cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU-E-T-389: Accuracy of a VMAT Planning System for Head and Neck Radiotherapy.

Purpose: To determine the accuracy of VMAT treatment planning and delivery for patients undergoing radiotherapy in the head and neck. Method and Materials: A dosimetric study of a typical head and neck treatment plan has been carried out using Chamber, film and TLD's placed inside an anthropomorphic phantom. Lateral and AP port films were taken to verify the isocenter prior to treatment. Multiple treatments were performed to assess the reproducibility and uncertainty in the TLD measurements. Gafchromatic film was used between the phantom slices and then analyzed as an independent check on the TLD results. The two data sets, from TLDs and films, were then compared with the treatment planning system dose calculations. Results: The measured dose to the primary planning tumor volume agrees with the planning system within 2%. The comparison of the measured dose to the secondary tumor volume ranges from 3–6% and the spinal cord comparison ranges from 3–10%. Conclusion: This new Smart Arc treatment, VMAT, has great benefits to the patient in that patient motion and internal motion of the tumor is dramatically reduced. Challenges arise in predicting the dose near heterogeneities between the treatment planning system and actual measurement.
Sectional and segmental variability of left ventricular function: Experimental and clinical studies using ultrafast computed tomography

In this study, ultrafast computed tomography, a new high spatial and temporal resolution imaging system, was employed to define the range of sectional (tomographic) and segmental left ventricular function in 11 normal anesthetized dogs and 11 normal human volunteers. After intravenous infusion of contrast agent, multilevel tomographic images of the left ventricle (apex to base) were acquired at a rate of 17 frames/s. Analysis of these studies demonstrated substantial but predictable heterogeneity in left ventricular contraction from apex to base. In dogs and humans, for example, the average tomographic ejection fraction of the most basal level of the left ventricle was 40% less than that of the most apical level (p less than 0.05). In humans, circumferential segmental cavity contraction at the mid-papillary muscle level was relatively homogeneous (range 50 to 92% for 12 wedge-shaped segments around the tomographic circumference) if the reference system employed an endocardial centroid, but was less uniform if it used an epicardial centroid (range 22 to 98%). It is concluded that contraction of the normal left ventricle in dogs and humans is heterogeneous both between levels (apex to base) and within a single level (circumferential cavity contraction). However, the patterns of cavity contraction from apex to base and circumferential segmental cavity contraction within a given level as defined by ultrafast computed tomography are sufficiently narrow and predictable in normal individuals that these variables may be useful to define regional contraction abnormalities in pathologic conditions.
Neue stabile membranpolymere

The search for new stable membrane polymers for seawater desalination covered the investigation of two substance classes: polyimides and polyoxadiazoles. In the case of polyimides, it was possible - by incorporation of little strained five-membered imides - to obtain a polymer that is resistant to hydrolysis under alkaline conditions and soluble in organic solvents. The polyoxadiazoles obtained by condensation from polyhydrazides are resistant to hydrolysis and stable up to temperatures of 250 °C.
CONTRACEPCIÓN Y FEMINIDADES: UN ANÁLISIS DE LA RESISTENCIA A LA PASTILLA

This article analyses why a group of women abandoned the contraceptive pill. It arguesthat this decision can be analyzed as a form of resistance to certain representations,values, and practices inscribed in the pill. In this case, the contraceptive pill is consideredas a gender script. The study of the experiences of a group of women reveals that, undercertain conditions, the notion of the contraceptive pill as an intrinsically emancipatorytechnology can be challenged.
Furniture and Artwork as Paradoxical Counterparts in the Work of Donald Judd

In 1986, Donald Judd recalled that when he was commissioned to design a coffee table in the late 1960s he modified a piece of his artwork to produce the table; this approach did not result in a successful object, by Judd’s account.1 Explaining that this coffee table had taught him a bitter lesson—that his furniture should not mimic his artwork—Judd excluded the table from the chronology he prepared for the 1993 catalog of his furniture. This anecdote helps to illuminate his struggle to draw a strict line between his art and his furniture. The story of Judd’s first piece of commissioned furniture evinces an agenda concerning the formal and structural resemblance between Judd’s artwork and functional objects that formed an undercurrent in his output throughout his life. In this paper, I explore the interrelationship between Judd’s furniture and art with a view especially toward the practical aspects—the fabrication processes, the predominant formal configurations, his marketing strategy, and his installation schemes—while keeping in mind Judd’s own ideas and the critical receptions of his furniture design. The connections between art and design in modernist art movements had a critical influence on Judd’s artwork and furniture. Judd’s factory-produced art and functional objects had many historical precedents and parallels: the experimental products of the Bauhaus, some innovations of the De Stijl members and the Russian Constructivists, Duchamp’s ready-mades, and Pop Art’s consumer culture-oriented works, as epitomized by Claes Oldenburg and Richard Artschwager. In general, whether Judd acknowledged it or not, these practices had a major effect on the ways in which his artwork and furniture were created and configured. Further, while Judd’s industrial-looking art and design objects would seem to represent a counter to the tactile warmness of sculptures and functional objects by Constantin Brancusi (1876–1957) and Isamu Noguchi (1904–88), all three artists were profoundly engaged with issues inherent in design and with the articulation of space. Although Judd’s artwork influenced the development of usable artworks and architectural installations created by succeeding generations of artists (e.g., Scott Burton, R. M. Fischer, Siah Armajani, Vito Acconci, and Robert Wilson), the discourse about the relationship between design and art was not extensive in the United
Molecular Composition and Extinction Coefficient of Native Botulinum Neurotoxin Complex Produced by Clostridium botulinum Hall A Strain

