cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Experimental Evaluation Of Drift And Nonlinearities In Lithium Niobate Interferometric Modulators

Experimental evaluation of drift and nonlinearities in lithium niobate interferometric modulatorsG. E. Betts and L. M. JohnsonLincoln Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lexington, Massachusetts 02173-00731 .0 IntroductionThis paper presents quantitative measurements of two nonideal characteristics of lithium niobate integrated optical devices: nonlinear electrooptic phase modulation and the photo- refractive effect. These effects can occur in any lithium niobate channel-waveguide phase modulator or passive channel wavequide, and may affect the performance of any device that uses these basic buildinq blocks. The measurements described in this paper were performed by means of an integrated-optical Mach-Zehnder interferometer which consists of passive channel waveguides and phase modulators. We have measured a quadratic term in the phase shift vs voltaqe relation for electrooptic phase modulation. We have also measured the pho- torefractive effect at wavelengths of 0.85, 1.06, and 1.3 urn, using y- and z-propagation. We evaluate both photovoltaic and photoconductive effects, and qive estimates for the con­ stants in a simple model that describes the photorefractive effect.2.0 Measurement of nonlinear electrooptic modulationExperiments to measure nonlinear phase modulation in channel-waveguide phase modulators were performed by means of a Mach-Zehnder interferometer. A schematic illustration of a Mach-Zehnder interferometric modulator is shown in Fig. 1. The optical power POut the modulator is given asPout = Pin{f i + fz + 2/fifz cos[ 0 + 6(v)]where 6(v) is the voltage-dependent phase difference between the two arms of device, 4» o is a constant phase-difference bias and fi,fz are the fractions of optical power transmitted through each arm (including both Y-branches) . For a perfectly balanced interferometer (fi=fz=0.25) with a phase bias of o = n/2, this reduces to POut =Pin{0.5 - 0.5 sin[6(v)] Normally it is assumed that 6(V) varies linearly with appliedelectrode voltaqe. In reality 6(v) can also have nonlinear components and be written as
Organization for Execution of User Microprograms from Main Memory: Synthesis and Analysis

Microprogrammed computers are categorized by main memory/control storage (CS) organization for use in analysis of methods of allowing dynamic user microprogramming. A system design is described in which user microroutines are executed directly from main memory, rather than from writable control storage (WCS). This design is analyzed and compared with the use of WCS for allowing dynamic user microprogramming in a multiprogramming system. It is shown that the use of main memory for microprogram residence is a viable alternative in many user job environments.
Buying influences and perceptions of transportation services

Abstract Variations in supplier expectations among buying center role members can have significant implications for marketing strategy. This study compared the perceptions and preferences of buying center role groups for transportation mode selection. Results indicated meaningful differences between role groups. Implications for the development of marketing strategy are discussed.
Effects of chronic administration of doxorubicin on heart phospholipase A2 activity and in vitro synthesis and degradation of prostaglandins in rats.

Abstract Male rats received doxorubicin (DXR) 2 mg/kg or phosphate buffered saline (PBS) weekly by the SC route for 13 weeks and were sacrificed at 14 and 19 weeks, one and six weeks, after the last dose, respectively. Heart phospholipase A2 activity in the 1000 × g supernatant was unchanged between DXR and PBS-treatment groups at both 14 and 19 weeks. In vitro heart microsomal syntheses of PGD2, PGE2, PGF2α, and 6-keto-PGF1α were significantly elevated in DXR-treated rat overt controls at 14 weeks. In contrast, syntheses of TxB2, PGE2, and PGF2α in DXR-treated rats were significantly depressed from controls at 19 weeks. In vitro heart metabolism of PGF2α in the 100,000 × g supernatant fraction was significantly elevated in DXR treated rats over controls at 14 weeks, but unchanged from controls at 19 weeks. It was concluded from the findings of the present study that increased prostaglandin synthesis may play a role in the mediation of cardiac injury induced by doxorubicin.
Using overlays to improve network security

As we increase our dependency upon networked communication, the incentive to compromise and degrade network performance increases for those who wish to disrupt the flow of information. Attacks that lead to such compromise and degradation can come in a variety of forms, including distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, cutting wires, jamming transmissions, and monitoring/eavesdropping. Users can protect themselves from monitoring by applying cryptographic techniques, and the recent work has explored developing networks that react to DDoS attacks by locating the source(s) of the attack. However, there has been little work that addresses preventing the other kinds of attacks as opposed to reacting to them. Here, we discuss how network overlays can be used to complicate the job of an attacker that wishes to prevent communication. To amplify our point, we focus briefly on a study of preventing DDoS attacks by using overlays.© (2002) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Rectal Cancer Trials: No Movement

Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) Program and the New York State Cancer Registry in the United States between 1992-2007. Blood 116:382, 2010 (suppl; abstr 872) 24. Au WY, Kumana CR, Kou M, et al: Oral arsenic trioxide in the treatment of relapsed acute promyelocytic leukemia. Blood 102:407-408, 2003 25. Siu CW, Au WY, Yung C, et al: Effects of oral arsenic trioxide therapy on QT intervals in patients with acute promyelocytic leukemia: Implications for longterm cardiac safety. Blood 108:103-106, 2006
The use of algal assays and chlorophyll concentrations to determine fertility of water in small impoundments in West Virginia

