cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Start Spreading the News: Understanding the Drug Problem in the Mid-american States With the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring Program

This paper examines efforts by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ) to expand our understanding of drug use among the arrestee population in largely rural states located the western portion of the country. The model for this new effort was the Drug Use Forecasting (DUF) program that was Initiated by NIJ In the late 1980s. This program collected interview and urine data from recent arrestees in 23 large urban citie.s. The DUF program was enhanced to create a better understanding of the drug problem among arrestees In relatively smaller cities located in theoretically interesting areas. The new program (the Arrestee Drug Abuse Monitoring program [ADAM]) has involved the addition of 15 new sites and changes to the survey instrument, sampling design, and outreach that have helped show more clearly how the drug use patterns among arrestees differ from region to region. In this paper, specific attention is shown to one of the new sites (Oklahoma City) and regional comparisons.
Supplier Development: A Knowledge Management Perspective

As a key supply chain management practice, supplier development has been found to yield positive performance and capability consequences. However, it remains unclear why these consequences are achieved. Even though supplier development is predicated on knowledge management activities, it is rarely studied from a knowledge management perspective. In order to bring greater clarity to the connections between supplier development and its consequences, we leverage the knowledge chain theory to capture buyers' and suppliers' knowledge management activities in supplier development. Through an extensive review and systematic classification of supplier development activities in the literature, this study generates a reliable catalog of supplier development activities, finds support for the knowledge management perspective, and reveals the extent to which supplier development activities are knowledge-based activities. In addition, we generate an integrated definition, a meaningful taxonomy, and a comprehensive implementation approach for supplier development. Further, we illuminate how positive performance and capability consequences of supplier development can be achieved through the design and execution of knowledge activities embedded within supplier development activities. This study contributes to extant research by articulating the important role of knowledge and knowledge management in supplier development and advancing a comprehensive, unified, organized foundation for understanding supplier development and its link with performance. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Fostering Innovation in Complex Product Development Settings: The Role of Team Member Identity and Interteam Interdependence*

Much of the existing research on innovation has concentrated on the study of individuals in small group settings. However, projects marked by multiple teams, high task interdependence, long duration, and large scale have become increasingly common in practice. Very little is known about how extant research findings related to innovation may generalize to such complex settings. Taking a multilevel theoretical approach, individuals' propensity to innovate is hypothesized as the product of individuals' relationship with their work team (team member identification) and their team's relationship to other teams within the organizational system (interteam interdependence). A large, diversified manufacturing firm engaged in a multibillion dollar project that involved the development of a technologically intense, highly innovative, new product served as the research site. Based on archival and survey data (n=118), five hypotheses were tested. The findings indicate that individuals' strong team identification and their perceptions of high interteam interdependence each had positive main effects on individuals' intentions to innovate. However, these two variables also interacted negatively to significantly decrease innovation intentions. Therefore, high identification with team may lead individuals to view interdependence with another team as a threat deflecting attention from innovation. The finding related to the role of identity, although consistent with work linking identity to other team behaviors, usefully broadens the reach of identification theories to demonstrate their impact on innovation. Additionally, this study is the first to demonstrate the impact of interteam interdependence on innovation. The alternative operationalizations of interdependence used in this paper highlight the fact that it must be strongly perceived and experienced by individuals to affect their innovation attitudes. The findings of this study also have implications for managerial practice in complex project settings. Since team identification has a direct effect on innovation, managers might employ strategies related to the creation of social bonds to complement task related connections among team members. Further, managers should configure staffing and incentive mechanisms to reinforce team identification. Finally, the results suggest that managers need to carefully attend to individuals' perceptions of each team's interdependence with other teams. Although perceptual interdependence can be an enabler of innovation, it can also be a disabler, through its interaction with team identification. Recognizing this potential for negative effects, managers might emphasize the benefits that can come from cooperating across teams, thus encouraging team members to identify not only at the team level but at the overall project level as well. Such actions might deflect negative identity threats that can derail positive innovation intentions.
Member Experience, Use of External Assistance and Evaluation of Business Ideas

How do members’ experience and external interactions shape evaluation of the team’s business idea? With a sample of 74 teams that participated in a business idea competition, we showed that experie...
The Coefficients of Stirling's Series for Log Γ(x)

where cm ()m Bm/ [(2m 1) (2m)], obviously requires for its evaluation adequate approximations to the numerical values of log 27, log x and cm. The desire to apply this series to the extension of my table' of 1/n! (r(n + 1) = n!, n integral), for higher values of n led to the original calculation2 of log r to 214 significant figures, to the computation of two 137place tables of natural logarithms for factors of the form 1 ^ a 10b, and finally to the calculation of the table of coefficients (cm) presented below. Incidentally the table given by Duarte3 is insufficient for my purposes because it was only designed to furnish about 42 significant figures. This table also has the disadvantage of greatly increasing the number of figures to be written in solving many problems because it is founded upon the base 10 instead of e.
The Periplasmic Murein Peptide-Binding Protein MppA Is a Negative Regulator of Multiple Antibiotic Resistance in Escherichia coli

