cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Robotic Limb Repositioning with Supervised Autonomy

This paper presents the initial efforts towards developing a robotic limb repositioning system. We aim to combine programming by demonstration and end-user programming in a tele-manipulation system that includes the user in the loop. We propose an approach based on a general-purpose mobile manipulator and a web-based interface where a user can select, edit, preview and execute different repositioning exercises based on the selected limb. This approach shows the potential to empower people who have mobility impairments to be more involved in an activity of daily living.
Conclusion and Next Steps

Though more institutions report an increase in online programs and course offerings, faculty report poor institutional support for teaching faculty engaged in online courses (Sloan National Commission on Online Learning, 2013). With the growing number of faculty engaged in online teaching and learning there is a need for innovative approaches to faculty professional development and support (Association of Public and Land-grant Universities-Sloan National Commission on Online Learning, 2009). Communities of practice for faculty teaching at a distance may provide opportunities for professional development and support. Guidelines for designing a virtual community of practice demonstrate how research-based tasks may be mapped to the design tasks in the ADDIE model.
Unraveling sedimentary processes in fluvial sediments from two basalt dominated watersheds in northern Idaho, USA

Abstract Basaltic sediments generated from the breakdown of the Columbia River Basalts (CRB) in the Lawyer Creek and Lapwai Creek watersheds of northern Idaho demonstrate that sediment composition in these fluvial systems is impacted by a number of processes, including, chemical weathering, sediment mixing, fluvial sorting, and diagenesis. Chemical weathering is documented in the compositional transformations that occur from the parent material to fluvial detritus, specifically in the leaching of labile cations (i.e., Ca, Mg, Na, and K), an overall increase in weathering indices, and the generation of secondary weathering products (i.e., clay minerals and X-ray amorphous phases) in these sediments. While the two watersheds mainly downcut through the Columbia River Basalt, the incorporation of material derived from local, glacially-derived soil and/or second cycle detritus from interbedded sandstone units significantly modifies the chemical and mineralogical signatures that would normally be used to fingerprint a mafic provenance, highlighting a potential difficulty for provenance reconstruction in sedimentary rocks derived from mixed sources. However, the influence of this mixing is less pronounced in the clay size fraction, highlighting the potential of the
Arendt's idea of the university

This article offers the first comprehensive reconstruction of Hannah Arendt's contribution to the venerable chapter of modern intellectual history known as ‘the Idea of the university.’ Arendt firs...
Imperial Negotiations: Introducing Comprador Networks and Comparative Modernities

The comprador classes of the 19th- and early 20th-centuries were critical agents of global capitalism. As ‘middle men’ in the colonial enterprise, they enabled the development of imperial trade networks, negotiated the supply of labor that extracted profit from the local landscape, established new patterns of consumption and taste, and facilitated cultural as well as economic exchanges that were critical to the growth of Asian cities. In diverse treaty ports and colonial entrepots like Singapore, Batavia, Shanghai, and Hong Kong, compradors drew on a diverse vocabulary of intra- and trans-regional architectural forms, labor, materials, and construction techniques to build homes, offices, godowns, factories, and infrastructural networks that were legible to both European corporations and local populations. The travelling, sojourning perspective of the comprador allows historians to critically examine the fractured, multi-scaled geographies at play across global networks as well as what Raymond Williams has described as ‘the metropolitan interpretation of its own processes as universals’. This special collection examines the role of comprador patrons and architects as active participants in the production of the global modern built environment in the 19th and 20th centuries. The articles aim to create an understanding of treaty ports, colonial cities, and free trade zones not only as sites of local and foreign interactions but as incubators of new ideas about architecture and modernity in the global capitalist economy.
F2VD: fluid rates to virtual deadlines for precise mixed-criticality scheduling on a varying-speed processor

Increasingly complex and integrated systems design has led to more timing uncertainty, which may result in pessimism in time-sensitive system design and analysis. To mitigate such pessimism, mixed-criticality (MC) design for real-time systems has been proposed, where highly critical tasks, often with extremely pessimistic execution time estimates, can share the processor with less critical ones in a manner that the latter is sacrificed, completely or partially, to guarantee temporal correctness to the former, when the extremely pessimistic scenario does happen. In contrast to such sacrifice of tasks, the precise MC scheduling model has recently been investigated, where all tasks, including less critical ones, must fully complete their execution in all circumstances. Meanwhile, the processor may operate at a degraded speed when the tasks' runtime behaviors are far from the extreme pessimistic estimates and would recover to the full processing speed once the extremely pessimistic scenario does happen. This paper presents a generalized fluid-scheduling-based solution to this problem, where feasible fluid-scheduling rates for each task are derived from an optimization problem. Furthermore, this paper proposes a novel algorithm F2VD for setting virtual deadlines from any feasible fluid rates, such that any fluid-scheduling-based solution can be converted to a deadline-based scheduling approach with no schedulability loss, where the latter is generally considered much more practical and easier to implement. Experimental studies based on randomly generated task sets are conducted to verify the theoretical results as well as the effectiveness of the proposed algorithms.
Ground Reaction Forces and Temporal Characteristics Define Cutting Performance.

