cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Challenges and opportunities of mobile app development

The past few years have seen a remarkable transformation in how we communicate, interact with each other and conduct business. Look around you in the restaurant, or in the stadium at the ball game, or on the subway, and notice the modern tie that binds: the mobile device. Think about how you plan your next vacation, or buy movie tickets, or file an insurance claim, or pay your bills. There's no guarantee you're using it for activities like these, but chances are pretty high that you are: the mobile device. Smart phones, tablets and even so-called "convertible" lap tops are all around us, and woe be to the business that doesn't pander shamelessly to this new method of interaction because -- for the average consumer -- ads in the yellow pages, friendly store fronts, and even good old fashioned web pages don't cut it these days.
The influence of retained austenite on α-α′ phase decomposition in FeCr alloys

It is well known that iron-chromium alloys are susceptible to phase separation within a low temperature miscibility gap and that this decomposition is deleterious to the mechanical properties of the material. This 475 [degree] embrittlement is of concern in commercial applications such as in the duplex stainless steel pipes that are used to carry the primary coolant water in nuclear power reactors. In these duplex stainless steels, the microstructure consists of austenite and 10 to 20% [delta]-ferrite. During service at a temperature of approximately 288 C, the ferrite phase of these steels undergoes spinodal decomposition and forms an iron-rich [alpha] phase and a chromium-enriched [alpha][prime] phase. Dislocations have difficulty in cutting through the complex interconnected morphology of these phases and therefore the hardness increases and the steel becomes embrittled. However, the effect of the presence of the austenite on the kinetics and morphology of the phases formed by spinodal decomposition is unclear. In this paper, the results of a combined transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and atom probe field ion microscopy (APFIM) investigation into the influence of retained austenite on the [alpha]-[alpha][prime] phase decomposition is presented. The material chosen for this investigation was a commercial Chromindur 2 magnetic material. This materialmore » has the advantages that it exhibits good contrast between the [alpha] and [alpha][prime] phases in both the transmission electron microscope and the field ion microscope and it does not have any other competing reactions such as the formation of ultrafine G-phase precipitates that occurs in some duplex stainless steels during low temperature aging.« less
Jung and Christology

Can Jungian thought help revitalize Christology for modern believers? First, a survey of Jung's comments on Jesus shows his portrayal of a charismatic young rabbi who came to embody the cardinal ar...
Identifying Errors in Forensic Autopsy Reports Using a Novel Web-Based Program.

IntroductionAutopsy reports are often complex, with ample opportunity for errors and inconsistencies. These reports are often scrutinized by both families and attorneys. Identification of errors by...
It Takes More than Angels: the Legacy of Sophia Lyon Fahs to Religious Education

And now our generation is yearning with a new hope. We realise we must somehow live together as one world-community without wars, negotiating our differences rather than forcing the weaker party to submit to the stronger. Mutual understanding must replace prejudice. Trust in one another’s word must replace suspicion. Accenting our common aims must replace exaggerating our differences. Seeing good in our enemies must be substituted for seeing only evil. Honesty must take the place of deceit. Study of the things that make for peace must supersede study of the things that make for war. We must learn ways to encourage people rather than ways to vanquish them. (Sophia Lyon Fahs, 1952, p. 143)
Morphologic and Functional Evaluation of the Human Corneal Endothelium

The corneal endothelium maintains corneal deturgescence, apparently by a pump- leak mechanism in which the cellular monolayer constitutes a leaky barrier to fluid movement into the cornea and actively pumps ions out of the cornea. The clinical status of these functions can be estimated by measuring the endothelial permeability to fluorescein (proportional to the leak) and the rate of stromal deswelling after hypoxia-induced edema (proportional to the pump minus the leak). The test is conducted by measuring stromal and aqueous humor fluorescence and corneal thickness at intervals over a 7-hour period after first instilling topical fluorescein and inserting an aphakic soft contact lens for 2 hours. Morphologic evaluation is obtained from endothelial photographs by measuring the cell density, cell size distribution, and percentage of hexagonal cells. Functional abnormalities often reflect morphologic abnormalities. The rate of stromal deswelling is decreased in the eyes of individuals with diabetes mellitus, Fuchs’ dystrophy, penetrating keratoplasty, and contact lens wear. Morphologic abnormalities have been demonstrated in the corneal endothelial cells of patients with all these conditions.
Information Sharing When Firms Compete for Common-Value Customers

Extant research suggests that the sharing of individual-level customer information benefits competing firms by allowing them to better discriminate their customers and soften the price competition. This paper shows that the information sharing may benefit competing firms even without price discrimination. Based on a common-value auction framework, the paper studies the case where two firms compete head-to-head for common-value customers who have no brand preference. Firms differ in their information about the customers’ preferences on the product/service. Our model illustrates that the better informed firm would like to sell its customer data to the competitor when the data reveals more valuable customers and when the information asymmetry between firms is large. The model also examines the optimal degree of information sharing between firms. The insights from this study complement the extant literature in illustrating how information sharing allows firms to better profit from different types of customers.
Hardware and software architectures for efficient AI

