cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The motion of a viscous fluid under a surface‐load with particular reference to the Pleistocene ice‐sheets

The problem of the motion of a semi-infinite, incompressible, viscous fluid under a radially symmetrical pressure applied on the free surface yields a simple formal solution when it is assumed that the viscosity is so high that the acceleration-term in the equations of motion can be neglected in comparison with those arising from viscous forces, and when the displacement of the surface is small relatively to the radial dimensions of the load. The general solution is valid, subject to these restrictions, for any symmetrical load, σ, and for arbitrary initial motion of the fluid. The particular case where σ = 0 and the fluid returns to equilibrium from an initial displacement may be applied to the plastic recovery of the Earth after the disappearance of the Pleistocene ice-sheets. F. Nansen's curves giving the post-glacial uplift as a function of the time at a point near the center of the Fennoscandian glaciated region and at Oslo may then be used in connection with the theory to determine the mean viscosity of the outer shells of the Earth. The kinematic viscosity, υ, is found to be of the order of 3×1021 1 c.g.s. units (cm2 sec−1).
Interval between symptom onset and diagnosis of pediatric solid tumors.

Lag time (the interval between symptom onset and diagnosis) was described for 2665 children with lymphoma or a solid tumor who participated in Pediatric Oncology Group therapeutic protocols from 1982 until 1988. Median lag time ranged from 21 days for neuroblastoma to 72 days for Ewing sarcoma. Significant differences in lag time were found among diagnostic groups ( p p p =0.02) but decreased lag times for Ewing sarcoma ( p =0.02). Differences in lag time related to race were significant only for children with osteosarcoma ( p =0.02), for which white children had longer lag times. Type of tumor and age were strongly associated with lag time. Within diagnostic groups, age, gender, and race failed to explain more than 16% of the variance in lag time, suggesting that other factors may play more prominent roles. Further study is necessary to identify these factors and to assess the relationship between lag time, stage of disease at diagnosis, and prognosis, especially before designing early-detection interventions for childhood cancer.
Directionality of yeast mating-type interconversion

The mating-type a and alpha alleles of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae interconvert by a transposition-substitution reaction where replicas of the silent mating loci, at HML and HMR, are transmitted to the expressed mating-type locus (MAT). HML is on the left arm and HMR on the right arm, while MAT is in the middle of chromosome III. Cells with the genotype HML alpha HMRa switch mating type efficiently at a frequency of about 86%. Since well over 50% of the cells switch, it is thought that switches do not occur randomly, but are directed to occur to the opposite mating-type allele. In contrast, we report that strains possessing the reverse HMLa HMR alpha arrangement switch (phenotype) inefficiently at a maximum of about 6%. The basis for this apparent reduced frequency of switching is that these strains preferentially yield futile homologous MAT locus switches--that is, MATa to MATa and MAT alpha to MAT alpha--and consequently, most of these events are undetected. We used genetically marked HM loci to demonstrate that alpha cells preferentially choose HMR as donor and a cells preferentially choose HML as donor, irrespective of the genetic content of the silent loci. Because of this feature, HML alpha HMRa strains generate predominantly heterologous while HMLa HMR alpha strains produce predominantly homologous MAT switches. The control for directionality of switching therefore is not at the level of transposing heterologous mating-type information, but only at the level of choosing HML versus HMR as the donor. In strains where the preferred donor locus is deleted, the inefficient donor becomes capable of donating efficiently. Thus the preference seems to be mediated by competition between the HM loci for donating information to MAT.
Effects of social influence on neonatal approach responses of Gallus chicks.

Although most laboratory studies of imprinting rear and test subjects individually, in the natural setting birds are imprinted in groups. In order to approximate and evaluate naturally occuring conditions, the present study compared the approach responses of chicks reared and trained alone to those reared and trained in pairs to an audio-visual imprinting stimulus. The responses of both groups were virtually identical during the presence of the imprinting stimulus. However, under conditions of experimental extinction, the paired trained birds (now tested alone) were more resistant to extinction than their isolated counterparts, thus suggesting that birds with prior social experience are more strongly imprinted than has been previously reported.
Characteristic Elastic Systems of Time-Limited Optimal Maneuvers

Optimizing an elastic system and its active control is discussed. Maneuvers from an initial state to a final state in a finite time interval are considered. An active generalized control force that accomplishes the desired maneuver of a prespecified system is optimal if it minimizes a given quadratic cost function. By also varying a set of design parameters, the elastic system can be determined so as to further minimize the cost function. Here, the elastic system that minimizes the actual control cost is compared with the system that minimizes the ratio of actual cost to the cost of optimally maneuvering a rigid system of the same inertial properties. It is shown that an elastic system corresponding to an extremum of the ratio is actually a characteristic of the time-limited maneuver. Because both the spatial domain and the time interval are fixed, a characteristic elastic system is tuned to the specified temporal boundary conditions. The implication for rest-to-rest, spinup, and spin reversal maneuvers of spacecraft is that the optimal control for a characteristic elastic spacecraft is identical to the optimal control for the same spacecraft as if it were rigid.
Development of a time-gated system for Raman spectroscopy of biological samples

