cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Physical Activity After Breast Cancer Surgery: Does Depression Make Exercise Feel More Effortful than It Actually Is?

Prior to treatment, breast cancer patients are less physically fit compared to peers; during cancer treatment, their fitness typically declines. Depressive symptoms are associated with reduced activity up to 5 years post-treatment, but research has not identified mechanisms linking depression and lower activity. The current study assessed relationships among breast cancer patients’ depression and perceived exertion during exercise as well as heart rate, an objective indicator of exertion. Participants were 106 breast cancer patients, stages I–IIIA, who completed surgery but had not started adjuvant treatment. Heart rate and self-rated exertion, measured using the Borg Scale of Perceived Exertion, were assessed every 2 min during a graded exercise test. Depression was assessed using the CES-D and a structured clinical interview. Compared to women below the CES-D clinical cutoff, women with significant depressive symptoms reported steeper increases in exertion during the exercise test (p = .010) but had similar heart rates (p = .224) compared to women below the cutoff. Major depression history was unrelated to perceived exertion (ps > .224) and heart rate (ps > .200) during exercise. Women with currently elevated depressive symptoms experienced exercise as more difficult compared to women below the CES-D cutoff, but these self-perceptions did not reflect actual heart rate differences. Depression may make exercise feel more demanding, which could ultimately decrease patients’ likelihood of engaging in regular exercise. Results support the use of depression screening tools following breast cancer surgery to identify and intervene on individuals at risk for decreased physical activity during survivorship.
Click Carving: Interactive Object Segmentation in Images and Videos with Point Clicks

We present a novel form of interactive object segmentation called Click Carving which enables accurate segmentation of objects in images and videos with only a few point clicks. Whereas conventional interactive pipelines take the user’s initialization as a starting point, we show the value in the system taking lead even in initialization. In particular, for a given image or a video frame, the system precomputes a ranked list of thousands of possible segmentation hypotheses (also referred to as object region proposals) using appearance and motion cues. Then, the user looks at the top ranked proposals, and clicks on the object boundary to carve away erroneous ones. This process iterates (typically 2–3 times), and each time the system revises the top ranked proposal set, until the user is satisfied with a resulting segmentation mask. In the case of images, this mask is considered as the final object segmentation. However in the case of videos, the object region proposals rely on motion as well, and the resulting segmentation mask in the first frame is further propagated across the video to obtain a complete spatio-temporal object tube. On six challenging image and video datasets, we provide extensive comparisons with both existing work and simpler alternative methods. In all, the proposed Click Carving approach strikes an excellent of accuracy and human effort. It outperforms all similarly fast methods, and is competitive or better than those requiring 2–12 times the effort.
Electron scattering mechanisms in polycrystalline sputtered zinc tin oxynitride thin films

Zinc tin nitride ( ZnSnN2) is an emerging ternary nitride semiconductor studied for applications in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and other optoelectronic devices. For all of these applications, the charge carrier mobility is an important property. However, the dominant electron scattering mechanisms in ZnSnN2 are unclear, especially in the presence of oxygen that is often incorporated during thin film sputter deposition of this material. In addition, there are no experimental reports on the concentration of defects in such polycrystalline sputtered zinc tin oxynitride Zn1+xSn1−xN2−2xO2x (ZTNO) thin films. Here, we address both of these questions using temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements of sputtered ZTNO thin films as a function of Zn composition and O content. The measured temperature dependence of the mobility is fitted to scattering on ionized and neutral defects and to grain boundary scattering. The results indicate that ZTNO is a heavily compensated semiconductor, with a high density of neutral defects dominating the electron scattering processes. First principles theoretical calculations indicate that these neutral defects are likely to originate from the abundant ZnSn−2ON complexes in the ZTNO material. Overall, these results establish the dominant electron scattering mechanisms in polycrystalline sputtered ZTNO and help position this material for future use in optoelectronic devices.Zinc tin nitride ( ZnSnN2) is an emerging ternary nitride semiconductor studied for applications in solar cells, light-emitting diodes, and other optoelectronic devices. For all of these applications, the charge carrier mobility is an important property. However, the dominant electron scattering mechanisms in ZnSnN2 are unclear, especially in the presence of oxygen that is often incorporated during thin film sputter deposition of this material. In addition, there are no experimental reports on the concentration of defects in such polycrystalline sputtered zinc tin oxynitride Zn1+xSn1−xN2−2xO2x (ZTNO) thin films. Here, we address both of these questions using temperature-dependent Hall effect measurements of sputtered ZTNO thin films as a function of Zn composition and O content. The measured temperature dependence of the mobility is fitted to scattering on ionized and neutral defects and to grain boundary scattering. The results indicate that ZTNO is a heavily compensated semiconductor, with a high dens...
Comparison of Methods for Estimating Range of Fire Based on the Spread of Buckshot Patterns

