cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An Optical System With Continuously Variable Spherocylindrical Power

Conventional instruments for measuring or correcting refractive errors of the human eye contain large numbers of individual spherical and cylindrical lenses. Refracting instruments having continuously variable power (optometers) are mechanically simpler and allow smooth adjustment of power by the subject (subjective optometers) or smooth adjustment of power by automated photo-electronic sensing mechanisms (objective optometers). Optometers with spherical optical systems have had some clinical success, but those with spherocylindrical optical systems, described since the 1800's, have never been practically useful. Power ranges have been too small, scales have been non-linear, and adjustments have been awkward. Renewed interest in the automation of clinical refraction has led to the development of a spherocylindrical optical system overcoming the disadvantages of previous systems. Cylindrical lenses movable in a prescribed fashion along the optical axis provide continuously variable spherocylindrical power over a wide linear range. This system, in addition to forming the basis of a new refracting instrument, may provide a useful means for manipulation of spherocylindrical power in other optical applications.© (1978) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Scanning laser polarimetry of the retinal nerve fiber layer in central retinal artery occlusion

Abstract Purpose To report the results of scanning laser polarimetry (NFA/GDx; Laser Diagnostic Technologies, San Diego, CA). Design Prospective, consecutive observational case series. Participants Ten consecutive patients with central retinal artery occlusion (CRAO). Methods Neuro-ophthalmic examination and scanning laser polarimetry of the retinal nerve fiber layer (RNFL) of 10 patients with CRAO. Main outcome measures Duration of visual loss, visual acuity, funduscopy, and scanning laser polarimetry of the RNFL in 10 eyes of 10 patients with CRAO. Results The duration of visual loss before examination and scanning laser polarimetry ranged from 1 to 7 days. Visual acuity was counting fingers at 1 foot or worse in all 10 eyes with CRAO, and funduscopy revealed pallid retinal edema accompanied by a cherry red spot in all affected eyes. Funduscopy of the fellow eyes in all but one patient, who had anterior ischemic optic neuropathy and was subsequently diagnosed with giant cell arteritis, revealed no acute changes. Scanning laser polarimetry of all eyes with CRAO revealed diffuse attenuation of the retardation of the RNFL. Scanning laser polarimetry of the fellow eye revealed a normal bimodal distribution in the eight patients in whom it could be measured. In one patient who was examined 1 day after the onset of visual loss, repeat nerve fiber analysis 6 weeks later revealed further depression of the RNFL compared with the initial scan. Repeat analysis of the RNFL in four other patients showed persistence of the diffuse depression noted during their initial examinations. Conclusions Scanning laser polarimetry in CRAO reveals diffuse depression of the retardation of the RNFL, which occurs acutely after the onset of visual loss. To our knowledge these patients represent the first reports of scanning laser polarimetry of the RNFL in acute CRAO.
Permeators and continuous membrane columns with retentate recycle

Abstract A new recycle scheme of a membrane permeator was studied in order to produce a high purity less permeable component in the retentate stream. A part of the retentate stream was recycled to the permeate stream at the bottom of the permeator. The effect of retentate recycling on the separation performance was investigated both experimentally and theoretically for the separation of air, He/O2 and He/N2 mixtures. The effect of retentate recycle on the separation performance of a continuous membrane column was also examined. For all three gas mixtures, the less permeable component was always more concentrated with the retentate recycle than without it. The retentate recycling was more effective for the separation of a highly selective system as expected than for a less selective one (He/N2>He/O2>air). The experimental data agreed well with those calculated by the plug-flow model with the appropriate boundary conditions for the retentate recycle. The retentate recycle could be an innovative method for producing a high purity gas of the least permeable component from a mixture.
Periodic Density Functional LDA and GGA Study of CO Adsorption at the (001) Surface of MgO

The deficiencies of the local density approximation (LDA) to describe weakly adsorbed species on ionic surfaces are exposed in the current study of CO on the (001) surface of MgO. The authors applied a periodic formulation of density functional theory with crystal orbitals and charge density expanded as linear combinations of atomic orbitals of Gaussian form. The binding was investigated for four orientations of the CO molecule; either the carbon or oxygen atom of CO down over either the surface magnesium cation or oxygen anion. The authors find that the carbon down over the magnesium cation is the only noticeably attractive configuration, when basis set superposition error is corrected for, and estimate the binding energy of CO to be 1.9 kcal/mol for the Perdew, Burke, and Enzerhof (PBE96) functional. The binding energy obtained in the LDA approximation is as large as 7.4 kcal/mol. For the C-down-over-Mg configuration, the CO stretching frequency shift is only 4 cm{sup {minus}1} for the PBE96 functional. This binding energy, vibrational shift, and analysis of density of states indicate that little chemical bonding accompanies the adsorption. The values of binding energy and vibrational shift support a suggestion by Nygren and Pettersson that the CO adsorption discussedmore » by He et al. actually takes place at defect sites on the (001) surface of MgO.« less
Growth and growth hormone. I. Changes in serum level of growth hormone following hypoglycemia in 134 children with growth retardation.

