cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multiple Criteria Decision Making: THE CHALLENGE THAT LIES AHEAD

This historic tenth meeting is a convenient point at which to explore where our field has been and some ideas as to where it is going, as well as what challenges lie ahead. I do this by first reviewing some aspects of the timing of the meeting, and the state of the field of multiple criteria decision making (MCDM). I then present and discuss ten popular myths of MCDM, and present some ideas for an MCDM method. I also explore the role of microcomputers in MCDM, and discuss some ideas for future research.
Assessing Healthcare Accessibility Algorithms: A Comprehensive Investigation of Two-Step Floating Catchment Methodologies Family

The Affordable Care Act (ACA) has altered the healthcare landscape in the US. ACA mandated US residents to obtain health insurance. However, having insurance does not necessarily provide access to healthcare. These legislation changes made it imperative for researchers to explore into more detail the problem of healthcare accessibility. Recent advances in measuring healthcare accessibility have been fueled by a rapid improvement of the Floating Catchment Area (FCA) methodologies. This current study summarizes the abundance of existing knowledge on metrics of spatial accessibility and more specifically, the FCA family. Organization of previous studies in a more comprehensive manner can assist both researchers and practitioners who are struggling to identify which FCA methodology would best fit their needs. And finally, the study provides a step-by-step analysis methodology, which is beneficial for decision makers when considering solutions to the problem of physician shortage areas.
Immunity to Ricin: Fundamental Insights into Toxin–Antibody Interactions

Ricin toxin is an extraordinarily potent inducer of cell death and inflammation. Ricin is also a potent provocateur of the humoral immune system, eliciting a mixture of neutralizing, non-neutralizing and even toxin-enhancing antibodies. The characterization of dozens of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) against the toxin’s enzymatic (RTA) and binding (RTB) subunits has begun to reveal fundamental insights into the underlying mechanisms by which antibodies neutralize (or fail to neutralize) ricin in systemic and mucosal compartments. This information has had immediate applications in the design, development and evaluation of ricin subunit vaccines and immunotherapeutics.
General Motors Phase II Catalyst System

A combination of closed loop air/fuel ratio control and three-way catalyst has been introduced on some 1978 GM cars sold in California. The three-way catalytic converter simultaneously acts on hydrocarbons, carbon monoxide, and oxides of nitrogen exhaust pollutants. An exhaust gas sensor gives an indication of rich or lean exhaust, and an electronic control unit processes this information and converts it into a command signal to the carburetor. The closed-loop carburetor controls the air/fuel ratio fed to the engine to the proper levels required for good operation of the catalytic converter. Two engine families are involved in the production of the basic system: one with vacuum actuated metering controls and the other with electromechanically driven metering controls. The 1978 California emission standards are met, and driveability is good while fuel economy loss is minimized.
On Dynamical Systems Induced by the Adele Ring

In this paper, we construct a dynamical system induced by the Adele ring ; based on the dynamical systems induced by -adic number fields; for all primes : We study fundamental operator-theoretic and operator-algebraic properties of the corresponding crossed product operator algebra generated by such a dynamical system, via free probability.
Esophageal Web: A Previously Unrecognized Complication of Epidermolysis Bullosa

The course of the esophageal disease in four patients with epidermolysis bullosa dystrophica recessive is examined. Three of four patients experienced web formation, a previously unrecognized finding, and the significance of this lesion in the evaluation and management of these patients is emphasized. One of four patients underwent a successful colonic interposition for severe esophageal disease and the role of this potentially life-saving procedure is discussed.
A new secreted protein that binds to Wnt proteins and inhibits their activites

The Wnt proteins constitute a large family of extracellular signalling molecules that are found throughout the animal kingdom and are important for a wide variety of normal and pathological developmental processes1,2. Here we describe Wnt-inhibitory factor-1 (WIF-1), a secreted protein that binds to Wnt proteins and inhibits their activities. WIF-1 is present in fish, amphibia and mammals, and is expressed during Xenopus and zebrafish development in a complex pattern that includes paraxial presomitic mesoderm, notochord, branchial arches and neural crest derivatives. We use Xenopus embryos to show that WIF-1 overexpression affects somitogenesis (the generation of trunk mesoderm segments), in agreement with its normal expression in paraxial mesoderm. In vitro, WIF-1 binds to Drosophila Wingless and Xenopus Wnt8 produced by Drosophila S2 cells. Together with earlier results obtained with the secreted Frizzled-related proteins1,2, our results indicate that Wnt proteins interact with structurally diverse extracellular inhibitors, presumably to fine-tune the spatial and temporal patterns of Wnt activity.
Fate of natural organic matter (NOM) during groundwater recharge using reclaimed water