Moderate angle cutting maneuvers (between 45o and 90o) are common and essential performance skills for success in multidirectional sports. Research addresses the injury risks of cutting but few studies have attempted to quantify the performance of the cut itself. PURPOSE To identify any anthropometric, kinematic, and/or kinetic markers of a high-performance cut so they may be taught and lead to more effective training. METHODS Ten college-aged male athletes (mass 73.97 ± 8.77kg, height 1.81 ± 0.07m) and ten non-athletes (mass 87.37 ± 13.93kg, height 1.85 ± 0.04m) completed five moderate angle cutting trials with a speed constraint of 4.03 m/s - 4.44 m/s through a 3 m in to and 3 m out of a 60° change in direction set-up. Kinetic and kinematic measurements were recorded through ground reaction forces and lower limb angles. RESULTS A Bonferroni correction revealed that athletes spent significantly less time in the propulsion phase (52.0% ± 0.02%, p < 0.02) compared to non-athletes (55.4% ± 0.03%, p < 0.02). The propulsion phase was determined as the percentage of the contact phase the knee was extending (e.g. Green, et al, 2012). The athletes produced significantly greater instantaneous values of X GRF, Y GRF, and Z GRF during the propulsion phase (p < .05). CONCLUSION Greater GRFs coupled with shorter propulsion phases by the athletes accounted for the lack of differences in the propulsion impulse between the two groups. Changing direction in a shorter time improves an athlete's ability to evade an opponent, by decreasing the time an opponent has to react to a new direction.
Housing and Neighborhoods as Root Causes of Child Poverty.

Abstract Understanding how housing inequities among families with children are rooted in structural racism is important for identifying opportunities to engage in ongoing and collective work as pediatricians to lift children out of poverty. This article discusses the complex mechanisms between housing and child and family health outcomes, and offers potential solutions linking housing, health programs, and policy solutions. Beginning with a review of historical antecedents of housing policy and their impact on health inequities, the authors outlines policies and structures directly linked to disproportionate housing instability and inequities in health outcomes among children. This article examines four key domains of housing – affordability, stability, quality, and neighborhood – and their relationship to child and family health. Finally, the authors present multidimensional solutions for advancing health equity.
Coevolving species for shape nesting

We extend the work of Horn (2002) by applying the resource-based fitness sharing (RFS) approach to nesting of arbitrary, non-convex polygons. The shape-nesting problem now includes rotation, in which the shaped pieces can be placed anywhere on the substrate, at any angle of rotation. The task at hand is to maximize the number of such placed pieces such that no placed pieces overlap with each other or with the substrate boundary. We find that a single population, evolved under RFS, is able to discover a cooperative set of "species" that together "cover" most of the substrate, thus showing that the successful results reported by Horn (2002) carry over to the more general case of non-convexity.
Comparing the Impact of Homosexual and Heterosexual Parents on Children: Meta-Analysis of Existing Research.

Courts determine custody and visitation on the basis of the ''best interests of the child.'' Current judicial rulings in some jurisdictions reflect a bias against awarding custody or granting visitation rights to homosexual parents, favoring the heterosexual parent or heterosexual relative of the child(ren). Should the sexual orientation of the parent play a part in the determination of custody or visitation in order to protect the child? This meta-analysis summarizes the available quantitative literature comparing the impact of heterosexual and homosexual parents, using a variety of measures, on the child(ren). The analyses examine parenting practices, the emotional well-being of the child, and the sexual orientation of the child. The results demonstrate no differences on any measures between the heterosexual and homosexual parents regarding parenting styles, emotional adjustment, and sexual orientation of the child(ren). In other words, the data fail to support the continuation of a bias against homosex...
A Neutral Hydrogen Study of Seyfert’s Very Compact Group

A cloud of neutral hydrogen with an extent greater than that of any individual galaxy is present in the direction of Seyfert’s very compact group of galaxies. At each position within this cloud, the velocity width is about 160 km s −1and the radial velocity lies in the range 4530 km s −1 to more than 4600 km s −1 he largest radial velocity of any galaxy in the group is 4503 km s −1.
Buyer Power and Retail Gatekeeper Power:Protecting Competition and the Atomistic Seller, 72 Antitrust L. J. 563 (2005).

This paper examines the unique vulnerability of small, atomistic sellers – including small businesses, farmers, ranchers, fishermen, professionals, and athletes – to buyer power abuses. Because of sunk costs in carrying out a chosen business or profession, atomistic sellers are likely to be more vulnerable to power abuses than are consumers. A second theme of the paper is the retailer's special gatekeeper role in the distribution system, a role that can convey buyer power at relatively small market share levels. Large retail chains, although possessing a market share of 10 percent or less, can wield substantial power in dealings with sellers, even very large sellers operating in oligopolistic markets. The article examines the degree to which US antitrust policy and case law is consistent with these emerging realities.
Chronic kidney disease and cardiovascular therapeutics: time to close the evidence gaps.

