cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Accounting for Product Impact in the Airlines Industry

We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the airlines industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates of fare affordability, timeliness and gate control, among other factors. Our results indicate substantial differences in the impact that competitors have through their products. These differences demonstrate how impact reflects corporate strategy and informs decision-making on industry-specific areas, including airline route structure choices.
Incidence and Characteristics of Nonfatal Opioid Overdose Among Youths Aged 11 to 24 Years by Sex.

Importance Opioid-related overdose has substantially increased among adolescents and young adults in recent years. How overdose differs by age and sex among youths and the factors associated with overdose by sex remain poorly described. Objective To compare the sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of female and male youths who have experienced a nonfatal opioid overdose (NFOD) and compare the incidence of NFOD by sex. Design, Setting, and Participants This retrospective cohort study used data on US individuals aged 11 to 24 years with a diagnosis of NFOD from the IBM MarketScan Commercial Database from January 1, 2006, through December 31, 2017. Exposure Sex. Main Outcomes and Measures The primary outcome was NFOD stratified by sex; covariates included sociodemographic and clinical characteristics. Results Among 20 312 youths aged 11 to 24 years who had a history of NFOD and met study eligibility criteria, the median age was 20 years (interquartile range, 18-22 years; mean [SD] age, 20.0 [2.9] years) and 56.7% were male. Compared with male youths, female youths had a higher baseline prevalence of mood or anxiety disorder (65.5% vs 51.9%,P Conclusions and Relevance This cohort study found differences between female and male youths in sociodemographic and clinical characteristics and incidence of NFOD. Although female and male youths who experience overdose appear to have different risk factors, many of these risk factors may be amenable to early detection through screening and intervention.
Speech Enhancement via Attention Masking Network (SEAMNET): An End-to-End System for Joint Suppression of Noise and Reverberation

This paper proposes the Speech Enhancement via Attention Masking Network (SEAMNET), a neural network-based end-to-end single-channel speech enhancement system designed for joint suppression of noise and reverberation. It formalizes an end-to-end network architecture, referred to as b-Net , which accomplishes noise suppression through attention masking in a learned embedding space. A key contribution of SEAMNET is that the b-Net architecture contains both an enhancement and an autoencoder path. This paper proposes a novel loss function which simultaneously trains both the enhancement and the autoencoder paths, so that disabling the masking mechanism during inference causes SEAMNET to reconstruct the input speech signal. This allows dynamic control of the level of suppression applied by SEAMNET via a minimum gain level, which is not possible in other state-of-the-art approaches to end-to-end speech enhancement. This paper also proposes a perceptually-motivated waveform distance measure. In addition to the b-Net architecture, this paper proposes a novel method for designing target waveforms for network training, so that joint suppression of additive noise and reverberation can be performed by an end-to-end enhancement system, which has not been previously possible. Experimental results show the SEAMNET system to outperform a variety of state-of-the-art baselines systems, both in terms of objective speech quality measures and subjective listening tests. Finally, this paper draws parallels between SEAMNET and conventional statistical model-based enhancement approaches, offering interpretability of many network components.
Predictors of Poor Outcomes for COVID-19-Associated Pneumonia in a Minority Population

Background In December 2019, an unprecedented outbreak of pneumonia of unknown etiology emerged in Wuhan City, Hubei province in China. A novel coronavirus was identified as the causative agent and was subsequently termed COVID-19 by the World Health Organization (WHO). It rapidly became a pandemic, and it has been a significant challenge to healthcare providers to predict outcomes of the infected patients. Objective The aim of this study was to investigate the clinical characteristics of patients admitted for COVID-19 infection in an Inner-City Hospital in New York City, to assess the correlation between inflammatory markers and outcomes prediction in a high-risk population. Methods We identified 235 patients who were admitted to our Hospital in NYC between March 19th and April 25th, 2020 with laboratory confirmed COVID-19 diagnosis with associated pneumonia and who also had documented inflammatory markers (D-dimer, C-reactive protein, lactate dehydrogenase, ferritin, procalcitonin) during their hospital stay. Results The study population was predominantly non-Hispanic black. There was no statistically significant difference between survivors and non-survivors by race and/or ethnicity (P = 0.69). Thirty-five percent of the patient population had died by the end of this study and those that died had a higher mean age compared to survivors (69.5 ± 13.6 vs 63.8 ± 15.2, P = 0.004). There is a significant difference in the D-dimer levels in patients who survivedwhen compared to those who died (P = 0.002). A higher proportion of patients that died were admitted to the ICU, (23.7% vs 55.4%, P 3,000) when compared with survivors. Higher mean age was associated with increased mortality and admission to ICU and/or intubation.
Ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane block vs. trigger point injections for chronic abdominal wall pain: a randomized clinical trial.

