cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A closer look at nurse case management of community-dwelling older adults: observations from a longitudinal study of care coordination in the chronically ill.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVES This descriptive, exploratory study of selected characteristics of RN (registered nurse) case management utilized secondary data from a randomized controlled trial in a 5-year Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)-funded Medicare Coordinated Care Demonstration (MCCD) project. PRIMARY PRACTICE SETTING The 1,551 older adult, community-dwelling Medicare beneficiaries in the study treatment group population had at least 1 of 5 qualifying chronic diseases (atrial fibrillation, congestive heart failure [CHF], coronary artery disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, diabetes), a mean age of 75 years and an average of 4.5 comorbid conditions. Case management data documented by 14 RN case managers for 2002-2005 for all treatment group patients were analyzed, including a subgroup of 300 patients with CHF as a primary diagnosis. DESIGN/METHODS Nurse (registered nurse) case managers (NCMs) documented case management activities for all patients using 20 standard nursing intervention categories (NICs). Data reflecting the NCM time (in minutes) and mix of interventions were analyzed for patients in all 5 primary disease categories together. Using descriptive, parametric, and nonparametric statistics, the association of case management NIC, timing, and time provided to CHF patients' inpatient admission risk was analyzed, as were patterns of NIC timing and timing for CHF patients. FINDINGS/CONCLUSIONS All patients received an average of 60 min of case management time per month, slightly less than half of which was devoted to documentation of case management tasks by NCMs who had an RN-to-patient ratio of 1:135. Patients experiencing 2 or more inpatient admissions received slightly less case management time (p < .05) than patients with either 1 or no admissions during the study period. There was no specific rate (in minutes delivered per month) that was found to be associated with individual case managers and their CHF patients' associated readmission risk. Over time, NCM time allocated to routine monitoring exceeded that of self-care, disease, and medication education or counseling. IMPLICATIONS FOR CASE MANAGEMENT PRACTICE Further study of the impact of time, timing, and breadth of NCM intervention in chronic care case management outcomes is needed to better understand case management dosing effectiveness.
Fluid mechanics of aortic stenosis

In vitro qualitative and quantitative flow-mapping studies were conducted in an adult size aortic flow chamber, using bioprosthetic valves (0·5–5·0 cm2) to mimic varying degrees of aortic stenosis. The studies were performed under physiologic conditions in a left heart stimulator using: flow visualization, laser Doppler anemometry (LDA), continuous-wave (CW) Doppler and colour Doppler flow mapping (CDFM) techniques. Pressure gradients in the range 15–150 mmHg were accurately predicted by CW Doppler using the Bernoulli equation (r=0·99). The flow visualization and CDFM studies revealed that all degrees of aortic stenosis led to jet-type flow fields, in which jet orientation was not necessarily symmetric and was skewed to varying degrees. Therefore, in aortic stenosis, Doppler measurements should be conducted in multiple views in order to visualize the flow field properly. Measurements with cross-sectional LDA revealed that as aortic stenosis increased: jet size narrowed; the peak velocity and turbulent intensities of the jet increased; jet instability increased; and acceleration of the jet proximal to the valve increased. Peak velocities as high as 4–7 ms−1 with turbulence levels (i.e. root mean square axial velocities) of 1·0–2·3 ms−1 were measured, with the moderately and severely stenotic valves. These elevated levels of turbulence could cause damage to the formed elements of blood and the walls of the ascending aorta. The high velocities and turbulence levels created by the moderately and severely stenotic valves, made quantitative interpretation of CDFM recordings very difficult, if not impossible.
EFFECTS OF INTERNET USE AND SOCIAL RESOURCES ON CHANGES IN DEPRESSION

We examine how people's different uses of the Internet predict their later scores on a standard measure of depression, and how their existing social resources moderate these effects. In a longitudinal US survey conducted in 2001 and 2002, almost all respondents reported using the Internet for information, and entertainment and escape; these uses of the Internet had no impact on changes in respondents' level of depression. Almost all respondents also used the Internet for communicating with friends and family, and they showed lower depression scores six months later. Only about 20 percent of this sample reported using the Internet to meet new people and talk in online groups. Doing so changed their depression scores depending on their initial levels of social support. Those having high or medium levels of social support showed higher depression scores; those with low levels of social support did not experience these increases in depression. Our results suggest that individual differences in social resource...
Ictal brain imaging in presurgical evaluation of patients with medically intractable complex partial seizures.

