and staff were unaware of actual expenses and cost savings associated with the EMR, those in practices that have eliminated duplicate paper-based systems believe they have realized cost savings. Conclusions: Several important themes emerged. The organizational context in which the system is implemented is important. Effective leadership, the presence of a system champion, availability of technical training and support, and adequate resources are essential elements to the success of the EMR.
When similars do not attract: Tests of a prediction from the self-expansion model.

This study tested the hypothesis from the self-expansion model that the usual effect of greater attraction to a similar (vs. dissimilar) stranger will be reduced or reversed when a person is given information that a relationship would be likely to develop (i.e., that they would be very likely to get along) with the other person. The study employed the ‘‘bogus stranger’’ paradigm and focused on similarity/dissimilarity of interests in the context of attraction to a samegender other. The effect for similarity under conditions in which no information is given about relationship likelihood replicated the usual pattern of greater attraction to similars. However, as predicted, a significant similarity by information interaction demonstrated that this effect was significantly reduced (and slightly reversed) when participants had been given information that the partner will like self. In analyses for each gender separately, both of these effects were significant only for men, suggesting that the focus on interest similarity may have been less relevant for women.
On dispersal and population growth for multistate matrix models

To describe the dynamics of stage-structured populations with m stages living in n patches, we consider matrix models of the form SD, where S is a block diagonal matrix with n × n column substochastic matrices S1 ,...,S m along the diagonal andD is a block matrix whose blocks are n × n nonnegative diagonal matrices. The matrix S describes movement between patches and the matrix D describes growth and reproduction within the patches. Consider the multiple arc directed graph G consisting of the directed graphs corresponding to the matrices S1 ,...,S m, where each directed graph is drawn in a different color. We say G has a polychromatic cycle if G has a directed cycle that includes arcs of more than one color. We prove that ρ(SD) ρ(D) for all block matrices D with nonnegative diagonal blocks if and only if G has no polychromatic cycle. Applications to ecological models are presented.
Characterization, modeling of 10-kV SiC JBS diodes and their application prospect in X-ray generators

The 10-kV Silicon Carbide (SiC) Junction Barrier Schottky (JBS) diodes are currently being developed by a number of organizations in the United States with the aim to enable their applications in high voltage power conversions. The aim of this paper is to characterize and model the 10-kV SiC JBS diode so that their prospect and benefits in power electronic systems can be provided. Using the SPICE model of the 10-kV 5A SiC JBS diode, the advantages of 10-kV SiC JBS diodes in the application of X-ray generators were shown by PSPICE simulations for the first time. The simulation results predict that the 10-kV SiC JBS diodes based high voltage rectifiers in X-ray generators can greatly reduce the number of series diodes required and power loss than compared to the 1-kV silicon ultra fast recovery diodes based rectifiers.
Hip motion and moments during gait relate directly to proximal femoral bone mineral density in patients with hip osteoarthritis

The present study examined the loads at the hip joint during gait and the bone mineral density of the proximal femur in 25 patients with end-stage hip osteoarthritis. Dual energy X-ray absorptiometry was used to determine the bone mineral density of the greater trochanter, femoral neck and Ward’s triangle of the osteoarthritic group. The bone mineral density was normalized for the patient’s age, gender, weight and ethnic origin (Z score). Gait analysis was used to determine the external hip joint moments and motion during walking for the osteoarthritic group and a control group of 21 normal subjects. The gait parameters of the osteoarthritic group which were significantly diminished compared to the normal group (p<0.001) accounted for as much as 42% (p<0.001) of the variation in the normalized bone mineral density. Specifically, the dynamic sagittal plane hip motion during gait (maximum flexion minus maximum extension) and peak external rotation and adduction moments were significantly correlated with greater trochanter (R=0.429–0.648,p=0.032–0.0001) and Ward’s triangle (R=0.418–0.532,p=0.038–0.006) normalized bone mineral density while the adduction moment was also significantly correlated with the femoral neck normalized bone mineral density (R=0.5394,p=0.005). The normalized bone mineral density of the femoral neck and Ward’s triangle was elevated while that of the greater trochanter was decreased as compared to normal reference values. The significant correlation between the hip joint moments during gait and femoral bone mineral density indicate that hip joint loads need to be included when explaining local variation in bone mineral density in hip osteoarthritis.
Psychobiological Roots of Early Attachment