ABSTRACT The primary aim of this randomized clinical trial is to investigate the effects of ultrasound-guided transversus abdominis plane (TAP) vs ultrasound-guided trigger point injections (TPIs) on numerical rating scale pain scores at month 3 follow-up in patients with a chronic abdominal wall pain. The primary outcome measure was the difference in mean numeric rating scale pain scores between the TAP and TPI groups at month 3 in an intent-to-treat (ITT) analysis. A total of 60 patients were randomized 1:1 to receive an ultrasound-guided TAP block (n = 30) or an ultrasound-guided TPI (n = 30). No significant group differences in baseline demographic or clinical characteristics were observed. The mean baseline pain score for the TAP and TPI groups was 5.5 and 4.7, respectively. In the ITT analysis at month 3, the between-group difference in pain scores was 1.7 (95% confidence interval, 0.3-3.0) favoring the TPI group. In a secondary per-protocol analysis, the between-group difference in pain scores was 1.8 (95% confidence interval, 0.4-3.2) favoring the TPI group. For the ITT and per-protocol analyses, the group differences in pain scores were consistent with a medium effect size. The main finding of this randomized clinical trial is that adults with chronic abdominal wall pain who received a TPI reported significantly lower pain scores at month 3 follow-up compared with patients who received a TAP block.
PHYSICAL MEDICINE IN THE MANAGEMENT OF MYOFASCIAL PAIN AND DYSFUNCTION

SUMMARY Physical medicine plays a crucial role in determining long-term outcome for patients with MPD. Acute inflammation and pain can be controlled with physical modalities, and a home therapy program can be used to maintain the progress. Mobility and activity in the patient with chronic pain can be improved by teaching proper body mechanics to minimize future exacerbation. Clearly, the most important aspect of physical medicine is the education of patients in self-maintenance so that they may become less reliant on the health care system.
Oculomotor plant and neural dynamics suggest gaze control requires integration on distributed timescales

A fundamental principle of biological motor control is that the neural commands driving movement must conform to the response properties of the motor plants they control. In the oculomotor system, characterizations of oculomotor plant dynamics traditionally supported models in which the plant responds to neural drive to extraocular muscles on exclusively short, subsecond timescales. These models predict that the stabilization of gaze during fixations between saccades requires neural drive that approximates eye position on longer timescales and is generated through the temporal integration of brief eye velocity-encoding signals that cause saccades. However, recent measurements of oculomotor plant behaviour have revealed responses on longer timescales, and measurements of firing patterns in the oculomotor integrator have revealed a more complex encoding of eye movement dynamics. Here we use measurements from new and published experiments in the larval zebrafish to link dynamics in the oculomotor plant to dynamics in the neural integrator. The oculomotor plant in both anaesthetized and awake larval zebrafish was characterized by a broad distribution of response timescales, including those much longer than one second. Analysis of the firing patterns of oculomotor integrator neurons, which exhibited a broadly distributed range of decay time constants, demonstrates the sufficiency of this activity for stabilizing gaze given an oculomotor plant with distributed response timescales. This work suggests that leaky integration on multiple, distributed timescales by the oculomotor integrator reflects an inverse model for generating oculomotor commands, and that multi-timescale dynamics may be a general feature of motor circuitry. KEY POINTSO_LIRecent observations of oculomotor plant response properties and neural activity across the oculomotor system have called into question classical formulations of both the oculomotor plant and the oculomotor integrator. C_LIO_LIHere we use measurements from new and published experiments in the larval zebrafish together with modelling to reconcile recent oculomotor plant observations with oculomotor integrator function. C_LIO_LIWe developed computational techniques to characterize oculomotor plant responses over several seconds in awake animals, demonstrating that long timescale responses seen in anesthetized animals extend to the awake state. C_LIO_LIAnalysis of firing patterns of oculomotor integrator neurons demonstrates the sufficiency of this activity for stabilizing gaze given an oculomotor plant with multiple, distributed response timescales. C_LIO_LIOur results support a formulation of gaze stabilization by the oculomotor system in which commands for stabilizing gaze are generated through integration on multiple, distributed timescales. C_LI
A look at the gynecologic oncologist workforce - Are we meeting patient demand?

Abstract Objective to examine the geographic distribution of gynecologic oncologists (GO) and assess if the GO workforce is meeting the demand for oncology services for patients with gynecologic cancers. Methods We identified GO by National Provider Identifiers (NPI) and calculated county-level density of GO. County-level gynecologic cancer rates were derived from the U.S. Cancer Statistics to represent demand for GO services. A spatial data plot compared GO workforce to gynecologic cancer service demand. U.S. census county-level demographic information was collected and compared. Results In 2019, 1527 GO had a registered NPI. Of 3142 counties in the US, 2864 (91.2%) counties had no GO in their local county and 1943 (61.8%) counties had no GO in local or adjacent (neighboring) counties. As the gynecologic cancer rate increases (described in quintiles) in counties, there are fewer counties without a GO or adjacent GO. However, county-level GO density (number of GO per 100,000 women) did not significantly increase as the county-level incidence of gynecologic cancer increased (r = −0.12, p = 0.06)… Women living in counties with the highest gynecologic cancer rates and without access to a GO were more likely to reside in a rural area where residents had a lower median income and were predominately of White race.. Conclusion There are a significant number of counties in the U.S. without a GO. As county-level gynecologic cancer incidence increased, the proportion of counties without a GO decreased; GO density did not increase with increasing cancer rates. Rural counties with high gynecologic incidence rates are underserved by GO. This information can inform initiatives to improve outreach and collaboration to better meet the needs of patients in different geographic areas.
TU-F-201-04: Applications in Small Fields and Proton Beams

