cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Malnutrition as an etiological factor in dental caries disparity.

Abstract A diet including frequent consumption of foods high in carbohydrates is a known risk factor for dental caries. Nevertheless, economic and environmental barriers encourage low-income parents and children to consume foods high in sugar and low in nutrients. Such foods are generally more readily available to low-income populations owing to their relatively low cost compared to foods low in energy density and high in nutrients (such as fruits and vegetables). The objective of this review is to inform dental providers of barriers that families face in following dietary guidelines and to suggest methods that have been shown to be successful in encouraging children to eat healthy foods. Also reviewed are suggestions for how societies might encourage healthy eating in children, through stricter oversight and better funding of nutrition programs in child care settings and schools. High-sugar foods are both more readily available in low-income neighborhoods and cheaper to purchase than are healthier options. Thus there are both environmental and economic barriers to healthy eating in low-income populations. Furthermore, there are cultural and socioeconomic differences in attitudes and parenting practices that may contribute to dietary-induced dental caries, such as pressure to eat. Dental providers should encourage parents to expose their children regularly to healthy foods such as fresh vegetables to increase preferences for these items. However, providers also need to recognize the financial constraints on obtaining a healthy diet. More attention to the types of foods provided in government-subsidized meal programs could also serve to ameliorate the problem.
Matching 2.5D Scans for Face Recognition

The performance of face recognition systems that use two-dimensional images is dependent on consistent conditions such as lighting, pose, and facial appearance. We are developing a face recognition system that uses three-dimensional depth information to make the system more robust to these arbitrary conditions. We have developed a face matching system that automatically correlates points in three dimensions between two 2.5D range images of different views. A hybrid Iterative Closest Point (ICP) scheme is proposed to integrate two classical ICP algorithms for fine registration of the two scans. A robust similarity metric is defined for matching purpose. Results are provided on a preliminary database of 10 subjects (one training image per subject) containing frontal face images of neutral expression with a testing database of 63 scans that varied in pose, expression and lighting.
Suggestions for Using Multi-Stage Simulations in Law School Courses

This brief guide provides suggestions for using multi-stage simulations. The suggestions in this guide are based on my experiences described in my article, Lessons From “Teaching Students to Negotiate Like a Lawyer” (which is available on ssrn). Using multi-stage simulations, when well planned and implemented, can make a significant contribution to legal education. Faculty using multi-stage simulations should tailor the number, length, and content of these simulations to fit their teaching goals, considering the range of teaching methods that they want to use in a course.Simulations can be helpful because they require students to enact the role of a lawyer (or someone working with a lawyer, such as a client) and apply relevant knowledge and skills. Simulations create dynamic interactions that are not predictable simply based on the facts and law in a matter as students must also cope with the moves of independent actors. In courses focusing on doctrinal issues, even brief simulations can provide opportunities for students to practice legal skills while absorbing lessons about legal doctrine.Most law school curricula include simulations of litigation activities such as interviewing and counseling clients, conducting depositions, trying cases, and making appellate arguments. Simulations are a staple in “alternative” dispute resolution courses, where students regularly participate in simulated negotiations, mediations, and arbitrations. Many simulations require students to enact a single stage of a process. In negotiation and mediation courses, for example, simulations typically focus exclusively or primarily on “final” negotiations of disputes or transactions. Faculty have used multi-stage simulations to teach a variety of courses including general legal practice, pre-trial litigation, professional responsibility, environmental law, and white collar crime. Multi-stage simulations make it easier for students to get into their roles, enable them to deal with complex situations, focus on specific stages in a process, see connections between various stages, and generally have a more realistic experience. Multi-stage simulations in a negotiation course might include: (1) conducting an initial client interview, (2) negotiating a retainer agreement, (3) developing a good professional relationship with the counterpart lawyer, (4) working with the counterpart to plan the negotiation process, (5) conducting factual investigation, (6) conducting legal research, (7) preparing clients for negotiation, and (8) conducting the final negotiation. Faculty can decide how many stages to include. There are complementary advantages and disadvantages of single-stage and multi-stage simulations and thus faculty may wish use a combination of both types. This guide provides practical suggestions for developing and using multi-stage simulations. The suggestions address what stages may be particularly helpful and how to make simulations work as well as possible.
SERVICE CONTENT AS A DETERMINANT OF HOMELESS ADULTS’ PERCEPTIONS OF PROGRAM EFFICACY

This work analyzes the relationship between the services clients receive in treatment programs and client ratings of program efficacy. It relies on data from a random sample of clients served by Chicago's homelessness system (N = 554). Regressions utilizing that data suggest that ratings of program efficacy are positively predicted by program ambiance, the ambiance of referral arrangements, residence in programs providing housing, and receipt of employment services. The measures of ambiance are predicted by receipt of professional services and help in locating housing. Receipt of advocacy services does not predict ratings of program efficacy nor ambiance; receipt of tangible services is negatively related to ratings of program efficacy. Results suggest that clients rate highly programs that have a positive ambiance or that provide services that clients view as immediately helpful for solving long-term needs. Clients thereby discount services known to contribute to the amelioration of homelessness.
Basal and Histamine-Stimulated Human Gastric Acid Secretion: Lack of effect of indomethacin in therapeutic doses

