cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Memories of the Bureau of Standards' SEAC

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the memories of the Bureau of Standards' SEAC. The work of Sam Alexander was remembered, who was the moving force in the Bureau's hardware work on computers. Sam's group in 1948 had developed several computer components, particularly, involving pentode vacuum tubes and pulse transformers. The group had also developed some of the input–output equipment for the Institute for Advanced Study computer. When the National Bureau of Standards Interim Computer became operational, it was renamed as SEAC for Standards Eastern Automatic Computer. The logic design included integer multiplication, integer division, and logical multiplication. The hardware had two rather unusual features. One of these was that, except for the memory circuits, all of the pulse amplification was performed by a single type of pentode vacuum tube driving step-down pulse transformers. Another feature of the computer was the logic through the machine was done by germanium diodes.
A Generalized Model of the Effects of Microstructure on Ultrasonic Backscattering and Flaw Detection

The influence of microstructure on ultrasonic inspection is well known. Familiar examples include the attenuation of ultrasound due to scattering from grain boundaries and the anisotropies in velocity that are associated with preferred grain orientation. Less commonly discussed are the creation of backscattered noise, which can mask flaw signals, and the modification of transducer radiation patterns, e.g. the modulation of the phase fronts in a beam, which can cause fluctuations in signals reflected from surfaces [1]. The latter influence the measurement of attenuation as well as the strength of signals reflected from flaws. The goal of this work is to develop a unified basis for understanding these phenomena, as can be used in the analysis of the performance of ultrasonic flaw detection systems. Of interest are correlations of noise in time as well as the variance of noise signals (about their mean of zero) and reflected signals (about a non-zero mean).
Excavating Concepts of Broadcasting: Developing a method of cultural research using digitized historical periodicals

This article demonstrates a method of cultural–historical analysis in which digital archives of magazines and newspapers play a central role. It addresses the formation of broadcasting as a particu...
Sensory deprivation on visceral activity. IV. The effect of temporary visual deprivation on canine gastric secretion.

In 6 dogs, gastric cannulas were placed in the dependent part of the stomach. Three of the dogs also had esophagostomies. The total acid output per hour was determined after a) teasing with meat, b) sham-feeding with meat, c) insulin-induced hypoglycemia, and d) the subcutaneous injection of 0.01 mg histamine base/kg. The mean total acid output was established for each test condition for each dog. Temporary visual deprivation depressed the total acid output response to teasing with meat and to sham-feeding with meat.
Using Discussions to Foster Critical Thinking

Informed pedagogy should be based on an understanding of how students learn the particular skills or dispositions teachers are trying to develop. In this chapter I explore how a pedagogy of critical thinking can be developed that is grounded in what students say are the activities, curricula and teaching behaviors that most help them learn to think critically. Overwhelmingly, critical thinking is reported to be experienced as a social learning process, best learned through discussion. Through discussion students are exposed to multiple interpretations and perspectives and this exposure helps bring their own assumptions into sharper focus. Of course every classroom is a complex configuration of multiple identities, abilities, personalities, experiences and readiness for learning, so it is impossible to develop only one form of pedagogy that will elicit the same responses in every student. But along with teachers modeling, the process of learning to think critically seems well suited to dialogic pedagogy in which teachers use open-ended discussions to help students explore multiple frameworks and viewpoints and examine the assumptions they hold.
The Special Value of Children's Age-Mixed Play.

From an evolutionary perspective, the normal social play of children involves kids of various ages. Our human and great-ape ancestors most likely lived in small groups with low birth rates, which made play with others of nearly the same age rare. Consequently, the evolutionary functions of children’s social play are best understood by examining play in groups that include children of different ages. The author calls this kind of play “age mixed.” He reviews the research on such play, including his own research conducted at the Sudbury Valley School in Massachusetts where students from ages four to about eighteen mix freely. He concludes that age-mixed play offers opportunities for learning and development not present in play among those close in age, permitting younger children to learn more from older playmates than they could from playing with only their peers. In age-mixed play, the more sophisticated behavior of older children offers role models for younger children, who also typically receive more emotional support from older kids than from those near their own age. Age-mixed play also permits older children to learn by teaching and to practice nurturance and leadership; and they are often inspired by the imagination and creativity of their younger playmates.
Dying Well-Informed: The Need for Better Clinical Education Surrounding Facilitating End-of-Life Conversations

