cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Efficacy of Playing Videogames Compared with Antidepressants in Reducing Treatment-Resistant Symptoms of Depression.

Objective: The goal of this month-long controlled study was to compare the efficacy of a second antidepressant (sAD) medication with a prescribed regimen of Plants vs. Zombies™ (PvZ), a casual videogame, in reducing treatment-resistant depression symptoms (TRDS) and improving heart rate variability (HRV). Materials and Methods: Approximately ∼8 weeks after beginning antidepressant therapy, participants returned to psychiatrists for evaluation and complained of TRDS. The psychiatrist gave them a choice of self-selecting a sAD medication or playing a prescribed regimen of PvZ as part of a research study. Those who agreed were referred to researchers who then screened them for major depression, the criteria for inclusion. PvZ was prescribed four times per week for 30-45 minutes over 4 weeks. Self-reported data were collected at four different times utilizing the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. HRV, an indicator of autonomic nervous system (ANS) functioning, was also recorded each time. Results: The sAD group's TRDS significantly improved. Remarkably, the PvZ group's TRDS improved significantly beyond the control group at all measurement times except for time 1 or baseline. In addition, a single 30-minute session of playing PvZ was significantly more effective in acutely reducing TRDS when compared with the sAD group that surfed the NIHM website on depression. Changes in HRV parameters indicated increased parasympathetic engagement and ANS balance in the PvZ group compared with the sAD group. Discussion: The findings illustrate the potential of PvZ as an acute and chronic intervention for reducing TRDS. Health care practitioners such as physicians and recreational therapists can consider recommending a regimen of prescribed PvZ play as a method to ameliorate symptoms of depression for those clients who self-select this option. Finally, a psychophysiological method for measuring the efficacy of videogames in reducing TRDS and a means to quantify ANS changes during gameplay are presented.
Acute adverse drug reactions with contrast media after cardiac catheterization: can we identify those at risk?

Adverse reactions to contrast media are classified as acute or delayed reactions. Acute adverse drug reactions (ADRs) secondary to contrast media typically occur within 1 hour of contrast administration, as compared to within 1–7 hours for delayed reactions. ADRs have been attributed to the activation of complement and fibrinolytic systems along with the release of histamine, prostaglandins, leukotrienes, and bradykinins (1,2).
Differentiation Induction In Acute Myeloid Leukemia Using Site-Specific DNA-Targeting

Hoxa9 and Meis1 are overexpressed in >70% of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) and associated with poor prognosis and survival. Hoxa9 and Meis1 interact with DNA and PBX to achieve transcription of differentiation-blocking genes. We tested transcriptional repression at Hoxa9-PBX-Meis1 genomic binding sites to induce differentiation in a model of human AML We designed a DNA-recognition strategy based on the known structure of the Hoxa9-PBX-DNA complex by fusing the DNA binding helices of Hoxa9 and PBX to create concise homeodomain fusion proteins that target the Hoxa9-PBX DNA recognition sequence. To confer transcription-repressing properties to the proteins, we attached a transcriptional repressor (sin3 interacting) domain and ectopically expressed this protein in Hoxa9-Meis1 immortalized murine progenitors. Introduction of this transcription repressor protein significantly enabled cell differentiation versus control (51.2% Mac-1high Gr-1high cells versus 11.3% for control). Multiple gene transcripts indicative of differentiation, such as GCSFR, myeloperoxidase, neutrophil elastase, and the calcium binding protein, S100A8, were also elevated in repressor-expressing cells. Furthermore, direct transcriptional targets of Hoxa9 (e.g. SOX2, CD34, FOXP1, FLT3R, DNAJC10) were down regulated in repressor-expressing cells. Importantly, a mutant repressor lacking the DNA-interacting amino acids did not affect transcription of Hoxa9 targets, demonstrating on-target specificity. Repressor-expressing cells also exhibited lower surface expression of c-Kit and Flt3 receptors and when transplanted into mice resulted in a significant increase in disease latency with a 94 day median latency versus 62 day latency for the control group (p value = 0.002). Our results demonstrate that site-specific DNA-targeting using homeodomain fusion proteins can enable AML cell differentiation and significantly increase disease latency. Disclosures: Scadden: Fate Therapeutics: Consultancy, Equity Ownership.
Assessing the potential of culture-independent 16S rRNA microbiome analysis in disease diagnostics: the example of Dianthus gratianopolitanus and Robbsia andropogonis.

