cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Assessment of the Power and Height of Radial Aspheres Reported by a Computer-assisted Keratoscope

Purpose The two purposes of this study were (a) to assess the accuracy with which a keratoscope, the Topographic Modeling System (TMS-1), calculated the heights and powers of rotationally symmetric, radially aspheric test surfaces and (b) to determine whether the TMS-1 used an axial solution for radius of curvature to determine the power of a sphere that would produce the same semichord as would the test surface on a keratograph. Methods The TMS-1 heights and powers were studied for four test surfaces that had radial profiles similar to those of normal corneas. The powers of the surfaces were calculated from the local radius of curvature derived from the surfaces' manufacturing formulas. The heights and powers that would result from an axial solution were calculated in a TMS-1 simulator. TMS-1 data were compared with data from the surfaces' formulas and with data from the simulation. Results The TMS-1 data were almost identical to the heights and powers calculated from the simulated axial solution. The TMS-1 data were similar to the heights and powers calculated from the mathematical formulas from the apex to 2 mm from the apex but differed by up to 85 μm of height and 10 diopters of power in the periphery. Conclusions The TMS-1 appeared to use the axial solution that does not calculate power from local radius of curvature. Clinicians should use caution when inferring corneal shape from power maps based on an axial solution, especially outside the central 2-mm radius of a normal cornea, because such power does not depict corneal curvature.
Consequences of critical infrastructure interdependencies: lessons from the 2004 hurricane season in Florida

This paper summarises a study conducted by Virginia Tech for the American Lifelines Alliance (ALA) in 2005 to document interdependencies and impacts among utilities and transportation systems (lifelines) associated with the 2004 hurricane season in Florida. The greater Orange County, Florida area was chosen as the study area for the investigation, which focused primarily on the experience of owners and operators of electric power systems, water and wastewater utilities, natural gas and petroleum fuel systems, and communications and transportation networks. Key personnel from utility and transportation organisations were interviewed by the study team to help identify lifeline interdependency issues that affected the ability of lifeline owners and operators to provide continued service to customers. Detailed information was collected on interdependent lifeline performance and lessons learned from the impacts of multiple hurricanes that could provide the basis for developing improved guidance for hazard mitigation and lifeline service restoration.
Effects of small changes in glucagon on glucose production during a euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp

The aim of this study was to examine the influence of small changes in glucagon on hepatic glucose production during a euglycemic, hyperinsulinemic clamp. During 1.0 mU/kg.min insulin infusion, euglycemia was maintained by glucose infusion and glucagon was infused at various rates so as to cause plasma glucagon levels to increase, decrease, or remain unchanged. Changes in glucagon were found to be positively associated with changes in glucose production and inversely related to the degree of suppression of tracer or arteriovenous difference determined endogenous glucose production. Thus, animals in which the glucagon levels increased, appeared to have decreased hepatic insulin sensitivity, while animals in which glucagon levels decreased, appeared to have increased insulin sensitivity. In conclusion, since glucagon often declines during a euglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp, and since small changes in glucagon can have marked effects on the suppression of hepatic glucose output even in the presence of high insulin levels, changes in glucagon should be considered when conclusions regarding hepatic insulin sensitivity are being drawn.
Technical Note-A Note on the Solution to Lanchester-Type Equations with Variable Coefficients

This note shows how to obtain a solution to Lanchester-type equations for combat between two homogeneous forces when the attrition rates are variable, provided that their quotient is a constant. Solutions are developed for either time or force separation as the independent variable.
Effect of subsurface drip irrigation on processing tomato yield, water table depth, soil salinity, and profitability

Abstract The potential of subsurface drip irrigation of processing tomatoes to reduce subsurface drainage, control soil salinity, and increase farm profits in areas affected by saline, shallow ground water was evaluated at three fields with fine-textured, salt-affected soil along the west side of the San Joaquin Valley of California. No subsurface drainage systems were installed in these fields. Yield and quality of tomato of the drip systems were compared with sprinkler irrigation. Yield increases of 12.90–22.62 Mg/ha were found for the drip systems compared to the sprinkler systems with similar amounts of applied water. Soluble solids of the drip-irrigated tomatoes were acceptable. Response of water table levels during drip irrigation showed that properly managed drip systems could reduce percolation below the root zone. Yields of the drip systems were similar over the range of soil salinity levels that occurred near the drip lines. Profits under drip irrigation were 867 to $ 1493 ha−1 more compared to sprinkler irrigation, depending on the amount of yield increase and the interest rate used in the economic analysis.
Collecting and characterizing atmospheric nanoparticles

This paper describes the development and use of portable thermal precipitators for ultrafine and nanoparticle collection and illustrates their characterization by transmission-electron microscopy. Preliminary analyses found that the collected particulates are aggregates of a few or many hundreds of sub-particles (>10 nm), and more than three-fourths of these are crystalline, or aggregates of individual, inorganic, crystal grains. This approach to atmospheric nanoparticulate collection and characterization can be applied in indoor and outdoor air-quality monitoring of a wide variety of ultrafine/nanoparticulate materials and materials technologies.
Forms and Amounts of Soil Nitrogen and Phosphorus Across a Longleaf Pine–Depressional Wetland Landscape

