cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Revisiting the Quality Chasm

* Abbreviation: IOM — : Institute of Medicine Strategic plans provide the roadmap by which organizations achieve their vision. To effectively serve as that roadmap, strategic plans must have certain essential characteristics. These include the ability to inspire and motivate while remaining action-oriented and understandable to all personnel. More than a decade ago, in Crossing the Quality Chasm ,1 the Institute of Medicine (IOM) suggested organizing transformational efforts in 6 domains: Safety, Effectiveness, Patient-Family Centeredness, Timeliness, Efficiency, and Equity. Recently 2 additional domains have been added: Access and Care Coordination. Since that time, many quality and safety efforts and hospital strategic plans have been built around those domains. Although the IOM structure is succinct, the domains important, and the strategic vision thorough, it did not inspire or motivate our staff sufficiently to be the framework for change in our hospital. Therefore, Nationwide Children’s Hospital developed a strategic plan, organized entirely from the point of view of the patient and family. We believe this quality and safety strategic plan is readily understandable by all, more motivational because of its direct link to the patient, and offers an effective alternative to the IOM domains of transformative strategic thinking (Table 1). View this table: TABLE 1 IOM Domains Compared With National Children’s Hospital Quality and Safety Strategic Plan Domains The plan has 5 pillars/domains: (1) Do not harm me, (2) Cure me, (3) Treat me with respect, (4) Navigate my care, and (5) Keep us well. This language is understandable at all levels in the organization—from front line staff to the board of directors. Although the IOM terminology articulates the intellectual content of the domains (“the head”), our terminology … Address correspondence to Richard J. Brilli, MD, 7th Floor Administration, Nationwide Children’s Hospital, 700 Children’s Dr, Columbus, OH 43205. E-mail: rbrilli{at}nationwidechildrens.org
Anharmonic libration of CO2 in domains on NaCl(100)

Abstract Infrared spectra of a CO2 monolayer on NaCl(100) have a pronounced temperature dependence. We document frequency shifts in detail and explain them through computational and analytical models. It is argued that temperature influences the mean adsorption geometry, which in turn modulates intermolecular coupling. At higher temperatures the CO2 molecules tilt away from the surface, presumably because asymmetric librational levels are excited. We extract an empirical anharmonic potential for the tilting oscillator. The spectroscopic effects of domain size and multiple layers are also investigated.
Scalp-hair patterning: its origin and significance relative to early brain and upper facial development.

Studies of hair-follicle development and scalp-hair patterning innormal fetuses and children and in those with disorders of early brain development were indicative of the following hypothesis: hair directional slope is secondary to the plane of stretch exerted on the skin by the growth of underlying tissues during the period of downgrowth of the hair follicles, around 10–12 gestational weeks. The posterior parietal hair whorl was interpreted as the focalpoint from which the growth stretch is exerted by the domelike outgrowth of thebrain during the time of hair follicle development. Anomalies such as encephalocele and dicephaly, which must have antedated hair follicle development, showed expected aberrations in scalp patterning. Among patients with primarymicrocephaly 85% had altered scalp hair patterning, indicating an early onsetof the problem in brain development. This included 25% with no parietal whorl, a finding previously noted only in nonhuman primates. Aberrant scalp patterning was also found to be a frequent finding in five established syndromes, included Down syndrome, in each case being compatible with a problem in early brain development. Thus, aberrant scalp-hair patterning may be utilized as an indicator of altered size and/or shape of the brain prior to 12 weeks of gestation.
General form of the quantum-defect theory

The quantum-defect-theory (QDT) treatment of an electron in the Coulomb field surrounding an ionic core is recast in a form largely independent of field characteristics and thus applicable, e.g., to square wells or to the Morse fields of diatomic molecules. The reformulation parallels Seaton's classification of alternative Coulomb-field wave functions, and makes it applicable to other fields. Wronskians of alternative pairs of base functions have an important role in the theory. For electron energies $\ensuremath{\epsilon}l0$ in a Coulomb field these Wronskians reduce to trigonometric functions of $\ensuremath{\nu}={(\ensuremath{-}2\ensuremath{\epsilon})}^{\ensuremath{-}\frac{1}{2}}$, familiar in the QDT; other fields lead to trigonometric functions of different arguments. Quantum defects are generalized to eigenvalues of a reaction matrix, as in Seaton's work, but this matrix can now be calculated even below threshold energies with the introduction of a "smooth" Green's function appropriate to QDT applications.
An inexpensive dial calipers for precise measurement of analogue data on strip-chart recorders.