Since the introduction of radiochromic films (RCF) for radiation dosimetry, the scope of RCF dosimetry has expanded steadily to include many medical applications, such as radiation therapy and diagnostic radiology. The AAPM Task Group (TG) 55 published a report on the recommendations for RCF dosimetry in 1998. As the technology is advancing rapidly, and its routine clinical use is expanding, TG 235 has been formed to provide an update to TG-55 on radiochromic film dosimetry. RCF dosimetry applications in clinical radiotherapy have become even more widespread, expanding from primarily brachytherapy and radiosurgery applications, and gravitating towards (but not limited to) external beam therapy (photon, electron and protons), such as quality assurance for IMRT, VMAT, Tomotherapy, SRS/SRT, and SBRT. In addition, RCF applications now extend to measurements of radiation dose in particle beams and patients undergoing medical exams, especially fluoroscopically guided interventional procedures and CT. The densitometers/scanners used for RCF dosimetry have also evolved from the He-Ne laser scanner to CCD-based scanners, including roller-based scanner, light box-based digital camera, and flatbed color scanner. More recently, multichannel RCF dosimetry introduced a new paradigm for external beam dose QA for its high accuracy and efficiency. This course covers in detail the recent advancements in RCF dosimetry. Learning Objectives: 1. Introduce the paradigm shift on multichannel film dosimetry 2. Outline the procedures to achieve accurate dosimetry with a RCF dosimetry system 3. Provide comprehensive guidelines on RCF dosimetry for various clinical applications One of the speakers has a research agreement from Ashland Inc., the manufacturer of Gafchromic film.
An exploratory analysis of the impact of salesperson customer-orientation on sales force productivity

Abstract Consumer sovereignty is a concept that is well-established in the marketing literature. It is widely assumed the customer satisfaction is a crucial variable in determining the long-run prosperity of a business. Since the sales force often has the most contact with the customer, it seems logical that their efforts toward satisfying the client would be imperative. The selling orientation-customer orientation (SOCO) scale developed by Saxe and Weitz (1982) was used to determine the customer-orientation of 180 real estate sales personnel. The results of the research indicate that real estate sales representatives can practice customer-oriented selling without fear of losing sales due to their being too “soft” in their selling methods. In addition, the results indicate that companies wishing to enhance their sales personnel's level of customer-orientation may do so through professionally designed sales training programs.
Recent algorithms on automatic hexahedral mesh generation

Mesh generation is a fundamental and important problem in geometric data modeling and processing. In many scientific and engineering tasks that involves numerical computation/simulations on 3D dimensional regions or objects, tessellating the data into hexahedral (hex) meshes are preferred over the commonly used tetrahedral (tet) meshes. This paper gave a brief survey of a few recent hex mesh generation algorithms. These algorithms are categorized into three types, following which we provide a comparison and discussion on these methods.
Teacher Education Students’ Attitudes Toward Using Computers

AbstractThis paper reports on a research study conducted to determine the entry attitudes of students enrolling in educational computing classes. Key finaings included that students enter these classes with a wide range of experience using computers and that these previous experiences are the best predictors of student attitudes. A finding of particular importance to teacher educators was that these students generally agreed that the ability to use computers was a useful skill for living in today’s society and they had positive attitudes toward using computers; however, many did not see that they needed a “firm mastery” of computers for their future work.
Psychological factors related to spontaneous and therapeutic abortion.

Abstract Thirty-two women who had spontaneous abortions were studied by interviews and psychological testing and were compared to a group of 46 women who had therapeutic abortions. In contrast to the therapeutic abortion group, the spontaneous aborters demonstrated little in the way of serious psychopathology. However, in the spontaneous group those women who developed clinically significant depressive reactions did so at the time of the abortion, which was not the case in the therapeutic abortion group. Psychological tests indicated conflicts around sexual identity and sadomasochism in spontaneous aborters resembled but were not as severe as in the therapeutic abortion group. The evidence suggests that the pregnancy and abortion itself may be seen as a primary way of acting out unconscious sadomasochistic conflicts in spontaneous aborters.
Microwave Scattering From an Underdense Turbulent Plasma

