cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Residue-Specific Dynamics and Local Environmental Changes in Aβ40 Oligomer and Fibril Formation.

Elucidating local dynamics of protein aggregation is crucial for understanding the mechanistic details of protein amyloidogenesis. Herein, we studied the residue-specific dynamics and local environmental changes of Aβ40 along the course of aggregation by using para-cyanophenylalanine (PheCN ) as a fluorescent and vibrational probe. Our results show that the PheCN residues introduced at various positions all exhibited an immediate decay of fluorescence intensity, indicating a relatively synergistic process in early oligomer formation. The fast decreases in the fluorescence intensities of residues 19 and 20 in the central hydrophobic core region and residue 10 in the N-terminal region suggest that they play crucial roles in the formation of the oligomeric core. The PheCN 4 residue exhibits a remarkably slower decrease in fluorescence intensity, implicating its dynamic conformational characteristics in oligomer and fibril formation. Our results also suggest that the N-terminal residues in fibrils are surrounded by a relatively hydrophobic local environment, as opposed to being solvated.
Integrated care models for ADHD in children and adolescents: A systematic review

Introduction Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children and adolescents is commonly managed in primary care. Changes in United States health care have led to the integration of behavioral health services within a patient's "medical home" to improve access to, engagement in, and continuity of quality health care. Despite proliferation of these integrated care models, no studies have specifically examined models for managing ADHD in children and adolescents within primary care. Method We searched PsycINFO, MEDLINE, and Google Scholar databases, and found 8 studies describing 6 integrated care models (i.e., combined psychosocial and medication treatments with coordination of care between primary care clinicians and behavioral health clinicians). We reviewed characteristics (i.e., settings, target populations, providers, levels of integration, evaluation and treatment approaches, and methods of interprofessional collaboration) and outcomes (i.e., access, outcomes, and acceptability) of these models. Results The 6 integrated care models demonstrate the potential to improve access to and acceptability of ADHD care for children and adolescents. The models also demonstrate that behavioral health clinicians can integrate at various levels within primary care to achieve superior clinical outcomes compared with nonintegrated models. Discussion We identified 6 effective integrated care models for addressing ADHD in children and adolescents that may be adaptable to local needs and internal capacities. We discuss results of these models with regard to their implications for clinical practice and research. (PsycINFO Database Record
Environmental Conditions Associated with Convective Phenomena: Proximity Soundings

An important tool in understanding the relationship between environments and observed severe thunderstorm events are vertical profiles of environmental conditions collected in the vicinity of the storms. These relationships can help in the future forecasting of weather. In this paper, the use and cautions associated with these so-called proximity soundings are discussed.
Consumer Reaction to the Introduction of Bovine Somatotropin

Bovine somatotropin (BST) is among the initial products of biotechnology under development for commercial use in food production. Dairy cows injected with BST yield as much as 10 to 25 percent more milk with feed efficiency increased by 5 to 15 percent. A considerable amount of research has been conducted to analyze the impacts of BST adoption on the U.S. dairy industry (e.g., Sellschopp and Kalter 1989, Fallert et al. 1987, Kuchler and McClelland 1989, Kimball and Rogers 1986). Existing research has focused on production-related aspects of BST technology, but comparatively little research is available on potential consumption-related consequences of BST adoption.
A PGAS-Based Algorithm for the Longest Common Subsequence Problem

Finding the Longest Common Subsequence (LCS) is a traditional and well studied problem in bioinformatics and text editing. In this paper, a customized parallel algorithm based on the Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) programming model to compute the LCS is presented. The algorithm is based on two related parameters balancing the communication and the synchronization needs in order to find the best data and workload distributions. The basic design of the algorithm and its complexity analysis are discussed together with experimental results. These results show the impact of those parameters on PGAS algorithm performance.
Predicting Storm Outages Through New Representations of Weather and Vegetation

This paper introduces new developments in an outage prediction model (OPM) for an electric distribution network in the Northeastern United States and assesses their significance to the OPM performance. The OPM uses regression tree models fed by numerical weather prediction outputs, spatially distributed information on soil, vegetation, electric utility assets, and historical power outage data to forecast the number and spatial distribution of outages across the power distribution grid. New modules introduced hereby consist in 1) a storm classifier based on weather variables; 2) a multimodel optimization of regression tree output; and 3) a post-processing routine for more accurately describing tree-leaf conditions. Model implementations are tested through leave-one-storm-out cross-validations performed on 120 storms of varying intensity and characteristics. The results show that the median absolute percentage error of the new OPM version decreased from 130% to 59% for outage predictions at the service territory level, and the OPM skills for operational forecasts are consistent with the skills based on historical storm analyses.
Thermodynamic and Kinetic Characterization of Protein Conformational Dynamics within a Riemannian Diffusion Formalism

Abstract We have formulated a Riemannian framework for describing the geometry of collective variable spaces of biomolecules within the context of collective variable based molecular dynamics simulations. The formalism provides a theoretical framework to develop enhanced sampling techniques, path-finding algorithms, and transition rate estimators consistent with a Riemannian treatment of the collective variable space, where the quantities of interest such as the potential of the mean force, minimum free energy path, the diffusion constant, and the transition rate remain invariant under coordinate transformation due to the Riemannian treatment of the collective variable space. Specific algorithms within this framework are discussed such as the Riemannian umbrella sampling, the Riemannian string method, and a Riemannian-Bayesian estimator of free energy and diffusion constant, which can be used to estimate the transition rate along a minimum free energy path.
Clinical implications of routine testing for epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) mutations in patients with nonsquamous non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC).

