cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Adolescent Social Networks and Alcohol Use: Variability by Gender and Type.

ABSTRACTBackground: Scientists have established that social networks influence adolescents' substance use behavior, an influence that varies by gender. However, the role of gender in this mechanism of influence remains poorly understood. Particularly, the role an adolescent's gender, alongside the gender composition of his/her network, plays in facilitating or constraining alcohol use is still unclear. Objectives: This study examined the associations among the gender composition of adolescents' networks, select network characteristics, intrapersonal and interpersonal factors, and alcohol use among a sample of adolescents in the United States. Methods: We assessed cross-sectional data from a 2010 study of 1,523 high school students from a school district in Los Angeles. Analyses of adolescents' network characteristics were conducted using UCINET 6; and logistic regression analyses testing the associations between gender composition of the network and alcohol use were conducted using SPSS 20. Results: Our r...
Quality Management in Microbial Forensics Laboratories

Publisher Summary The purpose of developing quality management guidelines for laboratories performing microbial forensic work is to promote the development of testing programs that are scientifically valid and rigorous, and to establish minimum operational criteria for application oriented laboratories. Criteria should be developed for the validation of microbial forensics methods that can be used for determining attribution during criminal investigations. Germane to this effort is the establishment of national guidelines for quality assurance and control that are relevant for microbial forensics laboratories. The activities carried out by microbial forensics and clinical laboratories overlap. The quality management guidelines under which clinical laboratories operate should have relevance for microbial forensics laboratories and serve as the basis for similar guidelines tailored to the needs of microbial forensics laboratories. Delivery of accurate, reproducible, and useful data should be the objective of every microbial forensics laboratory. The ability of a laboratory to achieve this objective is dependent upon many factors; such as, well-functioning quality management program. Quality means granting attention to each of the components of the quality management program.
Ensuring the Consistency of Adaptation through Inter- and Intra-Component Dependency Analysis

Dynamic adaptation should not leave a software system in an inconsistent state, as it could lead to failure. Prior research has used inter-component dependency models of a system to determine a safe interval for the adaptation of its components, where the most important tradeoff is between disruption in the operations of the system and reachability of safe intervals. This article presents Savasana, which automatically analyzes a software system’s code to extract both inter- and intra-component dependencies. In this way, Savasana is able to obtain more fine-grained models compared to previous approaches. Savasana then uses the detailed models to find safe adaptation intervals that cannot be determined using techniques from prior research. This allows Savasana to achieve a better tradeoff between disruption and reachability. The article demonstrates how Savasana infers safe adaptation intervals for components of a software system under various use cases and conditions.
Transformative Holding: A Reflection on the Legacy of the Smith School for Social Work Thesis

ABSTRACTThe Smith College School for Social Work thesis offers the student the opportunity to be nurtured into a competent clinician within the holding environment of the advisor–advisee relationship. My master’s thesis focused on caregiver response to infant sleep-related crying. This reflection describes the progression in my thesis process from focusing on how letting an infant “cry it out” neglects the infant’s psychological development to a more nuanced understanding of the caregiver’s subjectivity as central in the infant’s development of regulatory functions. My shift in understanding of the self and self-other relating was only possible through the deeply personal experience of being held within the advisor–advisee relationship. The containing function in this relationship parallels the way in which a “good enough” caregiver nurtures an infant. I conclude with a clinical vignette that exemplifies the expression of my internal transformation.
Precision Medicine for Breast Cancer: The Paths to Truly Individualized Diagnosis and Treatment

Precision medicine in oncology seeks to individualize each patient’s treatment regimen based on an accurate assessment of the risk of recurrence or progression of that person’s cancer. Precision will be achieved at each phase of care, from detection to diagnosis to surgery, systemic therapy, and radiation therapy, to survivorship and follow-up care. The precision arises from detailed knowledge of the inherent biological propensities of each tumor, rather than generalizing treatment approaches based on phenotypic, or even genotypic, categories. Extensive research is being conducted in multiple disciplines, including radiology, pathology, molecular biology, and surgical, medical, and radiation oncology. Clinical trial design is adapting to the new paradigms and moving away from grouping heterogeneous patient populations into limited treatment comparison arms. This review touches on several areas invested in clinical research. This special issue highlights the specific work of a number of groups working on precision medicine for breast cancer.
Support-coated open tubular columns: IV. Selected Applications

Abstract It was demonstrated that with support-coated open tubular columns, critical separations (base line resolution) can be achieved even with sample volumes as high as 0.15 μl of a single component. The minimum detectable limit with such a column was as low as 0.4 p.p.m., about a factor of 50 lower than with a standard wall-coated capillary column. Comparison with long packed columns of comparable sample capacity showed that their utilization makes high inlet pressures necessary while the time of analysis is increased many times. The relative performance of support-coated open tubular columns—expressed as effective plates per time—is much higher than even the best packed column.
Leveraging the cloud for software security services

