cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Evidence on the extent of training in teaching and education research among accounting faculty

Abstract The Accounting Education Change Commission and others encourage accounting teachers to become versed in educational research and admonishes accounting programs to train their accounting doctoral candidates to be effective teachers. This article has two primary objectives. First, it determines whether current accounting faculty are well-trained in educational research methodology. Second, it ascertains whether doctoral programs in accounting are training the next generation of faculty in effective teaching techniques. The results indicate that accounting faculty are not well-trained in educational methodology and that very few accounting doctoral programs provide in-depth training to candidates on effective teaching methods.
Models of protection against HIV/SIV

Models of protection against HIV/SIV infection focuses on three known scenarios that might help to control the AIDS pandemic by applying three so-called natural experiments in which AIDS was effi ciently avoided in people and monkeys. The fi rst section of the book is dedicated to SIV infection in African non-human primates, which are natural hosts of the virus. These species, which are generally frequently infected in the wild, do not normally progress to have AIDS. The mechanisms of control of disease progression do not rely on an advanced control of viral replication but rather on the control of the deleterious eff ects of lentiviral infection, most notably that of excessive immune activation (accepted as the main driver of progression to AIDS). Application of this information to HIV infection could allow design of immune-based treatments that might improve survival of patients infected with HIV. The second part focuses on people who have been exposed to HIV-1 who remain seronegative. Although this outcome might be a result of good fortune, some high-risk cohorts remain uninfected. Clarifi cation of the determinants of protection against HIV infection is a high priority and could lead to the design of eff ective strategies to prevent infection through microbicides or vaccines. Finally, the third section investigates so-called HIV-1 elite controllers. These patients, although infected with HIV, can control viral replication to near undetectable levels and substantially delay disease progression. This pathogenic outcome provides crucial information for present strategies of vaccination and reservoir eradication (ie, for a cure of HIV infection). This simple enumeration shows that these models of protection are important for HIV research. The editors assembled a group of researchers who have made major contributions to the defi nition of these models. The book is not intended to treat the three models separately, but rather to present them as a combination that could identify common traits and interventions. Models of protection against HIV/SIV is aimed at students and young investigators, and to researchers ready to explore new avenues that may lead to the control of HIV.
Systemic PTH Release During Exercise Enhances Trabecular Bone Architecture

Bone mineral density gained during adolescent years is a significant determinant of bone quality maintained during adult-hood [1]. The ability to enhance the structural integrity of bone at a young age reduces the risk of bone fracture as well as the development of musculoskeletal diseases, such as osteoporosis [1].Copyright © 2013 by ASME
Intrapartum assessment of fetal well-being: A comparison of fetal acoustic stimulation with acid-base determinations

Many authorities advocate the use of fetal blood sampling as the final arbiter of abnormal intrapartum fetal heart rate patterns. Alternatively, the presence of an acceleratory fetal heart rate response to scalp stimulation during fetal scalp blood sampling led to the observation that, if present, the likelihood of acidosis was remote. Consequently a prospective intrapartum analysis of evoked accelerations and fetal acid-base status was undertaken. Patients who, on the basis of abnormal fetal heart rate patterns, were judged candidates for acid-base assessment underwent transabdominal acoustic stimulation. The presence or absence of an acceleration was then determined. Sixty-four patients with abnormal intrapartum fetal heart rate patterns underwent intrapartum acoustic stimulation. Thirty fetuses were reactive and all had a pH of greater than or equal to 7.25. Of the 34 fetuses who were nonreactive, 18 were acidotic. This preliminary observation suggests that acoustic stimulation may be a reasonable clinical alternative to fetal blood sampling when a reactive pattern is observed. In the nonreactive fetuses additional evaluation would appear warranted.
Some recommendations for siting ambient monitors at synfuel plants

Large-scale synfuel plants may create environmental problems to the surrounding population and biota by releases of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, hydrogen, organic sulfides, cyanides, ammonia, organic amines, and other volatile and condensible organic and inorganic compounds. The monitor should be placed at the apex of a STAR wind sector with the far side of the triangle representing the shortest cross section d/sub i/ of the synfuel complex perpendicular to the monitor but encompassing all major potential emission sources E/sub i/. The radial distance to the monitor in r/sub i/ = (d/sub i//2)tan(11.25/sup 0/). The monitors should be placed downwind, in the conjugate sector. The major recommendation is that site-by-site multiyear daily cumulative persistence statistics should be provided to determine the (a) number, (b) location, and (c) sampling rate of the AAP monitors. 6 references.
Quantum Mechanical Study of the Nonbonded Forces in Water−Methanol Complexes

The water−methanol dimer can adopt two possible configurations (WdM or MdW) depending on whether the water or the methanol acts as the hydrogen bond donor. The relative stability between the two configurations is less than 1 kcal/mol, and as a result, this dimer has been a challenging system to investigate using either theoretical or experimental techniques. In this paper, we present a systematic study of the dependence of the geometries, interaction energies, and harmonic frequencies on basis sets and treatment of electron correlation for the two configurations. At the highest theory level, MP2/aug-cc-pVQZ//MP2/aug-cc-pVTZ, interaction energies of −5.72 and −4.95 kcal/mol were determined for the WdM and MdW configurations, respectively, after correcting for basis set superposition error using the Boys−Bernardi counterpoise scheme. Extrapolating to the complete basis set limit resulted in interaction energies of −5.87 for WdM and −5.16 kcal/mol for MdW. The energy difference between the two configurations...
Seeking Quality through User-Goal Monitoring

