cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemical engineering for a solar economy (2017 P. V. Danckwerts Lecture)

Abstract Chemical engineering evolved in the twentieth century with rise in the use of fossil resources and the myriad of products derived from them. Those products required great innovations and had a huge impact on the human race. Going forward as we transition from fossil resources to renewable resources such as solar energy, we again have unprecedented opportunities for innovation that would not only make great impact but redefine chemical engineering. My Danckwerts lecture focused on my own experiences with challenges and opportunities presented to us as chemical engineers in the emerging solar economy. In particular, the importance of careful energy systems engineering for identifying optimal solutions that seeks synergy between different applications of solar energy is emphasized. The need to acquire and use knowledge beyond our traditional chemical engineering discipline to create new solutions is also discussed.
Computer-Aided Procedure for Analysis of Effect of Gradation and Compaction Temperature in Asphalt Mix Design by Using DEM

AbstractThe procedure for asphalt mixture design includes determining grading, asphalt content, other volume properties, mechanical performance assessment, and moisture damage potential. This paper...
Reuterin disrupts Clostridioides difficile metabolism and pathogenicity through reactive oxygen species generation

Antibiotic resistance is one of the world's greatest public health challenges and adjunct probiotic therapies are strategies that could lessen this burden. Clostridioides difficile infection (CDI) is a prime example where adjunct probiotic therapies could decrease disease incidence through prevention. Human-derived Lactobacillus reuteri is a probiotic that produces the antimicrobial compound reuterin known to prevent C. difficile colonization of antibiotic-treated fecal microbial communities. However, the mechanism of inhibition is unclear. We show that reuterin inhibits C. difficile outgrowth from spores and vegetative cell growth, however, no effect on C. difficile germination or sporulation was observed. Consistent with published studies, we found that exposure to reuterin stimulated reactive oxygen species (ROS) in C. difficile, resulting in a concentration-dependent reduction in cell viability that was rescued by the antioxidant glutathione. Sublethal concentrations of reuterin enhanced the susceptibility of vegetative C. difficile to vancomycin and metronidazole treatment and reduced toxin synthesis by C. difficile. We also demonstrate that reuterin is protective against C. difficile toxin-mediated cellular damage in the human intestinal enteroid model. Overall, our results indicate that ROS are essential mediators of reuterin activity and show that reuterin production by L. reuteri is compatible as a therapeutic in a clinically relevant model.
Resolvability in E γ with applications to lossy compression and wiretap channels

We study the amount of randomness needed for an input process to approximate a given output distribution of a channel in the E γ distance. A general one-shot achievability bound for the precision of such an approximation is developed. In the i.i.d. setting where γ = exp(nE), a (nonnegative) randomness rate above inf Q U:D(Qx∥πx)≤E {D(QX∥πX) + (Q X|U ) − E} is necessary and sufficient to asymptotically approximate the output distribution π X ⨂n using the channel Q X ⨂n, where Q U → Q X|U →Q X . The new resolvability result is then used to derive a oneshot upper bound on the error probability in the rate distortion problem; and a lower bound on the size of the eavesdropper list to include the actual message in the wiretap channel problem. Both bounds are asymptotically tight in i.i.d. settings.
Prehabilitation for Hepatopancreatobiliary Surgical Patients: Interim Analysis Demonstrates a Protective Effect From Neoadjuvant Chemotherapy and Improvement in the Frailty Phenotype.

Background: Prehabilitation encompasses multidisciplinary interventions to improve health and lessen incidence of surgical deterioration by reducing physiologic stress and functional decline. This ...
Changing epidemiology, implications, and recommendations for Hepatitis C in Women of Childbearing Age and During Pregnancy.

Summary Despite the remarkable advances in HCV treatment brought about by the advent of direct-acting antivirals, HCV remains a global public health concern. One particular concern relates to the rising prevalence of HCV in women of childbearing age. Active HCV during pregnancy is associated with cholestasis of pregnancy as well as the risk of mother-to-child transmission. Guidelines are increasingly recommending universal screening during pregnancy, while the treatment of HCV during pregnancy is an area of ongoing research.
Endovascular Repair of Splenic Vein Aneurysm with Balloon Expandable Stent Placement

Given the rarity of splenic vein aneurysms, it is no surprise that there are little data to help guide clinicians regarding indications and techniques for repair. Traditionally associated with hepatobiliary pathology including portal hypertension and pancreatitis, management typically involved open splenectomy. We describe the case of a patient with an incidentally found enlarging splenic vein aneurysm in the absence of significant past medical history. The patient underwent successful repair of the aneurysm utilizing a transhepatic endovascular approach with a balloon expandable stent. We offer this as minimally invasive solution allowing splenic salvage.
Spatially explicit depiction of a floral epiphytic bacterial community reveals role for environmental filtering within petals