Three methods of measuring the spread of shotgun pellet patterns for the purpose of estimating the range of fire were applied to a series of 72 00 buckshot patterns test-fired at distances ranging from 3.6 to 10.7 m (12 to 35 ft). The methods applied were (1) the “effective shot dispersion” method of Mattoo and Nabar, (2) a method in which the area of the smallest circumscribed rectangle that will just enclose the pellet pattern is calculated, and (3) an overlay method for determining the radius of the smallest circumscribed circle that will just enclose the pellet pattern. Regression analysis was applied to the resulting measurements of the spread of the pellet patterns. The “effective shot dispersion” was found to give the best fit to a linear function and the best range-of-fire estimates. The area of the pellet patterns was found to be a quadratic function of the range of fire; this measure of pellet pattern spread was also found to have very large shot-to-shot variations. The square root of the area of the pellet pattern was found to be a linear function of the range and to give acceptable range-of-fire estimates.
Αβ T-Cell/CD19 B-Cell Depleted Haploidentical Stem Cell Transplantation: A New Platform for Curing Rare and Monogenic Disorders

Allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from an HLA-matched donor, either related or unrelated, has been extensively used to treat patients with genetic disorders. However, only 25% of patients eligible to receive allogeneic HSCT have an HLA-identical sibling, and an HLA-matched unrelated donor can be identified for less than 60% of other patients. Mismatched HSCT has been associated with a high risk of graft loss, graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), and transplant-related mortality. Graft manipulation strategies have been used over the last decade to reduce these risks. HLA-haploidentical HSCT after ab T-cell/CD19 B-cell depletion (abhaplo-HSCT) has been shown to be effective in curing up to 90% of children with a variety of non-malignant disorders [Bertaina A, Blood 2014]. However, a scarcity of data are available for patients with rare and complex genetic diseases, including Tregopathies, an emerging new class of primary immunodeficiencies. Here we report preliminary data on the single center experience developed at Lucile Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford, CA, USA on the use of abhaplo-HSCT for rare and complex monogenic diseases (Table 1). All the cell products were manufactured at the Laboratory for Cell and Gene Medicine (LCGM) at Stanford (Table 2). Between 05/2018 and 08/2019, 5 patients with complex monogenic disorders were referred to our Center for HSCT including: a 23 year-old with Fanconi Anemia, two with Immune dysregulation, polyendocrinopathy, enteropathy, X-linked (IPEX) and two with Schimke Immuno-Osseous Dysplasia (SIOD). Remarkably, all these patients were previously considered not eligible for a HSCT, and one of the IPEX patients was in palliative care. At a median follow-up of 240 days (range 39-520), all patients are alive and disease-free. One patient (SIOD) developed Grade I/stage II skin only graft-versus-host disease (GvHD), while none of the evaluable patients had developed chronic GvHD. Five months after abhaplo-HSCT and with 100% of the circulating T cells being donor derived, the first SIOD patient received a living kidney transplant from the stem cell donor (mother) using minimal immunosuppression with tacrolimus and steroid. Four weeks after the kidney transplant all immunosuppression was stopped, and the patient remains off immunosuppression 12 weeks post-kidney transplantation. Our preliminary data on the use of abhaplo-HSCT in patients with rare and complex monogenic diseases provide a strong rationale for expanding this therapeutic approach to diseases not previously considered as an indication for allogeneic HSCT, to patients in very poor clinical condition and to patients requiring both HSCT and solid organ transplant.
Practice management curricular changes may lead to enhanced preparedness for practice.

PURPOSE The 2018 American Dental Education Association Survey of Dental School Seniors showed that 62.5% of graduates felt prepared in practice administration compared to 49.5% in 2013. The aim of this study was to survey and Internet search U.S. Dental Schools' Practice Management curriculum (PMC) to assess if and what changes, made in the past 5 years, may account for the continued increase in dental graduates' perception of preparedness for practice METHODS: An electronic survey was emailed to 64 dental schools querying factors for changes in PMC, updates in instructors, instructional methods, technology, topics, hours, and content enhancements. In addition, if a dual degree in business administration was developed or planned in the future. RESULTS Twenty-three schools responded for a 36.0% response rate. All participants (100.0%) indicated PMC changes, 73.9% responded that changes were motivated by student interest, and 60.9% planned future PMC improvements. All respondents (100.0%) updated subject matter and 52.2% had added technology, including Web-based business model and simulation courses. Two schools added dual degree MBA programs in 2017 due to student interest in entrepreneurship and administrative goals. CONCLUSION The study showed that upgrades in topics and teaching methods with Web-based technology, dual degrees, and additional focus on PMC hours, sequence, and number of practice administration courses in D1 and D2 years may be contributory factors for the development of enhanced skills and enhanced attitudes of graduates for practice readiness. Future study is needed to assess if these PMC improvements and advanced business courses have been successful in practicing dentists' careers.
6G Wireless Systems: Challenges and Opportunities

