cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Sensitivity analysis of bare-wire space tether systems

Hypergeometric series solutions are presented for the electrodynamic response of bare-wire tether systems, and are used to generate closed-form expressions for the sensitivity coefficients in the generator configuration. For the thruster configuration, the governing equations are in the form of three simultaneous differential equations, which do not allow closed-form solutions for the sensitivity coefficients to be generated, and therefore numerical solutions for the sensitivity coefficients are presented.
Justification of new technologies through the use of “cause and effect” analysis: case of tile replacement at Kennedy Space Center

Abstract This paper presents a case of introducing new technology to a single stage in a maintenance operation composed of sequence of stages. The process - Thermal tile replacement - is a low volume, high value operation. A method for data collection at each stage, to estimate the variability in process quality, cost and duration is presented. The method involves: Identifying key product features, accuracy measure for each, rate of product rejection by feature and the associated probability density functions at each stage. The method relates accuracy variability by feature, “effect” to the contributing stage in the process “cause”. Simulation is used to justify the introduction of a new technology and to predict the percentage of product conformity in a “before” and “after” scenarios for the implementation of the new technology. The simulation model enables the quantification of technology impact on the product quality, overall productivity and the associated cost savings.
Design of a LEGO NXT Two-Wheeled Self-Balanced Robot Based on Inverted Pendulum Model

Two-wheeled self-balanced robot based on the inverted pendulum model belongs to the category of the wheeled robots and it shares many characters with inverted pendulum, which are non-linear, strong coupling, multi-variable and parameter uncertainty. Because there are many methods to keep this unstable robot self-balanced, this kind of robot has become an ideal platform to verify various kinds of control theories. In this paper, the two-wheeled robot is built on LEGO NXT set and depends on the sensors like gyro, angle transducer to keep upright. The mathematic and kinetic model of the robot is established according to the Lagrangian Dynamics and state-space equation of the whole system is presented. At last, a kind of state feedback control with the state observer is set up to make the system closed and stable.
Increased Aortic Beta-Glucuronidase Activity with Progressively Severe Arteriosclerosis in Female Breeder Rats

Increased Aortic Beta-Glucuronidase Activity with Progressively Severe Arteriosclerosis in Female Breeder Rats
Visual dysfunctions in optic tract lesions

Characteristic visual symptoms and signs in 12 patients with neoplasms or aneurysms involving the optic tract are summarized. Blurred vision was the most common initial manifestation. Optic atrophy became apparent in 7 of the 12 patients. Most patients had uniocular central scotomas with reduced visual acuity, and 2 had homonymous scotomas. Field defects were frequently incomplete and incongruous, combining central scotomas with elements of homonymous and bitemporal amblyopias. Seven patients had endocrine disturbances and memory deficits in addition to their visual symptoms.
Bone thickness in Homo erectus

Although the presence in Homo erectus of thickened tabular bone in the cranium and thickened cortical bone in the post cranium has been noted by a number of researchers, few hypotheses have been proposed to explain that presence. Using as controls femora from several Homo sapiens groups (Romano-British, Murray Valley Australians and Bushmen), it can be shown that the cortical bone in the Homo erectus femur is thickened to a statistically significant level. It can further be shown that the “additional” bone in the fossil femora is located at the endosteal rather than at the subperiosteal surface. Two hypotheses are proposed to explain this thickened cortical bone in Homo erectus ; these hypotheses are not necessarily mutually exclusive.
Puberty in 2013: Unravelling the mystery of puberty

In 2013, considerable progress was made towards deciphering the molecular foundations of puberty. Loss of transcriptional repression was identified as a core mechanism underlying the onset of puberty, and this loss was found to be precipitated by epigenetic cues. It was also discovered that nutritional deprivation delays puberty by repressing reproductive neuroendocrine function.
Evaluation of signal reabsorption and sample heating in NIR-Raman measurements

In order to assess the magnitude of the experimental problem of NIR absorption in NIR-Raman measurements, 1064 nm-Raman spectra of representative scattering lipid suspensions were measured, the spectral artifacts were compared, and the relative magnitude of sample heating was determined by using principal component analysis to measure the shift in a thermotropic phase transition. As in a previous evaluation of the problem, solvent O-H absorption was found to be the main difficulty because it significantly attenuates the Raman signal from C-H stretching. This is true even though the effective sample thickness was only 175 μm. Small Raman intensity artifacts were created by the changes in NIR absorption or optical scattering that occur with changing lipid concentration or state of liposome aggregation. Though use of D2O as the suspending solvent greatly improved the intensity of the C-H stretching region, in comparison to H2O suspensions, observed laser heating was reduced by only a factor of two. C-H stretching absorption can contribute to the heating when D2O is the solvent. In D2O the lipid sample heating was reduced to an acceptable level (1°C) when the laser illumination was 740 mW over a 2.5-mm circular spot. Thus power density needs to be kept at less than 1/10 that typically used in similar visible Raman experiments. O-H containing samples without strong optical scattering show pronounced spectral attenuation in the 180° geometry, if the spectrometer optics collect from deep within the specimen. This consideration places limitations on the use of long pathlengths to improve signal intensity. Extinction pathlengths available from the literature provide a convenient way to extrapolate these results to other NIR excitation wavelengths. Shifting excitation from 1064 nm to 910 nm would avoid most of the Raman spectral attenuation by O-H and reduce the H2O lipid suspension sample heating by a factor of two. Unfortunately, heating of the D2O suspensions will not be significantly reduced even if the excitation is moved to 830 nm.
Solvent Effects on the Energetics of Prolyl Peptide Bond Isomerization