Seven small artificial lakes in West Virginia were sampled in the spring and fall. Water taken during these isothermal periods was used for the EPA Algal Assay with Selenastrum capricornutum as the test alga. In all cases the limiting nutrient was phosphorus. However in every case the water was fertile enough for the alga to grow well without the addition of nutrients. Each lake was sampled several times during the summer and nutrient analysis and chlorophyll concentrations indicated that each lake is probably eutrophic. These conclusions were borne out by the algal assays. The assays also indicated that there were probably no toxic elements in any of the seven lakes.
Deployment experiences and postdeployment PTSD symptoms in National Guard/Reserve service members serving in operations Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom†

This report provides basic data about risk and protective factors for posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in 189 Utah National Guard and Reserve troops who served during Operations Enduring Freedom (OEF) and Iraqi Freedom (OIF). Based on comparisons with other published reports of active duty and National Guard/Reserve troops from prior conflicts, results suggest that OEF- and OIF-era National Guard and Reserve troops' combat and postbattle experiences are similar to those of active duty troops from prior conflicts (and higher than those of National Guard and Reserve troops from prior conflicts). Additionally, reported family and career concerns during deployment appeared higher in this sample than in prior samples of active duty or National Guard and Reserve troops. Moreover, such concerns accounted for unique variance in postdeployment PTSD when controlling for combat experiences, postbattle experiences, and perceived threat.
Study of the electronic structure of ReO$sub 3$ and its pressure dependence by the Korringa--Kohn--Rostoker method

Energy bands of the simple cubic metallic compound rhenium trioxide have been calculated by using the Korringa-Kohn-Rostoker method. The crystal potential has been constructed in the muffin-tin approximation from overlapping atomic charge densities and full Slater exchange. As a result of the muffin-tin approximation, the rhenium $d$ band comes out too narrow, but the band ordering and the Fermi-surface geometry agree well with the more elaborate calculations. The calculation has been done for both an equilibrium lattice and a compressed lattice, and the changes in Fermi-surface geometry have been investigated. It is found that the logarithmic derivatives of some de Haas-van Alphen frequencies with respect to pressure depart markedly from the free-electron scaling predictions, in agreement with the experimental results.
Structure preserving semantic coherent object segmentation

We improve prior efforts to extract coherent image contents (objects) from complex scenes by exploiting structural and semantic coherency. Generative models like latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) and its variants are popular methods for unsupervised object segmentation, but they lack comprehensive consideration of structure correlations. Even small amounts of globally distributed noise in the image can negatively effect results. In this paper, we introduce a structure preserving semantic coherent model (SP-SC) to support more comprehensive object segmentation. Our approach combines Euclidean distance, graph distances and structural similarity of homogeneous patches in a unified framework. The method groups structural and semantic coherent patches together thereby overcoming false segmentation due to many kinds of noise and scene complexities. Comparative results in segmentation experiments using standard image data sets show the efficacy of proposed approach.
Versatile 780-nm Pump Source for High-repetition Rate Entanglement Generation

We demonstrate a tunable pump source based on frequency-doubled EDFA-amplified pulses carved from a narrow-line CW laser at rates up to 1.25 GHz. We find self-phase modulation in the EDFA limits the peak output-pulse power.
Cooling of the Coil Heads for a Totally Enclosed Motor

In an effort to obtain additional power from an AC motor, a reduction in coil head temperature was needed. Furthermore, there are additional considerations, such as safety and reliability that need to be taken into account when developing a coil head reduction plan. Three possible solutions were prototyped and tested: a highly emissive paint, a thermally conductive polymer, and the utilization of heat pipes. Each idea was tested to determine the reduction in coil head temperature. Of these designs, the use of a highly emissive paint on the internal surface of the motor’s end cap, allowed the most heat to be dissipated. For $4, this solution yielded a 1.8°C decrease in coil head temperature.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
Electronic Structure of Thorium Metal. I. Relativistic Augmented-Plane-Wave Calculation

A theoretical Fermi-surface model is presented for Th. It is in qualitative agreement with the earlier experimental results of Thorsen et al., and with the more recent results of Boyle and Gold as presented in the following Letter. We conclude that Th is very similar to the fcc transition metals.
Genomic materials design: The ferrous frontier

Abstract Our unique depth of scientific knowledge has allowed ferrous metallurgy to lead the development of a successful computational materials design methodology grounded in a system of fundamental databases. Expansion of this approach to embrace acceleration of the full development and qualification cycle has resulted in the flight of the first fully computationally designed and qualified material. The example of ferrous alloys provides a template for a general methodology of computational design for all materials.
Rapid evaluation of oxidation catalysts supported on activated carbon

