cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Nontoxic electron collimators

Purpose The goal of this work was to develop and test nontoxic electron collimation technologies for clinical use. Methods Two novel technologies were investigated: tungsten-silicone composite and 3D printed electron cutouts. Transmission, dose uniformity, and profiles were measured for the tungsten-silicone. Surface dose, relative dose output, and field size were measured for the 3D printed cutouts and compared with the standard cerrobend cutouts in current clinical use. Quality assurance tests including mass measurements, Megavoltage (MV) imaging, and drop testing were developed for the 3D printed cutouts as a guide to safe clinical implementation. Results Dose profiles of the flexible tungsten-silicone skin shields had an 80-20 penumbra values of 2-3 mm compared to 7-8 mm for cerrobend. In MV transmission image measurements of the tungsten-silicone, 80% of the pixels had a transmission value within 2% of the mean. An ∼90% reduction in electron intensity was measured for 6 MeV and a 6.4 mm thickness of tungsten-silicone and 12.7 mm thickness for 16 MeV. The maximum difference in 3D printed cutout versus cerrobend output, surface dose, and full width at half-maximum (FWHM) was 1.7%, 1.2%, and 1.5%, respectively, for the 10 cm × 10 cm cutouts. Conclusions Both flexible tungsten-silicone and 3D printed cutouts were found to be feasible for clinical use. The flexible tungsten-silicone was of adequate density, flexibility, and uniformity to serve as skin shields for electron therapy. The 3D printed cutouts were dosimetrically equivalent to standard cerrobend cutouts and were robust enough for handling in the clinical environment.
Reconfigurable Stochastic neurons based on tin oxide/MoS 2 hetero-memristors for simulated annealing and the Boltzmann machine.

Neuromorphic hardware implementation of Boltzmann Machine using a network of stochastic neurons can allow non-deterministic polynomial-time (NP) hard combinatorial optimization problems to be efficiently solved. Efficient implementation of such Boltzmann Machine with simulated annealing desires the statistical parameters of the stochastic neurons to be dynamically tunable, however, there has been limited research on stochastic semiconductor devices with controllable statistical distributions. Here, we demonstrate a reconfigurable tin oxide (SnOx)/molybdenum disulfide (MoS2) heterogeneous memristive device that can realize tunable stochastic dynamics in its output sampling characteristics. The device can sample exponential-class sigmoidal distributions analogous to the Fermi-Dirac distribution of physical systems with quantitatively defined tunable "temperature" effect. A BM composed of these tunable stochastic neuron devices, which can enable simulated annealing with designed "cooling" strategies, is conducted to solve the MAX-SAT, a representative in NP-hard combinatorial optimization problems. Quantitative insights into the effect of different "cooling" strategies on improving the BM optimization process efficiency are also provided.
Ecological interactions in breast cancer: Cell facilitation promotes growth and survival under drug pressure

Abstract The interplay of positive and negative interactions between drug sensitive and resistant cells determines the efficacy of treatment in heterogeneous cancer cell populations. We developed isogenic estrogen receptor positive (ER+) breast cancer cell lineages sensitive and resistant to ribociclib-induced CDK4/6 inhibition to investigate cell interactions under selective pressure. During treatment with ribociclib alone or in combination with endocrine therapies, sensitive cells survive and proliferate better when grown together with resistant cells than when grown in monoculture. Liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) assays detected estrone, a less active metabolite, in medium taken from each lineage but detected highly active estradiol only from resistant cells. Because sensitive cells are more dependent on estrogen signaling than resistant cells, they benefit from the increase in local estradiol from resistant cells, leading to facilitated growth when grown under treatment in coculture. We developed a suite of mathematical models to quantify the strength of competition and facilitation between cell lines and evaluate the effects of treatments that modify these interactions. These analyses support the conclusion that resistant cell lineages facilitate growth of sensitive lineages during therapy through the increased production and sharing of local estradiol and themselves suffer from increased competition and suppression as a result. These models show that blocking facilitation has the potential to control both resistant and sensitive cell populations and inhibit the emergence of a refractory population. This combination of experiments and models shows that interactions within heterogeneous cancer cell populations can combine positive and negative interactions to shape the dynamics of resistance.
Sea Surface Temperature, Atmospheric CO2 and the Global Energy Budget: Some Comparisons between the Past and Present

Factors which contribute to air temperature changes within the recent period and between the ice age, the Holocene and the recent period, are considered. The main factors controlling recent low latitude free air temperatures are sea surface temperature changes and volcanic activity. The longer time scale temperature changes at low latitudes are thought to be due to sea surface temperature changes which in turn are driven by changes in the middle latitude circulation. Middle latitude circulation and temperature on this time scale depend upon Milankovitch radiation changes with high latitude radiation controlling ice extent as Milankovitch suggested and middle latitude radiation in summer controlling ocean storage of energy which is transfered from the ocean to the atmosphere in the following winter. This is a new concept of the mechanism by which Milankovitch radiation changes influence climate. The low latitude temperatures were apparently buffered by evaporation to remain below about 30°C during the Holocene although the oceanic area covered by these values would have been larger than normal, as occurred during the 1982–83 El Nino. Atmospheric CO2is thought to depend on climate through a modulation of upwellmg at low latitudes.
Exploitation of syndecan-1 shedding by Pseudomonas aeruginosa enhances virulence

