cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
SU‐GG‐T‐156: Jaw Tracking for Intensity Modulated Arc Therapy: Is There an Advantage?

Purpose: In recent years, many institutions have adopted the use of intensity‐modulated volumetric arc therapy (such as RapidArc®). Currently, during the delivery of the RapidArc plan, the jaws are fixed allowing the possibility of radiation leaking in‐between leaves and in‐between the leaves gaps from opposite pairs. The purpose of this work is to evaluate the potential improvement in RapidArc plans dosimetry when plan delivery allows for jaw tracking. This work represents one of the first attempts to assess the usefulness of jaw tracking. Method and Materials: We use the Eclipse and the new Varian Trilogy MX linac which allows jaw tracking during RapidArc delivery for both the X and Y jaws. We considered 5 head and neck patients. We set the collimator at 45°and 10° and generate plans with and without jaw tracking for comparison. Special attention is given to the low dose regions where more noticeable differences were expected. Results: The movements of the Y jaws were significantly smaller than the X jaws particularly when the collimator is 10°. For 10° collimator, the jaws moved on average by 20% of the field size for the X jaws and only 2% of the field size for the Y jaws. The difference between X and Y jaw movement is not as pronounced in the 45° collimator plans. From the comparison of the isodose lines and DVH we found that there was no significant difference in the dose distribution with and without jaw tracking for either the target volumes or the critical structures. Conclusions: No clinically significant difference was detected between plans with and without jaw tracking for the five cases. Currently we are analyzing more plans for other sites and with other geometries to improve the statistical significance of our conclusions.
Energy efficient fault-tolerant earliest deadline first scheduling for hard real-time systems

Aggressive technology scaling has dramatically increased the power density and degraded the reliability of embedded real-time systems. The goal of our research in this paper is to develop effective scheduling methods that can minimize the energy consumption and, at the same time, tolerate up to $$K$$K transient faults when executing a hard real-time system scheduled according to the EDF policy. Three scheduling algorithms are presented in this paper. The first algorithm is an extension of a well-known fault oblivious low-power scheduling algorithm. The second algorithm intends to minimize the energy consumption under the fault-free situation while reserving adequate resources for recovery when faults strike. The third algorithm improves upon the first two by sharing the reserved resources and thus can achieve better energy efficiency. Simulation results show that the proposed algorithms consistently outperform other related approaches in energy savings.
Early Cerebral Blood Volume Changes Predict Progression After Convection-Enhanced Delivery of Topotecan for Recurrent Malignant Glioma.

Objective To assess whether early changes in enhancing tumor volume (eTV) and relative cerebral blood volume (rCBV) 1 month after convection-enhanced delivery of topotecan in patients with recurrent malignant glioma correlated with 6-month disease progression status. Methods Sixteen patients were enrolled in a Phase Ib trial of convection-enhanced delivery of topotecan for recurrent malignant glioma. Each patient was evaluated with serial follow-up magnetic resonance imaging at baseline and at 4- to 8-week intervals. Changes at 1 month compared with baseline in eTV and rCBV were evaluated as potential predictors of 6-month progression status, classified as either progressive disease or nonprogressive disease. Relationships between percent changes in eTV and rCBV at 1 month with the probability of progressive disease at 6 months were estimated by the use of logistic regression analysis. Receiver operating characteristic curves for varying percent change thresholds in eTV and rCBV were evaluated by the use of 6-month progressive disease as the reference. Results There was a significant difference in the percent change in rCBV at 1 month in patients with progressive disease compared with those with nonprogressive disease at 6 months (+12% vs. −29%, P = 0.02). Logistic regression analysis demonstrated on average that a 10% increase in rCBV at 1 month after convection-enhanced delivery of topotecan was associated with 1.7 times the odds of developing progressive disease at 6 months (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.0–2.9 P = 0.05). Receiver operating characteristic analysis for determining progressive disease at 6 months showed a greater area under the curve with rCBV (0.867; 95% CI 0.66–1.00) than with change in enhancing tumor volume (0.767; 95% CI 0.51–1.00). Conclusion In this selected population of patients with recurrent malignant glioma treated with convection-enhanced delivery of topotecan, early changes in rCBV at 4 weeks after therapy may help predict progression status at 6 months.
The comprehension processes and memory structures involved in instrumental inference

Instrumental inference was examined in several experiments using priming techniques. One technique allows examination of the relative state of activation of concepts in memory during reading, and a second technique allows the measurement of the relative distance between concepts in the memory representation of a text. The effect of the semantic relatedness between action and instrument on instrumental inference was examined. It was found that only instruments highly related to the action were activated by reading a sentence containing the action and that only instruments highly related to the action were connected to the action in the memory representation of the text.
Radiobiological Modeling and the Study of Hypofractionated Radiotherapy for Prostate Cancer

