cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Camera modelling for visual servo control applications

When designing a visual servo system, it is important to have a complete and accurate model of the imaging process. Unmodelled imaging dynamics may play an important role in the stability and performance of such systems. In this paper, we present a detailed camera model which can be used in the design and analysis of visual servo systems. Using the free-standing acrobot as a testbed, we analyze the effects of unmodelled imaging dynamics on visual servo control systems. We show that certain camera parameters strongly influence the performance of this system, and that accurate modeling is necessary for proper selection of imaging hardware.
Maternal and fetal inherited thrombophilias are not related to the development of severe preeclampsia.

Abstract Objective: Thrombotic vascular disease may predispose patients to the development of preeclampsia. The purpose of this study was to determine whether maternal or fetal genotype frequencies of the inherited thrombophilic gene mutations (factor V Leiden, methylenetetrahydrofolate, and prothrombin) are altered in severe preeclampsia. Study Design: We performed a prospective cross-sectional study to compare the maternal and fetal genotype frequencies of factor V Leiden, methylenetetrahydrofolate, and prothrombin. One hundred ten patients with severe preeclampsia were matched for gestational age to 97 normotensive pregnancies. Umbilical cord blood was obtained from 92 control patients and 75 patients with preeclampsia. Deoxyribonucleic acid was extracted from leukocytes and polymerase chain reaction was performed. Polymerase chain reaction products were digested with the appropriate restriction enzyme and fractionated by gel electrophoresis. Genotype frequencies were calculated. Statistical significance was determined by the χ 2 test. Results: There were no significant differences between patients with severe preeclampsia and control patients regarding frequency of maternal factor V Leiden G/506/A mutation (4.4% vs 4.3%; P =.96), methylenetetrahydrofolate CC/667/TT mutation (9.6% vs 6.3%; P =.54), or prothrombin G/20210/A mutation (0% vs 1.1%; P =.92). In addition, no statistical difference could be found between fetal thrombophilias and the development of preeclampsia. Findings were similar in both white (n = 47) and African American (n = 63) preeclamptic subsets. Moreover, there was no association between any of the maternal or fetal genetic polymorphisms and the incidence of hemolysis, elevated liver enzymes, and low platelet count syndrome (n = 21); eclampsia (n = 12); or intrauterine growth restriction (n = 9). Conclusion: Inherited thrombophilias are not associated with severe preeclampsia. (Am J Obstet Gynecol 2001;185:153-7.)
The Polls: Popular Views of the Vice President: Vice Presidential Approval

Poll interest in ?e vice president has expanded in recent years as the office has hecome more important in policy making and as a stepping stone to the presidency. This article tracks these trends in poll interest in ?e vice presidency and then compares the approval ratings of Bill Clinton andAl Gore during Gore's tenure as Clinton's vice president. Clinton's approval casts a long shadow on approval of his vice president, hut data also indicate some differences in the sources of approval of these two national figures. The vice president serves under the shadow of the president. The major rationale for the office is to provide for succession to the presidency in the case of the death or incapacity of the incumbent president. Other than presiding over the Senate and casting tie-breaking votes in that chamber, the vice president possesses no other constitutionally mandated job duties. Consequendy, many of those who have served in the vice presidency have been dis dainful of the office (Goldstein 1982). However, in recent decades, the role of the vice presidency has expanded as the office has acquired a greater policy-advising and policy-making presence in the adminis tration (Light 1984). Related to this trend is a second trend-the vice presidency has be come perhaps the premier stepping stone to the presidency (Nelson 1988). Of vice presi dents who have served since Richard Nixon's tenure under Dwight Eisenhower, all but
Investigation of slow evanescent waves at the surface of immersed micromachined membrane arrays

Capacitive micromachined ultrasonic transducer (CMUT) arrays are made up of microscale (10-100μm wide) membranes with embedded electrodes for electrostatic excitation and detection of acoustic waves. The main application of CMUTs has been in medical imaging where advantages of miniaturization and electronics integration are significant. In addition to generating bulk waves in the far-field imaging medium, CMUT arrays also support dispersive evanescent surface waves. These surface waves derive their dispersive properties not only from the periodic structure of the array, but also from the membrane resonance. The CMUTs can tune the surface wave by changing the applied bias voltage to the membranes, which in effect changes the membrane stiffness. This tunability allows the possibility of CMUTs to exploit these slowly propagating evanescent waves as a means for creating subwavelength resolution fields for high-resolution ultrasound imaging and sensing in the near field. The dispersive behavior of these evanescent surface waves propagating along a CMUT array is quantified using a computationally efficient, boundary element method based model capable of adding parameter variation enabling more realistic modeling. The model is validated with experimental data obtained from a 1×16 CMUT array with a membrane resonance tunable between 5 and 6.5MHz. The effect of random variation of the CMUT properties on the surface wave characteristics is investigated. Analysis was done on transient signals from simulations and experiments in addition to using a time-frequency method to track the group velocity that varied from 1500m/s to 400m/s.
Diet, Micronutrients, and the Prostate Gland