Understanding and monitoring user requirements is central to the continuous process of seeking software quality. An automated user-goal monitoring technique can guide software evolution toward higher quality.
Unhedgeable shocks and statistical economic equilibrium

We develop a statistical concept of economic equilibrium as the stationary distribution of a random walk on the exchange equilibrium set (the contract set) of a pure exchange economy induced by unhedgeable shocks that perturb the economy from the exchange equilibrium set and subsequent disequilibrium trading that returns the economy to a new equilibrium. The Fokker–Planck equation for the resulting drift-diffusion process implies that the stationary distribution is independent of the size of the shock so that a small-disturbance limiting distribution is well defined. We present explicit solutions for the statistical equilibrium for the cases of quasilinear and Gorman-aggregatable Cobb–Douglas economies, and illustrate the results in the context of a generic dividend-discount model to emphasize the distinction between insurable risk and unhedgeable uncertainty in this context. The statistical equilibrium of income or wealth for quasilinear economies is described by an exponential Gibbs distribution. The statistical equilibrium income and wealth distributions for Gorman-aggregatable Cobb–Douglas economies can take a wider variety of forms, including power-law and gamma distributions. The statistical equilibria calculated for these examples suggest a close relation to widely observed statistical distributional regularities in real-world economies.
Volatile organic compound flux from manure of cattle fed diets differing in grain processing method and co-product inclusion

Abstract Odor emissions from livestock production have become increasingly important in the past decade. Odors derived from animal feeding operations are caused by odorous VOC emitted from the mixture of feces and urine, as well as feed and silage which may be experiencing microbial fermentation. Distillers grains are a by-product of corn grain fermentation used to produce fuel ethanol, and this industry has grown rapidly throughout the U.S. in past years. Therefore, the use of wet distillers grains with solubles (WDGS) in feedlot cattle diets has also increased. The objective of this research was to determine specific VOC emissions from feces and urine or a mixture of both, from cattle fed steam flaked or dry-rolled corn (DRC)-based diets containing either 0% or 30% WDGS. Flux of dimethyl trisulfide was greater from feces of cattle fed DRC than steam-flaked corn (SFC) diets. No other differences in flux from feces were detected across dietary treatments for phenol, 4-methylphenol, indole, skatole, dimethyl disulfide, and flux of volatile fatty acids (VFA) such as acetic, propionic, isobutyric, butyric, isovaleric, and valeric acids (P > 0.15). Flux of skatole, acetic acid, and valeric acid from urine was greater for cattle fed SFC than DRC diets (P
Incidental environmental anchors

Three studies examined whether potential anchor values that are incidentally present in the environment can affect a person's numerical estimates. In Study 1, estimates of an athlete's performance were influenced by the number on his jersey. In Study 2, estimates of the proportion of sales in the domestic market were influenced by a product's model number. In Study 3, participants' estimates of how much they would spend at a restaurant were influenced by whether the restaurant was named “Studio 17” or “Studio 97.” These effects were not qualified by participants' expertise in the relevant domain (Study 1) or by their ability to subsequently recall the anchor value (Study 3). These findings document the existence of a new form of “basic anchoring” and suggest that not all basic anchoring effects are as fragile as the existing anchoring literature suggests. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Computerized detection of abnormal asymmetry in digital chest radiographs

A technique for automated detection of abnormal asymmetry in digital chest radiographs is being developed. Such a method could be used to prescreen chest radiographs to bring obviously abnormal cases to the immediate attention of a radiologist. In addition, this technique may be used to detect large‐area abnormalities which may cause other, more lesion‐specific computer algorithms to fail. Asymmetric abnormalities are detected by multiple stages of gray‐level thresholding. Lung contours are determined, and after a centroid test is used to eliminate contours external to the lungs, the areas of remaining contours are calculated. The present scheme, applied to a database of 70 chest images, yielded a sensitivity of 91% and a specificity of 80%.
A statistical comparison of the AMIE derived and DMSP-SSIES observed high-latitude ionospheric electric field

[1] The ion drift velocities and electric field derived from the Assimilative Mapping of Ionospheric Electrodynamics technique (AMIE) are compared with the same parameters observed by the Defense Meteorological Satellite Program's (DMSP) Special Sensor-Ions, Electrons, and Scintillation (SSIES) instrument. In addition the along-track cross polar cap potential, the correlation between the curves, and other metrics are compared and those results are binned by various criteria. The criteria include spacecraft, year, season, and magnetic activity level. We observed a reasonable correlation between the AMIE results and DMSP data with respect to the along-track potential, though the AMIE results tend to show a lower potential by some 30-50 percent, depending on spacecraft and orbit. Spacecraft in the same general orbits show similar relations with AMIE, implying that there is good intersatellite calibration for the DMSP array. There is a great deal of variability in the correlation, depending on season and activity level, and correlations with some of the spacecraft show a solar cycle dependance. It is further found that when we set a multifaceted criteria on each orbit for a DMSP-AMIE match, including along-track potential, V y correlation, and peak potential locations, the results correspond between 35% and 55% for the dawn-dusk spacecraft, while they only correspond 7%-12% of the time for noon-midnight satellites.
Rapid response of cardiac obscurin gene cluster to aortic stenosis: differential activation of Rho-GEF and MLCK and involvement in hypertrophic growth