National estimates suggest that more than 20 million adults in the United States are affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD), which is classified into 5 stages based on the estimated glomerular filtration rate (GFR) or evidence of kidney damage (Table 1) (1–3). Given the ubiquity of overt and subclinical cardiovascular disease (CVD), it is not surprising that the prevalence of concomitant CKD and CVD is also very high, with upward of 40% of patients with CKD also having CVD (4). CKD is well established as a risk factor for cardiovascular events and death, with higher event rates evident at progressively more advanced stages of CKD (5,6). Assuming similar relative risk reductions for a particular therapeutic agent, patients with CKD would have larger absolute risk reductions than would patients without CKD, translating to fewer patients who would need to be treated to prevent a single event. However, patients with CKD are often less likely to receive evidence-based therapies such as aspirin, beta-blockers, antiplatelet agents, or statins following an acute CVD event (7–9). The lower use of therapies considered the standard of care might be driven in part by fear of adverse side effects, coupled with uncertainty regarding the relative efficacy of these therapies in CKD. Are such concerns justified, or essentially a form of bias (albeit, perhaps, unintentional) against patients with CKD?
Evaluating the validity of the Oxylog in adults at rest and during exercise

The reliability of a portable oxygen consumption meter (Oxylog) before its clinical utilization is determined by comparing simultaneously collected data from an Oxylog and a Medical Graphics 2001 metabolic cart during rest and bicycle ergometer exercise in normal adults. The results indicate differences in oxygen consumption and inspiratory ventilation values between the two systems. It is proposed that frequent checks of the O/sub 2/ sensors by pumping a gas of known O/sub 2/ concentration through the device and, at the same time, using a calibrated syringe to introduce a known volume through the flowmeter will help eliminate concerns about the performance of the device. >
Evidence-based Prevention of Frailty in Older Adults

The prevalence of frailty increases with age, leading to higher risk of disability, institutionalization, and mortality in late life. Approaches to prevent frailty include health risk appraisals to delay the onset of frailty (primary prevention), early detection and management of the prefrail to prevent the progression to frailty (secondary prevention), and interventions to avoid adverse outcomes of those who are frail (tertiary prevention). Accumulating evidence supports potential benefits of physical activity, nutritional supplementation, and individually tailored comprehensive geriatric assessment and management in frailty prevention. More recently, large scale multicomponent trials that combine exercise, nutritional therapy, cognitive training, and geriatric evaluation and management interventions are being conducted. However, the current evidence is insufficient to conclude which frailty preventive strategies are most effective. Promoting cohort studies and clinical trials, developing community-based preventive programs and clinical guidelines, and prioritizing national policy and initiating action plans for the prevention of frailty are urgently needed.
Observational Evidence for Supermassive Black Holes

We discuss the current status of supermassive black hole research, as seen from a purely observational standpoint. Since the early 1990s, rapid technological advances most notably the launch of the Hubble Space Telescope, the commissioning of the Very Long Baseline Array, and improvements in near-infrared speckle imaging techniques—have not only given us incontrovertible proof of the existence of supermassive black holes, but have unveiled fundamental connections between the mass of the central singularity and the global properties of the host galaxy. It is thanks to these observations that we are now, for the first time, in a position to understand the origin, evolution, and cosmic relevance of these fascinating objects.
The Ownership Structure of Sri Lankan Companies

This study examines the ownership structure of firms listed in the Colombo Stock Exchange as at the financial year-end 1997/98. Empirical evidence suggests that share ownership in Sri Lanka is highly concentrated. A small number of shareholders with large shareholdings control a significant portion of voting rights. Small shareholders’ ownership tends to decrease with firm size. Individual shareholders constitute a relatively large proportion of shareholders and their equity ownership is relatively low. Institutional shareholders account for a small proportion of shareholders and their equity stake is relatively high. The study also finds that local shareholders constitute a large percentage of shareholders who account for high shareholding. Foreign shareholders’ ownership is small. Further, a majority of directors hold shares in their respective firms.
Conceptual and Meta Learning During Coached Problem Solving

Coached problem solving is known to be effective for teaching cognitive skills. Simple forms of coached problem solving are used in many ITS. This paper first considers how university physics can be taught via coached problem solving. It then discusses how coached problem solving can be extended to support two other forms of learning: conceptual learning and meta learning.
Forest road erosion control using multiobjective optimization

