cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Theory of an optically pumped gas laser

Abstract A theoretical description of the steady-state operation of an optically-pumped gas laser is presented. The three-level gas is described by a suitably modified form of the Boltzmann equation. This formulation is intermediate between the rate equation and semi-classical descriptions of laser behavior. Allowing coupling between gas and radiation, solutions are obtained for population inversion, gain coefficient, radiative intensity and output power, in terms of system parameters and spatial variables. The role of Doppler (inhomogeneous) broadening as compared with collisional (homogeneous) broadening is clearly displayed. Furthermore, it has been possible to include non-linear saturation effects due to the lasing radiation in a simple, quantitative fashion. The theoretical predictions are compared with the limited experimental data available, and agreement is good. Although the quantitative results are applicable only to optically pumped systems, the qualitative predictions should be valid for any type of gas laser.
Long-residence-time nano-scale liposomal iohexol for X-ray-based blood pool imaging.

Abstract Rationale and Objectives Although soluble nonionic iodine compounds with low systemic toxic effects have been developed for use in computed tomography (CT), they have short residence times of a few minutes or mere seconds—insufficient time for blood pool imaging, even with high-speed multi–detector row spiral CT. Moreover, potential renal toxic effects preclude repeated administration of these contrast agents during imaging, as well as their use in patients with compromised renal function. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a CT contrast agent for blood pool imaging that remains in the blood for more than 3 hours and that is relatively nontoxic to the kidneys. Materials and Methods The authors assessed a liposomal iohexol formulation for its encapsulation efficiency in terms of milligrams of iodine per milliliter of lipid formulation and for its stability in phosphate buffer solution and in human plasma in vitro. Using a rabbit model, they also assessed the formulation's in vivo stability, residence time, and enhancement of contrast on images of various organ systems. Results The formulation, which contained 34.8 mg of iodine per milliliter of liposomal iohexol solution, remained stable in blood plasma both in vitro and in vivo, after injection into rabbit vasculature. An intravenous dose of 475 mg of iodine per kilogram of body weight produced contrast enhancement in the rabbit model of approximately 130 HU in the aorta and liver cortex and approximately 100 HU in the kidney cortex. Contrast enhancement was maintained for 3 hours after injection, and minimal clearance of the contrast agent via the kidneys was observed. Conclusion The liposomal iohexol formulation tested in this study had a sufficient residence time for blood pool imaging in a rabbit model. Future experiments with long-residence-time iohexol formulations may lead eventually to applications in cardiac imaging and in early tumor detection.
COMPARISON OF TWO MULTIPLE-CHOICE RORSCHACH TESTS.

Summary.-Sevency-three Ss were administered the SORT and HMCR in counterbalanced order. Analysis of protocols indicated that the tests bore little relationship to each other. The results seemed to indicate that the use of suggested responses might invalidate the traditional Rorschach blot-stimulus relationship. Ostensibly chis paper deals with some further research on the Str~icniredObjective Rorschach Test (SORT), a m~iltiple-choice version of the group Rorschach. Acnially, the paper deals in great part with some of the problems inherent in research (including of all things, sin); problen~s usually avoided or glossed over in the more respectable articles. Our decision to do this is based on the fact that present research grew out of the inconsistencies and frustrations of previous work. We hope to convey ro the reader some of the flavor of our feelings.
The scaling of impact phenomena

Abstract A basis for scaling laws for impact phenomena is the approximation of the actual problem with a point-source problem. Point-source solutions are characterized by a single scalar coupling-parameter measure aU μδυ of the radius a , velocity U and mass density δ of the impactor. Point-source solutions that are known to exist are discussed. The implications to scaling are developed. Recent numerical code calculations that were designed to investigate the scaling and the application of the coupling parameter are presented. Finally, a summary of some recent applications of the theory is given.
Interactive effects of D1 and D2 agonists with scopolamine on radial-arm maze performance

Pharmacological blockade of muscarinic cholinergic (ACh) receptors has been found to impair choice accuracy in a variety of tasks including the radial-arm maze. The cognitive impairment caused by the muscarinic antagonist scopolamine is reversed by the dopaminergic (DA) antagonist haloperidol as well as the selective D1 antagonist SCH 23390. In the current study, interactions were studied between scopolamine and selective agonists of D1 (SCH 38393) and D2 (quinpirole) receptors. Surprisingly, the D1 agonist SKF 38393 was found to significantly alleviate the scopolamine-induced choice accuracy deficit. In contrast, the D2 agonist quinpirole was not found to significantly alter the effects of scopolamine on choice accuracy but did have supra-additive effects of increasing choice latency. Both the D1 agonist SKF 38393 and the D1 antagonist SCH 23390 have been found to reverse the choice accuracy deficit caused by scopolamine and the deficit resulting from lesions of the medial projection from the basal forebrain to the cortex. Possible mechanisms for these effects are discussed.
Distribution of factor endowments and tax competition

