cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Challenges and future directions for the scaling of dynamic random-access memory (DRAM)

Significant challenges face DRAM scaling toward and beyond the 0.10-µm generation. Scaling techniques used in earlier generations for the array-access transistor and the storage capacitor are encountering limitations which necessitate major innovation in electrical operating mode, structure, and processing. Although a variety of options exist for advancing the technology, such as low-voltage operation, vertical MOSFETs, and novel capacitor structures, uncertainties exist about which way to proceed. This paper discusses the interrelationships among the DRAM scaling requirements and their possible solutions. The emphasis is on trench-capacitor DRAM technology.
CDO, A Robo-related Cell Surface Protein that Mediates Myogenic Differentiation

CDO, a member of the Ig/fibronectin type III repeat subfamily of transmembrane proteins that includes the axon guidance receptor Robo, was identified by virtue of its down-regulation by the ras oncogene. We report here that one prominent site of cdo mRNA expression during murine embryogenesis is the early myogenic compartment (newly formed somites, dermomyotome and myotome). CDO is expressed in proliferating and differentiating C2C12 myoblasts and in myoblast lines derived by treating 10T1/2 fibroblasts with 5-azacytidine, but not in parental 10T1/2 cells. Overexpression of CDO in C2C12 cells accelerates differentiation, while expression of secreted soluble extracellular regions of CDO inhibits this process. Oncogenic Ras is known to block differentiation of C2C12 cells via downregulation of MyoD. Reexpression of CDO in C2C12/Ras cells induces MyoD; conversely, MyoD induces CDO. Reexpression of either CDO or MyoD rescues differentiation of C2C12/Ras cells without altering anchorage-independent growth or morphological transformation. CDO and MyoD are therefore involved in a positive feedback loop that is central to the inverse relationship between cell differentiation and transformation. It is proposed that CDO mediates, at least in part, the effects of cell–cell interactions between muscle precursors that are critical in myogenesis.
Ambivalence as a sociological explanation: the case of cultural explanations of alcohol problems.

A presumed high rate of U.S. drinking problems often has been ascribed to ambivalence over alcohol. Ambivalence is argued to be a necessary component of normative explanations which contemplate only constraining norms, as exemplified also in the place of ambivalence in Parsons' theory of deviance. Although ambivalence refers broadly to the individual's experience of conflicting norms, its psychotherapeutic origins in analyzing special kinds of relationship give it connotations of continuity in time and of excitation and potential explosiveness. It is these connotations which give ambivalence the appearance of providing an explanation of the origin and maintenance of deviance. Although sociologists have treated ambivalence as a property of the individual mind, possible meanings of ambivalence seated at aggregate levels are explored. The use of ambivalence as an explanatory concept should be replaced by analysis in terms of the conflicting norms and values the concept purports to cover.
0100 Severity of illness associated with water recreation

Objectives We evaluated the severity of illness among those engaging in limited-contact water recreation such as boating, fishing, kayaking, and rowing. Method Data were obtained from a cohort study which assessed the development of illness following water recreation. Disease severity was defined as symptom-days, the total number of days with symptoms related to gastrointestinal illness, respiratory illness, or eye, ear, and skin symptoms. Severity was evaluated in association with the degree of water exposure. Analysis included logistic regression and G-computation. Results 11 297 participants completed the cohort study, of which 2301 developed symptoms related to gastrointestinal illness, respiratory illness, or eye, ear, or skin infection. When evaluating both ill and healthy participants who participated in water recreation, total symptom-days ranged from 0–67, and exhibited a right-skewed distribution. When dichotomized at the 90 th percentile, there was a crude relative risk (RR) of 1.47 (1.27–1.72) for those getting their face wet during water recreation, and a RR of 1.65 (1.28–2.12) for those indicating that they swallowed water during water recreation. Conclusions Increased water exposure, resulting in getting the face wet, or swallowing water is related to increased disease severity among water recreators. Further analysis is necessary to determine if any covariates such as age, race/ethnicity, gender, or previous comorbidities modify or confound the relationship between water exposure and disease severity.
Production of methane and ethylene in organic horizons of spruce forest soils.

Abstract Concomitant production of CH4 and C2H4 was measured during anaerobic laboratory incubations of organic soils collected from Appalachian red spruce forests. Ethylene production generally exceeded methanogenesis, with greater production occurring in L and F compared with H and Al soil horizons. Slerilants significantly reduced production of both gases in all soils. However, treatment with 2-bromo ethane sulfonic acid (BES) or chloramphenicol decreased C2H4 but not CH4 production. Methane production was not further stimulated by the addition of non-limiting concentrations of H2. Arrhenius slopes for CH4 compared with C2H4 production at temperatures from 5 to 45 C were not significantly different among any of the soils tested. Anaerobiosis due to water saturation may produce sufficient C2H4 to adversely affect plant root growth, however, coniferous forest soils appear to be minor potential sources of atmospheric methane. The methane produced in these soils could have resulted from microorganisms other than methanogenic archaebacteria.
NEW NEARCTIC SIPHONAPTERA

