cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
In Pursuit of the MD: The Impact of Role Models, Identity Compatibility, and Belonging Among Undergraduate Women

Women continue to face gender-related challenges in the medical field in places around the world where it has traditionally been male-dominated, including in the U.S. In an online experimental study with women attending a mid-sized public university in the Northeastern U.S. (N= 55) who were interested in pursuing a pre-medical track (being pre-med) as undergraduates, we explored the mechanisms involved in undergraduate women's pursuit of a career as a physician, focusing on three factors: exposure to successful female physician role models, perceived identity compatibility between being a woman and being pre-med, and sense of belonging in pre-med. Participants were randomly assigned to an experimental condition in which they were exposed to information about successful female physicians, or to a control condition in which no information about female physicians was provided. First, as hypothesized, participants exposed to successful female physicians reported higher perceived identity compatibility, sense of belonging, and interest in a medical career compared to those in the control condition. Second, also as hypothesized, perceived identity compatibility mediated the effect of role models on sense of belonging, and sense of belonging mediated the relationship between perceived identity compatibility and interest in a medical career. This study highlights three key factors in women's pursuit of a career as a physician and the process through which these factors may operate. Findings support the use of role models to set a positive psychosocial process in motion that can support women's persistence in medicine.
Leukocyte Profiles in Wild House Finches with and without Mycoplasmal Conjunctivitis, a Recently Emerged Bacterial Disease

Leukocyte profiles (relative numbers of white blood cell types) have been used by a growing number of ecological studies to assess immune function and stress in wild birds. House Finches (Carpodacus mexicanus) in eastern North America are susceptible to an eye disease caused by the bacterium Mycoplasma gallisepticum, providing the opportunity to examine whether leukocyte profiles are associated with infection status and other host characteristics. In this study, we compared blood smears from 297 wild House Finches with and without conjunctivitis to examine whether leukocyte profiles were associated with the presence and severity of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis. We also evaluated the influence of age, sex, and molt on leukocyte profiles in both diseased and nondiseased birds. Of 243 House Finches of known age and sex sampled, 30% showed clinical signs of mycoplasmal conjunctivitis. House Finches with conjunctivitis had significantly higher heterophil to lymphocyte (H/L) ratios and harbored greater numbers and proportions of heterophils and monocytes than nondiseased birds. Leukocyte profiles of noninfected birds did not differ significantly with respect to sex, but young birds had significantly greater numbers of lymphocytes and total white blood cells than adults. Molting birds had significantly more eosinophils than nonmolting birds. Finally, House Finches with the most severe outward signs of conjunctivitis showed the most dramatic leukocyte changes relative to noninfected individuals, and increasing H/L ratios and monocytes in diseased birds were paralleled in a subset of birds that were recaptured during the study period. These results are consistent with patterns observed in domestic poultry and suggest that understanding patterns of leukocyte differentials in this host-pathogen system could improve our understanding of innate immunity and infectious disease risk in other wild passerines.
Design of a Robot for Transperineal Prostate Needle Placement in MRI Scanner

Numerous studies have demonstrated the efficacy of image-guided needle-based therapy and biopsy in the management of prostate cancer. Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) is an ideal modality for guiding and monitoring prostatic interventions, due to its excellent visualization of the prostate, its sub-structure and surrounding tissues. Despite these advantages, closed high-field MRI scanners (1.5T or greater) have not typically been used in prostate interventions. The strong magnetic field prevents the use of conventional mechatronics and the confined physical space makes it extremely challenging to access the patient. We have designed a robotic assistant system that overcomes these difficulties and promises safe and reliable intra-prostatic needle placement inside closed high-field MRI scanners. The paper explains the design process, component selection and the system currently being prototyped.
Business-driven IT for SAP The Model Information Flow

Enterprises rely on efficient and flexible IT services. While complexity of services is increasing, personnel to provide and manage services will remain limited. At the same time, IT environments are becoming more dynamic, from the business side as well as from the infrastructure side. The ability to incorporate change faster, more efficiently and reliably has become a measure of quality of enterprise IT organizations. IT responds to these challenges by decoupling functions into services and by improving the linkages between business processes and the supporting IT systems. Service-oriented architecture has become the accepted pattern for modern enterprise IT. This paper presents the model information flow. It is part of a collaboration between HP Labs and SAP Research. The goal of the collaboration is to explore new approaches of model-driven planning, design and management of enterprise applications in a shared and virtualized IT infrastructure. The goal is to substantially improve the linkage between the business and the IT layer and die ability to manage and accommodate change more efficiently and in a largely automated manner.
Photoassociation studies of ultracold NaCs from the Cs 62P3/2 asymptote

