cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stent-supported carotid angioplasty: should it be done, and, if so, by whom? A 1998 perspective.

Cardiologists, focusing primarily on the heart and its function, diseases, and treatments, had until recently expressed minimal interest in peripheral vascular diseases. Now, spurred on by their successful endovascular treatments of a variety of cardiac pathologies, a few cardiologists have championed the proposal that endovascular treatments should be disease specific and not site specific; thus, their interventional efforts should not be limited to the heart. This perspective has been perceived by some medical and surgical specialties as self-serving and demeaning of these specialties and their accomplishments. In addition, the structure of cardiology training programs has paid little or no attention to the natural history, pathology, diagnosis, and management of vascular patients, let alone endovascular therapeutic procedures. In addition, many peripheral endovascular publications, written in large part about observational studies by private practice cardiologists, have been viewed with circumspection by others, because the authors focused on clinical issues outside their area of expertise, and their audacity transcended the sacrosanct, but nebulous, specialty boundaries. Although these arenas were often considered to be outside the purview of cardiologists, the results of these investigations motivated other cardiologists to move forward. Now, the efforts of cardiologists to vanguard the evaluation of endovascular revascularization techniques involving obliterative extracranial carotid bifurcation disease have made more transparent the significant interdisciplinary tensions that were created, in part, not only by physicians’ angst about their future but also by the blurring of the distinctions between specialties. A few cardiologists have made these more taut through their premature conclusions and extrapolations drawn from nonrandomized, observational carotid stent-supported angioplasty studies1 and the pronouncements that this technique is state of the art and does not require any randomized trials. Such statements have resulted in the foisting of this technique as the standard of care on unsuspecting patients. The surreptitious insertion of patients …
High-Power Photodiodes

Here we discuss recent advances in the design and implementation of high power photodetectors.
Variability in the vacuum-ultraviolet transmittance of magnesium fluoride windows

In the course of the development of a domed magnesium fluoride detector window for the Space Telescope Imaging Spectrograph, slated to be a second-generation instrument aboard the Hubble Space Telescope, sample window materials from various commercial sources displayed a wide variability in vacuum ultraviolet transmittance. As a result a test program was undertaken in cooperation with the supplier of a prototype domed window to maximize transmittance. Results of the program have provided clues to the causes of the variations experienced, and they point to careful selection of raw materials and strict process control to achieve optimization.
Spatial evaluation of the risk of groundwater quality degradation. A comparison between disjunctive kriging and geostatistical simulation

In some previous papers a probabilistic methodology was introduced to estimate a spatial index of risk of groundwater quality degradation, defined as the conditional probability of exceeding assigned thresholds of concentration of a generic chemical sampled in the studied water system. A crucial stage of this methodology was the use of geostatistical techniques to provide an estimation of the above-mentioned probability in a number of selected points by crossing spatial and temporal information. In this work, spatial risk values were obtained using alternatively stochastic conditional simulation and disjunctive kriging. A comparison between the resulting two sets of spatial risks, based on global and local statistical tests, showed that they do not come from the same statistical population and, consequently, they cannot be viewed as equivalent in a statistical sense. At a first glance, geostatistical conditional simulation may appear to represent the spatial variability of the phenomenon more effectively, as the latter tends to be smoothed by DK. However, a close examination of real case study results suggests that disjunctive kriging is more effective than simulation in estimating the spatial risk of groundwater quality degradation. In the study case, the potentially ‘harmful event’considered, threatening a natural ‘vulnerable groundwater system,’ is fertilizer and manure application.
Process Theorizing: Too Important to Ignore in a Kaleidic World

Both Professors Donaldson (2002) and Watson (this issue) highlight the important role that theory plays in management education, but limit their discussion to variance theory—one of two fundamental types of theory in social science research (Mohr, 1982). Given that variance theory has long been the dominant paradigm held by scientists and philosophers as well as the general public (Mohr, 1982), it isn’t surprising that both professors emphasize this orientation. By doing so, however, they neglect the other fundamental type of theory: process theory. By treating “explained-varianceas-the-only-form-of-theory,” neither professor is able to address the complex dynamics of a variety of fundamental organizational processes including adaptation, coevolution, improvisation, selection, and self-organization, illustrating how a favored paradigm holds powerful sway over what
Functionally terminated poly(methyl acrylate) by SET‐LRP initiated with CHBr3 and CHI3

The single-electron transfer living radical polymerization (SET-LRP) of methyl acrylate initiated with bromoform (CHBr 3 ) and iodoform (CHI 3 ) and catalyzed by Cu(0)/Me 6 -TREN in DMSO at 25 °C provides a reliable method to prepare poly (methyl acrylate) (PMA) with active chain ends and controlled structure that can undergo subsequent functionalization to provide strategies for the synthesis of different block copolymers and other complex architectures. A detailed kinetic and structural analysis was used to assess the scope and the limitations of CHBr 3 and CHI 3 as initiators under SET-LRP conditions.
Emissions from an extreme-compression, free-piston engine with diesel-style combustion

