cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Effect of Trabecular Structure on DXA-based Predictions of Bovine Bone Failure

The objective of this study was to determine the influence of structural organization on the relationship between clinically assessed bone mineral density (BMD) and strength of trabecular bone. Accurate assessment of bone strength or fracture risk is a critical need as the population ages and the incidence of fractures increases. While ex vivo tests have demonstrated that BMD measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) correlates with failure load of whole bones, it is also known that the strength of trabecular bone cannot be explained by density alone. Cylindrical cores of bovine trabecular bone, harvested in a variety of orientations, were scanned with DXA to determine density, assessed with micro-MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) to measure orientation, and then loaded them to failure in bending. Measures of trabecular architecture included the angle between the specimen longitudinal (Z) axis and the principal material axis, the maximum mean intercept length (MILmax), the mean intercept length in the specimen primary axis (MILz), the degree of anisotropy, and the ratio between MILz and the length of the principal material axis. MILz was strongly associated with failure stress (r2= 0.85, P < 0.001). BMD was also moderately associated with failure stress (r2= 0.44, P= 0.004). Using a stepwise linear multiple regression analysis, the strongest predictor of failure stress was a combination of BMD, angle, and MILz (R2= 0.91). When only longitudinal specimens were analyzed, the strongest predictor of failure stress was a combination of BMD and angle (R2= 0.95). Therefore, trabecular orientation plays a significant and important role in failure of trabecular bone. Accounting for this may improve the associations between DXA-based density measures and patient fractures.
Preventing High-Risk Sexual Behavior in Early Adulthood with Family Interventions in Adolescence: Outcomes and Developmental Processes

Adolescent study participants who engaged in a brief, family-centered intervention (the Family Check-Up, FCU) were later assessed for the intervention's effects on high-risk sexual behavior (HRSB) in early adulthood (age 22). Participants (N = 998 adolescents and their families) were randomly assigned to a family-centered intervention in sixth grade and were offered a gated, multilevel intervention that included (a) a school-based family resource center, (b) the FCU, and (c) more intensive, family-based treatment. All services were voluntary, but high-risk families were actively recruited into the FCU. Approximately 23% of the intervention families engaged in the FCU and approximately 18% engaged in more intensive treatment. Using an intent-to-treat design, we found that the direct effect of the FCU on HRSB was not significant; however, an analysis of the developmental processes indicated that intervention families demonstrated improved family relationship quality when compared to control families, which in turn resulted in lower levels of HRSB in early adulthood. Furthermore, the significant effect of family relationship quality on HRSB was mediated by differences in parental monitoring and early sexual activity, and these effects varied as a function of gender and ethnicity. Indirect effects of the FCU on HRSB were significant via multiple different pathways. The implications of these findings for enhancing the impact of family-centered interventions are discussed.
MRI-based knee image for personal identification

While external body parts such as the face, fingerprints, or retina are often used for biometric identification, it can also be reasonably assumed that internal organs imaged with biomedical imaging devices can also allow biometric identification. Here we studied the use of MRI images for the purpose of biometric identification, and show that the accuracy of person identification using knee MRIs is significantly higher than random. Knee MRI images of 2,686 different patients were used in the experiment, and analysed using the wndchrm image classification scheme. Experimental results show that the rank-10 identification accuracy using the MRI knee images is ∼93% for a dataset of 100 individuals, and ∼45% for the entire dataset of 2,686 persons. Since MRI is used for the purpose of imaging internal parts of the body, this approach of biometric identification can potentially offer high resistance to deception.
Verbs, Voyeurism, and the Stalker Narrative in Cortázar's "Continuidad de los parques"

Julio Cortazar's "Continuidad de los parques" can be described as a stalker narrative in two different senses. Not only is it a story about a stalker with murderous intentions, it is also a story in which the reader is turned into a stalker. Modalization in verbs, or the use of the subjunctive and qualifiers, has been discussed by critics such as Tzvetan Todorov as a characteristic of the fantastic in literature. What has not been studied is the alternating use of aspect in the past, here between the verb tenses the preterite and the imperfect, as a technique that aids in the subtle creation of the reader as a stalker. Cortazar uses these two verb tenses to form and shape the narrative, moving it in the desired direction and, in the process, aiding in his creation of the image of the stalker. Both the careful manipulation of the preterite and the imperfect and the careful interplay between the two are the vehicle of invasion, an invasion perpetrated by the stalker, in which the reader is made complicit.
Effects of the sustained release of IGF-1 on extraocular muscle of the infant non-human primate: adaptations at the effector organ level.