At the Indiana University Medical Center, 99 patients with medically intractable complex partial seizures (MI-CPS) had presurgical evaluation with subsequent anterior temporal lobectomy. The majority of the patients had single photon emission tomography (SPECT) performed interictally as well as during an actual epileptic seizure (ictal scan). Decreased regional cerebral perfusion (rCP) was seen in 54/94 (57%) of the interictal scans corresponding to the eventual site of the surgery. However, ictal scans provided a higher yield; increased rCP in the temporal lobe during an actual seizure was observed in 60/82 (73%) concordant to the side of surgery. SPECT is a useful, noninvasive method of localizing the epilepti-form focus in patients with MI-CPS considered for resective surgery. Both interictal and ictal SPECT need to be performed; combined interictal hypo-perfusion and ictal hyperperfusion in the same focal area are unique to epileptogenic lesions. Ictal SPECT studies can be performed in the majority of patients during the period of continuous video/EEG monitoring with only a little additional effort. Combining the results of functional brain imaging (interictal and ictal SPECT, PET) with clinical semiology of seizures, surface and sphenoidal EEG, magnetic resonance imaging and other non-invasive tests, anterior temporal lobectomy can be recommended in approximately two-thirds of the patients without resorting to potentially dangerous intracranial EEG monitoring.
Expansion parameter of perturbation theory in intense-field quantum electrodynamics

The asymptotic behavior of electron and photon elastic scattering amplitudes of order ${\ensuremath{\alpha}}^{3}$ in an intense constant electromagnetic field are studied. It is shown that the expansion parameter of perturbation theory in intense-field quantum electrodynamics is $\ensuremath{\alpha}{\ensuremath{\chi}}^{\frac{2}{3}}$ when $\ensuremath{\chi}\ensuremath{\gg}1$, where $\ensuremath{\chi}=\frac{{[{(e{F}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}{p}_{\ensuremath{\nu}})}^{2}]}^{\frac{1}{2}}}{{m}^{3}}$ with ${p}_{\ensuremath{\mu}}$ the momentum of the particle and ${F}_{\ensuremath{\mu}\ensuremath{\nu}}$ the electromagnetic field tensor.
The "Boston model" of managed care and spinal cord injury: a cross-sectional study of the outcomes of risk-based, prepaid, managed care.

Abstract Objective: To present preliminary data on the health-related consequences for people with spinal cord injury (SCI) of participation in a prepaid, risk-based, managed care plan. Design: Baseline data from a longitudinal interview survey. Setting: Massachusetts. Participants: Subjects were 114 independently living adults with SCI recruited from 6 independent living centers and 2 managed care plans; 45 received care from a risk-based prepaid managed care plan and 69 from other sources. Main Outcomes: Self-reports of use of health services; self-assessments of health, health at interview versus 12 months earlier; hospital admissions; numbers of secondary conditions, and experiences of specific secondary conditions (eg, pressure ulcers, depression, fatigue, and chronic pain). Results: Persons in the managed care plan do not differ from their counterparts in terms of age, gender, education, level of SCI, number of comorbid conditions, activity of daily living profiles, household composition, and reliance upon health maintenance programs and routines (eg, bowel and bladder care). In terms of processes of care, they appear generally better-served. There also are a few differences in outcome that are statistically significant, or approach significance, and generally favor the managed care plan. Conclusion: Preliminary data suggest that thoughtfully and sensitively designed and implemented risk-based managed care may improve both access and outcomes.
Non-free-electron momentum- and thickness-dependent evolution of quantum well states in the Cu/Co/Cu(001) system

We present systematic k{sub {parallel}}-dependent measurements of the Fermi surface and underlying band structure of quantum well states in Cu/Co/Cu(001). Compared to bands from normal emission, we find a complicated evolution of ''split'' QW states as a function of the thicknesses of both the copper overlayer and the cobalt barrier layer. Self-consistent calculations show that the penetration of the quantum well states into the cobalt barrier layer is significant and leads to the observed very non-free-electron behavior of these states.
Done vida--donate life: a surgeon's perspective of organ donation.

Abstract Background This report is the Presidential Address of the 59th Annual Meeting of the Southwestern Surgical Congress. Organ donation is discussed from the perspective of a trauma surgeon, a prospective live organ donor and a father of a transplant recipient. Current issues to increase organ donation in the United States are addressed. Methods Recent publications of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) with respect to non–heart beating donation and efforts to increase organ donation were reviewed. Results Data from the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients/Organ Procurement and Transplant Network were reviewed and cited in the report. Data also were obtained from the Donor Network of Arizona. Conclusions The recommendations provided by the IOM and others should strengthen efforts to increase organ donation. It is hoped that collectively they will help to decrease the disparity between the number of solid organs available and the number of patients on the transplant recipient waiting list. The efforts of the participating organ procurement organization in the breakthrough collaborative are providing evidence that the IOM suggestions can be implemented with success.
Estimation of regional genetic parameters for mortality and 305-d milk yield of US Holsteins in the first 3 parities

