cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Thermodynamics of formation of Na+(cryptand[2.2.1])·Na− from the metal and complexant

Abstract The e.m.f. of the cell Pt∣Na(s)∣Na + β-alumina∣Na + (C221)·Na − (sat),C221(sat)∣Pt in which C221 represents cryptand[2.2.1] was measured as a function of temperature from −75 to +5°C in diethylether and diethylether-trimethylamine mixtures. The thermodynamic results for the reaction 2Na(s) + C221(1) → Na + (C221)·Na − (s) are: Δ G ° 298 =−12.3 ± 0.6 kJ mol −1 , Δ H °=−37 ± 3 kJ mol −1 and Δ S °= −83 ± 8 J mol −1 K −1 . As was the case for Na + (C222)·Na − (U. Schindewolf, L. D. Le and J. L. Dye, J. Phys. Chem. , 86 (1982) 2284) the enthalpy change is fairly close to that predicted from a modified Born-Haber cycle but the magnitude of the entropy change is much smaller than predicted.
Anomalous resonance-radiation pressure on an inverted atomic transition

Abstract We point out that the radiation force acting force acting on an atom due to resonant interaction with a plane traveling electromagnetic wave is opposite to the direction of propagation of the wave when there is a population inversion on the resonant transition. The effect can be used as a test for population inversion in an atomic-beam experiment.
Measuring Success in the Virtual University.

The demand for continuing, distance, and online education continues to grow worldwide. As educational organizations seek to satisfy the demand, they confront a rapidly changing economic and social scenario. To survive, they must evolve. Fundamental to successful evolution for both traditional and virtual institutions is the formulation of new strategies for assessing progress in educating and training.
A BLOW-UP CRITERION FOR A DEGENERATE PARABOLIC PROBLEM DUE TO A CONCENTRATED NONLINEAR SOURCE

Let q, a, b, and T be real numbers with g≥0,a>0,0 0. This article studies the following degenerate semilinear parabolic first initial-boundary value problem, x q u t (x, t) - U xx (X, t) = aδ(x - b)f (u(x, t)) for 0 < x < 1, 0 < t < T, u(x,0) = ψ(x) for 0 < x < 1, u(0,t) = u(1,t) = 0 for 0 < t < T, where δ (x) is the Dirac delta function, and f and ψ are given functions. It is shown that for a sufficiently large, there exists a unique number b* ∈ (0,1/2) such that u never blows up for b ∈ (0, b*] U [1-b*,1), and u always blows up in a finite time for b ∈ (b*, 1-b*). To illustrate our main results, two examples are given.
Ribonuclease contamination of crystalline deoxyribonuclease, trypsin, and of partially purified foot-and-mouth disease virus preparations

Abstract Using a microbiological assay for RNase based on the inactivation of viral RNA and capable of detecting RNase at a concentration as low as 0.1 mμg/ml, commercially available crystalline preparations of the pancreatic enzymes DNase and trypsin were found to be contaminated with 1 part in 100,000 and 1 part in 10,000, respectively, of RNase. A previous hypothesis that the susceptibility of infectious FMDV-RNA to crystalline DNase and to trypsin was due to the presence of an exceedingly small amount of RNase was also confirmed. The RNase content of partially purified preparations of FMDV was found to be about 0.013 μg/ml, attributable to the bovine serum and host cells used for viral propagation. This RNase contamination could be removed by chromatography on DEAE-cellulose, which allowed most of the enzyme to pass through unadsorbed. Similar chromatographic treatment of DNase decreased the amount of RNase present. Amberlite XE-64 treatment of trypsin was unsatisfactory for the separation of RNase activity.
Regulation of Mammary Gland Sensitivity to Thyroid Hormones During the Transition from Pregnancy to Lactation

Thyroid hormones are galactopoietic and help to establish the mammary gland's metabolic priority during lactation. Expression patterns for genes that can alter tissue sensitivity to thyroid hormones and thyroid hormone activity were evaluated in the mammary gland and liver of cows at 53, 35, 20, and 7 days before expected parturition, and 14 and 90 days into the subsequent lactation. Transcript abundance for the three isoforms of iodothyronine deiodinase, type I (DIO1), type II (DIO2) and type III (DIO3), thyroid hormone receptors alpha1 (TRalpha1), alpha2 (TRalpha2) and beta1 (TRbeta1), and retinoic acid receptors alpha (RXRalpha) and gamma (RXRgamma), which act as coregulators of thyroid hormone receptor action, were evaluated by quantitative RT-PCR. The DIO3 is a 5-deiodinase that produces inactive iodothyronine metabolites, whereas DIO1 and DIO2 generate the active thyroid hormone, triiodothyronine, from the relatively inactive precursor, thyroxine. Low copy numbers of DIO3 transcripts were present in mammary gland and liver. DIO2 was the predominant isoform expressed in mammary gland and DIO1 was the predominant isoform expressed in liver. Quantity of DIO1 mRNA in liver tissues did not differ with physiological state, but tended to be lowest during lactation. Quantity of DIO2 mRNA in mammary gland increased during lactation (P 100-fold). Quantity of TRbeta1 mRNA in mammary gland increased with onset of lactation, whereas TRalpha1 and TRalpha2 transcripts did not vary with physiological state. Conversely, quantity of RXRalpha mRNA decreased during late gestation to low levels during early lactation. Data suggest that increased expression of mammary TRbeta1 and DIO2, and decreased RXRalpha, provide a mechanism to increase thyroid hormone activity within the mammary gland during lactation.
A recursion formula for resistance distances and its applications