8113 Background: EGFR mutation (Mut) testing is recommended for all patients (pts) with advanced NSCLC to identify pts who may benefit from front-line EGFR tyrosine kinase inhibitor (TKI) therapy. ...
International Public Health and the Burden of Diseases

Tackling the global disease burden is paramount in the context of the burgeoning epidemic of communicable and non-communicable diseases, especially in low- and middle-income countries. While most high-income countries have successfully implemented cost-effective interventions to tackle their burden of non-communicable diseases, low- and middle-income countries have to prioritise cost-effective interventions to tackle the multiple burden of communicable and non-communicable diseases and to strengthen their efforts to effectively address other key issues of public health concern. The irony is that while low- and middle-income countries carry the heaviest burden of disease, such countries have a minor share of the total global health spending, yet their economies are severely challenged and their populations are the most affected by poverty which has a negative impact on health. This chapter gives a critical overview on the following topics: What is International Public Health? Epidemiology and the burden of diseases; Understanding the magnitude of the disease burden.
Hydrolyzed Polyacrylamide -- Fly Ash Reinforced Polymer for Chemical Enhanced Oil Recovery: Part 1 -- Injectivity Experiments

Abstract Polymer Injection is a mobility control enhanced oil recovery (EOR) method used to increase recovery beyond that of primary and secondary production mechanisms. One of the most used polymers in the hydrocarbon industry due to its cost, availability, and ease in handling is hydrolyzed polyacrylamide polymer (HPAM). Even though this polymer is widely used, it has been reported to degrade under different conditions. Another major parameter affecting polymer flooding is the injectivity, or the ease by which the polymer can be injected. This research reinforces HPAM with fly ash, which is an extremely low cost material, and studies the injectivity of this new reinforced polymer at different conditions. Different reinforced polymer solutions were prepared, and the stable solutions were determined and used for the injectivity experiments. The impact of varying polymer concentration, fly ash concentration, and polymer injection flowrate on polymer injectivity was investigated. Results showed that the new reinforced polymer could be easily injected and thus the presence of fly ash did not impact the ability to inject the polymer greatly. This novel HPAM – fly ash polymer can prove to be a better alternative to using conventional HPAM in polymer injection operations to increase oil recovery.
Fossil evidence of evolutionary convergence in juvenile dental morphology and upper canine replacement in sabertooth carnivores

The convergent suite of morphological traits characterizing the mammalian sabertooth ecomorphology is well documented, including modifications of the dental and osteological portions of the masticatory apparatus from a less-specialized carnivore condition. Equally important is how those specialized adult morphologies developed through ontogeny because previous studies have shown that growing such specialized craniodental traits may require evolutionary modification of growth patterns and tooth replacement mechanisms. Despite the understanding of convergent morphological specialization in adult sabertooth carnivores, the possibility of a convergent ontogenetic trajectory toward those adult morphologies has not been rigorously examined. The present study examines numerous previously undescribed juvenile nimravid specimens. The results provide insights about nimravid ontogeny and show, for the first time, that the nimravid sabertooth lineage included species in which the permanent upper canine erupted within a lingual concavity of the deciduous upper canine until it reached comparable crown height beyond the alveolar border. Furthermore, this investigation assesses the juvenile morphology and upper canine replacement of felid and barbourofelid sabertooth taxa. The results provide evidence of convergence in deciduous upper canine morphology of three sabertooth carnivore lineages (i.e., nimravid, felid, and barbourofelid), as well as preliminary evidence of convergence in the upper canine replacement process. It might be beneficial for studies of extreme morphological specialization to simultaneously consider convergence in adult morphologies and how morphologies change through ontogeny.
Gender and Memory: Depictions of Femininity in Irish Revolutionary Art

This paper uses artistic depictions of the allegorical figure, Kathleen ni Houlihan, who represented the personification of Ireland, to analyze the role of gender in the Irish Revolution. Drawing on a number of primary source artistic works from the years surrounding the 1916 Easter Rising, this paper questions the impact highly gendered portrayals of Irish nationalism had on nationalist communities. This paper also relies on primary and secondary sources that highlight the highly gendered environment of revolutionary Ireland, and the hardships faced by nationalist women. In this study, I found that gendered depictions of Kathleen ni Houlihan were rooted in the gendered revolutionary environment, and reflected typical ideas of the roles men and women should play in the independence movement. The figure of Kathleen ni Houlihan offers an excellent case study of the role the arts played in both reflecting and altering Irish revolutionary society. Additionally, these artistic portrayals reflect the strict binaries of Irish society at the turn of the century, and provide insight into the ways women negotiated their positions in the revolution.
Turning strains into strengths for understanding psychiatric disorders

