cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental study of 3D pump-intake flows with and without cross flow

Detailed measurements of three-dimensional turbulent flows within a rectangular single-pump bay area of a right-angle water intake model with and without cross flow were obtained using an acoustic Doppler velocimeter (ADV) in order to elucidate swirling flow characteristics within the pump sump. Without cross flow, the pump-approach flow distributions were characterized by nearly uniform streamwise velocities in the pump bay and weak free-surface vortices near the pump column. With cross flow, the three-dimensional mean velocity measurements revealed the existence of a large recirculation zone upstream of the pump column such that strong streamwise velocities were present at higher depths and near the left sidewall, while the reverse current concentrated at lower depths along the right sidewall. Flow patterns in the latter case were also characterized by strong free-surface vortices in the vicinity of the pump column and a strong floor-attached subsurface vortex underneath the pump bell. Uncertainty analy...
The Serine/Threonine Kinase Akt Promotes Fcγ Receptor-mediated Phagocytosis in Murine Macrophages through the Activation of p70S6 Kinase

Fcγ receptor (FcγR) clustering by immune complexes activates multiple signaling pathways leading to phagocytosis. We and others have previously reported that Akt is phosphorylated in response to FcγR clustering. However, the functional consequence of Akt activation by FcγR is not known. Using Raw 264.7 macrophage cells transfected to overexpress either constitutively active myristoylated (Myr)-Akt or a dominant-negative CAAX-Akt and bone marrow macrophages (BMMs) from wild-type and transgenic mice expressing macrophage-specific Myr-Akt, we analyzed the function of Akt in phagocytosis. We report that overexpression of Myr-Akt resulted in significant increase in phagocytic efficiency, whereas CAAX-Akt down-regulated phagocytosis in Raw 264.7 cells. Likewise BMMs expressing Myr-Akt displayed enhanced phagocytic ability. Analyzing the downstream effectors of Akt, we demonstrate that p70S6 kinase is constitutively phosphorylated in Myr-Akt-expressing BMMs. p70S6 kinase is reported to influence actin cytoskeleton and cell migration, suggesting that Akt may influence phagocytosis through the activation of p70S6 kinase. Consistent with this, overexpression of either wild-type or constitutively active but not a kinase-inactive p70S6 kinase in Raw 264.7 cells significantly enhanced phagocytosis. Likewise suppression of p70S6 kinase with rapamycin down-regulated phagocytic efficiency conferred by the expression of constitutively active Akt. These findings demonstrate a novel role for Akt in phagocytosis through the activation of p70S6 kinase.
Escherichia coli pfs Transcription: Regulation and Proposed Roles in Autoinducer-2 Synthesis and Purine Excretion

Pfs expression is required for several metabolic pathways and limits the production of autoinducer-2, a molecule proposed to play a central role in interspecies quorum sensing. The present study reveals physiological conditions and promoter DNA elements that regulate Escherichia coli pfs transcription. Pfs transcription is shown to rely on both sigma 70 and sigma 38 (rpoS), and the latter is subject to induction that increases pfs expression. Transcription is maximal as the cells approach stationary phase, and this level can be increased by salt stress through induction of sigma 38-dependent expression. The pfs promoter is shown to contain both positive and negative elements, which can be used by both forms of RNA polymerase. The negative element is contained within the overlapping dgt promoter, which is involved in purine metabolism. Consideration of the physiological roles of sigma 38 and dgt leads to a model for how autoinducer production is controlled under changing physiological conditions.
Metaplastic Breast Carcinoma Invading Chest Wall

Metaplastic breast carcinoma refers to a heterogeneous group of neoplasms in which the typical glandular growth pattern of the tumor undergoes metaplasia, either epithelial or stromal. A 59-year-old woman presented with a breast mass that recurred in 1 year and showed invasion of the chest wall. Histological sections of both the tumor and the recurrence showed a tumor composed predominantly of stromal spindle cells with neoplastic epithelial ducts. Squamous metaplasia was seen in some ducts. Immunohistochemical staining showed positive cytokeratin and epithelial membrane antigen staining of the epithelial cells. Smooth muscle actin, S100, and vimentin were diffusely positive in the stromal cells. Electron microscopy of the original lesion showed cells with squamous epithelial and smooth muscle characteristics, and other cells that formed lumens into which microvilli projected. Electron microscopy of the recurrent lesion showed primarily spindle-shaped cells with abundant tonofilaments in the perinuclear c...
Human Coinfection with Bartonella henselae and Two Hemotropic Mycoplasma Variants Resembling Mycoplasma ovis

Two variants of an organism resembling the ovine hemoplasma, Mycoplasma ovis, were detected by PCR in blood samples from a veterinarian in Texas. Coinfection with similar variants has been described in sheep. This represents the first report of human infection with this organism. The veterinarian was coinfected with Bartonella henselae.
Recruiting the Next Generation of Jail Employees: Does Generational Relevance or Agency Size Make a Difference?