The effects of indomethacin administration on gastric acid secretion were studied in 22 patients with arthritic diseases. Twelve patients had rheumatoid arthritis, 8 had osteoarthritis, and 1 each had Reiter's syndrome and ankylosing spondylitis. Augmented histamine tests were performed before and after a 1-month trial of the drug, administered in dosage of 75 to 100 mg per day. Repeated augmented histamine tests also were performed in 11 control subjects after a similar interval of time. No statistically significant changes in basal or histamine-stimulated gastric acid secretion were found in either the patients with arthritis or the control subjects.
Haplotype inference by pure Parsimony

The next high-priority phase of human genomics will involve the development and use of a full Haplotype Map of the human genome [7]. A critical, perhaps dominating, problem in all such efforts is the inference of large-scale SNP-haplotypes from raw genotype SNP data. This is called the Haplotype Inference (HI) problem. Abstractly, input to the HI problem is a set of n strings over a ternary alphabet. A solution is a set of at most 2n strings over the binary alphabet, so that each input string can be "generated" by some pair of the binary strings in the solution. For greatest biological fidelity, a solution should be consistent with, or evaluated by, properties derived from an appropriate genetic model. A natural model, that has been suggested repeatedly is called here the Pure Parsimony model, where the goal is to find a smallest set of binary strings that can generate the n input strings. The problem of finding such a smallest set is called the Pure Parsimony Problem. Unfortunately, the Pure Parsimony problem is NP-hard, and no paper has previously shown how an optimal Pure-parsimony solution can be computed efficiently for problem instances of the size of current biological interest. In this paper, we show how to formulate the Pure-parsimony problem as an integer linear program; we explain how to improve the practicality of the integer programming formulation; and we present the results of extensive experimentation we have done to show the time and memory practicality of the method, and to compare its accuracy against solutions found by the widely used general haplotyping program PHASE. We also formulate and experiment with variations of the Pure-Parsimony criteria, that allow greater practicality. The results are that the Pure Parsimony problem can be solved efficiently in practice for a wide range of problem instances of current interest in biology. Both the time needed for a solution, and the accuracy of the solution, depend on the level of recombination in the input strings. The speed of the solution improves with increasing recombination, but the accuracy of the solution decreases with increasing recombination.
Measurements of the plasma flow from segmented electrode Hall thrusters

Summary form only given. Passive segmented electrodes with a low secondary electron emission alter significantly plasma flow in the ceramic channel of Hall thrusters. Depending on their secondary electron emission parameters and exact placement in the thruster ceramic channel, they were shown to affect a plasma potential distribution and, as a result, a plume angle of the accelerated plasma jet. In the present work, we are reporting about further results of our efforts directed on characterization of these effects. In particular, the angular distribution of the ion energy and the ion charge state in the plasma flow from the Hall thruster with different segmented electrodes was studied. For this purpose, several diagnostic tools were developed and used. Preliminary results of these measurements for Hall thrusters with and without segmented electrodes are reported and compared.
Mechanism of Cr Diffusion in GaAs

Diffusion of substitutional Cr atoms (Crs) in GaAs results from the rapid migration of interstitial Cr atoms (Cri) and their subsequent changeover to occupy Ga sites (or vise versa), a typical substitutional-interstitial diffusion (SID) process. There are two possible ways for the Cri-Crs changeover to occur: the kick-out mechanism in which Ga self-interstitials are involved, and the dissociative mechanism in which Ga vacancies are involved. The Crs indiffusion profiles are of characteristic shapes indicating the dominance of the kick-out mechanism, while the Crs outdiffusion profiles are error-function shaped, indicating the dominance of the dissociative mechanism. In this study, an integrated SID mechanism, which takes into account the effects of both the kick-out and dissociative mechanisms, is used to analyze Cr diffusion results. Going beyond just qualitative consistency, the Cr in- and outdiffusion features in GaAs are explained on a quantitative basis. In this model the kick-out mechanism dominates Cr indiffusion while the dissociative mechanism dominates Cr outdiffusion. Parameters used to fit existing experimental results provided quantitative information on the Ga self-interstitial contribution to the Ga self-diffusion coefficient.
A decision support tool for building leasing strategies to achieve the executive order mandate for federal government green buildings