As part of an ongoing effort to demonstrate operation of a free-piston internal combustion engine at extremely high compression ratios, this paper reports the measurement of emissions from diesel-style combustion of a single-cycle, free-piston research device capable of achieving compression ratios up to 100:1. The ability to measure gaseous and particulate emissions was added to the existing extreme-compression device. These systems and their characterization are described. Concentrations as well as specific emissions are reported for carbon monoxide, total oxides of nitrogen, unburned hydrocarbons, carbon dioxide, oxygen, and soot. A first set of emissions data is reported of a pure-component fuel (isooctane) at a moderate compression ratio (∼35:1) over a range of equivalence ratios, in order to characterize the emission measurement system as well as diesel-style combustion in the free-piston device. NOx emissions were essentially constant over the range of equivalence ratios. CO, HC, and soot emissions...
Magic numbers in small iron clusters: A first-principles study

Abstract We perform ab initio spin-polarized density functional calculations of Fe n aggregates with n ≤ 17 atoms to reveal the origin of the observed magic numbers, which indicate particularly high stability of clusters with 7, 13 and 15 atoms. Our results clarify the controversy regarding the ground state geometry of clusters such as Fe 5 and indicate that magnetism plays an important role in determining the stability and magic numbers in small iron clusters.
Personal, Professional, and Community Re-creation After Hurricane Katrina

Geographic circumstances: I was on duty in the nursery during the hurricane and flooding of the hospital; the nursery did not reopen. I continue to work in 3 other local hospitals. About the author: I am a neonatologist and have resided in New Orleans, a city that I love, for the past 32 years. After Hurricane Katrina, I am now very involved in the community, but my medical work is more administrative in nature. A few weeks ago I was reflecting on the impact of the oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico when I received an e-mail asking me “to think and type some comments of my experiences post Katrina” as we were approaching the fifth anniversary of the worst natural or man-made disaster in the history of this country. It seems almost unreal to remember that event while evaluating another disaster, the worst oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. Still, there is no comparison to the devastating human and economic effects of Katrina. Five years have passed, and significant progress has been made. The educational system has been revamped, and steady increases in students' academic scores are taking place. Community clinics established throughout the city are being praised as a national model for access to excellent primary health care. We have a new mayor and a new chief of police who are restoring the faith and hope of people in their government. Emergency preparedness is also much better. We have substantially improved hurricane preparations with coordination and cooperation from the local, state, and federal governments. The state is now divided into 9 regions with a coordinator designated for each. A network has developed between the Louisiana Department of Health and the Louisiana Hospital Association. State plans of action are tailored to the characteristics of the disaster with … Address correspondence to Juan J. Gershanik, MD, Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, West Jefferson Medical Center, 1101 Medical Center Blvd, Marrero, LA 70072. E-mail: jgershanik{at}aol.com
Performance Measurement in Budgeting: A Study of County Governments

This article focuses on the use of performance measurement in public budgeting. Based on a national survey of county governments, it finds that governments use performance measurement in a wide range of budgeting areas. The results also show that performance measurement users are experiencing technical obstacles in conducting performance analysis and obtaining support from legislatures and citizens. The article concludes that analytical competency and political support increase the use of performance measurement in budgeting, which leads to a more efficient, effective, and accountablegovernment.
A comparison of three stereotactic radiotherapy techniques; arcs vs. noncoplanar fixed fields vs. intensity modulation

Abstract Purpose: Linac arc based stereotactic radiotherapy is being used with increasing frequency to treat brain tumors. This approach can be used for single or fractionated treatments, and is typically carried out with circular collimators which are optimal for small, spherical targets. Treatment planning using fixed noncoplanar beams or intensity-modulated beams may enhance the ability to conform to irregularly shaped and/or large tumors, especially when combined with stereotactic localization. We compare the dose conformity and normal brain dose characteristics of three stereotactic techniques for various nonspherical target shapes. Methods and Materials: Three intracranial test targets were constructed using a 3D treatment planning system after a patient underwent CT simulation. The targets included an ellipsoid with major axis dimensions of 4.0, 2.0, and 2.0 cm, a hemisphere with a diameter of 4.0 cm, and an irregularly shaped patient tumor with a maximum dimension of 5.3 cm. The following stereotactic techniques were compared for each target: a) 5 arcs as used in traditional linac radiosurgery/radiotherapy (noncoplanar arcs [ARCS]), b) 6 fixed noncoplanar custom blocked fields (3D), c) intensity modulation using 6 noncoplanar beams and a mini-multileaf collimator (intensity-modulated radiation therapy [IMRT]). Dose volume histograms were performed for each target/technique combination. Results: For the ellipsoid, dose conformity is similar for all three techniques and normal brain isodose distributions are more favorable with the ARCS plan. For the hemisphere and irregular tumor targets, dose conformity and high/low isodose normal brain volumes are more favorable with the IMRT technique. Conclusions: For the targets described above, the intensity-modulated technique results in improved dose conformity and decreased dose to nontarget brain in high and low isodose regions as compared to the standard noncoplanar arc technique or noncoplanar fixed fields for the hemisphere and tumor targets. Intensity-modulated treatment delivery may allow for an increase in the therapeutic ratio for treating stereotactically defined large and/or irregularly shaped intracranial targets.
Abstract 314: Distinctive genomic signature patterns of common Hematological malignancies uncovered by chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) using a cancer-specific microarray