The microbiome of flowers (anthosphere) is an understudied compartment of the plant microbiome. Within the flower, petals represent a heterogeneous environment for microbes in terms of resources and environmental stress. Yet, little is known of drivers of structure and function of the epiphytic microbial community at the within-petal scale. We characterized the petal microbiome in two co-flowering plants that differ in the pattern of ultraviolet (UV) absorption along their petals. Bacterial communities were similar between plant hosts, with only rare phylogenetically distant species contributing to differences. The epiphyte community was highly culturable (75% of families) lending confidence in the spatially explicit isolation and characterization of bacteria. In one host, petals were heterogeneous in UV absorption along their length, and in these, there was a negative relationship between growth rate and position on the petal, as well as lower UV tolerance in strains isolated from the UV-absorbing base than from UV reflecting tip. A similar pattern was not seen in microbes isolated from a second host whose petals had uniform patterning along their length. Across strains, the variation in carbon usage and chemical tolerance followed common phylogenetic patterns. This work highlights the value of petals for spatially explicit explorations of bacteria of the anthosphere.
Policing the Emergency Room

The problems of policing extend beyond the street and into areas of our lives that are often hidden from view. This Article focuses on how policing affects people in one such place where they are particularly vulnerable: the emergency room. It explores how the courts’ interpretation of the Fourth and Fifth Amendments has resulted in the criminalization of the emergency room. The ER is where people go when they are vulnerable and injured. ERs play a crucial “safety-net” function for those who do not have access to other types of medical care. Yet courts have interpreted the ER as an extension of the public street, generally permitting the police to engage in highly intrusive searches and questioning there. The doctrine cannot account for the unique characteristics of the ER and the medical vulnerability of patients. Further, police investigations in the ER are enhanced by the participation of medical professionals who have existing professional norms as well as their own history and current evidence of bias and discrimination. Finally, the courts’ treatment of the ER as an extension of the street raises the same concerns of racialized street policing because of the convergence of police and marginalized groups in safety-net emergency rooms. The presence of police in the ER has a particularly pernicious effect in emergency rooms that have large percentages of racial minority and poor patients. Especially in these ERs, the doctrine’s blind eye to medical vulnerability also renders invisible the race and class dynamics undergirding policing and access to healthcare. I conclude by suggesting that the reasonable expectation of privacy standard should incorporate considerations of medical vulnerability and medical privacy. Further, as we question the harm or necessity of police presence in communities, we should conceptualize ERs as patient sanctuaries to achieve a better balance between the rights of vulnerable patients and public safety.
Becoming Autonomous: Nonideal Theory and Educational Autonomy

Autonomy operates as a key term in debates about the rights of families to choose distinct approaches to education. Yet, what autonomy means is often complicated by the actual circumstances and contexts of schools, families, and children. In this essay, Terri S. Wilson and Matthew A. Ryg focus on the challenges involved in translating an ideal of educational autonomy into the “nonideal” contexts and circumstances that surround families' choices. Drawing on the methodological insights of Elizabeth Anderson and John Dewey, they sketch out a nonideal approach for exploring autonomy. Wilson and Ryg particularly focus on Dewey's notion of an ideal, his treatment of autonomy as a concept, and his view of the self. Such a nonideal approach draws attention toward the specific circumstances, habits, and environments that make autonomy possible. Wilson and Ryg illustrate the salience of this nonideal approach by exploring one example of an empirically engaged study of autonomy.
Mechanism of resistance of variants of the lewis lung carcinoma to n-(phosphonacetyl)-l-aspartic acid

Variants of the Lewis lung carcinoma were selected for resistance to N-(phosphonacetyl)-L-aspartic acid (PALA) by treatment of tumor-bearing mice with repetitive subcurative doses of PALA. The specific activity of the target enzyme, L-aspartic acid transcarbamylase (ATCase), was measured in the four variants developed. Three had markedly elevated ATCase activities; however, the fourth line, LL/PALA-C, had an ATCase activity identical to that of the parent, PALA-sensitive line (LL/O). One high-ATCase variant, LL/PALA-J, and LL/PALA-C were compared with LL/O in subsequent biochemical studies on the mechanism of resistance to PALA. Enzyme activities in the salvage pathways which phosphorylate pyrimidine nucleosides and deoxynucleosides were found to be similar in all three lines. ATCase in these lines exhibits closely comparable kinetics with its natural substrates as well as with PALA. The time courses of restitution of ATCase after a single therapeutic dose of PALA show that both resistant variants recover full activity more rapidly than the parent. Additionally, inhibition of ATCase 24 hr following graded doses of PALA is lower in the resistant lines. The uptake of [14C]PALA in vitro into cell lines derived from the three Lewis lung carcinomas apparently occurs by passive diffusion and at comparable rates in both sensitive and resistant cells. Analysis of the nucleotide content of tumors reveals comparable spectrums of purine and pyrimidine nucleotide levels in the LL/O and LL/PALA-C lines, whereas the LL/PALA-J line has augmented nucleotide pools. In all three lines, 24 hr after treatment with PALA (400 mg/kg), uridine and cytidine nucleotide levels were substantially diminished (70 to 80%) while adenosine 5'-triphosphate and guanosine 5'-triphosphate levels were elevated (50 to 100%). Estimations of precursor flux through the de novo pyrimidine pathway by measuring orotate and orotidine levels in tumors of mice treated with pyrazofurin (an inhibitor of orotidine-5'-monophosphate decarboxylase) and either 0.9% NaCl solution or PALA shows that PALA treatment eliminates orotate and orotidine accumulation in LL/O but reduces it by only 75 and 50% in LL/PALA-C and LL/PALA-J, respectively. Similarly, PALA treatment (20 microM) of tumor lines in culture provokes a dramatic decrease in the incorporation of NaH14CO3 into pyrimidine intermediates and nucleotides in the LL/O cell line only. Determinations of specific activities of the other enzymes in this pathway reveal that the activity of carbamyl phosphate synthetase II, the rate-limiting step, is elevated 2- to 3-fold in both resistant lines. Since carbamyl phosphate synthetase II exists as a complex with ATCase, the suggestion is made that levels of carbamyl phosphate synthetase II are collaterally important determinants of PALA activity. An augmented pool of carbamyl phosphate in the resistant variants may serve to competitively displace PALA from ATCase, diminish enzyme inhibition, and allow pyrimidine biosynthesis to proceed despite therapy.
Provision of contraceptive and related services by publicly funded family planning clinics, 2003.