A time gating system has been constructed that is capable of recording high quality Raman spectra of highly fluorescing biological samples while operating below the photodamage threshold. Using a collinear gating geometry and careful attention to power conservation, we have achieved all-optical switching with a one picosecond gating time and 5% peak gating efficiency. The energy per pulse in this instrument is more than 3 orders of magnitude weaker than previous reports. Using this system we have performed proof-of-concept experiments on a sample composed of perylene dissolved in toluene, and the stem of a Jasminum multiflorum plant, the latter case being particularly important for the study of plants used in production of cellulosic biofuels. In both cases, a high SNR spectrum of the high-wavenumber region of the spectrum was recorded in the presence of an overwhelming fluorescence background.
Response to Sean Wilentz, "Against Exceptionalism: Class Consciousness and the American Labor Movement, 1790-1920"

As a European labor historian interested in American labor history, I find Sean Wilentz's essay both informative and stimulating. Wilentz focuses on the issue of class consciousness and looks at the language of protest in Europe and America. He maintains that American labor historians have exaggerated the class conscious ness of European workers while underestimating that of American workers. On this point, I find his arguments plausible and compelling. I am more skeptical about his conclusion that the failure of a socialist party to develop in the United States is not an interesting historical question. Wilentz's description of American radicalism in the period between the Amer ican Revolution and the Civil War suggests a parallel with developments in Western Europe between the French Revolution and the Revolutions of 1848. In the first half of the nineteenth century, in both Europe and and the United States, far-reaching criticisms of large-scale industrial capitalism spread widely among small shopkeep ers, artisans, and industrial workers. This period witnessed a florescence of socialist, trade unionist, feminist, and radical republican ideas among large strata of the population. In Britain Chartism found a wider constituency for radical ideas than did any other mass working-class movement for a century.1 It is possible, as some historians have suggested, that France never again came so near to a revolutionary socialist transformation as it did during the Second Republic between 1848 and 1851.2 The rediscovery of early nineteenth-century popular militancy has led to a reexamination of the ideals that inspired these movements. It is now widely accepted that the harsh working conditions of the industrial revolution and the spread of factory labor cannot alone explain the spread of class consciousness. Work expe rience may well produce frustration and a sense of injustice but the manner of expression of such feelings, whether they are turned internally against other workers or channeled in some political direction, is a consequence of the variety of political alternatives available to workers. In nineteenth-century America the republican tradition, as transformed by its artisans, was one readily available political tradi tion.3 Wilentz's paper is most interesting and intriguing in dealing with the trans
A Preliminary Investigation of Container-Based Virtualization in Information Technology Education

Delivery of an Information Technology curriculum involves utilization of a variety of technologies. Currently hypervisor-based virtualization is widely adopted in classroom and laboratory, satisfying the needs of instructional delivery in Information Technology education. However, it brings new challenges in setting up, and executing on resource-limited hardware. Coupled with this is our situation of shared laboratory computers which have many computationally intensive software applications. To address the issues, we conducted a preliminary investigation of container-based virtualization for use in classroom and laboratory. Our study did discover advantages and limitations of using such an emerging new technology. Although the container-based virtualization does provide many benefits, our observation suggests that at the current stage, it is more appropriate to have a mixture of hypervisor-based and container-based virtualization in Information Technology education.
Self-Reports of Eating Behavior, Goals, Imagery, and Health Status: Principal Components and Sex Differences

Abstract University students (N = 208) completed a questionnaire on four aspects of eating: behavior, goals, imagery, and health status. A principal components analysis of the 18 self-report variables identified six factors: Weight Control Failure, Sensory Awareness of Food and Eating, Stable Eating Pattern, Unrestrained Overeating, “Home Cooking and Good Digestion,” and Environmental Indifference. Sex differences in self-reporting were statistically significant on 10 of the 18 variables, with 6 of those significant variables heavily loaded on the first factor: Weight Control Failure. Analysis of these variables suggests that women report eating to be more problematic than do men. Several of the aspects of self-reports are discussed, including the apparent independence of sensory awareness of food and eating from self-reports of behavior, goals, and health status.
Influence of ortho-H 2 clusters on the mechanical properties of solid para-H 2

The quantum diffusion of ortho-H2 impurities in solid para-H2 has been investigated with a torsional oscillator technique. The unclustering dynamics of agglomerated impurities with increasing temperature are found to greatly affect the resonant period of oscillation. Based on the observed trends in both experimental data and complementary finite element calculations, we find that the oscillation period predominantly reflects changes in the solid’s elastic response to the minute inertial stresses imposed on it. It is likely that the small but abrupt increase in the resonant period observed above 100 mK in high purity H2 samples is due to the interplay between remnant ortho-H2 impurities and dislocations, and not a signature of a supersolid to normal solid transition.
Greater Body Mass Index Is Associated With Poorer Cognitive Functioning in Male Heart Failure Patients

