cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
HbA1c in Patients with Polycystic Ovary Syndrome: A Potential Marker of Inflammation

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common endocrine disorder that is associated with increased inflammation, insulin resistance, and elevated risk of metabolic complications. hs-CRP is the most reliable marker of inflammation in PCOS patients. When hs-CRP is elevated, it can indicate increased risk of cardiovascular disease. The purpose of the study was to determine if a certain value of HbA1c in PCOS patients should alert clinicians to increased inflammation (as defined by hsCRP >2 mg/l), thus potentially be indicative of increased risk of cardiovascular disease. Methods: A cohort study was conducted on female patients between the ages of 20 to 45 years who fulfilled the National Institute of Health criteria for PCOS. Deidentified data of 46 patients with PCOS were obtained. All clinical tests were conducted after a 12 hr overnight fast. hs-CRP was measured by latex-enhanced immunonephelometry. Logistic regression analysis was conducted to assess the association between hs-CRP and HbA1c. Results: When various HbA1c levels were considered, a cutoff of 5.3% correctly classified patients with hs-CRP >2 mg/l at 80.4%. Sensitivity was 83.3% and specificity was 75%. Conclusion: An HbA1c cut off of 5.3% may be appropriate to initiate efforts for early detection of increased inflammation as a potential sign of risk for cardiovascular disease.
On sexuality in bacteria.

Abstract The recognised sexual mechanism of bacteria is criticized. An alternative hypothesis of transduction involving cellular contact is proposed. The arguments for a special type of transduction being operative rather than sexuality are discussed.
A confined world: A rereading of Pauline smith

(1984). A confined world: A rereading of Pauline smith. World Literature Written in English: Vol. 24, No. 2, pp. 232-238.
Yield improvement of 3D ICs in the presence of defects in through signal vias

Through signal vias (TSVs) in 3D ICs suffer from thermo-mechanical stress, and may fail or attain plasticity resulting in significant yield loss. We present a novel set of strategies for yield improvement in the presence of defects in through signal vias in heterogeneous 3D system-on-chip. Monte-Carlo simulation results show that our strategy can improve the yield of 3D ICs significantly. Furthermore, we estimate the parametric yield and present a quantitative analysis of the impact of our approach on chip area, power, performance and chip revenue that can improve profitability. Our results suggest that the proposed strategies can be very useful in yield-aware 3D design.
Structural Sources of Intraorganizational: Power: A Theoretical Synthesis

Research on organizational power has become overly fragmented; a multitude of different sources of power have been identified. Consequently, an overall picture of intraorganizational power relations is difficult to obtain. In this paper, three structural sources of power—hierarchical authority, resource control, and network centrality—are integrated in a theoretical synthesis. The complex nature of intraorganizational power is revealed in the interactions, tensions, and conflicts among the three sources of power.
Stable isotope variations in the Neoproterozoic Beck Spring Dolomite and Mesoproterozoic Mescal Limestone paleokarst: Implications for life on land in the Precambrian

Proterozoic karst events lowered δ13C values by as much as 11‰ for the 800 Ma Beck Spring Dolomite, California, and as much as 8.5‰ for the 1.1 Ga Mescal Limestone, central Arizona, relative to the originally deposited carbonate. The 13C changes are attributed to input of 13C-depleted organic CO2 derived from photosynthetic organisms that colonized the ancient land surface. The large isotopic shift and its presence at two separate localities suggest that Proterozoic karst surfaces were colonized by significant photosynthetic communities with phytomasses possibly approaching those of today.
A p105-based Inhibitor Broadly Represses NF-κB Activities

An IκBα-based NF-κB super repressor (sr) has been used widely for studying genes regulated by NF-κB transcription factors. Repression of NF-κB by IκBα(sr) also facilitates tumor necrosis factor α-induced apoptosis in the cell. However, IκBα primarily targets RelA and c-Rel-containing complexes, leaving other NF-κB/Rel protein complexes, such as p50 and p52 homodimers, and RelB heterodimers uninhibited. Because these atypical NF-κB complexes also contribute to gene regulation and are activated in pathological conditions, broad inhibition of all NF-κB species is of significant pharmacological and clinical interests. We have designed, generated, and tested a p105-based NF-κB super repressor. We showed that p105(sr), which no longer generates p50 and undergoes signal-induced degradation, effectively inhibits all NF-κB activities. In addition, we also demonstrated that p105(sr) significantly enhances tumor necrosis factor α-mediated killing of MT1/2 skin papilloma cells where p50 homodimer activity is elevated. Our results suggest that p105(sr) is a broader range and effective NF-κB super repressor and can potentially be used in cells where a noncanonical NF-κB activity is dominant or multiple NF-κB activities are activated.
Predictors of contralateral breast cancer in patients with unilateral breast cancer undergoing contralateral prophylactic mastectomy.