Forms and amounts of soil N and P were measured across transects from freshwater depressional wetlands into longleaf pine-wiregrass forests of southwestern Georgia to evaluate changes in labile vs. recalcitrant N and P and C:N:P ratios across drainage gradients. Plant-available NO 3 --N (3.7 μg cm -3 ) and organic N (2000 μg cm -3 ) were significantly greater in wetland than upland soils (NO 3 -N = 0.03 μg cm -3 , organic N = 890 μg cm -3 ) and C:N increased from wetlands (17:1) into uplands (43:1). Forms and amounts of P were not as strongly related to landscape position as N. Labile organic P (P o , 2.6 μg cm -3 ) was significantly greater in wetland than upland soils (0.88 μg cm -3 ). Recalcitrant organic compounds accounted for 95 to 97% of the N and 50 to 82% of the P stored in wetland and upland soils. Wetland soils stored a disproportionately large share of N as compared with upland soils even though soil organic matter (C) content was uniform across the landscape. Landscape position (drainage, degree of wetness) is an important determinant of nutrient retention in sandy soils of the southeastern coastal plain. Periodic waterlogging favors sequestration of biological (organic) forms of N and P with proportionally greater storage of N relative to P. Soil waterlogging by promoting accumulation of N more than P favors a shift from N limitation in upland soils towards P limitation in wetland soils of the southeastern coastal plain.
Quis Custodiet Ipsos Custodes? Who Polices the Crisis?

Citizens concerned about the continuing presence in Iraq, or multiple domestic crises in the U.S., are tempted to resort to tactics and strategies which are hallmarks of American democratic life: letters to congressmen, letters to newspaper editors, and other “speak back” forums. As a way of “policing a crisis,” citizen action and letter-writing and assembly protests have been effective tools for mobilizing public opinion and bringing attention to perceptions of failure in social policies. The Patriot’s Act of 2002, however, has brought a sense of threat to public protest. Widespread and non-accountable surveillance of citizens’ activities make policing the Iraqi —or any domestic—crisis a threat to personal liberty. Those who would police the crisis are themselves being policed.
Toward the intelligent control of robots

A new adaptive control architecture for the intelligent control of robotic manipulators is developed. The design is capable of utilizing external sensory information for the robot control. To achieve this, first a model reference adaptive control (MRAC) is developed which can be applied to a robot arm in the task space. Then the concept of virtual adaptive model is defined, which is used to formulate a maneuvering strategy in response to the external information. Finally, the virtual model provides the modified reference signals to the MRAC system to control the corresponding modified motion of the robot in the environment. The design does not require any knowledge about the dynamic parameters of the robot or that of the environment.
Role of the bilayer in the shape of the isolated erythrocyte membrane.

The determinants of cell shape were explored in a study of the crenation (spiculation) of the isolated erythrocyte membrane. Standard ghosts prepared in 5mm NaPi (pH 8) were plump, dimpled disks even when prepared from echinocytic (spiculated) red cells. These ghosts became crenated in the presence of isotonic saline, millimolar levels of divalent cations, 1mm 2,4-dinitrophenol or 0.1mm lysolecithin. Crenation was suppressed in ghosts generated under conditions of minimal osmotic stress, in ghosts from red cells partially depleted of cholesterol, and, paradoxically, in ghosts from red cells crenated by lysolecithin. The susceptibility of ghosts to crenation was lost with time; this process was potentiated by elevated temperature, low ionic strength, and traces of detergents or chlorpromazine. In that ghost shape was influenced by a variety of amphipaths, our results favor the premise that the bilayer and not the subjacent protein reticulum drives ghost crenation. The data also suggest that vigorous osmotic hemolysis induces a redistribution of lipids between the two leaflets of the bilayer which affects membrane contour through a bilayer couple mechanism. Subsequent relaxation of that metastable distribution could account for the observed loss of crenatability.
Concept of an effective optical distortion parameter: Application to KCl laser windows

Abstract Since most high-energy laser applications require close-to-diffraction-limited beam characteristics near focus in the far field, window-induced optical distortions resulting from the absorption of laser light must be carefully assessed in terms of impact on achievable irradiances at the target. The purpose of this paper is to describe an analytical approach that is simple enough to allow laser systems designers to predict the amount of degradation in beam intensity at the Gaussian focus, and to illustrate its merit in the light of a comprehensive evaluation of the performance of a key window-material candidate for operation at 10.6μm. The aberration-function expansion method of Born and Wolf is extended to derive an effective optical distortion parameter; in the context of the short-time approximation it is shown how this concept clarifies the problem of relating the reduction in target irradiance to specific features of both laser window and laser beam. Among materials of potential interest at 10.6 μm, only KC1 exhibits evidence of substantial stress-birefringence effects from the point of view of focal irradiances. This situation with its implications for thermal lensing is examined in detail taking into consideration the cubic structure of KCl; based upon the best indications currently available for both ultra-pure RAP-KCl and commercially available single crystals, it is concluded that minimum distortion at 10.6 μm should be obtained at a dn dT of −2.65 × 10−5K−1. The performance of KCl windows with regard to holding a diffraction-limited focus at a stationary target is then evaluated within the framework of a generalized Strehl relation, on assuming optimally truncated CO2-laser beams.
Absolute, On-Line Monitoring of Molar Mass during Polymerization Reactions

