cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-signal gesture recognition using temporal smoothing hidden conditional random fields

We present a new approach to multi-signal gesture recognition that attends to simultaneous body and hand movements. The system examines temporal sequences of dual-channel input signals obtained via statistical inference that indicate 3D body pose and hand pose. Learning gesture patterns from these signals can be quite challenging due to the existence of long-range temporal-dependencies and low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR). We incorporate a Gaussian temporal-smoothing kernel into the inference framework, capturing long-range temporal-dependencies and increasing the SNR efficiently. An extensive set of experiments was performed, allowing us to (1) show that combining body and hand signals significantly improves the recognition accuracy; (2) report on which features of body and hands are most informative; and (3) show that using a Gaussian temporal-smoothing significantly improves gesture recognition accuracy.
A USB-2 based portable data acquisition system for detector development and nuclear research

Abstract A highly portable high-speed CAMAC data acquisition system has been developed using Kmax software (Sparrow, Inc.) for Macintosh laptop and tower computers. It uses a USB-2 interface to the CAMAC crate controller with custom-written software drivers. Kmax permits 2D parameter gating and specific algorithms have been developed to facilitate the rapid evaluation of various multi-element nuclear detectors for energy and time-of-flight measurements. This includes tests using neutrons from 252Cf and a 2.5 MeV neutron generator as well as standard gamma calibration sources such as 60Co and 137Cs. In addition, the system has been used to measure gamma–gamma coincidences over extended time periods using radioactive sources (e.g., Ra-228, Pa-233, Np-237, and Am-243).
Clinical features and treatment of congenital fusion of the small and ring finger metacarpals

Nine cases of congenital fusion of the small and ring finger metacarpals are reported. The underlying etiology of congenital fusion of the small and ring finger metacarpals was ulnar ray deficiency in four hands, cleft hand in two hands, and symbrachydactyly in one hand; two hands were unclassifiable. X-ray films revealed that the small finger was hypoplastic and accompanied by brachymesophalangy in all cases. It was supposed that the main cause of congenital metacarpal fusion was the deficit of mesenchymal cells. Treatment for metacarpal fusion included splitting the metacarpal fusion and autogenous iliac bone graft in two hands, deepening of the interdigital space in two hands, and amputation of the small finger in one hand. Satisfactory improvement in appearance was achieved in three hands.
Selective retention of explosives and related compounds on gas-chromatographic capillary columns coated with lanthanide(III) β-diketonate polymers

The purpose of this research was to investigate coating capillary columns with lanthanide(III) β-diketonate polymers to provide gas-chromatographic columns with selectivity toward explosives and related compounds. Capillary columns were statically coated with a mixture of a lanthanide(III) β-diketonate polymer, which utilized p-di(4,4,5,5,6,6,6-heptafluoro-1,3-hexanedionyl)benzene (dihed) as a ligand, and SE-30. A novel coating technique was developed that used a methanol-containing azeotrope to provide solubility for both polymers while maintaining a low boiling point compatible with static coating. As based on temperature-programmed retention indices, the experimental columns displayed selective retention of nitroaromatic, nitroalkane, and nitrate ester test probes relative to an appropriate SE-30 control column. Selective retention was more pronounced for strongest Lewis base analyte contained in the test mixture (i.e., cyclohexanone). Relative analyte retention on the La(dihed), Tb(dihed), and Eu(dihed) columns are discussed relative to Lewis acidity and solubility of the polymer in the azeotropic coating solution.
Model of the Ignition and Flame Development on a Vaporizing Combustible Surface in a Stagnation Point Flow: Ignition by Vapor Fuel Radiation Absorption

Abstract A numerical analysis is conducted of the initiation and evolution of a combustion reaction generated by fuel vapor absorption of radiation over an evaporating combustible surface in an oxidizer stagnation point flow. The combustible is initially evaporating due to an externally applied irradiance, and is assumed to be in equilibrium vaporization. The transient, stagnation point, gas conservation equations, including one-step Arrhenius type kinetics and fuel vapor absorption of radiation, are solved numerically for the case of PMMA as combustible evaporating in air. Detailed calculations are presented, for a specific case of irradiance and flow velocity, of the evolution of the velocity field, and temperature and species concentration distributions during the ignition of the mixture, and subsequent establishment of a diffusion flame over the combustible surface. Ignition is characterized by thermal run-away of the gas and it is considered to have occurred if, after discontinuing the external irrad...
Microinjection of Bovine Embryos with a Foreign Gene and Its Detection at the Blastocyst Stage

This study was designed to measure the survival and development of pronuclear stage bovine zygotes after microinjection with DNA and either culture in vitro or incubation in the sheep oviduct and to determine the percentage of embryos that retain exogenous DNA at the blastocyst stage. In vitro matured and fertilized oocytes were examined for pronuclear development 18 to 20 h after coincubation with sperm. An ovine somatotropin gene construct was microinjected into ova with visible pronuclei. Microinjected ova and unmanipulated ova from the same in vitro derived pool were cocultured with oviductal epithelial cells or incubated in the sheep oviduct and cocultured, respectively, for 7 d. Blastocysts were subjected to polymerase chain reaction analysis for detection of exogenous DNA. The percentage of cleaved embryos that formed blastocysts was similar for microinjected and unmanipulated cultured ova. The percentage of blastocysts recovered from the sheep oviduct that hatched was higher than for blastocysts that developed in coculture. Fourteen of 26 (54%) blastocysts that developed from microinjected ova were positive for the exogenous DNA by polymerase chain reaction. The implications are discussed for polymerase chain reaction detection of the exogenous gene construct in a relatively high proportion of microinjected blastocysts.
Early identification with ultrasonic integrated backscatter of viable but stunned myocardium in dogs.