Background Heart failure (HF) and obesity are associated with cognitive impairment. However, few studies have investigated the relationship between adiposity and cognitive functioning in HF for each sex, despite observed sex differences in HF prognosis. We tested the hypothesis that greater body mass index (BMI) would be associated with poorer cognitive functioning, especially in men, in sex-stratified analyses.
PRENATAL DEXAMETHASONE (DEX) ADMINISTRATION TO PREMATURE RATS EXPOSED TO PROLONGED HYPEROXIA: A NEW RAT MODEL OF PULMONARY FIBROSIS[BRONCHOPULMONARY DYSPLASIA (BPD)]. † 1953

Although prenatal DEX treatment is known to improve hyperoxic survival in term newborn rats and to stimulate the responses of the lung antioxidant enzyme (AOE) system to hyperoxia, little is know about the postnatal effects of prenatal DEX on prolonged exposure to hyperoxia in preterm animals. To examine the hypothesis that prenatal DEX treatment would also show protective effects in preterm rats exposed to hyperoxia, we administered DEX(0.4 mg/kg, i.p.), or equivolume saline to pregnant rats at 48 and 24 h prior to premature delivery at gestation d 21 (term=22 d). Both groups of preterm rat pups were randomized to either >95% O2 or room air immediately after birth. The hyperoxic survival rates from d 1 through d 14 turned out to be similar in both DEX- and control-O2 groups. At 7 d of hyperoxia, the preterm pups demonstrated similarly increased lung AOE activity and surfactant content responses to high O2 in the DEX and control groups. Lung quantitative morphometry was changed similarly (equal degree of inhibition of normal alveolar development) in both O2 groups. Unexpectedly, the lungs of preterm control-O2 pups showed evidence of septal fibrosis at 13-14 d in O2, and the DEX-O2 group showed even much greater severity of septal fibrosis and a greater increase of lung hydroxyproline compared with the O2 controls. We conclude that in preterm animals, prenatal DEX administration does not show any of the hypothesized protective effects during prolonged O2 exposure. However, prenatal DEX administration with prolonged exposure of the preterm rat to hyperoxia results in a pulmonary pathologic picture quite similar to BPD. This preterm rat model is a much more practical experimental model than the earlier excellent (but very expensive) baboon/monkey model of BPD. Table
Uniform proxies for Java

The proxy abstraction has a longlasting tradition in object settings. From design pattern to inherent language support, from remote method invocations to simple forms of behavioral reflection - incarnations as well as applications of proxies are innumerable.Since version 1.3, Java supports the concept of dynamic proxy. Such an object conforms to a set of types specified by the program and can be used wherever an expression of any of these types is expected, yet reifies invocations performed on it. Dynamic proxies have been applied to implement paradigms as diverse as behavioral reflection, structural conformance, or multi-methods. Alas, these proxies are only available "for interfaces". The case of creating dynamic proxies for a set of types including a class type has not been considered, meaning that it is currently not possible to create a dynamic proxy mimicking an instance of a given class. This weakness strongly limits any application of dynamic proxies.In this paper we unfold the current support for dynamic proxies in Java, assessing it in the light of a set of generic criteria for proxy implementations. We present an approach to supporting dynamic proxies "for classes" in Java, consisting in transformations performed on classes at load-time, including a generic scheme for enforcing encapsulation upon field accesses. These transformations seemlessly extend the scope of the current support for dynamic proxies. We discuss the precise benefits and costs of our extension in terms of the criteria introduced, and illustrate the usefulness of uniformly available proxies by implementing future method invocations both safely and transparently.
Depressive symptomatology among Namibian adolescent refugees

Symptoms of depression have been considered rare in sub-Saharan populations. Using a standard assessment measure of depressive symptomatology, the Beck Depression Inventory, the prevalence of symptoms of depression was obtained from a group (N = 56) of Namibian refugees residing in a sub-Saharan host country. Contrary to expectations, the rates of self-reported symptoms were quite frequent, with many symptoms reported as moderate or severe by a large proportion of these youths. Using a stress model to explore these data, it was demonstrated that social support ameliorated the effects of chronic stress, as represented by the length of time in exile. It is argued that adaptation, acculturation, and adolescent developmental demands result in self-reports of depressive symptoms. These demands, however, are lessened in intensity by a strong social support system that is especially helpful early in the exile period.
Study of the operating conditions of radial compression columns in preparative chromatography

Performance and stability were tested for radial compression columns packed with spherical particles of an octadecyl bonded silica. The performance of the radial columns remained unchanged after approximately 500 h of constant use, including a number of solvent gradient runs. The performance of analytical columns packed with the same material was comparable to that of the radial columns. The column permeability decreases and the inlet pressure required to maintain a constant flow-rate increases with increasing radial compression pressure. Maximum column efficiency was obtained for a value of radial compression pressure approximately equal to 25 bar.
Mucosal immunization of CD4+ T cell-deficient mice with an inactivated virus induces IgG and IgA responses in serum and mucosal secretions.