♂ ♀. Head .—The rostrum equals the fore coxa in length. The maxillary palpi are slightly more than two-thirds the length of the rostrum. The frons is broadly rounded. There is a lower general row of three stout bristles and an upper genal row of six bristles. There is no genal ctenidium. The occipital bristles are arranged in three rows. The bristles of the second antennal segment are short and fine. The club of the antenna is distinctly segmented all of the way around.
Entrapped ovary syndrome

Formulation of pelvic cysts after proctectomy is an entity which is described in this paper with the cause supposed to be due to descent of the ovary from an intraperitoneal to an extraperitoneal position at the time of proctectomy. A simple surgical technique for fixing the ovary out of the pelvis to prevent this complication is described.
Cu cluster deposition on ZnO 10 1 ¯ 0 : Morphology and growth mode predicted from molecular dynamics simulations

Abstract Clusters of Cu on ZnO surfaces are established catalyst systems produced by vapor deposition of Cu that consolidates into discrete clusters. Factors such as the geometry of the ZnO surface, the nature of the interface between Cu and ZnO, and the size and distribution of metal clusters strongly control the reactivity and stability of the catalyst. Here, we report on the development and use of charge-optimized many-body (COMB) potentials to model the deposition and subsequent evolution of Cu clusters on ZnO 10 1 ¯ 0 using classical molecular dynamics (MD) simulations. The simulations predict that the deposited Cu spreads to form two-dimensional (2D) structures until the coverage is above 0.4 monolayers (ML). Thereafter, the 2D structures grow thicker with increasing Cu coverage and finally form three-dimensional (3D) clusters. The predictions are compared to published experimental data and help to elucidate aspects of the growth that are currently the subject of controversy in the literature. In addition, the influence of such factors as incident cluster deposition energy, ZnO surface temperature, and different supports on the surface morphology of the Cu clusters are examined. The results are expected to provide useful guidance for the improved production of dispersed Cu clusters on ZnO surfaces.
THE MPC ADVENTURES: Experiences with the Generation of VLSI Design and Implementation Methodologies

Abstract During the early '70's, Carver Mead began a pioneering series of courses in integrated circuit design at Caltech, presenting the basics of industry MOS design practice at the time. Observing some of the students' successes in later doing projects using these basics, Mead sensed that it might be possible to create new, much simpler methods of IC design than those then used in industry. In the mid '70's, Carver Mead and Lynn Conway, and their research groups at Caltech and Xerox, began a collaboration to search for improved, simplified methods for VLSI system design. They hoped to create methods that could be very easily learned by digital system designers, but that would also allow to full architectural potential of silicon to be realized. Their research yielded important basic results during '76 and '77. In the summer of '77, they began writing the textbook Introduction to VLSI Systems , to document the new methods. In the late '70's, Lynn Conway realized the need for large-scale experimentation to further generate, test, and validate the methods. Conway began using novel methods within a systematic, rapidly expanding set of interactions with many universities throughout the United States. Students at these schools took courses using the evolving textbook, and then did design projects as part of those courses. The projects were implemented, and the resulting feedback was used to extend, refine, and debug the text, the courses, the university design environments, and the new design methods. As a result of the research methodology used, and the very large scale of the interactions with university community (via computer-communications networks), the Mead-Conway design methods evolved unusually rapidly, going from concept to integration within industry in just a few years. This talk tells the story of these events, focussing on the research methods used to generate, validate, and culturally integrate the Mead-Conway design methods.
Annual variation in glycerol mobilization and effect of freeze rigor on post-thaw locomotion in the freeze-tolerant frog Hyla versicolor.

This study documents post-thaw recovery of jump distance and cryoprotectant mobilization in the freeze-tolerant frog Hyla versicolor over two successive years. Cold acclimated frogs had plasma glycerol levels near 1.0 mM in 2004 but it was nearly 70× higher during 2005. Freezing of frogs induced nearly identical levels of plasma glycerol (ca. 177 mM) during 2004 and 2005. Plasma glucose was only mobilized upon somatic freezing, with averages ranging between 21 and 36 mM. Control jump distance showed no difference between the two years of the study. The post-thaw jump response was identical during the first 2 years despite large differences in glycerol mobilization between these 2 years. Recovery proceeded much faster in 2005 when frogs mobilized glycerol prior to freeze exposure. Frogs were more impaired in their locomotion performance during the initial stages of recovery period when they were frozen at a lower temperature (−3 vs. −1.5°C) but they eventually recovered. Moderate lengthening of the freeze duration (3 vs. 7 days) with the 2004 collection group did not affect recovery of jump distance when frogs were frozen at −1.5°C. Hence, postfreeze impairment of locomotion is dependent of the intensity of the freeze temperature but it is a reversible process that is mitigated when glycerol is more freely distributed to body tissues.
Double-dose accelerated hepatitis B vaccine in patients with end-stage liver disease

