cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Periodontal microcirculation as revealed by plastic microspheres

Plastic microspheres 15 ± 5 microns were injected into the right external carotid artery of five Squirrel monkeys. One animal was sacrificed at 1, 24 and 36 hours and two animals at one week. The jaws were removed, fixed, demineraized and sectioned bucco-lingually. The vascular patterns in the connective tissue beneath the oral epithelium, epithelial attachment, “col” area and within the periodontal membrane were examined. The vascular tree supplying the oral epithelium was visualized as running perpendicular to the outer surface while that in the attachment area paralleled its epithelial surface. The “col” area, on the other hand, demonstrated a combination of both vascular patterns. The diameter of the terminal arterioles just beneath the epithelial basement membrane ranged from 13.6 to 20.4 microns and varied little in the three areas examined. The vessels within the periodontal ligament were connected into a net-like plexus receiving its primary bloodsupply from vessels penetrating the lamina dura perpendicularly.
Alcohol and depression: a clinical perspective

Sadness, even when intense enough to interfere with functioning, can be seen in a variety of conditions. Affective syndromes developing in the course of treatment with antihypertensive medications, sadness that accompanies various forms of cancer, and periods of sadness observed during the clinical course of schizophrenia might all have different contributory causes, prognoses, and optimal treatments. In that light, intoxication with brain depressants, especially alcohol, can cause clinically relevant changes in mood, with prolonged intoxication likely to induce depressive symptoms that resemble those seen in major depressive disorder. However, as is true of all complex clinical pictures developing in the course of a pre-existing physiological or psychiatric condition, the depressive symptomatology associated with heavy consumption of alcohol might not have the same causes as independent major depressive disorder, and the symptoms often disappear with abstinence. This paper reports studies documenting the phenomenon of depression in alcoholism, presents an approach for distinguishing between alcohol-related depressions and independent major depressive disorders, and explores the clinical and research implications of the relationship between alcohol and depression.
Predicting Retention in Three Substance Abuse Treatment Modalities Among Anglo, African American, and Mexican American Juvenile Offenders

Abstract Many of the same factors that predict delinquent behavior also predict adolescent drug use. This study examined factors that predict, and interventions that maximize, substance abuse treatment retention in three modalities among high-risk Anglo, Mexican American, and African American juvenile offenders. The study sample includes youth (N = 211) who were discharged from probation supervision and who received substance abuse services through a CSAT-funded federal demonstration project. The key predictors examined included the stage-of-change (i.e., precontemplation, contemplation, preparation) in which a juvenile fell, various dimensions captured by the Comprehensive Addiction Severity Index for Adolescents, and other intervention status (probation, case management, and mental health treatment). The research questions were addressed using statistical models known as survival analysis that treated time from entry into substance abuse treatment to exit from substance abuse treatment as the outcomes. ...
Contribution of the vagus nerve to angiotensin II binding sites in the canine medulla.

Abstract Specific angiotensin II (Ang II) binding sites are present in the dorsal medulla of several species and dose-related cardiovascular effects are produced by microinjection of the peptide into this region. Because the anatomical location of Ang II binding sites in the area postrema (ap), nucleus tractus solitarii (nTS) and dorsal motor nucleus of the vagus (dmnX) coincides with the topography of vagal afferent fibers and efferent motor neurons, the effect of either nodose ganglionectomy or cervical vagotomy on Ang II binding sites in the dorsomedial medulla was investigated in dogs by in vitro receptor autoradiography. Two weeks after unilateral ganglionectomy, there was a marked reduction in the density of specific Ang II binding sites in the ipsilateral ap, nTS and dmnX and an absence of binding sites in the region where vagal afferent fibers course through the rostral medulla. Unilateral cervical vagotomy, which has been shown to spare central processes of afferent fibers, resulted in a loss of binding only in the ipsilateral dmnX. We also show that Ang II binding sites are present in the nodose ganglion and central and peripheral processes of the vagus nerve. The data indicate that medullary Ang II binding sites are associated with both vagal afferent fibers and efferent motor neurons.
Rat retinal progenitor cells and a retinal pigment epithelial factor.

Abstract Retinal progenitor cells were isolated from explants of neonatal rat retinas and characterized by transmission electron microscopy and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction and by their response to an isolated retinal pigment epithelial cell cell factor. The isolated progenitor cells demonstrated nuclei with abundant euchromatin typical of progenitor cells and showed the presence of nestin and opsin message. A protein (∼67 kDa) isolated from conditioned media of cultured rat RPE cells promoted the survival of isolated retinal progenitor cells.
Assimilate Or Accommodate? The Case Of The Hoa Hao And Vietnam∗

(1970). Assimilate Or Accommodate? The Case Of The Hoa Hao And Vietnam. The Professional Geographer: Vol. 22, No. 6, pp. 317-320.
Telemark skiing injuries: A three-year study