The scope of this study was to investigate how natural organic matter (NOM) from drinking water and soluble microbial products (SMP) generated in the wastewater treatment process influence the character of DOC in reclaimed water used for indirect potable reuse. Biodegradation studies in conjunction with XAD-fractionation and 13 C-NMR spectroscopy were applied to both characterize organic matter and to study removal mechanisms during subsequent soil-aquifer treatment (SAT). Based on hydraulically corresponding samples of drinking water and reclaimed water from reuse sites in Arizona and California, residual DOC in reclaimed water after SAT was dominated in concentration and character by NOM. Changes in DOC character were observed with increasing retention times during SAT in the direction to more aliphatic and less aromatic compounds indicative of humification with biodegradation as the dominant transformation process for bulk organics.
The effects of manufacturing progress function on machine requirements and aggregate planning problems

Abstract The existing models for machine requirements planning are based on the assumption of a constant production rate per machine throughout the planning horizon. This assumption is not valid in many production environments where the manufacturing productivity increases because of factors like: product and process redesign, more efficient maintenance and setup procedures, direct-labour learning, reduction of scrap losses, etc. The objective of this paper is to present the effects of improving manufacturing productivity on machine requirements planning, In addition, an integrated model which combines the aggregate production planning and machine requirements planning problems is discussed under the effects of manufacturing progress function.
Progress towards robotic exploration of extreme terrain

A high degree of mobility, reliability, and efficiency are needed for autonomous exploration of extreme terrain. These requirements have guided the development of the Ambler, a six-legged robot designed for planetary exploration. To address issues of efficiency and mobility, the Ambler is configured with a stacked arrangement of orthogonal legs and exhibits a unique circulating gait, where trailing legs recover directly from rear to front. The Ambler is designed to stably traverse a 30 degree slope while crossing meter sized features. The same three principles have provided many constraints on the design of a software system that autonomously navigates the Ambler through natural terrain using 3-D perception and a combined deliberative/reactive architecture. The software system has required research advances in real-time control, perception of rugged terrain, motion planning, task-level control, and system integration. This paper presents many of the factors that influenced the design of the Ambler and its software system. In particular, important assumptions regarding the mechanism, perception, planning, and control are presented and evaluated in light of experimental and theoretical research of this project.
Toxic exposure to ethylene dibromide and mercuric chloride: effects on laboratory-reared octopuses

Abstract The effects of acute and chronic exposure to either ethylene dibromide (EDB) or mercuric chloride (MC) were studied in laboratory-reared Octopus joubini, O. maya and O. bimaculoides. The advantages of using octopuses were that the responses were immediate, highly visible and sensitive. All species demonstrated signs of toxicity to acute and chronic exposure to EDB and to MC. A dosage-sensitive relationship for the loss and subsequent recovery of locomotor response and of chromatophore expansion was found for each species after acute exposure. For each species the LC50 for chronic exposure occurred within 12 hr at 100 mg/l for EDB and within 3 hr at 1.000 mg/l for MC. This study demonstrated the potential usefulness of laboratory-reared octopuses in evaluating the toxicity of marine environmental pollutants.
Cell therapies: careful translation from animals to patients.

During the hyperacute stage of ischemic stroke, recanalization is the only approved therapeutic approach to improve outcome but is only applicable to the first few hours after symptom onset. There may, however, be other therapeutic windows to consider in the days to weeks after stroke. The inflammatory response after ischemic injury involves multiple interconnected processes both within the brain and in the periphery. During this same time period, there is a cascade of molecular signaling events leading to angiogenesis, neurogenesis, and axonal sprouting.1 Furthermore, neuroplasticity occurs not only at the molecular and cellular level within the peri-infarct zone, but also in areas remote from the infarct. Certain types of stem and progenitor cells represent a unique category of therapeutic opportunities because they may attenuate the postischemic proinflammatory response and may also engage, facilitate, and amplify many of the repair mechanisms operating during this acute to subacute stage of stroke (Figure). The temporal window for cell therapies during this time frame is not well-defined and likely depends on the intended targets, cell type, and delivery route. Figure. Various temporal windows can be envisioned that provide different mechanistic targets for cell therapies in stroke. In the chronic period of stroke, months after symptom onset, the potential therapeutic applications of cell therapies are also being studied in several different ways (Figure). The route of delivery has principally involved a stereotactic intracranial administration, with the intent of placing therapeutic cells in the infarct area. In fact, in the 1990s, there were preliminary clinical trials studying intracranial delivery of neural cells in patients with chronic stroke,2,3 studies that were designed in the wake of fetal transplantation approaches for patients with Parkinson disease. The goal of these pilot trials was to graft neural cells in the infarct cavity, but current intracranial clinical studies …
Molecular Genetic Alterations in the Laser-Capture-Microdissected Stroma Adjacent to Bladder Carcinoma

