cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Contribution to the Study of the Critical Pitting Potential of Oxide Covered Aluminum in aqueous chloride solutions

The critical pitting potential of oxide covered aluminum electrodes in aqueous chloride solutions has been investigated as a function of chloride ion concentration, temperature, solution pH and oxide film thickness. The steady state critical pitting potential decreases with chloride ion concentration and increasing solution temperature. Solution pH in the range 5 to 9 has no effect on the breakdown potential. The role of the oxide film thickness is to slightly increase the critical potential for passivity breakdown and intiation of pitting. It is postulated that at the critical pitting potential, passivity breakdown occurs by a process of field assisted Cl adsorption on the hydrated oxide surface and formation of a soluble basic chloride salt with a lattice cation which readily goes in solution. This process of localized dissolution of the hydrated oxide film via formation of a soluble basic aluminum chloride salt, once initiated, is likely to continue in an “autocatalytic” fashion until the oxide is locally “penetrated” and dissolution of the substrate metal begins. Beitrag zur Untersuchung des kritischen Lochfraspotentials von oxidbedecktem Aluminium in wasrigen Chloridlosungen Das kritische Lochfraspotential von Aluminiumelektroden mit Oxiddeckschicht wurde in wasrigen Chloridlosungen in Abhangigkeit von Chlorionenkonzentration, Temperatur, pH der Losung und Dicke der Oxidschicht untersucht. Das kritische Lochfraspotential im stationaren Zustand nimmt mit der Konzentration der Chlorionen ab und steigt mit der Temperatur der Losung. Die pH-Werte im Bereich 5 bis 9 beeinflussen das Durchbruchspotential nicht. Eine Verstarkung der Oxidschicht fuhrt zu einem geringfugigen Anstieg des kritischen Durchbruchspotentials der Passivitat und zur Auslosung von Lochfras. Nach Ansicht der Autoren ist der Durchbruch der Passivitat am kritischen Lochfraspotential bedingt durch die Adsorption (im elektrischen Feld) der Chlorionen an der hydratisierten Oxidoberflache, andererseits durch die Bildung eines loslichen Salzes (basisches Chlorid), wobei das Kation aus dem Kristallgitter in Losung geht. Diese ortliche Auflosung der hydratisierten Oxidschicht unter Bildung eines loslichen Salzes (basisches Aluminiumchlorid) geht, sobald sie einmal in Gang gesetzt ist, autokatalytisch weiter, bis zum ortlichen Durchbruch der Passivschicht, wo die Auflosung des Grundmetalls begann.
Symmetry and the reflectivity of diffraction gratings at normal incidence.

We present a series of numerical calculations which illustrate the role of symmetry of the profile of a diffraction grating on its reflectivity at normal incidence. Here one finds reflectivity dips (or peaks) produced by grating-induced coupling of the incident photon to surface polaritons. When the grating profile has either even or odd parity, we find one of the two reflectivity dips expected at normal incidence is absent, in agreement with recent data. In addition, we find that the peaks are caused by the vanishing of certain Fourier components of the profile function. This result agrees with analogous results obtained in the theory of atom-surface scattering.
Properties and applications of fiber gratings

We evaluate the mode-coupling mechanisms for short- and long-period gratings based on the propagation constant differences between the various spatial modes of the optical fiber. The properties of these photoinduced devices such as strain and temperature response and spectral behavior are also reviewed. Short-period fiber gratings have applications to adding and dropping WDM channels, flattening the grain spectrum of optical amplifiers and compensating chromatic dispersion. The applications of long-period gratings to gain equalization, ASE suppression and sensor are summarized.
Hookworms in the Americas: An alternative to trans-Pacific contact

Abstract Recent New World archaeoparasitological discoveries of hookworm in pre-European contexts have revived a long-standing debate about the origin of hookworms in the Americas. Historically, the climatic conditions of Beringia encountered by migrating people have been considered too harsh for tropical hookworms to survive, suggesting that hookworms must have been introduced into South America by ‘storm-tossed' fisherman or explorers from Asia. Here, John Hawdon and Susan Johnston review the history of hookworms in the Americas, and propose an alternative to their trans-Pacific introduction based on the unique natural history of one of the human hookworms.
Conservative trends in the surgical management of vulvar cancer: a University of Miami patient care evaluation study

