cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU-GG-I-36: Initial Performance Evaluation of GE CT 750HD Scanner

Purpose: To present an initial performance evaluation of GE Discovery CT 750HD scanner in four imaging modes: Regular, Adaptive Statistical Iterative Reconstruction (ASIR), High Resolution (Hi‐Res), and Gemstone Spectral Imaging (GSI) mode, in an effort to better understand the potential advantages of the scanner, including improved spatial resolution, reduced dose, and material separation capability. Method and Materials: The scanner was tested with the clinical protocol frequently used for adult abdomen scans (120 kVp, helical, 5 mm slice thickness, 1.375 pitch, Median Body SFOV, 40 mm beam collimation). Preset 11 was used for GSI mode, as it has settings similar to the above protocol. Regular, Hi‐Res, and GSI were used under the same CTDIvol (19.1 mGy), while in ASIR mode 100% ∼ 40% of this dose level were used. Catphan phantom was employed as the imaging target: low contrast detectability and CNR were compared for Regular, ASIR, and GSI mode; high contrast resolution patterns and MTF curves were compared for regular, Hi‐Res, and GSI mode using all reconstruction kernels. Patterns that are made of iodine compounds were imaged to compare the measured and nominal iodine concentration levels.Results: Using ASIR, image quality of low contrast patterns was maintained with 40% less dose compared with regular mode. Regular and GSI mode have almost identical MTF curves. Hi‐Res mode provides improvements in terms of the highest visible resolution pattern and MTF by 1∼3 lp/cm for different reconstruction kernels, but high frequency artifacts were observed in point spread functions acquired with HD‐Ultra and HD‐Edge kernels. The measured and nominal iodine concentrations showed discrepancies. Conclusion: 750HD scanner demonstrated potentials to improve spatial resolution and to reduce dose in clinical applications. We will perform further studies for more comprehensive evaluation of the GSI mode.
Measurement of the onset of two-dimensional cellular solidification in the succinonitrile—acetone binary alloy

Abstract The onset of cellular solidification in a thin-film solidification system using dilute acetone in succinonitrile is experimentally determined by independent measurements of the crystal growth rate, temperature gradient, and acetone concentration. The temperature gradient is measured by thermocouples placed on the solidification cell, the growth rate is measured directly from the motion of the sample and the acetone concentration is measured by fourier transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy by calibrating the magnitude of the spectral peak at 1700–1720 cm −1 with the concentration of acetone in the sample. Experimental results for a range of acetone concentrations and temperature gradients agree well with simple constitutional supercooling criteria and with the more exact morphological stability theory.
Effect of simultaneous random amplitude and frequency modulation on ECG power spectra

Abstract The periodic approximation to a typical electrocardiograph signal is found to be inaccurate as the residuals from the actual ECG and the periodic approximation failed consistently to satisfy the hypothesis of being a realization from a white noise process. The authors, therefore, considered the model which is the simultaneously amplitude- and frequency-modulated version of the periodic model and obtained the average spectrum of the more comprehensive model. The average spectrum is displayed in a manner in which the “spike” part corresponding to the periodic part of the ECG (QRS complex) and the part corresponding to the underlying nonperiodic part of the ECG are identified and displayed.
Penetration depth for shallow impact cratering

We present data for the penetration of a variety of spheres, dropped from rest, into a loose noncohesive granular medium. We improve upon earlier work [J. S. Uehara et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 194301 (2003)] in three regards. First, we explore the behavior vs sphere diameter and density more systematically, by holding one of these parameters constant while varying the other. Second, we prepare the granular medium more reproducibly and, third, we measure the penetration depth more accurately. The new data support the previous conclusion that the penetration depth is proportional to the $1∕2$ power of sphere density, the $2∕3$ power of sphere diameter, and the $1∕3$ power of total drop distance.
Performance of integrated delivery systems: quality, service and cost implications

Purpose – Healthcare services in the USA have been described as being fragmented and uncoordinated. Integrated delivery systems are frequently promoted as being instrumental in efforts to improve the coordination of care and, thus, enhancing the quality of clinical care and patient services while ensuring optimum cost‐efficiencies. This study seeks to analyze and compare the performance of hospitals participating in highly integrated systems with non‐integrated hospitals based on outcome measures involving hospital performance.Design/methodology/approach – The study compares the performance of 50 flagship hospitals participating in the most highly integrated delivery systems in the USA with a representative sample of non‐system hospitals utilizing one‐way analysis of variance. The comparative analysis was based on three key performance measures; clinical quality of medical care, patient satisfaction, and cost‐efficiency considerations.Findings – The results of the review demonstrate that there is a statis...
Infra-red studies of amine, pyridine and phosphine derivatives of manganese pentacarbonyl bromide

