cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU‐E‐E‐03: Ethics and Professionalism Education in Medical Physics: A Needs Assessment Study

Purpose: To perform a needs assessment survey of ethics/professionalism education in medical physics and ethical/professional challenges in clinical,research and educational settings with the intent of supplementing and customizing TG159 recommended ethics curriculum for medical physics trainees. Methods: A web‐based survey was conducted among AAPM members to assess current practices, attitudes and perceptions pertaining to ethics/professionalism education and ethical/professional misconduct or questionable behavior and practices in the field. Results: The survey was distributed by AAPM to 7708 members via email; 1362 (17.7%) responded. Seventy‐five percent of the respondents were male. Sixty percent (805/1345) stated they received no education in ethics/professionalism. Eighty‐one percent (126/155) of current trainees received instruction in ethics/professionalism, as opposed to 35% (392/1130) of those who are post‐training. There was strong support (>90%) for continuing education in ethics/professionalism; seventy‐five percent (1019/1354) supported sessions on ethics and professionalism at national meetings. Most preferred method of ethics instruction was periodic discussion sessions involving faculty and trainees, with the least interest expressed for a separate course. Many reported direct personal knowledge of one or more instances of a variety of professional/ethical misconduct or questionable behavior. Thirty eight percent (458/1192) reported poor mentorship, with women reporting this concern more often than men (129/281,46% versus 316/877, 36%, p<.05). Over one‐fourth of respondents reported being asked to perform low educational value tasks and expressed concerns about fairness. A significant minority also reported questionable behavior with respect to authorship assignment (346/920, 38%), data fabrication (107/924, 12%), data falsification (94/919, 10%); concerns about research subject privacy and confidentiality were lower (64/887, 7%). Conclusions: Data gathered through the survey is guiding our efforts to develop a case‐based ethics curriculum and instructional materials for medical physics trainees at our institution. This effort may be useful to other medical physics programs which offer ethics training/education. This work has been funded in part by a grant from the National Institutes of Health, T32 EB002103‐22S1.
Differences in hypothalamic 2-[125I]iodomelatonin binding in photoresponsive and non-photoresponsive white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus

Photoperiod is an environmental cue used by many temperate-zone species to regulate their reproductive timing. Within species, the degree of reproductive photoresponsiveness can vary widely both among and within populations. The neuroendocrine mechanisms causing this individual variation in photoresponsiveness are unknown. Using selected lines from a population of white-footed mice known to vary genetically in reproductive photoresponsiveness, we tested the hypothesis that variation in the number and/or location of melatonin receptors is the basis for individual differences in reproductive photoresponsiveness. The brains and pars tuberalis of the pituitary from sixteen mice, (eight mice from each of two lines selected for two generations to respond strongly or weakly to photoperiod), were processed for autoradiography using the radioligand 2-[125I]-iodomelatonin (IMEL). We found significantly higher specific IMEL binding in the medial preoptic area and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis of non-responsive mice than responsive mice. There were no differences between groups in specific IMEL binding in the suprachiasmatic and dorsomedial nuclei of the hypothalamus, pars tuberalis, or paraventricular nucleus of the thalamus. These results provide support for the hypothesis that individual variation in photoresponsiveness is due in part to differences in the density or affinity of melatonin receptors.
The Strange Career of Annie Lee Moss: Rethinking Race, Gender, and McCarthyism

Annie Lee Moss is hardly a household name. She had her fifteen minutes (or so) of fame in March 1954, when Edward R. Murrow dedicated an episode of his television news show, See It Now, to her appearance before Sen. Joseph McCarthy's Permanent Sub committee on Investigations. McCarthy had charged that Moss, an African American civilian Pentagon employee who allegedly had access to top-secret coded messages, was a card-carrying member of the Communist party (cp). Murrow's broadcast went a long way toward discrediting those claims; ultimately, Moss remained an army clerk, labor ing in obscurity until her retirement in 1975, at age sixty-nine. When she reappeared in George Clooney's 2005 paean to Murrow, Good Night, and Good Luck, she had been long forgotten by all but a coterie of McCarthy scholars and right-wing apologists for McCarthyism.1 This seemingly unimportant federal employee had a rather strange career. Like many other Americans, she was caught up in the loyalty-security programs of the Harry S. Tru man and Dwight D. Eisenhower administrations, but the extent of official attention paid to her was unusual. She was subjected to at least three investigations, three job suspen sions, and several transfers for security purposes. J. Edgar Hoover believed she merited his close attention, and the secretary of defense once personally intervened on her behalf. She also appeared before both the House Committee on Un-American Activities (huac) and McCarthy's subcommittee. Even more strange is the enduring career of Annie Lee Moss as a symbol of Cold War politics. Long before George Clooney brought her again to the national stage, historians and pundits had offered her as a sign of McCarthy's evil or of his vindication. The debate over Moss has centered on whether or not McCarthy was correct. Was this "humble Negress" actually a Communist? And if she was, does that justify the Cold War?era red scare and the senator's part in it? For liberal commentators from Mur row to Clooney, Moss was a "little woman" who was incomprehensible as a Communist;
Gap capture in northern hardwoods: patterns of establishment and height growth in four species