A recursion formula for resistance distances is obtained, and some of its applications are illustrated.
Dispersal of Yeasts and Bacteria by Drosophila in a Temperate Forest

The dispersal of yeasts, bacteria and molds by Drosophila and Hymenoptera was examined in a deciduous woods in Bloomington, Indiana. Drosophila were found to be significant vectors of yeasts and bacteria, while Hymenoptera also transmitted molds. Analyses of their microbe contents indicated sap feeding Drosophila carried mainly yeasts, fungus feeding Drosophila carried primarily bacteria and ants carried primarily molds.
Chromosomal Assignment of the Gene Encoding the Human 58-kDa Inhibitor (PRKRI) of the Interferon-Induced dsRNA-Activated Protein Kinase to Chromosome 13q32

The 58-kDa inhibitor (p58) of the interferon-induced dsRNA-activated protein kinase (PKR) is a cellular protein recruited by the influenza virus to down-regulate the activity of PKR during virus infection. The inhibitor also appears to play a role in the regulation of cellular gene expression in the absence of viral infection and has oncogenic properties when overexpressed. Using fluorescence in situ hybridization, we have mapped the p58 gene (PRKRI) to human chromosome 13 band q32. Aberrations in the structure or number of chromosome 13 have been identified in a variety of human cancers, particularly in acute leukemia.
Apolipoprotein E is associated with age at onset of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

Apolipoprotein E (APOE) is a confirmed risk factor for Alzheimer disease. APOE is also involved in several other neurodegenerative disorders, including Parkinson disease and multiple sclerosis. Previous studies of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig disease, ALS) have investigated the effect of APOE on the risk of developing ALS, age at onset, site of onset, and duration of the disease. The results have been inconsistent, possibly due to small sample sizes and complete reliance on case-control data. No family-based association studies were performed. To address these limitations, we investigated the relationship between APOE functional polymorphisms and age at onset of ALS in a large set of 508 families. We treated age at onset as a quantitative trait and performed family-based association analysis using the TDT Q5 method. APOE-2 is protective against earlier onset ( P =0.001) with an average age at onset of APOE-2 carriers approximately 3 years later than that of non-APOE-2 carriers. Similar to our previous report, we did not find APOE associated with ALS risk. Our findings suggest that APOE may express its strongest effect through age at onset rather than on risk.
Decision Making, Dashboard Displays, and Human Performance in Service Systems

Service systems are often characterized by large components of human work and the need to make decisions based on human performance. Human cognitive limitations and the abilities of computers to compensate led to decision support systems DSS. While a computerized DSS fits the needs of human cognitive limits, the strengths of human cognitive abilities are often overlooked. Human performance is often monitored by task completion in terms of timeliness and accuracy. A failure of this is that cognitive feedback is generally not given to the operator until after the task. Dashboard displays that are already widely used in manufacturing and other operational applications give current performance information and can take advantage of human cognitive capabilities. This paper presents the concept of decision support in human performance by exploring the extension of the dashboard display concept to human performance monitoring as a cognitive feedback mechanism. Examples specific to the service sector are provided in the context of a Help Desk environment.
Studies on the lipids of sheep red blood cells. II. The incorporation of phosphorus into phospholipids of HK and LK cells.

The incorporation of inorganic phosphate (as NaH2PO4) into the phospholipids of sheep red blood cells was studied in vitro in blood samples from five highpotassium (HK) and five low-potassium (LK) sheep. The erythrocytes from HK sheep incorporated more activity in 4 hr than those from the LK sheep. However no activity was incorporated into the major phospholipids of the cells (phosphatidyl ethanolamine, phosphatidyl serine, and sphingomyelin) of either group. The phosphatidic acid fraction was labeled in both groups and to a significantly greater extent in the HK samples. However the highest activity in the phospholipid of sheep red-cells was located in three unknown compounds not previously detected. Their specific activities were the same in the HK and the LK samples although they were present in slightly larger amounts in the HK samples. In general, incorporation was at a rather low level, and from stoichiometric considerations it was concluded that the metabolism in the red-cell phospholipids could not be directly involved in the active transport of ions across the cell membrane. This work also confirmed a previous report that no quantitative differences exist among the major phospholipid classes in the two types of cells.
The statistical solutions for turbulent transport with molecular diffusion in terms of space-time characteristic functionals