The objective of this study was to determine the impact of conservative surgical trends in vulvar cancer related to morbidity, adequacy of surgical resection, recurrence rates and survival. A retrospective analyses of 160 patients treated surgically for vulvar cancer at the University of Miami/Jackson Memorial Medical Center from January 1, 1973 to December 31, 1991 was performed. Patients were divided into two groups based on the date of surgery. Group 1 patients (82) had surgery between January 1, 1973 to December 31, 1982. Group 2 patients (78) had surgery between January 1, 1983 and December 31, 1991. Patient demographics, stage, T N M classification and grade were not statistically different between groups. There was a significant trend away from curvilinear en bloc resection toward the use of a separate triple incision (P = 0.0001). Decreases in exenterative surgery and radical vulvectomy and concurrent increases in radical local excision and hemivulvectomy occurred (P = 0.014). In addition, deep pelvic node dissection was abandoned and an increase in unilateral vs bilateral inguinal node dissection also occurred, yet this did not reach significance (P = 0.09). No difference in the mean number of total nodes, number of groin nodes obtained and percentage of patients with positive nodes or positive margins was found. With the trend toward more conservative surgery, statistically significant decreases in mean estimated blood loss (1 334 ml to 834 ml; P = 0.009), length of days hospitalized (31.5 to 19.7; P = 0.001) and operative times (5.3 h to 4.1 h; P = 0.002) occurred. No difference was noted in minor wound breakdown rates; however, there were significantly fewer major wound breakdowns in the conservatively treated group (43.2% vs 16.6%) (P = 0.0003). Major wound breakdowns occurred more frequently in the abdomen/groin region in group 1 vs 2 (24.7% vs 7.7%; P = 0.004). Frequencies of wound breakdown in relation to the number of clinical risk factors (smoking, hypertension, diabetes, obesity, other) for all patients was found to be highly statistically significant (P = 0.006). When evaluating patients with squamous carcinoma only, recurrence rates and 5-year survivals were not statistically different (P = 0.45). The trend toward conservative surgical management of vulvar carcinoma significantly reduced morbidity with no impact on recurrence rates or 5-year survival.
Nonsenses of today

Perfect Symmetry: The Search for the Beginning of Time. By Heinz R. Pagels. Simon & Schuster 1985. Pp. 329. $18.95. To be published in Britain later this year by Michael Joseph.
Everolimus for Calcineurin-Inhibitor Minimization in Lung Transplant Recipients With Chronic Renal Insufficiency: Four-Year Outcomes

Purpose: We use everolimus (EVR) in lung transplant recipients (LTxR) with calcineurin inhibitor-associated chronic renal insufficiency (CRI). We have previously reported that everolimus (EVR) with calcineurin inhibitor minimization (CNImin) improved eGFR in LTxR at 1 year; however, longterm renal outcomes are lacking. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the long-term efficacy of off label EVR with CNImin for improving renal function in LTxR. Methods: We retrospectively reviewed LTxR with CRI who initiated EVR for CNImin at our center from July 2010 through June 2011. CRI was defined as either a serum creatinine (Scr) ≥ 1.5 mg/dL or a doubling of Scr from baseline. LTxR who previously received sirolimus were excluded. The primary outcome measure was the mean change in eGFR from baseline to year 1, 2, 3 and 4 among recipients who remained on EVR. eGFR was calculated using the MDRD equation. Change in eGFR was evaluated using a paired t test. Results: 50 lung transplant recipients were included in the study.
Morphology of Symmetric ABC Triblock Copolymers in the Strong Segregation Limit

We investigate the equilibrium morphological properties of a symmetric ABC triblock copolymer in the strong segregation regime. Although a tricontinuous double diamond phase has been experimentally reported within a large region of the phase diagram, we find that neither gyroid nor double diamond cubic phases are stable relative to lamellae and cylinders in the asymptotic limit of strong segregation (SSL). However, this finding does not rule out stable equilibrium cubic phases at intermediate molecular weights or moderate temperatures. Moreover, in contrast to the experimental conclusions, the gyroid structure is shown to be marginally stable with respect to the double diamond structure in the SSL.
On the passage of radiation through inhomogeneous, moving media. VIII - Ray paths and fluxes in a plane differentially sheared medium

We give a detailed discussion of the group-velocity ray paths in a plane differentially sheared medium with constant index of refraction as measured by a local inertial observer. For a given velocity profile the numerical ray paths are presented graphically for several representative cases. Assuming that the medium has a volume emissivity and that a given flux of radiation is incident at the base of the medium, the flux of radiation leaving the slab as a function of exit angle is calculated and presented in the same representative cases. Peaks and discontinuities in the flux generally appear at given exit angles, but their locations and the half-widths of the peaks depend sensitively on the index of refraction.
Development of a matched filter detector for acoustic signals at local distances from small explosions

A method for acoustic detection of small explosions at local distances is presented combining a matched filter with a p-value representing the conditional probability of detection. Because the physics of signal generation and propagation for small, locally recorded acoustic signals from small explosions is well understood, the single hypothesis to be tested is a signal corrupted by additive noise. A simple analytical signal representation is used where a known signal is assumed with parameters to be determined. The advantage of the approach is that the detector can be combined with other detectors that measure different signal characteristics all under the same unifying hypothesis.
The effect of rings on microbial load of health care workers' hands☆

Abstract Background: The hands of health care workers (HCWs) serve as a major route for transmission of nosocomial infection. Although handwashing is known to reduce cross-transmission of infection, the influence of rings on the efficacy of handwashing and the carriage of bacteria on the hands has not been well established. Methods: In this study, 50 HCWs with rings were paired by unit with 50 HCWs without rings. Cultures were obtained by use of a timed-friction rinse before and after a timed handwashing. Standard laboratory procedures were followed for identification of the bacteria. Results: When colony counts before handwashing are taken into consideration, a significant difference is seen after handwashing between the two group ( R 2 = 0.56). The regression model showed that the slope was significantly sleeper ( p Conclusions: A standardized, timed handwashing procedure was effective in decreasing the bioload of HCWs' hands. The effect of rings on the bioload was significant in this study.
Genetic variation and clonal structure of the rare, riparian shrub Spiraea virginiana (Rosaceae)