Growth and Growth Hormone: I. changes in Serum Level of Growth Hormone Following Hypoglycemia in 134 children with Growth Rctardation
The Role of Preoperative Endo-rectal Coil Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Predicting Surgical Difficulty for Robotic Prostatectomy

Objectives To determine whether pelvimetry on endo-rectal coil magnetic resonance imaging (eMRI) predicts surgical difficulty of robot-assisted laparoscopic prostatectomy (RALP). Methods Patients' records with preoperative eMRI in our RALP database from April 2008 thru May 2009 were reviewed. Demographic, preoperative clinical data, and eMRI anatomic measurements, including calculated prostate volume (PV) and the pelvic cavity index (PCI), were recorded. PCI is the pelvic inlet multiplied by the interspinous distance and divided by the pelvic depth; PCI estimates the robotic working space. Correlative and multiple regression analyses of clinical and pelvimetric data were performed for prediction of estimated blood loss (EBL), operative time (OT), positive surgical margin (PSM), and transfusion rate as surrogates of surgical difficulty. Results Prostatic transverse diameter, PV, and the PV-to-PCI ratio were significantly correlated with both OT and EBL (P Conclusions Patients with larger prostates and with narrow, deep pelvises are predicted to have a more difficult RALP. The PV-to-PCI ratio statistically predicts lengthier and bloodier procedures. However, that ratio does not predict PSM or transfusion risk on regression analysis. The eMRI predicts the level of surgical difficulty and is a valuable adjunctive study to obtain before RALP.
Generation of ultrashort high-average-power passively mode-locked pulses from a Nd:YLF laser with a nonlinear external-coupled cavity at high-repetition rates

A general consideration on the cavity detuning ranges and stability requirements for obtaining high pulse repetition rate in an additive-pulse passively mode-locked laser are presented. Without modifying the main cavity length, up to a sixfold increase over the original repetition rate of 76 MHz has been obtained in a coupled-cavity passively mode-locked Nd:YLF with an average power of 3W.
The Performance of Injection Locked Impatt Oscillators under Transient Ionizing Radiation

The performance of 500 milliwatt X-band injection locked IMPATT oscillators, exposed to 100 nanosecond pulses of 10 MeV electrons at dose rates between 1 × 108 and 3 × 109 rads/sec, is compared to free running IMPATT oscillators. The RF power reduction during the radiation pulse remained the same for the locked and free running oscillators, while the RF frequency shift depended upon the power of the locking signal. The locking figure of merit remained constant over the range of dose rates used, and original RF performance was regained within 50 nanoseconds following the radiation pulse.
Stimuli-responsive self-assembled multilayer azo thin films: Photo-switchable absorbance and morphological characteristics

Abstract Light has been employed as a source of energy for surface modulation, tuning and control in photo-responsive azo-incorporating self-assembled polyelectrolyte multilayer thin films. A custom built setup for controlled exposure enabled successful photo-switching. Spectral changes were characterized through UV–vis spectroscopy, while scanning electron microscopy technique was employed to study structural properties and response of the films. The effects of chromophore aggregation and dispersion on thin film photo-responsiveness have been studied, with significant contributions made to a recently proposed model correlating structural and spectral properties of the azo thin films. Structural and optical photo-responses have been acquired for surface tuning and modulation, while photo-reversibility is also achieved to control surface properties cyclically.
Reworking Russia's History: Two Steps Forward, One Step Back

With the collapse of the bipolar world and the rigidities that it spawned, many historians have sought to reassess Russia’s twentieth-century experience, some in light of the availability of new materials and others through engagement with new methodologies generated under the increasingly elastic category of postmodernism. Promising a “panoramic viewpoint” with which to “unravel” the mysteries of twentieth-century Russia and focusing the bulk of his large volume on the 1917 to 1991 period, Service purports to integrate “newer items of information” into the established description and analysis of the Soviet experience. Figes seeks to provide the aeld with its arst “comprehensive history of the entire revolutionary period,” which he identiaes as the years between 1891 and 1924. Service reoects an older historiographical tradition that focused on high politics and ideology. Figes, however, moves through the next historiographical generation and beyond, offering a sophisticated reading of the now-enormous literature about social history, while keeping a steady eye on politics, the decisive interventions of leaders, and their sometimes distorted, ideological constructs of the world. We can push the discussion still farther, away from state–society oppositions and typologies built around worker, peasant, intelligentsia, and the fragile middle, onto terri
Increased prefrontal activation in adolescents born prematurely at high risk during a reading task

