cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Incidence and risk factors of retinopathy of premature and low birth weight infant

Objective To investigate the incidence and risk factors of retinopathy in premature and low birth weight infants. Methods One hundred and twelve premature infants and low birth weight infants were selected from December 2013 to June 2016.We used the lens (28D) and indirect fundus lens combined with scleral compression device to examine the fundus of the study.We calculated retinopathy detection, and analyzed the correlation between the rate of neonatal body weight, gestational age and gender and pathogenesis of retinopathy, and other factors (apnea, premature rupture of membranes, blood transfusion, mechanical ventilation, multiple births, splits the palace production) and retinopathy rate correlation and retinopathy independent risk factors. Results Among the 112 cases of premature and low birth weight infants, there were 12 retinal diseases, and the incidence rate was 10.71% (12/112). There was significant difference in the incidence of neonatal body mass than 2 000 g, 1 500-2 000 g, and less than 1 500 g retinopathy (P 0.05). There were close correlation of the respiratory pause, mechanical ventilation with the incidence of retinopathy, and the differences were significant (P 0.05). The Logistic multiple regression analysis showed that the independent risk factors of retinopathy of premature and low birth weight infants included the apnea, mechanical ventilation, body weight, gestational age. Conclusions Apnea, mechanical ventilation, body weight, gestational age are independent risk factors for premature and low body weight infant retinopathy, clinicians should timely make intervention measures according to whether with such risk factors, reduce the incidence of retinopathy, and improve the prognosis. Key words: Premature infant; Low weight infant; Retinopathy; Risk factor
Trump, Xi and the Threat to the World Trade Organization

Is the WTO big enough for two economic superpowers? China’s explosion onto the world economic stage has allowed new and unexpected challenges to emerge, most significantly, which path globalization should be guided down. For 70 years, the western world has approached globalization from a liberalist perspective, seeing it as a corollary to democracy and rules-based economic growth. Yet China, which benefited enormously from globalization, has exceled in the absence of democracy, challenging the idea that the liberal world order is necessary or even desirable. With the WTO teetering on irrelevance, this is a moment to lift the hood and examine the engine of economic growth we have relied upon for decades. Though both China and the United States have the economic power to unilaterally pursue trade advantages (think NAFTA or the Belt and Road Initiative), it is not in the interest of either party to abandon the constraints imposed by the rules-based WTO system. The WTO provides an avenue to resolve disputes peacefully without the need for unilateral actions, which tend to escalate rather than resolve trade disputes. The WTO also enshrines the ideals of liberal trade by denouncing trade barriers of all kinds and pursuing open exchange. And the WTO establishes, by consensus, the rules of the road that allow countries large and small to compete in a mostly fair and equitable environment. These are public international rules that neither China nor the United States could establish and enforce on their own.
General Access to Allene-Containing Polymers Using the Skattebøl Rearrangement

Postsynthetic modification is a powerful strategy for tuning soft materials. While methods for side-chain functionalization abound, modifications of backbone structural elements can be difficult to...
Everolimus Plus Exemestane Treatment in Patients with Metastatic Hormone Receptor-Positive Breast Cancer Previously Treated with CDK4/6 Inhibitor Therapy.

Background The combination of everolimus (EVE) and exemestane (EXE) is approved for the treatment of patients with metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer (mHRBC) who progress on nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor (NSAI) therapy. However, none of the patients enrolled in the trial that led to this approval (BOLERO-2) had previously received CDK4/6 inhibitors (CDK4/6is), which have since become a frontline standard of care for mHRBC. As such, the clinical benefit of EVE plus EXE in patients who have previously received CDK4/6is remains unknown. Materials and methods Adult patients with mHRBC at our institution who progressed on an NSAI plus CDK4/6i or NSAI therapy alone and were treated with at least one cycle of EVE plus EXE between 2012 and 2018 were analyzed. Collected data included patient demographics, treatment history, adverse events, and clinical outcomes. Primary objectives were to compare progression-free survival (PFS) and overall survival (OS) between patients who received prior NSAI plus CDK4/6i therapy versus an NSAI alone. Results Among 43 patients, 17 had prior CDK4/6i exposure. With the exception of de novo metastatic disease, patient and disease characteristics were comparable across treatment cohorts. There was no significant difference in PFS (median, 3.6 vs. 4.2 months) or OS (median, 15.6 vs. 11.3 months) between patients who had received prior CDK4/6is and those who had not, respectively. Conclusion Prior exposure to CDK4/6i therapy did not impact survival outcomes for patients with mHRBC taking EVE plus EXE. However, there was a trend toward improved OS in the CDK4/6i cohort that should be evaluated in larger cohorts. Implications for practice The use of CDK4/6 inhibitors in combination with a nonsteroidal aromatase inhibitor has become a standard frontline therapy in metastatic hormone receptor-positive breast cancer. An approved subsequent line of therapy is everolimus plus exemestane; however, the original data supporting this therapy predated approval of CDK4/6 inhibitors. As such, the clinical benefit of everolimus and exemestane in patients previously treated with a CDK4/6 inhibitor was unknown. This retrospective cohort study offers real-world data demonstrating prior CDK4/6 inhibitor exposure does not impact survival outcomes for everolimus plus exemestane.
Assessing the contribution of the ENSO and MJO to Australian dust activity based on satellite- and ground-based observations

