cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Daisaku Ikeda's Educational Philosophy in the Context of English Education Policy in Japan.

In this article, the author considers Daisaku Ikeda's (1928–) educational philosophy in the context of English education policies in Japan. The author begins by explicating Ikeda's concepts of wisdom versus knowledge and “society for education” (e.g., Ikeda, 2000; Sadovnichy & Ikeda, 2002). He then suggests consideration of these concepts, if not implementation, can improve English education policies in Japan, which he problematizes because of their neoliberal purpose and goal. The author concludes that Ikeda's philosophies provide a theoretical framework for using English education to cultivate students' personality, happiness, and wisdom, which is absent in the current policies.
Risk of transmission associated with live attenuated vaccines given to healthy persons caring for or residing with an immunocompromised patient.

Objective. Persons who receive live attenuated vaccine may occasionally transmit the vaccine strain to others. The risk of such transmission is a concern, especially for persons who provide care to immunocompromised patients (ie, family and healthcare workers [HCWs]). Since the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices released guidelines 10 years ago, several new live attenuated products have been introduced, and additional information on older vaccines has become available. To better define the risk of transmission associated with live vaccines, we reviewed the currently available literature. Results. A review of the medical literature revealed no major risk of transmission associated with any live attenuated vaccine. A theoretical risk continues to exist for the live attenuated intranasal influenza vaccine and the smallpox vaccine. Conclusions. The available data support routine vaccination with live attenuated vaccines for all household contacts of immunocompromised patients and for HCWs caring for...
Free Surface Coating Flows of Non-Newtonian Gels: 3-D Numerical Simulation of Gravity-Induced Flow

Developing a mechanism capable of protecting the vaginal or rectal epithelium from sexually transmitted pathogens can be an effective tool in the prevention of HIV infection [1]. One such tool can come in the form of a microbicide gel, used to provide a physical barrier and act as a delivery vehicle for its active ingredient [1]. In order for the microbicide to be an effective barrier and delivery vehicle it must have the capability to coat the epithelium for a specific amount of time and sustain its structural integrity under the influence of gravity and other perturbation forces. In addition, to be used as a drug delivery vehicle the microbicide must serve the following functions: coat the surface completely without leaving any of the surface exposed, stay on the surface while influenced by external forces such as gravity and squeezing, and must be able to contain potent concentrations of one or more active microbicidal ingredients.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Mass Communications in the Libyan Jamahiriya

The first public act of the September 1, 1969 revolution was to take over the radio and television broadcasting station in Benghazi. It was from the radio station in Benghazi that Col. Muammar al Qaddafi announced to Libya and the world the overthrow of King Idris Sanussi and the rise of the revolution of the masses. Since that great Al Fateh Revolution, the role of the mass media in Libya has changed dramatically. From the moment that the radio was used to announce the beginning of the "era of the masses," the mass media in Libya have played a significant role in the realization of the goals of the revolutionary Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya as theorized in Qaddafi's The Green Book (1980). The primary objective of the Libyan revolution was the realization of democracy. Democracy, as defined by The Green Book, is the supervision of the people directly by the people and not just by representation or "popular expression." In the Jamahiriya, there are no political parties, classes, or institutions of power which claim to represent the people or to dominate the masses of people in any way. No institution replaces the people themselves in the exercises of authority. Authority is in the hands of the masses as they live in democracy. Mass communication is directly related to the maintenance of democracy. It is almost impossible to conceive authority
Cleaning Dairy Equipment with Trisodium Phosphate

When the hand separator displaced to a large extent the factory separation of milk, the quality of the cream for buttermaking was seriously impaired. This was due partly to the less frequent deliveries to the creamery and partly to the failure to properly clean and sterilize the separators on the farm. In some cases improper cleaning is due to negligence, but frequently it may be ascribed to the inherent difficulties in making bacteriologically clean an apparatus with so much surface and so many corners to hold moisture. Milking machines are also difficult to keep properly cleaned and free from bacteria, and it is well known that under some conditions they may cause serious contamination of the milk. Dairy utensils even when properly cleaned of visible dirt may harbor large numbers of bacteria which, if the temperature is favorable, may multiply enormously in the film of water left on the surfaces. Not only is it difficult to keep a separator properly cleaned under the best conditions, but, due to the methods followed by many creameries in buying cream, careless habits have developed and the separator may be washed only once each day, and in some cases less frequently.
Cluster Analysis of A-Train Data: Approximating the Vertical Cloud Structure of Oceanic Cloud Regimes

AbstractModerate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) data continue to provide a wealth of two-dimensional, cloud-top information and derived environmental products. In addition, the A-Train constellation of satellites presents an opportunity to combine MODIS data with coincident vertical-profile data collected from sensors on CloudSat and Cloud–Aerosol Lidar and Infrared Pathfinder Satellite Observations (CALIPSO). Approximating the vertical structure of clouds in data-sparse regions can be accomplished through a two-step process that consists of cluster analysis of MODIS data and quantitative analysis of coincident vertical-profile data. Daytime data over the eastern North Pacific Ocean are used in this study for both the summer (June–August) and winter (December–February) seasons in separate cluster analyses. A-Train data from 2006 to 2009 are collected, and a K-means cluster analysis is applied to selected MODIS data that are coincident with single-layer clouds found in the CloudSat/CALIPSO (“...
Questions They Ask: Considering Teacher-Inquiry Questions Posed by Pre-Service English Teachers.