Cell-surface heparan sulphate proteoglycans (HSPGs) are ubiquitous and abundant receptors/co-receptors of extracellular ligands, including many microbes. Their role in microbial infections is poorly defined, however, because no cell-surface HSPG has been clearly connected to the pathogenesis of a particular microbe. We have previously shown that Pseudomonas aeruginosa, through its virulence factor LasA, enhances the in vitro shedding of syndecan-1-the predominant cell-surface HSPG of epithelia. Here we show that shedding of syndecan-1 is also activated by P. aeruginosa in vivo, and that the resulting syndecan-1 ectodomains enhance bacterial virulence in newborn mice. Newborn mice deficient in syndecan-1 resist P. aeruginosa lung infection but become susceptible when given purified syndecan-1 ectodomains or heparin, but not when given ectodomain core protein, indicating that the ectodomain's heparan sulphate chains are the effectors. In wild-type newborn mice, inhibition of syndecan-1 shedding or inactivation of the shed ectodomain's heparan sulphate chains prevents lung infection. Our findings uncover a pathogenetic mechanism in which a host response to tissue injury-syndecan-1 shedding-is exploited to enhance microbial virulence apparently by modulating host defences.
The heart muscle and the electrocardiogram in coronary disease

Abstract Accurate localization of muscle damage at the autopsy is of fundamental importance for clinicopathologic correlation in coronary disease. Routine autopsy tehnique is unsuitable. Precise localization of muscle lesions requires not only thorough gross and microscopic scrutiny of the ventricular myocardium, but multiple cross-sectioning of the epicardial coronary arteries and reference to relevant clinical and electrocardiographic findings while dissecting the heart. Examinations less systematic than this fail to protect against serious errors which account for much inconsistency and confusion in the literature. Although the number of clinicopathologic studies of coronary disease is large, adequate, detailed information about the state of the heart muscle is seldom provided. Studies in which the myocardial examination has a central place, however, consistently report more lesions and show better correlation with clinical and electrocardiographic data. This investigation attempted to combine scrutiny of the ventricular myocardium with multiple precordial lead electrocardiograms and adequate clinical data in a series of 200 autopsied patients. Attempts to modify existing pathologic methods have led to a technique, deserving of wider use, whereby the ventricular myocardium is explored by serial slices. Carefully located and oriented blocks of tissue removed from gross lesions and areas under suspicion are examined microscopically to determine the extent and nature of muscle changes and the state of the coronary vessels. While unsuited to routine use, this type of examination is a necessity for every case to be included in a clinicopathologic series aimed at electrocardiographic correlation. The present paper is concerned with the principles of an adequate pathologic examination in coronary disease and with description of the method used in our studies.
The Common Good and/or the Human Rights: Analysis of Some Papal Social Encyclicals and their Contemporary Relevance

It is notable how some papal social encyclicals have interchangeably used the terms 'common good' and 'human rights.' This article analyzes the papal common good teaching and its contemporary shift to include human rights. I also explore the differential nuances between the common good and the human rights. Human rights as advocated by civil societies are understood as arising from a conception of the nature of the human person. The common good has been expressed in practical ways through human rights, especially the right to work and receive a just wage. The papal social encyclicals are viewed here as relevant to our contemporary world where extreme capitalism and unrestrained consumerism have led to the accumulation of wealth and power in the hands of a few people.
Water Maser Emission from Dusty Clouds in AGNs

A natural site for water maser emission in AGNs is provided by dusty gas with properties characteristic of broad line region (BLR) clouds. Radiation shielding by dust in the clouds is critical for allowing molecular gas to exist ≤ 1 pc from the central engine. Thus, the innermost radius at which such masers appear should correspond to the grain sublimation radius r sub . We suggest a dynamical model in which the masing clouds are embedded within a magnetized accretion disk wind.
Impact of tropical cyclones on the ocean heat budget in the Bay of Bengal during 1999: 1. Model configuration and evaluation

