cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Path Loss Model as a Function of Antenna Height for 300 GHz Chip-to-Chip Communications

This paper presents the path loss model of Terahertz (THz) wireless channel inside a desktop size metal enclosure as a function of antenna height. Measurements for line-of-sight (LoS) propagation inside the metal box show that path loss varies with respect to the transceiver’s height from the bottom wall, and for some heights, the path loss is lower than the free space value. Analysis based on the cavity modes shows that the first eight TE modes dominate the resonating modes inside the box. Also, the path loss analysis indicates that the resonating modes combined with the reflections inside the box are responsible for the strong ripples in the path loss curve.
Recovering the Eulerian energy spectrum from noisy Lagrangian tracers

Abstract We consider the time-sequential state estimation of a flow field given a stream of noisy measurements that are provided by instruments advected by the flow, known as Lagrangian tracers or drifters. Lagrangian drifters collect real-time data as they move through the velocity field and are an important data collection method for atmospheric and oceanic measurements. We quantify the recovery of the Eulerian energy spectra from observations of Lagrangian drifters. This is performed by utilizing special Lagrangian data assimilation algorithms, known as conditionally Gaussian nonlinear filters. We address the following questions: how much of the turbulent Eulerian energy spectra can be recovered from assimilation of Lagrangian trajectory data and how accurately are the various energetic scales recovered relative to the truth. These issues are primarily studied in the perfect model scenario, but we quantify recovery due to model error by reduced order models via spectral truncation of the forecast model. We demonstrate high recovery skill of the two-dimensional turbulent energy spectra for both an exact filter and an imperfect filter, based on extreme localization of the covariance matrix, which is vastly cheaper than the exact filter, for both an inverse cascade spectrum with slope k − 5 ∕ 3 and a direct cascade spectrum with slope k − 3 . The dependence of the spectral energy recovery skill on the number of tracers and the spectral truncation grid size is also studied.
Jesuit Schools in the Archdiocese of Lahore, Pakistan: A Service for the Poor.

This article traces the circumstances of the return and beginnings of the Jesuits to Lahore, Pakistan after centuries of absence, to the establishment of the Jesuit Schools. Given the Socio-economi...
Relationship adjustment and quality among sexual minority persons with disabilities.

PURPOSE/OBJECTIVE Little is known about romantic relationship adjustment or perceptions of relationship quality (e.g., commitment and trust) among sexual minority persons with disabilities. The purpose of this study was to explore if collective self-esteem, disability adjustment, attachment styles, and cultural humility served as unique correlates and predictors of relationship adjustment and relationship quality among sexual minority persons (e.g., lesbian, gay, bisexual, queer) with disabilities. METHOD Ninety-two participants identifying as sexual minority persons living with a variety of disabilities (e.g., physical, psychiatric, medical, neurological), and who were partnered with sexual minority persons not living with a disability, were recruited using Amazon Mechanical Turk to complete an electronic questionnaire. RESULTS Responses of 92 participants were analyzed using bivariate correlations and 3 separate blockwise hierarchical regression models. To varying degrees, collective self-esteem, attachment styles, and cultural humility served as significant correlates and predictors of dyadic adjustment, commitment, and trust. IMPLICATIONS Implications for clinical practice and future research are discussed. Rehabilitation psychologists and other health care providers are encouraged to consider collective self-esteem, attachment styles, and cultural humility when working with sexual minority persons with disabilities in romantic relationships. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Raising the Stakes: Physician Facility Investments and Provider Agency

Explores medical regulations concerning physician investment in ambulatory surgery centers.
Family-Based Obesity Prevention Interventions among Hispanic Children and Families: A Scoping Review

This scoping review examined intervention and sample characteristics of family-based obesity prevention interventions among Hispanic youth. This review also examined the degree to which existing interventions were culturally-adapted, acknowledged social determinants of health (SDoH), and collaborated with community stakeholders. A comprehensive search across Medline Ovid, Embase, Scopus, PsycInfo, and Pubmed was used to identify 13 studies primarily based in the U.S. (92.3%). Data was extracted by two independent reviewers. Most used a randomized control trial design (69.2%), a behavior change theory (84.6%), and reported moderate to high (≥70%) retention (69.2%). Studies targeted improvements in physical activity (69.2%) and fruit and vegetable intake (92.3%) through nutrition education, cooking demonstrations, and tastings. Younger children from low socioeconomic backgrounds (61.5%) were well represented. Most interventions were culturally-adapted (69.2%), all studies reported collaboration with stakeholders, yet only half used strategies that acknowledged SDoH (46.2%). To increase our understanding of the underlying mechanisms by which family-based approaches can reach and engage Hispanic youth and families, future studies should rigorously evaluate theoretical constructs, family processes, and SDoH that influence program participation and health behaviors. This information will guide the design and development of future interventions aimed at reducing obesity disparities among Hispanic youth.
A Performance Assessment of Two Multi-component Water Quality Facilities in the Columbia Slough and Fairview Creek Watersheds