The need for improved clinical education surrounding the way difficult news is delivered and how to initiate end-of-life (EOL) discussions with seriously ill patients and their families is essential. Physicians and medical students often report feeling unprepared or uncomfortable with broaching the topic of death with their patients and families [1]. Early and honest conversations with patients concerning diagnoses and advance directives help patients and their families make well-informed decisions regarding future medical care, minimize pain and fears, and allow patients to experience a "peaceful death [1]." Moreover, end-of-life conversations frequently focus on resuscitation plans (advance directives), but should be broadened to include patients' psychosocial, physical, and economic concerns. Transparent, realistic, and sensitive end-of-life conversations can help patients maintain autonomy and dignity in the dying process and increase their quality of life as they near death. Additionally, initiating these conversations can alleviate emotional stress and physical symptoms, prevent invasive, costly, unnecessary, and unwanted care, aid grieving families through the bereavement process, and increase patients' satisfaction with end-of-life care provisions [2]. Overall, more attention and training must be delivered to physicians so that they are better prepared to initiate end-of-life discussions in a patient-centered way, focusing on patients' values and priorities. Requiring a more in depth, developmentally appropriate, and standardized training in EOL and palliative care for physicians-in-training in all disciplines in medical education is necessary. Redesigning medical school EOL curriculum will ensure physicians are better prepared to discuss death and dying and to ensure that seriously ill patients are dying well-informed.
Storage Limitation Statements: Temperature – Herbicides

Revised! PI-123, a 10-page illustrated guide by Frederick M. Fishel, provides general temperature effects on storage properties of agricultural herbicides. A table is included that lists many of the common agricultural herbicides registered for use in Florida, with storage limitations statements. Includes references. Published by the UF Department of Agronomy, October 2009.
How can we define clinically important improvement in pain scores after biceps tenodesis

Background Patient postoperative pain is an important consideration following biceps tenodesis. The visual analog scale (VAS) for pain is one of the most commonly used measures for perioperative pain assessment. Currently, there is limited understanding of clinically significant improvement in VAS pain. Purpose To define the substantial clinical benefit (SCB), patient acceptable symptomatic state (PASS), and minimal clinically important difference (MCID) for the VAS pain score in patients undergoing open subpectoral (OSPBT) or arthroscopic suprapectoral biceps tenodesis (ASPBT) at 1 year from surgery; and to identify preoperative predictors of achieving each outcome end point. Methods Data from consecutive patients who underwent isolated biceps tenodesis between January 2014 and March 2017 were collected and analyzed. Baseline data and postoperative patient-reported outcome (PRO) scores were recorded at 1 year postoperatively. In order to quantify the clinical significance of outcome achievement for the VAS pain score, the MCID, PASS, and SCB were calculated. Results A total of 165 patients were included in the final analysis. The VAS pain score threshold for achieving MCID was defined as a decrease of 12.9 (0-100). PASS was defined as achieving a 2-year postoperative score of 27.4 points (0-100), and SCB was defined as a decrease of 25.1 (0-100) at 1-year follow-up. The rates of achieving MCID, PASS, and SCB were 73.3%, 52.8%, and 45.9%, respectively. Multivariate regression analysis demonstrated that ASPBT (P = .01) and a lower preoperative Constant-Murley score were predictive of achieving the MCID (P = .01). In contrast, a lower preoperative score on the SF-12 Physical Component Summary (P = .01) and a higher score on the preoperative American Shoulder and Elbow Surgeons Standardized Shoulder Assessment Form (P 6 months was predictive of a reduced likelihood to achieve PASS. Conclusion This study identified scores for VAS pain that can be used to define clinically significant outcome after biceps tenodesis. Specifically, a decrease in pain score of 12.9 was a clinically important improvement in VAS pain, whereas a decrease of 25.1 represented the upper threshold of VAS pain improvement. Additionally, there were both modifiable and nonmodifiable factors that predicted achieving clinically significant levels of postoperative pain improvement.
What We Carry

In this autoethnography, I consider how bodies interact with the structural affordances around them. I hope this work encourages other scholars to engage the corporeal realities in their lifeworlds.
Blocking like it's hot: a synthetic chemists’ path to high-temperature lanthanide single molecule magnets

Progress in the synthesis, design, and characterisation of single-molecule magnets (SMMs) has expanded dramatically from curiosity driven beginnings to molecules that retain magnetization above the boiling point of liquid nitrogen. This is in no small part due to the increasingly collaborative nature of this research where synthetic targets are guided by theoretical design criteria. This article aims to summarize these efforts and progress from the perspective of a synthetic chemist with a focus on how chemistry can modulate physical properties. A simple overview is presented of lanthanide electronic structure in order to contextualize the synthetic advances that have led to drastic improvements in the performance of lanthanide-based SMMs from the early 2000s to the late 2010s.
Excimer Laser Atherectomy in Percutaneous Coronary Intervention: A Contemporary Review.