Abstract This paper analyzes a Nash tax competition between two heterogeneous regions that differ in their endowments of production factors: mobile capital and immobile labor. Each region uses a unit tax on capital to finance local public service. The effects of the differences in the factor endowments on the equilibrium tax rates, relative utility levels, and the efficiency of the public service provision are analyzed. When the income effect on the public service is zero, the poor large region chooses a higher tax rate and has a lower utility than its rival, but the poor small region may choose a lower tax rate and attain a higher utility. When the public service is a normal good, the poor large region may choose a lower tax rate and has a higher utility than the rival if its share of labor endowment is not very high. The rich region with a higher tax rate under-provides the public service, but the poor region may provide an efficient level of the public service.
Radar separation of closely spaced targets

The capability of a hypothetical radar against attacks by closely spaced aircraft may be examined in geometric terms and the results can be plotted graphically. It is seen that a pulse Doppler type radar, which provides information about target velocity as well as range and angle, is essential in this kind of environment. When the targets are so closely spaced that all else fails, then separation or at least knowledge of the number of targets present is still possible if sufficient Doppler resolution is available to permit the measurement of the small changes in velocity that will be required for the aircraft to maintain formation.
The Role of Comparison in Weather Forecasting: Evidence from two Hemispheres!

Northern hemisphere weather forecasters from the United States Navy (USN) and their Southern hemisphere counterparts in the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) were observed while making forecasts for air operations. A Comparative Cognitive Task Analysis showed that both groups employed the cognitive task of Comparing information to select among, validate, or modify the output of numerical models when making forecasts. This process was interpreted as key to the forecaster adding value to the automatic output of weather models.
Cyclability of a Lithium–Oxygen Battery Containing N‐Methyl‐2‐Pyrrolidone and a Vertically Aligned Carbon Nanotube Cathode

The lithium–air battery has a high specific capacity but suffers from a poor cyclability. The reason for its poor cycle life is still unclear and many explanations, such as the degradation of the solvent, the lithium salt, and the carbon cathode, have been suggested. Although N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone (NMP) was shown to be stable under superoxide anion radical conditions in stand-alone tests, lithium–air cells containing NMP still showed a very low reversibility in previous work. Here, a freestanding vertically aligned carbon nanotube is used as a binder-free electrode in a lithium–air battery cathode, and the results indicate that the cyclability of the cell is significantly improved. This research proves that the content of the carbon electrode is of pivotal importance for the stability of lithium–air batteries.
Urban heat island lesson

Among the most modified environments on the Earth's surfaces are the places where humans have congregated and built cities. Over 60% of the world's population now resides in urban centres. Because of their densely settled conditions, urban areas are generally warmer than their surrounding rural environments, resulting in what are referred to as urban heat islands (UHIs). This paper describes an instructional lesson designed to show students how to measure and analyse temperature variations within an urban environment using Landsat thermal infrared data.
Polychlorinated biphenyl absorbed from sediments by fiddler crabs and pink shrimp.

POLYCHLORINATED biphenyls (PCBs) are manufactured in the United States, Europe, and Japan and used as plasticizers, flame retardants, insulating and heat exchange fluids and in many other products1. Structurally related to DDT, soluble in lipid but relatively insoluble in water, and extremely persistent in the environment2, they have been reported in many marine and estuarine organisms3. One PCB, ‘Aroclor 1254’ (Monsanto), was reported in water, sediments, and biota from Escambia Bay, Florida4.
Glucosylation of human lens protein and cataractogenesis.

Abstract Examination of glucosylation of lens protein was conducted utilizing tritiated BH4−. The overall results indicate that approximately 0.20 moles of tritium were incorporated per mole of protein. Similar results were obtained with normal and senile cataractous lenses with varying degrees of opacity. Furthermore no difference in the 3H incorporation was observed between soluble and insoluble protein fractions derived from these lenses. Investigation of selected polypeptides isolated from the senile cataracts gave comparable results. Protein isolated from diabetic lenses had only slightly higher levels of tritium incorporation, giving an average value of 0.27 moles per mole of protein. Analyses of the tritiated products indicate that approximately 50% of the incorporation is probably due to reduction of other types of compounds. These results suggest that glucosylation does not appear to be a primary factor in cataract formation.
Biomimetic modeling of copper oxidase reactivity.