Seven distinct strains of Clostridium botulinum (type A to G) each produce a stable complex of botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT) along with neurotoxin-associated proteins (NAPs). Type A botulinum neurotoxin (BoNT/A) is produced with a group of NAPs and is commercially available for the treatment of numerous neuromuscular disorders and cosmetic purposes. Previous studies have indicated that BoNT/A complex composition is specific to the strain, the method of growth and the method of purification; consequently, any variation in composition of NAPs could have significant implications to the effectiveness of BoNT based therapeutics. In this study, a standard analytical technique using sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS–PAGE) and densitometry analysis was developed to accurately analyze BoNT/A complex from C. botulinum type A Hall strain. Using 3 batches of BoNT/A complex the molar ratio was determined as neurotoxin binding protein (NBP, 124 kDa), heavy chain (HC, 90 kDa), light chain (LC, 53 kDa), NAP-53 (50 kDa), NAP-33 (36 kDa), NAP-22 (24 kDa), NAP-17 (17 kDa) 1:1:1:2:3:2:2. With Bradford, Lowry, bicinchoninic acid (BCA) and spectroscopic protein estimation methods, the extinction coefficient of BoNT/A complex was determined as 1.54 ± 0.26 (mg/mL)−1cm−1. These findings of a reproducible BoNT/A complex composition will aid in understanding the molecular structure and function of BoNT/A and NAPs.
Silicon Production Applications of Ion Implantation

Ion implantation techniques have found a wide range of applications in the processing of semiconductors. This selective low temperature doping technique has been readily incorporated into the existing technology of silicon wafer fabrication for both discrete devices and integrated circuits. The development of reliable production equipment capable of providing higher doping rates has increased by several orders of magnitude the range of doses which can be implanted at production throughputs. Most applications take advantage of the compatibility with existing process techniques, such as photoresist masking, or make use of unique capabilities such as implanting through thin surface layers of silicon dioxide or silicon nitride. Precise dose and energy control result in better control of process variables, permitting yield optimization for various product specifications. As circuit complexity and performance have increased in LSI manufacturing, some products now receive 4 to 6 different implants at various stages in the process flow. Reproducibility for process control and reliable operation of the equipment in the production environment have become increasingly important.
The Union of Utrecht and the Articles of Confederation, the Batavian Constitution and the American Constitution: A Double Parallel

In this essay in comparative history, I do not attempt to tell very much that is new to Americans about their own history or to Dutchmen about theirs;** I want rather to sharpen perception of these two national experiences by setting them against each other, in order to see how alike they were in some ways and how different in others. More specifically, I shall compare the constitutional development of the two countries, the Dutch under the Union of Utrecht adopted in 1579 and under the Batavian Republic which replaced it in 1795; and the American under the Articles of Confederation adopted in 1781 and under the Constitution which replaced it in 1789, which is still in force. The particular problems to which I will pay attention are not so much those of republicanism as such — by which I mean government without the sovereignty, real or formal, of a crowned head — as of federalism. One of these is the locus of identity, whether at the center or in the provinces or states; another is the process of decision-making under conditions of territorially distributed power; and last is the relation of external and internal factors, in order to put the question whether Ranke’s principle of the primacy of foreign policy holds good in these two cases.
Understanding the color of human skin

The automated detection of humans in computer vision as well as the realistic rendering of people in computer graphics necessitates a better understanding of human skin reflectance Prior vision and graphics research on this topic has primarily focused on images acquired with conventional color cameras. Although tri-color skin data is prevalent, it does not provide adequate information for explaining skin color or for discriminating between human skin and dyes designed to mimic human skin color. A better understanding of skin reflectance can be achieved through spectrographic analysis. Previous work in this field has largely been undertaken in the medical domain and focuses on the detection of pathology. Our work concentrates on the impact of skin reflectance on the image formation process. In our radiometric facility we measure the light reflected from the skin using a high resolution, high accuracy spectrograph under precisely calibrated illumination conditions. This paper presents observations from the first body of data gathered at this facility. From the measurements collected thus far, we have observed population-independent factors of skin reflectance. We show how these factors can be exploited in skin recognition. Finally, we provide a biological explanation for the existence of a distinguishing pattern in human skin reflectance.© (2001) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Traversal caches: a first step towards FPGA acceleration of pointer-based data structures