To perform on-line monitoring of the absolute weight-averaged mass, Mw, of the polymers produced in a polymerization reaction, refractometer (RI), ultraviolet absorbance (UV), and time-dependent static light scattering (TDSLS) detectors were placed in series, and a diluted stream of reactant solution was made to flow through them. The technique allows rapid determination of time-dependent reaction “signatures” and end-product masses. Hence the effects of changing reaction conditions such as reactant concentrations, temperature, and initiators can be quickly assessed. Such a technique is expected to be of wide utility in characterizing polymerization reactions, both on the laboratory scale, where new polymers are synthesized and conditions optimized, as well as on the industrial scale, where on-line quality control can be performed. For stepwise reactions, the RI and TDSLS detectors are sufficient for determination of Mw, whereas for free radical reactions, the polymer concentration must be measured in ord...
Toward professionalism or voluntarism in pastoral care

In its modern evolution as a subprofession, pastoral counseling has increasingly developed professional criteria to determine who can and who cannot legitimately do pastoral counseling. This trend moves pastoral counseling toward the medical profession and away from the life and mission of the institutional church. As pastoral counseling seeks a legitimacy in close association with the medical profession it runs the risk of losing touch with the institutional church—the voluntary associations of Christians that have always been the ultimate source of legitimacy for the ministry in America. The present challenge facing the field of pastoral care is to shift attention from professional specialization outside the church to an effort within the church to train the laity to be effective agents of pastoral care.
Time-Dependent Ginzburg-Landau Model of the Spin-Glass Phase

The Edwards- Anderson spin-glass phase is studied via time-dependent Ginzburg- Landau models with quenched impurities. A perturbation expansion is used to study the dynamics and statics without the use of the replica method. It is shown that the spin correlation function has a ${t}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}}$ long-time tail in the spin-glass phase.
Detection of acyl-coenzyme a thioester intermediates of fatty acid β-oxidation as the N-acylglycines by negative-ion chemical ionization gas chromatography—Mass spectrometry

An analytical method for the separation and quantitation of acyl-CoA thioesters by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry is described. The method utilizes glycine aminolysis of the acyl-CoA thiolesters, esterification with pentafluorobenzyl bromide followed by gas chromatographic separation, and detection by negative chemical ionization mass spectrometry of the N-acylpentafluorobenzyl glycinates. The glycine aminolysis provides over 100-fold discrimination against oxygen esters and obviates the difficulty of removing trace contaminants of free fatty acids. The limit of detection of the described methodology for palmitoyl-CoA has been found to be 300 fmol, which improves at shorter chain lengths. Baseline separation was obtained for a standard mixture of seven acyl-CoAs (60 pmol injected) containing butyryl-CoA, hexanoyl-CoA, octanoyl-CoA, decanoyl-CoA, lauroyl-CoA, myristoyl-CoA, and palmitoyl-CoA. The above procedure is also applicable to the alpha-beta unsaturated and 3-hydroxyacyl-CoA derivatives, making it possible to quantify all of the intermediates in fatty acid oxidation, except the 3-ketoacyl-CoAs, in a single procedure.
Brown recluse spiders: A review of biology, life history and pest management

Abstract Members of the spider genus Loxosceles (Araneae: Sicariidae) are found throughout the world. Their venom can cause severe open necrotic lesions in humans that can take several months to heal. Bite victims may also develop systemic reactions that can be life-threatening if medical attention is delayed or unavailable. Many Loxosceles species establish large populations in human habitats, creating a threat to human health and safety. Loxosceles reclusa, the brown recluse spider, is by far the most abundant spider species in many homes throughout the south-central United States. There has been an increase in awareness of brown recluse spiders, primarily due to negative media coverage of disfiguring bites and immense, slow-healing wounds. Although the bite of L. reclusa has been identified as a cause of necrotic lesions for nearly five decades, surprisingly few studies examine the biology of these spiders, and none have examined their association with humans. Few data have been published on the killin...
Very High Flux Steady State Reactor and Accelerator Based Sources