The goal of this study was to determine if culture-independent 16S rRNA sequencing of plant-associated microbiomes could facilitate disease diagnosis of cheddar pinks (Dianthus gratianopolitanus) with symptoms of leaf spotting at a Virginia nursery. The microbiome composition of cheddar pinks at the same nursery and at a second nursery in the absence of any disease outbreak was determined as well. After the pathogen was identified as Burkholderia andropogonis (synonym: Robbsia andropogonis) in a parallel culture-dependent study, the microbiome of plants artificially inoculated with R. andropogonis was also analyzed. The genus Robbsia was found to be ubiquitously present on all Dianthus gratianopolitanus nursery plants. However, because of the low resolution of 16S rRNA sequencing, it was not possible to determine the presence or absence of the pathogen at the species level. While relative abundance of Robbsia sequences had slightly increased during the disease outbreak, symptomatic plants did not have a significantly higher abundance of Robbsia than asymptomatic plants. Only microbiomes of artificially inoculated plants were dominated by Robbsia. We conclude that culture-independent microbiome analysis using 16S rRNA sequencing was unable to aid disease diagnosis in this specific case. Limitations and potential of the approach in disease diagnosis in general are discussed.
Gynecologic and Reproductive Considerations

Despite the delay in admitting women to the US space program, being female actually offers some advantages. The weightlessness that is part of life in microgravity negates some of the male advantages of size and strength. The closed environmental systems that are found on all spacecraft—with limited amounts of oxygen (O2), water, and food and with the need to process solid, liquid, and exhaled waste products—favor smaller individuals. Since the general implications for women participating in high-performance aircraft and in spacecraft have been reviewed elsewhere, they will not be addressed here in great detail. Suffice it to say that, although men and women differ in their ability to withstand extremes of hypoxia, decompression, temperature, acceleration, isolation, stress, and impact, these differences are generally small and often depend more on acclimation and individual variation than on sex. While incidence of many of the medical conditions noted in space flight such as space motion sickness is similar between women and men, some conditions are more common in men or women. For instance, spaceflight-associated neuro-ocular syndrome (SANS) findings are more common in men, but postflight orthostasis is more common in women. These differences will be noted in other chapters in the text.
Assessing sitting and standing in college students using height-adjustable desks:

Objective:To examine if Arduino microcontrollers and Fitbits can serve as proxy measures for the direct observation of sitting and standing time in college students using height-adjustable standing...
Use of store-and-forward tele-mental health for displaced Syrians

The Syrian conflict has resulted in the worst humanitarian crisis of the 21st century with millions of people displaced inside Syria or in neighbouring countries. Severe shortages of mental health professionals in the area have created many challenges in addressing the mental health needs of this vulnerable population. In response, the Syrian Tele-Mental Health (STMH) Network was established in June 2014 following evidence gathered through a pilot survey. Using a ‘store-and-forward’ type of telemedicine, the STMH network was able to provide psychiatric consultations to 19 primary care centres serving 123 Syrian patients over a period of three years. In this article, we report and comment on the data obtained during this period including the strengths, limitations and challenges of such an approach.
Insurance as a lemons market: Coverage denials and pooling

Abstract The standard monopoly insurance model with adverse selection implies that there are always gains to trade, that only the best (unobservable) risks can go uninsured, and that a profit-maximizing menu cannot pool all types. We show that insurance-provision costs can explain both coverage denials only to those likely to be the worst risks and complete pooling. Specifically, we prove a general comparative statics theorem formalizing coverage denials only to those deemed to be the worst risks; and two theorems showing that the insurer offers a single contract (complete pooling), with either zero or positive coverage. We point out some implications of these results for empirical work on insurance. Our results expand upon a point made by Hendren (2013) , that the main effect of adverse selection on insurance might not be misallocation in active markets – the traditional emphasis after Rothschild and Stiglitz (1976) – but simply in shutting down markets, as in Akerlof (1970) classic lemons model.
Cardiomyopathy Mutations Impact the Power Stroke of Human Cardiac Myosin

Cardiac muscle contraction is driven by the molecular motor myosin that uses the energy from ATP hydrolysis to generate a power stroke when interacting with actin filaments, while it is unclear how this mechanism is impaired by mutations in myosin that can lead to heart failure. We have applied a Forster resonance energy transfer (FRET) strategy to investigate structural changes in the lever arm domain of human β-cardiac myosin subfragment 1 (M2β-S1). We exchanged the human ventricular regulatory light chain labeled at a single cysteine (V105C) with Alexa 488 onto M2β-S1, which served as a donor for Cy3ATP bound to the active site. We monitored the FRET signal during the actin-activated product release steps using transient kinetic stopped-flow measurements. We proposed that the fast phase measured with our FRET probes represents the structural change associated with rotation of the lever arm during the power stroke in M2β-S1. Our results demonstrated human cardiac muscle myosin has a slower power stroke compared with fast skeletal muscle myosin and myosin V. Measurements at different temperatures comparing the rate constants of the power stroke and phosphate release revealed that the power stroke occurs before phosphate release, and the two steps are tightly coupled. We speculate that the slower power stroke rate constant in cardiac myosin may correlate with the slower force development and/or unique thin filament activation properties in cardiac muscle. Additionally, we demonstrated that HCM (R723G) and DCM (F764L) associated mutations both reduced actin-activation of the power stroke in M2β-S1. We also demonstrate that both mutations decrease ensemble force development in the loaded in vitro motility assay. Thus, examining the structural kinetics of the power stroke in M2β-S1 has revealed critical mutation-associated defects in the myosin ATPase pathway, suggesting these measurements will be extremely important for establishing structure-based mechanisms of contractile dysfunction.
Heart Failure Admission Service Triage (H-FAST) Study: Racialized Differences in Perceived Patient Self-Advocacy as a Driver of Admission Inequities