Abstract The explicit and exact expressions relating the eulerian space-time characteristic functional of a passive scalar quantity transported by turbulent flow in the presence of molecular diffusion to the statistics of velocity field and initial data are obtained in operator, series and integral forms.
The development of structure and transport systems of the fetal rabbit intestine

Abstract Segments of small intestine from the fetal rabbit were incubated in a medium containing C14-labeled sugar or amino acid (1 mM) and tissue uptake was measured. Intestine obtained from fetal rabbits at the 22nd day of gestation was capable of accumulating α-methylglucose, valine, methionine, and lysine against small but distinct concentration gradients. As the embryos developed, the capacity of the intestine to accumulate these substances increased 2–5-fold. In contrast, betaine did not equilibrate with tissue H2O until the 26th day of gestation and was not accumulated actively until the 28th day. This provides strong evidence for the existence of a separate betaine transport system. Both l -proline and glycine were actively accumulated by fetal intestine prior to the development of a betaine transport system. From the 21st day to term, there were marked morphological changes in the intestinal epithelium as seen by light and electron microscopy. The development of villous and microvillous structure provided the developing intestine with an enormously increased absorptive surface area.
Fractal dimension of an aortic heart valve leaflet

The complexity of nature can often be observed in the geometry of biological structure. The aortic valve model of Peskin and McQueen can be used to study the apparently fractal character of the valve's fiber architecture. The branching and braiding of the model fibers is similar to that seen in the real aortic valve. In this study, we compute the fractal dimension of the leaflets of the model aortic valve. We find a fractal dimension of 2.21. The computation of the aortic valve leaflet at the most refined level in the fractal dimension calculation requires the computation of over 6.5 billion points (5.1 million aortic valve fibers with 1280 points/fiber). A high-performance variant of the grid-based box counting method is developed, based on a recursive, octal-tree data structure.
Crystal-induced myocarditis and pericarditis

Abstract A patient exposed for years to tricalcium phosphate in the dust of a dentifrice died from alveolar adenocarcinoma. Micron-sized crystals of the salt were found in normal, inflamed, granulomatous and neoplastic areas in the viscera and in the mildly inflamed myocardium and pericardium. Excepting neoplastic changes, similar but severer lesions were induced experimentally in rats after ingestion of massive amounts of tricalcium phosphate, alpha quartz, barium sulfate, bismuth subcarbonate, and magnesium trisilicate. Particles of those substances appeared systemically and in the congested myocardium and pericardium with or without inflammation.
Anthropogenic extinction of top carnivores and interspecific animal behaviour: implications of the rapid decoupling of a web involving wolves, bears, moose and ravens

The recent extinction of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) by humans from 95-99% of the contiguous USA and Mexico in less than 100 years has resulted in dramatically altered and expanded prey communities. Such rampant ecological change and putative ecological instability has not occurred in North American northern boreal zones. This geographical variation in the loss of large carnivores as a consequence of anthropogenic disturbance offers opportunities for examining the potential consequences of extinction on subtle but important ecological patterns involving behaviour and interspecific ecological interactions. In Alaska, where scavengers and large carnivores are associated with carcasses, field experiments involving sound playback simulations have demonstrated that at least one prey species, moose (Alces alces), is sensitive to the vocalizations of ravens (Corvus corax) and may rely on their cues to avoid predation. However, a similar relationship is absent on a predator-free island in Alaska's Cook Inlet and at two sites in the Jackson Hole region of the Rocky Mountains (USA) where grizzly bears and wolves have been extinct for 50-70 years. While prior study of birds and mammals has demonstrated that prey may retain predator recognition capabilities for thousands of years even after predation as a selective force has been relaxed, the results presented here establish that a desensitization in interspecific responsiveness can also occur in less than ten generations. These results affirm (i) a rapid decoupling in behaviour involving prey and scavengers as a consequence of anthropogenic-caused predator-prey disequilibriums, and (ii) subtle, community-level modifications in terrestrial ecosystems where large carnivores no longer exist. If knowledge about ecological and behavioural processes in extant systems is to be enhanced, the potential effects of recently extinct carnivores must be incorporated into current programmes.
Systems Engineering and Application of System Performance Modeling in SIM Lite Mission

The SIM Lite Astrometric Observatory will be the first space-based Michelson interferometer operating in the visible wavelength, with the ability to perform ultra-high precision astrometric measurements on distant celestial objects. SIM Lite data will address in a fundamental way questions such as characterization of Earth-mass planets around nearby stars. To accomplish these goals it is necessary to rely on a model-based systems engineering approach - much more so than most other space missions. This paper will describe in further detail the components of this end-to-end performance model, called "SIM-sim", and show how it has helped the systems engineering process.
Nucleotide sequence comparison of homologous genomic regions from variola, monkeypox, and vaccinia viruses