Abstract Immunoglobulin (Ig) class switching can occur in the absence of αβ + or γδ + T cells when mice are infected with certain live viruses, although CD4 T helper cells are believed to be essential for induction of a high-affinity antibody response and for efficient isotype switching from IgM to IgG and IgA production. However, little information is available about the immune responses after mucosal immunization of CD4 + T cell-deficient mice with inactivated virus. In this study, we show that intranasal immunization with formalin-inactivated influenza A/PR8/34 virus induces IgG and IgA responses in serum and IgA responses in mucosal secretions in CD4 + T cell-deficient mice. All four subclasses of IgG were produced. IgG1/IgG2a ratios were found to be from 1 to 1.75, indicating that both Th1 and Th2 immune responses are induced by the inactivated influenza virus. The sera and mucosal secretions were found to have neutralizing activity against influenza virus in vitro. In addition, the mucosally immunized CD4 + T cell-deficient mice were protected completely from challenge with a lethal dose of live, pathogenic influenza virus. To our knowledge, this is the first demonstration that mucosal immunization with an inactivated virus induces immune responses in serum and mucosal secretions in CD4 + T cell-deficient mice.
Trichothecene Mycotoxins Trigger a Ribotoxic Stress Response That Activates c-Jun N-terminal Kinase and p38 Mitogen-activated Protein Kinase and Induces Apoptosis *

The trichothecene family of mycotoxins inhibit protein synthesis by binding to the ribosomal peptidyltransferase site. Inhibitors of the peptidyltransferase reaction (e.g.anisomycin) can trigger a ribotoxic stress response that activates c-Jun N-terminal kinase (JNK)/p38 mitogen-activated protein kinases, components of a signaling cascade that regulates cell survival in response to stress. We have found that selected trichothecenes strongly activate JNK/p38 kinases and induce rapid apoptosis in Jurkat T cells. Although the ability of individual trichothecenes to inhibit protein synthesis and activate JNK/p38 kinases are dissociable, both effects contribute to the induction of apoptosis. Among trichothecenes that strongly activate JNK/p38 kinases, induction of apoptosis increases linearly with inhibition of protein synthesis. Among trichothecenes that strongly inhibit protein synthesis, induction of apoptosis increases linearly with activation of JNK/p38 kinases. Trichothecenes that inhibit protein synthesis without activating JNK/p38 kinases inhibit the function (i.e. activation of JNK/p38 kinases and induction of apoptosis) of apoptotic trichothecenes and anisomycin. Harringtonine, a structurally unrelated protein synthesis inhibitor that competes with trichothecenes (and anisomycin) for ribosome binding, also inhibits the activation of JNK/p38 kinases and induction of apoptosis by trichothecenes and anisomycin. Taken together, these results implicate the peptidyltransferase site as a regulator of both JNK/p38 kinase activation and apoptosis.
Distributed, collaborative software inspection

The Collaborative Software Inspection (CSI) tool, which provides a distributed, structured environment for performing inspections on all software-development products, including specifications, designs, code, and test cases, is described. The inspection environment lets geographically distributed inspection participants meet with people in other cities through workstations at their desks. The current version of all material is accessible online. Inspection products are created online, so secondary data entry to permanent records is not necessary. The inspection information is also available for review and metrics collection. To assess the effectiveness of inspection in the distributive collaborative environment and compare it with face-to-face meetings, a case-study approach with replication logic is presented. >
Ear of input as a determinant of pitch-memory interference.

Six experiments to evaluate the effect of presentation ear on pitch-memory interference were conducted using undergraduates as listeners. The task was to compare the pitch of two tones that were separated by an interval that included eight interpolated tones; the interpolated tones were presented either ipsilaterally or contralaterally to the presentation ear of the comparison tones. When the ear of interpolated-tone presentations was blocked, and therefore predictable, ipsilateral interference was greater than contralateral. In contrast, when the interpolated-tone presentation ear was varied randomly from trial to trial, ipsilateral and contralateral interferences were equivalent. These results are analogous to results found in previously reported auditory backward recognition masking (ABRM) experiments and suggest that the ABRM effect may be due, in part, to pitch-memory interference. Implications for theories of auditory processing and memory are discussed.
Against the use of knowledge gained from animal experimentation

While there exists considerable protest against the use of animals in experimentation, less protest is voiced against the use of knowledge gained from animal experimentation. Pulling from arguments against the use of Nazi data, I suggest that using knowledge gained from animal experimentation both disrespects animal victims and sustains the practice. It is thus pro tanto morally wrong.
Stability of ballooning modes in a rotating plasma.