Diseases of the prostate gland, particularly adenocarcinoma and benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), are age-related. Prostate cancer is the most commonly occurring tumor in U.S. men. Differences in the incidence of this disease among ethnic populations are not due solely to genetic differences. Many efforts have been devoted to studying associations between nutrition and prostate cancer. The strongest association appears to be related to total fat intake and increased risk of this malignancy. Evidence also exists to suggest a role for certain micronutrients, such as zinc, selenium, vitamin E, lycopene, phytoestrogens, and phytosterols, although the role of nutrition and micronutrients in protection against prostate cancer is less convincing. Further research is necessary.
Stimulus control of prey attack in naive rat snakes: A species duplication

Previously unfed, newborn rat snakes (Elaphe) were found to exhibit a greater response to prey-object extracts than to a distilled-water control stimulus. Response to the different prey-object extracts was not different. The results indicate that young rat snakes accept a wide variety of prey-objects-those normally eaten by the adult and prey of a convenien t size.
Complete degradation of perchlorate in ferric chloride and hydrochloric acid under controlled temperature and pressure

Despite favorable thermodynamics, the reduction of perchlorate (ClO4-) is kinetically limited in aqueous media because of its high activation energy. In this paper, a new methodology has been presented for degrading ClO4- in an FeCl3-HCl solution at an elevated temperature (< 200 degrees C) and/or pressure (approximately 20 atm). Results indicate that the rate constant for the pseudo-first-order reaction between ClO4- and ferrous Fe(II) (in excess) increased nearly 3 orders of magnitude when the temperature was increased from 110 to 195 degrees C, and a complete reduction of ClO4- occurred in < 1 h at 195 degrees C in the FeCl3-HCl solution. The activation energy of the reaction was calculated to be about 120 kJ/mol. Additionally, a flow-through reactor was constructed based on the batch kinetic measurements, and a nearly complete degradation of ClO4- was observed under continuous-flow mode. Because the FeCl3-HCl solution has been successfully used in regenerating selective anion-exchange resins sorbed with ClO4- during water treatment, this new methodology offers a cost-effective means to degrade ClO4- while not altering the chemical properties of the FeCl3-HCl regenerant solution so it can be reused, eliminating the production of secondary wastes.
Generating demand for pharmacist-provided medication therapy management: identifying patient-preferred marketing strategies.

Abstract Objective To identify effective strategies for marketing pharmacist-provided medication therapy management (MTM) services to patients in a self-insured employer setting. Design Qualitative study. Setting University of Pittsburgh during March through May 2008. Participants 26 university employees taking at least one chronic medication. Intervention Three focus group sessions were conducted using a semistructured topic guide to facilitate the discussion. Main outcome measures Employees' perceived medication-related needs, perceived benefits of pharmacist-provided MTM, potential barriers for employee participation in MTM, and effective strategies for marketing MTM. Results Participants reported concerns with timing of doses, medication costs, access, and ensuring adherence. Participants generally felt positively toward pharmacists; however, the level of reported patient contact with pharmacists varied among participants. Some participants questioned pharmacists' education and qualifications for this enhanced role in patient care. Perceived benefits of MTM noted by participants included the opportunity to obtain personalized information about their medications and the potential for improved communication among their health providers. Barriers to patient participation were out-of-pocket costs and lack of time for MTM visits. Participants suggested use of alternative words to describe MTM and marketing approaches that involve personal contact. Conclusion Pharmacists should emphasize parts of MTM that patients feel are most beneficial (i.e., provision of a personal medication record) and use patient-friendly language to describe MTM when marketing their practice. Patients will need greater exposure to the concept of MTM and the pharmacists' role in order to correctly describe and assign value to this type of pharmacist patient care practice.
Preliminary performance evaluation of sensor network with intermediate fusion helper for cognitive radios

In this paper, we consider the problem of using three sensors to detect whether a certain spectrum is occupied or not. Each sensor sends its binary decision to the data fusion center through a wireless fading channel. The data fusion center combines the outcomes for an overall decision. Our analysis shows that a basic sensor network does not result in a high enough correct probability of the overall decision when the wireless fading channels experience low SNR. Then, we observe that this probability could be significantly increased with the deployment of relays in the network. However, a sensor network with relays still suffers from energy and spectral inefficiency. The sensor network with an intermediate fusion helper was recently proposed to reduce the traffic load at the data fusion center. We examine the correct probability of the overall decision resulting from a sensor network with an intermediate fusion helper. Our evaluation establishes that a sensor network with an intermediate fusion helper performs almost as good as the sensor network with relays, but with energy and spectral advantages.
History Sensitive Cascade Model