Field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) often achieve order of magnitude speedups compared to microprocessors, but typically have been unable to improve the performance of applications with irregular memory access patterns, such as traversals of pointer-based data structures. Due to the common use of these data structures, the applicability and widespread success of FPGAs has been limited. In this paper, we introduce the traversal cache framework - a first step towards improving the performance of FPGA applications that utilize pointer-based data structures. The traversal cache is a local FPGA memory that stores repeated traversals of pointer-based data structures, allowing for these traversals to be efficiently streamed into the FPGA. Although the cache is generally limited to improving applications that exhibit repeated traversals, we show that many applications in fact have this characteristic. Furthermore, we show that few repetitions are needed to achieve performance improvements. We present experimental results showing that FPGA implementations using the traversal cache framework achieve speedups ranging from 7x to 29x compared to pointer-based software on a 3.2 GHz Xeon.
Integrated PiezoMEMS actuators and sensors

The ability to combine both actuation and sensing technologies into one unified MEMS fabrication process is enabling for a wide variety of applications including high frequency filters, transformers and mm-scale robotics. This research demonstrates piezoelectric MEMS (PiezoMEMS) devices based on lead zirconate titanate (PZT) thin films including switchable resonators, transformers, and microflight actuators with integrated strain sensors. PiezoMEMS resonators and transformers combine actuation and sensing on a single device platform. Current research on PZT based resonators is focused on optimizing the performance for both high quality factor, Q, and low motional resistance. Resonators in the low tens of MHz can also be utilized as piezoelectric resonant transformers and are predicted to achieve AC/DC gains in the range of 2 to 8. In addition, strain sensors positioned at the cantilever root of PiezoMEMS microflight actuators provide direct feedback of the motional response of the actuated wing.
Ground penetrating radar (GPR) studies at the ElectroScience Laboratory (ESL)

There are a number of factors to be considered in making many GPR measurements. These include (a) electronic hardware (b) antenna systems (c) electromagnetic properties of the ground (d) target identification arid remote sensing concepts and (e) use of numerical simulations. The purpose of this paper is to review the contributions made at the ESL for these factors and to discuss future potential advances in the state of the art.
Electron-impact excitation of Ar$^{2+}$

Context. Emission from Ar III is seen in planetary nebulae, in H II regions, and from laboratory plasmas. The analysis of such spectra requires accurate electron impact excitation data.Aims. The aim of this work is to improve the electron impact excitation data available for Ar2+ , for application in studies of planetary nebulae and laboratory plasma spectra. The effects of the new data on diagnostic line ratios are also studied.Methods. Electron-impact excitation collision strengths have been calculated using the R -Matrix Intermediate-Coupling Frame-Transformation method and the R -Matrix Breit-Pauli method. Excitation cross sections are calculated between all levels of the configurations 3s2 3p4 , 3s3p5 , 3p6 , 3p5 3d, and 3s2 3p3 nl (3d ≤ nl ≤ 5s). Maxwellian effective collision strengths are generated from the collision strength data.Results. Good agreement is found in the collision strengths calculated using the two R -Matrix methods. The collision strengths are compared with literature values for transitions within the 3s2 3p4 configuration. The new data has a small effect on T e values obtained from the I (λ 7135 A+ λ 7751 A)/ I (λ 5192 A) line ratio, and a larger effect on the N e values obtained from the I (λ 7135 A)/I (λ 9 μ m) line ratio. The final effective collision strength data is archived online.
“Deñuy jàngal seen bopp” (They Teach Themselves): Children’s Music Learning in The Gambia

The author investigated the teaching and learning processes among children in a suburban community of The Gambia, West Africa. Participants included children and adults in the community (N = 101). The researcher used ethnographic techniques of participant and nonparticipant observation, interviews, and song and chant collection. Data consisted of field notes from observations of play and adult-centered musical events, interviews with children and adults, and transcripts of video and audio recordings. On the basis of the data, the researcher identified a music learning process consisting of listening, observing, doing, and combinations of the three. Children seemed to “teach themselves” and one another in many instances; interpretation of data suggested that this was facilitated by three factors: a rich musical environment, expectation to be musical, and motivation to learn. Possibilities for transfer of these three factors to elementary general music classrooms are suggested.
Arc-length compression

Summary form only given. A novel method for lossy compression of the two-dimensional curves is introduced based on the arc-length parameterization. This method has a number of advantages: it is progressive, converges uniformly, and requires the number of the bits proportional to the total arc-length of the curve. The method is applied to the compression of the handwritten letters and scanlines of the natural images.
Fast image mosaicking using optical flow