In this edition of European Urology, Cozzarini et al. report their experience with postprostatectomy radiotherapy for prostate cancer (PCa), focusing on the impact of daily fraction size on late urinary toxicity [1]. The authors retrospectively compare the toxicity of two groups of fractionation schedules used at their institution: a conventionally fractionated regimen (1.8 Gy per fraction) and a collection of regimens using a larger dose per fraction or hypofractionation (2.35, 2.5, 2.6, or 3.6 Gy per fraction). Hypofractionated postprostatectomy radiotherapy is a particularly attractive treatment strategy because it has several potential advantages. The potential advantages of hypofractionation are (1) increased convenience for patients because of fewer treatment days, (2) reduced cost to patients because of reduced travel and out-of-pocket expenses (eg, copays), (3) improved resource use for physicians because of the fewer number of treatments per patient and overall, and (4) consequently reduced cost to society. All of these factors may increase the use of adjuvant and early salvage postprostatectomy radiotherapy [2]. For example, it is estimated that <20% of patients with pT3 disease and positive margins receive adjuvant radiotherapy despite its being the most likely to benefit them [3,4]. Hypofractionation can also be exploited to achieve radiation dose escalation, which is a proven effective strategy for intact PCa. Dose escalation with hypofractionation is achievable because of the favorable radiobiological nature of PCa relative to the adjacent rectum and bladder (ie, lower a/b ratio) that may result in greater cell killing for a given level of toxicity. For intact PCa, hypofractionation over approximately 5 wk appears to be at least as effective
Low frequency longitudinal lattice modes in graphite intercalation compounds

Abstract Results of inelastic neutron scattering experiments on a stage 2 graphite-FeCl3 intercalation compound are reported. A one-dimensional Born-von Karman model is formulated and applied to interpret the data. The application of this model to other recently reported neutron data for donor compounds suggests systematic trends in the magnitudes of the interactions, dependent on the intercalate sandwich thickness.
Microwave Electron Linacs for Oncology

The history and technology of medical linacs are reviewed, focusing on machine requirements for radiotherapy. Configurations used in modern machines are described and operational aspects of a gantry-style linac system are illustrated with reference to the state of the art. Aspects of structure design, modeling and testing are discussed.
Hormone replacement therapy usage : a 10 year experience of a solo practitioner

Abstract The objective of this study was to identify factors affecting hormone replacement therapy (HRT) usage among patients of a single physician. All active patients ( n =330) given a HRT prescription over the past 10 years (1985–1995) by the physician were sent a questionnaire on health knowledge, lifestyle patterns, general medical and reproductive histories, responses to HRT usage and decision-making about HRT use. A total of 214 useful questionnaires were returned giving a response rate of 65%. For this cohort, the length of HRT use for those still taking HRT was 60 months; and for those no longer taking HRT, it was 32 months; and 85% of those ever given an HRT prescription were still using HRT at the time of survey. The educational backgrounds, exercise patterns, health knowledge, medical and reproductive histories of this group were representative of those found among suburban postmenopausal women in central Pennsylvania. Among this cohort, the most important reason for them taking HRT was the physicians’ recommendation.
The Virtual Conference Room: Online Problem Solving for First Year Special Educators

Virtual teams, using existing telecommunications technology, are employed by government and industry to meet the changing needs of the new millennium. The use of virtual teams by business has become part of the new workplace phenomena. Despite their obvious potential, virtual communications in Special Education are limited to electronic mail, video-conferencing, and discussion forums. The use of virtual teams in field of education is largely unexplored. The following is a description of a web-based, virtual, problem-solving process used by teams of Special Educators to address problems encountered by first year teachers. Assessment by team participants indicates that an in vivo problem solving and collaboration process was successfully replicated as an online phenomenon and a representative case, illustrating the process, is presented. A web-site, titled The Conference Room, is proposed as a model for building electronic bridges between teacher preparation faculty and their graduates and for offering conf...
Identification of N10-substituted phenoxazines as potent and specific inhibitors of Akt signaling

A series of 30 N10-substituted phenoxazines were synthesized and screened as potential inhibitors of Akt. In cellular assays at 5 mum, 17 compounds inhibited insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-I)-stimulated phosphorylation of Akt (Ser-473) by at least 50% but did not inhibit IGF-I-stimulated phosphorylation of Erk-1/2 (Thr-202/Tyr-204). Substitutions at the 2-position (Cl or CF3) did not alter inhibitory activity, whereas N10-substitutions with derivatives having acetyl (20B) or morpholino (12B) side chain lost activity compared with propyl or butyl substituents (7B and 14B). Inhibition of Akt phosphorylation was associated with the inhibition of IGF-I stimulation of the mammalian target of rapamycin phosphorylation (Ser-2448 and Ser-2481), phosphorylation of p70 S6 kinase (Thr-389), and ribosomal protein S6 (Ser-235/236) in Rh1, Rh18, and Rh30 cell lines. The two most potent compounds 10-[4'-(N-diethylamino)butyl]-2-chlorophenoxazine (10B) and 10-[4'-[(beta-hydroxyethyl)piperazino]butyl]-2-chlorophenoxazine (15B) (in vitro, IC50 approximately 1-2 microM) were studied further. Inhibition of Akt phosphorylation correlated with inhibition of its kinase activity as determined in vitro after immunoprecipitation. Akt inhibitory phenoxazines did not inhibit the activity of recombinant phosphatidylinositol 3'-kinase, PDK1, or SGK1 but potently inhibited the kinase activity of recombinant Akt and Akt deltaPH, a mutant lacking the pleckstrin homology domain. Akt inhibitory phenoxazines blocked IGF-I-stimulated nuclear translocation of Akt in Rh1 cells and suppressed growth of Rh1, Rh18, and Rh30 cells (IC50 2-5 microM), whereas "inactive" derivatives were > or = 10-fold less potent inhibitors of cell growth. In contrast to rapamycin analogs, Akt inhibitory phenoxazines induced significant levels of apoptosis under serum-containing culture conditions at concentrations of agent consistent with Akt inhibition. Thus, the cellular responses to phenoxazine inhibitors of Akt appear qualitatively different from the rapamycin analogs. Modeling studies suggest inhibitory phenoxazines may bind in the ATP-binding site, although ATP competition studies were unable to distinguish between competitive and noncompetitive inhibition.
Recruiting Senior Adult Volunteers for Intergenerational Programs: Working to Create a "Jump on the Bandwagon" Effect