BACKGROUND Urothelial carcinoma commonly manifested loss of heterozygosity (LOH) at different regions of chromosomes 17p, 3p, and 9q. Recent studies suggested that bladder stromal cells may be implicated in the growth and progression of urothelial carcinoma. To better understand the genetic alterations in the stromal cells in patients with bladder carcinoma, the authors evaluated the prevalence of allelic loss at three microsatellite polymorphic markers on chromosomes 17p13 (TP53), 3p25-26 (D3S3050), and 9q32-33 (D9S177). In addition, the pattern of X-chromosome inactivation of the stromal cells was evaluated by analyzing the DNA methylation pattern at a polymorphic site on the androgen receptor gene. METHODS The authors studied 18 female patients who underwent either transurethral resection (n = 2) or radical cystectomy (n = 16) for high-grade muscle-invasive urothelial carcinoma of the urinary bladder. Genomic DNA samples from the stromal cells immediately adjacent to the tumor and the tumor itself were prepared from formalin-fixed, paraffin-processed tissues using laser-assisted microdissection and LOH was determined. RESULTS The stromal cells showed a high frequency of LOH on chromosomes 17p13 (29%), 3p25-26 (61%), and 9q32-33 (47%) with no clear concordance with the adjacent tumor cells. Fourteen specimens (78%) showed LOH in the stroma in at least 1 of 3 markers examined. Nonrandom X-chromosome inactivation was frequent in the stromal cells (50% of informative specimens). CONCLUSIONS The current study revealed that some of the genetic changes that commonly occur with invasive urothelial carcinoma were frequently found in the adjacent stroma and suggested that the stroma of urothelial carcinoma may play an important role in bladder carcinogenesis. Cancer 2003. © 2003 American Cancer Society.
Heavy quark solitons: Strangeness and symmetry breaking.

We discuss the generalization of the Callan-Klebanov model to the case of heavy quark baryons. The light flavor group is considered to be SU(3) and the limit of heavy spin symmetry is taken. The presence of the Wess-Zumino-Witten term permits the neat development of a picture, at the collective level, of a light diquark bound to a heavy'' quark with decoupled spin degree of freedom. The consequences of SU(3) symmetry breaking are discussed in detail. We point out that the SU(3) mass splitting of the heavy baryons essentially measure the low energy'' physics once more and that the comparison with experiment is satisfactory.
Examining the Cultural Adjustment Experiences of African International College Students: A Qualitative Analysis.

The authors examined the cultural adjustment experiences of 12 Kenyan, Nigerian, and Ghanaian international college students through semistructured interviews. Using consensual qualitative research methodology (C. E. Hill, B. J. Thompson, & E. N. Williams, 1997), 7 primary domains or themes related to these students' cultural adjustment experiences were identified, including (a) presojourn perceptions of the United States, (b) postsojourn perceptions of the United States, (c) cultural adjustment problems in the United States, (d) responses to prejudicial or discriminatory treatment, (e) family and friendship networks, (f) strategies for coping with cultural adjustment problems, and (g) openness to seeking counseling to address cultural adjustment problems. Implications of the findings are discussed.
Advanced oxide dispersion strengthened and nanostructured ferritic alloys

Nanostructured ferritic alloy is a subcategory of oxide dispersion strengthened steels intended for advanced reactor applications. The complex ultrafine grained microstructure of an advanced nanostructured ferritic alloy, as determined by electron microscopy and atom probe tomography, is summarised. Three distinct populations of precipitates were observed: 20–50 nm Ti(N,O,C), 5–10 nm diameter Y2Ti2O7/Y2TiO5 and 1–4 nm diameter Ti,Y,O enriched nanoclusters. The first two populations were predominantly located along grain boundaries together with Cr, W and C segregation. A dense population of nanoclusters was observed both in the grain interior as well as on the grain boundaries. These nanoclusters are highly tolerant to high dose irradiation at elevated temperatures.
Predictors of survival and recurrence in the surgical treatment of merkel cell carcinoma of the extremities.

Purpose Merkel cell carcinoma (MCC) is a rare and aggressive malignancy that originates within the extremities in about 40% of cases. Treatment approaches to this tumor have not been standardized. The purpose of this study was to examine treatment approaches to extremity MCC and to determine predictors of recurrence and patient survival. Methods A retrospective review of 38 consecutive patients with surgically treated extremity MCC was performed. Patient demographics, histologic tumor stage and location and pre-existing malignancies were recorded. Patients were treated by wide-local excision (WLE) or Mohs' technique. Clinically negative regional lymph nodes were either observed (n = 16) or staged with elective lymphadenectomy or sentinel lymph node dissection (SLND) (n = 17), and clinically positive nodes underwent therapeutic node dissection (n = 5). Adjuvant radiotherapy (n = 21) and chemotherapy (n = 6) were noted, as well as time to tumor recurrence and overall patient survival. Predictors of recurrence and survival were analyzed using Kaplan–Meier method and log rank test. Results There was no difference in local recurrence rates when comparing Mohs' technique to WLE for the treatment of primary tumors. Although there was no survival advantage to lymph node dissection, lymph node status was effective in predicting the risk of regional recurrence. Radiation reduced the local recurrence rate (HR = 0.29, 95% CI [0.10, 0.85]), but did not lead to improved overall survival. Conclusion Margin-negative excision of the MCC remains the mainstay of treatment. Surgical staging, preferably with SLND, identifies patients that may develop regional recurrence. This study further supports the important role of adjuvant radiation therapy in improving locoregional tumor control in the patients with MCC. J. Surg. Oncol. 2007;95:229–234. © 2007 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Photochemical addition of amino acids to 14C-uracil

