cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Dry Summer Diminishes Mate Search Effort by Pronghorn Females: Evidence for a Significant Cost of Mate Search

In the 2 weeks before estrus, pronghorn (Antilocapra americana) females on the National Bison Range in northwestern Montana, USA usually move actively among several widely spaced, mature, site-faithful males in a mate search process that identifies vigorous mates. Typically, at least 90% of females practice this active sampling each year; each of the remaining females moves, before the rut begins, to a peripheral, isolated location with a single male and mates there without sampling. In 2001 and 2002, 90 and 100% of females, respectively, used the sampling strategy. The summer of 2003 was unusually hot and dry in western Montana. By September, when the pronghorn rut occurs, many pronghorn females were in visibly poor condition. In the winter that followed, 38% of females and 79% of males died, and in the following spring, only 17% of the surviving females gave birth. In the rut of 2003, 19% of females practiced the active sampling strategy. In 2004, 68% of females attempted to sample, even though there were only three mature males in the population. Among females that sampled, the number of switches away from harems and the number of males visited did not vary across years, except in 2004. The proportion of samplers in 2003 that died over winter was not different from the proportion of non-samplers that died over winter, and among the survivors, the proportion of samplers that completed gestation was not different from the proportion of non-samplers that completed gestation. The data suggest that pronghorn females have a strong motivation to sample potential mates, that sampling is abandoned when energy stores are low, and that yearly variation in the percent of females that sample is explained by variation in female condition.
Aging studies on stressed and unstressed scintillating, wave-shifting, and clear fibers

For the upgrade in 1998, the Fermilab D-Zero collaboration will install detectors which have many thousand scintillating and wavelength shifting fibers coupled to clear lightguide fibers. Our objective was to study whether the fibers' performance will deteriorate with age. Aging in these three kinds of fibers were studied by measuring attenuation lengths and light yields as a function of time. Attenuation lengths of scintillating and wavelength shifting fibers were measured using an ultraviolet light source and effective light yields of scintillating fibers were measured using a 207Bi radiation source. For clear fibers, attenuation measurements were made using light from a green light-emitting diode. Scintillating fibers have shown no noticeable changes in attenuation lengths and light yields over periods of up to 3.5 years when they were stored properly. Wavelength shifting fibers have been studied for a period of five months and have shown no degradation. Clear fibers have been studied over periods of up to seven months and have shown a reduction of a few percent in the attenuation length. These will have to be monitored for a longer period of time to establish if the effect is significant. The effects of aging on mechanically stressed fibers have also been studied. Light transmissions in clear fibers coiled into loops of various radii have been compared to transmissions in straight fibers. The stressed fibers have shown no change in the light loss for almost one year. The observations made over the past 3.5 years indicate that fiber aging is not a serious problem, however, the clear fibers require further investigation.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Three-point bending behavior of a ZEK100 Mg alloy at room temperature

Abstract Three-point bending and tensile tests were performed on rare earth containing ZEK100 at room temperature and various displacement rates (1.0, 5.0, 10.0, 20.0 and 50.0 mm/min). The bend was either parallel to the rolling direction (RD specimens) or the transverse direction (TD specimens). The TD specimens presented higher bendability than the RD specimens. For the TD specimens, fracture did not occur at low displacement rates of 1.0, 5.0 and 10.0 mm/min, but occurred at 20.0 and 50.0 mm/min. Fracture occurred in the RD specimens at all the displacement rates. Cracks were observed in both the compression zone and the tension zone. Tensile tests in the RD and the TD show that the ductility in the TD is about three times as much as in the RD, leading to the better bendability in the RD specimens. The initial texture was examined by X-ray diffraction (XRD) and the results show that the (0001) basal texture was weakened and spread along the TD due to the addition of the rare earth elements. In-situ electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) analysis was performed when the specimen was being bent, and the results show that {10 1 ¯ 2}〈10 1 ¯ 1 ¯ 〉 twinning was activated in both the compression zone and the tension zone, different from highly textured AZ31 sheets. Our results indicate that the ZEK100 Mg alloy still presents anisotropy in the tensile properties and in the bending behavior, despite the weakened basal texture.
DNA of rat hepatomas: search for gene amplification.

