cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The biasing effect of verbal labels on memory for ambiguous figures in patients with progressive dementia

This experiment investigated the effects of verbal labels on recognition memory for ambiguous visual figures in patients with Alzheimer's disease (AD), patients with Huntington's disease (HD), and matched normal control subjects. The study employed ambiguous figures that could be interpreted in two different ways. During the study phase each figure was presented together with a verbal label that corresponded to one interpretation of the figure. After a 30-min retention interval a recognition memory test was given during which the study figures and distractor figures were presented one at a time without verbal labels. For each study figure two distractor figures were employed, each corresponding to a different interpretation of the study figure. The patients' overall recognition memory performance was severely impaired compared to control subjects. However, all subject groups tended to produce responses and response latencies to distractor items that were consistent with the verbal labels presented during the study phase. This bias effect occurred in the AD patients despite the fact that their recognition memory performance was at chance level. Indeed, there was no significant difference in the bias evidenced by the AD and HD patients and their respective matched control subjects. The bias effects were obtained in an explicit memory task, and the findings are discussed in terms of unconscious influences on explicit memory processes.
The empiricist as rebel: Jung, Freud, and the burdens of discipleship

However little they share in common, both Freudian and Jungian commentators have long agreed that Jung's theoretical development in the years following his psychoanalytic affiliation prompted an open "split" with Freud and the psychoanalytic movement. Careful examination of Jung's principal "rebel" works does not sustain this thesis, however, but rather indicates Jung's honest belief that his limited appropriation of certain psychoanalytic mechanisms and attendant theoretical modifications constituted full-fledged loyalty to psychoanalysis as he understood it. This perception receives significant support from the Freud-Jung correspondence which reveals Jung openly articulating the ground rules defining his loyalty to psychoanalysis as early as 1906, and Freud accepting, and even approving, his protege's empirical reservations over the course of the next five years.
a Universal Relation Between the Densities of States Near Van Hove Singularities and the Effective Electron Masses in 1-DIMENSIONAL Materials

We present a universal relation between the densities of states near Van Hove singularities and the effective electron masses in 1-dimensional (1-D) materials. The relation can be utilized as a new method to determine the effective masses of charge carriers of 1-D materials in theoretical calculations and in experimental measurements. The calculated results, utilizing the relation for single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs), agree well with that of the conventional calculations when both approaches utilize the outputs of ab-initio density functional computations.
Racism and Anti-Racism in American Popular Culture: Portrayals of African-Americans in Fiction and Film

From Uncle Remus to the novels of Alice Walker, the ideological battle over the deep-seated racism of American society has been played out in the realm of popular culture. Covering the period from the American Civil War to the present day, this study traces the development of racism and the struggle against it in fiction and film. The text emphasizes the ways in which racist and anti-racist popular culture both respond to developments in racist ideas and help to shape or oppose them. Novels and films are examined in the light of major economic and political experiences, motivations and preoccupations of black people, and the interrelations of race, gender and class.
Genomic data for alternate production strategies. I. Identification of major contaminating species for Cobalt(+2) immobilized metal affinity chromatography.

Recent advances in technology have allowed for the identification of complex protein mixtures in a rapid fashion. This report highlights the use of 2D gel electrophoresis, mass spectrometry, and database analysis to determine contaminating species of the Escherichia coli genome that are present during immobilized metal affinity chromatography (IMAC), highlighting Co2+ as the affinity ligand. Four proteins (triosephosphate isomerase, alpha galactosidase, Hsp90, and glucosamine 6-phosphate synthase) constitute the majority of E. coli proteins that bind and potentially may coelute during chromatography. Results are discussed within the context of changes that when implemented could lead to an increase in IMAC efficiency, not by altering column conditions, but rather by changing the nature of the nuisance proteins that principally reduce column capacity and extend processing times. Such a study illustrates the use of proteome data to aid in bioprocess design. © 2004 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
The relationship of plasma histamine to the activity of bronchial asthma

Abstract Venous plasma histamine levels were measured in 60 asthmatic subjects in order to investigate the role of histamine in naturally occurring asthmatic episodes. The patients were divided into 3 groups of 20 according to the degree of disease activity. Group A consisted of asthmatic patients with severe exacerbations. Flow/volume curves demonstrated a forced expiratory volume in 1 sec to forced vital capacity ratio (FEV1FVC) of less than 55% and a maximum expiratory flow at 50% of FVC (MEF 50 ) of less than 1.0 L/sec. Asthmatics in group B were in partial remission. The patients in this group had FEV1FVC ratios between 55% and 75% and MEF 50 values between 1.0 and 4.0 L/sec. The remaining asthmatic patients (group C) were in complete remission. They were asymptomatic and had normal physical examinations and flow/volume curves. Venous plasma histamine levels were also measured in 50 normal control subjects (group D). Every asthmatic subject in group A had plasma histamine above 1.25 ng/ml (mean, 1.9 ng/ml ± 0.5). Only 3 asthmatic patients in group B and 3 in group C had venous plasma histamine levels greater than 1 ng/ml. None of the normal subjects in group D had plasma histamine above 1 ng/ml. These data show a relationship between spontaneously occurring asthmatic attacks and elevated plasma histamine and support previous studies suggesting that histamine may play a role in the mediation of bronchial asthma.
Determinants of physical performance in ambulatory patients on hemodialysis.