With recent advances in AI technology, there has been increased interest in improving AI computational throughput and reducing cost, as evidenced by a number of current projects. To obtain maximum benefit from these efforts, it is necessary to scrutinize possible efficiency improvements at every level, both hardware and software. Custom AI machines, better AI language compilers, and massively parallel machines can all contribute to efficient AI computations. However, little information is available concerning how to achieve these efficiences. A systematic study was undertaken to fill this gap. This paper describes the main results of that study, and points out specific improvements that can be made. The areas covered include: AI language semantics, AI language compilers, machine instruction set design, parallelism, and important functional candidates for VLSI implementation such as matching, associative memories, and signal to symbol processing for vision and speech.
Extractive Chemistry of Equatorial Pacific Pelagic Sediments and Relationship to Nodule Forming Processes

In order to help understand early diagenetic processes in sediments potentially important to the formation of marine manganese nodules a series of selective extraction experiments were performed on sediments associated with nodule areas from the eastern equatorial Pacific Ocean. Phase selective extractants used were hydroxylamine hydrochloride (buffered and unbuffered), buffered citrate-dithionite; and hydrochloric acid. In hydroxylamine hydrochloride extractions of red-brown clay a rapid initial release of all metals within the first minute is followed by a slow, long term dissolution. The pH of the extraction solutions rises abruptly in the first minute, levels off, and drops steadily for the rest of the extraction. In sequential, batch-extraction experiments using 0.1N HC1 and hydroxylamine hydrochloride, Cu is readily released in HC1, but the release of Mn, Ni, Co, and Ca is greater in hydroxylamine hydrochloride. Buffering of solutions by dissolution of calcium carbonate in an artificial carbonate/manganese nodule mixture depresses Cu release in HCl, and enhances Mn, Ni, Co, and Fe release in hydroxylamine hydrochloride.
Snake: control flow distributed software transactional memory

Remote Method Invocation (RMI), Java's remote procedure call implementation, provides a mechanism for designing distributed Java technology-based applications. It allows methods to be invoked from other Java virtual machines, possibly at different hosts. RMI uses lockbased concurrency control, which suffers from distributed deadlocks, livelocks, and scalability and composability challenges.We present Snake-DSTM, a distributed software transactional memory (D-STM) that is based on the RMI as a mechanism for handling remote calls and transactional memory for distributed concurrency control, as an alternative to RMI/locks. Critical sections are defined as atomic transactions, in which reads and writes to shared, local and remote objects appear to take effect instantaneously. The novelty of Snake-DSTM is in manipulating transactional memory by moving control to remote nodes, rather than remote nodes' data being copied to the node at which the transaction runs. Transaction metadata is detached from the transactional context, and the dynamic two phase commitment protocol (D2PC) is employed to coordinate the voting process among participating nodes toward making distributed transactional commit decisions. We propose a simple programming model using (Java 5) annotations to define critical sections and remote methods. Instrumentation is used to generate code at class-load time, which significantly simplifies user-space end code. No changes are needed to the underlying virtual machine or compiler. We describe Snake-DSTM's architecture and implementation, and report on experimental studies comparing it against competing models including RMI with mutual exclusion and read/write locks, distributed shared memory (DSM), and dataflow-based D-STM. Our studies show that Snake-DSTM outperforms competitors by up to 12× on different workloads using a 120-node system.
Reducing Preschool Behavior Problems in an Urban Mental Health Clinic: A Pragmatic, Non-Inferiority Trial.

Objective This pragmatic, randomized, non-inferiority trial compared the effectiveness and cost of group-based parent management training with mastery-based individual coaching parent management training in a low-income, predominantly African American sample. Method Parents seeking treatment for their 2- to 5-year-old children’s behavior problems in an urban fee-for-service child mental health clinic were randomized to the Chicago Parent Program (CPP; n = 81) or Parent–Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT; n = 80). Consent followed clinic intake and diagnostic assessment and parent management training was delivered by clinicians employed at the clinic. Primary outcome measures were externalizing child behavior problems, assessed at baseline and postintervention follow-up, using the Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) and average per-participant treatment cost. Results Data from 158 parents were analyzed. Most were mothers (75.9%), African American (70.3%), and economically disadvantaged (98.7% Medicaid insured). Of children, 58.2% were boys, and mean age was 3.6 years (SD 1.03). Based on CBCL scores, behavior problems improved in the 2 conditions (Cohen d = 0.57 for CPP and 0.50 for PCIT). CPP was not inferior to PCIT (90% CI −1.58 to 4.22) at follow-up, even after controlling for differences in treatment length (90% CI −1.63 to 4.87). Average per-participant treatment cost was higher for PCIT (mean $2,151) than for CPP (mean $1,413, 95% CI −1,304 to −170). Conclusion For parents of young children living in urban poverty, CPP is not inferior to PCIT for decreasing child behavior problems. CPP requires less time to complete and costs a third less than PCIT. Clinical trial registration information: Early Parenting Intervention Comparison (EPIC); https://clinicaltrials.gov/ ; NCT01517867 .
What All Media Share