Abstract The CO stretching frequencies of a series of amine, pyridine and phosphine substituted cis-Mn(CO)3(L)2Br complexes (where L  o-ClC6H4NH2, C6H5NH2, p-CH3OC6H4NH2, (CH3)2CHNH2, 3-BrC5H4N, C5H5N, 4-CH3C5H4N, P(C6H5)(C2H5)2 or P(C4H9)3) have been studied as a function of the pKa of L. Using non-π-bonding amine ligands, there is a small, but significant, decrease in the CO stretching frequencies as the pKa of the amine is increased. The frequency shifts must be a result of changes in the MnL σ-bond. That the CO stretching frequencies of the pyridine and phosphine complexes show similar small shifts with analogous changes in the pKa of the pyridine or phosphine suggests that there is little, if any, π-bonding between these ligands and Mn either. In view of the well-documented π-bonding abilities of the phosphines, and to a lesser extent the pyridines, it appears that CO stretching frequency shifts may not be a reliable measure of the π-bonding abilities of ligands in substituted metal carbonyl complexes.
On ternary transversal matroids

Abstract The purpose of this paper is to answer a question of Ingleton by characterizing the class of ternary transversal matroids.
The effect of divertor baffling on Alcator C-Mod discharges

The effect of divertor baffling on Alcator C-Mod [Hutchinson et al., Phys. Plasmas 1, 1511 (1994)] discharges has been investigated using a novel divertor bypass. The bypass allows the in situ variation of the mechanical conductance from the divertor plenum to the main chamber between or even during discharges. The results indicate a strong dependence on baffling for the compression of deuterium and recycling impurity gases in the divertor plenum in a variety of C-Mod discharges, indicating that tight baffling would be desirable in a future tokamak reactor. There is no apparent effect of the divertor baffling for the Ohmic, L-mode and EDA (Enhanced Dα) H-mode discharges in this study on main chamber neutral particle populations, scrape-off-layer flows, nonrecycling impurity screening, global energy confinement or H-mode threshold powers.
Alkaline phosphatase in osteoblasts is down-regulated by pulsatile fluid flow

It is our hypothesis that interstitial fluid flow plays a role in the bone remodeling response to mechanical loading. The fluid flow-induced expression of three proteins (collagen, osteopontin, and alkaline phosphatase) involved in bone remodeling was investigated. Rat calvarial osteoblasts subjected to pulsatile fluid flow at an average shear stress of 5 dyne/cm2 showed decreased alkaline phosphatase (AP) mRNA expression after only 1 hour of flow. After 3 hours of flow, AP mRNA levels had decreased to 30% of stationary control levels and remained at this level for an additional 5 hours of flow. Steady flow (4 dyne/cm2 fluid shear stress), in contrast, resulted in a delayed and less dramatic decrease in AP mRNA expression to 63% of control levels after 8 hours of flow. The reduced AP mRNA expression under pulsatile flow conditions was followed by reduced AP enzyme activity after 24 hours. No changes in collagen or osteopontin mRNA expression were detected over 8 hours of pulsatile flow. This is the first time fluid flow has been shown to affect gene expression in osteoblasts.
Human evolution: Group size determines cultural complexity.

Many animals use culture, the ability to learn from others, but only humans create complex culture. A laboratory experiment tests which characteristics of our social networks give us this capacity. See Letter p.389 An important human attribute is the capacity for cumulative culture — the ability to pass on learned behaviours from generation to generation. Theoretical work has suggested that population size is an important factor in cultural development, with information being eroded in populations that are too small and added to in populations that are sufficiently large. Working with groups of volunteers playing an experimental cultural game, Maxime Derex et al. find evidence to support this prediction. They show that, during an iterated process, small groups are unable to maintain the ability to complete a complex task or improve on a simple one, whereas larger groups can improve both types of task over time.
MicroRNAs: potential regulators of renal development genes that contribute to CAKUT.

Congenital anomalies of the kidney and urinary tract (CAKUT) are the leading cause of childhood chronic kidney disease (CKD). While mutations in several renal development genes have been identified as causes for CAKUT, most cases have not yet been linked to known mutations. Furthermore, the genotype–phenotype correlation is variable, suggesting that there might be additional factors that have an impact on the severity of CAKUT. MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small non-coding RNAs that regulate gene expression at the post-transcriptional level, and are involved in many developmental processes. Although little is known about the function of specific miRNAs in kidney development, several have recently been shown to regulate the expression of, and/or are regulated by, crucial renal development genes present in other organ systems. In this review, we discuss how miRNA regulation of common developmental signaling pathways may be applicable to renal development. We focus on genes that are known to contribute to CAKUT in humans, for which miRNA interactions in other contexts have been identified, with miRNAs that are present in the kidney. We hypothesize that miRNA-mediated processes might play a role in kidney development through similar mechanisms, and speculate that genotypic variations in these small RNAs or their targets could be associated with CAKUT.
Optic nerve damage in mice with a targeted type I collagen mutation.