Abstract We sought to determine whether four tree species that commonly coexist—American beech ( Fagus grandifolia Ehrh.), sugar maple ( Acer saccharum Marsh.), red maple ( Acer rubrum L.), and yellow birch ( Betula alleghaniensis Britt.)—differed in their patterns of establishment in gaps and their height growth after gap formation. Fifty-eight canopy trees were sampled in four experimentally created canopy gaps, 44–48 years old, in a northern hardwood forest at the Bartlett Experimental Forest, NH. Using stem analysis, we determined the year of origin of each tree and its pattern of height growth. Over two-thirds of beech and sugar maple canopy trees were advance regeneration, while most yellow birch stems established after gap formation. Red maple was a mixture of the two. Beech had the oldest stems at the time of gap formation (5 out of 18 stems over 20 years of age). No canopy tree established later than four years after gap formation. Species differed in their patterns of height growth, with beech growing more slowly than the others immediately after gap formation. Beech, however, grew at a more constant rate than sugar maple and yellow birch, and approached the heights of these species 30 years after gap formation. Red maple was the tallest and maintained a constant growth rate over the 30-year period. In beech and sugar maple, individuals that established after gap formation eventually grew faster and caught up with those establishing via advance regeneration.
More metaphor: Concerns and Considerations in Groups

This article urges caution in illuminating and interpretating spontaneous group metaphors. It encourages amplification of the metaphor as a less intrusive means for using this therapeutic tool. Case examples are provided supporting the discussion
The effects of an upstream short radius elbow and pressure tap location on orifice discharge coefficients

The effects of a single, short radius (rD = 0.667) upstream elbow on the discharge coefficient of three orifice plates of β = 0.438, 0.528 and 0.688 are investigated. Discharge coefficients were determined for all three orifices utilizing pressure taps in the 0° (inside the bend), 90° (normal to the bend) and 180° (outside the bend) radial locations at elbow-to-orifice spacings (LD) of 3, 10, 17 and 25. The upstream tap was located one pipe diameter (D) and the downstream tap was located 12 pipe diameter (D2) from the upstream orifice plate face. The pipe tested was 38.1 mm ID and the test fluid was water at ambient conditions. The flow regime covered was 0.7 × 105 ≤ RD 1.2 × 105, where RD is based on the pipe diameter. The results were output in the form of percentage of change of the discharge coefficient.
Meridional anisotropy of spatial displacement detection.

The influence of spatial and temporal frequency on possible meridional variations in spatial displacement detection were examined. The results indicate that a spatial displacement detection oblique effect occurs at high spatial frequencies and low temporal frequencies. This anisotropy is not due to differences in perceived contrast along the vertical and oblique axes, since the orientations were equated for perceived contrast in each of the stimulus conditions. The spatialdisplacement oblique effect is similar to both the contrast sensitivity and perceived contrast oblique effects in its dependence on the spatial and temporal properties of a stimulus. These different oblique effects are discussed in terms of a possible common neural basis.
Second order nonlinear spatial stability analysis of compressible mixing layers

Second order nonlinear spatial stability to three-dimensional perturbation waves is analyzed for compressible mixing layers by expanding the perturbations into amplitude-dependent harmonic waves and truncating the Landau equation to the second term. This leads to a system of nonlinear ordinary differential equations for the harmonics. The two constants in Landau equation are calculated, wherein the independent variable, time t, is replaced by the streamwise coordinate direction x. The basic procedure in this paper is similar to that by Liu for compressible laminar wakes [Phys. Fluids 12, 1763 (1969)]. However, unlike this reference, which does not provide any results for their analysis, the present paper obtained many interesting results. The linear results from the present work compare very favorably with those reported by Day, Reynolds, and Mansour [Phys. Fluids 10, 993 (1998)], who employed a different procedure and limited their analysis to the linear regime. In the present studies, both the linear and nonlinear problems were analyzed in exactly the same manner, with the implication that the nonlinear results are probably accurate. These results include the convergence of the amplitude to an equilibrium value that depends on the two constants in the amplitude equation from Landau’s procedure. The present analysis is restricted to exponentially decaying linear solutions at the boundaries and hence to region one in the phase speed-Mach number diagram. However, we have observed that nonlinear effects could introduce constant, decaying, or outgoing wave solutions at the boundaries, depending on the velocity and density ratios and the Mach number of the fast stream. Other effects of these parameters are reported.
Cross-correlated fluctuation analysis reveals phosphorylation-regulated paxillin-fak complexes in nascent adhesions