Strabismus is a common ocular motor disorder characterized by a misalignment of the eyes, with 3–5% of the children in the United States affected.1,2 Patching and glasses are often the first line of treatment, but surgery is required for persistent misalignment to improve the potential for recovering or preserving binocular function. Surgical treatment of strabismus entails either resection of the “underacting” extraocular muscle (EOM), recession of the “overacting” muscle, or a combination of both procedures. Surgical success rates vary, and these depend on the type of strabismus. Surgical success rates also vary if they are characterized by only their motor outcome, that is, eye position, or if both sensory and motor outcomes of surgery are measured. In children, surgical failure rates are reported to be as high as 50%.3,4 Botulinum toxin injections are also an effective treatment, although more often when the angle of misalignment is small.5 Botulinum toxin only weakens an “overacting” muscle. To parallel the effects of incisional surgery, a pharmacologic treatment is needed that can strengthen an “underacting” muscle. We have shown that injection or sustained release of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) in the EOM of adult rabbits effectively increases both muscle cross-sectional area and muscle force generation.6–8 Work in developing and juvenile chickens also shows that single orbital injections of IGF-1 increase the strength and mass of treated EOM.9,10 In this study, we sought to determine whether 3 months of sustained release of IGF-1 in the EOM of a non-human primate would result in increased muscle size and alteration of eye position. The macaque monkey has binocular coordination of eye movements similar to that of humans and, to move toward a phase I clinical trial, effectiveness in a similarly binocular visual system is imperative. It is well known that creating strabismus in infant monkeys by surgical manipulation of the EOMs is difficult.11 Most primate models of strabismus involve perturbations of the afferent pathway in the infant monkey, including monocular deprivation12 or rearing with prism goggles.13 Therefore, an additional goal of this study was to determine whether treatment of both medial rectus (MR) muscles would be sufficient to induce strabismus in normal infant monkeys. The results were surprising, based on our previous studies using unilateral IGF-1 and BMP-4 (bone morphogenetic protein 4) treatment in adult rabbits.6–8 Sustained IGF-1 treatment over 3 months altered muscle properties in the infant monkey, but essentially did not alter functional eye alignment. These results suggest that ongoing processes of muscle and innervational adaptation play an important role in the maintenance of binocular fusion.
A simple objective technique for measuring flexibility in thinking.

(1948). A Simple Objective Technique for Measuring Flexibility in Thinking. The Journal of General Psychology: Vol. 39, No. 1, pp. 15-22.
Characteristics and acute outcomes of ICU patients with initial presentation of seizure

Abstract Purpose Seizures are a common cause of presentation to the emergency department (ED) but vary widely in severity and prognostic significance, with some cases requiring ICU management. Most evidence regarding seizure outcomes in the ICU comes from patients exclusively with status epilepticus (SE) or with new seizures detected after ICU admission. To aid in determining early prognosis of ICU patients with and without SE, we performed an analysis of patients initially presenting with any type of seizure and requiring ICU management. Method Analysis of hospital records of 247 consecutive patients presenting to the ED initially with seizure and directly admitted to the ICU between January 2010 and June 2013. The primary outcome was composite in-hospital death or discharge to hospice, and the secondary outcome was recurrent ICU seizures. Results The primary outcome occurred in 7.7% of patients. Both early mechanical ventilation and an acute intracranial process on neuroimaging were associated with a poor outcome. About half of this cohort presented with SE. Although SE was associated with recurrent seizures in the ICU, the primary outcome was similar between patients presenting with and without SE. Patients with SE had greater rates of early intubation in the ED and were treated more aggressively with medication, whereas patients without SE had greater rates of first ever seizure, acute intracranial disease including intracranial hemorrhage, and neurosurgical intervention. Conclusion Patients presenting to the ED with and without SE requiring ICU admission may have similar acute outcomes, yet differ in risk factors and seizure etiologies.
American Psychology Just Before Piaget

Jean Piaget first came to New Haven, Connecticut, in September of 1929 as a member of the Ninth International Congress of Psychology. At that time, he was one of the young European stars who joined Ivan Pavlov, Wolfgang Kohler, Edouard Claparede, and James McKeen Cattell to celebrate the first meeting in the United States of International Psychology (Ninth International Congress, 1930). l Piaget came to New Haven again in March of 1953, and, although he was not well known to the local psychologists, his hostess arranged for a meeting of the graduate clinical proseminar to hear his remarks (he spoke about perception).2 How different was his visit in May of 1970, when Yale awarded Piaget an honorary doctorate and the usually contrariwise seniors of the college burst into a cheering standing ovation to him. A more numerical expression of the variation in American response to Piaget is contained in Figure 1 . The relatively stable flat line plots the published contributions of Piaget between 1920 and his death in 1980 (McLaughlin, 1988), and his adoption as an American icon is illustrated in the line showing the references to Piaget or to his methods over the same stretch of years. It was a prodigious rate of change, and it must have been strange for a man in his mid-60s as the graph turned vertical. Much of the story in this Special Section is about the curious cultural phenomenon between the early 1950s and the 1970s, when Piaget went with dizzying speed from being absent in the common secondary literature to assuming the role as savior, not only of cognitive and developmental psychology, but also of American education and of the child as thinker (Inhelder & Piaget, 1955/1958; Piaget, 1936/1952, 1937/1954, 1941/1952, 1947/1950, 1950; Piaget & Inhelder, 1948/1956). The task of the present essay is, however, to catch American psychology on the wing in (say) 1953 or 1954, as Piaget's grand intellectual arrival was just beginning. I try to display the variety of American academic thought in psychology at that time first by sketching out the interests of the faculties at four institutions of regional and philosophical differences Harvard University, the University of Michigan, Stanford University, and the University of North Carolina.3
Prediction of trypsin/molecular fragment binding affinities by free energy decomposition and empirical scores