Summary Molecular hybridization with tumor RNA was used to search for differences between the DNAs of primary and transplantable rat hepatomas and normal rat liver, kidney, and lung. No differences were detected in the rate or degree of annealing or in the thermal stability of the hybrid molecules formed, indicating that specific gene amplification is not a characteristic of these tumors.
The effect of list difficulty on item difficulty using the method of stimulated recall

Ten words found difficult to recall in previous studies when they appeared in mixed lists (easy and difficult words together) and five words easy to recall in the same situation were redistributed within lists which contained either all difficult words, all easy words, or mixtures of easy and difficult words. Two minutes after study, Stimulated Recall was requested. No difference in recall of an item was attributable to list mixture. The results suggest ease or difficulty of item recall was solely a function of the stimulus in recall.
Comparative Efficacy of New Interfaces for Intra-procedural Imaging Review: the Microsoft Kinect, Hillcrest Labs Loop Pointer, and the Apple iPad

We adapted and evaluated the Microsoft Kinect (touchless interface), Hillcrest Labs Loop Pointer (gyroscopic mouse), and the Apple iPad (multi-touch tablet) for intra-procedural imaging review efficacy in a simulation using MIM Software DICOM viewers. Using each device, 29 radiologists executed five basic interactions to complete the overall task of measuring an 8.1-cm hepatic lesion: scroll, window, zoom, pan, and measure. For each interaction, participants assessed the devices on a 3-point subjective scale (3 = highest usability score). The five individual scores were summed to calculate a subjective composite usability score (max 15 points). Overall task time to completion was recorded. Each user also assessed each device for its potential to jeopardize a sterile field. The composite usability scores were as follows: Kinect 9.9 (out of 15.0; SD = 2.8), Loop Pointer 12.9 (SD = 13.5), and iPad 13.5 (SD = 1.8). Mean task completion times were as follows: Kinect 156.7 s (SD = 86.5), Loop Pointer 51.5 s (SD = 30.6), and iPad 41.1 s (SD = 25.3). The mean hepatic lesion measurements were as follows: Kinect was 7.3 cm (SD = 0.9), Loop Pointer 7.8 cm (SD = 1.1), and iPad 8.2 cm (SD = 1.2). The mean deviations from true hepatic lesion measurement were as follows: Kinect 1.0 cm and for both the Loop Pointer and iPad, 0.9 cm (SD = 0.7). The Kinect had the least and iPad had the most subjective concern for compromising the sterile field. A new intra-operative imaging review interface may be near. Most surveyed foresee these devices as useful in procedures, and most do not anticipate problems with a sterile field. An ideal device would combine iPad’s usability and accuracy with the Kinect’s touchless aspect.
Enteral Feedings Are Associated With Improved Adherence To Radiation Treatment Prescription And Weight Maintenance In Head And Neck Cancer Patients.

Abstract LEARNING OUTCOME: To determine if enteral feedings maintained throughout radiation therapy unproved treatment adherence and stabilized weight in head and neck cancer patients. Nutrition support during radiation therapy may improve treatment tolerance and thus survival for head and neck cancer patients. Methods: A chart review was conducted to determine if tube fed (TF, n=19) patients had better medical outcomes (radiation treatment adherence, weight change) than non- tube fed (non-TF, n=19) patients. The TF and non-TF patients were matched for radiation dosage and cancer staging. For treatment adherence outcome, two categories were formed by comparing missed treatment days to days available for treatment (i.e., no weekend days): adherence (0-2 days missed) and non-adherence (3-18 days missed). For the weight change outcome, percent change in weight was calculated from pre-radiation to post radiation weight to form two categories: weight loss (2-26% loss) and weight stable (0-17% increase). Results: In chi-square analyses, significantly fewer patients in the TF group than the non-TF group fell into non-adherence (χ 2 =3.89. p 2 =4.05, p
Studies on the enzymatic degradation of the cholesterol side chain. II. Requirements of the mitochondrial system.

Abstract Further observations on the oxidation of the terminal carbon of cholesterol-26-C14 by mouse liver mitochondria have been presented. The present system permits recovery of up to 15% of the isotopic carbon as C14O2 after 4 hr. incubation. Partial purification of the heat-stable soluble cofactor required for C14O2 production has been achieved.
Inelastic scattering of deuterons from spheroidal nuclei

Abstract A direct interaction theory of (d, d′) reactions is proposed for strongly deformed nuclei of mass number A ≈ 24. Strong coupling approximation of the unified nuclear model is employed to represent. the nucleus and the differential cross-section is calculated i n Born approximation for rotational excitations up to the fourth power of the deformation parameter β The theory is applied to the Mg24 (d, d′) Mg24 (1.37 MeV) reaction. Agreement with experiment is obtained both for the angular distribution (except for 0 ⪅ 20°) and for the total cross-section. Further extensions of the model are indicated.
Struggling and enduring with God, religious support, and recovery from severe mental illness.