Given their multiple functions, inadequate funding, and generally low visibility, America’s jails have sustained an ongoing struggle to recruit a sufficient quantity and quality of applicants to effectively fulfill their mission. Although the current economic downturn has temporarily curtailed turnover, postponed retirements, and intensified job competition, the cyclical nature of economic developments assures that jails will once again be forced into aggressive recruitment rivalry. To proactively address such upcoming challenges, it is essential to determine how jails can most productively target and select the best candidates. Providing information to assist jail administrators in that regard, a national survey was conducted to identify what attracted various age groups to jail employment, in order to ascertain whether a differential recruitment focus is needed to attract the new generation of workers. Jail size was also considered in terms of whether the ease or difficulty of progression through the selection screening process made a difference. Most revealing, however, was the lack of statistically-significant differences between various generational cohorts. Virtually all age groups were in substantial agreement that the extrinsic attractions of jail employment—such as salary, benefits, pension plan, and job stability--were their most important job consideration factors. Overall, findings point toward the recruitment benefit that jails may potentially derive from capitalizing on the advantages of being a steady rock of dependable employment, especially in times that are characterized by job insecurity and economic hardships.
A converse to Lagrange's theorem

An integer n >0 is called a CLT -number if any group of order n has subgroups of order d for every divisor d of n . The Set of CLT -numbers n is characterized by properties of the prime factorization of n . In addition, if G has order dividing a CLT -number then the structure of G/C G (U) is given where U is a chief factor of G . As a consequence, it is shown that G is solvable of Fitting height at most 3.
The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness by Donna Haraway

(2007). The Companion Species Manifesto: Dogs, People, and Significant Otherness by Donna Haraway. Women's Studies in Communication: Vol. 30, No. 1, pp. 145-148.
A minimal and complete set of operators for the development of robust manifold mesh modelers

In this paper, we identify a minimal and complete set of fundamental operators, which is necessary and sufficient for performing all homeomorphic and topological operations on 2- manifold mesh structures. Efficient algorithms are developed for the implementation of these operators. We also developed a set of powerful, user-friendly, and effective operators at the level of user-interface. Using these operators, we have developed a prototype system for robust, interactive, and user-friendly modeling of orientable 2-manifold meshes. Users of our system can perform a large set of homeomorphic and topological changes with these user-interface level operators. Our system is topologically robust in the sense that users will never create invalid 2-manifold mesh structure with these operators. In our system, the homeomorphic and topological surgery operations can be applied alternatively on 2-manifold meshes. With our system, users can blend surfaces, construct rinds, and open holes on these rind shapes. With our system, the shapes that look like solid, non-manifold, or 2-manifold with boundary can be manipulated. The system also provides automatic texture mapping during topology changes.
Designing Educative Curriculum Materials to Promote Teacher Learning

Curriculum materials for Grades K‐12 that are intended to promote teacher learning in addition to student learning have come to be called educative curriculum materials. How can K‐12 curriculum materials be designed to best promote teacher learning? What might teacher learning with educative curriculum materials look like? The authors present a set of design heuristics for educative curriculum materials to further the principled design of these materials. They build from ideas about teacher learning and organize the heuristics around important parts of a teacher’s knowledge base: subject matter knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge for topics, and pedagogical content knowledge for disciplinary practices. These heuristics provide a context for a theoretically oriented discussion of how features of educative curriculum materials may promote teacher learning, by serving as cognitive tools that are situated in teachers’ practice. The authors explore challenges in the design of educative curriculum materials, such as the tension between providing guidance and choice.
Pyramid broadcasting for video-on-demand service

The proposed scheme of pyramid broadcasting is a new way of rendering Video On Demand service. In pyramid broadcasting, the most frequently requested movies are multiplexed on the broadcast network, resulting in radical improvement of access time and efficient bandwidth utilization. This is achieved by using storage at the receiving end. As the available bandwidth increases, the improvement in access time is exponential as opposed to just linear improvement as in the case of conventional broadcasting. The larger the bandwidth of the network, the better the access time gain due to pyramid broadcasting. As the access time requirement decreases, the bandwidth requirement in the case of conventional broadcasting increases linearly while the bandwidth requirement in the case of pyramid broadcasting increases only logarithmically. We provide analytical and experimental evaluations of pyramid broadcasting based on its implementation on ethernet LAN, illustrating its advantages.© (1995) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Equatorial spread-F and neutral atmospheric turbulence - A review and a comparative anatomy

Abstract A number of satellite and rocket plasma density spectra obtained during equatorial spread-F conditions are presented and discussed in the light of similar measurements in the neutral atmosphere. We discuss this comparison in some detail and find both distinct similarities and subtle differences. The horizontal spectral measurements show a peak at an outer scale quite similar to the scale of the undulations caused by gravity wave interactions with the ionosphere. This feature is similar to a buoyancy subrange but it is easy to show that the amplitudes of the plasma fluctuations are too large to be directly driven by the neutral atmosphere. At intermediate scales the plasma fluctuations have a one-dimensional horizontal spectrum with a power law well described by a ( −5 3 ) slope. Once again it can be shown that the neutral fluid cannot be similarly structured at 400 km altitude due to the high viscosity coefficient. A plasma cascade process seems to be operating but it is not at all clear how the spectrum is formed. Furthermore, vertical power spectra seem to run the gamut in spectral form with slopes (n) varying in the range from −1 to −3. So the horizontal spectra are near universal in form, while the vertical spectra are quite variable.
Tricuspid Valvular Regurgitation.