The application of chromosomal microarray analysis (CMA) in cancer research has produced a wealth of useful information about copy number alterations (CNAs) and their implications in cancer classification, disease progression, therapy response, and patient outcome. However, only a handful of clinical laboratories are offering CMA for cancer diagnosis. This is largely due to the lack of effective diagnostic standards and guidelines for cancer applications, and the absence of a cancer microarray database to aid in post-analytic interpretation. We have designed a combined targeted-/whole-genome array specific for cancer using the microarray CGH format. Approximately 20,000 high quality oligonucleotide probes were selected from the Agilent Tech. (Santa Clara, CA) eArray system to target all exons and exon/intron boundaries of more than 500 cancer genes, over 100 known cancer-associated genomic regions and all subtelomeric chromosome regions. Intervals between aforementioned genes or regions were filled relatively evenly with oligonucleotide probes to cover the whole genome. Using this custom designed array, we studied 250 cases of hematological malignancies and 30 normal bone marrow or blood controls. In addition to confirming and clarifying cytogenetic and FISH results, the array revealed many previously unknown CNAs, including intra-gene deletions and duplications in patients with normal or abnormal karyotype. Many apparently balanced translocations were found to harbor cryptic CNAs at or near the breakpoints. Many CNAs displayed strong association with specific category of malignancies. GeneSpring Hierarchical Clustering analysis showed distinctive genomic signature patterns for different types or sub-types of haematological cancers. Using BlueFuse Multi software, we were able to create a few disease classification/decision tracks, which are of great clinical significance in post-analytic interpretation and genotype-phenotype correlation for cancer. Citation Format: {Authors}. {Abstract title} [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 102nd Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2011 Apr 2-6; Orlando, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2011;71(8 Suppl):Abstract nr 314. doi:10.1158/1538-7445.AM2011-314
Coagulase-Negative Staphylococcal Infections

Coagulase-negative staphylococci (CNS) are differentiated from the closely related but more virulent Staphylococcus aureus by their inability to produce free coagulase. Currently, there are over 40 recognized species of CNS. These organisms typically reside on healthy human skin and mucus membranes, rarely cause disease, and are most frequently encountered by clinicians as contaminants of microbiological cultures. However, CNS have been increasingly recognized to cause clinically significant infections. The conversion of the CNS from symbiont to human pathogen has been a direct reflection of the use of indwelling medical devices. This article deals with the clinical syndromes, epidemiology, prevention, and management of infections caused by this unique group of organisms.
AN OVERLAPPING CHOICE SET MODEL OF AUTOMOTIVE PRICE ELASTICITIES

Abstract This paper focusses on choice models in which individuals (a) determine which of the many available products are worthy of detailed consideration. We refer to the resulting smaller set of products as the individual's choice set; (b) choose among products in the choice set using a fairly simple logit model. The nested logit model (McFadden, 1978; 1983) is one common example of this model in which choice sets are mutually exclusive and collectively exhaustive. Unfortunately, there is strong empirical evidence suggesting that automobile buyers have overlapping choice sets. Thus, some buyers will consider both small and medium-sized cars whereas other buyers will consider both large and medium-sized cars. Hence, the nested logit model appears to unrealistically limit the allowable patterns of interproduct similarity. To avoid these problems, I allow choice sets to overlap but will restrict all choice sets to include the same number of products. As I describe, the resulting model is estimable with data on individual first and second choice preferences. We illustrate the model's utility by deducing demand-price elasticities for the automotive market.
Traumatic Brain Injury

Traumatic brain injury (TBI) is a significant source of morbidity and mortality throughout the world. This article discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical presentations of minor, moderate, and severe TBI. Controversial topics, such as hypertonic saline for increased intracranial pressure, prehospital intubation of patients who have experienced TBI, and the use of recombinant factor VIIa, are addressed.
Formation of the parental replicative form DNA of bacteriophage φX174 and initial events in its replication