Although individuals born prematurely have subtle white matter abnormalities and are at risk for cognitive dysfunction, few studies have examined functional reorganization in these individuals. In this study we use magnetoencephalography (MEG) to examine cortical reorganization related to prematurity. Thirty-one adolescents systemically selected from a longitudinal study on child development based on gestational age, birth weight and neonatal complications (full term, low-risk premature, high-risk premature) and reading ability (good, average or poor) performed two reading-based rhyme tasks during MEG recording. Equivalent current dipoles were localized every 4 ms during the 150 ms to 550 ms period following the onset of the word presentation. The association of the mean number of dipole (NOD) with birth risk, reading ability and latency was examined. During the real-word rhyme task, adolescents born at high-risk demonstrated a greater NOD in the left prefrontal area than those born at low-risk and term. During the non-word rhyme task, good and average readers born at high-risk demonstrated a greater NOD in the left prefrontal area than good and average readers born at low-risk and term. Time course analysis confirmed increased activation in the left prefrontal regions of those born at high-risk. This study suggests that adolescents born prematurely at high-risk, as compared to those born at low-risk and term, demonstrate increased prefrontal cortical activation during a reading task. These results suggest a reorganization of the prefrontal cortex in adolescents born prematurely at high-risk.
Online stochastic reservation systems

This paper considers online stochastic reservation problems, where requests come online and must be dynamically allocated to limited resources in order to maximize profit. Multi-knapsack problems with or without overbooking are examples of such online stochastic reservations. The paper studies how to adapt the online stochastic framework and the consensus and regret algorithms proposed earlier to online stochastic reservation systems. On the theoretical side, it presents a constant sub-optimality approximation of multi-knapsack problems, leading to a regret algorithm that evaluates each scenario with a single mathematical programming optimization followed by a small number of dynamic programs for one-dimensional knapsacks. It also proposes several integer programming models for handling cancellations and proves their equivalence. On the experimental side, the paper demonstrates the effectiveness of the regret algorithm on multi-knapsack problems (with and without overbooking) based on the benchmarks proposed earlier.
Volume effects on the Raman frequencies of phosphate ions in fluorapatite crystals

Abstract The vibrations of phosphate (PO4−3) ions in single crystals of hexagonal Ba5(PO4)3F (B-FAP) have been investigated by means of polarized Raman scattering and compared to Raman frequencies observed in fluorapatite analogs Sr5(PO4)3F (S-FAP) and Ca5(PO4)3F (FAP). The Raman vibrational frequencies decrease upon substitution of Ba2+ for Sr2+ or Ca2+ in the lattice, asymtotically approaching the Raman frequencies for vibrations of the free ion. The observed splitting is in accord with predictions made by a group theory analysis of the factor group of the unit cell. The effects of the host lattice environment on the magnitude of the Davydov splittings and frequency shifts of phosphate ions within different crystals with the fluorapatite structure are demonstrated to be inversely proportional to the unit cell volume.
A Model of Grid Cell Development through Spatial Exploration and Spike Time-Dependent Plasticity

Grid cell responses develop gradually after eye opening, but little is known about the rules that govern this process. We present a biologically plausible model for the formation of a grid cell network. An asymmetric spike time-dependent plasticity rule acts upon an initially unstructured network of spiking neurons that receive inputs encoding animal velocity and location. Neurons develop an organized recurrent architecture based on the similarity of their inputs, interacting through inhibitory interneurons. The mature network can convert velocity inputs into estimates of animal location, showing that spatially periodic responses and the capacity of path integration can arise through synaptic plasticity, acting on inputs that display neither. The model provides numerous predictions about the necessity of spatial exploration for grid cell development, network topography, the maturation of velocity tuning and neural correlations, the abrupt transition to stable patterned responses, and possible mechanisms to set grid period across grid modules.
Debt-for-nature swaps: an overview

SUMMARY The debt crisis of developing countries in the early 1980s has been linked with environmental degradation. In order to combat the debt and environmental crisis, debt-for-nature swap transactions were proposed by Lovejoy in 1984. They involve a mechanism of exchange in which a certain amount of the debtor's foreign debt is cancelled or forgiven, in return for local currency from the debtor government to be invested in a domestic environmental protection project. The swaps may involve two governments, and in most cases, are aided by an International Non-Governmental Organization (INGO), who must have a local contact with a domestic NGO. The first swap (1987), between Bolivia and Conservation International (US-INGO) involved cancellation of $650 000 Bolivian foreign debt for exchange of $100 000 worth of local currency to be used towards the Beni Biosphere Reserve. Since 1987, swaps have resulted in an excess of US$1.5 billion in transactions. Debt-for-nature swaps may not provide debt relief of sign...
Maxillofacial prosthodontic rehabilitation of a patient with oral complications during and after multimodality therapy for the management of oral squamous cell carcinoma

Multimodality cancer therapy involving surgical resection, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy is frequently employed in the management of head and neck cancer. Patients who have undergone such therapy face substantial challenges during and after treatment. Prosthodontic rehabilitation is essential during and after tumor ablation to restore function, esthetics, and minimize interruption in daily routine. This clinical report describes the challenges faced by a patient undergoing multimodality therapy for a squamous cell carcinoma of the maxillary sinus and the stages involved in prosthodontic rehabilitation.
The magnetic moment of the1E1u N-V state of benzene and its methyl derivatives