A combination of pulsed depletion spectroscopy and photoassociation spectroscopy is utilized to assign photoassociation spectra of NaCs. These methods investigate the ab initio Ω = 2 potential energy curve and indicate a previously unknown avoided crossing between the (3)Ω = 1 and (4)Ω = 1 electronic states. We present rotational assignments of deeply bound singlet ground state molecules, an improved C6 coefficient for the (4)Ω = 1 and assignments for all twenty-three photoassociation resonances detuned from the Cs 62P3/2 asymptote.
HIV reproducibly establishes a latent infection after acute infection of T cells in vitro

The presence of latent reservoirs has prevented the eradication of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) from infected patients successfully treated with anti-retroviral therapy. The mechanism of postintegration latency is poorly understood, partly because of the lack of an in vitro model. We have used an HIV retroviral vector or a full-length HIV genome expressing green fluorescent protein to infect a T lymphocyte cell line in vitro and highly enrich for latently infected cells. HIV latency occurred reproducibly, albeit with low frequency, during an acute infection. Clonal cell lines derived from latent populations showed no detectable basal expression, but could be transcriptionally activated after treatment with phorbol esters or tumor necrosis factor α. Direct sequencing of integration sites demonstrated that latent clones frequently contain HIV integrated in or close to alphoid repeat elements in heterochromatin. This is in contrast to a productive infection where integration in or near heterochromatin is disfavored. These observations demonstrate that HIV can reproducibly establish a latent infection as a consequence of integration in or near heterochromatin.
Prologue: Negotiating women's roles and power: The practice of world religions in contemporary Asia

Abstract The articles that comprise this special issue make a convincing case for the importance of anthropological research in the field of gender and religion. Based upon the work of a panel presented at the 2002 annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association, these articles demonstrate the anthropological facility for moving back and forth between ‘great traditions’ and local conditions. In different ways and in different contexts, these articles point to a variable pattern of ancient, local or indigenous cosmological equality and women's ritual leadership that are effaced as a result of political or cultural conquest by a literate, centralised, male-dominated ‘great tradition’. Equally important, these articles demonstrate that this effacement is rarely complete. Rather, women's power is fluid, dynamic, variable and negotiated at varying institutional and interpretive levels. These tensions illustrate how analyses of gender in religion work with different sets of issues. The first set of issues centres on women, that is, on actual persons who have varying degrees of agency within specific social situations. The second set of issues centres on what is often called ‘Woman’, a symbolic construct that conflates gender, sex and sexuality that is composed of allegory, ideology, metaphor, fantasy and projection.
Inactivation of E2F3 results in centrosome amplification

The E2F family of transcription factors is critical for the control of cell cycle progression. We now show that the specific inactivation of E2F3 in mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEFs) results in a disruption of the centrosome duplication cycle. Loss of E2F3, but not E2F1, E2F2, E2F4, or E2F5 results in unregulated cyclin E-dependent kinase activity, defects in nucleophosmin B association with centrosomes, and premature centriole separation and duplication. Consequently, this defect leads to centrosome amplification, mitotic spindle defects, and aneuploidy. Our findings implicate the E2F3 transcription factor as an important link that orchestrates DNA and centrosome duplication cycles, ensuring the faithful transmission of genetic material to daughter cells.
Site-specific recombination in bacteriophage lambda

Abstract Lambda attB-attP is a derivative of bacteriophage lambda that contains both attB and attP, two sites required for integrative recombination. Lambda attB-attP can undergo int-mediated recombination to yield progeny phages whose DNA is 15% shorter than that of the parental phage. We have studied intracellular phage DNA from an infection of lysogenic bacteria with λattB-attP in the presence of int gene product, rifampicin and chloramphenicol. The majority of the intracellular phage DNA consisted of circles with lengths of 17.51, 15.09 and 2.38 μm. Partial denaturation mapping confirmed that the 15.09 and the 2.38-μm molecules arose by an int-mediated intramolecular recombination reaction of the type predicted by the Campbell (1962) model. A minor proportion of the circles (3%) were much larger (33.9, 30.2 and 4.7 μm); in these cases denaturation mapping indicated that both intra- and intermoleeular recombination could take place.
Chapter 2 Immune mechanisms: IgE, complement, and mucosal immunity

Article synthese sur differents mecanismes immunologiques tels que la voie d'activation du complement, les proprietes biologiques des IgE et etude de l'immunite au niveau des muqueuses
Challenges, Crises, and Change in US Foreign Policy