Telemark skiing is an increasingly popular wilderness activity. Little is known, however, about the injuries incurred during modern telemark skiing. To determine the incidence and types of these injuries we carried out a prospective analysis of injured telemarkers over three ski seasons from November 1994 through May 1997 at the Mount Hood Meadows ski area medical clinic in Oregon. Injured telemark skiers presenting to the clinic were asked to fill out a one-page survey, and a diagnosis was provided by the clinic physician or nurse. During the 1995–1996 and 1996–1997 ski seasons, skiers were counted at the ski lifts to determine the proportion of telemark skiers, alpine skiers, and snowboarders using the lifts. Using these proportions and the total ticket sales for the year, the number of downhill skiers, snowboarders, and telemarkers over the season were estimated, and injury rates were calculated. During the three ski seasons, 33 injuries were identified in 28 injured telemarkers. Of the study participants, 75% (21) were male. The average age was 33.1 years. Self-described intermediate and advanced telemarkers accounted for 74% of the injured. In 96% of the injuries, the skier was performing a telemark turn. Powder snow or heavy, wet snow conditions were reported most often. Lower-extremity injuries were most common, accounting for 42.5% (14) of the total. Seven of the lower-extremity injuries were ankle injuries, and four were knee injuries. Upper-extremity injuries comprised 24.2% (8) and head and facial injuries 21.2% (7) of the total. The least number of injuries occurred in the spine, 12.1% (4). Release plates were used by 8 of 28 skiers and only released in two instances. Telemark skiers comprised 0.9% of skiers counted at the lifts during the 1995–1996 season and 1.8% in 1996–1997. Injury rates/1000 skier days in 1995–1996 were 3.3 (95% CI: 3.27, 3.35) for downhill skiers, 4.1 (95% CI: 3.32, 5.22) for telemark skiers, and 6.8 (95% CI: 6.54, 7.00) for snowboarders. Injury rates/1000 skier days in 1996–1997 were 3.1 (95% CI: 3.05, 3.15) for downhill skiers, 1.7 (95% CI: 1.44, 2.11) for telemark skiers, and 5.6 (95% CI: 5.39, 5.78) for snowboarders. We conclude that telemark skiers comprise only a small proportion of skiers at a lift-served area. Lower-extremity injuries were most common, followed by upper-extremity and head and facial injuries. Injury rates for telemarkers are comparable to those for alpine skiers.
Surface Wave Utility in Composite Material Characterization

A surface wave velocity measurement technique is used to supply supporting measurements in the computation of elastic constants for practical nondestructive evaluation of composite materials. Theoretical modeling work is carried out to illustrate the surface wave velocity changes as a function of angle with respect to the axes along the fibers of a unidirectional graphite epoxy composite material for a variety of different problems, including porosity (PC) changes, fiber volume fraction (FF) changes, and delamination. Experiments are conducted on two unidirectional reinforced composites and a (0–90)s cross ply graphite epoxy laminate to illustrate the surface wave velocity measurements and the inverse computation procedure for evaluation of the stiffness coefficients. Variations of the feature values in the stiffness matrix are also discussed for inhomogeneities, delaminations through cracking, and large defects.
iPhone: Smarter Than the Average Phone

This column provides a synopsis of the iPhone and describes key features that have allowed it to redefine what it means to be a modern smart device. In particular, the description is put in the context of pervasive computing, and the author presents a review of his top five iPhone apps. These highlight how the App Store has allowed programmers to test and distribute many concepts originating from pervasive computing research.
University training of school psychologists and certification standards

Abstract We are standing on the edge of a new era in the development of school psychology programs and training. It is expected that if such training is related to high level certification standards, there will be a smoother course for both training programs, state certifying agencies, and those certified. This cannot be left merely to chance, or to the whims of state governing bodies. Universities polled have generally played an important part in setting high standards in the past, although some have merely imitated lower existing state standards. Universities, assisted by the suggested certification standards of Division 16, should be active in presenting their point of view at the local level regarding future standards.
Real-time monitoring of multi-mode industrial processes using feature-extraction tools

A real-time monitoring solution is presented for detection of faulty status in industrial processes which uses the input-output data features to set monitoring boundaries. The proposed solution uses independent components analysis (ICA) in order to extract features of data samples measured from the actual plant. The features extracted from the simulated model of the plant at normal operating condition will be used to compute values of the monitoring criteria. The detection threshold and monitoring boundaries are then determined based on the monitoring criteria obtained for normal condition. Measured data of the plant are fed into the monitoring system in order for the plant's status to be detected for each and every sample time. The suggested approach will be implemented on a model of Continuous Stirred-Tank Reactor (CSTR) with two modes of normal operation for monitoring and fault detection. Simulation results are presented and performance of the proposed approach is discussed.
Locally Analytic Functions over Completions of Fr[U]☆

