cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Art and Mindfulness Behind Bars: Examples From Wyoming Prison-Based Courses on Memoir and Stoic Philosophy:

In this self-reflective piece, the coauthors critically engage with their experiences using arts-based and mindfulness practices with incarcerated women and men and university students. We offer in...
On IND-CCA1 Security of Randomized McEliece Encryption in the Standard Model.

We show that a modification of Nojima et al.’s Randomized McEliece Encryption (RME), where receiver verifies the correctness of the decrypted plaintext, achieves IND-CCA1 security in the standard model. We rely on the two (standard) assumptions used also for RME: hardness of general decoding and Goppa code indistinguishability (sometimes they are jointly referred to as “the McEliece assumptions”), plus an extra assumption on non-falsifiability of the McEliece ciphertexts. The later one implies that an adversary is unable to sample a McEliece ciphertext for which the message and error vector are unknown. This assumption is non-standard, however it represents a win-win argument, in the sense that breaking it would imply efficient sampling of McEliece ciphertexts, which in turn may potentially lead us to a Full Domain Hash code-based signature based on the McEliece PKE—without rejection sampling as in the Courtois-Finiasz-Sendrier signature from Asiacrypt 2001—a long-standing open problem in code-based cryptography.
A Compact Prism Spectrograph Suitable For Broadband Infrared Spectral Surveys With Array Detectors

We describe a novel design for a low-resolution spectrograph that is capable of covering the entire 2.9-13.5 μm region, without scanning, at a resolving power of 20-100. The spectrograph uses two unique curved prisms to disperse radiation onto two 58-element arrays of infrared detectors. It has no moving parts. This spectrograph is an effective replacement for scanning circular variable filter (CVF) spectrometers or for Michelson Interferometers working at low resolution. Because all of the detectors in the spectrograph view an object through the same aperture, time-varying sources introduce no ambiguities into the spectra. The use of BIB detector arrays gives the instrument high sensitivity. We describe a ground-based version of the spectrograph that is currently under construction.
Partitioning Items Into Mutually Exclusive Groups

We investigate a new model for partitioning a set of items into groups (clusters). The number of groups is given and the distances between items are well defined. These distances may include weights. The sum of the distances between all members of the same group is calculated for each group, and the objective is to find the partition of the set of items that minimizes the sum of these individual sums. Two problems are formulated and solved. In the first problem the number of items in each group are given. For example, all groups must have the same number of items. In the second problem there is no restriction on the number of items in each group. We propose an optimal algorithm for each of the two problems as well as a heuristic algorithm. Problems with up to 100 items and 50 groups are tested. In the majority of instances the optimal solution was found using IBM's CPLEX. The heuristic approach, which is very fast, found all confirmed optimal solutions and equal or better solutions when CPLEX was stopped after five hours. The problem with given group sizes can also be formulated and solved as a quadratic assignment problem.
Treating Leukemia in the Time of COVID-19.

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic poses several challenges to the management of patients with leukemia. The biology of each leukemia and its corresponding treatment with conventional intensive chemotherapy, with or without targeted therapies (venetoclax, FLT3 inhibitors, IDH1/2 inhibitors, Bruton's tyrosine kinase inhibitors), introduce additional layers of complexity during COVID-19 high-risk periods. The knowledge about COVID-19 is accumulating rapidly. An important distinction is the prevalence of "exposure" versus "clinical infectivity," which determine the risk versus benefit of modifying potentially highly curative therapies in leukemia. At present, the rate of clinical infection is 30% in patients with cancer, careful consideration should be given to the risk of COVID-19 in leukemia. Instead of reducing patient access to specialized cancer centers and modifying therapies to ones with unproven curative benefit, there is more rationale for less intensive, yet effective therapies that may require fewer clinic visits or hospitalizations. Here, we offer recommendations on the optimization of leukemia management during high-risk COVID-19 periods.
Impact of healthcare access and socio-economic conditions on prevalence of metabolic syndrome: evidence from 2015 BRFSS

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is a major public health challenge in the USA and elsewhere. MetS generates high costs to national healthcare system, as well as causing deteriorating health condition in individuals. Studies indicate that MetS may be influenced by demography, race, income, education level and access to healthcare system. Using 2015 national survey data - Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) - this article analyses the prevalence of MetS across ethnic and socio-economic sections of population. The analysis supports the prevailing knowledge that MetS is influenced by access to healthcare, race, income and education level of population. An interesting finding of this work is that those who reported not having any kind of health coverage had a significantly lower prevalence of MetS compared to those who reported having health coverage.
Hundreds of motif pairs may facilitate enhancer-promoter interactions