Our study of pre-service teachers’ (PSTs) inquiry projects includes two levels of practitioner-research: on one level, we examine the research questions PSTs pose about their classrooms; and on the second, the study is an action-research investigation of our own practice in teaching PSTs both pedagogical and inquiry practices. We study PSTs’ inquiry questions specifically in an attempt to understand their concerns about teaching and to improve the ways we instruct PSTs. The project considers three research questions: how do English PSTs pose their concerns about students in inquiry questions addressed to students during field-placement experiences; how do they express these concerns in questions posed about students; and what can we learn from the ways PSTs embed conceptualizations of students in questions? Findings reveal a possible mismatch, with PSTs asking students directly about personal interests but often formulating research questions about academic challenges. Such disparity suggests PSTs might b...
An ab initio molecular orbital study of the conformational energies of 2-alkyltetrahydro-2 H -pyrans (tetrahydropyrans, oxacyclohexanes, oxanes)

Abstract Ab initio Hartree–Fock and Density Functional Theory calculations were used to obtain the geometries and relative energies of the rotamers in the chair conformations of 2-alkyltetrahydro-2 H -pyrans and 2-(trimethylsilyl)tetrahydro-2 H -pyran. The MP2/6-31G*//6-31G* conformational energies (−ΔG°or A values, kcal/mol) of the 2-alkyltetrahydro-2 H -pyrans (Me=3.18; Et=3.04; i -Pr=3.03; t -Bu=7.56; neo Pent=2.84) and 2-(trimethylsilyl)tetrahydro-2 H -pyran (SiMe 3 =4.77) are larger than those calculated for the corresponding alkylcyclohexanes and 2-alkyltetrahydro-2 H -thiopyrans (tetrahydrothiopyrans, thiacyclohexanes, thianes). Plots of the calculated conformational energies for the 2-substituted tetrahydro-2 H -pyrans versus the calculated −ΔG° values for the corresponding alkylcyclohexanes (slope=1.34 and r =0.983) and for the corresponding 2-substituted tetrahydro-2 H -thiopyrans (slope=2.01 and r =0.986) are linear.
Calcium oxalate crystal types and trends in their distribution patterns in leaves of Prunus (Rosaceae: Prunoideae)

Calcium oxalate crystal types and distribution within leaves ofPrunus sensu lato (Rosaceae; Prunoideae) were surveyed from mostly herbarium specimens (196 specimens of 131 species of all five subgenera usually recognized). Rehydrated samples were bleached, mounted unstained, and viewed microscopically between crossed polarizers. Six patterns were recognized based on crystal type and relative distribution around veins and in mesophyll. Druses predominate in four subgenera, but prismatics are most common in subgenus Padus. Prunophora and Amygdalus, considered to be the most advanced subgenera, have virtually only druses, which are almost always associated with veins. Cerasus and Laurocerasus, intermediate subgenera, have the greatest diversity of patterns, but few species with prismatics. A trend is evident from mostly mesophyll prismatics in Padus to fewer prismatics and more druses of mixed distribution in Laurocerasus and Cerasus, to mostly druses restricted to veins in Amygdalus and Prunophora.
High-throughput rheology in a microfluidic device

High-throughput rheological measurements in a microfluidic device are demonstrated. A series of microrheology samples are generated as droplets in an immiscible spacer fluid using a microfluidic T-junction. The compositions of the sample droplets are continuously varied over a wide range. Rheology measurements are made in each droplet using multiple particle tracking microrheology. We review critical design and operating parameters, including the droplet size, flow rates and rapid fabrication methods. Validation experiments are performed by measuring the solution viscosity of glycerine and the biopolymer heparin as a function of concentration. Overall, the combination of microrheology with microfluidics maximizes the number of rheological measurements while simultaneously minimizing the sample preparation time and amount of material, and should be particularly suited to the characterization of scarce or expensive materials.
Diabetes: Does aspirin increase the risk of major bleeds?