Objectives: People with severe mental illnesses may achieve varying degrees of recovery, including symptom reduction and community integration. Research also indicates that religiosity facilitates coping with psychological disorders. In this study, we assessed the relationship between religiosity and recovery from severe mental illnesses. Design: Self-report data were collected from 81 participants with severe mental illnesses. We measured recovery, religious support, and participants' struggle or endurance with faith. Results: Religious support and enduring with faith were positively associated with recovery. Struggling was negatively associated with recovery, and that relationship was mediated by religious support. Conclusions: Religious variables, including religious support and spiritual struggle, might affect recovery from severe mental illnesses. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Clin Psychol 67:1–16, 2011.
SVM selective sampling for ranking with application to data retrieval

Learning ranking (or preference) functions has been a major issue in the machine learning community and has produced many applications in information retrieval. SVMs (Support Vector Machines) - a classification and regression methodology - have also shown excellent performance in learning ranking functions. They effectively learn ranking functions of high generalization based on the "large-margin" principle and also systematically support nonlinear ranking by the "kernel trick". In this paper, we propose an SVM selective sampling technique for learning ranking functions. SVM selective sampling (or active learning with SVM) has been studied in the context of classification. Such techniques reduce the labeling effort in learning classification functions by selecting only the most informative samples to be labeled. However, they are not extendable to learning ranking functions, as the labeled data in ranking is relative ordering, or partial orders of data. Our proposed sampling technique effectively learns an accurate SVM ranking function with fewer partial orders. We apply our sampling technique to the data retrieval application, which enables fuzzy search on relational databases by interacting with users for learning their preferences. Experimental results show a significant reduction of the labeling effort in inducing accurate ranking functions.
Demonstration (DEMO) of radiofrequency identification (RFID) system for tracking and monitoring of nuclear materials

The US Department of Energy (DOE) [Environmental Management (EM), Office of Packaging and Transportation (EM-45)] Packaging Certification Program (PCP) has developed a radiofrequency identification (RFID) tracking and monitoring system for the management of nuclear materials packages during storage and transportation. The system, developed by the PCP team at Argonne National Laboratory, involves hardware modification, application software development, secured database and web server development, and irradiation experiments. In April 2008, Argonne tested key features of the RFID tracking and monitoring system in a weeklong, 1700 mile (2736 km) demonstration employing 14 empty type B fissile material drums of three designs (models 9975, 9977 and ES-3100) that have been certified for shipment by the DOE and the US Nuclear Regulatory Commission. The demonstration successfully integrated global positioning system (GPS) technology for vehicle tracking, satellite/cellular (general packet radio service, or GPRS) technologies for wireless communication, and active RFID tags with multiple sensors (seal integrity, shock, temperature, humidity and battery status) on drums. In addition, the demonstration integrated geographic information system (GIS) technology with automatic alarm notifications of incidents and generated buffer zone reports for emergency response and management of staged incidents. The demonstration was sponsored by EM and the US National Nuclear Securitymore » Administration, with the participation of Argonne, Savannah River and Oak Ridge National Laboratories. Over 50 authorised stakeholders across the country observed the demonstration via secured Internet access. The DOE PCP and national laboratories are working on several RFID system implementation projects at selected DOE sites, as well as continuing device and systems development and widening applications beyond DOE sites and possibly beyond nuclear materials to include other radioactive materials.« less
Neutral-beam current-driven high-poloidal-beta operation of the DIII-D tokamak

Neutral-beam current-drive experiments in the DIII-D tokamak with a single null poloidal divertor are described. A plasma current of 0.34 MA has been sustained by neutral beams alone, and the energy confinement is of $H$-mode quality. Poloidal $\ensuremath{\beta}$ values reach 3.5 without disruption or coherent magnetic activity suggesting that these plasmas may be entering the second stability regime.
Effect of paired ventricular pacing upon myocardial infarction size

Abstract Although paired ventricular pacing may improve cardiodynamics following acute myocardial infarction, its effect on myocardial infarct size is not known. In 22 dogs, acute myocardial infarction was produced by selective coronary artery ligation. High fidelity left ventricular pressure, dp dt max , acceleration of aortic flow ( dQ dt ), coronary flow and epicardial mapping were recorded before and at 15-min intervals following acute myocardial infarction for a total of 90 min. Coronary sinus CPK was measured before coronary occlusion and then every 30 min for a period of 150 min. In Group A (n = 10) animals had an acute myocardial infarction only, while in Group B (n = 12), paired ventricular pacing was initiated 30 min postinfarction and continued throughout the study. Two dogs from Group A and six from Group B developed ventricular fibrillation and were excluded from the study. In Group A dp dt p , dQ dt and heart rate did not change, while in Group B dp dt p increased from 20.0 ± 1.5 to 30.2 ± 1.5 (P dQ dt increased from 19.0 ± 1.7 to 27.1 ± 2.5 (P These data indicate that paired ventricular pacing increased ischemic injury in acute myocardial infarction, due to increased oxygen consumption resulting from the positive inotropic effect exceeding the influence of a decreased heart rate.
Use of a Digital Computer to Determine Correct-Size Compensating Elements for a Prespecified Circuit Configuration

A straightforward approach to the utilization of digital computers in design is described. The choice of a performance index is discussed as well as the search procedure to be used in seeking the component values which minimize this index. A realistic example of a pressure transducer is presented. The computer is used to choose compensating capacitors for the associated bridge circuitry with the objective of obtaining a linear (voltage versus pressure), temperature-independent response. The results are excellent both in terms of good design and reduction of design effort.
Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction in the cuprates

The Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya interaction, which arises from a mixture of superexchange and spin-orbit coupling NN ${\mathrm{Cu}}^{2+}$ spin with a term of the ${\mathbf{D}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$\ensuremath{\cdot}(${\mathbf{S}}_{\mathit{i}}$\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${\mathbf{S}}_{\mathit{j}}$). The coupling constants ${\mathbf{D}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$ are estimated for several cuprate crystal structures. The pattern of the ${\mathbf{D}}_{\mathit{i}\mathit{j}}$ varies considerably between these structures and only in some cases causes a weak ferromagnetic component in an ordered antiferromagnetic of the Cu spins. In no case, however, does this interaction stabilize a flux phase.
Modified Sliding-Block Distributed Arithmetic with Offset Binary Coding for Adaptive Filters

An efficient way for computing the response of an adaptive digital filter is to use sliding-block distributed arithmetic (SBDA). However, a disadvantage of distributed arithmetic is the amount of memory utilized. By encoding the memory tables in offset binary code (OBC), the size of the memory tables is reduced by half, while the computational workload remains unchanged. By modifying the computational flow, the computational workload can be reduced by almost by half at the expense of slightly more memory. This modified SBDA structure is called SBDA-OBC. It has memory requirements 25---50% lower than SBDA depending on the size of the sub-filter. In terms of the computational workload, SBDA-OBC is most advantageous for large sub-filters and when the filter is split into few sub-filters. In this case, the computational workload is reduced almost in half.
A quaternion formulation for homography-based visual servo control

Previous homography-based visual servo controllers have been developed using an error system that contains a singularity resulting from the representation of the rotation matrix. For some aerospace applications such as visual servo control of satellites or air vehicles, the singularity introduced by the rotation representation may be restrictive. To eliminate this singularity, a homography-based visual servo controller is developed in this paper based on an error system composed of the unit quaternion representation. The proposed adaptive controller regulates a camera to a desired position and orientation that is determined from a desired image. A quaternion-based Lyapunov function is developed to facilitate the control design and the stability analysis
Positron Emission Tomography in Lung Cancer

Reports on positron emission tomography have become more common in the oncology literature. After a short introduction to positron emission tomography, this review will look at the data relating to the use of this technology in the diagnosis, the staging, and the posttreatment evaluation of patients with lung cancer and will discuss its potential role in these evaluations.
Design of Bulk Thermoelectric Modules for Integrated Circuit Thermal Management

Various parameters affecting the performance of bulk thermoelectric (TE) modules used for integrated circuit (IC) thermal management are studied. An effective circuit model is developed that takes into account various ideal and nonideal effects in the module. It is shown that there is an optimum module thickness and an optimum operating current which depend on the overall heat dissipation and on the external thermal resistances. Optimized TE modules with ZT~0.8, will have a cross section over leg length ratio of 0.037m, can increase the chip operation power by 15% in comparison with the case without a TE cooler while maintaining the chip temperature below 100degC. This is for a package thermal resistance of 0.2K/W. Prospects for TE material with higher ZT values and the effect of contact resistance on the power dissipation density are also discussed. The results presented in this paper can be used in applications other than in the IC thermal management when external thermal resistances dominate the performance of TE modules
Maturity stage and plasma testosterone levels are related to sperm production in blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus.

A prediction equation for sperm production in blue catfish was developed by a forward step-wise regression analyses based on five independent factors: body weight, total length, stage of maturation, gonadosomatic index and condition factor of individual mature blue catfish raised in earthen ponds. The stage of gonad maturity and plasma testosterone contributed significantly (P < 0.05) to the prediction equation (Sperm production per unit body weight = 2.51 × maturity − 0.01 × testosterone − 5.776, r = 0.62, P < 0.05). The stage of maturity was strongly associated (P < 0.05) with gonadosomatic index and sperm production. Improvements in prediction accuracy are needed to make this model a useful tool to identify higher sperm producing blue catfish to improve the efficiency of channel x blue hybrid catfish embryo production.
Injustice at work and health: causation or correlation?

Commentary on the paper by Ferrie et al ( Occup Environ Med , July 2006)* Organisational justice has emerged in recent years as a determinant of workers’ health, joining the growing list of other psychosocial aspects of the work environment, including job strain, effort-reward imbalance, and job insecurity. In a series of studies carried out mainly among Finnish workers, perceptions of organisational justice have been linked to poor self-rated health, minor psychiatric disorders, and sickness absences.1,2 In the July issue of this journal, Ferrie and colleagues provide an independent test of low organisational justice as a predictor of psychiatric morbidity within a well established cohort, the British Whitehall II study.3 What do these studies add to the literature on the psychosocial work environment, and do we have sufficient evidence to implicate organisational justice as a causal influence on workers’ health? Initial studies in this area were cross-sectional and involved self-reported outcomes, so that reverse causation and common method bias could not be ruled out. In a longitudinal follow up of Finnish hospital workers, Kivimaki and colleagues2 checked for the possibility of reverse causation by comparing the changes in perceptions of justice between initially healthy employees versus those with baseline health problems. Although the interaction term between time and baseline health was reported to be statistically non-significant, it was also evident that workers with health problems reported lower perceptions of justice compared to healthy co-workers …
Many forkheads in the road to regulation. Symposium on Forkhead Transcription Factor Networks in Development, Signalling and Disease

