cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The effect of flanking context on visual classification: the joint contribution of interactions at different processing levels.

Flanking characters that surround a target character may cause either facilitation of or interference with target classification, depending on experimental context. In three different experiments, the patterns of facilitative priming and interference were shown to change systematically as a function of onset asynchrony between flankers and target, illustrating differing time courses of the overlapping processes that each contributes to overall reaction time performance.
“Alfonse, give me a call!”

The SR programming language supports a simple and elegant set of abstractions for its model of distributed computing. The model provides an effective framework for demonstrating to students the different styles of distributed programming. A small Java toolkit based on SR's model is presented in this paper. This toolkit allows instructors to use the popular Java language as a platform in parallel and distributed processing courses.
How Online Design Communities Evolve Over Time: The Birth and Growth of OpenIDEO

While companies are turning to online communities of outside designers to bring new ideas into their product development process, several questions remain unanswered: How do design communities form, evolve, and die out over time? What integrates newcomers into the community? How can one grow community without impeding idea inspiration? This paper explores these questions by analyzing how OpenIDEO, an Open Innovation design platform, has evolved from conception to present day. We find that OpenIDEO possesses a stable core who frequently collaborate with transient members, and that large single communities have evolved into smaller but denser communities over time. Moreover, OpenIDEO’s use of community managers and incentives promotes an efficient network for generating new ideas, while fostering cohesive collaboration groups. By viewing design communities as an evolving network, we can guide future design communities to become sustainable and efficient — ultimately unlocking their potential to accelerate human development.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
A minimal domain responsible for Munc13 activity.

Munc13 proteins are essential in neurotransmitter release, controlling the priming of synaptic vesicles to a release-ready state. The sequences responsible for this priming activity are unknown. Here we identify a large α-helical domain of mammalian Munc13-1 that is autonomously folded and is sufficient to rescue the total arrest in neurotransmitter release observed in hippocampal neurons lacking Munc13s.
Gender stereotypes, same-gender preferences, and organizational variation in the hiring of women : Evidence from law firms

Laboratory studies have shown that stereotypes and in-group favoritism influence people's perceptions and evaluations of others, but empirical research has not yet linked these processes to gender disparities in real workplace outcomes. This study proposes that the gender stereotypicality of selection criteria and decision makers' same-gender preferences operate to intensify gender inequality in hiring. These arguments are tested with data on large U.S. law firms in the mid-1990s. The findings show that when selection criteria include a greater number of stereotypically masculine characteristics, women constitute a smaller proportion of new hires, and that, conversely, when criteria include more stereotypically feminine traits, women are better represented among new hires. Female decision makers also fill more vacancies with women than do male decision makers, but among entry-level hires, this effect diminishes as women's share of high-ranking positions increases toward gender balance.
Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis: The Importance of Qualitative and Quantitative Phenotyping

Summary During the past decade, imaging has become of paramount importance in the diagnosis of patients with interstitial lung disorders. In addition, the quantification of radiographic features at the time of diagnosis gives important prognostic information and changes in these features over time may prove to be useful outcome variables in the study of new treatments and monitoring of patients’ response to therapy. In this chapter, we review the classification of interstitial lung diseases focusing on the role of high-resolution computed tomography (HRCT), particularly as it pertains to the need for obtaining a surgical lung biopsy. We also discuss the role of baseline and longitudinal semi-quantitative and quantitative measurement of HRCT features in assessment of patients with idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF).
The Bainbridge Reflex in Canine Cardiac Autotransplants

The effects of volume infusion were examined in cardiac autotransplants to determine the role of cardiac innervation in the Bainbridge reflex. In autotransplantation the atria are transected ventral to the vena cavae and pulmonary veins. The remaining atria ("host") are innervated. The autotransplanted atria and ventricles ("donor") are extrinsically denervated. Host and donor heart rate, arterial pressure, aortic flow, and, in several experiments, venous pressure were monitored. Sixteen volume infusions (saline or 6% dextran) of 300 to 800 cc were given to five unanesthetized animals. In three additional experiments infusions were given after atropine, 2 mg, and propranolol, 1 mg/kg. In all of these animals, volume infusion was accompanied by a small change in donor rate and a consistent increase in the host rate. The venous pressure, when measured, increased 7 cm H2O, the aortic pressure mean change was +3 mm Hg, and the cardiac output increased 0.2 L/min. Atropine and propranolol both attenuated the ho...
Fairness Motivations and Tradeoffs Underlying Public Support for Government Environmental Spending in Nine Nations

Public support for government spending on the environment in nine countries was assessed by examining responses to surveys conducted in each of these countries as part of the International Social Survey Program. Both absolute and relative levels of support were assessed. Aggregate level analysis showed considerable variability across countries. Within countries, the young and more educated were more supportive of environmental spending, even at the expense of other social programs. Prosocialist values were associated with higher levels of support for environmental spending, while probusiness and government social responsibility values were associated with less support. However, those endorsing both prosocialist and government responsibility values were less likely to endorse spending on the environment at the expense of other social programs. The linkage of resource distributions tradeoffs to values supports a psychological model of public opinion about the environment based on distributive fairness considerations.
Stationary regimes for inventory processes