Abstract Obscurin and obscurin myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) are two recently identified muscle proteins encoded by the same gene cluster. The production of obscurin, which contains a Rho-guanine exchange factor (GEF)-like sequence, and obscurin-MLCK by this cluster suggests that these novel genes may be involved in signal transduction cascades that control adaptive and compensatory responses of the heart. The goal of the present study was to investigate the transcriptional response of the obscurin gene cluster to the initiation of myocardial hypertrophy induced in mice by aortic constriction. The transcriptional activity of the obscurin genes was examined using reverse-transcriptase primed quantitative PCR. We found that the transcripts encoding the obscurin Rho-GEF and the obscurin-MLCK internal serine–threonine kinase II (SK II) domains were significantly upregulated following aortic constriction. The expression of Rho-GEF-containing transcripts at different stages of the hypertrophic growth exceeded the control levels by 2- to 6-fold. Following the induction of hypertrophy, the quantity of the SK II-encoding transcripts increased 10-fold by 24 h and 16-fold by 48 h, then decreased by day 7, and returned to the control level by day 56. The quantity of the carboxy terminal obscurin-MLCK transcripts encoding for SK I increased 2-fold by day 2 and returned to the control values at later stages. Immunolocalization of obscurin, which contains Rho-GEF domain, in cardiomyocytes during pharmacologically induced hypertrophic growth in vitro demonstrated that the expression was topographically associated with the growing myofibrils and with the sites of initiation and progression of myofibrillogenesis at the periphery of the sarcoplasm. This suggests that upregulation of obscurin synthesis is associated with the formation of additional amounts of contractile structures during cardiac hypertrophy. Thus, the obscurin gene cluster represents a new example of an operon that encodes differentially regulated structural and signaling proteins implicated in the control of assembly and adaptive remodeling of myofibrils during normal and hypertrophic growth.
Arousal and reinforcing properties of light onset as a function of duration and of visual complexity for chicks.

Summary.-The interaction between arousal and sensory reinforcement upon operant beha"ior 01 240 24- to 36-hr.-old chicks was investigate$ as a function of visual complexity and duration of light onset. The results reconfirmed the findings that light onser was reinforcing for chicks and that visual complexity magnified its reinforcing potential. Furthermore, duration was viewed as having an additive effect. The results were described in terms of an activation hypothesis. In summarizing effecs of many of the variables influencing sensory reinforcement, Kish (1966) reported thac the rernforcing effects of light onset have been demonstrated in a number of specles performing various operant responses under different experimental conditions. Eacker and Meyer (1967) and Meyer ( 1968) have used cockerel chicks as experimental animals and the disruption of a photoelectric beam as an operant. Their general results confirmed light onset was an effective sensory reinforcer for these organisms and visual complexity of the environment was one ciaracteristic of stimulation that contributed to the reinforcing potential of light onset. Berlyne (1967) has recently set forth an hypothesis that a given stimulus may serve to function as a reinforcer from the change in arousal of the organism from that reinforcing stimulus. This hypothesis may be particularly applicable to sensory reinforcing stimuli. Eacker and Meyer, and Meyer have observed thac operant responses by chicks were made in bursts rather chan at a steady rate and that the number of responses was consistently greater chan the number of reinforcements. The present investigazion examined the interaction between aro~~sal and sensory reinforcement upor: operant behavior of chicks as a function of environmental complexiry and duration of light onset. METHOD Szib jects
Vortex theory approach to stochastic hydrodynamics

The objective of the paper is to study a jump-diffusion type vorticity model, describing evolution of an incompressible homogeneous viscous fluid in R^2 in terms of its rotation. The model arises from a particle systems perspective, adopted in the point vortex theory, and represents a measure-valued stochastic partial differential equation (SPDE) whose solution, under certain conditions, is an empirical process generated by a finite system of randomly moving vortices, which interact via a (regularized) logarithmic potential and are driven by suitable independent space-time Wiener processes and compensated Poisson random measure. A continuous diffusion approximation to the above vorticity model is also presented.
Rejoinder to Hillier and Penn

Some questions about space syntax—a well-known technique of urban analysis developed over the past decades by Bill Hillier et al—were raised by Ratti in this journal. Hillier and Penn produced a detailed rejoinder, rebutting most of the criticisms and restating the assumptions made by the technique. However, their arguments, if accepted, lead to paradoxical consequences.
Transforming NRK cells with avian sarcoma virus reduces the extracellular Ca2+ requirement without affecting the calcicalmodulin requirement for the G1/S transition

