cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Transfrontal and Transsphenoidal Approaches to Pediatric Craniopharyngioma: A National Perspective.

Introduction: This study compared transsphenoidal (TS) and transfrontal (TF) approaches to craniopharyngioma utilizing a national database. Meth
Determinants of Bank’s Profitability: Evidence from Bangladesh

This empirical study was conducted on randomly selected six commercial banks of Bangladesh. This study uses widely used determinants of banks’ profitabilities, which are ROA, ROE and ROD and these are also commonly used criterion of Bangladesh Bank to evaluate banks’ performance. In addition, this study evaluates the efficiency ratio, asset utilization ratio, asset size and ROD as a determinant of banks’ profitability measured by ROA. The results of the financial indicators reveal that the Prime Bank is considered to be out performing in terms of total assets, whereas Arab Bangladesh Bank is showing soaring performance in terms of profitability. The results of regression analysis found the explanatory variables - operational efficiency, asset size and ROD to be positively related and asset utilization to be negatively related to ROA, but these associations are statistically insignificant.
Role of N-Heterocyclic Carbenes as Ligands in Iridium Carbonyl Clusters.

The low-energy isomers of Irx(CO)y(NHC)z (x = 1, 2, 4) are investigated with density functional theory (DFT) and correlated molecular orbital theory at the coupled cluster CCSD(T) level. The structures, relative energies, ligand dissociation energies, and natural charges are calculated. The energies of tetrairidium cluster are predicted at the CAM-B3LYP level that best fit the CCSD(T) results compared with the other four functionals in the benchmark calculations. The NHC’s behave as stronger σ donors compared with CO’s and have higher ligand dissociation energies (LDEs). For smaller isomers, the increase in the LDEs of the CO’s and the decrease in the LDEs of the NHC’s as more NHC’s are substituted for CO’s are due to π-back-bonding and electron repulsion, whereas the trend of how the LDEs change for larger isomers is not obvious. We demonstrate a μ3-CO resulting from the high electron density of the metal centers in these complexes, as the bridging CO’s and the μ3-CO’s can carry more negative charge and ...
Photomicrobial Visible Light-Induced Magnetic Mass Independent Fractionation of Mercury in a Marine Microalga

Methylmercury (MeHg), a highly neurotoxic substance, accumulates in aquatic food webs, and is enriched in odd isotopes (i.e., 199Hg and 201Hg), purportedly as a result of abiotic photodegradation in surface waters. Here, we highlight the potential role of phytoplankton in the mass independent fractionation (MIF) of MeHg in marine food-webs by providing evidence of (1) degradation of intracellular MeHg and reduction of intracellular inorganic mercury (Hg(II)) in the marine microalga, Isochrysis galbana; (2) a large, positive MIF (Δ199Hgreactant – Δ199Hgproduct ∼ 5–10‰) during intracellular degradation of MeHg in cells exposed to visible light with no UVB, consistent with the accumulation of odd isotope-enriched MeHg in marine food-webs; and (3) a negative MIF (−1‰) during intracellular reduction of Hg(II) in the presence of UVB light. If representative of the photochemical reactivity of MeHg in marine phytoplankton, our results indicate that algal cell-mediated demethylation of MeHg by visible light could ...
Finite Element Basis in Data Adjustment

A method of cross-section adjustment and evaluation is presented. Based on a finite element representation, the method is especially appropriate for cross sections that are well represented by cont...
Enhanced flow boiling in microchannels using auxiliary channels and multiple micronozzles (II): Enhanced CHF and reduced pressure drop

Abstract Enhancing critical heat flux (CHF) of flow boiling without escalating pressure drop is highly desirable in thermal management of high power-density electronic devices. Usually, an improved CHF can be achieved by restricting flow or at a higher mass velocity, leading to a higher pressure drop. In this study, compared to the two-nozzle microchannel configuration, the improved microchannel configuration as detailed in the Part (I) of this study can enhance CHF without sacrificing pressure drop. In this part, CHF is experimentally evaluated together with the pressure drop with mass flux ranging from 120 kg/m 2 s to 600 kg/m 2 s. Compared to the two-nozzle configuration, our study shows that CHF can be enhanced up to 32% with a ∼53% reduction of pressure drop at a mass flux of 325 kg/m 2 s. The bubble collapse-removal process is significantly improved because more micronozzles are integrated. The enhanced pumping effect, which is created by rapid bubble collapse processes in the entire main channels, enables a more sustainable liquid supply and hence delays the CHF conditions. Moreover, two-phase flow in terms of pressure drop fluctuations is more stable owing to the effective management of bubble confinement in the entire channel.
Smartwatch based activity recognition using active learning

Human activity monitoring has become widely popular in recent years, and has been utilized in a vast number of fields and applications. Most of the activity recognition algorithms proposed have emphasized the use of inertial sensors in smartphone devices or other bodily-worn sensors. However, wearable inertial sensors are not interactive, and smartphones are not easily worn. Thus, with the advancement of smartwatches, unique opportunities exist to provide user interaction and highly accurate personalized activity recognition. Through the use of Active Learning, an interactive machine learning technique, specific behaviors can be learned by querying for unknown actions. This paper describes a smartwatch-based active learning method for activity recognition to identify 5 commonly performed daily activities. The results of this study revealed that this system can obtain a 93.3% accuracy across 12 participants. From our results, we demonstrate that an interactive learning approach using active learning in smartwatches has significant advantages over smartphones and other devices for activity recognition tasks.
An occupational health services initiative at a women's hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan.