Abstract Bioinspired copper-model-complexes that react with O2 provide an opportunity to probe biological reactivity at a small-molecule level of detail. Biological structural information combined with appropriate ligand design has proven sufficient to create Cu:O2 complexes capable of external substrate oxidation. Most notable developments during the review period are the bioinspired catalysts capable of aerobic alcohol-oxidation. The extension of this oxidative reactivity to other important organic transformations beyond the scope of the inspiring system completes a modeling paradigm.
Do oncologists have an increasing interest in the quality of life of their patients? A literature review of the last 15 years

The aim of this review is to evaluate the extent to which Quality of Life (QoL) assessment has been incorporated into clinical oncological trials in the last 15 years. All phase II and III trials published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology, Cancer, The British Journal of Cancer and the European Journal of Cancer during the years 1980, 1985, 1990 and 1995 were reviewed (n = 827). During this period, while the number of studies assessing performance status (PS) increased from 15% in 1980 to 56% in 1995, the number of trials noting a QoL assessment increased only slightly, from 0% in 1980 to 3% in 1995. Moreover, only four of the 13 studies with a QoL evaluation met our criteria for adequate QoL assessment. Thus, despite an increasing interest in QoL, it is still rarely included as an objective in clinical trials, or adequately assessed.
Ethics, a neglected dimension of power relationships of physician leaders.

Objective Physician leaders in obstetrics and gynecology find themselves in complex power relationships with administrative subordinates, administrative peers, and administrative superiors. The ethical dimensions of these power relationships have not been examined previously. Study design The authors draw on the work of 3 major historic figures (John Gregory, Thomas Hobbes, and Friedrich Hoffmann) to identify for the first time 3 major types of power relationships and organizational cultures. Gregorian power relationships and organizational cultures are characterized by shared fiduciary responsibility that advances the core mission of a health care organization. Hobbesian power relationships and organizational cultures are characterized by relentless self-interest in a zero-sum game. Hoffmannian power relationships and organizational cultures are characterized by enlightened self-interest in a win-win game. Results The authors analyze the ethical dimensions of power relationships of physician leaders with subordinates, peers, and superiors and of organizational cultures. Conclusion The authors support transformational leadership toward Gregorian power relationships and organizational cultures, using, when necessary, Hoffmannian power relationships and organizational cultures as a way station.
A simulation-based analysis of scheduling policies for multimedia servers

Multimedia-on-demand (MOD) has grown dramatically in popularity, especially in the domains of education, business, and entertainment. Therefore, the investigation of various alternatives to improve the performance of MOD servers has become a major research focus. The performance of these servers can be enhanced significantly by servicing multiple requests from a common set of resources. The exploited degrees of resource sharing depend greatly on how servers schedule the waiting requests. By scheduling the requests intelligently, a server can support more concurrent customers and can reduce their waiting times for service. In this paper we provide a detailed analysis of existing scheduling policies and propose two new policies, called quantized first-come-first-served (QFCFS) and enhanced minimum idling maximum loss (IML/sup +/). We demonstrate the effectiveness of these policies through simulation and show that they suit different patterns of customer waiting tolerance.
Pathways to Career-Ending Police Misconduct: An Examination of Patterns, Timing, and Organizational Responses to Officer Malfeasance in the NYPD

Prior research has not sufficiently explained the various pathways that lead to career-ending misconduct among police officers, most notably the timing of misconduct in officers’ careers, whether c...
CAPITAL WEALTH INEQUALITY AND PUBLIC BADS: A MATHEMATICAL ANALYSIS

In A Future for Socialism (1994), John Roerrre'r argues that the highly unequal distribution of capital wealth under contemporary capitalism results in a level of public bads (e.g., environmental degradation) higher than that which would be preferred by the large majority of the population. This contention is examined using an alternative formal model, of arguably greater economic content and realism, from which the result is obtained that the household's share of capital property return has an uncertain effect on its preferred level of the public bad. In the CES special case, the effect of household capital wealth on its preferred level of public bad is determined by the elasticities of substitution in the production and utility functions.
Teaching Menstrual Care to Mentally Retarded Women: Acquisition, Generalization, and Maintenance.

We evaluated a training package designed to teach menstrual care skills to five mild to severely mentally retarded women. Three specific skill areas (changing stained underwear; sanitary napkin; and both stained underwear and sanitary napkin) were task analyzed and taught in a sequential manner. Results of a multiple-baseline design across women indicated that the training package was successful in teaching these skills; the women continued to perform the skills during naturally occurring menses up to 5 months following termination of the study.
Survival in Women Exposed to Single-Dose Nevirapine for Prevention of Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV: A Stochastic Model

Single-dose nevirapine (sdNVP)-based regimens reduce mother-to-child transmission (MTCT) of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) but result in resistance to NVP and may reduce the ability of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) used for prevention of MTCT (PMTCT). The impact that sdNVP has on survival in the era of increasing access to HAART is unknown. We developed a stochastic simulation model to predict survival and sdNVP-attributable mortality in sub-Saharan African women exposed to different PMTCT regimens. Our model predicts that mortality attributable to exposure to sdNVP is low-1.1% (interquartile range [IQR] 0.6%-1.5%) and 3.5% (IQR 3.1%-3.9%) at 5 and 10 years after PMTCT therapy-when all eligible women receive HAART after PMTCT therapy. Predictions were robust to univariate sensitivity analysis. In the worst-case multivariate sensitivity analysis the increased mortality attributable to sdNVP was 10.4% (IQR 10.0%-10.8%) at 10 years after PMTCT therapy. Concern has been expressed that widespread use of sdNVP for PMTCT in resource-poor settings will compromise the effectiveness of HAART in HIV-infected women. Although our model does not address other important outcomes of PMTCT regimens such as transmission of resistant virus it provides strong arguments that sdNVP for PMTCT should not be delayed because of fear of compromising the survival of women after PMTCT therapy. (authors)
Treatment of Pressure Ulcers: A Clinical Practice Guideline From the American College of Physicians