This thesis seeks to leverage the advances in cloud computing in order to address modern security threats, allowing for completely novel architectures that provide dramatic improvements and asymmetric gains beyond what is possible using current approaches. Indeed, many of the critical security problems facing the Internet and its users are inadequately addressed by current security technologies. Current security measures often are deployed in an exclusively network-based or host-based model, limiting their efficacy against modern threats. However, recent advancements in the past decade in cloud computing and high-speed networking have ushered in a new era of software services. Software services that were previously deployed on-premise in organizations and enterprises are now being outsourced to the cloud, leading to fundamentally new models in how software services are sold, consumed, and managed. This thesis focuses on how novel software security services can be deployed that leverage the cloud to scale elegantly in their capabilities, performance, and management. First, we introduce a novel architecture for malware detection in the cloud. Next, we propose a cloud service to protect modern mobile devices, an ever-increasing target for malicious attackers. Then, we discuss and demonstrate the ability for attackers to leverage the same benefits of cloud-centric services for malicious purposes. Next, we present new techniques for the large-scale analysis and classification of malicious software. Lastly, to demonstrate the benefits of cloud-centric architectures outside the realm of malicious software, we present a threshold signature scheme that leverages the cloud for robustness and resiliency. Thesis Statement: By leveraging properties inherent to cloud computing, it is possible to design new classes of cloud-centric software security services that scale elegantly in their capabilities, performance, and management.
Post-Rehabilitation Use of Adaptive Skills.

This paper describes a study designed to identify the ways in which blind and visually impaired persons utilize adaptive skills following successful rehabilitation. In addition, the effects of cert...
Secured Credit and Effective Entity Priority

The historical and doctrinal development of secured transactions and bankruptcy law has created a priority system that is asset based. Secured creditor priority is tied to the value of specific assets that constitute the secured creditor’s collateral and not to the value of the debtor itself. And yet, in corporate bankruptcy cases, lenders and their attorneys often assert broad claims to the entire enterprise value of the entity – that is to the present value of the cash flows that the entity will generate as a going concern. The doctrinal basis for such claims is often unstated, however, and several commentators have criticized the breadth of those claims under existing law. This article answers those commentators and provides an argument that secured creditors can establish a broad enough security interest to create an “effective entity priority.”
Making the Case for Diversity as a Strategic Business Tool in Small Firm Survival and Success

Although human resource managers have long realized the impact of diversity on organizational outcomes, most of the research to date has focused on large organizations. Very little consideration has been given to small firms in the United States with fewer than 15 employees, which are not required to comply with federal Equal Employment Opportunity legislation. We propose that by valuing racial diversity and creating an inclusive organizational climate from inception, new small firms with growth objectives can increase their competitiveness, leading to better performance and long-term survival. Anchoring our arguments in intellectual capital theory, coupled with Cox and Blake’s seminal work on valuing diversity, we provide testable propositions that detail why new small firms should pursue and view racial diversity as a strategic business tool, even when they are not legally required to attend to these issues. We offer practical recommendations for small firms seeking to create an affirming climate for racial diversity and strategies that can be used to recruit, select, retain, and benefit from a racially diverse workforce.
BCOR and BCORL1 mutations in myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS): clonal architecture and impact on outcomes.

To the Editor,The myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS) are a heterogeneous group of hematologic conditions characterized by dysplastic changes and ineffective hematopoiesis [1]. Almost all patients with...
IMPACT OF INITIAL EVOLUT TAVR DEPLOYMENT ORIENTATION ON FINAL VALVE ORIENTATION AND CORONARY REACCESS: A PILOT STUDY

We evaluate the impact of initial deployment orientation of EvolutR/Pro(ERP) on its final orientation and neo-commissure distance from coronaries to assess ability of coronary reaccess. From 4/2018 to 9/2018, C-tab positions of 60 ERP at 3-cusp or cusp-overlapped coplanar fluoroscopic view were co-
Achieving Perfect Vascular Access

The femoral artery is the most commonly used arterial site of access in the United States (>90 % in 2011). The radial artery access is currently gaining popularity [1]. The brachial artery, axillary artery, ulnar artery, and femoral artery cutdown for access are rarely used now.
The Discovery and Study of Nanocrystalline TiO2-(MoO3) Core−Shell Materials

Here we report the synthesis of a series of new nanocrystalline TiO2-(MoO3) core−shell materials whose photoabsorption energy (PE, the energy required to excite TiO2-core valence band electrons to MoO3-shell conduction band states) properties are correlated with both the nanoparticle size and the degree of chemical interaction between the TiO2 core and the MoO3 shell. The TiO2-(MoO3) nanoparticle size can be readily adjusted from 80 to 40 A, and in this series, the PE decreases from 2.88 to 2.60 eV with decreasing particle size. The systematic PE red-shift exhibited by the core−shell materials is ascribed to the change in the relative position of the MoO3-shell conduction band as it evolves from less than a monolayer to a two monolayer shell.
Strong new limits on light dark matter from neutrino experiments