SYNOPSIS This article describes the process of developing targeted occupational health services for the health care workers in a women's hospital in Kabul, Afghanistan, as part of a larger project to establish an obstetrics and gynecology residency training program at the facility. The goal was to create a feasible and sustainable program to: (1) address basic health care needs impacting the ability of these Afghan health care workers to optimize learning opportunities; (2) decrease absenteeism due to illness; (3) decrease the likelihood of infectious disease transmission among staff, from staff to patients, and from patients to staff; (4) foster belief that a healthy and safe working environment is a basic right; (5) begin to collect preliminary health status indicators on health care workers in this employee population; and (6) serve as an adaptable program to expand to other Afghan health care workers.
The Efficacy of Thyroid Hormone Therapy in Brain-Dead Heart Donors: A Review of Thyroid Function in Health and Disease

In this chapter, we summarize thyroid hormone physiology as background to reviewing nonthyroidal disease syndrome in animals and humans. We then review the relationship between thyroid hormone regulation of the heart in health and disease. Finally, we review the basis for thyroid hormone treatment of cardiac dysfunction in brain-dead heart donors.
Heart rate variability rebound following exposure to persistent and repetitive sleep restriction.

While it is well established that slow-wave sleep electroencephalography (EEG) rebounds following sleep deprivation, very little research has investigated autonomic nervous system recovery. We examined heart rate variability (HRV) and cardiovagal baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) during four blocks of repetitive sleep restriction and sequential nights of recovery sleep. Twenty-one healthy participants completed the 22-day in-hospital protocol. Following three nights of 8-hr sleep, they were assigned to a repetitive sleep restriction condition. Participants had two additional 8-hr recovery sleep periods at the end of the protocol. Sleep EEG, HRV, and BRS were compared for the baseline, the four blocks of sleep restriction, and the second (R2) and third (R3) nocturnal recovery sleep periods following the last sleep restriction block. Within the first hour of each sleep period, vagal activation, as indexed by increase in high frequency (HF; HRV spectrum analysis), showed a rapid increase, reaching its 24-hr peak. HF was more pronounced (rebound) in R2 than during baseline (p 0.05). Our results indicate that the restoration of autonomic homeostasis requires a time course that includes at least three nights, following an exposure to multiple nights of sleep curtailed to about half the normal nightly amount.
Proceedings of the Third Workshop on Hardware and Architectural Support for Security and Privacy

It is our great pleasure to introduce the technical program for the 3nd International workshop on Hardware and Architectural Support for Security and Privacy (HASP 2014), which will be held in conjunction with the 41st International Symposium on Computer Architecture (ISCA 2014) Minneapolis, MN, USA on June 15, 2014. Although much attention has been directed to the study of security at the system and application levels, security and privacy research focusing on hardware and architecture aspects is at a new frontier. In the era of cloud computing, pervasive intelligent systems, and nano-scale devices, practitioners and researchers have to address new challenges and requirements in order to meet the ever-changing landscape of security research and new demands from consumers, enterprises, governments, defense and other industries. The goal of HASP is to bring together researchers, developers, and practitioners from academia and industry, to share practical insights, experiences and implementations related to all aspects of hardware and architectural support for security and privacy, and to discuss future trends in research and applications. We encourage contributions describing innovative work on hardware and architectural support for trust management, security of cloud computing, smartphones and Internet of Things, FPGA, SOC and multicore security, etc.
ShoesHacker: Indoor Corridor Map and User Location Leakage through Force Sensors in Smart Shoes

The past few years have witnessed the rise of smart shoes, the wearable devices that measure foot force or track foot motion. However, people are not aware of the possible privacy leakage from in-shoe force sensors. In this paper, we explore the possibility of locating an indoor victim based on the force signals leaked from smart shoes. We present ShoesHacker, an attack scheme that reconstructs the corridor map of the building that the victim walks in based on force data only. The corridor map enables the attacker to recognize the building, and thus locate the victim on a global map. To handle the lack of training data, we design the stair landing detection algorithm, based on which we extract training data when victims are walking in stairwells. We estimate the trajectory of each walk, and propose the path merging algorithm to merge the trajectories. Moreover, we design a metric to quantify the similarity between corridor maps, which makes building recognition possible. Our experimental results show that, the building recognition accuracy reaches 77.5% in a 40-building dataset, and the victim can be located with an average error lower than 6 m, which reveals the danger of privacy leakage through smart shoes. CCS Concepts: b Information systems~Mobile information processing systems; Location based services; b Human-centered computing~Mobile devices; Ubiquitous and mobile computing systems and tools; b Security and privacy~Domain-specific security and privacy architectures.
Mechanical properties of metal–organic frameworks