There is a paucity in the development of new mechanistic insights and therapeutic approaches for treating psychiatric disease. One of the major challenges is reflected in the growing consensus that risk for these diseases is not determined by a single gene, but rather is polygenic, arising from the action and interaction of multiple genes. Canonically, experimental models in mice have been designed to ascertain the relative contribution of a single gene to a disease by systematic manipulation (e.g., mutation or deletion) of a known candidate gene. Because these studies have been largely carried out using inbred isogenic mouse strains, in which there is no (or very little) genetic diversity among subjects, it is difficult to identify unique allelic variants, gene modifiers, and epigenetic factors that strongly affect the nature and severity of these diseases. Here, we review various methods that take advantage of existing genetic diversity or that increase genetic variance in mouse models to (1) strengthen conclusions of single-gene function; (2) model diversity among human populations; and (3) dissect complex phenotypes that arise from the actions of multiple genes.
Epitaxial thin films of pyrochlore iridate Bi 2+x Ir 2-y O 7-δ : structure, defects and transport properties

While pyrochlore iridate thin films are theoretically predicted to possess a variety of emergent topological properties, experimental verification of these predictions can be obstructed by the challenge in thin film growth. Here we report on the pulsed laser deposition and characterization of thin films of a representative pyrochlore compound Bi2Ir2O7. The films were epitaxially grown on yttria-stabilized zirconia substrates and have lattice constants that are a few percent larger than that of the bulk single crystals. The film composition shows a strong dependence on the oxygen partial pressure. Density-functional-theory calculations indicate the existence of BiIr antisite defects, qualitatively consistent with the high Bi: Ir ratio found in the films. Both Ir and Bi have oxidation states that are lower than their nominal values, suggesting the existence of oxygen deficiency. The iridate thin films show a variety of intriguing transport characteristics, including multiple charge carriers, logarithmic dependence of resistance on temperature, antilocalization corrections to conductance due to spin-orbit interactions, and linear positive magnetoresistance.
Decomposing Promotional Effects with a Dynamic Structural Model of Flexible Consumption

Abstract In this article, the authors offer a methodology to decompose the effects of price promotions into brand switching, stockpiling, and change in consumption by explicitly allowing for consumer heterogeneity in brand preferences and consumption needs. They develop a dynamic structural model of a household that decides when, what, and how much to buy, as well as how much to consume, to maximize its expected utility over an infinite horizon. By making certain simplifying assumptions, the authors reduce the dimensionality of the problem. They estimate the proposed model using household purchase data in the canned tuna and paper towels categories. The results from the model offer insights into the decomposition of promotional effects into its components. This could help managers make inferences about which brand's sales are more responsive to stockpiling or increase in consumption expansion and how temporary price cuts affect future sales. Contrary to previous literature, the authors find that brand swi...
Variation in heteroploid reproduction and gene flow across a polyploid complex: One size does not fit all

Whole-genome duplication is considered an important speciation mechanism in plants. However, its effect on reproductive isolation between higher cytotypes is not well understood. We used backcrosses between different ploidy levels and surveys of mixed-ploidy contact zones to determine how reproductive barriers differed with cytotype across a polyploid complex. We backcrossed F1 hybrids derived from 2X-4X and 4X-6X crosses in the Campanula rotundifolia autopolyploid complex, measured backcross fitness, and estimated backcross DNA cytotype. We then sampled four natural mixed-ploidy contact zones (two 2X-4X and two 4X-6X), estimated ploidy, and genotyped individuals across each contact zone. Reproductive success and capacity for gene flow was markedly lower for 2X-4X than 4X-6X hybrids. In fact, 3X hybrids could not backcross; all 2X-4X backcross progeny resulted from neotetraploid F1 hybrids. Further, no 3X individuals were found in 2X-4X contact zones, and 2X and 4X individuals were genetically distinct. By contrast, backcrosses of 5X hybrids were relatively successful, particularly when crossed to 6X individuals. In 4X-6X contact zones, 5X individuals and aneuploids were common and all cytotypes were largely genetically similar and spatially intermixed. Taken together, these results provide strong evidence that reproduction is low between 2X and 4X cytotypes, primarily occurring via unreduced gamete production, but that reproduction and gene flow are ongoing between 4X and 6X cytotypes. Further, it suggests whole-genome duplication can result in speciation between diploids and polyploids, but is less likely to create reproductive barriers between different polyploid cytotypes, resulting in two fundamentally different potentials for speciation across polyploid complexes.
Quantifying Healthcare Utilization and Delay in the Treatment of Gastric Stenosis Following Sleeve Gastrectomy

