cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intertrial proactive inhibition in short-term memory.

Ss were given three trials of either a letter-trigram or a word-trigram. Immediately after the trigram a 3-digit number was presented from which S counted backwards by 3s for 8 sec., after which S recalled the trigram. On the fourth trial either the same kind of material as presented before was used or a different kind of material. For letter-trigrams, the recall interval in the fourth trial was either 5, 11, or 17 sec. For word-trigrams, only 11 sec. was used as the recall interval. To control for novelty, another group had letter-trigrams for four trials, but in the fourth the trigram was typed in red. Similarity of the material presented on the preceding trials interfered with recall of both letter- and word-trigrams. In addition, the hypothesis that the probability of interference of previous similar materials on the fourth trial would increase with longer recall intervals was supported for letter-trigrams. Novelty did not affect recall.
Differential effects of erythrocyte lysates on spectra of potential-sensing carbocyanine dyes

A recent report by Hladky, S.B. and Rink, T.J. ((1976) J. Physiol. 263, 287–319) demonstrates the binding of a thiocarbocyanine dye (di-S-C3(5)) to an intracellular constituent from human erythrocytes. Evidence presented below shows that the binding of carbocyanine dyes depends on the particular type of dye used and on the species of erythrocyte from which cellular constituents are prepared. It is recommended that dyes which show minimal binding to intracellular components be used for investigations where carbocyanine dyes are employed as probes of membrane potential.
Heat transfer in the pneumatic transport of massive particles

Abstract The steady, fully developed heat transfer to the walls of a vertical pipe from a dilute suspension of relatively massive particles of low Biot number in a turbulent gas is analyzed. In this flow, particle collisions play a significant role. The thermal energies of the particle and gas phases are balanced using two coupled equations. In the particle phase, conduction is calculated from the kinetic theory as a self-diffusive transport flux and, assuming negligible transfer of heat during collisions, homogeneous boundary conditions are prescribed for the temperature. Solutions of the balance laws highlight the mechanisms governing the heat transfer in this regime.
The effect of temperature changes on the dimensional stability of polyvinyl siloxane and polyether impression materials

Abstract Statement of problem. Dental impressions are commonly mailed to remote dental laboratories and can be subjected to extreme temperature changes; however, the effects of these temperature changes on the accuracy of elastomeric impression materials are unknown. Purpose. This study evaluated the dimensional changes of polyether and polyvinyl siloxane impression materials as a function of storage temperature. Material and methods. A total of 144 impressions were made of a stainless steel die similar to ADA Specification No. 19. Half of the impressions were made in perforated custom trays and the other half in solid trays. Measurements of the vertical and horizontal lines on the impressions were made at 10 minutes, 1 hour, 24 hours, and 26 hours, and storage temperatures ranged from 4° C to 40° C. Results. Changes in storage temperature had a statistically significant effect on the dimensional stability of the horizontal and vertical lines. However, overall dimensional changes were extremely small. Conclusions. Storing both impression materials at 4° C for 24 hours and then allowing the impressions to reach room temperature resulted in a slightly expanded impression that partially compensated for the contraction that occurred from polymerization shrinkage. Similar results occurred for polyether material only, when stored at 40° C. (J Prosthet Dent 1998;79:626-31.)
Chiral Permselectivity in Surface-Modified Nanoporous Opal Films

Nanoporous 7 μm thin opal films comprising 35 layers of 200 nm diameter SiO2 spheres were assembled on Pt electrodes and modified with chiral selector moieties on the silica surface. Diffusion of chiral redox species through the opals was studied by cyclic voltammetry. The chiral opal films demonstrate high selectivity for transport of one enantiomer over the other. This chiral permselectivity is attributed to the surface-facilitated transport utilizing noncovalent interactions between the chiral permeant molecules and surface-bound chiral selectors.
Participation Patterns of Ethnic Groups of Children Enrolled in Head Start Programs

Participation in activities is essential to the development of skills and social relationships. Children from different ethnic backgrounds living in poverty often experience limited access to participation opportunities. Sixty parents of children (20 Caucasian, 20 Hispanic, 20 Native American) enrolled in Head Start programs completed the Assessment of Preschool Children’s Participation. Significant differences in skill development activities were found between ethnic groups and between genders. No differences were found in other areas of participation. To effectively promote the participation of children from different ethnic groups living in poverty, occupational therapists need to collaborate with parents within their cultural context.
Transient visual loss may anticipate occipital infarction from hemodialysis.