[1] The impacts of two consecutive, strong tropical cyclones (TCs) – 04B (10/15–10/19) and 05B (10/25–11/3) in 1999 (hereafter, TC1 and TC2) – on the upper ocean temperature and surface height of the Bay of Bengal (BoB) are examined using the Hybrid Coordinate Ocean Model (HYCOM). The HYCOM control run is driven by the Cross-Calibrated MultiPlatform (CCMP) satellite winds, European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Re-analysis Interim (ERAI) surface reanalysis data, and Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission precipitation. In order to investigate ocean response to high wind conditions, which are not well resolved by the CCMP or ERAI products, a modified Rankine vortex is adopted to reconstruct the TC winds in an experimental run. Wind stress is determined from wind speed when considering the level-off and decline of drag coefficient at wind speed of 34 m/s and greater. The experimental run reproduces the strong SST reduction (∼−3°C) near the Orissa seashore along and on the right of the TC tracks. TC2 (category 5) cools the BoB SST less than TC1 (category 4) likely due to the initial SST depression by TC1. TC2 has higher winds and lingers over the ocean longer than TC1, and hence the onshore Ekman transport and mass convergence induced by TC2 wind is more prominent. The HYCOM mixed layer temperatures and depths to the south of the BoB generally agree with the observations very well. The simulations, however, have weaker vertical temperature gradient in the thermocline layer, suggesting that HYCOM produces a more diffusive thermocline than the observations.
Nonlinear climate response to regional brightening of tropical marine stratocumulus

[1] To counteract global warming, there have been suggestions to increase the albedo of low-level marine clouds through the aerosol indirect effects by injecting them with sea salt. However, the full climate response to this geoengineering scheme is currently poorly understood. We simulate cloud seeding in a coupled mixed-layer ocean-atmosphere general circulation model in order to identify the specific physical mechanisms through which seeding could perturb the climate system's radiative balance, and cause temperature and precipitation changes. Seeding stratocumulus decks over three tropical maritime regions in the North Pacific, South Pacific and South Atlantic produces strong local reductions in solar absorption. Over half of the radiative cooling is due to direct scattering of solar radiation by the added sea salt aerosols, while the rest comes from enhancement of the local cloud albedo. The oceanic cooling due to the seeding over the southeastern equatorial Pacific induces a La Nina-like response, with tropical precipitation changes resembling La Nina anomalies and teleconnections occurring in the mid-latitude North Pacific and North America. Additionally, model runs in which only one of the three regions is seeded indicate nonlinearity in the climate response. We identify dynamical and thermodynamical constraints respectively on the temperature and hydrological cycle responses to cloud seeding, but the full response to such geoengineering remains poorly constrained.
Challenging Mestizaje A Gender Perspective on Indigenous and Afrodescendant Movements in Latin America

This article compares the contemporary movements for cultural autonomy and social legitimation organized by the indigenous and Afrodescendant populations of Latin America. These movements are challenging the concept of blanqueamiento or whitening embedded in the process of mestizaje in Latin America. Whitening proclaimed the superiority of white European culture over indigenous and black culture, a concept these movements are challenging by proclaiming their own cultural autonomy. In particular, the article will examine the increasing role of women in both these movements, and how women are reconciling the tension between ethnic/racial and gender consciousness.
The excess enthalpies of (n-hexane + toluene) at 308.15, 358.15, 413.15, 470.15, and 573.15 K from 7.50 to 12.50 MPa☆

Abstract The excess molar enthalpies H m E { x ( n -C 6 H 14 ) + (1 − x )C 6 H 5 CH 3 } were measured from 308.15 to 573.15 K and 7.50 to 12.50 MPa with an isothermal flow calorimeter. All mixtures showed endothermic mixing with maximum H m E s occurring near x = 0.5. A modified Soave equation of state was used to correlate H m E with an average standard deviation of 14 J · mol −1 below the critical region and 86 J · mol −1 above the critical temperature of n -hexane.
Feasibility study on inverse four-dimensional dose reconstruction using the continuous dose-image of EPID.

Purpose: When an intensity-modulated radiation beam is delivered to a moving target, the interplay effect between dynamic beam delivery and the target motion due to miss-synchronization can cause unpredictable dose delivery. The portal dose image in electronic portal imaging device (EPID) represents radiation attenuated and scattered through target media. Thus, it may possess information about delivered radiation to the target. Using a continuous scan (cine) mode of EPID, which provides temporal dose images related to target and beam movements, the authors’ goal is to perform four-dimensional (4D) dose reconstruction. Methods: To evaluate this hypothesis, first, the authors have derived and subsequently validated a fast method of dose reconstruction based on virtual beamlet calculations of dose responses using a test intensity-modulated beam. This method was necessary for processing a large number of EPID images pertinent for four-dimensional reconstruction. Second, cine mode acquisition after summation over all images was validated through comparison with integration mode acquisition on EPID (IAS3 and aS1000) for the test beam. This was to confirm the agreement of the cine mode with the integrated mode, specifically for the test beam, which is an accepted mode of image acquisition for dosimetry with EPID. Third, in-phantom film and exit EPID dosimetry was performed on a moving platform using the same beam. Heterogeneous as well as homogeneous phantoms were used. The cine images were temporally sorted at 10% interval. The authors have performed dose reconstruction to the in-phantom plane from the sorted cine images using the above validated method of dose reconstruction. The reconstructed dose from each cine image was summed to compose a total reconstructed dose from the test beam delivery, and was compared with film measurements. Results: The new method of dose reconstruction was validated showing greater than 95.3% pass rates of the gamma test with the criteria of dose difference of 3% and distance to agreement of 3 mm. The dose comparison of the reconstructed dose with the measured dose for the two phantoms showed pass rates higher than 96.4% given the same criteria. Conclusions: Feasibility of 4D dose reconstruction was successfully demonstrated in this study. The 4D dose reconstruction demonstrated in this study can be a promising dose validation method for radiation delivery on moving organs.
GPR30: a seven-transmembrane-spanning estrogen receptor that triggers EGF release.