This Paper presents a method of mosaicking a series of unidirectional 2-D motional images independent of type of motion in Single Plane i.e. planar or circular in nature, assuming a unidirectional displacement is occurring with each frame. The resultant image after mosaicking can be a color image even though major computation is done on gray scale images and thus making the mosaicking faster and output more aesthetic.
Diagenetic aluminum uptake into diatom frustules and the preservation of diatom-bound organic nitrogen

Abstract The chemistry and isotopic composition of siliceous diatom frustules and the organic matter bound within them have been used to reconstruct past changes in the environment. However, the alteration of biogenic silica in the sediments and its influence on the chemical properties of the diatom opal and diatom-bound organic matter has not been broadly studied. We use inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectrometry and energy dispersive X-ray analysis to investigate the concentrations of various cations, especially aluminum, in cleaned diatom frustules extracted from sediments at three sites from the Bering Sea, where the opal content in the sediments and preservation conditions vary both spatially and over the last glacial cycle. Relative to cultured diatoms, cleaned diatom frustules from the sediments are found to have a high Al/Si ratio, most likely by homogenous Al incorporation but possibly also by formation of an aluminosilicate coating of significant thickness relative to the diatom walls. Variations in the Al/Si ratio of the cleaned diatoms among samples are strongly correlated with the aluminosilicate to opal ratio of the bulk sediment, suggesting that sedimentary clays are the primary source of the aluminum taken up by the diatoms. The aluminum and nitrogen contents of the diatom frustules are negatively correlated, which is best explained by the loss of intrinsic N during the chemical changes associated with Al incorporation. The lack of a consistent relationship between nitrogen isotopic composition and the aluminum content of the cleaned opal suggests that the diagenetic organic N loss does not fractionate N isotopes, which is as expected given that this loss process relates to the geochemistry of the opal, not the organic matter. Our findings help to explain the previous observations that opal from clay-rich sediments (1) requires harsher chemical cleaning to remove diagenetic N and (2) has diatom-native N that is better protected from alteration by excessively harsh chemical cleaning. The diagenetic alteration of the opal may have led to partial protection of the external N from the surrounding sediments. At the same time, the diatom frustules have been chemically ‘hardened’ by the diagenesis associated with Al uptake, reducing the chemical accessibility of the diatom-native N that remains.
Tree recruitment and survival in rivers: influence of hydrological processes.

The findings of a 14-year study of tree reproduction and survival in the Platte River, Nebraska, are presented. The study was initiated in 1985 to determine the causes and remedies of woodland expansion and channel narrowing, which have reduced potential roosting habitat for migratory avifauna such as the whooping crane and sandhill crane. A total of 296 relocatable sites, constituting some 600 plots with Populus and Salix seedlings, was selected and sampled within two reaches near Shelton and Odessa, Nebraska. The fate of some 37 000 tree seedlings was monitored within the plot network. Tree recruitment is controlled largely by stream flow in June. Populus and Salix produce large numbers of seedlings in the river bed in most years, indicating the potential for high rates of woodland expansion. On average, in only 1 year in 7 is stream flow in June high enough to preclude Populus and Salix recruitment. Seedling mortality is dominated by two environmental factors: summer stream flow pulses from thunderstorms, which erode or bury new germinants, and river bed restructuring by moving ice in winter. A third factor, seedling mortality by desiccation during summer droughts, does occur but at a low frequency. Plots of seedlings had extremely low survival rates over the course of the study. Forty-two per cent of the plots lost all seedlings by the first remeasurement (July to September), 36% by the second measurement (May), and 10% by the third remeasurement (July). Thus nearly 90% of the plots had lost all tree seedlings by the end of the first year. These results explain why the Platte River has come into dynamic equilibrium with respect to the balance between active channel and woodland area. Low rates of new woodland expansion are counterbalanced by erosion of established woodland. The demographic approach to studying ecohydrology can be adapted to monitor the effectiveness of prescribed flows as insurance against future narrowing. Flows prescribed at key times to raise seedling mortality rates are recommended to maintain or widen channels, rather than mechanical clearing of established woodland. Copyright © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Smoke-free laws and adult smoking prevalence.

Abstract Objective To evaluate whether the adult smoking rate changed in Lexington-Fayette County, Kentucky, following the enactment of a smoke-free public places ordinance. Methods Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2001–2005 were used to test whether smoking rates changed in Fayette County from the pre- to post-law period, relative to the change in 30 Kentucky counties with similar demographics. The sample consisted of 10,413 BRFSS respondents: 7139 pre-law (40 months) and 3274 post-law (20 months). Results There was a 31.9% decline in adult smoking in Fayette County (25.7% pre-law to 17.5% post-law). In the group of 30 Control counties, the rate was 28.4% pre-law and 27.6% post-law. Controlling for seasonality, time trend, age, gender, ethnicity, education, marital status, and income, there was a significant Time (pre- vs. post-law) by Group (Fayette vs. Controls) interaction. There were an estimated 16,500 fewer smokers in Fayette County during post-law compared to pre-law. Conclusion There was a significant effect of smoke-free legislation on adult smoking rates.
HEMODILUTION AND BLOOD SUBSTITUTES