The aim of this chapter is to prepare for a discussion of medial difference by first focusing on what all media share, outlining a series of categories that will be useful in discussing all media. In the following chapters, these categories are represented differentially once we begin comparing kinds of media. The first observation is that, ontologically, medial objects are instances of cultural objects generally. They are all purely intentional objects in Ingarden’s sense. In light of the variety of media – visual, aural, spatial, temporal – it is affirmed that space is ontogenetically prior in media. In an important essay, Arnheim introduced two kinds of images that can be applied to all media – the robin and the saint, the former a “likeness” and the latter a “self-image.” They coexist in any image or medial object and one represents the thing as self-sufficient and the other as referring externally. The way in which a sculpture of a naturalistic robin or an abstracted St. Francis in a garden have these two functions in different measure suggest differences in classes of media.
Child maltreatment and suicidal ideation: The role of PTSD symptoms and alcohol misuse

Child maltreatment is a well-established risk factor for suicide attempts, but research on mechanisms accounting for this relationship is needed. The current study examined the indirect effects of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) symptoms and alcohol misuse in the relationship between childhood maltreatment and suicidal ideation. In the current study, 336 participants (Mage = 22.81, SD = 8.84; 70.2% female) completed an online survey. The indirect effect of childhood maltreatment on suicidal ideation via PTSD symptoms was statistically significant (β = .21, p < .001) but the indirect effect via alcohol misuse was not (β = .01, p = .116). Severity of alcohol misuse (b = .13, p = .009) was positively related to suicidal ideation. These findings indicate that PTSD symptoms are one mechanism through which childhood maltreatment increases risk of suicidal ideation. Alcohol misuse is also a direct risk factor for suicidal ideation, but this effect is independent of the effects of childhood maltreatment.
A Bayesian Approach to Real-Time Dynamic Parameter Estimation Using Phasor Measurement Unit Measurement

In this work, we develop a polynomial-chaos-expa- nsion (PCE)-based approach for decentralized dynamic parameter estimation through Bayesian inference. Using this approach, the non-Gaussian distribution of the inverted parameters is obtained. More specifically, we first represent the decentralized generator model with the PCE-based surrogate. This surrogate allows us to efficiently evaluate the time-consuming dynamic solver at parameter values through Metropolis-Hastings (M-H)-based Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC). Then, we propose a two-stage hybrid Markov chain Monte Carlo (MCMC) to recover a posteriori distribution of the decentralized generator model parameters. In the first stage, we use the gradient-enhanced Langevin MCMC algorithm to characterize an intermediate posterior parameter distribution. This algorithm is computationally scalable to the high-dimensional parameter space. Based on the intermediate posterior distribution, during the second stage, we use the adaptive MCMC algorithm to fine-tune the strong correlations between the parameters. Finally, the fully recovered a posterior distribution is obtained in the end. The simulation results show that the proposed PCE-based hybrid MCMC algorithm can accurately and efficiently estimate the high-dimensional generator dynamic model parameters with full probabilistic distribution provided.
Stiffness of thermoresponsive gelatin-based dynamic hydrogels affects fibroblast activation

Myocardial infarction is the underlying cause for many heart failure cases and is characterized by progressive stiffening of the myocardium leading to differentiation of cardiac fibroblasts to myofibroblasts. Static in vitro culture substrates are unable to mimic the dynamic behavior of the myocardium experienced following a myocardial infarction. Here, gelatin-based dynamic hydrogels that can undergo softening via thiol–disulfide exchange reactions have been used to study cardiac fibroblast differentiation. The hydrogels were formed by crosslinking thermoresponsive poly(N-isopropylacrylamide-s-2-hydroxypropyl methacrylate-s-mercaptoethyl acrylate) synthesized using reversible addition–fragmentation chain transfer polymerization with gelatin. The stiffness of the hydrogels is controllable and gels with storage moduli from 5.2 to 18.8 kPa were prepared. Cardiac fibroblasts were cultured on hydrogels of varying stiffness, and cell area and smooth muscle actin reporter expression increased with hydrogel stiffness. The hydrogels could be softened by 2.7–3.5 kPa using thiol–disulfide exchange reactions. Cell area reduced upon softening the initially stiffest gels.
Prelude Interrupted: Wordsworth and Ethical Failure

Social encounters in Wordsworth are often identified as critiques of instrumentalizing or objectifying behavior. But such behaviors are also foundational to Wordsworth’s own poetic practice, which ...
Kinetic Isotope Effect as a Tool To Investigate the Oxygen Reduction Reaction on Pt-based Electrocatalysts - Part II: Effect of Platinum Dispersion.