It has been shown that canine and human hearts exhibit a cardiac cycle-dependent variation of integrated backscatter (cyclic variation) that reflects intrinsic regional contractile performance. To determine whether ultrasound tissue characterization can identify viable though stunned myocardium before recovery of regional wall thickening, transient ischemic injury was produced in eight open chest dogs for 15 min followed by reperfusion for 2 h. Cyclic variation and wall thickening were measured before ischemia, at 15 min after the onset of ischemia and at selected intervals after the onset of reperfusion from multiple sites within the ischemic zone with a novel combined two-dimensional and M-mode acquisition system. Cyclic variation and wall thickening were computed from digitized M-mode integrated backscatter images with an algorithm developed and validated for this purpose. Magnitude and “delay” of cyclic variation and wall thickening were compared. Delay represents the degree of synchrony of regional cyclic variation or wall thickening with global ventricular mechanical systole. Baseline cyclic variation and wall thickening magnitudes were 3.8 ± 0.2 dB and 37 ± 1.4%, respectively. With ischemia, cyclic variation and wall thickening decreased to 1.7 ± 0.2 dB and 17 ± 2%, respectively (p < 0.05, compared with baseline). Cyclic variation recovered to baseline levels within 20 min after reperfusion (3.3 ± 0.4 dB, p = NS). Wall thickening remained depressed for 2 h after the onset of reperfusion (23 ± 2%, p < 0.05 compared with baseline). Delay of cyclic variation in a unitless ratio expressed as delay (in milliseconds) divided by the QT interval (in milliseconds) increased from 0.87 ± 0.03 at baseline to 1.10 ± 0.12 with ischemia, a change consistent with mild asynchrony, and returned to baseline (0.95 ± 0.07, p = NS compared with baseline) within 20 min after reperfusion. Delay of wall thickening was 0.88 ± 0.02 at baseline, increased to 1.23 ± 0.09 with ischemia and remained significantly increased 2 h after reperfusion (1.07 ± 0.05, p < 0.05 compared with baseline). Recovery time constants for cyclic variation and wall thickening with reperfusion reflected earlier restoration of cyclic variation (8.1 min) than of wall thickening (420.5 min). Thus, cyclic variation recovers before wall thickening with reperfusion. Its analysis appears to provide a useful index of the presence of viable and potentially salvageable tissue in regions of stunned myocardium that is independent of wall thickening.
Prodrug Forms of N-[(4-Deoxy-4-amino-10-methyl)pteroyl]glutamate-γ-[ψP(O)(OH)]-glutarate, a Potent Inhibitor of Folylpoly-γ-glutamate Synthetase: Synthesis and Hydrolytic Stability

Ester prodrugs of the phosphinate pseudopeptide N-[(4-deoxy-4-amino-10-methyl)pteroyl]glutamate-γ-[ψP(O)(OH)]-glutarate (1a) were synthesized. H-phosphinic acids derived from N-Cbz vinyl glycine esters were converted to the desired pseudopeptides by Michael addition to α-methyleneglutarate esters. Pivaloyloxymethyl (POM) ester moieties were incorporated in both the N-terminal and C-terminal fragments prior to formation of either C−P bond. N-Alkylation of the corresponding amides derived from p-(N-methyl)aminobenzoic acid with 2,4-diamino-6-(bromomethyl)pteridine gave the target compounds. POM esters of methotrexate and the corresponding γ-glutamyl conjugate were also synthesized using the same strategy. All prodrugs were evaluated in Chinese hamster ovary cells. Although the pseudopeptide prodrugs were ineffective, prodrugs of methotrexate and the corresponding γ-glutamyl conjugate were equipotent with the parent compounds. Stability of the prodrugs was investigated in both phosphate buffer and cell line ...
Development of an HTS-Compatible Assay for Discovery of RORα Modulators Using AlphaScreen® Technology