Abstract Background: The aim of this study was to report on a patient who had occipital infarction from intradialytic hypotension and review the literature on hemodialysis and visual loss. Methods: Neuro-ophthalmologic examination and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain were conducted. Results: A 61-year-old woman had acute onset of a right homonymous superior quadrantic visual field defect during dialysis after several episodes of transient visual loss associated with symptomatic intradialytic hypotension. MRI showed acute infarction in the left occipital lobe. Conclusion: Visual loss is an uncommon complication of hemodialysis. The mechanism usually is related to hypotension and is usually from anterior ischemic optic neuropathy. Although cortical blindness secondary to stroke has been reported as a complication after hemodialysis, we were unable to find another report of visual loss secondary to stroke attributed to intradialytic hypotension with preceding episodes of transient visual loss. Transient visual loss may be a risk factor for stroke during hemodialysis.
Structure-aware stochastic load management in smart grids

Load management based on dynamic pricing has been advocated as a key approach for demand-side management in smart grids. By appropriately pricing energy, economic incentives are given to consumers to shift their usage away from peak hours, thereby limiting the amount of energy that needs to be produced. However, traditional pricing-based load management methods usually rely on the assumption that the statistics of the system dynamics (e.g. the time-varying electricity price, the arrival distribution of consumers' load demands) are known a priori, which is not true in practice. In this paper, we propose a novel price-dependent load scheduling algorithm which, unlike previous works, can operate optimally in systems where such statistical knowledge is unknown. We consider a power grid system where each consumer is equipped with an energy storage device that has the capability of storing electrical energy during peak hours. Specifically, we allow each consumer to proactively determine the amount of energy to purchase from the utility companies (or energy producers) while taking into consideration that its load demand and the electricity price dynamically vary over time in an a priori unknown manner. We first assume that all the dynamics are known and formulate the real-time load scheduling as a Markov decision process and systematically unravel the structural properties exhibited by the resulting optimal load scheduling policy. By utilizing these structural properties, we then prove that our proposed load scheduling algorithm can learn the system dynamics in an online manner and converge to the optimal solution. A distinctive feature of our algorithm is that it actively exploits partial information about the system dynamics so that less information needs to be learned than when using conventional reinforcement learning methods, which significantly improves the adaptation speed and the runtime performance. Our simulation results demonstrate that the proposed load scheduling algorithm achieves efficiency by more than 30% compared to existing state- of-the-art online learning algorithms.
The average transverse distance between partons as measured by nucleon form factors

Abstract The values of d F 1 (q 2 ) d q 2 at q2=0 for the neutron and the proton provide a measure of the average transverse separations squared, 〈 y 2 〉, between a u or d quark and the rest of the partons in a nucleon. Using the measured values of the form factors (together with parton x-distributions), we find that 〈 y 2 = 17.4 GeV −2 for u quarks and 16.4 GeV−2 for d quarks in a proton. We speculate that the small difference between u and d quarks is caused by “quark pairing” and discuss other possible experimental signatures of quark pairing.
Critical behavior in gels saturated with binary liquid mixtures

Polyacrylamide, agarose, and silica gels have been prepared with solvents which are nearcritical binary liquid mixtures. Near the critical temperature of the free liquid mixtures, the binary-liquid gel exhibits a broad region wherein light-scattering intensity is large and varies monotonically with temperature. Some features of this scattering suggest that the gel matrix acts like a random field. Only very weak temporal fluctuations are observed throughout this broad transition region.
Evidence for the Concepts of Home Range and Territory in Stream Fishes

The size and structure of fish populations have received much attention in recent years. Contributions in this field have provided ideas concerning the theory of animal populations as well as a sound basis for the management of sport and commercial fishing. Among the factors influencing fish populations, most study has been accorded food, feeding habits, reproductive behavior, reproductive potential, growth, and mortality. The fish population has been considered an aggregate of animals in most studies of this sort. Very little attention has been given to the interaction between individuals of a fish population and to the effect such interaction might have on the size and structure of the group. The present work attempts to interpret a population of stream fishes as the result of competition among the individuals of which it is composed. The movements of the fish have been followed in detail and the possible importance of these activities is discussed. Evidence will be presented to show that many stream fishes live in very restricted areas during most, if not all, of their lifetime. The movements of fish will be considered from two viewpoints: (1) home range, and (2) territory. Home range is a term borrowed from the mammalogists who have found that many mammals live within rather narrowly circumscribed limits. Such small mammals as the meadow vole, woodland deer mouse, woodmouse, and chipmunk
Farrell and Dostoevsky

In the dream Farrell feels the ideas and passions of Dostoevsky's novel moving inside his head, motion symbolized in the dream by the highly charged image of the book itself, an image of his copy of The Brothers Karamazov. Regarding the terms of this dream, we can say that Dostoevsky had not merely "interfered with" Farrell's dreams. The intensity of feeling and the image of the book "slightly aslant" but significantly "fixed" in his head, as well as the obscure undercurrent of mental agitation-these things suggest that Dostoevsky, through The Brothers, not only had entered and "interfered with" Farrell's dreams but had become an unconscious part of his critical and artistic persona, animating his own ideas and passions as a critic and an artist. A few days prior to the night of this dream Farrell had contracted for fifty dollars to write for the New York Times Book Review an essay on Dostoevsky, published early in 1944 and later reprinted in his collection of essays, The League of Frightened Philistines. By the night of his dream, Farrell had for the past two weeks been rereading The Brothers Karamazov for the third time; he had read it first in 1927, as a college student working nights in a gas station in Chicago; and then again in 1938 on an ocean liner taking him on his second trip to Europe. Beginning in 1927, then, The Brothers Karamazov had had a profound and continuing effect on Farrell's own sense of himself and his practices as a writer at the beginning of his career. In a letter to his publisher James Henle, ten days before having the dream about The Brothers, Farrell recalls that, "after I finished reading it for the first time
An Introduction to Systems Engineering