Diffusion is a process by which information, viruses, ideas, or new behavior spread over social networks. Traditional diffusion models are history insensitive, i.e. only giving activated nodes a one-time chance to activate each of its neighboring nodes with some probability. But history dependent interactions between people are often observed in the real world. This paper proposes the History Sensitive Cascade Model HSCM, a model of information cascade through a network over time. The authors consider the "activation" problem of finding the probability of that a particular node receives information given that some nodes are initially informed. In this paper it is also proven that selecting a set of k nodes with greatest expected influence is NP-hard, and results from submodular functions are used to provide a greedy approximation algorithm with a 1-1/e-e lower bound, where e depends polynomially on the precision of the solution to the "activation" problem. Finally, experiments are performed comparing the greedy algorithm to three other approximation algorithms.
General relativistic stability of Q matter

Abstract The theory governing the general relativistic structure of matter composed of a doublet of SO(2) scalar fields is examined. Coleman's observation that an internal rotation in SO(2) space can stabilize a Q ball prior to the breaking of global symmetry SO(2) is suggestive of the possibility that such stable objects may be seeded in the early universe.
A modified radiometric assay for 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase

A radiometric assay for measuring the activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase is described. The assay is based on the separation of the mevalonate product from HMG-CoA by high-voltage electrophoresis. This method is more sensitive and more specific than the NADPH-based spectrophotometric assay, and less tedious than available radiometric assays. It has been used to measure HMG-CoA reductase activity in crude extracts ofSaccharomyces cerevisiae and in human skin fibroblasts.
Selective fetal malnutrition: the effect of in vivo ethanol exposure upon in vitro placental uptake of amino acids in the non-human primate.

In vitro uptake (45 and 90 minutes) of amino acids, alpha-amino isobutyric (AIB) and valine (VAL), was measured in six placentae from the nonhuman primate, Macacca fascicularis. Three of the pregnant primates were chronically treated with ethanol before and throughout pregnancy (CHR); one during the last trimester only (LT); and two were controls (C). Compared to the C placentae, the LT placenta had significantly decreased uptake only for AIB at 45 min: 33.4 +/- 6.8% reduction (mean +/- S.E.) (P less than 0.05). In contrast, the CHR placentae demonstrated significantly reduced uptake (P less than 0.01) for both amino acids at both time points. Percent reduction at 45 and 90 min: AIB, 35.2 +/- 6.5% and 32.6 +/- 5.6% and VAL, 38.7 +/- 2.9% and 22.1 +/- 4.1%. The results indicate that chronic in vivo ethanol exposure impairs the in vitro placental uptake of two actively transported amino acids, using an animal with a placenta almost identical to the human.
Equivalent inclusion method for steady state heat conduction in composites

Abstract The equivalent inclusion method is proposed to solve the steady state heat conduction problems in composites. This method is analogous to Eshelby's equivalent inclusion method in elasticity. Thus, the solution procedure by this method is very simple, involving only algebraic operations. The equivalent inclusion method developed here is also applicable to the case of high concentrations of ellipsoidal inhomogeneities. As a demonstration, several examples are worked out, including the temperature field in continuous fiber composite and the thermal conductivity of two-and three-phase composites.
Radiative lifetime measurement in the 52P12 state of silver by level crossing spectroscopy

Abstract We have measured the radiative lifetime of the 5 2 P 1 2 state of silver by level-crossing spectroscopy to be τ(5 2 P 1 2 = 7.56 (22) ns .
Dipole-dipole interaction stabilizes the transition state of apurinic/apyrimidinic endonuclease--abasic site interaction.

Abstract Human apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease (hAPE) initiates the repair of an abasic site (AP site). To gain insight into the mechanisms of damage recognition of hAPE, we conducted surface plasmon resonance spectroscopy to study the thermodynamics and kinetics of its interaction with substrate DNA containing an abasic site (AP DNA). The affinity of hAPE binding toward DNA increased as much as 6-fold after replacing a single adenine (equilibrium dissociation constant, KD, 5.3 nm) with an AP site (KD, 0.87 nm). The enzyme-substrate complex formation appears to be thermodynamically stabilized and favored by a large change in Gibbs free energy, ΔG° (–50 kJ/mol). The latter is supported by a high negative change in enthalpy, ΔH°(–43 kJ/mol) and also positive change in entropy, ΔS° (24 J/(K mol)), and thus the binding process is spontaneous at all temperatures. Analysis of kinetic parameters reveals small enthalpy of activation for association, ΔH°‡ass (–17 kJ/mol), and activation energy for association (Ea, –14 kJ/mol) when compared with the enthalpy of activation for dissociation, ΔH°‡diss (26 kJ/mol), and activation energy in the reverse direction (Ed, 28 kJ/mol). Furthermore, varying concentration of KCl showed an increase in binding affinity at low concentration but complete abrogation of the binding at higher concentration, implying the importance of hydrophobic, but predominately ionic, forces in the Michaelis-Menten complex formation. Thus, low activation energy and the enthalpy of activation, which are perhaps a result of dipole-dipole interactions, play critical roles in AP site binding of APE.
Numerical Modeling of the Solar Tachocline. II. Forced Turbulence with Imposed Shear