BACKGROUND: Although contralateral prophylactic mastectomy (CPM) reduced the risk of contralateral breast cancer in unilateral breast cancer patients, it was difficult to predict which patients were most likely to benefit from the procedure. The objective of this study was to identify the clinicopathologic factors that predict contralateral breast cancer and thereby inform decisions regarding performing CPM in unilateral breast cancer patients. METHODS: A total of 542 unilateral breast cancer patients who underwent CPM at The University of Texas M. D. Anderson Cancer Center from January 2000 to April 2007 were included in the current study. A logistic regression analysis was used to identify clinicopathologic factors that predict contralateral breast cancer. RESULTS: Of the 542 patients included in this study, 25 (5%) had an occult malignancy in the contralateral breast. Eighty-two patients (15%) had moderate-risk to high-risk histologic findings identified at final pathologic evaluation of the contralateral breast. Multivariate analysis revealed that 3 independent factors predicted malignancy in the contralateral breast: an ipsilateral invasive lobular histology, an ipsilateral multicentric tumor, and a 5-year Gail risk ≥1.67%. Multivariate analysis also revealed that an age ≥50 years at the time of the initial cancer diagnosis and an additional ipsilateral moderate-risk to high-risk pathology were independent predictors of moderate-risk to high-risk histologic findings in the contralateral breast. CONCLUSIONS: The findings indicated that CPM may be a rational choice for breast cancer patients who have a 5-year Gail risk ≥1.67%, an additional ipsilateral moderate-risk to high-risk pathology, an ipsilateral multicentric tumor, or an ipsilateral tumor of invasive lobular histology. Cancer 2009. © 2009 American Cancer Society.
Transactional approach to prediction of child maltreatment

The transactional-developmental approach was applied to a prospective longitudinal study of child maltreatment. Maternal background, infant constitutional, mother-infant interactional and maternal perception of infant temperament measures were entered into a multiple linear regression equation to predict child maltreatment. The results provide support for the transactional perspective in understanding the multiple determinants of early child maltreatment.
Suffering and Spirituality in the Poetry of Emily Dickinson

After a brief review of recent accounts of spirituality in its relation to medicine and psychotherapy, Emily Dickinson’s poetry is considered as a springboard to a more specific account of spirituality. While not conventionally religious, she is arguably among the most spiritual of poets inasmuch as her themes of God, love, beauty, and especially death and suffering all depend upon the jarring juxtaposition of embodied human experience and transcendent human significance. Her poems suggest a complex view of the ambiguous relation of suffering to human action and meaning. Psychotherapy is a spiritual process not because it necessarily involves supernatural beings or destinies, but because it represents the struggle between human will and aspiration on the one hand and acceptance of biological and other realities on the other.
The Influence of Temperamental Reactivity and Situational Context on the Emotion-Regulatory Abilities of 3-Year-Old Children

Although much research has been conducted on emotion regulation, little work in the preschool period has examined the interrelationships between emotion regulation, temperamental reactivity, and situational context. The authors investigated the temperamental dispositions of fifty-three 3-year-old children (27 boys, 26 girls) and their behavioral responses to several challenging tasks (i.e., stranger-approach situation, busy-caregiver paradigm, and delay-of-gratification task). Results indicated that both situational context and temperamental reactivity influenced the type of emotion-regulatory strategy used and that those relationships were best understood within a developmental framework. Moreover, the authors found that girls displayed more comforting strategies, suggesting that gender differences in emotion regulation may exist.
Mirrorless optical bistability condition.

The mirrorless optical bistability problem is approached by analyzing the local relationship between the population inversion and the intensity of the laser excitation source. The active mechanism leading to bistability is the nonlinear Lorentz shift that changes sign along with the population inversion. Homogeneous broadening works against bistability. For a collision-broadened gas these factors are related and we show that the relationship is such that optical bistability is forbidden.
Proteasome-mediated Glucocorticoid Receptor Degradation Restricts Transcriptional Signaling by Glucocorticoids