In addition to contraceptive services publicly funded family planning clinics provide low-income women with a range of reproductive diagnostic treatment and educational services. Nationally representative information about the scope of services available from clinics is needed to formulate policy and programmatic recommendations. In 2003 more than 1000 U.S. clinics responded to an eight-page survey on service availability and clinic policies. Differences in the proportions of clinics reporting each service or policy were examined by clinic type and receipt of Title X funding. Nearly all clinics offer pills injectables and condoms; 75% offer the patch; and 80% offer emergency contraception. Most clinics (73%) typically use a conventional Pap smear for initial cervical cancer screenings; 27% use liquid-based Pap tests. For follow-up 68% of clinics use liquid-based or other advanced testing. Virtually all clinics screen at least some clients for chlamydia; Planned Parenthood and Title X--funded clinics more than others tend to focus screening efforts on sexually active women aged 25 and younger. Single-dose treatments are provided by 58% of clinics. Nine in 10 clinics offer HIV testing on-site most of them to any client who requests it. Services targeted to specific populations include counseling about abstinence for minors (91%); non--reproductive health services for men (36%); and availability of staff such as translators (81%) and bilingual administrative (59%) or clinical personnel (57%) for non-English-speaking clients. More public funding is imperative for clinics to keep up with the demands of new technologies and a diverse client base. (authors)
Optimization of Casting Parameters on an Improved AA6061 Aluminum Alloy for Semi-Solid Die Casting

A study was conducted to assess the performance and cas tability of a new AA6061 aluminum alloy variant specially designed for semi-solid pressure die casting. The AA6061 alloy has very desirable mechanical properties for the fabrication of auto motive parts. However, it has limited castability due to its low silicon content. It is not well suited for sh ape casting processes which are, for thei r part, very interesting in terms of production costs for complex-shaped automotive components. In an effort to meet automotive industry requirements, new AA6061 alloy variants have been developed by Rio Tinto Alcan researchers over the past years, aiming to improve the castabili ty of the alloy while maintaining its desirable mechanical properties, by increasing its die-filling capaci ty, decreasing its hot teari ng tendency. The study described herein is an example of how the performance of a single variant was assessed in terms of castability. Th e full study was conducted on six separate variants. A part simula ting a car suspension arm was die-cast fo r this study. Tests were carried out by varying the casting parameters of the die-casting press and by optimizing parameters of the semi-solid slurry production. In all, nine parameters were involved in the study. Th e study was based on a new design of experiment method that builds on past experience: E.M. Method * . Work performed in this study allowed unbiased comparisons of the filling capacity and hot-t earing tendency of several AA6061 alloy variants. The optimum operational parameters for a variant of alloy AA6061 were defined after a relatively low number of tests, a cost- and time-saving approach sin ce the study had to be repeated six times.
Musculoskeletal pain in resident orthopaedic surgeons: results of a novel survey.

Background The physical demands and high rates of musculoskeletal injury among practicing orthopaedic surgeons have been previously recognized in the literature. However, there is a paucity of data regarding musculoskeletal symptoms among resident orthopaedic surgeons. We sought to answer the following questions: (1) are there significant levels of musculoskeletal symptoms among resident orthopaedic surgeons?; (2) do residents attribute these symptoms to their work as surgeons?; and (3) is our survey instrument reliable enough for use in future investigations? Methods We developed an online, cross-sectional survey based on the previously validated Nordic Musculoskeletal Questionnaire and distributed it to 39 resident orthopaedic surgeons at our institution in 2011, with 82% responding. Fifteen participants repeated the survey to assess agreement and reliability between repeated administrations of the survey. Results Significant levels of musculoskeletal symptoms were found in the resident surgeons, with the most common self-reported symptoms reported in the neck (59%), lower back (55%), upper back (35%), and shoulders (34%). Large proportions of these symptoms were self-reportedly attributed to the residents' work as a surgeon. Intrarater reliability revealed moderate to almost perfect agreement in nearly all repeated survey items. Conclusions Given that there are similar rates of musculoskeletal symptoms among our resident orthopedists and practicing orthopedists, more attention needs to be paid to the ergonomic and physical environments in which we are training the next generation of surgeons, especially when considering the extensive societal investment in training for these specialists.
Design of, and enrollment in, the palliative care communication research initiative: a direct-observation cohort study