An equation describing ballooning modes localized to a magnetic field line embedded in rotating plasma is derived and analyzed. On a typical ballooning growth time these modes may be completely stabilized by shear in the flow, in a way which appears to be simple to achieve experimentally. Their long-time behavior is more complicated.
3. Outcome of excision of early invasive squamous carcinomas of the anal canal and perianus

Background Combined modality therapy (CMT) is the standard of care for anal canal (AC) squamous cell carcinoma (SCCA); excision is reserved for small perianal (PA) cancers. Increasingly, asymptomatic, superficially invasive SCCAs (SISCCA) are identified during high-resolution anoscopy (HRA). For AC- and PA-SISCCA, the Lower Anogenital Squamous Terminology Project’s proposed definition is an excised tumour with clear margins, depth of invasion SISCCA, but with clear margins. Methods: EISCCA were excised sparing the anal sphincter and anal high-grade squamous intraepithelial lesions (HSIL) were ablated. Those with margins positive for SCCA were referred for CMT. HRA was performed every 4 months; recurrent HSIL/EISCCA was ablated or excised. Patients were referred for CMT if cancer could not be excised without compromising the sphincter. Results: EISCCA was excised in 81 patients: 68 men and 13 women, 57 HIV-infected and 24 HIV-uninfected. Median age was 52 years (range: 33–79). Patients were followed for a median of 43 months (range: 2–230) following excision. Excision of EISCCA was successful in 73 (90%) patients. Eight (10%) required CMT (4 developed inguinal node recurrences, including 2 with systemic metastases). There was no statistically significant difference in outcome by location (AC v. PA EISCCA), HIV status or sex (P > 0.05). Conclusions: Excision of EISCCA, including AC tumours, produces an excellent outcome, sparing most patients CMT, including those with HIV infection.
Seismic source function for an underground nuclear explosion

The reduced displacement potential obtained from close-in observation of seismic displacement during an underground explosion usually takes the forM of a step function with or without a small overshoot. Theoretical prediction by shockwave calculation appears to agree with the close-in data. The step-function source has also been supported by the observations on Rayleigh waves at periods longer than 10 sec. Some inconsistency between the published data on residual potentials obtained from close-in data and those on seismic moments obtained from long-period Rayleigh waves were found. It appears that only about 1/3 of the residual potential is transmitted to the far-field at long periods. This discrepancy is, however, consistent with several observations made on teleseismic signals suggesting an impulse rather than a step as the primary form of the potential function. New observations of the two NTS events at distances 2.6 to 7.8 km using wide dynamic range, wide-band accelerometers, combined with data from the far-field, support a large overshoot 4 to 5 times the residual value. This result accounts for the efficiency of the M/sub s/-m/sub b/ discriminant between earthquakes and explosions with m/sub b/ around 4 and greater. The compaction of the source volume by spalling was suggested asmore » a possible mechanism for the large overshoot. (auth)« less
Enhanced Liquid Jet Impingement Boiling

In a previous study, it was shown that water jet impinging on structured-porous surface is a highly efficient way in dissipating high heat flux with small surface temperature increase. As an extension, this work studies jet impingement boiling on a plain surface and a porous surface using HFE-7000 as the working fluid. The effects of jet Reynolds number and jet inlet subcooling on heat transfer performance were explored with atmospheric experiments. The results show that, for plain surface, neither flow rate nor subcooling has significant effects on heat transfer performance when boiling is fully established; for porous surface, the effects of subcooling and jet Reynolds are more pronounced. In addition, CHF was reached during all experiments. Correlation was developed that can satisfactorily predict CHF for HFE-7000 jet impingement on plain copper surface.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Effect of dialect on the determination of speech-reception thresholds in Spanish-speaking children.

Word lists spoken in Castillian, Caribbean, and Mexican dialects were compared as stimuli for the determination of speech-reception thresholds (SRT) in 12 6- to 7-year-old Spanish-speaking, Puerto Rican children, using a balanced, crossover design. No statistically significant differences were found among dialects. All subjects had SRTs that were 2 dB lower than (p 0.85). The lower SRTs were not deemed clinically significant. The results indicate that dialect is of minor importance in SRT testing of Puerto Rican children in this age range.
Charge transfer and screening in individual C 60 molecules on metal substrates: A scanning tunneling spectroscopy and theoretical study

We have used scanning tunneling microscopy and spectroscopy to study the electronic structure of individual ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ molecules adsorbed onto the Au(111) and Ag(100) surfaces. ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ molecules on Au(111) show an increase in the HOMO-LUMO gap of 0.6 eV compared to ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ on Ag(100). Splitting of the ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ LUMO manifold is suppressed for ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ on Au(111), in contrast to the strong splitting observed for ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ on Ag(100). Our data implies a 0.6 eV increase in intramolecular Coulomb energy for ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ on Au(111) as compared to ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ on Ag(100). Topographs and energy-resolved spectral maps, however, show nearly identical features and indicate a similar influence of the two substrates on molecular-orbital geometry. ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$-substrate bonding and charge transfer is further investigated by calculating ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ charge redistribution using ab initio pseudopotential density-functional theory methods. These calculations indicate that a negligible amount of charge is transferred from Au(111) to adsorbed ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$, while about 0.2 electron is transferred to ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$ resting on Ag(100), although the precise amount depends on the definition used. This charge transfer likely changes the electronic screening properties of ${\mathrm{C}}_{60}$, providing an explanation for observed spectroscopic differences on these two substrates.
Gravity Is Easy to Understand, Right? The Difference between Calculating and Comprehending