Abstract The inventory equation, Z(t) = X(t) + L(t), where X = X(t):t ≥ 0 is a given netput process and L(t):t ≥ 0 is the corresponding lost potential process, is explored in the general case when X is a negative drift stochastic process that has asymptotically stationary increments. Our results show that if (as s → ∞) X s ≜ X(s + t) − X(s):t ≥ 0 converges in some sense to a process X∗ with stationary increments and negative drift, then, regardless of initial conditions, θ s Z ≜ Z(s + t):t ≜ 0 converges in the same sense to a stationary version Z∗ . We use coupling and shift-coupling methods and cover the cases of convergence in total variation and in total variation in mean, as well as strong convergence in mean. Our approach simplifies and extends the analysis of Borovkov (1976). We remark upon an application in regenerative process theory.
Motion adaptive signal integration-high dynamic range (MASI-HDR) video processing for dynamic platforms

Two of the biggest challenges in designing U×V vision systems are properly representing high dynamic range scene content using low dynamic range components and reducing camera motion blur. SRI’s MASI-HDR (Motion Adaptive Signal Integration-High Dynamic Range) is a novel technique for generating blur-reduced video using multiple captures for each displayed frame while increasing the effective camera dynamic range by four bits or more. MASI-HDR processing thus provides high performance video from rapidly moving platforms in real-world conditions in low latency real time, enabling even the most demanding applications on air, ground and water.
Normalized finite non‐homogeneous chains and applications

We consider modifications of finite non‐homogeneous Markov chains with at least one absorbing state. We apply to such chains the following concept of normalization: A sequence of substochastic matrices is said to be normalized if each matrix is right‐multiplied by a positive diagonal matrix, generally a function of time, for the purpose of controlling the short‐ or long‐range behaviour of the product of the modified matrices. When it is desirable to distinguish the case where the diagonal matrix is scalar, we speak of scalar normalization. In the applications discussed, the normalization usually reflects ‘growth rates’, in which case the diagonal matrix of the above definition is called a growth matrix and its entries are greater than or equal to 1.
MULTISCALE AND MULTITEMPORAL URBAN REMOTE SENSING

The remote sensing of urban areas has received much attention from scientists conducting studies on measuring sprawl, congestion, pollution, poverty, and environmental encroachment. Yet much of the research is case and data-specific where results are greatly influenced by prevailing local conditions. There seems to be a lack of epistemological links between remote sensing and conventional theoretical urban geography; in other words, an oversight for the appreciation of how urban theory fuels urban change and how urban change is measured by remotely sensed data. This paper explores basic urban theories such as centrality, mobility, materiality, nature, public space, consumption, segregation and exclusion, and how they can be measured by remote sensing sources. In particular, the link between structure (tangible objects) and function (intangible or immaterial behavior) is addressed as the theory that supports the wellknow contrast between land cover and land use classification from remotely sensed data. The paper then couches these urban theories and contributions from urban remote sensing within two analytical fields. The first is the search for an "appropriate" spatial scale of analysis, which is conveniently divided between micro and macro urban remote sensing for measuring urban structure, understanding urban processes, and perhaps contributions to urban theory at a variety of scales of analysis. The second is on the existence of a temporal lag between materiality of urban objects and the planning process that approved their construction, specifically how time-dependence in urban structural-functional models produce temporal lags that alter the causal links between societal and political functional demands and structural ramifications.
Evidence that carnosine and anserine may participate in Wilson's disease.

Abstract Carnosine, anserine and copper(II) ion all bind to specific sites on bovine serum albumin, and, in addition, both dipeptides chelate copper(II) ion in the absence of serum albumin. Thus a solution of dipeptide, copper(II) ion and serum albumin exhibits several complexes that arise from the competing binding reactions. Since a change in this complex equilibrium might occur in Wilson's disease, we have investigated the reactions between the various complexes with NMR and ESR spectroscopy. Serum albumin simultaneously binds the copper(II) ion and carnosine to separate sites rather than forming a mixed chelate, but carnosine still is capable of competing with serum albumin for subsaturating amounts of copper.
Toward a Postphenomenology of Extra-Musical Sound as Compositional Determinant

electronic forces employed help inform my decisions regarding content, discrete and semantic pitch choices, rhythm, tempo and form. It can be argued that the experience of music is an inherently phenomenological enterprise. In the late Renaissance antiphonal choral works of Palestrina, the offstage trumpets of Verdi's Requiem, Bruckner's attention to the acoustics of his basilica, Wagner's orchestra under the stage, and in countless other examples, composers have made anecdotal and implicit use of space in the performance of and compositional process in their works. In the 20th century, work by Brant, Cage, Lucier, Oliveros, Radigue, Scelsi, Vare'se, Xenakis, Young, the spectral school and others has brought the experience of acoustics to bear as a much more explicit component of their methodology. Most recently, in the sound artworks of Cardiff, Kuhn, Kubisch, Leitner and Minard, these concerns have been liberated from
Profile of Patients With Human Immunodeficiency Virus Infection Presenting to an Inner-City Emergency Department: Preliminary Report