The societal trend toward intergenerational programming refers to structured activities or programs that promote and support skills exchange and meaningful interaction between generations. With the recent surge of intergenerational program initiatives, this phenomenon can be considered an emergent human services movement. One area of intergenerational program development that does not appear to have received adequate attention in the literature, however, is senior adult volunteer recruitment. This article provides an overview of different senior adult volunteer recruitment strategies and addresses the challenge of recruiting a steady flow of motivated volunteers. It argues for reconceptualizing volunteer recruitment as a multistep process, one in which senior adults can sample what it is like to interact with, and learn about, youth before deciding whether to join an intergenerational program.
Inverse coefficient problems for monotone potential operators

In this paper the class of inverse coefficient problems for nonlinear monotone potential elliptic operators is considered. This class is characterized by the property that the coefficient of elliptic operator depends on the gradient of the solution, i.e. on . The unknown coefficient is required to belong to a set of admissible coefficients which is compact in . Using a variational approach to the nonlinear direct problem it is shown that the solution of the linearized direct problem converges to the solution of the nonlinear direct problem in -norm. For the nonlinear direct problem weak -coefficient convergence is proved. This result allows one to prove the existence of quasisolutions of inverse problems with different types of additional conditions (measured data). As an important application of the theory, an inverse elastoplastic problem for a cylindrical bar and a nonlinear Sturm - Liouville problem are considered.
Plasma soluble α-klotho protein levels in premature and term neonates: correlations with growth and metabolic parameters.

Objective: a-Klotho (a-KL), a protein with antiaging properties, regulates phosphate, calcium, and bone metabolism, induces resistance to oxidative stress, and may participate in insulin signaling. The role of a-KL in neonates, known to be prone to metabolic disturbances and oxidative stress, is not known. The aim of this study was to evaluate circulating soluble a-KL concentrations in preterm and full-term neonates and unravel possible correlations with growth, metabolism, and indices of oxidative stress. Design: Prospective study. Methods: Plasma-soluble a-KL levels were determined by specific ELISA in 50 healthy neonates (25 preterm, mean (S.D.) gestational age (GA) 33.7 (1.1) weeks, and 25 full-term infants) at days 14 and 28 of life. Associations of a-KL with anthropometric, metabolic parameters, and indices of oxidative stress were examined. Results: a-KL levels were significantly higher in full-term than in preterm infants at both days 14 (1099 (480) pg/ml vs 884 (239) pg/ml respectively; P!0.05) and 28 (1277 (444) pg/ml vs 983 (264) pg/ml respectively; P!0.01). In both preterm and full-term infants, a-KL levels increased significantly from day 14 to 28 of life (P!0.001). Circulating a-KL concentrations correlated with GA (bZ0.32, PZ0.001), body weight (bZ0.34, PZ0.001), body length (bZ0.33, PZ0.001), 1,25-dihydroxy-vitamin D level (bZ0.24, P!0.05), and malondialdehyde level (bZ0.20, P!0.05) but not with glucose, insulin, or homeostasis model assessment index of insulin resistance values. Conclusions: Soluble a-KL levels rise as GA and postnatal age advance in neonates and may have an impact on vitamin D metabolism and oxidative stress. Whether a-KL may have a role in the regulation of infants’ growth should be further studied. European Journal of Endocrinology 167 433‐440
The relationship between egg size and naupliar size in the calanoid copepod Diaptomus clavipes Schacht1,2

A direct positive relationship was demonstrated between egg size and naupliar size in the calanoid copepod Diaptomus clavipes Schacht. Number of eggs per clutch and total clutch volume were inversely associated with measures of egg and naupliar size (egg volume, maximum egg length, naupliar volume, and maximum naupliar length). Thus, small clutches with large eggs give rise to large nauplii.
Degenerate In Vitro Genetic Selection Reveals Mutations That Diminish Alfalfa Mosaic Virus RNA Replication without Affecting Coat Protein Binding