Heterotrimeric G proteins and seven-transmembrane-spanning (7TM) receptors are implicated in rapid estrogen signaling. The orphan 7TM receptor GPR30 is linked to estrogen-mediated activation of adenylyl cyclase, release of epidermal growth factor (EGF)-related ligands, and specific estrogen binding. GPR30 acts independently of estrogen receptors, ERα and ERβ, and probably functions as a heptahelical ER. 7TM receptors elicit signals that stimulate second messengers, and convey intracellular signals via EGF receptors. Identification of GPR30 as a Gs-coupled 7TM receptor that triggers release of heparin-binding EGF establishes its role in cell signaling cascades initiated by estrogens, and explains their capacity to activate second messengers and promote EGF-like effects. Thus, estrogen can signal by the same mechanism as various other hormones, through a specific 7TM receptor.
Assessment of shoulder range of motion: introduction of a novel patient self-assessment tool.

Purpose: The goal of this study was to show that patient self-assessment of active shoulder range of motion (ROM) by use of a novel, diagram-based questionnaire is accurate when compared with physician-assessed shoulder ROM. Methods: We designed a diagram-based self-assessment tool that enables patients to determine their own active shoulder ROM in 3 planes of motion: forward elevation, external rotation, and internal rotation. This questionnaire was administered to 100 consecutive English-speaking patients presenting to a university-based orthopaedic surgery practice for evaluation of a shoulder-related complaint. After completion of the questionnaire, the patients' actual shoulder ROM in each plane was measured by a single blinded investigator using a standard 12-inch goniometer. Direct comparison of patient and physician ROM assessments was performed, and logistic regression analysis was then applied to identify those factors affecting the patients' ability to accurately complete the questionnaire. Results: Patients were able to properly quantify motion 85% of the time; they were able to qualitatively assess motion as impaired or unimpaired 93% of the time. Patients who were more likely to make errors in self-assessment were significantly older than the error-free subjects and expressed significantly more dissatisfaction with shoulder function. In addition, there was a weak inverse relation between education level and accurate self-assessment. Gender, exposure to physical therapy, and involvement in litigation or Workers' Compensation cases were not significantly correlated with accurate ROM self-assessment. Patients were significantly less accurate in their assessment of internal rotation than in their assessment of both forward elevation and external rotation. Conclusions: Using a diagram-based questionnaire, patients are able to accurately assess their own active shoulder ROM. Level of Evidence: Level II, development of diagnostic criteria based on consecutive patients with universally applied gold standard.
Maturity and its relationship to plasma lipid and lipoprotein levels in adolescents: The Fels longitudinal study.

During adolescence, changes in lipid and lipoprotein levels have been reported to be associated with changes in body composition and changes in endogenous testosterone and estradiol. These hormone levels are directly correlated with sexual and skeletal maturity levels. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there are associations during pubescence and adolescence, independent of chronological age, between measures of maturity and body composition or plasma lipid and lipoprotein cholesterols. Skeletal maturity was measured on the basis of skeletal assessments of the bones of the knee joint. Age at peak height velocity was determined from serial stature measurements and, in girls, age at menarche was recorded. These measures of maturity, as well as measures of percent body fat, total body fat, total body fat mass, fat-free mass from underwater weighing, and plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, highdensity lipoprotein-cholesterol, and low-density lipoprotein-cholesterol levels from 502 observations on 174 boys and girls enrolled in the Fels Longitudinal Study were used in the analysis. Within annual chronological age groups, no associations were found between level of maturity and lipid and lipoprotein level or percent body fat in boys or girls. However, changes in lipid and lipoprotein levels over time appeared to be more apparent when age grouping were based on skeletal age than when they were based on chronological age.
RELUCTANT SUFFRAGIST, UNWITTING FEMINIST: THE AMBIVALENT POLITICAL VOICE OF CORRA HARRIS

This research explores some of the political ideas of Georgia novelist Corra White Harris (1869- 1935). Harris's ambivalent political positions are juxtaposed with two of her Georgia contemporaries–suffragist Rebecca Latimer Felton and anti-suffragist Mildred Lewis Rutherford. A central premise of the analysis is that in her political uncertainly, though not in her particular opinions, Harris better represented women who never took a stand on suffrage or feminism than do political activists such as Felton and Rutherford who were more confident in their positions.
TQM Stress MIS

As an operating philosophy, TQM has crossed departmental and disciplinary boundaries as a way to increase productivity and improve quality. Information Systems Managers, particularly those supporting legacy systems,face substantial challenges in an organization implementing TQM. A principle philosophy of TQM is that of continuous improvement resulting in a continuous stream of change requests for the IS department. IS managers must understand this as a source of the increase in change requests and seek ways to successfully manage them. In the short run, one method is active participation on the quality teams suggesting such changes. The long run, however, requires a proactive stance by the IS department that includes implementation of the TQM philosophy throughout its own ranks. Otherwise, the IS department will continue to be stressed by an avalanche of change requests and viewed as a roadblock to successful TQM implementation.
Anisotropic superconductivity in the 2D Hubbard model: Gap function and interaction weight.