After Bush: The Case for Continuity in American Foreign Policy. By Timothy J. Lynch, Robert S. Singh New York: Cambridge University Press, 2008. 382 pp., $28.00 hardcover (ISBN-13: 978-0-521-88004-6). From Superpower to Besieged Global Power: Restoring World Order after the Failure of the Bush Doctrine. Edited by Edward A. Kolodziej, Roger E. Kanet Georgia: The University of Georgia Press, 2008. 411 pp., $24.95 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0820330747). The End of the West? Crisis and Change in the Atlantic Order. Edited by Jeffrey J. Anderson, G. Risse, Thomas John Ikenberry. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2008. 298 pp., $21.00 paperback (ISBN-13: 978-0801474002). The outcome of the 2008 US presidential election will prove momentous, as it signals a critical moment of choice for the next president on foreign policy. The president will have to decide whether or not to continue the policies of the last eightyears or chart a new course away from the Bush Doctrine. Not only will this be the first president to make policy in the post-Bush era, it will be the first president after George W. Bush to make policy in the post-9/11 environment. This critical and somewhat tumultuous moment in US history begs several questions for US leadership. First, what should be the priorities in the face of international terrorism, proliferation, a weakening economy, energy dependence, increased food prices, and world opinion that is hostile to US policy? Second, what should be the means for achieving US goals, whatever they might be? Will US foreign policy shift away from the Bush Doctrine focus on terrorists, their state supporters and emphasis on preventative and unilateral action? Alternatively, will there be a return to the liberal institutionalism of previous administrations or something entirely new? Countless books have been produced in the period after the invasion of Iraq that address these questions, grapple with the legacy of recent US policy, and suggest alternative ways for the United States to improve its position in the world (Johnson 2003; Brzezinski 2007; Fukuyama 2007; Bacevich 2008; Carpenter 2008). This type of analysis is quite common for US foreign policy, but it has taken on greater import, given that there exists a dire sense that the Bush Doctrine has been calamitous for US policy and that change is necessary. The extensive critiques of the Bush Doctrine and its intellectual foundations (see Callinicos 2004; Van Ness and Gurtov 2004; Jervis …
Contribution of Trafficking Signals in the Cytoplasmic Tail of the Infectious Bronchitis Virus Spike Protein to Virus Infection

Coronavirus spike (S) proteins are responsible for binding and fusion with target cells and thus play an essential role in virus infection. Recently, we identified a dilysine endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retrieval signal and a tyrosine-based endocytosis signal in the cytoplasmic tail of the S protein of infectious bronchitis virus (IBV). Here, an infectious cDNA clone of IBV was used to address the importance of the S protein trafficking signals to virus infection. We constructed infectious cDNA clones lacking the ER retrieval signal, the endocytosis signal, or both. The virus lacking the ER retrieval signal was viable. However, this virus had a growth defect at late times postinfection and produced larger plaques than IBV. Further analysis confirmed that the mutant S protein trafficked though the secretory pathway faster than wild-type S protein. A more dramatic phenotype was obtained when the endocytosis signal was mutated. Recombinant viruses lacking the endocytosis signal (in combination with a mutated dilysine signal or alone) could not be recovered, even though transient syncytia were formed in transfected cells. Our results suggest that the endocytosis signal of IBV S is essential for productive virus infection.
Developmental Physiology of Bean Leaf Plastids II. Negative Contrast Electron Microscopy of Tubular Membranes in Prolamellar Bodies

Proplastids and prolamellar bodies with tubular membranes were isolated from the dark grown primary leaves of bean seedlings (Phaseolus vulgaris L.). The combination of fluorescence microscopy and negative contrast electron microscopy provided the tentative identification of protochlorophyll holochrome as a constituent of prolamellar body membranes and new evidence for solution-filled channels within the tubular membrane systems of prolamellar bodies.
Quantitative antibody immobilization using hetero-and homo-bifunctional crosslinkers for analytical biosensing

Advances in various scientific fields are providing biosensing developers the capabilities to detect analytes at picomolar concentrations and lower. In optical biosensing, particularly in immunoassays like ELISA, there is a benefit to increasing and amplifying a series of reactions that includes antibodies, antigens, and various other crosslinkers. Here, we quantitatively analyze the effects of various polymer crosslinking combinations on their ability to immobilize antibody on poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) in a sandwich-type immunoassay. PMMA activation with sodium hydroxide and oxygen plasma treatment are quantitatively compared with for surface carboxyl group density and hydrophilicity. Several hetero- and homo-bifunctional crosslinkers of different molecular weight, including polyethyleneimines (PEI) and poly(ethylene glycols) (PEG), as well as glutaraldehyde (GA) and 1-ethyl-3-(3-dimethylaminopropyl) carbodiimide with sulpho-N-hydroxysulfosuccinimide (EDC/sNHS), are quantitatively assessed for their capabilities to capture antibody using fluorescence microscopy. Our findings indicate sodium hydroxide is preferred over oxygen plasma treatement and a sodium hydroxide treatment of 30 minutes maximizes carboxyl groups while minimizing oxygen radical formation. Further, a PEG (irrespective of molecular weight) and GA crosslinking combination is optimal for immobilizing antibody at a mximum density of 8ng/cm2.
Enhancement of Enzyme-Activated 1,2-Dioxetane Chemiluminescence in Membrane-Based Assays