The alfalfa mosaic virus (AMV) RNAs are infectious only in the presence of the viral coat protein; however, the mechanisms describing coat protein's role during replication are disputed. We reasoned that mechanistic details might be revealed by identifying RNA mutations in the 3′-terminal coat protein binding domain that increased or decreased RNA replication without affecting coat protein binding. Degenerate (doped) in vitro genetic selection, based on a pool of randomized 39-mers, was used to select 30 variant RNAs that bound coat protein with high affinity. AUGC sequences that are conserved among AMV and ilarvirus RNAs were among the invariant nucleotides in the selected RNAs. Five representative clones were analyzed in functional assays, revealing diminished viral RNA expression resulting from apparent defects in replication and/or translation. These data identify a set of mutations, including G-U wobble pairs and nucleotide mismatches in the 5′ hairpin, which affect viral RNA functions without significant impact on coat protein binding. Because the mutations associated with diminished function were scattered over the 3′-terminal nucleotides, we considered the possibility that RNA conformational changes rather than disruption of a precise motif might limit activity. Native polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis experiments showed that the 3′ RNA conformation was indeed altered by nucleotide substitutions. One interpretation of the data is that coat protein binding to the AUGC sequences determines the orientation of the 3′ hairpins relative to one another, while local structural features within these hairpins are also critical determinants of functional activity.
Joint source channel coding of images over frequency selective channels using DCT and multicarrier BPAM

A novel approach to joint source and channel coding for frequency selective channels is presented. Multicarrier modulation is used to obtain an equivalent vector channel to the frequency selective channel and utilize the linear coding procedure of Lee and Petersen (1976). The use of the block pulse amplitude transmission results in graceful degradation of the decoded signal for low channel SNR. The new procedure shows very good performance for image transmission over frequency selective channels with deep nulls in the frequency response, in the very low channel SNR region. Both the encoder and decoder are computationally very inexpensive in terms of design and implementation, compared to the digital transmission with channel optimized vector quantization. Results for transmission of a Gauss-Markov source and "Lena" image on several typical channels are presented.
Trade Liberalization, Labor Reforms and Formal-Informal Employment Dynamics *

Abstract This paper studies gross worker flows to explain the rise in informality in Brazilian metropolitan labor markets from 1983 to 2002. In particular, we examine the impact of trade and constitutional reforms (that include increased firing costs, tighter restrictions on overtime work, and fewer restrictions on union activity) occurring during the period. We find aggregate sectoral movements to be driven largely by changes in the hiring rates which, in turn are driven largely by the constitutional reforms. Trade liberalization accounts for roughly 1–2.5% of the increase in informality, while the constitutional reforms account for 30–40%.
Breath figure patterns in the oxidation of boron nitride

Liquids condensing on solids can form a pattern known as “breath figures.” Here we report similar patterns for liquid boron oxide droplets formed by high temperature oxidation reaction of boron nitride. Boron oxide does not wet boron nitride, so the liquid B2O3 oxide forms small droplets. As oxidation proceeds at 1200°C, the oxide created by reaction on the surface migrates to existing droplets or forms new droplets. The average diameter and maximum diameter of the boron oxide droplets increase with time following the kinetics of breath figures, similar to water condensation breath figures for dew drops.
Knowing what a novel word is not: Two-year-olds ‘listen through’ ambiguous adjectives in fluent speech

Three studies investigated how 24-month-olds and adults resolve temporary ambiguity in fluent speech when encountering prenominal adjectives potentially interpretable as nouns. Children were tested in a looking-while-listening procedure to monitor the time course of speech processing. In Experiment 1, the familiar and unfamiliar adjectives preceding familiar target nouns were accented or deaccented. Target word recognition was disrupted only when lexically ambiguous adjectives were accented like nouns. Experiment 2 measured the extent of interference experienced by children when interpreting prenominal words as nouns. In Experiment 3, adults used prosodic cues to identify the form class of adjective/noun homophones in string-identical sentences before the ambiguous words were fully spoken. Results show that children and adults use prosody in conjunction with lexical and distributional cues to ‘listen through’ prenominal adjectives, avoiding costly misinterpretation.
A comparative study of conventional nonsmooth time-invariant and smooth time-varying robust compensators

Variable structure-based robust compensators are general approaches to deal with uncertain nonlinear dynamic systems. The bang-bang (discontinuous-type) compensator and the saturation (continuous-type) compensator are the two common robust compensators used in variable structure controllers. This paper presents a comparative study of these two nonsmooth time-invariant robust compensators with a smooth time-varying compensator and reveals the superiority of the smooth time-varying compensator over the nonsmooth robust compensators.
Electron cloud simulations to cold PSR proton bunches

We present ORBIT code simulations to examine the sensitivity of electron cloud properties to different proton beam profiles and to reproduce experimental results measured at the proton storage ring (PSR) at the Los Alamos National Laboratory. Using cold proton bunch model, we study the dependence of the prompt and swept electron intensities vs the bunch charge and the recovery of electron clouds after sweeping on the beam loss rate and the secondary electron yield (SEY). Our simulations indicate that the fractional proton loss rate in the field-free straight section may be an exponential function of proton beam charge and may also be lower than the averaged fractional proton loss rate in a whole ring.
Radiation-Induced Phase Instabilities and Their Effects on Hardening and Solute Segregation in Precipitation-Strengthened Alloy 718