Title: A Performance Assessment of Two Multi-component Stormwater Management Facilities in the Columbia Slough and Fairview Creek Watersheds We examined the treatment trains at the Columbia Slough (CSWQF) and Fairview Creek Water Quality Facilities (FCWQF) in Gresham, OR and assessed their effectiveness at removing pollutants including nutrients, TSS, metals, pesticides, PAHs, and VOCs. Time-paced, fixed volume composite samples were collected during storm events at the inlets and outlet of the CSWQF and at the inlets and outlet of each treatment train component of the FCWQF. In addition, long-term data collected at the FCWQF was analyzed. Composite data collected during November 2-3, 2011 and March 5-6, 2012 showed that the treatment trains can measurably reduce the event mean concentration (EMC) of most pollutants present in stormwater. Removal efficiencies ranged from a low of 11 to 34 percent for nutrients to a high of 58 to 70 percent for TSS. Long-term data from the FCWQF confirms the findings of the individual sampling events and demonstrates that the FCWQF treatment train significantly reduces the EMCs of NH3-N, TKN, BOD5, most of the heavy metals tested for, bacteria, TSS, and turbidity. When compared to data available from the International Stormwater BMP Database, effluent concentrations at the FCWQF were comparable to or lower than those in the BMP Database for nutrients including TKN, OP, and TP; metals including DCu, TCu, TNi, DPb, and TPb; and TSS. Effluent concentrations at the FCWQF were higher than those in the BMP Database for DZn, TZn, turbidity, and bacteria. When comparing the two facilities, the FCWQF generally reduced pollutant concentrations to a greater degree than did the CSWQF. Pollutant removal efficiency was potentially limited by rainfall intensity and seasonal factors, with removal efficiencies being higher for the spring event than the fall event. It is recommended that longterm monitoring be continued at both facilities until the pollutant removal efficiency of the entire CSWQF and the FCWQF treatment train components can be statistically quantified. Changes in sample collection methods and flow measurement are recommended that could improve the accuracy of pollutant concentration estimates considerably. Finally, it is recommended that further research be conducted to determine if significant relationships can be established between particle size and the following pollutants: heavy metals, total phosphorus, and PAHs. Defining these relationships may make it possible to estimate pollutant concentrations using the stormwater particle size distribution analysis. This page left blank intentionally.
Effect of Simulated Systemic Administration of Aspirin, Salicylate, and Indomethacin on Amphibian Gastric Mucosa

The effects of 20 mM aspirin (ASA), 20 mM sodium salicylate (SA), or 10 -4 M indomethacin placed in the nutrient solution (N) to stimulate systemic administration were investigated at pHN 7.3 in Ussingchambered amphibian gastric mucosae. In histamine-stimulated tissues, the initial rise and subsequent rapid fall in potential difference, rise in resistance, and inhibition of hydrogen ion (H + ) secretion induced by SAN did not occur with ASAN unless hydrolysis of ASAN produced a SAN of >3 mM. In metiamide-treated tissues, 20 mM SAN caused an immediate fall in potential difference and an increase in resistance; 2 mM SAN and 20 mM ASA produced similar qualitative electrical changes, but only those induced by ASA were reversible. IndomethacinN caused no significant changes in potential difference, resistance, or H + secretion in histamine- or metiamide-treated tissues. Despite producing highly significant reductions in generation of prostaglandin E 2 , and prostaglandin F 2± and 6-keto prostaglandin F 1α ASAN and indomethacin caused no surface ulceration. Sodium salicylate placed in the nutrient solution caused only a small reduction in prostaglandin F 2α , without change in the other prostaglandins, and produced extensive edema in the lamina propria, histologically. We conclude the following: (a) The inhibition of H + secretion and electrical changes caused by SAN in histamine-treated gastric fundus are not observed with ASAN unless there is hydrolysis to [SAN]>3 mM. (b) Our data strongly implicate the SAN in ASAN-containing solutions as being responsible for the electrical effects and inhibition of H+ secretion. (c) There is no correlation in vitro between inhibition of prostaglandin synthesis and the electrical or morphologic changes produced by nutrient exposure to ASA, SA, or indomethacin.
Frequency of alcohol consumption in humans; the role of metabotropic glutamate receptors and downstream signaling pathways