Precision in diagnosis always precedes rational therapy. Categorizing tricuspid valvular regurgitation (TVR) as simply organic versus functional limits one’s understanding of the complexity of the lesion, and may lead to inadequate therapy. Rather, treatment of TVR should begin with an assessment of the affected components of the tricuspid valve complex (TVC). From this assessment, one constructs an appropriate medical or surgical strategy that seeks to reduce symptoms, restore right heart function, and alter the course of the underlying disease process.
Hypoxia injures endothelial cells by increasing endogenous xanthine oxidase activity

Abstract Exposure to decreasing oxygen tensions progressively increased xanthine dehydrogenase (XD) and xanthine oxidase (XO) activities over 48 hr in cultured pulmonary artery endothelial cells (EC) without altering XD/XO ratios. Increases in XD and XO activity in EC induced by hypoxia were associated upon reoxygenation with increased (P less than 0.05) extracellular superoxide anion (O2-.) levels that were inhibited by treatment with XO inhibitors (tungsten, allopurinol) or an anion-channel blocker (4,4'-diisothiocyanatostilbene-2,2'-disulfonic acid). EC monolayers subjected to hypoxia/reoxygenation also leaked more preloaded 51Cr, were more adherent to neutrophils, and permitted greater albumin transit than control monolayers. Treatment with tungsten, allopurinol, and/or superoxide dismutase decreased (P less than 0.05) 51Cr release, neutrophil adherence, and albumin transit in EC monolayers exposed to hypoxia/reoxygenation. We conclude that prolonged hypoxia increases both XO and XD activity in EC and may predispose the endothelium to oxidative and inflammatory damage.
Preliminary assessment of soybean seedlings for beryllium accumulation

Abstract A hydroponic study was conducted to determine the uptake of Beryllium (Be) by soybean [Glycine max (L.) Var. Perron] seedlings and its effect on biomass and nutrient accumulation in roots and shoots. Three‐weeks old soybean plants previously grown on perlite for 2 weeks and additional seven days on “Hoagland” nutrient solution without Be supply were transferred to solutions containing either 0, 1.0, 2.0, 4.0, 8.0, 16.0, and 32.0 mg Be L−1 in the nutrient solution and grown for additional 33 days. Results of this study showed that Be accumulated in roots to a greater extent than in shoots. Increased concentration of Be added to the nutrient solution drastically altered the concentration of certain nutrients in soybean plants. Concentrations of Ca2+ and Mg2+ in shoot tissues of Be treated plants were decreased where as phosphorus (P) concentrations in shoots were increased. #Contribution of the Department of Biology and Life Sciences, Savannah State University, P.O. Box 20600, Savannah, GA 31404, USA.
A scoring system for detection of macrosomia and prediction of shoulder dystocia: a disappointment.

Objective. To develop a scoring system for the detection of a macrosomic fetus (birth weight (BW) ≥ 4000 g) and predict shoulder dystocia among large for gestational age fetuses.Study design. We retrospectively identified all singletons with accurate gestational age (GA) that were large for GA (abdominal circumference (AC) or estimated fetal weight (EFW) ≥ 90% for GA) at ≥37 weeks with delivery within three weeks. The scoring system was: 2 points for biparietal diameter, head circumference, AC, or femur length ≥90% for GA, or if the amniotic fluid index (AFI) was ≥24 cm; for biometric parameters <90% or with AFI <24 cm, 0 points. The predictive values for detection of shoulder dystocia were calculated.Results. Of the 225 cohorts that met the inclusion criteria the rate of macrosomia was 39% and among vaginal deliveries (n = 120) shoulder dystocia occurred in 12% (15/120; 95% confidence interval (CI) 7–20%). The sensitivity of EFW ≥4500 g to identify a newborn with shoulder dystocia was 0% (95% CI 0–21%), ...
Is diet in diabetes important

Theoretical recommendations for dietary prescriptions with the aim of providing optimum nutrition for diabetic control have been made. What are the practical implications of some of these recommendations for diabetic children? Children should be encouraged to select most of their carbohydrate allowance from unrefined carbohydrate, this will increase their fibre intake. The policy to discourage the use of refined carbohydrate on a regular basis is generally accepted although practically this is not always possible. Excessive amounts of dietary fat are to be discouraged and this happens naturally if sufficient carbohydrate is prescribed since it limits the intake of "fillers" such as meat, eggs and cheese. Whilst these principles are generally accepted analysis of sample low fat, high fibre menus for children show these to be low in calories which could be detrimental since normal growth and development is the cornerstone of paediatric dietetics. In addition it should be remembered that diabetes places much stress on a child and too rigid management increases this. Whilst recognising the need for improved nutrition theoretical principles should not be overemphasized. A dietary regimen must be practical and acceptable as well as theoretically sound.
A study of characteristics of developing, incompressible, axi-symmetric jets