The aims of this study are to assess the efficacy of hepatitis B virus (HBV) vaccination using an accelerated schedule and double dose of recombinant vaccine in liver transplant recipients and identify factors associated with seroconversion and persistence of antibody to hepatitis B surface antigen (anti-HBs). Three hundred fifty-six patients were enrolled. Exclusion criteria were previous HBV infection, fulminant liver failure, or less than 2 years of follow-up after orthotopic liver transplantation (OLT). The vaccination schedule was 0, 2 weeks, 4 weeks, and 6 months using double-dose recombinant vaccine. Seroconversion was evaluated prospectively by measuring anti-HBs on the day of OLT and 1 and 2 years after OLT. Quantitative analyses of anti-HBs were performed retrospectively on stored sera. Geometric mean concentrations (GMCs) were calculated using a standard formula. All patients completed the full vaccination schedule, and 129 patients (36%) completed the schedule before OLT. The overall prevalence of anti-HBs was 128 of 356 pre-OLT samples (36%) compared with 41 of 353 (11.6%) and 26 of 325 post-OLT samples (8%) 1 and 2 years after OLT, respectively (both P =.001). The pre-OLT GMC was 86.7 compared with 0.32 and 0.33 at 1 and 2 years after OLT, respectively (P =.001). Patients with high titers of anti-HBs before OLT were more likely to have persistence of antibodies 1 or 2 years after OLT. Younger age (P =.02), low Child-Pugh score (P =.02), underlying chronic hepatitis C (P=.03), and specific host HLA subtypes were most strongly associated with seroconversion and/or persistence of anti-HBs. Thus, (1) seroconversion before or after OLT using double-dose accelerated-schedule vaccination against HBV is low, (2) there is a rapid, significant decrease in antibody titer after OLT, (3) pre-OLT anti-HBs titer potentially may be useful in predicting persistence of protective antibodies after OLT, and (4) several factors (age, genetic predisposition, severity of liver disease, and underlying liver disease) may have a role in poor vaccine responsiveness.
Chronic pelvic pain.

Chronic pelvic pain is a complex problem with a long history of attempts to elucidate the cause and to design effective therapies. This review is structured around recent articles in the field which contribute to our understanding, support certain therapeutic approaches, or describe a specific case. The pain aspects of endometriosis are included for their contribution to our understanding of pain and the difficulty encountered in managing these patients.
COMPARISON OF TWO OBJECTIVE SCORING SYSTEMS FOR THE TAT

Stmtrnary.-8 male and 8 female undergraduate students furnished written stories to Card 2 and Card 14 of the TAT. Each story was scored for n Ach first using McClelland's system (1953) and secondly utilizing Kiefer's (1952) method, which was devised for cross-cultural comparisons. Analysis of Ss' stories showed significant correlations ranging from .32 to .56 for these two scoring systems. These findings were interpreted in the light of the intenuon of the different scoring systems. McClelland's method appears best suited to determine the strength of a particular need while Kiefer's system indicates the direction and diversity of the needs. One of the basic problelns inherent in the use of projective techniques is the development of an objective method of analysis. This problem particularly plagues the Thematic Apperception Test (Murray, 1943) because of the almost infinite variety of stories individuals can produce in response to the same ambiguous picture. Many researchers have applied themselves to this problem since Murray proposed an objective scoring method in the TAT manual. Perhaps the most widely used method is that developed by McClelland (1953), which is primarily used to measure need for Achievement, but can also be applied to the measurement of other variables, such as n Failure, n Dominance, or n Aggression. McCleUand's scoring system has been employed because there is a basic simplicity about it, and it yields a single numerical score indicative of the intensity of n Ach for Ss. Yet it is subject to some of the same problems as other objective scoring techniques. Perhaps the most formidable of chese is E variability because of the very nature of the data involved. No cwo stories of the TAT are alike and no two interpreters can completely agree on the scoring of a single story. Correlations between different interpreters range from .37 to .88 (Jensen, 1970). Research possibilities of the TAT have begun to unfold. Unlike other instruments, the TAT can be used to measure any number of characteristics of individuals, depending only on the pictures chosen as stimuli. In this capacity it is especially useful in the comparison of values of distinct groups. The TAT may be useful when used in cross-cultural studies (Kiefer, 1973). Pictures can be designed which will eliminate some of the difficulties cross-cultural studies encounter, such as language and familiar cultural objects. The necessity for the development of some sort of objective scoring system is a prime concern when the TAT is used for these purposes. Although originally designed to attain n Ach measurements of the individual, McClelland's system has 'The author wishes to acknowledge the gracious cooperation and assistance of Robert Pasaak.
Effect of H-7 on Secondary Cataract After Phacoemulsification in the Live Rabbit Eye