A new, observational study suggests that aspirin only marginally increases the bleeding risk in patients with diabetes mellitus, perhaps reflecting impaired platelet inhibition. Inconclusive evidence from small, randomized trials and mechanistic studies reinforces the need for larger trials to determine the relative cardioprotective benefits and bleeding risks of aspirin in these patients.
Coordinated micropinocytotic activity of adjacent neuronal membranes in mammalian central nervous system

Abstract Neuropil from a number of sites in both mammalian and inframammalian species was examined by electron microscopy. Complex micropinocytotic invaginations in which a tongue of cytoplasm extended into the endocytotic indentation of the cell membrane, were observed in all tissues. These complex membrane infoldings occurred at both chemical and electrotonic synapses. Coated invaginations of apposed membranes, at which infoldings occurred directly opposite each other, were also observed at the interfaces between neighboring dendrites. These observations indicate that micropinocytotic membrane infoldings involving the coordinated activity of adjacent neuronal membranes occur in a wide variety of tissues. Coordinated exocytosis/endocytosis may provide a mechanism for interneuronal bulk transport of material, both at synapses and at non-synaptic sites, in the central nervous system.
Changes in evoked brain oxygen during sensory stimulation and conditioning

Abstract Platinum electrodes chronically implanted in the thalamic, amygdaloid, tegmental and caudate areas of three cats were used to record the oxygen currents (aO2) in response to novel and repetitious sensory stimuli and during conditioning and extinction. The oxygen availability in these circulatory beds of the brain was consistently changed by mild sensory stimulation and dramatically changed by conditioning procedures. In general, brief novel sensory stimuli produced a sharp increase in aO2 followed by a decrease and a gradual recovery over a period of about 1 min, with the response varying somewhat in different parts of the brain. Stimuli of long duration cause a change in aO2 at both the beginning and end of the stimulus. Monotonous repetition of click and tone stimuli elicited a gradually decreasing response in aO2, so that finally only the basic or background rhythmic variations were apparent. Reintroduction of a novel stimulus, by changing the tone, re-established the original response. When auditory signals terminating in an electric shock were used to condition the animal, an increase in aO2, found to be highly reproductible, occurred immediately post-stimulus and coincident with the point of electric shock. This post-stimulus response in aO2 persists for some time after the animals cease to show any visible response to the shock-free tone. The decrease in aO2 following this bimodal response was more variable in duration but tended to be present more often in the conditioned animals. In avoidance conditioned cats, the changes in aO2 associated with the avoidance response were similar to those recorded in the shock conditioned animals but they required a long time to extinguish. The extinction period was often characterized by aO2 responses which, instead of appearing in all electrode areas, sporadically appeared in one area then another, with recovery and post-stimulus phase disappearing first, and co-stimulus response to a certain extent remaining. The results are discussed in terms of neurogenic, hormonal and metabolic phenomena in the brain cells and circulation.
Impact of sibling death on children's behavior

Abstract Research has indicated that siblings of deceased children demonstrate a variety of behavioral problems as a result of the death. The purpose of this study was to determine the relationship of selected factors and children's behavior during the first year following the siblings' deaths. The sample included 33 boys and 32 girls ages 4 to 16 years who were the siblings of deceased children. Data on their behavior was obtained by an interview with the mothers using a standardized tool, the Child Behavior Checklist. Results showed that the bereaved children displayed significantly more behavior problems in comparison to standardized norms. The variables of age, place of death, family size, ill child's diagnosis, sex and age of deceased child, and funeral attendance were related to behavior problems in the surviving children.
Heterogeneous patterns of tissue injury in NARP syndrome

Point mutations at m.8993T>C and m.8993T>G of the mtDNA ATPase 6 gene cause the neurogenic weakness, ataxia and retinitis pigmentosa (NARP) syndrome, a mitochondrial disorder characterized by retinal, central and peripheral neurodegeneration. We performed detailed neurological, neuropsychological and ophthalmological phenotyping of a mother and four daughters with NARP syndrome from the mtDNA m.8993T>C ATPase 6 mutation, including 3-T brain MRI, spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SD-OCT), adaptive optics scanning laser ophthalmoscopy (AOSLO), electromyography and nerve conduction studies (EMG-NCS) and formal neuropsychological testing. The degree of mutant heteroplasmy for the m.8993T>C mutation was evaluated by real-time allele refractory mutation system quantitative PCR of mtDNA from hair bulbs (ectoderm) and blood leukocytes (mesoderm). There were marked phenotypic differences between family members, even between individuals with the greatest degrees of ectodermal and mesodermal heteroplasmy. 3-T MRI revealed cerebellar atrophy and cystic and cavitary T2 hyperintensities in the basal ganglia. SD-OCT demonstrated similarly heterogeneous areas of neuronal and axonal loss in inner and outer retinal layers. AOSLO showed increased cone spacing due to photoreceptor loss. EMG-NCS revealed varying degrees of length-dependent sensorimotor axonal polyneuropathy. On formal neuropsychological testing, there were varying deficits in processing speed, visual-spatial functioning and verbal fluency and high rates of severe depression. Many of these cognitive deficits likely localize to cerebellar and/or basal ganglia dysfunction. High-resolution retinal and brain imaging in NARP syndrome revealed analogous patterns of tissue injury characterized by heterogeneous areas of neuronal loss.
Influence of particle volume fraction on packing in responsive hydrogel colloidal crystals