We used correlation methods to detect and quantify interactions between paxillin and focal adhesion kinase (FAK) in migrating cells. Cross-correlation raster-scan image correlation spectroscopy revealed that wild-type paxillin and the phosphorylation-inhibiting paxillin mutant Y31F-Y118F do not interact with FAK in the cytosol but a phosphomimetic mutant of paxillin, Y31E-Y118E, does. By extending cross-correlation number and brightness analysis to the total internal reflection fluorescence modality, we were able to show that tetramers of paxillin and FAK form complexes in nascent adhesions with a 1:1 stoichiometry ratio. The phosphomimetic mutations on paxillin increase the size of the complex and the assembly rate of nascent adhesions, suggesting that the physical molecular aggregation of paxillin and FAK regulates adhesion formation. In contrast, when phosphorylation is inhibited, the interaction decreases and the adhesions tend to elongate rather than turn over. These direct in vivo data show that the phosphorylation of paxillin is specific to adhesions and leads to localized complex formation with FAK to regulate the dynamics of nascent adhesions.
Angular Momentum Effects in the Gamma-Ray De-Excitation of Fission Fragments

The energy dissipated as $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays during the de-excitation of fission fragments (7.2\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.8 MeV for ${\mathrm{U}}^{235}$ thermal fission) is somewhat higher than has been estimated theoretically (4.9 MeV). It has been suggested that this discrepancy arises from the angular momentum of the fission fragments. We have made a quantitative evaluation of this possibility, taking into account the angular momentum dependence of the level density, the nonexistence of levels of a given angular momentum below some minimum energy (yrast energy), and the competition between neutron and $\ensuremath{\gamma}$-ray emission. The initial angular momentum distribution is that derived from measurements of isomers produced in fission. Initial excitation energies are based on the known de-excitation properties of fission fragments. All other parameters were derived from sources having no direct connection with the fission process. The calculations for an average pair of fragments (${\mathrm{Sr}}^{96}$ and ${\mathrm{Xe}}^{140}$) indicate that 7.1 MeV should appear as $\ensuremath{\gamma}$ rays and that the average photon energy is 0.9 MeV. The calculated average neutron energy and number of neutrons are also in agreement with experiment.
Computation techniques for the volume of a tetrahedron

The purpose of this article is to discuss specific techniques for the computation of the volume of a tetrahedron. A few of them are taught in the undergraduate multivariable calculus courses. Few of them are found in text books on coordinate geometry and synthetic solid geometry. This article gathers many of these techniques so as to constitute a minor survey of a teaching-oriented article, useful to both students and teachers according to their needs in the classrooms.
ChitO2-Clot: A Novel Hemostatic and Oxygen Releasing Biomaterial for Traumatic Injuries

ChitO2-Clot is a novel hemostatic wound dressing. ChitO2-Clot will help facilitate coagulation/clot formation as well as providing oxygen to the wound, all while being cost effective and competitive with current hemostatic dressings. The product is composed of a micro/nano sized fibrous mat made of chitosan that is doped with Perfluorocarbons (oxygen carrier). The user would pack a hemorrhaging wound with ChitO2-Clot in order to stop the bleeding. The chitosan in ChitO2-Clot rapidly absorbs the blood in the wound bed and forms a gelatinous clot that fills the empty void of the wound. The gelatinous clot filling this void in the tissue applies pressure to the damaged vasculature, which prevents further bleeding. Chitosan also activates the clot clotting cascade and causes the agglutination of red blood cells, accelerates coagulation in vivo by influencing the activation of platelets. The Perfluorocarbons (oxygen career) release oxygen into the wound bed to help facilitate the wound healing process. Over time, the chitosan in ChitO2-Clot will be reabsorbed by the body and converted into sugar, while the Perfluorocarbon (PFC) is expelled via gas exchange in the lungs.
Optimum sequential search with discrete locations and random acceptance errors

Abstract : Much work has been done in search theory. However, very little effort has occurred where an object's presence at a location can be accepted when no object is present there. The case analyzed is of this type. The number of locations is finite, a single object is stationary at one location, and only one location is observed each step of the search. The object's location has a known prior probability distribution. Also known are the conditional probability of acceptance given the object's absence (small) and the conditional probability of rejection given the object's presence (not too large); these probabilities remain fixed for all searching and locations. The optimum sequential search policy specifies that the next location observed is one with the largest posterior probability of the object's presence (evaluated after each step from Bayes Rule) and that the object is at the first location where acceptance occurs. Placement at the first acceptance seems appropriate when the conditional probability of acceptance given the object's absence is sufficiently small. The policy is optimum in that, for any number of steps, it minimizes the probability of no acceptances and, simultaneously, maximizes the probability that an acceptance occurs and the object is accurately located. Search always terminates (with probability one). Optimum truncated sequential policies are also considered. Methods are given for evaluating some pertinent properties and for investigating the possibility that no object occurs at any location. (Author)
Elements of medieval horror tragedy in the Duchess of Malfi