Intracellular φX174 DNA was studied under a variety of conditions that prevent the replication of the parental replicative form DNA. These conditions included treatment with 150 μg of chloramphenicol per ml., the use of the rep3− mutation of the host cell, amber mutation (am 8) in the viral gene responsible for RF replication (gene A)† and combinations thereof. In all cases the majority of the parental RF was in the covalently closed form (RFI). The relative amount of RF with a discontinuity in one strand (RFII) in these cases was between 2 and 10% of the total RF and independent of the multiplicity of infection. The only exception was seen in infections of rep3 cells with φX am 3 (a mutant in the lysis gene, gene E, used as a wild-type representative). In this case a fairly constant absolute amount of RFII (1 to 4 per cell), independent of the multiplicity of infection, was formed, consisting almost exclusively of a closed complementary and an open parental viral strand. Since the formation of this type of RFII was dependent on protein synthesis and the presence of the product of φX gene A, it is concluded that the discontinuity in the parental viral strand represents the result of the action of the gene A product on the DNA. Possible mechanisms for the mode of action of the gene A product are discussed. Intermediates during the synthesis of the first complementary strand were isolated from cells infected with ultraviolet light-irradiated phages. Such intermediates contained incomplete linear complementary strands and circular parental viral strands. It is therefore concluded that the virus-specified discontinuity in RFII is introduced after the first complementary strand is completed and closed. Some residual virus-specific DNA synthesis beyond the formation of the parental RF was seen in rep3− cells in infections where the viral gene for RF replication was functioning. This residual synthesis resulted in replicative intermediate structures containing circular complementary strands and elongated linear viral strands. The significance of this type of RI for the existing models of φX174 RF replication is discussed.
Increasing Diversity in the Marine Sciences Through the Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program

The Minorities in Marine Science Undergraduate Program (MIMSUP) is an academic program at Western Washington University's Shannon Point Marine Center (SPMC) that seeks to increase the representation of minority individuals in the marine sciences. For the past 13 years, groups of students have spent two 10-week quarters at SPMC studying marine science, doing independent research, and developing the skills needed for success as marine scientists/educators. Program elements include formal coursework in marine science, supervised independent research, training in up-to-date field and laboratory investigative techniques, experience developing scientific and personal job-related skills, and introduction to the career options open to marine scientists. Results indicate that the program is impacting the career paths of student participants; program alumni seek advanced education and pursue careers in the marine and environmental sciences. MIMSUP introduces underrepresented students to the marine sciences, helps t...
Maternal exposure to polychlorinated biphenyls and the secondary sex ratio: an occupational cohort study

Though commercial production of polychlorinated biphenyls was banned in the United States in 1977, exposure continues due to their environmental persistence. Several studies have examined the association between environmental polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and modulations of the secondary sex ratio, with conflicting results. Our objective was to evaluate the association between maternal preconceptional occupational polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and the secondary sex ratio. We examined primipara singleton births of 2595 women, who worked in three capacitor plants at least one year during the period polychlorinated biphenyls were used. Cumulative estimated maternal occupational polychlorinated biphenyl exposure at the time of the infant's conception was calculated from plant-specific job-exposure matrices. A logistic regression analysis was used to evaluate the association between maternal polychlorinated biphenyl exposure and male sex at birth (yes/no). Maternal body mass index at age 20, smoking status, and race did not vary between those occupationally exposed and those unexposed before the child's conception. Polychlorinated biphenyl-exposed mothers were, however, more likely to have used oral contraceptives and to have been older at the birth of their first child than non-occupationally exposed women. Among 1506 infants liveborn to polychlorinated biphenyl-exposed primiparous women, 49.8% were male; compared to 49.9% among those not exposed (n = 1089). Multivariate analyses controlling for mother's age and year of birth found no significant association between the odds of a male birth and mother's cumulative estimated polychlorinated biphenyl exposure to time of conception. Based on these data, we find no evidence of altered sex ratio among children born to primiparous polychlorinated biphenyl-exposed female workers.
Improving XCP to achieve max-min fair bandwidth allocation

TCP is shown to be inefficient and instable in high speed and long latency networks. The eXplicit Control Protocol (XCP) is a new and promising protocol that outperforms TCP in terms of efficiency, stability, queue size, and convergence speed. However, Low et al. recently discovered a weakness of XCP. In a multi-bottleneck environment, XCP may achieve as low as 80% utilization at a bottleneck link and consequently some flows may only receive a small fraction of their max-min fair rates. This paper proposes iXCP, an improved version of XCP. Extensive simulations show that iXCP overcomes the weakness of XCP, and achieves efficient and fair bandwidth utilization in both single- and multibottleneck environments. In addition, we prove that iXCP is max-min fair in steady state. This result implies that iXCP is able to fully utilize bottleneck bandwidth. Simulations also show that iXCP preserves the good properties of XCP, including negligible queue lengths, near-zero packet loss rates, scalability, and fast convergence.
New Light on the Jews of Mozarabic Toledo

