cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Current Guideline-Based Preoperative Evaluation Provides the Best Management of Patients Undergoing Noncardiac Surgery

This report will review the 2007 revision of the American College of Cardiology (ACC)/American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines on perioperative cardiovascular evaluation and care for noncardiac surgery,1 examine the rationale of the recommendations put forth, and attempt to clarify certain recommendations in the context of optimal patient care. Response by Brett p 3144 The volume of noncardiac surgery has progressively increased over the past 2 decades2 to levels exceeding prior predictions,3 with elderly patients undergoing at least 4 million major noncardiac operations annually.4 Given the high prevalence of coronary heart disease (CHD), it is not surprising that cardiac complications are a major cause of perioperative morbidity and mortality. Cardiac complications occur in 1% to 5% of unselected patients undergoing vascular surgery.3,5 Of the 27 million patients undergoing anesthesia annually, 50 000 suffer a perioperative myocardial infarction (MI).6 The recently published universal definition of MI7 has broadened the definition of MI and will likely result in a further increase of perioperatively diagnosed MIs and affect long-term management and prognosis.8 As a result, consultations for preoperative evaluation and assistance in perioperative management are frequently requested of cardiologists, internists, and generalists by surgeons and anesthesiologists. The guidelines emphasize that the consultant should not only offer opinions regarding the operative risk and advice on perioperative management but should use this opportunity to recommend treatments that will affect long-term patient outcomes. This report will focus entirely on preoperative risk assessment and management of patients with known or potential CHD, the major cause of perioperative cardiac morbidity and mortality. Although valvular disease, cardiomyopathy, and other forms of heart disease contribute to surgical morbidity and mortality and warrant consideration in preoperative risk determination, they will not be addressed because of space constraints. Over the past 25 years, a number …
Simultaneous optimization of propeller–hull systems to minimize lifetime fuel consumption

Abstract In traditional naval architecture design methodologies optimization of the hull and propeller are done in two separate phases. This sequential approach can lead to designs that have sub-optimal fuel consumption and, thus, higher operational costs. This work presents a method to optimize the propeller–hull system simultaneously in order to design a vessel to have minimal fuel consumption. The optimization uses a probabilistic mission profile, propeller–hull interaction, and engine information to determine the coupled system with minimum fuel cost over its operational life. The design approach is tested on a KCS SIMMAN container ship using B-series propeller data and is shown to reduce fuel consumption compared to an optimized traditional design approach.
The increased gonial angle in micrognathism

Abstract 1. 1. The normal mandible has an angle of about 125 degrees between the ramus and the body. 2. 2. Many cases of moderate micrognathism show this angle to be increased as much as 150 degrees. Associated with this increase is a constant esthetic deformity of an excessive superior-inferior length giving the appearance of a “lantern jaw.” 3. 3. Surgical removal of the inferior border of the mandible shortened the superior-inferior length of the face. The amount removed was determined beforehand by taking x-rays with the Broadbent technique. 4. 4. Polyethylene implant onlays to the mandible simplified the operation and gave critical end results.
New concepts on formation of Brunn's nests and cysts in urinary tract mucosa.

Abstract To the present time, Brunn's nests have been conceived as being the result of pinching off of epithelial nests from urothelial buds. Mucosal cysts were considered to originate from Brunn's nests. In the present study, it was observed that under the influence of a strong stimulus of repair, the urothelial cells in the proximity of the focus of repair undergo numerous mitoses. The underlying connective tissue becomes loose, isolated cells of the lining urothelium “drop off” into the lamina propria in which they migrate as in a culture medium. There they multiply and form nests of cells at a distance from the lining urothelium. These migrating cells frequently have an early tendency to become arranged into cysts. Thus, during this process of repair urothelial cells behave temporarily as malignant cells.
Some unusual features of the Marfan syndrome. Report of four cases.

Four cases of the Marfan syndrome with involvement of the skeletal and cardiovascular systems are reported. In the first two cases with clinical evidence of aortic regurgitation the chest roentgenograms showed relatively normal heart silhouettes while retrograde aortograms revealed large aortic aneurysms in the intrapericardial portion of the aorta involving the sinuses of Valsalva and the aortic ring. Case 1 had, in addition, a carotid body tumor, which was surgically removed. The remaining two cases had dissecting aneurysms of the aorta. Case 3 died and necropsy showed involvement of many systems and several arteries other than the aorta (carotid, subclavian, renal, femoral, splenic, and pulmonary arteries). Case 4 was surgically treated and showed marked improvement. Problems related to etiology, diagnosis, pathology, and treatment are discussed. It is emphasized that the existence of a large aneurysm of the intrapericardiac portion of the aorta may not be detectable without aortography.
Influence Of Self-Focusing On Bulk Laser-Induced Damage

Summary The key conclusions of this work are that P2 is the critical power of importance in laser- induced damage experiments; equation (5) can be used to correct for self- focusing if P < 0.25 P2, otherwise the full numerical solution to the nonlinear wave equation must be used, and beam distortion and polarization dependence of laser- induced breakdowncan be used to avoid experimental conditions for which self - focusing dominates the results.The data reviewed in the last section of this paper is but a small sample of the laser- induced breakdown measurementsavailable in the literature. We have examined a few specific examples for the purpose of illustrating the importance ofusing P2 instead of Pl in scaling breakdown results of self - focusing effects. It is important to note in Marburger's landmark review paper [2] he noted that Akhmanov's [24] constant shape approximation (which uses Pl and is the basisof the Zverev and Pashkov procedure) p )gives correct results only if Pl is replaced with P2 and P <
Freezing response of white bass (Morone chrysops) sperm cells.