Evaluation of modern plays becomes more precise as we gain insights into the great plays of the past. John Webster wrote two plays, The Duchess of Malfi and The White Devil, in which the elements of horror contribute to the greatness of the play. Only by relating these elements to the preceding Medieval period can we fully appreciate the skill of his compositions. This paper deals directly with The Duchess of Malfi.
ipso-and para-Functionalization of meta-terphenyl ligands with substituted methyl groups: Unusual head-to-tail coupling of terphenyl moieties

Abstract The synthesis and characterization of several ipso-functionalized derivatives of the bulky terphenyl group C 6 H 3 - 2 , 6 ( C 6 H 3 - 2 ′ , 6 ′ - Pr 2 i ) 2 ( Ar ′ ) are described. These include the primary alcohol Ar′CH2OH (1), the bromo derivative Ar′CH2Br (2), and the terphenyl formate Ar′CH2OC(O)H (3). The alcohol 1 was obtained by treatment of LiAr′ with formaldehyde, and 1 was readily converted to the bromo derivative 2 using HBr. The reaction of 1 with formic acid afforded 3 in good yield. Attempts to form the Grignard derivative of 1, i.e., Ar′CH2MgBr, resulted in a head-to-tail reaction of the terphenyl benzyl units to yield an unusual coupled product 4. An approach to the avoidance of this coupling involved the synthesis of the terphenyl derivatives 1 - I - C 6 H 2 - 2 , 6 ( C 6 H 3 - 2 ′ , 6 ′ - Pr 2 i ) 2 - 4 - Me ( 5 ) and 1 - I - C 6 H 2 - 2 , 6 ( C 6 H 2 - 2 ′ , 4 ′ , 6 ′ - Pr 3 i ) 2 - 4 - Me ( 6 ) , bearing methyl groups in the para positions of the central aryl ring, which could be prepared in good yield, and converted to their respective lithium salts 7 and 8 without complication . The compounds were characterized by 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, IR spectroscopy (1) and X-ray crystallography (2, 4, 5 and 6).
New coordination strategy for on-line hierarchical optimizing control of large scale industrial processes

Abstract A new coordination strategy for hierarchical optimizing control is presented, Unlike the price coordination method this approach is not a primal and dual method and its convergence behaviour does not depend on the feature of the saddle point of the problem lagrangian. Compared with the price coordination method, this approach has two advantages. Firstly, its applicability conditions are easier to satisfy and secondly, its convergence behaviour is more desirable in terms of convergence rate and insensitivity of the hessian structure of the problem. A variable augmentation technique is employed to increase the flexibility of the iterative gain selection and to improve further the convergence behaviour of the method. Optimality and convergence analysis are provided for each different version of the algorithm presented. A comparative study between different versions of the algorithm presented and a single iterative integrated system optimization and parameter estimation (ISOPE) method with global fee...
Cellular spin resonance inversion by ion‐induced dipoles

Cellular spin resonance (CSR) or electrorotation is the spinning of cells or other particulate matter in rotating electric fields. The spin rate of the (bio)particle varies markedly with the applied frequency and often is seen to have rather sharp maxima as the frequency is varied. In certain frequency ranges, living cells often are observed to undergo a striking inversion of their spin rate and then spin counter-clockwise (CCW) while the direction of rotation of the applied electric field is clockwise (CW). The CSR spectra are presumably due to dipolar interactions with the applied field, as are the spectra obtained by straightforward dielectrophoresis (DEP) techniques. The two spectra, however, differ radically in the low frequency ranges (below about 1 MHz). It is our objective to explain this apparently anomalous behavior. We believe that the anomaly appears primarily because one is comparing rotational with translational force responses. In the DEP techniques, the simpler translational force arising from the comparative polarizability of cell versus medium (water) gives a straightforward measure of the differential polarizability owing to volume and surface effects pro forma. In the CSR techniques the spin rate reflects the torque on the cells and hence emphasizes polarization at the outer periphery of the cells rather than that of the average overall polarizability. The problem is considered in terms of a living or dead cell rotating with an angular velocity Ω in a fluid medium of viscosity η when it is subject to an electric field rotating at angular frequency ω. It is observed in many experiments that Ω ≪ ω, and also that the sign of Ω for the same cell can change from CW to CCW and back to CW as the applied frequency ω of the CW electric field is increased. Moreover, the sign and magnitude of the CSR spectra differ for living and dead cells. All of these experimental results can be explained quantitatively by using Maxwell's equations and the dielectric properties of a lossy dielectric sphere in an ionically conductive dielectric fluid.
Social bookmark weighting for search and recommendation

Social bookmarking enables knowledge sharing and efficient discovery on the web, where users can collaborate together by tagging documents of interests. A lot of attention was given lately for utilizing social bookmarking data to enhance traditional IR tasks. Yet, much less attention was given to the problem of estimating the effectiveness of an individual bookmark for the specific tasks. In this work, we propose a novel framework for social bookmark weighting which allows us to estimate the effectiveness of each of the bookmarks individually for several IR tasks. We show that by weighting bookmarks according to their estimated quality, we can significantly improve social search effectiveness. We further demonstrate that using the same framework, we can derive solutions to several recommendation tasks such as tag recommendation, user recommendation, and document recommendation. Empirical evaluation on real data gathered from two large bookmarking systems demonstrates the effectiveness of the new social bookmark weighting framework.
Effect of Delivery Room Ambient Temperature (DR-T) on Admission Temperature (IT) among Late Preterm Infants (LPI) Born at 34 to 36 Weeks Gestation

