cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Food insecurity is associated with prediabetes and dietary differences in U.S. adults aged 20-39.

Abstract Food insecurity has been linked with lifestyle and metabolic health differences in varying populations. We sought to assess how food insecurity may have been associated with prediabetes and dietary differences in a relatively young subset of U.S. adults. We examined data from the United States National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003–2014) participants aged 20–39 with complete data regarding food insecurity and metabolic laboratory assessment. We also assessed macronutrient intake and Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) usage. All logistic regression models controlled for age, sex, and household income. Among 3684 included participants, food insecurity had 19.12% (95% confidence interval [95%CI]: 16.16, 22.08) prevalence. Food-insecure participants had prediabetes/diabetes prevalence of 37.36% (95%CI: 30.47, 44.25) and higher odds of having prediabetes/diabetes (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] = 1.36, 95%CI: 1.00, 1.85). Food-insecure adults has significantly different macronutrient intake: higher carbohydrates (p = 0.02), less protein (p = 0.01), and less total fat (p = 0.04) consumption. Food-insecure adults who used SNAP (compared to food-insecure adults who did not use SNAP) had higher odds of having metabolic syndrome (ATP-III MetS) (aOR = 2.56, 95%CI: 1.27, 5.22). We found that food insecurity was relatively prevalent in this subset of younger U.S. adults. We showed that food-insecure participants had increased prevalence and odds of prediabetes. These associations were also correlated with dietary differences.
Food Insecurity Among Formerly Homeless Individuals Living in Permanent Supportive Housing.

Objectives. To assess the role of health-related factors, health care, nutrition, and socioeconomic factors in food insecurity prevalence in a sample of previously homeless adults living in permane...
Nivolumab in Metastatic Adrenocortical Carcinoma: Results of a Phase 2 Trial

Context Systemic treatment of metastatic adrenocortical carcinoma (ACC) remains limited to chemotherapy and mitotane. Preliminary evidence suggesting that antitumor immune responses can be elicited in ACC has fostered interest in checkpoint inhibitors such as anti-PD-1 nivolumab. Objective The primary endpoint was objective response rate according to the response evaluation criteria in solid tumors. Secondary endpoints were progression-free survival (PFS), overall survival, and safety. Design Single-arm, multicenter, phase 2 clinical trial with two-stage design. Setting Comprehensive cancer center. Patients Ten adult patients with metastatic ACC previously treated with platinum-based chemotherapy and/or mitotane as well as patients who declined front-line chemotherapy. Intervention Nivolumab (240 mg) IV every 2 weeks. Results Ten patients with metastatic ACC were enrolled between March and December 2016. The median number of doses of nivolumab administered was two. Three patients only received one treatment [one died of disease progression, one discontinued due to adverse events (AEs), one withdrew after beginning treatment]. The median PFS was 1.8 months. The median follow-up was 4.5 months (range, 0.1 to 25.6 months). Two patients had stable disease for a duration of 48 and 11 weeks, respectively. One patient had an unconfirmed partial response but discontinued the study due to an AE. Most AEs were grade 1/2. The most common grade 3/4 treatment-related AEs were aspartate aminotransferase and alanine aminotransferase elevations, mucositis, and odynophagia. Conclusion Nivolumab demonstrated modest antitumor activity in patients with advanced ACC. The nivolumab safety profile was consistent with previous clinical experience without any unexpected AEs in this population.
Recently formed context fear memories can be retrieved without the hippocampus

The current study determined if inactivation of the dorsal hippocampus impairs the retrieval of newly formed context fear memories. This region was silencing by activating inhibitory neurons or by hyperpolarizing pyramidal cells directly. When inhibitory neurons were stimulated with ChR2, memory retrieval was significantly impaired. In contrast, when the same neurons were activated with the excitatory DREADD hM3Dq, retrieval was not affected. This dissociation was not due to differences in inhibition, as both manipulations activated interneurons and reduced excitation throughout the dorsal hippocampus. Therefore, we hypothesize that the retrieval deficit caused by ChR2 stimulation is due to an immediate reduction in hippocampal activity that does not provide enough time for other brain regions to compensate. Stimulation of DREADDs, on the other hand, produces a gradual loss of excitation that takes several minutes to reach asymptote. This appears to be a sufficient amount of time for extra-hippocampal structures to become engaged and express context fear. Implications for theories of hippocampal function, systems consolidation and memory retrieval are discussed.
Consent to sexual interactions

The way in which consent to sexual interactions is understood in the US is undergoing a transformation. Many universities, sometimes at the behest of lawmakers, are moving to adopt ‘affirmative con...
Temporal trends in the utilization and outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions in patients with liver cirrhosis

