cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Lateral Neck Radiography in Preoperative Evaluation of Adenoid Hypertrophy

Objective:To assess the value of lateral neck radiographs in quantifying adenoid hypertrophy to help guide treatment decisions in patients with symptoms of nasal obstruction.Study Design:Retrospect...
Workers wanted: Changing employee accessibility with industrial development ─ Evidence from Foxconn

Abstract In response to the trends of manufacturing revitalization and workforce shortage in the U.S., this study investigates how Foxconn changes accessibility to industrial employees by automobile and by transit in Southeast Wisconsin. Results suggest that there is a mismatch between the Foxconn site and the areas with high accessibility to industrial employees. With a great demand for labor, Foxconn reduces employee accessibility by automobile throughout the region, while its impact on employee accessibility by transit is more localized. The results inform industrial firm locations, workforce housing development, and transportation service provisions. The analysis framework shifts the angle of accessibility research to focusing on the perspective of employers, and it can be applied to investigate future large-scale economic development projects.
Past-Year Violence Victimization is Associated with Viral Load Failure Among HIV-Positive Adolescents and Young Adults

We examined the relationship between past-year violence victimization and viral load (VL) failure among consecutively-sampled male and female adolescents and young adults, aged 15–24, in four HIV clinics in Ndola, Zambia. Measures of past-year physical violence, psychological abuse, and forced sex were adapted from the ICAST-C and WHO Multi-Country Study. Using logistic regression, we derived associations between VL failure (≥ 1000 copies/mL) and: any victimization; cumulative victimization; and types and perpetrators of violence. Among 272 youth (59.2% female, 72.8% perinatally infected), 73.5% (n = 200) experienced past-year violence and 36.8% (n = 100) had VL failure. Higher odds of VL failure were observed for participants who reported high frequency of any violence versus no violence victimization (adjusted OR, aOR: 3.58; 95% CI 1.14–11.27), high frequency of psychological abuse versus no psychological abuse (aOR: 3.32; 95% CI 1.26–8.70), any versus no violence from a family member other than a parent/caregiver for physical violence (aOR: 2.18, 95% CI 1.05–4.54) and psychological abuse (aOR: 2.50; 95% CI 1.37–4.54), and any versus no physical violence from a friend/peer (aOR: 2.14, 95% CI 1.05–4.36). Past-year violence victimization was associated with VL failure when considering the frequency, type, and perpetrator of violence. Programs addressing violence among youth living with HIV may be critical to improving viral suppression and preventing onward transmission.
Adhesion Between MXenes and Other 2D Materials.

MXenes, a large family of two-dimensional (2D) early transition metal carbides and nitrides, have excellent electrical and electrochemical properties, which can also be explored in assemblies with ...
Conceptualization of college students' COVID-19 related mask-wearing behaviors using the Multi-Theory Model of health behavior change

Background: Recommendations and policies, regarding the use of face coverings, have been instituted to control transmission of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Understanding of psychosocial factors related to the use of face coverings within the context of COVID-19 is needed. This study aimed to conceptualize mask-wearing behavior among students using the Multi-theory Model (MTM) of behavior change. Methods: In October 2020, students (n = 595) enrolled in a large public southeastern US university were recruited to participate in a cross-sectional survey, using a valid and reliable instrument. Univariate, bivariate, and multivariate techniques described mask-wearing behavior and differentiated theoretical drivers of mask-wearing between individuals compliant and non-compliant with guidelines. Results: Compliant individuals reported significantly higher scores (P <0.05) for initiation and sustenance of mask-wearing, participatory dialogue, behavioral confidence, emotional transformation, practice for change, changes in the social environment, and significantly lower scores for disadvantage. Among multivariable models, all theoretical predictors exhibited significant relationships to their respective outcomes (initiation and sustenance). Specifically, MTM constructs explained approximately 35% of variance in initiation (R2 = 0.346, F(3,526) = 94.32, P <0.001) and 33% of variance in sustenance of mask wearing (R2 = 0.328, F(3,529) = 87.71, P <0.001) for compliant individuals. Behavioral confidence and emotional transformation exhibited the strongest relationships to initiation (s = 0.403, P <0.001) and sustenance (s = 0.450, P <0.001), respectively. Conclusion: Findings suggest a need to design educational programming based on the MTM to promote mask-wearing behavior among laggards who defy face mask guidelines, recommendations, and mandates.
Let the CAT out of the bag: Contrastive Attributed explanations for Text

Contrastive explanations for understanding the behavior of black box models has gained a lot of attention recently as they provide potential for recourse. In this paper, we propose a method Contrastive Attributed explanations for Text (CAT) which provides contrastive explanations for natural language text data with a novel twist as we build and exploit attribute classifiers leading to more semantically meaningful explanations. To ensure that our contrastive generated text has the fewest possible edits with respect to the original text, while also being fluent and close to a human generated contrastive, we resort to a minimal perturbation approach regularized using a BERT language model and attribute classifiers trained on available attributes. We show through qualitative examples and a user study that our method not only conveys more insight because of these attributes, but also leads to better quality (contrastive) text. Moreover, quantitatively we show that our method is more efficient than other state-of-the-art methods with it also scoring higher on benchmark metrics such as flip rate, (normalized) Levenstein distance, fluency and content preservation.
Support for a tropical lidar in Latin America