Abstract A survey was performed of the ability of the 22 common amino acids to add photochemically (2537A) to 14C-uracil. The 11 reactive amino acids were glycine, serine, phenylalanine, tyrosine, tryptophan, cystine, cysteine, methionine, histidine, arginine and lysine. The most reactive amino acids were phenylalanine, tyrosine and cysteine. The relevance of these reactions to the mechanism by which DNA and protein are cross-linked in vivo by ultraviolet light is discussed.
BELIEFS ABOUT THE NATURE OF FREEDOM

Summury.-The present study attempted to determine whether some people would accept as part of their conceptions of freedom four of ,the characteristics said by recent theorists to be conditions of freedom. Items describing 60 choice situations, varying according to these conditions, were rated as "free" or "not free" by 19 college student volunteers. Also, 24 of these situations were ranked according to the criterion "more free." The four theoretically most free situations were so rated by 18 out of 19 participants, but there was no agreement as to the relative importance of the four conditions. And even though none of the theorists has asserted all four conditions, the results indicate that the research participants must have utilized all four in making their rankings. This study attempted to determine whether some of the variables said by
Analyzing the impacts of out-of-market corrections

The electric power grid is one of the most complex engineered systems today. Managing thousands of transmission assets spanning many miles and interconnecting regions and countries together combined with optimizing many generators with complex operating requirements creates a very challenging scheduling problem. Such a challenging problem becomes even more complex with resource uncertainty and stringent reliability standards. In order to solve such complex optimization problems within reasonable timeframes, approximations are required. The consequence of such approximations, however, is the need to implement out-of-market corrections (uneconomic adjustments). This paper presents an overview of out-of-market corrections, an overview of industry related practices that require out-of-market corrections, multiple algorithms that can be used to determine out-of-market corrections, and the various costs and market implications due to out-of-market corrections.
Sirolimus-eluting stents suppress neointimal formation irrespective of metallic allergy.

Background Metallic allergy is associated with restenosis following bare metal stent implantation, but the impact of metallic allergy on the outcome after implantation of drug-eluting stents (DES) has not been investigated. Methods and Results The present study group consisted of 88 consecutive patients (109 lesions) who underwent percutaneous coronary intervention with sirolimus-eluting stents (SES). Follow-up angiography was obtained at 8 months in all patients. At that time, the patients underwent epicutaneous patch tests for nickel, chromate, molybdenum, manganese, and titanium, which were evaluated after 48 h of contact. The patch test was positive in 14 patients (16%) (5 for manganese, 3 for nickel, 1 for chromate, 1 for Nickel and manganese, and 4 for manganese and chromate). The binary restenosis rate in the patients with a positive patch test was similar to those with negative patch test (6.3% vs 6.5%, p=0.98). Serial quantitative coronary angiography analyses identified no significant differences in late lumen loss of in-stent segments between patients with positive patch test and those with negative patch test (0.19±0.49 mm vs 0.12±0.48 mm, p=0.55). Conclusion SES prevent restenosis irrespective of metallic allergy. The classic relationship between metallic allergy and in-stent restenosis, seen with bare metal stents, does not appear to arise with DES, possibly because of the immunosuppressive effect of sirolimus. (Circ J 2008; 72: 893 - 896)
Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms in 3–30°C hydrothermal fluids following a deep-sea volcanic eruption

Thermophilic and hyperthermophilic microorganisms were cultured from 18°C diffuse hydrothermal fluids at the CoAxial segment deep-sea hydrothermal vent site 3 months after an eruption resulting from an intrusion of magma into shallow crust. The abundances of these organisms decreased over a 3-year period as the shallow magma cooled. The presence of these organisms at the site suggests that these organisms grew in response to nutrient input from hydrothermal fluid circulation and then were flushed to the surface following the eruption. Thermophiles and hyperthermophiles were also found in low-temperature (3–30°C) fluids at three other chronic, highly active deep-sea vent sites. The origin of these organisms is not known but may include the overlying seawater or a shallow to deep subseafloor habitat.
Optimal diets: simultaneous search and handling of multiple-prey loads by salamander larvae

A key assumption of conventional opitmal diet theory is that foragers cannot search for prey while already handling one prey item. Some foragers, however, can handle multiple-prey loads; i.e., they can search for, attack and handle further prey when already handling one or more prey. We examined diet selection by small-mouthed salamander larvae, Ambystoma texanum, that can search while handling up to two prey at a time. We gave A. texanum larvae a choice between two size classes of Daphnia pulex at two prey densities. Larval A. texanum diet choice did not fit the predictions of conventional optimal diet theory, but fit very well with the predictions of a multiple-prey model. At low prey density, A. texanum larvae were nonselective. At high prey density, larvae were non-selective when their mouths were empty, but showed a strong preference for larger, more valuable prey when larvae already had prey in their mouths. In 16 out of 18 instances, foragers either accepted or rejected small prey in keeping with a multiple-prey model's predictions.
Glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) Protects Human Retinal Pigment Epithelial Cells From Oxidative Damage by Preventing AKT Glutathionylation.

