cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A numerical study on elastic properties of low-density two-dimensional networks of crosslinked long fibers

Abstract Fiber-based materials are prevalent in nature and in engineering applications. Microscopically, these materials resemble a discrete assembly of crosslinked or entangled fibers. To understand the relationship between the effective mechanical properties and the underlying microstructures, we consider a variety of periodic and random two-dimensional (2D) networks of crosslinked long fibers. The linearly elastic properties of periodic 2D networks (e.g., square, triangular and Kagome) are well understood. However, for low-density networks, cooperative buckling of the fiber segments can take place at small strains, leading to nonlinear, anisotropic elastic behaviors. A transition from stretch to bending and then back to stretch dominated deformation is predicted for the Kagome and triangular networks. For random 2D networks, the elastic behaviors are different. Under uniaxial tension, the stress–strain behavior is statistically isotropic and slightly nonlinear, dominated by stretch of the fibers aligned closely to the loading direction. Meanwhile, stochastic buckling occurs continuously in the random networks, leading to significant lateral contraction. Consequently, while the effective Young’s modulus follows a nearly linear scaling with respect to the relative density, the effective Poisson’s ratio exhibits a transition from stretch to bending dominated mode as the relative density decreases. A statistical analysis is performed to estimate the relative errors of the effective properties that depend on both the computational box size and the number of random realizations. The comparison between the periodic and random 2D networks highlights the profound effects of the network topology on the effective elastic properties.
An Analysis of Sex Practices and Behaviors Among African Americans in Sexually Concurrent and Sexually Exclusive Relationships.

Historically, sexually concurrent relationships have been associated with increased risk for sexually transmitted infections (STIs), including HIV. Due to socio-structural factors, African Americans (AAs) have higher rates of STIs compared to other racial groups and are more likely to engage in sexually concurrent (SC) relationships. Current research has challenged the assumption that SC is the only risky relationship type, suggesting that both SC and sexually exclusive (SE) relationships are at equal risk of STI and HIV acquisition and that both relationship types should engage in safer sex practices. This study aimed to compare sex practices and behaviors among AA men and women in SC and SE relationships (N = 652). Results demonstrate differences in sexual practices and behaviors between SC and SE men and women. Overall, SC and SE women report condom use with male partners less frequently than SC and SE men. SC men were more likely to report substance use during sex compared to SC and SE women. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) use did not differ across groups. SE men were less likely to report STI testing and diagnosis compared to SC women. Findings support the need to focus on culturally and gender-specific safer sex interventions among AAs.
Disasters and the American State: How Politicians, Bureaucrats, and the Public Prepare for the Unexpected

Disasters and the American State offers a thesis about the trajectory of federal government involvement in preparing for disaster shaped by contingent events. Politicians and bureaucrats claim credit for the government's successes in preparing for and responding to disaster, and they are also blamed for failures outside of government's control. New interventions have created precedents and established organizations and administrative cultures that accumulated over time and produced a general trend in which citizens, politicians and bureaucrats expect the government to provide more security from more kinds of disasters. The trend reached its peak when the Federal Emergency Management Agency adopted the idea of preparing for 'all hazards' as its mantra. Despite the rhetoric, however, the federal government's increasingly bold claims and heightened public expectations are disproportionate to the ability of the federal government to prevent or reduce the damage caused by disaster.
Creating a New World

In order to discover, scientists sometimes have to invent. Consider the devices Faraday had to build in order to explore electricity and magnetism. On a larger scale, consider Ernest O. Lawrence’s invention of the cyclotron, which made it possible to explore the universe of elementary particles at new levels of precision and depth (Kevles, 1977).25
Biological Oxidation of Coke Plant Effluent

The purpose of this study was to address some of these issues by investigation of biological oxidation characteristics of specific coke plant ammonia still effluent. Specific objectives were to det...
Conversations + Interfaces = Business Logic

In the traditional application model, services are tightly coupled with the processes they support. For example, whenever a server's process changes, existing clients using that process must also be updated. However, electronic commerce is moving toward e-service based interactions, where corporate enterprises use e-services to interact with each other dynamically, and a service in one enterprise could spontaneously decide to engage a service fronted by another enterprise. We clarify here the relationship between currently developing standards such as UDDI, WSDL, and WSCL, and propose a conversation controller mechanism that leverages such standards to direct services in their conversations. We can thus treat services as pools of methods, independent of the conversations they support. Even method names can be decided on independently of the conversations. Services can spontaneously discover each other and then engage in complicated interactions without the services themselves having to explicitly support conversational logic. The dynamism and flexibility enabled by this decoupling is the essential difference between applications offered over the web and e-services.
Exploring Factors Associated with Wireless Internet via Mobile Technology Acceptance in Mainland China