Abstract Several research reports have indicated increasing dairy cow mortality in recent years. The objectives of this research were to characterize the phenotypic differences in mortality in the first 3 parities across 3 regions of the United States to estimate the heritability of mortality of Holstein cows across regions and parities, and to estimate genetic and environmental correlations between milk yield and mortality across parities and regions. Dairy Herd Information (DHI) milk yield and mortality data were obtained from 3 different US regions: the Southeast (SE), Southwest (SW), and Northeast (NE). A total of 3,522,824 records for the first 3 parities were used: 732,009 (SE), 656,768 (SW), and 2,134,047 (NE) from 1999 to 2008. Cows that received a termination code of 6—“Cow died on the dairy; downer cows that were euthanized should be included here”—were given a mortality score of 2 (dead), whereas all other codes were assigned a mortality score of 1 (alive). Average annual mortalities in the first 3 parities across regions ranged from 2.2 to 7.2%, with mortality frequency increasing with increasing parity across all regions and with the SE having the highest mortality frequency. For genetic analysis, a 2-trait (305-d milk yield and mortality) linear-threshold animal model that fitted fixed effects of herd-year (for 305-d milk yield), cow age, days in milk (in month classes), month-of-termination, and random effects of herd-year (for mortality), animal, and residual was implemented. The model was used to estimate variance components separately for each region and parity. Heritability estimates for mortality were similar for all regions and parities, ranging from 0.04 to 0.07. Genetic correlations between mortality and 305-d milk yield across the first 3 parities were 0.14, 0.20, and 0.29 in SE; −0.01, 0.01, and 0.31 in SW; and 0.28, 0.33, and 0.19 in NE. We detected an adverse genetic relationship between milk production and mortality; however, the moderate magnitudes of the genetic correlations suggest that indices that include both milk yield and mortality could be effective in identifying sires that would provide opportunities for minimizing death loss even when selecting for increased milk yield.
Feeling bad in more ways than one: comorbidity patterns of medically unexplained and psychiatric conditions.

Background Considerable overlap in symptoms and disease comorbidity has been noted among medically unexplained and psychiatric conditions seen in the primary care setting, such as chronic fatigue syndrome, low back pain, irritable bowel syndrome, chronic tension headache, fibromyalgia, temporomandibular joint disorder, major depression, panic attacks, and posttraumatic stress disorder.
Nonlinear boundary value problems with concave nonlinearities near the origin

In this paper we consider the effect of concave nonlinearities for the solution structure of nonlinear boundary value problems such as Dirichlet and Neumann boundary value problems of elliptic equations and periodic boundary value problems for Hamiltonian systems and nonlinear wave equations.
A solution to the problem of cerebral cortical localization of taste in the cat.

Abstract Outlining of a neocortical area in which natural gustatory stimuli evoke neural responses has proven difficult. A new approach was used in this study. Single penetrations of the gustatory (parvocellular: pc) and the lateral facial somesthetic regions of nucleus ventralis posteromedialis (VPM) were made with a vertically oriented electrode and activity evoked by natural stimulation (citric acid solutions and brush strokes). Electrolytic lesions were then made through the recording electrode and subsequent axonal degeneration was stained with the Fink-Heimer I technique. Five lesions were placed in VPMpc, three in VPM, and five in surrounding thalamic nuclei as controls. Control lesions produced no degeneration in the cortical areas under investigation. Small lesions placed in the two VPM areas resulted in separate regions of cortical degeneration. Degeneration was found in either the lateral or both banks of the presylvian sulcus, and not in the coronal gyrus, after VPMpc lesions—the most medial areas projecting most medially. In contrast, lateral VPM lesions did not produce degeneration in the sulcus but did in the coronal gyrus, an area previously included in the gustatory region determined by electrical stimulation of the mixed, gustatory and tactile, chorda tympani nerve. The primary contribution of this study has been to demonstrate that the gustatory region of VPM, as defined by natural stimulation, projects to a restricted region of cortex hidden within the presylvian sulcus and not within the coronal gyrus as previous studies indicated.
Ab Initio Density Functional Theory Study of the Structure and Vibrational Spectra of Cyclohexanone and its Isotopomers

We report ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations of the structure of cyclohexanone (1) in its chair conformation and of the unpolarized vibrational absorption (IR) spectra of four i...
Three-Dimensional Seismic Stratigraphic Expression of Pliocene-Pleistocene Turbidite Systems, Northern Green Canyon (Offshore Louisiana), Northern Gulf Of Mexico