We investigated the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) mechanism on Pt nanoparticles (NPs) dispersed on several carbon blacks with various physicochemical properties (i. e. specific surface ranging from 80 to 900 m2 g-1 , different graphitization degree, etc.). Using the kinetic isotope effect (KIE) along with various electrochemical characterizations, we determined that the rate determining step (RDS) of the ORR is a proton-independent step when the density of Pt NPs on the surface of the carbon support is high. Upon decrease of the density of Pt NPs on the surface, the RDS of the ORR starts involving a proton, as denoted by an increase of the KIE >1. This underlined the critical role played by the carbon support in the oxygen reduction reaction electrocatalysis by Pt supported on high surface area carbon.
Attitudes of Physical Therapy Students Toward the Population Currently Experiencing Homelessness: A Pilot Study.

Homelessness is a national epidemic and individuals experiencing homelessness have decreased access to healthcare services. At the same time, physical therapy (PT) educational programs are required to teach students about cultural competence, pro-bono service, and advocacy for underserved populations. Having PT students provide pro-bono services to this population in a supervised environment is a mutually beneficial scenario for the patients, students, and the PT program. Aims The study objective was to evaluate whether participating in a student-run free clinic (SRFC) at a homeless shelter could change PT students' attitudes towards individuals experiencing homelessness. Methods Forty DPT students completed the Health Professionals' Attitude Toward the Homeless Inventory (HPATHI) with 19 volunteering (experimental group) to participate in the SRFC. The HPATHI was administered again immediately following participation in the SRFC to assess if their attitudes had changed. Results Baseline scores differed between the control and experimental group (p=0.03). However, post-scores of the experimental group did not differ compared to pre-scores. The subsequent analysis estimated differences on 4 of 19 questions, specifically within the personal advocacy and social advocacy subscales. Conclusions Overall, PT students' attitudes did not change significantly after one session of volunteering at an SRFC in a homeless shelter. However, small changes were seen in personal and social advocacy subscales of the HPATHI.
Life-cycle modeling framework for electronic waste recovery and recycling processes

Abstract Policies and regulations such as Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) have been implemented to potentially increase the recycling rate of electronic waste (e-waste), but the cost and environmental impacts of associated collection, transportation, material recovery, material re-processing, and disposal could outweigh the benefits of recycling if the e-waste management system is not effectively designed and implemented. This paper presents a quantitative, holistic framework to systematically estimate life-cycle impacts and costs associated with e-waste management. This new framework was tested using data from the state of Washington's EPR program to represent e-waste collection, transportation, processing and disposal. Sensitivity of process-level life-cycle model outputs to parameter and input variability was also conducted. Drop-off using fossil-fuel-powered personal vehicles was found to be a key contributor to cost and carbon dioxide emissions. Decision-makers must account for drop-off and consider the feasibility of alternate e-waste aggregation strategies to ensure life-cycle benefits of e-waste recycling are maximized.
Case Studies of Educational Technologies Deployment and Initiatives

This chapter presents some sample case studies of educational technology transfers from the global North or Western countries to Sub-Saharan Africa—the three cases in question are the Negroponte’s One Laptop per Child (OLPC), Intel’s Classmates, and Samsung’s Digital Village. The chapter also evaluates to what extent these projects have fulfilled the goals for which they were introduced and provides ways to improve those ideas and projects in line with the thesis of this book. Greater focus was accorded the OLPC project for it consisted the focus of the author’s dissertation research in 2010. Detailed result of the 2010 study at Kanda IV primary school in Accra, Ghana and the LEA Galadima School in Gwarimpa, Abuja, Nigeria, was presented.
The Joy of Medicine

The joy of medicine as a profession comes with the opportunity to use our intellectual skills, education, and training to help our fellow human being. Being a member of a team—whether in an office, a special care unit, or a research lab—provides a critical service to the community. This gives sense of purpose to your professional life. As your career advances or changes, you will know with certainty your work has made an important difference in peoples’ lives. In this chapter, we emphasize the intangible rewards of medicine that make the potentially overwhelming work of the student and trainee well worth the struggle. We also offer some ideas of how you can enhance your experiences in medicine.
The importance of small fires for wildfire hazard in urbanised landscapes of the northeastern US

Frequent, small wildfires can pose dangers to homes in the wildland–urban interface, but are not often included in wildfire hazard models. We assessed patterns of small wildfire occurrence probability in the Northeast region of the United States, focusing on (1) spatial and seasonal variations; (2) differences between small and large fires (size threshold of 4 ha); and (3) how predicted probabilities are influenced by inconsistent wildfire definitions in urbanised landscapes. We analysed fire incident report data from 2005 to 2017 to parameterise maximum entropy (MaxEnt) models based on land cover, topography, climatic water deficit, soil moisture and road density. Overall, wildfire occurrence was highest in areas with lower agricultural cover and with more low-density urban development (explaining 53.5 and 28.6% of variance, respectively, in our region-wide model), while larger fires were concentrated in areas with intermediate levels of development, higher climatic water deficit and more rugged topography. These patterns were largely consistent when we assessed models for individual states, but differences in wildfire reporting patterns led to differences in the effect of urban development on fire probability. Our results provide novel understanding of small wildfire patterns in the Northeast and demonstrate the need to more reliably quantify these hazards.
From Freud to Lévinas