ABSTRACT Physics instruction looks different from one classroom to the next; however, the outcome of those classrooms should be one and the same. Students should understand simple concepts and be able to transfer concepts to more complex problems. In this lesson, I would like to show you how I provide students an opportunity to explore their ideas before formulae or calculations are introduced.
Novel design and implementation for highly sensitive baseband protocol of Class-1 Generation-2 UHF RFID system

This paper presents novel transceiver baseband for EPC Global Calss-1 Generation-2 compliant RFID reader. The main challenge in RFID reader design is the detection of the backscattered signal from tag. Noise, whose power depends on the environment, can degrade the detection performance. To overcome the environmental noise, the look-up-table based RCT (Raised Cosine Transform) pulse shaping method is proposed for the transmitter architecture. Furthermore the detection of the signal from tag at receiver is impeded by phase noise. To fight these various disturbances, Rising-Falling Edge-detection based Synchronizer (RFES) is proposed as the secondary synchronizer for RFID receiver baseband. This is the first architecture for signal detection in RFID, applying frequency synchronization technique in baseband to reduce the BER, and thus leading to improved performance compared with Industrial readers. The proposed schemes is implemented in Simulink and Verilog; and validated through FPGA. Details of the implementation of the transceiver baseband on an FPGA are explained. Measurement data show that proposed Lookup table based pulse shaping method achieved 4 dB improvement in adjacent band power suppression. Furthermore, introduce of a secondary synchronizer in baseband improves the sensitivity by 3 dB compared with traditional state-of-art readers in industry.
Influence of Chain Transfer Agent on the Cross-Linking of Poly(n-butyl methacrylate-co-N-methylol acrylamide) Latex Particles and Films

The effects of the concentration of carbon tetrabromide (CBr4) chain transfer agent on the cross-linking of films formed from a ca. 44 wt % n-butyl methacrylate and N-methylol acrylamide copolymer latex were studied. The use of CBr4 greatly decreased the amount of gel in the polymer obtained after the emulsion polymerization process. Gel content measurements in toluene show that there is a limiting value of the gel fraction after thermal curing, which depends on the amount of CBr4. Calculations using the equations developed by Miller and Macosko show that this is not because of insufficient N-methylol acrylamide cross-linking agent in the copolymer. In fact, only ca. 10% of the N-methylol acrylamide groups on the polymer chains seem to result in cross-links and contribute to the gel content. This could be due to the constraint on movement limiting the ability to meet and react with the hydroxyl groups on other chains, once the polymer molecule becomes incorporated in the cross-linked network. The thermall...
A NONLINEAR RESPONSE SURFACE MODEL BASED ON ARTIFICIAL NEURAL NETWORKS FOR GROWTH OF SACCHAROMYCES CEREVISME1

Response surface models (RSMs) are used to predict microbial growth as a function of environmental conditions. This study aimed to (1) develop an artificial neural network (ANN) model for predicting the combined effect of pH, and ethanol [E], and fructose [F] concentrations on the growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, (2) compare the prediction accuracies of ANN and traditional RSM, and (3) determine the relative importance of the three environmental factors in affecting growth of S. cerevisiae. Data used to construct the network were obtained from a literature study in which RSM were developed using linear regression techniques for estimating the growth rate constant (μmax). A total of 59 data sets representing the growth of S. cerevisiae in relation to pH, [E], and [F] was utilized. The agreement between experimental and ANN-predicted values for the growth parameter (μmax was assessed quantitatively using three statistical descriptors: the Mean of the Absolute values of the Relative Error (MARE), coefficient-of-determination (COD) and sum-of-squared-errors (SSE). The developed ANN-based RSM. predicted the μmax of S. cerevisiae with higher accuracy than regression-based RSM. The differentiability of the neural network provided means for studying the sensitivity of the model output (In μmax to each input parameter averaged over the entire database. The μmax was found to be most sensitive to pH, followed by [E], and [F] concentrations.
Continuous exposure to dizocilpine facilitates the acquisition and escalation of cocaine consumption in male Sprague-Dawley rats.

Abstract Background Blocking N -methyl- d -aspartate (NMDA) glutamate receptors (NMDARs) prevents cocaine locomotor sensitization, but facilitates escalation of cocaine self-administration and produces ambiguous effects on acquisition of cocaine self-administration. This study used a recently described model of acquisition and escalation to test the hypothesis that continuous NMDAR antagonism functionally increases the effects of a given dose of cocaine. Methods We assessed acquisition of cocaine self-administration (0.6 mg/kg/infusion) in rats treated continuously with either vehicle or the NMDAR antagonist dizocilpine (0.4 mg/kg/day) for 14 consecutive 2 h fixed ratio 1 (FR1) sessions. In a separate experiment that assessed the effect of dizocilpine treatment on escalation of cocaine self-administration, rats acquired cocaine self-administration (0.6 mg/kg/infusion) prior to vehicle or dizocilpine treatment. Then, immediately post-acquisition, rats were treated continuously with either vehicle or dizocilpine and allowed to self-administer either 0.6 or 1.2 mg/kg/infusion cocaine for an additional seven consecutive 2 h FR1 sessions. Results Relative to vehicle-treated rats, a significantly greater percentage of dizocilpine-treated rats acquired cocaine self-administration. During the escalation experiment, both vehicle- and dizocilpine-treated rats escalated intake of 1.2 mg/kg/infusion cocaine. Whereas vehicle-treated rats exhibited stable intake of 0.6 mg/kg/infusion cocaine, dizocilpine-treated rats escalated intake of this moderate cocaine dose to levels indistinguishable from intake levels produced by self-administration of the high cocaine dose (i.e., 1.2 mg/kg/infusion). Conclusions These findings suggest that chronic NMDAR blockade potentiates, rather than attenuates, cocaine's effects and argue for reconsideration of the role of NMDARs in cocaine “addiction-like” behavior.
Size heterogeneity in the 3′ end of dihydrofolate reductase messenger RNAs in mouse cells