This document describes a graduate course called “An Introduction to Systems Engineering”. The course is being presented as part of a graduate program in the Management of Technology, in response to a specific need. This need has been recognized by technologists, over the years, who have been involved in the broader issues stemming from the mix of technology and business management. It has become clear that these two aspects of day-to-day operations are not always carried off well. However, by training business majors and technologists simultaneously, in some of the same courses of study and in the same class rooms, the management process should become more efficient. The need for exploiting this method is becoming more and more acute, with the passage of time.Copyright © 2011 by ASME
Infrared Reflection−Absorption Spectroscopy of Adsorbates during the Pt(100)-Mediated Reduction of NO with Coadsorption of CO

Infrared spectra of adsorbates and steady state reaction rates taken in situ during the reduction of NO and coadsorption of CO over a Pt(100) surface are presented. For surface temperatures ranging from 420 to 470 K and an NO pressure of 7.80 × 10-5 Torr, IR spectra showed an absorption band at 1640−1656 cm-1 that is attributed to adsorbed molecular NO. The mass spectral data revealed that N2 gas is formed. When CO was admitted into the chamber, steady states corresponding to high and low rates of CO2 production were observed. The high reaction rate was accompanied by the appearance of a vibrational band at 1630 cm-1. This band continued to grow until a critical CO pressure was reached. At this point, the 1630 cm-1 band disappeared while absorption bands that correspond to a growth of CO adlayer began to appear. Except for the absence of an IR band that can be associated with molecularly adsorbed NO, the interaction of NO with CO at 500 K showed characteristics similar to those obtained at lower temperatu...
Quantitation of strain balb/c mouse peritoneal cells.

Total and differential counts of the peritoneal cells of male and female BALB/c mice aged 10 days to over 2 years demonstrate that the increase in cell number that occurs in mice over 2 months old is due entirely to an increase in lymphocytes. The number of peritoneal macrophages in BALB/c females is maintained at a constant level for 22 months. The stability of the macrophage population in contrast to the increase in numbers of lymphocytes suggests that the body pools of these two cell types are not related.
Application of Berry's phase to the effective mass of Bloch electrons

Berry's phase, although well known since 1984, has received little attention among textbook authors of solid state physics. We attempt to address this lack by showing how the presence of the Berry's phase significantly changes a standard concept (effective mass) found in most solid state texts. Specifically, we show that the presence of a non-zero Berry curvature in Bloch systems makes the traditional concept of an inverse effective mass tensor M−1 problematic, since a routine application of Newton's second law leads to a circular definition. As a consequence, the related concept of cyclotron effective mass m* also requires modification. It is shown that m* is magnetic-field dependent in non-inversion symmetric systems. This has important ramifications for cyclotron resonance experiments, since such experiments yield m* and thereby purportedly give the components of M−1. This work represents a 'case study' in how Berry's phase effects can modify 'standard' solid-state topics in ways that students and instructors may find surprising.
Sequence analysis of nonradioactive RNA fragments by periodate-phosphatase digestion and chemical tritium labeling: characterization of large oligonucleotides and oligonucleotides containing modified nucleosides

A tritium derivative method for sequence analysis of polyribonucleotides is detailed, which is based on borotritide reduction of oligonucleotide dialdehydes generated by treatment of polyribonucleotides with alkaline phosphatase and excess periodate at pH 8 (borate buffer; no primary amine present in the reaction mixture). While neither phosphatase nor periodate possess any intrinsic exonuclease activity their combination mimics an RNA-specific exonuclease ("pseudo-exonuclease"). Procedures are described for separation and characterization of tritiumlabeled oligonucleotide derivatives. The sequence is deduced by identification of labeled 3'-termini following separation of the reduced nucleotide intermediates according to chain length. The sensitivity of the method is indicated by the fact that as little as 0.01 O.D.260 unit of a nonradioactive decanucleotide is sufficient for sequence determination.
Contributions of the protein environment to the midpoint potentials of the A1 phylloquinones and the Fx iron-sulfur cluster in photosystem I