The retinoid acid receptor-related orphan receptors (RORs) represent important targets for the treatment of metabolic and immune disorders. Here the authors describe the application of AlphaScreen(®) technology to develop a high-throughput screening (HTS)-compatible assay to facilitate the discovery of RORα modulators. Using the ligand binding domain (LBD) of RORα and a peptide derived from the NR1 box of the nuclear receptor coactivator PGC-1α, a 384-well format assay was developed exhibiting high sensitivity, requiring only low nanomolar concentration of reagents. Recently, it was shown that oxysterols such as 7α-hydroxycholesterol (7α-OHC) function as modulators of the RORs. In this assay, 7α-OHC produced a concentration-response curve with an EC(50) of 162 nM, a Z' factor of 0.6, and a signal-to-background (S/B) ratio of 4.2, demonstrating that the assay is HTS compatible. Validation of the assay was afforded by screening against the Sigma LOPAC1280™ library in a 384-well format. In summary, the results presented here demonstrate that this assay can be used to screen large chemical libraries to discover novel modulators of RORα.
Finite Element Implementation of the Microplane Theory for Simulating a Rigid Concrete Pavement-Vehicle Interaction∗

Abstract This paper presents an approach for modeling concrete pavement, based on the constitutive implementation of Bazant's microplane theory, for the purpose of predicting pavement response due to complex loading by vehicles. This includes implementation of the microplane theory in a three dimensional finite element code and verification of its numerical accuracy. The analytical method is then verified. The program's accuracy under simple static loading is verified by comparison with two of the most widely used pavement design codes. Experimental data from the literature are used to verify the approach developed for both cyclic response and prediction of material softening, a critical feature of the Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) concrete material used in pavement. The analysis is also verified against experimental influence function data for a single axle, Finally, the analytically predicted pavement response is verified for dynamic multi-axle truck loading. Based on agreement with experimental data, ...
Molecular sensing using monolayer floating gate, fully depleted SOI MOSFET acting as an exponential transducer.

Field-effect transistor-based chemical sensors fall into two broad categories based on the principle of signal transduction—chemiresistor or Schottky-type devices and MOSFET or inversion-type devices. In this paper, we report a new inversion-type device concept—fully depleted exponentially coupled (FDEC) sensor, using molecular monolayer floating gate fully depleted silicon on insulator (SOI) MOSFET. Molecular binding at the chemical-sensitive surface lowers the threshold voltage of the device inversion channel due to a unique capacitive charge-coupling mechanism involving interface defect states, causing an exponential increase in the inversion channel current. This response of the device is in opposite direction when compared to typical MOSFET-type sensors, wherein inversion current decreases in a conventional n-channel sensor device upon addition of negative charge to the chemical-sensitive device surface. The new sensor architecture enables ultrahigh sensitivity along with extraordinary selectivity. W...
Superelasticity and stability of a shape memory alloy hexagonal honeycomb under in-plane compression

Abstract Nitinol (NiTi) shape memory alloy honeycombs, fabricated in low densities using a new brazing method [Grummon, D., Shaw, J., Foltz, J., 2006. Fabrication of cellular shape memory alloy materials by reactive eutectic brazing using niobium. Materials Science and Engineering A 438–440, 1113–1118], recently demonstrated enhanced shape memory and superelastic properties [Shaw, J. A., Grummon, D. S., Foltz, J., 2007b. Superelastic NiTi honeycombs: Fabrication and experiments. Smart Materials and Structures 16, S170–S178] by exploiting kinematic amplification of thin-walled deformations. The realization of such adaptive, light-weight cellular structures opens interesting possibilities for design and novel applications. This paper addresses the consequent need for design and simulation tools for engineers to make effective use of such structures by, as a first step, analyzing the multi-scale stability aspects of the superelastic behavior of a particular hexagonal, thin-walled, SMA honeycomb under in-plane compression. An in-depth parameter study is performed of the influence of different material laws on the behavior of honeycombs of finite and infinite extent with perfect and imperfect initial geometries. A finite element-based simulation is presented that credibly captures the behavior seen in experiments.
TEMPERATURE DEPENDENCE OF DISLOCATIONS IN NOTCHED ICE CRYSTALS

A study of the effect of temperature on the dislocation structures in notched ice crystals in constant strain rate tests was performed in order to investigate the fundamental processes involved in the brittle-ductile transition in ice. It has been shown that there is far more dislocation activity around notches at high temperature (−7.8 °C) than at lower temperatures (−40 and −60 °C).
Development of Stop Consonants in Korean

Abstract. The purpose of this study was to examine acoustically the developmental characteristics of Korean stops. Stop productions were obtained from 30 Korean male and female children in two age ranges (5 and 10 years). Voice-Onset-Time (VOT) delay and fundamental frequency (f0) at the onset of vowel were measured for sequences of word-initial stop followed by the vowel /a/. These were analysed as a function of age, sex, place of articulation and stop manner category. Measure-ments of f0 were also made at the middle of the vowel /i/ in order to compare with vowel-onset f0. Results revealed that VOT values were not significantly different in terms of age, but did differ by sex in that boys produced significantly longer VOT lag than girls in the aspirated stop series. In addition, VOT varied by stop category and place of articulation. Vowel-onset f0 differed between sexes as well as by stop manner category, but vowel-middle f0 was not significantly different be-tween sexes. As expected, both vowel-onset and vowel-middle f0 were higher in 5 year-old children than in 10 year-old children. The results of this study indicate that, overall, differences which corre-late with sex and age are more prominent for laryngeal tension distinctions than for temporal coordi-nation gestures in Korean children, suggesting that sex and age differences in stop consonants during the pre-adolescent period should be examined across languages.
Extensive glycoform heterogeneity in the gp120 envelope proteins used in the RV144 trial.