Increasing numbers of patients with diagnosed HIV infection are presenting to inner-city emergency departments. Unfortunately, there is little information available on the characteristics and emergency clinical problems of HIV-infected patients to guide physicians in patient care and strategies for resource use. Preliminary data from an on-going investigation revealed that there were 254 emergency visits (1.8% of total) by 164 patients with known HIV infection during the four-month period of March to June 1988. Only 171 visits (62%) were likely related to patients' underlying HIV infection. Nine percent of IV drug users (IVDUs) carried a diagnosis of AIDS before presentation compared with 68% of patients who were homosexual or bisexual. Fifty-five patients (21.7%) presented with their first known complication of HIV. Among the 140 risks from patients previously considered asymptomatic, those with homosexual or bisexual risk were 3.6-fold more likely to present with a first-time complication of HIV than were IVDUs. HIV-infected patients were twice as likely to have inadequate insurance compared with a sample of ED seronegative controls. Of the 130 risks by IVDUs, 85% were without adequate insurance coverage compared with 56% of the 91 patient risks from homosexual or bisexuals ( P
Long-term follow-up of patients surgically treated for ruptured ovarian endometriotic cysts

Abstract Objective Approximately 4% of women are admitted to hospitals because of ovarian cyst rupture, hemorrhage, or torsion. Endometriotic cyst rupture is a rare surgical emergency associated with severe peritonitis and pelvic adhesion, and we aimed to determine its prognosis and long-term outcome. Materials and Methods We reviewed and analyzed the medical records of 11 patients (mean age, 31.8 ± 7.2 years) with ruptured endometrioma and a history of dysmenorrhea (4.9 ± 2.3 of maximum 10) who were surgically treated, and then regularly followed-up for more than 3 years (range, 35–261 months). Results Previous ultrasound examinations revealed pelvic cysts in seven patients. Three patients had a history of endometrioma surgery. In the emergency room, eight patients complained of uterine motion tenderness. Sonography revealed residual ovarian tumors (size range, 4.2–10.4 cm), with or without fluid accumulation in the cul-de-sac. Surgical enucleation by laparoscopy or laparotomy revealed high revised American Fertility Society endometriosis scores (78 ± 20.1) as well as high adhesion scores (48.7 ± 11.3). In the postoperative period, four patients had recurrent ovarian tumors that were related to elevated serum cancer antigen 125 levels and high postoperative pain scores. In contrast, three patients who became pregnant during the postoperative period had low serum cancer antigen 125 levels and pain scores. Conclusion Endometrioma rupture should be considered in females presenting with sudden lower abdominal pain, associated with a history of dysmenorrhea and preexisting pelvic cysts. Emergency surgical intervention may lead to a better prognosis, particularly in patients without a history of previous endometrioma surgery.
Effects of Argon laser irradiation on polar excitations in frog sciatic nerve

Background and Objectives Since the mechanisms underlying the effects of low-power laser irradiation on the nervous system remain unclear, we examined whether such irradiation can influence ionic channels of the nerve membrane using the law of polar excitation in isolated frog sciatic nerve. Study Design/Materials and Methods Using 43 frogs (Xenopus laevis), nerve preparations were stimulated at 0.5/second using a 10-millisecond pulse at supramaximal intensity. Ar+ laser irradiation (457, 488, 514 nm; 50, 75, 100 mW) was applied for 30 minutes to the portion between the anode and cathode stimulating electrodes. Results and Conclusions Ar+ laser irradiations (457, 488 nm; 50 mW) blocked the generation of anode-break-excitation, rather than cathode-make-excitation. Such a selective effect occurred when applying a blocker of hyperpolarization-activated cation current (Ih) channel, ZD7288. Ar+ laser irradiation may influence Na+ channels in addition to Ih channels. Lasers Surg. Med. 38:608–614, 2006. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
Advance Directives and Opportunities for Nurses

Technical, social, and economic factors are an impetus for expressing end-of-life decisions as advance directives (ADs) including a living will and durable power of attorney. Despite opportunities, nurses do not appear to be widely involved in practice and research regarding ADs. To provide perspectives for nursing participation, the literature was reviewed, and a set of outcomes regarding ADs were identified. The historical background and the ethical issues associated with ADs are examined. Appropriate roles for nurses with respect to ADs are suggested. Research and practice opportunities are identified. The databases reviewed were the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature from 1983 to January 1996, and MEDLINE, from 1985 to January 1996.
Spontaneous changes in arterial blood pressure and renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure in conscious rats.