The bistatic radar cross section of an underdense, inhomogeneous turbulent plasma was measured at X-band and the results were compared with a theoretical model. The turbulent plasma was formed by seeding a premixed ethylene-oxygen flame in a combustion chamber and exhausting it through an expansion nozzle into a low-pressure vessel. Electrostatic probes, biased for ion collection, were used to map the variation of the mean and rms electron density throughout the turbulent regions and to measure the correlation coefficient of the plasma fluctuations. A theoretical scattering model was constructed using the Born approximation and the results of the diagnostic measurement program. Good agreement between theory and experiment has been obtained for the dependence of cross section on bistatic angle and for the spectrum of fluctuations of the scattered microwave signal. The predicted cross section underestimates the measured cross section by 6 to 11 dB when the measured cross sections are in the range from 10−8 to 10−5 m2. The measured cross section was observed to have a square-law dependence on electron density in agreement with the Born model for densities up to one percent of the critical electron density. For densities beyond this, the Born approximation breaks down and the cross-section dependence becomes linear.
Model-based predictive diagnostics for electrochemical energy sources

The model-based effort described here is focused on predictive diagnostics for primary and secondary batteries. However, this novel approach can also be applied to other electrochemical energy sources such as fuel cells. This method is based on accurate parametric modeling of the transport mechanisms within the battery. This system knowledge was used for the careful development of electrochemical and thermal models. These models have been used to extract new features to be used in conjunction with several traditional measured parameters to assess the condition of the battery. The resulting output and any usable information available about the battery is then evaluated using hybrid automated reasoning schemes consisting of neural network and decision theoretic methods. The focus of this paper is on the model identification and data fusion of the monitored and virtual sensor data. The methodology and analysis presented is applicable to mechanical systems where multiple sensor types are used for diagnostic assessment.
Program director satisfaction with leadership skills.

CONTEXT Educators in radiologic technology help students mature into health care professionals; however, not all educators receive formal training in education. The majority of radiologic technology educators train first as practitioners and later become educators. OBJECTIVE Identify areas for professional development and effective methods to learn leadership skills. METHODS Radiologic technology program directors from Joint Review Committee on Education in Radiologic Technology (JRCERT) accredited programs were surveyed and interviewed to determine their level of satisfaction with their leadership skills. RESULTS Results indicate program directors are satisfied with most of their leadership skills. Budget and resources, conflict resolution and communication were identified as areas for improvement. Program directors identified workshops and lectures as their preferred method of learning leadership skills. SUMMARY Program directors need to use a variety of skills for the successful operation of their programs. Even though results from this study indicate that radiologic technology program directors were satisfied overall with their leadership skills, there were areas that could use improvement.
Tuning HOMO–LUMO levels: trends leading to the design of 9‐fluorenone scaffolds with predictable electronic and optoelectronic properties

Highest occupied molecular orbital–lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO–LUMO) tuning is an important consideration in the development of organic-based semiconducting materials. A study of the specific effects and overall trends for the HOMO–LUMO tuning of a diverse series of 9-fluorenones by means of extended conjugation and substituent effects is described. Trends were explored in a range of compounds, beginning with structures having highly electron-withdrawing substituents and progressing to structures having highly electron-donating substituents. Compounds with an incremental increase in conjugation were also examined. Electrochemical and optical measurements were used to calculate the HOMO–LUMO levels and HOMO–LUMO bandgap (HLG) for each structure. Results from both methods were compared and correlated with the differences in molecular structure. Increasing the electron-donating character of the substituents was observed to decrease the HLG and increase the energy levels of the HOMO and the LUMO, whereas an increase in the electron-withdrawing character produced the opposite results. Increasing conjugation decreased the HLG, increased the HOMO energy level, but decreased the LUMO energy level. Spectroscopic evidence of substituent influence on the carbonyl suggests that substituents directly impact the HLG by influencing the availability of nonbonding electrons within the carbonyl, which impacts the probability of an nπ* transition. The data presented not only elaborate on the HOMO–LUMO tuning of 9-fluorenone systems but also enable the consideration of 9-fluorenones as analogous models for HOMO–LUMO tuning in other more complex polyaromatic systems such as bifluorenylidenes. These trends may provide insight into developing materials with specifically tuned HLGs and HOMO–LUMO levels for a variety of applications. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Predicting PTSD in women with a history of childhood rape

The impact of factors that predispose childhood rape victims to develop posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is important in understanding both the impact of childhood rape and the development of PTSD as a psychological disorder. The present study attempted to determine which crime, perpetrator, victim, and aftermath characteristics are related to PTSD status. A national representative sample of women (N = 3,220) were interviewed about their history of rape, trauma-related variables, and PTSD status. Consistent with research on crime victims, life threat and physical injury discriminated PTSD status in a sample of childhood rape victims. In addition, two other domains were related to PTSD development: (1) testification about rape and (2) rape types. The present findings are discussed in relation to previous research.
Physiology: orphan detectors of metabolism.