Abstract It is well known that a continuous function f : Z p → Q p can be expanded by Mahler's basis: [formula] with a n →0. Amice ( Bull. Soc. Math. France 92 (1964), 117–180) has established conditions on the coefficients a n for the function f to be locally analytic, as well as more general results when Z p is replaced by some compact subset of a local field. We study the function field case in this paper. The function field analogue of Mahler's basis is the Carlitz polynomials, and the corre- sponding result for continuous functions has already been established by Wagner ( Acta Arith. 17 (1971), 389–406). We show that the conditions for a continuous function to be locally analytic in the function field case are completely similar to the Q p case. An application to using integral calculus to analytically continue characteristic p -valued L -series is briefly mentioned at the end of the paper.
Angular momentum treatment of triplet-state fine-structure and Zeeman effect in diatomic molecules

Abstract The spin-orbit, spin-spin, and spin-rotation contributions to the fine-structure of 3 Π states in homonuclear diatomic molecules are derived using the irreducible tensor approach to angular momentum and modern conventions for the definitions of matrix elements. The Zeeman splitting of the triplet-state fine-structure is also included since it is a convenient interaction that provides the transition intensity to all fine-structure sublevels in spectroscopic experiments that depend upon spin-orbit allowed intercombination transitions between ground singlet and electronically excited triplet states. The derivation is presented for Hund's case (b) basis functions.
The effect of molecular oxygen on the spin-lattice relaxation of silicon in condensed sol-gels

Abstract The spin-lattice relaxation times of silicon nuclei within amorphous silica were found to be strongly dependent on the ambient atmosphere. Silica with various surface chemistries and surface areas were prepared by the sol-gel process. Relaxation times of silicon nuclei ranged from 9.0 to 730 s depending on whether the samples were exposed to oxygen or nitrogen atmospheres. Samples exposed to air exhibited intermediate relaxation times. Chemically distinct silicons displayed unique relaxation times when exposed to a nitrogen atmosphere while displaying common relaxation times when exposed to an air or oxygen atmosphere. Attempts to correlate relaxation times to surface areas were complicated by changes in the surface structure of the materials. Molecular oxygen should be eliminated from these high-surface-area materials whenever their inherent relaxation times are measured.
Role of connexin channels in the retinal light response of a diurnal rodent.

Several studies have shown that connexin channels play an important role in retinal neural coding in nocturnal rodents. However, the contribution of these channels to signal processing in the retina of diurnal rodents remains unclear. To gain insight into this problem, we studied connexin expression and the contribution of connexin channels to the retinal light response in the diurnal rodent Octodon degus (degu) compared to rat, using in vivo ERG recording under scotopic and photopic light adaptation. Analysis of the degu genome showed that the common retinal connexins present a high degree of homology to orthologs expressed in other mammals, and expression of Cx36 and Cx43 was confirmed in degu retina. Cx36 localized mainly to the outer and inner plexiform layers, while Cx43 was expressed mostly in cells of the retinal pigment epithelium. Under scotopic conditions, the b-wave response amplitude was strongly reduced by 18-β-glycyrrhetinic acid (β-GA) (-45.1% in degu, compared to -52.2% in rat), suggesting that connexins are modulating this response. Remarkably, under photopic adaptation, β-GA increased the ERG b-wave amplitude in degu (+107.2%) while reducing it in rat (-62.3%). Moreover, β-GA diminished the spontaneous action potential firing rate in ganglion cells and increased the response latency of ON and OFF ganglion cells. Our results support the notion that connexins exert a fine-tuning control of the retinal light response and have an important role in retinal neural coding.
Prevalence of intestinal parasitic infection among uninsured and insured prenatal patients in San Miguel, El Salvador

Abstract Objective: To determine the prevalence of asymptomatic intestinal parasitic infections among insured and uninsured prenatal patients in San Miguel, El Salvador. Methods: One hundred prenatal patients at the San Juan de Dios National Hospital (uninsured patient population) and 80 prenatal patients at the Salvadoran Social Security Institute Hospital (insured patient population) submitted fresh stool samples for ova and parasite analysis. Patients with a negative test result submitted a second sample. Demographic data also were collected. Patients with positive stool tests were referred for treatment and were advised to have their household members treated. Results: Uninsured patients were found to have 95% prevalence of positive stool tests for one or more intestinal parasites. Insured patients were noted to have 90% prevalence of positive stool tests for one or more parasites. Most patients had co-infection with amoebas and helminthes. Insurance status, a marker for socioeconomic status, was not correlated with prevalence rates. Access to potable water and latrine or toilet facilities also was not correlated with infection. The most common infections found were Entamoeba histolytica (amoebas), Ascaris (giant roundworm), and Trichuris (whipworm). Conclusions: Asymptomatic intestinal parasitic infection is nearly universal in this study population. Insured patient status, access to potable water, and latrine or toilet facilities are not protective. Because intestinal parasitic infections contribute to high infant mortality rates, health care providers should consider presumptively treating all pregnant patients with Metronidazole 750 mg three times daily for 14 days and mebendazole, 100 mg, twice daily for 3 days. Given the high prevalence of infection, screening for ova and parasites are not recommended. Health care providers in the United States and other developed countries should consider routine screening and treatment for prenatal patients who have emigrated from endemic regions, such as Mexico and Central America.
Insensitivity of Constraint-Based Causal Discovery Algorithms to Violations of the Assumption of Multivariate Normality.