This study explores factors significantly impact the acceptance of Wireless Internet via Mobile Technology (WIMT) in China. The results indicate that the acceptance of WIMT is related with factors of: perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, social influences, wireless trust environment, and facilitating conditions. It provides diagnostic insight into how different factors influence user intention to accept WIMT in China, and thus help business build solid strategy to prompt WIMT and m-commerce there. INTRODUCTION Mobile Commerce (also called m-commerce or wireless commerce) represents the convergence of two technologies – the web, which has radically changed how to conduct business, and wireless technology, which through mobile devices such as cell phone, PDA, or pager, has added a mobile dimension to e-commerce and mobile computing (Coyle, 2001). Mobile Commerce is a subset of electronic commerce (e-commerce), which is forecasted to continue to grow and has a profound impact on the global business environment despite recent poor performance from the Internet sector (Forrest Research, 2001). Indeed, m-commerce, which delivers e-commerce capabilities directly into the consumer's hand via wireless technology, can be a force with strong
Incidence of Healthcare-Associated Infections in a Pediatric Population With an Extracorporeal Ventricular Assist Device

During the last decade, ventricular assist devices (VADs) have become a precious tool to support children with end-stage heart failure. However, thromboembolic events, bleeding, and infections may have a considerable impact on outcome. We retrospectively analyzed the incidence of healthcare-associated infections (HAIs) in nine patients supported by EXCOR Pediatric (Berlin Heart [BH]) VAD in a pediatric cardiosurgical intensive care unit between January 1, 2009 and March 31, 2011 (27 months). Median age was 8 months (interquartile range [IQR] 6-11), median weight 7.5 kg (IQR 4.5-8.5). Seven patients were supported with a left VAD, two with a biventricular VAD (BiVAD). Six patients with a left VAD underwent heart transplant after 89 days (median, IQR 41-143) of support. One patient is still on the waiting list. All patients with BiVAD died after 12 days of assistance due to VAD malfunction. Sixteen HAIs were reported in five out of nine patients (56%). All infected patients were supported by a left VAD. When compared with noninfected patients, they had a longer mechanical support period (median 131 days, IQR 75-164, vs. 25 days, IQR 11-61, P = 0.03), a longer intensive care unit stay (median 159 days, IQR 85-188, vs. 48 days, IQR 17-87, P = 0.06) and a longer length of hospital stay (median 186 days, IQR 105-222, vs. 64 days, IQR 34-113, P = 0.06). Overall, nine mechanical devices were replaced for thromboembolic issues, most of them (67%) in patients with VAD-related infections. Overall, infection rate was 17.6 per 1000 patients days, 1.3 BH endocarditis per 1000 BH days, 4.0 surgical sites infections per 1000 BH days, 12.5 central line-associated blood stream infections per 1000 central venous catheter days, 5 catheter-associated urinary tract infections per 1000 urinary catheter days, and 13.5 ventilator-associated pneumonia cases per 1000 mechanical ventilation days. Overall, VAD-related infections were 5.4 per 1000 BH days. Of the 17 isolated pathogens, 53% were Gram-negative rods, with a prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa (35.3%). Four bacteria were multidrug resistant (25%), three were carbapenem-resistant P. aeruginosa (50% of all isolated pseudomonads), and one was a methicillin-resistant S. aureus. VADs used as a bridge to cardiac transplantation are associated with a large number of HAIs. Patients with infected VADs were admitted for longer time in intensive care and in hospital with increased healthcare costs but with no impact on survival.
Storage, Slow Transport, and the Law of One Price: Evidence from the Nineteenth Century U.S. Corn Market

This paper develops a rational expectations model of physical arbitrage incorporating storage and trade to explain how markets are integrated when trade is costly and non-instantaneous. The paper finds a striking empirical verification of the model from an analysis of the late nineteenth century corn markets in Chicago and New York. The dataset is particularly high quality and includes weekly data on spot and future prices, storage quantities and the cost of three modes of transport for a fourteen year period. In keeping with the model, it is shown that the New York spot price frequently exceeded both the New York futures price and the Chicago spot price plus the transport cost by several percent when inventories in New York were low, but not when they were high. The paper also derives a supply of storage curve for New York corn and argues it can be explained as the outcome of rational arbitrage when transport is slow.
The Best Interests of the Child: The Least Detrimental Alternative

What principles should guide the courts in deciding the fate of hundreds of thousands of children involved every year in parental divorces and family breakdowns? What should justify state intrusion on the privacy of family relationships? How should professionals - judges, lawyers, social workers, psychiatrists, and psychologists - conduct themselves in pursuing "the best interests" of children who have been abandoned, neglected, or abused? The agonizing dilemmas posed by these three questions were the subject of one of the seminal publishing events in the history of The Free press. The result has been a set of historic guidelines which forms the basis of their landmark trilogy Beyond the Best Interests of the Child, Before the Best Interests of the Child, and In the Best Interests of the Child, published between 1973 and 1986. The authors speak in one voice in concluding that the continuity of care - continuity of a child's relationship with his or her adult caregiver - is a universal essential to the child's well-being. To this end, they stress that minimizing intrusions by the law is paramount to safeguarding the child's growth and development. "The least detrimental alternative" - the authors overarching guideline for assuring the continuity of the psychological parent-child relationship - has been cited in more than a thousand child custody cases since 1973.
TMECHANICS OF ENAMEL ADHERENCE. X

The formation and significance of the so-called “iron oxide layer” have have studied experimentally and are discussed here.
Clostridium difficile infection: A brief update on emerging therapies.

