cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can Solar Sails Flutter

I N A widely cited report, MacNeal [1] has pointed out the advantages of a heliogyro, a solar sail that rotates and responds in ways similar to a helicopter blade, with the driving force being the solar pressure, as distinct from the aerodynamic pressure of more conventional rotorcraft. In this brief Note we consider the possible interaction between the deformation of the solar sail and the solar pressure. The solar pressure acts normal to the surface of the sail; thus, as the sail deforms, the direction of the solar pressure changes. This provides an opportunity for feedback between the loading of the solar pressure and the deformation of the sail. Indeed, as is shown implicitly by MacNeal [1] andmore explicitly here, for small elastic deformations of the sail, the solar-pressure-loading/solar-deformation relationship has essentially the same mathematical form as the aerodynamic-loading/ elastic-structural-deflection relationship for (two-dimensional, static Ackeret) supersonic flow aerodynamic theory. This suggests that many of the known methods and, to some extent, the known results from aeroelasticitymay be immediately adapted to the analysis of the solar sail. In particular, solar sails have the potential to undergo flutter.
Hormone therapy, dementia, and cognition: the Women's Health Initiative 10 years on

ABSTRACTPrincipal findings on dementia from the Women's Health Initiative Memory Study (WHIMS) showed that conjugated equine estrogens plus medroxyprogesterone acetate (CEE/MPA) increase dementia risk in women aged 65 years and above, but not risk of mild cognitive impairment. The dementia finding was unexpected, given consistent observational evidence that associates use of estrogen-containing hormone therapy with reduced risk of Alzheimer's disease. It remains controversial whether hormone use by younger postmenopausal women near the time of menopause reduces dementia risk or whether WHIMS findings should be generalized to younger women. Given the challenges of conducting a primary prevention trial to address that question, it is helpful to consider the impact of hormone therapy on cognitive test performance, particularly verbal memory, for its own sake and as a proxy for dementia risk. The WHI Study of Cognitive Aging (WHISCA) showed that CEE/MPA worsened verbal memory, whereas CEE alone had no influen...
Evidence for a Direct Inhibitory Effect of Ethanol upon Gonadotropin Secretion at the Pituitary Level

Mixed rat pituitary cells harvested from pituitaries obtained from adult male rats were maintained in tissue culture for periods up to 240 hr. Viability determined by trypan blue exclusion at the end of each experiment was greater than 90%. Basal secretory rats of luteinizing hormone (LH) into the culture medium were determined before and after the addition of ethanol (30 mg/100 ml) to the incubation medium. Ethanol-reduced (p less than .01) LH secretion of treated cultures were compared to control cultures. Based upon this preliminary in vitro study with rat tissue and on prior studies performed in man and animals, we suggest that ethanol inhibits LH secretion at the pituitary level.
Teacher intervention and U.S. preschoolers' natural conflict resolution after aggressive competition

The role of teacher intervention in preschoolers' peer conflicts is controversial, with one view suggesting that children should resolve conflicts on their own, and another that socialization accounts for conflict resolution's development. This study strives to clarify this issue using a short-term longitudinal, observational design to examine teacher intervention and 91 preschoolers aggressive competitive conflict. By delimiting the form of conflict, the study examines whether the role of teacher intervention varied by conflict behavior (e.g., physical and verbal aggression) and the form of conflict resolution. Results support the view that teacher intervention disrupts the conflict resolution cycle, especially in terms of preschoolers' on-going interaction and using alternatives to temporary separation. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.
Objective self-awareness, standards of evaluation, and moral behavior

Abstract In a performance setting, subjects were given an opportunity to cheat without fear of detection on puzzle problems. Subjects were led to believe that successful performance was due to ability in some conditions, but to luck in other conditions. In fact, most of the problems were insolvable, so that success was impossible without cheating. Self-awareness was induced in half the subjects by having them sit in front of a mirror and listen to a tape recording of their own voice as they worked on the puzzle problems; the remaining subjects were not exposed to a mirror and listened to a tape of someone else's voice as they worked on the problems. It was predicted that cheating frequency would be higher under ability attribution conditions than under luck attribution conditions, and that this effect of performance attribution would be greater among self-aware subjects than among non-self-aware subjects. Results confirmed these hypotheses. Discussion centered on the differential use of morality and competence standards for behavior when in a state of self-awareness.
Motion retiming by using bilateral time control surfaces