Thompson, Matthew, John Sessions, Kevin Boston, Arne Skaugset, and David Tomberlin, 2010. Forest Road Erosion Control Using Multiobjective Optimization. Journal of the American Water Resources Association (JAWRA) 46(4): 712-723. DOI: 10.1111/j.1752-1688.2010.00443.x Abstract: Forest roads are associated with accelerated erosion and can be a major source of sediment delivery to streams, which can degrade aquatic habitat. Controlling road-related erosion therefore remains an important issue for forest stewardship. Managers are faced with the task to develop efficient road management strategies to achieve conflicting environmental and economic goals. This manuscript uses mathematical programming techniques to identify the efficient frontier between sediment reduction and treatment costs. Information on the nature of the tradeoffs between conflicting objectives can give the decision maker more insight into the problem, and help in reaching a suitable compromise solution. This approach avoids difficulties associated with a priori establishment of targets for sediment reduction, preferences between competing objectives, and mechanisms to scale noncommensurate objectives. Computational results demonstrate the utility of this multiobjective optimization approach, which should facilitate tradeoff analysis and ideally promote efficient erosion control on forest roads.
Collaboration in action: An uncertain process

Abstract This article offers a framework of necessary conditions for getting to collaboration. A process model is presented that identifies both the conditions and steps under which people can understand their interdependence and what collaboration entails. Based on an analysis of several successful and failed case studies in different policy contexts, the article integrates real-life examples to illustrate the complexities practitioners face as they navigate through the often fragile and tedious process of collaboration. The article concludes by offering several theoretical propositions leading to testable hypotheses that may be useful in choosing an appropriate resolution strategy. It includes implications for theory building and for practice.
On the Modeling of Police Patrol Operations

An analytical approach to several operational problems of urban police departments is introduced. In particular, the focus is on urban police patrol forces and the two important activities of a patrol car (or patrol unit) 1) answering a call for police service, 2) performing crime preventive patrol. After reviewing the traditional allocation method, a patrol travel time model and a preventive patrol model are developed. The first depicts the time required for a patrol unit to travel from its position at time of dispatch until arrival at the scene of the incident. The second relates the frequency of patrols to physical parameters and can be used to estimate the probability that a patrolling unit will intercept a crime while in progress. Applications of the models are discussed.
All-Reflection Interferometer for Use as a Fourier-Transform Spectrometer*

This paper describes the design and tests of an all-reflection two-beam interferometer. The unique feature of this interferometer is the use of a combination of three diffraction gratings as a beam splitter. The use of reflection-type diffraction gratings as a beam splitter eliminates the need for transmission elements and thereby extends the applicability of two-beam interferometry to regions of the electromagnetic spectrum such as the vacuum ultraviolet where transmitting beam splitters are not available. A preliminary type of grating beam splitter using a single grating is discussed, and its disadvantages are described. Finally, an interferometer that uses three gratings as a beam splitter and which can function as an all-reflection Fourier-transform spectrometer is described. Interferograms of simple spectra taken with this instrument are presented.
Comparison of Graphene Formation on C-face and Si-face SiC {0001} Surfaces

The morphology of graphene formed on the $(000\overline{1})$ surface (the C-face) and the (0001) surface (the Si-face) of SiC, by annealing in ultrahigh vacuum or in an argon environment, is studied by atomic force microscopy and low-energy electron microscopy. The graphene forms due to preferential sublimation of Si from the surface. In vacuum, this sublimation occurs much more rapidly for the C face than the Si face so that $150\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\text{C}$ lower annealing temperatures are required for the C face to obtain films of comparable thickness. The evolution of the morphology as a function of graphene thickness is examined, revealing significant differences between the C face and the Si face. For annealing near $1320\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\text{C}$, graphene films of about 2 monolayers (MLs) thickness are formed on the Si face but 16 ML is found for the C face. In both cases, step bunches are formed on the surface and the films grow continuously (carpetlike) over the step bunches. For the Si face, in particular, layer-by-layer growth of the graphene is observed in areas between the step bunches. At $1170\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\text{C}$, for the C face, a more three-dimensional type of growth is found. The average thickness is then about 4 ML but with a wide variation in local thickness (2--7 ML) over the surface. The spatial arrangement of constant-thickness domains are found to be correlated with step bunches on the surface, which form in a more restricted manner than at $1320\text{ }\ifmmode^\circ\else\textdegree\fi{}\text{C}$. It is argued that these domains are somewhat disconnected so that no strong driving force for planarization of the film exists. In a 1 atm argon environment, permitting higher growth temperatures, the graphene morphology for the Si face is found to become more layer by layerlike even for graphene thickness as low as 1 ML. However, for the C face the morphology becomes much worse, with the surface displaying markedly inhomogeneous nucleation of the graphene. It is demonstrated that these surface are unintentionally oxidized, which accounts for the inhomogeneous growth.
Rapid Peptide Fragmentation without Electrons, Collisions, Infrared Radiation, or Native Chromophores