The nondetection of GeV-scale weakly interacting massive particles (WIMPs) has led to increased interest in more general candidates, including sub-GeV dark matter. Direct-detection experiments, despite their high sensitivity to WIMPs, are largely blind to sub-GeV dark matter. Recent work has shown that cosmic-ray elastic scattering with sub-GeV dark matter would both alter the observed cosmic ray spectra and produce a flux of relativistic dark matter, which would be detectable with traditional dark matter experiments as well as larger, higher-threshold detectors for neutrinos. Using data, detectors, and analysis techniques not previously considered, we substantially increase the regions of parameter space excluded by neutrino experiments for both dark matter--nucleon and dark matter--electron elastic scattering. We also show how to further improve sensitivity to light dark matter.
“There's no referee on social media”: Challenges in educator professional social media use

Abstract Social media have become venues for self-directed professional activity for many educators. Although these activities are generally voluntary in nature and thus likely provide some benefits, professional social media use also features some drawbacks. We present challenges described by educators (N = 48) who had all actively utilized social media professionally over an extended period of time. Data were collected via semi-structured individual and focus group interviews. Four general types of challenges were experienced by the participants: intrapersonal, interpersonal, school community, and online educator community. Finally, we discuss the implications of these findings for educators, teacher educators, and education researchers.
Next-Generation Sequencing and the Clinical Oncology Workflow: Data Challenges, Proposed Solutions, and a Call to Action

PURPOSENext-generation sequencing (NGS) of tumor and germline DNA is foundational for precision oncology, with rapidly expanding diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic implications. Although few q...
Hypofractionated vs. conventional radiation therapy for stage III non-small cell lung cancer treated without chemotherapy

AbstractBackground: Patients with unresectable locally advanced NSCLC who refuse or are not candidates for chemotherapy often receive radiation therapy (RT) alone. Hypofractionated RT (HFRT) regime...
Wearable Antennas for Cross-Body Communication and Human Activity Recognition

This paper proposes a novel miniaturized wearable antenna (mosaic antenna) for cross-body communication featuring a superior performance compared to five commonly utilized wearable antenna topologies. The proposed mosaic antenna optimally excites the surface waves to enable cross-body communication yet still with a low profile and a miniaturized size. As a proof-of-concept of the unique capabilities of this antenna, an inkjet-printed flexible wearable prototype on Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE, also known as Teflon) has been fabricated in a highly customizable, scalable and low-cost process and has been used as an enabler for human activities recognition coupled with machine learning techniques powered by Google TensorFlow. By utilizing proof-of-concept on-body networks consisting of mosaic antennas, human activity can be detected with an accuracy 91.9% for RF signal-based recognition techniques, despite the variability among different users and environments.
Cardiac Metastases from Malignant Melanoma: The "Charcoal Heart".

The column in this issue is supplied by Herbert L. Fred, M.D., M.A.C.P., and Hendrik A. van Dijk, both from McGovern Medical School-UT Health, Houston, Texas. Dr. Fred is emeritus professor of medicine and a well-known medical educator and diagnostician. A graduate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, he has authored just under 500 publications including six books. Mr. van Dijk, former director of the University of Texas Health Science Center Medical School’s Graphic Communications Group, has devoted 50 years to biomedical communications and is a national expert in that field.
CME-Antworten: Crowned- Dens-Syndrom – das Chamäleon der Nackenschmerzen

Zusammenfassung. Das Crowned-Dens-Syndrom (CDS) ist eine seltene, unterdiagnostizierte Differenzialdiagnose der akuten Nackenschmerzen. Die Diagnosefindung stellt im klinischen Alltag eine Herausfo...
Temporal Analysis of Medicare Physician Reimbursement and Procedural Volume for all Hip and Knee Arthroplasty Procedures Billed to Medicare Part B From 2000 to 2019.

Abstract Introduction The purpose of this study was to evaluate trends in annual arthroplasty volume among the Medicare population, as well as assess true Medicare reimbursement to physicians for all hip and knee arthroplasty procedures billed to Medicare since year 2000. Methods The publicly available Medicare Part B National Summary Data File from years 2000 to 2019 was utilized. Collected data included true physician reimbursements for all primary total hip and knee, unicompartmental knee, and revision hip/knee arthroplasty procedures from 2000 to 2019. Monetary data was adjusted for inflation to year 2019 dollars. Change was assessed and compared by procedure type. Results From 2000 to 2019, physicians billed Medicare Fee-For-Service for 8,363,821 hip and knee arthroplasty procedures. During this time, the annual number of included arthroplasty procedures billed to Medicare increased by 100%. From 2000 to 2019 across all included procedures, the mean physician reimbursement after adjusting for inflation decreased by -$729.82 (-38.9%) per procedure. This varied by procedure type. Unicompartmental knee arthroplasty was the only procedure to experience an increased mean reimbursement when adjusting for inflation, increasing by $241.40 (+16.6%) per procedure from 2000 to 2019. Conclusion This study demonstrates decreasing Medicare reimbursement to physicians within hip and knee arthroplasty from 2000 to 2019 when adjusting for inflation. This study is important for informing the potential development of more equitable payment models and maintaining access for arthroplasty care moving forward.
Abstract PO-085: Therapeutic targeting of RPS6KB1/SQSTM1 axis to prevent biochemical recurrence