Abstract Purpose: This study is aimed to determine if the serine-threonine kinase inhibitor H-7 inhibits secondary cataract after phacoemulsification in the live rabbit eye. Methods: Eighteen rabbits underwent extracapsular lens extraction by phacoemulsification in 1 eye. The eye was treated with intravitreal H-7 (300 or 1,200 μM; n = 6 or 5) or balanced salt solution (BSS) (n = 7) immediately after the surgery and twice weekly for 10 weeks. Each eye received slit lamp biomicroscopy once a week, during which posterior capsule opacification (PCO) was evaluated. The eye was then enucleated and the lens capsule was prepared, fixed, and imaged. PCO was evaluated again on the isolated lens capsule under a phase microscope. Soemmering's ring area (SRA) and the entire lens capsule area were measured from capsule images on a computer and the percentage of SRA (PSRA) in the entire capsule area was calculated. Wet weight of the capsule (WW) was determined on a balance. Results: No significant difference in PCO was ...
Negotiating power and redefining literacy expertise: Buddy Reading in a dual‐immersion programme

This paper reports on a case study of face-to-face interaction around and about texts between a second grade dyad in a dual-immersion programme. Through the lenses of Vygotskian situated cognition and Literacy Studies, classroom observations were conducted, both holistic and focused. Daily peer reading sessions between a dyad were tape recorded, and informal interviews with the teacher and the participating dyad were conducted. The analysis of participants' verbal exchanges revealed multiple pedagogical scaffolds, few of which were unexpected. As meaning making became more salient to the various collaborative literacy tasks, the roles of tutor and tutee were blurred. The shift in power also impacted the direction of language switches. Buddy Reading encouraged the peer readers to acknowledge and draw upon each other's expertise, as they redefined what it meant to be ‘a good reader’.
Mental Health Service Use in Schools and Non-school-Based Outpatient Settings: Comparing Predictors of Service Use

Researchers have consistently documented a gap between the large number of US youth meeting criteria for a mental health disorder with significant associated impairment, and the comparatively few youth receiving services. School-based mental health care may address the need-services gap by offering services more equitably to youth in need, irrespective of family economic resources, availability of transportation, and other factors that can impede access to community clinics. However, diagnoses alone do not fully capture the severity of an individual's mental health status and need for services. Studying service use only in relation to diagnoses may restrict our understanding of the degree to which service use is reflective of service need, and inhibit our ability to compare school and non-school-based outpatient settings on their responsiveness to service need. The present study evaluated predictors of mental health service use in school- and community-based settings for youth who had had an active case in one of two public sectors of care, comparing empirically-derived dimensional measurements of youth mental health service need and impairment ratings against non-need variables (e.g., ethnicity, income). Three dimensions of youth mental health service need were identified. Mental health service need and non-need variables each played a significant predictive role. Parent-rated impairment was the strongest need-based predictor of service use across settings. The impact of non-need variables varied by service setting, with parental income having a particularly noticeable effect on school-based services. Across time, preceding service use and impairment each significantly predicted future service use.
Intersymbol interference in underwater acoustic communications using time-reversal signal processing

Coherent underwater communication is hampered by the time spread inherent to acoustic propagation in the ocean. Because time-reversal signal processing produces pulse compression, communications has been suggested as a natural application of the technique. Passive versions of time-reversal processing use a receive-only array to do combined temporal and spatial matched filtering. It can be shown, however, that the pulse compression it achieves is not perfect and that an equalizer that relies solely on time-reversal processing will have an error floor caused by uncompensated intersymbol interference (ISI). In the present paper, a physics-based model is developed for the uncompensated ISI in a passive time-reversal equalizer. The model makes use of a normal-mode expansion for the acoustic field. The matched-filtering integral is approximated and the intermediate result interpreted using the waveguide invariant. After combining across the array and sampling, formal statistical averages of the soft demodulation output are calculated. The results show how performance scales with bandwidth, with the number and position of array elements, and with the length of the finite impulse response matched filters. Good agreement is obtained between the predicted scaling and that observed in field experiments.
Endoloop ligation of a large colonic lipoma: a novel technique.

European and Japanese centers with significantly more experience have retrograde DBE failure rates that are much lower, suggesting that successful transanal DBE is dependent on operator experience. While the approach described in this brief report can be used by novice double-balloon endoscopists to help facilitate intubation of the terminal ileum, it is also of potential utility to experienced operators who are faced with an ileocecal valve that is difficult to intubate. Clearly, the use of additional devices will increase the cost of DBE; however, this must be weighed against the cost of an unsuccessful procedure, which includes the substantial inconvenience incurred by the patient. As the role of DBE in the workup and treatment of smallbowel disease will undoubtedly expand, so too will the number of endoscopists who are trained in this technique. Balloon-assisted ileocecal valve intubation may help overcome this major obstacle to successful retrograde DBE, thus improving the diagnostic and therapeutic capabilities of this exciting new technique.
Resistance to satiation: Reinforcing effects of food and eating under satiation