Purpose Established and investigational antibiotic, monoclonal antibody, vaccine, and microbe-based approaches to the prevention and treatment of Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) are reviewed. Summary CDI is increasingly prevalent in the United States and other countries, particularly among hospitalized patients and the elderly, who are at high risk for potentially fatal CDI-related enterotoxic diarrhea. Established therapies for CDI such as vancomycin and metronidazole (an off-label use) are limited by poor efficacy and high recurrence rates. An investigational antibiotic with potent in vitro activity against all C. difficile strains (including the hypervirulent BI/NAP1/027 strain) has yielded encouraging results in early clinical trials. Another promising approach involves the use of monoclonal antibodies with selective activity against toxins responsible for CDI-associated diarrhea; in a small Phase II clinical trial, a single monoclonal antibody infusion in combination with vancomycin or metronidazole therapy was more effective than antibiotic therapy alone in preventing CDI relapse. Other emerging approaches to CDI treatment and prophylaxis include the use of vaccines against C. difficile toxins (several C. difficile –targeted vaccines are under development in Europe and the United States); microbe-based strategies such as fecal microbiota transplants, “microbial ecosystem therapeutics,” and probiotic supplements; and an investigational encapsulated form of β-lactamase designed to prevent C. difficile colonization from progressing to CDI. Conclusion The current antibiotic therapies for CDI, mainly vancomycin and (off-label) metronidazole and the newer agent fidaxomicin, have limitations with respect to efficacy, recurrence rates, and adverse effects, but a variety of promising approaches are emerging.
Graphs with equal Independence and Annihilation Numbers

The annihilation number $a$ of a graph is an upper bound of the independence number $\alpha$ of a graph. In this article we characterize graphs with equal independence and annihilation numbers. In particular, we show that $\alpha=a$ if, and only if, either (1) $a\geq \frac{n}{2}$ and $\alpha' =a$, or (2) $a
PCR detection of nearly any dengue virus strain using a highly sensitive primer 'cocktail'

PCR detection of viral pathogens is extremely useful, but suffers from the challenge of detecting the many variant strains of a given virus that arise over time. Here, we report the computational derivation and initial experimental testing of a combination of 10 PCR primers to be used in a single high-sensitivity mixed PCR reaction for the detection of dengue virus. Primer sequences were computed such that their probability of mispriming with human DNA is extremely low. A 'cocktail' of 10 primers was shown experimentally to be able to detect cDNA clones representing the four serotypes and dengue virus RNA spiked into total human whole blood RNA. Computationally, the primers are predicted to detect 95% of the 1688 dengue strains analyzed (with perfect primer match). Allowing up to one mismatch and one insertion per primer, the primer set detects 99% of strains. Primer sets from three previous studies have been compared with the present set of primers and their relative sensitivity for dengue virus is discussed. These results provide the formulation and demonstration of a mixed primer PCR reagent that may enable the detection of nearly any dengue strain irrespective of serotype, in a single PCR reaction, and illustrate an approach to the broad problem of detecting highly mutable RNA viruses.
Testing Goodness-of-Fit for the Singly Truncated Normal Distribution Using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov Statistic

This paper proposes the singly truncated normal distribution as a model for estimating radiance measurements from satellite-borne infrared sensors. These measurements are made in order to estimate sea-surface temperatures which can be related to radiances. Maximum-likelihood estimation is used to provide estimates for the unknown parameters. In particular, a procedure is described for estimating clear radiances in the presence of clouds and the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic is used to test goodness-of-fit of the measurements to the singly truncated normal distribution. Tables of quantile values of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov statistic for several values of the truncation point are generated from Monte Carlo experiments. Finally a numerical example using satellite data is presented to illustrate the application of the procedures.
Enhancement of nitroblue tetrazolium dye reduction by leucocytes exposed to a factor released from sensitised lymphocytes.

ENHANCEMENT OF NITROBLUE TETRAZOLIUM DYE REDUCTION BY LEUCOCYTES EXPOSED TO A FACTOR RELEASED FROM SENSITISED LYMPHOCYTES
Systematic investigations on magneto-structural correlations of copper(II) coordination polymers based on organic ligands with mixed carboxylic and nitrogen-based moieties.