Constraint-based causal discovery algorithms, such as the PC algorithm, rely on conditional independence tests and are otherwise independent of the actual distribution of the data. In case of continuous variables, the most popular conditional independence test used in practice is the partial correlation test, applicable to variables that are multivariate Normal. Many researchers assume multivariate Normal distributions when dealing with continuous variables, based on a common wisdom that minor departures from multivariate Normality do not have a too strong effect on the reliability of partial correlation tests. We subject this common wisdom to a test in the context of causal discovery and show that partial correlation tests are indeed quite insensitive to departures from multivariate Normality. They, therefore, provide conditional independence tests that are applicable to a wide range of multivariate continuous distributions.
Event sedimentation in low-latitude deep-water carbonate basins, Anegada passage, northeast Caribbean

The Virgin Islands and Whiting basins in the Northeast Caribbean are deep, structurally controlled depocentres partially bound by shallow-water carbonate platforms. Closed basins such as these are thought to document earthquake and hurricane events through the accumulation of event layers such as debris flow and turbidity current deposits and the internal deformation of deposited material. Event layers in the Virgin Islands and Whiting basins are predominantly thin and discontinuous, containing varying amounts of reef- and slope-derived material. Three turbidites/sandy intervals in the upper 2 m of sediment in the eastern Virgin Islands Basin were deposited between ca. 2000 and 13 600 years ago, but do not extend across the basin. In the central and western Virgin Islands Basin, a structureless clay-rich interval is interpreted to be a unifite. Within the Whiting Basin, several discontinuous turbidites and other sand-rich intervals are primarily deposited in base of slope fans. The youngest of these turbidites is ca. 2600 years old. Sediment accumulation in these basins is low (<0.1 mm year 1) for basin adjacent to carbonate platform, possibly due to limited sediment input during highstand sea-level conditions, sediment trapping and/or cohesive basin walls. We find no evidence of recent sediment transport (turbidites or debris flows) or sediment deformation that can be attributed to the ca. M7.2 1867 Virgin Islands earthquake whose epicentre was located on the north wall of the Virgin Islands Basin or to recent hurricanes that have impacted the region. The lack of significant appreciable pebble or greater size carbonate material in any of the available cores suggests that submarine landslide and basin-wide blocky debris flows have not been a significant mechanism of basin margin modification in the last several thousand years. Thus, basins such as those described here may be poor recorders of past natural hazards, but may provide a long-term record of past oceanographic conditions in ocean passages.
Methodology for architecture level hazard analysis, a survey

Summary form only given. A variety of hazard analysis techniques have been proposed for software-based systems. But individually, the techniques are limited in their ability to deal with system complexity, or to derive and prioritize component safety requirements. As the complexity of modern software systems increases, using one technique at different stages of design is becoming increasingly more challenging. The use of object oriented methodology (in analysis, design and coding) in the real-time embedded systems, the birth of new areas for certification such as the space industry and the increasing complexity of software based applications which need to be certified, motivate the need for a new technique. We survey the current hazard analysis techniques, and conclude that a new technique is needed. Also we explore the suitability of Unified Modeling Language (UML) as a foundation of a new architecture level hazard analysis technique.
Risk-Taking by Banks: What Did We Know and When Did We Know It?

The composition of risks assumed by U. S. commercial banks underwent a dramatic transformation over the years leading up to the financial crisis: between 2000 and 2006 idiosyncratic risk dropped by almost half while systematic risk doubled. These patterns, more pronounced in banks with heavy involvement in residential mortgage lending and securitization, were accompanied by higher earnings per share performance. The stock market's response to these changes was, however, not uniformly enthusiastic. Banks heavily engaged in residential mortgage lending started exhibiting lower earnings response coefficients and had lower stock returns even prior to the crisis. Their managers, on the other hand, earned signi ficant amounts through compensation plans heavily geared to short-term earnings. Our analysis provides strong support for the view that, even though fi nancial markets were able to identify banks engaging in excessively risky lending activity long before the onset of the financial crisis, managerial compensation schemes failed to respond eff ectively to dramatic changes in the risk taking environment engendered by increased levels of securitization.
The Changing Microbial Epidemiology in Cystic Fibrosis

Summary: Infection of the airways remains the primary cause of morbidity and mortality in persons with cystic fibrosis (CF). This review describes salient features of the epidemiologies of microbial species that are involved in respiratory tract infection in CF. The apparently expanding spectrum of species causing infection in CF and recent changes in the incidences and prevalences of infection due to specific bacterial, fungal, and viral species are described. The challenges inherent in tracking and interpreting rates of infection in this patient population are discussed.
Emittance growth from rotated quadrupoles in heavy ion accelerators