Abstract It has been shown previously that rats which have learned a response when hungry will continue to make that response when tested satiated, a phenomenon labeled resistance to satiation. Here we showed that rats which were previously trained hungry will learn a new response for the opportunity to consume pellets in a new situation when tested satiated. In four experiments various groups received each of the components of the training given when rats learn an instrumental response when hungry. Rats were placed in the goalbox of a straight alley and given food pellets when hungry or were hungry only in their home cages prior to running a straight alley in the satiated test in Experiment 1. In Experiments 2, 3, and 4 learning of a differential conditioning problem for pellets in S+ (nonreward in S−) was measured in the satiated test. Groups given pellets in their home cages when hungry with or without alley exposure learned to run more rapidly in S+ than in S− in the satiated test phase. The tendency to eat pellets in the apparatus and the reinforcing effect of eating the pellets was larger for rats which ate the pellets when hungry in their home cage than for rats which ate the pellets when satiated in their home cage. Being hungry in the home cage with no pellets was not sufficient to produce eating or running for pellets in the satiated test, indicating that any inherent reinforcing effect of the pellets is not sufficient to produce eating or running, and that incomplete satiation cannot account for the learning. These data indicate that a reinforcing effect of eating pellets under satiation is an important determiner of resistance to satiation.
Study on Evaluation Method of High-Speed Train Based on Bipartite Graph

Based on the resource allocation method of bipartite graph projected to one-mode graph, the bipartite graph network is established using six evaluating comfortableness indices and seven subsystems of high-speed train as the vertices. Our research shows that: This method can be used to find out the key factors which have high influence on the high-speed trains comprehensive comfortableness; also its ratio can be obtained. The overall quality of the high-speed train also can be forecasted by this method if the seven subsystems performance indices are given. Meanwhile, the interacting dependency level among the indices can be obtained.
A new variant of Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome due to mutations in a gene responsible for vesicle formation

Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome is a recessive type of oculocutaneous albinism that is prevalent in northwest Puerto Rico due to a founder effect (1–3). In this syndrome, bleeding and bruising occur because of the absence of platelet dense bodies, which normally release serotonin, calcium, and adenosine diphosphate to trigger a secondary aggregation response (4). In addition, the accumulation of a lipid-protein complex called ceroid lipofuscin (5,6) is thought to cause the pulmonary fibrosis (7) and granulomatous colitis (8) seen in this disease. One gene causing Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome, HPS-1, encodes a 700 amino acid protein of unknown function (9 –11). Northwest Puerto Rican patients are homozygous for a 16 base pair (bp) duplication in HPS-1, but most non-Puerto Rican patients have no mutations in this gene (12,13). Consequently, it has become accepted that several different genes, when mutated, can cause Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (12–14). This phenomenon, called locus heterogeneity, is also found in mice: 14 different mouse strains manifest a type of Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome (pigment dilution and platelet storage pool deficiency), each due to a different gene (15). To date, three of these genes have been cloned. Pale ear is the murine analogue of patients with HPS-1 mutations (16,17), and pearl (18) and mocha (19) have defects in adaptor complex-3 (AP-3). One protein subunit of adaptor complex-3, called b3A, is mutated in the pearl mouse, while another protein subunit, called d, is mutated in the mocha mouse. Adaptor complex-3 is an aggregate of four different peptides and serves as a “coat” protein that concentrates in a donor membrane and recruits other membrane components to become part of a newly formed vesicle. These vesicles, such as lysosomes and peroxisomes, are functional compartments that provide an optimal environment for specialized biochemical processes. Adaptor complex-3 is thought to be responsible for the formation of pigment-forming vesicles (melanosomes) and platelet storage vesicles (dense bodies) (20,21). We describe two brothers with Hermansky-Pudlak syndrome with mutations in the b3A subunit of adaptor complex-3 (22,23).
Can the W mass be measured in Z decays

Abstract We consider the possibility that the mass of the W boson can be precisely measured through the decays Z→W+X for inclusive channels. These kinds of processes show a remarkably strong dependence on M W near 80 GeV but are troubled by several difficulties. For the leptonic case, the decay rates are quite small but are relatively background free, while for the hadronic modes, the full QCD corrections have yet to be computed.
Automatic classification of pathological gait patterns using ground reaction forces and machine learning algorithms

An automated gait classification method is developed in this study, which can be applied to analysis and to classify pathological gait patterns using 3D ground reaction force (GRFs) data. The study involved the discrimination of gait patterns of healthy, cerebral palsy (CP) and multiple sclerosis subjects. The acquired 3D GRFs data were categorized into three groups. Two different algorithms were used to extract the gait features; the GRFs parameters and the discrete wavelet transform (DWT), respectively. Nearest neighbor classifier (NNC) and artificial neural networks (ANN) were also investigated for the classification of gait features in this study. Furthermore, different feature sets were formed using a combination of the 3D GRFs components (mediolateral, anterioposterior, and vertical) and their various impacts on the acquired results were evaluated. The best leave-one-out (LOO) classification accuracy 85% was achieved. The results showed some improvement through the application of a features selection algorithm based on M-shaped value of vertical force and the statistical test ANOVA of mediolateral and anterioposterior forces. The optimal feature set of six features enhanced the accuracy to 95%. This work can provide an automated gait classification tool that may be useful to the clinician in the diagnosis and identification of pathological gait impairments.
Adequacy of the ELISA test for screening corneal transplant donors