The Keystone Symposium on Forkhead Transcription Factor Networks in Development, Signalling and Disease took place between 13 and 17 January 2008, at the Zermatt Resort and Spa in Midway, Utah, USA, and was organized by K. Zaret, K. Kaestner and S. Mango. ![][1] Subjects ranging from chromatin remodelling to ageing, from human disease to avian song, and from metabolism and the cell cycle to structural biology and differentiation were all covered at this keystone symposium, and illustrate the diversity of forkhead transcription factors and their regulatory functions. Forkhead transcription factors, or ‘FOX’ proteins, are unified as a family of more than 40 conserved proteins, each of which contains a DNA‐binding domain of approximately 110 amino acids dubbed the ‘forkhead box’. The members of the family are subdivided alphabetically and numerically into subfamilies based on evolutionary conservation (Kaestner et al , 2000). Forkhead factors have essential roles in regulatory networks that are involved in development, signalling, metabolism and human disease. Here, we summarize the new information presented at the meeting, to emphasize the breadth of biological areas in which forkhead factors have crucial regulatory roles. We apologize to the many colleagues whose exciting work we could not include owing to space limitations. The evolutionarily conserved forkhead box has been structurally characterized by both X‐ray crystallography and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy, and resembles a butterfly or ‘winged helix’ that is reminiscent of the globular chromatin‐binding domain of linker histones H1 and H5 (Clark et al , 1993; Weigelt et al , 2002). However, unlike linker histones, which compact the chromatin structure, binding by forkhead factors relieves chromatin compaction at target enhancer and/or promoter sites, allowing the entry of other transcriptional activators to induce target gene expression (Cirillo et al , 2002). Relatively little is known about the mechanisms that define how forkhead factors choose among … [1]: /embed/graphic-1.gif
Sustaining and disruptive categorisation of university-licensed technologies: the impact on licensee and university technology revenue stream

In this paper, we propose a conceptual framework which considers how the categorisation of a technology as sustaining or disruptive by the university technology management office during screening may impact the licensee, number of expected years until success, and potential net income to the university. We test this framework on 135 patented or copyrighted technologies assigned to the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). Initial results indicate that sustaining technologies are most likely licensed to market leaders and disruptive technologies had equal likelihood of being licensed to either a market leader or a start-up.
The role of handling characteristics in driver assistance systems with environmental interaction

Future automotive safety functions, such as lanekeeping or collision avoidance, link the vehicle dynamically to its environment. As a result, vehicle motion is determined by a combination of the mechanical system dynamics and the virtual link to the roadway or obstacles. The need for careful design of both the mechanical and control system elements is particularly apparent for these driver assistance systems since control is intended to complement, not cancel, the vehicle dynamics. This paper presents stability requirements for vehicles with a driver assistance system that keeps the vehicle in the lane through the application of virtual forces. When the application point is at the center of gravity, the results indicate a critical speed for understeering vehicles and instability for oversteering vehicles. Shifting the application point of the virtual force to the neutral steer point, however, stabilizes the oversteering case under a critical speed.
Effects of Impact Perception on Acceptance Capacity for White-Tailed Deer

Wildlife professionals require conceptually sound methods to integrate biological and social insights for management of wildlife. The concept of acceptance capacity has been suggested to stimulate integration, although methods to link measures of acceptance capacity with measures of wildlife populations are not fully developed. To clarify relationships between acceptance capacity, wildlife populations, and human values, we explored effects of stakeholder characteristics and impact perception (the recognized, important effects arising from interactions with wildlife) on acceptance capacity. We used a mail-back questionnaire (n = 2,190 responses) to rural residents of southern Michigan 1) to examine whether 3 commonly identified stakeholder groups (hunters, farmers, and nonhunting, nonfarming rural residents) that share a common landscape also perceive similar suites of impacts and hold comparable acceptance capacities for white-tailed deer, and 2) to develop an explanatory model of acceptance capacity for deer. Comparisons among stakeholder groups revealed differences in perception of impacts resulting from interactions with deer; however, participation in hunting and farming were poor predictors of acceptance capacity for deer. Model selection criteria indicate that total effect of impacts perceived explains a majority of variation in acceptance capacity. We conclude that impact perception is a meaningful concept for integration of human values into management of wildlife populations because impacts relate to effects of current wildlife populations and can lead to management actions that address needs and interests of multiple stakeholder groups in changing landscapes.
Current pharmacological management of amyotropic lateral sclerosis and a role for rational polypharmacy