Abstract Both the nominal and the actual length of the potential core of an axi-symmetric jet have been determined experimentally and estimated analytically. The analysis based on similar solutions shows that the nominal potential core length is proportional to the Reynolds number in the laminar region, and it is independent of the Reynolds number in the turbulent region. It has been observed that there occurs a large fluctuation of the potential core length in the transition region of the jet, for 1000
Teacher, I had a dream: a glimpse of the spiritual domain of children using project-based learning

Children’s dreams have the potential to awaken feelings, question attitudes and inspire new learning experiences to deepen awareness of spiritual development. Both guidance and spiritual environments created by nurturing educators and parents foster dreams that captivate and motivate children to increase their spiritual self-awareness, leading them to ask open-ended questions about what is real and what is make-believe. This paper offers a discussion of the importance of children’s dreams accompanied by teaching opportunities using project-based learning to channel creative thinking and interconnecting within a child’s culture and community, promoting balance, integrity and reciprocal relationships. Project-based learning has the capability to offer responsive and holistic support of the spiritual domain of children within a caring, welcoming community. Using project-based learning in classrooms shapes the agenda to stimulate wonder, ask inquiring questions and promotes creativity and encourages multiple ...
CR LS-229 Solar X-Ray Spectrometer/Spectroheliograph Experiment

The CRLS-229 Solar X-ray Spectrometer/Spectroheliograph payload was launched in the solar pointed section of the U. S. Air Force Space Test Program P78-1 satellite on 24 February 1979. The payload consists of two instruments furnished by The Aerospace Corporation, known as SOLEX and MONEX, and two instruments furnished by the Naval Research Laboratory. Thp SOLEX instrument provides maps of the sun in individual x-ray spectral lines and also obtains spectra in the 3 to 25 A wavelength interval while pointed at a specific solar region. The basic SOLEX hardware consists of two multigrid collimators with 20 arc sec and 60 arc sec spatial resolution, RAP and ADP scanning high resolution Bragg crystals, and a proportional counter and an array of channel electron multipliers as detectors. The MONEX experiment, consisting of two proportional counters, provides full disk solar x-ray intensity with moderate spectral resolution and excellent temporal resolution in the 1 to 140 keV energy interval. Examples of data from the Spectrometer/Spectroheliograph are presented.
A mouse monoclonal antibody that reacts specifically with immune-complexed human IgG

After human IgG binds to antigen, it attains biological functions that are not properties of monomeric, uncomplexed IgG, including the ability to activate complement and to bind to cellular receptors. Associated with antigen binding, we have recently demonstrated that IgG itself has neoantigenic epitopes. Antibodies to these neoantigens on immune-complexed IgG may represent a significant proportion of circulating anti-human IgG in rabbits immunized with immune complexes. In contrast, mice immunized in an identical fashion have very little circulating anti-neoantigen antibody. This is true whether the mice are genetically easy to tolerize to monomeric human IgG (DBA/2 and C57Bl/6) or difficult to tolerize (BALB/c). Fusions were made between the NS-1 myeloma cell line and spleen cells from mice of each strain, which had been made tolerant to monomeric human IgG and then immunized with immune complexes containing IgG. Like the serum antibody, antibodies made by these fusions showed little specificity for immune complexes since 99% of the hybridoma antibodies that recognized IgG in immune complexes also bound to uncomplexed IgG. Only 1 hybridoma produced antibody that preferentially recognized human IgG in immune complexes. This antibody, called CE9, is an IgM that binds to IgG in plate-bound immune complexes with 100-1000-fold greater avidity than it does to plate-bound uncomplexed IgG. Because CE9 will not bind to immune complexes made with F(ab')2 antibody, the epitope it recognizes requires the Fc fragment of IgG. The minimal binding of CE9 to uncomplexed IgG is easily inhibited by soluble aggregates of IgG, but binding to immune complexes is not inhibited by aggregated IgG. CE9 does recognize fluid-phase immune complexes as well as solid-phase immune complexes. We conclude that, while mice produce much less anti-immune complex antibody than rabbits, anti-neoantigen is still a component of their response to immunization with immune complexes. Using hybridoma techniques to amplify these anti-neoantigen antibodies, we have shown that they resemble rheumatoid factors in their isotype and binding properties.
Processor design for portable systems

Processors used in portable systems must provide highly energy-efficient operation, due to the importance of battery weight and size, without compromising high performance when the user requires it. The user-dependent modes of operation of a processor in portable systems are described and separate metrics for energy efficiency for each of them are found to be required. A variety of well known low-power techniques are re-evaluated against these metrics and in some cases are not found to be appropriate leading to a set of energy-efficient design principles. Also, the importance of idle energy reduction and the joint optimization of hardware and software will be examined for achieving the ultimate in low-energy, high-performance design.
e-Government in Rhode Island: what effects do templates have on usability, accessibility, and mobile readiness?