Medieval Spain represents a unique phenomenon in the history of Jewish civilization. Not only did the Jews live longer in Spain than in any other land in their history (indeed, almost as long as they occupied their homeland in the land of Israel from Abraham to the Roman destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E.), but the Jewish population of medieval Spain was greater than that of all other lands combined, and the rich achievements of Jewish culture there were unequaled elsewhere. Of all the cities in Spain which served as major centers of Jewish life and culture, Toledo perhaps stands out as the most important. Studies dealing with Jewish life in Spain have recognized this, and the long-awaited appearance of a recent two-volume work in Spanish devoted to the Jews of Toledo has helped focus attention once again on the vast archival material available.
Parental role strains, salience of parental identity and gender differences in psychological distress.

Although past research indicates that women's higher levels of psychological distress can be accounted for by their greater exposure and vulnerability to role-related stress, the social psychological factors contributing to female vulnerability have not been fully identified. This paper applies identity theory to the phenomenon of gender differences in distress among parents. From an identity perspective, I propose that salience of the parental identity in women's self-conceptions contributes to their vulnerability to parental role strains. Using 1988 survey data from a stratified random sample of married and divorced Indianapolis residents (N= 448), I find that gender differences in distress are explained by differences in exposure to parental role strains. Further analyses reveal, however, that salience of the parental identity contributes to both men's and women's vulnerability to parental role strains. These findings underscore the utility of identity theory for explaining psychological distress among women and men.
Modifications in cyclosporine (CsA) microemulsion blood concentrations by olestra.

Abstract Objective: Determine whether olestra alters the absorption of cyclosporine microemulsion in pediatric renal transplant recipients. Design: Prospective, open-label, crossover pharmacokinetic study. Setting: General clinical research center in a university medical setting providing tertiary care. Participants: Seven pediatric-adolescent renal transplant recipients, ages 9 to 18, 5 to 24 months post-transplant with mean serum creatinine of 0.9 mg/dL (range, 0.7-1.6 mg/dL). Methodology: Patients participated in 2 study periods: 1. Patients were given their usual dose of Neoral (Novartis Pharmaceuticals Corporation, East Hanover, NJ) without olestra, 2. patients were given their usual dose of Neoral combined with 0.35 g/kg (maximum of 16 g of olestra or approximately 2 ounces of Lays WOW [Frito Lay, Plano, TX] potato chips). The 2 study periods were separated by a minimum 7-day washout period. CsA blood concentrations were obtained at 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, and 12 hours after drug administration. Results: Each patient in the study had a consistent decrease in area under the curve (AUC) when given olestra along with their usual dose of Neoral, compared with giving Neoral alone (5,018 ng*hr/mL versus 4,086 ng*hr/mL; P
Orbifolds in Numerical Relativity

AbstractNumerical relativity has been using orbifolds for a long time, al-though they appear under diﬀerent names in the literature. We revieworbifolds previously used in simulations also discuss some that havenot been used yet but are likely to be useful in the future. 1 Introduction An orbifold O is an object that can be globally written as a cosetO = M/G (1)where M is a manifold, and G is a group of its isometries, not necessarily allof them. If G is trivial (contains nothing but the identity), the orbifold willbe identical with the manifold (O = M). When G is not trivial, it will mapeach point in M to one or more points in M. As a result, the fundamentaldomain of O will be signiﬁcantly less than M. In the physics community,Orbifolds have been used extensively in String Theory [1, 2] and are wellexplained in mathematics text books [3].Classical General Relativity (GR) normally studies the space we appearto live in - 4 dimensional non-compact and unorbifolded Minkowski. Inpractical applications, like numerical simulations, it is often convenient toconsider problems with a high degree of symmetry and, in such cases, one
The Set2-RPB1 Interaction Domain of Human RECQ5 Is Important for Transcription-Associated Genome Stability

The conserved RECQ5 DNA helicase is a tumor suppressor in mammalian cells. Defects in RECQ5 lead to the accumulation of spontaneous DNA double-stranded breaks (DSBs) during replication, despite the fact that these cells are proficient in DSB repair by homologous recombination (HR). The reason for this is unknown. Here, we demonstrate that these DSBs are linked to RNA polymerase II (RNAPII)-dependent transcription. In human RECQ5-depleted cells, active RNAPII accumulates on chromatin, and DNA breaks are associated with an RNAPII-dependent transcribed locus. Hence, transcription inhibition eliminates both active RNAPII and spontaneous DSB formation. In addition, the regulatory effect of RECQ5 on transcription and its interaction with RNAPII are enhanced in S-phase cells, supporting a role for RECQ5 in preventing transcription-associated DSBs during replication. Finally, we show that the SET2-RPB1 interaction (SRI) domain of human RECQ5 is important for suppressing spontaneous DSBs and the p53-dependent transcription stress response caused by the stalling of active RNAPII on DNA. Thus, our studies provide novel insights into a mechanism by which RECQ5 regulates the transcription machinery via its dynamic interaction with RNAPII, thereby preventing genome instability.
Information‐Based Trading and Price Improvement

