cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Rating of perceived exertion increases synergistically during prolonged exercise in a combined heat and hypoxic environment.

The purpose of this study was to determine the cardiovascular, thermoregulatory, and perceived exertion responses during 2 h of moderate intensity exercise in a combined high heat (38 °C, 40% relative humidity) and hypoxic (15% O2) environment. Ten healthy volunteers completed 2 h of treadmill walking at 40% of maximal oxygen uptake in four different conditions, each separated by approximately 1 week: (1) control, 23 °C/20.9% O2, (2) heat, 38 °C/20.9% O2, (3) hypoxia, 23 °C/15% O2, and (4) combined heat/hypoxia, 38 °C/15% O2. Compared to the responses seen in each condition alone, heart rate (HR) and core temperature (Tcore) showed an additive increase in the combined heat and hypoxic environment after 2 h of moderate intensity exercise. The most important new finding was that the mean rating of perceived exertion (RPE) increased synergistically 3.3 units when exercising in the combined high heat and hypoxic environment, compared to 1.9 units in the heat condition alone. The results suggest that RPE is a conscious perception of effort that plays a regulatory function to ensure that the work rate remains at an intensity that can be safely sustained, rather than simply a marker of exercise intensity. Such results also support previous anecdotal reports that exercise on hot days at altitude seem unusually difficult.
Laser Diagnostics for Solid Rocket Propellants and Explosives

Laser diagnostics are essential for time-resolved studies of solid rocket propellant combustion and small explosive detonations. Digital in-line holography (DIH) is a powerful tool for three-dimensional particle tracking in multiphase flows. By combining DIH with complementary diagnostics, particle temperatures and soot/smoke properties can be identified.
Toward Disaggregating the SDN Control Plane

Current SDN controllers have been designed based on a monolithic approach that integrates all services and applications into one single, huge program. The monolithic design of SDN controllers restricts programmers who build management applications to the specific programming interfaces and services that a given SDN controller provides, making application development dependent on the controller, and thereby restricting portability of management applications across controllers. Furthermore, the monolithic approach means an SDN controller must be recompiled whenever a change is made, and does not provide an easy way to add new functionality or scale to handle large networks. To overcome the weaknesses inherent in the monolithic approach, the next generation of SDN controllers must use a distributed, microservice architecture that disaggregates the control plane by dividing the monolithic controller into a set of cooperative microservices. In this article, we explain the steps that are required to migrate from a monolithic architecture to a microservice architecture, and consider two potential designs that achieve the goal. Finally, the article reports the results of testbed measurements that we use to evaluate the proposed disaggregated architecture from multiple perspectives, including functionality and performance.
The emerging role of α-synuclein truncation in aggregation and disease

α-Synuclein (αsyn) is an abundant brain neuronal protein that can misfold and polymerize to form toxic fibrils coalescing into pathologic inclusions in neurodegenerative diseases, including Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and multiple system atrophy. These fibrils may induce further αsyn misfolding and propagation of pathologic fibrils in a prion-like process. It is unclear why αsyn initially misfolds, but a growing body of literature suggests a critical role of partial proteolytic processing resulting in various truncations of the highly charged and flexible carboxyl-terminal region. This review aims to 1) summarize recent evidence that disease-specific proteolytic truncations of αsyn occur in Parkinson's disease, Lewy body dementia, and multiple system atrophy and animal disease models; 2) provide mechanistic insights on how truncation of the amino and carboxyl regions of αsyn may modulate the propensity of αsyn to pathologically misfold; 3) compare experiments evaluating the prion-like properties of truncated forms of αsyn in various models with implications for disease progression; 4) assess uniquely toxic properties imparted to αsyn upon truncation; and 5) discuss pathways through which truncated αsyn forms and therapies targeted to interrupt them. Cumulatively, it is evident that truncation of αsyn, particularly carboxyl truncation that can be augmented by dysfunctional proteostasis, dramatically potentiates the propensity of αsyn to pathologically misfold into uniquely toxic fibrils with modulated prion-like seeding activity. Therapeutic strategies and experimental paradigms should operate under the assumption that truncation of αsyn is likely occurring in both initial and progressive disease stages, and preventing truncation may be an effective preventative strategy against pathologic inclusion formation.
Abstract 12719: Diagnostic and Prognostic Contributions of Cardiac Computed Tomography for Infective Endocarditis Surgery

Background: Cardiac computed tomography (CT) is emerging as an adjunctive modality to echocardiography in the evaluation of infective endocarditis (IE) and surgical planning. CT studies in IE have,...
Differential Risk Exposure and Stochastic Poverty Traps Among East African Pastoralists

In the pastoral and agropastoral systems of east Africa's arid and semi-arid lands (ASAL), climatic shocks, price volatility, disease outbreaks, and widespread violence beget frequent, severe disruption of already-fragile livelihoods. The past year's drought dramatically demonstrates that intense suffering recurs regularly in the ASAL in spite of significant humanitarian aid flows. This paper explores why that might be, drawing on several recent studies we and our collaborators have undertaken in the past few years.
PREDICTION OF SORGHUM BIOMASS USING TIME SERIES UAV-BASED HYPERSPECTRAL AND LIDAR DATA