Abstract Excimer laser coronary atherectomy (ELCA) during percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) has been in use for more than twenty years. While early experiences were not favorable over balloon angioplasty alone, with improvement in operator technique, patient selection and technology, ELCA has established its own niche in contemporary PCI as a safe and effective atherectomy strategy. With growing experience in complex coronary interventions worldwide, ELCA has become one of the essential atherectomy tools offering unique advantages over other atherectomy devices. In the modern era, ELCA is commonly used for patients with in-stent restenosis, stent under expansion, balloon uncrossable lesions and chronic total occlusions. Technical success rates are reported to be >80% in most situations while procedural complication rates such as vessel dissection and perforation among others are reported to average 9% over the past 25 years with improvement over time. In this review, we provide a comprehensive systematic review of the ELCA system, its practical use, indications, and procedural techniques in the contemporary PCI era.
Laparoscopic and Robotic Transabdominal Preperitoneal Inguinal Hernia Repair

Groin/inguinal hernia repair (IHR) is one of the most commonly performed general surgery operations. Currently, an inguinal hernia can be repaired through an open, laparoscopic, or robotic-assisted approach. Herein, we detail our preoperative evaluation, patient selection and optimization, and postoperative management of a patient with a groin hernia as well as our minimally-invasive transabdominal preperitoneal (TAPP) approach, including both laparoscopic and robotic-assisted techniques, to the repair of a groin hernia.
GOT: Testing for Originality in Natural Language Generation

We propose an approach to automatically test for originality in generation tasks where no standard automatic measures exist. Our proposal addresses original uses of language, not necessarily original ideas. We provide an algorithm for our approach and a run-time analysis. The algorithm, which finds all of the original fragments in a ground-truth corpus and can reveal whether a generated fragment copies an original without attribution, has a run-time complexity of theta(nlogn) where n is the number of sentences in the ground truth.
Single-Cell RNA Sequencing Characterizes the Molecular Heterogeneity of the Larval Zebrafish Optic Tectum

The optic tectum (OT) is a multilaminated midbrain structure that acts as the primary retinorecipient in the zebrafish brain. Homologous to the mammalian superior colliculus, the OT is responsible for the reception and integration of stimuli, followed by elicitation of salient behavioral responses. While the OT has been the focus of functional experiments for decades, less is known concerning specific cell types, microcircuitry, and their individual functions within the OT. Recent efforts have contributed substantially to the knowledge of tectal cell types; however, a comprehensive cell catalog is incomplete. Here we contribute to this growing effort by applying single-cell RNA-sequencing (scRNA-seq) to characterize the transcriptomic profiles of tectal cells labeled by the transgenic enhancer trap line y304Et(cfos:Gal4;UAS:Kaede). We sequenced 13,320 cells, a 4X cellular coverage, and identified 25 putative OT cell populations. Within those cells, we identified several mature and developing neuronal populations, as well as non-neuronal cell types including oligodendrocytes, microglia, and radial glia. Although most mature neurons demonstrate GABAergic activity, several glutamatergic populations are present, as well as one glycinergic population. We also conducted Gene Ontology analysis to identify enriched biological processes, and computed RNA velocity to infer current and future transcriptional cell states. Finally, we conducted in situ hybridization to validate our bioinformatic analyses and spatially map select clusters. In conclusion, the larval zebrafish OT is a complex structure containing at least 25 transcriptionally distinct cell populations. To our knowledge, this is the first time scRNA-seq has been applied to explore the OT alone and in depth.
General Nutrition Guidelines for All Stone Formers

There are multiple nutrition-related influences on nephrolithiasis including body weight and obesity, fluid intake, sodium intake, and the acid–base balance of the diet. Obesity and related factors such as insulin resistance and hyperinsulinemia create metabolic abnormalities, such as lower urine pH and increased urinary calcium and oxalate excretion, increased uric acid and increased calcium oxalate stone risk, respectively. For this reason, weight loss may be an appropriate intervention to lower recurrence risk. In addition, stone formers have been shown to have lower 24-h urine volume than healthy controls, and increasing fluid intake decreases stone risk. High sodium intake can increase urinary calcium excretion, thus increasing the potential for the formation of calcium-containing stones. Helping patients replace excessive intake of processed foods, which are typically high in sodium, with fresh foods may be effective in reducing hypercalciuria. Diet may influence urine citrate, an inhibitor of calcium oxalate and calcium phosphate stone formation. If indicated, patients may be able to raise urinary citrate excretion by reducing the acid load of the diet. A high intake of purines from animal flesh may contribute in susceptible individuals to hyperuricosuria. Correcting diet-related stone risk factors for low urine volume, hypercalciuria, hypocitraturia, and hyperuricosuria may help lower patients’ risk of stone recurrence.
Temperature Dependence of the Complex Modulus for Fiber-Reinforced Materials

To examine the time-temperature dependence of fiber-reinforced composite materials, forced vibration experiments have been conducted. After suitable statistical smoothing techniques have been applied to the raw data, the complex moduli (storage and loss moduli) of boron-epoxy and graphite-epoxy have been determined for a wide range of temperatures and frequencies. The materials are shown to exhibit an Arrhenius type of behavior.
Excess Body Weight Affects Viscoelastic Properties of Triceps Surae in Older Women

Aging, inactivity, and excess body weight may negatively affect the passive work absorbing capacity of human skeletal muscle. The objective of this study was to examine the influence of excess body...
Probability Logic Modeling of Knowledge Discovery in Databases

A Knowledge discovery in databases (KDD) system with probability deduction capability is expected to provide more information for decision making. Based on Bacchus probability logic and formal concept analysis, we propose a logic model for KDD with probability deduction. We use formal concept analysis within the semantics of probability logic to import the notion of concept into modeling of KDD. One of the most important features of a KDD system is its ability to discover previously unknown and potentially useful patterns. We formalize the definitions of previously unknown and potentially useful patterns.
Environmental lung disease.