In this study we test the information hypothesis of price improvement. Our results show that price improvement is negatively related to both the probability of information-based trading and the price impact of trades. We interpret these results as evidence that liquidity providers selectively offer price improvements according to the information content of trades. We also show that liquidity providers offer greater (and more frequent) price improvements when they are at the NBBO, and for stocks with wider spreads, fewer trades, or smaller trade sizes relative to the quoted depth. Buyer-initiated trades receive smaller (larger) price improvements than seller-initiated trades on the NYSE (NASDAQ).
Electromagnetic reflectivity characteristics of road surfaces

Advances in the design, development, and fabrication of key microwave components along with those in electronics have resulted in growing optimism about the application of radar technology to solving the automotive highway collision problem. However, before an automotive radar system can be fully realized, a major effort will be required to define the environment in which the system must operate, and to obtain a fundamental understanding of the influence of these RF parameters. One such parameter which will have a considerable effect on the design of automobile radars is that due to the presence of natural and man-made surfaces within the beamwidth of the antenna. Generally, the presence of such a surface will result in incident RF energy being reflected off the surface in a forward direction and some portion being scattered in a backward direction. This paper presents the results of a program which was designed to measure this type of reflectivity characteristic for common road surfaces. Measured data are presented along with a theoretical study demonstrating the influence that this phenomenon can have on highway collision radar systems.
Controlling energy deposition during the C 60 + bombardment of silicon: The effect of incident angle geometry

Abstract The profile of the energy deposition footprint is controlled during the C60+ erosion of Si surfaces by varying the incident energy and/or incident angle geometry. Sputter yield, surface topography, and chemical composition of the eroded surfaces were characterized using atomic force microscopy (AFM) and secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS). The experiments show that the 10 keV, 40° incident C60+ erosion of Si results in the formation of a C containing, mound-like structure on the solid surface. We find that the occurrence of this C feature can be avoided by increasing the incident energy of the C60+ projectile or by increasing the incident angle of the C60+ projectile. While both strategies allow for the Si samples to be eroded, the occurrence of topographical roughening limits the usefulness of C60+ in ultra-high resolution semiconductor depth profiling. Moreover, we find that the relative effect of changing the incident angle geometry of the C60+ projectile on the profile of the energy deposition footprint, and thus the sputter yield, changes according to the kinetic energy of the projectile and the material of the bombarded surface, a behavior that is quite different than what is observed for an atomic counterpart.
Rapid large-scale Characterization of CVD Graphene Layers on Glass using Fluorescence Quenching Microscopy

The exceptional electrical, optical, and mechanical properties of graphene make it a promising material for many industrial applications such as solar cells, semiconductor devices, and thermal heat sinks. However, the greatest obstacle in the use of graphene in industry is high-throughput scaling of its production and characterization. Chemical-vapor deposition growth of graphene has allowed for industrial-scale graphene production. In this work we introduce complimentary high-throughput metrology technique for characterization of chemical-vapor deposition-grown graphene. This metrology technique provides quick identification of thickness and uniformity of entire large-area chemical-vapor deposition-grown graphene sheets on a glass substrate and allows for easy identification of folds and cracks in the graphene samples. This metrology technique utilizes fluorescence quenching microscopy, which is based on resonant energy transfer between a dye molecule and graphene, to increase allow graphene visualization on the glass substrate and increase the contrast between graphene layers.
Risk factors associated with urinary albumin excretion in African Americans

Microalbuminuria is considered a marker of heightened risk for cardiovascular events. We examined cardiovascular risk factors, including inflammatory cytokines, which contribute to urinary albumin excretion (UAE) in a cross-sectional study of African Americans aged 18–49 years. Measurements included a timed overnight urine collection for UAE, blood pressure (BP), body mass index, glucose, lipids, insulin and inflammatory cytokines. Non-normally distributed variables were log transformed for analysis using multiple linear regressions. Data were obtained from 488 participants with mean age 37.8 years; 50% were obese, 42% had hypertension. Log UAE correlated significantly with systolic BP (SBP) (geometric mean ratio ¼1.011; 95% confidence interval 1.003–1.019). When subjects were stratified into four UAE groups, the only variables significantly different between groups were SBP (P ¼0.013) and diastolic BP (P ¼0.036). There were no statistically significant associations with obesity, metabolic parameters, insulin resistance or any inflammatory cytokines identified. In young, relatively healthy, African Americans, BP level is significantly associated with levels of UAE even below the threshold for microalbuminuria. The presence of diabetes and insulin resistance in the absence of high BP did not seem to contribute significantly to UAE in this cohort. Journal of Human Hypertension advance online publication, 29 July 2010; doi:10.1038/jhh.2010.79
Evaluation of the validity of anthropometric design assumptions