Abstract The magnetic circular dichroism spectra of benzene in solution and of a number of methyl substituted benzenes in gas and solution phases have been measured in the region of the 1 E 1u π-π* transition. From these data the magnetic moments of the excited state have been obtained by moment analysis. The variation of this quantity upon methyl substitution is surprisingly large.
Oyster Shell and Insoluble Grit Consumption of Breeder Turkeys

Abstract Feed consumption data of turkeys of different ages and for different periods are commonly reported. Data on grit and calcium supplement consumption on the other hand are very difficult to find. Scott (1966), Marsden (1949), Lucas et al. (1949), Barnett et al. (1958), reported feed consumption for growing turkeys but made no mention of calcium supplement or grit consumption. Cline (1939), Berryman and Buchanan (1944), Anderson (1964), Robblee and Clandinin (1959), Dymsza et al. (1954), reported feed consumption for turkey breeders. Grit and calcium supplement consumption was not reported. This report includes data kept on consumption of mash, oyster shell and grit when comparing reproductive performance of breeders fed ad libitum mash versus birds fed eighty percent of the quantity consumed on full-feed. Granite grit and oyster shell were fed free choice in all pens. Three pens containing 30 Broad Breasted White turkey hens each were fed ad libitum, and . . .
Good Teaching? An examination of culturally relevant pedagogy as an equity practice

The adoption of educational policy measures to close the achievement gap, as well as the significant amount of scholarship dedicated to the subject, are just some of the indicators that reflect the tremendous concern in education about the academic performance of students of colour. Within research aimed at promoting equitable practices in education, culturally relevant teaching has emerged as a good teaching strategy to improve achievement. Using genealogical methods to examine the ways in which culture has become relevant to classroom practice, the author argues that that the perceived difference from white students that made it possible to conceive of children of colour as culturally deficit in the 1960s is also invoked in more recent literature that promotes attending to culture as an equity strategy. The take-up of culturally relevant teaching as something that a teacher can ‘do’, instead of a critical stance that a teacher takes, is also examined and critiqued.
Histopathogenesis of Galls Induced By Meloidogyne Naasi in Oat Roots

Large numbers of Meloidogyne naasi larvae penetrated root tips of 'Wintok' oats within the first 24 hours and first sign of incipient giant cell formation was visible 4 days after inoculation. Three independent responses were observed: a) Necrosis of inner cortical and endodermal cells in contact with the nematode lip region and failure of larvae to enter the stele; b) Necrosis of cells around the incipient giant cells, finally resulting in degeneration of giant cells and larvae; c) Uninterrupted giant cell development, which is indistinguishable from that in a susceptible host. These responses indicate that 'Wintok' oats are only partially resistant to M. naasi.
Enhancing Construction Hazard Recognition and Communication with Energy-Based Cognitive Mnemonics and Safety Meeting Maturity Model: Multiple Baseline Study

AbstractNearly every safety management activity is designed around the fundamental and implicit assumption that the workforce is capable of identifying hazards before exposure. Unfortunately, research shows preliminary evidence that construction crews perform relatively poorly with respect to hazard recognition. This may be attributable, in part, to the diverse and dynamic nature of construction work. Consequently, many hazards remain unidentified, uncontrolled, and unmanaged until they are encountered by workers. To advance theory and practice in the area of construction hazard recognition and communication, a large-scale, multiphase research project was conducted with the following objectives: (1) devise a new hazard recognition method based upon the principles of cognitive mnemonics and that promotes hazard recognition skill; (2) build a maturity model to improve hazard recognition performance and encourage hazard communication; and (3) experimentally measure improvement in hazard recognition and commu...
Molecular evolution of multisubunit RNA polymerases: structural analysis.

Abstract Comprehensive multiple sequence alignments of the multisubunit DNA-dependent RNA polymerase (RNAP) large subunits, including the bacterial β and β′ subunits and their homologs from archaebacterial RNAPs, eukaryotic RNAPs I–III, nuclear–cytoplasmic large double-stranded DNA virus RNAPs, and plant plastid RNAPs, were created [Lane, W. J. and Darst, S. A. (2009). Molecular evolution of multisubunit RNA polymerases: sequence analysis. In press]. The alignments were used to delineate sequence regions shared among all classes of multisubunit RNAPs, defining common, fundamental RNAP features as well as identifying highly conserved positions. Here, we present a systematic, detailed structural analysis of these shared regions and highly conserved positions in terms of the RNAP structure, as well as the RNAP structure/function relationship, when known.
Is there a relationship between urinary tract infection, vesicoureteral reflux and renal damage in children?