U.S. energy prices have risen by 51% over the last two decades. Buildings account for 39% of the total energy consumption in the United States. The Federal Government is a significant user of commercial buildings and can save money, improve the environment, and stimulate the green technology sector by migrating to sustainable facilities. The 2009 Executive Order 13514, Federal Leadership in Environmental, Energy, and Economic Performance, set a goal for all federal agencies to make 15% of their buildings High Performance Sustainable Buildings (HPSB) by 2015. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which operates over 700 buildings, must convert 15 of its 126 directly leased buildings into HPSB within its existing budget resources. The FAA is currently leasing its building on rent cost per square foot and not Life Cycle Costs (LCCs). This is comparable to buying a car solely based on the sticker price to cargo capacity ratio. There are many more costs to consider over the length of ownership of a car, such as fuel economy, passenger capacity, and maintenance costs. One way for the FAA to meet the target in the existing budget is to incorporate LCC practices in the lease acquisition process. This way buildings are evaluated based on operational costs incurred over the entire lease term to yield net savings. To evaluate potential savings, an LCC Lease Analysis (LCCLA) decision support tool has been developed to assess leasing options factoring energy and water cost fluctuations for specific buildings in the FAA database. The tool includes three leasing strategies: (1) renewing the existing lease-this option will not help the FAA achieve the E.O.13514; (2) renovating the buildings to meet HPSB standards-the FAA may incur a higher rent, but will be able to satisfy E.0.13514; and (3) relocating the employees to a building that already satisfies E.O.13514. To generate accurate LCCLA results, surrogate data was used to analyze relationships between number of employees per building, cost per square foot, climate zones, and energy costs with respect to lease term, inflation, and energy costs projections. The analysis has identified fifteen buildings showing either a positive savings, net zero financial impact, or lowest costs. All but one of these buildings is less than 25000 square feet. This is a result of the lower cost of renovating smaller buildings. The analysis also reveals that full service leases do not allow the FAA to reap the benefits of the green technology. Since the responsibility of paying utilities falls to the lessor, the lessor is in a position to charge a premium rent to cover the stochastic energy costs. If those costs are actually less than what was negotiated, the lessor can pocket the difference. Partial service leases give finer control over money for utility bills. This method of leasing also has the capability of giving immediate feedback as to the performance of the efficiency of the building.
Ion assisted laser processing of cubic boron nitride films

Abstract We have synthesized cubic boron nitride films using ion assisted laser deposition, where boron is evaporated by laser ablation and the substrate is bombarded concurrently with nitrogen ions. The films were characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and transmission electron microscopy (TEM) techniques. The electron diffraction patterns from these specimens provide unambiguous evidence for hexagonal (h-BN) and cubic (c-BN) boron nitride phases. The films deposited on silicon were found to be either polycrystalline h-BN or c-BN depending upon the deposition conditions. The films deposited on diamond were epitaxial cubic boron nitride with no interposing layer. We have performed a detailed study of microstructures of c-BN varying from fine-grain polycrystalline to epitaxial structures.
Carbon Monoxide Adsorption on Ru-Modified Pt Surfaces: Time-Resolved Infrared Reflection Absorption Studies in Ultrahigh Vacuum

The vibrational spectra of CO adsorbed on Ru-modified Pt(100) surfaces prepared by chemical vapor deposition (condensation of Ru(3)(CO)(12) at 105 K followed by X-ray irradiation and thermal decomposition at 650 K in ultrahigh vacuum, UHV) was investigated by time-resolved infrared reflection absorption spectroscopy (IRAS) in UHV. Spectra were recorded while Ru/Pt(100) bimetallic surfaces (theta(Ru) = 0.24 and 0.52 by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, XPS) were dosed with gas-phase CO. Analysis of the data revealed that for a wide range of calibrated CO exposures, the linear CO-stretching region displays two features: a higher energy peak (2085-2100 cm(-1)), attributed to CO adsorbed on pristine Pt(100) sites, and a lower energy peak (2066-2092 cm(-1)), ascribed to adsorption of CO on sites on the surface induced by the presence of Ru. Similar experiments were performed on bimetallic specimens annealed repeatedly in UHV to 650 K to promote partial Ru dissolution into the lattice and thus render surfaces gradually enriched in Pt. For all surfaces and CO exposures examined, the total integrated area under the two CO spectral features remained fairly constant and equal in value to the corresponding areas found for bare Pt(100). If it is assumed that a fixed exposure leads to a fixed coverage on both bare and Ru-modified Pt(100)surfaces, and the thermal treatment leads to an exchange of Ru by Pt sites without altering significantly the total number of metal sites on the surface, the absorption cross sections for both of these peaks are virtually the same.
The Central Clock Neurons Regulate Lipid Storage in Drosophila

A proper balance of lipid breakdown and synthesis is essential for achieving energy homeostasis as alterations in either of these processes can lead to pathological states such as obesity. The regulation of lipid metabolism is quite complex with multiple signals integrated to control overall triglyceride levels in metabolic tissues. Based upon studies demonstrating effects of the circadian clock on metabolism, we sought to determine if the central clock cells in the Drosophila brain contribute to lipid levels in the fat body, the main nutrient storage organ of the fly. Here, we show that altering the function of the Drosophila central clock neurons leads to an increase in fat body triglycerides. We also show that although triglyceride levels are not affected by age, they are increased by expression of the amyloid-beta protein in central clock neurons. The effect on lipid storage seems to be independent of circadian clock output as changes in triglycerides are not always observed in genetic manipulations that result in altered locomotor rhythms. These data demonstrate that the activity of the central clock neurons is necessary for proper lipid storage.
Adenylyl cyclase: a new target for heart failure therapeutics.