The vertical profile of stratospheric aerosols is a crucial parameter to monitor the effects of volcanic eruptions on climate. These effects include climate change and ozone depletion. Satellites provide the best instruments for producing global coverage for these profiles, but existing and planned satellite missions all have limitations. Ground-based lidar observations are needed for calibration and validation of satellite observations, as well as for filling the gaps when satellite observations are not available.
Workload Modeling and its Implications on Data-Center-on-a-Chip Optimization: From Mathematical Models to Control Algorithms

The design and optimization of data-centers-on-a-chip (DCoC) requires accurate mathematical modeling of the workloads. We describe a statistical physics-inspired formalism that allows both the derivation of state space representation of the network and the dynamic optimization.
Partial Differential Equations for Probabilists

1. Kolmogorov's forward, basic results 2. Non-elliptic regularity results 3. Preliminary elliptic regularity results 4. Nash theory 5. Localization 6. On a manifold 7. Subelliptic estimates and Hormander's theorem.
Interstellar Dust — Evidence from Interplanetar Dust Particles

Interplanetary dust particles (IDPs) collected from the stratosphere are derived from asteroids and comets. The chondritic porous (CP) subset of IDPs, some of which are almost certainly cometary, are physically, chemically, and isotopically primitive objects. Large D/H and 15N isotopic anomalies provide evidence for survival of presolar interstellar components. Embedded silicate grains exhibit both crystallographic and trace element evidence of formation by (nebular) gas phase condensation. The fine-grained matrices of CP IDPs contain GEMS, submicrometer spheroids whose exotic properties resemble those of interstellar “amorphous silicate” grains which are ubiquitous throughout interstellar space. Some GEMS are embedded in isotopically non-solar carbonaceous matrix (with 15N ∼ 25 – 40%) (Messenger et al., 1996), providing a further hint of their presolar origins. It is possible, but as yet unproven, that some CP IDPs are composed exclusively of aggregates of inters tellar and circumstellar dust grains, and that they carry a detailed record of fundamental grain formation and destruction processes in space.
Entrepreneurship and Multinationals: Global Business and the Making of the Modern World by Geoffrey Jones

The book provides a diverse, interesting, and rich discussion about the role of global firms in making the modern world. The author offers a set of multiple perspectives on interpreting the effects...
An Interactive Approach to Designing Planar Parallel Manipulators Using Image Space Representation

Structure equations of mechanisms are well-known to give rise to algebraic constraint manifolds that describe the space of poses available to a certain link (usually, end-effector or coupler) of open chains or mechanisms. In this paper, by using planar quaternion representation for planar displacements, we obtain constraint manifold of such manipulators and show that the task of dimensional synthesis of a planar parallel manipulator (PPM) is reduced to simple geometric manipulation of the manifold in the Image Space. Earlier, this approach has been shown to work for planar 6R closed chain mechanisms as well as for RRR- and RPR-type leg topologies of a PPM. Here, we complete the extension to other five leg topologies and provide a developer version software tool for dimensional synthesis of a PPM.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Destination: inner nuclear membrane

The inner nuclear membrane (INM) of eukaryotic cells is enriched in proteins that are required for nuclear structure, chromosome organization, DNA repair, and transcriptional control. Mislocalization of INM proteins is observed in a wide spectrum of human diseases; however, the mechanism by which INM proteins reach their final destination is poorly understood. In this review we discuss how investigating INM composition, dissecting targeting pathways of conserved INM proteins in multiple systems and analyzing the nuclear transport of viruses and signaling complexes have broadened our knowledge of INM transport to include both nuclear pore complex-dependent and -independent pathways. The study of these INM targeting pathways is important to understanding nuclear organization and in both normal and diseased cells.
Early stages of oxidation of Fe25Cr and Fe25Cr6Al alloys in H2/H2O/H2S atmospheres at 700 °C

Abstract Fe25wt.%Cr and Fe25wt.%Cr6wt.%Al alloys, which are, respectively, chromia and alumina formers in oxidizing atmospheres, have been exposed to H 2 /H 2 O/H 2 S atmospheres at 700 °C. The sulphur partial pressure was set at about 1.2 × 10 −8 atm and the oxygen partial pressures were in the range from 10 −26 to 10 −20 atm in the thermodynamic stability domains of Al 2 O 3 , Cr 2 O 3 and FeS. Transmission electron microscopy coupled with energy dispersive spectroscopy as well as Auger spectrometry have been used to characterize the scales obtained after short exposure times. In both alloys, the growth of chromium sulphide nodules on the left-hand side of the kinetic boundary causes rapid degradation. The kinetic boundary itself is shifted to a higher p H 2 O -to-p H 2 S ratio for alloy. The Cr 2 O 3 scale formed on the Cr 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 scale formed on the Fe25Cr6Al Fe25Cr alloy is less protective than the mixed Cr 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 scale formed on the Fe25Cr6Al alloy. In the case of the Fe25Cr alloy, it is not possible to grow a pure Cr 2 O 3 scale at 700 °C. A variety of extra phases, which are dispersed through the Cr 2 O 3 scale, are believed to constitute easy diffusion paths for inward diffusion of sulphur leading to sulphide formation at the alloy-scale interface and the subsequent breakdown of protection. In the case of the Fe25Cr6Al alloy, the Cr 2 O 3 /Al 2 O 3 scale is more protective as a result of the underlying Al 2 O 3 layer which is relatively free of extra phases.
Applications of Geodesy to Geodynamics: 4. Horizontal Crustal Movements (Terrestrial Techniques)