Abstract Processes for enhancing the chemiluminescent signal generated by enzyme-activated 1,2-dioxetanes have been developed for membrane-based assays in which detection is done using a charge-coupled device (CCD) camera or X-ray film. The enhancement is demonstrated using slot-blots of biotinylated lambda DNA in conjunction with an avidin-alkaline phosphatase conjugate. For detection with a CCD camera, the nylon membrane is dried after processing and incubation in dioxetane substrate solution and heated to temperatures of 50 to 80 °C during detection. Up to a 100-fold signal increase is obtained using this enhancement process compared to the conventional detection procedure, in which the blot is kept saturated with substrate solution in a sealed plastic bag during detection. For detection with X-ray film, a fivefold increase in signal intensity is realized by drying the membrane before exposure to the film. These enhancement processes greatly reduce the time required for detection in membrane-based assays.
Sex differences in reports of illness and disability: A further test of the fixed role hypothesis

Abstract Data from a longitudinal study of adult health behavior ( N = 1088) were used to test the ‘fixed role’ hypothesis as an explanation for sex differences in reports of illness and disability. According to this hypothesis, the traditional female excess in reported mobility is due to females having more flexible role obligations than men—thus making it easier for women to adopt the sick role. In this analysis, regression techniques were used to examine sex differentials in reports of both ‘symptom episodes’ and bed days, while controlling statistically for fixed roles such as employment status, head of household and % contribution to the total family income. Our findings showed that the three fixed role measures did not explain sex differences in reports of symptom episodes or total bed days ( N = 1088). However, among people reporting at least one bed day ( N = 503), such obligations did explain the female excess in reported bed days. These findings suggest that fixed role obligations may play a larger role in determining when to relinquish the sick role as opposed to its adoption. These analyses also suggest that role obligations associated with employment status have the major influence on such sick role behavior.
New therapeutic approaches to peptic ulcer disease: The role of Helicobacter pylori

One of the most common bacterial infections of human involves Helicobacter pylori, a spiral, gram-negative bacterium that is now thought to be a dominant factor in the development of peptic ulcer disease and may be significant in causing certain forms of gastric cancer. Almost 100% of patients with duodenal ulcer and 70 to 90% affected with gastric ulcer are infected with H. pylori. In order to achieve cure of H. pylori--induced ulcer disease, it is necesary to eradicate the bacterial infection. Mere suppression or clearance infection without eradication is associated with a >80% recurrence of the ulcer. The epidemiology, microbiology, and pathogenesis of H. pylori infections are reviewed. Diagnostic methods and optimal treatment strategies for H. pylori infections are examined. The most current diagnostic and treatment algorithms for peptic ulcer disease are discussed critically, and future directions for drug development aimed at eradication of H. pylori infection are considered.
Cardiac Metastasis of Cloacagenic Carcinoma of the Vagina: A Case and Review of Gynecologic Malignancies with Cardiac Metastasis

We report of a case of a 44-year-old woman with a vaginal cloacagenic carcinoma who initially presented with a hymenal lesion that metastasized first to the perihilar lymph nodes and then consequently to the right ventricle. The embryological tumor is rare with only a few cases of vaginal or vulvar involvement. We present the first case of cloacagenic cancer of the vagina with metastasis to the heart. The lesion was surgically resected after completion of neoadjuvant therapy. Herein we present this unique case and the clinical manifestations of intracardiac and pericardial lesions from gynecologic malignancies.
The separation of the isomeric phenols of benzo(a)pyrene by high-performance liquid chromatography

A method has been developed to separate the 12 isomeric phenols of benzo(a)pyrene by using high-performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection and various sequences of methanol/water gradients. The elution of the 12 isomers by different concentrations of methanol/water was studied showing that many isomers have almost identical retention times. The effects of flow rate, temperature, and various types of gradients on the separation of the isomeric phenols, as well as the difficulty to separate some of the isomers, are discussed. It has been found that under the conditions normally employed to separate these phenols from other metabolites of benzo(a)pyrene, several of the phenols are not separated possibly leading to incorrect identification as well as quantitation. Detection of the phenols, as well as the parent benzo(a)pyrene, by fluorescence has increased the sensitivity of the method about 200 times when using the most sensitive setting as compared to uv detection. All the available pure diols and diones of benzo(a)pyrene are also separated by this procedure.
The Shakespeare in All of Us: A Monumental, Multitudinous, Premeditated Approach to Vocabulary Instruction