Abstract. Despite Australian dust's critical role in the regional climate and surrounding marine ecosystems, the controlling factors of the spatiotemporal variations of Australian dust are not fully understood. Here we assess the connections between observed spatiotemporal variations of Australian dust with key modes of large-scale climate variability, namely the El Nino–Southern Oscillation (ENSO) and Madden–Julian Oscillation (MJO). Multiple dust observations from the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), weather stations, and satellite instruments, namely the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) and Multi-angle Imaging SpectroRadiometer (MISR), are examined. The assessed multiple dust observations consistently identify the natural and agricultural dust hotspots in Australia, including the Lake Eyre basin, Lake Torrens basin, Lake Frome basin, Simpson Desert, Barwon–Darling basin, Riverina, Barkly Tableland, and the lee side of the Great Dividing Range, as well as a country-wide, austral spring-to-summer peak in dust activity. Our regression analysis of observed dust optical depth (DOD) upon an ocean Nino index confirms previous model-based findings on the enhanced dust activity in southern and eastern Australia during the subsequent austral spring and summer dust season following the strengthening of austral wintertime El Nino. Our analysis further indicates the modulation of the ENSO–dust relationship with the MJO phases. During sequential MJO phases, the dust-active center moves from west to east, associated with the eastward propagation of MJO, with the maximum enhancement in dust activity at about 120, 130, and 140 ∘ E, corresponding to MJO phases 1–2, 3–4, and 5–6, respectively. MJO phases 3–6 are favorable for enhanced ENSO modulation of dust activity, especially the occurrence of extreme dust events, in southeastern Australia, currently hypothesized to be attributed to the interaction between MJO-induced anomalies in convection and wind and ENSO-induced anomalies in soil moisture and vegetation.
Weed-infecting viruses in a tropical agroecosystem present different threats to crops and evolutionary histories.

In the Caribbean Basin, malvaceous weeds commonly show striking golden/yellow mosaic symptoms. Leaf samples from Malachra sp. and Abutilon sp. plants with these symptoms were collected in Hispaniola from 2014 to 2020. PCR tests with degenerate primers revealed that all samples were infected with a bipartite begomovirus, and sequence analyses showed that Malachra sp. plants were infected with tobacco leaf curl Cuba virus (TbLCuCV), whereas the Abutilon sp. plants were infected with a new bipartite begomovirus, tentatively named Abutilon golden yellow mosaic virus (AbGYMV). Phylogenetic analyses showed that TbLCuCV and AbGYMV are distinct but closely related species, which are most closely related to bipartite begomoviruses infecting weeds in the Caribbean Basin. Infectious cloned DNA-A and DNA-B components were used to fulfilled Koch’s postulates for these diseases of Malachra sp. and Abutilon sp. In host range studies, TbLCuCV also induced severe symptoms in Nicotiana benthamiana, tobacco and common bean plants; whereas AbGYMV induced few or no symptoms in plants of these species. Pseudorecombinants generated with the infectious clones of these viruses were highly infectious and induced severe symptoms in N. benthamiana and Malachra sp., and both viruses coinfected Malachra sp., and possibly facilitating virus evolution via recombination and pseudorecombination. Together, our results suggest that TbLCuCV primarily infects Malachra sp. in the Caribbean Basin, and occasionally spills over to infect and cause disease in crops; whereas AbGYMV is well-adapted to an Abutilon sp. in the Dominican Republic and has not been reported infecting crops.
Inference of Network Dynamics and Metabolic Interactions in the Gut Microbiome

We present a novel methodology to construct a Boolean dynamic model from time series metagenomic information and integrate this modeling with genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions to identify metabolic underpinnings for microbial interactions. We apply this in the context of a critical health issue: clindamycin antibiotic treatment and opportunistic Clostridium difficile infection. Our model recapitulates known dynamics of clindamycin antibiotic treatment and C. difficile infection and predicts therapeutic probiotic interventions to suppress C. difficile infection. Genome-scale metabolic network reconstructions reveal metabolic differences between community members and are used to explore the role of metabolism in the observed microbial interactions. In vitro experimental data validate a key result of our computational model, that B. intestinihominis can in fact slow C. difficile growth.
Effects of cardiovascular fitness and training history on heart rate variability before, during, and after a progressive maximal intensity exercise test (881.2)