Radiation therapy (RT) is a standard treatment for organ confined prostate cancer (PCa). Given that both intrinsic and acquired resistance to radiation causes progression to advanced metastatic PCa, there is an unmet need for adjuvant therapies that synergize with radiation to improve therapeutic efficacy. Previously, we demonstrated strong synergistic tumor growth inhibitory activities for Phellodendron amurense bark extract in combination with radiation in part through downregulation of ribosomal protein S6K (encoded by RPS6KB1). Subsequently we identified berberine (Ber), one of the active constituents of Nexrutine as a potential pharmacological inhibitor of RPS6KB1. Given these findings, we hypothesized that targeting RPS6KB1 could be an approach to enhance sensitivity to radiation. We tested the efficacy of Ber alone and in combination with radiation using an orthotopic implantation model and the mechanism associated with radio-sensitization using prostate cancer cells stably silenced and deleted for RPS6KB1. We observed that (i) RPS6KB1 deletion in androgen responsive early stage LNCaP cells and (ii) stable silencing in castrate resistant C4-2B cells increased sensitization to radiation relative to respective parental or non-targeted cells. Furthermore, pharmacological inhibition of RPS6KB1 with Ber sensitized cells to radiation. Mechanistically, RPS6KB1 silencing increased autophagic activity as revealed by changes in proteins identified through reverse phase protein array (RPPA) and decreased expression and levels of SQSTM1 via downregulation of NFkB. Pretreatment with chloroquine (CQ) rescued the observed radio-sensitization effects. Treatment with Ber alone or Ber plus radiation decreased levels of PSA that was sustained during the course of the experiment in mice orthotopically implanted with C4-2B cells. On the other hand animals treated with radiation alone developed recurrent cancer as evidenced by a resurgence of PSA. Notably, RPS6KB1 mRNA levels increased in tumor samples in patients experiencing biochemical recurrence (BCR). Taken together, these findings demonstrate that RPS6KB1 is a clinically relevant target and that Ber sensitizes prostate cancer cells to radiation in vitro and in vivo. Therefore, targeting RPS6KB1 signaling is an attractive strategy to prevent progression to BCR; given that rising PSA following conventional therapeutic approaches such as radiation remain a major clinical challenge. This work is supported in part by CPRIT RP190012 (APK). Citation Format: Addanki P. Kumar, Alison Clark, Michelle R. Villarreal, Shih-Bo Huang, Suleman S. Hussain, Xiaoyu Yang, Roble G. Bedolla, Paul Rivas, Sridharan Jayamohan, Li-Ju Wang, Yidong Chen, Caroline Xavier Paul Ezhilan, Mohan Natarajan, Joel E. Michalek, Robert Reddick, Hiroshi Miyamoto, Rita Ghosh. Therapeutic targeting of RPS6KB1/SQSTM1 axis to prevent biochemical recurrence [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Virtual Special Conference on Radiation Science and Medicine; 2021 Mar 2-3. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2021;27(8_Suppl):Abstract nr PO-085.
Nursing faculty integrate simulation instruction into their teaching practice: A phenomenological study

Abstract Clinical placements in the nursing profession are becoming more difficult to secure. To help meet the demand, nursing education programs are threading simulation instruction into the curriculum, providing nursing students with real-world scenarios. The aim of this phenomenological qualitative study was to explore the experiences of faculty as they integrate simulation into their teaching practice. Data analysis through an iterative and inductive process resulted in five core themes: faculty motivation, training and coaching, best simulation experience, differences in teaching with and without simulation, and challenges integrating simulation into teaching practice. Findings from this study can be used to guide faculty in the use of simulation as an innovative approach to clinical instruction.
In-slot Direct Cooling Design and Optimization for Electric Machines

This work strives to apply the in-slot direct cooling technique in electric machines and optimize the cooling design to improve the machine performance in both cooling and electromagnetic (EM) aspects. The in-slot cooling directly removes the heat from the heating source, but requires extra spaces in the slots that possibly reduce the electromagnetic performance of the machine. It needs an overall evaluation considering both EM and thermal performances to achieve an optimal machine design for in-slot cooling systems. This work utilizes a thermal-network based numerical modeling approach combined with finite element (FE) EM simulations to evaluate the proposed in-slot cooling scheme and compares it with a drip-cooled machine product from multiple aspects, such as torque output, temperature, efficiency and pump power. The thermal network model was verified with thermal FE simulations and is capable of predicting the transient temperature of the machine system. The temperature distribution and corresponding power losses of the electric machines with in-slot cooling designs were calculated on various machine operating points. The final efficiency of the in-slot cooled machine was compared with the drip-cooled machine. Then, an in-slot cooling design was chosen based on the simulation results and comparison for prototyping. Finally, a 3D printed prototype of a partial machine with in-slot cooling channels was designed and constructed to check the manufacturability of the proposed cooling design.
Effect of Nitrogen on the Availability of Soil and Fertilizer Phosphorus to Plants