mppA codes for the precursor of a periplasmic binding protein essential for import of murein tripeptide into Escherichia coli (29). MppA utilizes membrane and cytoplasmic component(s) of the oligopeptide permease to transfer its bound ligand into the cytoplasm of the cell (29). However, very little free murein tripeptide is transported into the cell (28); in fact, nearly all murein tripeptide is transported into the cell via the AmpG permease (18) in the form of N-acetylglucosaminyl-β-1,4-anhydro-N-acetylmuramyl-tripeptide (15), which is then cleaved by AmpD amidase (14, 16) to release the murein tripeptide. This caused us to wonder why E. coli has a minor pathway via MppA to transport free murein tripeptide (29). Could the binding protein, complexed with the tripeptide, serve a signaling function reporting a change in the periplasmic environment where MppA resides rather than simply providing a small additional amount of tripeptide to the cell? A clue to such a possible function arose when we observed that the mppA mutant was significantly more resistant to tetracycline and cefoxitin than the isogenic wild type. Results presented in this report demonstrate that in the absence of MppA, the cell exhibits all of the properties associated with the multiple antibiotic resistance (MAR) phenotype (1). MAR is primarily controlled by the multiple antibiotic resistance (mar) operon (1). The mar locus consists of two divergently positioned transcriptional units that flank the operator marO in E. coli (2) and in Salmonella typhimurium (36). One unit encodes MarC, a putative integral inner membrane protein whose function is unknown. The other unit is an operon comprising marRAB, encoding the MarR repressor, which binds to marO and negatively regulates expression of marRAB (24, 33); MarA, a transcriptional activator (1), which activates expression of other genes, notably, acrAB, encoding the multidrug efflux pump (1, 21) and the mar regulon itself (9, 33); and MarB, coding for a small protein of unknown function. A reduction in the amount of the outer membrane porin, OmpF, is associated with MAR (3) and is also observed in the mppA mutant. Another outer membrane protein, the OmpP protease, is present in greatly reduced amounts in the mppA mutant. The mppA null mutant also overproduces cytoplasmic glutamate decarboxylases GadA and GadB and several inner membrane proteins that may or may not be associated with MAR. Thus, MppA appears to play a central role in the regulation of a number of proteins including those responsible for MAR.
Computer generation of efficient software viterbi decoders

This paper presents a program generator for fast software Viterbi decoders for arbitrary convolutional codes. The input to the generator is a specification of the code and a single-instruction multiple-data (SIMD) vector length. The output is an optimized C implementation of the decoder that uses explicit Intel SSE vector instructions. At the heart of the generator is a small domain-specific language called VL to express the structure of the forward pass. Vectorization is done by rewriting VL expressions, which a compiler then translates into actual code in addition to performing further optimizations specific to the vector instruction set. Benchmarks show that the generated decoders match the performance of available expert hand-tuned implementations, while spanning the entire space of convolutional codes. An online interface to the generator is provided at www.spiral.net.
Minimally invasive techniques for the treatment of osteoporotic vertebral fractures.

### Epidemiology The National Osteoporosis Foundation has estimated that more than 100 million people worldwide are at risk for the development of fragility fractures secondary to osteoporosis. In the United States, the lifetime risk of fractures of the spine, hip, and distal part of the radius is up to 40% for women and 13% for men over the age of fifty years. This leads to an estimated 700,000 osteoporotic vertebral body compression fractures each year, of which more than one-third become chronically painful1. Vertebral compression fractures occur in 20% of people over the age of seventy years and in 16% of postmenopausal women2. Not surprisingly, vertebral compression fractures account for a large portion of the more than $17 billion of annual direct costs associated with osteoporotic fractures in the United States3. ### Consequences Osteoporotic vertebral compression fractures are a leading cause of disability and morbidity in the elderly4-6. The consequences of these fractures include pain, progressive vertebral collapse with resultant spinal kyphosis, and systemic manifestations. The pain associated with acute vertebral compression fractures may be incapacitating. In a number of cases, the pain subsides over a period of weeks or months, but it is not uncommon for the pain to become chronic7. Chronic pain after vertebral fracture may result from (1) incomplete vertebral healing with progressive osseous collapse, (2) altered spine kinematics as a consequence of spinal deformity, or (3) the development of a pseudarthrosis at the involved vertebra. Chronic pain associated with vertebral compression fractures often leads to impaired quality of life and depression7,8. Kyphotic deformity in the osteoporotic spine may also create a biomechanical environment favoring additional fractures. The kyphotic deformity shifts the patient's center of gravity anteriorly, creating greater flexion bending moments around the apex …
Imperfect Information, Uncertainty, and Credit Rationing

I. Introduction, 651.—II. The model of borrowing behavior, 652.—III. Lender and market behavior under competitive conditions, 658.—IV. Market solutions under monopoly, 663.—V. Conclusion, 664.—VI. Appendix, 665.
A possible contribution to the population of triplet states in electron impact measurements of total cross sections for triplet state excitation