Background: A large percentage of LPIs are hypothermic in NICU. Due to decreased subcutaneous tissue, LPIs are at increased risk for hypothermia in the Delivery and Operating Room (DR/OR). Hypothermia is cited as the primary reason for NICU admission in 5.2% of all LPIs and associated with prolonged Length of Stay (LOS).
Dynamic Backlight Scaling Optimization: A Cloud-Based Energy-Saving Service for Mobile Streaming Applications

With the increasing variety of mobile applications, reducing the energy consumption of mobile devices is a major challenge in sustaining multimedia streaming applications. This paper explores how to minimize the energy consumption of the backlight when displaying a video stream without adversely impacting the user's visual experience. First, we model the problem as a dynamic backlight scaling optimization problem. Then, we propose algorithms to solve the fundamental problem and prove the optimality in terms of energy savings. Finally, based on the algorithms, we present a cloud-based energy-saving service. We have also developed a prototype implementation integrated with existing video streaming applications to validate the practicability of the approach. The results of experiments conducted to evaluate the efficacy of the proposed approach are very encouraging and show energy savings of 15-49 percent on commercial mobile devices.
Commentary to “Prechemotherapy laparoscopic nephrectomy for Wilms' tumor”

The authors report two cases of laparoscopic nephrectomy for Wilms’ tumor performed prior to the administration of chemotherapy (only one of which is a typical Wilms’ tumor in a child). The timing of surgery is important because preoperative chemotherapy reduces tumor size and the risk of intraoperative tumor rupture. Therefore, a laparoscopic approach will generally be more challenging when performed prior to chemotherapy administration. As the authors acknowledge, this report merely demonstrates the feasibility of the operation; being a single case report it tells us nothing significant regarding the advantages, morbidity or risks. One potential advantage of a laparoscopic approach, whether before or after chemotherapy, is decreased morbidity in terms of postoperative pain and length of hospital stay. These advantages are of limited concern in small children who recover quickly in any case. And for patients with Wilms’ tumor, the total hospitalization during treatment of their disease is going to be driven primarily by the adjuvant therapy they will receive postoperatively rather than by the recovery from the operation itself. The other potential advantage of a laparoscopic approach is cosmesis. The scar of a transverse abdominal incision does become a concern to some children when they are older. And although a significant incision is still required to extract the tumor intact, a Pfannenstiel incision is significantly less apparent later in life than the traditional open surgical incision. That said, what are the potential risks of a laparoscopic approach? The authors mention the two most important: an increased risk of intraoperative tumor rupture due to loss of tactile feedback and an inadequate abdominal
An adaptive three-dimensional DCT compression based on motion analysis

In this paper, we propose an adaptive 3D-DCT compression technique, which dynamically determines an optimal size of the video cube based on the motion analysis. The technique consists of two steps: (a) it analyses the motion within a small (16x16) video cube of eight successive frames, and (b) it selects the size of the cube based on the motion analysis and applies the 3D-DCT algorithm on the selected video cube. The effectiveness of the proposed technique is illustrated by implementing it to a number of video sequences with low, medium, and high motion.
Seaward Migration and Gill (Na+K)‐ATPase Activity of Spring Chinook Salmon in an Artificial Stream

Abstract Pelton ladder on the Deschutes River was used to estimate migration tendency in juvenile spring chinook salmon. A positive relationship between elevated levels of gill (Na+K)-adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) and migration tendency was determined in 1977 and 1978. Migrant fish had significantly higher ATPase activities than nonmigrants. In 1978, a distinctive peak in (Na+K)-ATPase was observed in hatchery-reared fish, while this peak was absent in 1977. This suggests caution in the use of gill (Na+K)-ATPase as an indicator of smolting for hatcheries.
An on-chip sensor to measure and compensate static NBTI-induced degradation in analog circuits

Abstract Negative Bias Temperature Instability (NBTI) degrades the life-time of both the analog and digital circuits significantly and has become a major concern in nanoscale regime. In analog circuits, the DC biasing voltage is always present irrespective of the input signal. Therefore, coupled with high operating temperature (due to dynamic switching and high packaging density of SoC) and constant DC bias, there would be continuous NBTI stress in analog circuits with minor or almost no recovery. Moreover, mismatch and input referred offset voltage caused by NBTI in differential pairs, current sources and cascode stages can cause instantaneous, intermittent or catastrophic failure after certain time period. The problem of NBTI is usually addressed by leaving large design margins and/or employing adaptive body bias and dynamic voltage scaling calibration techniques using on-chip sensors or monitors. We propose an ultra low power and low area on-chip NBTI sensor which can be used to accurately sense the NBTI degradation in analog circuits. We have shown that the temporal degradation of PMOS transistor in analog circuits has high correlation to the output variation in proposed NBTI sensor. We also propose a simple circuit for generating accurate body bias to compensate temporal NBTI. We have demonstrated how using the proposed sensor and the adaptive body bias mechanism can be used to compensate NBTI degradation in various analog circuits. Measurement results are also provided for the proposed sensor fabricated in commercially available 65 nm process.
Vibrational effects in coulomb-explosion experiments