We report the first three-dimensional, global-scale numerical simulations of stably stratified turbulence in the solar tachocline driven by penetrative convection. We adopt a thin-shell geometry and approximate the effects of penetrative convection via random, small-scale forcing. After the simulations have been evolved for some time, a differential rotation is introduced and maintained against viscous dissipation by an additional forcing term. The imposed shear is stable over the timescales considered (Richardson numbers range from � 250 to 1000). We investigate the characteristics of the turbulence before and after adding the imposed differential rotation. The random forcing is varied to generate different types of turbulent wave fields, dominated by rotational r-modes or irrotational g-modes. Nonlinear transfer among modes does occur, but we find little evidence for a quasi–two-dimensional inverse cascade. Coupling between the randomly forced turbulence and the imposed shear flow gives rise to Reynolds stresses that transport momentum poleward and outward. This implies diffusive (down-gradient) latitudinal transport and antidiffusive (countergradient) vertical transport. Overall, the latitudinal transport dominates and acts to dissipate the imposed shear. This could have important implications for the structure of the solar tachocline and the global angular momentum distribution in the solar interior. Subject headings: convection — Sun: interior — Sun: oscillations — Sun: rotation — turbulence
Plasma cholesterol turnover and esterification in the pigeon

The plasma cholesterol turnover and serum cholesterol esterifying system was studied in White Carneau pigeons. Eight pigeons received a single injection of 1,2-3H-cholesterol intravenously and the decline in plasma cholesterol specific activity was measured at intervals from 1–64 days. Kinetic analysis of the plasma cholesterol die-away curves indicates that plasma cholesterol turnover in the pigeon conforms to a 2 pool model. The mass of pool A (cholesterol in blood and those tissues which are rapidly equilibrated with blood) in pigeons maintaining consistently high serum cholesterol levels (≈900 mg/100 ml) was 988 mg and the daily fractional turnover of pool A was 19.7% compared with 676 mg and 12.2% found in pigeons maintaining consistently low (≈400 mg/100 ml) serum cholesterol levels. Serum cholesterol esterifying activity, in vitro, showed a positive correlation (rxy=0.806) with serum cholesterol concentration in the pigeon. The pigeon differs, in this regard, from the chicken, rat and rabbit in which a negative correlation has been reported.
On Minimum Range for Radiation Patterns

It is shown that the 2D2/? antenna criterion ensures a phase variation less than ?/8 and an amplitude variation less than 10 per cent over D when using a paraboloidal or optimum horn antenna for illumination, providing its aperture dimensions do not exceed D. The pattern of a uniform line antenna illuminated by such a paraboloid is shown to be essentially the same as its conventional pattern (point source illumination). It is also shown that the appropriate criterion for back scattering patterns is 4D2/?. earch Foundation.
A framework for automated performance bottleneck detection

In this paper, we present the architecture design and implementation of a framework for automated performance bottleneck detection. The framework analyzes the time-spent distribution in the application and discovers the performance bottlenecks by using given bottleneck definitions. The user can query the application execution performance to identify performance problems. The design of the framework is flexible and extensible so it can be tailored based on the actual application execution environment and performance tuning requirement. To demonstrate the usefulness of the framework, we apply the framework on a practical DARPA application and show how it helps to identify performance bottlenecks. The framework helps to automate the performance tuning process and improve the user's productivity.
On the variability of African dust transport across the Atlantic

[1] We investigate the interannual variability of Saharan dust transport over the Atlantic by using the TOMS/Nimbus-7 and TOMS/Earth Probe daily aerosol data. We focus on the winter season, and on the area off the North-West African coast (15–30°N, 30–5°W). Previous studies have suggested that the variability of the Saharan dust can be partially explained by the North Atlantic Oscillation. In an alternative approach, we correlate the aerosol data with the positions and the surface pressure values of the two “Centers of Action” in the Atlantic, the Azores High and the Icelandic Low. This approach decouples the two semi-permanent pressure systems, and it reveals that the Icelandic Low does not play a role in the dust concentration for our region of interest. Instead, the position of the Azores High turns out to be the most important factor, with the Azores High latitude yielding the highest correlation (r = 0.48).
Control of flowering time and spike development in cereals: the earliness per se Eps-1 region in wheat, rice, and Brachypodium

The earliness per se gene Eps-A m 1 from diploid wheat Triticum monococcum affects heading time, spike development, and spikelet number. In this study, the Eps1 orthologous regions from rice, Aegilops tauschii ,a nd Brachypodium distachyon were compared as part of current efforts to clone this gene. A single Brachypodium BAC clone spanned the Eps-A m 1 region, but a gap was detected in the A. tauschii physical map. Sequencing of the Brachypodium and A. tauschii BAC clones revealed three genes shared by the three species, which showed higher identity between wheat and Brachypodium than between them and rice. However, most of the structural changes were detected in the wheat lineage. These included an inversion encompassing the wg241-VatpC region and the presence of six unique genes. In contrast, only one unique gene (and one pseudogene) was found in Brachypodium and none in rice. Three genes were present in both Brachypodium and wheat but were absent in rice. Two of these genes, Mot1 and FtsH4, were completely linked to the earliness per se phenotype in the T. monococcum high- density genetic map and are candidates for Eps-A m 1. Both genes were expressed in apices and developing spikes, as expected for Eps-A m 1 candidates. The predicted MOT1 protein showed amino acid differences between the parental T. monococcum lines, but its effect is difficult to predict. Future steps to clone the Eps-A m 1 gene include the generation of mot1 and ftsh4 mutants and the completion of the T. monococcum physical map to test for the presence of additional candidate genes.
The Allure of Status: High-Status Targets Are Privileged in Face Processing and Memory

