cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Design and Performance Prediction of Hybrid Air Foil Thrust Bearings

Air foil bearings (AFBs) have been recognized as the most promising for oil-free turbomachinery. However, the applications of AFBs to the relatively large turbomachinery have many technical challenges due to limited load capacity and wear during start/stops. A hybrid air foil bearing (HAFB), which combines the benefits of AFB and hydrostatic air bearing, was introduced earlier by the authors, and the experimental studies showed much larger load capacity at low speeds and much lesser friction torque during start/stop than hydrodynamic counterpart. The benefit of HAFB was recognized through the experimental studies, and the concept of hybrid operation was further developed to thrust air foil bearings. This paper presents novel design features of the hybrid air foil thrust bearing (HAFTB) with radially arranged bump foils and preformed Rayleigh step contour, and presents simulated static and dynamic characteristics of the HAFTB. A 2D thin plate equation in cylindrical coordinate was solved with the finite difference method for the prediction of the top foil deflection. Parametric studies were performed to evaluate the effect of various design parameters on the static and dynamic performances of HAFTB. At low speeds, a design with orifice located at the center of land region showed the highest load capacity, while a design with orifice located near the leading edge of land region showed the highest load capacity at high speeds. Direct and coupled bearing coefficients were also calculated for various operating conditions. The direct stiffness increases with supply pressure but the direct damping decreases with supply pressure. In addition, typical hardening effect of gas film accompanying increase of stiffness and decrease of damping was predicted in high frequency excitations.
Food of Porpoises in Waters off Japan

Relatively little information on the food of the smaller cetaceans has appeared in the literature. This is true for most species because scientists usually lack the opportunity and the techniques for taking more than an occasional cetacean. When advantage can be taken of some commercial operation, specimens often become available in large enough numbers to provide important information. The skilled marine mammal hunters of the northern prefectures of Japan, for example, may take thousands of porpoises and dolphins annually. Porpoises and dolphins are widely distributed and in total comprise a very large population. It is, therefore, of interest to know how they fit into the ecology of their marine habitat and also what economic influence, if any, they may have. Generally, few accusations of damage have been leveled at the small cetaceans. This is at least partly true because fishermen know very little about the animals and have no reason …
Modular construction of P3HT/PCBM planar-heterojunction solar cells by lamination allows elucidation of processing-structure-function relationships

Abstract Contrary to polymer solar cells with bulk-heterojunction active layers, devices with planar-heterojunction active layers allow the decoupling of active layer phase separation from constituent crystallization, and their relative influence on device performance. We fabricated planar-heterojunction devices by first processing the electron donor and electron acceptor in isolation; they were subsequently laminated across the donor–acceptor interface to establish electrical contact. Thermal annealing was intentionally avoided after lamination to maintain the pristine charge transfer interface. Lamination thus obviates the need for solvent orthogonality; more importantly, it provides independent process tuning of individual organic semiconductor layers, ultimately allowing control over constituent structural development. We found the short-circuit current density of planar-heterojunction solar cells comprising poly(3-hexyl thiophene), P3HT, and [6,6]-phenyl-C61-butyric acid methyl ester, PCBM, as the electron donor and acceptor, respectively, to be generally independent of the annealing history of P3HT. On the contrary, thermal annealing PCBM prior to lamination mainly led to a reduction in short-circuit current density. This deterioration is correlated with the development of preferentially oriented PCBM crystals that hinders electron transport in the vertical direction.
Hit and Run: A Bayesian Game Between Malicious and Regular Nodes in MANETs

In mobile ad hoc networks (MANETs), nodes can move freely. Besides conducting attacks to maximize their utility and cooperating with regular nodes to deceive them, malicious nodes get better payoffs with the ability to move. In this paper, we propose a game theoretic framework to analyze the strategy profiles for regular and malicious nodes. We model the situation as a dynamic Bayesian signaling game, and analyze and present the underlining connection between nodes' best combination of actions and the cost and gain of the individual strategy. Regular nodes consistently update their beliefs based on the opponents' behavior, while malicious nodes evaluate their risk of being caught to decide when to flee. Some possible countermeasures for regular nodes that can impact malicious nodes' decisions are presented as well. An extensive analysis and simulation study shows that the proposed equilibrium strategy profile outperforms other pure or mixed strategies, and proves the importance of restricting malicious node's advantages brought by the flee option.
Student Personality Type Versus Grading Procedures in Intermediate Accounting Courses

Abstract Though teams composed of various personality types are expected to perform quite well as problem solvers, the extant literature has demonstrated a fairly narrow range of personality types in business courses and the accounting profession. To determine whether various grade-influencing activities in accounting courses favor certain personality types, the personality preferences and temperaments of 82 intermediate accounting students were determined. Relationships were then found between personality variables and the number of class absences, class participation, and the performance on homework and problems on the final examination.
Managing GFR (Glomerular Filtration Rate) in Radiology