In this guideline on treatment of pressure ulcers, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recommends that clinicians use protein or amino acid supplementation and hydrocolloid or foam dressings i...
Cardiotoxicity After Childhood Cancer: Beginning With the End in Mind

Worldwide, more than 28 million people live with cancer. This number could triple by 2030. With the increasing number of patients with cancer and improvements in cancer management that continue to reduce cancer death rates, the number of cancer survivors is projected to increase rapidly, in particular, those afflicted during childhood. In children and adolescents, the survival rate has jumped from fewer than 50% in the mid-1970s to 80% today. The growing population of childhood survivors is notable for its vulnerability to adverse health outcomes, many of which may not become clinically apparent until years after the completion of therapy. Despite surviving their initial cancer, childhood cancer survivors continue to face considerable premature mortality as adults. The excess risk of dying from other causes that contributes most to loss of life expectancy is the increased incidence of chronic conditions among survivors of childhood cancer. We need to monitor the health of these survivors and to minimize the use of therapies with late toxicities in newly diagnosed patients. Survivors also experience a higher prevalence of chronic conditions, with as many as two thirds of childhood cancer survivors reporting at least one chronic condition and one fourth reporting a severe, disabling, or life-threatening condition. Survivors of childhood cancer are 5 to 10 times more likely than their healthy siblings to experience heart disease. The incidence of these conditions increases with time, so the full extent of disease- and treatment-related late effects has yet to be realized. Survivors of childhood cancer are a new, large, emerging population at risk for acquired premature symptomatic cardiovascular disease. The report by Tukenova et al 1 provides important information on late excess cardiovascular mortality in childhood cancer survivors and on the factors associated with this mortality. Their report adds new information about late cardiac effects in childhood cancer survivors by specifically using carefully calculated radiation doses to the heart as a factor to assess overall mortality and cardiovascular mortality. Importantly, this study also evaluated the potential classes of medications for their association with cardiovascular mortality. This article not only validates previous studies of overall cardiac mortality, 2-7 it also provides new data on cumulative anthracycline dose, cumulative radiation dose, and the contribution of other agents. Although the dose-dependent risk of congestive heart failure and related deaths associated with anthracyclines among childhood cancer survivors is established, and although radiation exposure to the heart has also been associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease, this article’s evaluation of the association between the dose of radiation and the dose of anthracyclines on cardiovascular mortality in the same cohort is important. Studies have generally looked only at radiation as a dichotomous variable, although others have looked at treat
Flexible mask subtraction for digital angiography

A flexible-mask algorithm that effectively provides correction for motion artifacts and gray-level variations in digital subtraction angiography (DSA) images is presented. The algorithm makes use of a flexible local registration of the mask with the live image to minimize the main distortions caused by the complex motion of the heart, namely spatial translation, rotation, and nonisotropic scaling. It also reduces the gray-level variations caused by the diffusion of the contrast medium into parts of the heart other than the arteries. It is concluded from experiments on X-ray coronary angiograms that when the background near the arteries is rugged or provides significant interference, flexible mask subtraction offers important improvements in quantitative estimates of the sizes of the arteries. In all the X-ray images used in the experiments, the precision of the method was at the 0.1-pixel level. The computation is extensive. However, some improvements can be achieved by doing the subtraction only at the coronary arteries and the immediate neighborhood instead of the whole image. The algorithm lends itself to implementation by parallel-structured hardware. >
New approaches in a 3-D one-carrier device solver

A 3-D one-carrier device solver has been developed on an Intel iPSC2 hypercube multiprocessor which can handle over 130 K nodes. CPU time averages 20 min per bias point on a 50 K-node MOSFET example. Slotboom variables are used in conjunction with the Scharfetter-Gummel current discretization scheme. A scaling scheme is proposed which produces n, p variables from the Slotboom variables. An improved damped-Newton scheme, which maintains the iteration numbers at below fifteen for high gate biases, is used in solving Poisson's equation. The performance of a previously proposed initial guess scheme is improved through the use of a novel update strategy during the Poisson solution stage after the initial guess step. This improvement allows stable calculation for voltage steps as high as 5 V. A modified singular perturbation scheme (MSP) has been proposed whose implementation speeds up the convergence under high-V/sub gs/ and -V/sub ds/ bias conditions by a factor of three to six. A block matrix analysis of the MSP scheme yields insight into its performance. >
Improved protein secondary structure prediction using support vector machine with a new encoding scheme and an advanced tertiary classifier

