cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimized particle-mesh Ewald/multiple-time step integration for molecular dynamics simulations

We develop an efficient multiple time step (MTS) force splitting scheme for biological applications in the AMBER program in the context of the particle-mesh Ewald (PME) algorithm. Our method applies a symmetric Trotter factorization of the Liouville operator based on the position-Verlet scheme to Newtonian and Langevin dynamics. Following a brief review of the MTS and PME algorithms, we discuss performance speedup and the force balancing involved to maximize accuracy, maintain long-time stability, and accelerate computational times. Compared to prior MTS efforts in the context of the AMBER program, advances are possible by optimizing PME parameters for MTS applications and by using the position-Verlet, rather than velocity-Verlet, scheme for the inner loop. Moreover, ideas from the Langevin/MTS algorithm LN are applied to Newtonian formulations here. The algorithm’s performance is optimized and tested on water, solvated DNA, and solvated protein systems. We find CPU speedup ratios of over 3 for Newtonian formulations when compared to a 1 fs single-step Verlet algorithm using outer time steps of 6 fs in a three-class splitting scheme; accurate conservation of energies is demonstrated over simulations of length several hundred ps. With modest Langevin forces, we obtain stable trajectories for outer time steps up to 12 fs and corresponding speedup ratios approaching 5. We end by suggesting that modified Ewald formulations, using tailored alternatives to the Gaussian screening functions for the Coulombic terms, may allow larger time steps and thus further speedups for both Newtonian and Langevin protocols; such developments are reported separately.
The Clinical Evaluation of Insulin

SINCE the discovery of insulin in 1921 by Banting and Best, numerous investigators throughout the world have attempted to modify the original product so as to improve its clinical action. Protamine zinc insulin was the first to achieve favorable recognition. Regrettably, the hopes of its early and enthusiastic proponents have been realized only in part. In the endeavor to procure one which will conform more closely to the physiochemical needs of the diabetic patient, a number of new combinations and preparations are being studied and reported. Several of the studies thus far published are not sufficiently well controlled to be trustworthy. There should be a clearer understanding of the fundamentals of the problems involved and an agreement as to adequate criteria before giving sanction to new products. In studies of this nature it is the practice of investigators to use known cases of diabetes confined to the wards of a hospital, also ambulant patients in the out-patient departments. The technique of stud...
Parent-reported language screening at 18 months does not predict severe language delay at age 3.1

What is the accuracy of a new parent-reported language screening measure used at 18 months of age for predicting severe language delay at 3 years of age? Is the new measure's accuracy greater than ...
Discussion of “on the relation between expected returns and implied cost of capital”

This paper discusses the paper “On the relationship between expected returns and implied cost of capital” by Hughes, Liu, and Liu. The discussion focuses on developing the intuition behind the mathematical results and on extensions of the analysis that future research could address.
Chronic Low‐Dose Oxidative Stress Induces Caspase‐3‐Dependent PKCδ Proteolytic Activation and Apoptosis in a Cell Culture Model of Dopaminergic Neurodegeneration

Oxidative stress has been implicated as a key event in the degenerative process of dopaminergic neurons; however, the cellular mechanisms underlying chronic oxidative stress-induced neurodegeneration remain to be established. In this study, N27 cells, a dopaminergic neuronal cell line derived from rat mesencephalon, exposed to low doses of H(2)O(2) (0-30 muM for 12-24 hr) exhibited dose- and time-dependent increases in cytotoxicity and ROS generation. In addition, the H(2)O(2)-induced neurotoxicity was accompanied by increased caspase-3 activity and PKCdelta cleavage. Notably, treatment with antioxidants Trolox and MnTBAP or PKCdelta cleavage inhibitor z-DIPD-fmk significantly protected against oxidative stress-induced apoptotic cell death. These results demonstrate that the N27 cell line is a useful model for the study of the chronic low-dose oxidative stress-induced apoptotic cell death cascade and that caspase-3-dependent PKCdelta proteolytic activation may be important in the apoptotic process in dopaminergic neurons undergoing chronic oxidative insult.
Developmental pattern of urinary epidermal growth factor in the premature infant and the influence of gender.

We report the cross-sectional pattern of first day urinary epidermal growth factor/creatinine (EGF/Cr) levels in 159 appropriate for gestational age infants born at 26–41 weeks gestation. EGF/Cr levels rose significantly earlier in female infants than levels in male infants. In female infants levels were similar to term levels beginning at 30–32 weeks. Mean EGF/Cr levels in male infants were similar to term values beginning at 32–34 weeks. We could not demonstrate any influence from acute perinatal events on EGF/Cr levels. In a subset of 28 infants, a weekly longitudinal study of urinary EGF/Cr levels was undertaken. The urinary EGF/Cr pattern correlated significantly with both corrected gestational and postnatal ages. A significant change in the EGF/Cr pattern was observed at a corrected gestational age of 32 weeks and at 4 weeks postnatal age. There was no significant difference in EGF/Cr levels between males and females. Our results demonstrated a significant difference in first day urinary EGF/Cr leve...
An analysis of creep damage in a welded low alloy steel rotor