Abstract The water transport response during freezing of sperm cells of Morone chrysops (white bass, WB) was obtained using a shape-independent differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) technique. Sperm cell suspensions were frozen at a cooling rate of 20 °C/min in two different media: (1) without cryoprotective agents (CPAs), or (2) with 5% (v/v) dimethyl sulfoxide (Me 2 SO). For calculations, the sperm cell was modeled as a cylinder of length 24.8 μm and diameter of 0.305 μm, while the osmotically inactive cell volume ( V b ) was assumed to be 0.6 V o , where V o was the isotonic or the initial cell volume. By fitting a model of water transport to the experimentally determined water transport data, the best fit membrane permeability parameters (reference membrane permeability to water, L pg or L pg [ cpa ] and the activation energy, E Lp or E Lp [ cpa ]) were determined, and ranged from L pg = 0.51–1.7 × 10 −15 m 3 /Ns (0.003–0.01 μm/min-atm), and E Lp = 83.6–131.3 kJ/mol (20.0–31.4 kcal/mol). The parameters obtained in this study suggest that the optimal rate of cooling for M. chrysops sperm cells is ∼22 °C/min, a value that compares closely with experimentally determined optimal rates of cooling (∼16 °C/min).
The ultrastructure of the compound eye of a mosquito Aedes aegypti L

Each ommatidium in the mosquito compound eye consists of a dioptric apparatus and layer of retinula cells. The dioptric apparatus includes a cuticular cornea, a biconvex lens, and four cone cells. The cone cells have processes which extend into the receptor layer and terminate below the rhabdom as pigment-filled sacs. Two primary pigment cells and an undetermined number of secondary pigment cells surround the dioptric apparatus. In the receptor layer eight retinula cells are found in each ommatidium. Six are peripherally arranged around a central one, whereas the remaining retinula cell is sandwiched between and somewhat external to two of the peripheral retinula cells. Each of the eight retinula cells possesses a well developed rhabdomere, along with the usual array of other intracellular organelles characteristic of arthropod photoreceptor cells.
Nanoshell-mediated photothermal therapy improves survival in a murine glioma model

We are developing a novel treatment for high-grade gliomas using near infrared-absorbing silica–gold nanoshells that are thermally activated upon exposure to a near infrared laser, thereby irreversibly damaging cancerous cells. The goal of this work was to determine the efficacy of nanoshell-mediated photothermal therapy in vivo in murine xenograft models. Tumors were induced in male IcrTac:ICR-PrkdcSCID mice by subcutaneous implantation of Firefly Luciferase-labeled U373 human glioma cells and biodistribution and survival studies were performed. To evaluate nanoparticle biodistribution, nanoshells were delivered intravenously to tumor-bearing mice and after 6, 24, or 48 h the tumor, liver, spleen, brain, muscle, and blood were assessed for gold content by inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) and histology. Nanoshell concentrations in the tumor increased for the first 24 h and stabilized thereafter. Treatment efficacy was evaluated by delivering saline or nanoshells intravenously and externally irradiating tumors with a near infrared laser 24 h post-injection. Success of treatment was assessed by monitoring tumor size, tumor luminescence, and survival time of the mice following laser irradiation. There was a significant improvement in survival for the nanoshell treatment group versus the control (P < 0.02) and 57% of the mice in the nanoshell treatment group remained tumor free at the end of the 90-day study period. By comparison, none of the mice in the control group survived beyond 24 days and mean survival was only 13.3 days. The results of these studies suggest that nanoshell-mediated photothermal therapy represents a promising novel treatment strategy for malignant glioma.
An improved current-comparator-based power standard at 120 V/5 A, 50 Hz – 60 Hz, with an uncertainty of 2.5 µW/VA (k = 1)

An improved power standard derived from a current comparator power bridge for calibrating active/reactive power and energy meters under sinusoidal conditions is described. Measurements can be made at any power factor from zero lag through unity to zero lead, positive or negative power, at 120 V, 5 A, and 50 or 60 Hz. The improved power standard has an estimated basic uncertainty of 2.5 µW/VA at k = 1.
The effect of repeated withdrawal episodes on subsequent withdrawal severity in ethanol-treated rats.