A dial calipers for the precise measurement of analogue data on strip-chart recorders is described. The calipers can be obtained at low cost, and necessary modifications can be made quickly by a co...
5-year incidence of adenomas after negative colonoscopy in asymptomatic average-risk persons [see comment]

had a protective effect for 10 years, 2 and one investigator suggested that once-in-a-lifetime sigmoidoscopic screen- Background & Aims: Cost-effectiveness of colorectal ing might be an effective approach. 8 However, there are cancer screening will be maximized by selecting the no prospective data on the incidence of adenomas and widest screening intervals that effectively prevent can- cancer at intervals longer than 3 years in asymptomatic cer mortality. However, data on the incidence of neopla- persons after normal findings at initial examination. We sia in persons with no abnormal findings on initial exam- have previously described the prevalence of neoplasia de- ination are limited. The aim of this study was to termined by colonoscopy in a group of 496 asymptomatic describe the incidence of colonic neoplasia 5 years average-risk persons. 6 In this report, we describe the inci- after negative screening colonoscopy in asymptomatic dence of adenomas determined by colonoscopy in a subset average-risk persons. Methods: We previously reported of this population at a mean interval of 5.5 years after the results of screening colonoscopy in 496 asymptom-
Stage of the Product Life Cycle, Business Strategy, and Business Performance

This study empirically examines differences in strategic variables between stages of the product life cycle (PLC), as well as differences among the determinants of high performance across stages of the PLC. The results support the use of the PLC as a contingency variable during strategy formulation. Implications for increasing market share and ROI are discussed.
Fixture Failure Diagnosis for Autobody Assembly Using Pattern Recognition

In this paper, a fault diagnostic method is proposed for autobody assembly fixtures. This method uses measurement data to detect and isolate dimensional faults of part caused by fixture. The proposed method includes a predetermined variation pattern model and a fault mapping procedure. The variation pattern model is based on CAD information about the fixture geometry and location of the measurement points. This fault mapping procedure combines Principal Component Analysis with pattern recognition approach. Simulations and one case study illustrate the proposed method.
Inhibition by aspirin of gastrointestinal toxicity induced by indomethacin in polyarthritic rats

Abstract Methods were employed for examining the gastrointestinal toxicity of indomethacin, aspirin, and combinations of these drugs in adjuvant-induced polyarthritic rats. Significant toxicity, primarily associated with the small intestine, was observed at doses between 4 and 8 mg/kg/day, po, of indomethacin alone. Lethality was observed with doses of indomethacin from 5 to 8 mg/kg/day. Adverse gastrointestinal effects of aspirin, 32 to 500 mg/kg/day, po, were minimal (erythema and bleeding of the stomach mucosa and, on occasion, an intestinal ulceration); however, deaths occurred at 625 mg/kg and above. Polyarthritic rats were treated with various combinations of aspirin and indomethacin had significantly less gastrointestinal damage than animals treated with identical doses of indomethacin alone. Aspirin, 100 mg/kg and above, virtually abolished the dose-related indomethacin-induced gastrointestinal toxicity in the doses that were studied. At 32 mg/kg aspirin, the parallel shift in the indomethacin dose-toxicity curve suggested that the interaction between these two drugs is the result of competitive antagonism.
Mechanisms contributing to optimization of PDT with first-generation photosensitizers

Improved control of tumor growth has been accomplished by modification of the irradiation scheme applied to hematoporphyrin-induced sensitization. Significantly enhanced efficacy of PDT was seen with either reduction of fluence rate or with an intermittent light-dark protocol, together suggesting that consideration must be given to photochemical oxygen depletion as a rate-limiting component in the production of singlet oxygen, the mediator of cytotoxicity resulting from PDT. A model to explain the basis for the improved efficacy was developed and is being tested by study of homograft and xenograft tumors in vivo and in multicellular tumor spheroids in vitro.© (1993) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The social studies methods course: what do teacher candidates know and want to know about teaching social studies?

During the past decade, there has been more than an adequate amount of research addressing issues regarding social studies methods courses. However, the apparent void is that there is no clear understanding of what pedagogical content knowledge or understanding of pedagogical approaches teacher candidates bring with them to social studies methods courses or what they expect from their time in social studies methods courses. The purpose of this study is to determine the mentality of the typical social studies methods course student, as he or she enters a social studies methods course. Employing analytic induction (Bogdan & Biklen, 2007; Erikson, 1986; Patton, 2002) and content analysis (Patton, 2002) to analyze and interpret the data, 9 categories for what the students know and 8 for what the students wanted to know were constructed.
LIFE-THREATENING HYPERCALCEMIA ASSOCIATED WITH PRIMARY HYPERPARATHYROIDISM DURING PREGNANCY: CASE REPORT AND REVIEW OF LITERATURE

Objective: To report a case of life-threatening hypercalcemia attributable to primary hyperparathyroidism in a pregnant patient and discuss the management of severe hypercalcemia during pregnancy. ...
A role for calcium release-activated current (CRAC) in cholinergic modulation of electrical activity in pancreatic beta-cells