The nucleotide sequences of homologous regions from the genomes of variola major strain Harvey, variola minor strains Butler and Garcia, and monkeypox strain Denmark were determined. The nucleotide sequences were compared to the homologous region in vaccinia virus which contains part of one of the genes involved in determining host range. Two major differences were detected; these corresponded to a deletion in the promoter region and the presence of a premature stop codon. It was concluded that this region of the genome may not be actively expressed in either variola- or monkeypox-virus-infected cells. It was also concluded that diagnostic nucleic acid hybridisation probes for differentiating between these members of the Orthopoxviridae may be difficult to identify.
Soft x-ray band spectra and molecular orbital structure of Cr2O3, CrO3, CrO4−2 and Cr2O7−2

Abstract A new experimental technique is described whereby the soft X-ray CrL III , CrK and OK emission and absorption spectra are combined and used to construct empirically a complete molecular orbital diagram for simple chromium-oxygen compounds. All spectral components are assigned specific transitions associated with bonding, antibonding and nonbonding molecular orbitals. In Cr 2 O 3 the spectra indicate that the three outermost electrons have t 2g symmetry and are involved in two distinct bonding mechanisms. One of these electrons is localized in a metal-metal covalent bond and the other two are associated with the Cr−O π bond. The results do not support the narrow d -band model which has been proposed for transition metal oxides. For CrO 4 −2 the deduced MO structure does not agree well with previous calculations and a new interpretation is suggested for the optical absorption spectrum. Contrary to previous assumptions, it is concluded that the highest filled orbital in CrO 4 −2 is 3 t 2 instead of t 1 . Relationships between the X-ray spectra and various solid state phenomena such as coordination symmetry, bonding distances, valence state, and bonding character are discussed. It is concluded that the X-ray band spectra from compounds are best interpreted on the basis of molecular orbital theory.
Overcoming Barriers to Transportation Cost Internalization

Much progress has been made in accounting for the externality costs related to transportation decisions in recent years. However, major institutional and political barriers currently impede both public awareness of this information and the introduction of market-based pricing mechanisms that might begin to better internalize both marginal costs and social and environmental cost factors to inform decision making by both consumers and policy-makers. Focusing mostly on the U.S. experience, this paper explores these barriers and discusses strategies that might contribute to progress in both cost internalization and regulatory reform. Incremental progress can come through the development of information, analysis, and decision support systems for transportation and long range planning, through appropriate applications of Intelligent Transportation Systems technologies such as electronic road and parking pricing, through the development of performance and incentive based regulatory systems, and perhaps by influencing advertising that shapes public attitudes towards motor vehicles.
Hydrodynamic modes of arbitrarily shaped flexible macromolecules : influence on dynamic light scattering

The diffusional motions of flexible macromolecules are analyzed with an increasingly realistic Rouse–Zimm model, i.e., by modeling the molecule as an arbitrary set of spheres connected by nearly harmonic springs. New features include (1) nearly arbitrary arrangements of spheres, (2) arbitrary arrangements of translational and torsional springs, (3) significant anharmonic corrections to the elastic potential surface, and (4) inclusion of torsional damping and various hydrodynamic cross-coupling effects (including two types of translational-rotational coupling) with no additional fitted parameters. The hydrodynamic interactions [R. F. Goldstein (1985) Journal of Chemical Physics, Vol. 83, pp. 2390–2397] contain no adjustable parameters other than temperature, viscosity, and the radii and positions of the spheres. These hydrodynamic interactions allow accurate calculations of rigid body diffusion as well as flexible motions. Given the positions, radii, and spring constant matrix, one can calculate a full set of three-dimensional diffusional modes. Because one uses an off-diagonal hydrodynamic resistance matrix instead of a diagonal mass matrix, the diffusional modes are different in structure from vacuum normal modes, and give rise to different rms motions in the laboratory frame. These hydrodynamic modes include the effects of vibrational-translational cross-coupling (i.e., motion along a vibrational coordinate may give rise to a translational force, and vice versa). The diffusional modes are used to simulate dynamic light scattering (DLS). I examine various molecules with different shapes, flexibilities, and with different scattering vectors. Radial and angular motions influence DLS decays differently. These effects are dependent upon the molecular shape (straight, bent, or curved) and type of flexibility (stretching or bending). Furthermore, small cubic corrections to the potential surface can be significant for DLS of certain geometries such as straight rods and semicircles. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The adhesion model considering capillarity for gecko attachment system