All health care providers want to give “quality” care to patients. But what does quality care really mean? Many quality terms are used interchangeably; however, the words all have slightly different meanings. A difference does exist between the words: total quality management, quality improvement, continuous quality improvement, process improvement, quality assurance, and quality control. Medical Imaging is a unique department because of the varying backgrounds of those staff employed within the department. Each staff member brings his or her own area of expertise when it comes to patient care, and because of this, quality promotion within the Medical Imaging Department is also unique. Making radiology staff aware of various quality projects and the data collected will help improve patient care quality within the Medical Imaging department. This poster defines the meaning of quality, explains the different terms associated with quality improvement, illustrates the importance of quality, and relates the goals of a quality program for Medical Imaging.
Internal capital networks as a source of MNC competitive advantage: Evidence from foreign subsidiary capital structure decisions

Abstract This paper documents multinational company (MNC) strategic advantages arising from its internal financial network. Using data from US multinational company affiliates in 62 countries, we show that MNC affiliates in countries with low credit availability, poor creditor protections, high political risks, and high inflation are found to bear high interest costs and multinational affiliate debt ratios are high in high tax countries. In addition, affiliates in countries with high (low) credit availability, a high (low) corruption index, low (high) political risks and high (low) currency depreciation are found to carry high external (parent) debt ratios. We also find that currency depreciation, credit availability, and location in common law countries are negatively associated with the use of parent (relative to external) debt. Thus, our findings suggest that affiliates substitute external debt with parent debt using internal capital markets to overcome weak external financial markets and institutional environments. This is important evidence of the strategic competitive advantage based on financial networks enjoyed by MNCs.
Sustained activation of extracellular signal‐regulated kinase by nerve growth factor regulates c‐fos protein stabilization and transactivation in PC12 cells

The duration of intracellular signaling is thought to be a critical component in effecting specific biological responses. This paradigm is demonstrated by growth factor activation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) signaling cascade in the rat pheochromocytoma cell line (PC12 cells). In this model, sustained ERK activation induced by nerve growth factor (NGF) results in differentiation, whereas transient ERK activation induced by epidermal growth factor (EGF) results in proliferation in these cells. Recently, the immediate early gene product c-fos has been proposed to be a sensor for ERK signaling duration in fibroblasts. In this study, we ask whether this is true for NGF and EGF stimulation of PC12 cells. We show that NGF, but not EGF, can regulate both c-fos stability and activation in an ERK-dependent manner in PC12 cells. This is achieved through ERK-dependent phosphorylation of c-fos. Interestingly, distinct sites regulate enhanced stability and transactivation of c-fos. Phosphorylation of Thr325 and Thr331 are required for maximal NGF-dependent transactivation of c-fos. In addition, a consensus ERK binding site (DEF domain) is also required for c-fos transactivation. However, stability is controlled by ERK-dependent phosphorylation of Ser374, while phosphorylation of Ser362 can induce conformational changes in protein structure. We also provide evidence that sustained ERK activation is required for proper post-translational regulation of c-fos following NGF treatment of PC12 cells. Because these ERK-dependent phosphorylations are required for proper c-fos function, and occur sequentially, we propose that c-fos is a sensor for ERK signaling duration in the neuronal-like cell line PC12.
[Ethylene-1,2-bis(diphenylphosphine)-P,P']dinitratoplatinum(II) and cis-bis[(diphenylphosphinomethyl)-diphenylphosphine oxide-O,P]-platinum (II) dinitrate dihydrate.

In [Pt(dppe)(NO3)2], where dppe is ethyl­ene-1,2-bis­(di­phenyl­phosphine) (C26H24P2), the Pt atom is coordinated by the two P atoms and by two O atoms of the two nitrate ions. The mol­ecule has a distorted square-planar geometry, with one of the nitrate groups directed on each side of the plane. The cation in cis-[Pt(dppmO-O,P)2](NO3)2·2H2O, where dppmO is bis­(di­phenyl­phosphino­methyl)­di­phenyl­phosphine oxide (C25H22OP2), comprises two five-membered chelate rings, each dppmO ligand being coordinated to platinum through one P atom and the O atom. The larger P—Pt—P angle of 102.25 (4)° is due to steric interactions between the two phenyl groups on each P atom.
Designing transmembrane alpha-helices that insert spontaneously.