There are myriad G-protein-coupled receptor proteins in living organisms, but the functions of many are unknown. Two of them are now shown to provide a link between metabolism and blood pressure.
Alkaline cooking and stable isotope tissue-diet spacing in swine: archaeological implications

Abstract In this study we examine the effects of alkaline cooking on carbon and oxygen stable isotopic ratios of mineralized tissues from nine pigs raised on monotonous mixed C3/C4 vegetarian diets. Two sources of collagen (humerus and mandible) and two sources of apatite (humerus and enamel) were analyzed. Within each diet group, humerus and mandible collagens were found to record equivalent δ 13 C and δ 18 O ratios; however, enamel apatite was found to be enriched over bone apatite by 2.3‰ in carbon and 1.7‰ in oxygen. Alkaline cooking was found to slightly, but significantly increase the Δ 13 C collagen-diet and Δ 18 O collagen-diet of bone collagen. A similar trend towards enrichment was observed in bone and enamel Δ 13 C apatite-diet and Δ 18 O apatite-diet , but the differences were not significant. Observed isotopic shifts were consistent with increased nutrient utilization of the alkaline-cooked maize as compared to raw maize. In addition, a reexamination of the relationship between diet and tissue carbon isotopic values suggests that species and alimentary type should be considered when interpreting ancient diets.
The unstructured support operator method and its application in waveguide problems

This paper extends the unstructured support operator method (SOM) into waveguide problems. The discrete operators derived in SOM satisfy the identities and theorems of scalar and vector calculus in discrete form. The algorithm derived here contains no spurious modes because the divergence-free condition guarantees no spurious charge. The paper presents good results for typical waveguide problems on the nonorthogonal, nonsmooth, and unstructured grids. The Arnoldi method solves the generalized eigenvalue problem with great efficiency. © 2005 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Microwave Opt Technol Lett 46: 495–500, 2005; Published online in Wiley InterScience (www.interscience.wiley.com). DOI 10.1002/mop.21027
Toward quality criteria for collective judgments

Abstract While most organizational and social decision making is done in a group or collective mode, there are few guides or evaluative criteria for judging when a high-quality outcome has been reached. Most past studies of group decision making have been conducted in laboratories using student subjects and factual problems with correct answers as means for judging outcome quality. Such proxies are rough approximations at best of real-world conditions where value differences can be intense and problems have no correct or best answer. Drawing upon the existing literature, evaluative criteria are proposed including process, content, and outcome concerns. An instrument based upon these criteria is then applied retrospectively to six cases of ad hoc collective decision making. Using dimensional analyses, a set of more detailed evaluative factors is derived from actual participant responses. The results provide some insights into the nature of high-quality collective judgments as well as the most effective procedures for their achievement.
Use of volumetric computerized tomography as a primary outcome measure to evaluate drug efficacy in the prevention of peri-prosthetic osteolysis: a 1-year clinical pilot of etanercept vs. placebo

Although total hip replacement (THR) is amongst the most successful and beneficial medical procedures to date, long-term outcomes continue to suffer from aseptic loosening secondary to peri-prosthetic osteolysis. Extensive research over the last two decades has elucidated a central mechanism for osteolysis in which wear debris generated from the implant stimulates inflammatory cells to promote osteoclastogenesis and bone resorption. The cytokine tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNFalpha) has been demonstrated to be central to this process and is considered to be a leading target for intervention. Unfortunately, even though FDA approved TNF antagonists are available (etanercept), currently there are no reliable outcome measures that can be used to evaluate the efficacy of a drug to prevent peri-prosthetic osteolysis. To the end of developing an effective outcome measure, we evaluated the progression of lesion size in 20 patients with established peri-acetabular osteolysis (mean=29.99 cm(3), range=2.9-92.7 cm(3)) of an uncemented primary THR over 1-year, using a novel volumetric computer tomography (3D-CT) technique. We also evaluated polyethylene wear, urine N-telopeptides and functional assessments (WOMAC, SF-36 and Harris Hip Score) for comparison. At the time of entry into the study baseline CT scans were obtained and the patients were randomized to etanercept (25 mg s.q., twice/week) and placebo in a double-blinded fashion. CT scans, urine and functional assessments were also obtained at 6 and 12 months. No serious adverse drug related events were reported, but one patient had to have revision surgery before completion of the study due to aseptic loosening. No remarkable differences between the groups were observed. However, the study was not powered to see significant drug effects. 3D-CT data from the 19 patients was used to determine the mean increase in lesion size over 48 weeks, which was 3.19 cm(3) (p<0.0013). Analysis of the urine N-telopeptides and functional assessment data failed to identify a significant correlation with wear or osteolysis. In conclusion, volumetric CT was able to measure progression of osteolysis over the course of a year, thus providing a technology that could be used in therapeutic trials. Using the data from this pilot we provide a model power calculation for such a trial.
Fibrinolysin (Plasmin) Therapy in Acute Deep Thrombophlebitis A Controlled Study