Ultraviolet photodissociation of peptides followed by mass analysis has several desirable advantages relative to other methods, yet it has not found widespread use due to several limitations. One shortcoming is the inefficiency with which peptides absorb in the ultraviolet. This issue has a simple solution and can be circumvented by the attachment of noncovalent adducts that contain appropriate chromophores. Subsequent photoactivation of the chromophore leads to vibrational excitation of the complex and eventually to fragmentation of the peptide. Herein, the energetics that control the efficiency of this process are examined as a function of the characteristics of both the peptide and the noncovalently attached chromophore. Fragmentation efficiency decreases with increasing peptide size and is also constrained by the binding energy of the noncovalent adduct. The optimum chromophore should have excellent absorption at the excitation wavelength and a low luminescence quantum yield. It is demonstrated that a naphthyl based 18-crown-6 adduct is ideally suited for attaching to a variety peptides and fragmenting them following absorption of 266 nm light. Potential applications and limitations of this methodology are discussed.
Some remarks on Legendrian rectifiable currents

A rectifiable current of dimension n−1 in the sphere bundle Sℝn≃ℝn×S n −1 for euclidean space is Legendrian if it annihilates the contact 1-form α (i.e. T(α∧φ)=0 for all forms φ of degree n−2). Such a current may be naturally associated to any convex set or to any singular real analytic variety, and induces the curvature measures of such a set. We prove that the projection to ℝn of a carrier of a general such T is C 2-rectifiable in the sense of Anzellotti–Serapioni. We deduce that the boundary of a set with positive reach, as well as its singular skeleta, are C 2-rectifiable. In case ∂T= 0 we prove also that the curvature measures associated to T satisfy the analogues of the classical variational formulas for curvature integrals. It follows that such formulas are valid for the curvature measures of subsets of space forms.
personal power careers and the development of domestic structure in a small community

The traditional model of domestic development cycles (or family cycles) often proves problematic because it fails to distinguish the various dimensions (e.g., demographic, residential, economic) of the study unit. An alternative model is proposed which, by tracking the power careers of individual men and women, is able to generate the characteristic forms of family and household and patterns of economy and demography through time. It is suggested that this model might prove useful not only in projecting demographic composition but also in predicting political and economic stress points within small communities. [domestic cycle, social power, women's power, community structure, Middle America]
Neutropenic infections in 100 patients with non-Hodgkin's lymphoma or Hodgkin's disease treated with high-dose BEAM chemotherapy and peripheral blood progenitor cell transplant: out-patient treatment is a viable option.

A retrospective analysis was performed on 100 patients with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma (NHL, n = 75) or Hodgkin’s disease (HD, n = 25) who underwent peripheral blood progenitor cell transplant (PBPCT) following high-dose chemotherapy (HDCT) with BCNU, etoposide, cytarabine and melphalan (BEAM) between March 1994 and June 1997. Following PBPCT and until engraftment all patients received oral ciprofloxacin and fluconazole, patients with positive Herpes simplex virus serology received acyclovir and 91 patients received filgrastim. The median days of neutropenia and days to an absolute neutrophil count (ANC) >500/mm3 were 6 and 9, respectively. Febrile neutropenia occurred in 68 patients. Gram-positive bacteremia occurred in 14 patients. No gram-negative infections, invasive fungal infections, intensive care visits or deaths occurred during the period of neutropenia or in the first 30 days following transplant. In multivariate logistic regression the risk of development of any infection was associated only with the duration of neutropenia (P = 0.02) and the risk of bacteremia was associated only with the number of CD34+ cells infused (P = 0.046). Among 49 patients treated in the outpatient setting, 14 (28%) were never admitted. High-dose chemotherapy with BEAM supported by PBPCT, prophylactic antibiotics and filgrastim resulted in a low incidence of infections and no acute mortality. WBC engraftment occurred rapidly allowing for a predictable course during which lengthy hospital stays and amphotericin therapy could be avoided.
The effect of bicarbonate on resuscitation from cardiac arrest

Study objectives: This study attempted to determine the effect of bicarbonate administration on resuscitation in a porcine model of prolonged cardiac arrest. Design: After instrumentation, 26 swine were subjected to ventricular fibrillation for 15 minutes (16 animals) or 20 minutes (ten animals) with no resuscitative efforts. Interventions: Resuscitation attempts with open-chest cardiac massage and epinephrine were used in all animals after the arrest period. The experimental group was given sodium bicarbonate (3 mEq/kg), and the control group received 3% saline (5 mL/kg) at the initiation of cardiac massage. Measurements: Resuscitation success, hemodynamics, and arterial and mixed venous gases were compared in the bicarbonate and hypertonic saline-treated groups. Results: There was no difference in resuscitation rates between bicarbonate and nonbicarbonate-treated swine. After 15 minutes of ventricular fibrillation, six of eight bicarbonate-treated swine were resuscitated successfully compared with five of eight hypertonic saline-treated animals. None of the five bicarbonate-treated or five hypertonic saline-treated swine that underwent 20 minutes of ventricular fibrillation were resuscitated. The arterial and mixed venous pH values were significantly different in the bicarbonate-treated animals from values in the control group. There was no difference in systolic or diastolic blood pressures or myocardial perfusion pressure between the bicarbonate and hypertonic salinetreated animals. Conclusion: Despite correlation of arterial and venous acidemia, the use of sodium bicarbonate did not improve resuscitation from prolonged cardiac arrest.
A Lagrangian relaxation approach to solve the second phase of the exam scheduling problem