A classic example of radiation-induced phase instability and degraded mechanical properties occurs in g'-g" (gamma prime - gamma double prime) -strengthened alloy 718. During neutron irradiation at 288 degrees C, the Ni3Nb g" particles at grain boundaries and in the matrix disappear after a few dpa. At higher doses, the g' (present only in the matrix) also dissolves and reprecipitates. Hardness is unaffected by disappearance of the g", but decreases as the original g' particles dissolve. Fine-probe compositional measurements in a TEM show that the softening coincides with solute redistribution rather than with the phase disappearance. Compositional changes at grain boundaries included leveling of the thermally segregated Mo as well as strong Ni enrichment and loss of Nb after higher doses. Radiation-induced softening is also observed after irradiations at low temperatures (30-60 degrees C) in a mixed spectrum of protons and spallation neutrons. In this case, both g' and g" completely disappear by 0.6 dpa as the alloy becomes hardened and embrittled. Minor softening occurs at higher doses after the g' and g" have disappeared. The complex phase stability and solute redistribution behavior reflects mainly ballistic mixing at 30-70 degrees C irradiation temperatures and the influence of significant thermal diffusivitiesmore » at the higher temperatures.« less
Finite-element analysis of aortic valve-sparing: influence of graft shape and stiffness

Aortic valve incompetence due to aortic root dilation may be surgically corrected by resuspension of the native valve within a vascular graft. This study was designed to examine the effect of graft shape and material properties on aortic valve function, using a three-dimensional finite-element model of the human aortic valve and root. First, the normal root elements in the model were replaced with graft elements, in either a cylindrical or a "pseudosinus" shape. Next, the elements were assigned the material properties of either polyethylene terephthalate; expanded polytetrafluoroethylene, or polyurethane. Diastolic pressures were applied, and stresses, strains, and coaptation were recorded for the valve, root, and graft. Regarding shape, the cylindrical graft models increased the valve stresses by up to 173%, whereas the root-shaped graft model increased valve stresses by up to 40% as compared to normal. Regarding material properties, the polyurethane models demonstrated valve stress, strain, and coaptation values closest to normal, for either root shape. Graft shape had a greater effect on the simulated valve function than did the material property of the graft. Optimizing the shape and material design of the graft may result in improved longevity of the spared valve if a normal environment is restored.
Dietary l-Arginine Supplementation Reduces Fat Mass in Zucker Diabetic Fatty Rats

This study was conducted to test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation of arginine, the physiologic precursor of nitric oxide (NO), reduces fat mass in the Zucker diabetic fatty (ZDF) rat, a genetically obese animal model of type-II diabetes mellitus. Male ZDF rats, 9 wk old, were pair-fed Purina 5008 diet and received drinking water containing arginine-HCl (1.51%) or alanine (2.55%, isonitrogenous control) for 10 wk. Serum concentrations of arginine and NO(x) (oxidation products of NO) were 261 and 70% higher, respectively, in arginine-supplemented rats than in control rats. The body weights of arginine-treated rats were 6, 10, and 16% lower at wk 4, 7, and 10 after the treatment initiation, respectively, compared with control rats. Arginine supplementation reduced the weight of abdominal (retroperitoneal) and epididymal adipose tissues (45 and 25%, respectively) as well as serum concentrations of glucose (25%), triglycerides (23%), FFA (27%), homocysteine (26%), dimethylarginines (18-21%), and leptin (32%). The arginine treatment enhanced NO production (71-85%), lipolysis (22-24%), and the oxidation of glucose (34-36%) and octanoate (40-43%) in abdominal and epididymal adipose tissues. Results of the microarray analysis indicated that arginine supplementation increased adipose tissue expression of key genes responsible for fatty acid and glucose oxidation: NO synthase-1 (145%), heme oxygenase-3 (789%), AMP-activated protein kinase (123%), and peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor gamma coactivator-1alpha (500%). The induction of these genes was verified by real-time RT-PCR analysis. In sum, arginine treatment may provide a potentially novel and useful means to enhance NO synthesis and reduce fat mass in obese subjects with type-II diabetes mellitus.
Extensive Variation and Rapid Shift of the MG192 Sequence in Mycoplasma genitalium Strains from Patients with Chronic Infection

Mycoplasma genitalium causes persistent urogenital tract infection in humans. Antigenic variation of the protein encoded by the MG192 gene has been proposed as one of the mechanisms for persistence. The aims of this study were to determine MG192 sequence variation in patients with chronic M. genitalium infection and to analyze the sequence structural features of the MG192 gene and its encoded protein. Urogenital specimens were obtained from 13 patients who were followed for 10 days to 14 months. The variable region of the MG192 gene was PCR amplified, subcloned into plasmids, and sequenced. Sequence analysis of 220 plasmid clones yielded 97 unique MG192 variant sequences. MG192 sequence shift was identified between sequential specimens from all but one patient. Despite great variation of the MG192 gene among and within clinical specimens from different patients, MG192 sequences were more related within M. genitalium specimens from an individual patient than between patients. The MG192 variable region consisted of 11 discrete subvariable regions with different degrees of variability. Analysis of the two most variable regions (V4 and V6) in five sequential specimens from one patient showed that sequence changes increased over time and that most sequences were present at only one time point, suggesting immune selection. Topology analysis of the deduced MG192 protein predicted a surface-exposed membrane protein. Extensive variation of the MG192 sequence may not only change the antigenicity of the protein to allow immune evasion but also alter the mobility and adhesion ability of the organism to adapt to diverse host microenvironments, thus facilitating persistent infection.
Serial Position Effects in Auditory Event-related Potentials during Working Memory Retrieval