Heart rate variability (HRV) is a non-invasive clinical indicator of cardiovascular health. We sought to examine differences in HRV as a function of exercise choice, frequency, length of regular participation, and aerobic capacity. 83 men (age: 23 ± 4 yr; height: 181 ± 8 cm; body mass: 83 ± 12 kg) with varying exercise preferences participated in the investigation. Heart rate was monitored with a five-lead electrocardiogram before, during, and after exercise. Each experimental stage was two minutes long: subjects sat, stood, and then cycled in 35 W increments until volitional failure, before sitting in recovery (heart rate max: 184 ± 13 BPM; max power output: 256 ± 54 W; estimated VO2peak 3.16 ± 0.63 [L ● Min -1]). Measures of HRV were provided by time domain, frequency, and non-linear analyses. Principal component analysis was used to distinguish contributory factors for HRV; the reliability of this analysis was confirmed with Chronbach’s Alpha test. Despite the use of a seemingly homogenous sample of co...
Protection from La Crosse virus encephalitis with recombinant glycoproteins: Role of neutralizing anti-G1 antibodies

La Crosse virus, a member of the California serogroup of bunyaviruses, is an important cause of pediatric encephalitis in the midwestern United States. Like all bunyaviruses, La Crosse virus contains two glycoproteins, G1 and G2, the larger of which, G1, is the target of neutralizing antibodies. To develop an understanding of the role of each of the glycoproteins in the generation of a protective immune response, we immunized 1-week-old mice with three different preparations: a vaccinia virus recombinant (VV.ORF) that expresses both G1 and G2, a vaccinia virus recombinant (VV.G1) that expresses G1 only, and a truncated soluble G1 (sG1) protein prepared in a baculovirus system. Whereas VV.ORF generated a protective response that was mostly directed against G1, VV.G1 was only partially effective at inducing a neutralizing response and at protecting mice from a potentially lethal challenge with La Crosse virus. Nevertheless, a single immunization with the sG1 preparation resulted in a robust immune response and protection against La Crosse virus. These results indicate that (i) the G1 protein by itself can induce an immune response sufficient for protection from a lethal challenge with La Crosse virus, (ii) a neutralizing humoral response correlates with protection, and (iii) the context in which G1 is presented affects its immunogenicity. The key step in the defense against central nervous system infection appeared to be interruption of a transient viremia that occurred just after La Crosse virus inoculation.
Effective succession planning in nursing: a review of the literature

Aim This review summarizes and evaluates succession planning initiatives in nursing and proposes a new, comprehensive succession planning model for nursing. Background A major challenge facing nursing is maintaining leadership capital. In the USA and elsewhere, this challenge is complicated by current and projected nursing shortages and uncertainty associated with political, economic and social factors affecting health-care delivery. Evaluation Databases and the Internet contributed information to this review. Because the problems of identifying, recruiting, developing and retaining nursing leaders are related to the global nursing shortage, sources from several countries and international organizations were used. Key issues The current and projected global nursing shortage and economic, political and social factors affecting health-care delivery world-wide make effective succession planning an absolute necessity for the nursing profession. Conclusions Nursing leaders must plan for succession at all management levels. To validate benefits of this planning, three topics for future research are suggested. Implications for nursing management Succession planning should incorporate the identification, recruitment, retention, development, coaching and mentoring of potential nurse leaders as early as high school. Communication, cooperation and coordination between academia and practice that complements the academic preparation of new nurses is essential.
Fully integrated CMOS phase-locked loop with 15 to 240 MHz locking range and /spl plusmn/50 ps jitter

Phase-locked loops (PLL) are widely used for clock-phase synchronization, frequency synthesis and clock distribution. It is highly desirable that the standard digital CMOS process be used in the PLL design because process modifications increase product cost. Other desirable features include insensitivity to noise and a fully integrated design. The PLL design reported in this paper has all the above features. A standard digital CMOS process is used to produce a fully differential structure that is immune to substrate and supply noise. The PLL function includes multiplication of frequency and synchronization of input and output clock phases. The architecture is unique because resistors are not needed for PLL loop stabilization.
Ultrastructure of thermophilic fungi: V. Conidial ontogeny in Humicola grisea var. thermoidea and H. insolens

It is proposed that Humicola grisea var. thermoidea is a synonym of Humicola insolens. H. insolens is characterized by the development of two distinct spore types, Type 1 conidia representing typical aleuriospores, and Type 2 conidia representing typical chlamydospores. Conidial ontogeny demonstrates a developmental plasticity not seen in other species, e.g. Type 1 conidia are produced both holoblastically and holothallically.
Promoter-Like Mutant with Increased Expression of the Glycerol Kinase Operon of Escherichia coli

A glycerol-specific phenotypic revertant isolated from a mutant of Escherichia coli missing enzyme I of the phosphoenolpyruvate phosphotransferase system was studied. This revertant is capable of producing higher levels of glycerol kinase and the protein mediating the facilitated diffusion of glycerol (facilitator) than wild-type cells. The kinase of the revertant is indistinguishable from the wild-type enzyme with respect to its sensitivity to feedback inhibition by fructose-1,6-diphosphate, its pH optimum, and its turnover number. The synthesis of glycerol kinase in strains bearing the suppressor locus is resistant to catabolite repression. The suppressor mutation mapped at the known glpK locus. Thus, it is suggested that the mutation occurred in the promoter of the operon specifying the kinase and the facilitator.
Architectural frameworks for MPP systems on a chip