Abstract It is proposed that low energy secondary electrons produced in medium energy electron impact experiments may play an important role in the excitation of triplet states even at low sample gas densities. A model calculation is carried out which shows that the population of the 4 3 S, S 3 P and 4 3 D triplet states in He from secondary electron excitation can be comparable to the population of these states by direct excitation at an incident electron energy of 1000 eV and sample gas pressures as low as 10 −3 torr. The model calculations show that the secondary electron mechanism becomes more important as the incident energy increases and that the produced populations are of a similar magnitude for the 3 3 P and 4 3 D states which in turn are about a factor of 4 larger than the population found for the 4 3 S state. The results indicate that the effect of secondary electron excitation in careful experimental measurements of electron impact total triplet state cross sections may have to be considered when incident electron excitation energies in the range of 1 keV or higher are used.
Integration with respect to closable set functions

Abstract Integration with respect to closable set functions is used to treat perturbations to Schrodinger semigroups. The method is illustrated by perturbations generated by potentials with zero relative bound, relative to the free Hamiltonian operator of a finite non-relativistic quantum system, and by the attractive 1 r 2 potential for a single non-relativistic particle.
Mental Maps for Effective Community Development

This essay invites community developers to integrate the use of a selected set of mental maps or conceptual frameworks as guides to more effective practice. Frameworks selected for this essay include: a systems approach to appreciating the interrelatedness of elements of the practice context; practice as drama; the need to develop reflective practitioners; values inherent in community development choices, decisions, and actions; the significance of language; and the need for multidisciplinary collaboration.
Fanconi's syndrome and nephrogenic diabetes insipidus in an adult treated with ifosfamide.

Fanconi's syndrome is a serious condition characterized by type II proximal renal tubular dysfunction, with urinary loss of glucose, amino acids, phosphate, bicarbonate, and potassium. Ifosfamide-induced Fanconi's syndrome is reported in about 1.4-5% of children being treated for solid tumors, yet only a few cases have been reported in adults. We describe a 54-year-old man who came to the hospital with symptoms of neutropenic fever 4 days after his fourth cycle of ifosfamide and doxorubicin treatment for recurrent sarcoma with metastases to the lung. During admission, he was noted to have severe renal tubular dysfunction; ifosfamide-induced nephrogenic diabetes insipidus and Fanconi's syndrome were suspected. He received supportive therapy that resulted in incomplete resolution of signs and symptoms. The patient was discharged after a 5-day hospital stay when his white blood cell count increased from 0.1-2.5 × 10(3) /mm(3) and his fever had resolved. Use of the Naranjo adverse drug reaction probability scale indicated a probable relationship (score of 7) between the patient's development of diabetes insipidus and Fanconi's syndrome and his use of ifosfamide. This dual diagnosis of diabetes insipidus and Fanconi's syndrome in an adult makes this case unusual, as well as therapeutically challenging. We conducted a review of the existing literature regarding ifosfamide-induced Fanconi's syndrome and describe the proposed mechanisms and therapeutic options. This case suggests that patients treated with ifosfamide should be monitored closely for renal function to identify, and perhaps prevent, these rare adverse events. Preliminary animal models show promise for adding N-acetylcysteine to ifosfamide treatment, but more research is necessary before using this drug as a therapeutic option.
LATE HOLOCENE VEGETATION HISTORY OF THE FOREST TENSION ZONE IN CENTRAL LOWER MICHIGAN, USA

This research reconstructs a 2000-year vegetation history of the forest tension zone, an ecotone between the mixed coniferous-deciduous (Laurentian) forest and the eastern broadleaf forest, in the Lower Peninsula of Michigan, USA. Different forest com- munities relative to the ecotone are represented by pollen analysis of sediment cores from three lakes: Hicks Lake (75 km north of the ecotone), Cowden Lake (within), and Morrison Lake (55 km to the south). Pollen data delineate the presence of the ecotone during the past 2,000 years. North-south shifts in the location of the ecotone occurred along with changes in tree dominance in response to two climatic oscillations over the past two millennia: the Medieval Warm Period (MWP) from ~1000 to 700 cal yr BP and the Little Ice Age (LIA), ~500-150 cal yr BP. During the MWP, Thuja increased in the forest around the northern lake, Quercus replaced Fagus in the forest around the central lake, and Quercus forest succeeded a Fagus-Acer forest near the southern lake. Abrupt shifts in the abundance of several important taxa were associated with the LIA cooling, beginning at 500 cal yr BP. Thuja declined from 40% to just under 20% as Pinus and Tsuga increased around the northern lake; Quercus declined whereas Pinus, Tsuga, and Fagus expanded in the vicinity of the central lake; and Fagus and Acer became more prevalent near the south- ern lake. This research demonstrates the sensitivity of forest communities to late Holocene climate change as well as documents how species dominance changed in response to small variations in temperature (1-2° C) and precipitation over the last 2000 years. We can expect that this and similar systems will respond greatly to the temperature and precipita- tion fluctuations projected for the Great Lakes Region. (Key words: forest tension zone, ecotone, pollen, biogeography, Michigan, Little Ice Age, Medieval Warm Period.)
Reciprocity of liking following face-to-face encounters with attractive and unattractive others