Abstract Male rats were given ethanol via an intragastric catheter (8.0–11.0 g/kg per day) for either 8 weeks daily or for four 2-week periods with a 2-week period of no drug treatment intervening between each period of ethanol administration (binge). Older rats were administered ethanol for 2 weeks, to assess the effects of age on ethanol withdrawal as age can alter an animal's sensitivity to ethanol. The presence of physical dependence during withdrawal was assessed on an open field test. Rats that experienced repeated episodes of withdrawal (binge) showed more severe withdrawal signs in successive withdrawal episodes. Older animals showed more severe signs of withdrawal than younger animals after 2 weeks of ethanol treatment. The results of this study lend support to the hypothesis that the experience of withdrawal from ethanol can alter an animal's subsequent response to the drug. Aging appeared to contribute to this effect, but further work is needed to delineate its role.
Teaching the philosophy of geography

Abstract There are important links between geography and philosophy which become obscured when we think of philosophy only in terms of the highly systematic and technical issues which professional philosophers address. I argue that the best procedure for teaching the philosophy of geography is to show how philosophical issues arise from geographical assumptions, concepts, and problems and not vice versa; and I give an example by exploring some of the philosophical assumptions we make in our normally accepted practice in locating things in space and determining their relationships.
Statistical mechanics of a gas-fluidized particle

Characterization of the microscopic fluctuations in systems that are far from equilibrium is crucial for understanding the macroscopic response. One approach is to use an 'effective temperature'--such a quantity has been invoked for chaotic fluids, spin glasses, glasses and colloids, as well as non-thermal systems such as flowing granular materials and foams. We therefore ask to what extent the concept of effective temperature is valid. Here we investigate this question experimentally in a simple system consisting of a sphere placed on a fine screen in an upward flow of gas; the sphere rolls because of the turbulence it generates in the gas stream. In contrast to many-particle systems, in which it is difficult to measure and predict fluctuations, our system has no particle-particle interactions and its dynamics can be captured fully by video imaging. Surprisingly, we find that the sphere behaves exactly like a harmonically bound brownian particle. The random driving force and frequency-dependent drag satisfy the fluctuation-dissipation relation, a cornerstone of statistical mechanics. The statistical mechanics of near-equilibrium systems is therefore unexpectedly useful for studying at least some classes of systems that are driven far from equilibrium.
Kinetics of oxidation and comproportionation reactions involving an oxammonium ion, benzyl alcohol and methyltrioxorhenium(VII)

The reactions of 4-hydroxy-2,2,6,6-tetramethylpiperidinium N-oxide, an oxammonium ion abbreviated R2NO+, have been studied. The previously unreported triflate salt was used in this study because the anions of the usual chloride and bromide salts can themselves be oxidized. Reactions between R2NO+ and alcohols produce ketones and aldehydes; the rate constant for PhCH2OH is 4.4 × 10−3 L mol−1 s−1 in acetonitrile at 298 K. The immediate product is the hydroxylamine, R2NOH, but its further comproportionation reaction with R2NO+ yields the stable piperidinyl oxyl radical, R2NO·. The rate constant of this reaction is 1.78 × 103 L mol−1 s−1 at 298 K. The possibility of using R2NO+ and MTO as co-catalysts for the oxidation of alcohols was explored, but the competitive rates are such that the resultant is not particularly attractive. © 1999 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. Int J Chem Kinet 31: 381–385, 1999
Effects of thrombospondin purified by heparin affinity or ion-exchange chromatography on the alternative complement pathway

Thrombospondin (TSP), a platelet glycoprotein, was purified from platelet supernatants applied sequentially to Sepharose 4B and heparin-agarose affinity columns. This TSP inhibited alternative pathway activity in serum as assessed by lysis of rabbit erythrocytes and contained bound heparin, a substance which is known to inhibit the alternative pathway. TSP purified by anion exchange chromatography did not contain heparin and was not inhibitory. Chromatography of this TSP over a heparin-agarose affinity column resulted in TSP which contained heparin and inhibited the alternative pathway. Purification of TSP by the standard technique of heparin affinity chromatography results in preparations which are contaminated with heparin.
Role of Particle Size and Soil Type in Toxicity of Silver Nanoparticles to Earthworms

Silver nanoparticles (NPs) are an emerging contaminant of concern due to their increased use. The earthworm Eisenia fetida was exposed to a range of concentrations of AgNO 3 and two polyvinylpyrolidone coated Ag NPs with different particle size distributions. They were exposed in two different soils: a naturally occurring sandy loam and a standardized artificial soil. The AgNO 3 significantly reduced E. fetida growth and reproduction at 7.41 ± 0.01 mg kg ―1 Ag in the sandy loam but only reproduction was affected at concentrations of 94.1 ± 3.2 mg kg ―1 in the artificial soil. In the artificial soil, significant (α = 0.05) reproductive toxicity was only observed in organisms exposed to the Ag NPs at concentrations approximately eight times higher than those at which the effects from ionic Ag were observed. Eisenia fetida exposed to either AgNO 3 or Ag NPs in the sandy loam accumulated significantly (α = 0.05) higher concentrations of Ag than those exposed in the artificial soil and had higher bioaccumulation factors. Earthworms exposed to AgNO 3 also accumulated significantly higher concentrations of Ag than those exposed to Ag NPs. No differences in toxicity were observed between the two size distributions. Extended x-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy analysis of the soils indicated that the Ag was approximately 10 to 17% Ag(I), suggesting that Ag ions may be responsible for effects on growth and development caused by exposure to Ag NPs. Our results also suggest that soil type is a more important determinant of Ag accumulation from Ag NPs than particle size.
Chronic tissue response to carboxymethyl cellulose based dissolvable insertion needle for ultra-small neural probes.