New laboratory research has revealed a network of simple behavioral, physiological, and neural processes that underlie the psychological constructs of attachment theory. It has become apparent that the unique features of early infant attachment reflect certain unique features of early infant sensory and motor integration, learning, communication, and motivation, as well as the regulation of biobehavioral systems by the mother–infant interaction. In this article, I will use this new knowledge to answer three major questions that have remained unsettled in our understanding of early human attachment: What creates an attachment bond? Why is early maternal separation stressful? How can early relationships have lasting effects? I will discuss the implications of these new answers for human infants and for the development of mental processes. Attachment remains useful as a concept that, like hunger, describes the operation of subprocesses that work together within the frame of a vital biological function.
Reducing the energy cost of computing through efficient co-scheduling of parallel workloads

Future computing clusters will prevalently run parallel workloads to take advantage of the increasing number of cores on chips. In tandem, there is a growing need to reduce energy consumption of computing. One promising method for improving energy efficiency is co-scheduling applications on compute nodes. Efficient consolidation for parallel workloads is a challenging task as a number of factors, such as scalability, inter-thread communication patterns, or memory access frequency of the applications affect the energy/performance tradeoffs. This paper evaluates the impact of co-scheduling parallel workloads on the energy consumed per useful work done on real-life servers. Based on this analysis, we propose a novel multi-level technique that selects the best policy to co-schedule multiple workloads on a multi-core processor. Our measurements demonstrate that the proposed multi-level co-scheduling method improves the overall energy per work savings of the multi-core system up to 22% compared to state-of-the-art techniques.
Methods for obtaining an electron-density matrix from X-ray diffraction data

A method is given for obtaining from X-ray diffraction data an electron density which reflects the antisymmetry of the N-electron wave function. This is achieved by ensuring Hartree-Fock representability via idempotency of the one-body density matrix. Alternate formulisms for achieving an idempotent density matrix are presented. Numerical examples illustrative of the theory are displayed.
Rheumatoid wrist reconstruction utilizing a fibrous nonunion and radiocarpal arthrodesis

Rheumatoid arthritic involvement of the wrist severely limits the functional status of the upper extremity. Total wrist arthrodesis, while providing pain relief and reestablishing support, compromises the functional capacity of the hand because of lack of wrist motion. Wrist arthroplasties allow motion, but have not found wide acceptance because of instability and the recurrence of deformity. A technique for establishing an intentional fibrous nonunion between the carpus and the radius was devised 17 years ago. This fibrous hinge gives wrist stability with or without radiocarpal wrist arthrodesis while allowing painless motion at the fibrous radiocarpal hinge and at the less severely involved midcarpal joint. Twenty-three patients have been followed for more than 7 years. All patients whose wrists achieved nonunion had no pain. Twelve of the 19 wrists in which radiocarpal arthrodesis occurred had no pain, and seven had mild pain that did not limit use.
Community Performances and Performative Texts as Tools for Critical Exploration: The Practice of Being Labeled Disabled

In this article, the authors present the process and experience of sharing research findings in the format of a participatory community performance. This community performance, presented in the format of a performative text, was drawn from a qualitative interview study that examined the experiences of parents, students, teachers, psychologists and teacher educators in special education meetings in the USA. The authors highlight the ways in which performative texts, and community performances in general, function as tools to explore issues of power in education and also to invite broader audiences to engage with research findings.
Radation therapy for brain metastases

We treated 183 patients who had brain metastases with whole-brain radiation therapy (RT) and adrenocorticosteroids utilizing a new high-dose radiation protocol. Treatment produced neurological improvement in 135 patients (74%); there was no change in 37 (20%), and deterioration occurred in 11 (6%). Of those patients who improved, two-thirds maintained neurological improvement for the remainder of their lives or for at least nine months, and one-third relapsed. One-third of those who relapsed improved again with steroids or further RT. Clinical improvement paralleled tumor regression on CT scan. Despite the clinical response, median survival was only twelve weeks; 24% lived six months and 8% lived one year. Death resulted from progressive brain disease in 16% of the patients. Two-thirds of the patients died of advancing systemic disease in the setting of stable, improved neurological function. These data suggest that the majority of patients with brain metastases benefit from RT and that systemic cancer, not central nervous system disease, limits the length of life.
The sequence of events that underlie quantal transmission at central glutamatergic synapses