Some designers assume that if an individual's stature is a certain population percentile, his/her other body dimensions will also be the same population percentile. It is also frequently assumed that anthropometric dimensions are normally distributed. This study aimed at evaluating the validity of these two assumptions. The subjects, 70 male and 70 female, were grouped according to their stature in the 5th, 10th, 25th, 50th, 75th, 90th, and 95th percentile categories. Each category had 10 males and 10 females. A set of 12 body dimensions was measured and recorded on each individual. A comparison between sample mean percentiles and corresponding population percentile values given in the published literature indicated that the assumption that a certain percentile stature person will also have his/her other body dimensions the same percentile was not validated. The normality assumption was evaluated by pooling all data for each dimension, separately for men and women, and performing the Kolmogrov–Smirnoff test. The results indicated that for males, 4 of the 12 dimensions (chest breadth, foot breadth, forearm-hand length and shoulder-elbow length) were not normally distributed (p<0.01). For females, 5 of the 12 dimensions (acromial height, chest breadth, foot breadth, foot length and hand breadth) were not normally distributed (p<0.01). The skewness for the non-normal dimensions were all negative (tail to left). For males, they were −1.4, −0.1, −2.7, and −0.5, respectively. For females, they were −0.2, −0.3, −0.3, −0.2, −0.3, respectively. For both men and women, the actual percentile values (5th to 95th) of the non-normally distributed body dimensions are provided. Relevance to industry This study shows that the body dimensions are not always normally distributed. Furthermore, the assumption that an individual has the same percentile body dimensions as his/her stature is also invalid. Such assumptions could lead to serious design compromises.
Legumes: Their potential role in agricultural production

The energy crisis of the late 1970's has raised the question of the wisdom of depending upon fertilizer nitrogen as the primary source of N input into crop production systems. While present and past price structures have favored fertilizer-N over biologically fixed N, there are a number of other benefits of legumes in a cropping system in addition to their effects on N availability. Among these are less potential for environmental degradation and improved soil physical conditions and water relations, but it is difficult to assign economic value to many such benefits. In addition to the economics of the present price structure, disadvantages of using legumes could include reduced total production and increased need for livestock in a farming enterprise (these could be considered assets from some aspects). Legumes are presently used in shortterm rotation, such as corn-soybean, or in continuous corn with a legume winter cover crop. These systems are finding widespread use and offer the producer many benefits, as well as helping to solve several major environmental problems associated with N use in agriculture.
Achievement Goal Orientations of Community College Mathematics Students and the Misalignment of Instructor Perceptions

This study reports on the results of a survey of achievement goal orientations administered to a sample of 777 students enrolled in remedial and college-level mathematics courses at a community col...
Radar Backscatter Measurements As a Part of Kurex-91

Radar backscatter measurements were performed by the University of Kansas Radar Systems and Remote Sensing Laboratory (RSL) from a helicopter as a part of KUREX-91. A radar operating at 4.3 GHz with HH polarization collected data at incidence angles from 20 to 50 deg. Data were from three flight lines consisting of agriculture and natural vegetation-covered soils. In addition to scatterometer measurements, detailed observations were made of the soil moisture and vegetation characteristics over selected sites along the flight lines. Some of the scatterometer measurements were performed to coincide with the Soviet Almaz satellite overpasses. Preliminary observations are presented.
Single-Step Estimation of a Partially Linear Model

In this paper we propose an asymptotically equivalent single-step alternative to the two-step partially linear model estimator in Robinson (1988). The estimator not only has the potential to decrease computing time dramatically, it shows substantial finite sample gains in Monte Carlo simulations.
Changes in turkey femora mechanical properties resulting from selective breeding for body weight

Bone plays an integral role in movement and organ protection. To accomplish these tasks successfully, bone must not only be able to withstand daily fatigue loading, but also have a safety margin for unexpected high loads. The two major inputs that determine bone structure are genetics and environmental stresses [1]. Excessive stresses on bone are dissipated through the formation of microcracks [1]. When the remodeling dynamics are altered, problems such as trabecular and cortical thinning, and inadequate microcrack repair may occur, ultimately leading to bone failure [1].© 2011 ASME
Flow-cytometric DNA analysis in the diagnosis and prognosis of lymphoma.