Racemic Ac-Gly–[β,δ-13C]Pro-OMe was synthesized, and the kinetics and thermodynamics of the isomerization of its prolyl peptide bond were determined in nine solvents by using NMR and IR spectroscopy. The free energy of activation is 1.3 kcal/mol larger in water than in aprotic solvents, and correlates with the ability of a solvent to donate a hydrogen bond but not with solvent polarity. These results are consistent with conventional pictures of amide resonance, which require transfer of charge between oxygen and nitrogen during isomerization. Similar medium effects may modulate the stability of planar peptide bonds in the active site of peptidyl-prolyl cis–trans isomerases (PPIases) and during the folding, function, or lysis of proteins.
Using mass spectral source signatures to apportion exhaust particles from gasoline and diesel powered vehicles in a freeway study using UF-ATOFMS

Abstract Single particle mass spectrometry techniques such as aerosol time-of-flight mass spectrometry (ATOFMS) offer a unique approach for on-line source apportionment of ambient aerosols. Source signatures, or mass spectral “fingerprints”, have been obtained using ATOFMS from a variety of sources with an emphasis placed on distinguishing between emissions from different types of vehicles. In this study, the signatures from previous source tests of diesel powered heavy duty diesel vehicles (HDDV) and gasoline powered light duty vehicles (LDV) are matched to particle spectra acquired during a freeway-side study performed over a month in southern California to source apportion the particles. Using a relatively high ART-2a matching (vigilance) factor of 0.85, particle mass spectral signatures from the vehicle source studies matched 83% of the freshly emitted particles detected alongside the freeway. The particle contributions alongside the freeway in the ultrafine and accumulation size range (aerodynamic diameter=50–300 nm) were apportioned to 32% LDV, 51% HDDV, and 17% from other sources. This paper discusses the apportionment process used and the methods used for validation with peripheral instrumentation.
Countercultural Autobiography: Stories From the Underside and Education for Justice

Abstract This article describes a countercultural approach to autobiography in comparison with three dominant uses of autobiography in religious education. It defines countercultural autobiographies as stories from the underside of society meant as tools for education for justice and as invitations for transformative dialogue in institutional and societal settings. The article's goal is to invite religious educators, in seminaries and faith communities, to begin a dialogue for finding ways to use countercultural autobiographies to inform theories and practices of religious education that will educate us all in the path of God's vision of justice for the world.
SQAK: doing more with keywords

Today's enterprise databases are large and complex, often relating hundreds of entities. Enabling ordinary users to query such databases and derive value from them has been of great interest in database research. Today, keyword search over relational databases allows users to find pieces of information without having to write complicated SQL queries. However, in order to compute even simple aggregates, a user is required to write a SQL statement and can no longer use simple keywords. This not only requires the ordinary user to learn SQL, but also to learn the schema of the complex database in detail in order to correctly construct the required query. This greatly limits the options of the user who wishes to examine a database in more depth.As a solution to this problem, we propose a framework called SQAK1 (SQL Aggregates using Keywords) that enables users to pose aggregate queries using simple keywords with little or no knowledge of the schema. SQAK provides a novel and exciting way to trade-off some of the expressive power of SQL in exchange for the ability to express a large class of aggregate queries using simple keywords. SQAK accomplishes this by taking advantage of the data in the database and the schema (tables, attributes, keys, and referential constraints). SQAK does not require any changes to the database engine and can be used with any existing database. We demonstrate using several experiments that SQAK is effective and can be an enormously powerful tool for ordinary users.
Multiple quantum spectrum of oriented hexane-d6

Abstract The proton multiple quantum NMR (MQ NMR) spectrum of methyl-deuterated hexane- d 6 is obtained in a nematic solvent. Rough simulation of the six- and seven-quantum spectra is achieved with a simple model of conformer probabilities and ordering. The advantages and prospects of MQ NMR for the conformational analysis of ordered, non-rigid molecules are discussed.
Reaction of amines and amino acids with aqueous and nonaqueous acid-ninhydrin

Under anhydrous conditions, ninhydrin in glacial acetic acid reacts with a number of amino acids, as well as amines and imino acids, to produce discernible colors. Hence, the reagent cannot be considered specific for imino acids under such circumstances. The effect of a small amount of water on the reaction was stressed, and some compounds were noted to produce one color (or none) when in aqueous solution, and another color when dry. Ninhydrin-reacted spots on paper chromatograms can be eluted into acid-ninhydrin, and the color produced may be useful in microanalytic identifications.
Wittgenstein's Language‐games

Summary Wittgenstein's uses of “language-game” oscillate between references to simplified and imaginary models of rule-governed observable interaction, and reference to ways in which words are actually used. Reasons are offered for rejecting Wittgenstein's claim for the autonomy of language-games: use of “mini-languages “presupposes use of a full language; and mastery of conceptually related language-games. “Language-games” are not games. They might be treated as “images” in the literary critic's sense of “pictures made out of words”.
Immune function of thyroid stimulating hormone and receptor.

Thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) is a central component of the hypothalamus-pituitary-thyroid axis. Although TSH is known for its important biological effects as a neuroendocrine used to regulate thyroid hormone activity and subsequent metabolic functions, TSH also has been shown to be produced and used by cells ofthe mammalian immune system. Moreover, recent findings have linked the use of TSH by cells of the immune system in humans and mice to a group of monocytic cells and lymphocytes--primarily dendritic cells, macrophages, and subset of naive peripheral T cells. Other studies have demonstrated the capacity of dendritic cells and monocytes to produce biologically active TSH, thereby pointing to a process of paracrine or autocrine TSH-mediated communication during the earliest stages of an immune response to antigen. In this article, these and other features of TSH immune-endocrine interactions are discussed in the context of an intrinsic TSH immunological pathway. Additionally, a hypothesis is proposed in which TSH produced by cells of the immune system during acute antigen exposure plays a dual role, consisting on the one hand of TSH communication during antigen-driven immune activation while concomitantly serving to regulate physiological homeostasis by modulating and adjusting thyroid hormone activity.
Training down-regulates fatty acid synthase and body fat in obese Zucker rats.

Introduction: The purpose of this study was to investigate whether chronic exercise training attenuates fatty acid synthase, the rate-limiting enzyme for hepatic lipogenesis, and the accumulation of body fat by using obese Zucker rats (OZR) as a model. Methods: Female obese Zucker (fa/fa) rats (O, N = 16) and their lean litter mates (L, N = 16) were randomly divided into a trained (T) and untrained (U) group. T was performed on a treadmill for 2 h.d -1 , 5 d.wk -1 , 10 wk with running speed and grade adjusted to elicit similar workloads. All rats were meal-fed a high-cornstarch diet for 4 h.d -1 and killed 8 h after the initiation of the last meal and 27 h after the last T session, in the resting state. Results: O rats exhibited twofold higher FAS activity and sixfold higher FAS mRNA abundance in the liver than L rats (P < 0.05), accompanied by a severe hyperinsulinemia (P < 0.05) but normal glucagon and glucose levels. FAS activity, but not mRNA level, was decreased by 18% with T in O rats (P < 0.05). T decreased percent body fat in both O and L rats (P < 0.05), and increased lean body mass in O rats (P < 0.05). Hepatic fatty acid profile showed higher 16:0, 16:1, and 18:1 concentrations in O rats, whereas 18:0, 18:2, and 20:4 were lower (P < 0.05). Training increased 20:4 in both O and L rats (P < 0.08). Nuclear protein binding to the insulin response sequence (IRS/A) and carbohydrate response element (ChoRE) on FAS gene promoter was decreased, whereas inverted CAATT box element (ICE) binding was increased in O versus L rats (P < 0.05). Training did not affect the binding of these gene sequences. Conclusion: De novo lipogenesis was greatly enhanced in OZR. Endurance training decreased body fat, which is partly explained by a decreased FAS activity. However, FAS down-regulation was not due to altered nuclear protein binding to FAS gene.
How Do We Best Treat Patients With Ischemic Heart Disease

Despite investigations over several decades, it is still difficult to define an optimal treatment strategy for patients with ischemic heart disease. Some of the many reasons for this dilemma include delayed and highly variable symptomatic presentation, lack of a clear relationship between symptom severity and outcome, a changing population (aging and more women), changing therapies, and a relatively low overall event rate for patients in the chronic stable phase. The problem is placed into focus, however, when one considers that as the “baby boomers” age, we will see a marked increase in the prevalence of ischemic heart disease without a clear understanding of how aggressive we should be with our medical approach and whether expensive revascularization procedures offer clear benefit over the best medical approach. The prevailing notion from past trials1 is that subgroups of patients with ischemic heart disease, principally those with anatomic findings suggesting the potential for severe ischemia (left main stenosis or severe multivessel disease with impaired left ventricular function2), may do better with surgical revascularization than medical therapy. But these are only a small and select fraction of ischemic heart disease cases, and these results are dated by older technologies. Yet, in patients who were asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic after infarction, 3 small randomized trials of CABG surgery versus medical therapy have shown no distinct benefit in favor of surgery. Norris et al3 addressed this issue in 100 consecutive patients believed to be at high risk because they had second or third infarctions. The majority had triple-vessel coronary artery disease, and most had depressed left ventricular function (ejection fraction <50%). Those with left main obstruction and severe symptoms were not included. Comparing those randomized to CABG with those receiving medical therapy, no differences in …
Towards Secure Localization Using Wireless "Congruity'