Abstract An assessment of commonly used creep-rupture extrapolation techniques on weldments was undertaken. Gas tungsten arc and submerged arc welds were fabricated using 1.0Cr-1Mo-0.25V rotor steel as base metal. Crossweld samples, which includes base metal, heat-affected zone and weld metal, were machined and submitted to isostress creep-rupture tests at 83.0 MPa between 690 and 620 °C. Larson-Miller and Monkman-Grant plots were produced from these data; the parameters associated with the Larson-Miller method were estimated and extrapolations were done to the service temperatures. The actual lives of the submerged arc crosswelds were shorter than predicted. Monkman-Grant predictions were more conservative than Larson-Miller's for the gas tungsten arc welds. The discrepancies are attributed in part to the heterogeneous microstructures in a crossweldment leading to different creep rates. Application of extrapolation methods to weldments should be done prudently; the heterogeneous microstructure of the heat-affected zone makes them less reliable.
Hyperglycemia management in the hospital: about glucose targets and process improvements.

AbstractHyperglycemia is prevalent in the inpatient setting and is associated with increased morbidity and mortality in patients with and without diabetes. Too often hyperglycemia is underrecognized, underreported, and suboptimally managed. Proactive assessment of inpatients ' glycemic status and aggressive treatment approaches are needed. Improving hyperglycemia management in hospitalized patients provides the hospitalist with an opportunity to positively affect morbidity, mortality, and health care costs. However, intensive insulin therapy can increase the risk of hypoglycemia, which often results in the early abandonment of tight glycemic control strategies, or in some cases, no emphasis on glucose control at all. To achieve glycemic control, individual physicians often implement a variety of insulin strategies. Some strategies can lead to confusion among the health care staff, others to the use of nonphysiologic sliding-scale insulin protocols that result in poor glycemic control, widely fluctuating b...
Human lgG antigranulocyte antibodies: Comparison of detection by quantitative antiglobulin consumption and by binding of 125I staph protein A

The amount of IgG in the serum of patients with suspected immune neutropenia that binds to normal paraformaldehyde-fixed human granulocytes was measured simultaneously by a quantitative antiglobulin consumption assay and by binding of 125I-staphylococcal protein A (SPA). There was a significant linear relationship between the results of these two assays for the sera of 42 different patients. However, SPA binding appeared more sensitive than the quantitative antiglobulin assay for determining IgG antigranulocyte antibodies in serum. In a patient with Felty's syndrome who underwent splenectomy, the results of both assays on sequential serum samples correlated with clinical improvement. Thus, SPA binding appears to be a sensitive and reliable technique for measuring antigranulocyte antibodies, and there is a close correlation between antibody measured by antiglobulin consumption and those detected by SPA binding.
Readying Occupational Therapy Assistant Students for Level II Fieldwork: Beyond Academics to Personal Behaviors and Attitudes

Being prepared for Level II fieldwork--and ultimately for clinical practice--requires a mastery of scientific, technical, and interpersonal knowledge and skills. Personal preparedness starts at the beginning of the occupational therapy assistant student's educational journey and can be facilitated and monitored by educators who agree that personal insight and the chance to learn and grow in this area are legitimate goals of occupational therapy education.
A Real-Time Road Following Vision System For Autonomous Vehicles

This paper describes a real-time road following and road junction detection vision system for autonomous vehicles. Vision-guided road following requires extracting road boundaries from images in real-time to guide the navigation of autonomous vehicles on the roadway. We use a histogram-based pixel classification algorithm to classify road and non-road regions in the image. The most likely road region is selected and a polygonal representation of the detected road region boundary is used as the input to a geometric reasoning module that performs model-based reasoning to accurately identify consistent road segments and road junctions. In this module, local geometric supports for each road edge segment are collected and recorded and a global consistency checking is performed' to obtain a consistent interpretation of the raw data. Limited cases of incorrect image segmentation due to shadows or unusual road conditions can be detected and corrected based on the road model. Similarly, road junctions can be detected using the same principle. The real-time road following vision system has been implemented on a high-speed image processor connected to a host computer. We have tested our road following vision system and vehicle control system on a gravel road.
180 AIRWAY AND ALVEOLAR PRESSURES IN VENTILATED, ABNORMAL LUNGS