Direct measurement of the free energies of transfer of hydrophobic membrane-spanning α-helices from water to membranes is important for the determination of an accurate experiment-based hydrophobicity scale for membrane proteins. An important objective of such a scale is to account for the presently unknown thermodynamic cost of partitioning hydrogen-bonded peptide bonds into the membrane hydrocarbon core. We describe here the physical properties of a transmembrane (TM) peptide, TMX-1, designed to test the feasibility of engineering peptides that spontaneously insert across bilayers but that have the important property of measurable monomeric water solubility. TMX-1, Ac-WNALAAVAAAL-AAVAAALAAVAAGKSKSKS-NH2, is a 31-residue sequence with a 21-residue nonpolar core, N- and C-caps to favor helix formation, and a highly polar C-terminus to improve solubility and to control directionality of insertion into lipid vesicles. TMX-1 appeared to be soluble in water up to a concentration of at least 1 mg/mL (0.3 mM). ...
Impact of Ash Deposit on Conversion Efficiency of Wall Flow Type Monolithic SCR Reactor

Abstract ：SCR (Selective Catalytic Reduction) on DPF (Diesel Particulate Filter) is a multi-functional after-treatment device which integrates soot filtration and DeNOx function into a single can. Because of its advantage in package and cost, the SCR on DPF is considered as a potential candidate for future application. It inherently employes wall flow type monolithic reactor so ash included in exhaust gas may deposit inside the inlet channel of this device. This study is intended to identify the impact of ash deposit on SCR reaction under wall flow type monolithic reactor. Simulation approach is used so relevant species transport equations for wall flow type monolith is derived. These equations can be solved together with momentum conservation equations and give solution for conversion performance. Both ash deposit and clean catalyst case are simulated and comparison of these two cases gives an insight for the impact of ash deposit on conversion performance. Ash deposit can be classified as ash layer and ash plug. and impact of ash deposit is described along with different morphology of ash deposit.
Readers and Foreign Languages: A Survey of Undergraduate Attitudes toward the Study of Literature.

(19: p. 10). The purpose of this investigation was to examine undergraduates' attitudes toward the study of literature in a foreign language, as well as factors affecting their opinions. In the present research, we used a questionnaire to elicit these opinions. With the presentation and discussion of our findings, we include a review of previous investigations of learner attitudes regarding the study of native and foreign language literature.
Serving the twin states for 10 years: The Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team

Abstract July 1, 2004, marked the 10th anniversary of service for the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Advanced Response Team (DHART). Located on the border of New England's “Twin States” of New Hampshire and Vermont, the DHART program's home is the Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center (DHMC) in Lebanon, New Hampshire. DHMC is New Hampshire's only Level 1 American College of Surgeons–verified trauma center and children's hospital with pediatric critical care and Level 3 neonatal intensive care capabilities.
Marginal excess burden in a dynamic economy

Abstract This note describes the computation of the marginal welfare cost of factor taxation in a dynamic representative agent perfect foresight general equilibrium model. We find that this excess burden varies substantially across instruments and is sensitive to anticipation effects.
Observation of extremely large quadratic susceptibility at 9.6-10.8 microm in electric-field-biased AlGaAs quantum wells.

We have observed an extremely large second-order susceptibility for second-harmonic generation of 9.6--10.8 \ensuremath{\mu}m radiation due to intersubband transitions in electric-field-biased GaAs quantum wells. For 92-A\r{} GaAs wells with 309-A\r{} ${\mathrm{Al}}_{0.48}$${\mathrm{Ga}}_{0.52}$As barriers under a bias of 36 kV/cm, the peak value of the susceptibility was 28 nm/V, 73 times larger than bulk GaAs. The magnitude and sign of the susceptibility depend on the bias field, and are in accord with theoretical predictions.
The Moral Dimensions of Schooling and Teacher Education

Abstract In thinking about moral education, the unit of selection almost invariably is the individual. But educational institutions and educational programmes can be moral or immoral. This is the subject matter of my Kohlberg Lecture. In his later years, particularly, Kohlberg was adding to the individual concern for the institution as the unit of selection. It is here that I join with him in this lecture. ∗ This is the text of the fourth annual Kohlberg Memorial Lecture which was delivered at the 16th annual conference of the Association for Moral Education, Athens, Georgia, USA, 9 November 1991.
Role of intracellular calcium in the angiotensin II-mediated tyrosine phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of PLC-gamma 1.

Abstract Angiotensin II induces the rapid temporal tyrosine phosphorylation and activation of phospholipase C-γ1 (PLC-γ1) and the elevation of intracellular calcium levels. To investigate the relationship of these intracellular signaling events, rat aortic smooth muscle cells were treated with the calcium chelator BAPTA-AM, the calcium channel blocker verapamil, the intracellular calcium antagonist TMB-8, and the calcium ionophore ionomycin. The effects of these agents on PLC-γ1 tyrosine phosphorylation were then measured. We found that treatment of these cells with the calcium inhibitors augmented the basal level of PLC-γ1 tyrosine phosphorylation, without changing the peak level of tyrosine phosphorylation induced by angiotensin II. The rapid dephosphorylation of PLC-γ1 that follows angiotensin II stimulation was prevented by these calcium antagonists. In contrast, angiotensin II-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-γ1 was inhibited by ionomycin. These results suggest that the angiotensin II-induced tyrosine phosphorylation of PLC-γ1 is calcium-independent, while the dephosphorylation is calcium-dependent.
Assessment of aspects of the toxicity of Clostridium perfringens E-toxin using the MDCK cell line