The AIDSVAX B/E vaccine used in the RV144 trial consisted of recombinant gp120s derived from the MN and A244 strains of HIV-1, both produced in CHO cells. In order to understand the correlates of protection and to design RV144 follow-up studies, it is important to characterize the vaccine immunogens and to know the extent to which newly manufactured gp120 subunit vaccines replicate the glycosylation of the AIDSVAX B/E vaccine immunogens. It has long been known that glycosylation affects antigenicity and immunogenicity. Recent data suggest that several epitopes recognized by broadly neutralizing antibodies are critically dependent on glycosylation in the gp120 V2 domain. In these studies we investigate the heterogeneity in net charge attributed to glycoform variation. Methods Isoelectric focusing was used to analyze recombinant MN and A244 rgp120 proteins from the unformulated bulk used to manufacture the AIDSVAX B/E vaccine. We compared these proteins with MN and A244 rgp120 proteins freshly produced in 293 cells. Differences in the binding of monoclonal antibodies and soluble CD4 were measured by ELISA. Results MN and A244 rgp120 proteins produced in CHO cells and 293 cells exhibit extensive heterogeneity in net charge due to glycosylation. More than 16 species of MN-rgp120 and 24 species of A244-rgp120 were identified. Proteins produced in CHO cells were distinctly more acidic than proteins produced in 293 cells. These differences affected the binding of ligands that targeted the CD4 binding site but not other regions of gp120. Conclusion The rgp120 proteins used in the RV144 trial exhibited remarkable variation in net charge attributable to differences in glycosylation. The extent of gp120 glycosylation is cell-line dependent. Differences in glycosylation affect antibody binding and may represent a significant variable in the development of new antigens for RV144 follow-up studies and in neutralization assays that depend on pseudoviruses produced in 293 cells.
GEOGRAPHY, EXPERIENCE, AND IMAGINATION: TOWARDS A GEOGRAPHICAL EPISTEMOLOGY1

(1961). GEOGRAPHY, EXPERIENCE, AND IMAGINATION: TOWARDS A GEOGRAPHICAL EPISTEMOLOGY. Annals of the Association of American Geographers: Vol. 51, No. 3, pp. 241-260.
The Brief Piping Signal of the Honey Bee: Begging Call or Stop Signal?

For over 40 yr, investigators have recognized that the brief piping signal plays a role in the foraging operation of a honey bee colony. The function of this signal, however, remains uncertain. The main objective of this study was to determine whether, under normal foraging conditions, bees following waggle dancers produce brief piping signals to beg nectar samples from the dancers. We made observations on waggle dancers and their followers in an undisturbed colony whose foragers gathered nectar and pollen from flowers. We found that waggle dancers do often receive brief piping signals, that the bees producing these signals are generally dance followers, and that these signals increase a waggle dancer's tendency to stop dancing. We also found, however, that the brief piping signal is clearly not a begging call; 0 of 41 waggle dancers that received a piping signal from a dance follower gave a nectar sample to the bee that produced the signal. Our results support the hypothesis that the brief piping signal is a stop signal; it serves to shut off waggle dancing. But why some dance followers pipe the dancer they are following, thereby inhibiting her dancing, remains unclear and warrants further investigation.
Ovarian Function in the Preovulatory Rabbit

Iv injections of 75 IU human chorionic gonadotropin were given to New Zealand white rabbits. Ovarian blood flow was measured by using the radiolabeled microspheres technique. Both ovarian veins were cannulated and peripheral blood was obtained simultaneously. Ovarian secretion of hormones was determined at hourly intervals for 9 hours. Ovarian vein plasma concentrations of 17beta-estradiol (E2) and testosterone (T) rose considerably by 2 hours. By 4 hours the secretion rate of E2 reached a 2nd peak. Secretion rates of estrone (E1) androstenedione (A) progesterone (P) and 20alpha-dihydroprogesterone (20alpha-OH-P) showed a peak only at the 4-hour period. Peripheral blood levels of E1 E2 and A were unchanged. A small rise in T between the 2nd-4th hours was noted. An increase in P was sustained from the 1st up to the 8th hour. 20alpha-OH-P was elevated from the 2nd to the 9th hour. Removal rate of HCG was most during the 2nd hour. Ovarian steroidogenesis seemed to be stimulated by HCG. Significant but brief rises in E2 and T production may serve an intraovarian function. Ovarian steroid production observed agrees with that which occurs shortly after mating in rabbits. Cellular binding sites may be involved.
Refining Operations Management Around Total Quality Management