In the early 1960s, Earl Sutherland and his colleagues performed a series of experiments that led to the understanding that the positive inotropic effects of β-adrenergic agonists were mediated by the activation of the enzyme adenylyl cyclase (AC) and the subsequent production of cyclic adenosine monophosphate (cAMP).1 By measuring tissue cAMP levels while simultaneously monitoring the mechanical properties of the heart, these investigators were able to show that cAMP levels increased with extraordinary speed, an increase that correlated directly with increased force of contraction. Subsequent studies demonstrated that AC activity is enhanced through a pathway beginning with ligand binding to β1-adrenergic receptors (β1ARs) and subsequent activation of stimulatory guanine nucleotide–binding signal transduction proteins (Gs). The resultant production of cAMP mediates improvements in both cardiac inotropy and lusitropy via stimulation of cAMP-dependent protein kinase A and the protein kinase A–dependent phosphorylation of key target proteins, including the L-type calcium channel, phospholamban, and troponin I. In the normal heart, activation of the βAR–G protein–AC pathway effects enhanced contractility, which is paramount in facilitating the “flight or fight” response. However, in the failing human heart, profound alterations in multiple components of this βAR–G protein–AC signal transduction cascade reduce cardiac reserve and contribute to decreased exercise response in patients with heart failure.2 Paradoxically, long-term activation of the neurohormonal pathway accelerates the natural history of heart failure. See p 1989 Thus, a therapeutic conundrum has arisen: How can one enhance myocardial contractility while at the same time protecting the heart from the untoward consequences of heightened and continuous adrenergic activation? With the use of transgenic overexpression and gene-targeted knockouts, investigators have demonstrated the potential utility of low levels of β2AR overexpression or inhibition of βAR kinase (βARK) in improving cardiac contractile function without obvious cardiotoxicity (see …
An effective method of inactivating chlorhexidine.

Abstract Objective. The purpose of this study was to find an effective inactivating agent for chlorhexidine that would facilitate removal of all residual antimicrobial effect, which may cause false-negative results during microbiologic culturing. Study Design. L-α-lecithin, Tween 80, and sodium thiosulfate were used in different proportions to prepare 6 potential inactivating solutions. Nine mL of each inactivating solution was mixed with 1 mL of 2% chlorhexidine solution. After 5 minutes of equilibration, 0.1 mL of bacterial cell suspension containing 2 × 104 viable cell of Enterococcus faecalis was added to the mixture. At 10 and 60 minutes, 0.1-mL aliquots were withdrawn and spread over blood agar plates and incubated at 37°C for 72 hours. The number of colony-forming units on the blood agar plates was determined and recorded. Results. The combination of 3% Tween 80 and 0.3% L-α-lecithin was found to be the most effective inactivating agent, allowing full recovery of the test organisms in the presence of chlorhexidine. Conclusion. The present study demonstrated a method to predictably inactivate chlorhexidine. (Oral Surg Oral Med Oral Pathol Oral Radiol Endod 2002;93:617-20)
Effect of Press-on Forces on Drug Adhesion in Dry Powder Inhaler Formulations

Press-on forces play a major role in dry powder inhaler (DPI) formulations. In this work, we have quantified the press-on forces on different substrates and drugs under controlled conditions. Externally applied forces significantly affect drug adhesion to surfaces and were found to be independent of the type of substrate and drug. A conservative estimate of press-on forces was made and was found to depend inherently on the size and shape of the drug particle and also on the contact area of the drug and substrate. These press-on forces were positively correlated to the mixing energy. It was found to increase quadratically with an increase in mixing speed. This work is of relevance to the pharmaceutical process of mixing DPI formulations, as it relates dispersion performance to the mixing time, batch size and carrier and drug properties.
Tobacco Leaf, Smoke and Smoking, MAO Inhibitors, Parkinson’s Disease and Neuroprotection; Are There Links?

The potential neuroprotective properties of monoamine oxidase B (MAO-B) inhibitors have been of interest in part because of the role that this enzyme plays in the bioactivation of the parkinsonian inducing neurotoxin 1-methyl-4-phenyl-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine (MPTP). Interestingly, tobacco smokers have lowered levels of brain and blood platelet MAO-B activity and a well documented lowered incidence of Parkinson's disease (PD) compared to non-smokers. This correlation has led to the intriguing question of whether there are possible relationships between smoking, MAO-B activity and PD. Recent studies have evaluated specific components of tobacco smoke for their MAO inhibiting and neuroprotective properties. This chapter summarizes the relevant literature relating to the basic questions in these areas. We have undertaken studies to identify possible inhibitors of MAO-B in the tobacco leaf and tobacco smoke and have evaluated one such compound in the MPTP PD mouse model. In this chapter we report on the results of these studies and present a discussion of potential avenues of research and their implication with respect to PD, smoking and monoamine oxidase.
Bayesian model of the staircase Gelb effect