Using a simple mathematical model, we calculated the risk for a patient undergoing penetrating keratoplasty to receive a cornea from a human immunodeficiency virus-infected donor despite negative results on serologic testing of donor serum. This error in serologic testing occurred when false-negative results were obtained from the enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay used to screen donor corneas for human immunodeficiency virus exposure. The average risk of transplanting an infected cornea was low, 0.03%, but increased by a factor of ten when donor tissue from donors at high risk for AIDS was used. Current screening procedures are probably adequate to prevent transmission of human immunodeficiency virus, but increased vigilance for high-risk donor populations may be appropriate.
Influence of textural properties and trace water on the reactivity and deactivation of reconstructed layered hydroxide catalysts for transesterification of tributyrin with methanol

Abstract Magnesium–aluminum hydrotalcites with a Mg/Al molar ratio of 2 were prepared by coprecipitation or by urea hydrolysis. The as-prepared samples, as well as their activated analogues, were characterized by N 2 physisorption, phenol chemisorption, SEM, XRD, TGA, and DRIFTS. The base-catalyzed transesterification of tributyrin with methanol at 333 K was used to probe the reactivity of the materials. The reconstructed hydrotalcite samples exhibited much higher catalytic activity than the mixed oxides of Mg and Al. Nevertheless, the turnover frequency for the reaction was about two orders of magnitude lower than that of homogeneous sodium methoxide. Variations in the textural properties of the reconstructed hydrotalcite catalysts did not significantly affect the surface base site density or the turnover rate of transesterification. However, the presence of trace water not only enhanced the transesterification reaction rate but also led to severe catalyst deactivation. Characterization of deactivated catalysts revealed a replacement of the interlayer Bronsted base sites with butyric anions, which led to an expansion of the interlayer distance.
Effect of thyrotoxicosis on liver blood flow and propranolol disposition after long‐term dosing

The effects of thyrotoxicosis on Liver blood flow and propranolol disposition were followed in five patients while thyrotoxic and when euthyroid. Propranolol was taken orally to achieve steady state and then radiolabeled drug was given simultaneously by intravenous injection. Thyrotoxicosis was associated with doubling of both oral and systemic clearances of unbound propranolol, which resulted in an approximately 50% reduction in blood concentrations after oral doses. These changes were attributable to increases in hepatic blood flow and drug-metabolizing activity of the liver. The propranolol elimination t 1/2 was not affected by thyrotoxicosis since the enhanced clearance was offset by a change in volume of distribution. These findings may explain the reduction of plasma propranolol concentration and many of the therapeutic failures reported in the treatment of thyrotoxicosis. The dose required to achieve therapeutic blood concentrations of propranolol in thyrotoxic patients is variable and will usually be substantially larger than that required for euthyroid patients.
Time-scale and gain influence on servo performance

THE MATHEMATICAL synthesis problem in linear servomechanism design is to find the description of the system when the desired output response to a given input is specified. The desired output, however, is often defined as the “best” that can be obtained, where the word “best” has several connotations which include fastest transient response, minimum overshoot, and minimum tendency toward persistent oscillations. It is possible to apply suitable criteria and select the “optimum” response in a normalized time scale.
A practical approach to error recovery for multiagent planning systems

A practical approach to error recovery strategy for real-time multiagent environments is presented. In a dynamic domain, when things do not happen as a pre-generated plan has expected, parts of the plan should be recovered to cope with any unexpected situations rather than abandoning the original plan and replanning from scratch. In order to deal with such situations, domain heuristics are used to order and classify conditions, and a resource management scheme is developed. Two tables, Wedge Table and Action Table, are introduced for prompt location of the contaminated plan parts. Plan rationale and wedge structure of a plan tree are recorded in these two tables. In order to solve the truth maintenance problem, action dependency calculation is established. This error recovery approach for multiagent planning environments not only promises successful achievement of a goal but also secures the safety of facilities in a domain. It enhances system performance and flexibility due to the versatility in real-time plan execution.
Terascale data organization for discovering multivariate climatic trends

Current visualization tools lack the ability to perform full-range spatial and temporal analysis on terascale scientific datasets. Two key reasons exist for this shortcoming: I/O and postprocessing on these datasets are being performed in suboptimal manners, and the subsequent data extraction and analysis routines have not been studied in depth at large scales. We resolved these issues through advanced I/O techniques and improvements to current query-driven visualization methods. We show the efficiency of our approach by analyzing over a terabyte of multivariate satellite data and addressing two key issues in climate science: time-lag analysis and drought assessment. Our methods allowed us to reduce the end-to-end execution times on these problems to one minute on a Cray XT4 machine.
Ambient pollutants, polymorphisms associated with microRNA processing and adhesion molecules: the Normative Aging Study