Abstract The problem of scheduling final exams at a large university can be viewed as a three phase process. The first phase consists of grouping the exams into sets called exam blocks. The second phase deals with the assignment of exam blocks to exam days and the third phase consists of arranging the exam days and also arranging the blocks within days. In this paper, we present new integer programming formulations for the second phase of the scheduling problem. We present an integer program with a single objective of minimizing the number of students with two or more exams per day. We then present a Lagrangian relaxation based solution procedure to solve this problem. Further, we present a bicriterion integer programming formulation to minimize the number of students with two exams per day and the number of students with three exams per day. Finally, we present some computational experience using randomly generated problems as well as real world data obtained from the State University of New York at Buffalo.
On representation of fracture profiles by fractional integrals of a Wiener process

An enhancement of the crack diffusion model of brittle fracture is proposed. In the model, certain probabilities are evaluated as averages over the set of all virtual crack paths, and the latter are modeled as realization of a Wiener process. However, commonly observed fracture profiles are smoother. In fact, one can show that their fractal dimension is smaller than the value 3/2 for a Wiener process. Accordingly, it is proposed to represent fracture profiles by graphs of fractional integrals of a Wiener process. This allows one to employ additional fractographic information obtained from fracture profiles, e.g. their fractal dimension, in a predictive formalism, evaluating probabilities of failure.
THE HYDROLYSIS OF CHITIN BY CONCENTRATED HYDROCHLORIC ACID, AND THE PREPARATION OF LOW-MOLECULAR-WEIGHT SUBSTRATES FOR LYSOZYME.

The hydrolysis of chitin in solution in strong HCl was studied over a range of acid concentration and temperature. The data suggest that the rate of hydrolysis governed by the structure of the chitin. A simple procedure for the isolation of the oligosaccharides obtained from chitin was developed, for use in the preparation of low-molecular-weight substrates for lysozyme (N-acetylmuramide glycanohydrolase, EC 3.2.1.17). Experiments studying the lysozyme-catalyzed hydrolysis of these oligosaccharides showed a large effect of chain length upon the rate of hydrolysis, and no effect of ionic strength.
Intraportal Lipopolysaccharide Suppresses Pulmonary Antibacterial Defense Mechanisms

Translocation of enteric bacteria or their components (or both) has been postulated to play a role in precipitating sepsis or the systemic inflammatory response syndrome. To simulate the effects of translocation on pulmonary host defenses, lipopolysaccharide was injected into the portal vein of normal rats that were subsequently challenged by aerosol inoculation with Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Injection of LPS into the portal vein resulted in increased serum tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha levels and reduction in lung clearance of P. aeruginosa after aerosol challenge. There were corresponding reductions in alveolar neutrophil recruitment, diminished alveolar macrophage phagocytosis and superoxide anion (O2-) production, and diminished lung TNF recovered by bronchoalveolar lavage. Furthermore, prior intravenous injection of recombinant TNF-alpha reproduced the defective bacterial clearance, the altered recruitment of airspace neutrophils, and the defective alveolar macrophage phagocytosis. Thus, systemic TNF-alpha is important in altering pulmonary defenses, and this work supports the concept that bacterial translocation may adversely affect host defenses in distant organs.
Enemies of the State: The Interdependence of Institutional Forms and the Ecology of the Kibbutz, 1910–1997

The kibbutz, once lauded as an exemplar of the Utopian organization, has been criticized recently as yet another illustration that socialist arrangements are inferior to capitalist ones. In this pa...
Minimal plate design for singular regions

Abstract A method for solving the non-linear problem of minimal volume design of sandwich plates obeying the Mises criterion is presented for the class of plates for which the orientation of the principal directions depends solely upon the position of the stress point on the yield surface. The principal bending coordinates, the yield moment, and the deflection rate at plastic collapse for the optimum design are determined in their most general form. An example is presented for a plate supported over two edges but free on its remaining edge.
Characterization of the Phytochelatin Synthase of Schistosoma mansoni

Treatment for schistosomiasis, which is responsible for more than 280,000 deaths annually, depends exclusively on the use of praziquantel. Millions of people are treated annually with praziquantel and drug resistant parasites are likely to evolve. In order to identify novel drug targets the Schistosoma mansoni sequence databases were queried for proteins involved in glutathione metabolism. One potential target identified was phytochelatin synthase (PCS). Phytochelatins are oligopeptides synthesized enzymatically from glutathione by PCS that sequester toxic heavy metals in many organisms. However, humans do not have a PCS gene and do not synthesize phytochelatins. In this study we have characterized the PCS of S. mansoni (SmPCS). The conserved catalytic triad of cysteine-histidine-aspartate found in PCS proteins and cysteine proteases is also found in SmPCS, as are several cysteine residues thought to be involved in heavy metal binding and enzyme activation. The SmPCS open reading frame is considerably extended at both the N- and C-termini compared to PCS from other organisms. Multiple PCS transcripts are produced from the single encoded gene by alternative splicing, resulting in both mitochondrial and cytoplasmic protein variants. Expression of SmPCS in yeast increased cadmium tolerance from less than 50 µM to more than 1,000 µM. We confirmed the function of SmPCS by identifying PCs in yeast cell extracts using HPLC-mass spectrometry. SmPCS was found to be expressed in all mammalian stages of worm development investigated. Increases in SmPCS expression were seen in ex vivo worms cultured in the presence of iron, copper, cadmium, or zinc. Collectively, these results indicate that SmPCS plays an important role in schistosome response to heavy metals and that PCS is a potential drug target for schistosomiasis treatment. This is the first characterization of a PCS from a parasitic organism.
Surgical Management of Lumbosacral Spinal Epidural Abscesses