48 male and female students in introductory psychology engaged in a get acquainted conversation with a confederate of the opposite sex. After the conversation, the experimenter asked each person to...
Rapid Grafting of Azido-Labeled Oligo(ethylene glycol)s onto an Alkynyl-Terminated Monolayer on Nonoxidized Silicon via Microwave-Assisted “Click” Reaction

Microwave (MW) irradiation was used for the grafting of azido-labeled oligo(ethylene oxide) (OEG) on alkynyl-terminated nonoxidized silicon substrates via copper-catalyzed "click" reaction. The "clickable" monolayers were prepared by photografting of an α,ω-alkynene, where the alkynyl terminus was protected by a trimethylgermanyl (TMG) group, onto hydrogen-terminated Si(111) surfaces. X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) was primarily employed to characterize the monolayers, and the data obtained were utilized to calculate the surface density of the TMG-alkynyl-functionalized substrate. MW-assisted one-pot deprotection/click reaction was optimized on the surfaces using azido-tagged OEG derivatives. Using MW instead of conventional heating led to a substantial improvement in the rate of the reaction while suppressing the oxidation of the silicon interface and OEG degradation. The antifouling property of the resulting substrates was evaluated using fibrinogen as a model protein. Results show that the OEG-modification reduced the protein adsorption by >90%.
Enhanced Electrostatic Force Microscopy Imaging Reveals Mechanism of TRF2 Mediated DNA Compaction

T-loop formation at telomeres is proposed to play an important role in telomere protection through the sequestration of the 3’ single-stranded overhang. Previous studies indicated that shelterin protein TRF2 modulates telomere structure by promoting DNA compaction and T-loop formation. To further understand the mechanism underlying TRF2-mediated DNA compaction, we applied Dual-Resonance-frequency-Enhanced Electrostatic force Microscopy (DREEM), a recently developed technique capable of high-resolution imaging of weak electrostatic potentials. DREEM images of nucleosomes clearly reveal DNA strands wrapped around histone proteins in nucleosomal arrays. In contrast, DREEM imaging shows DNA compacted inside TRF2 complexes through a 3-dimensional stacking of TRF2 dimers mediated by collective actions of multiple copies of TRF2 proteins. TRF2-mediated DNA compaction leads to electric potential gradients across the complexes. Surprisingly, while DNA wrapped around histones displays similar electrostatic potential signals compared to bare DNA, TRF2 DNA compaction leads to significant differences in the electrical potential signals inside multi-oligomeric TRF2 complexes compared to protein or DNA alone. These results clearly demonstrate the electrostatic changes in TRF2-DNA complexes upon oligomerizaton of proteins and DNA compaction, and underscore the importance of developing new electrostatic force microscopy imaging techniques for studying biological systems.
Industrial location and economic potential in Western Europe

Clark C., Wilson F. and Bradley J. (1969) Industrial location and economic potential in Western Europe, Reg. Studies 3, 197–212. Economic potentials were calculated for Western Europe by taking regional incomes and costs of distance between all regions in order to measure each region's attraction for manufacturing industry under various sets of conditions. Separate centres of high potential were found before the Customs Union, but afterwards, a single European centre was formed comprising of regions in the Rhine valley of West Germany, south-cast Netherlands and eastern Belgium. An enlarged Common Market and transport developments did not alter the general pattern although the potentials increased more in the centre than in the periphery. Britain, despite assumed membership of the EEC, remained outside the most attractive region in all cases considered. An analysis of employment indicated that the greatest growth had occurred in regions where the potential had risen most (Belgium and the Netherlands) foll...
Early History of Professional Registration in United States

The history of professional registration in the United States is closely connected with both the history of engineering as a profession and the creation of the professional engineering societies, both of which were influenced by developments in Western Europe. The role of ASCE in the evolution of the registration process is of particular interest as both a positive and negative influence. ASCE vigorously resisted registration legislation during the formative years as one state after another adopted registration procedures. Nevertheless, ASCE was responsible for the first model law, and greatly influenced the evolution of professional registration. Registration is an important factor in the recognition of engineering as a profession by both practitioners and the general public. The early history of the development of registration laws is considered herein, along with the many factors that significantly influenced this development.
Boron isotope effect in superconducting zirconium dodecaboride.