Recent advances in remote sensing technology and algorithms for data analysis potentially provide significant utility for agricultural applications. This paper focuses on development of a data analytics based predictive modeling strategy that incorporates multi-temporal data acquired by multi-sensor data acquisition systems, and accommodates environmental inputs. Predictive models based on Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) are developed to incorporate high dimensional, multi-modal, multi-temporal input data. Remote Sensing (RS) features derived from Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) and hyperspectral inputs, as well as weather-related data are incorporated in RNN models to predict yield. Results from multiple experiments focused on high throughput phenotyping of sorghum for biomass predictions are provided and evaluated for agricultural test fields at Purdue University.
Photo Essay: CULTURESHUTDOWN—Preserving the Commons

This photo essay by Azra Aksamija represents a critical engagement with the question of the role of cultural institutions in the region’s changes. If so, who should be in charge of heritage preservation? This essay represents the results of two projects designed to draw attention to these questions, CULTURESHUTDOWN and Future Heritage Collection. Rooted especially in the realities of her home country of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Aksamija takes an art-activism approach to raise awareness of issues such as potential loss of key cultural institutions, from art galleries to history museums.
Language Proficiency and Survival in Pancreatic Cancer: a Propensity Score-Matched Analysis.

Limited English proficiency has been shown to negatively affect health outcomes. However, as of now, little is known about survival rates of patients with limited English proficiency (LEP) and pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC) when compared to patients with English proficiency (EP) in an urban, non-safety net setting. We aimed to compare survival rates between patients with LEP and those with EP who had a diagnosis of PDAC. A single-institution retrospective propensity-matched cohort study of patients with biopsy-proven PDAC was undertaken. Demographics, clinical characteristics, and language information were collected for all participants. Patients were classified as having LEP or EP based on their preferred speaking language at the time of admission and matched on baseline characteristics using propensity scores. Survival analysis methods were used to study survival rates in patients with PDAC based on their EP status. Of 739 included patients, 71 (9.48%) had LEP, mean age was 68.4 ± 10.9, and 51.8% were female. Both groups of patients were comparable for age, gender, marital status, and time to treatment. LEP status was associated with higher odds of death in both unmatched (HR 1.65, 95% CI 1.22–2.22) and matched (HR 1.60, 95% CI 1.03–2.47) analyses. Additionally, patients with LEP had significantly decreased odds of receiving cancer-directed treatment and increased odds of advanced stage cancer at presentation. In this cohort of patients with PDAC, LEP predicted worse survival. The results of this study suggest that, after accounting for interpreter use, other factors contribute to this disparity. Such factors, as yet unmeasured, may include health literacy and cultural expectations, for which further investigation is warranted to better understand and limit this survival disparity.
The utopian dimension in the philosophy of social betterment in Adam Smith

Abstract Adam Smith does not focus on the creation of an ideal world, but on the understanding that societal changes for the better are an unintentional product of commerce. Furthermore, as if to highlight the concreteness of these changes, he sees population growth as the way to measure this betterment of society.
Management of inflammation in cardiovascular diseases.

Abstract Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality world-wide. Recently, the role of inflammation in the progression of diseases has significantly attracted considerable attention. In addition, various comorbidities, including diabetes, obesity, etc. exacerbate inflammation in the cardiovascular system, which ultimately leads to heart failure. Furthermore, cytokines released from specialized immune cells are key mediators of cardiac inflammation. Here, in this review article, we focused on the role of selected immune cells and cytokines (both pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory) in the regulation of cardiac inflammation and ultimately in cardiovascular diseases. While IL-1β, IL-6, TNFα, and IFNγ are associated with cardiac inflammation; IL-10, TGFβ, etc. are associated with resolution of inflammation and cardiac repair. IL-10 reduces cardiovascular inflammation and protects the cardiovascular system via interaction with SMAD2, p53, HuR, miR-375 and miR-21 pathway. In addition, we also highlighted recent advancements in the management of cardiac inflammation, including clinical trials of anti-inflammatory molecules to alleviate cardiovascular diseases.
Simulations of the Optical Properties of Nonspherical Dielectric Particles in the Atmosphere

Ice clouds and airborne dust are two important atmospheric constituents, as they substantially regulate the radiative energy budget in the earth-atmosphere system. The single-scattering properties of these atmospheric constituents are fundamental to achieving a better understanding of their roles from the radiation perspective, such as for applications to remote sensing technique implementations and radiative transfer simulations. Ice crystals and dust aerosol particles in the atmosphere are almost exclusively nonspherical particles with complex morphologies. In this paper, we report advanced modeling capabilities in computing the optical properties of these nonspherical dielectric particles in the atmosphere. In particular, we use an ensemble approach along with a combination of the invariant imbedding T-matrix method and the physical-geometric optics method to consider the effects of the overall nonspherical geometries and small-scale irregularities or surface roughness on the single-scattering properties of ice crystals and dust aerosols.
NEUTROPHIL PRODUCTS CONTROL THE EXPRESSION OF PROGESTERONE RECEPTORS AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE-1 IN THE DECIDUAL AND MYOMETRIUM AND ARE POSSIBLE REGULATORS OF PREMATURE LABOR