Interpreting three-dimensional (3-D) seismic data is of great value in high-grading prospects in frontier exploration areas in the Gulf of Mexico. This technique is now routinely used to reduce the exploration and production risks associated with turbidite reservoirs. A subregional 3-D seismic data set was used in this study to describe the Pliocene- Pleistocene turbidite systems in three intraslope minibasins in the north-central Green Canyon protraction area of the Gulf of Mexico. The stratal geometries and lithology of the different turbidite elements were interpreted based on the integrated analysis of well-log data, seismic facies observed on the vertical seismic profiles, and amplitude distribution recognized on series of horizon slices and amplitude extraction maps (horizontal seismic facies). The lithologic interpretation, however, was limited by the lack of seismic velocity data; the wells were tied to the seismic data through synthetic seismograms created by integrating the sonic and density logs. Three turbidite elements were mapped in the selected upper Pliocene-lower Pleistocene interval of the study area: basin-floor fan (amalgamated depositional lobes), erosional and depositional channels, and overbank sediments. Lobe-shaped high-amplitude areas (onlapping high-amplitude continuous reflections on seismic profiles) indicate laterally continuous, sheetlike deposition, interpreted as turbidite lobes. Elongated sinuous high-amplitude areas (high-amplitude discontinuous reflections) correspond to depositional channel systems. Sinuous low-amplitude areas in generally high-amplitude areas (e.g., sequence boundaries) reflect the erosional channels. The depositional channels are interpreted to be filled with sands; the shale-filled erosional channels are interpreted as conduits for sediments bypassing farther down slope. The detailed 3-D seismic interpretation allowed description of the characteristics of the channel systems, analysis of their evolution through 2 m.y., and determination of the controls on the variations in turbidite deposition. Widespread low- to moderate-amplitude areas without dominant amplitude patterns are interpreted as overbank deposits. The turbidite elements identified in this study, including basin-floor fans (depositional lobes) and channel systems, form the reservoirs in the fields of the study area and in many other fields and discoveries of the northern Gulf of Mexico. The geometries of the sand-rich turbidite elements mapped in this study are considered to be good analogs for these producing fields and some exploration targets. The results of this study also can be used as analogs for the description of reservoir architecture in the subsalt trend of the Gulf of Mexico and in other deep- water exploration areas.
A Recurrent Stop-Codon Mutation in Succinate Dehydrogenase Subunit B Gene in Normal Peripheral Blood and Childhood T-Cell Acute Leukemia

Background. Somatic cytidine mutations in normal mammalian nuclear genes occur during antibody diversification in B lymphocytes and generate an isoform of apolipoprotein B in intestinal cells by RNA editing. Here, I describe that succinate dehydrogenase (SDH; mitochondrial complex II) subunit B gene (SDHB) is somatically mutated at a cytidine residue in normal peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) and T-cell acute leukemia. Germ line mutations in the SDHB, SDHC or SDHD genes cause hereditary paraganglioma (PGL) tumors which show constitutive activation of homeostatic mechanisms induced by oxygen deprivation (hypoxia). Principal Findings. To determine the prevalence of a mutation identified in the SDHB mRNA, 180 samples are tested. An SDHB stop-codon mutation c.136C.T (R46X) is present in a significant fraction (average=5.8%, range=less than 1 to 30%, n=52) of the mRNAs obtained from PBMCs. In contrast, the R46X mutation is present in the genomic DNA of PBMCs at very low levels. Examination of the PBMC cell-type subsets identifies monocytes and natural killer (NK) cells as primary sources of the mutant transcript, although lesser contributions also come from B and T lymphocytes. Transcript sequence analyses in leukemic cell lines derived from monocyte, NK, T and B cells indicate that the mutational mechanism targeting SDHB is operational in T-cell acute leukemia. Accordingly, substantial levels (more than 3%) of the mutant SDHB transcripts are detected in five of 20 primary childhood T-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (T-ALL) bone marrow samples, but in none of 20 B-ALL samples. In addition, distinct heterozygous SDHB missense DNA mutations are identified in Jurkat and TALL-104 cell lines which are derived from T-ALLs. Conclusions. The identification of a recurrent, inactivating stopcodon mutation in the SDHB gene in normal blood cells suggests that SDHB is targeted by a cytidine deaminase enzyme. The SDHB mutations in normal PBMCs and leukemic T cells might play a role in cellular pre-adaptation to hypoxia.
Some results on the relation between automata and their automorphism groups

In this paper the structure of automata is investigated using the concept of the automorphism group. The investigations about strongly connected automata are extended to cyclic (Oehmke) and normal automata. The set of states is divided into equivalence classes of strongly connected subsets (SCEC). In the set of all SCEC we explain a partial ordering whose minimal elements are called sourceclasses. If there is only one source-classe, the automaton is called cyclic. If each automorphism maps every SCEC onto itself, then the automaton is said to be normal. We generalize some results ofA. Fleck [1]. In some cases we restrict ourselves to Abelian automata.
Clinical practice guidelines (CPGs) reduce costs in the management of isolated splenic injuries at pediatric trauma centers.

The American Pediatric Surgical Association Trauma Committee proposed the use of a clinical practice guideline (CPG) for the non-operative management of isolated splenic injuries in 1998. An analysis was conducted to determine the financial impact of CPGs on the management of these injuries. The Pediatric Health Information System database, which contains data from 44 children's hospitals, was used to identify children who sustained a graded isolated splenic injury between June 2005 and June 2010. Demographics, length of stay (LOS), readmission rates, and laboratory, imaging, procedural, and total cost data were determined for all hospitals verified as a pediatric trauma center by the American College of Surgeons and/or designated by their local authority. Comparisons were made between facilities self-identifying as having a splenic injury management CPG and those without a CPG. Children (1,154) with isolated splenic injuries (grades 1–4) were cared for in 26 pediatric trauma centers: 20 with a CPG and 6 without (non-CPG). Median costs were significantly lower at CPG than non-CPG centers for imaging (US $163 vs. US $641, P < .001), laboratory (US $629 vs. US $1,044, P < .001), and total hospital stay (US $9,868 vs. US $10,830, P < .001). The median LOS for CPG and non-CPG centers were similar (3 vs. 2 days, P = .38), as were readmission rates within 90 days (3.1 vs. 5.1 %, P = .21). Multiple linear regression indicated that LOS (P < .001) and utilization of a CPG (P = .007) are significant independent predictors of total cost. Utilization of a CPG to manage children with isolated splenic injuries at a pediatric trauma center results in significantly reduced imaging, laboratory, and total hospital costs independent of patient age, gender, grade, and LOS.
Announcing the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2013.