Two families of binding affinity estimation methodologies are described which were utilized in the SAMPL3 trypsin/fragment binding affinity challenge. The first is a free energy decomposition scheme based on a thermodynamic cycle, which included separate contributions from enthalpy and entropy of binding as well as a solvent contribution. Enthalpic contributions were estimated with PM6-DH2 semiempirical quantum mechanical interaction energies, which were modified with a statistical error correction procedure. Entropic contributions were estimated with the rigid-rotor harmonic approximation, and solvent contributions to the free energy were estimated with several different methods. The second general methodology is the empirical score LISA, which contains several physics-based terms trained with the large PDBBind database of protein/ligand complexes. Here we also introduce LISA+, an updated version of LISA which, prior to scoring, classifies systems into one of four classes based on a ligand’s hydrophobicity and molecular weight. Each version of the two methodologies (a total of 11 methods) was trained against a compiled set of known trypsin binders available in the Protein Data Bank to yield scaling parameters for linear regression models. Both raw and scaled scores were submitted to SAMPL3. Variants of LISA showed relatively low absolute errors but also low correlation with experiment, while the free energy decomposition methods had modest success when scaling factors were included. Nonetheless, re-scaled LISA yielded the best predictions in the challenge in terms of RMS error, and six of these models placed in the top ten best predictions by RMS error. This work highlights some of the difficulties of predicting binding affinities of small molecular fragments to protein receptors as well as the benefit of using training data.
Fluidized-bed fermenters: A steady-state analysis.

A new mathematical model is presented for use in the design and optimization of fluidized-bed fermenters. Unlike previous models, the biomass particle size is not a required input parameter, but is predicted as a consequence of the process by which the fermenter reaches a steady state. Both tower fermenters and supported-film bioreactors are included in the analysis. The differences between them are explained as a consequence of the different effects of added biomass on the particle settling velocity and the tendency of a fluidized bed to stratify. A detailed qualitative treatment of solids mixing allows the model to predict the varying biomass concentration through a tower fermenter and the more constant concentration in the supported film reactor. Other features of this analysis are the inclusion of an axial dispersion term to allow for different liquid mixing conditions, and the introduction of a variable transformation that eliminates the need for a computer solution. A sample design problem is included. (Refs. 24).
A chlorine-35 nuclear quadrupole resonance study of some nitrogen mustard compounds

Abstract A linear relationship has been established between the 35Cl nuclear quadrupole resonance frequency and the sum of the Hammet δ parameters for several aromatic nitrogen mustard compounds. This relationship is given by f q =1.024 ∑ i=1 n where fq is the quadrupole resonance frequency in megahertz, δ1 is the Hammett δ parameter for the ith ring substituent, and n is the number of ring substituents. This implies that the effect of the substituents is additive. Also, the change in the 35Cl NQR frequency is characteristic for a given substituent in this class of compounds.
Optimally Designed Nonlinear Feedback Excitation for High-Sensitivity Sensing

Employing sensitivity vector field (SVF) analysis in active micro-sensors can increase both their sensitivity and their ability to differentiate between changes in multiple sensor parameters. However, since SVF analysis is based on quantifying attractor deformations in state space, maximizing its effectiveness depends on selecting a sensor excitation that generates an attractor having suitable deformation with respect to the parameter(s) of interest. This paper addresses issues surrounding such system excitation design for a simple, linear vibration-based sensor having a combination of harmonic and nonlinear feedback excitation. In order to reframe the search for an optimal excitation as a search for a set of optimal control parameters, the excitation is considered to be of a specified form with a set of adjustable control parameters. Determining how to adjust the excitation parameters so as to maximize the magnitude of the resulting sensitivity vectors is then the formal goal. Using a pattern search method that avoids difficulties caused by bifurcations, we show that improved excitation can be designed reliably and efficiently. We also show that for short trajectory evolution times (suitable for “large” sensor perturbations) limit cycle behavior generates the best SVFs while for longer evolution times (suitable for “small” sensor perturbations) chaotic behavior may be more useful. Other issues discussed include the relative importance of various controller terms and the significance of harmonic excitation phase when generating sensitivity vectors.Copyright © 2009 by ASME
Power-Influence in Decision Making, Competence Utilization, and Organizational Culture in Public Organizations: The Arab World in Comparative Perspective