dence, institutionalization, and mortality in older nonuremic individuals. Gait speed has not been evaluated as a predictor of these important outcomes in patients on hemodialysis, nor have the determinants of gait speed in the dialysis population Limitations in physical functioning are a major probbeen studied.
Structure of Polydispersed Colloids with Attractive Forces: HMSA Integral Equation and Monte Carlo Simulations

The effects of polydispersity of size on the average static structure factors of colloidal dispersions with short-range repulsive forces and long-range attraction are examined using the solution of the multicomponent Ornstein−Zernike equation under the so-called HMSA closure. The accuracy of the HMSA closure is examined using structure factors evaluated directly in Monte Carlo simulations. The results show that the structure factors can be approximated sufficiently accurately using the structure factor based on a monodispersed dispersion consisting of particles of diameter equal to the mean diameter if the standard deviation of the distribution is less than about 15% of the mean diameter. It is also shown that, although size-polydispersity can affect the configurational distributions significantly, the specific form of the size distribution is not important even at standard deviations as high as 30% of the mean size. The results presented here provide the first test of the HMSA closure for a multicomponen...
Between a "ROC" and a School Place: The Role of "Racial Opportunity Cost" in the Educational Experiences of Academically Successful Students of Color.

Despite numerous reform efforts, schools have not achieved equitable academic outcomes for all students. To better identify where schools have failed, research has sought to understand the complex role the school environment plays in mediating academic success, particularly for students of color. In this article, we forward the concept of racial opportunity cost and then use it as a lens to encapsulate the price academically successful students of color pay in their pursuit of school success. Through individual and focus group interviews, 18 African American and Latina/o students revealed nuances of the costs their academic achievement brought in the racialized, White-normed spaces that often permeated their school cultures. The purpose of this article is to provide theoretical support for the racial opportunity cost concept using existing interdisciplinary scholarship and to describe the racial opportunity costs that emerged from our analysis of student interviews.
A perspective on asbestos ingestion

Abstract The potential hazards of asbestos ingestion, chronic or acute, have not been adequately evaluated and remain unresolved and argumentative. With the widespread dissemination of asbestos in the environment, the G. I. tract receives not only direct but also indirect insults (pulmonary exudate). Since the latent period for manifestation of toxicity from asbestos is 20 to 40 years in man, the potential health hazard from neonatal to adulthood exposure must be recognized and evaluated.
High-mobility few-layer graphene field effect transistors fabricated on epitaxial ferroelectric gate oxides.

The carrier mobility $\ensuremath{\mu}$ of few-layer graphene (FLG) field-effect transistors increases tenfold when the ${\mathrm{SiO}}_{2}$ substrate is replaced by single-crystal epitaxial $\mathrm{Pb}({\mathrm{Zr}}_{0.2}{\mathrm{Ti}}_{0.8}){\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ (PZT). In the electron-only regime of the FLG, $\ensuremath{\mu}$ reaches $7\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{4}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}/\mathrm{V}\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ at 300 K for $n=2.4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{12}/{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}$, 70% of the intrinsic limit set by longitudinal acoustic (LA) phonons; it increases to $1.4\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{5}\text{ }\text{ }{\mathrm{cm}}^{2}/\mathrm{V}\text{ }\mathrm{s}$ at low temperature. The temperature-dependent resistivity $\ensuremath{\rho}(T)$ reveals a clear signature of LA phonon scattering, yielding a deformation potential $D=7.8\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.5\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{eV}$.
Disparity increase with convergence for constant perceptual criteria

If a depth interval is matched to an egocentric distance, the disparity required increases with convergence by 50 to 130% (depth micropsia). If a depth interval is matched to a frontal extent of constant visual angle, disparity again increases with convergence, but the proportion increase is slightly smaller. This difference is attributed to the previously established effect of convergence on perceived size (size micropsia).
The First Wave: Gender Integration and Military Culture:

A number of sexual harassment scandals in the United States armed forces have come to public attention in recent years. Commentators on these scandals have suggested that the incidents are not anom...
Nonnegative idempotent kernels

On presente la structure des noyaux non negatifs idempotents. Les noyaux non negatifs idempotents sont des generalisations naturelles des matrices non negatives idempotentes de dimension infinie
Sorption kinetics of PAHs in methanol–water systems