Sixty-two patients with deep thrombophlebitis of less than 10 days' duration were studied in controlled fashion. Thirty "control" patients were treated by routine methods including anticoagulant drugs. Thirty-two "treatment" patients received fibrinolysin (plasmin) in addition to control therapy. The composition of the groups studied and the protocol followed are presented in detail. Comparison of the 2 groups indicates that the addition of fibrinolysin to the therapeutic regimen leads to more rapid clearing of the acute phlebitic episode and may diminish the short-term incidence of phlebitic recurrence and pulmonary embolization. Postphlebitic residuals were encountered with almost equal frequency in both groups. Greater short-term differences in therapeutic response exist between control and fibrinolysin patients when analysis is restricted to those treated within 5 days of phlebitic onset. The available data do not permit firm conclusions regarding the apparently favorable influence of fibrinolysin upo...
On the Mixture Flow Problem in Lubrication of Hydrodynamic Bearings: Small Solid Volume Fraction

The lubrication problem of infinitely long slider bearings with a mixture of fluid and particulate solid at small volume fraction level is studied. Closed-form analytical solutions for pressure and shear stress are obtained for a class of solid aggregates. The results reduce to those of pure fluid in the limiting case. A parametric study of the bearing performance with particulate solid is presented.
Allergic granulomatous angiitis (Churg-Strauss syndrome).

A black girl, 14 years, 9 months of age, was admit ted to Children's Hospi tal of P i t t sburgh with the chief complaints of chronic weight loss, secondary amenorrhea, and wheezing. At the age of 12, a f t e r visit ing for 2 months in rura l North Carolina. she re turned to P i t t sburgh and developed a nonproduct ive nocturnal cough associated with audible wheezing. These symptoms continued and as thma was diagnosed. At 14 years, 3 months of age, she was admit ted to a community hospital with wheezing. There was no personal or family history of eczema, allergic rhinitis, or d rug hypersensi t ivi ty. Dur ing her first year of life she had f requent diarrhea and continuous nasal congestion, which were not affected by multiple formula changes, but subsided a f t e r one year. Growth and development were normal. Menstruat ion began at 11 years of age but ceased a t the age of 13. An eosinophilia of 30 per cent was noted and a tr ichinella t i ter was 1:4096. In t r ade rma l skin tests demonstra ted 15 minute wheal-and-flare reactions to ragweed, Al ternar ia , house dust. feather, wool. and tobacco antigens. She was discharged on an oral ephedrine-theophyll ine mixture. Immuno the rapy with dust, Al ternar ia , ragweed, and bacter ial vaccine antigens was inst i tuted but was di~ continued a f te r 3 injections. Dur ing the next 3 months intermit tent , severe, c ramping abdominal pain with vomit ing and a 14 kg weight loss was described. On readmission to the same hospital she appeared chronically ill. Blood pressure was 120/90. Hemoglobin was 12 Gin. per cent. Eosinophilia varied between 45 and 53 per cent. V D R L and stool analysis for ova and parasi tes were negative. E K G was normal. Chest, IVP. bar ium enema, and upper GI x-ray examinations were normal. A skin lesion
Non-destructive evaluation of metal-to-metal adhesive joints using vibration analysis: experimental results

Vibration based non-destructive evaluation shows promise for damage detection in metal-to-metal adhesive joints. This research investigates an experimental technique to diagnose damage in single-lap adhesive joints subject to cyclical tensile loading. Vibration analysis reveals that damage can be correlated with changes in identified modal damping ratios. Constant amplitude forcing functions are employed to eliminate amplitude-dependent nonlinearities in the dynamic response profiles. Damping estimates obtained from time-domain analyses correlate well with damage magnitudes. Finite element modal analysis of the lap joints supports the experimental results.
Autoradiographic Identification of Kidney Angiotensin IV Binding Sites and Angiotensin IV-Induced Renal Cortical Blood Flow Changes in Rats