We describe the influence of particle concentration on the formation of crystals from soft colloidal particles. Specifically, laser scanning confocal and differential interference contrast microscopies are used to directly observe the packing in entropic crystals formed from submicron-sized particles composed of the thermoresponsive polymer poly-N-isopropylacrylamide (pNIPAm) and the thermoresponsive/pH-responsive copolymer poly-N-isopropylacrylamide-co-acrylic acid (pNIPAm-AAc). Close-packed crystals are observed when either the pNIPAm and pNIPAm-AAc particles are concentrated by centrifugation. At that point the particle−particle spacing is smaller than the hydrodynamic diameter as determined by photon correlation spectroscopy, reflecting compression of the soft particles. Upon dilution of the pNIPAm crystals, the melting point of the assembly is reached when the repulsive particle interactions are no longer sufficient to dictate long-range order in the assembly. However, excellent crystallization is ob...
Mobile Computing at the Department of Defense

This paper is designed to relate the rationale used by the Department of Defense, to utilize Telemedicine, to meet increasing global crises, and for the U.S. military to find ways to more effectively manage manpower and time. A mobile Telemedicine package has been developed by the Department of Defense (DOD) to collect and transmit near-real-time, far-forward medical data and to assess how this improved capability enhances medical management of the battlespace. Telemedicine has been successful in resolving uncertain organizational and technological military deficiencies and in improving medical communications and information management. The deployable, mobile Teams are the centerpieces of this Telemedicine package. These teams have the capability of inserting essential networking and communications capabilities into austere theaters and establishing an immediate means for enhancing health protection, collaborative planning, situational awareness, and strategic decision-making.
Human-Black Bear Conflict in Urban Areas: An Integrated Approach to Management Response

Human–black bear conflict is a persistent wildlife management problem in North America. Conflicts in urban areas are linked to continued growth and expansion of human populations as well as increased availability of anthropogenic attractants (e.g., garbage, birdfeed). Responding to urban bear conflicts can present difficult and highly publicized management decisions. This challenge highlights the need to understand the basis for resident behavior and perceptions in relation to human–black bear conflict situations. Randomly selected residents (n = 317) of two Colorado communities with frequent human–black bear conflicts responded to Internet and mail questionnaires measuring attitudes toward urban black bears and preferences for management actions. Fifty percent of respondents held positive attitudes, 15% expressed negative attitudes, and 35% were mixed. Attitudes and situational elements influenced the acceptability of commonly used management responses to human–bear conflict. Implications of this researc...
Thinking technological and biological beings: Gilbert Simondon's philosophy of machines

The article proposes an investigation of the contributions of G. Simondon in the studies of Science and Technology. Leaving the contributions of cybernetics behind, Simondon investigates the processes of individuation, development and evolution of technology. According to his philosophy of machines, technical objects are contextualized both synchronically and diachronically. In contrast with other theoretical approaches of this problem, we emphasize that the interest of this author lies in the energetic determinism that is manifested in and outside technical objects. At last, we point out the contributions of this theoretical approach to contemporary studies on the history of scientific experiments.
Financial Conditions, Gender, and Voting in American National Elections

Previous attempts to locate subgroups of people who are particularly likely to engage in economic voting have examined class differences, levels of political awareness, and salience of economic issues. None of these attempts has shown much difference among groups in their economic voting. This paper explores differences between men and women in their levels and types of economic voting. As predicted, women are considerably less likely than men to cast egocentric economic votes, but are as likely, or perhaps more so, to cast sociotropic economic votes. Since these differences do not appear to be a result of socioeconomic differences between men and women, our findings illuminate an aspect of the gender gap rarely described. Not only are men and women different in many political attitudes, but they also have different ways of using these attitudes to provide a basis for political action.
Strategic Rivalries, Protracted Conflict, and Crisis Escalation:

Underlying the emerging interest in the role of rivalry processes as antecedents to interstate conflict is the simple idea that conflict within the constraints of rivalry works differently than conflict outside of rivalry. In this article, we inspect the concepts of protracted conflict, as developed within the International Crisis Behavior (ICB) project, and rivalry, and discuss some of their applications to crisis escalation. The protracted conflict and rivalry concepts are not identical, but they do overlap in terms of their emphases on historical context, serious goal incompatibilities, and stakes that might be resolved coercively. Developing an argument for the concept of rivalry possessing fewer limitations than protracted conflict, we proceed to analyze and test the interaction between rivalry and other variables, again making use of an ICB escalation model, when predicting crisis escalation to war. Throughout, our basic question concerns what role interstate rivalry plays in crisis behavior. Are the crises of rivals more lethal than those of non-rivals? If so, can we pinpoint why that is the case? We find that rivalry not only makes escalation more likely, but also significantly interacts with more traditional predictors of conflict, such as capability ratios, the number of actors in a crisis, democracy, and the issues under contention.
Constructing high order elements through subspace polynomials