Understanding the characteristics of communication that foster patient-centered outcomes amid serious illness are essential for the science of palliative care. However, epidemiological cohort studies that directly observe clinical conversations can be challenging to conduct in the natural setting. We describe the successful enrollment, observation and data collection methods of the ongoing Palliative Care Communication Research Initiative (PCCRI). The PCCRI is a multi-site cohort study of naturally occurring inpatient palliative care consultations. The 6-month cohort data includes directly observed and audio-recorded palliative care consultations (up to first 3 visits); patient/proxy/clinician self-report questionnaires both before and the day after consultation; post-consultation in-depth interviews; and medical/administrative records. One hundred fourteen patients or their proxies enrolled in PCCRI during Enrollment Year One (of Three). Seventy percent of eligible patients/proxies were invited to hear about a communication research study (188/269); 60 % of them ultimately enrolled in the PCCRI (114/188), resulting in a 42 % sampling proportion (114/269 eligible). All PC clinicians at study sites were invited to participate; all 45 participated. Epidemiologic study of patient-family-clinician communication in palliative care settings is feasible and acceptable to patients, proxies and clinicians. We detail the successful PCCRI methods for enrollment, direct observation and data collection for this complex “field” environment.
Proximal Fractures of the Fifth Metacarpal: A Retrospective Analysis of 25 Operated Cases

The clinical and radiological outcomes of 25 surgically treated fractures of the proximal third of the fifth metacarpal were retrospectively analysed. Many different methods of osteosynthesis were used. At follow-up after a mean of 3.3 years, 15 of 25 patients had no pain. Most patients regained a nearly full range of motion in the adjacent joints and more than 90% of the contralateral grip strength. X-ray signs of degenerative arthritis in the metacarpohamate joint were observed in 10 of 25 patients. Pain was found to be directly correlated with the presence of degenerative changes.
Screening in hot QCD

Abstract Recent lattice calculations of static hadronic screening lengths and the quark number susceptibility are interpreted in terms of a simple constituent quark model.
A band model formulation for very nonuniform paths

Anomalous behavior has been observed when molecular band-models incorporating the Curtis-Godson or similar approximations are applied to problems characterized by a large variation in temperature along the optical path. The nature of this misbehavior has been examined and a procedure has been developed for its suppression by the introduction of a less restrictive assumption in the derivation of the band model from the basic equation of transfer.
An acoustics education outreach program for young children

With limited time for science in the preschool and primary classroom, and limited science education of many preschool and primary school educators, the need for science professionals to engage in outreach education is ever increasing. Additionally, there is an increasing need for children to be aware of the problems of noise exposure, especially with regard personal sound systems. In this talk, a one‐hour acoustics education outreach program developed for preschool and early primary school children is presented. In the program, children are involved in a discussion of the human auditory system and the dangers of noise exposure, engage in listening exercises using a keyboard synthesizer, construct a small musical instrument, and finally play the musical instrument with the rest of the class in a marching band.
Content Sharing Graphs for Deduplication-Enabled Storage Systems

Deduplication in storage systems has gained momentum recently for its capability in reducing data footprint. However, deduplication introduces challenges to storage management as storage objects (e.g., files) are no longer independent from each other due to content sharing between these storage objects. In this paper, we present a graph-based framework to address the challenges of storage management due to deduplication. Specifically, we model content sharing among storage objects by content sharing graphs (CSG), and apply graph-based algorithms to two real-world storage management use cases for deduplication-enabled storage systems. First, a quasi-linear algorithm was developed to partition deduplication domains with a minimal amount of deduplication loss (i.e., data replicated across partitioned domains) in commercial deduplication-enabled storage systems, whereas in general the partitioning problem is NP-complete. For a real-world trace of 3 TB data with 978 GB of removable duplicates, the proposed algorithm can partition the data into 15 balanced partitions with only 54 GB of deduplication loss, that is, a 5% deduplication loss. Second, a quick and accurate method to query the deduplicated size for a subset of objects in deduplicated storage systems was developed. For the same trace of 3 TB data, the optimized graph-based algorithm can complete the query in 2.6 s, which is less than 1% of that of the traditional algorithm based on the deduplication metadata.
Job scope relationships: A three‐wave longitudinal analysis