The primary consequence of the substitution or replacement of blood with a surrogate is the dilution of the original constituents. This hemodilution produces systemic and microvascular phenomena that underlie all forms of blood replacement and provides a physiological reference for comparison for blood substitutes. The basic features of hemodilution become evident when the procedure is carried out in isovolemic and isoocotic conditions where blood viscosity and oxygen carrying capacity are changed. Blood viscosity is decreased, which redistributes macro and microcirculatory blood pressure increasing the arterio/venular pressure difference and central venous pressure, which improves cardiac filling and cardiac output and therefore blood flow velocity. These effects coupled to the oxygen carried by the diluted blood maintains the rate of oxygen delivery to the microcirculation up to hematocrit reductions of one third. The increased flow velocity counteracts the diffusive losses of oxygen from the microvesse...
The combined percentage of gleason patterns 4 and 5 is the best predictor of cancer progression after radical prostatectomy

Purpose Clinical outcome is variable in prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy. The Gleason histologic grade of prostatic adenocarcinoma is one of the strongest predictors of biologic aggressiveness of prostate cancer. We evaluated the significance of the relative proportion of high-grade cancer (Gleason patterns 4 and/or 5) in predicting cancer progression in prostate cancer patients treated with radical prostatectomy. Patients and Methods Radical prostatectomy specimens from 364 consecutive prostate cancer patients were totally embedded and whole mounted. Various clinical and pathologic characteristics were analyzed. All pathologic data, including Gleason grading variables, were collected prospectively. Results A multiple-factor analysis was performed that included the combined percentage of Gleason patterns 4 and 5, Gleason score, tumor stage, surgical margin status, preoperative prostate-specific antigen (PSA), extraprostatic extension, and total tumor volume. Using Cox regression...
Modeling combined collisional/collisionless plasma interpenetration

This paper describes one technique by which multifluid modeling capability can be achieved within the context of a Lagrangean single-fluid model. This technique is applied to the interpenetration of laser-produced, substantially collisionless plasmas. A single-fluid model by itself cannot simulate the interpenetration of a collisionless plasma correctly, but must be augmented with some other tool. One tool that can calculate collisionless plasma interpenetration correctly is ISIS, a particle code for plasma simulations which includes appropriate collision models. However, ISIS does not have the necessary physics to do the laser deposition, the atomic physics, the radiation transport, and does not possess a realistic electron temperature model. With appropriate integration of the single-fluid code and ISIS, a new capability is achieved which allows simulation of the colliding plasma problem, a problem that neither code can properly simulate individually.
Counterlines: a duet for piano and pen display

This paper describes three introductory studies for an intermedia performance Counterlines - a duet for Disklavier and Wacom Cintiq, in which both performers generate audiovisual materials that relate to each other contrapuntally. In the described studies the pianist generates graphic lines while playing music and the graphic performer generates piano lines by drawing. To reinforce the clarity of relationships between visual contours all graphic elements are projected on a single screen. The paper discusses our approach to audio-visual interfacing and intermedia composition.
A software re-engineering method using domain models

Current software reengineering technology is typically based on program analysis methods such as parsing and data flow analysis. This is inadequate for two reasons. First, such methods inherently fail to capture the context or purpose of the program. Second, the results of the program comprehension are not directly usable in program evolution. We introduce a method that addresses both of these problems. We use a domain model to understand the context of a program and an object oriented framework to record that understanding. The main step of this method consists of the construction of an executable domain model whose scope covers a family of target programs. A program is then reverse engineered using the domain model both as a guide and as a recording medium. In the last step, developers reengineer the target artifact using its abstract domain driven representation. We present a thorough example to illustrate this approach. Issues raised by the confluence of domain analysis and representation, reverse engineering, and artifact evolution are discussed. Implications on future work in the area are suggested.
Ionospheric Modification by High Power Radio Waves

The first published observation of the phenomenon of modification of the terrestrial ionosphere by high power radio waves was made by Butt (1933), who observed that the transmission from Radio Paris was superimposed on the signal transmitted by Radio Luxembourg. The most often quoted reference in the literature, however, is that reported by Tellegin (1933), who reported the reception at Eindoven, Holland, of the program from Radio Luxembourg (the “unwanted signal,” p = 200kW, f = 250 kHz) on top of the “wanted” signal-Radio Beromiinster — at 650 kHz. Tellegin correctly interpreted this observation as the interaction of the two signals in the ionosphere.
Blood B Cell and Regulatory Subset Content in Multiple Sclerosis Patients