Every finite field has many multiplicative generators. However, finding one in polynomial time is an important open problem. In fact, even finding elements of high order has not been solved satisfactorily. In this paper, we present an algorithm that for any positive integer c and prime power q, finding an element of order exp(Ω(√qc)) in the finite field [EQUATION] in deterministic time (qc)O(1). We also show that there are exp(Ω(√qc)) many weak keys for the discrete logarithm problems in those fields with respect to certain bases.
Limiting of Several Signals and Its Effect on Communication System Performance

In a typical satellite communication system, several modulated carriers pass through a transponder simultaneously. If limiting action is present, signal suppression may occur, and cross products are produced. An equation is derived for the power spectrum of the output of a hard limiter when the input consists of n angle modulated sinusoids plus random noise. Based upon this equation, the magnitude of any term can be determined; numerical results are presented for the magnitudes of the signals, suppression, and crossproducts for a large number of cases. When the signals are demodulated at a ground station, the crossproduct terms falling near the desired signal cause distortion. A method for computing this distortion and some numerical results are presented.
Multi-user collaborative visual program development

Visual programming has traditionally supported only one person working on a program at a time. Researchers in the field of computer supported cooperative work have developed text and graphics editors that allow multiple people to work on the same document at the same time from multiple computers viewing the same, shared document. An unresolved problem is how to avoid interference between the users. A technique based on domain syntax is presented here. It is shown to be effective in preventing such interference during collaborative development of entity-relationship diagrams using CoDiagram, a proof of concept system. Twenty groups of three people developed diagrams and rated the system as usable.
BLOOD PARASITES IN BIRDS FROM MONTEVERDE, COSTA RICA

In a survey of avian blood parasites in Costa Rica, 51 (11%) of 479 birds sampled were infected by at least one species of hematozoan. Fourteen of the 60 species of birds in the survey were examined for the first time. Infections were most common in ramphastids and emberizids and infrequent in other taxa. Among resident species, infections were more commonly detected during the wet season when most birds breed than during the dry season when few birds breed. Infections caused by Haemoproteus sp. were most common, while Plasmodium sp., Leucocytozoon sp., Trypanosoma sp., and microfilarial infections were rare. The intensity of the 40 Haemoproteus infections in adult birds was low, with a mean ± SE of 12.5 ± 3.7 infected cells per 10,000. Haemoproteus infections did not undergo seasonal changes in intensity.
Advection and settlement rates in a benthic invertebrate: recruitment to first benthic stage in Homarus americanus

Neustonic post-larvae of the American lobster (Homarus americanus) undertake exploratory forays to search for and select bottom habitat for settlement. Assessments at the end of the settlement season at multiple sites have shown that there may be about a 10-fold increase in concentration from the dispersed pelagic phase to the aggregated early benthic phase in lobsters. Here we examine recruitment at a single site over short time intervals (5–14 d) to evaluate the role of advection, estimate the proportion of potential settlers that recruited to the bottom, and evaluate whether time- or density-dependent effects influenced recruitment. We found that (1) tidal advection easily accounts for the average increased concentration from pelagic to benthic stages; (2) recruitment ranged from 0.1% to 1.8% of the potential settlers advected over the site; (3) the proportion of post-larvae that recruited was similar in high and low recruitment years and had a tendency to increase late in the settlement season; and (4) recruitment was positively correlated with post-larval supply. Densitydependent effects may have existed at the highest levels of recruitment. 2000 International Council for the Exploration of the Sea
Cyclin D1 overexpression in non-Hodgkin's lymphoma with chromosome 11 bcl-1 rearrangement

Summary Background Approximately 70% of centrocytic (mantlecell) lymphomas have the chromosomal translocation t(11;14) (ql3; q32) and associated rearrangements at the bcl-1 breakpoint locus and at the cyclin Dl (PRAD1, CCND1) gene, thus implicating this gene in the pathogenesis of centrocytic lymphoma. In order to determine cyclin D1 expression in hematopoietic neoplasms with and without bcl-1 or cyclin D1 rearrangements, northern blot analysis was performed. Methods Total RNA was isolated from peripheral blood cells of patients with hematopoietic neoplasms in leukemic phase, including three patients with B-cell lymphoma containing chromosome 11q13 bcl-1 rearrangements. Northern blots were hybridized with a cyclin D1 cDNA probe and the degree of mRNA expression determined. Results Each of the bcl-1-rearranged cases showed high levels of cyclin D1 expression, whereas no expression was detected in RNA from samples of B-cell CLL, T-cell prolymphocytic leukemia, or acute nonlymphocytic leukemia which lacked bcl-1 or cyclin D1 rearrangement. Conclusions Overexpression of cyclin D1, a G1 cyclin implicated in cell-cycle regulation, may play a critical role in the pathogenesis of t(11; 14)-positive lymphomas.
A Stochastic Approach to Optimal Soaring Problem and Robust Adaptive LQG Control