This article proposes and tests an integrative model of multiple associations between power-influence sharing in decision making, work-related outcomes (WRO), and organizational culture in public sector organizations in Saudi Arabia. The analysis is based on a survey of public administrators (n = 390). To date, little research has successfully addressed these conceptual linkages, especially in public sector organizations. The structural equation model analyses show that participative practices are significant predicators of effective utilization of competence (knowledge, skill, and ability). This in turn has an impact on perceptions of WRO including information sharing, decision quality, predictability and acceptability of authorized decisions by employees, job satisfaction, and motivation. The results also suggest that elements of organizational culture have some impact on both decision making and perceived WRO. The study has profound implications for organization development and leadership, particularly in bureaucracies in transition. It is essential for public organizations to understand the importance of human capital utilization and complexity of adjusting decision processes, as well as organizational norms at various stages of capacity development.
On-line Learning with Evolutionary Algorithms towards Adaptation of Underwater Vehicle Missions to Dynamic Ocean Environments

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUV) are tasked to ever longer deployments so energy management issues are timely and relevant. Energy shortages can occur due to dynamic ocean conditions that vary temporally and spatially in unpredictable ways. This is compounded by underwater communication challenges. Proposed, is an on-going energy evaluation that assesses the AUV ability to complete the mission through an agent that considers the AUV on-line states, non-linear dynamics, recent learned history, and past history to project an energy shortage. When a shortage occurs an onboard knowledge-based agent re-plans the AUV survey mission using on-line learning with a genetic algorithm given the energy budget, mission duration, and the remaining survey area dimensions. The validated agent is especially effective in the case studied for an energy shortfall resulting from increasing the surveyed area by a factor of 2, for a factor of 2 drop in energy. An agent that effectively monitors and re-plans optimal missions with energy considerations, especially for side scan sonars, is quite novel and increases the operational options of AUVs on long deployments.
STAKEHOLDERS AND COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE: THE CASE OF ISO 14001

This paper integrates a stakeholder perspective into the resource-based view of the firm, to analyze the mechanisms that link the adoption of the international Environmental Management Standard ISO 14001 to firms' competitive advantage. This paper shows that the perceived competitiveness impact of the standard depends mostly on the involvement of firms' external stakeholders (distributors, customers, community members, and regulatory agencies) in its design. ISO 14001 is a process standard, and it is difficult for stakeholders to get credible information on the effectiveness of the standard if they are not involved in its design. Stakeholders' involvement in a firm's ISO 14001 standard becomes a valuable organizational capability, which is difficult to imitate by competitors. The analysis is supported by primary data collected from a questionnaire mailed to 152 firms, resulting in 55 observations representing 30% of the total number of firms certified in the U.S. in August 1998.
Can nature's design be improved upon? High strength, transparent nacre-like nanocomposites with double network of sacrificial cross links

The preparation of a high-strength and highly transparent nacre-like nanocomposite via layer-by-layer assembly technique from poly(vinyl alcohol) (PVA) and Na+-montmorillonite clay nanosheets is reported in this article. We show that a high density of weak bonding interactions between the polymer and the clay particles: hydrogen, dipole−induced dipole, and van der Waals undergoing break-reform deformations, can lead to high strength nanocomposites: σUTS ∼ 150 MPa and E′ ∼ 13 GPa. Further introduction of ionic bonds into the polymeric matrix creates a double network of sacrificial bonds which dramatically increases the mechanical properties: σUTS ∼ 320 MPa and E′ ∼ 60 GPa.
Weighted rational approximation in the complex plane

Abstract Given a triple ( G, W, γ ) of an open bounded set G in the complex plane, a weight function W(z) which is analytic and different from zero in G , and a number γ with 0 ≤ γ ≤ 1, we consider the problem of locally uniform rational approximation of any function ƒ( z ), which is analytic in G , by weighted rational functions W m i + n i ( z ) R m i , n i ( z ) i = 0 ∞ , where R m i , n i ( z ) = P m i ( z )/ Q n i ( z ) with deg P m i ≤ m i and deg Q n i ≤ n i for all i ≥ 0 and where m i + n i → ∞ as i → ∞ such that lim m i /[ m i + n i ] = γ . Our main result is a necessary and sufficient condition for such an approximation to be valid. Applications of the result to various classical weights are also included.
Deletion of the Aspergillus fumigatus Gene Encoding the Ras-Related Protein RhbA Reduces Virulence in a Model of Invasive Pulmonary Aspergillosis