Background Particulate air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, but it remains unclear which time windows and pollutant sources are most critical. MicroRNA (miRNA) is thought to be involved in cardiovascular regulation. However, little is known about whether polymorphisms in genes that process microRNAs influence response to pollutant exposure. We hypothesized that averaging times longer than routinely measured one or two day moving averages are associated with higher soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 (sVCAM-1) levels, and that stationary and mobile sources contribute differently to these effects. We also investigated whether single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in miRNA-processing genes modify these associations.
Acral lesions in tuberous sclerosis complex: Insights into pathogenesis

Background Patients with tuberous sclerosis complex (TSC) are predisposed to developing ungual fibromas and other acral lesions. Objective We sought to determine the numbers, types, and locations of acral skin lesions in TSC. Methods We examined and photographed 76 adult women with TSC. Results The age of the patients ranged from 20 to 69 years, with a mean age of 39 ± 11 years. Ungual fibromas were observed in 61 of 76 patients (80%). Periungual fibromas were more common than subungual fibromas, were more common on the feet than the hands, and showed the greatest frequency on the fifth toe. Longitudinal grooves in the nails occurred with or without a visible fibroma. Longitudinal short red streaks–lesions that we term "red comets"–were observed in 22 patients (29%). Longitudinal leukonychia was observed in 14 patients (18%). One patient had isolated digital overgrowth and one patient had pachydermodactyly. Limitations No men or children were included in this study. Conclusions Examination of patients for skin lesions of TSC could be improved by including inspection for longitudinal nail grooves, red comets, longitudinal leukonychia, and splinter hemorrhages in addition to ungual fibromas. The anatomic distribution of TSC ungual fibromas is not random and appears consistent with trauma-promoted tumor formation.
Fenofibrate induces plaque regression in hypercholesterolemic atherosclerotic rabbits: in vivo demonstration by high-resolution MRI

Abstract Introduction Fenofibrate has shown to reduce major cardiovascular events and slow angiographic progression of coronary atherosclerosis. The postulated mechanism of action is via the activation of peroxisomal proliferator-activated receptor-α (PPAR-α), a nuclear transcription factor that controls a variety of cellular functions. We investigated the anti-atherogenic effects of fenofibrate on previously established experimental atherosclerotic lesions. Method Atherosclerotic lesions were induced in the abdominal aorta of New Zealand white (NZW) rabbits (n = 19) by a combination of a double-balloon injury and a 9-month hypercholesterolemic diet. The rabbits were randomized into placebo or fenofibrate group. The corresponding treatments were added to the hypercholesterolemic diet. All rabbits underwent MRI examination at randomization and after 6 months of treatment, and were then sacrificed for histopathology. Results LDL-cholesterol was similarly elevated at randomization and follow-up, and was not significantly modified by fenofibrate therapy. HDL-cholesterol decreased (−27 ± 10%, p = 0.04) in the placebo and increased (+36.8 ± 2%, p = 0.04) in the fenofibrate group. MRI showed comparable vessel wall area (VWA) at randomization in both groups. At 15 months, a significant increase in VWA was seen in the placebo group (15 ± 4%, p = 0.007), while fenofibrate treatment was associated with a regression (−11 ± 4%, p = 0.041) of previously established lesions. Fenofibrate also decreased macrophage and increased smooth muscle cell/collagen content of atherosclerotic lesions. Conclusion MRI measurements can, in conjunction with in vitro histological measurements, contribute to the understanding of the actions of pharmacologic agents in experimental models of atherosclerosis. Fenofibrate significantly regresses atherosclerotic lesions and induced changes in plaque composition associated with a more “stable” phenotype (reduced macrophages and increased SMC). These observations support the potential anti-atherogenic effects of PPAR-α agonists.
On the unnormalized solution of the filtering problem with counting process observations

A general procedure to solve filtering problems for counting process observations is discussed. Linear (nonstochastic, integro-differential) equations describe the evolution of unnormalized conditional distribution of the state process between observation jump times, while at jump times a linear updating is required. Final normalization is the only nonlinear operation to be implemented. Quite general situations may be accommodated in the present setup; the state can be virtually any Markov semimartingale, the observation process may affect the dynamics of the state and vice versa, and there is complete freedom in correlating state and observation martingale terms. >
DETACHED EDDY SIMULATIONS OF SUPERSONIC FLOW OVER CAVITY

Detached Eddy Simulations are performed for unsteady three-dimensional supersonic turbulent flow over an open L/D = 5 cavity at free-stream Mach number of 1.19. Numerical results are obtained from the explicit solution and Shear-Stress-Transport based simulations using the 3 rd order Roe scheme. Computational results are presented for the unsteady vortex and shock structures. The acoustic response of the cavity is presented in the form of pressure fluctuations and sound pressure level spectra. The computational results are compared to existing experimental data and to results obtained from twodimensional Reynolds Averaged Navier Stokes with algebraic turbulence model.
Intervention Effects for Students With Comorbid Forms of Learning Disability: Understanding the Needs of Nonresponders