Motion retiming is an important tool used to edit character animations. It consists of changing the time at which an action occurs during an animation. One example might be editing an animation of a person playing football to change the precise time at which the ball is kicked. It is, nevertheless, a non-trivial task to retime the motion of a set of joints, since spatio-temporal correlation exists among them. It is especially difficult in the case of motion capture, when there are forward kinematic keys on every frame, to define the motion. In this paper, we present a novel approach to motion retiming that exploits the proximity of joints to preserve the motion coherence when a retiming operation is performed. We introduce the bilateral time control surface (BTCS), a framework that allows users to intuitively and interactively retime motion. The BTCS is a free-form surface, located on the timeline, that can be interactively deformed to move the action of a particular joint to a certain time, while preserving the coherency and smoothness of surrounding joints. The animation is retimed by manipulating successive BTCSs, and the final animation is generated by resampling the original motion by time spans defined by the BTCSs. Graphical abstractDisplay Omitted HighlightsIntroducing a new retiming formulation that can easily control motion curves and keyframes.An interactive and intuitive retiming interface without the need for modifying motion curves independently.Bilateral filtering for ensuring that edits are applied within a character's topological distance on a time surface.A new visualization technique of spatio-temporal motion data in 3D space.
Constrained non-rigid registration for whole body image registration: method and validation

3D intra- and inter-subject registration of image volumes is important for tasks that include measurements and quantification of temporal/longitudinal changes, atlas-based segmentation, deriving population averages, or voxel and tensor-based morphometry. A number of methods have been proposed to tackle this problem but few of them have focused on the problem of registering whole body image volumes acquired either from humans or small animals. These image volumes typically contain a large number of articulated structures, which makes registration more difficult than the registration of head images, to which the vast majority of registration algorithms have been applied. To solve this problem, we have previously proposed an approach, which initializes an intensity-based non-rigid registration algorithm with a point based registration technique [1, 2]. In this paper, we introduce new constraints into our non-rigid registration algorithm to prevent the bones from being deformed inaccurately. Results we have obtained show that the new constrained algorithm leads to better registration results than the previous one.
Test of a model of foveal vision by using simulations

The appearance of four different images from three different distances was simulated by using the individual contrast sensitivity functions (CSF's) of normally sighted observers. The simulations were generated by using the observers' CSF's as a threshold in a pyramidal vision model of band-limited local contrast [J. Opt. Soc. Am A 7, 2030 (1990)]. Simulations based on CSF's obtained in an orientation discrimination task underestimated the observer's sensitivity in discriminating the images. Simulations based on CSF's obtained in a detection task provided a good estimate of observer's performance. The testing method was shown to be sensitive enough to be affected by the high-frequency residual, which is frequently ignored in visual models and simulations. An image-dependence effect found when the high-frequency residual was present was eliminated when the residual artifact was removed. The simulations based on the pyramidal vision model accurately predicted the distance at which they were discriminated from the original image, and thus this model may also serve as the basis for image-quality metrics. The testing method developed can also be used to determine the type of CSF that best represents observer performance in a task.
Observations of Medium-Scale Features Along the Seasonal Ice Edge in the Bering Sea

Abstract During winter 1974–75, band-like ice features were observed via satellite in the Bering Sea water-ice transition zone during periods of off-ice winds. These were several tens of kilometers long, spaced from 6–12 km apart, and were generally oriented from 40–90° left of the surface wind direction. Formation of these features appears to be related to atmospheric convective processes; such features may he significant indicators of transition zone ice dynamics.
Spectral imaging polarimeter based on liquid crystal technology

The ability to detect changes in the structural organization of tissue has significant diagnostic value. A polarimeter has the ability to detect these changes as it can probe the tissue sub-wavelength structural organization through polarization effects. Here we present a spectral imaging polarimeter that is based on liquid crystal technology. The system is comprised of two modules, a Stokes generator and a polarimeter. Each module employs a pair of Liquid Crystal Variable Retarders (LCVRs), which are computer-controlled birefringent devices. Additionally, the polarimeter utilizes a CCD camera to image the illuminated region, thus providing spatially resolved estimates of the complete Mueller matrix for the sample. Before the system can be employed, an overall system characterization involving all four LCVRs must be performed. This characterization defines a relationship between polarimeter measurements and the incident Stokes vectors. Here we briefly describe the calibration procedure and show example Mueller matrix images of biological tissue.
Particulate air pollution and survival in a COPD cohort.

Several studies have shown cross-sectional associations between long term exposure to particulate air pollution and survival in general population or convenience cohorts. Less is known about susceptibility, or year to year changes in exposure. We investigated whether particles were associated with survival in a cohort of persons with COPD in 34 US cities, eliminating the usual cross-sectional exposure and treating PM10 as a within city time varying exposure. Using hospital discharge data, we constructed a cohort of persons discharged alive with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease using Medicare data between 1985 and 1999. 12-month averages of PM10 were merged to the individual annual follow up in each city. We applied Cox's proportional hazard regression model in each city, with adjustment for individual risk factors. We found significant associations in the survival analyses for single year and multiple lag exposures, with a hazard ratio for mortality for an increase of 10 μg/m3 PM10 over the previous 4 years of 1.22 (95% CI: 1.17–1.27). Persons discharged alive for COPD have substantial mortality risks associated with exposure to particles. The risk is evident for exposure in the previous year, and higher in a 4 year distributed lag model. These risks are significantly greater than seen in time series analyses.
Effective partition-driven placement with simultaneous level processing and global net views