Aspergillus fumigatus is the predominant mold pathogen in patients who lack functional innate immunity. The A. fumigatus rhbA gene was first identified as a transcript that was upregulated when the organism was grown in the presence of mammalian cells. To gain insight into the function of rhbA in the growth and pathogenesis of A. fumigatus, we constructed a strain that lacks a functional rhbA gene. The Delta rhbA mutant showed a significant reduction in virulence compared to the virulence of the wild type in a mouse model of invasive aspergillosis. Complementation of the deletion with the wild-type gene restored full virulence. Although the Delta rhbA mutant grew as well as the wild type on solid medium containing the rich nitrogen source ammonium, the growth of the mutant was impaired on medium containing poor nitrogen sources. Like the Saccharomyces cerevisiae rhb1 mutant, the Delta rhbA mutant exhibited increased uptake of arginine. In addition, the Delta rhbA strain underwent asexual development in submerged cultures, even under ammonium-excess conditions. Growth of the mutant with poor nitrogen sources eliminated both the arginine uptake and submerged asexual development phenotypes. The mutant showed enhanced sensitivity to the TOR kinase inhibitor rapamycin. These findings establish the importance of rhbA for A. fumigatus virulence and suggest a role for rhbA in nutrient sensing.
Empirical evidence regarding the tension between knowledge sharing and knowledge expropriation in collaborations

Interfirm collaborations can raise a fundamental dilemma. To create value, collaborators may have to adopt a variety of practices to facilitate knowledge transfer. Deploying these practices may increase the likelihood that economically valuable knowledge, which is (1) beyond the scope of the collaboration, and (2) difficult to legally protect, is expropriated. How can firms manage this dilemma? The purpose of this paper is to empirically examine the veracity of a chain of propositions addressing this dilemma based on a novel joint knowledge-based view/transaction cost economics framework. A plausible chain of relationships is briefly summarized and explored in detail empirically using unrelated datasets. The chain links two knowledge-based attributes of collaboration—knowledge tacitness and problem-solving complexity—to the use of knowledge management practices—high-bandwidth communication channels and co-specialized communication codes. These practices are economic responses to knowledge-sharing difficulties as measured by tacitness and complexity. Increasing knowledge transparency via knowledge management practices, however, gives rise to opportunism hazards, which are safeguarded against via economizing governance choice. Our empirical effort examines the effects that two knowledge attributes of collaborations have on governance choice, first directly and then indirectly through the intervening linkages. Empirical results from both datasets indicate substantial support for the proposed chain of relationships. The results are provocative in that they offer the first preliminary evidence for a plausible reconciliation of two perspectives previously treated exclusively as adversaries. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Vagal tone and temperament as predictors of emotion regulation strategies in young children.

We examined indices of vagal tone and two dimensions of tempera- ment as predictors of emotion regulation (ER) strategies among children (n ¼ 54, ages 4-7) of mothers with a history of depression and control mothers. Children's (adaptive and maladaptive) ER strategies were observed during a delay of gratification (frustration) task in one protocol. In a separate and independent protocol, vagal tone was assessed during rest (baseline), during emotional challenge (reactivity) and post-challenge (recovery) and mothers rated their children's temperament (effortful control, negative affectivity). Lower vagal recovery and higher negative affectivity were associated with maladaptive ER responses to frustration. However, vagal tone and temperament were not associated with adaptive ER responses and maternal depression status did not affect the results. Overall, the findings are consistent with models of vagal tone and temperament as markers of individual differences in ER. 2008 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Dev Psychobiol 50: 205-216, 2008.
Monitoring Global Snow Cover

A snow model that supports the daily, operational analysis of global snow depth and age has been developed. It provides improved spatial interpolation of surface reports by incorporating digital elevation data, and by the application of regionalized variables (kriging) through the use of a global snow depth climatology. Where surface observations are inadequate, the model applies satellite remote sensing. Techniques for extrapolation into data-void mountain areas and a procedure to compute snow melt are also contained in the model.
COLORS AS PROPERTIES OF THE SPECIAL SCIENCES

We examine the pros and cons of color realism, exposing some desiderata on a theory of color: the theory should render colors as scientifically legitimate and correctly individuated, and it should explain how we have veridical color experiences. We then show that these desiderata can by met by treating colors as properties of the special sciences. According to our view, some of the major disputes in the literature about color – anti-realism versus dispositionalism versus reductionism – are not well-founded at this stage of scientific inquiry. Our account of color is designed to be of use in the sciences and as such is driven largely by considerations of what the various sciences need in order to proceed appropriately. We argue that a scientific theory of colors need not regard colors as anything more than high-level statistical constructs built out of correlations between color experiences and other phenomena.
Novel compact InP-based monolithic widely tunable differential Mach-Zehnder interferometer wavelength converter for 40 Gbps operation

A novel, compact monolithic widely tunable differential SOA-Mach-Zehnder wavelength converter is described. Total internal reflection mirrors are used to realize on-chip differential delay for 40 Gbps operation. This design allows reduced chip area and improved MZI balance.
Comparison of optical-waveguide lens technologies

Various materials, lens structures, and processes are examined relative to the lens requirements of an RF spectrum-analyzer implemented through the use of an integrated-optics format. Factors which distinguish optical-waveguide lenses and reflectors from conventional imaging lens systems are enumerated. It is concluded that a thin-film Luneburg lens is the most viable planar approach based upon the use of oxides and, when high refractive-index materials must be employed, the spherical depressed geodesic becomes a feasible alternate.
Use of interdisciplinary simulation to understand perceptions of team members' roles.