S. Bordin and colleagues have proposed that the depolarizing effects of acetylcholine and other muscarinic agonists on pancreatic beta-cells are mediated by a calcium release-activated current (CRAC). We support this hypothesis with additional data, and present a theoretical model which accounts for most known data on muscarinic effects. Additional phenomena, such as the biphasic responses of beta-cells to changes in glucose concentration and the depolarizing effects of the sarco-endoplasmic reticulum calcium ATPase pump poison thapsigargin, are also accounted for by our model. The ability of this single hypothesis, that CRAC is present in beta-cells, to explain so many phenomena motivates a more complete characterization of this current.
Influence of histone H5 on mononucleosome structure during differentiation in the avian erythroid series

Changes in nucleosome repeat length during avian erythroid development have been previously correlated with changes in H5 content. In order to determine the effects of H5 on the length of DNA in mononucleosomal particles as a function of differentiation, a two-dimensional electrophoretic system was used to analyse DNA and histones of particles generated by micrococcal nuclease digestion of nuclei from several stages of erythroid development. Although the relative proportions of H5- to H1-containing mononucleosomes increased during development, only in mature erythrocytes did H5 protect a greater length of linker DNA from micrococcal nuclease digestion than did H1. These results suggest that changes in average nucleosome repeat length during erythroid development can be attributed only partially to an increase in the proportion of H5-containing nucleosomes which contribute to this average.
The Impact of Extractions on Facial and Smile Aesthetics

The purpose of this article is to assess whether extraction or nonextraction treatment has an impact on facial attractiveness. Furthermore, it highlights the importance of using scientific diagnostic criteria in deciding on whether to treat the patient with or without the extraction of teeth. The question is posed as to whether the decision to treat with or without the extraction of teeth should be based on diagnostic records and a treatment plan based on science or whether one can just categorically treat patients without the extraction of teeth.
Faster Relief Mapping using the Secant Method

Relief mapping using the secant method offers an efficient method for adding per-pixel displacement based on height fields to an arbitrary polygonal mesh in real time. The technique utilizes an interval-based method in which bounds of the interval are computed in the beginning and are refined at every iteration until the intersection point is reached. The search space defined by the interval reduces and converges to the intersection point rapidly and outperforms the currently popular method based on binary search (relief mapping) used for performing this task. We compute the bounds using a simple ray-segment intersection method. We demonstrate the algorithm and show empirical and explicit evidence of the speed-up. Source code is available online.
Chromatin dynamics and locus accessibility in the immune system

Development in vertebrates follows distinctive pathways of cellular differentiation. Starting from the zygote, newly formed cells continually differentiate until they reach a final mature fate. Whether differentiating into a neuron, a hepatocyte or a myofibril, every normal cell, with the exception of developing lymphocytes, carries the same genetic information enclosed within its nucleus. To acquire distinct cellular identities, cells need to control gene expression in a very regulated way. Genes encoding factors required for identity at a particular developmental stage need to be appropriately activated, whereas genes required for identity during the previous developmental stage are often silenced. Moreover, once a cell becomes terminally differentiated, 'heritable' gene expression must be maintained in all daughter cells and, thus, faithfully recapitulated after each cellular division.
On the norm of a Schur product

Abstract If A ∘ X is the Schur product of n × n matrices A and X , then we study estimates on the norm of the map X ↦ A ∘ X , where X has the norm it acquires as a linear operator on a complex n -dimensional Hilbert space.
Editorial Perspective: The importance of considering parent's preferences when planning treatment for their children - The case of childhood obsessive-compulsive disorder

Assessing parental treatment preference is critical for maximizing alliance, adherence, and efficacy while minimizing patient attrition. Parents of youth with OCD report significantly higher preference for and acceptability of behavioral treatment over medication or combined treatment. Parents of younger children expressed lower acceptability of pharmacotherapy. Consistent concerns about medication safety were expressed.
Defect formation in high dose oxygen implanted silicon

Abstract The effect of dose (1 × 1016 to 9 × 1017 cm−2) and annealing temperature (700 to 1300°C) on the strain state and defect microstructure of oxygen implanted silicon were investigated by high resolution X-ray diffraction (HRXRD) and transmission electron microscopy (TEM). At the lowest dose a unidirectional lattice expansion perpendicular to the surface occurred as a result of excess implantation-induced self-interstitials and interstitial clusters in the vicinity of the projected range while at doses of 1 × 1017 and 3 × 1017 cm−2, an association of lattice vacancies and oxygen atoms in the near-surface region gave rise to a unidirectional lattice contraction at the surface. The biaxial tensile stress in this surface layer provided a climb force for the development of large prismatic 1 2 〈110〉 extrinsic dislocation half-loops in the near surface region. At higher doses the oxygen precipitated as SiO2 and was no longer associated with vacancies in the surface layer. The precipitates provided an additional interstitial source for extrinsic Frank loops which apparently unfaulted upon annealing at ⩾ 1050°C, and were pinned by existing precipitates resulting in a high threading dislocation (TD) density. It was concluded that controlling near-surface precipitation is a significant factor in reducing TD densities. This may be accomplished by ensuring that the near-surface oxygen is accommodated by cavities rather than as SiO2 precipitates.
Large Eddy Simulation of Constant Heat Flux Turbulent Channel Flow With Property Variations: Quasi-Developed Model and Mean Flow Results