With the number of steady state neutron sources in the US declining (including the demise of the BNL HFBR) the remaining intense sources are now in Europe (i.e. reactors - ILL and FMR, accelerator - PSI). The intensity of the undisturbed thermal flux for sources currently in operation ranges from1014 n/cm2 -s to 1015 n/cm2 -s. The proposed Advanced Neutron Source (ANS) was to be a high power reactor (∼ 350 MW) with a projected undisturbed thermal flux of 7×1015 n/cm2 -s but never materialized. The objective of the current study is to explore the requirements and implications of two source concepts with an undisturbed flux of 1016 n/cm2 -s. The first is a reactor based concept operating at high power density (10 MW/l–15 MW/l) and a total power of 100 MW–250 MW, depending on fissile enrichment. The second is an accelerator based concept relying on a 1 GeV–1.5 GeV proton LINAC with a total beam power of 40 MW and a liquid lead-bismuth eutectic target. In the reactor source study the effects of fissile material enrichment, coolant temperature and pressure drop, and estimates of pressure vessel stress levels will be investigated. The fuel form for the reactor will be different from all other operating source reactors in that it is proposed to use an infiltrated graphitic structure, which has been developed for nuclear thermal propulsion reactor applications. In the accelerator based source the generation of spallation products and their activation levels, and the material damage sustained by the beam window will be investigated.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Murine hepatitis virus nsp4 N258T mutants are not temperature-sensitive

Coronavirus replicase nsp4 is critical for virus-induced membrane modifications. An nsp4 mutant (N258T) of murine hepatitis virus (MHV) has been reported to be temperature-sensitive (ts) and to alter membrane targeting. We engineered and recovered all four possible codon variants of N258T in the cloned MHV-A59 background. All mutant viruses demonstrated impaired replication compared to wildtype MHV, but no nsp4 N258T mutant virus was ts, and all variants colocalized with viral protein markers for replication complexes, but not with markers for mitochondria. This study emphasizes that complete genome sequencing may be necessary, even with directed and confirmed reverse genetic mutants.
Competition for cellular receptor sites among selected aphthoviruses

The competition between different types of aphthoviruses (foot-and-mouth disease virus [FMDV]) for receptor site utilization was determined. The Southern African Territories (SAT) types of FMDV adsorbed poorly to BHK-21 cells as measured by a radioactivity binding assay but grew to relatively high titers on these cells. On BK cells, however, all three SAT types bound well and competed with each other for receptor sites. In addition, unlabeled FMDV types A12 and O1B were able to completely inhibit the binding of3H-uridine labeled SAT types. Unlabeled SAT, however, was only slightly able to inhibit the adsorption of labeled A12 and moderately inhibit the binding of labeled O1B. Saturation binding studies with homologous virus showed that BK cells contain at least 100-fold more receptor sites for types A12 and O1B than for the SAT types. Competitive binding analysis between type A12 FMDV and poliovirus and encephalomyocarditis virus revealed that these three viruses all used different receptor sites. Thus, different FMDV serotypes appear to utilize both common and unique receptor sites which are different from those of at least two other picornaviruses.
Dielectric properties of epitaxial KNbO3 ferroelectric thin films

The dielectric response of KNbO 3 epitaxial ferroelectric thin films was measured as a function of bias, frequency, and temperature. Thin films with a thickness of 80 to 350 nm were deposited on spinel substrates by low-pressure metalorganic chemical vapor deposition. Bias dependence measurements showed hysteresis in the dielectric response. The dielectric constant decreased with bias, and the tunability was calculated to be between 35% and 42% for an applied field of 7 MV/cm. The frequency dependence of the dielectric constant followed a power law. A pronounced thickness effect was observed in the dielectric response, especially at the Curie temperature. With decreasing thickness, the dielectric constant and the loss tangent decreased. A diffuse ferroelectric phase transition was observed for films with a thickness less than 350 nm.
Stochastic microstructure characterization and reconstruction via supervised learning

Abstract Microstructure characterization and reconstruction have become indispensable parts of computational materials science. The main contribution of this paper is to introduce a general methodology for practical and efficient characterization and reconstruction of stochastic microstructures based on supervised learning. The methodology is general in that it can be applied to a broad range of microstructures (clustered, porous, and anisotropic). By treating the digitized microstructure image as a set of training data, we generically learn the stochastic nature of the microstructure via fitting a supervised learning model to it (we focus on classification trees). The fitted supervised learning model provides an implicit characterization of the joint distribution of the collection of pixel phases in the image. Based on this characterization, we propose two different approaches to efficiently reconstruct any number of statistically equivalent microstructure samples. We test the approach on five examples and show that the spatial dependencies within the microstructures are well preserved, as evaluated via correlation and lineal-path functions. The main advantages of our approach stem from having a compact empirically-learned model that characterizes the stochastic nature of the microstructure, which not only makes reconstruction more computationally efficient than existing methods, but also provides insight into morphological complexity.
A taxonomy of surgeons' guiding behaviors in the operating room.