To describe the relations, during mechanical ventilation(CPPB), of airway pressure(AP) and its mean value(MAP) to alveolar pressure(ALP) and its mean value(MALP) in the diseased lung, 19 infant lambs were subjected to controlled, volume regulated CPPB at inspiratory(I) times of 25 and 50%, and at 0 to 11mmHg positive end-expiratory pressure(PEEP), under conditions of fixed inspiratory airflow. To estimate ALP, static recoil pressure was determined by airway occlusion once every 10th breath, at a time in the respiratory cycle that was varied from trial to trial. From measured occlusion times, AP and ALP, real time AP and ALP curves were generated representing one respiratory cycle; MAP and MALP were calculated by integration; and the contribution to MALP of airway resistance (MALPr) was estimated from %I, PEEP, peak ALP and MALP. After control determinations, 10 lambs received oleic acid (OA-.15 ml/kg) and 9 received propranalol and serotonin(S) all pressures mmHg, x±sem, †p<.05 vs control *p<.01 vs control Both OA and S increased airway resistance (Raw) and reduced both thoracic compliance(Ct) and arterial pO2. Proximal mean airway pressure was an accurate and precise estimator of mean alveolar pressure both in normal and in abnormal lungs, in spite of elevated airway, resistance.
Photoreceptor-Like Cells in Transgenic Mouse Eye

Purpose. Recent success of rescuing vision by photoreceptor replacement in mouse models of photoreceptor degeneration intensifies the need to identify approaches to generate photoreceptors cells for future replacement therapies. We explored the possibility of whether in the mouse eye photoreceptor-like cells could arise from the RPE experimentally manipulated to express a regulatory gene participating in transcriptional networks leading to photoreceptor genesis during retinal development.
Integral representations for products of Airy functions: part 2: cubic products

Integral representations are obtained for some cubic products of the Airy functions Ai(z) and Bi(z). These integral representations are of the Laplace contour type but they involve the modified Bessel functions of order \(\frac 16\). From these results it is then possible to evaluate a number of definite integrals involving such cubic products.
Foreign Assistance and the Struggle Against HIV/AIDS in the Developing World

Abstract The few studies that have examined the systematic determinants of HIV/AIDS policy cross-nationally have left the possible impact of foreign aid out of the equation. At a time when developed nations are critically reassessing their foreign aid commitments a deeper understanding of the impact of HIV/AIDS foreign aid on policy outcomes in the developing world is vital. This study expands the present literature by analyzing the role of foreign funding in a nation's response to the epidemic. The authors find that while HIV/AIDS directed foreign aid has significantly positive effects on a country's treatment coverage rates, the level of traditionalism is a more important influence with regard to the proclivity of a country to adopt preventative policies centred on HIV/AIDS education. Civil and political rights are critical, but not often the real problem for the destitute sick. My patients in Haiti can now vote but they can't get medical care or clean water. (Paul Farmer)
Involvement of facultative apomixis in inheritance of EPSPS gene amplification in glyphosate-resistant Amaranthus palmeri

The inheritance of glyphosate resistance in two Amaranthus palmeri populations (R1 and R2) was examined in reciprocal crosses (RC) and second reciprocal crosses (2RC) between glyphosate-resistant (R) and -susceptible (S) parents of this dioecious species. R populations and Female-R × Male-S crosses contain higher 5-enolpyruvylshikimate-3-phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene copy numbers than the S population. EPSPS expression, EPSPS enzyme activity, EPSPS protein quantity, and level of resistance to glyphosate correlated positively with genomic EPSPS relative copy number. Transfer of resistance was more influenced by the female than the male parent in spite of the fact that the multiple copies of EPSPS are amplified in the nuclear genome. This led us to hypothesize that this perplexing pattern of inheritance may result from apomictic seed production in A. palmeri. We confirmed that reproductively isolated R and S female plants produced seeds, indicating that A. palmeri can produce seeds both sexually and apomictically (facultative apomixis). This apomictic trait accounts for the low copy number inheritance in the Female-S × Male-R offsprings. Apomixis may also enhance the stability of the glyphosate resistance trait in the R populations in the absence of reproductive partners.
Canonical correlation approach to common spatial patterns

Common spatial patterns (CSPs) are a way of spatially filtering EEG signals to increase the discriminability between the filtered variance/power between the two classes. The proposed canonical correlation approach to CSP (CCACSP) utilizes temporal information in the time series, in addition to exploiting the covariance structure of the different classes, to find filters which maximize the bandpower difference between the classes. We show with simulated data, that the unsupervised canonical correlation analysis (CCA) algorithm is better able to extract the original class-discriminative sources than the CSP algorithm in the presence of large amounts of additive Gaussian noise (while the CSP algorithm is better at very low noise levels) and that our CCACSP algorithm is a hybrid, yielding good performance at all noise levels. Finally, experiments on data from the BCI competitions confirm the effectiveness of the CCACSP algorithm and a merged CSP/CCACSP algorithm (mCCACSP).
Time response constant and transfer function of magnetic amplifiers

Several years ago Dr. T. A. Buchhold of the General Electric Company, while still associated with Redstone Arsenal and later with Ford Instrument Company, made theoretical investigations about the transient performance of magnetic amplifiers. In the course of his work the concept of the specific dynamic resistance of square loop core materials and, directly related to it, the concept of the dynamic resistance of magnetic amplifiers was established as a convenient means to express mathematically the performance of such amplifiers. Although Dr. Buchhold presented his findings in an internal company report, his work has unfortunately never been published as a paper. This situation causes certain difficulties in presenting a paper which uses the foregoing concept without at the same time referring in at least some detail to Dr. Buchhold's original work.
Preparation and characterization of the quaternary chalcogenides Cu2B(II)C(IV)X4[B(II)=Zn, Cd; C(IV)=Si, Ge; X=S, Se]

Abstract A number of quaternary chalcogenides crystallizing with the wurtz-stannite structure have been prepared by chemical vapor transport and characterized. Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 and Cu 2 ZnSiSe 4 transmit in the infrared beyond 12 microns. Cu 2 ZnGeS 4 was stable in air up to 620°C and also was the hardest of all the materials studied.
¿Es el Chile de la post-dictadura feminista?