Abstract Implantable neural electrodes must drastically improve chronic recording stability before they can be translated into long-term human clinical prosthetics. Previous studies suggest that sub-cellular sized and mechanically compliant probes may result in improved tissue integration and recording longevity. However, currently these design features are restricted by the opposing mechanical requirements needed for minimally damaging insertions. We designed a non-cytotoxic, carboxymethylcellulose (CMC) based dissolvable delivery vehicle (shuttle) to provide the mechanical support for insertion of ultra-small, ultra-compliant microfabricated neural probes. Stiff CMC-based shuttles rapidly soften immediately after being placed ∼1 mm above an open craniotomy as they absorb vapors from the brain. To address this, we developed a sophisticated targeting, high speed insertion (∼80 mm/s), and release system to implant these shuttles. After implantation, the goal is for the shuttle to dissolve away leaving only the electrodes behind. Here we show the histology of chronically implanted shuttles of large (300 μm × 125 μm) and small (100 μm × 125 μm) size at discrete time points over 12 weeks. Early time points show the CMC shuttle expanded after insertion as it absorbed moisture from the brain and slowly dissolved. At later time points neuronal cell bodies populate regions within the original shuttle tract. The large CMC shuttles show that the CMC expansion can cause extended secondary damage. On the other hand, the smaller CMC shuttles show limited secondary damage, wound closure by 4 weeks, absence of activated microglia at 12 weeks, as well as evidence suggesting neural regeneration at the implant site. This shuttle, therefore, shows great promise facilitating the implantation of nontraditional ultra-small, and ultra-compliant probes.
Calculations of the electronic structure of disordered transition metal dihydrides

Employing the tight binding coherent potential approximation method, we investigated the electronic structure of the substitutionally disordered transition metal dihydride series Ti1-yNbyHx, Ti1-yVyHx (0 ⩽ y ⩽ 1; 1.5 ⩽ x ⩽ 2.0). These alloys contain disorder on both the metal and hydrogen sublattices. We found that trends in the region of the Fermi level display rigid band-like characteristics for the substitution of niobium or vanadium for titanium, and for the hydrogen disorder as well. The calculations are compared with electronic specific heat measurements and predictions based on nuclear magnetic resonance experiments.
Spanish colonial and indigenous platinum: a historical account of technology and fabrication

The pre-Columbian Indians of Ecuador and Colombia were the first people to make use of native platinum. The dating of this metallurgy is difficult but it probably goes back to the early centuries Be and continues at least until ad 800. The Indians made use of sintering in the production of their platinum-gold alloys, some of which are plated with platinum over gold by the process of diffusion bonding of small platinum grains to the gold surface. This pre-Hispanic platinum metallurgy has no parallel in the Old World, where platinum remained unknown and unused in any quantity until the scientists of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries began to investigate its properties. The Spanish platinum industry and the attempts of French and Spanish scientists to make use of the metal are briefly discussed.
Structured Data Access Mechanisms for a Decoupled Computer Architecture

Decoupled computer architectures attempt to achieve superscalar performance by exploiting the fine-grain parallelism between the data access and data execute tasks of a computer program. In this paper, we examine the major bottlenecks in the performance of decoupled architectures. These consist of the load unbalance between the access and execute processors, the limited access processor's instruction issue rate, and the memory bandwidth. We introduce a decoupled architecture that (1) eliminates the access processor's instruction issue bottleneck by reducing the number of data access instructions, and (2) reduces the effects of the memory bandwidth by allowing better data prefetching. The architecture employs special data access mechanisms that take advantage of the regularity of structure data's storage.
Kinetics of Layer Growth and Multiphase Diffusion in Ion-Nitrided Titanium

Pure titanium specimens were ion nitrided in a nitrogen plasma in the temperature range of 800 ‡C to 1080 ‡C at various nitrogen partial pressures. During ion nitriding, titanium nitrides TiN and Tiin2N and nitrogen solid solution layers (α and Β) were formed consistent with the equilibrium phase diagram. The kinetics of growth of these layers were studied as a function temperature and ion-nitriding parameters. An analytical diffusion model for multiphase diffusion was used to calculate the diffusion coefficients of nitrogen in the phases of the Ti-TiN system from layer growth experiments. Using the layer growth data, the temperature dependence of nitrogen diffusion in TiN (δ), Ti2N (e), and α titanium was found to obey the following relations: Dinδ=4.4±1.62 × 10su-5 exp-36,500±1400/RT Dine=2.7±1.05 ×10su-3 exp-35,760±2500/RT Dinα=0.96±0.08 × exp-51,280-505/RT
Error analysis of camera movements in stereo vehicle tracking systems