We derive a set of moment equations which incorporates linear quadrupolar focusing and space-charge defocusing, in the presence of rotational misalignments of the quadrupoles about the direction of beam propagation. Although the usual beam emittance measured relative to fixed transverse x and y coordinate axes is not constant, a conserved emittance-like quantity has been found. Implications for alignment tolerances in accelerators for heavy-ion inertial fusion are discussed.
Pregnancy Rates in Lactating Dairy Cows After Presynchronization of Estrous Cycles and Variations of the Ovsynch Protocol

Our objectives were to determine pregnancy rates after altering times of the second GnRH injection, insemination, or both in a combined Presynch + Ovsynch protocol, to accommodate once-daily lockup of dairy cows. Lactating dairy cows (n = 665) from 2 dairy herds in northeastern Kansas were studied. Cows ranged from 24 to 44 d in milk (DIM) at the start of the Pre-synch protocol, which consisted of 2 injections of PGF(2alpha) 14 d apart, with the second injection given 12 d before initiating the Ovsynch protocol. Cows were blocked by lactation number and assigned randomly to 3 treatments consisting of variations of the Ovsynch protocol. Cows in 2 treatments received injections of GnRH 7 d before and 48 h (G48) after the PGF(2alpha) injection. Timed AI (TAI) was conducted at the time of the second GnRH injection (G48 + TAI48) or 24 h later (G48 + TAI72). Cows in the third treatment received the injections of GnRH 7 d before and at 72 h after PGF(2alpha) and were inseminated at the time of the second GnRH injection (G72 + TAI72). Pregnancy was diagnosed weekly by palpation per rectum of uterine contents on d 40 or 41 after TAI. Pregnancy rates differed between herds, but they were consistently greater for G72 + TAI72 than for G48 + TAI48 and G72 + TAI72. Subsequent calving rates were consistent with differences in initial TAI pregnancy rates. Pregnancy loss was least for cows on the G72 + TAI72 treatment. Body condition scores (BCS) ranged from 1.0 to 4.0 when assessed on Monday of the breeding week. An interaction of BCS and herd was detected in which cows in herd 1 having poorer BCS ( /=2.25), whereas the reverse was true in herd 2 in which overall pregnancy rates were greater. We concluded that inseminating at 48 or 72 h after PGF(2alpha), when GnRH was administered at 48 h after PGF(2alpha), produced fewer pregnancies than inseminating and injecting GnRH at 72 h after PGF(2alpha) for cows whose estrous cycles were synchronized before initiating this variant of the Ovsynch protocol.
Procuring Fast Delivery: Sole Sourcing with Information Asymmetry

This paper studies a queuing model in which a buyer sources a good or service from a single supplier chosen from a pool of suppliers. The buyer seeks to minimize the sum of her procurement and operating costs, the latter of which depends on the suppliers lead time. The selected supplier can regulate his lead time, but faster lead times are costly. Although the buyer selects the supplier to source from (possibly via an auction) and dictates the contractual terms, the buyers bargaining power is limited by asymmetric information: The buyer only has an estimate of the suppliers costs, while the suppliers know their costs precisely. We identify a procurement mechanism that minimizes the buyers total cost (procurement plus operating). This mechanism is not simple: It is a numerically derived nonlinear menu of contracts. Therefore, we study several simpler mechanisms: e.g., one that charges a late fee and one that specifies a fixed lead-time requirement (no menus, no nonlinear functions). We find that simple mechanisms are nearly optimal (generally within 1 of optimal) because asymmetric information conveys significant protection to the supplier, i.e., the supplier is able to retain most of the benefit of having a lower cost. Renegotiation is another concern with the optimal mechanism: Because it does not minimize the supply chains cost, the firms can be both better off if they throw away the contract and start over. Interestingly, we find that the potential gain from renegotiation is relatively small with either the optimal or our simple mechanisms. We conclude that our simple mechanisms are quite attractive along all relevant dimensions: buyers performance, supply chain performance, simplicity, and robustness to renegotiation.
Prevalence of physical activity and obesity in US counties, 2001-2011: a road map for action