1. The epithelial Madin Darby Canine Kidney (MDCK) cell line was used to study the toxicity of epsilon-toxin from Clostridium perfringens. The epithelial MDCK cell line is known to be sensitive to epsilon-toxin of Clostridium perfrigens and to investigate its mechanism of action, the neutral red assay has been used to dermine the viability of cultures of this cell line. 2. Comparison of the LC50s obtained at 34 degrees C and 0 degree C showed that the lethality of epsilon-toxin was reduced by 18-fold at the lower temperature. The effect of temperature on epsilon-toxin lethality is unlikely to be due to reductions in membrane fluidity for the addition of Ca2+ or Mg2+ (2 mM) to buffer containing toxin was without effect. Varying the pH of the toxin-containing buffer from 6.9 to 8.7 did not increase the lethality of the toxin, though the most acidic pH used (5.8) was found to potentiate its action on MDCK cells. 3. The effect of inhibiting endocytosis on the lethality of epsilon-toxin was also investigated by incubating cultures of MDCK cells with and without sodium azide over a range of concentrations of toxin. The co-administration of sodium azide did not reduce the toxicity of epsilon-toxin, suggesting that energy-dependent uptake processes such as endocytosis were unlikely to be involved in its mechanism of action. The results are, however, consistent with known receptor-based mechanisms of uptake and with other mechanisms of internalisation across the plasma membrane. epsilon-toxin thus interacts with cell surfaces by a temperature sensitive mechanism potentiated by low pH.
The proinflammatory cytokines interleukin-1beta and tumor necrosis factor-alpha activate serotonin transporters

Proinflammatory cytokines and serotonergic homeostasis have both been implicated in the pathophysiology of major psychiatric disorders. We have demonstrated that activation of p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) induces a catalytic activation of the serotonin transporter (SERT) arising from a reduction in the SERT Km for 5-hydroxytryptamine (5-HT). As inflammatory cytokines can activate p38 MAPK, we hypothesized that they might also activate neuronal SERT. Indeed, Interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) stimulated serotonin uptake in both the rat embryonic raphe cell line, RN46A, and in mouse midbrain and striatal synaptosomes. In RN46A cells, IL-1beta stimulated 5-HT uptake in a dose- and time-dependent manner, peaking in 20 min at 100 ng/ml. This was abolished by IL-1ra (20 ng/ml), an antagonist of the IL-1 receptor, and by SB203580 (5 microM), a p38 MAPK inhibitor. TNF-alpha also dose- and time-dependently stimulated 5-HT uptake that was only partially blocked by SB203580. Western blots showed that IL-1beta and TNF-alpha activated p38 MAPK, in an SB203580-sensitive manner. IL-1beta induced an SB203580-sensitive decrease in 5-HT Km with no significant change in Vmax. In contrast, TNF-alpha stimulation decreased 5-HT Km and increased SERT Vmax. SB203580 selectively blocked the TNF-alpha-induced change in SERT Km. In mouse midbrain and striatal synaptosomes, maximal stimulatory effects on 5-HT uptake occurred at lower concentrations (IL-1beta, 10 ng/ml; TNF-alpha, 20 ng/ml), and over shorter incubation times (10 min). As with RN46A cells, the effects of IL-1beta and TNF-alpha were completely (IL-1beta) or partially (TNF-alpha) blocked by SB203580. These results provide the first evidence that proinflammatory cytokines can acutely regulate neuronal SERT activity via p38 MAPK-linked pathways.
Statistical signal restoration with 1/ f wavelet domain prior models

Abstract In this paper we examine the problem of estimating a stochastic signal from noise corrupted linearly distorted samples of the original. Due to the ill-posedness caused by the blurring function, we are motivated to examine an inversion method in which the statistics of the underlying process are modeled as a 1/ f type fractal process. In particular, we explore two issues with the use of such a model: the effects of model mismatch and parameter estimation. Our analysis demonstrates that the mean-square-error performance of the estimator is quite insensitive to the choice of prior model parameters used in the recovery of the signal. Such robustness is shown to hold even when the underlying process is not of the 1/ f variety. We then introduce an expectation–maximization technique for jointly extracting the best parameters for use in an inversion along with the reconstructed signal. Here, Monte Carlo and Cramer–Rao bound results demonstrate that we are able to determine accurate model parameters exactly in those situations where the model mismatch analysis shows that such fidelity is required to ensure low mean square error in the recovery of the underlying signal.
Female sterilisation in the United States