We have examined in detail the RNA coding for dihydrofolate reductase (DHFR) in methotrexate-resistant mouse cells. We find four distinct DHFR messengers, ranging in size from 750 to 1600 nucleotides. All four are polyadenylated and polysomal and can be translated in vitro to produce a 21,000 dalton protein co-migrating with purified dihydrofolate reductase on SDS polyacrylamide gels. The major difference in these RNAs is the length of 3' untranslated regions, varying from about 80 nucleotides in the smallest mRNA to about 930 nucleotides in the largest. The RNAs are also present in methotrexate-sensitive murine cells and mouse liver. Multiple DHFR RNAs are found in the poly(A)+ RNA of methotrexate-resistant Chinese hamster ovary cells but are of different molecular weights than the mouse messengers. We discuss these results in terms of the function of 3' untranslated regions of eucaryotic mRNAs and the possible origin and significance of multiple messenger RNAs for a single protein.
Collagen synthesis by normal and bromodeoxyuridine-modulated cells in myogenic culture☆

Abstract Connective tissue appears to play an important role in the development, function, and pathology of vertebrate skeletal muscle. In order to analyze the source of the extracellular matrix in developing muscle, hydroxyproline assays and fine-structure analyses were made on clonal cultures derived from embryonic musculature. The cells in fibroblast cultures synthesized and accumulated an extensive extracellular matrix of nonstriated reticular-like microfibrils. In myoblast cultures, no extracellular matrix was evident by electron microscopy, although hydroxyproline assays demonstrated that the cells synthesized and released a soluble collagenous protein into the medium. When grown with fibroblasts, multinucleated myofibers exhibited a complete basement membrane consisting of both basal and reticular laminae. Bromodeoxyuridine-treated myoblasts, in addition to exhibiting morphological and cytological alterations, synthesized and elaborated an extracellular matrix identical to that in fibroblast cultures. The potential for a similar alteration or “modulation” of myoblast expression in situ is discussed in regard to its possible relation to fibrosis in muscular dystrophy.
The vicissitudes of Fechnerian psychophysics in America.

Parallelismus strictus existet inter animam, et corpus, ita ut ex uno, rite cognito, alterum, construi possit .
Impact of gender, age and experience of pilots on general aviation accidents

General aviation (GA) accounts for more than 82% of all air transport-related accidents and air transport-related fatalities in the U.S. In this study, we conduct a series of statistical analyses to investigate the significance of a pilot's gender, age and experience in influencing the risk for pilot errors and fatalities in GA accidents. There is no evidence from the Chi-square tests and logistic regression models that support the likelihood of an accident caused by pilot error to be related to pilot gender. However, evidence is found that male pilots, those older than 60 years of age, and with more experience, are more likely to be involved in a fatal accident.
Segmenting the Adventure Travel Market by Activities: From the North American Industry Providers' Perspective

Abstract The rapid growth of adventure travel is now represented by a wide variety of adventure travel activities but has not been fully recognized as a topic for empirical research to date. This study attempts to segment the adventure travel market by activities as the key products. Data were collected from adventure travel providers (N = 178) through survey questionnaires. The test statistics suggested the inclusion of forty-eight activities in adventure travel. Factor analysis identified six distinctive groupings of adventure travel activities, labeled as: ‘soft nature,’ ‘risk equipped,’ ‘question marks,’ ‘hard challenge,’ ‘rugged nature,’ and ‘winter snow.’ The research findings provide an analysis of the adventure travel market that will help marketers develop and deliver their products effectively.
Network structure and the firing squad synchronization problem

Abstract The firing squad synchronization problem , or fssp , requires that a network of automata, limited to finite memory and local communications only, cooperate in a global task. Previous solutions to the fssp usually assume a certain network topology. This paper presents embeddable solutions which exploit the existing network topology without relying on a priori assumptions. A uniform lower bound on the firing time of embeddable solutions is derived, and optimal embeddable solutions are presented for several classes of networks, including rings, star graphs, flower graphs, and n -dimensional rectangular arrays. In addition, we address the question, to what extent can solutions to the fssp for subnetworks contribute to the overall solution?
Multi-Pose Face Recognition And Tracking System