In an outdoor navigational environment, cameras of an autonomous vehicle or robot are subjected to uncontrollable movements relative to the vehicle or robot body. In this paper, the effect of such camera movements in stereo vision-based vehicle tracking systems is analyzed. In other words, it is shown how the computation of the range and heading angle of a lead vehicle is affected as a result of camera movements. The parameter space of the stereo system is divided into a controllable subspace consisting of the baseline and an uncontrollable subspace consisting of relative camera movements and the coordinates of a tracked point on the lead vehicle. The optimal baseline value with respect to the uncontrollable subspace is found by employing the mini-max and minimum mean-squared error estimators. The mini-max estimator is used to obtain the worst case performance while the minimum mean-squared estimator is used to obtain the average performance. Based on this analysis, it is shown how an optimal imaging geometry for a stereo vision-based vehicle tracking system can be designed in order to have the least amount of range and heading angle errors.
Kaersutites, suboceanic low-velocity zone, and the origin of mid-oceanic ridge basalts

The isotopic composition of Sr and the abundances of K, Rb, Sr, and Ba in seven kaersutite samples found in association with peridotite xenoliths from three different regions are reported here. The 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios show a narrow range of 0.7027 to 0.7030 unrelated to the host basalts but comparable to that exhibited by mid-oceanic ridge basalts. From textural and geochemical considerations, we infer that the kaersutites were introduced as hydrous magmas into the lithosphere and that they occur as accidental inclusions in alkalic basalts. We suggest that the hydrous, trace-element–rich phase in the mantle needed to explain certain trace-element characteristics as well as the water content of mid-oceanic ridge basalt is kaersutitic amphibole. We propose a model in which the low-velocity zone is considered to be the region where a small volume of hydrous melt of kaersutitic composition is produced because of the instability of amphibole in a spinel Iherzolite suboceanic lithosphere. The K/Rb, Ba/Sr, and 87 Sr/ 86 Sr ratios of this melt are comparable to those of the mid-oceanic ridge basalts, but the trace-element abundances are high as found in the kaersutite samples analyzed here. We propose that during asthenospheric upwelling at the mid-oceanic ridge, liquids produced by large degrees of partial melting of the anhydrous Iherzolite will mix with the kaersutitic melts of the low-velocity zone. The trace-element characteristics and the Sr-isotope composition of the mid-oceanic ridge basalts reflect this mixing process.
Antecedents of Child Abuse Single and Multiple Factor Models

An integrative framework is provided for interpretation of the wide array of findings in the child abuse literature. This multiple aetiology model has implications for treatment and prevention, which would provide programmes which are far more comprehensive than those inspired by a single aetiology approach. The role of the school psychologist as a critical participant in identification and treatment of'at risk' families is discussed.
DOPAMINE DISORDER IN DUODENAL ULCERATION

Cysteamine-induced duodenal ulcers in rats were prevented by the dopamine agonists bromocriptine, lergotrile, and apomorphine, whereas both the severity of duodenal ulcers and the mortality among cysteamine-treated rats were raised by the dopamine receptor antagonist, haloperiodol. Bromocriptine and lergotrile greatly reduced gastric-acid output in cysteamine-treated rats. A review of the literature shows a high incidence of duodenal ulcers in patients with Parkinson's disease (associated with dopamine deficiency) and a low occurrence in schizophrenics (associated with dopamine excess and/or hyperactivity). Thus, changes in peripheral and/or central dopamine concentrations and/or receptor activity may have a role in the pathogenesis of duodenal ulceration.
Suicide and self-injury among children and youth with chronic health conditions.

OBJECTIVE: Chronic conditions may be associated with suicide risk. This study aimed to specify the extent to which youth chronic conditions are at risk for suicidality and self-harm. METHODS: Logistic regression was used to estimate odds of self-harm, suicidal ideation, and suicide attempts in 10- to 19-year-olds with and without chronic physical and/or mental health conditions. RESULTS: Independent of race, socioeconomic status, absent parent, special education status, substance use, and emotional distress, youth with co-occurring chronic physical and mental conditions (n = 4099) had significantly higher odds of self-harm (odds ratio [OR]: 2.5 [99% confidence interval (CI): 2.3–2.8), suicidal ideation (OR: 2.5 [99% CI: 2.3–2.8), and suicide attempts (OR: 3.5 [99% CI: 3.1–3.9]) than healthy peers (n = 106 967), as did those with chronic mental conditions alone (n = 8752). Youth with chronic physical conditions alone (n = 12 554) were at slightly elevated risk for all 3 outcomes. Findings were similar among male and female youth, with a risk gradient by grade. CONCLUSIONS: Chronic physical conditions are associated with a slightly elevated risk for self-harm, suicidal thinking, and attempted suicide; chronic mental conditions are associated with an increased risk for all 3 outcomes. Co-occurring chronic physical and mental conditions are associated with an increased risk for self-harm and suicidal ideation that is similar to the risk in chronic mental conditions and with an attempted suicide risk in excess of that predicted by the chronic mental health conditions alone. Preventive interventions for these youth should be developed and evaluated.
Regularization uncertainty in density models estimated from normal mode data