The boron isotope effect in ZrB 12 has been determined to be T c ∞ M α , where α is equal to - 0.09 ± 0.05, M is the boron mass, and T c is the supercondiucting transition temperature.
Supported Ag Catalysts for the Lean Reduction of NO with C3H6

The activities of 2 and 6 wt% Ag/Al2O3catalysts for lean NO reduction with C3H6were compared. High conversions of NO to N2were obtained over 2 wt% Ag/Al2O3. In contrast, the NO conversions to N2were much lower over 6 wt% Ag/Al2O3, and this catalyst formed a substantial amount of N2O. The difference in the behavior of the two catalysts was attributed to the much higher Ag dispersion for the 2 wt% than the 6 wt% sample, such that the oxidation states of Ag were different under reaction conditions. The 2 wt% Ag/Al2O3was believed to contain silver in the +1 oxidation state under reaction conditions, while the 6 wt% Ag/Al2O3catalyst contained Ag0particles, the amount of which decreased at higher temperatures. The presence of Ag0resulted in a high rate of C3H6combustion at the expense of NOxreduction. A synergistic effect was observed over a mixture of Al2O3and 2 or 6 wt% Ag/Al2O3and was attributed to the transfer of a very short-lived intermediate from Al2O3to Ag/Al2O3or vice versa.
Information systems curriculum—a status report

This paper provides a status report of the joint curriculum task force effort to develop a new model curriculum for undergraduate programs in Information Systems. The curriculum work is the first collaborative effort between ACM, AIS and DPMA. After a brief description of the background and current task force activities are presented, the recommended courses are briefly listed and described.
Comparison of Alcohol Drinking Behaviors and Associated Problems Between Benders and Nonbenders in Mexican Americans Who Drink Excessively

Objective Bender drinking (defined as 2 or more days of sustained drinking) is common among Hispanic/Mexican Americans. However, no data are available on whether there are significant differences in alcohol-related behavioral and medical problems between benders and nonbenders, when both groups are heavy drinkers. To bridge this research gap, we investigated drinking behavior and alcohol-associated problems in Mexican American alcoholics using the Semi-Structured Assessment for the Genetics of Alcoholism (SSAGA-II). Methods Participants included 201 heavy drinking (≥6 drinks/d) Mexican American men with 75.6% of them meeting criteria for bender drinking. Drinking behaviors, demographics, and alcohol-related problems were characterized in the 201 alcoholics, and then these variables were compared between benders and nonbenders. Results Demographically, benders were more likely to be single than nonbenders (P=0.001) but there were no other differences between the 2 groups. Regarding drinking patterns, benders exhibited distinct [P Conclusions Among a group of excessive drinking Mexican American men, benders had more serious negative drinking-related behavioral and health problems than nonbenders. Thus, from a public health perspective, reducing the number of benders among heavy drinking Mexican Americans should be considered as an initial step to reduce alcohol-related problems. These data might be useful in developing strategies to reduce alcohol-related problems in Mexican Americans.
Fast differential luminescence thermometry

Differential luminescence thermometry (DLT) allows non-contact method of measuring temperature by timedifferencing luminescence spectra emitted from the material in study. Here, we present a modification to the DLT technique, termed "two-pixel DLT" (2pixDLT), that combines high temperature and temporal resolutions at the expense of reduced spectral sampling of the luminescence signal. We showcase our technique by demonstrating millisecond/millidegree resolution in time and temperature in heating dynamics of GaAs heterostructure sample. We utilize tnis technique to determine minimum achievable temperature in rare-earth doped fluoride crystal Yb:YLF to be 170K, when excited at 1030nm.
Trisomy 8 in an allogeneic stem cell transplant recipient representative of a donor derived constitutional abnormality

Trisomy 8 is a common cytogenetic abnormality in myeloid malignancies. It can also be present constitutionally and is associated with a wide range of phenotypes. We report a case of a 20 year old woman with acute myelogenous leukemia (AML) associated with the 11q23/MLL translocation who underwent allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) from a healthy, unrelated 26 year old female. Cytogenetics on a bone marrow biopsy and aspirate performed 71 days after transplant to evaluate pancytopenia identified trisomy 8 in 6 of 7 cells examined. The bone marrow was hypocellular but normal by morphology and flow cytometry. Fluorescent in situ hybridization (FISH) for the original 11q23/MLL translocation was negative. Chimerism analysis using multiplex polymerase chain reaction (PCR) to amplify an informative short tandem repeat (STR) demonstrated 97% donor cells. These findings were confirmed by repeat bone marrow biopsies at day 110 after transplant and one year after transplant. With resolution of co-morbid illness, the patient’s peripheral blood counts recovered and remained normal at one year after HSCT. FISH analysis of a cryopreserved sample of the donor graft showed trisomy 8 in 120 of 200 cells examined. This represents the first reported case of a person with constitutional trisomy 8 mosaicism serving as a stem cell donor. The case illustrates the importance of identifying donor derived constitutional abnormalities to avoid the assumption that these cytogenetic abnormalities after HSCT are representative of malignant disease.
Achieving desired plant growth regulator levels in liquid plant tissue culture media that include activated carbon

This paper is part of a series considering the impact of activated carbon (AC) on the composition of plant tissue culture media. Using liquid culture media for initiation of Norway spruce embryogenic tissue and eight different ACs, we present a method for achieving target plant growth regulator (PGR) levels in AC-containing medium based on sorption isotherms for individual PGRs. Linear relationships were found between PGR adsorption and specific BET (Brunauer, Emmett, Teller theory) surface area and specific total pore volume of AC. When using a new AC, this linear relationship allows one to achieve multiple PGR levels similar to historic levels through adjustment of the mass of AC based on its relative BET surface area or relative total pore volume. Target levels of PGRs and an initiation success similar to that in medium without AC were achieved with several different AC types when AC mass was adjusted on the basis of pore volume.
Investigation of the intrinsic SiO2 area dependence using TDDB testing and model integration into the design process