As the field of metal–organic frameworks (MOFs) continues to grow, the physical stability and mechanical properties of these porous materials has become a topic of great interest. While strategies for synthesizing MOFs with desirable chemical functionalities or pore sizes have been established over the past twenty years, design principles to modulate the response of MOFs to mechanical stress are still underdeveloped. The inherent porosity of these frameworks results in many interesting and sometimes unexpected phenomena upon exposure to elevated pressures and other physical stimuli. Beyond its fundamental importance, an understanding of mechanical properties (e.g. bulk modulus, shear modulus, Young's modulus, linear compressibility, and Poisson's ratio) plays an essential role in the post-synthetic processing of MOFs, which has implications in the successful transition of these materials from academic interest to industrial relevance. This perspective provides a concise overview of the efforts to understand the mechanical properties of MOFs through experimental and computational methods. Additionally, current limitations and possible future directions for the field are also discussed briefly.
Should We Accept Arguments from Skeptics to Ignore the Psi Data? A Comment on Reber and Alcock’s Searching for the Impossible

Reber and Alcock have recently made a sharp attack on the entire psi literature, and in particular a recent overview by Cardena of the meta-analyses across various categories of psi. They claim the data is inherently flawed because of its disconnect with our current understanding of the world. As a result, they ignore the data and identify key scientific principles that they argue clash with psi. In my paper, I argue that these key principles are difficult to apply in areas where our understanding remains poor, especially quantum mechanics and consciousness. I also explore how the psi data may fit within these two areas.
Influenza vaccination among U.S. pediatric patients receiving care from federally funded health centers.

Abstract Introduction During the 2018–2019 influenza season, vaccination coverage among U.S. children was 62.6%. The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of influenza vaccinations among pediatric patients seen in U.S. health centers, and to explore potential disparities in vaccination coverage among subpopulations. Funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, these health centers provide primary and preventive care to underserved and vulnerable individuals and families in order to reduce health disparities based on economic, geographic, or cultural barriers. Methods Cross-sectional data, analyzed in 2019, came from the most recent waves of the Health Center Patient Survey (2009, 2014). The sample consisted of children ages 2–17 years receiving care from HRSA-funded health centers. The outcome of interest was self- or parent-reported receipt of influenza vaccine in the past year. Multivariable logistic regression was used to estimate the adjusted prevalence rate ratios for the association between demographic characteristics (age, sex, race/ethnicity, poverty level, urban/rural residence, geographic region), health-related variables (receipt of well-child check-up, asthma diagnosis), and influenza vaccination. Results Influenza vaccination coverage among pediatric health center patients increased from 46.6% in 2009 to 67.8% in 2014. In the adjusted model for 2014, there were few statistically significant differences in vaccination coverage among subpopulation groups, however American Indian/Alaska Native children had 31% increased vaccination coverage compared with non-Hispanic White children (aPRR: 1.31, 95% CI: 1.02–1.60) and children living in the South had 26% decreased vaccination coverage compared with those living in the Northeast (aPRR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.54–0.93). Conclusions Influenza vaccination coverage among pediatric health center patients in 2014 exceeded the national average (as of 2018–2019), and few differences were found among at-risk subpopulations. HRSA-funded health centers are well-positioned to further increase the vaccination rate among children living in underserved communities.
Incidentally detected acromegaly: single-center study of surgically treated patients over 22 years.

Acromegaly is a rare disease associated with comorbidities that are common in the general population. Most patients undergo screening for classic phenotypical (CP) or mass effect manifestations. By retrospective review of pituitary tumor surgeries performed between 1994 and 2016 (1836), we identified patients with acromegaly (112). Main presentations were: CP (43%), mass effect (26%), incidentally detected (ID) tumors (17%), and other (14%). We compared the ID and CP groups regarding prevalence, clinical, biochemical, radiological and histopathological characteristics, and postoperative outcomes. The prevalence of ID among all surgeries increased after 2011 from 0.6% to 1.9% (p=0.01), while prevalence of CP remained stable (2.8% and 2.33%, p=0.65). Almost half of ID (47.4%) presented with otolaryngological manifestations. The ID and CP groups were similar regarding age, gender, comorbidities (hypertension, diabetes, hypopituitarism), tumor diameter and cavernous sinus invasion. Median insulin-like growth factor (IGF-1) and growth hormone (GH) levels were lower in the ID than CP (p
Transmission of West Nile and other temperate mosquito-borne viruses peaks at intermediate environmental temperatures