Previous studies have shown that pairs of interacting transcription factors (TFs) bind to enhancers and promoters and contribute to their physical interactions. However, to date, we have limited knowledge about these interacting TF pairs. To identify such TF pairs, we systematically studied the co-occurrence of TF-binding motifs in interacting enhancer-promoter (EP) pairs in seven human cell lines. We discovered hundreds of motif pairs that significantly co-occur in enhancers and promoters of interacting EP pairs. We demonstrated that these motif pairs are biologically meaningful and significantly enriched with motif pairs of known interacting TF pairs. We also showed that the identified motif pairs facilitated the discovery of the interacting EP pairs. The predicted motifs and motif pairs are available at http://www.cs.ucf.edu/~xiaoman/ET/EPmotif/ .
Missteps in Pursuit of the Cytokine Storm in COVID-19: Reliability of Clinical Laboratory Data in the Midst of a Pandemic

Disease caused by novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) has resulted in significant morbidity and mortality worldwide. One mechanism of severe disease is thought to be a cytokine storm in a subset of patients, where a hyper-inflammatory state characterized by elevated levels of circulating cytokines and chemokines is thought to portend a poor prognosis. We report on our experience in clinical laboratory assessment of cytokine levels in patients hospitalized with COVID-19. We demonstrate alarming discrepancies in levels of cytokines reported by different vendors. Our findings provide a basis for the ongoing debates surrounding the relevance of cytokine storm in COVID-19. Moreover, they prompt caution when comparing cytokine levels in patients with COVID-19 and other disease entities due to potential variations in assay platforms and temporality. Our results underscore an urgent need for standardizing such tests that guide prognostication and therapeutic intervention.
DC-UNet: rethinking the U-Net architecture with dual channel efficient CNN for medical image segmentation

Recently, deep learning has become much more popular in computer vision applications. The Convolutional Neural Network (CNN) has brought a breakthrough in image segmentation, especially for medical images. In this regard, the UNet is the predominant approach to the medical image segmentation task. The U-Net not only performs well in segmenting multimodal medical images generally, but also in some difficult cases. We found, however, that the classical U-Net architecture has limitations in several respects. Therefore, we applied modifications: 1) designed efficient CNN architecture to replace encoder and decoder, 2) applied residual module to replace skip connection between encoder and decoder to improve, based on the-state-of-the-art U-Net model. Following these modifications, we designed a novel architecture -- DC-UNet, as a potential successor to the U-Net architecture. We created a new effective CNN architecture and built the DC-UNet based on this CNN. We have evaluated our model on three datasets with difficult cases and have obtained a relative improvement in performance of 2.90%, 1.49%, and 11.42% respectively compared with classical UNet. In addition, we used the Tanimoto similarity measure to replace the Jaccard measure for gray-to-gray image comparisons.
Particle Dynamics and Bioaerosol Viability of Aerosolized BCG Vaccine Using Jet and Vibrating Mesh Clinical Nebulizers

Abstract Background Bacillus Calmette–Guerin (BCG) is a vaccine used to protect against tuberculosis primarily in infants to stop early infection in areas of the world where the disease is endemic. Normally administered as a percutaneous injection, BCG is a live, significantly attenuated bacteria that is now being investigated for its potential within an inhalable vaccine formulation. This work investigates the feasibility and performance of four jet and ultrasonic nebulizers aerosolizing BCG and the resulting particle characteristics and residual viability of the bacteria post-aerosolization. Methods A jet nebulizer (Collison) outfitted either with a 3- or 6-jet head, was compared to two clinical nebulizers, the vibrating mesh Omron MicroAir and Aerogen Solo devices. Particle characteristics, including aerodynamic particle sizing, was performed on all devices within a common aerosol chamber configuration and comparable BCG innocula concentrations. Integrated aerosol samples were collected for each generator and assayed for bacterial viability using conventional microbiological technique. Results and Conclusions A batch lot of BCG (Danish) was grown to titer and used in all generator assessments. Aerosol particles within the respirable range were generated from all nebulizers at four different concentrations of BCG. The jet nebulizers produced a uniformly smaller particle size than the ultrasonic devices, although particle concentrations by mass were similar across all devices tested with the exception of the Aerogen Solo, which resulted in a very low concentration of BCG aerosols. The resulting measured viable BCG aerosol concentration fraction produced by each device approximated one another; however, a measurable decrease of efficiency and overall viability reduction in the jet nebulizer was observed in higher BCG inoculum starting concentrations, whereas the vibrating mesh nebulizer returned a remarkably stable viable aerosol fraction irrespective of inoculum concentration.
The Future of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination - Lessons from Influenza.

The Future of SARS-CoV-2 Vaccination Given the parade of SARS-CoV-2 variants, their increasing transmissibility, and concern about antigenic changes affecting vaccine protection, we need long-term ...
Changes in physical activity levels and mental health during COVID-19: Prospective findings among adult twin pairs.