Purpose Glutaredoxin 1 (Grx1) belongs to the oxidoreductase family and is a component of the endogenous antioxidant defense system. However, its physiological function remains largely unknown. In this study, we investigated whether and how Grx1 overexpression protects the retinal pigment epithelial (RPE) cells against H2O2-induced apoptosis. Methods Human retinal pigment epithelial (ARPE-19) cells were transfected with either a Grx1-containing plasmid or an empty vector. Primary human RPE cells were transfected with Grx1 small interfering RNA (siRNA) or scrambled siRNA. Cell viability was measured with the WST8 assay. Apoptosis was quantitatively measured by annexin V/propidium iodide (PI) double staining. The level of protein glutathionylation (PSSG) was measured by immunoblotting using anti-PSSG antibody. Protein kinase B (AKT) activation was examined by Western blot. Protein kinase B glutathionylation was detected by immunoprecipitation followed by immunoblotting with anti-PSSG antibody. Results Glutaredoxin 1 overexpression protected ARPE-19 cells from H2O2-induced cell viability loss. Conversely, Grx1 gene knockdown sensitized primary human RPE cells to H2O2. Assessment of apoptosis indicated that cells transfected with the Grx1-containing plasmid were more resistant to H2O2 with fewer cells undergoing apoptosis as compared to empty vector-transfected cells. Hydrogen peroxide-induced PSSG accumulation was also attenuated by Grx1 enrichment. Furthermore, Grx1 overexpression prevented H2O2-induced AKT glutathionylation, resulting in a sustained phospho-AKT elevation in RPE cells. Conclusions Glutaredoxin 1 can protect RPE cells against oxidative stress-induced apoptosis. The mechanism of this protection is associated with its ability to stimulate the phosphorylation of AKT by preventing AKT glutathionylation. Considering Grx1's protective abilities in RPE cells, Grx1 could be a potential pharmacological target for retinal degenerative diseases.
Umbilical venous pressure is unaltered by severe, early-onset growth restriction

Objective : To determine whether severe, early-onset intrauterine growth restriction (IUGR) is associated with abnormal umbilical venous pressure (UVP) secondary to increased placent
Energy Storage: Batteries and Fuel Cells for Exploration

NASA's Vision for Exploration requires safe, human-rated, energy storage technologies with high energy density, high specific energy and the ability to perform in a variety of unique environments. The Exploration Technology Development Program is currently supporting the development of battery and fuel cell systems that address these critical technology areas. Specific technology efforts that advance these systems and optimize their operation in various space environments are addressed in this overview of the Energy Storage Technology Development Project. These technologies will support a new generation of more affordable, more reliable, and more effective space systems.
The Digital Imperative: Making the Case for a 21st-Century Pedagogy

Abstract In our nascent digital culture, the traditional essayistic literacy that still dominates composition classes is outmoded and needs to be replaced by an intentional pedagogy of digital rhetoric which emphasizes the civic importance of education, the cultural and social imperative of “the now,” and the “cultural software” that engages students in the interactivity, collaboration, ownership, authority, and malleability of texts. My readings of Yancey, Balkin, Vaidhyanathan, Lanham, and Gee have enabled me to reconfigure my composition classroom as an emerging space for digital rhetoric. Through the calculated and sequenced introduction of ePortfolios, digital stories, on line games, Second Life, and blogs, all of which create a new digital infrastructure for my course and assignments, I am working to create a set of practices that work together to explore the ways in which writing instruction can change to meet a new digital imperative; as such, I attempt to use technology in my courses to re-create the contemporary worlds of writing that our students encounter everyday.
Acridine structure correlated with mutagenic activity in Salmonella.

Abstract The structural basis for direct mutagenicity of acridines was studied by testing 50 different analogs in the Ames Salmonella tester strains without the addition of mammalian activating enzymes. These experiments showed that the single most effective substituent for frameshift mutagenesis in strain TA1537 is an amino group at the “9” position, while an amino group at either the “3” or “1” position is less effective. Other substitutions at the “9” position demonstrate decreased frameshifting activity compared to 9-aminoacridine. Furthermore, all substituents in combination with the amino group of 9-aminoacridine also decrease frameshifting activity, except for the addition of another amino group at the “1” position or a methyl at the ring nitrogen. Nitro substituents at the “1” and “3” positions enhance 9-aminoacridine toxicity. All nitro substituents decrease typical acridine-frameshift mutagenesis for strain TA1537, but they induce mutagenic activity either in the other type of frameshift strain, TA1538, or in the base-pair substitution strain TA1535. These studies have provided important structure-function relationships for acridine mutagenicity and toxicity in Salmonella. Consequently, this biological system has provided a sensitive means for determining the structural requirements for mutagenic mechanisms.
Anisotropic elastic theory of preloaded granular media

A macroscopic elastic description of stresses in static, preloaded granular media is derived systematically from the microscopic elasticity of individual inter-grain contacts. The assumed preloaded state and friction at contacts ensure that the network of inter-grain contacts is not altered by small perturbations. The texture of this network, set by the preparation of the system, is encoded in second- and fourth-order fabric tensors. A small perturbation generates both normal and tangential inter-grain forces, the latter causing grains to reorient. This reorientation response and the incremental stress are expressed in terms of the macroscopic strain.
Slow subduction of old lithosphere in the lesser antilles