Introduction: For perceived lightness to be a useful guide to object identity, it should correlate with physical surface reflectance across changes in viewing conditions. Most vision scientists agree that lightness perception involves the resolution of ambiguity inherent in the retinal image. There is less consensus about how to frame models of this process. We have found it clarifying to develop ideal observer models. These models estimate illuminant intensity and surface reflectance from the image data and link the estimates to psychophysical performance. Here we show that such a model can account for the staircase Gelb effect (Cataliotti & Gilchrist, 1995). This effect has been presented as a challenge for ideal observer models, because simple variants of these models to not predict it. Methods: We simulated a world with a single row of eleven pixels. The retinal image was obtained as the pixel-by-pixel product of illuminant intensity and surface reflectance. The statistical ensembles of illuminants and surfaces were each modeled as a multivariate Gaussian distribution specified by the pixel mean, the pixel variance, and the correlation between neighboring pixels. We estimated illuminant intensity and surface reflectance at each pixel by maximizing the full posterior distribution (computed using Bayes' rule). Importantly, our implementation allowed both illuminant intensity and surface reflectance to vary over space. Results: In the staircase Gelb effect experiment, a series of grayscale surfaces are illuminated by an intense spotlight. The data demonstrate range compression, since the actual reflectance range of the surfaces (~0.03-0.9) is far greater than the corresponding range of observed lightness matches (~0.3-0.8). For these conditions, range compression emerged naturally from our model: the estimated surface reflectances showed range compression similar to the experimentally observed matches. Conclusion: Ideal observer models of lightness perception can account for the Journal of Vision Bayesian model of the staircase Gelb effect, by Al... http://www.journalofvision.org/8/6/283/ 2 of 2 7/2/08 12:32 PM phenomenon of range compression. Supported by NIH/NEI RO1 EY10016 and P30 EY001583. History Received April 22, 2008; published May 10, 2008 Citation Allred, S. R., Lohnas, L. J., & Brainard, D. H. (2008). Bayesian model of the staircase Gelb effect [Abstract]. Journal of Vision, 8(6):283, 283a, http://journalofvision.org/8/6/283/, doi:10.1167/8.6.283.
Site-directed isotope labeling and FTIR spectroscopy: assignment of tyrosine bands in the bR → M difference spectrum of bacteriorhodopsin

Abstract Fourier transform infrared difference spectroscopy has been used extensively to probe structural changes in bacteriorhodopsin and other retinal proteins. However, the absence of a general method to assign bands to individual chemical groups in a protein has limited the application of this technique. While site-directed mutagenesis has been successful in special cases for such assignments, in general, this approach induces perturbations in the structure and function of the protein, thereby preventing unambiguous band assignments. A new approach has recently been reported (Sonar et al., Nature Struct. Biol., 1 (1994) 512–517) which involves cell-free expression of bacteriorhodopsin and site-directed isotope labeling (SDIL). We have now used this method to re-examine bands assigned in the bR → M difference spectrum to tyrosine residues. Our results show that out of 11 tyrosines in bR, only Tyr 185 is structurally active. This work further demonstrates the power of SDIL and FTIR to probe conformational changes at the level of individual amino acid residues in proteins.
Democracy and computer conferencing

possible to teach every branch of human knowledge with the motion picture. Our school system will be completely changed in the next ten years" (cited in Saettler, 1968, p. 98). Later, audiovisual instruction promised to make knowledge more concrete and valid (Reiser, 1987). Television followed in the middle of the century as a broadcast medium that could take students to any place in the world, though that journey often ended in a studio with a single "talking head" (De Vaney, 1987). All of these media promised to improve educational practice, and all largely failed in the attempt. Integrating the computer into schools during the 1980s did little to change instructional technology's pattern of great promise followed by disillusionment. Though proponents of computers spoke of revolution and reform, early implementation of computers in schools was usually in support of established teaching practice. At best, drill, tutorial, and simulation programs served to amplify the
Application of quasilinearization technique to the vertical channel flow and heat convection

Abstract The quasilinearization technique, also known as the generalized Newton-Raphson method, is employed to solve the problem of fluid injection through one side of a long vertical channel. With very approximate starting values, only a few iterations are needed to obtain a result with high accuracy. The results are compared with those obtained by the perturbation technique. Although the perturbation technique is perhaps the simplest and the most straight-forward method to achieve solutions to non-linear boundary value problems, the limitation on the magnitude of perturbed parameters hinders its applicability.
Homogeneous Charge Compression Ignition (HCCI) Engine Fueled With Natural Gas for Stationary Power Generation Applications