Background Physical distancing and other COVID-19 pandemic mitigation strategies have negatively impacted physical activity (PA) levels and mental health in cross-sectional studies. The purpose of this study was to investigate associations between changes in PA and mental health outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic, following implementation of mitigation strategies, in a sample of adult twins. Methods This was a prospective study of 3,057 adult twins from the Washington State Twin Registry. Study participants completed online surveys in 2020, at baseline (March 26 -April 5), and three follow-up waves (W1: April 20 -May 3; W2: Jul 16 -Aug 2; W3: Sept 16 -Oct 1). Physical activity was operationalized as self-reported moderate-to-vigorous PA (MVPA) and neighborhood walking (minutes/week), and mental health outcomes, operationalized as self-reported anxiety and perceived stress were assessed in the three waves of follow-up. Latent growth curve models (LGCMs) were used to assess changes in PA and mental health outcomes over time. Parallel LGCMs were used to estimate the cross-sectional, parallel, and prospective associations between PA and mental health over time. All models took into within-pair correlations and adjusted for age, sex, and race. Results Individuals' amount of MVPA and walking decreased over time, whereas levels of anxiety remained stable, and stress increased slightly. Cross-sectional associations observed between both PA predictors and mental health outcomes were weak. After taking into account cross-sectional associations between PA and mental health outcomes, changes in PA over time were not associated with changes in mental health outcomes over time. Conclusions Over a time period aligned with COVID-19 mitigation strategies and social restrictions, changes in physical activity was not associated with changes in anxiety or stress levels in the current sample. Nonetheless, the average decline in PA over time is worrisome. Public health resources should continue to promote PA as a means to improve physical health during the pandemic.
Amplitude-integrated EEG differences in premature infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia: a cross-sectional study

Aim: To evaluate differences in amplitude-integrated electroencephalogram (aEEG) recordings of infants with and without bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD). Methods: This is a cross-sectional study of infants ≤27 weeks at birth who did (n = 17) or did not develop BPD (n = 17). aEEG tracings were recorded at 360–366 weeks post-menstrual age for 6 h using the BrainZ BRM3 monitor. A cross-cerebral channel was evaluated using offline software Analyze (BrainZ). Results: Infants with BPD had lower gestational age and higher male predominance (25 ± 1 weeks, 70%) compared with non-BPD infants (26 ± 1 weeks, 30%, all p ≤ 0.03), but similar birth weight (704 ± 195 vs. 796 ± 167 g, p = 0.1). During active sleep, infants with BPD had wider span voltage (p = 0.03), higher lower border voltage (p < 0.03), as well as less periods of quiet sleep per hour (p < 0.01) compared with non-BPD infants. These differences persisted after adjustment for covariates. Conclusion: Infants with BPD have small but significant differences in their aEEG tracings compared with infants without BPD at 36 weeks. Further study of infants with BPD using aEEG appears justified to determine whether aEEG variables correlate with neurodevelopmental outcome.
Haploid screens and gamma-ray mutagenesis.

Publisher Summary A number of largescale mutagenesis screens have been conducted to identify developmental mutations in zebrafish. In addition, smaller screens are ongoing in many other laboratories. Regardless of which type of mutagen is used, it is important to screen as efficiently as possible in terms of time, space, and the number of fish used. This chapter describes the use of haploids to screen for early developmental mutations in mutagenized zebrafish, with an emphasis on the use of gamma-rays as a mutagen. Screening haploids allow rapid identification of mutation-bearing females in a parental P or an F1 screen, avoiding the necessity of raising several generations of fish stocks prior to screening. Gynogenetic haploid embryos are produced when eggs are fertilized by UV-irradiated sperm, the resulting haploid embryos develop solely from maternal genetic information. Although the UV-irradiated sperm provides no male genetic contribution to the embryo, they are necessary to activate embryonic development.
An empirical research on customer's normatively participative behavior, interactive abilities and customer performance

The influence of customer's interactive abilities on his normatively participative behavior and customer-related performance in service situation was investigated by demonstration. On the base of structural equation model, the complicated relationships among the above variables were discussed in detail. The result shows that customer's interactive abilities has significantly positive effect on customer's normatively participative behavior and customer-related performance which including customer's satisfaction and positive feedback, and reveals that the customer's interactive abilities plays an important impact on his choice of participative behavior and the finally perceived service quality during the course of service process. It also offers more fully understanding about the antecedent variables which affecting on consumer's normatively participative behavior and customer-related performance, provides a theoretical reference for service enterprises to improve their competitive advantage.
Tectonics of the Nereus Deep, Red Sea: A deep-tow investigation of a site of initial rifting

The Nereus Deep (23°N) lies in the central portion of the Red Sea, in a region which marks a transition between the nearly continuous axial rift valley of the southern Red Sea and the northern Red Sea, where a well defined axial rift is absent. The deep-tow survey and associated heat flow measurements reported here show that the Nereus Deep is a short segment of axial rift, and it is the northernmost deep where petrology, heat flow, magnetics, and morphology all indicate classic seafloor spreading. Heat flow measured in the Nereus Deep is characterized by non-linear gradients and closely-spaced variability indicative of active hydrothermal circulation associated with seafloor spreading. The two axial highs which we have mapped in Nereus differ markedly in that the southernmost appears younger or at least has had a more recent phase of volcanism. The two axial highs are offset left laterally approximately 2 km. This small offset or bend in the axial course has been labelled the Nereus ‘shear zone’, and, despite its small extent, it mimics many of the major features of small offset, slow-slipping transform faults. This shear zone may result from shear stresses associated with misalignments in succeeding volcanic episodes. The Nereus Deep appears to represent one of the earliest phases of seafloor spreading. The Red Sea seems to be opening towards the north, and the Nereus Deep is near the tip of propagation, but it is clear from this study that rift propagation in a site of initial rifting differs greatly from that observed along a well developed, fast spreading center like the East Pacific Rise.
Transcribing Complexes in Cells Infected by Vesicular Stomatitis Virus and Rabies Virus