The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of an interdisciplinary approach to learning in helping care providers understand their overlapping roles in the clinical management of asthma. In addition, the perceived usefulness of an interdisciplinary approach for students in the health-care disciplines of nursing, medicine, pharmacy, and respiratory therapy to learn about the clinical management of asthma was explored. The diffusion of innovation framework [Rogers (1995), Diffusions of Innovations (5th ed.). New York: Free Press] was used to guide the process of development of CD-ROMs. An interpretative approach was selected for this research because of the emphasis on how a phenomenon is perceived and how meaning is constructed in situations. This approach assumes that multiple ways of interpreting experiences are available through interaction. A convenience sample of health-care practitioners from two rural campuses was selected to participate in this study. The cohort of participants represented students from the population of a large midwestern moderate-sized university that has four geographically distinct campuses. Preliminary results indicate that the use of interdisciplinary learning helps clarify the roles of each discipline and that learning from one another is enhanced.
Approximate normal forms of nonlinear systems

A method is presented to solve the approximate linearization problem of nonlinear control systems. The problem is reduced to the solution of a set of linear equations as follows. First, the generalized homological equations are derived. By introducing an appropriate basis for expressing higher degree monomials in the vector field, a set of equations linear in the coefficients of the monomials are found. An exact solution to this set of equations is not always possible. A least-squares solution is proposed that minimizes in a statistical sense the error in the approximation. >
NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF THE HYDRODYNAMIC INTERACTION BETWEEN A SEDIMENTING PARTICLE AND A NEUTRALLY BUOYANT PARTICLE

SUMMARY A new method for the simulation of the translational and rotational motions of a system containing a sedimenting particle interacting with a neutrally buoyant particle has been developed. The method is based on coupling the quasi-static Stokes equations for the fluid with the rigid body equations of motion for the particles. The Stokes equations are solved at each time step with the boundary element method. The stresses are then integrated over the surface of each particle to determine the resultant forces and moments. These forces and moments are inserted into the rigid body equations of motion to determine the translational and rotational motions of the particles. Unlike many other simulation techniques, no restrictions are placed on the shape of the particles. Superparametric boundary elements are employed to achieve accurate geometric representations of the particles. The simulation method is able to predict the local fluid velocity, resolve the forces and moments exerted on the particles, and track the particle trajectories and orientations.
War Narratives: Framing Our Understanding of the War on Terror

Unlike past American wars, the current war on terror has not been associated with a centrally proffered narrative providing some guidance and orientation for those administering government services under state-of-war conditions. War is as much a cultural endeavor as it is a military undertaking, and the absence of a clear sensemaking narrative was detected in this study of public administrators from three agencies with varying proximity to the conflict. Q-methodology was used to explore the way individuals processed the war narratives put forth by the Bush administration and reported in the media immediately following the September 11 attacks. Though no distinct state-of-war narratives were found among the public administrators in this study, there are clear indications that latent narratives reflecting local political and organizational task environments have emerged.
New Media, Branding and Global Sports Sponsorship

New media has emerged as a significant dimension of branding and global sports sponsorship because it provides the capability to communicate with consumers worldwide via a multitude of digital platforms. This paper discusses the results of a systematic review of the development of global sports sponsorship and the importance of new media integration to the sector for the future. Results indicate that a new paradigm is emerging which involves thematically linked, integrated, strategic global marketing initiatives driven by new media applications, which have enhanced the value of sports sponsorship.
Dynamic Linear Economies with Social Interactions

Social interactions arguably provide a rationale for several important phenomena, from smoking and other risky behavior in teens to e.g., peer effects in school performance. We study social interactions in dynamic economies. For these economies, we provide existence (Markov Perfect Equilibrium in pure strategies), ergodicity, and welfare results. Also, we characterize equilibria in terms of agents' policy function, spatial equilibrium correlations and social multiplier effects, depending on the nature of interactions. Most importantly, we study formally the issue of the identification of social interactions, with special emphasis on the restrictions imposed by dynamic equilibrium conditions.
Single-electron tunneling transistors incorporating Cooper pair processes