Sleeve gastrectomy (SG) is the most common bariatric procedure performed. The incidence of gastric sleeve stenosis (GSS) is up to 4%, with a rising prevalence given increasing popularity of this surgery. GSS is best treated with pneumatic balloon dilation (PBD), but the diagnosis is not always straightforward, oftentimes leading to an extensive diagnostic workup. The aims of the current study were to quantify delay to treatment and overall healthcare utilization during this delay in patients with GSS following SG. This was a retrospective review of a prospectively collected database including patients with SG diagnosed with GSS between October 2017 and September 2020. The primary outcome was time between symptom development and treatment with PBD. Secondary outcomes included total healthcare utilization as reflected by the number and charges of imaging and emergency room (ER) visits. Forty-five patients were included in the analysis; 37 (82%) were female. The mean (± SD) time to treatment was 755 (± 713) days. The probability of receiving treatment at 1, 2, and 3 years was 37%, 62%, and 76%, respectively. The mean (± SD) abdominal CT scans, radiographs, and UGIS between symptoms and PBD were 1.3 ± 2.0, 1.2 ± 1.6, and 1.2 ± 1.0, respectively. The mean number of ER visits was 1.9 ± 2.5 (range 0–8). The average number of diagnostic non-therapeutic upper endoscopies was 1.6 ± 1.5. The mean (± SD) total charges were $16,473 ± 15,173. Patients who develop GSS following SG experience significant delay in diagnosis and management, reflected by multiple imaging studies, emergency department visits, and non-therapeutic procedures.
Trade Between Finland and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics

Trade between Finland and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (U.S.S.R.) began following the World War II as a devise to pay reparations. The objective of this study was to determine the progress in trade between the two countries, types of products imported and exported, and the future of the trade relationship. Analysis of the available data indicated that Finland imported mostly raw materials from the U.S.S.R. and exported finished goods. The increasing demand in the domestic market for the raw materials exported to Finland and export of finished products from the U.S.S.R. to other countries may in the longrun create some trade problems between Finland and the U.S.S.R.
Two-Dimensional Elastic-Plastic Flow

The equations listed below are used by the HEMP computer program to solve problems in elasticity and plasticity in plane geometry or cylindrical geometry including rotation about the axis of cylindrical symmetry.
Practitioner empathy and the duration of the common cold.

Objective: This study’s objective was to assess the relationship of empathy in medical office visits to subsequent outcomes of the common cold. Methods: A total of 350 subjects ≥ 12 years of age received either a standard or enhanced physician visit as part of a randomized controlled trial. Enhanced visits emphasized empathy on the part of the physician. The patient-scored Consultation and Relational Empathy (CARE) questionnaire assessed practitioner-patient interaction, especially empathy. Cold severity and duration were assessed from twice-daily symptom reports. Nasal wash was performed to measure the immune cytokine interleukin-8 (IL-8). Results: Eighty-four individuals reported perfect (score of 50) CARE scores. They tended to be older with less education but reported similar health status, quality of life, and levels of optimism. In those with perfect CARE scores, cold duration was shorter (mean 7.10 days versus 8.01 days), and there was a trend toward reduced severity (mean area under receiver-operator characteristics curve 240.40 versus 284.49). After accounting for possible confounding variables, cold severity and duration were significantly lower in those reporting perfect CARE scores. In these models, a perfect score also correlated with a larger increase in IL-8 levels. Conclusions: Clinician empathy, as perceived by patients with the common cold, significantly predicts subsequent duration and severity of illness and is associated with immune system changes.
End-of-Life Treatment Preferences: A Key to Reducing Ethnic/Racial Disparities in Advance Care Planning?

BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to identify targets for interventions to reduce end-of-life care disparities among patients with advanced cancer. To do this, the authors evaluated the degree to which end-of-life care values and preferences are associated with advance care planning within racial/ethnic minority groups. METHODS The Coping with Cancer study recruited patients with advanced cancer from outpatient clinics in 5 states from 2002 to 2008. Then, the rates of 1 type of advance care planning—do-not-resuscitate (DNR) orders—reported at baseline interviews by 606 patients were investigated. Bivariate tests determined associations among DNR order completion, religious values, and treatment preferences within racial/ethnic groups. RESULTS Non-Latino white patients were significantly more likely to have a DNR order (45%) than black (25%) and Latino (20%) patients (P<.001). A preference against specific life-prolonging treatment (eg, chemotherapy, ventilation) was the only factor significantly associated with higher DNR order likelihood in each group, with non-Latino white patients more likely than Latino or black patients to express preferences against life-prolonging care (eg, 26% of non-Latino white patients, 46% of black patients, and 41% of Latino patients wanted a feeding tube if it would extend life for 1 more day; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS Preferences against life-prolonging care differ dramatically by race/ethnicity, but they have a uniform significant association with DNR order completion rates across racial/ethnic groups of patients with advanced cancer. Advance care planning interventions that target preferences associated with DNR orders across racial/ethnic groups may reach a broad patient population and reduce end-of-life care disparities. Cancer 2014;120:3981–3986. © 2014 American Cancer Society.
Genetic Control of Neurospora malate dehydrogenase and aspartate aminotransferase: I. Mutant selection, linkage, and complementation studies