In this paper we take a fresh look at the partition-driven placement (PDP) paradigm for standard-cell placement for wire-length minimization. The goal is to develop several new algorithms for incorporation into a PDP framework that can rectify the well-known drawbacks of traditional PDP (increasingly localized view of nets with increasing levels of the partitioning tree, min cut objective, inaccuracy and cost of terminal propagation (TP), irreversibility of move decisions), while preserving its considerable advantages (time efficiency, flexibility in accurately incorporating many optimization metrics, and flexibility in satisfying most constraints). We have developed several novel techniques within a PDP-based framework that yield the best wire-length results so far on all but two of the MONO benchmark suite. Our major innovations are: (1) simultaneous level partitioning (SLP) in which we partition the entire circuit globally in every level of the partitioning tree, across the current cutline(s); (2) cell gain computation based on a global or distributed view of entire nets (thus obviating TP) and on the bounding-box (BB) minimization of nets (as opposed to mincut in prior PDP); (3) move irreversibility tackled in a pest-processing phase via vertical and horizontal swaps. Empirical results indicate that our PDP algorithm SPADE (for Simultaneous level Partitioning with Distributed lie., global] nEt views) provides almost 202 better wirelength results than an internal version of "regular" PDP with min-cut based gains, 10.8% better than the previous best PDP method QUAD, 10.6% better than TimberWolf (TW) 7.0, 15.846 better than the state-of-the-art force-directed technique from U. Munich (termed FD-98 here), and 15.3% better than the multilevel placement technique Snap-On. Besides TW7.0, we are also the only ones to report results on the approximately 100 K-cell circuit golem3 (12.2% better than TW7.0). Our run times are quite reasonable.
Quantitative GSTP1 Methylation and the Detection of Prostate Adenocarcinoma in Sextant Biopsies

Hypermethylation of the 5 promoter region of the glutathione S-transferase gene (GSTP1) occurs at a very high frequency in prostate adenocarcinoma. We compared the results of blinded histologic review of sextant biopsy samples from 72 excised prostates with those obtained using a quantitative methylation-specific polymerase chain reaction assay (QMSP) for GSTP1. Formal surgical pathologic review of the resected prostates was used to determine the number of patients with (n 61) and without (n 11) prostate cancer. Histology alone detected prostate carcinoma with 64% sensitivity (95% confidence interval [CI] 51% to 76%) and 100% specificity (95% CI 72% to 100%), whereas the combination of histology and GSTP1 QMSP at an assay threshold greater than 10 detected prostate carcinoma with 75% sensitivity (95% CI 63% to 86%) and 100% specificity (95% CI 72% to 100%), an 11% improvement (95% CI 5% to 22%) in sensitivity over histology alone. The combination of histology and GSTP1 QMSP at an assay threshold greater than 5 detected prostate adenocarcinoma with 79% sensitivity (95% CI 68% to 89%), a 15% improvement (95% CI 7% to 26%) over histology alone. Thus, GSTP1 QMSP improved the sensitivity of histologic review of random needle biopsies for prostate cancer diagnosis. Further studies should determine whether detection of GSTP1 hypermethylation in a biopsy sample with normal histology indicates the need for an early repeat biopsy at the same site. [J Natl Cancer Inst 2003;95: 1634 ‐7]
Range cell migration in the spotlight SAR polar format algorithm

Compensation of scatterer range cell migration is an important aspect of accurate spotlight SAR image formation. The polar format algorithm (PFA) is a method for processing fine resolution SAR radar data which utilizes a polar arrangement of the echo spectra in the backscatter frequency domain. It is shown that the PFA resampling from a polar to rectangular grid generates a linear phase function on the resampled data that after the Fourier transform to the image domain, fully compensates the linear component of the range cell migration. This new perspective of the PFA range cell migration correction is derived using signal phase history and tomographic approaches.
Copper‐Catalyzed Aerobic Intramolecular Dehydrogenative Cyclization of N,N‐Disubstituted Hydrazones through C sp 3H Functionalization

An aerobic activity: The title reaction proceeds through an oxidation/cyclization/aromatization sequence under an atmosphere of O(2) (see scheme; DBU=1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene, DCE=1,2-dichloroethane, DMS=dimethylsulfide). This coupling reaction is the first to proceed via an iminium intermediate for a C(sp(3)-H bond-functionalization process, and provides an environmentally friendly and atom-efficient access to substituted pyrazoles.
A collimated beam of MeV electrons accelerated by a terawatt laser

Summary form only given. The field at the focus of a short-pulse, high-power laser is so high that electrons oscillate at nearly the speed of light, giving rise to several interesting, and previously unstudied, effects. For instance, it produces extremely high laser pressure (called the ponderomotive force), which can drive a high-amplitude plasma "wake-field plasma wave", the basis for what is called the laser wake-field accelerator (LWPA). We have recently demonstrated that a laser wake field can produce a collimated beam of MeV electrons and that the laser may have been guided by relativistic self focusing and electron cavitation.
Family Connections: Today's Young Families: Successful Strategies for Engaging Millennial Parents