Normal mode structure coecients provide im- portant constraints on the long-wavelength component of 3-D mantle density () structure, but inversions for inde- pendent models of vs, vp ,a nd using normal mode data alone are ill-posed even at long wavelengths. Ill-posed in- versions typically are regularized by imposing ap riorias- sumptions on the set of estimated models, but such regular- ization can introduce important uncertainties in the models. We characterize these uncertainties for models estimated from current normal mode data using a set of 512 dierent \regularization schemes". These schemes sample a variety of plausible ap rioriassumptions about the nature and dis- tribution of mantle heterogeneity by specifying allowable vs, vp,, and boundary topography structures. The estimated models are fairly robust with respect to prior constraints on vs, vp, and topography. However, the character and ampli- tude of the estimated models depend strongly on how is allowed to decorrelate fromvs, and we display several models in which and vs decorrelate in very dierent depth inter- vals. Because these models all result from plausible prior constraints and t the data equally and acceptably well, inversions of current normal mode data cannot robustly lo- cate the decorrelation of from vs. It remains possible that reliable models may be obtained in the future as more nor- mal mode measurements are introduced to break the strong tradeos between upper and lower mantle structures that characterize current inversions.
Heuristic Model Linking Contextual Processes to Self-Management in African American Adults With Type 2 Diabetes

PURPOSEThis article examines the influence of various environmental factors on the diabetes self-care practices of African American adults with type 2 diabetes.METHODSA heuristic model was developed that considers how community barriers and supports, availability and use of insurance, diabetes education, medical provider-patient relationships, extended family processes, and psychological functioning may indirectly affect metabolic control through the patient's ability to regulate diabetes.RESULTSThe proposed model offers a framework to demonstrate the complexity of diabetes management that may be unique to the African American experience.CONCLUSIONSA comprehensive view of the environmental context will lead to new and more effective approaches in diabetes education and counseling for African American adults with type 2 diabetes.
Microsystems for the Capture of Low-Abundance Cells

Efficient selection and enumeration of low-abundance biological cells are highly important in a variety of applications. For example, the clinical utility of circulating tumor cells (CTCs) in peripheral blood is recognized as a viable biomarker for the management of various cancers, in which the clinically relevant number of CTCs per 7.5 ml of blood is two to five. Although there are several methods for isolating rare cells from a variety of heterogeneous samples, such as immunomagnetic-assisted cell sorting and fluorescence-activated cell sorting, they are fraught with challenges. Microsystem-based technologies are providing new opportunities for selecting and isolating rare cells from complex, heterogeneous samples. Such approaches involve reductions in target-cell loss, process automation, and minimization of contamination issues. In this review, we introduce different application areas requiring rare cell analysis, conventional techniques for their selection, and finally microsystem approaches for low...
A Study in Meteorological and Trade Cycle History: The Economic Crisis Following the Napoleonic Wars

The factors regulating the production and distribution of material wealth cannot be reduced exclusively to market relationships. This being the case, the economic historian cannot limit his borrowings to economics alone. The present article uses meteorology both in its theoretical and historical dimensions to show the interaction between economic and meteorological fluctuations. The attempt of W. S. Jevons to find a theoretical connection between solar cycles and trade cycles is well known. Economic historians of preindustrial Europe have identified weather patterns as a primary independent variable determining prosperity or depression. The impact of meteorological fluctuation on economic activity has also been noticed for the nineteenth century, acknowledged by theorist and historian alike as one of the major variables inducing trade cycles. But in these accounts weather patterns are introduced as a run of good or bad luck, affecting essentially regional or national economies.
The Aims of Sex Education: Demoting Autonomy and Promoting Mutuality.

In this essay, Paula McAvoy critiques a commonly held view that teaching young people to be good choice makers should be a central aim of sex education. Specifically, she argues against David Archard's recommendation that sex educators ought to focus on the development of autonomy and teaching young people that “choice should be accorded the central role in the legitimation of sexual conduct.” Instead, McAvoy argues that under conditions of gender inequality this view advantages boys and disadvantages girls. Juxtaposing a case of a culturally arranged marriage with a spring break scene from Ariel Levy's Female Chauvinist Pigs: Women and the Rise of Raunch Culture, McAvoy shows that focusing on sexual choice making obscures and reifies the unequal social conditions that young people navigate. She concludes by suggesting an alternative that is in line with Sharon Lamb's argument in “Just the Facts? The Separation of Sex Education from Moral Education” that intimate encounters are better governed by attending to our ethical obligations to others.
A Transcriptional Approach to Gene Clustering