Abstract NRK rat cells infected with a transformation-defective, temperature-sensitive ( ts ) mutant of the avian sarcoma virus could not proliferate in Ca 2+ -deficient medium at a nonpermissive temperature (40 °C) that inactivated the viral pp60 v-scr -transforming product and rendered the cells phenotypically untransformed. However, these arrested cells were stimulated to initiate DNA replication with little or no delay while still in the Ca 2+ -deficient medium, either by adding Ca 2+ or calmodulin at 40 °C or by reducing the temperature to 36 °C which restored the transformed phenotype by rapidly reactivating pp60 v-src . The G1/S transition triggered by restoring the transformed phenotype was suppressed by three different anticalmodulin drugs (R24571, trifluoperazine, W7). The suppression by one of these drugs, trifluoperazine, was overcome by adding calmodulin. Thus, neoplastic transformation by the avian sarcoma virus sharply reduces the extracellular Ca 2+ requirement for the initiation of DNA replication without bypassing a calcical-modulin-dependent mechanism also needed for the G1/S transition.
Prophylactic amiodarone and lidocaine improve survival in an ovine model of large size myocardial infarction

Abstract Background Large animal models serve as a critical link in the translation of basic science to clinical practice. However, large animal models of myocardial infarction (MI), especially large size MI, have been associated with high mortality because of arrhythmia. The prophylactic effect of amiodarone and lidocaine were retrospectively reviewed in our ovine MI model. Materials and methods A total of 114 Dorset hybrid sheep with 25%–30% MI were included in the present study. The sheep were prophylactically treated with amiodarone plus lidocaine before ligation of the four to six coronary artery branches supplying the apex of the heart (arrhythmia prevention [AP] group, n = 45) and with epinephrine (shock prevention [SP] group, n = 49), respectively. The sheep without prophylactic treatment (no prevention [NP] group, n = 20) were used as the control group. The incidence of arrhythmia requiring treatment, mortality due to arrhythmia, hemodynamics, and arterial blood gas values during surgery were analyzed in these three groups. Results No significant difference was found in infarct size among the three groups. The incidence of arrhythmia requiring treatment was significantly decreased in the AP group compared with that in the NP or SP groups (4.4% for AP versus 35% for NP and 45% for SP groups; P Conclusions Prophylactic amiodarone plus lidocaine decreased the mortality due to lethal arrhythmia after acute MI in our sheep model without significant negative effects on the hemodynamics. However, epinephrine improved the hemodynamics but also increased the mortality due to lethal arrhythmia. Thus, prophylactic amiodarone plus lidocaine is recommended to improve the stability in a large MI animal model.
Modifications in the purified rabbit skeletal muscle apophosphorylase-b assay of serum pyridoxal phosphate levels.

Abstract This report describes modifications in the Hines and Love assay procedure for measurement of serum pyridoxal phosphate levels using rabbit skeletal muscle apophosphorylase-b. Modifications in the deproteinization step, timing of enzymatic reactions, and the use of a serum standard curve with recovery samples greatly improve the reproducibility of the method. Moreover, very low values of serum PLP in deficiency states may now be measured with much more accuracy. Almost 3 yr of experience with the technique has also revealed that serum stored at −20°C will maintain its original level of PLP activity.
Feature Issue Introduction: Bio-Optics in Clinical Applications, Nanotechnology, and Drug Discovery

The editors introduce the Biomedical Optics Express feature issue, “Bio-Optics in Clinical Applications, Nanotechnology, and Drug Discovery,” which combines three technical areas from the 2010 Optical Society of America (OSA), Biomedical Optics (BIOMED) Topical Meeting held on 11–14 April in Miami, FL and includes contributions from conference attendees.
On the Comparative Assessment of the Performance of Air Quality Models

The reliability and accuracy of various atmospheric dispersion models currently being used by regulatory agencies have not been well documented due to a lack of sufficient field data to verify thes...
Predictors of increased mitral regurgitation after percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy.

Left ventriculography (LVG) was performed to assess severity of mitral regurgitation (MR) on a scale of 0-4+ in 157 patients before and immediately after percutaneous mitral balloon valvotomy (PMV). There were 129 women and 28 men aged 51 +/- 1 (range 13-87) yr. With PMV, mitral valve area increased from 0.9 +/- 0.1 cm2 to 2.0 +/- 0.1 cm2 (P less than .0001). Increase in mitral regurgitation (MR) occurred in 69 patients (44%). Patients were divided into two groups based on increase in MR after PMV. Group A (n = 136) had 0-1+ increase in MR. Group B (n = 20) had greater than or equal to 2+ increase in MR after PMV. The only predictor of increase in MR greater than or equal to 2+ was the ratio of effective balloon dilating area to body surface area (EBDA/BSA). EBDA/BSA was 4.0 +/- 0.1 cm2/m2 in Group A vs. 4.37 +/- 0.2 cm2/m2 in Group B (P = .02). Follow-up of patients in Group B showed: Four patients remained NYHA Class III and required mitral valve replacement 4.3 +/- 1.1 (range 5-21) mo after PMV. One patient who had undergone combined aortic and mitral valvotomy died in the hospital of worsening heart failure. One patient died 1 mo later of sepsis related to a dental abscess. Follow-up of the remaining 14 patients at 9.5 +/- 1.1 (range 2-7) mo showed 10 in NYHA Class I and four in NYHA Class II. Eight of 15 patients (53%) who had repeat left ventriculogram at 9.0 +/- 0.8 mo after PMV had a decrease in MR of one grade when compared to LVG immediately after PMV.
Nonlinear tire force estimation and road friction identification: simulation and experiments