Parent/teacher conferences Monthly newsletters Parent education meetings Are these traditional family engagement activities outdated with today's young families? As the “millennial” generation reac...
Advances in optical switching and networking: past, present, and future

In this paper a survey of optical networks and switching is presented. It starts with a discussion of the development of telecommunication industry, tracing the great shift from asynchronous, to synchronous (SONET), to optical networks. It also presents the main drivers that led to today's high-speed networks. Some of the main technologies of optical networks such as wavelength division multiplexers (WDM), dense wavelength division multiplexers (DWDM), and erbium doped fiber amplifiers (EDFA). Then, we shift our focus to optical switching starting from optical-electrical-optical (OEO) switches to the all-optical/photonic switches. Great emphasis is directed towards the later, including its promise for optical networks, its characteristics, as well as the recent development in photonic switching technologies (MEMS, liquid crystals, bubbles, thermo optics and more). Finally, the challenges facing its large deployment in today's networks are surveyed.
Monoclonal Antibodies to NTF2 Inhibit Nuclear Protein Import by Preventing Nuclear Translocation of the GTPase Ran

Nuclear transport factor 2 (NTF2) is a soluble transport protein originally identified by its ability to stimulate nuclear localization signal (NLS)-dependent protein import in digitonin-permeabilized cells. NTF2 has been shown to bind nuclear pore complex proteins and the GDP form of Ran in vitro. Recently, it has been reported that NTF2 can stimulate the accumulation of Ran in digitonin-permeabilized cells. Evidence that NTF2 directly mediates Ran import or that NTF2 is required to maintain the nuclear concentration of Ran in living cells has not been obtained. Here we show that cytoplasmic injection of anti-NTF2 mAbs resulted in a dramatic relocalization of Ran to the cytoplasm. This provides the first evidence that NTF2 regulates the distribution of Ran in vivo. Moreover, anti-NTF2 mAbs inhibited nuclear import of both Ran and NLS-containing protein in vitro, suggesting that NTF2 stimulates NLS-dependent protein import by driving the nuclear accumulation of Ran. We also show that biotinylated NTF2-streptavidin microinjected into the cytoplasm accumulated at the nuclear envelope, indicating that NTF2 can target a binding partner to the nuclear pore complex. Taken together, our data show that NTF2 is an essential regulator of the Ran distribution in living cells and that NTF2-mediated Ran nuclear import is required for NLS-dependent protein import.
18 GHz high gain, high efficiency power operation of AlGaAs/GaAs HBT

Outstanding power performance has been achieved from an AlGaAs/GaAs heterostructure bipolar transistor (HBT) at 18 GHz. A common emitter HBT has achieved 48.5% added efficiency, 6.2-dB associated gain, and 0.17-W output power. Common base operation of the HBT exhibits higher gain at 18 GHz: 0.358 W (3.58 W/mm) was achieved with 11.4-dB gain and 43% added efficiency; at a reduced power level of 0.174 W (1.74 W/mm), 15.3-dB associated power gain was achieved with 40% efficiency. This performance compares favorably with the results reported for MESFETs, HEMTs (high-electron-mobility transistors), and PBTs (permeable-base transistors). >
Collective Memory, International Law, and Restorative Social Processes After Conflagration: The Holocaust:

Collective memory after war, atrocity, and genocide may continue to bind surviving generations in a vortex of violence because remembrance of the cruelty is so vivid. Yet, collective memory as it was conceptualized originally is associated with constructive social change as society adjusts to a variety of kinds of forces. The Holocaust (1933—1945) as a model of genocide represents both an immense human tragedy and what happens at a breakpoint in the values sustaining society and collective memory. Holocaust survivor generations in Israel and Germany or elsewhere, however, have not succumbed to a cycle of vengeance after genocide and atrocity. International law may have influenced this outcome. It has played a major role in addressing human rights abuse and good governance of peoples and trade since 1945. Looking at the lived experience of atrocity and the importance of social processes that restore lives and community in the aftermath of conflagration, this article explores the interplay between collective memory and international law associated with World War II and the Holocaust.
Particle filter adaptation for distributed sensors via set membership

A distributed set-membership-constrained particle filter (SMCPF) is developed for decentralized tracking applications using wireless sensor networks. Unlike existing PF alternatives, SMC-PF offers reduced overhead for inter-sensor communications because it requires only particle weights to be exchanged among sensors, instead of raw measurements or parameters of a Gaussian mixture model. SMC-PF relies on a novel distributed adaptation scheme based on successive set intersections that can afford reduced number of particles without sacrificing performance. Conditions are provided to quantify the variance reduction of the SMC-PF-based state estimator. Simulations corroborate the ability of the SMCPF to considerably outperform the bootstrap PF for a fixed number of particles.
The activated macrophage colony-stimulating factor (CSF-1) receptor as a predictor of poor outcome in advanced epithelial ovarian carcinoma.