Obesity and physical inactivity are associated with several chronic conditions, increased medical care costs, and premature death. We used the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS), a state-based random-digit telephone survey that covers the majority of United States counties, and the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), a nationally representative sample of the US civilian noninstitutionalized population. About 3.7 million adults aged 20 years or older participated in the BRFSS from 2000 to 2011, and 30,000 adults aged 20 or older participated in NHANES from 1999 to 2010. We calculated body mass index (BMI) from self-reported weight and height in the BRFSS and adjusted for self-reporting bias using NHANES. We calculated self-reported physical activity—both any physical activity and physical activity meeting recommended levels—from self-reported data in the BRFSS. We used validated small area estimation methods to generate estimates of obesity and physical activity prevalence for each county annually for 2001 to 2011. Our results showed an increase in the prevalence of sufficient physical activity from 2001 to 2009. Levels were generally higher in men than in women, but increases were greater in women than men. Counties in Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, and California reported the largest gains. This increase in level of activity was matched by an increase in obesity in almost all counties during the same time period. There was a low correlation between level of physical activity and obesity in US counties. From 2001 to 2009, controlling for changes in poverty, unemployment, number of doctors per 100,000 population, percent rural, and baseline levels of obesity, for every 1 percentage point increase in physical activity prevalence, obesity prevalence was 0.11 percentage points lower. Our study showed that increased physical activity alone has a small impact on obesity prevalence at the county level in the US. Indeed, the rise in physical activity levels will have a positive independent impact on the health of Americans as it will reduce the burden of cardiovascular diseases and diabetes. Other changes such as reduction in caloric intake are likely needed to curb the obesity epidemic and its burden.
Distributed computation of wave propagation models using PVM

PVM is an inexpensive, but extremely effective tool which allows a researcher to use workstations as nodes in a parallel processing environment to perform large-scale computations. The numerical approximation and visualization of seismic waves propagating in the Earth strains today's largest supercomputers. Timings and visualization are presented for large Earth models run on a ring of IBM RS/6000s which illustrate PVM's capability of handling large-scale problems.
NILDE reloaded: a new system open to international interlibrary loan

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to present new concepts and features introduced in NILDE 4.0, an online ILL and document supply request system designed for and used by more than 700 Italian libraries and research institutions. Design/methodology/approach – The authors use a case study approach based on their professional experience at the NILDE Administrator library, the CNR Research Area Library of Bologna. Findings – New concepts and features include, among others, a multilingual user interface, a Z39.50 link to national catalogues and union catalogues, a ranking algorithm to assist libraries in balancing their ILL borrowing and lending volumes with partner libraries, a single sign-on user authentication and authorisation system, and a bibliographic citation management system. Future development plans include the ability to create library groups; although this functionality is already built into the new system architecture, it has not yet been implemented by the community. Originality/value – The...
PROCESS PLANNING FOR EMBEDDING FLEXIBLE MATERIALS IN MULTI-MATERIAL PROTOTYPES

We describe a set of techniques to permit the fabrication of multi-material layered prototypes with embedded flexible components such as reinforcing fibers, fabrics and electrical wiring. The main challenges are to maintain the shapes of the flexible elements during processing and to control precisely the geometries of adjacent regions of part material without either damaging the flexible elements or being hindered by them. The solutions involve sequences of controlled deposition and/or removal of part material and sacrificial “buffer” material. Functional considerations concerning strength and fatigue life may induce additional constraints on the processing sequence. Where conventional material removal is impractical, we present a new approach involving a hybrid of photolithography and shape deposition manufacturing. Alternative methods of achieving similar functions without cross-boundary embedding can ease fabrication and even improve performance. Design and process selection guidelines have been composed based on fabrication experience.
Fibrosis in systemic sclerosis: common and unique pathobiology

Fibrosis in systemic sclerosis (SSc), a complex polygenic disease associated with autoimmunity and proliferative/obliterative vasculopathy, shares pathobiologic features in common with other fibrosing illnesses, but also has distinguishing characteristics. Fibroblast activation induced by transforming growth factor-β (TGF-β), Wnts and innate immune receptors, along with oxidative stress and reactive oxygen species (ROS) are implicated in pathogenesis. On the other hand, the roles of endothelial-mesenchymal differentiation and bone marrow-derived fibrocytes remain to be established. Fibrotic responses are modulated by transcriptional activators and cofactors, epigenetic factors, and microRNAs that can amplify or inhibit ligand-induced signaling. The nuclear orphan receptor PPAR-γ appears to be important in governing the duration and intensity of fibroblast activation and mesenchymal progenitor cell differentiation, and defects in PPAR-γ expression or function in SSc may underlie the uncontrolled progression of fibrosis. Identifying the perturbations in signaling pathways and cellular differentiation programs responsible for tissue damage and fibrosis in SSc allows their selective targeting using novel compounds, or by innovative uses of already-approved drugs (drug repurposing).
Acid lability of metabolites of 2-deoxyglucose in rat brain: implications for estimates of kinetic parameters of deoxyglucose phosphorylation and transport between blood and brain