OBJECTIVES We sought to assess the national trends in the utilization and outcomes of percutaneous coronary interventions (PCI) in patients with cirrhosis. BACKGROUND Contemporary data on PCI in patients with liver cirrhosis are limited. METHODS The National-Inpatient-Sample was used to identify patients who underwent PCI between 2003 and 2016. We examined the annual PCI rate, and compared the in-hospital morbidity, mortality, resource utilization, and cost following PCI in patients with and without cirrhosis. RESULTS A total of 8,860,178 PCI hospitalizations were identified, of those, 20,339 (0.2%) were performed in patients with cirrhosis. Annual PCI rates decreased overtime in patients without liver cirrhosis but increased in those with cirrhosis (Ptrend < .001). Patients with cirrhosis had a characteristic clinical, demographic, and socioeconomic profile compared with those without cirrhosis. The use of bare-metal stents decreased from 69.1 to 11.4% in the noncirrhosis group, and from 81.9 to 21.3% in the cirrhosis group. Compared with propensity-matched patients without cirrhosis, PCI in cirrhotic patients was associated with higher in-hospital mortality across all indications (STEMI 19.1 vs. 11.5%, p = .002; NSTEMI 8.7 vs. 5.6%, p = .002; and UA/SIHD 7.7 vs. 4.3%, p < .001). Cirrhotic patients also had significantly higher rates of acute kidney injury, but similar rates of vascular complications and stroke. Additionally, cirrhotic patients had longer hospitalizations, were less likely to be discharged home, and accrued higher cost across all PCI indications. CONCLUSIONS Patients with cirrhosis who are deemed "suitable PCI candidates" in current practice remain at high-risk for worse short-term morbidity and mortality, and higher cost of care.
Performance measures for fluorescence guided surgery systems (Conference Presentation)

The AAPM sanctioned a task group to study performance metrics for fluorescence guided surgery systems, with the goal of establishing professional guidance documentation which would initiate future efforts in standardization and ultimately a more standardized approach to this field. While tissue phantoms and test targets are widely used in radiology, the field of surgical guidance has not had any clear consensus around the idea of quantifying performance goals. The field is largely driven by manufacturers stating performance goals and training surgical users. There has been little interchangeability between systems, yet the field is now quite crowded with possible systems to use for indocyanine green imaging. The task group studied the problem and has converged towards a set of ideal goals and recommendations.
The Growing Block and What was Once Present

According to the growing block ontology of time, there (tenselessly and unrestrictedly) exist past and present objects and events, but no future objects or events. The growing block is made attractive not just because of the attractiveness of its ontological basis for past-tensed truths, the past’s fixity, and future’s openness, but by underlying principles about the right way to fill in this sort of ontology. I shall argue that given these underlying views about the connection between truth and ontology, growing blockers incur an ontological commitment to an infinite number of temporal dimensions (“hypertime”). This commitment to hypertime generates a vicious explanatory regress. It also undermines the idea that the reality of the past is sufficient to explain why truths about the past are fixed. Both of these implications are highly unattractive; growing blockers would do well to clarify what other motivations they can offer for their view and how they can avoid these consequences.
Ternary operator categories

Abstract T*-categories are introduced as a ternary generalization of C*-categories. Their linking C*-categories are constructed and the Gelfand-Naimark representation theorems of Zettl for C*-ternary rings and for W*-ternary rings, are generalized to T*-categories. Biduals of C*-categories and of T*-categories are considered.
Articles You May Have Missed

Hall ES, Wexelblatt SL, Crowley M, Grow JL, Jasin LR, Klebanoff MA, McClead RE, Meinzen-Derr J, Mohan VK, Stein H, Walsh MC, on behalf of OCHNAS Consortium. A Multicenter Cohort Study of Treatments and Hospital Outcomes in Neonatal Abstinence Syndrome. Pediatrics 2014; 134(2): e527–34
AN EVALUATION OF EVIDENCE-BASED INTERVENTIONS TO INCREASE COMPLIANCE AMONG CHILDREN WITH AUTISM

We evaluated 4 evidence-based interventions to increase compliance. Three children with autism who exhibited noncompliance when asked to relinquish a preferred toy were exposed sequentially to interventions that included a reduction in response effort, differential reinforcement, and guided compliance. Results indicated that effort reduction alone was ineffective and that each participant's compliance improved after exposure to a different intervention; these results highlight the need to individualize treatments for compliance.
Definitional Interpreters Revisited

To introduce the republication of “Definitional Interpreters for Higher-Order Programming Languages”, the author recounts the circumstances of its creation, clarifies several obscurities, corrects a few mistakes, and briefly summarizes some more recent developments.
Kernelized sorting for natural language processing

Kernelized sorting is an approach for matching objects from two sources (or domains) that does not require any prior notion of similarity between objects across the two sources. Unfortunately, this technique is highly sensitive to initialization and high dimensional data. We present variants of kernelized sorting to increase its robustness and performance on several Natural Language Processing (NLP) tasks: document matching from parallel and comparable corpora, machine transliteration and even image processing. Empirically we show that, on these tasks, a semi-supervised variant of kernelized sorting outperforms matching canonical correlation analysis.
Using the 2nd law of thermodynamics to quantify the extra power required for each irreversible process in compression cycle heat pumps