Turbulent planar channel flow has been computed for uniform wall heating and cooling fluxes strong enough to cause significant property variations using large eddy simulation. Channels with both walls either heated or cooled were considered, with wall-to-bulk temperature ratios as high as 1.5 for the heated case, and as low as 0.56 for the cooled case. An implicit, second order accurate finite volume scheme was used to solve the time dependent filtered set of equations to determine the large eddy motion, while a dynamic subgrid-scale model was used to account for the subgrid scale effects. Step-periodicity was used based On a quasi-developed assumption. The effects of strong heating and cooling on the flow were investigated and compared with the results obtained under low heating conditions
A nuclear magnetic resonance study of the binding of substrate analogues to a modified aspartate transcarbamylase

Abstract Nuclear magnetic resonance methods have been used to determine the relationship between the modification of a specific residue in the active site of the enzyme aspartate transcarbamylase with a chromophoric mercurial and changes occurring in the binding of substrate analogs to the active site. The binding of succinate, an analog of the substrate L-aspartate, to the modified enzyme is completely blocked where as the binding of acetyl phosphate, an analog of the substrate carbamyl phosphate, is only slightly perturbed.
But let us not forget John Collier Commentary on David Bargal’s ‘Personal and intellectual influences leading to Lewin’s paradigm on action research’

We propose that John Collier was integrally involved in the development of action research and deserves to be recognized as a cofounder of the field. We offer a brief biography of Collier, review t...
Influence of environmental rearing history and postsurgical environmental change on the septal rage syndrome in mice.

Abstract Reactivity to handling was examined in Binghamton Heterogeneous (HET) mice give septal lesions or control surgery following 5 weeks of postweaning rearing in enriched or restricted environments. Three housing conditions were employed: continuous enrichment, continuous restriction (both pre- and postsurgically), and a group switched from environmental enrichment to restriction 24 hours after surgery. The restricted mice were more reactive to handling than the enriched mice presurgically (60 days old), and interactions of housing conditions and surgery were found over the seven day postsurgical handling and testing period. The restricted mice given septal lesions greatly increased in reactivity postsurgically, while the intact controls declined in reactivity over the postsurgical week. The enriched septals were only moderately increased over the low presurgical reactivity baseline, and were much less reactive than the restricted septals. Perhaps the most remarkable finding was the dramatic and immediate increase in reactivity in the septals switched from enrichment to restriction, while intact controls showed no effect of the switch. These results emphasize the importance of experience in determining the effects of septal damage, and may be useful in examining other correlates of septal rage.
Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders: Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the U.S.‐Mexico Frontier

Crossing Borders, Reinforcing Borders: Social Categories, Metaphors, and Narrative Identities on the U.S.-Mexico Frontier. Pablo Vila. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2000. vii. 290 pp., photographs, notes, bibliography, index.
The Impulse memory controller

Impulse is a memory system architecture that adds an optional level of address indirection at the memory controller. Applications can use this level of indirection to remap their data structures in memory. As a result, they can control how their data is accessed and cached, which can improve cache and bus utilization. The Impulse design does not require any modification to processor, cache, or bus designs since all the functionality resides at the memory controller. As a result, Impulse can be adopted in conventional systems without major system changes. We describe the design of the Impulse architecture and how an Impulse memory system can be used in a variety of ways to improve the performance of memory-bound applications. Impulse can be used to dynamically create superpages cheaply, to dynamically recolor physical pages, to perform strided fetches, and to perform gathers and scatters through indirection vectors. Our performance results demonstrate the effectiveness of these optimizations in a variety of scenarios. Using Impulse can speed up a range of applications from 20 percent to over a factor of 5. Alternatively, Impulse can be used by the OS for dynamic superpage creation; the best policy for creating superpages using Impulse outperforms previously known superpage creation policies.
Elucidating the Genetic Basis of Peripheral Arterial Disease Identification of a Quantitative Trait Locus That Determines the Phenotypic Response to Experimental Hindlimb Ischemia