Amyotrophic [corrected] lateral sclerosis (ALS) is a progressive degenerative condition of motor neurons that is ultimately fatal. Even though scientific discovery over the past few decades has led to a greater understanding of the pathogenic mechanisms of ALS, effective pharmacotherapy intended to slow, arrest or reverse the disease progression remains difficult to obtain. Riluzole, a drug that has only modest benefit in extending survival, is still the only medication approved by the FDA for the treatment of ALS. However, a number of pharmacological agents are currently being investigated as potential therapy for ALS. This paper will review the pathophysiology of ALS and current pharmacological management of the disease and recent directions in research and clinical trials. Based on the available data, it is our opinion that combination drug therapies should be considered for future clinical trials.
A message from triceratops

Abstract Mass extinctions, such as that of the dinosaurs, had at one time been attributed to an internally determined “racial senescence”. This concept has been long rejected because of an apparent lack of a plausible mechanism that could produce such senescence. Recent findings of DNA sequences that tend to multiply preferentially within the genome suggest that internally driven orthogenetic trends, including trends to racial senescence, may well exist, and also make more plausible the “planetary genome hypothesis” (Danielli), which is the concept that different species are genetically not completely isolated from each other.
Characterization of the Velocity Field in a Small, Cylindrical, Low Reynolds Number Aerosol Sampling Cyclone

A laser Doppler velocimeter capable of simultaneously measuring two components of velocity was used to measure the flow field in a 88.9-mm diameter, cylindrical, reverse-flow, multiport cyclone. A third component was measured by reorienting the cyclone. The components measured were those in the radial, axial, and tangential directions with the tangential component being measured in both orientations. The ratio of velocities was Ũ θ:Ũ z:Ũ R = 100:10:1. At a flow-rate Reynolds number, N RQ= (4pQ)/(πμD c), of approximately 860, values of turbulence intensity for each component within the cyclone were on the order of 10% when determined as the component standard deviation normalized to the mean flow. The vortex structure is dependent upon Reynolds number.
Advanced Engineering Communication: An Integrated Writing and Communication Program for Materials Engineers

This paper describes the disciplinary program for writing and communications developed by the Materials Science and Engineering (MSE) Department at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, which has been integrated into eight required core courses spread across our student's three years of study. Preliminary quantitative assessment of the program indicates positive acceptance by the students and faculty, significant improvement in the quality of writing over three semesters, and significant differences in both the quality and style of writing between senior engineering students who have not participated in our program and our MSE students. We have found a positive correlation between four different indices designed to measure a student's self-assessment of communication skills and a student's grade point average (GPA). Surprisingly, there is no correlation between either student's grades on papers and projects, or our measure of their improvement in communication skills, and their GPA's. This result has important implications for the design and implementation of writing-within-the-discipline programs such as the one described here.
Genetic control of immunity to Heligmosomoides polygyrus: fixed H-2 E positive but not H-2 negative cells can present antigen to a parasite-specific T-cell hybridoma

A number of T cell hybridomas were produced to adult worm homogenate (AWH) antigen of the nematode parasite Heligmosomoides polygyrus. All of the hybridomas were of the H-2d haplotype and could potentially accept antigen in the context of either the Ad or Ed, H-2 molecules. Three types of antigen presentation were observed, with some of the T cell hybridomas accepting antigen in the context of the E and some in the context of the A molecule. A third type of hybridoma responded to antigen presented by paraformaldehyde fixed APC, but only when APCs were E positive. These same hybridomas, were however, stimulated by AWH, when the antigen was presented by syngeneic but unfixed, E positive or E negative APC. Therefore these data indicate that certain H. polygyrus-specific T cell hybridomas can accept parasite antigen when presented in the context of either the H-2 A or E molecule, but the presentation of antigen by the two different MHC Class II molecules, can apparently utilize differing processing mechanisms.
A drop in the bucket: when is a pay raise a pay raise?

Summary Although merit pay continues to receive much theoretical and practical attention, little systematic eAort is devoted to determining how large a pay raise must be before employees see it as a pay raise. This study uses psychophysical reasoning and techniques in a sample of 192 student ‘employees’ to establish the size of pay raise thresholds in a relatively controlled setting. Results indicate that, below about the 7 per cent level, increases in pay amounts are unlikely to evoke positive perceptual and attitudinal reactions among employees. Theoretical, methodological, and practical implications of these results are highlighted. #1997 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Integration of health information technology to improve patient safety