Abstract This paper applies extended Kalman-Bucy filtering (EKBF) and Bayesian hypothesis selection to estimate motion, tire forces, and road coefficient of friction (μ) of vehicles on asphalt surfaces. The EKBF estimates the state and tire forces of an eight-degree-of-freedom vehicle from vehicle-mounted sensors. The filter requires no a priori knowledge of μ and does not require a tire force model. Resulting force, slip, and slip angle estimates are compared statistically with those that result from a nominal analytic tire model to select the most likely μ from a set of hypothesized values. The methods have application to both off-line construction of tire models and development of vehicle control systems that require μ. Both simulation results and results of applying estimation methods to field test data are presented. Simulation results show excellent convergence and accuracy of μ estimates, and results of processing field test data demonstrate the ability to construct useful tire models. Computation and sensor requirements, and robustness of the μ identification algorithm are considered. © 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd.
Photo Quiz: Heart Transplant Patient with Knee Drainage

A 62-year-old male with a past medical history of orthotopic heart transplant in 1995, hypertension, ulcerative colitis, prostate cancer (5 years prior to the current episode) treated with radiotherapy, hyperlipidemia, and type 2 diabetes mellitus presented in April 2011 for evaluation of left knee drainage, sore throat, and multiple skin lesions. His sore throat had started several weeks before and was associated with dry cough, low-grade fever, and intermittent chills. The patient denied recent contact with persons suffering from illness. There were no associated upper respiratory symptoms, chest pain, shortness of breath, or postnasal drip. He also reported bilateral knee pain, with the right knee worse than the left knee, which was exacerbated by movement. A cortisol injection into the right knee 3 weeks prior to his admission provided partial relief of his symptoms. The patient noted left knee drainage with manual expression, which was empirically treated for 4 days with an unknown combination of antibiotics. The drainage had worsened the week prior to his admission. A Gram stain was performed on a drainage sample from his left knee, and the sample was initially reported as negative for the presence of organisms. A photo of the “negative” Gram stain is shown in Fig. 1. FIG 1 Gram stain of synovial fluid. Magnification, ×1,000. (For answer and discussion, see page 1810 in this issue [doi:10.1128/JCM.03460-12].)
ROTATION SURFACES WITH CONSTANT MEAN CURVATURE IN 4-DIMENSIONAL PSEUDO-EUCLIDEAN SPACE

We construct a class of rotation surfaces with constant mean curvature in 4-dimensional Pseudo-Euclidean space E24.
Parkin Attenuates Wild-Type τ Modification in the Presence of β-Amyloid and α-Synuclein

Changes in tau (τ) metabolism comprise important pathological landmarks in the tauopathies with parkinsonism as well as Parkinson’s disease and Alzheimer’s disease. Mutations in the parkin gene are associated with Parkinson’s disease. Deposits of amyloid proteins, including Aβ and α-synuclein coexist in the brains of patients with dementia with Lewy bodies; however, it is not known how either of them interacts with τ to provoke neurofibrillary tangle formation across the tauopathies. Here, we show a role for parkin against τ pathology in the presence of intracellular Aβ or α-synuclein. Parkin attenuates four-repeat human τ, but not mutant P301L, hyperphosphorylation in the presence of intracellular Aβ1–42, or α-synuclein and decreases GSK-3β activity in amyloid-stressed M17 human neuroblastoma cells. These data suggest that parkin may counteract the alteration of τ metabolism in certain neurodegenerative diseases with τ cytopathy and parkinsonism.
Tryptophan oxidation by yellow mouse skin.

Summary1. Skin powders from 10-day-old mice with a dominant gene for yellow hair (Ay/a) oxidize l-tryptophan, dl-5-hydroxytryptophan, and 5-hydroxytryptamine, but not d-tryptophan. Yellow solutions are formed. 2. l-kynurenine does not appear to be an intermediate, since it is not oxidized, nor does it disappear at an appreciable rate when incubated with skin powders from these mice. It does not appear when tryptophan is incubated with skin powders. 3. When tryptophan is oxidized by these skin powders, a substance appears which gives a reaction with nitrosonaphthol in the absence of strong nitric acid. The chromophore is distinctive, and differs from that formed by 5-hydroxyindoles.
General mortality patterns in appalachian coal-mining and non-coal-mining counties.