This essay is about the new trends on Chilean feminisms and how they have become part of the social text. The paper discusses how feminist discourses after dictatorship (1973-1990) remain without putting into question the category of "women" as a generalization that erases class and racial differences among women. This is analyzed in the context of the compromise made by Chilean democratic governments with the interests of oligarchy and the Catholic Church in order to maintain the status quo. Part of this compromise has constrained feminist discourses to the nuclear family frame, within which class, race and sexuality cannot be fully problematized. Since Chilean feminists are not questioning their place of enunciation, problems such as reproductive rights or women access to the public space continue to be seen from a privileged perspective that obliterates the existing discriminations among women.
Total diet studies: the identification of core foods in the United States food supply.

Some total diet studies are based on the selection and analysis of core foods in a national or regional food supply. One way to select core foods is by computerized evaluation of the daily food intakes reported by subjects participating in national food consumption surveys. The foods consumed by the population groups of concern may be aggregated into core food groups. The foods within each group may be ranked according to daily intake and weight percentage of the total diet. The food that best represents each group may then be identified as a core food, and the daily consumption levels for each food group may then be assigned to the core food representing the group. Consumption levels may be determined for the specific age‐sex categories of concern. To assess the representativeness of core foods identified in this manner, the food composition database of the national survey may be used to determine nutrient intakes based on the full range of foods in the database versus nutrient intakes based on the core ...
ELECTROGENERATED CHEMILUMINESCENCE OF SEVERAL POLYCYCLIC AROMATIC HYDROCARBONS

Electrogenerated chemiluminescence (eel) of several polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) (-)/triphenylamine (TPA) derivative (+) mixed systems has been studied at a platinum wire electrode in acetonitrile (ACN) and tetrahydrofuran (THF) solutions using tetra-n-butylammonium perchlorate (TBAP) as a supporting electrolyte, and the results are reported. Exciplexes, as well as the lowest singlet excited state of PAH, are identified as emitting species in these eel systems. The results shown by the temperature and pulse duration dependencies on eel intensities indicate that exciplexes are formed directly from solvent separated ion pairs. The interaction of PAH in their excited states with several donor molecules is discussed based on eel and fluorescence quenching results.
Rhinologic causes of facial pain and headache.

SYNOPSIS Facial pain and headache are common and difficult problems encountered by physicians. A rather common cause, frequently overlooked, is rhinologic. Structural or nasal mucosal (or both) disorders are capable of producing facial pain or headache. In addition, either benign or malignant lesions of the nose and or paranasal sinuses can cause facial pain and headache. An outline of the various rhinologic causes for facial pain and headache is offered. Speculations and correlations with various experimental studies are included in an attempt to explain some of the mechanisms of referred pain from the nose and sinuses to the head and face.
TIGRA: A Targeted Iterative Graph Routing Assembler for breakpoint assembly

Recent progress in next-generation sequencing has greatly facilitated our study of genomic structural variation. Unlike single nucleotide variants and small indels, many structural variants have not been completely characterized at nucleotide resolution. Deriving the complete sequences underlying such breakpoints is crucial for not only accurate discovery, but also for the functional characterization of altered alleles. However, our current ability to determine such breakpoint sequences is limited because of challenges in aligning and assembling short reads. To address this issue, we developed a targeted iterative graph routing assembler, TIGRA, which implements a set of novel data analysis routines to achieve effective breakpoint assembly from next-generation sequencing data. In our assessment using data from the 1000 Genomes Project, TIGRA was able to accurately assemble the majority of deletion and mobile element insertion breakpoints, with a substantively better success rate and accuracy than other algorithms. TIGRA has been applied in the 1000 Genomes Project and other projects and is freely available for academic use.
Joint Physical-Layer and System-Level Power Management for Delay-Sensitive Wireless Communications