Abstract Electron spin resonance and thermal analysis have been used to investigate the catalytic oxidation of organic vapors adsorbed on activated carbon. Particular attention is given to determination of the temperature interval between oxidation of the adsorbate and burnoff of the carbon, and to the study of the oxidation states of the catalyst during repeated adsorption-oxidation cycles.
Disparate rates of molecular evolution in cospeciating hosts and parasites

DNA sequences for the gene encoding mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase I in a group of rodents (pocket gophers) and their ectoparasites (chewing lice) provide evidence for cospeciation and reveal different rates of molecular evolution in the hosts and their parasites. The overall rate of nucleotide substitution (both silent and replacement changes) is approximately three times higher in lice, and the rate of synonymous substitution (based on analysis of fourfold degenerate sites) is approximately an order of magnitude greater in lice. The difference in synonymous substitution rate between lice and gophers correlates with a difference of similar magnitude in generation times.
Engineering Agatoxin, a Cystine-Knot Peptide from Spider Venom, as a Molecular Probe for In Vivo Tumor Imaging

Background Cystine-knot miniproteins, also known as knottins, have shown great potential as molecular scaffolds for the development of targeted therapeutics and diagnostic agents. For this purpose, previous protein engineering efforts have focused on knottins based on the Ecballium elaterium trypsin inhibitor (EETI) from squash seeds, the Agouti-related protein (AgRP) neuropeptide from mammals, or the Kalata B1 uterotonic peptide from plants. Here, we demonstrate that Agatoxin (AgTx), an ion channel inhibitor found in spider venom, can be used as a molecular scaffold to engineer knottins that bind with high-affinity to a tumor-associated integrin receptor.
Echocardiography-derived left ventricular end-systolic regional wall stress and matrix remodeling after experimental myocardial infarction

AbstractOBJECTIVESWe tested the hypothesis that regional end-systolic left ventricular (ESLV) wall stress is associated with extracellular matrix remodeling activity after myocardial infarction (MI...
Remainders of H-closed extensions☆

Abstract The remainders of compactifications of Tychonoff spaces have been studied extensively during the last five decades, but, the remainders of H -closed extensions of Hausdorff spaces have not been studied in a concerted manner so far. In this paper, we show that two Hausdorff spaces X and Y have the same remainders in their H -closed extensions if there exists a perfect, irreducible and θ-continuous mapping from X onto Y . Further, a Hausdorff space Z is shown to be the remainder of some H -closed extension of a given space X if and only if there exists a perfect (not necessarily continuous) mapping from σX ⧹ X onto Z . We also show that if X is locally H -closed and |σX⧹X|⩾ℵ 0 , then the set of remainders of H -closed extensions of X contains all separable H -closed spaces. We give examples to illustrate the differences between the sets of remainders of compactifications and remainders of H -closed extensions of a fixed Tychonoff space.
Si(111) surface oxidation: O 1s core-level study using synchrotron radiation

Abstract New synchrotron radiation results are reported for adsorption of oxygen at room temperature on Si(111)-7×7 surfaces in the 1–10 4 L exposure range. Core-level Si 2p spectra measured at 150 eV are confronted to O 1s spectra measured at 590 eV with high surface sensitivity and high energy resolution. The main finding is the presence, within the whole adsorption range, of two O 1s components separated by 1.5 eV with an intensity ratio of about 1:4. The main component at lower binding energy is defined with bridging oxygen atoms whereas the component with smaller intensity is related to surface atomic non-bridging oxygen atoms which are converted into bridging oxygen atoms upon heating. These results show that chemisorbed oxygen and oxide-like bridging oxygen coexist and that oxidation dominates at coverages as low as 0.2 monolayer.
Passive immunization of P301L mice with two different tau monoclonal antibodies

Background: Immunotherapy targeting pathological tau is emerging as a promising approach to treat tauopathies such as Alzheimer’s disease (AD) and frontotemporal dementia. We have previously shown that prophylactic active or passive tau immunotherapy, starting at 2-3 months of age, clears tau pathology and improves function (Asuni A. et al., J. Neurosci. 2007, Boutajangout A. et al., J. Neurosci. 2010, Boutajangout A. et al., ICAD 2010). Here we assessed if a phospho-specific monoclonal, 4E6G7, targeting the same epitope, would be efficacious if treatment commenced at an advanced stage of tau pathology (8-9 months). Methods: htau/PS1 mice without mouse tau protein (8-9 months) were injected intraperitoneally (250 mg/125 ml) once per week with a novel phospho-specific tau monoclonal, 4E6G7 (n 1⁄4 9) or pooled mouse IgG (n 1⁄4 10) for a total of 13 injections. Their behavior was analyzed at 11-12 months of age and brain tissue subsequently harvested for analyses of treatment efficacy. Results: The immunized mice (n1⁄4 7-8) performed substantially better than controls (n1⁄4 6) on the Radial ArmMaze (p< 0.0001; post hoc, p < 0.01-0.001 on days 2, 3, 5-9), the Closed Field Symmetrical Maze with 35-69% fewer errors in simple, intermediate and complex tasks (p < 0.05-0.003), and the Object Recognition Task (63% time spent with a novel object vs. 46% for controls, p < 0.05). The groups did not differ in various sensorimotor tasks, indicating that the robust cognitive improvements cannot be explained by sensorimotor effects, which further strengthens our results. Interestingly, more controls died during the study (40%) than immunized mice (22%), providing an additional support for the beneficial effect of the monoclonal tau antibody. Histological and biochemical analyses are underway. Conclusions: These results indicate pronounced efficacy of passive tau immunotherapy at an advanced stage of tauopathy, which suggests that this approach may be beneficial after clinical onset of AD and other tauopathies.
Steroid levels after intramuscular injection of radioactive estradiol-17β, estrone, progesterone and testosterone in the bovine