Rodent models implicate metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) and downstream signaling pathways in addictive behaviors through metaplasticity. One way mGluRs can influence synaptic plasticity is by regulating the local translation of AMPA receptor trafficking proteins via eukaryotic elongation factor 2 (eEF2). However, genetic variation in this pathway has not been examined with human alcohol use phenotypes. Among a sample of adults living in Detroit, Michigan (Detroit Neighborhood Health Study; n=788; 83% African American), 206 genetic variants across the mGluR–eEF2–AMPAR pathway (including GRM1, GRM5, HOMER1, HOMER2, EEF2K, MTOR, EIF4E, EEF2, CAMK2A, ARC, GRIA1 and GRIA4) were found to predict number of drinking days per month (corrected P-value <0.01) when considered as a set (set-based linear regression conducted in PLINK). In addition, a CpG site located in the 3′-untranslated region on the north shore of EEF2 (cg12255298) was hypermethylated in those who drank more frequently (P<0.05). Importantly, the association between several genetic variants within the mGluR–eEF2–AMPAR pathway and alcohol use behavior (i.e., consumption and alcohol-related problems) replicated in the Grady Trauma Project (GTP), an independent sample of adults living in Atlanta, Georgia (n=1034; 95% African American), including individual variants in GRM1, GRM5, EEF2, MTOR, GRIA1, GRIA4 and HOMER2 (P<0.05). Gene-based analyses conducted in the GTP indicated that GRM1 (empirical P<0.05) and EEF2 (empirical P<0.01) withstood multiple test corrections and predicted increased alcohol consumption and related problems. In conclusion, insights from rodent studies enabled the identification of novel human alcohol candidate genes within the mGluR–eEF2–AMPAR pathway.
The Inquiry of Care

While discussions of the moral dimensions of the caring relation and their implications for teaching and learning are well developed within the literature, there has not been much analysis of the place of inquiry within our understanding of caring and the education inspired by it. Previous discussions offer important insight into what care-inspired education might entail, but they do not address how inquiry itself may be enhanced by an ethic of care. After arguing that we should consider reason to be more central to the caring relation than has been previously recognized, Peter Nelsen seeks to ameliorate the apparent rift between reason and the affective dimensions of caring through what John Dewey described as the body-mind. According to this view, reason and affect are inseparable aspects of the process of inquiry; they are both always present in our caring encounters. Nelsen then explores the educational implications of envisioning the caring relation as body-mind grounded inquiry.
Probabilistic Brain Atlas Construction: Thin-Plate Spline Warping via Maximization of Mutual Information

The concepts of a probabilistic atlas are well known. The dispersions of the resulting atlas’ spatial probability distributions depend not only on the intrinsic variation of structures between subjects, but also on the ability of the intersubject mapping method to compensate for gross spatial variations. We demonstrate an automatic method of registering patients to an atlas by maximization the mutual information between the atlas and the patient’s gray scale data set. The global thin-plate spline (TPS) transformation for mapping each subject is computed by automatically optimizing the loci of 40 control points distributed within the atlas. The use of 40 control points, i.e. 3*40=120 degrees of freedom (DOF), is a compromise between viscous flow methods with huge DOF, and the 12 DOF affine mapping. We quantitatively compare the results between using a full affine transformation versus the MI-driven 40 control point thin-plate spline for the mean and standard deviation volume data sets computed over the gray scale volumes of 7 patients.
HiSeasNet/spl reg/: a global network for oceanographic ships and observing platforms

HiSeasNet is a satellite communication network, which provides global Internet connectivity and data services the U.S. academic oceanographic fleet. It serves as a prototype for communications and data collection system for the planned ORION deep-ocean observing platforms.
Maintenance of Helicobacter pylori Cultures in Agar Stabs

Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) can be maintained on both solid [1-4] and liquid media [5-7] but maintaining viable bacteria for prolonged periods can be expensive or impractical. Growth of plate cultures of H. pylori under aerobic conditions has been reported [8], and we routinely grow cultures in standard tissue culture incubators set at either 5% or 10% CO2 (unpublished results). Most laboratories however must rely on the use of closed container systems complete with gas generating envelope technology to create the appropriate microaerobic environment. These envelope systems can constitute significant costs when performing frequent or multiple cultures. Additionally, one of the manufacturers of these systems has recently discontinued their product, resulting in limited options in the market place. Continuous culture of H. pylori requires frequent subculture of viable bacteria to fresh plates. Many laboratory and pathogenic bacterial strains can be kept viable on sealed plates and stored at 4 °C to arrest growth. H. pylori survival at 4 °C, however, varies significantly with the media being used and it typically dies rapidly within 2 days [3,9-12]. Optimal methods for storing plate cultures at 4 °C have achieved viability for up to 9 days [13]. Typically, however, H. pylori must be passaged every 3–5 days to prevent the culture from dying. Although liquid cultures of H. pylori can be maintained in standard tissue culture incubators under static conditions, long-term maintenance requires frequent passage and ultimately consumes media supplemented with fetal bovine serum. While many of these issues can be circumvented simply by recovering H. pylori from frozen stocks when needed, viability varies depending upon the freezing media being employed [5,14,15]. Additionally, recovery times can take up to 7 days, result in light growth, and occasionally fail outright (unpublished observations). The purpose of this study was to assess a mechanism for maintaining viable H. pylori cultures in the laboratory without having to perform frequent passaging. We now report that H. pylori strains grown in agar stabs can be stored for at least 8 weeks in agar stab cultures kept at 37 °C.
Threshold selection based on histogram modeling

This research is concerned with modeling the gray-level probability density function of the image and then using it to select optimal threshold values. Image histogram modeling by kernel density estimation is considered. The main goal is to model the histogram properly. A number of analytic techniques for threshold selection are discussed and empirically evaluated on test as well as real-world scenes. >
Phenylacetate and benzoate clearance in a hyperammonemic infant on sequential hemodialysis and hemofiltration