Background Racial inequities in mortality and readmission for heart failure (HF) are well documented. Inequitable access to specialized cardiology care during admissions may contribute to inequity, and the drivers of this inequity are poorly understood. Methodology This prospective observational study explored proposed drivers of racial inequities in cardiology admissions among Black, Latinx, and white adults presenting to the emergency department (ED) with symptoms of HF. Surveys of ED providers examined perceptions of patient self-advocacy, outreach to other clinicians (e.g., outpatient cardiologist), diagnostic uncertainty, and other active co-morbid conditions. Service census, bed availability, prior admission service, and other structural factors were explored through the electronic medical record. Results Complete data were available for 61/135 patients admitted with HF during the study period, which halted early due to coronavirus disease 2019. No significant differences emerged in admission to cardiology versus medicine based on age, sex, insurance status, education level, or perceived race/ethnicity. White patients were perceived as advocating for admission to cardiology more frequently (18.9 vs. 5.6%) and more strenuously than Black patients (p = 0.097). ED clinicians more often reported having spoken with the patient's outpatient cardiologist for whites than for Black or Latinx patients (24.3 vs. 16.7%, p = 0.069). Conclusions Theorized drivers of racial inequities in admission service did not reach statistical significance, possibly due to underpowering, the Hawthorne effect, or clinician behavior change based on knowledge of previously identified inequities. The observed trend towards racial differences in coordination of care between ED and outpatient providers, as well as in either actual or perceived self-advocacy by patients, may be as-yet undemonstrated components of structural racism driving HF care inequities.
Examination of Semi-Analytical Solution Methods in the Coarse Operator of Parareal Algorithm for Power System Simulation

With continuing advances in high-performance parallel computing platforms, parallel algorithms have become powerful tools for development of faster than real-time power system dynamic simulations. In particular, it has been demonstrated in recent years that parallel-in-time (Parareal) algorithms have the potential to achieve such an ambitious goal. The selection of a fast and reasonably accurate coarse operator of the Parareal algorithm is crucial for its effective utilization and performance. This paper examines semi-analytical solution (SAS) methods as the coarse operators of the Parareal algorithm and explores performance of the SAS methods to the standard numerical time integration methods. Two promising time-power series-based SAS methods were considered; Adomian decomposition method and Homotopy analysis method with a windowing approach for improving the convergence. Numerical performance case studies on 10-generator 39-bus system and 327-generator 2383-bus system were performed for these coarse operators over different disturbances, evaluating the number of Parareal iterations, computational time, and stability of convergence. All the coarse operators tested with different scenarios have converged to the same corresponding true solution (if they are convergent) and the SAS methods provide comparable computational speed, while having more stable convergence to the true solution in many cases.
Malpractice in Head and Neck Surgery

For patients with head and neck cancer, errors in diagnosis, surgical technique, and postoperative care each have a potential for high-impact negative outcomes and are targets of malpractice litigation. Guidelines in conjunction with expert testimony help a court define standard of care, and the head and neck surgeon should be familiar with guidelines related to head and neck surgery and cancer care. Prior to surgery, informed consent for these complex procedures is lengthy and leaves potential for deviation from focused discussion of risks, and patient recall of specific risks is low. As such, a careful informed consent process should be supplemented with standardized patient handouts. Additionally, current medicolegal literature suggests special attention should be paid to the facial (CN VII), vagus (CN X), and spinal accessory (CN XI) cranial nerves. The use of intraoperative nerve monitoring for CN VII and recurrent laryngeal nerves remains controversial in the setting of malpractice, as lack of use does not lead to litigation; however, routine use should be considered for other reasons. Should injury occur, otolaryngologists should be comfortable with diagnosis and management of possible nerve injuries. Airway-related cases represent another important source of malpractice litigation for the otolaryngologist, and avoiding negligence during the postoperative period warrants careful attention. Delayed, missed, or improper diagnosis in head and neck cancer contributes to poorer prognosis and outcomes and is a major risk for litigation. The head and neck surgeon should carefully review all pathology reports and ensure appropriate postoperative oncologic management, as failure to do so may result in malpractice litigation. Additionally, young patient age is routinely associated with cancer-related malpractice litigation, especially compared to the median age of laryngeal and oral cavity cancers.
Public Administration Scholarship: Revisiting the Applied Function:

Public Administration is reaffirmed as an applied field of practice rather than a traditional academic discipline. Hence, scholarly research in it should not merely expand an extant body of knowled...
Visualizing Resistance: Foucauldian Ethics and the Female Body Builder