Prediction of protein secondary structures is an important problem in bioinformatics and has many applications. The recent trend of secondary structure prediction studies is mostly based on the neural network or the support vector machine (SVM). The SVM method is a comparatively new learning system which has mostly been used in pattern recognition problems. In this study, SVM is used as a machine learning tool for the prediction of secondary structure and several encoding schemes, including orthogonal matrix, hydrophobicity matrix, BLOSUM62 substitution matrix, and combined matrix of these, are applied and optimized to improve the prediction accuracy. Also, the optimal window length for six SVM binary classifiers is established by testing different window sizes and our new encoding scheme is tested based on this optimal window size via sevenfold cross validation tests. The results show 2% increase in the accuracy of the binary classifiers when compared with the instances in which the classical orthogonal matrix is used. Finally, to combine the results of the six SVM binary classifiers, a new tertiary classifier which combines the results of one-versus-one binary classifiers is introduced and the performance is compared with those of existing tertiary classifiers. According to the results, the Q/sub 3/ prediction accuracy of new tertiary classifier reaches 78.8% and this is better than the best result reported in the literature.
Response of a complex foraging phenotype to artificial selection on its component traits

In nature, where predators must often track dynamic and dispersed prey populations, predator consumption rate, conversion efficiency, dispersal, and prey finding are likely to be important links between foraging and predator–prey population dynamics. Small differences in predator foraging caused by variation in any of the abovementioned traits might lead to significant differences in predator success as well as population dynamics. We used artificial selection to create lines of the predatory mite, Phytoseiulus persimilis in order to determine the potential for or constraints on the evolution of predator foraging behaviors. All four foraging traits demonstrated considerable phenotypic variation. They also exhibited significant realized heritabilities after artificial selection, except that prey finding did not respond to downward selection. Lines that responded to selection did so rapidly, and high-consumption, high-conversion efficiency, and high- and low-dispersal were stable for at least four generations after artificial selection was relaxed. There were some indirect responses to selection among the foraging traits. For example, there was positive correlation between consumption and dispersal. However, none of the correlated responses were of the magnitude of the direct responses we measured on the same trait. We also observed some correlations between foraging traits and life-history traits such as low-consumption and development time (negative), high-consumption and fecundity (positive), and high-conversion efficiency and fecundity (positive), but these were more likely to represent non-genetic constraints. Intrinsic rates of increase in low-consumption and low-conversion efficiency lines were lower than in their respective high lines and the unselected control, whereas rates of increase in dispersal and olfactory response lines did not differ from the unselected control. Thus, traits that make up foraging share partially overlapping genetic architectures with highly heritable phenotypic components, suggesting that each foraging trait will be able to respond rapidly to changes in the density and distribution of resources.
Maintaining wireless communication coverage among multiple mobile robots using fuzzy neural network

This paper introduces a decentralized control scheme for deploying multiple mobile robots into an unknown realistic environment with the fluctuating signal propagation condition to establish and maintain desired wireless communication connections. A fuzzy neural network controller is designed for each robot, trained by the backpropagation algorithm, and applied to decide the motion for each robot, based on perceived wireless link quality. The simulation results show that the proposed scheme can establish and maintain effective communication coverage under the documented path loss exponents and uncertainties, and cause the average link quality to converge towards the desired range.
Do Ethnic Parties Exclude Women

Do parties that represent ethnic minorities tend to exclude women? There are several reasons to think that this may be the case. First, the comparatively smaller size of ethnic parties could exclude women, especially under proportional representation. Second, the subcultures of many ethnic minorities are often more patriarchal than the majority culture, and thus parties representing such groups may include fewer women. Finally, an ideological fixation on ethnicity within ethnic parties may marginalize submi­ norities within the target group. Using a new cross­national data set, the authors examine the degree to which ethnic parties represent women, controlling for party size, electoral systems, gender quotas, ideology, and democratic development. Findings show that ethnic parties, particularly those appealing to a religious minority, tend to elect fewer women, but only under proportional representation electoral systems.
Molecular Systematics of Cyperaceae Tribe Cariceae Based on Two Chloroplast DNA Regions: ndhF and trnL Intron-intergenic Spacer