Ligand-dependent down-regulation of the glucocorticoid receptor (GR) has been shown to limit hormone responsiveness, but the mechanisms involved in this process are poorly understood. The glucocorticoid receptor is a phosphoprotein that upon ligand binding becomes hyperphosphorylated, and recent evidence indicates that phosphorylation status of the glucocorticoid receptor plays a prominent role in receptor protein turnover. Because phosphorylation is a key signal for ubiquitination and proteasomal catabolism of many proteins, we evaluated whether the ubiquitin-proteasomal pathway had a role in glucocorticoid receptor down-regulation and the subsequent transcriptional response to glucocorticoids. Pretreatment of COS-1 cells expressing mouse glucocorticoid receptor with the proteasome inhibitor MG-132 effectively blocks glucocorticoid receptor protein down-regulation by the glucocorticoid dexamethasone. Interestingly, both MG-132 and a second proteasome inhibitor β-lactone significantly enhanced hormone response of transfected mouse glucocorticoid receptor toward transcriptional activation of glucocorticoid receptor-mediated reporter gene expression. The transcriptional activity of the endogenous human glucocorticoid receptor in HeLa cells was also enhanced by MG-132. Direct evidence for ubiquitination of the glucocorticoid receptor was obtained by immunoprecipitation of cellular extracts from proteasome-impaired cells. Examination of the primary sequence of mouse, human, and rat glucocorticoid receptor has identified a candidate PEST degradation motif. Mutation of Lys-426 within this PEST element both abrogated ligand-dependent down-regulation of glucocorticoid receptor protein and simultaneously enhanced glucocorticoid receptor-induced transcriptional activation of gene expression. Unlike wild type GR, proteasomal inhibition failed to enhance significantly transcriptional activity of K426A mutant GR. Together these findings suggest a major role of the ubiquitin-proteasome pathway in regulating glucocorticoid receptor protein turnover, thereby providing a mechanism to terminate glucocorticoid responses.
Stem cells and the vasculature

Unraveling the contribution of stem and progenitor cells to blood vessel formation and, reciprocally, the importance of blood vessels to the production and function of stem and progenitor cells, has been a major focus of vascular research over the last decade, but has spawned many controversies. Here I review how vascular stem and progenitor cells contribute both vascular and nonvascular cells during development and in disease, and how nonvascular stem and progenitor cells might contribute to vascular lineages. I also discuss the role of the vasculature in forming stem and progenitor cell niches. Finally, I highlight the potential relevance of these relationships to disease etiology and treatment.
Monthly evapo-transpiration losses from natural drainage-basin

With limited restrictions the hydrologic cycle in a given area may be expressed essentially as follows: P = (R + E + ΔFm) in which P represents the precipitation during a given period, R that portion which has reached or will reach the stream-channel either through surface or subsurface paths, E that part which is evaporated from land and water surfaces and transpired by vegetation during the same period, and ΔFm the change in field-moisture content during the period. In general both E and Fm are unknown. When the period of time considered in the above expression is long, ΔFm may be neglected and then the evapo-transpiration losses equal the difference between P (rainfall) and R (runoff) [see 1 of “References” at end of paper]; on the other hand, when the period of time considered is short and considerable rain has fallen then E may be neglected and ΔFm equals the difference between P and R represents water stored as an increment to field-moisture to be disposed of by evapo-transpiration during subsequent rainless periods [2].
Motivation for organ donation among college students in the United States.

Abstract Background The majority of the patients presently waiting for an organ are waiting for a kidney. Living kidney donation by about 0.1% of the adult population of a nation may completely eliminate kidney shortage. We investigated the concerns of college students toward charitable and compensated organ donation. Methods A 40-question survey was conducted. The respondents were students of the Biology Department of Utah Valley University, Orem, Utah, United States. The data were tabulated and analyzed. Tests of association among potentially linked attributes and the difference between two independent proportions were performed at the 0.05 level of significance and P-values were also calculated using XLSTAT software. Results The participants (n = 321) were 47% male, 53% female, 89% Caucasian, and 93% healthy, and 7% of the respondents had some health conditions. Of the respondents, 55% were ages 18 to 25 and 40% were ages 26 to 50 years; 43% were unmarried or single, 57% were married, and 85% had health insurance. About 65% of the respondents lived in small cities and the rest lived in large cities (23%) or the countryside (9%). There was no significant association between gender, level of education, location of living, and household income in relation to belief in organ donation with or without compensation, except that males favored compensated organ donation over females (P = .004). Rumors on organ theft and extraction of organ from questionable brain-dead patients had not negatively affected the decision of participants on being listed as organ donors in their driver's license (P = .0001). Those who considered organ donation ethically acceptable also believed that a person has the right to sale a kidney (P = .015) and the donor party should be somehow compensated (P = .001). Conclusions A large percentage of college students supports compensated organ donation and considers that compensation will increase organ donation.
Design of Artificial Neural Network Using Solar Inputs for Assessing Energy Consumption in a High Performance Academic Building

Artificial neural networks (ANNs) are a commonly used and effective method for estimating the outputs of nonlinear plants. In this paper, a neural network is used to estimate the electricity consumption of Cooper Union’s new high performance academic building at 41 Cooper Square. Although neural networks have been used for over 20 years to estimate municipal or regional energy consumption, extending their application to analyzing the energy consumption of individual buildings offers great potential. Because most existing ANN models are implemented over a municipal or regional scale, additional variables were considered as inputs to this model to account for factors specific to individual buildings. Depending on a building’s height and aspect ratio, the location of the sun can have a significant effect on heating and cooling loads. This paper analyzes the effect of cloud cover and solar position on the accuracy of ANN models and finds that the presence of solar position as an input can decrease the predicted energy consumption error by as much as 48%.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Evaluation of a BK virus real-time PCR assay designed using novel bioinformatics technology.