The ongoing deployment of 5G cellular systems is continuously exposing the inherent limitations of this system, compared to its original premise as an enabler for Internet of Everything applications. These 5G drawbacks are spurring worldwide activities focused on defining the next-generation 6G wireless system that can truly integrate far-reaching applications ranging from autonomous systems to extended reality. To date, the fundamental architectural and performance components of 6G remain largely undefined and open to speculations. In this chapter, we present a holistic vision that identifies the main principles that can guide the design and development of a 6G system. In particular, we discuss, in detail, why 6G will not be a simple exploration of more spectrum at high-frequency bands such as terahertz frequencies, but it will rather be a convergence of a number of technological trends. 6G will also be largely driven by a new breed of exciting Internet of Everything services. To this end, we first outline the primary drivers of 6G systems, in terms of applications and accompanying technological trends. Then, we introduce a new set of service classes and expose their target 6G performance requirements. We then explore the enabling technologies for the introduced 6G services and define a comprehensive set of research problems that come hand in hand with the identified technologies. We conclude by providing our observations on the challenges and opportunities that will define the road toward 6G. Ultimately, this chapter can be used to stimulate comprehensive, out-of-the-box research around 6G technologies.
Robust tracking MPC for uncertain system stabilisation using polyhedral sets

This paper is dedicated to the model predictive control (MPC) for constrained discrete time systems with additive uncertainties to track a references system. The tracking MPC problem distribute a control law appropriate for regulating constrained uncertain system to a given target system. Though, when the target operating point changes, the feasibility of the controller may be lost and the controller miss to track the reference. In this paper, a novel MPC for tracking variation system references is introduced. The main issue consist to minimizing a cost that penalizes the error between the state of the original system and the reference system state, taking into account, an polyhedral invariant set for tracking is considired as extended terminal constraint. The properties of the proposed controller has been tested in two example. Simulation results show that the proposed tracking MPC successfully achieves robust tracking in terms of control performance.
In situ/operando soft x-ray spectroscopy of chemical interfaces in gas and liquid environments

Many energy storage and energy conversion systems are based on the complexity of material architecture, chemistry, and interfacial interactions. To understand and thus ultimately control the energy applications calls for in situ/operando characterization tools. Over the years, in situ/operando soft x-ray spectroscopy has been developed for the studies of gas molecules, molecular liquids, catalytic, and electrochemical reactions. Soft x-ray spectroscopy offers electronic structure characterization of materials in energy conversion, energy storage, and catalysis regarding functionality, complexity of material architecture, and chemical interactions. It has been shown how to use the powerful in situ/operando soft x-ray spectroscopy characterization techniques of interfacial phenomena and how to reveal the mechanism of charge transfer and chemical transformation of solid/gas and solid/liquid interfaces of energy storage and catalytic materials in a realistic environment. It has been demonstrated how to overcome the challenge that soft x-rays cannot easily peek into the high-pressure catalytic or liquid electrochemical reactions. The unique design of in situ/operando soft x-ray spectroscopy instrumentation and fabrication principle and examples of experiments are presented.
Contact module progress and challenges in advanced CMOS technologies

In this invited paper, we demonstrate that the contact interface resistance is a major bottleneck for advanced FinFET performance scaling (38% of the external resistance at 45nm gate pitch). After analyzing the key components defining the contact interface resistivity (active doping level, Schottky barrier height, contact area), we review the engineering techniques available to improve this critical bottleneck. We propose that the contact area engineering is an essential engineering direction to unlock the benefits of advanced CMOS technology performance and discuss some related processing techniques such as the superconformal Ti deposition.
The magnetic structure of long-wavelength magnetohydrodynamic modes in current-carrying stellarator plasmas

Magnetic field fluctuations are observed in current-carrying stellarator plasmas when the rotational transform is close to a rational value at the edge of the plasma. At low plasma pressure, these fluctuations are associated with perturbed currents parallel to the equilibrium magnetic field lines. A model for these magnetohydrodynamic modes in a low-β, three-dimensional stellarator equilibria has been developed. A set of helical current filaments are constrained to mimic the structure of magnetic field lines on rational surfaces derived from three-dimensional (3D) equilibrium reconstructions. Transformation to straight field line coordinates then allows fitting of the poloidal magnetic sensor data to a single harmonic function, which fixes the modeled toroidal mode structure via the field line flow geometry. The developed procedure accurately captures phase and amplitude variation for m/n = 3/2, 3/1, and 4/1 modes in the 3D equilibria of the compact toroidal hybrid experiment.
Accuracy of Limited Field Cone Beam Computed Tomography in the Detection of Buccal Cortical Plate Perforations Due to Periapical Lesions