The steady-state brain/plasma distribution ratios of [14C]deoxyglucose ([14C]DG) for hypoglycemic rats previously determined by measurement of DG concentrations in neutralized acid extracts of freeze-blown brain and plasma exceeded those predicted by simulations of kinetics of the DG model. Overestimation of the true size of the precursor pool of [14C]DG for transport and phosphorylation could arise from sequestration of [14C]DG within brain compartments and/or instability of metabolites of [14C]DG and regeneration of free [14C]DG during the experimental period or extraction procedure. In the present study, the concentrations of [14C]DG and glucose were compared in samples of rat brain and plasma extracted in parallel with perchloric acid or 65% ethanol containing phosphate-buffered saline. The concentrations of both hexoses in acid extracts of brain were higher than those in ethanol, whereas hexose contents of plasma were not dependent on the extraction procedure. The magnitude of overestimation of DG content (about 1.2-to fourfold) varied with glucose level and was highest in extracts isolated from hypoglycemic rats; contamination of the [14C]DG fraction with 14C-labeled nonacidic metabolites also contributed to this overestimation. Glucose concentrations in acid extracts of brain exceeded those of the ethanol extracts by less than 40% for normal and hypoglycemic rats.
The action potential-evoked sarcoplasmic reticulum calcium release is impaired in mdx mouse muscle fibres.

The mdx mouse, a model of the human disease Duchenne muscular dystrophy, has skeletal muscle fibres which display incompletely understood impaired contractile function. We explored the possibility that action potential-evoked Ca2+ release is altered in mdx fibres. Action potential-evoked Ca2+-dependent fluorescence transients were recorded, using both low and high affinity Ca2+ indicators, from enzymatically isolated fibres obtained from extensor digitorum longus (EDL) and flexor digitorum brevis (FDB) muscles of normal and mdx mice. Fibres were immobilized using either intracellular EGTA or N-benzyl-p-toluene sulphonamide, an inhibitor of the myosin II ATPase. We found that the amplitude of the action potential-evoked Ca2+ transients was significantly decreased in mdx mice with no measured difference in that of the surface action potential. In addition, Ca2+ transients recorded from mdx fibres in the absence of EGTA also displayed a marked prolongation of the slow decay phase. Model simulations of the action potential-evoked transients in the presence of high EGTA concentrations suggest that the reduction in the evoked sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+ release flux is responsible for the decrease in the peak of the Ca2+ transient in mdx fibres. Since the myoplasmic Ca2+ concentration is a critical regulator of muscle contraction, these results may help to explain the weakness observed in skeletal muscle fibres from mdx mice and, possibly, Duchenne muscular dystrophy patients.
If Attitudes Affect How Stimuli Are Processed, Should They Not Affect the Event-Related Brain Potential?

In Experiment 1, subjects completed an attitude survey to identify items toward which they held positive and negative attitudes. Subsequently, subjects were instructed to count the number of positive (or negative) stimuli in a series. Each series contained six attitude stimuli from a given semantic category (e.g., fruits), and the structure of the series was varied so that positive and negative stimuli, as indexed by subjects' idiosyncratic attitudes, were evaluatively consistent or inconsistent within the series. In Experiment 2, subjects were exposed to personality traits that were positive or negative in series of six. Again, the structure of the series was varied so that positive and negative traits were evaluatively consistent or inconsistent within the series. Results of Experiments 1 and 2 indicated that although the event-related brain potential did not differ as a function of stimulus valence per se, evaluatively inconsistent, in contrast to consistent, stimuli evoked a larger amplitude late P300...
Determining Prognosis in Patients With Pancreatic Endocrine Neoplasms: Can the WHO Classification System Be Simplified?

Purpose The WHO classification for well-differentiated pancreatic endocrine neoplasms (PENs) incorporates both stage and grade. This study compares the prognostic value of a simplified staging and grading system with the WHO system in a large single-institution study. Patients and Methods A prospective database (1982 to 2005) identified 183 patients who underwent operative treatment for PENs. Tumors were staged (< 2 cm primary, ≥ 2 cm primary, or metastases) and graded (low grade: no necrosis and < two mitoses/50 high-powered fields [HPF]; or intermediate grade: necrosis and/or ≥ two mitoses/50 HPF) with a simplified schema. Influence of stage and grade on recurrence and disease-specific survival (DSS) was determined. Prognostic strength was assessed with the concordance index (CI). Results Median age of the 183 patients was 56 years, and 53% were women. Median follow-up time was 44 months (range, 1 to 226 months). Classification identified 28 patients (15%) with WHO 1.1 disease, 74 (41%) with 1.2 disease...
Analysis of periodic structures for BAW and SAW resonators

A bulk acoustic wave (BAW) or a surface acoustic wave (SAW) resonator is an acoustic device with the frequency characteristic of standing acoustic waves in the substrate and electrodes. Sometimes, the standing waves are almost spatially periodic depending on the geometry of the electrodes and the substrate. This is especially true in SAW resonators with long arrays of inter-digital transducers (IDTs) on the surface of the substrate, and may also be true for BAW resonators with similar arrays of IDTs. In these situations where the standing waves are essentially periodic, substantial analytical and design information on the frequency characteristics of the acoustic resonator itself can be obtain from the analysis of one period of the standing waves. The advantage of analyzing just one period of the standing wave is the significant reduction in the size of the numerical model. Sometimes, it is not possible to perform an finite element (fem) analysis of the entire acoustic resonator. This is especially true for SAW resonators, and we have to resort to a periodic analysis. This paper discusses the finite element periodic analysis of BAW and SAW resonators. The boundary conditions and finite element meshing of a periodic structure are presented. Examples are provided which shows the results of the periodic analysis compared with the experimental results of the actual resonators or the results of the full analysis which include the frequency-temperature behavior, mode shapes and frequency spectra. Examples are drawn from BAW resonators and SAW resonators including leaky SAW resonators.
The perilous journey of nutrition evaluation.