Genetic diversity is often considered important for species that inhabit highly disturbed environments to allow for adaptation. Many variables affect levels of genetic variation; however, the two most influential variables are population size and type of reproduction. When analyzed separately, both small population size and asexual reproduction can lead to reductions in genetic variation, although the exact nature of which can be contrasting. Genetic variables such as allelic richness, heterozygosity, inbreeding coefficient, and population differentiation have opposite predictions depending upon the trait (rarity or clonality) examined. The goal of this study was to quantify genetic variation and population differentiation in a species that resides in a highly stochastic environment and is both rare and highly clonal, Spiraea virginiana, and to determine if one trait is more influential genetically than the other. From populations sampled throughout the natural range of S. virginiana, we used microsatellite loci to estimate overall genetic variation. We also calculated clonal structure within populations, which included genotypic richness, evenness, and diversity. Gene flow was investigated by quantifying the relationship between genetic and geographic distances, and population differentiation (θ) among populations. Observed heterozygosity, genotypic richness, and inbreeding coefficients were found to be representative of high clonal reproduction (averaging 0.505, 0.1, and –0.356, respectively) and the number of alleles within populations was low (range = 2.0–3.6), being more indicative of rarity. Population differentiation (θ) among populations was high (average = 0.302) and there was no relationship between genetic and geographic distances. By examining a species that exhibits two traits that both can lead to reduced genetic variation, we may find an enhanced urgency for conservation. Accurate demographic counts of clonal species are rarely, if ever, possible and genetic exploration for every species is not feasible. Therefore, the conclusions in this study can be potentially extrapolated to other riparian, clonal shrubs that share similar biology as S. virginiana.
Constraints on chondrule origins

Textures and composition variations were studied in a group of compound chondrules and constraints on chondrule formation were derived from the results obtained. Common chondrule textures and petrological-chemical studies of separated chondrules are discussed. Relic grains and cooling rates are considered and observations of compound chondrules are described. Results indicate that the size range of chondrules is limited and that while chondrules show well resolved differences in chemical and isotopic composition, almost all contain relict grains. Chondrule composition is distinct from igneous rock and volatile phases are common in their interiors. It is suggested that chondrules are formed by turbulence generated lightning at the interface between the dusty midplane and the gas-rich portion of the nebula.
The Fixed Vertex Property for Graphs

Analogous to the fixed point property for ordered sets, a graph has the fixed vertex property iff each of its endomorphisms has a fixed vertex. The fixed point theory for ordered sets can be embedded into the fixed vertex theory for graphs. Therefore, the potential for cross-fertilization should be explored.
THE HIGH AFFINITY HEPARIN-BINDING DOMAIN AND THE V REGION OF FIBRONECTIN MEDIATE INVASION OF HUMAN ORAL SQUAMOUS CELL CARCINOMA CELLS IN VITRO

Fibronectin is an extracellular matrix molecule composed of repeating subunits that create functional domains. These domains contain multiple binding sites for heparin and for various cell-surface receptors that modulate cell function. To examine the role that the high affinity heparin-binding region and the alternatively spliced V region of fibronectin play in tumor invasion, we expressed and purified four complementary recombinant fibronectin proteins. These proteins either included or excluded the alternatively spliced V region and contained either a mutated, non-functional high affinity heparin-binding domain (Hep-) or an unmutated heparin-binding domain (Hep+). Cultured oral squamous cell carcinoma cells were assayed for invasion into a Matrigel/collagen matrix supplemented with these four purified recombinant proteins, and for spreading and motility on plastic. Increased invasion was observed in gels supplemented with the V-Hep+ protein when compared with the V-Hep- protein. Inclusion of the V region in the proteins enhanced the invasion and migration associated with both Hep+ and Hep- proteins, whereas cell spreading was enhanced with the Hep+ recombinant proteins. These data demonstrate that both the high affinity heparin-binding domain and the V region of fibronectin play important roles in invasion, motility, and spreading of oral squamous cell carcinoma cells.
No tolerance to antiaggressive effect of d-amphetamine in mice

Agonistic, locomotor, and stereotyped behavior were measured in male Swiss-Webster mice in their home cage, normally shared with a female, while confronting an intruder mouse. Acute administration of d-amphetamine (2, 4, 8 mg/kg, IP) to resident mice decreased the frequency of attacks toward an untreated intruder, increased the resident's locomotor activity, and induced a small amount of stereotyped behavior. Redetermination of dose-effect functions during chronic treatment (8 or 16 mg/kg/day) indicated that tolerance did not develop to the antiaggressive effect of d-amphetamine. By contrast, the chronically treated mice showed sensitization to amphetamine-induced stereotypies and a diminished sensitivity to the drug's enhancement of locomotor activity. Subsequent tests with cocaine indicated no differences between amphetamine-maintained and saline control animals, providing no evidence for cross-tolerance or cross-sensitization between cocaine's and amphetamine's effects on attack, locomotion, and stereotypies.
In situ determination of electrical conductivity of potting media using time domain reflectometry