Abstract A method for the selection of mutants of Neurospora crassa deficient in malate assimilation is described. Six mutants have been localized at either of two unlinked loci in the left arms of two of the seven linkage groups, other than groups I or II. In vivo complementation regularly occurs when heterocaryons are formed between any pair of mutants from different genetic loci. All intragroup (intragenic) complementation tests have yielded negative results. These two distinct genetic loci involved in malate assimilation have been designated ma-1 and ma-2 .
Military Vehicle Testing

Abstract : Army testing has been consolidated under the direction of one organization. the U.S. Army Test and Evaluation Command. The purpose of TECOM is to provide the Army with a sound, objective, and timely test program on all new materiel. The scope of testing remains comprehensive, however. and by proper coordination, unnecessary duplication and unrealistic testing is being eliminated. Test planning. execution, and reporting is being accomplished against military and technical requirements established for the vehicle design. thus ensuring objective and meaningful evaluation of test results. When following a jet aircraft, you must look ahead of its sound, and this principle applies to the test planning now being accomplished by the Test and Evaluation Command. which will produce improved test programs and materiel in the future.
Impact location estimation in anisotropic media

Impact location estimation techniques are important components of Structural Health Monitoring systems. This paper considers impact location estimation in composite structures using acoustic emission signals arriving at a passive sensor array attached to the structure. Because composite structures are anisotropic, the wave propagation properties depend both on the direction of propagation and the location on the structures. As a result, this is a substantially more difficult problem than that of impact location estimation in isotropic media. The algorithm presented in this paper uses three sensor clusters and formulates the impact location estimation problem as one of minimizing a quadratic objective function. Unlike many published location estimation algorithms, the algorithm in this paper does not require the waveform velocity profile for the structure. Experimental results demonstrating the ability of the algorithm to accurately estimate the impact location using acoustic emission signals is included in the paper.
Transparent checkpoint-restart of multiple processes on commodity operating systems

The ability to checkpoint a running application and restart it later can provide many useful benefits including fault recovery, advanced resources sharing, dynamic load balancing and improved service availability. However, applications often involve multiple processes which have dependencies through the operating system. We present a transparent mechanism for commodity operating systems that can checkpoint multiple processes in a consistent state so that they can be restarted correctly at a later time. We introduce an efficient algorithm for recording process relationships and correctly saving and restoring shared state in a manner that leverages existing operating system kernel functionality. We have implemented our system as a loadable kernel module and user-space utilities in Linux. We demonstrate its ability on real-world applications to provide transparent checkpoint-restart functionality without modifying, recompiling, or relinking applications, libraries, or the operating system kernel. Our results show checkpoint and restart times 3 to 55 times faster than OpenVZ and 5 to 1100 times faster than Xen.
Preparation and characterization of boron-doped diamond powder : A possible dimensionally stable electrocatalyst support material

Electrically conducting diamond powder was prepared by coating insulating diamond powder (8-12 μm diam, ∼2 m 2 /g) with a thin boron-doped layer using microwave plasma-assisted chemical vapor deposition. Deposition times from 1 to 6 h were evaluated. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) revealed that the diamond powder particles become more faceted and more secondary growths form with increasing deposition time. Fusion of neighboring particles was also observed with increasing growth time. The first-order diamond phonon line appeared in the Raman spectrum at ca. 1331 cm - 1 for deposition times up to 4 h, and was downshifted to as low as 1317 cm - 1 for some particles after the 6-h growth. Electrical resistance measurements of the bulk powder (no binder) confirmed that a conductive diamond overlayer formed, as the conductivity increased from near zero (insulating, <10 - 5 S/cm) for the uncoated powder to 1.5 S/cm after the 6-h growth. Ohmic behavior was seen in current-voltage curves recorded for the 4-h powder between ′10 V. Cyclic voltammetric i-E curves for Fe(CN) 3 - / 4 - 6 and Ru(NH 3 ) 3 + / 2 + 6 were recorded to evaluate the electrochemical properties of the conductive powder when mixed with a polytetrafluoroethylene binder. At scan rates between 10 and 500 mV/s, ΔE p for both redox systems was high, ranging from 140 to 350 mV, consistent with significant ohmic resistance within the powder/binder electrode. Our results at this point suggest that the resistance is mainly due to poor particle-particle connectivity. Anodic polarization at 1.6 V vs Ag/AgCl for 1 h (25°C) was performed to evaluate the morphological and microstructural stability of the conductive diamond in comparison with graphite and glassy carbon (GC) powders. The total charge passed during polarization was largest for the GC powder (0.88 C/cm 2 ) and smallest for conductive diamond powder (0.18 C/cm 2 ). SEM images taken of conductive diamond powder after polarization showed no evidence of microstructural degradation, while significant morphological and microstructural changes were seen for the GC powder.
High-Assurance Integrity Techniques for Databases