Infections involving the epidural space of the spinal canal are rare, yet potentially devastating entities. The incidence of spontaneous epidural abscesses ranges from 0.2 to 1.3 per 10,000 hospital admissions, most commonly affecting those who are immunosuppressed. The overall incidence of epidural abscesses has been found to be on the rise in recent years, due in part to the overall aging of the population, increasing medical use of potent immunosuppressants, increasing numbers of interventional procedures involving the spinal column, and increasing rates of intravenous drug abuse. The cervical spine is affected in approximately 20% of spinal epidural abscesses, and is the least commonly affected vertebral region. In this article we review the clinical presentation and surgical management of epidural abscesses involving the cervical spine.
EFFECTS OF SURFACE ANISOTROPY ON HYSTERESIS IN FINE MAGNETIC PARTICLES

We solve numerically the dissipative Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert equations to consider hysteresis in fine magnetic particles. Finite-size effects are studied for two models with uniaxial anisotropy---bulk random axis and surface anisotropy only. It is demonstrated that the latter model introduces considerable effects for small enough particles when the coupling to the anisotropy is equal or greater than the coupling to the isotropic Heisenberg exchange. We show that some features of magnetization reversal are associated with spins at the surface of fine particles.
A compact integrated 100 GS/s sampling module for UWB see through wall radar with fast refresh rate for dynamic real time imaging

This paper presents the development of a compact integrated sampling module for Ultra Wideband (UWB) see through wall radar. The development of this radar is geared towards see through wall imaging and micro-Doppler detection of any human motions. The radar transmits a UWB impulse signal for high rang resolution and utilizes 8 Vivaldi antenna array as receive array to achieve fine azimuth resolution. UWB data acquisition and high system data rate are two of the main challenges in designing UWB radar. By using equivalent time sampling method, a data acquisition solution is proposed and a compact module is implemented upon integrating a dual channel ADC chip and a Xilinx FPGA in one circuit board. See through wall experiments in a real scenario have been carried out to demonstrate the performance of this compact sampling module. The module supports two equivalent time sampling channels with maximal 100GS/s sample rate. It meets system update data rate requirement for Doppler processing, meanwhile it still can scan 8 receiver antennas and gives out 2D image of targets behind the wall.
Electromigration&#8212;A brief survey and some recent results

Recently, electromigration has been identified as a potential wear-out failure mode for semiconductor devices employing metal film conductors of inadequate cross-sectional area. A brief survey of electromigration indicates that although the effect has been known for several decades, a great deal of the processes involved is still unknown, especially for complex metals and solute ions. Earlier design equations are improved to account for conductor film cross-sectional area as well as film structure, film temperature, and current density. Design curves are presented which permit the construction of high reliability "infinite life" aluminum conductors for specific conditions of maximum current and temperature stress expected in use. It is also shown that positive gradients, in terms of electron flow, of temperature, current density, or ion diffusion coefficient foreshorten conductor life because they present regions where vacancies condense to form voids.
Feeding habits and food resources of filter-feeding trichoptera in a regulated mountain stream

A year-round study was conducted to examine feeding habits and food resources of the filter-feeding Trichoptera Arctopsyche grandis and Brachycentrus occidentalis along a regulated mountain stream gradient. There was a well defined longitudinal species replacement with A. grandis reaching maximum densities 2.3 kilometers below the impoundment, and concomitant with its decline downstream was an increase in B. occidentalis. At all sampling sites the 70%, by areal estimate on microscope slides), whereas the 75–250 µm and > 250 µm seston fractions were predominantly composed of detritus (> 80 %). B. occidentalis larvae consumed primarily detritus and diatoms (> 70 % of the diet), while A. grandis ingested a variety of materials with animals, detritus and/or filamentous algae often constituting > 80% of the diet. Animal material was over-represented in the diets of both species when compared with amounts in the seston. Feeding habits provided partial explanations for the distinct longitudinal distribution patterns of filter-feeding Trichoptera observed in the regulated river.
Seismicity, seismic reflection, gravity, and geology of the central Virginia seismic zone: Part 3. Gravity