Using sophisticated tools of mouse genetics and bioinformatics, a multidisciplinary group of scientists, Dokun et al,1 have shown that a region of chromosome 7 of a C57BL/6 mouse strain contributes a dominant protective allele (or alleles) that increases limb perfusion and reduces limb necrosis after induction of experimental hindlimb ischemia. The investigators hope that the application of these methods will lead to the identification of genes that might predict the risk of critical limb ischemia in patients with peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Beyond providing the potential to learn more about the genetic and molecular basis of PAD, the genetic and bioinformatics approaches taken by this multidisciplinary team of scientists provide a pathway that could have broader applications to advance the study of many aspects of cardiovascular diseases. Article p 1207 The mouse remains the most powerful experimental model to study the genetic basis of human disease.2,3 The techniques used in this study represent an evolution from those that were first used in the early 1900s with the development of inbred strains of mice. Subsequently, the ability to analyze the function of single-gene mutations by knockout or knock-in techniques and by regulatable site-specific gene expression in inbred strains of mice has allowed many major advances in understanding the molecular basis of human disease. Despite their power, these techniques have remained limited to studies that analyzed the function of a single gene. In contrast, quantitative trait loci analysis permits the study of phenotypes that vary within a population and are influenced by multiple genes. Since most common human diseases result from such quantitative traits, the phenotype observed often results from the compound effects of multiple genes, the interactions of these genes with other genes, and then the effect of the environment on their collective expression. Thus, it is likely that …
Bicarbonate Requirement for Elimination of the Lag Period of Hydrogenomonas eutropha

Carbon dioxide and oxygen concentrations have a profound effect on the lag period of chemoautotrophically grown Hydrogenomonas eutropha. Minimum lag periods and high growth rates were obtained in shaken flask cultures with a prepared gas mixture containing 70% H(2), 20% O(2), and 10% CO(2). However, excessively long lag periods resulted when the same gas mixture was sparged through the culture. The lag period was shortened in sparged cultures by decreasing both the pO(2) and the pCO(2), indicating that gas medium equilibration had not occurred in shaken cultures. The lag period was completely eliminated at certain concentrations of O(2) and CO(2). The optimum pO(2) was 0.05 atm, but the optimum pCO(2) varied according to the pH of the medium and physiological age of the inoculum. At pH 6.4, the pCO(2) required to obtain immediate growth of exponential, postexponential, and stationary phase inocula at equal specific rates was 0.02, 0.05, and 0.16 atm, respectively. With each 0.3-unit increase in the pH of the medium, a 50% decrease in the CO(2) concentration was needed to permit growth to occur at the same rate. The pCO(2) changes required to compensate for the pH changes of the medium had the net effect of maintaining a constant bicarbonate ion concentration. Initial growth of H. eutropha was therefore indirectly related to pCO(2) and directly dependent upon a constant bicarbonate ion concentration.
Transcriptional variation associated with cactus host plant adaptation in Drosophila mettleri populations.

Although the importance of host plant chemistry in plant-insect interactions is widely accepted, the genetic basis of adaptation to host plants is not well understood. Here, we investigate transcriptional changes associated with a host plant shift in Drosophila mettleri. While D. mettleri is distributed mainly throughout the Sonoran Desert where it specializes on columnar cacti (Carnegiea gigantea and Pachycereus pringleii), a population on Santa Catalina Island has shifted to chemically divergent coastal prickly pear cactus (Opuntia littoralis). We compared gene expression of larvae from the Sonoran Desert and Santa Catalina Island when reared on saguaro (C. gigantea), coastal prickly pear and laboratory food. Consistent with expectations based on the complexity and toxicity of cactus relative to laboratory food, within-population comparisons between larvae reared on these food sources revealed transcriptional differences in detoxification and other metabolic pathways. The majority of transcriptional differences between populations on the cactus hosts were independent of the rearing environment and included a disproportionate number of genes involved in processes relevant to host plant adaptation (e.g. detoxification, central metabolism and chemosensory pathways). Comparisons of transcriptional reaction norms between the two populations revealed extensive shared plasticity that likely allowed colonization of coastal prickly pear on Santa Catalina Island. We also found that while plasticity may have facilitated subsequent adaptive divergence in gene expression between populations, the majority of genes that differed in expression on the novel host were not transcriptionally plastic in the presumed ancestral state.
Neural systems underlying aversive conditioning in humans with primary and secondary reinforcers

Money is a secondary reinforcer commonly used across a range of disciplines in experimental paradigms investigating reward learning and decision-making. The effectiveness of monetary reinforcers during aversive learning and associated neural basis, however, remains a topic of debate. Specifically, it is unclear if the initial acquisition of aversive representations of monetary losses depends on similar neural systems as more traditional aversive conditioning that involves primary reinforcers. This study contrasts the efficacy of a biologically defined primary reinforcer (shock) and a socially defined secondary reinforcer (money) during aversive learning and its associated neural circuitry. During a two-part experiment, participants first played a gambling game where wins and losses were based on performance to gain an experimental bank. Participants were then exposed to two separate aversive conditioning sessions. In one session, a primary reinforcer (mild shock) served as an unconditioned stimulus (US) and was paired with one of two colored squares, the conditioned stimuli (CS+ and CS−, respectively). In another session, a secondary reinforcer (loss of money) served as the US and was paired with one of two different CS. Skin conductance responses were greater for CS+ compared to CS− trials irrespective of type of reinforcer. Neuroimaging results revealed that the striatum, a region typically linked with reward-related processing, was found to be involved in the acquisition of aversive conditioned response irrespective of reinforcer type. In contrast, the amygdala was involved during aversive conditioning with primary reinforcers, as suggested by both an exploratory fMRI analysis and a follow-up case study with a patient with bilateral amygdala damage. Taken together, these results suggest that learning about potential monetary losses may depend on reinforcement learning related systems, rather than on typical structures involved in more biologically based fears.
Gaining User Insight: A Case Study Illustrating the Card Sort Technique.