PURPOSE Transgenic (Col1a1(r/r)) mice gradually develop elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) with open angles. The present study was undertaken to evaluate optic nerve axonal loss with time in these mice. METHODS The IOP of transgenic (Col1a1(r/r)) mice and control wild-type (Col1a1(+/+)) mice was measured at 7, 12, 16, 24, 36, and 54 weeks of age using a microneedle method. Transgenic Col1a1(r/r) and control Col1a1(+/+) mice at 24 and 54 weeks of age were randomly selected and their optic nerves were processed conventionally for electron microscopy. Optic nerve cross-sections were collected 300 micro m posterior to the globe. Low (200X) and high (10,000X) magnification images were collected systematically and were masked before analysis. For each nerve, cross-sectional area was measured in low magnification images, and axonal number was counted in high magnification images. RESULTS Mean IOP of the transgenic Col1a1(r/r) mice was significantly higher than that of the control Col1a1(+/+) mice at 16, 24, 36, and 54 weeks by 21%, 42%, 41%, and 33% respectively (P < 0.05). The mean axonal density and total axonal number in the transgenic Col1a1(r/r) mice at 54 weeks of age (n = 10) was significantly less than those in the control Col1a1(+/+) mice at 24 weeks (n = 5) and 54 weeks (n = 5; P = 0.0081 and P = 0.020, respectively, analysis of variance, P < 0.05 for pair-wise comparisons). The mean axonal density and total axonal number in the transgenic Col1a1(r/r) mice at 54 weeks also were significantly less than in the transgenic Col1a1(r/r) mice at 24 weeks (n = 10). Mean axonal loss between 24 and 54 weeks of age in the transgenic Col1a1(r/r) mice was 28.7%. CONCLUSIONS Transgenic Col1a1(r/r) mice develop sustained elevation of IOP and progressive optic nerve axon loss. This suggests that these mice may be useful as a mouse model of primary open angle glaucoma as well as for assessing the relationship between collagen type I metabolism and optic nerve axon loss.
Edge transport properties of the fractional quantum Hall states and weak-impurity scattering of a one-dimensional charge-density wave.

Static and dynamical transport properties of the fractional quantum Hall (FQH) states are studied based on the theory of the edge excitations. Because the electrons on the edge of the FQH states are strongly correlated, the {ital I}-{ital V} curve is, in general, nonlinear and contains singular structures. A narrow-band noise is found in the dc transport of the FQH states, which can be used to directly measure the fractional charge of the quasiparticles. The long-range Coulomb interaction is also discussed, which is found to have a profound effect on the transport properties of the integer quantum Hall and FQH states. In particular, the long-range interaction will cause a breakdown of the quantized conductance in narrow quantum Hall samples. As a closely related problem, we also study the transport properties of a one-dimensional charge-density-wave state in the presence of a single weak impurity. An exact mapping between two-dimensional quantum Hall systems and one-dimensional electron models is found.
The rectal trumpet: use of a nasopharyngeal airway to contain fecal incontinence in critically ill patients.

Objective: Our objective was to determine if a nasopharyngeal airway (rectal trumpet) could be used as a fecal containment device with less trauma than traditional devices, such as a fecal incontinence pouch or balloon rectal catheter. Design: A single-subject clinical series was used. Setting and Subjects: A nonrandom sample of critically ill adult and geriatric patients (n = 22) with ongoing fecal incontinence who were receiving care in an intensive care and intermediate care unit in a university teaching hospital was used. Instruments: Direct observation, medical record review, a questionnaire, and interviews were used. Methods: The bedside nurses identified patients as study candidates. Clinical findings were documented in the medical record. The nurses providing patient care completed questionnaires. Main Outcome Measures: Main outcome measures were parameters related to efficacy, practicality, and complications of use of the rectal trumpet: stool containment, skin and anal sphincter integrity, patient comfort, and ease of insertion. Results: All 22 patients (100%) had containment or improved containment of stool. Observable healing or restoration of skin integrity occurred in 90% of the patients with acquired skin injury (n = 20). None of the patients suffered any change in tone or damage to the anal sphincter. Although 41% of the patients experienced discomfort with insertion of the rectal trumpet, 86% had no discomfort while it was maintained in position. Insertion of the rectal trumpet was rated as easy by 84% of the responding nurses (n = 63). Conclusions: Use of a rectal trumpet was well tolerated by patients and practical for nurses. Incontinence was contained and no untoward effects were noted. Benefits to the patient included wound healing and improved comfort. (J WOCN 2002;29:193-201.)
The elastic and compressive properties of hybrid metal matrix composites/hexagonal prismatic cellular solids

Abstract An analysis is presented of the elastic and compressive properties of hybrid metal matrix composite (MMC) materials containing a uniform distribution of hexagonal prismatic cells which form closely spaced arrays separated by thin walls. The cell walls are considered to be reinforced by chopped fibers, whiskers, or particulates, thus forming a MMC. Exact derivations of the moment of inertia, elastic moduli, and compressive strength are presented, and approximations to these expressions are discussed. Results of these analyses are applied to the calculations of elastic moduli, flexural rigidity, and compressive strength of a square beam. Comparisons are made between the cases of unreinforced aluminum and steel cell walls and the cases of graphite chopped fiber reinforced aluminum and tungsten chopped fiber or whisker reinforced steel. The axial modulus and flexural rigidity of this type of structure made from Gr/Al composite are superior to unreinforced steel cellular structures only when the volume fraction of reinforcement exceeds about 30%. The material with reinforced cell walls is distinctly superior to its unreinforced counterpart by a factor of 4·3 at 50 volume percent graphite chopped fiber in aluminum.
Inhibition of Estrogen Synthetase (Aromatase) by 4-Cyclohexylaniline