A potential ${\mathit{d}}_{\mathit{x}}^{2}$-${\mathit{y}}^{2}$ pairing state in the 2D Hubbard model is investigated within a conserving extension of Hartree-Fock theory known as the fluctuation exchange approximation. The self-consistent field equations are solved with the aid of a recently developed renormalization group approach for general models which lack a Migdal theorem. The calculations yield an anisotropic gap which saturates rapidly below ${\mathit{T}}_{\mathit{c}}$ to a peak value of 2${\mathrm{\ensuremath{\Delta}}}_{\mathbf{k}}$/${\mathit{kT}}_{\mathit{c}}$\ensuremath{\sim}10--12 for k along the ${\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{x}}$ and ${\mathit{k}}_{\mathit{y}}$ axes.
Morphological Control of One-Dimensional Nanostructures of T-Shaped Asymmetric Bisphenazine

This paper presents the morphological control of self-assembled structures derived from a novel T-shaped bisphenazine containing cyanophenyl groups. The π-aggregation of the molecule in solution was verified with 1H NMR at various concentrations. Self-assembly using a phase transfer method showed morphological transformation from straight strands to flexible nanofibers with significant bundling and coiling, and finally, flat nanofibers with less bundling as solution concentration increased, which was extensively characterized by scanning electron microscopy (SEM). UV−vis spectroscopy in a binary solvent and solid state showed red-shifted absorption with increased absorbance at the long wavelength shoulder region when compared to that in the solution state. A variable temperature UV−vis experiment verified that the spectral change was caused by π-aggregation. X-ray diffraction (XRD) and Fourier-transform infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy of the assembled structures showed that intermolecular cyano interactions...
Prior exercise increases dietary oleate, but not palmitate oxidation.

Objective: Higher levels of physical activity have been associated with body weight maintenance, but previous work in our laboratory suggests that this is not purely related to energy balance. We hypothesize that this may be related to the partitioning of dietary fat between oxidation and storage. Research Methods and Procedures: Healthy women (age 24 ± 1 years, BMI = 21.2 ± 0.4 kg/m2) were recruited to participate in rest (n = 10) or exercise sessions of light (n = 11), moderate (n = 10), and heavy (n = 7) exercise. All exercises (1250 kJ above rest) were performed on a stationary cycle inside of a whole-body calorimeter. [1-13C]oleate and [d31]palmitate were given in a liquid meal 30 minutes post-exercise. An additional study was done with identical exercise sessions, but with administration of an oral dose of [1-13C]acetate and [d3]acetate 30 minutes post-exercise to determine label sequestration. Results: Cumulative oxidation of [1-13C]oleate was significantly greater after light (45 ± 3%), moderate (54 ± 4%), and heavy (51 ± 4%) exercise than that with rest (33 ± 3%) (p = 0.0008). Cumulative oxidation of [d31]palmitate did not differ among trials (12 ± 2%, 14 ± 1%, 17 ± 2%, and 14 ± 2% for rest, light, moderate, and heavy, respectively; p = 0.30). Discussion: Exercise standardized for energy expenditure increases monounsaturated fat oxidation more than saturated fat oxidation and that the increase occurs regardless of intensity. Recommendations for physical activity for the purposes of weight control may be specific for dietary fat composition.
Fuzzy association rule mining for community crime pattern discovery

Current manual inspection of crime data by analysts is limited, primarily due to the amount of data that can be processed concurrently and in a reasonable time frame. Further, complex relationships between various crime attributes can be overlooked by human analysts. Providing automated knowledge discovery tools becomes attractive to accelerate the efforts of local law enforcement. In this paper, we study the application of fuzzy association rule mining for community crime pattern discovery. Discovered rules are presented and discussed at regional and national levels. Rules found to hold in all states, be consistent across all regions, and subsets of regions are also discussed. A relative support metric was defined to extract rare, novel rules from thousands of discovered rules. Such an approach relieves the need of law enforcement personnel to sift through uninteresting, obvious rules in order to find interesting and meaningful crime patterns of importance to their community.
Testing the Regional Restructuring Hypothesis in Western Germany

In this paper we test the importance of the regional restructuring hypothesis by investigating whether the internal migration flows in western Germany can be explained by employment changes, on the basis of data of out-migration of employed workers and employment in seventy-five regions over the period 1982–97 for each year separately. Starting from a conditional probability model for the unobserved individual migration decisions, we derive mathematically a dynamic version of the Poisson gravity model for the total out-migration per region per year. Estimating this model for each year separately, we find partial confirmation of the regional restructuring hypothesis.
Lake Agassiz meltwater