Shakespeare, who worked actively with words through punning, playing, and inventing, serves as the model for students to experience a deepening knowledge of vocabulary and love of words. Through instructional activities aimed at increasing word play, word exposure, and word consciousness, students gain the verbal capacity needed to understand complex text and express themselves fully. This article demonstrates how vocabulary empowers. It is filled with exciting ways to support best practices in vocabulary instruction through rich classroom activities.
Optimization of system parameters for modulator design in x-ray scatter correction using primary modulation

The impact of the system parameters of the modulator on X-ray scatter correction using primary modulation is studied and an optimization of the modulator design is presented. Recently, a promising scatter correction method for X-ray computed tomography (CT) that uses a checkerboard pattern of attenuating blockers (primary modulator) placed between the X-ray source and the object has been developed and experimentally verified. The blocker size, d, and the blocker transmission factor, α, are critical to the performance of the primary modulation method. In this work, an error caused by aliasing of primary whose magnitude depends on the choices of d and α, and the scanned object, is set as the object function to be minimized, with constraints including the X-ray focal spot, the physical size of the detector element, and the noise level. The optimization is carried out in two steps. In the first step, d is chosen as small as possible but should meet a lower-bound condition. In the second step, α should be selected to balance the error level in the scatter estimation and the noise level in the reconstructed image. The lower bound of d on our tabletop CT system is 0.83 mm. Numerical simulations suggest 0.6 < α < 0.8 is appropriate. Using a Catphan 600 phantom, a copper modulator (d = 0.89 mm, α = 0.70) expectedly outperforms an aluminum modulator (d = 2.83 mm, α = 0.90). With the aluminum modulator, our method reduces the average error of CT number in selected contrast rods from 371.4 to 25.4 Hounsfield units (HU) and enhances the contrast to noise ratio (CNR) from 10.9 to 17.2; when the copper modulator is used, the error is further reduced to 21.9 HU and the CNR is further increased to 19.2.
Visual chatter in the real world

When a scene is lit by a source of light, the radiance of each point in the scene can be viewed as having two components, namely, direct and global. Recently, an efFIcient separation method has been proposed that uses high frequency illumination patterns to measure the direct and global components of a scene. The global component could arise from not only interreflections but also subsurface scattering within translucent surfaces and volumetric scattering by participating media. In this paper, we use this method to measure the direct and global components of a variety of natural and man-made materials. The computed direct and global images provide interesting insights into the scattering properties of common real-world materials. We have also measured the two components for a 3D texture as a function of lighting direction. This experiment shows that the global component of a BTF tends vary smoothly with respect to the lighting direction compared to the direct component of the BTF. Finally, we apply the separation method to a translucent object for different imaging and illumination scales (resolutions). The results obtained show how the BSSDRF of the object gradually reduces to a BRDF as one goes from fine to coarse scale. All the measurement results reported here, as well as several others, can be viewed as high resolution images at http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/CAVE/projects/separation/separation.php.
Delay fault coverage, test set size, and performance trade-offs

The main disadvantage of the path delay fault model is that to achieve 100% testability every path must be tested. Since the number of paths is usually exponential in circuit size, this implies very large test sets for most circuits. Not surprisingly, all known analysis and synthesis techniques for 100% path delay fault testability are computationally infeasible on large circuits. We prove that 100% delay fault testability is not necessary to guarantee the speed of a combinational circuit. There exist path delay faults which can never impact the circuit delay (computed using any correct timing analysis method) unless some other path delay faults also affect it. These are termed robust dependent delay faults and need not be considered in delay fault testing. Necessary and sufficient conditions under which a set of path delay faults is robust dependent are proved; this yields more accurate and increased delay fault coverage estimates than previously used. Next, assuming only the existence of robust delay fault tests for a very small set of paths, we show how the circuit speed (clock period) can be selected such that 100% robust delay fault coverage is achieved. This leads to a quantitative tradeoff between the testing effort (measured by the size of the test set) for a circuit and the verifiability of its performance. Finally, under a bounded delay model, we show that the test set size can be reduced while maintaining the delay fault coverage for the specified circuit speed. Examples and experimental results are given to show the effect of these three techniques on the amount of delay fault testing necessary to guarantee correct operation. >
A comparison of insight in body dysmorphic disorder and obsessive–compulsive disorder