It is established that recall of an item from a list of sequentially presented items is sensitive to the item's position in the memorized list. However, little is known about the brain mechanisms that mediate these serial position effects. Studies of working memory retrieval using event-related potentials report amplitude reductions during retrieval (auditory cortical N100, neocortical late positive wave [LPW]) as memory load increases. We tested the hypothesis that N100 and LPW amplitudes to probes are also affected by serial position. Event-related potentials were recorded from subjects performing an auditory working memory task. A set of one or five digits was memorized, then subjects classified a probe digit as either present or absent from the memory set. A control task was also given. Amplitudes of the N100 and LPW were reduced in the 5-item versus the 1-item set. In the 5-item set N100 amplitude was significantly larger for the initial (1st) serial position, relative to Positions 2-5, while linear increases in LPW amplitude were seen across serial positions (5th > 1st position). A control task without memorization showed no N100 or LPW amplitude changes with set size or serial position. The findings reveal that the N100 and LPW are influenced differently by serial position during working memory retrieval: N100 shows a primacy effect and LPW demonstrates a recency effect. The results suggest that primacy and recency effects may be mediated by different brain regions at different times during memory retrieval.
Oncologists' perspectives on concurrent palliative care in a National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center.

Purpose To understand oncology clinicians’ perspectives about the care of advanced cancer patients following the completion of the ENABLE II (Educate, Nurture, Advise, Before Life Ends) randomized clinical trial (RCT) of a concurrent oncology palliative care model.
Towards intelligent Web services for automating medical service composition

The vision of the Semantic Web is to reduce manual discovery and usage of Web resources (documents and services) and to allow software agents to automatically identify these Web resources, integrate them and execute them for achieving the intended goals of the user. Such a composed Web service may be represented as a workflow, called service flow. Current studies of Web services are not sufficient for automatic composition. This paper presents different types of compositional knowledge required for Web service discovery and composition: syntactic, semantic and pragmatic knowledge. As a proof of concept, we have implemented our framework in a cardiovascular domain which requires advanced service discovery and composition across heterogeneous platforms of multiple organizations. Within this framework, we describe (1) How to represent the compositional knowledge, which plays a role in service discovery and composition, in DAML-S; (2) How heterogeneous medical services intemperate in a composed medical service flow. (3) To solve this knowledge level integration, we build on an ontology integration method called SEMIO (Semantic Interoperability).
Scaling and development of low-swirl burners for low-emission furnaces and boilers

A low-swirl burner (LSB) developed for laboratory research has been scaled to the thermal input levels of a small industrial burner. The purpose was to demonstrate its viability for commercial and industrial furnaces and boilers. The original 5.28 cm i.d. LSB using an air-jet swirler was scaled to 10.26 cm i.d. and investigated up to a firing rate of Q � 586 kW. The experiments were performed in water heater and furnace simulators. Subsequently, two LSBs (5.28 and 7.68 cm i.d.) configured to accept a novel vaneswirler design were evaluated up to Q � 73 kW and 280 kW, respectively. The larger vane-LSB was studied in a boiler simulator. The results show that a constant velocity criterion is valid for scaling the burner diameter to accept higher thermal inputs. However, the swirl number needed for stable operation should be scaled independently using a constant residence time criterion. NOx emissions from all the LSBs were found to be independent of thermal input and were only a function of the equivalence ratio. However, emissions of CO and unburned hydrocarbons were strongly coupled to the combustion chamber size and can be extremely high at low thermal inputs. The emissions from a large vane-LSB were very encouraging. Between 210 and 280 kW and 0.8 0.9, NOx emissions of 15 ppm and CO emissions of 10 ppm were achieved. These results indicate that the LSB is a simple, low-cost, and promising environmental energy technology that can be further developed to meet future air-quality rules.
The Role of Task-Induced Involvement and Learner Proficiency in L2 Vocabulary Acquisition

Hulstijn and Laufer (2001) proposed a motivational-cognitive construct of task-induced involvement to account for variation in effectiveness among different vocabulary learning tasks. Building upon their original research, this study consisted of two experiments investigating the involvement load hypothesis in vocabulary learning. Experiment 1 compared the performance of 64 adult English as a second language (ESL) learners from a range of countries at two different proficiency levels (i.e., matriculated undergraduate students vs. students in an Intensive English Program) to ascertain the effectiveness of three vocabulary tasks with different levels of task-induced involvement. Experiment 2 investigated whether two tasks hypothesized to represent the same level of task-induced involvement would result in equivalent initial learning and retention of target words by 20 adult ESL learners at two different levels of proficiency. The results of Experiment 1 showed that a higher level of learner involvement during the task promoted more effective initial vocabulary learning and better retention of the new words. The findings of Experiment 2 indicated that when different tasks had the same involvement load, they resulted in similar amounts of initial vocabulary learning and retention of new words. The results of the two experiments are discussed in light of the involvement load hypothesis.
Updating a Modular Product: How to Set Time to Market and Component Quality