4-Cyclohexylaniline, a structurally simple analog of the drug aminoglutethimide [d,l-3-(4-aminophenyl)3- ethyl-2,6-piperidinedione], was found to be an effective inhibitor of the aromatization of testosterone and androstenedione. With human placental microsomes, 4-cyclohexylaniline was a more potent aromatase inhibitor than d-aminoglutethimide. For androstenedione and testosterone aromatization, competitive inhibition by 4-cyclohexylaniline was observed; a Ki value of 0.14 μm was found with both substrates. A Ki value for d-aminoglutethimide inhibition of androstenedione aromatization of 0.3 μM was obtained. Kinetic analysis of the simultaneous inhibition by 4-cyclohexylaniline and d-aminoglutethimide suggests that both compounds bind to the same site on the enzyme. 4-Cyclohexylaniline and d-aminoglutethimide were also tested for inhibition of androstenedione aromatization in human and rat ovarian microsomes. With the human aromatase, both inhibitors exhibited approximately the same effectiveness; with ra...
Enantioselective synthesis using diisopropyl tartrate modified (E)- and (Z)-crotylboronates: Reactions with achiral aldehydes

Abstract The reactions of diisopropyl tartrate modified( E)- and (Z)-crotylboronates with representative achiral aldehydes are described. Enantioselectivity ranges from 55–91% e.e. depending on the aldehyde employed.
Building a web test collection using social media

Community Question Answering (CQA) platforms contain a large number of questions and associated answers. Answerers sometimes include URLs as part of the answers to provide further information. This paper describes a novel way of building a test collection for web search by exploiting the link information from this type of social media data. We propose to build the test collection by regarding CQA questions as queries and the associated linked web pages as relevant documents. To evaluate this approach, we collect approximately ten thousand CQA queries, whose answers contained links to ClueWeb09 documents after spam filtering. Experimental results using this collection show that the relative effectiveness between different retrieval models on the ClueWeb-CQA query set is consistent with that on the TREC Web Track query sets, confirming the reliability of our test collection. Further analysis shows that the large number of queries generated through this approach compensates for the sparse relevance judgments in determining significant differences.
Chronic bacterial inflammation induces prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia in mouse prostate

Although the aetiology of prostate cancer remains unknown, we hypothesised that chronic bacterial insult has a major role in prostate carcinogenesis. Male C3H/HeOuJ mice, infected with phosphate-buffered saline or Escherichia coli bacteria, were killed at 5 days, or at 12 or 26 weeks. Harvested prostate tissues were evaluated for inflammatory responses and immunostained for neoplastic transformation markers. All infected mice developed bacterial prostatitis. Control mice had no prostate infections or inflammation. Mice infected for 5 days showed foci of acute inflammation with infiltrating neutrophils and epithelial necrotic debris in the prostatic glandular lumen. All mice infected for 12 weeks had evidence of chronic inflammation with dense inflammatory infiltrates in the stroma. The prostatic epithelium showed varying degrees of atypical hyperplasia with increased epithelial cell layers and cytological atypia. At 26 weeks, the dysplastic changes were more pronounced and mimicked a prostatic intraepithelial neoplasia and high-grade dysplasia. Prostatic glands exhibiting reactive dysplasia had a stronger staining for oxidative DNA damage, increased epithelial cell proliferation, and a decrease in androgen receptor, GSTP1, p27Kip1, and PTEN expression, when compared with control prostate glands. These data demonstrate that chronic inflammation induces focal prostatic glandular atypia and suggest a potential linkage between inflammation and prostatic neoplasia.
Normal handling of phosphate in the salivary glands of X-linked hypophosphataemic mice

In X-linked hypophosphataemia (Hyp gene) there is reduced renal tubule re-absorption of phosphate and an osteomalacic bone disorder. To determine whether altered phosphate transport also occurs in the salivary gland, saliva was analysed from normal and Hyp mice at 10 weeks of age. The effect of plasma inorganic phosphate on the composition of saliva was controlled by placing both genotypes on either a control diet or a low-P diet for three days. Inorganic phosphate, total phosphate, calcium, sodium, potassium, chloride, amylase, sialic acid, protein, osmotic pressure, percentage water, percentage inorganic solids and sample volume were measured. The Hyp mice fed the control diet showed a significant decrease in salivary-inorganic phosphate, total phosphate, osmotic pressure and sialic acid. These four variables were similarly lower in the normal mice fed the low-phosphate diet. The changes seem to stem from the low plasma inorganic phosphate and not from expression of the Hyp gene in the salivary gland. The total evidence from various organ systems suggests that the altered phosphate transport in X-linked hypophosphataemia may be restricted to the kidney and is not a generalized phosphate-transport deficiency.
Pharmacodynamics of long-acting folic acid-receptor targeted ritonavir boosted atazanavir nanoformulations