Abstract Structural information obtained by study of the dissociation of fast molecular ion beams in thin foils is potentially misleading in some cases due to excitation of non-totally-symmetric vibrational modes in the projectile ion. Experiments to date are reviewed and estimates made of molecular ion vibrational distributions and their effects on the observed data. Ions are suggested which will show these effects even more dramatically. Methods for controlling vibrational preparations are suggested.
Principles of statistical analysis occasionally overlooked

Abstract Seven frequently overlooked sources of error in the statistical analysis of periodicities are discussed and illustrations of them are drawn from recent published discussions of cosmic-ray observations. It is shown that, through non-observance of several principles of statistical analysis, many investigators have reached incorrect conclusions as to the reliability of the periodic variations which they have deduced from their observational results. The data taken by Bennett, Stearns, and Compton on Pike's Peak, September 1931, are tested by a criterion different from that which was employed by the original investigators, from which the conclusion is drawn that the variations they observed are attributable to accidents of observation.
A framework for building Bluetooth scatternets: A system design approach

Building Bluetooth scatternets is the focus of a lot of research activity where scatternet formation algorithms are developed to optimize various performance criteria. In this paper, we focus on establishing a framework within which these algorithms can be exploited in an operational Bluetooth network. First we review pertinent parts of the Bluetooth protocol stack and then we present issues of concern related to the direct implementation of these algorithms on Bluetooth networks. Finally, to address this issue, we introduce a framework for creating scatternets and show how existing scatternet formation algorithms can be re-used by altering the layer at which they become visible to the Bluetooth protocol stack.
Bridging the gap: Using microsociological theory to understand how expressed emotion predicts clinical outcomes

Research has shown that expressed emotion (EE) among families is a strong predictor of relapse for people with severe mental illness. Recent studies have also found the presence of EE in consumer-provider relationships. Despite high consistency in the findings related to EE and relapse, the concept has weak validity as little is known about how exactly it triggers relapse. Microsociological theory provides a framework with which to analyze social interaction and, more specifically, understand how interactions relate to the emotions of pride and shame. By identifying the components of interaction rituals, the theory provides insight into the key processes underlying EE and demonstrates how methodologies based on direct observation have the potential to measure EE with greater validity. This article describes how microsociological theory can be applied to the concept of EE.
A serial sectioning technique for evaluating grain and twin boundary precipitate growth kinetics in bulk specimens

Abstract A new measurement technique for the growth kinetics of both grain boundary and twin boundary bainite precipitates in bulk specimens is demonstrated. The key advance is the use of coarse-scale serial sectioning to determine the angle made by the grain or twin boundary to the plane of polish, so an explicit stereological correction to the precipitate thickness can be made. This technique is applied to the thickening of bainite at the bay temperature of Fe–0.24C–4Mo, where grain boundary bainite growth kinetics had been measured previously in much thinner specimens using the “bamboo-specimen” method developed by Bradley et al. Several key assumptions implicit in the “bamboo-specimen” method are critically examined using the data obtained from this new technique. Twin boundary bainite growth thickening kinetics, which cannot be obtained using the bamboo method, are also obtained for the first time, and are measured in the same steel.
Transitivity and the centre for maps of the circle

We study the dynamics of continuous maps of the circle with periodic points. We show that the centre is the closure of the periodic points and that the depth of the centre is at most two. We also characterize the property that every power is transitive in terms of transitivity of a single power and some periodic data.
SAX-7 and menorin light the path for dendrite morphogenesis.

Environmental and cellular cues pattern dendritic growth and direct dendrites to their targets. However, little is known about the signals regulating interactions with the surrounding substrate. Dong et al. and Salzberg et al. now identify a tripartite ligand-receptor complex that conveys cues from the substrate necessary for the patterning of complex dendrites in C. elegans.
Effect of salt stress on growth and cation compartmentation in leaves of two plant species differing in salt tolerance