Abstract Objective. We have previously shown that the macrophage colony-stimulating factor receptor (CSF-1R) and its ligand, CSF-1, together predict poor prognosis in epithelial ovarian carcinoma. The activated or phosphorylated form of CSF-1R (CSF-1Rphos) has been associated with enhanced invasive and metastatic potential. Our goal is to correlate CSF-1Rphos with known prognostic factors and to determine its role in predicting outcome in advanced ovarian cancer. Methods. One hundred forty-two primary and forty-seven metastatic epithelial ovarian tumors from 98 patients were immunohistochemically stained using antibodies PY809 and PY723 against their respective tyrosine residues associated with local invasiveness and metastasis. χ 2 analysis was used to correlate CSF-1Rphos staining and previously studied prognosticators within each group. Kaplan–Meier curves of survival were comparedusing the log-rank test with significance of P Results. Forty-seven and nine-tenths percent (68/142) of primary tumors and forty-eight and nine-tenths percent (23/47) of metastatic tumors stained positive for PY809 and PY723, respectively. The PY809+ group was strongly associated with CSF-1R ( P = 0.015) as was the PY723+ group ( P = 0.025) in its respective subset. CSF-1Rphos by itself was not a predictor of survival or disease-free interval (DFI) in either the primary or metastatic group. However, when combined with CSF-1R in the metastatic group, the two together predicted worse survival ( P = 0.007) and decreased DFI ( P = 0.011). Conclusions. Phosphorylated tyrosine kinase receptors are detectable in a significant number of ovarian tumors. Staining strongly correlates with CSF-1R. PY723+ metastases coexpressing CSF-1R portend a highly significant decrease in survival and increased risk of recurrence which may serve to identify high-risk ovarian cancer patients.
Using Forest Health Monitoring to assess aspen forest cover change in the southern Rockies ecoregion

Long-term qualitative observations suggest a marked decline in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides Michx.) primarily due to advancing succession and fire suppression. This study presents an ecoregional coarse-grid analysis of the current aspen situation using Forest Health Monitoring (FHM) data from Idaho, Wyoming, and Colorado. A unique feature of aspen forests in western North America is regeneration primarily by asexual “suckering” although rare seeding events do occur. The dominant clonal process provides the basis for this analysis. In essence, the remaining aspen stems of previously large clones provide a window to the past and possibly a view of the future. The author uses baseline observations of aspen and associated tree species regeneration, forest size and structure components, stand age, tree damage, and recent disturbance to assess regional aspen conditions. Analysis of stands where aspen is dominant (aspen forest type) and where aspen merely occurs (aspen present) are presented. Basic groupings within the aspen forest type plots were obtained by cluster analysis of 10 FHM variables derived from tree- and plot-level measurements. Stable and unstable aspen forest types were verified using principal component analysis. A further criterion of at least 25% conifer species present was placed on the unstable group to render a more conservative population estimate of instability. The unstable aspen forest types, along with the plots having only the presence of aspen, comprise the dynamic portion of the aspen community in this area. These results support the hypothesis of an aspen decline within the past 100 years. However, additional regional plots and long-term remeasurements should provide a clearer picture of the decline’s extent. Altering current and future management practices may significantly affect the rate of change.
A Portfolio Theory of Route Choice

Although many individual route choice models have been proposed to incorporate travel time variability as a decision factor, they are typically still deterministic in the sense that the optimal strategy requires choosing one particular route that maximizes utility. In contrast, this study introduces an individual route choice model where choosing a portfolio of routes instead of a single route is the best strategy for a rational traveler who cares about both journey time and lateness when facing stochastic network conditions. The proposed model is compared with UE and SUE models and the difference in both behavioral foundation and model characteristics is highlighted. A numerical example is introduced to demonstrate how such model can be used in traffic assignment problem. The model is then tested with GPS data collected in metropolitan Minneapolis–St. Paul, Minnesota. Our data suggest there is no single dominant route (defined here as a route with the shortest travel time for a 15 day period) in 18% of cases when links travel times are correlated. This paper demonstrates that choosing a portfolio of routes could be the rational choice of a traveler who wants to optimize route decisions under variability.
Sources of Support and Interpersonal Stress in the Networks of Married Caregiving Daughters Findings from a 2-year Longitudinal Study

This research uses data collected on 57 married daughters and 1,069 members of their social networks to examine patterns of social support and interpersonal stress across the first two years of caring for parents with dementia. Reports by the caregivers indicated that friends were the most prominent source of emotional support, while siblings were the greatest source of instrumental support and interpersonal stress, both shortly after the parents' diagnosis and two years later. Multivariate analyses demonstrated that associates who had cared for family members themselves were more likely to have been sources of instrumental support both shortly after diagnosis and two years later. Caregiving similarity was also the most important factor in explaining both emotional support and interpersonal stress at Tl; however, its effect diminished across the subsequent two years. These findings suggest that experiential similarity may become less important in explaining some dimensions of interpersonal relations as individuals move further from status transitions.
Early development of accelerated graft coronary artery disease: Risk factors and course