Objective To determine whether mortality disparities in Appalachia are due to coal mining or other factors. Methods Unadjusted and covariate adjusted rate ratio models calculated total, all external, and all cancer mortality rates from 1960 to 2009 for cumulative total, surface, and underground coal production in coal-mining counties compared with non-coal-mining counties. Results No coal-related statistically significant elevations in total or all external mortality were found. Control for covariates attenuated rate ratios for all levels of coal mining. All forms of coal were statistically significant in the adjusted rate ratio models for all cancer mortality, with 4% to 6% excesses in the highest quartiles of production. Conclusions Total and all external mortalities do not seem to be related to coal production in Appalachia, but all cancer mortality should be further examined. Additional causes of death should also be considered.
The Diffusion of Horse Culture Among the North American Indians

Investigation of the horse-culture complex among the American Indians was undertaken to discover the procedure in a concrete case of culture diffusion, an important anthropological problem of the day. One of the most difficult tasks confronting the anthropologist is the elucidation of the precise complexes by which various traits of culture are produced. Since there is on every hand abundant evidence that many traits of culture are borrowed, or diffused, over large areas, the study of typical concrete instances of diffusion are of the first importance. A number of European anthropologists have been so impressed with the significance of diffusion, that they have developed from it a theory to account for the origin of culture traits. This theory is usually known as that of single origin as opposed to the theory of independent invention. The former asserts that all important traits of culture were invented but once and subsequently gradually diffused; the latter, that the same invention was made independently in many parts of the world, whence its diffusion is but apparent. As everyone knows, the discussion of such problems comes to naught unless concrete cases can be investigated. The horse-culture complex of the American Indian offers an excellent opportunity to study diffusion, because most of the essential facts are obtainable. The horse was introduced by Europeans at an early date and spread ahead of interior exploration. In particular, many of the tribes west of the Mississippi River became horsemen before their discovery by Europeans. The history of their introduction is briefly outlined by me in the American Anthropologist, Vol. 16, No. 1, pp. 1-25. The investigation here reported is the intensive study of collections of riding gear and horse-using appliances to be found in anthropological collections. The material available gives us a representative series for each important tribe in the horse-using area. The detailed comparative study of these specimens has developed many interesting points among the most significant of which are: 1. The Indian has shown no originality. He devised no important
Slow light with silicon photonic crystal ring microcavities

We experimentally demonstrate one-dimensional photonic crystal microring cavities coupled to straight waveguide in silicon-on-insulator. Near the photonic band edge, we measure large group index of ∼14 by optimizing the evanescent coupling with different waveguides widths.
Fusion of discrete and continuous epipolar geometry for visual odometry and localization

Localization is a critical problem for building mobile robotic systems capable of autonomous navigation. This paper describes a novel visual odometry method to improve the accuracy of localization when a camera is viewing a piecewise planar scene. Discrete and continuous Homography Matrices are used to recover position, heading, and velocity from images of co-planar feature points. A Kalman filter is used to fuse pose and velocity estimates and increase the accuracy of the estimates. Simulation results are presented to demonstrate the performance of the proposed method.
Measurement of Probe Diffusion in CO2-Swollen Polystyrene Using in Situ Fluorescence Nonradiative Energy Transfer

Tracer diffusion coefficients of decacyclene, perylene, and 9,10-bis(phenylethynyl)anthracene (BPEA) in CO2-swollen polystyrene (PS) films were measured in real time by high-pressure fluorescence nonradiative energy transfer (NRET) using pyrene-labeled polystyrene (PLPS) as the corresponding energy donor. The conditions studied, 55−75 °C and CO2 pressures between 55 and 104 bar, include regions near and well above the reported glass transition of PS in the presence of CO2. The diffusivity of the acceptor probes increased markedly upon modest increases in CO2 sorption. For example, decacyclene diffusivity increased from 6.6 × 10-14 to 1.4 × 10-12 cm2/s as CO2 sorption increased from 7 to 11 wt %. By comparison to the PS glass at ambient pressure and equivalent temperatures, acceptor probe diffusivities increased by more than 4 orders of magnitude. The concentration dependence of the probe diffusivity is in agreement with the Vrentas−Duda free volume model extended to ternary systems. The analysis indicates...
Digital Restoration Of Audio And Video Signals

In recent years much effort has been devoted to the problem of restoring signals that have been convolutionally degraded, perhaps by a process that can be modeled by a linear system. Typical degraded signals may be one or two-dimensional, such as a resonated audio signal or a blurred photograph. Most approaches to the restoration problem, however, have assumed in advance a knowledge of the degrading system, and have centered around workable methods of restoration. Recent research at Utah has led to the development of a non-linear homomorphic restoration system needing very little a priori information about the system that produced the convolutional degradation.© (1975) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Impaired glucose regulation is associated with poorer performance on the Stroop Task

Background Type 2 diabetes is a risk factor for development of cognitive dysfunction. Impairments in glucose regulation have been associated with poorer performance on tests of executive function and information processing speed.
Fruits of Health; Roots of Despair: William James, Medical Materialism and the Evaluation of Religious Experience

In The Varieties of Religious Experience, William James introduces the term “medical materialism” to describe the fallacious attempt by some scientists to argue against the value of spiritual ideas. Two literary case studies will be considered for purposes of better understanding James’ idea. What’s more, it will be shown that, in addition to James’ three criteria for the appropriate evaluation of religious experience, there is another factor not made explicit, namely that of hopefulness. This factor serves to distinguish ordinary from pathological morbid-mindedness, the latter of which has no religious significance.
Solar powered micrometeorite sensors using indoor ambient light for the International Space Station