The current research tests the hypothesis that face processing is attuned to high-status faces. Across three experiments, faces of high-status targets were better recognized than faces of low-status targets. In Experiment 2, this memory advantage for high-status targets also extended to an attentional bias toward high-status targets and to stronger sociospatial memory (identity—location link) for high-status targets. Finally, Experiment 3 finds that high-status faces received more expert-style holistic processing than did low-status faces. This suggests that high-status faces also benefit more from the strategic deployment of expert face processing resources than low-status faces. Taken together, these data indicate that perceivers strategically allocate face processing resources to targets perceived to be high in status.
Application of immunohistochemistry in breast pathology: a review and update.

Context.— Immunohistochemistry is a valuable tool in routine breast pathology, used for both diagnostic and prognostic parameters. The diagnostic immunomarkers are the scope of this review. Most breast lesions can be diagnosed on routine hematoxylin-eosin sections; however, in several scenarios, such as morphologically equivocal cases or metastatic tumors of unknown primary, the appropriate application of immunohistochemistry adds true value in reaching an accurate diagnosis. Objective.— To evaluate the diagnostic utility of the most commonly studied immunomarkers in the field of breast pathology by review of the literature, using the database of indexed articles in PubMed (US National Library of Medicine, Bethesda, Maryland) from 1976 to 2013. Data Sources.— Literature review, and author's research data and personal practice experience. Conclusions.— The appropriate use of immunohistochemistry by applying a panel of immunomarkers and using a standardized technical and interpretational method will complem...
Synthesis of organometallic polymers by the interfacial technique. XXVI. Synthesis of poly[bis(oxycarbonylcyclopentadienyl)‐cobalt(III)(dicyclopentadienyltitan(IV)) hexafluorophosphate]

Poly[bis(oxycarbonylcyclopentadienyl)cobalt (III) (dicyclopentadienyltitan (IV)) hexafluorophosphate] (III) was synthesized from the disodium salt of 1,1-dicarboxycobalticinium hexafluorophosphate (I) and dicyclopentadienyltitanium dihexafluorophosphate (II) in nitrobenzene/water using the interfacial technique. Thermal properties of the products III were investigated employing differential scanning calorimetry and thermogravimetric analysis. The thermal stability in nitrogen was found to be generally higher than in air, in which the products undergo thermal oxidative degradation. The products exhibit relatively good thermal stability. They undergo exchange of the hexafluorophosphate ion in suitable aqueous salt solutions to give soluble products. Durch Grenzflachenpolykondensation in Nitrobenzol/Wasser wurde Poly[bis(oxycarbonylcyclopentadienyl)kobalt (III) (dicyclopentadienyltitan (IV))hexafluorophosphat] (III) aus dem Na-Salz von 1,1-Dicarboxykobalticiniumhexafluorophosphat (I) und Dicyclopentadienyltitandihexafluorophosphat (II) dargestellt. Mit Hilfe der Differentialthermoanalyse und der thermogravimetrischen Analyse wurden die thermischen Eigenschaften des Produktes III untersucht. Dabei erwies sich die thermische Stabilitat in Stickstoff hoher als in Luft, in der die Produkte einen thermisch-oxidativen Abbau erleiden. Die Produkte wiesen eine relativ hohe thermische Stabilitat auf. Das Hexafluorophosphat-Ion konnte in geeigneten wasrigen Salz-Losungen ausgetauscht werden, wobei losliche Produkte entstanden.
Disorder and the quantum critical point in UCu5−xPdx