Abstract The Lesser Antilles subduction zone is an extreme case of the subduction of old (~ 90 m.y.) lithosphere at a slow (~ 2 cm/y) convergence rate. Focal mechanisms of the largest earthquakes in the area have been obtained using body and surface wave data. During the time period (1950–1978) studied the subduction seismicity appears to represent primarily intraplate rather than interplate deformation. All three large (magnitude seven) earthquakes were from intraplate normal faults; no large thrust faulting earthquakes and few small ones occurred. These observations suggest that the plate boundary is largely decoupled, that subduction is at least partially aseismic, and that the downgoing slab is in a state of extension.
Chemical and physical effects in oxygen incorporation during the metalorganic vapor phase epitaxial growth of GaAs

Combined growth, electrical and morphological studies of the influence of oxygen incorporation were carried out on metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy (MOVPE) grown GaAs. The impact of oxygen incorporation on the growth front morphology has been systematically investigated. Oxygen is incorporated into the growing film through the use of an Al-based precursor, (C 2 H 5 ) 2 AlOC 2 H 5 , which contains Al directly bonded to an oxygen atom. The oxygen appears to be preferentially incorporated at the metal-terminated steps. The presence of one or more Al atoms at the step edge is believed to be responsible for the incorporation of electrically active oxygen into the lattice. Oxygen at the growth front, particularly at the step edges, leads to the gradual roughening of the surface structure. High levels of oxygen, [O] ≥ 10 18 cm -13 , lead to the breakdown of the periodic surface structure found in nominally undoped MOVPE GaAs with a very rough hillock structure resulting. Models for the impact of oxygen on the growth front evolution are presented. The study of the simpler GaAs :O system can provide a basis for understanding the role of oxygen in more complex semiconductor systems.
Susceptibility of European catfish (Silurus gianis) to Edwardsiella ictaluri

Summary European catfish (Silurus glanis) were tested for their susceptibility to the bacterium Edwardsiella ictaluri. The LD50 of E. ictaluri when injected into European catfish was 5.4 × 106 compared to 7.1 times; 104 for channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). E. ictaluri was isolated from dead and moribund European catfish and the bacterium was also detected in kidney smears by an indirect fluorescent antibody (FA) technique. The bacterium was not isolated or detected by FA from surviving fish 15 days after injection. No clinical signs of E. ictaluri infection were noted in European catfish, but these were prevalent in the channel catfish. These experiments indicate that under experimental conditions European catfish are not as susceptible to E. ictaluri as channel catfish.
The Casa de Huerfanos and Child Circulation in Late-Nineteenth-Century Chile

This essay examines the Casa de Huerfanos, the largest and most important orphanage in Santiago, Chile in the late nineteenth century, through the lens of child circulation. By child circulation, I refer to a diverse constellation of practices, from apprenticeship to adoption, in which minors were reared outside their natal households by unrelated caretakers. Child circulation has been a ubiquitous practice in Latin American and Caribbean societies from the colonial period into the twentieth century. Using notarial and judicial records, I attempt to reconstruct the basic cultural contours of child circulation in Chile. I then explore how the orphanage, which may be characterized as a "formal" or "institutional" mode of child circulation, interfaced with the "informal" or "extrainstitutional" cultures and practices of circulation described in the first section. The documentation reveals that, rather than displacing "traditional," informal modes of charity, the expanding public welfare apparatus of the late nineteenth century actually reproduced, reinscribed, and in some measure legitimated these practices. This analysis of the Casa de Huerfanos thus sheds light not only on the comparative history of foundling homes and child abandonment but also on the historical evolution of welfare provision in its informal and institutionalized guises.
Evaluation of acute locoregional toxicity in patients with breast cancer treated with adjuvant radiotherapy in combination with pazopanib.

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to analyze acute locoregional toxicity in patients with breast cancer receiving concurrent pazopanib and RT. Materials and Methods. Patients with breast cancer who received pazopanib in combination with radiation were identified and matched (2 : 1) to patients with breast cancer who did not receive pazopanib by use of chemotherapy, radiation field design, and radiation dose. Toxicity was scored by the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events and statistical analysis was performed. Results. Grade 1 or 2 radiation dermatitis was seen in 100% and 84% of pazopanib and RT patients and matched controls respectively (P = NS). None of the patients receiving pazopanib and RT experienced ≥ grade 3 toxicity within the irradiated volume; three (16%) matched patients experienced a grade 3 skin reaction (P = 0.05). Interestingly, grade 1 or 2 hyperpigmentation was seen in 17% of pazopanib and RT patients and 60% of matched controls (P = 0.005). Conclusion. The addition of concurrent pazopanib and RT when treating the intact breast, chest wall, and associated nodal regions in breast cancer seems to be safe and well tolerated.
Immunoglobulin complexes in sera of patients with malignancy.