We present an integrative method for clustering coregulated genes and elucidating their underlying regulatory mechanisms. We use multi-state partition functions and thermodynamic models to derive six distinct correlation classes that correspond to various Protein-Protein and Protein-DNA interactions. We then introduce a biclustering algorithm for clustering genes based on the correlations exhibited in their expression profiles. We evaluate the functional enrichment and statistical significance of the resulting clusters using precision-recall curves. Our results show that classification performance can be optimized by selecting the corresponding correlation class. Additionally, there is a significant improvement over single class biclustering when we use multi-class support vector machines and biclustering scores as features. Furthermore, the analysis of the upstream regions of all genes comprising each cluster shows that the derived correlation classes capture the expression of genes with shared regulation. We identify over a hundred highly conserved sequences, among which twenty one match well-known regulatory motifs. Further analysis of the identified conserved sequences provides not only an explanation of the classification performance, but serves also as an indicator of the regulatory correlation for various groups.
Impact of deep trench isolation on advanced SiGe HBT reliability in radiation environments

We investigate, for the first time, the impact of deep trench isolation on the total ionizing dose (TID) and single event upset (SEU) tolerance of advanced SiGe HBTs. We employ a combination of 63MeV protons, 10keV X-rays, and 36MeV oxygen ion microbeam irradiation and compare a 3rd generation, high-performance (HP), deep-trench isolated, SiGe BiCMOS platform with its cost-performance (CP) variant without deeptrenches. Although the CP SiGe HBTs are shown to be more susceptible to TID damage, the elevated damage is not attributed to variations in deep trench isolation (DTI), but to spacer oxide differences. CP SiGe HBTs are surprisingly found to offer a potential built-in self-mitigation mechanism for SEU, which is a direct result of the influence of the deep trench isolation on the charge collection dynamics associated with ion strikes. Calibrated, full 3D ion strike TCAD simulations are employed to explain the results, revealing substantial enhancement of radial charge diffusion for structures implemented with little to no deep trench. Mitigation of charge collection events are found to occur for emitter-center strikes for devices with limited/eliminated DTI with the caveat of larger collection for outside-DTI ion strikes.
A Computational Approach to the Functional Clustering of Periodic Gene-Expression Profiles

DNA microarray analysis has emerged as a leading technology to enhance our understanding of gene regulation and function in cellular mechanism controls on a genomic scale. This technology has advanced to unravel the genetic machinery of biological rhythms by collecting massive gene-expression data in a time course. Here, we present a statistical model for clustering periodic patterns of gene expression in terms of different transcriptional profiles. The model incorporates biologically meaningful Fourier series approximations of gene periodic expression into a mixture-model-based likelihood function, thus producing results that are likely to be closer to biological relevance, as compared to those from existing models. Also because the structures of the time-dependent means and covariance matrix are modeled, the new approach displays increased statistical power and precision of parameter estimation. The approach was used to reanalyze a real example with 800 periodically expressed transcriptional genes in yeast, leading to the identification of 13 distinct patterns of gene-expression cycles. The model proposed can be useful for characterizing the complex biological effects of gene expression and generate testable hypotheses about the workings of developmental systems in a more precise quantitative way.
The life cycle effects of software process improvement: a longitudinal analysis

Rapid innovation, intense competition, and the drive to survive have compelled information technology (IT) firms to seek ways to develop high quality software quickly and productively. The critical issues faced by these firms are the inter-relationships, sometimes viewed as trade-offs, between quality, cycle time, and effort in the software development life cycle. Some believe that higher quality can only be achieved with increased development time and effort. Others argue that higher quality results in less rework, with shorter development cycles and reduced effort. In this study, we investigate the inter-relationships between software process improvement, quality, cycle time, and effort. We perform a comprehensive analysis of the effect of software process improvement and software quality on all activities in the software development life cycle. We find that software process improvement leads to higher quality and that process improvement and quality are associated with reduced cycle time, development effort, and supporting activity effort (e.g., configuration management, quality assurance). We are in the process of examining the effect of process improvement and quality on post-deployment maintenance activities.
Analysis of microdiversity and dual channel macrodiversity in shadowed fading channels using a compound fading model

Abstract Wireless channels are affected by short-term fading and long-term fading (shadowing). A compound fading model was proposed for the modeling of shadowed fading channels which resulted in a closed form solution for the probability density function (pdf) of the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). This model is applied to a case where both micro- and macro-diversity schemes are implemented to mitigate short-term fading and shadowing, respectively. Using the compound fading model, it is shown that the pdf of the signal-to-noise ratio after the implementation of maximal ratio combining (MRC) at the micro level and selection combining (SC) at the macro level can be expressed in analytical form. Even when branch correlation exists, the pdf still can be expressed in analytical form. Thus, the compound pdf model offers significant improvement over approaches which use lognormal pdf for shadowing. The performance of a coherent binary phase shift keying (BPSK) modem is evaluated using this approach. The results demonstrate the simplicity and usefulness of the compound pdf in the performance analyses of shadowed fading channels even when branch correlation exists at the base station or correlation exists between base stations.
Redefining Business Success: Distinguishing Between Closure and Failure