Advances in fabrication techniques are now enabling new hybrid CPU/FFPGA computing resources to be integrated onto a single chip. While these new hybrids promise significant performance increases through the customization of massive gate level parallelism, their full potential will not be reached until a suitable computational framework has been developed. We believe that the computational framework should provide a unified model that brings the FPGA and CPU based components under a common programming model for MPP developers. In this paper, we discuss extending the thread programming model to support hybrid CPU and FPGA computational components to allow systems programmers to access the MPP level of parallelism potential of the FPGA, but within a familiar and understood programming model.
The Solid Component of Radiographically Non-Growing, Post-Radiated Vestibular Schwannoma Retains Proliferative Capacity: Implications for Patient Counseling.

Objective Nearly all radiated vestibular schwannomas (VS) have solid tissue remaining at the radiation bed. The viability and proliferation capacity of this tissue has never been objectively assessed. The goals of our study were to (1) determine whether this tissue retains the morphological and immunohistochemical features of VS and (2) evaluate whether the tissue is capable of proliferation in cell culture. Methods Case history, magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), cell culture, histology, and immunohistochemistry. Results We report the first case of a post-radiated, sporadic VS patient whose non-growing, residual MR-enhancing solid tissue was examined histologically and in cell culture. These cells were architecturally identical to non-radiated VS, had a Ki67 proliferative index similar to non-radiated sporadic and NF2-associated VS, were S100 positive, and grew in culture with kinetics comparable to non-radiated VS. Conclusion The long-term risk for delayed tumor growth and/or secondary malignancy in radiated VS patients is unknown. Because the average life span in the United States is nearly 80 years, patients should be informed that (1) residual VS cells are viable even when tumors appear to be non-growing on MRI, (2) post-radiation surveillance imaging is required indefinitely, and (3) radiation may incur more risk in those patients with life expectancy>20-25 years.
Vernacular Literacy: A Re-Evaluation

Vernacular Literacy:. Re-Evaluation. Andree Tabouret-Keller. Robert B. Le Page. Penelope Gardner Chloros. and Gabrielle Varro. eds. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1997. 367 pp.
LARGE BANK STOCKHOLDERS IN GERMANY: SAVIORS OR SUBSTITUTES?

This article challenges Mark Roe's suggestion that the prevalence of the widely held public corporation in the U.S. may not have been inevitable because U.S. laws prevented financial institutions from playing the monitoring role assumed by large German banks. The differences between Germany and the U.S. in the importance of trading markets and the role of banks as monitors can be explained in large part by actions of German banks that blocked the development of German capital markets and provided big banks with informational advantages over other traders. Markets are likely to be more effective monitors than large banks because of the banks' conflicts of interest as creditors as well as underwriters and market-makers for German firms. Moreover, there is more diversity in the ownership structure of U.S. corporations than the current governance debate would suggest. In the U.S. there are many publicly owned companies that are either closely held or have reverted to private ownership through LBOs. This in turn suggests that U.S. capital markets have devised means for bringing about concentrated stock ownership in those cases where large stockholder monitoring is likely to be more efficient. Thus, to the question what is likely to happen to U.S. corporate ownership structure if remaining legal constraints on stock ownership by U.S. banks are relaxed, the answer this article offers is “not much.” Indeed, if one considers increasing U.S. institutional ownership together with recent SEC attempts to liberalize shareholder communications, there appears to be a striking trend toward a new concentration of voting power–one that may ultimately rival that of the German banks.
Tumor volume and percent positive lymph nodes as a predictor of 5-year survival in colorectal cancer

Background Survival with stage III colorectal cancer (CRC) is variable and difficult to predict. Tumor size is not part of the staging system for CRC and in itself is not a predictor of survival. We hypothesize, however, that tumor size is important in determining disease free survival. Methods Patients with stage III CRC were identified and divided into 2 categories: those who developed metastatic disease within 5 years after surgery and those who were alive and disease free at 5 years. A ratio of tumor volume to percent positive nodes was calculated for each patient (TN ratio). Results Sixty-three patients were identified. 35 (55%) were alive and tumor free at 5 years. The TN ratio was significantly higher in patients who were disease free. Compared to number of positive nodes, percent positive nodes, and tumor volume, the TN ratio was the most significant predictor of disease free survival at 5 years. Conclusion Patients who survive 5 years after CRC surgery have a statistically significantly higher TN ratio than those patients who have metastatic disease within 5 years. Patients with small tumors and positive nodes have a lower TN ratio and a statistically decreased 5-year survival.
Sequences with ‘unusual’ amino acid compositions