We consider the problem of energy-efficient point-to-point transmission of delay-sensitive data (e.g., multimedia data) over a fading channel. Existing research on this topic utilizes either physical-layer centric solutions, namely power-control and adaptive modulation and coding (AMC), or system-level solutions based on dynamic power management (DPM); however, there is currently no rigorous and unified framework for simultaneously utilizing both physical-layer centric and system-level techniques to achieve the minimum possible energy consumption, under delay constraints, in the presence of stochastic and a priori unknown traffic and channel conditions. In this paper, we propose such a framework. We formulate the stochastic optimization problem as a Markov decision process (MDP) and solve it online using reinforcement learning (RL). The advantages of the proposed online method are that 1) it does not require a priori knowledge of the traffic arrival and channel statistics to determine the jointly optimal power-control, AMC, and DPM policies; 2) it exploits partial information about the system so that less information needs to be learned than when using conventional reinforcement learning algorithms; and 3) it obviates the need for action exploration, which severely limits the adaptation speed and runtime performance of conventional reinforcement learning algorithms. Our results show that the proposed learning algorithms can converge up to two orders of magnitude faster than a state-of-the-art learning algorithm for physical layer power-control and up to three orders of magnitude faster than conventional reinforcement learning algorithms.
Coherent Precipitation — Phase Field Method

Phase transformation is still the most efficient and effective way to produce various microstructures at mesoscales, and to control their evolution over time. In crystalline solids, phase transformations are usually accompanied by coherency strain generated by lattice misfit between coexisting phases. The coherency strain accommodation alters both thermodynamics and kinetics of the phase transformations and, in particular, produces various self-organized, quasi-periodical array of precipitates such as the tweed [1], twin [2], chessboard structures [3], and fascinating morphological patterns such as the stars, fans and windmill patters [4], to name a few (Fig. 1). These microstructures have puzzled materials researchers for decades. Incorporation of the strain energy in models of phase transformations not only allows for developing a fundamental understanding of the formation of these microstructures, but also provides the opportunity to engineer new microstructures of salient features for novel applications. Therefore, it is desirable to have a model that is able to predict the formation and time-evolution of coherent microstructural patterns.
Regulation of IL-1 receptor antagonist by TSH in fibrocytes and orbital fibroblasts.

Context: The IL-1 family plays important roles in normal physiology and mediates inflammation. The actions of IL-1 are modulated by multiple IL-1 receptor antagonists (IL-1RA), including intracellular and secreted forms. IL-1 has been implicated in autoimmunity, such as that occurring in Graves' disease (GD) and its inflammatory orbital manifestation, thyroid-associated ophthalmopathy (TAO). We have previously reported that CD34+ fibrocytes, monocyte-lineage bone marrow-derived cells, express functional TSH receptor, the central antigen in GD. When activated by TSH, they produce IL-6, IL-8, and TNF-α. Moreover, they infiltrate the orbit in TAO in which they transition into CD34+ fibroblasts and comprise a population of orbital fibroblasts (OFs). Little is known currently about any relationship between TSH, TSH receptor, and the IL-1 pathway. Objective: The objective of the study was to determine whether TSH regulates IL-1RA in fibrocytes and OFs. Design/Setting/Participants: Fibrocytes and OFs were collec...
Prediction of Fat Content in Poultry Meat by Near-Infrared Transmission Analysis

SUMMARY The meat industry routinely determines fat content of meat for quality monitoring and processed product formulation. Meat, as a raw material, is extremely variable and may range from 1 to 65% fat. Fat analysis on a batch-by-batch basis is essential. The reference methods for fat are typically time consuming and generate hazardous waste [1]. In the past 10 yr, near-infrared reflectance (NIR) and transmittance (NIT) spectroscopy have gained widespread use for analyses of quality constituents in many materials. Near-infrared spectroscopy relies on a reference method for calibration and instrument standardization. However, it is often preferred to reference methods because it is rapid, accurate, and cost effective; it does not require skilled operators; and it does not generate hazardous waste. The use of NIT for the prediction of fat in boned raw poultry breast muscle, trimmings, and raw finished product (chicken nuggets) was investigated in this study. We used a database supplied by the NIT instrument manufacturer and samples collected from a local processing plant to develop fat calibration models with an error of 0.70 and 0.33% fat, respectively. Fat calibration models were validated with local processor samples. The standard error of performance was 0.84 and 0.38% fat for the instrument manufacturer and local processor calibration, respectively. Typical within-product standarderrorsforotherrapidmethodsare0.9and1.6%forBancoandUnivexrendering,respectively [2]. Badcock fat has been rejected as an official method due to loss of accuracy for samples greater than 27% fat and high bias for samples less than 27% fat [2]. Standard errors for Official AOAC Soxhlet type methods have ranged from 0.41 to 1.14% for fat [1]. USDA performance criteria for repeatability require standard errors of less than 0.63 for fat [1]. This study supports that NIT can be a useful tool in the poultry processing industry for fat analysis in quality monitoring and processed product formulation.
Informing memory operations: memory performance feedback mechanisms and their applications