Geckos make use of approximately a million microscale hairs (setae) that branch off into hundreds of nanoscale spatulae to cling to different smooth and rough surfaces and detach at will. This hierarchical surface construction gives the gecko the adaptability to create a large real area of contact with surfaces. It is known that van der Waals force is the primary mechanism used to adhere to surfaces, and capillary force is a secondary effect that can further increase adhesive force. To investigate the effects of capillarity on gecko adhesion, we considered the capillary force as well as the solid-to-solid interaction. The capillary force expressed in terms of elliptical integral is calculated by numerical method to cope with surfaces with a wide range of contact angles. The adhesion forces exerted by a single gecko spatula in contact with planes with different contact angles for various relative humidities are calculated, and the contributions of capillary force to total adhesion force are evaluated. The simulation results are compared with experimental data. Finally, using the three-level hierarchical model recently developed to simulate a gecko seta contacting with random rough surface, the effect of the relative humidity and the hydrophobicity of surface on the gecko adhesion is investigated.
EFFECTS OF MODEL UNCERTAINTY ON STRUCTURAL DAMAGE DETECTION USING PASSIVE CONTROLLERS

This paper presents a novel study of the effects of identified parameter uncertainty on structural damage detection when virtual passive controllers are attached to structures. The attached passive control system, which mimics to the mass-spring-dashpot, is an energy dissipative device, augmenting the system damping, and thus guarantees the closed-loop system stability. The identified parameters of a structure vary with structural damage and environmental uncertainty. This paper addresses the issue of how to reduce the effects of the identified parameter uncertainty on structural damage detection. The changes of the identified natural frequencies, which are generally much less sensitive to noise and environmental uncertainties than the identified mode shapes, are used for damage detection. A least-squares technique, based on the sensitivity of the natural frequencies to the damage variables, is used to identify the damage variables.
GPS/INS Technology Trends for Military Systems

This paper will focus on the technology trends for inertial sensors, GPS accuracies, and integrated GPS/INS systems, including considerations of jamming, for military platforms and weapons, that will lead to one meter accuracy, global, navigation systems of the future. For inertial sensors, trend-setting sensor technologies applicable to military systems will be described. They are: fiber-optic gyros, silicon micromechanical gyros, resonating beam accelerometers, and silicon micromechanical accelerometers. A vision of the inertial sensor instrument field, and inertial systems for military applications for the next few decades will be given. GPS specified and observed current accuracies will be described, as well as, planned accuracy improvements due to various stages of the WAGE implementation, intersatellite ranging, and "all-in-view" tracking. Uses of relative and differential GPS will be discussed. The trend towards tightlycoupled GPS/INS, where both code and carrier tracking loops are aided with inertial sensor information, will be described and the synergistic benefits explored. Some examples of the effects of jamming will be described and expected technology trends to improve system antijam capability will be presented.
Improving brain signaling in aging: could berries be the answer?

. Although healthy aging may have previ-ously been regarded as preventing wrinkles or reducing heart disease risk, as the inci-dences of neurological diseases are skyrock -eting in tandem with the economic burden of long-term care for the elderly, interest in the aging brain is growing. Dementia is one consequence of brain aging, with con -comitant behavioral deficits in motor and cognitive function. Therefore, there is a need to improve neuronal communication in the brain in aging, which is habitually destabilized by enhanced oxidative stress, inflammation and toxic protein accumula -tion. These factors can ultimately lead to death of neurons, disease pathologies and behavioral deficits.Neurodegeneration is highly debilitating in nature, and the underlying brain pathol -ogy may go undetected prior to the presen -tation of symptoms or diagnosis
Effectiveness of elastic resistance in rehabilitation of patients with patellofemoral pain syndrome: what is the evidence?

Context:Patellofemoral pain syndrome (PFPS) is associated with muscle imbalance at the knee and hip. Therapeutic exercise is effective at reducing pain associated with PFPS.Objective:To identify and analyze clinical trials of elastic resistance in patients with PFPS to determine its efficacy.Data Sources:PubMed, CINAHL, and PEDro databases were searched for terms relevant to PFPS rehabilitation in patients aged 12 to 40 years.Study Selection:Only peer-reviewed clinical trials lasting at least 4 weeks and specifying the use of elastic resistance in their protocols were included.Data Extraction:Eight eligible studies were analyzed for design, sample, intervention, outcomes, and clinical application.Results:The studies included in this review lacked high-quality design, often using exercise as a “quasi-control” condition. Most studies did not provide specific exercise prescription or progression. Although participants in each study reported significant improvements in pain, deficiencies in scientific design ...
Circadian Rhythm in Larval Release by the Crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii: Entrainment Model