ABSTRACT The temperature-dependence of many important mosquito-borne diseases has never been quantified. These relationships are critical for understanding current distributions and predicting future shifts from climate change. We used trait-based models to characterize temperature-dependent transmission of 10 vector–pathogen pairs of mosquitoes (Culex pipiens, Cx. quinquefascsiatus, Cx. tarsalis, and others) and viruses (West Nile, Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis, St. Louis Encephalitis, Sindbis, and Rift Valley Fever viruses), most with substantial transmission in temperate regions. Transmission is optimized at intermediate temperatures (23–26°C) and often has wider thermal breadths (due to cooler lower thermal limits) compared to pathogens with predominately tropical distributions (in previous studies). The incidence of human West Nile virus cases across US counties responded unimodally to average summer temperature and peaked at 24°C, matching model-predicted optima (24–25°C). Climate warming will likely shift transmission of these diseases, increasing it in cooler locations while decreasing it in warmer locations.
Far Infrared Faraday Rotation Measurement CN ZT-40

The poloidal magnetic field in ZT-40 (LASL's newest toroidal reversed-field-pinch controlled fusion experiment) is being measured by Faraday rotation of the 164 micron emission of a CO 2 -pumped CH 3 OH laser. The essence of this method, which is independent of spurious intensity modulations, is to monitor the phase distortion of a regular beat frequency. This beating is produced when two oppositely circularly polarized components, frequency shifted with respect to each other and both passed through a magnetized plasma, are transmitted through a linear polarization analyzer. The same concept has been independently described by Dodel and Kunz [1].
Lessons Learned: Strengthening Medicaid to Address Health and Economic Emergencies

COVID-19 has disproportionately harmed low-income people, especially Black and Latino populations, seniors, and people with disabilities. Medicaid plays an essential role in providing coverage and access to care for these populations. As COVID-19 disrupted employment, earnings, and insurance coverage, Medicaid enrollment increased, in part because Congress offered states increased Medicaid funding in return for maintaining eligibility and enrollment for the duration of the public health emergency (PHE). At the same time, many states expanded eligibility and streamlined enrollment to assure that people could secure and keep coverage. Such policies resulted in more than 5.3 million more Americans having Medicaid coverage during 2020. However, increased demand for Medicaid during the pandemic’s economic downturn places pressure on state budgets. The secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Congress should work together to ensure that the Medicaid enhanced federal match and maintenance of effort requirements continue at least through early 2022 to protect coverage for low-income Americans and to help states weather the economic recovery. HHS should rescind all policies that create barriers to enrollment and access to care. State governments should continue to use temporary emergency authorities to expand eligibility and streamline application and enrollment processes and make them permanent when the PHE ends. Congress should either proceed with President Biden’s campaign plan for a federal public option to provide low-cost insurance coverage, particularly important for states that have not expanded Medicaid, or enact an increased federal match for a limited period of time to encourage opt-out states to implement Medicaid expansion. This paper was prepared as part of the COVID-19 Policy Playbook: Legal Recommendations for a Safer, More Equitable Future, a comprehensive report published by Public Health Law Watch in partnership with the de Beaumont Foundation and the American Public Health Association.
Ambarzumian-type Problems for Discrete Schrödinger Operators

We discuss the problem of unique determination of the finite free discrete Schrodinger operator from its spectrum, also known as the Ambarzumian problem, with various boundary conditions, namely any real constant boundary condition at zero and Floquet boundary conditions of any angle. Then we prove the following Ambarzumian-type mixed inverse spectral problem: diagonal entries except the first and second ones and a set of two consecutive eigenvalues uniquely determine the finite free discrete Schrodinger operator.
Basic Behavioral Processes Involved in Procrastination

Procrastination involves putting off engaging in a course of action. An important approach to procrastination is its relation to several behavioral procedures that have been studied humans and other animals. For example, in delay discounting, smaller rewards that come sooner are often preferred over larger rewards that come later. In the context of delay discounting, procrastination can be viewed as the preference for an immediate competing activity over the delay to work on the required task. Another analog to procrastination can be seen in free operant, temporal avoidance (or Sidman avoidance) in which an animal will receive a shock if an interval passes without a specified response. Once animals learn about the interval, they often procrastinate. That is, they often wait until the interval has almost passed before responding. Finally, research with animals suggests that the persistence of procrastination may involve a form of negative reinforcement associated with the sudden decline in anxiety (or any aversive event) when the task is completed prior to the deadline. Research with animals suggests that the mechanisms responsible for human procrastination may involve systems that derive from several procedures known to produce similar behavior animals.
Considering Companion Animals

A growing body of literature has shown the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty, resulting in a shift in the way family violence and those who are victims of abuse are considered. There are approximately 700 shelters across the nation protecting women and their children from domestic abuse, but not companion animals. National trends indicate that most domestic violence shelters do not accommodate companion animals on site. Both quantitative and qualitative analyses were used to examine companion animal policies in California domestic violence shelters. Results indicated that shelter administrators are aware of the link between domestic violence and animal cruelty; however, they lack the resources to fully support clients with companion animals. Current best practices and recommendations highlight methods that can be used to develop broader community support for victims of domestic violence and their companion animals.
Excitation energy of the (1s2s2p) /sup 4/P/sub o//sub 5; 2/ state in lithiumlike aluminum. [level lifetime]