Both cytophotometric and flow-cytometric (FCM) analysis have been used extensively for the measurement of DNA content in tumor cells. Early measurements of DNA content in lymphoma cells were performed by tedious, lengthy, microscope-based cytophotometric methods. The arrival of the flow cytometer permitted more rapid analysis of a larger number of cells, with better resolution of the measurements and a minimum of technical effort. The initial interest in applying this technique was prompted by the observation that neoplastic cells frequently exhibit numeric chromosomal changes resulting in significant gain or less frequently loss, of DNA, a phenomenon designated as flow aneuploidy
Investigation of the Young's modulus and thermal expansion of amorphous titania-doped tantala films

Nano-indentation and thermal bending techniques are used to measure the Young's modulus and thermal expansion of tantala coatings as a function of heat-treatment and titania-doping.
Comparative Functional Alanine Positional Scanning of the α-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone and NDP-Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone Demonstrates Differential Structure–Activity Relationships at the Mouse Melanocortin Receptors

The melanocortin system has been implicated in the regulation of various physiological functions including melanogenesis, steroidogenesis, energy homeostasis, and feeding behavior. Five melanocortin receptors have been identified to date and belong to the family of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCR). Post-translational modification of the proopiomelanocortin (POMC) prohormone leads to the biosynthesis of the endogenous melanocortin agonists, including α-melanocyte stimulating hormone (α-MSH), β-MSH, γ-MSH, and adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). All the melanocortin agonists derived from the POMC prohormone contain a His-Phe-Arg-Trp tetrapeptide sequence that has been implicated in eliciting the pharmacological responses at the melanocortin receptors. Herein, an alanine (Ala) positional scan is reported for the endogenous α-MSH ligand and the synthetic, more potent, NDP-MSH peptide (Ac-Ser1-Tyr2-Ser3-Nle4-Glu5-His6-DPhe7-Arg8-Trp9-Gly10-Lys11-Pro12-Val13-NH2) at the cloned mouse melanocortin receptors to ...
Free Composite Grafts

The subject of free composite grafts is approached from a variety of avenues in this article: history, graft survival, donor sites, and applications.
Granulocyte Functions in Immunological Reactions

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the granulocyte functions in immunological reactions. The promotion of inflammation by neutrophilic granulocytic factors can be explained by a battery of enzymes, mediators and mediator generating activities contained within granulocytes. Some proteases, such as collagenase and elastase, can damage tissue structural proteins. Other proteases, such as the C5 cleaving enzyme, produce additional inflammation- inciting factors at the site of neutrophil accumulation. Still other agents, such as the basic peptides contained within neutrophil granules, directly augment acute inflammation by increasing vascular permeability. Comparisons of the cell mechanisms underlying the chemotactic and phagocytic functions of neutrophils reveal several similarities and a few differences. Both mechanisms seem to require the participation of activatable esterases, proenzymes within the granulocyte, which are converted to an active form when a chemotactic or phagocytic response is made. On the basis of inhibition profiles with phosphonate esters, the activatable esterase required for phagocytosis of opsonized red cells by guinea pig neutrophils is probably different from the activatable esterase required for a chemotactic response.
Impact of myeloid-derived suppressor cell on Kupffer cells from mouse livers with hepatocellular carcinoma

Kupffer cells represent the first line of defense against tumor cells in the liver. Myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSC) have recently been observed in the liver parenchyma of tumor-bearing animals. The present study investigates the function of the MDSC subsets, and their impact on Kupffer cell phenotype and function. RIL-175 mouse hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) cells were injected into the median liver lobe of C57BL/6 mice. Three weeks later, the median lobe hosting the tumor nodule was removed, and Kupffer cells and MDSCs were sorted from the remaining liver. Mouse livers devoid of HCC served as control. Kupffer cells expressed less co-stimulatory CD86 and MHCII and more co-inhibitory CD274 molecules in HCC-bearing livers than in control livers. Corresponding to this phenotype, Kupffer cells from HCC-bearing mice were less efficient in their function as antigen-presenting cells. Three CD11b+ cell populations were identified and sorted from HCC-bearing mice. These cells had various phenotypes with different levels of MDSC-specific surface markers (Ly6Ghigh cells, Gr1high cells, and Ly6Clow cells), and may be considered as bonafide MDSCs given their suppression of antigen-specific T cell proliferation. Primary isolated Kupffer cells in co-culture with the three MDSC subsets showed a decrease in CCL2 and IL-18 secretion, and an increase in IL-10 and IL-1β secretion, and an increased expression of CD86, CD274, and MHCII. In conclusion, these data demonstrated the existence of three MDSC subsets in HCC-bearing animals. These cells altered Kupffer cell function and may decrease the migration and activation of anticancer effector cells in the liver.