Abstract We analyzed cell extracts from BHK21 cells infected with vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) and rabies virus for in vitro RNA polymerase activity. Cells infected with VSV B virions exhibited several complexes with in vitro RNA polymerase activity in sucrose gradients. These complexes synthesize VSV transcriptase product (4 to 18S) polyadenylated in RNA complementary to virion RNA. Cells infected with a high multiplicity of B virions and T particles show only one RNA polymerase complex active in vitro. This complex sediments at 110S and makes only small (2S) RNA. Carrier BHK21 cells persistently noncytopathically infected with VSV contain several complexes active in RNA polymerase, but both exhibit very low activity. Cytoplasms of cells noncytopathically infected with rabies virus also show very low levels of a complex containing RNA polymerase activity. No transcriptase nor any other in vitro polymerase activity could be found associated with purified rabies virions, although they do carry out primary transcription in cells treated with actinomycin D and cycloheximide before infection.
Vehicle routing for food rescue programs: a comparison of different approaches

The 1-Commodity Pickup and Delivery Vehicle Routing Problem (1-PDVRP) asks to deliver a single commodity from a set of supply nodes to a set of demand nodes, which are unpaired. That is, a demand node can be served by any supply node. In this paper, we further assume that the supply and demand is unsplittable, which implies that we can visit each node only once. The 1-PDVRP arises in several practical contexts, ranging from bike-sharing programs in which bikes at each station need to be redistributed at various points in time, to food rescue programs in which excess food is collected from, e.g., restaurants and schools, and redistributed through agencies to people in need. The latter application is the main motivation of our study.
Radio frequency identification: advanced intelligence for table games in casinos.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) allows for objects to be identified electronically through the use of radio waves. RFID can be applied to table games in casinos by allowing gaming operators to gain the same levels of customer and game-play data in table game operations as they presently have in the slot area. Using chips imprinted with RFID, gaming companies can monitor game play, prevent instances of chip counterfeiting and theft, and (by identifying addicted gamblers) promote responsible gaming. Beyond casino chips, casinos will eventually be able to install RFID on playing cards, again to give casinos a better picture of their customers, but also to reduce opportunities for cheating.
Neuronal mechanisms of the attentional dysfunctions in senile dementia and schizophrenia: two sides of the same coin?

Deficits in early stages of information processing, specifically the inability to “disattend” irrelevant stimuli and to selectively allocate processing resources (i.e., hyperattention), have been associated with the development of psychotic symptoms. Opposite deficits, i.e., the failure to attend and select stimuli, and to divide attention (i.e., hypoattention), represent a major variable in the development of dementia. The hypothesis that hyperattention and hypoattention are mediated via cortical cholinergic hyperactivity and hypoactivity, respectively, is discussed. Several lines of evidence support the role of cholinergic hyperactivity in the development of psychotic symptoms, including the therapeutic effects of anticholinergic drugs in schizophrenic patients, the psychotic effects of chronic exposure to irreversible cholinesterase inhibitors, and the worsening of psychotic symptoms as a result of the treatment with cholinomimetic compounds. The potent impairments of attentional abilities as a result of the administration of muscarinic antagonists in intact subjects, and the attentional effects of cholinomimetic compounds in demented patients are two examples of the evidence that supports the role of cholinergic hypofunction in the cognitive impairments of dementia. A neuronal model of dopamine-GABAergic modulation of cortical acetylcholine is proposed on the basis of evidence indicating that nucleus accumbens dopamine, via a GABAergic pathway to the substantia innominata of the basal forebrain, modulates cortical acetylcholine release. The available evidence confirms several predictions derived from this model, including the dopaminergic regulation of cortical acetylcholine (ACh) release, the bidirectional modulation of this release by benzodiazepine receptor (BZR) agonists and inverse agonists, and the antipsychotic effects of BZR agonists. Bidirectional deviations in the activity of cortical cholinergic inputs are hypothesized to represent a major neuronal substrate of the attentional dysfunctions associated with, or even underlying, the development of psychotic symptoms and dementia.
Identifying and Characterizing a Functional HIV-1 Reverse Transcriptase-binding Site on Integrase