We have used a Doppler-tuned x-ray spectrometer to measure the energy of the 1564-eV photon emitted during the forbidden intercombination decay $(1s2s2p)^{4}P_{\frac{5}{2}}^{o}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}(1{s}^{2}2s)^{2}S_{\frac{1}{2}}^{e}$ in ${\mathrm{Al}}^{+10}$. Delayed x rays were observed coming from 25-, 50-, and 75-MeV Al ions a few nanoseconds after they passed through a ${20\ensuremath{-}\mathrm{\ensuremath{\mu}}\mathrm{g}/\mathrm{c}\mathrm{m}}^{2}$ carbon foil. Li-like and He-like $2p\ensuremath{\rightarrow}1s$ transitions were observed, and the triplet and singlet He-like transitions were well enough resolved to permit their use as energy calibration lines. To verify that the 1564-eV photon was emitted by the $J=\frac{5}{2}$ component of the $^{4}P$ term we measured its intensity as a function of time after excitation, and found a mean life that agrees with a previously published measurement. Both the measured excitation energy, 1563.65 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.90 eV, and the measured mean life, 2.71 \ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{} 0.14 nsec, agree with the theoretical values published by Cheng, Lin, and Johnson.
'Pals'. A medical student public service program.

We designed a public service and educational program to aid children and families coping with chronic illness and to augment medical student education. Medical students developed relationships with chronically ill children and families based on the Big Brother-Big Sister program model. In addition, students attended bimonthly seminars on childhood chronic illness and family dynamics. Medical students learned about the psychosocial aspects of illness through these relationships and reported that the program contributed to their sense of worth as caregivers. By fostering students' innate altruism, medical schools may succeed in cultivating caring and humanism in their student physicians. We propose a model that encourages medical students to relate personally with patients and their families. A program such as this has the potential to nurture compassion in medical students, contribute to medical education, and provide support to patients and families.
Effect of Cholecystectomy on Liver Function.

SummaryTen of 12 cholecystectomized dogs showed a definite rise in serum phosphatase following operation. In one of the 10 dogs the serum phosphatase value returned to normal, whereas in the other dogs the rise in serum phosphatase was maintained through-out the period of observation, the maximum period being 70 days. Of the 10 cholecystectomized showing a rise in serum phosphatase, only 4 developed an increased retention of bromsulphalein.
A note on fuzzy relations and fuzzy groups

Abstract It is shown that for a group G if σ μ is a fuzzy subgroup of G for all fuzzy subgroups μ of G × G , then either G is a cyclic group of order p m for some m ⩾ 1 or G ∼- Z ( p ∞ ), where p is a prime. Conversely, we prove that if either G is a cyclic group of order p m for some m ⩾ 1 or G ∼- Z ( p ∞ ) then σ μ is a fuzzy subgroup of G for any fuzzy subgroup μ, of G × G , where p is a prime.
Mechanism of Preferential Adsorption of SO2 into Two Microporous Paddle Wheel Frameworks M(bdc)(ted)0.5

The selective adsorption of a corrosive gas, SO2, into two microporous pillared paddle-wheel frameworks M(bdc)(ted)0.5 [M = Ni, Zn; bdc =1,4-benzenedicarboxylate; ted = triethylenediamine] is studied by volumetric adsorption measurements and a combination of in situ infrared spectroscopy and ab initio density functional theory (DFT) calculations. The uptake of SO2 in M(bdc)(ted)0.5 at room temperature is quite significant, 9.97 mol/kg at 1.13 bar. The major adsorbed SO2 molecules contributing to the isotherm measurements are characterized by stretching bands at 1326 and 1144 cm–1. Theoretical calculations including van der Waals interactions (based on vdW-DF) suggest that two adsorption configurations are possible for these SO2 molecules. One geometry involves an SO2 molecule bonded through its sulfur atom to the oxygen atom of the paddle-wheel building unit and its two oxygen atoms to the C–H groups of the organic linkers by formation of hydrogen bonds. Such a configuration results in a distortion of the...
Exciton-scattering mechanism for enhanced nonlinear response of molecular nanostructures.

We study the nonlinear optical response of molecular assemblies consisting of coupled two-level molecules with arbitrary geometry including inhomogeneous broadening and exciton dephasing. An analytical expression for the third-order optical susceptibility is derived based on a certain closure of the equation-of-motion hierarchy. An exact expression for the third-order response of small crystalline aggregates with exciton population relaxation is derived, and used to show that for low relaxation rate Γ the cooperative part of the nonlinear response scales as Γ -1/2 in d=1, and up to logarithmic corrections, as Γ -1 in d=2 and 3
Tissue interaction and the formation of the first erythroblasts of the chick embryo