In spring 1999, Cornell University Library performed a user study to help determine how users would organize a set of concepts to be included in an online digital library help system. The study employed the card sort technique, in which users impose their own organization on a set of concepts. The card sort technique proved to be a highly effective and valuable method for gathering user input on organizational groupings prior to total system design. The authors present Cornell’s experience as a case study with detailed instructions for conducting and evaluating the card sort technique.
Semantic integration in text: from ambiguous names to identifiable entities

Semantic integration focuses on discovering, representing, and manipulating correspondences between entities in disparate data sources. The topic has been widely studied in the context of structured data, with problems being considered including ontology and schema matching, matching relational tuples, and reconciling inconsistent data values. In recent years, however, semantic integration over text has also received increasing attention. This article studies a key challenge in semantic integration over text: identifying whether different mentions of real-world entities, such as "JFK" and "John Kennedy," within and across natural language text documents, actually represent the same concept.We present a machine-learning study of this problem. The first approach is a discriminative approach--a pairwise local classifier is trained in a supervised way to determine whether two given mentions represent the same real-world entity. This is followed, potentially, by a global clustering algorithm that uses the classifier as its similarity metric. Our second approach is a global generative model, at the heart of which is a view on how documents are generated and how names (of different entity types) are "sprinkled" into them. In its most general form, our model assumes (1) a joint distribution over entities (for example, a document that mentions "President Kennedy" is more likely to mention "Oswald" or "White House" than "Roger Clemens"), and (2) an "author" model that assumes that at least one mention of an entity in a document is easily identifiable and then generates other mentions via (3) an "appearance" model that governs how mentions are transformed from the "representative" mention. We show that both approaches perform very accurately, in the range of 90-95 percent. F1 measure for different entity types, much better than previous approaches to some aspects of this problem. Finally, we discuss how our solution for mention matching in text can be potentially applied to matching relational tuples, as well as to linking entities across databases and text.
ASFV DNA Polymerase X is Extremely Error-Prone Under Diverse Assay Conditions and Within Multiple DNA Sequence Contexts

We previously demonstrated that the DNA repair system encoded by the African swine fever virus (ASFV) is both extremely error-prone during the single-nucleotide gap-filling step (catalyzed by ASFV DNA polymerase X) and extremely error-tolerant during the nick-sealing step (catalyzed by ASFV DNA ligase). On the basis of these findings we have suggested that at least some of the diversity known to exist among ASFV isolates may be a consequence of mutagenic DNA repair, wherein damaged nucleotides are replaced with undamaged but incorrect nucleotides by Pol X and the resultant mismatched nicks are sealed by ASFV DNA ligase. Recently, this hypothesis appeared to be discredited by Salas and co-workers [(2003) J. Mol. Biol. 326, 1403-1412], who reported the fidelity of Pol X to be, on average, 2 orders of magnitude higher than what we previously published. In an effort to address this discrepancy and provide a definitive conclusion about the fidelity of Pol X, herein we examine the fidelity of Pol X-catalyzed single-nucleotide gap-filling in both the steady state and the pre-steady state under a diverse array of assay conditions (varying pH and ionic strength) and within different DNA sequence contexts. These studies corroborate our previously published data (demonstrating the low fidelity of Pol X to be independent of assay condition/sequence context), do not reproduce the data of Salas et al., and therefore confirm Pol X to be one of the most error-prone polymerases known. These results are discussed in light of ASFV biology and the mutagenic DNA repair hypothesis described above.
Efficient visual servoing with the ABCshift tracking algorithm

Visual tracking algorithms have important robotic applications such as mobile robot guidance and servoed wide area surveillance systems. These applications ideally require vision algorithms which are robust to camera motion and scene change but are cheap and fast enough to run on small, low power embedded systems. Unfortunately most robust visual tracking algorithms are either computationally expensive or are restricted to a stationary camera. This paper describes a new color based tracking algorithm, the Adaptive Background CAMSHIFT (ABCshift) tracker and an associated technique, mean shift servoing, for efficient pan-tilt servoing of a motorized camera platform. ABCshift achieves robustness against camera motion and other scene changes by continuously relearning its background model at every frame. This also enables robustness in difficult scenes where the tracked object moves past backgrounds with which it shares significant colors. Despite this continuous machine learning, ABCshift needs minimal training and is remarkably computationally cheap. We first demonstrate how ABCshift tracks robustly in situations where related algorithms fail, and then show how it can be used for real time tracking with pan-tilt servo control using only a small embedded microcontroller.
CLIMATE OF THE ARCTIC MARINE ENVIRONMENT