We have measured the magnetization of UCu5−x Pdx (x = 0.7, 1, 1.5, 2) in fields H as large as 30 T and for temperatures between 1.4 K and 150 K. A composition- and temperature- dependent characteristic field H ∗ (x, T ) is identified, which separates two different non-Fermi liquid scaling regimes, present even in zero field. For HH ∗ (x, T ), composition-independent scaling is found, while for HH ∗ (x, T ), different exponents are found for each composition. This second phase is centred in temperature and composition around the x = 1 ,T = 0 critical point, and we argue that it is consistent with the presence of a Griffiths phase. In recent years, it has been discovered that a zero-temperature critical point can be induced in a variety of metallic magnets by using pressure or compositional variation to suppress magnetic ordering temperatures to zero. The properties of this novel phase transition have prompted much experimental and theoretical work (1,2). The fundamental excitations near such quantum critical points lead to unusual temperature and energy dependences in measured quantities, which are said to display non-Fermi liquid (nFL) behaviour. There is mounting evidence that disorder plays an important role in these systems, especially very near the T = 0 critical point. However, there is little consensus about how profoundly disorder and nFL behaviour are interrelated, although a variety of models have been proposed. The Kondo disorder model argues that the nFL behaviour is associated with a distribution of Kondo temperatures TK due to disorder, with no need to invoke long-range magnetic correlations (3, 4). More recently, it has been proposed that nFL behaviour has its roots in the critical phenomena of the T = 0 magnetic transition, with disorder limiting the growth of magnetic correlations, similar in spirit to the case of finite temperature phase transitions (5, 6). Finally, it has been proposed that nFL behaviour is an intrinsic feature of a T = 0 magnet, and for much of the magnetic phase diagram is essentially unaffected by the presence of modest amounts of disorder (7, 8). Experimentally, the resolution of this conflict must lie with delineating parts of the phase diagram over which the magnetic correlations develop freely and those where they are limited by disorder. This requires the formulation of an experimental criterion for such a crossover, which we present here. Given this criterion, it will be possible to revisit the existing scaling studies (8-10) to assess whether the nFL behaviour is limited to the disorder-dominated regime or whether it is an intrinsic feature associated with the T = 0 critical point. We have studied the scaling properties of the magnetization of UCu5−xPdx over a very broad range of fields and temperatures for compositions both near and far from the critical composition. We confirm that
An Alternative to the Grand Design

Abstract : The 'Grand Design,' as developed by the Kennedy Administration and carried over into the Johnson Administration, is discussed as being far from a blueprint for future political, economic, and military relationships. It is seen somewhat in the nature of an impressionist painting: the closer one examines it the more obscure it gets. Only by backing away from its specific content, and viewing it in the large, in contrast with other possible gross configurations of the North Atlantic area, can one discern the pattern and meaning. Thus, Administration spokesmen, when pressed to elaborate the design for the future implied by present U. S. policies toward Europe, are more precise in their maps of where we don't want to go than in their maps of the preferred destination.
Memory Skills of Deaf Learners: Implications and Applications

The Author reviews research on working memory and short-term memory abilities of deaf individuals, delineating strengths and weaknesses. Among the areas of weakness that are reviewed are sequential recall, processing speed, attention, and memory load. Areas of strengths include free recall, visuospatial recall, imagery, and dual encoding. Phonological encoding and rehearsal appear to be strengths when these strategies are employed. The implications of the strengths and weaknesses for language learning and educational achievement are discussed. Research questions are posed, and remedial and compensatory classroom applications are suggested.
A Doubtful Guest: Managed Care and Mental Health

Please approve the following synopsis as it will appear in the table of contents: This article examines the ways in which mental health services have been affected by managed care and describes how to address some of the ethical conflicts that have always existed, but have been transformed immeasurably. It outlines the ethical dilemmas between the competing values of mental health providers and managed care, as well as the practical ethical considerations related to confidentiality, billing, and coding. It suggests that there can be no real improvement for mental health providers in the ethical minefield of managed care until they stop focusing on how distressed they are about it and start dealing with the larger, systemic issues in psychiatry and American health care. The article concludes by noting that the only way to effect meaningful change in the health care system is to combine knowledge with advocacy and to proactively define the standards needed to make the necessary choices.
Time Integration in Discontinuous Deformation Analysis

Discontinuous deformation analysis (DDA) is a discrete element method that was developed for computing large deformation in fractured rock masses. In this paper we present details of the DDA time integration scheme, where the acceleration is taken constant over the time step, equal to the acceleration at the end of the time step (“right Riemann”). The integration scheme has several advantages: (1) Self-starting, (2) accelerations never need to be computed which reduces implementation complexity, (3) unconditionally stable, and (4) dissipative, contains algorithmic damping which may be important considering the penalty formulation of DDA. However, the right Riemann scheme is implicit, requiring expensive factorization or iteration to solve the resulting system of equations, and is accompanied by a bifurcation in the spectrum when the time step is large with respect to the period. This bifurcation has important ramifications for controlling spurious resonance in DDA simulations due to linear scaling in syst...
Human Cytomegalovirus Protein US11 Provokes an Unfolded Protein Response That May Facilitate the Degradation of Class I Major Histocompatibility Complex Products