In the face of shorter product life cycles, designing products with modular component parts can shorten product development time and speed up the introduction of new products in the market. Utilizing stylized models, we examine the reuse/redesign, quality, speed-to-market, and marketing decisions for two consecutive generations of a multicomponent modular product. With modularity that assumes a stable product architecture, each component can be improved by incurring a design cost that is convex increasing in the level of quality. Our study generates the following insights. When development start-up (fixed) cost is negligible, it is profitable to upgrade every component part; otherwise, it is beneficial to reuse some of the existing parts without making any design improvements in order to save on development cost. In an effort to reduce product development time while maximizing profit, we found solid evidence that the productivity level in developing every component part can be a key driver of speed-to-market. Individually, a new product launch time postponement and an R&D budget increase can lead to improvements in component part quality and overall product quality, but our models show that better improvement in quality can be achieved from launch time postponement (budget increase) when product design teams have low (high) product development productivity. Finally, when the marginal cost of producing the new product is equal to that of the old product, it is optimal to remove the old product from the market and sell only the new product.
Loss of the Y Chromosome in Myelodysplasia: A Report of Three Cases Studied with Quinacrine Fluorescence

Summary. Three males with a variable proportion of 45, X cells in their bone marrow were observed among 100 males examined. All three were found in a group of 57 males who had some haematologic disorder. No Y-minus males were observed in a group of 37 males who had other, non-haematologic disorders, or among six volunteers. Quinacrine fluorescence was used to precisely identify the missing small acrocentric chromosome as the Y. One of the three males with a Y minus cell line was 55 yr; the other two were over 60 yr of age. All three males had thrombocytopenia which had been treated with prednisone and two had undergone splenectomy. One of the cases has shown a disappearance of his aneuploid cells over a 14 mth period. One other case has shown an increase in the proportion of 45, X cells during a 2 yr interval.
31P NMR probes of chemical dynamics: paramagnetic relaxation enhancement of the (1)H and (31)P NMR resonances of methyl phosphite and methylethyl phosphate anions by selected metal complexes.

Methyl phosphite ((CH(3)O)P(H)(O)(2)(-); MeOPH) and methylethyl phosphate ((CH(3)O)P(OCH(2)CH(3))(O)(2)(-); MEP) are two members of a class of anionic ligands whose (31)P T(2) relaxation rates are remarkably sensitive to paramagnetic metal ions. The temperature dependence of the (31)P NMR line broadenings caused by the Mn(H(2)O)(6)(2+) ion and a water-soluble manganese(III) porphyrin (Mn(III)TMPyP(5+)) indicates that the extent of paramagnetic relaxation enhancement is a measure of the rate at which the anionic probes come into physical contact with the paramagnetic center (i.e., enter the inner coordination shell); that is, piDeltanu(par) = k(assn)[M], where Deltanu(par) is the difference between the line widths of the resonance in paramagnetic and diamagnetic solutions, and k(assn) is the second-order rate constant for association of the phosphorus ligand with the metal, M. Comparison of the (31)P T(1) and T(2) relaxation enhancements shows that rapid T(2) relaxation by the metal ion is caused by scalar interaction with the electronic spin. Relaxation of the phosphorus-bound proton of MeOPH ((1)H-P) by Mn(III)TMPyP(5+) displayed intermediate exchange kinetics over much of the observable temperature range. The field strength dependence of (1)H-P T(2) enhancement and the independence of the (31)P T(2) support these assertions. As in the case of the (31)P T(2), the (1)H-P T(2) relaxation enhancement results from scalar interaction with the electronic spin. The scalar coupling interpretation of the NMR data is supported by a pulsed EPR study of the interactions of Mn(H(2)O)(6)(2+) with the P-deuterated analogue of methyl phosphite, CH(3)OP((2)H)(O)(2)(-). The electron to (31)P and (2)H nuclear scalar coupling constants were found to be 4.6 and 0.10 MHz, respectively. In contrast, the effects of paramagnetic ions on the methoxy and ethoxy (1)H resonances of MeOPH and MEP are weak, and the evidence suggests that relaxation of these nuclei occurs by a dipolar mechanism. The wide variation in the relaxation sensitivities of the (1)H and (31)P nuclei of MeOPH and MEP permits us to study how differences in the strengths of the interactions between an observed nucleus and a paramagnetic center affect NMR T(2) relaxations. We propose that these anion ligand probes may be used to study ligand-exchange reactivities of manganese complexes without requiring variable temperature studies. The (31)P T(2) is determined by chemical association kinetics when the following condition is met: (T(2M,P)/T(2M,H))(Deltanu(P)/Deltanu(HP) - 1) < 0.2 where T(2M,P) and T(2M,H) are the transverse relaxation times of the (31)P and (1)H nuclei when the probe is bound to the metal, and Deltanu(P) and Deltanu(HP) are the paramagnetic line broadenings of the (31)P and (1)H-P nuclei, respectively. We assert that the ratio T(2M,P)/T(2M,H) can be estimated for a general metal complex using the results of EPR and NMR experiments.
Interventions for Tobacco Smoking