Abstract Sensors for detecting micrometeorite impact locations and magnitudes as well as pressure vessel leaks have been under investigation for some time by the NASA Langley Research Center and other related entities. NASA has been investigating the use of the Distribution Impact Detection System (DIDS) for use on the International Space Station (ISS). However, the DIDS currently requires thionyl chloride lithium batteries which pose explosion and toxicity hazards, and replacing batteries is tedious and utilizes scarce man-hours. Carrying replacement batteries into space is also expensive. To hardwire new sensing devices into the ISS while in orbit would be time consuming. To overcome this problem, high efficiency GaAs solar cells have been studied under low light conditions comparable to those found inside the ISS. The cells were also studied for temperature dependence. Solar concentrators were investigated for possible use with ambient lighting. The power generated by the cells was stored in a large 300 F supercapacitor. A DC to DC boost regulator was modified to produce an output voltage of 3.55 V that is required by the DIDS. The successful operation of the DIDS with ambient light power, supercapacitor energy storage, and boost regulation was demonstrated.
Equity and fairness perceptions in the child welfare workforce

Abstract The role ethnic identification plays in worker perceptions of workplace dynamics in child welfare services (CWS) organizations has not often been a topic of inquiry. The current study follows the unexpected finding from a previous study in which African American (AA) social workers were significantly less likely to report that they would remain in their CWS agencies than European American (EA) workers. Utilizing a mixed methods approach, the authors explored whether inequity from bias in CWS agencies related to ethnicity was a contributor to intentions to stay/leave. The results revealed no significant relationships between ethnicity and job satisfaction or intentions to stay in CWS agencies among EA, AA, or Hispanic/Latino (HL) workers. However, striking findings emerged related to worker perceptions of court duties concerning inequitable workloads and pay.
Class A Calcium Channel Variants in Pancreatic Islets and Their Role in Insulin Secretion

Abstract The initiation of insulin release from rat islet β cells relies, in large part, on calcium influx through dihydropyridine-sensitive (α1D) voltage-gated calcium channels. Components of calcium-dependent insulin secretion and whole cell calcium current, however, are resistant toL-type channel blockade, as well as to ω-conotoxin GVIA, a potent inhibitor of α1B channels, suggesting the expression of additional exocytotic calcium channels in the islet. We used a reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction-based strategy to ascertain at the molecular level whether the α1Acalcium channel isoform was also present. Results revealed two new variants of the rat brain α1A channel in the islet with divergence in a putative extracellular domain and in the carboxyl terminus. Using antibodies and cRNA probes specific for α1A channels, we found that the majority of cells in rat pancreatic islets were labeled, indicating expression of the α1A channels in β cells, the predominant islet cell type. Electrophysiologic recording from isolated islet cells demonstrated that the dihydropyridine-resistant current was sensitive to the α1A channel blocker, ω-agatoxin IVA. This toxin also inhibited the dihydropyridine-resistant component of glucose-stimulated insulin secretion, suggesting functional overlap among calcium channel classes. These findings confirm the presence of multiple high voltage-activated calcium channels in the rat islet and implicate a physiologic role for α1A channels in excitation-secretion coupling in β cells.
Burning Blended Coal of Indonesia Lignite and Vietnam Anthracite on a Face-Fired 600MW Boiler Original Designed for Bituminous Coal

Elemental research of burning blended coal of Indonesia Lignite and Vietnam anthracite on a face-fired 600MW supercritical boiler is performed, which is original designed for burning high-quality bituminous coal. Maximum ratio of Vietnam anthracite can be 40 percent. With the increase of the ratio of the anthracite, the size of residue particles and the ratio of unburned carbon in residues (UBCRs) rise up markedly, the slag formation of Indonesia Lignite alleviate. The results reveal: the burnout of anthracite is more difficult than its ignition, the key way to solve this problem is to control Fineness of Pulverized Coal Powder (FPCP) of the blended coal according requirements of anthracite, but to control the Primary Air (PA) outlet temperature of mill and the mass ratio of PA to coal as flammable coal Lignite. Besides, Secondary Air (SA) Distribution mode of Centralized Oxygen Feeding(COF), Big Swirl Intensity also have obvious effects the combustion of blended coal.
Structure of glutaraldehyde cross-linked ryanodine receptor