Bouguer gravity anomalies at 1,870 locations on the central Piedmont of Virginia from 37°37′N to 37°52′N and 77°44′W to 78°23′W display patterns of variation produced by upper-crustal density contrasts and thickening of the crust in a west-northwest direction. No other deep sources are evident. Upper-crustal density contrasts are associated with rock units known from geologic mapping. The subsurface distribution of these rock units, interpreted from seismic-reflection data, was confirmed by measured variations in gravity. A two-dimensional model analysis indicates the following average in situ density values for the principal formations: Arvonia Formation, 2.77 gm/cc; Columbia Granite, 2.75 gm/cc (tonalite) and 2.73 gm/cc (pegmatite); Chopawamsic volcanics, 2.77 gm/cc (felsic units) and 2.79 gm/cc (malic units); Catoctin/Lynchburg/Evington, 2.82 gm/cc; Maidens Gneiss, 2.78 gm/cc; and Grenville Basement, 2.71 gm/cc. Gravity anomalies are consistent with the existence of a major thrust fault, at depths between 9 km and 16 km, that probably separates Grenville Basement rocks from younger, Catoctin/Lynchburg rocks. These anomalies confirm that the slight eastward dip of this thrust fault beneath the western part of the area increases significantly east of 78°05′W.
Lake Superior Rift basins

Sedimentary basins of late Precambrian age have been identified beneath Lake Superior using seismic reflection profiles leased by Argonne National Laboratory, Argonne, Ill., from Grant Norpac, Inc. [McGinnis et al., 1989]. These data, along with 650 km of Great Lakes International Multidisciplinary Program for Crustal Evolution (GLIMPCE) profiles [Behrendt et al., 1988], are being used to develop an understanding of failed rift processes, from initial plate separation, through basin evolution, to final quiescence.
The Cancer Transition in Japan since 1951

The overall trend of cancer mortality in Japan has been decreasing since the 1960s (age-standardized death rates for ages 30-69), though trends differ enormously among various forms of the disease. Cancer mortality was heavily influenced by Japanese postwar economic recovery, which led to improved living conditions and better control of infectious agents known to cause some common forms of cancer (stomach, cervical). However, Japanese wealth and development have also been associated with risky personal behaviors (smoking, drinking) and other conditions, leading to increases in cancers with no known or else very weak links to infection. This shift away from infectious and toward non-infectious causes of prevalent forms of cancers is called the "cancer transition," by analogy to Omran's "epidemiologic transition." We suggest that the cancer transition described here in the case of Japan must be a part of efforts to revise and update the epidemiologic transition, which should incorporate new knowledge about the role of infection in chronic disease morbidity and mortality.
Racism and White Counselor Training: Influence of White Racial Identity Theory and Research.

White counselors currently and in the future are projected to constitute the majority of counseling practitioners. In a racist and culturally diverse society, White counseling students need to learn to effectively counsel racially diverse clients. In this article, the inclusion of awareness, knowledge, and skills around racism and racial identity development is discussed as critical to counselor training programs with White counseling students. Intentional and strategic efforts to assist White counseling students recognize their personal racial identity and privileges of racism are presented as tools to assist the counseling profession to reduce the perpetuation of racist attitudes and racism.
Varicose veins: hooks, clamps, and suction. Application of new techniques to enhance varicose vein surgery.

Surgical principles that guided varicose vein surgery for nearly 75 years have been time honored and taught to generations of surgeons. Each of these principles has been challenged successfully, and, as a result, varicose vein surgery has changed markedly. The fundamental principle of totally removing varicose clusters from the circulation remains firmly established. However, methods of accomplishing this have changed and continue to change. Hook phlebectomy and clamp phlebectomy have replaced open dissection and tributary ligation. The place of tumescent anesthesia, transilluminated-powered phlebectomy, and sclerotherapy remain unsettled. However, there now are a number of alternatives in planning patient care.
Computer aided derivation of equations for composite mechanics problems and finite element analyses

Explicit equations are derived for analysis of multilayered fiber composites and for finite element analyses. The equations are obtained using a symbolic program and tested for various composite properties as well as for different fiber orientations. In order to analyze multilayered fiber composite structures, a variable thickness finite element is formulated. Examples of an airfoil geometry, simulated in a form of a cantilevered beam with various fiber orientations are studied.
Determination of the muscarinic agent [(3-(3-1-butylthio)-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane], in rat, rabbit, and monkey plasma, using high-performance liquid chromatography in conjunction with tandem mass spectrometry

A method for determining a selective muscarinic agent, LY297802 (compound I), [(3-(3-1-butylthio)-1,2,5-thiadiazol-4-yl)-1-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octane], indicated in the treatment of pain, in rat, rabbit, and monkey plasma is described. The analytes, including an internal standard, were extracted from plasma at basic pH with hexane. The organic fraction was evaporated to dryness and the residue reconstituted with mobile phase. The analytes were detected utilizing HPLC in conjunction with electrospray (ES) tandem mass spectrometry (MS-MS). The limit of quantitation was 0.25 ng/ml, and the response was linear to at least 100 ng/ml.