Several horizontal control surveys, which have been made to support engineering activities, can be used for crustal movement studies. These might be called ‘Surveys of Opportunity.’ An example is the horizontal control network of Los Angeles County. The time span is more than 50 yr with many repeated surveys, including an extensive resurvey after the San Fernando earthquake of 1971. R. J. Mitchell, L.A. County Engineer, in charge of the survey activities, has recommended an overall resurvey before it is incorporated into the new North American 1983 Datum.
Household Production of Food: Expenditures, Norms, And Satisfaction

Pearson product moment correlations and multiple regression were used in this study to analyze the relationship between household production of food and the level of food expenditures; a household's assessment of the quantity and variety of food consumed; and a household's satisfaction with the quantity and variety of food consumed. Households that did more household production of food tended to have lower expenditures for food and to report their food to be of higher quantity and variety, when compared to a norm. Food expenditures were positively related to the household's reported comparison of its food to a norm and satisfaction with its food. A household's comparison of the variety and quantity of its food to a norm was positively related to its satisfaction with its food.
A function which describes quantitative adsorptions of antibodies by cell-surface antigens.

Abstract Quantitative adsorptions of 2 antisera with appropriate cell-bound antigens were performed; the results gave straight line graphs when plotted on logarithmic paper. An equation is derived which describes the results and provides an interpretation for them. The expression indicates that the effectiveness with which a serum can be adsorbed is a function of the chemistry of the antigen-antibody interaction and is a measure of the heterogeneity of the serum. Specifically, the slope of the straight line plot of the data on logarithmic paper provides an index of antibody affinity heterogeneity. This interpretation suggests that the plot of the data obtained from the quantitative adsorption of an antiserum with the same cell-bound antigens which elicited the immune response provides a simple method of estimating the heterogeneity of that serum.
Are ADDH and ADHD the same or different

To assess the relationship between the DSM-III criteria for attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity (ADDH) and the DSM-III-R criteria for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), children from an inner city parochial school were evaluated using a 30-item teacher questionnaire consisting of the DMS-III and DSM-III-R criteria for these disorders, the revised Conners Parent and Teacher Questionnaires, and a continuous performance test. Diagnostic groups were established based on teacher ratings of the DSM items and evaluated in relation to the rating scale data and continuous performance test. While children who were identified by teachers as having ADDH almost always satisfied the criteria for ADHD, a new group of children who were hyperactive and impulsive but less clearly inattentive also met the criteria for ADHD. Implications of the change in diagnostic criteria are discussed.
Critical velocity phenomena and the LTP

When the relative velocity between magnetized plasma and neutral gas exceeds a critical value, the gas-plasma interaction is dominated by collective phenomena which rapidly excite and ionize the neutrals. The interaction of the solar wind with a large cloud (between 10 to the 24th and 10 to the 28th power neutrals) vented from the moon should be of this type. Line radiation from such an interaction can yield an apparent lunar surface brightness rivaling reflected sunlight levels over small areas, if the kinetic-energy flow density of the gas is sufficiently high. The aberrated solar-wind flow past the moon would enhance the visibility of such interactions near the lunar sunrise terminator, supporting the statistical studies which indicate that the 'Lunar Transient Phenomena' (anomalous optical phenomena on the moon) are significantly correlated with the position of the terminator on the lunar surface.
The impact of cerium oxide nanoparticles on tomato (Solanum lycopersicum L.) and its implications for food safety

Sustainable development of nanotechnology requires an understanding of the long term ecotoxicological impact of engineered nanomaterials on the environment. Cerium oxide nanoparticles (CeO2-NPs) have great potential to accumulate and adversely affect the environment owing to their widespread applications in commercial products. This study documented the chronic phenotypic response of tomato plants to CeO2-NPs (0.1–10 mg L−1) and determined the effect of CeO2-NPs on tomato yield. The results indicated that CeO2-NPs at the concentrations applied in this study had either an inconsequential or a slightly positive effect on plant growth and tomato production. However, elevated cerium content was detected in plant tissues exposed to CeO2-NPs, suggesting that CeO2-NPs were taken up by tomato roots and translocated to shoots and edible tissues. In particular, substantially higher Ce concentrations were detected in the fruits exposed to 10 mg L−1 CeO2-NPs, compared with controls. This study sheds light on the long term impact of CeO2-NPs on plant health and its implications for our food safety and security.
Man versus Machine or Man + Machine?