Environmental lung diseases are reviewed with regard to classification, diagnosis, the chest roentgenogram, special diagnostic procedures, pathology, and evaluation of pulmonary impairment. Causes of environmental lung diseases are classified as follows: inorganic dusts containing free silica, silicates, carbon, and inert metals; biological dusts; toxic chemicals; microorganisms; and occupational respiratory carcinogens such as arsenic, cobalt, nickel, asbestos, and uraniund. The prevalence of bronchogenic carcinoma due to radioactive uranium among miners in Czechoslovakia is discussed and it is pointed out that there is an increased prevalence of carcinoma among uranium miners in Utah and Colorado. (HLW)
Foster care for child maltreatment: impact on delinquent behavior.

Previous reports of child maltreatment sequelae have not systematically examined the effects of societal intervention. A historical cohort study has been undertaken to examine the impact of one intervention, foster care, on the subsequent development of juvenile delinquency among child victims. One hundred fourteen foster children, aged 11 to 18 years, in foster care for three or more years, and who were in foster care as a result of maltreatment were studied. A comparison cohort was composed of 106 victims of maltreatment who were left in their family home; these children were similar to the children in foster care with regard to age, race, sex, and year of diagnosis. Cohort differences in maternal education, type of abuse, history of prior maltreatment, sex, and race were controlled in the analysis. Foster children committed 0.050 crimes per person-year after age 11 years; home care children committed 0.059 crimes per person-year after age 11 years (P greater than .2). Foster children were more likely to have committed criminal assault. Among foster children, increased number of foster home placements correlated with increased number of delinquency convictions. Overall, there appears to be no support for the idea that foster care is responsible for a significant portion of later problems encountered by victims of maltreatment.
Are life patents ethical? Conflict between Catholic social teaching and agricultural biotechnology's patent regime.

Patents for genetic material in theindustrialized North have expandedsignificantly over the past twenty years,playing a crucial role in the currentconfiguration of the agricultural biotechnologyindustries, and raising significant ethicalissues. Patents have been claimed for genes,gene sequences, engineered crop species, andthe technical processes to engineer them. Mostcritics have addressed the human and ecosystemhealth implications of genetically engineeredcrops, but these broad patents raise economicissues as well. The Catholic social teachingtradition offers guidelines for critiquing theeconomic implications of this new patentregime. The Catholic principle of the universaldestination of goods implies that genes, genesequences, and engineered crop varieties areineligible for patent protection, although theprocesses to engineer these should be eligible.Religious leaders are likely to make a moresubstantive contribution to debates aboutagricultural biotechnology by addressing theselife patents than by speculating that geneticengineering is ``playing God.''
Deadlock problems in a multidatabase environment

A deadlock detection algorithm and a deadlock prevention algorithm in a multidatabase environment are introduced. The deadlock detection algorithm is based on the potential conflict graph (PCG) introduced by Y. Breitbart et al. (1990). The deadlock prevention algorithm is based on the value data protocol discussed. The correctness of both algorithms is proved, and their performance is discussed. >
TPX2 Inhibits Eg5 by Interactions with both Motor and Microtubule

The microtubule-associated protein, TPX2, regulates the activity of the mitotic kinesin, Eg5, but the mechanism of regulation is not established. Using total internal reflection fluorescence microscopy, we observed that Eg5, in extracts of mammalian cells expressing Eg5-EGFP, moved processively toward the microtubule plus-end at an average velocity of 14 nm/s. TPX2 bound to microtubules with an apparent dissociation constant of ∼ 200 nm, and microtubule binding was not dependent on the C-terminal tails of tubulin. Using single molecule assays, we found that full-length TPX2 dramatically reduced Eg5 velocity, whereas truncated TPX2, which lacks the domain that is required for the interaction with Eg5, was a less effective inhibitor at the same concentration. To determine the region(s) of Eg5 that is required for interaction with TPX2, we performed microtubule gliding assays. Dimeric, but not monomeric, Eg5 was differentially inhibited by full-length and truncated TPX2, demonstrating that dimerization or residues in the neck region are important for the interaction of TPX2 with Eg5. These results show that both microtubule binding and interaction with Eg5 contribute to motor inhibition by TPX2 and demonstrate the utility of mammalian cell extracts for biophysical assays.
Point-of-Care Coagulation Testing: Stepping Gently Forward