The climate of the Arctic marine environment is characterized by strong seasonality in the incoming solar radiation and by tremendous spatial variations arising from a variety of surface types, including open ocean, sea ice, large islands, and proximity to major landmasses. Interannual and decadal-scale variations are prominent features of Arctic climate, complicating the distinction between natural and anthropogenically driven variations. Nevertheless, climate models consistently indicate that the Arctic is the most climatically sensitive region of the Northern Hemisphere, especially near the sea ice margins. The Arctic marine environment has shown changes over the past several decades, and these changes are part of a broader global warming that exceeds the range of natural variability over the past 1000 years. Record minima of sea ice coverage during the past few summers and increased melt from Greenland have important implications for the hydrographic regime of the Arctic marine environment. The recent changes in the atmosphere (temperature, precipitation, pressure), sea ice, and ocean appear to be a coordinated response to systematic variations of the large-scale atmospheric circulation, superimposed on a general warming that is likely associated with increasing greenhouse gases. The changes have been sufficiently large in some sectors (e.g., the Bering/Chukchi Seas) that consequences for marine ecosystems appear to be underway. Global climate models indicate an additional warming of several degrees Celsius in much of the Arctic marine environment by 2050. However, the warming is seasonal (largest in autumn and winter), spatially variable, and closely associated with further retreat of sea ice. Additional changes predicted for 2050 are a general decrease of sea level pressure (largest in the Bering sector) and an increase of precipitation. While predictions of changes in storminess cannot be made with confidence, the predicted reduction of sea ice cover will almost certainly lead to increased oceanic mixing, ocean wave generation, and coastal flooding.
Studies on Area-controlled Electrostatic Actuation of Small Membrane Reflectors

Membrane mirrors are advantageous in several applications due to their light weight and potential for deployability. Desired optical performance often requires dynamic actuation, however, and electrostatic actuators are frequently employed for this purpose. This paper investigates a variable area/constant voltage method for electrostatic actuation of small circular membrane mirrors designed to meet specified performance requirements for a beam steering and focus/defocus application. The proposed technique involves selective application of a constant voltage to area segments that together make up an electrode pad. The paper shows that a lumped parameter model for this system also has the property of differential flatness (similar to variable voltage/constant area systems), based on which the reference trajectory for membrane deflection can be specified in phase space. The phase space trajectory is derived from the required transient response characteristics (rise time, settling time, etc.). A closed loop system comprised of a controller and an observer is devised using a Lyapunov function-based approach. A 'quad cell' beam position finder is used to detect the beam angular deflection and intensity. The overall system is simulated numerically in this paper. The control system is found to provide efficient trajectory tracking for both symmetric and antisymmetric mode excitation. Although the area changes for the proposed system are discrete, the present simulations only consider continuously-variable area actuation.
Losses of a nematic liquid-crystal optical waveguide*

The absorption and scattering losses at 6328 A in MBBA thin-film waveguides were measured. The absorption loss was studied with a thermal-lens technique and was found to be highly dichroic. Thermal self-focusing was observed for the ordinary ray. The measured scattering losses were between 15 and 40 dB cm−1, depending on the polarization and the liquid-crystal orientation. A modified bulk-scattering loss caused by the thermal fluctuation of the long-range-crystal ordering is calculated and compared with the measurements.
Creating the Nurses’ Environmental Awareness Tool (NEAT):

Acute care delivery creates secondary health risks to patients, health care workers, and the environment through a complex waste stream, intensive energy use, and frequent use of harmful chemicals. Nurses are among the most affected by these risks and are also pivotal change agents in reducing the negative impacts of health care delivery. Assessing nurses' understanding of health care-associated environmental health risks is essential if care is to be delivered in an environmentally safe and healthy manner, as indicated by published professional standards of nursing practice. However, psychometrically sound instruments that measure nurses' awareness of the environmental impacts of nursing practice are not available. To address this gap, a prototype of the Nurse's Environmental Awareness Tool (NEAT) was developed. Seven content experts in environmental health nursing and/or psychometrics were asked to review draft items. Comments were analyzed and applied to the scale items. Several revisions from the original item pool were made. The resulting draft NEAT includes six subscales, in three paired subsets. This article provides a summary of the process of item development and scale design. These findings, although preliminary, provide a foundation for subsequent psychometric testing. The result of this study is the creation of an instrument to measure nurses' awareness of and behaviors associated with the environmental impact of their practices.
Lessons on Reform: A Story of Teaching as Lived Practice *