Long-acting nanoformulated antiretroviral therapy (nanoART) that targets monocyte-macrophages could improve the drug's half-life and protein-binding capacities while facilitating cell and tissue depots. To this end, ART nanoparticles that target the folic acid (FA) receptor and permit cell-based drug depots were examined using pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic (PD) tests. FA receptor-targeted poloxamer 407 nanocrystals, containing ritonavir-boosted atazanavir (ATV/r), significantly increased drug bioavailability and PD by five and 100 times, respectively. Drug particles administered to human peripheral blood lymphocyte reconstituted NOD.Cg-Prkdc(scid)Il2rg(tm1Wjl)/SzJ mice and infected with HIV-1ADA led to ATV/r drug concentrations that paralleled FA receptor beta staining in both the macrophage-rich parafollicular areas of spleen and lymph nodes. Drug levels were higher in these tissues than what could be achieved by either native drug or untargeted nanoART particles. The data also mirrored potent reductions in viral loads, tissue viral RNA and numbers of HIV-1p24+ cells in infected and treated animals. We conclude that FA-P407 coating of ART nanoparticles readily facilitates drug carriage and antiretroviral responses.
Twist and Shout: Audible Facing Angles and Dynamic Rotation

In 2 experiments, blindfolded listeners estimated the facing direction of a sound source from 2 different listening distances. In Experiment 1, listeners estimated the stationary facing angle of a loudspeaker that projected a speech stimulus while facing 1 of 8 different directions. In Experiment 2, the loudspeaker sounded while rotating and also while stationary at its terminal orientation. Listeners then made judgments of the final facing angle. Although performance fell short of that typically found in minimum audible angle experiments, listeners made relatively accurate estimates of loudspeaker orientation and showed a significant advantage when dynamic rotation information was available. Listeners were also significantly better at perceiving facing angles when closer to the source and when the loudspeaker was directly facing the listener (0�). The enhanced sensitivity to this egocentric source orientation may be the result of the use of redundant binaural and monaural information at a facing angle of...
GPU-accelerated molecular modeling coming of age

Graphics processing units (GPUs) have traditionally been used in molecular modeling solely for visualization of molecular structures and animation of trajectories resulting from molecular dynamics simulations. Modern GPUs have evolved into fully programmable, massively parallel co-processors that can now be exploited to accelerate many scientific computations, typically providing about one order of magnitude speedup over CPU code and in special cases providing speedups of two orders of magnitude. This paper surveys the development of molecular modeling algorithms that leverage GPU computing, the advances already made and remaining issues to be resolved, and the continuing evolution of GPU technology that promises to become even more useful to molecular modeling. Hardware acceleration with commodity GPUs is expected to benefit the overall computational biology community by bringing teraflops performance to desktop workstations and in some cases potentially changing what were formerly batch-mode computational jobs into interactive tasks.
Risk of infection and hernia recurrence for patients undergoing ventral hernia repair with non-absorbable or biological mesh during open bowel procedures

Ventral hernia repair (VHR) with mesh performed concurrently with colorectal surgery is presumably associated with significant risks of infection and recurrence. The purpose of this study is to evaluate the outcomes of patients undergoing VHR with non-absorbable mesh (NAM) or biological mesh (BM) at the same time as open colorectal surgery. A retrospective review of short- and long-term outcomes for 25 patients undergoing repair of VHR with NAM or BM at the same time as an open colorectal procedure from 1991 to 2007 was performed. The mean age of the patients was 50.8 ± 12.7 years. Fifteen patients (60 %) underwent VHR with NAM versus 10 (40 %) with BM at the time of colorectal surgery. Mean follow-up after surgery was 32.9 ± 38.2 months. Overall wound infection, mesh infection and hernia recurrence rates were 44, 36 and 36 %, respectively. There was no difference between the NAM and BM mesh repair groups in terms of operative indications (p = 0.23) and operations performed (p = 0.47). Both groups had similar gender, ASA score, age, BMI, operating time, hernia recurrence rate, wound infection and follow-up. Although a proportion of patients who undergo concomitant use of mesh for VHR during colorectal resection has reasonable outcomes, there is a high associated risk of wound and mesh infection. Thus, a judicious decision regarding the use of mesh for hernia repair needs to be made on a case-by-case basis for patients undergoing open bowel surgery at the same time.
Virtual prototyping of mechanical assemblies with deformable components

Abstract This paper presents the implementation of a computer prototype modeling system for three-dimensional mechanical assemblies with deformable components. Mechanical assemblies are modeled as multi-body systems. The elastic behavior is modeled using the finite element method. Based on this approach, a designer can create an assembly of mechanical components ready for dynamic and elastic analysis, and therefore the behavior of a mechanical assembly can be tested in a computer. This paper presents is a proposed framework to achieve such a system and a prototype example to demonstrate the idea.
Stereotype suppression and recognition memory for stereotypical and nonstereotypical information.