Insight/delusionality of beliefs is an important dimension of psychopathology across psychiatric disorders. This construct is of increasing interest in obsessive-compulsive and related disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). Even though OCD and BDD are considered closely related, no prior study has compared these disorders across a range of categories of global insight (excellent, good, fair, poor, absent/delusional), and only one study has compared these disorders on individual components of insight. Using the reliable and valid Brown Assessment of Beliefs Scale (BABS), this study examined insight/delusionality of OCD- or BDD-related beliefs in 211 individuals with primary OCD versus 68 individuals with primary BDD. In both disorders, levels of insight spanned the full range, from excellent to absent (i.e., delusional beliefs). However, the distribution of BABS scores across insight categories differed significantly by disorder, with the majority of OCD subjects showing excellent or good insight, and the majority of BDD subjects showing poor or absent insight. Compared to OCD subjects, BDD subjects had significantly poorer insight both overall (total BABS score) and on all individual BABS items. BABS score was significantly correlated with BDD and OCD severity, but in regressions it accounted for only 21% of the variance in OCD and 28% in BDD. In summary, both global insight and its individual components are poorer in BDD than in OCD, which has implications for research and clinical care, as well as understanding of the relationship between these disorders. Disorder severity is associated with but not equivalent to insight/delusionality.
Age and growth studies of chondrichthyan fishes: the need for consistency in terminology, verification, validation, and growth function fitting

Validated age and growth estimates are important for constructing age-structured population dynamic models of chondrichthyan fishes, especially those which are exploited. We review age and growth studies of chondrichthyan fishes, using 28 recent studies to identify areas where improvements can be made in describing the characteristics of ageing structures (both traditional and novel) utilized to estimate ages of sharks, rays, and chimaeras. The topics identified that need consistency include the: (1) terminology used to describe growth features; (2) methods used to both verify and validate age estimates from chondrichthyan calcified structures, especially edge and marginal increment analyses; and (3) the functions used to produce and describe growth parameters, stressing the incorporation of size at birth (L 0) and multiple functions to characterize growth characteristics, age at maturity and longevity.
Dynamic model-based fault detection and diagnosis residual considerations for vapor compression systems

This paper presents a first look at the dynamic impact of faults on vapor compression systems. Low-order control-oriented dynamic models of subcritical vapor compression cycles are used to develop sensitivity tools that enhance the residual design procedure of dynamic model-based fault detection and diagnosis algorithms. Also, experimental results are presented that confirm the sensitive outputs usefulness in an FDD algorithm. The enhanced fault information carried in the more sensitive signals of a vapor compression system will allow soft faults to be detected earlier, preventing damage to critical system components.
The Limitations due to Exposure Detection Limits for Regression Models

Biomarker use in exposure assessment is increasingly common, and consideration of related issues is of growing importance. Exposure quantification may be compromised when measurement is subject to a lower threshold. Statistical modeling of such data requires a decision regarding the handling of such readings. Various authors have considered this problem. In the context of linear regression analysis, Richardson and Ciampi (Am J Epidemiol 2003;157:355-63) proposed replacement of data below a threshold by a constant equal to the expectation for such data to yield unbiased estimates. Use of such an imputation has some limitations; distributional assumptions are required, and bias reduction in estimation of regression parameters is asymptotic, thereby presenting concerns about small studies. In this paper, the authors propose distribution-free methods for managing values below detection limits and evaluate the biases that may result when exposure measurement is constrained by a lower threshold. The authors utilize an analytical approach and a simulation study to assess the effects of the proposed replacement method on estimates. These results may inform decisions regarding analytical plans for future studies and provide a possible explanation for some amount of the discordance seen in extant literature.
Effect of the interface on the properties of composite media.

We develop rigorous bounds on the effective thermal conductivity ${\ensuremath{\sigma}}_{e}$ of dispersions that are given in terms of the phase contrast between the inclusions and matrix, the interface strength, volume fraction, and higher-order morphological information, including interfacial statistics. The new bounds give remarkably accurate predictions of the thermal conductivity of dispersions of metallic particles in epoxy matrices for various values of the Kapitza resistance. Corresponding results are obtained for the novel situation in which the inclusions possess a superconducting interface.
Laser-induced multicrystallization events of thin germanium films