Abstract Objectives. This study assessed the time of first appearance of angiographic graft coronary artery disease in relation to clinical and laboratory variables and clinical events in heart transplant recipients. Background. Graft coronary artery disease is the main factor limiting long-term survival after heart transplantation, and it is important to understand its natural history. Methods. One hundred thirty-nine consecutive patients who developed angiographic coronary artery disease after heart transplantation were classified according to early (≤2 years) versus late (>2 years) posttransplantation initial detection of coronary artery disease. These subgroups were analyzed for differences in clinical and laboratory demographics, incidence of progression to ischemic events and incidence of antecedent cytomegalovirus infection. Results. The early-onset group (64 patients) had more rapid progression to ischemic events than the late-onset group (75 patients), with 59% of the late group and only 35% of the early group free from ischemic events by 5 years after initial detection (p = 0.02), but there were no significantly correlated clinical or laboratory predictors of ischemic events. The early group had a significantly higher incidence of antecedent cytomegalovirus infection. Conclusions. We conclude that 1) accelerated graft coronary artery disease develops at variable times after heart transplantation; 2) the early appearance of graft coronary artery disease may be a marker of intrinsically more aggressive disease; 3) cytomegalovirus infection is associated with earlier onset of graft coronary artery disease. Patients with early development of graft coronary artery disease should potentially be given priority for interventional strategies as they are developed.
Interspecific and integroup interactions of mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata) in primary versus secondary forest at El Zota Biological Field Station, Costa Rica

Four groups of mantled howling monkeys (Alouatta palliata) were observed at El Zota Biological Field Station in northeastern Costa Rica to assess whether resource scarcity caused by anthropogenic disturbance and hypothesized increased competition for limited resources would result in more frequent and more aggressive interactions between neighboring howling monkey groups and between howling monkeys and other, sympatric primate species, namely white-faced capuchins (Cebus capucinus) and black-handed spider monkeys (Ateles geoffroyi). Using a comparison between the primary forest, as a control, and anthropogenically-altered secondary forest, I examined whether a behavioral difference existed between groups with hypothesized varying degrees of resource competition. Intergroup encounters were broken down into long distance howling bouts, with 46 observed, and close proximity interactions, with 11 observed. Results showed an increased frequency of howling in the primary forest as compared with the secondary forest, but no difference between the frequency, duration, or type of close-proximity intergroup encounters. Forty-five interspecies interactions were observed between howling monkeys and sympatric primate species. These interactions showed no difference between forest type for frequency, duration, or type of interaction. These results suggest that the composition and resource availability of the secondary forest at this site that does not align with current assumptions of habitat degradation. Alternatively results may be a reflection of social pressures such as infanticide, intragroup competition, and genetic relatedness as factors shaping howling monkey behaviors in both primary and secondary forests.
Does city-subsidized owner-occupied housing improve school quality? Evidence from New York City

Problem: Policymakers and community development practitioners view increasing subsidized owner-occupied housing as a mechanism to improve urban neighborhoods, but little research studies the impact of such investments on community amenities. Purpose: We examine the impact of subsidized owner-occupied housing on the quality of local schools and compare them to the impacts of city investments in rental units. Methods: Using data from the New York City Department of Education (DOE) and the New York City Department of Housing Preservation and Development (HPD), we estimate three main sets of regressions, exploring student characteristics, school resources, and school outcomes. Results and conclusions: The completion of subsidized owner-occupied housing is associated with a decrease in schools’ percentage of free-lunch eligible students, an increase in schools’ percentage of White students, and, controlling for these compositional changes, an increase in scores on standardized reading and math exams. By contra...
Hypoxia mediated pulmonary edema: potential influence of oxidative stress, sympathetic activation and cerebral blood flow

Neurogenic pulmonary edema (NPE) is a non-cardiogenic form of pulmonary edema that can occur consequent to central neurologic insults including stroke, traumatic brain injury, and seizure. NPE is a public health concern due to high morbidity and mortality, yet the mechanism(s) are unknown. We hypothesized that NPE, evoked by cerebral hypoxia in the presence of systemic normoxia, would be accompanied by sympathetic activation, oxidative stress, and compensatory antioxidant mechanisms. Thirteen Walker hounds were assigned to cerebral hypoxia (SaO2 ~ 55 %) with systemic normoxia (SaO2 ~ 90 %) (CH; n = 6), cerebral and systemic (global) hypoxia (SaO2 ~ 60 %) (GH; n = 4), or cerebral and systemic normoxia (SaO2 ~ 90 %) (CON; n = 3). Femoral venous (CH and CON) perfusate was delivered via cardiopulmonary bypass to the brain and GH was induced by FiO2 = 10 % to maintain the SaO2 at ~60 %. Lung wet to lung dry weight ratios (LWW/LDW) were assessed as an index of pulmonary edema in addition to hemodynamic measurements. Plasma catecholamines were measured as markers of sympathetic nervous system (SNS) activity. Total glutathione, protein carbonyls, and malondialdehyde were assessed as indicators of oxidative stress. Brain and lung compensatory antioxidants were measured with immunoblotting. Compared to CON, LWW/LDW and pulmonary artery pressure were greater in CH and GH. Expression of hemeoxygenase-1 in brain was higher in CH compared to GH and CON, despite no group differences in oxidative damage in any tissue. Catecholamines tended to be higher in CH and GH. Cerebral hypoxia, with systemic normoxia, is not systematically associated with an increase in oxidative stress and compensatory antioxidant enzymes in lung, suggesting oxidative stress did not contribute to NPE in lung. However, increased SNS activity may play a role in the induction of NPE during hypoxia.
Modeling and measurement of microfabricated corona discharge structures