Is there a relationship between urinary tract infection, vesicoureteral reflux and renal damage in children?
The role of physiological heterogeneity in microbial population behavior

As the ability to analyze individual cells in microbial populations expands, it is becoming apparent that isogenic microbial populations contain substantial cell-to-cell differences in physiological parameters such as growth rate, resistance to stress and regulatory circuit output. Subpopulations exist that are manyfold different in these parameters from the population average, and these differences arise by stochastic processes. Such differences can dramatically affect the response of cells to perturbations, especially stress, which in turn dictates overall population response. Defining the role of cell-to-cell heterogeneity in population behavior is important for understanding population-based research problems, including those involving infecting populations, normal flora and bacterial populations in water and soils. Emerging technological breakthroughs are poised to transform single-cell analysis and are critical for the next phase of insights into physiological heterogeneity in the near future. These include technologies for multiparameter analysis of live cells, with downstream processing and analysis.
MAXIMUM LIKELIHOOD ESTIMATION OF GROSS FLOWS

Summary A method of maximum likelihood estimation of gross flows from overlapping stratified sample data is developed. The approach taken is model-based and the EM algorithm is used to solve the estimation problem. Inference is thus based on information from the total sample at each time period. This can be contrasted with the conventional approach to gross flows estimation which only uses information from the overlapping sub-sample. An application to estimation of flows of Australian cropping and livestock industries farms into and out of an “at risk” situation over the period 1979–84 is presented, as well as a discussion of extensions to more complex sampling situations.
Marine Mineral Resource Economics: ABSTRACT

Analysis of future demand projections to the year 2,000 for 88 mineral commodities indicates that estimated land resources in the U.S. will not meet the demand for 31 of these, and world resources are inadequate for 20 of them. Apparent mineral resources in the marine environment are in most cases equal to, or greater than, those of terrestrial occurrence. End_Page 774------------------------------ Marine minerals will in many instances provide a suitable alternative to terrestrial minerals, and their use will allow more time for technological development of a permanent, nondepletionary resource base. End_of_Article - Last_Page 775------------
Zinc Activation of a Coordinated Response in Hydra

In Hydra littoralis, the feeding response normally activated by reduced glutathione can be elicited by zinc ions under special experimental conditions: some calcium is necessary for the activation to be realized, but a high concentration of calcium inhibits the zinc-activated response. Zinc inhibits the normal feeding response induced by reduced glutathione.
Kinetic Monte Carlo study of competing hydrogen pathways into connected (100), (110), and (111) Ni surfaces

Hydrogen mobility upon and pathways into connected surfaces of a fcc metal, using the Ni (100), (110), and (111) faces as a model, are examined through computational methods. Our interest is in finding the time scale for an initial H-atom population density deposited on the surface to reach an equilibrium surface and sublayer distribution, and to understand the H dynamics in the region of Ni surface steps. The activation energies for H mobility from site-to-site are determined using a realistic potential energy function, and a set of 232 transition state theory rate constants governs the H-hopping model. A handful of the TST rate constants are compared favorably to very accurate calculations of rate constants for the same potential using a 3-d quantum mean field method. The set of TST rate constants are used in a kinetic Monte Carlo solution of the rate equations for surface hopping and surface penetration to complete the picture. We find that fast diffusion of H atoms occurs on all of the Ni surfaces with H atoms rapidly exchanging surfaces via both concave and convex step edges, and leaving the less stable (111) face. We examine the time scale for the approach to equilibrium for the H atoms on both the surfaces and sublayers. The effect of convex step edges vs the effect of direct terrace penetration for the H atoms is examined, and we find that at temperatures below about 1000 K the H-atom penetration at convex step edges becomes the favored pathway to the subsurface. As the H atoms flow via the step edges to the sublayer, a transient cycling current of H-atom probability is set up near the step edge, which fades away as equilibrium is reached.
Magnetism and pseudo-magnetism in quantum Hall systems

We present the latest results of our transport measurements, in the quantum Hall (QH) regime, in two different systems: AlAs two-dimensional (2D) electrons, and GaAs bilayer 2D hole systems. The magneto-resistance of AlAs 2D electrons exhibits sharp, hysteretic spikes at the crossings of the Landau levels with opposite spin. The spikes signal collective magnetic transitions between the two Ising-like states of the QH ferromagnet at the level crossings. We report a critical behavior in the temperature dependence of the spikes’ width and amplitude, from which we deduce the Curie temperature of the QH ferromagnet. In GaAs bilayer hole systems, when the two layers have unequal densities, we observe a hysteretic magneto-resistance when one of the layers is near = 1 7lling factor. The resistance in the hysteretic 7eld range shows an unusual time dependence, consisting of abrupt jumps and slow relaxations. The data signals an instability in the charge distribution of the two layers.
Sequential induction of pro- and anti-inflammatory prostaglandins and peroxisome proliferators activated receptor-gamma during normal wound healing: A time course study.