The crystallization kinetics of thin (35 and 60 nm) amorphous as-deposited Ge films were studied using diffraction limited laser beam irradiation and laser pulses between 30 ns and 1 ms. The recrystallization of crystalline as-deposited films was also studied for similar laser conditions. Crystallization was observed for pulses as short as 50 ns. It was concluded that the irradiation of amorphous thin films with small beam spots (∼ 1μm) gives a very different crystallization morphology from that observed previously for larger beam diameter and same laser pulse length. In the present case for short irradiation times, the nucleation process dominates over crystal growth. Temperature calculations allow the understanding of these results by showing that only the small spot irradiation sustains the material at high temperature for times comparable to the pulse width. Laser irradiation of as-deposited crystalline films produced grains with significantly fewer defects than grains crystallized from as-deposited amorphous films.
Clinical engineering technology assessment decision support: a case study using the analytic hierarchy process (AHP)

This case study showed how the AHP decision support technique can be applied to clinical engineering health technology assessment projects. AHP provides a structured method of organizing and documenting the decision process and takes into consideration the many tradeoffs that exist between alternate choices. When an AHP model is properly designed and implemented, it facilitates interdepartmental and interdisciplinary communication and results in a decision support tool that represents a consensus model. The AHP model can then be used to compare health technology alternatives and delivers a composite score for each alternative that identifies the best choice. AHP produces a clinical engineering decision support tool for the hospital that identifies the best technology alternative for their specific need. Further, the model can be updated or adapted to different medical technologies whenever needed, so the development investment is not wasted.
Angiotensin II Receptor Blockade Administered After Injury Improves Muscle Regeneration and Decreases Fibrosis in Normal Skeletal Muscle

BackgroundSeveral therapeutic agents have been shown to inhibit fibrosis and improve regeneration after injury in skeletal muscle by antagonizing transforming growth factor-β1. Angiotensin receptor blockers have been shown to have a similar effect on transforming growth factor-β1 in a variety of tissues.HypothesisSystemic treatment of animals after injury of skeletal muscle with an angiotensin receptor blocker may decrease fibrosis and improve regeneration, mainly through transforming growth factor-β1 blockade, and can be used to improve skeletal muscle healing after injury.Study DesignControlled laboratory study.MethodsForty mice underwent bilateral partial gastrocnemius lacerations. Mice were assigned randomly to a control group (tap water), a low-dose angiotensin receptor blocker group (losartan, 0.05 mg/mL), or a high-dose angiotensin receptor blocker group (0.5 mg/mL). The medication was dissolved in tap water and administered enterally. Mice were sacrificed 3 or 5 weeks after injury, and the lacerat...
Polarization-dependent loss and birefringence in long-period fiber gratings

Widely used descriptions and relationships for birefringence and polarization-dependent loss (PDL), developed primarily for ultraviolet-induced long-period fiber gratings (LPFGs) written in optical fiber, can be invalid for other types of LPFG. The understanding of PDL is expanded to include LPFGs with birefringence in the core only, in the cladding only, and in both the core and the cladding. Equations that link resonant wavelength separation, one factor that determines PDL, and birefringence for the three categories are presented, along with relevant approximations. Measurement results for two LPFGs fabricated by different techniques are presented that illustrate the effect of birefringence on PDL.
The perception of handshapes in American sign language.

Despite the constantly varying stream of sensory information that surrounds us, we humans can discern the small building blocks of words that constitute language (phonetic forms) and perceive them categorically (categorical perception, CP). Decades of controversy have prevailed regarding what is at the heart of CP, with many arguing that it is due to domain-general perceptual processing and others that it is determined by the existence of domain-specific linguistic processing. What is most key: perceptual or linguistic patterns? Here, we study whether CP occurs withsoundless handshapes that are nonethelessphonetic in American Sign Language (ASL), in signers and nonsigners. Using innovative methods and analyses of identification and, crucially, discrimination tasks, we found that both groups separated the soundless handshapes into two classes perceptually but that only the ASL signers exhibited linguistic CP. These findings suggest that CP of linguistic stimuli is based on linguistic categorization, rather than on purely perceptual categorization.
Measurements of the viscosity of compressed gaseous and liquid oxygen

Abstract The coefficient of shear viscosity of fluid oxygen has been determined at temperatures from 75 to 300 K at pressures up to 34 MPa with a torsionally oscillating quartz crystal. The estimated accuracy and precision of these measurements are 2% and 0.5%, respectively. Dilute gas viscosities and first-density coefficients were obtained from a statistical analysis of the gaseous isotherms at temperatures from 110 to 300 K using expansions in density. An empirical equation that represents the complete set of measurements as a function of density and temperature is presented. Comprehensive comparisons are made with previous experimental data and predicted values.
Ternary packing of SiC and diamond particles in ethanol