The present investigation initially determined that specific binding sites for the hexapeptide angiotensin IV (AngIV) are present in the rat kidney cortex and outer medulla but not in the inner medulla, using in vitro autoradiographic techniques. This binding site has been termed AT4, is distinct from the previously characterized AT1 and AT2 sites, and does not bind the specific AT1 receptor antagonist DuP753 or the AT2 receptor antagonist PD123177. Renal artery infusions of AngIV produced a dose-dependent increase in cortical blood flow without altering systemic blood pressure. In contrast, the infusion of angiotensin II (AngII) induced a dramatic decrease in cortical blood flow, accompanied by a significant elevation in systemic blood pressure. The infusion of [D-Val(1)]AngIV, an analog that does not bind at the AT4 receptor site, and the C-terminal truncated analogs AngIV (1-4) and AngIV (1-5) that possess lower affinity for this site, produced no change in cortical blood flow. The infusion of [Nle1]AngIV and [Lys1]AngIV, analogs that bind with high affinity at the AT4 receptor site, produced increases in cortical blood flow with no influence on blood pressure. Pretreatment with a specific AT4 receptor antagonist, Divalinal-AngIV, completely blocked AngIV-induced elevations in blood flow, but failed to influence AngII-induced decreases in blood flow, suggesting that these ligands are acting at different receptor sites. Pretreatment with the nitric oxide synthase inhibitor, NG-Monomethyl-L-Arginine, also blocked subsequent AngIV-induced increases in cortical blood flow. These data support the notion that AngIV exerts a unique influence upon renal hemodynamics via the AT4 receptor subtype, and suggest that AngIV-induced elevations in blood flow may be mediated by nitric oxide.
Extension of the iterative EBCM to calculate scattering by low-loss or lossless elongated dielectric objects

The newly developed iterative extended boundary condition method (IEBCM) is extended to calculate the scattering by low-loss or lossless elongated dielectric objects. Specifically the iterative procedure is modified so as to utilize an initial assumption of the surface fields obtained from the Mie solution of a spherical object of the same dielectric properties. The solution for the elongated object is obtained by iteratively utilizing the regular EBCM technique to solve for objects of intermediate geometries between the substitute sphere and the object of interest. The other feature of the IEBCM which is related to subdividing the internal volume of the object into several overlapping subregions in each of which a separate field expansion is used is also utilized in the present extension. Results illustrating the adequacy of the IEBCM procedure to calculate the scattering by spheroids of an aspect ratio of more than 7:1 are presented.
Dye lasers with ultrafast transverse flow

Extension of the molecular rate equations for a dye laser to include the effect of very rapid transverse flow shows that spatial transit times comparable to the dye intersystem crossing time prevent the buildup of a large triplet state population. This new technique enables limiting the triplet-triplet absorption loss without using triplet quenching agents. An air-turbine driven rotating disk of rhodamine 6G dye in polymethyl methacrylate is used to exchange the dye 5 \times 10^{6} times per second by 250-m/s transverse flow through the pump beam waist in an end-pumped near-spherical cavity ( W_{0} \sim 25 \mu ). In pulse experiments, transverse flow enabled increase of power output by a factor of 2.5 with a corresponding decrease in threshold power of about 30 percent. Thermal defocusing effects are eliminated at much slower flow rates. The ultrafast transverse-flow technique should also be applicable to liquid dye lasers and would be most important for cases where no effective triplet quenching agent can be found.
Studies on the Mutagenicity and Electron Spin Resonance Spectra of Nitrosofluorene-Lipid Adducts

The carcinogen 2-acetylaminofluorene undergoes metabolic activation to 2-nitrosofluorene (NOF). NOF is a powerful mutagen in the Ames assay conducted with TA 98 strain of Salmonella typhimurium in the absence of microsomal activation system. We have shown that NOF adds to unsaturated lipids in microsomes and liposomes to yield free radicals. NOF adds to methyl oleate or 2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene in an Alder-ene fashion to form a hydroxylamine derivative which undergoes oxidation to yield a fairly stable nitroxyl free radical. The second derivative electron spin resonance spectrum of the NOF-methyl oleate adduct is a triplet of a quartet with a 1:3:3:1 intensity pattern. This suggests that the free electron interacts with one nitrogen (aN = 11.5 G) and three approximately equivalent protons (a1H ≃ a2H ≃ a3H ≃ = 3.5 G). The second derivative spectrum of the NOF-2,3-dimethylbut-2-ene adduct is more complex involving a triplet of 14 lines each. Both adducts were less mutagenic than NOF in the Ames assay. Membrane alterations due to NOF-lipid adduct formation may be a factor in 2-acetylaminofluorene-induced carcinogenesis.
Variability of gastric secretion in patients with and without the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome.

Abstract Data from repeated gastric secretory studies (augmented histamine tests, 12-hour overnight tests) in eight patients with peptic ulcer are presented. Four patients had proven Zollinger-Ellison syndrome; in the other four this diagnosis was suspected but could not be confirmed at surgery. In seven patients, striking variations in the secretory patterns were observed on repeated testing. The basal secretion exhibited the widest fluctuations resulting in important alterations in calculated ratios of basal to stimulated secretion. Several of the investigations failed to suggest the correct diagnosis or suggested an erroneous diagnosis, while tests in the same patients performed at different times were often consistent with the correct diagnosis. Caution is therefore warranted in the interpretation of gastric secretory data in any patient in whom the Zollinger-Ellison syndrome is suspected.
Ionizing Radiation-induced DNA Strand Breakage and Rejoining in Specific Genomic Regions as Determined by an Alkaline Unwinding/Southern Blotting Method