A superconducting single-electron tunneling transistor composed of two ultrasmall capacitance Al/Al/sub 2/O/sub 3//Al tunnel junctions and a capacitively coupled gate electrode has been fabricated. Transistor operation is based on single electron and Cooper pair charging effects. This three-terminal device exhibits novel I-V characteristics not seen in either conventional superconducting tunnel junctions or normal metal Coulomb blockage devices. Current peaks appear above V approximately 2 Delta /e which originate from combined Cooper pair/quasi-particle tunneling processes. These peaks show e-periodic modulation with respect to the gate-induced charge. At lower voltages, the I-V curve shows features which are 2e-periodic. In a magnetic field, it is found that the 2e-periodicity changes into e-periodicity above a crossover line, T*(H). The data strongly suggest the existence of a free energy difference between states with an even versus an odd number of electrons on the metal island between the two junctions. >
Where did all the dialects go? Aspects of the influence of Italian on dialects

The influence of standard Italian on the minor Romance languages spoken in Italy (i.e. the Italian dialects) permeates all aspects of their grammar. In this article, I provide an example of the way in which Italian prosody can affect dialects, a poorly studied type of influence. I show that a speaker may have a range of options available when speaking 'dialect,' including forms that are influenced by Italian to a greater or lesser degree.
Large-Eddy Simulation (LES) of Large Hydrocyclones

Fluid dynamics theory applied to the hydrocyclone flow field has progressed in past experimental and theoretical investigations from a two-dimensional Prandtl mixing-length turbulence modeling to the current level of three-dimensional large-eddy simulation (LES) and differential-stress approaches. The LES approach eliminates the explicit empiricism that is imposed in the κ-e model. Turbulence in hydrocyclones is anisotropic. Since only the subgrid scales are modeled in LES, the anisotropy is largely taken care of in this approach. This article presents validation of the LES model with laser-anemometry data collected on 75 mm and 250 mm hydrocyclones. Verification with experimental data on mass split, axial velocity, tangential velocity, root-mean-squared velocity, air-core profile, and size classification clearly stands as a proof that LES can be applied to even larger hydrocyclones.
Analysis of cancer metabolism with high-throughput technologies

Background Recent advances in genomics and proteomics have allowed us to study the nuances of the Warburg effect – a long-standing puzzle in cancer energy metabolism – at an unprecedented level of detail. While modern next-generation sequencing technologies are extremely powerful, the lack of appropriate data analysis tools makes this study difficult. To meet this challenge, we developed a novel application for comparative analysis of gene expression and visualization of RNA-Seq data.
Cone Penetrometer Testing and Discrete‐Depth Ground Water SamplingL Techniques: A Cost‐Effective Method of Site Characterization in a Multiple‐Aquifer Setting

Cone penetrometer testing (CPT), combined with discrete-depth groundwater sampling methods, can reduce significantly the time and expense required to characterize large sites that have multiple aquifers, especially compared to the more common practice of installing monitoring wells. Results from the screening site characterization then can be used to design and install a cost-effective monitoring well network. At a site in northern California, it was necessary to characterize the stratigraphy and the distribution of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to a depth of 80 feet within a %-mile-by-%-mile residential and commercial area in a complex alluvial fan setting. To expedite characterization, a tiveweek field screening program was implemented that consisted of a shallow groundwater survey, CPT soundings and pore-pressure measurements, and discrete-depth groundwater sampling. Based on continuous lithologic information provided by the CPT soundings, four predominantly coarse-grained, water-yielding stratigraphic packages were identified. Individual coarse-grained units within each package are discontinuous, as they coalesce and pinch out in longitudinal and transverse directions. Seventy-nine discrete-depth groundwater samples were collected using either shallow groundwater survey techniques, the BAT Enviroprobe, or the QED HydroPunch I, depending on subsurface conditions. Using results from these efforts, a 20-well monitoring network was designed and installed to monitor critical points within each stratigraphic package. Good correlation was found for hydraulic head and chemical results between discrete-depth screening data and monitoring well data. Understanding the vertical VOC distribution and concentrations produced substantial time and cost savings by minimizing the number of permanent monitoring wells and reducing the number of costly conductor casings that had to be installed. Additionally, significant long-term cost savings will result from reduced sampling costs, because fewer wells comprise the monitoring network. We estimate these savings to be 50 percent for site characterization costs, 65 percent for site characterization time, and 60 percent for long-term monitoring costs.
Regulation of murine myocardial energy metabolism during adrenergic stress studied by in vivo 31P NMR spectroscopy

Image-guided, spatially localized 31P magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) was used to study in vivo murine cardiac metabolism under resting and dobutamine-induced stress conditions. Intravenous dobutamine infusion (24 mug. min-1. kg body wt-1) increased the mean heart rate by approximately 39% from 482 +/- 46 per min at baseline to 669 +/- 77 per min in adult mice. The myocardial phosphocreatine (PCr)-to-ATP (PCr/ATP) ratio remained unchanged at 2.1 +/- 0.5 during dobutamine stress, compared with baseline conditions. Therefore, we conclude that a significant increase in heart rate does not result in a decline in the in vivo murine cardiac PCr/ATP ratio. These observations in very small mammals, viz., mice, at extremely high heart rates are consistent with studies in large animals demonstrating that global levels of high-energy phosphate metabolites do not regulate in vivo myocardial metabolism during physiologically relevant increases in cardiac work.
A-2-->G transition at the 3' acceptor splice site of IVS17 characterizes the COL2A1 gene mutation in the original Stickler syndrome kindred.