This intermission recalls that I stage these characters according to a hermeneutical procedure, rather than providing a strict historical biographical study. I use these two figures nonetheless to chart the clash between moral skepticism and ethical subjectivity in order to recover a fundamental human concern for others, which I find that Levinas develops in consideration of the kind of moral skepticism that Freud articulates.
Protecting place, protecting nature: predicting place-protective behaviors among nature preserve visitors

Public support for natural areas and engagement in place-specific pro-environmental behaviors (PS-PEB) has predominantly focused on individuals’ relationships with and attachments to a specific place. However, recent discussions suggest that individuals’ general connection to nature is equally important in determining individuals’ willingness to engage in PS-PEB. Within the context of the Albany Pine Bush Preserve, an urban nature preserve in Albany, NY, we surveyed preserve visitors (n = 1,938) to examine the independent predictive power of place attachment and environmental identity (EID) on individuals’ intention to perform PS-PEB. Utilizing a series of multivariate regression models, we found that both place attachment and EID were independent predictors of individuals’ intention to engage in PS-PEB in support of the APBP. We suggest that future research should further examine the relationship between place attachment and EID in the context of both place-specific and general pro-environmental behaviors (PEB).
A rare case of multiple giant colonic diverticula successfully treated with laparoscopic sigmoidectomy.

Colonic diverticulosis is pervasive in Western society, with over half of individuals over the age of 60 carrying the diagnosis. A Giant Colonic Diverticulum (GCD) is a rare presentation of diverticulosis, involving one or more colonic diverticula that measure 4 cm or greater. Less than 200 reports of GCD have been published in the literature. Almost all GCD patients present with symptoms, with abdominal pain being the most common. Diagnosis is usually made with CT imaging and recommended treatment is segmental colectomy. We present an atypical case of GCD with an asymptomatic presentation, initial diagnosis made during endoscopy and a minimally invasive resection of multiple GCD within the same patient.
A Dysbiotic Gut Microbiome Suppresses Antibody Mediated-Protection Against Vibrio cholerae

SUMMARY Cholera is a severe diarrheal disease that places a significant burden on global health. Cholera’s high morbidity demands effective prophylactic strategies, but oral cholera vaccines exhibit variable efficacy in human populations. One contributor of variance in human populations is the gut microbiome, which in cholera-endemic areas is modulated by malnutrition, cholera, and non-cholera diarrhea. We conducted fecal transplants from healthy human donors and model communities of either human gut microbes that resemble healthy individuals or those of individuals recovering from diarrhea in various mouse models. We show microbiome-specific effects on host antibody responses against Vibrio cholerae, and that dysbiotic human gut microbiomes representative of cholera-endemic areas suppresses the immune response against V. cholerae via CD4+ lymphocytes. Our findings suggest that gut microbiome composition at time of infection or vaccination may be pivotal for providing robust mucosal immunity, and suggest a target for improved prophylactic and therapeutic strategies for cholera.
Delta wings with shock-free cross flow

In order to have a high level of maneuverability, supersonic delta wings should have a cross flow that is free of embedded shock waves. The conical cross flow sonic surface differs from that of plane transonic flow in many aspects. Well-known properties such as the monotone law are not true for conical cross flow sonic surfaces. By using a local analysis of the cross flow sonic line, relevant conditions for smooth cross flow are obtained. A technique to artificially construct a smooth sonic surface and an efficient numerical method to calculate the flow field are used to obtain cones with smooth cross flow.
Analysis of Calcium Binding and Release by Canine Cardiac Relaxing System (Sarcoplasmic Reticulum) THE USE OF SPECIFIC INHIBITORS TO CONSTRUCT A TWO-COMPONENT MODEL FOR CALCIUM BINDING AND TRANSPORT

Abstract ATP induces calcium binding to a cardiac relaxing system preparation (sarcoplasmic reticulum; CRS) under specific conditions. This is followed by spontaneous calcium release, a thermodynamically and kinetically distinct process that represents a separate phase of an ATP-dependent binding-release cycle. Inhibitors of calcium binding studied include X537A, a broadly specific antibiotic ionophore, and arsenate. These inhibitors were significantly more potent on calcium uptake (accumulation in the presence of oxalate) than on binding (accumulation in the absence of oxalate). Inhibition decreased with decreasing magnesium concentration suggesting that the agents were acting primarily on a magnesium-dependent process. Computer analysis of the kinetics of ATP-dependent calcium binding to CRS suggested that there are two distinct binding sites or components that differ in response to magnesium, pH, and in their sensitivity to the actions of inhibitors. Under conditions of optimal ATP and calcium concentrations, a continuous curve for calcium binding adhered to a pseudo-first order model for occupation of free calcium binding sites: A + B = A0e-kat + B0e-kbt. Site A required very low magnesium (40% of maximal binding at 9 µm magnesium), was ATP-specific and was less sensitive to the inhibitors of calcium binding, X537A (Ki, 10 to 15 µg per mg) and arsenate (unaffected by concentrations up to 10 mm). Calcium was released spontaneously from Site A in the presence or absence of oxalate, therefore, this pool of calcium does not appear to be connected to an oxalate space (vesicular lumen). In contrast, Site B was related to calcium transport (i.e. uptake, see above) in that it required a relatively high concentration of magnesium (Km, 2.7 to 4.7 mm) and was much more sensitive to the noncompetitive inhibitors, X537A (Ki, 3.7 µg per mg) and arsenate (Ki, 1 to 2 mm). The predicted initial rates of calcium binding to Site B (rate = kB0) were similar to the average range of rates of calcium uptake in the presence of 5 mm oxalate. Nucleoside triphosphates other than ATP activated only Site B suboptimally (50 to 60%). When Site B was activated by nucleotides other than ATP, its sensitivity to pH, arsenate, and X537A was unchanged; however, the magnesium requirement of Site B disappeared. Nucleotides other than ATP did not activate the calcium-dependent ATPase and did not support continuous calcium uptake. Sodium azide specifically inhibited the rate of calcium release without affecting binding. All of the inhibitors were specific for the described individual phases and did not affect calcium-dependent ATPase.
Purification and Properties of Ribonucleotide Reductase from Leukemic Mouse Spleen