Abstract Monitoring of active polyomavirus BK (BKV) infections by quantitative real-time PCR is becoming a progressively more routine practice in the care of renal transplant patients due to the potential for these infections to injure transplanted kidneys. Quantitative BKV results from a previously validated, laboratory-developed real-time PCR assay based on commercially available MGB Alert® reagents were compared to results obtained from the same urine and plasma specimens using a commercially designed real-time PCR assay by IntelligentMDx. When compared qualitatively, the two assays performed identically with the exception of one urine specimen in which BKV DNA was detected near the lower limit of quantification by the MGB Alert® assay. A quantitative comparison of the results showed an average 0.55 log10 copies/mL difference between the two assays. These findings suggest that despite small differences, the IntelligentMDx assay could be adopted for clinical BKV monitoring of renal transplant patients.
Partial breast radiation therapy with proton beam: 5-year results with cosmetic outcomes.

Purpose We updated our previous report of a phase 2 trial using proton beam radiation therapy to deliver partial breast irradiation (PBI) in patients with early stage breast cancer. Methods and Materials Eligible subjects had invasive nonlobular carcinoma with a maximal dimension of 3 cm. Patients underwent partial mastectomy with negative margins; axillary lymph nodes were negative on sampling. Subjects received postoperative proton beam radiation therapy to the surgical bed. The dose delivered was 40 Gy in 10 fractions, once daily over 2 weeks. Multiple fields were treated daily, and skin-sparing techniques were used. Following treatment, patients were evaluated with clinical assessments and annual mammograms to monitor toxicity, tumor recurrence, and cosmesis. Results One hundred subjects were enrolled and treated. All patients completed the assigned treatment and were available for post-treatment analysis. The median follow-up was 60 months. Patients had a mean age of 63 years; 90% had ductal histology; the average tumor size was 1.3 cm. Actuarial data at 5 years included ipsilateral breast tumor recurrence-free survival of 97% (95% confidence interval: 100%-93%); disease-free survival of 94%; and overall survival of 95%. There were no cases of grade 3 or higher acute skin reactions, and late skin reactions included 7 cases of grade 1 telangiectasia. Patient- and physician-reported cosmesis was good to excellent in 90% of responses, was not changed from baseline measurements, and was well maintained throughout the entire 5-year follow-up period. Conclusions Proton beam radiation therapy for PBI produced excellent ipsilateral breast recurrence-free survival with minimal toxicity. The treatment proved to be adaptable to all breast sizes and lumpectomy cavity configurations. Cosmetic results appear to be excellent and unchanged from baseline out to 5 years following treatment. Cosmetic results may be improved over those reported with photon-based techniques due to reduced breast tissue exposure with proton beam, skin-sparing techniques, and the dose fractionation schedule used in this trial.
Epitaxial Silicon Semiconductor Detectors Past Developments, Future Prospects

A review of the main physical characteristics of epitaxial silicon as it relates to detector development is presented. As examples of applications results are presented on (1) epitaxial silicon avalanche diodes (ESAD); signal-to-noise, non-linear aspects of the avalanche gain mechanism, gain-bandwidth product, (2) ultrathin epitaxial silicon surface barrier (ESSB) detectors, response to heavy ions, (3) an all-epitaxial silicon diode (ESD), response to heavy ions, charge transport and charge defect. Future prospects of epitaxial silicon as it relates to new detector designs are summarized.
Characterizing the heterogeneity of globus pallidus neuron behavior by comparing a real neuron database with model databases of varying conductance parameters

Background The function of brain networks is highly dependent on the dynamical properties of single neurons, whose activity ranges from complex spontaneous activity patterns such as oscillations and bursting, to a variety of synaptic response patterns serving functions such as coincidence detection or rebound firing. These dynamical properties vary in time through modulation and plasticity, and are also heterogeneous across individual neurons of the same type. Commonly, neurons show two to five-fold variability in the density of voltage-gated conductances, which accounts for large variations in dynamical behavior.
Two modes of back-arc spreading

Back-arc spreading is initiated with rifting along the volcanic zone of an island arc under extensional tectonics. The width of the volcanic zone of the arc, which is closely related to the dip angle of the subducting slab, should cause a variation in the style of initial rifting and subsequent back-arc spreading. Two modes of back-arc spreading, single-rift type and multirift type, are introduced from the comparative study of the Bonin arc and the Japan Sea. Divergent tectonics in an island arc above a steeply dipping slab will cause a single-rift system in a narrow volcanic zone but will cause a multirift system in a broad volcanic zone, which is related to a shallow-dipping angle of subduction.
Effect of magnesium stearate on the content uniformity of active ingredient in pharmaceutical powder mixtures

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of magnesium stearate on the physical stability of polydisperse powder mixtures. The effects of concentration of magnesium stearate and the time of lubrication of mixtures with magnesium stearate on the content uniformity of the active ingredient in the mixtures were evaluated in a model mixture of lactose and aspirin. These effects were compared in a random mixture of non-interacting components and a mixture based on particle interaction. A statistical model that adequately described the relationship between the factors examined and the response was generated. The model indicated the presence of an interaction between magnesium stearate concentration and lubrication time. At a given concentration of magnesium stearate, there was a significant reduction in the content uniformity of aspirin as the time of lubrication of the mixture with magnesium stearate was increased. This effect was larger in mixtures based on particle interaction than in random mixtures of non-interacting components.
Distribution of circumferential stress in ruptured and stable atherosclerotic lesions. A structural analysis with histopathological correlation.