The properties of synaptic transmission were first elucidated at the neuromuscular junction. More recent work has examined transmission at synapses within the brain. Here we review the remarkable progress in understanding the biophysical and molecular basis of the sequential steps in this process. These steps include the elevation of Ca2+ in microdomains of the presynaptic terminal, the diffusion of transmitter through the fusion pore into the synaptic cleft and the activation of postsynaptic receptors. The results give insight into the factors that control the precision of quantal transmission and provide a framework for understanding synaptic plasticity.
Fast LR parsing using rich (Tree Adjoining) Grammars

We describe an LR parser of parts-of-speech (and punctuation labels) for Tree Adjoining Grammars (TAGs), that solves table conflicts in a greedy way, with limited amount of backtracking. We evaluate the parser using the Penn Treebank showing that the method yield very fast parsers with at least reasonable accuracy, confirming the intuition that LR parsing benefits from the use of rich grammars.
Particle Fabrication Using Inkjet Printing onto Hydrophobic Surfaces for Optimization and Calibration of Trace Contraband Detection Sensors

A method has been developed to fabricate patterned arrays of micrometer-sized monodisperse solid particles of ammonium nitrate on hydrophobic silicon surfaces using inkjet printing. The method relies on dispensing one or more microdrops of a concentrated aqueous ammonium nitrate solution from a drop-on-demand (DOD) inkjet printer at specific locations on a silicon substrate rendered hydrophobic by a perfluorodecytrichlorosilane monolayer coating. The deposited liquid droplets form into the shape of a spherical shaped cap; during the evaporation process, a deposited liquid droplet maintains this geometry until it forms a solid micrometer sized particle. Arrays of solid particles are obtained by sequential translation of the printer stage. The use of DOD inkjet printing for fabrication of discrete particle arrays allows for precise control of particle characteristics (mass, diameter and height), as well as the particle number and spatial distribution on the substrate. The final mass of an individual particle is precisely determined by using gravimetric measurement of the average mass of solution ejected per microdrop. The primary application of this method is fabrication of test materials for the evaluation of spatially-resolved optical and mass spectrometry based sensors used for detecting particle residues of contraband materials, such as explosives or narcotics.
A proteolytic method for distinguishing between lipid-free and lipid-bound apolipoprotein A-I

Recent studies indicate that certain lipid-poor forms of apolipoprotein (apo)A-I may be particularly important in promoting cholesterol release from overburdened cells in the periphery. However, a detailed understanding of the physiolog- ical relevance of these species has been hampered by the diffi- culty in measuring them. As part of a search for a rapid assay for these forms of apoA-I, we have observed that the protease enteropeptidase can specifically cleave human lipid-free apoA-I but not its lipid-bound form. Enteropeptidase cleaved lipid-free apoA-I at a single site at amino acid 188, resulting in an N-ter- minal fragment of 22 kDa. However, apoA-I was not susceptible to enteropeptidase when present in reconstituted high-density lipoprotein (rHDL) particles as small as 6 nm in diameter or in human HDL 3 particles, even at extremely high enzyme-to-protein ratios and extended reaction times. We capitalized on this observation to develop an assay for the measurement of lipid- poor apoA-I in in vitro systems. Densitometry was used to generate a standard curve from sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacryl- amide gels to determine theamounts of the N-terminal proteolytic fragment in unknown samples treated with enteropeptidase. This system could accurately quantify apoA-I that had been dis- placed from rHDL particles and human HDL 3 with purified apoA-II. On the basis of the results, a system of nomenclature is proposed for "lipid-free," "lipid-poor," and "lipid bound" apoA-I. The reported method distinguishes forms of apoA-I by a conformational parameter without previous separation of the species. This simple and inexpensive method will be useful for understanding the characteristics of plasma HDL that are favorable for the dissociation of apoA-I. —Safi, W., J. N. Maio- rano, and W. S. Davidson. A proteolytic method for distinguish- ing between lipid-free and lipid-bound apolipoprotein A-I. J. Lipid Res. 2001. 42: 864-872.