Managers, as well as researchers, have been concerned with the effects of task design upon employee satisfaction for several reasons. First, there has been the concern that poorly-designed tasks may result in job dissatisfaction, which in turn, may adversely affect productivity. While this concern has been weakly supported at best in the literature, dissatisfaction may lead to other dysfunctional behaviour, such as increased grievances or lower quality of work. A majority of past research on job enrichment and job characteristics has tended to be focused upon blue-collar workers. This has been due, in part, to the assumption that the routine industrial task, such as an assembly line job, results in boredom and job dissatisfaction. Alternatively, it has not been demonstrated in the literature that white-collar and/or management positions necessarily result in higher levels of job satisfaction. Hence, the effects of task design upon employee satisfaction is a research issue of importance to managers in all types of organizations and at all levels within a given organization. This research focused on longitudinal relationships between job scope and satisfaction and performance. Recent years have seen an increasing volume of cross-sectional research which suggests that jobs with increased scope are associated with higher levels of satisfaction with the work itself. This result has been found across a wide variety of samples and research instruments for the different job characteristic dimensions (Brief and Aldag, 1975; Champoux, 1975; Hackman and Lawler, 1971; Hackman and Oldham, 1975; Rousseau, 1977; Sims and Szilagyi, 1976) as well as for various measures of job scope (Champoux, 1975; Hackman and Lawler, 1971; Hackman and Oldham, 1975; Oldham, Hackman, and Pearce, 1976; Stone, 1975, 1976; Stone, Mowday, and Porter, 1977). In some of these studies, lower but statistically significant relationships between job characteristic dimensions or job scope and contextual satisfaction (e.g., pay, security, promotion, co-workers, etc.) have also been reported (Brief and Aldag, 1975; Champoux, 1975; Hackman and Lawler,
Effect of Pd doping on the microstructure and gas-sensing performance of nanoporous SnOx thin films

Abstract Pristine and Pd-doped nanoporous SnOx thin films were fabricated via a sol–gel route. The Pd-doped film exhibited enhanced H2 gas-sensing performance, in terms of higher sensitivity and shorter response time. Structural characterization was performed to investigate the effect of Pd doping on the microstructure evolution of the films. The grain and pore size of Pd-doped film, as measured using transmission electron microscopy and grazing-incidence small-angle X-ray scattering (GISAXS), are both smaller than those of undoped film. In particular, the pore size evolution of the films during annealing was quantitatively monitored in situ using synchrotron-based GISAXS. Knudsen gas diffusion and depletion layer models were employed to evaluate the microstructure influence on the gas sensitivity semi-quantitatively. The results suggest that the microstructure of the Pd-doped film is critical for improving the gas sensitivity but cannot account for the total sensitivity enhancement, implying other mechanisms could play a more important role.
The effect of powder preparation processes on the luminescent properties of yttrium oxide based phosphor materials

Eu and Tb3+ doped Y2O3, Y2SiO5 and Y3Al5O12(YAG) phosphor materials were prepared by different routes to investigate their effect on luminescent characteristics in micron and submicron particle size powders. Both amorphous low temperature co-precipitate reacted and crystalline high temperature solid state reacted (reference) powders were further crystallized in steam(S) and fluoriferous steam (SF) atmospheres at 1000\ghC for 8 hours, respectively. In spite of sharp XRD peaks in S, SF treated samples, all SEM images exhibited “soft” aggregates of about 3 μm in average diameter consisting of 0.2–0.3 μm small particles. The powder samples characterized by XRD, SEM and luminescence spectra indicated that low temperature reacted samples which were further crystallized in steam or fluoriferous steam have greater improvements in the luminescent intensity than solid state reacted Y2O3, Y2SiO5 based phosphors after S, SF treatments.
Balanced levels of Espin are critical for stereociliary growth and length maintenance.

Hearing and balance depend on microvilli-like actin-based projections of sensory hair cells called stereocilia. Their sensitivity to mechanical displacements on the nanometer scale requires a highly organized hair bundle in which the physical dimension of each stereocilium is tightly controlled. The length and diameter of each stereocilium are established during hair bundle maturation and maintained by life-long continuing dynamic regulation. Here, we studied the role of the actin-bundling protein Espin in stereociliary growth by examining the hair cell stereocilia of Espin-deficient jerker mice (Espnje), and the effects of transiently overexpressing Espin in the neuroepithelial cells of the organ of Corti cultures. Using fluorescence scanning confocal and electron microscopy, we found that a lack of Espin results in inhibition of stereociliary growth followed by progressive degeneration of the hair bundle. In contrast, overexpression of Espin induced lengthening of stereocilia and microvilli that mirrored the elongation of the actin filament bundle at their core. Interestingly, Espin deficiency also appeared to influence the localization of Myosin XVa, an unconventional myosin that is normally present at the stereocilia tip at levels proportional to stereocilia length. These results indicate that Espin is important for the growth and maintenance of the actin-based protrusions of inner ear neuroepithelial cells. Cell Motil. Cytoskeleton 62:157–165, 2005. Published 2005 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Vulgar Music and Technology