NEUTROPHIL PRODUCTS CONTROL THE EXPRESSION OF PROGESTERONE RECEPTORS AND MATRIX METALLOPROTEINASE-1 IN THE DECIDUAL AND MYOMETRIUM AND ARE POSSIBLE REGULATORS OF PREMATURE LABOR By Anna V. Solotskaya A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2010 Major Director: Dr. Scott W. Walsh Professor, Departments of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Physiology and Biophysics Neutrophils infiltrate myometrium and decidual tissue prior to parturition. Activated neutrophils release reactive oxygen species (ROS) and tumor necrosis factor α (TNFα), which might increase expression of pro-labor genes such as matrix metalloproteinase-1 (MMP-1), progesterone receptor (PR) A/B ratio, and cause demethylation of DNA. These changes might cause labor. Decidual tissue was obtained from consented, healthy women at term (37+ weeks of gestation) not in labor (no contractions, without cervical effacement), term labor and preterm labor (under 37 weeks of pregnancy). Decidual and myometrial cells in culture
Moving to a Broader Concept of Quality of Glycemic Carbohydrates

Dietary carbohydrates are important in providing energy to humans, but carbohydrates are increasingly thought of as “bad” foods associated with obesity, diabetics and associated diseases. The objec...
Auto-Discovering Configurations for Service Management

Determining service configurations is essential for effective service management. In this paper we describe a model-driven approach for service configuration auto-discovery. We develop metrics for performance and scalability analysis of such auto-discovery mechanisms. Our approach addresses several problems in auto-discovery: specification of what services to discover, how to efficiently distribute service discovery, and how to match instances of services into related groups. We use object-oriented models for discovery specifications, a flexible bus-based architecture for distribution and communication, and a novel multi-phased, instance matching approach. We have applied our approach to typical e-commerce services, Enterprise Resource Planning applications, like SAP, and Microsoft Exchange services running on a mixture of Windows and Unix platforms. The main contribution of this work is the flexibility of our models, architecture and algorithms to address discovery of a multitude of services.
Mössbauer, EPR, and optical studies of the corrinoid/iron-sulfur protein involved in the synthesis of acetyl coenzyme A by Clostridium thermoaceticum.

We have purified to homogeneity the 88-kDa corrinoid protein from Clostridium thermoaceticum which acts as a methyl carrier in the synthesis of acetyl-CoA. As shown here, this protein contains a [4Fe-4S]1+/2+ cluster in addition to a corrinoid. The corrinoid is 5-methoxybenzimidazolylcobamide, with an OH- group probably present as the upper axial ligand. Co+ is present in the reduced form, Co2+ in the as-isolated form, and Co3+ in the methylated form of the protein. The as-isolated corrinoid/Fe-S protein exhibits a Co2+ EPR signal lacking nitrogen superhyperfine splittings, indicating that the benzimidazole base is uncoordinated ("base-off") in the Co2+ state. Optical studies suggest that the Co3+-CH3 corrinoid is also base-off. In the as-isolated and methylated forms, the iron-sulfur cluster is diamagnetic, with quadrupole splittings and isomer shifts characteristic of [4Fe-4S]2+ clusters. The protein can be reduced by CO and CO dehydrogenase in the absence of ferredoxin. The EPR spectra of the reduced cluster exhibit two components: one with principal g-values at 2.07, 1.93, and 1.82 and the other at 2.02, 1.94, and 1.86. The Mossbauer data show that these signals result from [4Fe-4S]1+ clusters. Chemical analysis shows that the iron:cobalt atomic ratio is close to 4:1, suggesting that a single [4Fe-4S]1+ cluster occurs in two distinct S = 1/2 spin states in the reduced state. Treatment with 1-2.5 M urea converts the two cluster forms into a single one, with EPR and Mossbauer spectra of typical [4Fe-4S]1+ clusters. A 27-kDa corrinoid protein (Ljungdahl, L.G., LeGall, J., and Lee, J.P. (1973) Biochemistry 12, 1802-1808) also was purified and found to be inactive in the synthesis of acetyl-CoA, contrary to the suggestion of Ljungdahl et al. (1973).
Upgraded ultrashort pulse reflectometry system on SSPX