This study examines state and local e-government Web sites in Rhode Island with an eye toward determining the effects of templates on accessibility, usability, and mobile readiness. After examining 132 state and local e-government sites, using a combination of code inspection, heuristic evaluation, and automated analysis, the researchers found that templates had, at best, mixed success in promoting these key issues. The results suggest that while best practice-based templates may be helpful in improving usability, accessibility, and mobile readiness, it is critical that designers at the local level receive training in these areas and that governments monitor state and local Web sites for compliance with industry and legal standards.
Inelastic analysis of prismatic and nonprismatic aluminum members

Abstract Today, many structures are subjected to stresses beyond the elastic limit of the material, creating a loading condition of great significance to the design engineer. This is particularly important for aircraft and aerospace structures and for any structure subject to earthquake and blast loads. Since both prismatic and nonprismatic members may be used in these structures, the analysis can be very complicated, especially when the moment of inertia Ix and the modulus of elasticity Ex vary along the length of the member. The method of equivalent systems development by Fertis [Dynamics and Vibration of Structures. John Wiley (1973); revised Edn., Krieger (1984)], Fertis and Keene [J. Struct. Engng116(2) (1990)] and Fertis and Taneja [J. Struct. Engng. 117(2) (1991)] provides an accurate and simplified method of analysis for the solution of such problems in ferrous alloys. This paper deals with the utilization of equivalent systems of constant stiffness E1I1 where both Ex and Ix of the original member are permitted to vary in any arbitrary manner, in order to determine the rotations and deflections of prismatic and nonprismatic aluminum alloy members. In the analysis, the material of the member is permitted to be stressed well beyond its elastic limit, and all the way to failure.
Early retinal neurodegeneration and impaired Ran-mediated nuclear import of TDP-43 in progranulin-deficient FTLD

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD) is the most common cause of dementia in people under 60 yr of age and is pathologically associated with mislocalization of TAR DNA/RNA binding protein 43 (TDP-43) in approximately half of cases (FLTD-TDP). Mutations in the gene encoding progranulin (GRN), which lead to reduced progranulin levels, are a significant cause of familial FTLD-TDP. Grn-KO mice were developed as an FTLD model, but lack cortical TDP-43 mislocalization and neurodegeneration. Here, we report retinal thinning as an early disease phenotype in humans with GRN mutations that precedes dementia onset and an age-dependent retinal neurodegenerative phenotype in Grn-KO mice. Retinal neuron loss in Grn-KO mice is preceded by nuclear depletion of TDP-43 and accompanied by reduced expression of the small GTPase Ran, which is a master regulator of nuclear import required for nuclear localization of TDP-43. In addition, TDP-43 regulates Ran expression, likely via binding to its 3'-UTR. Augmented expression of Ran in progranulin-deficient neurons restores nuclear TDP-43 levels and improves their survival. Our findings establish retinal neurodegeneration as a new phenotype in progranulin-deficient FTLD, and suggest a pathological loop involving reciprocal loss of Ran and nuclear TDP-43 as an underlying mechanism.
Stability analysis of some non-conforming FETI Domain Decomposition Methods for electromagnetic problems

This paper aims to study the stability of a proposed finite element tearing and interconnecting (FETI) formulation as well as some existing FETI and FETI-like ones. Only cement type non-conforming formulations are considered because they are amenable to FETI and lead to convergent formulations at the continuous level because they enforce Robin transmission conditions. From this stability study it will become clear that no existing cement FETI method is both efficient and stable, whereas cement FETI-like methods although stable are not as efficient as the FETI ones.
Characterization of Syntactic Foams — An Ultrasonic Approach

Syntactic foams are hollow particle filled composites that have recently emerged as attractive materials for use in advanced structural applications. The present study focuses on the effect of radius ratio and volume fraction of microballoons on the ultrasonic properties of syntactic foam composites. Twenty-four different types of syntactic foams, with different radius ratios and volume fractions, are used in this study. Foam slabs are fabricated by varying the volume fraction of microballoons from 10 to 60% for each type of microballoon. The pulse echo method is used for the ultrasonic imaging of these materials, and determines their ultrasonic attenuation behavior. Coefficient of attenuation, ultrasonic velocities, and modulus are observed to depend upon the radius ratio as well as the volume fraction of microballoon of the composites. A major finding in this research is the discovery of a non-destructive method to determine the dynamic modulus of particulate composites.
Technological semantics and technological practice: Lessons from an enigmatic episode in twentieth-century technology studies