Irreversibilities in engines result in lost work while irreversibilities in air conditioners and heat pumps result in extra work that must be supplied. First law methods allow for the calculation of the overall performance of a thermodynamic cycle but second law methods are required to demonstrate the extra work associated with each less than ideal or irreversible process. However, existing text books and literature do not provide good examples of such methods. Thus this paper provides a relevant example of such techniques for working engineers who may design or analyze heat pumps and air conditioners and also for the benefit of the authors of thermodynamic text books for possible inclusion in future texts and ultimately for future students and engineers who will learn from these improved textbooks.
Quantificação de doenças pós-colheita em acessos de goiabeira cultivados em sistema orgânico

Among the postharvest diseases that occur in guava, anthracnose, black spot and stem-end rot are the most common. The incidence and diversity of these diseases depend on the host genotype. This study aimed to identify and quantify the postharvest diseases of guava accessions cultivated in organic system. For the characterization of diseases, 30 fruits from 48 accessions were evaluated in a completely randomized design. Anthracnose and black spot were the most frequent postharvest diseases in guava. The Vermelha Redonda (Shimoda), L5P21, L3P12, EEF-3, IAC-4 - Unesp and Monte Alto - Comum 1 accessions stood out with the lowest incidence of anthracnose and black spot, while L4P13, L1P2 and Creme Arredondada (Unesp) showed the highest incidence of anthracnose, black spot and stem-end rot. The Fusicoccum sp., Phomopsis sp., Phoma sp., Dothiorella sp. and Lasiodiplodia sp. pathogens were identified as the main responsible for causing stem-end rot symptoms.
Quencher ligand binding to luminescent complexes. Luminescent phenothiazine polypyridine Ru(II) complexes

Abstract Several RuB1B2L2+ complexes (where B1 = bpy; B2 = terpy and L = phenothiazine, N-methylphenothiazine, thianthrene, or H2O) have been synthesized, and some of their photophysical and redox properties studied. Although free phenothiazine ligands are potent reductive quenchers, the phenothiazine complexes were found to luminesce, the excited-state lifetimes being in the range of a few hundred ns. The non-radiative lifetimes of these excited states are similar to that of the parent Ru(bpy)32+ complex indicating population of states other than the luminescent MLCT state.
Heterogeneous Reaction of NO2 on Hexane Soot: A Knudsen Cell and FT-IR Study

In this study, the reaction of NO2 on freshly prepared hexane soot has been studied using a Knudsen cell reactor and FT-IR spectroscopy. Initial uptake coefficients were determined using gas-diffus...
Kessler Foundation Neglect Assessment Process uniquely measures spatial neglect during activities of daily living.

Abstract Objectives To explore the factor structure of the Kessler Foundation Neglect Assessment Process (KF-NAP), and evaluate the prevalence and clinical significance of spatial neglect among stroke survivors. Design Inception cohort. Setting Inpatient rehabilitation facility (IRF). Participants Participants (N=121) with unilateral brain damage from their first stroke were assessed within 72 hours of admission to an IRF, and 108 were assessed again within 72 hours before IRF discharge. Interventions Usual and standard IRF care. Main Outcome Measures During each assessment session, occupational therapists measured patients' functions with the KF-NAP, FIM, and Barthel Index (BI). Results The KF-NAP showed excellent internal consistency with a single-factor structure. The exploratory factor analysis revealed the KF-NAP to be unique from both the FIM and BI even though all 3 scales were correlated. Symptoms of spatial neglect (KF-NAP>0) were present in 67.8% of the participants at admission and 47.2% at discharge. Participants showing the disorder at IRF admission were hospitalized longer than those showing no symptoms. Among those presenting with symptoms, the regression analysis showed that the KF-NAP scores at admission negatively predicted FIM scores at discharge, after controlling for age, FIM at admission, and length of stay. Conclusions The KF-NAP uniquely quantifies symptoms of spatial neglect by measuring functional difficulties that are not captured by the FIM or BI. Using the KF-NAP to measure spatial neglect, we found the disorder persistent after inpatient rehabilitation, and replicated previous findings showing that spatial neglect adversely affects rehabilitation outcome even after prolonged IRF care.
Assessment of the World Health Report 2000.

The report had an immediate and enormous impact and was discussed on the front page of almost every major newspaper in the western world and on the broadcast news. The WHO, the health agency of the United Nations (UN), had assessed health-care systems around the world and everyone wanted to know where his or her country was placed in the health-care system league. In health-policy circles, the report caused some big surprises. At the top of the WHO’s health-care league were countries such as Spain and Italy, whose health-care systems were rarely considered models of efficiency or effectiveness before. In Spain, for example, release of the WHO report, which ranked the Spanish system as the third best in Europe, after Italy and France, coincided with unprecedented demonstrations against the Spanish healthcare authorities. Demonstrators were protesting against the long waiting lists for critical life-and-death interventions (which had been responsible for a large number of deaths) and the short consultation times in primary-care centres (an average of 3 mins per consultation). This state of affairs in the Spanish system had forced prominent professional associations, including the Spanish Association of Primary Care Physicians, to denounce the current situation as “intolerable” (these events were widely reported in the Spanish press in June and July; see, for example, the series in El Pais in June 2000). The growing popular protest had put Spain’s Conservative government on the defensive, until the WHO brought out its report listing the Spanish system as the third best in Europe and the seventh best in the world. Spain’s Conservative Minister of Health showed the WHO report to the protesters as proof of the unjustified nature of their complaints and demands. The protesters, however, were not impressed by the WHO’s ranking of Spain’s health-care system. Something seemed profoundly wrong in the report’s claiming that the performance of the Spanish system was the seventh best in the world. The report’s conclusions certainly did not coincide with the perceptions of most Spanish people. In one of the most rigorous surveys of views of the Spanish population regarding health care, Spaniards expressed more discontent with their system than did the population of any other major country in the European Union, except
Transurethral nervi erigentes stimulation: An experimental study in the dog