An infant with a suspected inborn metabolism error was treated with a metabolic cocktail of intravenous sodium phenylacetate (NaPh) and sodium benzoate (NaBz) for hyperammonemia. Sequential hemodialysis (HD) then hemofiltration (HF) was performed due to hyperammonemia. Dialytic and convective clearance (K; ml/min) of ammonia, NaPh, and NaBz was measured. The K of ammonia was 57 and 37 for HD and HF, respectively. The K of NaBz was 37 and 12 for HD and HF, respectively. The K of NaPh was 38 and 14 ml/min for HD and HF, respectively. Despite high clearance of both NaPh and NaBz by HD and HF, the hyperammonemia was corrected.
How lifespan associated genes modulate aging changes: lessons from analysis of longitudinal data

Background and Objective. The influence of genes on human lifespan is mediated by biological processes that characterize body’s functioning. The age trajectories of these processes contain important information about mechanisms linking aging, health and lifespan. The objective of this paper is to investigate regularities of aging changes in different groups of individuals, including individuals with different genetic background, as well as their connections with health and lifespan. Data and Method. To reach this objective we used longitudinal data on four physiological variables, information about health and lifespan collected in the Framingham Heart Study, data on longevity alleles detected in earlier study, as well as methods of statistical modeling. Results. We found that phenotypes of exceptional longevity and health are linked to distinct types of changes in physiological indices during aging. We also found that components of aging changes differ in groups of individuals with different genetic background. Conclusions. These results suggest that factors responsible for exceptional longevity and health are not necessary the same, and that postponing aging changes is associated with extreme longevity. The genetic factors which increase lifespan are associated with physiological changes typical of healthy and long-living individuals, smaller mortality risks from cancer and CVD and better estimates of adaptive capacity in statistical modeling. This indicates that extreme longevity and health related traits are likely to be less heterogeneous phenotypes than lifespan, and studying these phenotypes separately from lifespan may provide additional information about mechanisms of human aging and its relation to chronic diseases and lifespan.
Preconditioning and Solver Optimization Ideas for Radiative Transfer

In this paper, radiative transfer and time-dependent transport of radiation energy in participating media are modeled using a first-order spherical harmonics method (P1 ) and radiation diffusion. Partial differential equations for P1 and radiation diffusion are discretized by a variational form of the equations using support operators. Choices made in the discretization result in a symmetric positive definite (SPD) system of linear equations. Modeling multidimensional domains with complex geometries requires a very large system of linear equations with 10s of millions of elements. The computational domain is decomposed into a large number of subdomains that are solved on separate processors resulting in a massively parallel application. The linear system of equations is solved with a preconditioned conjugate gradient method. Various preconditioning techniques are compared in this study. Simple preconditioning techniques include: diagonal scaling, Symmetric Successive Over Relaxation (SSOR), and block Jacobi with SSOR as the block solver. Also, a two-grid multigrid-V-cycle method with aggressive coarsening is explored for use in the problems presented. Results show that depending on the test problem, simple preconditioners are effective, but the more complicated preconditioners such as an algebraic multigrid or the geometric multigrid are most efficient, particularly for larger problems and longer simulations. Optimal preconditioning varies depending on the problem and on how the physical processes evolve in time. For the insitu preconditioning techniques—SSOR and block Jacobi—a fuzzy controller can determine the optimal reconditioning process. Discussions of the current knowledge-based controller, an optimization search algorithm, are presented. Discussions of how this search algorithm can be incorporated into the development of data-driven controller incorporating clustering and subsequent construction of the fuzzy model from partitions are also discussed.Copyright © 2005 by ASME
Dobutamine and improvement of regional and global left ventricular function in coronary artery disease.

Abstract The effects of dobutamine infusion on left ventricular (LV) function in patients with coronary artery disease (CAD) have not been completely defined. Some studies have suggested that dobutamine infusion can be used to achieve a significant increase in myocardial oxygen demand in the presence of severe stenosis, revealing physiologically significant ischemia. 1–3 This would be particularly desirable as an alternative to exercise stress testing because some patients are unable to achieve target heart rates due to insufficient motivation, poor physical condition or peripheral vascular disease. Studies with contrast ventriculography using postextrasystolic stimulation and epinephrine infusion have suggested that viable, but poorly contracting myocardium, often responds to these stimuli and can thus be differentiated from infarcted, irreversibly injured myocardium. 4,5 The pharmacologic profile of dobutamine as a relatively selective β-1 agonist 6 suggests that dobutamine also may stimulate viable but “hibernating” myocardium. 5 In this report, the effects of dobutamine infusion on global LV ejection fraction and abnormal LV regional wall motion have been assessed in 15 patients with coronary artery disease. The goal of the study was to determine whether dobutamine “stress” would induce a diminished LV ejection fraction and provoke new LV wall motion abnormalities or improve global and/or regional LV dysfunction.
Helper-assisted asymmetric two key generation