Abstract The possibility of measuring both the volumetric water content (ν θ) and bulk electrical conductivity (ECb) of media using a single instrument makes time domain reflectometry (TDR) invaluable for greenhouse potting media ν and ECb determination. Laboratory experiments in three different potting media instrumented with triple‐wire TDR probes were performed to calibrate the TDR system for the determination of potting media water electrical conductivity (ECw). The performance of the TDR for in situ determination of ECw, using the experimentally‐determined conductivity model, was investigated using packed columns of potting media. Linear relationships between the ECb‐ECw data were found for all the tested media at the three water contents (0.30, 0.36, 0.45 cm3cm‐3) for four solute concentrations ranging from 1.481 to 3.797 dS m‐1. Linear regression coefficient of determination, r2, of between 0.97 and 0.99 were achieved. Calibration accuracies ranged from 94% to 98% for ECwpredictions. Results indica...
Phosphorylation of SV40 large T antigen in SV40 nucleoprotein complexes.

Abstract The SV40 large T antigen associated with SV40 nucleoprotein complexes containing SV40 (I) DNA is phosphorylated. Tryptic peptide analysis reveals two major phosphopeptides in nucleoprotein complex large T antigen similar to those found in unbound SV40 large T antigen, one peptide containing mainly phosphoserine and the other containing mainly phosphothreonine. In addition to the two major phosphopeptides, unbound SV40 large T antigen contains a number of minor phosphopeptides. There is a minor phosphopeptide present in nucleoprotein complex large T antigen which is not apparent in the unbound large T antigen.
Modulation of interferon gamma induced increases in cathepsin B in THP-1 cells by adrenergic agonists and antagonists.

In order to investigate the possible modulation of macrophage function by the autonomic nervous system, the effect of adrenergic agonists and antagonists on interferon (IFN)-gamma-induced increases in cathepsin B (CB) in a macrophage-like cell line was studied. It has been shown previously that IFN-gamma induces increased CB activity in phorbol myristate acetate (PMA)-primed THP-1 cells. Isoproterenol (ISO) (10 micrometers), a mixed beta-receptor agonist, increased the induction of CB activity in the cells but norepinephrine (10 micrometers) and epinephrine (10 micrometers), the alpha and beta receptor agonists, had little effect. The addition of the mixed alpha-receptor antagonist phentolamine (10 micrometers) had no effect on ISO induced increases but the mixed beta-receptor antagonist propranolol (10 micrometers) and the selective beta1-receptor antagonist atenolol produced significant inhibition. These results suggest that the activation of beta-receptors could be involved in the induction of CB activity in macrophages and provide a possible mechanism for the regulation of macrophage effector function by the autonomic nervous system. Dibutyryl cAMP (1 mm) alone also induced increases in CB in THP-1 cells, and H-89 or HA1004 abrogated the effect of dibutyryl cAMP, suggesting that the effect of ISO on CB could be through the elevation of cAMP and the activation of cAMP-dependent protein kinases.
High-resolution triangulation of arbitrary shaped surfaces based on coordinate curves

A new method is proposed for building a polyhedral mesh form a set of planar contours representing coordinate constant slices of an object. This method can be used for extracting a boundary surface from volumetric data, a typical application of which is surface reconstruction for objects imaged by CT. With a computational complexity and processing time comparable to those of the Marching Cubes algorithm, an alternative method for extracting iso-surfaces from CT images, this method creates a surface with half of the number of triangles required by Marching Cubes without sacrificing for the accuracy of the surface. This algorithm begins with identifying boundary vertices in three sets of mutually perpendicular planes through the volumetric image data. Using the neighborhood relationship between the vertices in each plane the 3D neighborhood structure of the surface is determined, and either 4 or 6 neighbors are assigned to each vertex. The surface is then tiled with triangles by joining each vertex to two of its immediate neighbors. We applied this method to both computer generated phantom data, and real MR images of human head and compared the result with those of the Marching Cubes algorithm. The experiments show that the proposed method creates more regular and uniform triangulation with smaller number of triangles.© (2000) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Looking Beyond Looks: Comments on Sloutsky, Kloos, and Fisher (2007)