Clinical Cancer Research ( CCR ) is proud to present the AACR Cancer Progress Report 2013 , which is available as a print supplement to this issue of the journal. It is also freely available to all CCR subscribers and to the general public on the journal website (<http://clincancerres.aacrjournals.
Optimal control problems with state constraints for semilinear distributed-parameter systems

We consider optimal control problems for distributed-parameter systems described by semilinear equations, with constraints on the control and on the state, and an exact pointwise target condition. As an application of a general theory of nonlinear programming problems in Banach spaces, a version of the Pontryagin maximum principle is obtained.
The function of the σ-factor of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase in template site selection

Binding of Escherichia coli RNA polymerase to T4 DNA in the absence or presence of σ-factor was studied, using a “competing template” method determining the amounts of RNA polymerase attached to T4 DNA.
Trends in surface roughening: analysis of ion-sputtered GaAs(110)

Abstract The effects of diffusion kinetics on surface roughness were investigated by measuring the dependence of surface width and step density on the amount of material removed for GaAs(110) sputtered at different temperatures ( T ). Surfaces after the removal of ten monolayers of material at 625 K were rougher on a small scale than those at 725 K, but they were smoother on a large scale. The increased large-scale roughness at high T was caused by increased diffusion on terraces and along step-edges, but insufficient cross-step transport. The high step-density created at low T enhanced cross-step transport. This mechanism, first proposed for the re-entrant layer-by-layer growth, is expected to cause the long-range roughness to increase with T for many solid surfaces after substantial sputtering or deposition over a certain range of T .
SU-FF-I-05: Hounsfield Units Calibration with Adaptive Compensation of Beam Hardening for a Dose Limited Breast CT System

Purpose: Hounsfield Units calibration with adaptive compensation of beam hardening for a dose limited breast CT system. Method and Materials: Following a complete cone beam CT scan of the target object (a human breast), geometrical parameters of the object, including the mass center location and maximum radius from the mass center were calculated promptly. These parameters were used to compute X‐ray projection images of a water cylinder based upon photon attenuation in the cylinder and detector response. Projection images of the target object were corrected prior to reconstruction by logarithmic subtraction of the water cylinder projection images.CTimages relative to the Hounsfield Units (HU) scale were produced after cone beam reconstruction of the corrected projection images. Custom built water phantoms were tested with various inserts, including polyethylene, polystyrene, PMMA, nylon, polycarbonate and Teflon, with a density range from 0.92g/cm3 to 2.2g/cm3. Results: A wide range of breast diameters (10cm–18cm) and compositions (0%–100% glandular) were evaluated, and reconstructed and scaled HU values demonstrated excellent uniformity, linearity and consistency. Typical HU values were within 5% of theoretical values. The proposed method was applied to clinical breast scans. The “cupping” artifact caused by beam hardening in the original image was corrected as expected. Conclusion: Conventional methods of Hounsfield Units conversion are based on the scan of few fix‐sized water phantoms and lack the flexibility to compensate for the beam hardening from objects with various sizes. The introduced noise from water phantom scans is also not negligible, especially for a dose limited breast CT system with much lower mAs than whole body CT systems. The proposed method can compensate for beam hardening over a wide range of breast diameters and compositions without increasing noise contents in the image.
Cocaine-associated rhabdomyolysis

Three male patients developed a total of four episodes of acute rhabdomyolysis associated with documented cocaine intoxication (two caused "crack" and two caused by intravenous cocaine). Included is one patient who developed rhabdomyolysis after injecting cocaine and then redeveloped it 6 months later on "rechallenge." One of the four cases resulted in death related to severe hyperkalemia and ischemic bowel. The remaining three episodes followed a course of nonoliguric renal failure.
Nestling birds put their best flange forward

The offspring of caring parents may evolve specialized traits uniquely adaptive during their dependence on parental care. For example, the mouths of passerine nestlings are often bordered by enlarged and colorful rictal flanges expressed only during the nestling period. Although these traits are commonly hypothesized to act as visual signals during begging, non-communication functions for the specialized mouth have been proposed as well. To test the hypothesis that nestling flange colors have evolved largely or exclusively as visual signals, I compared the reflectance of flange tissue that would be visible to parents during begging to that of flange tissue not exposed during begging in nestling house sparrows Passer domesticus and cliff swallows Petrochelidon pyrrhonota. Specifically, I tested the prediction that both condition-dependent color parameters and those associated with visual conspicuousness would be expressed more intensely in tissue displayed during begging. Consistent with this prediction, flange tissue exposed during begging was brighter (reflected more total light), more UV-rich, and had more intense carotenoid-based coloration than hidden tissue. These differences do not exclude a non-signaling function for flanges, but are consistent with the hypothesis that flange colors have evolved as visual signals.
FPB: Fine-grained Power Budgeting to Improve Write Throughput of Multi-level Cell Phase Change Memory