Rock music, rap, and heavy metal are all forms of vulgar music. Vulgarity refers to actions and communication that are “common, noisy, and gross,” and are “untranscendent.” A technological society is a vulgar society in its base of materialism and exclusive concern with power. Its excessive rationality produces a need for escape, for ecstasy, for the release of instinctual power. Vulgar music mimics a technological society and provides compensation for its repressive impact.
On the average speed of Lemke's algorithm for quadratic programming

In this paper, we show that the average number of steps of the Lemke algorithm for the quadratic programming problems grows at most linearly in the number of variables while fixing the number of constraints. The result and method were motivated by Smale's result on linear programming problems [cf. 4]. We also give the probability that a quadratic programming problem indeed possesses a finite optimal solution.
A quantification of machine dexterity applied to assembly task

This article reviews the need for a quantitative measure of dexterity and considers intuitive notions of dexterity based on the scaling laws of biological systems. Task/manipulator interactions are quantified in the human perspective, and machine dexterity is shown to have parallel measures and limitations. A nondimensional definition of dexterity is pro posed based on the information content of task/effector inter actions. It is shown to provide a quantitative measure be tween different robotic systems that have varying degrees of dexterity and interactions between a specific assembly task being performed. Values for the index of difficulty are shown to vary in the work space, and the loci of maximum dexterity that indicate the most favorable task/effector arrangements are determined. The notion of a set of principal axes of dex terity is defined and located in the task/manipulator work space. The peg-in-hole task is used as an example application of this approach.
Modulations of Deep Water Waves and Spectral Filtering

Modulations of deep water waves are studied by a new formalism of spectral filtering. For single-mode dynamics, spectral filtering results in computable equations, which are counterpart to the nonlinear Schrodinger (NLS) equations. An essential feature of new equations is that bandwidth limitation is decoupled from small-amplitude assumption. The filtered equations have a substantially broader range of validity than the NLS equations, and may be viewed as intermediate between the NLS and Zakharov equations. The new single-mode equations reproduce exactly the conditions for nonlinear four-wave resonance (“figure 8” of Phillips [1]) even for bandwidths greater than unity. Sideband instability for uniform Stokes waves is limited to finite bandwidths only, and agrees well with exact results of McLean [2].
Library Associations in West Africa and the concept of a profession

(1976). Library Associations in West Africa and the concept of a profession. International Library Review: Vol. 8, No. 1, pp. 23-31.
A rapid method for the preparation of blastomyces dermatitidis conidia

Abstract Blastomyces dermatitidis is a dimorphic fungus existing in nature in a mycelial form and in tissues in the pathogenic yeast form. Since there is currently no simple reliable method for the isolation and purification of conidia from B. dermatitidis , investigations with this organism have focused on the yeast form. The work reported in this paper describes a simple, rapid procedure for obtaining large numbers of conidia, based on harvesting conidia from mycelea grown on agar and passing the resulting suspension through a gauze column. Yields of conidia are typically greater than 10 6 per 25 cm 2 tissue culture flask and consist of approximately 90% conidia. This method should prove useful in encouraging investigations using B. dermatitidis conidia.
Existence results for optimal stochastic controls

The paper treats the problem of existence of optimal controls for a large class of delay-differential Ito equations, where the control is a nonanticipative measurable function of the trajectory (the case of complete information). The technique, which seems simpler than past approaches to the problem, requires the use of results on weak convergence of measures, and gives fairly general results. Control can be either over a fixed-time interval, or it can terminate when a target set is reached, and there can be additional (almost everywhere continuous) side constraints.
The United States Revised Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (2006): New challenges to balancing patient rights and physician responsibilities

Advance health care directives and informed consent remain the cornerstones of patients' right to self-determination regarding medical care and preferences at the end-of-life. However, the effectiveness and clinical applicability of advance health care directives to decision-making on the use of life support systems at the end-of-life is questionable. The Uniform Anatomical Gift Act (UAGA) has been revised in 2006 to permit the use of life support systems at or near death for the purpose of maximizing procurement opportunities of organs medically suitable for transplantation. Some states have enacted the Revised UAGA (2006) and a few of those have included amendments while attempting to preserve the uniformity of the revised Act. Other states have introduced the Revised UAGA (2006) for legislation and remaining states are likely to follow soon. The Revised UAGA (2006) poses challenges to the Patient Self Determination Act (PSDA) embodied in advance health care directives and individual expression about the use of life support systems at the end-of-life. The challenges are predicated on the UAGA revising the default choice to presumption of donation intent and the use of life support systems to ensure medical suitability of organs for transplantation. The default choice trumps the expressed intent in an individual's advance health care directive to withhold and/or withdraw life support systems at the end-of-life. The Revised UAGA (2006) overrides advance directives on utilitarian grounds, which is a serious ethical challenge to society. The subtle progression of the Revised UAGA (2006) towards the presumption about how to dispose of one's organs at death can pave the way for an affirmative "duty to donate". There are at least two steps required to resolve these challenges. First, physicians and hospitals must fulfill their responsibilities to educate patients on the new legislations and document their preferences about the use of life support systems for organ donation at the end-of-life. Second, a broad based societal discussion must be initiated to decide if the Revised UAGA (2006) infringes on the PSDA and the individual's right of autonomy. The discussion should also address other ethical concerns raised by the Revised UAGA (2006), including the moral stance on 1) the interpretation of the refusal of life support systems as not applicable to organ donation and 2) the disregarding of the diversity of cultural beliefs about end-of-life in a pluralistic society.
Organic acids in ethylene glycol intoxication.