In attempting to inhibit their stereotypes, suppressors may direct greater attention toward the very behaviors whose influence they seek to avoid. In an empirical demonstration of this effect, some participants were instructed to suppress their use of stereotypes while forming impressions of an Asian woman who revealed stereotypical and nonstereotypical behaviors. Unlike a control group who merely formed impressions, these suppressors later recognized stereotypical behaviors significantly more accurately than nonstereotypical behaviors. Because memory was assessed with a recognition measure, these findings minimize the possibility that the results were due to differential reliance on stereotype-based retrieval cues by suppressors and non-suppressors. These findings have important implications for people's ability to successfully avoid stereotyping others.
A spike-function model of facets

Abstract Facets appear often on crystalline solids and affect surface evolution. Previous models of facets prescribe the surface energy γ as a function of crystallographic orientation θ . However, when the anisotropy is strong, the reduced surface energy γ +d 2 γ /d θ 2 can become negative, which may make surface-evolution problems ill-posed. Recently, a new model has been proposed in which the reduced surface energy is prescribed instead of the surface energy [Surf. Sci. 487 (2001) L529]. In this approach, a facet is represented by the Dirac delta function, and the anisotropy can be arbitrarily strong, but it does not induce ill-posedness. The delta-function model is illustrated in this work by an octagonal crystal with unequal sides. To facilitate numerical simulations, the delta function is replaced by a spike function with width e . A square crystal is simulated to show the effect of varying e . We also demonstrate that, given a measured equilibrium crystal shape, the new model can calculate the surface energy if the temperature is at or above the roughening temperature.
Long term effects on the supraoptic nuclei and neural lobe produced by ablation of the tissue surrounding the preoptic recess (AV3V)

In previous investigations, lesions of the AV3V region surrounding the preoptic recess in the rat caused acute loss of the antidiuretic response to severe dehydration. Ultrastructural study of the supraoptic nuclei and neural lobes following several days of adipsia revealed a lack of response in neurosecretory cell bodies, which would normally show hypertrophy, and engorgement of axon terminals in the neural lobe with unreleased hormone, which would normally be depleted. When rats with such lesions were sustained through the acute phase, they regained their ability to concentrate their urine maximally in response to water deprivation, but their antidiuretic responses to angiotensin II or centrally injected hypertonic saline were still impaired. In this study we compared the fine structure of supraoptic nuclei and neural lobes of rats with AV3V lesions and rats with sham lesions after a recovery period of 5 weeks. We also compared responses to 5 days of water deprivation in lesioned and sham lesioned rats. Neurosecretory cell bodies in lesioned rats were smaller and contained fewer neurosecretory granulated vesicles, and axon terminals in the neural lobe contained more neurosecretory granulated vesicles compared to controls. In addition, the basal lamina surrounding fenestrated capillaries was covered to a greater degree by pituicyte processes in neural lobes of lesioned rats. Lesioned rats deprived of water for 5 days had changes in supraoptic nuclei and neural lobes which in general were qualitatively similar to those of controls. However, AV3V lesions blocked the increase in neurosecretory granulated vesicles in cell bodies in supraoptic nuclei and significantly inhibited depletion of neurosecretory granulated vesicles from axon terminals in the neural lobe of water deprived rats. We conclude that after 5 weeks of recovery the neurosecretory system had regained its ability to respond to dehydration, but the response was chronically affected by AV3V lesions.
Laser probes of molecule-surface dynamics

Abstract State resolved laser probe techniques which are capable of measuring molecular internal state distributions, previously quite popular techniques in gas phase scattering, are now proving to be powerful means to study molecule-surface dynamics as well. This paper discusses the application of such techniques to the inelastic scattering of NO from a Ag(111) surface. A variety of dynamic interactions are observed; rotational and electronic excitation, rotational trapping, rotational alignment, trapping-desorption, etc.
Can measures of the grocery store environment be used to track community-level dietary changes?

Abstract Background . This article examines whether an in-store unobtrusive survey of grocery store product displays can be used to track community-level dietary behavior. Methods . The survey was conducted in 12 western communities two different times to measure two aspects of the grocery store environment: (a) the relative availability of low-fat and high-fiber products and (b) the amount of store-provided health-education information. Self-reported dietary intake of residents was obtained in the same 12 communities using a telephone survey. We compared the individual and store-level measures both cross-sectionally and over time. Results . We found positive and statistically significant correlations between the availability of healthful products in stores and the reported healthfulness of individual diets in cross-sectional analyses, but correlations between changes over time in the two measures were weaker and not statistically significant. The variance of the grocery store measures was nonetheless sufficiently small that a grocery store survey of 15 stores in each of 8 communities ( n = 120 surveys) had power comparable to that of a telephone survey of 200 individuals/community ( n = 1,600) surveys, at a fraction of the cost. Conclusion . Although the results provide further validation of cross-sectional measures of the grocery store environment, additional efforts are required to establish the validity of the grocery store survey as a method of measuring dietary change.
Liver Transplantation: Where We Are and Where We Are Heading

Outcomes after liver transplantation are outstanding; however, the limiting factor is the shortage of organs. Recently, the utilization of donors after cardiac death has been encouraged; however, such transplants are associated with a high complication rate, mainly a high incidence of biliary complications, particularly ischemic cholangiopahty, a serious complication that often leads to retransplantation. The second problem is the morbidity associated with the use of immunosuppressive drugs. In this manuscript, the current status of clinical protocols for induction of tolerance is briefly discussed. Furthermore, the future of research in transplantation will involve basic scientists and clinical scholars working in concert as has been developed at Stanford School of Medicine with the creation of the Institute for Immunity, Transplantation and Infection.
High frequency applications of pzt/polymer composite materials