A multichannel ultrashort pulse reflectometry (USPR) system has been upgraded to enhance the performance of simultaneously measuring electron density profiles and fluctuations on the sustained spheromak physics experiment device (SSPX). In addition to the use of a high power frequency multiplier in the transmitter subsystem, the optimization of filter bandwidths in the receiver subsystem results in significant improvement of the dynamic range and signal-to-noise ratios of the USPR signals, thereby dramatically reducing the number of "lost" signals. Details of the upgraded USPR system are described together with USPR profile and fluctuation data.
Applications of Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) Imaging

resulting to excitation of vibrational, rotational, and bending modes of constituent chemical moieties. The general selection rule for IR spectroscopy is the change in dipole moment during vibration. Although FTIR by itself offers a number of utilities in chemical characterization, coupling it with a microscope allows the elucidation of a chemical structure in a specific spatial region. This technique is called FTIR microspectroscopy or simply FTIR microscopy. In principle, the combination of spatial specificity and information on chemical makeup allows the construction of an FTIR map or FTIR image (a chemical map) providing information on the distribution of chemical species, morphological assemblies, diffusion profiles, and concentration gradients. It is important to delineate the difference between FTIR mapping and FTIR imaging. FTIR mapping, also called point mapping, is a point-by-point measurement across the sample to obtain spatially resolved information [1]. In detail, an IR spectrum is collected at a particular point, and then the sample is moved to collect the spectrum of another location. The process is repeated within the area of interest. The spectra are then correlated by a computer to a specific and reproducibly obtainable sample position [2]. While a very good signal-to-noise ratio for very small single-point sample areas can be obtained, the method suffers from a number of limitations: firstly, low-spatial resolution at sample areas is restricted to squares >15 × 15 μm 2 [1, 2]. Secondly, diffraction effects and stray light compromise accuracy of the data. Finally, as the technique is essentially a sequential mapping process, carrying out the analysis takes a long time and requiring very precise X–Y positioning and image reconstruction. In effect, studying dynamic processes with FTIR mapping is extremely challenging.
A Statistical Atlas of Prostate Cancer for Optimal Biopsy

This paper presents a methodology of creating a statistical atlas of spatial distribution of prostate cancer from a large patient cohort, and uses it for designing optimal needle biopsy strategies. In order to remove inter-individual morphological variability and determine the true variability in cancer position, an adaptive-focus deformable model (AFDM) is used to register and normalize prostate samples. Moreover, a probabilistic method is developed for designing optimal biopsy strategies that determine the locations and the number of needles by optimizing cancer detection probability. Vanous expenments demonstrate the performance of AFDM in registenng prostate samples for construction of the statistical atlas, and also validate the predictive power of our atlas-based optimal biopsy strategies in detecting prostate cancer.
Biocatalytic One‐Carbon Conversion

The review focuses on the biological machines that oxidize, reduce, and interconvert one-carbon compounds. The focus is on the unusual cofactors and enzymes in methanogens and acetogens that are involved in anaerobic one-carbon metabolism, which is key to the globla carbon cycle. A variety of autotrophic anaerobes can fix CO2 into organic carbon as well as use the reduction of CO2 as a source of energy. CO dehydrogenase, formate dehydrogenase, and formylmethanofuran dehydrogenase are metalloenzymes that reduce CO2 to the formate oxidation level (CO, formate, or formylmethyanofuran). At the formate level, the one-carbon compounds are converted to a cofactor-bound form, either the formyl- or methenyl tetrahydromethanopterin or tetrahydrofolate derivatives, before they undergo further reduction. The next stage, reduction from the formate to the formaldehyde level, is accomplished by either methylenetetrahydrofolate or methylenetetrahydromethopterin dehydrogenase. Metalloenzymes again enter the picture at the methanol oxidation level. Afer reduction of the methylene derivatives to methyltetrahydrofolate or methyltetrahydromethanopterin by a reductase, cobalamin-dependent methyltransferases attach the methyl group to the cobalt as enzyme-bound methyl-cob(III)amide. The most reduced one-carbon compounds are at the methane level. Reduction of the methyl-Co(III) derivatives to methane is accomplished by methyl coenzyme M reductase. Alternatively, the methyl group is reduced by acetyl-CoA synthase to acetyl-CoA. The oxidation of methane back to CO2 is initiated by methane monooxygenase, while there are various microbes that can use acetyl-CoA as an energy source. Keywords: carbon dioxide fixation; Wood–Ljungdahl pathway; acetogenesis; methanogenesis; CO dehydrogenase; hydrogenase; pyruvate ferredoxin oxidoreductase; formyl-methanofuran dehydrogenase; methyltransferase; methyl coenzyme M reductase
The High Cost of IPOs Depresses Venture Capital in the United States