Abstract 1. 1. The ectomesoderm of the area vasculosa of the chick embryo of the definitive primitive streak stage was cultured with or without endoderm present on the opposite side of a Millipore filter. 2. 2. The development of blood islands was much more prominent in the ectomesoderm combined with endoderm across the filter than in control experiments without endoderm. 3. 3. No exchange of cells, however, between the interacting tissues was observed. A stainable material penetrating about one-fourth of the thickness of the filter was observed. 4. 4. The ectomesoderm taken from the posterior half of the area opaca cultured in direct contact with the endoderm from a blood island free area anterior to the head fold showed a prominent development of blood islands. 5. 5. The ectomesoderm cultivated in contact with the endoderm lethally treated with heat did not show distinct blood islands. The data are discussed in relation to the nature of tissue interactions.
LATTICE INSTABILITY OF 2H-TaSe2

The charge density wave (CDW) in the layered compound 2H-TaSe2 at low temperatures has a commensurate phase, which causes super lattice points to appear in the Brillouin zone of the undistorted phase. A Born-von Karman formalism has been employed for the calculation of phonon frequency distribution curves of 2H-TaSe2 both in the normal and in the commensurate charge density wave (CCDW) phases. A folding technique has been adopted for the calculation in the CCDW phase. The phonon distribution for both the phases have been reported. With these distributions the thermal properties such as specific heat capacity, Debye Waller factor W(k) and thermal conductivity have been worked out, and compared with the available experimental results.
Swallowing Apraxia: A Disorder of the Praxis System?

The purpose of this review is to evaluate the disorder of swallowing apraxia and determine how it fits into the praxis system. Swallowing apraxia, a proposed disorder of lingual, labial, and mandibular coordination, has been observed before bolus transfer during the oral stage of swallowing. Although frequently discussed anecdotally in dysphagia literature, the possible mechanisms and neural networks of swallowing apraxia have not been elucidated. Similarities and differences of swallowing apraxia with buccofacial, speech, and limb apraxias are evident. Critical review of the literature has identified possible similarities as greater occurrence upon command, transitive nature of the action, and evidence of spatial errors. Conversely, differences such as hemispheric lateralization and multiple gesture assessment may exist between swallowing apraxia and more traditional forms of apraxia. Until discrete error patterns of swallowing apraxia are identified and precisely measured, the nature of this disorder and its relationship with the praxis system will continue to remain elusive.
Fertility regulation in early childbearing years: Psychosocial and psychoeconomic aspects

Diverse psychosocial and psychoeconomic factors influence fertility career decisions. The individuals idea of the partner is of paramount concern as is shared power flexible division of tasks and a high level of communication. Alienation is strongly related to the perception of fertility regulating means available in the environment. A key feature of successful couple planning behavior is their ability to forsee future outcomes plan ahead and have contingency plans available. There has been a shift of American values concerning the child-centered family although the pleasures of parenthood are still highly valued. In the psychoeconomic approach childbearing is often approached as a problem in longterm resource allocation. A significant issue is the timing of the couples decisions; completed family size may depend on long-range income prospects while spacing and timing decisions may be based on current income. A psychosocial perspective emphasizes the subjective assessment of the benefits and costs of children. The rising costs of children are forcing a reduction in family size and are altering spacing patterns by motivating couples to postpone births.
Hybrid Polymer/Clay Nanocomposites: Effect of Clay Size on the Structure of Multilayered Films

The influence of size and surface area of two different types of clay on the structure and characteristics of PEO/clay nanocomposites in the form of multilayered films is discussed. To search for new synergistic properties and/or improve the properties of nanocomposite films already known, we study polymer nanocomposites that have laponite as well as montmorillonite incorporated. While DSC measurements showed that higher laponite amounts gradually suppress the crystallinity of PEO in the nanocomposite, XRD measurements provided evidence that higher montmorillonite amounts ensure an improved final orientation of the clay platelets, parallel to the plane of the multilayered film.
Imperial Warfare in the Naked City—Sociality as Critical Infrastructure

The Global War on Terror (GWOT), framed as conflict with groups and individuals determined to disrupt and destroy “critical infrastructures,” is heavily dependent on technological and psychological discourses and practices to find terrorists and their plots.[1][1] These methods seek to protect the material “backbone” of contemporary society and to detect those individuals whose capabilities might progress to action. Yet, the social nature of all action suggests that “critical infrastructure is people,” and that surveillance cannot, by itself, determine who might act and who will not. The ultimate purpose and effect of the GWOT is better understood as involving the transformation of individual mentalities, so that “heretical” thoughts and practices become impossible. [1]: #fn-1
Conveying Semantics through Visual Metaphor

In the field of visual art, metaphor is a way to communicate meaning to the viewer. We present a computational system for communicating visual metaphor that can identify adjectives for describing an image based on a low-level visual feature representation of the image. We show that the system can use this visual-linguistic association to render source images that convey the meaning of adjectives in a way consistent with human understanding. Our conclusions are based on a detailed analysis of how the system's artifacts cluster, how these clusters correspond to the semantic relationships of adjectives as documented in WordNet, and how these clusters correspond to human opinion.
The decomposition of C2H5OH vapour by ir radiation from a pulsed CO2 laser