Allocating roles and functions between the human and computer is critical in defining efficient and effective system architectures. However, past methodologies for balancing the roles and functionalities between humans and computers in complex systems have little connection to different types of required cognition, behaviors, or tasks, or don't address the role of uncertainty in the environment. To augment these previous role allocation approaches, this article presents a modification to the skill, rule, and knowledge-based behavior taxonomy that includes expertise and uncertainty. Skill-based behaviors are the best candidates for automation, assuming significant sensor performance assumptions can be met, but rule and knowledge-based reasoning are better suited for human-computer collaboration. Such systems should be designed so that humans harness the raw computational and search power of computers for state-space reduction, but also allow them the latitude to apply their expertise in uncertain situations through inductive reasoning for potentially creative, out-of-the-box thinking.
TU-EE-A1-04: Dimension Reduction Analysis of Dose Volume Histogram And Its Potential Application In Predicting Normal Tissue Complication Probability

Purpose:Radiation pneumonitis (RP) is a major concern for patients receiving radiotherapy for lungcancer. The present study assesses the possibility of using multiple dose‐volume‐histogram (DVH) based metrics to predict the likelihood of grade ⩾ 2 RP. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The lung DVH and clinical outcome data from 235 patients were studied. Two linear and four nonlinear statistical dimension reduction analysis methods were applied to the lung DVH to map the data from the original feature space into a 2D or 3D manifold. Then, the question of whether the lung DVH could uniquely predict the likelihood of grade ⩾ 2 RP was mapped to the feasibility of separating the populations with and without RP in the 2D/3D manifold.Results: None of the statistical dimension reduction techniques which preserve the local geometric properties of the original DVH curves was able to clearly separate the patients with and without grade ⩾ 2 RP in the 2D/3D manifold. Among the techniques tested, the Local Tangent Space Alignment (LTSA) performed the best. It could almost reduce the original DVH data into a one dimension manifold. Unfortunately the order the LTSA assigned to the lung DVH curves did show clear correlation with patient RP grades. Conclusions: The dimension reduction analysis like LTSA which preserve the distance information between DVH curves can be useful in characterizing the complexity of patient DVH data from a lung toxicity study. The lack of clear segmentation between the grade ⩾ 2 RP patients and other patients in the dimension‐reduced manifold indicates that using lung DVH data only can not generate a satisfactory result in predicting the occurrence of grade ⩾ 2 RP among the lungcancer patients after 3D‐CRT radiotherapy treatment. This work was partially funded by NIH grants R01 CA69579 and R01 CA115748.
Physical and Numerical Comparison of Flow over Ogee Spillway in the Presence of Tailwater

Data obtained from two physical models were compared to the results obtained from numerical model investigations of two ogee-crested spillways. In 2001, Savage and Johnson investigated ogee-crested spillways without the effect of tailwater; the present study includes the influence of tailwater on the spillway. The comparison showed that numerical modeling can accurately predict the rate of flow over the spillway and the pressure distribution on the spillway. The results of this study provide users of numerical models performance information that can be used to aid them in determining which tool to use to effectively analyze dams and their associated spillways.
Fuzzy concept formation

This paper presents an extension to the COBWEB conceptual clustering algorithm. The extension is designed to allow for nonmutually exclusive examples to be clustered. It is also designed to allow for fuzzy examples to be clustered, which has the side effect of putting examples into more than one cluster or class. A discussion of some related work and an ideal fuzzification are presented. Preliminary results are shown with one fuzzy data set on creditworthiness.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Abstract 1156: Shed syndecan-1 downregulates histone acetyltransferase activity and shuttles HGF to the nucleus of tumor and host cells

Proceedings: AACR Annual Meeting 2014; April 5-9, 2014; San Diego, CA The cell surface heparan sulfate proteoglycan syndecan-1 (CD138) is expressed by myeloma tumor cells, is proteolytically shed from the cell surface and accumulates in the serum. High levels of serum syndecan-1 are an independent indicator of poor prognosis. Our lab has demonstrated that shed syndecan-1 drives myeloma tumor progression in vivo, but the mechanism(s) mediating this are not fully understood. The role of heparan sulfate proteoglycans on the cell surface and in the extracellular matrix has been extensively studied, but their presence and function within the nucleus is often overlooked. However, recent findings indicate that nuclear heparan sulfate has important regulatory functions. Based on preliminary findings, we hypothesized that shed syndecan-1 binds to the tumor cell surface and translocates to the nucleus where it regulates gene expression thereby promoting aggressive tumor behavior. We utilized murine myeloma cells which were grown in the presence of medium containing human shed syndecan-1. Strikingly, the shed syndecan-1 was rapidly taken up by these cells and translocated to the nucleus. Additionally, exogenous human shed syndecan-1 added to murine stromal cells also bound to the cell surface and translocated to the nucleus. This is the first demonstration that shed proteoglycans can translocate to the nucleus of cells. When stromal cells were grown in the presence of tumor-derived shed syndecan-1, acetylated histone H3 was decreased. Additionally, tumor cells engineered to express high levels of shed SDC1 have a 58% reduction in histone acetyltransferase activity. This may be due to syndecan-1 directly binding to p300/CBP-associated factor, a HAT enzyme. Moreover, HGF bound to shed syndecan-1 was shuttled to the nucleus of myeloma cells as a complex. Shed syndecan-1 and HGF translocation to the nucleus is dependent on intact heparan sulfate chains present on the syndecan-1 core protein. These data reveal a novel mechanism of tumor-host crosstalk whereby syndecan-1, shed by tumor cells, alters histone acetyltransferase activity and shuttles heparin-binding factors to the nucleus to reprogram cells and alter gene expression. Therapeutic regulation of syndecan-1 shedding, its binding to the cell surface or translocation to the nucleus represent novel strategies to control the progression of myeloma and other cancers. Citation Format: Mark Stewart, Vishnu Ramani, Ralph Sanderson. Shed syndecan-1 downregulates histone acetyltransferase activity and shuttles HGF to the nucleus of tumor and host cells. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 105th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2014 Apr 5-9; San Diego, CA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2014;74(19 Suppl):Abstract nr 1156. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2014-1156
Single-loop calculations with the chiral-invariant pion Lagrangian