The fundamental reason for the small numbers of IPOs is the reluctance of public investors to buy IPO stock. The technology bubble burst in 2000 and investors still remember their losses in the IPO industries. But the IPO market would be more active if IPOs were not so expensive. They cost too much to do and, once done, a company has much higher ongoing costs. The higher ongoing costs are a significant bone of contention, particularly with the implementation of Section 404 of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act of 2002. Lowering the cost of IPOs would not only enable small companies to net more money per offering, it would also enable small companies to float smaller offerings. And lowering the cost of IPOs is something that the Securities and Exchange Commission could do by allowing small companies to make their IPOs over the Internet. The SEC's foot-dragging on the use of the Internet for IPOs is depressing venture capital in the United States. The most active venture capital IPO market for small companies is now the AIM market in London. This comment briefly describes the current regulation of IPOs, describes an alternative system of public offering that uses the Internet, and concludes with a discussion of whether there are regulatory problems with a system of Internet IPO.
The Triple-Play Bundle Strategy of Cable and Telephone Companies in the Current U.S. Telecommunications Market

The development of Internet Protocol technology and the Federal Communications Commission's competition-promoting policy have brought about triple-play offering services that combine video, voice, and data services in a single package at a discount rate for telecommunication consumers. As cable and telephone industries offer similar bundles, the price competition promise to increase, which may lead to thinner profit margins. That companies bundle services despite the fact that selling 3 services independently at regular prices would bring greater benefits to the companies is referred to as the “prisoner's dilemma.” In this situation, a company commits a “one minimum and one maximum” strategy to prevent its existing consumers from switching over to its competitors and to attract new consumers. Using data regarding the triple-play bundle from 69 U.S. cities, this study reveals that both cable and telephone industries minimize price differentiation for the triple-play offering. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that both industries maximally differentiate in the video service category compared to the other 2 services in the triple-play bundle: voice and data. ACCESS TO FULL TEXT
SU‐E‐CAMPUS‐T‐01: Dosimetric Benefits of Online Adaptive Replanning for Lung Cancer with Multiple Targets

Purpose: There exist interfraction relative volume variations and/or independent motions between multiple targets in radiotherapy (RT) of lung cancer which cannot be fully accounted for by the current IGRT repositioning or offline adaptive replanning. This work is to study the dosimetric benefits of an online adaptive replanning scheme that accounts for these variations. Methods: Daily CT data acquired for 5 lung cancer patients treated with IGRT using an in‐room CT (CTVision, Siemens) were analyzed. On each daily CT set, contours of the targets [GTV, CTV, and involved nodal regions] and organs at risk (OARs) were generated by populating the planning contours using an auto‐segmentation tool based on deformable registration (ABAS, Elekta) with manual editing. For each patient, an IMRT plan was generated based on the planning CT using a planning system (Panther, Prowess Inc.) with a prescription dose of 60 Gy in 2 Gy fractions. Three plans were generated on each daily CT set: an IGRT (repositioning) plan by copying the original plan with the required shift, an online adaptive plan generated rapidly by tailoring the original plan to conform to the daily anatomy, and a new fully re‐optimized plan based on the daily CT. Results: The averages of dose volume quantities are: the PTV‐V100=95.3±0.2%, 92.7±4.3%, 95.2±0.2%, 95.2±0.2%, the CTV‐V100=99.1±0.6%, 96.8±3.6%, 98.8±0.7%, 98.7±0.7%, the lung V20Gy=1074±437 cc, 1077±394 cc, 1049±371 cc, 1015±715 cc, for the original, repositioning, adaptive, and re‐optimized plans, respectively. Paired t‐tests show that the adaptive plans are statistically significantly better than the repositioning plans and comparable with the re‐optimized plans. Conclusion: Compared to IGRT repositioning, online adaptive replanning shows dosimetric benefits for lung cancer RT of multiple targets with relative volume variations and independent motion between the targets, ensuring that the original plan quality is delivered.
Sclerotherapy for leg varicose veins

Sclerotherapy has been used since the 1940s as an alternative or adjunct to surgery for all types of leg varicose veins. However, its role in the management of this condition, particularly in relat...
Advances in Rehabilitation and Performance Testing

Specialized testing procedures allow rehabilitation clinicians and strength and conditioning specialists to measure progress and functional level. Testing will ensure a safe progression throughout the rehabilitative course by providing the needed criteria for advancement. Performance testing quantifies the pure physical nature of athletic performance. Successful rehabilitation can be attained only by following a functional progression. Testing procedures also follow a progression, which begins with basic measures and progresses to functional tests of increasing difficulty that include sports-specific testing before returning to field play. Clinical tests provide both quantitative and qualitative information. These tests not only quantify physiologic response to rehabilitation but also allow the clinician to provide qualitative feedback to an individual during a specific activity. Balance, strength, power, cardiovascular endurance, functional movement, as well as the component of apprehension with sport-specific activity are important and valuable measures in prevention, rehabilitation, and performance programs.
Neuromyelitis Optica: An Antibody-Mediated Disorder of the Central Nervous System

Neuromyelitis optica (NMO) is a recurrent inflammatory disease that preferentially targets the optic nerves and spinal cord leading to blindness and paralysis. The hallmarks of NMO include bilateral optic neuritis and longitudinally extensive transverse myelitis. Woman and African Americans are overrepresented in the US patient population. NMO is associated with the NMO-IgG biomarker, which targets the aquaporin-4 water channel on astrocytes. The humoral pathology of NMO lesions include IgG and IgM deposits and infiltration by granulocytes suggesting that the NMO-IgG may be involved in the pathogenesis of disease. This review of the recent NMO literature covers the clinical features, epidemiology, radiology and pathology of disease and includes discussion of the important basic science research work in the field.
Volumetric measurements of vocal tracts for male speakers from different races