Integrase (IN) from human immunodeficiency virus, type 1 (HIV-1) exerts pleiotropic effects in the viral replication cycle. Besides integration, IN mutations can impact nuclear import, viral maturation, and reverse transcription. IN and reverse transcriptase (RT) interact in vitro, and the IN C-terminal domain (CTD) is both necessary and sufficient for binding RT. We used nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy to identify a putative RT-binding surface on the IN CTD, and surface plasmon resonance to obtain kinetic parameters and the binding affinity for the IN-RT interaction. An IN K258A substitution that disrupts reverse transcription in infected cells is located at the putative RT-binding surface, and we found that this substitution substantially weakens IN CTD-RT interactions. We also identified two additional IN amino acid substitutions located at the putative RT-binding surface (W243E and V250E) that significantly impair viral replication in tissue culture. These results strengthen the notion that IN-RT interactions are biologically relevant during HIV-1 replication and also provide insights into this interaction at the molecular level.
The advent of the ‘unpatients’

Predictive diagnosis by molecular methods will change the scientific basis of prognostics. At the same time, it will change the ethical dimensions of the relation among patients, their doctors and other providers of care.
A Damage-Limiting Shelter-Allocation Strategy

A damage-limiting strategy for allocating blast and fallout shelter protection is described in this report. The features that combine to make this strategy unique are its relatively fine-grained local orientation and its ability to meet a survival percentage criterion irrespective of the actual ground zero within the area considered. Shelter postures are tailored to the needs of individual cities or local areas, examined in one-square-kilometer detail. All potential ground zeros are evaluated in the shelter allocation process and least-cost decision rules are applied.
A new titrimetric procedure for determination of nitrate utilizing hypochlorite oxidation of an azo dye.

Abstract A titrimetric method was devised for determining concentrations on the azo dye resulting from coupling of diazotized sulfanilamide and N-l Naphthylethylene-diamine. The red color of the azo dye is smoothly converted to a clear yellow by titration with sodium hypochlorite. The experimental procedure and a plausible mechanism are discussed with special reference to a possible in-the-field assay technique. The results obtained by titration agree favorably with spectrophotometric values, and the entire determination requires less than 2min. The titrimetric modification affords an alternative analytical procedure which allows for nitrate determination in those situations where spectrophotometry is impractical.
Pressure and fuel effects on turbulent consumption speeds of H2/CO blends

Abstract This paper describes measurements and correlations of turbulent consumption speeds, ST,GC, of hydrogen/carbon monoxide (H2/CO) fuel mixtures over a range of conditions. This work is set within the broader context of understanding the sensitivity of the turbulent flame speed to chemical kinetic and diffusive properties of the reactive mixture. Turbulent consumption speed data were obtained at mean flow velocities, turbulence intensities ( u rms ′ / S L , 0 ) , equivalence ratios and pressures ranging from 4–50 m/s, 5–45, 0.5–0.8, and 1–10 atm, respectively. Experiments were conducted where the mixture equivalence ratio, ϕ, was adjusted at each fuel composition to have nominally the same calculated un-stretched laminar flame speed, SL,0. Consistent with prior studies, these data show both fuel composition and pressure effects on the turbulent flame speed. For example, measured ST,GC values of the 90/10 H2/CO are about 3 times larger than CH4 blends having the same SL,0, turbulence intensity, and operating conditions. Similarly, the 5 atm data have ST,GC values that are consistently about 1.8 times larger than the 1 atm data, at identical conditions and fuel compositions. These data are correlated with a scaling law derived from quasi-steady leading points concepts using detailed kinetics calculations of highly stretched flames. For a given pressure, these scalings do an excellent job in scaling data obtained across the H2/CO fuel composition and equivalence ratio range. However, the pressure sensitivities are not captured by this scaling, which may be more fundamentally a reflection of the non-quasi-steady nature of the flame leading points. In support of this argument, we show that the spread in the data can largely be correlated with the ratio of a leading point chemical time scale to a flow time scale.
Ulcerative panniculitis with fevers and pleural effusions: A unique case of α1-antitrypsin deficiency

Alpha1-antitrypsin (AAT) is a serine protease inhibitor that prevents enzymatic degradation of normal human tissue.1 The Z allele of the AAT gene locus (designated PI) is the most frequent deficient mutation, with the PiZZ phenotype responsible for 95% of severe AAT deficiency cases.2 Severe deficiency is often underdiagnosed and classically leads to pulmonary and hepatic disease. Panniculitis is an unusual complication of AAT deficiency with prevalence of less than 0.1%.3 The panniculitis is characterized by refractory, painful nodules that ulcerate with oily or sanguineous drainage.4 We describe a unique inflammatory presentation of AAT deficiency that was characterized by recurrent fevers, ulcerative panniculitis, and pleural effusions. The classic findings of emphysema, bronchiectasis, and overt liver injury were absent.
Sensitivity analysis of the thermomechanical response of welded joints