In this study, a single-cylinder HCCI engine was used to study the technical feasibility of HCCI engines for stationary power generation applications. The compression ratio (CR) of the engine was set at 13.8:1 considering a hybrid system with diesel micro-pilot injection. The engine was operated under various loads at a rated speed of 1800 rpm. Intake manifold temperature of the air/fuel mixture was used to control the start of combustion (SOC) of the HCCI engine. Oil and coolant temperatures were set at 100°C. Location of peak in-cylinder pressure (PPL) was maintained within 6∼9°ATDC in order to obtain maximum thermal efficiency by initiating the SOC between 2∼4°BTDC. Intake boost was increased up to 2.5 bar absolute to increase engine power output. Results of the HCCI combustion were also compared with those of diesel and diesel micro-pilot natural gas combustion. The results showed that the required intake temperature ranged from 149°C to 261°C depending on engine loads. The highest net mean effective pressure (NMEP) was about 10.6 bar. Higher intake boost pressure would increase NMEP even higher. Maximum indicated thermal efficiency (ITE) was about 49% at the excess air ratio (λ) of 3.2 and maximum combustion efficiency was about 94% at λ = 2.6. Oxides of nitrogen (NOx) emissions were below 10 ppm when λ was above 3. At these excess air ratios, in the good HCCI operating regimes, carbon monoxide (CO), total hydrocarbons (THC), and methane (CH4 ) were equivalent to those of conventional natural gas engines.Copyright © 2006 by ASME
Multi-Aperture Spectroscopy At Kitt Peak

Simultaneous observation of several astronomical sources can be an effective way to increase the efficiency of telescope use. A description of the scheme currently in use at Kitt Peak, employing multiple entrance apertures to spectrographs and digital array detectors, is presented. Typical uses include surveying fields of faint objects for peculiar sources, and deriving radial velocities and/or spectrophotometry of stars or galaxies in clusters.© (1982) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Overview of the 1994 ARPA human language technology workshop

This volume presents papers, session summaries, and project summaries from the Second ARPA Human Language Technology Workshop, which was held at the Merrill Lynch Conference Center in Plainsboro, NJ, March 8-11, 1994. The Workshop was actually the seventh in a series of ARPA workshops which began in 1988; the first five were called the DARPA Speech and Natural Language Workshops, and the name was changed to the ARPA Human Language Technology (HLT) Workshop in 1993 to reflect the broadened focus and increasing unification of ARPA-sponsored research in spoken and written language. In addition, the "D" was dropped from DARPA in 1993, reflecting a broadening of its charter. The Proceedings of the seven Workshops, all of which have been published by Morgan-Kaufmann, represent a rich source of information on the rapid progress in spoken and written language technology which has been achieved over the past decade, due in no small measure to the leadership of the ARPA Program Managers.
Effect of binocular rivalry suppression on the motion aftereffect.

Abstract The relative loci within the visual system of the site of the motion aftereffect (MAE) and the site of binocular rivalry suppression was inferred by measuring the magnitude of the MAE when the inducing motion was phenomenally suppressed for > 50 per cent of the inspection period. The MAE magnitude was a function of the duration of physical impingement of the inducing stimulus; the state of suppression exerted no effect, thereby implying that the site of suppression does not occur before the site of the MAE. This result, together with other data, is interpreted to mean that the site of suppression is cortical.
Ecophysiology of uncultivated marine euryarchaea is linked to particulate organic matter

Particles in aquatic environments host distinct communities of microbes, yet the evolution of particle-specialized taxa and the extent to which specialized microbial metabolism is associated with particles is largely unexplored. Here, we investigate the hypothesis that a widely distributed and uncultivated microbial group—the marine group II euryarchaea (MGII)—interacts with living and detrital particulate organic matter (POM) in the euphotic zone of the central California Current System. Using fluorescent in situ hybridization, we verified the association of euryarchaea with POM. We further quantified the abundance and distribution of MGII 16 S ribosomal RNA genes in size-fractionated seawater samples and compared MGII functional capacity in metagenomes from the same fractions. The abundance of MGII in free-living and >3 μm fractions decreased with increasing distance from the coast, whereas MGII abundance in the 0.8–3 μm fraction remained constant. At several offshore sites, MGII abundance was highest in particle fractions, indicating that particle-attached MGII can outnumber free-living MGII under oligotrophic conditions. Compared with free-living MGII, the genome content of MGII in particle-associated fractions exhibits an increased capacity for surface adhesion, transcriptional regulation and catabolism of high molecular weight substrates. Moreover, MGII populations in POM fractions are phylogenetically distinct from and more diverse than free-living MGII. Eukaryotic phytoplankton additions stimulated MGII growth in bottle incubations, providing the first MGII net growth rate measurements. These ranged from 0.47 to 0.54 d−1. However, MGII were not recovered in whole-genome amplifications of flow-sorted picoeukaryotic phytoplankton and heterotrophic nanoflagellates, suggesting that MGII in particle fractions are not physically attached to living POM. Collectively, our results support a linkage between MGII ecophysiology and POM, implying that marine archaea have a role in elemental cycling through interactions with particles.
Automatic resource compilation by analyzing hyperlink structure and associated text