Background: Medical errors and unsafe care continue to harm and kill thousands of patients every year, exceeding deaths attributed to motor vehicle accidents, heart failure and breast cancer. It has been more than ten years since the Institute of Medicine (IOM) released two landmark reports that galvanized attention on the scope and severity of the problem and started a national movement to improve patient safety in healthcare. Both of these reports emphasized the role that health information technology (HIT) can play in improving the quality and safety of patient care. This has lead federal and state legislators to prominently feature HIT, patient safety, and quality outcomes in the current health care debate, laws, and payment schemes. The objective of this systematic literature review is to assess current and proposed use of technology to prevent adverse events and the regulatory drivers that are promoting the use of technology for patient safety. Methods: A systematic literature search from 2010-2013 using CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Medline and Ovid (via EBSCO),Google Scholar and government web sites, was conducted to identify technology drivers, advancements and effects in the patient safety areas of electronic health records, patient identification, patient falls, pressure ulcers, and medication errors. Results: Forty four articles were selected for inclusion in this review addressing legal and regulatory drivers for use of technology to support patient safety, and specific technologies to prevent adverse events related to patient identification, patient falls, pressure ulcers, and medication errors. Search criteria included technology to prevent each of these event types, and the Affordable Care Act (ACA), American Reinvestment and Recovery Act (ARRA), and the Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) provisions related to patient safety. Conclusion: Healthcare reform initiatives are promoting an expanded role for HIT in improving the safety and quality of patient care in the U.S. healthcare system. Findings suggest that there are several technologies currently in development and use to prevent adverse events in patients. While patient safety technology shows great promise in preventing error and injury, it also presents potential to harm if not effectively developed, implemented and used. It is an adjunct to, not a replacement of, a skilled and attentive care giver. Normal 0 7.8 磅 0 2 false false false EN-US ZH-CN X-NONE /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:普通表格; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";}
Plasma etching of PLZT: Review and future prospects

Abstract Future application of ferroelectric thin films in high density integrated electronic and optical circuits will require the development of suitable plasma etching techniques. Although plasma etching is a well developed technology for semiconductors, its application to PLZT thin films is complicated by several factors. In this paper, the prospects for applying plasma etching to PLZT and other perovskite ceramics, will be discussed. This begins with an overview of plasma etching techniques, including a discussion of the applicability of each technique to ceramic thin films. A summary of current plasma etching results for PLZT is presented, which includes a discussion of etch rates, stoichiometry changes, anisotropy, and selectivity that have been observed. Some suggestions for future research required in order for integrated ceramic thin films to be fully realized are presented.
Distributed control of heterogeneous systems

This work considers control design for distributed systems, where the controller is to adopt and preserve the distributed spatial structure of the nominal system. The specific feature of this work is that it does not require the underlying system dynamics to be homogeneous (shift invariant) with respect to spatial or temporal variables. Operator theoretic tools for working with these systems are developed, and lead to sufficient convex conditions for analysis and synthesis with respect to the /spl lscr//sub 2/-induced norm.
All in One Basket: The Bankruptcy Risk of a National Agent-Based Mortgage Recording System

Mortgage Electronic Registration Systems, Inc. (“MERS, Inc.”) owns legal title to some 30 million mortgages in the United States. The company, which was a key part of the mortgage securitization apparatus in the late 1990s and 2000s, is now under intense pressure from public and private lawsuits and investigations and faces a very real threat of insolvency. Policymakers are looking ahead to potential replacements for MERS, Inc., as a recent Fed staff proposal for a substitute system indicates. This Article examines what might happen to the mortgages that MERS, Inc. at least nominally owns in the event that the company enters bankruptcy, a question that apparently has never been explored in a publicly available analysis. Although the legal analysis underlying the design of MERS, Inc. does not appear to be publicly available, a key assumption seems to have been that if the company ever entered bankruptcy, the mortgages in its hands would not enter the company’s bankruptcy estate and would not be available to creditors. This Article challenges that assumption, pointing to the broad authority the Bankruptcy Code confers on the bankruptcy trustee with respect to interests in real property, such as mortgages. Most courts that have considered the issue have found that the bankruptcy trustee can bring into the estate any real property interest that the debtor could have conveyed to a good-faith purchaser. There is a significant risk that MERS, Inc. can convey MERS mortgages to a purchaser acting in good faith. Although part of that risk arises from the company’s conduct in making and acquiescing in claims in court that the company can sell the mortgages, has constitutionally protected property interests in the mortgages, is a creditor of mortgage borrowers, and owns a beneficial interest in the mortgages, part of the risk is inherent in any mortgage recording system that operates nationally and holds mortgages as an agent. Policymakers should consider that risk as they consider whether MERS should be replaced and what form the replacement should take.
Conjugation of Monoclonal Antibodies with TETA Using Activated Esters: Biological Comparison of 64Cu-TETA-1A3 with 64Cu-BAT-2IT-1A3