1. Previous work has demonstrated a positive relationship between experimentally induced changes in arterial pressure (AP) and renal interstitial hydrostatic pressure (RIHP). The purpose of the present study was to test the hypothesis that RIHP is positively correlated with the normal changes in AP that occur spontaneously in conscious rats. 2. Rats were chronically instrumented for the recording of AP (via an aortic catheter) and RIHP. RIHP was measured by implanting a Millar microtransducer, whose tip had been encapsulated in a 35 microns pore polyethylene matrix (5 mm long, 2 mm o.d.), approximately 5 mm below the renal cortical surface. 3. A total of 56 h of simultaneous analog recording of AP and RIHP was obtained from ten rats. Each 1 h segment was digitized and evaluated at frequencies of 1, 0.1, 0.02 and 0.01 Hz. 4. In forty-nine out of fifty-six of these 1 h recordings taken at 1 Hz, there were significant positive linear correlations between AP and RIHP (mean r = 0.32) with a mean slope of 0.11 mmHg RIHP/1 mmHg AP. Low-pass filtering to 0.01 Hz significantly increased the r value to 0.48. 5. These results demonstrate that spontaneous changes in AP and RIHP are positively correlated. The spontaneous coupling of AP and RIHP may be of importance in the regulation of salt and water excretion by the pressure diuresis mechanism.
Role of membrane sulfhydryl groups in stimulation of renin secretion by sulfhydryl reagents.

Role of membrane sulfhydryl groups in stimulation of renin secretion by sulfhydryl reagents. The present study was designed to address the reactivity and accessibility of the particular class of sulfhydryl groups involved in the regulatory process of renin secretion. Both mercurial (such as P-chloromercuriphenyl sulfonate [PCMPS]) and non-mercurial sulfhydryl reagents (for example, 6,6-dithiodinicotinic acid [DTDN]), which very slowly penetrate the cell membrane of intact cells, stimulated renin secretion. The membrane permeant sulfhydryl reagent N-ethylmaleimide had no effect on renin secretion but its membrane impermeant derivative, stilbene maleimide, strongly stimulated secretion. Furthermore, disulfide reducing agents such as dithiothreitol (DTT) had no effect on renin secretion at low concentrations, but strongly inhibited it at high concentrations. Several reagents which are known to primarily deplete cellular reduced glutathione were without effect on renin secretion. The stimulation of renin secretion by PCMPS was rapid in onset, and prevented and reversed by DTT and L-cysteine. Furthermore, the maximal stimulatory effect of PCMPS was not addititive to that by diuretics with sulfhydryl reactivity (such as, ethacrynic acid and mersalyl). The stimulatory effect of PCMPS was not affected by diuretics which lack sulfhydryl reactivity (such as, bumetanide and furosemide). These results suggest that sulfhydryl reagents of both with and without diuretic activity stimulate renin secretion by reacting with specific class of sulfhydryl groups which are readily accessible from the extracellular compartment. In addition, these results provide further support the possibility that a sulfhydryl-disulfide interchange in the membrane may play a regulatory role in the renin secretory process.
Activity links: supporting communication and reflection about action

Tasks that take place over a long period of time or collaborative tasks where participants are required to develop an understanding of each other's effort benefit from better communication about activities. We are exploring facilities for linking directly to activity in hypertext rather than to documents describing activity. One way of preserving a record of activity is to store and access document history. Based on the existing use of edit history in the Visual Knowledge Builder (VKB), this paper explores functionality surrounding activity links, links whose destination anchors are a span of activity within the edit history. We describe enhancements in VKB that support reviewing activities in the hypertext space and authoring activity links.
Intraoperative rapid parathyroid hormone monitoring in parathyroid surgery.

The traditional approach for years in parathyroid surgery has been to perform bilateral exploration and examine all four parathyroid glands. With the ability to localize an adenoma preoperatively with imaging modalities (eg, sestamibi scan, ultrasound), unilateral exploration became popular and acceptable, with low rates of complication and recurrence. With unilateral exploration, identification of a normal gland on the same side is required to make sure that the patient does not have four-gland hyperplasia. Nevertheless, a second adenoma (double adenoma) on the contralateral side can be missed with this approach. With bilateral exploration, multiglandular disease is not likely to be missed, but bilateral exploration increases the risk for hypocalcemia and recurrent laryngeal nerve injury. Multiglandular disease is a facet of parathyroid surgery that continues to plague parathyroid surgeons. In recent years, however, modern adjunctive technology, including the ability to measure the parathyroid hormone rapidly and intraoperatively, has decreased the risk of missing multiglandular disease. The intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH) has a very short half-life of approximately 3 minutes. Therefore, measurement of iPTH level in the patient after removal of an identified adenoma would theoretically predict the success of surgery. In 1991 Irvin and colleagues [1] first introduced the intraoperative measurement of PTH level to predict postoperative calcium level. Since then many authors have demonstrated its accuracy and utility [3–19], and it has become an important tool in parathyroid surgery.
Relationship between Innovation and Professional Communication in the “Creative” Economy:

We evaluate 45 jobs professional communicators might occupy. Specifically, we examine the impact of creativity on careers that may become more or less easily outsourced domestically or offshore in the future. We are unable to find any particular relationship between creativity, per se, and job security. Instead, we find that people with knowledge of the processes required for innovation are more valued by industry than those recognized as creative. We suggest that to be prepared for the evolution of the global economy, technical communicators and their educators should understand “innovation” in its formal context and be able to apply that knowledge in their workplaces and classrooms.
Futility: A Concept in Evolution

The debate about how to resolve cases in which patients and families demand interventions that clinicians regard as futile has been in evolution over the past 20 years. This debate can be divided into three generations. The first generation was characterized by attempts to define futility in terms of certain clinical criteria. These attempts failed because they proposed limitations to care based on value judgments for which there is no consensus among a significant segment of society. The second generation was a procedural approach that empowered hospitals, through their ethics committees, to decide whether interventions demanded by families were futile. Many hospitals adopted such policies, and some states incorporated this approach into legislation. This approach has also failed because it gives hospitals authority to decide whether or not to accede to demands that the clinicians regard as unreasonable, when any national consensus on what is a "beneficial treatment" remains under intense debate. Absent such a consensus, procedural mechanisms to resolve futility disputes inevitably confront the same insurmountable barriers as attempts to define futility. We therefore predict emergence of a third generation, focused on communication and negotiation at the bedside. We present a paradigm that has proven successful in business and law. In the small number of cases in which even the best efforts at communication and negotiation fail, we suggest that clinicians should find ways to better support each other in providing this care, rather than seeking to override the requests of these patients and families.
Schumann resonances and electrical conductivity of the atmospher and lower ionosphere—I. Effects of conductivity at various altitudes on resonance frequencies and attenuation

Abstract Three realistic, continuous ionospheric conductivity profiles and an idealized model of the ionosphere, consisting of three discrete layers, are used to investigate the effects of conductivity at altitudes from ground level to 100 km upon the Schumann resonance frequencies and ELF attenuation. The ultimate objective is to infer a conductivity profile from resonance frequencies and cavity Q measured at ground level which will be done in Part II. In Part I it is shown that the dominant effects are due to the region between roughly 40 km and 60 km where the ratio of conduction current to displacement current is 0.01 ≲ [σ/(ωϵ0)] ≲ 40. A finite average conductivity σa of the atmosphere below approximately 40 km altitude must be considered for accurate evaluation of wave attenuation or cavity Q. Variations in σa can have the same effect upon attenuation as possible changes in ionospheric conductivity in the 70–80 km altitude range.
Glutamate and aspartate immunoreactivity in corticospinal neurons of rats.

A combination of retrograde tracers and immunostaining was employed to test whether corticospinal tract (CST) neurons in rats may use amino acid excitatory neurotransmitters. CST neurons were identified following injections of either Diamidino Yellow (DY) or colloidal gold-labeled enzymatically inactive horseradish peroxidase conjugated to wheat germ agglutinin (WGAapoHRP-Au) in the spinal cord. As retrograde tracers, the two substances seemed to be equally effective, but WGAapoHRP-Au was better suited than DY as a tracer to use in combination with immunocytochemistry. Sections through the primary sensorimotor cortex, which contained the bulk of identified CST neurons, and the secondary somatosensory cortex were processed with antisera raised in rabbits against glutamate (Glu) or aspartate (Asp) conjugated by glutaraldehyde to hemocyanin. In rats with DY injections, about 60–75% of the CST neurons were Glu-immunopositive, with higher ratios in SI and MI than in SII. Similar results were obtained in all areas examined from the rats with injections of WGAapoHRP-Au. Only sections from rats with injections of WGAapoHRP-Au were processed for Asp immunostaining. In this material, between 65 and 75% of the CST neurons were Asp-immunopositive, with a slightly higher ratio in SI and MI than in SII. The possibility that these results might reflect limited penetration of the antiserum and/or staining of the same population of CST neurons by either antiserum was addressed in sections processed with both the Glu and Asp antisera. In sections incubated in a mixture of the two antisera, the percentage of immunostained CST neurons was higher, about 90%, than in sections processed for only one of the two antisera. Furthermore, in rats in which Glu and Asp antibodies were visualized by two distinguishable immunostainings, four populations of CST neurons were identifiable: (1) neurons only immunopositive for Glu, (2) neurons only immunopositive for Asp, (3) neurons likely to be stained by both, and (4) neurons immunonegative for both antisera. Twenty-five to 30% of CST neurons were positive for only one antiserum, and about 50% were positive for both. No preferential distribution was evident for any one of these populations of neurons. However, perikaryal cross-sectional areas were larger for the double-stained than for the single-stained CST neurons. Glutamergic and aspartergic transmission in CST neurons has been proposed in several publications in which methods other than immunocytochemistry were employed. While the present observations support previous results and conclusions, it remains to be demonstrated conclusively that these amino acids, and not di- or oligopeptides, possibly recognized by the same antisera raised against Glu and Asp, are the natural transmitters in CST neurons.
Radionuclide adsorption by manganese oxides and implications for radioactive waste disposal