Abstract Background This study explores the nature and the intention of attending surgeons' guiding behaviors performed in the operating room (OR) in order to build taxonomy of OR guiding behavior. Methods Nine attending surgeons and 8 surgical residents were invited to observe 8 prerecorded surgical cases from 4 common procedures and completed semistructured interviews. All video-based observations were videotaped. Thematic analysis was applied to identify surgeons' OR guiding behavior. Results Seven hundred eighty minutes of video-based observations with interviews were conducted. Sixteen types of OR guiding behaviors in 3 intention-based categories were identified: 3 of the 16 was “teaching” (18.75%), 8 of the 16 was “directing” (50%), and 5 of the 16 was “assisting” (31.25%). Conclusions Surgeons' OR guiding behaviors were grounded in 3 behavioral intentions: teaching, directing, and assisting. This taxonomy of OR guiding behavior can be used as a basis for developing OR guiding strategy to improve residents' intraoperative competency, autonomy, and independence.
Simulator-agnostic ns-3 applications

An important part of network simulation is the application, which has specific traffic patterns that try to imitate a real-world application. For instance, an on-off application with random on and off durations can be used to model the behavioral pattern of a human using a web-browser. But the traffic pattern generated by an ns-3 application is only an estimate and is limited by the underlying mechanics of discrete-event simulation. We propose a method by which an ns-3 application can be re-used as a real-world application. Such an application can be written and tested using ns-3, and instantly deployed in the real-world with confidence. The application would be agnostic of whether it is being used for simulation or as a real-world application.
Explicit semimartingale representation of Brownian motion in a wedge

In this paper we obtain an explicit semimartingale representation of reflected Brownian motion in a wedge with constant direction of reflection on each side of the wedge. The existence of a semimartingale representation is due to Williams (1985), but here we identify the martingale (Brownian motion, of course) and describe the behavior of the finite variation part. Our solution also verifies a conjecture of Williams (1985).
Automatic Detection of HIV Drug Resistance-Associated Mutations

Each HIV-1 patient has a diverse population of virus strains in his/her body as the virus quickly replicates and mutates, requiring a combination drug therapy optimized to the patient’s unique viral population. Towards this goal, prediction systems have been developed to deduce the susceptibility of a given HIV genotype to a single drug. Many are rule-based systems or rely on hand-crafted features which are difficult to update for HIV strains and new drugs. We adapted the vector-of-n-grams approach from document classification and chi-square feature selection to automatically generate a feature set that yields comparable performance to the expert-selected and database-derived feature sets without requiring treatment history data. Our automatically-generated feature set also found all the expert-selected mutations and more demonstrating its potential for knowledge discovery. Compared to the previous state-of-the-art with ample expert knowledge, our best fully-automated prediction model for each drug yielded comparable performance at 82.9% classification accuracy and 0.819 coefficient of determination on average. Along with its lack of need for human expertise and potential for knowledge discovery, our automatic feature selection method is a good candidate for the more complex prediction task of combination drug therapy optimization.
X-ray emission from Bi50+ to Bi71+ ions incident on a gold surface

Bi ions with charge states q = 50 to 71 from the Livermore National Laboratory's EBIT were accelerated to energies of q × (7 keV) and directed to a gold target. Using a Si(Li) detector, two families of X-rays were observed, one of these in the range of 750–2000 eV and the other between 2500 and 6000 eV. Both families are found to shift to higher energies with increasing incident ion charge state. The lower energy group which dominates the spectra for lower incident charge states is attributed to the filling of vacancies in the N shell while the higher energy group, which predominates for the higher incident charge states, is attributed to the filling of M-shell vacancies. M X-rays are observed even for those incident charge states for which M vacancies are not expected. A similar result observed for U ions incident upon a Be target was attributed by Schuch and coworkers to a dielectronic excitation mechanism.
Social Networks among Elderly Women: Implications for Health Education Practice

The general aim of the present study was to examine and help clarify the properties of the distinctions between social networks and social support, their relationship to health status, and their implications for health education practice. More specifically, a secondary data analysis was conducted with 130 white women, community residents, between the ages of 60 and 68, which examined the relationship between psychological well-being and social network characteristics. These characteristics are categorized along three broad dimensions: structure--links in the overall network (size and density); interaction--nature of the linkages themselves (frequency, homogeneity, content, reciprocity, intensity, and dispersion); and functions which networks provide (affective support and instrumental support). A combination was made and relative strength investigated of several network characteristics representative of the quality of interactions (i.e., reciprocal affective support, intensity, and affective support) and those representing the quantity of interactions (i.e., size, density, and frequency).
Metal Fatigue: American Bosch and the Demise of Metalworking in the Connecticut River Valley, by Robert Forrant

Metal Fatigue: American Bosch and the Demise of Metalworking in the Connecticut River Valley, by Robert Forrant, Amityville, NY, Baywood Publishing Company, 2009, ix + 201 pp., $38.95 (paper), ISBN...
Global Nollywood: The Nigerian movie industry and alternative global networks in production and distribution