TV Lowell et al., authors of “Testing the Lake Agassiz Meltwater Trigger for the Younger Dryas,” in the 4 October 2005 Eos, are to be commended for re-examining the evidence for the role of meltwater forcing as the cause of the Younger Dryas cooling episode.Yet the article comes up short in attempting to point toward future progress on the important question of the causes of abrupt climate change. Lowell et al. neglect to address an obvious conundrum: if the Aggasiz meltwater pulse occurred at the wrong time to have caused the Younger Dryas, then it evidently did not cause any significant climate response. Does this not suggest that the assumed importance of meltwater forcing in abrupt climate change be reconsidered entirely?
Rapid direct determination of ammonium and nitrate in soil and plant tissue extracts

Abstract The diffusion‐conductivity method (DCM) for NH4 + and NO3 ‐determinations in soil and plant tissue extracts is tolerant of sample color and turbidity. The instrument can be calibrated for direct analysis of extracts from either low or high level samples. Extracts can be processed at one per minute. Ammonium and NO3 ‐ can be determined simultaneously at this rate with a two channel prototype instrument. The use of serum filters simplifies sample extract preparation and avoids the NH4 + and NO3 ‐ contamination problem that has been documented for filter papers. The instrument sample intake tube can aspirate extracts directly from the serum filter tube. A variety of soil or plant extracting solutions can be used for both NH4 + and NO3 ‐ determinations. Interference in NO3 ‐determinations has been encountered in a few samples where it appears to be due to a high phenolic content. For these samples, interference is minimized by using two NO3 ‐ reduction cartridges in series. Comparisons of the DCM pro...
Correlates of Complementary and Alternative Medicine Utilization in Depressed, Underserved African American and Hispanic Patients in Primary Care Settings

ABSTRACT Objectives: This study seeks to examine the correlates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use in depressed underserved minority populations receiving medical care in primary care settings. Methods: A prospective study using interviewer-administered surveys and medical record reviews was conducted at 2 large outpatient primary care clinics providing care primarily to underserved African American and Hispanic individuals located in Los Angeles, California. A total of 2321 patients were screened for depression. Of these, 315 met the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 criteria for mild to severe depression. Results: Over 57% of the sample reported using CAM sometimes or often (24%) and frequently (33%) for treatment of their depressive symptoms. Controlling for demographic characteristics, lack of health care coverage remained one of the strongest predictors of CAM use. Additionally, being moderately depressed, using psychotherapeutic prescription medications, and poorer self-reported health...
Unconfined Compression of Porcine Ocular Lenses: Experiments and Finite Element Analysis

Understanding the mechanics of lens accommodation (ability of the eye dynamically to focus near to far, or far to near) can assist in the diagnosis of early presbyopia as well as identify potential clinical treatments and lens prosthetic implantation strategies [1–3]. Related to the mechanism of focusing, presbyopia is an ocular disease that stems from age-related loss of lens accommodation leading to a loss of focusing range and near vision [4]. This is attributed to changes in ciliary muscle function, as well as changes in the mechanical properties of the lens substance, lens capsule, and zonules, presumably. The precise relationship of these changes, however, is not well described. The location of the lens in the eye is shown in Fig.1 [5].Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Alarm Pheromone Induces Immediate–Early Gene Expression and Slow Behavioral Response in Honey Bees

Primer and releaser pheromones are molecules used for communication that induce species-specific responses. In contrast to primer pheromones, it is not known whether the quicker-acting releaser pheromones can affect brain gene expression. We show here that isopentyl acetate (IPA), a releaser pheromone that communicates alarm in honey bees, not only provokes a quick defensive response but also influences behavior for a longer period of time and affects brain gene expression. Exposure to IPA affected behavioral responsiveness to subsequent exposures to IPA and induced the expression of the immediate early gene and transcription factor c-Jun in the antennal lobes. Our findings blur the long-standing distinction between primer and releaser pheromone and highlight the pervasiveness of environmental regulation of brain gene expression.
The synthesis of cyclopropyl tyrosine

Abstract The synthesis of Z-cyclopropyl tyrosine (▿ZTyr) using a thiazoline intermediate has been completed. Several routes were examined.
Vowel space characteristics and vowel identification accuracy.