Memory latency is an important bottleneck in system performance that cannot be adequately solved by hardware alone. Several promising software techniques have been shown to address this problem successfully in specific situations. However, the generality of these software approaches has been limited because current architecturtes do not provide a fine-grained, low-overhead mechanism for observing and reacting to memory behavior directly. To fill this need, this article proposes a new class of memory operations called informing memory operations, which essentially consist of a memory operatin combined (either implicitly or explicitly) with a conditional branch-and-ink operation that is taken only if the reference suffers a cache miss. This article describes two different implementations of informing memory operations. One is based on a cache-outcome condition code, and the other is based on low-overhead traps. We find that modern in-order-issue and out-of-order-issue superscalar processors already contain the bulk of the necessary hardware support. We describe how a number of software-based memory optimizations can exploit informing memory operations to enhance performance, and we look at cache coherence with fine-grained access control as a case study. Our performance results demonstrate that the runtime overhead of invoking the informing mechanism on the Alpha 21164 and MIPS R10000 processors is generally small enough to provide considerable flexibility to hardware and software designers, and that the cache coherence application has improved performance compared to other current solutions. We believe that the inclusion of informing memory operations in future processors may spur even more innovative performance optimizations.
Reactive-Environment Hollow Cathode Sputtering: Compound Film Production, and Application to Thin Film Photovoltaics

This paper reviews EPV's development of hardware and process technology to accomplish large area, high rate sputtering from metal targets in a reactive mode without target poisoning. The method is termed reactive-environment hollow cathode sputtering (RE-HCS) and makes use of the intense plasma confined in a hollow cathode. A linearly extended cathode is described, with one or more reactive gases delivered externally to the cathode. The basic operating characteristics of the cathode are described. The method is applied to the development of high performance transparent conducting oxides (TCOs) and other oxides and nitrides. The relevance of RE-HCS to the PV community is further demonstrated through the incorporation of TCOs and other materials produced by the method into thin film PV devices with competitive performance. Versions of the cathode suitable for large width industrial coating have been developed.
Epizootiological aspects of Streptococcus iniae affecting tilapia in Texas

Abstract Some epizootiological aspects of a bacterial septicemia of hybrid tilapia (Tilapia nilotica X T. aurea) caused by a biotype of Streptococcus iniae were investigated. Bacterial growth in Brain Heart Infusion broth was detected at 10, 25, 35 and 45 °C, between pH 5.5–8.5, and at salinities of up to 30 ppt. After suspension of the bacteria in distilled water, viable cocci were recovered for up to 5 days at 5 °C and
Birkeland currents in the plasma sheet

Received 30 August 2002; revised 1 April 2003; accepted 22 April 2003; published 23 July 2003. [1] Geotail particle and magnetic field measurements were combined to generate long-term-averaged 3-D models of the plasma sheet. Ampere’s law was used to calculate the Birkeland current jk in the � 30 1 RE region. Current diversion, or the growth of current in a unit flux tube jk/B, took place throughout the region studied. This suggests that electron scattering is broadly distributed. No substantial change in jk/B could be detected between the plasma sheet boundary layer and the ionosphere. Birkeland currents were strongest and exhibited a dawn-dusk asymmetry when the interplanetary magnetic field (IMF) was southward. This asymmetry may be associated with the formation of thin current sheets on the dusk side during disturbed periods. Symmetries were apparent above and below the neutral sheet when the IMF was northward or southward, but these symmetries were not present when the IMF pointed dawnward or duskward. For these latter cases, separate surfaces were found on which Bx =0 ,By = 0, and jk = 0. This apparently complex structure could be understood as a consequence of the tendency for By in the neutral sheet to have the same sign as the IMF By. The observed Birkeland currents were in the region 1 sense when leaving the plasma sheet for all IMF orientations. Current diversion was analyzed in an MHD framework. The analysis suggested that the reduction of gradient and curvature guiding center drifts, and the presence of polarization currents in the diversion region can provide sources of electrons to sustain a steady jk. It also was noted that the formation of an Ek region in the topside ionosphere can make it appear to the conducting ionosphere as if it is being driven by a current source rather than by the plasma sheet electric field. INDEX TERMS: 2764 Magnetospheric Physics: Plasma sheet; 2708 Magnetospheric Physics: Current systems (2409); 2744 Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetotail; 2736 Magnetospheric Physics: Magnetosphere/ionosphere interactions;
The Bond Dissociation Energies of 1-Butene

The bond dissociation energies of 1-butene and several calibration systems are computed using the G2(MP2) approach. The agreement between the calibration systems and experiment is very good. The computed values for 1-butene are compared with calibration systems and the agreement between the computed results for 1-butene and the "rule of thumb" values from the smaller systems is remarkably good.
Avalanche processes in an idealized lamp: I. Measurements of formative breakdown time

Electrical breakdown of cold (room temperature) metal-halide arc lamps typically occurs through the fill of a rare gas (at a pressure of tens of Torrs) and the vapour produced by the metal donor. Restarting a warm lamp is often made difficult by the high pressure of the metal and metal-halide vapours. To reliably start cold lamps with a minimum voltage and a minimum sputtering of the electrodes, and to restart warm lamps that have a high pressure of the metal and metal-halide vapours, auxiliary sources of ionization are often used. As a point of departure for the study of these processes, measurements of formative breakdown times were made in a cylindrical discharge tube resembling a compact polycrystalline alumina envelope metal-halide lamp. Breakdown times were measured for Ar/Xe gas mixtures at total pressures of 10–90 Torr and biases up to 2 kV applied to a 1.6 cm gap. The data provide a knowledge base for a companion computational investigation. We found that breakdown times generally decreased with small admixtures of Xe in Ar (5–15%) and increased with larger admixtures. We attribute these trends to the changing shape of the tail of the electron energy distribution.
Transforming K-12 computing education: an update and a call to action