Failure to embrace total quality is a lot like failure to pay income taxes. Both are possible to postpone. But sooner or later it is clear that early attention is preferable. Of the two, total quality offers the better return. We gain the power to enhance operations and to provide new opportunities in the classroom and in research. But to obtain the full benefits, it is necessary to reexamine and correct some of the fundamental assumptions upon which operations management is built. What are some of those assumptions?
A wavelet based algorithm for pan sharpening Landsat 7 imagery

At IGARSS 2000 the Data Fusion Committee began the sponsorship of a series of contests with which the committee aimed to reach two goals. The first goal was to assess the state of the art of a clearly defined aspect of the data fusion field by empirically evaluating algorithms. The second goal was to identify collective weaknesses of current algorithms, so as to identify requirements of further research. The first contest focused in the sharpening of 30-m resolution multispectral images by using 15-m panchromatic imagery. The objective of the sharpening was to improve the spatial resolution of the multispectral imagery, while preserving the spectral information in homogeneous areas. For the IGARSS 2000 contest, Landsat 7 Thematic Mapper data acquired over urban and agricultural areas was used. Researchers from the Remote Sensing Technologies Center at Mississippi State University won the contest. This paper describes the pan sharpening methodology used.
Heeding our words: complexities of research among low-literacy populations.

Melissa A. Simon, Department of Obstetrics & Gynecology, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; and Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University, Chicago, IL XinQi Dong, Rush Institute for Healthy Aging, Department of Internal Medicine, Rush University Medical Center, Chicago, IL Narissa Nonzee and Charles L. Bennett, Division of Hematology/Oncology, Department of Internal Medicine, Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine; Robert H. Lurie Comprehensive Cancer Center of Northwestern University; and Center for Management of Complex Chronic Care, Jesse Brown VA Medical Center, Chicago, IL
On abstract homomorphisms of anisotropic algebraic groups over real-closed fields

Abstract Abstract homomorphisms with Zariski-dense image of the group of rational points of anisotropic almost simple algebraic groups over real closed fields into other almost simple algebraic groups are described. The result states, in particular, that the kernel of such homomorphism is a congruence subgroup of the original group.
Fertile Solanum tuberosum+S. commersonii somatic hybrids as sources of resistance to bacterial wilt caused by Ralstonia solanacearum

The wild potato relative Solanum commersonii is reported to carry resistance to bacterial wilt disease caused by Ralstonia solanacearum. To overcome sexual incompatibilites due to differences in ploidy and endosperm balance numbers, somatic hybrids were made that combine the S. tuberosum and S. commersonii genomes. The resulting somatic hybrid plants are vigorous, but their disease resistance level and their fertility was unknown. We therefore tested the S. commersonii and S. tuberosum source material cv Superior, potato cv Atlantic and six somatic hybrid lines for resistance to a virulent strain of R. solanacearum (race 3, biovar 2) at 28°C. As expected, S. commersonii was significantly more wilt-resistant than the cultivated potatoes. In five of the six somatic hybrid lines, disease resistance levels were similar to that of the resistant S. commersonii parent. The resistance level of the sixth somatic hybrid was intermediate, significantly different from both S. commersonii and S. tuberosum. In controlled crosses, the somatic hybrids in this study proved both to be male- and female-fertile and were self-compatible. More importantly, the somatic hybrids can be crossed with S. tuberosum to produce viable seeds.
Outcomes from the Body & Soul Clinical Trials Project: A university-church partnership to improve African American enrollment in a clinical trial registry

Objectives Historically, African Americans have been underrepresented in clinical trials (CTs) compared to whites. A growing number of research institutions have created CT registries to match volunteers with appropriate studies. In a sample of 745 African Americans from 16 churches, we tested the impact of a culturally tailored intervention aimed at increasing enrollment in a university-based CT registry.
The Relationship of Acculturation to Cognitive Style among Mexican Americans

Tests of cognitive style were administered to Mexican-American children and their mothers in three communities in southern California. Questionnaires on socialization practices and Mexican-American family values were also administered to the mothers. Subjects from the "traditional" community-in which members were most identified with the sociocultural system of Mexican culture-scored in a field-dependent direction. Subjects from the "atraditional" community, whose members are most influenced by mainstream American middle-class values, were most field-independent in cognitive style. Children and mothers of the community influenced by both cultures-the "dualistic" community-obtained scores between those of the other two groups. Mothers from the traditional community were most frequently in agreement with items reflecting indicators of the field-dependent "socialization" cluster, and also with items reflecting the sociocultural system of Mexican-American culture.
Rolling hills on the core–mantle boundary