While Nollywood, Nigeria’s video industry, is largely separate from dominant global cultural industry networks of production inputs and distribution, it is an industry that is still globally linked in a number of ways. In this article, I investigate the nature and layout of these connections via interviews with those populating these networks, from key Nollywood producers to shop owners thousands of miles from Lagos. I conclude that, instead of the formal links of dominant cultural industry networks, these links are mostly via alternative global networks, forged on the flipside of – or the gaps between – the connections that link the Network Society. Some formal international institutions have a presence, but these are largely mediated through Nollywood’s situation in global cultural industry networks. I argue that this renders Nollywood as situated in an alternative media capital, central to alternative networks, while too informal to integrate into dominant networks, and it is from this position that we...
Skepticism, Contextualism, and Semantic Self-Knowledge

Stephen Schiffer has argued that contextualist solutions to skepticism rest on an implausible “error theory” concerning our own semantic intentions. Similar arguments have recently been offered also by Thomas Hofweber and Patrick Rysiew. I attempt to show how contextualists can rebut these arguments. The kind of self-knowledge that contextualists are committed to denying us is not a kind of self-knowledge that we need, nor is it a kind of self-knowledge that we can plausibly be thought to possess.
On the possibility of an alpha-sq omega-type dynamo in a thin layer inside the sun

If the solar dynamo operates in a thin layer of 10,000-km thickness at the interface between the convection zone and the radiative core, using the facts that the dynamo should have a period of 22 years and a half-wavelength of 40 deg in the theta-direction, it is possible to impose restrictions on the values which various dynamo parameters are allowed to have. It is pointed out that the dynamo should be of alpha-sq omega nature, and kinematical calculations are presented for free dynamo waves and for dynamos in thin rectangular slabs with appropriate boundary conditions. An alpha-sq omega dynamo is expected to produce a significant poloidal field which does not leak to the solar surface. It is found that the turbulent diffusity eta and alpha-coefficient are restricted to values within about a factor of 10, the median values being eta of about 10 to the 10th sq cm/sec and alpha of about 10 cm/sec. On the basis of mixing length theory, it is pointed out that such values imply a reasonable turbulent velocity of the order 30 m/s, but rather small turbulent length scales like 300 km.
Time to Contact Relative to a Planar Surface

We show how to determine the time to contact from time varying images using only accumulated sums of suitable products of image brightness derivatives. There is no need for feature or object detection, tracking of features, estimation of optical flow, or any "higher level" processing. This so-called "direct" method for determining the time to contact is based on analysis of the motion field resulting from rigid body motion under perspective projection and the constant brightness assumption. The method has essentially no latency, since it can be based on analysis of just two frames of a video sequence, and does not require a calibrated camera. An implementation of the method is demonstrated on synthetic image sequences and stop motion sequences - where the ground truth is accurately know - as well as on video sequences taken by a camera mounted on moving vehicles.
Role of Progesterone Receptor Activation in Pituitary Adenylate Cyclase Activating Polypeptide Gene Expression in Rat Ovary

It is well known that the pituitary gonadotropin surge induces progesterone receptor (PR) gene expression in luteinizing granulosa cells and that PR activation is critical for successful ovulation. To further understand the molecular mechanism(s) by which PR plays a role critical for granulosa cell functions, we wanted to identify progesterone-induced genes in granulosa cells. We employed a PCRbased subtraction cloning strategy to screen for genes expressed differentially in granulosa cells that were challenged with forskolin in the presence of progesterone or ZK98299. One such differentially expressed clone was identified as the pituitary adenylate cyclase activating polypeptide (PACAP). To begin to understand the relationship between PR activation and PACAP gene expression in luteinizing granulosa cells, we examined whether PR and PACAP messenger RNA (mRNA) expression is temporally correlated. In cultured granulosa cells, both human CG and forskolin induced PR and PACAP mRNA levels in a dose-dependent manner, as determined by semiquantitative RT-PCR assays. However, the peak expression for PR and PACAP mRNAs was observed at 3 h and 6 h after hormone treatment, respectively. This time difference in cAMP-responsive expression of the PR and PACAP genes is due, at least in part, to the requirement of ongoing protein synthesis for PACAP expression, as demonstrated by the inhibitory effect of cycloheximide on cAMPinduced PACAP, but not PR, mRNA levels. To determine whether PR synthesis is prerequisite for PACAP expression, we examined the effect of ZK98299, a specific PR antagonist, on cAMP-induced PACAP mRNA expression. This compound blocked cAMP-induced PACAP mRNA expression in a dose-dependent manner, indicating that PR activation is required for PACAP gene expression in granulosa cells. We then compared cellular localization and hormonal regulation of ovarian PR and PACAP gene expression in immature rats treated with gonadotropins as well as in adult rats during the preovulatory period by using in situ hybridization and semiquantitative RT-PCR assays. Results show that both PR and PACAP mRNAs are induced in granulosa cells of preovulatory follicles by human CG, but that the PR gene is expressed before the PACAP gene. Taken together, these results demonstrate that PRs mediate the LH-induced PACAP gene expression in rat granulosa cells. (Endocrinology 140: 5185‐5194, 1999)
The Role of Semantic Diversity in Lexical Organization