The problem of simultaneously generating an asymmetric key pair with assistance of a helper is studied. In this setting, each of four terminals, i.e., a base station X 0 , two cellular nodes X 1 and X 2 , and a helper X 3 , observes a component of correlated sources. The cellular nodes X 1 and X 2 wish to generate secret keys K 1 and K 2 with the base station X 0 , respectively, under the help of terminal X 3 . Both keys should be concealed from an eavesdropper that has access to the public discussion, while K 2 is also required to be concealed from terminal X 1 . An outer bound on the key capacity region is derived. It is shown to be achievable under certain condition, and hence the key capacity region is characterized under such condition.
Infrasound from Tungurahua Volcano 2006–2008: Strombolian to Plinian eruptive activity

Abstract Strombolian to Plinian activity from Tungurahua Volcano, Ecuador has been recorded by the autonomous infrasound arrays of the Acoustic Surveillance for Hazardous Eruptions (ASHE) project since early 2006. Our studies suggest that acoustic energy release during large eruptions does appear to broadly scale with eruption intensity. This manuscript provides a detailed chronology and characterization of Tungurahua's eruptive activity between 2006 and 2008 and demonstrates the ability to constrain source parameters of significant eruptions, such as onset, duration, and escalation, at regional distances by combining infrasound and remote sensing techniques. The ASHE system in Ecuador automatically detected over 20,000 volcanic explosions at an array 37 km from Tungurahua and was successful at notifying the onset, escalation, and cessation of a hazardous February 2008 eruption with a latency of 5 min. Elevated infrasonic energy from sustained and intense Tungurahua eruptions correlates well with ash column heights and their lateral extent during the study period. The spectra of these sustained explosive eruptions appear to be recurrent, readily recognizable, and indicative of volcanic jetting and significant atmospheric ash injection. The paroxysmal Plinian phase of the August 2006 eruption produced an ash cloud that extended well into the stratosphere (> 24 km), coinciding with a shift of the dominant jetting frequency from 0.25 Hz to below 0.1 Hz, and radiation of over 5 × 107 W of acoustic power. Transient explosions were often marked by minor or no ash release and are presumed to be more gas-rich. A change in the acoustic spectrum of volcanic jetting was also detected in the transition from a sustained to collapsed eruption column at the end of the July 14, 2006 eruption. The jetting spectrum at Tungurahua during a period of sustained pyroclastic density current production changes from a typical double-peaked to a single-peaked spectrum, suggesting remote acoustic monitoring can help ascertain the stability and dynamics of an eruptive column.
An experimental study of twin-screw extrusion-cooking of maize grits

Abstract The use of a twin-screw extrusion-cooker to process maize grits is described. The expansion, bulk density, colour and aqueous dispersion rheology have been related to the extrusion cooking variables: screw speed, feed rate, moisture content and barrel zone temperature. A pseudo-viscosity quantity has been defined to describe the extrudate viscosity at the die which was also related to the extrusion-cooking variables. The pressure and temperature profiles in the extruder were recorded together with the mechanical and thermal energy consumption as a function of the extrusion-cooking variables. These experiments with a highly instrumented cooking-extruder indicate the condition of the material in the barrel prior to formation of the product.
Counterexamples to the well-posedness of ^{} transmission boundary value problems for the Laplacian

In this note we show that the well-posedness range p ∈ (1, 2] for L p transmission boundary value problems for the Laplacian in the class of Lipschitz domains established by Escauriaza and Mitrea (2004) is sharp. Our approach relies on Mellin transform techniques for singular integrals naturally associated with the transmission problems and on a careful analysis of the L p spectra of such singular integrals.
Monte Carlo climate forecasting

Abstract Ensemble forecasts of global climate conditions during the seven largest Pacific warm/cold events of the last 23 years have been made with a new two-tiered climate forecast technique. The internal model variability (IMV) within the atmospheric model used in the forecasts was large, approximately ⅓ to ½ the variability obtained from the same model forced by observed SST over the last 20 yr. This variability can lead to a wide range of realistic-looking forecasts, even when the equatorial SST forcing was nil. For example, single model forecasts forced by climatological SST produced excellent simulations of the extreme cold event of 1988/89 and the large warm event of 1982/83. Clearly, single simulations are totally inadequate for forecasting and sensitivity studies. The 10 member ensembles used in this study appear to be the minimum for reliable forecasts/sensitivity studies in midlatitudes, although fewer realizations may be needed in the Tropics. The long-range forecasts are shown to be insensiti...
The regulation of mammography

There has been a long history of public and professional concern about the safety and quality of mammography. Whereas concerns about radiation dose levels dominated the 1970s, the type of equipment used in mammography was the focus of the 1980s. In the early 1990s, there was a lack of confidence in the overall quality of mammography. These problems have stood in the way of the widespread utilization of mammography to reduce mortality from breast cancer. The Mammography Accreditation Program of the American College of Radiology, state regulations, and the Mammography Quality Standards Act of 1992 came about to ensure a minimum level of quality that would encourage women to participate in breast cancer screening programs. Designing regulations that ensure quality mammography for women, without burdening mammography facilities with unnecessary costs and depletion of their resources, is one of the most difficult challenges facing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Group sequential testing in clinical trials with multivariate observations: A review