The human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) glycoprotein US11 diverts class I major histocompatibility complex (MHC) heavy chains (HC) from the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) to the cytosol, where HC are subjected to proteasome-mediated degradation. In mouse embryonic fibroblasts that are deficient for X-box binding protein 1 (XBP-1), a key transcription factor in the unfolded protein response (UPR) pathway, we show that degradation of endogenous mouse HC is impaired. Moreover, the rate of US11-mediated degradation of ectopically expressed HLA-A2 is reduced when XBP-1 is absent. In the human astrocytoma cell line U373, turning on expression of US11, but not US2, is sufficient to induce a UPR, as manifested by upregulation of the ER chaperone Bip and by splicing of XBP-1 mRNA. In the presence of dominant-negative versions of XBP-1 and activating transcription factor 6, the kinetics of class I MHC HC degradation were delayed when expression of US11 was turned on. The magnitude of these effects, while reproducible, was modest. Conversely, in cells that stably express high levels of US11, the degradation of HC is not affected by the presence of the dominant negative effectors of the UPR. An infection of human foreskin fibroblasts with human cytomegalovirus induced XBP-1 splicing in a manner that coincides with US11 expression. We conclude that the contribution of the UPR is more pronounced on HC degradation shortly after induction of US11 expression and that US11 is sufficient to induce such a response.
Abnormalities of the Interatrial Septum as a Potential Cardiac Source of Embolism

Stroke is a common and often devastating medical condition for the inflicted patient and his/her family. Certain abnormalities of the interatrial septum have recently been considered as potential causes for cerebral ischemic events. These abnormalities include atrial septal aneurysm (ASA) and patent foramen ovale (PFO). ASA is described as a bulging of the interatrial septum involving the region of the fossa ovalis. The prevalence of ASA is higher in patients undergoing transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) due to unexplained cerebral ischemia (15%) when compared to that of patients who had TEE performed for other reasons (4%). This apparently strong association between ASA and cerebral embolism has led to the consideration of ASA as a potential source of embolism. TEE appears to be more sensitive than transthoracic echocardiography (20% vs 6%) in detecting PFO. As with ASA, the prevalence of PFO is higher in those patients referred for unexplained cerebral ischemia than in those undergoing transesophageal studies for other reasons. Although a strong association between ASA, PFO, and stroke has been shown, the prognostic implications of these abnormalities are unclear. Therefore, longitudinal, prospective, and large scale studies are needed to evaluate the prognosis and clinical significance of these abnormalities.
Exploring the Relationships between Behavioral Networking, Goal Ambiguity, and Role Ambiguity

Public management scholars consistently argue that public organizations must now deliver services in the context of networks that span jurisdictional and sector boundaries, and that they are subjected to greater degrees of goal and role ambiguity as compared to private organizations. Yet, limited research examines the degree to which these phenomena are connected. We seek to develop a perspective that merges these two research traditions by asserting that the extent to which managers engage their networked environment clarifies their interpretations of goals and work roles within the home organization. Findings from a series of structural equation models reveal that managers perceive higher degrees of goal clarity as they increase engagement with actors in the networked environment, and increased interaction in networked environments enhances role clarity by virtue of clarifying organizational goals.
Absolute lymphocyte count at time of radioimmunotherapy predicted time to progression in patients with relapsed follicular lymphomas

18505 Background: Besides radiation, the immunologic mechanisms of action of 90Y ibritumomab tiuxetan (Zevalin) radioimmunotherapy (RIT) have been attributed to complement mediated lysis and antibo...
Control of Transplasma Membrane Diferric Transferrin Reductase by Antitumor Drugs

It is well known that anthracycline antibiotics have been used successfully in the treatment of human cancer. It has long been thought that DNA is the primary target for the cytotoxic action of these drugs on susceptible cells (Chandra, 1987; DiMarco, 1975; Kanter et al., 1979; Ross et al., 1970). The DNA receptor hypothesis is attractive due to a reasonably high affinity between some of these drugs and nucleic acid. However, this hypothesis does not fully explain the antimitogenic effect of these drugs, since significant mitotic inhibition by daunomycin and adriamycin are observed under conditions in which DNA synthesis is unaffected (Silvetrini, 1970,1973). The N-substituted derivatives, such as N-acetyl daunomycin and N-trifluoro-acetyl adriamycin-l4-valerate (AD32) have very low affinity toward DNA, yet they are capable of inhibiting cell mitosis (DiMarco et al., 1965; DiMarco, 1975; Kanter et al., 1979). Similarly, bleomycin and its chelate, Cu-bleomycin, inhibit mitosis equally well although selective strong DNA binding affinity is shown only by bleomycin (Sun and Crane, 1985a; Gutteridge and Chang, 1981). Furthermore, both cis and trans diammine dichloroplatinum II bind equally well with DNA, yet the trans analog is not effective as an antitumor agent (Macquet and Butour, 1985; Salles et al., 1983) and is much less cytotoxic than the cis analog (Pascoe and Roberts, 1974). Therefore, there are reasons to suspect that additional targets other than DNA are involved in killing cancer cells with these drugs.
Experimental Study of a Novel Rapid Pressure-Swing Adsorption Based Medical Oxygen Concentrator: Effect of the Adsorbent Selectivity of N2 over O2

It was experimentally demonstrated that the performance of a medical oxygen concentrator based on rapid pressure swing adsorption (RPSA) process using a LiLSX zeolite was improved [lower bed size factor (BSF) and higher oxygen recovery (RO)] when the adsorbent exhibited higher selectivity of adsorption of N2 over O2. The effects of N2 selectivity on BSF and RO as functions of the RPSA process cycle times were found to be complex and nonintuitive. The key properties of a LiLSX zeolite sample for adsorption of N2 and O2 (pure and binary gas isotherms, binary selectivity, pure gas isosteric heats, pure gas mass-transfer characteristics, and degrees of adsorbent heterogeneity), which exhibited a relatively higher selectivity of adsorption for N2 over O2 compared to a previously reported sample, were measured and used in this study.
A comprehensive stroke center patient registry: advantages, limitations, and lessons learned.