Publisher Summary The addition of nitrogen fertilizers has marked effects on the absorption of soil and fertilizer phosphorus by plants. Nitrogen frequently increases root growth and foraging capacity for phosphorus. Some of the effects of nitrogen are related to the effect on increasing the growth of plant tops and concurrently increasing the absorption of phosphorus. The ammonium form of nitrogen frequently increases phosphorus absorption more than the nitrate form. Nitrogen additions affect plant metabolism and may change the ability of unit areas of root surface to absorb phosphorus. Nitrogen salts may influence absorption of phosphorus by plants by altering the phosphorus solubility in the soil. The residual acidity or alkalinity of added nitrogen may markedly change the phosphorus in solution and subsequent phosphorus absorption by plants.
Segmental Duplications and Genetic Disease

More than 50% of our genome is made up of repetitive DNA elements, which are classified into different categories based on their size, copy number, mechanisms of dispersal and several other factors. Segmental duplications represent one such class of repetitive element. Recently, several genetic diseases have been shown to be the result of chromosomal rearrangements mediated by segmental duplications. Keywords: Segmental Duplication; Genomic Disorder; Repetitive; Repeat; Low-copy; Genome; Chromosome; Rearrangement
El Rol de la Empatía en la Atribución Mental

En este trabajo examino en que medida un analisis de la nocion de empatia puede arrojar luz al debate acerca de las capacidades de atribucion mental. Particularmente, a partir de una nocion interdisciplinaria e integral de empatia en desarrollo, evaluo si es compatible con los mecanismos de atribucion mental que integrarian tanto una version de la simulacion mental como una estrategia atributiva teorica, ambas versiones �no puras�. Subsidiariamente, sostengo, en primer lugar, que los nuevos descubrimientos empiricos lejos de verse como herramientas que determinen una u otra postura en el debate acerca de la preeminencia de la teoria de la simulacion sobre la teoria de la teoria, podrian contribuir al fortalecimiento de una version integral de empatia que las sustente. En segundo lugar, estimo que continuar con una investigacion acerca de la empatia brindara mejores herramientas para distinguir entre la empatia y la simulacion mental por lo que la relacion entre empatia y las diversas estrategias de atribucion mental podrian delimitarse aun mas claramente y contribuiria en la construccion de una teoria ampliada de las estrategias atributivas.
Development and Utilization of Parallel Generic Algorithms for Scientific Computations

We develop generic parallel algorithms as extensible modules that encapsulate related classes and parallel methods. Extensible modules define common parallel structures, such as meshes, pipelines, or master-server networks in problem-independent manner. Such modules can be extended with sequential domain-specific code in order to derive particular parallel applications.
PRODUCTION AND NATURE OF LISTERIA MONOCYTOGENES HEMOLYSINS.

Abstract Njoku-Obi, Augustine N. (School of Veterinary Medicine, Tuskegee Institute, Ala.), Edward M. Jenkins, Jessie C. Njoku-Obi, Joanne Adams, and Verdell Covington. Production and nature of Listeria monocytogenes hemolysins. J. Bacteriol. 86:1–8. 1963.—Hemolysin produced by various strains of Listeria monocytogenes varied in quality and quantity, depending on medium, incubation temperature and time, and biological variations in the organisms. The hemolysin was inactivated by filtration (through Seitz, Selas, or sintered-glass filters), heat, oxygen, and formalin. Sodium thiosulfate reactivated hemolysin inactivated by filtration and oxygen. The hemolysin was protein in nature, migrating electrophoretically as a gamma-globulin, and highly antigenic in the rabbit. Although no toxicity was observed in intact mice injected with hemolysin, a possible leukocytolysis was noted with isolated mice peritoneal exudate cells. Due to the high antihemolytic activity of normal sera from various species, the possible use of an antilisteriolysin test in serological diagnosis is questioned.
An Ergodic Theorem for Stochastic Programming Problems

To justify the use of sampling to solve stochastic programming problems one usually relies on a law of large numbers for random lsc (lower semicontinuous) functions when the samples come from independent, identical experiments. If the samples come from a stationary process, one can appeal to the ergodic theorem proved here. The proof relies on the ‘scalarization’ of random lsc functions.
Hardware platforms for MEMS gyroscope tuning based on evolutionary computation using open-loop and closed-loop frequency response

We propose a tuning method for MEMS gyroscopes based on evolutionary computation to efficiently increase the sensitivity of MEMS gyroscopes through tuning. The tuning method was tested for the second generation JPL/Boeing Post-resonator MEMS gyroscope using the measurement of the frequency response of the MEMS device in open-loop operation We also report on the development of a hardware platform for integrated tuning and closed-loop operation of MEMS gyroscopes. The control of this device is implemented through a digital design on a Field Programmable Gate Array (FPGA). The hardware platform easily transitions to an embedded solution that allows for the miniaturization of the system to a single chip.
Changing a Radar Operational Flight Program (OFP)