Female sterilisation is a safe and effective form of permanent birth control. In the United States (US), it is still the second most commonly used form of contraception overall and is the most frequently used method among married women and among women over 30 years of age. Although several European countries have noted a sharp decline in the number of women electing tubal sterilisation in recent years, such trends have not been as obvious in the US. While female sterilisation remains popular, there are considerable system-level barriers to getting the procedure for certain segments of the population as well as emerging concerns about appropriate utilisation of this contraceptive method in light of newer, reversible options and the knowledge that regret after permanent contraception is high. Given the complexity of this decision-making process, it is critical that providers ensure at the very least that women are aware of the potential disadvantages of tubal occlusion and are knowledgeable of other highly effective contraceptive methods that are available but vastly underutilised in the US, namely, vasectomy, intrauterine contraceptives, and implants.
Twisted perylene dyes enable highly fluorescent and photostable nanoparticles

Polymeric fluorescent nanoparticles with covalently embedded perylene fluorophores were developed by facile synthesis strategy and their advanced features of extremely high fluorescence intensity, non-photoblinking and excellent photostability were experimentally confirmed at the single nanoparticle level.
Petrophysical and consolidation behavior of mass transport deposits from the northern Gulf of Mexico, IODP Expedition 308

Abstract Mass transport deposits (MTDs) in the Ursa region of the northern Gulf of Mexico have low internal reflectivity, high resistivity, high bulk density, and low porosity in comparison to the hemipelagic sediments that bound them. I infer these MTD properties result from enhanced consolidation related to shear deformation. The deviation of physical properties within MTDs, compared to the bounding mud-rich sediments, increases from west to east in the Ursa region. The largest amount of shear-induced densification occurs at the bases of the MTDs resulting in high amplitude basal reflections, and to a lesser extent high amplitude top reflections, in seismic data. While the deformation paths of MTDs (burial and shear) and bounding hemipelagic sediments (burial) differ, comparison of bulk physical properties indicate that all sediments within the Ursa region have similar bulk density-resistivity and void ratio-effective stress behavior. From density and resistivity data and consolidation experiments, I conclude that shear deformation in MTDs in the Ursa region produces denser, more resistive sediments with porosity decreases up to 6 porosity units. This shearing, however, does not change fabric or general deformation behavior at the bed scale (0.1–1 m). The similar resistivity-void ratio-effective stress trends provide a means to infer some of the bulk physical properties (e.g., permeability) of MTDs from information on normally consolidated mud and from the seismic response.
MnNiCoO4/N-MWCNT nanocomposite catalyst with high selectivity in membraneless direct formate fuel cells and bifunctional activity for oxygen electrochemistry

A nanocomposite electrocatalyst consisting of MnNiCoO4 nanoparticles on nitrogen-doped multi-wall carbon nanotubes has been synthesized. In alkaline media, this catalyst exhibits high activity for oxygen reduction and evolution reactions, but no activity for formate oxidation. A membraneless alkaline direct formate fuel cell system is demonstrated based on this catalytic selectivity.
Ecodynamics and dissolved gas chemistry routines for ocean circulation models

Abstract Interactions between oceanic nitrate ecology and circulation determine the marine distribution of dissolved, climate relevant trace gases such as dimethyl sulfide (DMS) and carbonyl sulfide (OCS), and a variety of hydrocarbons. Our group is constructing a suite of ecosystem/reaction/transport models, which link nitrate to the chemistry of volatiles near the sea–air interface. In this paper, we describe programs which will be inserted into the high resolution Parallel Ocean Program. Major features of the coding include: (1) ecodynamics represented in seven biological compartments (phytoplankton, zooplankton, bacteria, detritus, nitrate, ammonium and dissolved organic nitrogen). Light limited primary production is computed, along with nitrogen cycling among the bioentities. (2) Photochemistry for the volatile species DMS, OCS, the methyl halides, nonmethane hydrocarbons (NMHC) and ammonia. DMS and the halides are emitted by phytoplankton, while OCS and NMHC are produced by photolysis of dissolved organic material. Ammonia is exuded by animals and bacteria. Removal mechanisms for the gases include consumption by organisms, hydrolysis, chlorination and interfacial transfer. (3) Explicit, efficient and mass conserving numerical solutions for the biological and chemical continuity equations. Production and loss forms are generalized and automated so that they are readily applied to new constituents. Ecology and the chemical transformations are exposed qualitatively to begin, and are then expressed as differential and differencing equations. The structure of the program is described in terms of the major subroutines and their purposes. Results are provided from both one- and three-dimensional sample runs. Computational aspects such as performance and code availability are discussed.
Concentration-independent estimation of protein secondary structure by circular dichroism: a comparison of methods

Estimation of a protein's secondary structure from its circular dichroism spectrum usually requires accurate knowledge of the concentration and pathlength of the sample. Two recently described methods avoid this problem by analysis of g-factor spectra (McPhie, Anal. Biochem. 293, 109-119) or scaling of relative intensities (Raussens et al., Anal. Biochem. 319, 114-121). Application of the two methods to the same samples shows that they can have similar efficacies. Calculation with the latter method is more rapid, but the performance of the former is maintained over reduced wavelength ranges.
Tailored system to deliver behavioral intervention and manage data in randomized trials.