Most group sequential testing procedures assume that each patient has only one response. Thus interim test statistics have independent increments. In many clinical trials, however, a response variable is measured at each follow-up visit. In this article, I review some recently developed group sequential methods for repeated measures and for other types of multivariate responses. Six parametric methods and three non-parametric methods are included. My review focuses on the comparison of the assumptions made and the applications of each of these methods.
The seasonal CO2 cycle on Mars: An application of an energy balance climate model

Energy balance climate models of the Budyko-Sellers variety are applied to the carbon-dioxide cycle on Mars. Recent data available from the Viking mission, in particular the seasonal pressure variations measured by Viking landers, are used to constrain the models. No set of parameters was found for which a one-dimensional model parameterized in terms of ground temperature gave an adequate fit to the observed pressure variations. A modified, two-dimensional model including the effects of dust storms and the polar hood reasonably reproduces the pressure curve, however. The implications of these results for Martian climate changes are discussed.
Performance BudgetingIs Accrual Accounting Required

This paper reviews the role of accounting in budget system reform from the perspective of emerging economies who wish to adopt the OECD`s performance budgeting reforms. While many OECD countries, pursuing the reforms associated with the New Public Management, have moved their accounting systems from a cash to an accrual basis, this paper argues that given the costs involved, such a move is perhaps only worthwhile in the context of adopting much wider public sector management reforms. Moreover, while recognizing that accrual accounting does support public expenditure management best practices, it is also argued that many of the objectives of performance-oriented budgeting can be attained by less than full accrual accounting, and that unless certain preconditions are met it is safer for countries to remain with, and improve, their cash-based accounting systems. For those countries with sound enough cash-based systems the paper describes a possible phased approach to the introduction of accruals, as well as the parallel stages of adopting the new international GFSM 2001 reporting requirements.
Feature Model for Surface Micro-Machined MEMS

Lacking proper geometric design capability is one of the main factors that are impeding MEMS development. MEMS developers are suffering the cumbersome and unintuitive traditional design methodology in which the design of a new product begins with figuring out its fabrication mask layouts. As the kernel of new MEMS design methodology, a new model for MEMS devices is highly required to implement structured design strategies. This paper focuses on developing a feature model for MEMS geometric design, which enables designers to create fabrication-ready 3D models of MEMS devices in an intuitive manner. This feature model not only represents the geometric information of the devices but also provides the high level engineering means to describe the design intent, and hence, it can be used to facilitate the decision making process in design and the modification of models in subsequent stages. The separation of design and fabrication allows designers to concentrate on creative design activity without thinking of the tedious fabrication issues. The features specified according to common fabrication process aim to systematically map design intents to fabrication data. A generalized framework for MEMS feature model is presented in which the features are manipulated and managed in a declarative manner.Copyright © 2003 by ASME
The Berlin Chansonnier and French Song in Florence, 1450––1490: A New Dating and Its Implications

Owing to the loss of most 15th-century music manuscripts from France and Burgundy, chansonniers of Italian origin are of special significance for our knowledge of the French song repertory and its dissemination during the second half of the century. Florence appears to have been a particularly important center of collecting, judging from a group of nine chansonniers copied there between the 1440s and the early 1490s. In recent decades the Berlin Chansonnier (Berlin, Staatliche Museen der Stiftung Preussischer Kulturbesitz, Kupferstichkabinett, MS 78.C.28) has held a special place among these Florentine sources, partly because it is the only one from before the 1490s for which there is external evidence that seemed to provide a precise dating, and partly because that evidence indicated that it was our only surviving Florentine music manuscript from the 1460s. More than 30 years ago Peter Reidemeister identified the two Florentine families whose impaled arms decorate the first chanson in the collection. These arms led him to propose that the manuscript was made in connection with a wedding involving these two families, which he claimed took place in 1465 or 1466, a dating that has been accepted as a terminus ad quem in subsequent scholarship. The manuscript thus appeared to pre-date by 15 or more years the next earliest sources in the Florentine group, and the significant repertorial differences between the Berlin manuscript and those of the early 1480s seemed to reflect this time gap. Documents in the Archivio di Stato in Florence change this picture considerably. New evidence calls for a series of crucial adjustments to the theories proposed by Reidermeister that together force a reassessment of the dating of the Berlin Chansonnier. This reassessment affects in turn its relation to several other manuscripts, both from Florence and elsewhere in Italy, and provides new insight into the repertory of songs (in particular those of Busnoys) that was circulating in Florence between the 1460s and the early 1480s.
Geologic methane seeps along boundaries of Arctic permafrost thaw and melting glaciers