Around 19% of US adults smoke cigarettes, and smoking remains the leading avoidable cause of death in this country. Without treatment only ~5% of smokers who try to quit achieve long-term abstinence, but evidence-based cessation treatment increases this figure to 10% to 30%. The process of smoking cessation comprises different pragmatically defined phases, and these can help guide smoking treatment development and evaluation. This review evaluates the effectiveness of smoking interventions for smokers who are unwilling to make a quit attempt (motivation phase), who are willing to make a quit attempt (cessation phase), who have recently quit (maintenance phase), and who have recently relapsed (relapse recovery phase). Multiple effective treatments exist for some phases (cessation), but not others (relapse recovery). A chronic care approach to treating smoking requires effective interventions for every phase, especially interventions that exert complementary effects both within and across phases and that can be disseminated broadly and cost-effectively.
Boron Carbide Reinforced Alumina Composites

The mechanical properties of alumina have been successfully improved by adding isolated boron carbide particles of two different shapes. A KIc of 7.26 ± 0.20 MPa · m1/2 for alumina—boron carbide whiskerlike composites and of 5.27 ± 0.12 MPa · m1/2 alumina—boron carbide shardlike particle composites has been achieved. The fracture toughness of these composites is dependent on the volume fraction of the boron carbide particles as well as their size and shape. The flexural strength is also appreciably enhanced to a constant value with from 5 to 20 vol% boron carbide additions. The whiskerlike particles increase the flexural strength by 25% and the shardlike particles produce a 47% improvement.
Laser, optical, and thermomechanical properties of Yb-doped fluorapatite

The laser performance of Yb-doped fluorapatite (Ca/sub 5/(PO/sub 4/)/sub 3/F or FAP), is assessed by employing a Ti:sapphire laser operating at 905 nm as the pump source. We have measured slope efficiencies to be as high as 79%; the residual decrement from the quantum defect-limited efficiency of 87% is accounted for by the presence of passive loss at the 1043-nm laser wavelength. The important spectral properties of Yb:FAP were evaluated, including the absorption and emission cross sections, excited-state lifetime, and ground-state energy-level splitting. The emission and absorption cross sections of Yb/sup +3/ in FAP are found to be substantially larger than those of other Yb-doped media. The thermal, physical, and optical properties of the FAP host are reported as well. >
Interrelationships among Snow Distribution, Snowmelt, and Snow Cover Depletion: Implications for Atmospheric, Hydrologic, and Ecologic Modeling

Abstract Local, regional, and global atmospheric, hydrologic, and ecologic models used to simulate weather, climate, land surface moisture, and vegetation processes all commonly represent their computational domains by a collection of finite areas or grid cells. Within each of these cells three fundamental features are required to describe the evolution of seasonal snow cover from the end of winter through spring melt. These three features are 1) the within-grid snow water equivalent (SWE) distribution, 2) the gridcell melt rate, and 3) the within-grid depletion of snow-covered area. This paper defines the exact mathematical interrelationships among these three features and demonstrates how knowledge of any two of them allows generation of the third. During snowmelt, the spatially variable subgrid SWE depth distribution is largely responsible for the patchy mosaic of snow and vegetation that develops as the snow melts. Applying the melt rate to the within-grid snow distribution leads to the exposure of ve...
Towards a truthful world wide web from a humanitarian perspective

Economy grows as more and more people join its core echelons. People are the most important economic resources at all times. The Web, being humanity's largest source of information and interaction, probably has the most technological potential to get people into mainstream. It can serve as a conduit of humanitarian services to the underprivileged and presents a huge opportunity to meet humanitarian challenges. In this paper, we discuss the role that a truthful World Wide Web can play in achieving humanitarian goals. We survey what is currently available and discuss some of our own ideas on making the Web more robust and truthful in order to meet the humanitarian challenge.
“Why Every Girl Isn’t a Riot Grrrl”:Feminism and the Punk Music of Bikini Kill in the Early 1990s

In 1991, when Jen Smith, a college student and member of the little known band Bratmobile, “called for a girl riot” members of the punk band Bikini Kill had not yet met (Meltzer 11). Punk music, a subculture of mainstream rock music, “remained resolutely, with some notable exceptions, a boys’ club,” and women were justifiably frustrated by their exclusion from such an influential and unique form of expression (6). The preexisting stereotypes of women in punk hindered women’s ability to break into the genre. There would be no progression without action, and many women like Jen Smith were tired of their assumed “roles of groupie, girlfriend, or back-up singer” (Schilt 5). So commenced what would be known to the generations to come, as the Riot Grrrl Revolution. Why Every Girl Isn't A Riot Grrrl by Charlotte Briggs is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License