Recent research has challenged the notion that word frequency is the organizing principle underlying lexical access, pointing instead to the number of contexts that a word occurs in (Adelman, Brown, & Quesada, 2006). Counting contexts gives a better quantitative fit to human lexical decision and naming data than counting raw occurrences of words. However, this approach ignores the information redundancy of the contexts in which the word occurs, a factor we refer to as semantic diversity. Using both a corpus-based study and a controlled artificial language experiment, we demonstrate the importance of contextual redundancy in lexical access, suggesting that contextual repetitions in language only increase a word’s memory strength if the repetitions are accompanied by a modulation in semantic context. We introduce a cognitive process mechanism to explain the pattern of behaviour by encoding the word’s context relative to the information redundancy between the current context and the word’s current memory representation. The model gives a better account of identification latency data than models based on either raw frequency or document count, and also produces a better-organized space to simulate semantic similarity.
Analytical Model for the Current Distribution during Copper Electrodeposition on Resistive Wafers under Tafel Kinetics

Analytical model of the ‘terminal effect’ during copper electrodeposition onto resistive wafers under Tafel kinetics is presented. Approximate analytical expressions for the plating current density and the potential distribution in the seed layer are derived for two domains: (a) close to the wafer edge, where the current and potential variations are large; and (b) Away from the wafer edge, where the current and potential variations are relatively small. A criterion for demarcating the two domains is formulated. Analytical model predictions agree reasonably well with numerical simulations of the non-uniform current distribution observed during copper electrodeposition onto highly resistive wafers.
Adolescents and firearms: a California statewide survey.

Objectives. We assessed the prevalence and correlates of adolescents’ reports regarding firearms in their homes, of their own, of close friends, and of same-aged peers. Methods. Random-digit-dialed interviews were conducted with 5801 adolescents as part of the California Health Interview Survey. Results. One fifth (19.6%) of California adolescents reported having a firearm in their homes; few (3.0%) reported having their own gun. Characteristics associated with having one’s own gun and with perceptions regarding others’ guns generally were consistent with characteristics associated with having a firearm in the home. The 2 exceptions were related to socioeconomic status and to ethnicity. Conclusions. The source from which adolescents obtain guns, especially adolescents from less wealthy households, merits further investigation. Further research is needed to ascertain the accuracy of Black and Latino adolescents’ perceptions regarding handguns among their peers.
Relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness, physical activity, and psychosocial variables in overweight and obese breast cancer survivors.

Background Breast cancer survivors not only experience distressing physical symptoms associated with treatments, but also are faced with psychosocial challenges. Despite growing scientific evidence that physical activity (PA) may mitigate psychosocial distress experienced by women treated for breast cancer, the literature is equivocal. Purpose This study investigated the relationships between cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF), PA, and psychosocial factors in breast cancer survivors. Method Data involving overweight or obese breast cancer survivors (N=260) were examined. CRF was determined by a submaximal graded exercise test. PA, depressive symptoms, total fatigue, and global self-esteem were assessed with selfreport measures. Pearson's correlations were conducted to determine associations among CRF, PA, depressive symptoms, total fatigue, and global self-esteem. Multiple regression models, with age and body mass index as covariates, were performed using continuous levels for CRF and PA. Results Bivariate correlations suggested that CRF and PA were unrelated to the psychosocial variables. One of the regression models identified a marginally significant (P=0.06) inverse association between depressive symptoms and PA. Conclusion CRF and PA were not associated with psychosocial factors in this sample of breast cancer survivors. However, minimal PA was reported by the majority of participants, so low PA variability likely influenced these findings.
Waveform Shaping for Time Reversal Interference Cancellation: A Time Domain Approach

In this paper, we present a time domain interference cancellation scheme using time reversal, in time reversal, a signal, for example, transmitted by a weak source through a dispersive medium, is received by an array, time reversed, power normalized, and retransmitted through the same medium. If the channel is reciprocal, and the clutter is sufficiently rich, the retransmitted waveform refocuses on the original source. This focusing effect implies that a significant portion of the received signal energy concentrates in a very small time/space, support compared with the rest of the signal components. In this paper, we consider the opposite problem: rather than refocusing, we reshape the retransmitted waveform to reduce the returned echo, i.e., to mitigate the clutter returns. Proof of concept is provided using experimental electromagnetic data and wave propagation simulations
Graves and Images: Once Upon a Time in America and the Unmaking of Jewish Memory

The Lower East Side has long served as a “sacralized spot” of Jewish memory, in Hasia Diner’s words. But in Once Upon a Time in America , Sergio Leone — neither Jewish nor American — demystifies the images and performances that went into the sacralization of this space, and in so doing radically questions the politics of memory that gathered around it.
What can a meta-analysis tell us about traditional birth attendant training and pregnancy outcomes?