This critical perspective focuses on the new Advanced Placement Computer Science Principles course and its place in the larger CS10K Initiative. CS Principles as defined by the College Board is a f...
Effect of spatial pooler initialization on column activity in hierarchical temporal memory

In the Hierarchical Temporal Memory (HTM) paradigm the effect of overlap between inputs on the activation of columns in the spatial pooler is studied. Numerical results suggest that similar inputs are represented by similar sets of columns and dissimilar inputs are represented by dissimilar sets of columns. It is shown that the spatial pooler produces these results under certain conditions for the connectivity and proximal thresholds at initialization. Qualitative arguments about the learning dynamics of the spatial pooler are then discussed.
Intra-articular flap fracture of the olecranon in a child. A case report.

The case of a patient who had surgical treatment of this unusual childhood fracture is presented
Differentiation between human ClC-2 and CFTR Cl- channels with pharmacological agents.

It has been difficult to separate/identify the roles of ClC-2 and CFTR in Cl− transport studies. Using pharmacological agents, we aimed to differentiate functionally between ClC-2 and CFTR Cl− chan...
Community-, Healthcare- and Hospital-Acquired Severe Sepsis Hospitalizations in the University HealthSystem Consortium

Objectives:Severe sepsis poses a major burden on the U.S. healthcare system. Previous epidemiologic studies have not differentiated community-acquired severe sepsis from healthcare-associated severe sepsis or hospital-acquired severe sepsis hospitalizations. We sought to compare and contrast communi
Hemodynamic changes during pregnancy in the rabbit

Blood volume (BV), plasma volume (PV), red cell volume (RCV), cardiac output (CO), and organ blood flows were measured in nonpregnant (Group I), 10 to 19 days' pregnant (Group II), and 20 to 30 days' pregnant (Group III) rabbits. BV, PV, and RCV increased throughout pregnancy, with maximum increase during the second third of gestation. CO peaked during the second third of gestation and then decreased. Mean arterial pressure and systemic vascular resistance decreased. Total reproductive blood flow increased throughout pregnancy but when calculated per unit of weight it did not change. Redistribution of blood flow within the reproductive organs occurred, with ovarian and placental flow per unit of weight increasing and myometrial flow/unit of weight decreasing. Splenic flow decreased significantly; liver flow decreased. The flow to the lungs and kidneys remained unchanged. The data suggested that major hemodynamic changes occur during the first two thirds of gestation and this period appears to test the competency of the maternal organism to adapt to the needs of pregnancy. The last one third of gestation is characterized by the fetoplacental unit interaction.
The automated anesthetic record will not automatically solve problems in record keeping

The proponents of automated anesthetic records list the ostensibly logical reasons for them and then claim that automated records will make everything better. The logic goes as follows: (1) It is good to have accurate records because accurate records (a) make clinical decision making more effective and improve patient safety, (b) provide better defense against frivolous lawsuits, and (c) enable more astute medical policy decisions based on improved retrospective case reviews; (2) automatic record-keeping systems will give more nearly accurate records; (3) therefore, quality of care will improve if we acquire automatic record-keeping systems. This logic fails on several counts, which are detailed in this essay. Having said all this, however, I do believe that automated record systems will be implemented and they will be extremely useful, both for the patient and for those who care for the patient. However, we must exercise great care in their design and implementation, lest they wind up doing more harm than good.
Clinical autonomic neuropharmacology.

Autonomic failure occurs in association with a wide variety of systemic and neurologic disorders. Orthostatic hypotension is generally the most disabling consequence of chronic autonomic dysfunction. The results of biochemical measurements and neuropharmacologic investigations distinguish between central and peripheral forms of autonomic failure. Management of autonomic failure is based on pharmacologic strategies developed through an increased understanding of the pathophysiologic mechanisms that underlie the symptoms of autonomic dysfunction.
Toward a Paradigm Shift for Intercultural and International Communication: New Research Directions

(1993). Toward a Paradigm Shift for Intercultural and International Communication: New Research Directions. Annals of the International Communication Association: Vol. 16, Communication Yearbook 16, pp. 437-457.
A Stylus-Driven Intelligent Tutoring System for Music Education Instruction