Abstract Amino acid sequences of very non-random composition (‘low-complexity’ segments) are abundant in natural proteins. From recent statistical analyses of protein sequence databases, approximately 15% of the residues occur in segments of extreme compositional bias, and approximately 34% of proteins have at least one such interspersed segment. Sequences of many elongated non-globular domains also have non-random compositional bias, and these regions increase the proportion of residues in statistically deviant segments to approximately 25% of the database. In contrast, less than 1 of residues in known ordered crystal structures are in segments of reduced complexity. Increasingly, low-complexity segments have been implicated in crucial biological functions, shown by genetic engineering and mutagenesis experiments, variations in human disease and locations of autoimmune epitopes, but relatively little is known about their range of possible molecular structures, dynamics and interactions.
On the creation operators of physical particles

The conventional annihilation and creation operators of free particles are modified in view of the fact that all measurements require non-vanishing duration of time. The modified operators create and annihilate physical particles. Asymptotic assumption or adiabatic hypothesis are not invoked so that the renormalizedS-matrix can be obtained without their help. The analysis of certain functions that occur in the definitions of the modified operators is incomplete.
Some Approaches Toward Scene Extraction

Scene input,restoration, and extraction are discussed. An input model portrays the sampled scene as corrupted by additive Gaussian noise. The effect of this noise upon gradient-square and Laplacian boundary extraction operations is reduced by minimization of a pre-specified loss function. The loss can be related to the efficiency of the system. An adaptive area extraction pro-cedure based upon a gray level thresholding technique is also developed. The threshold is locally adjusted to meet varying background gray-level ranges. Results of computer simulations illustrate visually characteristics of the extraction approaches considered.© (1969) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
The influence of foil rotation on the diffraction contrast from small spherical voids in silicon

The two beam dynamical formulation has been used to calculate diffraction contrast profiles for extremely small voids in silicon as a function of void depth, foil thickness, and foil orientation. Image profiles obtained indicate that contrast can be significantly enhanced or degraded as the foil is rotated from the exact Bragg position. In general, well defined asymmetric (black-white) images are noted for the scattered beam in foils of equivalent thickness, (n equals an integer) where and . Correspondingly, for the transmitted beam, black-white contrast is observed when . Ill-defined void contrast occurs for the transmitted beam when and for the scattered beam when . For foils of equivalent thickness equal to an odd multiple of , black or white dot images are normally observed. For the scattered beam, contrast is maximized for voids near the exit surface of a foil when w > 0 and the contrast decreases for voids distributed throughout the foil to the entrance surface. Conversely, for w 3ξg (w = 0) image contrast tends to be poor for small voids positioned throughout the foil. In such foils, image detail is further degraded as the foil is rotated from the Bragg position. Mittels der dynamischen Zweistrahlformulierung wurden Beugungskontrastprofile fur extrem kleine Locher in Silizium in Abhangigkeit von der Tiefe der Locher, der Foliendicke und Folienorientierung berechnet. Die resultierenden Abbildungsprofile zeigen, das der Kontrast deutlich erhoht oder erniedrigt werden kann, wenn die Folie aus der exakten Bragg-Lage gekippt wird. Im allgemeinen werden gut definierte asymmetrische (schwarz-weis) Abbildungen fur den gestreuten Strahl in Folien beobachtet, deren aquivalente Dicken gegeben sind durch (n ganzzahlig), wobei und . Entsprechend wird fur den durchgehenden Strahl Schwarz-Weis-Kontrast beobachtet, wenn . Fur Folien mit aquivalenten Dicken, die gleich einem ungraden Vielfachen von sind, werden normalerweise schwarze oder weise Punkt-Abbildungen beobachtet. Fur den gestreuten Strahl wird, falls w > 0, der Kontrast maximal fur Locher in der Nahe der Austrittsflache und er nimmt ab fur Locher, die uber der Folie zur Eintritts-flache hin verteilt sind. Umgekehrt wird fur w 3ξg (w = 0) erscheint der Kontrast schwach fur Locher, die uber der ganzen Folie verteilt sind. In diesen Folien werden Feinheiten der Abbildung daruberhinaus verringert, wenn die Folie aus der Bragg-Lage gekippt wird.
Pore size distribution and supercritical hydrogen adsorption in activated carbon fibers

Pore size distributions (PSD) and supercritical H2 isotherms have been measured for two activated carbon fiber (ACF) samples. The surface area and the PSD both depend on the degree of activation to which the ACF has been exposed. The low-surface-area ACF has a narrow PSD centered at 0.5 nm, while the high-surface-area ACF has a broad distribution of pore widths between 0.5 and 2 nm. The H2 adsorption enthalpy in the zero-coverage limit depends on the relative abundance of the smallest pores relative to the larger pores. Measurements of the H2 isosteric adsorption enthalpy indicate the presence of energy heterogeneity in both ACF samples. Additional measurements on a microporous, coconut-derived activated carbon are presented for reference.
Motion planning and trajectory tracking for three-dimensional Poiseuille flow