Research examining physiologic and acoustic characteristics of culturally diverse populations is sorely needed, but rarely reported. The major aim of this study was to quantify vocal tract dimensional parameters (oral length, oral volume, pharyngeal length, pharyngeal volume, total vocal tract length and total vocal tract volume) of adult male speakers from three different racial populations (White American, African American, and Chinese). It also attempted to investigate if volumetric differences in the speakers' vocal tracts, like length differences, would contribute to the acoustic characteristics of these speakers from different races. The findings of this study support the hypothesis that speakers from different races may have morphological differences in their vocal tract dimensions, and these morphological differences (especially volumetric differences) could be partially responsible for the formant frequency differences in a vowel sound void of specific language/dialectal impacts. The study has provided speech scientists, speech-language pathologists, linguists and other health professionals with a new and preliminary acoustic and physiological database for adult male speakers from these three different races.
Dynamic Incremental K-means Clustering

K-means clustering is one of the most commonly used methods for classification and data-mining. When the amount of data to be clustered is "huge," and/or when data becomes available in increments, one has to devise incremental K-means procedures. Current research on incremental clustering does not address several of the specific problems of incremental K-means including the seeding problem, sensitivity of the algorithm to the order of the data, and the number of clusters. In this paper we present static and dynamic single-pass incremental K-means procedures that overcome these limitations.
Possibility of formation of rare-earth negative ions by attachment of f electrons to the atomic ground state.

Some recent experiments indicate that certain rare-earth negative ions exist. Some local-density calculations indicate that attachment of f electrons is most favorable for Tm and Md. Here we investigate by means of relativistic configuration-interaction methods whether ${\mathrm{Tm}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ 4${\mathit{f}}^{14}$ and ${\mathrm{Md}}^{\mathrm{\ensuremath{-}}}$ 5${\mathit{f}}^{14}$ are bound. Our results strongly suggest that they are not, and that a different attachment process (perhaps that of a p electron, as recently proposed by Vosko and Chevary [Bull. Am. Phys. Soc. 37, 1089 (1992)]) must be contemplated.
AGE-RELATED COMPARISONS FOR ETHNIC IDENTITY BY JAPANESE AND AMERICANS

Non-Western cultures have been considered collectivist, emphasizing group accomplishments and maintaining the group's goals over those of individuals. Collectivist orientations value the maintenance of harmony, interdependence, and cooperation with others (Hofstede, 1980). While prior studies indicate cross-cultural differences among the dimensions of individualism and collectivism (e.g., Tafarodi & Swann, 1996; Triandis, Bontempo, Villareal, Asai, & Lucca, 1988), no published research has explored the relationship between cross-cultural individualism-collectivism and age. As a nation, Japan practices collectivist values, customs, and traditions (Cousins, 1989); however, it is possible that technological advances and global commercialism have subjected young more than older Japanese to the influences of Western cultures. The present study examined whether age differences between Japanese men and women would be observed in individualism-collectivism and personal locus of control measures. It was proposed that Americans would report higher individualism than Japanese, especially among older participants. Differences between Japanese and Americans on locus of control dimensions were predicted to mirror differences on individualism-collectivism. Method.-A Japanese research associate asked samples of urban young (M age= 18.8 yr. old; 80 women, 51 men) and older Japanese (M age=48.2 yr. old; 72 women, 21 men), and young Americans ( M age=20.4 yr. old; 77 women, 44 men) to participate. The young persons attended private, medium-size universities in the respective countries. Participants signed and returned a consent form, completed a demographic sheet on their age and sex, and two psychometric inventories presented in counterbalanced order. For Japanese respondents, inventories were translated into Japanese by a bilingual individual and clear back-translation involved both Japanese and Ameri-
Separate molecules of West Nile virus methyltransferase can independently catalyze the N7 and 2'-O methylations of viral RNA cap.

Abstract West Nile virus methyltransferase catalyzes N7 and 2′- O methylations of the viral RNA cap (GpppA-RNA → m 7 GpppAm-RNA). The two methylation events are independent, as evidenced by efficient N7 methylation of GpppA-RNA → m 7 GpppA-RNA and GpppAm-RNA → m 7 GpppAm-RNA, and by the 2′- O methylation of GpppA-RNA → GpppAm-RNA and m 7 GpppA-RNA → m 7 GpppAm-RNA. However, the 2′- O methylation activity prefers substrate m 7 GpppA-RNA to GpppA-RNA, thereby determining the dominant methylation pathway as GpppA-RNA → m 7 GpppA-RNA → m 7 GpppAm-RNA. Mutant enzymes with different methylation defects can trans complement one another in vitro . Furthermore, sequential treatment of GpppA-RNA with distinct methyltransferase mutants generates fully methylated m 7 GpppAm-RNA, demonstrating that separate molecules of the enzyme can independently catalyze the two cap methylations in vitro .
The cornucopia of beam applications