This paper is a review of words and their meanings in the field of technology studies, and an analysis the semantics of an idealistic international technology-related social movement that flourished briefly during the second half of the twentieth century. Sloppy nomenclature employed by proponents and observers of the movement led to people with opposite views appearing to agree (and vice versa), with the consequence that the movement’s valuable policy insights exerted only marginal influence on mainstream technology policy. I conclude that poor technological semantics may undermine effective technological practice. Suggestions for a constructive technological nomenclature are presented.
Women Who Succeeded in Leaving Public Assistance for a Living-wage Job:

Many women who leave welfare for work simply join the ranks of the working poor (Bowie et al., 2001; Edin and Lein, 1997; Gueron and Pauly, 1991; Levitan and Shapiro, 1987; Rank, 1994). Little is k...
Private search in the real world

Encrypted search --- performing queries on protected data --- has been explored in the past; however, its inherent inefficiency has raised questions of practicality. Here, we focus on improving the performance and extending its functionality enough to make it practical. We do this by optimizing the system, and by stepping back from the goal of achieving maximal privacy guarantees in an encrypted search scenario and consider efficiency and functionality as priorities. We design and analyze the privacy implications of two practical extensions applicable to any keyword-based private search system. We evaluate their efficiency by building them on top of a private search system, called SADS. Additionally, we improve SADS' performance, privacy guaranties and functionality. The extended SADS system offers improved efficiency parameters that meet practical usability requirements in a relaxed adversarial model. We present the experimental results and evaluate the performance of the system. We also demonstrate analytically that our scheme can meet the basic needs of a major hospital complex's admissions records. Overall, we achieve performance comparable to a simply configured MySQL database system.
Support for Security and Privacy in SenSearch

This paper describes the design, implementation and performance of a security and privacy framework for SenSearch, which is a sensor-based search and rescue system for people in emergency situation in wilderness areas. A key obstacle in a wide deployment of search and rescue systems such as SenSearch is vulnerability to users' security and privacy. Support for security and privacy for SenSearch has been carefully built by employing a combination of both symmetric and asymmetric key cryptography to meet the constraints of resource-limited devices and short time intervals during which most security operations have to be performed.
Correlation of histopathologic/cytologic follow-up findings with vaginal ASC-US and ASC-H Papanicolaou test and HPV test results.

Current American Society of Colposcopy and Cervical Pathology recommendations about human papillomavirus (HPV) triage and further management for atypical squamous cells are pertinent to cervical Papanicolaou (Pap) tests. There are limited data on HPV detection in vaginal liquid-based cytology (LBC) specimens. The aims of this study were to determine whether adjunctive high-risk (HR)-HPV testing is useful for disease risk assessment in women with vaginal atypical squamous cells of undetermined significance (ASC-US) and atypical squamous cells, cannot exclude HSIL (ASC-H) Pap results. We identified 1,125 ASC-US and 36 ASC-H vaginal Pap results with HR-HPV testing. Of the cases, 244 (21.7%) ASC-US and 21 (58%) ASC-H were HR-HPV+. Among ASC-US HR-HPV+ cases, 47.8% had a squamous intraepithelial lesion (SIL) compared with 4.7% of HR-HPV– cases. Among ASC-H HR-HPV+ cases, 75% (12/16) had SIL compared with 31% (4/13) in HR-HPV– cases. Our results indicate that HPV triage testing is a reasonable and cost-effective approach for women with ASC-US vaginal Pap results and also a useful option for women with ASC-H vaginal Pap results.
Data communication estimation and reduction for reconfigurable systems

Widespread adoption of reconfigurable devices requires system level synthesis techniques to take an application written in a high level language and map it to the reconfigurable device. This paper describes methods for synthesizing the internal representation of a compiler into a hardware description language in order to program reconfigurable hardware devices. We demonstrate the usefulness of static single assignment (SSA) in reducing the amount of data communication in the hardware. However, the placement of /spl Phi/-nodes by current SSA algorithms is not optimal in terms of minimizing data communication. We propose a new algorithm which optimally places /spl Phi/-nodes, further decreasing area and communication latency. Our algorithm reduces the data communication (measured as total edge weight in a control data flow graph) by as much as 20% for some applications as compared to the best-known SSA algorithm - the pruned algorithm. We also describe future modifications to our model that should increase the effectiveness of our methods.
Reliance on Luck Identifying Which Achievement Goals Elicit Superstitious Behavior

People often resort to superstitious behavior to facilitate goal achievement. We examined whether the specific type of achievement goal pursued influences the propensity to engage in superstitious behavior. Across six studies, we found that performance goals were more likely than learning goals to elicit superstitious behavior. Participants were more likely to engage in superstitious behavior at high than at low levels of chronic performance orientation, but superstitious behavior was not influenced by chronic learning orientation (Studies 1 and 2). Similarly, participants exhibited stronger preferences for lucky items when primed to pursue performance goals rather than learning goals (Studies 3 and 4). As uncertainty of goal achievement increased, superstitious behavior increased when participants pursued performance goals but not learning goals (Study 5). Finally, assignment to use a lucky (vs. unlucky) item resulted in greater confidence of achieving performance goals but not learning goals (Study 6).
Differences in perioperative care at low- and high-mortality hospitals with cancer surgery.