As a promising nonvolatile memory technology, Phase Change Memory (PCM) has many advantages over traditional DRAM. Multi-level Cell PCM (MLC) has the benefit of increased memory capacity with low fabrication cost. Due to high per-cell write power and long write latency, MLC PCM requires careful power management to ensure write reliability. Unfortunately, existing power management schemes applied to MLC PCM result in low write throughput and large performance degradation. In this paper, we propose Fine-grained write Power Budgeting (FPB) for MLC PCM. We first identify two major problems for MLC write operations: (i) managing write power without consideration of the iterative write process used by MLC is overly pessimistic, (ii) a heavily written (hot) chip may block the memory from accepting further writes due to chip power restrictions, although most chips may be available. To address these problems, we propose two FPB schemes. First, FPB-IPM observes a global power budget and regulates power across write iterations according to the step-down power demand of each iteration. Second, FPB-GCP integrates a global charge pump on a DIMM to boost power for hot PCM chips while staying within the global power budget. Our experimental results show that these techniques achieve significant improvement on write throughput and system performance. Our schemes also interact positively with PCM effective read latency reduction techniques, such as write cancellation, write pausing and write truncation.
Demonstrating collagen tendon fibril segments involvement in intrinsic tendon repair

Severed tendons can undergo regenerative healing, intrinsic tendon repair. Fibrillogenesis of chick tendon involves “collagen fibril segments” (CFS), which are the building blocks of collagen fibers that make up tendon fascicles. The CFS are 10.5 micron in length, composed of tropocollagen monomers arranged in parallel arrays. Rather than incorporating single tropocollagen molecules into growing collagen fibers, incorporating large CFS units is the mechanism for generating collagen fibers. Is intrinsic tendon repair through the reestablishment of tendon embryogenesis? Gentamicin treated 10-day-old chick embryo tendons released CFS were fluorescently tagged with Rhodamine (Rh). Organ cultured severed 14-day-old embryo tendon explants received Rh tagged CFS. At day 4 auto fluorescent tagged CFS were identified at the severed tendon ends by fluorescent microscopy. Accumulation of fluorescent tagged CFS was exclusively localized to the severed ends of tendon explants. Parallels between collagen fiber growth during embryonic fibrillogenesis and tendon repair reveal CFS incorporation is responsible for collagen fibers growth. CFS incorporation into frayed collagen fibers from severed tendons is the proposed mechanism for intrinsic tendon repair, which is an example of regenerative repair.
A Performance Comparison of Metric Scoring Methods for a Multimetric Index for Mid-Atlantic Highlands Streams

When biological metrics are combined into a multimetric index for bioassessment purposes, individual metrics must be scored as unitless numbers to be combined into a single index value. Among different multimetric indices, methods of scoring metrics may vary widely in the type of scaling used and the way in which metric expectations are established. These differences among scoring methods may influence the performance characteristics of the final index that is created by summing individual metric scores. The Macroinvertebrate Biotic Integrity Index (MBII), a multimetric index, was developed previously for first through third order streams in the Mid-Atlantic highlands of the United States. In this study, six metric scoring methods were evaluated for the MBII using measures related to site condition and index variability, including the degree of overlap between impaired and reference distributions, relationships to a stressor gradient, within-sample index variability, temporal variability, and the minimum detectable difference. Measures of index variability were affected to a greater degree than those of index responsiveness by both the type of scaling (discrete or continuous) and the method of setting expectations. A scoring method using continuous scaling and setting metric expectations using the 95th percentile of the entire distribution of sites performed the best overall for the MBII. These results showed that the method of scoring metrics affects the properties of the final index, particularly variability, and should be examined in developing a multimetric index because these properties can affect the number of condition classes (e.g., unimpaired, impaired) an index can distinguish.
On the dissociation between clustering and switching in verbal fluency: comment on Troyer, Moscovitch, Winocur, Alexander and Stuss

Abstract Troyer, Moscovitch, Winocur, Alexander and Stuss (Neuropsychologia 36 (1998) 499) used a procedure originally introduced by Troyer, Moscovitch and Winocur (Neuropsychology 11 (1997) 138) for distinguishing two different components of verbal fluency—clustering and switching—in frontal and temporal-lobe patients. Application of this procedure yielded results that suggested a frontal-lobe switching deficit, but intact ‘clustering’. I demonstrate here that the proposed procedure may lead to incorrect conclusions because it does not allow an unambiguous dissociation between a general reduction in processing speed and a selective switching deficit. Some implications of this critique for inferences about the neurocognitive components involved in verbal fluency tasks are discussed.
I/O performance characterization of Lustre and NASA applications on Pleiades