Methane, a potent greenhouse gas, accumulates in subsurface hydrocarbon reservoirs, such as coal beds and natural gas deposits. In the Arctic, permafrost and glaciers form a ‘cryosphere cap’ that traps gas leaking from these reservoirs, restricting flow to the atmosphere. With a carbon store of over 1,200 Pg, the Arctic geologic methane reservoir is large when compared with the global atmospheric methane pool of around 5 Pg. As such, the Earth’s climate is sensitive to the escape of even a small fraction of this methane. Here, we document the release of 14C-depleted methane to the atmosphere from abundant gas seeps concentrated along boundaries of permafrost thaw and receding glaciers in Alaska and Greenland, using aerial and ground surface survey data and in situ measurements of methane isotopes and flux. We mapped over 150,000 seeps, which we identified as bubble-induced open holes in lake ice. These seeps were characterized by anomalously high methane fluxes, and in Alaska by ancient radiocarbon ages and stable isotope values that matched those of coal bed and thermogenic methane accumulations. Younger seeps in Greenland were associated with zones of ice-sheet retreat since the Little Ice Age. Our findings imply that in a warming climate, disintegration of permafrost, glaciers and parts of the polar ice sheets could facilitate the transient expulsion of 14C-depleted methane trapped by the cryosphere cap. In the Arctic, permafrost and glaciers form a ‘cryosphere cap’ that traps methane leaking from hydrocarbon reservoirs, restricting flow to the atmosphere. Aerial surveys and ground-based measurements reveal the release of radiocarbon-depleted methane along boundaries of permafrost thaw and retreating glaciers in Alaska and Greenland.
Le sexage des spermatozoïdes

Les ameliorations de la technique de tri des spermatozoides permettent aujourd'hui de choisir le sexe des animaux a naitre, avec une precision d'au moins 90 %. Et les premieres petites filles, ainsi concues, sont nees en 1998 aux Etats-Unis. L'inventeur de la methode, Lawrence Johnson, en explique ici la portee et les limites.
Optical laser systems at the Linac Coherent Light Source

Ultrafast optical lasers play an essential role in exploiting the unique capabilities of recently commissioned X-ray free-electron laser facilities such as the Linac Coherent Light Source (LCLS). Pump–probe experimental techniques reveal ultrafast dynamics in atomic and molecular processes and reveal new insights in chemistry, biology, material science and high-energy-density physics. This manuscript describes the laser systems and experimental methods that enable cutting-edge optical laser/X-ray pump–probe experiments to be performed at LCLS.
Stress ulcer prophylaxis for non-critically ill patients on a teaching service.

Rationale Doctors frequently give non-critically ill patients unjustified stress ulcer prophylaxis (SUP). It is unknown if this practice also occurs during residency training. Objective To evaluate the pattern of SUP given to non-critically ill medical patients on the teaching service of an internal medicine residency programme. Methods This was a retrospective cohort study of non-critically ill adults admitted to the internal medicine teaching service of a community hospital from August 2003 to July 2004. We assessed receipt of SUP, association of SUP with risk factors for stress ulcer bleeding; appropriateness of SUP according to evidence-based criteria; and incidence of stress ulcer bleeding. Results Of the 774 patient records reviewed, 545 were included in the study. The average age was 55.4 years. Patients were more likely to receive SUP if they had more risk factors for stress ulcer bleeding (P < 0.001). Overall, 54.9% (299 of 545) of patients received SUP. Of these 299 patients, at least 58.5% did not warrant SUP, depending on the criteria used. Of the entire cohort of 545 non-critically ill patients, 32.1% to 54.9% received unjustified SUP, depending on the criteria applied. There were no cases of stress ulcer bleeding. Conclusions Many non-critically ill patients on the teaching service received unjustified SUP, suggesting the need for institutional protocols and educational interventions to promote evidence-based practice during residency training.
Beauty and the beholder: The pursuit of beauty through commodities

The issue of pursuing beauty through commodities purchased in the marketplace is an issue of enormous complexity. The psychological effects of beauty representations in marketing communications and beauty objects as commodities can be profound and wide ranging in a culture. This article examines typical interpretations of beauty from a philosophical context and suggests that different philosophies of what comprises beauty often yield different psychological and cultural effects. This article offers a preliminary framework for understanding the function of beauty in the market, the physical appearance phenomenon, concern with unnatural perfection, the preoccupation-with-youth culture, and the decontextualization of beauty. © 1993 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.
The Poincaré Group in a Demisemidirect Product with a Non-associative Algebra with Representations that Include Particles and Quarks—II

The quarks and particles’ mass and mass/spin relations are provided with coordinates in configuration space and/or momentum space by means of the marriage of ordinary Poincare group representations with a non-associative algebra made through a demisemidirect product, in the notation of Leibniz algebras. Thus, we circumvent the restriction that the Poincare group cannot be extended to a larger group by any means (including the (semi)direct product) to get even the mass relations. Finally, we will discuss a connection between the phase space representations of the Poincare group and the phase space representations of the associated Leibniz algebra.
The use of atmospheric pressure MOVPE for the growth of high performance uncooled 1300 nm DFB lasers