Reaction of copper(II) tetrazolate-5-carboxylate with different neutral N-donor spacer ligands under hydrothermal conditions leads to the formation of five new coordination polymers, [Cu(tzc)(pyz)0.5(H2O)2]n·H2O (1), [Cu(tzc)(pyz)]n (2), [Cu(tzc)(pym)(H2O)]n (3), [Cu(tzc)(dpe)0.5(H2O)]n (4) and [Cu(tzc)(azpy)0.5(H2O)]n (5) (tzc = tetrazolate-5-carboxylate, pyz = pyrazine, pym = pyrimidine, dpe = 1,2-di(4-pyridyl)ethylene and azpy = 4,4′-azopyridine). All five structures were characterized by X-ray single-crystal measurements and bulk material can be prepared phase pure in high yields. The crystal structures of the hydrates 1, 3, 4 and 5 show dimeric [Cu2(Ntzc–Ntzc)2] building units formed by μ2-N1,O1:N2 bridging tzc ligands as the characteristic structural motif. These six-membered entities in 1, 4 and 5 are connected by μ2-N,N′ bridging N-donor ligands into 1D chains and in 3 into 2D layers. In the crystal structure of compound 2 adjacent Cu(II) cations are connected by μ2-N1,O1:N4,O2 bridging tzc ligands into chains, which are further connected by μ2-N,N′ bridging pyz ligands forming 2D layers. Extensive hydrogen bonds in all compounds play an important role in the construction of their supramolecular networks. Investigations of their thermal properties reveal water release upon heating according to the formation of anhydrates before starting decomposing above 220 °C. Furthermore, the magnetic properties have been studied leading to consistent global antiferromagnetic exchange interactions with coupling constants of J = 3 ± 1 cm−1 and long-range antiferromagnetic ordering states at lower temperatures.
Complexity, Universal Libraries, dna Sequences

Abstract Complexity studies are burgeoning into an ever-increasing number of fields. This paper seeks to abstract from a large number of non-biological complexity areas some exemplar common thread representative of many complexity areas. One such common thread is identified, a thread leading immediately to the notion of Universal Library, as an additional complexity area, containing all possible texts and, correspondingly, encompassing all possible knowledge (amidst, naturally, a welter of partially and wholly senseless texts). This notion is then wedded to an elementary portion of number theory, to indicate where replicas of universal libraries exist and with what certain attributes. Next, a representative example of a biological complexity area—DNA sequences—is introduced. While DNA is often casually termed a library specifying the heritability machinery of individuals and species, this paper briefly explores whether explicit relations exist between DNA sequences and universal libraries, to help test, inter alia, the strength of the initially identified complexity thread to link non-biological and biological complexity areas. This theme of common linking threads has many interesting open research issues.
Insitu multiscale analysis of fracture mechanisms in nanocomposites

Toughening mechanisms in hard, metal oxide nanoparticle reinforced epoxy systems were analyzed using a multi-scale approach. Samples on varying scales were fabricated using a shear mixing device and the dispersion of the particles was characterized. On the macro-scale, four-point bend testing showed a maximum of an 80% increase in fracture toughness over neat resin samples for composites with low filler volume percents. Novel testing completed within the chamber of a focused ion beam provided insight into the mechanisms of fracture on the microscale, providing validation of the existence of microcracking and crack pinning in the material. Further analysis of the results was coupled with finite element analysis to determine the feasibility of proposed fracture mechanisms, providing insight for the direction of future analysis.
Multiple charge-transfer bands in the liquid-phase spectra of alkyl iodide-atomic iodine systems

Abstract Two bands have been resolved in the liquid-phase spectra of transient complexes between I atoms and five alkyl iodides. Ionization potential dependence and similarity to comparable vapor-phase systems indicate the charge-transfer nature of both bands.
Mild hypothermia prevents ischemic injury in gerbil hippocampus.

The objective of this study was to define the degree of hypothermia required to diminish ischemic injury to CA1 hippocampal neurons following 5-min bilateral ischemia in the gerbil. The temperature...
Capillary electrophoresis coupled with automated fraction collection.

Abstract A fraction collector based on a drop-on-demand ink-jet printer was developed to interface capillary zone electrophoresis with a 96 well microtiter plate. We first evaluated the performance of the collector by using capillary zone electrophoresis to analyze a 1 mM solution of tetramethylrhodamine; a fluorescent microtiter plate reader was then used to detect the analyte and characterize fraction carryover between wells. Relative standard deviation in peak height was 20% and the relative standard deviation in migration time was 1%. The mean and standard deviation of the tetramethylrhodamine peak width was 5±1 s and likely limited by the 4-s period between droplet deposition. We next injected a complex mixture of DNA fragments and used real-time PCR to quantify the product in a CE-SELEX experiment. The reconstructed electrophoretic peak was 27 s in duration. Finally, we repeated the experiment in the presence of a 30-µM thrombin solution under CE-SELEX conditions; fractions were collected and next-generation sequencing was used to characterize the DNA binders. Over 25,000 sequences were identified with close matches to known thrombin binding aptamers.
TRANSIENT ANALYSIS OF PERMANENT CUSTOMERS IN A SINGLE-SERVER QUEUE WITH MIXED TRAFFIC