Three themes touched upon in this brief review are: a historical perspective of non-semiconductor ion implantation; novel research directions that have evolved from ion beam-based research; and a new way to view the preponderance of techniques to generate beams. Surface modification of materials by ion beams began with ∼100 keV monomer, singly charged ions and over the years expanded to lower energy, higher current, neutral or multiply charged species and higher molecular weights. As a result of the expansion of beam production to very high molecular weight materials, a new way to view the relationship of beams to high technology is discussed.
Early Education in Italy: Research and Practice.

This article provides an overview of Italian ECEC services, their development and educational culture. In Italy, out of home day care for children under 3 became a quantitatively significant phenomenon in the last 30 years. Its development was characterized by the close collaboration between research agencies and ECEC services. A rich variety of studies on early education was produced. Some themes appear particularly relevant with regard to their implications for educational practice. The relationship between ECEC personnel and parents was considered a central issue in guaranteeing the quality of the children’s experience and ECEC services were found to be an important resource of social support to parents. Since the beginning of ECEC experience in Italy, both educational practices and research have paid a particular attention to peer interaction inside the services, with a specific focus to the effect of contextual variables on their frequency and quality. Another major research theme was the evaluation of ECEC quality. In Italian experiences, evaluating ECEC quality was considered a dynamic and continuous process, involving a plurality of stakeholders (decision-makers, managers, ECEC personnel and parents) and was aimed at analysing, discussing, and improving the educational practice.
Grounded theory: an inductive method for supply chain research

Purpose – Development of theory remains an essential step in the evolution of supply chain management as an integrative business discipline. Supply chain research often involves phenomena possessing complex behavioral dimensions at both the individual and organizational levels. Such complexity can require the utilization of holistic and inductive approaches in order to more fully understand the behaviors associated with the phenomena. This paper aims to provide a step‐by‐step guide intended to increase researchers' understanding of the use of grounded theory (GT) methodology in supply chain contexts.Design/methodology/approach – The paper argues for GT as an appropriate method for studying emerging supply chain phenomena using an inductive, holistic approach.Findings – GT is positioned in a holistic framework of research methodologies. Next a step‐by‐step explanation of the grounded theory process is offered, illustrated by examples from the authors' own research.Originality/value – This paper links the c...
The secant condition for instability in biochemical feedback control—II. Models with upper Hessenberg Jacobian matrices

We consider ann-component biochemical system whose Jacobian matrixJ is of upper Hessenberg form, with principal subdiagonal elementsb 1,b 2, ...,b n−1 and upper right-hand corner element −f. The open-loop Jacobian matrixJ 0 is formed fromJ by settingf=0. It is shown that if the characteristic roots of −J 0 are real and non-negative then a necessary condition for instability at a critical point (steady state) is $$\frac{{b_1 b_2 ...b_{n - 1} f}}{{\left| { - J_0 } \right|}} \geqslant (\sec \pi /n)^n $$ This condition is analyzed in terms of reaction orders. For a metabolic sequence with some reversible steps, no loss of intermediate metabolites, and competitive inhibition of the first enzyme by the last metabolite, the above necessary condition becomes $$\frac{{\beta _{N - 1} X_{n + 1} }}{{\xi _{N - 1} E_{0T} }} \geqslant (\sec \pi /N)^N $$ whereN is the number of components (metabolites, enzyme-substrate complexes, and enzyme-inhibitor complex),β N-1 the order of the enzyme-inhibitor reaction (with respect to the inhibitor),ξ N-1 the order of reaction for the removal of the last metabolite, andX n+1 /E 0T the fraction of first enzyme blocked by inhibitor. It is shown that, under certain assumptions, a critical point is always stable in a single two-step enzymatic process (formation of enzyme-substrate complex, followed by conversion to product, then loss of product) with slow negative feedback by competitive product inhibition. A model is constructed showing that stable oscillations can occur in a feedback system with only two metabolic steps and negative feedback by competitive inhibition with no cooperativity. The instability is due to a slow feedback reaction and saturable removal of the second metabolite.
Non‐Fourier‐encoded parallel MRI using multiple receiver coils

This paper describes a general theoretical framework that combines non-Fourier (NF) spatially-encoded MRI with multichannel acquisition parallel MRI. The two spatial-encoding mechanisms are physically and analytically separable, which allows NF encoding to be expressed as complementary to the inherent encoding imposed by RF receiver coil sensitivities. Consequently, the number of NF spatial-encoding steps necessary to fully encode an FOV is reduced. Furthermore, by casting the FOV reduction of parallel imaging techniques as a dimensionality reduction of the k-space that is NF-encoded, one can obtain a speed-up of each digital NF spatial excitation in addition to accelerated imaging. Images acquired at speed-up factors of 2x to 8x with a four-element RF receiver coil array demonstrate the utility of this framework and the efficiency afforded by it.
Oklahoma city: Disaster challenges mental health and medical administrators