Abstract The objectives of this study were to evaluate the relationships between the equilibrium sorption constant (Kp), the first-order desorption rate coefficient (k2), and the volumetric fraction of water miscible solvent (fc); and to utilize SPARC-calculated (SPARC Performs Automatic Reasoning in Chemistry) solubility and partitioning parameters with empirical measurements for a priori prediction of solute sorption kinetics in aqueous and mixed solvent systems. Soil column miscible displacement experiments were performed using naphthalene, phenanthrene, anthracene, pyrene and benzo(a)pyrene over an fc range from 0.0 to 0.8. Data from the miscible displacement studies were analyzed using a two-domain first-order mass transfer model to obtain Kp and k2. Results corroborated and extended the range of the validity of the log–log linear relationship between k2 and Kp and log–linear relationship between k2 and fc for mixed solvent systems. In addition, the slope of the log k2–log Kp relationship was found to be relatively solute independent. Predicted values of k2 in aqueous systems agreed well with experimentally measured values, thus, indicating the general applicability of the predictive approaches for predicting the sorption kinetics of hydrophobic organic compounds.
Idealized simulations of aerosol influences on tornadogenesis

[1] Numerical simulations of an idealized supercell thunderstorm were performed to assess effects of increased aerosol concentrations acting as cloud condensation nuclei (CCN) and giant CCN (GCCN) on tornadogenesis. Initial background profiles of CCN and GCCN concentrations were set to represent “clean” continental and aerosol-polluted environments, respectively. With a reduction in warm- and cold-rain processes, the polluted environment produced a longer-lived supercell with a well-defined rear flank downdraft (RFD) and relatively weak forward flank downdraft (FFD) that produced weak evaporative cooling, a weak cold pool, and an EF-1 tornado. The clean environment produced no tornado and was less favorable for tornadogenesis.
Direct Numerical Simulation of Shock-wave/Isotropic Turbulence Interaction

We conduct direct numerical simulations (DNS) of shock/isotropic-turbulence interactions (SITI), in which the turbulence is highly compressible. We find, consistent with previous studies using weakly compressible turbulence, that turbulent kinetic energy and spanwise vorticity fluctuations become persistently amplified upon passage through a shock wave and that the spanwise Taylor microscale becomes persistently diminished. In addition, we find that the directional bias predictably introduced by the shock wave into the initially isotropic flow persists to some degree well downstream; and we also find that the shape of the shock wave becomes distorted by the passing turbulence to such a degree that sections of it may be found far upstream of its average position, causing statistical changes attributable to shock interaction to begin unexpectedly early. I. Introduction The interaction of turbulence with shock waves occurs in many external and internal fluid flows, including but not limited to flows over the surfaces of fast-moving vehicles and flows within the engines of such vehicles. Strong coupling between the two phenomena and strong nonlinearities in the interaction dynamics can lead to substantial changes in the structures of both the shock wave, which may impinge on surfaces at altered locations and with altered intensities, and the passing turbulence, which may cause physical mechanisms such as energy transfer to behave di!eren tly throughout the entire downstream region. The simplest shock/turbulence interaction configuration is that of homogeneous isotropic turbulence interacting with a steadily moving normal shock wave, but because of di"culties in forming such a configuration experimentally and adequately resolving it numerically, a much larger body of work exists for interactions of shock waves with turbulent boundary layers than for interactions with isotropic turbulence. While studies of shock/turbulent-boundary-layer interactions are of great importance from the standpoints of both physics and engineering, concurrent studies of shock/isotropic-turbulence interactions (SITI) can help to elucidate which physical processes are common to shock/turbulence interaction in general and which may be unique to interactions that include boundary layers.
Angle, elevation, PRF, and illumination in radar microDoppler for security applications

We discovered several important characteristics that should be considered in the development of radar systems for the measurement of human micro-Doppler. First, radar which illuminates parts of the human body separately is capable of distinguishing more structure in the micro-Doppler because of the decreased interference from other body parts. Second, a PRF of even as low as 400 Hz is sufficient for measuring micro-Doppler, though higher is recommended. Third, the direction of motion of the target can be critical, but a higher elevation angle can be used to avoid the difficulties experienced when the motion of the targets is perpendicular to the beam of the radar.
COMPARATIVE PHYSIOLOGY AND MORPHOLOGY OF SIX STRAINS OF STIGONEMATACEAN BLUE‐GREEN ALGAE1

SUMMARY Six strains of branched blue-green algae were examined in a search for lines to an explanation for apparent noncompetitiveness. Classical taxonomic treatments were often inadequate for confident species determination; forms that were very differ their morphologically frequently “keyed” to the same species. Strain distinctions based on comparative morphological and physiological studies were inconclusive. With the exception of 1 species, there were no substantial differences in physiological rates. In addition to the branching habit, diversity of cellular form was found to be an outstanding group characteristic. Individual cells of developing trichomes became a spore-like and then divided to produce either cell clusters or lateral branches. The eventual separation of daughter cells by sheath materials may be analogous to spore formation in Nostocales and could be the factor which determines the nature of these organisms. The Stigonemataceae may not represent the pinnacle of blue-green algal development but may, instead, be a primitive and basic form linking coccoid and filamentous algae.
Saving power in the control path of embedded processors

CMOS circuits consume power during the charging and discharging of capacitances. Reducing switching activity then, saves power in embedded processors. The authors' two-pronged attack uses Gray code addressing and cold scheduling to eliminate bit switches. >
Evaluating the validity of blood-based membrane potential changes for the identification of bipolar disorder I