This paper reports on corona discharge needle-to- plane configurations to act as ionizers for airborne particulate analysis applications. Three electrode configurations are explored with the objective of obtaining a high electric field strength to maximize the probability that all incoming particles are ionized. The hybrid FE-Trefftz method, which has been developed to combine the best of both finite elements (FE) and boundary elements (BE), is used to calculate the electric fields of our ionizers. According to the simulations using the electrostatic analysis of ANSYStrade, the rounded needle-to-one-plane and needle-to-two-plane are found to produce higher electric fields, when compared to the needle-to-three-plane. Our modeling results are verified and validated by the maximum electric fields, which are governed by the Paschen's law, and the experimental results, which are based on our measurements and the previously published report respectively. The Townsend current-voltage approximations of corona currents are also formulated based on our measurements to find the closed forms of the objective functions for optimization and design in future.
Hippocampal dysregulation of dopamine system function and the pathophysiology of schizophrenia

Substantial evidence suggests that psychosis in schizophrenia is associated with dysregulation of subcortical dopamine system function. Here we examine evidence that this dysregulation is secondary to hyperactivity within hippocampal subfields. Enhanced hippocampal activity has been reported in preclinical models and in schizophrenia patients. Moreover, this hippocampal hyperactivity is correlated with enhanced dopamine neuron activity and positive symptoms, respectively. Thus, restoration of hippocampal function could provide a more effective therapeutic approach than current therapeutics based on blockade of dopamine D2 receptors. Indeed, initial studies demonstrate that allosteric modulation of the α5GABA A receptor can decrease aberrant dopamine signaling and associated behaviors in a verified rodent model of psychosis.
Spontaneous regression of a dentigerous cyst in a middle-aged adult

Follicular cysts associated with impacted teeth in adults usually increase in size or remain static. A case is presented in which a typical dentigerous cyst decreased in size without any subjective or objective evidence of spontaneous drainage.
The Flavivirus Precursor Membrane-Envelope Protein Complex: Structure and Maturation

Many viruses go through a maturation step in the final stages of assembly before being transmitted to another host. The maturation process of flaviviruses is directed by the proteolytic cleavage of the precursor membrane protein (prM), turning inert virus into infectious particles. We have determined the 2.2 angstrom resolution crystal structure of a recombinant protein in which the dengue virus prM is linked to the envelope glycoprotein E. The structure represents the prM-E heterodimer and fits well into the cryo-electron microscopy density of immature virus at neutral pH. The pr peptide beta-barrel structure covers the fusion loop in E, preventing fusion with host cell membranes. The structure provides a basis for identifying the stages of its pH-directed conformational metamorphosis during maturation, ending with release of pr when budding from the host.
PROGRESSIVE SCLEROSIS OF ISOLATED FOOT METASTASIS OF PROSTATE CANCER

An 82-year-old man presented with foot pain. Three years previously gross hematuria had developed, and serum prostate specific antigen (PSA) level at that time was 11.3 ng./ml. Initial prostate needle biopsies demonstrated a Gleason score of 4 4 8 disease, and the patient underwent external beam radiation therapy. Posttreatment PSA reached a nadir of 0.2 ng./ml. and remained at that level until 1 year prior to the current presentation, at which time pain developed in the right foot. Initial bone scan showed focal uptake in the right cuboid bone (fig. 1, A), and plain films revealed osteopenia of the cuboid bone, but no fracture or sclerosis (fig. 2, A). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated abnormalities consistent with osteomyelitis or edema, but metastases were thought unlikely. The patient underwent repeat bone scans 6 months and 1 month prior to the current presentation, neither of which showed new lesions. However, followup plain films of the right foot demonstrated progressive sclerosis of the cuboid bone (fig. 2, B and C). A subsequent MRI revealed replacement of the bone marrow by bright signal on T2-weighted images, consistent with tumor (fig. 1, B). A repeat PSA test revealed an increase to 0.5 ng./ml. Needle biopsy of the lesion demonstrated adenocarcinoma cells, which stained focally positive for PSA. The patient underwent radiotherapy to the foot at that time, but experienced swelling and a subsequent ulcer in the region of the biopsy. When the patient presented to us the foot pain and swelling had worsened. PSA level at presentation was 0.6 ng./ml. and prostatic acid phosphatase was 0.9 ng./ml. Hormone ablation therapy was instituted, and within 6 weeks the foot pain improved to the extent that the patient discontinued narcotics.
Outer membrane protein P4 is not required for virulence in the human challenge model of Haemophilus ducreyi infection