We describe the design, prototyping and evaluation of ARC, a system for automatically compiling a list of authoritative Web resources on any (sufficiently broad) topic. The goal of ARC is to compile resource lists similar to those provided by Yahoo! or Infoseek. The fundamental difference is that these services construct lists either manually or through a combination of human and automated effort, while ARC operates fully automatically. We describe the evaluation of ARC, Yahoo!, and Infoseek resource lists by a panel of human users. This evaluation suggests that the resources found by ARC frequently fare almost as well as, and sometimes better than, lists of resources that are manually compiled or classified into a topic. We also provide examples of ARC resource lists for the reader to examine.
Identification of a preferred region for recombination and mutation in HIV-1 gag

We designed a cell culture-based system to test the hypothesis that recombination events during HIV-1 replication would be more frequent near the dimerization initiation sequence (DIS). A 459-bp region spanning the DIS through the 5'-end of gag was sequenced and analyzed to determine the frequency and distribution of crossover sites. We found a strong preference for recombination events occurring within a 112-nt-long region encompassing the gag AUG (64% of crossovers occurred in this region, compared to 10-14% in surrounding regions with similar lengths). Surprisingly, the region immediately surrounding the DIS was not a preferred site of recombination. Analysis of recombination events using RNA templates transcribed in vitro revealed a preference for crossover sites at the start of the gag coding region, similar to that observed in cell culture. This recombinogenic region was unusually G-rich and promoted extensive pausing by RT in vitro. Template features that induce RT pausing very likely contribute to the observed template switching events in gag during minus-strand synthesis. The region in gag that was a preferred site for recombination also had an approximately 2-fold higher mutation frequency compared to the rest of the region sequenced, but mutations were no more common in recombinant compared to non-recombinant clones, suggesting that recombination events were not mutagenic.
Desmoid Tumors of the Chest Wall

Twenty-six cases of desmoid tumors of the wall of the chest were reviewed. These are rare lesions, which nonetheless should be considered in the differential diagnosis of all tumors of the chest wall. Although the lesion is most often palpable, several of the tumors were detectable only by means of an x-ray film of the thorax. Definitive diagnosis could not be made clinically but was easily established by pathologic examination of widely excised tumor. Like all desmoid tumors, these were locally aggressive in their growth but nonmetastatic and generally carried a good prognosis. Ideally, treatment consisted of wide local excision, but if there was encroachment of the tumor on vital structures, excision with suboptimal tumor-free margins was required. Even in the latter instance, tumefaction could be well controlled for long periods. Recurrences after an initial attempted removal were common, but most of these responded to reexcision.
A graphics simulator for a robotic arm

A graphics robot simulator designed for an IBM PC/XT/AT or PS/2 personal computer is presented. The simulator is a terminate-and-stay resident (TSR) program that runs in the background and intercepts commands that would normally go to the robot controller through the COM1 serial communication device. With the use of the simulator, students can develop and test robot control programs offline without a physical robot present, using the language of their choice. The status of the simulated robot is available through a 3-D graphics display and a one-line text window, each of which can be activated from the keyboard or from within a user program. Data files are used to specify the robot to be simulated and the environment or workcell within which it is to operate. Currently supported robots include the Rhino XR-3 educational robot and the Adept One and Inteledex 660 industrial robots. The workcell features an overhead camera and objects that can be sensed by the camera and manipulated by the robot. >
Ein experimenteller Beitrag zur Berechnung der Körperoberfläche von Maus, Meerschweinchen und Kaninchen

1. Die Korperoberflache von 9 Mausen, 10 Meerschweinchen und 8 Kaninchen wurde nach dem Einhullverfahren vonMitchell gemessen. Auf Grund der Werte wurden Formeln zur Berechnung der Oberflache aufgestellt. 2. Fur die genannten Spezies wurde die Konstante derMeehschen Gleichung bestimmt. Es ergab sich fur die Maus k=7,76, fur das Meerschweinchen 7,35 und fur das Kaninchen 9,18. 3. Ferner wurden nach der Methode der kleinsten Quadrate der Koeffizient und Exponent des Korpergewichtes bei Maus und Kaninchen bestimmt. Es ergaben sich fur die Berechnung der Oberflache etwas bessere Resultate als nach der Gleichung vonMeeh. Der Unterschied ist jedoch unbedeutend.
Beat the Blues decreases depression in financially strained older African-American Adults