As a specialist in diagnostic coagulation, I am frequently faced with a patient who does not want to drive into Boston to be monitored for warfarin (coumadin) therapy at our anticoagulation clinic. This fact has not been lost on instrument manufacturers, who have produced multiple point-of-care devices for home monitoring of the prothrombin time/international normalized ratio (PT/INR). The number of individuals taking coumadin for atrial fibrillation, recurrent venous or arterial thrombosis, and other conditions is tremendous. The total number of prescriptions for warfarin in 1999 exceeded 20 million. The report by Ambrose et al. (1) in this issue of Clinical Chemistry investigates the performance of a point-of-care testing (POCT) analyzer for activated clotting time (ACT) measurement in a population of children undergoing extracorporeal membrane oxygenation. The performance of the POCT analyzer was equivalent to that of other commercially available POCT instruments for ACT measurement, but the results showed no relationship to the gold standard test of plasma heparin concentration. This study highlights several issues relevant to point-of-care coagulation assays. One of the most important is whether the tests are performed at a clinical site or at home. A recent survey of coagulation analyzers identified 17 devices (2). Of these, 15 had been cleared for use by the Food and Drug Administration as of October 1, 2000. Of these, 12 can be used to perform a PT/INR, 11 can perform an ACT or related test to manage heparin therapy, and 8 are available for partial thromboplastin time (PTT) measurements. Four of the instruments have had a patient self-testing program for home monitoring of PT/INR to optimize coumadin therapy. POCT for coagulation at a clinical site by certified health professionals has some unique aspects, as noted below, but the major practice change for point-of-care coagulation studies is home testing for coumadin dose …
Competition Between Bacteria and Intrinsic Factor for Vitamin B12: Implications for Vitamin B12 Malabsorption in Intestinal Bacterial Overgrowth

Competition between bacteria and intrinsic factor (IF) and other B12-binding substances for B12 was examined in vitro. As predicted from the similarity in B12-binding constants between bacteria and IF (Giannella RA, Broitman SA, Zamcheck N: Vitamin B12 uptake by intestinal microorganisms: mechanism and relevance to syndromes of intestinal bacterial overgrowth. J Clin Invest 50:1100-1107, 1971), bacteria can successfully compete with IF for B12. In competition with either hog or human IF, all bacteria studied bound 10 to 27% of available B12 except Proteus mirabilis and Klebsiella pneumoniae which bound 59 and 53% of the B12 respectively. Furthermore, IF and and other B12-binding substances could remove B12 bound to bacteria. When the incubation time between bacteria and B12 prior to the addition of IF was 1 min, IF reclaimed 62 to 73% of the B12 bound to most bacteria but only 3.4 and 10.7% from P. mirabilis and K. pneumoniae, respectively. Only B12 which is bound to the bacterial cell surface (first stage uptake) is available for competition with B12-binding substances; B12 transported inside the bacterial cell (second stage uptake) is no longer available for such competition. Increasing the amount of IF 50-fold did not increase the quantity of B12 removed, while increasing the number of bacteria decreased the quantity of B12 removed. Identical results were obtained when non-IF B12-binding substances were tested. Thus, bacterial interference with vitamin B12 absorption is largely the result of competition between bacterial binding sites and those of IF or non-IF B12-binding substances. However, other factors such as the rate of bacterial transport and/or utilization of B12 and possibly bacterial inactivation of both IF- and non-IF binding substances may weigh the competition in favor of the microorganisms.
6-acyl galactosyl ceramides of pig brain: structure and fatty acid composition.

Two glycolipids were isolated from pig brain and were shown to be the fatty acid esters of kerasin and cerebron in which the second fatty acid moiety is attached to the 6-position of the galactose. The point of attachment was shown in two ways: by permethylation and by cleavage with periodate. Methanolysis of the permethylated cerebroside esters yielded 0-methyl sphingosines, methyl esters of nonhydroxy or 2-methoxy acids, and methyl 2,3,4-trimethyl galactoside. Cleavage of the cerebron ester with periodate, followed by treatment with sodium borohydride and dilute HCl, yielded ceramide plus 1 -monoglyceride. The ester-linked fatty acids were primarily 16:0, 18:0, and 18:1, while the amide-linked fatty acids showed the wide assortment of chain lengths typical of brain cerebrosides. The methylation step, with silver oxide and methyl iodide, yielded two derivatives with the cerebroside esters, but the structural explanation for the difference was not elucidated. The galactose in the cerebron ester was shown to exist in the β-pyranoside form.
Long QT Syndrome

Some researchers claim that babies should be routinely tested for long QT syndrome (LQTS) by electrocardiogram (ECG) at around 3 weeks of age because it would be cost-effective and save lives. Bottom line. The ECG is neither sensitive nor specific to hereditary LQTS and can be hard to interpret in newborns. Routine ECG screening of newborns remains controversial, but any individual with clinical features of LQTS (eg, syncope with exercise in a young person), an ECG typical of LQTS, or a family history of either LQTS or young sudden death should be referred to a heart rhythm specialist and a genetics clinic. Assessment of individuals, at-risk relatives, and genetic testing should be offered where indicated. The complete Gene Messenger—Long QT Syndrome by the GenetiKit research team is available on CFPlus.* Past Gene Messenger articles can be accessed on-line at www.cfp.ca. On the home page, click on Collections in the left-hand menu, then click on Genetics.
The Psychology of Decisions to Abandon Waits for Service