Background: Bacterial lipoproteins often play important roles in pathogenesis and can stimulate protective immune responses. Such lipoproteins are viable vaccine candidates. Haemophilus ducreyi, which causes the sexually transmitted disease chancroid, expresses a number of lipoproteins during human infection. One such lipoprotein, OmpP4, is homologous to the outer membrane lipoprotein e (P4) of H. influenzae .I nH. influenzae, e (P4) stimulates production of bactericidal and protective antibodies and contributes to pathogenesis by facilitating acquisition of the essential nutrients heme and nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NAD). Here, we tested the hypothesis that, like its homolog, H. ducreyi OmpP4 contributes to virulence and stimulates production of bactericidal antibodies. Results: We determined that OmpP4 is broadly conserved among clinical isolates of H. ducreyi. We next constructed and characterized an isogenic ompP4 mutant, designated 35000HPompP4 ,i nH. ducreyi strain 35000HP. To test whether OmpP4 was necessary for virulence in humans, eight healthy adults were experimentally infected. Each subject was inoculated with a fixed dose of 35000HP on one arm and three doses of 35000HPompP4 on the other arm. The overall parent and mutant pustule formation rates were 52.4% and 47.6%, respectively ( P= 0.74). These results indicate that expression of OmpP4 in not necessary for H. ducreyi to initiate disease or progress to pustule formation in humans. Hyperimmune mouse serum raised against purified, recombinant OmpP4 did not promote bactericidal killing of 35000HP or phagocytosis by J774A.1 mouse macrophages in serum bactericidal and phagocytosis assays, respectively. Conclusions: Our data suggest that, unlike e (P4), H. ducreyi OmpP4 is not a suitable vaccine candidate. OmpP4 may be dispensable for virulence because of redundant mechanisms in H. ducreyi for heme acquisition and NAD utilization.
TIES to STEM: University outreach model for teachers in K-12 STEM schools to be trained in engineering skills

This paper discusses plans to establish the ‘TIES to STEM’ outreach program for K-12 STEM school teachers at our University. TIES denotes Training in Engineering Skills and comprises the engineering education program, the pre-engineering curriculum, and the cyber-instructional networks to integrate the K-12 STEM education programs with the engineering disciplines at institutes of higher education. The engineering education program creates the opportunity for K-12 school teachers to learn and apply the engineering design process, engineering technology, and skills in the products approved and used by the engineering industry. The teachers will be better prepared to (a) teach STEM concepts to the K-12 students (b) revise the content and delivery of the K-12 STEM curriculum (c) advance their STEM careers in engineering and engineering technology. The pre-engineering curriculum for the middle school and high school students (a) improves the STEM preparation of the students (b) motivates and encourages the students to pursue degree programs in engineering and/or engineering technology at institutes of higher education. The networks based on cyber-instruction facilitate the widespread dissemination of course content, involve the teachers from widespread K-12 schools and school districts, and promote cohort identification and professional collaboration among the educators.
SVM for learning with label proportions

We study the problem of learning with label proportions in which the training data is provided in groups and only the proportion of each class in each group is known. We propose a new method called proportion-SVM, or ∞SVM, which explicitly models the latent unknown instance labels together with the known group label proportions in a large-margin framework. Unlike the existing works, our approach avoids making restrictive assumptions about the data. The ∞SVM model leads to a non-convex integer programming problem. In order to solve it efficiently, we propose two algorithms: one based on simple alternating optimization and the other based on a convex relaxation. Extensive experiments on standard datasets show that ∞SVM outperforms the state-of-the-art, especially for larger group sizes.
Effects of Processing on Radiation Damage Thresholds in Silica Glasses

We report experimental evidence linking near-surface radiation damage mechanisms to identifiable variations in the manufacturing process of silica glasses. We have bombarded a well-characterized set of Suprasil and Spectrosil glasses with ions and electrons under ultrahigh vacuum conditions. Relative yields of atoms and molecules desorbed from the sample glasses were obtained from the characteristic optical spectra; the time dependence of the bulk luminescence arising from electronic excitations in the near-surface bulk was also monitored. Comparison of these data with other work suggest a correlation between radiation damage susceptibility and the OH content of the fused silica.
Reconfigurable LTE/WWAN antenna design

A low-profile, small-size (10 × 40 mm2 on a thin dielectric substrate) planar LTE/WWAN antenna suitable for slim laptop computer applications is presented. The antenna is formed by a coupled-fed loop and a reconfigurable circuit element. The reconfigurable circuit element is substantially positioned at the current nulls of the two higher-order resonant modes of the coupled-fed loop, thereby altering the frequency of the lowest resonant mode of the coupled-fed loop without affecting the higher-order resonant modes. By switching the reconfigurable circuit element, the resonant path of the coupledfed loop is altered without changing the size of the antenna configuration, and the obtained resonant modes of the antenna can cover the LTE/WWAN bands. Good radiation characteristics of the antenna in the low-band and high-band operations are also obtained. Details of the proposed antenna and its experimental and simulated results are presented.