BACKGROUNDAlthough rupture of an atherosclerotic plaque is considered to be the cause of most acute coronary syndromes, the mechanism of plaque rupture is controversial.METHODS AND RESULTSTo test the hypothesis that plaque rupture occurs at sites of high circumferential stress in the diseased vessel, the distribution of stress was analyzed in 24 coronary artery lesions. Histological specimens from 12 coronary artery lesions that caused lethal myocardial infarction were compared with those from 12 stable control lesions. A finite element model was used to calculate the stress distributions at a mean intraluminal pressure of 110 mm Hg. The maximum circumferential stress in plaques that ruptured was significantly higher than maximum stress in stable specimens (4,091 +/- 1,199 versus 1,444 +/- 485 mm Hg, p < 0.0001). Twelve of 12 ruptured lesions had a total of 31 regions of stress concentration of more than 2,250 mm Hg (mean, 2.6 +/- 1.4 high stress regions per lesion); only one of 12 control lesions had a s...
Investigating the use of Large-Scale Immersive Computing Environments in Collaborative Design

Successful collaborative design requires in-depth communication between experts from different disciplines. Many design decisions are made based on a shared mental model and understanding of key features and functions before the first prototype is built. Large-Scale Immersive Computing Environments (LSICEs) provide the opportunity for teams of experts to view and interact with 3D CAD models using natural human motions to explore potential design configurations. This paper presents the results of a class exercise where student design teams used an LSICE to examine their design ideas and make decisions during the design process. The goal of this research is to gain an understanding of (1) whether the decisions made by the students are improved by full-scale visualizations of their designs in LSICEs, (2) how the use of LSICEs affect the communication of students with collaborators and clients, and (3) how the interaction methods provided in LSICEs affect the design process. The results of this research indicate that the use of LSICEs improves communication among design team members.Copyright © 2014 by ASME
Kinetics of the RNA-DNA helicase activity of Escherichia coli transcription termination factor rho. 1. Characterization and analysis of the reaction.

The kinetics of the ATP-dependent RNA−DNA helicase activity of Escherichia coli transcription termination factor rho have been analyzed. Helicase substrates were assembled using 255 nt and 391 nt R...
Linguistic dimensions of weather and climate perception.

The purpose of this research was to explore the latent dimensions that underlie people’s use of adjectives that can describe weather and climate conditions. A sample of 1,011 university undergraduate students residing the southeastern United States evaluated the weather and climate of that region using 143 English language adjectives. Data were collected over a two-year period during various weather and seasonally related climatic conditions. Polychoric correlations among the adjective ratings were calculated; the matrix of correlations was factor analyzed. Twelve underlying factors related to weather and climate perceptions were observed: 1. threatening, severe, violent, 2. dismal, drab, dark, 3. cold and wintry, 4. hot and summery, 5. tranquil and pleasant, 6. stormy and wet, 7. bright and clear, 8. blowing and blustery, 9. damp and moist, 10. cloudy and cool, 11. predictable and unchanging, and 12. hazy and dusty. A second-order factor analysis revealed two factors pertaining to weather valence: 1. bad or extreme and 2. good or routine conditions. The study results were noteworthy in revealing some of the basic linguistic dimensions along which people perceive and experience weather and climate at the current time in the southeastern United States. The study also represents the use of a new technique for biometeorologists to use in assessing climate perceptions in culturally and climatically diverse regions.
A collisional model for the formation of ripples in early-type disk galaxies

Restricted three-body calculations of high-inclination low-impact-parameter encounters between a disk galaxy and its companion are used to demonstrate that the shell-like ripples noted in a number of disk galaxies are also collisional artifacts. It is suggested that some of the ripples may be the results of internal oscillations following such encounters. It is assumed that the target is an early-type disk with a sufficiently low gas fraction that recent star formation does not dominate the appearance of the disturbed disk.
In Defense of Today's Struggling Reader: What Policymakers Can Learn From Beth

On a warm spring afternoon in New York City, a classroom of multilingual 1st-graders erupts into roars and cheers—the teacher has just announced a spelling bee. As the children line up, there stand...
WE-E-J-6C-01: TOMAS, a Tool for Organ Motion AnalysiS