Electrostatic calculations have predicted that the partial negative charge associated with D575PsaB plays a significant role in modulating the midpoint potentials of the A1A and A1B phylloquinones in photosystem I. To test this prediction, the side chain of residue 575PsaB was changed from negatively charged (D) to neutral (A) and to positively charged (K). D566PsaB, which is located at a considerable distance from either A1A or A1B, and should affect primarily the midpoint potential of FX, was similarly changed. In the 575PsaB variants, the rate of electron transfer from A1A to FX is observed to decrease slightly according to the sequence D/A/K. In the 566PsaB variants, the opposite effect of a slight increase in the rate is observed according to the same sequence D/A/K. These results are consistent with the expectation that changing these residues will shift the midpoint potentials of nearby cofactors to more positive values and that the magnitude of this shift will depend on the distance between the cofactors and the residues being changed. Thus, the midpoint potentials of A1A and A1B should experience a larger shift than will FX in the 575PsaB variants, while FX should experience a larger shift than will either A1A or A1B in the 566PsaB variants. As a result, the driving energy for electron transfer from A1A and A1B to FX will be decreased in the former and increased in the latter. This rationalization of the changes in kinetics is compared with the results of electrostatic calculations. While the altered amino acids shift the midpoint potentials of A1A, A1B, and FX by different amounts, the difference in the shifts between A1A and FX or between A1B and FX is small so that the overall effect on the electron transfer rate between A1A and FX or between A1B and FX is predicted to be small. These conclusions are borne out by experiment.
Effect of Age on Reproduction of the Turkey Hen

Abstract THIS paper presents a brief report on the effect of age on the egg production and hatching results of Bronze turkey females during the period 1927 and 1933 inclusive. Some data are also presented on the comparative mortality and rate of growth of the progeny. In compiling the data the age of the males to which the females were mated was disregarded. Egg Production All reports so far published, regarding the effect of age on egg production deal with the domestic fowl. Brody, Henderson, and Kempster (1923) reported that the egg production of the flock studied declined 12 percent each successive year. Jull (1928) and Hall and Marble (1931) have shown that the decline in egg production with age is greater in the case of the Barred Plymouth Rock, Rhode Island Red, and Wyandotte breeds than in the case of the White Leghorn. They as well as Atwood (1928) and . . .
Evolution of gene networks by gene duplications: a mathematical model and its implications on genome organization

Abstract Networks of transcriptional regulators have key roles in metazoan development. Important forces in the evolution of these networks are gene duplications and gene deletions, events that may change the spatiotemporal expression pattern of network genes. A measure for the probability of such changes after gene-duplication events is proposed. This measure is based on a simple mathematical model that describes such networks as dynamical systems and on properties of ensembles of these dynamical systems. It is predicted that this probability depends only on the fraction of genes duplicated in a single event and that it is largest if approximately 40% of the genes in a network are duplicated. This property is robust with respect to variations in model parameters. On these grounds, it is argued that (i) evolution of gene networks should preferentially occur either by duplication of single genes or by duplication of all genes involved in a network, and that (ii) tight linkage ("clustering") or strong dispersal are the two evolutionarily most favorable forms of genomic organization of genes forming such networks.
The epidemiology of Sjögren’s syndrome

Sjogren's syndrome is a chronic systemic autoimmune disease characterized by lymphocytic infiltration of exocrine glands. It can present as an entity by itself, primary Sjogren's syndrome (pSS), or in addition to another autoimmune disease, secondary Sjogren's syndrome (sSS). pSS has a strong female propensity and is more prevalent in Caucasian women, with the mean age of onset usually in the 4th to 5th decade. Clinical presentation varies from mild symptoms, such as classic sicca symptoms of dry eyes and dry mouth, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, and xerostomia, to severe systemic symptoms, involving multiple organ systems. Furthermore, a range of autoantibodies can be present in Sjogren's syndrome (anti-SSA/Ro and anti-SSB/La antibodies, rheumatoid factor, cryoglobulins, antinuclear antibodies), complicating the presentation. The heterogeneity of signs and symptoms has led to the development of multiple classification criteria. However, there is no accepted universal classification criterion for the diagnosis of Sjogren's syndrome. There are a limited number of studies that have been published on the epidemiology of Sjogren's syndrome, and the incidence and prevalence of the disease varies according to the classification criteria used. The data is further confounded by selection bias and misclassification bias, making it difficult for interpretation. The aim of this review is to understand the reported incidence and prevalence on pSS and sSS, the frequency of autoantibodies, and the risk of malignancy, which has been associated with pSS, taking into account the different classification criteria used.
An analysis of a vibratory angular-rate gyroscope using polarized piezoceramic bimorph plates. Part 1: derivation of variational equations in the absence of angular velocity

A variational equation is derived for the in-plane and out-of-plane motions of a configuration composed of two rectangular and annular sector piezoceramic bimorph plates arranged in the shape of one half of a single tuning fork. The required variational equation for the structure is obtained by means of a low order expansion in the three-dimensional variational equation. The elements that connect any of the two bimorph plates, which are at right angles with respect to each other, are modelled as rigid bodies in the continuity conditions at the interface edges of the connected bimorphs.
Identification of the lacZ insertion site and beta-galactosidase expression in transgenic chickens