Abstract Eight 2 year old Hereford cows from days 8 to 12 of the estrous cycle were injected intramuscularly with 5 ml of corn oil containing 5 mg of estradiol-17β (two cows), estrone (two cows), progesterone (two cows) or testosterone (two cows). Each cow treated with estradiol received 494 μc of estradiol-17β-6, 7 H3 and each cow treated with estrone received 492 μc of estrone-6, 7 H3. Each cow treated with progesterone or testosterone received 400 μc of H3 compound labeled in the 7 position. Total urine was collected by urethral catheterization of the cows treated with estrogens. Blood samples for plasma and serum were collected via jugular cannulae. Blood and urine samples from estrogen-treated cows were collected hourly for the first 24 hr, at 2 hr intervals for the next 26 hr, at 4 hr intervals for the next 12 hr and at 12 hr intervals until background was reached. Blood samples were collected hourly from 1 to 8 hr after injection from progesterone or testosterone-treated cows. Plasma and serum levels of radioactive estradiol-17β, estrone, progesterone and testosterone were similar. Blood levels of radioactivity peaked at 2 hr post-injection in cows receiving estradiol-17β and at 3 hr in cows receiving estrone. Blood levels of labeled estradiol-17β and estrone were nondetectable by 54 hr and 83 hr, respectively. Peak urinary excretion of radioactivity was reached at 7 hr for estradiol-17β and at 14 hr for estrone and nondetectable levels were reached by 95 hr for estradiol-17β and 14 hr for estrone. At these times, 15.5% of the total dose of radioactive estradiol-17β and 17.5% of the injected estrone had been excreted in the urine. Peak blood and urinary excretion levels were reached earlier for radioactive estradiol-17β than for estrone, and excretion of estradiol-17β was completed more rapidly. No difference was found in plasma and serum levels for any steroid studies; thus, endogenous steroid titers in blood plasma and serum are not different in the cow.
Review of the Ability of Optical Coherence Tomography to Characterize Plaque, Including a Comparison with Intravascular Ultrasound

Over the last 50 years the introduction of several imaging technologies have been pivotal in reducing mortality associated with coronary artery disease. However coronary disease continues to be the leading cause of mortality in the industrialized world. Optical coherence tomography (OCT) has recently been introduced for micron scale intravascular imaging. It is analogous to ultrasound, measuring the intensity of back-reflected infrared light instead of sound. Some of the advantages of OCT include its resolution, which is higher than any currently available imaging technology and acquisition rates are near video speed. Unlike ultrasound, OCT catheters consist of simple fiber optics and contain no transducers within their frame, thereby making imaging catheters both inexpensive and small. Currently, the smallest catheters have a cross-sectional diameter of 0.014”. OCT systems are compact and portable and can be combined with a range of spectroscopic techniques. We review the application of OCT to intracoronary imaging.
Mixtec Activism in Oaxacalifornia Transborder Grassroots Political Strategies

In the context of the globalization of capital and the increased mobility of labor across international borders, this article analyzes the experience of indigenous migrant workers from the state of Oaxaca who have formed permanent communities in northern Mexico and in California. It focuses specifically on the experience of the Mixtec transnational community whose participation in the Frente Indigena Oaxaqueno Binacional has strengthened and changed the ethnic identities that hold together these communities across a fractured geography of different borders (at the local, state, and international levels) and has served as one of the bases to organize across these transnational borders. This analysis contributes to an understanding of how the activism of transnational political organizations promotes the construction of new political alliances along ethnic lines in a post-melting-pot California and the consolidation of indigenous migrant organizations within the context of increasing U.S.-Mexican economic i...
Isolation and structural analysis of the rat MyoD gene.