Purpose: On line cone‐beam x‐ray CT is a promising technique for image‐guided‐radiation‐therapy(IGRT) by virtue of its ability to provide soft tissuecontrast in 3D. IGRT enables correction for inter‐fraction set‐up error and organ motion, which can improve accuracy and opens potential for using smaller set‐up margins. The key to IGRT margin determination lies in understanding intra‐fraction organ motion, representing a paradigm shift from conventional treatments, where inter‐fraction motion dominates. We present a technique and software tool to study intra‐fraction motion, and present preliminary applications to cervix and prostate. Method and Materials: Single shot fast spin echo (SSFSE) MR sagittal images were acquired every 2 seconds at several slice locations through the target volume in several patients. Images were acquired over a period of twenty minutes, corresponding to a typical treatment fraction. Images were analyzed in a motion analysis software tool developed in Matlab. Special functions were developed to quantify aspects of target motion, including rigid body translations, drift, deformation, and rotation. Explicit functionality was also developed to analyze frequency aspects of intra‐fraction motion. Results: Significant inter‐patient variability of organ motion has been observed over time periods consistent with typical daily treatment time. In a cervix case a general drifting and rotation of the target position was observed (15 degrees), correlating with bladder filling. This was not observed in other cases. Observations of prostate motion suggest that the prostate maintains a relatively stable mean position and has only transitory discursions of up to 1cm related to rectal gas. Conclusion: Preliminary investigations of cervix and prostate target motion indicate that characterization of intra‐fraction motion is an important pre‐requisite for determining optimal margins in IGRT treatments. A tool incorporating analysis of the frequency of motion will be presented to translate characterized motion into meaningful tumor margins.
The Recuperative Effects of REM Sleep and Stage 4 Sleep on Human Performance After Complete Sleep Loss: Experiment 1

Twelve young (17–21 yrs) male Navy recruits volunteered for a sleep loss study. After 4 baseline days, the Ss were completely deprived of sleep for 2 days and nights. Next followed an experimental phase of 2 days and nights after which all Ss received 2 nights of uninterrupted sleep. During the experimental phase, the 4 Ss in the REM-deprived group were aroused whenever they showed signs of REM sleep. The 4 Ss of the stage 4-deprived group were aroused whenever they showed signs of entering stage 4 sleep, and the 4 Ss of the Control group had uninterrupted sleep. All tests (speed and accuracy of addition, speed and accuracy of self-paced vigilance, errors of omission in experimenter paced vigilance, immediate recall of word lists, and mood) showed significant impairment after the first night of complete sleep loss. But during the experimental (sleep-stage-deprivation) and recovery phases, all three groups showed equal rates of recovery. Depriving the S of stage REM or stage 4 during recovery sleep does not affect the recuperation rate. Frequent arousals (50–100 per night) also do not impair recovery. The amount of sleep is probably more important than the kind of sleep.
Theory of the periodic orbits of a chaotic quantum well

A theory is developed for the periodic orbits of an electron trapped in a rectangular potential well under the influence of an electric field normal to the barriers and a magnetic field. When the magnetic field is parallel to the electric field the dynamics of an electron in the well is integrable; however, when it is tilted by an angle $\ensuremath{\theta}$ the system undergoes a transition to chaos. Motivated by recent experimental and theoretical studies of magnetotunneling in quantum wells that emphasize the role of periodic orbits, we present here a unified theory of all the periodic orbits within the well that are of relevance to experiments. We define the appropriate scaled variables for the problem, which we divide into two qualitatively different cases, the single-barrier model (depending on two parameters) and the double-barrier model (depending on three parameters). We show that in both cases all relevant orbits are related to bifurcations of period-one traversing orbits. A full analytic theory is derived for the period and stability of these traversing orbits; and analytic and numerical results are obtained for the important period-two and period-three orbits. An unusual feature of the classical mechanics of the double-barrier is a discontinuity in the classical Poincar\'e map, which leads to a new type of bifurcation that we term a cusp bifurcation. We show that all the periodic orbits that traverse the well exist only in finite intervals of voltage and magnetic field, appearing and disappearing in bifurcations. These intervals are shown to correspond to the appearance of new resonance peaks in the experimental data, laying the foundation for a quantitative semiclassical treatment of the system.
White matter integrity pre- and post marijuana and alcohol initiation in adolescence