Recent results suggest that an iron-rich oxide may have fractionally crystallized from a primordial magma ocean and settled on the core–mantle boundary (CMB). Based on experimental results, the presence of only a few percent of Fe-rich oxide could slow seismic waves down by several percent. This heavy layer can become highly undulating as predicted from dynamic modeling but can remain as a distinct structure with uniform velocity reductions. Here, we use the large USArray seismic network to search for such structures. Strong constraints on D 00 are provided by the core-phase SKS where it bifurcates, containing a short segment of P-wave diffractions (Pd) when crossing the CMB, called SKSd. Synthetics from models with moderate velocity drops (less than 10%) involving a layer with variable thickness, perhaps a composite of sharp small structures, with strong variation in thickness can explain both the observed SKSd waveforms and large scatter in differential times between SKKS and SKS. A smooth 3D image is obtained from inverting SKSd waveforms displaying rolling-hills with elongated dome-like structures sitting on the CMB. The most prominent one has an 80-km height, � 81 length, and � 41 width, thus adding still more structural complexity to the lower mantle. We suggest that these results can be explained by a dynamically-stabilized material containing small amounts (� 5%) ironrich (Mg,Fe)O providing a self-consistent physical interpretation.
On the observability of decoupled systems

The question of complete observability in systems decoupled via state-variable feedback is considered. A sufficient condition that guarantees the observability of the decoupled system is derived.
Personhood Diagnostics: Personal Attributes and Clinical Explanations of Pain

This article examines an explanation circulating within a U.S. multidisciplinary pediatric pain clinic that links the neurobiology of functional pain disorders to desirable personal attributes such as smartness and creativity. Drawing on ethnographic observations and the analysis of video-recorded clinical interactions and focusing on two cases, I introduce the term personhood diagnostics to explore how the explanatory framework worked not only to pinpoint a pathophysiological mechanism for pain to legitimize it as “real” but also to cast patients as virtuous persons. In doing so, it laid the groundwork for an ethic of clinical care that privileged the patient's responsibility for treatment. Within this narrative logic, diagnostic explanations reveal not only causal pathways but also predictive claims about recovery. By considering what is at stake when personal attributes are marshaled within a neurobiological diagnostic register that also lays out the patient's role in healing, this article complicates psychosomatic accounts of pain. [chronic pain; diagnosis; illness explanations; clinical interaction; adolescents]
Partial Cox regression analysis for high-dimensional microarray gene expression data

Motivation: An important application of microarray technology is to predict various clinical phenotypes based on the gene expression profile. Success has been demonstrated in molecular classification of cancer in which different types of cancer serve as categorical outcome variable. However, there has been less research in linking gene expression profile to censored survival outcome such as patients' overall survival time or time to cancer relapse. In this paper, we develop a partial Cox regression method for constructing mutually uncorrelated components based on microarray gene expression data for predicting the survival of future patients. Results: The proposed partial Cox regression method involves constructing predictive components by repeated least square fitting of residuals and Cox regression fitting. The key difference from the standard principal components of Cox regression analysis is that in constructing the predictive components, our method utilizes the observed survival/censoring information. We also propose to apply the time-dependent receiver operating characteristic curve analysis to evaluate the results. We applied our methods to a publicly available dataset of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. The outcomes indicated that combining the partial Cox regression method with principal components analysis results in parsimonious model with fewer components and better predictive performance. We conclude that the proposed partial Cox regression method can be very useful in building a parsimonious predictive model that can accurately predict the survival of future patients based on the gene expression profile and survival times of previous patients. Availability: R codes are available upon request.
Dislocation after total hip arthroplasty: implant design and orientation.

Implant design and positioning are important factors in maintaining stability and minimizing dislocation after total hip arthroplasty. Although the advent of modular femoral stems and acetabular implants increased the number of head, neck, and liner designs, the features of recent designs can cause intra-articular prosthetic impingement within the arc of motion required for normal daily activities and thus lead to limited motion, increased wear, osteolysis, and subluxation or dislocation. Minimizing impingement involves avoiding skirted heads, matching a 22-mm head with an appropriate acetabular implant, maximizing the head-to-neck ratio, and, when possible, using a chamfered acetabular liner and a trapezoidal, rather than circular, neck cross-section. Computer modeling studies indicate the optimal cup position is 45° to 55° abduction. Angles <55° require anteversion of 10° to 20° of both the stem and cup to minimize the risk of impingement and dislocation. J Am Acad Orthop Surg 2003;11:89-99
Marital Happiness and Spousal Consensus on Beliefs about Marital Conflict: A Longitudinal Investigation

The relationship between marital happiness and spousal consensus on beliefs about marital conflict was assessed for 133 black and 149 white couples who were randomly selected from among all couples applying for marriage licenses in Wayne County, Ml in the spring of 1986. The relationship between happiness and beliefs about conflict was examined in the first year of marriage (Time 1) and 2 years later (Time 2). Results showed that, first, there was little agreement between spouses on beliefs about conflict at either Time 1 or Time 2. Second, spousal consensus was not highly associated with marital happiness concurrently or longitudinally. However, the content of the beliefs that partners hold about marital conflict was more important to their marital happiness than spousal consensus. For example, those husbands and wives who both believe that conflicts should be avoided at Time 1 reported lower marital happiness in the first year of marriage as well as 2 years later than those spouses who both believe that...
The self-regulatory nature of preschool children's private speech in a naturalistic setting