We present the first solution to a boundary motion planning problem for the Navier–Stokes equations, linearized around the parabolic equilibrium in a threedimensional channel flow. The pressure and skin friction at one wall are chosen as the reference outputs as they are the most readily measurable ‘wall-restricted’ quantities in experimental fluid dynamics and also because they play a special role as performance metrics in aerodynamics. The reference velocity input is applied at the opposite wall. We find the exact (method independent) solution to the motion planning problem using the PDE (partial differential equation) backstepping theory. The motion planning solution results in open-loop controls, which produce the reference output trajectories only under special initial conditions for the flow velocity field. To achieve convergence to the reference trajectory from other (nearby) initial conditions, we design a feedback controller. We also present a detailed examination of the closed-form solutions for gains and the behaviour of the motion planning solution as the wavenumbers grow or the Reynolds number grows. Numerical results are shown for the motion planning problem.
Violence in Peru: Performances and Dialogues

The author analyzes protest songs and art from postwar Peru using Nestor Garcia Canclini's understanding of the current reorganization of culture as a struggle over symbolic capital and cultural goods. The author also seeks to place her own work on the dialogical ground occupied by Peruvian performers through her creation of laments by the means of dedications to the disappeared. In so doing, she seeks not only to influence readers' perceptions of the political violence in Peru, but also to transform the relationship of researchers to and the rules of academic discourse about such events.
Phylogenetic affinities and taphonomy of Brooksella from the Cambrian of Georgia and Alabama, USA

Abstract Siliceous “star cobbles”, referred to the enigmatic genus Brooksella , are abundant in the Conasauga Formation of the Coosa River Valley of Alabama and Georgia, USA. Explaining the phylogenetic affinities and taphonomic history of Brooksella has been difficult and contentious. Brooksella has, at times, been referred to: 1, the cnidarian order Scyphomedusae; 2, the cnidarian class Protomedusae (order Brooksellida); 3, as algae; 4, as a trace fossil; and 5, as a feature of inorganic origin. Macroscopic, microscopic, and computer-assisted tomographic analysis of Brooksella from the Conasauga Formation suggests that the “star cobbles” represent exceptionally preserved body fossils of simple construction. Morphology of star cobbles is most consistent with a siliceous (hexactinellid) sponge interpretation. Specimens show wide morphologic variation, including gradational patterns, suggesting that a single species name ( Brooksella alternata ) should be used to embrace all forms described from the Coosa Valley. B. alternata includes specimens having a variable number of radially disposed lobes divided by radial grooves, and often a central opening inferred to be an osculum on one side. Lobes in many specimens terminate in small openings. Small craterlike structures, inferred to be ostia, are present on the external surface. Radial internal cavities occupy the lobes. Specimens from the Conasauga Formation have siliceous spicules preserved surficially and internally. The three-dimensional nature of most “star cobbles” suggests rapid fossil diagenesis, perhaps mediated by the activities of microbial consortia that quickly formed biofilms around the dead hosts.
Molecular Characterization of Fluoroquinolone-Resistant Aeromonas spp. Isolated from Imported Shrimp

Sixty-three nalidixic acid-resistant Aeromonas sp. isolates were obtained from imported shrimp. Phylogenetic analysis of gyrB sequences indicated that 18 were A. enteropelogenes, 26 were A. caviae, and 19 were A. sobria. Double missense mutations in the quinolone resistance-determining region (QRDR) of gyrA at codon 83 (Ser→Val/Ile) and codon 92 (Leu→Met) coupled with a point mutation of parC at codon 80 (Ser→Ile/Phe) conferred high levels of quinolone resistance in the isolates. A majority of A. enteropelogenes and A. caviae strains harbored toxin genes, whereas only a few A. sobria strains harbored these genes. The fluoroquinolone-resistant Aeromonas spp. exhibited higher cytotoxicity than fluoroquinolone-sensitive, virulent Aeromonas spp. to rat epithelial cells.
Assessing the performance of a covert automatic target recognition algorithm

Passive radar systems exploit illuminators of opportunity, such as TV and FM radio, to illuminate potential targets. Doing so allows them to operate covertly and inexpensively. Our research seeks to enhance passive radar systems by adding automatic target recognition (ATR) capabilities. In previous papers we proposed conducting ATR by comparing the radar cross section (RCS) of aircraft detected by a passive radar system to the precomputed RCS of aircraft in the target class. To effectively model the low-frequency setting, the comparison is made via a Rician likelihood model. Monte Carlo simulations indicate that the approach is viable. This paper builds on that work by developing a method for quickly assessing the potential performance of the ATR algorithm without using exhaustive Monte Carlo trials. This method exploits the relation between the probability of error in a binary hypothesis test under the Bayesian framework to the Chernoff information. Since the data are well-modeled as Rician, we begin by deriving a closed-form approximation for the Chernoff information between two Rician densities. This leads to an approximation for the probability of error in the classification algorithm that is a function of the number of available measurements. We conclude with an application that would be particularly cumbersome to accomplish via Monte Carlo trials, but that can be quickly addressed using the Chernoff information approach. This application evaluates the length of time that an aircraft must be tracked before the probability of error in the ATR algorithm drops below a desired threshold.
The Role of Exercise and Physical Modalities in The Treatment of Osteoarthritis