How do people acquire knowledge about the world? Do the sources of information that underlie knowledge acquisition in young children differ from those in adults? These fundamental questions have permeated scientific inquiry since the time of Socrates and Aristotle. Following in this tradition, a recent article by Sloutsky, Kloos, and Fisher (SKF; 2007) is ambitious—indeed, classic. Their goal was to uncover the contributions of conceptual and perceptual information in children’s categorization and induction about natural kinds. But experimental evidence is only as good as the theory and logic upon which it rests. Unfortunately, SKF’s approach to each of the key constructs—concepts, perceptual information, categorization, and induction—misses its mark. To quickly review: SKF taught children two novel categories of buglike entities, stipulating that the categories could be distinguished by the ratio of buttons to fingers (members of one category had more buttons than fingers, members of the other had more fingers than buttons). SKF introduced novel words (ziblet and flurp) for these categories. Children successfully extended these names to new instances. SKF then told children that one particular individual had a certain property (e.g., ‘‘thick blood’’). The children extended that property to items of the same overall appearance, ignoring the ziblet/flurp distinction. SKF interpreted this result as showing that ‘‘looks are everything’’ in children’s inductive inferences. We illustrate our concerns with an analogy. Suppose we aim to study the role of conceptual versus perceptual similarity in reasoning about natural kinds. We teach children two novel categories, stipulating that they are evensies (dogs with an even number of whiskers) and oddsies (dogs with an odd number of whiskers). We find that children learn these words without difficulty. We then tell the children that one particular dog (e.g., a collie evensy) has a certain kind of blood inside. We find that they extend that property on the basis of appearance, generalizing to perceptually similar dogs, disregarding the evensy/ oddsy distinction (e.g., they extend the property to a collie oddsy, but not a Chihuahua evensy). From this evidence, can we conclude that children use perceptual similarity rather than natural-kind membership in their inductive inferences? We think not. The experiment lacks construct validity. The novel categories created for this experiment are not natural kinds, and naming them (evensy or oddsy) does not make them so. The appearance of the items is a better guide to natural-kind membership than are the labels. Our concerns about this hypothetical example apply equally to SKF’s study.
Radiation Effects of Bombardment of Quartz and Vitreous Silica by 7.5-kev to 59-kev Positive Ions

Bombardment of quartz or vitreous silica by positive ions produces a surface layer of altered refractive index whose depth and refractive index is found from reflection coefficient measurements at 650 m\ensuremath{\mu}, 600 m\ensuremath{\mu}, 550 m\ensuremath{\mu}, 500 m\ensuremath{\mu}, and 450 m\ensuremath{\mu}. The layer depths and the changes in refractive index versus integrated flux are given for ${\mathrm{H}}_{2}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{D}}_{2}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{He}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{Ne}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{A}}^{+}$, ${\mathrm{Kr}}^{+}$, and ${\mathrm{Xe}}^{+}$ ions with energies from 7.5 kev to 59 kev. All bombardments give approximately equal changes in refractive index for a given energy input per unit volume of material as long as the ion energy is low enough so that energy loss by ionization is negligible. The changes produced by ion bombardment are attributed to direct lattice displacements and are shown to be consistent with the known changes produced in quartz and vitreous silica by fast neutron bombardment. Thermal spikes produced by knock-on atoms in quartz and vitreous silica are experimentally shown to be unimportant for knock-on energies near 45 kev.
Adherence to strong verbal meaning definitions in schizophrenics.

Summary In an effort to investigate the relationship of age and sex of three-, four-, and five-year-old children a series of six “fantasy” and six reality pictures was administered to 78 Ss. From the S's description of each picture a decision was made as to whether he could distinguish the picture as being realistic or unrealistic. It was found that the ability of the Ss increased with age but that there were no sex differences.
Language Attitudes Toward Spanish and English Varieties: A Chicano Perspective:

This study investigated how Chicano adolescentsfrom two bilingual speech communities in Austin, Texas, view their own varieties of Spanish and English as well as the varieties used by their African...
Variation in compliance in two classes of two-link underactuated mechanisms

The compliance of an underactuated robotic hand, or a robotic hand with fewer actuators than degrees of freedom, is a function of the mechanism type, the design parameters, and the operational control mode. The transmissions used in underactuated mechanisms can be divided into two main classes based on the self-adaptive transmission used to route actuation to the various degrees of freedom, namely the single-acting transmission and the double-acting transmission. While both transmission classes can be represented using a kinematic constraint equation that defines the relationship between actuator and joint motion, the main difference between the two transmission classes is that the kinematic constraint is always active in double-acting mechanisms while there are specific combinations of external disturbances and mechanism parmeters that render the constraint inactive in single-acting mechanisms. While previous studies have only explored the performance of underactuated mechanisms with the constraint always active, this paper identifies the benefits for robotic grasping (such as better disturbance rejection) that arise when the constraint becomes inactive in single-acting mechanisms.
Extending the reggio emilia educational approach to creativity support environments

Intelligent Systems can effectively bridge the wondrous world of childhood and the adult world of rules, goals and expectations. This paper explores the possibility of an embodied child-computer interaction that cultivates creativity - a core value of the successful adult in an increasingly digital society. We draw specifically on the Reggio Emilia method of education, not by adding to it PCs (as has been done, with mixed results), but instead, by respecting its focus on haptics - on the handling of physical things as a way of learning - embedding computation in the very fabric of the physical environment. We call this embodied system a Creativity Support Environment to emphasize the role of the physical environment as, itself, a "teacher" of creativity.
Effect of Dietary Essential Amino Acid Limitations upon Native Levels of Murine Serum Immunoglobulins, Transferrin, and Complement