Abstract We have cloned and determined the nucleotide (nt) sequence of a 6.5-kb genomic DNA fragment containing the rat MyoD gene (encoding a muscle regulatory factor, MyoD). Mouse fibroblasts transfected with this DNA display a high degree of conversion to a muscle phenotype, suggesting that this genomic clone contains sufficient sequence information to allow the production of the rat MyoD protein in these cells. The 6.5-kb genomic fragment contains the complete coding region of MyoD , distributed over three exons, plus 2.3 kb of 5′-noncoding sequence and 1.4 kb of 3′-noncoding sequence. Based on RNase protection assays, the major transcription start point of MyoD is located 210 nt 5′ to a methionine start codon and 26 nt 3′ to a TAAATA motif which bears similarity to a consensus recognition sequence (TATA) utilized by eukaryotic RNA polymerase II transcription complexes. The high degree of identity between the amino acid sequence of rat MyoD and the MyoD proteins isolated from other vertebrates indicates that this muscle regulatory protein has been evolutionarily conserved.
An extension of the general criterion for importance of pore diffusion with chemical reactions

Abstract The general criterion for the importance of pore diffusion with reaction in porous solids as developed by Weisz and Prater is one of the most useful practical results of the effectiveness factor concept. This criterion uses only observable quantities and so can often be easily estimated. However, it was developed for only first order reactions and does not give proper results for other reaction types. Using recent work on generalized effectiveness factors, the criterion is here extended to include any reaction rate form.
Realtime physiological performance monitoring to prevent fatigue in special forces soldiers

A proof of concept performance monitoring system was designed to allow for the realtime assessment of the physiological exertion of Special Forces soldiers during combat. The system was designed to be integrated into the Tactical Assault Light Operator Suit being developed the United States Special Operations Command. It consisted of a suite of sensors integrated into a headset that measures heart rate, respiratory rate, and end tidal CO 2 . The data was presented as a color-coded scale with different colors representing increasing levels of exertion. The prototype was then tested to ensure that it met its design criteria.
HAWAIIAN FOREST FUNGI V. A NEW SPECIES OF PHELLINUS (HYMENOCHAETACEAE) CAUSING DECAY OF CASUARINA AND ACACIA

A previously undescribed species, Phellinus kawakamii, is reported to cause decay of heartwood in the butt portion of trees of Acacia koa var. koa, A. koaia, and Casuarina equisetifolia on Kauai, Oahu, and Hawaii in the Hawaiian Islands. Limited surveys, based on the occurrence of basidiocarps, indicate that at least 28-33% ofthe Casuarina trees and 12% of the Acacia koa var. koa trees examined are affected by the fungus. Although the fungus causes a white pocket-rot in all species, the morphology of the rot differs noticeably between Casuarina and the two Acacia spp. The fungal flora of Hawaii associated with wood decay has received little attention. Burt (1923) reported approximately 50 taxa of wood-inhabiting fungi based on collections made by F. L. Stevens and C. N. Forbes, more than half of which were polypores. Bega (1979), while investigating deterioration of Acacia koa Gray, found the heart and root rot fungi Armillaria mellea (Vahl: Fr.) Quel., Laetiporus sulphureus (Bull. :Fr.) Bond. et Sing., Phaeolus schweinitzii (Fr.) Pat., Pleurotus ostreatus (Jacq.: Fr.) Quel., and a species of Ganoderma. Ueki and Smith (1973) noted several species of Crepidotus that occur on woody substrates in Hawaii. Kennedy and Goos (1983) reported five wood-inhabiting species of the Dacrymycetaceae. Our purpose here is to describe a previously unknown species of Phellinus which causes heartwood decay of Casuarina equisetifolia L., Acacia koa var. koa, and A. koaia Hillebr.
The effect of deregulation on US fossil fuel substitution in the generation of electricity

Abstract Fossil fuels produce the majority of electricity in the US with coal being by far the most popular fuel used. In the past regulation in the natural gas market in the form of well head price controls and under the boiler fuel use restrictions distorted fuel use away from natural gas. More recently with deregulation in the natural gas industry these restrictions have been repealed which has changed fuel use patterns. To measure the short run fuel use response from regulatory and other market changes we estimate interfuel substitution using two flexible functional forms—the translog and the logit- on monthly data from 1991 to 1993. In both models we find coal demand has the least elastic price response while gas and oil demand have the highest. Both models also suggest there is substitution across fuels in the short run but the patterns and magnitudes vary. From comparisons with earlier studies, fuel use price response is also found to vary across market conditions and regulatory regime.
Architecture, System, and Enabling Technologies for Elastic Optical Networks: Future Opportunities and Challenges

This tutorial will review underlying concepts, architecture, system, and enabling technologies of elastic optical networking. Coherent systems integration using optical arbitrary waveform generation/measurement towards realization of software-defined-networks will also be covered.
Dynamic postural stability during advancing pregnancy.

Abstract Pregnant women are at an increased risk of experiencing a fall. Numerous anatomical, physiological, and hormonal alterations occur during pregnancy, but the influence of these factors on dynamic postural stability has not been explored. The purpose of this study was to examine dynamic postural stability in pregnant women during their second and third trimesters as well as in a group of non-pregnant control women. Methods Eighty-one women (41 pregnant, 40 controls) participated stood on a force plate that translated anteroposteriorly at small, medium, and large magnitudes. Reaction time and center of pressure (COP) movement during the translations were analyzed. Trimester, perturbation direction, and perturbation magnitude were the independent variables in a mixed-model analysis of variance on each of the following dependent variables: reaction time, initial sway, total sway, and sway velocity. Results Reaction time to the perturbation was not significantly different between the groups. Initial sway, total sway, and sway velocity were significantly less during the third trimester than during the second trimester and when compared to the non-pregnant controls ( P Conclusion Alterations in sway responses to perturbations are seen in the third trimester in healthy women with uncomplicated pregnancies. Further study is needed to examine the biomechanical and physiological reasons behind this altered dynamic postural stability.
Chemical sensing through multiple light taps in plastic optical fiber