Traditional methods for localization in wireless networks rely on the correlation of the received signal strength with physical distance. It is also well known, that these mechanisms fail in an adversarial setting due to the lack of robustness of the signal strength property to malicious intent. In this paper, we present a property of the wireless medium, which we call "wireless congruity', that captures the relative similarities in wireless media characteristics (such as packet receptions, idle channel time, etc.) as observed by two receivers that are in physical proximity of each other. We show that wireless congruity holds promise for secure localization by presenting an initial yet encouraging set of results obtained through extensive experimentation in a rich indoor wireless environment.
Two Thousand Blalock-Taussig Shunts: A Six-Decade Experience

Background The Blalock-Taussig shunt (BTS) remains valuable for palliation of congenital heart disease, but its role has evolved. We reviewed our total institutional experience with BTS to examine changes in its use and outcomes. Methods A retrospective review was performed of all patients undergoing BTS at our institution from November 1944 to May 2006. Hospital records and autopsy records were evaluated to determine patient demographics, diagnoses, operative data, hospital complications, and long-term outcomes. Results During the last 62 years, 2,016 BTS were performed by 28 surgeons on 1,880 patients from 35 countries. Classic BTS were performed in 75% (1,503 of 2,016 BTS). Diagnosis was tetralogy of Fallot in 72% (1,294 of 1,802), although diagnoses were imprecise in the early part of the series. Overall operative mortality was 14% (227 of 1,574). On follow-up, 32% of tetralogy of Fallot patients (411 of 1,294 patients) underwent subsequent total correction at our institution, and an additional 116 patients for whom follow-up was available had total correction of tetralogy of Fallot at other institutions, a combined total correction of tetralogy of Fallot rate of 41%. Of patients with complex congenital heart defects, 26% (106 of 404 patients) had subsequent cavopulmonary connection or atrial or arterial switch procedures. A comparison of the first and second halves of the series revealed several trends: decreasing mean annual number of BTS (66/year versus 9/year, respectively), decreasing operative mortality (16% versus 9%), and increasing proportion of single-ventricle diagnoses (5% versus 34%). Conclusions Evolution of the BTS has seen a decrease in overall use, particularly in tetralogy of Fallot, but greater application to single-ventricle cardiac lesions and improved operative survival.
Downmodulation of the Inflammatory Response to Bacterial Infection by γδ T Cells Cytotoxic for Activated Macrophages

Although γδ T cells are involved in the regulation of inflammation after infection, their precise function is not known. Intraperitoneal infection of T cell receptor (TCR)-δ−/− mice with the intracellular bacterium Listeria monocytogenes resulted in the development of necrotic foci in the livers. In contrast, the peritoneal cavities of infected TCR-δ−/− mice contained an accumulation of low density activated macrophages and a reduced percentage of macrophages undergoing apoptosis. γδ T cell hybridomas derived from mice infected with Listeria were preferentially stimulated by low density macrophages from peritoneal exudates of infected mice. Furthermore, primary splenic γδ T cells isolated from Listeria -infected mice were cytotoxic for low density macrophages in vitro, and cytotoxicity was inhibited in the presence of antibodies to the γδ TCR. These results demonstrate a novel interaction between γδ T cells and activated macrophages in which γδ T cells are stimulated by terminally differentiated macrophages to acquire cytotoxic activity and which, in turn, induce macrophage cell death. This interaction suggests that γδ T cells regulate the inflammatory response to infection with intracellular pathogens by eliminating activated macrophages at the termination of the response.
Enabling circuit design using FinFETs through close ecosystem collaboration

Double-patterning lithography is required at 20 nm node for planar CMOS. At the 16 / 14 nm node, in order to deliver attractive amount of Performance-Power-Area enhancement, 3-D FinFETs are required. Close collaboration at design ecosystem among fabrication foundry, EDA vendors, IP vendors, packaging vendors, and design houses is crucial for successful migration to FinFET circuits. This paper describes key issues in enabling circuit design using FinFETs and how to address them effectively.
"Clear For Surgery": Current Attitudes and Practices of Pediatricians

Two thousand five hundred pediatricians, constituting 10% of active, US-based members of the American Academy of Pediatrics, were randomly selected to receive a survey of attitudes and practices in the preoperative evaluation of children, and communication with anesthesiologists. Of the 790 respondents, 30% routinely examine children prior to elective surgery at present, although 60% felt they should ideally do so. Only 7.6% had training contacts with anesthesia during residency, and only 17% felt their expertise was appreciated by the operating team in preparing children for surgery. In clinical management situations, most agreed on the anesthetic risks of a recent-onset upper respiratory infection, but varied in assessing the risks to a growing premature infant, of a patient with Trisomy 21, or of an asthmatic on chronic theophylline. The results suggest that pediatricians see their role as important in preoperative preparation of children, but lack appropriate training and experience. If "clear for sur...
Biomechanics of the Basketball Jump Shot—Six Key Teaching Points