Hereditary progressive arthro-ophthalmopathy, or {open_quotes}Stickler syndrome,{close_quotes} is an autosomal dominant osteochondrodysplasia characterized by a variety of ocular and skeletal anomalies which frequently lead to retinal detachment and precocious osteoarthritis. A variety of mutations in the COL2A1 gene have been identified in {open_quotes}Stickler{close_quotes} families; in most cases studied thus far, the consequence of mutation is the premature generation of a stop codon. We report here the characterization of a COL2A1 gene mutation in the original kindred described by Stickler et al. Conformational sensitive gel electrophoresis (CSGE) was used to screen for mutations in the entire COL2A1 gene in an affected member from the kindred. A prominent heteroduplex species was noted in the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) product from a region of the gene including exons 17 to 20. Direct sequencing of PCR-amplified genomic DNA resulted in the identification of a base substitution at the A{sup -2} position of the 3{prime} splice acceptor site of IVS17. Sequencing of DNA from affected and unaffected family members confirmed that the mutation segregated with the disease phenotype. Reverse transcriptase-PCR analysis of poly A+ RNA demonstrated that the mutant allele utilized a cryptic splice site in exon 18 of the gene, eliminating 16 bp at themore » start of exon 18. This frameshift eventually results in a premature termination codon. These findings are the first report of a splice site mutation in classical Stickler syndrome and they provide a satisfying historical context in which to view COL2A1 mutations in this dysplasia. 25 refs., 3 figs., 1 tab.« less
Taxonomic level, trophic biology and the regulation of local abundance

1 Taxocenes — monophyletic ecological assemblages — are a key focus of macroecology. Abundance (individuals per area) is a basic property of taxocenes but has received less attention than diversity, although the two are probably related. Abundance reflects a taxocene’s ability to harvest and sequester available energy and divide it among individuals. This paper explores how two properties of all taxocenes — trophic makeup and taxonomic level (e.g. genus, tribe, subfamily, family … ) — may contribute to patterns of local abundance at geographical scales. 2 Forty-nine ground ant taxocenes, in habitats ranging from New World deserts to rain forests, were surveyed along a three-orders of magnitude productivity gradient using transects of 30 1-m2 quadrats at each site. Abundance — the number of nests per transect — varied over two orders of magnitude. 3 Over 80% of the genera collected were omnivores. However, herbivore, omnivore, and predator taxa were added to ant taxocenes in roughly 1 order of magnitude steps up the productivity gradient. Specialist detritivores were added last. 4 Net primary productivity and mean monthly temperature both consistently entered regression models predicting abundance. However, while productivity was the dominant predictor of abundance for higher taxa (families, subfamilies), temperature was the dominant predictor of abundance for lower taxa (tribes, genera). The answer to the question ‘What regulates the abundance of a taxocene?’ is thus sensitive to the taxonomic level of analysis. 5 These data support the following scenario. Lower taxa are abiotic specialists given the insufficient number of genomes and generations required for the exploration of the entire abiotic envelope. Higher taxa, in contrast, consist of suites of abiotic specialists arrayed along the entire productivity gradient, with access to productivity everywhere the taxon occurs. If this scenario is true, individual species may respond to global changes in temperature; the higher taxa they belong to may most respond to global changes in productivity.
SIP-based enterprise converged networks for voice/video-over-IP: implementation and evaluation of components

The next generation of enterprise networks is undergoing major changes as a plethora of new architectures, applications, and services begin to roll out within businesses. In general, the world of voice/telephony, video, and data are "converging" into a global communications network. The purpose of this paper is twofold. First, the design, analysis, and performance of a session initiation protocol (SIP)-based videoconferencing desktop client, which has been developed and deployed over Internet2, is presented. Second, a guideline for managing SIP-based services to be deployed within enterprises, which addresses several challenges in each layer, such as network address translator (NAT)/FW issues, directory service integration issues, and interoperability issues, is proposed. Several detailed experimental results related to interoperability and conformance that were carried out are presented. Findings of extensive SIP/NAT traversal analysis through network traffic measurements are reported. The lessons learned from both the design of a new SIP-based voice/video client, as well as management challenges with enterprise deployment are highlighted.
Epilepsy in Muenke Syndrome

Researchers at the National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD; Children’s National Medical Center; and George Washington University, Washington, DC present 7 patients with Muenke syndrome complicated by epilepsy.