Abstract Objective The objective of this study was to develop a diagnostic blood test for bipolar disorder I using membrane potentials as biological markers. Methods We measured the fluorescence intensity of a dye sensitive to membrane potential in whole blood samples from bipolar I, unipolar, schizophrenic patients, and psychiatrically normal controls. Patients were diagnosed through structured clinical interviews according to DSM-IV. Both the t-test and logistic regression analysis were used to analyze the data. Results The membrane potential as indicated by the fluorescence intensity of the membrane potential dye in blood cells drawn from patients with bipolar disorder I was significantly different from the blood cells drawn from unipolar and schizophrenic patients, and from psychiatrically normal controls (P Conclusions These results indicate that the membrane potential of blood cells can be used as a diagnostic marker to augment the DSM-IV diagnosis of bipolar disorder I. Expanded clinical trials are needed to establish this technique for general use.
Development of gill and lung breathing in amphibia

In the 25 morphological stages of larval bullfrog development there exists a gradual transition from gill to lung ventilation associated with a developmental decrease in the contribution of the skin in gas exchange. Bath application of GABA and/or glycine inhibited gill but not lung burst activities of cranial nerve (CN) VII in the premetamorphic (stages 16–19) in vitro tadpole brainstem preparation [1]. It was proposed that the neural basis of gill rhythmogenesis involved network inhibition, whereas lung rhythmicity was pacemaker driven [1]. Bath application of a bicuculline/strychnine solution abolished gill and enhanced lung bursting in stages 16–19 in vitro [1]. Bath application of the GABAB receptor antagonist 2-hydroxy-saclofen disinhibited the lung central pattern generator (CPG) resulting in precocious lung bursting patterns as early as developmental stage 6 [2]. We recorded efferent activity from CNVII and spinal nerve (SN)II in the in vitro tadpole brainstem preparation in three successive developmental groups (3–9; 10–15; 16–19) before and after bath application of a 10 μM bicuculline and 5 μM strychnine solution. We also exposed the brainstem to bath pH7.4, 7.8, and 8.2 before and after bath application of bicuculline/strychnine. Bicuculline/strychnine produced lung ventilatory bursts in all developmental stages tested, indicating the presence of the lung CPG as well as excitatory synapses to respiratory motor neurons as early as stage 3. We also designed an experiment to examine the importance of lung ventilation on the developmental shift from gill to lung bursting. Two groups of tadpoles were hatched from eggs. Control tadpoles had free access to the air-water interface throughout development, whereas "barrier" tadpoles were denied access to the air-water interface via the placement of Plexiglas 2.5 cm below the surface of the water. CNVII and SNII efferent activities were recorded in vitro at bath pH7.4, 7.8, and 8.2 before and after bath application of 10 μM bicuculline and 5 μM strychnine. Postmetamorphic barrier tadpoles exhibited different motor patterns than stage-matched controls. Tadpoles reared in the barrier condition to stages 20–25 possessed fictive gill and lung ventilatory activities of premetamorphic tadpoles. All barrier tadpole preparations exhibited robust, spontaneous lung burst activity following bath application of bicuculline/strychnine. We propose that developmentally dependent GABA- and glycinergic mechanisms lead to disinhibition of the lung CPG such that early in development gill motor patterns are the dominant respiratory rhythm, whereas in late development the lung CPG is the dominant respiratory rhythm. Denying the tadpole the ability to "practice" lung breathing during metamorphosis produces a morphologically correct postmetamorphic tadpole with an immature, or premetamorphic respiratory rhythm. We propose that prevention of lung inflation in barrier tadpoles leads to premetamorphic levels of GABA- and glycinergic inhibition, and that this inhibition may be altered by pulmonary stretch receptor feedback in control tadpoles.
An end-to-end approach for the automatic derivation of application-aware error detectors

Critical Variable Recomputation (CVR) based error detection provides high coverage for data critical to an application while reducing the performance overhead associated with detecting benign errors. However, when implemented exclusively in software, the performance penalty associated with CVR based detection is unsuitably high. This paper addresses this limitation by providing a hybrid hardware/software tool chain which allows for the design of efficient error detectors while minimizing additional hardware. Detection mechanisms are automatically derived during compilation and mapped onto hardware where they are executed in parallel with the original task at runtime. When tested using an FPGA platform, results show that our approach incurs an area overhead of 53% while increasing execution time by 27% on average.
GIS Data Accuracy in the Developing World: Lessons from Southern Argentina