Abstract A 13-fold increase was observed in the specific activity of ribonucleotide reductase activity in the spleen of mice infected with a murine leukemia virus. After partial purification, the properties of the enzyme were investigated. The pH optimum was between 6.8 and 7.4. There was an absolute requirement for a hydrogen donor, dithiothreitol. Magnesium ions stimulated the reaction. The ribonucleoside diphosphates were the preferred substrates. The reduction rate was affected by the presence of nucleoside triphosphates in concentrations ranging from 5 x 10-5 to 10-3 m. The reduction of CDP was stimulated by dCTP and ATP. UDP reduction was stimulated by ATP. The reduction of ADP was stimulated by GTP and dGTP. The GDP reduction was stimulated by dTTP. In the presence of ATP, the weak activators, dTTP and dATP, inhibit the CDP reduction. With minor exceptions, the ribonucleotide reductase from murine leukemic spleen closely resembles that of Novikoff hepatoma.
What is the big-bang-nucleosynthesis prediction for the baryon density and how reliable is it?

Together, the standard theory of big-bang nucleosynthesis (BBN) and the primeval deuterium abundance now very precisely peg the baryon density. Based upon our analysis of the deuterium data and the theoretical uncertainties associated with the BBN predictions, we determine ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{B}{h}^{2}=0.020\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.002$ (95% C.L.), with the uncertainty from the measured deuterium abundance about twice that from the predicted abundance. We discuss critically the reliability of the BBN baryon density, and in light of possible systematic uncertainties also derive a very conservative range. We conclude that within the standard cosmology and standard theory of BBN a baryon density ${\ensuremath{\Omega}}_{B}{h}^{2}=0.032$ (the central value implied by recent CMB anisotropy measurements) simply cannot be accommodated.
Digital Cities and Digital Citizens

Cities are providing the physical environment for an increasing number of the world's citizens. They are also becoming the locus for a variety of "virtual", networked digitally-based economic, political, and cultural activities. Digital cities represent a new manifestation of this phenomenon. Digital cities, like their physical analogies, geographical or "real" cities, are only so much infrastructure unless animated with human social presence. This paper focuses on this social presence, particularly the type of social presence typified by the idea of "citizen," for it is primarily through the work of this social entity that social problems get addressed and social "progress" is furthered. Several socio-technical innovations such as community networks are explored as are possible roles for the computer professional.
‘Arab Stones’. Rodrigo Caro 's translations of arabic inscriptions in Seville (1634), revisited

This article seeks to illuminate the problem of baroque translations of medieval Arabic inscriptions, in particular those provided by Rodrigo Caro in 1634 of inscriptions from Seville. The Sevillian inscriptions have been ignored by scholars since the nineteenth century when they were recognized as fraudulent. This paper argues that the content of these false translations was subservient to the context of their production -namely that of the translations of the Grenadine lead books, the baroque perceived ideal of a 'sacred antiquity', and the counter-reformation promotion and elevation of false martyrs and their relics. These were all elements of a conscious programme of invention of a ficticious but significant Christian past in Andalucia. The main protagonists in the Seville transtations—Rodrigo Caro, Pedro de Castro and Adan Centurion—were implicated in all of these processes as well as belonging to a Peninsula-wide network of antiquarian enthusiasts and forgers. Their critical judgement, when faced with evident frauds, was consumed by their will to promote specific religious and political agendas. Consequently, their shared translators, with their own agendas, obliged their patrons with capricious ammunition.
Clustering analysis of proteins in fat regulation

Fat is one of three basic energy sources and a major player in energy storage. Fat regulation provides important balance in nutrition metabolism. In evolution, energy metabolism has been asymmetric with energy accumulation in the form of fat to prevent starvation but possibly causing obesity. Many proteins have derived from this procedure. Thus, it's possible to analyze the proteins involved in fat regulation to provide a view of evolution. In this paper, we have tested this hypothesis by applying CLUSTALW to yield a phylogenetic tree from 187 proteins related to fat regulation selected from the literature.
Trauma and post-traumatic stress among homeless men : A review of current research