Abstract Lipid mediators generated from metabolism of arachidonic acid play a crucial role in the initiating and resolution of acute inflammation by shifting from pro-inflammatory prostaglandin (PG) E 2 to anti-inflammatory PGD 2 and its metabolites. The changes in PG levels over time during the normal wound-repair process have not, however, been reported. We determined the temporal expression of PG and their biosynthetic enzymes using the full thickness incisional model of normal wound healing in mice. We demonstrate that during normal wound repair, there is a shift in the metabolism of arachidonate from PGE 2 during the acute inflammatory phase to PGD 2 during the repair phase. This shift is mediated by temporal changes in the expression of cyclooxygenases (COX) and microsomal PGES (mPGES)-1. Inducible COX (COX-2) expression is sustained throughout the initiation and repair process, but mPGES-1 is increased only during the acute inflammatory phase and its disappearance coincides with increased PGD 2 . PGD 2 and its degradation products are known to mediate their anti-inflammatory effects by binding to peroxisome proliferators-activated receptor gamma (PPAR γ ). In this study, we show that PPAR γ is upregulated during the resolution phase of wound repair concomitant with the shift to PGD 2 , and may be responsible for initiating endogenous mechanism resulting in healing/resolution.
A framework for computer-aided validation

This paper presents a framework for augmenting independent validation and verification (IV&V) of software systems with computer-based IV&V techniques. The framework allows an IV&V team to capture its own understanding of the application as well as the expected behavior of any proposed system for solving the underlying problem by using an executable system reference model, which uses formal assertions to specify mission- and safety-critical behaviors. The framework uses execution-based model checking to validate the correctness of the assertions and to verify the correctness and adequacy of the system under test.
Product-market competition and executive compensation

Abstract This paper examines how product-market competition affects the level and composition of executive compensation. The results of our theoretical and empirical models suggest that the incentive component of an executive's compensation tends to be higher in more competitive markets.
Antagonism of botulinum toxin A-mediated muscle paralysis by 3,4-diaminopyridine delivered via osmotic minipumps

The ability of 3,4-diaminopyridine (3,4-DAP) to antagonize muscle paralysis following local injection of botulinum neurotoxin A (BoNT/A) complex was evaluated in the in situ rat extensor digitorum longus (EDL) preparation. The minipumps were implanted 6 h prior to BoNT/A administration and delivered their contents over a 7-day period producing a steady plasma 3,4-DAP concentration of 27-29 microM. In the absence of 3,4-DAP, a local injection of five mouse LD(50) units of BoNT/A led to total paralysis of EDL muscles within 24 h of application. Recovery from paralysis was slow, remaining at <30% of control 14 days after toxin injection. 3,4-DAP delivery by osmotic minipumps antagonized the actions of BoNT/A on neuromuscular transmission. Seven days after the onset of 3,4-DAP infusion, indirectly elicited twitch and tetanic tensions in BoNT/A-injected EDL muscles were 72.4 and 46.9% of control, respectively. In the absence of 3,4-DAP, twitch and tetanic tensions were only 5.4 and 15. 1% of control. The benefits conferred by 3,4-DAP treatment were not maintained after minipumps were removed. Seven days after cessation of 3,4-DAP infusion, twitch and tetanic tensions were not significantly different from those observed in muscles receiving BoNT/A alone. It is concluded that 3,4-DAP may be useful for treatment of BoNT/A-induced muscle paralysis, but sustained delivery of the drug would be required for the entire period of BoNT intoxication to maintain muscle function.
Supported liquid-phase catalysts

Abstract A generalized treatment is formulated for a catalyst pellet consisting of a porous solid within which a homogeneous liquid-phase catalyst is dispersed. The theoretical relations governing diffusion and reaction kinetics in such a catalyst are derived. The rate of reaction depends not only upon the characteristics of the catalyst solution and reactants, but also upon the liquid loading within the solid and the pore size distribution. The resulting equations are similar to those derived by Thiele[1] and other investigators for the heterogeneous catalyst without a liquid phase. The derivation is also extended to a broader class of catalysts — multiphase catalysts — in which catalytically active species are also present on the surface of the solid phase.
Therapeutic alternative to primary exenteration for advanced vulvovaginal cancer

Abstract While not a common clinical problem, locally advanced vulvovaginal cancer represents a difficult management problem. Few report more than a limited experience in managing such cases, and current therapy has usually been by two surgical methods: (1) Conventional: this is not truly conservative surgery, but rather involves radical vulvectomy with excision of a segment of the vagina and/or urethra, but visceral preservation. (2) Extended: this involves primary exenteration with en bloc radical vulvectomy, groin dissection, and pelvic node dissection. This has gained prominence in many centers in recent years. For selected cases, a combined radiotherapeutic and surgical approach may be considered a therapeutic alternative to primary exenteration. It theoretically treats the cancer and its regional spread patterns, and at the same time preserves bladder and rectal function. Any therapeutic alternative to primary exenteration must offer theoretical or practical advantages, must recognize and evaluate potential shortcomings, and its efficacy must be validated by clinical results. The apparent advantages of this combined therapeutic approach over primary pelvic exenteration with radical vulvectomy includes: (1) bladder and/or rectal preservation, (2) less primary mortality, (3) less primary operative morbidity. The theoretical disadvantages to this alternative include: (1) potential for local failure at the vulvectomy margin which transects actual or potential areas of cancer extension, even though preoperatively irradiated, (2) potential for the transformation of the cancer to a more virulent form, (3) potential for fistula formation because of surgery in an irradiated field. The rationale for this therapeutic alternative is discussed in detail and the results in a preliminary series of cases are described.
Scattering from polymer-like micelles