COBALT-60 and certain transuranics such as 244Cm, 241Am and 238Pu are migrating in trace amounts from original intermediate-level waste disposal pits and trenches in the radioactive waste burial grounds of Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) in Tennessee1. These radionuclides are transported in trace amounts from the trench 7 area and are to some extent adsorbed by soil and shale along the route of migration. We show here that the adsorbed radionuclides, which are very strongly bound in the soil, are being retained primarily by manganese oxides in the soils. Our data illustrate the importance of the manganese oxide component of soils and sediments in general in controlling 60Co and actinide mobility. Certain implications of these results for the field of radioactive waste management will also be discussed.
Preference Consistency and Preference Strength: Processing and Judgmental issues1

Recent research in motivated reasoning has examined processing of information that is consistent or inconsistent with one's preferences. This paper extends the work by examining the micro-processes of the processing of such information. In addition, it examines the moderating impact of preference strength and argument quality on processing of and judgments associated with preference-consistent and preference-inconsistent information. Across 2 studies, evidence was obtained suggesting that preference-inconsistent information is processed in greater depth as well as in a more biased manner. Findings are also reported indicating that when preferences are weak, people are less resistant to changing their preferences, particularly when exposed to strong arguments accompanying preference-inconsistent information. Implications for comparative advertising in a consumer marketing context are discussed.
Unsymmetrical broadside-coupled coplanar waveguides for loose- and tight-coupling MIC and MMIC applications

New broadside-coupled coplanar waveguides (CPW) having a completely asymmetrical structure, suitable for hybrid and monolithic microwave and millimeter-wave integrated circuits requiring broad bandwidths as well as loose and tight couplings, is proposed and examined for the first time. The results of the inivestigation, performed based on the spectral-domain analysis, demonstrate the versatility of the asymmetrical broadside-coupled CPW as compared to its symmetrical counterpart.
Dropouts versus completers among chronically depressed outpatients.

Abstract Background Premature termination is common among patients treated for depression with either pharmacotherapy or psychotherapy. Yet little is known about factors associated with premature treatment termination among depressed patients. Methods This study examines predictors of, time to, and reasons for dropout from the 12-week acute phase treatment of nonpsychotic adult outpatients, age 18–75, with chronic major depression who were randomly assigned to nefazadone alone (MED), cognitive behavioral analysis system of psychotherapy alone (CBASP) or both treatments (COMB). Results Of 681 randomized study participants, 156 were defined as dropouts. Dropout rates were equivalent across the three treatments. Among dropouts, those in COMB remained in treatment (Mean = 40 days) significantly longer than those in either MED (Mean = 27 days) or CBASP (Mean = 28 days). Dropouts attributed to medication side-effects were significantly lower in COMB than in MED, suggesting that the relationship with the psychotherapist may increase patient willingness to tolerate side-effects associated with antidepressant medications. Ethnic or racial minority status, younger age, lower income, and co-morbid anxiety disorders significantly predicted dropout in the full sample. Within treatments, differences between completers and dropouts in minority status and the prevalence of anxiety disorders were most pronounced in MED. Among those receiving CBASP, dropouts had significantly lower therapeutic alliance scores than completers. Limitations The sample included only individuals with chronic depression. Conclusions Predictors of dropout included baseline patient characteristics, but not early response to treatment. Ethnic and racial minorities and those with comorbid anxiety are at higher risk of premature termination, particularly in pharmacotherapy, and may require modified treatment strategies.
Effect of tuftsin on migration of polymorphonuclear and mononuclear human leukocytes in leukocyte migration agarose test

Abstract In man and dogs a specific portion of immunoglobulin G (IgG) binds to circulating blood polymorphonuclear (PMN) leukocytes and stimulates their phagocytic activity. This fragment, termed “tuftsin,” has been isolated and characterized previously. Using the leukocyte migration agarose test (LMAT), we have found that tuftsin neither enhanced nor inhibited the random migration of human granulocytes, whereas the migration of mononuclear leukocytes was significantly enhanced.
Anterior cervical decompression and fusion with plate fixation as an outpatient procedure.