The quail:chick chimera system is a classical research model in developmental biology. An improvement over the quail:chick chimera system would be a line of transgenic chickens expressing a reporter gene. Transgenic chickens carrying lacZ and expressing bacterial beta-galactosidase have been generated, but complete characterization of the insertion event and characterization of beta-galactosidase expression have not previously been available. The genomic sequences flanking the retroviral insertion site have now been identified by using inverse polymerase chain reaction (PCR), homozygous individuals have been identified by using PCR-based genotyping, and beta-galactosidase expression has been evaluated by using Western analysis and histochemistry. Based upon the current draft of the chicken genome, the viral insertion carrying the lacZ gene has been located on chromosome 11 within the predicted gene for neurotactin/fractalkine (CX3CL1); neurotactin mRNA expression appears to be missing from the brain of homozygous individuals. When Generation 2 (G2) lacZ-positive individuals were inter-mated, they generated 361 G3 progeny; 82 were homozyous for lacZ (22.7%), 97 were wild-type non-transgenic (26.9%), and 182 (50.4%) were hemizygous for lacZ. Western analysis revealed the highest expression in the muscle and liver. With the identification of homozygous birds, the line of chickens is now designated NCSU-Blue1.
Prognostic factors for long-term renal function in boys with the prune-belly syndrome.

ABSTRACTPurpose: Renal failure develops in 25 to 30% of patients with the prune-belly syndrome. The clinical parameters associated with renal failure in this condition are not well understood. We determined which factors predict renal failure in children with the prune-belly syndrome.Materials and Methods: We reviewed the records of 35 patients with the prune-belly syndrome who were treated at our hospital during a 37-year period. Nadir serum creatinine, time to nadir creatinine, presence or absence of a patent urachus, presence and severity of urinary tract infection, and renal failure were analyzed.Results: Mean followup was 14 years 2 months. In 2 of the 17 patients with a nadir serum creatinine of less than 0.7 mg./dl. renal failure developed. Each of these 2 children also had clinical pyelonephritis and urosepsis. In 12 of the 13 patients nadir serum creatinine greater than 0.7 mg./dl. strongly predicted renal failure. Nonfebrile urinary tract infection within the first year of life was not predictiv...
Optical filtering of RF signals through contrasting fiber dispersion slopes

Signal congestion and co-site interference caused by increasing RF signal demands in avionic applications make signal detection difficult. A tunable wideband microwave photonic filter is desirable in order to attenuate potentially powerful unwanted signals in an RF receiver. A photonic filter can eliminate the need for RF pre-selector filters, which must generate a cancellation signal, or RF digital notch filters, which do not have the bandwidth or high-speed sampling capabilities of an optical filter [1]. A photonic filter may also provide reductions in size and weight — an important advantage when dealing with aircraft co-site antenna mitigation.
A Bayesian approach to alignment-based image hallucination

In most image hallucination work, a strong assumption is held that images can be aligned to a template on which the prior of high-res images is formulated and learned. Realizing that one template can hardly generalize to all images of an object such as faces due to pose and viewpoint variation as well as occlusion, we propose an example-based prior distribution via dense image correspondences. We introduce a Bayesian formulation based on an image prior that can implement different effective behaviors based on the value of a single parameter. Using faces as examples, we show that our system outperforms the prior state of art.
A Shattered Perfection: crafting a virtual sculpture

In the development of a digital sculpture for a competition entry, a mathematical approach was investigated as a method to develop a variety of forms. This paper covers the initial inspiration for the sculpture, Georg Nees's Gravel Stones, and then the series of approaches that were developed expanding the starting concept. Each step in the process is described including the decisions and alternatives that were explored. The sculpture was entirely built and developed with custom software using a series of related mathematical concepts. The software and related digital representations became the sculpting material and the sculpting tools.
Terahertz electric polarizability of multiple excitons in CdSe quantum dots

Dependence of the polarizability of a QD on the number of excitons in it was investigated. A simple model of weakly interacting charge carriers in an infinite spherical potential well agrees well with the experiment.
Varietial Resistance in Onions to Thrips

The onion cultivar ‘Nebuka’ had 48, 72, and 67% fewer adult onion thrips, Thrips tabaci Lindeman, caught on sticky-card traps than cultivars ‘Texas Early Grano 502’ and ‘951,’ and ‘Creole,’ respectively. Number of larval thrips per plant was a better indicator of hostplant resistance than number of adults on sticky-cards or taken from foliage, or the total number of thrips per plant. Damage rating for Nebuka was 5.0 compared with 9.0, 8.9, and 8.5 for Texas Early Grano 502, Texas Early Grano 951, and Creole respectively. Morphological characters of Nebuka described over 40 yr ago as factors regulating thrips populations in onions were still effective in reducing damage by thrips.
Effect of low-dose aspirin on vascular inflammation, plaque stability, and atherogenesis in low-density lipoprotein receptor-deficient mice