An erection obtained during external sphincterotomy on a paraplegic patient prompted this experiment in an animal model. Four dogs were anesthetized and a transurethral electrical current was used to stimulate the cavernosus nerves and obtain a penile erection. The erectile response was assessed by measurement of the girth of the glans before and after stimulation. There was an increase of 2 cm in the girth of the glans and the penis became firm and remained erect while being stimulated. The aim of the experiment was to elucidate another technique to assess the integrity of the nervous pathway for erection. Transurethral stimulation of nervi erigentes may be used also as a tool to investigate erectile dysfunction. The stimulated erection observed in a paraplegic patient after transurethral electrical stimulation confirms previous observations that the erectile mechanism is maintained in paraplegic patients, with an intact thoracolumbar sympathetic outflow.
Fluidized bed char combustion diffusion limited models

Abstract A model based on the two phase theory of fluidization has been developed for prediction of fluidized bed combustor performance. Two different particle The relative importance and influence of model parameters (i.e. mass transfer rates between the bubbles and the dense phase and the dense phase gas and It was found that model predictions are in a qualitative agreement with the experimental observations. The calculated values of char particle temperatu
Self-Adaptive On-Demand Geographic Routing for Mobile Ad Hoc Networks

It has been a big challenge to develop a routing protocol that can meet different application needs and optimize routing paths according to the topology changes in mobile ad hoc networks. Basing their forwarding decisions only on local topology, geographic routing protocols have drawn a lot of attentions in recent years. However, there is a lack of holistic design for geographic routing to be more efficient and robust in a dynamic environment. Inaccurate local and destination position information can lead to inefficient geographic forwarding and even routing failure. The use of proactive fixed-interval beaconing to distribute local positions introduces high overhead when there is no traffic and cannot capture the topology changes under high mobility. It is also difficult to preset protocol parameters correctly to fit in different environments. In this work, we propose two self-adaptive on-demand geographic routing schemes which build efficient paths based on the need of user applications and adapt to various scenarios to provide efficient and reliable routing. To alleviate the impact due to inaccurate local topology knowledge, the topology information is updated at a node in a timely manner according to network dynamics and traffic demand. On-demand routing mechanism in both protocols reduces control overhead compared to the proactive schemes which are normally adopted in current geographic routing protocols. Additionally, our route optimization scheme adapts the routing path according to both topology changes and actual data traffic requirements. Furthermore, adaptive parameter setting scheme is introduced to allow each node to determine and adjust the protocol parameter values independently according to different network environments, data traffic conditions, and node's own conditions. Our simulation studies demonstrate that the proposed routing protocols are more robust and outperform the existing geographic routing protocol and conventional on-demand routing protocols under various conditions including different mobilities, node densities, traffic loads, and destination position inaccuracies. Specifically, the proposed protocols could reduce the packet delivery latency up to 80 percent as compared to GPSR at high mobility. Both routing protocols could achieve about 98 percent delivery ratios, avoid incurring unnecessary control overhead, have very low forwarding overhead and transmission delay in all test scenarios.
A fuzzy system for mapping worker attributes to tasks

We developed a prototype of a rule-based expert system that facilitates a mapping from tasks comprising a job to the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) ostensibly required to perform the tasks. A variant offuzzy logic was employed in the inference process. Signal detection theory was used to evaluate the performance of the system. The results indicated that the system per­ formed well in terms of its ability to discriminate between the KSAs that are required of a task and those that are not. The discussion focuses on implications of the system and its use as an intelligent assistant in human resources planning. Matching tasks to the worker attributes (i.e., knowl­ edge, skills, and abilities, or KSAs) required to perform them is an integral part of every job analysis. This infor­ mation is required for many aspects of human resources planning, including selection, placement, and classifica­ tion decisions, and in training and job design (Levine, 1983). The most common method of mapping from tasks to worker requirements involves subject-matter experts who provide judgments of the KSAs that are required to perform tasks. This process is commonly recognized, however, as being problematic. Typically, there is only moderate agreement between the experts' judgments, and the unreliability in the ratings of individual judges (e.g., in how they rate criticality, importance, and frequency) often requires mean ratings to be calculated from large groups of judges, to average it out (Fleishman & Mumford, 1991). Rules for Mapping KSAs to Tasks Our research involves a computerized task-to-KSA mapping implementation-that is, a computer program containing structured knowledge about relationships be­ tween tasks and associated KSAs (Craiger, 1992). This system is based on the premise that predictable relation­ ships exist between the terminology employed to describe job behavior and the worker attributes required to perform the tasks. This system is a prototype of a larger system that can be employed in concert with, and perhaps in place of, the traditional mapping process outlined above.
Julia's lemma for operators