Abstract PZT/polymer composite hydrophone materials of four connectivity patterns have been evaluated for high frequency applications such as ultrasonic medical diagnosis and nondestructive testing. The amplitude and bandwidth of the pulse echo test are used as the principal figure of merit. Transducers made with thin PZT rods cast in an epoxy matrix have pulse echo sensitivity comparable to unmatched commercial transducers.
MR imaging of mediastinal lymph nodes: Evaluation using a superparamagnetic contrast agent

The purpose of this study was to determine whether intravenous injection of a magnetic resonance (MR) contrast agent, ultrasmall superparamagnetic iron oxide (ferumoxtran-10), can be useful in characterizing lymph nodes in patients with lung cancer. Twelve patients with known or suspected lung cancer were studied. Pre- and postcontrast injection of ferumoxtran-10 MR scans of the chest were obtained. Analysis of the signal intensities and bronchoscopic fine needle aspiration of a single node were performed in each patient. Six of 12 patients had a final diagnosis of lung cancer. T1-weighted images were best for localizing mediastinal lymph nodes. Signal intensity changes before and after contrast were best visualized on T2-weighted and gradient-echo images. All four patients with lung cancer who had nodes positive for malignancy at biopsy had no change in signal intensity of the nodes on T2 images. The signal intensity decreased in the remaining two patients, and the nodes were benign. Of the eight patients with benign disease, five had no change in signal intensity of the nodes. Therefore the sensitivity for tumor involvement of the nodes is 100%, but the specificity is only 37.5%. Ferumoxtran-10 is a contrast agent that can alter the signal intensity of lymph nodes. Lack of signal change may be due to malignant or inflammatory change. Studies in a larger population of lung cancer patients may help to characterize the utility of this agent further. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2000;12:899–904. © 2000 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
The histone variant macroH2A suppresses melanoma progression through regulation of CDK8

The histone variant mH2A is shown to be expressed at reduced levels in many melanomas. Loss of mH2A promotes tumour growth and metastasis, by transcriptional upregulation of CDK8, a known oncogene. This study therefore reveals a new tumour-suppression mechanism exerted by chromatin modification. The histone variant mH2A is shown to be expressed at reduced levels in many melanomas. Loss of mH2A promotes tumour growth and metastasis via transcriptional upregulation of CDK8, a known oncogene. This study therefore reveals a new tumour suppression mechanism exerted by epigenetic modifications. Cancer is a disease consisting of both genetic and epigenetic changes. Although increasing evidence demonstrates that tumour progression entails chromatin-mediated changes such as DNA methylation, the role of histone variants in cancer initiation and progression currently remains unclear. Histone variants replace conventional histones within the nucleosome and confer unique biological functions to chromatin1,2,3. Here we report that the histone variant macroH2A (mH2A) suppresses tumour progression of malignant melanoma. Loss of mH2A isoforms, histone variants generally associated with condensed chromatin and fine-tuning of developmental gene expression programs1,4,5,6, is positively correlated with increasing malignant phenotype of melanoma cells in culture and human tissue samples. Knockdown of mH2A isoforms in melanoma cells of low malignancy results in significantly increased proliferation and migration in vitro and growth and metastasis in vivo. Restored expression of mH2A isoforms rescues these malignant phenotypes in vitro and in vivo. We demonstrate that the tumour-promoting function of mH2A loss is mediated, at least in part, through direct transcriptional upregulation of CDK8. Suppression of CDK8, a colorectal cancer oncogene7,8, inhibits proliferation of melanoma cells, and knockdown of CDK8 in cells depleted of mH2A suppresses the proliferative advantage induced by mH2A loss. Moreover, a significant inverse correlation between mH2A and CDK8 expression levels exists in melanoma patient samples. Taken together, our results demonstrate that mH2A is a critical component of chromatin that suppresses the development of malignant melanoma, a highly intractable cutaneous neoplasm.
A study of cultural transmission in Taiwan

Our study of cultural transmission in Taiwan is based on a survey of 1000 students, their families, and friends, for characters ranging from religion to various customs and beliefs, as well as entertainment and hygienic habits. The effects of father, mother, and an older sib on a propositus are tested by an additive model of transmission, using a novel statistical procedure, and compared with correlations with friends. For many traits there exist significant influences; older sibs are almost as important as father and mother, with effects differing somewhat with their sex. Formulas for recurrences and equilibrium frequency of a cultural character for which father, mother, and sib are active in transmission are given in the appendices along with formulas for estimation of their effects from real data.
Advanced transformational analysis applied to e-beam proximity effect correction