Abstract This research investigates the process that underlies consumer decisions to abandon waits for service. The work centers on a hypothesis that stay-or-renege decisions reflect a process that blends two opposing psychic forces: escalating displeasure with waiting versus an escalating commitment to a wait that has been initiated. The consequence is a predicted tendency that abandonments are most likely near the midpoint of waits, which is suboptimal for many waiting time distributions. This study tests the hypothesis using data from three laboratory experiments in which participants play a time-management game that involves waiting for downloads from different computer servers, as well as field data about hang-ups in an emergency call center in India. The data lend support to the proposed competing hazards model and show that the trade-off between desires to abandon and persist is moderated by contextual factors, such as the initial number of alternative queues and the amount of distracting activity ...
On the topology and geometry of universally observable systems

As part of a general program for obtaining observability criterion for nonlinear systems by examining observability of restrictions of the dynamics to invariant sets of ?-limit points, we are led to the question of which minimal (in the sense of topological dynamics) will be observable by which observation functions. One remarkable case recently discovered by McMahon is that of universally observable systems; i.e. dynamics which are observable by every nonconstant continuous function. In this paper, we examine necessary conditions for the existence of a universally observable system defined on a state space X. We prove that such a system is necessarily minimal and that, if X is smooth, then X is compact, connected with vanishing Euler characteristic. As a consequence of this and the classification, initiated by Poincare and Denjoy, of vector field on the two-torus we show that low dimensional universally observable systems are unexpectedly rare. Indeed McMahon's example in three dimensions may be the lowest dimensional occurrence of this truly nonlinear phenomenon.
An interactive Japanese parser for machine translation

In this paper, we describe a working system for interactive Japanese syntactic analysis. A human user can intervene during parsing to help the system to produce a correct parse tree. Human interactions are limited to the very simple task of indicating the modifiee (governor) of a phrase, and thus a non-expert native speaker can use the system. The user is free to give any information in any order, or even to provide no information. The system is being used as the source language analyzer of a Japanese-to-English machine translation system currently under development.
Estrogen replacement therapy in women with a history of proliferative breast disease.

BACKGROUND Little information is available regarding the invasive breast carcinoma risk associated with estrogen replacement therapy (ERT) in women with histories of histologically defined breast lesions. METHODS A retrospective cohort study of a consecutive series of women who underwent breast biopsies that proved to be benign between 1952-1978 was conducted. Follow-up data were obtained for 9494 women (87.6% of women eligible for follow-up). To investigate the effect of ERT on invasive breast carcinoma risk, the analysis was restricted to women with premenopausal breast disease whose follow-up extended through menopause and who did not develop premenopausal breast carcinoma. Relative risks were calculated with respect to women who took ERT but whose benign breast biopsies had neither atypical hyperplasia (AH), complex fibroadenoma (CFA), nor proliferative disease without atypia (PDWA). RESULTS During 190,845 woman-years of follow-up there were 444 confirmed cases of invasive breast carcinoma in the entire cohort. Women with a history of AH had relative risks of invasive breast carcinoma of 2.87 (95% confidence interval [95% CI], 1.3-6.3) and 2.53 (95% CI, 1.0-6.3) if they did or did not take ERT, respectively. For women with a history of CFA these risks were 1.57 (95% CI, 0.72-3.4) and 1.46 (95% CI, 0.53-4.0), respectively, whereas for women with a history of PDWA they were 1.37 (95% CI, 0.88-2.1) and 1.13 (95% CI, 0.69-1.9), respectively. CONCLUSIONS ERT does not significantly elevate the risk of invasive breast carcinoma in women with previous histologically defined benign breast disease. Therefore, ERT is not contraindicated in these women. Cancer 1999;85:1277–83. © 1999 American Cancer Society.
Elder Teachers Gather at Manitou Api, Manitoba: Igniting the Fire, Gathering Wisdom from All Nations.