Multiple light taps in a plastic optical fiber provides a possibility of chemical sensing along its entire length. Unlike some point-by-point measurement techniques like fluorescence endoscopy, the technique described here makes it possible to sense large areas simultaneously and should be useful as an environmental chemical sensor.
Hyperstimulation of striatal D2 receptors with sleep deprivation: Implications for cognitive impairment

Sleep deprivation interferes with cognitive performance but the mechanisms are poorly understood. We recently reported that one night of sleep deprivation increased dopamine in striatum (measured with [11C] raclopride, a PET radiotracer that competes with endogenous dopamine for binding to D2 receptors) and that these increases were associated with impaired performance in a visual attention task. To better understand this association here we evaluate the relationship between changes in striatal dopamine (measured as changes in D2 receptor availability using PET and [11C]raclopride) and changes in brain activation to a visual attention task (measured with BOLD and fMRI) when performed during sleep deprivation versus during rested wakefulness. We find that sleep induced changes in striatal dopamine were associated with changes in cortical brain regions modulated by dopamine (attenuated deactivation of anterior cingulate gyrus and insula) but also in regions that are not recognized targets of dopaminergic modulation (attenuated activation of inferior occipital cortex and cerebellum). Moreover, the increases in striatal dopamine as well as its associated regional activation and deactivation patterns correlated negatively with performance accuracy. These findings therefore suggest that hyperstimulation of D2 receptors in striatum may contribute to the impairment in visual attention during sleep deprivation. Thus, while dopamine increases in prefrontal regions (including stimulation of D1 receptors) may facilitate attention our findings suggest that hyperstimulation of D2 receptors in striatum may impair it. Alternatively, these associations may reflect a compensatory striatal dopamine response (to maintain arousal) that is superimposed on a larger response to sleep deprivation.
Salient haptic skills trainer: initial validation of a novel simulator for training force-based laparoscopic surgical skills

There is an increasing need for efficient training simulators to teach advanced laparoscopic skills beyond those imparted by a box trainer. In particular, force-based or haptic skills must be addressed in simulators, especially because a large percentage of surgical errors are caused by the over-application of force. In this work, the efficacy of a novel, salient haptic skills simulator is tested as a training tool for force-based laparoscopic skills. Thirty novices with no previous laparoscopic experience trained on the simulator using a pre-test–feedback–post-test experiment model. Ten participants were randomly assigned to each of the three salient haptic skills—grasping, probing, and sweeping—on the simulator. Performance was assessed by comparing force performance metrics before and after training on the simulator. Data analysis indicated that absolute error decreased significantly for all three salient skills after training. Participants also generally decreased applied forces after training, especially at lower force levels. Overall, standard deviations also decreased after training, suggesting that participants improved their variability of applied forces. The novel, salient haptic skills simulator improved the precision and accuracy of participants when applying forces with the simulator. These results suggest that the simulator may be a viable tool for laparoscopic force skill training. However, further work must be undertaken to establish full validity. Nevertheless, this work presents important results toward addressing simulator-based force-skills training specifically and surgical skills training in general.
Exploring a Model and Moderators of Disordered Eating with Asian American College Women.

In the present study, the authors tested the cross-ethnic validity of several variables and paths from a model of disordered eating proposed by T. L. Tylka and L. M. Subich (2004) with 200 Asian American college women. Path analysis indicated that this model provided an excellent fit to the data after a path from internalization of the thin ideal to disordered eating was added. Ethnic identity subsequently was added to this model and was found to influence disordered eating only indirectly through its association with self-esteem. Additionally, when examined as moderators via hierarchical moderated regression, self-esteem buffered the pressure for thinness-body preoccupation relation, whereas ethnic identity intensified this relation. Neither self-esteem nor ethnic identity moderated the pressure for thinness-disordered eating relation.
Incidence of ATNR Response in Normal Preschool Children

The effect of age, sex, and test posture on the incidence of the asymmetrical tonic neck reflex (ATNR) in normal preschoolers was investigated. Head rotation and elbow flexion were measured by electro goniometry over eight trails in the supine posture and eight trails in quadrupedal posture. The number of trails elbows flexion greater than zero degrees for the starting position become the incidence score. The mean incidence response was seven out of eight trails across age groups, sexes, and test postures. The results support the hypothesis that the presence of the ATNR response is normal in preschool children and suggest other clinical measures of ATNR abnormality be considered.
The role of tyrosine 15 in erythropoietin action.