With the increased need of data sharing among multiple organizations, such as government organizations, financial corporations, medical hospitals and academic institutions, it is critical to ensure data integrity so that effective decisions can be made based on these data. In this paper, we first present an architecture for a comprehensive integrity control system based on data validation and metadata management. We then discuss an important issue in the data validation, that is, the evaluation of data provenance and propose a trust model for estimating the trustworthiness of data and data providers. By taking into account confidence about data provenance, we introduce an approach for policy observing query evaluation as a complement to the integrity control system.
30/20 GHz wideband technology verification program

This paper discusses various aspects of the 30/20 GHz wideband technology verification activities of NASA. The discussion considers the objectives, approach, system requirements, possible experiment configuration and payload, and the supporting research and technology elements.
Voxelization of free-form solids represented by catmull-clark subdivision surfaces

A voxelization technique and its applications for objects with arbitrary topology are presented. It converts a free-form object from its continuous geometric representation into a set of voxels that best approximates the geometry of the object. Unlike traditional 3D scan-conversion based methods, our voxelization method is performed by recursively subdividing the 2D parameter space and sampling 3D points from selected 2D parameter space points. Moreover, our voxelization of 3D closed objects is guaranteed to be leak-free when a 3D flooding operation is performed. This is ensured by proving that our voxelization results satisfy the properties of separability, accuracy and minimality.
Performance analysis of an order statistic-based radar threshold normalizer in Weibull noise

Order statistic-based algorithms for calculating detection thresholds have been investigated previously. The author extends previous analyses of these algorithms to determine closed-form approximations for the signal-to-noise ratio required to achieve a particular probability of detection in environments whose amplitude statistics are modeled by the Weibull distribution. Performance is evaluated in both homogenous and inhomogenous noise. The analysis shows that the order statistic-based algorithm is quite robust against interference. >
Quantifying the Value of Stroke Disability Outcomes: WHO Global Burden of Disease Project Disability Weights for Each Level of the Modified Rankin Scale

Background and Purpose— The modified Rankin Scale (mRS) categorizes poststroke disability among 7 broad, ordinal grades, but the interval distances between these levels are spaced along the disability spectrum have not been previously investigated. Methods— We used the person trade-off procedure developed by the World Health Organization Global Burden of Disease Project (WHO-GBDP) to generate disability weights (DWs) ranging from 0 (normal) to 1 (dead) for each of 7 mRS grades. The ratings of an international, 9-member panel of stroke experts were combined by a modified Delphi process. Results— DWs (95% CI) were 0 for mRS 0, 0.046 (0.004 to 0.088) for mRS 1, 0.212 (0.175 to 0.250) for mRS 2, 0.331 (0.292 to 0.371) for mRS 3, 0.652 (0.625 to 0.678) for mRS 4, 0.944 (0.873 to 1.015) for mRS 5, and 1.0 for mRS 6. DWs of adjacent mRS levels were significantly different (P<0.001 for all). Coefficients of variation showed a high degree of consensus for DWs among panel members. DWs placed each of the 5 intermedi...
Black '47 and Beyond: the Great Irish Famine in History, Economy and Memory . By Cormac Ó Gráda. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press, 1999. Pp. xii, 302. $21.50, cloth; $17.95, paper.

During the 1970s and 1980s the Irish historical profession, which was challenging nearly all the old verities of nationalist historiography, proved strangely reticent on the single event in Irish history most likely to be familiar to non-Irish readers: the Great Famine of the 1840s. That all changed in 1995, however, when the sesquicentennial observances called forth a huge outpouring of famine research. This research has shed new light on a wide range of social, political, administrative and cultural issues, but the work under review is the first full-length monograph on the Famine by an historical econometrician since Joel Mokyr's pioneering exploration of Malthusian explanation, Why Ireland Starved, appeared in 1983.
Nomadic radio: speech and audio interaction for contextual messaging in nomadic environments

Mobile workers need seamless access to communication and information services while on the move. However, current solutions overwhelm users with intrusive interfaces and ambiguous notifications. This article discusses the interaction techniques developed for Nomadic Radio, a wearable computing platform for managing voice and text-based messages in a nomadic environment. Nomadic Radio employs an auditory user interface, which synchronizes speech recognition, speech synthesis, nonspeech audio, and spatial presentation of digital audio, for navigating among messages as well as asynchonous notific ation of nely arrived messages. Emphasis is placed on an auditory modality as Nomadic Radio is designed to be used while performing other tasks in a user's everyday environment; a range of auditory cues provides peripheral awareness of incoming messages. Notification is adaptive and cntext sensitive; messages are presented as more or less obtrsive based on importance inferred from content filtering, whether the user is engaged in conversation and his or her own recent responses to prior messages. Auditory notifications are dynamically scaled from ambient sound through recorded voice cues up to message summaries. Iterative design and a preliminary user evaluation suggest that audio is an appropriate medium for mobile messaging, but that care must be taken to minimally intrude on the wearer's social and physical environment.
How competitive is the match for radiology residency? Present view and historical perspective.