Drawing on the relation between disciplinary power and aesthetics, Honi Fern Haber argues that the muscled woman’s “revolting” body undermines patriarchy and empowers women. Consequently, female bodybuilding can be a Foucauldian and feminist practice of resistance. I will argue that Haber’s insistence on the visibility of embodied resistance is flawed. By positing a static goal and failing to sufficiently consider non-visible aspects of normalization, namely pleasure and pain, Haber risks reinscribing the muscled woman into yet another normalizing scheme. In the light of recent work on Foucault's ethics and embodied resistance, I suggest that weight lifting may be more successfully recommended as a practice of resistance when undertaken to increase capacities and for the pleasure of the activity itself.
Efficiency of Currency Asset Classes

Analyzing the risk and return for the SP risk and return; fund allocation; efficient frontiers JEL Classifications: G15
Liquidated Damages after Behavioral Law and Economics

This paper briefly assesses defenses of the law of liquidated damages based on experimental evidence adduced by behavioral law and economics (BLE). It identifies three sorts of inference BLE frequently relies upon: a weak inference of rule design, a modest inference to limited application, and a strong inference to general application. BLE's lack of a unified and coherent theory of rational choice does not mean that its unconfirmed predictions are unsupportable. However, needed support must come indirectly, from defensible inferences drawn from experimental results. Because the defensible inferences from the results BLE relies on are limited to a restricted range of choice environments, they cannot support a broad legal rule that is to apply in most cases. Two consequences follow for the regulation of liquidated damages clauses. First, the inferences cannot support a rule of penalty regulation. At most, they justify exceptions that allow judicial oversight of liquidated damages clauses in particular circumstances. Because BLE's defensible inferences have a restricted range, they cannot themselves undermine the general presumption favoring the contracting parties' choice of value-maximizing terms. Second, the inferences cannot undermine arguments for limiting penalty regulation that do not rely on the processing of information. Arguments from measurement error resulting from restricted access to information about damages, such as Goetz and Scotts', are unaffected by findings of systemic cognitive failure in information processing.
The effects of campaign spending on electoral outcomes: A data envelopment analysis

Data envelopment analysis is used to analyze the efficiency of candidate campaign spending. Analysis of the measured efficiency scores of the incumbents and challengers shows that there are significant systematic effects of both district and candidate characteristics. The incumbent's residuals from the efficiency score regressions indicate those candidates who do well because of the nature of their district and those who do well because of their own abilities. Incumbents are ranked according to their observed efficiency, their unobserved efficiency and their vote share. Correlations among the rankings are significant and of the expected signs. More efficient candidates receive higher vote shares.
Scrutinizing Standards: Convergent Questions in Medical Practice and Qualitative Inquiry

These three books address standards, critique practices, and advocate directions for health care policies and qualitative methods. The authors raise or suggest conceptual and methodological debates that resonate with symbolic interactionists. Charles Bosk updates his 1979 classic study of normative standards in surgical training in a large, elite Western hospital with a new preface, an amended appendix, and an epilogue. Bosk argues that blameless surgical errors are forgiven; they simply indicate the need for further training and obligate the resident to improve. Other errors stand as blameworthy and imperil the status of the resident and, at times, that of the attending physician and surgical service. Although Bosk’s beautifully crafted 1979 study tells a gripping story, I want to direct my comments to how his new sections speak to standards in qualitative research. REVIEW ESSAY
Representing M11, M12, M22, and M23 on surfaces of least genus

(1990). Representing M11, M12, M22, and M23 on surfaces of least genus. Communications in Algebra: Vol. 18, No. 1, pp. 15-86.
H/sup infinity / control of a twin lift helicopter system

Two H/sup infinity / controller designs are presented for a twin lift helicopter system (TLHS). The TLHS configuration consists of two US-60A Sikorsky Blackhawk helicopters jointly lifting a heavy payload. The first design presented considers the case in which the tethers connecting each helicopter to the load are equal in length, and the second considers the case in which the lengths are unequal. Both designs are based on a seven-degree-of-freedom model linearized about hover. The primary objective of each controller is to minimize the control action and pitching motion required to stabilize the helicopters as they perform elementary maneuvers. A simulation of a typical TLHS command scenario is used to evaluate the stability robustness characteristics of the resulting two feedback systems with respect to structured parametric uncertainty. >
Stick, slip, and opening of wavy frictional faults: A numerical approach in two dimensions