Program evaluation in the area of nutrition has been both insufficient and deficient. A 1976 to 1977 survey of nutrition programs throughout the world being conducted as part of a Harvard Institute for International Development Project revealed that of 140 programs surveyed only 23% reported having analyzed nutritional status data and only 15% indicated they had analyzed their programs cost data. Nutrition evaluation faces a series of impediments to its successful implementation and these evaluation barriers fall into 4 main categories: technical; financial; psychological; and political. The nature of malnutrition the imperfections in the measuring instruments the sophistication requirements of evaluation design as well as the ambiguity of the data collected have combined to present a technical barrier to evaluation. The scarcity of funds traditionally available to mount nutrition programs has made program administrators stingy when contemplating evaluation budgets. Regarding the psychological evaluations are threatening and people fear them. Few nutritional programs are totally insulated from politics. Their emergence is based not primarily on realizing nutritional needs but on achieving political ends. These barriers go far in explaining the relative neglect of nutrition evaluation yet they are not insurmountable. There are 5 basic questions that the task of nutrition evaluation must address: why do it; for whom; by whom; when; and how. An attempt is made to answer each of these questions in detail. Evaluation is important to good planning which is critical to effective implementation. Effective implementation is a prerequisite to improving the nutritional well being of the population. Evaluation can and should serve many potential users. There appears to be 7 potential main user groups: national planners; funders; sectoral planners; program managers; field workers; beneficiaries; and researchers. The question of who should carry out the evaluations will depend on 3 main factors: technical requirements; objectivity; and resource availability. The evaluation information system should be mounted as an ongoing mechanism which produces various flows and forms of data at various times depending on end user needs. In terms of the how question the effort is made to present a framework within which such techniques can be applied to evaluate nutrition programs. The framework has 3 components: target group definition; costing procedures; and performance indicators.
Critique of Reichenbach’s and Carnap’s Philosophy of Geometry

In Der Raum,1 Carnap begins his discussion of physical space by inquiring whether and how a line in this space can be identified as straight. Arguing from testability and not, as we did in Chapter One, from the continuity of that manifold, he answers this inquiry as follows: “It is impossible in principle to ascertain this, if one restricts oneself to the unambiguous deliverances of experience and does not introduce freely chosen conventions in regard to objects of experience.”2 And he then points out that the most important convention relevant to whether certain physical lines are to be regarded as straights is the specification of the metric (“Mass-setzung”), which is conventional because it could “never be either confirmed or refuted by experience:” Its statement takes the following form: “A particular body and two fixed points on it are chosen, and it is then agreed what length is to be assigned to the interval between these points under various conditions (of temperature, position, orientation, pressure, electrical charge, etc.).
Multivariate Extensions of McNemar's Test

This article considers global tests of differences between paired vectors of binomial probabilities, based on data from two dependent multivariate binary samples. Difference is defined as either an inhomogeneity in the marginal distributions or asymmetry in the joint distribution. For detecting the first type of difference, we propose a multivariate extension of McNemar's test and show that it is a generalized score test under a generalized estimating equations (GEE) approach. Univariate features such as the relationship between the Wald and score tests and the dropout of pairs with the same response carry over to the multivariate case and the test does not depend on the working correlation assumption among the components of the multivariate response. For sparse or imbalanced data, such as occurs when the number of variables is large or the proportions are close to zero, the test is best implemented using a bootstrap, and if this is computationally too complex, a permutation distribution. We apply the test to safety data for a drug, in which two doses are evaluated by comparing multiple responses by the same subjects to each one of them.
Data analysis in the social sciences: what about the details?

Historically, statistics seems to have been the primary mode of data analysis in the social sciences. It would appear at this time that we are still, to a large extent, using statistical methods developed prior to the advent of the digital computer and that these are now just transposed bodily onto a digital computer to perform the calculations. In this paper we attempt to demonstrate that there exists a class of techniques more suitably oriented toward the capabilities of the digital computer than are conventional analytic statistical techniques. We maintain that these techniques are capable of considering details in social sciences data, that is, relating the individuals described in the data.
Achieving the Best Outcome

The one central point in all my writing on this topic, from “Famine, Affluence and Morality” onward, has been that the failure of people in the rich nations to make any significant sacrifices in order to assist people who are dying from poverty related causes is ethically indefensible. It is not simply the absence of charity, let alone of moral saintliness: It is wrong, and one cannot claim to be a morally decent person unless one is doing far more than the typical comfortably-off person does.