Summary Salinity can cause toxic symptoms, especially in mature leaves after long-term exposure. Thus, Na+ accumulation in leaves could be responsible for salt toxicity. The infiltration-centrifugation technique was employed for the isolation of apoplastic washing fluids (AWF) from leaves and the detection of Na+, K+ and Ca2+ was carried out by ion chromatography. The Na+ concentrations in the leaf apoplast of salt-sensitive corn and salt-tolerant cotton plants significantly increased with higher Na+ supply. Nevertheless, the apoplastic Na+ concentration did not exceed 10 and 30 mmol/L, respectively, after salt exposure up to 150 mmol/L in the medium in short- and long-term salt treatments. Higher Na+ concentrations were found in the leaf apoplast of salt-tolerant cotton in comparison to those of salt-sensitive corn, particularly in fully expanded leaves. No bound Na+ was found in the leaf apoplast. The Na+ concentration in the leaf apoplast did not reach high enough concentrations to be responsible for the decline in leaf growth under salinity. Supplemental Ca2+ did not affect Na+ concentration in the leaf apoplast under salinity. Apoplastic Ca2+ concentration remained constant, while K+ concentrations increased in the leaf apoplast under salinity. Our results do not support the hypothesis by Oertli (1968) who proposed that salt accumulation in the leaf apoplast could be responsible for the death of leaves in plants exposed to salinity.
Active versus latent representations: a neural network model of perseveration, dissociation, and decalage.

Children of different ages often perseverate, repeating previous behaviors when they are no longer appropriate, despite appearing to know what they should be doing. Using neural network models, we explore an account of these phenomena based on a distinction between active memory (subserved by the prefrontal cortex) and latent memory (subserved by posterior cortex). The models demonstrate how (a) perseveration occurs when an active memory of currently relevant knowledge is insufficiently strong to overcome a latent bias established by previous experience, (b) apparent dissociations between children's knowledge and action may reflect differences in the amount of conflict between active and latent memories that children need to resolve in the tasks, and (c) differences in when children master formally similar tasks (decalage) may result from differences in the strength of children's initial biases. The models help to clarify how prefrontal development may lead to advances in flexible thinking.
Combination pharmacotherapy with reduced-dose fibrinolytic and platelet GP IIb/IIIa inhibition

Combination fibrinolytic and antiplatelet therapy regimens may provide a means of inducing rapid reperfusion in patients requiring myocardial salvage after an acute myocardial infarction (AMI). This article describes case histories and a therapeutic regimen combining reteplase (5 U + 5 U double bolus) and abciximab (0.25 mg/kg bolus + 0.125 μg/kg/min infusion to a maximum of 10 μg/min for 12 h) for AMI patients before percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). This medication regimen was used in the Global Use of Strategies to Open Occluded Coronary Arteries (GUSTO) V clinical trial, for the medical treatment of AMI, resulting in decreased reinfarction rates with similar mortality and intracranial hemorrhage rates as compared to standard fibrinolytic therapy.
Ion beam assisted deposition of hydrogenated amorphous silicon nitride

Abstract Hydrogenated silicon nitride films were produced near room temperature by electron beam evaporation of Si and simultaneous bombardment with a 500 eV ammonia ion beam from a Kaufman ion source and for a variety of ratios of incident charge to evaporant fluxes. The composition of N, Si and H in the films as a function of ion current density was measured by means of Rutherford backscattering and elastic recoil detection analyses. Reflection and transmission spectroscopy in the wavelength range 400 nm to 3125 nm were employed to measure optical thickness and refractive index. From the data we extracted the number of nitrogen atoms in the ammonia beam per unit charge collected, the sputtering coefficient for ammonia incident on Si, and the refractive index versus composition of the alloys. At the highest N composition, the films were clear in the visible with the UV cut-off less than 400 nm, the index was 1.80 which is lower than that of pure Si3N4 and the H content was as high as 27 at.%.
Literacy Motivation and School/Non-School Literacies Among Students Enrolled in a Middle-School ESOL Program

This study examined literacy motivation among middle-school students in English for speakers of other languages (ESOL) classes by using a 20-question survey and semi-structured interview. The survey results identified similarities among students of different genders, but differences between the beginning ESOL group and the more advanced groups, with the beginning group exhibiting higher motivation in the subsection of “valuing” of reading. Multiple linear regression with gender, ESOL group, and self-concept as reader predicted value of reading, with ESOL group having the highest prediction power. The eight students interviewed generally reported a strong interest in reading and writing, particularly outside of school, and a wide array of literacy activities within the family in which the students were both learners and teachers.
Spatial contrast sensitivity in dynamic and static additive luminance noise.

The purpose of this study was to define the quantitative relationship between the temporal characteristics of additive luminance noise and the properties of the spatial contrast sensitivity function (CSF). CSFs were obtained from two observers using Gabor patch targets of short duration that were added to white luminance noise with a range of root-mean-square contrasts (crms). The noise was either dynamic or static and was either of the same duration as the test target (synchronous) or of longer duration (asynchronous). For targets presented in asynchronous dynamic, synchronous dynamic, and synchronous static noise, the CSFs became increasingly band-pass with increasing crms, whereas the CSFs were low-pass at all levels of crms for targets presented in asynchronous static noise. For all noise types, the properties of the CSFs were well-predicted by the linear amplifier model (LAM), in which the signal energy at threshold (Et) is related linearly to noise spectral density (N). The fundamentally different characteristics of CSFs obtained in asynchronous static noise can be accounted for by a previous proposal that this noise type biases contrast sensitivity toward transient (inferred magnocellular) mechanisms. The other three modes of noise presentation appear to emphasize detection by sustained (inferred parvocellular) mechanisms.
EPISTEMOLOGICAL CONTEXTUALISM AND THE PROBLEM OF MORAL LUCK