As the prevalence of homelessness among men increases, the impact of trauma and post-traumatic stress disorder in the lives of homeless men warrants attention. We will review research and clinical reports on the impact of traumatic event exposure, the antecedents and consequences of traumatic events, and homelessness among males in order to begin to develop scientific, public health, and social policy answers to several questions. The nascent clinical and scientific literature provides evidence of the need for prospective studies of the etiology, epidemiology, course, and prevention of post-traumatic stress disorder among males who are at risk for or in the early stages of homelessness. We attempt to summarize, categorize, and suggest important variables and causal relationships that can inform future research studies and interventions in order to contribute to the growth of this underdeveloped and important knowledge base.
Esophageal Lewy bodies associated with ganglion cell loss in achalasia: Similarity to Parkinson's disease

Achalasia and Parkinson's disease sometimes have similar clinical and neuropathologic features, including loss of esophageal peristalsis and neuronal loss within brainstem nuclei. We compared the neuropathologic features in autopsies of 8 achalasia patients, 22 Parkinson's disease patients (3 patients with dysphagia), and 50 age- and sex-matched controls. Degenerating ganglion cells in the esophageal myenteric plexus in 2 achalasia patients contained Lewy bodies, intracytoplasmic inclusions characteristically found in the brainstem in Parkinson's disease. Esophageal or colonic Lewy bodies were also found in 2 Parkinson's disease patients with dysphagia. No gastrointestinal tract Lewy bodies were identified in Parkinson's disease patients without dysphagia or in controls. One achalasia patient with esophageal Lewy bodies also had the inclusions and neuronal depigmentation in the vagal dorsal motor nucleus and substantia nigra, as seen in Parkinson's disease. Our findings indicate that a subset of achalasia and Parkinson's disease patients with dysphagia may have similar mechanisms of neuronal degeneration responsible for esophageal dysfunction.
Kalman based artificial neural network training algorithms for nonlinear system identification

The utility of artificial neural networks (ANNs) in nonlinear system identification and control is intimately linked with the ability to parameterize the ANN structure on the basis experimental observations. Four existing training algorithms are reviewed under a parameter estimation framework, and the method of target state backpropagation previously proposed by the authors is extended. The new algorithm follows a different approach to the generation of error signals in embedded layers by backpropagating target or desired states rather than partial derivatives. The target states are used in conjunction with a linear Kalman based update algorithm, and transients associated with initial conditions are eliminated through a time-varying method of covariance modification. Comparisons of the five algorithms are made through a system identification problem, and the error convergence associated with each algorithm versus actual training time is presented. The results demonstrate an increased rate of convergence in comparison with backpropagation. >
Shared Idiotypes Among Anti‐Albumin Antibodies of Different Species

A system designed to detect plasma cells that produce antibodies directed at autologous idiotypic determinants of anti-human serum albumin (HSA) antibodies in rabbits was used to determine whether anti-HSA antibodies of horse, goat, swine and chicken origin were cross-reactive with rabbit antibodies of the same specificity. Fluorochrome-tagged anti-HSA preparations of these diverse species were used to stain splenic plasma cells of HSA-immunized rabbits and a similarly immunized chicken. The degree of idiotypic cross-reactivity, as detected by binding of anti-HSA antibodies to anti-idiotype within plasma cells of HSA-immunized animals, was sometimes equal to autologous staining. However chicken anti-Has, the most phylogenetically distant idiotype examined, was demonstrably less cross-reactive than that obtained from the other species. Likewise, chicken plasma cells usually did not bind mammalian anti-HSA antibodies to an appreciable degree, as compared with autologous staining. These findings provide evidence for serologic and possibly structural similarities of antibodies of the same specificity from different species.
BRAF mutation is not predictive of long‐term outcome in papillary thyroid carcinoma

The BRAF mutation occurs commonly in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC). Previous investigations of its utility to predict recurrence-free survival (RFS) and disease-specific survival (DSS) have reported conflicting results and its role remains unclear. The purpose of this retrospective study was to determine the incidence of the BRAF mutation and analyze its relationship to clinicopathologic risk factors and long-term outcomes in the largest, single-institution American cohort to date. BRAF mutational status was determined in 508 PTC patients using RFLP analysis. The relationships between BRAF mutation status, patient and tumor characteristics, RFS, and DSS were analyzed. The BRAF mutation was present in 67% of patients. On multivariate analysis, presence of the mutation predicted only for capsular invasion (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.6), cervical lymph node involvement (HR, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.7), and classic papillary histology (HR, 1.8; 95% CI 1.1–2.9). There was no significant relationship between the BRAF mutation and RFS or DSS, an observation that was consistent across univariate, multivariate, and Kaplan–Meier analyses. This is the most extensive study to date in the United States to demonstrate that BRAF mutation is of no predictive value for recurrence or survival in PTC. We found correlations of BRAF status and several clinicopathologic characteristics of high-risk disease, but limited evidence that the mutation correlates with more extensive or aggressive disease. This analysis suggests that BRAF is minimally prognostic in PTC. However, prevalence of the BRAF mutation is 70% in the general population, providing the opportunity for targeted therapy.
Induction of Insulin-Like Responses to Growth Hormone by Stress