A computational procedure is presented for evaluating the sensitivity coefficients of the thermomechanical response of welded structures. Uncoupled thermomechanical analysis, with transient thermal analysis and quasi-static mechanical analysis, is performed. A rate independent, small deformation thermo-elasto-plastic material model with temperature-dependent material properties is adopted in the study. The temperature field is assumed to be independent of the stresses and strains. The heat transfer equations emanating from a finite element semi-discretization are integrated using an implicit backward difference scheme to generate the time history of the temperatures. The mechanical response during welding is then calculated by solving a generalized plane strain problem. First- and second-order sensitivity coefficients of the thermal and mechanical response quantities (derivatives with respect to various thermomechanical parameters) are evaluated using a direct differentiation approach in conjunction with an automatic differentiation software facility. Numerical results are presented for a double fillet conventional welding of a stiffener and a base plate made of stainless steel AL-6XN material. Time histories of the response and sensitivity coefficients, and their spatial distributions at selected times are presented.
Optimization of CT scan with predictive contrast monitoring

In many clinical applications, it is desirable to perform computed tomography (CT) scans during the peak of the contrast uptake of an organ. Typically, a patient is first scanned continuously (with a low technique) at a fixed location and a series of CT images is generated. The average CT number within a predefined region of interest (ROI) is calculated and plotted for all the acquired images. When the contrast uptake within the ROI is judged to be adequate by an operator, a scan command is initiated and normal CT scans are performed. The methodology has been shown to be quite effective in improving the image quality of the CT examinations. When the scheme is applied to body scans (chest or abdomen), however, two factors might affect the effectiveness of this approach. The first relates to the fact that patient motion is not always avoidable in body scans. As a result, the predefined ROI might not always register at the same anatomical location. Another factor is related to the fact that a significant delay is encountered between the initiation of a scan command and the actual helical scan, due to mechanical delay of the CT system, time to move the patient table to the desired location, and the patient prep-time. Because of the contrast agent can pass through a patient organ in a relatively short period of time (10 - 30 seconds), the inherit delay often leads to a suboptimal scan since the peak of the contrast uptake is missed. In order to overcome these difficulties, we propose two schemes. The location of ROI is adapted from one image to the next to ensure the best feature match. This is accomplished by performing correlation calculation between the selected ROI in the pre-injection image and various ROIs in the neighboring locations in the new image. The final ROI location is determined based on the peak of the correlation coefficient. We also use a predictive algorithm to estimate the future uptake of the contrast agent. At the start of the scan, the average CT numbers are measured and sent to the predictor. The predictor uses all the measured samples taken up to that time to predict the average CT number a few seconds, t, later. When the next sample becomes available, the predictor will compare its prediction with the actual measurement and modify its prediction parameters to best predict the future samples. Computer simulations and clinical experiments have shown that significant improvement in the optimization of the contrast uptake can be achieved with this method. As a result, the entire CT examination is better centered on the peak of the contrast curve and an optimal contrast enhancement in CT image scan be achieved.© (1998) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Calorimetric Determination of the Half-Life of Polonium-210

Six determinations have been made of the half-life of polonium with four different steady-state, resistance-bridge calorimeters and five different samples of polonium. These six values of the half-life have been weighted and combined to give a grand-mean value of the half-life of 138.4005\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0051 days (internal consistency) or \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0058 day (external consistency).
CandidaInfection Following Severe Trauma Exacerbates Th2 Cytokines and Increases Mortality

Following trauma, there is an increase of Th2 cytokines (IL-4, IL-6, and IL-10) and a decrease in Th1 cytokines (IFN-gamma and IL-2) that may account for impaired cellular immunity. However, the functional significance of a dominant Th2 pattern to the host remains unclear. The aim of this study was to evaluate whether Candida albicans (CA) sepsis in the setting of a Th2 response to trauma leads to increased mortality and to examine the mediators involved. Female BALB/c mice were randomized (12 per group) to receive no injury (C); trauma, consisting of a combined femur fracture and 40% total blood loss (T); no injury plus CA infection (C+CA); and CA infection 1 week following trauma (T+CA). Survival was then followed for 3 weeks. In a separate study, mice were treated as above (5 per group) and sacrificed. Harvested splenocytes were evaluated for concanavalin A-stimulated cytokine production and liver and kidney homogenates were plated to evaluate CA growth per organ and examined histologically. Candida infection at 1 week following trauma resulted in significantly increased mortality compared to infected controls. Furthermore, the Th2 dominant cytokine pattern was significantly augmented in the presence of CA infection in both C+CA and T+CA groups. Additional analysis showed significant growth of CA in liver and kidney homogenates from T+CA compared to C+CA mice. These results suggest that injured and infected mice demonstrate augmentation of Th2 dominant responses above that of injury or infection alone, as well as a decreased ability to clear Candida which may partially explain the increase in mortality observed. Therapies designed to neutralize Th2 cytokines or augment Th1 cytokines may prove beneficial in the setting of sepsis following trauma.
The Electronic Structure or Charge Delocalization of Sulfated Zirconia (Supported on Multi-walled Carbon Nanotubes): Acid Sites Probed by X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy

X-ray absorption of inter-atom transitions (Zr LIII-, O K- and S K-edges) were used to probe the interaction of sulfate with nanoparticles of ZrO2 supported on multi-walled carbon nanotubes with the goal of describing the electronic interaction of formation of acid sites on sulfated zirconia. The changes in intensity at the Zr–O–S interface are first interpreted as charge transfer within various molecular orbitals using spectra of all three elements (Zr LIII-, O K- and S K-edges). An alternative interpretation of intensity, particularly for the sulfate precursor, is made in terms of charge distribution over molecular orbitals of different size and shape that result from the sulfate precursor decomposition and/or interaction with zirconia. Zr LIII-edge XANES of S-ZrO2/MWCNT annealed at different temperatures (250 °C ~ 550 °C), showing interaction between Zr and S.
Mechanical Properties of Lead Free Solder Alloy Measured by Nanoindentation

The elimination of lead from electronics due to its detrimental effects to environment is pushing component manufacturers to consider lead free solder alloy as an option. Application of lead free solder alloy requires a better understanding of its mechanical behavior at elevated temperatures and at small volume size. Such information is still lacking. In this study, nanoindentation technique was used to investigate the deformation behavior of the near eutectic ternary SAC387 (Sn 95.5 wt%, Ag 3.8 wt% and Cu 0.7 wt%) lead free solder alloy. The mechanical properties of each constituent phase in SAC387 were carefully measured and analyzed. Indentation tests were performed with different holding times to study the creep effects on the mechanical properties measured by nanoindentation. Microhardness tests were also carried out at temperatures above ambient temperature to investigate its influence on the mechanical properties.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
3-D Particle Tracking in a Two-Photon Microscope: Application to the Study of Molecular Dynamics in Cells

We developed a method for tracking particles in three dimensions designed for a two-photon microscope, which holds great promise to study cellular processes because of low photodamage, efficient background rejection, and improved depth discrimination. During a standard cycle of the tracking routine (32 ms), the laser beam traces four circular orbits surrounding the particle in two z planes above and below the particle. The radius of the orbits is half of the x,y-width of the point spread function, and the distance between the z planes is the z-width of the point spread function. The z-position is adjusted by moving the objective with a piezoelectric-nanopositioner. The particle position is calculated on the fly from the intensity profile obtained during the cycle, and these coordinates are used to set the scanning center for the next cycle. Applying this method, we were able to follow the motion of 500-nm diameter fluorescent polystyrene microspheres moved by a nanometric stage in either steps of 20-100 nm or sine waves of 0.1-10 microm amplitude with 20 nm precision. We also measured the diffusion coefficient of fluorospheres in glycerol solutions and recovered the values expected according to the Stokes-Einstein relationship for viscosities higher than 3.7 cP. The feasibility of this method for live cell measurements is demonstrated studying the phagocytosis of protein-coated fluorospheres by fibroblasts.
Short-Time Spark-Over of Gaps

In this paper data are presented on spark-over values of rod gaps, insulators, bushings, sphere gaps, and solid insulation for a range of spark-over times of approximately from 0.2 to 4 microseconds. The problems of accurate measurement that are involved are also discussed, and a shielded resistance voltage divider is described.
“Starter nitrogen”; fertilization in soybean culture 1

Abstract Proponents of the “starter nitrogen”; concept believe that a small amount of nitrogen fertilizer stimulates early vegetative growth of soybeans, thereby facilitating cultivation and weed control. To evaluate this concept, soybean leaf area, plant height, fresh weight, and yield were measured over three growing seasons. Growth parameters were measured at weekly intervals during the 7 weeks following planting of ‘Bragg’ soybeans (Glycine max (L.) Merr.) which had received 0, 16.8, and 50.4 kg N ha‐1 banded pre‐plant into the soil. The analysis, a multiple linear regression maximum R2 (multiple correlation coefficient) improvement procedure, showed that starter nitrogen did not significantly (.05) influence leaf area, plant height, fresh weight, or yield of Bragg soybeans.
The asymptotic distribution of an estimator of the Bayes error rate

The asymptotic distribution of a class of estimators of the Bayes error rate in pattern recognition problems is derived. The class consists of estimators of the risk-averaging type, applied to parametric models such as the logistic function.
Public health nurse mentorship of pregnant and parenting adolescents.

Objective This study explored the experience of the mentoring relationship for public health nurses (PHNs) and teen parents. Design and Sample PHNs and teen parents who participated in the Parenting and Teen Program provided qualitative data about mentorship provided by PHNs. Measures The participants were asked open-ended questions that addressed interactions; meaning of success for the teen; and support, information given, and decisions made in the context of the mentoring relationship. Results Data analysis of the PHN (n = 7) data revealed eight mentorship themes: (1) being nonjudgmental, (2) working with strengths, (3) meeting the teens where they were, (4) sticking with the teen, (5) honoring persons, (6) giving information, (7) making referrals, and (8) facilitating decisions. Analysis of the teen data (n = 11) resulted in four mentorship themes: (1) trustworthiness of the PHN, (2) the PHN as part of their support network, (3) independence building, and (4) help with decision making. Conclusions Parenting teens viewed PHNs as contributing to their success in managing their lives and becoming successful parents. They viewed PHNs as trustworthy, supportive, encouraging their independence, and facilitating positive decision making.
Eisenmenger's Syndrome.