Characterizing the effects of alcohol and marijuana use on adolescent brain development is important for understanding potential alterations in neurodevelopment. Several cross sectional studies have identified group differences in white matter integrity after initiation of heavy alcohol and marijuana use, however none have explored white matter trajectories in adolescents pre- and post initiation of use, particularly for marijuana users. This study followed 16 adolescents with minimal alcohol and marijuana use at ages 16-18 over three years. At follow-up, teens were 19-22 years old; half of the participants initiated heavy alcohol use and half initiated heavy alcohol and marijuana use. Repeated-measures ANOVA revealed 20 clusters in association and projection fibers tracts (p < 0.01) in which a group by time interaction was found. Most consistently, white matter integrity (i.e., fractional anisotropy) decreased for those who initiated both heavy alcohol and marijuana use over the follow-up interval. No effect of time or change in white matter integrity was seen for those who initiated alcohol use only in the majority of clusters. In most regions, at the baseline time point, teens who would later initiate both alcohol and marijuana use demonstrated white matter integrity greater than or equal to teens that initiated alcohol use only. Findings suggest poorer tissue integrity associated with combined initiation of heavy alcohol and marijuana use in late adolescence. While OPEN ACCESS pre-existing differences may also be related to likelihood of substance use, the present data suggest an effect on tissue integrity for these teens transitioning to combined alcohol and marijuana use in later adolescence.
Scar and antiscar quantum effects in open chaotic systems

We predict and numerically observe strong periodic orbit effects in the properties of weakly open quantum systems with a chaotic classical limit. Antiscars lead to a large number of exponentially narrow isolated resonances when the single-channel (or tunneling) opening is located on a short unstable orbit of the closed system; the probability to remain in the system at long times is thus exponentially enhanced over the random matrix theory prediction. The distribution of resonance widths and the probability to remain are quantitatively given in terms of only the stability matrix of the orbit on which the opening is placed. The long-time remaining probability density is nontrivially distributed over the available phase space; it can be enhanced or suppressed near orbits other than the one on which the lead is located, depending on the periods and classical actions of these other orbits. These effects of the short periodic orbits on quantum decay rates have no classical counterpart, and first appear on times scales much larger than the Heisenberg time of the system. All the predictions are quantitatively compared with numerical data.
The structure and thermal stability of tungsten‐based contact metallizations to n‐GaN

Thermally stable contacts to n-GaN have been obtained using W and WSi. Low specific contact resistance was achieved for the W metallization with limited reaction between the metal and semiconductor up to 1000°C. The formation of the β-W2N and W-N interfacial phases were deemed responsible for the electrical integrity observed at these annealing temperatures. The Wx-N1-x interfacial phases functioned as efficient barriers to the outdiffusion of Ga. For WSi, the β-W2N interfacial phase formation was observed after annealing at 700° and 800°C. This phase also prevented Ga outdiffusion at these elevated temperatures. Optimization of this phase and moderate suppression of interfacial irregularities occurred after annealing at 800°C. This investigation demonstrates that both W and WSi contacts appear to be reasonable contact choices for high-temperature electronics applications.
A Case for Characterizing Polymers with the Kerr Effect

We briefly summarize Kerr effect studies of dilute polymer solutions, taken from our own work, for the purpose of emphasizing their unique ability to characterize polymer microstructures. In cases where at least one of their monomer repeat units is polar or at least reasonably and anisotropically polarizable, the molar Kerr constants, mK, of polymers obtained from the electrical birefringence measured for their dilute solutions are demonstrated to be exquisitely sensitive to their microstructures, including the tacticities of homo- and copolymers and the comonomer sequences of copolymers. In addition, because the mKs expected for polymers with given or known microstructures can be calculated if their conformational characteristics have been established, comparison of observed and calculated mKs can also be used to confirm or derive their conformational characteristics, such as those embodied in their rotational isomeric states (RIS) models. From such comparisons of observed and calculated mKs, we were abl...
Radiochemical determination of the fast neutron flux in uranium assemblies

Zinc was introduced into pure uranium salt assemblies as target material for the formation of fast neutron reaction products in order to determine the fast neutron flux experimentally by means of the 64Zn(n, p)64Cu reaction. The fast neutron flux thus determined in three samples was 0·029 ± 0·003, 0·020 ± 0·002, and 0·019 ± 0·003 n/min/gU. The fast neutron flux for these three samples was calculated from reactor theory and found to be 0·026, 0·017, and 0·017 n/min/gU, respectively. This study provides the first direct measurement by activation of the fast neutron flux present in a natural uranium assembly.
Word segmentation by letter successor varieties

Abstract This paper describes a method for automatically segmenting words into their stems and affixes. The process uses certain statistical properties of a corpus (successor and predecessor letter variety counts) to indicate where words should be divided. Consequently, this process is less reliant on human intervention than are other methods for automated stemming. The segmentation system is used to construct stem dictionaries for document classification. Information retrieval experiments are then performed using documents and queries so classified. Results show not only that this method is capable of high quality word segmentation, but also that its use in information retrieval produces results that are at least as good as those obtained using the more traditional stemming processes.
A diffusive sampler for personal monitoring of toluene diisocyanate (TDI) exposure; Part I: Design of the dosimeter.