The subtidal crab Rhithropanopeus harrisii has a circadian rhythm in larval release; under constant condi- tions eggs hatch in the 2-3-h interval after the time of sunset in nontidal estuaries. Eggs that are removed from the female hatch rhythmically, indicating that the circadian rhythm resides in the embryos. The model for entrainment is that mature embryos have functional sensory systems that detect and entrain to environmental cycles. This model was reex- amined by confirming that the visual system of advanced embryos responds to light and thus could mediate entrain- ment to the light/dark cycle. We then determined whether the hatching rhythm of mature embryos that are removed from the female can be entrained to new light/dark cycles. Contrary to expectations, these embryos did not entrain to new cycles. Instead, they remained entrained to the light/ dark cycle to which they were exposed when still attached to the female, suggesting that the female entrains the rhythm. Indeed, hatching by embryos collected from the field when they had not yet developed eye pigments, kept in constant conditions attached to their mother, exhibited the circadian hatching rhythm. They could also be entrained to a new photoperiod in the laboratory. The role of the female is further supported by experiments showing that the hatch- ing rhythm in embryos carried by females lacking one but not both eyes can be entrained to a new cycle in the laboratory. Thus, the revised model is that the female per- ceives the light/dark cycle and entrains the circadian rhythm in the embryos.
Interobserver reproducibility and agreement with original diagnosis in the categories "atypical" and "suspicious for malignancy" for bile and pancreatic duct brushings

Background The Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology has developed a set of guidelines which include a diagnostic scheme with the categories “atypical” and “suspicious for malignancy.” These intermediate categories may help stratify risk of malignancy for samples obtained from the bile and pancreatic ducts. However, the reproducibility of these intermediate categories is currently unknown. Methods Twenty sequential brushing specimens of bile or pancreatic ducts from each of the categories “atypical” and “suspicious for malignancy” were identified and the slides retrieved. All 40 cases were reviewed independently by four cytopathologists blinded to the original diagnoses. Resulting review diagnoses were statistically analyzed for agreement and the Kappa statistic calculated. Agreement of the observers’ diagnoses with original diagnoses was also evaluated. Results Interobserver agreement was graded as slight to fair with observers agreeing in about 50% of cases. The corresponding kappa statistic for the category “atypical” was 0.21 and 0.18 for the category “suspicious for malignancy.” Reviewer agreement with the original reference diagnosis occurred in approximately one half of review diagnoses. Conclusion Analysis of agreement shows that interobserver agreement was only slight to fair. Despite the categories “atypical” and “suspicious for malignancy” having distinct risks of malignancy (62% versus 74%), the reproducibility of these categories is relatively poor. A single intermediate category may improve reproducibility over the scheme proposed by the Papanicolaou Society of Cytopathology while maintaining an ability to stratify risk of malignancy. Diagn. Cytopathol. 2015;43:797–801. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Community Structure and Innovation: The Case of Public Housing*

Innovation can be defined as “… the generation, acceptance, and implementation of new ideas, processes, products, or services.” We mean here an activity, process, service, or idea that is new to an American city. We do not restrict it to mean only the first appearance ever of something new (i.e., an invention) or only the first use by one among a set of social actors. We are concerned neither with the diffusion of innovation nor with internal stages in the adoption process, but rather with the characteristics of cities that have successfully implemented innovations in federally financed public housing. We focus on three aspects of community innovation: (1) the presence or absence of a federally financed public housing program in the city, (2) the speed of innovation of such a program, and (3) the level of output or performance of this innovation activity. Most of the studies of innovation have used as units of analysis either individuals or organizations, and little attention has been given to innovation in community systems, although community systems are continually introducing new ideas, activities, processes, and services. For example, the form of government may be changed from a mayor-council to a city-manager type. In fact, two studies of such innovations were carried out prior to World War II, but these were primarily concerned with describing the rate of diffusion of this social invention among American cities, not with characteristics of innovating cities. The addition of a new planning department to the city administration or a decision to fluoridate its water system are community innovations as we have defined the term, But innovations are not limited to actions of city government, although these may be the most frequently observed types of innovations.
Las noticias de Madrid (News from Madrid).

Over 5,000 participants attended the 10th International Conference on Alzheimer's Disease (ICAD) and Related Disorders in Madrid, Spain from July 15–20, 2006. Highlights of the conference included reports on brain imaging, the discovery of mutations in the progranulin gene that cause frontotemporal dementia, the finding that neuregulin-1 is a substrate for BACE1 and new interest in the connection between Alzheimer's disease and metabolic syndromes.
The role of insulator elements in defining domains of gene expression

Insulators are naturally occurring DNA sequences that protect transgenes from genomic position effects, thereby establishing independent functional domains within the chromosome. Recent studies have focused on the identification of the cis and trans requirements for insulator activity. These experiments demonstrate that insulators contain multiple components that cooperate to confer their unique properties. Additionally, they suggest that the mechanism of insulation is related to that of enhancer function. Two models of insulator can be considered: a domain boundary and a transcriptional decoy model.
Dyssynchrony Evaluation: Echocardiography