A simple method for conjugation of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) with the chelating agent 1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-1,4,8,11-tetraacetic acid (TETA), has been developed using commercially available reagents. This method involved activation of a single carboxyl group of TETA with N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide and 1-ethyl-3-[3-(dimethylamino)propyl]carbodiimide. The resulting activated ester of TETA was reacted with the anti-colorectal carcinoma mAb 1A3 at molar ratios ranging from 10:1 to 100:1 to give immunoconjugates modified with an average of 0.4 to 2.0 functional chelators per antibody molecule. The TETA-1A3 conjugate was labeled with 64Cu at specific activities as high as 15.4 μCi/μg, and the radiolabeled mAb exhibited high in vitro serum stability and minimal loss of immunoreactivity. The biodistribution of 64Cu-labeled TETA-1A3 in hamsters bearing GW39 human colon carcinoma xenografts was compared to that of 64Cu-BAT-2IT-1A3 (BAT = 6-(p-bromoacetamidobenzyl)-1,4,8,11-tetraazacyclotetradecane-1,4...
Systematic Development of Cerebral Resuscitation After Cardiac Arrest. Three Promising Treatments: Cardiopulmonary Bypass, Hypertensive Hemodilution, and Mild Hypothermia

Since 1970 we have investigated postischemic anoxic encephalopathy and potential treatments for cerebral resuscitation after cardiac arrest by cardiopulmonary-cerebral resuscitation (CPCR). The post-resuscitation syndrome has been studied at the levels of cell, organ, organism and community. Short-term and long-term models in rats, dogs, and monkeys have been developed, and an international multicenter randomized clinical trial mechanism was established. Clinical studies disproved the 5-min limit of reversible cardiac arrest and yielded other valuable data on treatments and prognostication. Thiopental loading or calcium entry blocker therapy (lidoflazine) gave no significant improvement in patients. Free radical scavengers are under investigation in the laboratory. We hypothesize that post-arrest perfusion failure and necrotizing cascades require etiology-specific combination treatments. Standard (control) therapy in a current dog model of cardiac arrest (no flow) of 12.5–20 min, reperfusion with cardiopulmonary bypass, and intensive care for 72–96 h has consistently resulted in survival with brain damage. After ventricular-fibrillation (VF) arrest of 17 min, moderate hypothermia (28–32oC) inconsistently improved cerebral outcome. After VF arrest of 12.5 min, hypertension plus hemodilution normalized the local (multifocal) cerebral hypoperfusion postarrest and, again, inconsistently improved cerebral outcome. Additional mild hypothermia (34–36oC), however, consistently improved cerebral outcome, whether induced before or during and after arrest.
Correlation between MR and clinical findings of disease activity in multiple sclerosis.

Beginning with the earliest MR studies of multiple sclerosis (MS), it was clear that the extent of disease activity seen on MR images was considerably greater than that seen clinically. Because monitoring disease activity with clinical measures has been notoriously difficult, this decade started
Paolo Soleri and the aesthetics of irreversibility

This essay examines the designs and writings of the architect Paolo Soleri in the context of technologically oriented post-war architectural discourse. It seeks to demonstrate that not only was Soleri aware of the ideas gleaned by his contemporaries from the fields of cybernetics, systems theory and ecology, but that he had assimilated them to his own philosophy about the built environment as an evolutionary mechanism. Within that framework, aesthetics and the material nature of form became central to his thinking, but also became the aspects of his work that marginalised him vis a vis the architectural vanguard of the 1960s and 1970s. But the systems within which Soleri inscribed architectural form were very much in line with the new models of science and aesthetics being elaborated in the decades following the Second World War, and can be understood as part of a lineage of alternative materialist thought, including the work of Henri Bergson, Pierre Teilhard de Chardin, Ilya Prigogine and Gilles Deleuze....
Lipid content of chick erythrocytes and plasma.

SummaryData are presented on the composition of chick plasma and erythrocyte lipids. The erythrocyte lipids differ from plasma lipids in that 96% of the cholesterol is present as the free form, lipid phosphorus is over twice as high as the plasma level, and the glyceride level is approximately one-third that of plasma. The total lipid level of red cells (mg/100 ml) was also found to be higher than that of plasma. A lack of correlation between erythrocyte and plasma levels of cholesterol and glycerides was noted, indicating that erythrocyte lipid levels are independent of plasma concentration. The similarities between avian and mammalian erythrocyte lipids are discussed.
Peptide-decorated liposomes promote arrest and aggregation of activated platelets under flow on vascular injury relevant protein surfaces in vitro.

Platelet-mimetic synthetic hemostats are highly attractive in transfusion medicine. To this end, past research reports have described particles that either amplify platelet aggregation or mimic platelet adhesion. However, a construct design that effectively combines both functionalities has not been reported. Here we describe the design of a liposomal construct simultaneously surface-decorated with three peptides (a vWF-binding peptide (VBP), a collagen-binding peptide (CBP), and an active platelet clustering cyclic-RGD (cRGD) peptide), that can integrate platelet-mimetic dual hemostatic activities of adhesion and aggregation. We first demonstrate that surface-immobilized cRGD-liposomes are capable of aggregating activated platelets onto themselves. Subsequently, we demonstrate that hetero-multivalent liposomes bearing VBP, CBP, and cRGD, when introduced in flow with ∼20, 000 activated platelets per microliter, are capable of adhering to vWF/collagen surfaces and promoting the recruitment/aggregation of p...