The soaring performance of a glider Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) depends a great deal on the thermal characteristics including thermal strength and location. Onboard sensor measurements are typically corrupted by noise whereas gusts and turbulence effects can cause significant performance degradation during inter-thermal glide. In this paper we provide a stochastic approach to the optimal soaring problem. We quantify the performance losses due to incorrect thermal data, consider the effect of stochastic gust disturbances, and simulate the deterioration in the system response in the presence of additional sensor inaccuracies. Although the recovery of losses due to incorrect thermal data is possible only if data resources being used could be enhanced, an adaptive tracking control implied by a Linear Quadratic Regulator (LQR) design inherently provides the optimal control when the aircraft is subject to gust represented by a Gaussian white noise. The LQR design, however, needs to be improved if in addition stochastic noise is posed at each sensor measurement channel. By including an adaptive Kalman-Bucy filter and modifying the adaptive law and our optimum trajectory generation algorithm inputs accordingly, we obtain an adaptive Linear Quadratic Gaussian (LQG) control design. As a result, the aircraft response meets the performance requirements in the presence of stochastic process and measurement noise.
Hyper-redundant robot manipulators actuated by optimized binary-dielectric polymers

This paper reports on the development of a lightweight hyper-redundant manipulator driven by embedded dielectric polymer actuators. This manipulator uses binary actuation and belongs to a class of digital mechanisms that are able to perform precise discrete motions without the need for sensing and feedback control. The system is built from an assembly of modular parallel stages and has potential to be miniaturized for applications ranging from biomedical devices to space system components. The polymer actuators can make such devices feasible. This paper presents the design of a modular polymer actuator that can work under both tension and compression. The actuators achieve improved performance by incorporating an elastic passive element to maintain uniform force-displacement characteristic and bi-stable action. A flexible frame also insures nearly optimal pre-strain required by dielectric film based actuators.
Some Ethical Aspects of Antidumping Laws

Reasons for the Antidumping Laws Before the ethical aspects of antidumping laws can be discussed it is necessary to spend some time discussing the antidumping laws themselves, what they are, what they are intended to accomplish, what they actually accomplish and what can and should be done if they do not accomplish what they are supposed to accomplish. All these points have been covered elsewhere in the literature, so this article will merely review and summarize the literature rather than attempt to break new ground. Where new ground will be broken is in the section that discusses some ethical aspects of the antidumping laws that have been all but ignored in both the trade and ethics literature. Those who support the antidumping laws generally do so for one of two reasons.' The dominant reason why antidumping laws were supported in the early days was to prevent predatory pricing. The Antidumping Duty Act of 1916" was passed in response to alleged German predatory dumping during World War I.3 The main problem with the predatory pricing argument is that predatory pricing does not exist. Furthermore, if it did exist, it would benefit consumers, whom the antitrust laws were supposedly designed to protect." Studies that have been done on this point have been more or less in agreement that predatory pricing behavior is difficult, if not impossible to find, and in the few cases where it might have been found, it has always benefited consumers at the expense of the predat~r.~ James Bovard states that there are no known cases in the last 100 years where predatory pricing has achieved its goal of driving competitors out of existence, followed by the reaping of monopoly profits by the predat~r.~ One might reach a similar conclusion in the absence of studies by a priori reasoning.' Predatory pricing is irrational. The predatory pricing argument begins with the premise that it is possible for a predator to drive down prices to the point where all competitors go out of business, never to return, at which point the predator can increase prices to more than recover former losses and reap mondpoly profits. There are several problems with this premise.
Liquid-liquid extraction in a hollow-fiber device

Liquid-liquid extraction operations were conducted in a hollow fiber mass transfer device using two systems: phenol/water vs. n-octanol and phenol/hexane vs. water. Individual mass transfer resistances due to the tube-side fluid, the hollow fiber wall (membrane), and the shell-side fluid were determined for runs in which the solvent was held stagnant on the shell-side. Countercurrent flow runs with moving solvent were conducted to show that the degree of extraction rises steadily as the solvent-to-raffinate ratio increases. Factors affecting the mass transfer resistances in this type of device are discussed, and the advantages of hollow fiber units over conventional mixer-settler units are pointed out.
Adaptive control of full penetration gas tungsten arc welding

This application paper addresses the control of a nonminimum-phase plant with variable large orders and delays. The process concerned is full penetration gas tungsten arc welding. Based on an analysis of accepted adaptive algorithms, the generalized predictive control algorithm presented by Clarke et al., is selected as the principal control strategy. An adaptive generalized predictive decoupling control scheme is constructed. To decouple the authors' nonminimum-phase multivariable plant, a predictive decoupling algorithm is also proposed. Simulations are performed to determine the default parameters of the algorithms. The performance has been tested by both simulations and experiments.
Prospective Study of Aspirin Use and Risk of Stroke in Women