The use of geographic information systems (GIS) in developing countries has increased over the past decade as planners, resource managers, and researchers have embraced the technology to address a wide range of issues and questions. GIS technology in the developing world, however, warrants critical examination. One of the most alarming problems concerns the inaccuracy of and discrepancies among existing data sources. This article documents the experience of a foreign researcher who used GIS to assess land-cover change in the vicinity of the upper Percey River watershed, located in the Andean foothills of southern Argentina. The study revealed remarkable differences in land cover between a 1994 preliminary forest inventory and the final forest inventory released in 1997; 45.16 percent of the area analyzed experienced change. Discrepancies of a similar magnitude were also found between 1981 aerial photographs and 1981 topographic maps, both of which were produced by Argentina’s national mapping institution, the Instituto Geografico Militar (Military Geographic Institute). Results presented in this article demonstrate the importance of evaluating the integrity and accuracy of existing data before they are incorporated in a GIS-based project.
Effects of alcohol consumption and alcohol susceptibility on cognition: a psychophysiological examination

The present study sought to examine acute effects of alcohol on cognitive processing and performance within the context of two prominent theories of alcohol's effects; namely, that alcohol restricts the focus of attention (e.g. Steele and Josephs, 1990. Journal of Abnormal Psychology, 97, 196-205) and that alcohol impairs response inhibition (e.g. Fillmore and Vogel-Sprott, 1999. Experimental and Clinical Psychopharmacology, 7, 49-55; Fillmore and Vogel-Sprott, 2000. Journal of Studies on Alcohol, 61, 239-246). Forty-five participants were randomly assigned to receive either a placebo level of alcohol (0.04 g/kg), a moderate dose (0.40 g/kg), or a higher dose (0.80 g/kg). Brain electrical activity (ERPs) and behavioral responses (reaction time and accuracy) were measured while participants performed a modified flanker task, in which a target letter was flanked by response-compatible or response-incompatible letters. Analyses of behavioral data showed that alcohol increased response competition in accuracy but not response times, suggesting that alcohol influences response selection more than attentional processes per se. This finding is in-line with predictions derived from the response inhibition model. ERP latency data provided mixed support for both models. ERP amplitude data showed that the high dose of alcohol primarily influenced a mostly frontal negativity in the ERP, present on both correct and incorrect response trials. Differences in self-reported susceptibility to alcohol were most evident in the amplitude of the P3 component. Findings are discussed in terms of the differential effects of acute dose and susceptibility on information processing.
In Search of Systematicity in Interlanguage Production

This study evaluates a working hypothesis held by a number of second-language researchers that second-language learners progress in their acquisition of target language structure by observing regularities in their input, implicitly forming hypotheses, testing those hypotheses against further input, and revising some while dropping others as a result of their fit with the input. The study considers four possible sources for variability encountered in learner language: (1) the situation(s) in which particular forms are produced; (2) the learner's encoding and decoding capabilities; (3) the target language itself, whereby systematicity at one level may leave variability at another; and (4) the analyst and procedural decisions that may effect the perception of variability. The study concludes that the analyst's task must match in complexity that of the language learner if the fullness of the learner's accomplishments is to be captured accurately.
The “Railroad Scheme” of Massachusetts

By the 1820's, New England was in ferment. Unitarianism had shattered the old religious orthodoxy and, while the Dedham case provided a material dowry for the new religion, the sermons of William Ellery Channing furnished a theology and creed. In politics the dogmas of regional Federalism were weakened and soon Daniel Webster was to celebrate the virtues of an embracing nationalism which Pickering and his fellow conspirators of an earlier period would have found incomprehensible. Along the Merrimack were arising the cotton-mill towns, symbols of a new industrialism. An old order was giving way to a new. Once begun, change accelerated and touched one by one the institutions and ideas of the region. Of the economic factors that gave momentum to this transformation, the railroad was the most important. For it was the railroad that after 1830 tied New England into the nation. No longer was it to be a fringe of Hanseatic ports communicating with the rest of the world and with America by sea; it was to become a section in a developing nation. When Emerson wrote of Massachusetts, “From 1790 to 1820, there was not a book, a speech, a conversation, or a thought in the State,” he should have added that there was not a railroad. For the railroad, even though it may not have opened wider prospects, at least revealed different ones.
Perspectives on child and adolescent psychiatry from Brazil.

but almost everyother major adult psychiatric disorder. Based on thesedata, one might even argue that child and adolescentpsychiatry could be regarded as the parent field of adultand geriatric psychiatry!The past 50 years have seen dramatic changes inchildhood psychopathology research. A landmark earlystudy by Robins et al.
Variability in antibiotic prescribing patterns and outcomes in patients with clinically suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia.