[1] We use a two-dimensional displacement discontinuity method (DDM) for quasi-static boundary value problems to investigate sinusoidal faults of finite length in an otherwise homogeneous and isotropic elastic material. The DDM incorporates a complementarity algorithm to enforce appropriate contact boundary conditions along the model fault. The numerical solution for the model sinusoidal fault converges to the analytical solution for a straight fault of finite length as the ratio amplitude/wavelength goes to zero. It does not converge to the analytical solution for an infinite sinusoidal interface as the ratio distance/wavelength goes to zero. We provide stick, slip, and opening distributions along wavy faults with a range of uniform coefficients of friction, amplitude/wavelength ratios, and wave numbers. As the number of sinusoidal waves or the amplitude/wavelength is increased, mean slip decreases. Additionally, the fault geometry causes slip to deviate significantly from the elliptical distribution of a planar fault. We demonstrate that the displacement discontinuity of wavy faults cannot be prescribed a priori. This necessitates implementation of the complementarity algorithm and precludes an analytical solution. We employ the terms lee and stoss instead of releasing and restraining bends because a local minimum in slip may occur along lee sides, as well as stoss sides. In some cases, lee sides stick while stoss sides slip. Trends in the slip perturbation can be explained by the angular relationship between the local fault trace and the orientation of the remote principal stresses; however, the displacement discontinuity along a wavy model fault cannot be explained by this relationship alone.
Acute appendicitis: variation in outcomes by insurance status

Abstract Background Acute appendicitis (AA) is often studied as a surrogate for acute care surgery. Previous studies have shown differences in outcomes based on insurance status, but associated costs to health care systems are in need of further study. The purpose of the present study was to investigate how treatment, outcomes, and health care resource utilization differ between the uninsured and commercially insured in the setting of AA. Methods Patients with AA were identified by International Classification of Diseases, ninth edition , codes using the Agency for Health Care Administration Florida Hospital inpatient discharge data sets for 2002–2011. The outcomes studied were admission with complicated versus uncomplicated appendicitis, receiving laparoscopic versus open appendectomy and experiencing a perioperative complication, length of stay, and overall hospital cost. Data were analyzed using logistic, negative binomial, and least squares multivariate regression. A P value Results The uninsured were more likely to present with complicated appendicitis (odds ratio = 1.31, P P Conclusions Insurance status is known to affect health care utilization. The uninsured may delay seeking medical assistance, causing greater incidence of complicated disease and increased costs of treatment. Increasing the number of insured via the Affordable Care Act may improve patient outcomes and decrease costs related to AA. These findings may also apply to other acute care surgery conditions.
Cultural Bias and Identification of Behaviorally Disordered Children.

Arguments over cultural bias in testing has xtended to behavioral disorders. Social behavior is currently being diagnosed through behavior rating scales. These instruments are open to criticism bec...
The John Charnley Award: an accurate and sensitive method to separate, display, and characterize wear debris: part 1: polyethylene particles.

Background Numerous studies indicate highly crosslinked polyethylenes reduce the wear debris volume generated by hip arthroplasty acetabular liners. This, in turns, requires new methods to isolate and characterize them.
Coupled-Channel Models of Direct-Semidirect Capture via Giant-Dipole Resonances

Abstract Semidirect capture, a two-step process that excites a giant-dipole resonance followed by its radiative de-excitation, is a dominant process near giant-dipole resonances, that is, for incoming neutron energies within 5–20 MeV. At lower energies such processes may affect neutron capture rates that are relevant to astrophysical nucleosynthesis models. We implement a semidirect capture model in the coupled-channel reaction code Fresco and validate it by comparing the cross section for direct-semidirect capture 208 Pb(n, γ ) 209 Pb to experimental data. We also investigate the effect of low-energy electric dipole strength in the pygmy resonance. We use a conventional single-particle direct-semidirect capture code Cupido for comparison. Furthermore, we present and discuss our results for direct-semidirect capture reaction 130 Sn(n, γ ) 131 Sn, the cross section of which is known to have a significant effect on nucleosynthesis models.
Discussion of “Estimation of Parameters for a Mixture of Normal Distributions” by Victor Hasselblad

I wish to congratulate Dr. Hasselblad for his most interesting and useful paper. He has provided us with maximum likelihood procedures for estimating the 3K 1 parameters of a mixed distribution consisting of K normally distributed components. As the aut,hor notes, the special case in which K = 2 was dealt with as early as 1894 by Karl Pearson using the method of moments. It has since received attention from various investigators including Charlier (1906), Charlier and Wicksell (1924), Rao (1952) myself (1965). The more general case dealt with by Hasselblad in which K >_ 3 seems to have received little if any previous attention. Prior to the advent of modern large capacity electronic computers, the formidable task of simultaneously estimating such a large number of parameters has no doubt served as a major deterrent to would-be investigators of this problem. Hasselblad’s consideration of the problem is limited to grouped data in which all class intervals are of equal width. In his formulation of the likelihood function, areas under the normal curve within the various class boundaries are approximated as products of class width times mid-interval ordinates. For sufficiently narrow grouping intervals, this approximation would certainly be satisfactory, but it could result in the introduction of troublesome errors for coarse groupings of the sample data. The estimating equat,ions are solved through iteration using the method of “steepest descent” and Newton’s method. The method of steepest descent apparently gave better results from less accurate initial approximations. For this reason the author reports that he usually ran this procedure for as many as forty iterations and then switched to Newton’s method for the concluding series of iterations. He reports that when Newton’s procedure converged, it always improved results with fewer iterations. He found that in general, the method of steepest descent appeared better on smaller amounts of data with fewer intervals whereas Newton’s procedure worked well on larger samples. Initial approximations are obtained by artificially truncating the resultant sample and employing maximum likelihood estimators for truncated samples, using previous results of Hald (1949) and previous result’s of mine (1950). I am inclined t,o believe that certain of my more recent results, Technometrics (1959) and (1961) and Biometrika (1957) might result in a reduction of the computational effort otherwise necessary.
Fault detection and precedent-free localization in numerically discretized thermal-fluid systems