In this paper we study the performance of the Lustre file system using five scientific and engineering applications representative of NASA workload on large-scale supercomputing systems such as NASA's Pleiades. In order to facilitate the collection of Lustre performance metrics, we have developed a software tool that exports a wide variety of client and server-side metrics using SGI's Performance Co-Pilot (PCP), and generates a human readable report on key metrics at the end of a batch job. These performance metrics are (a) amount of data read and written, (b) number of files opened and closed, and (c) remote procedure call (RPC) size distribution (4 KB to 1024 KB, in powers of 2) for I/O operations. RPC size distribution measures the efficiency of the Lustre client and can pinpoint problems such as small write sizes, disk fragmentation, etc. These extracted statistics are useful in determining the I/O pattern of the application and can assist in identifying possible improvements for users' applications. Information on the number of file operations enables a scientist to optimize the I/O performance of their applications. Amount of I/O data helps users choose the optimal stripe size and stripe count to enhance I/O performance. In this paper, we demonstrate the usefulness of this tool on Pleiades for five production quality NASA scientific and engineering applications. We compare the latency of read and write operations under Lustre to that with NFS by tracing system calls and signals. We also investigate the read and write policies and study the effect of page cache size on I/O operations. We examine the performance impact of Lustre stripe size and stripe count along with performance evaluation of file per process and single shared file accessed by all the processes for NASA workload using parameterized IOR benchmark.
He's a real man: a qualitative study of the social context of couples' vasectomy decisions among a racially diverse population.

Vasectomy has advantages with respect to safety and cost when compared with female sterilization. The reasons underlying the overall low use of vasectomy, particularly among Black and Latinos, have not been adequately explored. The goals of this study were to (a) explore the social context of vasectomy decisions and (b) generate hypotheses about the social factors contributing to differences in vasectomy use by race/ethnicity. Fourteen group and nine couples interviews were conducted. Participants were 37 heterosexual couples aged 25 to 55 years who had reached their desired family size and self-identified as Black, Latino, or White. Participants discussed reasons that men and women would or would not select male sterilization. Reasons to select vasectomy included a desire to care for their current family, sharing contraceptive responsibility, and infidelity. Reasons not to select vasectomy included negative associations with the term sterilization, loss of manhood, and permanence. Misconceptions about va...
Cohesive end annealing and the helper-mediated transformation system of phage λ

Abstract It has been known for many years that infection of Escherichia coli cells with bacteriophage λ renders the cells competent to take up free DNA, provided the free DNA contains an unannealed λ cohesive end ( A. D. Kaiser and R. Inman, 1965 , J. Mol. Biol. 13, 78–91). This report shows that cohesive end annealing between the infecting phage DNA molecule and the free DNA molecule occurs during the transformation. This is shown by analysis of transformants resulting from the use of plasmid DNA containing cohesive ends as free DNA, the use of λcI857 as infecting phage, and λ immune cells as recipient cells. In transformants receiving the plasmid DNA, a large composite plasmid is recovered which contains plasmid and helper phage DNAs joined at cohesive end sites.
Diffusivities and front propagation in sedimentation

Continuum models for particles sedimenting in a fluid often assume that the diffusivity is a local function of the particulate volume fraction. Since the hydrodynamically induced diffusivity is a result of the velocity fluctuations of particles, the recent identification [e.g., Tee et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 89, 054501 (2002)] of particle density stratification as a controlling parameter for the velocity fluctuations also extends to the diffusivities. In particular, the stratification control strongly affects the diffusivity in the vicinity of the falling sediment front between particle-laden fluid below and clarified fluid above. The resulting scaling for stratification-controlled diffusivities in creeping flow sedimentation is presented and compares favorably with measurements from dilute-limit particle simulations. Steadily falling concentration profiles for dilute sedimentation with these diffusivities are then presented, and an extension of the model to higher volume fractions is discussed.
Electrets Used in Measuring Rocket Exhaust Effluents from a Space Shuttle Model

The study evaluates the use of electrets as a new contamination-detecting device designed to assess the chemical composition of rocket effluents. Evaluation of electret effectiveness revealed that electrets have multipollutant-measuring capability, simplicity of deployment and rapidity of assessment. Advantages of electrets are small size, light weight and cost-effectiveness. It is shown that electrets compare favorably with other HCl measuring devices. In particular, the summary of the measured data from electrets and HCl detectors is within the limits of computed HCl concentrations from the NASA/MSFC multilayer diffusion model.
THE INTERNAL PROPER MOTIONS OF STARS IN THE OPEN CLUSTER M35

Relative proper motions, based on 108 orbits of Hubble Space Telescope Fine Guidance Sensor data extending from 1992 to 2006, are reported for 74 stars in the open cluster M35 (NGC 2168). A subset of 22 of these objects are then used to compute the cluster's internal proper motion dispersions in both right ascension and declination. We find that these dispersions are equal to within their measurement errors. The average one-dimensional dispersion is 0.018 ± 0.002 arcsec century–1. When combined with the M35 radial velocity dispersion of 0.65 ± 0.10 km s–1 found by Geller et al., this produces a cluster distance of 762 ± 145 pc. Using isochrone fits to the cluster main sequence, this distance suggests that M35 has an age of about 133 Myr. Although this age is consistent with that typically found for M35, the formal error in the dynamical distance of ±19% can accommodate ages between 65 Myr and 201 Myr.
A simple expression for the redox titration curve