ACCURACY OF LIMITED FIELD CONE BEAM COMPUTED TOMOGRAPHY IN THE DETECTION OF BUCCAL CORTICAL PLATE PERFORATIONS DUE TO PERIAPICAL LESIONS By Dan-Linh Ha, DDS A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Dentistry at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2013. Director: Karan J. Replogle, DDS, MS Program Director, Department of Endodontics Pre-surgical planning for endodontic microsurgery is facilitated by the use of cone beam computed tomography (CBCT). The purpose of this study was to determine whether limited field CBCT accurately predicts buccal cortical plate perforations due to endodontic lesions. Thirtyfive roots that underwent microsurgical root end resection were included in this study. Prior to the surgery, 90 voxel CBCTs were taken with a Carestream 9300. The scans were analyzed by an endodontic resident and oral radiologist to determine the presence of a perforation in the buccal plate. These findings were compared to the clinical appearance of the bone. There was a significant relationship between a judgment of perforation made on the basis of CBCT and actual perforation as observed clinically. The CBCT prediction was accurate 83% of the time. A predicted perforation was validated in 88% of the instances and a predicted non-perforation was validated in 75% of the instances.
Philippine energy development strategy. The economic cost of institutional inefficiencies

Abstract This paper examines the Philippine energy development strategy in the light of the present projections of energy prices and discusses the implications of this strategy regarding the past and future investment plans of the energy sector. In reviewing the past decisions, the paper indicates the economic costs associated with the sub-optimality of these decisions, as well as costs related to implementation inefficiencies. In discussing the future investment strategy, the paper describes some recent accomplishment in the development of least-cost investment plant and the establishment of the coordinating machinery. Finally, the paper points out the lessons from the Philippine experience which may be of value to other developing countries.
Supporting XML based high-level abstractions on HDF5 datasets: a case study in automatic data virtualization

Recently, we have been focusing on the notion of automatic data virtualization. The goal is to enable automatic creation of efficient data services to support a high-level or virtual view of the data. The application developers express the processing assuming this virtual view, whereas the data is stored in a low-level format. The compiler uses the information about the low-level layout and the relationship between the virtual and the low-level layouts to generate efficient low-level data processing code. In this paper, we describe a specific implementation of this approach. We provide XML-based abstractions on datasets stored in the Hierarchical Data Format (HDF). A high-level XML Schema provides a logical view on the HDF5 dataset, hiding actual layout details. Based on this view, the processing is specified using XQuery, which is the XML Query language developed by the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The HDF5 data layout is exposed to the compiler using low-level XML Schema. The relationship between the high-level and low-level Schemas is exposed using a Mapping Schema. We describe how our compiler can generate efficient code to access and process HDF5 datasets using the above information. A number of issues are addressed for ensuring high locality in processing of the datasets, which arise mainly because of the high-level nature of XQuery and because the actual data layout is abstracted.
27. Slavery and the Roots of Sexual Harassment

In recent years, feminist scholars and activists have demonstrated the ways that U.S. slavery functioned as a system of gender supremacy. It entailed the dominance of men over women as well as whites over blacks. Adding the gender lens has shed immense light on the ways that sex, law, and power operated in the racially supremacist enslaving South. In recent years, this literature has emphasized the ways that slavery's sexual and racial subordination converged around the bodies of enslaved black women. One project within this literature characterizes slavery as a "sexual political economy" to make explicit the connections between its markets, labor structure, and sexual exploitation. It designates slavery a sexual economy to foreground slavery's gender hierarchies and mechanisms of subordination as well as to show how slavery offered early illustrations of the social construction and fluidity of gender and the false dichotomy between public and private relations. Taking those insights to their logical conclusion, this essay frames enslaved women's sexual coercion through their roles as captive workers to cast the institution of slavery in a new light: as an early and particularly virulent strain of institutionalized sexual harassment. In the process, it shows how we gain better purchase on sexual harassment when we look at antecedents in U.S. slavery. Conceiving slavery as sexual harassment sheds light on how slave law was labor law, plantations were workplaces, and enslaved women's resistance constituted gender activism. Critically, such a framework also recovers the sexual dimension of both slavery and sexual harassment. Casting slavery in this way hopefully yields a richer and more nuanced understanding not only of slavery, but of feminist history, theory, and contemporary activism.
Ferrochrome lignosulfonates: I. X-Ray absorption edge fine structure spectroscopy II. Interaction with ion exchange resin and clays

Abstract Ferrochrome lignosulfonate drilling mud additives were studied by X-ray K-absorption edge fine structure spectroscopy and by ion exchange. Neither the chromium nor iron spectra of ferrochrome lignosulfonate were found to charge over the pH range of 1 to 11 or over the temperature range of 70° to 400°F. A method for detecting chromium (VI) in the presence of chromium (III) was established. No chromium (VI) was found in any of the chromium- or ferrochrome lignosulfonates studied. It was found that chromium from ferrochrome lignosulfonate was not exchangeable onto a strong cation exchange resin over the pH range of 1.5 to 11. Possible modes of interaction between a chromium lignosulfonate and a clay are discussed.
Understanding Machines from Text and Diagrams.