Effects of dietary essential amino acid (leucine, isoleucine, valine, or lysine) limitations upon the native levels of serum immunoglobulin G (IgG), IgM, and IgA, as well as transferrin, the third component of complement (C3), and albumin were determined in CF1 mice by the radial immunodiffusion technique. Male mice fed the control diet and the isoleucine- or valine-limited diets exhibited lower levels of serum IgG than the female mice fed the same diets. Levels of IgG in female experimental mice were not significantly different than those in female control mice. Serum IgM levels in male or female mice fed the experimental diets were higher than those in the control mice. Except for the mice fed the isoleucine-limited diet, serum IgA levels were higher in male and female mice fed the experimental diets than in mice fed the control diet. Serum transferrin levels were not significantly different in mice fed the experimental diets when compared with mice fed the control diet. However, the levels of transferrin found in the peritoneal exudates were lower in mice fed the isoleucine- or lysine-limited diets than in mice fed the control diet. In mice fed the isoleucine- and lysine-limited diets, the levels of serum C3 were significantly lower than those in control mice. These results indicate that the native levels of serum immunoglobulins are increased in some instances and that the levels of serum C3 and the transferrin in the peritoneal fluid are significantly decreased in certain dietary groups of mice.
Virtual reconstruction of archaeological vessels using expert priors & surface markings

This paper presents a method to assist in the tedious procedure of reconstructing ceramic vessels from unearthed archaeological shards or fragments using 3D computer vision-enabling technologies. The method uses vessels surface markings combined with a generic model to produce a representation of what the original vessel may have looked like. Generic vessel models used are based on a host of factors including expert historical knowledge of the period, provenance of the artifact and site location. The generic model need not be identical to the excavated vessel, but must be within the allowable class, i.e., it is within a geometric transformation of it in most of its parts. The ceramic vessels we worked with have markings, which we exploit under the allowable set of transformations between the generic model and the excavated vessel. We align them using a novel set of weighted curve moments. The morphing transformation (affine or higher order morphing function) is computed from these corresponding curves, and distance error metrics are introduced to access the accuracy of alignment of a fragment to a given vessel. If a vessel has no surface markings, we use curves for alignment these are computed from the intrinsic differential geometry of the surface and are also locally affine preserved. The methods are tested on a subset of Independence National Historical Park (INDE) ceramic artifacts created by 3-D scanning of prospective generic bowls and their pieces.
Materials design for sustainability through life cycle modeling of engineered cementitious composites

Evaluating and enhancing construction material sustainability requires a life cycle perspective of the structures in which they are used, since material properties and durability can have a profound effect on overall infrastructure performance. A framework is proposed to evaluate and enhance the design of “greener” materials that integrates material design, structural design, and life cycle modeling of the built system. This framework is applied to engineered cementitious composite materials, a family of high performance fiber-reinforced composites used as link slabs in a concrete bridge deck. Modeling results show incorporating waste materials, such as fly ash, should be pursued only if the material retains adequate durability for the structural application where it is used. Additionally, traffic congestion resulting from bridge deck construction and rehabilitation events dominates environmental and economic life cycle results, consuming the most energy, producing the largest amount of pollutants, and generating the greatest life cycle costs.
The cultural foundations of denials of hate speech in Hungarian broadcast talk

In Hungarian public talk, ‘hate speech’ (gyűloletbeszed) is a term commonly used to morally sanction the talk of others. The article describes two dominant interpretive strategies Hungarian speaker...
Use of narcotic analgesics associated with increased falls and fractures in elderly patients with osteoarthritis

Commentary on: Rolita L, Spegman A, Tang X, et al. Greater number of narcotic analgesic prescriptions for osteoarthritis is associated with falls and fractures in elderly adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2013;61:335–40[OpenUrl][1][CrossRef][2][PubMed][3] Pain control is a critical component in osteoarthritis (OA) management in the elderly. Opioid and non-opioid analgesics are commonly used to manage pain in OA patients.1 New non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) such as cyclooxygenase 2 (COX2) inhibitors emerged as non-opioid alternatives to pain management in early 2000 due to selective COX2 effects. However, some COX2 drugs were removed from the market in 2005 owing to elevated cardiovascular risks. This led the OA treatment guidelines to recommend the use of non-selective NSAIDs and opioid analgesics. However, recent studies suggest that patients using narcotic analgesics are at a higher risk of cardiovascular adverse events and falls/fractures compared with those using selective and non-selective NSAIDs. … [1]: {openurl}?query=rft.jtitle%253DJ%2BAm%2BGeriatr%2BSoc%26rft.volume%253D61%26rft.spage%253D335%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Adoi%252F10.1111%252Fjgs.12148%26rft_id%253Dinfo%253Apmid%252F23452054%26rft.genre%253Darticle%26rft_val_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Ajournal%26ctx_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ver%253DZ39.88-2004%26url_ctx_fmt%253Dinfo%253Aofi%252Ffmt%253Akev%253Amtx%253Actx [2]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=10.1111/jgs.12148&link_type=DOI [3]: /lookup/external-ref?access_num=23452054&link_type=MED&atom=%2Febmed%2F19%2F1%2F37.atom
Hawai'iloa: ka 'imi 'ike, Seeker of Knowledge

Hawai'iloa: ka 'imi 'ike, Seeker of Knowledge. Bernice P. Bishop Museum, Honolulu, Hawaii. (January 14. June 4,1995)
Endoscopic retrograde dilation of completely occlusive esophageal strictures.