In the one-loop approximation to the chiral-invariant pion theory, it is shown that the unrenormalized on-shell $\ensuremath{\pi}\ensuremath{\pi}$ scattering amplitude depends on the choice of pion field, while the renormalized amplitude does not. By elementary calculation it is verified that only one arbitrary subtraction constant, in addition to conventional renormalization, is required.
Viscoelastic Stress Relief in Patterned Silicon-on-Insulator Structures

A high-temperature viscoelastic stress relief technique has been investigated as a means for reducing in-plane stress encountered during zone-melt recrystallization of patterned silicon-on-insulator structures. This technique incorporates a phosphosilicate glass layer between the silicon film and the insulating substrate to provide a viscous flow mechanism for stress relief within the composite structure. The stress relaxation can bequalitatively described by a mechanical model which couples thermal expansion and viscoelastic flow. The model predicts the time constant for stress relief at high temperatures as a function of pattern size, and the results are useful as a design aid for zone-melt recrystallization experiments.
Loading and release of 5-fluorouracil from HY zeolites with varying SiO2/Al2O3 ratios

Abstract Zeolite Y with different silica to alumina ratios varying from 5 to 60 was used as a host for the chemotherapy drug, 5-fluorouracil. The 5-fluorouracil content in the zeolites was approximately 90–110 mg/g as determined by thermogravimetric analysis. Nitrogen adsorption–desorption measurements were used to measure the surface area and the pore volume of the zeolites before and after 5-fluorouracil loading. The decrease in surface areas and pore volumes after drug loading was attributed to the inclusion of 5-fluorouracil in the zeolite pores. FTIR spectroscopy provided evidence of molecular level interactions of the 5-fluorouracil with the zeolite. 27Al NMR indicated that the 5-fluorouracil interacted with the zeolite through the extraframework aluminum sites. Release profiles under physiological conditions were also conducted and indicated that the aluminum content was critical in determining the extent of release of 5-fluorouracil. HY-5 with the lowest SiO2/Al2O3 released less than 5% of the loaded 5-fluorouracil while HY-30 and HY-60 released approximately 56% and 63% of the loaded 5-FU, respectively.
Oligomannoside biosynthesis in Mycobacterium smegmatis

Abstract A cell-free particulate enzyme system of Mycobacterium smegmatis ATCC 607 was shown to catalyze the incorporation of labeled mannose from GDP-[14C]mannose into endogenous acceptors to form a series of labeled neutral oligomannosides. These oligomannosides were devoid of amino sugar. The major oligomannoside product was characterized to be a trimannoside, O-α- d -mannopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-O-α- d -mannopyranosyl(1 → 2)- d -mannose and represented 46% of the total labeled oligomannoside product. The higher oligomannosides were shown to have either/or both α(1 → 2) and α(1 → 6) glycosidic linkages. A series of unlabeled endogenous oligosaccharides was isolated from the 105,000g supernatant fractions of the cell-free extracts of M. smegmatis and found to be chromatographically similar to the labeled oligomannosides synthesized by the cell-free system. The nature of the endogenous acceptor was not determined.
Effect of chronic tocolytic therapy on maternal ventricular function in pregnant rabbits