Abstract The decomposition of C 2 H 5 OH vapour by IR radiation from a pulsed CO 2 transversely excited atmospheric pressure laser was studied briefly at pressures from 0.1 to 2.5 Torr. The major products analysed were H 2 and C 2 H 4 , and the minor products included CH 4 , C 2 H 6 , C 3 H 6 and C 3 H 8 . The H 2 :C 2 H 4 ratio increased from a limiting value of 0.07 at low pressure to about 0.5 at 2.5 Torr. The results are compared with those of an earlier study on the same compound using an HF laser; the differences can be explained largely by the higher fluence of the CO 2 laser beam.
The Annual and Semiannual Cycles of the Tropical Wind Field

Abstract The annual and semiannual harmonics of the wind field within 25° of the equator at six tropospheric pressure levels are described, based on data from a network of rawinsonde stations. The annual cycle in the zonal wind component is most prominent in the upper troposphere at subtropical latitude with maximum westerlies occurring late in each hemisphere's winter season. Significant amplitudes of the annual cycle in the meridional wind component are found to be confined to layers about 150 mb thick at the bottom and top of the troposphere. The semiannual cycle is significant only in the zonal wind component. At stations near the equator, the semiannual cycle in zonal wind has larger amplitude than the annual cycle.
ALGORITHM FOR ESTIMATING MEAN TRAFFIC SPEED WITH UNCALIBRATED CAMERAS

Presented is a new algorithm for estimating speed by using a sequence of video images from an uncalibrated camera. An assertion is made that exact calibration is not necessary for estimating speed. Instead, the following are used to propose a novel method that extracts scale information and estimates speed: (a) geometric relationships inherently available in the image; (b) some common sense assumptions that reduce the problem to a one-dimensional geometry; (c) frame differencing to isolate moving edges and to track vehicles between frames; and (d) the distribution of vehicle lengths.
UV/ozone pretreatment of glassy carbon electrodes

A commercial UV/ozone cleaning device is investigated for use in pretreating glassy-carbon (GC) electrodes. In combination with alumina polishing, UV/ozone pretreatment produces electrodes with high activity for oxidation of catecholamines and ascorbic acid. UV/ozone treatment also reverses the passivating effect of sonicating GC electrodes in protic solvents and minimizes adsorption of dopamine and 4-methyl catechol. UV/ozone treatment also cleans electrodes fouled by electrolysis by-products. Fifteen minutes of UV/ozone treatment produced near complete restoration of activity at a GC electrode passivated by a phenolic polymer film. UV/ozone treatment increases activity by oxidative removal of organic adsorbates and a polishing-produced carbon-powder overlayer. In addition, XPS and cyclic voltammetry indicate that carbon-oxide concentration increases on the surface of the UV/ozone treated carbon electrode as compared to an alumina-polished electrode.
A Connection Oriented Internet Architecture for Restricting Reachability

To aid security in the Internet, we propose a new connection oriented architecture to restrict reachability in the Internet to only those end hosts that explicitly request it. We first describe the various components of our architecture. Next, using qualitative arguments, and some preliminary computations, we show the benefits of our architecture. We also present viable strategies for minimizing connection state at routers, and discuss relevant security issues.
Regioselective Functionalization. 7.1 Unexpected Preferences for Bridgehead Migration in Schmidt Rearrangement Syntheses of Novel 2,6-Diazabicyclo[3.2.x]alkan-3-ones (x = 1−3)

Regioselective syntheses of 2,6-diazabicyclo[3.2.x]alkan-3-ones (x = 1−3) 34 by insertion of nitrogen next to the bridgehead (BH) of 2-azabicyclo[2.2.x]alkanones 32 with hydroxylamine-O-sulfonic acid are described. The ketones 32 under Schmidt reaction conditions (HN3/H2SO4) afford major amounts of BH migrated lactams 34 but also, when x = 2 or 3, the methylene (M) migrated lactams, 3,6-diazabicycl[3.2.x]alkan-2-ones 37. The present N-insertion reactions favoring BH migration with azabicyclic ketones contrast markedly with reactions of the related carbocycles 1a,b, which give only methylene migrated lactams 2a,b with HN3/H2SO4. Schmidt reactions of 3-anti/syn-methyl- and 3-anti-phenyl-2-azabicyclo[2.2.2]octan-5-ones 17, 20, and 23 (64:36 ± 9, BH:M) follow the reaction pattern of the parent ketone 14, but the 3-syn-phenyl ketone 26 gives major (65%) methylene migration. The results offer insights into the BH vs M migration dichotomy for the Beckmann and Schmidt reactions of bridged bicyclic ketones.
Seismicity and self-organized criticality.