Single-server queueing systems with mixed traffic are a flexible modeling tool that have been used to analyze polling systems and database striping strategies. They also have applications in manufacturing and telecommunication systems. Ordinary (open) customers arrive according to a Poisson process, receive service, and leave the system. Permanent (closed) customers remain in the system, reentering the queue after receiving service. This work examines the transient behavior of the permanent customers. The cycle times and output/departure process for the permanent customers are described.
The efficacy and safety of 50 mg penicillin G potassium troches for recurrent aphthous ulcers

Abstract Purpose To determine both the efficacy and safety of the topical application of 50 mg penicillin G potassium troches (Cankercillin™) in the treatment of minor recurrent aphthous stomatitis (RAS). Study design The investigation used a phase 2 double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial with a no-treatment arm. Subjects with minor aphthous ulcers of duration Results Thirty-one, 33, and 36 subjects were randomized to the active treatment, placebo, and no-treatment arms, respectively. Baseline findings were heterogeneous across arms. Subjects who received penicillin G treatment had complete ulcer healing and pain relief significantly earlier than those in the placebo and no-treatment arms. No allergic reactions were observed. Conclusions Topical penicillin G, by mechanisms which remain unclear, reduces the time of healing and pain relief of minor aphthous ulcers with minimal safety concerns. Larger phase 3 studies are necessary to confirm these findings.
The effects of negative affectivity, hierarchical status, and self-determination on workplace victimization

This study investigated the conditions under which employees are more or less likely to become targets of coworkers’ aggressive actions. Results from a field survey showed people high in negative affectivity more often perceived themselves as victims, as did people who were low in the self-determination component of empowerment. In addition, hierarchical status appeared to buffer the influence of negative affectivity: Negative affectivity was not related to indirect victimization for higher-status people but was positively related to indirect victimization for lower-status people.
WI-PATCH: stick-on wireless sensor platform for continuous monitoring of human physiology

World's population is aging at an unprecedented rate due to increased average lifespan. It is estimated that by 2050, over 45% of human population will be above the age of 50. Consequently there is great need for monitoring technologies that can facilitate remote and automated monitoring of elderly, as well as other population groups with other potential health monitoring needs. Current advances in wireless systems and rapidly growing use of cellphones enable deployment of wireless monitoring devices that can automatically collect patient physiological information, process and transmit it to a central point-of-care physician. In this work, we present the WI-PATCH, which is a flexible low-power stick-on wireless sensing platform that can be used to monitor selected parameters of human physiology. With form-factor similar to a common Band-Aid, the WI-PATCH can be attached on the skin of the patient. Forming a body-sensor network, multiple WI-PATCH devices can coordinate distributed data collection and can infer patient position or orientation. Using active low power RF technology, the WI-PATCH can remain operational for days without the need for frequent re-charging or battery replacement.
Interannual Variability in Pollen Dispersal and Deposition on the Tropical Quelccaya Ice Cap

Abstract Pollen collected from snow samples on the Quelccaya Ice Cap in 2000 and 2001 reveals significant interannual variability in pollen assemblage, concentration, and provenance. Samples from 2000, a La Nina year, contain high pollen concentrations and resemble samples from the Andean forests (Yungas) to the east. Samples from 2001, an El Nino year, contain fewer pollen and resemble those from the Altiplano. We suggest that varying wind patterns under different El Nino/Southern Oscillation (ENSO) conditions may affect the processes of pollen transport over the Altiplano and on the ice cap, although confounding variables such as flowering phenology and sublimation should also be considered *The authors would like to thank Lonnie G. Thompson, Keith R. Mountain, and Jason K. Blackburn for their help in the field, as well as Jocelyne C. Bourgeois and Robert V. Rohli for useful discussion. A special thanks to Mary Lee Eggart for cartographic assistance. This research was jointly supported by the Geography ...
Test of the efficiency of commodity futures in a multi-contract framework

This paper has extended the EMH to encompass multiple contracts with different expectational horizons. A time series model was estimated for agricultural commodities using a methodology which explicitly accounts for the presence of overlapping data in the samples. The empirical evidence points to the conclusion that the relationships between spot and futures prices over different contracts that are traded simultaneously do not conform to the predictions of the EMH. Past forecast errors of contracts of different maturities can then be exploited by market participants to make trading decisions about these contracts. This finding is of importance, given the emergence of recent literature on the decline of sources of information in the agricultural sector (Just 1983; Gardner 1983) and does not confirm Working's (1942) and Just's (1983) theoretical supposition that futures prices can provide market participants with the necessary information when making forecasts about spot prices for agricultural commodities. The results, moreover, suggest that future research on hedging strategies needs to incorporate the informational content of the multi-contract relationships that exist in these markets.
Behavior of topside and bottomside spread F at equatorial latitudes

Diurnal variation of topside and bottomside spread-F and geomagnetic effects from Alouette I ionograms
Dual Effect of Clonidine on Isolated Rabbit Pulmonary Arteries