Purpose Interest in radiology as a career among US medical students has changed. The aim of this study was to investigate the recent and historical trends in residency applications and how they have affected competitiveness in obtaining a position. Methods Statistics published by the National Resident Matching Program in "Results and Data: Main Residency Match" for 1991 to 2013 were analyzed. Results The number of radiology residency positions has trended upward over the past 23 years; however, the number of applicants from US medical schools has been widely variable. The number of applicants peaked in 2009 but has since decreased every year. The number of positions per US senior applicant (PPUSA) is a judge of specialty competitiveness on a supply-and-demand basis. A lower PPUSA indicates a more competitive specialty. Radiology saw its most competitive year in 2001, with only 0.91 PPUSA. PPUSA has been on the rise every year since 2009. From 2009 to 2013, the number of residency positions increased by 56, but there were 241 fewer US senior medical students preferring radiology. In 2013, there were 1,143 residency positions available for only 845 US senior medical students who preferred the specialty. The PPUSA was 1.35, making 2013 the least competitive year in obtaining a radiology residency position since 1998. Over the past 23 years, 5.5% of all US senior medical students have applied to radiology for residency. Interest reached an all-time high in 2009, at almost 7%. In 2013, only 4.8% of all US seniors preferred radiology, the lowest since 1999. The historical (1991–2013), current (2011–2013), and most recent (2013) PPUSAs for radiology were 1.19, 1.29, and 1.35, respectively. For comparison, the current PPUSAs for the following specialties were: 0.74 for plastic surgery, 0.83 for orthopedic surgery, 0.95 for dermatology, 1.10 for general surgery, 1.24 for obstetrics and gynecology, 1.31 for anesthesiology, 1.42 for pediatrics, and 1.80 for internal medicine (1.80). Conclusions Although radiology residency positions have continued to increase, interest among US seniors has dropped every year since 2009. The 2013 match was the least competitive since 1998. Over the past 3 years, the competitiveness of matching radiology on a supply-and-demand basis has been close to that of obstetrics and gynecology and anesthesiology.
An Ecological Exploration of Generation Y: Residence Location Choice in the San Francisco Bay Area

Research interest in Generation Y (the children of the Baby Boomers) has centered on interrelational attributes such as workplace dynamics and behavioral patterns. Less well understood, however, is whether the preferences of Gen Y relate to the attributes of the places where Gen Y is likelier to reside. An ecological study of the San Francisco Bay Area is conducted to explore the relationship between traits commonly claimed as preferences of the Gen Y cohort and the places where cohort members live. Results show a globally positive association at the Census tract scale between attributes believed to be preferred by the cohort—such as racial diversity and knowledge-based occupations—and the percentage of Gen Y residents, which may indicate a locational proclivity for places reflecting or reinforcing preferred values. However, these associations become inconsistent when examined through a racial lens, suggesting a more complicated definition of Gen Y values exists than is popularly given.
Parallaxes of metal-poor main-sequence stars

Our team was awarded 108 orbits of Hubble Space Telescope time to obtain parallaxes and photometry of nine metal-poor stars with [Fe/H] < −1.5 dex. The parallaxes are obtained from observations with the Fine Guidance Sensor (FGS 1r; 11 orbits per star) and photometry was obtained with the Advanced Camera for Surveys (one orbit per star). The first data were obtained in October 2008, and the data collection is ongoing. It is anticipated that the observations will be complete in June 2013. Preliminary data reduction has been completed for five of our target stars. The parallax errors vary from 0.12 to 0.16 milli-arcseconds, and the parallaxes are at least an order of magnitude more accurate than existing Hipparcos parallaxes for these stars. The errors in the true distance modulus range from 0.02 to 0.03 mag. Ground-based high-resolution spectra have been analyzed to obtain accurate abundances for three stars. The properties of the two stars with accurate abundances and parallaxes are in excellent agreement with those predicted by stellar evolution models.
Rémunération du progrès thérapeutique

methode choisis selon certains objectifs. Or, ces objectifs varient selon la perspective que l’on a et qui, elle aussi, peut etre differente d’abord selon les acteurs qui realisent l’evaluation, ensuite en fonction du moment auquel est procede a l’evaluation et fi nalement en fonction du lieu d’application de cette innovation, c’est-a-dire celui de la prise en charge. Tres schematiquement, quatre acteurs de l’evaluation peuvent etres denombres : les medecins, les patients, l’industriel lui-meme et enfi n la societe et/ou l’environnement politico-administratif dans laquelle elle prend place (Fig. 1). Remuneration du progres therapeutique
Mindfulness and Health Behaviors: Is Paying Attention Good for You?