Excerpt To the editor: Gabow and coworkers (1), in their recent article, identify glycolate and lactate as the predominant acids causing the metabolic acidosis of ethylene glycol poisoning. They al...
The asymmetric random cluster model and comparison of Ising and Potts models

We introduce the asymmetric random cluster (or ARC) model, which is a graphical representation of the Potts lattice gas, and establish its basic properties. The ARC model allows a rich variety of comparisons (in the FKG sense) between models with different parameter values; we give, for example, values (β, h) for which the 0‘s configuration in the Potts lattice gas is dominated by the “+” configuration of the (β, h) Ising model. The Potts model, with possibly an external field applied to one of the spins, is a special case of the Potts lattice gas, which allows our comparisons to yield rigorous bounds on the critical temperatures of Potts models. For example, we obtain 0.571 ≤ 1 − exp(−β c ) ≤ 0.600 for the 9-state Potts model on the hexagonal lattice. Another comparison bounds the movement of the critical line when a small Potts interaction is added to a lattice gas which otherwise has only interparticle attraction. ARC models can also be compared to related models such as the partial FK model, obtained by deleting a fraction of the nonsingleton clusters from a realization of the Fortuin-Kasteleyn random cluster model. This comparison leads to bounds on the effects of small annealed site dilution on the critical temperature of the Potts model.
What We Might Have Missed: Lessons from Diverse Methodologies in the Study of Immigrant Families

This article serves as an introduction to the current issue of Research in Human Development, which is devoted to exploring diverse methodological approaches to understanding human development within immigrant families. The authors present four original research articles spanning experimental, qualitative (focus groups and individual interview approaches), and mixed quantitative-qualitative study designs. Lessons learned from each methodological perspective are presented here by posing the question, “What might we have missed?” by relying solely on quantitative survey-based techniques. The authors end with acknowledgments of methodological limitations and thoughts for future research.
Bladder neck preservation and its impact on positive surgical margins during radical prostatectomy

To modify the bladder neck dissection during radical prostatectomy, in an effort to improve continence and diminish the incidence of anastomotic stricture, without compromising the primary surgical objective of complete cancer removal. Between December 1991 and August 1992, 50 patients underwent radical retropubic prostatectomy with anatomic dissection and preservation of the bladder neck and most proximal portion of the prostatic urethra, thus creating a mucosal cuff for anastomosis to the urethral stump. There was tumor at the inked margin in 18 patients (36%), however, in only 3 instances (6%) was there tumor at the bladder neck margin. In no instance was the bladder neck margin the only positive margin. At a minimum follow-up of six months, all patients are fully continent during routine activities, and in no patient has an anastomotic stricture developed. Anatomic dissection and preservation of the bladder neck and proximal urethra does not compromise surgical margins. We believe this technique may play a role in preservation of continence after radical prostatectomy and probably decreases the likelihood of anastomotic stricture, by allowing for a circumferential mucosa-to-mucosa anastomosis without the need for bladder neck reconstruction.
Using feedthrough for near one-step-ahead control of inversely unstable plants

The one-step-ahead (OSA) control law is modified by the use of feedthrough to accommodate unstable plant zeros. An nth-order discrete-time system is guaranteed to track the desired input in one timestep. This is accomplished by subtracting the denominator dynamics and algebraically canceling the numerator dynamics. A problem occurs with OSA control when the plant has unstable zeros, that is, zeros that are outside the z-plane unit circle. In this case, an unstable zero is canceled and the resulting controller will be unstable. The authors address this problem. The approach taken is specific to OSA control. >
The Developmental Fate of T Cells Is Critically Influenced by TCRγδ Expression

Differentiation of gammadelta and alphabeta T cells from a common precursor cell depends on productive rearrangement and expression of TCRgammadelta or TCRbeta genes, but whether it is an instructive or a stochastic mechanism that is responsible for this process is unclear. We report that expression of the productively rearranged TCRgamma transgene competitively inhibits alphabeta thymocyte development under conditions where TCRbeta gene rearrangement is limiting. The status of TCRdelta gene rearrangements in the remaining alphabeta-lineage cells indicates that the effect is mediated by the intact gammadelta receptor. Paradoxically, in TCRbeta-/- mice, gammadelta receptor expression can also drive differentiation of some alphabeta-lineage cells. To resolve this paradox, we provide evidence for a minor population of gammadelta-dependent alphabeta-lineage cells in normal mice. The results indicate that the T cell lineage commitment process is either error-prone or stochastic.
Further comments on the lissencephaly syndromes.