An Operational Flight Program (OFP) is the embedded software that performs the functions and sub-functions necessary for aircraft weapon systems to operate. radar OFPs are a major component of the aircraft weapon system's software. Changes to radar OFPs have significant differences compared to other OFPs in testing requirements, because of the need to tune and observe radar parameters. Tuning and observing radar OFP changes, as well as the normal aircrew interfaces of the radar OFP requires a significant understanding of the radar sub-system, the weapon system, the radar support environment, and the software change (or maintenance) process. This paper will give an overview of the radar OFP change process, and the notable requirements needed to be understood in order to make changes to the software. The paper will discuss, in general, how a radar OFP works, the radar OFP change process, radar OFP testing, radar OFP documentation, and radar OFP training. Where possible, the paper will elaborate on how the radar OFP process is different from the OFP change process.
Model building for simulation and testing under uncertain conditions

D models of real world environments are becoming increasingly important for a variety of applications: Vehicle simulators can be enhanced through accurate models of real world terrain and objects; Robotic security systems can benefit from as-built layout of the facilities they patrol; Vehicle dynamics modeling and terrain impact simulation can be improved through validation models generated by digitizing real tire/soil interactions. Recently, mobile scanning systems have been developed that allow 3D scanning systems to undergo the full range of motion necessary to acquire such real-world data in a fast, efficient manner. As with any digitization system, these mobile scanning systems have systemic errors that adversely affect the 3D models they are attempting to digitize. In addition to the errors given by the individual sensors, these systems also have uncertainties associated with the fusion of the data from several instruments. Thus, one of the primary foci for 3D model building is to perform the data fusion and post-processing of the models in such a manner as to reconstruct the 3D geometry of the scanned surfaces as accurately as possible, while alleviating the uncertainties posed by the acquisition system. We have developed a modular scanning system that can be configured for a variety of application resolutions, as well as the algorithms necessary to fuse and process the acquired data. This paper presents the acquisition system and the tools utilized for constructing 3D models under uncertain real-world conditions, as well as some experimental results on both synthetic and real 3D data.
Political Competition and Local Social Spending: Evidence from Brazil

Electoral theories of democracy imply electoral competition insures accountability. Using data on local elections, socioeconomic factors, and municipal budgets from more than 5,000 municipalities in Brazil for the years 1996, 2000, and 2004, we find that municipalities with more competitive elections allocate less to social spending compared to municipalities with little political competition. We argue that previous theory on political competition and public goods obscures the critical role that financial resources play in shaping the dynamics of social spending and political competition. Municipalities with small budgets lack the resources necessary to engineer convincing electoral victories. Where resources are negligible, voter turnout is low, and incumbents rarely win reelection. Incumbent parties in municipalities with large financial resources win big. Armed with adequate resources, incumbent parties mobilize voters and win by large margins. This new argument and evidence reconcile contradictory findings in the existing literature on competition and public goods.
Probing the Standard Model with Superallowed Nuclear Beta Decay

Central to the Electroweak Standard Model is the Cabibbo-Kobayashi-Maskawa (CKM) matrix, a unitary 3 × 3 matrix that relates the weak- to the mass-eigenstates of the three generations of quarks. The Standard Model itself does not prescribe the values of the individual matrix elements—they must each be determined experimentally—but it does insist that the full matrix must satisfy all conditions of unitarity. Thus, any conclusive experimental demonstration that the unitarity conditions are not met would prove the need for “new physics” extending beyond the current Standard Model. Conversely, if the experiment were instead to confirm unitarity, this result would circumscribe the scope of any possible new physics to an extent limited only by the quoted experimental uncertainties on the unitarity sum. Either way, there is compelling motivation here for precision measurements of the CKM matrix elements aimed at the most demanding tests possible of the matrix's unitarity.
Kinetics of the decamer - dimer dissociation of arginine decarboxylase.

Abstract The kinetics of decamer to dimer dissociation of the inducible arginine decarboxylase of Escherichia coli B have been examined by reacting the single newly available sulfhydryl residue with 5,5′-dithiobis-(2-nitrobenzoic acid). The empirical rate law is first order with respect to this reagent and to the protein concentration, and is saturating with respect to [Na+]2 and 1 [ H + ] 2 ; i.e., the rate of dissociation increases with increasing Na+ and decreasing H+. The results suggest that the decamer - dimer transition is sequential, occurring in five steps, and that two protons must ionize and two Na+ ions bind at each step.
A Heat Transfer in Iso-Thermal Triangular Channel Filled With Porous Media

This study presents an analysis of forced convection in a porous triangular channel. The flow is laminar, fully developed and assumed to have constant properties. The porous channel has an isotropic matrix and the boundary conditions are fixed with a constant temperature. In this paper, accurate analytical solutions are presented to determine the effects of apex angle and porous media properties on the temperature distribution in a triangular channel along with the Nusselt number NuT.Copyright © 2012 by ASME
Measurement of drop size in horizontal annular flow with the immersion method