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been proven to be a major benefit to severely symptomatic heart failure patients with widened QRS duration ≥ 120 ms, and reduced ejection fraction (EF) ≤ 35%. The prevailing evidence supports that multi-site pacing improves abnormalities of left ventricular (LV) mechanical activation, known as dyssynchrony, as the principal therapeutic effect of CRT. The most common pattern of dyssynchrony is represented by left bundle branch block (LBBB), which is characterized by early septal mechanical activation followed by delayed posterior and lateral wall activation. Although several variations in abnormalities of electrical and mechanical activation may exist, the electrical dispersion manifest by QRS widening is believed to be a surrogate for mechanical dyssynchrony. Current clinical guidelines based on selection criteria used in the CRT trials use QRS widening as a marker for dyssynchrony. Unfortunately, approximately one-third of patients receiving CRT do not seem to benefit using these routine clinical selection criteria. Since CRT implantation is expensive and associated with a small but significant procedural risk of complications, efforts have been focused on improvement in patient selection. The study of echocardiographic dyssynchrony has led to the important observation that there is a subset of patients with widened QRS duration that do not have significant mechanical dyssynchrony. The reasons for the disassociation of mechanical dyssynchrony from QRS widening are unclear, but most existing information indicates that the patients with QRS widening who lack significant mechanical dyssynchrony do not respond favorably to CRT and appear to have a worse prognosis.
Comparative study of the Fränkel (FR-2) and bionator appliances in the treatment of Class II malocclusion.

The purpose of this investigation was to compare the dentoalveolar and skeletal cephalometric changes produced by the Frankel (FR-2) and bionator appliances in persons with Class II malocclusion. Lateral cephalograms were available for 66 patients of both sexes, who were divided into 3 groups of 22. The control group included untreated Class II children, with an initial mean age of 8 years 7 months; they were followed without treatment for 13 months. The FR-2 appliance group had an initial mean age of 9 years; those children were treated for a mean period of 17 months. The bionator group initially had a mean age of 10 years 8 months; on average, they were treated for 16 months. The results demonstrated no significant changes in maxillary growth during the evaluation period. Both appliances showed statistically significant increases in mandibular growth and mandibular protrusion, with greater increases in patients treated in the bionator group. Both experimental groups showed an improvement in the maxillomandibular relationship. There were no significant changes in growth direction, while the bionator group had a greater increase in posterior facial height. Both appliances produced similar labial tipping and protrusion of the lower incisors, lingual inclination, retrusion of the upper incisors, and a significant increase in mandibular posterior dentoalveolar height. The major treatment effects of bionator and FR-2 appliances were dentoalveolar, with a smaller, but significant, skeletal effect.
Circadian Variation in the Rupture of Abdominal Aortic Aneurysms

Circadian variations in the incidence of myocardial infarction, sudden death, and stroke have been attributed to diurnal fluctuations in catecholamine release, blood pressure, heart rate, fibrinolytic activity, and platelet aggregation. As similar factors could precipitate the rupture of an abdominal aortic aneurysm, a retrospective chart review was undertaken in an effort to define the timing of aneurysm rupture and any associated circadian variation. One hundred forty-three patients with a ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (rAAA) and a documented time of presentation were evaluated. Eighty-one patients (56.7%) presented within 2 hours of the onset of symptoms and were examined for diurnal variability in their presentation. The hourly rate of rAAA presentation between 8 AM and 10 PM (4.3 per hour) was more than twice that observed during the night (2.1 per hour, p 0.10). Abdominal aortic aneurysm rupture occurs with a diurnal variation having a peak during waking hours. The relationship of aneurysm rupture to known physiological circadian rhythms may give further insight into the underlying pathophysiology and has implications for patient management.
A Cross-Cultural Study of Playing Simple Economic Games Online with Humans and Virtual Humans

We compare the simple online economic interactions between a human and a multimodal communication agent (virtual human) to the findings of similar simple interactions with other humans and those that were run in the laboratory. We developed protocols and dialogue capabilities to support the multi modal agent in playing two well-studied economic games (Ultimatum Game, Dictator Game). We analyze the interactions based on the outcome and self-reported values of possible factors involved in the decision making. We compare these parameters across two games, and the two cultures of US and India. Our results show that humans’ interaction with a virtual human is similar to when they are playing with another human and the majority of the people choose to allocate about half of the stakes to the virtual human, just as they would with another human. There are, however, some significant differences between offer distributions and value reports for different conditions (game, opponent, and culture of participant).
Aging and Longitudinal Change in Perceptual-Motor Skill Acquisition in Healthy Adults

Knowledge about aging of perceptual-motor skills is based almost exclusively on cross-sectional studies. We examined age-related changes in the retention of mirror-tracing skills in healthy adults who practiced for 3 separate days at baseline and retrained 5 years later at follow-up. Overall, the speed and accuracy of an acquired skill were partially retained after a 5-year interim, although the same asymptote was reached. Analyses with individual learning curves indicated that the effects of age on mirror-tracing speed were greater at longitudinal follow-up than at baseline, with older adults requiring more training to reach asymptote. Thus, although the long-term retention of acquired skills declines with age, older adults still retain the ability to learn the skill. Moreover, those who maintained a processing speed comparable with that of the younger participants evidenced no age-related performance decrements on the mirror-drawing task.
Code timing estimation in a near-far environment for direct-sequence code-division multiple-access