In this article, we considered evidence from our intervention research programs on whether students with learning disability (LD) in reading and mathematics (comorbid LD) respond differently to intervention, compared to students with reading LD alone (RD) or to students with mathematics LD alone (MD). The goal was to gain insight into whether comorbid disorder represents an LD subtype distinct from RD or from MD, which requires differentiated forms of intervention. Our analysis suggested that students with comorbid LD respond differently than those with MD, depending on the nature of mathematics intervention, and may therefore represent a distinctive subtype. By contrast, students with RD appear to respond to intervention in similar ways, regardless of whether they experience RD alone or in combination with MD. Results also suggest that distinctions between comorbid and single-order LD may depend on whether LD is defined in terms of lower- versus higher-order academic skill. Recommendations for future study are provided.
1998 Presidential Address

Ladies and gentlemen, members and guests of the Society. It gives me a great deal of pleasure to officially open this 31st Annual Meeting of the American Society of Nephrology and the continuation of Renal Week, and to welcome you to Philadelphia, the birthplace of our Republic. This meeting has
EFFECT OF AVOIDANCE-AVOIDANCE CONFLICT ON STARTLE MAGNITUDE

The present study was conducted to test the hypothesis that conflict increases the magnitude of the startle response. Animals were trained to enter a dark goal box to avoid electric shock. 10 animals reached criterion performance of 16 consecutive correct goal-box choices and were then tested for startle under conflict and con-conflict conditions over 3 test days. The results supported the hypothesis that conflict increases the magnitude of the startle response. An analysis in terms of conflict increasing the drive level was offered, along with an alternative analysis based on the possibility that drive was increased by fear.
DESIGN OF AN ASYNCHRONOUS WAVELENGTH-TIME OPTICAL CDMA TESTBED

In this paper, we present the code and architecture designs for a scalable, reconfigurable, wavelength-time optical code division multiple access (O-CDMA) testbed. Our approach is compatible with existing WDM optical networks and utilizes off-the-shelf components. The operation of 4 simultaneous users at OC-48 (~2.5 Gbit/s) per user with BER < 10-9 is reported.
Swimming performance of European eel (Anguilla anguilla (L.)) elvers

To determine the relation between swimming endurance time and burst swimming speed, elvers of the European eel, Anguilla anguilla (L.), were made to swim at speeds from 3.6 to 7.2 L (body lengths) s−1 in both fresh and sea water. Swimming endurance time of elvers averaging 7.2 cm total length decreased logarithmically with increased swimming speed from 3.0 min at 3.5 L s−1 to 0.7 min at 5.0 L s−1, and again logarithmically but with a lesser slope to 0.27 min at 7.5 L s−1. No differences were found between fresh and sea water elvers. In still water, elvers could swim at high speeds for about 10–45m before exhaustion, depending upon speed. Elvers would be able to make virtually no progress against water currents >50 cm s−1. Drift in coastal water currents and selective tidal transport probably involve swimming speeds below those tested in this study. Migration into freshwater streams undoubtedly involves avoidance of free stream speeds and a combination of burst and sustained swimming.
Seasonal Variations in Mercury's Dayside Calcium Exosphere

The Mercury Atmospheric and Surface Composition Spectrometer on the MESSENGER spacecraft has observed calcium emission in Mercury's exosphere on a near-daily basis since March 2011. During MESSENGER's primary and first extended missions (March 2011 - March 2013) the dayside calcium exosphere was measured over eight Mercury years. We have simulated these data with a Monte Carlo model of exospheric source processes to show that (a) there is a persistent source of energetic calcium located in the dawn equatorial region, (b) there is a seasonal dependence in the calcium source rate, and (c) there are no obvious year-to-year variations in the near-surface dayside calcium exosphere. Although the precise mechanism responsible for ejecting the calcium has not yet been determined, the most likely process is the dissociation of Ca-bearing molecules produced in micrometeoroid impact plumes to form energetic, escaping calcium atoms.
Finite-Element Modeling of Short-Term Field Response of Composite Wood-Concrete Floors/Decks

A finite-element model (FEM) is developed to predict the load-displacement behavior of a composite wood-concrete floor/deck system under short-term loading. The interlayer connection was modeled with link elements dedicated for connection modeling. Results of past tests of two full-scale layered floor/deck specimens are employed to confirm the FEM model. The specimen had a layer of solid sawn lumber overlaid by concrete and interconnected to it with a pattern of notched shear key/anchor details. The FEM results agreed closely with the measured deflection data for the loadings considered. The efficiency of composite behavior achieved by each of those specimens is quantified by a conventional and three improved approaches based on the computer modeling and measured test results. The new approaches better capture the overall efficiency of the entire floor/deck.