Abstract Based on the biomechanics research on shooting a basketball, six key teaching points for mid-range to long-range jump shots are proposed. These concepts should be evaluated and translated into appropriate cue words for feedback to performers.
Streamline Integration Using MPI-Hybrid Parallelism on a Large Multicore Architecture

Streamline computation in a very large vector field data set represents a significant challenge due to the nonlocal and data-dependent nature of streamline integration. In this paper, we conduct a study of the performance characteristics of hybrid parallel programming and execution as applied to streamline integration on a large, multicore platform. With multicore processors now prevalent in clusters and supercomputers, there is a need to understand the impact of these hybrid systems in order to make the best implementation choice. We use two MPI-based distribution approaches based on established parallelization paradigms, parallelize over seeds and parallelize over blocks, and present a novel MPI-hybrid algorithm for each approach to compute streamlines. Our findings indicate that the work sharing between cores in the proposed MPI-hybrid parallel implementation results in much improved performance and consumes less communication and I/O bandwidth than a traditional, nonhybrid distributed implementation.
Boundary element prediction of the free surface shape between two particle plugs in a horizontal pneumatic transport pipeline

A method is presented to predict the shape of the gas-particle interface between two plugs of cohesionless particles conveyed pneumatically through a horizontal pipeline. The method assumes that the moving solids are limiting equilibrium at the interface and that, therefore, the interfacial slope depends on the normal pressure gradient which can be used as a boundary condition for the numerical solution of Laplace's equation. The height of stationary material between the plugs cannot be predicted by the method, since this material is not in a state of limiting equilibrium. However, an analogy with a gas-liquid system can be used to predict this height. The method as presented is restricted to plugs of constant voidage and to systems which obey Darcy's law (packed bed Reynolds numbers less than 10). The boundary element numerical technique is used to apply the method to a 2-dimensional example of flow through a 50 mm I.D. pipe. The predictions are qualitatively in agreement with photographs of the observed shape in the true (3-dimensional) situation. However, further numerical and experimental work on the 3-D situation is required for a full assessment of the proposed method. On presente une methode pour predire la forme de l'interface gaz-particules entre deux bouchons de particules non aglomerees transportes de maniere pneumatique a travers un tube horizontal. On considere dans cette methode que les solides en deplacement sont dans un etat d'equilibre limite a l'interface, et que, par consequent, la pente interfaciale depend du gradient de pression de fluide normal qui peut ainsi etre utilise comme une condition limite pour la solution numerique de l'equation de Laplace. La hauteur du materiau a l'etat stationnaire entre les bouchons ne peut pas etre predite par la methode, le materiau n'etant pas dans un etat d'equilibre limite. Cependant, on peut utiliser une analogie avec un systeme gaz-liquide pour predire cette hauteur. La methode que nous presentons ici est limitee aux bouchons ayant une fraction de vide constante et aux systemes obeissant a la loi de Darcy (nombres de Reynolds des lits a garnissage inferieurs a 10). La technique numerique de l'element limite est utilisee pour l'application de la methode a un modele d'ecoulement bidimensionnel a travers un tube de 50 mm de diametre interieur. Les predictions sont du point de vue qualitatif en bon accord avec les photographies de la forme observee en situation reelle (trois dimensions). Cependant, des recherches numeriques et experimentales plus poussees en trois dimensions seront necessaires avant de pouvoir evaluer la methode proposee.
A new orphan member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily that interacts with a subset of retinoic acid response elements.

Abstract We have identified and characterized a new orphan member of the nuclear hormone receptor superfamily, called MB67, which is predominantly expressed in liver. MB67 binds and transactivates the retinoic acid response elements that control expression of the retinoic acid receptor beta 2 and alcohol dehydrogenase 3 genes, both of which consist of a direct repeat hexamers related to the consensus AGGTCA, separated by 5 bp. MB67 binds these elements as a heterodimer with the 9-cis-retinoic acid receptor, RXR. However, MB67 does not bind or activate other retinoic acid response elements with alternative hexamer arrangements or any of several other wild-type and synthetic hormone response elements examined. The transactivation of retinoic acid response elements by MB67 is weaker than that conferred by the retinoic acid receptors but does not require the presence of all-trans retinoic acid, 9-cis-retinoic acid, or any exogenously added ligand. We propose that MB67 plays an important role in the complex network of proteins that govern response to retinoic acid and its metabolites.
The Effect of Adenosine on the Reduced Heart Rate Response to Exercise in the Elderly