Background— Atherosclerosis is a complex vascular inflammatory disease. Low-dose aspirin is a mainstay in the prevention of vascular complications of atherosclerosis. We wished to determine the effect of low-dose aspirin on vascular inflammation, plaque composition, and atherogenesis in LDL receptor–deficient mice fed a high fat diet. Methods and Results— In LDL receptor–deficient mice fed a high fat diet compared with control mice, low-dose aspirin induced a significant decrease in circulating levels and vascular formation of soluble intercellular molecule-1, monocyte chemoattractant protein-1, tumor necrosis factor-α, interleukin-12p 40, without affecting lipid levels. This was associated with significant reduction of the nuclear factor κB activity in the aorta. Low-dose aspirin also significantly reduced the extent of atherosclerosis. Finally, aortic vascular lesions of the aspirin-treated animals showed 57% reduction (P<0.05) in the amount of macrophage cells, 77% increase in smooth muscle cells (P<0....
Being a protégé: an autoethnographic view of three teacher education doctoral programs

Those in professional and academic fields generally perceive mentoring as a positive relationship that enhances the lives of proteges. Kram (1985) posits that such relationships between dyads in organisational life are an evolutionary, developmental process. The purpose of this article is to explore proteges’ perspectives on their mentoring relationships within doctoral programs. In order to lessen the insurmountable distance between writers and readers that is often associated with a traditional research study, we employ an autoethnographic approach to research writing. We share our journey after having studied the mentoring relationships within our own doctoral programs. Qualitative data collected over a two‐year period consist of journal entries, email correspondence, and phone conversations. This research offers insight into the mentor–protege relationship and processes, and it provides implications for practice for proteges and mentors, as well as future research directions.
Homo- and Co-Polycarbonates and Blends Derived from Diphenolic Acid:

The properties of materials derived from diphenolic acid (4-(bis(hydroxyphenyl))pentanoic acid, DPA), such as polycarbonate homo- and co-polymers (with bisphenol A, BPA), have been determined. The influence of copolymer composition on the thermal properties of these materials has been determined. Blends of polycarbonates from BPA and from DPA appear to be compatible.
Dosage Thresholds for AAV2 and AAV8 Photoreceptor Gene Therapy in Monkey

Gene therapy is emerging as a therapeutic modality for treating disorders of the retina. Photoreceptor cells are the primary cell type affected in many inherited diseases of retinal degeneration. Successfully treating these diseases with gene therapy requires the identification of efficient and safe targeting vectors that can transduce photoreceptor cells. One serotype of adeno-associated virus, AAV2, has been used successfully in clinical trials to treat a form of congenital blindness that requires transduction of the supporting cells of the retina in the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Here, we determined the dose required to achieve targeting of AAV2 and AAV8 vectors to photoreceptors in nonhuman primates. Transgene expression in animals injected subretinally with various doses of AAV2 or AAV8 vectors carrying a green fluorescent protein transgene was correlated with surgical, clinical, and immunological observations. Both AAV2 and AAV8 demonstrated efficient transduction of RPE, but AAV8 was markedly better at targeting photoreceptor cells. These preclinical results provide guidance for optimal vector and dose selection in future human gene therapy trials to treat retinal diseases caused by loss of photoreceptors.
Onset of macroscopic instabilities in fiber-reinforced elastomers at finite strain

Abstract In this paper, we investigate theoretically the possible development of instabilities in fiber-reinforced elastomers (and other soft materials) when they are subjected to finite-strain loading conditions. We focus on the physically relevant class of “macroscopic” instabilities, i.e., instabilities with wavelengths that are much larger than the characteristic size of the underlying microstructure. To this end, we make use of recently developed homogenization estimates, together with a fundamental result of Geymonat, Muller and Triantafyllidis linking the development of these instabilities to the loss of strong ellipticity of the homogenized constitutive relations. For the important class of material systems with very stiff fibers and random microstructures, we derive a closed-form formula for the critical macroscopic deformation at which instabilities may develop under general loading conditions, and we show that this critical deformation is quite sensitive to the loading orientation relative to the fiber direction. The result is also confronted with classical estimates (including those of Rosen) for laminates, which have commonly been used as two-dimensional (2-D) approximations for actual fiber-reinforced composites. We find that while predictions based on laminate models are qualitatively correct for certain loadings, they can be significantly off for other more general 3-D loadings. Finally, we provide a parametric analysis of the effects of the matrix and fiber properties and of the fiber volume fraction on the onset of instabilities for various loading conditions.
Clinical utility of positron emission tomography with 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose in detecting residual/recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck.