A modified version of the oil immersion sampling system developed by Okada was exploited to obtain measurements of drop diameter in a horizontal annular flow of air and water in a 9.53-cm pipe. Drop samples were captured in a high-viscosity oil and photographic images of the samples were used to measure the distribution of diameters. Advantages of the immersion method are that the drops are spherical when photographed and that the measurement does not require removal of the film from the wall. Drop size distributions are found to be similar to distributions measured using a photographic technique for vertical annular flow in a 4.2-cm pipe. Drop size distributions show some differences from measurements that used a laser diffraction system in the same horizontal pipeline. In particular, the diffraction method indicates the existence of larger maximal drop sizes than are determined with the immersion technique.
Development of methodology for predicting reacidification of calcium carbonate treated lakes

As part of the EPRI funded Lake Acidification Mitigation Project(LAMP), an ongoing study to evaluate the feasibility of acid lake liming, two models (WAM and ALaRM) have been tested for two calibrated Adirondack Mountain study lakes(Woods and Cranberry). A priori predictions of reacidification rates based on Ca carbonate application and historical hydrological data are presented. WAM (Watershed Acidification Model) is a deterministic model that is capable of simulating the movement of water and chemical constituents through a watershed. WAM generates indata in the form of hydrologic and alkalinity to ALaRM (Acid Lake Reacidification Model), a general mass balance model developed for the temporal prediction of the principal chemical species in both the water column and sediment pore water of small lakes and ponds.
Electrophysiological characterization of embryonic hippocampal neurons cultured in a 3D collagen hydrogel

Rat embryonic hippocampal neurons were cultured in (1) 3D collagen hydrogels as ‘entrapped’ evenly distributed cells, (2) at the interface of two collagen layers (sandwich model), and (3) on the surface of collagen coated coverslips (2D model). In the ‘entrapment’ model the neuronal processes grew out of the plane of the cell body and extended into the collagen matrix, in contrast to the sandwich model where the cells and their processes rarely left the plane in which they were seeded. Hippocampal neurons ‘entrapped’ in the 3D collagen gel grew the same number, but shorter, processes and exhibited improved survival compared to neurons cultured in the 2D model. There was no difference in the electrophysiological properties of the neurons cultured in the 3D compared to the 2D model except in the resting membrane potential and in the duration of the after-hyperpolarization. Spontaneous postsynaptic currents were recorded in 14- and 21-day-old 3D cultures evidencing functional synapse formation. Our results indicate that the physiological characteristics of 3D neuronal cultures are similar to traditional 2D cultures. However, functional 3D networks of hippocampal neurons will be necessary for multi-level circuit formation, which could be essential for understanding the basis of physiological learning and memory.
Predictions for the Aurigid Outburst of 2007 September 1

The September 2007 encounter of Earth with the 1-revolution dust trail of comet C/1911 N1 (Kiess) is the most highly anticipated dust trail crossing of a known long period comet in the next 50 years. The encounter was modeled to predict the expected peak time, duration, and peak rate of the resulting outburst of Aurigid shower meteors. The Aurigids will radiate with a speed of 67 km/s from a radiant at R.A. = 92°, Decl. = +39° (J2000) in the constellation Auriga. The expected peak time is 11:36 ± 20 min UT, 2007 September 1, and the shower is expected to peak at Zenith Hourly Rate = 200/h during a 10-min interval, being above half this value during 25 min. The meteor outburst will be visible by the naked eye from locations in Mexico, the Western provinces of Canada, and the Western United States, including Hawaii and Alaska. A concerted observing campaign is being organized. Added in proof: first impression of the shower.
Synthesis and biological evaluation of EC20: a new folate-derived, (99m)Tc-based radiopharmaceutical.

A new peptide derivative of folic acid was designed to efficiently coordinate 99mTc. This new chelate, referred to as EC20, was found to bind cultured folate receptor (FR)-positive tumor cells in both a time- and concentration-dependent manner with very high affinity (KD ∼ 3 nM). Using an in vitro relative affinity assay, EC20 was also found to effectively compete with 3H-folic acid for cell binding when presented either alone or as a formulated metal chelate. Following intravenous injection into Balb/c mice, 99mTc-EC20 was rapidly removed from circulation (plasma t1/2 ∼ 4 min) and excreted into the urine in a nonmetabolized form. Data from γ scintigraphic and quantitative biodistribution studies performed in M109 tumor-bearing Balb/c mice confirmed that 99mTc-EC20 predominantly accumulates in FR-positive tumor and kidney tissues. These results suggest that 99mTc-EC20 may be clinically useful as a noninvasive radiodiagnostic imaging agent for the detection of FR-positive human cancers.
Regulation of normal and leukaemic lymphocyte transformation and recirculation by sodium periodate oxidation and sodium borohydride reduction.