BACKGROUND In a previous study we demonstrated that excessive endogenous adenosine production and/or response was responsible for the blunted tachycardia to bolus intravenous doses of isoproterenol in the elderly. In this study, we tested the hypothesis that excessive endogenous adenosine may also be responsible for the diminished maximal tachycardia with aging. METHODS Twelve young (mean age 27.3 +/- .61 yr) and 12 older (mean age 66.8 +/- .9 yr) healthy men were asked to perform maximum exercise tests in the presence of placebo or theophylline at plasma concentrations between 15-20 micrograms/ml. Heart rate, oxygen consumption, and respiratory gas exchange ratio were continuously monitored and recorded during the exercise. In addition, plasma lactate, glycerol, renin activity, and catecholamines were measured before and after maximal exercise. RESULTS Maximum heart rate to exercise was higher in the young (190 +/- 3 bpm in the young, 157 +/- 2 bpm in the old) and increased by 4.5 +/- 1.2 bpm in the young and 9.8 +/- 2.6 bpm in the old with the administration of theophylline that resulted in an equivalent serum concentration in the two age groups. This age difference in the increase was not significant but approached significance at a p value of .07. Maximum VO2 was also greater in the young group and this was unaffected in both groups by theophylline administration. The increase in serum lactate and plasma renin activity (PRA) to exercise was higher in the young group both in the presence and absence of theophylline. CONCLUSIONS Our data could not identify excessive adenosine in the older group as the cause of diminished maximal exercise heart rate with aging. It is likely that the diminished chronotropic response to exercise in the older humans is due to a mechanism intrinsic to the cardiac excitatory tissue.
A Revised Model for Radial Profiles of Hurricane Winds

Abstract A revision to the Holland parametric approach to modeling the radial profile of winds in hurricanes is presented. The approach adopted uses information readily available from hurricane archives or in hurricane warning information and the profile can be readily incorporated into existing parametric models of the hurricane surface wind field. The original model utilized central and environmental surface pressures, maximum winds, and radius of maximum winds. In the revision a capacity to incorporate additional wind observations at some radius within the hurricane circulation was included. If surface observations are used, then a surface wind profile will result, obviating the need for deriving a boundary layer reduction from the gradient wind level. The model has considerably less sensitivity to data errors compared to the original and is shown to reproduce hurricane reconnaissance and surface wind profiles with high accuracy.
Regional pattern of cell maturation and progesterone biosynthesis in the avian granulosa cell layer.

The objective of the present study was to compare the structural and functional features of cells derived from histologically different regions of the granulosa cell layer of hen preovulatory follicles. Granulosa cells were isolated from a 0.8 - 1.5-cm diameter region of the granulosa layer overlying the germinal disc (GD) orfrom the remainder of the granulosa layer peripheral to the disc region (GP). In the first study, the isolated cells were prepared from each region of the five largest preovulatoryfollicles;fixed; stained with fluorescent dyes for DNA, total protein, and RWA; and analyzed by use of mu!tiparaineter flow cytometry. A greater percentage of cells from the GD region than from the GP region were in proliferative (S and G2/M) stages of the cell cycle in the four largestfollicles. In addition, GD cells had lower relative protein content than GP cells in the two largest follicles. In the second study, progesterone biosynthesis in response to treatment with luteinizing hormone (LH) orforskolin was exa,ninedin granulosa cells from the GD and the GP regions of the largest preovulatory follicles. GP cells had greater responsiveness to the treatments than GD cells. In addition, conversion of 25-hydrax-y-choles:erol to progesterone was greater in GP cells than in GD cells. There were no differences in cyclic adenosine 3’,S’-monophosphate (cAMP) production by GD and GP cells in response to LH orforskolin or in the ability of cells from each region to convert pregnenol one substrate to progesterone via 3�-hydroxysteroid dehydrogenase activity. Thus, the greater steroidogenic responsiveness of GP cells to LH appears to be due to a post-cAMP step in the hormonal cascade, namely, greater activity of the P450 cholesterol side-chain cleavage enzyme in GP cells. The results indicate that cells from the GD region of the hen granulosa layer are less mature than cells in the GP region on the basis of both morphological and functional characteristics. The germinal disc, as suggested from earlier histological observations, may be a central region for cell growth and d(fferentiation in the hen granulosa cell layer.
Correction of the Prominent Occiput in Beckwith-Wiedemann Syndrome

A peculiar prominence of the occiput is a variable feature of Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome. Careful examination of the anatomy of this calvarial deformity in a recent case permitted an uncomplicated and gratifying surgical correction.
Is anything new in adult blunt splenic trauma

Several decades ago, a shift occurred in the management of adult splenic injuries. Influenced by the experience in pediatric trauma patients, adult trauma surgeons began turning from mandatory operative treatment of all splenic injuries toward nonoperative management. Nonoperative treatment is now the most common method of management for patients with splenic injuries and is the most common method of splenic salvage. However, controversy exists about how to appropriately select patients for nonoperative treatment since bleeding from splenic injuries can incur significant morbidity and mortality. Recent refinements in the management of adult blunt splenic injuries will be reviewed.
Managing Subarachnoid Hemorrhage in the Neurocritical Care Unit

Patients with aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage who survive the initial hemorrhage require complex interventions to occlude the aneurysm, typically followed by a prolonged intensive care unit and hospital course to manage the complications that follow. Much of the morbidity and mortality from this disease happens in delayed fashion in the neurocritical care unit. Despite progress made in the last decades, much remains to be understood about this disease and how to best manage these patients. This article provides a review of current evidence and the authors' experience, aimed at providing practical aid to those caring for patients with this disease.
BANDWIDTH ENGINEERING FOR EFFICIENT FREQUENCY DOUBLING OF HIGH POWER FIBER LASERS USING PERIODICALLY POLED KTP CRYSTALS