Study objectives: To describe the variation in clinical practice strategies for the treatment of suspected ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) in a population of critically ill patients, and to determine whether initial empiric treatment with certain antibiotics, monotherapy vs combination antibiotic therapy, or appropriate vs inappropriate antibiotic therapy is associated with survival, length of hospital stay, or days free of antibiotics. Design: Prospective, observational cohort study. Setting: Medical-surgical ICUs of two university-affiliated tertiary medical centers. Patients: Between May 1, 1998, and August 1, 2000, we screened 7,030 ICU patients and identified 156 patients with clinically suspected VAP. Patients were followed up until death or discharge from the hospital. Results: The mean age was 62 years, mean APACHE (acute physiology and chronic health evaluation) II score was 14, and mortality was 34%. Combination antibiotic therapy was used in 53% of patients. Piperacillin-tazobactam, fluoroquinolones, vancomycin, cephalosporins, and aminoglycosides were the most commonly employed antibiotics. Initial empiric antibiotics were deemed appropriate in 92% of patients. The predominant organisms isolated from respiratory secretions included Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus. Patients had lower in-hospital mortality rates if their initial treatment regimen included an antipseudomonal penicillin plus -lactamase inhibitor (hazard ratio [HR], 0.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.21 to 0.80; p 0.009). There was also a strong trend toward reduced mortality rates in patients treated with aminoglycosides (HR, 0.43; 95% CI, 0.16 to 1.11; p 0.08). Specific antibiotic therapy was not associated with length of hospital stay or days free of antibiotics. Outcomes were similar for patients treated with monotherapy vs combination therapy, and for patients who received initial appropriate vs inappropriate therapy. Conclusions: Patients with clinically suspected VAP who receive initial empiric therapy with antipseudomonal penicillins plus -lactamase inhibitors, and possibly aminoglycosides, have lower in-hospital mortality rates when compared with those who are not treated with these antibiotics. These agents should be considered for the initial empiric therapy of VAP. (CHEST 2003; 123:835–844)
Effective Spelling Instruction for Students with Learning Disabilities.

Difficulty with spelling is a perennial challenge for students with learning disabilities. Several decades of research, however, have identified both fundamental linguistic concepts and instructional approaches that, when understood by a teacher, can be applied to teach students with learning disabilities to spell. In this article, a brief history of spelling instruction and an overview of key concepts are presented, followed by specific strategies teachers can use to improve long-term retention of accurate spelling for students with learning disabilities.
Distributed Multipole Models for Design and Control of PM Actuators and Sensors

Design and control of multi-degree-of-freedom (DOF) electromagnetic actuators require a good understanding of the magnetic fields, and involve real-time calculation of magnetic forces. This paper presents a method to derive distributed multipole (DMP) models for characterizing the magnetic field and torque of permanent magnet (PM) based devices. The DMP method, which offers magnetic-field solutions in closed form, inherits many advantages of the dipole model originally conceptualized in the context of physics, but provides an effective means to account for the shape and magnetization of the physical magnet. Three practical applications are given to demonstrate the DMP models for design of PM-based actuators and sensing systems. The magnetic fields and forces calculated using DMP models have been validated by comparing against numerical and experimental results which show excellent agreement.
A bandwidth enhancement technique for microstrip fed slot arrays

A theoretical model that shows that the concept of double-tuned waveguide coupled slots is a feasible approach for increasing bandwidth is developed. A full-wave integral equation technique has been developed which allows the analysis of not only thick slots. but also slots which are coupled through a section of waveguide. The latter case also provides a mechanism for improved performance. By adjusting the slots on the ends of the waveguide section to different lengths. one can essentially 'stagger tune' each slot to a different frequency, increasing the overall bandwidth. Within the limited range of parameter variation used, apparent bandwidth increases in the order of at least 50% have been seen. To illustrate the behavior of the structure, a 0.60 in*0.60 in cavity fed by a stripline with a ground spacing of .125 in at 9.7 GHz is studied. >
Automated Testing and Response Analysis ofWeb Services

Web services are a popular way of implementing a Service-Oriented Architecture (SOA), which has gained rapid adoption and support from leading companies in industry. Testing can be used to help assure both the corectness and robustness of a web service. Because manual testing is tedious, tools are needed to automate test generation and execution for web services. This paper presents a framework and its supporting tool for automaically generating and executing web-service requests and analyzing the subsequent request-response pairs. Given a service provider's Web Service Description Language (WSDL) specification, we first automatically generate neessary Java code to implement a client (service requestor). We then leverage automated unit test generation tools for Java to generate unit tests (including extreme, special, and random input values), and execute the generated unit tests, which in turn invoke the service under test. Finally we an alyze the large number of request-response pairs from the web service invocation and identify robustness problems. We have applied our framework to freely available web services and our experiences show that we can quickly gen erate and execute web-service requests that may reveal robustness problems with no knowledge of the underlying web service implementation.
Observer-Based Estimation of Diesel Engine Aftertreatment System NO and NO2 Concentrations

This paper presents an observer design for Diesel engine aftertreatment system NO and NO2 concentrations estimations. NO and NO2 have different reaction characteristics within SCR systems. Current production NOx sensors cannot differentiate NO and NO2 . Such an observer thus can be used by selective catalytic reduction (SCR) system control and diagnosis purposes. Diesel oxidation catalyst (DOC) and Diesel particulate filter (DPF) were considered as the catalysts which can affect NO/NO2 fraction of the exhaust gas upstream of the SCR. The observer was designed based on an experimentally-validated control-oriented dynamic model which can accurately represent the NO and NO2 dynamics from engine-out, through DOC, and to DPF. Stability of the observer was theoretically proved through a Lyapunov analysis assisted by insight into the system characteristics. The effectiveness of the observer was shown by comparing the estimated NO and NO2 concentrations with the measured ones by a Horiba emissions measurement system.Copyright © 2010 by ASME
Loss of Sarcomere-associated Formins Disrupts Z-line Organization, but does not Prevent Thin Filament Assembly in Caenorhabditis elegans Muscle