where c~ is a positively oriented simple closed rectifiable contour lying in A and containing the spectrum of A in its interior domain. The limit used in defining the integral is taken in the norm topo logy (i.e., uniform topology) of operators, f (A) ~ f~")(0) A" which converges in the norm can also be defined by the series f ( A ) = n-----~. topology, n ~ o For two Hermi t ian opera tors A, B on ~ , we write A-->B to indicate that A B is positive, i.e., ((A--B)x,x)>=O for all x ~ . The nota t ion A > B will mean that A B is positive and invertible. The purpose of this note is to prove the following result which extends the classical Julia 's l emma ( [ l ] , p. 25; [5], p. 87) to opera tors on a Hilbert space. Ju l ia ' s Lemma for Operators. Let f be a complex function analytic on the open unit disk A = {z:lzl< 1}, and I f (z) l< 1 for z ~ . Let {z,} CA be such that lira z, = 1, lira f (z ,) = 1 (1) tl~oo tl~oo
The effect of superstitious belief on performance following an unsolvable problem

Abstract Two experiments investigated the hypothesis that performance is not impaired following instances of uncontrollability when superstitious beliefs are invoked. In Experiment 1, undergraduates worked on an anagrams task following exposure to either a solvable or unsolvable word puzzle. Level of superstitious belief was assessed using Tobacyk, 1988 revised Paranormal Belief Scale. Following the unsolvable problem, students with a high level of superstitious belief solved more anagrams than students with a low level of superstitious belief. In Experiment 2, level of superstitious belief was assessed both before and after working on a solvable or unsolvable puzzle. Reported level of superstitious belief increased following exposure to unsolvable, but not solvable problems. These studies support the hypothesis that participants invoke superstitious beliefs during instances of uncontrollability, which may prevent or interrupt subsequent performance impairment.
Extracting Meteorological Data from Projectile Trajectory

The atmospheric conditions are found by knowing only the projectile’ s e ight trajectory and its aerodynamic coefe cients together with the initial atmospheric conditions on the ground. The test trajectories were generated as solutionsofthemodie edpointmassequationsofmotion.Thecorrectatmosphericconditionsforthegeneratede ight trajectory areobtained from data collected during a weatherballoon e ight. Anonlinearleast squares method then was used to e t the modie ed point mass equations to the test trajectory by varying the meteorological parameters. Density, temperature, and wind proe les agreed well.
The noradrenergic system in cultured aggregates of fetal rat brain cells: morphology of the aggregates and pharmacological indices of noradrenergic neurons.

Summary Spherical aggregates formed rapidly in culture by re-aggregation of trypsin-dissociated brain cells from the 17-day-old fetal rat. Over days 10 days an initially random distribution of cells evolved into a 30layered arrangement; cells with characteristics of neurons were found largely in the intermediate layer. The survival of neuronal and glial cell types was evaluated histologically and verified by electron microscopy, which revealed synaptic and myelin structures that rapidly increased in number after 18 days in culture. Levels of norepinephrine (NE) and dopamine (DA) reached peaks of 9.5 and 4.4 ng/mg protein, respectively, at culture day 21. Uptake of [ 3 H]NE paralleled these amine levels and was blocked by desipramine or pretreatment with either reserpine or 6-OH-DA. Autoradiographs of aggregates labeled with [ 3 H]NE showed a high density of silver grains over cells, apparently neurons, with branching processes traced for 120 μm. Previously accumulated [ 3 H]NE was released under depolarizing conditions (high [K + ] or vertridine) only in the presence of Ca 2+ . Release was induced to a lesser extent by kainic > glutamic acid. Thus, such aggregates appear to contain catecholaminergic neurons capable of synthesis, uptake and release of NE. The time course of development of these functions supports suggestions that aggregate preparations might be useful in studying neurochemical or morphological aspects of brain development and function in vitro.
Imaging of DNA sequences with chemiluminescence

Abstract We have coupled a chemiluminescent detection method that uses an alkaline phosphatase label to the genomic DNA sequencing protocol of Church and Gilbert [Church, G. M. & Gilbert, W. (1984) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. USA 81, 1991-1995]. Images of sequence ladders are obtained on x-ray film with exposure times of less than 30 min, as compared to 40 h required for a similar exposure with a 32P-labeled oligomer. Chemically cleaved DNA from a sequencing gel is transferred to a nylon membrane, and specific sequence ladders are selected by hybridization to DNA oligonucleotides labeled with alkaline phosphatase or with biotin, leading directly or indirectly to deposition of enzyme. If a biotinylated probe is used, an incubation with avidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate follows. The membrane is soaked in the chemiluminescent substrate (AMPPD) and is exposed to film. Dephosphorylation of AMPPD leads in a two-step pathway to a highly localized emission of visible light. The demonstrated shorter exposure times may improve the efficiency of a serial reprobing strategy such as the multiplex sequencing approach of Church and Kieffer-Higgins [Church, G. M. & Kieffer-Higgins, S. (1988) Science 240, 185-188].
Close-coupling calculations with an INDOX/1s static potential, semiclassical exchange, and a semi-empirical polarisation potential for electron-CO2 elastic scattering and rotational excitation