Purpose To examine the relation between vowel production characteristics and intelligibility. Method Acoustic characteristics of 10 vowels produced by 45 men and 48 women from the J. M. Hillenbrand...
A case-control study of maternal risk factors for thyroid cancer in young women (California, United States)

A population-based case-control interview study investigated whether reproductive factors are related to the striking female-over-male excess of thyroid cancer among women of reproductive age in Los Angeles County, CA (United States). As a separate component of that study, mothers of 153 cases and 140 controls who were age 40 or younger at diagnosis or reference date were interviewed by telephone to determine the significance of family and maternal risk factors in the subsequent development of thyroid cancer among the daughters. More case than control mothers experienced miscarriage prior to the index pregnancy (odds ratio [OR]=2.0, 95 percent confidence interval [CI]=1.1–3.5). Increased risk was associated with family history of thyroid cancer or other thyroid disease (OR=2.1, CI=1.2–3.6). More control than case mothers smoked during the index pregnancy (OR=0.6, CI=0.4–1.0); however, among mothers who smoked, case mothers smoked more. Case mothers experienced a greater increase in weight from minimum adult weight to weight at index pregnancy (P for trend = 0.01). Reports from mothers also confirmed the risk associated with the daughter's exposure to ionizing radiation from birth through adolescence; ionizing radiation remains the best-established risk factor for thyroid cancer.
Modeling Electrochemical Oxidation of Hydrogen on Ni–YSZ Pattern Anodes

A computational model is developed to represent the coupled behavior of elementary chemistry, electrochemistry, and transport in the vicinity of solid-oxide fuel cell three-phase boundaries. The model is applied to assist the development and evaluation of H_2 charge-transfer reaction mechanisms for Ni–yttria-stabilized zirconia (YSZ) anodes. Elementary chemistry and surface transport for the Ni and YSZ surfaces are derived from prior literature. Previously published patterned-anode experiments [J. Mizusaki et al., Solid State Ionics, 70/71, 52 (1994)] are used to evaluate alternative electrochemical charge-transfer mechanisms. The results show that a hydrogen-spillover mechanism can explain the Mizusaki polarization measurements over wide ranges of gas-phase composition with both anodic and cathodic biases.
Are we in the middle of a video streaming revolution

It has been roughly 20 years since the beginning of video streaming over the Internet. Until very recently, video streaming experiences left much to be desired. Over the last few years, this has significantly improved making monetization of streaming, possible. Recently, there has been an explosion of commercial video delivery services over the Internet, sometimes referred to as over-the-top (OTT) delivery. All these services invariably use streaming technologies. Initially, streaming had all the promise, then for a long time, it was download and play, later progressive download for short content, and now it is streaming again. Did streaming win the download versus streaming contestq Did the best technology winq The improvement in streaming experience has been possible through a variety of new streaming technologies, some proprietary and others extensions to standard protocols. The primary delivery mechanism for entertainment video, both premium content like movies and user generated content (UGC), tends to be HTTP streaming. Is HTTP streaming the panacea for all problemsq The goal of this article is to give an industry perspective of what fundamentally changed in video streaming that makes it commercially viable now. This article outlines how a blend of technology choices between download and streaming makes the current wave of ubiquitous streaming possible for entertainment video delivery. After identifying problems that still need to be solved, the article concludes with the lessons learnt from the video streaming evolution.
Estimation of inferobasal myocardial infarct size by late activation abnormalities of the QRS complex

This report describes the relation of myocardial infarct (MI) size in the left ventricular inferobasal wall, measured at necropsy, to late activation abnormalities of the QRS complex, measured by computerized spatial vectorcardiography. Fifteen patients with single inferobasal MIs and 10 patients with no evidence of heart disease were studied. The percentage of MI in the inferobasal wall was significantly related to the vectorcardiographic abnormalities noted late (i.e., 31 ± 13 ms before the end of the QRS waveform) (r = 0.96, p
Cholinergic neuromodulation of an anatomically reconstructed hippocampal CA3 pyramidal cell

Abstract We investigate the effects of cellular-level cholinergic neuromodulation on the physiological properties of a realistic, anatomically reconstructed CA3 pyramidal cell model. The model has 385-compartments, contains a wide variety of ion channels (Na, KDR, KC, KA, KM, KAHP, CaL, CaN, CaT), calcium diffusion, buffering and pumping, and represents an updating of a model of Migliore et al. (J. Neurophys. 73 (1995) 1157–1168) to reflect more recent biological data. The simulated application of acetylcholine resulted in several observed changes in single-cell physiology: (1) a transition from bursting (“complex-spiking”) to regular spiking, (2) an increased speed of action potential backpropagation, (3) an increased amplitude of backpropagating action potentials and (4) a decrease in dendritic calcium influx. These results confirm some earlier studies of ours in a simpler pyramidal cell model and are consistent with the “two-stage” memory model proposed by Buzsaki (Neuroscience 31 (1989) 551–570). The implications for this model of hippocampal function as well as for Alzheimer's disease are discussed.
The Rewriting Logic Semantics Project

Rewriting logic is a flexible and expressive logical framework that unifies denotational semantics and SOS in a novel way, avoiding their respective limitations and allowing very succinct semantic definitions. The fact that a rewrite theory's axioms include both equations and rewrite rules provides a very useful ''abstraction knob'' to find the right balance between abstraction and observability in semantic definitions. Such semantic definitions are directly executable as interpreters in a rewriting logic language such as Maude, whose generic formal tools can be used to endow those interpreters with powerful program analysis capabilities.
MR imaging instrumentation and image artifacts.