Physical rehabilitation may be an important part of a treatment plan for animals with osteoarthritis. The goals of rehabilitation are to minimize discomfort, improve joint range of motion, maintain muscle strength and fitness, and improve function. Therapeutic exercise and physical modalities, including heat and cold application, massage, and ultrasound and electrotherapy, may be incorporated into a program designed through the collaborative efforts of veterinarians and physical therapists. Documented results are necessary to improve rehabilitation protocols and patient management.
Syntactic Priming in Comprehension Evidence From Event-Related Potentials

Syntactic priming is the facilitation of processing that occurs when a sentence has the same syntactic form as a preceding sentence. Such priming effects have been less consistently demonstrated in comprehension than in production, and those that have been reported have depended on the repetition of verbs across sentences. In an event-related potential experiment, subjects read target sentences containing reduced-relative clauses. Each was preceded by a sentence that contained the same verb and either a reduced-relative or a main-clause construction. Reduced-relative primes elicited a larger positivity than did main-clause primes. Reduced-relative targets that were preceded by a main-clause prime elicited a greater positivity than the same target sentences following a reduced-relative prime. In addition, syntactic priming effects were dissociated from effects of lexical repetition at the verb.
Perceived Organizational Support and Turnover Intention: The Mediating Effects of Personal Sacrifice and Job Fit

This study examines the mediating role of job fit on the relationship between perceived supervisor support (PSS) and perceived organizational support (POS), and the mediating role of personal sacrifice on the relationship between POS and turnover intention. We use structural equation modeling (SEM) with a data set consisting of a sample of 346 individuals in a manufacturing firm to test our proposed model of PSS, POS, and turnover intention. Consistent with prior literature, our hypothesized model confirms that PSS is a predictor of POS and that POS is a predictor of turnover intention. By testing two additional competing and theoretically derived nested models, our findings indicate that job fit partially mediates the relationship between PSS and POS, and that personal sacrifice partially mediates the relationship between POS and turnover intention. Our study is among the first to examine job fit and personal sacrifice as mediators within the POS-turnover intention model.
The Teaching of Modern Economics in China

This paper provides a brief history of the introduction of modern economics to China and discusses the current status of teaching the subject. It also deals with the choice of curriculum and issues involved in improving the current system. Finally the practice of modern economics as a profession in China is reported.
Effective Medium Theories for Multicomponent Poroelastic Composites

It is demonstrated that effective medium theories for poroelastic composites such as rocks can be formulated easily by analogy to well-established methods used for elastic composites. An identity analogous to Eshelby’s classic result has been derived previously for use in composites containing arbitrary ellipsoidal-shaped inclusions. This result is the starting point for new methods of estimation, including generalizations of the coherent potential approximation, differential effective medium theory, and two explicit schemes. Results are presented for estimating drained shear and bulk modulus, the Biot–Willis parameter, and Skempton’s coefficient. Three of the methods considered appear to be quite reliable estimators, while one of the explicit schemes is found to have some undesirable characteristics. Furthermore, the results obtained show that the actual microstructure should be taken carefully into account when trying to decide which of these methods to apply in a given situation.
Max-product grammars and languages

Abstract In this paper, two equivalent formulations of max-product grammars are presented. The families of languages generated by various types of max-product grammars are examined. In particular, the family /oL of languages generated by finitary weak regular max-product grammars with cut-point is studied in detail. It is shown that /oL may also be characterized by regular max-product grammars, asynchronous max-product automata, maxproduct automata, and type 3 weighted grammars under maximal interpretation. Moreover, it is shown that /oL contains the family of regular languages as a proper subfamily and that there are context-free and stochastic languages which are not in /oL.
Intracellular Localization and Functional Effects of P21-Activated Kinase-1 (Pak1) in Cardiac Myocytes

We investigated intracellular localization and substrate specificity of P21-activated kinase-1 (Pak1) in rat cardiac myocytes. Pak1 is a serine/threonine protein kinase that is activated by Rac1/Cdc42 and important in signaling of stress responses. Yet the localization and in vivo function of Pak1 in heart cells is poorly understood. Studies reported here indicate that Pak1 physically interacts with protein phosphatase 2a and localizes to the Z-disk, cell membrane, intercalated disc, and nuclear membrane of adult rat heart myocytes. We compared levels of phosphorylation of cardiac troponin I (cTnI) in control myocytes with phosphorylation of cTnI and myosin binding protein C (C-protein) in myocytes with increased Pak1 activity. The increase in activity was induced by infection of myocytes with a recombinant adenovirus (AdPak1) containing cDNA for a constitutively active Pak1. Control cells were infected with a virus (AdLacZ) containing LacZ. Basal levels of phosphorylation of cTnI and C-protein were relatively high in the myocytes infected with AdLacZ. However, phosphorylation of cTnI and C-protein in cells expressing constitutively active Pak1 was significantly reduced compared with those expressing LacZ. Measurement of Ca2+ tension relations in single myocytes demonstrated that this reduction in phosphorylation of cTnI and C-protein was associated with the predicted increase in sensitivity to Ca2+. Our data provide evidence for a novel pathway of phosphatase regulation in cardiac myocytes.
Non-perturbative equivalences among large Nc gauge theories with adjoint and bifundamental matter fields