Background and Purpose—In secondary prevention, aspirin reduces risk of ischemic stroke. In primary prevention of stroke, however, the role of aspirin is uncertain, especially in women. Methods—In 1980, 79 319 women in the Nurses’ Health Study cohort, 34 to 59 years of age and free of diagnosed cardiovascular disease, cancer, and rheumatoid arthritis, completed questionnaires that included information on aspirin use. Data on aspirin use were updated in 1982, 1984, and 1988. By 1994, after 994 231 person-years of follow-up, 503 incident strokes (295 ischemic strokes, 100 subarachnoid hemorrhages, 52 intraparenchymal hemorrhages, and 56 strokes of undetermined type) were documented. Results—There was no clear relationship between aspirin use and risk of total stroke; risk was slightly reduced among women who took 1 to 6 aspirin per week and slightly increased among women who took 7 or more aspirin per week. Women who took 1 to 6 aspirin per week had a lower risk of large-artery occlusive infarction compared...
Proteolipid and Bone Matrix Calcification In Vitro

Proteolipid was demonstrated to contain the nucleator of bone matrix calcification, in vitro. Crude phospholipid extracted from bone matrix was fractionated by gel filtration. A single, protein-containing fraction induced apatite crystallization in a metastable calcium phosphate solution. The fraction was identified as proteolipid. The result supports the validity of a microbiologic analogue for vertebrate calcification.
The Lawfulness of Health-Care Reform

This is the first draft of an essay, forthcoming in Yale Law Journal Online, defending the constitutionality of Obamacare.
Secondary surveillance phased array radar (SSPAR)

We describe a secondary surveillance phased array radar (SSPAR) concept that is capable of 1 second update rates and in other ways meets or exceeds capabilities of current rotating secondary surveillance radars. The proposed SSPAR would consist of a modest number of channels, each consisting of a transmitter, a receiver, and an antenna that is omnidirectional in azimuth. Adaptive array processing techniques are required for operation in the presence of the multiple transponder signals that the omni antennas will receive.
Reversal of expected transfer as a function of increased age.

Anatomical studies have demonstrated a differential rate of neural tissue deterioration as a function of increased age. Speed of performance on simple and complex bilateral motor tasks should thus diminish as well as the differential between hands which would represent transfer. Two such tasks were employed on a sample of 209 Ss grouped by age. Results indicated not only the predicted reduction in speed with increased age but also a deterioration, and, in the oldest group (70 and older) reversal of the transfer phenomena. Inferring of a more rapid degeneration of interhemispheric connective fibres than of the cortical hemispheres themselves cannot be justified from these data although they do suggest further study.
Indian Turmeric and its Use in Cationic Photopolymerizations

Curcumin, an intensely yellow dye isolated from Indian turmeric is an excellent electron-transfer photosensitizer for cationic vinyl and ring-opening polymerizations. Especially attractive features of curcumin are its strong absorption, broad spectral sensitivity, efficient electron-transfer, low toxicity and low cost. Using curcumin as a photosensitizer, the cationic photopolymerizations of a variety of monomers were carried out including such naturally derived monomers as epoxidized terpenes and epoxidized vegetable oils. The impact of this technology on applications such as housing, boat-building and water distribution is discussed.
Autonomic power and performance management of high-performance servers

With the increased complexity of platforms coupled with data centers' servers sprawl, power consumption is reaching unsustainable limits. Researchers have addressed data centers' power & performance management at different hierarchies going from server clusters to servers to individual components within the server. This paper presents a novel technique for autonomic power & performance management of a high-performance server platform that consists of multi-core processor and multi-rank memory subsystems. Both the processor and/or the memory subsystem are dynamically reconfigured (expanded or contracted) to suit the application resource requirements. The reconfigured platform creates the opportunity for power savings by transitioning any unused platform capacity (processor/memory) into low-power states for as long as the platform performance remains within given acceptable thresholds. The platform power expenditure is minimized subject to platform performance parameters, which is formulated as an optimization problem. Our experimental results show around 58.33% savings in power as compared to static power management techniques.
Experimental evaluation of integrated path estimators

We describe the results of numerical experiments evaluating the efficiency of variance estimators based on integrated sample paths. The idea behind the estimators is to compute a vector of integrated paths and combine them to form an estimator of the time-average variance constant that is used, for example, in the construction of confidence intervals. When used in conjunction with batching, the approach generalizes the method of non-overlapping batch means. Compared with non-overlapping batch means, the estimators require longer to compute, have smaller variance and larger bias. We show that for long enough simulation run lengths, the efficiency (the reciprocal of running time multiplied by mean-squared error) of integrated path estimators can be much greater than that of non-overlapping batch means; the numerical experiments show an efficiency improvement by up to a factor of ten.
Altered Tonic Activity of Neurons in the Globus Pallidus and Subthalamic Nucleus in the Primate MPTP Model of Parkinsonism