Detailed clinical, pathological, and cytogenetic investigations of patients with lissencephaly over the past several years have demonstrated the existence of at least eight distinct conditions with variable genetic implications. In several of these disorders, especially chromosomally normal MDS, ILS, and CCL, too few patients have been reported to permit citation of accurate recurrence risk figures. Accordingly, we wish to begin a registry of patients with lissencephaly of all types for the purpose of developing such risk figures and request that any available information be sent to one of us (W.B.D. or J.M.O.).
A perspective on advanced peer-to-peer networking

This paper is intended to familiarize the reader with the many reasons for undertaking the design and implementation of peer networking on small and intermediate business machines such as the IBM System/36 family. Such networking function was recently announced as IBM's Advanced Peer-to-Peer Networking (APPN) on Release 5 of the System/36. This paper sets the stage for a companion paper in this same issue, which discusses the implementation experience and details of the System/36 APPN product. In the present paper, the history of System/36 communication is first reviewed, and it is shown how APPN was a natural evolution from earlier function. Then an extensive study of user requirements that was started in 1982 is summarized. The paper concludes with a brief technical tutorial on the structure of the APPN design.
Measurement of 15O(α,γ)19Ne resonance strengths

Abstract States in 19 Ne above the 15 O + α threshold were populated by means of the 19 F( 3 He,t) 19 Ne ∗ reaction, and their alpha-particle decays to the 15 O ground state were measured. The branching ratios Γ α /Γ total for the E c . m . = 850-, 1020-, 1971-, 1183- and 1563- keV resonances in 19 O + α were determined. This information together with alpha-particle and/or gamma-ray partial widths (determined from knowledge of these quantities for the mirror states in 19 F) determines the strengths of these 15 O ( α , γ ) 19 Ne resonances and the 15 O ( α , γ ) 19 Ne reaction rate for temperatures between 7 × 10 8 and3 × 10 9 K.
Shaming in and into Argumentation

Shame appeals may be both relevant to and make possible argumentation with reluctant addressees. I propose a normative pragmatic model of practical reasoning involved in shame appeals and show that its explanatory power exceeds that of a more traditional account of an underlying practical inference structure. I also illustrate that analyzing the formal propriety of shame appeals offers a more complete explanation of their normative pragmatic force than an application of rules for dialogue types.
Evidence for Dominance of Normal Dip-Slip Motion on Segment of Flemington Fault in Newark Basin of New Jersey: ABSTRACT

A fracture study conducted on a series of outcrops along U.S. Route 202, beginning approximately 1.5 km east of the Delaware River and extending eastward for a distance of approximately 1.5 km, provides ample evidence for normal dip-slip faulting and virtually no evidence of strike-slip faulting. The study area is located approximately 1 km south of the Dilt's Corner fault, the southern splay of the Flemington fault, and along a line nearly perpendicular to the axis of a broad, open anticline plunging approximately 10°S, 20°E. This anticline is one of several transverse folds on the hanging-wall side of the Flemington-Dilt's Corner fault system. Measurement of more than 150 small faults revealed fewer than 10 with a significant strike-slip component of motion. Most of the small faults in the area strike northeasterly and dip steeply either to the northwest or to the southeast. Of particular interest are faults that strike N40°E and dip approximately 70° to the northwest or southeast. These faults appear to define a conjugate set, and as such would require ^sgr1 to be nearly vertical, ^sgr2 to be horizontal and trending N40°E, and ^sgr3 to be horizontal and trending S50°E. In 1962, Sanders suggested that in addition to considerable dip-slip displacement, the Flemington fault might have a major right-lateral strike-slip component of motion. Manspeizer used right-lateral strike-slip motion on the Flemington fault as part of his rhomb-graben model for the Newark basin. Recently, Burton and Ratcliffe have suggested that the Flemington fault has both right-lateral and normal components of motion on it. Strike-slip motion, at least on the Dilt's Corner splay of the Flemington fault, is not compatible with the observed field data. End_of_Article - Last_Page 1438------------
Generation and trapping of N-substituted-3-azetidinylidenecarbenes

Abstract The reactive intermediates produced via base-promoted reactions of N -tosyl- and N -benzhydrylazetidin-3-one ( 8a and 8b , respectively) with diethyl diazomethylphosphonate (DAMP) have been shown to be vinylidenecarbenes rather than the corresponding cycloalkynes. Thus, N -tosylazetidin-3-ylidenecarbene ( 9a ) was trapped in situ by cyclohexene to afford a cycloadduct, N-p- toluenesulfonyl-2-(7′-bicyclo[ 4 .1.0]heptanylidene)azetidine ( 10 ), whose structure subsequently was established unequivocally via single crystal X-ray structural analysis. These results contrast with that reported previously for the corresponding carbocyclic system (i. e., cyclobutanylidenecarbene-cyclopentyne); in the carbocyclic system, the cycloalkyne (rather than the vinylidenecarbene) is trapped in situ . The results of semi-empirical MO calculations (AM1 Hamiltonian) for ring expansion of azetidinylidenecarbenes to azacyclopentynes offer clues to the observed difference between the behavior of the heterocyclic and carbocyclic systems.