PURPOSE: The use of positron emission tomography with 18 F-fluorodeoxyglucose (FDGPET) to detect residual/recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck has been tested only in small groups of patients. Our purpose, therefore, was to evaluate the ability of this technique to detect the presence of tumor at both primary and nodal sites in a large cohort of patients. METHODS: All patients referred for PET scanning over a 2.5-year period with a question of residual or recurrent squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck were identified. Thirty-five of 44 patients had sufficient follow-up to be meaningful to our analysis (range, 6 ‐33 months). PET scans were interpreted visually with knowledge of the clinical history and correlative anatomic imaging findings. Detection of disease involving primary and nodal sites was assessed independently. Additionally, because each patient had been referred in an attempt to resolve a specific clinical problem, the usefulness of PET in accurately addressing these questions was assessed. RESULTS: At the primary site, sensitivity and specificity for residual/recurrent disease were 100% and 64%, respectively; for nodal disease, sensitivity and specificity were 93% and 77%, respectively. In helping to resolve the clinical question being asked, the positive predictive value of the test result was 65% and the negative predictive value was 91%. CONCLUSION: The high sensitivity and negative predictive value of PET scanning in our cohort of patients suggest an important role for this technique in the care of patients with suspected residual/recurrent head and neck carcinoma. The lower figures obtained for specificity and positive predictive value reflect the fact that increased FDG uptake may be due to either tumor or inflammation.
Detecting Coarticulation in Sign Language using Conditional Random Fields

Coarticulation is one of the important factors that makes automatic sign language recognition a hard problem. Unlike in speech recognition, coarticulation effects in sign languages are over longer durations and simultaneously impact different aspects of the sign such as the hand shape, position, and movement. Due to this effect, the appearance of a sign, especially at the beginning and at the end, can be significantly different under different sentence contexts, which makes the recognition of signs in sentences hard. We advocate a two-step approach, where in the first step one segments the individual signs in a sentence and in the next step one recognizes the signs. In this work, we show how the first step, i.e. sign segmentation, can be performed effectively by using the conditional random fields (CRF) to directly detect the coarticulation points. The CRF approach does not make conditional independence assumptions about the observations and can be trained with fewer samples than Hidden Markov Models (HMMs). We validate our approach by demonstrating performance with American Sign Language (ASL) sentence level data and show that the CRF approach is 85% accurate in segmenting signs compared to 60% for the HMM approach at 0.1 false alarm rate.
Challenges for quantum computing with solid-state devices

Quantum computing has attracted considerable interest in the past decade as a possible way to deal with certain intractable problems of conventional digital computing. Quantum computers built using the versatile methods of solid-state technology are attractive because the many thousands of devices needed for such a computer could be fabricated with well-established technologies. However, the imperfections of solid-state devices constructed in laboratories and factories will limit the use of solid-state devices in quantum computing. The challenge for solid-state quantum computing is to find a. way to use devices without precise knowledge of their physical characteristics.
Cutting propagation of foliage crops using a foliar application of auxin

Abstract Rooting and initial shoot growth was evaluated on stem cuttings of four tropical ornamentals receiving no auxin treatment, a basal quick-dip in auxin (4920 μM IBA + 2685 μM NAA) prior to insertion into the rooting substrate, or a spray-to-drip foliar application of auxin (ranging from 4.9 μM IBA + 2.7 μM NAA to 492 μM IBA + 269 μM NAA) after insertion into the rooting substrate. Terminal cuttings of Aglaonema modestum Schott ex Engler treated with the basal quick-dip produced 9.5 roots per cutting and total root length of 386 mm, while untreated cuttings produced 6.1 roots per cutting and total root length of 270 mm; auxin spray treatments gave intermediate results. Two-node cuttings of Gardenia augusta (L.) Merrill ‘Radicans’ (Gardenia jasminoides Ellis ‘Radicans’) treated with the basal quick-dip produced 9.1 roots per cutting and total root length of 311 mm, untreated and sprayed cuttings produced similar or lesser results (as low as 5.2 roots per cutting and total root length of 66 mm for untreated cuttings). Total root length on terminal cuttings of Ficus benjamina L. was 332 mm when untreated, 400 mm when treated with a basal quick-dip, and 280–355 mm when sprayed with auxin at rates of 49.2 μM IBA + 26.9 μM NAA or higher; auxin sprays at lower rates produced lesser total root length (189–218 mm) than the basal quick-dip. Medial cuttings of Hedera helix L. ‘Ivalace’ treated with the basal quick-dip produced 8.3 roots per cutting and total root length of 257 mm; untreated cuttings and sprayed cuttings produced similar results. Subsequent shoot or foliage development on cuttings of all species receiving the spray treatments was similar in most cases to cuttings receiving no auxin treatment or a basal quick-dip treatment.
Nebulized bronchodilator formulations: unit-dose or multi-dose?