Objective To evaluate adherence to perioperative processes of care associated with major cancer resections.
Ideology and Party Responsibility Within the Law and Justice Policy Domain

This study examined both Democratic and Republican state and national party platforms in the law and justice policy domain. By using content analysis to establish the ideological position of state and national parties, this article seeks to determine predictors of party preferences and party unity in this critical area of public policy. Results indicate that national party committees tend to take moderate positions on law and justice policy issues, whereas their state counterparts tend to be more conservative and liberal within Republican and Democratic committees, respectively. This article also found variation within predictors of party unity.
Bodies and Borders: A New Cultural History of Medicine

Both medicine and the history of medicine have seen many changes in the last four decades. The way we tell the story of medical developments no longer concentrates on the important doctors and their ideas. The influences of social history in the 1960s and 1970s and cultural history in the 1980s and 1990s have broadened and enriched the interpretations of our medical past. The social historians have helped us to include politics, economics, and the leading ideas of any period we wanted to study; the cultural approach has added ethnography as well as an emphasis on language or discourse. Today there is a new history of medicine, one far more willing to cross disciplinary boundaries to ask questions about how we know what we know and why we do what we do. This article highlights some of the work in the adjoining fields of medical anthropology and of literature and medicine to demonstrate new interests, new questions, and new methods of inquiry. However, although we have cast our nets far more widely in the process of professionalizing the history of medicine, there is a question about whether we have lost the appeal to one of our core constituencies: medical students and physicians. We need to welcome some of the new changes in medical history as in medicine itself; the common goal is to achieve a better understanding of what we have done and what we are doing.
Testing Interval Trees for Real-Time Scheduling Systems

In real-time systems, the efficiency of scheduling modules (SM) is of critical importance. While efficient algorithms result in efficient SMs, this will not occur without appropriate implementations of the algorithms. Moreover, an algorithm with good implementation could further improve the efficiency of the SM. Therefore, creative implementations of algorithms are well worthy of exploring. In this paper, we propose novel data structures (i.e., testing interval trees (TIT)) to help build efficient algorithms for schedulability test and admission control in some real-time SMs. With the testing interval tree for vacancy analysis (TIT-V), the complexities of the schedulability tests in a class of parallel/distributed real-time systems can be effectively reduced from O(m2nlogn) to O(mlogn+mlogm) (where m is the number of processors, and n is the number of tasks). Similarly, with the testing interval tree for release time and laxity analysis (TIT-RL), the complexity of the online admission control in a uni-processor based real-time system can be reduced from O(n2) to O(nlogn) (where n is the number of tasks). Furthermore, the TIT-RL tree can also be applied to a class of parallel/distributed real-time systems. Therefore, the TIT trees are effective approaches to building efficient real-time SMs.
Dendrites differ from axons in patterns of microtubule stability and polymerization during development

Dendrites differ from axons in patterns of growth and development, as well as in morphology. Given that microtubules are key structural elements in cells, we assessed patterns of microtubule stability and polymerization during hippocampal neuron development in vitro to determine if these aspects of microtubule organization could distinguish axons from dendrites. Quantitative ratiometric immunocytochemistry identified significant differences in microtubule stability between axons and dendrites. Most notably, regardless of developmental stage, there were high levels of dynamic microtubules throughout the dendritic arbor, whereas dynamic microtubules were predominantly concentrated in the distal end of axons. Analysis of microtubule polymerization using green fluorescent protein-tagged EB1 showed both developmental and regional differences in microtubule polymerization between axons and dendrites. Early in development (for example, 1 to 2 days in vitro), polymerization events were distributed equally in both the anterograde and retrograde directions throughout the length of both axons and dendrites. As development progressed, however, polymerization became biased, with a greater number of polymerization events in distal than in proximal and middle regions. While polymerization occurred almost exclusively in the anterograde direction for axons, both anterograde and retrograde polymerization was observed in dendrites. This is in agreement with predicted differences in microtubule polarity within these compartments, although fewer retrograde events were observed in dendrites than expected. Both immunocytochemical and live imaging analyses showed that newly formed microtubules predominated at the distal end of axons and dendrites, suggesting a common mechanism that incorporates increased microtubule polymerization at growing process tips. Dendrites had more immature, dynamic microtubules throughout the entire arbor than did axons, however. Identifying these differences in microtubule stability and polymerization is a necessary first step toward understanding how they are developmentally regulated, and may reveal novel mechanisms underlying neuron maturation and dendritic plasticity that extend beyond the initial specification of polarity.
Disability prevalence among adults: estimates for 54 countries and progress toward a global estimate