Abstract Background context Outpatient cervical spine surgery has previously been described for posterior laminoforaminotomy and anterior microdiscectomy with allograft fusion. Anterior cervical discectomy and fusion (ACDF) with plate fixation has not, to our knowledge, been described as an outpatient procedure. Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and feasibility of ACDF with instrumentation when performed as an outpatient in a free-standing ambulatory surgical center. Additionally, the authors sought to determine any patient selection bias and its effect on outcome. Study design This study is a retrospective medical record review. Patient sample The sample included all patients who underwent one or two level ACDF with plate fixation at levels C4-5 or below as an adjunct to autogenous iliac crest bone graft or structural allograft from 1998 to 2002 by the two senior authors. Outcome measures Complications were assessed clinically with special attention to dysphagia and respiratory complications. Inpatient lengths of stay and postoperative hospital admission or readmission were also measured. Methods Thirty consecutive patients were treated at a free-standing ambulatory surgery center, whereas two control groups, each of 30 consecutive patients, had surgery performed in the hospital and were admitted overnight for observation. The first control group consisted of admitted patients before the commencement of patient selection for the outpatient group; the second control group was comprised of admitted patients who had surgery performed concurrently with the outpatient group. The study group was evaluated on the first postoperative day and 3 weeks after surgery. Results Ninety patients underwent ACDF plate fixation at 140 different levels. Forty patients were treated at one level, and 50 were treated at two levels. The three groups were comparable in age, sex, and body mass index. There were no major complications. Seven patients (13%) had minor postoperative complications among the controls: transient dysphagia in three (5%) and graft donor site pain in four (14%). Three patients (10%) in the outpatient group had minor complications (all had dysphagia). Among the controls, four patients (7%) had increased length of stay owing to complications. Four patients (7%) in the combined control group were readmitted for early complications; no patient was admitted for a complication after outpatient surgery. Conclusions In the present study, selection criteria for outpatient surgery included one or two level involvement C4-5 or lower, absence of myelopathy, subjective neck size, and estimated operative time. The data did not otherwise suggest a difference in the surgical populations. The outpatient group had a lower complication rate compared with the controls. This was likely the result of selection bias. Transient dysphagia was the most prevalent complication in the outpatient group.
Level of Interaction and Reciprocal Influence in Supportive and Critical Male Discussion Groups

Abstract The consequences of varying the amount of interaction, and the supportive or critical nature of information exchanged among group members, upon reciprocal influence in a small-group, discrepancy-resolution task was investigated. One hundred ninety-nine American male college students in 47 groups of three to five members provided agreement ratings for 25 statements of current social interest, to identify a topic of disagreement. The groups were allowed low, medium, or high levels of information exchange (interaction) regarding the disagreement topic. Critical and supportive atmospheres were induced in the medium- and high-interaction conditions. Analyses revealed opinion change and enhanced group perception ratings as a function of the amount of interaction allowed. The presence of a critical or supportive atmosphere did not influence opinion change or group evaluations. In terms of attribution theory, requiring group members to generate bidirectional arguments on an issue strengthened the percept...
Creation of biaxial body center cubic tungsten nanorods under dynamic shadowing effect

Using a dynamic oblique angle deposition in a flipping rotation mode where the flux incident angle continuously changes during the magnetron sputter deposition, we demonstrated that a stable, biaxial (110)[11¯0] body center cubic (alpha-phase) tungsten nanorod film can be grown on amorphous substrates. In contrast, we showed that only a fiber-textured, metastable A15 (beta-phase) tungsten nanorod film was obtained using the conventional rotation mode where the oblique incident flux angle was fixed with the substrate rotating around the surface normal. Different flipping rotation speeds were performed to study the effect of dynamic shadowing on texture axis angular dispersion. The sample grown at 0.3 rotations per minute was observed to have the minimum out-of-plane and in-plane orientation dispersions characterized by the reflection high energy electron diffraction surface pole figure technique. The biaxial texture selection under the flipping rotation mode is explained qualitatively.
Paralyzed subject controls telepresence mobile robot using novel sEMG brain-computer interface: Case study

Here we demonstrate the use of a new singlesignal surface electromyography (sEMG) brain-computer interface (BCI) to control a mobile robot in a remote location. Previous work on this BCI has shown that users are able to perform cursor-to-target tasks in two-dimensional space using only a single sEMG signal by continuously modulating the signal power in two frequency bands. Using the cursor-to-target paradigm, targets are shown on the screen of a tablet computer so that the user can select them, commanding the robot to move in different directions for a fixed distance/angle. A Wifi-enabled camera transmits video from the robot's perspective, giving the user feedback about robot motion. Current results show a case study with a C3-C4 spinal cord injury (SCI) subject using a single auricularis posterior muscle site to navigate a simple obstacle course. Performance metrics for operation of the BCI as well as completion of the telerobotic command task are developed. It is anticipated that this noninvasive and mobile system will open communication opportunities for the severely paralyzed, possibly using only a single sensor.
Patterns of user disclosure of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use

Objective:To investigate patterns of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) use disclosure across medical and sociobehavioral factors and to provide a model that takes into account factors in explaining those patterns.Subjects:A total of 21,849 CAM use episodes from 7347 respondents in the 200
Christian Coseru , Perceiving Reality: Consciousness, Intentionality, and Cognition in Buddhist Philosophy . Reviewed by