Objective: B cell targeted therapies have been effective in slowing multiple sclerosis (MS) disease progression suggesting a direct causal link for this lymphoid subset. A small subset of B cells with regulative properties (Bregs) exists in peripheral blood, and induction of Bregs ameliorates experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (EAE), the murine model for MS. Therefore the frequency of B cell subsets and regulatory B cells in particular in peripheral blood of MS patients is of interest. Methods: The phenotype and frequency of B cell subsets in peripheral blood from 32 MS patients and 34 healthy controls (HC) were examined using flow cytometry. Results: We found that there is an increase in CD19+ cell number in MS 1347 ± 159 cells/μL, (average ± SEM) compared to HC, 935 ± 129 cells/μL and no apparent deficiency in B-cells with a regulatory phenotype. In addition, we observed a loss of correlation between CD19+ B cells and total lymphocyte count in MS. Conclusion: These findings suggest altered blood B-cell homeostasis in MS patients.
Classification and development of shallow soils (<50cm) in the USA

Abstract In Soil Taxonomy , soils in lithic subgroups have hard rock within 50 cm of the surface. An examination of the digital databases of the USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service revealed that soils in lithic subgroups occur in 10 soil orders (excludes Oxisols and Gelisols, for which there were insufficient data) and can be ranked by area: Mollisols > Aridisols, Entisols, Inceptisols > Spodosols, Alfisols > Histosols, Ultisols, Andisols ≫ Vertisols. This ranking is comparable to the overall ranking of these 10 orders in the USA, except that Aridisols and Mollisols are over-represented while Alfisols and Ultisols are under-represented in lithic subgroups. Seven soil great groups account for nearly two-thirds (65%) of the soils: Calciustolls, Torriorthents, Dystrudepts, Haplargids, Haplocalcids, Haplustolls, and Argixerolls. For mineral soils, the minimum and maximum average depths to bedrock were 23 and 47 cm, respectively. Although 47% of the soil series had either a cambic horizon or no diagnostic subsurface horizon, 26% had a calcic horizon, 21% an argillic horizon, and 5% a spodic horizon. Nearly two-thirds (63%) of the soils on an area basis are skeletal, i.e., contain > 35% coarse fragments. More than one-quarter (26%) of the soil series have “no competing series,” meaning that they can be considered endemic to the region. Pedogenic processes in lithic soils appear to be analogous to those in soils derived from deeper unconsolidated materials, with the dominant processes being humification, calcification, argilluviation, cambisolization, and podzolization. There is abundant evidence that lithic soils are as developed—if not more developed—than nearby soils derived from deeper unconsolidated sediments. Lithic soils may be important reservoirs of SOC, clays, carbonates, and dust. In that lithic soils are often in upslope or at higher elevations, they play an integral role in landscape evolution.
Push-based system for molecular simulation data analysis

Many scientific fields generate, and require manipulation of big data. Known scientific data analysis systems, as well as traditional DBMSs, follow a pull-based architectural design, where the executed queries mandate the data needed. This design, while suitable for traditional transaction-based workloads where number of queries retrieve small parts of data located at various places of the database, is ill-fitted for applications involving complex analysis on most of the data. Such design involves redundant and random I/O, considerably affecting the data throughput in the system. In this paper, we design and implement a push-based type system that allows high-throughput data analysis in the process of scientific discovery. Our design improves throughput in two ways: i) it uses a sequential scan-based I/O framework that loads the data into the main memory, and then ii) the system pushes the loaded data to a number of pre-programmed queries. By this way the system lowers the unnecessary I/O overhead imposed by the randomized, index-based scan and that of a multiple data reads if each query were to be fed separately. Considering the amount of data and the number of executed queries, we believe our system provides substantial improvement over the current data analyzing systems. The efficiency of the proposed system is backed by the results of extensive experiments using real MS data. The running times of our system are compared to those of the GROMACS system. The comparison shows the advantage and the potential of using such push-based system for data system analysis.
Authors' reply to Minisola and colleagues, Kausar, and Sharvill.

We appreciate Minisola and colleagues’ comments and confirm that bisphosphonates may be considered in patients with monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance, which affects bone health.1 2 An oral solution of alendronate sodium is available in the US in a 70 mg/75 mL formulation. We were unaware of the alendronic acid solution 70 mg/100 mL available in the UK. We could find no comparisons of the tolerability of these products with other oral bisphosphonate formulations but note the high prevalence of baseline gastrointestinal problems in those who might be prescribed bisphosphonates.3 We wrote “Before starting bisphosphonates it is necessary to assess for and correct hypocalcemia and vitamin D deficiency” with Bertoldo and colleagues’ data in mind but appreciate the additional attention Minisola and colleagues bring to this matter.4 These respondents allude to “treatment failure” and …
Investigating a method for reducing residual switch costs in cued task switching