In this paper we address the problem of dose correction in the data bases consistent with ultra- large-scale integration. It is shown that recent advances in transformation theory provide a natural platform on which to build these dose correctors. Specifically, transformation approaches making use of compactly supported, smooth basis functions are shown to be particularly suitable. This is a natural result of the evolution of mathematically based correctors currently in use. Previous work in Parikh, MacDonald and others employed global transform method to determine the values of 'corrected' dose. In most cases, the mathematical inversion is essentially ill posed, in other words, the exact pattern desired cannot be obtained using a finite Gaussian sum. In this paper a set of smooth basis elements of compact support are employed. The mathematically smooth form of the basis makes it easy to match doses at boundaries without Gibbs phenomenon. Thus the transform field can be partitioned for optimum speed. Consequently, while most transformation complexities are of order N6 (the inversion of an N2 X N2 matrix) where N2 is the number of grid points characterizing the database, we developed an algorithm of complexity N2 log N. A method of dose field bias is employed to stem the requests for negative dose. The heart of the numerical process is essentially based on an adapted fast non-uniform-grid Fourier Transform combined with proper filtering and geometric localization methods. Several examples are given.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
A Laboratory Examination of Water Velocity and Substrate Preference by Age‐0 Gulf Sturgeons

Abstract We examined microhabitat selection by the Gulf sturgeon Acipenser oxyrinchus desotoi a subspecies of Atlantic sturgeon that is listed as threatened by the U.S. government. Individuals and groups of sturgeons were placed in a Ferguson flume at low (4–6 cm/s) and high (5–17 cm/s) water flows, and their distributions relative to substrate and water velocity were recorded with a video camera. A Jacobs' selectivity index (D) was used to evaluate substrate and velocity preference by the fish. Distribution of individual fish, relative to water velocity, differed significantly in the low (X 2 = 11.8, df = 2, P < 0.05) and high (X 2 = 39.0, df = 12, P < 0.05) water flows. Groups also selected velocities within low (X 2 = 36.1, df = 2, P < 0.05) and high (X 2 = 63.8, df = 12, P < 0.05) flows. Individual fish did not select substrates in low flow but moderately preferred cobble (D = 0.32) in high flow. Groups moderately preferred sand (D = 0.40) and moderately avoided cobble (D = –0.47) in low flow. No sele...
Nanoscale processing by adaptive laser pulses

We theoretically demonstrate that atomically precise "nanoscale processing" can be reproducibly performed by adaptive laser pulses. We present the new approach on the controlled welding of crossed carbon nanotubes, givingvarious metastable junctions of interest. Adaptive laser pulses could be also used in preparation of other hybrid nanostructures.
Coarse Grain Models Highlight the Importance of Flexible Disordered Linkers as Determinants of the Phase Behavior in Polyvalent Proteins

Micron-sized, non-membrane bound cellular bodies can form as the result of collective, heterotypic interactions. These bodies form as the result of micron-scale phase separation akin to liquid-liquid demixing, microscale gelation, or a convolution of these processes. Recent efforts have focused on various biophysical aspects of the phase behavior of macromolecules. This interest is catalyzed by the recognized functional importance of various cellular bodies that result from micron-scale phase transitions.Li et al. have quantified the effects of polyvalent interactions between macromolecules. For the case of binary interactions between a polymer of SH3 domains and a polymer of proline-rich modules (PRMs), valence refers to the numbers of SH3 domains and PRMs within the respective polymers. Within each polymer, flexible linkers connect the interacting units (SH3 domains and PRMs). Here, we probe the effects of linker properties including lengths, flexibility, and asymmetry of properties between the proteins as determinants of the concentration dependence of phase transitions. Our approach utilizes a lattice-based model that belongs to the same universality class as a three-dimensional Ising model.We find that that the critical concentration for phase transition is inversely correlated with both the lengths and random-coil-like character of intrinsically disordered linkers. Our observations imply the entropic penalty associated with loop closure promotes the growth of a network. We also show, in consistency with published experiments, that asymmetry in linker lengths of the interacting proteins will manifest itself as asymmetries in details of the concentration dependencies within the phase diagrams of two-component systems. Our results provide a physical rationale for selection against compact disordered linkers that connect interacting modules.1. Li, P. et al., (2012) Nature, 483: 336-340.
A case for real-time calibration of data-driven microscopic traffic simulation tools

Despite recent technological advancements in alleviating roadway congestion, there is still a considerable amount of time and fuel wasted by travelers. In searching for solutions to mitigate congestion, a number of research efforts have been geared toward developing simulation tools to provide real-time performance measures. One of the challenges of such tools is that the underlying simulation model does not always adequately reflect field conditions outside of the time period for which it was calibrated. In this paper, this is highlighted when calibrating a model for two different periods. During this exercise, 1000 model replicates were generated to explore the sensitivity of potential calibration parameter values. From this analysis only one replicate was found to be adequately calibrated for both periods. This paper suggests that a real-time calibration algorithm should be included in online, data-driven microscopic traffic simulation tools.
The clustering of rising diapirs and plume heads

Buoyant diapirs or plume heads in the Earth's mantle are typically modelled as a solitary bodies, ascending vertically and uninfluenced by neighboring diapirs. However, laboratory experiments and basic theory suggest that two or more rising diapirs can become attracted to each other, thereby influencing their ascent trajectory such that they cluster and possibly coalesce. Clustering is controlled by the horizontal and vertical separation between diapirs, as well as their relative sizes. This phenomena has implications for the origins of large igneous provinces as well as the Earth's long-wavelength hotspot distribution.