Background: The integrity of behavioral intervention trials depends on consistent intervention delivery, and uniform, comprehensive process data collection. It can be challenging in practice due to complex human interactions involved. Objective: We sought to design a system to support the fidelity of intervention delivery and efficient capture of qualitative and quantitative process data for a telephone-delivered behavioral counseling intervention to increase physical activity and function after total knee replacement surgery. Methods: A tailored system was designed to prompt the intervention coach in the delivery of a 5 step counseling protocol to support intervention fidelity across patients. System features included structured data components, automated data exchange functions, user-friendly data capture screens, and real-time surveillance reporting. The system structured the capture of patient goals and open-ended conversation. Results: The system recorded intervention process data from each of 12 sessions held with the 92 intervention patients. During the trial, 992 telephone sessions were conducted, and more than 97% (4816/4960) of intervention process data fields were completed in the system. The coach spent 5-10 minutes preparing for each counseling call using system-generated summaries of historical data and 10-15 minutes entering intervention process data following each telephone session. Conclusions: This intervention delivery system successfully supported the delivery of a structured behavioral counseling intervention and collection of intervention process data. It addressed the unique needs of clinical behavioral intervention trials, and had promising potential to facilitate high-fidelity translation of the intervention to broad clinical practice and Web-based multicenter clinical trials in the future. [J Med Internet Res 2013;15(4):e58]
Left ventricular receptors: physiological controllers or pathological curiosities?

Mechanically and chemically sensitive receptors in the ventricle have been described histologically and electrophysiologically. Early experiments documented the hypotension and bradycardia that resulted from the intracoronary administration of one of the veratrum alkaloids (the Bezold-Jarisch reflex). Mechanical distension of the ventricles also results in a reflex decrease in heart rate and a reduction in peripheral resistance. Skeletal muscle and coronary vascular resistence appear to be most prominently affected by stimulation of ventricular receptors. Coronary ischemia has also been shown to evoke reflex effects which are attributable to stimulation of ventricular receptors. The resultant bradycardia can be especially ominous in acute myocardial infarction. Changes in myocardial inotropic state have been shown to alter ventricular receptor discharge in experimental animals. This stimulus may evoke reflex changes in peripheral hemodynamics. A variety of humoral substances can alter ventricular receptor discharge and evoke Bezold-Jarisch like responses. These include bradykinin and prostaglandins. PGI2, when given intracoronary in small doses or intravenously in larger doses will lower blood pressure while inhibiting the baroreflex induced tachycardia. It has also been shown in some experiments that PGI2 and arachidonic acid can evoke overt bradycardia and hypotension via a reflex mechanism. The role of prostaglandins in cardiovascular reflex control may be important in pathophysiologic states such as coronary ischemia and heart failure. Ventricular receptors can interact centrally with the arterial baroreceptors to attenuate the baroreflex control of both heart rate and peripheral resistance. Finally, the stimulation of ventricular receptors can alter a variety of humoral substances which are important regulators of cardiovascular and fluid volume homeostasis. These include vasopressin, renin and catecholamines. Those studies which have been done within the last 10 years or so, especially in unanesthetized animals, have demonstrated that the Bezold-Jarisch reflex is more important to cardiovascular control than previously thought. Future work will be necessary to determine the precise role ventricular receptors play in various pathological situations.
An Internist’s Update on Cholesterol Management

Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains the leading cause of death in the United States. It is now well established that cholesterol is an important, reversible risk factor for CHD. This article provides a brief background on classification of the dyslipidemias, then discusses current recommendations for the evaluation and treatment of hyperlipidemia. Other risk factors currently being investigated as they relate to the development of CHD are discussed.
Analytical solutions for monodisperse and polydisperse colloid transport in uniform fractures

Abstract Analytical solutions are derived describing the transport of suspensions of monodisperse as well as polydisperse colloid plumes of neutral buoyancy within a fracture with uniform aperture. Various initial and boundary conditions are considered. It is shown that both the finite colloid size and the characteristics of the colloid diameter distribution significantly affect the shape of colloid concentration breakthrough curves. Furthermore, increasing the standard deviation of the colloid diameter enhances colloid spreading and increases the number of attached colloids when colloid–wall interactions are taken into account. Excellent agreement between available experimental data and the analytical solution for the case of an instantaneous release of monodisperse colloids in a natural fracture is observed.
Catastrophic continuous phase modulation schemes and their noncatastrophic equivalents