Residual switch costs in cued task switching are performance decrements that occur despite a long cue-target interval (CTI) to prepare for a task switch. Verbruggen, Liefooghe, Vandierendonck, and Demanet (Journal of Experimental Psychology: Learning, Memory, and Cognition, 33; 342-356, 2007) showed that briefly presenting the cue during the CTI and leaving it absent after target onset yielded smaller residual switch costs than those obtained when the cue was available for the full CTI and remained present after target onset. The potential effects of cue availability during the CTI (full or partial) and cue status after target onset (present or absent) on residual switch costs were investigated in the present study. In Experiments 1 and 2, cue status was manipulated while holding cue availability constant. In Experiments 3 and 4, cue status and cue availability were manipulated factorially. Residual switch costs were obtained, but they were not modulated consistently by cue status or cue availability across experiments. In Experiment 5, a direct replication of one of Verbruggen and colleagues' experiments yielded divergent results. Implications for understanding task switching are discussed.
Epidemiology of peripheral arterial disease in women.

BACKGROUND: Peripheral arterial disease is a common disease, which increases with age and presence of vascular risk factors. The extended longevity in industrialized nations coupled with the expanding elderly female population is predicted to lead to an increase in the prevalence of this condi-tion. Little attention has been focussed on gender differences in peripheral arterial disease, or its epi-demiology in women.METHODS: MEDLINE search of English-language reports published between 1966 and 2002 and search of references of relevant papers.RESULTS: Across various populations of women with different ages and risk factor levels, the preva-lence of peripheral arterial disease ranged between 3% and 29%. Diagnosis in women using a sensi-tive and specific non-invasive test, the ankle-brachial index, detects about 3-5 times the cases than those diagnosed by history of intermittent claudication alone. Contrary to earlier beliefs, prevalence of peripheral arterial disease is similar in women and men, and women may have more asymptomatic dis-ease. Importantly, women with peripheral arterial disease have 2-4 fold increases in cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Risk factors for peripheral arterial disease appear to be similar in men and women, however relative risks vary somewhat.CONCLUSIONS: Performing non-invasive testing (e.g. ankle-brachial index) can better diagnose peripheral arterial disease in women than history alone. These women share risk factors with other vas-cular diseases (coronary and cerebrovascular disease) and should undergo risk factor modification to reduce their cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. More research is needed including aggressive risk factor management in women with asymptomatic peripheral arterial disease.J Epidemiol 2003;13:1-14.
CHANGES OF CYTOPLASMIC FACTORS DURING THE EVOLUTION OF THE CULTIVATED POTATO.

Two proposals have been made concerning the origin of the tetraploid cultivated potato, Solanum tuberosum Group Tuberosum Dodds. Hawkes (1956, 1967) suggested that the primitive cultivated diploid S. tuberosum Group Stenotomum Dodds gave rise, following doubling of chromosome number, to cultivated S. tuberosum Group Andigena Dodds in fields at high altitudes in the Andes of Bolivia or Peru. Subsequent human selection among Group Andigena biotypes in South America and Europe was felt to have given rise to the Group Tuberosum cultivated potato. The alternative suggestion of Briicher (1964) was that S. vernei Bitt. et Wittm., a wild diploid weedy species of northwestern Argentina, gave rise to Group Andigena forms following autoploidy, human selection again leading to Group Tuberosum. On grounds of morphology the two proposals both appear to be plausible. Earlier studies (Koopmans, 1954, 1955; Buck, 1960; Grun et al., 1962; Grun and Aubertin, 1965, 1966; De la Puente and Peloquin, 1968) demonstrated that changes of factors that condition cytoplasmic male sterility have played an active role in evolution of Solanum. The present study is an attempt to determine, by study of reciprocal F1 hybrids, the degree to which cytoplasmic factors and cytoplasm-sensitive genes of the cultivated potato resemble those of the putative diploid progenitors.
From foster care to college: barriers and supports on the road to postsecondary education

The purpose of this phenomenological study was to explain and describe the perceptions of college-going, emerging adults who grew up in foster care (FC) regarding educational factors related to their journey to college. Thematic analysis of the narratives of 24 ethnically-diverse participants revealed academic barriers and academic supports unique to their status as young adults who lived in FC. The study introduces the Foster Youth Academic Achievement Model, a framework to help contextualize themes related to factors that serve as barriers and supports for this vulnerable yet resilient group.
Comprehensive Scaling Analysis of Current Induced Switching in Magnetic Memories Based on In-Plane and Perpendicular Anisotropies