Manufacture of high performance uncooled 1300 nm distributed feed-back (DFB) lasers operating single mode over the −40 to +85°C range requires control of the wavelength variation across a 2″ wafer to less than 10nm and preservation of grating definition during processing and regrowth. We have used atmospheric pressure metalorganic vapor phase epitaxy, without substrate rotation to achieve the necessary uniformity. Material was assessed using photoluminescence, x-ray diffraction, transmission electron microscopy, electrochemical current/voltage profiling, and secondary ion mass spectroscopy. The devices are based on a strained quantum well structure with an n-type grating layer to provide gain coupling. The best result gave a wavelength spread across 32×32 mm center square of a 2″ InP wafer of 3 nm. Buried heterostructure DFBs manufactured with high yield in this way operate from −40 to +85°C, with thresholds at 85°C as low as 18 mA.
An Expert Design Generator

Computer-Aided Design (CAD) differs from Computer-Aided Drafting in that it requires access to a substantial on-line data base comprising not only the physical attributes of the design, but also the non-physical design parameters normally referred to as the Design Program. The conceputal design of an Intelligent Computer-Aided Design System (ICADS) is described as consisting of three components: namely; an intelligent CAD data base, an expert design generator, and a multi-media presentation and production unit.
Labial fusion in prepubescent girls: A marker for sexual abuse?

Abstract Review of more than 500 medical records of patients referred for sexual abuse evaluations revealed 10 cases of labial fusion. Patients ranged in age from 2 months to 5 years, and the duration of the fusion ranged from 2 weeks to 2 1 2 , years . No child had vulvovaginitis, dermatitis, or known genital trauma (for instance, straddle injury). Urinary tract problems were present in three patients. History and/or physical findings were consistent with sexual abuse in six of the 10 patients. Anal findings were grossly abnormal and consistent with anal penetration in all patients with a positive finding on examination. Therapy with conjugated estrogen cream was instituted in nine patients, with resolution of symptoms occurring in six. The exact cause of labial fusion is unclear. Fusion secondary to fecal soiling may occur in the young infant. Older girls may develop fusion after trauma such as that associated with sexual abuse, particularly vulvar coitus.
Histone deacetylase inhibitors: Mechanisms of cell death and promise in combination cancer therapy

Histone deacetylases (HDACs) play an important role in the epigenetic regulation of gene expression by catalyzing the removal of acetyl groups, stimulating chromatin condensation and promoting transcriptional repression. Since aberrant epigenetic changes are a hallmark of cancer, HDACs are a promising target for pharmacological inhibition. HDAC inhibitors can induce cell-cycle arrest, promote differentiation, and stimulate tumor cell death. These properties have prompted numerous preclinical and clinical investigations evaluating the potential efficacy of HDAC inhibitors for a variety of malignancies. The preferential toxicity of HDAC inhibitors in transformed cells and their ability to synergistically enhance the anticancer activity of many chemotherapeutic agents has further generated interest in this novel class of drugs. Here we summarize the different mechanisms of HDAC inhibitor-induced apoptosis and discuss their use in combination with other anticancer agents.
Condylar translation and the function of the superficial masseter muscle in the rhesus monkey (M. mulatta).

The relationship between translation of the mandibular condyle during symmetrical mandibular rotation, i.e., symmetrical jaw depression and elevation, and the function of the superficial masseter muscle was examined in light of relative torque and the length-tension relationship for muscle. Lateral cephalograms of live adult rhesus monkeys(Macaca mulatta) were analyzed using two models: (1) Model A, normal symmetrical jaw rotation accompanied by condylar translation; and (2) Model B, mandibular rotation about an axis fixed at the position of the condyles during centric occlusion. The decrease in relative torque and the excursion of the superficial masseter at mouth-open positions are significantly greater in Model B than in Model A. Symmetrical rotation of the jaw about a fixed axis would result in a 35% greater loss of maximum producible tension at maximum gape than rotation associated with condylar translation. These results suggest that condylar translation during mandibular depression and elevation functions to minimize reduction in relative torque and excursion of superficial masseter muscle, thereby maintaining optimal potential for exerting maximum tension during jaw closure.
Preschool Based JASPER Intervention in Minimally Verbal Children with Autism: Pilot RCT

In this pilot study, we tested the effects of a novel intervention (JASPER, Joint Attention Symbolic Play Engagement and Regulation) on 3 to 5 year old, minimally verbal children with autism who were attending a non-public preschool. Participants were randomized to a control group (treatment as usual, 30 h of ABA-based therapy per week) or a treatment group (substitution of 30 min of JASPER treatment, twice weekly during their regular program). A baseline of 12 weeks in which no changes were noted in core deficits was followed by 12 weeks of intervention for children randomized to the JASPER treatment. Participants in the treatment group demonstrated greater play diversity on a standardized assessment. Effects also generalized to the classroom, where participants in the treatment group initiated more gestures and spent less time unengaged. These results provide further support that even brief, targeted interventions on joint attention and play can improve core deficits in minimally verbal children with ASD.