This paper uses the Growing Structure Multiple Model System (GSMMS) method for fault detection and precedent-free localization of unwanted heating anomalies in two different configurations of channel flow systems operated under dynamic conditions: (i) straight channel and (ii) straight channel with an internal flow disruptor. Unlike commonly used fault detection methods, the newly proposed approach does not require prior information regarding the fault location, fault severity or data emitted in the presence of a fault to build the model of that fault and recognize it. The new detection mechanism is based only on the models of normal behavior for various portions of the monitored system. The obtained results indicate that the detection and localization of the unwanted heating element (i.e., heat source) can be achieved through distributed GSMMS-based anomaly detection, with multiple anomaly detectors monitoring different parts of each configuration. The results also suggest that fault detection and localization are strongly related to a system's configuration and operational conditions.
Ocean sciences peer review in NSF

Someone—I believe it was a German statesman—once said that there were two questions to which most people did not really want answers: What goes in to sausage? and How are government decisions made? I am sure there is some truth here. Although I'm not familiar with what has been happening in the area of sausage making, there have been many discussions and several recent studies about the use and effectiveness of peer review in federal agencies deciding what research to support. This article is precipitated by these recent studies, by the availability of quantitative peer review data in the Ocean Sciences Research Section (OSRS) of the National Science Foundation (NSF), and by continuing questions and statements concerning the peer review process that suggest some misunderstanding about what it is and how it works. My intent in this article is to describe the general process of peer review used in OSRS and to explain some of the variations in that process. Data and statistics on proposals considered for support with Fiscal Year (FY) 1981 funds help illustrate the process.
Q in the inner core

Short-period vertical seismograms from ten earthquakes and one nuclear explosion in the distance range of 140-170 degrees are examined for a study of the anelastic properties of the inner core. The depth of the earthquake foci varies between 116 and 625 km. The phases of interest are PKP(BC branch) and PKIKP with bottoming depths in the upper few hundred kilometers of the inner core. The data consist of high-quality digital data at sampling rates 20/40 samples per second selected after an extensive search of the 1985-1986 GDSN event tapes for short-period P waves with a high signal-to-noise ratio. The results are based primarily upon observations between distances of 147° and 154°.
Performance of image communications using TCP/IP, XTP, and Ethernet

The PACS of an image management and communications system (IMACS) must have a communications infrastructure that supports not just the transmission of images, but the transmission of images with minimal latency while utilizing the bandwidths available in emerging high-speed networks that provide transfer rates between 100 Mbps and 2.3 Gbps. At the Bowman Gray School of Medicine, the ACR/NEMA Digital Imaging and Communication (DICOM) Document has been modified to use standard networks and protocols in lieu of the lower layers of the ACR/NEMA document, providing valuable insight into the use of the ACR/NEMA upper layers. This paper compares the performance of three communications mechanisms that use TCP/IP and XTP for data transport. The first application uses a communication paradigm that has been proposed for the new version of ACR/NEMA. Even though DICOM version 3 does not support the emerging high-performance protocols, XTP is also used in this mechanism. The other two applications employ a communication paradigm used by PAPYRUS, in which the actual transfer syntax (often called ''ACR/NEMA logical'') is used with standard network protocols that move data within application programs. One utilizes transfers from an application program, and the other uses standard file system transfers.© (1992) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Pentoxifylline for steatohepatitis: Magic bullet or smoking gun?†‡

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most common chronic liver disease in North America.1,2 It is characterized by the presence of predominantly macrovesicular steatosis along with scattered inflammation, hepatocellular ballooning, and varying degrees of pericellular fibrosis, usually with a predominantly centrilobular distribution.3 NASH is commonly associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and dyslipidemia, which are features of the metabolic syndrome.4
Vibrational-translational energy transfer from highly excited anharmonic oscillators

Abstract Model trajectory calculations reveal a simple power law behavior for anharmonic oscillator energy transfer for all bound vibrational levels.
A Quantitative Sensitivity Analysis of Cutting Performances in Orthogonal Machining with Restricted Contact and Flat-Faced Tools

This paper presents a new quantitative sensitivity analysis of cutting performances in orthogonal machining with restricted contact and flat-faced tools, based on a recently developed slip-line model. Cutting performances are comprehensively measured by five machining parameters, i.e., the cutting forces, the chip backflow angle, the chip up-curl radius, the chip thickness, and the tool-chip contact length. It is demonstrated that the percentage of contribution of tool-chip friction to the variation of cutting performances depends on different types of machining operations. No general conclusion about the effect of tool-chip friction should be made before specifying a particular type of machining operation and cutting conditions.
Global Rating Assessment of Skills in Intraocular Surgery (GRASIS).