A semiempirical molecular-orbital method for modelling the effective potential for electron-molecule scattering is applied to elastic scattering and rotational excitation of CO2 at 20 eV impact energy. Agreement with experiment is reasonably good. The calculated rotationally summed integral cross section is 67.8 a sub 0 squared.
Building Learning Curve and Script Theory Knowledge with LEGO

The teaching innovation described in this paper is designed to enhance the learning process for topics related to learning curve and script theory. LEGO® building block sets are used in experiential classroom demonstrations and exercises to make concepts related to the learning curve "real" to students. The subject of learning curves is often found and generally discussed in undergraduate operations management courses; however, the concept is also found in discussions in many business disciplines, including marketing, and in most industries. In addition to script theory knowledge as demonstrated in this paper, the concept of learning curves is related to discussions on negotiating and purchasing concepts, the introduction of Internet marketing, and consumer behavior to name a few. In this paper, we explain an innovative activity utilizing LEGO® blocks in a classroom demonstration of the importance of learning to consumer performance in a services context. The exercise in this paper serves two purposes. It...
A Hybrid Master-Slave Genetic Algorithm-Neural Network Approach for Modeling a Piezoelectric Actuator

This work presents an approach for developing the model of a smart fin dynamics that is activated by a fully-enclosed piezoelectric (PZT) bimorph actuator, which is created by bonding two Macro Fiber Composites (MFCs). Observing the dynamics of the fin indicates that the use of a linear dynamic model does not adequately describe its behavior. An earlier work proposed incorporating a proportional damping matrix as well as Bouc-Wen hysteresis model and backlash operators to create a more accurate model. However, the number of parameters describing the expanded model is large, which limits its use. Therefore, there is a need for a different approach for developing an alternative model of the fin. In this work, a hybrid master-slave Genetic Algorithm (GA)-Neural Network (NN) model is proposed to identify the optimal set of parameters for the damping matrix constants, the Bouc-Wen hysteresis model and the backlash operators. A total of nine sinusoidal input voltage cases that resemble a grid of three different amplitudes excited at three different frequencies are used to train and validate the model. Three input cases are considered for training the NN architecture, connection weights, bias weights and learning rules using GA. The NN consists of three layers: an input layer that has two nodes for the amplitude and the frequency of the input voltage, an output layer that has seven nodes for the backlash, hysteresis, and damping operators, and a hidden layer that is free to have any number of nodes between two and nine. The GA constantly performs natural selection of chromosomes that propagate best compilation of NN parameters. Simulation results show that the proposed model can predict the damping, hysteresis and backlash of the smart fin–actuator system under various operational conditions.© 2012 ASME
Hexing the Tet

Motivated by the need for fast robust generation of unstructured grids comprised entirely of hexahedral cells, we approach the issue via an intermediate tetrahedral discretization. This is then followed by subdivision of the tetrahedra into hexahedra and in this note we focus on the geometric construction, properties and limitations of a ‘best subdivision’ to ‘Hex the Tet’. Related issues include the appropriate choice of edge, face and interior points, convexity of the resulting face quadrilaterals and associated hexahedra for all tetrahedra shapes and validity and shape quality of the final hexahedra. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Group Lending under Dynamic Incentives as a Borrower Discipline Device

In recent years group lending has become an increasingly utilized tool for providing credit access to the poor in developing countries. Using empirical results from first-hand field research on Guatemalan borrowing groups, this paper develops a simple game-theoretic model of group lending. Results from the model show that through peer monitoring, the threat of group expulsion, and the safety net of intragroup credit insurance, group lending mitigates some risky investment behavior that would otherwise occur under an individual borrowing contract. The credible threat of social sanctions against group members who misallocate borrowed capital further reduces instances of such behavior.
Introduction to Retheorizing Homophobias

The first inklings of this special issue surfaced in conversations we had on our seemingly divergent projects ‐ projects that were decidedly not focused on the question of homophobia. Salvador was completing his study of gender and sexuality in Santeria. Karl was working on a social history of the psychiatric diagnosis Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood. While these projects seemed quite distinct, in our conversations we kept coming back to a recurring similarity: discourses of homophobia circulated in each of these sites in ways that created a set of unintended and often nefarious consequences. It seemed to us that the full range of effects of such discourses was not being adequately considered. We offer this special issue as one attempt at more complexly addressing the ways in which discourses of homophobia circulate, and the effects that they produce. This introduction offers a general discussion on the uses of the term ‘homophobia’ in extant scholarship; an overview of some of the problems that have been associated with homophobia, including the subsequent formation of concepts such as heterosexism and heteronormativity that have acted as correctives to some of homophobia’s limitations; and an
Neuronal connections of orbital cortex in rats: topography of cortical and thalamic afferents.