Background Completely occlusive esophageal strictures may develop after head and neck radiotherapy or esophagectomy with gastric or colonic interposition. Major surgical intervention may be required to restore alimentary tract patency when endoscopic lumen reconstitution is not feasible by routine antegrade endoscopy. Retrograde endoscopic lumen identification and dilation is a useful method to reestablish alimentary tract patency, thereby avoiding surgical intervention. Methods Patients requiring endoscopic dilation for completely occlusive esophageal strictures were identified by the gastroenterology, thoracic, and head and neck services. Retrograde access was obtained by balloon dilation of either a jejunostomy or gastrostomy tract, and an endoscope was passed to the area of stricture. Antegrade and retrograde endoscopy were performed simultaneously. A guidewire was passed either retrograde or antegrade under direct endoscopic visualization, followed by antegrade Savary dilation under fluoroscopic guidance. Results From 2003 to 2006, 9 patients were identified with completely occlusive esophageal strictures requiring retrograde lumen identification and dilation. Stricture developed in 6 patients after radiotherapy for head and neck cancer and in 3 after esophagectomy with either gastric or colonic interposition for esophageal cancer. Endoscopic dilation was successful in all patients, without perforation. Conclusions Retrograde endoscopic lumen identification and dilation is an option to reestablish lumen patency of completely occlusive esophageal strictures after esophagectomy with gastric or colonic interposition or after head and neck chemoradiotherapy.
Chaotic transport in a double gyre ocean

Lagrangian trajectories in a deterministic simple flow can exhibit complex behavior. This is called the chaotic advection, which can induce the chaotic transport and mixing (which oceanographers conventionally call stirring) in the fluid particles and fine structure in the tracer fields. We propose the chaotic transport as a gyre-scale transport mechansim in oceans. Our model ocean has double gyres, subtropical and subpolar gyres, driven by the surface wind. When the wind is allowed to seasonally migrate, the inter-gyre transport and across streamline transport within each gyre will be excited. The fastest inter-gyre transport occurs when the wind migrates about 1000km in north-south direction with a period of interannual to decadal time. The estimate of the effective diffusion coefficient by this gyre-scale mixing is about 3 × 107cm2s−1, comparable to those derived for synoptical eddies. The results shed some light on gyre-scale exchange of water and heat flux in general oceans and implications for the studies of ocean climate. The concepts and methods used here will find applications in coastal oceanography, ocean biology and chemistry.
When does hyporetinolemia mean vitamin A deficiency

Serum retinol, which is bound to retinol binding protein (RBP), has at least 2 roles. One role (created by nutritionists) is to serve as an indicator of vitamin A status. Another role is to serve as the transport form of vitamin A from liver stores to peripheral tissues. Although most nutritionists would agree that the former role of serum retinol can be transiently compromised during the acute phase response, convincing evidence that the latter role is significantly compromised under the same circumstances is lacking. The authors of 2 studies—one involving women with night blindness (1) and the other involving children with night blindness or Bitot spots (2)—raise, but do not answer, the question of whether the low serum retinol concentrations seen during the acute phase response cause clinical manifestations of vitamin A deficiency (eg, night blindness). Serum retinol concentrations decrease transiently during the acute phase response to infection and trauma for several reasons, including decreased release of retinol-RBP from the liver (3). Thus, serum retinol concentrations typically rebound during resolution of the acute phase response as retinol is again released from the liver. This phenomenon can complicate the use of serum retinol as an indicator of vitamin A status because by status, nutritionists typically mean the amount of vitamin A stored in the liver (4). Whereas infection or trauma may lead to loss of vitamin A from body stores during severe infections (5), transient decreases in serum retinol occur during mild episodes of infection and trauma as well and thus are clearly not directly related to decreases in liver vitamin A stores in such cases. These transient decreases impair the assessment of nutritional status when they decrease serum retinol concentrations to the extent that subjects may be misclassified as having less than adequate liver vitamin A stores when, in fact, their stores are adequate. Persons with an active acute phase response may be identified by measuring serum concentrations of positive acute phase proteins, such as C-reactive protein (CRP) and a1-acid glycoprotein (AGP), which increase during the acute phase response (6). Such markers can be used to identify subjects with low serum retinol who may be misclassified as vitamin A deficient because of the acute phase response, a remedy that has been suggested to adjust measurements of other micronutrients as well (7). The concentrations of these acute phase proteins typically have a strong, negative correlation with serum retinol during the acute phase response. Semba et al (2) and Christian et al (1) found that such negative correlations are also found in subjects with clinical vitamin A deficiency, confirming that decreases in serum retinol induced by the acute phase response occur across a wide spectrum of vitamin A status. These findings are not unexpected.
The mathematics of mosaic analysis. II. Formulae for interacting foci.