Introduction: The use of a medical data registry allows institutions to effectively manage information for many different investigations related to the registry, as well as evaluate patient’s trends over time, with the ultimate goal of recognizing trends that may improve outcomes in a particular patient population. Methods: The purpose of this article is to illustrate our experience with a stroke patient registry at a comprehensive stroke center and highlight advantages, disadvantages, and lessons learned in the process of designing, implementing, and maintaining a stroke registry. We detail the process of stroke registry methodology, common data element (CDE) definitions, the generation of manuscripts from a registry, and the limitations. Advantages: The largest advantage of a registry is the ability to prospectively add patients, while allowing investigators to go back and collect information retrospectively if needed. The continuous addition of new patients increases the sample size of studies from year to year, and it also allows reflection on clinical practices from previous years and the ability to investigate trends in patient management over time. Limitations: The greatest limitation in this registry pertains to our single-entry technique where multiple sites of data entry and transfer may generate errors within the registry. Lessons Learned: To reduce the potential for errors and maximize the accuracy and efficiency of the registry, we invest significant time in training competent registry users and project leaders.With effective training and transition of leadership positions, which are continuous and evolving processes, we have attempted to optimize our clinical research registry for knowledge gain and quality improvement at our center.
ExoSkin: On-Body Fabrication

There is a long tradition for crafting wearable objects directly on the body, such as garments, casts, and orthotics. However, these high-skill, analog practices have yet to be augmented by digital fabrication techniques. In this paper, we explore the use of hybrid fabrication workflows for on-body printing. We outline design considerations for creating on-body fabrication systems, and identify several human, machine, and material challenges unique to this endeavor. Based on our explorations, we present ExoSkin, a hybrid fabrication system for designing and printing digital artifacts directly on the body. ExoSkin utilizes a custom built fabrication machine designed specifically for on-body printing. We demonstrate the potential of on-body fabrication with a set of sample workflows, and share feedback from initial observation sessions.
Mining PM2.5 and traffic conditions for air quality

Fine particle pollution is related to road traffic conditions. In this work, we analyze Particulate Matter with a diameter less than 2.5 micrometers, calledPM2.5, along with traffic conditions. This is done for multicity data to study the relationships in the context of environmental modeling. The goal behind this modeling is to support prediction of PM2.5 concentration and resulting air quality. We deploy data mining algorithms in association rules, clustering and classification to discover knowledge from the concerned data sets. The results are used to develop a prototype tool for the prediction of PM2.5 and hence air quality for public health and safety. This paper describes our approach and experiments with examples of PM2.5 prediction that would be helpful for decision support to potential users in a smart cities context. These users include city dwellers, environmental scientists and urban planners. Novel aspects of this work are multicity PM2.5 analysis by data mining and the resulting air quality prediction tool, the first of its kind, to the best of our knowledge.
Essential fatty acid status and characteristics associated with colostrum-deprived gnotobiotic and conventional lambs. Growth, organ development, cell membrane integrity and factors associated with lower bowel function.

A factorial experiment involving gnotobiotic (GN) and conventional (CV) colostrum-deprived lambs and diets formulated to be adequate or deficient in linoleic acid was conducted to determine the effect(s) of the intestinal microflora on the essential fatty acid (EFA) status of the host and subsequent physiological consequences, i.e., growth, organ development, cell membrane integrity and lower bowel function. Lambs were obtained by sterile surgical procedures and housed in sterile isolators or in conventional metabolism stalls for 60 d. Skimmed cow's milk with 6% hydrogenated coconut oil and vitamins A, D and E added with and without .32% of the total calories as linoleic acid was homogenized, bottled and autoclaved, then fed to appetite three to four times daily. The GN lambs supplemented with linoleic acid gained significantly faster between 13 and 41 d of age and more efficiently between 27 and 41 d than the other treatment groups. The absence of dietary linoleic acid decreased liver and spleen weights and, in general, suppressed development of organs except the brain. Red blood cell hemolysis was not affected by treatment. Although showing signs of chronic mild diarrhea, the GN neonatal ruminant differed in Cl- concentration and dry matter percentage of its lower bowel contents from the "classic rodent model." The results indicate that neonatal colostrum-deprived lambs have an EFA requirement, as evidenced by decreased growth and performance characteristics in the GN linoleic deficient vs GN supplemented group, and suggests that the required level is in excess of .32% of the total caloric intake as linoleic acid.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)