Inspiring musicians and non-musician hobbyists alike can enjoy various benefits from learning music theory beyond its importance in performing music itself. Such reasons include developing their mathematical abilities, improving their reading comprehension, expanding their memory capabilities, better appreciating music that they listen to, and so on. However, current resources that are available for teaching music theory to students present their own inherent disadvantages. Specifically, traditional music theory classroom centers assume that students already have existing musical knowledge, existing self-study paper-based materials lack immediate feedback, while emerging educational apps either lack stylus-based interaction or intelligent feedback appropriate for novice students. In this paper, we introduce a stylus-driven intelligent tutoring system for music education instruction that aims to combine the benefits while addressing the limitations of existing instructional resources for teaching music theory. Our proposed system provides an accessible educational application with an intelligent sketch user interface that is designed for novice students interested in learning music theory through a series of interactive music composition lessons and quizzes. Following the completion of a student’s composed solution to a prompted music theory question, our system first leverages appropriate sketch and gesture recognition techniques to automatically understand the student’s input, and then generates feedback and assessment of the student’s input that emulates those from a music theory instructor. From our evaluations, we demonstrate that not only did our system automatically understood students’ composed solutions with reasonable accuracy, but also that novice students were able to successfully grasp introductory music theory concepts from a single session using our system.
Global optimizing flows for active contours

This thesis makes significant contributions to the object detection problem in computer vision. The object detection problem is, given a digital image of a scene, to detect the relevant object in the image. One technique for performing object detection, called "active contours," optimizes a constructed energy that is defined on contours (closed curves) and is tailored to image features. An optimization method can be used to perform the optimization of the energy, and thereby deform an initially placed contour to the relevant object. The typical optimization technique used in almost every active contour paper is evolving the contour by the energy's gradient descent flow, i.e., the steepest descent flow, in order to drive the initial contour to (hopefully) the minimum curve. The problem with this technique is that often times the contour becomes stuck in a sub-optimal and undesirable local minimum of the energy. This problem can be partially attributed to the fact that the gradient flows of these energies make use of only local image and contour information. By local, we mean that in order to evolve a point on the contour, only information local to that point is used. Therefore, in this thesis, we introduce a new class of flows that are global in that the evolution of a point on the contour depends on global information from the entire curve. These flows help avoid a number of problems with traditional flows including helping in avoiding undesirable local minima. We demonstrate practical applications of these flows for the object detection problem, including applications to both image segmentation and visual object tracking.
Minimal residual local disease predicts improved survival after chemoradiotherapy in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the esophagus

15070 Background: Our recent analyses (JCO, in press) showed that residual nodal disease but not T-stage predicted survival after chemo-radiotherapy (CRT) and surgery for esophageal adenocarcinoma (AC). In this study, we investigated prognostic factors for esophageal squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) after CRT. Methods: Retrospective review of patients with esophageal SCC who had CRT and esophagectomy. Data collected: demographics, CRT details, pathologic findings, and survival. Statistical methods included recursive partitioning (RP) and Kaplan-Meier (KM) analyses. Results: Patients included in the study were treated between 1/1996 and 2/2006. Follow up was thru 5/06. 91 patients were appropriate for analysis. There were 56 men (61.5%) and 35 women (38.5%). 72 (79.1%) patients had clinical regional disease prior to treatment, while the rest had locally advanced disease. Median radiation dose was 5040 cGy, and 78 (85.7%) patients received cisplatin based chemotherapy. 49 (53.8%) patients had a complete local ...
[19] Methods in neuroimmunomodulation of macrophage function

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the methodology to assess macrophage function and to determine the role of the hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis and the sympathetic nervous system in modulating the functional capacity of the macrophage. The macrophage is a phagocytic leukocyte that serves several important functions in host resistance. The macrophage has traditionally been thought of as a scavenger cell that eliminates tissue debris. The macrophage phagocytizes and destroys invading microorganisms. However, a large number of human pathogens have evolved so that they are capable of subverting initial antimicrobial defense mechanisms and can grow within the macrophage. The macrophage is an important effector cell of the immune response. Thus, the production of several cytokines by CD4 + T cells as well as by the macrophage itself leads to macrophage activation. During the activation process the macrophage acquires the ability to suppress the growth of intracellular microorganisms that previously grew within the cell.
Calculation of density of states for modeling photoemission using method of moments

Modeling photoemission using the Moments Approach (akin to Spicer’s “Three Step Model”) is often presumed to follow simple models for the prediction of two critical properties of photocathodes: the yield or “Quantum Efficiency” (QE), and the intrinsic spreading of the beam or “emittance” en;rms. The simple models, however, tend to obscure properties of electrons in materials, the understanding of which is necessary for a proper prediction of a semiconductor or metal’s QE and en;rms. This structure is characterized by localized resonance features as well as a universal trend at high energy. Presented in this study is a prototype analysis concerning the density of states (DOS) factor D(E) for Copper in bulk to replace the simple three-dimensional form of D(E) = (m/π2 h3)p2mE currently used in the Moments approach. This analysis demonstrates that excited state spectra of atoms, molecules and solids based on density-functional theory can be adapted as useful information for practical applications, as well as providing theoretical interpretation of density-of-states structure, e.g., qualitatively good descriptions of optical transitions in matter, in addition to DFT’s utility in providing the optical constants and material parameters also required in the Moments Approach.