A phylogenetic analysis of Cyperaceae tribe Cariceae was conducted using chloroplast DNA sequences from the gene ndhF and trnL intron and trnL-trnF intergenic spacer. Twenty nine taxa within Cariceae, four outgroup genera, and approximately 3,000 bp of cpDNA were included in the study. Our analysis reveals a monophyletic Cariceae with 100% bootstrap support. Within Cariceae, the South African genus Schoenoxiphium forms a clade that is sister to the rest of the tribe. Our results indicate that genus Carex is paraphyletic with respect to Kobresia, Cymophyllus, and Uncinia. Cymophyllus and Uncinia are nested within an assemblage containing Kobresia, Cymophyllus, and several unispicate Carex species. At the subgeneric level within Carex, only Carex subgenus Vignea appears monophyletic. Several well supported clades were iden- tified within the Cariceae, including the Schoenoxiphium clade, Uncinia clade, Carex subgenus Indocarex/Carex clade, and subgenus Vignea clade; however, relationships among some clades are only moderately supported. Interpretation of the phylogenetic patterns and an account of past phylogenetic hypotheses with respect to the new data are provided.
Should Atrial Fibrillation Burden Be A Feature to Guide Thromboembolism Prophylaxis

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a well-known risk factor for cerebrovascular events and systemic emboli. How - ever, the frequency and duration of AF necessary to be considered at risk for thrombus formation is unknown. This review summarizes the literature regarding AF burden and risk for thromboembolism. Previously, no distinction was made between patients who had paroxysmal versus persistent AF in re- gards to initiation of anticoagulation. Recently though, given an enhanced ability to detect even very brief paroxysms of AF via stored device diagnostics, the issue has been readdressed. However, despite multiple studies no clear threshold for AF burden to mandate anticoagulation has been established. In addition, there is a growing body of evidence which suggests that the pathophysiology of thrombus for- mation in AF involves mechanisms beyond just stasis due to protracted episodes of discoordinate atrial contraction. Therefore, once AF has been diagnosed and the risk-benefit ratio favors anticoagulation, therapy should be initiated and continued indefinitely unless a bleeding contraindication dev elops. Abbreviations: AF = atrial fibrillation, AT = atrial tachycardia, LAA = left atrial appendage, PAF = parox - ysmal atrial fibrillation, SE = systemic emboli.
The Common Life and The Formation of “We”

The preceding discussions of personhood and the emergence of the quest for an ideal position-taking, i.e., one which would be maximally satisfying and unregrettable, are abstracted from the social-cultural weave into which each personal history is inserted. Position-takings typically build on the position-takings of Others and, in turn, call forth position-takings by Others which, in turn, etc. Indeed it is difficult to sort out what precisely are the exclusively individual aspects of a position-taking when one considers the extent to which individual agency is founded on the reciprocity of agency and the inherited traditions. The sense of individual personhood is inseparable from the cultivated common world, its interpersonal origins and the community of its agency and of its ideals. If this be true then it would seem that there is an essential life in common which may be teased out. This common life has various strata, some of which are pre-egological-instinctual, others of which are egological but the authorship is anonymous, others tacitly and implicitly affirm explicit achievements of their authors. In our view this functioning common life serves both as the ideal and basis of a critique of the life lived together by persons. This is not an abstract universal power, e.g., the state, which stands in opposition to the single individuals. Rather the common life is essential to each individual’s life as both its necessary condition as well as its completion. The alienated group and individual lives may be generally correlated with circumstances in which the essential and ideal common life exists in the form of a caricature.1 In this chapter we wish to begin a demonstration of how this common life is the fuller context for the discussion of the ideal position-taking which is the desideratum of the ethical epoche. We must keep in mind (see Chapter I) that the absolute ought emerges from the ethical epoche in conjunction with the attempt to survey one’s life in the light of what is best. We shall later study the categorical features of the absolute ought (in Chapter IV); in this chapter we point to these discussions and have occasion to remind ourselves that it is only from the standpoint of the transcendental reduction that the ultimate (“absolute”) sense of the absolute ought becomes evident (Chapter I).
Results and Lessons from Local Calibration Process of the Highway Safety Manual for the State of Maryland

This paper discusses Maryland’s experience in developing local calibration factors (LCFs) in the application of the Highway Safety Manual (HSM), which is the required process for adjusting predicted crashes estimated by the HSM’s safety performance functions (SPFs) to local jurisdictions. The LCFs for 18 facility types were calculated with data for the period 2008 to 2010. Additional variables were gathered by alternative data collection methods. Because HSM’s crash proportion was different from Maryland’s, Maryland’s crash proportion was used to predict crash frequency and calculate the LCFs. Maryland in general had fewer crashes than predicted crash frequency generated by the HSM’s SPFs. The LCFs for 15 of 18 facility types were less than 1.0. In particular, intersection LCFs were extremely low. Because of potential issues with unreported minor and property damage only crashes, the authors recommend using the LCFs for fatal and injury crashes where available. The pairwise comparison of Maryland LCFs wit...
Tissue pressures in pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis of the finger. Compartment syndrome and its management

We investigated 14 patients with pyogenic flexor tenosynovitis for increased tissue pressures in involved digits. All showed raised pressures, in eight to 30 mmHg or more. These levels are consistent with a compartment syndrome. We describe the results of a modified operative technique which includes irrigation of the sheath and the leaving open of a lateral incision. This also allows early active mobilisation of the finger and has given satisfactory early results.
Analysis of Power Requirements and Dispersion Quality in Batch Compounding Using a Dispersion Model for Single Agglomerates