In recent years single cell recording studies in the basal ganglia of behaving animals have contributed significantly to our understanding of the role of these structures in normal motor function (see DeLong et al., 1984; Alexander et al., 1986). Little is known, however, of the changes in neuronal activity in the basal ganglia responsible for the profound abnormalities of motor function associated with diseases of these structures, such as Parkinson’s and Huntington’s diseases. The development of a suitable primate model of parkinsonism utilizing MPTP provides the opportunity to address these important questions. The systemic administration of MPTP, a selective neurotoxin, to monkeys produces a parkinsonian syndrome with rigidity, akinesia, and bradykinesia (Burns et al., 1983; Langston et al., 1984). Single cell recording in this animal model may provide direct information regarding the pathophysiology of the parkinsonian syndrome. Here we report preliminary observations of altered neuronal activity in the external and internal segments of the globus pallidus (GPe, GPi) and subthalamic nucleus (STN) in an animal rendered parkinsonian with MPTP.
Gene suppression strategies for dominantly inherited neurodegenerative diseases: lessons from Huntington's disease and spinocerebellar ataxia

RNA-targeting approaches are emerging as viable therapeutics that offer an alternative method to modulate traditionally 'undrugable' targets. In the case of dominantly inherited neurodegenerative diseases, gene suppression strategies can target the underlying cause of these intractable disorders. Polyglutamine diseases are caused by CAG expansions in discrete genes, making them ideal candidates for gene suppression therapies. Here, we discuss the current state of gene suppression approaches for Huntington's disease and the spinocerebellar ataxias, including the use of antisense oligonucleotides, short-interfering RNAs, as well as viral vector-mediated delivery of short hairpin RNAs and artificial microRNAs. We focus on lessons learned from preclinical studies investigating gene suppression therapies for these disorders, particularly in rodent models of disease and in non-human primates. In animal models, recent advances in gene suppression technologies have not only prevented disease progression in a number of cases, but have also reversed existing disease, providing evidence that reducing the expression of disease-causing genes may be of benefit in symptomatic patients. Both allele- and non-allele-specific approaches to gene suppression have made great strides over the past decade, showing efficacy and safety in both small and large animal models. Advances in delivery techniques allow for broad and durable suppression of target genes, have been validated in non-human primates and in some cases, are currently being evaluated in human patients. Finally, we discuss the challenges of developing and delivering gene suppression constructs into the CNS and recent advances of potential therapeutics into the clinic.
Corticosterone 6 beta-hydroxylation correlates with blood pressure in spontaneously hypertensive rats

Evidence for increased glucocorticoid 6 beta-hydroxylation (enhanced family 3A cytochrome P-450 activity) is found in certain reversible forms of human hypertension. This association was investigated in the spontaneously hypertensive rat (SHR). The proportion of injected [3H]corticosterone excreted in urine as 6 beta-[3H]OH-corticosterone was four- to fivefold higher in SHR than in control Wistar-Kyoto rats, before and after development of overt hypertension. Both hypertension and 6 beta-hydroxylation were inhibited by troleandomycin (a selective inhibitor of family 3A cytochromes P-450), consistent with a role for increased steroid 6 beta-hydroxylation in the genesis of hypertension in the SHR.
Ways of Talking (and Acting) About Language Reclamation: An Ethnographic Perspective on Learning Lenape in Pennsylvania

ABSTRACTThe experiences of a community of people learning and teaching Lenape in Pennsylvania provide insights into the complexities of current ways of talking and acting about language reclamation. We illustrate how Native and non-Native participants in a university-based Indigenous language class constructed language, identity, and place in nuanced ways that, although influenced by essentializing discourses of language endangerment, are largely pluralist and reflexive. Rather than counting and conserving fixed languages, the actors in this study focus on locally appropriate language education, undertaken with participatory classroom discourses and practices. We argue that locally responsible, participatory educational responses to language endangerment such as this, although still rare in formal higher education, offer a promising direction in which to invest resources.
A Study of Redstate/Bluestate Characteristics

The paper correlates various social data on a state basis, such as education and income, with the state results of the 2000 and 2004 presidential elections. The paper concludes that Red States and Blue states do have definite statistical social differences.
Of Revolutions and Resistance: A Response to Philosophical Criticisms of Social Scientific Leisure Research

In a response to the criticisms presented in the preceeding group of papers, Kuhn's (1970) metaphor of intellectual revolutions is utilized to provide a framework for the dialogue between social sc...
Comparison of Battery-Powered and Manual Bone Biopsy Systems for Core Needle Biopsy of Sclerotic Bone Lesions.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this study was to compare manual and battery-powered bone biopsy systems for diagnostic yield and procedural factors during core needle biopsy of sclerotic bone lesions. MATERIALS AND METHODS. A total of 155 consecutive CT-guided core needle biopsies of sclerotic bone lesions were performed at one institution from January 2006 to November 2014. Before March 2012, lesions were biopsied with manual bone drill systems. After March 2012, most biopsies were performed with a battery-powered system and either noncoaxial or coaxial biopsy needles. Diagnostic yield, crush artifact, CT procedure time, procedure radiation dose, conscious sedation dose, and complications were compared between the manual and battery-powered core needle biopsy systems by Fisher exact test and t test. One-way ANOVA was used for subgroup analysis of the two battery-powered systems for procedure time and radiation dose. RESULTS. The diagnostic yield for all sclerotic lesions was 60.0% (93/155) and was significant...