Private speech (PS) – or speech for the self – was studied in preschool-age children to determine how widely and with what characteristics it occurs when examined in the familiar home setting. Activities were selected that required several steps and that were intended to engage working memory or longer term recall. Both quantitative (numbers of words and utterances produced) and qualitative (utterance type) analyses were conducted on the children's PS. Across the age range from 4 ½ to 6 years, younger children had higher frequencies of PS than older children, which fits the predictions made by Vygotsky (1958/1962, 1978). Increased information loads resulted in more PS, indicating a relation between PS and task difficulty; however, total quantities of PS were not correlated with degree of task success. Self-regulatory utterances accounted for 89% of the PS produced; the majority of these utterances involved repetitions of the instructions that appeared to enhance recall, to help pace the children's activity, or to enable deliberation with respect to making choices. There was a strong age trend in which the amount of audible PS decreased with age. Qualitative differences across tasks are presented and considered in relation to how PS functions for different activities and possibly achieves adaptive significance.
Validation of Forested Inundation Extent Revealed by L-Band Polarimetric and Interferometric SAR Data

UAVSAR, NASA's airborne Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR), conducted an extended observational campaign in Central and South America in March 2013, primarily related to volcanic deformations along the Andean Mountain Range but also including a large number of flights studying other scientific phenomena. During this campaign, the L-Band SAR collected data over the Napo River in Ecuador. The objectives of this experiment were to acquire polarimetric and interferometric L-Band SAR data over an inundated tropical forest in Ecuador simultaneously with on-the-ground field work ascertaining the extent of inundation, and to then derive from this data a quantitative estimate for the error in the SAR-derived inundation extent. In this paper, we will first describe the processing and preliminary analysis of the SAR data. The polarimetric SAR data will be classified by land cover and inundation state. The interferometric SAR data will be used to identify those areas where change in inundation extent occurred, and to measure the change in water level between two observations separated by a week. Second, we will describe the collection of the field estimates of inundation, and have preliminary comparisons of inundation extent measured in the field field versus that estimated from the SAR data.
Teacher Perceptions of Students' Understanding of Their Own Disability:

Teacher education programs typically provide pre-service teachers preparation in assessment and identification procedures used to identify students with learning disabilities. What may be missing from teacher preparation is the development of communication skills to thoughtfully and professionally teach children about their disabilities. This mix-method survey examines teachers' perceptions regarding students' knowledge and understanding of their learning disability; what teachers tell students about their identified learning disability; what specific activities, lessons, discussions teachers use to help students understand their disability; and how the disability affects the students' academic, social, and emotional lives. Results of the study reveal that teachers often speak in jargon and euphemism to children with disabilities. They use deflecting behaviors to pass the responsibility onto parents and the students themselves. Although teachers are aware of self-determination activities, they fail to imp...
The Pore-Forming Toxin Listeriolysin O Is Degraded by Neutrophil Metalloproteinase-8 and Fails To Mediate Listeria monocytogenes Intracellular Survival in Neutrophils

The pore-forming toxin listeriolysin O (LLO) is a major virulence factor secreted by the facultative intracellular pathogen Listeria monocytogenes. This toxin facilitates L. monocytogenes intracellular survival in macrophages and diverse nonphagocytic cells by disrupting the internalization vesicle, releasing the bacterium into its replicative niche, the cytosol. Neutrophils are innate immune cells that play an important role in the control of infections, yet it was unknown if LLO could confer a survival advantage to L. monocytogenes in neutrophils. We report that LLO can enhance the phagocytic efficiency of human neutrophils and is unable to protect L. monocytogenes from intracellular killing. To explain the absence of L. monocytogenes survival in neutrophils, we hypothesized that neutrophil degranulation leads to the release of LLO-neutralizing molecules in the forming phagosome. In support of this, L. monocytogenes is a potent inducer of neutrophil degranulation, since its virulence factors, such as LLO, facilitate granule exocytosis. Within the first few minutes of interaction with L. monocytogenes, granules can fuse with the plasma membrane at the bacterial interaction site before closure of the phagosome. Furthermore, granule products directly degrade LLO, irreversibly inhibiting its activity. The matrix metalloproteinase-8, stored in secondary granules, was identified as an endoprotease that degrades LLO, and blocking neutrophil proteases increased L. monocytogenes intracellular survival. In conclusion, we propose that LLO degradation by matrix metalloproteinase-8 during phagocytosis protects neutrophil membranes from perforation and contributes to maintaining L. monocytogenes in a bactericidal phagosome from which it cannot escape.
A unified approach for hierarchical imaging based on joint hypothesis testing and parameter estimation

The authors present a single formulation for constrained imaging that fuses the problem of joint estimation of the continuous parameters using MAP (maximum a posteriori) and conditional-mean estimators with that of performing generalized Bayes hypothesis testing for the symbolic imaging variables. Coupling this with recent results on representing regular grammars via Gibbs' distributions makes it possible to incorporate into a single hierarchical framework the stochastic constraints relevant to continuous-valued parameters as well as language-theoretic constraints on the symbolic variables. The authors also present a method for performing the required computations on a massively parallel architecture, which makes it possible to update every variable at every level in the hierarchy in parallel. The conclusions obtained are supported with results for a Poisson imaging problem computed on a DAP-500 massively parallel processor with 1024 processing elements. >
Privacy Codes and Institutional Record Keeping: Procedural versus Strategic Approaches