Continuous phase modulation (CPM) schemes are bandwidth and energy efficient constant-envelope modulation schemes that can be viewed as a continuous-phase encoder (CPE) followed by a memoryless modulator (MM), where the CPE is of convolutional type. It is observed that CPM schemes can be catastrophic in the sense that pairs of input sequences that differ in an infinite number of positions can be mapped into pairs of signals with finite Euclidean distance. This can happen in spite of the fact that the CPE is never catastrophic when considered as a stand alone convolutional encoder. The necessary and sufficient condition for a general CPM scheme to be catastrophic is given. Each member of the two major families of CPM schemes, namely the LREC and the LRC, has been classified as a catastrophic or noncatastrophic scheme. For the catastrophic schemes, the probability that a catastrophic event occurs is determined. A canonical precoder which transforms each scheme of both families into an equivalent noncatastrophic scheme is derived. The equivalent noncatastrophic scheme has the same number of states as the original one. Moreover, it has the property that if two input sequences differ in the ith position, the corresponding output signals have nonzero Euclidean distance in the ith interval. >
Neurobiologic Processes in Drug Reward and Addiction

Neurophysiologic processes underlie the uncontrolled, compulsive behaviors defining the addicted state. These"hard-wired"changes in the brain are considered critical for the transition from casual to addictive drug use. This review of preclinical and clinical (primarily neuroimaging) studies will describe how the delineation between pleasure, reward, and addiction has evolved as our understanding of the biologic mechanisms underlying these processes has progressed. Although the mesolimbic dopaminergic efflux associated with drug reward was previously considered the biologic equivalent of pleasure, dopaminergic activation occurs in the presence of unexpected and novel stimuli (either pleasurable or aversive) and appears to determine the motivational state of wanting or expectation. The persistent release of dopamine during chronic drug use progressively recruits limbic brain regions and the prefrontal cortex, embedding drug cues into the amygdala (through glutaminergic mechanisms) and involving the amygdala, anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in the obsessive craving for drugs. The abstinent, addicted brain is subsequently primed to return to drug use when triggered by a single use of drug, contextual drug cues, craving, or stress, with each process defined by a relatively distinct brain region or neural pathway. The compulsive drive toward drug use is complemented by deficits in impulse control and decision making, which are also mediated by the orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate. Within this framework, future targets for pharmacologic treatment are suggested.
Implementation of multiplicative lateral inhibition in a GaAs sensory neural-network photodetector array

An integrated circuit (IC) implementation of a multiplicative lateral inhibition (MLI) sensory neural network applied to a linear, 30-element photodetector array is described. The neural cells and the photodetector elements were fabricated using a five-mask GaAs depletion-mode metal-semiconductor field-effect transistor (MESFET) process. Unilateral interconnections between neighboring neural cells were achieved using a single MESFET, and each neural cell thus consists of only five transistors and three level shifting Schottky diodes. This compact analog implementation is shown to exhibit image processing features commonly associated with biological vision systems, including adaptation to mean luminance levels and enhanced contrast around spatial edges. >
Experimental validation of analytical BRDF models

Multiple Lobes Cook and Torrance suggest that two or more specular lobes are necessary to model surfaces where there are multiple scales of roughness. Lafortune’s model serve as basis functions for representing BRDFs and thus multiple lobes are also expected in general. To study the effect of an extra lobe, we choose 26 materials from the dataset, typically materials that have multiple layers of nishing, e.g. metallic paints. The tting errors with the Cook-Torrance and the Lafortune models with one and two lobes are shown in Figure 1. In 14 cases for Cook-Torrance and 11 cases for Lafortune, an extra lobe reduces the error by more than 20%. Again, we note that the Lafortune model perform worse than the Cook-Torrance model.
Digital speech networks

Digital techniques, already widely used for transmission of data, are now being introduced in the field of voice communications. By appreciating some of the long-range implications of this trend we can help point the way towards appropriate usage of this developing technology for improved customer service. This paper focuses on the voice problem and the possibilities offered by complete digitization of the voice signal immediately following the microphone. Included in the discussion are a summary of the properties of the speech signal and its potentialities for efficient transmission, a survey of the existing voice digitization algorithms, some examples of voice digitization implementations, and a brief treatment of voice packetization. There are some comments, near the end of the paper, on the possibility of digitized-voice inputting to, and outputting from, computers in an integrated telephone-computer network.
Mechanisms of bone loss in inflammatory arthritis: diagnosis and therapeutic implications

Rheumatoid arthritis represents an excellent model in which to gain insights into the local and systemic effects of joint inflammation on skeletal tissues. Three forms of bone disease have been described in rheumatoid arthritis. These include: focal bone loss affecting the immediate subchondral bone and bone at the joint margins; periarticular osteopenia adjacent to inflamed joints; and generalized osteoporosis involving the axial and appendicular skeleton. Although these three forms of bone loss have several features in common, careful histomorphometric and histopathological analysis of bone tissues from different skeletal sites, as well as the use of urinary and serum biochemical markers of bone remodeling, provide compelling evidence that different mechanisms are involved in their pathogenesis. An understanding of these distinct pathological forms of bone loss has relevance not only with respect to gaining insights into the different pathological mechanisms, but also for developing specific and effective strategies for preventing the different forms of bone loss in rheumatoid arthritis.
Operational results for the raster scanning power supply system constructed at the Bevalac Biomedical Facility