Abstract Objective: to summarise the available published and unpublished studies on traditional birth attendant (TBA) training effectiveness. Design: a meta-analysis. Study sample: sixty studies ( n =60) spanning 1971–1999 from 24 countries and three regions. Measurements: the effect size index, Cohen's h for each outcome; the variance-weighted mean effect size and 95% confidence interval for sub-group of outcomes; homogeneity tests on the distribution of the weighted mean effect sizes; and sensitivity analysis to detect the presence of publication bias. Findings: TBA training was associated with significant increases in attributes such as TBA ‘knowledge' (90%), ‘attitude' (74%), ‘behaviour' (63%) and ‘advice' (90%) over the untrained TBA baseline. Results for ‘behaviour' and ‘advice' in specific content areas related to peri-neonatal health outcome, however, reveal sources of variability and underscore the conflicting evidence on TBA training. TBA training was also associated with small but significant decreases in peri-neonatal mortality (8%) and birth asphyxia mortality (11%). Incomplete reporting limited the assessment of neonatal mortality due to tetanus and acute respiratory infection, maternal mortality, as well as assessment of the relationship between intervention characteristics and outcomes. The quality of studies included in the meta-analysis lack sufficient rigour to address the question of causality. Thus, while the data suggest that TBA training is effective in terms of the outcomes measured, we are unable to demonstrate that it is a cost-effective intervention. Implications: skilled attendance at birth is a distant reality in many developing countries and effective community-based strategies are needed to help reduce high levels of mortality. Given the magnitude of peri-neonatal mortality, the associations observed between TBA training peri-neonatal and birth asphyxia mortality, and TBA attributes in content relevant to peri-neonatal survival, we suggest that these strategies may usefully include TBA training in appropriate settings. If TBAs are to be trained, however, it is imperative that their training be adequately evaluated in order to develop the strong evidence base that is lacking to-date and that is necessary for sound policy and programming.
A Reappraisal of Bennett Reimer and his Meanings of Art

Consistent throughout his writings on aesthetics and education, Bennett Reimer maintained the idea that music must be understood and studied as non-conceptual. Music’s forms of knowing point to the subjective realms of life and operate effectively without the assistance or necessity of language. An education in the arts is an education in feelings, a claim that became untenable in an age of evidence and standardization. Critics hostile to a characterization of music as unknowable pointed to very clear concepts, locating the activity of music in both social and sonic contexts whereby extra-musical delineations could be articulated and musical conventions taught. The authors of this essay argue that music can be understood in ways that are both conceptual and non-conceptual, if by the latter one draws upon post-structural notions of the text, particularly Roland Barthes’s explorations of what he called the third meaning or the third space. We leave open the idea that Reimer, in his own explorations of the non-conceptual, shared in this discovery.
Transcriptomic Sequencing Reveals a Set of Unique Genes Activated by Butyrate-Induced Histone Modification

Butyrate is a nutritional element with strong epigenetic regulatory activity as a histone deacetylase inhibitor. Based on the analysis of differentially expressed genes in the bovine epithelial cells using RNA sequencing technology, a set of unique genes that are activated only after butyrate treatment were revealed. A complementary bioinformatics analysis of the functional category, pathway, and integrated network, using Ingenuity Pathways Analysis, indicated that these genes activated by butyrate treatment are related to major cellular functions, including cell morphological changes, cell cycle arrest, and apoptosis. Our results offered insight into the butyrate-induced transcriptomic changes and will accelerate our discerning of the molecular fundamentals of epigenomic regulation.
Parent Involvement and Academic Outcomes among Urban Adolescents: Examining the Role of School Engagement.

The present study examined the extent to which parent involvement in education was directly and indirectly (via school engagement) related to academic outcomes in an effort to more fully understand the school experiences of urban adolescents. Participants (80% racial/ethnic minority; n = 108) were in grades 6, 7 or 8. In the Fall and subsequent Spring youth completed in-school surveys with items on parental involvement in education, school engagement (affective, behavioural, cognitive engagement) and perceived academic competence. Grades were obtained from official school records. Findings showed that parental involved was positively associated with behavioural and cognitive engagement, which in turn contributed to academic competence and achievement. Results underscore the importance of parental involvement in adolescents’ engagement and academic success and highlight the importance of examining the multiple components of school engagement simultaneously, as we found differential effects for affective, b...
The (Adverse) Incentive Effects of Competing with Superstars: A Reexamination of the Evidence

In "Quitters Never Win: The (Adverse) Incentive Effects of Competing with Superstars," Brown (2011) argues that professional golfers perform relatively poorly in tournaments in which Tiger Woods also competes. We show that Brown's conclusions are based on a problematic empirical design, which if adjusted yields no evidence of a superstar effect.
Looking into Pascal's Triangle: Combinatorics, Arithmetic, and Geometry

(1987). Looking into Pascal's Triangle: Combinatorics, Arithmetic, and Geometry. Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 60, No. 5, pp. 305-316.