The results of iodination inactivation of erythropoietin suggest that tyrosine 15 is required for biological activity. This was confirmed by site-directed mutagenesis. Substitution of tyrosine by alanine or isoleucine resulted in mutants with no biological activity, whereas substitution by phenylalanine yielded an active mutein. Protein footprinting using trypsin showed that the N-terminal residues 1 to 46 and the C-terminal residues 155 to 165 linked by the 7 to 161 disulfide bond, includes one active site of the hormone.
Design of a Closed Loop Computer Controlled System for Selective Area Laser Deposition. I. Laser Systems, Gasflow, and Substrate Temperature Control

Abstract A closed loop computer controlled system to implement selective area laser deposition (SALD) is described. The SALD process uses a laser beam that is moved relative to a substrate to control the region over which chemical vapor deposition occurs. Deposit shape control is achieved by controlling the laser beam path and power. The system combines a remote microwave plasma source with scanning laser induced chemical vapor deposition. Major design goals included computer control of process variables including reactor pressure, source gas flow rates, laser power and beam position, applied microwave power and tuning, and substrate bias temperature. Scanned shape data files are derived from industry standard “.STL” tessellated surface meshes. Control strategies for these process variables are described.
A Comparison of Two Contributive Analysis Methods Applied to an ANN Modeling Facial Attractiveness

Artificial Neural Networks (ANNs) are powerful predictors. ANNs, however, essentially function like black boxes because they lack explanatory power regarding input contribution to the model. Various contributive analysis algorithms (CAAs) have been developed to apply to ANNs to illuminate the influences and interactions between the inputs and thus, to enhance understanding of the modeled function. In this study two CAAs were applied to an ANN modeling facial attractiveness. Conflicting results from these CAAs imply that more research is needed in the area of contributive analysis and that researchers should be cautious when selecting a CAA method.
Immune mechanisms in osteoarthritis.

0 STEOARTHRITIS (OA) is generally thought of as a disease of articular cartilage failure induced by a variety of genetic, metabolic, and biomechanical factors. Coexisting with the cartilage abnormalities, most affected joints exhibit synovial inflammatory responses that may range from minimal lining cell layer hyperplasia to severe acute and chronic synovitis. The synovial response may be responsible for the pain symptomatology associated with early OA. Although it is unlikely that immune processes play an important primary role in initiating synovial inflammation, cellular and humoral immune responses to cartilage macromolecules may constitute important factors in the maintenance and severity of synovitis in OA. This review focuses on the specific immunologic mechanisms that may be operative in OA. The physiopathogenesis of inflammation induced by immunologic mechanisms is not discussed in detail because it is likely that once the antigenspecific interactions occur, the development of the inflammatory process results from the generation of cellular and humoral proinflammatory factors that constitute a final common pathway to most inflammatory processes, regardless of the disease entity under consideration.
The relationship between temperature and the development of life stages of the marine copepod Acartia clausi Giesbr.1

The durations of life stages of the marine copepod Acartia clausi relative to egg development time are consistently maintained when these animals are cultured with excess food at 10, 15, and 20/sup 0/C. Seasonal acclimation effects, which have been shown to affect the egg development of A. clausi, are carried through an entire generation. Generation time or the development time of any postembryonic stage can be calculated from life history data at one temperature and the relationship between egg development at other temperatures regardless of the effect of acclimation. (auth)
Project advantage of an oblique wing design on a fleet air defense mission

A review of performance aerodynamics is presented which leads to the conclusion that variable wing geometry is an efficient method of satisfying multidesign point mission requirements. Of the two variable-geometry approaches, the oblique wing is identified as having potential advantages over symmetric-sweep designs on fighter missions with subsonic loiter and supersonic dash requirements. A design comparison study is reported which showed a 17% reduction in takeoff weight for the oblique wing or a 29% mission performance advantage at the same gross weight. With other associated technologies now well in hand, the oblique wing concept is shown to offer considerable promise as the second generation of variable wing sweep.
10 networking papers: a blast from the past

So it is my turn to recommend a reading list of 10 networking papers. I decided to take this opportunity to recommend papers from the networking area’s past. I have several reasons for focusing on such a list. First, as a relatively young discipline that has seen tremendous growth in recent activities and contributions, our present tends to overwhelm our past in sheer volume. So our past can fade away unceremoniously sometimes. To be sure we are all very familiar of certain milestone papers. By definition, however, significant milestones do not occur frequently enough for them to provide an accurate sampling of our past. Second, reading older papers can be quite fascinating. One is often left in awe of the amount of insight and ideas generated by researchers arriving early into an open field of research. Also the research style and context has a strange look and feel to it, reflecting a marked evolution in community research expectations. Finally, I find that reading older papers can give an important fresh perspective on how we read and evaluate more modern literature; especially when trying to judge longevity of contributions. My list consists of papers primarily from the period between 1975 and 1984; mostly because this is the period during which I personally arrived into the networking scene. I could not resist including one paper from 1962, simply to make the point that my “past” has its own past. Papers were included in the list for many reasons. Some papers are on the list because they describe what I consider to be a milestone contribution, others are on the list to make a point about how sophisticated networking research was at that point in time. Still others were included because they are good representatives of research styles or periods. Some papers possess many of these elements simultaneously. In the tradition of this column, this is a highly personal list and I made no attempt to be complete in any way. In many instances, the full effect can only be had by reading “around” my list – looking up references or related material in prior or subsequent writings. So here is my list in chronological order:
Sodium butyrate epigenetically modulates high-fat diet-induced skeletal muscle mitochondrial adaptation, obesity and insulin resistance through nucleosome positioning.