Polymer-like micelles are analogs to polymer solutions and provide an exciting class of materials for both applications and fundamental understanding of polyelectrolyte systems. Small angle neutron and X-ray scattering have been key to the characterization of these materials from the first observations of linear micelle growth. As new materials are developed, these techniques continue to be utilized and combined with other analytical tools to characterize the length and time scales of polymer-like micelle behavior. Recent reports on the use of small-angle scattering to characterize polymer-like and wormlike micelles are reviewed, with focus on new materials, improvements in analytical approaches and anisotropic structures.
The ''science'' of drug and alcohol prevention: the case of the randomized trial of the Life Skills Training program

Abstract Changes requiring greater accountability among federal agencies in the United States, along with specific criticisms of prevention activities funded by agencies such as the Department of Education, have led to an increased emphasis on what are called "science-based" or "research-based" interventions in recent years. Federal agencies such as the Department of Education and National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) have produced documents describing such interventions and advocating their widespread use and dissemination. The most widely advocated of these prevention interventions is the Life Skills Training (LST) program, the effectiveness of which, its supporters argue, has been demonstrated using rigorous research methods. The research study that has attracted most attention is the randomized trial conducted with white middle-class adolescents in New York State, as this purports to demonstrate that the LST program can reduce alcohol and illicit drug use 6 years after initial implementation. In contrast to the advocates for the LST program, I argue that this longitudinal trial does not meet the rigorous methodological standards claimed on its behalf. Indeed, it violates one of the fundamental principles of a randomized trial by restricting key analyses to selective sub-samples of the experimental group. I estimate that about 7.5% of those who initially received the LST intervention in the trial were included in the most recent set of analyses reported. This falls considerably short of the proportion of intervention group participants required at follow-up in a methodologically sound controlled trial. Thus, contrary to what its advocates claim, the study tells us little about the long-tern effectiveness of the LST program in reducing alcohol and illicit drug use among adolescents.
HIF-1 inhibitors as anti-cancer therapy

Hypoxia is a hallmark of solid tumors. Hypoxia increases the progression of malignancy and metastasis by promoting angiogenesis and triggering the over-expression of various protein products critical for tumor growth. The transcription factor HIF-1 mediates cellular response to hypoxia by promoting processes, such as glycolysis and angiogenesis. Clinical evidence has demonstrated that expression of HIF-1 is strongly associated with poor patient prognosis and activation of HIF-1 contributes to malignant behavior and therapeutic resistance. Therefore, HIF-1 is a viable target for cancer therapy. This review summarizes agents that have been described in the literature as HIF-1 inhibitors. The majority of these compounds are indirect inhibitors of HIF-1.
Programmable Automation and the Locus of Decision-Making Power

Computer-based technology is often credited with making decentralized decision-making possible, helping firms to respond rapidly to changing market conditions. Research on this subject, however, shows contradictory effects: some studies support decentralization and others support centralization. This longitudinal study examines how one form of computer-based technology, programmable automation (PA), affects centralization. Unlike previous studies, it attempts to clear up some of the confusion surrounding technology’s effect on centralization by distinguishing between strategic and operating decisions, and between decision-making authority and influence. As expected, PA flattened the hierarchy. It had no effect on strategic decision-making power, but surprisingly, did influence centralized line-operating authority and influence. This finding is particularly striking because firms with decentralized line-operating decision-making are more likely to adopt PA.
Radioimmunoassay of cholecystokinin

A highly sensitive and specific radioimmunoassay for cholecystokinin (CCK) has been developed. Fully immunoreactive [125I]CCK33 was prepared by chloramine T-catalyzed iodination followed by purification by gel filtration and ion exchange chromatography. A high titer of antiserum was obtained by multiple immunizations of rabbits with 15% pure porcine CCK without conjugation. The antiserum was highly specific for CCK33 and CCK39, with 40% of the binding sites recognizing CCK8 at high affinity, but reacted weakly with gastrin. Plasma interference was eliminated by an XAD-2 resin column extraction technique with high recovery of CCK. The overall assay sensitivity was 3.3 pM with intra- and interassay coefficients of variation determined with a plasma of 11.2 pM at 9.6 and 20.8%, respectively. The assay was capable of detecting linear increments of both CCK33 and CCK8 added into plasma and intravenous infusion of CCK8 as low as 0.03 micrograms/kg/hr in dogs. The assay was validated by its ability to monitor increase of plasma CCK immunoreactivity after ingestion of a meat meal in both humans and dogs, as well as following intragastric infusion of liver extract meal and intraduodenal infusion of phenylalanine in dogs. When the CCK8 and gastrin binding sites of the antiserum were removed by immunoadsorption, the treated antiserum remained capable of measuring a postprandial change in plasma CCK concentration, indicating that CCK33-like immunoreactivity was present in the plasma.
Reweighting to Achieve Elliptically Contoured Covariates in Regression