Objective The American Board of Ophthalmology in conjunction with the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education has mandated the systematic assessment of surgical competence of ophthalmology residents at all residency programs. We present a tool complementary to the Objective Assessment of Skills in Intraocular Surgery (OASIS) to assess residents' surgical competence. Participants Twenty experts in resident education, including the chiefs of all ophthalmology services and the chief resident at the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology. Methods A 1-page subjective evaluation form was developed in conjunction with the Objective Assessment of Skills in Intraocular Surgery evaluation form to assess the surgical skills of residents. A panel of surgeons at the Harvard Medical School Department of Ophthalmology at the Massachusetts Eye and Ear Infirmary reviewed the form and provided constructive feedback. Results Experts' comments were incorporated, establishing face and content validity. Conclusions The Global Rating Assessment of Skills in Intraocular Surgery (GRASIS) has face and content validity. It can be used to assess a resident's surgical care of patients as well as a resident's surgical knowledge, preparedness, and interpersonal skills. Reliability and predictive validity will be determined at our institution. We believe the GRASIS evaluation form will be a valuable tool in conjunction with the OASIS evaluation form for assessing ophthalmology residents' surgical skills at other residency programs as well.
Thin layer chromatography analysis of dialkyl phosphate degradation products of organophosphate pesticides on C-18 chemically bonded plates

Methods are described for the separation, detection, and quantification of the thio (PS-containing) dialkyl phosphates O,O-dimethyl phosphorothionate (DMTP), O,O-dimethyl phosphorodithioate (DMDTP), O,O-diethyl phosphorothionate (DETP), and O,O-diethyl phosphorodithioate (DEDTP) by thin layer chromatography. The compounds were separated on C18 chemically bonded silica gel plates and detected with TCQ chromogenic reagent; calibration curves were prepared by densitometric scanning of a range of standard aliquots. The procedures can be used for qualitative confirmation of metabolite identity and for quantification of the compounds in samples directly spotted or prepared by existing procedures. To our knowledge, this is the first publication reporting TLC systems useful for the analysis of these thio alkyl degradation products.
Corner-cube four-detector photopolarimeter

The four-detector photopolarimeter is operated using the compact and easier-to-align corner-cube configuration, and theoretical and experimental instrument matrices are given. Experimental results are consistent with theory. Light-beam deviation effects are also analysed and some improvement in the field of view is reported.
ThermoSense: thermal array sensor networks in building management

Buildings are often inefficiently conditioned. Rooms that are empty are needlessly conditioned and partially filled rooms are conditioned assuming maximum occupancy. In this demonstration, we describe a system that reduces energy consumption by opportunistically reducing energy consumption based on room usage; we only condition rooms currently occupied and condition the space based on real-time occupancy measurements. We will show how a thermal sensor array can be used measure occupancy in real-time and how this occupancy information can be integrated with a real building management system in order to control the heating, cooling, ventilation and lighting of a building to optimize energy usage.
Surveying Colorado Band Directors’ Opinions of Skills and Characteristics Important to Successful Music Teaching:

This study was designed to (a) gather band directors’ opinions of skills and characteristics important to teaching and (b) examine the relative effectiveness of electronic versus paper survey methods. Survey respondents ranked lists of music, teaching, and personal skills or characteristics in order of importance and answered open-ended items regarding advice for 1st-year teachers and the struggles and rewards of band directing. The final response rate was 66% (N = 235). Personal and teaching skills and characteristics were ranked higher than music skills. The items “maintain high musical standards,” “be able to motivate students,” and “enthusiastic, energetic” were the highest ranked skills or characteristics. Perseverance, patience, and long-term vision were the most common forms of advice to 1st-year teachers. Issues related to classroom management and student success were the most-often-cited struggles and rewards of band directing, respectively. An experiment comparing response rate and response qual...
Measuring parent time scarcity and fatigue as barriers to meal planning and preparation: quantitative scale development.