Background and Purpose Sodium butyrate (NaB), an epigenetic modifier, is effective in promoting insulin sensitivity. The specific genomic loci and mechanisms underlying epigenetically induced obesity and insulin resistance and the targets of NaB are not fully understood.
Low liver conversion rate of α-linolenic to docosahexaenoic acid in awake rats on a high-docosahexaenoate-containing diet

We quantified the rates of incorporation of a- linolenic acid (a-LNA; 18:3n-3) into ''stable'' lipids (triacyl- glycerol, phospholipid, cholesteryl ester) and the rate of conversion of a-LNA to docosahexaenoic acid (DHA; 22: 6n-3) in the liver of awake male rats on a high-DHA-contain- ing diet after a 5-min intravenous infusion of (1- 14 C)a-LNA. At 5 min, 72.7% of liver radioactivity (excluding unesteri- fied fatty acid radioactivity) was in stable lipids, with the remainder in the aqueous compartment. Using our mea- sured specific activity of liver a-LNA-CoA, in the form of the dilution coefficient la-LNA-CoA, we calculated incorpo- ration rates of unesterified a-LNA into liver triacylglyc- erol, phospholipid, and cholesteryl ester as 2,401, 749, and 9.6 nmol/s/g 3 10 24 , respectively, corresponding to turn- over rates of 3.2, 8.7, and 2.9%/min and half-lives of 8-24 min. A lower limit for the DHA synthesis rate from a-LNA equaled 15.8 nmol/s/g 3 10 24 (0.5% of the net in- corporation rate). Thus, in rats on a high-DHA-containing diet, rates of b-oxidation and esterification of a-LNA into stable liver lipids are high, whereas its conversion to DHA is comparatively low and insufficient to supply significant DHA to the brain. High incorporation and turnover rates likely reflect a high secretion rate by liver of stable lipids within very low density lipoproteins. —Igarashi, M., K. Ma, L. Chang, J. M. Bell, S. I. Rapoport, and J. C. DeMar, Jr. Low liver conversion rate of a-linolenic to docosahexaenoic acid in awake rats on a high-docosahexaenoate-containing diet. J. Lipid Res. 2006. 47: 1812-1822.
A Scaling Theory of Localization and Superconductivity

Scaling theories incorporating localization, electron-electron interactions and superconductivity consistently are required to understand the destruction of superconductivity in disordered systems. I discuss the ingredients that go into such theories and what difficulties are encountered. I present results for systems with spin-orbit scattering. En route, I review briefly the dilemma of the metal-insulator transition problem.
Report on an inter-laboratory comparison of EMC antenna factors on antennas used above 1 GHz

An inter-laboratory comparison of greater than 1 GHz antenna calibration was started in September 2002, managed by Hewlett-Packard. This study was started because data from six different calibrations of a horn antenna varied more than expected by National Physical Laboratory (UK). The variance was also more than that obtained in the very well defined and controlled study of an X-Band Horn antenna (Stubenrauch, 1996) study piloted by NIST. Initially three antennas were being circulated by ETS-Lindgren, Liberty Labs and NIST (US), Schwarzbeck, Rolf Heine, Rohde-Schwarz and CONFORMITAS (Germany), Austrian Research Center (Austria), NPL and Communications Research Laboratory (Japan). Four laboratories have completed the calibration. Preliminary results show worst case deviations between laboratories to be greater than 5dB. Some of variations appear to be abnormal spikes that do not follow the normally expected antenna trend and need to get resolved before supplying factors to a user/customer. One of the laboratories provided antenna pattern data that supports findings by Michael D, Foegelle (2002) and Christian Burns et al. (2003).
Pharmaceutical Price Convergence In The EU: Preliminary Results From The Panel Data Unit Root Test

This paper explores the case of market integration and price convergence in the European Union, specifically in the pharmaceutical industry. The EU has been experiencing market integration since 1992, through the removal of trade barriers, the establishment of a single market, and the reduction of exchange rate volatility. In addition, there have been several structural reforms in product markets designed to increase competition, monitor cross-country price differences and increase transparency. One anticipated effect of market integration is price convergence, because of the reduced potential for price discrimination across the EU. This paper is aimed to analyze market integration and price convergence in the European pharmaceutical market, which is the fifth largest industry in the EU. Since 1985, many EU directives have been adopted to achieve a single EU-wide pharmaceutical market, with the aim of enhancing the quality of life for European citizens and the European pharmaceutical industry’s competitiveness and research and development capability. Using annual 1994–2003 IMS Health panel data from five EU countries on prices of drugs used to treat cardiovascular disease and controlling drug and market characteristics; this paper examines how the integration process has affected cross-country drug price dispersion in the EU through the preliminary results from the panel data unit root test. Finally, the results show some evidence of price convergence in the pharmaceutical market, with long term price differences arising from country fixed effects.