Members of the formin family of actin filament nucleation factors have been implicated in sarcomere formation, but precisely how these proteins affect sarcomere structure remains poorly understood. Of six formins in the simple nematode Caenorhabditis elegans, only FHOD-1 and CYK-1 contribute to sarcomere assembly in the worm's obliquely striated body-wall muscles. We analyze here the ultrastructure of body-wall muscle sarcomeres in worms with putative null fhod-1 and cyk-1 gene mutations. Contrary to a simple model that formins nucleate actin for thin filament assembly, formin mutant sarcomeres contain thin filaments. Rather, formin mutant sarcomeres are narrower and have deformed thin filament-anchoring Z-line structures. Thus, formins affect multiple aspects of sarcomere structure.
Errors in Determining Instar Numbers through Head Capsule Measurements of a Lepidopteran—a Laboratory Study and Critique

Larvae of Choristoneura viridis Freeman (Tortricidae) were reared individually on an artificial medium in the laboratory under controlled conditions. The larvae exhibited developmental polymorphism, i.e., some larvae had a total of 6 instars, others 7, and still others 8 instars. Except for instar I, all larval head capsules were recovered and widths measured for each larva in the study population. A frequency distribution curve of capsule widths suggested only 6 instars, when in fact over 57% of individuals showed 7 or more instars. Head capsule width ranges for successive instars, as suggested by the multimodal frequency distribution curve, were not in agreement with known values for the laboratory population, nor were they in agreement when values for the population were segregated by sex irrespective of larval instar group. Peaks in the curve could be interpreted only after the head capsule widths in the population were segregated by instar group. In larval growth regressions for the population as well as for head capsules broken down by sex and/or instar group, standard error of estimate values appeared to be more sensitive than R2 values in reflecting relative precisions of equations. Generated frequency distribution curves of head capsule widths support the argument that frequency distribution of head capsule widths cannot be used to assign instar numbers in lepidopterous species with developmental polymorphism.
Yellow eye color mutant in Trichoplusia ni (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae).

A yellow-eyed mutant adult occurred as a spontaneous mutation in a laboratory culture of cabbage loopers, Trichoplusia ni (Hubner). The wild-type adults have gray-brown compound eyes. No other differences from the wild-type were detected in the external characteristics of the mutant phenotype. Internally, the wild-type male has brightly colored brick-red testes, and the mutant has white testes. The mutant, designated bagheera, is a simple Mendelian autosomal recessive with complete penetrance. Mutants have less than normal amounts of the ommochrome dihydroxyxanthommatin in their heads, indicating a possible defect in the pathway from tryptophan to xanthommatin.
Targeting Calcium Magnesium Silicates for Polycaprolactone/Ceramic Composite Scaffolds

Because the natural mechanical strength of materials is highly dependent on the crystal structure, four different silicate-derived ceramics—diopside, akermanite, monticellite, and merwinite—have be...
Rapid energy equilibration and emission of H and He in the reaction of 340-MeV /sup 40/Ar with /sup 197/Au

Energy and angular distributions have been measured for H and He both in singles and in coincidence with a heavy fragment. Large cross sections have been observed for both a low-temperature component at backward angles and a high-temperature component at forward angles. Both the preequilibrium and evaporationlike components are apparently emitted prior to scission, predominantly in coincidence with fragments of Z>27. The angular anisotropy and out-of-plane correlation for /sup 4/He are not consistent with emission from the composite systems of highest spin ( approx. = 190 h) but are consistent with emission from the /sup 237/Bk composite with average spin approx. = 70 h. Extensive energy sharing and H/He emission occur in many reactions so rapidly as to precede fission which is heavily favored by energetic and phase space considerations.
Abstract 13: Telomere length and pancreatic cancer in the alpha-tocopherol beta-carotene cancer prevention (ATBC) study.