A recently developed, combined alkaline unwinding/Southern blotting assay was utilized to examine DNA damage and repair induced by ionizing radiation within specific large-scale genomic regions. Following treatment of MCF-7 breast tumour cells with 2-10-Gy γ-rays, strand breakage and rejoining were measured in bulk DNA, in the centromeric α-satellite region of chromosome 17, and in the chromatin regions containing the unexpressed β-globin gene and the expressed c-myc oncogene, which is known to be important for growth in the MCF-7 cell line. Damage in both the c-myc and β-globin regions was markedly greater than in either α-satellite or bulk DNA. However, the kinetics of strand break repair were approximately the same in c-myc as in α-satellite or bulk DNA. Surprisingly, the radiomimetic antibiotic bleomycin, which also induces free-radical-mediated strand breakage, showed considerably less heterogeneity of DNA damage among the genomic regions examined than did radiation. The results suggest that actively...
Methodology to simulate GPM radar observations, from combined radiometer and radar measurements from TRMM and cloud models

The Global precipitation mission is conceptually centered on the deployment of a “core” satellite with an active dual-frequency (Ka/Ku band) precipitation radar, and microwave imager capable of sensing the total precipitation within all cloud layers (http://gpm.gsfc.nasa.gov). Compared to the single-frequency TRMM (Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission) precipitation radar (PR), the dual-frequency precipitation radar (DPR) onboard GPM core satellite is expected to enhance our understanding on microphysics, and provide more accurate retrieval of rainfall and liquid water content. The goal of the present study is to combine the TMI (TRMM's Microwave Imager), TRMM PR and a mesoscale WRF (Weather Research and Forecast) model to simulate the DPR reflectivity profiles. Prior studies to simulate the DPR profiles were done based on TRMM PR observation using frequency scaling arguments and hydrometeor classification [1]. First, the methodology to retrieve self consistent hydrometeor profiles from a combination of TMI, PR observations as well as WRF model is described. Using the TRMM constrained WRF model profiles, a procedure to simulate DPR observations is described. Attenuation from cloud water and cloud ice is considered. Simulation of cyclone Nargis shows reasonable results using TMI retrieved microphysics. Attenuations from both precipitation and non-precipitation are also compared.
Enabling Reliability-Differentiated Service in Residential Distribution Networks With PHEVs: A Hierarchical Game Approach

This paper proposes a framework for enabling the reliability-differentiated services in a residential distribution network with plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs). A reliability-differentiated pricing mechanism is developed to satisfy the different reliability requirements of the customers while encouraging the customers to consume electricity in such a way that the reliability of the overall distribution system can be enhanced. A dynamic spinning reserve pricing scheme is developed to stimulate PHEVs to participate in spinning reserve by providing economic benefits when the state of the distribution system becomes risky. Based on the formulated reliability-differentiated system, a hierarchical game approach is proposed in this paper to coordinate the charging process of PHEVs in a decentralized fashion. At the upper level of the hierarchical game, an evolutionary game is formulated to optimize the management of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) capacity of each PHEV. Under the V2G strategies obtained from the evolutionary game, a noncooperative game is formulated at the lower level to coordinate the charging sequences of PHEVs. Various simulation studies are carried out to verify the effectiveness of the proposed hierarchical game approach. The simulation results show that the hierarchical game approach is effective in enhancing both reliability of the distribution system and economic profits of the PHEVs.
Interaction between age and exposure to 56Fe particles on behavior and neurochemistry

Abstract Previous research has shown that exposure to HZE particles, which will be encountered on long-term space missions, can adversely affect the ability of rats to perform a variety of behavioral tasks. This outcome has implications for an astronaut’s ability to successfully complete requirements associated with these missions. It has also been found that irradiation can lead to increases in oxidative stress, similar to that seen in the aging brain. Given that astronauts are often middle-aged or older it is important to determine if their age puts them at higher risk for the potentially hazardous effects of exposure to HZE particles. Therefore, we exposed young and old rats to either 1 or 2 Gy of 56 Fe irradiation and evaluated performance in a spatial learning and memory task, in addition to examining levels of dopamine (DA) release from superfused striatal slices. Results indicated that exposure to 56 Fe particles can produce alterations in behavior and neuronal signaling and that these alterations may be more apparent in older organisms, a finding which suggests that the aging brain may be more susceptible to the deleterious effects of irradiation on performance. Therefore, age may be a factor for consideration in planning long-term missions into space.
Special Issue: Concurrency and Computation: Practice and Experience from the Microsoft eScience Workshop

Facilitating time to discovery by scientists through computing is an idea that has been around for a significant amount of time. Often, however, domain scientists and computer scientists work in parallel rather than in collaboration with one another. It has been a goal of this workshop (the fifth of its kind) to showcase the examples of such collaborations or tools that enable these collaborations to flourish. This editorial provides an overview of papers requested from a sampling of applied scientific collaborations that were presented at the 2008 Microsoft eScience Workshop. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.