A raster scanning power supply for controlling an 8.0-T-m relativistic heavy-ion beam at the Bevalac Biomedical Facility has been completed recently and is undergoing electrical testing before online operation in 1989. The scanner system will provide tightly controlled beam uniformity and off-axis treatment profiles with large aspect ratios and unusual dimensions. Original specifications, agreement with measured results, and special device performance (i.e. gate turn-on thyristor switches, field-effect transistor actuator assembly, etc.) are discussed. Firing circuit tests have been completed, and full four quadrant operation with the beam through the magnet was demonstrated on March 15, 1989. >
The online system of the PHENIX experiment in the RHIC Run 5

PHENIX (Adcox et al., 2003) is one of two large experiments at Brookhaven National Laboratory's Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider (RHIC). At the time of this conference, the Run 5 of RHIC is in progress and has been very successful so far. Compared to the previous run, we were able to almost double the data rate. We have so far collected about 400TB of data for the Cu-Cu and p-p systems. In addition, we now have a mature and reliable online monitoring system in place which allows ensuring a high quality of the data. We made significant progress toward the goal to determine all information required for the subsequent reconstruction and analysis of the data, such as calibration constants, in a near-line fashion, which greatly expedites the offline analysis of the data. We will give a brief overview of the system, and cover the areas where we achieved significant improvements over the previous runs
One's sex, sleep, and posttraumatic stress disorder

Women are approximately twice as likely as men to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after trauma exposure. Mechanisms underlying this difference are not well understood. Although sleep is recognized to have a critical role in PTSD and physical and psychological health more generally, research into the role of sleep in PTSD sex differences has been only recent. In this article, we review both animal and human studies relevant to sex differences in sleep and PTSD with an emphasis on the roles of sex hormones. Sleep impairment including insomnia, trauma-related nightmares, and rapid-eye-movement (REM) sleep fragmentation has been observed in individuals with chronic and developing PTSD, suggesting that sleep impairment is a characteristic of PTSD and a risk factor for its development. Preliminary findings suggested sex specific patterns of sleep alterations in developing and established PTSD. Sleep maintenance impairment in the aftermath of trauma was observed in women who subsequently developed PTSD, and greater REM sleep fragmentation soon after trauma was associated with developing PTSD in both sexes. In chronic PTSD, reduced deep sleep has been found only in men, and impaired sleep initiation and maintenance with PTSD have been found in both sexes. A limited number of studies with small samples have shown that sex hormones and their fluctuations over the menstrual cycle influenced sleep as well as fear extinction, a process hypothesized to be critical to the pathogenesis of PTSD. To further elucidate the possible relationship between the sex specific patterns of PTSD-related sleep alterations and the sexually dimorphic risk for PTSD, future studies with larger samples should comprehensively examine effects of sex hormones and the menstrual cycle on sleep responses to trauma and the risk/resilience for PTSD utilizing various methodologies including fear conditioning and extinction paradigms and animal models.
EFFECTS OF INTRINSIC AND EXPERIMENTER-INDUCED MOTIVATION FOR CHANGE ON ACCURACY OF SELF-MONITORING

The effects of motivation to change a behavior on the accuracy of self-monitoring that target behavior were investigated in 53 subjects. Both subject's initial desire for change and experimenter's ...
Isotretinoin: Update on Controversial Issues

Acne vulgaris is a commonly seen dermatologic condition that plagues millions and can be very psychosocially disabling. Severe and recalcitrant acne is typically treated with isotretinoin. Isotretinoin is a synthetic vitamin A derivative that has been available since 1982. This therapeutic option has been the most effective at putting severe and recalcitrant acne vulgaris into remission. Despite its effectiveness, it has been associated with inflammatory bowel disease, depression, suicidality, and teratogenicity. We review the current literature on isotretinoin's role in inflammatory bowel disease, depression, and suicidality. In addition, we review whether or not the iPledge program has been successful at reducing pregnancy rates while on isotretinoin.
Teaching Abnormal Psychology in a Multimedia Classroom

This article describes techniques for teaching Abnormal Psychology in a 104-student multimedia classroom that includes two computers and a variety of audiovisual equipment. Presentation software allows flexibility of presentation of computer-generated text, as well as opportunities for heightening visual and auditory interest. Students respond anonymously to various questions via keypads mounted on desks, and they immediately view and discuss summaries of their responses. This article compares educational outcomes in the multimedia classes with outcomes in traditional classes.