Spin transfer torque based magnetic memories (STT-MRAMs) are leading contender for the replacement of SRAM caches. However, STT-MRAMs suffer from high write current, read/write stability conflicts and other failure mechanisms. In this paper, we present a comprehensive scaling analysis for STT-MRAMs based on in-plane and perpendicular anisotropy magnets in context to different failure mechanisms. Write failures are taken into consideration by the write current, read disturb failures by the critical current and read decision failure by the tunnel magneto-resistance scaling trends. Bit-cells comprising three different device structures—the conventional magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs), the dual pillar MTJs (DP-MTJs) and the spin-orbit-torque based MTJs (SOT-MTJs) are investigated. We analyze the robustness of the aforementioned devices within the voltage constraints specified by ITRS. We also report predictive analysis results with futuristic material parameters. Through a coupled simulation framework consisting of spin transport and magnetization dynamics, we show that conventional MTJs would require higher voltages at scaled technology nodes. DP-MTJs, within ITRS voltage specifications, show better scalability (with $\sim 2.3\times$ larger bit-cell area). SOT-MTJs provide attractive power savings ( $\sim 3.4\times$ improvement) at a $\sim 1.3\times$ larger bit-cell area. Furthermore, our analysis indicates that among various possible improved material parameters, high interface perpendicular anisotropy shows the most promising way of achieving scalable memory cells at assumed ITRS voltages.
Fall and Spring Oviposition of the Alfalfa Weevil and the Proper Timing of Fall Insecticide Applications

The amount of fall oviposition of the alfalfa weevil, Hypera postica (Gyllenhal), in alfalfa fields in New York and the relative importance of fall-laid and overwintering eggs as compared with spring-laid eggs were investigated over a 2-year period. These data were used to determine the proper timing of fall insecticide applications for the most effective control. The percentage of successfully overwintering eggs was found to vary according to field location, snow cover, severity of winter, and alfalfa conditions. Early-spring larval populations were found to be significantly correlated with the number of eggs per stem collected during the previous winter. There was no correlation between December-collected eggs and the number of larvae sampled during late spring. Late-fall applications were perhaps most effective either because they controlled the fall population of adults that might have resumed position in the spring, or because the residues were still sufficient in the spring to reduce the adults and larvae that were active then.
Progress on Post-translational Modifi cation of Proteins

Although protein expression is regulated through genetics and epi-genetics, its function is determined by many factors, of which post-translational modifi cation(PTM) is particularly important. Protein modifi cations are precisely regulated through a variety of modifi ers and de-modifi ers, most of which are yet to be defi ned. Most physiological or pathological processes are usually regulated through typical but complex and dynamic PTM patterns and networks. Reasonably, proteome of PTM is more precise to describe the physiological or pathological processes of cells at the molecular level to clarify protein functions and easy to fi nd out biomarkers and molecule targets for disease diagnosis and drug development. Here we reviewed some common types of modifi cations of proteins and methods in PTM research.
Histogram-Based Method for Effective Initialization of the K-Means Clustering Algorithm

K-means is undoubtedly the most widely used partitional clustering algorithm. Unfortunately, this algorithm is highly sensitive to the initial selection of the cluster centers. Numerous initialization methods have been proposed to address this drawback. Many of these methods, however, have superlinear complexity in the number of data points, which makes them impractical for large data sets. On the other hand, linear methods are often random and/or sensitive to the order in which the data points are processed. These methods are generally unreliable in that the quality of their results is unpredictable. In this paper, we propose a linear, deterministic, and order-invariant initialization method based on multidimensional histograms. Experiments on a diverse collection of data sets from the UCI Machine Learning Repository demonstrate the superiority of our method over the well-known maximin method.
Border settlement and the movement toward and from negative peace

How does border settlement—that is, the management of salient territorial conflict—affect the prospects for negative peace? Using recently released data on dyadic interstate relationships during th...
Kinetics and mechanisms of hydrothermal organic reactions

Publisher Summary The organic compounds dissolved in natural waters primarily originate from the decay of vegetation and animal material, as well as from geothermal sources. The amount of these organic substances broadly depends on the source of the water. As a class, organic substances in natural waters are commonly referred to in terms of the dissolved organic carbon (DOC) based on a chemical analysis. The dissolved organic compounds may become chemically active during the power cycle. This chapter focuses on the reactions of the dissolved organic compounds. Typically, less than 25% of the DOC is in the form of well-characterized compounds. The majority of the DOC is in the form of humic substances, which include the subcategories of humic acid, fulvic acid, and hydrophilic acids. One method of subdividing DOC according to humic, fulvic, and hydrophilic acids is by the method of isolation. Batch and flow reactor methods followed by post-reaction analysis of the products are widely used to study hydrothermal reactions. Three levels of detail can be identified to describe the kinetics of reactions: the mechanistic level, the pathway level, and the global or lumped level. The chapter describes the experimental methods to study hydrothermal reactions. Vibrational spectroscopy (infrared and Raman), nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR), and time resolved UV–Vis spectroscopy provide the greatest opportunity to obtain the kinetics and mechanisms of organic reactions. X-ray absorption fine structure (XAFS) and UV–Vis spectroscopy, and vibrational spectroscopy, are suited for the study of pairing of organic and inorganic ions.