Abstract Objective To examine the psychometric properties of 9 quantitative items that assess time scarcity and fatigue as parent barriers to planning and preparing meals for their children. Methods A convenience sample of 342 parents of children aged 2-6 years completed a 20-minute online survey. Exploratory factor analysis was used to examine the factor structure and create summary scales. Internal consistency reliability and measures of construct and concurrent validity were assessed. Results Two scales were created based on the factor analysis: time and energy for meals and meal planning. Preliminary evidence suggests that both scales are reliable and valid. Conclusions and Implications The time and energy for meals and meal planning scales can be completed quickly by busy and tired parents. As many children do not eat nutritious diets, a better understanding of the barriers that parents face is critical and may help inform interventions tailored to the needs of tired, busy parents.
Human phosphoribosylformylglycineamide amidotransferase (FGARAT): regional mapping, complete coding sequence, isolation of a functional genomic clone, and DNA sequence analysis

Purines play essential roles in many cellular functions, including DNA replication, transcription, intra- and extra-cellular signaling, energy metabolism, and as coenzymes for many biochemical reactions. The de-novo synthesis of purines requires 10 enzymatic steps for the production of inosine monophosphate (IMP). Defects in purine metabolism are associated with human diseases. Further, many anticancer agents function as inhibitors of the de-novo biosynthetic pathway. Genes or cDNAs for most of the enzymes comprising this pathway have been isolated from humans or other mammals. One notable exception is the phosphoribosylformylglycineamide amidotransferase (FGARAT) gene, which encodes the fourth step of this pathway. This gene has been cloned from numerous microorganisms and from Drosophila melanogaster and C. elegans. We report here the identification of a human cDNA containing the coding region of the FGARAT mRNA and the isolation of a P1 clone that contains an intact human FGARAT gene. The P1 clone corrects the purine auxotrophy and protein deficiency of Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) cell mutants (AdeB) deficient in both the activity and the protein for FGARAT. The P1 clone was used to regionally map the FGARAT gene to chromosome region 17p13, a location consistent with our prior assignment of this gene to chromosome 17. A comparison of the DNA sequence of the human FGARAT and FGARAT DNA sequence from 17 other organisms is reported. The isolation of this gene means that DNA clones for all the 10 steps of IMP synthesis have been isolated from humans or other mammals.
Guidance and control of an unmanned surface vehicle exhibiting sternward motion

We present algorithms for planning dynamically feasible backward paths and controlling unmanned surface vehicles along such paths using a nonlinear backstepping trajectory tracking controller. These algorithms have been developed for Virginia Tech's riverine unmanned surface vehicle (USV). The USV is a rigid hull inflatable boat with a servo-actuated outboard motor. The backward path planning algorithm uses the receding horizon approach and solves an optimal control problem by converting it into a nonlinear programming (NLP) problem. The control law is a modification of the forward nonlinear backstepping control law, augmented to compensate for the bistable sternward behavior exhibited by the riverine USV. Specifically, the bistable sternward behavior is modeled as two linear, stable left and right turnrate regions separated by an unstable zero turnrate region. Experimental results indicate that this backstepping controller adequately compensates for model and environmental disturbances.
The effect of some phenols on the larval performance of the olive fruit fly, Dacus oleae Gmel. (Dipt., Tephritidae)

The adverse effects of 5 structurally related phenols (catechol, resorcinol, hydroquinone, pyrogallol and phloroglucinol) upon larval performance of the olive fruit fly, Dacus (Bactrocera) oleae, Gmel. (Dipt., Tephritidae) were investigated. Cathechol depressed significantly larval survival and growth as well as pupal weight at the level of 0.005 to 0.08% in the larval medium, while hydroquinone depressed the same parameters at the level of 0.10 to 0.4. Resorcinol depressed the same parameters at the level 0.05 to 0.20 with the exception of pupal weight. Hatchability was depressed only by catechol and hydroquinone at the level of 0.08 and 0.8, respectively. Pyrogallol and phloroglucinol depressed larval survival to pupation at the level of 0.10 to 0.20 and 0.025 to 0.05, respectively. Adult emergence was depressed by all phenols tested with the exception of resorcinol. All phenols caused a delay of 2 to 5 days of larval development to pupation when compared to the control. Zusammenfassung Zur Wirkung einiger Phenole auf die Larven der Olivenfliege, Dacus oleae Gmel. (Dipt., Tephritidae) Die Wirkungen von 5 strukturell verwandten Phenolen (Katechol, Resorcinol, Hydroquinon, Pyrogallol und Phloroglucinol) auf Dacus oleae-Larven und ihre Nachfolgestadien wurden untersucht. Katechol verringerte signifikant das Wachstum und Uberleben der Larven sowie das Puppengewicht nach einer Konzentration von 0,005-0,08 % in der Larvennahrung, wahrend Hydroquinon diese Parameter bei einer Konzentration von 0,1–0,4 % beeinfluste. Resorcinol (0,05–0,20%ig) beeinfluste die Larvenparameter in gleichem Sinne, nicht jedoch das Puppengewicht. Die Schlupfquote der Larven aus den Eiern wurde durch Katechol und Hydroquinon bei 0,08 bzw. 0,8 % gesenkt. Pyrogallol und Phloroglucinol verminderten das Uberleben bei 0,10–0,20 % und die Verpuppungsquote bei 0,025–0,05 % Konzentration. Das Schlupfen der Adulten wurde durch alle getesteten Phenole mit Ausnahme von Resorcinol verringert. Alle Phenole verursachten eine Verzogerung der Larvenentwicklung um 2–5 Tage, verglichen mit Kontrolle.