Abstract We propose a real time system for person detection, recognition and tracking using frontal and profile faces. The system integrates face detection, face recognition and tracking techniques. The face detection algorithm uses both frontal face and profile face detectors by extracting the Haar’ features and uses them in a cascade of boosted classifiers. The pose is determined from the face detection algorithm which uses a combination of profile and frontal face cascades and, depending on the pose, the face is compared with a particular set of faces having the same range for classification. The detected faces are recognized by projecting them onto the Eigenspace obtained from the training phase using modular weighted PCA and then, are tracked using the Kalman filter multiple face tracker. In this proposed system, the pose range is divided into three bins onto which the faces are sorted and each bin is trained separately to have its own Eigenspace. This system has the advantage of recognizing and tracking an individual with minimum false positives due to pose variations.
Minsize2: a Computer Program for Determining Effect Size and Minimum Sample Size for Statistical Significance for Univariate, Multivariate, and Nonparametric Tests:

The American Psychological Association’s editorial style urges authors to provide effect size estimates. Several journals, including Educational and Psychological Measurement, have adopted author g...
Calcium stone lithoptysis in primary ciliary dyskinesia

Summary Background An association between lithoptysis and primary ciliary dyskinesia (PCD) has not been previously reported. However, reports of lithoptysis from 2 older patients (>60yr) prompted a study of this association. Methods We performed a prospective study of all PCD patients presenting to our institution between August 2003 and March 2006, seeking the symptom of lithoptysis or calcium deposition on radiology. A retrospective analysis of all PCD patients presenting prior to August 2003 was also performed. Patients age⩾40 previously reviewed were recontacted. If a history of lithoptysis or calcium deposition was present, we further reviewed radiographic, microbiologic, and biochemical data, including serum calcium and phosphate. Broncholiths were analyzed by light and electron microscopy- and electron-dispersive X-ray analysis. Results In total, 142 patients ( n = 28 age⩾40) were included, 41 in the prospective and 91 in the retrospective study. Lithoptysis was reported in 5 patients (all age⩾40). Chest CT scans identified calcification (4/5), involving bronchiectatic airways in 3 patients and focal nodular calcification in 1 patient. Two other patients (age 46, 59) were identified with airway calcification without lithoptysis. Available broncholiths from 2 of these patients were composed of calcite, whereas a broncholith from 1 patient with focal nodular calcification contained calcium phosphate. Sputum was positive for Pseudomonas aeruginosa in all 7 patients, but negative for mycobacterial and fungal cultures. Conclusion There is an association between lithoptysis and PCD in patients age⩾40. We hypothesize that calcite stone formation is a biomineralization response to chronic airway inflammation and retention of infected airway secretions in PCD in a subset of PCD patients.
The acute and chronic toxic effects of vitamin A

The acute and chronic effects of vitamin A toxicity are well documented in the literature. Emerging evidence suggests that subtoxicity without clinical signs of toxicity may be a growing concern, because intake from preformed sources of vitamin A often exceeds the recommended dietary allowances (RDA) for adults, especially in developed countries. Osteoporosis and hip fracture are associated with preformed vitamin A intakes that are only twice the current RDA. Assessing vitamin A status in persons with subtoxicity or toxicity is complicated because serum retinol concentrations are nonsensitive indicators in this range of liver vitamin A reserves. The metabolism in well-nourished persons of preformed vitamin A, provided by either liver or supplements, has been studied by several research groups. To control vitamin A deficiency, large therapeutic doses are administered in developing countries to women and children, who often are undernourished. Nevertheless, little attention has been given to the short-term kinetics (ie, after absorption but before storage) of a large dose of vitamin A or to the short- and long-term effects of such a dose given to lactating women on serum and breast-milk concentrations of retinol and its metabolites. Moreover, appropriate dosing regimens have not been systematically evaluated to ascertain the quantitative improvement in vitamin A status of the women and children who receive these supplements. The known acute and chronic effects of vitamin A toxicity have been reported previously. However, further research is needed to ascertain the areas of the world in which subclinical toxicity exists and to evaluate its effects on overall health and well-being.
Early readmission following elective laparoscopic sterilization: a brief analysis of a rare event.

This study examines some potential factors that are associated with occasional readmission soon after discharge for laparoscopic sterilization--a generally innocuous outpatient procedure. Thirty-six early readmissions among 22,000 cases of laparoscopic sterilization (an incidence rate of 1.6 per 1,000 procedures) in an international data set were investigated. Early follow-up (7 to 21 days after sterilization discharge) was 95%. The complications that led to readmission were of a more serious nature (e.g., intestinal burn/injury) among women sterilized by electrocoagulation (all unipolar) than among women sterilized with clips. Among electrocoagulation cases, women who were sterilized less than 42 days postabortion or postpartum were significantly more likely to be readmitted than were women who had not recently been pregnant. All readmitted women were discharged in satisfactory condition. The mean overall hospital stay during readmission was 7.3 days--10.6 days for electrocoagulation, 5.6 days for tubal ring, and 2.1 days for clip cases. A case-control analysis did not reveal a significantly higher relative risk for readmission among women with previous abdominal operations than among those without.