Elders gather to teach, discuss, and pass on oral traditional knowledge to the younger people. This discussion takes place over a four-day period according to the request of and procedural direction provided by Elders. The procedures and teachings are provided in order to share indigenous oral teachings; an attempt to share aspects of oral traditional literature through the difficult (and perhaps impossible) method of the written word. The oral traditional structure and procedural methods are taken for granted by indigenous people of North America that learned these ways from their Elders for “oh these many years” as Elders say. The notion of a “sense of place” as defined and taught by Elders is explored with its structural context clearly delineated and reflected in the idea and process of indigenous education.
Cachectin/TNF Production in Experimental Burns and Pseudomonas Infection

• Burn injury and infection result in significant losses of lean tissue. The cytokine cachectin/tumor necrosis factor has been implicated in this process but is not uniformly detected during infection. We sought to determine the relationship between body composition changes and in vivo hepatic levels of pretranslational message for cachectin (messenger RNA) in a burn and infection rodent model. Adult Wistar rats were grouped as follows: (1) freely fed, (2) 30% burn, (3) 30% burn with Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection, (4) pair fed, and (5) 30% burn and infection with recombinant cachectin. Compared with controls or animals only burned, burned and infected rats had a 100% increase in hepatic cachectin messenger RNA content, lost carcass protein, and exhibited muscle loss with sparing of liver mass. Tissue production of cachectin as well as other cytokines may be sufficient to mediate several body composition changes observed in response to injury and infection. ( Arch Surg 1988;123:1383-1388)
Importance of Moderate Ischemic Mitral Regurgitation

Background The importance of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation in patients presenting for coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) is controversial. Therefore, we tracked the course of unrepaired moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation after CABG surgery alone, identified factors associated with worsening postoperative ischemic mitral regurgitation, and assessed the impact of unrepaired moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation on survival. Methods From 1980 to 2000, 467 patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation underwent CABG alone. The course of unrepaired mitral regurgitation was estimated by a longitudinal analysis of 267 follow-up echocardiograms from 156 patients. The survival impact of moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation was determined among propensity-matched patients with and without ischemic mitral regurgitation. Results Mitral regurgitation was dynamic early postoperatively. Immediately postoperatively, it was absent or mild in 73% and severe in 6%; by 6 weeks, these figures were 40% and 22%, respectively. The course of postoperative mitral regurgitation was not associated with the preoperative extent of coronary artery disease or left ventricular dysfunction. Five-year survival of matched bypass patients without ischemic mitral regurgitation was 85% compared with 73% for patients with moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation (p = 0.003). Conclusions Moderate ischemic mitral regurgitation does not reliably resolve with CABG surgery alone and is associated with reduced survival. Therefore, a mitral valve procedure may be warranted for such patients presenting for CABG. A randomized trial comparing strategies of revascularization with mitral valve repair and revascularization alone is required to determine optimal treatment.
Wetting and nonwetting fluid displacements in porous media

The understanding of simple laminar flow in tubes has often been used to interpret the more complicated flow in porous media. A study of the motion of two immiscible liquids in closed tubes with relatively large diameter (> 0.3 cm i.d), was conducted in order to examine the influence of wetting and nonwetting liquids on the flow behavior. The results indicate that the wetting properties of the fluids with regard to the tube wall have a major efffect on the formation and motion of long bubbles. A physically based model was used to predict the velocity and the conditions for no motion of bubbles and drops in tubes. These results were used to interpret the nature of oil and water flow in porous media. Experiments in which the wetting liquid was displaced by the nonwetting, or vice versa, were conducted by injecting the displacing liquid at a constant flux at the center of a two-dimensional chamber saturated with the displaced liquid. The influence of wetting-nonwetting characteristics on the quantity of liquid displaced, the shape of the interface between the two liquids, and the interpretation of the no motion radius in a closed tube to the case of a porous medium are discussed. It would appear that the no motion radius gives a good indication of the minimum width of a nonwetting penetrating finger and the maximum width of nonwetting ganglia left by drainage.
Self-esteem and negative affect

It was hypothesized that the Profile of Mood States (bipolar form) measures two higher-order dimensions: Positive and Negative Affect. It also was conjectured that subjects low in self-esteem report more Negative Affect than those high in self-esteem. POMS and the Self-Attitude Inventory were administered to 102 high school students. A principal component analysis of the 12 half-scale scores of POMS isolated the two affect dimensions postulated. Tests also showed that subjects low in Confidence report significantly greater Negative Affect than subjects high in Confidence. Thus, the Watson-Tellegen theory of affect is supported, and Negative Affect is linked to self-esteem.
Common signal transduction features in exocytosis in the alveolates Toxoplasma and Paramecium

Trichocyst discharge in Paramecium is associated with a calcium-dependent dephosphoglucosylation of the protein parafusin (PFUS), which is believed to be a critical step in the exocytosis cascade. After trichocyst release PFUS dissociates from the empty trichocyst capsule and remains in the cytosol until a new trichocyst develops. The minute tachyzoite of the apicomplexan parasite Toxoplasma contains three types of secretory organelle, the exocytoses of two of which, the micronemes and rhoptries, are essential for invasion of host cells. The discharge of micronemes is a calcium-dependent event, and an ortholog of PFUS, named parafusin-related protein (PRP1), has been found to co-localize with antibodies to microneme contents. The distribution of PRP1 changes upon discharge of micronemes, and localized staining of PRP1 disappeared only to reappear as new micronemes were formed. These results suggest that PFUS, PRP1 and probably other PFUS orthologs have a conserved role in calcium-dependent exocytosis in alveolates.
Comparison of various agents in contrast enhancement of color doppler flow images: An in vitro study