AbstractObjectives: We estimated disability prevalence among adults at global, regional and country levels using internationally comparable disability data and measure. Methods: We conducted a retrospective analysis of data from the World Health Survey (WHS) (2002–2004) for nationally representative samples of civilian, non-institutionalized populations in 54 countries. A disability was measured as having at least one severe or extreme difficulty with bodily functions (seeing, concentrating) and activities (moving around, self-care) based on an individual’s self-reports. Results: In the 54 countries under study, severe or extreme functional or activity difficulties are highly prevalent. For all countries, disability prevalence is estimated at 14% for all adults. Low and middle income countries have higher disability prevalence compared to high income countries. Among subgroups, disability prevalence stands at 12% among working age adults and 39% among the elderly. Women have higher prevalence than men. Co...
Moving work teams to the next level

In order to become and remain competitive, organizations across America are moving away from traditional hierarchical management toward a network of small work teams. Recent surveys suggest that as many as 80% of American businesses now have one or more work teams in place. Such teams, dedicated to the continuous improvement of their piece of the business, have the potential of becoming the primary unit of performance in these new corporate systems. Many self-directed, problem solving and cross-functional teams are producing dramatic results in quality, productivity and speed. Far too many, however, are failing to realize their potential. Some never seem to get off the ground while others plateau or even drop off in performance after a promising start. For many organizations, keeping the momentum going is even more of a challenge than getting them started in the first place. Based on the author's experience in training and developing high performance teams, this paper identifies the three major factors that contribute to team performance. Additionally, it describes fifteen characteristics that must be addressed in order for work teams to reach their performance potential. Using these characteristics as a checklist can be helpful when establishing new work teams. But they may be even more useful when attempting to determine why existing work teams have leveled off or even decreased in performance. >
Water and Power in Highland Peru: The Cultural Politics of Irrigation and Development

Water and Power in Highland Peru: The Cultural Politics of Irrigation and Development. Paul H. Gelles. New Brunswick, NJ: Rutgers University Press, 2000. xv. 233 pp., maps, photographs, diagrams, appendixes, notes, glossary, bibliography, index.
Biosynthesis of new polymers of controlled molecular structure

This paper describes the use of artificial genes to direct bacterial synthesis of new polypeptides of precisely defined molecular structure. This approach has been applied to three problems in polymer chemistry and physics: i) control of chain folding in crystalline polymers, ii) biosynthesis of polypeptides containing unnatural amino acids, and iii) preparation of monodisperse helical polymers.
Fluoroscopic tumor tracking for image-guided lung cancer radiotherapy

Accurate lung tumor tracking in real time is a keystone to image-guided radiotherapy of lung cancers. Existing lung tumor tracking approaches can be roughly grouped into three categories: (1) deriving tumor position from external surrogates; (2) tracking implanted fiducial markers fluoroscopically or electromagnetically; (3) fluoroscopically tracking lung tumor without implanted fiducial markers. The first approach suffers from insufficient accuracy, while the second may not be widely accepted due to the risk of pneumothorax. Previous studies in fluoroscopic markerless tracking are mainly based on template matching methods, which may fail when the tumor boundary is unclear in fluoroscopic images. In this paper we propose a novel markerless tumor tracking algorithm, which employs the correlation between the tumor position and surrogate anatomic features in the image. The positions of the surrogate features are not directly tracked; instead, we use principal component analysis of regions of interest containing them to obtain parametric representations of their motion patterns. Then, the tumor position can be predicted from the parametric representations of surrogates through regression. Four regression methods were tested in this study: linear and two-degree polynomial regression, artificial neural network (ANN) and support vector machine (SVM). The experimental results based on fluoroscopic sequences of ten lung cancer patients demonstrate a mean tracking error of 2.1 pixels and a maximum error at a 95% confidence level of 4.6 pixels (pixel size is about 0.5 mm) for the proposed tracking algorithm.
Technical Note-Elimination of Suboptimal Actions in Markov Decision Problems

This note points out that upper and lower bounds on the optimal value function of a finite discounted Markov decision problem can be computed easily when the problem is solved by linear programming or policy iteration. These bounds can be used to identify suboptimal actions.
Strong convergence and stability of Picard iteration sequences for a general class of contractive-type mappings

Let (E, �·� ) be a normed linear space, T : E → E be a mapping of E into itself satisfying the following contractive condition: � T i x - T i y �≤ a ix - y� + ϕi(� x - Tx� ), for each x, y ∈ E ,0 ≤ a i <1 , whereϕi : R + → R + is a sub-additive monotone increasing function with ϕi(0) = 0 and ϕi(Lu )= Lϕi(u), L ≥ 0, u ∈ R + . It is shown that the Picard iteration process converges strongly to the unique fixed point of T. Furthermore, several classes of nonlinear operators studied by various authors are shown to belong to this class of mappings. Our theorem improves several recent important results. In particular, it improves a recent result of Akewe et al. (Fixed Point Theory Appl 2014:45, 2014), and a host of other results. MSC: accretive-type mappings; pseudocontractive mappings; Picard sequence; contractive-type mappings