Mosaic fate mapping requires first a measurement of the frequency of separation (by genotype) of two structures and then a conversion of this frequency of separation to distance (Wyman and Thomas 1982). If the genotype of two structures is visible, the frequency of separation (sturt distance) may be directly obtained. If the genotype is not visible (e.g., for behavioral foci) then the frequency of separation (sturt distance) itself must be calculated. The formulae introduced by Hotta and Benzer (1972) for calculating frequency of separation are appropriate only for a set of mosaics in which each fly has half normal and half mutant tissue. Using these formulae for a set of mosaics with a different fraction of mutant tissue can give enormously incorrect results.—In this paper we use intuitive lines of reasoning to obtain simple formulae for frequencies of separation that are algebraically equal to the more elaborate Hotta and Benzer (1972) formulae.—We show that when calculating sturt distances, data from a collection of mosaics with a range of malenesses, even if the average maleness is ½, cannot be lumped together. We prove that applying any formula appropriate for m = ½ to a set of mosaics all of maleness m, and then to a set of maleness 1—m, and then averaging the two results, does give the correct value for sturt distances. In this way all the mapping distances may be obtained.—Another method for locating foci is called "contour mapping". We show that the currently available contour formulae are inaccurate. We suggest that contour maps be drawn using the accurate sturt distances.
Fair Housing Policy and the Abandonment of Public Housing Desegregation

In this article I examine the failure of fair housing policy to desegregate public housing in the USA. The article reviews major federal actions toward public housing segregation, as well as broader public housing segregation patterns and trends in the USA. It then draws on a variety of archival sources to present an in-depth case study of public housing segregation and desegregation in Louisville, Kentucky. Unlike previous studies of the subject, this article provides a detailed investigation of the relationship between local public housing tenancy policies and changes in racial occupancy across Louisville's housing projects spanning the last 50 years. The article argues for the importance of research on local-scale policy implementation for our understanding of fair housing policy, and it draws from its investigation of Louisville some conclusions about the inability of fair housing policy in the USA to realize its stated objectives.
The Shape of Differential Geometry in Geometric Calculus

We review the foundations for coordinate-free differential geometry in Geometric Calculus. In particular, we see how both extrinsic and intrinsic geometry of a manifold can be characterized by a single bivector-valued one-form called the Shape Operator. The challenge is to adapt this formalism to Conformal Geometric Algebra for wide application in computer science and engineering.
GigaHash: scalable minimal perfect hashing for billions of urls

A minimal perfect function maps a static set of n keys on to the range of integers {0,1,2,...,n - 1}. We present a scalable high performance algorithm based on random graphs for constructing minimal perfect hash functions (MPHFs). For a set of n keys, our algorithm outputs a description of h in expected time O(n). The evaluation of h(x) requires three memory accesses for any key x and the description of h takes up 0.89n bytes (7.13n bits). This is the best (most space efficient) known result to date. Using a simple heuristic and Huffman coding, the space requirement is further reduced to 0.79n bytes (6.86n bits). We present a high performance architecture that is easy to parallelize and scales well to very large data sets encountered in internet search applications. Experimental results on a one billion URL dataset obtained from Live Search crawl data, show that the proposed algorithm (a)finds an MPHF for one billion URLs in less than 4 minutes, and (b) requires only 6.86 bits/key for the description of h.
Climatic Influence of Sea Surface Temperature: Evidence of Substantial Precipitation Correlation and Predictability

Abstract Using a combination of statistical methods and monthly SST anomalies (SSTAs) from one or two ocean regions, relatively strong SSTA–precipitation relationships are found during much of the year in the United States: hindcast-bias-corrected correlation coefficients 0.2–0.4 and 0.3–0.6, on monthly and seasonal timescales, respectively. Improved rigor is central to these results: the most crucial procedure was a transform giving regression residuals meeting statistical validity requirements. Tests on 1994–99 out-of-sample data gave better results than expected: semiquantitative, mapped predictions, and quantitative, Heidke skills, are shown. Correlations are large enough to suggest that substantial skill can be obtained for one to several months' precipitation and climate forecasts using ocean circulation models, or statistical methods alone. Although this study was limited to the United States for simplicity, the methodology is intended as generally applicable. Previous work suggests that similar or...
Potential Uses and Inherent Challenges of Using Genome-Scale Sequencing to Augment Current Newborn Screening

Since newborn screening (NBS) began in the 1960s, technological advances have enabled its expansion to include an increasing number of disorders. Recent developments now make it possible to sequence an infant's genome relatively quickly and economically. Clinical application of whole-exome and whole-genome sequencing is expanding at a rapid pace but presents many challenges. Its utility in NBS has yet to be demonstrated and its application in the pediatric population requires examination, not only for potential clinical benefits, but also for the unique ethical challenges it presents.