New firms are believed to have high closure rates and these closures are believed to be failures, but two U.S. Census Bureau data sources illustrate that these assumptions may not be justified. The Business Information Tracking Series (BITS) showed that about half of new employer firms survive beyond four years and the Characteristics of Business Owners (CBO) showed that about a third of closed businesses were successful at closure. The CBO also made it possible to compare results of models of business survival and business success, but because of non-response bias logit models were used. Similar to previous studies, firms having more resources – that were larger, with better financing and having employees – were found to have better chances of survival. Factors that were characteristic of closure – such as having no start-up capital and having a relatively young owner – were also common in businesses considered successful at closure. Hence, few defining factors can be isolated leading to true failures. The significant proportion of businesses that closed while successful calls into question the use of "business closure" as a meaningful measure of business outcome. It appears that many owners may have executed a planned exit strategy, closed a business without excess debt, sold a viable business, or retired from the work force. It is also worth noting that such inborn factors as race and gender played negligible roles in determining survivability and success at closure.
Hybrid modelocking in high power (220 mW) electrically pumped semiconductor lasers

We have obtained optical pulses via hybrid modelocking in monolithic slab coupled optical waveguide lasers with average powers exceeding 220 mW at a wavelength of 1550 nm.
Alteration of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release termination by ryanodine receptor sensitization and in heart failure

Many physiological processes and pharmacological agents modulate the ryanodine receptor (RyR), the primary sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) Ca(2+) release channel in the heart. However, how such modulations translate into functional effects during cardiac excitation-contraction coupling (ECC) is much less clear. Using a low dose (250 microM) of caffeine we sensitized the RyR and examined SR Ca(2+) release using dynamic measurements of cytosolic Ca(2+) ([Ca(2+)](i)) and free Ca(2+) within the SR ([Ca(2+)](SR)). In field stimulated (1 Hz) rabbit ventricular myocytes, application of 250 microM caffeine caused an initial 33% increase in SR Ca(2+) release, which was followed by a decrease in SR Ca(2+) load (28%) and steady-state SR Ca(2+) release (23%). To investigate the effects of caffeine on local SR Ca(2+) release, we measured [Ca(2+)](SR) from individual release junctions during ECC as well as during spontaneous Ca(2+) sparks. In intact myocytes during ECC, caffeine increased global fractional SR Ca(2+) release by decreasing the [Ca(2+)](SR) level at which local release terminated by 21%. Similarly, in permeabilized myocytes during spontaneous Ca(2+) sparks, caffeine decreased the [Ca(2+)](SR) level for release termination by 12%. Finally, we examined if Ca(2+) release termination was changed in myocytes from failing hearts, where remodelling processes lead to altered RyR function. In myocytes from failing rabbit hearts, the [Ca(2+)](SR) termination level for Ca(2+) sparks was 13% lower than that of non-failing myocytes. Collectively, these data suggest that altering the termination level for local Ca(2+) release may represent a novel mechanism to increase SR Ca(2+) release and contractility during ECC.
Classroom Instructional Technology: Options For Securing Equipment

University budgets are shifting from the purchase of new classroom instructional technology to the security of existing technology. This paper examines security alternatives, the implications, and challenges of implementation.
Effect of cerium incorporation into zirconia on the activity ofCu/ZrO2 for methanol synthesis via CO hydrogenation

The effects of Ce incorporation into ZrO2 on the catalyticperformance of Cu/ZrO2 for the hydrogenation of CO have beeninvestigated. A Ce0.3Zr0.7O2 solid solution was synthesized by forcedhydrolysis at low pH. After calcination at 873 K, XRD and Ramanspectroscopy characterization indicated that the Ce0.3Zr0.7O2 had a t''crystal structure. 1.2 wt percent Cu/Ce0.3Zr0.7O2 exhibited H2consumption peaks at low temperature (<473 K) during H2-TPRindicating a significant fraction (~; 70 percent) of Ce4+ is reduced toCe3+. 1.2 wt percent Cu/Ce0.3Zr0.7O2 is 2.7 times more active formethanol synthesis than 1.2 wt percent Cu/m-ZrO2 at 3.0 MPa attemperatures between 473 and 523 K and exhibits a higher selectivity tomethanol. In-situ infrared spectroscopy shows that, analogous toCu/m-ZrO2, the primary surface species on Cu/Ce0.3Zr0.7O2 during COhydrogenation are formate and methoxide species. A shift in the bandposition of the bridged methoxide species indicated that some of thesegroups were bonded to both Zr4+ and Ce3+ cations. For both catalysts, therate-limiting step for methanol synthesis is the reductive elimination ofmethoxide species. The higher rate of methanol synthesis onCu/Ce0.3Zr0.7O2 relative to Cu/m-ZrO2 was primarily due to a ~; 2.4 timeshigher apparent rate constant, kapp, for methoxide hydrogenation, whichis attributed to the higher surface concentration of H atoms on theformer catalyst. The increased capacity of the Ce-containing catalyst isattributed to interactions of H atoms with Ce-O pairs present at thesurface of the oxide phase.