BACKGROUND: Nosocomial infections linked to the use of multi-dose bronchodilator nebulizer formulations have been reported in the literature. OBJECTIVE: Survey American hospital respiratory therapy services to determine practice patterns, opinions, and awareness regarding unit-dose and multi-dose bronchodilator formulations. METHODS: A quota sample targeted 4 hospital size categories (0-100 beds, 101-200 beds, 201-400 beds, and > 400 beds) using a listing of general medical/surgical hospitals from the American Hospital Association. Hospitals were contacted via telephone to identify the director of respiratory therapy services, who was invited to complete a 29-item Web-based survey of their hospital practices and their opinions about and knowledge of issues with multi-dose and unit-dose bronchodilator formulations. RESULTS: One thousand forty-seven hospitals were recruited and 409 valid surveys were completed (completion rate 39%). The reported mean ± SD percentage of unit-dose nebulizer treatments was 80.2 ± 26.2%. Seventy-two percent (296) of respondents indicated having a policy and procedure manual that deals specifically with nebulized bronchodilator solutions, but only 107 reported having internal monitoring guidelines for compliance with those policies and procedures. Multi-dose bottles of bronchodilator concentrate were used with multiple patients in 77% of cases, and on average 9.7 ± 8.5 patients were treated with the same multi-dose bottle. Eighty-one percent of respondents reported that treatments from multi-dose bottles are prepared at the bedside. The length of time a multi-dose bottle was kept (after being opened) ranged from 24 hours (8%) to 1 month (11%), and only 3% of respondents reported following manufacturers9 recommendations. In the respondents9 opinion the chief advantage of multi-dose was cost per dose (84%), and the chief advantage of unit-dose was less risk of contamination (92%). With other factors (therapist time, cost of saline diluent for multi-dose concentrate, dose-error, and contamination) considered, 73% thought that unit-dose vials were more cost-effective. Three hundred thirty-six respondents (82%) thought that a sterile, low-volume (0.5 mL) unit-dose vial of bronchodilator concentrate would be useful, and 249 (74%) of those 336 respondents indicated that such a formulation would replace multi-dose bottles. Only 56% of respondents knew about the evidence regarding the risk of contamination with multi-dose bottles. CONCLUSIONS: Multi-dose bottles of bronchodilator solution are used in approximately 20% of nebulizer treatments, and without strict adherence to infection control procedures they are a potential source of nosocomial infection. A sterile, low-volume unit-dose vial of bronchodilator concentrate would be a useful alternative to multi-dose concentrate for modifying doses or mixing drugs in nebulizer therapy.
Bitmask-Based Code Compression for Embedded Systems

Embedded systems are constrained by the available memory. Code-compression techniques address this issue by reducing the code size of application programs. It is a major challenge to develop an efficient code-compression technique that can generate substantial reduction in code size without affecting the overall system performance. We present a novel code-compression technique using bitmasks, which significantly improves the compression efficiency without introducing any decompression penalty. This paper makes three important contributions. 1) It develops an efficient bitmask-selection technique that can create a large set of matching patterns. 2) It develops an efficient dictionary-selection technique based on bitmasks. 3) It proposes a dictionary-based code-compression algorithm using the bitmask- and dictionary-selection techniques that can significantly reduce the memory requirement. To demonstrate the usefulness of our approach, we have performed code compression using applications from various domains and compiled for a wide variety of architectures. Our approach outperforms the existing dictionary-based techniques by an average of 20%, giving a compression ratio of 55%-65%.
Association of Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease Maintenance Medication Adherence With All-Cause Hospitalization and Spending in a Medicare Population

Abstract Background Although maintenance medications are a cornerstone of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) management, adherence remains suboptimal. Poor medication adherence is implicated in poor outcomes with other chronic conditions; however, little is understood regarding links between adherence and outcomes in COPD patients. Objective This study investigates the association of COPD maintenance medication adherence with hospitalization and health care spending. Methods Using the 2006 to 2007 Chronic Condition Warehouse administrative data, this retrospective cross-sectional study included 33,816 Medicare beneficiaries diagnosed with COPD who received at least 2 prescriptions for ≥1 COPD maintenance medications. After a 6-month baseline period (January 1, 2006 to June 30, 2006), beneficiaries were followed through to December 31, 2007 or death. Two medication adherence measures were assessed: medication continuity and proportion of days covered (PDC). PDC values ranged from 0 to 1 and were calculated as the number of days with any COPD maintenance medication divided by duration of therapy with these agents. The association of adherence with all-cause hospital events and Medicare spending were estimated using negative binomial and γ generalized linear models, respectively, adjusting for sociodemographics, Social Security disability insurance status, low-income subsidy status, comorbidities, and proxy measures of disease severity. Results Improved adherence using both measures was significantly associated with reduced rate of all-cause hospitalization and lower Medicare spending. Patients who continued with their medications had lower hospitalization rates (relative rate [RR] = 0.88) and lower Medicare spending (–$3764), compared with patients who discontinued medications. Similarly, patients with PDC ≥0.80 exhibited lower hospitalization rates (RR = 0.90) and decreased spending (–$2185), compared with patients with PDC Conclusions COPD patients with higher adherence to prescribed regimens experienced fewer hospitalizations and lower Medicare costs than those who exhibited lower adherence behaviors. Findings suggested the clinical and economic importance of medication adherence in the management of COPD patients in the Medicare population.