Abstract Objective: The investigators examined relations between mindfulness and health behaviors in college students, as well as the role of stress in mediating these effects. Participants: Participants were 553 undergraduates (385 females; mean age = 18.8 years, SD = 2.1) recruited from a university in the northeastern United States. Methods: Participants completed questionnaires assessing mindfulness, perceived health, health behaviors, health-related activity restriction, and stress. Data were collected from September 2007 through December 2007. Results: Overall perceived health and health-related activity restriction, as well as some health behaviors (eg, binge eating, sleep quality, and physical activity) were related to the Five-Factor Mindfulness Questionnaire and were partially mediated by stress. Conclusions: These results suggest that mindfulness is related to decreased stress, which in turn contributes to increased positive health perceptions and health behaviors. The findings support the util...
Prenatal diagnosis of sirenomelus with color Doppler ultrasonography

Sirenomelus is an invariably lethal congenital anomaly characterized by complete or nearly complete fusion of the lower extremities that occurs in 1 of 60,000 births. In about 50% of cases this condition cannot be diagnosed prenatally because of the associated oligohydramnios that precludes a detailed examination of the fetus. We present a case of sirenomelus in which prenatal diagnosis was aided by color Doppler ultrasonography; visualization of the vitelline artery as a single, large intraabdominal vessel that did not branch in the fetal pelvis but rather coursed ventrally into the umbilical cord proved to be diagnostic of this rare condition. Color Doppler flow ultrasonography is a valuable tool for the prenatal diagnosis of sirenomelus.
Cancer in the elderly: a prospective study among Hawaiian Japanese men.

In the United States, little has been done to compare the cancer risk of elderly subjects, aged 65 and older, with that of younger subjects. Although the elderly constitute only 12% of the population, they are diagnosed with more than 50% of the cancers. The study consisted of 7, 783 Japanese-American men, born from 1900-1919 and examined from 1965-1968. During 154, 000 person-years of follow-up, 1, 478 incident cases of cancer were identified. The incidence rate of cancer was high among the elderly (142.7 per 10, 000 person-years) compared with younger subjects (48.2 per 10, 000 person-years), yielding a significant (p < 0.05) rate ratio of 3.0. Of the site-specific cancers, prostate cancer showed the highest rate raio of 7.0, followed by oral, stomach, lung, and colon cancer. In addition, the five-year age-specific rates for stomach and colon cancer rose directly with age. A similar pattern was also observed for lung and prostate cancer in men before age 80, but the rates declined thereafter. The findin...
On the transformation of discontinuity waves from spatial to pressure coordinates for the primitive system of geophysical fluid dynamics

Abstract We give a complete analysis of the transformation of discontinuity waves from spatial coordinates to pressure coordinates for the primitive equations of geophysical fluid dynamics. These waves are moving surfaces in physical space across which some or all of the fluid variables are discontinuous, and therefore correspond to regions of steep gradient in solutions of related models which incorporate frictional forces or viscosity. Discontinuity waves consequently represent the most easily discernable and frequently the most interesting and important features of the flow. Our results show that the primitive equations in either coordinate system inherit from the underlying Euler equations all the physically correct shear waves; that the acoustic waves are completely eliminated in pressure coordinates but not in spatial coordinates; and that unphysical, anomolous waves occur in both coordinate systems.
Ultrasound demonstration of giant malignant breast cyst undetected by xeromammography

The present case is unusual because, despite the underlying fatty breast pattern, the large size of the mass, and the presence of carcinoma, an essentially normal xeromammogram was obtained. This case demonstrates the necessity of performing a subsequent ultrasound examination on any patient in whom a palpable breast mass is not detected by xeromammography. The present case report clearly demonstrates that cyst aspiration plays a vital role in the evaluation of cystic breast masses.
Yield of convoy electrons from solids

Abstract The number of convoy electrons emitted in the forward direction from solid targets of C, Al, Ag. and Au per incident 1–4 MeV/amu H, O, Si, and Ni projectile is reported. As expected, the yield is independent of target thickness and of the incident projectile charge state. We find that the yield is target ( Z ) 2 dependent, increases as Z 1 2.75 ( Z ) 1 is the atomic number of the incident projectile) and decreases as E 1 −2.25 ( E 1 is the incident projectile energy in MeV/amu).
EMPIRICAL VALIDATION OF ELICITED UTILITIES FOR PREDICTION AND DECISION MAKING

The HOPE (Holistic Orthogonal Parameter Estimation) elicitation procedure assesses multiattribute utility functions via sample holistic judgments. Analyses of actual judgmental data are presented that support two simple assertions: (1) HOPE-derived utilities are valid and (2) the resulting utility functions are useful for decision making.
Spherical-spline parameterization of three-dimensional Earth models

We propose a spherical surface-spline method that parameterizes a two-dimensional model on a sphere in terms of a local cubic B-spline basis on a triangular grid of knots with approximately equal interknot spacing. Numerical results show that such a parameterization can represent a model on a sphere with an accuracy equal to that of the spherical-harmonic parameterization of the corresponding nominal degree. Furthermore, it significantly reduces the computational time needed to calculate surface-wave synthetic seismograms on a laterally heterogeneous Earth, and makes it feasible to apply JWKB theory to surface-wave inversion studies.