The extend of dispersion and torque requirements vary with processing time during the compounding of filled polymers in batch mixers. Starting with a model for the erosion of single agglomerates under simple shear flow conditions, equations have been developed that enable correlation an prediction evolution of both dispersion quality and mixing torque during the course processing. There was an excellent agreements between the shape predicted dimensionless torque curves and experimental results for silica-silicone rubber premixes. The model was also found usefull in correlating results reported in the literature for the quality of dipersion of carbon black into natural rubber.
Streamlining Bottom-Up Protein Identification Based on Selective Ultraviolet Photodissociation (UVPD) of Chromophore-Tagged Histidine- and Tyrosine-Containing Peptides

We report a fast and highly efficient diazonium reaction that couples a nitroazobenzene chromophore to tyrosine and histidine residues, thus endowing peptides with high photoabsorption cross sections at 351 nm in the gas phase. Only the tagged peptides undergo ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) at 351 nm, as demonstrated for several Tyr- and His-containing peptides from protein digests. Additional selectivity is achieved by the integration of the UVPD-MS method with an in silico database search restricted to Tyr- and His-containing peptides. A modified MassMatrix algorithm condenses analysis by filtering the input database file to include Tyr/His-containing peptides only, thus reducing the search space and increasing confidence. In summary, derivatization of specific amino acid residues in conjunction with selective activation of the derivatized peptides provides a streamlined approach to shotgun proteomics.
On the Pathological Relations Between Cancer and Tuberculosis.

For some time past we have been engaged in a biometrical and experimental investigation of the relation between cancer and tuberculosis.∗ In the biometrical study there was first set up, by a critically adequate procedure, a case-for-case control series of autopsied patients, each one of whom was of the same sex, age and color (race) as one of the 816 persons autopsied in the Johns Hopkins Hospital and found to have carcinoma, sarcoma, or some other form of malignant tumor. The individuals in the control series did not have cancer or any other malignant tumor. With these malignant and non-malignant series of cases it was then shown that:1. Active tuberculous lesions were found at autopsy in only 6.6% of 816 persons having malignant growths. On the other hand such tuberculous lesions were found in 16.3% of 816 persons without malignant tumors, but of the same race, sex, and age as the former group. Active tuberculous lesions therefore occurred over twice as frequently in the controls as they did in the mal...
Photovoltaic Response in Conducting Polymer/Fullerene Self-Assembled Multilayers

We present results of a detailed study on thin film photovoltaic devices fabricated by the ionically self-assembled monolayer (ISAM) technique. The method allows for precise deposition of the electron accepting materials, such as copper phthalocyanine or fullerene derivatives within the polymer film. We demonstrate in this paper that it is possible to create ultrathin films (100 nm) of photovoltaic material that have enhanced efficiencies.
CHAPTER 21:4-Hydroxyphenylpyruvate Dioxygenase and Hydroxymandelate Synthase: 2-Oxo Acid-Dependent Oxygenases of Importance to Agriculture and Medicine

Despite a separate evolutionary lineage, 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate dioxygenase (HPPD) and hydroxymandelate synthase (HMS) are appropriately grouped with the 2-oxo acid-dependent oxygenase (2OADO) family of enzymes. HPPD and HMS accomplish highly similar overall chemistry to that observed in the majority of 2OADOs but require only two substrates rather than three. 2OADOs typically use the 2-oxo acid of 2-oxoglutarate (2OG) as a source of electrons to reduce and activate dioxygen in order to oxidize a third specific substrate. HPPD and HMS use instead the pyruvate substituent of 4-hydroxyphenylpyruvate to activate dioxygen and then proceed to also hydroxylate this substrate, each yielding a distinctly different aromatic product. HPPD catalyses the second and committed step of tyrosine catabolism, a pathway common to nearly all aerobes. Plants require the HPPD reaction to biosynthesize plastoquinones and therefore HPPD inhibitors can have potent herbicidal activity. The ubiquity of the HPPD reaction, however, has meant that HPPD-specific molecules developed as herbicides have other uses in different forms of life. In humans herbicidal HPPD inhibitors can be used therapeutically to alleviate specific inborn defects and also to retard the progress of certain bacterial and fungal infections. This review is intended as a concise overview of the contextual and catalytic chemistries of HPPD and HMS.
Control of a Nonlinear Magnetic Levitation System Based RBF Neural Network

Magnetic levitation system is a typical nonlinear and uncertain system,because it must be combined with a controller which has good control performance to be applied in various occasions. The identified nonlinear magnetic levitation system using of the Radial Basis Function neural network( RBFNN) was proposed. The neural network adaptive state feedback controller and adaptive PID controller of magnet levitation system was designed based on the neural network adaptive control principle. Besides,a simulation of the system was proposed by using MATLAB,and the result showed that neural network adaptive controller had a good effect on this nonlinear system. In addition,this control system had a preferable stability and control property.
Immunologic tests for the detection of gastrointestinal cancers.