Objectives Financial strain, defined as inadequate income to cover basic needs, is related to depression in minority populations. It is unclear whether interventions can improve depression in those reporting financial strain. Design Randomized controlled trial. Setting Philadelphia senior center. Participants A total of 208 African-American adults 55 years of age and older with mild to severe depressive symptoms. Measurements Beat the Blues (BTB) depression intervention, which includes care management, referral/linkage, stress reduction, depression education, and behavioral activation. Measurements included responses to the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, financial strain, and age. Results Although financial strain was related to depressive symptoms at baseline, participants receiving BTB at all levels of financial strain showed reduced depressive symptoms compared with a waitlist control group at 4 months. BTB participants reporting financial strain had a mean (standard deviation) decrease of 6.4 (0.85) points on the Patient Health Questionnaire-9, reflecting a clinically meaningful improvement. Conclusions This nonpharmacologic intervention reduced depressive symptoms in both African-American subjects with and without financial strain. However, screening for and helping people manage financial strain may boost the magnitude of intervention benefit for those with financial strain and should be explored as part of depression care.
“Petit Déjeuner Compris” – Is It Really Free? Evidence from French and Italian Hotels

Despite the old claim in economics that “there is no such thing as a free lunch,” some of the recent work in behavioral economics and in other fields of study implies the contrary. In this paper I study whether French and Italian hotels actually provide a “free” breakfast when, as is done by many hotels around the world, its provision is included in the room price. The data indicate, using both cross-sectional comparisons and hotel-specific changes in breakfast provision, that there is no such thing as a free breakfast. In France and Italy hotels that offer, respectively, “petit dejeuner compris” and “compresa la prima colazione” appear to raise their room prices by 10 to 15 percent.
Extreme carpal variability in Teleoceras (Rhinocerotidae, Mammalia)

ABSTRACT A large population of the common American Miocene rhinoceros, Teleoceras, shows extreme variability in the shape of the magnum and unciform. A small number of the specimens show a de novo posterior (volar) articulation between these two carpals. The new articulation may have been formed as an early stage in the fusion of the two bones. It is suggested that in order to evolve a complex new structure, a population will sometimes produce more variation in the affected elements than is actually necessary to form the structure.
The understanding of pretence across the second year of life

Toddlers’ ability to understand pretend transformations was assessed. Children at 15-, 18- and 24-months of age participated in six pretend episodes in which either a single or a double pretend transformation was enacted by an experimenter. In the single transformation form of episodes, only one of two props was altered. In the double transformation form, both props were transformed, but then one was returned to its original state. The episodes involved three types of physical change: empty-to-full, dry-to-wet, and clean-to-dirty. After each episode, children made a pretend response to one of the two props. The 15-month-olds performed significantly below chance for both forms of episode: in some cases, they tended to imitate the pretend transformations of the experimenter. The 18-month-old infants tended to either imitate or make an accurate selection of prop. The 24-month-old toddlers’ pretend responses and vocalizations demonstrated that they understood both forms of the episodes. They usually made correct responses, showing that they kept track of the stipulated pretend transformations. Age trends found in these data are discussed with respect to young toddler's emerging skills in participating in collaborative pretend play.
Cardiac dose response relationship for intravenously infused glucagon in normal intact dogs and men

Abstract The mechanism of glucagon's cardiac effects is not well understood. As the cardiac dose response to glucagon in intact animals has not been elucidated, this was determined in normal men and dogs. In man, heart rate, blood pressure, systolic time intervals and echocardiographic indices of ventricular wall motion were determined. Plasma glucagon levels (PGL) were measured by radioimmunoassay. Men received 3 glucagon infusions of 10 −10 to 10 −8 moles/minute followed by a bolus of 0.5 mg. or 1.0 mg. Small but significant changes were observed in ejection fraction and left ventricular posterior wall displacement at the 10 −9 moles/minute infusion rate (mean PGL 1.9 ng./ml.), a PGL close to that of some pathophysiologic states such as burns, ketoacidosis, and acute myocardial infarction, while cardiac output, heart rate, and other indices of cardiac performance were significantly changed only at the 10 −8 moles/minute and bolus injections. Some indices, notably stroke volume, were unchanged. In dogs, left ventricular (LV) pressure, LV pressure derivative (LV dPdt), and aortic flow were measured with implanted LV solid state pressure transducers and electromagnetic flow probes. Dogs received six infusions from 2.7 × 10 −11 to 2.7 × 10 −8 moles/minute followed by a bolus of 2 mg. In dogs, significant changes occurred in LV dPdt at 2.7 × 10 −9 moles/minute (mean PGL 31.5 ng./ml.) and in heart rate at 2.7 × 10 −8 moles/minute only. It appears that substantial hemodynamic effects do not appear in man or dogs until PGL 10 to 100 times those seen in pathophysiologic states are achieved. Thus, it seems unlikely that glucagon contributes substantially to the hyperdynamic circulatory conditions observed in these states. Significant hemodynamic response to glucagon was noted in normal men, however, at a PGL less than that achieved by usual pharmacologic doses of glucagon and this lower PGL was not associated with the gastrointestinal symptoms commonly observed clinically.
The surgical management of retinopathy of prematurity using a perfluorocarbon liquid.

Retinopathy of prematurity with retinal detachment continues to present a challenge to the vitreoretinal surgeon despite many advances in technique. We report on two eyes with stage 4 and 5 ROP operated on using vitrectomy techniques and a perfluorocarbon liquid (Vitreon®). The surgical technique is described in detail.