Abstract We investigate a method of constructing weights to induce elliptically contoured covariates in regression analyses. Much recent work in regression has identified various data analytic and model robustness advantages associated with such covariates. In particular, new estimation methods like SIR, SIRII, SAVE, and PHD have been built around the assumption of elliptically contoured covariates. Finite samples of regression covariates may deviate from this ideal in practice, and the method developed here, termed Voronoi weighting, can be used to induce elliptical symmetry in such samples. In a number of examples, we show that reweighting cases by the Voronoi method can substantially enhance various procedures. For covariates that deviate from elliptical symmetry, we show that Voronoi weighting, in conjunction with some trimming via the minimum volume ellipsoid method, can be effective.
Reassessing the mechanisms and origins of vocal learning in birds

Abstract The most widely accepted hypothesis of vocal imitation in birds pre-dates many recent studies on the behavior, anatomy, physiology and cell biology of this phenomenon. It states that vocal learning involves two steps: (1) an auditory memory is laid down, and then (2) vocal output is modified until the auditory feedback it generates matches the model 1 . This black-box model of vocal imitation disregards circuitry. We now know that the brain pathways for vocal learning in birds include a series of well-defined nuclei and projections 2–5 . Some of these nuclei and projections develop late in ontogeny, at the time when auditory models are first acquired and imitated 6–9 . We also know that the pathways involved in song production respond to sound, an observation that blurs the demarcation between what is an auditory and what is a motor circuit 10–12 . These and other recent discoveries call for a reassessment of the mechanisms and origins of vocal learning in birds and mammals.
What's right with you: Helping students find and use their personal strengths

Fixing what's wrong—with students, institutions, and cultures—is the most prevalent approach to change. Frank Shushok and Eileen Hulme offer the discovery and exploitation of what's right as a powe...
Symbolic computing the exact distributions of L-statistics from a uniform distribution

The exact probability density function of linear combinations of k=k(n) order statistics selected from the whole order statistics (L-statistic) based on a random sample of size n from the uniform distribution on [0, 1] was derived by Matsunawa (1985, Ann. Inst. Statist. Math., 37, 1–16). As the main expression for the density function given by Matsunawa is not complete for the general situation, we first provide the corrections for this formula. Second, we propose a simple scheme involving symbolic computing for evaluating the corrected version of the density function. The cumulative distribution function and the r-th mean of his L-statistic are also derived.
Correlation energy in the random phase approximation: Application to 3 He in thin 3 He − 4 He films

We discuss in detail the calculation of correlation energies in the random-phase approximation (RPA). By utilizing an approach based on evaluating the frequency integral in the logarithmic term by summing over the contributions for which the argument of the logarithm is real and negative, we obtain results that clearly separate out the particle-hole contributions to the RPA energy from the contributions due to the pole of the collective excitations. As benchmarks, we examine the static Coulomb system in both two dimensions (2D) and three dimensions (3D) and obtain RPA energies that are in excellent agreement with previous calculations. Further, we are able to examine the density dependence of the plasmon-pole contributions. These contributions are found to be relatively more important in 2D than in 3D. The method is then applied to the system of adsorbed ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ in thin ${}^{4}\mathrm{He}$ superfluid films. In the thin-film helium mixture, the ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ component interacts by means of the exchange of virtual surface interactions (ripplons) in addition to the usual atom-atom interaction. We evaluate the RPA contribution to the ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ ground-state energy of a previously introduced model for the ripplon mediated interaction called the one-ripplon-exchange potential (OREP). The OREP is manifestly frequency dependent. We study the effects of frequency dependence in the potential by comparing RPA energies for the full OREP with those for the static limit. We find that the RPA energies calculated with the dynamic potential are approximately four times the magnitude of the static energies in the density range of interest. In addition, for the dynamic potential, the collective-mode contribution is a maximum, a little larger than the particle-hole contribution at the lowest ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ coverage, and rapidly decreases to about $5%$ of the particle-hole contribution at the highest coverage. The RPA energies for both the static and dynamic cases show little density dependence and so, in agreement with previous mean-field calculations, we conclude that the RPA contribution from ${V}_{\mathrm{OREP}}$ is not sufficient to cause the ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ subsystem to be self-bound. Finally we obtain a prediction for the 2D zero-sound spectra as a function of ${}^{3}\mathrm{He}$ areal density.