The fact that fetal proteins can be produced by cancerous tissue provides a new tool for the early diagnosis and possibly immunotherapy of cancer. The four tests described hold promise of clinical usefulness in the near future for the detection and diagnosis of gastrointestinal tumors.
Nonequivalence behavior studies for the direct determination of enantiomeric purity and absolute configuration of timolol by NMR.

Direct determination of both the enantiomeric purity and absolute configuration of timolol was accomplished utilizing 1 H NMR (400 MHz) spectroscopy with fast diamagnetic chiral solvating agent to dissimilarly perturb thespectra of enantiomeric solutes. Nonequivalence behavior was studied for all variables that affect populations and intrinsic spectra of the diastereomeric solvates. Optimization of the experimental conditions in terms of probe temperature, substrate concentration and solvating agent to substrate molar equivalents provided resolved enantiomeric signals suitable not only for chiral recognition but also for quantification. Enantiomeric impurity was determined on the basis of relative intensities of the tert-butyl methyl protons resonances; the assignment of enantiomeric configuration was based on the relative field positions of these resonances. The analysis of synthetic mixtures of the enantiomers by the proposed NMR method resulted in assay values which agreed closely with the known quantities of each enantiomer in mixtures tested. The mean ′SD recovery values for the (R)-(+)-enantiomer was 100.0 ′ 1.6% of added antipode (n = 8). The optically pure enantiomers were used to establish the minimum detection limits of 0.1%. The developed methodology represents a rapid and powerful tool for regulatory analysis.
Beyond El Ajiaco: Eviction from el Exilio (1959–1979) and Miami’s (White) Cuban Wall

This chapter focuses on the racially democratic myth of Cuban identity and community, documenting the socioeconomic differences and experiences Afro-Cuban exiles faced as some attempted to settle in Miami among other Cubans during early stages of ethnic enclave formation. I position my findings in the “ethnic enclave” and immigrant-adaptation literature, further questioning not only the Cuban success myth, but place the local Afro-Cuban condition as central to the “reclaimed whiteness” local Cubans repossessed. I also question the literature that posits that “culture” or “behavior” serves as an impediment to economic mobility, and began explaining how extending from Cuba (or newly formulating) a black American identity was crucial in local Afro-Cuban adaptation.
Equivalent hardware representation of pm synchronous machines realized by a physics-based machine model for hardware-in-the-loop simulation applications

This paper presents an approach to realize an equivalent hardware representation of PM synchronous machines through a physics-based machine model for hardware-in-the-loop simulation of PWM drives. The equivalent hardware representation of the machine is achieved using a controllable load. The load current is controlled to be the same as the currents obtained over the physics-based model of the machine. The physics-based model of the machine is built using parameters obtained from the solutions of the transient FE computation covering a complete AC cycle. The modeling of the machine in such a way includes the details of machine design and their impacts on the machine performance during its operation. The presented work introduces a new method to perform the HIL-based machine control experiment studies before the actual fabrication of the machine or under the circumstances where the direct use of the actual machine is unavailable.
The State of stress in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead South Dakota

As a part of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) SubTER (Subsurface Technology and Engineering Research, Development and Demonstration) initiative, University of Wisconsin- Madison, Sandia National Laboratories, and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory conducted the Permeability (k) and Induced Seismicity Management for Energy Technologies (kISMET) project. The objectives of the project are to define the in situ status of stress in the Sanford Underground Research Facility (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota and to establish the relations between in situ stress and induced fracture through hydraulically stimulating the fracture. (SURF) in Lead, South Dakota. In situ tests are conducted in a 7.6 cm diameter and 100 long vertical borehole located in the 4850 Level West Access Drift near Davies Campus of SURF (Figure 1). The borehole is located in the zone of Precambrian Metamorphic Schist.
Programming the Dynamic Type Hierarchy

In this chapter I will give an overview of an existing semantic interpreter called C-GEN. This interpreter is based upon Sowa’s conceptual graph theory and was implemented at IBM’s Systems Research Institute. The program, called Cgen, provides a semantic interpretation of literal input sentences in the form of conceptual graphs. The Dynamic Type Hierarchy is seen as an extension of this program to handle metaphoric input.
Feature Illustration: Vascularity

Color Doppler sonography of the thyroid can aid in the evaluation of thyroid diseases in a variety of ways. For nodular disease, color Doppler may be used to improve detection of thyroid nodules and define nodular borders. Although specific vascular patterns of nodules do not allow for a distinction of benign from malignant nodules, color Doppler may play a complimentary role for the management of indeterminate lesions.