Sera frour 146 patients with malignancy, 59 normal controls and 42 patients hospitalized with non-malignant diseases were examined by a precipitin test with monoclonal rheumatoid factor (mRF) for the presence of circulating immune complexes containing IgG. Forty-two (29%) of the sera from cancer patients but only two of the sera from patients in each of the control groups contained such material. Similar results were obtained with a radioimmuno-assay for immune complexes based on the same mRF. Sera from 23 of 65 patients with metastatic malignancy (35%) had elevated levels of immune complexes by this latter test. The presence of the material was not related to the source of malignancy, presence of carcinoembryonic or hepatitis antigens or of such autoantibodies as rheumatoid factor or anti-DNA. By density gradient ultracentrifugation the reacting material was identified as being of molecular size 19s or greater. It has not yet been further characterized with regard to the nature of any antigens present.
The development of interpersonal competence: The role of understanding in conduct

Abstract Contemporary research on social-cognitive development from a structural perspective, including the author's analysis of levels of interpersonal understanding, has focused predominantly on universals in social knowledge. Primarily using interview procedures, it has consisted, in the main, of formal descriptions of the qualitative aspects of social concept development, and of their sequential progression with age for individuals within the species (ontogenesis). It is suggested that the developmental study of interpersonal competence requires a broader view than is provided by a structural-developmental framework alone, but a view which, nevertheless, makes use of this orientation as its foundation. Using the more inclusive orthogenetic approach and data drawn from observations of real-life interactions in field and clinical settings, five strategy levels in interpersonal negotiations are described. Several working hypotheses about the relation between levels of interpersonal understanding and interpersonal negotiation strategies are spelled out. The construct of Coordination of Social Perspectives is used as an analytic tool to integrate these two components of the model within a single theoretical framework.
Pensions and the uses of ignorance by unions and firms

Pensions are contingent claims contracts that are often fashioned by collective bargaining under conditions of asymmetric information and market power. Pensions are not an employer’s or a union’s optimal contract; they represent compromise. Employers use pensions to minimize labor costs and to adjust to market changes. Pensions help unions improve and protect their members’ work lives and help unions to survive as institutions. When workers’ estimations of their pensions differ from their employers’ estimations a moral hazard can exist. Less mobile workers and those with less influence subsidize the pension benefits of other workers or reduce an employer’s costs. Econometric results based on data from the President’s Commission on Pension Policy show that certain workers, namely women, overvalue their plans, which provides an opportunity to lower labor costs and redistribute benefits. Unions have a contradictory effect on information.
Hemispheric Specialization in Children as Reflected in the Longitudinal Development of Ear Asymmetry

Summary The longitudinal development of ear asymmetry has been investigated in two samples of kindergarten and primary school children over an age range of six years. Ear preference in a dichotic digit test, administered four times, did not appear to be affected by age and sex: right ear advantage was predominant at all times. Individual comparisons showed the development of ear advantage to depend on initial preference. Initially left eared subjects when changing ear advantage do so from left to right at early and from right to left at later school ages . The left-right shift may be due to the school teaching of linguistic skills which could selectively activate the left cerebral hemisphere. This explanation is supported by the finding that initially right eared subjects tended to conserve that preference at early school ages.
Refiner: a problem-solving environment for scientific simulator creation

The science and engineering disciplines rely heavily on computer simulation as a tool for solving large, complex mathematical problems. The difficulty of creating scientific simulation code presents the need for a programming environment that is able to assist the programmer in the code development process. This paper describes a development methodology and a prototype implementation of a system that provides such assistance. Refiner, a programming environment for creating scientific simulators, provides expert users with online support for the entire development process, from mathematical modeling to low-level implementation details. Refiner is based on Posit, a high-level object-oriented modeling and programming language. Mathematical models are specified, and executable programs are then developed through the successive application of semantics-preserving program transformations. Code development is recorded in the form of a refinement tree structure where each path from root to leaf encodes a series o...
High-speed detection of unsolicited bulk emails

We propose a Progressive Email Classifier (PEC) for high-speed classification of message patterns that are commonly associated with unsolicited bulk email (UNBE). PEC is designed to operate at the network access point, the ingress between the Internet Service Provider (ISP) and the enterprise network; so that a surge of UNBE containing fresh patterns can be detected before they spread into the enterprise network. A real-time scoreboard keeps track of detected feature instances (FI) based on a scoring and aging engine, until they are considered either from valid or UNBE sources. A FI of a valid email is discarded, but an anomalous one is passed to a blacklist to control (e.g., block or defer) subsequent emails containing the FI.The anomaly detector of PEC can be used at different protocol layers. To gain some insights on the performance of PEC, we implemented PEC and integrated it with the sendmail daemon to detect anomalous URL links from email streams. Arbitrarily chosen on-line texts and URL links extracted from a corpus of spamming-phishing emails were used to compose testing emails. Experimental results on a Xeon based server show that PEC can handle 1.2M score/age updates, parse 0.9M URL links (of average size 30 bytes) for hashing and matching, and parsing of 25,000 email bodies of average size 1.5kB per second. The lossy detection system can be easily scaled by progressive selection of detection features and detection thresholds. It can be used alone or as an early screening tool for an existing infrastructure to defeat major UNBE flooding.
Learned helplessness: Not dependent upon cognitions, attributions, or other such phenomenal experiences