An adaptive receiver structure is considered for obtaining timing information for a direct-sequence code-division multiple-access (CDMA) communication network operating in a near-far environment. The receiver consists of a chip matched filter followed by an adaptive equalizer. By using a simple channel-access protocol, the timing information for a new system user can be extracted from the weights of the adaptive equalizer. In order to obtain this timing information, the receiver only requires knowledge of the spreading code of the new user. A maximum-likelihood (ML) estimation algorithm is given based on several simplistic assumptions on the statistical properties of the adaptive filter tap weights. Several different CDMA environments were simulated, and the performance of the ML estimation algorithm is presented. These results show that even though simplistic assumptions were used in the derivation of the ML estimation algorithm, this receiver structure is applicable to extracting timing information for a direct-sequence CDMA system operating in a near-far environment. >
Class-label statistics: a basis for fusing information from multispectral imagery with an application to unsupervised detection of human settlement

A new approach to fusion of information from multispectral (MS) imagery is presented. This approach is motivated by the desire to develop an unsupervised classifier which can robustly detect settled regions (i.e., regions containing man-made structures). It is well known in the remote sensing community that the ground truth used in supervised classification are not only difficult to obtain but tend to be inconsistent and difficult to validate. In this paper, we present an unsupervised approach for the problem which combines a two-step analysis of MS imagery with a spatial analysis of higher resolution panchromatic imagery. The MS analysis first combines the multispectral pixel information to create an image of pixel labels generated by the K-Means clustering algorithm. Tile-based features are then computed based on the first and second order class label statistics. These tile features are then used to classify the tiles via a second application of the K-Means clustering algorithm. The results from this MS analysis define clusters of tiles of variable texture that are highly likely to contain evidence of human settlements. Spatial information is then brought to bear by analyzing coregistered high-resolution panchromatic images. By standard detectors we find the corner and edge densities in each coregistered tile. Determination of the threshold values used to determine the presence or absence of human settlements is currently performed by a human observer. The results of this spatial analysis are then compared and combined with the MS results to finally determine the set of tiles containing signs of human settlements.
Node localization using received signal statistics

This work presents an analytical approach for determining the relative coordinates of a receiver with respect to the source node. The source is assumed to be location aware. Statistics of the received signal are used to estimate the orientation and distance of the receiver with respect to the source. The received signal power is used as a distance estimator and the orientation is determined using the inphase and quadrature components of the received signal. The proposed method is applicable only in presence of line-of-sight path
Recurrent Ventricular Tachycardia Induced by an Atrial Synchronous Ventricular-Inhibited Pacemaker

Atrial synchronous pacemakers have been known to cause a variety of cardiac arrhythmias. Of particular concern are those arrhythmias invoiv ing a pacemaker stimuius occurring on a T wave, because these may lead to ventricuiar tachycardia. The Medtronic 2409 ASVIP pacemaker is an atrial synchronous pacemaker with several features de signed to decrease the likelihood of such arrhythmias. We report a patient in whom a normally func tioning Medtronic 2409 ASVIP pacemaker, despite these features, induced recurrent ventricular tachycardia. Conditions which predisposed this patient to pacemaker-induced re-entrant arrhythmias are discussed. [PACE, Vol. 5, July-August, 1982]
Personal resource systems management: realizing the potential of our common interests

Authentic communities-whether academic, political, philosophic, social, commercial, or virtual-demonstrate NURTURE, a goodness of 'fit' between the goals of individual members and the community as a whole. Further, community efforts presume that the synergy of shared interests will exceed the product of individual ventures. Shared interest has traditionally been implicit, arising from historic or socio-economic context. Today however, technology has redefined community with magnified complexity. Technology leverages opportunity and threat, compressing time and space, expanding communication, and facilitating change. Shared interest, in this venue, must be made explicit to articulate the diversity and complexity of individuals, and to identify points of potential linkage. This article presents personal resource systems management (PRSM) as a paradigm for nurture, supporting the efforts of self and others to realize personal potential through authentic community.
Fitness and its role in evolutionary genetics

Although the operation of natural selection requires that genotypes differ in fitness, some geneticists may find it easier to understand natural selection than fitness. Partly this reflects the fact that the word 'fitness' has been used to mean subtly different things. In this Review I distinguish among these meanings (for example, individual fitness, absolute fitness and relative fitness) and explain how evolutionary geneticists use fitness to predict changes in the genetic composition of populations through time. I also review the empirical study of fitness, emphasizing approaches that take advantage of recent genetic and genomic data, and I highlight important unresolved problems in understanding fitness.