Abstract The commercially manufactured contrast agents, Echovist and Albunex, were compared with sonicated conventional agents, indocyanine green, 29% renografin-60, 0.9% normal saline and 25% mannitol in their ability to enhance color Doppler flow signals. In a pneumatically regulated pulsatile flow system, a glycerine, saline (0.9%) and sand (5 μm particle size) solution was imaged using a 2.5 MHz phased-array transducer. Four different flow velocities (0.40, 0.35, 0.30 and 0.25 m/s) as measured by color Doppler guided pulse Doppler were utilized. All color Doppler settings were kept constant throughout the study. Utilizing a power injector, four different volumes (1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and 2.5 mL) of each contrast agent were injected into the flow medium at various transducer angles (20, 30, 40 and 60°) and various distances from the transducer (3.38, 5.5, 6.76 cm). For Echovist and Albunex, several concentrations varying from 2% to 100% were used. Keeping instrument settings constant, color flow areas obtained before and after each contrast injection were planimeterized and the percent increase in the color flow area computed and compared. At full (100%) concentration, 20° transducer angle and a flow velocity of 0.40 m/s, the maximum increase in the color flow area was 568%, 251%, 180%, 110%, 71%, and 38% for Echovist, Albunex, sonicated indocyanine green, renografin, normal saline and mannitol, respectively. However, a significant reduction in the degree of color flow enhancement was observed, with decreases in the concentration of these agents, and increases in the Doppler beam incident angle or distance from the transducer. Increasing the flow velocity of the medium into which contrast was injected did not produce significant changes in the contrast enhancement effect for all agents except Echovist. Increasing the injection volume significantly increased the color flow area for sonicated agents but not for Echovist or Albunex. This preliminary in vitro study shows that the commercially manufactured contrast agents, Echovist and Albunex, are much superior to sonicated conventional contrast agents in the enhancement of color Doppler flow signals. Of the sonicated agents, indocyanine green had the best enhancement capability.
Designing a Practical Access Point Association Protocol

In a Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN), the Access Point (AP) selection of a client heavily influences the performance of its own and others. Through theoretical analysis, we reveal that previously proposed association protocols are not effective in maximizing the minimal throughput among all clients. Accordingly, we propose an online AP association strategy that not only achieves a minimal throughput (among all clients) that is provably close to the optimum, but also works effectively in practice with a reasonable computational overhead. The association protocol applying this strategy is implemented on the commercial hardware and compatible with legacy APs without any modification. We demonstrate its feasibility and performance through real experiments.
Model approximation of angular dependence in AVHRR brightnesstemperatures over a black surface

Abstract temperatures l1(m) in spectral channels l=3 (3·7 11m), 4 (10·8 μm), and 5 (12 μm) of the Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer (AVHRR) and the Along Track Scanning Radiometer (ATSR) were calculated for a variety of viewing directions 1 ≤m≤3 (m=sec0: 0 is the satellite zenith angle), and for a representative set of surface-atmosphere conditions (–2≤ ts ≤35° C. 0·2 ≤W ≤ 5·4 gcm -2; where I, and Ware the surface temperature and the column water vapour content). The assumption that the surface is a blackbody is used in order to analyse the atmospheric effect in detail, and to provide a background for further incorporation of the surface emissivity. ts(m) are approximated with a polynomial and 3, for linear, quadratic, and cubic fits, respectively). Linear fit provides standard errors of σ0·07 and σ≤0·4–0·5°C at 3·7 and 10·8–12μm, respectively. Using a quadratic fit reduces these errors to σ0·07 and σ≤0·4–0·06° C. The information content of the fit parameters is analysed in this Letter. The value o...
The terror of ‘terrorists’: an investigation in experimental applied ethics

Some theorists argue that appropriate responses to terrorism are in part shaped by popular sentiment. In two experiments, using representative design and ecological stimuli (e.g. actual news reports), we present evidence for some of the ways popular sentiment about terrorism tracks theory and can be constructed. In Experiment 1, we document that using the word ‘terrorist’ to describe a group of people decreases willingness to understand the group's grievances, decreases willingness to negotiate with the group, increases perceived permissibility of violence against the group, and decreases the perceived rationality of the group. In Experiment 2, we demonstrate that judgment about the permissibility of the use of force against terrorist groups can be biased by simple memory-priming manipulations. Results are interpreted in terms of (1) implications for philosophical theories about terrorism and (2) the role that experimental investigation can play in applied ethics.
A brain for all seasons

Merker's fine article opens a new view of brain function consistent with current developments in robotics, heuristics, and fuzzy logic. A reciprocal, tripartite organization of input/motivation/output in the midbrain can accomplish the practical tasks of a brain. A bold move places consciousness in the midbrain, raising profound questions about the practical nature of consciousness.