The ryanodine receptor (RyR) family of calcium release channels plays a vital role in excitation-contraction coupling (ECC). Along with the dihydropyridine receptor (DHPR), calsequestrin, and several other smaller regulatory and adaptor proteins, RyRs form a large dynamic complex referred to as ECC machinery. Here we describe a simple cross-linking procedure that can be used to stabilize fragile components of the ECC machinery, for the purpose of structural elucidation by single particle cryo-electron microscopy (cryo-EM). As a model system, the complex of the FK506-binding protein (FKBP12) and RyR1 was used to test the cross-linking protocol. Glutaraldehyde fixation led to complete cross-linking of receptor-bound FKBP12 to RyR1, and also to extensive cross-linking of the four subunits comprising RyR to one another without compromising the RyR1 ultrastructure. FKBP12 cross-linked with RyR1 was visualized in 2D averages by single particle cryo-EM. Comparison of control RyR1 and cross-linked RyR1 3D reconstructions revealed minor conformational changes at the transmembrane assembly and at the cytoplasmic region. Intersubunit cross-linking enhanced [(3)H]ryanodine binding to RyR1. Based on our findings we propose that intersubunit cross-linking of RyR1 by glutaraldehyde induced RyR1 to adopt an open like conformation.
Superconducting magnet and conductor research activities in the US fusion program

Fusion research in the United States is sponsored by the Department of Energy's Office of Fusion Energy Sciences (OFES). The OFES sponsors a wide range of programs to advance fusion science, fusion technology, and basic plasma science. Most experimental devices in the US fusion program are constructed using conventional technologies; however, a small portion of the fusion research program is directed towards large scale commercial power generation, which typically relies on superconductor technology to facilitate steady-state operation with high fusion power gain, Q. The superconductor portion of the US fusion research program is limited to a small number of laboratories including the Plasma Science and Fusion Center at MIT, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (LLNL), and the Applied Superconductivity Center at University of Wisconsin, Madison. Although Brookhaven National Laboratory (BNL) and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) are primarily sponsored by the US's High Energy Physics program, both have made significant contributions to advance the superconductor technology needed for the US fusion program. This paper summarizes recent superconductor activities in the US fusion program.
Cell secretion and membrane fusion

Secretion occurs in all cells of multicellular organisms and involves the delivery of secretory products packaged in membrane-bound vesicles to the cell exterior. Specialized cells for neurotransmission, enzyme secretion or hormone release utilize a highly regulated secretory process. Secretory vesicles are transported to specific sites at the plasma membrane, where they dock and fuse to release their contents. Similar to other cellular processes, cell secretion is found to be highly regulated and a precisely orchestrated event. It has been demonstrated that membrane-bound secretory vesicles dock and fuse at porosomes, which are specialized supramolecular structures at the cell plasma membrane. Swelling of secretory vesicles results in a build-up of pressure, allowing expulsion of intravesicular contents. The extent of secretory vesicle swelling dictates the amount of intravesicular contents expelled during secretion. The discovery of the porosome, its isolation, its structure and dynamics at nm resolution and in real time, its biochemical composition and functional reconstitution into artificial lipid membrane, have been determined. The molecular mechanism of secretory vesicle fusion at the base of porosomes, and vesicle swelling, has also been resolved. These findings reveal the molecular mechanism of cell secretion.
Vortex lines and field reversal in anisotropic superconductors

In an anisotropic superconductor, a vortex line which is not parallel to a symmetry axis can have surprising features in its magnetic field pattern. In this paper we examine one such feature, the reversal of the component of the magnetic field parallel to the vortex axis. This field reversal leads to an attractive interaction between two parallel lines, when their positions satisfy certain criteria. Using perturbation theory, we develop simple analytic results which allow us to identify the supercurrents responsible for the magnetic field pattern. The importance of different screening lengths is stressed.
TH-D-M100E-09: Accurate Interpolation of 3D Structures and Doses Using Smoothed Surface Meshes

Purpose: In treatment planning systems, it is common to view anatomical structures or dose levels using segmented boundary curves. While such segmentations can be provided either manually or automatically on a number of transverse planes, interpolation has to take place on in‐between or non‐transverse planes. Naive image‐basedinterpolation by blending voxel values converted from provided segmentations produces artifacts in locations of dramatic change of segmentations between planes or due to inconsistencies in manual segmentations. We propose a geometry‐based interpolation approach that significantly reduces these artifacts by building and slicing 3D meshes. Method and Materials: The provided segmentations are first converted into labeled voxels (e.g., structure names, dose levels). We then use standard iso‐contouring techniques to extract surfaces bounding voxels with a common label, followed by iterative Laplacian‐smoothing. The intersection of the smoothed mesh and an arbitrary view plane is then calculated to obtain the interpolated segmentation on that plane. To accelerate the mesh generation process for multiple structures or dose levels, an interval‐tree optimization is introduced. Results: Mesh extraction, smoothing and plane‐mesh intersection have been implemented in C++ for efficiency, which is interactively invoked within CERR (coded in MATLAB). On a 1.4 GHz processor, the initial surface extraction and smoothing takes between 2–5 seconds for a single structure or dose level. Once the surfaces are generated, building intersections with view planes (and generating interpolated contours) takes negligible time and allows interactive viewing. Our smooth contours have dramatically reduced jaggedness comparing to naive image‐basedinterpolation at locations of sharp dose changes or between inconsistent physician‐drawn contours, as demonstrated using clinical treatment plans. Conclusion: The geometry‐based interpolation approach improves the visual quality as well as accuracy over naive image‐basedinterpolation techniques for viewing segmentations or dose levels on in‐between and non‐transverse planes without a significant sacrifice of running time.