Clonidine, a partially selective agonist for alpha 2-adrenoceptors, has been increasingly used in anesthesia. Its direct effect on pulmonary arteries has not yet been clearly characterized. This in vitro study was performed to determine the vasoactive effects of clonidine on isolated rabbit pulmonary arteries. Responses of pulmonary artery rings from New Zealand white rabbits were assessed in the presence and absence of intact endothelium and with or without precontraction by norepinephrine (NE, 3 x 10(-6) M) or potassium chloride (KCl, 3 x 10(-2) M). Using tissue bath preparation, cumulative concentration response curves of clonidine were obtained at different concentrations (10(-8), 10(-7), 10(-6), 10(-5), 10(-4) M) after a period of stabilization. Clonidine caused vasoconstriction of isolated pulmonary arteries without any pretreatment. The magnitude of the constriction was dose related at lower concentrations and reached maximum of 300 g/g wet tissue when above 10(-6) M. On KCl-precontracted pulmonary arteries, clonidine caused significant dose-related vasoconstriction. On the NE-precontracted vessel rings, it elicited significant dose-dependent vasodilation up to 80% relaxation at 10(-4) M. All the above effects were endothelium independent. In conclusion, clonidine has dual endothelium-independent vasoactive effects, causing vasoconstriction on isolated rabbit pulmonary arteries, either untreated or precontracted with KCl, and vasodilation on those precontracted with NE. Clonidine may act as a competitive alpha-adrenoceptor blocking agent.
APE: accelerator processor extensions to optimize data-compute co-location

Two technological trends we notice in the current day systems is the march towards many core systems and greater focus on power efficiency. The increase in core counts would result in smaller caches-per-compute node and greater reliance on exposing task-level parallelism in applications. However, this would potentially increase the amount of data that moves within and between the different tasks and hence, the related power costs. This will pose a new burden on the already power-constrained current day systems. The situation would only get worse as we go forward because the power consumed by the wires is not scaling down much with each technology generation, but the amount of data that these wires move is increasing per generation.This paper addresses this concern by identifying the memory access patterns that accounts for much of the data movement and designing processor extensions, Apes to support them. These processor extensions are placed closer to the cache structures, rather than the core pipeline, to reduce the data movement and improve compute-data co-location. We show that by doing this we are able to reduce a task's memory accesses by ~2.5×, data movement by 4× and cache miss rate by 40% for a wide range of applications.
Plasma estrogen levels during pregnancy in the western spotted skunk.

The present study was undertaken to obtain an estrogen profile throughout gestation in the western spotted skunk with special emphasis on relating changes in estrogen levels to blastocyst development. Blood samples were collected from 130 pregnant animals by cardiac puncture and plasma estrogen levels were determined by radioimmunoassay (RIA). Estrogen levels varied throughout the period of embryonic diapause, with mean levels ranging between 3 to 18 pg/ml. There was a tendency for estrogen levels to be less variable and somewhat lower during the 15 days immediately prior to blastocyst implantation than during the preceding period. Plasma estrogen levels in skunks with delayed implanting blastocysts (diameters of 1.1 mm or less) were significantly higher (P less than 0.05) than those in females with activating blastocysts (i.e., diameters of 1.2 mm or greater), again suggesting that estrogen levels were reduced during the period immediately preceding implantation. However, the exact physiological significance, if any, of this modest reduction in estrogen levels remains to be determined.
How Marketplace Performances Produce Interdependent Status Games and Contested Forms of Symbolic Capital

Consumer researchers have commonly analyzed marketplace performances as liminal events structured by context-specific role playing, norms of reciprocity, and cocreative collaborations. As a consequence, this literature remains theoretically mute on questions related to the sociological disparities that arise when marketplace performances forge relationships between affluent consumers and underclass service workers: a circumstance becoming increasingly commonplace owing to trends in the service-oriented global economy. To redress this gap, we analyze how such sociocultural differences are manifested and mediated in the provisions of skilled marketplace performances. Building upon Bourdieu’s logic of field analysis, our resulting theoretical framework illuminates a network of structural relations that reconfigures the asymmetrical distribution of class-based resources between these class factions. Rather than being cooperative endeavors conducive to the formation of commercial friendships, we show that thes...
Resonant tunneling of 1-dimensional electrons across an array of 3-dimensionally confined potential wells

Abstract A lateral resonant tunneling field effect transistor has been fabricated with a gate electrode in the form of a railway such that the two rails form a lateral double barrier potential at the GaAs/AlGaAs interface. The ties confine the electrons in the third dimension forming an array of potential boxes or three dimensionally confined potential wells. The width of the ties and rails is 50nm; the spacings between the ties and between the two rails are 230nm and 150nm respectively. The ties are 750nm long and extend beyond the the two rails forming one dimensional wires on either side. Conductance oscillations are observed in the drain current at 4.2K as the gate voltage is scanned. Comparison with devices with a solid gate, and with a monorail gate with ties fabricated on the same wafer suggest that these conductance oscillations are electron resonant tunneling from one dimensional wires through the quasi-bound states of the three dimensionally confined potential wells. Comparison with a device with a two rail gate without ties (previously published) indicates that additional confinement due to the ties enhances the strength of the conductance oscillations.
Quantitative Measurement of Successful Performance from the Project Manager’s Perspective