Abstract This paper models the area dependency for thin SiO 2 films (1.2E-7 to lE-2 cm 2 ) using Time Dependent Dielectric Breakdown testing over a wide range of electric fields and test temperatures. The data generated indicates that the field and temperature acceleration factors are the same for all the areas tested indicating that the failure mechanism is the same even though the times to failure are different for all the area sizes. The paper will explain and model the area effect on TDDB lifetime and use the model to predict gate oxide reliability in the design cycle.
Plain radiography in the degenerate knee

We took posteroanterior weight-bearing radiographs, both with the joint fully extended and in 30° of flexion, in a consecutive series of 50 knees in 37 patients referred for the primary assessment of pain and/or stiffness. These radiographs were reported ‘blind’ both by an orthopaedic surgeon and a radiologist. Direct measurement of the joint space, together with grading of the severity of erosion according to the Ahlback criteria, was undertaken. Any other abnormality present was also documented. The radiographs of the knees in 30° of flexion consistently showed more advanced erosion in both the medial (p = 0.001) and the lateral (p = 0.0001) tibiofemoral compartments, when compared with those of knees in full extension. The Ahlback classification of 25 joints was altered, in some cases by several grades, by the flexed position of the joint. In every case in which another abnormality was identified on the radiograph in full extension, it was also noted on that of the knee in 30° of flexion. In a further four cases, additional pathology could only be seen in the flexed knee. Every patient was able to complete the radiological examination without difficulty. Our study supports the adoption of a weight-bearing view in 30° of flexion as the standard posteroanterior radiograph for the assessment of tibiofemoral osteoarthritis in patients over 50 years of age.
Antimicrobial Activity of Gatifloxacin Against Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Burkholderia spp.

Stenotrophomonas maltophilia and Burkholderia spp. are ubiquitous organisms that often establish themselves within the hospital environment and can cause devastating nosocomial infections in patients suffering from cystic fibrosis and others with compromised lung function.[1,2] These opportunistic pathogens can have multiple intrinsic and acquired resistance mechanisms, which result in reduced susceptibility to a number of drug classes. Repeated exposure to multiple drug treatment regimens and a high relapse rate after cessation of therapy leave cystic fibrosis patients particularly vulnerable to acquiring resistant phenotypes. It has been documented that the patientto-patient transfer of a single strain does occur, so the passage of a multiply resistant clone among at-risk patient populations could be potentially lethal. Because of the variably resistant nature of these species, directed therapy following culture and susceptibility testing is often critical; therefore the accuracy of the in vitro test methods remains very important. The E-test (AB Biodisk, Solna, Sweden) and the standardised disk diffusion method are easily adapted to most laboratory settings, and it is possible to select only those drugs, or a representative of a drug class, that will provide a physician with the treatment options of greatest interest. Gatifloxacin is a new 8-methoxy fluoroquinolone which, like many recently evaluated quinolones, has a broadened spectrum of activity for Gram-positive organisms and anaerobes.[3] Because multiply resistant isolates of S. maltophilia and Burkholderia spp. are common among chronically ill patients, fluoroquinolone therapy is becoming increasingly popular. This study focused on the activity of gatifloxacin and other fluoroquinolones – ciprofloxacin, levofloxacin, ofloxacin, sparfloxacin and trovafloxacin – against S. maltophilia, B. cepacia and B. pickettii isolates. The disk diffusion and E-test methods were evaluated in comparison to a reference dilution method.
Orbital express space operations architecture program

The goal of the Orbital Express Space Operations Architecture program is to validate the technical feasibility of robotic, autonomous on-orbit refueling and reconfiguration of satellites to support a broad range of future U.S. national security and commercial space programs. Refueling satellites will enable frequent maneuvers to improve coverage, change arrival times to counter denial and deception, and improve survivability, as well as extend satellite lifetime. Electronics upgrades on-orbit can provide performance improvements and dramatically reduce the time to deploy new technology. The Orbital Express advanced technology demonstration will design, develop, and test on orbit a prototype servicing satellite (ASTRO), a surrogate next generation serviceable satellite (NEXTSat). The elements of the Orbital Express demonstration will be tied together by non-proprietary satellite servicing interfaces (mechanical, electrical, etc.) that will facilitate the development of an industry wide on-orbit servicing infrastructure. NASA will apply the sensors and software developed for autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations to enable future commercial resupply of the International Space Station.
A synthetic triterpenoid CDDO-Im inhibits tumorsphere formation by regulating stem cell signaling pathways in triple-negative breast cancer.