Publisher Summary This chapter provides an overview of information involved in understanding a machine and the role that diagrams play in communicating this information. The chapter proposes a model of how people might read a text and inspect a diagram, which explain the workings of a mechanical device. The chapter also describes a study in which people's eye fixations are recorded while they read a text and inspect an accompanying diagram, and the results are interpreted within the framework of the model. There are a number of dimensions along which diagrams differ. Diagrams can be primarily realistic or schematic. In a realistic diagram, the depiction of the device is very similar to the appearance of the real device and preserves many of the details of its appearance. In contrast, in a schematic diagram, the details of the device components are not shown. Diagrams can also differ in their labeling. When people read a text, they process it on several different levels, from encoding the individual words and understanding the meaning of sentences, to forming a representation of the object or event that is described in the text. The result of the comprehension process is a representation of the object or event described in the text, called the “referential representation.”
THE ASEAN–CHINA FREE TRADE AGREEMENT: POLITICAL ECONOMY IN INDONESIA

The ASEAN–China Free Trade Agreement has been the most consequential trade agreement for ASEAN in the past decade. In this article, I use partial equilibrium modelling to estimate the direct impacts of the agreement on Indonesia and China, and from these estimates draw political economy implications for Indonesia. Although the agreement has contributed to a modest trade surplus for Indonesia overall, it has led to a larger bilateral deficit with China. In addition, the shifts to surplus for Indonesia have mostly been in resource-based sectors, while the shifts to deficit have occurred in many manufacturing sectors that the government would like to see grow. I argue that pushback against the agreement has contributed to a resurgence of non-tariff trade barriers in the country, although other political economy forces also have been at work. The agreement ultimately provides a cautionary tale: cutting regional import tariffs can lead to pressures for more complex and less transparent trade policies.
Screening: assessment of current studies.

Background. A major issue in decisions regarding screening women for breast cancer concerns ages of coverage, in particular, whether routine mass screening programs with mammography should cover women aged 40-49. Interpretation of results of studies on this question is affected by differences in design, adequacy of sample size, quality of mammography, period of follow-up, and other methodologic and content issues. Methods. Experience in eight randomized controlled trials (RCTs) conducted over the past 30 years in the United States, Europe, and Canada were assessed, and problems influencing their conclusions were considered. Results. The age groups studied in these RCTs varied, from 40-64 in the Health Insurance Plan (HIP) study to 40-74 in the Swedish two-county trials
Coherent fluorescence radiation following photoexcitation and photoionization

We present concise parametrized expressions for the angular distribution and polarization of the coherent fluorescence radiation following photoexcitation and photoionization including all multipole transitions. Many interesting cases are discussed, and their implications are pointed out.
Age‐Related Changes in Trabecular Architecture Differ in Female and Male C57BL/6J Mice

We used μCT and histomorphometry to assess age-related changes in bone architecture in male and female C57BL/6J mice. Deterioration in vertebral and femoral trabecular microarchitecture begins early, continues throughout life, is more pronounced at the femoral metaphysis than in the vertebrae, and is greater in females than males. Introduction: Despite widespread use of mice in the study of musculoskeletal disease, the age-related changes in murine bone structure and the relationship to whole body BMD changes are not well characterized. Thus, we assessed age-related changes in body composition, whole body BMD, and trabecular and cortical microarchitecture at axial and appendicular sites in mice. Materials and Methods: Peripheral DXA was used to assess body composition and whole body BMD in vivo, and μCT and histomorphometry were used to measure trabecular and cortical architecture in excised femora, tibia, and vertebrae in male and female C57BL/6J mice at eight time-points between 1 and 20 mo of age (n = 6–9/group). Results: Body weight and total body BMD increased with age in male and female, with a marked increase in body fat between 6 and 12 mo of age. In contrast, trabecular bone volume (BV/TV) was greatest at 6–8 wk of age and declined steadily thereafter, particularly in the metaphyseal region of long bones. Age-related declines in BV/TV were greater in female than male. Trabecular bone loss was characterized by a rapid decrease in trabecular number between 2 and 6 mo of age, and a more gradual decline thereafter, whereas trabecular thickness increased slowly over life. Cortical thickness increased markedly from 1 to 3 mo of age and was maintained or slightly decreased thereafter. Conclusions: In C57BL/6J mice, despite increasing body weight and total body BMD, age-related declines in vertebral and distal femoral trabecular bone volume occur early and continue throughout life and are more pronounced in females than males. Awareness of these age-related changed in bone morphology are critical for interpreting the skeletal response to pharmacologic interventions or genetic manipulation in mice.
Robotic Retroperitoneal Transvaginal Natural Orifice Translumenal Endoscopic Surgery (NOTES) Nephrectomy: Feasibility Study in a Cadaver Model