This paper describes a process for converting a project manager's qualitative evaluation of "successful performance" to a quantitative measurement. In a recent study, randomly selected electrical companies throughout the United States submitted two projects for analysis: (1) one project that was well planned and performed successfully; and (2) one project that was poorly planned and performed less-than-successfully. Overall, 55 projects were evaluated. Success, however, is a subjective concept that often depends on the team member providing the definition. Consequently, during the interview process, project managers were asked to provide their own definition of successful performance, and this definition was matched to the collected data to identify appropriate variables for inclusion in a performance measurement index. A reliability analysis was performed, and six variables were ultimately used to construct the index, including actual percent profit, percent schedule overrun, amount of time given, communication between team members, budget achievement, and change in work hours. A cross-validation technique was used to evaluate the performance measurement index, and a misclassification rate of 2% was observed, which indicated that the model was useful for quantitatively measuring successful performance based on the project managers' definitions of success.
DNA Strand Break Formation Following Exposure of Bovine Pulmonary Artery and Aortic Endothelial Cells to Reactive Oxygen Products

Experiments were performed to investigate the hypothesis that exposure of vascular endothelial cells to low levels of reduced oxygen products results in DNA strand breakage as an early event and to determine if endothelial cells derived from bovine pulmonary artery demonstrate a susceptibility to oxidant injury that is different from that of cells derived from bovine aorta. Endothelial cells grown in culture were exposed to H2O2 (either added directly or generated from glucose oxidase) or superoxide radical (generated from xanthine oxidase), and DNA strand breakage was determined using fluorescent analysis of DNA unwinding. Cell injury was also assessed by measuring the release of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) or the release of 51Cr from prelabeled cells. Whereas LDH or 51Cr release detected injury resulting from exposure of endothelial cells to ≥ 100 µM H2O2 and was apparent only 2 or more h after exposure, DNA strand breakage was detectable after 15 min of exposure of endothelial cells to 50 µM H2O2. Appr...
Interactions of Treponema pallidum with endothelial cell monolayers.

Syphilis is a chronic disease characterized by hematogenous dissemination of Treponema pallidum into tissues such as the cardiovascular and central nervous systems. In order to test whether these aspects of the pathogenesis of syphilis reflect an ability of T. pallidum to invade vascular entothelial surfaces, we explored the association of T. pallidum with human and rabbit endothelial cells in vitro. Using radiolabeled motile organisms, we found that treponemal attachment was two times greater to rabbit aortic endothelial cells and human umbilical endothelial cells than to HeLa cells. Mild trypsinization of attached treponemes resulted in release from cells of all organisms detectable by darkfield microscopy without visible damage to the monolayer. Nevertheless, 25% of the counts representing T. pallidum remained associated with the cell monolayers. Further trypsin treatment to release the monolayer and differential centrifugation showed that 80% of the remaining cell-associated counts were not within the cells. These results suggest that some treponemes had associated with the monolayer in a trypsin resistant niche. Additionally, motile T. pallidum passed through tight functioned endothelial cell monolayers on membrane filters under conditions were heat-killed T. pallidum and the host indigenous nonpathogen. T. phagedenis biotype Reiter failed to do so. Electron micrographs of transverse sections through the monolayers showed many T. pallidum in junctions between endothelial cells. These studies suggest that T. pallidum may leave the circulation by passing between endothelial cells.
Recursive SAR Imaging

We investigate a recursive procedure for synthetic aperture imaging. We consider a concept in which a SAR system persistently interrogates a scene, for example as it flies along or around that scene. In traditional SAR imaging, the radar measurements are processed in blocks, by partitioning the data into a set of non-overlapping or overlapping azimuth angles, then processing each block. We consider a recursive update approach, in which the SAR image is continually updated, as a linear combination of a small number of previous images and a term containing the current radar measurement. We investigate the crossrange sidelobes realized by such an imaging approach. We show that a first-order autoregression of the image gives crossrange sidelobes similar to a rectangular azimuth window, while a third-order autoregression gives sidelobes comparable to those obtained from widely-used windows in block-processing image formation. The computational and memory requirements of the recursive imaging approach are modest - on the order of M • N2 where M is the recursion order (typically ≤ 3) and N2 is the image size. We compare images obtained from the recursive and block processing techniques, both for a synthetic scene and for X-band SAR measurements from the Gotcha data set.
Effect of Phenol Extraction of Group A Streptococcus on Titer and Specificity of Fluorescent M-Typing Antisera

Vaccines were prepared from three M-serotypes of group A Streptococcus both by conventional heating procedures and by extraction with phenol. The antisera elicited by these vaccines were conjugated with fluorescein and examined by immunofluorescence for titer and specificity. The sera elicited by phenol-extracted cells showed no cross-reactivity in the case of two strains and reduced crossreactivity with the third. In all cases, phenol-extracted vaccines elicited higher titers than did heat-killed cells. It is suggested that this procedure for vaccine production may facilitate immunofluorescent screening for M-serotypes.
DCT-based general structure for linear phase paraunitary filter banks