Abstract OBJECTIVE: Our purpose was to determine whether peripartum cardiomyopathy may be associated with chronic β-mimetic tocolytic therapy. STUDY DESIGN: On gestational day 20 (term 31 days), two 200 μl Alzet miniosmotic pumps were implanted in the subcutaneous tissue of pregnant New Zealand White rabbits. Each pump was filled with terbutaline (20 μg/μl, n = 7) or saline solution (0.9%, n = 7) and infused continuously for 7 days. The rabbits were killed on the twenty-eighth gestational day. Maternal hearts were placed on a Langendorff (nonejecting) perfusion apparatus for assessment of cardiac function. At a constant perfusion pressure and heart rate left ventricular diastolic pressure was varied while left ventricular developed pressure and left ventricular ± rate of pressure rise, index values of left ventricular contractility and relaxation, were continuously recorded. Comparisons between groups at each preload were made by analysis of variance. RESULTS: Hearts taken from terbutaline-treated rabbits exhibited periodic arrhythmias and mechanical alternans in five of seven hearts versus one of seven in the saline solution group. At a preload of 0 mm Hg both left ventricular developed pressure (88.0 vs 48.4 mm Hg, p p p p CONCLUSIONS: In this model chronic administration of terbutaline during late pregnancy significantly depresses global maternal cardiac function. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 1996;175:847-52.)
Luther's Conception of Territorial and National Loyalty

The Luther renaissance of our century was in large part a consequence of the determination of German scholars to find an explanation for the debacle of their nation following the First World War. For this reason the attitude of the first truly German genius of modern times toward the German territorial states and the Holy Roman Empire has been a matter of primary concern. This concern was intensified by the resurgence of German nationalism under the totalitarianism of the National Socialists who set about to interpret the life and work of every important historical figure of Germany in the light of the new national faith. German scholars will again study Luther's writings for the purpose of finding hope and inspiration after the catastrophic consequences of the Second World War is already indicated by the frequent references to the importance of religion in Germany's historical evolution.
Doughnut-Shaped Peptide Nano-Assemblies and Their Applications as Nanoreactors

Doughnut-shaped nanoreactors, peptide nano-doughnuts, were self-assembled from peptides and organic Au salts. We demonstrated that monodisperse Au nanocrystals were synthesized inside the cavities of peptide nano-doughnuts by the reduction of Au ions and the size of the Au nanocrystal was controlled by the cavity dimension. The Au nanocrystals inside the nano-doughnuts were extracted by destroying the nano-doughnuts via long UV irradiation (>10 h). These features may allow the peptide nano-doughnuts to be applied in the fields of nanomaterial syntheses, controlled release systems, and drug delivery.
Heart murmur detection/classification using Cochlea-Like Pre-Processing and Artificial Intelligence

In this research paper, we used a novel approach to pre-process the heart sound signals by altering the electrical signal in a similar way as is done by human cochlea before they go to Artificial Intelligence (AI) for murmur detection/classification. Cochlea-like pre-processing changes the spectral contents of the heart sounds to enhance the murmur information which can then be detected/classified more accurately by AI circuitry. We designed a heart murmur detection/classification system based upon this approach and tested this system using simulated sounds of various murmur types. Our test results show that this approach significantly improves heart murmur detection/classification accuracy.
Minimum-weight degree-constrained spanning tree problem: heuristics and implementation on an SIMD parallel machine

Abstract The minimum spanning tree problem with an added constraint that no node in the spanning tree has the degree more than a specified integer, d, is known as the minimum-weight degree-constrained spanning tree (d-MST) problem. Such a constraint arises, for example, in VLSI routing trees, in backplane wiring, or in minimizing single-point failures for communication networks. The d-MST problem is NP-complete. Here, we develop four heuristics for approximate solutions to the problem and implement them on a massivelyparallel SIMD machine, MasPar MP-1. An extensive empirical study shows that for random graphs on up to 5000 nodes (about 12.5 million edges), the heuristics produce solutions close to the optimal in less than 10 seconds. The heuristics were also tested on a number of TSP benchmark problems to compute spanning trees with a degree bound d = 3.
An Autoradiographic Study of Efferent Connections of the Globus Pallidus in Macaca mulatta

Radioactive amino acids were injected into restricted regions of the globus pallidus of rhesus macaques to allow identification of the organization and courses of efferent pallidal projections. The previously identified projection of the internal pallidal segment (GPi) to ventral thalamic nuclei showed a topographic organization, with the predominant projection from ventral GPi being to medial and caudal ventralis anterior (VA) and lateralis (VL) and from dorsal GPi to lateral and rostral VA and VL. Pallidal efferent fibers also extended caudally and dorsally into pars caudalis of VL, but they spared the portion of pars oralis of VL shown by others to receive input from the cerebellum. In addition to centromedian labeling in all animals, the parafascicular nucleus was also labeled when isotope was injected into dorsal GPi. The medial route from GPi to the midbrain tegmentum was more substantial than has been shown before, and along this route there was an indication that some fibers terminated in the prerubral region. The projection to the pedunculopontine nucleus was extensive, and fibers continued caudally into the parabrachial nuclei. Pallidal projections to the thalamus seem to be topographically organized but spare thalamic regions that interact with area 4. Caudally directed efferent fibers follow multiple routes and extend more caudally than to the pedunculopontine nuclei.
Irrational beliefs and the impact of stressful life events

The Ellis (1962) rational emotive therapy model would predict that individuals characterized by high levels of irrational beliefs would evaluate the impact of personally experienced life events as more negative (or less positive) than would individuals chartacterized by low levels of irrational beliefs. A sample of 155 undergraduate females provided data on irrational beliefs and a life experiences survey which included event impact ratings. The results provided general support for the hypothesis of a relationship between beliefs and perceived impact of stressful life events.
Molecular fishing: marine oligosaccharides