The cortical and thalamic afferent connections of rat orbital cortex were investigated using fluorescent retrograde axonal tracers. Each of the four orbital areas has a distinct pattern of connections. Corticocortical connections involving the ventral and ventrolateral orbital areas are more extensive than those of the medial and lateral orbital areas. The medial orbital area has cortical connections with the cingulate, medial agranular (Fr2) and posterior parietal (PPC) cortices. The ventral orbital area has connections with the cingulate area, area Fr2, secondary somatic sensory area Par2, PPC, and visual areas Oc2M and Oc2L. The ventrolateral orbital area (VLO) receives cortical input from insular cortex, area Fr2, somatic sensory areas Par1 and Par2, PPC and Oc2L. The lateral orbital area has cortical connections limited to the agranular and granular insular areas, and Par2. Thalamic afferents to the four orbital fields are also topographically organized, and are focused in the submedial and mediodorsal nuclei. The ventrolateral orbital area receives input from the entirety of the submedial nucleus, whereas the other orbital areas receive input from its periphery only. Each orbital area is connected with a particular segment of the mediodorsal nucleus. The medial orbital area receives its principal thalamic afferents from the parataenial nucleus, the dorsocentral portion of the mediodorsal nucleus, and the ventromedial portion of the submedial nucleus. The ventral orbital area receives input from the lateral segment of the mediodorsal nucleus, the rostromedial portion of the submedial nucleus and the central lateral nucleus. Thalamic afferents to the ventrolateral orbital area arise from the entirety of the submedial nucleus and from the lateral segment of the mediodorsal nucleus. The lateral orbital area receives thalamic afferents from the central segment of the mediodorsal nucleus, the ventral portion of the submedial nucleus and the ventromedial nucleus. The paraventricular, ventromedial, rhomboid and reuniens nuclei also provide additional input to the four orbital areas. The connections of the ventrolateral orbital area are interpreted in the context of its role in directed attention and allocentric spatial localization. The present findings provide anatomical support for the view that areas Fr2, PPC and VLO comprise a cortical network mediating such functions.
Heat transfer and flow structures in an excited circular impinging jet

Abstract Flow structures and heat transfer are investigated experimentally in an excited circular impinging jet with small nozzle-to-plate spacing (H/D ⩽ 2). The local heat transfer in the wall-jet region is found to be sensitive to the excitation frequency. Enhancement and reduction of the local heat transfer in the wall-jet region can be attained by forcing the impinging jet near the natural frequency and its subharmonic, respectively. The relationship between the vortical structures and local heat transfer is studied by the means of flow visualization, heat transfer spectra and correlation between velocity and heat transfer.
A simple algorithm for the time‐optimal control of chemical processes

A simple algorithm for the time-optimal control of chemical processes during setpoint changes, in processes which can be described by a second-order lag plus dead time model, is described. Knowledge of the unsteady state model parameters is not required because the algorithm uses a dimensionless phase plane on which the switching curves are independent of system parameters for a given forcing function. The algorithm gives the parameters of a second-order lag plus dead time model as a by product of the setpoint change. It is easily tuned and is relatively insensitive to changes in the process dynamics. The algorithm does not require a large computer or long computing times and has been implemented on both analog and digital computers in controlling computer simulated systems.
Performance of fault-tolerant diagnostics in the hypercube systems

The concept of fault-tolerant self-diagnostics is introduced for distributed systems, and it is shown that there exists a performance tradeoff between the complexity of a self-diagnostic algorithm and the level of fault tolerance inherited by the algorithm. Hypercube systems are selected, and it is shown that designing an optimal algorithm for such systems has an equivalent coding theory formulation which belongs to the case of NP-hard problems. An efficient diagnostic scheme is proposed for these systems, and the performance tradeoff of the proposed algorithm, which is based on a combinatorial structure called the Hadamard matrix, is studied. The tradeoff between the fault tolerance and traffic complexity of the proposed diagnostic algorithm for hypercubes of small size is evaluated. An interesting compromise is exhibited for the hypercube with an arbitrary size. >
Mesoporous catalytic membranes: Synthetic control of pore size and wall composition

Atomic layer deposition (ALD) on anodic aluminium oxide (AAO) is shown to be a facile, flexible route to the synthesis of catalytic membranes with precise control of pore wall composition and diameters. The oxidative dehydrogenation of cyclohexane was shown to depend strongly on pore diameter and to be more specific than similarly active alumina powder catalysts.
Design Criteria for a High-Dose MOS Dosimeter for Use in Space