Distributed seismicity appears to fit the definition of a self-organized, critical phenomenon. In this paper a cellular-automata model is presented as an analog to distributed seismicity. We consider a grid of boxes with a fractal distribution of sizes. Particles are randomly added to the boxes. When the number of particles reaches a critical value they are redistributed to adjacent boxes and edge or corner boxes lose particles off the grid. The addition of particles is analogous to crustal strain and the redistribution from a box is equivalent to a characteristic earthquake on a fault. A redistribution from a small box (a foreshock) may trigger an instability in a larger box (the main shock). A redistribution from a large box always triggers many instabilities in adjacent smaller boxes (aftershocks). The frequency-size statistics for both main shocks and aftershocks satisfy the Gutenberg-Richter relation. Model foreshocks occur 28% of the time, in good agreement with actual foreshocks. No systematic precursors are observed prior to model earthquakes, also in agreement with the present status of earthquake prediction studies.
Reaction mechanism of the 35Cl (d, 2α) 29Si ground state reaction between Ed = 9.0 and 12.0 MeV

Abstract The 35 Cl(d, 2α) 29 Si g.s. reaction was studied at bombarding energies between 9.0 and 12.0 MeV. Coincident α-particles were detected using solid-state detectors, and their correlated energy spectra were analysed by a 64 × 64 channel pulse-height analyser. Measurements were carried out at various angular combinations ( θ 1 , θ 2 ). From the shape of the energy spectra as well as from the angular dependence of the differential cross section, it is concluded that the reaction proceeds via a double evaporation process. The shapes of the energy spectra and the dependence of the differential cross section on the bombarding energy are in good agreement with the results of a double evaporation calculation.
Actions of Boolean rings on sets

LetB be a Boolean ring (with 1),S a sheaf of sets on the Stone space Spec(B), andS the set of global sections of S. For everya eB ands, t eS, leta(s, t) denote the element ofS which agrees withs on the support ofa, and witht elsewhere.
Real-time path-integral approach to quantum coherence and dephasing in nonadiabatic transitions and nonlinear optical response.

Quantum coherence and its destruction (dephasing) by coupling to a dissipative environment plays an important role in time-resolved nonlinear optical response as well as nonadiabatic transitions and tunneling processes in condensed phases. Generating functions of density-matrix elements and multitime coordinate and momentum correlation functions related to these phenomena are calculated using a pathintegral approach by performing functional integration. The dissipative environment is assumed to be an ensemble of harmonic oscillators and is taken into account by using Feynman-Vernon influence functional. Closed-form expressions for generating functions in terms of the bath spectral density are derived. The present theory generalizes earlier calculations of these quantities to arbitrary temperatures, any dependence of the transition coupling on coordinates (non-Condon effects), and arbitrary order in the interstate coupling. Conditions for factorizing the Liouville-space generating functions that allow a reduced description based on the classical Langevin equation are established. Possible applications to four-wave-mixing spectroscopy and nonadiabatic rate processes are discussed.
17O, 14N and 15N n.m.r. studies of the Co2+ complexes of cyclo(Pro17O-Gly15N) and cyclo(Gly17O-Pro) in aqueous solution.

The complexation of cyclo(Pro17O-Gly15N) and cyclo(Gly17O-Pro) with Co2+ ions has been studied by 17O, 14N and 15N n.m.r. spectroscopy in aqueous solution. 17O, 14N and 15N transverse relaxation times and chemical shifts were measured as a function of temperature. The 17O n.m.r. studies unequivocally demonstrate that the cobaltous ion binds to the peptide oxygen of both compounds. The hyperfine coupling constant and the peptide residence times were found to be A = -0.165 MHz and -0.145 MHz, tau m = 16, and 92 microseconds for cyclo(Pro17O-Gly15N) and cyclo(Gly17O-Pro), respectively. The 14N and 15N studies of labeled cyclo(Pro17O-Gly15N) do not indicate binding at either the Gly15N or the Pro14N site.
Optimization strategies for flexible chemical processes

Abstract The objective of this paper is to give an overview of the optimization strategies that are required when designing chemical processes in which the existence of regions of feasible steady-state operation must be ensured in the face of parameter variations. Two major areas are considered: optimal design with a fixed degree of flexibility, and design with optimal degree of flexibility. For the first area the problems of multiperiod design, and design under uncertainty are analyzed. For the second area the problem of deriving an index of flexibility in the context of multiobjective optimization is discussed. As shown in the paper, the major challenge in these problems lies in the development of efficient solution procedures for large scale nonlinear programs which are either highly structured, or otherwise involve an infinite number of constraints.
Multiple Periodic Solutions of an Equation with State-Dependent Delay

Given $${N \in \mathbb N}$$ we prove the existence, for parameter values in a certain range, of N distinct periodic solutions of a state-dependent delay equation studied by Walther (Differ Integral Equ 15:923–944, 2002).
A High Gain Image Intensifier - Spectroscope System for in Vivo Spectral Studies of Bioluminescence

In bioluminescence the amount of light emitted in vivo from a single specimen is in general so small that conventional spectral recording techniques are not useful. A specially designed fast input lens grating spectroscope has been combined with a high gain image intensifier. The light from the specimen is directed to the input slit of the spectroscope by means of a fiber optics light pipe. The system is calibrated by means of a standard lamp. A digitized densitometer provides input to a computor program which corrects for system non-uniformities and prints out spectra at 150 intensity levels every 4 A from 4000 A to 6000 A. The system has been applied to the observation of in vivo spectra from many different species of bioluminescent organisms.