This work focuses on a narrow Buddhist epistemological tradition that begins with the Abhidharma philosopher Vasubandhu’s analyses of perception and is developed by Dignāga, Dharmakīrti, Kamalaśīla, and Śāntarakṣita. Coseru explains how Buddhist epistemology evolved in dialogue with competing conceptions internal to Buddhism and against orthodox Indian philosophies, particularly Nyāya and Mīmāṃsā. Coseru’s main argument is that although widespread interpretations of Buddhist epistemology are foundationalist, a more useful way to understand it is as a form of phenomenology consistent with enactivism and a (causal) naturalism based in descriptive accounts of cognition. Coseru engages his analysis with contemporary Western philosophical concerns in philosophy of mind and language, cognitive science, and enactivism.
Structural abnormalities in the placenta

Genes regulate the development of fertilised egg into the inner cell mass (which will become the embryo, fetus and, eventually, baby) and the trophoblast (which will become the placenta). Defects in the genes that regulate these processes lead to a wide range of embryonic, fetal and neonatal defects, from minor cosmetic abnormalities, to such severe defects disasters that a pregnancy miscarries within a few days to weeks after fertilization. Since the placenta and fetus share the same genome, genetic defects in the fetus are often mirrored in the placenta as abnormal growth patterns. Abnormal growth pattern of the trophoblast layers, namely trophoblast invaginations, appear to be associated with genetic defects in the fetus. When these deep pits are cut in cross section they appear as trophoblast inclusions. Compared to the placentas from normal children there is a significantly increased frequency of trophoblast inclusions in cases of known chromosomal diseases, such as trisomy 21, 13 and 18, as well as triploidy.
Structure-activity relationships of MDMA and related compounds: a new class of psychoactive drugs?

It has been hypothesized that MDMA and substances that possess a psychopharmacological effect similar to MDMA are members of a novel pharmacological class named entactogens [1–3]. In this chapter evidence will be presented to support this, through a discussion of the data acquired in efforts directed toward testing this hypothesis. Although these studies are far from complete, the results gathered thus far, together with those from other laboratories, support the view that the pharmacology of entactogens is clearly different from other known classes of compounds.
Accurate measurement of high-speed package and interconnect parasitics

The feasibility of using high-speed wafer probes to measure accurately the parasitics associated with packages and interconnects used in conjunction with high-speed integrated circuits is demonstrated. A way of calibrating out the fixture-related errors while providing a reconfigurable mechanical interface to specific points of interest is demonstrated. These points can be at the perimeter and also internal. Calibration at the point of interface to the structure under test and a well-controlled mechanical interface enable large numbers of highly repeatable measurements to be made easily and accurately. The effect is to extend the full capability of test instrumentation to the physical points of interest, with accuracy and repeatability from site to site. The ability to calibrate at the probe tips is necessary to eliminate distortions from cables and probes. Some sources of errors, such as crosstalk, should be minimized in the probe, since they are difficult to correct in most cases. >
Representation in Age-Based Interest Groups

This research examines representation processes within two age-based interest groups: The National Retired Teachers Association and The American Association of Retired Persons. Drawing upon survey data from group members and leaders, propositions are evaluated regarding the implications of varying rates of policy interest and activity among group members. Activists are compared with other members in terms of background, policy positions, and proximity to leadership policy positions.
General approach to error prediction in point registration

A method for the first-order analysis of the point registration problem is presented and validated. The method is a unified approach to the problem that allows for inhomogeneous and anisotropic fiducial localization error (FLE) and arbitrary weighting in the registration algorithm. Cross-covariance matrices are derived both for target registration error (TRE) and for weighted fiducial registration error (FRE). Furthermore, it is shown that for ideal weighting, in which the weighting matrix for each fiducial equals the inverse of the square root of the cross covariance of the two-space FLE for that fiducial, fluctuations of FRE and TRE are independent. These results are validated by comparison with previously published expressions for special cases and by simulation and shown to be correct. Furthermore, simulations for randomly generated fiducial positions and FLEs are presented that show that correlation is negligible (correlation coefficient < 0.1) for uniform weighting (i.e., no weighting) as well. From these results we conclude that measures of the goodness of fit of the fiducials, e.g., FRE, are unreliable estimators of registration accuracy, i.e., TRE, and should be avoided.
A Case for GUI Testing Using Symbolic Execution Poster Abstract

A Graphical User Interface (GUI) consists of virtual objects (widgets) that are more intuitive to use, for example buttons, edit boxes, etc. While GUIs have become ubiquitous, testing them remains largely ad- hoc. In contrast with console applications where there is only one point of interaction (the command line), GUIs provide multiple points each of which might have different states. This structure makes GUI testing especially challenging because of its large input space.
ON CHIRAL SYMMETRY BREAKDOWN IN A LATTICE THEORY OF FERMIONS

Abstract The effective potential for the fermion propagator in the lattice theory of fermions studied numerically by Weingarten and Velikson is calculated to two loops. Evidence is found for chiral symmetry breakdown and the elimination of fermion doubling only in a regime where the loop expansion is unreliable.