Objective To evaluate the feasibility of pure robotic natural orifice translumenal endoscopic surgery (R-NOTES) nephrectomy. Methods Two R-NOTES nephrectomy approaches were attempted in 3 female cadavers. A single-port device was inserted through an incision in the posterior vaginal fornix. In the first approach, the peritoneal cavity was accessed in the lithotomy position. In the second approach, the retroperitoneum of 2 cadavers was accessed in the prone jackknife position. The ureter was identified and followed cranially. The hilum was stapled and the kidney was dissected. The specimen was extracted into a bag. The incision was closed with an open approach. Results The first approach was not possible because of collision of the robotic arms against the legs and limited bowel retraction. After modifying the approach, a right transvaginal R-NOTES retroperitoneal nephrectomy was successfully completed, without adding extra ports. Time for setup was 128 minutes. Time to identify the ureter was 53 minutes. Dissection and control of the renal pedicle was completed in 21 minutes. Time to complete the dissection and extraction of the kidney was 36 minutes. Time to complete the procedure was 238 minutes. There were no injuries to retroperitoneal organs or vessels. In the third cadaver, there was rectal injury during the access. We were unable to complete the procedure because of the cadaver height. Conclusion Transvaginal R-NOTES nephrectomy is technically challenging but feasible in select female cadavers. Retroperitoneal approach in the prone jackknife position was instrumental in facilitating robotic access to the kidney through the vagina. Improvements in the technique and instrumentation are necessary to make this approach safe and reproducible.
Floral fraudulence: Do blue Thelymitra species (Orchidaceae) mimic Orthrosanthus laxus (Iridaceae)?

In Western Australia, Thelymitra crinita Lindl. and T. macrophylla Lindl. are pollinated by female, polylectic bees but offer no edible rewards. Flowers of Orthrosanthus laxus (Endl.) Benth. (Iridaceae) offer granular pollen and previous authorities suggest it is a Batesian model of T. crinita. We analyzed the floral fragrances and measured the floral dimensions of the orchid species, their putative hybrid, and O. laxus. Although the ‘scentless’ T. crinita emitted low levels of monoterpenoids and sesquiterpenoids, the pleasantly discernible fragrance of T. macrophylla was dominated by 2-phenylethanol. Their putative hybrid produced slightly lower levels of 2-phenylethanol compared with T. macrophylla and failed to produce any sesquiterpenoids associated with T. crinita. However, the hybrid produced higher volumes of the monoterpene linalool than either parent species. The fragrance of O. laxus contained 2-phenylethanol but lacked the sesquiterpenoids. We also measured perianth area and symmetry as well as the length and width of contrastingly pigmented floral centres for each taxon. Significant differences in floral area and symmetry were detected between the putative hybrid, the two parent species, and O. laxus. In contrast, the floral reward centre area (tuft of stamens) in O. laxus was significantly larger than the pseudo-reward centres (mitras) of both Thelymitra species and their hybrid. At the peak of their respective, but overlapping flowering periods, an inflorescence of T. macrophylla produced more than twice the number of open flowers as T. crinita and more than four times the number of open flowers on cymes of O. laxus. Based on scent production and visual displays, T. macrophylla appears more likely to be a Batesian floral mimic of O. laxus. We suggest that large-flowered Thelymitra species appear to produce a novel, visual and olfactory attractant pattern of fraudulence we call the ‘New Again, More Again Effect’.
Dissolution behavior of novolak resins

Novolak and polyhydroxystyrene (PHS) constitute the film forming polymers of positive resists. Laser interferometry was used to study the dissolution and film morphology of spun cast films. PHS forms uniform films with polymer chains preferentially orientated. Novolak resins exhibit disruption of ordering throughout the depth of the film. Thicker (greater than 1 micrometer) films of novolak are more disordered. Casting solvents can also alter film morphology. Micron thick films of novolak resins, except for monodisperse fractions, show disruption of order, especially in layers at the vicinity of the substrate. Thicker novolak films exhibit more disorder due to solvent/surface tension gradients. PHS films of higher Tg are not sensitive to coating disruptions. The addition of surfactants eliminates global radial phase separation of diazoquinone and novolak and restores uniform orientation in plane of dissolution by neutralizing surface tension driven gradients.
Conventions of Madness: Bürgerlichkeit and the Asylum in the Vormärz

Soon after his wife's incarceration in the Eberbach asylum in 1827, Herr S., a rector and soon to become Gymnasium professor in Weilburg, wrote to Philipp H. Lindpaintner, the asylum's director. The letter was about the pressing problem of his wife's illness, but, strangely, Herr S. spent a great deal of time chatting about himself — about his new position as professor; his recent salary raise; his new apartment “near the castle garden, where the Hofmarschal used to live”; his library; his Naturalien-Kabinett (natural history collection), which will be put on display at the Rathaus “for the use of schools and the enjoyment of the friends of nature and art.” Finally, Herr S. turned to the issue at hand: his wife's mental illness.
Determining Air Void Content of Compacted Hot-Mix Asphalt Mixtures