Particle packing techniques employing a liquid phase were used for preparation of dense disks of SiC and diamond particulates. Forty-one SiC and fifteen diamond compositions in the ternary-component particle systems were used to determine the optimum percentages of coarse, medium, and fine particles for achieving high packing densities: over 80% for SiC and over 62% for diamond. High packing densities were achieved without vibration by simply mixing the three size fractions in ethanol followed by stirring during the initial evaporation stage. The packing density results for SiC were successfully correlated with the percentages of the coarse and fine particles using multiple regression analysis; however, the data for diamond could not be similarly correlated with particle composition because the experimental work was done in a narrow range of compositions and the range of packing densities was small.
Phonological and Phonetic Characteristics of African American Vernacular English

The numerous controversies surrounding African American Vernacular English can be illuminated by data from phonological and phonetic variables. However, what is known about different variables varies greatly, with consonantal variables receiving the most scholarly attention, followed by vowel quality, prosody, and finally voice quality. Variables within each domain are discussed here and what has been learned about their realizations in African American speech is compiled. The degree of variation of each variable within African American speech is also summarized when it is known. Areas for which more work is needed are noted.
Direction Of Optoelectronics Research At ARPA

Summary form only given, as follows. Objectives of current ARPA programs in Optoelectronics for lnformatioin Processing will be described. The programs span research and development of components, process technologies, module integration and packaging, and system demonstrations. From this perspective, some future directions are projected.
Far‐field radiation from step junctions in biaxially anisotropic slab waveguides

In this article far-field radiation properties of step discontinuities on biaxially anisotropic slab waveguides are examined. The stationary phase method is applied to obtain the asymptotic form of the far-field expressions, which are derived based on the transmission coefficient of the radiation mode. The analysis yields data that agree well with those previously published for special cases of isotropic slabs. The newly calculated results for far-field radiation patterns of step junctions between biaxially anisotropic waveguides are presented for several combinations of tensor element parameters.
A quantitative association study of SLC25A12 and restricted repetitive behavior traits in autism spectrum disorders

SLC25A12 was previously identified by a linkage-directed association analysis in autism. In this study, we investigated the relationship between three SLC25A12 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) (rs2056202, rs908670 and rs2292813) and restricted repetitive behavior (RRB) traits in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), based on a positive correlation between the G allele of rs2056202 and an RRB subdomain score on the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). We used the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised (RBS-R) as a quantitative RRB measure, and conducted linear regression analyses for individual SNPs and a previously identified haplotype (rs2056202-rs2292813). We examined associations in our University of Illinois at Chicago-University of Florida (UIC-UF) sample (179 unrelated individuals with an ASD), and then attempted to replicate our findings in the Simons Simplex Collection (SSC) sample (720 ASD families). In the UIC-UF sample, three RBS-R scores (ritualistic, sameness, sum) had positive associations with the A allele of rs2292813 (p = 0.006-0.012) and with the rs2056202-rs2292813 haplotype (omnibus test, p = 0.025-0.040). The SSC sample had positive associations between the A allele of rs2056202 and four RBS-R scores (stereotyped, sameness, restricted, sum) (p = 0.006-0.010), between the A allele of rs908670 and three RBS-R scores (stereotyped, self-injurious, sum) (p = 0.003-0.015), and between the rs2056202-rs2292813 haplotype and six RBS-R scores (stereotyped, self-injurious, compulsive, sameness, restricted, sum)(omnibus test, p = 0.002-0.028). Taken together, the A alleles of rs2056202 and rs2292813 were consistently and positively associated with RRB traits in both the UIC-UF and SSC samples, but the most significant SNP with phenotype association varied in each dataset. This study confirmed an association between SLC25A12 and RRB traits in ASDs, but the direction of the association was different from that in the initial study. This could be due to the examined SLC25A12 SNPs being in linkage disequilibrium with another risk allele, and/or genetic/phenotypic heterogeneity of the ASD samples across studies.
Clustering in weakly correlated wavef ronts

We observe the spontaneous clustering of solitons in partially coherent wavefronts during the final stages of pattern formation initiated by modulation instability and noise. Experiments are conducted in biased photorefractives and corroborated by numerical simulations.
Under the radar: contributions of the SUPPORT nurses.

Abstract SUPPORT (The Study to Understand Prognoses and Preferences for Outcomes and Risks of Treatment) failed to produce changes in 5 quantitative outcome measures of care received by nearly 10,000 seriously ill patients in major teaching hospitals. This article reports a content analysis of documents produced during the SUPPORT study by the 17 nurses who delivered the intervention. “Effective communication” emerged as the central category, with “educational support” and “emotional support” as subcategories. “Readiness” of patients and families to accept prognoses, engage in decision making, and the like also arose from this analysis as an important concept. The investigation suggests that the SUPPORT intervention did have an important impact, albeit not one captured by the main effects analysis. Nurs Outlook 2001;49:238-42.