Current magnetic resonance (MR) imaging systems use four basic types of magnets: permanent, resistive (electromagnets), hybrid (combines principles of permanent and resistive magnets), and superconducting (resistive-like magnets cooled to near absolute zero to achieve superconductivity). The first three have relatively low field strength (0.2-0.6 T) compared with superconducting magnets (2.0 T), but they cost less, have limited fringe fields, and have minimal sitting restrictions. Although current low-field-strength units have signal-to-noise ratios competitive with those of high-field-strength superconducting units, the latter still allow faster data acquisition. Use of shim coils improves the uniformity of the primary magnetic field and thus image quality. However, distortions may be incurred depending on the magnetic susceptibility of materials being imaged or chemical shift effect. Image nonuniformities can result from the interactions between the shim coils and gradient coils, which are used to creat...
Evaluation of an Experimental Animal Model for Testing Antifungal Substances

Accumulated evidence indicates that infection by fungi capable of causing systemic disease usually results in a relatively strong acquired resistance. The working hypothesis for this study was that an antifungal substance, even one with only slight fungistatic activity, could be an effective chemotherapeutic agent by arresting progression of the infection until acquired resistance became effective. The present study involved establishing and evaluating an experimental animal model (coccidioidomycosis in mice) which could be used to test this hypothesis. This model was reasonably similar to the natural disease. Results with infected nontreated animals indicated that the plot of mortality frequency against survival time did not follow a normal distribution curve. Thus, nonparametric procedures were used for evaluation. Use of this model with an established antibiotic (amphotericin B), with a crude preparation of a new antibiotic (CB-310), and with synthetic organoselenium compounds demonstrated that even low levels of antifungal activity could be detected. The model should be useful not only to test the original hypothesis but also to screen antifungal substances for their potential as chemotherapeutic agents.
Regularity for the nonlinear Signorini problem

Abstract We study the regularity of the solution to a fully nonlinear version of the thin obstacle problem. In particular we prove that the solution is C 1 , α for some small α > 0 . This extends a result of Luis Caffarelli of 1979. Our proof relies on new estimates up to the boundary for fully nonlinear equations with Neumann boundary data, developed recently by the authors.
Anna Howard Shaw: the work of woman suffrageTRISHA FRANZEN

There is still much to learn about the American woman's rights movement. Trisha Franzen's biography of Anna Howard Shaw (1847–1919), fourth president of the National American Woman Suffrage Associa...
Social work's conceptualization of spirituality

Summary. The social work literature reflects an increasing interest in spirituality; however, social workers appear to have different meanings of the term spirituality. Building on Canda's (1988a) conceptualization of spirituality, this article identifies and defines two meanings: spirituality‐as‐essence of human nature and spirituality‐as‐one‐dimension of human experience. The different meanings of these concepts have important theoretical and practice implications. The theoretical implications include spirituality and the person as well as the beginning and development of a person's spirituality. The practice implications include views of well‐being, dysfunctional behavior, and approaches to treatment. This article clarifies these definitions and their implications in order to promote greater conceptual consistency within the social work profession.
Energy-efficient transmission scheduling for wireless media streaming with strict underflow constraints

We consider a single source transmitting media streams to multiple users over a shared wireless channel. The channel for each user is time-varying, and each user has a buffer to store received packets before they are decoded and played. At each time step, the source determines how much power to use for transmission to each user. The objective is for the source to allocate power in a manner that minimizes an expected cost measure, while satisfying strict buffer underflow constraints and a total power constraint in each slot. The expected cost measure is composed of costs associated with power consumption from transmission and packet holding costs. The buffer underflow constraints prevent the user buffers from emptying, so as to maintain playout quality. In the case of a single user, we show that a modified base-stock policy is optimal under the finite and infinite horizon discounted expected cost criteria. We present the sequences of critical numbers that characterize the optimal control laws in each of these two problems. We also discuss the structure of the optimal policy in the multi-user case.
Digital Magazines: The Future of Publishing Is Here

Computer examines the advance of RF-powered computing, social learning in software engineering, speech-recognition technologies, solid-state memories, and population informatics through big data. The Web extra at http://youtu.be/B3VhjioNAH0 is an audio recording of the EIC message, in which Ron Vetter discusses Computer's annual "Outlook" issue and how it highlights emerging technologies that promise to have a major impact on computing in both the near and distant futures.
PREDICTING GRADUATION WITHDRAWAL AND FAILURE IN COLLEGE BY MULTIPLE DISCRIMINANT ANALYSIS

An illustration of using multiple discriminant analysis and nonintellective data in predicting graduation, withdrawal and failure in a college of liberal arts. The nonintellective factors are qualitative content categories derived from candidates' personal application statements. Procedures are described for comparing the effectiveness of the nonintellective data with that of intellective data in differentiating among the three criterion groups and on accuracy of predicted group membership.