ABSTRACT Dependence of both acceptance bandwidth and frequency conversion efficiency on the linear periodicity fluctuation in domain-inverted KTP crystals was investigated. The study was mainly focused on three main emission wavelength bands of current commercially available high power optical fiber lasers. That to use these artificially introduced domain periodicity fluctuations as the potential means to match the nonlinear crystal's acceptance bandwidth to a high power fiber laser's emission linewidth is believed effective in maximizing the nonlinear frequency conversion efficiency as much as possible.
Lifetimes of Violence in a Sample of Released Prisoners

Men and women who go to prison are poor and involved in violence. This article explores the connection between poverty and violence for a sample of former prisoners who left incarceration and settled in the Boston area. Analysis of life history data indicates that violence arises in poor contexts across the life course because they are often chaotic and lack informal sources of social control; under these conditions, violence often comes to be positively valued. This situational perspective on violence diverges from the criminal justice perspective, in which offenders and victims represent distinct classes of people and punishment involves the assessment of individual culpability.
Do Differences in Legal Protections Explain Differences in Ownership Concentration

Existing research on cross-country differences in ownership concentration analyzes country averages of ownership concentration instead of firm-level data. This creates omitted-variable and aggregation biases. Most papers also use small samples of large firms. This makes inferences to country populations problematic because ownership concentration is inversely related to firm size and firm size varies across countries. When I analyze firm-level observations; control for firm-level determinants of ownership concentration, including size; and use a broad sample of firms from 32 countries, there is no support for the widely held theory that large shareholders are a response to weak legal protections for investors.
War, Politics, and Pandemic Disease Mortality: Evidence from the 1918 Influenza in the United States

Does politics contribute to the diffusion of pandemics? If so, how? This paper investigates these questions by analyzing sub-national data from the United States on mortality rates during the 1918 Influenza. Comparisons of these mortality rates allow me to isolate micro level causal mechanisms that would be more difficult to identify and test in a cross-country analysis. I argue that politics contributed to the diffusion of the disease in the United States in two respects. First, the mobilization effort for World War I made certain segments of the U.S. civilian population vulnerable to contracting the disease. Second, political measures such as school closings, quarantines, and bans on public gatherings partially insulated cities from the perils of existing in close proximity to an army camp. Statistical analysis provides evidence that cities located in close proximity to military bases suffered higher mortality rates and that instituting robust political measures to counter the spread of influenza dampened this effect. These findings shed new light on how politics affects public health conditions. They also have implications for policy planning on future pandemics.
BACTERIAL MENINGITIS IN SOUTHWESTERN ALASKA

Between July 1, 1971, and June 30, 1974, thirty-nine cases of bacterial meningitis were diagnosed at the Alaska Native Health Service Hospital at Bethel, Alaska. Thirty-two (82%) occurred in infants less than one year of age. Haemophilus influenzae (H. influenzae) was the predominant causative agent, and was isolated from 23 (72%) of the 32 patients under one year of age. The annual incidence of H. influenzae meningitis in the Bethel area was 63/100,000, and the annual incidence of H. influenzae meningitis in children less than five years of age was 474/100,000 cases.
Thermal transport in AB superlattices

We calculate the thermal conductivity of an $\mathit{AB}$ superlattice in the cross-plane direction (perpendicular to the layers). If all of the heat is carried by phonons, the calculation has been performed often. We include the feature that one $(A)$ or both ($A$ and $B$) of the superlattice layers are electronic conductors, so they have thermal energy in the electron system as well as in the phonon system. We also assume the layers are thin, of several atomic layers, so the main thermal resistance is at the interfaces. The introduction of electron thermal energy changes the thermal conductance of the superlattice. It also changes the boundary conductance between a metal contact and the superlattice.
Pleistocene Vicariance, Montane Islands, and the Evolutionary Divergence of Some Chipmunks (Genus Eutamias)

Distributions of fossil and Recent montane mammals in the American Southwest support a non-equilibrium model. This vicariant explanation, based on vegetational disjunctions during Pleistocene interglacials, is extended in an attempt to predict patterns of evolutionary divergence within a monophyletic lineage. A reconstruction of faunal movements during the Pleistocene based on this explanation suggests at least three complementary hypotheses for evolutionary divergence: 1) endemic forms should arise on the largest mountain ranges; 2) montane satellites of these should share derived forms; and 3) small mountain ranges isolated in both space and time should have been colonized during successive glacial periods by migrating boreal forms. Patterns of bacular morphology within the Eutamias quadrivittatus species complex are used to test the hypotheses. Results of the analysis corroborate the hypotheses, suggesting the need for changes in current thought regarding the arrangement of taxa within this species complex and the origin of altitudinal zonations of species on mountains in the American Southwest. Because the patterns are based on vicariance, patterns of divergence among the chipmunks should characterize divergence in a variety of other montane taxa.
Vascular Malformations of the Orbit