In general, most authors advocate nonintervention in Eisenmenger’s syndrome, but an awareness of potential palliative measures to avoid destabilizing a delicately balanced physiology is needed as well. This approach has failed to alter long-term outcome, however. Survival for patients with Eisenmenger’s syndrome has not improved substantially in the past several decades. Quality of life is universally altered by the presence of cyanosis, exercise intolerance, and the comorbid conditions associated with erythrocytosis. We therefore believe that the use of novel alternatives, as they become available, is warranted and that these alternatives are likely to be best evaluated in multicenter collaborative trials. The approach to the patient with pulmonary vascular obstructive disease (PVOD) should begin with maximization of palliative therapy and should, as compliance and teaching are ensured, proceed to the use of therapies designed to reverse the underlying proliferative changes in the pulmonary vasculature. Frequent checking of potential supplemental oxygen responsiveness and use of inhaled oxygen as needed to maximize systemic arterial saturation should be considered, although evidence of the value of home oxygen use is currently lacking. We favor systemic anticoagulation to a target international normalized ratio of 2.0 to 2.5. There are currently no published data supporting this practice in patients with PVOD, but we believe that as in patients with primary pulmonary hypertension, benefit is likely to outweigh risk. In the setting of a meticulous outpatient anticoagulation service, we have witnessed acceptably low bleeding event rates. A controlled clinical trial is warranted. Selective pulmonary vasodilators and antiproliferative agents hold significant promise in altering the natural history of PVOD associated with intracardiac shunting. The risk of paradoxic embolism and the theoretical worsening of rightto-left shunting compound the already high risk of systemically administered therapies; neither, to date, has been limiting in our patients. Studies of infused or newer subcutaneous and inhaled formulations are under way, and preliminary experience suggests real benefit—improved hemodynamics, improved exercise tolerance, and increased systemic arterial saturation—in this group of patients. Lung transplantation still trades a disease for another set of problems associated with long-term immunosuppression and chronic graft rejection in patients with previous sternotomy and thoracotomy and with a high acute surgical risk. Population studies of mortality and morbidity in patients with PVOD associated with congenital heart disease who receive transplants do not seem to suggest significant improvement with this therapy. In the future, the management of Eisenmenger’s syndrome will probably include a multipharmacologic approach that targets several factors in the inflammatory cascade leading to vascular proliferation, perhaps offered in concert with novel surgical or transcatheter strategies designed to limit intracardiac shunting and, if desired, provide complete repair of intracardiac defects.
Axisymmetric jet forced by fundamental and subharmonic tones

A circular jet was excited simultaneously by two harmonically related tones. The results of this excitation on jet behavior are reported for three pairs of Strouhal numbers [St(D)=0.2 and 0.4, 0.3 and 0.6, 0.4 and 0.8]. For each case, the initial phase difference between the two tones was varied in steps of 45 deg for one full cycle, and the amplitude of the fundamental and subharmonic tones was varied independently over the range of 0.1-7.0% of the jet exit velocity.
A method of determining electromagnetic form factors of nucleons by cosmic ray experiments

Abstract A possible method of determining form factors by measuring the momentum transfer of the nucleon and the multiplicity of emitted soft mesons is discussed.
The Weight of Law in Calderón

From La vida es sueno to El postrer duelo de Espana and El pintor de su deshonra, Calderon repeatedly explores the weight of law on the individual, dramatizing the conflict between desire and law on both sides of the sexual divide. Law, invoked in its multiple variants—divine, natural and human—collides with the honour code, love, loyalty to friends, to family and to the king and institutions of the state and of power frequently abuse concepts of justice. The fact that Calderon never wrote the promised second part of his only two dramas with eponymous titles, Judas Macabeo and Luis Perez el gallego, suggests that the dramatist never found a satisfactory resolution to the fundamental human dilemma therein, that of finding a perfect individual balance between desire and the many faces of law.
Microbial caries induction in the roots of human teeth in vitro.

Abstract Streptococcus mutans GS5, Lactobacillus casei DSM20011 and Actinomyces viscosus T14 produce artificial caries in the roots of extracted teeth. Roots were coated with wax leaving an 8 mm 2 window exposed on the buccal surfaces, and then incubated for 8 days in the presence of the test organism, the synthetic medium being changed each day. Samples were then examined by SEM, or microradiographs were obtained from 120 μm sections. The pH at the root surface at the end of the induction averaged 4.43, 5.00 and 5.20, and the lesion depths measured on the microradiographs averaged 121, 83 and 34 μm, for Strep. mutons, L. casei and A. viscosus respectively. This relationship between pH and lesion depth confirms earlier findings. As all of these organisms can produce lesions in tooth structure, elimination of one type would probably not eliminate caries.