: We have a strong intuition that a person's moral standing should not be affected by luck, but the fact is that we do blame a morally unfortunate person more than her fortunate counterpart. This is the problem of moral luck. I argue that the problem arises because account is not taken of the fact that the extension of the term ‘blame’ is contextually determined. Loosely speaking, the more likely an act is to have an undesirable consequence, the more its agent is to blame. But how likely a consequence is depends on which possibilities of harm we take to be relevant.
Spontaneous bioelectric activity of neurons in cerebellar cultures: Evidence for synaptic interactions

Summary Explants from the cerebellum of newborn rats were cultured in plasma clots on flying coverslips in roller tubes. Spontaneous bioelectric spike activity was recorded extracellularly from individual cultured neurons. The patterns of unit spike activity included bursts with irregular silent periods of sometimes several seconds, doublet and triplet spike patterns with intervals as short as 4–5 msec, and at times regular firings. At room temperature, the average frequency ranged from a few spikes/min to up to 100 spikes/sec in some of the bursts. 50–300 spikes/min was the most common. In general, the interspike-interval histogram showed a non-uniform distribution of intervals. Spikes simultaneously recorded with two microelectrodes from two neurons separated by as far as 200 μm showed, in 77% of the neuron pairs tested, varying degrees of correlation within each other, i.e. , spikes from one neuron were accompanied within a small time interval by spikes from the other neuron more often than expected on the basis of chance. From the close correlation of simultaneous spike trains from two neurons, it is concluded that the neurons in these thin cultures of rat cerebellum are synaptically connected to form complex nets of interacting units. They represent a simplified, isolated neural net accessible to visual observation and electrode exploration under controllable environmental conditions.
Learned helplessness and responses to nerve blocks in chronic low back pain patients

In a double-blind study, 67 chronic low back pain patients received 4 lumbar sympathetic nerve blocks, two given with bupivacaine and two given with saline. It was hypothesized that patients showing evidence of 'learned helplessness,' as measured by dependence on habit-forming medications for the pain, low activity levels, and elevated MMPI scores on Hypochondriasis, Depression and Hysteria would show the least reduction in subjective pain intensity following injections with both bupivacaine and saline. It also was hypothesized that placebo responses would be greatest in patients who had a high educational level, were divorced, and had no pending disability claims. Responses 30 min following nerve blocks failed to correlate with these variables. However, decreases in subjective pain intensity 24 h following both types of nerve blocks were greater in patients who showed low levels of pain behavior, who were divorced, and who had no pending disability claims. Decreased pain 24 h following saline injections was significantly related to low scores on the Lie, Defensiveness, Hypochondriasis, and Hysteria scales of the MMPI and to reduced subjective pain intensity following a 6 week comprehensive outpatient pain rehabilitation program. It was concluded that chronic pain patients who are fixed in their focus on pain, high in pain-related behaviors, and low in responsibilities are less likely to respond favorably to nerve blocks and that medical treatment for them needs to be paired with therapies designed to reduce their helplessness.
A sensitive radioenzymatic assay for norepinephrine in tissues and plasma

Abstract A procedure for measuring picogram quantities of norepinephrine has been developed utilizing partially purified bovine adrenal phenylethanolamine-N-methyl-transferase and 3 [H]-S-adenosyl-methionine. The sensitivity of the assay is 25 pg, and the procedure is applicable to many body tissues and fluids, including brain and plasma.
Dabigatran: Review of Pharmacology and Management of Bleeding Complications of This Novel Oral Anticoagulant

Dabigatran (Pradaxa) is a competitive direct thrombin inhibitor approved by the US FDA for prevention of embolic stroke in patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation. Dabigatran has a pharmacokinetic profile that produces predictable anticoagulation responses, does not undergo CYP 450 metabolism, has few drug–drug and drug–food interactions, and does not require frequent laboratory monitoring of clotting parameters. Clinicians are rapidly prescribing this agent as a replacement for warfarin therapy. However, no therapeutic agent has been accepted to reliably reverse the hemorrhagic complications of dabigatran. As of yet, there is no solid evidence to guide management of bleeding complications; management should start with local control of bleeding when possible and transfusion of pRBCs if needed. Transfusion of FFP would not be expected to help control bleeding. Limited and mixed data exist for transfusion of factor VIIa and prothrombin complex concentrates; these therapies should be considered as well as dialysis, which will increase elimination in patients with life-threatening or closed-space bleeding due to dabigatran. We present an article that reviews the pharmacokinetics, clinical trial literature, and consensus guidelines regarding this novel oral anticoagulant.