Vascular lesions constitute up to 10–15 % of all orbital tumors (Rodgers R, Grove SA (2000) Vascular lesions of the orbit. In: Albert D, Jakobiec F, Azar D et al. (eds) Principles and practice of ophthalmology, 2nd edn, vol 4. WB Saunders Company, Philadelphia, pp 3144–3154). The shape, color, and invasiveness differ within each group: from bright red to deep blue and from a well-demarcated lesion to a more infiltrative tumor within the surrounding orbital tissue. Intraorbital vascular malformations can be categorized into arteriovenous malformation, venous malformation, and lymphatic malformation, each category having different clinical presentation, imaging characteristics, and management.
Ethical conflicts reported by Certified Nephrology Nurses (CNNs) practicing in dialysis settings.

Objective The purpose of the investigators was to describe and classify ethical conflicts experienced by Certified Nephrology Nurses (CNNs) practicing in dialysis settings in four eastern states and the District of Columbia, and to explore associated demographic, educational, and practice setting factors associated with these ethical conflicts. Design A descriptive survey design was used. Sample/setting All members of the American Nephrology Nurses Association (ANNA) who were CNNs working in Maryland, Virginia, and the District of Columbia, and a random sample of those in New York State and Pennsylvania were contacted. Methods Those CNNs working in dialysis settings were asked to complete the Demographic Data Form and the Moral Conflict Questionnaire developed by Fry (1990). Eighty-eight met inclusion criteria, agreed to participate, and described ethical conflicts. Results By far the most common practice context for the described ethical conflicts were decisions about discontinuation or initiation of dialysis (69%). Participants were clear about the moral problem and ethical principles involved. Conclusions Participants reported being involved in serious ethical conflicts about patient care. Since two-thirds were not resolved, further research should investigate whether existing mechanisms in practice settings for resolution of ethical conflicts are not working or are not being used by nurses.
Toilets, Transgenders, and Property Rights

The North Carolina legislature passed a law that prohibits transgender individuals from using certain public toilets. The legislation has been controversial. Some entertainers have stated they will not hold concerts in North Carolina until the law is repealed. Some corporations have been critical of the law, and at least one corporation has decided not to open a facility in North Carolina because of the law. This article examines the issue of the use of public toilets by transgenders and applies logic and ethical theory to arrive at a resolution of the problem that does not involve the violation of anyone’s rights.
The Meaning and Intensity of the Near-Death Experience

Article exploring the hypothesis that near-death experiencers (NDErs) assign the meaning of the NDE by using causal (effect) and semantic (affect) attributions. To test this hypothesis, 32 spontaneous verbal accounts of NDEs were analyzed.
Time-Correlated Particles Produced by Cosmic Rays

This report describes the NA-22 supported cosmic ray experimental and analysis activities carried out at LLNL since the last report, dated October 1, 2013. In particular we report on an analysis of the origin of the plastic scintillator signals resembling the signals produced by minimum ionizing particles (MIPs). Our most notable result is that when measured in coincidence with a liquid scintillator neutron signal the MIP-like signals in the plastic scintillators are mainly due to high energy tertiary neutrons.
THE ORIGIN OF EXCESS POLONIUM-210 IN NATURAL WATERS

Abstract The concentrations of 210Pb and 210Po in 5 samples of lake water and 3 samples of river water in the vicinity of Fayetteville, Arkansas, were determined. The 210Po/210Pb activity ratios in most of these samples were found to be greater than unity. The results are explained as most likely due to the difference in the chemial properties of lead and polonium, rather than due to the presence of an excess of 210Po in the atmosphere.
The Lotus Sutra as Literature

The Lotus Sutra has often been referred to as “just stories.” Yet these stories teach the ultimate Dharma of the Buddhas. Shakyamuni Buddha employs these stories and their literary narrative to convey what cannot be explained in other sutras. Moreover, it is because the stories themselves are a form of spiritual transmission from the Buddha to the reader. Using simile, parable, pathos, and character development, Shakyamuni Buddha reveals to us the power of the Lotus Sutra and the ultimate teaching of his lifespan. The Buddha also employs anaphora in the repetition of certain words and clauses. Chapters within the Lotus Sutra feature not only prose, but verse sections in which the oral instructions are repeated. We can see the immense cultural effect of the Lotus Sutra and the depth of its themes and ideas. Additionally, its emphasis on equality and feminism are resoundingly powerful even today. It is not shy to controversy when five thousand of the Buddha’s own disciples leave in rejection of this teaching. This powerful and sometimes controversial work is definitely one of the greatest works of human literature. The Lotus Sutra has shown its versatility in several different cultures and languages, indicating how powerful its teachings truly are. Few works of literature can achieve so much success in cultures apart from its original context. It is the brilliance of these stories within a story and the literary techniques used within that allow the Lotus Sutra to have such a universal appeal.