A project to develop a new method or adapt a current method with wide applicability for determining bulk specific gravity of compacted hot-mix asphalt (HMA) mixtures (Gmb) is described. A more reliable Gmb would result in more reliable HMA volumetric properties, specifically, percent air voids. Consequently, pavement distress types such as rutting, bleeding, stripping, and age hardening (whose occurrence is related to percent air voids, among other factors) could be avoided more often. The project goal was accomplished in three steps. In Step 1, a literature review and survey of state departments of transportation revealed 13 existing Gmb determination techniques. In Step 2, a feasibility study of the seven methods selected was conducted to evaluate cost, logistical factors, and preliminary repeatability. In the final step, 50 compacted HMA samples and four aluminum cylinders were used to evaluate the precision and accuracy of the four methods selected. The dimensional analysis (AASHTO T269) and the paraf...
Response to Saltuklaroglu, Kalinowski, and Stuart (2010)

Purpose To reply to the criticisms of Saltuklaroglu, Kalinowski, and Stuart (2010) by addressing their concerns regarding our study’s methodology, statistical analyses, and findings. Also, to chall...
Evaluation of prediction error based fuzzy model clustering approaches for multiple model learning

Identifying multiple models from both static and dynamic data is an important problem in several engineering fields. Clustering based on Euclidean distance measure has been proposed to solve this problem. However, since Euclidean distance is not directly related to model fidelity, these approaches can lead to suboptimal results even when the number of models is known. In this work, through a three step algorithm that includes initialization, prediction error based fuzzy clustering and model rationalization, we evaluate the possibility of uncovering multiple model structures from data. The three step algorithm is also assessed for the identification of piecewise auto regressive exogenous systems with unknown number of models and their (unknown)orders. The basic approach can be extended for trend analysis and generalized principal component analysis.
The use of pronase in tissue culture: A comparison with trypsin

Pronase is a proteolytic enzyme recently introduced as an effective dispersing agent of tissue culture cells. We have found it to be a most rapid and complete dispersing agent for primary fibroblastic cell lines and clearly superior to trypsin. On the other hand, with certain continuous epithelial cell lines its completeness of dispersion is inferior to that of trypsin necessitating study of each cell line individually with both enzymes to select the most advantageous one.
Perception of social distributions

Accurate representation of the distribution of social attitudes and behaviors can guide effective social behavior and is often essential for correct inferences. We examined the accuracy of people's beliefs about the distributions of a large number of attitudinal and behavioral dimensions. In two studies we measured actual attitudes and behaviors in a student population, and we assessed beliefs by asking subjects to estimate the distribution of 100 students on these dimensions. We examined the accuracy of subjects' perceptions of the means, standard deviations, and distribution shapes. Subjects showed a number of systematic biases, including overestimation of dispersion and overestimation of the means of behavioral distributions and a false consensus bias, but their overall accuracy was impressive. Approximate knowledge of the distributions of important social variables would seem to be essential for effective social functioning. Reasonably accurate guesses about the dispersion and central tendency of important behavioral and attitudinal dimensions could serve to guide one's behavior and selfpresentation in unfamiliar social situations. Such knowledge could allow one to adhere to accepted norms of behavior and conversation and to steer away from controversial topics so as to avoid offending others who hold different opinions. Indeed, one's effectiveness in group situations often depends on the ability to gauge the extent of support for one's own position. Politicians have long appreciated the value of knowledge about others' opinions, and contemporary ones are willing to spend large sums of money on polls designed to obtain very precise knowledge of opinions. Approximate knowledge of the parameters
Analysis, reduction and avoidance of crosstalk on VLSI chips

As chip size and design density increase, coupling effects (crosstalk) between signal wires become increasingly critical to on-chip timing and even functionality. A method is presented to analyze crosstalk while taking into account timing relationship and timing criticality between coupling wires. The method is based upon the geometrical layout of the wires (adjacency), the signal slopes on the wires (circuit driving capability) and timing considerations.Based on these wire characteristics, a pattern driven routing tool imbeds the crosstalk critical nets in non-adjacent wiring tracks for crosstalk avoidance. The pattern driven routing capability may also be used for rerouting crosstalk critical nets of an already existing routing for crosstalk reduction.The crosstalk analysis and the routing tool described in this paper were used in three generations of VLSI processor chip designs for IBM's S/390 computers, always resulting in crosstalk-resistant hardware.
Prediction of beef carcass salable yield and trimmable fat using bioelectrical impedance analysis

Bioelectrical impedance technology (BIA) is capable of providing an objective method of beef carcass yield estimation with the rapidity of yield grading. Electrical resistance (Rs), reactance (Xc), impedance (I), hot carcass weight (HCW), fat thickness between the 12th and 13th ribs (FT), estimated percentage kidney, pelvic, and heart fat (KPH%), longissimus muscle area (LMA), length between electrodes (LGE) as well as three derived carcass values that included electrical volume (EVOL), reactive density (XcD), and resistive density (RsD) were determined for the carcasses of 41 commercially fed cattle. Carcasses were subsequently fabricated into salable beef products reflective of industry standards. Equations were developed to predict percentage salable carcass yield (SY%) and percentage trimmable fat (FT%). Resulting equations accounted for 81% and 84% of variation in SY% and FT%, respectively. These results indicate that BIA technology is an accurate predictor of beef carcass composition.
Cardiac myofibrillar ATPase: A comparison with that of fast skeletal actomyosin in its native and in an altered conformation