Abstract Genome-wide association studies have found an association between pancreatic cancer and the TERT or telomerase gene. Smoking and diabetes, consistent risk factors for pancreatic cancer, are also factors that influence telomere length maintenance. To test whether blood leukocyte telomere length is associated with pancreatic cancer risk, we conducted a nested case-control study in the Alpha-Tocopherol, Beta-Carotene Cancer Prevention (ATBC) Study cohort of male smokers, aged 50-69 years at baseline. Between 1992 and 2004, 193 incident cases of pancreatic adenocarcinoma occurred (mean follow-up from blood draw: 6.3 years) among participants with whole blood samples available for telomere length assays. For these cases and 660 controls, we calculated odds ratios (OR) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using unconditional logistic regression, adjusting for age, number of years smoked regularly, and history of diabetes mellitus. Telomere length was categorized into quartiles (shortest to longest) and analyzed as both a categorical and a continuous normal variable (reported per 0.2 unit increase in telomere length). All statistical tests were two-sided. Longer telomere length was significantly associated with increased pancreatic cancer risk (continuous OR=1.26 95% CI=1.09-1.46; highest quartile compared to lowest, OR=1.57, 95% CI=1.01-2.43, p-trend=0.007). This effect remained for subjects diagnosed within the first five years of blood draw (continuous OR=1.46, 95% CI=1.19-1.79 highest quartile OR=2.92, 95%CI=1.47-5.77, p-trend=0.002), but not subjects diagnosed greater than five years from blood draw (continuous OR=1.03, 95%CI=0.85-1.22; highest quartile OR=1.04, 95%CI=0.60-1.79). This is the first study to suggest an association between longer blood leukocyte telomere length and increased pancreatic cancer risk. Citation Format: Shannon M. Lynch, Jacqueline M. Major, Richard Cawthon, Stephanie J. Weinstein, Jarmo Virtamo, Qing Lan, Nathaniel Rothman, Demetrius Albanes, Rachael Z. Stolzenberg-Solomon. Telomere length and pancreatic cancer in the alpha-tocopherol beta-carotene cancer prevention (ATBC) study. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Post-GWAS Horizons in Molecular Epidemiology: Digging Deeper into the Environment; 2012 Nov 11-14; Hollywood, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2012;21(11 Suppl):Abstract nr 13.
A Fatal Overdose of Paraldehyde During Treatment of a Case of Delirium Tremens

Paraldehyde has been used as a hypnotic for almost one hundred years. At the present time, it is chiefly used for suppression of the symptoms of alcohol withdrawal. During its long use, paraldehyde has gained a reputation for extreme safety. Because of this reputation, it is often dispensed without due caution.
Clinical and mechanism study on acupoint magnet plastening therapy for treatment of simple obesity

Objective: To study clinical effect and mechanisms of acupoint magnet plastering therapy for treatment of simple obesity. Methods: Sixty cases of simple obesity were randomly divided into an acupoint magnet plastering therapy group and an acupuncture group. 30 cases in each group, and acupoints were selected based on differentiation of symptoms and signs.their changes of BMI, WHR, serum Leptin before and after treatment were assessed. Their therapeutic effects were compared after treatment. Results: After treatment, the total effective rate were 70.0% in acupuncture group and 63. 3% in acupoint magnet plastering therapy group (P0.05). After the treatment, BMI and Leptin level in two groups decreased (P 0.01) ;WHR of acupuncture group was not changed (P 0. 05) , but it was decreased in acupoint magnet plastering therapy group (P0.01). Conclusion:Acupoint magnet plastering therapy and acupuncture all have exact therapeutic effect on reducing weight.acupoint magnet plastering therapy is better to reduce abdominal fat than acupuncture. To relieve leptin resistance may be a mechanism of treatment for simple obesity.
Epidemiological analysis of acute flaccid paralysis cases and evaluation of monitoring system in Mianyang City from 2007-2011

[Objective]To analyze the epidemiological characteristics of acute flaccid paralysis(AFP) cases and operation condition of monitoring system in Mianyang City,guide the elimination of poliomyelitis.[Methods]The data of questionnaires,follow-up tables and related records of AFP case in Mianyang City from 2007-2011 were collected and statistically analyzed with the descriptive epidemiological method.[Results]A total of 103 AFP cases were reported in Mianyang City from 2007-2011,and the average annual incidence rate was 2.93/lakh.The sensibility,promptness and integrity of the monitoring system exceeded the standards of the Ministry of Health.[Conclusion]AFP monitoring system in Mianyang City runs well,but the sensibility,promptness and quality of case reports should be improved,and immunization program has weak link in some areas.There still exist the risks of imported case caused by wild poliovirus and vaccine-associated poliomyelitis cases.It is necessary to further strengthen health education and related technical training.
Molecular characterization of enterovirus 71 strain isolated in Tianjin

Objective:To explore the molecular characteristics of the VP1 coding fragment from EV71 strains that isolated in Tianjin.Methods:The strains of virus were isolated by cell culture,12 isolated strains as well as 4 positive specimen were selected for sequencing of complete VP1 coding gene and analyzed by software.Results:The VP1-based analysis indicated that the strains detected from Tianjin formed a distinct cluster in subgenotype C4,having 91.5% to 93.5% nucleotide sequence identities.They also clustered with reference strains of C4 subgenotype in the phylogenetic tree.Conclusion:The C4 subgenotype of EV71 is one of the important pathogens of HFMD in Tianjin.The 16 specimen in this study cluster three close together in our phylogenetic analysis,suggesting that there may be several transferchains in Tianjin,but we still need to get more molecular epidemiologic data.
Transformative Learning Through Education Abroad: A Case Study of a Community College Program

Identified as a “high-impact” educational activity (Kuh 2008), study abroad is recognized as an integral component of the American undergraduate experience. Over 85 % of American universities currently provide some sort of study abroad opportunity to their students (Whalen 2008). Despite the pervasiveness of such programs, in the 2012–2013 academic year, community college students comprised only 2 % of American study abroad participants (Institute of International Education 2013).