MANY mitogenic agents1–5 when added to lymphocytes in vitro bind to saccharide-containing sites on cell membranes and cause blast transformation and subsequent incorporation of DNA precursors. Recently it has been observed by Novogrodsky and Katchalski6, using rat lymph node cells and by Parker et al.7, using human peripheral blood cells, that preincubation with sodium periodate (NaIO4), an oxidizing agent, induces blastogenesis comparable with that observed with phytohaemagglutinin (PHA).
Similar brain SPECT findings in subclinical and clinical seizures in two neonates with hemimegalencephaly

Brain single-photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) findings during clinical and subclinical seizures were compared in two neonates with hemimegalencephaly. Interictal and ictal brain SPECT were performed in two neonates. The ictal studies were performed during a clinical seizure in one neonate and during a subclinical seizure in another neonate. They revealed similar focal hemispheric hyperperfusion at the electroencephalographic seizure foci in both cases. The similar perfusion patterns imply that clinical and subclinical seizures place similar metabolic demands on the cerebral tissue involved in the generation of electroencephalographic seizures in neonates with cerebral dysgenesis and suggest that clinical and subclinical seizures should be treated similarly in this population.
Top 10 Research Questions Related to Growth and Maturation of Relevance to Physical Activity, Performance, and Fitness

Growth, maturation, and development dominate the daily lives of children and adolescents for approximately the first 2 decades of life. Growth and maturation are biological processes, while development is largely a behavioral process. The 3 processes occur simultaneously and interact. They can be influenced by physical activity and also can influence activity, performance, and fitness. Allowing for these potential interactions, 10 questions on growth and maturation that have relevance to physical activity, performance, and fitness are presented. The questions are not mutually exclusive and address several broadly defined topical areas: exercise and growth, body weight status (body mass index, adiposity rebound, “unhealthy weight gain”), movement proficiency (hypothesized barrier, role in obesity), individual differences, tracking, maturity-associated variation in performance, and corresponding variation in physical activity. Central to the discussion of each is the need for a biocultural approach recogniz...
Numerical studies of back-arc convection and the formation of marginal basins

Abstract Marginal basins that occur behind island arcs display geological and geophysical features that imply an extensional origin and a spreading mechanism, possibly driven by the heating of the basin floor from below. The origin and evolution of these basins appear to be associated with the subduction process of the oceanic lithosphere. The mechanism we propose for the formation and spreading of marginal basins is the convective flow induced in the mantle by the subducting slab. This convective current brings hot mantle material to the base of the lithosphere behind island arcs. The combination of material upwelling, heating of the lithosphere and flow induced tension initiates spreading and the formation of marginal basins. Quantitative investigation of this mechanism has been carried out utilizing numerical calculations using both constant and variable viscosity models. Numerical results indicate that the induced flow can generate a 1 km topographic rise and a tensile stress of about 100 bars. Together with the thinning of the lithosphere due to heating, this induced current is probably sufficient to generate inter-arc spreading at about 5–10 million years after the initiation of subduction. The horizontal scale of the spreading center obtained from the numerical models is also consistent with the observations over many marginal basins.
Experiments with peroxidase. II. Further observations on splitting the enzyme at extreme pH values

Abstract Studies of the temperature dependence of the splitting rate of horse-radish peroxidase (HRP) in aqueous acid and alkali furnished E′a values of 15,800 and 16,000 cal./mole, respectively. Plots of the reaction rates as a function of [H+] and [OH′], respectively, seem to indicate that 2H+ or 20H′, respectively, are required for the spectroscopically observed acid and alkaline splitting reactions. The significance of these findings and of earlier related observations is discussed.
Immunocytochemical study of parafollicular (C) cells of the thyroid in some wild rodents

Summary Studies were done on 3 wild species of rodents: field voles ( Microtus agrestis , Linnaeus 1761), bank voles ( Clethrionomys glareolus , Schreber 1780), and forest mice ( Apodemus flavicollis , Melchior 1834). Immunocytochemical reactions were used to detect calcitonin (CT), calcitonin gene-related peptide (CGRP), neuron-specific enolase (NSE), chromogranin A (CgA) in the thyroid parafollicular (C) cells in all species examined. Antisera to human CT, rat CGRP, bovine CgA, rat NSE and human NSE give probably a positive reaction in all C cells in the rodents examined. However, in the NSE determining reaction, much feebler positive C cells were observed. Individual variation in respect of shape and distribution of C cells was observed in all species. In forest mice the C cells resembled in shape the C cells previously described in mouse and rat. In field voles and bank voles the C cells were assembled into small groups more often than in forest mice. Antibodies (anti-human CT, anti-rat CGRP, anti-bovine CgA, anti-rat NSE and anti-human NSE) used by us were good markers of C cells in the thyroids of the 3 species of free-living rodents examined.
The influence of PACS on quality at the clinical level.

Abstract The ultimate question is whether PACS can improve the quality of care. Little data on this have been published, as is shown by the literature survey described in this paper.