In a previous paper a small, light-weight, low-power integrating dosimeter is described that is designed for use aboard satellites where the expected total dose is below 30 krad. The radiation-detecting sensors employed are radiation-soft, PMOS transistors. The dosimetric parameter utilized is the shift in threshold voltage, ? VT. This voltage shift is related to the radiation dose absorbed, D, in the SiO2 gate oxide of the transistor. The relationship between ? VT and D is determined with a calibrated Co-60 gamma-ray source. The present paper gives experimental results from which design criteria are derived that will extend the use of the dosimeter into the megarad range. The data show that the existing PMOS transistors can be operated in either of two ways. With a high positive gate bias during irradiation, and with some circuit modification, the PMOS transistors are useful up to about 50 krad. When the source, drain, and gate are grounded during irradiation, and subsequently read out normally, the devices are usable up to approximately 2.5 Mrad. The underlying device physics for these two modes of operation is discussed.
Cholesteatoma in the normal hearing ear.

Objectives/Hypothesis: Surgical treatment of cholesteatoma in ears with normal or near-normal hearing represents a challenge, in that complete removal of disease may require sacrifice of the ossicular chain. Our aim was to identify the predictive factors and surgical strategies that favor hearing preservation in these patients. Study Design: Retrospective case review. Methods: Fifty-four procedures were performed in 50 patients with cholesteatoma and a preoperative speech reception threshold or pure-tone average (PTA) of less than 25 dB. Complete audiometric data were available in 51 cases. All patients had complete surgical removal of cholesteatoma. Whenever feasible, ossicular reconstruction was performed at the time of the initial surgical procedure. Results: The median PTA changed by −3 dB, and hearing was preserved to within 10 dB of preoperative level in 72% of patients. An intact ossicular chain was found in 72% of the cases and could often be preserved at surgery. However, similar hearing outcomes resulted after intact versus reconstructed ossicular chains and in open versus closed mastoidectomies. The recidivism rate was 26%, and recidivistic cases had worse hearing outcomes. Congenital cholesteatomas and Prussak space cholesteatomas had better outcomes with respect to hearing preservation and recidivism. Conclusions: Cholesteatoma in the normal hearing ear should be treated with the same surgical priorities as all other cholesteatomas. Preventing recidivism has a significant effect on hearing preservation, whereas preserving an intact ossicular chain and maintaining an intact canal wall do not.
Synthesis of the Proteins of Complex III of the Mitochondrial Respiratory Chain in Heme‐Deficient Cells

The presence of several proteins of complex III of the respiratory chain has been demonstrated in mitochondria from a mutant of Saccharomyces cerevisiae lacking 5-aminolevulinic acid synthase and, hence, devoid of heme. The two 'core' proteins, apocytochrome b and the iron-sulfur protein, were observed in equal amounts in the heme-deficient and heme-sufficient cells with antiserum against complex III and the sensitive immuno-transfer technique. In addition, three other bands were detected with the complex III antiserum in the mitochondria from the cells lacking heme. One of these has a molecular weight similar to that reported for a precursor form of cytochrome c1. By contrast, when mitochondria from the heme-deficient cells were solubilized with mild detergents and treated with the complex III antiserum, almost no immunoprecipitation was obtained above that obtained with control serum. The presence of only one major labeled band with a molecular weight similar to subunit I was observed after gel electrophoresis. These results suggest that heme may be necessary for proper processing of the apoprotein of cytochrome c1 and for the assembly into the membrane of the subunits of complex III, rather than for the synthesis of the proteins.
Learning against the clock: Examining learning and development concepts in The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

Media and popular culture reach broad audiences and have the potential to be an invaluable teaching resource in terms of promoting adult education and learning. Human resource development instructors can use media artifacts (e.g., films, television, novels, and cartoons) as useful methods to demonstrate learning theory and adult development concepts. In this article, we review The Curious Case of Benjamin Button to identify how learning theories and adult development concepts are represented in the story of a man who ages in reverse. Results indicate multiple adult learning and development concepts are represented in the film, thus making it a useful method for instructors to use in course that explores learning theory. We offer suggestions and discuss implications for using media and popular culture for HRD teaching and practice.
‘In the end, we have the Gatling gun, and they have not’: Future prospects of indigenous knowledges

Abstract Charles Taylor argues the superiority of Western technology demonstrates the epistemological superiority of Western science over indigenous knowledges. I argue Taylor's “might makes right” argument lacks deductive and inductive cogency, begs significant questions against indigenous knowledges, and confounds military subjugation with philosophical refutation. Polycentric global epistemology represents one possible future of indigenous knowledges. It consists of a variety of dialogues between mutual epistemological “others”. Participants ask, “how may this or that knowledge practice be brought into the service of human well-being?” It admits all varieties of knowledge practices ranging from rational argument and experimentation to dance, song, and ritual performance. It establishes a trading zone for mutual sharing, borrowing, and learning as well as collaborative projects.
Unexpected opening of steroidal E-ring during hypoiodite-mediated oxidation

Abstract In this Letter, we report unexpected formation of E-ring opened steroidal alkaloid from primary amine presumably via a hypoiodite-mediated iodoamination followed by fragmentation of sterically congested iodospiroaminal.