A passive dosimeter for monitoring occupational exposure to toluene diisocyanate (TDI) was developed. The device is constructed from a 37-mm aerosol cassette. The collection medium used in the dosimeter is 0.5% sulfuric acid (H2SO4). Membranes of both the permeation and diffusion types were evaluated for use in the dosimeter. Microporous Teflon® diffusion membranes exhibited superior performance in terms of surface effects and residual TDI and were chosen for use. Collected TDI is determined as toluenediamine by either colorimetry using a modification of the Marcali technique or fluorometry using fluorescamine reagent. A significant dependence on wind speed was minimized by use of a second microporous membrane as a wind screen. The mass transfer rate of TDI was found to be approximately 0.0152 µg/ppb·hr and was equivalent for the 2,4 and 2,6 isomers of TDI.
Study finds carbon mobility in olivine

The significance of carbon's existence as a solid solution in olivine is many fold. Currently there are speculations about the contributions of dissolved carbon to the electrical conductivity of minerals that constitute the earth's upper mantle, and for this contribution olivine is a prime candidate. If carbon, once dissolved, is relatively mobile in upper mantle mineral structures, a lot can be speculated about diffusional processes in the upper mantle, the very diffusional processes many geophysicists ordinarily assume to be relatively unimportant. Diffusion—creep processes that support convective overturn in the solid-state—can be accelerated, perhaps, by the mobility of minor elements.
Responses of single thoracic respiratory neurons to electrical stimulation of suprasegmental respiratory areas.

Abstract Extracellular single unit activity was recorded from respiratory and nonrhythmic neurons in response to suprasegmental respiratory area (medullary inspiratory and cortical expiratory) stimuli in anesthetized, paralyzed cats Thirty-three respiratory neurons (three motoneurons and 30 interneurons) and 23 nonrhythmic interneurons were recorded in the thoracic spinal cord. Thirteen of these cells responded in a manner consistent with current concepts of neural respiratory organization, whereas 43 cells responded in a manner suggesting that other possible interactions between respiratory areas may exist.
Developmental changes in renal tubular transport—an overview

The adult kidney maintains a constant volume and composition of extracellular fluid despite changes in water and salt intake. The neonate is born with a kidney that has a small fraction of the glomerular filtration rate of the adult and immature tubules that function at a lower capacity than that of the mature animal. Nonetheless, the neonate is also able to maintain a constant extracellular fluid volume and composition. Postnatal renal tubular development was once thought to be due to an increase in the transporter abundance to meet the developmental increase in glomerular filtration rate. However, postnatal renal development of each nephron segment is quite complex. There are isoform changes of several transporters as well as developmental changes in signal transduction that affect the capacity of renal tubules to reabsorb solutes and water. This review will discuss neonatal tubular function with an emphasis on the differences that have been found between the neonate and adult. We will also discuss some of the factors that are responsible for the maturational changes in tubular transport that occur during postnatal renal development.
Magnetoresistance in Germanium in the Impurity Conduction Range

In germanium samples with impurity concentrations between 5\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{16}$ and 3\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}${10}^{17}$ per ${\mathrm{cm}}^{3}$, when impurity conduction sets in, there is a temperature range in which the resistivity is characterized by an activation energy ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{2}$. The magnetoresistance in this region has been studied. It is found that the effect of a magnetic field is to change the activation energy ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{2}$ to ${\ensuremath{\epsilon}}_{2}+\ensuremath{\alpha}{H}^{2}$. The value of $\ensuremath{\alpha}$ depends on the nature and concentration of the impurity. The experimental results for Sb-, As-, and Ga-doped samples are presented.
Questioning a White Male Advantage in STEM Examining Disparities in College Major by Gender and Race/Ethnicity

The authors analyze national data on recent college matriculants to investigate gender and racial/ethnic disparities in STEM fields, with an eye toward the role of academic preparation and attitudes in shaping such disparities. Results indicate that physical science/engineering (PS/E) majors are dominated by men, but not, however, disproportionately by White men. After accounting for high school preparation, the odds of declaring a PS/E major are two times greater for Black males than for White males, and Black females are closer than White females to closing the gap with White males. The authors find virtually no evidence that math attitudes contribute to disparities in choice of a PS/E major. Finally, in contrast to PS/E fields, biological sciences draw relatively equitably from all groups.
Bayesian virtual probe: minimizing variation characterization cost for nanoscale IC technologies via Bayesian inference

The expensive cost of testing and characterizing parametric variations is one of the most critical issues for today's nanoscale manufacturing process. In this paper, we propose a new technique, referred to as Bayesian Virtual Probe (BVP), to efficiently measure, characterize and monitor spatial variations posed by manufacturing uncertainties. In particular, the proposed BVP method borrows the idea of Bayesian inference and information theory from statistics to determine an optimal set of sampling locations where test structures should be deployed and measured to monitor spatial variations with maximum accuracy. Our industrial examples with silicon measurement data demonstrate that the proposed BVP method offers superior accuracy (1.5× error reduction) over the VP approach that was recently developed in [12].