The factorization of linear-phase paraunitary filter banks (LPPUFB) has been well studied. In this paper, we show that it can be further simplified by fixing the last stage without losing its completeness. The structure can be viewed as the dual of the GenLOT when the last stage is chosen to be the DCT. However, the new structure is more flexible since it can generate basis functions of arbitrary length. The implementation for finite-length signals is discussed. A DCT-oriented initialization method for filter bank optimization is developed to improve its convergence. The proposed method leads to an effective way of handling the sign parameters when modeling orthogonal matrices via Givens rotations. As a result, better optimization results can be obtained.
Inducing self-selected human engagement in robotic locomotion training

Stroke leads to severe mobility impairments for millions of individuals each year. Functional outcomes can be improved through manual treadmill therapy, but high costs limit patient exposure and, thereby, outcomes. Robotic gait training could increase the viable duration and frequency of training sessions, but robotic approaches employed thus far have been less effective than manual therapy. These shortcomings may relate to subconscious energy-minimizing drives, which might cause patients to engage less actively in therapy when provided with corrective robotic assistance. We have devised a new method for gait rehabilitation that harnesses, rather than fights, least-effort tendencies. Therapeutic goals, such as increased use of the paretic limb, are made easier than the patient's nominal gait through selective assistance from a robotic platform. We performed a pilot test on a healthy subject (N = 1) in which altered self-selected stride length was induced using a tethered robotic ankle-foot orthosis. The subject first walked on a treadmill while wearing the orthosis with and without assistance at unaltered and voluntarily altered stride length. Voluntarily increasing stride length by 5% increased metabolic energy cost by 4%. Robotic assistance decreased energy cost at both unaltered and voluntarily increased stride lengths, by 6% and 8% respectively. We then performed a test in which the robotic system continually monitored stride length and provided more assistance if the subject's stride length approached a target increase. This adaptive assistance protocol caused the subject to slowly adjust their gait patterns towards the target, leading to a 4% increase in stride length. Metabolic energy consumption was simultaneously reduced by 5%. These results suggest that selective-assistance protocols based on targets relevant to rehabilitation might lead patients to self-select desirable gait patterns during robotic gait training sessions, possibly facilitating better adherence and outcomes.
Carbon monoxide coordination and reversible photodissociation in copper(I) pyridylalkylamine compounds.

Systematic studies of CO coordination and photodissociation have been carried out for a series of copper(I) carbonyl compounds possessing tripodal tetradentate ligands, [CuI(L)(CO)]B(C6F5)4 (L = Me2N-TMPA (1Me2N), MeO-TMPA (1MeO), H-TMPA (1H), PMEA (2pmea), PMAP (2pmap), BQPA (3bqpa). Detailed structural, electrochemical, and infrared characterization has been accomplished. In addition, various experimental techniques were utilized to determine equilibrium binding constants (KCO), association (kCO), and dissociation (k-CO) rate constants, as well as the thermodynamic (ΔH°, ΔS°) and activation parameters (ΔH⧧, ΔS⧧) that regulate these processes. With increased ligand-electron-donating ability, greater π back-bonding results in stronger Cu−CO bonds, leading to KCO values on the order 1Me2N−CO > 1MeO−CO > 1H−CO. With systematic synthetic expansion of the five-membered chelate rings like 1R to six-membered chelate rings like 2R, the stability of the CO adduct decreases, 1H−CO > 2pmea−CO > 2pmap−CO. The CO-bin...
Pediatric Perspectives: Observations of an Older Pediatrician: Supplementing Evidence-based Medicine.

1. Charles W. Callahan, DO* 1. 2. *Lieutenant Colonel, Medical Corps, United States Army Chief, Pediatrics and Pediatric Pulmonology Tripler Army Medical Center (MCHK-PE) Honolulu, HI More than a decade ago, I had the honor of publishing ten simple observations of a junior pediatrician in this journal.((1)) In the ensuing decade, I practiced as a general pediatrician, trained and practiced in a subspecialty, taught pediatric residents, and led a residency training program. Finally, I have become an administrator and now see more board rooms than babies. Still, I take care of children, and the rules I wrote in a small notebook as they dawned on me while walking in the halls and stairwells of my first pediatric practice still ring true. The focus of medicine has changed, however. In the middle of the decade, a relatively new phrase wormed its way into the common jargon.“ Evidence-based medicine” is the conscientious, explicit, and judicious use of current best evidence in making decisions about individual patients.((2)) It is based on the results of systematic research, data, and proof. It certainly has become the view we take of the profession. It is so much a part of a practitioner’s character that it recently has been the subject of a clever lampoon, citing, for example, “eminence-based medicine” as reflected by the radiance of white hair and “nervousness-based medicine” as a measure of litigation phobia.((3)) The ten “observations of a junior pediatrician” can be revisited and considered in the light of evidence-based medicine. In this process, it becomes apparent that there is more to caring for children than simple science, data, and proof. 1. History …