Triple-negative breast cancer is associated with poor prognosis because of a high rate of tumor recurrence and metastasis. Previous studies demonstrated that the synthetic triterpenoid, CDDO-Imidazolide (CDDO-Im) induced cell cycle arrest and apoptosis in triple-negative breast cancer. Since a small subpopulation of cancer stem cells has been suggested to be responsible for drug resistance and metastasis of tumors, our present study determined whether the effects of CDDO-Im in triple-negative breast cancer are due to the inhibition of a cancer stem cell subpopulation. CDDO-Im treatment markedly induced cell cycle arrest at G2/M-phase and apoptosis in the triple-negative breast cancer cell lines, SUM159 and MDA-MB-231. Because SUM159 cells were more sensitive to CDDO-Im than MDA-MB-231 cells, the effects of CDDO-Im on the cancer stem cell subpopulation were further investigated in SUM159 cells. SUM159 cells formed tumorspheres in culture, and the cancer stem cell subpopulation, CD24−/EpCAM+ cells, was markedly enriched in SUM159 tumorspheres. The CD24−/EpCAM+ cells in SUM159 tumorspheres were significantly inhibited by CDDO-Im treatment. CDDO-Im also significantly decreased sphere forming efficiency and tumorsphere size in both primary and secondary sphere cultures. PCR array of stem cell signaling genes showed that expression levels of many key molecules in the stem cell signaling pathways, such as Notch, TGF-β/Smad, Hedgehog and Wnt, were significantly down-regulated by CDDO-Im in SUM159 tumorspheres. Protein levels of Notch receptors (c-Notch1, Notch1 and Notch3), TGF-β/Smad (pSmad2/3) and Hedgehog downstream effectors (GLI1) also were markedly reduced by CDDO-Im. In conclusion, the present study demonstrates that the synthetic triterpenoid, CDDO-Im, is a potent anti-cancer agent against triple-negative breast cancer cells by targeting the cancer stem cell subpopulation.
Classical rhetoric and modern communicology

(1970). Classical rhetoric and modern communicology. Western Speech: Vol. 34, No. 1, pp. 2-7.
An Evidence-Based Adoption of Technology Model for Remote Monitoring of Elders’ Daily Activities

What benefit will new technologies offer if they are inadequately or not used? This work presents a meta-synthesis of adoption of technology related findings from four innovative monitoring intervention research studies with older adults and their informal and/or formal caregivers. Each study employed mixed methods analyses that lead to an understanding of the key variables that influenced adoption of telephone and Internet based wireless remote monitoring technologies by elders and their caregivers. The studies were all conducted in “real world” homes ranging from solo residences to multi-story independent living residential buildings. Insights gained came from issues not found in controlled laboratory environments but in the complex interplay of family-elder-staff dynamics around balancing safety and independence. Findings resulted in an adoption of technology model for remote monitoring of elders’ daily activities derived from evidence based research to advance both practical and theoretical development in the field of gerontechnology.
Anatase TiO2 films based CO gas sensor: Film thickness, substrate and temperature effects

Abstract Electrical response of anatase TiO 2 films is discussed for different concentrations of CO gas (20–100 ppm) in a nitrogen gas ambient. We investigated temperature (100–300 °C) and film thickness (100–1000 nm) effects for films deposited on glass, sapphire (0 0 0 1) and, Si(1 0 0) substrates. In general, there is a drop in resistance of the device when exposed to CO gas. Films deposited on sapphire showed a larger decrease in the resistance at 300 °C compared to those deposited on glass and silicon substrates. However, films grown on glass and silicon substrates showed a larger decrease in the resistance values for temperature around 200 °C when CO (ppm) values are greater than 40. The change in resistance of the films varies as square root of the CO gas concentration at 200 °C for films deposited on all the three substrates. In general, the decrease in resistance for thicker films is large compared to thinner ones, indicating participation of the bulk in the detection of CO gas. In the presence of O 2 , film loses its sensitivity to CO gas when the concentration level of O 2 approaches 1800 ppm.
Stratospheric H218O distribution from far infrared observations

The stratospheric distribution of H2(O-18) in the 22 to 37 km altitude range has been obtained from balloon-based measurement of far infrared thermal emission spectra with an unapodized spectral resolution of 0.0033/cm. The analysis is based on the observed spectra of 9 isolated spectral lines in the 46 to 72/cm region obtained from four complete limb sequences. Comparison of the results with the statistically expected values indicates enhancement in the H2(O-18) concentrations increasing from 27 + or - 14 percent at 29 km to 40 + or - 23 percent at 37 km. No significant enhancement at lower altitudes was observed.
Identifiability of Bivariate Survival Curves from Censored Data

Abstract We show that the survival curve is identifiable in bivariate censored data problems under weaker independence assumptions than have commonly been made. The common assumption has been mutual independence of (T 1, T 2) and (Z 1, Z 2), where (T 1, T 2) is the true survival vector, (Z 1, Z 2) is a nuisance censoring vector, and bivariate right-censored data is observed. We show that the distribution of (T 1, T 2) is identifiable under weaker, conditional independence assumptions for distributions with full support. Bivariate survival analysis is a more powerful analysis tool than univariate analysis if multiple, possibly related, times are of interest. The mutual independence model has become popular as a nonparametric way of analyzing such data. Analysis of the bivariate problem and analogy with univariate models are used to show that the conditional independence model is more widely applicable as a general nonparametric model for bivariate survival data.
Cholinergic dysfunction in Shy—Drager syndrome: Effect of the parasympathomimetic agent, bethanechol