Privacy codes aim at protecting individuals' interests in the treatment of data on themselves held by institutions. One can distinguish between procedural and strategic principles underlying these codes. The former aim at shaping treatment of personal information, once compiled within data systems; the latter aim at limiting and dispersing personal information from the start. A historical view of the workings of these two principles gives more reasons for optimism in the case of strategic measures. In contrast, procedural restrictions on access to personal information are evidently subject to erosion and reversal with changes in larger political climates.
The attitudes of patients with advanced AIDS toward use of the medical futility rationale in decisions to forgo mechanical ventilation.

Background: The medical futility rationale asserts that physicians need not offer their patients therapies that have zero or close to zero probability of success. The rationale is controversial, but it is used in practice. Objective: To examine the attitudes of patients with advanced acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) toward the medical futility rationale as it might apply to their medical care. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study with interviewer-administered questionnaires. Fifty-seven patients with advanced AIDS (C3 stage AIDS and a CD4 cell count ,100/µL) were recruited from academic and private clinics.
The influence of combined cognitive plus social-cognitive training on amygdala response during face emotion recognition in schizophrenia

Both cognitive and social-cognitive deficits impact functional outcome in schizophrenia. Cognitive remediation studies indicate that targeted cognitive and/or social-cognitive training improves behavioral performance on trained skills. However, the neural effects of training in schizophrenia and their relation to behavioral gains are largely unknown. This study tested whether a 50-h intervention which included both cognitive and social-cognitive training would influence neural mechanisms that support social ccognition. Schizophrenia participants completed a computer-based intervention of either auditory-based cognitive training (AT) plus social-cognition training (SCT) (N=11) or non-specific computer games (CG) (N=11). Assessments included a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) task of facial emotion recognition, and behavioral measures of cognition, social cognition, and functional outcome. The fMRI results showed the predicted group-by-time interaction. Results were strongest for emotion recognition of happy, surprise and fear: relative to CG participants, AT+SCT participants showed a neural activity increase in bilateral amygdala, right putamen and right medial prefrontal cortex. Across all participants, pre-to-post intervention neural activity increase in these regions predicted behavioral improvement on an independent emotion perception measure (MSCEIT: Perceiving Emotions). Among AT+SCT participants alone, neural activity increase in right amygdala predicted behavioral improvement in emotion perception. The findings indicate that combined cognition and social-cognition training improves neural systems that support social-cognition skills.
Information spectrum and its application to EEG-based brain-computer interface

A typical goal in signal processing is to find a representation in which certain attributes of the signal are made explicit. The most important variables for identifying signal certain attributes are time and features extracted from the signal. In this paper, a novel method has been proposed for simultaneous selection of optimal features and time window for processing EEG signals. In this method, at first the amount of useful information for separating the classes is obtained on a time-feature plane, then by using it, the optimal time window and features containing maximal information about class label are selected simultaneously. The effectiveness of the proposed method is evaluated by using the classification of EEG signals. The tasks to be discriminated are the imaginative hand movement and the resting state. The results demonstrate that the proposed method performed well in several experiments on different subjects and can improve the classification accuracy in the BCI systems.
Geometric Correlates of Temporal Durations: Signs of the Times.

-Each of 60 Ss chose geometric figures of 1, 2, or 3 dimensions as best representing the temporal durations of Second, Hour, Day, Year, Century, or Forever. Assignment of figures to time periods was significantly nonrandom ( X 2 < .01) for 5 of the G intervals. Agreement among the judges was significant (Kendall Coefficient of Concordance W = .33, p < . O 5 ) , and a generally monotonic, positive relationship, based on ordinal measurement of the variables, was indicated (Spearman rho = ,808). Underlying factors of linear extension or complexity are suggested as the means of mediation between the variables.
Clutter rejection for Doppler weather radars which use staggered pulses

Several methods for canceling ground clutter in Doppler weather radars which operate with staggered pulse repetition times (PRTs) are investigated. A scheme is developed which consists of two filters that operate sequentially, so that the overall filter is time-varying, with periodically changing coefficients. This filter is analyzed theoretically and through simulations for a stagger ratio of 3/2, which extends the unambiguous velocity interval. The amplitude characteristic of the filter over this interval is very good, but the phase characteristic, which is nonlinear in a small part of the interval, requires that a special decision logic be used for velocity estimation. >
A 50 ppm low current multi-stage clamp-on current transformer

An electronically-aided multi-stage technique is applied to a hand-held clamp-on current transformer which enables accurate low current measurements to be made over a wide dynamic range of operation, 0.5% to 100% of rated current, for use in conjunction with highly accurate power and energy meters, and harmonic power analyzers. The clamp-on current transformer can be used to measure currents in the range from 1 A to 200 A with ratio errors of less than 50 ppm in both magnitude and phase.