A focal theme in global education reform movements is the critical role of teachers in schools and classrooms. In Singapore, efforts to improve the recruitment, remuneration, certification and continuing professional development of teachers have continued apace alongside a number of education reform initiatives over the last decade (Deng 2004). Underlying these systemic changes is Michael Fullan’s (2001, p.117) succinct assertion: “educational change depends on what teachers do and think – it’s as simple and as complex as that”. Yet, understanding the complex demands of teacher professionalisation entails an equally complex understanding of the demands of the profession – one that, I would argue, demands an empathic engagement with the lives of teachers. Arguably, attempts to sponsor teachers’ agentive voices in making sense of their own experiences have featured marginally in the high-stakes agendas of policymakers and state-funded researchers. At issue is the view that teachers’ “bald” testimonies and stories, so often freighted with emotion and subjective opinion, scarcely qualify as scientifically based evidence on which policy and practice can be built
Bond Over Active Circuitry Design for Reliability

This paper discusses layout design rules for successful Cu wire bond-over-active-circuitry (BOAC) in 0.18 micron and other IC technologies having Al metallization interconnects (two-level metal and up) in SiO2 dielectric, with W vias. The resulting bond pad structures effectively address BOAC pad reliability concerns, permitting Au or Cu wire bonding on relatively thin top metal. Cu wire bond is attractive on BOAC designs for lower cost than Au wire, while improving the thermal capability of the product. But Cu wire bond has presented even more challenges than Au wire bond due to higher stress to the pads during bonding, typically leading to increases in underlying films deformation and cracking. The new BOAC pad layout rules are based on the physical thin films principles, substantiated and refined through analysis of a large volume of experimental and product qualification data in various IC technologies. Interconnect layout beneath pads which follows the BOAC design rules creates more robust bond pad s...
The Hague Conference on The Codification of International Law

There is being developed a special technique of codification. The Sixth Pan American Conference at Havana adopted in the form of seven conventions a codification of that number of topics in public international law; namely, on the status of aliens, treaties, diplomatic privileges and immunities, asylum, civil strife, and maritime neutrality. The preparatory work had been done by (a) the American Institute of International Law working through its executive committee, and (b) the Rio Commission of Jurists reestablished by the Fifth Pan American Conference. The proposed world conference upon codification has now been called to meet at The Hague in the spring of this year. There have been no official indications as yet of its postponement because of other international conferences. The machinery created by the League of Nations to perform the work preparatory to this conference has been functioning since 1925. The working of this machinery has already been described in this Jo u rn al down to the creation of the present Preparatory Committee for the Codification Conference. It will be remembered that the Committee of Experts for the Progressive Codification of International Law, composed of sixteen members, prepared a provisional list of topics suitable for codification by international agreement, made reports upon various topics, submitted questionnaires upon seven of them to the various governments, and selected therefrom three topics as the agenda of the first world conference on codification. This cpmmittee also made one general and two special reports upon the further work of codification, with some indications as to procedure.
Direct Measurement of Bend-Induced Mode Deformation Using a Helical-core Fiber

The Marcuse equivalent index model that is used to predict mode deformation in bent fibers is directly verified for the first time. The rms difference between model and measurement is 3.4%.
Large Eddy Simulation Analysis of Flow Field Inside a High-g Combustor

Inter-turbine burners are useful devices for increasing engine power. To enable inter-turbine burners for aviation applications the size of combustion devices needs to be reduced. High-g ultra-compact combustors (UCC) are a technology for reducing the size of combustors. In these combustors the fuel and air are swirled around the centerline at velocities large enough to impact centrifugal forces. In this work, the large eddy simulation (LES) method is used to understand mixing and flow dynamics inside centrifugal-based combustion systems. Simulation results show that mixing of fuel and oxidizer is based on a jet-in-crossflow system, with the fuel jet issuing into a circulating oxidizer flow stream. The momentum ratio between the jet and the crossflow determine fuel penetration, and will determine combustion eciency. Simulation results exhibit significant entrainment of fuel into recirculation zones inside the combustor, however more extensive experimental data is required to validate this result. ⇢ Filtered density ej Filtered velocity f ˙ W Filtered evaporation source term ˜ P Filtered pressure ⌧ij Viscous stress tensor Tij Sub filter stresses F Drag force
Stage III Germinal Testis Tumors: Aggressive Approach

AbstractWe used aggressive individualized combinations of operation and cyclic actinomycin D therapy and/or irradiation for 12 patients with stage III germinal testis tumors, including 1 seminoma. Eight patients have survived free of tumor for 24 to 83 months. All but 1 survivor had retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy. Five thoracotomies and 4 neck resections were used to manage distant metastatic lesions. Cyclic actinomycin D was used in 7 of 8 survivors. The experience with this series and a review of cases in the literature strongly suggest the need to eradicate the most common source of tumor seeding the distant metastatic sites from the retroperitoneal lymphatics. Eradication can best be accomplished by retroperitoneal lymphadenectomy and is indicated even in patients with a complete response to chemotherapy. A general treatment plan is suggested for stage III testis tumors: selective irradiation and chemotherapy for seminoma and an aggressive individualized combination of operation and chemotherapy with...