We prove an equivalence, in the large N c limit, between certain U(Nc) gauge theories containing adjoint representation matter fields and their orbifold projections. Lattice regularization is used to provide a non-perturbative definition of these theories; our proof applies in the strong coupling, large mass phase of the theories. Equivalence is demonstrated by constructing and comparing the loop equations for a parent theory and its orbifold projections. Loop equations for both expectation values of single-trace observables, and for connected correlators of such observables, are considered; hence the demonstrated non-perturbative equivalence applies to the large Nc limits of both string tensions and particle spectra.
Comparison of objective threshold estimation procedures for 40-Hz auditory evoked potentials.

Objective : Objective threshold estimation is possible using statistics such as magnitude-squared coherence (MSC) and responses such as the 40-Hz auditory evoked potential (AEP). The purpose of this paper is to compare three general methods of threshold estimation using MSC. Design : Using 500-Hz amplitude-modulated tones and 40-Hz AEPs from 10 paid-volunteer young adults with normal hearing, we compared three MSC-based threshold estimation methods-extrapolation, intensity series, and adaptive. Results : The extrapolation method yielded low thresholds but unacceptable variability. The intensity series method was insensitive and time-consuming. Two adaptive methods displayed good performance in terms of precision and sensitivity. The first employed an MSC criterion with a 13.5% false positive rate (per trial), but achieved overall false positive rates under 5% after 5 to 7 runs, requiring 30 to 40 minutes test time (a run is a single set of ascending or descending trials, terminated by a reversal). The second, which performed better overall, included only a single run, but collected more data at intensities near threshold than at higher intensities ; test time could be further reduced (from 22 to 18 minutes) by using a stopping rule based on initial MSC and noise power estimates at each test intensity. If speed is paramount, a simple single-run method achieved threshold estimates in about 9 minutes, starting at 40 dB nHL, with acceptable precision but less sensitivity. Conclusions : A single-run adaptive method, with or without collection of additional data near threshold, yielded the best results, in terms of statistical performance and data collection time.
ON INVARIANT CYCLING IN PERIODICALLY FORCED REACTORS

Abstract The generality of a pioneering correlation, proposed by Lynch (1) to predict the number of cycles to reach invariant cycling in periodically forced reactors, is evaluated using a model for the methanol synthesis reaction. Results show that Lynch's correlation needs to be modified to include elementary-step kinetics if it is to be generally applicable.
Crystal field at Er site in Si:Er with various codopants

Abstract Fitting a crystal-field model to published spectra shows the dominant crystal field felt by the Er ion in codoped samples of Si : Er possesses T d symmetry. This leads to a proposal that the role of the codopants is to decouple the Er from the silicon phonons. Support for this proposal is found in the high-temperature luminescence quenching results.
Sensitivity and reproducibility of RT-PCR to detect Borna disease virus (BDV) RNA in blood: implications for BDV epidemiology

Borna disease virus (BDV) infection of domestic animals and humans appears to have a worldwide distribution. There is evidence suggesting an association of BDV with certain psychiatric disorders. However, more comprehensive epidemiological studies are required to establish rigorously a link between BDV and human mental disorders, and to evaluate the role of carrier animals as potential source of BDV for human infection. The use of RT-PCR to detect BDV RNA in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of infected individuals is a powerful tool to address these questions. The comparison of discrepant results reported by different investigators using this approach is hampered by the lack of controls to assess the sensitivity and reproducibility of the assays. Procedures are now described that allow the establishment of standardized controls to evaluate the performance of the RT-PCR assays. This RT-PCR assay detected reproducibly 100 copies of BDV p40 RNA in 5 μg of RNA. The data illustrate that the number of PBMCs used for RNA preparation, rather than the amount of RNA, has a critical influence on the outcome of the RT-PCR assay. Evidence is provided that levels of BDV in blood do not necessarily reflect viral load in brain.
Koppitz emotional indicators as predictors of kindergarten children's learning-related behavior

Abstract Koppitz Emotional Indicators (EIs) were used to predict the learning-related behavior of kindergarten children ( N = 161, 82 males, 79 females) on the Lock Box and Guide to the Child's Learning Style (GCLS). Three criterion groups (well adjusted, adequately adjusted, possibly maladjusted) were designated by the number of EIs on the children's Human Figure Drawings (HFDs). Scores for the Lock Box and GCLS were subjected to principal components analyses with varimax rotation. The resultant three-factor solution on the Lock Box and four-factor solution on the GCLS were submitted to a direct multiple discriminant analysis. Findings indicated the three EI groups could be differentiated. Univariate F tests showed that EIs significantly predicted scores on the GCLS factors while Lock Box factors were not well predicted. Although findings support the use of EIs as general estimates of learning-related behavior, a classification analysis showed that the diagnostic utility of the EIs was only marginally above chance for kindergarten children who obtained pathological scores on the HFD.