Abstract Some enzymatic properties of cardiac myofibrils that were low in mitochondrial contamination are compared with those of skeletal actomyosin. We have observed with skeletal actomyosin two different types of enzymatic behavior: (a) the native behavior typical for skeletal myofibrils and (b) a modified behavior, found sometimes in reconstituted skeletal actomyosin preparations. Such modified skeletal actomyosin had acquired some enzymatic properties similar to those of cardiac myofibrils. The rate of hydrolysis of ATP by modified actomyosin was greatly reduced although that of ITP remained unchanged. As a result ITPase activity was much greater than ATPase activity just as in cardiac myofibrils. However, with respect to ATPase activity as a function of MgATP concentration there was no resemblance between cardiac myofibrillar and modified reconstituted skeletal actomyosin. Whereas the ATPase activity of cardiac myofibrils shows Michaelis-Menten kinetics similar to that of skeletal myofibrils, with a K m of about 10 μM, the modified actomyosin was inhibited by higher ATP concentrations. The Ca 2+ concentration for half maximal ATPase activation ranged between 0.7 and 1 · 10 −6 M, a range similar to that reported by others for reconstituted cardiac actomyosin and similar to that of skeletal actomyosin.
Impact of psychiatric and social characteristics on HIV sexual risk behavior in Puerto Rican women with severe mental illness

Background Latinos in the United States have been identified as a high-risk group for depression, anxiety, and substance abuse. HIV/AIDS has disproportionately impacted Latinos. Review findings suggest that HIV-risk behaviors among persons with severe mental illness (SMI) are influenced by a multitude of factors including psychiatric illness, cognitive-behavioral factors, substance use, childhood abuse, and social relationships.
Can market power really be estimated

In a previous paper in this Review, Hyde and Perloff ask the question, “Can Market Power be Estimated?” using the “structural model” or two proposed alternatives. They find that none of the three methods produce consistent, meaningful results in the food and beverage industries and that simulations suggest great sensitivity of results to model misspecification. This paper offers an explanation for these disappointing results. The difficulty is that the structural model (and its proposed alternatives) is based on an overly-ambitious estimating form that over-simplifies the diversity and true complexity of oligopoly pricing. By neglecting accounting data on costs and by arbitrarily relying on an assumption that outputs are set by subtracting a constant proportion of the difference between Price and Marginal Revenue, the “structural model” and proposed alternatives try to fit an elegant form to a messy world with predictably disappointing results.
Cocaine effects on brain noradrenergic neurons of anesthetized and unanesthetized rats

Abstract The present study characterized and quantified the effects of systemically administered cocaine on spontaneous, sensory-evoked and stress-elicited activity of noradrenergic locus coeruleus (LC) neurons of anesthetized and unanesthetized rats. Cocaine (0.1–3.0 mg/kg, i.v.) decreased LC spontaneous discharge rate and discharge evoked by repeated sciatic nerve stimulation in halothane-anesthetized rats. In unanesthetized rats cocaine (0.3–10.0 mg/kg, i.v.) also decreased LC spontaneous discharge rate and LC discharge evoked by repeated auditory stimulation. However, analysis of variance revealed a statistically significant shift to the right in the cocaine dose-response curves for effects on tonic and evoked LC discharge in unanesthetized compared to anesthetized rats. Thus, cocaine was somewhat less potent in inhibiting tonic and evoked discharge of unanesthetized rats compared to anesthetized rats. In anesthetized rats cocaine (1.0 mg/kg) did not affect LC activation by intracerebroventricularly (i.c.v.) administered corticotropin-releasing factor (3.0 μg in 3.0 μl) or by hemodynamic stress elicited by i.v. nitroprusside infusion. The present findings demonstrate that cocaine has similar effects on LC neurons of anesthetized and unanesthetized rats but that it is less potent in unanesthetized rats. These effects of cocaine at noradrenergic cell bodies acting in concert with its effects at noradrenergic terminals in LC target regions may be important in the overall action of cocaine on arousal and cortical information processing.
White Backlash to Workplace Affirmative Action: Peril or Myth?

This project uses 1990 General Social Survey data to address an issue that is central to current public policy debates: How is the racial perspective of whites affected by firsthand exposure to race-targeted remedies, such as workplace affirmative action? Theories giving a central role to self-interest generate predictions that race-targeted intervention will evoke white backlash. Contrary predictions are suggested by evidence that school, employment, and housing desegregation brought attitude shifts toward congruence with institutional policy. Comparing reports from white workers whose employers do and do not practice affrmative action, we find no indication that proximity to this form of race targeting creates white resentment and polarizes the groups involved. Instead, the fait accompli dynamic seems to operate: Whites from affirmative-action firms are more supportive of certain race-targeted remedies and more likely to hold beliefs that serve as rationalesfor intervention on behalf of minorities.