Mental health and medical administrators responded to the Oklahoma City bombing with cooperative and overlapping efforts to meet community needs in the wake of terrorism. The major agencies assisted in the immediate rescue response, organized crisis hotlines, prepared mental health professionals to counsel bereaved families and victims, organized debriefing of rescuers, assessed mental health needs of local school children, planned for longer term treatment, and coordinated research efforts to learn from the disaster. Implications to mental health administrators responding to significant acts of terrorism are discussed.
On the nature of the initial luteotropic stimulus of pregnancy in the Rhesus monkey.

Implantation is associated with a major but short-lived increase in progesterone secretion at a time when circulating progesterone levels are falling in the non-fertile menstrual cycle. The working hypothesis that this luteotropic stimulus is of trophoblastic origin has been tested by administering human chorionic gonadotropin (HCG) to non-pregnant animals during the late luteal phase of the menstrual cycle. Daily intramuscular injections of HCG (17.5–500 IU) were followed by a precipitous rise in plasma progesterone concentration but this was not sustained despite continued hormone administration. The pattern of progesterone secretion observed in animals treated with 25 IU of HCG per day closely resembles that normally observed in the immediate post-implantation period. The refractoriness of the corpus luteum to continued exogenous gonadotropic stimulation is in accord with the finding that the decline in the post-implantation progesterone surge occurs in the face of a rising tide in circulating chorioni...
Oxazine formation by MsCl/Et3N as a convenient tool for the stereochemical interconversion of the hydroxyl group in N-acetyl 1,3-aminoalcohols. Asymmetric synthesis of N-acetyl l-xylo- and l-arabino-phytosphingosines

Abstract Use of MsCl/Et 3 N was proven to provide a convenient synthetic tool for the stereochemical intercoversion of the hydroxyl group in N -acetyl 1,3-aminoalcohols. Thus, under these conditions, the alcohols 4 and 6 smoothly converted to the oxazines 5 and 7 , respectively, which were hydrolyzed to generate the corresponding inverted alcohols 6 and 4 in one pot. Further elaboration of 4 and 6 led to the efficient asymmetric synthesis of N -acetyl l - xylo - and l - arabino -phytosphingosines ( 11 and 15 ), respectively, via olefin cross metathesis reactions.
Traps and Defects in Pre- and Post-Aged AlGaN-GaN High Electron Mobility Transistors

High electron mobility transistors (HEMTs) based on AlGaN/GaN hetero-structures are promising for both commercial and military applications that require high power, high voltage, and high temperature operation. Reliability and radiation effects of AlGaN-GaN HEMTs need to be thoroughly studied before they are successfully deployed in potential satellite systems. A few AlGaN HEMT manufacturers have recently reported encouraging reliability, but long-term reliability of these devices under high electric field operation and extreme space environments still remains a major concern. A large number of traps and defects are present in the bulk as well as at the surface, leading to undesirable characteristics including current collapse. The present study is part of our investigation to study traps and defects in the AlGaN HEMT devices using micro-analytical techniques before and after they are life-tested.
Human Aspects of the National Information Infrastructure

The National Information Infrastructure (NII) is having a great impact on communities and culture, although in ways not well understood. Increasing isolation of individuals, changing conceptions of privacy, and a breakdown in face-to-face relationships are but a few of the far-reaching social consequences of the NII. The massive federal investment in the NII requires a proportional effort to understand its human aspects and consequences.
Silent intratympanic membrane cholesteatoma

Objective: To detect the presence of intratympanic membrane cholesteatoma in cases of chronic otitis media. Design: Two hundred forty-three temporal bones from patients with chronic otitis media were studied for the presence of intratympanic membrane cholesteatoma. Methods: Specimens had been previously removed at autopsy, fixed in 10% buffered formalin, decalcified in trichloroacetic acid, dehydrated in a graded series of ethanol, and embedded in celloidin. Sections were cut at a thickness of 20 μm, stained with hematoxylin eosin, and examined using light microscopy. Results: Intratympanic membrane cholesteatomas were found in five of the 243 temporal bones with chronic otitis media. All temporal bones with intratympanic membrane cholesteatomas were from adult patients. Two patients had bilateral intratympanic cholesteatomas in symmetric quadrants of the tympanic membrane, and the remaining patients with unilateral intratympanic membrane cholesteatoma had been operated on previously for a cholesteatoma of the opposite ear. Other common findings included chronic granulation tissue in the middle ears and mastoids, ossicular pathologic conditions, and in four of the five ears, fluid in the middle ears and/or mastoids. Conclusion: When a white area is observed on the tympanic membrane of patients (especially those with “silent” chronic otitis media), differential diagnosis should include not only tympanosclerosis, but also intratympanic membrane cholesteatoma.