Subjects shot a light gun at a target with a photorecepter cell in the bull's-eye, with the only information regarding their accuracy being provided by reinforcing tone signals. Half the subjects received reinforcers contingent upon their hits. The others were yoked to the contingent subjects, receiving non-contingent reinforcers in the same patterns. Experiment 1 compared contingent or noncontingent positive or aversive reinforcers in their effect on subsequent anagrams performance. Phenomenal experiences, such as cognitive awareness, attributions, and moods, were assessed. Subjects exhibited a strong helplessness effect independent of their phenomenal experiences. In Experiment 2 the independent variables of contingent/noncontingent reinforcement and awareness of noncontingency were manipulated orthogonally by informing half the subjects that their reinforcement had been noncontingent in the target-shooting. Actual noncontingency produced a strong helplessness effect whereas “awareness of noncontingency” did not.
Recombination stellar wind model for the coronae of early-type stars

The wind structures of early-type stars which have base coronal zones are discussed. The calculations give rise to what is called a recombination stellar wind structure because of the transition from a coronally driven wind to a radiatively driven wind. The coronal X-rays are a dominant factor in determining the wind structure because of their effect on the ionization structure, which in turn determines the heating, cooling, and the attenuating properties of the stellar wind. The decreased continuum opacity allows for an increase in the emergent X-ray flux at energies less than 1 keV. The X-ray spectra are compared with those observed with the IPC instrument on the Einstein Observatory and are found to be in excellent agreement. This shows that contrary to earlier analyses, base coronae are not ruled out by the existing IPC X-ray data. The predicted emergent X-ray luminosities are in agreement with the observed values. However, the incident X-ray luminosities from the base coronal zones can be three to four orders of magnitude larger. This suggests that the X-ray IPC spectra reflect the absorption properties of the wind and not the nature of the X-ray source.
Quick signal detection and dynamic resource allocation scheme for ultra-wideband radar

A new scheme for sampling and detecting as well as reconstructing analog signals residing in a wide spectrum band through compressive sensing is proposed. By applying compressive sensing techniques, this scheme is able to detect signals quickly over very wide bandwidth. Unlike existing compressive sensing approaches which carry out the sampling and detection/reconstruction procedures separately, in this scheme, the sampling process and the detection/reconstruction process has close interaction. Once a new signal is detected, resources are allocated for further processing. Previously detected signals are then removed as interference to facilitate new signal detection. Hence, this scheme can quickly adapt to the variation of the environment. Moreover, it avoids the complex iterative optimization procedure in reconstruction and instead uses one step detection procedure to reaches real-time handling of signals. Simulation results show that it can closely track the spectrum change even when the signal is weak.
Tailored macromolecules by living carbocationic techniques

This presentation concerns our latest results for the controlled synthesis of various homopolymers, blocks, random copolymers, networks, by living carbocationic polymerization (LC⊕ Pzn). We start with an analysis of the Winstein ionicity spectrum, a roadsign toward LC⊕ Pzn systems. Living isobutylene (IB) homopolymerization can be effected by the addition of common anion salts to conventional polymerization charges, e.g., by adding nBu4NCl to a 2-chloro-2,4,4-trimethylpentane (TMPCl)/TiCl4/IB system. Various AB diblocks have been prepared by sequential monomer addition. The first clean svnthesis of an AB poly(olefin-b-alkyl vinyl ether) diblock, ie., poly(isobutylene-b-methyl vinyl ether), by sequential monomer addition was accomplished. These novel amphiphilic diblocks promise to be excellent nonionic detergents. The field of linear A-B-A triblocks and three-arm star blocks where A = glassy and B = rubbery (polyisobutylene) segment, is vigorously expanding. Several new thermoplastic elastomers (TPEs) have been prepared, characterized and tested, e.g., poly-(indene-b-isobutylene-b-indene). The synthesis of random copolymers, e.g., isobutylene/2,4,4-dimethyl-1,3-pentadiene, by living reactivity leveling has been demonstrated. Transformation of the polyisobutylene cations PIB⊕ and ⊕PIB⊕ yielded the corresponding anions PIB⊖ and ⊖PIB⊖, which upon block polymerization of butadiene (Bd) and methyl methacrylate (MMA), respectively, gave rise to the new diblock PIB-PBd and triblock PMMA-PIB-PMMA. In the latter, the largely syndiotactic sPMMA endblocks were stereocomplexed with isotactic iPMMA and thus the upper use-temperature of these novel TPEs was enhanced. Novel amphiphilic networks comprising hydrophilic polymethacrylates (e.g., dimethylaminoethyl methacrylate (DMAEMA) or hydroxyethyl methacrylate (HEMA)) crosslinked by methacrylate-telechelic PIBs were prepared and their potential usefulness for biomedical applications has been studied.