The initial effects of GH on epididymal adipose tissue excised from GH-deficient rats are insulin like and include stimulation of glucose oxidation and antagonism of epinephrineinduced lipolysis, GH produces no such effects in adipose tissue freshly excised from normal rats that are said to be refractory. Ovine GH (1 μg/ml) increased the rate of glucose oxidation by 50% and reduced glycerol production in response to epinephrine by 25% in segments of epididymal adipose tissue immediately after removal from surgically stressed, but otherwise normal rats. Similar results were observed when tissues were obtained immediately after rats were made to swim for 15 min. GH exerted no effects whatever in similarly treated tissue segments from nonstressed rats. In contrast, neither laparotomy nor exercise increased the effects of insulin on these parameters. Adipose tissue excised from hypophysectomized rats that had been injected with 50 μg GH iv 3 h before sacrifice was refractory to GH in vitro. Surgical stress di...
Absorbed radiation doses in transcranial temporomandibular joint radiography

Lateral transcranial radiographs are commonly used to evaluate TMJ morphology and function. This study evaluated the use of four TMJ positioners in controlling the amount of radiation absorbed at predetermined sites on a phantom head. Use of positioners and collimators can reduce the amount of radiation exposure.
ERP abnormalities elicited by word repetition in fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) and amnestic MCI.

Abstract Background Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS), a neurodegenerative disorder caused by FMR1 gene premutations, typically associated with frontal-subcortical type cognitive impairments. High prevalence (~50%) of superimposed Alzheimer׳s pathology has been reported in FMR1 premutation carriers, and standardized neuropsychological tests have not yielded any robust discriminators between FXTAS and Alzheimer׳s disease (AD) dementia. The similarities/differences in memory processes between FXTAS and early AD remain underexplored. Methods 32-channel event-related potentials (ERPs) were obtained from a semantic judgment task in which semantically congruous (50%) and incongruous pairs repeat pseudorandomly. The N400 and late positive component (LPC) of 25 FXTAS patients (Mage=71.2, MMSE=26.6) were compared to a matched group of 25 patients with MCI or early AD (1 mild AD dementia, 24 amnestic MCI, of whom 18 later converted to AD; Mage=73.4, MMSE=26.4), and 25 healthy elderly. Results Both patient groups showed similar reductions in the N400 repetition effect and N400 congruity effect amplitudes, compared to controls, reflecting abnormal semantic priming and repetition priming. The MCI/AD group, however, had significantly smaller LPC word repetition effects and poorer learning and memory on the CVLT than FXTAS. The LPC and N400 repetition effects both correlated with verbal memory across all subjects, but only N400 correlated with memory in FXTAS. Conclusion FXTAS patients show relative sparing of the LPC repetition effect, and less disruption of explicit memory than prodromal/early AD. N400 abnormalities in FXTAS appear to account for much of their mild impairments in verbal learning and memory.
Faculty Recruitment and Excellent Undergraduate Teaching.

The successful recruitment of a faculty member who can provide high-quality undergraduate teaching requires a rigorous self-study by the department and careful observations of the candidate. A conceptual model provides a framework that describes characteristics of excellent undergraduate teachers. This model can shape both the self-study and contacts with job applicants. Examination of the intellectual, emotional, and moral dimensions of three elements of teaching-perceived self-efficacy, interpersonal relationships, and pedagogy-will assist a department in preparing for and conducting a search for a qualified candidate who will teach well.
Methods and Artifacts for Comparison of Scanning CMM Performance

Coordinate measuring machines (CMMs) with continuous-contact scanning capabilities are experiencing more and more use in a wide variety of discrete-part manufacturing industries. Many users of these CMMs, if asked, will say that their metrology requirements include high density scans at high speeds with high accuracy. These requirements are in conflict, as there will be some point at which the accuracy of the scanned data begins to decrease with an increase in the scanning speed. This paper addresses the effects of scanning speed on the performance of different CMMs using contact sensors. The use of a family of artifacts is proposed in order to evaluate the relative scanning performance as a function of scanning speed and the direction of the scan within the CMM volume. The artifacts that are developed for these tests have a sinusoidal waveform superimposed on a flat surface. This paper describes a series of experiments that utilize these artifacts and assess the ability of these tests to capture how a scanning CMM will perform when measuring actual parts.
Room-temperature InAs-based interband cascade lasers

We report the demonstration of InAs-based interband cascade lasers at temperatures up to 315 K and 253 K operating in pulsed and continuous wave modes, respectively, near 5.3 microns.
Cross-talk effects in multiplexed volume holograms

Various fundamental cross-talk effects that limit the information storage capacity of the spatial-frequency-multiplexed Fourier-transform volume holograms are identified and analyzed. The methods for eliminating the identified cross-talk effects are presented. The signal-to-noise ratio, which determines the actual storage capacity, is derived.