Abstract Titration curves are often discussed in piecemeal fashion: one approximate description for the part before the equivalence point, a different approximation for the part beyond this point and, finally, yet another formula for the equivalence point itsell We use examples of some simple redox titrations to illustrate that it is not really necessary to make the customary approximations, because the entire redox titration curve can be described exactly as the simple ratio of a formation curve and a dissociation curve.
Discovery of hard X-ray pulsations from the transient source GRO J1744 – 28

An unusual astronomical source of hard X-ray bursts, GRO J1744 - 28, was discovered recently. The properties of this source differ markedly from those of other known high-energy burst sources-X-ray bursters, soft gamma-ray repeaters and gamma-ray bursters- suggesting that it may represent a new type of source. The bursts probably arise from unstable accretion of matter onto a compact object2, such as a neutron star, but the nature of the object and the origin of the burst instability have not been revealed by observations of the bursts themselves. Here we report the detection of coherent X-ray pulsations, with a period of 467 milliseconds, from GRO J1744 - 28; these are the first persistent pulsations seen in a bursting X-ray source. These pulses and their timing indicate that the object is a magnetized neutron star, accreting gas from a low-mass companion star. The pulsation rate has been increasing during the period of our observations, indicating that an accretion disk has been formed and that the transfer of matter from the disk is spinning up the neutron star. The source of the instability that leads to the bursts remains unknown.
Speech intelligibility with the buccal flange obturator.

habilitation of patients who have undergone extensive surgery for eradication of neoplasm of the maxillae requires restoration of the functions of speech, mastication, and deglutition. The options for rehabilitation of these patients are surgical reconstruction or prosthetic restoration. According to Sharry,’ even when surgical techniques are available, prosthetic reconstruction is chosen most frequently. Prostheses for acquired defects of the hard palate consist of either complete or removable partial dentures with nasal extensions designed to obturate the defect. The objectives of such prostheses as outlined by Aramany and Drane’ are (1) oronasal separation, (2) retention and stabilization of the prosthesis, and (3) rehabilitation of speech.
Hypernet: A Communication-Efficient Architecture for Constructing Massively Parallel Computers

A new class of modular networks is proposed for hierarchically constructing massively parallel computer systems for distributed supercomputing and AI applications. These networks are called hypernets. They are constructed incrementally with identical cubelets, treelets, or buslets that are well suited for VLSI implementation. Hypernets integrate positive features of both hypercubes and tree-based topologies, and maintain a constant node degree when the network size increases. This paper presents the principles of constructing hypernets and analyzes their architectural potentials in terms of message routing complexity, cost-effective support for global as well as localized communication, I/O capabilities, and fault tolerance. Several algorithms are mapped onto hypernets to illustrate their ability to support parallel processing in a hierarchically structured or data-dependent environment. The emulation of hypercube connections using less hardware is shown. The potential of hypernets for efficient support of connectionist models of computation is also explored.
A comparison of surface wipe media for sampling lead on hands.

Hand contamination by toxic agents such as lead presents a potentially significant health hazard to workers if the contamination is transferred to the mouth by food, smoking, or touching the mouth. One method to sample the mass of contamination on hands is to wipe the skin and analyze the wipe media for the analyte. Several commercially available, prewetted wipe media were evaluated and compared. The Palintest and Wash'n Dri media are made of cellulose fiber; the Ghost wipe is made of a nonwoven polyvinyl alcohol fiber. ASTM test method E1792 for surface lead sampling provides some specified minimum requirements and some general, nonspecific criteria that these media should meet. However, no objective determination of the performance or characteristics of these different wiping media were found in the open literature for sampling lead on hands, particularly relating to typical collection efficiency. To test the recovery of lead oxide dust collected from two hands, two different loading levels were used fo...
The Structure of the Marine inversion Layer off the Central California Coast: Mesoscale Conditions

Abstract Data collected on board an instrumented aircraft during the Marine Atmospheric Boundary Layer Experiments, West Coast (MABLES WC) field study are examined. The data were collected at several levels in the marine and inversion layers approximately 200 km west of the central California coast during August 1978. Composite sounding and cross sections of wind and temperature variables are presented to provide an overview of the mesoscale structure of the offshore marine and inversion layers at the time of MABLES WC. Under typical summertime synoptic conditions, which prevailed early in the study period (three flights examined), a strong inversion is found. Base heights and temperature increases across the inversion base are comparable to values observed in the San Francisco Bay area. The topography of the inversion base shows a slope downward toward the east during all three of these flights and also suggests the presence of convective activity, gravity-wave activity, or both, during two of the three ...