It is difficult to overvalue the importance of polysaccharides for the great number of applicative fields in which they appeared. Oligosaccharides are relatively short compounds that are prepared from the longer polysaccharides or could also be found as such in nature. The potential in bioactivity of marine polysaccharides is still considered under-exploited and these molecules, including the derived oligosaccharides, are an extraordinary source of chemical diversity. Sustainable ways to access marine oligosaccharides are particularly important in view of the huge list of the effects they play in cell events; enzymatic tools, on which these sustainable ways are based, and modern techniques for purification and for the investigation of chemical structures, will be shortly discussed indicating the most important recent literature.
Information Technology and Consumer Search for Health Insurance

Abstract We explore the impact of information technology on the level of premiums paid for individual health insurance by asking which kinds of buyers will have larger gains from the use of new technology. We compare ‘asking price’ data posted on an electronic insurance exchange with survey data on premiums actually paid before the advent of exchange and examine whether the pattern of differences between asking prices and transactions prices can be explained using a simple search theory. We hypothesize that older consumers, expecting to pay higher premiums for a given policy, had engaged in more intensive search than younger consumers, given the same distribution of prices and search costs. Therefore, the introduction of an electronic exchange that lowers the cost of search should have a larger effect on decreasing the level of premiums paid for those who previously searched less (i.e., younger consumers). We find evidence consistent with this hypothesis.
Acute tolerance to pressor effects of cocaine in humans

We have suggested previously that acute tolerance to the chronotropic effect of cocaine develops and that tolerance is incomplete, such that the heart-rate decline in the presence of stable plasma cocaine concentrations approaches a plateau that exceeds the baseline heart rate. One possible mechanism for heart-rate decline could be pressor-induced reflex slowing. We have investigated this phenomenon in intravenous (i.v.) cocaine users given prolonged steady-state i.v. cocaine infusions, as described previously. We have found that the contour of the pressor response, under conditions of the study, is identical to that of the chronotropic response. We also analyzed data presented in a report at variance with our conclusion (Drug and Alcohol Dep 22: 169, 1988)
Effects of alcohol consumption during pregnancy on subsequent maternal behaviour in rats.

Abstract Nine Holtzman rats were maintained from days 5–18 of pregnancy on a liquid diet of which ethanol constituted 35% of the calories while nine rats were pair-fed an isocaloric diet that had maltose-dextrin substituted for the ethanol. Beginning on day 19 of gestation and continuing for five days the dams in both groups were given a choice among lab chow, water, and their respective liquid diets. During the five days of choice, alcohol consumption dropped to approximately 20% of pre-choice levels. The dams and pups showed no behavioural withdrawal symptoms. While the alcohol-treated litters showed greater variability in litter size and more pup deaths during nursing, the maternal behaviour of the alcohol dams was essentially normal, with only their pup protectiveness being rated lower than that of the control dams.
Analysis of spectral photocurrent response from multi-junction solar cells under variable voltage bias

Electrical and optical characterization of monolithically integrated multi-junction (MJ) solar cells is complicated by the fact that the internal subcells are not directly accessible. Two important characteristics of the MJ solar cell are the internal subcell I–V curves and the spectral photocurrent response. Techniques to obtain the subcell I–V curves as well as the spectral photocurrent response have been well demonstrated, however, the close connection between these two different measurements has not been exploited. Using small signal analysis, we establish the relationship between the subcell I–V response and the voltage dependence of the spectral photocurrent response. By an inverse analysis, we also show how to derive the subcell I–V curves from the voltage dependent spectral photocurrent response, providing a new and independent technique to extract the internal subcell I–V curves.
Harnessing single-particle dynamics in silver nanomaterials

The potential of a novel silver-silver oxide system for optical data storage with fluorescent readout has been discovered and developed. These properties arise from photolytic production of highly fluorescent single Agn molecules (n = 2-6 atoms) from silver oxide. Optical experiments with a 514.5nm Ar+ laser and a 100W Hg lamp allow determination of single Agn nanocluster absorption cross- sections ((sigma) = 8 x 10-15 cm2) and saturation intensities (Isat = 200 W/cm2 at 514.5 nm). Single molecule fluorescence experiments have elucidated the dynamics of AgO photoactivation and subsequent Agn nanocluster emission. Additionally, excitation, wavelength and intensity dependent dynamics are investigated. Results clearly show dependence on wavelength and intensity in Agn nanocluster creation and destruction.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Virtual Human Project

This paper describes the development of a comprehensive human modeling environment, the Virtual Human, which will be used initially to model the human respiratory system for purposes of predicting pulmonary disease or injury using lung sounds. The details of the computational environment, including the development of a Virtual Human Thorax, a database for storing models, model parameters, and experimental data, and a Virtual Human web interface are outlined. Preliminary progress in developing this environment will be presented. A separate paper at the conference describes the modeling of sound generation using computational fluid dynamics and the modeling of sound propagation in the human respiratory system.
Income Source and Race Effects on New‐Neighbor Evaluations1