To determine the frequency, severity and organ distribution of cholinergic dysfunction in the Shy—Drager syndrome, eleven patients were prospectively studied. In addition to documenting adrenergic insufficiency, a battery of twelve tests was employed to assess cholinergic function. Six tests demonstrated pupillary, lacrimal, salivary, urinary bladder, sexual and sudomotor dysfunction in the majority of patients. Cardiac vagal function as studied by the heart rate response to deep breathing, the Valsalva manoeuvre, cold face test, apnoeic facial immersion and atropine test was affected in all patients. Oesophageal motility was abnormal in six patients. Cholinergic dysfunction in patients with the Shy—Drager syndrome was widespread but of variable severity and distribution. Subcutaneous administration of the parasympathomimetic agent bethanechol demonstrated hyperresponsiveness of lacrimal, salivary, oesophageal, bowel, bladder and sudomotor functions. It is suggested that the Shy—Drager syndrome is primarily a preganglionic cholinergic disorder with transsynaptic degeneration accounting for the development of postganglionic cholinergic as well as adrenergic dysfunction.
Anatomy and Biomechanics of Patellar Instability

Patellar stability is governed by unique anatomy and biomechanics, which greatly influence treatment strategies in the setting of instability. The patella is stabilized by the following 4 factors: lower extremity alignment, articular geometry, dynamic muscular stabilizers, and passive ligamentous stabilizers. Lower extremity malalignment results in increased lateral forces on the patella contributing to instability. Lower extremity malalignment can also result dynamically from poor neuromuscular control. The lateral trochlear geometry resists lateral translation and when hypoplastic contributes to instability. The primary muscular stabilizer of the patella is the vastus medialis obliquus. It inserts on the patella at an oblique angle relative to the anatomic axis of the femur, and stabilizes the patella with medial and posterior forces. The medial patellofemoral ligament is the primary ligamentous stabilizer of the patella and guides it into the trochlear groove during early knee flexion. The medial patellofemoral ligament is injured in nearly all cases of patellofemoral dislocation and is considered the essential lesion in recurrent patellofemoral instability. The anatomy and biomechanics of patellar instability provide a framework to properly evaluate and treat patellar instability.
Poring over pores: alpha-hemolysin and Panton-Valentine leukocidin in Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia.

Poring over pores: α-hemolysin and Panton-Valentine leukocidin in Staphylococcus aureus pneumonia
Energy-efficient mapping of biomedical applications on domain-specific accelerator under process variation

The variability of deep-submicron technologies creates systems with asymmetric cores from a frequency and leakage power viewpoint, which makes an opportunity for performance-power optimization. In particular, process variation can transform a homogeneous many-core platform into a heterogeneous system where the task mapping becomes extremely difficult. In this paper, we propose a mapping algorithm that selects an appropriate task mapping along with voltage and frequency assignment for a cluster of cores. The mapping algorithm, which is based on simulated annealing, determines cluster voltages and core frequencies to minimize energy consumption and EDP under process variation. We examine the effectiveness of our proposed algorithm on a fully placed and routed 128-core biomedical accelerator in 45nm when running various applications including compressive sensing, seizure detection and ultrasound spectral Doppler and linear regression. The results indicate that exposing frequency and power variations to the mapping algorithm results in up to 22% (on average 11%) energy saving and 31% (on average 19%) EDP improvement.
A theoretical investigation of the rotational barriers of peroxyformic acid

Abstract The internal rotational barriers in peroxyformic acid have been studied employing ab initio MO calculations. The C-O and O-O rotational barriers were calculated to be 7.68 and 1.04 kcal mol , respectively. The relatively low O-O rotational barrier is attributed to a balance between electron repulsion and hydrogen bonding in the syn chelated conformer.
Flyash adhesion in simulated coal-fired gas turbine environment

A rich-quench-lean subscale turbine combustor has been used to expose specimens to the products of combustion from several beneficiated coal-water fuels. An analytical scheme is formulated to extract sticking coefficients from the measured weight gain data, particle size spectrum, and particle density and composition. The inferred sticking coefficients, appropriate for impaction on the pressure surface, range between 0.0003 and 0.11 and are strong functions of the gas and surface temperatures but rather insensitive to the impact angle. The implications of these results on coal-fired gas turbine operation are discussed.
A Comparative Study of Working-Class Disorganization: Union Decline in Eighteen Advanced Capitalist Countries

In contrast to the diverse trends that prevailed for most of the postwar period, unionization rates in the advanced capitalist countries generally declined in the 1980s. I propose a discrete-time hazard-rate model to explain this novel pattern of labor disorganization. Model estimates indicate that union decline is related to growing economic openness, unemployment, pre-existing levels of unionization, the decentralization of collective bargaining institutions, and the electoral failure of social democratic parties through the 1980s.