Two studies investigated the effect of income source and race on ratings of and objections to potential neighbors. Equivalent amounts of income from different sources included work only, work and public assistance, or work and a small inheritance. The race variable included African American, European American, or Hispanic. Subjects for Study 1 were undergraduate psychology students. Subjects for Study 2 were homeowners. Class bias was not a symbolic way to express race bias. There was a clear distinction between class bias and race bias in expression and function. Results indicate that class bias was used when subjects gave ratings of new neighbors. These biased ratings do not correlate with measures of racism. Furthermore, results indicate that objections to the new neighbors were more frequent for those gaining income from sources other than work. The findings indicate that class prejudice based on income source is primary and openly expressed, whereas racial prejudice does not appear as an important contributing factor in this context.
HDL miR-ed Down by SREBP Introns

Animal cells must maintain a membrane cholesterol-to-phospholipid ratio within tight limits for normal function. Elaborate mechanisms control the cellular input of cholesterol from endogenous synthesis or uptake from plasma lipoproteins. Much less is known about the factors that regulate the output of cholesterol from cells. On pages 1566 and 1570 of this issue, Najafi-Shoushtari et al. (1) and Rayner et al. (2) show that cholesterol output is controlled by the same genes that regulate cholesterol input, but in a reciprocal manner and through an unexpected mechanism.
Study on the shoreline for water immersion ArF lithography

Though speculation on immersion is ignited by the possibility in realization of hyper NA lithography system which will have NA> 1.0, it is thought that the immersion era might come earlier even in ≤1.0 NA regime because of great benefit in increasing DOF. On the other hand, questions are still laid on maturity or reliability issues such as lens contamination, bubble defects, overlay control and so forth. The main subject of this paper is how to find the appropriate time for introduction of immersion. Basic performance of immersion lithography in 80nm DRAM is compared with that of conventional dry lithography through experiment and simulation. Result of simulation is quite well matched with that of the experiment, and therefore we can investigate the limit of conventional dry lithography based on the simulation results.60nm node might be remained as a last regime for conventional dry lithography by virtue of polarized illumination, and we can expect the shoreline beyond there.
PRERETIREMENT EDUCATION: A PROPOSED BILL FOR TUITION TAX CREDIT

Abstract A proposed bill for a tuition tax credit for preretirement education is presented. Such issues as eligibility, control, type of expenditure, and proportionate benefit are examined, as well as issues such as constitutionality and revenue loss. The use of existing educational resources and regulatory agencies would not require new federal programs for implementation.
ROBOTICS: a hands-on introduction to hardware (abstract)

To provide our students with a more complete understanding of computer architecture, organization, and hardware, we in the Computer Science Department at CWU proposed an integrated approach to these topics in a grant proposal to NSF's CSIP Program. One of the aspects of this proposal was to develop a course entitled Microprocessor Systems. This course was to be supported by a laboratory built around an intentionally primitive microprocessor/computer development system which prevents extensive hardware from masking machine architecture and operation. Our overall objective for the course was to aid students in comprehending that during their careers as computer scientists they may encounter, in addition to supercomputers, mainframes, minis, and micros, the computer in a variety of engineering systems whose outputs will not always be on hardcopy, tape, disc, or CRT screen. With funds from NSF to purchase equipment for the supporting laboratory, CPSC 418 Microprocessor Systems was offered for the first time in the Spring Quarter of 1989. The central equipment purchases for this course's laboratory were eight LJ Electronics Atlas II Robotic Systems and two CES Industries 6009 Robotic Systems.While our objectives were primarily aimed at having students learn more computer architecture, organization and hardware, we also wanted them to learn some elementary robotics and general interfacing techniques. Thus, the course was offered as a four-credit, undergraduate research oriented course in which students were offered open-ended projects to complete.The course, its laboratory and equipment, student projects, and future plans for a robot programming language translator as student projects will be presented. It is planned that progress in the robot programming language translator will be presented at the 1991 ACM/CSC.
Renin-angiotensin-aldosterone system in long-term renal transplant patients

Seventeen anephric patients who constituted the subjects of this study received renal allografts between the years 1969 to 1973. The renin-angiotensin-aldosterone mechanism was evaluated in relation to either a normotensive or hypertensive clinical state in these subjects. Group I (Controls) were normotensive and on a normal diet; Group II were normotensive, on sodium restriction for five days, followed by saline infusion on the seventh day; and Group III were hypertensive, on similar sodium restriction for five days, followed by saline infusion on the seventh day. Glomerular filtration rates and levels of plasma renin and aldosterone, and the secretion rate of the latter were obtained on appropriate days. These studies confirm that an intact renin-angiotensin-aldosterone relationship exists in human renal transplant patients. The presence of high aldosterone secretion rate without hypertension is a new but unexplained finding. The lack of correlation of high aldosterone secretion rates in our normotensive and hypertensive patients suggests that aldosterone does not play a detectable or significant role in the pathogenesis of chronic or sustained transplant hypertension.